John Howie of Lochgoin

1 8 THE PRINCETON THEOLOGICAL REVIEW
more momentous. He also added an appendix, to shew
"upon what footing the more faithful party stood their
ground" at and after the Revolution. This was supple-
mented by James Guthrie's Considerations of the Dangers
that Threaten Religion in Scotland. This last has a sepa-
rate title-page, but the pagination and signatures are contin-
uous. To all this there was added : —
"A collection of very valuable sermons preached on seve-
ral subjects and in divers places in the time of the late perse-
cution, by these eminent servants of Jesus Christ, Messrs.
John Kid, John King, John Welch, John Blackadder, John
Dickson, and Gabriel Semple. Collected and transcribed
from different manuscripts by John Howie. . . ."
This "collection" has a separate title-page and a separate
preface, and the pagination and signatures begin afresh;
but it was issued as part of the Faithful Conlendings Dis-
played, being mentioned on the general title-page. The
"collection" had evidently been prepared first, for its preface
is dated, "Lochgoin, July 28, 1780;" while the preface to
Michael Shields' portion is dated, "Lochgoin, Sept. 27th,
1780." The whole extends to 686 pp. ; and another 20 pp.
are filled with the "subscribers' names." These names must
run up to about 1800 in number. When I first read this
book, some thirty years ago, I thought that it was one of
the most interesting I had ever gone through. Notwith-
standing the large impression that was printed, the book is
now by no means common.
In 1780 John Howie issued another book, or rather
pamphlet, entitled : —
"An alarm unto a secure Generation ; or a short His-
torical Relation of some of the most strange and remarkable
appearances of comets, fiery meteors, bloody signs, ships of
war, armies of foot and horsemen fighting, etc., that have
been seen since the birth of our Saviour (as the tokens
or forerunners both of promised mercies, and threatened
judgments) through different ages; particularly those lately
observed in the parishes of Finwick, Eglesham, and Kil-
marnock : with some arguments and observations upon the