Series 1 > Miscellany of the Scottish History Society (First volume)

418
TURNBULL’S DIARY
1702 28.—Lectur. on acts 10, and preacht on lake 11. 21.
On fryday befor, the 26 of June, a very uwsuall and sad
providence fell owt in Tyningham, a young man called John
Nisbett about 24 years of age formerly a pretty sober lad a
merchant in the place fell distracted and was possessed w* such
a spirit of Blasphemy and cursing that it was terrible to hear
him and yet he was not furious ; all that was observable as to
the rise or cause of his distemper was, that his mother a widow
no good woman was surly and unkind to him ; what may be
the event god knows, in a short time he recovered by the
help of some naturall means, and is now pretty well.1
July 1, Wedensday.—I was att spott a fast day befor the
sacrament when mr. shaw preacht on Zech. 12, 10 ; and in the
aftarnoon mr. Curry on Isay 59, 2.
The day befor this, Twesday the last of June, our parliatt
rose and adjourned till august 18; having done all the business
they designed ; some heats about the oath abjuring the prince
of wales hastned the adjourm41.2
Fryday, July 3.—Meditating on publike affairs I thought I
saw plainly a design laid to bring in the prince of wales, and
y4 severalls in both our partys acted in concert for that end,
whille honeste men on both sides knew nor suspected nothing
of it: how far the court is qcerned time will discover ; but our
talke of grievances under the late kings reign, our shyiness to
establish the succession, and complaints of pjudice done us by
the English, and wishing to be disjoined even when ane union is
treated of, are all preluds of the scoene.
The sacrament was given att spott on sabbath july 5th. I
preached in the aftarnoon on acts 4, 13, and served two tables,
attended all the dyitts; this was a right sweet day of the
gospell, and wherin I renewed cov44 with god for me and mine.
On Fryday july 3 about 6 a cloake in the aftarnoon some
barrells of powder to the number of 30 or 40 being brought
1 From the colour of the ink this last sentence has evidently been added at a
subsequent date.
2 ‘ The introduction of a bill, by Marchmont, the chancellor, for the incapaci¬
tation of the pretended Prince of Wales, occasioned the prorogation of the
Parliament, which was soon after dissolved.’—Aikman’s History of Scotland,
vol. iv. p. 619.