Protestantism in Scotland - James Aitken Wylie

day named in the citation of the martyr.[11]
Patrick Hamilton was led to the stake at noon:
the afternoon was wearing, in fact it was now past
sunset. These six hours had he stood on the pile,
his face bruised, his limbs scorched; but now the
end was near, for his whole body was burning in
the fire, the iron band round his middle was redhot,
and the martyr was almost burned in two. One
approached him and said, "If thou still holdest true
the doctrine for which thou diest, make us a sign."
Two of the fingers of his right hand were already
burned, and had dropped off. Stretching out his
arm, he held out the remaining three fingers till
they too had fallen into the fire. The last words he
was heard to utter were, "How long, O Lord, shall
darkness overwhelm this realm? How long wilt
thou suffer this tyranny of men? Lord Jesus,
receive my spirit."
We have given prominence to this great martyr,
because his death was one of the most powerful of
the instrumentalities that worked for the
emancipation of his native land. It was around his
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