Protestantism in Scotland - James Aitken Wylie

heard to say, or rather to sing, "I shall soon be
above these clouds -- I shall soon be above these
clouds, then shall I enjoy thee, and glorify thee, O
my Father, without interruption, and without
interruption, forever." The martyr's death-song was
the morning hymn of Scotland, for scarcely had its
thrilling strains died away when deliverance came
in the manner we shall presently see.[6]
Meanwhile we behold Scotland apparently
crushed. All her noblemen and gentlemen who had
taken the side of the nation against the court had
perished on the scaffold, or had been chased into
exile; her people were lying by thousands in their
quiet graves among the moors or in the city
churchyards, their withering limbs illuminating
with ghastly yet glorious light the places where
they were exposed to view; and when Renwick
ascended the ladder to die, the last minister of the
Presbyterian body still I arms against the
Government had fallen. There now remained none
but a few country-people around the blue banner of
the Covenant. Never did defeat appear more
complete. As a notion Scotland seemed to be
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