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An Account of the Life and Writings

How this plan came to be neglected, and in what manner the rebels gotpossession of the town, is not a proper enquiry for this place. They gotpossession of it! and, their spirits being raised by this unaccountable success,and by the supply of arms and provisions which it gave them, they soonafter defeated the King’s troops at Preston. The moderation which theyhad affected before that unhappy battle was now laid aside, and obediencewas to be given to whatever proclamations or orders they thought fit to issue,under pain of military execution. Among other despotic orders, one was,commanding all who had been volunteers in defence of the town, before astated time, to wait on their secretary of state, to subscribe a recantation ofwhat they had done, and a promise of submission to their pretended go-vernment, under the pain of being deemed and treated as rebels. Mr. Mac-laurin had been too active and distinguished a volunteer, to think he couldeseape the severest treatment, if he fell into their hands after neglecting tomake the submission required ; he therefore withdrew privately into England,before the last day of receiving the submissions ; but, previous to his escape,found means to convey a good telescope into the castle, and concerted a me-thod of supplying the garrison with provisions.

As soon as his Grace, Tir.Thomas Herri ng thenLord Archbishop of York, wasinformed that Mr .Maclaurin had fled to the north of England, he invited himin a most friendly and polite manner, to reside with him during his stay in thatcountry. Mr. Maclaurin gladly accepted of the invitation, and soon afterexprefles himself thus in a letter to a friend ; “ Here (fays he) I live as" happily as a man can do, who is ignorant of the state of his family, and" who fees the ruin of his country.” His Grace, of whose merit andgoodness, Mr. Maclaurin ever retained the highest sentiments, afterwardskept a regular correspondence with him ; and when it was suspected thatthe rebels might once more take possession of Edinburgh , aster their retreatfrom England , invited his former guest again to take refuge with him.

At York he had been observed to be more meagre than ordinary, and witha-sickly look ; though not being-apprehensive of any danger at that time, hedid not call in the assistance of a physician : but having had a fall from hishorse on his journey southward; and, when the rebel army marched intoEngland , having on his return home been exposed to most tempestuous coldweather, upon his arrival he complained of being much out of order.In a little time his disease was discovered to be a dropsy of the belly, to re-move which, variety of medicines, prescribed by the most eminent phy-sicians at London, as well as those, of Edinburgh , and three tappings,, wereused without making a cure.

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