The Church and Churchyard of Chirnside. 189 



2. Mr. Alexander Smyth was minister here in 1609. He was 

 a witness on the trial of Mr. George Sprott, notary-public in 

 Eyemouth, who was condemned to death for concealing the 

 treason of the Earl of Gowrie and Logan of Restalrig. With 

 other ministers of the Merse, he was summoned before the High 

 Commission at Edinburgh for nonconformity to some points 

 pressed upon them by the Bishops, such as kneeling at the sacra- 

 ment, &c. He and the others were true to their resolve, and 

 the Bishop of St. Andrews (Spottiswood) could make nothing 

 of them. Mr. Smyth was alive in 1625. He seems to have 

 deceased soon after this date, as 



3. Mr. Johne Mackmeath was minister in 1638. Of him we 

 have the following notice : — 



" Dec. 11th, 1638. 18th Session of Assembly. 

 " Much of the tyme being spent in sentencing bishopps ; 

 the rere of the session was fetched upp with the accusa- 

 tione and censures of some ministers, all anti-covenanters (for 

 it is to be observed, that in these dayes nothinge could be 

 founde to be laide to the charge of any minister who took the 

 covenant), by name Mr. Andrew Lamb or Lawmont, Mr. Johne 

 Mackmeath (see Baillie's Letters, vol. i. p. 138), minister of 

 Chirnside ; Mr. Francis Harvye, — all accused of Arminianisme 

 and lewde lyves, and Mr. Christopher Knolls (minister of Cold- 

 ingham), who, to boote, was saide to have gottine a chylde in 

 adulterye, which his wyfe caused a freende of his tacke (take) 

 upon him to be father to. The triale of all these accusationes 

 was referred to comittyes in the respective boundes where thes 

 ministers lived." 



Gordon's Hist, of Scots affaires, vol. ii. p. 143. 

 [Spalding Club Publication.) 



We have not been able to ascertain the time of Mr. Mack- 

 neath's decease. 



4. Mr. William Galbraith was minister of Chirnside in 1660. 

 We have no farther notice of him. 



5. Mr. James Lawtie was admitted minister of Chirnside on 

 August 26th, 1669; and was for nineteen years the Episcopal 

 incumbent here, till the epoch of the Revolution compelled him 

 to demit his charge. Eor some time after this he officiated as 

 minister to a small congregation of Episcopalians in Eyemouth. 

 When or where Mr. Lawtie died we have no accounts. 



6. The next minister of Chirnside was Mr. Henry Areskine — 

 a man who seems to have had few equals in his time. He 

 belonged to the family of Erskine of Shielfield, near Dryburgh ; 

 and was appointed minister of Cornhill, in Northumberland, in 



