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with him into a private room , and locking the door , he told him plainly that he was convinced that he had engaged in a wicked conspiracy with the friars to impose on the credulity of the people , and at last drew from him the
secret of the story . When a boy , he had been employed to tend the cattle belonging to the Nuns of Sciennes , in the vicinity of Edinburgh , and had drawn their
attention by a peculiar faculty which he had of turning up the whites of his eyes , and of keeping them in this position so as to appear quite blind ; this , being reported to some of the friars in the city , they immediately conceived the design of making him subservient
to thei r purposes ; and having prevailed on the sisters of Sciennes to part with the poor boy , lodged him in one of their cells . By daily
practising , he became an adept in the art of counterfeiting blindness ; and after he had remained so long in concealment as not to be recognized by his former acquaintances ,
he was sent forth to beg as a blind pauper $ the friars having previously bound him , by a solemn vow , not to reveal the secret . To confirm his narrative , he " played his pavie" before Cleish , by * 'flyping up the lid of his eyes and casting up the white , '' so as to appear as blind as he did on the scaffold
at Loretto . The gentleman laid before him the iniquity of his conduct , and told him he must next day repeat the whole story publicly , at the cross of Edinburgh ;
and as this would expose him to the vengeance of the friars , he engaged to become his protector , and to retain him as a servant in his house . The young man complied wi ^ h his directions , and
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No . III . Death of Knox . Monday , Nov . 24 , 157 % was the last day that he spent on earth .
That morning he coutd not be persuaded to lie in bed , but , though unable to stand alone , rose between nine and ten o ' clock ^ and put on his stockings and doublet . Being led to a chair , he sat about half an hour , and then was put to bed again . It was soon evident that his end was drawing
near . Besides his wife , and Rich - ard Bannatyne , Campbell , of Kin-^ eancleugh , Johnston , of Elphinstone , and Dr . Preston , three of his most intimate acquaintances , sat , by turns , at his bedside . Kirtyeancleugh asked him , if he had any pain . " It is no painful pain ,
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Cleish , with his drawn sword in his hand , having stood by him till he had finished his confession , placed him on the same horse with himself , and carried him off to Fife .
There can be no doubt but this is a fair specimen of those juggling tricks , which , at various times , have been played ofiTin the several ages of the Christian church , and have rendered many thinking persons incredulous as to any oiiracies whatever . It by no means follows , however , that the
miracles of scripture are not truo , because there have been many pretended imitations of them—un the contrary , the existence of the counterfeit proves the existence of the true coin . We must restrict miracles , however , to the apostolic age , and the times preceding it— -if we come lower than this , there is no reason for stopping at all .
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Extracts from M'Crie ' s Life of Knox . 451
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Aug. 2, 1814, page 451, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2443/page/3/
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