Any reconstruction of the life of John Willison must of necessity be brief on account of the scarcity of prominent incidents to distinguish his personal career. He lived in the years succeeding those of tribu¬ lation which marked the struggle of the Presbyterian Church for establish¬ ment. Therefore, his days were spent in the calm seclusion of a sinister of the Gospel of peace, occupied by the regular duties of his sacred calling; while the only events by which his life was marked, with but few exceptions, were the works he published from time to time. It is on this account that the reader will find extensive reference to these works, and detailed relating of them to the contemporary history which brought them forth. It is only by this means that we are able to construct the history of his life.