Skip to main content

Full text of "The works of Wm Robertson"

See other formats 


I     V^  - ; w- .  •  »          S 

w 


presented  to  the 
UNIVERSITY  LIBRARY 
UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 
SAN  DIEGO 

by 

Dr^  JR.,  Elliott 


. 


..  It  Wllkjm  fukcring ,  duou-try  laru-J.?,uki:  A   '. 


i  k  Vihteitt 


THE 


WORKS 


OF 


WM.  ROBERTSON,  D.D. 


IN   EIGHT  VOLUMES. 


THE  FIRST  VOLUME. 


OXFORD. 

PRINTED  FOR  WILLIAM  PICKERING,  LONDON;   AND 
TALBOYS  AND  WHEELER,  OXFORD. 


MDCCCXXV. 


AN  ESSAY 


ON  THE 


LIFE    AND    WRITINGS 


OF 


WILLIAM    ROBERTSON,    D.D. 


1  HE  curiosity,  which  most  men  feel,  to  become  ac- 
quainted with  the  circumstances  of  the  life  of  those 
who  have  rendered  themselves  illustrious,  by  the  at- 
tainment of  perfection  in  the  various  careers  of  human 
ambition,  exists  so  naturally  in  all  inquiring  minds,  and 
from  its  gratification  so  much  instruction  may  be  gain- 
ed, that  it  would  be  deemed  a  reprehensible  omission 
to  send  forth  to  the  world  an  edition  of  the  works  of 
one  of  the  most  renowned  of  the  British  historians, 
without  making  some  attempt  towards  delineating  his 
private  character  and  habits,  towards  tracing  the  steps 
by  which  he  reached  the  high  rank  that  he  holds 
among  the  writers  of  his  country,  and  towards  exem- 
plifying the  success  of  industry  accompanied  with  vir- 
tue. But  concerning  the  author  of  the  following  vo- 
lumes little  can  be  gleaned,  either  from  the  traditions 
of  his  contemporaries,  or  the  records  left  by  his  friends: 
much  of  his  life  seems  to  have  passed  in  the  bosom  of 
domestic  privacy,  unheeded  by  the  public  eye,  which 
naturally  is  attracted  rather  by  the  glare  of  political 
VOL.  i.  b 


ii  THE  LIFE  OF 

action,  than  by  the  soft  light  of  social  virtue ;  and  Mr. 
Dugalcl  Stewart,  who,  from  his  intimate  connexion  with 
the  historian,  may  be  supposed  to  be  perfectly  ac- 
quainted with  his  private  life,  seems  to  disdain  that 
minuteness  of  detail  which  many  regard  as  the  most 
interesting  part  of  biographical  narrative. 

William  Robertson  was  born  on  the  eighth  of  Sep- 
tember, 1721,  according  to  the  old  style,  at  Borthwick, 
in  the  county  of  Mid  Lothian,  a  parish  of  which  his 
father  was  then  minister :  he  was  one  of  a  family  of 
eight  children,  of  whom  none  but  the  historian  rose 
to  such  eminence  as  to  deserve  commemoration,  even 
could  any  facts  be  withdrawn  from  the  darkness  which 
generally  envelops  the  memory  of  ordinary  men  after 
the  tomb  has  closed  on  their  remains. 

Robertson  received  the  first  rudiments  of  education 
at  the  parochial  school  of  his  native  place ;  when  he 
had  attained  the  age  generally  deemed  fit  for  enter- 
ing on  classic  studies,  his  father,  induced  probably  by 
the  extended  reputation  of  the  head  master,  Leslie, 
placed  him  at  the  school  of  Dalkeith.  Of  his  advance- 
ment under  so  skilful  a  tutor,  I  have  been  unable  to 
collect  any  account ;  but  it  may  be  inferred  from  the 
observations  of  his  friends,  that  he  was  remarkable  ra- 
ther by  a  patient  and  industrious  culture  of  the  mental 
powers  which  providence  vouchsafed  him,  than  by  any 
extraordinary  precocity  of  genius.  Unlike  those  plants 
which  one  summer's  sun  brings  to  their  full  growth, 
whose  splendid  flowers  burst  quickly  forth,  and  as 
quickly  fade,  his  mind  rather  resembled  the  slow-grow- 
ing oak,  which,  watered  by  the  dews  of  many  a  spring, 
and  fostered  by  the  warmth  of  many  a  summer,  rises 
at  last  the  lord  of  the  forest. 

In  1733,  his  father  having  been  translated  to  the  mi- 
nistry of  Old  Gray  Friars  in  Edinburgh,  young  Robert^ 
son  quitted  the  school  of  Dalkeith,  and  again  resided 
under  the  paternal  roof.  In  the  month  of  October  of 
the  same  year  he  was  admitted  into  the  college  and 


DR.  ROBERTSON.  iii 

university  of  Edinburgh  :  he  was  then  little  more  than 
twelve  years  old.  That  at  so  tender  an  age  he  should 
have  entered  on  his  course  of  academical  study  will,  per- 
haps, cause  some  surprise,  particularly  to  those  who  are 
accustomed  to  regard  collegiate  education  as  the  inter- 
mediate step  from  the  discipline  of  the  school  to  the 
independence  of  manhood :  but  it  must  be  remembered 
that,  as  time  advances,  and  the  sphere  of  human  know- 
ledge becomes  more  extensive,  changes  must  neces- 
sarily be  made  in  the  system  of  university  education. 
Many  of  the  elements  of  science  and  of  literature,  for- 
merly considered  as  requiring  the  skill  and  authority 
of  a  public  professor  to  develop  and  enforce,  are  now 
banished  from  the  university  to  the  school.  That,  even 
in  the  southern  and  more  civilized  parts  of  the  island, 
academical  education  formerly  commenced  at  a  much 
earlier  period  than  now,  is  sufficiently  proved  by  the 
statutes  of  the  two  universities,  which,  in  many  cases, 
order  corporeal  chastisement  to  be  inflicted  on  the  de- 
linquent, a  punishment  which,  it  is  well  known,  Milton 
suffered  at  Cambridge. 

During  Robertson's  stay  at  the  university,  he  ap- 
pears to  have  pursued  his  studies  with  a  perseverance 
and  ardour  astonishing  in  so  young  a  person;  Mr. 
Stewart  informs  us,  that  there  still  remain  many  of  his 
commonplace  books,  dated  1735,  1736,  1737,  which 
furnish  proofs  of  indefatigable  industry ;  each  of  them 
bears  the  epigraph,  "  Vita  sine  literis  mors  est ;"  from 
which  we  may  infer,  that  he  was  incited  to  study,  not 
so  much  by  the  ambition  of  literary  applause,  as  by 
a  conviction  that  the  acquirement  of  true  knowledge 
strengthens  the  soul  in  the  practice  of  virtue.  Not  an 
inconsiderable  portion  of  his  attention  seems  to  have 
been  devoted  towards  the  acquirement  of  a  pure  Eng- 
lish style ;  a  task,  of  which  the  difficulty  must  be  greatly 
increased  to  one  accustomed  from  his  earliest  years  to 
the  errours  of  a  provincial  dialect :  for  this  purpose  he 
industriously  exercised  himself  in  translating  from  the 


iv  THE  LIFE  OF 

Latin  and  Greek  authors  ;  this  practice  has  been  often 
recommended  to  young  men,  and  to  it  we  are  told  that 
Pitt  stood  indebted  for  his  noble  powers  of  eloquence  : 
Robertson  had  even  begun,  at  a  very  early  period,  a 
version  of  the  twelve  books  of  Marcus  Aurelius,  which 
he  had  prepared  for  the  press,  when  he  was  prevented 
by  the  publication  of  an  anonymous  translation  at  Glas- 
gow. It  has  been  said  that  he  was  induced  to  make 
choice  of  this  author  by  the  partiality,  with  .which  he 
always  regarded  the  remains  of  the  stoical  philosophy  ; 
the  motives  which  induce  a  writer  to  undertake  any 
work  seldom  stray  beyond  his  own  bosom,  a  pleasing 
surprise,  however,  is  felt  in  learning  that  so  young  a 
student  had  voluntarily  applied  his  attention  to  the 
meditations  of  this  excellent  philosopher,  who,  to  use 
the  words  of  Herodian,  /*o'vo?  /3«o-<Xe&>v  <f>iXo<ro/pia,v  ov 


Robertson  did  not  confine  himself  entirely  to  the 
acquisition  of  such  talents  as  shed  lustre  on  the  writer 
only  :  he  intended  to  devote  himself  to  the  service  of 
the  church  of  Scotland,  and  was  too  wise  to  disdain 
any  ornament  that  might  add  to  the  attraction  of  the 
preacher,  and,  in  any  degree,  promote  the  cause  of 
truth  and  morality  ;  he  was  aware  that  what  is  gained 
in  wisdom  is  often  lost  in  perspicuity  of  communication, 
and  that  the  student  who,  by  years  of  recluse  applica- 
tion, has  stored  his  mind  with  copiousness  of  ideas,  and 
enriched  his  pen  with  the  elegancies  of  language,  often 
wants  that  readiness  of  application  which,  in  general 
conversation  and  public  speaking,  frequently  gives  the 
power  of  persuasion  to  men  of  slender  acquirements 
and  feeble  mind.  Our  author  was  probably  more 
urgently  induced  to  add  to  the  purity  of  composition 
the  powers  of  a  ready  and  commanding  orator,  by  the 
necessity  of  conforming  to  the  practice  of  preaching 
without  notes,  then  followed  in  the  Scottish  pulpits; 
indeed,  to  address  an  audience  on  the  important  truths 
of  Christianity,  to  recall,  without  written  assistance,  the 


DR.  ROBERTSON.  y 

proposed  arguments  of  the  discourse  and  the  links  of 
ratiocination,  requires  a  strength  of  memory  and  a  pre- 
sence of  mind  that  rarely  fall  to  the  lot  of  man,  and 
can  hardly  be  acquired  with  the  utmost  diligence  of 
application;  hence,  I  believe,  it  is,  that  in  those  com- 
munions of  the  Christian  church,  in  which  custom  for- 
bids the  use  of  any  written  assistance  to  the  preacher, 
the  sermons  are  mostly  extemporary,  and,  by  conse- 
quence, the  rant  of  passion  takes  the  place  of  calm 
persuasion  and  correct  argument. 

Sensible  of  these  difficulties,  Robertson  resolved,  if 
possible,  to  surmount  them  by  devoting  some  part  of 
his  attention  to  a  course  of  practical  elocution.  For 
this  purpose  he  united  with  some  of  his  contemporaries 
during  the  last  years  of  his  residence  in  the  university, 
in  the  formation  of  a  society,  the  object  of  whose  mem- 
bers was  to  cultivate  the  study  of  public  speaking,  and 
to  prepare  themselves,  by  the  habits  of  extemporary 
discussion  and  debate,  for  conducting  the  business  of 
popular  assemblies.  Stewart  ascribes  the  entrance  of 
Robertson  into  this  society  to  a  motive  not  less  power- 
ful, perhaps,  than  the  wish  to  excel  as  a  preacher :  he 
looked  forward,  says  his  biographer,  to  the  active  share 
he  was  afterwards  to  take  in  the  ecclesiastical  policy  of 
Scotland. 

At  the  completion  of  his  academical  studies,  in  1741, 
he  was  licensed  to  preach  by  the  presbytery  of  Dal- 
keith,  although  not  yet  of  age;  for  in  Scotland  a  li- 
cense to  preach  is  not  accompanied  with  authority  to 
administer  the  sacraments,  or  qualification  to  take  the 
cure  of  souls.  Two  years  afterwards  he  was  enabled 
to  perform  the  duties  of  a  presbyterian  minister,  and 
was  presented  to  the  living  of  Gladsmuir  in  East  Lo- 
thian, by  the  earl  of  Hopeton.  The  income  derived 
from  his  benefice  was  inconsiderable,  not  exceeding 
one  hundred  pounds  annually:  slender  as  it  was  it 
enabled  him  to  demonstrate  his  high  sense  of  fraternal 
duty.  His  father  and  mother  dying  soon  after  his  pre- 


vi  THE  ,LIFE  OF 

sentation,  within  a  few  hours  of  each  other,  and  leaving 
a  younger  son  and  six  daughters  totally  unprovided  for, 
he  took  them  all  under  his  own  roof  at  Gladsmuir,  and 
continued  to  educate  and  support  them  until  they  were 
respectably  settled  in  the  world. 

In  the  rebellion  that  broke  out  in  Scotland  in  1745, 
he  gave  proof  of  his  zeal  in  the  support  of  the  liberties, 
civil  and  religious,  of  his  country;  being  but  a  pro- 
vincial clergyman  his  exertions  were  confined  to  a  nar- 
row sphere;  but  even  here,  says  his  friend  and  bio- 
grapher, his  conduct  was  guided  by  a  mind  superior  to 
the  scene  in  which  he  acted.  When  the  capital  was  in 
danger  of  falling  into  the  hands  of  the  rebels,  he  laid 
aside  the  pacific  habits  of  his  profession,  and  quitted 
Gladsmuir  to  join  the  volunteers  of  Edinburgh :  and 
when  at  last  it  was  determined  that  the  city  should  be 
surrendered,  he  was  one  of  the  small  band  who  repaired 
to  Haddington  and  offered  their  services  to  the  com- 
mander in  chief  of  his  majesty's  forces.  As  soon  as 
peace  was  restored  he  returned  to  his  parochial  duties ; 
these  he  discharged  with  the  punctuality  of  a  true 
Christian  pastor,  for  which  he  was  rewarded  by  the 
affection  and  respect  uniformly  paid  him  by  his  pa- 
rishioners. We  are  told  that  he  was  distinguished  by 
his  eloquence  and  taste  as  a  preacher;  and,  if  we  may 
judge  from  the  only  sermon  he  published,  he  received 
not  less  praise  than  he  deserved*. 

At  this  period  of  his  life  he  was  accustomed  to  rise 
at  a  very  early  hour,  and  to  read  and  write  much  be- 
fore breakfast,  devoting  the  rest  of  the  day  to  the 
duties  of  his  sacred  profession;  he  is  represented  as 
having  been  diligent  in  visiting  the  poor  and  afflicted, 
and  in  catechising  the  youth  of  his  parish. 

In  1751,  having  settled  his  orphan  sisters,  he  thought 

a  The  situation  of  the  world  at  the  time  of  Christ's  appearance,  and  its 
connexion  with  the  success  of  his  religion,  considered ;  a  sermon,  preached 
before  the  society  in  Scotland  for  propagating  Christian  knowledge,  January 
the  sixth,  1755.  This  sermon  was  translated  into  German  by  Mr.  Ebeling. 


DR.  ROBERTSON.  vii 

himself  at  liberty  to  think  of  adding  to  his  own  comfort 
and  happiness  of  life  by  marriage ;  he  united  himself  to 
the  daughter  of  the  reverend  Mr.  Nisbet,  one  of  the 
ministers  of  Edinburgh.  This  lady  was  his  cousin,  and 
had  long  been  the  object  of  his  affections;  with  her 
he  passed  many  years  of  domestic  felicity. 

About  this  time  he  began  to  be  conspicuous  by  the 
part  he  took  in  the  debates  of  the  general  assembly  of 
the  church  of  Scotland.  As  this  court  was  the  most 
active  scene  in  which  Robertson  had  an  opportunity 
to  engage,  it  will  not  be  impertinent  to  the  purpose 
of  this  narrative  to  give  an  outline  of  its  constitution, 
which  differs  considerably  from  that  of  the  clerical  con- 
vocations of  other  countries.  I  shall,  therefore,  insert 
the  following  description  of  the  general  assembly  from 
the  pen  of  a  gentleman5,  whose  profession  and  country 
furnished  him  with  every  opportunity  of  giving  correct 
information  on  the  subject. 

"  The  general  assembly  of  the  church  of  Scotland 
is  composed  of  representatives  from  the  presbyteries ; 
from  the  royal  boroughs;  from  the  four  universities; 
and  from  the  Scotch  church  of  Campvere  in  Holland. 
The  presbyteries  send  two  hundred  and  ninety  mem- 
bers, of  whom  two  hundred  and  one  are- ministers,  and 
eighty-nine  lay-elders;  the  royal  boroughs  send  sixty- 
seven  members,  all  of  whom  are  laymen ;  the  univer- 
sities send  five  members,  who  may  be  either  laymen  or 
ministers  holding  an  office  in  the  university;  and  the 
church  of  Campvere  sends  two  members,  one  minister,' 
and  one  lay-elder.  The  whole  number  is  three  hun- 
dred and  sixty-four,  of  whom  two  hundred  and  two  are 
ministers,  and  one  hundred  and  sixty-two  laymen;  in- 
cluding in  the  latter  class  the  members  from  the  univer- 

b  The  reverend  S.  Hill,  D.  D.  principal  of  St.  Mary's  college  in  the  uni- 
versity of  St.  Andrew's ;  a  gentleman,  says  Mr.  Stewart,  (from  whose  life  of 
the  historian  the  extract  is  taken,)  intimately  connected  with  Dr.  Robertson 
by  friendship,  and  highly  respected  by  him  for  the  talent  and  eloquence 
which  he  has  for  many  years  displaeyd  in  the  ecclesiastical  courts. 


vitt  THE  LIFE  OF 

skies.  The  annual  sittings  of  the  assembly  continue 
only  for  ten  days  ;  but  a  committee  of  the  whole  house 
(called  the  commission)  has  four  stated  meetings  in  the 
year,  for  the  despatch  of  whatever  business  the  general 
assembly  has  been  unable  to  overtake. 

"  In  subordination  to  this  supreme  court,  there  is  a 
series  of  inferior  judicatories  rising,  one  above  another, 
in  authority.  The  lowest  of  these  is  the  kirk  sessions, 
or  parochial  consistories ;  composed  of  the  ministers, 
together  with  the  lay-elders  of  their  respective  parishes. 
The  ministers  of  a  number  of  contiguous  parishes, 
together  with  certain  representatives  from  the  kirk 
sessions,  form  a  presbytery ;  and  a  plurality  of  pres- 
byteries (differing  in  number  according  to  accidental 
circumstances)  form  a  provincial  synod. 

"While  the  constitution  of  the  Scottish  church  admits 
of  no  superiority  of  one  minister  above  another,  it  re- 
quires from  all  its  individual  members,  and  from  all  its 
inferior  judicatories,  strict  obedience  to  those  who  are 
placed  in  authority  over  them.  Every  court  is  bound 
to  lay  the  record  of  all  its  proceedings  from  time  to 
time  before  the  tribunal  which  is  its  immediate  supe- 
rior 'f  any  part  of  its  proceedings  may  be  brought  by 
appeal  or  complaint  under  the  review  of  a  higher  juris- 
diction; and  every  minister,  when  he  receives  orders, 
comes  under  a  solemn  engagement  '  to  assert,  maintain, 
and  defend  the  doctrines,  discipline,  and  government 
of  the  church ;  and  never  to  attempt  any  thing,  directly 
or  indirectly,  which  may  tend  to  its  subversion  or  pre- 
judice.' 

"  In  consequence  of  this  subordination  of  judicatories, 
the  general  assembly  determines,  as  the  court  of  last 
resort,  all  the  causes  brought  under  its  review,  and  has 
the  power  of  enforcing,  without  control,  obedience  to 
its  decrees.  It  possesses  also  extensive  legislative  pow- 
ers, as  it  may,  with  the  concurrence  of  a  majority  of 
presbyteries,  enact  laws  for  the  government  of  the 
whole  church." 


DR.  ROBERTSON.  ix 

It  is  obvious  that  in  the  general  assembly  a  wide 
field  must  sometimes  be  opened  for  the  display  of 
eloquence  and  argument.  At  Robertson's  first  appear- 
ance on  this  theatre,  a  question  was  much  agitated 
in  the  church  of  Scotland :  it  was,  whether  the  claim 
of  lay  patrons  to  present  ministers  to  parishes  be  well- 
founded.  Strong  prejudices  prevailed  at  that  time 
in  Scotland  against  the  law  of  patronage,  not  only 
among  the  people  at  large,  but  even  among  the  pres- 
byterian  ministers  themselves.  Boswell,  in  his  life  of 
Johnson,  has  preserved  a  discourse  of  the  learned 
moralist  in  favour  of  the  patron's  right,  which  he  who 
would  wish  to  see  the  subject  treated  with  extraordi- 
nary power  of  argument,  will  do  well  to  consult.  Ro- 
bertson, being  convinced  of  the  equity  of  the  law  of 
patronage,  was  strenuous  and  constant  in  its  defence^; 
and  although  at  first  left  in  an  inconsiderable  minority, 
the  influence  which  he  gradually  gained  over  the  as- 
sembly, at  last  enabled  him  to  set  the  question  at  rest 
by  a  signal  triumph  over  the  democratical  faction  of 
the  church. 

Some  years  after  this  (1757)  John  Home,  then  mi- 
nister of  Athelstonford,  published  his  celebrated  tra- 
gedy of  Douglas :  many  of  the  author's  friends  among 
the  clergy  went  to  witness  the  first  representation  of 
the  piece  at  the  Edinburgh  theatre.  The  sour  au- 
sterity of  the  presbyterian  system  deemed  it  so  incon- 
sistent with  the  clerical  character  to  give  any  counte- 
nance to  the  amusements  of  the  playhouse,  that  the 
author  and  his  friends  were  prosecuted  in  the  ecclesi- 
astical court.  Home  himself  resigned  his  living,  and 
thus  escaped  the  persecution  of  savage  fanaticism.  Of 
the  friends  who  attended  him  to  the  playhouse  some 
were  rebuked  by  their  respective  presbyteries,  and  one 
or  two  were  suspended  from  the  exercise  of  ecclesiasti- 
cal functions  for  a  few  weeks.  The  sentence  passed 
on  the  delinquents  was  remarkable  by  its  unexpected 
mildness,  to  which  Robertson  contributed  not  a  little  by 


x  THE  LIFE  OF 

his  eloquence ;  he  defended  Home,  as  a  friend  to  whom 
he  was  attached  by  long  and  intimate  acquaintance, 
and  as  the  object  of  puritanic  oppression  ;  he  had  never 
himself  been  within  the  walls  of  a  theatre,  being  re- 
strained by  a  promise  which  he  had  made  to  his  father : 
"  That  promise,"  said  Robertson,  "  which  was  exacted 
by  the  most  indulgent  of  parents,  I  have  hitherto  re- 
ligiously kept ;  and  it  is  my  intention  to  keep  it  till  the 
day  of  my  death.  I  am  at  the  same  time  free  to  declare, 
that  I  perceive  nothing  sinful  or  inconsistent  with  the 
spirit  of  Christianity  in  writing  a  tragedy,  which  gives 
no  encouragement  to  baseness  or  vice,  and  that  I  can- 
not concur  in  censuring  my  brethren  for  being  present 
at  the  representation  of  such  a  tragedy,  from  which  I 
was  kept  back  by  a  promise,  which,  though  sacred  to 
me,  is  not  obligatory  on  them." 

The  exertions  which  Robertson  made  on  this  occa- 
sion, says  bishop  Gleig,  recommended  him  more,  per- 
haps, than  any  thing  which  he  had  hitherto  performed, 
to  the  notice  of  the  great,  the  elegant,  and  the  liberal. 
He  was  looked  up  to  as  the  man  destined  by  provi- 
dence to  rescue  the  church  from  the  intolerant  spirit 
and  savage  manners  of  puritanism,  with  which  her 
clergy,  whether  justly  or  not,  had  long  been  charged: 
and  the  consequence  was,  that  his  conversation  was 
courted  by  many  to  whom  he  could  not  with  propriety 
refuse  it. 

Robertson  was  a  member  of  the  select  society,  a 
literary  club  instituted  in  1754,  in  Edinburgh.  The 
objects  of  the  society  were  philosophical  inquiry  and 
literary  debate ;  it  was  projected  by  Allan  Ramsay,  the 
painter,  and  a  few  of  his  friends ;  but  soon  attracted  so 
much  of  the  public  notice,  that  in  the  second  year  of 
its  establishment  it  boasted  a  hundred  members,  among 
whom  we  find,  as  the  most  remarkable  names,  Adam 
Smith,  Alexander  Wedderburn,  afterwards  lord  chan- 
cellor, Allan  Ramsay,  lord  Monboddo,  David  Hume, 
John  Home,  lord  Kaims,  Dr.  Robertson,  Dr.  Carlyle, 


DR.  ROBERTSON.  xi 

William  Tytler,  Adam  Ferguson,  etc.  To  this  institu- 
tion our  author  contributed  his  most  zealous  support, 
seldom  omitting  any  opportunity  of  taking  a  share  in 
the  discussions:  Hume  and  Adam  Smith  were  often 
present,  but,  we  are  told,  that  they  never  opened  their 
lips. 

A  few  of  the  members  of  this  society  associated  for 
the  purpose  of  publishing  a  periodical  review  of  litera- 
ture :  the  principal  contributors  to  this  undertaking 
were  Robertson,  Smith,  and  Blair ;  but  after  two  num- 
bers, published  in  July  and  December,  1756,  they  were 
obliged  to  abandon  their  design.  The  reviewers  had 
taken  the  liberty  to  handle  rather  roughly  some  miser- 
able effusion  of  fanaticism  which  they  wished  to  banish 
from  the  church,  but  puritanic  prejudice  was  yet  too 
great;  such  was  the  outcry  of  the  enthusiasts  that  the 
authors  of  the  review  gave  up  their  labours  in  despair. 

Of  most  men  the  occupations  above  mentioned  would 
have  absorbed  the  whole  time ;  but  in  the  midst  of  so 
many  avocations  Dr.  Robertson  still  found  leisure  to 
pursue  his  studies.  It  appears,  from  his  letters  to  lord 
Hailes,  which  are  appended  to  this  narrative,  that  he 
had  projected  his  History  of  Scotland  soon  after  his 
settlement  at  Gladsmuir ;  in  1758,  having  received  the 
degree  of  doctor  in  divinity  by  diploma  from  the  univer- 
sity of  Edinburgh,  he  went  to  London  to  concert  mea- 
sures for  the  publication  of  this  work.  It  appeared  on 
the  first  of  February  1759,  and  was  received  with  such 
applause,  that  before  the  end  of  the  month  his  book- 
seller desired  him  to  prepare  for  a  second  edition.  In 
a  conversation  at  Allan  Ramsay's  house,  which  Boswell 
has  inserted  in  the  life  of  Johnson,  Robertson  stated 
that  he  had  sold  his  History  of  Scotland  at  a  moderate 
price,  as  a  work  by  which  the  booksellers  might  either 
gain  or  not ;  and  that  Cadell  and  Miller  got  six  thou- 
sand pounds  by  it.  Of  the  History  of  Scotland  four- 
teen editions  were  published  in  the  author's  lifetime. 

By  the  publication  of  the  History  of  Scotland,  Dr. 


xii  THE  LIFE  OF 

Robertson  took  instantly  a  respectable  rank  among  the 
celebrated  writers  of  his  country ;  affluence  and  inde- 
pendence were  now  within  his  reach,  and  his  industry 
was  such  as  not  to  suffer  them  to  escape  him :  he  re- 
solved to  attempt  some  higher  and  more  important 
work.  Dr.  Blair  urged  him  to  undertake  a  complete 
History  of  England,  but  to  this  proposal  he  would  not 
listen,  being  unwilling  to  oppose  his  friend  Hume  in 
the  field  of  literature.  The  two  subjects  which  appear 
to  have  chiefly  divided  the  choice  of  Dr.  Robertson 
were  the  History  of  Greece  and  that  of  Charles  the 
fifth ;  he  at  length  determined  for  the  latter :  but  be- 
fore we  trace  the  progress  of  this  great  work,  it  will  be 
proper  to  give  the  reader  a  sketch  of  the  preferments 
which  he  obtained  after  publishing  the  History  of 
Scotland. 

While  his  first  work  was  in  the  press  Dr.  Robertson 
removed,  with  his  family,  from  Gladsmuir  to  Edin- 
burgh, in  consequence  of  a  presentation  which  he  had 
received  to  one  of  the  churches  of  that  city.  In  1 759, 
he  was  appointed  chaplain  of  Stirling  castle;  in  1761, 
one  of  his  majesty's  chaplains  in  ordinary  for  Scotland; 
and  in  1762  he  was  chosen  principal  of  the  university  of 
Edinburgh ;  two  years  afterwards,  the  office  of  king's 
historiographer  for  Scotland  was  revived  in  his  favour; 
the  salary  attached  to  this  last  office  was  two  hundred 
pounds  a  year ;  the  last  person  who  had  held  it  was 
Crawfurd,  who  was  historiographer  to  queen  Anne. 
If  we  consider  how  seldom  any  solid  advantage  is  pro- 
cured to  an  author  by  literary  eminence,  we  must  own 
that  Dr.  Robertson  had  no  reason  to  complain  of  the 
world ;  he  himself  seems  indeed  to  have  been  satisfied 
with  his  situation :  nevertheless  some  of  his  friends  so- 
licited him  to  become  a  member  of  the  church  of  Eng- 
land, thinking  that  establishment  would  open  a  wider 
field  for  the  career  of  his  ambition.  "  References  to 
such  a  project,"  says  his  biographer,  "  occur  in  letters 
addressed  to  him  about  this  time  by  sir  Gilbert  Elliot, 


DR.  ROBERTSON.  xiii 

Mr.  Hume,  and  Dr.  John  Blair.  What  answer  he  re- 
turned to  them,  I  have  not  been  able  to  learn ;  but,  as 
the  subject  is  mentioned  once  only  by  each  of  these 
gentlemen,  it  is  probable  that  his  disapprobation  was 
expressed  in  those  decided  terms  which  became  the 
consistency  and  dignity  of  his  character." 

Dr.  Robertson  now  began  to  attend  seriously  to  the 
History  of  Charles  the  fifth,  which  is  so  intimately  con- 
nected with  the  discovery  of  the  new  world,  and  in- 
volves in  itself  the  most  important  events  of  modern 
Europe.  In  the  progress  of  this  work,  however,  he 
was  interrupted  by  a  new  proposal,  which,  as  it  origi- 
nated with  the  king,  he  could  not  immediately  reject ;  at 
a  former  period,  in  recommending  to  him  the  History 
of  England,  Dr.  John  Blair  mentioned  to  him,  as  an 
inducement,  a  conversation  between  lord  Chesterfield 
and  colonel  Irwin,  in  which  the  former  said  that  he 
would  not  scruple,  if  Dr.  Robertson  would  undertake 
such  a  work,  to  move  in  the  house  of  peers,  that  he 
should  have  public  encouragement  to  enable  him  to 
carry  it  into  execution ;  but  Chesterfield's  base  treat- 
ment of  Johnson  was  too  fresh  in  the  minds  of  all  for 
a  Scotchman  to  place  the  least  confidence  in  the  pro- 
mises of  such  a  patron.  The  proposal  now  was  ac- 
companied with  circumstances  which  obliged  the  his- 
torian, as  a  loyal  subject,  to  give  it  his  most  serious 
consideration ;  it  was  made  to  him  in  a  letter  from  lord 
Cathcart,  dated  July  the  twentieth,  1762,  of  which  the 
following  are  extracts  immediately  relating  to  the  pro- 
posed undertaking. 

"  Lord  Bute c  told  me  the  king's  thoughts, 

as  well  as  his  own,  with  respect  to  your  History  of  Scot- 
land, and  a  wish  his  majesty  had  expressed  to  see  a 
History  of  England  by  your  pen.  His  lordship  assured 
me,  every  source  of  information  which  government  can 
command  would  be  opened  to  you ;  and  that,  great,  la- 

c  Dugald  Stewart's  Life  of  Dr.  Robertson. 


xiv  THE  LIFE  OF 

borious,  and  extensive  as  the  work  must  be,  he  would 
take  care  your  encouragement  should  be  proportioned 
to  it.     He  seemed  to  be  aware  of  some  objections  you 
once  had,  founded  on  the  apprehension  of  clashing  or 
interfering  with  Mr.  David  Hume,  who  is  your  friend : 
but  as  your  performance  and  his  will  be  upon  plans  so 
different  from  each  other,  and  as  his  will,  in  point  of 
time,  have  so  much  the  start  of  yours,  these  objections 
did  not  seem  to  him  such  as,  upon  reflection,  were 
likely  to  continue  to  have  much  weight  with  you."  .... 

.......  "I  must  add,  that  though  I  did  not  think 

it  right  to  inquire  particularly  into  lord  Bute's  inten- 
tions before  I  knew  a  little  of  your  mind,  it  appeared 
to  me  plain,  that  they  were  higher  than  any  views 
which  can  open  to  you  in  Scotland,  and  which,  I  be- 
lieve, he  would  think  inconsistent  with  the  attention 
the  other  subject  would  necessarily  require." 

To  this  letter  Dr.  Robertson  returned  an  answer,  of 
which  the  following  "  imperfect  sketch,"  found  among 
his  papers,  is  here  added. 

"  After  the  first  publication  of  the  History 

of  Scotland,  and  the  favourable  reception  it  met  with, 
I  had  both  very  tempting  offers  from  booksellers,  and 
very  confident  assurances  of  public  encouragement,  if  I 
would  undertake  the  History  of  England.  But  as  Mr. 
Hume,  with  whom,  notwithstanding  the  contrariety  of 
our  sentiments  both  in  religion  and  politics,  I  live  in 
great  friendship,  was  at  that  time  in  the  middle  of 
the  subject,  no  consideration  of  interest  or  reputation 
would  induce  me  to  break  in  upon  a  field  of  which  he 
had  taken  prior  possession ;  and  I  determined  that  my 
interference  with  him  should  never  be  any  obstruction 
to  the  sale  or  success  of  his  work.  Nor  do  I  yet  re- 
pent my  having  resisted  so  many  solicitations  to  alter 
this  resolution.  But  the  case  I  now  think  is  entirely 
changed.  His  history  will  have  been  published  se- 
veral years  before  any  work  of  mine  on  the  same  sub- 
ject can  appear ;  its  first  run  will  not  be  marred  by  any 


DR.  ROBERTSON.  xv 

justling  with  me,  and  it  will  have  taken  that  station  in 
the  literary  system  which  belongs  to  it.  This  objec- 
tion, therefore,  which  I  thought,  and  still  think,  so 
weighty,  at  that  time,  makes  no  impression  on  me  at 
present,  and  I  can  now  justify  my  undertaking  the 
English  history  to  myself,  to  the  world,  and  to  him. 
Besides,  our  manner  of  viewing  the  same  subject  is  so 
different  or  peculiar,  that  (as  was  the  case  in  our  last 
books)  both  may  maintain  their  own  rank,  have  their 
own  partisans,  and  possess  their  own  merit,  without 
hurting  each  other. 

"  I  am  sensible  how  extensive  and  laborious  the  un- 
dertaking is,  and  that  I  could  not  propose  to  execute 
it  in  the  manner  I  could  wish,  and  the  public  will  ex- 
pect, unless  I  shall  be  enabled  to  consecrate  my  whole 
time  and  industry  to  it.  Though  I  am  not  weary  of 
my  profession,  nor  wish  ever  to  throw  off  my  eccle- 
siastical character,  yet  I  have  often  wished  to  be  free 
of  the  labour  of  daily  preaching,  and  to  have  it  in  my 
power  to  apply  myself  wholly  to  my  studies.  This  the 
encouragement  your  lordship  mentions  will  put  in  my 
power.  But  as  my  chief  residence  must  still  be  in 
Scotland,  where  I  would  choose,  both  for  my  own  sake 
and  that  of  my  family,  to  live  and  to  compose;  as  a 
visit  of  three  or  four  months  now  and  then  to  England 
will  be  fully  sufficient  for  consulting  such  manuscripts 
as  have  never  been  published;  I  should  not  wish  to 
drop  all  connexion  with  the  church  of  which  I  am  a 
member,  but  still  to  hold  some  station  in  it,  without 
being  reduced  entirely  to  the  profession  of  an  author. 

"  Another  circumstance  must  be  mentioned  to  your 
lordship.  As  I  have  begun  the  History  of  Charles  the 
fifth,  and  have  above  one  third  of  it  finished,  I  would 
not  choose  to  lose  what  I  have  done.  It  will  take  at 
least  two  years  to  bring  that  work  to  perfection ;  and 
after  that  I  shall  begin  the  other,  which  was  my  first 
choice,  long  before  Mr.  Hume  undertook  it,  though  I 
was  then  too  diffident  of  myself,  and  too  idle  to  make 


xvi  THE  LIFE  OF 

any  progress  in  the  execution  of  it,  further  than  form- 
ing some  general  ideas  as  to  the  .manner  in  which  it 
should  be  prosecuted. 

"  As  to  the  establishment  to  be  made  in  my  favour, 
it  would  ill  become  me  to  say  any  thing.  Whether  the 
present  time  be  a  proper  one  for  settling  the  matter 
finally,  I  know  not.  I  beg  leave  only  to  say,  that  how- 
ever much  I  may  wish  to  have  a  point  fixed  so  much 
for  my  honour,  and  which  will  give  such  stability  to  all 
my  future  schemes,  I  am  not  impatient  to  enter  into 
possession,  before  I  can  set  to  work  with  that  parti- 
cular task  for  which  my  appointments  are  to  be  given." 

For  what  reason  this  plan,  which  by  the  foregoing 
correspondence  seems  to  have  been  nearly  decided 
upon,  was  finally  abandoned,  I  have  not  been  able  to 
discover :  Mr.  Stewart  conjectures,  that  it  was  in  con- 
sequence of  the  resignation  of  lord  Bute,  in  1764, 
which  must  have  imposed  on  the  author  the  necessity 
of  a  new  negotiation  through  a  different  channel. 

After  many  delays,  which  served  to  heighten  the 
impatience  of  public  curiosity,  and  which  proceeded 
probably,  in  some  measure,  from  the  faction  which 
during  this  period  ran  high  in  the  church  of  Scotland, 
and  obliged  the  author  to  devote  much  of  his  time  to 
the  debates  of  the  general  assembly,  the  History  of 
Charles  the  fifth  at  last  made  its  appearance  in  1769, 
in  three  volumes  quarto.  This  work  proved  that  the 
talents  of  Dr.  Robertson  were  not  confined  to  the  his- 
tory of  his  own  country  alone ;  the  first  volume  was, 
and  is  still,  considered  the  best  introduction  to  the 
history  of  modern  Europe ;  and  the  events  of  the  last 
war  have  shown  that  the  author  was  not  quite  so  hasty 
in  his  conclusions  with  regard  to  the  balance  of  power, 
as  some  writers,  during  the  noontide  of  Buonaparte's 
prosperity,  thought  proper  to  represent  him. 

Hume  was,  it  seems,  favoured  with  the  sheets  of  the 
work  as  they  were  printed  off.  I  shall  insert  an  extract 
of  a  letter  from  that  gentleman  to  Dr.  Robertson, 


DR.  ROBERTSON.  xvii 

which  may  serve  to  show  the  attention  which  great 
writers  themselves  think  it  incumbent  on  them  to  pay 
to  the  niceties  of  language.  Some,  perhaps,  will  be 
surprised  at  the  gay  and  childish  levity  Hume  dis- 
plays in  this  letter,  but  let  it  be  recollected  that  it  was 
written  to  one,  his  most  intimate  friend,  in  his  corre- 
spondence with  whom,  as  with  his  other  acquaintance, 
he  thought  it  improper  to  assume  any  thing  of  the  formal 
stiffness  which  very  often  characterizes  the  epistles  of 
the  learned. 

"  I  got  yesterday  from  Strahan  about  thirty  sheets 
of  your  history  to  be  sent  over  to  Suard,  and  last  night 
and  this  morning  have  run  them  over  with  great  avidity. 
I  could  not  deny  myself  the  satisfaction  (which  I  hope 
also  will  not  displease  you)  of  expressing  presently  my 
extreme  approbation  of  them.  To  say  only  they  are 
very  well  written,  is  by  far  too  faint  an  expression,  and 
much  inferior  to  the  sentiments  I  feel :  they  are  com- 
posed with  nobleness,  with  dignity,  with  elegance,  and 
with  judgment,  to  which  there  are  few  equals.  They 
even  excel,  and,  I  think,  in  a  sensible  degree,  your 
History  of  Scotland.  I  propose  to  myself  great  plea- 
sure in  being  the  only  man  in  England,  during  some 
months,  who  will  be  in  the  situation  of  doing  you  jus- 
tice, after  which  you  may  certainly  expect  that  my 
voice  will  be  drowned  in  that  of  the  public. 

"  You  know  that  you  and  I  have  always  been  on  the 
footing  of  finding  in  each  other's  productions  something 
to  blame,  and  something  to  commend;  and  therefore 
you  may  perhaps  expect  also  some  seasoning  of  the 
former  kind ;  but  really  neither  my  leisure  nor  inclina- 
tion allowed  me  to  make  such  remarks,  and  I  sincerely 
believe  you  have  afforded  me  very  small  materials  for 
them.  However,  such  particulars  as  occur  to  my  me- 
mory I  shall  mention.  Maltreat  is  a  Scotticism  which 
occurs  once.  What  the  devil  have  you  to  do  with  that 
old-fashioned  dangling  word  wherewith?  I  should  as 
soon  take  back  whereupon,  wheretinto,  and  wherewithal. 

VOL.  i.  c 


xviii  THE  LIFE  OF 

I  think  the  only  tolerable,  decent  gentleman  of  the  fa- 
mily, is  wherein;  and  I  should  not  choose  to  be  often 
seen  in  his  company.  But  I  know  your  affection  for 
wherewith  proceeds  from  your  partiality  to  dean  Swift, 
whom  I  can  often  laugh  with,  whose  style  I  can  even 
approve,  but  surely  can  never  admire.  It  has  no  har- 
mony, no  eloquence,  no  ornament ;  and  not  much  cor- 
rectness, whatever  the  English  may  imagine.  Were 
not  their  literature  still  in  a  somewhat  barbarous  state, 
that  author's  place  would  not  be  so  high  among  their 
classics.  But  what  a  fancy  is  this  you  have  taken  of 
saying  always  an  hand,  an  heart,  an  head?  Have  you 
an  ear  ?  Do  you  not  know,  that  this  (n)  is  added  be- 
fore vowels  to  prevent  the  cacophony,  and  ought  never 
to  take  place  before  (h)  when  that  letter  is  sounded? 
It  is  never  pronounced  in  these  words :  why  should  it 
be  wrote  ?  Thus,  I  should  say,  a  history,  and  an  his- 
torian ;  and  so  would  you  too,  if  you  had  any  sense. 
But  you  tell  me,  that  Swift  does  otherwise.  To  be 
sure  there  is  no  reply  to  that;  and  we  must  swallow 
your  hath  too  upon  the  same  authority.  I  will  see  you 
d — d  sooner.  But  I  will  endeavour  to  keep  my  temper. 

"  I  do  not  like  this  sentence  in  page  one  hundred 
and  forty-nine:  This  step  was  taken  in  consequence  of 
the  treaty  Wolsey  had  concluded  with  the  emperor  at 
Brussels,  and  which  had  hitherto  been  kept  secret.  Si 
sic  omnia  dixisses,  I  should  never  have  been  plagued 
with  hearing  your  praises  so  often  sounded,  and  that 
fools  preferred  your,  style  to  mine.  Certainly  it  had 
been  better  to  have  said,  which  Wolsey,  etc.  That 
relative  ought  very  seldom  to  be  omitted,  and  is  here 
particularly  requisite  to  preserve  a  symmetry  between 
the  two  members  of  the  sentence.  You  omit  the  re- 
lative too  often,  which  is  a  colloquial  barbarism,  as 
Mr.  Johnson  calls  it. 

"  Your  periods  are  sometimes,  though  not  often,  too 
long.  Suard  will  be  embarrassed  with  them,  as  the 
modish  French  style  runs  into  the  other  extreme."  .  . 


DR,  ROBERTSON.  xix 

A  copy  of  the  History  of  Charles  the  fifth  was  sent 
to  Voltaire,  who  in  historical  description  had  nearly 
the  same  power  of  irresistibly  fixing  the  reader's  in- 
terest as  Dr.  Robertson  himself.  Voltaire  acknow- 
ledged the  receipt  of  the  present  in  a  short  letter, 
dated  the  twenty-sixth  of  February,  1770,  from  the 
Chateau  de  Ferney. 

"  II  y  a  quatre  jours  que  j'ai  regu  le  beau  present 
dont  vous  m'avez  honore.  Je  le  lis  malgre  les  fluxions 
horribles  qui  me  font  craindre  de  perdre  entierement 
les  yeux.  II  me  fait  oublier  tous  mes  maux.  C'est  a 
vous  et  a  M.  Hume  qu'il  appartient  d'ecrire  1'histoire. 
Vous  etes  eloquent,  savant,  et  impartial.  Je  me  joins 
a  1'Europe  pour  vous  estimer." 

An  elegant  French  translation  of  the  work  was,  soon 
after  its  publication  in  this  country,  printed  at  Paris. 
The  version  was  made  by  M.  Suard,  subsequently  a 
member  of  the  French  academy ;  the  translation  I  have 
not  seen,  but  have  been  informed,  that  it  is  written  in 
a  style  which  by  no  means  disgraces  the  original. 

In  the  year  1777,  immediately  following  that  of  the 
death  of  Hume,  and  eight  years  after  the  publishing  of 
the  History  of  Charles  the  fifth,  appeared  the  History 
of  America,  in  two  volumes  quarto.  His  biographer 
informs  us,  that  in  undertaking  this  task,  the  author's 
original  intention  was  only  to  complete  his  account  of 
the  great  events  connected  with  the  reign  of  Charles 
the  fifth ;  but  perceiving,  as  he  advanced,  that  a  His- 
tory of  America,  confined  solely  to  the  operations  and 
concerns  of  the  Spaniards,  would  not  be  likely  to  ex- 
cite a  very  general  interest,  he  resolved  to  include  in 
his  plan  the  transactions  of  all  the  European  nations  in 
the  New  World.  The  origin  and  progress  of  the  Bri- 
tish empire  there,  he  destined  for  the  subject  of  one 
entire  volume;  but  afterwards  abandoned,  or  rather 
suspended  the  execution  of  this  part  of  his  design,  for 
the  prudent  reasons  mentioned  in  his  preface. 

The  universal  applause  with  which  this  new  work 


xx  THE  LIFE  OF 

was  received  is  well  known ;  on  this  occasion,  as  before 
at  the  appearance  of  his  other  histories,  the  author  re- 
ceived the  congratulations  of  many  individuals  of  lite- 
rary eminence,  among  whom  were  Gibbon  and  Burke ; 
the  former  acknowledges  the  present  of  Dr.  Robert- 
son's book,  in  a  letter  dated  from  Paris,  the  fourteenth 
of  July,  1 777,  of  which  the  following  extract  is  given 
by  Dugald  Stewart : 

"When  I  ventured  to  assume  the  character  of  his- 
torian, the  first,  the  most  natural,  but  at  the  same  time 
the  most  ambitious  wish  which  I  entertained,  was  to 
deserve  the  approbation  of  Dr.  Robertson  and  Mr. 
Hume,  two  names  which  friendship  united,  and  which 
posterity  will  never  separate.  I  shall  not  therefore  at- 
tempt to  dissemble,  though  I  cannot  easily  express,  the 
honest  pleasure  which  I  received  from  your  obliging 
letter,  as  well  as  from  the  intelligence  of  your  most 
valuable  present.  The  satisfaction  which  I  should 
otherwise  have  enjoyed  in  common  with  the  public, 
will  now  be  heightened  by  a  sentiment  of  a  more  per- 
sonal and  flattering  nature ;  and  I  shall  often  whisper 
to  myself  that  I  have,  in  some  degree,  obtained  the 
esteem  of  the  writer  whom  I  admire. 

"  A  short  excursion  which  I  have  made  to  this  place 
during  the  summer  months,  has  occasioned  some  delay 
in  my  receiving  your  letter,  and  will  prevent  me  from 
possessing,  till  my  return,  the  copy  of  your  history, 
whHi  you  so  politely  desired  Mr.  Strahan  to  send  me. 
But  I  have  already  gratified  the  eagerness  of  my  cu- 
riosity and  impatience ;  and  though  I  was  obliged  to 
return  the  book  much  sooner  than  I  could  have  wished, 
I  have  seen  enough  to  convince  me  that  the  present 
publication  will  support,  and,  if  possible,  extend  the 
fame  of  the  author;  that  the  materials  are  collected 
with  care,  and  arranged  with  skill ;  that  the  progress 
of  discovery  is  displayed  with  learning  and  perspicuity ; 
that  the  dangers,  the  achievements,  and  the  views  of 
the  Spanish  adventurers,  are  related  with  a  temperate 


DR.  ROBERTSON.  xxi 

spirit;  and  that  the  most  original,  perhaps  the  most 
curious  portion  of  human  manners,  is  at  length  rescued 
from  the  hands  of  sophists  and  declaimers.  Lord 
Stormont,  and  the  few  in  this  capital  who  have  had 
an  opportunity  of  perusing  the  History  of  America, 
unanimously  concur  in  the  same  sentiments :  your  work 
is  already  become  a  favourite  subject  of  conversation, 
and  M.  Suard  is  repeatedly  pressed,  in  my  hearing,  to 
fix  the  time  when  his  translation  will  appear." 

Burke  wrote  to  the  author  in  the  following  terms : 
"  I  am  perfectly  sensible  of  the  very  flattering  dis- 
tinction I  have  received  in  your  thinking  me  worthy  of 
so  noble  a  present  as  that  of  your  History  of  America. 
I  have,  however,  suffered  my  gratitude  to  lie  under 
some  suspicion,  by  delaying  my  acknowledgment  of  so 
great  a  favour.  But  my  delay  was  only  to  render  my 
obligation  to  you  more  complete,  and  my  thanks,  if 
possible,  more  merited.  The  close  of  the  session 
brought  a  great  deal  of  very  troublesome,  though  not 
important  business  on  me  at  once.  I  could  not  go 
through  your  work  at  one  breath  at  that  time,  though 
I  have  done  it  since.  I  am  now  enabled  to  thank  you, 
not  only  for  the  honour  you  have  done  me,  but  for  the 
great  satisfaction,  and  the  infinite  variety  and  compass 
of  instruction  I  have  received  from  your  incomparable 
work.  Every  thing  has  been  done  which  was  so  natu- 
rally to  be  expected  from  the  author  of  the  History  of 
Scotland,  and  of  the  Age  of  Charles  the  fifth.  I  believe 
few  books  have  done  more  than  this,  towards  clearing 
up  dark  points,  correcting  errours,  and  removing  pre- 
judices. You  have  too  the  rare  secret  of  rekindling 
an  interest  on  subjects  that  had  so  often  been  treated, 
and  in  which  every  thing  which  could  feed  a  vital  flame 
appeared  to  have  been  consumed.  I  am  sure  I  read 
many  parts  of  your  history  with  that  fresh  concern  and 
anxiety  which  attend  those  who  are  not  previously  ap- 
prised of  the  event.  You  have,  besides,  thrown  quite 
a  new  light  on  the  present  state  of  the  Spanish  pro- 


xxii  THE  LIFE  OF 

vinces,  and  furnished  both  materials  and  hints  for  a 
rational  theory  of  what  may  be  expected  from  them  in 
future. 

"  The  part  which  I  read  with  the  greatest  pleasure 
is,  the  discussion  on  the  manners  and  character  of  the 
inhabitants  of  that  new  world.  I  have  always  thought 
with  you,  that  we  possess  at  this  time  very  great  advan- 
tages towards  the  knowledge  of  human  nature.  We 
need  no  longer  go  to  history  to  trace  it  in  all  its  stages 
and  periods.  History,  from  its  comparative  youth,  is 
but  a  poor  instructor.  When  the  Egyptians  called  the 
Greeks  children  in  antiquities,  we  may  well  call  them 
children ;  and  so  we  may  call  all  those  nations  which 
were  able  to  trace  the  progress  of  society  only  within 
their  own  limits.  But  now  the  great  map  of  mankind 
is  unrolled  at  once,  and  there  is  no  state  or  gradation 
of  barbarism,  and  no  mode  of  refinement,  which  we 
have  not  at  the  same  moment  under  our  view :  the  very 
different  civility  of  Europe  and  of  China;  the  barba- 
rism of  Persia  and  of  Abyssinia;  the  erratick  manners 
of  Tartary  and  of  Arabia ;  the  savage  state  of  North 
America  and  of  New  Zealand.  Indeed  you  have  made 
a  noble  use  of  the  advantages  you  have  had.  You 
have  employed  philosophy  to  judge  on  manners,  and 
from  manners  you  have  drawn  new  resources  for  philo- 
sophy. I  only  think  that  in  one  or  two  points  you  have 
hardly  done  justice  to  the  savage  character. 

"  There  remains  before  you  a  great  field.  Pericu- 
losce  plenum  opus  alecs  tractas,  et  incedis  per  ignes 
suppositos  cineri  doloso.  When  even  those  ashes  will 
be  spread  over  the  present  fire,  God  knows,  I  am  heart- 
ily sorry  that  we  are  now  supplying  you  with  that  kind 
of  dignity  and  concern,  which  is  purchased  to  history 
at  the  expense  of  mankind.  I  had  rather  by  far  that 
Dr.  Robertson's  pen  were  only  employed  in  delineating 
the  humble  scenes  of  political  economy,  than  the  great 
events  of  a  civil  war.  However,  if  our  statesmen  had 
read  the  book  of  human  nature  instead  of  the  journals 


DR.  ROBERTSON.  xxiii 

of  the  house  of  commons,  and  history  instead  of  acts  of 
parliament,  we  should  not  by  the  latter  have  furnished 
out  so  ample  a  page  for  the  former.  For  my  part,  I 
have  not  been,  nor  am  I  very  forward  in  my  specula- 
tions on  this  subject.  All  that  I  have  ventured  to  make 
have  hitherto  proved  fallacious.  I  confess,  I  thought 
the  colonies  left  to  themselves  could  not  have  made 
any  thing  like  the  present  resistance  to  the  whole 
power  of  this  country  and  its  allies.  I  did  not  think  it 
could  have  been  done  without  the  declared  interfer- 
ence of  the  house  of  Bourbon.  But  I  looked  on  it  as 
very  probable  that  France  and  Spain  would  before  this 
time  have  taken  a  decided  part.  In  both  these  conjec- 
tures I  have  judged  amiss.  You  will  smile  when  I  send 
you  a  trifling  temporary  production,  made  for  the  occa- 
sion of  a  day,  and  to  perish  with  it,  in  return  for  your 
immortal  work.  But  our  exchange  resembles  the  politics 
of  the  times.  You  send  out  solid  wealth,  the  accumula- 
tion of  ages,  and  in  return  you  get  a  few  flying  leaves  of 
poor  American  paper.  However,  you  have  the  mercan- 
tile comfort  of  finding  the  balance  of  trade  infinitely  in 
your  favour ;  and  I  console  myself  with  the  snug  con- 
sideration of  uninformed  natural  acuteness,  that  I  have 
my  warehouse  full  of  goods  at  another's  expense. 

"  Adieu,  sir,  continue  to  instruct  the  world;  and 
whilst  we  carry  on  a  poor  unequal  conflict  with  the 
passions  and  prejudices  of  our  day,  perhaps  with  no 
better  weapons  than  other  passions  and  prejudices  of 
our  own,  convey  wisdom  at  our  expense  to  future  ge- 
nerations." 

This  work  procured  the  author  the  honour  of  being 
elected  a  member  of  the  Royal  Academy  of  History  at 
Madrid ;  this  compliment,  however,  one  of  his  biogra- 
phers is  inclined  to  esteem  rather  a  disgrace  than  an 
honour,  as  he  attributes  it  to  the  disposition  shown  in 
the  book  to  palliate  and  veil  the  enormities  of  the 
Spaniards  in  their  American  conquests.  A  better 
apology  for  Dr.  Robertson's  performance  of  this  part 


xxiv  THE  LIFE  OF 

of  his  task  I  cannot  think  of  than  that  made  by  Bryan 
Edwards,  who,  in  the  History  of  the  West  Indies,  re- 
marks, "  that  this  is  one  of  the  most  melancholy  pas- 
sages in  the  history  of  human  nature,  where  a  benevo- 
lent mind,  shrinking  from  the  contemplation  of  facts, 
wishes  to  resist  conviction,  and  to  relieve  itself  by  in- 
credulity." 

LXr.  Robertson,  by  his  office  in  the  university  of 
Edinburgh,  had  it  in  his  power  to  be  annually  returned 
as  a  representative  in  the  general  assembly,  where  his 
influence  became  so  powerful,  that  the  period  from  his 
appointment  as  principal  of  the  university,  till  his  re- 
treat from  public  life,  was  known  by  the  distinctive 
appellation  of  '  Dr.  Robertson's  administration.'  To 
follow  him  through  the  various  scenes  in  which  he  dis- 
played the  strength  of  mind  and  constancy  of  virtue 
before  this  ecclesiastical  court,  would  be  a  task  tedious 
in  execution  and  uninteresting  in  detail.  One  circum- 
stance, however,  which  occurred  towards  the  close  of 
his  public  life  is  of  too  memorable  a  nature  to  be  passed 
over  in  silence. 

In  1778  the  English  Roman  catholics  were  relieved 
from  the  severest  of  the  penalties  enacted  against  them 
in  the  reign  of  William  the  third  ;  this  encouraged  the 
catholics  of  Scotland  to  hope  for  the  same  relief  on  the 
same  conditions;  and  several  gentlemen  of  rank  and 
character  declared  their  intention  to  have  a  bill  brought 
into  parliament  for  that  purpose.  Dr.  Robertson,  who, 
although  himself  a  strict  presby  terian,  was  always  ready 
to  show  his  countrymen  the  example  of  toleration  to  all 
Christians,  seconded  the  design  by  his  approbation,  and 
contributed  to  the  rejection  of  a  remonstrance  against 
it  proposed  in  the  general  assembly.  His  opponents, 
beaten  on  the  field  of  fair  argument,  now  leagued  them- 
selves with  the  mob,  which  in  Scotland,  as  in  other 
countries,  is  easily  worked  upon  by  the  incitements  of 
the  violent  and  enthusiastic :  pamphlets  were  industri- 
ously circulated  representing  the  catholics  as  idolaters. 


DR.  ROBERTSON.  xxv 

as  bigots  bound  to  keep  no  faith  with  heretics.  Men  too 
often  start  at  dangers  which  exist  only  in  their  imagina- 
tion; the  fanatics  thought  they  saw  the  fires  of  the 
inquisition  lighted  in  the  streets  of  Edinburgh ;  they 
forgot  the  immense  superiority  of  their  own  strength 
and  numbers,  and  fancied  that,  as  soon  as  the  bill 
should  pass,  the  hydra  of  popery  would  again  ravage 
their  country.  The  alarm  spread  from  man  to  man, 
from  sect  to  sect,  and  even  episcopal  clergymen  were 
seen  enlisted  under  the  banner  of  puritanic  intole- 
rance. The  catholics  of  Scotland  seeing  that  the  pro- 
secution of  their  claims  would  endanger  their  lives, 
dropped  their  intended  application  to  parliament ;  and 
to  calm,  if  possible,  the  minds  of  their  countrymen  they 
published  an  account  of  their  proceedings  in  the  news- 
papers. 

Concessions,  however,  seldom  satisfy  the  populace. 
On  the  second  of  February,  1779,  multitudes  of  the 
lowest  classes  of  the  people  assembled  by  appointment 
in  Edinburgh,  and  headed  by  others  in  disguise,  en- 
tered on  the  work  of  destruction.  The  house  of  the 
popish  bishop,  together  with  the  chapel  attached  to  it, 
was  burnt  to  the  ground ;  another  chapel  for  catholics 
was  destroyed  in  a  similar  way:  their  fury  against 
popery  being  now  somewhat  gratified,  they  turned  it 
against  the  episcopal  church,  and  were  even  proceeding 
to  fire  the  beautiful  episcopal  chapel  in  Cowgate,  when 
they  were  stopped  by  some  person,  who  called  out,  that 
one  of  the  most  able  pamphlets  which  they  had  read 
against  popery  was  written  by  an  episcopal  clergyman. 

The  mob  now  attacked  the  houses  of  those  who  had 
patronised  the  papists :  among  these  the  principal  of 
the  university  was  marked  out  as  an  object  of  peculiar 
vengeance ;  but  the  providence  of  his  friends  enabled 
him  to  escape  the  fury  of  the  rioters;  for  when  the 
mob,  uttering  loud  threats  of  revenge,  arrived  at  his 
house,  they  found  it  defended  by  a  military  force,  which 
they  had  the  prudence  to  refrain  from  attacking.  The 


xxvi  THE  LIFE  OF 

soldiers  having  been  called  in  to  the  assistance  of  the 
civil  power,  the  rioters  gradually  dispersed,  having  ob- 
tained that  satisfaction  which  the  low  and  ignorant  feel 
in  the  consciousness  of  having  insulted  and  annoyed 
their  superiors. 

In  a  subsequent  assembly,  which  met  in  the  month 
of  May,  1780,  and  the  last  except  one  in  which  Dr. 
Robertson  sat  as  a  member,  he  addressed  the  repre- 
sentatives in  a  long  and  eloquent  speech  on  the  catholic 
question,  and  on  his  own  conduct  hi  the  late  transac- 
tions. Of  this  speech  I  regret  that  the  limits  of  my 
narrative  will  allow  me  only  to  give  a  short  extract; 
after  stating  his  own  conviction  of  the  equity,  if  not  of 
the  expediency,  of  the  proposed  relief,  he  adds : 

"  As  soon,  however,  as  I  perceived  the  extent  and 
violence  of  the  flame  which  the  discussion  of  this  sub- 
ject had  kindled  in  Scotland,  my  ideas  concerning  the 
expedience  at  this  juncture  of  the  measure  in  question, 
began  to  alter.  For  although  I  did  think,  and  I  do 
still  believe,  that  if  the  protestants  in  this  country  had 
acquiesced  in  the  repeal  as  quietly  as  our  brethren  in 
England  and  Ireland,  a  fatal  blow  would  have  been 
given  to  popery  in  the  British  dominions ;  I  knew,  that 
in  legislation,  the  sentiments  and  dispositions  of  the 
people  for  whom  laws  are  made,  should  be  attended  to 
with  care.  I  remembered  that  one  of  the  wisest  men 
of  antiquity  declared,  that  he  had  framed  for  his  fellow- 
citizens  not  the  best  laws,  but  the  best  laws  which  they 
could  bear.  I  recollected  with  reverence,  that  the  di- 
vine legislator  himself,  accommodating  his  dispensations 
to  the  frailty  of  his  subjects,  had  given  the  Israelites 
for  a  season,  statutes  which  were  not  good.  Even  the 
prejudices  of  the  people  are,  in  my  opinion,  respect- 
able ;  and  an  indulgent  legislature  ought  not  unneces- 
sarily to  run  counter  to  them.  It  appeared  manifestly 
to  be  sound  policy,  in  the  present  temper  of  the  people, 
to  sooth  rather  than  to  irritate  them;  and,  however 
ill-founded  their  apprehensions  might  be,  some  conces- 


-  DR.  ROBERTSON.  xxvii 

sion  was  now  requisite,  in  order  to  remove  them.  In 
every  argument  against  the  repeal  of  the  penal  laws, 
what  seemed  chiefly  to  alarm  my  brethren  who  were 
averse  to  it,  was  the  liberty  which,  as  they  supposed, 
was  given  by  the  act  of  last  session  to  popish  ecclesi- 
astics to  open  schools,  and  take  upon  them  the  public 
instruction  of  youth.  In  order  to  quiet  their  fears  with 
respect  to  this,  I  applied  to  his  majesty's  advocate  and 
solicitor-general,  and,  by  their  permission,  I  proposed 
to  a  respectable  minister  and  elder  of  this  church,  who 
deservedly  possess  much  credit  with  the  opposers  of 
this  repeal,  that  such  provisos  should  be  inserted  in 
the  bill  which  was  to  be  moved  in  parliament,  for  re- 
straining the  popish  clergy  in  this  point,  as  would  ob- 
viate every  danger  apprehended.  These  gentlemen 
fairly  told  me,  that  if  such  a  proposition  had  been 
made  more  early,  they  did  not  doubt  that  it  might 
have  produced  good  effects ;  but  now  matters  were 
gone  so  far,  that  they  were  persuaded  nothing  less 
would  satisfy  the  people  than  a  resolution  to  drop  the 
bill  altogether.  Persuaded  of  the  truth  of  what  they 
represented,  seeing  the  alarm  spread  rapidly  in  every 
quarter,  and  knowing  well  how  imperfectly  transactions 
in  this  country  are  understood  in  the  other  part  of  the 
island,  I  considered  it  as  my  duty  to  lay  before  his 
majesty's  servants  in  London,  a  fair  state  of  the  senti- 
ments of  the  people  in  Scotland.  My  station  in  the 
church,  I  thought,  entitled  me  to  take  this  liberty  in  a 
matter  purely  ecclesiastical.  I  flattered  myself,  that  my 
avowed  approbation  and  strenuous  support  of  a  mea- 
sure which  had  been  unhappily  so  much  misunder- 
stood, might  give  some  weight  to  my  representations. 
I  informed  them,  that  the  design  of  extending  the  re- 
peal of  the  penal  statutes  of  king  William  to  Scotland, 
had  excited  a  very  general  alarm:  that  the  spirit  of 
opposition  to  this  measure  spread  among  the  king's 
most  loyal  and  attached  subjects  in  this  country :  that 
nothing  would  calm  and  appease  them,  but  the  relin- 
quishing all  thoughts  of  such  a  bill :  that  the  procuring 


xxviii  THE  LIFE  OF  * 

of  the  intended  relaxation  for  a  handful  of  catholics, 
was  not  an  advantage  to  be  put  in  competition  with 
the  imprudence  of  irritating  so  great  a  body  of  well- 
affected  subjects:  that  if  the  measure  were  persisted 
in,  fatal  effects  would  follow,  and  no  man,  how  great 
soever  his  sagacity  might  be,  could  venture  to  foretell 
what  would  be  the  extent  of  the  danger,  and  what 
the  violent  operations  of  an  incensed  populace:  that, 
groundless  as  the  fears  of  the  people  might  be,  it  was 
prudent  to  quiet  them :  and  that  the  same  wisdom  and 
moderation  which  had  induced  government,  some  years 
ago,  to  repeal  the  act  for  naturalizing  the  Jews,  in  con- 
sequence of  an  alarm  as  ill-grounded  in  the  southern 
parts  of  the  island,  ought  now  to  make  a  similar  con- 
cession, from  indulgence  to  the  prejudice  of  the  people 
on  this  side  of  the  Tweed. 

"  Such  has  been  the  tenour  of  my  conduct.  While  I 
thought  a  repeal  of  the  penal  statutes  would  produce 
good  effects,  I  supported  it  openly :  when  I  foresaw 
bad  consequences  from  persisting  in  a  measure  which  I 
had  warmly  approved,  I  preferred  the  public  good  to 
my  own  private  sentiments;  I  honestly  remonstrated 
against  it ;  and  I  have  the  satisfaction  to  think,  that  I 
am  the  only  private  person  (as  far  as  I  know)  in  Scot- 
land, who  applied  to  those  in  power,  in  order  to  pre- 
vent this  much-dreaded  repeal,  which  has  been  repre- 
sented as  the  subversion  of  every  sacred  right  for  which 
our  ancestors  contended  and  suffered." 

From  this  discourse  it  appears  that  at  the  very  time 
when  the  infuriated  multitude  were  meditating  the  de- 
struction of  his  house,  and,  perhaps,  of  his  person,  he 
was  laying  before  the  government  of  his  country  a  fair 
statement  of  the  sentiments  of  the  Scottish  people. 

Soon  after  this  discussion  Dr.  Robertson  withdrew 
from  the  bustle  of  public  business,  to  consecrate  the 
remainder  of  his  life  to  the  quiet  pursuits  of  study,  and 
to  the  pastoral  duties  of  his  profession.  He  carried 
with  him  into  his  retreat  the  love  of  his  friends,  the 
respect  of  his  opponents,  and  the  esteem  of  all. 


DR.  ROBERTSON.  xxix 

In  1791  he  published  his  last  work,  a  Disquisition 
concerning  the  Knowledge  which  the  Ancients  had  of 
India,  etc.  He  informs  us  that  the  idea  of  this  book 
was  suggested  by  the  perusal  of  major  Rennet's  me- 
moir for  illustrating  his  map  of  Indostan. 

Soon  after  the  publication  of  his  Disquisition,  his 
health  began  to  decline,  which  until  then  had  been 
better  than  usually  falls  to  the  lot  of  men  of  studious 
and  sedentary  habits;  his  disorder  was  the  jaundice, 
which  gradually  undermined  his  constitution,  and  ter- 
minated in  a  lingering  and  fatal  illness.  He  had  the 
prospect  of  approaching  death  long  before  him;  but 
he  bore  the  pangs  of  disorder  with  manly  firmness,  en- 
deavoured to  sooth  the  affliction  of  his  desponding  fa- 
mily, and  prepared  for  his  last  hour  with  the  fortitude 
becoming  a  virtuous  Christian.  Towards  the  concluding 
stage  of  his  malady  he  removed  from  Edinburgh  to 
Grange  House,  where  he  had  the  advantage  of  a  purer 
air,  and  the  pleasure  of  rural  objects  and  a  beautiful 
landscape,  decked  with  the  ornaments  of  spring.  He 
died  on  the  eleventh  of  June,  1791,  being  in  his  se- 
venty-first year. 

He  left  a  numerous  family,  which,  by  his  own  exer- 
tions, he  had  placed  in  prosperous  circumstances;  his 
eldest  son  an  eminent  lawyer  at  the  Scotch  bar;  two 
younger  sons  in  the  army ;  his  eldest  daughter  married 
to  the  celebrated  traveller,  Mr.  Brydone ;  and  another, 
the  widow  of  John  Russel,  esq.  clerk  to  the  signet. 

In  stature  Dr.  Robertson  was  rather  above  the  mid- 
dle size;  and  his  form,  though  it  did  not  convey  the 
idea  of  much  activity,  announced  vigour  of  body  and  a 
healthful  constitution.  In  conversation  he  was  firm  but 
mild ;  his  language  was  as  correct  as  the  style  of  his 
compositions,  but  strongly  marked  by  the  Scotch  ac- 
cent. Those  who  had  the  opportunity  of  his  acquaint- 
ance agree  in  representing  him  as  one  who  fulfilled  all 
the  duties  of  social  life  with  scrupulous  exactness. 


EXTRACTS 

FROM 

DR.  ROBERTSON'S  CORRESPONDENCE. 

THE  following  extracts  from  letters  found  among  the 
papers  of  Dr.  Robertson,  were  first  published  by  Mr. 
Stewart,  from  whose  life  of  the  historian  the  principal 
facts  contained  in  the  foregoing  pages  have  been  de- 
duced. The  high  literary  eminence  of  the  writers,  and 
the  interest  of  the  subjects  which  they  discuss,  will, 
doubtless,  be  deemed  a  sufficient  reason  for  adding 
them  to  this  edition  of  Dr.  Robertson's  works. 

DR.  ROBERTSON  TO  LORD  HAILES. 

Gladsmuir,  22nd  Oct.  1753. 

SIR, — I  intend  to  employ  some  of  the  idle  time  of  this  win- 
ter in  making  a  more  diligent  inquiry  than  ever  I  have  done 
into  that  period  of  Scots  History  from  the  death  of  king  James 
the  fifth,  to  the  death  of  queen  Mary.  I  have  the  more  com- 
mon histories  of  that  time,  such  as  Buchanan,  Spottiswood, 
and  Knox  ;  but  there  are  several  collections  of  papers  by  An- 
derson, Jebb,  Forbes,  and  others,  which  I  know  not  how  to 
come  at.  I  am  persuaded  you  have  most  of  these  books  in 
your  library,  and  I  natter  myself  you  will  be  so  good  as  to 
allow  me  the  use  of  them.  You  know  better  what  books  to 
send  me,  and  what  will  be  necessary  to  give  any  light  to  this 
part  of  the  history,  than  I  do  what  to  ask,  and  therefore  I 
leave  the  particular  books  to  your  own  choice,  which  you'll 
please  order  to  be  given  to  my  servant.  Whatever  you  send 
me  shall  be  used  with  much  care,  and  returned  with  great 
punctuality.  I  beg  you  may  forgive  this  trouble.  I  am,  with 
great  respect,  etc. 

DR.  ROBERTSON  TO  LORD  HAILES. 

Gladsmuir,  26th  July,  1757. 

SIR, — I  have  now  got  forward  to  the  year  1660,  and  as  it  will 
be  impossible  for  me  to  steer  through  Gowrie's  conspiracy  with- 
out your  guidance,  I  must  take  advantage  of  the  friendly  offer 
you  was  pleased  to  make  me,  and  apply  to  you  for  such  books 
and  papers  as  you  think  to  be  necessary  for  my  purpose.  I 


EXTRACTS,  ETC.  xxxi 

would  wish  to  give  an  accurate  and  rational  account  of  the 
matter,  but  not  very  minute.  I  have  in  my  possession  Cal- 
derwood's  manuscripts  and  all  the  common  printed  histories ; 
but  I  have  neither  lord  Cromarty's  account,  nor  any  other 
piece  particularly  relative  to  the  conspiracy.  I  beg  you  may 
supply  me  with  as  many  as  you  can,  and  direct  me  to  any 
thing  you  think  may  be  useful.  The  papers  you  are  pleased 
to  communicate  to  me,  shall  be  shown  to  no  human  creature, 
and  no  farther  use  shall  be  made  of  them  than  you  permit. 
My  servant  will  take  great  care  of  whatever  books  or  papers 
you  give  him.  I  need  not  say  how  sensible  I  am  of  the  good- 
will with  which  you  are  pleased  to  instruct  me  in  this  curious 
point  of  history,  nor  how  much  I  expect  to  profit  by  it.  I 
ever  am,  etc. 

DR.  ROBERTSON  TO  LORD  HAILES. 

Edinburgh,  8th  Nov.  1758. 

SIR, — I  have  taken  the  liberty  to  send  you  inclosed  a  preface 
to  my  book,  which  I  have  just  now  written.  I  find  it  very  diffi- 
cult for  a  man  to  speak  of  himself  with  any  decency  through 
three  or  four  pages.  Unluckily  I  have  been  obliged  to  write 
it  in  the  utmost  hurry,  as  Strahan  is  clamouring  for  it.  I 
think  it  was  necessary  to  say  all  in  it  that  -I  have  said,  and 
yet  it  looks  too  like  a  puff.  I  send  it  to  you,  not  only  that 
you  may  do  me  the  favour  to  correct  any  inaccuracies  in  the 
composition,  but  because  there  is  a  paragraph  in  it  which  I 
would  not  presume  to  publish  without  your  permission,  though 
I  have  taken  care  to  word  it  so  modestly  that  a  man  might 
have  said  it  of  himself.  As  I  must  send  off  the  preface  by 
to-morrow's  post,  I  must  beg  the  favour  that  you  will  return 
it  with  your  remarks  to-morrow  morning.  I  would  wish,  if 
possible,  that  I  had  time  to  show  it  to  Blair.  I  am,  with 
great  respect,  etc. 

DR.  ROBERTSON  TO  LORD  HAILES. 

College,  Feb.  10, 1776. 

MY  LORD, — I  hope  your  lordship  will  forgive  me  for  hav- 
ing deferred  so  long  to  return  you  my  best  thanks  for  the 
very  acceptable  present  which  you  were  pleased  to  send  me. 
Previous  to  doing  this,  I  wished  ta  have  the  satisfaction  of 
perusing  the  annals  again,  and  the  opinion  I  had  formed  of 


xxxii  DR.  ROBERTSON'S 

their  merit,  is  in  no  degree  diminished  by  an  attentive  review 
of  them  in  their  present  dress. 

You  have  given  authenticity  and  order  to  a  period  of  our 
history,  which  has  hitherto  been  destitute  of  both,  and  a 
Scotchman  has  now  the  pleasure  of  being  able  to  pronounce 
what  is  true,  and  what  is  fabulous,  in  the  early  part  of  our 
national  story.  As  I  have  no  doubt  with  respect  to  the  re- 
ception which  this  part  of  the  annals,  though  perhaps  the 
least  interesting,  will  meet  with,  I  flatter  myself  that  your 
lordship  will  go  on  with  the  work.  Allow  me,  on  the  public 
account,  to  hope  that  you  have  not  fixed  the  accession  of 
James  the  first  as  an  impassable  boundary  beyond  which  you 
are  not  to  advance.  It  is,  at  that  period,  the  most  interesting 
age  of  our  history  commences.  From  thence  the  regular  se- 
ries of  our  laws  begins.  During  the  reign  &l  the  Jameses, 
many  things  still  require  the  investigation  of  such  an  accurate 
and  patient  inquirer  as  your  lordship.  I  hope  that  what  I 
have  done  in  my  review  of  that  period,  will  be  no  restraint 
on  your  lordship  in  entering  upon  that  field.  My  view  of  it 
was  a  general  one,  that  did  not  require  the  minute  accuracy 
of  a  chronological  research ;  and  if  you  discover  either  omis- 
sions or  mistakes  in  it,  (and  I  dare  say  you  will  discover 
both,)  I  have  no  objection  to  your  supplying  the  one  and  cor- 
recting the  other.  Your  strictures  on  me  will  not  be  made 
with  a  hostile  hand,  and  I  had  much  rather  that  these  were 
made,  than  be  deprived  of  the  advantage  that  I  shall  reap 
from  your  completing  your  work.  As  far  as  I  can  judge  by 
the  opinion  of  those  with  whom  I  converse,  the  public  wish 
is,  that  you  should  continue  your  Annals  at  least  to  the  death 
of  James  the  fifth.  I  most  heartily  join  my  voice  to  this  ge- 
neral desire,  and  wish  you  health  to  go  on  with  what  will  be 
so  much  for  the  honour  of  your  country.  I  am,  with  great 
truth  and  respect,  my  lord, 

Your  lordship's  most  obedient 

and  most  humble  servant. 

DR.  ROBERTSON  TO  LORD  HAILES. 

College,  March  13th,  1786. 

MY  LORD, — When  I  took  the  liberty  of  applying  to  your 
lordship  last  week,  I  unluckily  did  not  advert  to  the  hurry 
of  business  during  the  last  week  of  the  session.  In  compli- 


CORRESPONDENCE.  xxxiii 

ance  with  your  request,  I  shall,  without  preamble  or  apology, 
mention  what  induced  me  to  trouble  your  lordship. 

I  am  now  in  the  twenty-eighth  year  of  my  authorship,  and 
the  proprietors  of  the  History  of  Scotland  purpose  to  end  the 
second  fourteen  years  of  their  copyright  splendidly,  by  pub- 
lishing two  new  editions  of  that  book,  one  in  quarto,  and  an- 
other in  octavo.  This  has  induced  me  to  make  a  general 
review  of  the  whole  work,  and  to  avail  myself  both  of  the  re- 
marks of  my  friends,  and  the  strictures  of  those  who  differ 
from  me  in  opinion.  I  mean  not  to  take  the  field  as  a  con- 
troversial writer,  or  to  state  myself  in  opposition  to  any  an- 
tagonist. Wherever  I  am  satisfied  that  I  have  fallen  into 
error,  I  shall  quietly,  and  without  reluctance,  correct  it. 
Wherever  I  think  my  sentiments  right  and  well-established, 
they  shall  stand.  In  some  few  places,  I  shall  illustrate  what 
I  have  written,  by  materials  and  facts  which  I  have  disco- 
vered since  the  first  publication  of  my  book.  These  additions 
will  not,  I  hope,  be  very  bulky ;  but  they  will  contribute,  as 
I  imagine,  to  throw  light  on  several  events  which  have  been 
mistaken,  or  misrepresented.  I  shall  take  care,  on  account 
of  the  purchasers  of  former  editions,  that  all  the  additions 
and  alterations  of  any  importance  shall  be  published  sepa- 
rately, both  in  quarto  and  octavo. 

As  I  know  how  thoroughly  your  lordship  is  acquainted 
with  every  transaction  in  queen  Mary's  reign,  and  with  how 
much  accuracy  you  are  accustomed  to  examine  historical  facts, 
it  was  my  intention  to  have  requested  of  you,  that  if  any  er- 
ror or  omission  in  my  book  had  occurred  to  you  in  the  perusal 
of  it,  you  would  be  so  obliging  as  to  communicate  your  senti- 
ments to  me.  I  shall  certainly  receive  such  communications 
with  much  attention  and  gratitude.  You  have  set  me  fight 
with  respect  to  the  act  of  the  nineteenth  of  April,  1 567 ;  but 
I  think  that  I  can  satisfy  your  lordship  that  it  was  esteemed 
in  that  age,  and  was  really,  a  concession  of  greater  importance 
to  the  reformed  than  you  seem  to  apprehend.  I  beg  leave  to 
desire  that,  if  you  have  any  remarks  to  communicate,  they 
may  be  sent  soon,  as  the  booksellers  are  impatient.  I  trust 
your  lordship  will  pardon  the  liberty  I  have  taken.  I  have 
the  honour  to  be,  my  lord, 

Your  most  obedient  and  most  humble  servant. 

VOL.  i.  d 


xxxiv  DR.  ROBERTSON'S 

DR.  ROBERTSON  TO  LORD  HAILKS. 

College  ofEdinburgh,  March  20, 1786. 

MY  LORD, — I  consider  it  as  an  unfortunate  accident  for 
me,  that  your  lordship  happened  to  be  so  much  preoccupied 
at  the  time  when  I  took  the  liberty  of  applying  to  you.  I 
return  you  thanks  for  the  communication  of  your  notes  on  the 
acts  of  parliament.  Besides  the  entertainment  and  instruc- 
tion I  received  from  the  perusal  of  them,  I  found  some  things 
of  use  to  me,  and  I  have  availed  myself  of  the  permission  you 
was  pleased  to  give  me. 

I  mentioned  to  your  lordship  that  I  differed  little  from  you 
about  the  effect  of  J$ie  act,  April  the  nineteenth,  1567-  I  in- 
close a  copy  both  of  the  text,  corrected  as  I  intended  to  pub- 
lish it  in  the  new  edition,  and  of  a  note  which  I  shall  add  to 
explain  my  idea  of  the  import  of  the  act.  I  request  of  your 
lordship  to  peruse  it,  and  if  in  any  part  it  meets  not  with 
your  approbation,  be  so  good  as  to  let  me  know.  Please  to 
return  it  as  soon  as  you  can,  that  I  may  communicate  it,  and 
any  other  additions  and  alterations,  to  Mr.  Davidson,  who  has 
promised  to  revise  them. 

In  1776  your  lordship  published  the  Secret  Correspondence 
of  sir  R.  Cecil  with  James  the  sixth.  I  have  not  a  copy  of  it, 
and  have  been  unsuccessful  in  my  application  for  one  to  some 
of  my  friends.  If  you  have  a  copy,  and  will  be  so  good  as 
to  allow  me  the  use  of  it,  I  shall  return  it  with  the  greatest 
care,  as  I  do  herewith  the  notes  I  received  from  your  lordship. 
I  have  attended  to  the  notes  in  Bannatyne's  poems.  I  have 
the  Hamilton  manuscripts  in  three  volumes  folio.  They  are 
curious. 

I  have  the  honour  to  be,  etc. 

MR.  HUME  TO  DR.  ROBERTSON. 

London,  Lisle-street,  18th  Nov.  1758. 

MY  DEAR  SIR, — According  to  your  permission  I  have  al- 
ways got  your  corrected  sheets  from  Strahan ;  and  am  glad  to 
find,  that  we  shall  agree  in  almost  all  the  material  parts  of 
our  history.  Your  resolution  to  assert  the  authenticity  of 
Mary's  letter  to  Bothwell,  with  the  consequence  which  must 
necessarily  follow,  removes  the  chief  point  in  which,  I  appre- 


CORRESPONDENCE.  xxxv 

liend,  we  shall  differ.  There  remain,  however,  two  other 
points  where  I  have  not  the  good  fortune  to  agree  with  you, 
viz.  the  violation  of  the  treaty  of  Perth  by  Mary  of  Guise, 
and  the  innocency  of  Mary  with  regard  to  Babington's  con- 
spiracy :  but  as  I  had  written  notes  upon  these  passages,  the 
public  must  judge  between  us.  Only  allow  me  to  say,  that 
even  if  you  be  in  the  right  with  regard  to  the  last,  (of  which, 
notwithstanding  my  deference  to  your  authority,  I  cannot 
perceive  the  least  appearance,)  you  are  certainly  too  short 
and  abrupt  in  handling  it.  I  believe  you  go  contrary  to  re- 
ceived opinion ;  and  the  point  was  of  consequence  enough  to 
merit  a  note  or  a  dissertation. 

There  is  still  another  point  in  which  we  differ,  and  which 
reduced  me  to  great  perplexity.  You  told  me,  that  all  his- 
torians had  been .  mistaken  with  regard  to  James's  behaviour 
on  his  mother's  trial  and  execution ;  that  he  was  not  really 
the  pious  son  he  pretended  to  be ;  that  the  appearances  which 
deceived  the  world,  were  put  on  at  the  solicitation  of  the 
French  ambassador,  Courcelles:  and  that  I  should  find  all 
this  proved  by  a  manuscript  of  Dr.  Campbell's.  I  accordingly 
spoke  of  the  matter  to  Dr.  Campbell,  who  confirmed  what 
you  said,  with  many  additions  and  amplifications.  I  desired 
to  have  the  manuscript,  which  he  sent  me.  But  g,#at  was 
my  surprise,  when  I  found  the  contrary  in  every  page,  many 
praises  bestowed  on  the  king's  piety  both  by  Courcelles  and 
the  French  court;  his  real  grief  and  resentment  painted  in 
the  strongest  colours  ;  resolutions  even  taken  by  him  to  form 
an  alliance  with  Philip  of  Spain,  in  order  to  get  revenge; 
repeated  advices  given  him  by  Courcelles  and  the  French 
ministers,  rather  to  conceal  his  resentment  till  a  proper  op- 
portunity offered  of  taking  vengeance.  What  most  displeased 
me  in  this  affair  was,  that  as  I  thought  myself  obliged  to  fol- 
low the  ordinary  tenour  of  the  printed  historian,  while  you 
appealed  to  manuscript,  it  would  be  necessary  for  me  to  ap- 
peal to  the  same  manuscripts  to  give  extracts  of  them,  and  to 
oppose  your  conclusions.  Though  I  know  that  I  could  exe- 
cute this  matter  in  a  friendly  and  obliging  manner  for  you, 
yet  I  own  that  I  was  very  uneasy  at  finding  myself  under  a 
necessity  of  observing  any  thing  which  might  appear  a  mis- 
take in  your  narration.  But  there  came  to  me  a  man  this 
morning,  who,  as  I  fancy,  gave  me  the  key  of  the  difficulty, 

d2 


xxxvi  DR.  ROBERTSON'S 

but  without  freeing  me  from  my  perplexity.  This  was  a  man 
commonly  employed  by  Millar  and  Strahan  to  decipher  ma- 
nuscripts. He  brought  me  a  letter  of  yours  to  Strahan,  where 
you  desired  him  to  apply  to  me  in  order  to  point  out  the  pas- 
sages proper  to  be  inserted  in  your  Appendix,  and  proper  to 
prove  the  assertion  of  your  text.  You  add  there,  these  let- 
ters are  in  the  French  language.  I  immediately  concluded 
that  you  had  not  read  the  manuscripts,  but  had  taken  it  on 
Mr.  Campbell's  word :  for  the  letters  are  in  English,  trans- 
lated by  I  know  not  whom  from  the  French.  I  could  do 
nothing  on  this  occasion  but  desire  Strahan  to  stop  the  press 
in  printing  the  Appendix,  and  stay  till  I  wrote  to  you.  If 
I  could  persuade  you  to  change  the  narration  of  the  text,  that 
sheet  could  be  easily  cancelled,  and  an  Appendix  formed 
proper  to  confirm  an  opposite  account.  If  you  still  persist  in 
your  opinion,  somebody  else  whom  you  trusted  might  be  em- 
ployed to  find  the  proper  passages ;  for  I  cannot  find  them. 

There  is  only  one  passage  which  looks  like  your  opinion, 
and  which  I  shall  transcribe  to  you.  It  is  a  relation  of  what 
passed  between  James  and  Courcelles  upon  the  first  rumour 
of  the  discovery  of  Babington's  conspiracy,  before  James  ap- 
prehended his  mother  to  be  in  any  danger.  "  The  king  said 
he  lovt  1  his  mother  as  much  as  nature  and  duty  bound ;  but 
he  could  not  love  her  .  .  .  :  for  he  knew  well  she  bore  him  no 
more  good-will  than  she  did  to  the  queen  of  England :  that 
he  had  seen  with  his  own  eyes,  before  Foulnaye's  departure 
out  of  Scotland,  a  letter  to  him,  whereby  she  sent  him  word, 
that  if  he  would  not  conform  himself  to  her  will,  and  follow 
her  counsels  and  advice,  that  he  should  content  himself  with 
the  lordship  of  Darnley,  which  was  all  that  appertained  unto 
him  by  his  father:  farther,  that  he  had  seen  other  letters 
under  her  own  hand,  confirming  her  evil  towards  him :  be- 
sides, that  she  had  oftentimes  gone  about  to  make  a  regency 
in  Scotland,  and  to  put  him  besides  the  crown ;  that  it  be- 
hoved him  to  think  of  his  own  affairs,  and  that  he  thought 
the  queen  of  England  would  attempt  nothing  against  her  per- 
son without  making  him  acquainted:  that  his  mother  was 
henceforward  to  carry  herself  both  towards  him  and  the  queen 
of  England  after  another  sort,  without  bending  any  more  upon 
such  practices  and  intelligences  as  she  had  in  former  times : 
that  he  hoped  to  set  such  persons  about  her  as"  (Here  the 


CORRESPONDENCE.  xxxvii 

manuscript  is  not  farther  legible.)  But  though  such  were 
James's  sentiments  before  he  apprehended  his  mother  to  be 
in  danger,  he  adopted  a  directly  opposite  conduct  afterwards, 
as  I  told  you.  I  can  only  express  my  wishes  that  you  may 
see  reason  to  conform  your  narrative  in  vol.  ii.  p.  139,  140,  to 
this  account,  or  omit  that  Appendix  altogether,  or  find  some 
other  person  who  can  better  execute  your  intentions  than  it  is 
possible  for  me  to  do. 

MR.  HUME  TO  DR.  ROBERTSON. 

25th  January,  1759. 

MY  DEAR  SIR, — What  I  wrote  you  with  regard  to  Mary's 
concurrence  in  the  conspiracy  against  queen  Elizabeth,  was 
from  the  printed  histories  of  papers ;  and  nothing  ever  ap- 
peared to  me  more  evident.  Your  chief  objection,  I  see, 
is  derived  from  one  circumstance,  that  neither  the  secre- 
taries nor  conspirators  were  confronted  with  Mary ;  but  you 
must  consider  that  the  law  did  not  then*  require  this  confron- 
tation, and  it  was  in  no  case  the  practice.  The  crown  could 
not  well  grant  it  in  one  case  without  granting  it  in  all,  be- 
cause the  refusing  of  it  would  then  have  been  a  strong  pre- 
sumption of  innocence  in  the  prisoner.  Yet  as  Mary's  was 
an  extraordinary  case,  Elizabeth  was  willing  to  have  granted 
it.  I  find  in  Forbes's  manuscript  papers,  sent  me  by  lord 
Royston,  a  letter  of  hers  to  Burleigh  and  Walsingham, 
wherein  she  tells  them,  that,  if  they  thought  proper,  they 
might  carry  down  the  two  secretaries  to  Fotheringay,  in  or- 
der to  confront  them  with  her.  But  they  reply,  that  they 
think  it  needless. 

But  I  am  now  sorry  to  tell  you,  that  by  Murden's  State 
Papers,  which  are  printed,  the  matter  is  put  beyond  all  ques- 
tion. I  got  these  papers  during  the  holidays  by  Dr.  Birch's 
means ;  and  as  soon  as  I  had  read  them,  I  ran  to  Millar,  and 
desired  him  very  earnestly  to  stop  the  publication  of  your 
history  till  I  should  write  to  you,  and  give  you  an  opportunity 
of  correcting  a  mistake  of  so  great  moment ;  but  he  absolutely 
refused  compliance.  He  said  that  your  book  was  now  finished, 
that  the  copies  would  be  shipped  for  Scotland  in  two  days, 
that  the  whole  narration  of  Mary's  trial  must  be  wrote  over 
again;  that  this  would  require  time,  and  it  was  uncertain 
whether  the  new  narrative  could  be  brought  within  the  same 


xxxviii  DR.  ROBERTSON'S 

compass  with  the  old ;  that  this  change,  he  said,  would  re- 
quire the  cancelling  a  great  many  sheets ;  that  there  were 
scattered  passages  through  the  volumes  founded  on  your 
theory,  and  these  must  also  be  all  cancelled,  and  that  this 
change  required  the  new  printing  of  a  great  part  of  the  edi- 
tion. For  these  reasons,  which  do  not  want  force,  he  refused, 
after  deliberation,  to  stop  his  publication,  and  I  was  obliged  to 
acquiesce.  Your  best  apology  at  present  is,  that  you  could 
not  possibly  see  the  grounds  of  Mary's  guilt,  and  every  equi- 
table person  will  excuse  you. 

I  am  sorry,  on  many  accounts,  that  you  did  not  see  this 
collection  of  Murden's.  Among  other  curiosities,  there  are 
several  instructions  to  H.  Killigrew,  dated  the  tenth  of  Sep- 
tember, 1572.  He  was  then  sent  into  Scotland.  It  there 
appears,  that  the  regents,  Murray  and  Lennox,  had  desired 
Mary  to  be  put  into  their  hands,  in  order  to  try  her  and  put 
her  to  death.  Elizabeth  there  offers  to  regent  Mar,  to  de- 
liver her  up,  provided  good  security  were  given,  "  that  she 
should  receive  that  she  hath  deserved  there  by  order  of  jus- 
tice, whereby  no  further  peril  should  ensue  by  her  escaping, 
or  by  setting  her  up  again."  It  is  probable  Mar  refused 
compliance,  for  no  steps  were  taken  towards  it. 

I  am  nearly  printed  out,  and  shall  be  sure  to  send  you  a 
copy  by  the  stagecoach,  or  some  other  conveyance.  I  beg  of 
you  to  make  remarks  as  you  go  along.  It  would  have  been 
much  better  had  we  communicated  before  printing,  which 
was  always  my  desire,  and  was  most  suitable  to  the  friend- 
ship which  always  did,  and  I  hope  always  will,  subsist  be- 
tween us.  I  speak  this  chiefly  on  my  own  account.  For 
though  I  had  the  perusal  of  your  sheets  before  I  printed,  I 
was  not  able  to  derive  sufficient  benefits  from  them,  or  indeed 
to  make  any  alteration  by  their  assistance.  There  still  re- 
main, I  fear,  many  errors,  of  which  you  could  have  convinced 
me,  if  we  had  canvassed  the  matter  in  conversation.  Perhaps 
I  might  also  have  been  sometimes  no  less  fortunate  with  you. 
Particularly  I  could  almost  undertake  to  convince  you,  that 
the  earl  of  Murray's  conduct  with  the  duke  of  Norfolk  was 
no  way  dishonourable. 

I  have  seen  a  copy  of  your  history  with  Charles  Stanhope. 
Lord  Willoughby,  who  had  been  there  reading  some  passages 
of  it,  said,  that  you  was  certainly  mistaken  with  regard  to  the 


CORRESPONDENCE.  xxxix 

act  passed  in  the  last  parliament  of  Mary,  settling  the  refor- 
mation. He  said  that  the  act  of  parliament  the  first  of  James 
was  no  proof  of  it :  for  though  that  statute  contains  a  statute 
where  the  queen's  name  was  employed,  yet  that  is  always  the 
case  with  the  bills  brought  into  parliament,  even  though  they 
receive  not  the  royal  assent,  nor  perhaps  pass  the  houses.  I 
wish  this  be  not  the  case,  considering  the  testimony  of  Bu- 
chanan, Calderwood,  and  Spotiswood.  Besides,  if  the  bill  had 
before  received  the  royal  assent,  what  necessity  of  repeating 
it,  or  passing  it  again  ?  Mary's  title  was  more  undisputable 
than  James's. 

Dr.  Blair  tells  me,  that  prince  Edward  is  reading  you,  and 
is  charmed.  I  hear  the  same  of  the  princess  and  prince  of 
Wales.  But  what  will  really  give  you  pleasure,  I  lent  my 
copy  to  Elliot  during  the  holidays,  who  thinks  it  one  of  the 
finest  performances  he  ever  read ;  and  though  he  expected 
much,  he  finds  more.  He  remarked,  however,  (which  is  also 
my  opinion,)  that  in  the  beginning,  before  your  pen  was  suf- 
ficiently accustomed  to  the  historic  style,  you  employed  too 
many  digressions  and  reflections.  This  was  also  somewhat 
my  own  case,  which  I  have  corrected  in  my  new  edition. 

Millar  was  proposing  to  publish  me  about  the  middle  of 
March,  but  I  shall  communicate  to  him  your  desire,  even 
though  I  think  it  entirely  groundless,  as  you  will  likewise 
think  after  you  have  read  my  volume.  He  has  very  need- 
lessly delayed  your  publication  till  the  first  of  February,  at 
the  desire  of  the  Edinburgh  booksellers,  who  could  no  way  be 
affected  by  a  publication  in  London.  I  was  exceedingly  sorry 
not  to  be  able  to  comply  with  your  desire,  when  you  expressed 
your  wish,  that  I  should  not  write  this  period.  I  could  not 
write  downward.  For  when  you  find  occasion,  by  new  dis- 
coveries, to  correct  your  opinion  with  regard  to  facts  which 
passed  in  queen  Elizabeth's  days ;  who,  that  has  not  the  best 
opportunities  of  informing  himself,  could  venture  to  relate 
any  recent  transactions?  I  must  therefore  have  abandoned 
altogether  this  scheme  of  the  English  history,  in  which  I  had 
proceeded  so  far,  if  I  had  not  acted  as  I  did.  You  will  see 
what  light  and  force  this  history  of  the  Tudors  bestows  on 
that  of  the  Stewarts.  Had  I  been  prudent,  I  should  have 
begun  with  it.  I  care  not  to  boast,  but  I  will  venture  to 
say,  that  I  have  now  effectually  stopped  the  mouths  of  all 
those  villanous  whigs  who  railed  at  me. 


xl  DR.  ROBERTSON'S 

You  are  so  kind  as  to  ask  me  about  my  coming  down.  I  can 
yet  answer  nothing.  I  have  the  strangest  reluctance  to  change 
places.  I  lived  several  years  happy  with  my  brother  at  Nine- 
wells,  and  had  not  his  marriage  changed  a  little  the  state  of 
the  family,  I  believe  I  should  have  lived  and  died  there.  I 
used  every  expedient  to  evade  this  journey  to  London,  yet  it 
is  now  uncertain  whether  I  shall  ever  leave  it.  I  have  had 
some  invitations,  and  some  intentions  of  taking  a  trip  to  Paris ; 
but  I  believe  it  will  be  safer  for  me  not  to  go  thither,  for  I 
might  probably  settle  there  for  life.  No  one  was  ever  en- 
dowed with  so  great  a  portion  of  the  '  vis  inertiae.'  But  as  I 
live  here  very  privately,  and  avoid  as  much  as  possible  (and 
it  is  easily  possible)  all  connexions  with  the  great,  I  believe 
I  should  be  better  at  Edinburgh. 

MK.  HUME  TO  DR.  ROBERTSON. 

London,  8th  February,  1759. 

*  *  As  to  the  Age  of  Leo  the  Tenth,  it  was  Warton 
himself  who  intended  to  write  it ;  but  he  has  not  wrote  it, 
and  probably  never  will.  If  I  understand  your  hint,  I  should 
conjecture,  that  you  had  some  thoughts  of  taking  up  the  sub- 
ject. But  how  can  you  acquire  knowledge  of  the  great  works 
of  sculpture,  architecture,  and  painting,  by  which  that  age 
was  chiefly  distinguished?  Are  you  versed  in  all  the  anec- 
dotes of  the  Italian  literature  ?  These  questions  I  heard  pro- 
posed in  a  company  of  literati,  when  I  inquired  concerning 
this  design  of  Warton.  They  applied  their  remarks  to  that 
gentleman,  who  yet,  they  say,  has  travelled.  I  wish  they  do 
not  all  of  them  fall  more  fully  on  you.  However  you  must 
not  be  idle.  May  I  venture  to  suggest  to  you  the  ancient 
history,  particularly  that  of  Greece  ?  I  think  Rollin's  suc- 
cess might  encourage  you,  nor  need  you  be  the  least  intimi- 
dated by  his  merit.  That  author  has  no  other  merit  but  a 
certain  facility  and  sweetness  of  narration,  but  has  loaded  his 
work  with  fifty  puerilities. 

Our  friend,  Wedderburn,  is  advancing  with  great  strides  in 
his  profession.  *  * 

I  desire  my  compliments  to  lord  Elibank.  I  hope  his  lord- 
ship has  forgot  his  vow  of  answering  us,  and  of  washing  queen 
Mary  white.  I  am  afraid  that  is  impossible ;  but  his  lordship 
is  well  qualified  to  gild  her. 

I  am,  etc. 


CORRESPONDENCE.  xli 

MR.  HUME  TO  DR.  ROBERTSON. 

*  *  *  *  *  * 

I  FORGOT  to  tell  you,  that  two  days  ago  I  was  in  the  house 
of  commons,  where  an  English  gentleman  came  to  me,  and 
told  me,  that  he  had  lately  sent  to  a  grocer's  shop  for  a  pound 
of  raisins,  which  he  received  wrapt  up  in  a  paper  that  he 
showed  me.  How  would  you  have  turned  pale  at  the  sight ! 
It  was  a  leaf  of  your  history,  and  the  very  character  of  queen 
Elizabeth,  which  you  had  laboured  so  finely,  little  thinking  it 
would  so  soon  come  to  so  disgraceful  an  end.  I  happened  a 
little  after  to  see  Millar,  and  told  him  the  story ;  consulting 
him,  to  be  sure,  on  the  fate  of  his  new  boasted  historian  of 
whom  he  was  so  fond.  But  the  story  proves  more  serious 
than  I  apprehended.  For  he  told  Strahan,  who  thence  sus- 
pects villany  among  his  prentices  and  journeymen ;  and  has  . 
sent  me  very  earnestly  to  know  the  gentleman's  name,  that 
he  may  find  out  the  grocer,  and  trace  the  matter  to  the  bot- 
tom. In  vain  did  I  remonstrate  that  this  was  sooner  or  later 
the  fate  of  all  authors,  '  serius,  ocyus,  sors  exitura.'  He  will 
not  be  satisfied ;  and  begs  me  to  keep  my  jokes  for  another 
occasion.  But  that  I  am  resolved  not  to  do;  and,  therefore, 
being  repulsed  by  his  passion  and  seriousness,  I  direct  them 
against  you. 

Next  week  I  am  published  ;  and  then  I  expect  a  constant 
comparison  will  be  made  between  Dr.  Robertson  and  Mr. 
Hume.  I  shall  tell  you  in  a  few  weeks  which  of  these  heroes 
is  likely  to  prevail.  Meanwhile,  I  can  inform  both  of  them 
for  their  comforts,  that  their  combat  is  not  likely  to  make  half 
so  much  noise  as  that  between  Broughton  and  the  one-eyed 
coachman.  '  Vanitas  vanitatum.  atque  omnia  vanitas.'  I  shall 
still  except,  however,  the  friendship  and  good  opinion  of  wor- 
thy men. 

I  am,  etc. 

MR.  HUME  TO  DR.  ROBERTSON. 

London,  12th  March,  1759. 

MY  DEAR  SIR, — I  believe  I  mentioned  to  you,  a  French 
gentleman,  monsieur  Helvetius,  whose  book,  De  1'Esprit, 
was  making  a  great  noise  in  Europe.  He  is  a  very  fine 
genius,  and  has  the  character  of  a  very  worthy  man.  My 
name  is  mentioned  several  times  in  his  work  with  marks  of 


xlii  DR.  ROBERTSON'S 

esteem ;  and  he  has  made  me  an  offer,  if  I  would  translate  his 
work  into  English,  to  translate  anew  all  my  philosophical 
writings  into  French.  He  says,  that  none  of  them  are  well 
done,  except  that  on  the  Natural  History  of  Religion,  by 
monsieur  Matigny,  a  counsellor  of  state.  He  added,  that 
the  abbe  Prevot,  celebrated  for  the  Memoires  d'un  Homme 
d'Honueur,  and  other  entertaining  books,  was  just  now  trans- 
lating my  history.  This  account  of  Helvetius  engaged  me  to 
send  him  over  the  new  editions  of  all  my  writings;  and  I 
have  added  your  history,  which,  I  told  him,  was  here  pub- 
lished with  great  applause ;  adding,  that  the  subject  was 
interesting,  and  the  execution  masterly ;  and  that  it  was  pro- 
bable some  man  of  letters  at  Paris  may  think  that  a  transla- 
tion of  it  would  be  agreeable  to  the  public.  I  thought  that 
this  was  the  best  method  of  executing  your  intentions.  I 
could  not  expect  that  any  Frenchman  here  would  be  equal  to 
the  work.  There  is  one  Carracioli,  who  came  to  me  and 
spoke  of  translating  my  new  volume  of  history ;  but,  as  he 
also  mentioned  his  intentions  of  translating  Smollett,  I  gave 
him  no  encouragement  to  proceed.  The  same  reason  would 
make  me  averse  to  see  you  in  his  hands. 

But  though  I  have  given  this  character  of  your  work  to 
monsieur  Helvetius,  I  warn  you,  that  this  is  the  last  time 
that,  either  to  Frenchman  or  Englishman,  I  shall  ever  speak 
the  least  good  of  it.  A  plague  take  you  !  Here  I  sat  near 
the  historical  summit  of  Parnassus,  immediately  under  Dr. 
Smollett ;  and  you  have  the  impudence  to  squeeze  yourself  by 
me,  and  place  yourself  directly  under  his  feet.  Do  you  ima- 
gine that  this  can  be  agreeable  to  me  ?  And  must  not  I  be 
guilty  of  great  simplicity  to  contribute  by  my  endeavours  to 
your  thrusting  me  out  of  my  place  in  Paris  as  well  as  at 
London  ?  But  I  give  you  warning  that  you  will  find  the 
matter  somewhat  difficult,  at  least  in  the  former  city.  A 
friend  of  mine,  who  is  there,  writes  home  to  his  father  the 
strangest  accounts  on  that  head ;  which  my  modesty  will  not 
permit  me  to  repeat,  but  which  it  allowed  me  very  deliciously 
to  swallow. 

I  have  got  a  good  reason  or  pretence  for  excusing  me  to 
monsieur  Helvetius  with  regard  to  the  translating  his  work. 
A  translation  of  it  was  previously  advertised  here. 

I  remain,  etc. 


CORRESPONDENCE.  xliii 

MB.  HUME  TO  Dn.  ROBERTSON. 

London,  29th  May,  1759. 

Mr  DEAR  SIR, — I  had  a  letter  from  Helvetius  lately,  wrote 
before  your  book  arrived  at  Paris.  He  tells  me  that  the  abbe 
Prevot,  who  had  just  finished  the  translation  of  my  history, 
paroit  tres-dispose  a  traduire  1'Histoire  d'Ecosse  que  vient  de 
faire  monsieur  Robertson.  If  he  be  engaged  by  my  persua- 
sion, I  shall  have  the  satisfaction  of  doing  you  a  real  credit 
and  pleasure :  for  he  is  one  of  the  best  pens  in  Paris. 

I  looked  with  great  impatience  in  your  new  edition  for  the 
note  you  seemed  to  intend  with  regard  to  the  breach  of  the 
capitulation  of  Perth  ;  and  was  much  disappointed  at  missing 
it.  I  own  that  I  am  very  curious  on  that  head.  I  cannot  so 
much  as  imagine  a  colour  upon  which  their  accusations  could 
possibly  be  founded.  The  articles  were  only  two ;  indemnity 
to  the  inhabitants,  and  the  exclusion  of  French  soldiers — now 
that  Scotch  national  troops  were  not  Frenchmen  and  foreign- 
ers seems  pretty  apparent :  and  both  Knox  and  the  manifesto 
of  the  congregation  acquit  the  queen-regent  of  any  breach  of 
the  first  article,  as  I  had  observed  in  my  note  to  page  422. 
This  makes  me  suspect  that  some  facts  have  escaped  me ;  and 

I  beg  you  to  indulge  my  curiosity  by  informing  me  of  them. 

****** 

Our  friend  Smith3  is  very  successful  here,  and  Gerard b  is 
very  well  received.  The  Epigoniad  I  cannot  so  much  promise 
for,  though  I  have  done  all  in  my  power  to  forward  it,  parti- 
cularly by  writing  a  letter  to  the  Critical  Review,  which  you 
may  peruse.  I  find,  however,  some  good  judges  profess  a 
great  esteem  for  it,  but  '  habent  et  sua  fata  libelli :'  however, 
if  you  want  a  little  flattery  to  the  author,  (which  I  own  is 
very  refreshing  to  an  author,)  you  may  tell  him  that  lord 
Chesterfield  said  to  me  he  was  a  great  poet.  I  imagine  that 
Wilkie  will  be  very  much  elevated  by  praise  from  an  English 
earl,  and  a  knight  of  the  garter,  and  an  ambassador,  and  a 
secretary  of  state,  and  a  man  of  so  great  reputation.  For  I 
observe  that  the  greatest  rustics  are  commonly  most  affected 
with  such  circumstances. 

Ferguson's  bookc  has  a  great  deal  of  genius  and  fine  writ- 
ing, and  will  appear  in  time. 

a  Theory  of  Moral  Sentiments.  b  Essay  on  Taste. 

c  Essay  on  the  History  of  Civil  Society. 


xliv  DR.  ROBERTSON'S 

FROM  DR.  BIRCH  TO  DR.  ROBERTSON. 

London,  Feb.  8th,  1759. 

DEAR  SIR, — I  have  just  read  over  the  second  volume  of 
your  excellent  history ;  and  the  satisfaction  which  I  have  re- 
ceived from  the  perusal  of  it,  and  the  gratitude  which  I  owe 
you  for  the  honour  done  me  in  it,  as  well  as  for  so  valuable  a 
present,  will  not  permit  me  to  lose  one  post  in  returning  you 
my  sincerest  acknowledgments.  My  lord  Royston  likewise, 
desires  me  to  transmit  to  you  his  thanks  and  compliments  in 
the  strongest  terms. 

Though  your  work  has  been  scarce  a  fortnight  in  the  hands 
of  the  public,  I  can  already  inform  you,  upon  the  authority  of 
the  best  judges,  that  the  spirit  and  elegance  of  the  composi- 
tion, and  the  candour,  moderation,  and  humanity  which  run 
through  it,  will  secure  you  the  general  approbation  both  of 
the  present  age  and  posterity,  and  raise  the  character  of  our 
country  in  a  species  of  writing,  in  which,  of  all  others,  it  has 
been  most  defective. 

If  the  second  volume  of  the  State  Papers  of  lord  Burghley, 
published  since  Christmas  here,  had  appeared  before  your 
history  had  been  finished,  it  would  have  furnished  you  with 
reasons  for  entertaining  a  less  favourable  opinion  of  Mary 
queen  of  Scots  in  one  or  two  points,  than  you  seem  at  present 
possessed  of.  The  principal  is,  with  regard  to  her  last  in- 
trigues and  correspondences,  which  were  the  immediate  cause 
of  her  death.  And  I  could  wish  you  had  likewise  seen  a 
manuscript  account  of  her  trial  in  lord  Royston's  possession. 
This  account  is  much  fuller  than  Camden's,  whose  history  is 
justly  to  be  suspected  in  every  thing  relating  to  her ;  or  than 
any  other  that  has  yet  seen  the  light.  It  contains  so  ample  a 
state  of  the  evidence  produced  of  her  guilt,  as,  I  think,  leaves 
no  doubt  of  it ;  notwithstanding  that  the  witnesses  were  not 
confronted  with  her ;  a  manner  of  proceeding,  which,  though 
certainly  due  to  every  person  accused,  was  not  usual  either 
before  her  time  or  long  after. 

You  conclude  in  the  note,  vol.  i.  p.  307,  in  favour  of  her 
innocence  from  any  criminal  intrigue  with  Rizzio,  from  the 
silence  of  Randolph  on  that  head.  But  I  apprehend,  that  in 
opposition  to  this  allegation  you  may  be  urged  with  the  joint 
letter  of  that  gentleman  and  the  earl  of  Bedford  of  the  twenty- 
seventh  of  March,  1566,  in  your  Appendix,  No.  xv.  p.  22. 


CORRESPONDENCE.  xlv 

I  desire  you  to  make  my  compliments  acceptable  to  sir 
David  Dalrymple  and  Mr.  Davidson,  and  believe  me  to  be,  etc. 

THOMAS  BIRCH. 

FROM  SIR  GILBERT  ELLIOT  TO  DR.  ROBERTSON. 

Admiralty,  January  20th,  1759. 

DEAR  SIR, — Millar  has  just  sent  me  the  History  of  Scot- 
land. I  cannot  imagine  why  he  should  delay  the  publication 
so  long  as  the  first  of  February,  for  I  well  know  that  the 
printing  has  been  completed  a  great  while.  You  could  have 
sent  me  no  present  which  on  its  own  account  I  should  have 
esteemed  so  much ;  but  you  have  greatly  enhanced  its  value, 
by  allowing  me  to  accept  it  as  a  memorial  and  testimony  of  a 
friendship  which  I  have  long  cultivated  with  equal  satisfaction 
and  sincerity.  I  am  no  stranger  to  your  book,  though  your 
copy  is  but  just  put  into  my  hands :  David  Hume  so  far  in- 
dulged my  impatience,  as  to  allow  me  to  carry  to  the  country, 
during  the  holidays,  the  loose  sheets  which  he  happened  to 
have  by  him.  In  that  condition  I  read  it  quite  through  with 
the  greatest  satisfaction,  and  in  much  less  time  than  I  ever 
employed  on  any  portion  of  history  of  the  same  length.  I  had 
certainly  neither  leisure  nor  inclination  to  exercise  the  func- 
tion of  a  critic ;  carried  along  with  the  stream  of  the  narra- 
tion, I  only  felt,  when  I  came  to  the  conclusion,  that  you  had 
greatly  exceeded  the  expectations  I  had  formed,  though  I  do 
assure  you  these  were  not  a  little  sanguine.  If  upon  a  more 
deliberate  perusal,  I  discover  any  blemish,  I  shall  point  it  out 
without  any  scruple  :  at  present,  it  seems  to  me  that  you  have 
rendered  the  period  you  treat  of  as  interesting  as  any  part  of 
our  British  story ;  the  views  you  open  of  policy,  manners,  and 
religion,  are  ingenious,  solid,  and  deep.  Your  work  will  cer- 
tainly be  ranked  in  the  highest  historical  class;  and  for  my 
own  part,  I  think  it  besides,  a  composition  of  uncommon 
genius  and  eloquence.  I  was  afraid  you  might  have  been 
interrupted  by  the  reformation,  but  I  find  it  much  otherwise  ; 
you  treat  it  with  great  propriety,  and  in  my  opinion  with  suf- 
ficient freedom.  No  revolution,  whether  civil  or  religious, 
can  be  accomplished  without  that  degree  of  ardour  and  pas- 
sion, which,  in  a  later  age,  will  be  matter  of  ridicule  to  men 
who  do  not  feel  the  occasion,  and  enter  into  the  spirit  of  the 


xlvi  DR.  ROBERTSON'S 

times.     But  I  must  not  get  into  dissertations ; — I  hope  you 
will  ever  believe  me,  with  great  regard, 

Dear  sir, 
Your  most  obedient  and  faithful  servant, 

GILB.  ELLIOT. 

FROM  BARON  D'HOLBACH  TO  DR.  ROBERTSON. 

Paris,  the  30th  of  May,  1768. 

SIR, — I  received  but  a  few  days  ago  the  favour  of  your 
letter,  sent  to  me  by  Mr.  Andrew  Stuart :  I  am  very  proud 
of  being  instrumental  in  contributing  to  the  translation  of  the 
valuable  work  you  are  going  to  publish.  The  excellent  work 
you  have  published  already  is  a  sure  sign  of  the  reception 
your  History  of  Charles  the  fifth  will  meet  with  in  the  conti- 
nent ;  such  an  interesting  subject  deserves  undoubtedly  the 
attention  of  all  Europe.  You  are  very  much  in  the  right  of 
being  afraid  of  the  hackney  translators  of  Holland  and  Paris ; 
accordingly  I  thought  it  my  duty  to  find  out  an  able  hand 
capable  of  answering  your  desire.  M.  Suard,  a  gentleman 
well  known  for  his  style  in  French,  and  his  knowledge  in  the 
English  language,  has,  at  my  request,  undertaken  the  transla- 
tion of  your  valuable  book ;  I  know  nobody  in  this  country 
capable  of  performing  better  such  a  grand  design.  Conse- 
quently the  best  way  will  be  for  your  bookseller,  as  soon  as 
he  publishes  one  sheet,  to  send  it  immediately  a  monsieur 
M.  Suard,  directeur  de  la  Gazette  de  France,  rue  St.  Roch  a 
Paris.  By  means  of  this  the  sheets  of  your  book  will  be 
translated  as  soon  as  they  come  from  the  press,  provided  the 
bookseller  of  London  is  very  strict  in  not  showing  the  same 
favour  to  any  other  man  upon  the  continent. 
I  have  the  honour  to  be, 

With  great  consideration, 

Sir, 
Your  most  obedient  and  humble  servant, 

D'HOLBACH. 

FROM  MR.  HUME  TO  DR.  ROBERTSON. 

Paris,  1st  December,  1763. 

DEAR  ROBERTSON, — Among  other  agreeable  circumstances, 
which  attend  me  at  Paris,  I  must  mention  that  of  having  a 


CORRESPONDENCE.  xlvii 

lady  for  a  translator,  a  woman  of  merit,  the  widow  of  an  advo- 
cate. She  was  before  very  poor,  and  known  but  to  few;  but 
this  work  has  got  her  reputation,  and  procured  her  a  pension 
from  the  court,  which  sets  her  at  her  ease.  She  tells  me, 
that  she  has  got  a  habit  of  industry  ;  and  would  continue,  if  I 
could  point  out  to  her  any  other  English  book  she  could  un- 
dertake, without  running  the  risque  of  being  anticipated  by  any 
other  translator.  Your  History  of  Scotland  is  translated, 
and  is  in  the  press :  but  I  recommended  to  her  your  History  of 
Charles  the  fifth,  and  promised  to  write  to  you,  in  order  to 
know  when  it  would  be  printed,  and  to  desire  you  to  send 
over  the  sheets  from  London  as  they  came  from  the  press ;  I 
should  put  them  into  her  hands,  and  she  would  by  that  means 
have  the  start  of  every  other  translator.  My  two  volumes 
last  published  are  at  present  in  the  press.  She  has  a  very 
easy  natural  style ;  sometimes  she  mistakes  the  sense ;  but  I 
now  correct  her  manuscript ;  and  should  be  happy  to  render 
you  the  same  service,  if  my  leisure  permit  me,  as  I  hope  it 
will.  Do  you  ask  me  about  my  course  of  life  ?  I  can  only 
say,  that  I  eat  nothing  but  ambrosia,  drink  nothing  but  nec- 
tar, breathe  nothing  but  incense,  and  tread  on  nothing  but 
flowers.  Every  man  I  meet,  and  still  more  every  lady, 
would  think  they  were  wanting  in  the  most  indispensable 
duty  if  they  did  not  make  to  me  a  long  and  elaborate  ha- 
rangue in  my  praise.  What  happened  last  week,  when  I  had 

the  honour  of  being  presented  to  the  D n's  children  at 

Versailles,  is  one  of  the  most  curious  scenes  I  ever  yet  passed 
through.  The  due  de  B.  the  eldest,  a  boy  of  ten  years  old, 
stepped  forth  and  told  me  how  many  friends  and  admirers  I 
had  in  this  country,  and  that  he  reckoned  himself  in  the  num- 
ber from  the  pleasure  he  had  received  from  the  reading  of 
many  passages  in  my  works.  When  he  had  finished,  his 
brother,  the  count  de  P.  who  is  two  years  younger,  began 
his  discourse,  and  informed  me  that  I  had  been  long  and  im- 
patiently expected  in  France ;  and  that  he  himself  expected 
soon  to  have  great  satisfaction  from  the  reading  of  my  fine 
history.  But  what  is  more  curious ;  when  I  was  carried 
thence  to  the  count  d'A.  who  is  but  four  years  of  age,  I  heard 
him  mumble  something,  which,  though  he  had  forgot  in  the 
way,  I  conjectured  from  some  scattered  words  to  have  been 
also  a  panegyric  dictated  to  him.  Nothing  could  more  sur- 


xlviii  DR.  ROBERTSON'S 

prise  my  friends,  the  Parisian  philosophers,  than  this  incident 

****** 

*  *  It  is  conjectured  that 

this  honour  was  payed  me  by  express  order  from  the  D.  who, 
indeed,  is  not,  on  any  occasion,  sparing  in  my  praise. 

All  this  attention  and  panegyric  was  at  first  oppressive  to 
me ;  but  now  it  sits  more  easy.  I  have  recovered,  in  some 
measure,  the  use  of  the  language,  and  am  falling  into  friend- 
ships, which  are  very  agreeable ;  much  more  so  than  silly, 
distant  admiration.  They  now  begin  to  banter  me,  and  tell 
droll  stories  of  me,  which  they  have  either  observed  them- 
selves, or  have  heard  from  others ;  so  that  you  see  I  am  be- 
ginning to  be  at  home.  It  is  probable  that  this  place  will  be 
long  my  home.  I  feel  little  inclination  to  the  factious  barba- 
rians of  London ;  and  have  ever  desired  to  remain  in  the 
place  where  I  am  planted.  How  much  more  so,  when  it  is 
the  best  place  in  the  world  ?  I  could  here  live  in  great  abund- 
ance on  the  half  of  my  income ;  for  there  is  no  place  where 
money  is  so  little  requisite  to  a  man  who  is  distinguished 
either  by  his  birth  or  by  personal  qualities.  I  could  run  out, 
you  see,  in  a  panegyric  on  the  people ;  but  you  would  sus- 
pect, that  this  was  a  mutual  convention  between  us.  How- 
ever, I  cannot  forbear  observing,  on  what  a  different  footing 
learning  and  the  learned  are  here,  from  what  they  are  among 
the  factious  barbarians  above  mentioned. 

I  have  here  met  with  a  prodigious  historical  curiosity,  the 
Memoirs  of  King  James  the  second,  in  fourteen  volumes,  all 
wrote  with  his  own  hand,  and  kept  in  the  Scots  college.  I 
have  looked  into  it,  and  have  made  great  discoveries.  It  will 
be  all  communicated  to  me ;  and  I  have  had  an  offer  of  access 
to  the  secretary  of  state's  office,  if  I  want  to  know  the  de- 
spatches of  any  French  minister  that  resided  in  London. 
But  these  matters  are  much  out  of  my  head.  I  beg  of  you 
to  visit  lord  Marischal,  who  will  be  pleased  with  your  com- 
pany. I  have  little  paper  remaining  and  less  time ;  and 
therefore  conclude  abruptly  by  assuring  you  that  I  am, 

Dear  doctor, 

Yours  sincerely, 

DAVID  HUME. 


CORRESPONDENCE.  xlix 

PROM  MR.  HUME  TO  DR.  ROBERTSON. 

London,  19th  March,  1767. 

MY  DEAR  SIR,— You  do  extremely  right  in  applying  to 
me  wherever  it  is  the  least  likely  I  can  serve  you  or  any  of 
your  friends.  I  consulted  immediately  with  general  Conway, 
who  told  me,  as  I  suspected,  that  the  chaplains  to  forts  and 
garrisons  were  appointed  by  the  war-office,  and  did  not  be- 
long to  his  department.  Unhappily  I  have  but  a  slight  ac- 
quaintance with  lord  Harrington,  and  cannot  venture  to  ask 
him  any  favour ;  but  I  shall  call  on  Pryce  Campbell,  though 
not  of  my  acquaintance,  and  shall  inquire  of  him  the  canals 
through  which  this  affair  may  be  conducted :  perhaps  it  may 
lie  in  my  power  to  facilitate  it  by  some  means  or  other. 

I  shall  endeavour  to  find  out  the  unhappy  philosopher  you 
mention,  though  it  will  be  difficult  for  me  to  do  him  any 
service.  He  is  an  ingenious  man,  but  unfortunate  in  his 
conduct,  particularly  in  the  early  part  of  his  life.  The  world 
is  so  cruel  as  never  to  overlook  those  flaws ;  and  nothing  but 
hypocrisy  can  fully  cover  them  from  observation.  There  is 
not  so  effectual  a  scourer  of  reputations  in  the  world.  I  wish 
that  I  had  never  parted  with  that  Lixivium,  in  case  I  should 

at  any  future  time  have  occasion  for  it. 

*  *  *  *  *  * 

*  *  A  few  days  before  my  arrival  in  London, 

Mr.  Davenport  had  carried  to  Mr.  Conway  a  letter  of  Rous- 
seau's, in  which  that  philosopher  says,  that  he  had  never 
meant  to  refuse  the  king's  bounty,  that  he  would  be  proud  of 
accepting  it,  but  that  he  would  owe  it  entirely  to  his  ma- 
jesty's generosity  and  that  of  his  ministers,  and  would  refuse 
it  if  it  came  through  any  other  canal  whatsoever,  even  that 
of  Mr.  Davenport.  Mr.  Davenport  then  addressed  himself 
to  Mr.  Conway,  and  asked  whether  it  was  not  possible  to 
recover  what  this  man's  madness  had  thrown  away?  The 
secretary  replied,  that  I  should  be  in  London  in  a  few  days, 
and  that  he  would  take  no  steps  in  the  affair  but  at  my  desire 
and  with  my  approbation.  When  the  matter  was  proposed 
to  me,  I  exhorted  the  general  to  do  this  act  of  charity  to  a 
man  of  genius,  however  wild  and  extravagant.  The  king, 
when  applied  to,  said,  that  since  the  pension  had  once  been 
promised,  it  should  be  granted,  notwithstanding  all  that  had 
passed  in  the  interval.  And  thus  the  affair  is  happily 
VOL.  i.  e 


1  DR:  ROBERTSON'S 

finished,  unless  some  new  extravagance  come  across  the  phi- 
losopher, and  engage  him  to  reject  what  he  has  anew  applied 
for.  If  he  knew  my  situation  with  general  Conway  he  pro- 
bably would:  for  he  must  then  conjecture  that  the  affair  could 
not  be  done  without  my  consent. 

Ferguson's  book  goes  on  here  with  great  success.  A  few 
days  ago  I  saw  Mrs.  Montague,  who  has  just  finished  it  with 
great  pleasure:  I  mean,  she  was  sorry  to  finish  it,  but  had 
read  it  with  great  pleasure.  I  asked  her,  whether  she  was 
satisfied  with  the  style  ?  whether  it  did  not  savour  somewhat 
of  the  country?  Oh  yes,  said  she,  a  great  deal:  it  seems 
almost  impossible  that  any  one  could  write  such  a  style  ex- 
cept a  Scotsman. 

I  find  you  prognosticate  a  very  short  date  to  my  adminis- 
tration: I  really  believe  that  few  (but  not  evil)  will  be  my 
days.  My  absence  will  not  probably  allow  my  claret  time  to 
ripen,  much  less  to  sour.  However  that  may  be,  I  hope  to 
drink  out  the  remainder  of  it  with  you  in  mirth  and  jollity. 
I  am  sincerely  yours,  usque  ad  aras, 

DAVID  HUME. 


MB.  GIBBON  TO  DR.  ROBERTSON. 

Bentinck-street,  Nov.  the  3rd,  1779. 

*  *  *  *  .  *  * . 

WHEN  I  express  my  strong  hope  that  you  will  visit  Lon- 
don next  spring,  I  must  acknowledge  that  it  is  of  the  most 
interesting  kind.  Besides  the  pleasure  which  I  shall  enjoy 
in  your  society  and  conversation,  I  cherish  the  expectation  of 
deriving  much  benefit  from  your  candid  and  friendly  criticism. 
The  remainder  of  my  first  period  of  the  Decline  and  Fall,  etc. 
which  will  end  with  the  ruin  of  the  western  empire,  is  already 
very  far  advanced ;  but  the  subject  has  already  grown  so  much 
under  my  hands,  that  it  will  form  a  second  and  third  volume 
in  quarto,  which  will  probably  go  to  the  press  in  the  course  of 
the  ensuing  summer.  Perhaps  you  have  seen  in  the  papers, 
that  I  was  appointed  some  time  ago  one  of  the  lords  of  trade  ; 
but  I  believe  you  are  enough  acquainted  with  the  country  to 
judge,  that  the  business  of  my  new  office  has  not  much  inter- 
rupted the  progress  of  my  studies.  The  attendance  in  parlia- 


CORRESPONDENCE.  li 

ment  is  indeed  more  laborious ;  I  apprehend  a  rough  session, 
and  I  fear  that  a  black  cloud  is  gathering  in  Ireland. 

Be  so  good  as  to  present  my  sincere  compliments  to  Mr. 
Smith,  Mr.  Ferguson,  and,  if  he  should  still  be  with  you,  to 
Dr.  Gillies,  for  whose  acquaintance  I  esteem  myself  much  in- 
debted to  you.  I  have  often  considered,  with  some  sort  of 
envy,  the  valuable  society  which  you  possess  in  so  narrow  a 
compass. 

I  am,  dear  sir,  with  the  highest  regard, 

Most  faithfully  yours, 

E.  GIBBON. 

MR.  GIBBON  TO  DR.  ROBERTSON. 

London,  September  1,  1783. 

DEAR  SIR, — Your  candid  and  friendly  interpretation  will 
ascribe  to  business,  to  study,  to  pleasure,  to  constitutional  in- 
dolence, or  to  any  other  venial  cause,  the  guilt  of  neglecting 
so  valuable  a  correspondent  as  yourself.  I  should  have  thank- 
ed you  for  the  opportunities  which  you  have  afforded  me  of 
forming  an  acquaintance  with  several  men  of  merit  who  de- 
serve your  friendship,  and  whose  character  and  conversation 
suggest  a  very  pleasing  idea  of  the  society  which  you  enjoy  at 
Edinburgh.  I  must  at  the  same  time  lament,  that  the  hurry 
of  a  London  life  has  not  allowed  me  to  obtain  so  much  as  I 
could  have  wished,  of  their  company,  and  must  have  given 
them  an  unfavourable  opinion  of  my  hospitality,  unless  they 
have  weighed  with  indulgence  the  various  obstacles  of  time 
and  place.  Mr.  Stewart  I  had  not  even  the  pleasure  of 
seeing;  he  passed  through  this  city  in  his  way  to  Paris,  while 
I  was  confined  with  a  painful  fit  of  the  gout,  and  in  the  short 
interval  of  his  stay,  the  hours  of  meeting,  which  were  mu- 
tually proposed,  could  not  be  made  to  agree  with  our  re- 
spective engagements.  Mr.  Dalzel,  who  is  undoubtedly  a 
modest  and  learned  man,  I  have  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing ; 
but  his  arrival  has  unluckily  fallen  on  a  time  of  year,  and 
a  particular  year,  in  which  I  have  been  very  little  in  town. 
I  should  rejoice  if  I  could  repay  these  losses  by  a  visit  to 
Edinburgh,  a  more  tranquil  scene,  to  which  yourself,  and 
our  friend  Mr.  Adam  Smith,  would  powerfully  attract  me. 

e2 


lii  DR.  ROBERTSON'S 

But  this  project,  which,  in  a  leisure  hour,  has  often  amused 
my  fancy,  must  now  be  resigned,  or  must  be  postponed,  at 
least,  to  a  very  distant  period.  In  a  very  few  days  (before 
I  could  receive  the  favour  of  an  answer)  I  shall  begin  my 
journey  to  Lausanne  in  Switzerland,  where  I  shall  fix  my 
residence,  in  a  delightful  situation,  with  a  dear  and  excel- 
lent friend  of  that  country;  still  mindful  of  my  British 
friends,  but  renouncing,  without  reluctance,  the  tumult  of 
parliament,  the  hopes  and  fears,  the  prejudices  and  passions 
of  political  life,  to  which  my  nature  has  always  been  averse. 
Our  noble  friend,  lord  Loughborough,  has  endeavoured  to 
divert  me  from  this  resolution ;  he  rises  every  day  in  dig- 
nity and  reputation ;  and  if  the  means  of  patronage  had  not 
been  so  strangely  reduced  by  our  modern  reformers,  I  am 
persuaded  his  constant  and  liberal  kindness  would  more  than 
satisfy  the  moderate  desires  of  a  philosopher.  What  I  cannot 
hope  for  from  the  favour  of  ministers,  I  must  patiently  ex- 
pect from  the  course  of  nature ;  and  this  exile,  which  I  do 
not  view  in  a  very  gloomy  light,  will  be  terminated  in  due 
time,  by  the  deaths  of  aged  ladies,  whose  inheritance  will 
place  me  in  an  easy  and  even  affluent  situation ;  but  these 
particulars  are  only  designed  for  the  ear  of  friendship. 

I  have  already  despatched  to  Lausanne,  two  immense  cases 
of  books,  the  tools  of  my  historical  manufacture;  others  I 
shall  find  on  the  spot ;  and  that  country  is  not  destitute  of 
public  and  private  libraries,  which  will  be  freely  opened  for 
the  use  of  a  man  of  letters.  The  tranquil  leisure  which  I 
shall  enjoy,  will  be  partly  employed  in  the  prosecution  of 
my  history ;  but  although  my  diligence  will  be  quickened 
by  the  prospect  of  returning  to  England,  to  publish  the  last 
volumes  (three,  I  am  afraid)  of  this  laborious  work,  yet  I 
shall  proceed  with  cautious  steps  to  compose  and  to  correct, 
and  the  dryness  of  my  undertaking  will  be  relieved  by  mix- 
ture of  more  elegant  and  classical  studies,  more  especially 
of  the  Greek  auth&rs.  Such  good  company  will,  I  am  sure, 
be  pleasant  to  the  historian,  and  I  am  inclined  to  believe 
that  it  will  be  beneficial  to  the  work  itself.  I  have  been 
lately  much  flattered  with  the  praise  of  Dr.  Blair,  and  a 
censure  of  the  abbe  de  Mably ;  both  of  them  are  precisely 
the  men  from  whom  I  could  wish  to  obtain  praise  and  cen- 
sure, and  both  these  gratifications  I  have  the  pleasure  of 


CORRESPONDENCE.  liii 

sharing  with  yourself.  The  abbe  appears  to  hate,  and  affects 
to  despise,  every  writer  of  his  own  times,  who  has  been  well 
received  by  the  public ;  and  Dr.  Blair,  who  is  a  master  in 
one  species  of  composition,  has  displayed,  on  every  subject, 
the  warmest  feeling  and  the  most  accurate  judgment.  I  will 
frankly  own  that  my  pride  is  elated,  as  often  as  I  find  myself 
ranked  in  the  triumvirate  of  British  historians  of  the  pre- 
sent age ;  and  though  I  feel  myself  the  Lepidus,  I  contem- 
plate with  pleasure  the  superiority  of  my  colleagues.  Will 
you  be  so  good  as  to  assure  Dr.  A.  Smith  of  my  regard  and 
attachment.  I  consider  myself  as  writing  to  both,  and  will 
not  fix  him  for  a  separate  answer.  My  direction  is,  A  mon- 
sieur, monsieur  Gibbon  a  Lausanne  en  Suisse.  I  shall  often 
plume  myself  on  the  friendship  of  Dr.  Robertson,  but  must 
I  tell  foreigners,  that  while  the  meaner  heroes  fight,  Achilles 
toas  retired  from  war  ? 

I  am,  my  dear  sir, 

Most  affectionately  yours, 

E.  GIBBON. 


FROM  MR.  GIBBON  TO  DR.  ROBERTSON. 

Lord  Sheffield's,  Downing-street, 
March  26,  1788. 

DEAR  SIR, — An  error  in  your  direction  (to  Wimpole- 
street,  where  I  never  had  an  house)  delayed  some  time  the 
delivery  of  your  very  obliging  letter,  but  that  delay  is  not 
sufficient  to  excuse  me  for  not  taking  an  earlier  notice  of 
it.  Perhaps  the  number  of  minute  but  indispensable  cares 
that  seem  to  multiply  before  the  hour  of  publication,  may 
prove  a  better  apology,  especially  with  a  friend  who  has  him- 
self passed  through  the  same  labours  of  the  same  consum- 
mation. The  important  day  is  now  fixed  to  the  eighth  of 
May,  and  it  was  chosen  by  Cadell,  as  it  coincides  with  the 
end  of  the  fifty-first  year  of  the  author's  age.  That  honest 
and  liberal  bookseller  has  invited  me  to  celebrate  the  double 
festival,  by  a  dinner  at  his  house.  Some  of  our  common 
friends  will  be  present,  but  we  shall  all  lament  your  absence, 
and  that  of  Dr.  Adam  Smith ;  (whose  health  and  welfare  will 
always  be  most  interesting  to  me;)  and  it  gives  me  real  con- 


liv  DR.  ROBERTSON'S 

cern  that  the  time  of  your  visits  to  the  metropolis  has  not 
agreed  with  my  transient  residence  in  my  native  country.  I 
am  grateful  for  the  opportunity  with  which  you  furnish  me  of 
again  perusing  your  works  in  their  most  improved  state ;  and 
I  have  desired  Cadell  to  despatch,  for  the  use  of  my  two  Edin- 
burgh friends,  two  copies  of  the  last  three  volumes  of  my 
history.  Whatever  may  be  the  inconstancy  of  taste  or  fashion, 
a  rational  lover  of  fame  may  be  satisfied  if  he  deserves  and 
obtains  your  approbation.  The  praise  which  has  ever  been 
the  most  nattering  to  my  ear  is,  to  find  my  name  associated 
with  the  names  of  Robertson  and  Hume ;  and  provided  I 
can  maintain  my  place  in  the  triumvirate,  I  am  indifferent 
at  what  distance  I  am  ranked  below  my  companions  and 
masters. 

With  regard  to  my  present  work,  I  am  inclined  to  believe 
that  it  surpasses  in  variety  and  entertainment  at  least  the 
second  and  third  volumes.  A  long  and  eventful  period  is 
compressed  into  a  smaller  space,  and  the  new  barbarians,  who 
now  assault  and  subvert  the  Roman  empire,  enjoy  the  advan- 
tage of  speaking  their  own  language,  and  relating  their  own 
exploits. 

After  the  publication  of  these  last  volumes,  which  extend 
to  the  siege  of  Constantinople,  and  comprise  the  ruins  of  an- 
cient Rome,  I  shall  retire  (in  about  two  months)  to  Lau- 
sanne, and  my  friends  will  be  pleased  to  hear  that  I  enjoy  in 
that  retreat,  as  much  repose,  and  even  happiness,  as  is  con- 
sistent, perhaps,  with  the  human  condition.  At  proper  in- 
tervals, I  hope  to  repeat  my  visits  to  England ;  but  no  change 
of  circumstance  or  situation  will  probably  tempt  me  to  desert 
my  Swiss  residence,  which"  unites  almost  every  advantage  that 
riches  can  give,  or  fancy  desire.  With  regard  to  my  future 
literary  plans,  I  can  add  nothing  to  what  you  will  soon  read 
in  my  preface.  But  an  hour's  conversation  with  you,  would 
allow  me  'to  explain  some  visionary  designs  which  sometimes 
float  in  my  mind ;  and,  if  I  should  ever  form  any  serious  re- 
solution of  labours,  I  would  previously,  though  by  the  imper- 
fect mode  of  a  letter,  consult  you  on  the  propriety  and  merit 
of  any  new  undertakings.  I  am,  with  great  regard, 
Dear  sir, 

Most  faithfully  yours, 

E.  GIBBON. 


CORRESPONDENCE.  Iv 

FROM  MAJOR  RENNELL  TO  DR.  ROBERTSON. 

London,  2nd  July,  1791. 

*  AFTER  reading  your  book  twice,  I  may  with 
truth  say,  that  I  was  never  more  instructed  or  amused  than 
by  the  perusal  of  it ;  for  although  a  great  part  of  its  subject 
had  long  been  revolving  in  my  mind,  yet  I  had  not  been  able 
to  concentrate  the  matter  in  the  manner  you  have  done,  or  to 
make  the  different  parts  bear  on  each  other. 

The  subject  of  the  Appendix  was  what  interested  the  pub- 
lic greatly ;  and  was  only  to  be  acquired  (if  at  all)  by  the 
study  or  perusal  of  a  great  number  of  different  tracts ;  a  task 
not  to  be  accomplished  by  ordinary  readers. 

It  gives  me  unfeigned  pleasure  to  have  been  the  instru- 
ment of  suggesting  such  a  task  to  you ;  and  I  shall  reflect 
with  pleasure,  during  my  life,  that  I  shall  travel  down  to 
posterity  with  you ;  you,  in  your  place,  in  the  great  road  of 
history ;  whilst  I  keep  the  side-path  of  geography.  Since  I 
understood  the  subject,  I  have  ever  thought  that  the  best  his- 
torian is  the  best  geographer ;  and  if  historians  would  direct 
a  proper  person,  skilled  in  the  principles  of  geography,  to  em- 
body (as  I  may  say)  their  ideas  for  them,  the  historian  would 
find  himself  better  served,  than  by  relying  on  those  who  may 
properly  be  styled  map-makers.  For,  after  all,  whence  does 
the  geographer  derive  his  materials  but  from  the  labours  of 
the  historian?  ******** 


PREFACE  TO  THE  FIRST  EDITION. 


I  DELIVER  this  book  to  the  world  with  all  the  diffi- 
dence and  anxiety  natural  to  an  author  on  publishing 
his  first  performance.  The  time  I  have  employed,  and 
the  pains  I  have  taken,  in  order  to  render  it  worthy 
of  the  public  approbation,  it  is,  perhaps,  prudent  to 
conceal,  until  it  be  known  whether  that  approbation 
shall  ever  be  bestowed  upon  it. 

But  as  I  .have  departed,  in  many  instances,  from 
former  historians,  as  I  have  placed  facts  in  a  different 
light,  and  have  drawn  characters  with  new  colours,  I 
ought  to  account  for  this  conduct  to  my  readers ;  and 
to  produce  the  evidence,  on  which,  at  the  distance  of 
two  centuries,  I  presume  to  contradict  the  testimony  of 
less  remote,  or  even  of  contemporary  historians. 

The  transactions  in  Mary's  reign  gave  rise  to  two 
parties,  which  were  animated  against  each  other  with 
the  fiercest  political  hatred,  embittered  by  religious 
zeal.  Each  of  these  produced  historians  of  consider- 
able merit,  who  adopted  all  their  sentiments,  and  de- 
fended all  their  actions.  Truth  was  not  the  sole 
object  of  these  authors.  Blinded  by  prejudices,  and 
heated  by  the  part  which  they  themselves  had  acted 
in  the  scenes  they  describe,  they  wrote  an  apology  for 
a  faction,  rather  than  the  history  of  their  country. 
Succeeding  historians  have  followed  these  guides  al- 


Iviii  PREFACE. 

most  implicitly,  and  have  repeated  their  errours  and 
misrepresentations.  But  as  the  same  passions  which 
inflamed  parties  in  that  age  have  descended  to  their 
posterity;  as  almost  every  event  in  Mary's  reign  has 
become  the  object  of  doubt  or  of  dispute ;  the  eager 
spirit  of  controversy  soon  discovered,  that  without  some 
evidence  more  authentic  and  more  impartial  than  that 
of  such  historians,  none  of  the  points  in  question  could 
be  decided  with  certainty.  Records  have  therefore 
been  searched,  original  papers  have  been  produced, 
and  public  archives,  as  well  as  the  repositories  of  pri- 
vate men,  have  been  ransacked  by  the  zeal  and  cu- 
riosity of  writers  of  different  parties.  The  attention 
of  Cecil  to  collect  whatever  related  to  that  period,  in 
which  he  acted  so  conspicuous  a  part,  hath  provided 
such  an  immense  store  of  original  papers  for  illustrat- 
ing this  part  of  the  English  and  Scottish  history,  as 
are  almost  sufficient  to  satisfy  the  utmost  avidity  of  an 
antiquary.  Sir  Robert  Cotton,  whose  library  is  now 
the  property  of  the  public,  made  great  and  valuable 
additions  to  Cecil's  collection ;  and  from  this  magazine, 
Digges,  the  compilers  of  the  Cabbala,  Anderson,  Keith, 
Haines,  Forbes,  have  drawn  most  of  the  papers  which 
they  have  printed.  No  history  of  Scotland,  that  merits 
any  degree  of  attention,  has  appeared  since  these  col- 
lections were  published.  By  consulting  them,  I  have 
been  enabled,  in  many  instances,  to  correct  the  inac- 
curacies of  former  historians,  to  avoid  their  mistakes, 
and  to  detect  their  misrepresentations. 

But  many  important  papers  have  escaped  the  notice 
of  those  industrious  collectors ;  and,  after  all  they  have 
produced  to  light,  much  still  remained  in  darkness, 


PREFACE.  lix 

unobserved  or  unpublished.  It  was  my  duty  to  search 
for  these,  and  I  found  this  unpleasant  task  attended 
with  considerable  utility. 

The  library  of  the  faculty  of  advocates  at  Edinburgh, 
contains  not  only  a  large  collection  of  original  papers 
relating  to  the  affairs  of  Scotland,  but  copies  of  others 
no  less  curious,  which  have  been  preserved  by  sir  Ro- 
bert Cotton,  or  are  extant  in  the  public  offices  in  Eng- 
land. Of  all  these  the  curators  of  that  library  were 
pleased  to  allow  me  the  perusal. 

Though  the  British  Musaeum  be  not  yet  open  to  the 
public,  Dr.  Birch,  whose  obliging  disposition  is  well 
known,  procured  me  access  to  that  noble  collection, 
which  is  worthy  the  magnificence  of  a  great  and  po- 
lished nation. 

That  vast  and  curious  collection  of  papers  relating 
to  the  reign  of  Elizabeth,  which  was  made  by  Dr. 
Forbes,  and  of  which  he  published  only  two  volumes, 
having  been  purchased  since  his  death  by  the  lord 
viscount  Royston,  his  lordship  was  so  good  as  to  allow 
me  the  use  of  fourteen  volumes  in  quarto,  containing 
that  part  of  them  which  is  connected  with  my  subject. 

Sir  Alexander  Dick  communicated  to  me  a  very  valu- 
able collection  of  original  papers,  in  two  large  volumes. 
They  relate  chiefly  to  the  reign  of  James.  Many  of 
them  are  marked  with  archbishop  Spotiswood's  hand ; 
and  it  appears  from  several  passages  in  his  history,  that 
he  had  perused  them  with  great  attention. 

Mr.  Calderwood,  an  eminent  presbyterian  clergyman 
of  the  last  century,  compiled  an  history  of  Scotland 
from  the  beginning  of  the  reign  of  James  the  fifth  to 
the  death  of  James  the  sixth,  in  six  large  volumes ; 


Ix  PREFACE. 

wherein  he  has  inserted  many  papers  of  consequence, 
which  are  nowhere  else  to  be  found.  This  history  has 
not  been  published ;  but  a  copy  of  it,  which  still  re- 
mains in  manuscript,  in  the  possession  of  the  church 
of  Scotland,  was  put  into  my  hands  by  my  worthy 
friend,  the  reverend  Dr.  George  Wishart,  principal 
clerk  of  the  church. 

Sir  David  Dalrymple  not  only  communicated  to  me 
the  papers  which  he  has  collected  relating  to  Gowrie's 
conspiracy;  but,  by  explaining  to  me  his  sentiments 
with  regard  to  that  problematical  passage  in  the  Scot- 
tish history,  has  enabled  me  to  place  that  transaction 
in  a  light  which  dispels  much  of  the  darkness  and  con- 
fusion in  which  it  has  been  hitherto  involved. 

Mr.  Goodall,  though  he  knew  my  sentiments  with 
regard  to  the  conduct  and  character  of  queen  Mary  to 
be  extremely  different  from  his  own,  communicated  to 
me  a  volume  of  manuscripts  in  his  possession,  which 
contains  a  great  number  of  valuable  papers  copied 
from  the  originals  in  the  Cottonian  library  and  paper 
office,  by  the  late  reverend  Mr.  Crawford,  regius  pro- 
fessor of  church  history  in  the  university  of  Edinburgh. 
I  likewise  received  from  him  the  original  register  of 
letters  kept  by  the  regent  Lennox  during  his  adminis- 
tration. 

I  have  consulted  all  these  papers,  as  far  as  I  thought 
they  could  be  of  any  use  towards  illustrating  that  pe- 
riod of  which  I  write  the  history.  With  what  success 
I  have  employed  them  to  confirm  what  was  already 
known,  to  ascertain  what  was  dubious,  or  to  determine 
what  was  controverted,  the  public  must  judge. 

I  might  easily  have  drawn,  from  the  different  reposi- 


PREFACE.  Ixi 

tories  to  which  I  had  access,  as  many  papers  as  would 
have  rendered  my  Appendix  equal  in  size  to  the  most 
bulky  collection  of  my  predecessors.  But  I  have  sa- 
tisfied myself  with  publishing  a  few  of  the  most  curious 
among  them,  to  which  I  found  it  necessary  to  appeal  as 
vouchers  for  my  own  veracity.  None  of  these,  as  far 
as  I  can  recollect,  ever  appeared  in  any  former  collec- 
tion. 

I  have  added  a  '  Critical  dissertation  concerning  the 
murder  of  king  Henry,  and  the  genuineness  of  the 
queen's  letters  to  Bothwell.'  The  facts  and  observa- 
tions which  relate  to  Mary's  letters,  I  owe  to  my  friend 
Mr.  John  Davidson,  one  of  the  clerks  to  the  signet, 
who  hath  examined  this  point  with  his  usual  acuteness 
and  industry. 


PREFACE  TO  THE  ELEVENTH  EDITION. 

IT  is  now  twenty-eight  years  since  I  published  the 
History  of  Scotland.  During  that  time  I  have  been 
favoured  by  my  friends  with  several  remarks  upon  it; 
and  various  strictures  have  been  made  by  persons,  who 
entertained  sentiments  different  from  mine,  with  re- 
spect to  the  transactions  in  the  reign  of  queen  Mary. 
From  whatever  quarter  information  came,  in  whatever 
mode  it  has  been  communicated,  I  have  considered  it 
calmly  and  with  attention.  Wherever  I  perceived  that 
I  had  erred,  either  in  relating  events,  or  in  delineating 
characters,  I  have,  without  hesitation,  corrected  those 
errours.  Wherever  I  am  satisfied  that  my  original 
ideas  were  just  and  well-founded,  I  adhere  to  them ; 
and,  resting  upon  their  conformity  to  evidence  already 
produced,  I  enter  into  no  discussion  or  controversy  in 
order  to  support  them.  Wherever  the  opportunity  of 
consulting  original  papers  either  in  print  or  in  manu- 
script, to  which  I  had  not  formerly  access,  has  enabled 
me  to  throw  new  light  upon  any  part  of  the  history,  I 
have  made  alterations  and  additions,  which,  I  flatter 
myself,  will  be  found  to  be  of  some  importance. 

COLLEGE  OF  EDINBURGH, 
March  5th,  1787. 


THE 
HISTORY  OF   SCOTLAND 

DURING  THE  REIGNS 
OF  QUEEN  MARY  AND  OF  KING  JAMES  VI. 

TILL  HIS  ACCESSION 
TO  THE  CROWN  OF  ENGLAND: 

WITH 
A  REVIEW  OF  THE  SCOTTISH  HISTORY 

PREVIOUS  TO  THAT  PERIOD; 

AND  AN  APPENDIX 
CONTAINING  ORIGINAL  PAPERS. 

VOLUME  I. 


THE 

HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND. 

THE  FIRST  BOOK, 

CONTAINING   A   REVIEW  OF   THE    SCOTTISH   HISTORY  PRE- 
VIOUS TO  THE  DEATH  OF  JAMES  THE  FIFTH. 

THE  first  ages  of  the  Scottish  history  are  dark  and  The  origin 
fabulous.    Nations,  as  well  as  men,  arrive  at  maturity  fabulous* 
by  degrees,  and  the  events,  which  happened  during  and  ob- 
their  infancy  or  early  youth,  cannot  be  recollected,  and sc' 
deserve  not  to  be  remembered.    The  gross  ignorance 
which  anciently  covered  all  the  north  of  Europe,  the 
continual  migrations  of  its  inhabitants,  and  the  frequent 
and   destructive   revolutions  which  these   occasioned, 
render  it  impossible  to  give  any  authentic  account  of  the 
origin  of  the  different  kingdoms  now  established  there. 
Every  thing  beyond  that  short  period  to  which  well- 
attested  annals  reach,  is  obscure ;  an  immense  space  is 
left  for  invention  to  occupy ;  each  nation,  with  a  vanity 
inseparable  from  human  nature,  hath  filled  that  void 
with  events  calculated  to  display  its  own  antiquity  and 
lustre.    History,  which  ought  to  record  truth  and  to 
teach  wisdom,  often  sets  out  with  retailing  fictions  and 
absurdities. 

The  Scots  carry  their  pretensions  to  antiquity  as  high  Origin  of 
as  any  of  their  neighbours.     Relying  upon  uncertain  *  e " :ote> 
legends,  and  the  traditions  of  their  bards,  still  more 
uncertain,  they  reckon  up  a  series  of  kings  several  ages 
before  the  birth  of  Christ ;  and  give  a  particular  detail 
of  the   occurrences  which  happened  in  their  reigns. 


4  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  i. 

But  with  regard  to  the  Scots,  as  well  as  the  other 
northern  nations,  we  receive  the  earliest  accounts  on 
which  we  can  depend,  not  from  their  own,  but  from 

A.D.  81.  the  Roman  authors.  When  the  Romans,  under  Agri- 
cola,  first  carried  their  arms  into  the  northern  parts  of 
Britain,  they  found  it  possessed  by  the  Caledonians,  a 
fierce  and  warlike  people ;  and,  having  repulsed,  rather 
than  conquered  them,  they  erected  a  strong  wall  be- 
tween the  firths  of  Forth  and  Clyde,  and  there  fixed 
the  boundaries  of  their  empire.  Adrian,  on  account  of 

A.D.  121.  the  difficulty  of  defending  such  a  distant  frontier,  con- 
tracted the  limits  of  the  Roman  province  in  Britain,  by 
building  a  second  wall,  which  ran  between  Newcastle 
and  Carlisle.  The  ambition  of  succeeding  emperors 
endeavoured  to  recover  what  Adrian  had  abandoned ; 
and  the  country  between  the  two  walls  was  alternately 
under  the  dominion  of  the  Romans,  and  that  of  the 
Caledonians.  About  the  beginning  of  the  fifth  century, 
the  inroads  of  the  Goths  and  other  barbarians  obliged 
the  Romans,  in  order  to  defend  the  centre  of  their  em- 
pire, to  recall  those  legions  which  guarded  the  frontier 
provinces ;  and,  at  that  time,  they  quitted  all  their  con- 
quests in  Britain. 

A.D.  421.  Their  long  residence  in  the  island  had  polished,  in 
some  degree,  the  rude  inhabitants,  and  the  Britons  were 
indebted  to  their  intercourse  with  the  Romans,  for  the 
art  of  writing,  and  the  use  of  numbers,  without  which 
it  is  impossible  long  to  preserve  the  memory  of  past 
events. 

North  Britain  was,  by  their  retreat,  left  under  the 
dominion  of  the  Scots  and  Picts.  The  former,  who  are 
not  mentioned  by  any  Roman  author,  before  the  end 
of  the  fourth  century,  were  probably  a  colony  of  the 
Celtae  or  Gauls ;  their  affinity  to  whom  appears  from 
their  language,  their  manners,  and  religious  rites ;  cir- 
cumstances more  decisive,  with  regard  to  the  origin  of 
nations,  than  either  fabulous  traditions,  or  the  tales  of 
ill-informed  and  credulous  annalists.  The  Scots,  if  we 


BOOK  r.  OF  SCOTLAND.  5 

may  believe  the  common  accounts,  settled  at  first  in 
Ireland ;  and,  extending  themselves  by  degrees,  landed 
at  last  on  the  coast  opposite  to  that  island,  and  fixed 
their  habitations  there.  Fierce  and  bloody  wars  were, 
during  several  ages,  carried  on  between  them  and  the 
Picts.  At  length,  Kenneth  the  second,  the  sixty-ninth  A. D.  838. 
king  of  the  Scots,  according  to  their  own  fabulous  au- 
thors, obtained  a  complete  victory  over  the  Picts,  and 
united,  under  one  monarchy,  all  the  country,  from  the 
wall  of  Adrian,  to  the  northern  ocean.  The  kingdom, 
henceforward,  became  known  by  its  present  name,  which 
it  derived  from  a  people  who  at  first  settled  there  as 
strangers,  and  remained  long  obscure  and  inconsiderable. 
From  this  period  the  history  of  Scotland  would  merit 
some  attention,  were  it  accompanied  with  any  certainty.  History  of 
But,  as  our  remote  antiquities  are  involved  in  the  same  peculiarly 
darkness  with  those  of  other  nations,  a  calamity  pecu-  obscure. 
liar  to  ourselves  has  thrown  almost  an  equal  obscurity 
over  our  more  recent  transactions.  This  was  occasioned 
by  the  malicious  policy  of  Edward  the  first  of  Eng- 
land. Towards  the  end  of  the  thirteenth  century,  this 
monarch  caHed  in  question  the  independence  of  Scot- 
land ;  pretending  that  the  kingdom  was  held  as  a  fief 
of  the  crown  of  England,  and  subjected  to  all  the  con- 
ditions of  a  feudal  tenure.  In  order  to  establish  his 
claim,  he  seized  the  public  archives,  he  ransacked 
churches  and  monasteries,  and  getting  possession,  by 
force  or  fraud,  of  many  historical  monuments,  -which 
tended  to  prove  the  antiquity  or  freedom  of  the  king- 
dom, he  carried  some  of  them  into  England,  and  com- 
manded the  rest  to  be  burned a.  An  universal  oblivion 
of  past  transactions  might  have  been  the  effect  of  this 
fatal  event ;  but  some  imperfect  chronicles  had  escaped 
the  rage  of  Edward;  foreign  writers  had  recorded 
some  important  facts  relating  to  Scotland ;  and  the  tra- 
ditions concerning  recent  occurrences  were  fresh  and 

»  Innes,  Essay,  552. 


6  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  i. 

worthy  of  credit.  These  broken  fragments  John  de 
Fordun,  who  lived  in  the  fourteenth  century,  collected 
with  a  pious  industry,  and  from  them  gleaned  materials 
which  he  formed  into  a  regular  history.  His  work  was 
received  by  his  countrymen  with  applause ;  and,  as  no 
recourse  could  be  had  to  more  ancient  records,  it  sup- 
plied the  place  of  the  authentic  annals  of  the  kingdom. 
It  was  copied  in  many  monasteries,  and  the  thread  of 
the  narrative  was  continued,  by  different  monks,  through 
the  subsequent  reigns.  In  the  beginning  of  the  six- 
teenth century,  John  Major  and  Hector  Boethius  pub- 
lished their  histories  of  Scotland,  the  former  a  succinct 
and  dry  writer,  the  latter  a  copious  and  florid  one,  and 
both  equally  credulous.  Not  many  years  after,  Bu- 
chanan undertook  the  same  work ;  and  if  his  accuracy 
and  impartiality  had  been,  in  any  degree,  equal  to  the 
elegance  of  his  taste,  and  to  the  purity  and  vigour  of 
his  style,  his  history  might  be  placed  on  a  level  with 
the  most  admired  compositions  of  the  ancients.  But, 
instead  of  rejecting  the  improbable  tales  of  chronicle 
writers,  he  was  at  the  utmost  pains  to  adorn  them ;  and 
hath  clothed,  with  all  the  beauties  and  graces  of  fiction, 
those  legends,  which  formerly  had  only  its  wildness  and 
extravagance. 

Four  re-          The  history  of  Scotland  may  properly  be  divided  into 

-eras  in  the  four  periods.    The  first  reaches  from  the  origin  of  the 

Scottish      monarchy,  to  the  reign  of  Kenneth  the  second.    The 

second,  from  Kenneth's  conquest  of  the  Picts,  to  the 

death  of  Alexander  the  third.    The  third  extends  to  the 

death  of  James  the  fifth.    The  last,  from  thence  to  the 

accession  of  James  the  sixth  to  the  crown  of  England. 

The  first  period  is  the  region  of  pure  fable  and  con- 
jecture, and  ought  to  be  totally  neglected,  or  abandoned 
to  the  industry  and  credulity  of  antiquaries.  Truth  be- 
gins to  dawn  in  the  second  period,  with  a  light,  feeble  • 
at  first,  but  gradually  increasing ;  and  the  events  which 
then  happened  may  be  slightly  touched,  but  merit  no 
particular  or  laborious  inquiry.  In  the  third  period, 


BOOK  i.  OF  SCOTLAND.  7 

the  history  of  Scotland,  chiefly  by  means  of  records 
preserved  in  England,  becomes  more  authentic :  not 
only  are  events  related,  but  their  causes  and  effects  ex- 
plained ;  the  characters  of  the  actors  are  displayed ; 
the  manners  of  the  age  described ;  the  revolutions  in 
the  constitution  pointed  out :  and  here  every  Scotsman 
should  begin  not  to  read  only,  but  to  study  the  history 
of  his  country.  During  the  fourth  period,  the  affairs 
of  Scotland  were  so  mingled  with  those  of  other  na- 
tions, its  situation  in  the  political  state  of  Europe  was 
so  important,  its  influence  on  the  operations  of  the 
neighbouring  kingdoms  was  so  visible,  that  its  history 
becomes  an  object  of  attention  to  foreigners ;  and  with- 
out some  knowledge  of  the  various  and  extraordinary 
revolutions  which  happened  there,  they  cannot  form  a 
just  notion,  with  respect  either  to  the  most  illustrious 
events,  or  to  the  characters  of  the  most  distinguished 
personages,  in  the  sixteenth  century. 

The  following  history  is  confined  to  the  last  of  these  A  review 
periods :  to  give  a  view  of  the  political  state  of  the  king-°r*  e 
dom  during  that  which  immediately  preceded  it,  is  the 
design  of  this  preliminary  book.    The  imperfect  know- 
ledge which  strangers  have  of  the  affairs  of  Scotland, 
and  the  prejudices  Scotsmen  themselves  have  imbibed, 
with  regard  to  the  various  revolutions  in  the  govern- 
ment  of  their   country,  render   such   an   introduction 
equally  necessary  to  both. 

The  period  from  the  death  of  Alexander  the  third 
to  the  death  of  James  the  fifth,  contains  upwards  of 
two  centuries  and  a  half,  from  the  year  one  thousand 
two  hundred  and  eighty-six,  to  the  year  one  thousand 
five  hundred  and  forty-two. 

It  opens  with  the  famous  controversy  concerning  the  Rise  °f  tne 
independence  of  Scotland.     Before  the  union  of  the  concerning 

two  kingdoms,  this  was  a  question  of  much  importance. the  J,nde' 
mo   i  111  >ii  •  -i  pendence 

It  the  one  crown  had  been  considered  not  as  imperial  Of  Scotland, 
and  independent,  but  as  feudatory  to  the  other,  a  treaty 
of  union  could  not  have  been  concluded  on  equal  terms, 


8  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  i. 

and  every  advantage  which  the.  dependent  kingdom 
procured,  must  have  been  deemed  the  concession  of  a 
sovereign  to  his  vassal.  Accordingly,  about  the  be- 
ginning of  the  present  century,  and  while  a  treaty  of 
union  between  the  two  kingdoms  was  negotiating,  this 
controversy  was  agitated  with  all  the  heat  which  na- 
tional animosities  naturally  inspire.  What  was  then 
the  subject  of  serious  concern,  the  union  of  the  two 
kingdoms  has  rendered  a  matter  of  mere  curiosity. 
But  though  the  objects,  which,  at  that  time,  warmed 
and  interested  both  nations,  exist  no  longer,  a  question 
which  appeared  so  momentous  to  our  ancestors,  cannot 
be  altogether  indifferent  or  uninstructive  to  us. 

Some  of  the  northern  counties  of  England  were 
early  in  the  hands  of  the  Scottish  kings,  who,  as  far 
back  as  the  feudal  customs  can  be  traced,  held  these 
possessions  of  the  kings  of  England,  and  did  homage 
to  them  on  that  account.  This  homage,  due  only  for 
the  territories  which  they  held  in  England,  was  in  no- 
wise derogatory  from  their  royal  dignity.  Nothing  is 
more  suitable  to  feudal  ideas,  than  that  the  same  per- 
son should  be  both^a  lord  and  a  vassal,  independent  in 
one  capacity,  and  dependent  in  another5.  The  crown 
of  England  was,  without  doubt,  imperial  and  independ- 
ent, though  the  princes  who  wore  it  were,  for  many 
ages,  the  vassals  of  the  kings  of  France  ;  and,  in  con- 
sequence of  their  possessions  in  that  kingdom,  bound 
to  perform  all  the  services  which  a  feudal  sovereign 

It  A  very  singular  proof  of  this  occurs  in  the  French  history.  Arpin  sold 
the  vicomt6  of  the  city  of  Bourges  to  Philip  the  first,  who  did  homage  to 
the  count  of  Sancerre  for  a  part  of  these  lands,  which  held  of  that  noble- 
man, a.d.  1100.  I  believe  that  no  example  of  a  king's  doing  homage 
to  one  of  his  own  subjects,  is  to  be  met  with  in  the  histories  either  of  Eng- 
land or  Scotland.  Philip  le  bel  abolished  this  practice  in  France,  a.  d. 
1302.  H£nault,  Abr6g6  chronol.  Somewhat  similar  to  this,  is  a  charter  • 
of  the  abbot  of  Melross,  a.d.  1535,  constituting  James  the  fifth  the  bailiff 
or  steward  of  that  abbey,  vesting  in  him  all  the  powers  which  pertained  to 
that  office,  and  requiring  him  to  be  answerable  to  the  abbot  for  his  exercise 
of  the  same.  Archiv.  publ.  Edin. 


BOOK  r.  OF  SCOTLAND.  9 

has  a  title  to  exact.  The  same  was  the  condition  of 
the  monarchs  of  Scotland ;  free  and  independent,  as 
kings  of  their  own  country,  but,  as  possessing  English 
territories,  vassals  to  the  king  of  England.  The  Eng- 
lish monarchs,  satisfied  with  their  legal  and  uncontro- 
verted  rights,  were,  during  a  long  period,  neither  ca- 
pable, nor  had  any  thoughts,  of  usurping  more.  Eng- 
land, when  conquered  by  the  Saxons,  being  divided  by 
them  into  many  small  kingdoms,  was  in  no  condition  to 
extend  its  dominion  over  Scotland,  united  at  that  time 
under  one  monarch.  And  though  these  petty  princi- 
palities were  gradually  formed  into  one  kingdom,  the 
reigning  princes,  exposed  to  continual  invasions  of  the 
Danes,  and  often  subjected  to  the  yoke  of  those  for- 
midable pirates,  seldom  turned  their  arms  towards 
Scotland,  and  were  little  able  to  establish  new  rights 
in  that  country.  The  first  kings  of  the  Norman  race, 
busied  with  introducing  their  own  laws  and  manners 
into  the  kingdom  which  they  had  conquered,  or  with 
maintaining  themselves  on  the  throne  which  some  of 
them  possessed  by  a  very  dubious  title,  were  as  little 
solicitous  to  acquire  new  authority,  or  to  form  new  pre- 
tensions in  Scotland.  An  unexpected  calamity  that 
befell  one  of  the  Scottish  kings  first  encouraged  the 
English  to  think  of  bringing  his  kingdom  under  de- 
pendence. William,  surnamed  the  Lion,  being  taken 
prisoner  at  Alnwick,  Henry  the  second,  as  the  price  of 
his  liberty,  not  only  extorted  from  him  an  exorbitant 
ransom,  and  a  promise  to  surrender  the  places  of 
greatest  strength  in  his  dominions,  but  compelled  him 
to  do  homage  for  his  whole  kingdom.  Richard  the 
first,  a  generous  prince,  solemnly  renounced  this  claim 
of  homage,  and  absolved  William  from  the  hard  con- 
ditions which  Henry  had  imposed.  Upon  the  death 
of  Alexander  the  third,  near  a  century  after,  Edward 
the  first,  availing  himself  of  the  situation  of  affairs  in 
Scotland,  acquired  an  influence  in  that  kingdom,  which 
no  English  monarch  before  him  ever  possessed,  and, 


10  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  i. 

imitating  the  interested  policy  of  Henry,  rather  than 
the  magnanimity  of  Richard,  revived  the  claim  of  so- 
vereignty to  which  the  former  had  pretended. 
Pretensions  Margaret  of  Norway,  granddaughter  of  Alexander, 
B^ioTexa-d  and  heir  to  *"s  crown,  did  not  long  survive  him.  The 
mined.  right  of  succession  belonged  to  the  descendants  of 
David,  earl  of  Huntingdon,  third  son  of  king  David  the 
first.  Among  these,  Robert  Bruce,  and  John  Baliol,  two 
illustrious  competitors  for  the  crown,  appeared.  Bruce 
was  the  son  of  Isabel,  earl  David's  second  daughter ; 
Baliol,  the  grandson  of  Margaret  the  eldest  daughter. 
According  to  the  rules  of  succession  which  are  now 
established,  the  right  of  Baliol  was  preferable ;  and, 
notwithstanding  Bruce's  plea  of  being  nearer  in  blopd 
to  earl  David,  Baliol's  claim,  as  the  representative  of 
his  mother  and  grandmother,  would  be  deemed  incon- 
testable. But  in  that  age,  the  order  of  succession  was 
not  ascertained  with  the  same  precision.  The  question 
appeared  to  be  no  less  intricate,  than  it  was  important. 
Though  the  prejudices  of  the  people,  and  perhaps  the 
laws  of  the  kingdom,  favoured  Bruce,  each  of  the  rivals 
was  supported  by  a  powerful  faction.  Arms  alone,  it 
was  feared,  must  terminate  a  dispute  too  weighty  for 
the  laws  to  decide.  But,  in  order  to  avoid  the  miseries 
of  a  civil  war,  Edward  was  chosen  umpire,  and  both 
parties  agreed  to  acquiesce  in  his  decree.  This  had 
well  nigh  proved,  fatal  to  the  independence  of  Scotland ; 
and  the  nation,  by  its  eagerness  to  guard  against  a  civil 
war,  was  not  only  exposed  to  that  calamity,  but  almost 
subjected  to  a  foreign  yoke.  Edward  was  artful,  brave, 
enterprising,  and  commanded  a  powerful  and  martial 
people,  at  peace  with  the  whole  world.  The  anarchy 
which  prevailed  in  Scotland,  and  the  ambition  of  com- 
petitors ready  to  sacrifice  their  country  in  order  to  ob- 
tain even  a  dependent  crown,  invited  him  first  to  seize, 
and  then  to  subject  the  kingdom.  The  authority  of  an 
umpire,  which  had  been  unwarily  bestowed  upon  him, 
and  from  which  the  Scots  dreaded  no  dangerous  con- 


BOOK  i.  OF  SCOTLAND.  11 

sequences,  enabled  him  to  execute  his  schemes  with 
the  greater  facility.  Under  pretence  of  examining  the 
question  with  the  utmost  solemnity,  he  summoned  all 
the  Scottish  barons  to  Norham ;  and  having  gained 
some,  and  intimidated  others,  he  prevailed  on  all  who 
were  present,  not  excepting  Bruce  and  Baliol,  the  com- 
petitors, to  acknowledge  Scotland  to  be  a  fief  of  the 
English  crown,  and  to  swear  fealty  to  him  as  their 
'  sovereign,'  or  '  liege  lord.'  This  step  led  to  another 
still  more  important.  As  it  was  vain  to  pronounce  a 
sentence  which  he  had  not  power  to  execute,  Edward 
demanded  possession  of  the  kingdom,  that  he  might  be 
able  to  deliver  it  to  him  whose  right  should  be  found 
preferable ;  and  such  was  the  pusillanimity  of  the  no- 
bles, and  the  impatient  ambition  of  the  competitors, 
that  both  assented  to  this  strange  demand,  and  Gilbert 
de  Umfraville,  earl  of  Angus,  was  the  only  man -who 
refused  to  surrender  the  castles  in  his  custody  to  the 
enemy  of  his  country.  Edward,  finding  Baliol  the  most 
obsequious  and  the  least  formidable  of  the  two  compe- 
titors, soon  after  gave  judgment  in  his  favour.  Baliol 
once  more  professed  himself  the  vassal  of  England,  and 
submitted  to  every  condition  which  the  sovereign  whom 
he  had  now  acknowledged  was  pleased  to  prescribe. 

Edward,  having  thus  placed  a  creature  of  his  own 
upon  the  throne  of  Scotland,  and  compelled  the  nobles 
to  renounce  the  ancient  liberties  and  independence  of 
their  country,  had  reason  to  conclude  that  his  dominion 
was  now  fully  established.  But  he  began  too  soon  to 
assume  the  master;  his  new  vassals,  fierce  and  inde- 
pendent, bore  with  impatience  a  yoke,  to  which  they 
were  not  accustomed.  Provoked  by  his  haughtiness, 
even  the  passive  spirit  of  Baliol  began  to  mutiny.  But 
Edward,  who  had  no  longer  use  for  such  a  pageant 
king,  forced  him  to  resign  the  crown,  and  openly  at- 
tempted to  seize  it,  as  fallen  to  himself  by  the  rebellion 
of  his  vassal.  At  that  critical  period  arose  sir  William 
Wallace,  a  hero,  to  whom  the  fond  admiration  of  his 


12  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  i. 

countrymen  hath  ascribed  many  fabulous  acts  of  prow- 
ess, though  his  real  valour,  as  well  as  integrity  and 
wisdom,  are  such  as  need  not  the  heightenings  of  fic- 
tion. He,  almost  single,  ventured  to  take  arms  in  de- 
fence of  the  kingdom,  and  his  boldness  revived  the 
spirit  of  his  countrymen.  At  last,  Robert  Bruce,  the 
grandson  of  him  who  stood  in  competition  with  Baliol, 
appeared  to  assert  his  own  rights,  and  to  vindicate  the 
honour  of  his  country.  The  nobles,  ashamed  of  their 
former  baseness,  and  enraged  at  the  many  indignities 
offered  to  the  nation,  crowded  to  his  standard.  In 
order  to  crush  him  at  once,  the  English  monarch  en- 
tered Scotland,  at  the  head  of  a  mighty  army.  Many 
battles  were  "fought,  and  the  Scots,  though  often  van- 
quished, were  not  subdued.  The  ardent  zeal  with 
which  the  nobles  contended  for  the  independence  of 
the  kingdom,  the  prudent  valour  of  Bruce,  and,  above 
all,  a  national  enthusiasm  inspired  by  such  a  cause,  baf- 
fled the  repeated  efforts  of  Edward,  and  counterba- 
lanced all  the  advantages  which  he  derived  from  the 
number  and  wealth  of  his  subjects.  Though  the  war 
continued  with  little  intermission  upwards  of  seventy 
years,  Bruce  and  his  posterity  kept  possession  of  the 
throne  of  Scotland,  and  reigned  with  an  authority  not 
inferior  to  that  of  its  former  monarchs. 

But  while  the  sword,  the  ultimate  judge  of  all  dis- 
putes between  contending  nations,  was  employed  to 
terminate  this  controversy,  neither  Edward  nor  the 
Scots  seemed  to  distrust  the  justice  of  their  cause;  and 
both  appealed  to  history  and  records,  and  from  these 
produced,  in  their  own  favour,  such  evidence  as  they 
pretended  to  be  unanswerable.  The  letters  and  me- 
morials addressed  by  each  party  to  the  pope,  who  was 
then  reverenced  as  the  common  father,  and  often  ap- 
pealed to  as  the  common  judge  of  all  Christian  princes, 
are  still  extant.  The  fabulous  tales  of  the  early  British 
history ;  the  partial  testimony  of  ignorant  chroniclers ; 
supposititious  treaties  and  charters ;  are  the  proofs  on 


BOOK  i.  OF  SCOTLAND.  13 

which  Edward  founded  his  title  to  the  sovereignty  of 
Scotland ;  and  the  homage  done  by  the  Scottish  mo- 
narchs  for  their  lands  in  England  is  preposterously 
supposed  to  imply  the  subjection  of  their  whole  king- 
dom0. Ill-founded,  however,  as  their  right  was,  the 
English  did  not  fail  to  revive  it,  in  all  the  subsequent 
quarrels  between  the  two  kingdoms;  while  the  Scots 
disclaimed  it  with  the  utmost  indignation.  To  this  we 
must  impute  the  fierce  and  implacable  hatred  to  each 
other,  which  long  inflamed  both.  Their  national  anti- 
pathies were  excited,  not  only  by  the  usual  circum- 
stances of  frequent  hostilities,  and  reciprocal  injuries ; 
but  the  English  considered  the  Scots  as  vassals  who 
had  presumed  to  rebel,  and  the  Scots,  in  their  turn, 
regarded  the  English  as  usurpers  who  aimed  at  en- 
slaving their  country. 

At  the  time  when  Robert  Bruce  began  his  reign  in     1306. 
Scotland,  the  same  form  of  government  was  established  jj^dom*  * 

in  all  the  kingdoms  of  Europe.     This  surprising  simi-  when  Bruce 

began  his 
larity  in  their  constitution  and  laws  demonstrates  that  rejgn. 

the  nations  which  overturned  the  Roman  empire,  and 
erected  these  kingdoms,  though  divided  into  different 
tribes,  and  distinguished  by  different  names,  were  either 
derived  originally  from  the  same  source,  or  had  been 
placed  in  similar  situations.  When  we  take  a  view  of 
the  feudal  system  of  laws  and  policy,  that  stupendous 
and  singular  fabric  erected  by  them,  the  first  object 
that  strikes  us  is  the  king.  And  when  we  are  told  that 
he  is  the  sole  proprietor  of  all  the  lands  within  his  do- 
minions, that  all  his  subjects  derive  their  possessions 
from  him,  and  in  return  consecrate  their  lives  to  his 
service ;  when  we  hear  that  all  marks  of  distinction, 
and  titles  of  dignity,  flow  from  him,  as  the  only  fountain 
of  honour  ;  when  we  behold  the  most  potent  peers,  on 
their  bended  knees,  and  with  folded  hands,  swearing 
fealty  at  his  feet,  and  acknowledging  him  to  be  their 

c  Anderson's  Historical  Essay  concerning  the  independency,  etc. 


14  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  i. 

'  sovereign'  and  their  '  liege  lord ;'  we  are  apt  to 
pronounce  him  a  powerful,  nay,  an  absolute  monarch. 
No  conclusion,  however,  would  be  more  rash,  or  worse 
founded.  The  genius  of  the  feudal  government  was 
purely  aristocratical.  With  all  the  ensigns  of  royalty, 
and  with  many  appearances  of  despotic  power,  a  feudal 
king  was  the  most  limited  of  all  princes. 

origin  of  Before  they  sallied  out  of  their  own  habitations  to 
govern-  *  conquer  the  world,  many  of  the  northern  nations  seem 
ment,  and  not  to  have  been  subject  to  the  government  of  kings d: 

itsaristocra-        .  .  i  .      , 

deal  genius,  and  even  where  monarchical  government  was  establish- 
ed, the  prince  possessed  but  little  authority.  A  general, 
rather  than  a  king,  his  military  command  was  extensive, 
his  civil  jurisdiction  almost  nothing6.  The  army  which 
he  led  was  not  composed  of  soldiers,  who  could  be 
compelled  to  serve,  but  of  such  as  voluntarily  followed 
his  standard f.  These  conquered  not  for  their  leader, 
but  for  themselves ;  and,  being  free  in  their  own  coun- 
try, renounced  not  their  liberty,  when  they  acquired 
new  settlements.  They  did  not  exterminate  the  an- 
cient inhabitants  of  the  countries  which  they  subdued ; 
but,  seizing  the  greater  part  of  their  lands,  they  took 
their  persons  under  protection.  The  difficulty  of  main- 
taining a  new  conquest,  as  well  as  the  danger  of  being 
attacked  by  new  invaders,  rendering  it  necessary  to  be 
always  in  a  posture  of  defence,  the  form  of  government 
which  they  established  was  altogether  military,  and 
nearly  resembled  that  to  which  they  had  been  accus- 
tomed in  their  native  country.  Their  general  still  con- 
tinuing to  be  the  head  of  the  colony,  part  of  the  con- 
quered lands  were  allotted  to  him ;  the  remainder,  under 
the  name  of '  beneficia'  or  *  fiefs,'  was  divided  amongst 
his  principal  officers.  As  the  common  safety  required 
that  these  officers  should,  upon  all  occasions,  be  ready 
to  appear  in  arms,  for  the  common  defence,  and  should 
continue  obedient  to  their  general,  they  bound  them- 

d  Caes.  lib.  vi.  c.  23.  e  Tacit,  de  Mor.  Germ.  c.  7.  11. 

f  Caes.  ibid. 


BOOK  i.  OF  SCOTLAND.  15 

selves  to  take  the  field,  when  called,  and  to  serve  him 
with  a  number  of  men,  in  proportion  to  the  extent  of 
their  territory.  These  great  officers  again  parcelled 
out  their  lands  among  their  followers,  and  annexed  the 
same  condition  to  the  grant.  A  feudal  kingdom  was 
properly  the  encampment  of  a  great  army;  military 
ideas  predominated,  military  subordination  was  esta- 
blished, and  the  possession  of  land  was  the  pay  which 
soldiers  received  for  their  personal  service.  In  con- 
sequence of  these  notions,  the  possession  of  land  was 
granted  during  pleasure  only,  and  kings  were  elective. 
In  other  words,  an  officer  disagreeable  to  his  general 
was  deprived  of  his  pay,  and  the  person  who  was  most 
capable  of  conducting  an  army  was  chosen  to  command 
it.  Such  were  the  first  rudiments,  or  infancy  of  feudal 
government. 

But  long  before  the  beginning  of  the  fourteenth  cen- 
tury, the  feudal  system  had  undergone  many  changes, 
of  which  the  following  were  the   most  considerable. 
Kings,  formerly  elective,  were  then  hereditary;   and 
fiefs,  granted  at  first  during  pleasure,  descended  from 
father  to  son,  and  were  become  perpetual.      These 
changes,  not  less  advantageous  to  the  nobles  than  to 
the  prince,  made  no  alteration  in  the  aristocratical  spi- 
rit of  the  feudal  constitution.     The  king,  who,  at  a  dis-  General 
tance,  seemed  to  be  invested  with  majesty  and  power,  ^hiclfli 
appears,  on  a  nearer  view,  to  possess  almost  none  of  mited  the 
those  advantages  which  bestow  on  monarchs  their  gran-  JhTfeudal 
deur  and  authority.    His  revenues  were  scanty ;  he  had  m°narchs. 
not  a  standing  army  ;  and  the  jurisdiction  he  possessed 
was  circumscribed  within  very  narrow  limits. 

At  a  time  when  pomp  and  splendour  were  little  known,  Their  reve- 
even  in  the  palaces  of  kings ;  when  the  officers  of  the 
crown  received  scarcely  any  salary  besides  the  fees  and 
perquisites  of  their  office ;  when  embassies  to  foreign 
courts  were  rare ;  when  armies  were  composed  of  sol- 
diers who  served  without  pay ;  it  was  not  necessary  that 
a  king  should  possess  a  great  revenue;  nor  did  the 


1C  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  i. 

condition  of  Europe,  in  those  ages,  allow  its  princes  to 
be  opulent.  Commerce  made  little  progress  in  the 
kingdoms  where  the  feudal  government  was  establish- 
ed. Institutions,  which  had  no  other  object  but  to  in- 
spire a  martial  spirit,  to  train  men  to  be  soldiers,  and 
to  make  arms  the  only  honourable  profession,  naturally 
discouraged  the  commercial  arts.  The  revenues,  aris- 
ing from  the  taxes  imposed  on  the  different  branches 
of  commerce,  were,  by  consequence,  inconsiderable; 
and  the  prince's  treasury  received  little  supply  from  a 
source,  which,  among  a  trading  people,  flows  with  such 
abundance,  and  is  almost  inexhaustible.  A  fixed  tax 
was  not  levied  even  on  land:  such  a  burthen  would 
have  appeared  intolerable  to  men  who  received  their 
estates  as  the  reward  of  their  valour,  and  who  consi- 
dered their  service  in  the  field  as  a  full  retribution  for 
what  they  possessed.  The  king's  '  demesnes,'  or  the 
portion  of  land  which  he  still  retained  in  his  own  hands 
unalienated,  furnished  subsistence  to  his  court,  and  de- 
frayed the  ordinary  expense  of  government8.  The 
only  stated  taxes  which  the  feudal  law  obliged  vassals 
to  pay  to  the  king,  or  to  those  of  whom  they  held  their 
lands,  were  three  :  one,  when  his  eldest  son  was  made 
a  knight ;  another,  when  his  eldest  daughter  was  mar- 
ried ;  and  a  third,  in  order  to  ransom  him,  if  he  should 
happen  to  be  taken  prisoner.  Besides  these,  the  king 
received  the  feudal  casualties  of  the  ward,  marriage, 
etc.  of  his  own  vassals.  And,  on  some  extraordinary 
occasions,  his  subjects  granted  him  an  aid,  which  they 
distinguished  by  the  name  of  a  '  benevolence,'  in  order 
to  declare  that  he  received  it  not  in  consequence  of  any 
right,  but  as  a  gift,  flowing  from  their  good  willh.  All 
these  added  together,  produced  a  revenue  so  scanty 
and  precariqus,  as  naturally  incited  a  feudal  monarch  to 
aim  at  diminishing  the  exorbitant  power  and  wealth  of 
the  nobility,  but,  instead  of  enabling  him  to  carry  on 

«  Craig,  de  Feud.  lib.  i.     Dieg.  14.    Du  Cange,  Gloss,  voc.  dominicum. 
h  Du  Cange,  voc.  auxilium. 


Book  i.  OF  SCOTLAND.  17 

his  schemes  with  full  effect,  kept  him  in  continual  indi- 
gence, anxiety,  and  dependence. 

Nor  could  the  king  supply  the  defect  of  his  revenues  They  had 
by  the  terrour  of  his  arms.  Mercenary  troops  and  stand- 
ing  armies  were  unknown,  as  long  as  the  feudal  govern- 
ment subsisted  in  vigour.  Europe  was  peopled  with 
soldiers.  The  vassals  of  the  king,  and  the  sub-vassals 
of  the  barons,  were  all  obliged  to  carry  arms.  While 
the  poverty  of  princes  prevented  them  from  fortifying 
their  frontier  towns,  while  a  campaign  continued  but  a 
few  weeks,  and  while  a  fierce  and  impetuous  courage 
was  impatient  to  bring  every  quarrel  to  the  decision  of 
a  battle,  an  army,  without  pay,  and  with  little  discipline, 
was  sufficient  for  all  the  purposes  both  of  the  security 
and  of  the  glory  of  the  nation.  Such  an  army,  how- 
ever, far  from  being  an  engine  at  the  king's  disposal, 
was  often  no  less  formidable  to  him,  than  to  his  ene- 
mies. The  more  warlike  any  people  were,  the  more 
independent  they  became ;  and  the  same  persons  being 
both  soldiers  and  subjects,  civil  privileges  and  immuni- 
ties were  the  consequence  of  their  victories,  and  the 
reward  of  their  martial  exploits.  Conquerors,  whom 
mercenary  armies,  under  our  present  forms  of  govern- 
ment, often  render  the  tyrants  of  their  own  people,  as 
well  as  the  scourges  of  mankind,  were  commonly,  under 
the  feudal  constitution,  the  most  indulgent  of  all  princes 
to  their  subjects,  because  they  stood  most  in  need  of 
their  assistance.  A  prince,  whom  even  war  and  victo- 
ries did  not  render  the  master  of  his  own  army,  pos- 
sessed hardly  any  shadow  of  military  power  during 
times  of  peace.  His  disbanded  soldiers  mingled  with 
his  other  subjects ;  not  a  single  man  received  pay  from 
him ;  many  ages  elapsed  even  before  a  guard  was  ap- 
pointed to  defend  his  person;  and  destitute  of  that 
great  instrument  of  dominion,  a  standing  army,  the  au- 
thority of  the  king  continued  always  feeble,  and  was 
often  contemptible. 

Nor  were  these  the  only  circumstances  which  contri- 

VOL.  i.  c 


18  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  i. 

Their  juris-  buted  towards  depressing  the  regal  power.  By  the 
limited.WaS  feudal  system,  as  has  been  already  observed,  the  king's 
judicial  authority  was  extremely  circumscribed.  At  first, 
princes  seem  to  have  been  the  supreme  judges  of  their 
people,  and,  in  person,  heard  and  determined  all  con- 
troversies among  them.  The  multiplicity  of  causes  soon 
made  it  necessary  to  appoint  judges,  who,  in  the  king's 
name,  decided  matters  that  belonged  to  the  royal  juris- 
diction. But  the  barbarians,  who  overran  Europe,  hav- 
ing destroyed  most  of  the  great  cities,  and  the  countries 
which  they  seized  being  cantoned  out  among  power- 
ful chiefs,  who  were  blindly  followed  by  numerous  de- 
pendents, whom,  in  return,  they  were  bound  to  pro- 
tect from  every  injury ;  the  administration  of  justice 
was  greatly  interrupted,  and  the  execution  of  any  legal 
sentence  became  almost  impracticable.  Theft,  rapine, 
murder,  and  disorder  of  all  kinds,  prevailed  in  every 
kingdom  of  Europe,  to  a  degree  almost  incredible,  and 
scarce  compatible  with  the  subsistence  of  civil  society. 
Every  offender  sheltered  himself  under  the  protection 
of  some  powerful  chieftain,  who  screened  him  from  the 
pursuits  of  justice.  To  apprehend,  and  to  punish  a  cri- 
minal, often  required  the  union  and  effort  of  half  a 
kingdom1.  In  order  to  remedy  these  evils,  many  per- 

1  A  remarkable  instance  of  this  occurs  in  the  following  history,  so  late  as 
the  year  one  thousand  five  hundred  and  sixty-one.  Mary,  having  appointed 
a  court  of  justice  to  be  held  on  the  borders,  the  inhabitants  of  no  less  than 
eleven  counties  were  summoned  to  guard  the  person,  who  was  to  act  as 
judge,  and  to  enable  him  to  enforce  his  decisions.  The  words  of  a  pro- 
clamation, which  afford  such  a  convincing  proof  of  the  feebleness  of  the 
feudal  government,  deserve  our  notice.  "  And  because  it  is  necessary  for 
the  execution  of  her  highness'  commandments  and  service,  that  her  justice 
be  well  accompanied,  and  her  authority  sufficiently  fortified,  by  the  con- 
currence of  a  good  power  of  her  faithful  subjects — Therefore  commands 
and  charges  all  and  sundry  earls,  lords,  barons,  freeholders,  landed-men, 
and  other  gentlemen,  dwelling  within  the  said  counties,  that  they,  and  every 
one  of  them,  with  their  kin,  friends,  servants,  and  household-men,  well 
bodin  in  feir  of  war  in  the  most  substantious  manner,  [i.  e.  completely  ' 
armed  and  provided,]  and  with  twenty  days'  victuals,  to  meet  and  to  pass 
forward  with  him  to  the  borough  of  Jedburgh,  and  there  to  remain  during 
the  said  space  of  twenty  days,  and  to  receive  such  direction  and  commands 


BOOK  i.  OF  SCOTLAND.  19 

sons  of  distinction  were  entrusted  with  the  administra- 
tion of  justice  within  their  own  territories.  But  what, 
we  may  presume,  was,  at  first,  only  a  temporary  grant, 
or  a  personal  privilege,  the  encroaching  spirit  of  the 
nobles  gradually  converted  into  a  right,  and  rendered 
hereditary.  The  lands  of  some  were,  in  process  of 
time,  erected  into  '  baronies,'  those  of  others  into  *  re- 
galities.' The  jurisdiction  of  the  former  was  extensive; 
that  of  the  latter,  as  the  name  implies,  royal,  and  almost 
unbounded.  All  causes,  whether  civil  or  criminal,  were 
tried  by  judges,  whom  the  lord  of  the  regality  ap- 
pointed; and  if  the  king's  courts  called  any  person 
within  his  territory  before  them,  the  lord  of  regality 
might  put  a  stop  to  their  proceedings,  and,  by  the  pri- 
vilege of  '  repledging,'  remove  the  cause  to  his  own 
court,  and  even  punish  his  vassal,  if  he  submitted  to  a 
foreign  jurisdiction11.  Thus  almost  every  question,  in 
which  any  person  who  resided  on  the  lands  of  the  no- 
bles was  interested,  being  determined  by  judges  ap- 
pointed by  the  nobles  themselves,  their  vassals  were 
hardly  sensible  of  being,  in  any  degree,  subject  to  the 
crown.  A  feudal  kingdom  was  split  into  many  small 
principalities,  almost  independent,  and  held  together 
by  a  feeble  and  commonly  an  imperceptible  bond  of 
union.  The  king  was  not  only  stripped  of  the  autho- 
rity annexed  to  the  person  of  a  supreme  judge,  but  his 
revenue  suffered  no  small  diminution,  by  the  loss  of 
those  pecuniary  emoluments,  which  were,  in  that  age, 
due  to  the  person  who  administered  justice. 

In  the  same  proportion  that  the  king  sunk  in  power, 
the  nobles  rose  towards  independence.  Not  satisfied 
with  having  obtained  an  hereditary  right  to  their  fiefs, 
which  they  formerly  held  during  pleasure,  their  ambi- 
tion aimed  at  something  bolder,  and,  by  introducing 

as  shall  be  given  by  him  to  them  in  our  sovereign  lady's  name,  for  quietness 
of  the  country  ;  and  to  put  the  same  in  execution  under  the  pain  of  losing 
their  life,  lands,  and  goods."     Keith's  Hist,  of  Scotland,  198. 
k  Craig,  lib.  iii.  Dieg.  7. 

c2 


20  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  i. 

'  entails,'  endeavoured,  as  far  as  human  ingenuity  and  in- 
vention can  reach  that  end,  to  render  their  possessions 
unalienable  and  everlasting.  As  they  had  full  power  to 
add  to  the  inheritance  transmitted  to  them  from  their 
ancestors,  but  none  to  diminish  it,  time  alone,  by  means 
of  marriages,  legacies,  and  other  accidents,  brought 
continual  accessions  of  wealth  and  of  dignity  ;  a  great 
family,  like  a  river,  became  considerable  from  the  length 
of  its  course,  and,  as  it  rolled  on,  new  honours  and 
new  property  flowed  successively  into  it.  Whatever 
influence  is  derived  from  titles  of  honour,  the  feudal 
barons  likewise  possessed  in  an  ample  manner.  These 
marks  of  distinction  are,  in  their  own  nature,  either 
official  or  personal,  and  being  annexed  to  a  particular 
charge,  or  bestowed  by  the  admiration  of  mankind 
upon  illustrious  characters,  ought  to  be  appropriated 
to  these.  But  the  son,  however  unworthy,  could  not 
bear  to  be  stripped  of  that  appellation  by  which  his  fa- 
ther had  been  distinguished.  His  presumption  claimed, 
what  his  virtue  did  not  merit ;  titles  of  honour  became 
hereditary,  and  added  new  lustre  to  nobles  already  in 
possession  of  too  much  power.  Something  more  auda- 
cious and  more  extravagant  still  remained.  The  su- 
preme direction  of  all  affairs,  both  civil  and  military, 
being  committed  to  the  great  officers  of  the  crown,  the 
fame  and  safety  of  princes,  as  well  as  of  their  people, 
depended  upon  the  fidelity  and  abilities  of  these  offi- 
cers. But  such  was  the  preposterous  ambition  of  the 
nobles,  and  so  successful  even  in  their  wildest  attempts 
to  aggrandize  themselves,  that  in  all  the  kingdoms 
where  the  feudal  institutions  prevailed,  most  of  the 
chief  offices  of  state  were  annexed  to  great  families, 
and  held,  like  fiefs,  by  hereditary  right.  A  person 
whose  undutiful  behaviour  rendered  him  odious  to  his 
prince,  or  whose  incapacity  exposed  him  to  the  con- 
tempt of  the  people,  often  held  a  place  of  power  and 
trust  of  the  greatest  importance  to  both.  In  Scotland, 
the  offices  of  lord  justice  general,  great  ehamberlain, 


BOOK  i.  OF  SCOTLAND.  21 

high  steward,  high  constable,  earl  marshal,  and  high 
admiral,  were  all  hereditary;  and  in  many  counties,  the 
office  of  sheriff  was  held  in  the  same  manner. 

Nobles,  whose  property  was  so  extensive,  and  whose 
power  was  so  great,  could  not  fail  of  being  turbulent 
and  formidable.  Nor  did  they  want  instruments  for 
executing  their  boldest  designs.  That  portion  of  their 
lands,  which  they  parcelled  out  among  their  followers, 
supplied  them  with  a  numerous  band  of  faithful  and 
determined  vassals ;  while  that  which  they  retained  in 
their  own  hands,  enabled  them  to  live  with  a  princely 
splendour.  The  great  hall  of  an  ambitious  baron  was 
often  more  crowded  than  the  court  of  his  sovereign. 
The  strong  castles,  in  which  they  resided,  afforded 
a  secure  retreat  to  the  discontented  and  seditious. 
A  great  part  of  their  revenue  was  spent  upon  mul- 
titudes of  indigent,  but  bold  retainers.  And  if  at  any 
time  they  left  their  retreat  to  appear  in  the  court  of 
their  sovereign,  they  were  accompanied,  even  in  times 
of  peace,  with  a  vast  train  of  armed  followers.  The 
usual  retinue  of  William,  the  sixth  earl  of  Douglas, 
consisted  of  two  thousand  horse.  Those  of  the  other 
nobles  were  magnificent  and  formidable  in  proportion. 
Impatient  of  subordination,  and  forgetting  their  proper 
rank,  such  potent  and  haughty  barons  were  the  rivals, 
rather  than  the  subjects,  of  their  prince.  They  often 
despised  his  orders,  insulted  his  person,  and  wrested 
from  him  his  crown.  The  history  of  Europe,  during 
several  ages,  contains  little  else  but  the  accounts  of  the 
wars  and  revolutions  occasioned  by  their  exorbitant 
ambition. 

But,  if  the  authority  of  the  barons  far  exceeded  its  Their  power 
proper  bounds  in  the  other  nations  of  Europe,  we  may  f^and1 
affirm  that  the  balance  which  ought  to  be  preserved  tban  in  any 
between  a  king  and  hi's  nobles  was  almost  entirely  lost  jom> 
in  Scotland.     The  Scottish  nobles  enjoyed,  in  common 
with  those  of  other  nations,  all  the  means  for  extending 
their  authority  which  arise  from  the  aristocratical  ge- 


22  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  i. 

nius  of  the  feudal  government.    Besides  these,  they  pos- 
sessed advantages  peculiar  to  themselves :  the  accidental 
sources  of  their  power  were  considerable ;  and  singular 
circumstances  concurred  with  the  spirit  of  the  constitu- 
The  parti-   tion  to  aggrandize  them.     To  enumerate  the  most  re- 
of  this?"1  >esmarkable  of  these,  will  serve  both  to  explain  the  political 
state  of  the  kingdom,  and  to  illustrate  many  important 
occurrences  in  the  period  now  under  our  review. 
The  na-  I.  The  nature  of  their  country  was  one  cause  of  the 

count™.  *  power  and  independence  of  the  Scottish  nobility.  Level 
and  open  countries  are  formed  for  servitude.  The  au- 
thority of  the  supreme  magistrate  reaches  with  ease  to 
the  most  distant  corners ;  and  when  nature  has  erected 
no  barrier,  and  affords  no  retreat,  the  guilty  or  ob- 
noxious are  soon  detected  and  punished.  Mountains, 
and  fens,  and  rivers,  set  bounds  to  despotic  power,  and 
amidst  these  is  the  natural  seat  of  freedom  and  inde- 
pendence. In  such  places  did  the  Scottish  nobles 
usually  fix  their  residence.  By  retiring  to  his  own 
castle,  a  mutinous  baron  could  defy  the  power  of  his  so- 
vereign, it  being  almost  impracticable  to  lead  an  army, 
through  a  barren  country,  to  places  of  difficult  access 
to  a  single  man.  The  same  causes  which  checked  the 
progress  of  the  Roman  arms,  and  rendered  all  the 
efforts  of  Edward  the  first  abortive,  often  protected  the 
Scottish  nobles  from  the  vengeance  of  their  prince ;  and 
they  owed  their  personal  independence  to  those  very 
mountains  and  marshes  which  saved  their  country  from 
being  conquered. 

The  small  II.  The  want  of  great  cities  in  Scotland  contributed 
Cities  no*  a  little  to  increase  the  power  of  the  nobility,  and  to 
weaken  that  of  the  prince.  Wherever  numbers  of  men 
assemble  together,  order  must  be  established,  and  a 
regular  form  of  government  instituted ;  the  authority  of 
the  magistrate  must  be  recognised,  and  his  decisions 
meet  with  prompt  and  full  obedience.  Laws  and  sub- 
ordination take  rise  in  cities  ;  and  where  there  are  few 
cities,  as  in  Poland,  or  none,  as  in  Tartary,  there  are 


BOOK  i.  OF  SCOTLAND.  23 

few  or  no  traces  of  a  well-arranged  police.  But  under 
the  feudal  governments,  commerce,  the  chief  means  of 
assembling  mankind,  was  neglected ;  the  nobles,  in  or- 
der to  strengthen  their  influence  over  their  vassals,  re- 
sided among  them,  and  seldom  appeared  at  court,  where 
they  found  a  superior,  or  dwelt  in  cities,  where  they 
met  with  equals.  In  Scotland,  the  fertile  counties  in 
the  south  lying  open  to  the  English,  no  town  situated 
there  could  rise  to  be  great  or  populous,  amidst  conti- 
nual inroads  and  alarms ;  the  residence  of  our  monarchs 
was  not  fixed  to  any  particular  place ;  many  parts  of 
the  country  were  barren  and  uncultivated;  and,  in  con- 
sequence of  these  peculiar  circumstances,  added  to  the 
general  causes  flowing  from  the  nature  of  the  feudal 
institutions,  the  towns  in  Scotland  were  extremely  fewt 
and  very  inconsiderable.  The  vassals  of  every  baron 
occupied  a  distinct  portion  of  the  kingdom,  and  formed 
a  separate  and  almost  independent  society.  Instead  of 
giving  aid  towards  reducing  to  obedience  their  sedi- 
tious chieftain,  or  any  whom  he  took  under  his  protec- 
tion, they  were  all  in  arms  for  his  defence,  and  ob- 
structed the  operations  of  justice  to  the  utmost.  The 
prince  was  obliged  to  connive  at  criminals  whom  he 
could  not  reach ;  the  nobles,  conscious  of  this  advan- 
tage, were  not  afraid  to  offend ;  arid  the  difficulty  of 
punishing  almost  assured  them  of  impunity. 

III.  The  division  of  the  country  into  clans  had  no  The  institu- 
small  effect  in  rendering  the  nobles  considerable.  The  Uc 
nations  which  overran  Europe  were  originally  divided 
into  many  small  tribes ;  and  when  they  came  to  parcel 
out  the  lands  which  they  had  conquered,  it  was  natural 
for  every  chieftain  to  bestow  a  portion,  in  the  first  place, 
upon  those  of  his  own  tribe  or  family.  These  all  held 
their  lands  of  him ;  and  as  the  safety  of  each  individual 
depended  on  the  general  union,  these  small  societies 
clung  together,  and  were  distinguished  by  some  com- 
mon appellation,  either  patronymical  or  local,  long  be- 
fore the  introduction  of  surnames,  or  ensigns  armorial. 


24  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  i. 

But  when  these  became  common,  the  descendants  and 
relations  of  every  chieftain  assumed  the  same  name  and 
arms  with  him  ;  other  vassals  were  proud  to  imitate 
their  example,  and,  by  degrees,  they  were  communi- 
cated to  all  those  who  held  of  the  same  superior.  Thus 
clanships  were  formed  ;  and  in  a  generation  or  two, 
that  consanguinity,  which  was  at  first  in  a  great  mea- 
sure imaginary,  was  believed  to  be  real.  An  artificial 
union  was  converted  into  a  natural  one  ;  men  willingly 
followed  a  leader,  whom  they  regarded  both  as  the  su- 
perior of  their  lands  and  the  chief  of  their  blood,  and 
served  him  not  only  with  the  fidelity  of  vassals,  but 
with  the  affection  of  friends.  In  the  other  feudal  king- 
doms, we  may  observe  such  unions  as  we  have  de- 
scribed imperfectly  formed  ;  but  in  Scotland,  whether 
they  were  the  production  of  chance,  or  the  effect  of 
policy,  or  introduced  by  the  Irish  colony  above-men- 
tioned, and  strengthened  by  carefully  preserving  their 
genealogies,  both  genuine  and  fabulous,  clanships  were 
universal.  Such  a  confederacy  might  be  overcome,  it 
could  not  be  broken  ;  and  no  change  of  manners,  or  of 
government,  has  been  able,  in  some  parts  of  the  king- 
dom, to  dissolve  associations  which  are  founded  upon 
prejudices  so  natural  to  the  human  mind.  How  for- 
midable were  nobles  at  the  head  of  followers,  who, 
counting  that  cause  just  and  honourable  which  their 
chief  approved,  rushed  into  the  field  at  his  command, 
ever  ready  to  sacrifice  their  lives  in  defence  of  his  per- 
son or  of  his  fame  !  Against  such  men  a  king  contend- 
ed with  great  disadvantage  ;  and  that  cold  service  which 
money  purchases^  or  authority  extorts,  was  not  an  equal 
match  for  their  ardour  and  zeal. 

The  small        IV.  The  smallness  of  their  number  may  be  mention- 
thenobles.  et*  among  tne  causes  of  the  grandeur  of  the  Scottish 


nobles.  Our  annals  reach  not  back  to  the  first  division 
of  property  in  the  kingdom  ;  but  so  far  as  we  can  trace 
the  matter,  the  original  possessions  of  the  nobles  seem 
to  have  been  extensive.  The  ancient  thanes  were  the 


BOOK  i.  OF  SCOTLAND.  25 

equals  and  the  rivals  of  their  prince.  Many  of  the  earls 
and  barons,  who  succeeded  them,  were  masters  of  ter- 
ritories no  less  ample.  France  and  England,  countries 
wide  and  fertile,  afforded  settlements  to  a  numerous 
and  powerful  nobility.  Scotland,  a  kingdom  neither 
extensive  nor  rich,  could  not  contain  many  such  over- 
grown proprietors.  But  the  power  of  an  aristocracy 
always  diminishes  in  proportion  to  the  increase  of  its 
numbers ;  feeble  if  divided  among  a  multitude,  irre- 
sistible if  centred  in  a  few.  When  nobles  are  nume- 
rous, their  operations  nearly  resemble  those  of  the  peo- 
ple ;  they  are  roused  only  by  what  they  feel,  not  by 
what  they  apprehend ;  and  submit  to  many  arbitrary 
and  oppressive  acts,  before  they  take  arms  against  their 
sovereign.  A  small  body,  on  the  contrary,  is  more  sen- 
sible and  more  impatient;  quick  in  discerning,  and 
prompt  in  repelling  danger;  all  its  motions  are  as  sud- 
den as  those  of  the  other  are  slow.  Hence  proceeded 
the  extreme  jealousy  with  which  the  Scottish  nobles 
observed  their  monarchs,  and  the  fierceness  with  which 
they  opposed  their  encroachments.  Even  the  virtue  of 
a  prince  did  not  render  them  less  vigilant,  or  less  eager 
to  defend  their  rights;  and  Robert  Bruce,  notwith- 
standing the  splendour  of  his  victories,  and  the  glory  of 
his  name,  was  upon  the  point  of  experiencing  the  vi- 
gour of  their  resistance,  no  less  than  his  unpopular 
descendant,  James  the  third.  Besides  this,  the  near  al- 
liance of  the  great  families,  by  frequent  intermarriages, 
was  the  natural  consequence  of  their  small  number;  and 
as  consanguinity  was,  in  those  ages,  a  powerful  bond 
of  union,  all  the  kindred  of  a  nobleman  interested  them- 
selves in  his  quarrel,  as  a  common  cause ;  and  every 
contest  the  king  had,  though  with  a  single  baron,  soon 
drew  upon  him  the  arms  of  a  whole  confederacy. 

V.  Those  natural  connexions,  both  with  their  equals  Their 
and  with  their  inferiors,  the  Scottish  nobles  strengthen-  ^Uom 
ed  by  a  device,  which,  if  not  peculiar  to  themselves,  binations. 
was  at  least  more  frequent  among  them,  than  in  any 


26  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  i. 

other  nation.  Even  in  times  of  profound  peace,  they 
formed  associations,  which,  when  made  with  their  equals, 
were  called  *  leagues  of  mutual  defence ;'  and  when  with 
their  inferiors,  '  bonds  of  manrent.'  By  the  former,  the 
contracting  parties  bound  themselves  mutually  to  assist 
each  other,  in  all  causes,  and  against  all  persons.  By 
the  latter,  protection  was  stipulated  on  the  one  hand, 
and  fidelity  and  personal  service  promised  on  the  other1. 
Self-preservation,  it  is  probable,  forced  men  at  first  into 
these  confederacies ;  and,  while  disorder  and  rapine 
were  universal,  while  government  was  unsettled,  and 
the  authority  of  laws  little  known  or  regarded,  near 
neighbours  found  it  necessary  to  unite  in  this  manner 
for  their  security,  and  the  weak  were  obliged  to  court 
the  patronage  of  the  strong.  By  degrees,  these  asso- 
ciations became  so  many  alliances  offensive  and  defen- 
sive against  the  throne;  and,  as  their  obligation  was 
held  to  be  more  sacred  than  any  tie  whatever,  they 
gave  much  umbrage  to  our  kings,  and  contributed  not 
a  little  to  the  power  and  independence  of  the  nobility. 
In  the  reign  of  James  the  second,  William,  the  eighth 
earl  of  Douglas,  entered  into  a  league  of  this  kind  with 
the  earls  of  Crawford,  Ross,  Murray,  Ormond,  the 
lords  Hamilton,  Balveny,  and  other  powerful  barons ; 
and  so  formidable  was  this  combination  to  the  king, 
that  he  had  recourse  to  a  measure  no  less  violent  than 
unjust,  in  order  to  dissolve  it. 

The  fre-  VI.  The  frequent  wars  between  England  and  Scot- 

wfhEng-8  ^anc*  Proyed  another  cause  of  augmenting  the  power  of 
land.  the  nobility.  Nature  has  placed  no  barrier  between 
the  two  kingdoms  ;  a  river,  almost  everywhere  ford- 
able,  divides  them  towards  the  east ;  on  the  west  they 
are  separated  by  an  imaginary  line.  The  slender  re- 
venues of  our  kings  prevented  them  from  fortifying,  or 
placing  garrisons  in  the  towns  on  the  frontier;  nor 
would  the  jealousy  of  their  subjects  have  permitted  such 

1  Act  30.  Parl.  1424.     Act  43.  Parl.  1555, 


BOOK  i,  OF  SCOTLAND.  27 

a  method  of  defence.  The  barons,  whose  estates  lay 
near  the  borders,  considered  themselves  as  bound,  both 
in  honour  and  in  interest,  to  repel  the  enemy.  The 
'  wardenships'  of  the  different '  marches,'  offices  of  great 
power  and  dignity,  were  generally  bestowed  on  them. 
This  gained  them  the  leading  of  the  warlike  counties 
in  the  south ;  and  their  vassals,  living  in  a  state  of  per- 
petual hostility,  or  enjoying  at  best  an  insecure  peace, 
became  more  inured  to  war  than  even  the  rest  of  their 
countrymen,  and  more  willing  to  accompany  their  chief- 
tain in  his  most  hardy  and  dangerous  enterprises.  It 
was  the  valour,  no  less  than  the  number  of  their  fol- 
lowers, that  rendered  the  Douglases  great.  The  no- 
bles in  the  northern  and  midland  counties  were  often 
dutiful  and  obsequious  to  the  crown,  but  our  monarchs 
always  found  it  impracticable  to  subdue  the  mutinous 
and  ungovernable  spirit  of  the  borderers.  In  all  our 
domestic  quarrels,  those  who  could  draw  to  their  side 
the  inhabitants  of  the  southern  counties,  were  almost 
sure  of  victory ;  and,  conscious  of  this  advantage,  the 
lords  who  possessed  authority  there,  were  apt  to  forget 
the  duty  which  they  owed  their  sovereign,  and  to  aspire 
beyond  the  rank  of  subjects. 

VII.  The  calamities  which  befell  our  kings  contri- The  fre- 
buted  more  than  any  other  cause  to  diminish  the  royal  norities"" 
authority.     Never  was  any  race  of  monarchs  so  unfor-  which  hap- 
tunate  as  the  Scottish.    Of  six  successive  princes,  from  Scotland. 
Robert  the  third  to  James  the  sixth,  not  one  died  a  na- 
tural death ;  and  the  minorities,  during  that  time,  were 
longer,  and  more  frequent,  than  ever  happened  in  any 
other  kingdom.     From  Robert  Bruce   to  James  the 
sixth,  we  reckon  ten  princes  ;  and  seven  of  these  were 
called  to  the  throne  while  they  were  minors,  and  almost 
infants.     Even  the  most  regular  and  best-established 
governments  feel  sensibly  the  pernicious  effects  of  a 
minority,  and  either  become  languid  and  inactive,  or 
are  thrown  into  violent  and  unnatural  convulsions.  But, 
under  the  imperfect  and  ill-adjusted  system  of  govern- 


28  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  i. 

merit  in  Scotland,  these  effects  were  still  more  fatal ;  the 
fierce  and  mutinous  spirit  of  the  nobles,  unrestrained 
by  the  authority  of  a  king,  scorned  all  subjection  to  the 
delegated  jurisdiction  of  a  regent,  or  to  the  feeble  com- 
mands of  a  minor.  The  royal  authority  was  circum- 
scribed within  narrower  limits  than  ever ;  the  preroga- 
tives of  the  crown,  naturally  inconsiderable,  were  re- 
duced almost  to  nothing ;  and  the  aristocratic al  power 
gradually  rose  upon  the  ruins  of  the  monarchical.  Lest 
the  personal  power  of  a  regent  should  enable  him  to 
act  with  too  much  vigour,  the  authority  annexed  to  that 
office  was  sometimes  rendered  inconsiderable,  by  being 
divided ;  or,  if  a  single  regent  was  chosen,  the  greater 
nobles,  and  the  heads  of  the  more  illustrious  families, 
were  seldom  raised  to  "that  dignity.  It  was  often  con- 
ferred upon  men  who  possessed  little  influence,  and  ex- 
cited no  jealousy.  They,  conscious  of  their  own  weak- 
ness, were  obliged^to  overlook  some  irregularities,  and 
to  permit  others ;  and,  in  order  to  support  their  autho- 
rity, which  was  destitute  of  real  strength,  they  endea- 
voured to  gain  the  most  powerful  and  active  barons,  by 
granting  them  possessions  and  immunities,  which  raised 
them  to  still  greater  power.  When  the  king  himself 
came  to  assume  the  reins  of  government,  he  found  his 
revenues  wasted  or  alienated,  the  crown  lands  seized  or 
given  away,  and  the  nobles  so  accustomed  to  independ- 
ence, that,  after  the  struggles  of  a  whole  reign,  he  was 
seldom  able  to  reduce  them  to  the  same  state  in  which 
they  had  been  at  the  beginning  of  his  minority,  or  to 
wrest  from  them  what  they  had  usurped  during  that 
Review  of  time.  If  we  take  a  view  of  what  happened  to  each  of 
favourable  our  kings,  who  was  so  unfortunate  as  to  be  placed  in 
to  the  nobles  this  situation,  the  truth  and  importance  of  this  observa- 

dimng  each   .  .„   _  „ 

minority,     tion  will  lully  appear. 

1329.         The  minority  Of  David  the  second,  the  son  of  Robert 

David  the  * 

second.  Bruce,  was  disturbed  by  the  pretensions  of  Edward 
Baliol,  who,  relying  on  the  aid  of  England,  and  on  the 
support  of  some  disaffected  barons  among  the  Scots, 


BOOK  i.  OF  SCOTLAND.  29 

invaded  the  kingdom.  The  success  which  at  first  at- 
tended his  arms,  obliged  the  young  king  to  retire  to 
France ;  and  Baliol  took  possession  of  the  throne.  A 
small  body  of  the  nobles,  however,  continuing  faithful 
to  their  exiled  prince,  drove  Baliol  out  of  Scotland ; 
and,  after  an  absence  of  nine  years,  David  returned  from 
France,  and  took  the  government  of  the  kingdom  into 
his  own  hands.  But  nobles,  who  were  thus  wasting 
their  blood  and  treasure  in  defence  of  the  crown,  had 
a  right  to  the  undisturbed  possession  of  their  ancient 
privileges ;  and  even  some  title  to  arrogate  new  ones. 
It  seems  to  have  been  a  maxim  in  that  age,  that  every 
leader  might  claim,  as  his  own,  the  territory  which  his 
sword  had  won  from  the  enemy.  Great  acquisitions 
were  gained  by  the  nobility  in,  that  way :  and  to  these 
the  gratitude  and  liberality  of  David  added,  by  distri- 
buting among  such  as  adhered  to  him,  the  vast  posses- 
sions which  fell  to  the  crown  by  the  forfeiture  of  his 
enemies.  The  family  of  Douglas,  which  began  to  rise 
above  the  other  nobles,  in  the  reign  of  his  father,  aug- 
mented both  its  power  and  its  property  during  his  mi- 
nority.  ]405 

James  the  first  was  seized  by  the  English  during  the  James 
continuance  of  a  truce,  and  ungenerously  detained  a 
prisoner  almost  nineteen  years.  During  that  period, 
the  kingdom  was  governed,  first  by  his  uncle  Robert, 
duke  of  Albany,  and  then  by  Murdo,  the  son  of  Robert. 
Both  these  noblemen  aspired  to  the  crown ;  and  their 
unnatural  ambition,  if  we  may  believe  most  of  our  his- 
torians, not  only  cut  short  the  days  of  prince  David, 
the  king's  elder  brother,  but  prolonged  the  captivity  of 
James.  They  flattered  themselves  that  they  might  step 
with  less  opposition  into  a  throne,  when  almost  vacant; 
and,  dreading  the  king's  return,  as  the  extinction  of 
their  authority  and  the  end  of  their  hopes,  they  carried 
on  the  negotiations  for  obtaining  his  liberty  with  ex- 
treme remissness.  At  the  same  time,  they  neglected 
nothing  that  could  either  sooth  or  bribe  the  nobles  to 


THE  HISTORY 


BOOK  i. 


1437. 
James  the 
second. 


1460. 
James 
the  third. 


approve  of  their  scheme.  They  slackened  the  reins  of 
government;  they  allowed  the  prerogative  to  be  en- 
croached upon ;  they  suffered  the  most  irregular  acts 
of  power,  and  even  wanton  instances  of  oppression,  to 
pass  with  impunity ;  they  dealt  out  the  patrimony  of  the 
crown  among  those  whose  enmity  they  dreaded,  or  whose 
favour  they  had  gained ;  and  reduced  the  royal  autho- 
rity to  a  state  of  imbecility,  from  which  succeeding  mo- 
narchs  laboured  in  vain  to  raise  it. 

During  the  minority  of  James  the  second,  the  ad- 
ministration of  affairs  as  well  as  the  custody  of  the 
king's  person  were  committed  to  sir  William  Crichton 
and  sir  Alexander  Livingston.  Jealousy  and  discord 
were  the  effects  of  their  conjunct  authority,  and  each 
of  them,  in  order  to  strengthen  himself,  bestowed  new 
power  and  privileges  upon  the  great  men  whose  aid  he 
courted ;  while  the  young  earl  of  Douglas,  encouraged 
by  their  divisions,  erected  a  sort  of  independent  princi- 
pality within  the  kingdom  ;  and,  forbidding  his  vassals 
to  acknowledge  any  authority  but  his  own,  he  created 
knights,  appointed  a  privy  council,  named  officers  civil 
and  military,  assumed  every  ensign  of  royalty  but  the 
title  of  king,  and  appeared  in  public  with  a  magnificence 
more  than  royal. 

Eight  persons  were  chosen  to  govern  the  kingdom 
during  the  minority  of  James  the  third.  Lord  Boyd, 
however,  by  seizing  the  person  of  the  young  king,  and 
by  the  ascendant  which  he  acquired  over  him,  soon  en- 
grossed the  whole  authority.  He  formed  the  ambitious 
project  of  raising  his  family  to  the  same  pitch  of  power 
and  grandeur  with  those  of  the  prime  nobility ;  and  he 
effected  it.  While  intent  on  this,  he  relaxed  the  vigour 
of  government,  and  the  barons  became  accustomed, 
once  more,  to  anarchy  and  independence.  The  power, 
which  Boyd  had  been  at  so  much  pains  to  acquire,  was 
of  no  long  continuance,  and  the  fall  of  his  family,  ac- 
cording to  the  fate  of  favourites,  was  sudden  and  de- 
structive; but  upon  its  ruins  the  family  of  Hamilton 


BOOK  i.  OF  SCOTLAND.  31 

rose,  which  soon  attained  the  highest  rank  in  the  king- 
dom. 

As  the  minority  of  James  the  fifth  was  longer,  it  was  James 
likewise  more  turbulent,  than  those  of  the  preceding the  fiftllt 
kings.    And  the  contending  nobles,  encouraged  or  pro- 
tected either  by  the  king  of  France,  or  of  England, 
formed  themselves  into  more  regular  factions,  and  dis- 
regarded more  than  ever  the  restraints  of  order  and 
authority.     The  French  had  the  advantage  of  seeing 
one,  devoted  to  their  interest,  raised  to  be  regent.   This 
was  the  duke  of  Albany,  a  native  of  France,  and  a 
grandson  of  James  the  second.     But  Alexander  lord 
Home,  the  most  eminent  of  all  the  Scottish  peers  who 
survived  the  fatal  battle  of  Flowden,  thwarted  all  his 
measures  during  the  first  years  of  his  administration ; 
and  the  intrigues  of  the  queen  dowager,  sister  of  Henry 
the  eighth,  rendered  the  latter  part  of  it  no  less  feeble. 
Though  supported  by  French  auxiliaries,  the  nobles 
despised  his  authority,  and,  regardless  either  of  his 
threats  or  his  entreaties,  peremptorily  refused,  two  se- 
veral times,  to  enter  England,  to  the  borders  of  which 
kingdom  he  had  led  them.    Provoked  by  these  repeat- 
ed instances  of  contempt,  the  regent  abandoned  his 
troublesome  station,  and,  retiring  to  France,  preferred 
the  tranquillity  of  a  private  life,  to  an  office  destitute  of 
real  authority.    Upon  his  retreat,  Douglas,  earl  of  An- 
gus, became  master  of  the  king's  person,  and  governed 
the  kingdom  in  his  name.     Many  efforts  were  made  to 
deprive  him  of  his  usurped  authority.     But  the  nu- 
merous vassals   and  friends  of  his  family  adhered  to 
him,  because  he  divided  with  them  the  power  and  emo- 
luments of  his  office  ;  the  people  reverenced  and  loved 
the  name  of  Douglas ;  he  exercised,  without  the  title 
of  regent,  a  fuller  and  more  absolute  authority  than  any 
who  had  enjoyed  that  dignity;  and  the  ancient,  but 
dangerous,  preeminence  of  the  Douglases  seemed  to 
be  restored. 

To  these,  and  to  many  other  causes,  omitted  or  un- 


32  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  i. 

observed  by  us,  did  the  Scottish  nobility  owe  that  ex- 
orbitant and  uncommon  power,  of  which  instances  occur 
so  frequently  in  our  history.  Nothing,  however,  de- 
monstrates so  fully  the  extent  of  their  power,  as  the 
length  of  its  duration.  Many  years  after  the  declension 
of  the  feudal  system  in  the  other  kingdoms  of  Europe, 
and  when  the  arms  or  policy  of  princes  had,  everywhere, 
shaken,  or  laid  it  in  ruins,  the  foundations  of  that  an- 
cient fabric  remained,  in  a  great  measure,  firm  and  un- 
touched in  Scotland. 

The  power       The  powers  which  the  feudal  institutions  vested  in 
noblesse-    t^ie  n°bles>  soon  became  intolerable  to  all  the  princes 
come  into-  of  Europe,  who  longed  to  possess  something  more  than 
princes.       a  nominal  and  precarious  authority.     Their  impatience 
to  obtain  this,  precipitated  Henry  the  third  of  England, 
Edward  the  second,  and  some  other  weak  princes,  into 
rash  and  premature  attempts  against  the  privileges  of 
the  barons,  in  which  they  were  disappointed  or  pe- 
rished.    Princes,  of  greater  abilities,  were  content  to 
mitigate  evils  which  they  could  not  cure ;  they  sought 
occupation  for  the  turbulent  spirit  of  their  nobles,  in 
frequent  wars  ;  and  allowed  their  fiery  courage  to  eva- 
porate in  foreign  expeditions,  which,  if  they  brought 
no  other  advantage,  secured  at  least  domestic  tran- 
quillity.    But  time  and  accidents  ripened  the  feudal 
The  at-       governments  for  destruction.     Towards  the  end  of  the 
rmmblVthe  fifteenth  century,  and  beginning  of  the  sixteenth,  all 
nobles  sue-  the  princes  of  Europe  attacked,  as  if  by  concert,  the 
France  and  power  of  their  nobles.    Men  of  genius  then  undertook, 
in  England,  with  success,  what  their  unskilful  predecessors  had  at- 
tempted in  vain.     Lewis  the  eleventh  of  France,  the 
most  profound  and  the  most  adventurous  genius  of  that 
age,  began,  and  in  a  single  reign  almost  completed,  the 
scheme  of  their  destruction.     The  sure  but  concealed 
policy  of  Henry  the  seventh  of  England,  produced  the 
same  effect.     The  means,  indeed,  employed  by  these 
monarchs  were  very  different.    The  blow  which  Lewis 
struck  was  sudden  and  fatal.     The  artifices  of  Henry 


BOOK  i.  OF  SCOTLAND.  33 

resembled  those  slow  poisons,  which  waste  the  consti- 
tution, but  become  not  mortal  till  some  distant  period. 
Nor  did   they   produce    consequences   less   opposite. 
Lewis  boldly  added  to  the  crown  whatever  he  wrested 
from  the  nobles.     Henry  undermined  his  barons,  by 
encouraging  them  to  sell  their  lands,  which  enriched 
the  commons,  and  gave  them  a  weight  in  the  legisla- 
ture unknown  to  their  predecessors.     But  while  these  But  the 
great  revolutions  were  carrying  on  in  two  kingdoms  l}^^011' 
with  which   Scotland  was  intimately  connected,  little  gather 
alteration  happened  there;  our  kings  could  neither  ex- Scotland!"1 
tend  their  own  prerogative,  nor  enable  the  commons  to 
encroach  upon  the  aristocracy ;  the  nobles  not  only  re- 
tained most  of  their  ancient  privileges  and  possessions, 
but  continued  to  make  new  acquisitions. 

This  was  not  owing  to  the  inattention  of  our  princes,  Our  kings 
or  to  their  want  of  ambition.     They  were  abundantly  ^  toTxteii 
sensible  of  the  exorbitant  power  of  the  nobility,  and tne  r°yal 
extremely  solicitous  to  humble  that  order.     They  did 
not,  however,  possess  means  sufficient  for  accomplish- 
ing this  end.     The  resources  of  our  monarchs  were 
few,  and  the  progress  which  they  made  was  of  course 
inconsiderable.     But  as  the  number  of  their  followers,  General 
and  the  extent  of  their  jurisdiction,  were  the  two  chief  ^rds  this 
circumstances  which  rendered  the  nobles  formidable  ;  end. 
in  order  to  counterbalance  the  one,  and  to  restrain  the 
other,  all  our  kings  had  recourse  to  nearly  the  same 
expedients. 

I.  Among  nobles  of  a  fierce  courage,  and  of  unpo- Encourage 
lished  manners,  surrounded  with  vassals,  bold  and  H- among* the 
centious,  whom  they  were  bound  by  interest  and  honour  nobles, 
to  protect,  the  causes  of  discord  were  many  and  un- 
avoidable.     As  the  contending  parties  could  seldom 
agree  in  acknowledging  the  authority  of  any  common 
superior  or  judge,  and  their  impatient  spirit  would  sel- 
dom wait  the  slow  decisions  of  justice,  their  quarrels 
were  usually  terminated  by  the  sword.     The  offended 
baron  assembled  his  vassals,  and  wasted  the  lands  or 

VOL.  I.  D 


34  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  i. 

shed  the  blood  of  his  enemy.  To  forgive  an  injury, 
was  mean;  to  forbear  revenge,  infamous  or  cowardly"1. 
Hence  quarrels  were  transmitted  from  father  to  son, 
and,  under  the  name  of  '  deadly  feuds,'  subsisted  for 
many  generations  with  unmitigated  rancour.  It  was  the 
interest  of  the  crown  to  foment  rather  than  to  extin- 
guish these  quarrels ;  and,  by  scattering  or  cherishing 
the  seeds  of  discord  among  the  nobles,  that  union, 
which  would  have  rendered  the  aristocracy  invincible, 
and  which  must  at  once  have  annihilated  the  preroga- 
tive, was  effectually  prevented.  To  the  same  cause, 
our  kings  were  indebted  for  the  success  with  which  they 
sometimes  attacked  the  most  powerful  chieftains.  They 
employed  private  revenge  to  aid  the  impotence  of  pub- 
lic laws,  and,  arming  against  the  person  who  had  in- 
curred their  displeasure  those  rival  families  which  wish- 
ed his  fall,  they  rewarded  their  service  by  sharing  among 
them  the  spoils  of  the  vanquished.  But  this  expedient, 
though  it  served  to  humble  individuals,  did  not  weaken 
the  body  of  the  nobility.  Those  who  were  now  the  in- 
struments of  their  prince's  vengeance  became,  in  a  short 
time,  the  objects  of  his  fear.  Having  acquired  power 
and  wealth  by  serving  the  crown,  they,  in  their  turn, 
set  up  for  independence :  and  though  there  might  be  a 

m  The  spirit  of  revenge  was  encouraged,  not  only  by  the  manners,  but, 
what  is  more  remarkable,  by  the  laws  of  those  ages.  If  any  person  thought 
the  prosecution  of  an  injury  offered  to  his  family  too  troublesome,  or  too 
dangerous,  the  salique  laws  permitted  him  publicly  to  desist  from  demand- 
ing vengeance;  but  the  same  laws,  in  order  to  punish  his  cowardice,  and 
want  of  affection  to  his  family,  deprived  him  of  the  right  of  succession. 
Renault's  Abrege  chronol.  p.  81.  Among  the  Anglo-Saxons,  we  find  a 
singular  institution  distinguished  by  the  name  of '  sodalitium  ;'  a  voluntary 
association,  the  object  whereof  was  the  personal  security  of  those  who  joined 
in  it,  and  which  the  feebleness  of  government  at  that  time  rendered  neces- 
sary. Among  other  regulations,  which  are  contained  in  one  of  these  still 
extant,  the  following  deserves  notice  :  "  If  any  associate  shall  either  eat  or 
drink  with  a  person  who  has  killed  any  member  of  the  '  sodalitium,'  unless 
in  the  presence  of  the  king,  the  bishop,  or  the  count,  and  unless  he  can 
prove  that  he  did  not  know  the  person,  let  him  pay  a  great  fine."  Hickes, 
Dissert,  epistolar.  apud  Thesaur.  Ling,  septentr.  vol.  i.  p.  21. 


BOOK  i.  OF  SCOTLAND.  35 

fluctuation  of  power  and  of  property ;  though  old  fami- 
lies fell,  and  new  ones  rose  upon  their  ruins ;  the  rights 
of  the  aristocracy  remained  entire,  and  its  vigour  un- 
broken. 

II.  As  the  administration  of  justice  is  one  of  the  most  Extend  the 
powerful  ties  between  a  king  and  his  subjects,  all  o 
monarchs  were  at  the  utmost  pains  to  circumscribe  the  courts. 
jurisdiction  of  the  barons,  and  to  extend  that  of  the 
crown.  The  external  forms  of  subordination,  natural 
to  the  feudal  system,  favoured  this  attempt.  An  ap- 
peal lay  from  the  judges  and  courts  of  the  barons,  to 
those  of  the  king.  The  right,  however,  of  judging  in 
the  first  instance  belonged  to  the  nobles,  and  they  easily 
found  means  to  defeat  the  effect  of  appeals,  as  well  as 
of  many  other  feudal  regulations.  The  royal  jurisdic- 
tion was  almost  confined  within  the  narrow  limits  of  the 
king's  demesnes,  beyond  which  his  judges  claimed  in- 
deed much  authority,  but  possessed  next  to  none.  Our 
kings  were  sensible  of  these  limitations,  and  bore  them 
with  impatience.  But  it  was  impossible  to  overturn,  in 
a  moment,  what  was  so  deeply  rooted ;  or  to  strip  the 
nobles,  at  once,  of  privileges  which  they  had  held  so 
long,  and  which  were  wrought  almost  into  the  frame  of 
the  feudal  constitution.  To  accomplish  this,  however, 
was  an  object  of  uniform  and  anxious  attention  to  all 
our  princes.  James  the  first  led  the  way  here,  as  well 
as  in  other  instances,  towards  a  more  regular  and  per- 
fect police.  He  made  choice,  among  the  estates  of  par- 
liament, of  a  certain  number  of  persons,  whom  he  dis- 
tinguished by  the  names  of  '  lords  of  session,'  and  ap- 
pointed them  to  hold  courts  for  determining  civil  causes 
three  times  in  the  year,  and  forty  days  at  a  time,  in 
whatever  place  he  pleased  to  name.  Their  jurisdiction 
extended  to  all  matters  which  formerly  came  under  the 
cognizance  of  the  king's  council,  and,  being  a  committee 
of  parliament,  their  decisions  were  final.  James  the 
second  obtained  a  law,  annexing  all  regalities,  which 
should  be  forfeited,  to  the  crown,  and  declaring  the 


36  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  i. 

right  of  jurisdiction  to  be  unalienable  for  the  future. 
James  the  third  imposed  severe  penalties  upon  those 
judges  appointed  by  the  barons,  whose  decisions  should 
be  found,  on  a  review,  to  be  unjust ;  and,  by  many  other 
regulations,  endeavoured  to  extend  the  authority  of  his 
own  court ".  James  the  fourth,  on  pretence  of  remedy- 
ing the  inconveniencies  arising  from  the  short  terms  of 
the  court  of  session,  appointed  other  judges  called 
*  lords  of  daily  council.'  The  '  session'  was  an  ambula- 
tory court,  and  met  seldom;  the  'daily  council'  was 
fixed,  and  sat  constantly  at  Edinburgh;  and,  though 
not  composed  of  members  of  parliament,  the  same 
powers  which  the  lords  of  session  enjoyed  were  vested 
in  it.  At  last  James  the  fifth  erected  a  new  court  that 
still  subsists,  and  which  he  named  the  '  college  of  jus- 
tice,' the  judges  or  '  senators'  of  which  were  called 
'  lords  of  council  and  session.'  This  court  not  only  ex- 
ercised the  same  jurisdiction  which  formerly  belonged 
to  the  session  and  daily  council,  but  new  rights  were 
added.  Privileges  of  great  importance  were  granted 
to  its  members,  its  forms  were  prescribed,  its  terms 
fixed,  and  regularity,  power,  and  splendour  conferred 
upon  it0.  The  persons  constituted  judges  in  all  these 
different  courts  had,  in  many  respects,  the  advantage 
of  those  who  presided  in  the  courts  of  the  barons ;  they 
were  more  eminent  for  their  skill  in  law,  their  rules  of 
proceeding  were  more  uniform,  and  their  decisions  more 
consistent.  Such  judicatories  became  the  objects  of 
confidence  and  of  veneration.  Men  willingly  submitted 
their  property  to  their  determination,  and  their  en- 
croachments on  the  jurisdictions  of  the  nobles  were  po- 
pular, and,  for  that  reason^  successful.  By  devices  of  a 
similar  nature,  the  jurisdiction  of  the  nobles  in  criminal 
causes  was  restrained,  and  the  authority  of  the  court 
of  'justiciary'  extended.  The  crown,  in  this  particular, 

"  Act  26.  Parl.  1469.     Act  94.  Parl.  1493.     Act  99.  Parl.  1487. 
0  Keith,  App.  74,  etc. 


BOOK  i.  OF  SCOTLAND.  37 

gaining  insensibly  upon  the  nobles,  recovered  more 
ample  authority ;  and  the  king,  whose  jurisdiction  once 
resembled  that  of  a  baron,  rather  than  that  of  a  sove- 
reign p,  came  more  and  more  to  be  considered  as  the 
head  of  the  community  and  the  supreme  dispenser  of 
justice  to  his  people.  These  acquisitions  of  our  kings, 
however,  though  comparatively  great,  were  in  reality 
inconsiderable;  and,  notwithstanding  all  their  efforts, 
many  of  the  separate  jurisdictions  possessed  by  the 
nobles  remained  in  great  vigour;  and  their  final  abo- 

P  The  most  perfect  idea  of  the  feudal  system  of  government  may  be 
attained  by  attending  to  the  state  of  Germany,  and  to  the  history  of  France. 
In  the  former,  the  feudal  institutions  still  subsist  with  great  vigour ;  and 
though  altogether  abolished  in  the  latter,  the  public  records  have  been  so 
carefully  preserved,  that  the  French  lawyers  and  antiquaries  have  been 
enabled,  with  more  certainty  and  precision  than  those  of  any  other  country 
in  Europe,  to  trace  its  rise,  its  progress,  and  revolutions.  In  Germany,  every 
principality  may  be  considered  as  a  fief,  and  all  its  great  princes  as  vassals, 
holding  of  the  emperor.  They  possess  all  the  feudal  privileges ;  their  fiefs 
are  perpetual ;  their  jurisdictions  within  their  own  territories  separate  and 
extensive ;  and  the  great  offices  of  the  empire  are  all  hereditary,  and  annexed 
to  particular  families.  At  the  same  time  the  emperor  retains  many  of  the 
prerogatives  of  the  feudal  monarchs.  Like  them,  his  claims  and  pretensions 
are  innumerable,  and  his  power  small ;  his  jurisdiction  within  his  own  de- 
mesnes or  hereditary  countries  is  complete  ;  beyond  the  bounds  of  these  it 
is  almost  nothing ;  and  so  permanent  are  feudal  principles,  that  although 
the  feudal  system  be  overturned  in  almost  every  particular  state  in  Ger- 
many, and  although  the  greater  part  of  its  princes  have  become  absolute, 
the  original  feudal  constitution  of  the  empire  still  remains,  and  ideas  pecu- 
liar to  that  form  of  government  direct  all  its  operations,  and  determine  the 
rights  of  all  its  princes.  Our  observations  with  regard  to  the  limited  juris- 
diction of  kings  under  the  feudal  governments,  are  greatly  illustrated  by 
what  happened  in  France.  The  feebleness  and  dotage  of  the  descendants 
of  Charlemagne  encouraged  the  peers  to  usurp  an  independent  jurisdiction. 
Nothing  remained  in  the  hands  of  the  crown ;  all  was  seized  by  them. 
When  Hugh  Capet  ascended  the  throne,  a.  d.  987,  he  kept  possession  of  his 
private  patrimony  the  comt6  of  Paris;  and  all  the  jurisdiction  which  the 
kings  his  successors  exercised  for  some  time,  was  within  its  territories. 
There  were  only  four  towns  in  France  where  he  could  establish  '  grands 
baillis,'  or  royal  judges :  all  the  other  lands,  towns,  and  baillages,  belonged 
to  the  nobles.  The  methods  to  which  the  French  monarchs  had  recourse 
for  extending  their  jurisdiction  were  exactly  similar  to  those  employed  by 
our  princes.  Ilenault's  Abre"g£,  p.  617,  etc.  De  1'Esprit  des  Loix,  liv. 
xxx.  ch.  20,  etc. 


38  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  i. 

lition  was  reserved  to  a  distant  and  more  happy  pe- 
riod. 
Each  of  our      But  besides  these  methods  of  defending  their  prero- 

kmgs  pur-    ffa^ve  an(j  humbling  the  aristocracy,  which  may  be  con- 
sued  some    &  . 
planofhum-sidered  as  common  to  all  our  princes,  we  shall  find,  by 

bles^  ° "taking  a  review  of  their  reigns,  that  almost  every  one 
of  our  kings,  from  Robert  Bruce  to  James  the  fifth, 
had  formed  some  particular  system  for  depressing  the 
authority  of  the  nobles,  which  was  the  object  both  of 
their  jealousy  and  terrour.  This  conduct  of  our  mo- 
narchs,  if  we  rest  satisfied  with  the  accounts  of  their 
historians,  must  be  considered  as  flowing  entirely  from 
their  resentment  against  particular  noblemen;  and  all 
their  attempts  to  humble  them  must  be  viewed  as  the 
sallies  of  private  passion,  not  as  the  consequences  of 
any  general  plan  of  policy.  But,  though  some  of  their 
actions  may  be  imputed  to  those  passions,  though  the 
different  genius  of  the  men,  the  temper  of  the  times, 
and  the  state  of  the  nation,  necessarily  occasioned  great 
This  proved  variety  in  their  schemes ;  yet,  without  being  chargeable 
oftheevents ^^  excessive  refinement,  we  may  affirm  that  their 
in  their  end  was  uniformly  the  same ;  and  that  the  project  of 
reducing  the  power  of  the  aristocracy,  sometimes  avow- 
ed, and  pursued  with  vigour ;  sometimes  concealed,  or 
seemingly  suspended ;  was  never  altogether  abandoned. 
Robert  No  prince  was  ever  more  indebted  to  his  nobles  than 

Robert  Bruce.  Their  valour  conquered  the  kingdom, 
and  placed  him  on  the  throne.  His  gratitude  and  ge- 
nerosity bestowed  on  them  the  lands  of  the  vanquished. 
Property  has  seldom  undergone  greater  or  more  sudden 
revolutions,  than  those  to  which  it  was  subject  at  that 
time  in  Scotland.  Edward  the  first  having  forfeited  the 
estates  of  most  of  the  ancient  Scottish  barons,  granted 
them  to  his  English  subjects.  These  were  expelled  by 
the  Scots,  and  their  lands  seized  by  new  masters.  Amidst 
such  rapid  changes,  confusion  was  unavoidable;  and 
many  possessed  their  lands  by  titles  extremely  defective. 
During  one  of  those  truces  between  the  two  nations, 


BOOK  i.  OF  SCOTLAND.  39 

occasioned  rather  by  their  being  weary  of  war  than  de- 
sirous of  peace,  Robert  formed  a  scheme  for  checking 
the  growing  power  and  wealth  of  the  nobles.  He  sum- 
moned them  to  appear,  and  to  shew  by  what  rights  they 
held  their  lands.  They  assembled  accordingly;  and 
the  question  being  put,  they  started  up  at  once,  and 
drew  their  swords,  (  By  these,'  said  they,  '  we  acquired  , 
our  lands,  and  with  these  we  will  defend  them.'  The 
king,  intimidated  by  their  boldness,  prudently  dropped 
the  project.  But  so  deeply  did  they  resent  this  attack 
upon  their  order,  that,  notwithstanding  Robert's  po- 
pular and  splendid  virtues,  it  occasioned  a  dangerous 
conspiracy  against  his  life. 

David  his  son,  at  first  an  exile  in  France,  afterwards  David  the 
a  prisoner  in  England,  and  involved  in  continual  warse< 
with  Edward  the  third,  had  not  leisure  to  attend  to  the 
internal  police  of  his  kingdom,  or  to  think  of  retrench- 
ing the  privileges  of  the  nobility. 

Our  historians  have  been  more  careful  to  relate  the  Robert  the 
military  than  the  civil  transactions  of  the  reign  of  Ro- se< 
bert  the  second.     Skirmishes  and  inroads  of  little  con- 
sequence they  describe  minutely ;  but  with  regard  to 
every  thing  that  happened  during  several  years  of  tran- 
quillity, they  are  altogether  silent. 

The  feeble  administration  of  Robert  the  third  must  Robert  the 
likewise  be  passed  over  slightly.     A  prince  of  a  mean    lr  ' 
genius,  and  of  a  frail  and  sickly  constitution,  was  not  a 
fit  person  to  enter  the  lists  with  active  and  martial  ba- 
rons, or  to  attempt  wresting  from  them  any  of  their 
rights. 

The  civil  transactions  in  Scotland  are  better  known  James  the 
since  the  beginning  of  the  reign  of  James  the  first,  and      * 
a  complete  series  of  our  laws  supplies  the  defects  of  our 
historians.     The  English  made  some  amends  for  their 
injustice  in  detaining  that  prince  a  prisoner,  by  their 
generous  care  of  his  education.     During  his  long  resi- 
dence in  England,  he  had  an  opportunity  of  observing 
the  feudal  system  in  a  more  advanced  state,  and  refined 


40  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  i. 

from  many  of  the  imperfections,  which  still  adhered  to 
it  in  his  own  kingdom.  He  saw  there,  nobles  great,  but 
not  independent ;  a  king  powerful,  though  far  from  ab- 
solute :  he  saw  a  regular  administration  of  government ; 
wise  laws  enacted ;  and  a  nation  flourishing  and  happy, 
because  all  ranks  of  men  were  accustomed  to  obey  them. 
Full  of  these  ideas,  he  returned  into  his  native  country, 
which  presented  to  him  a  very  different  scene.  The 
royal  authority,  never  great,  was  now  contemptible,  by 
having  been  so  long  delegated  to  regents.  The  ancient 
patrimony  and  revenues  of  the  crown  were  almost  totally 
alienated.  During  his  long  absence  the  name  of  king 
was  little  known,  and  less  regarded.  The  licence  of 
many  years  had  rendered  the  nobles  independent.  Uni- 
versal anarchy  prevailed.  The  weak  were  exposed  to 
the  rapine  and  oppression  of  the  strong.  In  every  cor- 
ner some  barbarous  chieftain  ruled  at  pleasure,  and 
neither  feared  the  king,  nor  pitied  the  people  q. 

James  was  too  wise  a  prince  to  employ  open  force  to 
correct  such  inveterate  evils.  Neither  the  men  nor  the 
times  would  have  borne  it.  He  applied  the  gentler  and 
less  offensive  remedy  of  laws  and  statutes.  In  a  par- 
liament, held  immediately  after  his  return,  he  gained 
the  confidence  of  his  people,  by  many  wise  laws,  tend- 
ing visibly  to  reestablish  order,  tranquillity,  and  justice, 
in  the  kingdom.  But,  at  the  same  time  that  he  endea- 
voured to  secure  these  blessings  to  his  subjects,  he  dis- 
covered his  intention  to  recover  those  possessions  of 
which  the  crown  had  been  unjustly  bereaved ;  and,  for 
that  purpose,  obtained  an  act,  by  which  he  was  em- 
powered to  summon  such  as  had  obtained  crown  lands 
during  the  three  last  reigns,  to  produce  the  rights  by 

1  A  contemporary  monkish  writer  describes  these  calamities  very  feelingly 
in  his  rude  Latin:  "  In  diebus  illis,  non  erat  lex  in  Scotia,  sed  quilibet  po- 
tentiorum  juniorem  oppressit;  et  totum  regnum  fuit  unum  latrocinium; 
homicidia,  depraedationes,  incendia,  et  caetera  maleficia  remanserunt  im- 
punita ;  et  justitia  relegata  extra  terminos  regni  exulavit."  Chartular. 
Morav.  apud  Innes,  Essay,  vol.  i.  p.  272. 


BOOK  i.  OF  SCOTLAND.  41 

which  they  held  them r.  As  this  statute  threatened  the 
property  of  the  nobles,  another,  which  passed  in  a  subse- 
quent parliament,  aimed  a  dreadful  blow  at  their  power. 
By  it  the  leagues  and  combinations  which  we  have 
already  described,  and  which  rendered  the  nobles  so 
formidable  to  the  crown,  were  declared  unlawful8.  En- 
couraged by  this  success  in  the  beginning  of  his  enter- 
prise, James's  next  step  was  still  bolder  and  more  de- 
cisive. During  the  sitting  of  parliament,  he  seized,  at 
once,  his  cousin  Murdo,  duke  of  Albany,  and  his  sons ; 
the  earls  of  Douglas,  Lennox,  Angus,  March,  and  above 
twenty  other  peers  and  barons  of  prune  rank.  To  all 
of  them,  however,  he  was  immediately  reconciled,  ex- 
cept to  Albany  and  his  sons,  and  Lennox.  These  were 
tried  by  their  peers,  and  condemned ;  for  what  crime  is 
now  unknown.  Their  execution  struck  the  whole  order 
with  terrour,  and  their  forfeiture  added  vast  possessions 
to  the  crown.  He  seized,  likewise,  the  earldoms  of 
Buchan  and  Strathern,  upon  different  pretexts;  and 
that  of  Mar  fell  to  him  by  inheritance.  The  patience 
and  inactivity  of  the  nobles,  while  the  king  was  pro- 
ceeding so  rapidly  towards  aggrandizing  the  crown,  are 
amazing.  The  only  obstruction  he  met  with  was  from 
a  slight  insurrection  headed  by  the  duke  of  Albany's 
youngest  son,  and  that  was  easily  suppressed.  The 
splendour  and  presence  of  a  king,  to  which  the  great 
men  had  been  long  unaccustomed,  inspired  reverence: 
James  was  a  prince  of  great  abilities,  and  conducted 
his  operations  with  much  prudence.  He  was  in  friend- 
ship with  England,  and  closely  allied  with  the  French 
king :  he  was  adored  by  the  people,  who  enjoyed  un- 
usual security  and  happiness  under  his  administration: 
and  all  his  acquisitions,  however  fatal  to  the  body  of 
the  nobles,  had  been  gained  by  attacks  upon  indivi- 
duals ;  were  obtained  by  decisions  of  law ;  and,  being 
founded  on  circumstances  peculiar  to  the  persons  who 

r  Act  9.  Parl.  1424.  •  Act  30.  ibid. 


42  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  i. 

suffered,  might  excite  murmurs  and  apprehensions,  but 
afforded  no  colourable  pretext  for  a  general  rebellion. 
It  was  not  so  with  the  next  attempt  which  the  king 
made.  Encouraged  by  the  facility  with  which  he  had 
hitherto  advanced,  he  ventured  upon  a  measure  that 
irritated  the  whole  body  of  the  nobility,  and  which  the 
events  shew  either  to  have  been  entered  into  with  too 
much  precipitancy,  or  to  have  been  carried  on  with  too 
much  violence.  The  father  of  George  Dunbar,  earl  of 
March,  had  taken  arms  against  Robert  the  third,  the 
king's  father ;  but  that  crime  had  been  pardoned,  and 
his  lands  restored  by  Robert,  duke  of  Albany.  James, 
on  pretext  that  the  regent  had  exceeded  his  power, 
and  that*  it  was  the  prerogative  of  the  king  alone  to 
pardon  treason,  or  to  alienate  lands  annexed  to  the 
crown,  obtained  a  sentence,  declaring  the  pardon  to  be 
void,  and  depriving  Dunbar  of  the  earldom.  Many  of 
the  great  men  held  lands  by  no  other  right  than  what 
they  derived  from  grants  of  the  two  dukes  of  Albany. 
Such  a  decision,  though  they  had  reason  to  expect  it, 
in  consequence  of  the  statute  which  the  king  had  ob- 
tained, occasioned  a  general  alarm.  Though  Dunbar 
was,  at  present,  the  only  sufferer,  the  precedent  might 
be  extended,  and  their  titles  to  possessions  which  they 
considered  as  the  rewards  of  their  valour,  might  be  sub- 
jected to  the  review  of  courts  of  law,  whose  forms  of 
proceeding,  and  jurisdiction,  were  in  a  martial  age  little 
known,  and  extremely  odious.  Terrour  and  discontent 
spread  fast  upon  this  discovery  of  the  king's  intentions ; 
the  common  danger  called  on  the  whole  order  to  unite, 
and  to  make  one  bold  stand,  before  they  were  stripped 
successively  of  their  acquisitions,  and  reduced  to  a  state 
of  poverty  and  insignificance.  The  prevalence  of  these 
sentiments  among  the  nobles  encouraged  a  few  des- 
perate men,  the  friends  or  followers  of  those  who  had 
been  the  chief  sufferers  under  the  king's  administration, 
to  form  a  conspiracy  against  his  life.  The  first  uncer- 
tain intelligence  of  this  was  brought  him,  while  he  lay 


BOOK  i.  OF  SCOTLAND.  43 

in  his  camp  before  Roxburgh  castle.  He  durst  not 
confide  in  nobles,  to  whom  he  had  given  so  many  causes 
of  disgust,  but  instantly  dismissed  them  and  their  vas- 
sals, and  retiring  to  a  monastery  near  Perth,  was  soon 
after  murdered  there  in  the  most  cruel  manner.  All 
our  historians  mention  with  astonishment  this  circum- 
stance of  the  king's  disbanding  his  army,  at  a  time 
when  it  was  so  necessary  for  his  preservation.  A  king, 
say  they,  surrounded  with  his  barons,  is  secure  from 
secret  treason,  and  may  defy  open  rebellion.  But  those 
very  barons  were  tlje  persons  whom  he  chiefly  dreaded ; 
and  it  is  evident  from  this  review  of  his  administration, 
that  he  had  greater  reason  to  apprehend  danger,  than 
to  expect  defence,  from  their  hands.  It  was  the  mis- 
fortune of  James,  that  his  maxims  and  manners  were 
too  refined  for  the  age  in  which  he  lived.  Happy !  had 
he  reigned  in  a  kingdom  more  civilized;  his  love  of 
peace,  of  justice,  and  of  elegance,  would  have  rendered 
his  schemes  successful;  and,  instead  of  perishing  be- 
cause he  had  attempted  too  much,  a  grateful  people 
would  have  applauded  and  seconded  his  efforts  to  re- 
form and  to  improve  them. 

Crichton,  the  most  able  man  of  those  who  had  the  James  the 

i 

direction  of  affairs  during  the  minority  of  James  the86' 
second,  had  been  the  minister  of  James  the  first,  and 
well  acquainted  with  his  resolution  of  humbling  thje  no- 
bility. He  did  not  relinquish  the  design,  and  he  en- 
deavoured to  inspire  his  pupil  with  the  same  sentiments. 
But  what  James  had  attempted  to  effect  slowly  and  by 
legal  means,  his  son  and  Crichton  pursued  with  the  im- 
petuosity natural  to  Scotsmen,  and  with  the  fierceness 
peculiar  to  that  age.  William,  the  sixth  earl  of  Doug- 
las, was  the  first  victim  to  their  barbarous  policy.  That 
young  nobleman,  as  we  have  already  observed,  con- 
temning the  authority  of  an  infant  prince,  almost  openly 
renounced  his  allegiance,  and  aspired  to  independence. 
Crichton,  too  high-spirited  to  bear  such  an  insult,  but 
too  weak  to  curb  or  to  .bring  to  justice  so  powerful  an 


44  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  i. 

offender,  decoyed  him  by  many  promises  to  an  inter- 
view in  the  castle  of  Edinburgh,  and,  notwithstanding 
these,  murdered  both  him  and  his  brother.  Crichton, 
however,  gained  little  by  this  act  of  treachery,  which 
rendered  him  universally  odious.  William,  the  eighth 
earl  of  Douglas,  was  no  less  powerful,  and  no  less  for- 
midable to  the  crown.  By  forming  the  league  which 
we  already  mentioned  with  the  earl  of  Crawford  and 
other  barons,  he  had  united  against  his  sovereign  almost 
one  half  of  his  kingdom.  But  his  credulity  led  him  into 
the  same  snare  which  had  been  fatal  to  the  former  earl. 
Relying  on  the  king's  promises,  who  had  now  attained 
to  the  years  of  manhood,  and  having  obtained  a  safe- 
conduct  under  the  great  seal,  he  ventured  to  meet  him 
in  Stirling  castle.  James  urged  him  to  dissolve  that 
dangerous  confederacy  into  which  he  had  entered ;  the 
earl  obstinately  refused ;  '  If  you  will  not,'  said  the  en- 
raged monarch,  drawing  his  dagger,  '  this  shall ;'  and 
stabbed  him  to  the  heart.  An  action  so  unworthy  of  a 
king  filled  the  nation  with  astonishment  and  with  hor- 
rour.  The  earl's  vassals  ran  to  arms  with  the  utmost 
fury,  and  dragging  the  safeconduct,  which  the  king 
had  granted  and  violated,  at  a  horse's  tail,  they  march- 
ed towards  Stirling,  burnt  the  town,  and  threatened  to 
besiege  the  castle.  An  accommodation,  however,  en- 
sued; on  what  terms  is  not  known.  But  the  king's  jea- 
lousy, and  the  new  earl's  power  and  resentment,  pre- 
vented it  from  being  of  long  continuance.  Both  took 
the  field,  at  the  head  of  their  armies,  and  met  near 
Abercorn.  That  of  the  earl,  composed  chiefly  of  bor- 
derers, was  far  superior  to  the  king's,  both  in  number 
and  in  valour ;  and  a  single  battle  must,  in  all  probabi- 
lity, have  decided  whether  the  house  of  Stuart  or  of 
Douglas  was  henceforth  to  possess  the  throne  of  Scot- 
land. But,  while  his  troops  impatiently  expected  the 
signal  to  engage,  the  earl  ordered  them  to  retire  to 
their  camp;  and  sir  James  Hamilton  of  Cadyow,  the 
person  in  whom  he  placed  the  greatest  confidence,  con- 


BOOK  i.  OF  SCOTLAND.  45 

vinced  of  his  want  of  genius  to  improve  an  opportunity, 
or  of  his  want  of  courage  to  seize  a  crown,  deserted  him 
that  very  night.  This  example  was  followed  by  many; 
and  the  earl,  despised  or  forsaken  by  all,  was  soon 
driven  out  of  the  kingdom,  and  obliged  to  depend  for 
his  subsistence  on  the  friendship  of  the  king  of  Eng- 
land. The  ruin  of  this  great  family,  which  had  so  long 
rivalled  and  overawed  the  crown,  and  the  terrour  with 
which  such  an  example  of  unsuccessful  ambition  filled 
the  nobles,  secured  the  king,  for  some  time,  from  oppo- 
sition ;  and  the  royal  authority  remained  uncontrolled, 
and  almost  absolute.  James  did  not  suffer  this  favour- 
able interval  to  pass  unimproved;  he  procured  the  con- 
sent of  parliament  to  laws  more  advantageous  to  the 
prerogative,  and  more  subversive  of  the  privileges  of 
the  aristocracy,  than  were  ever  obtained  by  any  former 
or  subsequent  monarch  of  Scotland. 

By  one  of  these,  not  only  all  the  vast  possessions  of 
the  earl  of  Douglas  were  annexed  to  the  crown,  but  all 
prior  and  future  alienations  of  crown  lands  were  de- 
clared to  be  void ;  and  the  king  was  empowered  to  seize 
them  at  pleasure,  without  any  process  or  form  of  law, 
and  oblige  the  possessors  to  refund  whatever  they  had 
received  from  them1.  A  dreadful  instrument  of  op- 
pression in  the  hands  of  a  prince ! 

Another  law  prohibited  the  wardenship  of  the  marches 
to  be  granted  hereditarily;  restrained,  in  several  in- 
stances, the  jurisdiction  of  that  office;  and  extended  the 
authority  of  the  king's  courts". 

By  a  third,  it  was  enacted  that  no  '  regality/  or  ex- 
clusive right  of  administering  justice  within  a  man's  own 
lands,  should  be  granted  in  time  to  come,  without  the 
consent  of  parliament x ;  a  condition  which  implied  al- 
most an  express  prohibition.  Those  nobles  who  already 
possessed  that  great  privilege,  would  naturally  be  soli- 
citous to  prevent  it  from  becoming  common,  by  being 

*  Act  41.  Pail.  1455.  «  Act  42.  ibid.  *  Act  43.  ibid. 


46  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  i. 

bestowed  on  many.  Those  who  had  not  themselves 
attained  it,  would  envy  others  the  acquisition  of  such 
a  flattering  distinction,  and  both  would  concur  in  re- 
jecting the  claims  of  new  pretenders. 

By  a  fourth  act,  all  new  grants  of  hereditary  offices 
were  prohibited,  and  those  obtained  since  the  death  of 
the  last  king  were  revoked  y. 

Each  of  these  statutes  undermined  .some  of  the  great 
pillars  on  which  the  power  of  the  aristocracy  rested. 
During  the  remainder  of  his  reign,  this  prince  pursued 
the  plan  which  he  had  begun,  with  the  utmost  vigour ; 
and,  had  not  a  sudden  death,  occasioned  by  the  splinter 
of  a  cannon  which  burst  near  him  at  the  siege  of  Rox- 
burgh, prevented  his  progress,  he  wanted  neither  ge- 
nius nor  courage  to  perfect  it :  and  Scotland  might,  in 
all  probability,  have  been  the  first  kingdom  in  Europe 
which  would  have  seen  the  subversion  of  the  feudal 
system. 

James  the  James  the  third  discovered  no  less  eagerness  than 
his  father  or  grandfather  to  humble  the  nobility ;  but, 
far  inferior  to  either  of  them  in  abilities  and  address, 
he  adopted  a  plan  extremely  impolitic,  and  his  reign 
was  disastrous,  as  well  as  his  end  tragical.  Under  the 
feudal  governments,  the  nobles  were  not  only  the  king's 
ministers,  and  possessed  of  all  the  great  offices  of  power 
or  of  trust ;  they  were  likewise  his  companions  and  fa- 
vourites, and  hardly  any  but  them  approached  his  person, 
or  were  entitled  to  his  regard.  But  James,  who  both 
feared  and  hated  his  nobles,  kept  them  at  an  unusual 
distance,  and  bestowed  every  mark  of  confidence  and 
affection  upon  a  few  mean  persons,  of  professions  so 
dishonourable  as  ought  to  have  rendered  them  unwor- 
thy of  his  presence.  Shut  up  with  these  in  his  castle 
of  Stirling,  he  seldom  appeared  in  public,  and  amused 
himself  in  architecture,  music,  and  other  arts,  which 
were  then  little  esteemed.  The  nobles  beheld  the 

y  Act  44.  Parl.  1455. 


BOOK  i.  OF  SCOTLAND.  47 

power  and  favour  of  these  minions  with  indignation. 
Even  the  sanguinary  measures  of  his  father  provoked 
them  less  than  his  neglect.  Individuals  alone  suffered 
by  the  former ;  by  the  latter,  every  man  thought  him- 
self injured,  because  all  were  contemned.  Their  dis- 
content was  much  heightened  by  the  king's  recalling 
all  rights  to  crown  lands,  hereditary  offices,  regalities, 
and  every  other  concession  which  was  detrimental  to 
his  prerogative,  and  which  had  been  extorted  during 
his  minority.  Combinations  among  themselves,  secret 
intrigues  with  England,  and  all  the  usual  preparatives 
for  civil  war,  were  the  effects  of  their  resentment. 
Alexander,  duke  of  Albany,  and  John,  earl  of  Mar,  the 
king's  brothers,  two  young  men  of  turbulent  and  am- 
bitious spirits,  and  incensed  against  James,  who  treated 
them  with  the  same  coldness  as  he  did  the  other  great 
men,  entered  deeply  into  all  their  cabals.  The  king 
detected  their  designs,  before  they  were  ripe  for  execu- 
tion, and,  seizing  his  two  brothers,  committed  the  duke 
of  Albany  to  Edinburgh  castle.  The  earl  of  Mar, 
having  remonstrated  with  too  much  boldness  against 
the  king's  conduct,  was  murdered,  if  we  may  believe 
our  historians,  by  his  command.  Albany,  apprehen- 
sive of  the  same  fate,  made  his  escape  out  of  the  castle, 
and  fled  into  France.  Concern  for  the  king's  honour, 
or  indignation  at  his  measures,  were  perhaps  the  mo- 
tives which  first  induced  him  to  join  the  malecontents. 
But  James's  attachment  to  favourites  rendering  him 
every  day  more  odious  to  the  nobles,  the  prospect  of 
the  advantages  which  might  be  derived  from  their  ge- 
neral disaffection,  added  to  the  resentment  which  he 
felt  on  account  of  his  brother's  death  and  his  own  in- 
juries, soon  inspired  Albany  with  more  ambitious  and 
criminal  thoughts.  He  concluded  a  treaty  with  Ed- 
ward the  fourth  of  England,  in  which  he  assumed  the 
name  of  Alexander,  king  of  Scots ;  and,  in  return  for 
the  assistance  which  was  promised  him  towards  de- 
throning his  brother,  he  bound  himself,  as  soon  as  he 


48  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  i. 

was  put  in  possession  of  the  kingdom,  to  swear  fealty 
and  do  homage  to  the  English  monarch,  to  renounce 
the  ancient  alliance  with  France,  to  contract  a  new  one 
with  England,  and  to  surrender  some  of  the  strongest 
castles  and  most  valuable  counties  in  Scotland2.  That 
aid,  which  the  duke  so  basely  purchased  at  the  price  of 
his  own  honour,  and  the  independence  of  his  country, 
was  punctually  granted  him,  and  the  duke  of  Glouces- 
ter, with  a  powerful  army,  conducted  him  towards  Scot- 
land. The  danger  of  a  foreign  invasion  obliged  James 
to  implore  the  assistance  of  those  nobles  whom  he  had 
so  long  treated  with  contempt.  Some  of  them  were  in 
close  confederacy  with  the  duke  of  Albany,  and  ap- 
proved of  all  his  pretensions.  Others  were  impatient 
for  any  event  which  would  restore  their  order  to  its 
ancient  preeminence.  They  seemed,  however,  to  enter 
with  zeal  into  the  measures  of  their  sovereign  for  the 
defence  of  the  kingdom  against  its  invaders  a,  and  took 
the  field,  at  the  head  of  a  powerful  army  of  their  fol- 
lowers, but  with  a  stronger  disposition  to  redress  their 
own  grievances  than  to  annoy  the  enemy ;  and  with  a 
fixed  resolution  of  punishing  those  minions  whose  in- 
solence they  could  no  longer  tolerate.  This  resolution 
they  executed  in  the  camp  near  Lauder,  with  a  military 
despatch  and  rigour.  Having  previously  concerted  their 
plan,  the  earls  of  Angus,  Huntly,  Lennox,  followed  by 
almost  all  the  barons  of  chief  note  in  the  army,  forcibly 
entered  the  apartment  of  their  sovereign,  seized  all  his 
favourites  except  one  Ramsay,  whom  they  could  not 
tear  from  the  king,  in  whose  arms  he  took  shelter,  and, 
without  any  form  of  trial,  hanged  them  instantly  over  a 
bridge.  Among  the  most  remarkable  of  those  who  had 
engrossed  the  king's  affection,  were  Cochran  a  mason, 
Hommil  a  tailor,  Leonard  a  smith,  Rogers  a  musician, 
arid  Torsifan  a  fencing-master.  So  despicable  a  retinue 
discovers  the  capriciousness  of  James's  character,  and 

1  Abercr.  Mart.  Atch.  vol.  ii.  p.  443.  a  Black  Acts,  fol.  65. 


BOOK  r.  OF  SCOTLAND.  49 

accounts  for  the  indignation  of  the  nobles,  when  they 
beheld  the  favour,  due  to  them,  bestowed  on  such  un- 
worthy objects. 

James  had  no  reason  to  confide  in  an  army  so  little 
under  his  command,  and,  dismissing  it,  shut  himself  up 
in  the  castle  of  Edinburgh.  After  various  intrigues, 
Albany's  lands  and  honours  were,  at  length,  restored  to 
him,  and  he  seemed  even  to  have  regained  his  brother's 
favour  by  some  important  services.  But  their  friend- 
ship was  not  of  long  duration.  James  abandoned  him- 
self, once  more,  to  the  guidance  of  favourites ;  and  the 
fate  of  those  who  had  suffered  at  Lauder  did  not  de- 
ter others  from  courting  that  dangerous  preeminence. 
Albany,  on  pretext  that  an  attempt  had  been  made  to 
take  away  his  life  by  poison,  fled  from  court,  and,  re- 
tiring to  his  castle  at  Dunbar,  drew  thither  a  greater 
number  of  barons  than  attended  on  the  king  himself. 
At  the  same  time  he  renewed  his  former  confederacy 
with  Edward ;  the  earl  of  Angus  openly  negotiated  that 
infamous  treaty ;  other  barons  were  ready  to  concur  with 
it ;  and  if  the  sudden  death  of  Edward  had  not  pre- 
vented Albany's  receiving  any  aid  from  England,  the 
crown  of  Scotland  would  probably  have  been  the  re- 
ward of  this  unworthy  combination  with  the  enemies  of 
his  country.  But,  instead  of  any  hopes  of  reigning  in 
Scotland,  he  found,  upon  the  death  of  Edward,  that 
he  could  not  reside  there  in  safety ;  and,  flying  first  to 
England  and  then  to  France,  he  seems  from  that  time 
to  have  taken  no  part  in  the  affairs  of  his  native  coun- 
try. Emboldened  by  his  retreat,  the  king  and  his  mi- 
nisters multiplied  the  insults  which  they  offered  to  the 
nobility.  A  standing  guard,  a  thing  unknown  under 
the  feudal  governments,  and  inconsistent  with  the  fa- 
miliarity and  confidence  with  which  monarchs  then 
lived  amidst  their  nobles,  was  raised  for  the  king's  de- 
fence, and  the  command  of  it  given  to  Ramsay,  lately 
created  earl  of  Bothwell,  the  same  person  who  had  so 
narrowly  escaped,  when  his  companions  were  put  to 

VOL.  i.  E 


50  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  i. 

death  at  Lauder.  As  if  this  precaution  had  not  been 
sufficient,  a  proclamation  was  issued,  forbidding  any 
person  to  appear  in  arms  within  the  precincts  of  the 
court b ;  which,  at  a  time  when  no  man  of  rank  left  his 
own  house  without  a  numerous  retinue  of  armed  fol- 
lowers, was,  in  effect,  debarring  the  nobles  from  all 
access  to  the  king.  James,  at  the  same  time,  became 
fonder  of  retirement  than  ever,  and,  sunk  in  indolence 
or  superstition,  or  attentive  only  to  amusements,  de- 
volved his  whole  authority  upon  his  favourites.  So 
many  injuries  provoked  the  most  considerable  nobles 
to  take  arms;  and,  having  persuaded  or  obliged  the 
duke  of  Rothesay,  the  king's  eldest  son,  a  youth  of  fif- 
teen, to  set  himself  at  their  head,  they  openly  declared 
their  intention  of  depriving  James  of  a  crown,  of  which 
he  had  discovered  himself  to  be  so  unworthy.  Roused 
by  this  danger,  the  king  quitted  his  retirement,  took 
the  field,  and  encountered  them  near  Bannockburn; 
but  the  valour  of  the  borderers,  of  whom  the  army  of 
the  malecontents  was  chiefly  composed,  soon  put  his 
troops  to  flight,  and  he  himself  was  slain  in  the  pur- 
suit. Suspicion,  indolence,  immoderate  attachment  to 
favourites,  and  all  the  vices  of  a  feeble  mind,  are  vi- 
sible in  his  whole  conduct ;  but  the  character  of  a  cruel 
and  unrelenting  tyrant  seems  to  be  unjustly  affixed  to 
him  by  our  historians.  His  neglect  of  the  nobles  ir- 
ritated, but  did  not  weaken  them;  and  their  discon- 
tent, the  immoderate  ambition  of  his  two  brothers,  and 
their  unnatural  confederacies  with  England,  were  suf- 
ficient to  have  disturbed  a  more  vigorous  administra- 
tion, and  to  have  rendered  a  prince  of  superior  talents 
unhappy. 

The  indignation  which  many  persons  of  rank  ex- 
pressed against  the  conduct  of  the  conspirators,  to- 
gether with  the  terrour  of  the  sentence  of  excommu- 
nication, which  the  pope  pronounced  against  them, 

•?  Ferrerius,  398. 


BOOK  i.  OF  SCOTLAND.  51 

obliged  them  to  use  their  victory  with  great  moderation 
and  humanity.  Being  conscious  how  detestable  the 
crime  of  imbruing  their  hands  in  the  blood  of  their 
sovereign  appeared,  they  endeavoured  to  regain  the 
good  opinion  of  their  countrymen,  and  to  atone  for  the 
treatment  of  the  father,  by  their  loyalty  and  duty  to- 
wards the  son.  They  placed  him  instantly  on  the 
throne,  and  the  whole  kingdom  soon  united  in  acknow- 
ledging his  authority. 

James  the  fourth  was  naturally  generous  and  brave ;  James  the 
he  felt,  in  an  high  degree,  all  the  passions  which  ani-  01 
mate  a  young  and  noble  mind.  He  loved  magnificence, 
he  delighted  in  war,  and  was  eager  to  obtain  fame. 
During  his  reign,  the  ancient  and  hereditary  enmity 
between  the  king  and  nobles  seems  almost  entirely  to 
have  ceased.  He  envied  not  their  splendour,  because 
it  contributed  to  the  ornament  of  his  court ;  nor  did  he 
dread  their  power,  which  he  considered  as  the  security 
of  his  kingdom,  not  as  an  object  of  terrour  to  himself. 
This  confidence  on  his  part  met  with  the  proper  return 
of  duty  and  affection  on  theirs ;  and,  in  his  war  with 
England,  he  experienced  how  much  a  king  beloved  by 
his  nobles  is  able  to  perform.  Though  the  ardour  of 
his  courage,  and  the  spirit  of  chivalry,  rather  than  the 
prospect  of  any  national  advantage,  induced  him  to  de- 
clare war  against  England,  such  was  the  zeal  of  his 
subjects  for  the  king's  glory,  that  he  was  followed  by 
as  gallant  an  army  as  ever  any  of  his  ancestors  had 
led  upon  English  ground.  But  though  James  himself 
formed  no  scheme  dangerous  or  detrimental  to  the 
aristocracy,  his  reign  was  distinguished  by  an  event 
extremely  fatal  to  it ;  and  one  accidental  blow  humbled 
it  more  than  all  the  premeditated  attacks  of  preceding 
kings.  In  the  rash  and  unfortunate  battle  of  Flowden, 
a  brave  nobility  chose  rather  to  die  than  to  desert  their 
sovereign.  Twelve  earls,  thirteen  lords,  five  eldest  sons 
of  noblemen,  and  an  incredible  number  of  barons,  fell 

E2 


52  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  i. 

with  the  kingc.  The  whole  body  of  the  nobles  long 
and  sensibly  felt  this  disaster;  and  if  a  prince  of  full 
age  had  then  ascended  the  throne,  their  consternation 
and  feebleness  would  have  afforded  him  advantages 
which  no  former  monarch  ever  possessed. 

James  the  But  James  the  fifth,  who  succeeded  his  father,  was 
an  infant  of  a  year  old ;  and  though  the  office  of  regent 
was  conferred  upon  his  cousin,  the  duke  of  Albany,  a 
man  of  genius  ands  enterprise,  a  native  of  France,  and 
accustomed  to  a  government,  where  the  power  of  the 
king  was  already  great;  though  he  made  many  bold 
attempts  to  extend  the  royal  authority ;  though  he  put 
to  death  lord  Home,  and  banished  the  earl  of  Angus, 
the  two  noblemen  of  greatest  influence  in  the  kingdom, 
the  aristocracy  lost  no  ground  under  his  administration. 
A  stranger  to  the  manners,  the  laws,  and  the  language 
of  the  people  whom  he  was  called  to  rule,  he  acted, 
on  some  occasions,  rather  like  a  viceroy  of  the  French 
king,  than  the  governor  of  Scotland ;  but  the  nobles 
asserted  their  own  privileges,  and  contended  for  the 
interest  of  their  country  with  a  boldness,  which  con- 
vinced him  of  their  independence,  and  of  the  impo- 
tence of  his  own  authority.  After  several  unsuccessful 
struggles,  he  voluntarily  retired  to  France;  and,  the 
king  being  then  in  his  thirteenth  year,  the  nobles  agreed 
that  he  should  assume  the  government,  and  that  eight 
persons  should  be  appointed  to  attend  him  by  turns, 
and  to  advise  and  assist  him  in  the  administration  of 
public  affairs.  The  earl  of  Angus,  who  was  one  of  that 
number,  did  not  long  remain  satisfied  with  such  divided 
power.  He  gained  some  of  his  colleagues,  removed 
others,  and  intimidated  the  rest.  When  the  term  of 
his  attendance  expired,  he  still  retained  authority,  to 
which  all  were  obliged  to  submit,  because  none  of  them 
was  in  a  condition  to  dispute  it.  The  affection  of  the 
young  king  was  the  only  thing  wanting,  to  fix  and  per- 

c  Aber.  ii.  540. 


BOOK  i.  OF  SCOTLAND.  53 

petuate  his  power.  But  an  active  and  high-spirited 
prince  submitted,  with  great  impatience,  to  the  restraint 
in  which  he  was  kept.  It  ill  suited  his  years,  or  dispo- 
sition, to  be  confined  as  a  prisoner  within  his  own  pa- 
lace ;  to  be  treated  with  no  respect,  and  to  be  deprived 
of  all  power.  He  could  not,  on  some  occasions,  conceal 
his  resentment  and  indignation.  Angus  foresaw  that 
he  had  much  to  dread  from  these;  and,  as  he  could 
not  gain  the  king's  heart,  he  resolved  to  make  sure  of 
his  person.  James  was  continually  surrounded  by  the 
earl's  spies  and  confidents ;  many  eyes  watched  all  his 
motions,  and  observed  every  step  he  took.  But  the 
king's  eagerness  to  obtain  liberty  eluded  all  their  vigi- 
lance. He  escaped  from  Falkland,  and  fled  to  the 
castle  of  Stirling,  the  residence  of  the  queen  his  mo- 
ther, and  the  only  place  of  strength  in  the  kingdom 
which  was  not  in  the  hands  of  the  Douglases.  The 
nobles,  of  whom  some  were  influenced  by  their  hatred 
to  Angus,  and  others  by  their  respect  for  the  king, 
crowded  to  Stirling,  and  his  court  was  soon  filled  with 
persons  of  the  greatest  distinction.  The  earl,  though 
astonished  at  this  unexpected  revolution,  resolved,  at 
first,  to  make  one  bold  push  for  recovering  his  autho- 
rity, by  marching  to  Stirling,  at  the  head  of  his  follow- 
ers ;  but  he  wanted  either  courage  or  strength  to  exe- 
cute this  resolution.  In  a  parliament  held  soon  after, 
he  and  his  adherents  were  attainted,  and,  after  escaping 
from  many  dangers,  and  enduring  much  misery,  he  was, 
at  length,  obliged  to  fly  into  England  for  refuge. 

James  had  now  not  only  the  name,  but,  though  ex- 
tremely young,  the  full  authority  of  a  king.  He  was 
inferior  to  no  prince  of  that  age  in  gracefulness  of  per- 
son, or  in  vigour  of  mind.  His  understanding  was  good, 
and  his  heart  warm ;  the  former  capable  of  great  im- 
provement, and  the  latter  susceptible  of  the  best  im- 
pressions. But,  according  to  the  usual  fate  of  princes, 
who  are  called  to  the  throne  in  their  infancy,  his  edu- 
cation had  been  neglected.  His  private  preceptors  were 


54  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  i. 

more  ready  to  flatter,  than  to  instruct  him.  It  was  the 
interest  of  those  who  governed  the  kingdom,  to  prevent 
him  from  knowing  too  much.  The  earl  of  Angus,  in 
order  to  divert  him  from  business,  gave  him  an  early 
taste  for  such  pleasures,  as  afterwards  occupied  and 
engrossed  him  more  than  became  a  king.  Accordingly, 
we  discover  in  James  all  the  features  of  a  great,  but 
uncultivated,  spirit.  On  the  one  hand,  violent  passions, 
implacable  resentment,  an  immoderate  desire  of  power, 
and  the  utmost  rage  at  disappointment.  On  the  other, 
love  to  his  people,  zeal  for  the  punishment  of  private 
oppressors,  confidence  in  his  favourites,  and  the  most 
engaging  openness  and  affability  of  behaviour. 

What  he  himself  had  suffered  from  the  exorbitant 
power  of  the  nobles,  led  him  early  to  imitate  his  pre- 
decessors, in  their  attempts  to  humble  them.  The  plan 
he  formed  for  that  purpose  was  more  profound,  more 
systematic,  and  pursued  with  greater  constancy  and 
steadiness,  than  that  of  any  of  his  ancestors.  And  the 
influence  of  the  events  in  his  reign  upon  those  of  the 
subsequent  period  renders  it  necessary  to  explain  his 
conduct  at  greater  length,  and  to  enter  into  a  more  mi- 
nute detail  of  his  actions.  He  had  penetration  enough 
to  discover  those  defects  in  the  schemes  adopted  by 
former  kings,  which  occasioned  their  miscarriage.  The 
example  of  James  the  first  had  taught  him,  that  wise 
laws  operate  slowly  on  a  rude  people,  and  that  the 
fierce  spirit  of  the  feudal  nobles  was  not  to  be  subdued 
by  these  alone.  The  effects  of  the  violent  measures  of 
James  the  second  convinced  him,  that  the  oppression 
of  one  great  family  is  apt  either  to  excite  the  suspicion 
and  resentment  of  the  other  nobles,  or  to  enrich  with 
its  spoils  some  new  family,  which  would  soon  adopt  the 
same  sentiments,  and  become  equally  formidable  to  the 
crown.  He  saw,  from  the  fatal  end  of  James  the  third, 
that  neglect  was  still  more  intolerable  to  the  nobles  than 
oppression,  and  that  the  ministry  of  new  men  and-  fa- 
vourites was  both  dishonourable  and  dangerous  to  a 


BOOK  r.  OF  SCOTLAND.  55 

prince.  At  the  same  time,  he  felt,  that  the  authority 
of  the  crown  was  not  sufficient  to  counterbalance  the 
power  of  the  aristocracy,  and  that,  without  some  new 
accession  of  strength,  he  could  expect  no  better  success 
in  the  struggle  than  his  ancestors.  In  this  extremity, 
he  applied  himself  to  the  clergy,  hoping  that  they  would 
both  relish  his  plan,  and  concur,  with  all  their  influence, 
in  enabling  him  to  put  it  in  execution.  Under  the  feudal 
government,  the  church,  being  reckoned  a  third  estate, 
had  its  representatives  in  parliament;  the  number  of 
these  was  considerable,  and  they  possessed  great  in- 
fluence in  that  assembly.  The  superstition  of  former 
kings,  and  the  zeal  of  many  ages  of  ignorance,  had  be- 
stowed on  ecclesiastics  a  great  proportion  of  the  national 
wealth ;  and  the  authority  which  they  acquired,  by  the 
reverence  of  the  people,  was  superior  even  to  that  which 
they  derived  from  their  riches.  This  powerful  body, 
however,  depended  entirely  on  the  crown.  The  popes, 
notwithstanding  their  attention  to  extend  their  usurpa- 
tions, had  neglected  Scotland,  as  a  distant  and  poor 
kingdom,  and  permitted  its  kings  to  exercise  powers 
which  they  disputed  with  more  considerable  princes. 
The  Scottish  monarchs  had  the  sole  right  of  nomina- 
tion to  vacant  bishoprics  and  abbeys (l ;  and  James  na- 
turally concluded,  that  men  who  expected  preferment 
from  his  favour,  would  be  willing  to  merit  it,  by  pro- 
moting his  designs.  Happily  for  him,  the  nobles  had 
not  yet  recovered  the  blow  which  fell  on  their  order  at 
Flowden ;  and,  if  we  may  judge  either  from  their  con- 
duct, or  from  the  character  given  of  them  by  sir  Ralph 
Sadler,  the  English  envoy  in  Scotland,  they  were  men 
of  little  genius,  of  no  experience  in  business,  and  in- 
capable of  acting  either  with  unanimity,  or  with  vigour. 
Many  of  the  clergy,  on  the  other  hand,  were  distin- 
guished by  their  great  abilities,  and  no  less  by  their 
ambition.  Various  causes  of  disgust  subsisted  between 

*  Epist.  Reg.  Scot.  i.  197,  etc.     Act  125.  Parl.  1540. 


50  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  i. 

them  and  the  martial  nobles,  who  were  apt  to  view  the 
pacific  character  of  ecclesiastics  with  some  degree  of 
contempt,  and  who  envied  their  power  and  wealth.  By 
acting  in  concert  with  the  king,  they  not  only  would 
gratify  him,  but  avenge  themselves,  and  hoped  to  ag- 
grandize their  own  order,  by  depressing  those  who  were 
their  sole  rivals.  Secure  of  so  powerful  a  concurrence, 
James  ventured  to  proceed  with  greater  boldness.  In 
the  first  heat  of  resentment,  he  had  driven  the  earl  of 
Angus  out  of  the  kingdom ;  and,  sensible  that  a  person 
so  far  superior  to  the  other  nobles  in  abilities,  might 
create  many  obstacles,  which  would  retard  or  render 
ineffectual  all  his  schemes,  he  solemnly  swore,  that  he 
would  never  permit  him  to  return  into  Scotland;  and, 
notwithstanding  the  repeated  solicitations  of  the  king  of 
England,  he  adhered  to  his  vow  with  unrelenting  ob- 
stinacy. He  then  proceeded  to  repair  the  fortifications 
of  Edinburgh,  Stirling,  and  other  castles,  and  to  fill  his 
magazines  with  arms  and  ammunition.  Having  taken 
these  precautions,  by  way  of  defence,  he  began  to  treat 
the  nobility  with  the  utmost  coldness  and  reserve.  Those 
offices,  which  they  were  apt,  from  long  possession,  to 
consider  as  appropriated  to  their  order,  were  now  be- 
stowed on  ecclesiastics,  who  alone  possessed  the  king's 
ear,  and,  together  with  a  few  gentlemen  of  inferior  rank, 
to  whom  he  had  communicated  his  schemes,  were  in- 
trusted with  the  management  of  all  public  affairs.  These 
ministers  were  chosen  with  judgment ;  and  cardinal  Bea- 
toun,  who  soon  became  the  most  eminent  among  them, 
was  a  man  of  superior  genius.  These  served  the  king 
with  fidelity ;  they  carried  on  his  measures  with  vigour, 
with  reputation,  and  with  success.  James  no  longer 
concealed  his  distrust  of  the  nobles,  and  suffered  no 
opportunity  of  mortifying  them  to  escape.  Slight  of- 
fences were  aggravated  into  real  crimes,  and  punished 
with  severity.  Every  accusation  against  persons  of  rank 
was  heard  with  pleasure,  every  appearance  of  guilt  was 
examined  with  rigour,  and  every  trial  proved  fatal  to 


BOOK  i.  OF  SCOTLAND.  57 

those  who  were  accused :  the  banishing  Hepburn,  earl 
of  Bothwell,  for  reasons  extremely  frivolous,  beheading 
the  eldest  son  of  lord  Forbes,  without  sufficient  evidence 
of  his  guilt,  and  the  condemning  lady  Glamis,  a  sister 
of  the  earl  of  Angus,  to  be  burnt  for  the  crime  of  witch- 
craft, of  which  even  that  credulous  age  believed  her 
innocent,  are  monuments  both  of  the  king's  hatred  of 
the  nobility,  of  the  severity  of  his  government,  and  of 
the  stretches  he  made  towards  absolute  power.  By 
these  acts  of  authority,  he  tried  the  spirit  of  the  nobles, 
and  how  much  they  were  willing  to  bear.  Their  pa- 
tience increased  his  contempt  for  them,  and  added  to 
the  ardour  and  boldness  with  which  he  pursued  his 
plan.  Meanwhile  they  observed  the  tendency  of  his 
schemes  with  concern,  and  with  resentment;  but  the 
king's  sagacity,  the  vigilance  of  his  ministers,  and  the 
want  of  a  proper  leader,  made  it  dangerous  to  concert 
any  measures  for  their  defence,  and  impossible  to  act 
with  becoming  vigour.  James  and  his  counsellors,  by 
a  false  step  which  they  took,  presented  to  theni,  at 
length,  an  advantage  which  they  did  not  fail  to  im- 
prove. 

Motives,  which  are  well  known,  had  prompted  Henry 
the  eighth  to  disclaim  the  pope's  authority,  and  to  seize 
the  revenues  of  the  regular  clergy.  His  system  of  re- 
formation satisfied  none  of  his  subjects.  Some  were 
enraged,  because  he  had  proceeded  so  far,  others  mur- 
mured, because  he  proceeded  no  farther.  By  his  im- 
perious temper,  and  alternate  persecutions  of  the  zealots 
for  popery,  and  the  converts  to  the  protestant  opinions, 
he  was  equally  formidable  to  both.  Henry  was  afraid 
that  this  general  dissatisfaction  of  his  people  might  en- 
courage his  enemies  on  the  continent  to  invade  his  king- 
dom. He  knew  that  both  the  pope  and  the  emperor 
courted  the  friendship  of  the  king  of  Scots,  and  endea- 
voured to  engage  him  in  an  alliance  against  England. 
He  resolved,  therefore,  to  disappoint  the  effects  of  their 
negotiations,  by  entering  into  a  closer  union  with  his 


58  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  i. 

nephew.  In  order  to  accomplish  this,  he  transmitted 
to  James  an  elaborate  memorial,  presenting  the  nume- 
rous encroachments  of  the  see  of  Rome  upon  the  rights 
of  sovereigns6;  and  that  he  might  induce  him  more 
certainly  to  adopt  the  same  measures  for  abolishing 
papal  usurpation,  which  had  proved  so  efficacious  in 
England,  he  sent  ambassadors  into  Scotland,  to  pro- 
pose a  personal  interview  with  him  at  York.  It  was 
plainly  James's  interest  to  accept  this  invitation ;  the  as- 
sistance of  so  powerful  an  ally,  the  high  honours  which 
were  promised  him,  and  the  liberal  subsidies  he  might 
have  obtained,  would  have  added  no  little  dignity  to 
his  domestic  government,  and  must  have  greatly  facili- 
tated the  execution  of  his  favourite  plan.  On  the  other 
hand,  a  war  with  England,  which  he  had  reason  to  ap- 
prehend, if  he  rejected  Henry's  offers  of  friendship, 
was  inconsistent  with  all  his  views.  This  would  bring 
him  to  depend  on  his  barons ;  an  army  could  not  be 
raised  without  their  assistance.  To  call  nobles,  in- 
censed against  their  prince,  into  the  field,  was  to  unite 
his  enemies,  to  make  them  sensible  of  their  own  strength, 
and  to  afford  them  an  opportunity  of  revenging  their 
wrongs.  James,  who  was  not  ignorant  that  all  these 
consequences  might  follow  a  breach  with  England,  lis-. 
tened,  at  first,  to  Henry's  proposal,  and  consented  to 
the  interview  at  York.  But  the  clergy  dreaded  an 
union,  which  must  have  been  established  on  the  ruins 
of  the  church.  Henry  had  taken  great  pains  to  infuse 
into  his  nephew  his  own  sentiments  concerning  religion, 
and  had  frequently  solicited  him,  by  ambassadors,  to 
renounce  the  usurped  dominion  of  the  pope,  which  was 
no  less  dishonourable  to  princes  than  grievous  to  their 
subjects.  The  clergy  had,  hitherto,  with  great  address, 
diverted  the  king  from  regarding  these  solicitations. 
But,  in  an  amicable  conference,  Henry  expected,  and 
they  feared,  that  James  would  yield  to  his  entreaties, 

e  Strype,  Eccles.  Mem.  i.  App.  155. 


BOOK  i.  OF  SCOTLAND.  59 

or  be  convinced  by  his  arguments.  They  knew  that 
the  revenues  of  the  church  were  an  alluring  object  to  a 
prince  who  wanted  money,  and  who  loved  it;  that  the 
pride  and  ambition  of  ecclesiastics  raised  the  indigna- 
tion of  the  nobles ;  that  their  indecent  lives  gave  of- 
fence to  the  people ;  that  the  protestant  opinions  were 
spreading  fast  throughout  the  nation ;  and  that  an  uni- 
versal defection  from  the  established  church  would  be 
the  consequence  of  giving  the  smallest  degree  of  en- 
couragement to  these  principles.  For  these  reasons, 
they  employed  all  their  credit  with  the  king,  and  had 
recourse  to  every  artifice  and  insinuation,  in  order  to 
divert  him  from  a  journey,  which  must  have  been  so 
fatal  to  then*  interest.  They  endeavoured  to  inspire 
him  with  fear,  by  magnifying  the  danger  to  which  he 
would  expose  his  person,  by  venturing  so  far  into  Eng- 
land, without  any  security  but  the  word  of  a  prince, 
who,  having  violated  every  thing  venerable  and  sacred 
in  religion,  was  no  longer  to  be  trusted ;  and,  by  way 
of  compensation  for  the  sums  which  he  might  have  re- 
ceived from  Henry,  they  offered  an  annual  donative  of 
fifty  thousand  crowns ;  they  promised  to  contribute  li- 
berally towards  carrying  on  a  war  with  England,  and 
flattered  him  with  the  prospect  of  immense  riches,  aris- 
ing from  the  forfeiture  of  persons  who  were  to  be  tried 
and  condemned  as  heretics.  Influenced  by  these  con- 
siderations, James  broke  his  agreement  with  Henry, 
who,  in  expectation  of  meeting  him,  had  already  come 
to  York ;  and  that  haughty  and  impatient  monarch  re- 
sented the  affront,  by  declaring  war  against  Scotland. 
His  army  was  soon  ready  to  invade  the  kingdom.  James 
was  obliged  to  have  recourse  to  the  nobles,  for  the  de- 
fence of  his  dominions.  At  his  command,  they  assem- 
bled their  followers,  but  with  the  same  dispositions 
which  had  animated  their  ancestors,  in  the  reign  of 
James  the  third,  and  with  a  full  resolution  of  imitating 
their  example,  by  punishing  those  to  whom  they  im- 
puted the  grievances  of  which  they  had  reason  to  com- 


GO  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  i. 

plain ;  and  if  the  king's  ministers  had  not  been  men  of 
abilities,  superior  to  those  of  James  the  third,  and  of 
considerable  interest  even  with  their  enemies,  who  could 
not  agree  among  themselves  what  victims  to  sacrifice, 
the  camp  of  Fala  would  have  been  as  remarkable  as 
that  of  Lauder,  for  the  daring  encroachments  of  the 
nobility  on  the  prerogative  of  the  prince.  But,  though 
his  ministers  were  saved  by  this  accident,  the  nobles 
had  soon  another  opportunity  of  discovering  to  the  king 
their  dissatisfaction  with  his  government,  and  their  con- 
tempt of  his  authority.  Scarcity  of  provisions,  and  the 
rigour  of  the  season,  having  obliged  the  English  army, 
which  had  invaded  Scotland,  to  retire,  James  imagined, 
that  he  could  attack  them,  with  great  advantage,  in 
their  retreat;  but  the  principal  barons,  with  an  obsti- 
nacy and  disdain  which  greatly  aggravated  their  dis- 
obedience, refused  to  advance  a  step  beyond  the  limits 
of  their  own  country.  Provoked  by  this  insult  to  him- 
self, and  suspicious  of  a  new  conspiracy  against  his 
ministers,  the  king  instantly  disbanded  an  army  which 
paid  so  little  regard  to  his  orders,  and  returned  abruptly 
into  the  heart  of  the  kingdom. 

An  ambitious  and  high-spirited  prince  could  not 
brook  such  a  mortifying  affront.  His  hopes  of  success 
had  been  rash,  and  his  despair  upon  a  disappointment 
was  excessive.  He  felt  himself  engaged  in  an  unneces- 
sary war  with  England,  which,  instead  of  yielding  him 
the  laurels  and  triumphs  that  he  expected,  had  begun 
with  such  circumstances,  as  encouraged  the  insolence 
of  his  subjects,  and  exposed  him  to  the  scorn  of  his 
enemies.  He  saw  how  vain  and  ineffectual  all  his  pro- 
jects to  humble  the  nobles  had  been;  and  that,  though, 
in  times  of  peace,  a  prince  may  endeavour  to  depress 
them,  they  will  rise,  during  war,  to  their  former  import- 
ance and  dignity.  Impatience,  resentment,  indignation, 
filled  his  bosom  by  turns.  The  violence  of  these  pas- 
sions altered  his  temper,  and,  perhaps,  impaired  his 
reason.  He  became  pensive,  sullen,  and  retired.  He 


BOOK  i.  OF  SCOTLAND.  61 

seemed,  through  the  day,  to  be  swallowed  up  in  pro- 
found meditation,  and,  through  the  night,  he  was  dis- 
turbed with  those  visionary  terrours  which  make  im- 
pression upon  a  weak  understanding  only,  or  a  disor- 
dered fancy.  In  order  to  revive  the  king's  spirits,  an 
inroad  on  the  western  borders  was  concerted  by  his 
ministers,  who  prevailed  upon  the  barons  in  the  neigh- 
bouring provinces  to  raise  as  many  troops  as  were 
thought  necessary,  and  to  enter  the  enemy's  country. 
But  nothing  could  remove  the  king's  aversion  to  his 
nobility,  or  diminish  his  jealousy  of  their  power.  He 
would  not  even  intrust  them  with  the  command  of  the 
forces  which  they  had  assembled;  that  was  reserved 
for  Oliver  Sinclair,  his  favourite,  who  no  sooner  ap- 
peared to  take  possession  of  the  dignity  conferred  upon 
him,  than  rage  and  indignation  occasioned  an  universal 
mutiny  in  the  army.  Five  hundred  English,  who  hap- 
pened to  be  drawn  up  in  sight,  attacked  the  Scots  in 
this  disorder.  Hatred  to  the  king,  and  contempt  of 
their  general,  produced  an  effect  to  which  there  is  no 
parallel  in  history.  They  overcame  the  fear  of  death, 
and  the  love  of  liberty ;  and  ten  thousand  men  fled  be- 
fore a  number  so  far  inferior,  without  striking  a  single 
blow.  No  man  was  desirous  of  a  victory,  which  would 
have  been  acceptable  to  the  king,  and  to  his  favourite ; 
few  endeavoured  to  save  themselves  by  flight ;  the  Eng- 
lish had  the  choice  of  what  prisoners  they  pleased  to 
take ;  and  almost  every  person  of  distinction^  who  was 
engaged  in  the  expedition,  remained  in  their  hands f. 
This  astonishing  event  was  a  new  proof  to  the  king  of 
the  general  disaffection  of  the  nobility,  and  a  new  dis- 
covery of  his  own  weakness  and  want  of  authority. 
Incapable  of  bearing  these  repeated  insults,  he  found 
himself  unable  to  revenge  them.  The  deepest  melan- 

f  According  to  an  account  of  this  event  in  the  Hamilton  manuscripts, 
about  thirty  were  killed,  above  a  thousand  were  taken  prisoners ;  and 
among  them,  a  hundred  and  fifty  persons  of  condition.  Vol.  ii.  286.  The 
small  number  of  the  English  prevented  their  taking  more  prisoners. 


62  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  i. 

choly  and  despair  succeeded  to  the  furious  transports 
of  rage,  which  the  first  account  of  the  rout  of  his  army 
occasioned.  All  the  violent  passions,  which  are  the 
enemies  of  life,  preyed  upon  his  mind,  and  wasted  and 
consumed  a  youthful  and  vigorous  constitution.  Some 
authors  of  that  age  impute  his  untimely  death  to  poison ; 
but  the  diseases  of  the  mind,  when  they  rise  to  an 
height,  are  often  mortal ;  and  the  known  effects  of  dis- 
appointment, anger,  and  resentment,  upon  a  sanguine 
and  impetuous  temper,  sufficiently  account  for  his  un- 
happy fate.  "  His  death,"  says  Drummond,  "  proveth 
his  mind  to  have  been  raised  to  an  high  strain,  and 
above  mediocrity ;  he  could  die,  but  could  not  digest  a 
disaster."  Had  James  survived  this  misfortune,  one  of 
two  things  must  have  happened :  either  the  violence  of 
his  temper  would  have  engaged  him  openly  to  attack 
the  nobles,  who  would  have  found  in  Henry  a  willing 
and  powerful  protector,  and  have  derived  the  same  as- 
sistance from  him,  which  the  malecontents,  in  the  suc- 
ceeding reign,  did  from  his  daughter  Elizabeth ;  in  that 
case,  a  dangerous  civil  war  must  have  been  the  certain 
consequence :  or,  perhaps,  necessity  might  have  ob- 
liged him  to  accept  of  Henry's  offers,  and  be  reconciled 
to  his  nobility ;  in  that  event,  the  church  would  have 
fallen  a  sacrifice  to  their  union;  a  reformation,  upon 
Henry's  plan,  would  have  been  established  by  law ;  a 
great  part  of  the  temporalities  of  the  church  would 
have  been  seized ;  and  the  friendship  of  the  king  and 
barons  would  have  been  cemented  by  dividing  its  spoils. 
Such  were  the  efforts  of  our  kings  towards  reducing 
the  exorbitant  power  of  the  nobles.  If  they  were  not 
attended  with  success,  we  must  not,  for  that  reason 
conclude,  that  they  were  not  conducted  with  prudence. 
Every  circumstance  seems  to  have  combined  against 
the  crown.  Accidental  events  concurred  with  political 
causes,  in  rendering  the  best-concerted  measures  abor- 
tive. The  assassination  of  one  king,  the  sudden  death 
of  another,  and  the  fatal  despair  of  a  third,  contributed, 


BOOK  r.  OF  SCOTLAND.  63 

no  less  than  its  own  natural  strength,  to  preserve  the 
aristocracy  from  ruin. 

Amidst   these   struggles,  the   influence,  which  our  The  extra- 
kings  possessed  in  their  parliaments,  is  a  circumstance  flu^e^f"" 
seemingly  inexplicable,  and  which  merits  particular  at-  the  Scottish 
tention.     As  these  assemblies  were  composed  chiefly  H^errt.1"" 
of  the  nobles,  they,  we  are  apt  to  imagine,  must  have 
dictated  all  their  decisions ;  but,  instead  of  this,  every 
king  found  them  obsequious  to  his  will,  and  obtained 
such  laws,  as  he  deemed  necessary  for  extending  his 
authority.     All  things  were  conducted  there  with  de- 
spatch and  unanimity ;  and,  in  none  of  our  historians, 
do  we  find  an  instance  of  any  opposition  formed  against 
the  court  in  parliament,  or  mention  of  any  difficulty  in 
carrying  through  the  measures  which  were  agreeable 
to  the  king.     In  order  to  account  for  this  singular  fact, 
it  is  necessary  to  inquire  into  the  origin  and  constitution 
of  parliament. 

The  genius  of  the  feudal  government,  uniform  in  all  The  reasons 
its  operations,  produced  the  same  effects  in  small,  as0  ll' 
in  great  societies ;  and  the  territory  of  a  baron  was,  in 
miniature,  the  model  of  a  kingdom.  He  possessed  the 
right  of  jurisdiction,  but  those  who  depended  on  him 
being  free  men,  and  not  slaves,  could  be  tried  by  their 
peers  only ;  and,  therefore,  his  vassals  were  bound  to 
attend  his  courts,  and  to  assist  both  in  passing  and  exe- 
cuting his  sentences.  When  assembled  on  these  occa- 
sions, they  established,  by  mutual  consent,  such  regu- 
lations, as  tended  to  the  welfare  of  their  small  society ; 
and  often  granted,  voluntarily,  such  supplies  to  their 
*  superior,'  as  his  necessities  required.  Change  now  a 
single  name ;  in  place  of  baron,  substitute  king,  and  we 
behold  a  parliament,  in  its  first  rudiments,  and  observe 
the  first  exertions  of  those  powers,  which  its  members 
now  possess  as  judges,  as  legislators,  and  as  dispensers 
of  the  public  revenues,  Suitable  to  this  idea,  are  the 
app«llations  of  the  'king's  court8,'  and  of  the  'king's 

t  Du  Cange,  voc.  curia. 


64  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  i. 

great  council,'  by  which  parliaments  were  anciently  dis- 
tinguished ;  and  suitable  to  this,  likewise,  were  the  con- 
stituent members  of  which  it  was  composed.  In  all  the 
feudal  kingdoms,  such  as  held  of  the  king  in  chief  were 
bound,  by  the  condition  of  their  tenure,  to  attend  and 
to  assist  in  his  courts.  Nor  was  this  esteemed  a  pri- 
vilege, but  a  service11.  It  was  exacted,  likewise,  of 
bishops,  abbots,  and  the  greater  ecclesiastics,  who, 
holding  vast  possessions  of  the  crown,  were  deemed 
subject  to  the  same  burthen.  Parliaments  did  not 
continue  long  in  this  state.  Cities  gradually  acquired 
wealth,  a  considerable  share  of  the  public  taxes  were 
levied  on  them,  the  inhabitants  grew  into  estimation, 
and,  being  enfranchised  by  the  sovereign,  a  place  in 
parliament  was  the  consequence  of  their  liberty,  and  of 
their  importance.  But,  as  it  would  have  been  absurd 
to  confer  such  a  privilege,  or  to  impose  such  a  burthen, 
on  a  whole  community,  every  borough  was  permitted  to 
choose  one  or  two  of  its  citizens  to  appear,  in  the  name 
of  the  corporation ;  and  the  idea  of  '  representation1 
was  first  introduced  in  this  manner.  An  innovation, 
still  more  important,  naturally  followed.  The  vassals 
of  the  crown  were,  originally,  few  in  number,  and  ex- 
tremely powerful ;  but,  as  it  is  impossible  to  render 
property  fixed  and  permanent,  many  of  their  posses- 
sions came,  gradually,  and  by  various  methods  of  aliena- 
tion, to  be  split  and  parcelled  out  into  different  hands. 
Hence  arose  the  distinction  between  the  '  greater'  and 
the  *  lesser  barons.'  The  former  were  those  who  re- 
tained their  original  fiefs  undivided ;  the  latter  were  the 
new  and  less  potent  vassals  of  the  crown.  Both  were 
bound,  however,  to  perform  all  feudal  services,  and,  of 
consequence,  to  give  attendance  in  parliament.  To  the 
lesser  barons,  who  formed  no  inconsiderable  body,  this 
was  an  intolerable  grievance.  Barons  sometimes  denied 
their  tenure,  boroughs  renounced  their  right  of  elect- 

h  Du  Cange,  voc.  placitum,  col.  519.      Magna  Charta,  art.  14.     Act. 
Jac.  I.  1425.  cap.  52. 


BOOK  i.  OF  SCOTLAND.  65 

ing,  charters  were  obtained,  containing  an  exemption 
from  attendance ;  and  the  anxiety,  with  which  our  an- 
cestors endeavoured  to  get  free  from  the  obligation  of 
sitting  in  parliament,  is  surpassed  by  that  only  with 
which  their  posterity  solicit  to  be  admitted  ther?.  In 
order  to  accommodate  both  parties,  at  once,  to  secure 
to  the  king  a  sufficient  number  of  members  in  his  great 
council,  and  to  save  his  vassals  from  an  unnecessary 
burthen,  an  easy  expedient  was  found  out.  The  obliga- 
tion to  personal  attendance  was  continued  upon  the 
greater  barons,  from  which  the  lesser  barons  were  ex- 
empted, on  condition  of  their  electing  in  each  county, 
a  certain  number  of 'representatives,'  to  appear  in  their 
name.  Thus  a  parliament  became  complete  in  all  its 
members,  and  was  composed  of  lords  spiritual  and  tem- 
poral, of  knights  of  the  shires,  and  of  burgesses.  As 
many  causes  contributed  to  bring  government  earlier  to 
perfection  in  England  than  in  Scotland ;  as  the  rigour 
of  the  feudal  institutions  abated  sooner,  and  its  defects 
were  supplied  with  greater  facility  in  the  one  kingdom 
than  in  the  other;  England  led  the  way  in  all  these 
changes,  and  burgesses  and  knights  of  the  shire  ap- 
peared in  the  parliaments  of  that  nation,  before  they 
were  heard  of  in  ours.  x  Burgesses  were  first  admitted  A. D.  1326. 
into  the  Scottish  parliaments  by  Robert  Bruce';  and  in 
the  preamble  to  the  laws  of  Robert  the  third,  they  are 
ranked  among  the  constituent  members  of  that  assembly. 
The  lesser  barons  were  indebted  to  James  the  first  for  A.D.  1427. 
a  statute  exempting  them  from  personal  attendance,  and 
permitting  them  to  elect  representatives :  the  exemption 
was  eagerly  laid  hold  on ;  but  the  privilege  was  so  little 
valued,  that,  except  one  or  two  instances,  it  lay  neglect- 
ed during  one  hundred  and  sixty  years ;  and  James  the 
sixth  first  obliged  them  to  send  representatives  regularly 
to  parliament11. 

1  Abercromby,  i.  635. 

k  Essays  on  Brit.  Antiq.  Ess.  ii.    Dalrymp.  Hist,  of  Feud.  Prop.  ch.  8. 
VOL.  I.  F 


GG  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  i. 

A  Scottish  parliament,  then,  consisted  anciently  of 
great  barons,  of  ecclesiastics,  and  a  few  representatives 
of  boroughs.  Nor  were  these  divided,  as  in  England, 
into  two  houses,  but  composed  one  assembly,  in  which 
the  lord  chancellor  presided1.  In  rude  ages,  when  the 
science  of  government  was  extremely  imperfect  among 
a  martial  people,  unacquainted  with  the  arts  of  peace, 
strangers  to  the  talents  which  make  a  figure  in  debate, 
and  despising  them,  parliaments  were  not  held  in  the 
same  estimation  as  at  present ;  nor  did  haughty  barons 
love  those  courts,  in  which  they  appeared  with  such 
evident  marks  of  inferiority.  Parliaments  were  often 
hastily  assembled,  and  it  was,  probably,  in  the  king's 
power,  by  the  manner  in  which  he  issued  his  writs,  for 
that  purpose,  to  exclude  such  as  were  averse  from  his 
measures.  At  a  time,  when  deeds  of  violence  were  com- 
mon, and  the  restraints  of  law  and  decency  were  little 
regarded,  no  man  could  venture  with  safety  to  oppose 
the  king  in  his  own  court.  The  great  barons,  or  lords 
of  parliament,  were  extremely  few ;  even  so  late  as  the 
beginning  of  the  reign  of  James  the  sixth"1,  they  amount- 
ed only  to  fifty-three.  The  ecclesiastics  equalled  them  in 
number,  and,  being  devoted  implicitly  to  the  crown,  for 
reasons  which  have  been  already  explained,  rendered 
all  hopes  of  victory  in  any  struggle  desperate.  Nor  were 
the  nobles  themselves  so  anxious,  as  might  be  imagined, 
to  prevent  acts  of  parliament  favourable  to  the  royal 

1  In  England,  the  peers  and  commons  seem  early  to  have  met  in  separate 
houses ;  and  James  the  first,  who  was  fond  ofimitating  the  English  in  all 
their  customs,  had  probably  an  intention  of  introducing  some  considerable 
distinction  between  the  greater  and  lesser  barons  in  Scotland ;  at  least 
he  determined  that  their  consultations  should  not  be  carried  on  under  the 
direction  of  the  same  president,  for  by  his  law,  a.  d.  1327,  it  is  provided, 
"  that  out  of  the  commissioners  of  all  the  shires  shall  be  chosen  a  wise  and 
expert  man,  called  the  common  speaker  of  the  parliament,  who  shall  propose 
all  and  sundry  needs  and  causes  pertaining  to  the  commons  in  the  parlia- 
ment or  general  council."  No  such  speaker>  it  would  seem,  was  ever 
chosen;  and,  by  a  subsequent  law,  the  chancellor  was  declared  perpetual 
president  of  parliament. 

m  And.  Coll.  vol.  i.  pref.  40. 


BOOK  i.  OF  SCOTLAND.  67 

prerogative;  conscious  of  their  own  strength,  and  of  the 
king's  inability  to  carry  these  acts  into  execution,  with- 
out their  concurrence,  they  trusted  that  they  might 
either  elude  or  venture  to  contemn  them ;  and  the  sta- 
tute revoking  the  king's  property,  and  annexing  alie- 
nated jurisdictions  to  the  crown,  repeated  in  every  reign, 
and  violated  and  despised  as  often,  is  a  standing  proof 
of  the  impotence  of  laws,  when  opposed  to  power.  So 
many  concurring  causes  are  sufficient,  perhaps,  to  ac- 
count for  the  ascendant  which  our  kings  acquired  in 
parliament.  But,  without  having  recourse  to  any  of 
these,  a  single  circumstance,  peculiar  to  the  constitu- 
tion of  the  Scottish  parliament,  the  mentioning  of  which 
we  have  hitherto  avoided,  will  abundantly  explain  this 
fact,  seemingly  so  repugnant  to  all  our  reasonings  con- 
cerning the  weakness  of  the  king,  and  the  power  of  the 
nobles. 

As  far  back  as  our  records  enable  us  to  trace  the  con- 
stitution of  our  parliaments,  we  find  a  committee  distin- 
guished by  the  name  of '  lords  of  articles.'  It  was  their 
business  to  prepare  and  to  digest  all  matters,  which 
were  to  be  laid  before  the  parliament.  There  was  rarely 
any  business  introduced  into  parliament,  but  what  had 
passed  through  the  channel  of  this  committee ;  every 
motion  for  a  new  law  was  first  made  there,  and  approved 
of,  or  rejected  by  the  members  of  it;  what  they  approved 
was  formed  into  a  bill,  and  presented  to  parliament ;  and 
it  seems  probable,  that  what  they  rejected  could  not 
be  introduced  into  the  house.  This  committee  owed 
the  extraordinary  powers  vested  in  it,  to  the  military 
genius  of  the  ancient  nobles ;  too  impatient  to  submit  to 
the  drudgery  of  civil  business,  too  impetuous  to  observe 
the  forms,  or  to  enter  into  the  details  necessary  in  con- 
ducting it,  they  were  glad  to  lay  that  burthen  upon  a 
small  number,  while  they  themselves  had  no  other  labour 
than  simply  to  give,  or  to  refuse,  their  assent  to  the  bills 
which  were  presented  to  them.  The  lords  of  articles, 
then,  not  only  directed  all  the  proceedings  of  parlia- 


G8  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  r. 

merit,  but  possessed  a  negative  before  debate.  That 
committee  was  chosen  and  constituted  in  such  a  man- 
ner, as  put  this  valuable  privilege  entirely  in  the  king's 
hands.  It  is  extremely  probable,  that  our  kings  once 
had  the  sole  right  of  nominating  the  lords  of  articles n. 
They  came  afterwards  to  be  elected  by  the  parliament, 
and  consisted  of  an  equal  number  out  of  each  estate, 
and  most  commonly  of  eight  temporal  and  eight  spiritual 
lords,  of  eight  representatives  of  boroughs,  and  of  the 
eight  great  officers  of  the  crown.  Of  this  body,  the 
eight  ecclesiastics,  together  with  the  officers  of  the 
crown,  were  entirely  at  the  king's  devotion,  and  it  was 
scarce  possible  that  the  choice  could  fall  on  such  tem- 
poral lords  and  burgesses,  as  would  unite  in  opposition 
to  his  measures.  Capable  either  of  influencing  their 
election,  or  of  gaining  them  when  elected,  the  king  com- 
monly found  the  lords  of  articles  no  less  obsequious  to 
his  will,  than  his  own  privy  council ;  and,  by  means  of 
his  authority  with  them,  he  could  put  a  negative  upon 
his  parliament  before  debate,  as  well  as  after  it;  and, 
what  may  seem  altogether  incredible,  the  most  limited 
prince  in  Europe  actually  possessed,  in  one  instance,  a 

"  It  appears  from  authentic  records,  that  a  parliament  was  appointed  to 
be  held  March  12,  1566,  and  that  the  lords  of  articles  were  chosen,  and 
met  on  the  7th,  five  days  before  the  assembling  of  parliament.  If  they 
could  be  regularly  elected  so  long  before  the  meeting  of  parliament,  it  is 
natural  to  conclude  that  the  prince  alone  possessed  the  right  of  electing 
them.  There  are  two  different  accounts  of  the  manner  of  their  election,  at 
that  time,  one  by  Mary  herself,  in  a  letter  to  the  archbishop  of  Glasgow  : 
"  We,  accompanied  with  our  nobility  for  the  time,  past  to  the  Tolbooth  of 
Edinburgh,  for  holding  of  our  parliament  on  the  7th  day  of  this  instant,  ami 
elected  the  lords  articulars."  ]f  we  explain  these  words  according  to  the 
strict  grammar,  we  must  conclude,  that  the  queen  herself  elected  them. 
It  is,  however,  more  probable,  that  Mary  meant  to  say,  that  the  nobles,  then 
present  with  her,  viz.  her  privy  counsellors,  and  others,  elected  the  lords  of 
articles.  Keith's  Hist,  of  Scotland,  p.  331.  The  other  account  is  lord 
Ruthven's,  who  expressly  affirms  that  the  queen  herself  elected  them.  ' 
Keith's  Append.  126.  Whether  we  embrace  the  one  or  the  other  of  these 
opinions,  is  of  no  consequence.  If  the  privy  counsellors  and  nobles,  attending 
the  court,  had  a  right  to  elect  the  lords  of  articles,  it  was  equally  advan- 
tageous for  the  crown,  as  if  the  prince  had  had  the  sole  nomination  of  them. 


BOOK  i.  OF  SCOTLAND.  69 

prerogative  which  the  most  absolute  could  never  at- 
tain °. 


0  Having  deduced  the  history  of  the  committee  of  lords  of  articles  as  low 
as  the  subject  of  this  preliminary  book  required,  it  may  be  agreeable,  per- 
haps, to  some  of  my  readers,  to  know  the  subsequent  variations  in  this  sin- 
gular institution,  and  the  political  use  which  our  kings  made  of  these. 
When  parliaments  became  more  numerous,  and  more  considerable,  by  the 
admission  of  the  representatives  of  the  lesser  barons,  the  preserving  their 
influence  over  the  lords  of  articles  became,  likewise,  an  object  of  greater 
importance  to  our  kings.  James  the  sixth,  on  pretence  that  the  lords  of 
articles  could  not  find  leisure  to  consider  the  great  multitude  of  affairs  laid 
before  them,  obtained  an  act,  appointing  four  persons  to  be  named  out  of 
each  '  estate,'  who  should  meet  twenty  days  before  the  commencement  of 
parliament1,  to  receive  all  supplications,  etc.  and,  rejecting  what  they 
thought  frivolous,  should  engross  in  a  book  what  they  thought  worthy  the 
attention  of  the  lords  of  articles.  No  provision  is  made  in  the  act  for  the 
choice  of  this  select  body,  and  the  king  would,  of  course,  have  claimed  that 
privilege.  In  1633,  when  Charles  the  first  was  beginning  to  introduce 
those  innovations  which  gave  so  much  offence  to  the  nation,  he  dreaded 
the  opposition  of  his  parliament,  and,  in  order  to  prevent  that,  an  artifice 
was  made  use  of  to  secure  the  lords  of  articles  for  the  crown.  The  temporal 
peers  were  appointed  to  choose  eight  bishops,  and  the  bishops  eight  peers; 
these  sixteen  met  together,  and  elected  eight  knights  of  the  shire,  and  eight 
burgesses,  and  to  these  the  crown  officers  were  added  as  usual.  If  we  can 
only  suppose  eight  persons  of  so  numerous  a  body,  as  the  peers  of  Scotland 
were  become  by  that  time,  attached  to  the  court,  these,  it  is  obvious,  would 
be  the  men  whom  the  bishops  would  choose,  and,  of  consequence,  the  whole 
lords  of  articles  were  the  tools  and  creatures  of  the  king.  This  practice,  so 
inconsistent  with  liberty,  was  abolished  during  the  civil  war;  and  the  sta- 
tute of  James  the  sixth  was  repealed.  After  the  restoration,  parliaments 
became  more  servile  than  ever.  What  was  only  a  temporary  device,  in  the 
reign  of  Charles  the  first,  was  then  converted  into  a  standing  law.  "  For 
my  part,"  says  the  author  from  whom  I  have  borrowed  many  of  these  par- 
ticulars, "  I  should  have  thought  it  less  criminal  in  our  restoration  parlia- 
ment, to  have  openly  bestowed  upon  the  king  a  negative  before  debate, 
than,  in  such  an  under-hand  artificial  manner,  to  betray  their  constituents, 
and  the  nation."  Essays  on  Brit.  Antiq.  55.  It  is  probable,  however, 
from  a  letter  of  Randolph's  to  Cecil,  10  Aug.  1560,  printed  in  the  appen- 
dix, that  this  parliament  had  some  appearance  of  ancient  precedent  to 
justify  their  unworthy  conduct.  Various  questions  concerning  the  consti- 
tuent members  of  the  Scottish  parliament ;  concerning  the  aera  at  which 
the  representatives  of  boroughs  were  introduced  into  that  assembly ;  and 
concerning  the  origin  and  power  of  the  committee  of  lords  of  articles,  occur, 
and  have  been  agitated  with  great  warmth.  Since  the  first  publication  of 

1  Act  222.  Parl.  1594. 


70  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  i. 

State  of  Eu-     To  this  account  of  the  internal  constitution  of  Scot- 
^an(l>  ^  will  not  be  improper  to  add  a  view  of  the  po- 


of the  six-  litical  state  of  Europe,  at  that  period,  where  the  follow- 
tury.  '  l~  ing  history  commences.  A  thorough  knowledge  of  that 
general  system,  of  which  every  kingdom  in  Europe  forms 
a  part,  is  not  less  requisite  towards  understanding  the 
history  of  a  nation,  than  an  acquaintance  with  its  pecu- 
liar government  and  laws.  The  latter  may  enable  us  to 
comprehend  domestic  occurrences  and  revolutions  ;  but, 
without  the  former,  foreign  transactions  must  be  alto- 
gether mysterious  and  unintelligible.  By  attending  to 
this,  many  dark  passages  in  our  history  may  be  placed 
in  a  clear  light  ;  and  where  the  bulk  of  historians  have 
seen  only  the  effect,  we  may  be  able  to  discover  the 
cause. 

The  subversion  of  the  feudal  government  in  France, 
and  its  declension  in  the  neighbouring  kingdoms,  occa- 
sioned a  remarkable  alteration  in  the  political  state  of 
Europe.  Kingdoms,  which  were  inconsiderable,  when 
broken,  and  parcelled  out  among  nobles,  acquired  firm- 
ness and  strength,  by  being  united  into  a  regular  mo- 
narchy. Kings  became  conscious  of  their  own  power 
and  importance.  They  meditated  schemes  of  conquest, 
and  engaged  in  wars  at  a  distance.  Numerous  armies 
were  raised,  and  great  taxes  imposed  for  their  sub- 
sistence. Considerable  bodies  of  infantry  were  kept  in 
constant  pay  ;  that  service  grew  to  be  honourable  ;  and 
cavalry,  in  which  the  strength  of  European  armies  had, 
hitherto,  consisted,  though  proper  enough  for  the  short 
and  voluntary  excursions  of  barons,  who  served  at  their 
own  expense,  were  found  to  be  unfit  either  for  making 
or  defending  any  important  conquest. 

It  was  in  Italy,  that  the  powerful  monarchs  of  France 
and  Spain  and  Germany  first  appeared  to  make  a  trial 
of  their  new  strength.  The  division  of  that  country  into 

this  work,  all  these  disputed  points  have  been  considered  with  calmness 
and  accuracy  in  Mr.  Wight's  Inquiry  into  the  Rise  and  Progress  of  Par- 
liament, etc.  4to.  edit.  p.  17,  etc. 


BOOK  i.  OF  SCOTLAND.  71 

many  small  states,  the  luxury  of  the  people,  and  their 
effeminate  aversion  to  arms,  invited  their  more  martial 
neighbours  to  an  easy  prey.  The  Italians,  who  had 
been  accustomed  to  mock  battles  only,  and  to  decide 
their  interior  quarrels  by  innocent  and  bloodless  victo- 
ries, were  astonished,  when  the  French  invaded  their 
country,  at  the  sight  of  real  war ;  and,  as  they  could 
not  resist  the  torrent,  they  suffered  it  to  take  its  course, 
and  to  spend  its  rage.  Intrigue  and  policy  supplied  the 
want  of  strength.  Necessity  and  self-preservation  led 
that  ingenious  people  to  the  great  secret  of  modern  po- 
litics, by  teaching  them  how  to  balance  the  power  of 
one  prince,  by  throwing  that  of  another  into  the  oppo- 
site scale.  By  this  happy  device,  the  liberty  of  Italy 
was  long  preserved.  The  scales  were  poized  by  very 
skilful  hands ;  the  smallest  variations  were  attended  to, 
and  no  prince  was  allowed  to  retain  any  superiority, 
that  could  be  dangerous. 

A  system  of  conduct,  pursued  with  so  much  success 
in  Italy,  was  not  long  confined  to  that  country  of  poli- 
tical refinement.  The  maxim  of  preserving  a  balance 
of  power  is  founded  so  much  upon  obvious  reasoning, 
and  the  situation  of  Europe  rendered  it  so  necessary, 
that  it  soon  became  a  matter  of  chief  attention  to  all 
wise  politicians.  Every  step  any  prince  took  was  ob- 
served by  all  his  neighbours.  Ambassadors,  a  kind  of 
honourable  spies,  authorized  by  the  mutual  jealousy  of 
kings,  resided  almost  constantly  at  every  different  court, 
and  had  it  in  charge  to  watch  all  its  motions.  Dangers 
were  foreseen  at  a  greater  distance,  and  prevented  with 
more  ease.  Confederacies  were  formed  to  humble  any 
power  which  rose  above  its  due  proportion.  Revenge 
or  self-defence  were  no  longer  the  only  causes  of  hos- 
tility, it  became  common  to  take  arms  out  of  policy ; 
and  war,  both  in  its  commencement  and  its  operations, 
was  more  an  exercise  of  the  judgment,  than  of  the 
passions  of  men.  Almost  every  war  in  Europe  became 
general,  and  the  most  inconsiderable  states  acquired 


72  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  i. 

importance,  because  they  could  add  weight  to  either 
scale. 

Francis  the  first,  who  mounted  the  throne  of  France 
in  the  year  one  thousand  five  hundred  and  fifteen,  and 
Charles  the  fifth,  who  obtained  the  imperial  crown 
in  the  year  one  thousand  five  hundred  and  nineteen, 
divided  between  them  the  strength  and  affections  of  all 
Europe.  Their  perpetual  enmity  was  not  owing  solely 
either  to  personal  jealousy,  or  to  the  caprice  of  private 
passion,  but  was  founded  so  much  in  nature  and  true 
policy,  that  it  subsisted  between  then*  posterity  for  se- 
veral ages.  Charles  succeeded  to  all  the  dominions  of 
the  house  of  Austria,  No  family  had  ever  gained  so 
much  by  wise  and  fortunate  marriages.  By  acquisitions 
of  this  kind,  the  Austrian  princes  rose,  in  a  short  time, 
from  obscure  counts  of  Hapsbourg,  to  be  archdukes  of 
Austria  and  kings  of  Bohemia,  and  were  in  possession 
of  the  imperial  dignity  by  a  sort  of  hereditary  right. 
Besides  these  territories  in  Germany,  Charles  was  heir 
to  the  crown  of  Spain,  and  to  all  the  dominions  which 
belonged  to  the  house  of  Burgundy.  The  Burgundian 
provinces  engrossed,  at  that  time,  the  riches  and  com- 
merce of  one  half  of  Europe ;  and  he  drew  from  them, 
on  many  occasions,  those  immense  sums,  which  no  peo- 
ple, without  trade  and  liberty,  are  able  to  contribute. 
Spain  furnished  him  a  gallant  and  hardy  infantry,  to 
whose  discipline  he  was  indebted  for  all  his  conquests. 
At  the  same  time,  by  the  discovery  of  the  new  world, 
a  vein  of  wealth  was  opened  to  him,  which  all  the  ex- 
travagance of  ambition  could  not  exhaust.  These  ad- 
vantages rendered  Charles  the  first  prince  in  Europe ; 
but  he  wished  to  be  more,  and  openly  aspired  to  uni- 
versal monarchy.  His  genius  was  of  that  kind  which 
ripens  slowly,  and  lies  long  concealed ;  but  it  grew  up, 
without  observation,  to  an  unexpected  height  and  vi- 
gour. He  possessed,  in  an  eminent  degree,  the  cha- 
racteristic virtues  of  all  the  different  races  of  princes 
to  whom  he  was  allied.  In  forming  his  schemes,  he  dis- 


BOOK  i.  OF  SCOTLAND.  73 

• 

covered  all  the  subtilty  and  penetration  of  Ferdinand 
his  grandfather ;  he  pursued  them  with  that  ohstinate 
and  inflexible  perseverance  which  has  ever  been  pecu- 
liar to  the  Austrian  blood ;  and,  in  executing  them,  he 
could  employ  the  magnanimity  and  boldness  of  his 
Burgundian  ancestors.  His  abilities  were  equal  to  his 
power ;  and  neither  of  them  would  have  been  inferior 
to  his  designs,  had  not  providence,  in  pity  to  mankind, 
and  in  order  to  preserve  them  from  the  worst  of  all 
evils,  universal  monarchy,  raised  up  Francis  the  first,  to 
defend  the  liberty  of  Europe.  His  dominions  were  less 
extensive,  but  more  united,  than  the  emperor's.  His 
subjects  were  numerous,  active,  and  warlike,  lovers  of 
glory,  and  lovers  of  their  king.  To  Charles,  power  was 
the  only  object  of  desire,  and  he  pursued  it  with  an  un- 
wearied and  joyless  industry.  Francis  could  mingle 
pleasure  and  elegance  with  his  ambition ;  and,  though 
he  neglected  some  advantages,  which  a  more  phlegma- 
tic or  more  frugal  prince  would  have  improved,  an  ac- 
tive and  intrepid  courage  supplied  all  his  defects,  and 
checked  or  defeated  many  of  the  emperor's  designs. 

The  rest  of  Europe  observed  all  the  motions  of  these 
mighty  rivals  with  a  jealous  attention.  On  the  one  side, 
the  Italians  saw  the  danger  which  threatened  Christen- 
dom, and,  in  order  to  avert  it,  had  recourse  to  the  ex- 
pedient, which  they  had  often  employed  with  success. 
They  endeavoured  to  divide  the  power  of  the  two  con- 
tending monarchs  into  equal  scales,  and,  by  the  union 
of  several  small  states,  to  counterpoize  him  whose  power 
became  too  great.  But  what  they  concerted  with  much 
wisdom,  they  were  able  to  execute  with  little  vigour; 
and  intrigue  and  refinement  were  feeble  fences  against 
the  encroachments  of  military  power. 

On  the  other  side,  Henry  the  eighth,  of  England, 
held  the  balance  with  less  delicacy,  but  with  a  stronger 
hand.  He  was  the  third  prince  of  the  age  in  dignity 
and  in  power;  and  the  advantageous  situation  of  his 
dominions,  his  domestic  tranquillity,  his  immense  wealth. 


74  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  i. 

• 

and  absolute  authority,  rendered  him  the  natural  guar- 
dian of  the  liberty  of  Europe.  Each  of  the  rivals  court- 
ed him  with  emulation;  he  knew  it  to  be  his  interest  to 
keep  the  balance  even,  and  to  restrain  both,  by  not 
joining  entirely  with  either  of  them.  But  he  was  seldom 
able  to  reduce  his  ideas  to  practice ;  he  was  governed 
by  caprice  more  than  by  principle ;  and  the  passions  of 
the  man  were  an  over-match  for  the  maxims  of  the  king. 
Vanity  and  resentment  were  the  great  springs  of  all  his 
undertakings,  and  his  neighbours  easily  found  the  way, 
by  touching  these,  to  force  him  upon  many  rash  and 
inconsistent  enterprises.  His  reign  was  a  perpetual 
series  of  blunders  in  politics ;  and  while  he  esteemed 
himself  the  wisest  prince  in  Europe,  he  was  a  constant 
dupe  to  those  who  found  it  necessary,  and  could  sub- 
mit, to  flatter  him. 

In  this  situation  of  Europe,  Scotland,  which  had 
hitherto  wasted  her  strength,  in  the  quarrels  between 
France  and  England,  emerged  from  her  obscurity,  took 
her  station  in  the  system,  and  began  to  have  some  in- 
fluence upon  the  fate  of  distant  nations.  Her  assist- 
ance was  frequently  of  consequence  to  the  contending 
parties,  and  the  balance  was  often  so  nicely  adjusted, 
that  it  was  in  her  power  to  make  it  lean  to  either  side. 
The  part  assigned  her,  at  this  juncture,  was  to  divert 
Henry  from  carrying  his  arms  into  the  continent.  That 
prince  having  routed  the  French  at  Guinegat  and  in- 
vested Terouenne,  France  attempted  to  divide  his  forces, 
by  engaging  James  the  fourth  in  that  unhappy  expedi- 
tion which  ended  with  his  life.  For  the  same  reason, 
Francis  encouraged  and  assisted  the  duke  of  Albany  to 
ruin  the  families  of  Angus  and  Home,  which  were  in 
the  interest  of  England,  and  would  willingly  have  per- 
suaded the  Scots  to  revenge  the  death  of  their  king, 
and  to  enter  into  a  new  war  with  that  kingdom.  Henry 
and  Francis  having  united,  not  long  after,  against  the 
emperor,  it  was  the  interest  of  both  kings,  that  the 
Scots  should  continue  inactive ;  and  a  long  tranquillity 


BOOK  i.  OF  SCOTLAND.  75 

was  the  effect  of  their  union.  Charles  endeavoured 
to  break  this,  and  to  emharrass  Henry  by  another  in- 
road of  the  Scots.  For  this  end,  he  made  great  ad- 
vances to  James  the  fifth,  flattering  the  vanity  of  the 
young  monarch,  by  electing  him  a  knight  of  the  Golden 
Fleece,  and  by  offering  him  a  match  in  the  imperial 
family;  while,  in  return  for  these  empty  honours,  he 
demanded  of  him  to  renounce  his  alliance  with  France, 
and  to  declare  war  against  England.  But  James,  who 
had  much  to  lose,  and  who  could  gain  little,  by  closing 
with  the  emperor's  proposals,  rejected  them  with  de- 
cency, and,  keeping  firm  to  his  ancient  allies,  left  Henry 
at  full  liberty  to  act  upon  the  continent  with  his  whole 
strength. 

Henry  himself  began  his  reign,  by  imitating  the  ex- 
ample of  his  ancestors,  with  regard  to  Scotland.  He 
held  its  power  in  such  extreme  contempt,  that  he  was 
at  no  pains  to  gain  its  friendship ;  but,  on  the  contrary, 
he  irritated  the  whole  nation,  by  reviving  the  antiquated 
pretensions  of  the  crown  of  England  to  the  sovereignty 
over  Scotland.  But  his  own  experience,  and  the  ex- 
amples of  his  enemies,  gave  him  a  higher  idea  of  its 
importance.  It  was  impossible  to  defend  an  open  and 
extensive  frontier  against  the  incursions  of  an  active 
and  martial  people.  During  any  war  on  the  continent, 
this  obliged  him  to  divide  the  strength  of  his  kingdom. 
It  was  necessary  to  maintain  a  kind  of  army  of  observa- 
tion in  the  north  of  England ;  and,  after  all  precautions, 
the  Scottish  borderers,  who  were  superior  to  all  man- 
kind in  the  practice  of  irregular  war,  often  made  suc- 
cessful inroads,  and  spread  terrour  and  desolation  over 
many  counties.  He  fell,  at  last,  upon  the  true  secret 
of  policy,  with  respect  to  Scotland,  which  his  prede- 
cessors had  too  little  penetration  to  discover,  or  too 
much  pride  to  employ.  The  situation  of  the  country, 
and  the  bravery  of  the  people,  made  the  conquest  of 
Scotland  impossible ;  but  the  national  poverty,  and  the 
violence  of  faction,  rendered  it  an  easy  matter  to  divide 


76  THE  HISTORY,  ETC.  BOOK  i. 

and  to  govern  it.  He  abandoned,  therefore,  the  former 
design,  and  resolved  to  employ  his  utmost  address  in 
executing  the  latter.  It  had  not  yet  become  honour- 
able for  one  prince  to  receive  pay  from  another,  under 
the  more  decent  name  of  a  subsidy.  But,  in  all  ages, 
the  same  arguments  have  been  good  in  courts,  and  of 
weight  with  ministers,  factious  leaders,  and  favourites. 
What  were  the  arguments,  by  which  Henry  brought 
over  so  many  to  his  interest,  during  the  minority  of 
James  the  fifth,  we  know  by  the  original  warrant  still 
extant p,  for  remitting  considerable  sums  into  Scotland. 
By  a  proper  distribution  of  these,  many  persons  of  note 
were  gained  to  his  party,  and  a  faction,  which  held 
secret  correspondence  with  England,  and  received  all 
its  directions  from  thence,  appears  henceforward  in  our 
domestic  contests.  In  the  sequel  of  the  history,  we 
shall  find  Henry  labouring  to  extend  his  influence  in 
Scotland.  His  successors  adopted  the  same  plan,  and 
improved  upon  it.  The  affairs  of  the  two  kingdoms 
became  interwoven,  and  their  interests  were  often  the 
same.  Elizabeth  divided  her  attention  almost  equally 
between  them ;  and  the  authority  which  she  inherited 
in  the  one,  was  not  greater  than  that  which  she  acquired 
in  the  other. 

P  Burn.  Hist.  Ref.  vol.  i.  p.  7. 


THE 
HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND. 

THE  SECOND  BOOK. 

MARY,  queen  of  Scots,  the  daughter  of  James  the  Birth  of 
fifth,  and  of  Mary  of  Guise,  was  horn  a  few  tlays  be-  ^nbei-1^ 
fore  the  death  of  her  father.  The  situation  in  which  !542,  and 
he  left  the  kingdom  alarmed  all  ranks  of  men  with  the  kingdom.' 
prospect  of  a  turbulent  and  disastrous  reign.  A  war 
against  England  had  been  undertaken  without  neces- 
sity, and  carried  on  without  success.  Many  persons  of 
the  first  rank  had  fallen  into  the  hands  of  the  English, 
in  the  unfortunate  rout  near  the  firth  of  Solway,  and 
were  still  prisoners  at  London.  Among  the  rest  of  the 
nobles  there  was  little  union  either  in  their  views  or  in 
their  affections ;  and  the  religious  disputes,  occasioned 
by  the  opinions  of  the  reformers,  growing  every  day 
more  violent,  added  to  the  rage  of  those  factions,  which 
are  natural  to  a  form  of  government  nearly  aristocratical. 
The  government  of  a  queen  was  unknown  in  Scot- 
land, and  did  not  imprint  much  reverence  in  the  minds 
of  a  martial  people.  The  government  of  an  infant  queen 
was  still  more  destitute  of  real  authority ;  and  the  pros- 
pect of  a  long  and  feeble  minority  invited  to  faction,  by 
the  hope  of  impunity.  James  had  not  even  provided 
the  common  remedy  against  the  disorders  of  a  minority, 
by  committing  to  proper  persons  the  care  of  his  daugh- 
ter's education,  and  the  administration  of  affairs  in  her 
name.  Though  he  saw  the  clouds  gathering,  and  fore- 
told that  they  would  quickly  burst  into  a  storm,  he  was 
so  little  able  to  disperse  them,  or  to  defend  his  daughter 


78  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  n. 

and  kingdom  against  the  imminent  calamities,  that,  in 
mere  despair,  he  abandoned  them  both  to  the  mercy  of 
fortune,  and  left  open  to  every  pretender  the  office  of 
regent,  which  he  could  not  fix  to  his  own  satisfaction. 
Pretensions  Cardinal  Beatoun,  who  had  for  many  years  been  con- 
Beatoun  to  sidered  as  prime  minister,  was  the  first  that  claimed 
the  regency,  that  high  dignity ;  and,  in  support  of  his  pretensions, 
he  produced  a  testament  %  which  he  himself  had  forged 
in  the  name  of  the  late  king ;  and,  without  any  other 
right,  instantly  assumed  the  title  of  regent.  He  hoped, 
by  the  assistance  of  the  clergy,  the  countenance  of 
France,  the  connivance  of  the  queen  dowager,  and  the 
support  of  the  whole  popish  faction,  to  hold  by  force 
what  he  had  seized  on  by  fraud.  But  Beatoun  had 
enjoyed  power  too  long  to  be  a  favourite  of  the  nation. 
Those  among  the  nobles  who  wished  for  a  reformation 
in  religion  dreaded  his  severity,  and  others  considered 
the  elevation  of  a  churchman  to  the  highest  office  in 
the  kingdom,  as  a  depression  of  themselves.  At  their 
instigation,  James  Hamilton,  earl  of  Arran,  and  next 
heir  to  the  queen,  roused  himself  from  his  inactivity, 
and  was  prevailed  on  to  aspire  to  that  station,  to  which 
Earl  of  Ar-  proximity  of  blood  gave  him  a  natural  title.  The  nobles, 
regent05' "  w^°  were  assembled  for  that  purpose,  unanimously  con- 
ferred on  him  the  office  of  regent ;  and  the  public  voice 
applauded  their  choice  b. 

Character  of  No  two  men  ever  differed  more  widely  in  disposition 
Beatoun.  ftnj  character,  than  the  earl  of  Arran  and  cardinal  Bea- 
toun. The  cardinal  was,  by  nature,  of  immoderate  am- 
bition: by  long  experience  he  had  acquired  address 
and  refinement ;  and  insolence  grew  upon  him  from  con- 
tinual success.  His  high  station  in  the  church  placed 
him  in  the  way  of  great  civil  employments ;  his  abilities 
were  equal  to  the  greatest  of  these ;  nor  did  he  reckon 
any  of  them  to  be  above  his  merit.  As  his  own  emi- 


a  Sadler's  Lett.  161.     Haynes,  State  Papers,  486. 
b  Epist.  Reg.  Scot.  vol.  ii.  p.  308. 


BOOK  ii.  OF  SCOTLAND.  79 

nence  was  founded  upon  the  power  of  the  church  of 
Rome,  he  was  a  zealous  defender  of  that  superstition, 
and,  for  the  same  reason,  an  avowed  enemy  to  the  doc- 
trine of  the  reformers.  Political  motives  alone  deter- 
mined him  to  support  the  one,  or  to  oppose  the  other. 
His  early  application  to  public  business  kept  him  un- 
acquainted with  the  learning  and  controversies  of  the 
age;  he  gave  judgment,  however,  upon  all  points  in 
dispute,  with  a  precipitancy,  violence,  and  rigour,  which 
contemporary  historians  mention  with  indignation. 

The  character  of  the  earl  of  Arran  was,  in  almost  Character  of 
every  thing,  the  reverse  of  Beatoun's.  He  was  neither  T 
infected  with  ambition,  nor  inclined  to  cruelty.  The 
love  of  ease  extinguished  the  former,  the  gentleness  of 
his  temper  preserved  him  from  the  latter.  Timidity 
and  irresolution  were  his  predominant  failings  ;  the  one 
occasioned  by  his  natural  constitution,  and  the  other 
arising  from  a  consciousness  that  his  abilities  were  not 
equal  to  his  station.  With  these  dispositions  he  might 
have  enjoyed  and  adorned  private  life  ;  but  his  public 
conduct  was  without  courage,  or  dignity,  or  consist- 
ence ;  the  perpetual  slave  of  his  own  fears,  and,  by 
consequence,  the  perpetual  tool  of  those  who  found 
their  advantage  in  practising  upon  them.  But,  as  no 
other  person  could  be  set  in  opposition  to  the  cardinal, 
with  any  probability  of  success,  the  nation  declared  in 
his  favour  with  such  general  consent,  that  the  artifices 
of  his  rival  could  not  withstand  its  united  strength. 

The  earl  of  Arran  had  scarce  taken  possession  of  his  Schemes  of 
new  dignity,  when  a  negotiation  was  opened  with  Eng- 


land,  which  gave  birth  to  events  of  the  most  fatal  con-  regard  to 
sequence  to  himself,  and  to  the  kingdom.  After  the 
death  of  James,  Henry  the  eighth  was  no  longer  afraid 
of  any  interruption  from  Scotland  to  his  designs  against 
France  ;  and  immediately  conceived  hopes  of  rendering 
this  security  perpetual,  by  the  marriage  of  Edward,  his 
only  son,  with  the  young  queen  of  Scots.  He  commu- 
nicated his  intentions  to  the  prisoners  taken  at  Solway, 


80 


THE  HISTORY 


BOOK  ii. 


Ill  con- 
ducted by 
himself. 


Odious  to 
the  Scots, 
though  in 
part  ac- 
cepted by 
them. 


March  12, 
1543. 


and  prevailed  on  them  to  favour  it,  by  the  promise  of 
liberty,  as  the  reward  of  their  success.  In  the  mean 
time,  he  permitted  them  to  return  into  Scotland,  that, 
by  their  presence  in  the  parliament  which  the  regent 
had  called,  they  might  be  the  better  able  to  persuade 
their  countrymen  to  fall  in  with  his  proposals.  A  cause 
intrusted  to  such  able  and  zealous  advocates,  could  not 
well  miss  of  coming  to  an  happy  issue.  All  those  who 
feared  the  cardinal,  or  who  desired  a  change  in  religion, 
were  fond  of  an  alliance,  which  afforded  protection  to 
the  doctrine  which  they  had  embraced,  as  well  as  to 
their  own  persons,  against  the  rage  of  that  powerful 
and  haughty  prelate. 

But  Henry's  rough  and  impatient  temper  was  inca- 
pable of  improving  this  favourable  conjuncture.  Ad- 
dress and  delicacy  in  managing  the  fears,  and  follies, 
and  interests  of  men,  were  arts  with  which  he  was  ut- 
terly unacquainted.  The  designs  he  had  formed  upon 
Scotland  were  obvious  from  the  marriage  which  he  had 
proposed,  and  he  had  not  dexterity  enough  to  disguise 
or  to  conceal  them.  Instead  of  yielding  to  the  fear  or 
jealousy  of  the  Scots,  what  time  and  accidents  would 
soon  have  enabled  him  to  recover,  he,  at  once,  alarmed 
and  irritated  the  whole  nation,  by  demanding  that  the 
queen's  person  should  be  immediately  committed  to  his 
custody,  and  that  the  government  of  the  kingdom  should 
be  put  into  his  hands  during  her  minority. 

Henry  could  not  have  prescribed  more  ignominious 
conditions  to  a  conquered  people,  and  it  is  no  Vender 
they  were  rejected,  with  indignation,  by  men  who  scorned 
to  purchase  an  alliance  with  England  at  the  price  of  their 
own  liberty.  The  parliament  of  Scotland,  however,  in- 
fluenced by  the  nobles  who  returned  from  England ; 
desirous  of  peace  with  that  kingdom ;  and  delivered,  by 
the  regent's  confining  the  cardinal  as  a  prisoner,  from  an 
opposition  to  which  he  might  have  given  rise ;  consented 
to  a  treaty  of  marriage  and  of  union,  but  upon  terms 
somewhat  more  equal.  After  some  dark  and  unsuccess- 


BOOK  ir.  OF  SCOTLAND.  81 

ful  intrigues,  by  which  his  ambassador  endeavoured  to 
carry  off  the  young  queen  and  cardinal  Beatoun  into 
England,  Henry  was  obliged  to  give  up  his  own  pro- 
posals, and  to  accept  of  theirs.  On  his  side,  he  con- 
sented that  the  queen  should  continue  to  reside  in  Scot- 
land, and  himself  remain  excluded  from  any  share  in  the 
government  of  the  kingdom.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
Scots  agreed  to  send  their  sovereign  into  England,  as 
soon  as  she  attained  the  full  age  of  ten  years,  and  in- 
stantly to  deliver  six  persons  of  the  first  rank,  to  be 
kept  as  hostages  by  Henry  till  the  queen's  arrival  at  his 
court.  t  >^;  . 

The  treaty  was  still  so  manifestly  of  advantage  to  Favoured 
England,  that  the  regent  lost  much  of  the  public  con- ^nlthe  re' 
fidence  by  consenting  to  it.  The  cardinal,  who  had 
now  recovered  liberty,  watched  for  such  an  opportunity 
of  regaining  credit,  and  he  did  not  fail  to  cultivate  and 
improve  this  to  the  utmost.  He  complained  loudly  that  Opposed  by 
the  regent  had  betrayed  the  kingdom  to  its  most  invete-thecardmi"' 
rate  enemies,  and  sacrificed  its  honour  to  his  own  am- 
bition. He  foretold  the  extinction  of  the  true  catholic 
religion,  under  the  tyranny  of  an  excommunicated  here- 
tic ;  but,  above  all,  he  lamented  to  see  an  ancient  king- 
dom consenting  to  its  own  servitude,  descending  into  the 
ignominious  station  of  a  dependent  province ;  and,  in 
one  hour,  the  weakness  or  treachery  of  a  single  man 
surrendering  every  thing  for  which  the  Scottish  nation 
had  struggled  and  fought  during  so  many  ages.  These 
remonstrances  of  the  cardinal  were  not  without  effect. 
They  were  addressed  to  prejudices  and  passions,  which 
are  deeply  rooted  in  the  human  heart.  The  same  hatred 
to  the  ancient  enemies  of  their  country,  the  same  jea- 
lousy of  national  honour,  and  pride  of  independence, 
which,  at  the  beginning  of  the  present  century,  went 
near  to  prevent  the  Scots  from  consenting  to  an  union 
with  England,  upon  terms  of  great  advantage,  did,  at 
that  time,  induce  the  whole  nation  to  declare  against  the 
alliance  which  had  been  concluded.  In  the  one  period, 

VOL.  I,  G 


82  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  n. 

an  hundred  and  fifty  years  of  peace  between  the  two 
nations,  the  habit  of  being  subjected  to  the  same  king, 
and  governed  by  the  same  maxims,  had  considerably 
abated  old  animosities,  and  prepared  both  people  for 
incorporating.  In  the  other,  injuries  were  still  fresh, 
the  wounds  on  both  sides  were  open,  and,  in  the  warmth 
of  resentment,  it  was  natural  to  seek  revenge,  and  to  be 
averse  from  reconcilement.  At  the  union,  in  one  thou- 
sand seven  hundred  and  seven,  the  wisdom  of  parlia- 
ment despised  the  groundless  murmurs  occasioned  by 
antiquated  prejudices ;  but  in  one  thousand  five  hundred 
and  forty-three,  the  complaints  of  the  nation  were  better 
founded,  and  urged  with  a  zeal  and  unanimity,  which  it 
is  neither  just  nor  safe  to  disregard.  A  rash  measure 
of  the  English  monarch  added  greatly  to  the  violence 
of  this  national  animosity.  The  Scots,  relying  on  the 
treaty  of  marriage  and  union,  fitted  out  several  ships 
for  France,  with  which  their  trade  had  been  interrupted 
for  some  time.  These  were  driven  by  stress  of  weather 
to  take  refuge  in  different  ports  of  England ;  and  Henry, 
under  pretext  that  they  were  carrying  provisions  to  a 
kingdom  with  which  he  was  at  war,  ordered  them  to  be 
seized  and  condemned  as  lawful  prizes0.  The  Scots, 
astonished  at  this  proceeding  of  a  prince,  whose  interest 
it  was  manifestly,  at  that  juncture,  to  court  and  to  sooth 
them,  felt  it  not  only  as  an  injury,  but  as  an  insult,  and 
expressed  ah1  the  resentment  natural  to  an  high-spirited 
people  d.  Their  rage  rose  to  such  an  height,  that  the 
English  ambassador  could  hardly  be  protected  from  it. 
One  spirit  seemed  now  to  animate  all  orders  of  men. 
The  clergy  offered  to  contribute  a  great  sum  towards 
preserving  the  church  from  the  dominion  of  a  prince, 
whose  system  of  reformation  was  so  fatal  to  their  power. 
The  nobles,  after  having  mortified  the  cardinal  so  lately 

c  Keith,  32.  34.    Epist.  Reg.  Scot.  ii.  App.  311.    Hamilton  manuscripts,     ' 
vol.  i.  p.  389. 

d  In  the  manuscript  collection  of  papers  belonging  to  the  duke  of  Hamil- 
ton, sir  Ralph  Sadler  describes  the  spirit  of  the  Scots  as  extremely  out- 


BOOK  ii.  OF  SCOTLAND.  83 

in  such  a  cruel  manner,  were  now  ready  to  applaud  and 
to  second  him,  as  the  defender  of  the  honour  and  liberty 
of  his  country. 

Argyll,  Huntly,  Bothwell,  and  other  powerful  barons,  He  excites 
declared  openly  against  the  alliance  with  England.    By  whdfmi-6 
their  assistance,  the  cardinal  seized  on  the  persons  of  tion  against 
the  young  queen  and  her  mother,  and  added  to  his 
party  the  splendour  and  authority  of  the  royal  name e. 
He  received,  at  the  same  time,  a  more  real  accession  to 
his  strength,  by  the  arrival  of  Matthew  Stewart,  earl  of 
Lennox,  whose  return  from  France  he  had  earnestly 
solicited.     This  young  nobleman  was  the  hereditary 
enemy  of  the  house  of  Hamilton.    He  had  many  claims 
upon  the  regent,  and  pretended  a  right  to  exclude  him, 
not  only  from  succeeding  to  the  crown,  but  to  deprive 
him  of  the  possession  of  his  private  fortune.     The  car- 
dinal flattered  his  vanity  with  the  prospect  of  marrying 
the  queen  dowager,  and  affected  to  treat  him  with  so 


rageous.  In  his  letter  from  Edinburgh,  September  1,  1543,  he  says :  "  The 
stay  of  the  ships  has  brought  the  people  of  this  town,  both  men  and  women, 
and  especially  the  merchants,  into  such  a  rage  and  fury,  that  the  whole 
town  is  commoved  against  me,  and  swear  great  oaths,  that  if  their  ships  are 
not  restored,  that  they  would  have  their  amends  of  me  and  mine,  and  that 
they  would  set  my  house  here  on  fire  over  my  head,  so  that  one  of  us  should 
not  escape  alive ;  and  also  it  hath  much  incensed  and  provoked  the  people 
against  the  governor,  saying,  that  he  hath  coloured  a  peace  with  your  ma- 
jesty only  to  undo  them.  This  is  the  unreasonableness  of  the  people,  which 
live  here  in  such  a  beastly  liberty,  that  they  neither  regard  God  nor  go- 
vernor ;  nor  yet  justice,  or  any  good  policy,  doth  take  place  among  them ; 
assuring  your  highness  that,  unless  the  ships  be  delivered,  there  will  be 
none  abiding  here  for  me  without  danger."  Vol.  i.  451.  In  his  letter  of 
September  5,  he  writes  that  the  rage  of  the  people  still  continued  so  violent, 
"  that  neither  I  nor  any  of  my  folks  dare  go  out  of  my  doors ;  and  the  pro- 
vost of  the  town,  who  hath  much  ado  to  stay  them  from  assaulting  me  in  my 
house,  and  keepeth  watch  therefore  nightly,  hath  sent  to  me  sundry  times, 
and  prayed  me  to  keep  myself  and  my  folks  within,  for  it  is  scant  in  his 
power  to  repress  or  resist  the  fury  of  the  people.  They  say  plainly,  I  shall 
never  pass  out  of  the  town  alive,  except  they  have  their  ships  restored. 
This  is  the  rage  and  beastliness  of  this  nation,  which  God  keep  all  honest 
men  from."  Ib.  471. 
•  Keith's  Hist,  of  Scotl.  30. 


84  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  n. 

much  respect,  that  the  regent  became  jealous  of  him, 
as  a  rival  in  power. 

This  suspicion  was  artfully  heightened  by  the  abbot 
of  Paisley,  who  returned  into  Scotland  some  time  be- 
fore the  earl  of  Lennox,  and  acted  in  concert  with  the 
cardinal.  He  was  a  natural  brother  of  the  regent,  with 
whom  he  had  great  credit ;  a  warm  partisan  of  France, 
and  a  zealous  defender  of  the  established  religion.  He 
took  hold  of  the  regent  by  the  proper  handle,  and  en- 
deavoured to  bring  about  a  change  in  his  sentiments, 
by  working  upon  his  fears.  The  desertion  of  the  no- 
bility, the  disaffection  of  the  clergy,  and  the  rage  of 
the  people ;  the  resentment  of  France,  the  power  of  the 
cardinal,  and  the  pretensions  of  Lennox ;  were  all  re- 
presented with  aggravation,  and  with  their  most  threat- 
ening aspect. 

Meanwhile,  the  day  appointed  for  the  ratification  of 
the  treaty  with  England,  and  the  delivery  of  the  hos- 
tages, approached,  and  the  regent  was  still  undeter- 
mined in  his  own  mind.    He  acted  to  the  last,  with  that 
irresolution  and  inconsistence  which  is  peculiar  to  weak 
men,  when  they  are  so  unfortunate  as  to  have  the  chief 
part  in  the  conduct  of  difficult  affairs.     On  the  twenty- 
fifth  of  August,  he  ratified  a  treaty  with  Henry f,  and 
proclaimed  the  cardinal,  who  still  continued  to  oppose 
Obliges  the  it,  an  enemy  to  his  country.     On  the  third  of  Septem- 
renounce     ^er  ^e  secretly  withdrew  from  Edinburgh,  met  with 
the  friend-  the  cardinal  at  Callendar,  renounced  the  friendship  of 
England ;    England,  and  declared  for  the  interests  of  France  g. 

Henry,  in  order  to  gain  the  regent,  had  not  spared 
the  most  magnificent  promises.  He  had  offered  to  give 
the  princess  Elizabeth  in  marriage  to  his  eldest  son, 
and  to  constitute  him  king  of  that  part  of  Scotland 
which  lies  beyond  the  river  Forth.  But,  upon  finding 
his  interest  in  the  kingdom  to  be  less  considerable  than 

f  Rymer,  Feed.  xv.  p.  4. 

e  Sadler,  339.  356.     Hamilton  manuscripts,  i.  470,  etc. 


BOOK  n.  OF  SCOTLAND.  85 

he  had  imagined,  the  English  monarch  began  to  treat 
him  with  little  respect.  The  young  queen  was  now  in 
the  custody  of  his  enemies,  who  grew  every  day  more 
numerous  and  more  popular.  They  formed  a  separate 
court  at  Stirling,  and  threatened  to  elect  another  re- 
gent. The  French  king  was  ready  to  afford  them  his 
protection,  and  the  nation,  out  of  hatred  to  the  English, 
would  have  united  in  their  defence.  In  this  situation, 
the  regent  could  not  retain  his  authority,  without  a 
sudden  change  of  his  measures ;  and,  though  he  en- 
deavoured, by  ratifying  the  treaty,  to  preserve  the  ap- 
pearances of  good  faith  with  England,  he  was  obliged 
to  throw  himself  into  the  arms  of  the  party  which  ad- 
hered to  France. 

Soon  after  this  sudden  revolution  in  his  political  prin-  and  to  per- 
ciples,  the  regent  changed  his  sentiments  concerning  ^"^8? 
religion.  The  spirit  of  controversy  was  then  new  and 
warm ;  books  of  that  kind  were  eagerly  read  by  men  of 
every  rank ;  the  love  of  novelty,  or  the  conviction  of 
truth,  had  led  the  regent  to  express  great  esteem  for 
the  writings  of  the  reformers ;  and  having  been  power- 
fully supported  by  those  who  had  embraced  their  opi- 
nions, he,  in  order  to  gratify  them,  entertained,  in  his 
own  family,  two  of  the  most  noted  preachers  of  the 
protestant  doctrine,  and,  in  his  first  parliament,  con- 
sented to  an  act,  by  which  the  laity  were  permitted  to 
read  the  scriptures  in  a  language  which  they  under- 
stood11. Truth  needed  only  a  fair  hearing  to  be  an 
over-match  for  errour.  Absurdities,  which  had  long  im- 
posed on  the  ignorance  and  credulity  of  mankind,  were 
detected  and  exposed  to  public  ridicule;  and,  under 
the  countenance  of  the  regent,  the  reformation  made 
great  advances.  The  cardinal  observed  its  progress 
with  concern,  and  was  at  the  utmost  pains  to  obstruct 
it.  He  represented  to  the  regent  his  great  imprudence 
in  giving  encouragement  to  opinions  so  favourable  to 

"  Keith,  p.  36,  37. 


86.  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  H. 

Lennox's  pretensions ;  that  his  own  legitimacy  depended 
upon  the  validity  of  a  sentence  of  divorce,  founded  on 
the  pope's  authority;  and  that,  by  suffering  it  to  be 
called  in  question,  he  weakened  his  own  title  to  the 
succession,  and  furnished  his  rival  with  the  only  argu- 
ment by  which  it  could  be  rendered  doubtful '.  These 
insinuations  made  a  deep  impression  on  the  regent's 
timorous  spirit,  who,  at  the  prospect  of  such  imaginary 
danger,  was  as  much  startled  as  the  cardinal  could  have 
wished ;  and  his  zeal  for  the  protestant  religion  was  not 
long  proof  against  his  fear.  He  publicly  abjured  the 
doctrine  of  the  reformers  in  the  Franciscan  church  at 
Stirling,  and  declared  not  only  for  the  political,  but  the 
religious  opinions  of  his  new  confidents. 

The  protestant  doctrine  did  not  suffer  much  by  his 
apostacy.  It  had  already  taken  so  deep  root  in  the 
kingdom,  that  no  discouragement  or  severity  could 
extirpate  it.  The  regent,  indeed,  consented  to  every 
thing  that  the  zeal  of  the  cardinal  thought  necessary 
for  the  preservation  of  the  established  religion.  The 
reformers  were  persecuted  with  all  the  cruelty  which 
superstition  inspires  into  a  barbarous  people.  Many 
were  condemned  to  that  dreadful  death,  which  the 
church  has  appointed  for  the  punishment  of  its  ene- 
mies ;  but  they  suffered  with  a  spirit  so  nearly  resem- 
bling the  patience  and  fortitude  of  the  primitive  mar- 
tyrs, that  more  were  converted  than  terrified  by  such 
spectacles. 
Beatoun  The  cardinal,  however,  was  now  in  possession  of  every 

engrosses 

'  The  pretensions  of  the  earl  of  Lennox  to  the  succession  were  thus 
founded  :  Mary,  the  daughter  of  James  the  second,  was  married  to  James 
lord  Hamilton,  whom  James  the  third  created  earl  of  Arran,  on  that  ac- 
count. Elizabeth,  a  daughter  of  that  marriage,  was  the  wife  of  Matthew, 
earl  of  Lennox,  and  the  present  earl  was  her  grandson.  The  regent  was 
likewise  the  grandson  of  the  princess  Mary.  But  his  father  having  married 
Janet  Beatoun,  the  regent's  mother,  after  he  had  obtained  a  divorce  from 
Elizabeth  Home,  his  former  wife,  Lennox  pretended  that  the  sentence  of 
divorce  was  unjust,  and  that  the  regent,  being  born  while  Elizabeth  Home 
was  still  alive,  ought  to  be  considered  as  illegitimate.  Crawf.  Peer.  192. 


BOOK  n.  OF  SCOTLAND.  87 

thing  his  ambition  could  desire ;  and  exercised  all  the  the  chief 
authority  of  a  regent,  without  the  envy  of  the  name.    He  jj1011 
had  nothing  to  fear  from  the  earl  of  Arran,  who,  hav- 
ing, by  his  inconsistency,  forfeited  the  public  esteem,  was 
contemned  by  one  half  of  the  nation,  and  little  trusted 
by  the  other.     The  pretensions  of  the  earl  of  Lennox 
were  the  only  thing  which  remained  to  embarrass  him. 
He  had  very  successfully  made  use  of  that  nobleman  to 
work  upon  the  regent's  jealousy  and  fear ;  but,  as  he 
no  longer  stood  in  need  of  such  an  instrument,  he  was 
willing  to  get  rid  of  him  with  decency.     Lennox  soon 
began  to  suspect  his  intention ;  promises,  flattery,  and 
respect,  were  the  only  returns  he  had  hitherto  received 
for  substantial  services :  but,  at  last,  the  cardinal's  ar- 
tifices could  no  longer  be  concealed,  and  Lennox,  in- 
stead of  attaining  power  and  dignity  himself,  saw  that 
he  had  been  employed  only  to  procure  these  for  another. 
Resentment  and  disappointed  ambition  urged  him  to 
seek  revenge  on  that  cunning  prelate,  who,  by  sacrificing 
his  interest,  had  so  ungenerously  purchased  the  earl  of 
Arran's  friendship.    He  withdrew,  for  that  reason,  from 
court,  and  declared  for  the  party  at  enmity  with  the  car- 
dinal, which,  with  open  arms,  received  a  convert  who 
added  so  much  lustre  to  their  cause. 

The  two  factions,  which  divided  the  kingdom,  were 
still  the  same,  without  any  alterations  in  their  views  or 
principles ;  but,  by  one  of  those  strange  revolutions, 
which  were  frequent  in  that  age,  they  had,  in  the  course 
of  a  few  weeks,  changed  their  leaders.  The  regent  was 
at  the  head  of  the  partisans  of  France  and  the  defenders 
of  popery,  and  Lennox  in  the  same  station  with  the  ad- 
vocates for  the  English  alliance,  and  a  reformation  in 
religion.  The  one  laboured  to  pull  down  his  own  work, 
which  the  other  upheld  with  the  same  hand  that  had 
hitherto  endeavoured  to  destroy  it. 

Lennox's  impatience  for  revenge  got  the  start  of  the 
cardinal's  activity.  He  surprised  both  him  and  the  re- 
gent, by  a  sudden  march  to  Edinburgh  with  a  numerous 


88  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  n. 

army ;  and  might  easily  have  crushed  them,  before  they 
could  prepare  for  their  defence.  But  he  was  weak 
enough  to  listen  to  proposals  for  an  accommodation; 
and  the  cardinal  amused  him  so  artfully,  and  spun  out 
the  treaty  to  such  a  length,  that  the  greater  part  of  the 
earl's  troops,  who  served,  as  is  usual  wherever  the  feudal 
institutions  prevailed,  at  their  own  expense,  deserted 
him ;  and  in  concluding  a  peace,  instead  of  giving  the 
law,  he  was  obliged  to  receive  it.  A  second  attempt  to 
retrieve  his  affairs  ended  yet  more  unfortunately.  One 
body  of  his  troops  was  cut  to  pieces,  and  the  rest  dis- 
persed ;  and,  with  the  poor  remains  of  a  ruined  party, 
he  must  either  have  submitted  to  the  conqueror,  or  have 
fled  out  of  the  kingdom,  if  the  approach  of  an  English 
army  had  not  brought  him  a  short  relief. 

Henry  in-  Henry  was  not  of  a  temper  to  bear  tamely  the  in- 
jvaanddes  Scot'  dignity  with  which  he  had  been  treated,  both  by  the 
regent  and  parliament  of  Scotland,  who,  at  the  time 
when  they  renounced  their  alliance  with  him,  had  en- 
tered into  a  new  and  stricter  confederacy  with  France. 
The  rigour  of  the  season  retarded,  for  some  time,  the 
execution  of  his  vengeance.  But,  in  the  spring,  a  con- 
siderable body  of  infantry,  which  was  destined  for 
France,  received  orders  to  sail  for  Scotland,  and  a 
proper  number  of  cavalry  was  appointed  to  join  it  by 
land.  The  regent  and  cardinal  little  expected  such  a 
visit.  They  had  trusted  that  the  French  war  would 
find  employment  for  all  Henry's  forces,  and,  from  an 
unaccountable  security,  were  wholly  unprovided  for  the 
defence  of  the  kingdom.  The  earl  of  Hertford,  a  leader 
fatal  to  the  Scots  in  that  age,  commanded  this  army,  and 
landed  it,  without  opposition,  a  few  miles  from  Leith. 
May  3,  He  was  quickly  master  of  that  place ;  and,  marching 
directly  to  Edinburgh,  entered  it  with  the  same  ease. 
After  plundering  the  adjacent  country,  the  richest  and 
most  open  in  Scotland,  he  set  on  fire  both  these  towns, 
and,  upon  the  approach  of  some  troops  gathered  to- 
gether by  the  regent,  put  his  booty  on  board  the  fleet, 


BOOK  ii.  OF  SCOTLAND.  89 

and,  with  his  land  forces,  retired  safely  to  the  English 
borders;  delivering  the  kingdom,  in  a  few  days,  from 
the  terrour  of  an  invasion,  concerted  with  little  policy, 
carried  on  at  great  expense,  and  attended  with  no  ad- 
vantage. If  Henry  aimed  at  the  conquest  of  Scotland, 
he  gained  nothing  by  this  expedition;  if  the  marriage 
he  had  proposed  was  still  in  his  view,  he  lost  a  great 
deal.  Such  a  rough  courtship,  as  the  earl  of  Huntly 
humorously  called  it,  disgusted  the  whole  nation ;  their 
aversion  for  the  match  grew  into  abhorrence ;  and,  ex- 
asperated by  so  many  indignities,  the  Scots  were  never 
at  any  period  more  attached  to  France,  or  more  alienated 
from  England  k. 

k  The  violence  of  national  hatred  between  the  English  and  Scots,  in  the 
sixteenth  century,  was  such  as  can  hardly  be  conceived  by  their  posterity. 
A  proof  of  the  fierce  resentment  of  the  Scots  is  contained  in  the  note  on 
pages  82  and  83.  The  instructions  of  the  privy  council  of  England  to 
the  earl  of  Hertford,  who  commanded  the  fleet  and  army  which  invaded 
Scotland,  a.  d.  1544,  are  dictated  by  a  national  animosity  no  less  exces- 
sive. I  found  them  in  the  collection  of  papers  belonging  to  the  duke  of 
Hamilton,  and  they  merit  publication,  as  they  exhibit  a  striking  picture 
of  the  spirit  of  that  period. 

The  lords  of  the  council  to  the  earl  of  Hertford,  lieutenant  in  Scotland, 
..',       AprinQ,  1544. 

The  instruction  begins  with  observing,  that  the  king  had  originally  in- 
tended to  fortify  Leith  and  keep  possession  of  it ;  but,  after  mature  delibera- 
tion, he  had  finally  determined  not  to  make  any  settlement  in  Scotland  at 
present,  and,  therefore,  he  is  directed  not  to  make  any  fortification  at  Leith, 
or  any  other  place  : 

"But  only  for  that  journey  to  put  all  to  fire  and  sword,  burn  Edinburgh 
town,  so  used  and  defaced,  that  when  you  have  gotten  what  you  can  of  it, 
it  may  remain  for  ever  a  perpetual  memory  of  the  vengeance  of  God  lightened 
upon  it,  for  their  falsehood  and  disloyalty.  Do  what  you  can  out  of  hand, 
and  without  long  tarrying  to  beat  down  or  overthrow  the  castle  ;  sack  .  .  . 
houses  and  as  many  towns  and  villages  about  Edinburgh  as  ye  may  con- 
veniently. Sack  Leith,  and  subvert  it,  and  all  the  rest,  putting  man,  wo- 
man, and  child,  to  fire  and  sword,  without  exception,  when  any  resistance 
shall  be  made  against  you  ;  and,  this  done,  pass  over  to  the  Fifeland,  and 
extend  like  extremities  and  destruction  to  all  towns  and  villages,  where- 
unto  you  may  reach  conveniently ;  not  forgetting,  amongst  all  the  rest,  so 
to  spoil  and  turn  upside  down  the  cardinal's  town  of  St.  Andrew's,  as  the 
upper  sort  may  be  the  nether,  and  not  one  '  stoke'  stand  upon  another,  sparing 


90  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  n. 

The  earl  of  Lennox  alone,  in  spite  of  the  regent  and 
French  king,  continued  a  correspondence  with  Eng- 
land, which  ruined  his  own  interest,  without  promoting 
Henry's l.  Many  of  his  own  vassals,  preferring  their 
duty  to  their  country  before  their  affection  to  him,  re- 
fused to  concur  in  any  design  to  favour  the  public 
enemy.  After  a  few  feeble  and  unsuccessful  attempts 
to  disturb  the  regent's  administration,  he  was  obliged 
to  fly  for  safety  to  the  court  of  England,  where  Henry 
rewarded  services  which  he  had  the  inclination,  but 
not  the  power  to  perform,  by  giving  him  in  marriage 
his  niece,  the  lady  Margaret  Douglas.  *  This  unhappy 
exile,  however,  was  destined  to  be  the  father  of  a  race 
of  kings.  He  saw  his  son,  lord  Darnley,  mount  the 
throne  of  Scotland,  to  the  perpetual  exclusion  of  that 
rival  who  now  triumphed  in  his  ruin.  From  that  time 
his  posterity  have  held  the  sceptre  in  two  kingdoms, 
by  one  of  which  he  was  cast  out  as  a  criminal,  and  by 
the  other  received  as  a  fugitive. 

A  peace          Meanwhile,  hostilities  were  continued  by  both  na- 
concluded.  ^^  ^  ^^  jitt|e  vig()ur  on  e^er  g^e.     The  his- 
torians of  that  age  relate  minutely  the  circumstances  of 
several  skirmishes  and  inroads,  which,  as  they  did  not 


no  creature  alive  within  the  same,  specially  such  as  either  in  friendship  or 
blood  be  allied  unto  the  cardinal ;  and,  if  ye  see  any  likelyhood  to  win  the 
castle,  give  some  stout  essay  to  the  same,  and,  if  it  be  your  fortune  to  get 
it,  raze  and  destroy  it  piecemeal ;  and  after  this  sort,  spending  one  month 
there,  spoiling  and  destroying  as  aforesaid,  with  the  wise  foresight,  that  his 
majesty  doubteth  not  ye  will  use,  that  your  enemies  take  no  advantage  of 
you,  and  that  you  enterprize  nothing  but  what  you  shall  see  may  be  easily 
achieved,  his  majesty  thinketh  verily,  and  so  all  we,  ye  shall  find  this 
journey  succeedeth  this  way  most  to  his  majesty's  honour,"  etc. 

These  barbarous  orders  seem  to  have  been  executed  with  a  rigorous  and 
unfeeling  exactness,  as  appears  from  a  series  of  letters  from  lord  Hertford, 
in  the  same  collection,  giving  a  full  account  of  all  his  operations  in  Scot- 
land. They  contain  several  curious  particulars,  not  mentioned  by  the 
writers  of  that  age,  and  with  which  both  the  historians  of  the  city  of  Edin- 
burgh were  unacquainted ;  but  they  are  of  too  great  length  to  be  inserted 
here. 

1  Rymer,  xv.  p.  22. 


BOOK  ii.  OF  SCOTLAND.  91 

produce  any  considerable  effect,  at  this  distance  of 
time,  deserve  no  remembrance  m.  At  last,  an  end  was 
put  to  this  languid  and  inactive  war,  by  a  peace,  in 
which  England,  France,  and  Scotland  were  compre- 
hended. Henry  laboured  to  exclude  the  Scots  from 
the  benefit  of  this  treaty,  and  to  reserve  them  for  that 
vengeance  which  his  attention  to  the  affairs  of  the  con- 
tinent had,  hitherto,  delayed.  But,  although  a  peace 
with  England  was  of  the  last  consequence  to  Francis 

m  Though  this  war  was  distinguished  by  no  important  or  decisive  action, 
it  was,  however,  extremely  ruinous  to  individuals.  There  still  remain  two 
original  papers,  which  give  us  some  idea  of  the  miseries  to  which  some  of 
the  most  fertile  counties  in  the  kingdom  were  exposed,  by  the  sudden  and 
destructive  incursions  of  the  borderers.  The  first  seems  to  be  the  report 
made  to  Henry  by  the  English  wardens  of  the  marches  for  the  year  1544, 
and  contains  their  exploits  from  the  2d  of  July  to  the  17th  of  November. 
The  account  it  gives  of  the  different  inroads,  or  '  forrays,'  as  they  are  called, 
is  very  minute  ;  and,  in  conclusion,  the  sum  total  of  mischief  they  did  is 
thus  computed : 

Towns,  towers,  stedes,  barnekyns,  parishe-churches,  bas- 

tel -houses,  cast  down  or  burnt 192 

Scots  slain 403 

Prisoners  taken 816 

Nolt,  i.  e.  horned  cattle,  taken 10,386 

Sheep 1 2,492 

Nags  and  geldings 1,296 

Goats 200 

Bolls  of  corn 850 

Insight  gear,  i.  e.  household  furniture,  not  reckoned. 

Haynes's  State  Papers,  43. 

The  other  contains  an  account  of  an  inroad  by  the  earl  of  Hertford,  be- 
tween the  8th  and  23rd  of  September,  1545  ;  the  narrative  is  more  general, 
but  it  appears  that  he  had  burnt,  razed,  and  destroyed,  in  the  counties  of 
Berwick  and  Roxburgh  only, 

Monasteries  and  friar  houses 7 

Castles,  towers,  and  piles 16 

Market-towns 5 

Villages 243 

Milns 13 

Hospitals 3 

All  these  were  cast  down  or  burnt.  Haynes,  52.  As  the  Scots  were  no 
less  skilful  in  the  practice  of  irregular  war,  we  may  conclude  that  the  da- 
mage which  they  did  in  England  was  not  inconsiderable ;  and  that  their 
'  raids'  were  no  less  wasteful  than  the  '  forrays'  of  the  English. 


92  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  n. 

the  first,  whom  the  emperor  was  preparing  to  attack 
with  all  his  forces,  he  was  too  generous  to  abandon  al- 
lies who  had  served  him  with  fidelity,  and  he  chose 
rather  to  purchase  Henry's  friendship  with  disadvan- 
tage to  himself,  than  to  leave  them  exposed  to  danger. 
By  yielding  some  things  to  the  interest,  and  more  to 
the  vanity  of  that  haughty  prince ;  by  submission,  flat- 
tery, and  address,  he,  at  length,  prevailed  to  have  the 
Scots  included  in  the  peace  agreed  upon. 

The  murder  An  event  which  happened  a  short  time  before  the 
o  eatoun.  conciusjon  of  fa[s  peace,  rendered  it  more  acceptable 
to  the  whole  nation.  Cardinal  Beatoun  had  not  used 
his  power  with  moderation,  equal  to  the  prudence  by 
which  he  attained  it.  Notwithstanding  his  great  abili- 
ties, he  had  too  many  of  the  passions  and  prejudices  of 
an  angry  leader  of  a  faction,  to  govern  a  divided  people 
with  temper.  His  resentment  against  one  party  of  the 
nobility,  his  insolence  towards  the  rest,  his  severity  to 
the  reformers,  and,  above  all,  the  barbarous  and  illegal 
execution  of  the  famous  George  Wishart,  a  man  of  ho- 
nourable birth  and  of  primitive  sanctity,  wore  out  the 
patience  of  a  fierce  age ;  and  nothing  but  a  bold  hand 
was  wanting  to  gratify  the  public  wish  by  his  destruc- 
tion. Private  revenge,  inflamed  and  sanctified  by  a 
false  zeal  for  religion,  quickly  supplied  this  want.  Nor- 
man Lesly,  the  eldest  son  of  the  earl  of  Rothes,  had 
been  treated  by  the  cardinal  with  injustice  and  con- 
tempt. It  was  not  the  temper  of  the  man,  or  the  spirit 
of  the  times,  quietly  to  digest  an  affront.  As  the  pro- 
fession of  his  adversary  screened  him  from  the  effects 
of  what  is  called  an  honourable  resentment,  he  resolved 
to  take  that  satisfaction  which  he  could  not  demand. 
This  resolution  deserves  as  much  censure,  as  the  sin- 
gular courage  and  conduct  with  which  he  put  it  in  exe- 
cution excite  wonder.  The  cardinal,  at  that  time,  re- 
sided in  the  castle  of  St.  Andrew's,  which  he  had  forti- 
fied at  great  expense,  and,  in  the  opinion  of  the  age, 
had  rendered  it  impregnable.  His  retinue  was  nume- 


BOOK  ii.  OF  SCOTLAND.  93 

rous,  the  town  at  his  devotion,  and  the  neighbouring 
country  full  of  his  dependents.  In  this  situation,  six- 
teen persons  undertook  to  surprise  his  castle,  and  to 
assassinate  himself;  and  their  success  was  equal  to  the 
boldness  of  the  attempt.  Early  in  the  morning  they  May  20, 
seized  on  the  gate  of  the  castle,  which  was  set  open  to  1546> 
the  workmen  who  were  employed  in  finishing  the  for- 
tifications ;  and,  having  placed  sentries  at  the  door  of 
the  cardinal's  apartment,  they  awakened  his  numerous 
domestics,  one  by  one,  and  turning  them  out  of  the 
castle,  they,  without  noise  or  tumult,  or  violence  to  any 
other  person,  delivered  their  country,  though  by  a 
most  unjustifiable  action,  from  an  ambitious  man,  whose 
pride  was  insupportable  to  the  nobles,  as  his  cruelty 
and  cunning  were  great  checks  to  the  reformation. 

His  death  was  fatal  to  the  catholic  religion,  and  to  The  regent 
the  French  interest  in  Scotland.     The  same  zeal 


both  continued  among  a  great  party  in  the  nation,  but,  seize  the 
when  deprived  of  the  genius  and  authority  of  so  skilful 
a  leader,  operated  with  less  effect.  Nothing  can  equal 
the  consternation  which  a  blow  so  unexpected  occa- 
sioned among  such  as  were  attached  to  him  ;  while  the 
regent  secretly  enjoyed  an  event,  which  removed  out  of 
his  way  a  rival,  who  had  not  only  eclipsed  his  great- 
ness, but  almost  extinguished  his  power.  Decency, 
however,  the  honour  of  the  church,  the  importunity  of 
the  queen  dowager  and  her  adherents,  his  engagements 
with  France,  and,  above  all  these,  the  desire  of  recover- 
ing his  eldest  son,  whom  the  cardinal  had  detained  for 
some  time  at  St.  Andrew's,  in  pledge  of  his  fidelity, 
and  who,  together  with  the  castle,  had  fallen  into  the 
hands  of  the  conspirators,  induced  him  to  take  arms,  in 
order  to  revenge  the  death  of  a  man  whom  he  hated. 

He  threatened  vengeance,  but  was  unable  to  execute 
it.  One  part  of  military  science,  the  art  of  attacking 
fortified  places,  was  then  imperfectly  understood  in 
Scotland.  The  weapons,  the  discipline,  and  impetuosity 
of  the  Scots,  rendered  their  armies  as  unfit  for  sieges, 


94  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  n. 

as  they  were  active  in  the  field.  An  hundred  and  fifty 
men,  which  was  the  greatest  number  the  conspirators 
ever  assembled,  resisted  all  the  efforts  of  the  regent  for 
five  months  n,  in  a  place  which  a  single  battalion,  with 
a  few  battering  cannon,  would  now  reduce  in  a  few 
hours.  This  tedious  siege  was  concluded  by  a  truce. 
The  regent  undertook  to  procure  for  the  conspirators 
an  absolution  from  the  pope,  and  a  pardon  in  parlia- 
ment ;  and  upon  obtaining  these,  they  engaged  to  sur- 
render the  castle,  and  to  set  his  son  at  liberty. 

It  is  probable,  that  neither  of  them  was  sincere  in 
this  treaty.  On  both  sides  they  sought  only  to  amuse, 
and  to  gain  time.  The  regent  had  applied  to  France 
for  assistance,  and  expected  soon  to  have  the  conspira- 
tors at  mercy.  On  the  other  hand,  if  Lesly  and  his 
associates  were  not  at  first  incited  by  Henry  to  murder 
the  cardinal,  they  were,  in  the  sequel,  powerfully  sup- 
ported by  him.  Notwithstanding  the  silence  of  con- 
temporary historians,  there  are  violent  presumptions  of 
the  former ;  of  the  latter  there  is  undoubted  certainty  °. 
During  the  siege,  the  conspirators  had  received  from 
England  supplies  both  of  money  and  provisions ;  and, 
as  Henry  was  preparing  to  renew  his  proposals  con- 
cerning the  marriage  and  the  union  he  had  projected, 
and  to  second  his  negotiations  with  a  numerous  army, 
they  hoped,  by  concurring  with  him,  to  be  in  a  situa- 
tion in  which  they  would  no  longer  need  a  pardon,  but 
might  claim  a  reward  p. 

"  Epist.  Reg.  Scot.  2.  379.  °  Keith,  60. 

P  In  the  first  edition  of  this  work,  I  expressed  my  suspicion  of  a  corre- 
spondence between  the  murderers  of  cardinal  Beatoun  and  Henry  the 
eighth,  prior  to  their  committing  that  crime.  In  the  papers  of  duke  Ha- 
milton is  contained  the  clearest  evidence  of  this,  which  I  publish,  not  only 
to  establish  that  fact,  but  as  an  additional  confirmation  of  the  remarks  which 
I  made  upon  the  frequency  of  assassination  in  that  age,  and  the  slight  opi- 
nion which  men  entertained  concerning  it. 

The  earl  of  Hertford  to  the  king's  majesty,  Newcastle,  April  17,  1544. 

Pleaseth  your  highness  to  understand,  that  this  day  arrived  with  me,  the 
earl  of  Hertford,  a  Scottishman  called  Wishart,  and  brought  me  a  letter 


BOOK  ii.  OF  SCOTLAND.  95 

The  death  of  Henry  blasted  all  these  hopes.  It  hap- Jan.  28, 
pened  in  the  beginning  of  next  year,  after  a  reign  of 
greater  splendour  than  true  glory;  bustling,  rather 
than  active;  oppressive  in  domestic  government,  and 
in  foreign  politics  wild  and  irregular.  But  the  vices  of 
this  prince  were  more  beneficial  to  mankind,  than  the 

from  the  lord  of  Brinstone  [i.  e.  Chrichton,  laird  of  Brunstan]  which  I  send 
your  highness  herewith,  and,  according  to  his  request,  have  taken  order  for 
the  repair  of  the  said  Wishart  to  your  majesty  by  post,  both  for  the  delivery 
of  such  letters  as  he  hath  to  your  majesty  from  the  said  Brinstone,  and  also 
for  the  declaration  of  his  credence,  which,  as  I  perceive  by  him,  consisteth 
in  two  points ;  one,  that  the  lord  of  Grange,  late  treasurer  of  Scotland,  the 
master  of  Rothes,  the  earl  of  Rothes'  eldest  son,  and  John  Charteris,  would 
attempt  either  to  apprehend  or  slay  the  cardinal,  at  some  time  when  he  shall 
pass  through  the  Fifeland,  as  he  doth  sundry  times  in  his  way  to  St.  An- 
drew's, and  in  case  they  can  so  apprehend  him  will  deliver  him'unto  your 
majesty,  which  attemplate,  he  saith,  they  would  enterprize,  if  they  knew 
your  majesty's  pleasure  therein,  and  what  supportation  and  maintenance 
your  majesty  would  minister  unto  them,  after  the  execution  of  the  same,  in 
case  they  should  be  pursued  by  any  of  their  enemies ;  the  other  is,  that  in 
case  your  majesty  would  grant  unto  them  a  convenient  entertainment  to 
keep  one  thousand  or  fifteen  hundred  men  in  wages  for  a  month  or  two, 
they  journeying  with  the  power  of  the  earl  marshal,  the  said  Mr  of  Rothes, 

the  laird  of  Calder,  and  the  other  the  lord friends,  will  take  upon 

them,  at  such  time  as  your  majesty's  army  shall  be  in  Scotland,  to  destroy 
the  abbey  and  town  of  Arbroath,  being  the  cardinal's,  and  all  the  other 
bishops,  houses  and  countries,  on  that  side  of  the  water  thereabout,  and  to 
apprehend  all  those  which  they  say  be  the  principal  impugnators  of  amity 
between  England  and  Scotland  ;  for  which  they  should  have  a  good  oppor- 
tunity, as  they  say,  when  the  power  of  the  said  bishops  and  abbots  shall 
resort  towards  Edinburgh  to  resist  your  majesty's  army.  And  for  the  exe- 
cution of  these  things,  the  said  Wishart  saith,  that  the  earl  marshal  afore- 
named and  others  will  capitulate  with  your  majesty  in  writing  under  their 
hands  and  seals,  afore  they  shall  desire  any  supply  or  aid  of  money  at  your 
majesty's  hands.  This  is  the  effect  of  his  credence,  with  sundry  other 
advertisements  of  the  great  division  that  is  at  this  present  within  the  realm 
of  Scotland,  which  we  doubt  not  he  will  declare  unto  your  majesty  at  good 
length.  Hamilton  manuscripts,  vol.  iii.  p.  38. 

N.  B.  This  is  the  letter  of  which  Dr.  Mackenzie,  vol.  iii.  p.  18,  and  bi- 
shop Keith,  Hist.  p.  44,  published  a  fragment.  It  does  not  authorize  us  to 
conclude  that  Mr.  George  Wishart,  known  by  the  name  of  the  martyr,  was 
the  person  who  resorted  to  the  earl  of  Hertford.  It  was,  more  probably, 
John  Wishart  of  Pitarrow,  the  chief  of  that  name,  a  man  of  abilities,  zea- 
lously attached  to  the  reformed  doctrine,  and  deeply  engaged  in  all  the  in- 
trigues and  operations  of  that  busy  period.  Keith,  96.  1 17.  1 19.  315. 


9<?  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  n. 

virtues  of  others.  His  rapaciousness,  his  profusion, 
and  even  his  tyranny,  by  depressing  the  ancient  nobi- 
lity, and  by  adding  new  property  and  power  to  the  com- 
mons, laid  or  strengthened  the  foundations  of  the  Eng- 
lish liberty.  His  other  passions  contributed  no  less  to- 
wards the  downfal  of  popery,  and  the  establishment  of 
religious  freedom  in  the  nation.  His  resentment  led 
him  to  abolish  the  power,  and  his  covetousness  to  seize 
the  wealth,  of  the  church ;  and,  by  withdrawing  these 
supports,  made  it  easy,  in  the  following  reign,  to  over- 
turn the  whole  fabric  of  superstition. 

Francis  the  first  did  not  long  survive  a  prince,  who 
had  been  alternately  his  rival  and  his  friend ;  but  his 
successor,  Henry  the  second,  was  not  neglectful  of  the 
Troops  ar-   French  interest  in  Scotland.     He  sent  a  considerable 
France™     body  of  men,  under  the  command  of  Leon  Strozzi,  to 
the  regent's  assistance.     By  their  long  experience  in 
the  Italian  and  German  wars,  the  French  had  become 
as  dexterous  in  the  conduct  of  sieges,  as  the  Scots  were 
ignorant ;  and  as  the  boldness  and  despair  of  the  con- 
spirators could  not  defend  them  against  the  superior 
art  of  these  new  assailants,  they,  after  a  short  resistance, 
Force  the    surrendered  to  Strozzi,  who  engaged,  in  the  name  of 
Andrew's  to  ^e  king,  his  master,  for  the  security  of  their  lives;  and, 
surrender.    as  his  prisoners,  transported  them  into  France.     The 
castle  itself,  the  monument  of  Beatoun's  power  and  va- 
nity, was  demolished,  in  obedience  to  the  canon  law, 
which,  with  admirable  policy,  denounces  its  anathemas 
even  against  the  houses  in  which  the  sacred  blood  of  a 
cardinal  happens  to  be  shed,  and  ordains  them  to  be 
laid  in  ruins  q. 

The  archbishopric  of  St.  Andrew's  was  bestowed  by 
the  regent  upon  his  natural  brother,  John  Hamilton, 
abbot  of  Paisley. 

New  breach     The  delay  of  a  few  weeks  would  have  saved  the  con- 
wth  Eng-    Spirators<     Those  ministers  of  Henry  the  eighth,  who 

i  Burn.  Hist.  Ref.  i.  338. 


BOOK  ii.  OF  SCOTLAND.  97 

had  the  chief  direction  of  affairs  during  the  minority  of 
his  son,  Edward  the  sixth,  conducted  themselves,  with 
regard  to  Scotland,  by  the  maxims  of  their  late  master, 
and  resolved  to  frighten  the  Scots  into  a  treaty,  which 
they  had  not  abilities  or  address  to  bring  about  by  any 
other  method. 

But,  before  we  proceed  to  relate  the  events  which 
their  invasion  of  Scotland  occasioned,  we  shall  stop  to 
take  notice  of  a  circumstance  unobserved  by  contem- 
porary historians,  but  extremely  remarkable  for  the  dis- 
covery it  makes  of  the  sentiments  and  spirit  which  then 
prevailed  among  the  Scots.  The  conspirators  against 
cardinal  Beatoun  found  the  regent's  eldest  son  in  the 
castle  of  St.  Andrew's ;  and,  as  they  needed  the  pro- 
tection of  the  English,  it  was  to  be  feared  that  they 
might  endeavour  to  purchase  it,  by  delivering  to  them 
this  important  prize.  The  presumptive  heir  to  the 
crown  in  the  hands  of  the  avowed  enemies  of  the  king- 
dom, was  a  dreadful  prospect.  In  order  to  avoid  it, 
the  parliament  fell  upon  a  very  extraordinary  expedient. 
By  an  act  made  on  purpose,  they  excluded  "  the  regent's 
eldest  son  from  all  right  of  succession,  public  or  private, 
so  long  as  he  should  be  detained  a  prisoner,  and  sub- 
stituted in  his  place  his  other  brothers,  according  to 
their  seniority,  and  in  failure  of  them,  those  who  were 
next  heirs  to  the  regent r."  Succession  by  hereditary 
right  is  an  idea  so  obvious  and  so  popular,  that  a  nation 
seldom  ventures  to  make  a  breach  hi  it,  but  in  cases  of 
extreme  necessity.  Such  a  necessity  did  the  parliament 
discover  in  the  present  situation.  Hatred  to  England, 
founded  on  the  memory  of  past  hostilities,  and  height- 
ened by  the  smart  of  recent  injuries,  was  the  national 
passion.  This  dictated  that  uncommon  statute,  by  which 
the  order  of  lineal  succession  was  so  remarkably  broken. 
The  modern  theories,  which  represent  this  right  as 
divine  and  unalienable,  and  that  ought  not  to  be  vio- 

'  Epist.  Reg.  Scot.  ii.  359. 
VOL.  I.  H 


98  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  n. 

lated  upon  any  consideration  whatsoever,  seem  to  have 
been  then  altogether  unknown. 

Scotland  in-  In  the  beginning  of  September,  the  earl  of  Hertford, 
the  Encash. now  duke  of  Somerset,  and  protector  of  England,  en- 
tered Scotland,  at  the  head  of  eighteen  thousand  men  ; 
and,  at  the  same  time,  a  fleet  of  sixty  ships  appeared 
on  the  coast  to  second  his  land  forces.  The  Scots  had, 
for  some  time,  observed  this  storm  gathering,  and  were 
prepared  for  it.  Their  army  was  almost  double  to  that 
of  the  enemy,  and  posted  to  the  greatest  advantage  on 
a  rising  ground,  above  Musselburgh,  not  far  from  the 
banks  of  the  river  Eske.  Both  these  circumstances 
alarmed  the  duke  of  Somerset,  who  saw  his  danger, 
and  would  willingly  have  extricated  himself  out  of  it, 
by  a  new  overture  of  peace,  on  conditions  extremely 
reasonable.  But  this  moderation  being  imputed  to  fear, 
his  proposals  were  rejected  with  the  scorn  which  the 
confidence  of  success  inspires ;  and  if  the  conduct  of 
the  regent,  who  commanded  the  Scottish  army,  had 
been,  in  any  degree,  equal  to  his  confidence,  the  de- 
struction of  the  English  must  have  been  inevitable. 
They  were  in  a  situation  precisely  similar  to  that  of 
their  countrymen  under  Oliver  Cromwell,  in  the  follow- 
ing century.  The  Scots  had  chosen  their  ground  so 
well,  that  it  was  impossible  to  force  them  to  give  battle ; 
a  few  days  had  exhausted  the  forage  and  provision  of 
a  narrow  country ;  the  fleet  could  only  furnish  a  scanty 
and  precarious  subsistence :  a  retreat,  therefore,  was 
necessary ;  but  disgrace,  and,  perhaps,  ruin,  were  the 
consequences  of  retreating. 

On  both  these  occasions,  the  national  heat  and  im- 
petuosity of  the  Scots  saved  the  English,  and  precipi- 
tated their  own  country  into  the  utmost  danger.     The 
undisciplined  courage  of  the  private  men  became  impa- 
Battle  of     tient  at  the  sight  of  an  enemy.    The  general  was  afraid 
September  °^  nothing,  but  that  the  English  might  escape  from  him 
10, 1547.    by  flight ;  and,  leaving  his  strong  camp,  he  attacked 
the  duke  of  Somerset  near  Pinkey,  with  no  better  sue- 


BOOK  ir.  OF  SCOTLAND.  99 

cess  than  his  rashness  deserved.  The  protector  had 
drawn  up  his  troops  on  a  gentle  eminence,  and  had  now 
the  advantage  of  ground  on  his  side.  The  Scottish 
army  consisted  almost  entirely  of  infantry,  whose  chief 
weapon  was  a  long  spear,  and,  for  that  reason,  their 
files  were  very  deep,  and  their  ranks  close.  They  ad- 
vanced towards  the  enemy  in  three  great  bodies,  and, 
as  they  passed  the  river,  were  considerably  exposed  to 
the  fire  of  the  English  fleet,  which  lay  in  the  bay  of 
Musselburgh,  and  had  drawn  near  the  shore.  The 
English  cavalry,  flushed  with  an  advantage  which  they 
had  gained  in  a  skirmish,  some  days  before,  began  the 
attack  with  more  impetuosity  than  good  conduct.  A 
body  so  firm  and  compact  as  the  Scots  easily  resisted 
the  impression  of  cavalry,  broke  them,  and  drove  them 
off  the  field.  The  English  infantry,  however,  advanced; 
and  the  Scots  were,  at  once,  exposed  to  a  flight  of  ar- 
rows, to  a  fire  in  flank  from  four  hundred  foreign  fusi- 
leers,  who  served  the  enemy,  and  to  their  cannon,  which 
were  planted  behind  the  infantry,  on  the  highest  part 
of  the  eminence.  The  depth  and  closeness  of  their 
order  making  it  impossible  for  the  Scots  to  stand  long 
in  this  situation,  the  earl  of  Angus,  who  commanded  the 
vanguard,  endeavoured  to  change  his  ground,  and  to 
retire  towards  the  main  body.  But  his  friends,  unhap- 
pily, mistook  his  motion  for  a  flight,  and  fell  into  confu- 
sion. At  that  very  instant  the  broken  cavalry,  having 
rallied,  returned  to  the  charge;  the  foot  pursued  the 
advantage  they  had  gained  ;  the  prospect  of  victory  re- 
doubled the  ardour  of  both ;  and,  in  a  moment,  the  rout 
of  the  Scottish  army  became  universal  and  irretrievable. 
The  encounter  in  the  field  was  not  long  nor  bloody;  but, 
in  the  pursuit,  the  English  discovered  all  the  rage  and 
fierceness  which  national  antipathy,  kindled  by  long 
emulation,  and  inflamed  by  reciprocal  injuries,  is  apt  to 
inspire.  The  pursuit  was  continued  for  five  hours,  and 
to  a  great  distance.  All  the  three  roads,  by  which  the 
Scots  fled,  were  strewed  with  spears,  and  swords,  and 

H9 
M 


100  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  n. 

targets,  and  covered  with  the  bodies  of  the  slain.  Above 
ten  thousand  men  fell  on  this  day,  one  of  the  most  fatal 
Scotland  had  ever  seen.  A  few  were  taken  prisoners, 
and  among  these  some  persons  of  distinction.  The  pro- 
tector had  it  now  in  his  power  to  become  master  of  a 
kingdom,  out  of  which,  not  many  hours  before,  he  was 
almost  obliged  to  retire  with  infamy8. 

Their  vie-        But  this  victory,  however  great,  was  of  no  real  utility, 

benefit  to  *  ^or  want  °f  skill  or  of  leisure  to  improve  it.    Every  new 

the  English,  injury  rendered  the  Scots  more  averse  from  an  union 

with  England;  and  the  protector  neglected  the  only 

measure  which  would  have  made  it  necessary  for  them 

to  have  given  their  consent  to  it.     He  amused  himself 

8  The  following  passage  in  a  curious  and  rare  journal  of  the  protector's 
expedition  into  Scotland,  written  by  W.  Patten,  who  was  joined  in  commis- 
sion with  Cecil,  as  judge  martial  of  the  army,  and  printed  in  1548,  deserves 
our  notice ;  as  it  gives  a  just  idea  of  the  military  discipline  of  the  Scots,  at 
that  time.  "  But  what  after  I  learned,  specially  touching  their  order,  their 
armour,  and  their  manner  as  well  of  going  to  offend,  as  of  standing  to  de- 
fend, I  have  thought  necessary  here  to  utter.  Hackbutters  have  they  few 
or  none,  and  appoint  their  fight  most  commonly  always  afoot.  They  come 
to  the  field  well  furnished  all  with  jack  and  skull,  dagger  and  buckler,  and 
swords  all  broad  and  thin,  of  exceeding  good  temper,  and  universally  so 
made  to  slice,  that  as  I  never  saw  none  so  good,  so  I  think  it  hard  to  devise 
the  better.  Hereto  every  man  his  pike,  and  a  great  kercher  wrapped  twice 
or  thrice  about  his  neck,  not  for  cold,  but  for  cutting.  In  their  array  to- 
wards joining  with  the  enemy,  they  cling  and  thrust  so  near  in  the  fore 
rank,  shoulder  and  shoulder  together,  with  their  pikes  in  both  their  hands 
straight  afore  them,  and  their  followers  in  that  order  so  hard  at  their  backs, 
laying  their  pikes  over  their  foregoers'  shoulders,  that,  if  they  do  assail  un- 
discovered, no  force  can  well  withstand  them.  Standing  at  defence  they 
thrust  shoulders  likewise  so  nigh  together,  the  fore  ranks  well  nigh  to  kneel- 
ing, stoop  low  before,  their  fellows  behind  holding  their  pikes  with  both 
hands,  and  therewith  in  their  left  their  bucklers,  the  one  end  of  their  pike 
against  their  right  foot,  and  the  other  against  the  enemy  breast-high ;  their 
followers  crossing  their  pike  points  with  them  forward  ;  and  thus  each  with 
other  so  nigh  as  space  and  place  will  suffer,  through  the  whole  ward,  so 
thick,  that  as  easily  shall  a  bare  finger  pierce  through  the  skin  of  an 
angry  hedgehog,  as  any  encounter  the  front  of  their  pikes."  Other  curious 
particulars  are  found  in  this  journal,  from  which  sir  John  Hayward  has 
borrowed  his  account  of  this  expedition.  Life  of  Edward  the  sixth,  279,  etc. 

The  length  of  the  Scotch  pike  or  spear  was  appointed  by  Act  44.  Parl. 
1471,  to  be  six  ells;  i.  e.  eighteen  feet  six  inches. 


BOOK  ii.  OF  SCOTLAND.  101 

in  wasting  the  open  country,  and  in  taking  or  building 
several  petty  castles;  whereas,  by  fortifying  a  few  places 
which  were  accessible  by  sea,  he  would  have  laid  the 
kingdom  open  to  the  English,  and,  in  a  short  time,  the 
Scots  must  either  have  accepted  of  his  terms,  or  have 
submitted  to  his  power.  By  such  an  improvement  of 
it,  the  victory  at  Dunbar  gave  Cromwell  the  command 
of  Scotland.  The  battle  of  Pinkey  had  no  other  effect 
but  to  precipitate  the  Scots  into  new  engagements  with 
France.  The  situation  of  the  English  court  may,  in- 
deed, be  pleaded  in  excuse  for  the  duke  of  Somerset's 
conduct.  That  cabal  of  his  enemies,  which  occasioned 
his  tragical  end,  was  already  formed ;  and,  while  he 
triumphed  in  Scotland,  they  secretly  undermined  his 
power  and  credit  at  home.  Self-preservation,  therefore, 
obliged  him  to  prefer  his  safety  before  his  fame,  and  to 
return,  without  reaping  the  fruits  of  his  victory.  At 
this  time,  however,  the  cloud  blew  over ;  the  conspiracy, 
by  which  he  fell,  was  not  yet  ripe  for  execution ;  and 
his  presence  suspended  its  effects  for  some  time.  The 
supreme  power  still  remaining  in  his  hands,  he  employed 
it  to  recover  the  opportunity  which  he  had  lost.  A  April,  1548. 
body  of  troops,  by  his  command,  seized  and  fortified 
Haddingtoun,  a  place  which,  on  account  of  its  distance 
from  the  sea,  and  from  any  English  garrison,  could  not 
be  defended  without  great  expense  and  danger. 

Meanwhile,  the  French  gained  more  by  the  defeat  of  Forces  the 
their  allies,  than  the  English  by  their  victory.     After  closer  union 
the  death  of  cardinal  Beatoun,  Mary  of  Guise,  the  withFrance, 
queen  dowager,  took  a  considerable  share  in  the  direc- 
tion of  affairs.    She  was  warmly  attached  by  blood,  and 
by  inclination,  to  the  French  interest ;  and,  in  order  to 
promote  it,  improved  with  great  dexterity  every  event 
which  occurred.     The  spirit  and  strength  of  the  Scots 
were  broken  at  Pinkey ;  and  in  an  assembly  of  nobles 
which  met  at  Stirling  to  consult  upon  the  situation  of 
the  kingdom,  all  eyes  were  turned  towards  France,  no 
prospect  of  safety  appearing  but  in  assistance  from  that 


102  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  n. 

quarter.  But  Henry  the  second  being  then  at  peace 
with  England,  the  queen  represented  that  they  could 
not  expect  him  to  take  part  in  their  quarrel,  hut  upon 
views  of  personal  advantage ;  and  that,  without  extraor- 
dinary concessions  in  his  favour,  no  assistance,  in  pro- 
portion to  their  present  exigencies,  could  be  obtained. 
The  prejudices  of  the  nation  powerfully  seconded  these 
representations  of  the  queen.  What  often  happens  to 
individuals,  took  place  among  the  nobles  in  this  conven- 
tion ;  they  were  swayed  entirely  by  their  passions ;  and 
in  order  to  gratify  them,  they  deserted  their  former 
principles,  and  disregarded  their  true  interest.  In  the 
violence  of  resentment,  they  forgot  that  zeal  for  the  in- 
dependence of  Scotland,  which  had  prompted  them  to 
and  to  offer  reject  the  proposals  of  Henry  the  eighth;  and,  by  offer- 
i^marriage  mg>  voluntarily,  their  young  queen  in  marriage  to  the 
to  the  dau-  dauphin,  eldest  son  of  Henry  the  second ;  and,  which 
was  still  more,  by  proposing  to  send  her  immediately 
into  France  to  be  educated  at  his  court,  they  granted, 
from  a  thirst  of  vengeance,  what  formerly  they  would 
not  yield  upon  any  consideration  of  their  own  safety. 
To  gain  at  once  such  a  kingdom  as  Scotland,  was  a 
matter  of  no  small  consequence  to  France.  Henry, 
without  hesitation,  accepted  the  offers  of  the  Scottish 
ambassadors,  and  prepared  for  the  vigorous  defence  of 
his  new  acquisition.  Six  thousand  veteran  soldiers, 
under  the  command  of  monsieur  Desse,  assisted  by 
some  of  the  best  officers,  who  were  formed  in  the  long 
wars  of  Francis  the  first,  arrived  at  Leith.  They  served 
two  campaigns  in  Scotland,  with  a  spirit  equal  to  their 
former  fame.  But  their  exploits  were  not  considerable. 
The  Scots,  soon  becoming  jealous  of  their  designs, 
neglected  to  support  them  with  proper  vigour.  The 
caution  of  the  English,  in  acting  wholly  upon  the  de- 
fensive, prevented  the  French  from  attempting  any  en- 
terprise of  consequence ;  and  obliged  them  to  exhaust 
their  strength  in  tedious  sieges,  undertaken  under  many 
disadvantages.  Their  efforts',  however,  were  not  with- 


BOOK  ii.  OF  SCOTLAND.  103 

out  some  benefit  to  the  Scots,  by  compelling  the  Eng- 
lish to  evacuate  Haddingtoun,  and  to  surrender  several 
small  forts,  which  they  possessed  in  different  parts  of 
the  kingdom. 

But  the  effects  of  these  operations  of  his  troops  were 
still  of  greater  importance  to  the  French  king.  The 
diversion  which  they  occasioned  enabled  him  to  wrest 
Boulogne  out  of  the  hands  of  the  English ;  and  the  in- 
fluence of  his  army  in  Scotland  obtained  the  concurrence 
of  parliament  with  the  overtures  which  had  been  made 
to  him,  by  the  assembly  of  nobles  at  Stirling,  concern- 
ing the  queen's  marriage  with  the  dauphin,  and  her 
education  at  the  court  of  France.  In  vain  did  a  few  The  treaty 
patriots  remonstrate  against  such  extravagant  conces- ^^  Pur* 
sions,  by  which  Scotland  was  reduced  to  be  a  province  eluded, 
of  France ;  and  Henry,  from  an  ally,  raised  to  be  master 
of  the  kingdom;  by  which  the  friendship  of  France 
became  more  fatal  than  the  enmity  of  England;  and 
every  thing  was  fondly  given  up  to  the  one,  that  had 
been  bravely  defended  against  the  other.  A  point  of  so 
much  consequence  was  hastily  decided  in  a  parliament  June  5, 
assembled  in  the  camp  before  Haddingtoun.  The  in-  1548' 
trigues  of  the  queen  dowager,  the  zeal  of  the  clergy, 
and  resentment  against  England,  had  prepared  a  great 
party  in  the  nation  for  such  a  step ;  the  French  general 
and  ambassador,  by  their  liberality  and  promises,  gained 
over  many  more.  The  regent  himself  was  weak  enough 
to  stoop  to  the  offer  of  a  pension  from  France,  together 
with  the  title  of  duke  of  Chatelherault  in  that  kingdom. 
A  considerable  majority  declared  for  the  treaty,  and  the 
interest  of  a  faction  was  preferred  before  the  honour  of 
the  nation. 

Having  hurried  the  Scots  into  this  rash  and  fatal  re- Mary  sent  to 
solution,  the  source  of  many  calamities  to  themselves  I56  ^ducated 

•  *  in  France. 

and  to  their  sovereign,  the  French  allowed  them  no 
time  for  reflection  or  repentance.  The  fleet  which  had 
brought  over  their  forces  was  still  in  Scotland,  and, 
without  delay,  convoyed  the  queen  into  France.  Mary 


104  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  n. 

was  then  six  years  old,  and  by  her  education  in  that 
court,  one  of  the  politest  but  most  corrupted  in  Europe, 
she  acquired  every  accomplishment  that  could  add  to 
her  charms,  as  a  woman,  and  contracted  many  of  those 
prejudices  which  occasioned  her  misfortunes,  as  a  queen. 
From  the  time  that  Mary  was  put  into  their  hands,  it 
was  the  interest  of  the  French  to  suffer  the  war  in  Scot- 
land to  languish.  The  recovery  of  the  Boulonnois  was 
the  object  which  the  French  king  had  most  at  heart;  but 
a  slight  diversion  in  Britain  was  sufficient  to  divide  the 
attention  and  strength  of  the  English,  whose  domestic 
factions  deprived  both  their  arms  and  councils  of  their 
accustomed  vigour.  The  government  of  England  had 
undergone  a  great  revolution.  The  duke  of  Somerset's 
power  had  been  acquired  with  too  much  violence,  and 
was  exercised  with  too  little  moderation,  to  be  of  long 
continuance.  Many  good  qualities,  added  to  great  love 
of  his  country,  could  not  atone  for  his  ambition  in  usurp- 
ing the  sole  direction  of  affairs.  Some  of  the  most  emi- 
nent courtiers  combined  against  him;  and  the  earl  of 
Warwick,  their  leader,  no  less  ambitious  but  more  art- 
ful than  Somerset,  conducted  his  measures  with  so  much 
dexterity  as  to  raise  himself  upon  the  ruins  of  his  rival. 
Without  the  invidious  name  of  protector,  he  succeeded 
to  all  the  power  and  influence  of  which  Somerset  was 
deprived,  and  he  quickly  found  peace  to  be  necessary 
for  the  establishment  of  his  new  authority,  and  the  exe- 
cution of  the  vast  designs  he  had  conceived. 
Peace  Henry  was  no  stranger  to  Warwick's  situation,  and 

I      i    j  •* 

6  '  improved  his  knowledge  of  it  to  good  purpose,  in  con- 
ducting the  negotiations  for  a  general  peace.     He  pre- 
scribed what  terms  he  pleased  to  the  English  minister, 
who  scrupled  at  nothing,  however  advantageous  to  that 
March  24,  monarch  and  his  allies.     England  consented  to  restore 
1550.         Boulogne  and  its  dependencies  to  France,  and  gave  up 
all  pretensions  to  a  treaty  of  marriage  with  the  queen  of 
Scots,  or  to  the  conquest  of  her  country.     A  few  small 
forts,  of  which  the  English  troops  had  hitherto  kept 


BOOK  ii.  OF  SCOTLAND.  105 

possession,  were  razed;  and  peace  between  the  two 
kingdoms  was  established  on  its  ancient  foundation. 

Both  the  British  nations  lost  power,  as  well  as  repu- 
tation, by  this  unhappy  quarrel.  It  was,  on  both  sides, 
a  war  of  emulation  and  resentment,  rather  than  of  in- 
terest ;  and  was  carried  on  under  the  influence  of  na- 
tional animosities,  which  were  blind  to  all  advantages. 
The  French,  who  entered  into  it  with  greater  coolness, 
conducted  it  with  more  skill ;  and,  by  dexterously  avail- 
ing themselves  of  every  circumstance  which  occurred, 
recovered  possession  of  an  important  territory  which 
they  had  lost,  and  added  to  their  monarchy  a  new  king- 
dom. The  ambition  of  the  English  minister  betrayed 
to  them  the  former ;  the  inconsiderate  rage  of  the  Scots 
against  their  ancient  enemies  bestowed  on  them  the  lat- 
ter; their  own  address  and  good  policy  merited  both. 

Immediately  after  the  conclusion  of  the  peace,  the 
French  forces  left  Scotland,  as  much  to  their  own  satis- 
faction, as  to  that  of  the  nation.  The  Scots  soon  found, 
that  the  calling  to  their  assistance  a  people  more  power- 
ful than  themselves  was  a  dangerous  expedient.  They  The  Scots 

beheld,  with   the  utmost  impatience,  those  who  had^600™6  Jea* 

.  .      %  '  lousof  the 

come  over  to  protect  the  kingdom,  taking  upon  them  to  French. 

command  in  it ;  and,  on  many  occasions,  they  repented 
the  rash  invitation  which  they  had  given.  The  peculiar 
genius  of  the  French  nation  heightened  this  disgust,  and 
prepared  the  Scots  to  throw  off  the  yoke,  before  they 
had  well  begun  to  feel  it.  The  French  were,  in  that 
age,  what  they  are  in  the  present,  one  of  the  most  po- 
lished nations  in  Europe.  But  it  is  to  be  observed,  in 
all  their  expeditions  into  foreign  countries,  whether  to- 
wards the  south  or  north,  that  their  manners  have  been 
remarkably  incompatible  with  the  manners  of  every 
other  people.  Barbarians  are  tenacious  of  their  own 
customs,  because  they  want  knowledge  and  taste  to  dis- 
cover the  reasonableness  and  propriety  of  customs  which 
differ  from  them.  Nations,  which  hold  the  first  rank 
in  politeness,  are  frequently  no  less  tenacious,  out  of 


106  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  n. 

pride.  The  Greeks  were  so  in  the  ancient  world ;  and 
the  French  are  the  same  in  the  modern.  Full  of  them- 
selves ;  flattered  by  the  imitation  of  their  neighbours ; 
and  accustomed  to  consider  their  own  modes  as  the 
standards  of  elegance ;  they  scorn  to  disguise,  or  to  lay 
aside,  the  distinguishing  manners  of  their  own  nation, 
or  to  make  any  allowance  for  what  may  differ  from  them 
among  others.  For  this  reason,  the  behaviour  of  their 
armies  has,  on  every  occasion,  been  insupportable  to 
strangers,  and  has  always  exposed  them  to  hatred,  and 
often  to  destruction.  In  that  age,  they  overran  Italy 
four  several  times  by  their  valour,  and  lost  it  as  often 
by  their  insolence.  The  Scots,  naturally  an  irascible 
and  high-spirited  people,  and  who,  of  all  nations,  can 
least  bear  the  most  distant  insinuation  of  contempt,  were 
not  of  a  temper  to  admit  all  the  pretensions  of  such  as- 
suming guests.  The  symptoms  of  alienation  were  soon 
visible ;  they  seconded  the  military  operations  of  the 
French  troops  with  the  utmost  coldness ;  their  disgust 
grew  insensibly  to  a  degree  of  indignation  that  could 
hardly  be  restrained  ;  and,  on  occasion  of  a  very  slight 
accident,  broke  out  with  fatal  violence.  A  private 
French  soldier  engaging  in  an  idle  quarrel  with  a  citi- 
zen of  Edinburgh,  both  nations  took  arms,  with  equal 
rage,  in  defence  of  then'  countrymen.  The  provost  of 
Edinburgh,  his  son,  and  several  citizens  of  distinction, 
were  killed  in  the  fray ;  and  the  French  were  obliged  to 
avoid  the  fury  of  the  inhabitants,  by  retiring  out  of  the 
city.  Notwithstanding  the  ancient  alliance  of  France 
and  Scotland,  and  the  long  intercourse  of  good  offices 
between  the  two  nations,  an  aversion  for  the  French 
took  its  rise,  at  this  time,  among  the  Scots,  the  effects 
whereof  were  deeply  felt,  and  operated  powerfully 
through  the  subsequent  period. 

Progress  of      From  the  death  of  cardinal  Beatoun,  nothing  has 

lion? (     a  been  said  °f  the  state  of  religion.     While  the  war  with 

England  continued,  the  clergy  had  no  leisure  to  molest 

the  protestants;  and  they  were  not  yet  considerable 


BOOK  ii.  OF  SCOTLAND.  .     107 

enough  to  expect  any  thing  more  than  connivance  and 
impunity.  The  new  doctrines  were  still  in  their  infancy ; 
but,  during  this  short  interval  of  tranquillity,  they  ac- 
quired strength,  and  advanced,  by  large  and  firm  steps, 
towards  a  full  establishment  in  the  kingdom.  The  first 
preachers  against  popery  in  Scotland,  of  whom  several 
had  appeared  during  the  reign  of  James  the  fifth,  were 
more  eminent  for  zeal  and  piety,  than  for  learning. 
Their  acquaintance  with  the  principles  of  the  reforma- 
tion was  partial,  and  at  second  hand ;  some  of  them  had 
been  educated  in  England ;  all  of  them  had  borrowed 
their  notions  from  the  books  published  there ;  and,  in 
the  first  dawn  of  the  new  light,  they  did  not  venture  far 
before  their  leaders.  But,  in  a  short  time,  the  doctrines 
and  writings  of  the  foreign  reformers  became  generally 
known ;  the  inquisitive  genius  of  the  age  pressed  for- 
ward in  quest  of  truth;  the  discovery  of  one  errour  open- 
ed the  way  to  others ;  the  downfal  of  one  impostor  drew 
many  after  it;  the  whole  fabric,  which  ignorance  and 
superstition  had  erected  in  times'  of  darkness,  began  to 
totter ;  and  nothing  was  wanting  to  complete  its  ruin, 
but  a  daring  and  active  leader  to  direct  the  attack. 
Such  was  the  famous  John  Knox,  who,  with  better  qua- 
lifications of  learning,  and  more  extensive  views,  than 
any  of  his  predecessors  in  Scotland,  possessed  a  natural 
intrepidity  of  mind,  which  set  him  above  fear.  He 
began  his  public  ministry  at  St.  Andrew's,  in  the  year 
one  thousand  five  hundred  and  forty-seven,  with  that 
success  which  always  accompanies  a  bold  and  popular 
eloquence.  Instead  of  amusing  himself  with  lopping 
the  branches,  he  struck  directly  at  the  root  of  popery, 
and  attacked  both  the  doctrine  and  discipline  of  the 
established  church,  with  a  vehemence  peculiar  to  him- 
self," but  admirably  suited  to  the  temper  and  wishes  of 
the  age. 

An  adversary,  so  formidable  as  Knox,  would  not  have 
easily  escaped  the  rage  of  the  clergy,  who  observed  the 
tendency  and  progress  of  his  opinions  with  the  utmost 


108  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  n. 

concern.  But,  at  first,  he  retired  for  safety  into  the 
castle  of  St.  Andrew's,  and,  while  the  conspirators  kept 
possession  of  it,  preached  publicly  under  their  protec- 
tion. The  great  revolution  in  England,  which  followed 
upon  the  death  of  Henry  the  eighth,  contributed  no 
less  than  the  zeal  of  Knox  towards  demolishing  the 
popish  church  in  Scotland.  Henry  had  loosened  the 
chains,  and  lightened  the  yoke  of  popery.  The  minis- 
ters of  his  son,  Edward  the  sixth,  cast  them  off  alto- 
gether, and  established  the  protestant  religion  upon 
almost  the  same  footing  whereon  it  now  stands  in  that 
kingdom.  The  influence  of  this  example  reached  Scot- 
land, and  the  happy  effects  of  ecclesiastical  liberty  in 
one  nation,  inspired  the  other  with  an  equal  desire  of 
recovering  it.  The  reformers  had,  hitherto,  been  ob- 
liged to  conduct  themselves  with  the  utmost  caution, 
and  seldom  ventured  to  preach,  but  in  private  houses, 
and  at  a  distance  from  court;  they  gained  credit,  as 
happens  on  the  first  publication  of  every  new  religion, 
chiefly  among  persons  in  the  lower  and  middle  rank  of 
life.  But  several  noblemen,  of  the  greatest  distinction, 
having,  about  this  time,  openly  espoused  their  princi- 
ples, they  were  no  longer  under  the  necessity  of  acting 
with  the  same  reserve;  and,  with  more  security  and 
encouragement,  they  had  likewise  greater  success.  The 
means  of  acquiring  and  spreading  knowledge  became 
more  common,  and  the  spirit  of  innovation,  peculiar  to 
that  period,  grew  every  day  bolder  and  more  universal. 
Happily  for  the  reformation,  this  spirit  was  still  un- 
der some  restraint.  It  had  not  yet  attained  firmness 
and  vigour  sufficient  to  overturn  a  system  founded  on 
the  deepest  policy,  and  supported  by  the  most  formid- 
able power.  Under  the  present  circumstances,  any 
attempt  towards  action  must  have  been  fatal  to  the 
protestant  doctrines ;  and  it  is  no  small  proof  of  the 
authority,  as  well  as  penetration,  of  the  heads  of  the 
party,  that  they  were  able  to  restrain  the  zeal  of  a  fiery 
and  impetuous  people,  until  that  critical  and  mature 


BOOK  ii.  OF  SCOTLAND.  109 

juncture,  when  every  step  they  took  was  decisive  and 
successful. 

Meanwhile,  their  cause  received  reinforcement  from 
two  different  quarters,  whence  they  never  could  have 
expected  it.  The  ambition  of  the  house  of  Guise,  and 
the  bigotry  of  Mary  of  England,  hastened  the  subver- 
sion of  the  papal  throne  in  Scotland ;  and,  by  a  singu- 
lar disposition  of  providence,  the  persons  who  opposed 
the  reformation,  in  every  other  part  of  Europe,  with 
the  fiercest  zeal,  were  made  instruments  for  advancing 
it  in  that  kingdom. 

Mary  of  Guise  possessed  the  same  bold  and  aspiring  The  queen 
spirit  which  distinguished  her  family.    But  in  her  it  was dovf.^SKT 

r  °  J  aspires  to 

softened  by  the  female  character,  and  accompanied  with  the  office 
great  temper  and  address.  Her  brothers,  in  order  toofreg_ent' 
attain  the  high  objects  at  which  they  aimed,  ventured 
upon  such  daring  measures  as  suited  their  great  cou- 
rage. Her  designs  upon  the  supreme  power  were  con- 
cealed with  the  utmost  care,  and  advanced  by  address 
and  refinements  more  natural  to  her  sex.  By  a  dex- 
terous application  of  those  talents,  she  had  acquired  a 
considerable  influence  on  the  councils  of  a  nation,  hi- 
therto unacquainted  with  the  government  of  women ; 
and,  without  the  smallest  right  to  any  share  in  the  ad- 
ministration of  affairs,  had  engrossed  the  chief  direc- 
tion of  them  into  her  own  hands.  But  she  did  not  long 
rest  satisfied  with  the  enjoyment  of  this  precarious 
power,  which  the  fickleness  of  the  regent,  or  the  am- 
bition of  those  who  governed  him,  might  so  easily  dis- 
turb ;  and  she  began  to  set  on  foot  new  intrigues,  with 
a  design  of  undermining  him,  and  of  opening  to  herself 
a  way  to  succeed  him  in  that  high  dignity.  Her  bro- 
thers entered  warmly  into  this  scheme,  and  supported 
it,  with  all  their  credit,  at  the  court  of  France.  The 
French  king  willingly  concurred  in  a  measure,  by  which 
he  hoped  to  bring  Scotland  entirely  under  manage- 
ment, and,  in  any  future  broil  with  England,  to  turn  its 
whole  force  against  that  kingdom. 


110  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  ir. 

In  order  to  arrive  at  the  desired  elevation,  the  queen 
dowager  had  only  one  of  two  ways  to  choose ;  either 
violently  to  wrest  the  power  out  of  the  hands  of  the 
regent,  or  to  obtain  it  by  his  consent.  Under  a  mino- 
rity, and  among  a  warlike  and  factious  people,  the  for- 
mer was  a  very  uncertain  and  dangerous  experiment. 
The  latter  appeared  to  be  no  less  impracticable.  To 
persuade  a  man  voluntarily  to  abdicate  the  supreme 
power;  to  descend  to  a  level  with  those,  above  whom 
he  was  raised ;  and  to  be  content  with  the  second  place, 
where  he  hath  held  the  first,  may  well  pass  for  a  wild 
and  chimerical  project.  This,  however,  the  queen  at- 
tempted ;  and  the  prudence  of  the  attempt  was  suffi- 
ciently justified  by  its  success. 

The  regent's  inconstancy  and  irresolution,  together 
with  the  calamities  which  had  befallen  the  kingdom, 
under  his  administration,  raised  the  prejudices  both  of 
the  nobles  and  of  the  people  against  him,  to  a  great 
height;  and  the  queen  secretly  fomented  these  with 
much  industry.  All  who  wished  for  a  change  met  with 
a  gracious  reception  in  her  court,  and  their  spirit  of 
disaffection  was  nourished  by  such  hopes  and  promises, 
as  in  every  age  impose  on  the  credulity  of  the  factious. 
Courts  the  The  favourers  of  the  reformation  being  the  most  nu- 
reformers.  merous  an(l  spreading  body  of  the  regent's  enemies, 
she  applied  to  them  with  a  particular  attention ;  and 
the  gentleness  of  her  disposition,  and  seeming  indiffer- 
ence to  the  religious  points  in  dispute,  made  all  her 
promises  of  protection  and  indulgence  pass  upon  them 
for  sincere.  Finding  so  great  a  part  of  the  nation  wil- 
Oct.  1550.  ling  to  fall  in  with  her  measures,  the  queen  set  out  for 
France,  under  pretence  of  visiting  her  daughter,  and 
took  along  with  her  those  noblemen  who  possessed  the 
greatest  power  and  credit  among  their  countrymen. 
Softened  by  the  pleasures  of  an  elegant  court,  flattered 
by  the  civilities  of  the  French  king,  and  the  caresses  of 
the  house  of  Guise,  and  influenced  by  the  seasonable 
distribution  of  a  few  favours,  and  the  liberal  promise  of 


BOOK  ii.  OF  SCOTLAND.  Ill 

many  more,  they  were  brought  to  approve  of  all  the 
queen's  pretensions. 

While  she  advanced,  by  these  slow,  but  sure,  steps, 
the  regent  either  did  not  foresee  the  danger  which 
threatened  him,  or  neglected  to  provide  against  it. 
The  first  discovery  of  the  train  which  was  laid,  came 
from  two  of  his  own  confidents,  Carnegie  of  Kinnaird, 
and  Panter,  bishop  of  Ross,  whom  the  queen  had  gained 
over  to  her  interest,  and  then  employed,  as  the  most 
proper  instruments  for  obtaining  his  consent.  The 
overture  was  made  to  him,  in  the  name  of  the  French 
king,  enforced  by  proper  threatenings,  in  order  to  work 
upon  his  natural  timidity,  and  sweetened  by  every  pro- 
mise that  could  reconcile  him  to  a  proposal  so  dis- 
agreeable. On  the  one  hand,  the  confirmation  of  his 
French  title,  together  with  a  considerable  pension,  the 
parliamentary  acknowledgment  of  his  right  of  succes- 
sion to  the  crown,  and  a  public  ratification  of  his  con- 
duct, during  his  regency,  were  offered  him.  On  the 
other,  hand,  the  displeasure  of  the  French  king,  the 
power  and  popularity  of  the  queen  dowager,  the  dis- 
affection of  the  nobles,  with  the  danger  of  an  after- 
reckoning,  were  represented  in  the  strongest  colours. 

It  was  not  possible  to  agree  to  a  proposal  so  extra- 
ordinary and  unexpected,  without  some  previous  strug- 
gle; and,  had  the  archbishop  of  St.  Andrew's  been 
present  to  fortify  the  irresolute  and  passive  spirit  of  the 
regent,  he,  in  all  probability,  would  have  rejected  it 
with  disdain.  Happily  for  the  queen,  the  sagacity  and 
ambition  of  that  prelate  could,  at  this  time,  be  no  ob- 
struction to  her  views.  He  was  lying  at  the  point  of 
death,  and,  in  his  absence,  the  influence  of  the  queen's 
agents  on  a  flexible  temper,  counterbalanced  several  of 
the  strongest  passions  of  the  human  mind,  and  obtained 
his  consent  to  a  voluntary  surrender  of  the  supreme 
power. 

After  gaining  a  point  of  such  difficulty,  with  so  much  Dec.  1551. 
ease,  the  queen  returned  into  Scotland,  in  full  expect- 


112  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  n. 

ation  of  taking  immediate  possession  of  her  new  dignity. 
But,  by  this  time,  the  archbishop  of  St.  Andrew's  had 
recovered  of  that  distemper,  which  the  ignorance  of  the 
Scottish  physicians  had  pronounced  to  be  incurable. 
This  he  owed  to  the  assistance  of  the  famous  Cardan, 
one  of  those  irregular  adventurers  in  philosophy,  of 
whom  Italy  produced  so  many,  about  this  period.  A 
bold  genius  led  him  to  some  useful  discoveries,  which 
merit  the  esteem  of  a  more  discerning  age;  a  wild 
imagination  engaged  him  in  those  chimerical  sciences, 
which  drew  the  admiration  of  his  contemporaries.  As 
a  pretender  to  astrology  and  magic,  he  was  revered 
and  consulted  by  all  Europe ;  as  a  proficient  in  natural 
philosophy,  he  was  but  little  known.  The  archbishop, 
it  is  probable,  considered  him  as  a  powerful  magician, 
when  he  applied  to  him  for  relief;  but  it  was  his  know- 
ledge as  a  philosopher,  which  enabled  him  to  cure  his 
disease  *. 

Together  with  his  health,  the  archbishop  recovered 
the  entire  government  of  the  regent,  and  quickly  per- 
suaded him  to  recall  that  dishonourable  promise,  which 
he  had  been  seduced  by  the  artifices  of  the  queen  to 
grant.  However  great  her  surprise  and  indignation 
were,  at  this  fresh  instance  of  his  inconstancy,  she  was 
obliged  to  dissemble,  that  she  might  have  leisure  to  re- 
new her  intrigues  with  all  parties ;  with  the  protestants, 
whom  she  favoured  and  courted  more  than  ever ;  with 
the  nobles,  to  whom  she  rendered  herself  agreeable  by 
various  arts ;  and  with  the  regent  himself,  in  order  to 
gain  whom,  she  employed  every  argument.  But,  what- 
ever impressions  her  emissaries  might  have  made  on 
the  regent,  it  was  no  easy  matter  to  overreach  or  to 

*  Cardan  himself  was  more  desirous  of  being  considered  as  an  astrologer 
than  a  philosopher ;  in  his  book,  De  Genituris,  we  find  a  calculation  of  the 
archbishop's  nativity,  from  which  he  pretends  both  to  have  predicted  his 
disease,  and  to  have  effected  his  cure.  He  received  from  the  archbishop  a 
reward  of  eighteen  hundred  crowns,  a  great  sum  in  that  age.  De  Vita  sua, 
p.  32. 


BOOK  ii.  OF  SCOTLAND.  IIS 

intimidate   the   archbishop.     Under  his   management, 
the  negotiations  were  spun  out  to  a  great  length,  and 
his  brother  maintained  his  station  with  that  address 
and   firmness,  which  its  importance  so  well  merited. 
The  universal  defection  of  the  nobility,  the  growing 
power  of  the  protestants,  who  all  adhered  to  the  queen 
dowager,  the  reiterated  solicitations  of  the  French  king, 
and,  above  all,  the  interposition  of  the  young  queen, 
Mrho  was  now  entering  the  twelfth  year  of  her  age,  and 
claimed  a  right  of  nominating  whom  she  pleased  to  be 
regent",  obliged  him,  at  last,  to  resign  that  high  office,  Prevails  on 
which  he  had  held  many  years.   He  obtained,  however,  to^^n"1 
the  same  advantageous  terms  for  himself,  which  had  his  office, 
been  formerly  stipulated. 

It  was  in  the  parliament  which  met  on  the  tenth  of  She  obtains 
April,  one  thousand  five  hundred  and  fifty-four,  thattheregency' 
the  earl  of  Arran  executed  this  extraordinary  resigna- 
tion ;  and,  at  the  same  time,  Mary  of  Guise  was  raised 
to  that  dignity,  which  had  been  so  long  the  object  of 
her  wishes.     Thus,  with  their  own  approbation,  a  wo- 
man and  a  stranger  was  advanced  to  the  supreme  au- 
thority over  a  fierce  and  turbulent  people,  who  seldom 
submitted,  without  reluctance,  to  the  legal  and  ancient 
government  of  their  native  monarchs. 

While  the  queen  dowager  of  Scotland  contributed  Reforma- 
so  much  towards  the  progress  of  the  reformation,  by  J-nuesTo 
the  protection  which  she  afforded  it,  from  motives  of  make  great 
ambition,  the  English  queen,  by  her  indiscreet  zeal, pr 
filled  the  kingdom  with  persons  active  in  promoting  the 
same  cause.     Mary  ascended  the  throne  of  England  July  6, 
on  the  death  of  her  brother,  Edward,  and  soon  after 1553> 
married  Philip  the  second  of  Spain.     To  the  perse- 
cuting spirit  of  the  Romish  superstition,  and  the  fierce- 
ness of  that  age,  she  added  the  private  resentment  of 
her  own  and  of  her  mother's  sufferings,  with  which  she 
loaded  the  reformed  religion ;  and  the  peevishness  and 

u  Lesley,  de  Reb.  Gest.  Scot.  ap.  Jebb.  i.-187. 
VOL.  I.  I 


114  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  11. 

severity  of  her  natural  temper  carried  the  acrimony  of 
all  these  passions  to  the  utmost  extreme.  The  cruelty 
of  her  persecution  equalled  the  deeds  of  those  tyrants 
who  have  been  the  greatest  reproach  to  human  nature. 
The  bigotry  of  her  clergy  could  scarce  keep  pace  with 
the  impetuosity  of  her  zeal.  Even  the  unrelenting 
Philip  was  obliged,  on  some  occasions,  to  mitigate  the 
rigour  of  her  proceedings.  Many  among  the  most  emi- 
nent reformers  suffered  for  the  doctrines  which  they 
had  taught ;  others  fled  from  the  storm.  To  the  greater 
part  of  these,  Switzerland  and  Germany  opened  a  se- 
cure asylum ;  and  not  a  few,  out  of  choice  or  necessity, 
fled  into  Scotland.  What  they  had  seen  and  felt  in 
England,  did  not  abate  the  warmth  and  zeal  of  their 
indignation  against  popery.  Their  attacks  were  bolder 
and  more  successful  than  ever;  and  their  doctrines 
made  a  rapid  progress  among  all  ranks  of  men. 

These  doctrines,  calculated  to  rectify  the  opinions, 
and  to  reform  the  manners  of  mankind,  had  hitherto 
produced  no  other  effects ;  but  they  soon  began  to 
operate  with  greater  violence,  and  proved  the  occasion, 
not  only  of  subverting  the  established  religion,  but  of 
A  view  of  shaking  the  throne  and  endangering  the  kingdom.  The 

the  political  causes  whieh  facilitated  the  introduction  of  these  new 

causes 

which  con-  opinions  into  Scotland,  and  which  disseminated  them 

warcUthat"  so  ^ast  through  the  nation,  merit,  on  that  account,  a 
particular  and  careful  inquiry.  The  reformation  is  one 
of  the  greatest  events  in  the  history  of  mankind,  and, 
in  whatever  point  of  light  we  view  it,  is  instructive  and 
interesting. 

The  revival  of  learning  in  the  fifteenth  and  sixteenth 
centuries  roused  the  world  from  that  lethargy,  in  which 
it  had  been  sunk  for  many  ages.  The  human  mind  felt 
its  own  strength,  broke  the  fetters  of  authority,  by 
which  it  had  been  so  long  restrained,  and,  venturing  to 
move  in  a  larger  sphere,  pushed  its  inquiries  into  every 
subject,  with  great  boldness  and  surprising  success. 

No  sooner  did  mankind  recover  the  capacity  of  exer- 


BOOK  ii.  OF  SCOTLAND.  115 

cising  their  reason,  than  religion  was  one  of  the  first 
objects  which  drew  their  attention.  Long  before  Lu- 
ther published  his  famous  Theses,  which  shook  the 
papal  throne,  science  and  philosophy  had  laid  open,  to 
many  of  the  Italians,  the  imposture  and  absurdity  of 
the  established  superstition.  That  subtile  and  refined 
people,  satisfied  with  enjoying  those  discoveries  in  se- 
cret, were  little  disposed  to  assume  the  dangerous  cha- 
racter of  reformers,  and  concluded  the  knowledge  of 
truth  to  be  the  prerogative  of  the  wise,  while  vulgar 
minds  must  be  overawed  and  governed  by  popular  er- 
rours.  But,  animated  with  a  more  noble  and  disinter- 
ested ze'al,  the  German  theologian  boldly  erected  the 
standard  of  truth,  and  upheld  it  with  an  unconquerable 
intrepidity,  which  merits  the  admiration  and  gratitude 
of  all  succeeding  ages. 

The  occasion  of  Luther's  being  first  disgusted  with 
the  tenets  of  the  Romish  church,  and  how,  from  a  small 
rupture,  the  quarrel  widened  into  an  irreparable  breach, 
is  known  to  every  one  who  has  been  the  least  conver- 
sant in  history.  From  the  heart  of  Germany  his  opi- 
nions spread,  with  astonishing  rapidity,  all  over  Europe ; 
and,  wherever  they  came,  endangered  or  overturned  the 
ancient,  but  ill-founded  system.  The  vigilance  and  ad- 
dress of  the  court  of  Rome,  cooperating  with  the  power 
and  bigotry  of  the  Austrian  family,  suppressed  these 
notions,  on  their  first  appearance,  in  tlje  southern  king- 
doms of  Europe.  But  the  fierce  spirit  of  the  north, 
irritated  by  multiplied  impositions,  could  neither  be 
mollified  by  the  same  arts,  nor  subdued  by  the  same 
force;  and,  encouraged  by  some  princes  from  piety, 
and  by  others  out  of  avarice,  it  easily  bore  down  the 
feeble  opposition  of  an  illiterate  and  immoral  clergy. 

The  superstition  of  popery  seems  to  have  grown  to 
the  most  extravagant  height  in  those  countries  which 
are  situated  towards  the  different  extremities  of  Europe. 
The  vigour  of  imagination,  and  sensibility  of  frame,  pe- 
culiar to  the  inhabitants  of  southern  climates,  rendered 


116  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  n. 

them  susceptible  of  the  deepest  impressions  of  supersti- 
tious terrour  and  credulity.  Ignorance  and  barbarity 
were  no  less  favourable  to  the  progress  of  the  same 
spirit  among  the  northern  nations.  They  knew  little, 
and  were  disposed  to  believe  every  thing.  The  most 
glaring  absurdities  did  not  shock  their  gross  under- 
standings, and  the  most  improbable  fictions  were  re- 
ceived with  implicit  assent  and  admiration. 

Accordingly,  that  form  of  popery  which  prevailed  in 
Scotland  was  of  the  most  bigoted  and  illiberal  kind. 
Those  doctrines  which  are  most  apt  to  shock  the  human 
understanding,  and  those  legends  which  farthest  exceed 
belief,  were  proposed  to  the  people,  without  any  attempt 
to  palliate  or  disguise  them ;  nor  did  they  ever  call  in 
question  the  reasonableness  of  the  one,  or  the  truth  of 
the  other. 

The  power  and  wealth  of  the  church  kept  pace  with 
the  progress  of  superstition ;  for  it  is  the  nature  of  that 
spirit  to  observe  no  bounds  in  its  respect  and  liberality 
towards  those  whose  character  it  esteems  sacred.  The 
Scottish  kings  early  demonstrated  how  much  they  were 
under  its  influence,  by  their  vast  additions  to  the  immu- 
nities and  riches  of  the  clergy.  The  profuse  piety  of 
David  the  first,  who  acquired  on  that  account  the  name 
of  saint,  transferred  almost  the  whole  crown  lands, 
which  were,  at  that  time,  of  great  extent,  into  the  hands 
of  ecclesiastics.  The  example  of  that  virtuous  prince 
was  imitated  by  his  successors.  The  spirit  spread 
among  all  orders  of  men,  who  daily  loaded  the  priest- 
hood with  new  possessions.  The  riches  of  the  church 
all  over  Europe  were  exorbitant ;  but  Scotland  was  one 
of  those  countries,  wherein  they  had  farthest  exceeded 
the  just  proportion.  The  Scottish  clergy  paid  one  half 
of  every  tax  imposed  on  land ;  and,  as  there  is  no  rea- 
son to  think  that,  in  that  age,  they  would  be  loaded 
with  any  unequal  share  of  the  burthen,  we  may  conclude 
that,  by  the  time  of  the  reformation,  little  less  than  one 
half  of  the  national  property  had  fallen  into  the  hands 


BOOK  ii.  OF  SCOTLAND.  117 

of  a  society,  which  is  always  acquiring,  and  can  never 
lose. 

The  nature,  too,  of  a  considerable  part  of  their  pro- 
perty extended  the  influence  of  the  clergy.  Many  es- 
tates, throughout  the  kingdom,  held  of  the  church ; 
church  lands  were  let  in  lease  at  an  easy  rent,  and  were 
possessed  by  the  younger  sons  and  descendants  of  the 
best  families  *.  The  connexion  between  superior  and 
vassal,  between  landlord  and  tenant,  created  dependen- 
cies, and  gave  rise  to  an  union  of  great  advantage  to  the 
church ;  and,  in  estimating  the  influence  of  the  popish 
ecclesiastics  over  the  nation,  these,  as  well  as  the  real 
amount  of  their  revenues,  must  be  attended  to,  and 
taken  into  the  account. 

This  extraordinary  share  in  the  national  property 
was  accompanied  with  proportionable  weight  in  the 
supreme  council  of  the  kingdom.  At  a  time  when  the 
number  of  the  temporal  peers  was  extremely  small,  and 
when  the  lesser  barons  and  representatives  of  boroughs 
seldom  attended  parliaments,  the  ecclesiastics  formed  a 
considerable  body  there.  It  appears  from  the  ancient 
rolls  of  parliament,  and  from  the  manner  of  choosing 
the  lords  of  articles,  that  the  proceedings  of  that  high 
court  must  have  been,  in  a  great  measure,  under  their 
direction  y. 

The  reverence  due  to  their  sacred  character,  which 
was  often  carried  incredibly  far,  contributed  not  a  little 
towards  the  growth  of  their  power.  The  dignity,  the 
titles,  and  precedence  of  the  popish  clergy,  are  remark- 
able, both  as  causes  and  effects  of  that  dominion  which 
they  had  acquired  over  the  rest  of  mankind.  They 
were  regarded  by  the  credulous  laity,  as  beings  of  a 
superior  species ;  they  were  neither  subject  to  the  same 
laws,  nor  tried  by  the  same  judges2.  Every  guard,  that 

*  Keith,  521.     Note  (b). 
y  Spots.  Hist,  of  the  Church  of  Scotland,  449. 

z  How  far  this  claim  of  the  clergy  to  exemption  from  lay  jurisdiction  ex- 
tended, appears  from  a  remarkable  transaction  in  the  parliament  held  in 


118  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  n. 

religion  could  supply,  was  placed  around  their  power, 
their  possessions,  and  their  persons ;  and  endeavours 
were  used,  not  without  success,  to  represent  them  all 
as  equally  sacred. 

The  reputation  for  learning,  which,  however  incon- 
siderable, was  wholly  engrossed  by  the  clergy,  added  to 
the  reverence  which  they  derived  from  religion.  The 
principles  of  sound  philosophy,  and  of  a  just  taste,  were 
altogether  unknown ;  in  place  of  these  were  substituted 
studies  barbarous  and  uninstructive ;  but  as  the  eccle- 
siastics alone  were  conversant  in  them,  this  procured 
them  esteem  ;  and  a  very  slender  portion  of  knowledge 
drew  the  admiration  of  rude  ages,  which  knew  little. 
War  was  the  sole  profession  of  the  nobles,  and  hunting 
their  chief  amusement ;  they  divided  their  time  between 
these  :  unacquainted  with  the  arts,  and  unimproved  by 
science,  they  disdained  any  employment  foreign  from 
military  affairs,  or  which  required  rather  penetration 
and  address,  than  bodily  vigour.  Wherever  the  former 
were  necessary,  the  clergy  were  intrusted;  because  they 
alone  were  properly  qualified  for  the  trust.  Almost  all 
the  high  offices  in  civil  government  devolved,  on  this 
account,  into  their  hands.  The  lord  chancellor  was  the 
first  subject  in  the  kingdom,  both  in  dignity  and  in 
power.  From  the  earliest  ages  of  the  monarchy,  to  the 
death  of  cardinal  Beatoun,  fifty-four  persons  had  held 
that  high  office;  and  of  these,  forty-three  had  been 
ecclesiastics a.  The  lords  of  session  were  supreme 
judges  in  all  matters  of  civil  right ;  and,  by  its  original 
constitution,  the  president  and  one  half  of  the  senators 
in  this  court  were  churchmen. 

1546.  When  that  court  was  proceeding  to  the  forfeiture  of  the  murderers 
of  cardinal  Beatoun,  and  were  about  to  include  a  priest,  who  was  one  of 
the  assassins,  in  the  general  sentence  of  condemnation :  odious  as  the  crime 
was  to  ecclesiastics,  a  delegate  appeared  in  name  of  the  clerical  courts,  and 
'  repledged'  or  claimed  exemption  of  him  from  the  judgment  of  parliament, '  as 
a  spiritual  man.'  This  claim  was  sustained ;  and  his  name  is  not  inserted  in 
the  act  of  forfeiture.  Epist.  Reg.  Scot.  ii.  350.  361. 
*  Crawf.  Offic,  of  State. 


BOOK  ii.  OF  SCOTLAND.  119 

To  all  this  we  may  add,  that  the  clergy  being  sepa- 
rated from  the  rest  of  mankind  by  the  law  of  celibacy, 
and  undistracted  by  those  cares,  and  unincumbered  with 
those  burthens,  which  occupy  and  oppress  other  men, 
the  interest  of  their  order  became  their  only  object,  and 
they  were  at  full  leisure  to  pursue  it. 

The  nature  of  their  function  gave  them  access  to  all 
persons,  and  at  all  seasons.  They  could  employ  all  the 
motives  of  fear  and  of  hope,  of  terrour  and  of  consolation, 
which  operate  most  powerfully  on  the  human  mind. 
They  haunted  the  weak  and  the  credulous;  they  be- 
sieged the  beds  of  the  sick  and  of  the  dying ;  they  suf- 
fered few  to  go  out  of  the  world,  without  leaving  marks 
of  their  liberality  to  the  church,  and  taught  them  to 
compound  with  the  Almighty  for  their  sins,  by  bestowing 
riches  upon  those  who  called  themselves  his  servants. 

When  their  own  industry,  or  the  superstition  of  man- 
kind, failed  of  producing  this  effect,  the  ecclesiastics 
had  influence  enough  to  call  in  the  aid  of  law.  When 
a  person  died  '  intestate,'  the  disposal  of  his  effects  was 
vested  in  the  bishop  of  the  diocese,  after  paying  his 
funeral  charges  and  debts,  and  distributing  among  his 
kindred  the  sums  to  which  they  were  respectively  en- 
titled ;  it  being  presumed  that  no  Christian  would  have 
chosen  to  leave  the  world,  without  destining  some  part 
of  hj,s  substance  to  pious  uses b.  As  men  are  apt  to 
trust  to  the  continuance  of  life  with  a  fond  confidence, 
and  childishly  shun  every  thing  that  forces  them  to 
think  of  their  mortality,  many  die  without  settling  their 
affairs  by  will ;  and  the  right  of  administration,  in  that 
event,  acquired  by  the  clergy,  must  have  proved  a  con- 
siderable source  both  of  wealth  and  of  power  to  the 
church. 

At  the  same  time,  no  matrimonial  or  testamentary 
cause  could  be  tried  but  in  the  spiritual  courts,  and  by 
laws  which  the  clergy  themselves  had  framed.  The 

b  Essays  on  Brit.  Antiq.  174.  Annals  of  Scotland,  by  sir  David  Dal- 
rymple,  vol.  i.  Append.  No.  ii. 


120  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  n. 

penalty,  too,  by  which  the  decisions  of  these  courts 
were  enforced,  added  to  their  authority.  A  sentence 
of  excommunication  was  no  less  formidable  than  a  sen- 
tence of  outlawry.  It  was  pronounced  on  many  occa- 
sions, and  against  various  crimes ;  and,  besides  exclud- 
ing those,  upon  whom  it  fell,  from  Christian  privileges, 
it  deprived  them  of  all  their  rights,  as  men,  or  as  citi- 
zens ;  and  the  aid  of  the  secular  power  concurred  with 
the  superstition  of  mankind,  in  rendering  the  thunders 
of  the  church  no  less  destructive  than  terrible. 

To  these  general  causes  may  be  attributed  the  im- 
mense growth  both  of  the  wealth  and  power  of  the 
popish  church ;  and,  without  entering  into  any  more 
minute  detail,  this  may  serve  to  discover  the  foundations 
on  which  a  structure  so  stupendous  was  erected. 

But  though  the  laity  had  contributed,  by  their  own 
superstition  and  profuseness,  to  raise  the  clergy  from 
poverty  and  obscurity  to  riches  and  eminence,  they 
began,  by  degrees,  to  feel  and  to  murmur  at  their  en- 
croachments. No  wonder  haughty  and  martial  barons 
should  view  the  power  and  possessions  of  the  church 
with  envy ;  and  regard  the  lazy  and  inactive  character 
of  churchmen  with  the  utmost  contempt ;  while,  at  the 
same  time,  the  indecent  and  licentious  lives  of  the  clergy 
gave  great  and  just  offence  to  the  people,  and  consider- 
ably abated  the  veneration  which  they  were  accustomed 
to  yield  to  that  order  of  men. 

Immense  wealth,  extreme  indolence,  gross  ignorance, 
and,  above  all,  the  severe  injunction  of  celibacy,  had 
concurred  to  introduce  this  corruption  of  morals  among 
many  of  the  clergy,  who,  presuming  too  much  upon  the 
submission  of  the  people,  were  at  no  pains  either  to 
conceal  or  to  disguise  their  own  vices.  According  to 
the  accounts  of  the  reformers,  confirmed  by  several 
popish  writers,  the  most  open  and  scandalous  dissolute- 
ness of  manners  prevailed  among  the  Scottish  clergy0. 

e  Winzet.  ap.  Keith,  Append.  202.  205.     Lesley  de  Reb.  Gest.  Scot.  232. 


BOOK  ii.  OF  SCOTLAND.  121 

Cardinal  Beatoun,  with  the  same  public  pomp  which  is 
due  to  a  legitimate  child,  celebrated  the  marriage  of 
his  natural  daughter  with  the  earl  of  Crawfurd's  sond; 
and,  if  we  may  believe  Knox,  he  publicly  continued  to 
the  end  of  his  days  a  criminal  correspondence  with  her 
mother,  who  was  a  woman  of  rank.  The  other  prelates 
seem  not  to  have  been  more  regular  and  exemplary 
than  their  primate6. 

Men  of  such  characters  ought,  in  reason,  to  have 
been  alarmed  at  the  first  clamours  raised  against  their 
own  morals,  and  the  doctrines  of  the  church,  by  the 
protestant  preachers ;  but  the  popish  ecclesiastics,  ei- 
ther out  of  pride  or  ignorance,  neglected  the  proper 
methods  for  silencing  them.  Instead  of  reforming  their 
lives,  or  disguising  their  vices,  they  affected  to  despise 
the  censures  of  the  people.  While  the  reformers,  by 
their  mortifications  and  austerities,  endeavoured  to  re- 
semble the  first  propagators  of  Christianity,  the  popish 
clergy  were  compared  to  all  those  persons  who  are  most 
infamous  in  history,  for  the  enormity  and  scandal  of 
their  crimes. 

On  the  other  hand,  instead  of  mitigating  the  rigour, 
or  colouring  over  the  absurdity,  of  the  established  doc- 
trines ;  instead  of  attempting  to  found  them  upon  scrip- 
ture, or  to  reconcile  them  to  reason ;  they  left  them, 
without  any  other  support  or  recommendation,  than  the 
authority  of  the  church,  and  the  decrees  of  councils. 

d  The  marriage  articles,  subscribed  with  his  own  hand,  in  which  he  calls 
her  '  my  daughter,'  are  still  extant.  Keith,  p.  42. 

e  A  remarkable  proof  of  the  dissolute  manners  of  the  clergy  is  found  in 
the  public  records.  A  greater  number  of  letters  of '  legitimation'  was  granted 
during  the  first  thirty  years  after  the  reformation,  than  during  the  whole 
period  that  has  elapsed  since  that  time.  These  were  obtained  by  the  sons 
of  the  popish  clergy.  The  ecclesiastics,  who  were  allowed  to  retain  their 
benefices,  alienated  them  to  their  children;  who,  when  they  acquired 
wealth,  were  desirous  that  the  stain  of  illegitimacy  might  no  longer  remain 
upon  their  families.  In  Keith's  catalogue  of  the  Scottish  bishops,  we  find 
several  instances  of  such  alienations  of  church  lands,  by  the  popish  incum- 
bents to  their  natural  children. 


THE  HISTORY  BOOK  11. 

The  fables  concerning  purgatory,  the  virtues  of  pilgrim- 
age, and  the  merits  of  the  saints,  were  the  topics  on 
which  they  insisted,  in  their  discourses  to  the  people ; 
and  the  duty  of  preaching  being  left  wholly  to  monks 
of  the  lowest  and  most  illiterate  orders,  their  composi- 
tions were  still  more  wretched  and  contemptible,  than 
the  subjects  on  which  they  insisted.  While  the  re- 
formers were  attended  by  crowded  and  admiring  audi- 
ences, the  popish  preachers  were  either  universally 
deserted,  or  listened  to  with  scorn. 

The  only  device,  which  they  employed,  in  order  to 
recover  their  declining  reputation,  or  to  confirm  the 
wavering  faith  of  the  people,  was  equally  imprudent 
and  unsuccessful.  As  many  doctrines  of  their  church 
had  derived  their  credit,  at  first,  from  the  authority  of 
false  miracles,  they  now  endeavoured  to  call  in  these  to 
their  aidf.  But  such  lying  wonders,  as  were  beheld 
with  unsuspicious  admiration,  or  heard  with  implicit 
faith,  in  times  of  darkness  and  of  ignorance,  met  with 
a  very  different  reception  in  a  more  enlightened  period. 
The  vigilance  of  the  reformers  detected  these  impos- 
tures, and  exposed  not  only  them,  but  the  cause  which 
needed  the  aid  of  such  artifices,  to  ridicule. 

As  the  popish  ecclesiastics  became  more  and  more 
the  objects  of  hatred  and  of  contempt,  the  discourses 
of  the  reformers  were  listened  to  as  so  many  calls  to 
liberty ;  and,  besides  the  pious  indignation  which  they 
excited  against  those  corrupt  doctrines  which  had  per- 
verted the  nature  of  true  Christianity ;  besides  the  zeal 
which  they  inspired  for  the  knowledge  of  truth  and  the 
purity  of  religion ;  they  gave  rise  also,  among  the  Scot- 
tish nobles,  to  other  views  and  passions.  They  hoped 
to  shake  off  the  yoke  of  ecclesiastical  dominion,  which 
they  had  long  felt  to  be  oppressive,  and  which  they 
now  discovered  to  be  unchristian.  They  expected  to 
recover  possession  of  the  church  revenues,  which  they 

{  Spotswood,  69. 


BOOK  ii.  OF  SCOTLAND.  123 

were  now  taught  to  consider  .as  alienations  made  by 
their  ancestors,  with  a  profusion  no  less  undiscerning 
than  unbounded.  They  flattered  themselves,  that  a 
check  would  be  given  to  the  pride  and  luxury  of  the 
clergy,  who  would  be  obliged,  henceforward,  to  confine 
themselves  within  the  sphere  peculiar  to  their  sacred 
character.  An  aversion  from  the  established  church, 
which  flowed  from  so  many  concurring  causes,  which 
was  raised  by  considerations  of  religion,  heightened  by 
motives  of  policy,  and  instigated  by  prospects  of  private 
advantage,  spread  fast  through  the  nation,  and  excited 
a  spirit,  that  burst  out,  at  last,  with  irresistible  violence. 

Religious  considerations  alone  were  sufficient  to  have 
roused  this  spirit.  The  points  in  controversy  with  the 
church  of  Rome  were  of  so  much  importance  to  the 
happiness  of  mankind,  and  so  essential  to  Christianity, 
that  they  merited  all  the  zeal  with  which  the  reformers 
contended  in  order  to  establish  them.  But  the  refor- 
mation having  been  represented,  as  the  effect  of  some 
wild  and  enthusiastic  phrensy  in  the  human  mind,  this 
attempt  to  account  for  the  eagerness  and  zeal,  with 
which  our  ancestors  embraced,  and  propagated  the 
protestant  doctrines,  by  taking  a  view  of  the  political 
motives  alone  which  influenced  them,  and  by  showing 
how  naturally  these  prompted  them  to  act  with  so  much 
ardour,  will  not,  perhaps,  be  deemed  an  unnecessary 
digression.  We  now  return  to  the  course  of  the  history. 

The  queen's  elevation  to  the  office  of  regent  seems  to      1554. 
have  transported  her,  at  first,  beyond  the  known  pru- 
dence and  moderation  of  her  character.     She  began  The  queen 
her  administration  by  conferring  upon  foreigners  se-  "•^'her^d 
veral  offices  of  trust  and  of  dignity ;  a  step  which,  both  ministration 
from  the  inability  of  strangers  to  discharge  these  offices  unp0puUr 
with  propriety,  and  from  the  envy  which  their  prefer-  measures. 
ment  excites  among  the  natives,  is  never  attended  with 
good  consequences.     Vilmort  was  made  comptroller, 
and  intrusted  with  the  management  of  the  public  re- 
venues ;   Bonot  was  appointed   governor   of  Orkney ; 


124  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  n. 

1554.  and  Rubay  honoured  with  the  custody  of  the  great 
~~  seal,  and  the  title  of  vicechancellor g.  It  was  with  the 
highest  indignation,  that  the  Scots  beheld  offices  of 
the  greatest  eminence  and  authority  dealt  out  among 
strangers'1.  By  these  promotions  they  conceived  the 
queen  to  have  offered  an  insult  both  to  their  under- 
standings and  to  their  courage ;  to  the  former,  by  sup- 
posing them  unfit  for  those  stations,  which  their  ances- 
tors had  filled  with  so  much  dignity ;  to  the  latter,  by 
imagining  that  they  were  tame  enough  not  to  complain 
of  an  affront,  which,  in  no  former  age,  would  have  been 
tolerated  with  impunity. 

While  their  minds  were  in  this  disposition,  an  in- 
cident happened  which  inflamed  their  aversion  from 
French  councils  to  the  highest  degree.  Ever  since  the 
famous  contest  between  the  houses  of  Valois  and  Plan- 
tagenet,  the  French  had  been  accustomed  to  embarrass 
the  English,  and  to  divide  their  strength  by  the  sud- 
den and  formidable  incursions  of  their  allies,  the  Scots. 
But,  as  these  inroads  were  seldom  attended  with  any 
real  advantage  to  Scotland,  and  exposed  it  to  the  dan- 
gerous resentment  of  a  powerful  neighbour,  the  Scots 
began  to  grow  less  tractable  than  formerly,  and  scrupled 
any  longer  to  serve  an  ambitious  ally,  at  the  price  of 
their  own  quiet  and  security.  The  change,  too,  which 
was  daily  introducing  in  the  art  of  war,  rendered  the 
.  assistance  of  the  Scottish  forces  of  less  importance  to 
the  French  monarch.  For  these  reasons,  Henry  having 
resolved  upon  a  war  with  Philip  the  second,  and  fore- 
seeing that  the  queen  of  England  would  take  part  in 
her  husband's  quarrel,  was  extremely  solicitous  to  se- 
cure in  Scotland  the  assistance  of  some  troops,  which 
would  be  more  at  his  command  than  an  undisciplined 
army,  led  by  chieftains  who  were  almost  independent. 

s  Lesley,  de  Reb.  Gest.  Scot.  189. 

h  The  resentment  of  the  nation  against  the  French  rose  to  such  an  height, 
that  an  act  of  parliament  was  passed  on  purpose  to  restrain  or  moderate  it. 
Parl.  6.  Q.  Mary,  c.  60. 


BOOK  ii.  OF  SCOTLAND.  12.5 

In  prosecution  of  this  design,  but  under  pretence  of  1554. 
relieving  the  nobles  from  the  expense  and  danger  of~ 
defending  the  borders,  the  queen  regent  proposed,  in  1555. 
parliament,  to  register  the  value  of  lands  throughout 
the  kingdom,  to  impose  on  them  a  small  tax,  and  to 
apply  that  revenue  towards  maintaining  a  body  of  re- 
gular troops  in  constant  pay.  A  fixed  tax  upon  land, 
which  the  growing  expense  of  government  hath  intro- 
duced into  almost  every  part  of  Europe,  was  unknown 
at  that  time,  and  seemed  altogether  inconsistent  with 
the  genius  of  feudal  policy.  Nothing  could  be  more 
shocking  to  a  generous  and  brave  nobility,  than  the 
intrusting  to  mercenary  hands  the  defence  of  those  ter- 
ritories which  had  been  acquired,  or  preserved,  by  the 
blood  of  their  ancestors.  They  received  this  proposal 
with  the*utmost  dissatisfaction.  About  three  hundred 
of  the  lesser  barons  repaired  in  a  body  to  the  queen 
regent,  and  represented  their  sense  of  the  intended 
innovation,  with  that  manly  and  determined  boldness 
which  is  natural  to  a  free  people  in  a  martial  age. 
Alarmed  at  a  remonstrance,  delivered  in  so  firm  a 
tone,  and  supported  by  such  formidable  numbers,  the 
queen  prudently  abandoned  a  scheme,  which  she  found 
to  be  universally  odious.  As  the  queen  herself  was 
known  perfectly  to  understand  the  circumstances  and 
temper  of  the  nation,  this  measure  was  imputed  wholly 
to  the  suggestions  of  her  foreign  counsellors ;  and  the 
Scots  were  ready  to  proceed  to  the  most  violent  ex- 
tremities against  them. 

The  French,  instead  of  extinguishing,  added  fuel  to  Attempts  to 
the  flame.    They  had  now  commenced  hostilities  against  ^nglom  in 
Spain ;  and  Philip  had  prevailed  on  the  queen  of  Eng-  a  war  with 
land  to  reinforce  his  army  with  a  considerable  body  of 
her  troops.    In  order  to  deprive  him  of  this  aid,  Henry 
had  recourse,  as  he  projected,  to  the  Scots;  and  at- 
tempted to  excite  them  to  invade  England.     But,  as 
Scotland  had  nothing  to  dread  from  a  princess  of  Mary's 
character,  who,  far  from  any  ambitious  scheme  of  dis- 


126  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  n. 

1555.  turbing  her  neighbours,  was  wholly  occupied  in  endea- 
~  vouring  to  reclaim  her  heretical  subjects ;  the  nobles, 

who  were  assembled  by  the  queen  regent  at  Newbattle, 
listened  to  the  solicitations  of  the  French  monarch  with 
extreme  coldness,  and  prudently  declined  engaging  the 
kingdom  in  an  enterprise  so  dangerous  and  unneces- 
sary. What  she  could  not  obtain  by  persuasion,  the 
queen  regent  brought  about  by  a  stratagem.  Notwith- 
standing the  peace  which  subsisted  between  the  two 
kingdoms,  she  commanded  her  French  soldiers  to  re- 
build a  small  fort  near  Berwick,  which  was  appointed, 
by  the  last  treaty,  to  be  razed.  The  garrison  of  Ber- 
wick sallied  out;  interrupted  the  work;  and  ravaged 
the  adjacent  country.  This  insult  roused  the  fiery 
spirit  of  the  Scots,  and  their  promptness  to  revenge 
the  least  appearance  of  national  injury  dissipated,  in 
a  moment,  the  wise  and  pacific  resolutions  which  they 
had  so  lately  formed.  War  was  determined,  and  or- 
ders instantly  given  for  raising  a  numerous  army.  But, 
before  their  forces  could  assemble,  the  ardour  of  their 
indignation  had  time  to  cool ;  and  the  English  having 
discovered  no  intention  to  push  the  war  with  vigour, 
the  nobles  resumed  their  pacific  system,  and  resolved 

1556.  to  stand  altogether  upon  the  defensive.    They  marched 
to  the  banks  of  the  Tweed,  they  prevented  the  incur- 
sions of  the  enemy ;  and  having  done  what  they  thought 
sufficient  for  the  safety  and  honour  of  their  country,  the 
queen  could  not  induce  them,  either  by  her  entreaties 
or  her  artifices,  to  advance  another  step. 

While  the  Scots  persisted  in  their  inactivity,  d'Oysel, 
the  commander  of  the  French  troops,  who  possessed 
entirely  the  confidence  of  the  queen  regent,  endeavour- 
ed, with  her  connivance,  to  engage  the  two  nations  in 
hostilities.  Contrary  to  the  orders  of  the  Scottish  ge- 
neral, he  marched  over  the  Tweed  with  his  own  sol- 
diers, and  invested  Werk  castle,  a  garrison  of  the  Eng- 
lish. The  Scots,  instead  of  seconding  his  attempt,  were 
enraged  at  his  presumption.  The  queen's  partiality 


BOOK  ii.  OF  SCOTLAND.  127 

towards  France  had  long  been  suspected;  but  it  was  1556. 
now  visible,  that  she  wantonly  sacrificed  the  peace  and  ~ 
safety  of  Scotland  to  the  interest  of  that  ambitious  and 
assuming  ally.  Under  the  feudal  governments,  it  was 
in  camps  that  subjects  were  accustomed  to  address  the 
boldest  remonstrances  to  their  sovereigns.  While  arms 
were  in  their  hands,  they  felt  their  own  strength ;  and, 
at  that  time,  all  their  representations  of  grievances  car- 
ried the  authority  of  commands.  On  this  occasion,  the 
resentment  of  the  nobles  broke  out  with  such  violence, 
that  the  queen,  perceiving  all  attempts  to  engage  them 
in  action  to  be  vain,  abruptly  dismissed  her  army,  and 
retired  with  the  utmost  shame  and  disgust ;  having  dis- 
covered the  impotence  of  her  own  authority,  without 
effecting  any  thing  which  could  be  of  advantage  to 
France £. 

It  is  observable,  that  this  first  instance  of  contempt 
for  the  regent's  authority  can,  in  no  degree,  be  imputed 
to  the  influence  of  the  new  opinions  in  religion.  As  the 
queen's  pretensions  to  the  regency  had  been  principally 
supported  by  those  who  favoured  the  reformation,  and 
as  she  still  needed  them  for  a  counterpoize  to  the  arch- 
bishop of  St.  Andrew's,  and  the  partizans  of  the  house 
of  Hamilton;  she  continued  to  treat  them  with  great 
respect,  and  admitted  them  to  no  inconsiderable  share 
in  her  favour  and  confidence.  Kirkaldy  of  Grange, 
and  the  other  surviving  conspirators  against  cardinal 
Beatoun,  were,  about  this  time,  recalled  by  her  from 
banishment;  and,  through  her  connivance,  the  pro- 
testant  preachers  enjoyed  an  interval  of  tranquillity, 
which  was  of  great  advantage  to  their  cause.  Soothed 
by  these  instances  of  the  queen's  moderation  and  hu- 
manity, the  protestants  left  to  others  the  office  of  re- 
monstrating; and  the  leaders  of  the  opposite  faction 
set  them  the  first  example  of  disputing  the  will  of  their 
sovereign. 

1  Strype's  Memor.  iii.  Append.  274.    Lesley,  196. 


128  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  n. 

1556.  As  the  queen  regent  felt  how  limited  and  precarious 
The  queen's  ^er  authority  was,  while  it  depended  on  the  poize  of 
marriage  these  contrary  factions,  she  endeavoured  to  establish  it 
dauphin.  on  a  broader  and  more  secure  foundation,  by  hastening 
the  conclusion  of  her  daughter's  marriage  with  the  dau- 
phin. Amiable  as  the  queen  of  Scots  then  was,  in  the 
bloom  of  youth,  and  considerable  as  the  territories  were, 
which  she  would  have  added  to  the  French  monarchy ; 
reasons  were  not  wanting  to  dissuade  Henry  from  com- 
pleting his  first  plan  of  marrying  her  to  his  son.  The 
constable  Montmorency  had  employed  all  his  interest 
to  defeat  an  alliance  which  reflected  so  much  lustre  on 
the  princes  of  Lorrain.  He  had  represented  the  im- 
possibility of  maintaining  order  and  tranquillity  among 
a  turbulent  people,  during  the  absence  of  their  sove- 
reign ;  and,  for  that  reason,  had  advised  Henry  to  be- 
stow the  young  queen  upon  one  of  the  princes  of  the 
blood,  who,  by  residing  in  Scotland,  might  preserve 
that  kingdom  an  useful  ally  to  France,  which,  by  a 
nearer  union  to  the  crown,  would  become  a  mutinous 
and  ungovernable  province k.  But,  at  this  time,  the 
constable  was  a  prisoner  in  the  hands  of  the  Spaniards ; 
the  princes  of  Lorrain  were  at  the  height  ef  their  power; 
and  their  influence,  seconded  by  the  charms  of  the  young 
queen,  triumphed  over  the  prudent,  but  envious,  re- 
monstrances of  their  rival. 

Pec.  14,  The  French  king,  accordingly,  applied  to  the  parlia- 
1557.  •  ment  of  Scotland,  which  appointed  eight  of  its  members ' 
to  represent  the  whole  body  of  the  nation,  at  the  mar- 
riage of  the  queen.  Among  the  persons  on  whom  the 
public  choice  conferred  this  honourable  character,  were 
some  of  the  most  avowed  and  zealous  advocates  for  the 
reformation ;  by  which  may  be  estimated  the  degree  of 
respect  and  popularity  which  that  party  had  now  attained 

k  Melv.  Mem.  15. 

1  Viz.  the  archbishop  of  Glasgow,  the  bishop  of  Ross,  the  bishop  of  Ork- 
ney, the  earls  of  Rothes  and  Cassils,  lord  Fleming,  lord  Seton,  the  prior  of 
St.  Andrew's,  and  John  Erskine  of  Dun. 


BOOK  ir.  OF  SCOTLAND.  129 

in  the  kingdom.  The  instructions  of  the  parliament  1557. 
to  those  commissioners  still  remain1",  and  do  honour  to 
the  wisdom  and  integrity  of  that  assembly.  At  the 
same  time  that  they  manifested,  with  respect  to  the 
articles  of  marriage,  a  laudable  concern  for  the  dignity 
and  interest  of  their  sovereign,  they  employed  every 
precaution  which  prudence  could  dictate,  for  preserv- 
ing the  liberty  and  independence  of  the  nation,  and  for 
securing  the  succession  of  the  crown  in  the  house  of 
Hamilton. 

With  regard  to  each  of  these,  the  Scots  obtained  Artifices  of 
whatever  satisfaction  their  fear  or  jealousy  could  de-  In^^ar- 
mand.  The  young  queen,  the  dauphin,  and  the  king  "age  treaty, 
of  France,  ratified  every  article  with  the  most  solemn 
oaths,  and  confirmed  them  by  deeds  in  form,  under 
their  hands  and  seals.  But  on  the  part  of  France,  all 
this  was  one  continued  scene  of  studied  and  elaborate 
deceit.  Previous  to  these  public  transactions  with  the 
Scottish  deputies,  Mary  had  been  persuaded  to  sub- 
scribe privately  three  deeds,  equally  unjust  and  invalid ; 
by  which,  failing  the  heirs  of  her  own  body,  she  con- 
ferred the  kingdom  of  Scotland,  with  whatever  inherit- 
ance or  succession  might  accrue  to  it,  in  free  gift  upon 
the  crown  of  France,  declaring  all  promises  to  the  con- 
trary, which  the  necessity  of  her  affairs,  and  the  solici- 
tations of  her  subjects,  had  extorted,  or  might  extort 
from  her,  to  be  void  and  of  no  obligation n.  As  it  gives 
us  a  proper  idea  of  the  character  of  the  French  court 
under  Henry  the  second,  we  may  observe,  that  the 
king  himself,  the  keeper  of  the  great  seals,  the  duke 
of  Guise,  and  the  cardinal  of  Lorrain,  were  the  persons 
engaged  in  conducting  this  perfidious  and  dishonour- 
able project.  The  queen  of  Scots  was  the  only  inno- 
cent actor  in  that  scene  of  iniquity.  Her  youth,  her 
inexperience,  her  education  in  a  foreign  country,  and 

m  Keith,  Append.  13. 
n  Corps  Diplomat,  torn.  v.  21.     Keith,  73. 
VOL.  I.  K 


130  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  n. 

1557.     her  deference  to  the  will  of  her  uncles,  must  go  far 
~~"~  towards   vindicating  her,   in  the  judgment    of  every 
impartial  person,  from  any  imputation  of  blame  on  that 
account. 

This  grant,  by  which  Mary  bestowed  the  inheritance 
of  her  kingdom  upon  strangers,  was  concealed  with  the 
utmost  care  from  her  subjects.  They  seem,  however, 
not  to  have  been  unacquainted  with  the  intention  of  the 
French  to  overturn  the  settlement  of  the  succession  in 
favour  of  the  duke  of  Chatelherault.  The  zeal  with 
which  the  archbishop  of  St.  Andrew's  opposed  all  the 
measures  of  the  queen  regent,  evidently  proceeded  from 
the  fears  and  suspicions  of  that  prudent  prelate  on  this 
head0. 

April  14,  The  marriage,  however,  was  celebrated  with  great 
1558.  pomp;  and  the  French,  who  had  hitherto  affected  to 
draw  a  veil  over  their  designs  upon  Scotland,  began 
now  to  unfold  their  intentions  without  any  disguise.  In 
the  treaty  of  marriage,  the  deputies  had  agreed  that 
the  dauphin  should  assume  the  name  of  king  of  Scot- 
land. This  they  considered  only  as  an  honorary  title ; 
but  the  French  laboured  to  annex  to  it  some  solid  pri- 
vileges and  power.  They  insisted,  that  the  dauphin's 
title  should  be  publicly  recognised ;  that  the  '  crown 
matrimonial '  should  be  conferred  upon  him ;  and  that 
all  the  rights  pertaining  to  the  husband  of  a  queen 
should  be  vested  in  his  person.  By  the  laws  of  Scot- 
land, a  person  who  married  an  heiress,  kept  possession 
of  her  estate  during  his  own  life,  if  he  happened  to  sur- 
vive her  and  the  children  born  of  the  marriage  p.  This 
was  called  the  '  courtesy  of  Scotland.'  The  French 
aimed  at  applying  this  rule,  which  takes  place  in  pri- 
vate inheritances,  to  the  succession  of  the  kingdom ; 

0  About  this  time  the  French  seem  to  have  had  some  design  of  reviving 
the  earl  of  Lennox's  pretensions  to  the  succession,  in  order  to  intimidate  and 
alarm  the  duke  of  Chatelherault.  Haynes,  215.  219.  Forbes's  Collect, 
vol.  i.  189. 

P  Reg.  Maj.  lib.ii.  58. 


BOOK  ii.  OF  SCOTLAND.  131 

and  that  seems  to  be  implied  in  their  demand  of  the 
crown  matrimonial,  a  phrase  peculiar  to  the  Scottish 
historians,  and  which  they  have  neglected  to  explain q. 
As  the  French  had  reason  to  expect  difficulties  in  car- 
rying through  this  measure,  they  began  with  sounding 
the  deputies,  who  were  then  at  Paris.  The  English, 
in  the  marriage-articles  between  their  queen  and  Philip 
of  Spain,  had  set  an  example  to  the  age  of  that  prudent 
jealousy  and  reserve,  with  which  a  foreigner  should  be 
admitted  so  near  the  throne.  Full  of  the  same  ideas, 
the  Scottish  deputies  had,  in  their  oath  of  allegiance 
to  the  dauphin,  expressed  themselves  with  remarkable 
caution r.  Their  answer  was  in  the  same  spirit,  respect- 
ful, but  firm ;  and  discovered  a  fixed  resolution  of  con- 
senting to  nothing  that  tended  to  introduce  any  alter- 
ation in  the  order  of  succession  to  the  crown. 

Four  of  the  deputies8  happening  to  die  before  they 
returned  into  Scotland,  this  accident  was  universally 
imputed  to  the  effects  of  poison,  which  was  supposed 
to  have  been  given  them  by  the  emissaries  of  the  house 
of  Guise.  The  historians  of  all  nations  discover  an 
amazing  credulity  with  respect  to  rumours  of  this  kind, 
which  are  so  well  calculated  to  please  the  malignity  of 
some  men,  and  to  gratify  the  love  of  the  marvellous 


">  As  far  as  I  can  judge,  the  husband  of  the  queen,  by  the  grant  of  the 
crown  matrimonial,  acquired  a  right  to  assume  the  title  of  king,  to  have  his 
name  stamped  upon  the  current  coin,  and  to  sign  all  public  instruments  to- 
gether with  the  queen.  In  consequence  of  this,  the  subjects  took  an  oath 
of  fidelity  to  him.  Keith,  Append.  20.  His  authority  became,  in  some 
measure,  coordinate  with  that  of  the  queen  ;  and  without  his  concurrence, 
manifested  by  signing  his  name,  no  public  deed  seems  to  have  been  con- 
sidered as  valid.  By  the  oath  of  fidelity  of  the  Scottish  commissioners  to 
the  dauphin,  it  is  evident  that,  in  their  opinion,  the  rights  belonging  to  the 
crown  matrimonial  subsisted  only  during  the  continuance  of  the  marriage. 
Keith,  Append.  20.  But  the  conspirators  against  Rizio  bound  themselves 
to  procure  a  grant  of  the  crown  matrimonial  to  Darnley,  during  all  the 
days  of  his  life.  Keith,  Append.  120.  Good.  i.  227. 

r  Keith,  Append.  20. 

*  The  bishop  of  Orkney,  the  earl  of  Rothes,  the  earl  of  Cassils,  and  lord 
Fleming. 


132  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  n. 

1558.  which  is  natural  to  all,  that,  in  every  age,  they  have 
been  swallowed  without  examination,  and  believed  con- 
trary to  reason.  No  wonder  the  Scots  should  easily 
give  credit  to  a  suspicion,  which  received  such  strong 
colours  of  probability,  both  from  their  own  resentment, 
and  from  the  known  character  of  the  princes  of  Lorrain, 
so  little  scrupulous  about  the  justice  of  the  ends  which 
they  pursued,  or  of  the  means  which  they  employed. 
For  the  honour  of  human  nature  it  must,  however,  be 
observed,  that,  as  we  can  discover  no  motive  which 
could  induce  any  man  to  perpetrate  such  a  crime,  so 
there  appears  no  evidence  to  prove  that  it  was  com- 
mitted. But  the  Scots  of  that  age,  influenced  by  na- 
tional animosities  and  prejudices,  were  incapable  of 
examining  the  circumstances  of  the  case  with  calmness, 
or  of  judging  concerning  them  with  candour.  All  par- 
ties agreed  in  believing  the  French  to  have  been  guilty 
of  this  detestable  action ;  and  it  is  obvious  how  much 
this  tended  to  increase  the  aversion  for  them,  which 
was  growing  among  all  ranks  of  men. 

The  regent  Notwithstanding  the  cold  reception  which  their  pro- 
prevails  on  posal,  concerning  the  crown  matrimonial,  met  with 
the  parlia-  *,  .  T  ,  •  i  T-I  *  i 

ment  to  from  the  Scottish  deputies,  the  r  rench  ventured  to 
move  it  in  parliament.  The  partisans  of  the  house  of 
Hamilton,  suspicious  of  their  designs  upon  the  succes- 
sion, opposed  it  with  great  zeal.  But  a  party,  which 
the  feeble  and  unsteady  conduct  of  their  leader  had 
brought  under  much  disreputation,  was  little  able  to 
withstand  the  influence  of  France,  and  the  address  of 
the  queen  regent,  seconded,  on  this  occasion,  by  all  the 
numerous  adherents  of  the  reformation.  Besides,  that 
artful  princess  dressed  out  the  French  demands  in  a 
less  offensive  garb,  and  threw  in  so  many  limitations,  as 
seemed  to  render  them  of  small  consequence.  These 
either  deceived  the  Scots,  or  removed  their  scruples ; 
and  in  compliance  to  the  queen  they  passed  an  act,  con- 
ferring the  crown  matrimonial  on  the  dauphin;  and 
with  the  fondest  credulity  trusted  to  the  frail  security 


BOOK  ii.  OF  SCOTLAND.  133 

of  words  and  statutes,  against  the  dangerous  encroach-      1558. 
ments  of  power '. 

The  concurrence  of  the  protestants  with  the  queen  Continues 
regent,  in  promoting  a  measure  so  acceptable  to  France, 
while  the  popish  clergy,  under  the  influence  of  the 
archbishop  of  St.  Andrew's,  opposed  it  with  so  much 
violence",  is  one  of  those  singular  circumstances  in  the 
conduct  of  parties,  for  which  this  period  is  so  remark- 
able. It  may  be  ascribed,  in  some  degree,  to  the  dex- 
terous management  of  the  queen,  but  chiefly  to  the 
moderation  of  those  who  favoured  the  reformation. 
The  protestants  were,  by  this  time,  almost  equal  to  the 
catholics,  both  in  power  and  in  number ;  and,  conscious 
of  their  own  strength,  they  submitted  with  impatience 
to  that  tyrannical  authority  with  which  the  ancient  laws 
armed  the  ecclesiastics  against  them.  They  longed  to 
be  exempted  from  this  oppressive  jurisdiction,  and  pub- 
licly to  enjoy  the  liberty  of  professing  those  opinions, 
and  of  exercising  that  worship,  which  so  great  a  part  of 
the  nation  deemed  to  be  founded  in  truth,  and  to  be 
acceptable  to  the  deity.  This  indulgence,  to  which  the 
whole  weight  of  priestly  authority  was  opposed,  there 
were  only  two  ways  of  obtaining.  Either  violence  must 
extort  it  from  the  reluctant  hand  of  their  sovereign,  or, 
by  prudent  compliances,  they  might  expect  it  from  her 
favour  or  her  gratitude.  The  former  is  an  expedient 
for  the  redress  of  grievances,  to  which  no  nation  has 
recourse  suddenly ;  and  subjects  seldom  venture  upon 
resistance,  which  is  their  last  remedy,  but  in  cases  of 
extreme  necessity.  On  this  occasion,  the  reformers 


'  The  act  of  parliament  is  worded  with  the  utmost  care,  with  a  view  to 
guard  against  any  breach  of  the  order  of  succession.  But  the  duke,  not  re- 
lying on  this  alone,  entered  a  solemn  protestation  to  secure  his  own  right. 
Keith,  76.  It  is  plain,  that  he  suspected  the  French  of  having  some  inten- 
tion to  set  aside  his  right  of  succession  ;  and,  indeed,  if  they  had  no  design 
of  that  kind,  the  eagerness,  with  which  they  urged  their  demand,  was 
childish. 

"  Melv.  47. 


134  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  ir. 

1558.  wisely  held  the  opposite  course,  and  by  their  zeal  in 
~~  forwarding  the  queen's  designs,  they  hoped  to  merit  her 
protection.  This  disposition  the  queen  encouraged  to 
the  utmost,  and  amused  them  so  artfully  with  many  pro- 
mises, and  some  concessions,  that,  by  their  assistance, 
she  surmounted  in  parliament  the  force  of  a  national 
and  laudable  jealousy,  which  would  otherwise  have 
swayed  with  the  greater  number. 

Another  circumstance  contributed  somewhat  to  ac- 
quire the  regent  such  considerable  influence  in  this 
parliament.  In  Scotland,  all  the  bishoprics,  and  those 
abbeys  which  conferred  a  title  to  a  seat  in  parliament, 
were  in  the  gift  of  the  crown x.  From  the  time  of  her 
accession  to  the  regency,  the  queen  had  kept  in  her 
own  hands  almost  all  those  which  became  vacant,  ex- 
cept such  as  were,  to  the  great  disgust  of  the  nation, 
bestowed  upon  foreigners.  Among  these,  her  brother, 
the  cardinal  of  Lorrain,  had  obtained  the  abbeys  of 
Kelso  and  Melross,  two  of  the  most  wealthy  foundations 
in  the  kingdom  y.  By  this  conduct,  she  thinned  the  ec- 
clesiastical bench2,  which  was  entirely  under  the  influ- 
ence of  the  archbishop  of  St.  Andrew's,  and  which,  by 
its  numbers  and  authority,  usually  had  great  weight  in 
the  house,  so  as  to  render  any  opposition  it  could  give, 
at  that  time,  of  little  consequence. 

The  earl  of  Argyll,  and  James  Stewart,  prior  of  St. 
Andrew's,  one  the  most  powerful,  and  the  other  the 
most  popular  leader  of  the  protestants,  were  appointed 
to  carry  the  crown  and  other  ensigns  of  royalty  to  the 
dauphin.  But  from  this  they  were  diverted  by  the  part 
they  were  called  to  act  in  a  more  interesting  scene, 
which  now  begins  to  open. 

Elizabeth         Before  we  turn  towards  this,  it  is  necessary  to  ob- 
succeeds  to  serve,  that,  on  the  seventeenth  of  November,  one  thou- 


*  See  book  i.  r  Lesley,  202. 

1  It  appears  from  the  rolls  of  this  parliament,  which  Lesley  calls  a  very 
full  one,  that  only  seven  bishops  and  sixteen  abbots  were  present. 


BOOK  n.  OF  SCOTLAND.  135 

sand  five  hundred  and  fifty-eight,   Mary  of  England      1558. 
finished  her  short  and  inglorious  reign.      Her  sister  the  crown 
Elizabeth  took  possession  of  the  throne  without  oppo-  of  England, 
sition ;  and  the  protestant  religion  was,  once  more,  esta- 
blished by  law  in  England.     The  accession  of  a  queen, 
who,   under   very    difficult    circumstances,    had  given 
strong  indications  of  those  eminent  qualities,  which,  in 
the  sequel,  rendered  her  reign  so  illustrious,  attracted 
the  eyes  of  all  Europe.    Among  the  Scots,  both  parties 
observed  her  first  motions,  with  the  utmost  solicitude, 
as  they  easily  foresaw,  that  she  would  not  remain  long 
an  indifferent  spectator  of  their  transactions. 

Under  many  discouragements  and  much  oppression, 
the  reformation  advanced  towards  a  full  establishment 
in  Scotland.  All  the  low  country,  the  most  populous, 
and,  at  that  time,  the  most  warlike  part  of  the  kingdom, 
was  deeply  tinctured  with  the  protestant  opinions ;  and  if 
the  same  impressions  were  not  made  in  the  more  distant 
counties,  it  was  owing  to  no  want  of  the  same  disposi- 
tions among  the  people,  but  to  the  scarcity  of  preachers, 
whose  most  indefatigable  zeal  could  not  satisfy  the 
avidity  of  those  who  desired  their  instructions.  Among 
a  people  bred  to  arms,  and  as  prompt  as  the  Scots  to 
act  with  violence ;  and  in  an  age,  when  religious  pas- 
sions had  taken  such  strong  possession  of  the  human 
mind,  and  moved  and  agitated  it  with  so  much  violence, 
the  peaceable  and  regular  demeanour  of  so  numerous  a 
party  is  astonishing.  From  the  death  of  Mr.  Patrick 
Hamilton,  the  first  who  suffered  in  Scotland  for  the 
protestant  religion,  thirty  years  had  elapsed,  and  during 
so  long  a  period  no  violation  of  public  order  or  tran- 
quillity had  proceeded  from  that  sect8;  and,  though 
roused  and  irritated  by  the  most  cruel  excesses  of  eccle- 
siastical tyranny,  they  did,  in  no  instance,  transgress 


»  The  murder  of  cardinal  Beatoun  was  occasioned  by  private  revenge ; 
and,  being  contrived  and  executed  by  sixteen  persons  only,  cannot,  with 
justice,  be  imputed  to  the  whole  protestant  party. 


136  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  n. 

1558.  those  bounds  of  duty  which  the  law  prescribes  to  sub- 
~~  jects.  Besides  the  prudence  of  their  own  leaders,  and 
the  protection  which  the  queen  regent,  from  political 
motives,  afforded  them,  the  moderation  of  the  arch- 
bishop of  St.  Andrew's  encouraged  this  pacific  disposi- 
tion. That  prelate,  whose  private  life  contemporary 
writers  tax  with  great  irregularities b,  governed  the 
church,  for  some  years,  with  a  temper  and  prudence  of 
which  there  are  few  examples  in  that  age.  But  some 
time  before  the  meeting  of  the  last  parliament,  the  arch- 
bishop departed  from  those  humane  maxims,  by  which 
he  had  hitherto  regulated  his  conduct ;  and,  whether 
in  spite  to  the  queen,  who  had  entered  into  so  close  an 
union  with  the  protestants,  or  in  compliance  with  the 
importunities  of  his  clergy,  he  let  loose  all  the  rage  of 
persecution  against  the  reformed;  sentenced  to  the. 
flames  an  aged  priest,  who  had  been  convicted  of  em- 
bracing the  protestant  opinions ;  and  summoned  several 
others,  suspected  of  the  same  crime,  to  appear  before  a 
synod  of  the  clergy,  which  was  soon  to  convene  at 
Edinburgh. 

Nothing  could  equal  the  horrour  of  the  protestants, 
at  this  unexpected  and  barbarous  execution,  but  the 
zeal  with  which  they  espoused  the  defence  of  a  cause 
that  now  seemed  devoted  to  destruction.  They  had 
immediate  recourse  to  the  queen  regent;  and,  as  her 
success  in  the  parliament,  'which  was  then  about  to 
meet,  depended  on  their  concurrence,  she  not  only 
sheltered  them  from  the  impending  storm,  but  per- 
mitted them  the  exercise  of  their  religion  with  more 
freedom  than  they  had  hitherto  enjoyed.  Unsatisfied 
with  this  precarious  tenure,  by  which  they  held  their 
religious  liberty,  the  protestants  laboured  to  render 
their  possession  of  it  more  secure  and  independent. 
With  this  view,  they  determined  to  petition  the  parlia- 
ment for  some  legal  protection  against  the  exorbitant 

b  Knox  ;  Buchanan ;  Keith,  208. 


BOOK  n.  OF  SCOTLAND.  137 

and  oppressive  jurisdiction  of  the  ecclesiastical  courts,  1558. 
which,  by  their  arbitrary  method  of  proceeding,  found-"" 
ed  in  the  canon  law,  were  led  to  sentences  the  most 
shocking  to  humanity,  by  maxims  the  most  repugnant 
to  justice.  But  the  queen,  who  dreaded  the  effect  of 
a  debate  on  this  delicate  subject,  which  could  not  fail 
of  exciting  high  and  dangerous  passions,  prevailed  on 
the  leaders  of  the  party,  by  new  and  more  solemn  pro- 
mises of  her  protection,  to  desist  from  any  application 
to  parliament,  where  their  numbers  and  influence  would, 
in  all  probability,  have  procured  them,  if  not  the  entire 
redress,  at  least  some  mitigation,  of  their  grievances. 

They  applied  to  another  assembly,  to  a  convocation 
of  the  popish  clergy,  but  with  the  same  ill  success  which 
hath  always  attended  every  proposal  for  reformation, 
addressed  to  that  order  of  men.  To  abandon  usurped 
power,  to  renounce  lucrative  errour,  are  sacrifices,  which 
the  virtue  of  individuals  has,  on  some  occasions,  offered 
to  truth ;  but  from  any  society  of  men  no  such  effort 
can  be  expected.  The  corruptions  of  a  society,  recom- 
mended by  common  utility,  and  justified  by  universal 
practice,  are  viewed  by  its  members  without  shame  or 
horrour;  and  reformation  never  proceeds  from  them- 
selves, but  is  always  forced  upon  them  by  some  foreign 
hand.  Suitable  to  this  unfeeling  and  inflexible  spirit 
was  the  behaviour  of  the  convocation  in  the  present 
conjuncture.  All  the  demands  of  the  protestants  were 
rejected  with  contempt;  and  the  popish  clergy,  far  from 
endeavouring,  by  any  prudent  concessions,  to  sooth  and 
to  reconcile  such  a  numerous  body,  asserted  the  doc- 
trines of  their  church,  concerning  some  of  the  most  ex- 
ceptionable articles,  with  an  ill-timed  rigour,  which  gave 
new  offence0. 

During  the  sitting  of  the  convocation,  the  protestants      15<59- 
first  began  to  suspect  some  change  in  the  regent's  dis- 
position towards  them.     Though  joined  with  them  for 

r  Keith,  81. 


138  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  u. 

1559.  many  years  by  interest,  and  united,  as  they  conceived, 
~~  by  the  strongest  ties  of  affection  and  of  gratitude,  she 
discovered,  on  this  occasion,  evident  symptoms,  not  only 
of  coldness,  but  of  a  growing  disgust  and  aversion.  In 
order  to  account  for  this,  our  historians  do  little  more 
than  produce  the  trite  observations  concerning  the  in- 
fluence of  prosperity  to  alter  the  character  and  to  cor- 
rupt the  heart.  The  queeji,  say  they,  having  reached 
the  utmost  point  to  which  her  ambition  aspired,  no 
longer  preserved  her  accustomed  moderation,  but,  with 
an  insolence  usual  to  the  fortunate,  looked  down  upon 
those  by  whose  assistance  she  had  been  enabled  to  rise 
so  high.  But  it  is  neither  in  the  depravity  of  the  hu- 
man heart,  nor  in  the  ingratitude  of  the  queen's  dispo- 
sition, that  we  must  search  for  the  motives  of  her  pre- 
sent conduct.  These  were  derived  from  another,  and 
a  more  remote  source,  which,  in  order  to  clear  the  sub- 
sequent transactions,  we  shall  endeavour  to  open  with 
some  care. 

Ambitious        The  ambition  of  the  princes  of  Lorrain  had  been  no 
views  of  the  jegs  successful  than  daring  ;  but  all  their  schemes  were 

princes  ot 

Lorrain.  distinguished  by  being  vast  and  unbounded.  Though 
strangers  at  the  court  of  France,  their  eminent  qualities 
had  raised  them,  in  a  short  time,  to  an  height  of  power, 
superior  to  that  of  all  other  subjects,  and  had  placed 
them  on  a  level  even  with  the  princes  of  the  blood  them- 
selves. The  church,  the  army,  the  revenue,  were  under 
their  direction.  Nothing  but  the  royal  dignity  remained 
unattained,  and  they  were  elevated  to  a  near  alliance  with 
it,  by  the  marriage  of  the  queen  of  Scots  to  the  dauphin. 
In  order  to  gratify  their  own  vanity,  and  to  render  their 
niece  more  worthy  the  heir  of  France,  they  set  on  foot 
her  claim  to  the  crown  of  England,  which  was  founded 
on  pretences  not  unplausible. 

The  tragical  amours  and  marriages  of  Henry  the 
eighth  are  known  to  all  the  world.  Moved  by  the  ca- 
prices of  his  love,  or  of  his  resentment,  that  impatient 
and  arbitrary  monarch  had  divorced  or  beheaded  four 


BOOK  ii.  OF  SCOTLAND.  139 

of  the  six  queens  whom  he  married.  In  order  to  gratify  1559. 
him,  both  his  daughters  had  been  declared  illegitimate  ~ 
by  act  of  parliament ;  and  yet,  with  that  fantastic  incon- 
sistence  which  distinguishes  his  character,  he,  in  his 
last  will,  whereby  he  was  empowered  to  settle  the  order 
of  succession,  called  both  of  them  to  the  throne,  upon 
the  death  of  their  brother  Edward ;  and,  at  the  same 
time,  passing  by  the  posterity  of  his  eldest  sister  Mar- 
garet, queen  of  Scotland,  he  appointed  the  line  of  suc- 
cession to  continue  in  the  descendants  of  his  younger 
sister,  the  dutchess  of  Suffolk. 

In  consequence  of  this  destination,  the  validity  where- 
of was  admitted  by  the  English,  but  never  recognised 
by  foreigners,  Mary  had  reigned  in  England,  without 
the  least  complaint  of  neighbouring  princes.  But  the 
same  causes  which  facilitated  her  accession  to  the  throne, 
were  obstacles  to  the  elevation  of  her  sister  Elizabeth, 
and  rendered  her  possession  of  it  precarious  and  in- 
secure. Rome  trembled  for  the  catholic  faith,  under  a 
protestant  queen  of  such  eminent  abilities.  The  same 
superstitious  fears  alarmed  the  court  of  Spain.  France 
beheld  with  concern  a  throne,  to  which  the  queen  of 
Scots  could  form  so  many  pretensions,  occupied  by  a 
rival,  whose  birth,  in  the  opinion  of  all  good  catholics, 
excluded  her  from  any  legal  right  of  succession.  The 
impotent  hatred  of  the  Roman  pontiff,  or  the  slow  coun- 
cils of  Philip  the  second,  would  have  produced  no 
sudden  or  formidable  effect.  The  ardent  and  impetuous 
ambition  of  the  princes  of  Lorrain,  who,  at  that  time, 
governed  the  court  of  France,  was  more  decisive,  and 
more  to  be  dreaded.  Instigated  by  them,  Henry,  soon  They  per- 
after  the  death  of  Mary,  persuaded  his  daughter-in-law, 
and  her  husband,  to  assume  the  title  of  king  and  queen  the  title  of 
of  England.  They  affected  to  publish  this  to  all  Eu- 
rope.  They  used  that  style  and  appellation  in  public 
papers,  some  of  which  still  remain*1.  The  arms  of 

d  Anders.  Diplom.  Scot.  Nos.  68  and  164. 


140  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  n. 

1.559.  England  were  engraved  on  their  coin  and  plate,  and 
""borne  by  them  on  all  occasions.  No  preparations,  how- 
ever, were  made  to  support  this  impolitic  and  premature 
claim.  Elizabeth  was  already  seated  on  her  throne  ; 
she  possessed  all  the  intrepidity  of  spirit,  and  all  the 
arts  of  policy,  which  were  necessary  for  maintaining  that 
station.  England  was  growing  into  reputation  for  naval 
power.  The  marine  of  France  had  been  utterly  neg- 
lected; and  Scotland  remained  the  only  avenue  by 
which  the  territories  of  Elizabeth  could  be  approached. 
Resolve  to  It  was  on  that  side,  therefore,  that  the  princes  of  Lor- 
ra*n  determmed  to  make  their  attack6;  and,  by  using 


the  name  and  pretensions  of  the  Scottish  queen,  they 
hoped  to  rouse  the  English  catholics,  formidable,  at 
that  time,  by  their  zeal  and  numbers,  and  exasperated 
to  the  utmost  against  Elizabeth,  on  account  of  the 
change  which  she  had  made  in  the  national  religion. 
in  order  It  was  vain  to  expect  the  assistance  of  the  Scottish 
cessar  to  protestants  to  dethrone  a  queen,  whom  all  Europe  began 
check  the  to  consider  the  most  powerful  guardian  and  defender  of 
in  Scotland.  ^e  reformed  faith.  To  break  the  power  and  reputation 
of  that  party  in  Scotland  became,  for  this  reason,  a  ne- 
cessary step  towards  the  invasion  of  England.  With 
this  the  princes  of  Lorrain  resolved  to  open  their 
scheme.  And  as  persecution  was  the  only  method  for 
suppressing  religious  opinions  known  in  that  age,  or 
dictated  by  the  despotic  and  sanguinary  spirit  of  the 
Romish  superstition,  this,  in  its  utmost  violence,  they 
determined  to  employ.  The  earl  of  Argyll,  the  prior 
of  St.  Andrew's,  and  other  leaders  of  the  party,  were 
marked  out  by  them  for  immediate  destruction  f;  and 
they  hoped,  by  punishing  them,  to  intimidate  their  fol- 
lowers. Instructions  for  this  purpose  were  sent  from 
France  to  the  queen  regent.  That  humane  and  saga- 
cious princess  condemned  a  measure  which  was  equally 
violent  and  impolitic.  By  long  residence  in  Scotland, 

'  Forbes's  Collect,  i.  253.  269.  279.  404.  '  Ibid.  i.  152. 


BOOK  ii.  OF  SCOTLAND.  141 

she  had  become  acquainted  with  the  eager  and  impa-  1559. 
tient  temper  of  the  nation  ;  she  well  knew  the  power,  ~~ 
the  number,  and  popularity  of  the  protestant  leaders  ; 
and  had  been  a  witness  to  the  intrepid  and  unconquer- 
able resolution  which  religious  fervour  could  inspire. 
What  then  could  be  gained,  by  rousing  this  dangerous 
spirit,  which  hitherto  all  the  arts  of  policy  had  scarcely 
been  able  to  restrain?  If  it  once  broke  loose,  the  au- 
thority of  a  regent  would  be  little  capable  to  subdue,  or 
even  to  moderate,  its  rage.  If,  in  order  to  quell  it, 
foreign  forces  were  called  in,  this  would  give  the  alarm 
to  the  whole  nation,  irritated  already  at  the  excessive 
power  which  the  French  possessed  in  the  kingdom,  and 
suspicious  of  all  their  designs.  Amidst  the  shock  which 
this  might  occasion,  far  from  hoping  to  exterminate  the 
protestant  doctrine,  it  would  be  well  if  the  whole  fabric 
of  the  established  church  were  not  shaken,  and,  per- 
haps, overturned  from  the  foundation.  These  prudent 
remonstrances  made  no  impression  on  her  brothers; 
precipitant,  but  inflexible  in  all  their  resolutions,  they 
insisted  on  the  full  and  rigorous  execution  of  their  plan. 
Mary,  passionately  devoted  to  the  interest  of  France, 
and  ready,  on  all  occasions,  to  sacrifice  her  own  opi- 
nions to  the  inclinations  of  her  brothers,  prepared  to 
execute  their  commands  with  implicit  submission  g;  and, 
contrary  to  her  own  judgment,  and  to  all  the  rules  of 
sound  policy,  she  became  the  instrument  of  exciting  civil 
commotions  in  Scotland,  the  fatal  termination"  of  which 
she  foresaw  and  dreaded. 

From  the  time  of  the  queen's  competition  for  the  re-  The  regent 
gency  with  the  duke  of  Chatelherault,  the  popish  clergy,  conduct^ 


under  the  direction  of  the  archbishop  of  St.  Andrew's,  with 

1111.  •  .  ii    i  to  the  prc- 

nad  set  themselves  in  opposition  to  all  her  measures,  testants. 
Her  first  step  towards  the  execution  of  her  new  scheme, 
was  to  regain  their  favour.    Nor  was  this  reconcilement 
a  matter  of  difficulty.     The  popish  ecclesiastics,  sepa- 

K  Melv.  48.     M£m.  de  Castelnau,  ap.  Jfebb,  vol.  ii.  446. 


142  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  ir. 

1559.  rated  from  the  rest  of  mankind  by  the  law  of  celibacy, 
~  one  of  the  boldest  and  most  successful  efforts  of  human 
policy ;  and  combined  among  themselves  in  the  closest 
and  most  sacred  union,  have  been  accustomed,  in  every 
age,  to  sacrifice  all  private  and  particular  passions  to 
the  dignity  and  interest  of  their  order.  Delighted,  on 
this  occasion,  with  the  prospect  of  triumphing  over  a 
faction,  the  encroachments  of  which  they  had  long 
dreaded,  and  animated  with  the  hopes  of  reestablishing 
their  declining  grandeur  on  a  firmer  basis,  they,  at 
once,  cancelled  the  memory  of  past  injuries,  and  en- 
gaged to  second  the  queen  in  all  her  attempts  to  check 
the  progress  of  the  reformation.  The  queen,  being  se- 
cure of  their  assistance,  openly  approved  of  the  decrees 
of  the  convocation,  by  which  the  principles  of  the  re- 
formers were  condemned ;  and,  at  the  same  time,  she 
issued  a  proclamation,  enjoining  all  persons  to  observe 
the  approaching  festival  of  Easter  according  to  the 
Romish  ritual. 

As  it  was  no  longer  possible  to  mistake  the  queen's 
intentions,  the  protestants,  who  saw  the  danger  ap- 
proach, in  order  to  avert  it,  employed  the  earl  of  Glen- 
cairn,  and  sir  Hugh  Campbell  of  Loudon,  to  expostu- 
late with  her,  concerning  this  change  towards  severity, 
which  their  former  services  had  so  little  merited,  and 
which  her  reiterated  promises  gave  them  no  reason  to 
expect.  She,  without  disguise  or  apology,  avowed  to 
them  her  resolution  of  extirpating  the  reformed  religion 
out  of  the  kingdom.  And,  upon  their  urging  her  for- 
mer engagements  with  an  uncourtly,  but  honest  bold- 
ness, she  so  far  forgot  her  usual  moderation,  as  to  utter 
a  sentiment,  which,  however  apt  those  of  royal  condi- 
tion may  be  to  entertain  it,  prudence  should  teach  them 
to  conceal  as  much  as  possible.  "  The  promises  of 
princes,"  says  she,  "  ought  not  to  be  too  carefully  re- 
membered, nor  the  performance  of  them  exacted,  un- 
less it  suits  their  own  conveniency." 

The  indignation  which  betrayed  the  queen  into  this 


BOOK  ir.  OF  SCOTLAND.  143 

rash  expression,  was  nothing  in  comparison  of  that  with  1559. 
which  she  was  animated,  upon  hearing  that  the  public  ^ 
exercise  of  the  reformed  religion  had  been  introduced  their 
into  the  town  of  Perth.  At  once,  she  threw  off  the  %? 
mask,  and  issued  a  mandate,  summoning  all  the  pro-  before  her. 
testant  preachers  in  the  kingdom  to  a  court  of  justice, 
which  was  to  be  held  at  Stirling,  on  the  tenth  of  May. 
The  protestants,  who,  from  their  union,  began,  about 
this  time,  to  be  distinguished  by  the  name  of  the  CON- 
GREGATION, were  alarmed,  but  not  intimidated,  by  this 
danger;  and  instantly  resolved  not  to  abandon  the  men 
to  whom  they  were  indebted  for  the  most  valuable  of 
all  blessings,  the  knowledge  of  truth.  At  that  time 
there  prevailed  in  Scotland,  with  respect  to  criminal 
trials,  a  custom,  introduced  at  first  by  the  institutions 
of  vassalage  and  clanship,  and  tolerated  afterwards  un- 
der a  feeble  government :  persons  accused  of  any  crime 
were  accompanied  to  the  place  of  trial  by  a  retinue  of 
their  friends  and  adherents,  assembled  for  that  purpose 
from  every  quarter  of  the  kingdom.  Authorized  by 
this  ancient  practice,  the  reformed  convened  in  great 
numbers,  to  attend  their  pastors  to  Stirling.  The 
queen  dreaded  their  approach  with  a  train  so  nume- 
rous, though  unarmed ;  and,  in  order  to  prevent  them 
from  advancing,  she  empowered  John  Erskine  of  Dun, 
a  person  of  eminent  authority  with  the  party,  to  pro- 
mise in  her  name,  that  she  would  put  a  stop  to  the  in- 
tended trial,  on  condition  the  preachers  and  their  re- 
tinue advanced  no  nearer  to  Stirling.  Erskine,  being 
convinced  himself  of  the  queen's  sincerity,  served  her 
with  the  utmost  zeal ;  and  the  protestants,  averse  from 
proceeding  to  any  act  of  violence,  listened  with  pleasure 
to  so  pacific  a  proposition.  The  preachers,  with  a  few 
leaders  of  the  party,  remained  at  Perth ;  the  multitude 
which  had  gathered  from  different  parts  of  the  king- 
dom dispersed,  and  retired  to  their  own' habitations. 

But,  notwithstanding  this  solemn  promise,  the  queen,  Breaks  a 
on  the  tenth  of  May,  proceeded  to  call  to  trial  the  per-  Promise  ° 


144  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  11. 

1559.  sons  who  had  been  summoned,  and,  upon  their  non- 
whichthey  appearance,  the  rigour  of  justice  took  place,  and  they 
had  relied,  were  pronounced  outlaws.  By  this  ignohle  artifice,  so 
incompatible  with  regal  dignity,  and  so  inconsistent  with 
that  integrity  which  should  prevail,  in  all  transactions 
between  sovereigns  and  their  subjects,  the  queen  for- 
feited the  esteem  and  confidence  of  the  whole  nation. 
The  protestants,  shocked  no  less  at  the  indecency  with 
which  she  violated  the  public  faith,  than  at  the  danger 
which  threatened  themselves,  prepared  boldly  for  their 
own  defence.  Erskine,  enraged  at  having  been  made 
the  instrument  for  deceiving  his  party,  instantly  aban- 
doned Stirling,  and,  repairing  to  Perth,  added  to  the 
zeal  of  his  associates,  by  his  representations  of  the 
queen's  inflexible  resolution  to  suppress  their  religion  h. 
This  occa-  The  popular  rhetoric  of  Knox  powerfully  seconded 
suirectLn1"  n^s  representations ;  he,  having  been  carried  a  prisoner 
at  Perth,  into  France,  together  with  the  other  persons  taken  in 
the  castle  of  St.  Andrew's,  soon  made  his  escape  out  of 
that  country ;  and,  residing  sometimes  in  England,  some- 
times in  Scotland,  had  at  last  been  driven  out  of  both 
kingdoms,  by  the  rage  of  the  popish  clergy,  and  was 
obliged  to  retire  to  Geneva.  Thence  he  was  called  by 
the  leaders  of  the  protestants  in  Scotland ;  and,  in  com- 
pliance with  their  solicitations,  he  set  out  for  his  native 
country,  where  he  arrived  a  few  days  before  the  trial 
appointed  at  Stirling.  He  hurried  instantly  to  Perth, 
to  share  with  his  brethren  in  the  common  danger,  or  to 
assist  them  in  promoting  the  common  cause.  While  their 
minds  were  in  that  ferment,  which  the  queen's  perfidious- 
ness  and  their  own  danger  occasioned,  he  mounted  the 
pulpit,  and,  by  a  vehement  harangue  against  idolatry, 
inflamed  the  multitude  with  the  utmost  rage.  The  indis- 
cretion of  a  priest,  who,  immediately  after  Knox's  ser- 
mon, was  preparing  to  celebrate  mass,  and  began  to 
decorate  the  altar  for  that  purpose,  precipitated  them 

h  Keith,  p.  84. 


BOOK  ii.  OF  SCOTLAND. 

into  immediate  action.  With  tumultuary,  but  irresisti- 
ble,  violence,  they  fell  upon  the  churches  in  that  city,  ~ 
overturned  the  altars,  defaced  the  pictures,  broke  in 
pieces  the  images ;  and  proceeding  next  to  the  monas- 
teries, they,  in  a  few  hours,  laid  those  sumptuous  fa- 
brics almost  level  with  the  ground.  This  riotous  in- 
surrection was  not  the  effect  of  any  concert,  or  previous 
deliberation ;  censured  by  the  reformed  preachers,  and 
publicly  condemned  by  persons  of  most  power  and  cre- 
dit with  the  party,  it  must  be  regarded  merely  as  an 
accidental  eruption  of  popular  rage '. 

But  to  the  queen  dowager  these  proceedings  ap-  The  regent 
peared  in  a  very  different  light.  Besides  their  manifest  gainst5 
contempt  for  her  authority,  the  protestants  had  violated them- 
every  thing  in  religion  which  she  deemed  venerable  or 
holy;  and,  on  both  these  accounts,  she  determined  to 
inflict  the  severest  vengeance  on  the  whole  party.  She 
had  already  drawn  the  troops  in  French  pay  to  Stirling ; 
with  these,  and  what  Scottish  forces  she  could  levy  of 
a  sudden,  she  marched  directly  to  Perth,  in  hopes  of 
surprising  the  protestant  leaders,  before  they  could  as- 
semble their  followers,  whom,  out  of  confidence  in  her 
disingenuous  promises,  they  had  been  rashly  induced  to 
dismiss.  Intelligence  of  these  preparations  and  me- 
naces was  soon  conveyed  to  Perth.  The  protestants 
would  gladly  have  soothed  the  queen,  by  addresses 
both  to  herself  and  to  the  persons  of  greatest  credit  in 
her  court ;  but,  finding  her  inexorable,  they,  with  great 
vigour,  took  measures  for  their  own  defence.  Their 
adherents,  animated  with  zeal  for  religion,  and  eager  to 
expose  themselves  in  so  good  a  cause,  flocked  in  such 
numbers  to  Perth,  that  they  not  only  secured  the  town 
from  danger,  but,  within  a  few  days,  were  in  a  condition 
to  take  the  field,  and  to  face  the  queen,  who  advanced 
with  an  army  seven  thousand  strong. 

Neither  party,  however,  was  impatient  to  engage. 

»  Knox,  Hist.  127,  128. 
VOL.  I.  L 


THE  HISTORY 


BOOK  n. 


1559. 


A  treaty 
concluded. 


May  29. 


Broken  by 
the  regent. 


The  queen  dreaded  the  event  of  a  battle  with  men 
"  whom  the  fervour  of  religion  raised  above  the  sense  of 
fear  or  of  danger.  The  protestants  beheld  with  regret 
the  earl  of  Argyll,  the  prior  of  St.  Andrew's,  and  some 
other  eminent  persons  of  their  party,  still  adhering  to 
the  queen ;  and,  destitute  of  their  aid  and  counsel,  de- 
clined hazarding  an  action,  the  ill  success  of  which 
might  have  proved  the  ruin  of  their  cause.  The  pros- 
pect of  an  accommodation  was,  for  these  reasons,  highly 
acceptable  to  both  sides:  Argyll  and  the  prior,  who 
were  the  queen's  commissioners  for  conducting  the  ne- 
gotiation, seem  to  have  been  sincerely  desirous  of  re- 
conciling the  contending  factions;  and  the  earl  of 
Glencairn  arriving  unexpectedly  with  a  powerful  rein- 
forcement to  the  congregation,  augmented  the  queen's 
eagerness  for  peace.  A  treaty  was  accordingly  con- 
cluded, in  which  it  was  stipulated  that  both  armies 
should  be  disbanded,  and  the  gates  of  Perth  set  open 
to  the  queen ;  that  indemnity  should  be  granted  to  the 
inhabitants  of  that  city,  and  to  all  others  concerned  in 
the  late  insurrection ;  that  no  French  garrison  should 
be  left  in  Perth,  and  no  French  soldier  should  approach 
within  three  miles  of  that  place ;  and  that  a  parliament 
should  immediately  be  held,  in  order  to  compose  what- 
ever differences  might  still  remain k. 

The  leaders  of  the  congregation,  distrustful  of  the 
queen's  sincerity,  and  sensible  that  concessions,  flowing 
not  from  inclination,  but  extorted  by  the  necessity  of 
her  affairs,  could  not  long  remain  in  force,  entered  into 
a  new  association,  by  which  they  bound  themselves,  on 
the  first  infringement  of  the  present  treaty,  or  on  the 
least  appearance  of  danger  to  their  religion,  to  reas- 
semble their  followers,  and  to  take  arms  in  defence  of 
what  they  deemed  the  cause  of  God  and  of  their  coun- 
try1. 

The  queen,  by  her  conduct,  demonstrated  these  pre- 


"  Keith,  89. 


'  Kuox,  138. 


BOOK  n.  OF  SCOTLAND.  147 

cautions  to  be  the  result  of  no  groundless  or  unneces-  1559. 
sary  fear.  No  sooner  were  the  protestant  forces  dis-~ 
missed,  than  she  broke  every  article  in  the  treaty.  She 
introduced  French  troops  into  Perth,  fined  some  of  the 
inhabitants,  banished  others,  removed  the  magistrates 
out  of  office ;  and,  on  her  retiring  to  Stirling,  she  left 
behind  her  a  garrison  of  six  hundred  men,  with  orders 
to  allow  the  exercise  of  no  other  religion  than  the  Ro- 
man catholic.  The  situation  of  Perth,  a  place,  at  that 
time,  of  some  strength,  and  a  town  among  the  most 
proper  of  any  in  the  kingdom  for  the  station  of  a  gar- 
rison, seems  to  have  allured  the  queen  to  this  unjustifi- 
able and  ill-judged  breach  of  public  faith ;  which  she 
endeavoured  to  colour,  by  alleging  that  the  body  of 
men  left  at  Perth  was  entirely  composed  of  native  Scots, 
though  kept  in  pay  by  the  king  of  France. 

The  queen's  scheme  began  gradually  to  unfold;  it 
was  now  apparent,  that  not  only  the  religion,  but  the 
liberties  of  the  kingdom  were  threatened ;  and  that  the 
French  troops  were  to  be  employed,  as  instruments  for 
subduing  the  Scots,  and  wreathing  the  yoke  about  their 
necks.  Martial  as  the  genius  of  the  Scots  then  was, 
the  poverty  of  their  country  made  it  impossible  to  keep 
their  armies  long  assembled;  and  even  a  very  small 
body  of  regular  troops  might  have  proved  formidable 
to  the  nation,  though  consisting  wholly  of  soldiers.  But 
what  number  of  French  forces  were  then  in  Scotland, 
at  what  times  and  under  what  pretext  they  returned, 
after  having  left  the  kingdom  in  one  thousand  five  hun- 
dred and  fifty,  we  cannot  with  any  certainty  determine. 
Contemporary  historians  often  select  with  little  judg- 
ment the  circumstances  which  they  transmit  to  pos- 
terity ;  and  with  respect  to  matters  of  the  greatest  cu- 
riosity and  importance,  leave  succeeding  ages  altogether 
in  the  dark.  We  may  conjecture,  however,  from  some 
passages  in  Buchanan,  that  the  French,  and  Scots  in 
French  pay,  amounted  at  least  to  three  thousand  men, 
under  the  command  of  monsieur  d'Oysel,  a  creature  of 


148  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  n. 

1559.      the  house  of  Guise ;  and  they  were  soon  augmented  to 
~a  much  more  formidable  number. 

The  queen,  encouraged  by  having  so  considerable  a 
body  of  well-disciplined  troops  at  her  command,  and 
instigated  by  the  violent  counsels  of  d'Oysel,  had  ven- 
tured, as  we  have  observed,  to  violate  the  treaty  of 
Perth,  and,  by  that  rash  action,  once  more  threw  the 
The  pro-  nation  into  the  most  dangerous  convulsions.  The  earl 
aaain  take  °^  Argyll  and  the  prior  of  St.  Andrew's  instantly  de- 
arms,  serted  a  court,  where  faith  and  honour  seemed  to  them 
to  be  no  longer  regarded;  and  joined  the  leaders  of 
the  congregation,  who  had  retreated  to  the  eastern 
part  of  Fife.  The  barons  from  the  neighbouring  coun- 
ties repaired  to  them,  the  preachers  roused  the  people 
to  arms,  and,  wherever  they  came,  the  same  violent 
operations  which  accident  had  occasioned  at  Perth, 
were  now  encouraged  out  of  policy.  The  enraged  mul- 
titude was  let  loose,  and  churches  and  monasteries,  the 
monuments  of  ecclesiastic  pride  and  luxury,  were  sacri- 
ficed to  their  zeal. 

In  order  to  check  their  career,  the  queen,  without 
losing  a  moment,  put  her  troops  in  motion ;  but  the  zeal 
of  the  congregation  got  the  start  once  more  of  her  vi- 
gilance and  activity.  In  that  warlike  age,  when  all  men 
were  accustomed  to  arms,  and,  on  the  least  prospect 
of  danger,  were  ready  to  run  to  them,  the  leaders  of 
the  protestants  found  no  difficulty  to  raise  an  army. 
Though  they  set  out  from  St.  Andrew's  with  a  slender 
train  of  an  hundred  horse,  crowds  flocked  to  their 
standards  from  every  corner  of  the  country  through 
which  they  marched;  and  before  they  reached  Falk- 
land, a  village  only  ten  miles  distant,  they  were  able  to 
meet  the  queen  with  superior  force  m. 

The  queen,  surprised  at  the  approach  of  so  formi- 
dable a  body,  which  was  drawn  up  by  its  leaders  in  such 
a  manner  as  added  greatly,  in  appearance,  to  its  num- 

•»  Knox,  141. 


BOOK  ii.  OF  SCOTLAND.  149 

bers,  had  again  recourse  to  negotiation.  She  found,  1559. 
however,  that  the  preservation  of  the  protestant  reli-~ 
gion,  their  zeal  for  which  had  at  first  roused  the 
leaders  of  the  congregation  to  take  arms,  was  not  the 
only  object  they  had  now  in  view.  They  were  animated 
with  the  warmest  love  of  civil  liberty,  which  they  con- 
ceived to  be  in  imminent  danger  from  the  attempts  of 
the  French  forces ;  and  these  two  passions,  mingling, 
added  reciprocally  to  each  other's  strength.  Together  They  aim 
with  more  enlarged  notions  in  religion,  the  reformation  fn J ^viTa 
filled  the  human  mind  with  more  liberal  and  generous  well  as 
sentiments  concerning  civil  government.  The  genius 
of  popery  is  extremely  favourable  to  the  power  of 
princes.  The  implicit  submission  to  all  her  decrees, 
which  is  exacted  by  the  Romish  church,  prepares  and 
breaks  the  mind  for  political  servitude ;  and  the  doc- 
trines of  the  reformers,  by  overturning  the  established 
system  of  superstition,  weakened  the  firmest  founda- 
tions of  civil  tyranny.  That  bold  spirit  of  inquiry, 
which  led  men  to  reject  theological  errours,  accom- 
panied them  in  other  sciences,  and  discovered  every 
where  the  same  manly  zeal  for  truth.  A  new  study, 
introduced  at  the  same  time,  added  greater  force  to 
the  spirit  of  liberty.  .  Men  became  more  acquainted 
with  the  Greek  and  Roman  authors,  who  described 
exquisite  models  of  free  government,  far  superior  to 
the  inaccurate  and  oppressive  system  established  by 
the  feudal  law ;  and  produced  such  illustrious  examples 
of  public  virtue,  as  wonderfully  suited  both  the  circum- 
stances and  spirit  of  that  age.  Many  among  the  most 
eminent  reformers  were  themselves  considerable  masters 
in  ancient  learning ;  and  all  of  them  eagerly  adopted 
the  maxims  and  spirit  of  the  ancients,  with  regard  to 
government n.  The  most  ardent  love  of  liberty  accom- 

0  The  excessive  admiration  of  ancient  policy  was  the  occasion  of  Knox's 
famous  book  concerning  the  Government  of  Women,  wherein,  conformable 
to  the  maxims  of  the  ancient  legislators,  which  modem  experience  has 


150  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  n. 

1559.  panied  the  protestant  religion  throughout  all  its  pro- 
~~  gress ;  and,  wherever  it  was  embraced,  it  roused  an  in- 
dependent spirit,  which  rendered  men  attentive  to  their 
privileges  as  subjects,  and  jealous  of  the  encroachments 
of  their  sovereigns.  Knox,  and  the  other  preachers  of 
the  reformation,  infused  generous  sentiments  concern- 
ing government  into  the  minds  of  their  hearers  ;  and  the 
Scottish  barons,  naturally  free  and  bold,  were  prompted 
to  assert  their  rights  with  more  freedom  and  boldness 
than  ever.  Instead  of  obeying  the  queen  regent,  who 
had  enjoined  them  to  lay  down  their  arms,  they  de- 
manded not  only  the  redress  of  their  religious  griev- 
ances, but,  as  a  preliminary  toward  settling  the  nation, 
and  securing  its  liberties,  required  the  immediate  ex- 
pulsion of  the  French  troops  out  of  Scotland.  It  was 
not  in  the  queen's  power  to  make  so  important  a  cog- 
cession,  without  the  concurrence  of  the  French  mo- 
narch; and,  as  some  time  was  requisite  in  order  to 
obtain  that,  she  hoped,  during  this  interval,  to  receive 
such  reinforcements  from  France,  as  would  insure  the 
accomplishment  of  that  design  which  she  had  twice 
June  13.  attempted  with  unequal  strength.  Meanwhile,  she 
agreed  to  a  cessation  of  arms  for  eight  days,  and  be- 
fore the  expiration  of  these,  engaged  to  transport  the 
French  troops  to  the  south  side  of  the  Forth ;  and  to 
send  commissioners  to  St.  Andrew's,  who  should  la- 
bour to  bring  all  differences  to  an  accommodation.  As 
she  hoped,  by  means  of  the  French  troops,  to  overawe 
the  protestants  in  the  southern  counties,  the  former 
article  in  the  treaty  was  punctually  executed ;  the  lat- 
ter, having  been  inserted  merely  to  amuse  the  congre- 
gation, was  no  longer  remembered. 

proved  to  be  ill-founded,  he  pronounces  the  elevation  of  women  to  the  su- 
preme authority,  to  be  utterly  destructive  of  good  government.  His  princi- 
ples, authorities,  and  examples,  were  all  drawn  from  ancient  writers.  The 
same  observation  may  be  made  with  regard  to  Buchanan's,  dialogue,  De 
Jure  Regni  apud  Scotos.  It  is  founded,  not  on  the  maxims  of  feudal,  but 
of  ancient  republican  government. 


BOOK  ii,  OF  SCOTLAND.  151 

By  these  reiterated  and  wanton  instances  of  perfidy,  1559. 
the  queen  lost  all  credit  with  her  adversaries ;  and  no  A  secon(j 
safety  appearing  in  any  other  course,  they  again  took  treaty  vio- 
arms  with  more  inflamed  resentment,  and  with  bolder 
and  more  extensive  views.  The  removing  of  the  French 
forces  had  laid  open  to  them  all  the  country  situated 
between  Forth  and  Tay.  The  inhabitants  of  Perth 
alone  remaining  subjected  to  the  insolence  and  exac- 
tions of  the  garrison  which  the  queen  had  left  there, 
implored  the  assistance  of  the  congregation  for  their 
relief.  Thither  they  marched,  and  having  without  ef- 
fect required  the  queen  to  evacuate  the  town  in  terms 
of  the  former  treaty,  they  prepared  to  besiege  it  in 
form.  The  queen  employed  the  earl  of  Huntly  and 
lord  Erskine  to  divert  them  from  this  enterprise.  But 
her  wonted  artifices  were  now  of  no  avail;  repeated 
so  often,  they  could  deceive  no  longer;  and,  without 
listening  to  her  offers,  the  protestants  continued  the 
siege,  and  soon  obliged  the  garrison  to  capitulate. 

After  the  loss  of  Perth,  the  queen  endeavoured  to 
seize  Stirling,  a  place  of  some  strength,  and,  from  its 
command  of  the  only  bridge  over  the  Forth,  of  great 
importance.    But  the  leaders  of  the  congregation,  hav-  Rapid 
ing  intelligence  of  her  design,  prevented  the  execution  ™™e&sof 
of  it  by  an  hasty  march  thither  with  part  of  their  forces,  the  pro- 
The  inhabitants,  heartily  attached  to  the  cause,  set  open 
to  them  the  gates  of  their  town.   Thence  they  advanced, 
with  the  same  rapidity,  towards  Edinburgh,  which  the 
queen,  on  their  approach,  abandoned  with  precipita- 
tion, and  retired  to  Dunbar. 

The  protestant  army,  wherever  it  came,  kindled  or 
spread  the  ardour  of  reformation,  and  the  utmost  ex- 
cesses of  violence  were  committed  upon  churches  and 
monasteries.  The  former  were  spoiled  of  every  decora- 
tion, which  was  then  esteemed  sacred ;  the  latter  were 
laid  in  ruins.  We  are  apt,  at  this  distance  of  time,  to 
condemn  the  furious  zeal  of  the  reformers,  and  to 
regret  the  overthrow  of  so  many  stately  fabrics,  the 


152  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  n. 

1559.  monuments  of  our  ancestors'  magnificence,  and  among 
"the  noblest  ornaments  of  the  kingdom.  But  amidst 
the  violence  of  a  reformation,  carried  on  in  opposition 
to  legal  authority,  some  irregularities  were  unavoid- 
able ;  and,  perhaps,  no  one  could  have  been  permitted 
more  proper  to  allure  and  interest  the  multitude,  or 
more  fatal  to  the  grandeur  of  the  established  church. 
How  absurd  soever  and  ill-founded  the  speculative 
errours  of  popery  may  be,  some  inquiry  and  attention 
are  requisite  towards  discovering  them.  The  abuses 
and  corruptions  which  had  crept  into  the  public  wor- 
ship of  that  church,  lay  more  open  to  observation,  and, 
by  striking  the  senses,  excited  more  universal  disgust. 
Under  the  long  reign  of  heathenism,  superstition  seems 
to  have  exhausted  its  talent  of  invention,  so  that  when 
a  superstitious  spirit  seized  christians,  they  were  obliged 
to  imitate  the  heathens  in  the  pomp  and  magnificence 
of  their  ceremonies,  and  to  borrow  from  them  the  or- 
naments and  decorations  of  their  temples.  To  the  pure 
and  simple  worship  of  the  primitive  christians,  there 
succeeded  a  species  of  splendid  idolatry,  nearly  resem- 
bling those  pagan  originals  whence  it  had  been  copied. 
The  contrariety  of  such  observances  to  the  spirit  of 
Christianity,  was  almost  the  first  thing,  in  the  Romish 
system,  -which  awakened  the  indignation  of  the  reform- 
ers, who,  applying  to  these  the  denunciations  in  the 
Old  Testament  against  idolatry,  imagined  that  they 
could  not  endeavour  at  suppressing  them  with  too 
much  zeal.  No  task  could  be  more  acceptable  to  the 
multitude,  than  to  overturn  those  seats  of  superstition  ; 
they  ran  with  emulation  to  perform  it,  and  happy  was 
the  man  whose  hand  was  most  adventurous  and  suc- 
cessful in  executing  a  work  deemed  so  pious.  Nor  did 
their  leaders  labour  to  restrain  this  impetuous  spirit  of 
reformation.  Irregular  and  violent  as  its  sallies  were, 
they  tended  directly  to  that  end  which  they  had  in 
view ;  for,  by  demolishing  the  monasteries  throughout 
the  kingdom,  and  setting  at  liberty  their  wretched  in- 


BOOK  ii.  OF  SCOTLAND.  153 

habitants,  they  hoped  to  render  it  impossible  ever  to      1559. 
rebuild  the  one,  or  to  reassemble  the  other. 

But  amidst  these  irregular  proceedings,  a  circum- 
stance which  does  honour  to  the  conduct  and  humanity 
of  the  leaders  of  the  congregation  deserves  notice. 
They  so  far  restrained  the  rage  of  their  followers,  and 
were  able  so  to  temper  their  heat  and  zeal,  that  few  of 
the  Roman  catholics  were  exposed  to  any  personal  in- 
sult, and  not  a  single  man  suffered  death  °. 

At  the  same  time  we  discover,  by  the  facility  with 
which  these  great  revolutions  were  effected,  how  vio- 
lently the  current  of  national  favour  ran  towards  the  re- 
formation. No  more  than  three  hundred  men  marched 
out  of  Perth,  under  the  earl  of  Argyll  and  prior  of  St. 
Andrew's p;  with  this  inconsiderable  force  they  ad- 
vanced. But,  wherever  they  came,  the  people  joined 
them  in  a  body ;  their  army  was  seldom  less  numerous 
than  five  thousand  men  ;  the  gates  of  every  town  were 
thrown  open  to  receive  them;  and,  without  striking  a  June  29. 
single  blow,  they  took  possession  of  the  capital  of  the 
kingdom. 

This  rapid  and  astonishing  success  seems  to  have 
encouraged  the  reformers  to  extend  their  views,  and 
to  rise  in  their  demands.  Not  satisfied  with  their  first 
claim  of  toleration  for  their  religion,  they  now  openly 
aimed  at  establishing  the  protestant  doctrine  on  the 
ruins  of  popery.  For  this  reason  they  determined  to 
fix  their  residence  at  Edinburgh ;  and,  by  their  ap- 
pointment, Knox,  and  some, other  preachers,  taking 
possession  of  the  pulpits,  which  had  been  abandoned 
by  the  afFrightened  clergy,  declaimed  against  the  er- 
rours  of  popery  with  such  fervent  zeal  as  could  not  fail 
of  gaining  many  proselytes. 

In  the  mean  time,  the  queen,  who  had  prudently 
given  way  to  a  torrent  which  she  could  not  resist,  ob- 
served with  pleasure  that  it  now  began  to  subside. 

0  Lesley,  ap.  Jebb,  vol.  i.  231.  P  Keith,  94. 


154  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  n. 

1559.  The  leaders  of  the  congregation  had  been  above  two 
"months  in  arms,  and  by  the  expenses  of  a  campaign, 
protracted  so  long  beyond  the  usual  time  of  service  in 
that  age,  had  exhausted  all  the  money  which  a  country, 
where  riches  did  not  abound,  had  been  able  to  supply. 
The  multitude,  dazzled  with  their  success,  and  con- 
cluding the  work  to  be  already  done,  retired  to  their 
own  habitations.  A  few  only  of  the  more  zealous  or 
wealthy  barons  remained  with  their  preachers  at  Edin- 
burgh. As  intelligence  is  procured  in  civil  wars  with 
little  difficulty,  whatever  was  transacted  at  Edinburgh 
was  soon  known  at  Dunbar.  The  queen,  regulating 
her  own  conduct  by  the  situation  of  her  adversaries, 
artfully  amused  them  with  the  prospect  of  an  immediate 
accommodation ;  while,  at  the  same  time,  she,  by  studied 
delays,  spun  out  the  negotiations  for  that  purpose  to 
such  a  length,  that,  in  the  end,  the  party  dwindled  to 
an  inconsiderable  number ;  and,  as  if  peace  had  been 
already  reestablished,  became  careless  of  military  dis- 
cipline. The  queen,  who  watched  for  such  an  oppor- 
tunity, advanced  unexpectedly,  by  a  sudden  march  in 
the  night,  with  all  her  forces,  and  appearing  before 
Edinburgh,  filled  that  city  with  the  utmost  conster- 
nation. The  protestants,  weakened  by  the  imprudent 
dispersion  of  their  followers,  durst  not  encounter  the 
French  troops  in  the  open  field ;  and  were  even  unable 
to  defend  an  ill-fortified  town  against  their  assaults. 
Unwilling,  however,  to  abandon  the  citizens  to  the 
queen's  mercy,  they  endeavoured,  by  facing  the  ene- 
my's army,  to  gain  time  for  collecting  their  own  asso- 
ciates. But  the  queen,  in  spite  of  all  their  resistance, 
would  have  easily  forced  her  way  into  the  town,  if  the 
seasonable  conclusion  of  a  truce  had  not  procured  her 
admission,  without  the  effusion  of  blood. 

A  third  Their  dangerous  situation  easily  induced  the  leaders 

treaty.        Qf  t^e  congregatjon  to  listen  to  any  overtures  of  peace ; 

and,  as  the  queen  was  looking  daily  for  the  arrival  of  a 

strong  reinforcement  from  France,  and  expected  great 


BOOK  ir.  OF  SCOTLAND.  155 

advantages  from  a  cessation  of  arms,  she  also  agreed  to  1559. 
it  upon  no  unequal  conditions.  Together  with  a  sus-  ~ 
pension  of  hostilities,  from  the  twenty-fourth  of  July  to 
the  tenth  of  January,  it  was  stipulated  in  this  treaty, 
that,  on  the  one  hand,  the  protestants  should  open  the 
gates  of  Edinburgh  next  morning  to  the  queen  regent ; 
remain  in  dutiful  subjection  to  her  government ;  abstain 
from  all  future  violation  of  religious  houses ;  and  give 
no  interruption  to  the  established  clergy,  either  in  the 
discharge  of  their  functions,  or  in  the  enjoyment  of 
their  benefices.  On  the  other  hand,  the  queen  agreed 
to  give  no  molestation  to  the  preachers  or  professors  of 
the  protestant  religion ;  to  allow  the  citizens  of  Edin- 
burgh, during  the  cessation  of  hostilities,  to  enjoy  the 
exercise  of  religious  worship,  according  to  the  form 
most  agreeable  to  the  conscience  of  each  individual ; 
and  to  permit  the  free  and  public  profession  of  the 
protestant  faith  in  every  part  of  the  kingdom q.  The 
queen,  by  these  liberal  concessions,  in  behalf  of  their 
religion,  hoped  to  sooth  the  protestants,  and  expected, 
from  indulging  their  favourite  passion,  to  render  them 
more  compliant  with  respect  to  other  articles,  particu- 
larly the  expulsion  of  the  French  troops  out  of  Scot- 
land. The  anxiety  which  the  queen  expressed  for  re- 
taining this  body  of  men,  rendered  them  more  and  more 
the  objects  of  national  jealousy  and  aversion.  The  im- 
mediate expulsion  of  them  was,  therefore,  demanded 
anew,  and  with  greater  warmth ;  but  the  queen,  taking 
advantage  of  the  distress  of  the  adverse  party,  eluded 
the  request,  and  would  consent  to  nothing  more,  than 
that  a  French  garrison  should  not  be  introduced  into 
Edinburgh. 

The  desperate  state  of  their  affairs  imposed  on  the 
congregation  the  necessity  of  agreeing  to  this  article, 
which,  however,  was  very  far  from  giving  them  satisfac- 
tion. Whatever  apprehensions  the  Scots  had  conceived, 

i  Keith,  98.     Maitland,  Hist,  of  Edinb.  16,  17. 


156  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  it. 

1569.     fr6m  retaining  the  French  forces  in  the  kingdom,  were 

abundantly  justified,  during  the  late  commotions.     A 

small  body  of  those  troops,  maintained  in  constant  pay, 
and  rendered  formidable  by  regular  discipline,  had 
checked  the  progress  of  a  martial  people,  though  ani- 
mated with  zeal  both  for  religion  and  liberty.  The 
smallest  addition  to  their  number,  and  a  considerable 
one  was  daily  expected,  might  prove  fatal  to  public 
liberty,  and  Scotland  might  be  exposed  to  the  danger 
of  being  reduced,  from  an  independent  kingdom,  to 
the  mean  condition  of  a  province,  annexed  to  the  do- 
minions of  its  powerful  ally. 

In  order  to  provide  against  this  imminent  calamity, 
the  duke  of  Chatelherault,  and  earl  of  Huntly,  imme- 
diately after  concluding  the  truce,  desired  an  interview 
with  the  chiefs  of  the  congregation.  These  two  noble- 
men, the  most  potent,  at  that  time,  in  Scotland,  were 
the  leaders  of  the  party  which  adhered  to'  the  esta- 
blished church.  They  had  followed  the  queen,  during 
the  late  commotions;  and,  having  access  to  observe 
more  narrowly  the  dangerous  tendency  of  her  councils, 
their  abhorrence  of  the  yoke  which  was  preparing  for 
their  country  surmounted  all  other  considerations,  and 
determined  them  rather  to  endanger  the  religion  which 
they  professed,  than  to  give  their  aid  towards  the  exe- 
cution of  her  pernicious  designs.  They  proceeded 
further,  and  promised  to  Argyll,  Glencairn,  and  the 
prior  of  St.  Andrew's,  who  were  appointed  to  meet 
them,  that,  if  the  queen  should,  with  her  usual  insin- 
cerity, violate  any  article  in  the  treaty  of  truce,  or  re- 
fuse to  gratify  the  wishes  of  the  whole  nation,  by  dis- 
missing her  French  troops,  they  would  then  instantly 
join  with  their  countrymen  in  compelling  her  to  a  mea- 
sure, which  the  public  safety,  and  the  preservation  of 
their  liberties,  rendered  necessary r. 
July  8.  About  .this  time  died  Henry  the  second,  of  France ; 

'  Knox,  154. 


BOOK  ii.  OF  SCOTLAND.  157 

just  when  he  had  adopted  a  system,  with  regard  to  the  1559. 
affairs  of  Scotland,  which  would,  in  all  probability,  have  ~~ 
restored  union  and  tranquillity  to  that  kingdom*.  To- 
wards the  close  of  his  reign,  the  princes  of  Lorrain 
began  visibly  to  decline  in  favour,  and  the  constable 
Montmorency,  by  the  assistance  of  the  dutchess  of  Va- 
lentinois,  recovered  that  ascendant  over  the  spirit  of 
his  master,  which  his  great  experience,  and  his  faith- 
ful, though  often  unfortunate,  services  seemed  justly  to 
merit.  That  prudent  minister  imputed  the  insurrec- 
tions in  Scotland  wholly  to  the  duke  of  Guise  and  the 
cardinal  of  Lorrain,  whose  violent  and  precipitant  coun- 
sels could  not  fail  of  transporting,  beyond  all  bounds  of 
moderation,  men  whose  minds  were  possessed  with  that 
jealousy  which  is  inseparable  from  the  love  of  civil  li- 
berty, or  inflamed  with  that  ardour  which  accompanies 
religious  zeal.  Montmorency,  in  order  to  convince 
Henry  that  he  did  not  load  his  rivals  with  any  ground- 
less accusation,  prevailed  to  have  Melvil*,  a  Scottish 
gentleman  of  his  retinue,  despatched  into  his  native 
country,  with  instructions  to  observe  the  motions  both 
of  the  regent  and  of  her  adversaries ;  and  the  king 
agreed  to  regulate  his  future  proceedings  in  that  king- 
dom by  Melvil's  report. 

Did  history  indulge  herself  in  these  speculations,  it 
would  be  amusing  to  inquire  what  a  different  direction 
might  have  been  given,  by  this  resolution,  to  the  national 
spirit;  and  to  what  a  different  issue  Melvil's  report, 
which  would  have  set  the  conduct  of  the  malecontents 
in  the  most  favourable  light,  might  have  conducted  the 
public  disorders.  Perhaps,  by  gentle  treatment,  and 
artful  policy,  the  progress  of  the  reformation  might 
have  been  checked,  and  Scotland  brought  to  depend 
upon  France.  Perhaps,  by  gaining  possession  of  this 
avenue,  the  French  might  have  made  their  way  into 
England,  and,  under  colour  of  supporting  Mary's  title 

*  Melv.  49.  «  The  author  of  the  Memoirs. 


158  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  n. 

1559.  to  the  crown,  they  might  not  only  have  defeated  all 
~*  Elizabeth's  measures  in  favour  of  the  reformation,  but 
have  reestablished  the  Roman  catholic  religion,  and  de- 
stroyed the  liberties  of  that  kingdom.  But,  into  this 
boundless  field  of  fancy  and  conjecture,  the  historian 
must  make  no  excursions ;  to  relate  real  occurrences, 
and  to  explain  their  real  causes  and  effects,  is  his  pecu- 
liar and  only  province. 

Accession  The  tragical  and  untimely  death  of  the  French  mo- 
the  second  narcn  Pu^  an  en^  *°  a^  moderate  and  pacific  measures 
to  the  crown  with  regard  to  Scotland.  The  duke  of  Guise,  and  the 
lce>  cardinal,  his  brother,  upon  the  accession  of  Francis 
the  second,  a  prince  void  of  genius,  and  without  expe- 
rience, assumed  the  chief  direction  of  French  affairs. 
Allied  so  nearly  to  the  throne,  by  the  marriage  of  their 
niece,  the  queen  of  Scots,  with  the  young  king,  they  now 
wanted  but  little  of  regal  dignity,  and  nothing  of  regal 
power.  This  power  did  not  long  remain  inactive  in  their 
hands.  The  same  vast  schemes  of  ambition,  which 
they  had  planned  out  under  the  former  reign,  were 
again  resumed;  and  they  were  enabled,  by  possessing 
such  ample  authority,  to  pursue  them  with  more  vigour 
and  greater  probability  of  success.  They  beheld,  with 
infinite  regret,  the  progress  of  the  protestant  religion 
in  Scotland ;  and,  sensible  what  an  unsurmoun table  ob- 
stacle it  would  prove  to  their  designs,  they  bent  all 
their  strength  to  check  its  growth,  before  it  rose  to  any 
greater  height.  For  this  purpose  they  carried  on  their 
preparations  with  all  possible  expedition,  and  encou- 
raged the  queen,  their  sister,  to  expect,  in  a  short  time, 
the  arrival  of  an  army  so  powerful  as  the  zeal  of  their 
adversaries,  however  desperate,  would  not  venture  to 
oppose. 

Nor  were  the  lords  of  the  congregation  either  igno- 
rant of  those  violent  counsels,  which  prevailed  in  the 
court  of  France  since  the  death  of  Henry,  or  careless 
of  providing  against  the  danger  which  threatened  them 
from  that  quarter.  The  success  of  their  cause,  as  well 


BOOK  ii.  OF  SCOTLAND.  159 

as  their  personal  safety,  depending  entirely  on  the  una-  1559. 
nimity  and  vigour  of  their  own  resolutions,  they  endea- 
voured  to  guard  against  division,  and  to  cement  together 
more  closely,  by  entering  into  a  stricter  bond  of  confe- 
deracy and  mutual  defence.  Two  persons  concurred 
in  this  new  association,  who  brought  a  great  accession 
both  of  reputation  and  of  power  to  the  party.  These 
were  the  duke  of  Chatelherault,  and  his  eldest  son,  the 
earl  of  Arran.  This  young  nobleman,  having  resided 
some  years  in  France,  where  he  commanded  the  Scot- 
tish guards,  had  imbibed  the  protestant  opinions  con- 
cerning religion.  Hurried  along  by  the  heat  of  youth 
and  the  zeal  of  a  proselyte,  he  had  uttered  sentiments, 
with  respect  to  the  points  in  controversy,  which  did  not 
suit  the  temper  of  a  bigoted  court,  intent,  at  that  junc- 
ture, on  the  extinction  of  the  protestant  religion;  in 
order  to  accomplish  which,  the  greatest  excesses  of  vio- 
lence were  committed.  The  church  was  suffered  to 
wreak  its  utmost  fury  upon  all  who  were  suspected  of 
heresy.  Courts  were  erected  in  different  parts  of 
France,  to  take  cognizance  of  this  crime;  and,  by  their 
sentences,  several  persons  of  distinction  were  condemned 
to  the  flames. 

But,  in  order  to  inspire  more  universal  terrour,  the 
princes  of  Lorrain  resolved  to  select,  for  a  sacrifice, 
some  person  whose  fall  might  convince  all  ranks  of  men, 
that  neither  splendour  of  birth,  nor  eminence  in  station, 
could  exempt  from  punishment  those  who  should  be 
guilty  of  this  unpardonable  transgression.  The  earl  of 
Arran  was  the  person  destined  to  be  the  unhappy  vic- 
tim". As  he  was  allied  to  one  throne,  and  the  presump- 
tive heir  to  another ;  as  he  possessed  the  first  rank  in 
his  own  country,  and  enjoyed  an  honourable  station  in 
France ;  his  condemnation  could  not  fail  of  making  the 
desired  impression  on  the  whole  kingdom.  But  the 
cardinal  of  Lorrain  having  let  fall  some  expressions, 

u  Thuan.  lib.  xxiv.  p.  462.     Edit.  Francof. 


160  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  if. 

1559.     which  raised  Arran's  suspicions  of  the  design,  he  es- 
~~  caped  the  intended  blow  by  a  timely  flight.     Indigna- 
tion, zeal,  resentment,  all  prompted  him  to  seek  revenge 
upon  these  persecutors  of  himself  and  of  the  religion 
which  he  professed ;  and,  as  he  passed  through  Eng- 
land, on  his  return  to  his  native  country,  Elizabeth, 
by  hopes  and  promises,  inflamed  those  passions,  and 
sent  him  back  into  Scotland,  animated  with  the  same 
implacable  aversion  to  France,  which  possessed  a  great 
Earl  of  Ar-  part  of  his  countrymen.      He   quickly  communicated 
ra°A±sttl!e  these  sentiments  to  his  father,  the  duke  of  Chatelher- 

prOlcSlaTllSt 

ault,  who  was  already  extremely  disgusted  with  the 
measures  carrying  on  in  Scotland;  and,  as  it  was  the 
fate  of  that  nobleman  to  be  governed,  in  every  instance, 
by  those  about  him,  he  now  suffered  himself  to  be 
drawn  from  the  queen  regent ;  and,  having  joined  the 
congregation,  was  considered,  from  that  time,  as  the 
head  of  the  party. 

But,  with  respect  to  him,  this  distinction  was  merely 
nominal.  James  Stewart,  prior  of  St.  Andrew's,  was 
the  person  who  moved  and  actuated  the  whole  body  of 
the  protestants,  among  whom  he  possessed  that  un- 
bounded confidence,  which  his  strenuous  adherence  to 
their  interest  and  his  great  abilities  so  justly  merited. 
He  was  the  natural  son  of  James  the  fifth,  by  a  daugh- 
ter of  lord  Erskine ;  and,  as  that  amorous  monarch  had 
left  several  others  a  burthen  upon  the  crown,  they  were 
all  destined  for  the  church,  where  they  could  be  placed 
in  stations  of  dignity  and  affluence.  In  consequence  of 
this  resolution,  the  priory  of  St.  Andrew's  had  been 
conferred  upon  James:  but,  during  so  busy  a  period, 
he  soon  became  disgusted  with  the  indolence  and  re- 
tirement of  a  monastic  life ;  and  his  enterprising  genius 
called  him  forth,  to  act  a  principal  part  on  a  more  pub- 
lic and  conspicuous  theatre.  The  scene  in  which  he 
appeared  required  talents  of  different  kinds :  military 
virtue,  and  political  discernment,  were  equally  necessary 
in  order  to  render  him  illustrious.  These  he  possessed 


BOOK  it.  OF  SCOTLAND.  161 

in  an  eminent  degree.  To  the  most  unquestionable  1559. 
personal  bravery,  he  added  great  skill  in  the  art  of  war, 
and  in  every  enterprise  his  arms  were  crowned  with 
success.  His  sagacity  and  penetration  in  civil  affairs 
enabled  him,  amidst  the  reeling  and  turbulence  of  fac- 
tions, to  hold  a  prosperous  course ;  while  his  boldness 
in  defence  of  the  reformation,  together  with  the  de- 
cency, and  even  severity,  of  his  manners,  secured  him 
the  reputation  of  being  sincerely  attached  to  religion, 
without  which  it  was  impossible,  in  that  age,  to  gain  an 
ascendant  over  mankind. 

It  was  not  without  reason  that  the  queen  dreaded 
the  enmity  of  a  man  so  capable  to  obstruct  her  designs. 
As  she  could  not,  with  all  her  address,  make  the  least 
impression  on  his  fidelity  to  his  associates,  she  endea- 
voured to  lessen  his  influence,  and  to  scatter  among 
them  the  seeds  of  jealousy  and  distrust,  by  insinuating 
that  the  ambition  of  the  prior  aspired  beyond  the  con- 
dition of  a  subject,  and  aimed  at  nothing  less  than  the 
erown  itself. 

An  accusation  so  improbable  gained  but  little  credit. 
Whatever  thoughts  of  this  kind  the  presumption  of 
unexpected  success,  and  his  elevation  to  the  highest 
dignity  in  the  kingdom,  may  be  alleged  to  have  inspired 
at  any  subsequent  period,  it  is  certain  that,  at  this  junc- 
ture, he  could  form  no  such  vast  design.  To  dethrone 
a  queen,  who  was  lineal  heir  to  an  ancient  race  of  mo- 
narchs ;  who  had  been  guilty  of  no  action  by  which  she 
could  forfeit  the  esteem  and  affection  of  her  subjects ; 
who  could  employ,  in  defence  of  her  rights,  the  forces 
of  a  kingdom  much  more  powerful  than  her  own ;  and 
to  substitute  in  her  place,  a  person  whom  the  illegiti- 
macy of  his  birth,  by  the  practice  of  all  civilized  nations, 
rendered  incapable  of  any  inheritance  either  public  or 
private,  was  a  project  so  chimerical  as  the  most  extra- 
vagant ambition  would  hardly  entertain,  and  could 
never  conceive  to  be  practicable.  The  promise  too, 
which  the  prior  made  to  Melvil,  of  residing  constantly 

VOL.  I.  M 


162  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  n. 

1559.  in  France,  on  condition  the  public  grievances  were  re- 
~  dressed*;  the  confidence  reposed  in  him  by  the  duke 
of  Chatelherault  and  his  son,  the  presumptive  heirs  to 
the  crown  ;  and  the  concurrence  of  almost  all  the  Scot- 
tish nobles,  in  promoting  the  measures  by  which  he 
gave  offence  to  the  French  court,  go  far  towards  his 
vindication  from  those  illegal  and  criminal  designs,  with 
the  imputation  of  which  the  queen  endeavoured  at  that 
time  to  load  him. 

Troops  ar-       The  arrival  of  a  thousand  French  soldiers  compen- 
™"1  d  sate<^»  *n  some  degree,  for  the  loss  which  the  queen 


fortifyLeith.  sustained  by  the  defection  of  the  duke  of  Chatelherault. 
These  were  immediately  commanded  to  fortify  Leith, 
in  which  place,  on  account  of  its  commodious  harbour, 
and  its  situation  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Edinburgh, 
and  in  a  plentiful  country,  the  queen  resolved  to  fix  the 
headquarters  of  her  foreign  forces.  This  unpopular 
measure,  by  the  manner  of  executing  it,  was  rendered 
still  more  unpopular.  In  order  to  bring  the  town  en- 
tirely under  their  command,  the  French  turned  out  a 
great  part  of  the  ancient  inhabitants,  and,  taking  pos- 
session of  the  houses,  which  they  had  obliged  them  to 
abandon,  presented  to  the  view  of  the  Scots  two  objects 
equally  irritating  and  offensive  ;  on  the  one  hand,  a 
number  of  their  countrymen  expelled  their  habitations 
by  violence,  and  wandering  without  any  certain  abode  ; 
on  the  other,  a  colony  of  foreigners  settling  with  their 
wives  and  children  in  the  heart  of  Scotland,  growing 
into  strength  by  daily  reinforcements,  and  openly  pre- 
paring a  yoke,  to  which,  without  some  timely  exertion 
of  national  spirit,  the  whole  kingdom  must  of  necessity 
submit. 

The  protes-      It  was  with  deep  concern  that  the  lords  of  the  con- 

roonstrate    gregati°n  beheld  this  bold  and  decisive  step  taken  by 

against  this,  the  queen  regent;  nor  did  they  hesitate  a  moment, 

whether  they  should  employ  their  whole  strength,  in 

*  Melv.  54. 


BOOK  ii.  OF  SCOTLAND.  163 

one  generous  effort,  to  rescue  their  religion  and  liberty  1569. 
from  impending  destruction.  But,  in  order  to  justify" 
their  own  conduct,  and  to  throw  the  blame  entirely  on 
their  adversaries,  they  resolved  to  preserve  the  appear- 
ances of  decency  and  respect  towards  their  superiors, 
and  to  have  no  recourse  to  arms  without  the  most  ur- 
gent and  apparent  necessity.  They  joined,  with  this  Sept.  29. 
view,  in  an  address  to  the  regent,  representing,  in  the 
strongest  terms,  their  dissatisfaction  with  the  measures 
she  was  pursuing,  and  beseeching  her  to  quiet  the  fears 
and  jealousies  of  the  nation  by  desisting  from  fortifying 
Leith.  The  queen,  conscious  of  her  present  advanta- 
geous situation,  and  elated  with  the  hopes  of  fresh  suc- 
cours, was  in  no  disposition  for  listening  to  demands 
utterly  inconsistent  with  her  views,  and  urged  with 
that  bold  importunity  which  is  so  little  acceptable  to 
princes  y . 

The  suggestions  of  her  French  counsellors  contri-  The  regent 
buted,  without  doubt,  to  alienate  her  still  further  from  the'irfemon- 
any  scheme  of  accommodation.  As  the  queen  wasstrances. 
ready,  on  all  occasions,  to  discover  an  extraordinary 
deference  for  the  opinions  of  her  countrymen,  her  bro- 
thers, who  knew  her  secret  disapprobation  of  the  vio- 
lent measures  they  were  driving  on,  took  care  to  place 
near  her  such  persons  as  betrayed  her,  by  their  insi- 
nuations, into  many  actions,  which  her  own  unbiassed 
judgment  would  have  highly  condemned.  As  their 
success  in  the  present  juncture,  when  all  things  were 
hastening  towards  a  crisis,  depended  entirely  on  the 
queen's  firmness,  the  princes  of  Lorrain  did  not  trust 
wholly  to  the  influence  of  their  ordinary  agents ;  but, 
in  order  to  add  the  greater  weight  to  their  councils, 
they  called  in  aid  the  ministers  of  religion  ;  and,  by  the 
authority  of  their  sacred  character,  they  hoped  effec- 
tually to  recommend  to  their  sister  that  system  of  se- 

y  Haynes,  211. 


164  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  n. 

1559.  verity  which  they  had  espoused2.  With  this  view,  but 
under  pretence  of  confounding  the  protestants  by  the 
skill  of  such  able  masters  in  controversy,  they  appoint- 
ed several  French  divines  to  reside  in  Scotland.  At 
the  head  of  these,  and  with  the  character  of  legate 
from  the  pope,  was  Pelleve,  bishop  of  Amiens,  and 
afterwards  archbishop  and  cardinal  of  Sens,  a  furious 
bigot a,  servilely  devoted  to  the  house  of  Guise,  and  a 
proper  instrument  for  recommending  or  executing  the 
most  outrageous  measures. 

Amidst  the  noise  and  danger  of  civil  arms,  these 
doctors  had  little  opportunity  to  display  their  address 
in  the  use  of  their  theological  weapons.  But  they  gave 
no  small  offence  to  the  nation  by  one  of  their  actions. 
They  persuaded  the  queen  to  seize  the  church  of  St. 
Giles  in  Edinburgh,  which  had  remained,  ever  since 
the  late  truce,  in  the  hands  of  the  protestants;  and 
having,  by  a  new  and  solemn  consecration,  purified  the 
fabric  from  the  pollution,  with  which  they  supposed 
the  profane  ministrations  of  the  protestants  to  have  de- 
filed it,  they,  in  direct  contradiction  to  one  article  in 
the  late  treaty,  reestablished  there  the  rites  of  the 
Romish  church.  This,  added  to  the  indifference,  and 
even  contempt,  with  which  the  queen  received  their  re- 
monstrances, convinced  the  lords  of  the  congregation, 
that  it  was  not  only  vain  to  expect  any  redress  of  their 
grievances  at  her  hands,  but  absolutely  necessary  to 
take  arms  in  their  own  defence. 

They  take        The  eager  and  impetuous  spirit  of  the  nation,  as  well 

o^fde-  eilas  every  consideration  of  good  policy,  prompted  them 

fence.         to  take  this  bold  step  without  delay.    It  was  but  a  small 

part  of  the  French  auxiliaries  which  had  as  yet  arrived. 

The  fortifications  of  Leith,  though  advancing  fast,  were 

still  far  from  being  complete.     Under  these  circ  urn- 


Lesley,  215.     Castelnau,  ap.  Jebb,  vol.  ii.  446.  473. 
Davila ;  Brantome. 


BOOK  ii.  OF  SCOTLAND.  165 

stances  of  disadvantage,  they  conceived  it  possible  to  I56d. 
surprise  the  queen's  party,  and,  by  one  sudden  and"" 
decisive  blow,  to  prevent  all  future  bloodshed  and  con- 
tention. Full  of  these  expectations,  they  advanced  ra-  October  6. 
pidly  towards  Edinburgh  with  a  numerous  army.  But 
it  was  no  easy  matter  to  deceive  an  adversary  as  vigilant 
and  attentive  as  the  queen  regent.  With  her  usual 
sagacity,  she  both  foresaw  the  danger,  and  took  the 
only  proper  course  to  avoid  it.  Instead  of  keeping  the 
field  against  enemies  superior  in  number,  and  formi- 
dable on  a  day  of  battle  by  the  ardour  of  their  courage, 
she  retired  into  Leith,  and  determined  patiently  to  wait 
the  arrival  of  new  reinforcements.  Slight  and  unfinish- 
ed as  the  fortifications  of  that  town  then  were,  she  did 
not  dread  the  efforts  of  an  army  provided  neither  with 
heavy  cannon,  nor  with  military  stores,  and  little  ac- 
quainted with  the  method  of  attacking  any  place  for- 
tified with  more  art  than  those  ancient  towers  erected 
all  over  the  kingdom  in  defence  of  private  property 
against  the  incursions  of  banditti. 

Nor  did  the  queen,  meanwhile,  neglect  to  have  re- 
course to  those  arts  which  she  had  often  employed  to 
weaken  or  divide  her  adversaries.  By  private  solicita- 
tions and  promises  she  shook  the  fidelity,  or  abated  the 
ardour  of  some.  By  open  reproach  and  accusation  she 
blasted  the  reputation,  and  diminished  the  authority  of 
others.  Her  emissaries  were  every  where  at  work,  and, 
notwithstanding  the  zeal  for  religion  and  liberty  which 
then  animated  the  nation,  they  seem  to  have  laboured 
not  without  success.  We  find  Knox,  about  this  period, 
abounding  in  complaints  of  the  lukewarm  and  languid 
spirit  which  had  begun  to  spread  among  his  party b. 
But  if  their  zeal  slackened  a  little,  and  suffered  a  mo- 
mentary intermission,  it  soon  blazed  up  with  fresh  vi- 
gour, and  rose  to  a  greater  height  than  ever. 

The  queen  herself  gave  occasion  to  this,  by  the  reply  their  remon- 
strances ; 

b  Knox,  180. 


166  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  n. 

1569.  which  she  made  to  a  new  remonstrance  from  the  lords 
~~of  the  congregation.  Upon  their  arrival  at  Edin- 
burgh, they,  once  more,  represented  to  her  the  dangers 
arising  from  the  increase  of  the  French  troops,  the 
fortifying  of  Leith,  and  her  other  measures,  which  they 
conceived  to  be  destructive  to  the  peace  and  liberty  of 
the  kingdom;  and,  in  this  address,  they  spoke  in  a 
firmer  tone,  and  avowed,  more  openly  than  ever,  their 
resolution  of  proceeding  to  the  utmost  extremities,  in 
order  to  put  a  stop  to  such  dangerous  encroachments. 
To  a  remonstrance  of  this  nature,  and  urged  with  so 
much  boldness,  the  queen  replied  in  terms  no  less  vi- 
but  without  gorous  and  explicit.  She  pretended  that  she  was  not 
accountable  to  the  confederate  lords  for  any  part  of  her 
conduct;  and  upon  no  representation  of  theirs  would 
she  either  abandon  measures  which  she  deemed  neces- 
sary, or  dismiss  forces  which  she  found  useful,  or  de- 
molish a  fortification  which  might  prove  of  advan- 
tage. At  the  same  tune  she  required  them,  on  pain 
of  treason,  to  disband  the  forces  which  they  had  as- 
sembled. 

This  haughty  and  imperious  style  sounded  harshly 
to  Scottish  nobles,  impatient,  from  their  national  cha- 
racter, of  the  slightest  appearance  of  injury;  accus- 
tomed, even  from  their  own  monarchs,  to  the  most  re- 
spectful treatment ;  and  possessing,  under  an  aristocra- 
tical  form  of  government,  such  a  share  of  power,  as 
equalled,  at  all  times,  and  often  controlled,  that  of  the 
sovereign.  They  were  sensible,  at  once,  of  the  indignity 
offered  to  themselves,  and  alarmed  with  this  plain  de- 
claration of  the  queen's  intentions ;  and  as  there  now 
remained  but  one  step  to  take,  they  wanted  neither 
public  spirit  nor  resolution  to  take  it. 

Deliberate  But,  that  they  might  not  seem  to  depart  from  the 
the'omrse'  established  forms  of  the  constitution,  for  which,  even 
which  they  amidst  their  most  violent  operations,  men  always  retain 
take.  the  greatest  reverence,  they  assembled  all  the  peers, 
barons,  and  representatives  of  boroughs,  who  adhered 


BOOK  n.  OF  SCOTLAND.  167 

to  their  party.     These  formed  a  convention,  which  ex-      1559. 
ceeded  in  number,  and  equalled  in  dignity,  the  usual" 
meetings  of  parliament.     The  leaders  of  the  congrega- October  21. 
tion  laid  before  them  the  declaration  which  the  queen 
had  given  in  answer  to  their  remonstrance ;  represented 
the  unavoidable  ruin  which  the  measures  she  therein 
avowed  and  justified  would  bring  upon  the  kingdom ; 
and  requiring  their  direction  with  regard  to  the  obe- 
dience due  to  an  administration  so  unjust  and  oppres- 
sive, they  submitted  to  their  decision  a  question,  one  of 
the  most  delicate  and  interesting  that  can  possibly  fall 
under  the  consideration  of  subjects. 

This  assembly  proceeded  to  decide  with  no  less  de- 
spatch than  unanimity.  Strangers  to  those  forms  which 
protract  business;  unacquainted  with  the  arts  which 
make  a  figure  in  debate ;  and  much  more  fitted  for 
action  than  discourse,  a  warlike  people  always  hasten 
to  a  conclusion,  and  bring  their  deliberations  to  the 
shortest  issue.  It  was  the  work  but  of  one  day,  to  ex- 
amine and  to  resolve  this  nice  problem,  concerning  the 
behaviour  of  subjects  towards  a  ruler  who  abuses  his 
power.  But,  however  abrupt  their  proceedings  may 
appear,  they  were  not  destitute  of  solemnity.  As  the 
determination  of  the  point  in  doubt  was  conceived  to 
be  no  less  the  office  of  divines  than  of  laymen,  the 
former  were  called  to  assist  with  their  opinion.  Knox 
and  Willox  appeared  for  the  whole  order,  and  pro- 
nounced, without  hesitation,  both  from  the  precepts 
and  examples  in  scripture,  that  it  was  lawful  for  sub- 
jects not  only  to  resist  tyrannical  princes,  but  to  deprive 
them  of  that  authority,  which,  in  their  hands,  becomes 
an  instrument  for  destroying  those  whom  the  Almighty 
ordained  them  to  protect.  The  decision  of  persons 
revered  so  highly  for  their  sacred  character,  but  more 
for  their  zeal  and  their  piety,  had  great  weight  with 
the  whole  assembly.  Not  satisfied  with  the  common 
indiscriminate  manner  of  signifying  consent,  every  per- 
son present  was  called  in  his  turn  to  declare  his  senti- 


168  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  IK 

1569.     ments ;  and  rising  up  in  order,  all  gave  their  suffrages, 

jT,      de_     without  one  dissenting  voice,  for  depriving  the  queen 

prive  the     of  the  office  of  regent,  which  she  had  exercised  so 

office™  re-6  much  to  the  detriment  of  the  kingdom0. 

gent.  This  extraordinary  sentence  was  owing  no  less  to  the 

oft1ie°ircoii-love  °f  liberty,  than  to  zeal  for  religion.     In  the  act  of 

duct.          deprivation,  religious  grievances  are  slightly  mentioned ; 

and  the  dangerous  encroachments  of  the  queen  upon 

the  civil  constitution  are  produced,  by  the  lords  of  the 

congregation,  in  order  to  prove  their  conduct  to  have 

been  not  only  just  but  necessary.     The  introducing 

foreign  troops  into  a  kingdom  at  peace  with  all  the 

world ;    the   seizing  and  fortifying  towns  in  different 

parts  of  the  country ;  the  promoting  strangers  to  offices 

of  great  power  and  dignity;  the  debasing  the  current 

coind;  the  subverting  the  ancient  laws;  the  imposing 

of  new  and  burthensome  taxes  ;  and  the  attempting  to 

subdue  the  kingdom,  and  to  oppress  its  liberties,  by 

open  and  repeated  acts  of  violence,  are  enumerated  at 

great  length,  and  placed  in  the  strongest  light.     On  all 

these  accounts,  the  congregation  maintained,  that  the 

nobles,  as  counsellors  by  birthright  to  their  monarchs, 

and  the  guardians  and  defenders  of  the  constitution, 

had  a  right  to  interpose  ;  and,  therefore,  by  virtue  of 

this  right,  in  the  name  of  the  king  and  queen,  and  with 

many  expressions  of  duty  and  submission  towards  them, 

they  deprived  the  queen  regent  of  her  office,  and  or- 


«  Knox,  184. 

d  The  standard  of  money  in  Scotland  was  continually  varying.  In  the 
sixteenth  of  James  the  fifth,  a.  d.  1529,  a  pound  weight  of  gold,  when 
coined,  produced  one  hundred  and  eight  pounds  of  current  money.  But 
under  the  queen  regent's  administration,  a.  d.  1556,  a  pound  weight  of 
gold,  although  the  quantity  of  alloy  was  considerably  increased,  produced 
one  hundred  and  forty-four  pounds,  current  money.  .  In  1529,  a  pound 
weight  of  silver,  when  coined,  produced  nine  pounds  two  shillings ;  but  in 
1556,  it  produced  thirteen  pounds,  current  money.  Ruddiman.  Praefat.  ad 
Anders.  Diplomat.  Scotiae,  p.  80,  81.  from  which  it  appears,  that  this  com- 
plaint, which  the  malecontents  often  repeated,  was  not  altogether  destitute 
of  foundation. 


BOOK  ii.  OF  SCOTLAND.  169 

dained  that,  for  the  future,  no  obedience  should  be      1569. 
given  to  her  commands'. 

Violent  as  this  action  may  appear,  there  wanted  not 
principles  in  the  constitution,  nor  precedents  in  the  his- 
tory, of  Scotland,  to  justify  and  to  autKorize  it.  Under 
the  aristocratical  form  of  government  established  among 
the  Scots,  the  power  of  the  sovereign  was  extremely 
limited.  The  more  considerable  nobles  were  themselves 
petty  princes,  possessing  extensive  jurisdictions,  almost 
independent  of  the  crown,  and  followed  by  numerous 
vassals,  who,  in  every  contest,  espoused  their  chieftain's 
quarrel,  in  opposition  to  the  king.  Hence  the  many 
instances  of  the  impotence  of  regal  authority,  which  are 
to  be  found  in  the  Scottish  history.  In  every  age,  the 
nobles  not  only  claimed,  but  exercised,  the  right  of  con- 
trolling the  king.  Jealous  of  their  privileges,  and  ever 
ready  to  take  the  field  in  defence  of  them,  every  errour 
in  administration  was  observed,  every  encroachment 
upon  the  rights  of  the  aristocracy  excited  indignation, 
and  no  prince  ever  ventured  to  transgress  the  bound- 
aries which  the  law  had  prescribed  to  prerogative,  with- 
out meeting  resistance,  which  shook  or  overturned  his 
throne.  Encouraged  by  the  spirit  of  the  constitution, 
and  countenanced  by  the  example  of  their  ancestors, 
the  lords  of  the  congregation  thought  it  incumbent  on 
them,  at  this  juncture,  to  inquire  into  the  maladminis- 
tration of  the  queen  regent,  and  to  preserve  their  coun- 
try from  being  enslaved  or  conquered,  by  depriving  her 
of  the  power  to  execute  such  a  pernicious  scheme. 

The  act  of  deprivation,  and  a  letter  from  the  lords  of 
the  congregation  to  the  queen  regent,  are  still  extant f. 
They  discover  not  only  that  masculine  and  undaunted 

•  M.  Castelnau,  after  condemning  the  dangerous  councils  of  the  princes 
of  Lorrain,  with  regard  to  the  affairs  of  Scotland,  acknowledges,  with  his 
usual  candour,  that  the  Scots  declared  war  against  the  queen  regent,  rather      . 
from  a  desire  of  vindicating  their  civil  liberties,  than  from  any  motive  of 
religion.     Mem.  446. 

(  Knox,  184. 


170  THE  HISTORY,  ETC.          BOOK  n. 

1559.  spirit,  natural  to  men  capable  of  so  bold  a  resolution ; 
""but  are  remarkable  for  a  precision  and  vigour  of  ex- 
pression, which  we  are  surprised  to  meet  with  in  an  age 
so  unpolished.  The  same  observation  may  be  made 
with  respect  to  the  other  public  papers  of  that  period. 
The  ignorance  or  bad  taste  of  an  age  may  render  the 
compositions  of  authors  by  profession  obscure,  or  af- 
fected, or  absurd :  but  the  language  of  business  is  nearly 
the  same  at  all  times ;  and  wherever  men  think  clearly, 
and  are  thoroughly  interested,  they  express  themselves 
with  perspicuity  and  force. 


THE 

HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND. 

THE  THIRD  BOOK. 

THE  lords  of  the  congregation  soon  found,  that  their  1559. 
zeal  had  engaged  them  in  an  undertaking,  which  it  was  The  con_ 
beyond  their  utmost  ability  to  accomplish.  The  French  gregation 

,...,.  i      ,    .  i        n  involved  in 

garrison,  despising  their  numerous  but  irregular  forces,  difficulties. 
refused  to  surrender  Leith,  and  to  depart  out  of  the 
kingdom ;  nor  were  they  sufficiently  skilful  in  the  art 
of  war  to  reduce  the  place  by  force,  or  possessed  of  the 
artillery,  or  magazines,  requisite  for  that  purpose ;  and 
their  followers,  though  of  undaunted  courage,  yet,  be- 
ing accustomed  to  decide  every  quarrel  by  a  battle, 
were  strangers  to  the  fatigues  of  a  long  campaign,  and 
soon  became  impatient  of  the  severe  and  constant  duty 
which  a  siege  requires.  The  queen's  emissaries,  who 
found  it  easy  to  mingle  with  their  countrymen,  were  at 
the  utmost  pains  to  heighten  their  disgust,  which  dis- 
covered itself  at  first  in  murmurs  and  complaints,  but, 
on  occasion  of  the  want  of  money  for  paying  the  army, 
broke  out  into  open  mutiny.  The  most  eminent  leaders 
were  hardly  secure  from  the  unbridled  insolence  of  the 
soldiers ;  while  some  of  inferior  rank,  interposing  too 
rashly  in  order  to  quell  them,  fell  victims  to  their  rage. 
Discord,  consternation,  and  perplexity,  reigned  in  the 
camp  of  the  reformers.  The  duke,  their  general,  sunk, 
with  his  usual  timidity,  under  the  terrour  of  approach- 
ing danger,  and  discovered  manifest  symptoms  of  re- 
pentance for  his  rashness  in  espousing  such  a  desperate 
cause.  .  j 

In  this  situation  of  their  affairs,  the  congregation  Elizabeth 


172 


THE  HISTORY 


BOOK  in. 


1559. 


for  assist- 
ance. 


She  sends 
them  a 


had  recourse  to  Elizabeth,  from  whose  protection  they 
could  derive  their  only  reasonable  hope  of  success. 
Some  of  their  more  sagacious  leaders,  having  foreseen 
that  the  party  might  probably  be  involved  in  great 
difficulties,  had  early  endeavoured  to  secure  a  resource 
in  any  such  exigency,  by  entering  into  a  secret  corre- 
spondence with  the  court  of  England*.  Elizabeth, 
aware  of  the  dangerous  designs  which  the  princes  of 
Lorrain  had  formed  against  her  crown,  was  early  sensi- 
ble of  how  much  importance  it  would  be,  not  only  to 
check  the  progress  of  the  French  in  Scotland,  but  to 
extend  her  own  influence  in  that  kingdom b ;  and,  per- 
ceiving how  effectually  the  present  insurrections  would 
contribute  to  retard  or  defeat  the  schemes  formed 
against  England,  she  listened  with  pleasure  to  these 
applications  of  the  malecontents,  and  gave  them  private 
assurances  of  powerful  support  to  their  cause.  Ran- 
dolph c,  an  agent  extremely  proper  for  conducting  any 
dark  intrigue,  was  despatched  into  Scotland,  and  re- 
siding secretly  among  the  lords  of  the  congregation, 
observed  and  quickened  their  motions.  Money  seemed 
to  be  the  only  thing  they  wanted,  at  that  time ;  and  it 
was  owing  to  a  seasonable  remittance  from  England d, 
that  the  Scottish  nobles  had  been  enabled  to  take  the 
field,  and  to  advance  towards  Leith.  But,  as  Elizabeth 
was  distrustful  of  the  Scots,  and  studious  to  preserve 
appearances  with  France,  her  subsidies  were  bestowed 
at  first  with  extreme  frugality.  The  subsistence  of  an 
army,  and  the  expenses  of  a  siege,  soon  exhausted  this 
penurious  supply,  to  which  the  lords  of  the  congrega- 
tion could  make  little  addition  from  their  own  funds ; 
and  the  ruin  and  dispersion  of  the  party  must  have  in- 
stantly followed. 

In  order  to  prevent  this,  Cockburn  of  Ormiston  was 
sent,  with  the  utmost  expedition,  to  the  governors  of 


a  Burn.  Hist.  Ref.  3.   Append.  278. 

h  See  Append.  No.  I. 

•'  Knox,  214.     Keith,  Append.  44. 


Keith,  Append.  21. 

«=  Keith,  Append.  29. 


BOOK  in.  OF  SCOTLAND.  173 

the  town  and  castle  of  Berwick.     As  Berwick  was,  at     1559. 
that  time,  the  town  of  greatest  importance  on  the  Scot-  small  sum 
tish  frontier,  sir  Ralph  Sadler  and  sir  James  Crofts,  °f  money, 
persons  of  considerable  figure,  were  employed  to  com- 
mand there,  and  were  intrusted  with  a  discretionary 
power  of  supplying  the  Scottish  malecontents,  accord- 
ing to  the  exigency  of  their  affairs.     From  them  Cock- 
burn  received  four  thousand  crowns,  but  little  to  the 
advantage  of  his  associates.     The  earl  of  Bothwell,  by  which  is  in- 
the  queen's  instigation,  lay  in  wait  for  him  on  his  return,  tercePted> 
dispersed  his  followers,  wounded  him,  and  carried  off 
the  money. 

This  unexpected  disappointment  proved  fatal  to  the 
party.  In  mere  despair,  some  of  the  more  zealous  at- 
tempted to  assault  Leith;  but  the  French  beat  them 
back  with  disgrace,  seized  their  cannon,  and,  pursuing 
them  to  the  gates  of  Edinburgh,  were  on  the  point  of 
entering  along  with  them.  All  the  terrour  and  con- 
fusion, which  the  prospect  of  pillage  or  of  massacre  can 
excite  in  a  place  taken  by  storm,  filled  the  city  on  this 
occasion.  The  inhabitants  fled  from  the  enemy  by  the 
opposite  gate ;  the  forces  of  the  congregation  were  ir- 
resolute and  dismayed;  and  the  queen's  partisans  in 
the  town  openly  insulted  both.  At  last,  a  few  of  the 
nobles  ventured  to  face  the  enemy,  who,  after  plunder- 
ing some  houses  in  the  suburbs,  retired  with  their 
booty,  and  delivered  the  city  from  this  dreadful  alarm. 

A  second  skirmish,  which  happened  a  few  days  after, 
was  no  less  unfortunate.  The  French  sent  out  a  de- 
tachment to  intercept  a  convoy  of  provisions  which  was 
designed  for  Edinburgh.  The  lords  of  the  congrega- 
tion, having  intelligence  of  this,  marched,  in  all  haste, 
with  a  considerable  body  of  their  troops,  and,  falling 
upon  the  enemy  between  Restalrig  and  Leith,  with 
more  gallantry  than  good  conduct,  were  almost  sur- 
rounded by  a  second  party  of  French,  who  advanced  in 
order  to  support  their  own  men.  In  this  situation  a 


174  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  m. 

1559.     retreat  was  the  only  thing  which  could  save  the  Scots ; 

"but  a  retreat  .over  marshy  ground,  and  in  the  face  of  an 

enemy  superior  in  number,  could  not  long  be  conducted 

They  retire  with  order.     A  body  of  the  enemy  hung  upon  their 

in°confii-th  rear>  horse  and  foot  fell  into  the  utmost  confusion,  and 

sion.  it  was  entirely  owing  to  the  over-caution  of  the  French, 

that  any  of  the  party  escaped  being  cut  in  pieces. 

On  this  second  blow,  the  hopes  and  spirits  of  the 
congregation  sunk  altogether.  They  did  not  think 
themselves  secure  even  within  the  walls  of  Edinburgh, 
but  instantly  determined  to  retire  to  some  place,  at  a 
greater  distance  from  the  enemy.  In  vain  did  the  prior 
of  St.  Andrew's,  and  a  few  others,  oppose  this  cowardly 
and  ignominious  flight.  The  dread,  of  the  present 
danger  prevailed  over  both  the  sense  of  honour  and 
Novemb.  6.  zeal  for  the  cause.  At  midnight  they  set  out  from 
Edinburgh  in  great  confusion,  and  marched,  without 
halting,  till  they  arrived  at  Stirling e. 

During  this  last  insurrection,  the  great  body  of  the 
Scottish  nobility  joined  the  congregation.  The  lords 
Seton  and  Borthwick  were  the  only  persons  of  rank 
who  took  arms  for  the  queen,  and  assisted  her  in  de- 
fending Leithf.  Bothwell  openly  favoured  her  cause, 
but  resided  at  his  own  house.  The  earl  of  Huntly,  con- 
formable to  the  crafty  policy  which  distinguishes  his 
character,  amused  the  leaders  of  the  congregation, 
whom  he  had  engaged  to  assist,  with  many  fair  pro- 
mises, but  never  joined  them  with  a  single  mang.  The 
earl  of  Morton,  a  member  of  the  congregation,  fluctu- 
ated in  a  state  of  irresolution,  and  did  not  act  heartily 
for  the  common  cause.  Lord  Erskine,  governor  of 
Edinburgh  castle,  though  a  protestant,  maintained  a 
neutrality,  which  he  deemed  becoming  the  dignity  of 
his  office;  and,  having  been  intrusted  by  parliament 

e  Keith,  Append.  21—45.  '  Keith,  Append.  31. 

g  Keith,  Append.  33.     Knox,  222. 


BOOK  m.  OF  SCOTLAND.  175 

with  the  command  of  the  principal  fortress  in  the  king-     1559. 
dom,  he  resolved  that  neither  faction  should  get  it  into  ~~ 
their  hands. 

A  few  days  before  the  retreat  of  the  congregation,  Maitiand 
the  queen  suffered  an  irreparable  loss  by  the  defection  [hi  queen 
of  her  principal  secretary,  William  Maitiand  of  Lething-dowager- 
ton.  His  zeal  for  the  reformed  religion,  together  with 
his  warm  remonstrances  against  the  violent  measures 
which  the  queen  was  carrying  on,  exposed  him  so  much 
to  her  resentment,  and  to  that  of  her  French  counsel- 
lors, that  he,  suspecting  his  life  to  be  in  danger,  with- 
drew secretly  from  Leith,  and  fled  to  the  lords  of  the 
congregation11;  and  they,  with  open  arms,  received  a 
convert,  whose  abilities  added  both  strength  and  repu- 
tation to  their  cause.  Maitiand  had  early  applied  to 
public  business  admirable  natural  talents,  improved  by 
an  acquaintance  with  the  liberal  arts ;  and,  at  a  time  of 
life  when  his  countrymen  of  the  same  quality  were  fol- 
lowing the  pleasures  of  the  chase,  or  serving  as  adven- 
turers in  the  armies  of  France,  he  was  admitted  into 
all  the  secrets  of  the  cabinet,  and  put  upon  a  level 
with  persons  of  the  most  consummate  experience  in  the 
management  of  affairs.  He  possessed,  in  an  eminent 
degree,  that  intrepid  spirit  which  delights  in  pursuing 
bold  designs,  and  was  no  less  master  of  that  political 
dexterity  which  is  necessary  for  carrying  them  on  with 
success.  But  these  qualities  were  deeply  tinctured  with 
the  neighbouring  vices.  His  address  sometimes  dege- 
nerated into  cunning ;  his  acuteness  bordered  upon  ex- 
cess; his  invention,  over-fertile,  suggested  to  him,  on 
some  occasions,  chimerical  systems  of  policy,  too  refined 
for  the  genius  of  his  age  or  country ;  and  his  enterpris- 
ing spirit  engaged  him  in  projects  vast  and  splendid, 
but  beyond  his  utmost  power  to  execute.  All  the  con- 
temporary writers,  to  whatever  faction  they  belong, 
mention  him  with  an  admiration  which  nothing  could 

'•  Knox,  192. 


176  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  HI. 

15.59.     have  excited  but  the  greatest  superiority  of  penetration 
~  and  abilities. 

The  precipitate  retreat  of  the  congregation  increased 
to  such  a  degree  the  terrour  and  confusion,  which  had 
seized  the  party  at  Edinburgh,  that  before  the  army 
reached  Stirling  it  dwindled  to  an  inconsiderable  num- 
ber. The  spirit  of  Knox,  however,  still  remained  un- 
daunted and  erect;  and,  having  mounted  the  pulpit, 
he  addressed  to  his  desponding  hearers  an  exhortation, 
which  wonderfully  animated  and  revived  them.  The 
heads  of  this  discourse  are  inserted  in  his  history1,  and 
afford  a  striking  example  of  the  boldness  and  freedom 
of  reproof  assumed  by  the  first  reformers,  as  well  as  a 
specimen  of  his  own  skill  in  choosing  the  topics  most 
fitted  to  influence  and  rouse  his  audience. 

The  lords  of     A  meeting  of  the  leaders  being  called,  to  consider 
the  congre-  wnat  course  they  should  hold,  now  that  their  own  re- 

gation  apply  * 

again  to  Eli- sources  were  all  exhausted,  and  their  destruction  ap- 

;t  '  peared  to  be  unavoidable  without  foreign  aid,  they 
turned  their  eyes  once  more  to  England,  and  resolved 
.  to  implore  the  assistance  of  Elizabeth  towards  finishing 
an  enterprise,  in  which  they  had  so  fatally  experienced 
their  own  weakness,  and  the  strength  of  their  adversa- 
ries. Maitland,  as  the  most  able  negotiator  of  the 
party,  was  employed  in  this  embassy.  In  his  absence, 
and  during  the  inactive  season  of  the  year,  it  was  agreed 
to  dismiss  their  followers,  worn  out  by  the  fatigues  of  a 
campaign,  which  had  so  far  exceeded  the  usual  time  of 
service.  But,  in  order  to  preserve  the  counties  most 
devoted  to  their  interest,  the  prior  of  St.  Andrew's,  with 
part  of  the  leaders,  retired  into  Fife.  The  duke  of 
Chatelherault,  with  the  rest,  fixed  his  residence  at 
Hamilton.  There  was  little  need  of  Mainland's  address 
or  eloquence  to  induce  Elizabeth  to  take  his  country 
under  her  protection.  She  observed  the  prevalence  of 
the  French  counsels,  and  the  progress  of  their  arms  in 

i  Knox,  193. 


BOOK  HI.  OF  SCOTLAND.  177 

Scotland,  with  great  concern ;  and,  as  she  well  foresaw     1559. 
the  dangerous  tendency  of  their  schemes  in  that  king-~ 
dom,  she  had  already  come  to  a  resolution,  with  regard 
to  the  part  she  herself  would  act,  if  their  power  there 
should  grow  still  more  formidable. 

In  order  to  give  the  queen  and  her  privy  council  a  Motives 
full  and  distinct  view  of  any  important  matter  which  ^^edde" 
might  come  before  them,  it  seems  to  have  been  the  her  to  assist 
practice  of  Elizabeth's  ministers  to  prepare  memorials, 
in  which  they  clearly  stated  the  point  under  delibera- 
tion, laid  down  the  grounds  of  the  conduct  which  they 
held  to  be  most  reasonable,  and  proposed  a  method  for 
carrying  their  plan  into  execution.  Two  papers  of  this 
kind,  written  by  sir  William  Cecil  with  his  own  hand, 
and  submitted  by  the  queen  to  the  consideration  of  her 
privy  council,  still  remain k;  they  are  entitled,  'A  short 
discussion  of  the  weighty  matter  of  Scotland,'  and  do 
honour  to  the  industry  and  penetration  of  that  great 
minister.  The  motives  which  determined  the  queen  to 
espouse  so  warmly  the  defence  of  the  congregation,  are 
represented  with  perspicuity  and  force ;  and  the  conse- 
quences of  suffering  the  French  to  establish  themselves 
in  Scotland,  are  predicted  with  great  accuracy  and  dis- 
cernment. 

He  lays  it  down  as  a  principle,  agreeable  to  the  laws 
both  of  God  and  of  nature,  that  every  society  hath  a 
right  to  defend  itself,  not  only  from  present  dangers, 
but  from  such  as  may  probably  ensue ;  to  which  he  adds, 
that  nature  and  reason  teach  every  prince  to  defend 
himself  by  the  same  means  which  his  adversaries  em- 
ploy to  distress  him.  Upon  these  grounds  he  esta- 
blishes the  right  of  England  to  interpose  in  the  affairs 
of  Scotland,  and  to  prevent  the  conquest  of  that  king- 
dom, at  which  the  French  openly  aimed.  The  French, 
he  observes,  are  the  ancient  and  implacable  enemies  of 
England.  Hostilities  had  subsisted  between  the  two 

k  Bum.  vol.  iii.  Append.  283.     Forbes,  i.  387,  etc.   Keith,  Append.  24. 

VOL.  r.  N 


178  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  in. 

1559.  nations  for  many  centuries.  No  treaty  of  peace,  into 
""which  they  entered,  had  ever  been  cordial  or  sincere. 
No  good  effect  was,  therefore,  to  be  expected  from  the 
peace,  lately  agreed  upon,  which,  being  extorted  by 
present  necessity,  would  be  negligently  observed,  and 
broken  on  the  slightest  pretences.  In  a  very  short  time, 
France  would  recover  its  former  opulence ;  and,  though 
now  drained  of  men  and  money  by  a  tedious  and  unsuc- 
cessful war,  it  would  quickly  be  in  a  condition  for  act- 
ing, and  the  restless  and  martial  genius  of  the  people 
would  render  action  necessary.  The  princes  of  Lor- 
rain,  who,  at  that  tune,  had  the  entire  direction  of 
French  affairs,  were  animated  with  the  most  virulent 
hatred  against  the  English  nation.  They  openly  called 
in  question  the  legitimacy  of  the  queen's  birth,  and,  by 
advancing  the  title  and  pretensions  of  their  niece,  the 
queen  of  Scotland,  studied  to  deprive  Elizabeth  of  her 
crown.  With  this  view,  they  had  laboured  to  exclude  the 
English  from  the  treaty  of  Chateau  en  Cambresis,  and 
endeavoured  to  conclude  a  separate  peace  with  Spain. 
They  had  persuaded  Henry  the  second  to  permit  his 
daughter-in-law  to  assume  the  title  and  arms  of  queen  of 
England ;  and,  even  since  the  conclusion  of  the  peace, 
they  had  solicited  at  Rome,  and  obtained,  a  bull,  de- 
claring Elizabeth's  birth  to  be  illegitimate.  Though 
the  wisdom  and  moderation  of  the  constable  Montmo- 
rency  had,  for  some  time,  checked  their  career,  yet, 
these  restraints  being  now  removed  by  the  death  of 
Henry  the  second  and  the  disgrace  of  his  minister,  the 
utmost  excesses  of  violence  were  to  be  dreaded  from 
then*  furious  ambition,  armed  with  sovereign  power. 
Scotland  is  the  quarter  whence  they  can  attack  England 
with  most  advantage.  A  war  on  the  borders  of  that 
country,  exposes  France  to  no  danger ;  but  one  unsuc- 
cessful action  there  may  hazard  the  crown,  and  over- 
turn the  government,  of  England.  In  political  conduct, 
it  is  childish  to  wait,  till  the  designs  of  an  enemy  be  ripe 
for  execution.  The  Scottish  nobles,  after  their  utmost 


BOOK  in.  OF  SCOTLAND.  179 

efforts,  have  been  obliged  to  quit  the  field;  and,  far  1559. 
from  expelling  the  invaders  of  their  liberties,  they  be- 
hold  the  French  power  daily  increasing,  and  must,  at 
last,  cease  from  struggling  any  longer  in  a  contest  so 
unequal.  The  invading  of  England  will  immediately 
follow  the  reduction  of  the  Scottish  malecontents,  by 
the  abandoning  of  whom  to  the  mercy  of  the  French, 
Elizabeth  will  open  a  way  for  her  enemies  into  the  heart 
of  her  own  kingdom,  and  expose  it  to  the  calamities  of 
war,  and  the  danger  of  conquest.  Nothing,  therefore, 
remained  but  to  meet  the  enemy,  while  yet  at  a  dis- 
tance from' England,  and,  by  supporting  the  congre- 
gation with  a  powerful  army,  to  render  Scotland  the 
theatre  of  the  war,  to  crush  the  designs  of  the  princes 
of  Lorrain  in  their  infancy,  and,  by  such  an  early  and 
unexpected  effort,  to  expel  the  French  out  of  Britain, 
before  their  power  had  time  to  take  root  and  grow  up 
to-  any  formidable  height.  But,  as  the  matter  was  of 
as  much  importance  as  any  which  could  fall  under  the 
consideration  of  an  English  monarch,  wisdom  and  ma- 
ture counsel  were  necessary  in  the  first  place,  and  after- 
wards vigour  and  expedition  in  conduct;  the  danger 
was  urgent,  and,  by  losing  a  single  moment,  might  be- 
come unavoidable1. 

These  arguments  produced  their  full  effect  upon 
Elizabeth,  who  was  jealous,  in  an  extreme  degree,  of 
every  pretender  to  her  crown,  and  no  less  anxious  to 
preserve  the  tranquillity  and  happiness  of  her  subjects. 
From  these  motives  she  had  acted,  in  granting  the  con- 
gregation an  early  supply  of  money ;  and  from  the  same 
principles  she  determined,  in  their  present  exigency,  to 
afford  them  more  effectual  aid.  One  of  Maitland's  at- 
tendants was  instantly  despatched  into  Scotland,  with 
the  strongest  assurances  of  her  protection,  and  the  lords 
of  the  congregation  were  desired  to  send  commissioners 

1  The  arguments  which  the  Scots  employed,  in  order  to  obtain  Eliza- 
beth's assistance,  are  urged,  with  great  force,  in  a  paper  of  Maitland's. 
See  Append.  No.  II. 

N  2 


BOOK  in. 


1559. 


The  queen 

dowager 

meanwhile 

sends  her 

French 

troops 

against 

them. 


into  England  to  conclude  a  treaty,  and  to  settle  the 
operations  of  the  campaign  with  the  duke  of  Norfolk m. 

Meanwhile,  the  queen  regent,  from  whom  no  motion 
of  the  congregation  could  long  be  concealed,  dreaded 
the  success  of  this  negotiation  with  the  court  of  Eng- 
land, and  foresaw,  how  little  she  would  be  able  to  resist 
the  united  efforts  of  the  two  kingdoms.  For  this  rea- 
son she  determined,  if  possible,  to  get  the  start  of  Eli- 
zabeth ;  and,  by  venturing,  notwithstanding  the  incle- 
mency of  the  winter  season,  to  attack  the  malecontents 
in  their  present  dispersed  and  helpless  situation,  she 
hoped  to  put  an  end  to  the  war  before  the  arrival  of 
their  English  allies. 

A  considerable  body  of  her  French  forces,  who  were 
augmented  about  this  time  by  the  arrival  of  the  count 
de  Martigues,  with  a  thousand  veteran  foot,  and  some 
cavalry,  were  commanded  to  march  to  Stirling.  Hav- 
ing there  crossed  the  Forth,  they  proceeded  along  the 
coast  of  Fife,  destroying  and  plundering,  with  excessive 
outrage,  the  houses  and  lands  of  those  whom  they 
deemed  their  enemies.  Fife  was  the  most  populous  and 
powerful  county  in  the  kingdom,  and  most  devoted  to 
the  congregation,  who  had  hitherto  drawn  from  thence 
their  most  considerable  supplies,  both  of  men  and  pro- 
visions ;  and,  therefore,  besides  punishing  the  disaffec- 
tion of  the  inhabitants,  by  pillaging  the  country,  the 
French  proposed  to  seize  and  fortify  St.  Andrew's,  and 
to  leave  in  it  a  garrison  sufficient  to  bridle  the  mutinous 
spirit  of  the  province,  and  to  keep  possession  of  a  port 
situated  on  the  main  ocean". 

But,  on  this  occasion,  the  prior  of  St.  Andrew's,  lord 
Ruthven,  Kirkaldy  of  Grange,  and  a  few  of  the  most 
active  leaders  of  the  congregation,  performed,  by  their 
bravery  and  good  conduct,  a  service  of  the  utmost  im- 
portance to  their  party.  Having  assembled  six  hundred 
horse,  they  infested  the  French  with  continual  incur- 


">  Keith,  1 1 4.     Rymer,  xv.  p.  569. 


"  Haynes,  221,  etc. 


BOOK  Hi.  OF  SCOTLAND.  181 

sions,  beat  up  their  quarters,  intercepted  their  convoys      1559. 
of  provisions,  cut  off  their  straggling  parties,  and  so  ~~ 
harassed  them  with  perpetual  alarms,  that  they  pre- 
vented them,  for  more  than  three  weeks,  from  advanc- 
ing0. 

At  last  the  prior,  with  his  feeble  party,  was  con-  1560. 
strained  to  retire,  and  the  French  set  out  from  Kirk- 
aldy,  and  began  to  move  along  the  coast  towards  St. 
Andrew's.  They  had  advanced  but  a  few  miles,  when,  Jan.  23. 
from  an  eminence,  they  descried  a  powerful  fleet  steer- 
ing its  course  up  the  frith  of  Forth.  As  they  knew  that 
the  marquis  d'Elbeuf  was,  at  that  time,  preparing  to 
sail  for  Scotland,  with  a  numerous  army,  they  hastily 
concluded  that  these  ships  belonged  to  him,  and  gave 
way  to  the  most  immoderate  transports  of  joy,  on  the 
prospect  of  this  long-expected  succour.  Their  great 
guns  were  already  fired  to  welcome  their  friends,  and 
to  spread  the  tidings  and  terrour  of  their  arrival  among 
their  enemies,  when  a  small  boat  from  the  opposite 
coast  landed,  and  blasted  their  premature  and  short- 
lived triumph,  by  informing  them,  that  it  was  the  fleet 
of  England  which  was  in  sight,  intended  for  the  aid  of 
the  congregation,  and  was  soon  to  be  followed  by  a 
formidable  land  army  p. 

Throughout  her  whole  reign,  Elizabeth  was  cautious,  The  Eng- 
but  decisive;  and,  by  her  promptitude  in  executing  her^^es  to 


resolutions,  joined  to  the  deliberation  with  which  she  their  assist- 

formed  them,  her  administration  became  remarkable, 

no  less  for  its  vigour,  than  for  its  wisdom.     No  sooner 

did  she  determine  to  afford  her  protection  to  the  lords 

of  the  congregation,  than  they  experienced  the  activity, 

as  well  as  the  extent  of  her  power.     The  season  of  the 

year  would  not  permit  her  land  army  to  take  the  field  ; 

but  lest  the  French  should,  in  the  mean  time,  receive 

new   reinforcements,   she   instantly   ordered  a   strong 

squadron  to  cruise  in  the  frith  of  Forth.     She  seems, 

«  Knox,  202.  v  Ibid.  203. 


182  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  in. 

1560.  by  her  instructions  to  Winter,  her  admiral,  to  have 
~  been  desirous  of  preserving  the  appearances  of  friend- 
ship towards  the  French q.  But  these  were  only  ap- 
pearances ;  if  any  French  fleet  should  attempt  to  land, 
he  was  commanded  to  prevent  it  by  every  act  of  hos- 
tility and  violence.  It  was  the  sight  of  this  squadron, 
which  occasioned,  at  first,  so  much  joy  among  the 
French,  but  which  soon  inspired  them  with  such  ter- 
rour,  as  saved  Fife  from  the  effects  of  their  vengeance. 
Apprehensive  of  being  cut  off  from  their  companions 
on  the  opposite  shore,  they  retreated  towards  Stirling 
with  the  utmost  precipitation,  and  in  a  dreadful  season, 
and  through  roads  almost  impassable,  arrived  at  Leith, 
harassed  and  exhausted  with  fatigue r. 

The  English  fleet  cast  anchor  in  the  road  of  Leith, 
and  continuing  in  that  station,  till  the  conclusion  of 
peace,  both  prevented  the  garrison  of  Leith  from  re- 
ceiving succours  of  any  kind,  and  considerably  facili- 
tated the  operations  of  their  own  forces  by  land. 
They  con-  Soon  after  the  arrival  of  the  English  squadron,  the 
trea^  'with  commissi°ners  of  the  congregation  repaired  to  Berwick, 
England,  and  concluded  with  the  duke  of  Norfolk  a  treaty,  the 
bond  of  that  union  with  Elizabeth,  which  was  of  so 
great  advantage  to  the  cause.  To  give  a  check  to  the 
dangerous  and  rapid  progress  of  the  French  arms  in 
Scotland,  was  the  professed  design  of  the  contracting 
parties.  In  order  to  this,  the  Scots  engaged  never  to 
suffer  any  closer  union  of  their  country  with  France ; 
and  to  defend  themselves  to  the  uttermost  against  all 
attempts  of  conquest.  Elizabeth,  on  her  part,  promised 
to  employ  in  Scotland  a  powerful  army  for  their  assist- 
ance, which  the  Scots  undertook  to  join  with  all  their 
forces ;  no  place  in  Scotland  was  to  remain  in  the  hands 
of  the  English ;  whatever  should  be  taken  from  the 
enemy  was  either  to  be  razed,  or  kept  by  the  Scots,  at 
their  choice ;  if  any  invasion  should  be  made  upon  Eng- 

t  Keith,  Append.  45.     Haynes,  231.  '  Knox,  203. 


BOOK  HI.  OF  SCOTLAND.  183 

land,  the  Scots  were  obliged  to  assist  Elizabeth  with      1560. 
part  of  their  forces  ;  and,  to  ascertain  their  faithful  *~ 
observance  of  the  treaty,  they  bound  themselves  to 
deliver  hostages  to  Elizabeth,  before  the  march  of  her 
army  into   Scotland;   in   conclusion,   the   Scots  made 
many  protestations  of  obedience  and  loyalty  towards 
their  own  queen,  in  every  thing  not  inconsistent  with 
their  religion,  and  the  liberties  of  their  country  s. 

The  English  army,  consisting  of  six  thousand  foot  The  Eng- 
and  two  thousand  horse,  under  the  command  of  lord  s 


Gray  of  Wilton,  entered  Scotland  early  in  the  spring,  to  Leith 
The  members  of  the  congregation  assembled  from  all 
parts  of  the  kingdom  to  meet  their  new  allies  ;  and 
having  joined  them,  with  great  multitudes  of  their  fol- 
lowers, they  advanced  together  towards  Leith.  The 
French  were  little  able  to  keep  the  field  against  an 
enemy  so  much  superior  in  number.  A  strong  body  of 
troops,  destined  for  their  relief,  had  been  scattered  by 
a  violent  storm,  and  had  either  perished  on  the  coast  of 
France,  or,  with  difficulty,  had  recovered  the  ports  of 
that  kingdom1.  But  they  hoped  to  be  able  to  defend 
Leith,  till  the  princes  of  Lorrain  should  make  good  the 
magnificent  promises  of  assistance,  with  which  they 
daily  encouraged  them  ;  or  till  scarcity  of  provisions 
should  constrain  the  English  to  retire  into  their  own 
country.  In  order  to  hasten  this  latter  event,  they  did 
not  neglect  the  usual,  though  barbarous,  precaution  for 
distressing  an  invading  enemy,  by  burning  and  laying 
waste  all  the  adjacent  country".  The  zeal,  however, 
of  the  nation  frustrated  their  intentions;  eager-  to  con- 
tribute towards  removing  their  oppressors,  the  people 
produced  their  hidden  stores  to  support  their  friends  ; 
the  neighbouring  counties  supplied  every  thing  neces- 
sary; and,  far  from  wanting  subsistence,  the  English 
found  in  their  camp  all  sorts  of  provisions,  at  a  cheaper 


Knox,  217.     Haynes,  253,  etc.  «  M£m.  de  Castel.  450. 

Knoi,  225. 


1S4  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  m. 

1560.     rate  than  had,  for  some  time,  been  known  in  that  part 
~  of  the  kingdom  x. 

On  the  approach  of  the  English  army,  the  queen  re- 
gent retired  into  the  castle  of  Edinburgh.  Her  health 
was  now  in  a  declining  state,  and  her  mind  broken  and 
depressed  by  the  misfortunes  of  her  administration.  To 
avoid  the  danger  and  fatigue  of  a  siege,  she  committed 
herself  to  the  protection  of  lord  Erskine.  This  noble- 
man still  preserved  his  neutrality,  and,  by  his  integrity, 
and  love  of  his  country,  merited  equally  the  esteem  of 
both  parties.  He  received  the  queen  herself  with  the 
utmost  honour  and  respect,  but  took  care  to  admit  no 
such  retinue  as  might  endanger  his  command  of  the 
castle  y. 

April  6.  A  few  days  after  they  arrived  in  Scotland,  the  Eng- 
lish invested  Leith.  The  garrison  shut  up  within  the 
town  was  almost  half  as  numerous  as  the  army  which 
sat  down  before  it,  and,  by  an  obstinate  defence,  pro- 
tracted the  siege  to  a  great  length.  The  circumstances 
of  this  siege,  related  by  contemporary  historians,  men 
without  knowledge  or  experience  in  the  art  of  war,  are 
often  obscure  and  imperfect,  and,  at  this  distance  of 
time,  are  not  considerable  enough  to  be  entertaining. 

April  15.  At  first  the  French  endeavoured  to  keep  possession 
of  the  Hawk  Hill,  a  rising  ground  not  far  distant  from 
the  town,  but  were  beat  from  it  with  great  slaughter, 
chiefly  by  the  furious  attack  of  the  Scottish  cavalry. 
Within  a  few  days  the  French  had  their  full  revenge ; 
having  sallied  out  with  a  strong  body,  they  entered  the 
English  trenches,  broke  their  troops,  nailed  part  of 
their  cannon,  and  killed  at  least  double  the  number 

May  7.  they  had  lost  in  the  former  skirmish.  Nor  were  the 
English  more  fortunate  in  an  attempt  which  they  made 
to  take  the  place  by  assault ;  they  were  met  with  equal 
courage,  and  repulsed  with  considerable  loss.  From 
the  detail  of  these  circumstances  by  the  writers  of  that 

*  Knox,  225.  y  Forbes's  Collect,  vol.  i.  503.    Keith,  122. 


BOOK  in.  OF  SCOTLAND.  185 

age,  it  is  easy  to  observe  the  different  characters  of  the  1560. 
French  and  English  troops.  The  former,  trained  to~~ 
war,  under  the  active  reigns  of  Francis  the  first  and 
Henry  the  second,  defended  themselves  not  only  with 
the  bravery  but  with  the  skill  of  veterans.  The  latter, 
who  had  been  more  accustomed  to  peace,  still  pre- 
served the  intrepid  and  desperate  valour  peculiar  to 
the  nation,  but  discovered  few  marks  of  military  genius, 
or  of  experience  in  the  practice  of  war.  Every  misfor- 
tune or  disappointment  during  the  siege  must  be  im- 
puted to  manifest  errours  in  conduct.  The  success  of 
the  besieged  in  their  sally  was  owing  entirely  to  the 
security  and  negligence  of  the  English  ;  many  of  their 
officers  were  absent;  their  soldiers  had  left  their  sta- 
tions ;  and  the  trenches  were  almost  without  a  guard z. 
The  ladders,  which  had  been  provided  for  the  assault, 
wanted  a  great  deal  of  the  necessary  length ;  and  the 
troops  employed  in  that  service  were  ill  supported. 
The  trenches  were  opened  at  first  in  an  improper 
place ;  and,  as  it  was  found  expedient  to  change  the 
ground,  both  time  and  labour  were  lost.  The  inability 
of  their  own  generals,  no  less  than  the  strength  of  the 
French  garrison,  rendered  the  progress  of  the  English 
wonderfully  slow.  The  long  continuance,  however,  of 
the  siege,  and  the  loss  of  part  of  their  magazines  by  an 
accidental  fire,  reduced  the  French  to  extreme  distress 
for  want  of  provisions,  which  the  prospect  of  relief 
made  them  bear  with  admirable  fortitude. 

While  the  hopes  and  courage  of  the  French  pro- 
tracted the  siege  so  far  beyond  expectation,  the  leaders 
of  the  congregation  were  not  idle.  By  new  associations 
and  confederacies,  they  laboured  to  unite  their  party 
more  perfectly.  By  publicly  ratifying  the  treaty  con- 
cluded at  Berwick,  they  endeavoured  to  render  the 
alliance  with  England  firm  and  indissoluble.  Among 
the  subscribers  of  these  papers  we  find  the  earl  of 

1  Haynes,  294.  298.  305,  etc. 


186  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  in. 

1560.  Huntly,  and  some  others,  who  had  not  hitherto  con- 
~  curred  with  the  congregation  in  any  of  their  moasures  *. 
Several  of  these  lords,  particularly  the  earl  of  Huntly, 
still  adhered  to  the  popish  church ;  but,  on  this  occa- 
sion, neither  then*  religious  sentiments,  nor  their  former 
cautious  maxims,  were  regarded ;  the  torrent  of  national 
resentment  and  indignation  against  the  French  hurried 
them  onb. 

Death  and  The  queen  regent,  the  instrument,  rather  than  the 
theraueen°fcause>  of  involving  Scotland  in  those  calamities,  under 
dowager,  which  it  groaned  at  that  time,  died  during  the  heat  of 
the  siege.  No  princess  ever  possessed  qualities  more 
capable  of  rendering  her  administration  illustrious,  or 
the  kingdom  happy.  Of  much  discernment,  and  no 
less  address ;  of  great  intrepidity,  and  equal  prudence ; 
gentle  and  humane,  without  weakness ;  zealous  for  her 
religion,  without  bigotry ;  a  lover  of  justice,  without 
rigour.  One  circumstance,  however,  and  that  too  the 
excess  of  a  virtue,  rather  than  any  vice,  poisoned  all 
these  great  qualities,  and  rendered  her  government 
unfortunate,  and  her  name  odious.  Devoted  to  the 
interest  of  France,  her  native  country,  and  attached  to 
the  princes  of  Lorrain,  her  brothers,  with  most  pas- 
sionate fondness,  she  departed,  in  order  to  gratify  them, 
from  every  maxim  which  her  own  wisdom  or  humanity 
would  have  approved.  She  outlived,  in  a  great  mea- 
sure, that  reputation  and  popularity  which  had  smoothed 
her  way  to  the  highest  station  in  the  kingdom ;  and  many 

»  Burn.  vol.  iii.  287.      Knox,  221.      Haynes,  261.  263. 

b  The  dread  of  the  French  power  did,  on  many  occasions,  surmount  the 
zeal  which  the  catholic  nobles  had  for  their  religion.  Besides  the  pre- 
sumptive evidence  for  this,  arising  from  the  memorial  mentioned  by  Burnet, 
History  of  the  Reformation,  vol.  iii.  281,  and  published  by  him,  Appendix, 
p.  278 ;  the  instructions  of  Elizabeth  to  Randolph  her  agent,  put  it  beyond 
all  doubt,  that  many  zealous  papists  thought  the  alliance  with  England  to 
be  necessary  for  preserving  the  liberty  and  independence  of  the  kingdom. 
Keith,  158.  Huntly  himself  began  a  correspondence  with  Elizabeth's 
ministers,  before  the  march  of  the  English  army  into  Scotland.  Hayne&'s 
State  Papers,  261.  263.  See  Append.  No.  III. 


BOOK  in.  OF  SCOTLAND.  187 

examples  of  falsehood,  and  some  of  severity,  in  the  latter  1560. 
part  of  her  administration,  alienated  from  her  the  affec- 
tions  of  a  people  who  had  once  placed  in  her  an  un- 
bounded confidence.  But,  even  by  her  enemies,  these 
unjustifiable  actions  were  imputed  to  the  facility,  not 
to  the  malignity,  of  her  nature ;  and,  while  they  taxed 
her  brothers  and  French  counsellors  with  rashness  and 
cruelty,  they  still  allowed  her  the  praise  of  prudence 
and  of  lenity c.  A  few  days  before  her  death,  she  de- 
sired an  interview  with  the  prior  of  St.  Andrew's,  the 
earl  of  Argyll,  and  other  chiefs  of  the  congregation. 
To  them  she  lamented  the  fatal  issue  of  those  violent 
counsels  which  she  had  been  obliged  to  follow;  and, 
with  the  candour  natural  to  a  generous  mind,  confessed 
the  errours  of  her  own  administration,  and  begged 
forgiveness  of  those  to  whom  they  had  been  hurtful ; 
but,  at  the  same  time,  she  warned  them,  amidst  their 
struggles  for  liberty  and  the  shock  of  arms,  not  to  lose 
sight  of  the  loyalty  and  subjection  which  were  due  to 
their  sovereign d.  The  remainder  of  her  time  she  em- 
ployed in  religious  meditations  and  exercises.  She  even 
invited  the  attendance  of  Willox,  one  of  the  most  emi- 
nent among  the  reformed  preachers,  listened  to  his  in- 
structions with  reverence  and  attention e,  and  prepared 
for  the  approach  of  death  with  a  decent  fortitude. 

Nothing  could  now  save  the  French  troops  shut  up  Motives  of 
in  Leith,  but  the  immediate  conclusion  of  a  peace,  or  !„  conclude 
the  arrival  of  a  powerful  army  from  the  continent.   The  a  peace, 
princes  of  Lorrain  amused  their  party  in  Scotland  with 
continual  expectations  of  the  latter,  and  had,  thereby, 
kept  alive  their  hopes  and  their  courage ;  but,  at  last, 
the  situation  of  France,  rather  than  the  terrour  of  the 
English  arms,  or  the  remonstrances  of  the  Scottish  male- 
contents,  constrained  them,  though  with  reluctance,  to 
turn  their  thoughts  towards  pacific  councils.     The  pro- 


c  Buchanan,  324.  d  Lesley,  de  Rebu«  Gest.  Scot.  222. 

«  Knox,  228. 


188  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  in. 

1560.  testants  in  France  were,  at  that  time,  a  party  formidable 
~~  by  their  number,  and  more  by  the  valour  and  enterpris- 
ing genius  of  their  leaders.  Francis  the  second  had 
treated  them  with  extreme  rigour,  and  discovered,  by 
every  step  he  took,  a  settled  resolution  to  extirpate  their 
religion,  and  to  ruin  those  who  professed  it.  At  the 
prospect  of  this  danger  to  themselves  and  to  their  cause, 
the  protestants  were  alarmed,  but  not  terrified.  Ani- 
mated with  zeal,  and  inflamed  with  resentment,  they 
not  only  prepared  for  their  own  defence,  but  resolved, 
by  some  bold  action,  to  anticipate  the  schemes  of  their 
enemies ;  and,  as  the  princes  of  Lorrain  were  deemed 
the  authors  of  all  the  king's  violent  measures,  they 
marked  them  out  to  be  the  first  victims  of  their  indig- 
nation. Hence,  and  not  from  disloyalty  to  the  king, 
March  15.  proceeded  the  famous  conspiracy  of  Amboise;  and, 
though  the  vigilance  and  good  fortune  of  the  princes 
of  Lorrain  discovered  and  disappointed  that  design,  it 
was  easy  to  observe  new  storms  gathering  in  every  pro- 
vince of  the  kingdom,  and  ready  to  burst  out  with  all 
the  fury  and  outrage  of  civil  war.  In  this  situation, 
the  ambition  of  the  house  of  Lorrain  was  called  off, 
from  the  thoughts  of  foreign  conquests,  to  defend  the 
honour  and  dignity  of  the  French  crown ;  and,  instead 
of  sending  new  reinforcements  into  Scotland,  it  became 
necessary  to  withdraw  the  veteran  troops  already  em- 
ployed in  that  kingdom f. 

The  nego-        In  order  to  conduct  an  affair  of  so  much  importance 
that  pur-     an(l  delicacy,  the  princes  of  Lorrain  made  choice  of 
pose.          Monluc,  bishop  of  Valence,  and  of  the  sieur  de  Randan. 
As  both  these,  especially  the  former,  were  reckoned  in- 
•  ferior  to  no  persons  of  that  age  in  address  and  political 
refinement,  Elizabeth  opposed  to  them  ambassadors  of 
equal  abilities;  Cecil,  her  prime  minister,  a  man  per- 
haps of  the  greatest  capacity  who  had  ever  held  that 
office ;  and  Wotton,  dean  of  Canterbury,  grown  old  in 

f  Lesley,  224. 


BOOK  IIL  OF  SCOTLAND.  189 

the  art  of  negotiating  under  three  successive  monarchs.      1560. 
The  interests  of  the  French  and  English  courts  were  ~~ 
soon  adjusted  by  men  of  so  great  dexterity  in  business; 
and  as  France  easily  consented  to  withdraw  those  forces 
which  had  been  the  chief  occasion  of  the  war,  the  other 
points  in  dispute  between  that  kingdom  and  England 
were  not  matters  of  tedious  or  of  difficult  discussion. 

The  grievances  of  the  congregation,  and  their  de- 
mands upon  their  own  sovereigns  for  redress,  employed 
longer  time,  and  required  to  be  treated  with  a  more 
delicate  hand.  After  so  many  open  attempts,  carried 
on  by  command  of  the  king  and  queen,  in  order  to  over- 
turn the  ancient  constitution,  and  to  suppress  the  reli- 
gion which  they  had  embraced,  the  Scottish  nobles 
could  not  think  themselves  secure,  without  fixing  some 
new  barrier  against  the  future  encroachments  of  regal 
power.  But  the  legal  steps  towards  accomplishing  this 
were  not  so  obvious.  The  French  ambassadors  consi- 
dered the  entering  into  any  treaty  with  subjects,  and 
with  rebels,  as  a  condescension  unsuitable  to  the  dignity 
of  a  sovereign ;  and  their  scruples  on  this  head  might 
have  put  an  end  to  the  treaty,  if  the  impatience  of  both 
parties  for  peace  had  not  suggested  an  expedient,  which 
seemed  to  provide  for  the  security  of  the  subject,  with- 
out derogating  from  the  honour  of  the  prince.  The  Articles  of 
Scottish  nobles  agreed,  on  this  occasion,  to  pass  from111 
the  point  of  right  and  privilege,  and  to  accept  the  re- 
dress of  their  grievances,  as  a  matter  of  favour.  What- 
ever additional  security  their  anxiety  for  personal  safety, 
or  their  zeal  for  public  liberty,  prompted  them  to  de- 
mand, was  granted  in  the  name  of  Francis  and  Mary, 
as  acts  of  their  royal  favour  and  indulgence.  And,  lest 
concessions  of  this  kind  should  seem  precarious,  and 
liable  to  be  retracted  by  the  same  power  which  had 
made  them,  the  French  ambassador  agreed  to  insert 
them  in  the  treaty  with  Elizabeth,  and,  thereby,  to  bind 
the  king  and  queen  inviolably  to  observe  them g. 

s  Keith,  134,  etc. 


190  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  in. 

1560.  In  relating  this  transaction,  contemporary  historians 
""have  confounded  the  concessions  of  Francis  and  Mary 
to  their  Scottish  subjects,  with  the  treaty  between 
France  and  England;  the  latter,  besides  the  ratifica- 
tion of  former  treaties  between  the  two  kingdoms,  and 
stipulations,  with  regard  to  the  time  and  manner  of  re- 
moving both  armies  out  of  Scotland,  contained  an  ar- 
ticle to  which,  as  the  source  of  many  important  events, 
we  shall  often  have  occasion  to  refer.  The  right  of 
Elizabeth  to  her  crown  is,  thereby,  acknowledged  in 
the  strongest  terms;  and  Francis  and  Mary  solemnly 
engage  neither  to  assume  the  title,  nor  to  bear  the  arms 
of  king  and  queen  of  England  in  any  time  to  come  h. 
July  6.  Honourable  as  this  article  was  for  Elizabeth  herself, 

the  conditions  she  obtained  for  her  allies,  the  Scots, 
were  no  less  advantageous  to  them.  Monluc  and  Ran- 
dan consented,  in  the  name  of  Francis  and  Mary,  that 
the  French  forces  in  Scotland  should  instantly  be  sent 
back  into  their  own  country,  and  no  foreign  troops  be 
hereafter  introduced  into  the  kingdom,  without  the 
knowledge  and  consent  of  parliament;  that  the  forti- 
fications of  Leith  and  Dunbar  should  immediately  be 
razed,  and  no  new  fort  be  erected,  without  the  permis- 
sion of  parliament ;  that  a  parliament  should  be  held 
on  the  first  day  of  August,  and  that  assembly  be  deem- 
ed as  valid,  in  all  respects,  as  if  it  had  been  called  by 
the  express  commandment  of  the  king  and  queen ;  that, 
conformable  to  the  ancient  laws  and  customs  of  the 
country,  the  king  and  queen  should  not  declare  war  or 
conclude  peace,  without  the  concurrence  of  parliament ; 
that,  during  the  queen's  absence,  the  administration  of 
government  should  be  vested  in  a  council  of  twelve 
persons,  to  be  chosen  out  of  twenty-four  named  by  par- 
liament, seven  of  which  council  to  be  elected  by  the 
queen,  and  five  by  tb^e  parliament ;  that  hereafter  the 
king  and  queen  should  not  advance  foreigners  to  places 

11  Keith,  134.     Rymer,  xv.  p.  581.  591,  etc.    Haynes,  325—364. 


BOOK  HI.  OF  SCOTLAND.  191 

of  trust  or  dignity  in  the  kingdom,  nor  confer  the  offices  1560. 
of  treasurer  or  comptroller  of  the  revenues  upon  any  ~ 
ecclesiastic ;  that  an  act  of  oblivion,  abolishing  the  guilt 
and  memory  of  all  offences,  committed  since  the  sixth 
of  March  one  thousand  five  hundred  and  fifty-eight, 
should  be  passed  in  the  ensuing  parliament,  and  be 
ratified  by  the  king  and  queen ;  that  the  king  and  queen 
should  not,  under  the  colour  of  punishing  any  violation 
of  their  authority,  during  that  period,  seek  to  deprive 
any  of  their  subjects  of  the  offices,  benefices,  or  estates, 
which  they  now  held ;  that  the  redress  due  to  church- 
men, for  the  injuries  which  they  had  sustained  during 
the  late  insurrections,  should  be  left  entirely  to  the 
cognizance  of  parliament.  With  regard  to  religious 
controversies,  the  ambassadors  declared  that  they  would 
not  presume  to  decide,  but  permitted  the  parliament, 
at  their  first  meeting,  to  examine  the  points  in  differ- 
ence, and  to  represent  their  sense  of  them  to  the  king 
and  queen1. 

To  such  a  memorable  period  did  the  lords  of  the  The  effects 
congregation,  by  their  courage  and  perseverance,  con-  ° 
duct  an  enterprise  which,  at  first,  promised  a  very  dif- 
ferent issue.  From  beginnings  extremely  feeble,  and 
even  contemptible,  the  party  grew,  by  degrees,  to  great 
power;  and,  being  favoured  by  many  fortunate  inci- 
dents, baffled  all  the  efforts  of  their  own  queen,  aided 
by  the  forces  of  a  more  considerable  kingdom.  The 
sovereign  authority  was,  by  this  treaty,  transferred 
wholly  into  the  hands  of  the  congregation ;  that  limited 
prerogative,  which  the  crown  had  hitherto  possessed, 
was  almost  entirely  annihilated ;  and  the  aristocratical 
power,  which  always  predominated  in  the  Scottish  go- 
vernment, became  supreme  and  incontrollable.  By  this 
treaty,  too,  the  influence  of  France,  which  had  long 
been  of  much  weight  in  the  affairs  of  Scotland,  was 
greatly  diminished ;  and  not  only  were  the  present  en- 

»  Keith,  137,  etc. 


192  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  in. 

1560.     croachments  of  that  ambitious  ally  restrained,  but,  by 


confederating  with  England,  protection  was  provided 
against  any  future  attempt  from  the  same  quarter.  At 
the  same  time,  the  controversies  in  religion  being  left 
to  the  consideration  of  parliament,  the  protestants  might 
reckon  upon  obtaining  whatever  decision  was  most  fa- 
vourable to  the  opinions  which  they  professed. 

A  few  days  after  the  conclusion  of  the  treaty,  both 
the  French  and  English  armies  quitted  Scotland. 
A  parlia-         The  eyes  of  every  man  in  that  kingdom  were  turned 
ment  held,  towards  the  approaching  parliament.    A  meeting,  sum- 
moned in  a  manner  so  extraordinary,  at  such  a  critical 
juncture,  and  to  deliberate  upon  matters  of  so  much 
consequence,  was  expected  with  the  utmost  anxiety. 

A  Scottish  parliament  suitable  to  the  aristocratical 
genius  of  the  government,  was  properly  an  assembly  of 
the  nobles.  It  was  composed  of  bishops,  abbots,  ba- 
rons, and  a  few  commissioners  of  boroughs,  who  met 
all  together  in  one  house.  The  lesser  barons,  though 
possessed  of  a  right  to  be  present,  either  in  person  or 
by  their  representatives,  seldom  exercised  it.  The  ex- 
pense of  attending,  according  to  the  fashion  of  the  times, 
with  a  numerous  train  of  vassals  and  dependants ;  the 
inattention  of  a  martial  age  to  the  forms  and  detail  of 
civil  government ;  but,  above  all,  the  exorbitant  autho- 
rity of  the  greater  nobles,  who  had  drawn  the  whole 
power  into  their  own  hands,  made  this  privilege  of  so 
little  value,  as  to  be  almost  neglected.  It  appears  from 
the  ancient  rolls,  that,  during  times  of  tranquillity,  few 
commissioners  of  boroughs,  and  almost  none  of  the 
lesser  barons,  appeared  in  parliament.  The  ordinary 
administration  of  government  was  abandoned,  without 
scruple  or  jealousy,  to  the  king  and  to  the  greater  ba- 
rons. But  in  extraordinary  conjunctures,  when  the 
struggle  for  liberty  was  violent,  and  the  spirit  of  oppo- 
sition to  the  crown  rose  to  a  height,  the  burgesses  and 
lesser  barons  were  roused  from  their  inactivity,  and 
stood  forth  to  vindicate  the  rights  of  their  country. 


BOOK  in.  OF  SCOTLAND.  193 

The  turbulent  reign  of  James  the  third  affords  exam-      1560. 
pies,  in  proof  of  this  observation  k.     The  public  indig-  ~~ 
nation,  against  the  rash  designs  of  that  weak  and  ill- 
advised  prince,  brought  into  parliament,  besides  the 
greater  nobles  and  prelates,  a  considerable  number  of 
the  lesser  barons. 

The  same  causes  occasioned  the  unusual  confluence 
of  all  orders  of  men  to  the  parliament,  which  met  on 
the  first  of  August.  The  universal  passion  for  liberty, 
civil  and  religious,  which  had  seized  the  nation,  suffered 
few  persons  to  remain  unconcerned  spectators  of  an 
assembly,  whose  acts  were  likely  to  prove  decisive  with 
respect  to  both.  From  all  corners  of  the  kingdom  men 
flocked  in,  eager  and  determined  to  aid,  with  their 
voices  in  the  senate,  the  same  cause,  which  they  had 
defended  with  their  swords  in  the  field.  Besides  a  full 
convention  of  peers,  temporal  and  spiritual,  there  ap- 
peared the  representatives  of  almost  all  the  boroughs, 
and  above  an  hundred  barons,  who,  though  of  the  lesser 
order,  were  gentlemen  of  the  first  rank  and  fortune  in 
the  nation1. 

The  parliament  was  ready  to  enter  on  business,  with 
the  utmost  zeal,  when  a  difficulty  was  started  concern- 
ing the  lawfulness  of  the  meeting.  No  commissioner 
appeared  in  the  name  of  the  king  and  queen,  and  no 
signification  of  their  consent-  and  approbation  was  yet 
received.  These  were  deemed  by  many  essential  to  the 
very  being  of  a  parliament.  But,  in  opposition  to  this 
sentiment,  the  express  words  of  the  treaty  of  Edin- 
burgh were  urged,  by  which  this  assembly  was  declared 
to  be  as  valid,  in  all  respects,  as  if  it  had  been  called 
and  appointed  by  the  express  command  of  the  king  and 
queen.  As  the  adherents  of  the  congregation  greatly 
out-numbered  their  adversaries,  the  latter  opinion  pre- 
vailed. Their  boldest  leaders,  and  those  of  most  ap- 
proved zeal,  were  chosen  to  be  lords  of  the  articles, 

"  Keith,  147.  '  Ibid.  146. 

VOL.  I.  O 


194  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  in. 

1560.  who  formed  a  committee  of  ancient  use,  and  of  great 
importance  in  the  Scottish  parliament"1.  The  delibera- 
tions of  the  lords  of  the  articles  were  carried  on  with 
the  most  unanimous  and  active  zeal.  The  act  of  obli- 
vion, the  nomination  of  twenty-four  persons,  out  of 
whom  the  council,  intrusted  with  supreme  authority, 
was  to  be  elected;  and  every  other  thing,  prescribed 
by  the  late  treaty,  or  which  seemed  necessary  to  render 
Its  pro-  it  effectual,  passed  without  dispute  or  delay.  The  ar- 
wTth'nfgard  ticle  of  religion  employed  longer  time,  and  was  attended 
to  religion ;  with  greater  difficulty.  It  was  brought  into  parliament 
by  a  petition  from  those  who  had  adopted  the  principles 
of  the  reformation.  Many  doctrines  of  the  popish  church 
were  a  contradiction  to  reason,  and  a  disgrace  to  reli- 
gion ;  its  discipline  had  become  corrupt  and  oppressive ; 
and  its  revenues  were  both  exorbitant  and  ill-applied. 
Against  all  these  the  protestants  remonstrated,  with  the 
utmost  asperity  of  style,  which  indignation  at  their 
absurdity,  or  experience  of  their  pernicious  tendency, 
could  inspire ;  and,  encouraged  by  the  number,  as  well 
as  zeal  of  their  friends,  to  improve  such  a  favourable 
juncture,  they  aimed  the  blow  at  the  whole  fabric  of 
popery;  and  besought  the  parliament  to  interpose  its 
authority  for  rectifying  these  multiplied  abuses  n. 

Several  prelates,  zealously  attached  to  the  ancient 
superstition,  were  present  in  this  parliament.  But,  dur- 
ing these  vigorous  proceedings  of  the  protestants,  they 
stood  confounded  and  at  gaze ;  and  persevered  in  a  si- 
lence which  was  fatal  to  their  cause.  They  deemed  it 
impossible  to  resist  or  divert  that  torrent  of  religious 
zeal,  which  was  still  in  its  full  strength ;  they  dreaded 
that  their  opposition  would  irritate  their  adversaries, 
and  excite  them  to  new  acts  of  violence ;  they  hoped 

m  From  an  original  letter  of  Hamilton,  archbishop  of  St.  Andrew's,  it 
appears,  that  the  lords  of  articles  were  chosen  in  the  manner,  afterwards 
appointed  by  an  act  of  parliament,  1633.  Keith,  p.  487.  Spotswood 
seems  to  consider  this  to  have  been  the  common  practice.  Hist.  149. 

n  Knox,  237. 


BOOK  in.  OF  SCOTLAND.  195 

that  the  king  and  queen  would  soon  be  at  leisure  to  1560. 
put  a  stop  to  the  career  of  their  insolent  subjects,  and  ~ 
that,  after  the  rage  and  havoc  of  the  present  storm, 
the  former  tranquillity  and  order  would  be  restored  to 
the  church  and  kingdom.  They  were  willing,  perhaps, 
to  sacrifice  the  doctrine,  and  even  the  power  of  the 
church,  in  order  to  ensure  the  safety  of  their  own  per- 
sons, and  to  preserve  the  possession  of  those  revenues 
which  were  still  in  their  hands.  From  whatever  mo- 
tives they  acted,  their  silence,  which  was  imputed  to 
the  consciousness  of  a  bad  cause,  afforded  matter  of 
great  triumph  to  the  protestants,  and  encouraged  them 
to  proceed  with  more  boldness  and  alacrity  °. 

The  parliament  did  not  think  it  enough  to  condemn 
those  doctrines,  mentioned  in  the  petition  of  the  pro- 
testants ;  they,  moreover,  gave  the  sanction  of  their  ap- 
probation to  a  confession  of  faith  presented  to  them  by 
the  reformed  teachers p;  and  composed,  as  might  be 
expected  from  such  a  performance  aj  that  juncture,  on 
purpose  to  expose  the  absurd  tenets  and  practices  of 
the  Romish  church.  By  another  act,  the  jurisdiction 
of  the  ecclesiastical  courts  was  abolished,  and  the  causes, 
which  formerly  came  under  their  cognizance,  were  trans- 
ferred to  the  decision  of  civil  judges  q.  By  a  third  sta- 
tute, the  exercise  of  religious  worship,  according  to  the 
rites  of  the  Romish  church,  was  prohibited.  The  man- 
ner in  which  the  parliament  enforced  the  observation 
of  this  law  discovers  the  zeal  of  that  assembly ;  the  first 
transgression  subjected  the  offender  to  the  forfeiture  of 
his  goods,  and  to  a  corporal  punishment,  at  the  discre- 
tion of  the  judge ;  banishment  was  the  penalty  of  the 
second  violation  of  the  law ;  and  a  third  act  of  disobe- 
dience was  declared  to  be  capital r.  Such  strangers 
were  men,  at  that  time,  to  the  spirit  of  toleration,  and  to 
the  laws  of  humanity ;  and  with  such  indecent  haste  did 

"  Knox,253.  p  Id.  ibid. 

'i  Keith,  152.  r  Knox,  254. 

02 


196  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  HI. 

1560.     the  very  persons,  who  had  just  escaped  the  rigour  of 
"ecclesiastical  tyranny,  proceed  to  imitate  those  exam- 
ples of  severity  of  which  they  themselves  had  so  justly 
complained. 

with  regard  The  vigorous  zeal  of  the  parliament  overturned,  in  a 
venueYo'f  ^ew  days,  t^ie  ancient  system  of  religion,  which  had  been 
the  church,  established  so  many  ages.  In  reforming  the  doctrine 
and  discipline  of  the  church,  the  nobles  kept  pace  with 
the  ardour  and  expectations  even  of  Knox  himself. 
But  their  proceedings,  with  respect  to  these,  were  not 
more  rapid  and  impetuous,  than  they  were  slow  and  di- 
latory, when  they  entered  on  the  consideration  of  eccle- 
siastical revenues.  Among  the  lay  members,  some  were 
already  enriched  with  the  spoils  of  the  church,  and 
others  devoured,  in  expectation,  the  wealthy  benefices 
which  still  remained  untouched.  The  alteration  in  re- 
ligion had  afforded  many  of  the  dignified  ecclesiastics 
themselves  an  opportunity  of  gratifying  their  avarice  or 
ambition.  The  demolition  of  the  monasteries  having 
set  the  monks  at  liberty  from  their  confinement,  they 
instantly  dispersed  all  over  the  kingdom,  and  commonly 
betook  themselves  to  some  secular  employment.  The 
abbot,  if  he  had  been  so  fortunate  as  to  embrace  the 
principles  of  the  reformation  from  conviction,  or  so  cun- 
ning as  to  espouse  them  out  of  policy,  seized  the  whole 
revenues  of  the  fraternity;  and,  except  what  he  allowed 
for  the  subsistence  of  a  few  superannuated  monks s,  ap- 
plied them  entirely  to  his  own  use.  The  proposal,  made 
by  the  reformed  teachers,  for  applying  these  revenues 
towards  the  maintenance  of  ministers,  the  education  of 
youth,  and  the  support  of  the  poor,  was  equally  dreaded 
by  all  these  orders  •  of  men.  They  opposed  it  with  the 
utmost  warmth,  and,  by  their  numbers  and  authority, 
easily  prevailed  on  the  parliament  to  give  no  ear  to  such 
a  disagreeable  demand  *.  Zealous  as  the  first  reformers 
were,  and  animated  with  a  spirit  superior  to  the  low 

»  Keith,  496.  Append.  190,  191.  «  See  Append.  No.  IV. 


BOOK  m.  OF  SCOTLAND.  197 

considerations  of  interest,  they  beheld  these  early  symp-      iseo. 
toms  of  selfishness  and  avarice  among  their  adherents" 
with  amazement  and  sorrow;   and  we  find  Knox  ex- 
pressing the  utmost  sensibility  of  that  contempt,  with 
which  they  were  treated  by  many,  from  whom  he  ex- 
pected a  more  generous  concern  for  the  success  of  reli- 
gion and  the  honour  of  its  ministers  ". 

A  difficulty  hath  been  started  with  regard  to  the  acts  The  validity 
of  this  parliament  concerning  religion.  This  difficulty,  {££*„£"" 
which,  at  such  a  distance  of  time,  is  of  no  importance,  called  in 
was  founded  on  the  words  of  the  treaty  of  Edinburgh.  que! 
By  that,  the  parliament  were  permitted  to  take  into 
consideration  the  state  of  religion,  and  to  signify  their 
sentiments  of  it  to  the  king  and  queen.  But,  instead 
of  presenting  their  desires  to  their  sovereigns,  in  the 
humble  form  of  a  supplication  or  address,  the  parlia- 
ment converted  them  into  so  many  acts;  which,  al- 
though they  never  received  the  royal  assent,  obtained, 
all  over  the  kingdom,  the  weight  and  authority  of  laws. 
In  compliance  with  their  injunctions,  the  established 
system  of  religion  was  every  where  overthrown,  and 
that  recommended  by  the  reformers  introduced  in  its 
place.  The  partiality  and  zeal  of  the  people  over- 
looked or  supplied  any  defect  in  the  form  of  these  acts 
of  parliament,  and  rendered  the  observance  of  them 
more  universal  than  ever  had  been  yielded  to  the  sta- 
tutes of  the  .most  regular  or  constitutional  assembly. 
By  those  proceedings,  it  must,  however,  be  confessed, 
that  the  parliament,  or  rather  the  nation,  violated  the 
last  article  in  the  treaty  of  Edinburgh,  and  even  ex- 
ceeded the  powers  which  belong  to  subjects.  .  But, 
when  once  men  have  been  accustomed  to  break  through 
the  common  boundaries  of  subjection,  and  their  minds 
are  inflamed  with  the  passions,  which  civil  war  inspires, 
it  is  mere  pedantry  or  ignorance  to  measure  their  con- 
duct by  those  rules,  which  can  be  applied  only  where 

"  Knox,  239.  256. 


198  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  in. 

1560.  government  is  in  a  state  of  order  and  tranquillity. .  A 
nation,  when  obliged  to  employ  such  extraordinary  ef- 
forts in  defence  of  its  liberties,  avails  itself  of  every 
thing  which  can  promote  this  great  end ;  and  the  ne- 
cessity of  the  case,  as  well  as  the  importance  of  the  ob- 
ject, justify  any  departure  from  the  common  and  esta- 
blished rules  of  the  constitution. 

Ambassa-  In  consequence  of  the  treaty  of  Edinburgh,  as  well 
the  parlia-^  as  ^y  *ne  ordinary  forms  of  business,  it  became  neces- 
mentto  sary  to  jay  the  proceedings  of  parliament  before  the 
king  and  queen.  For  this  purpose,  sir  James  Sandi- 
lands  of  Calder  lord  St.  John  was  appointed  to  repair 
to  the  court  of  France.  After  holding  a  course  so  ir- 
regular, the  leaders  of  the  congregation  had  no  reason 
to  flatter  themselves,  that  Francis  and  Mary  would  ever 
approve  then"  conduct,  or  confirm  it  by  their  royal 
assent.  The  reception  of  their  ambassador  was  no 
other  than  they  might  have  expected.  He  was  treated 
by  the  king  and  queen  with  the  .utmost  coldness,  and 
dismissed  without  obtaining  the  ratification  of  the  par- 
liament's proceedings.  From  the  princes  of  Lorrain, 
and  their  partizans,  he  endured  all  the  scorn  and  insult, 
which  it  was  natural  for  them  to  pour  upon  the  party 
he  represented  x. 

and  to  Eli-  Though  the  earls  of  Morton,  Glencairn,  and  Mait- 
zabeth.  land  of  Lethington,  the  ambassadors  of  the  parliament, 
to  Elizabeth,  their  protectress,  met  with  a  very  differ- 
ent reception,  they  were  not  more  successful  in  one 
part  of  the  negotiation  intrusted  to  their  care.  The 
Scots,  sensible  of  the  security  which  they  derived  from 
their  union  with  England,  were  desirous  of  rendering  it 
indissoluble.  With  this  view,  they  empowered  these 
eminent  leaders  of  their  party  to  testify  to  Elizabeth 
their  gratitude  for  that  seasonable  and  effectual  aid 
which  she  had  afforded  them,  and,  at  the  same  tune,  to 


*  Knox,  255.     Buch.  327.     State  Papers  published  by  lord  Hardwicke, 
vol.  i.  p.  125,  etc. 


BOOK  HI.  OF  SCOTLAND.  199 

beseech  her  to  render  the  friendship  between  the  na-      1560. 
tions  perpetual,  by  condescending  to  marry  the  earl  of  ~ 
Arran,  who,  though  a  subject,  was  nearly  allied  to  the 
royal  family  of  Scotland,  and,  after  Mary,  the  undoubted 
heir  to  the  crown. 

To  the  former  part  of  this  commission  Elizabeth  list- 
ened with  the  utmost  satisfaction,  and  encouraged  the 
Scots,  in  any  future  exigency,  to  hope  for  the  continu- 
ance of  her  good  offices ;  with  regard  to  the  latter,  she 
discovered  those  sentiments  to  which  she  adhered 
throughout  her  whole  reign.  Averse  from  marriage, 
as  some  maintain  through  choice,  but  more  probably 
out  of  policy,  that  ambitious  princess  would  never  ad- 
mit any  partner  to  the  throne ;  but,  delighted  with  the 
entire  and  uncontrolled  exercise  of  power,  she  sacrificed 
to  the  enjoyment  of  that  the  hopes  of  transmitting  her 
crown  to  her  own  posterity.  The  marriage  with  the 
earl  of  Arran  could  not  be  attended  with  any  such  ex- 
traordinary advantage,  as  to  shake  this  resolution ;  she 
declined  it,  therefore,  but  with  many  expressions  of 
good  will  towards  the  Scottish  nation,  and  of  respect 
for  Arran  himself y. 

Towards  the  conclusion  of  this  year,  distinguished  The  death 
by  so  many  remarkable  events,  there  happened  one  of  °he  " 
great  importance.  On  the  fourth  of  December  died 
Francis  the  second,  a  prince  of  a  feeble  constitution, 
and  of  a  mean  understanding.  As  he  did  not  leave  any 
issue  by  the  queen,  no  incident  could  have  been  more 
fortunate  to  those  who,  during  the  late  commotions  in 
Scotland,  had  taken  part  with  the  congregation.  Mary, 
by  the  charms  of  her  beauty,  had  acquired  an  entire 
ascendant  over  her  husband;  and,  as  she  transferred 
all  her  influence  to  her  uncles,  the  princes  of  Lorrain, 
Francis  followed  them  implicitly  in  whatever  track  they 
were  pleased  to  lead  him.  The  power  of  France,  under 
such  direction,  alarmed  the  Scottish  malecontents  with 

J  Burn.  3.  Append.  308.     Keith,  154,  etc. 


200  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  m. 

1560.  apprehensions  of  danger,  no  less  formidable  than  well- 
"~  founded.  The  intestine  disorders  which  raged  in  France, 
and  the  seasonable  interposition  of  England  in  behalf 
of  the  congregation,  had  hitherto  prevented  the  princes 
of  Lorrain  from  carrying  their  designs  upon  Scotland 
into  execution.  But,  under  their  vigorous  and  decisive 
administration,  it  was  impossible  that  the  commotions 
in  France  could  be  of  long  continuance,  and  many  things 
might  fall  in  to  divert  Elizabeth's  attention,  for  the  fu- 
ture, from  the  affairs  of  Scotland.  In  either  of  these 
events,  the  Scots  would  stand  exposed  to  all  the  ven- 
geance which  the  resentment  of  the  French  court  could 
inflict.  The  blow,  however  long  suspended,  was  un- 
avoidable, and  must  fall  at  last  with  redoubled  weight. 
From  this  prospect  and  expectation  of  danger,  the  Scots 
were  delivered  by  the  death  of  Francis ;  the  ancient 
confederacy  of  the  two  kingdoms  had  already  been 
broken,  and,  by  this  event,  the  chief  bond  of  union 
which  remained  was  dissolved.  Catherine  of  Medicis, 
who  during  the  minority  of  Charles  the  ninth,  her  se- 
cond son,  engrossed  the  entire  direction  of  the  French 
councils,  was  far  from  any  thoughts  of  vindicating  the 
Scottish  queen's  authority.  Catherine  and  Mary  had 
been  rivals  in  power,  during  the  reign  of  Francis  the 
second,  and  had  contended  for  the  government  of  that 
weak  and  unexperienced  prince ;  but,  as  the  charms  of 
the  wife  easily  triumphed  over  the  authority  of  the  mo- 
ther, Catherine  could  never  forgive  such  a  disappoint- 
ment in  her  favourite  passion,  and  beheld  now,  with  se- 
cret pleasure,  the  difficult  and  perplexing  scene  on 
Mary  re-  which  her  daughter-in-law  was  about  to  enter.  Mary, 
tires  from  overwhelmed  with  all  the  sorrow  which  so  sad  a  reverse 

the  court 

of  France,  of  fortune  could  occasion ;  slighted  by  the  queen-mo- 
ther z ;  and  forsaken  by  the  tribe  of  courtiers,  who  ap- 
pear only  in  the  sunshine  of  prosperity,  retired  to 
Rheims,  and  there,  in  solitude,  indulged  her  grief,  or 

1  Renault,  340.     Casteln.  454. 


BOOK  in.  OF  SCOTLAND.  201 

hid  her  indignation.    Even  the  princes  of  Lorrain  were      1560. 
obliged  to  contract  their  views ;  to  turn  them  from  fo-  ~ 
reign  to  domestic  objects ;  and,  instead  of  forming  vast 
projects,  with  regard  to  Britain,  they  found  it  necessary 
to  think  of  acquiring  and  establishing  an  interest  with 
the  new  administration. 

It  is  impossible  to  describe  the  emotions  of  joy  which, 
on  all  these  accounts,  the  death  of  the  French  monarch 
excited  among  the  Scots.  They  regarded  it  as  the  only 
event  which  could  give  firmness  and  stability  to  that 
system  of  religion  and  government  which  was  now  intro- 
duced ;  and  it  is  no  wonder  contemporary  historians 
should  ascribe  it  to  the  immediate  care  of  providence, 
which,  by  unforeseen  expedients,  can  secure  the  peace 
and  happiness  of  kingdoms,  in  those  situations  where 
human  prudence  and  invention  would  utterly  despair". 

About  this  time  the  protestant  church  of  Scotland  Establish- 
began  to  assume  a  regular  form.     Its  principles  had"^° 
obtained   the  sanction  of  public   authority,  and   some  "an  church 
fixed  external  policy  became  necessary  for  the  govern-^0 
ment  and  preservation  of  the  infant  society.    The  model 
introduced  by  the  reformers  differed  extremely  from 
that  which  had  been  long  established.     The  motives 
which  induced  them  to-  depart  so  far  from  the  ancient 
system  deserve  to  be  explained. 

The  licentious  lives  of  the  clergy,  as  has  been  already 
observed,  seem  to  have  been  among  the  first  things  that 
excited  any  suspicion  concerning  the  truth  of  the  doc- 
trines which  they  taught,  and  roused  that  spirit  of  in- 
quiry which  proved  fatal  to  the  popish  system.  As  this 
disgust  at  the  vices  of  ecclesiastics  was  soon  transferred 
to  their  persons,  and  shifting  from  them,  by  no  violent 
transition,  settled  at  last  upon  the  offices  which  they 
enjoyed ;  the  effects  of  the  reformation  would  naturally 
have  extended  not  only  to  the  doctrine,  but  to  the  form 
of  government  in  the  popish  church ;  and  the  same  spirit 

»  Knox,  259. 


202  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  in. 

1560.  which  abolished  the  former,  would  have  overturned  the 
~~  latter.  But  in  the  arrangements  which  took  place  in  the 
different  kingdoms  and  states  of  Europe,  in  consequence 
of  the  reformation,  we  may  observe  something  similar 
to  what  happened  upon  the  first  establishment  of  Chris- 
tianity in  the  Roman  empire.  In  both  periods,  the  form 
of  ecclesiastical  policy  was  modelled,  in  some  measure, 
upon  that  of  the  civil  government.  When  the  Christian 
church  was  patronised  and  established  by  the  state, 
the  jurisdiction  of  the  various  orders  of  ecclesiastics, 
distinguished  by  the  names  of  patriarchs,  archbishops, 
and  bishops,  was  made  to  correspond  with  the  various 
divisions  of  the  empire ;  and  the  ecclesiastic  of  chief 
eminence,  in  each  of  these,  possessed  authority,  more  or 
less  extensive,  in  proportion  to  that  of  the  civil  magis- 
trate who  presided  over  the  same  district.  When  the 
reformation  took  place,  the  episcopal  form  of  govern- 
ment, with  its  various  ranks  and  degrees  of  subordina- 
tion, appearing  to  be  most  consistent  with  the  genius  of 
monarchy,  it  was  continued,  with  a  few  limitations,  in 
several  provinces  of  Germany,  in  England,  and  in  the 
northern  kingdoms.  But  in  Switzerland  and  some 
parts  of  the  low  countries,  where  the  popular  form  of 
government  ah1  owed  more  full  scope  to  the  innovating 
genius  of  the  reformation,  all  preeminence  of  order  in 
the  church  was  destroyed,  and  an  equality  established 
more  suitable  to  the  spirit  of  republican  policy.  As  the 
model  of  episcopal  government  was  copied  from  that  of 
the  Christian  church,  as  established  in  the  Roman  em- 
pire, the  situation  of  the  primitive  church,  prior  to  its 
establishment  by'civil  authority,  seems  to  have  suggested 
the  idea,  and  furnished  the  model  of  the  latter  system, 
which  has  since  been  denominated  '  presbyterian.'  The 
first  Christians,  oppressed  by  continual  persecutions,  and 
obliged  to  hold  their  religious  assemblies  by  stealth  and 
in  corners,  were  contented  with  a  form  of  government 
extremely  simple.  The  influence  of  religion  concurred 
with  the  sense  of  danger,  in  extinguishing  among  them 


BOOK  in.  OF  SCOTLAND.  203 

the  spirit  of  ambition,  and  in  preserving  a  parity  of  rank,  1560. 
the  effect  of  their  sufferings,  and  the  cause  of  many  of~ 
their  virtues.  Calvin,  whose  decisions  were  received 
among  many  protestants  of  that  age  with  incredible 
submission,  was  the  patron  and  restorer  of  this  scheme 
of  ecclesiastical  policy.  The  church  of  Geneva,  formed 
under  his  eye  and  by  his  direction,  was  deemed  the 
most  perfect  model  of  this  government;  and  Knox,  who, 
during  his  residence  in  that  city,  had  studied  and  ad- 
mired it,  warmly  recommended  it  to  the  imitation  of  his 
countrymen. 

Among  the  Scottish  nobility,  some  hated  the  persons, 
and  others  coveted  the  wealth,  of  the  dignified  clergy ; 
and  by  abolishing  that  order  of  men,  the  former  indulged 
their  resentment,  and  the  latter  hoped  to  gratify  their 
avarice.  The  people,  inflamed  with  the  most  violent 
aversion  to  popery,  and  approving  of  every  scheme 
that  departed  farthest  from  the  practice  of  the  Romish 
church,  were  delighted  with  a  system  so  admirably 
suited  to  their  predominant  passion :  while  the  friends 
of  civil  liberty  beheld  with  pleasure  the  protestant  clergy 
pulling  down  with  their  own  hands  that  fabric  of  eccle- 
siastical power  which  their  predecessors  had  reared 
with  so  much  art  and  industry ;  and  flattered  themselves 
that,  by  lending  their  aid  to  strip  churchmen  of  their 
dignity  and  wealth,  they  might  entirely  deliver  the  na- 
tion from  their  exorbitant  and  oppressive  jurisdiction. 
The  new  mode  of  government  easily  made  its  way  among 
men  thus  prepared,  by  their  various  interests  and  pas- 
sions, for  its  reception. 

But,  on  the  first  introduction  of  his  system,  Knox 
did  not  deem  it  expedient  to  depart  altogether  from 
the  ancient  formb.  Instead  of  bishops,  he  proposed 
to  establish  ten  or  twelve  superintendents  in  different 
parts  of  the  kingdom.  These,  as  the  name  implies, 
were  empowered  to  inspect  the  life  and  doctrine  of  the 

h  Spotswood,  158. 


204  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  in. 

1560.  other  clergy.     They  presided  in  the  inferior  judicato- 
~  ries  of  the  church,  and  performed  several  other  parts 

of  the  episcopal  function.  Their  jurisdiction,  however, 
extended  to  sacred  things  only ;  they  claimed  no  seat 
in  parliament,  and  pretended  no  right  to  the  dignity  or 
revenues  of  the  former  bishops. 

The  number  of  inferior  clergy,  to  whom  the  care  of 
parochial  duty  could  be  committed,  was  still  extremely 
small ;  they  had  embraced  the  principles  of  the  refor- 
mation at  different  times,  and  from  various  motives ; 
during  the  public  commotions,  they  were  scattered, 
merely  by  chance,  over  the  different  provinces  of  the 
kingdom,  and  in  a  few  places  only  were  formed  into  re- 
Dec.  20.  gular  classes  or  societies.  The  first  general  assembly 
of  the  church,  which  was  held  this  year,  bears  all  the 
marks  of  an  infant  and  unformed  society.  The  mem- 
bers were  but  few  in  number,  and  of  no  considerable 
rank ;  no  uniform  or  consistent  rule  seems  to  have  been 
observed  in  electing  them.  From  a  great  part  of  the 
kingdom  no  representatives  appeared.  In  the  name  of 
some  entire  counties,  but  one  person  was  present ;  while, 
in  other  places,  a  single  town  or  church  sent  several 
members.  A  convention  so  feeble  and  irregular,  could 
not  possess  extensive  authority ;  and,  conscious  of  their 
own  weakness,  the  members  put  an  end  to  their  debates, 
without  venturing  upon  any  decision  of  much  import- 
ance c. 

1561.  In  order  to  give  greater  strength  and  consistence  to 
the  presbyterian  plan,  Knox,  with  the  assistance  of  his 
brethren,  composed  the  first  book  of  discipline,  which 
contains  the  model  or  platform  of  the  intended  policy d. 

Jan.  15.  They  presented  it  to  a  convention  of  estates,  which  was 
held  in  the  beginning  of  this  year.  Whatever  regula- 
tions were  proposed,  with  regard  to  ecclesiastical  disci- 
pline and  jurisdiction,  would  have  easily  obtained  the 
sanction  of  that  assembly ;  but  a  design  to  recover  the 

«  Keith,  498.  d  Spots.  152. 


BOOK  in.     ,        OF  SCOTLAND.  205 

patrimony  of  the  church,  which  is  there  insinuated,  met      1561. 
with  a  very  different  reception. 

In  vain  did  the  clergy  display  the  advantages  which 
would  accrue  to  the  public,  by  a  proper  application  of 
ecclesiastical  revenues.  In  vain  did  they  propose,  by 
an  impartial  distribution  of  this  fund,  to  promote  true 
religion,  to  encourage  learning,  and  to  support  the  poor. 
In  vain  did  they  even  intermingle  threatenings  of  the 
divine  displeasure  against  the  unjust  detainers  of  what 
was  appropriated  to  a  sacred  use.  The  nobles  held 
fast  the  prey  which  they  had  seized;  and,  bestowing 
upon  the  proposal  the  name  of  a  '  devout  imagination,' 
they  affected  to  consider  it  as  a  project  altogether  vi- 
sionary, and  treated  it  with  the  utmost  scorn8. 

This  convention  appointed  the  prior  of  St.  Andrew's  The  queen 
to  repair  to  the  queen,  and  to  invite  her  to  return  into  J."^  in°0 
her  native  country,  and  to  assume  the  reins  of  govern-  Scotland. 
ment,  which  had  been  too  long  committed  to  other 
hands.  Though  some  of  her  subjects  dreaded  her  re- 
turn, and  others  foresaw  dangerous  consequences  with 
which  it  might  be  attended f,  the  bulk  of  them  desired 
it  with  so  much  ardour,  that  the  invitation  was  given, 
with  the  greatest  appearance  of  unanimity.  But  the 
zeal  of  the  Roman  catholics  got  the  start  of  the  prior, 
in  paying  court  to  Mary ;  and  Lesley,  afterwards  bishop 
of  Ross,  who  was  commissioned  by  them,  arrived  before 
him  at  the  place  of  her  residence8.  Lesley  endeavoured 
to  infuse  into  the  queen's  mind  suspicions  of  her  protes- 
tant  subjects,  and  to  persuade  her  to  throw  herself 
entirely  into  the  arms  of  those  who  adhered  to  her  own 
religion.  For  this  purpose,  he  insisted  that  she  should 
land  at  Aberdeen ;  and,  as  the  protestant  doctrines  had 
made  no  considerable  progress  in  that  part  of  the  king- 
dom, he  gave  her  assurance  of  being  joined  in  a  few 
days  by  twenty  thousand  men ;  and  flattered  her  that, 
with  such  an  army,  encouraged  by  her  presence  and  au- 

e  Knox,  256.  '  See  Append.  No.  V.  *  Lesley,  227. 


206  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  in. 

1561.  thority,  she  might  easily  overturn  the  reformed  church, 
"before  it  was  firmly  settled  on  its  foundations. 

But,  at  this  juncture,  the  princes  of  Lorrain  were 
not  disposed  to  listen  to  this  extravagant  and  dangerous 
proposal.  Intent  on  defending  themselves  against  Ca- 
therine of  Medicis,  whose  insidious  policy  was  employed 
in  undermining  their  exorbitant  power,  they  had  no 
leisure  to  attend  to  the  affairs  of  Scotland,  and  wished 
their  niece  to  take  possession  of  her  kingdom,  with  as 
little  disturbance  as  possible.  The  French  officers  too, 
who  had  served  in  Scotland,  dissuaded  Mary  from  all 
violent  measures ;  and,  by  representing  the  power  and 
number  of  the  protestants  to  be  irresistible,  determined 
her  to  court  them  by  every  art ;  and  rather  to  employ 
the  leading  men  of  that  party  as  ministers,  than  to  pro- 
voke them,  by  a  fruitless  opposition,  to  become  her 
enemies1'.  Hence  proceeded  the  confidence  and  affec- 
tion, with  which  the  prior  of  St.  Andrew's  was  received 
by  the  queen.  His  representation  of  the  state  of  the 
kingdom  gained  great  credit;  and  Lesley  beheld  with 
regret  the  new  channel  in  which  court  favour  was  likely 
to  run. 

Another  convention  of  estates  was  held  in  May.  The 
arrival  of  an  ambassador  from  France  seems  to  have 
been  the  occasion  of  this  meeting.  He  was  instructed 
to  solicit  the  Scots  to  renew  their  ancient  alliance  with 
France,  to  break  their  new  confederacy  with  England, 
and  to  restore  the  popish  ecclesiastics  to  the  possession 
of  their  revenues  and  the  exercise  of  their  functions. 
It  is  no  easy  matter  to  form  any  conjecture  concerning 
the  intentions  of  the  French  court,  in  making  these 
extraordinary  and  ill-timed  propositions.  They  were 
rejected  with  that  scorn  which  might  well  have  been 
expected  from  the  temper  of  the  nation '. 

In  this  convention,  the  protestant  clergy  did  not  ob- 
tain a  more  favourable  audience  than  formerly,  and 

»'  Melv.  61.  *  Knox,  269.  273. 


BOOK  in.  OF  SCOTLAND.  207 

their  prospect  of  recovering  the  patrimony  of  the  church  1561. 
still  remained  as  distant  and  uncertain  as  ever.  But,  ~ 
with  regard  to  another  point,  they  found  the  zeal  of 
the  nobles  in  no  degree  abated.  The  book  of  discipline 
seemed  to  require  that  the  monuments  of  popery,  which 
still  remained  in  the  kingdom,  should  be  demolished k; 
and,  though  neither  the  same  pretence  of  policy,  nor 
the  same  ungovernable  rage  of  the  people,  remained  to 
justify  or  excuse  this  barbarous  havoc,  the  convention, 
considering  every  religious  fabric  as  a  relic  of  idolatry, 
passed  sentence  upon  them  by  an  act  in  form ;  and  per- 
sons the  most  remarkable  for  the  activity  of  their  zeal 
were  appointed  to  put  it  in  execution.  Abbeys,  cathe- 
drals, churches,  libraries,  records,  and  even  the  sepul- 
chres of  the  dead,  perished  in  one  common  ruin.  The 
storm  of  popular  insurrection,  though  impetuous  and 
irresistible,  had  extended  only  to  a  few  counties,  and 
soon  spent  its  rage ;  but  now  a  deliberate  and  universal 
rapine  completed  the  devastation  of  every  thing  venera- 
ble and  magnificent  which  had  escaped  its  violence1. 

In  the  mean  time,  Mary  was  in  no  haste  to  return  Mary  bc- 
into  Scotland.  Accustomed  to  the  elegance,  splendour, 
and  gaiety  of  a  polite  court,  she  still  fondly  lingered  in 
France,  the  scene  of  all  these  enjoyments,  and  contem- 
plated with  horrour  the  barbarism  of  her  own  country, 
and  the  turbulence  of  her  subjects,  which  presented 
her  with  a  very  different  face  of  things.  The  impa- 
tience, however,  of  her  people,  the  persuasions  of  her 
uncles,  but,  above  all,  the  studied  and  mortifying  neg- 
lect with  which  she  was  treated  by  the  queen-mother, 
forced  her  to  think  of  beginning  this  disagreeable 
voyage"1.  But,  while  she  was  preparing  for  it,  there 
were  sown  between  her  and  Elizabeth  the  seeds  of  that 
personal  jealousy  and  discord,  which  embittered  the 
life,  and  shortened  the  days  of  the  Scottish  queen. 


k  Spotswood,  153.  '  Ibid.  174. 

">  Brantome,  Jebb,  vol.ii.  482. 


208  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  m. 

1561.  The  ratification  of  the  late  treaty  of  Edinburgh  was 
Orjgin  Of  the  immediate  occasion  of  this  fatal  animosity ;  the  true 
the  discoid  causes  of  it  lay  much  deeper.  Almost  every  article  in 

between  her  111  ^   ,       ^      i  .., 

and  Eliza-  that  treaty  had  been  executed  by  both  parties  with  a 
scrupulous  exactness.  The  fortifications  of  Leith  were 
demolished,  and  the  armies  of  France  and  England 
withdrawn  within  the  appointed  time.  The  grievances 
of  the  Scottish  malecontents  were  redressed,  and  they 
had  obtained  whatever  they  could  demand  for  their  fu- 
ture security.  With  regard  to  all  these,  Mary  could 
have  little  reason  to  decline,  or  Elizabeth  to  urge,  the 
ratification  of  the  treaty. 

The  sixth  article  remained  the  only  source  of  contest 
and  difficulty.  No  minister  ever  entered  more  deeply 
into  the  schemes  of  his  sovereign,  or  pursued  them  with 
more  dexterity  and  success,  than  Cecil.  In  the  conduct 
of  the  negotiation  at  Edinburgh,  the  sound  understand- 
ing of  this  able  politician  had  proved  greatly  an  over- 
match for  Monluc's  refinements  in  intrigue,  and  had 
artfully  induced  the  French  ambassadors,  not  only  to 
acknowledge  that  the  crowns  of  England  and  Ireland 
did  of  right  belong  to  Elizabeth  alone,  but  also  to  pro- 
mise, that,  in  all  times  to  come,  Mary  should  abstain 
from  using  the  titles,  or  bearing  the  arms,  o£  those 
kingdoms. 

The  ratification  of  this  article  would  have  been  of 
the  most  fatal  consequence  to  Mary.  The  crown  of 
England  was  an  object  worthy  of  her  ambit jon.  Her 
pretensions  to  it  gave  her  great  dignity  and  importance 
in  the  eyes  of  all  Europe.  By  many,  her  title  was  es- 
teemed preferable  to  that  of  Elizabeth.  Among  the 
English  themselves,  the  Roman  catholics,  who  formed,  at 
that  time,  a  numerous  and  active  party,  openly  espoused 
this  opinion ;  and  even  the  protestants,  who  supported 
Elizabeth's  throne,  could  not  deny  the  queen  of  Scots 
to 'be  her  immediate  heir.  A  proper  opportunity  to 
avail  herself  of  all  these  advantages  could  not,  in  the 
course  of  things,  be  far  distant,  and  many  incidents 


BOOK  HI.  OF  SCOTLAND.  209 

might  fall  in,  to  bring  this  opportunity  nearer  than  was     1561. 
expected.     In  these  circumstances,  Mary,  by  ratifying" 
the  article  in  dispute,  would  have  lost  that  rank  which 
she  had  hitherto  held  among  neighbouring  princes ;  the 
zeal  of  her  adherents  must  have  gradually  cooled ;  and 
she  might  have  renounced,  from  that  moment,  all  hopes 
of  ever  wearing  the  English  crown". 

None  of  these  beneficial  consequences  escaped  the 
penetrating  eye  of  Elizabeth,  who,  for  this  reason,  had 
recourse  to  every  thing  by  which  she  could  hope  either 
to  sooth  or  frighten  the  Scottish  queen  into  a  compli- 
ance with  her  demands ;  and  if  that  princess  had  been  so 
unadvised  as  to  ratify  the  rash  concessions  of  her  am- 
bassadors, Elizabeth,  by  that  deed,  would  have  acquired 
an  advantage,  which,  under  her  management,  must  have 
turned  to  great  account.  By  such  a  renunciation,  the 
question  with  regard  to  the  right  of  succession  would 
have  been  left  altogether  open  and  undecided ;  and,  by 
means  of  that,  Elizabeth  might  either  have  kept  her  rival 
in  perpetual  anxiety  and  dependence,  or,  by  the  authority 
of  her  parliament,  she  might  have  broken  in  upon  the 
order  of  lineal  succession,  and  transferred  the  crown  to 
some  other  descendant  of  the  royal  blood.  The  former 
conduct  she  observed  towards  James  the  sixth,  whom 
during  his  whole  reign,  she  held  in  perpetual  fear  and 
subjection.  The  latter  and  more  rigorous  method  of 
proceeding  would,  in  all  probability,  have  been  employed 
against  Mary,  whom  for  many  reasons  she  both  envied 
and  hated. 

Nor  was  this  step  beyond  her  power,  unprecedented 
in  the  history,  or  inconsistent  with  the  constitution,  of 
England.  Though  succession  by  hereditary  right  be 
an  idea  so  natural  and  so  popular,  that  it  has  been  es- 
tablished in  almost  every  civilized  nation,  yet  England 
affords  many  memorable  instances  of  deviations  from 
that  rule.  The  crown  of  that  kingdom  having  once 

«  Haynes.  373,  etc. 
VOL.   I.  P 


210  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  in. 

\ 

1561.  been  seized  by  the  hand  of  a  conqueror,  this  invited 
~  the  bold  and  enterprising  in  every  age  to  imitate  such 
an  illustrious  example  of  fortunate  ambition.  From  the 
time  of  William  the  Norman,  the  regular  course  of  de- 
scent had  seldom  continued  through  three  successive 
reigns.  Those  princes,  whose  intrigues  or  valour  opened 
to  them  a  way  to  the  throne,  called  in  the  authority  of 
the  great  council  of  the  nation  to  confirm  their  dubious 
titles.  Hence  parliamentary  and  hereditary  right  be- 
came in  England  of  equal  consideration.  That  great 
assembly  claimed,  and  actually  possessed  a  power  of 
altering  the  order  of  regal  succession ;  and  even  so  late 
as  Henry  the  eighth  an  act  of  parliament  had  autho- 
rized that  capricious  monarch  to  settle  the  order  of  suc- 
cession at  his  pleasure.  The  English,  jealous  of  their 
religious  liberty,  and  averse  from  the  dominion  of  stran- 
gers, would  have  eagerly  adopted  the  passions  of  their 
sovereign,  and  might  have  been  easily  induced  to  ex- 
clude the  Scottish  line  from  the  right  of  succeeding  to 
the  crown.  These  seem  to  have  been  the  views  of  both 
queens,  and  these  were  the  difficulties  which  retarded 
the  ratification  of  the  treaty  of  Edinburgh. 

But,  if  the  sources  of  their  discord  were  to.be  traced 
no  higher  than  this  treaty,  an  inconsiderable  alteration 
in  the  words  of  it  might  have  brought  the  present  ques- 
tion to  an  amicable  issue.  The  indefinite  and  ambigu- 
ous expression  which  Cecil  had  inserted  into  the  treaty, 
.  might  have  been  changed  into  one  more  limited  but 
more  precise ;  and  Mary,  instead  of  promising  to  abstain 
from  bearing  the  title  of  queen  of  England,  in  all  times 
to  come,  might  have  engaged  not  to  assume  that  title 
during  the  life  of  Elizabeth,  or  the  lives  of  her  lawful 
posterity  °. 

0  This  expedient  for  terminating  the  difference  between  Elizabeth  and 
Mary  was  so  obviou's,  that  it  could  not  fail  of  presenting  itself  to  the  view 
of  the  English  ministers.  "  There  hath  been  a  matter  secretly  thought  of, 
(says  Cecil  in  a  letter  to  Throkmorton,  July  14,  1561,)  which  I  dare  com- 
municate to  you,  although  I  mean  never  to  be  an  author  thereof;  and  that 


BOOK  in.  OF  SCOTLAND.  211 

Such  an  amendment,  however,  did  not  suit  the  views  1561. 
of  either  queen.  Though  Mary  had  been  obliged  to  "~ 
suspend,  for  some  time,  the  prosecution  of  her  title  to 
the  English  crown,  she  had  not,  however,  relinquished 
it.  She  determined  to  revive  her  claim  on  the  first 
prospect  of  success,  and  was  unwilling  to  bind  herself, 
by  a  positive  engagement,  not  to  take  advantage  of  any 
such  fortunate  occurrence.  Nor  would  the  alteration 
have  been  more  acceptable  to  Elizabeth,  who,  by  agree- 
ing to  it,  would  have  tacitly  recognised  the  right  of  her 
rival  to  ascend  the  throne  after  her  decease.  But  nei- 
ther the  Scottish  nor  English  queen  durst  avow  these 
secret  sentiments  of  their  hearts.  Any  open  discovery 
of  an  inclination  to  disturb  the  tranquillity  of  England, 
or  to  wrest  the  sceptre  out  of  Elizabeth's  hands,  might 
have  proved  fatal  to  Mary's  pretensions.  Any  sus- 
picion of  a  design  to  alter  the  order  of  succession,  and 
to  set  aside  the  claim  of  the  Scottish  queen,  would  have 
exposed  Elizabeth  to  much  and  deserved  censure,  and 
have  raised  up  against  her  many  and  dangerous  ene- 
mies. These,  however  carefully  concealed  or  artfully 
disguised,  were,  in  all  probability,  the  real  motives 
which  determined  the  one  queen  to  solicit,  and  the 
other  to  refuse,  the  ratification  of  the  treaty  in  its  ori- 
ginal form ;  while  neither  had  recourse  to  that  explica- 

is,  if  an  accord  might  be  made  betwixt  our  mistress  and  the  Scottish  queen, 
that  this  should  by  parliament  in  Scotland,  etc.  surrender  unto  the  queen's 
majesty  all  matter  of  claim,  and  unto  the  heirs  of  her  body;  and  in  con- 
sideration thereof,  the  Scottish  queen's  interest  should  be  acknowledged  in 
default  of  heirs  of  the  body  of  the  queen's  majesty.  Well,  God  send  our 
mistress  a  husband,  and  by  time  a  son,  that  we  may  hope  our  posterity  shall 
have  a  masculine  succession.  This  matter  is  too  big  for  weak  folks,  and  too 
deep  for  simple.  The  queen's  majesty  knoweth  of  it."  Hardw.  State  Pap. 
i.  174.  But  with  regard  to  every  point  relating  to  the  succession,  Elizabeth 
was  so  jealous  and  so  apt  to  take  offence,  that  her  most  confidential  minis- 
ters durst  not  urge  her  to  advance  one  step  farther  than  she  herself  chose  to 
go.  Cecil,  mentioning  some  scheme  about  the  succession,  if  the  queen 
should  not  marry  or  leave  issue,  adds,  with  his  usual  caution  :  "  This  song 
hath  many  parts;  but,  for  my  part,  I  have  no  skill  but  in  plain  song." 
Ibid.  178. 

P2 


THE  HISTORY  BOOK  in. 

1561.     tion  of  it,  which,  to  an  heart  unwarped  by  political 
"interest,  and  sincerely  desirous  of  union  and  concord, 
would  have  appeared  so  obvious  and  natural. 

But,  though  considerations  of  interest  first  occasioned 
this  rupture  between  the  British  queens,  rivalship  of 
another  kind  contributed  to  widen  the  breach,  and  fe- 
male jealousy  increased  the  violence  of  their  political 
hatred.  Elizabeth,  with  all  those  extraordinary  quali- 
ties by  which  she  equalled  or  surpassed  such  of  her  sex 
as  have  merited  the  greatest  renown,  discovered  an  ad- 
miration of  her  own  person,  to  a  degree  which  women 
of  ordinary  understandings  either  do  not  entertain,  or 
prudently  endeavour  to  conceal.  Her  attention  to  dress, 
her  solicitude  to  display  her  charms,  her  love  of  flattery, 
were  all  excessive.  Nor  were  these  weaknesses  confined 
to  that  period  of  life,  when  they  are  more  pardonable. 
Even  in  very  advanced  years,  the  wisest  woman  of  that, 
or,  perhaps,  of  any  other  age,  wore  the  garb  and  af- 
fected the  manners  of  a  girl p.  Though  Elizabeth  was 
as  much  inferior  to  Mary  in  beauty  and  gracefulness  of 
person,  as  she  excelled  her  in  political  abilities  and  in 
the  arts  of  government,  she  was  weak  enough  to  com- 
pare herself  with  the  Scottish  queen q;  and,  as  it  was 
impossible  she  could  be  altogether  ignorant  how  much 
Mary  gained  by  the  comparison,  she  envied  and  hated 
her,  as  a  rival  by  whom  she  was  eclipsed.  In  judging 
of  the  conduct  of  princes,  we  are  apt  to  ascribe  too 
much  to  political  motives,  and  too  little  to  the  passions 
which  they  feel  in  common  with  the  rest  of  mankind. 
In  order  to  account  for  Elizabeth's  present,  as  well  as 
her  subsequent,  conduct  towards  Mary,  we  must  not 
always  consider  her  as  a  queen,  we  must  sometimes 
regard  her  merely  as  a  woman. 

Elizabeth,  though  no  stranger  to  Mary's  difficulties 


v  Johnston,  Hist.  Rer.  Britan.  346,  347.    Carte,  voL  iii.  699.    Catalogue 
of  Royal  and  Noble  Authors,  article  Essex. 
t  Melvil,  98. 


BOOK  in.  OF  SCOTLAND.  213 

with  respect  to  the  treaty,  continued  to  urge  her,  by     1561. 
repeated  applications,  to  ratify  itr.     Mary,  under  vari-~ 
ous  pretences,  still  contrived  to  gain  time,  and  to  elude 
the  request.     But,  while  the  one  queen  solicited  with 
persevering  importunity,  and  the  other  evaded  with 
artful  delay,  they  both  studied  an  extreme  politeness 
of  behaviour,  and  loaded  each  other  with  professions  of 
sisterly  love,  with  reciprocal  declarations  of  unchange- 
able esteem  and  amity. 

It  was  not  long  before  Mary  was  convinced,  that 
among  princes  these  expressions  of  friendship  are  com- 
monly  far   distant  from   the   heart.     In  sailing   from 
France  to  Scotland,  the  course  lies  along  the  English 
coast.    In  order  to  be  safe  from  the  insults  of  the  Eng- 
lish fleet,  or,  in  case  of  tempestuous  weather,  to  secure 
a  retreat  in  the  harbours  of  that  kingdom,  Mary  sent 
monsieur  d'Oysel  to  demand  of  Elizabeth  a  safe-con- 
duct during  her  voyage.     This  request,  which  decency  Elizabeth 
alone  obliged  one  prince  to  grant  to  another,  Elizabeth  M^ry  a  safe- 
rejected,  in  such  a  manner  as  gave  rise  to  no  slight  sus-  conduct. 
picion  of  a  design,  either  to  obstruct  the  passage,  or  to 
intercept  the  person  of  the  Scottish  queen*. 

Mary,  in  a  long  conference  with  Throkmorton,  the 
English  ambassador  in  France,  explained  her  senti- 
ments concerning  this  ungenerous  behaviour  of  his 
mistress,  in  a  strain  of  dignified  expostulation,  which 
conveys  an  idea  of  her  abilities,  address,  and  spirit,  as 
advantageous  as  any  transaction  in  her  reign.  Mary 
was,  at  that  time,  only  in  her  eighteenth  year ;  and  as 
Throkmorton's  account  of  what  passed  in  his  interview 
with  her,  is  addressed  directly  to  Elizabeth l,  that  dex- 
terous courtier,  we  may  be  well  assured,  did  not  em- 
bellish the  discourse  of  the  Scottish  queen  with  any 
colouring  too  favourable. 

Whatever  resentment  Mary  might  feel,  it  did  not  Mary  begins 

her  voyage. 

'  Keith,  157. 160,  etc. 

»  Keith,  171.    Camden.    See  Appendix,  No.  VI. 

'  Cabbala,  p.  374.    Keith,  170,  etc. 


THE  HISTORY  BOOK  HI. 

1561.  retard  her  departure  from  France.  She  was  accompa- 
~nied  to  Calais,  the  place  where  she  embarked,  in  a 
manner  suitable  to  her  dignity,  as  the  queen  of  two 
powerful  kingdoms.  Six  princes  of  Lorrain,  her  uncles, 
with  many  of  the  most  eminent  among  the  French  no- 
bles, were  in  her  retinue.  Catherine,  who  secretly  re- 
joiced at  her  departure,  graced  it  with  every  circum- 
stance of  magnificence  and  respect.  After  bidding- 
adieu  to  her  mourning  attendants,  with  a  sad  heart, 
and  eyes  bathed  in  tears,  Mary  left  that  kingdom,  the 
short  but  only  scene  of  her  life  in  which  fortune  smiled 
upon  her.  While  the  French  coast  continued  in  sight, 
she  intently  gazed  upon  it,  and  musing,  in  a  thoughtful 
posture,  on  that  height  of  fortune  whence  she  had 
fallen,  and  presaging,  perhaps,  the  disasters  and  cala- 
mities which  embittered  the  remainder  of  her  days,  she 
sighed  often,  and  cried  out  "  Farewell,  France!  Fare- 
well, beloved  country,  which  I  shall  never  more  be- 
hold!" Even  when  the  darkness  of  the  night  had  hid 
the  land  from  her  view,  she  would  neither  retire  to  the 
cabin,  nor  taste  food,  but  commanding  a  couch  to  be 
placed  on  the  deck,  she  there  waited  the  return  of  day 
with  the  utmost  impatience.  Fortune  soothed  her  on 
this  occasion;  the  galley  made  little  way  during  the 
night.  In  the  morning,  the  coast  of  France  was  still 
within  sight,  and  she  continued  to  feed  her  melancholy 
with  the  prospect ;  and,  as  long  as  her  eyes  could  dis- 
tinguish it,  to  utter  the  same  tender  expressions  of  re- 
gret", At  last  a  brisk  gale  arose,  by  the  favour  of 
which  for  some  days,  and  afterwards  under  the  cover 
of  a  thick  fog,  Mary  escaped  the  English  fleet,  which, 
as  she  apprehended,  lay  in  wait  in  order  to  intercept 
her*;  and,  on  the  nineteenth  of  August,  after  an  ab- 

11  Brantome,  483.     He  himself  was  in  the  same  galley  with  the  queen. 

*  Goodal,  vol.  i.  175.  Camden  insinuates,  rather  than  affirms,  that  it 
was  the  object  of  the  English  fleet  to  intercept  Mary.  This,  however,  seems 
to  be  doubtful.  Elizabeth  positively  asserts  that,  at  the  request  of  the 
king  of  Spain,  she  had  fitted  out  a  few  ships  of  slender  force,  in  order  to 


BOOK  in.  OF  SCOTLAND.  215 

sence  of  near  thirteen  years,  landed  safely  at  Leith  in      1561. 
her  native  kingdom. 

Mary  was  received  by  her  subjects  with  shouts  and  Arrives  in 
acclamations  of  joy,  and  with  every  demonstration  of 
welcome  and  regard.  But,  as  her  arrival  was  unex- 
pected, and  no  suitable  preparation  had  been  made  for 
it,  they  could  not,  with  all  their  efforts,  hide  from  her 
the  poverty  of  the  country,  and  were  obliged  to  conduct 
her  to  the  palace  of  Holyrood-house  with  little  pomp. 
The  queen,  accustomed  from  her  infancy  to  splendour 
and  magnificence,  and  fond  of  them,  as  was  natural  at 
her  age,  could  not  help  observing  the  change  in  her 
situation,  and  seemed  to  be  deeply  affected  with  ity. 

Never  did  any  prince  ascend  the  throne  at  a  juncture  State  of  the 
which  called  for  more  wisdom  in  council,  or  more  cou-  ^?f  Ume  at 
rage  and  steadiness  in  action.  The  rage  of  religious 
controversy  was  still  unabated.  The  memory  of  past 
oppression  exasperated  the  protestants;  the  smart  of 
recent  injuries  rendered  the  papists  desperate;  both 
were  zealous,  fierce,  and  irreconcilable.  The  absence 
of  their  sovereign  had  accustomed  the  nobles  to  inde- 
pendence ;  and,  during  the  late  commotions,  they  had 
acquired  such  an  increase  of  wealth,  by  the  spoils  of 
the  church,  as  threw  great  weight  into  the  scale  of  the 
aristocracy,  which  stood  not  in  need  of  any  accession  of 
power.  The  kingdom  had  long  been  under  the  govern- 
ment of  regents,  who  exercised  a  delegated  jurisdiction, 
attended  with  little  authority,  and  which  inspired  no 
reverence.  A  state  of  pure  anarchy  had  prevailed  for 

clear  the  narrow  seas  of  pirates,  which  infested  them  ;  and  she  appeals  for 
the  truth  of  this  to  Mary's  own  ministers.  App.  No.  VI.  Cecil,  in  a  letter 
to  Throkmorton,  Aug.  26,  1561,  informs  him,  that  "the  queen's  ships, 
which  were  upon  the  seas  to  cleanse  them  of  pirates,  saw  her,  [i.  e.  Mary,] 
and  saluted  her  galleys,  and  staying  her  ships  examined  them  of  pirates, 
and  dismissed  them  gently.  One  Scottish  ship  they  detain,  as  vehemently 
suspected  of  piracy."  Hardw.  State  Papers,  i.  176.  Castelnau,  who  ac- 
companied Mary  in  this  voyage,  confirms  the  circumstance  of  her  galleys 
being  in  sight  of  the  English  fleet.  Mem.  ap.  Jebb.  xi.  455. 
1  Brant.  484. 


216  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  in. 

1561.  the  two  last  years,  without  a  regent,  without  a  supreme 
~~  council,  without  the  power,  or  even  the  form,  of  a  re- 
gular government2.  A  licentious  spirit,  unacquainted 
with  subordination,  and  disdaining  the  restraints  of  law 
and  justice,  had  spread  among  all  ranks  of  men.  The 
influence  of  France,  the  ancient  ally  of  the  kingdom, 
was  withdrawn  or  despised.  The  English,  of  enemies 
become  confederates,  had  grown  into  confidence  with 
the  nation,  and  had  gained  an  ascendant  over  all  its 
councils.  The  Scottish  monarchs  did  not  derive  more 
splendour  or  power  from  the  friendship  of  the  former, 
than  they  had  reason  to  dread  injury  and  diminution 
from  the  interposition  of  the  latter.  Every  considera- 
tion, whether  of  interest  or  of  self-preservation,  obliged 
Elizabeth  to  depress  the  royal  authority  in  Scotland, 
and  to  create  the  prince  perpetual  difficulties,  by  fo- 
menting the  spirit  of  dissatisfaction  among  the  people. 

In  this  posture  were  the  affairs  of  Scotland,  when  the 
administration  fell  into  the  hands  of  a  young  queen,  not 
nineteen  years  of  age,  unacquainted  with  the  manners 
and  laws  of  her  country,  a  stranger  to  her  subjects, 
without  experience,  without  allies,  and  almost  without 
a  friend. 

On  the  other  hand,  in  Mary's  situation  we  find  some 
circumstances,  which,  though  they  did  not  balance  these 
disadvantages,. contributed  however  to  alleviate  them; 
and,  with  skilful  management,  might  have  produced 
great  effects.  Her  subjects,  unaccustomed  so  long  to 
the  residence  of  their  prince,  were  not  only  dazzled  by 
the  novelty  and  splendour  of  the  royal  presence,  but 
inspired  with  awe  and  reverence.  Besides  the  places 
of  power  and  profit  bestowed  by  the  favour  of  a  prince, 
his  protection,  his  familiarity,  and  even  his  smiles,  con- 
fer honour,  and  win  the  hearts  of  men.  From  all  cor- 
ners of  the  kingdom,  the  nobles  crowded  to  testify  their 
duty  and  affection  to  their  sovereign,  and  studied  by 
every  art  to  wipe  out  the  memory  of  past  misconduct, 

'•  Keith,  Append.  92. 


BOOK  m.  OF  SCOTLAND.  217 

and  to  lay  in  a  stock  of  future  merit.  The  amusements  1561. 
and  gaiety  of  her  court,  which  was  filled  with  the_  most  ~ 
accomplished  of  the  French  nobility,  who  had  attended 
her,  began  to  soften  and  to  polish  the  rude  manners  of 
the  nation.  Mary  herself  possessed  many  of  those  qua- 
lifications which  raise  affection  and  procure  esteem. 
The  beauty  and  gracefulness  of  her  person  drew  uni- 
versal admiration,  the  elegance  and  politeness  of  her 
manners  commanded  general  respect.  To  all  the  charms 
of  her  own  sex,  she  added  many  of  the  accomplishments 
of  the  other.  The  progress  she  had  made  in  all  the 
arts  and  sciences,  which  were  then  deemed  necessary 
or  ornamental,  was  far  beyond  what  is  commonly  at- 
tained by  princes ;  and  all  her  other  qualities  were  ren- 
dered more  agreeable  by  a  courteous  affability,  which, 
without  lessening  the  dignity  of  a  prince,  steals  on  the 
hearts  of  subjects  with  a  bewitching  insinuation. 

From  these  circumstances,  notwithstanding  the  threat- 
ening aspect  of  affairs  at  Mary's  return  into  Scotland ; 
notwithstanding  the  clouds  which  gathered  on  every 
hand,  a  political  observer  would  have  predicted  a  very 
different  issue  of  her  reign ;  and,  whatever  sudden 
gusts  of  faction  he  might  have  expected,  he  would 
never  have  dreaded  the  destructive  violence  of  that 
storm  which  followed. 

While  all  parties  were  contending,  who  should  dis- 
cover the  most  dutiful  attachment  to  the  queen,  the 
zealous  and  impatient  spirit  of  the  age  broke  out  in  a 
remarkable  instance.  On  the  Sunday  after  her  arrival, 
the  queen  commanded  mass  to  be  celebrated  in  the 
chapel  of  her  palace.  The  first  rumour  of  this  occa- 
sioned a  secret  murmuring  among  the  protestants  who 
attended  the  court ;  complaints  and  threatenings  soon 
followed;  the  servants  belonging  to  the  chapel  were 
insulted  and  abused ;  and,  if  the  prior  of  St.  Andrew's 
had  not  seasonably  interposed,  the  rioters  might  have 
proceeded  to  the  utmost  excesses*. 

»  Knox,  284.    Haynes,  372. 


218  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  HI. 

1561.  It  is  impossible,  at  this  distance  of  time,  and  under 
~  circumstances  so  very  different,  to  conceive  the  violence 
of  that  zeal  against  popery,  which  then  possessed  the 
nation.  Every  instance  of  condescension  to  the  papists 
was  deemed  an  act  of  apostacy,  and  the  toleration  of  a 
single  mass  pronounced  to  be  more  formidable  to  the 
nation  than  the  invasion  of  ten  thousand  armed  menb. 
Under  the  influence  of  these  opinions,  many  protestants 
would  have  ventured  to  go  dangerous  lengths;  and, 
without  attempting  to  convince  their  sovereign  by  ar- 
gument, or  to  reclaim  her  by  indulgence,  would  have 
abruptly  denied  her  the  liberty  of  worshipping  God  in 
that  manner  which  alone  she  thought  acceptable  to 
him.  But  the  prior  of  St.  Andrew's,  and  other  leaders 
of  the  party,  not  only  restrained  this  impetuous  spirit, 
but,  in  spite  of  the  murmurs  of  the  people  and  the  ex- 
clamations of  the  preachers,  obtained  for  the  queen  and 
her  domestics  the  undisturbed  exercise  of  the  catholic 
religion.  Near  an  hundred  years  after  this  period, 
when  the  violence  of  religious  animosities  had  begun 
to  subside,  when  time  and  the  progress  of  learning  had 
enlarged  the  views  of  the  human  mind,  an  English 
house  of  commons  refused  to  indulge  the  wife  of  their 
sovereign  in  the  private  use  of  the  mass.  The  protes- 
tant  leaders  deserve,  on  this  occasion,  the  praise  both 
of  wisdom  and  of  moderation  for  conduct  so  different. 
But,  at  the  Same  time,  whoever  reflects  upon  the  en- 
croaching and  sanguinary  spirit  of  popery  in  that  age, 
will  be  far  from  treating  the  fears  and  caution  of  the 
more  zealous  reformers,  as  altogether  imaginary,  and 
destitute  of  any  real  foundation. 

The  leaders  of  the  protestants,  however,  by  this  pru- 
dent compliance  with  the  prejudices  of  their  sovereign, 
obtained  from  her  a  proclamation  highly  favourable  to 
their  religion,  which  was  issued  six  days  after  her  ar- 
Aug.  25.     rival  in  Scotland.    The  reformed  doctrine,  though  esta- 

b  Knox,  287. 


BOOK  nr.  OF  SCOTLAND.  219 

blished  over  all  the  kingdom  by  the  parliament,  which  1561. 
met  in  consequence  of  the  treaty  of  pacification,  had  ~" 
never  received  the  countenance  or  sanction  of  royal 
authority.  In  order  to  quiet  the  minds  of  those  who 
had  embraced  that  doctrine,  and  to  remove  any  dread 
of  molestation  which  they  might  entertain,  Mary  de- 
clared, "  that  until  she  should  take  final  orders  con- 
cerning religion,  with  advice  of  parliament,  any  attempt 
to  alter  or  subvert  the  religion  which  she  found  univer- 
sally practised  in  the  realm,  should  be  deemed  a  capital 
crime0."  Next  year  a  second  proclamation  to  the  same 
effect  was  published11. 

The  queen,  conformably  to  the  plan  which  had  been  She  employs 
concerted  in  France,  committed  the  administration  of°anIsPin°the 
affairs  entirely  to  protestants.  Her  council  was  filled  administra- 

•  i      i  •  /»  tlon> 

with  the  most  eminent  persons  ot  that  party;  not  a 

single  papist  was  admitted  into  any  degree  of  confi- 
dence6. The  prior  of  St.  Andrew's  and  Maitland  of 
Lethington  seemed  to  hold  the  first  place  in  the  queen's 
affection,  and  possessed  all  the  power,  as  well  as  repu- 
tation, of  favourite  ministers.  Her  choice  could  not 
have  fallen  upon  persons  more  acceptable  to  her  peo- 
ple; and,  by  their  prudent  advice,  Mary  conducted 
herself  with  so  much  moderation,  and  deference  to  the 
sentiments  of  the  nation,  as  could  not  fail  of  gaining  the 
affection  of  her  subjects f,  the  firmest  foundation  of  a 
prince's  power,  and  the  only  genuine  source  of  his  hap- 
piness and  glory. 

A  cordial  reconcilement  with  Elizabeth  was  another  Attempts  to 
object  of  great  importance  to  Mary ;  and  though  she  ^elh'f fa-* 
seems  to  have  had  it  much  at  heart,  in  the  beginning  of  vour. 
her  administration,  to  accomplish  such  a  desirable  con- 
junction, yet  many  events  occurred  to  widen,  rather 
than  to  close,  the  breach.    The  formal  offices  of  friend- 
ship, however,  are  seldom  neglected  among  princes; 
and  Elizabeth,  who  had  attempted  so  openly  to  obstruct 

c  Keith,  504.          d  Ibid.  510.          c  Knox,  285.          f  Lesley,  235. 


220  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  m. 

1561.  the  queen's  voyage  into  Scotland,  did  not  fail,  a  few 
~~  days  after  her  arrival,  to  command  Randolph  to  con- 
gratulate her  safe  return.  Mary,  that  she  might  be 
on  equal  terms  with  her,  sent  Maitland  to  the  English 
court,  with  many  ceremonious  expressions  of  regard  for 
Elizabeth  g.  Both  the  ambassadors  were  received  with 
the  utmost  civility;  and,  on  each  side,  the  professions 
of  kindness,  as  they  were  made  with  little  sincerity, 
were  listened  to  with  proportional  credit. 

Both  were  intrusted,  however,  with  something  more 
than  mere  matter  of  ceremony.  Randolph  urged  Mary, 
with  fresh  importunity,  to  ratify  the  treaty  of  Edinburgh. 
Maitland  endeavoured  to  amuse  Elizabeth,  by  apologiz- 
ing for  the  dilatory  conduct  of  his  mistress  with  regard 
to  that  point.  The  multiplicity  of  public  affairs  since 
her  arrival  in  Scotland,  the  importance  of  the  question 
in  dispute,  and  the  absence  of  many  noblemen,  with 
whom  she  was  obliged  in  decency  to  consult,  were  the 
pretences  offered  in  excuse  for  her  conduct ;  the  real 
causes  of  it  were  those  which  have  already  been  men- 
tioned. But,  in  order  to  extricate  herself  out  of  these 
difficulties,  into  which  the  treaty  of  Edinburgh  had 
led  her,  Mary  was  brought  to  yield  a  point,  which  for- 
merly she  seemed  determined  never  to  give  up.  She 
instructed  Maitland  to  signify  her  willingness  to  dis- 
claim any  right  to  the  crown  of  England,  during  the 
life  of  Elizabeth,  and  the  lives  of  her  posterity;  if,  in 
failure  of  these,  she  were  declared  next  heir  by  act  of 
parliament h. 

Reasonable  as  this  proposal  might  appear  to  Mary, 
who  thereby  precluded  herself  from  disturbing  Eliza- 
beth's possession  of  the  throne,  nothing  could  be  more 
inconsistent  with  Elizabeth's  interest,  or  more  contra- 
dictory to  a  passion  which  predominated  in  the  charac- 
ter of  that  princess.  Notwithstanding  all  the  great 
qualities  which  threw  such  lustre  on  her  reign,  we  may 

*  Keith,  181,  etc.  h  Camden,  387.     Buch.  329. 


BOOK  in.  OF  SCOTLAND. 

observe,  that  she  was  tinctured  with  a  jealousy  of  her  1661. 
right  to  the  crown,  which  often  betrayed  her  into  mean  ~ 
and  ungenerous  actions.  The  peculiarity  of  her  situ- 
ation heightened,  no  doubt,  and  increased,  but  did  not 
infuse,  this  passion.  It  descended  to  her  from  Henry 
the  seventh,  her  grandfather,  whom,  in  several  features 
of  his  character,  she  nearly  resembled.  Like  him,  she 
suffered  the  title  by  which  she  held  the  crown  to  re- 
main ambiguous  and  controverted,  rather  than  submit 
it  to  parliamentary  discussion,  or  derive  any  addition  to 
her  right  from  such  authority.  Like  him,  she  observed 
every  pretender  to  the  succession,  not  only  with  that 
attention  which  prudence  prescribes,  but  with  that  aver- 
sion which  suspicion  inspires.  The  present  uncertainty 
with  regard  to  the  right  of  succession  operated  for 
Elizabeth's  advantage,  both  on  her  subjects  and  on  her 
rivals.  Among  the  former,  every  lover  of  his  country 
regarded  her  life^  as  the  great  security  of  the  national 
tranquillity;  and  chose  rather  to  acknowledge  a  title 
which  was  dubious,  than  to  search  for  one  that  was 
unknown.  The  latter,  while  nothing  was  decided,  were 
held  in  dependence,  and  obliged  to  court  her.  The 
manner  in  which  she  received  this  ill-timed  proposal  of 
the  Scottish  queen,  was  no  other  than  might  have  been 
expected.  She  rejected  it  in  a  peremptory  tone,  with 
many  expressions  of  a  resolution  never  to  permit  a 
point  of  so  much  delicacy  to  be  touched. 

About  this  time  the  queen  made  her  public  entry  Sept.  1. 
into  Edinburgh  with  great  pomp.  Nothing  was  neg- 
lected, that  could  express  the  duty  and  affection  of  the 
citizens  towards  their  sovereign.  But,  amidst  these 
demonstrations  of  regard,  the  genius  and  sentiments  of 
the  nation  discovered  themselves,  in  a  circumstance, 
which,  though  inconsiderable,  ought  not  to  be  over- 
looked. As  it  was  the  mode  of  the  times  to  exhibit 

* 

many  pageants  at  every  public  solemnity,  most  of  these, 
on  this  occasion,  were  contrived  to  be  representations 
of  the  vengeance  which  the  Almighty  had  inflicted 


THE  HISTORY  BOOK  m. 

1561.     upon  idolaters'.     Even  while  they  studied  to  amuse 
~  and  to  flatter  the  queen,  her  subjects  could  not  refrain 
from  testifying  their  abhorrence  of  that  religion  which 
she  professed. 

Restrains  To  restore  the  regular  administration  X)f  justice,  and 
oflh^bor-  to  reform  the  internal  policy  of  the  country,  became  the 
derers.  next  object  of  the  queen's  care.  The  laws  enacted  for 
preservation  of  public  order,  and  the  security  of  private 
property,  were  nearly  the  same  in  Scotland  as  in  every 
other  civilized  country.  But  the  nature  of  the  Scottish 
constitution,  the  feebleness  of  regal  authority,  the  ex- 
orbitant power  of  the  nobles,  the  violence  of  faction, 
and  the  fierce  manners  of  the  people,  rendered  the 
execution  of  these  laws  feeble,  irregular,  and  partial. 
In  the  counties  which  border  on  England,  this  defect 
was  most  apparent ;  and  the  consequences  of  it  most 
sensibly  felt.  The  inhabitants,  strangers  to  industry, 
averse  from  labour,  and  unacquainted  with  the  arts  of 
peace,  subsisted  chiefly  by  spoil  and  pillage ;  and,  being 
confederated  in  septs  or  clans,  committed  these  excesses 
not  only  with  impunity,  but  even  with  honour.  During 
the  unsettled  state  of  the  kingdom  from  the  death  of 
James  the  fifth,  this  dangerous  license  had  grown  to  an 
unusual  height ;  and  the  inroads  and  rapine  of  those 
freebooters  were  become  no  less  intolerable  to  their 
own  countrymen  than  to  the  English.  To  restrain  and 
punish  these  outrages,  was  an  action  equally  popular  in 
both  kingdoms.  The  prior  of  St.  Andrew's  was  the 
person  chosen  for  this  important  service,  and  extraor- 
dinary powers,  together  with  the  title  of  the  queen's 
lieutenant,  were  vested  in  him  for  this  purpose. 

Nothing  can  be  more  surprising  to  men  accustomed 
to  regular  government,  than  the  preparations  made  on 
this  occasion.  They  were  such  as  might  be  expected 
in  the  rudest  and  most  imperfect  state  of  society.  The 
freeholders  of  eleven  several  counties,  with  all  their 

!  Keith,  189. 


BOOK  HI.  OF  SCOTLAND.  223 

followers  completely  armed,  were  summoned  to  assist  1561. 
the  lieutenant  in  the  discharge  of  his  office.  Every  ~ 
thing  resembled  a  military  expedition,  rather  than  the 
progress  of  a  court  of  justice k.  The  prior  executed 
his  commission  with  such  vigour  and  prudence,  as  ac- 
quired him  a  great  increase  of  reputation  and  popu- 
larity among  his  countrymen.  Numbers  of  the  banditti 
suffered  the  punishment  due  to  their  crimes ;  and,  by 
the  impartial  and  rigorous  administration  of  justice, 
order  and  tranquillity  were  restored  to  that  part  of  the 
kingdom. 

During  the  absence  of  the  prior  of  St.  Andrew's,  the  The  papists 
leaders  of  the  popish  faction  seem  to  have  taken  some  y^nmfo'J"t 
steps  towards  insinuating  themselves  into  the  queen's  into  favour 
favour  and  confidence '.      But  the  archbishop  of  St.  w 
Andrew's,  the  most  remarkable  person  in  the  party  for 
abilities  and  political  address,  was  received  with  little 
favour  at  court;   and,  whatever  secret  partiality  the 
queen  might  have  towards  those  who  professed  the 
same  religion  with  herself,  she  discovered  no  inclina- 
tion, at  that  time,  to  take  the  administration  of  affairs 
out  of  the  hands  to  which  she  had  already  committed  it. 

The  cold  reception  of  the  archbishop  of  St.  Andrew's 
was  owing  to  his  connexion  with  the  house  of  Hamil- 
ton ;  from  which  the  queen  was  much  alienated.  The 
duke  of  Guise  and  the  cardinal  could  never  forgive  the 
zeal  with  which  the  duke  of  Chatelherault  and  his  son, 
the  earl  of  Arran,  had  espoused  the  cause  of  the  con- 
gregation. Princes  seldom  view  their  successors  with- 
out jealousy  and  distrust.  The  prior  of  St.  Andrew's, 
perhaps,  dreaded  the  duke,  as  a  rival  in  power.  All 
these  causes  concurred  in  infusing  into  the  queen's 
mind  an  aversion  for  that  family.  The  duke,  indulging 
his  love  of  retirement,  lived  at  a  distance  from  court, 
without  taking  pains  to  insinuate  himself  into  favour ; 
and  though  the  earl  of  Arran  openly  aspired  to  marry 

*  Keith,  198.  '  Ibid.  203. 


THE  HISTORY  BOOK  in. 

1561.  the  queen,  he,  by  a  most  unpardonable  act  of  impru- 
"~  dence,  was  the  only  nobleman  of  distinction  who  op- 
posed Mary's  enjoying  the  exercise  of  her  religion; 
and,  by  rashly  entering  a  public  protestation  against  it, 
entirely  forfeited  her  favour  m.  At  the  same  time,  the 
sordid  parsimony  of  his  father  obliged  him  either  to 
hide  himself  in  some  retirement,  or  to  appear  in  a  man- 
ner unbecoming  his  dignity,  as  first  prince  of  the  blood, 
or  his  high  pretensions,  as  suitor  to  the  queen n.  His 
love  inflamed  by  disappointment,  and  his  impatience 
exasperated  by  neglect,  preyed  gradually  on  his  rea- 
son, and,  after  many  extravagancies,  broke  out  at  last 
in  ungovernable  phrensy. 

Dec.  20.  Towards  the  end  of  the  year,  a  convention  of  estates 
was  held,  chiefly  on  account  of  ecclesiastical  affairs. 
The  assembly  of  the  church,  which  sat  at  the  same 
time,  presented  a  petition,  containing  many  demands 
with  respect  to  the  suppressing  of  popery,  the  encou- 
raging the  protestant  religion,  and  the  providing  for 
the  maintenance  of  the  clergy  °.  The  last  was  a  matter 
of  great  importance,  and  the  steps  taken  towards  it  de- 
serve to  be  traced. 

A  new  re-        Though  the  number  of  protestant  preachers  was  now 
concerning  considerably  increased,  many  more  were  still  wanted, 
the  reve-     jn  every  corner  of  the  kingdom.     No  legal  provision 
church.       having  been  made  for  them,  they  had  hitherto  drawn  a 
scanty  and  precarious  subsistence  from  the  benevolence 
of  their  people.     To  suffer  the  ministers  of  an  esta- 
blished church  to  continue  in  this  state  of  indigence 
and  dependence,  was  an  indecency  equally  repugnant 
to  the  principles  of  religion,  and  to  the  maxims  of  sound 
policy ;  and  would  have  justified  all  the  imputations  of 
avarice,  with  which  the  reformation  was  then  loaded  by 
its  enemies.     The  revenues  of  the  popish  church  were 
the  only  fund  which  could  be  employed  for  their  relief; 

•»  Keith,  201.  204.     Knox,  286.  »  Keith,  196. 

»  Ibid.  210. 


BOOK  in.  OF  SCOTLAND.  225 

but,  during  the  three  last  years,  the  state  of  these  was 
greatly  altered.  A  great  majority  of  abbots,  priors, 
and  other  heads  of  religious  houses,  had,  either  from  a 
sense  of  duty,  or  from  views  of  interest,  renounced  the 
errours  of  popery ;  and,  notwithstanding  this  change  in 
their  sentiments,  they  retained  their  ancient  revenues. 
Almost  the  whole  order  of  bishop&,  and  several  of  the 
other  dignitaries,  still  adhered  to  the  Romish  supersti- 
tion ;  and,  though  debarred  from  every  spiritual  func- 
tion, continued  to  enjoy  the  temporalities  of  their  be- 
nefices. Some  laymen,  especially  those  who  had  been 
active  in  promoting  the  reformation,  had,  under  various 
pretences,  and  amidst  the  license  of  civil  wars,  got  into 
their  hands  possessions  which  belonged  to  the  church. 
Thus,  before  any  part  of  the  ancient  ecclesiastical  re- 
venues could  be  applied  towards  the  maintenance  of 
the  protestant  ministers,  many  different  interests  were 
to  be  adjusted ;  many  claims  to  be  examined  ;  and  the 
prejudices  and  passions  of  the  two  contending  parties 
required  the  application  of  a  delicate  hand.  After 
much  contention,  the  following  plan  was  approved  by 
a  majority  of  voices,  and  acquiesced  in  even  by  the 
popish  clergy  themselves.  An  .exact  account  of  the 
value  of  ecclesiastical  benefices,  throughout  the  king- 
dom, was  appointed  to  be  taken.  The  present  incum- 
bents, to  whatever  party  they  adhered,  were  allowed  to 
keep  possession:  two  thirds  of  their  whole  revenue 
were  reserved  for  their  own  use,  the  remainder  was 
annexed  to  the  crown;  and  out  of  that,  the  queen  un- 
dertook to  assign  a  sufficient  maintenance  for  the  pro- 
testant clergy  p. 

As  most  of  the  bishops  and  several  of  the  other  dig- 
nitaries were  still  firmly  attached  to  the  popish  religion, 
the  extirpation  of  the  whole  order,  rather  than  an  act 
of  such  extraordinary  indulgence,  might  have  been  ex- 
pected from  the  zeal  of  the  preachers,  and  from  the 

P  Keith,  Append.  175.     Knox,  194. 
VOL.  I.  Q 


THE  HISTORY  BOOK  HI. 

1561.  spirit  which  had  hitherto  animated  the  nation.  But, 
on  this  occasion,  other  principles  obstructed  the  opera- 
tions of  such  as  were  purely  religious.  Zeal  for  liberty, 
.and  the  love  of  wealth,  two  passions  extremely  opposite, 
concurred  in  determining  the  protestant  leaders  to  fall 
in  with  this  plan,  which  deviated  so  manifestly  from 
the  maxims  by  which  they  had  hitherto  regulated  their 
conduct. 

If  the  reformers  had  been  allowed  to  act  without 
control,  and  to  level  all  distinctions  in  the  church,  the 
great  revenues  annexed  to  ecclesiastical  dignities  could 
not,  with  any  colour  of  justice,  have  been  retained  by 
those  in  whose  hands  they  now  were ;  but  must  either 
have  been  distributed  amongst  the  protestant  clergy, 
who  performed  all  religious  offices,  or  must  have  fallen 
to  the  queen,  from  the  bounty  of  whose  ancestors  the 
greater  part  of  them  was  originally  derived.  The 
former  scheme,  however  suitable  to  the  religious  spirit 
of  many  among  the  people,  was  attended  with  manifold 
danger.  The  popish  ecclesiastics  had  acquired  a  share 
in  the  national  property,  which  far  exceeded  the  pro- 
portion that  was  consistent  with  the  happiness  of  the 
kingdom;  and  the  nobles  were  determined  to  guard 
against  this  evil,  by  preventing  the  return  of  those 
possessions  into  the  hands  of  the  church.  Nor  was 
the  latter,  which  exposed  the  constitution  to  more  im- 
minent hazard,  to  be  avoided  with  less  care.  Even  that 
circumscribed  prerogative,  which  the  Scottish  kings 
possessed,  was  the  object  of  jealousy  to  the  nobles. 
If  they  had  allowed  the  crown  to  seize  the  spoils  of 
the  church,  such  an  increase  of  power  must  have  fol- 
lowed that  accession  of  property,  as  would  have  raised 
the  royal  authority  above  control,  and  have  rendered 
the  most  limited  prince  in  Europe  the  most  absolute 
and  independent.  The  reign  of  Henry  the  eighth  pre- 
sented a  recent  and  alarming  example  of  this  nature. 
The  wealth  which  flowed  in  upon  that  prince,  from  the 
suppression  of  the  monasteries,  not  only  changed  the 


BOOK  in.  OF  SCOTLAND.  227 

maxims  of  his  government,  but  the  temper  of  his  mind ;  1561. 
and  he,  who  had  formerly  submitted  to  his  parliaments,  ~~ 
and  courted  his  people,  dictated  from  that  time  to  the 
former  with  intolerable  insolence,  and  tyrannised  over 
the  latter  with  unprecedented  severity.  And,  if  his 
policy  had  not  been  extremely  short-sighted,  if  he  had 
not  squandered  what  he  acquired,  with  a  profusion 
equal  to  his  rapaciousness,  and  which  defeated  his  am- 
bition, he  might  have  established  despotism  in  Eng- 
land, on  a  basis  so  broad  and  strong,  as  all  the  efforts 
of  the  subjects  would  never  have  been  able  to  shake. 
In  Scotland,  where  the  riches  of  the  clergy  bore  as 
great  a  proportion  to  the  wealth  of  the  kingdom,  the 
acquisition  of  church  lands  would  have  been  of  no  less 
importance  to  the  crown,  and  no  less  fatal  to  the  ari- 
stocracy. The  nobles,  for  this  reason,  guarded  against 
such  an  increase  of  the  royal  power,  and,  thereby,  se- 
cured their  own  independence. 

Avarice  mingled  itself  with  their  concern  for  the  in- 
terest of  their  order.  The  reuniting  the  possessions  of 
the  church  to  the  crown,  or  the  bestowing  them  on  the 
protestant  clergy,  would  have  been  a  fatal  blow,  both 
to  those  nobles  who  had,  by  fraud  or  violence,  seized 
part  of  these  revenues,  and  to  those  abbots  and  priors 
who  had  totally  renounced  their  ecclesiastical  character. 
But  as  the  plan  which  was  proposed,  gave  some  sanc- 
tion to  their  usurpation,  they  promoted  it  with  their  ut- 
most influence.  The  popish  ecclesiastics,  though  the 
lopping  off  a  third  of  their  revenues  was  by  no  means 
agreeable  to  them,  consented,  under  their  present  cir- 
cumstances, to  sacrifice  a  part  of  their  possessions,  in 
order  to  purchase  the  secure  enjoyment  of  the  remain- 
der; and,  after  deeming  the  whole  irrecoverably  lost, 
they  considered  whatever  they  could  retrieve  as  so  much 
gain.  Many  of  the  ancient  dignitaries  were  men  of 
noble  birth ;  and,  as  they  no  longer  entertained  hopes 
of  restoring  the  popish  religion,  they  wished  their  own 
relations,  rather  than  the  crown,  or  the  protestant 

Q2 


228  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  nr. 

1561.  clergy,  to  be  enriched  with  the  spoils  of  the  church. 
~  They  connived,  for  this  reason,  at  the  encroachments 
of  the  nobles ;  they  even  aided  their  avarice  and  vio- 
lence ;  they  dealt  out  the  patrimony  of  the  church 
among  their  own  relations,  and,  by  granting  '  feus'  and 
perpetual  leases  of  lands  and  tithes,  gave,  to  the  utmost 
of  their  power,  some  colour  of  legal  possession  to  what 
was  formerly  mere  usurpation.  Many  vestiges  of  such 
alienations  still  remain  q.  The  nobles,  with  the  concur- 
rence of  the  incumbents,  daily  extended  their  encroach- 
ments, and  gradually  stripped  the  ecclesiastics  of  their 
richest  and  most  valuable  possessions.  Even  that  third 
part,  which  was  given  up,  in  order  to  silence  the  cla- 
mours of  the  protestant  clergy,  and  to  be  some  equiva- 
lent to  the  crown  for  its  claims,  amounted  to  no  consi- 
derable sum.  The  '  thirds'  due  by  the  more  powerful 
nobles,  especially  by  such  as  had  embraced  the  refor- 
mation, were  almost  universally  remitted.  Others,  by 
producing  fraudulent  rentals ;  by  estimating  the  corn, 
and  other  payments  in  kind,  at  an  undervalue ;  and  by 
the  connivance  of  collectors,  greatly  diminished  the 
charge  against  themselves r :  and  the  nobles  had  much 
reason  to  be  satisfied  with  a  device  which,  at  so  small 
expense,  secured  to  them  such  valuable  possessions. 
The  pro-  Nor  were  the  protestant  clergy  considerable  gainers 
clergy*  no  ^v  this  new  regulation ;  they  found  it  to  be  a  more  easy 
gainers  by  matter  to  kindle  zeal,  than  to  extinguish  avarice.  Those 
very  men,  whom  formerly  they  had  swayed  with  abso- 
lute authority,  were  now  deaf  to  all  their  remonstrances. 
The  prior  of  St.  Andrew's,  the  earl  of  Argyll,  the  earl 
of  Morton,  and  Maitland,  all  the  most  zealous  leaders 
of  the  congregation,  were  appointed  to  assign,  or,  as  it 
was  called,  to  'modify'  their  stipends.  An  hundred 
merks  Scottish  was  the  allowance  which  their  liberality 
afforded  to  the  generality  of  ministers.  To  a  few  three 


i  Keith,  507.     Spotsw.  175. 

f  Keith,  Append.  188.    Spotsw.  183. 


BOOK  in.  OF  SCOTLAND: 

hundred  merks  were  granted s.  About  twenty-four  thou-     1561. 
sand  pounds  Scottish  appears  to  have  been  the  whole  ~~ 
sum  allotted  for  the  maintenance  of  a  national  church, 
established  by  law,  and  esteemed  throughout  the  king- 
dom the  true  church  of  God  *.    Even  this  sum  was  paid 
with  little  exactness,  and  the  ministers  were  kept  in  the 
same  poverty  and  dependence  as  formerly.  1562 

The  gentleness  of  the  queen's  administration,  and  Dissensions 
the  elegance  of  her  court,  had  mitigated,  in  some  de-*^j°^ 
gree,  the  ferocity  of  the  nobles,  and  accustomed  them 
to  greater  mildness  and  humanity  j  while,  at  the  same 
time,  her  presence  and  authority  were  a  check  to  their 
factious  and  tumultuary  spirit.     But,  as  a  state  of  order 
and  tranquillity  was  not  natural  to  the  feudal  aristo- 
cracy, it  could  not  be  of  long  continuance;  and  this 
year  became  remarkable  for  the  most  violent  eruptions 
of  intestine  discord  and  animosity. 

Among  the  great  and  independent  nobility  of  Scot- 
land, a  monarch  could  possess  little  authority,  and  exer- 
cise no  extensive  or  rigorous  jurisdiction.  The  inter- 
fering of  interest,  the  unsettled  state  of  property,  the 
frequency  of  public  commotions,  and  the  fierceness  of 
their  own  manners,  sowed  among  the  great  families  the 
seeds  of  many  quarrels  and  contentions.  These,  as  we 
have  already  observed,  were  frequently  decided  not  by 
law,  but  by  violence.  The  offended  baron,  without 
having  recourse  to  the  monarch,  or  acknowledging  his 
superior  authority,  assembled  his  own  followers,  and 
invaded  the  lands  of  his  rival  in  an  hostile  manner. 
Together  with  his  estate  and  honours,  every  nobleman 
transmitted  some  hereditary  feud  to  his  posterity,  who 
were  bound  in  honour  to  adopt  and  to  prosecute  it  with 
unabated  rancour. 

Such  a  dissension  had  subsisted  between  the  house 
of  Hamilton  and  the  earl  of  Bothwell,  and  was  height- 
ened by  mutual  injuries  during  the  late  commotions0. 

*  Knox,  301.  '   «  Keith,  Append.  188.  "  Keith,  215. 


230  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  m. 

1562.  The  earl  of  Arran  and  Bothwell  happening  to  attend 
February,  the  court  at  the  same  time,  their  followers  quarrelled 
frequently  in  the  streets  of  Edinburgh,  and  excited 
dangerous  tumults  in  that  city.  At  last,  the  mediation 
of  their  friends,  particularly  of  Knox,  brought  about  a 
reconcilement,  but  an  unfortunate  one  to  both  these 
noblemen  *. 

A  few  days  after,  Arran  came  to  Knox,  and,  with 
the  utmost  terrour  and  confusion,  confessed  first  to 
him,  and  then  to  the  prior  of  St.  Andrew's,  that,  in 
order  to  obtain  the  sole  direction  of  affairs,  Bothwell, 
and  his  kinsmen  the  Hamiltons,  had  conspired  to  mur- 
der the  prior,  Maitland,  and  the  other  favourites  of  the 
queen.  The  duke  of  Chatelherault  regarded  the  prior 
as  a  rival,  who  had  supplanted  him  in  the  queen's  fa- 
vour, and  who  filled  that  place  at  the  helm,  which  he 
imagined  to  be  due  to  himself,  as  first  prince  of  the 
blood.  Bothwell,  on  account  of  the  personal  injuries 
which  he  had  received  from  the  prior,  during  the  hos- 
tile operations  of  the  two  contending  parties,  was  no 
less  exasperated  against  him.  But  whether  he  and  the 
Hamiltons  had  agreed  to  cement  their  new  alliance 
with  the  blood  of  their  common  enemy,  or  whether  the 
conspiracy  existed  only  in  the  frantic  and  disordered 
imagination  of  the  earl  of  Arran,  it  is  impossible,  amidst 
the  contradiction  of  historians  and  the  defectiveness  of 
records,  positively  to  determine.  Among  men  inflamed 
with  resentment  and  impatient  for  revenge,  rash  ex- 
pressions might  be  uttered,  and  violent  and  criminal 
expedients  proposed ;  and,  on  that  foundation,  Arran's 
distempered  fancy  might  rear  the  whole  superstructure 
of  a  conspiracy.  All  the  persons  accused,  denied  their 
guilt  with  the  utmost  confidence.  But  the  known  cha- 
racters of  the  men,  and  the  violent  spirit  of  the  age, 
added  greatly  to  the  probability  of  the  accusation,  and 
abundantly  justify  the  conduct  of  the  queen's  ministers, 

*  Kaox,305. 


BOOK  in.  OF  SCOTLAND.  231 

who  confined  Bothwell,  Arran,  and  a  few  of  the  ring- 
leaders,  in  separate  prisons,  and  obliged  the  duke  to  ~" 
surrender  the  strong  castle  of  Dumbarton>  which  he 
had  held  ever  since  the  time  of  his  resigning  the  office 
of  regent y. 

The  designs  of  the  earl  of  Huntly  against  the  prior  The  earl  of 
of  St.  Andrew's  were  deeper  laid,  and  produced  more  en^ty  ^ 
memorable  and  more  tragical  events.    George  Gordon,  th.e  queen's 

ir-Ti-11'i  r>   i  it          i  ministers. 

earl  of  Huntly,  having  been  one  of  the  nobles  who  con- 
spired against  James  the  third,  and  who  raised  his  son, 
James  the  fourth,  to  the  throne,  enjoyed  a  great  share 
in  the  confidence  of  that  generous  prince z.  By  his 
bounty,  great  accessions  of  wealth  and  power  were 
added  to  a  family  already  opulent  and  powerful.  On 
the  death  of  that  monarch,  Alexander,  the  next  earl, 
being  appointed  lord-lieutenant  of  all  the  counties  be- 
yond Forth,  left  the  other  nobles  to  contend  for  offices 
at  court ;  and  retiring  to  the  north,  where  his  estate 
and  influence  lay,  resided  there  in  a  kind  of  princely 
independence.  The  chieftains,  in  that  part  of  the 
kingdom,  dreaded  the  growing  dominion  of  such  a 
dangerous  neighbour,  but  were  unable  to  prevent  his 
encroachments.  Some  of  his  rivals  he  secretly  under- 
mined, others  he  subdued  by  open  force.  His  estate 
far  exceeded  that  of  any  other  subject,  and  his  '  supe- 
riorities' and  jurisdictions  extended  over  many  of  the 
northern  counties.  With  power  and  possessions  so  ex- 
tensive, under  two  long  and  feeble  minorities,  and 
amidst  the  shock  of  civil  commotions,  the  earls  of 
Huntly  might  have  indulged  the  most  elevated  hopes. 
But,  happily  for  the  crown,  an  active  and  enterprising 
spirit  was  not  the  characteristic  of  that  family ;  and, 
whatever  object  their  ambition  might  have  in  view, 
they  chose  rather  to  acquire  it  by  political  address, 
than  to  seize  it  openly,  and  by  force  of  arms. 

The  conduct  of  George,  the  present  earl,  during  the 

»  Knox,  307.  308.  *  Crawf.  Officers  of  State,  56. 


THE  HISTORY  BOOK  m. 

1562.  late  commotions,  had  been  perfectly  suitable  to  the 
"""  character  of  the  family  in  that  age,  dubious,  variable, 
and  crafty.  While  the  success  of  the  lords  of  the  con- 
gregatipn  was  uncertain,  he  assisted  the  queen  regent 
in  her  attempts  to  crush  them.  When  their  affairs  put 
on  a  better  aspect,  he  pretended  to  join  them,  but 
never  heartily  favoured  their  cause.  He  was  courted 
and  feared  by  each  of  the  contending  parties ;  both 
connived  at  his  encroachments  in  the  north;  and,  by 
artifice  and  force,  which  he  well  knew  how  to  employ 
alternately,  and  in  their  proper  places,  he  added  every 
day  to  the  exorbitant  power  and  wealth  which  he  pos- 
sessed. 

He  observed  the  growing  reputation  and  authority 
of  the  prior  of  St.  Andrew's  with  the  greatest  jealousy 
and  concern,  and  considered  him  as  a  rival,  who  had 
engrossed  that  share  in  the  queen's  confidence,  to  which 
his  own  zeal  for  the  popish  religion  seemed  to  give  him 
a  preferable  title.  Personal  injuries  soon  increased  the 
misunderstanding  occasioned  by  rivalship  in  power. 
The  queen  having  determined  to  reward  the  services 
of  the  prior  of  St.  Andrew's,  by  creating  him  an  earl, 
she  made  choice  of  Mar,  as  the  place  whence  he  should 

Feb.  1.  take  his  title ;  and,  that  he  might  be  better  able  to  sup- 
port his  new  honour,  bestowed  upon  him,  at  the  same 
time,  the  lands  of  that  name.  These  were  part  of  the 
royal  demesnes  %  but  the  earls  of  Huntly  had  been  per- 
mitted, for  several  years,  to  keep  possession  of  them b. 
On  this  occasion  the  earl  not  only  complained,  with 
some  reason,  of  the  loss  which  he  sustained,  but  had 
real  cause  to  be  alarmed  at  the  intrusion  of  a  formidable 
neighbour  into  the  heart  of  his  territories,  who  might 
be  able  to  rival  his  power,  and  excite  his  oppressed 
vassals  to  shake  off  his  yoke. 

June  27.  An  incident,  which  happened  soon  after,  increased 
and  confirmed  Huntly's  suspicions.  Sir  John  Gordon, 

a  Crawf.  Peer.  297.  b  Buch.  334. 


BOOK  m.  OF  SCOTLAND. 

his  third  son,  and  lord  Ogilvie,  had  a  dispute  about  the  1562. 
property  of  an  estate.  This  dispute  became  a  deadly  ~~ 
quarrel.  They  happened  unfortunately  to  meet  in  the 
streets  of  Edinburgh;  and,  being  both  attended  with 
armed  followers,  a  scuffle  ensued,  in  which  lord  Ogilvie 
was  dangerously  wounded  by  sir  John.  The  magis- 
trates seized  both  the  offenders,  and  the  queen  com- 
manded them  to  be  strictly  confined.  Under  any  regu- 
lar government,  such  a  breach  of  public  peace  and  order 
would  expose  the  person  offending  to  certain  punish- 
ment. At  this  time  some  severity  was  necessary,  in 
order  to  vindicate  the  queen's  authority  from  an  insult, 
the  most  heinous  which  had  been  offered  to  it,  since 
her  return  into  Scotland.  But,  in  an  age  accustomed 
to  license  and  anarchy,  even  this  moderate  exercise  of 
her  power,  in  ordering  them  to  be  kept  in  custody,  was 
deemed  an  act  of  intolerable  rigour ;  and  the  friends  of 
each  party  began  to  convene  their  vassals  and  depend- 
ents, in  order  to  overawe  or  to  frustrate  the  decisions 
of  justice0.  Meanwhile,  Gordon  made  his  escape  out 
of  prison,  and  flying  into  Aberdeenshire,  complained 
loudly  of  the  indignity  with  which  he  had  been  treated ; 
and  as  all  the  queen's  actions  were,  at  this  juncture, 
imputed  to  the  earl  of  Mar,  this  added  not  a  little  to 
the  resentment  which  Huntly  had  conceived  against 
that  nobleman. 

At  the  very  time  when  these  passions  fermented,  with  August. 
the  utmost  violence,  in  the  minds  of  the  earl  of  Huntly 
and  his  family,  the  queen  happened  to  set  out  on  a  pro^ 
gress  into  the  northern  parts  of  the  kingdom.  She  was 
attended  by  the  earls  of  Mar  and  Morton,  Maitland, 
and  other  leaders  of  that  party.  The  presence  of  the 
queen,  in  a  country  where  no  name  greater  than  the 
earl  of  Huntly's  had  been  heard  of,  and  no  power  su- 
perior to  his  had  been  exercised,  for  many  years,  was 
an  event  of  itself  abundantly  mortifying  to  that  haughty 

°  Keith,  223. 


234  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  m. 

1562.  nobleman.  But  while  the  queen  was  entirely  under  the 
~  direction  of  Mar,  all  her  actions  were  more  apt  to  be 
misrepresented,  and  construed  into  injuries;  and  a  thou- 
sand circumstances  could  not  but  occur  to  awaken 
Huntly's  jealousy,  to  offend  his  pride,  and  to  inflame 
his  resentment.  Amidst  the  agitations  of  so  many  vio- 
lent passions,  some  eruption  was  unavoidable. 

On  Mary's  arrival  in  the  north,  Huntly  employed  his 
wife,  a  woman  capable  of  executing  the  commission 
with  abundance  of  dexterity,  to  sooth  the  queen,  and 
to  intercede  for  pardon  to  their  son.  But  the  queen 
peremptorily  required  that  he  should  again  deliver  him- 
self into  the  hands  of  justice,  and  rely  on  her  clemency. 
Gordon  was  persuaded  to  do  so;  and  being  enjoined 
by  the  queen  to  enter  himself  prisoner  in  the  castle  of 
Stirling,  he  promised  likewise  to  obey  that  command. 
Lord  Erskine,  Mar's  uncle,  was  at  that  time  governor 
of  this  fort.  The  queen's  severity,  and  the  place  in 
which  she  appointed  Gordon  to  be  confined,  were  in- 
terpreted to  be  new  marks  of  Mar's  rancour,  and  aug- 
mented the  hatred  of  the  Gordons  against  him. 
Sept.  l.  Meantime,  sir  John  Gordon  set  out  towards  Stirling ; 

but,  instead  of  performing  his  promise  to  the  queen, 
made  his  escape  from  his  guards,  and  returned  to  take 
the  command  of  his  followers,  who  were  rising  in  arms 
all  over  the  north.  These  were  destined  to  second  and 
improve  the  blow,  by  which  his  father  proposed,  se- 
cretly and  at  once,  to  cut  off  Mar,  Morton,  and  Mait- 
land,  his  principal  adversaries.  The  time  and  place 
for  perpetrating  this  horrid  deed  were  frequently  ap- 
pointed ;  but  the  executing  of  it  was  wonderfully  pre- 
vented, by  some  of  those  unforeseen  accidents,  which 
so  often  occur  to  disconcert  the  schemes,  and  to  intimi- 
date the  hearts  of  assassins'1.  Huntly's  own  house,'at 
Strathbogie,  was  the  last  and  most  convenient  scene 
appointed  for  committing  the  intended  violence.  But, 

•»  Keith,  230. 


BOOK  in.  OF  SCOTLAND.  235 

on  her  journey  thither,  the  queen  heard  of  young  Gor-      1562. 
don's  flight  and  rebellion,  and  refusing,  in  the  first  ~~ 
transports  of  her  indignation,  to  enter  under  the  father's 
roof,  by  that  fortunate  expression  of  her  resentment 
saved  her  ministers  from  unavoidable  destruction6. 

The  ill  success  of  these  efforts  of  private  revenge  Take  arms 
precipitated  Huntly  into  open  rebellion.  As  the  queen 
was  entirely  under  the  direction  of  his  rivals,  it  was  im- 
possible to  compass  their  ruin,  without  violating  the 
allegiance  which  he  owed  his  sovereign.  On  her  arrival 
at  Inverness,  the  commanding  officer  in  the  castle,  by 
Huntly 's  orders,  shut  the  gates  against  her.  Mary  was 
obliged  to  lodge  in  the  town,  which  was  open  and  de- 
fenceless ;  but  this  too  was  quickly  surrounded  by  a 
multitude  of  the  earl's  followers f.  The  utmost  conster- 
nation seized  the  queen,  who  was  attended  by  a  very 
slender  train.  She  every  moment  expected  the  ap- 
proach of  the  rebels,  and  some  ships  were  already 
ordered  into  the  river  to  secure  her  escape.  The  loy- 
alty of  the  Munroes,  Frazers,  Mackintoshes,  and  some 
neighbouring  clans,  who  took  arms  in  her  defence, 
saved  her  from  this  danger.  By  their  assistance,  she 
even  forced  the  castle  to  surrender,  and  inflicted  on  the 
governor  the  punishment  which  his  insolence  deserved. 

This  open  act  of  disobedience  was  the  occasion  of  a 
measure  more  galling  to  Huntly  than  any  the  queen 
had  hitherto  taken.  Lord  Erskine  having  pretended 
a  right  to  the  earldom  of  Mar,  Stewart  resigned  it  in 
his  favour ;  and,  at  the  same  time,  Mary  conferred  upon 
him  the  title  of  earl  of  Murray,  with  the  estate  annexed 
to  that  dignity,  which  had  been  in  the  possession  of  the 
earl  of  Huntly  since  the  year  15488.  From  this  en- 
croachment upon  his  domains  he  concluded  that  his 
family  was  devoted  to  destruction ;  and,  dreading  to  be 
stripped  gradually  of  those  possessions  which,  in  reward 


*  Knox,  318.  f  Crawf.  Officers  of  State,  87,  88. 

B  Crawf.  Peer.  35$) 


236  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  in. 

1562.  of  their  services,  the  gratitude  of  the  crown  had  be- 
stowed  on  himself,"  or  his  ancestors,  he  no  longer  dis- 
guised his  intentions,  but,  in  defiance  of  the  queen's 
proclamation,  openly  took  arms.  Instead  of  yielding 
those  places  of  strength,  which  Mary  required  him  to 
surrender,  his  followers  dispersed  or  cut  in  pieces  the 
parties  which  she  despatched  to  take  possession  of 
themh;  and  he  himself  advancing  with  a  considerable 
body  of  men  towards  Aberdeen,  to  which  place  the 
queen  was  now  returned,  filled  her  small  court  with 
consternation.  Murray  had  only  a  handful  of  men  in 
whom  he  could  confide l. '  In  order  to  form  the  appear- 
ance of  an  army,  he  was  obliged  to  call  in  the  assistance 
of  the  neighbouring  barons ;  but,  as  most  of  these  either 
favoured  Huntly's  designs,  or  stood  in  awe  of  his  power, 
from  them  no  cordial  or  effectual  service  could  be  ex- 
pected. 

Oct.  28.  With  these  troops,  however,  Murray,  who  could  gain 
nothing  by  delay,  marched  briskly  towards  the  enemy. 
He  found  them  at  Corichie,  posted  to  great  advantage; 
he  commanded  his  northern  associates  instantly  to  begin 
the  attack ;  but,  on  the  first  motion  of  the  enemy,  they 
treacherously  turned  then*  backs ;  and  Huntly's  follow- 
ers, throwing  aside  their  spears,  and  breaking  their 
ranks,  drew  their  swords,  and  rushed  forward  to  the 
He  is  de-  pursuit.  It  was  then  that  Murray  gave  proof,  both  of 
the'earl  of  s^ea(ly  courage  and  of  prudent  conduct.  He  stood  im- 
Murray.  movable  on  a  rising  ground,  with  the  small  but  trusty 
body  of  his  adherents,  who,  presenting  their  spears  to 
the  enemy,  received  them  with  a  determined  resolution, 
which  they  little  expected.  The  Highland  broadsword 
is  not  a  weapon  fit  to  encounter  the  Scottish  spear.  In 
every  civil  commotion,  the  superiority  of  the  latter  has 
been  evident,  and  has  always  decided  the  contest.  On 
this  occasion  the  irregular  attack  of  Huntly's  troops  was 
easily  repulsed  by  Murray's  firm  battalion.  Before  they 

h  Knox,  319.  '  Keith,  230. 


BOOK  HI.  OF  SCOTLAND.  237 

recovered  from  the  confusion  occasioned  by  this  unfore-     1562. 
seen  resistance,  Murray's  northern  troops,  who  had  fled  ~ 
so  shamefully  in  the  beginning  of  the  action,  willing  to 
regain  their  credit  with  the  victorious  party,  fell  upon 
them,  and  completed  the  rout.     Huntly  himself,  who 
was  extremely  corpulent,  was  trodden  to  death  in  the 
pursuit.     His  sons,  sir  John  and  Adam,  were  taken, 
and  Murray  returned  in  triumph  to  Aberdeen  with  his 
prisoners. 

The  trial  of  men  taken  in  actual  rebellion  against 
their  sovereign  was  extremely  short.  Three  days  after 
the  battle,  sir  John  Gordon  was  beheaded  at  Aber- 
deen. His  brother  Adam  was  pardoned  on  account  of 
his  youth.  Lord  Gordon,  who  had  been  privy  to  his 
father's  designs,  was  seized  in  the  south,  and  upon  trial 
found  guilty  of  treason ;  but,  through  the  queen's  cle- 
mency, the  punishment  was  remitted.  The  first  par- 
liament proceeded  against  this  great  family  with  the 
utmost  rigour  of  law,  and  reduced  their  power  and  for- 
tune to  the  lowest  ebbk. 


k  This  conspiracy  of  the  earl  of  Huntly  is  one  of  the  most  intricate  and 
mysterious  passages  in  the  Scottish  history.  As  it  was  a  transaction  purely 
domestic,  and  in  which  the  English  were  little  interested,  few  original  pa- 
pers concerning  it  have  been  found  in  Cecil's  Collection,  the  great  storehouse 
of  evidence  and  information  with  regard  to  the  affairs  of  this  period. 

Buchanan  supposes  Mary  to  have  formed  a  design  about  this  time  of  de- 
stroying Murray,  and  of  employing  the  power  of  the  earl  of  Huntly  for  this 
purpose.  But  his  account  of  this  whole  transaction  appears  to  be  so  void 
of  truth,  and  even  of  probability,  as  to  deserve  no  serious  examination.  At 
that  time  Mary  wanted  power,  and  seems  to  have  had  no  inclination  to  com- 
mit any  act  of  violence  upon  her  brother. 

Two  other  hypotheses  have  been  advanced,  in  order  to  explain  this  mat- 
ter ;  but  they  appear  to  be  equally  removed  from  truth. 

I.  It  cannot  well  be  conceived,  that  the  queen's  journey  to  the  north 
was  a  scheme  concerted  by  Murray,  in  order  to  ruin  the  earl  of  Huntly. 
1 .  Huntly  had  resided  at  court  almost  ever  since  the  queen's  return.  Keith, 
198.  Append.  175,  etc.  This  was  the  proper  place  in  which  to  have  seized 
him.  To  attack  him  in  Aberdeenshire,  the  seat  of  his  power,  and  in  the 
midst  of  his  vassals,  was  a  project  equally  absurd  and  hazardous.  2.  The 
queen  was  not  accompanied  with  a  body  of  troops  capable  of  attempting 
any  thing  against  Huntly  by  violence :  her  train  was  not  more  numerous 


238  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  in. 

1562.         As  the  fall  of  the  earl  of  Huntly  is  the  most  import- 
~~  ant  event  of  this  year,  it  would  have  been  improper  to 
interrupt  the  narrative  by  taking  notice  of  lesser  trans- 
actions, which  may  now  be  related  with  equal  propriety. 
An  inter-         In  the  beginning  of  summer,  Mary,  who  was  desirous 
view  be-     of  entering  into  a  more  intimate  correspondence  and 

tween  Jill-  CT  ..  '  .  .._   .  ,       1          1 

zabeth  and  familiarity  with  Elizabeth,  employed  Maitland  to  desire 
Uary  pro-  a  personai  interview  with  her,  somewhere  in  the  north 
of  England.  As  this  proposal  could  not  be  rejected 
with  decency,  the  time,  the  place,  and  the  circumstances 
of  the  meeting  were  instantly  agreed  upon.  But  Eliza- 
beth was  prudent  enough  not  to  admit  into  her  king- 
dom a  rival  who  outshone  herself  so  far  in  beauty  and 
gracefulness  of  person ;  and  who  excelled  so  eminently 
in  all  the  arts  of  insinuation  and  address.  Under  pre- 


than  was  usual  in  times  of  greatest  tranquillity.  Keith,  230.  3.  There  re- 
main two  original  letters  with  regard  to  this  conspiracy ;  one  from  Randolph 
the  English  resident,  and  another  from  Maitland,  both  directed  to  Cecil. 
They  talk  of  Huntly's  measures  as  notoriously  treasonable.  Randolph  men- 
tions his  repeated  attempts  to  assassinate  Murray,  etc.  No  hint  is  given  of 
any  previous  resolution  formed  by  Mary's  ministers  to  ruin  Huntly  and  his 
family.  Had  any  such  design  ever  existed,  it  was  Randolph's  duty  to  have 
discovered  it ;  nor  would  Maitland  have  laboured  to  conceal  it  from  the 
English  secretary.  Keith,  229.  232. 

II.  To  suppose  that  the  earl  of  Huntly  had  laid  any  plan  for  seizing  the 
queen  and  her  ministers,  seems  to  be  no  less  improbable.  1.  On  the 
queen's  arrival  in  the  north,  he  laboured,  in  good  earnest,  to  gain  her  fa- 
vour, and  to  obtain  a  pardon  for  his  son.  Knox,  318.  2.  He  met  the 
queen,  first  at  Aberdeen,  and  then  at  Rothemay,  whither  he  would  not 
have  ventured  to  come,  had  he  harboured  any  sucli  treasonable  resolution. 
Knox,  318.  3.  His  conduct  was  irresolute  and  wavering,  like  that  of  a 
man  disconcerted  by  an  unforeseen  danger,  not  like  one  executing  a  con- 
certed plan.  4.  The  most  considerable  persons  of  his  clan  submitted  to  the 
queen,  and  found  surety  to  obey  her  commands.  Keith,  226.  Had  the 
earl  been  previously  determined  to  rise  in  arms  against  the  queen,  or  to 
seize  her  ministers,  it  is  probable  he  would  have  imparted  it  to  his  principal 
followers,  nor  would  they  have  deserted  him  in  this  manner. 

For  these  reasons  I  have,  on  the  one  hand,  vindicated  the  earl  of  Murray 
from  any  deliberate  intention  of  ruining  the  family  of  Gordon ;  and  on  the 
other  hand,  I  have  imputed  the  violent  conduct  of  the  earl  of  Huntly  to  a 
sudden  start  of  resentment,  without  charging  him  with  any  premeditated 
purpose  of  rebellion. 


BOOK  in.  OF  SCOTLAND. 

tence  of  being  confined  to  London,  by  the  attention      1562. 
which  she  was  obliged  to  give  to  the  civil  wars  in~ 
France,  she  put  off  the  interview  for  that  season1,  and 
prevented  her  subjects  from  seeing  the  Scottish  queen, 
the  charms  of  whose  appearance  and  behaviour  she 
envied,  and  had  some  reason  to  dread. 

During  this  year,  the  assembly  of  the  church  met  June  2. 
twice.     In  both  these  meetings  were  exhibited  many  25> 

complaints  of  the  poverty  and  dependence  of  the 
church  ;  and  many  murmurs  against  the  negligence  or 
avarice  of  those  who  had  been  appointed  to  collect  and 
to  distribute  the  small  fund  appropriated  for  the  main- 
tenance of  preachers  m.  A  petition,  craving  redress  of 
their  grievances,  was  presented  to  the  queen;  but  with- 
out any  effect.  There  was  no  reason  to  expect  that 
Mary  would  discover  any  forwardness  to  grant  the  re- 
quests of  such  supplicants.  As  her  ministers,  though 
all  most  zealous  protestants,  were  themselves  growing 
rich  on  the  inheritance  of  the  church,  they  were  equally 
regardless  of  the  indigence  and  demands  of  their  bre- 


1563. 
Mary  had  now  continued  above  two  years  in  a  state  Negotia- 

of  widowhood.     Her  gentle  administration  had  secured  r^^11 
the  hearts  of  her  subjects,  who  were  impatient  for  her  the  queen's 
marriage,  and  wished  the  crown  to  descend  in  the  right  mt 
line  from  their  ancient  monarchs.     She  herself  was  the 
most  amiable  woman  of  the  age  ;  and  the  fame  of  her 
accomplishments,  together  with  the  favourable  circum- 
stance of  her  having  one  kingdom  already  in  her  pos- 
session, and  the  prospect  of  mounting  the  throne  of 
another,  prompted  many  different  princes  to  solicit  an 
alliance  so  illustrious.    Scotland,  by  its  situation,  threw 
so  much  weight  and  power  into  whatever  scale  it  fell, 
that  all  Europe  waited  with  solicitude  for  Mary's  de- 
termination ;  and  no  event  in  that  age  excited  stronger 
political  fears  and  jealousies;    none   interested   more 

'Keith,  216.  "'  Knox,  311.  323. 


240 


THE  HISTORY 


BOOK  in. 


1563. 


She  is  soli- 
cited by 
different 
princes. 


By  the 

archduke 

Charles. 


By  don 
Carlos  of 
Spain. 


By  the  duke 
of  Anjou. 


deeply  the  passions  of  several  princes,  or  gave  rise  to 
more  contradictory  intrigues,  than  the  marriage  of  the 
Scottish  queen. 

The  princes  of  the  house  of  Austria  remembered 
what  vast  projects  the  French  had  founded  on  their 
former  alliance  with  the  queen  of  Scots;  and  though 
the  unexpected  death,  first  of  Henry  and  then  of  Fran- 
cis, had  hindered  these  froni  taking  effect,  yet  if  Mary 
should  again  make  choice  of  a  husband,  among  the 
French  princes,  the  same  designs  might  be  revived  and 
prosecuted  with  better  success. 

In  order  to  prevent  this,  the  emperor  entered  into  a 
negotiation  with  the  cardinal  of  Lorrain,  who  had  pro- 
posed to  marry  the  Scottish  queen  to  the  archduke 
Charles,  Ferdinand's  third  son.  The  matter  was  com- 
municated to  Mary ;  and  Melvil,  who,  at  that  time,  at- 
tended the  elector  palatine,  was  commanded  to  inquire 
into  the  character  and  situation  of  the  archduke n. 

Philip  the  second,  though  no  less  apprehensive  of 
Mary's  falling  once  more  into  the  hands  of  France, 
envied  his  uncle  Ferdinand  the  acquisition  of  so  im- 
portant a  prize;  and,  as  his  own  insatiable  ambition 
grasped  at  all  the  kingdoms  of  Europe,  he  employed 
his  ambassador  at  the  French  court  to  solicit  the  princes 
of  Lorrain  in  behalf  of  his  son  don  Carlos,  at  that  time 
the  heir  of  all  the  extensive  dominions  which  belonged 
to  the  Spanish  monarchy0. 

Catherine  of  Medicis,  on  the  other  hand,  dreaded 
the  marriage  of  the  Scottish  queen  with  any  of  the 
Austrian  princes,  which  would  have  added  so  much  to 
the  power  and  pretensions  of  that  ambitious  race.  Her 
jealousy  of  the  princes  of  Lorrain  rendered  her  no  less 
averse  from  an  alliance  which,  by  securing  to  them  the 
protection  of  the  emperor  or  king  of  Spain,  would  give 
new  boldness  to  their  enterprising  spirit,  and  enable 


"  Melv.  63.  65.    Keith,  239.    See  Append.  No.  VII. 
«  Casteln.  46f  Addit.  a  Labour.  501.  503. 


BOOK  in.  OF  SCOTLAND.  241 

them  to  set  the  power  of  the  crown,  which  they  already     1563. 
rivalled,  at  open  defiance :  and,  as  she  was  afraid  that  ~~ 
these  splendid  proposals  of  the  Austrian  family  would 
dazzle  the  young  queen,  she  instantly  despatched  Cas- 
telnau  into  Scotland,  to  offer  her  in  marriage  the  duke 
of  Anjou,  the  brother  of  her  former  husband,  who  soon 
after  mounted  the  throne  of  France  p. 

Mary  attentively  weighed  the  pretensions  of  so  many  Mary's  de- 
rivals.  The  archduke  had  little  to  recommend  him 
but  his  high  birth.  The  example  of  Henry  the  eighth  it. 
was  a  warning  against  contracting  a  marriage  with  the 
brother  of  her  former  husband ;  and  she  could  not  bear 
the  thoughts  of  appearing  in  France,  in  a  rank  inferior 
to  that  which  she  had  formerly  held  in  that  kingdom. 
She  listened,  therefore,  with  partiality,  to  the  Spanish 
propositions,  and  the  prospect  of  such  vast  power  and 
dominions  flattered  the  ambition  of  a  young  and  as- 
piring princess. 

Three  several  circumstances,  however,  concurred  to 
divert  Mary  from  any  thoughts  of  a  foreign  alliance. 

The  first  of  these  was  the  murder  of  her  uncle,  the 
duke  of  Guise.  The  violence  and  ambition  of  that  no- 
bleman had  involved  his  country  in  a  civil  war ;  which 
was  conducted  with  furious  animosity  and  various  suc- 
cess. At  last  the  duke  laid  siege  to  Orleans,  the  bul- 
wark of  the  protestant  cause ;  and  he  had  reduced  that 
city  to  the  last  extremity,  when  he  was  assassinated  by 
the  frantic  zeal  of  Poltrot.  This  blow  proved  fatal  to 
the  queen  of  Scots.  The  young  duke  was  a  minor; 
and  the  cardinal  of  Lorrain,  though  subtle  and  in- 
triguing, wanted  that  undaunted  and  enterprising  cou- 
rage, which  rendered  the  ambition  of  his  brother  so 
formidable.  Catherine,  instead  of  encouraging  the  am- 
bition or  furthering  the  pretensions  of  her  daughter-in- 
law,  took  pleasure  in  mortifying  the  one,  and  in  disap- 
pointing the  other.  In  this  situation,  and  without  such 

P  Casteln.  461.  -"•  ;• 

VOL.  I.  R 


THE  HISTORY  BOOK  HI. 

1563.  a  protector,  it  became  necessary  for  Mary  to  contract 
her  views,  and  to  proceed  with  caution ;  and,  whatever 
prospect  of  advantage  might  allure  her,  she  could  ven- 
ture upon  no  dangerous  or  doubtful  measure. 
Theviewsof  The  second  circumstance  which  weighed  with  Mary, 
'  was  the  opinion  of  the  queen  of  England.  The  mar- 
riage of  the  Scottish  queen  interested  Elizabeth  more 
deeply  than  any  other  prince;  and  she  observed  all 
her  deliberations  concerning  it  with  the  most  anxious 
attention.  She  herself  seems  early  to  have  formed  a 
resolution  of  living  unmarried,  and  she  discovered  no 
small  inclination  to  impose  the  same  law  on  the  queen 
of  Scots.  She  had  already  experienced  what  use  might 
be  made  of  Mary's  power  and  pretensions  to  invade  her 
dominions,  and  to  disturb  her  possession  of  the  crown. 
The  death  of  Francis  the  second  had  happily  delivered 
her  from  this  danger,  which  she  determined  to  guard 
against  for  the  future  with  the  utmost  care.  As  the 
restless  ambition  of  the  Austrian  princes,  the  avowed 
and  bigoted  patrons  of  the  catholic  superstition,  made 
her,  in  a  particular  manner,  dread  their  neighbour- 
hood, she  instructed  Randolph  to  remonstrate,  in  the 
strongest  terms,  against  any  alliance  with  them;  and  to 
acquaint  Mary,  that,  as  she  herself  would  consider  such 
a  match  to  be  a  breach  of  the  personal  friendship  in 
which  they  were  so  happily  united ;  so  the  English  na- 
tion would  regard  it  as  the  dissolution  of  that  confe- 
deracy which  now  subsisted  between  the  two  kingdoms ; 
that,  in  order  to  preserve  their  own  religion  and  liber- 
ties, they  would;  in  all  probability,  take  some  step  pre- 
judicial to  her  right  of  succession,  which,  as  she  well 
knew,  they  neither  wanted  power  nor  pretences  to  in- 
validate and  set  aside.  This  threatening  was  accom- 
panied with  a  promise,  but  expressed  in  very  ambigu- 
ous terms,  that  if  Mary's  choice  of  a  husband  should 
prove  agreeable  to  the  English  nation,  Elizabeth  would 
appoint  proper  persons  to  examine  her  title  to  the  suc- 
cession, and,  if  well  founded,  command  it  to  be  pub- 


BOOK  in.  OF  SCOTLAND.  243 

licly  recognised.  She  observed,  however,  a  mysterious  1563. 
silence  concerning  the  person  on  whom  she  wished  the  ~ 
choice  of  the  Scottish  queen  to  fall.  The  revealing  of 
this  secret  was  reserved  for  some  future  negotiation. 
Meanwhile,  she  threw  out  some  obscure  hints,  that  a 
native  of  Britain,  or  one  not  of  princely  rank,  would  be 
her  safest  and  most  inoffensive  choice q.  An  advice, 
offered  with  such  an  air  of  superiority  and  command, 
mortified,  no  doubt,  the  pride  of  the  Scottish  queen. 
But,  under  her  present  circumstances,  she  was  obliged 
to  bear  this  indignity.  Destitute  of  all  foreign  assist- 
ance, and  intent  upon  the  English  succession,  the  great 
object  of  her  wishes  and  ambition,  it  became  necessary 
to  court  a  rival,  whom,  without  manifest  imprudence, 
she  could  not  venture  to  offend. 

The  inclination  of  her  own  subjects  was  another,  and  The  send- 
not  the  least  considerable  circumstance,  which  called 
for  Mary's  attention  at  this  conjuncture.  They  hadjects. 
been  taught,  by  the  fatal  experiment  of  her  former  mar- 
riage, to  dread  an  union  with  any  great  prince,  whose 
power  might  be  employed  to  oppress  their  religion  and 
liberties.  They  trembled  at  the  thoughts  of  a  match 
with  a  foreigner;  and,  if  the  crown  should  be  strength- 
ened by  new  dominions  or  alliances,  they  foresaw  that 
the  royal  prerogative  would  soon  be  stretched  beyond 
its  ancient  and  legal  limits.  Their  eagerness  to  prevent 
this  could  hardly  fail  of  throwing  them  once  more  into 
the  arms  of  England.  Elizabeth  would  be  ready  to  af- 
ford them  her  aid  towards  obstructing  a  measure  so  dis- 
agreeable to  herself.  It  was  easy  for  them  to  seize  the 
person  of  the  sovereign.  By  the  assistance  of  the  Eng- 
lish fleet,  they  could  render  it  difficult  for  any  foreign 
prince  to  land  in  Scotland.  The  Roman  catholics, 
now  an  inconsiderable  party  in  the  kingdom,  and  dispi- 
rited by  the  loss  of  the  earl  of  Huntly,  could  give  no 
obstruction  to  their  designs.  To  what  violent  extremes 

n  Keith,  242.  245. 


244  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  m. 

1563.     the  national  abhorrence  of  a  foreign  yoke  might  have 
~been  carried,  is  manifest  from  what  she  had  already 
seen  and  experienced. 

For  these  reasons  Mary  laid  aside,  at  that  time,  all 
thoughts  of  foreign  alliance,  and  seemed  willing  to  sa- 
crifice her  own  ambition,  in  order  to  remove  the  jea- 
lousies of  Elizabeth,  and  to  quiet  the  fears  of  her  own 
subjects. 

A  parlia-  The  parliament  met  this  year,  for  the  first  time  since 
May  26.  '  tne  queen's  return  into  Scotland.  Mary's  administra- 
tion had  hitherto  been  extremely  popular.  Her  mi- 
nisters possessed  the  confidence  of  the  nation ;  and,  by 
consequence,  the  proceedings  of  that  assembly  were 
conducted  with  perfect  unanimity.  The  grant  of  the 
earldom  of  Murray  to  the  prior  of  St.  Andrew's  was 
confirmed :  the  earl  of  Huntly,  and  several  of  his  vas- 
sals and  dependents,  were  attainted :  the  attainder 
against  Kirkaldy  of  Grange,  and  some  of  his  accom- 
plices in  the  murder  of  cardinal  Beatoun,  was  reversed r: 
the  act  of  oblivion,  mentioned  in  the  treaty  of  Edin- 
burgh, received  the  royal  sanction.  But  Mary,  who 
had  determined  never  to  ratify  that  treaty,  took  care 
that  this  sanction  should  not  be  deemed  any  acknow- 
ledgment of  its  validity ;  she  granted  her  consent  merely 
in  condescension  to  the  lords  in  parliament,  who,  on 
their  knees,  besought  her  to  allay  the  jealousies  and 
apprehensions  of  her  subjects  by  such  a  gracious  law s. 
Nothing  No  attempt  was  made,  in  this  parliament,  to  procure 

determined  ^  '  .       .  r   .  ..  .  .          . 

with  regard  the  queen  s  assent  to  the  laws  establishing  the  protes- 
to  religion ;  fan(;  religion.  Her  ministers,  though  zealous  protestants 
themselves,  were  aware  that  this  could  not  be  urged 
without  manifest  danger  and  imprudence.  She  had 
consented,  through  their  influence,  to  tolerate  and  pro- 
tect the  reformed  doctrine.  They  had  even  prevailed 
on  her  to  imprison  and  prosecute  the  archbishop  of  St. 
Andrew's,  and  prior  of  Whithorn,  for  celebrating  mass 

T  Knot,  330.  •  Parl.  9.  Q.  Mary,  c.  67.    Spotsw.  188. 


BOOK  in.  OF  SCOTLAND.  245 

contrary  to  her  proclamation'.  Mary,  however,  was  1563. 
still  passionately  devoted  to  the  Romish  church ;  and  ~ 
though,  from  political  motives,  she  had  granted  a  tem- 
porary protection  of  opinions  which  she  disapproved, 
there  were  no  grounds  to  hope  that  she  would  agree 
to  establish  them  for  perpetuity.  The  moderation  of 
those  who  professed  it,  was  the  best  method  for  recon- 
ciling the  queen  to  the  protestant  religion.  Time  might 
abate  her  bigotry.  Her  prejudices  might  wear  off  gra- 
dually, and  at  last  she  might  yield  to  the  wishes  of  her 
people,  what  their  importunity  or  their  violence  could 
never  have  extorted.  Many  laws  of  importance  were 
to  be  proposed  in  parliament ;  and  to  defeat  all  these, 
by  such  a  fruitless  and  ill-timed  application  to  the 
queen,  would  have  been  equally  injurious  to  individuals 
and  detrimental  to  the  public. 

The  zeal  of  the  protestant  clergy  was  deaf  to  all  these  which  of- 
considerations  of  prudence  or  policy.  Eager  and  i 
patient,  it  brooked  no  delay :  severe  and  inflexible,  it 
would  condescend  to  no  compliances.  The  leading 
men  of  that  order  insisted,  that  this  opportunity  of  esta- 
blishing religion  by  law  was  not  to  be  neglected.  They 
pronounced  the  moderation  of  the  courtiers,  apostacy ; 
and  their  endeavours  to  gain  the  queen,  they  reckoned 
criminal  and  servile.  Knox  solemnly  renounced  the 
friendship  of  the  earl  of  Murray,  as  a  man  devoted  to 
Mary,  and  so  blindly  zealous  for  her  service,  as  to  be- 
come regardless  of  those  objects  which  he  had  hitherto 
esteemed  most  sadred.  This  rupture,  which  is  a  strong 
proof  of  Murray's  sincere  attachment  to  the  queen  at 
that  period,  continued  above  a  year  and  an  half". 

The  preachers  being  disappointed  by  the  men  in 
whom  they  placed  the  greatest  confidence,  gave  vent  to 
their  indignation  in  their  pulpits.  These  echoed  more 
loudly  than  ever  with  declamations  against  idolatry; 
with  dismal  presages  concerning  the  queen's  marriage 

1  Keith,  239.  "  Knox,  331. 


THE  HISTORY  BOOK  in. 

1563.     with  a  foreigner;  and  with  bitter  reproaches  against 

~~  those  who,  from  interested  motives,  had  deserted  that 

cause  which  they  once  reckoned  it  their  honour  to  sup- 

and  occa-    port.     The   people,  inflamed  by  such  vehement  de- 

sions  a  tu-   ciama(;ions  which  were  dictated  by  a  zeal  more  sincere 

mult  among  * 

the  people,  than  prudent,  proceeded  to  rash  and  unjustifiable  acts 
of  violence.  During  the  queen's  absence,  on  a  progress 
into  the  west,  mass  continued  to  be  celebrated  in  her 
August,  chapel  at  Holyrood  house.  The  multitude  of  those 
who  openly  resorted  thither,  gave  great  offence  to  the 
citizens  of  Edinburgh,  who,  being  free  from  the  re- 
straint which  the  royal  presence  imposed,  assembled  in 
a  riotous  manner,  interrupted  the  service,  and  filled 
such  as  were  present  with  the  utmost  consternation. 
Two  of  the  ringleaders  in  this  tumult  were  seized,  and 
a  day  appointed  for  their  trial  x. 

Knox  tried       Knox,  who  deemed  the  zeal  of  these  persons  laud- 


on  that  ac-  gjjie    an(j  their  conduct  meritorious,  considered  them 

count,  but 

acquitted,    as  sufferers  in  a  good  cause;  and  in  order  to  screen 

r  '  them  from  danger,  he  issued  circular  letters,  requiring 

•       all  who  professed  the  true  religion,  or  were  concerned 

for  the  preservation  of  it,  to  assemble  at  Edinburgh, 

on  the  day  of  trial,  that  by  their  presence  they  might 

comfort  and  assist  their  distressed  brethren  y.     One  of 

these  letters  fell  into  the  queen's  hands.     To  assemble 

the  subjects  without  the  authority  of  the  sovereign,  was 

construed  to  be  treason,  and  a  resolution  was  taken  to 

Dec.  15.  prosecute  Knox  for  that  crime,  before  the  privy  council. 
Happily  for  him,  his  judges  were  not  only  zealous  pro- 
testants,  but  the  very  men  who,  during  the  late  com- 
motions, had  openly  resisted  and  set  at  defiance  the 
queen's  authority.  It  was  under  precedents  drawn 
from  their  own  conduct  that  Knox  endeavoured  to 
shelter  himself.  Nor  would  it  have  been  an  easy  mat- 
ter for  these  counsellors  to  have  found  out  a  distinction, 
by  which  they  could  censure  him  without  condemning 

*  Knox,  335.  i  Ibid.  336. 


BOOK  HI.  OF  SCOTLAND.  247 

themselves.     After  a  long  hearing,  to  the  astonishment      1563. 
of  Lethington  and  the  other  courtiers z,  he  was  unani-  • 
mously  acquitted.     Sinclair,  bishop  of  Ross,  and  presi- 
dent of  the  court  of  session,  a  zealous  papist,  heartily 
concurred  with  the  other  counsellors  in  this  decision  a ; 
a  remarkable  fact,  which  shows  the  unsettled  state  of 
government  in  that  age;  the  low  condition  to  which 
regal  authority  was  then  sunk ;  and  the  impunity  with 
which  subjects  might  invade  those  rights  of  the  crown 
which  are  now  held  sacred.  1564 

The  marriage  of  the  Scottish  queen  continued  still  Negotia- 
te be  the  object  of  attention  and  intrigue.  Though  j^0"*^ 
Elizabeth,  even  while  she  wished  to  direct  Mary,  treated  the  queen's 
her  with  a  disgustful  reserve;  though  she  kept  her,m< 
without  necessity,  in  a  state  of  suspense;  and  hinted 
often  at  the  person  whom  she  destined  to  be  her  hus- 
band, without  directly  mentioning  his  name ;  yet  Mary 
framed  all  her  actions  to  express  such  a  prudent  re- 
spect for  the  English  queen,  that  foreign  princes  began 
to  imagine  she  had  given  herself  up  implicitly  to  her 
direction1*.  The  prospect  of  this  union  alarmed  Ca- 
therine of  Medicis.  Though  Catherine  had  taken  plea- 
sure all  along  in  doing  ill  offices  to  the  queen  of  Scots ; 
though,  soon  after  the  duke  of  Guise's  death,  she  had 
put  upon  her  a  most  mortifying  indignity,  by  stopping 
the  payment  of  her  dowry,  by  depriving  her  subject, 
the  duke  of  Chatelherault,  of  his  pension,  and  by  be- 
stowing the  command  of  the  Scottish  guards  on  a  French- 
man e ;  she  resolved,  however,  to  prevent  this  dangerous 
conjunction  of  the  British  queens.  For  this  purpose 
she  now  employed  all  her  art  to  appease  Mary'1,  to 
whom  she  had  given  so  many  causes  of  offence.  The 
arrears  of  her  dowry  were  instantly  paid ;  more  punc- 
tual remittances  were  promised  for  the  future;  and 

1  Caldeiw.  Manuscript  Hist.  i.  832.  a  Knox,  343. 

»  Keith,  248.  c  Ibid.  244. 

d  See  Append.  No.  VIII. 


248  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  HI. 

1564.  offers  made,  not  only  to  restore  but  to  extend  the  pri- 
~  vileges  of  the  Scottish  nation  in  France.  It  was  easy 
for  Mary  to  penetrate  into  the  motives  of  this  sudden 
change ;  she  well  knew  the  character  of  her  mother-in- 
law,  and  laid  little  stress  upon  professions  of  friendship, 
which  came  from  a  princess  of  such  a  false  and  unfeel- 
ing heart. 

The  negotiation  with  England,  relative  to  the  mar- 
riage, suffered  no  interruption  from  this  application  of 
the  French  queen.  As  Mary,  in  compliance  with  the 
wishes  of  her  subjects,  and  pressed  by  the  strongest 
motives  of  interest,  determined  speedily  to  marry,  Eli- 
zabeth was  obliged  to  break  that  unaccountable  silence 
whicn  she  had  hitherto  affected.  The  secret  was  dis- 
closed,  and  her  favourite  lord  Robert  Dudley,  after- 
mends  Lei-  war js  ear]  of  Leicester,  was  declared  to  be  the  happy 

cester  to  ri  J 

her  for  a     man  whom  she  had  chosen  to  be  the  husband  of  a 

husband.  ,11 

queen  courted  by  so  many  princes  . 

Elizabeth's  wisdom  and  penetration  were  remarkable 
in  the  choice  of  her  ministers ;  in  distinguishing  her  fa- 
vourites, those  great  qualities  were  less  conspicuous. 
She  was  influenced  in  two  cases  so  opposite,  by  merit 
of  very  different  kinds.  Their  capacity  for  business, 
their  knowledge,  their  prudence,  were  the  talents  to 
which  alone  she  attended  in  choosing  her  ministers ; 
whereas  beauty  and  gracefulness  of  person,  polished 
manners,  and  courtly  address,  were  the  accomplishments 
on  which  she  bestowed  her  favour.  She  acted  in  the 
one  case  with  the  wisdom  of  a  queen,  in  the  other  she 
discovered  the  weakness  of  a  woman.  To  this  Leicester 
owed  his  grandeur.  Though  remarkable  neither  for 
eminence  in  virtue,  nor  superiority  of  abilities,  the  queen's 
partiality  distinguished  him  on  every  occasion.  She 
raised  him  to  the  highest  honours,  she  bestowed  on 
him  the  most  important  employments,  and  manifested 

e  Keith,  251. 


BOOK  in.  OF  SCOTLAND.  249 

an  affection  so  disproportionate  to  his  merit,  that,  in  the      1564. 
opinion  of  that  age,  it  could  be  accounted  for  only  by  ~ 

the  power  of  planetary  influence f. 

The  high  spirit  of  the  Scottish  queen  could  not  well  Mary  of- 
bear  the  first  overture  of  a  match  with  a  subject.  Hertj,"sec 
own  rank,  the  splendour  of  her  former  marriage,  and 
the  solicitations  at  this  time  of  so  many  powerful  princes, 
crowded  into  her  thoughts,  and  made  her  sensibly  feel 
how  humbling  and  disrespectful  Elizabeth's  proposal 
was.  She  dissembled,  however,  with  the  English  resi- 
dent ;  and,  though  she  declared,  in  strong  terms,  what 
a  degradation  she  would  deem  this  alliance,  which 
brought  along  with  it  no  advantage  that  could  justify 
such  neglect  of  her  own  dignity,  she  mentioned  the  earl 
of  Leicester,  notwithstanding,  in  terms  full  of  respect8. 

Elizabeth,  we  may  presume,  did  not  wish  that  the  Elizabeth's 
proposal  should  be  received  in  any  other  manner.  After  commend-6 
the  extraordinary  marks  she  had  given  of  her  own  at-  ing  him- 
tachment  to  Leicester,  and  while  he  was  still  in  the  very 
height  of  favour,  it  is  not  probable  she  could  think  seri- 
ously of  bestowing  him  upon  another.  It  was  not  her 
aim  to  persuade,  but  only  to  amuse  Maryh.  Almost 
three  years  were  elapsed  since  her  return  into  Scotland ; 
and,  though  solicited  by  her  subjects,  and  courted  by 
the  greatest  princes  in  Europe,  she  had  hitherto  been 
prevented  from  marrying,  chiefly  by  the  artifices  of 
Elizabeth.  If  at  this  time  the  English  queen  could 
have  engaged  Mary  to  listen  to  her  proposal  in  favour 
of  Leicester,  her  power  over  this  creature  of  her  own 
would  have  enabled  her  to  protract  the  negotiation  at 
pleasure ;  and,  by  keeping  her  rival  unmarried,  she 
would  have  rendered  the  prospect  of  her  succession  less 
acceptable  to  the  English. 

Leicester's  own  situation  was  extremely  delicate  and 
embarrassing.  To  gain  possession  of  the  most  amiable 
woman  of  the  age,  to  carry  away  this  prize  from  so 

'  Camden,  549.  «  Keith,  252.  h  Melv.  104,  105. 


250  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  in. 

1564.  many  contending  princes,  to  mount  the  throne  of  an 
~~  ancient  kingdom,  might  have  flattered  the  ambition  of 
a  subject  much  more  considerable  than  him.  He  saw 
all  these  advantages,  no  doubt;  and,  in  secret,  they 
made  their  full  impression  on  him.  But,  without  offend- 
ing Elizabeth,  he  durst  not  venture  on  the  most  distant 
discovery  of  his  sentiments,  or  take  any  step  towards 
facilitating  his  acquisition  of  objects  so  worthy  of  desire. 

On  the  other  hand,  Elizabeth's  partiality  towards 
him,  which  she  was  at  no  pains  to  conceal1,  might  in- 
spire him  with  hopes  of  attaining  the  supreme  rank  in  a 
kingdom  more  illustrious  than  Scotland.  Elizabeth  had 
often  declared  that  nothing  but  her  resolution  to  lead  a 
single  life,  and  his  being  born  her  own  subject,  would 
have  hindered  her  from  choosing  the  earl  of  Leicester 
for  a  husband.  Such  considerations  of  prudence  are, 
however,  often  surmounted  by  love ;  and  Leicester 
might  flatter  himself,  that  the  violence  of  her  affection 
would,  at  length,  triumph  both  over  the  maxims  of 
policy  and  the  scruples  of  pride.  These  hopes  induced 
him,  now  and  then,  to  conclude  the  proposal  of  his 
marriage  with  the  Scottish  queen  to  be  a  project  for 
his  destruction;  and  he  imputed  it  to  the  malice  of 
Cecil,  who,  under  the  specious  pretence  of  doing  him 
honour,  intended  to  ruin  him  in  the  good  opinion  both 
of  Elizabeth  and  Mary  k. 

A  treaty  of  marriage,  proposed  by  one  queen,  who 
dreaded  its  success ;  listened  to  by  another,  who  was 
secretly  determined  against  it ;  and  scarcely  desired  by 
the  man  himself,  whose  interest  and  reputation  it  was 
calculated,  in  appearance,  to  promote ;  could  not,  under 
so  many  unfavourable  circumstances,  be  brought  to  a 
fortunate  issue.  Both  Elizabeth  and  Mary  continued, 
however,  to  act  with  equal  dissimulation.  The  former, 
notwithstanding  her  fears  of  losing  Leicester,  solicited 
warmly  in  his  behalf.  The  latter,  though  she  began 

»  Melv.  93,  94.  k  Ibid.  101. 


BOOK  HI.  OF  SCOTLAND.  251 

about  this  time  to  cast  her  eyes  upon  another  subject      1554. 
of  England,  did  not  at  once  venture  finally  to  reject 
Elizabeth's  favourite. 

The  person  towards  whom  Mary  began  to  turn  her  Mary  en- 
thoughts,  was  Henry  Stewart  lord  Darnly,  eldest  son  ^1[,t^"1sts 
of  the  earl  of  Lennox.  That  nobleman,  having  been  of  marrying 
driven  out  of  Scotland,  under  the  regency  of  the  duke  l°\ 
of  Chatelherault,  had  lived  in  banishment  for  twenty 
years.  His  wife,  lady  Margaret  Douglas,  was  Mary's 
most  dangerous  rival  in  her  claim  upon  the  English 
succession.  She  was  the  daughter  of  Margaret,  the 
eldest  sister  of  Henry  the  eighth,  by  the  earl  of  Angus, 
whom  that  queen  married  after  the  death  of  her  hus- 
band, James  the  fourth.  In  that  age,  the  right  and 
order  of  succession  was  not  settled  with  the  same  accu- 
racy as  at  present.  Time,  and  the  decision  of  almost 
every  case  that  can  possibly  happen,  have  at  last  in- 
troduced certainty  into  a  matter,  which  naturally  is  sub- 
ject to  all  the  variety  arising  from  the  caprice  of  lawyers, 
guided  by  obscure  and  often  imaginary  analogies.  The 
countess  of  Lennox,  though  born  of  a  second  marriage, 
was  one  degree  nearer  the  royal  blood  of  England  than 
Mary.  She  was  the  daughter,  Mary  only  the  grand- 
daughter, of  Margaret.  This  was  not  the  only  advan- 
tage over  Mary  which  the  countess  of  Lennox  enjoyed. 
She  was  born  in  England,  and,  by  a  maxim  of  law  in 
that  country,  with  regard  to  private  inheritances,  "  who- 
ever is  not  born  in  England,  or  at  least  of  parents  who, 
at  the  time  of  his  birth,  were  in  the  obedience  of  the 
king  of  England,  cannot  enjoy  any  inheritance  in  the 
kingdom1."  This  maxim,  Hales,  an  English  lawyer, 
produced  in  a  treatise  which  he  published  at  this  time, 
and  endeavoured  to  apply  it  to  the  right  of  succession 
to  the  crown.  In  a  private  cause  these  pretexts  might 
have  given  rise  to  a  long  and  doubtful  litigation ;  where 
a  crown  was  at  stake,  such  nice  disputes  and  subtilties 

'  Carte,  Hist,  ef  Eng.  vol.  iii.  422. 


252  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  HI. 

1564.  were  to  be  avoided  with  the  utmost  care.  If  Darnly 
~  should  happen  to  contract  an  alliance  with  any  of  the 
powerful  families  in  England,  or  should  publicly  profess 
the  protestant  religion,  these  plausible  and  popular 
topics  might  be  so  urged,  as  to  prove  fatal  to  the  pre- 
tensions of  a  foreigner  and  of  a  papist. 

Mary  was  aware  of  all  this ;  and,  in  order  to  prevent 
any  danger  from  that  quarter,  had  early  endeavoured 
to  cultivate  a  friendly  correspondence  with  the  family 
of  Lennox.  In  the  year  one  thousand  five  hundred 
and  sixty-two m,  both  the  earl  and  the  lady  Margaret 
were  taken  into  custody  by  Elizabeth's  orders,  on  ac- 
count of  their  holding  a  secret  correspondence  with  the 
Scottish  queen. 

Elizabeth  From  the  time  that  Mary  became  sensible  of  the  dif- 
Skased  ficulties  which  would  attend  her  marrying  a  foreign 
with  this,  prince,  she  entered  into  a  still  closer  connexion  with 
the  earl  of  Lennox n,  and  invited  him  to  return  into 
Scotland.  This  she  endeavoured  to  conceal  from  Eli- 
zabeth ;  but  a  transaction  of  so  much  importance  did 
not  escape  the  notice  of  that  discerning  princess.  She 
observed,  but  did  not  interrupt  it.  Nothing  could  fall 
in  more  perfectly  with  her  views  concerning  Scottish 
affairs.  She  was  pleased  to  see  the  pride  of  the 
Scottish  queen  stoop  at  last  to  the  thoughts  of  taking 
a  subject  to  her  bed.  Darnly  was  in  no  situation  to 
excite  her  jealousy  or  her  fears.  His  father's  estate 
lay  in  England,  and,  by  means  of  this  pledge,  she 
hoped  to  keep  the  negotiation  entirely  in  her  own 
hands,  to  play  the  same  game  of  artifice  and  delay, 
which  she  had  planned  out,  if  her  recommendation  of 
Leicester  had  been  more  favourably  received. 

As,  before  the  union  of  the  two  crowns,  no  subject 
of  one  kingdom  could  pass  into  the  other  without  the 
permission  of  both  sovereigns ;  no  sooner  did  Lennox, 
under  pretence  of  prosecuting  his  wife's  claim  upon  the 

ra  Camd.  389.  "  Ibid.  396. 


BOOK  m.  OF  SCOTLAND.  253 

earldom  of  Angus,  apply  to  Elizabeth  for  her  license  1564. 
to  go  into  Scotland,  than  he  obtained  it.  Together"" 
with  it,  she  gave  him  letters,  warmly  recommending  his 
person  and  cause  to  Mary's  friendship  and  protection0. 
But,  at  the  same  time,  as  it  was  her  manner  to  involve 
all  her  transactions  with  regard  to  Scotland  in  some 
degree  of  perplexity  and  contradiction,  she  warned 
Mary,  that  this  indulgence  of  Lennox  might  prove  fa- 
tal to  herself,  as  his  return  could  not  fail  of  reviving 
the  ancient  animosity  between  him  and  the  house  of 
Hamilton. 

This  admonition  gave  umbrage  to  Mary,  and  drew 
from  her  an  angry  reply,  which  occasioned  for  some 
time  a  total  interruption  of  all  correspondence  between 
the  two  queens p.  Mary  was  not  a  little  alarmed  at 
this ;  she  both  dreaded  the  effects  of  Elizabeth's  re- 
sentment, and  felt  sensibly  the  disadvantage  of  being 
excluded  from  a  free  intercourse  with  England,  where 
her  ambassadors  had  all  along  carried  on,  with  some 
success,  secret  negotiations,  which  increased  the  num- 
ber of  her  partisans,  and  paved  her  way  towards  the 
throne.  In  order  to  remove  the  causes  of  the  present 
difficulty,  Melvil  was  sent  express  to  the  court  of  Eng- 
land. He  found  it  no  difficult  matter  to  bring  about  a 
reconcilement ;  and  soon  reestablished  the  appearance, 
but  not  the  confidence  of  friendship,  which  was  all  that 
had  subsisted  for  some  time  between  the  two  queens. 

During  this  negotiation,  Elizabeth's  professions  of 
love  to  Mary,  and  MelviFs  replies  in  the  name  of  his 
mistress,  were  made  in  the  language  of  the  warmest  and 
most  cordial  friendship.  But  what  Melvil  truly  ob- 
serves with  respect  to  Elizabeth,  may  be  extended, 
without  injustice,  to  both  queens.  "  There  was  nei- 
ther plaindealing,  nor  upright  meaning,  but  great  dis- 
simulation, envy,  and  fearq."  Lennox 

_  .  .  arrives  in 

Lennox,   however,   in  consequence  of  the    license  Scotland. 

-  Keith,  255.  268.  P  Ibid.  253.    Melv.  83.  <t  Melv.  104. 


254  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  in. 

1564.  which  he  had  obtained,  set  out  for  Scotland,  and  was 
~~  received  by  the  queen,  not  only  with  the  respect  due 
to  a  nobleman  so  nearly  allied  to  the  royal  family,  but 
treated  with  a  distinguished  familiarity,  which  could 
not  fail  of  inspiring  him  with  more  elevated  hopes. 
The  rumour  of  his  son's  marriage  to  the  queen  began 
to  spread -over  the  kingdom;  and  the  eyes  of  all  Scot- 
land were  turned  upon  him,  as  the  father  of  their  future 
master.  The  duke  of  Chatelherault  was  the  first  to 
take  the  alarm.  He  considered  Lennox  as  the  ancient 
and  hereditary  enemy  of  the  house  of  Hamilton ;  and, 
in  his  grandeur,  saw  the  ruin  of  himself  and  his  friends. 
But  the  queen  interposed  her  authority  to  prevent  any 
violent  rupture,  and  employed  all  her  influence  to  bring 
about  an  accommodation  of  the  differences r. 

The  powerful  family  of  Douglas  no  less  dreaded 
Lennox's  return,  from  an  apprehension  that  he  would 
wrest  the  earldom  of  Angus  out  of  their  hands.  But 
the  queen,  who  well  knew  how  dangerous  it  would  be 
to  irritate  Morton,  and  other  great  men  of  that  name, 
prevailed  on  Lennox  to  purchase  their  friendship  by 
allowing  his  lady's  claim  upon  the  earldom  of  Angus  to 
drop s. 

December.       After  these  preliminary  steps,  Mary  ventured  to  call 

a  meeting  of  parliament.     The  act  of  forfeiture  passed 

against  Lennox  in  the  year  one  thousand  five  hundred 

and  forty-five  was  repealed,  and  he  was  publicly  restored 

to  the  honours  and  estate  of  his  ancestors  *. 

June  25.          The  ecclesiastical  transactions  of  this  year  were  not 

Dec.  25.      considerable.      In  the  assemblies  of  the  church,  the 

The  clcr^v 

suspicious  same  complaints  of  the  increase  of  idolatry,  the  same 
of  the  representations  concerning  the  poverty  of  the  clergy, 
zeal  for  were  renewed.  The  reply  which  the  queen  made  to 
popery.  these,  and  her  promises  of  redress,  were  more  satisfying 
to  the  protestants  than  any  they  had  hitherto  obtained  u. 


'  Keith,  259.  •  Ibid.  268.  note  (b). 

*  See  Append.  No.  EC.  "  Keith,  533.  539. 


BOOK  in.  OF  SCOTLAND.  255 

But,  notwithstanding  her  declarations  in  their  favour,  1564. 
they  could  not  help  harbouring  many  suspicions  con-~~ 
cernirig  Mary's  designs  against  their  religion.  She 
had  never  once  consented  to  hear  any  preacher  of  the 
reformed  doctrine.  She  had  abated  nothing  of  her 
bigoted  attachment  to  the  Romish  faith.  The  genius 
of  that  superstition,  averse  at  all  times  from  toleration, 
was  in  that  age  fierce  and  unrelenting.  Mary  had 
given  her  friends  on  the  continent  repeated  assurances 
of  her  resolution  to  reestablish  the  catholic  church". 
She  had  industriously  avoided  every  opportunity  of 
ratifying  the  acts  of  parliament,  one  thousand  five  hun- 
dred and  sixty,  in  favour  of  the  reformation.  Even 
the  protection  which,  ever  since  her  return,  she  had 
afforded  the  protestant  religion,  was  merely  temporary, 
and  declared,  by  her  own  proclamation,  to  be  of  force 
only  "  till  she  should  take  some  final  order  in  the  mat- 
ter of  religion y."  The  vigilant  zeal  of  the  preachers 
was  inattentive  to  none  of  these  circumstances.  The 
coldness  of  their  principal  leaders,  who  were  at  this 
time  entirely  devoted  to  the  court,  added  to  their  jea- 
lousies and  fears.  These  they  uttered  to  the  people,  in 
language  which  they  deemed  suitable  to  the  necessity 
of  the  times,  and  which  the  queen  reckoned  disrespect- 
ful and  insolent.  In  a  meeting  of  the  general  assembly, 
Maitland  publicly  accused  Knox  of  teaching  seditious 
doctrine,  concerning  the  right  of  subjects  to  resist  those 
sovereign  who  trespass  against  the  duty  which  they 
owe  to  the  people.  Knox  was  not  backward  to  justify 
what  he  had  taught ;  and  upon  this  general  doctrine  of 
resistance,  so  just  in  its  own  nature,  but  so  delicate  in 
its  application  to  particular  cases,  there  ensued  a  de- 
bate, which  admirably  displays  the  talents  and  character 
of  both  the  disputants ;  the  acuteness  of  the  former, 
embellished  with  learning,  but  prone  to  subtilty;  the 
vigorous  understanding  of  the  latter,  delighting  in  bold 
sentiments,  and  superior  to  all  fearz.  - 

«  Carte,  vol.  iii.  415.  v  Keith,  504.  510.  *  Knox,  349. 


256  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  in. 

1565.         Two  years  had  already  been  consumed  in  fruitless 


Dissimuia-  negotiations  concerning  the  marriage  of  the  Scottish 
uonbothof  queen.     Mary  had  full  leisure  and  opportunity  to  dis- 
and  Mary,  cern  the  fallacy  and  deceit  of  all  Elizabeth's  proceed- 
tThe^rnar  *n£s  w^n  respect  to  it.     But,  in  order  to  set  the  real 
riage.         intentions  of  the  English  queen  in  a  clear  light,  and  to 
bring  her  to  some  explicit  declaration  of  her  sentiments, 
Mary  at  last  intimated  to  Randolph,  that,  on  condition 
her  right  of  succession  to  the  crown  of  England  were 
publicly  acknowledged,  she  was  ready  to  yield  to  the 
solicitations   of  his   mistress   in  behalf  of  Leicester*. 
Nothing  could  be  farther  than  this  from  the  mind  and 
intention  of  Elizabeth.     The  right  of  succession  was  a 
mystery,  which,  during  her  whole  reign,  her  jealousy 
preserved  untouched  and  unexplained.     She  had  pro- 
mised, however,  when  she  first  began  to  interest  herself 
in  the  marriage  of  the  Scottish  queen,  all  that  was  now 
demanded.    How  to  retreat  with  decency,  how  to  elude 
her  former  offer,  was,  on  that  account,  not  a  little  per- 
plexing. 

The  facility  with  which  lord  Darnly  obtained  per- 
mission to  visit  the  court  of  Scotland,  was  owing,  in  all 
probability,  to  that  embarrassment.  From  the  time  of 
Mqlvil's  embassy,  the  countess  of  Lennox  had  warmly 
solicited  this  liberty  for  her  son.  Elizabeth  was  no 
stranger  to  the  ambitious  hopes  with  which  that  young 
nobleman  flattered  himself.  She  had  received  repeat- 
ed advices  from  her  ministers  of  the  sentimehts  which 
Mary  began  to  entertain  in  his  favour5.  It  was  entirely 
in  her  power  to  prevent  his  stirring  out  of  London. 
In  the  present  conjuncture,  however,  nothing  could  be 
of  more  advantage  to  her  than  Darnly 's  journey  into 
Scotland.  She  had  already  brought  one  actor  upon 
the  stage,  who,  under  her  management,  had,  for  a  long 
time,  amused  the  Scottish  queen.  She  hoped,  no  less 
absolutely,  to  direct  the  motions  of  Darnly,  who  was 

a  Keith,  269.  «>  Ibid.  259.  261.  266. 


BOOK  in.  OF  SCOTLAND.  257 

likewise  her  subject ;  and  again  to  involve  Mary  in  all      1565. 
the  tedious  intricacies  of  negotiation.     These  motives  ~ 
determined  Elizabeth  and  her  ministers  to  yield  to  the 
solicitations  of  the  countess  of  Lennox. 

But  this  deep-laid  scheme  was  in  a  moment  discon-  Darnly  ar- 
rives in 
Scotland. 


certed.     Such  unexpected  events,  as  the  fancy  of  poets  nves  m 


ascribes  to  love,  are  sometimes'  really  produced  by  that 
passion.  An  affair  which  had  been  the  object  of  so 
many  political  intrigues,  and  had  moved  and  interested 
so  many  princes,  was  at  last  decided  by  the  sudden 
liking  of  two  young  persons.  Lord  Darnly  was  at  this 
time  in  the  first  bloom  and  vigour  of  youth.  In  beauty 
and  gracefulness  of  person  he  surpassed  all  his  contem- 
poraries ;  he  excelled  eminently  in  such  arts  as  add 
ease  and  elegance  to  external  form,  and  which  enable 
it  not  only  to  dazzle  but  to  please.  Mary  was  of  an  Gains  the 
age,  and  of  a  temper,  to  feel  the  full  power  of  these  j}"^tn  s 
accomplishments.  The  impression  which  lord  Darnly 
made  upon  her  was  visible  from  the  time  of  their  first 
interview.  The  whole  business  of  the  court  was  to  Feb.  13. 
amuse  and  entertain  this  illustrious  guest0;  and  in  all 
those  scenes  of  gaiety,  Darnly,  whose  qualifications 
were  altogether  superficial  and  showy,  appeared  to 
great  advantage.  His  conquest  of  the  queen's  heart 
became  complete ;  and  inclination  now  prompted  her 
to  conclude  a  marriage,  the  first  thoughts  of  which  had 
been  suggested  by  considerations  merely  political. 

Elizabeth  contributed,  and  perhaps  not  without  de- 
sign, to  increase  the  violence  of  this  passion.  Soon 
after  Darnly's  arrival  in  Scotland,  she,  in  return  to 
that  message  whereby  Mary  had  signified  her  willing- 
ness to  accept  of  Leicester,  gave  an  answer  in  such 
terms  as  plainly  unravelled  her  original  intention  in 
that  intrigue d.  She  promised,  if  the  Scottish  queen's 
marriage  with  Leicester  should  take  place,  to  advance 
him  to  great  honours ;  but,  with  regard  to  Mary's  title 

c  Knox,  369.  d  Keith,  270.  Append.  158- 

VOL.  I.  S 


258  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  in. 

1565.  to  the  English  succession,  she  would  neither  suffer  any 
~  legal  inquiry  to  be  made  concerning  it,  nor  permit  it  to 
be  publicly  recognised,  until  she  herself  should  declare 
her  resolution  never  to  marry.  Notwithstanding  Eli- 
zabeth's former  promises,  Mary  had  reason  to  expect 
every  thing  contained  in  this  reply;  her  high  spirit, 
however,  could  not  bear  with  patience  such  a  cruel 
discovery  of  the  contempt,  the  artifice,  and  mockery, 
with  which,  under  the  veil  of  friendship,  she  had  been 
so  long  abused.  She  burst  into  tears  of  indignation, 
and  expressed,  with  the  utmost  bitterness,  her  sense  of 
that  disingenuous  craft  which  had  been  employed  to 
deceive  here. 

The  natural  effect  of  this  indignation  was  to  add 
to  the  impetuosity  with  which  she  pursued  her  own 
scheme.  Blinded  by  resentment,  as  well  as  by  love, 
she  observed  no  defects  in  the  man  whom  she  had 
chosen ;  and  began  to  take  the  necessary  steps  towards 
accomplishing  her  design,  with  all  the  impatience  na- 
tural to  those  passions. 

As  Darnly  was  so  nearly  related  to  the  queen,  the 
canon  law  made  it  necessary  to  obtain  the  pope's  dis- 
pensation before  the  celebration  of  the  marriage.  For 
this  purpose  she  early  set  on  foot  a  negotiation  with 
the  court  of  Rome f. 

The  French  She  was  busy,  at  the  same  tune,  in  procuring  the 
prove  of  the Qonsent  of  the  French  king  and  his  mother.  Having 
match.  communicated  her  design,  and  the  motives  which  de- 
termined her  choice,  to  Castelnau,  the  French  ambassa- 
dor, she  employed  him,  as  the  most  proper  person,  to 
bring  his  court  to  fall  in  with  her  views.  Among  other 
arguments  to  this  purpose,  Castelnau  mentioned  Mary's 
attachment  to  Darnly,  which  he  represented  to  be  so 
violent  and  deep-rooted,  that  it  was  no  longer  in  her 
own  power  to  break  off  the  match g.  Nor  were  the 
French  ministers  backward  in  encouraging  Mary's  pas- 

e  Keith,  Append.  159.  f  Camd.  396.  .*  Casteln.  464. 


BOOK  nr.  OF  SCOTLAND.  259 

sion.    Her  pride  would  never  stoop  to  an  alliance  with  a      1565. 
subject  of  France.     By  this  choice  they  were  delivered  ~~ 
from  the  apprehension  of  a  match  with  any  of  the  Aus- 
trian princes,  as  well  as  the  danger  of  too  close  an  union 
with  Elizabeth ;  and  as  Darnly  professed  the  Roman 
catholic  religion,  this  suited  the  bigoted  schemes  which 
that  court  adopted. 

While  Mary  was  endeavouring  to  reconcile  foreign  Darnly  dis- 
courts  to  a  measure  which  she  had  so  much  at  heart,  ^ofthe6" 
Darnly  and  his  father,  by  their  behaviour,  were  raising  nobles, 
up  enemies  at  home  to  obstruct  it.    Lennox  had,  during 
the  former  part  of  his  life,  discovered  no  great  compass 
of  abilities  or  political  wisdom ;  and  appears  to  have 
been  a  man  of  a  weak  understanding  and  violent  pas- 
sions.    Darnly  was  not  superior  to  his  father  in  under- 
standing, and  .all  his  passions  were  still  more  impetu- 
ous11.    To  these  he  added  that  insolence,  which  the 
advantage  of  external  form,  when  accompanied  with  no 
quality  more  valuable,  is  apt  to  inspire.     Intoxicated 
with  the  queen's  favour,  he  began  already  to  assume 
the  haughtiness  of  a  king,  and  to  put  on  that  imperious 
air,  which  majesty  itself  can  scarce  render  tolerable. 

It  was  by  the  advice,  or  at  least  with  the  consent,  of  particularly 
Murray  and  his  party,  that  Lennox  had  been  invited       ray< 
into  Scotland':  and  yet,  no  sooner  did  he  acquire  a 
firm  footing  in  that  kingdom,  than  he  began  to  enter 
into  secret  cabals  with  those  noblemen  who  were  known 
to  be  avowed  enemies  to  Murray,  and,  with  regard  to 
religion,  to  be  either  neutrals,  or  favourers  of  popery  k. 
Darnly,  still  more  imprudent,  allowed  some  rash  ex- 
pressions concerning  those  favours  which  the  queen's 
bounty  had  conferred  upon  Murray  to  escape  him '. 

But,  above  all  these,  the  familiarity  which  Darnly 
cultivated  with  David '  Rizio,  contributed  to  increase 
the  suspicion  and  disgust  of  the  nobles. 

'•  Keith,  272,  273.  '  Knox,  367.     Keith,  274. 

"  Keith,  272.  '  Ibid.  274. 

S2 


260  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  in. 

1565.         The  low  birth  and  indigent  condition  of  this  man 
The  rise  of  P^ace(l  him  in  a  station  in  which  he  ought  naturally  to 
Rizio'sfa-    have  remained  unknown  to  posterity.     But  what  for- 
tune called  him  to  act  and  to  suffer  in  Scotland,  obliges 
history  to  descend  from  its  dignity,  and  to  record  his 
adventures.     He  was  the  son  of  a  musician  in  Turin, 
and,  having  accompanied  the  Piedmontese  ambassador 
into  Scotland,  gained  admission  into  the  queen's  family 
by  his  skill  in  music.     As  his  dependent  condition  had 
taught  him  suppleness  of  spirit  and  insinuating  man- 
ners, he  quickly  crept  into  the  queen's  favour,  and  her 
French  secretary  happening  to  return  at  that  time  into 
his  own  country,  was  preferred  by  her  to  that  office. 
He  now  began  to  make  a  figure  in  court,  and  to  appear 
as  a  man  of  consequence.     The  whole  train  of  suitors 
and  expectants,  who  have  an  extreme  sagacity  in  dis- 
covering the  paths  which  lead  most  directly  to  success, 
applied  to  him.     His  recommendations  were  observed 
to  have  great  influence  over  the  queen,  and  he  grew  to 
be  considered  not  only  as  a  favourite,  but  as  a  minister. 
Nor  was  Rizio  careful  to  abate  that  envy  which  always 
attends  such  an  extraordinary  and  rapid   change   of 
fortune.     He  studied,  on  the  contrary,  to  display  the 
whole  extent  of  his  favour.     He  affected  to  talk  often 
and  familiarly  with  the  queen  in  public.     He  equalled 
the  greatest  and  most  opulent  subjects,  in  richness  of 
dress,  and  in  the  number  of  his  attendants.     He  dis- 
covered, in  all  his  behaviour,  that  assuming  insolence, 
with  which  unmerited  prosperity  inspires  an  ignoble 
mind.     It  was  with  the  utmost  indignation  that  the 
nobles  beheld  the  power,  it  was  with  the  utmost  diffi- 
culty that  they  tolerated  the  arrogance,  of  this  un- 
worthy minion.     Even  in  the  queen's  presence   they 
could   not  forbear  treating  him  with  marks   of  con- 
tempt.    Nor  was  it  his  exorbitant  power  alone  which 
exasperated  the   Scots.     They  considered   him,  and 
not  without  reason,   as  a   dangerous    enemy   to   the 
protestant  religion,  and  suspected  that  he  held,  for 


BOOK  in.  OF  SCOTLAND.  261 

this  purpose,  a  secret  correspondence  with  the  court     1565. 


of  Rome"1. 

It  was  Darnly's  misfortune  to  fall  under  the  manage-  Darnly's 
ment  of  this  man,  who,  by  flattery  and  assiduity,  easily  ^tlThim? 
gained  on  his  vanity  and  inexperience.     All  Rizio's  in- 
fluence with  the  queen  was  employed  in  his  behalf,  and 
contributed,  without  doubt,  towards  establishing  him 
more  firmly  in  her  affections'1.     But  whatever  benefit 
Darnly  might  reap  from  his  patronage,  it  did  not  coun- 
terbalance the  contempt,  and  even  infamy,  to  which  he 
was  exposed,  on  account  of  his  familiarity  with  such  an 
upstart. 

Though  Darnly  daily  made  progress  in  the  queen's 
affections,  she  conducted  herself,  however,  with  such 
prudent  reserve,  as  to  impose  on  Randolph,  the  Eng- 
lish resident,  a  man  otherwise  shrewd  and  penetrating. 
It  appears  from  his  letters  at  this  period,  that  he  en- 
tertained not  the  least  suspicion  of  the  intrigue  which 
was  carrying  on;  and  gave  his  court  repeated  assur- 
ances, that  the  Scottish  queen  had  no  design  of  mar- 
rying Darnly0.  In  the  midst  of  this  security,  Mary 
despatched.  Maitland  to  signify  her  intention  to  Eliza- 
beth, and  to  solicit  her  consent  to  the  marriage  with 
Darnly.  This  embassy  was  the  first  thing  which  open- 
ed the  eyes  of  Randolph. 

Elizabeth  affected  the  greatest  surprise  at  this  sud-  April  18. 
den  resolution  of  the  Scottish  queen,  but  without  rea-  declares 
son.     The  train  was  laid  by  herself,  and  she  had  no  against  the 
cause  to  wonder  when  it  took  effect.     She  expressed  marriage 
at  the  same  time  her  disapprobation  of  the  match,  in  ™* 
the  strongest  terms;  and  pretended  to  foresee  many 
dangers  and  inconveniencies  arising  from  it,  to  both 
kingdoms.     But  this  too  was  mere  affectation.     Mary 
had  often  and  plainly  declared  her  resolution  to  marry. 
It  was  impossible  she  could  make  any  choice  more  in- 
offensive.   The  danger  of  introducing  a  foreign  interest 

m  Buchan.  340.    Melv.  107.  n  Melv.  111. 

0  Keith,  273,  and  Append.  159. 


262  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  in. 

1565.  into  Britain,  which  Elizabeth  had  so  justly  dreaded, 
~was  entirely  avoided.  Darnly,  though  allied  to  both 
crowns,  and  possessed  of  lands  in  both  kingdoms,  could 
be  formidable  to  neither.  It  is  evident  from  all  these 
circumstances,  that  Elizabeth's  apprehensions  of  danger 
could  not  possibly  be  serious ;  and  that  in  all  her  vio- 
lent declarations  against  Darnly,  there  was  much  more 
of  grimace  than  of  reality  P. 

There  were  not  wanting,  however,  political  motives 
of  much  weight,  to  induce  that  artful  princess  to  put 
on  the  appearance  of  great  displeasure.  Mary,  inti- 
midated by  this,  might,  perhaps,  delay  her  marriage ; 
which  Elizabeth  desired  to  obstruct  with  a  weakness 
that  little  suited  the  dignity  of  her  mind  and  the  eleva- 
tion of  her  character.  Besides,  the  tranquillity  of  her 
own  kingdom  was  the  great  object  of  Elizabeth's  policy; 
and,  by  declaring  her  dissatisfaction  with  Mary's  con- 
duct, she  hoped  to  alarm  that  party  in  Scotland,  which 
was  attached  to  the  English  interest,  and  to  encourage 
such  of  the  nobles  as  secretly  disapproved  the  match, 
openly  to  oppose  it.  The  seeds  of  discord  would,  by 
this  means,  be  scattered  through  that  kingdom.  In- 
testine commotions  might  arise.  Amidst  these,  Mary 
could  form  none  of  those  dangerous  schemes  to  which 
the  union  of  her  people  might  have  prompted  her. 
Elizabeth  would  become  the  umpire  between  the  Scot- 
tish queen  and  her  contending  subjects ;  and  England 
might  look  on  with  security,  while  a  storm  which  she 
had  raised,  wasted  the  only  kingdom  which  could  pos- 
sibly disturb  its  peace. 
Mayi.  In  prosecution  of  this  scheme,  she  laid  before  her 

P  Even  the  historians  of  that  age  acknowledge,  that  the  marriage  of  the 
Scottish  queen  with  a  subject  was  far  from  being  disagreeable  to  Elizabeth. 
Knox,  369.  373.  Buchan.  339.  Castelnau,  who  at  that  time  was  well 
acquainted  with  the  intrigues  of  both  the  British  courts,  asserts,  upon 
grounds -of  great  probability,  that  the  match  was  wholly  Elizabeth's  own 
work ;  Casteln.  462. ;  and  that  she  rejoiced  at  the  accomplishment  of  it, 
appears  from  the  letters  of  her  own  ambassadors.  Keith,  280.  288. 


BOOK  in.  OF  SCOTLAND.  2G3 

privy  council  the  message  from  the  Scottish  queen,  and      1 565. 
consulted  them  with  regard  to  the  answer  she  should  ~ 
return.     Their  determination,  it  is  easy  to  conceive, 
was  perfectly  conformable  to  her  secret  views.     They 
drew  up  a  remonstrance  against  the  intended  match, 
full  of  the  imaginary  dangers  with  which  that  event 
threatened  the  kingdom  q.    Nor  did  she  think  it  enough  Sends 
to  signify  her  disapprobation  of  the  measure,  either  bymo™0~  to 
Maitland,  Mary's  ambassador,  or  by  Randolph,  her  obstruct  it. 
own  resident  in  Scotland ;  in  order  to  add  more  dignity 
to  the  farce  which  she  chose  to  act,  she  appointed  sir 
Nicholas  Throkmorton  her  ambassador  extraordinary. 
She  commanded  him  to  declare,  in  the  strongest  terms, 
her  dissatisfaction  with  the  step  which  Mary  proposed 
to  take ;  and,  at  the  same  time,  to  produce  the  deter- 
mination of  the  privy  council  as  an  evidence  that  the 
sentiments  of  the  nation  were  not  different  from  her 
own.     Not  long  after,  she  confined  the  countess  of 
Lennox  as  a  prisoner,  first  in  her  own  house,  and  then 
sent  her  to  the  tower r. 

Intelligence  of  all  this  reached  Scotland  before  the 
arrival  of  the  English  ambassador.  In  the  first  trans- 
ports of  her  indignation,  Mary  resolved  no  longer  to 
keep  any  measures  with  Elizabeth ;  and  sent  orders  to 
Maitland,  who  accompanied  Throkmorton,  to  return 
instantly  to  the  English  court,  and,  in  her  name,  to 
declare  to  Elizabeth  that,  after  having  been  amused  so 
long  to  so  little  purpose ;  after  having  been  fooled  and 
imposed  on  so  grossly  by  her  artifices;  she  was  now 
resolved  to  gratify  her  own  inclination,  and  to  ask  no 
other  consent  but  that  of  her  own  subjects,  in  the 
choice  of  an  husband.  Maitland,  with  his  usual  sa- 
gacity, foresaw  all  the  effects  of  such  a  rash  and  angry 
message,  and  ventured  rather  to  incur  the  displeasure 
of  his  mistress,  by  disobeying  her  commands,  than  to 
be  made  the  instrument  of  tearing  asunder  so  violently 

•J  Keith,  274.    Sec  Append.  No.  X.  r  Keith,  Append.  161. 


264  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  in. 

1565.     the  few  remaining  ties  which  still  linked  together  the 


two  queens s. 

Mary  herself  soon  became  sensible  of  her  errour. 
She  received  the  English  ambassador  with  respect; 
justified  her  own  conduct  with  decency ;  and,  though 
unalterable  in  her  resolution,  she  affected  a  wonderful 
solicitude  to  reconcile  Elizabeth  to  the  measure ;  and 
even  pretended,  out  of  complaisance  towards  her,  to  put 
off  the  consummation  of  the  marriage  for  some  months*. 
It  is  probable,  however,  that  the  want  of  the  pope's 
dispensation,  and  the  prospect  of  gaining  the  consent  of 
her  own  subjects,  were  the  real  motives  of  this  delay. 
Murray's  This  consent  Mary  laboured  with  the  utmost  industry 
Darnly? tO  *°  obtain.  The  earl  of  Murray  was  the  person  in  the 
kingdom,  whose  concurrence  was  of  the  greatest  im- 
portance ;  but  she  had  reason  to  fear  that  it  would  not 
be  procured  without  extreme  difficulty.  From  the  time 
of  Lennox's  return  into  Scotland,  Murray  perceived  that 
the  queen's  affections  began  gradually  to  be  estranged 
from  him.  Darnly,  Athol,  Rizio,  all  the  court  favou- 
rites, combined  against  him.  His  ambitious  spirit  could 
not  brook  this  diminution  of  his  power,  which  his  for- 
mer services  had  so  little  merited.  He  retired  into  the 
country,  and  gave  way  to  rivals  with  whom  he  was  un- 
able to  contend  u.  The  return  of  the  earl  of  Bothwell, 
his  avowed  enemy,  who  had  been  accused  of  a  design 
upon  his  life,  and  who  had  resided  for  some  tune  in 
foreign  countries,  obliged  him  to  attend  to  his  own 
safety.  No  entreaty  of  the  queen  could  persuade  him 
to  a  reconcilement  with  that  nobleman.  He  insisted  on 
having  him  brought  to  a  public  trial,  and  prevailed,  by 
his  importunity,  to  have  a  day  fixed  for  it.  Bothwell 
durst  not  appear  in  opposition  to  a  man,  who  came  to 
the  place  of  trial  attended  by  five  thousand  of  his  fol- 
lowers on  horseback.  He  was  once  more  constrained 


•  Keith,  160.  '  Keith,  278. 

"  Ibid.  272.  274.  Append.  159. 


BOOK  in.  OF  SCOTLAND.  265 

to  leave  the  kingdom;  but,  by  the  queen's  command,      1566. 
the  sentence  of  outlawry,  which  is  incurred  by  non-~ 
appearance,  was  not  pronounced  against  him  x. 

Mary,  sensible,  at  the  same  time,  of  how  much  im-  May  8. 
portance  it  was  to  gain  a  subject  so  powerful,  and  so 
popular  as  the  earl  of  Murray,  invited  him  back  to 
court,  and  received  him  with  many  demonstrations  of 
respect  and  confidence.  At  last  she  desired  him  to 
set  an  example  to  her  other  subjects  by  subscribing  a 
paper,  containing  a  formal  approbation  of  her  marriage 
with  Darnly.  Murray  had  many  reasons  to  hesitate, 
and  even  to  withhold  his  assent.  Darnly  had  not  only 
undermined  his  credit  with  the  queen,  but  discovered, 
on  every  occasion,  a  rooted  aversion  to  his  person.  By 
consenting  to  his  elevation  to  the  throne,  he  would  give 
him  such  an  accession  of  dignity  and  power,  as  no  man 
willingly  bestows  on  an  enemy;  The  unhappy  conse- 
quences which  might  follow  upon  a  breach  with  Eng- 
land, were  likewise  of  considerable  weight  with  Murray. 
He  had  always  openly  preferred  a  confederacy  with 
England,  before  the  ancient  alliance  with  France.  By 
his  means,  chiefly,  this  change  in  the  system  of  national 
politics  had  been  brought  about.  A  league  with  Eng- 
land had  been  established;  and  he  could  not  think  of 
sacrificing,  to  a  rash  and  youthful  passion,  an  alliance 
of  so  much  utility  to  the  kingdom ;  and  which  he  and 
the  other  nobles  were  bound,  by  every  obligation,  to 
maintain  y.  Nor  was  the  interest  of  religion  forgotten 
on  this  occasion.  Mary,  though  surrounded  by  pro- 
testant  counsellors,  had  found  means  to  hold  a  danger- 
ous correspondence  with  foreign  catholics.  She  had 
even  courted  the  pope's  protection,  who  had  sent  her  a 
subsidy  of  eight  thousand  crowns z.  Though  Murray 
had  hitherto  endeavoured  to  bridle  the  zeal  of  the  re- 
formed clergy,  and  to  set  the  queen's  conduct  in  the 
most  favourable  light,  yet  her  obstinate  adherence  to 

»  Keith,  Append.  160.        i  Ibid.  169.         «  Ibid.  295.     Melv.  114. 


266  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  HI. 

1565.     her  own  religion  could  not  fail  of  alarming  him ;  and 
~by  her  resolution  to  marry  a  papist,  the  hope  of  re- 
claiming her,  by  an  union  with  a  protestant,  was  for 
ever  cut  offa.     Each  of  these  considerations  had  its  in- 
fluence on  Murray,  and  all  of  them  determined  him  to 
decline  complying,  at  that  time,  with  the  queen's  request. 
May  14.          The  convention  of  nobles,  which  was  assembled  a 
UonofThe   ^ew  ^avs  a^ter'  discovered  a  greater  disposition  to  gra- 
nobles  ap-   tify  the  queen.     Many  of  them,  without  hesitation,  ex- 
theVmar-     pressed  their  approbation  of  the  intended  match ;  but 
ria£e-         as  others  were  startled  at  the  same  dangers  which  had 
alarmed  Murray,  or  were  influenced  by  his  example  to 
refuse  their  consent,  another  convention  was  appointed 
at  Perth,  in  order  to  deliberate  more  fully  concerning 
this  matter6. 

Meanwhile,  Mary  gave  a  public  evidence  of  her  own 
inclination,  by  conferring  upon  Darnly  titles  of  honour 
peculiar  to  the  royal  family.  The  opposition  she  had 
hitherto  met  with,  and  the  many  contrivances  employed 
to  thwart  and  disappoint  her  inclination,  produced  their 
usual  effect  on  her  heart,  they  confirmed  her  passion, 
and  increased  its  violence.  The  simplicity  of  that  age 
imputed  an  affection  so  excessive  to  the  influence  of 
witchcraft c.  It  was  owing,  however,  to  no  other  charm 
than  the  irresistible  power  of  youth  and  beauty  over  a 
young  and  tender  heart.  Darnly  grew  giddy  with  his 
prosperity.  Flattered  by  the  love  of  a  queen,  and  the 
applause  of  many  among  her  subjects,  his  natural 
haughtiness  and  insolence  became  insupportable,  and 
he  could  no  longer  bear  advice,  far  less  contradiction. 
Lord  Ruthven  happening  to  be  the  first  person  who 
informed  him  that  Mary,  in  order  to  sooth  Elizabeth, 
had  delayed  for  some  time  creating  him  duke  of  Al- 
bany, he,  in  a  phrensy  of  rage,  drew  his  dagger,  and 
attempted  to  stab  himd.  It  required  all  Mary's  atten- 


Keith,  Append.  160.  b  Keith,  283.     Knox,  373. 

Keith,  283.  .-    d  Ibid.  Append.  160. 


BOOK  in.  OF  SCOTLAND.  267 

tion,  to  prevent  his  falling  under  that  contempt  to  which      1665. 
such  behaviour  deservedly  exposed  him. 

In  no  scene  of  her  life  was  ever  Mary's  own  address  Mary's 
more  remarkably  displayed.  Love  sharpened  her  in-  gafnTng  h 
vention,  and  made  her  study  every  method  of  gaining  subjects. 
her  subjects.  Many  of  the  nobles  she  won  by  her  ad- 
dress, and  more  by  her  promises.  On  some  she  be- 
stowed lands,  to  others  she  gave  new  titles  of  honour e. 
She  even  condescended  to  court  the  protestant  clergy ; 
and  having  invited  three  of  their  superintendents  to 
Stirling,  she  declared,  in  strong  terms,  her  resolution 
to  protect  their  religion,  expressed  her  willingness  to 
be  present  at  a  conference  upon  the  points  in  doctrine, 
which  were  disputed  between  the  protestants  and  pa- 
pists, and  went  so  far  as  to  show  some  desire  to  hear 
such  of  their  preachers  as  were  most  remarkable  for 
their  moderation f.  By  these  arts  the  queen  gained 
wonderfully  upon  the  people,  who,  unless  then*  jea- 
lousy be  raised  by  repeated  injuries,  are  always  ready 
to  view  the  actions  of  their  sovereign  with  an  indulgent 
eye. 

On  the  other  hand,  Murray  and  his  associates  were 
plainly  the  dupes  of  Elizabeth's  policy.  She  talked  in 
so  high  a  strain  of  her  displeasure  at  the  intended 
match ;  she  treated  lady  Lennox  with  so  much  rigour ; 
she  wrote  to  the  Scottish  queen  in  such  high  terms; 
she  recalled  the  earl  of  Lennox  and  his  son  in  such 
a  peremptory  manner,  and  with  such  severe  denuncia- 
tions of  her  vengeance  if  they  should  presume  to  dis- 
obey g ;  that  all  these  expressions  of  aversion  fully  per- 
suaded them  of  her  sincerity.  This  belief  fortified 
their  scruples  with  respect  to  the  match,  and  encou- 
raged them  to  oppose  it.  They  began  with  forming 
among  themselves  bonds  of  confederacy  and  mutual  de- 
fence ;  they  entered  into  a  secret  correspondence  with 
the  English  resident,  in  order  to  secure  Elizabeth's  as- 

*  Keith,  283.  f  Knox,  373.  f  Keith,  285, 286. 


268  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  in. 

1565.     sistance,  when  it  should  become  needful h ;  they  endea- 
~~voured  to  fill  the  nation  with  such  apprehensions  of 
danger,  as  might  counterbalance  the  influence  of  those 
arts  which  the  queen  had  employed. 

Schemes  of      Besides  these  intrigues,  there  were  secretly  carried 
Darnly  and  Qn^  ^y  jjQfjj  parties,  dark  designs  of  a  more  criminal  na- 
against       ture,  and  more  suited  to  the  spirit  of  the  age.    Darnly, 
er<  impatient  of  that  opposition,  which  he  imputed  wholly 
to  Murray,  and  resolving,  at  any  rate,  to  get  rid  of  such 
a  powerful  enemy,  formed  a  plot  to  assassinate  him, 
during  the  meeting  of  the  convention  at  Perth.     Mur- 
ray, on  his  part,  despairing  of  preventing  the  marriage 
by  any  other  means,  had,  together  with  the  duke  of 
Chatelherault  and  the  earl  of  Argyll,  concerted  mea- 
sures for  seizing  Darnly,  and  carrying  him  a  prisoner 
into  England. 

If  either  of  these  conspiracies  had  taken  effect,  this 
convention  might  have  been  attended  with  consequences 
extremely  tragical;  but  both  were  rendered  abortive, 
by  the  vigilance  or  good  fortune  of  those  against  whom 
they  were  formed.  Murray,  being  warned  of  his  danger 
by  some  retainers  to  the  court,  who  still  favoured  his 
interest,  avoided  the  blow  by  not  going  to  Perth.  Mary, 
receiving  intelligence  of  Murray's  enterprise,  retired 
with  the  utmost  expedition,  along  with  Darnly,  to  the 
other  side  of  Forth.  Conscious,  on  both  sides,  of  guilt, 
-  and  inflamed  with  resentment,  it  was  impossible  they 
could  either  forget  the  violence  which  themselves  had 
meditated,  or  forgive  the  injuries  intended  against  them. 
From  that  moment  all  hope  of  reconcilement  was  at  an 
end,  and  their  mutual  enmity  burst  out  with  every 
symptom  of  implacable  hatred '. 

»  Keith,  289.  292.  298. 

'  The  reality  of  these  two  opposite  conspiracies  has  given  occasion  to 
many  disputes  and  much  contradiction.  Some  deny  that  any  design  was 
formed  against  the  life  of  Murray ;  others  call  in  question  the  truth  of  the 
conspiracy  against  Darnly.  There  seem,  however,  to  be  plausible  reasons 
for  believing  that  there  is  some  foundation  for  what  has  been  asserted  with 


BOOK  in.  OF  SCOTLAND.  269 

On  Mary's  return  to  Edinburgh,  she  summoned  her     1565. 
vassals  by  proclamation,  and  solicited  them  by  her  let-  ~ 

regard  to  both ;  though  the  zeal  and  credulity  of  party-writers  have  added 
to  each  many  exaggerated  circumstances.  The  following  arguments  render 
it  probsrble  that  some  violence  was  intended  against  Murray  : 

I.  1.  This  is  positively  asserted  by  Buchanan,  341.     2.  The  English  re- 
sident writes  to  Cecil,  that  Murray  was  assuredly  informed  that  a  design 
was  formed  of  murdering  him  at  Perth,  and  mentions  various  circumstances 
concerning  the  manner  in  which  the  crime  was  to  be  committed.     If  the 
whole  had  been  a  fiction  of  his  own,  or  of  Murray,  it  is  impossible  that  he 
could  have  written  in  this  strain  to  such  a  discerning  minister.   Keith, 287. 
3.  Murray  himself  constantly  and  publicly  persisted  in  affirming  that  such 
a  design  was  formed  against  his  life.     Keith,  App.  108.    He  was  required 
by  the  queen  to  transmit  in  writing  an  account  of  the  conspiracy,  which  he 
pretended  had  been  formed  against  his  life.     This  he  did  accordingly ;  but, 
"  when  it  was  brought  to  her  majesty  by  her  servants  sent  for  that  purpose, 
it  appears  be  her  highness  and  her  council,  that  his  purgation  in  that  behalf 
was  not  so  sufficient  as  the  matter  required."  Keith,  App.  109.     He  was, 
therefore,  summoned  to  appear  within  three  days  before  the  queen  in  Holy- 
rood-house  ;  and,  in  order  to  encourage  him  to  do  so,  a  safe-conduct  was 
offered  to  him.  Ibid.     Though  he  had  once  consented  to  appear,  he  after- 
wards declined  to  do  so.     But  whoever  considers  Murray's  situation,  and 
the  character  of  those  who  directed  Mary's  councils  at  that  time,  will  hardly 
deem  it  a  decisive  proof  of  his  guilt,  that  he  did  not  choose  to  risk  his  per- 
son on  such  security.     4.  The  furious  passions  of  Darnly,  the  fierceness  of 
his  resentment,  which  scrupled  at  no  violence,  and  the  manners  of  the  age, 
render  the  imputation  of  such  a  crime  less  improbable. 

II.  That  Murray  and  his  associates  had  resolved  to  seize  Darnly  in  his 
return  from  Perth,  appears  with  still  greater  certainty ;  1.  From  the  express 
testimony  of  Melvil,  112;  although  Buchanan,  p.  341,  and  Knox,  p.  377, 
affect,  without  reason,  to  represent  this  as  an  idle  rumour.   2.  The  question 
was  put  to  Randolph,  Whether  the  governor  of  Berwick  would  receive 
Lennox  and  his  son,  if  they  were  delivered  at  that  place.    His  answer  was, 
"  that  they  would  not  refuse  their  own,  i.  e.  their  own  subjects,  in  whatso- 
ever sort  they  came  unto  us,  i.  e.  whether  they  returned  to  England  volun- 
tarily, as  they  had  been  required,  or  were  brought  thither  by  force."     This 
plainly  shows,  that  some  such  design  was  in  hand,  and  Randolph  did  not 
discourage  it  by  the  answer  which  he  gave.  Keith,  290.     3.  The  precipita- 
tion with  which  the  queen  retired,  and  the  reason  she  gave  for  this  sudden 
flight,  are  mentioned  by  Randolph.    Keith,  291.     4.  A  great  part  of  the 
Scottish  nobles,  and  among  these  the  earls  of  Argyll  and  Rothes,  who  were 
themselves  privy  to  the  design,  assert  the  reality  of  the  conspiracy.     Good, 
vol.  ii.  358. 

All  these  circumstances  render  the  truth  of  both  conspiracies  probable. 
But  we  may  observe  how  far  this  proof,  though  drawn  from  public  records, 
falls  short,  on  both  sides,  of  legal  and  formal  evidence.  Buchanan  and 


270 


BOOK  in. 


against 
Murray. 


1565.  ters  to  repair  thither  in  arms,  for  the  protection  of  her 
Mar  sum-  Person  against  her  foreign  and  domestic  enemies  k.  She 
mons  her  was  obeyed  with  all  the  promptness  and  alacrity  with 
take  arms  which  subjects  run  to  defend  a  mild  and  popular  ad- 
ministration. This  popularity,  however,  she  owed,  in 
a  great  measure,  to  Murray,  who  had  directed  her  ad- 
ministration with  great  prudence.  But  the  crime  of 
opposing  her  marriage  obliterated  the  memory  of  his 
former  services ;  and  Mary,  impatient  of  contradiction, 
and  apt  to  consider  those  who  disputed  her  will,  as 
enemies  to  her  person,  determined  to  let  him  feel  the 
whole  weight  of  her  vengeance.  For  this  purpose  she 
summoned  him  to  appear  before  her  upon  a  short  warn- 
ing, to  answer  to  such  things  as  should  be  laid  to  his 
charge 1.  At  this  very  time,  Murray  and  the  lords  who 
adhered  to  him,  were  assembled  at  Stirling,  to  delibe- 
rate what  course  they  should  hold  in  such  a  difficult 
conjuncture.  But  the  current  of  popular  favour  ran  so 

Randolph,  in  their  accounts  of  the  conspiracy  against  Murray,  differ  widely 
in  almost  every  circumstance.  The  accounts  of  the  attempt  upon  Darnly 
are  not  more  consistent.  Melvil  alleges,  that  the  design  of  the  conspirators 
was  to  carry  Darnly  a  prisoner  into  England ;  the  proposal  made  to  Ran- 
dolph agrees  with  this.  Randolph  says,  that  they  intended  to  carry  the 
queen  to  St.  Andrew's,  and  Darnly  to  Castle  Campbell.  The  lords,  in  their 
declaration,  affirm  the  design  of  the  conspirators  to  have  been  to  murder 
Darnly  and  his  father,  to  confine  the  queen  in  Lochleven  during  life,  and 
to  usurp  the  government.  To  believe  implicitly  whatever  they  find  in  an 
ancient  paper,  is  a  folly  to  which,  in  every  age,  antiquaries  are  extremely 
prone.  Ancient  papers,  however,  often  contain  no  more  than  the  slanders 
of  a  party,  and  the  lie  of  the  day.  The  declaration  of  the  nobles  referred 
to,  is  of  this  kind  ;  it  is  plainly  rancorous,  and  written  in  the  very  heat  of 
faction.  Many  things  asserted  in  it,  are  evidently  false  or  exaggerated. 
Let  Murray  and  his  confederates  be  as  ambitious  as  we  can  suppose,  they 
must  have  had  some  pretences,  and  plausible  ones  too,  before  they  could 
venture  to  imprison  their  sovereign  for  life,  and  to  seize  the  reins  of  govern- 
ment ;  but,  at  that  time,  the  queen's  conduct  had  afforded  no  colourable 
excuse  for  proceeding  to  such  extremities.  It  is  likewise  remarkable,  that 
in  all  the  proclamations  against  Murray,  of  which  so  many  are  published 
in  Keith,  Appendix,  108,  etc.  neither  the  violent  attempt  upon  Darnly,  nor 
that  which  he  is  alleged  to  have  formed  against  the  queen  herself,  are  ever 
once  mentioned. 
k  Keith,  298.  '  Ibid.  Append.  108. 


BOOK  in.  OF  SCOTLAND.  271 

strongly  against  them,  and,  notwithstanding  some  fears     1565. 
and  jealousies,  there  prevailed  in  the  nation  such  a  ge-  ~~ 
neral  disposition  to  gratify  the  queen  in  a  matter  which 
so  nearly  concerned  her,  that,  without  coming  to  any 
other  conclusion  than  to  implore  the  queen  of  Eng- 
land's protection,  they  put  an  end  to  their  ineffectual 
consultations,   and   returned    every   man    to  his    own 
house. 

Together  with  this  discovery  of  the  weakness  of  her 
enemies,  the  confluence  of  her  subjects  from  all  corners 
of  the  kingdom  afforded  Mary  an  agreeable  proof  of 
her  own  strength.  While  the  queen  was  in  this  pros- 
perous situation,  she  determined  to  bring  to  a  period 
an  affair  which  had  so  long  engrossed  her  heart  and 
occupied  her  attention.  On  the  twenty-ninth  of  July,  Celebrates 
she  married  lord  Darnly.  The  ceremony  was  performed  ^""ith 
in  the  queen's  chapel,  according  to  the  rites  of  the  Ro-  l>arnly. 
mish  church ;  the  pope's  bull  dispensing  with  their  mar- 
riage having  been  previously  obtained"1.  She  issued 
at  the  same  time  proclamations,  conferring  the  title  of 
king  of  Scots  upon  her  husband,  and  commanding  that 
henceforth  all  writs  at  law  should  run  in  the  joint  names 
of  king  and  queen  ".  Nothing  can  be  a  stronger  proof 
of  the  violence  of  Mary's  love,  or  the  weakness  of  her 
councils,  than  this  last  step.  Whether  she  had  any 
right  to  choose  a  husband  without  consent  of  parlia- 
ment, was,  in  that  age,  a  matter  of  some  dispute  ° ;  that 
she  had  no  right  to  confer  upon  him,  by  her  private 
authority,  the  title  and  dignity  of  king,  or  by  a  simple 
proclamation  to  raise  her  husband  to  be  the  master  of 
her  people,  seems  to  be  beyond  all  doubt.  Francis  the 
second,  indeed,  bore  the  same  title.  It  was  not,  how- 
ever, the  gift  of  the  queen,  but  of  the  nation ;  and  the 
consent  of  parliament  was  obtained,  before  he  ventured 
to  assume  it.  Darnly's  condition,  as  a  subject,  rendered 

"'  Keith,  307.  n  Anderson,  i.  33.     See  Append.  No.  XI. 

0  Buchan.  341. 


272  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  in. 

1565.     it  still  more  necessary  to  have  the  concurrence  of  the 


supreme  council  in  his  favour.  Such  a  violent  and  un- 
precedented stretch  of  prerogative,  as  the  substituting 
a  proclamation  in  place  of  an  act  of  parliament,  might 
have  justly  alarmed  the  nation.  But  at  that  time  the 
queen  possessed  so  entirely  the  confidence  of  her  sub- 
jects, that,  notwithstanding  all  the  clamours  of  the 
malecontents,  no  symptoms  of  general  discontent  ap- 
peared on  that  account. 

Even  amidst  that  scene  of  joy  which  always  accom- 
panies successful  love,  Mary  did  not  suffer  the  course 
of  her  vengeance  against  the  malecontent  nobles  to  be 
interrupted.  Three  days  after  the  marriage,  Murray 
was  again  summoned  to  court,  under  the  severest  pe- 
nalties, and,  upon  his  non-appearance,  the  rigour  of 
justice  took  place,  and  he  was  declared  an  outlaw?.  At 
the  same  time  the  queen  set  at  liberty  lord  Gordon, 
who,  ever  since  his  father's  insurrection,  in  the  year  one 
thousand  five  hundred  and  sixty-two,  had  been  detained 
a  prisoner ;  she  recalled  the  earl  of  Sutherland,  who, 
on  account  of  his  concern  in  that  conspiracy,  had  fled 
into  Flanders;  and  she  permitted  Bothwell  to  return 
again  into  Scotland.  The  first  and  last  of  these  were 
among  the  most  powerful  subjects  in  the  kingdom,  and 
all  of  them  animated  with  implacable  hatred  to  Murray, 
whom  they  deemed  the  enemy  of  their  families  and  the 
author  of  their  own  sufferings.  This  common  hatred 
became  the  foundation  of  the  strictest  union  with  the 
queen,  and  gained  them  an  ascendant  over  all  her  coun- 
cils. Murray  himself  considered  this  confederacy  with 
his  avowed  enemies,  as  a  more  certain  indication  than 
any  measure  she  had  yet  taken,  of  her  inexorable  re- 
sentment. 

Marches 

against  The  malecontents  had  not  yet  openly  taken  up  arms'1. 

P  Keith,  309,  310. 

i  After  their  fruitless  consultation  in  Stirling,  the  lords  retired  to  their 
own  houses.  Keith,  304.  Murray  was  still  at  St.  Andrew's  on  July  22. 
Keith,  306.  By  the  places  of  rendezvous,  appointed  for  the  inhabitants  of 


BOOK  in.  OF  SCOTLAND.  273 

But  the  queen  having  ordered  her  subjects  to  march      1565. 
against  them,  they  were  driven  to  the  last  extremity.  7. 
They  found  themselves  unable  to  make  head  against  his  asso- 
the  numerous  forces  which  Mary  had  assembled ;  and ciates- 
fled  into  Argyleshire,  in  expectation  of  aid  from  Eliza- 
beth, to  whom  they  had  secretly  despatched  a  messen- 
ger, in  order  to  implore  her  immediate  assistance r. 

Meanwhile,  Elizabeth  endeavoured  to  embarrass  Elizabeth 
Mary,  by  a  new  declaration  of  disgust  at  her  conduct.  ?nte^p°rses 
She  blamed  both  her  choice  of  lord  Darnly,  and  the  favour. 
precipitation  with  which  she  had  concluded  the  mar- 
riage. She  required  Lennox  and  Darnly,  whom  she 
still  called  her  subjects,  to  return  into  England ;  and, 
at  the  same  time,  she  warmly  interceded  in  behalf  of 
Murray,  whose  behaviour  she  represented  to  be  not 
only  innocent  but  laudable.  This  message,  so  mortify- 
ing to  the  pride  of  the  queen,  and  so  full  of  contempt 
for  her  husband,  was  rendered  still  more  insupportable 
by  the  petulant  and  saucy  demeanour  of  Tamworth,  the 
person  who  delivered  it3.  Mary  vindicated  her  own 
conduct  with  warmth,  but  with  great  strength  of  rea- 
son ;  and  rejected  the  intercession  in  behalf  of  Murray, 
not  without  signs  of  resentment  at  Elizabeth's  pretend- 
ing to  intermeddle  in  the  internal  government  of  her 
kingdom4. 

She  did  not,  on  that  account,  intermit  in  the  least 
the  ardour  with  which  she  pursued  Murray  and  his 
adherents  u.  They  now  appeared  openly  in  arms ;  and, 

the  different  counties,  August  4,  it  appears  that  the  queen's  intention  was 
to  march  into  Fife,  the  county  in  which  Murray,  Rothes,  Kirkaldy,  and 
other  chiefs  of  the  malecontents,  resided.  Keith,  310.  Their  flight  into  the 
west,  Keith,  312,  prevented  this  expedition,  and  the  former  rendezvous  was 
altered.  Keith,  310. 

'  Keith,  312.     Knox,  380.  *  Camd.  398. 

*  Keith,  Append.  99. 

u  The  most  considerable  persons  who  joined  Murray  were,  the  duke  of 
Chatelherault,  the  earls  of  Argyll,  Glencairn,  Rothes,  lord  Boyd  and  Ochil- 
tree ;  the  lairds  of  Grange,  Cunninghamhead,  Balcomie,  Carmylie,  Lawers, 
Bar,  Dreghorn,  Pitarrow,  Comptroller,  and  the  tutor  of  Pitcur.  Knox,  382. 

VOL.  i.  T 


274  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  HI. 

1565.  having  received  a  small  supply  in  money  from  Eliza- 
beth x,  were  endeavouring  to  raise  their  followers  in  the 
western  counties.  But  Mary's  vigilance  hindered  them 
from  assembling  in  any  considerable  body.  All  her 
military  operations  at  that  time  were  concerted  with 
wisdom,  executed  with  vigour,  and  attended  with  suc- 
cess. In  order  to  encourage  her  troops,  she  herself 
marched  along  with  them,  rode  with  loaded  pistols y, 
and  endured  all  the  fatigues  of  war  with  admirable  for- 
titude. Her  alacrity  inspired  her  forces  with  an  in- 
vincible resolution,  which,  together  with  their  superi- 
ority in  number,  deterred  the  malecontents  from  facing 
them  in  the  field ;  but,  having  artfully  passed  the  queen's 
army,  they  marched  with  great  rapidity  to  Edinburgh, 
and  endeavoured  to  rouse  the  inhabitants  of  that  city 
August  31.  to  arms.  The  queen  did  not  suffer  them  to  remain  long 
unmolested;  and,  on  her  approach,  they  were  forced 
to  abandon  that  place,  and  retire  in  confusion  towards 
the  western  borders z. 

They  are  .  As  it  was  uncertain,  for  some  time,  what  route  they 
retire6  into  ^ia<^  *aken,  Mary  employed  that  interval  in  providing  for 
England,  the  security  of  the  counties  in  the  heart  of  the  kingdom. 
She  seized  the  places  of  strength  which  belonged  to 
the  rebels ;  and  obliged  the  considerable  barons  in  those 
shires  which  she  most  suspected,  to  join  in  associations 
for  her  defence a.  Having  thus  left  all  the  country  be- 
hind her  in  tranquillity,  she,  with  an  army  eighteen 
thousand  strong,  marched  towards  Dumfries,  where  the 
rebels  then  were.  During  their  retreat,  they  had  sent 
letters  to  the  queen,  from  almost  every  place  where 
they  halted,  full  of  submission,  and  containing  various 
overtures  towards  an  accommodation.  But  Mary,  who 
determined  not  to  let  slip  such  a  favourable  opportunity 
of  crushing  the  mutinous  spirit  of  her  subjects,  rejected 
them  with  disdain.  As  she  advanced,  the  malecontents 


Knox,  380.  x  Keith,  Append.  164. 

Keith,  3 15.  •'  Ibid.  113. 


BOOK  in.  OF  SCOTLAND.  275 

retired ;    and,  having  received  no  effectual  aid  from      1565. 
Elizabeth  b,  they  despaired  of  any  other  means  of  safety,  Oct  20 
fled  into  England,  and  put  themselves  under  the  pro- 
tection of  the  earl  of  Bedford,  warden  of  the  marches. 

Nothing  which  Bedford's  personal  friendship  for  They  meet 
Murray  could  supply,  was  wanting  to  render  their  re-  ^ted^u" 
treat  agreeable.  But  Elizabeth  herself  treated  them  treatment 
with  extreme  neglect.  She  had  fully  gained  her  end,  jje 
and,  by  their  means,  had  excited  such  discord  and 
jealousies  among  the  Scots,  as  would,  in  all  probability, 
long  distract  and  weaken  Mary's  councils.  Her  busi- 
ness now  was  to  save  appearances,  and  to  justify  herself 
to  the  ministers  of  France  and  Spain,  who  accused  her 
of  fomenting  the  troubles  in  Scotland  by  her  intrigues. 
The  expedient  she  contrived  for  her  vindication  strongly 
displays  her  own  character,  and  the  wretched  condition 
of  exiles,  who  are  obliged  to  depend  on  a  foreign  prince. 
Murray,  and  Hamilton,  abbot  of  Kilwinning,  being  ap- 
pointed by  the  other  fugitives  to  wait  on  Elizabeth, 
instead  of  meeting  with  that  welcome  reception  which 
was  due  to  men,  who,  out  of  confidence  in  her  promises, 
and  in  order  to  forward  her  designs,  had  hazarded  their 
lives  and  fortunes,  could  not  even  obtain  the  favour  of 
an  audience,  until  they  had  meanly  consented  to  ac- 
knowledge, in  the  presence  of  the  French  and  Spanish 
ambassadors,  that  Elizabeth  had  given  them  no  encou- 
ragement to  take  arms.  No  sooner  did  they  make  this 
declaration,  than  she  astonished  them  with  this  reply : 
"  You  have  declared  the  truth ;  I  am  far  from  setting 
an  example  of  rebellion  to  my  own  subjects,  by  coun- 
tenancing those  who  rebel  against  their  lawful  prince. 
The  treason  of  which  you  have  been  guilty  is  detest- 
able ;  and,  as  traitors,  I  banish  you  from  my  presence6." 
Notwithstanding  this  scene  of  farce  and  of  falsehood, 
so  dishonourable  to  all  the  persons  who  acted  a  part  in 
it,  Elizabeth  permitted  the  malecontents  peaceably  to 

•>  See  Appendix,  Nos.  XII.  XIII.  c  Melv.  1 12. 


276     .  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  in. 

•  * 

1565.     reside  in  her  dominions,  supplied  them  secretly  with 
~~  money,  and  renewed  her  intercession  with  the  Scottish 
queen  in  their  favour  d. 

The  advantage  she  had  gained  over  them  did  not 
satisfy  Mary ;  she  resolved  to  follow  the  blow,  and  to 
prevent  a  party,  which  she  dreaded,  from  ever  recover- 
ing any  footing  in  the  nation.  With  this  view,  she 
called  a  meeting  of  parliament ;  and,  in  order  that  a 
sentence  of  forfeiture  might  be  legally  pronounced 
against  the  banished  lords,  she  summoned  them,  by 
public  proclamation,  to  appear  before  it*. 

Dec.  i.  The  duke  of  Chatelherault,  on  his  humble  applica- 

tion, obtained  a  separate  pardon ;  but  not  without  diffi- 
culty, as  the  king  violently  opposed  it.  He  was  obliged, 
however,  to  leave  the  kingdom,  and  to  reside  for  some 
time  in  France f. 

The  numerous  forces  which  Mary  brought  into  the 
field,  the  vigour  with  which  she  acted,  and  the  length 
of  time  she  kept  them  in  arms,  resemble  the  efforts  of 
a  prince  with  revenues  much  more  considerable  than 
those  which  she  possessed.  But  armies  were  then 
levied  and  maintained  by  princes  at  small  charge.  The 
vassal  followed  his  superior,  and  the  superior  attended 
the  monarch,  at  his  own  expense.  Six  hundred  horse- 
men, however,  and  three  companies  of  foot,  besides  her 
guards,  received  regular  pay  from  the  queen.  This 
extraoi'dinary  charge,  together  with  the  disbursements 
occasioned  by  her  marriage,  exhausted  a  treasury  which 
was  far  from  being  rich.  In  this  exigency,  many  de- 
vices were  fallen  upon  for  raising  money.  Fines  were 
levied  on  the  towns  of  St.  Andrew's,  Perth,  and  Dun- 
dee, which  were  suspected  of  favouring  the  malecon- 
tents.  An  unusual  tax  was  imposed  on  the  boroughs 
throughout  the  kingdom;  and  a  great  sum  was  de- 
manded of  the  citizens  of  Edinburgh,  by  way  of  loan. 
This  unprecedented  exaction  alarmed  the  citizens. 

d  Knox,  389.  «  Keith,  320.  f  Knox,  389. 


BOOK  HI.  OF  SCOTLAND.  277 

They  had  recourse  to  delays,  and  started  difficulties,  in  1565. 
order  to  evade  it.  These  Mary  construed  to  be  acts  of  ~~ 
avowed  disobedience,  and  instantly  committed  several 
of  them  to  prison.  But  this  severity  did  not  subdue 
the  undaunted  spirit  of  liberty  which  prevailed  among 
the  inhabitants.  The  queen  was  obliged  to  mortgage 
to  the  city  the  '  superiority'  of  the  town  of  Leith,  by 
which  she  obtained  a  considerable  sum  of  money8.  The 
thirds  of  ecclesiastical  benefices  proved  another  source 
whence  the  queen  derived  some  supply.  About  this 
time  we  find  the  protestant  clergy  complaining  more 
bitterly  than  ever  of  their  poverty.  The  army,  it  is 
probable,  exhausted  a  great  part  of  that  fund  which 
was  appropriated  for  their  maintenance ''. 

The  assemblies  of  the  church  were  not  unconcerned  Church 
spectators  of  the  commotions  of  this  turbulent  year. a 
In  the  meeting  held  the  twenty-fourth  of  June,  previous 
to  the  queen's  marriage,  several  of  the  malecontent 
nobles  were  present,  and  seem  to  have  had  great  influ- 
ence on  its  decisions.  The  high  strain  in  which  the 
assembly  addressed  the  queen,  can  be  imputed  only  to 
those  fears  and  jealousies  with  regard  to  religion,  which 
they  endeavoured  to  infuse  into  the  nation.  The  as- 
sembly complained,  with  some  bitterness,  of  the  stop 
which  had  been  put  to  the  progress  of  the  reforma- 
tion by  the  queen's  arrival  in  Scotland ;  they  required 
not  only  the  total  suppression  of  the  popish  worship 
throughout  the  kingdom,  but  even  in  the  queen's  own 
chapel ;  and,  besides  the  legal  establishment  of  the  pro- 
testant religion,  they  demanded  that  Mary  herself 
should  publicly  embrace  it.  The  queen,  after  some 
deliberation,  replied,  that  neither  her  conscience  nor 
her  interest  would  permit  her  to  take  such  a  step.  The 
former  would  for  ever  reproach  her  for  a  change 
which  proceeded  from  no  inward  conviction ;  the  latter 
would  suffer  by  the  offence  which  her  apostacy  must 

?  -Knox,  383.  386.  h  Maitl.  Hist,  of  Edinburgh,  27. 


278  THE  HISTORY,  ETC.        BOOK  HI. 

1565.     give  to  the  king  of  France,  and  her  other  allies  on  the 
"continent*. 

It  is  remarkable,  that  the  prosperous  situation  of  the 
queen's  affairs  during  this  year,  began  to  work  some 
change  in  favour  of  her  religion.  The  earls  of  Lennox, 
Athol,  and  Cassils,  openly  attended  mass ;  she  herself 
afforded  the  catholics  a  more  avowed  protection  than 
formerly ;  and,  by  her  permission,  some  of  the  ancient 
monks  ventured  to  preach  publicly  to  the  people k. 

*  Knox,  374.  376.  *  Ibid.  389,  390. 


THE 

HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND. 

THE  FOURTH  BOOK. 

A.S  the  day  appointed  for  the  meeting  of  parliament      1566. 
approached,  Mary  and  her  ministers  were  employed  in  Mary's  de- 
deliberating  concerning  the  course  which  it  was  most  liberations 
proper  to  hold  with  regard  to  the  exiled  nobles.    Many  the  exiled 
motives  prompted  her  to  set  no  bounds  to  the  rigour  of nobles- 
justice.     The  malecontents  had  laboured  to  defeat  a 
scheme,  which  her  interest  conspired  with  her  passions 
in  rendering  dear  to  her ;  they  were  the  leaders  of  a 
party,  whose  friendship  she  had  been  obliged  to  court, 
while  she  held  their  principles  in  abhorrence ;  and  they 
were  firmly  attached  to  a  rival,  whom  she  had  good  rea- 
son both  to  fear  and  to  hate. 

But,  on  the  other  hand,  several  weighty  considera- 
tions might  be  urged.  The  noblemen,  whose  fate  was 
in  suspense,  were  among  the  most  powerful  subjects  in 
the  kingdom ;  their  wealth  great,  their  connexions  ex- 
tensive, and  their  adherents  numerous.  They  were 
now  at  mercy,  the  objects  of  compassion,  and  suing  for 
pardon  with  the  most  humble  submission. 

In  those  circumstances,  an  act  of  clemency  would 
exalt  the  queen's  character,  and  appear  no  less  splendid 
among  foreigners  than  acceptable  to  her  own  subjects. 
Mary  herself,  though  highly  incensed,  was  not  inexor- 
able ;  but  the  king's  rage  was  implacable  and  unrelent- 
ing. They  were  solicited  in  behalf  of  the  fugitives 
from  various  quarters.  Morton,  Ruthven,  Maitland, 
and  all  who  had  been  members  of  the  congregation, 


280  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  iv. 

1566.  were  not  forgetful  of  their  ancient  union  with  Murray 
~  and  his  fellow-sufferers ;  nor  neglectful  of  their  safety, 
which  they  deemed  of  great  importance  to  the  king- 
dom. Melvil,  who,  at  that  time,  possessed  the  queen's 
confidence,  seconded  their  solicitations.  And  Murray, 
having  stooped  so  low  as  to  court  Rizio,  that  favourite, 
who  was  desirous  of  securing  his  protection  against  the 
king,  whose  displeasure  he  had  lately  incurred,  seconded 
the  intercessions  of  his  other  friends  with  the  whole  of 
his  influence  a.  The  interposition  of  sir  Nicholas  Throk- 
morton,  who  had  lately  been  Elizabeth's  ambassador  in 
Scotland,  in  behalf  of  the  exiles,  was  of  more  weight 
than  all  these,  and  attended  with  more  success.  Throk- 
morton,  out  of  enmity  to  Cecil,  had  embarked  deeply 
in  all  the  intrigues  which  were  carried  on  at  the  English 
court,  in  order  to  undermine  the  power  and  credit  of 
that  minister.  He  espoused,  for  this  reason,  the  cause 
of  the  Scottish  queen,  towards  whose  title  and  preten- 
sions the  other  was  known  to  bear  little  favour;  and 
ventured,  in  the  present  critical  juncture,  to  write  a 
letter  to  Mary,  containing  the  most  salutary  advices 
with  regard  to  her  conduct.  He  recommended  the 
pardoning  of  the  earl  of  Murray  and  his  associates,  as 
a  measure  no  less  prudent  than  popular.  "  An  action 
of  this  nature,"  says  he,  "  the  pure  effect  of  your  ma- 
jesty's generosity,  will  spread  the  fame  of  your  lenity 
and  moderation,  and  engage  the  English  to  look  to- 
wards your  accession  to  the  throne,  not  only  without 
prejudice,  but  with  desire.  By  the  same  means,  a  per- 
fect harmony  will  be  restored  among  your  own  subjects, 
who,  if  any  rupture  should  happen  with  England,  will 
serve  you  with  that  grateful  zeal  which  your  clemency 
cannot  fail  of  inspiring b." 

She  resolves  These  prudent  remonstrances  of  Throkmorton,  to 
therewith  wnicn  h*8  reputation  for  wisdom,  and  known  attachment 
clemency,  to  the  queen,  added  great  authority,  made  a  deep  im- 

*  Melv.  125.  b  ibid.  119. 


BOOK  iv.  OF  SCOTLAND.  281 

pression  on  her  spirit.     Her  courtiers  cultivated  this      1566- 


happy  disposition,  and  prevailed  on  her,  notwithstand- 
ing the  king's  inflexible  temper,  to  sacrifice  her  own 
private  resentment  to  the  intercession  of  her  subjects 
and  the  wishes  of  her  friends0.  With  this  view,  the 
parliament,  which  had  been  called  to  meet  on  the  fourth 
of  February,  was  prorogued  to  the  seventh  of  April d ; 
and  in  the  mean  time  she  was  busy  in  considering  the 
manner  and  form  in  which  she  should  extend  her  favour 
to  the  lords  who  were  under  disgrace. 

Though  Mary  discovered  on  this  occasion  a  mind  Is  diverted 
naturally  prone  to  humanity  and  capable  of  forgiving,  j^Jj!" 
she  wanted  firmness,  however,  to  resist  the  influence  by  the  soli- 
which  was  fatally  employed  to  disappoint  the  effects  of  France!  and 
this  amiable  disposition.     About  this  time,  and  at  no  her  zeal  {°* 
great  distance  from  each  other,  two  envoys  arrived  from  Feb.  3. 
the  French  king.     The  former  was  intrusted  with  mat- 
ters of  mere  ceremony  alone ;    he  congratulated  the 
queen  on  her  marriage,  and  invested  the  king  with  the 
ensigns  of  the  order  of  St.  Michael.     The  instructions 
of  the  latter  related  to  matters  of  more  importance,  and 
produced  greater  effects6. 

An  interview  between  Charles  the  ninth,  and  his 
sister,  the  queen  of  Spain,  had  been  often  proposed ; 
and,  after  many  obstacles,  arising  from  the  opposition 
of  political  interest,  was  at  last  appointed  at  Bayonne. 
Catherine  of  Medicis  accompanied  her  son ;  the  duke 
of  Alva  attended  his  mistress.  Amidst  the  scenes  of 
public  pomp  and  pleasure,  which  seemed  to  be  the  sole 
occupation  of  both  courts,  a  scheme  was  formed,  and 
measures  concerted,  for  exterminating  the  hugonots  in 
France,  the  protestants  in  the  Low  Countries,  and  for 
suppressing  the  reformation  throughout  all  Europe f. 
The  active  policy  of  pope  Pius  the  fourth,  and  the  zeal 
of  the  cardinal  of  Lorrain,  confirmed  and  encouraged 

c  Melv.  125.  ''  Good.  vol.  i.  224. 

c  Keith,  325.  Append.  167.  f  Thuan.  lib.  37. 


282  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  iv. 

1566.     dispositions  so  suitable  to  the  genius  of  the  Romish 
~  religion,  and  so  beneficial  to  their  own  order. 

It  was  an  account  of  this  holy  league  which  the  se- 
cond French  envoy  brought  to  Mary,  conjuring  her,  at 
the  same  time,  in  the  name  of  the  king  of  France  and 
the  cardinal  of  Lorrain,  not  to  restore  the  leaders  of 
the  protestants  in  her  kingdom  to  power  and  favour,  at 
the  very  time  when  the  catholic  princes  were  combined 
to  destroy  that  sect  in  all  the  countries  of  Europe8. 

Popery  is  a  species  of  false  religion,  remarkable  for 
the  strong  possession  it  takes  of  the  heart.  Contrived 
by  men  of  deep  insight  in  the  human  character,  and 
improved  by  the  experience  and  observation  of  many 
successive  ages,  it  arrived  at  last  to  a  degree  of  perfec- 
tion, which  no  former  system  of  superstition  had  ever 
attained.  There  is  no  power  in  the  understanding,  and 
no  passion  in  the  heart,  to  which  it  does  not  present 
objects  adapted  to  rouse  and  to  interest  them.  Neither 
the  love  of  pleasure,  which  at  that  time  prevailed  in 
the  court  of  France,  nor  the  pursuits  of  ambition  which 
occupied  the  court  of  Spain,  had  secured  them  from 
the  dominion  of  bigotry.  Laymen  and  courtiers  were 
agitated  with  that  furious  and  unmerciful  zeal  which  is 
commonly  considered  as  peculiar  to  ecclesiastics;  and 
kings  and  ministers  thought  themselves  bound  in  con- 
science to  extirpate  the  protestant  doctrine.  Mary 
herself  was  deeply  tinctured  with  all  the  prejudices  of 
popery ;  a  passionate  attachment  to  that  superstition  is 
visible  in  every  part  of  her  character,  and  runs  through 
all  the  scenes  of  her  life :  she  was  devoted  too,  with 
the  utmost  submission,  to  the  princes  of  Lorrain,  her 
uncles ;  and  had  been  accustomed  from  her  infancy  to 
listen  to  all  their  advices  with  a  filial  respect.  The 
prospect  of  restoring  the  public  exercise  of  her  own 
religion,  the  pleasure  of  complying  with  her  uncles,  and 
the  hopes  of  gratifying  the  French  monarch,  whom  the 

s  Melv.  126. 


BOOK  iv.  OF  SCOTLAND.  283 

present  situation  of  her  affairs  in  England  made  it  ne-     1666. 
cessary  to  court,  counterbalanced  all  the  prudent  con-  ~ 
siderations  which  had  formerly  weighed  with  her.    She 
instantly  joined  the  confederacy,  which  had  been  form- 
ed for  the  destruction  of  the  protestants,  and  altered 
the  whole  plan  of  her  conduct  with  regard  to  Murray 
and  his  adherents11. 

To  this  fatal  resolution  may  be  imputed  all  the  sub- 
sequent calamities  of  Mary's  life.  Ever  since  her  re- 
turn into  Scotland,  fortune  may  be  said  to  have  been 
propitious  to  her,  rather  than  adverse ;  and  if  her  pros- 
perity did  not  rise  to  any  great  height,  it  had,  however, 
suffered  no  considerable  interruption.  A  thick  and 
settled  cloud  of  adversity,  with  few  gleams  of  hope,  and 
none  of  real  enjoyment,  covers  the  remainder  of  her 
days. 

The  effects   of  the  new   system   which   Mary  had  A  parlia- 
adopted  were  soon  visible.     The  time  of  the  proroga-  J^ 
tion  of  parliament  was  shortened ;  and,  by  a  new  pro-  the  exiled 
clamation,  the  twelfth  of  March  was  fixed  for  its  meet-  n° 
ing1.      Mary  resolved,  without  any  further  delay,  to 
proceed  to  the  attainder  of  the  rebel  lords,  and  at  the 
same  time  determined  to  take  some  steps  towards  the 
reestablishment  of  the  Romish  religion  in  Scotland k. 


h  See  Appendix,  No.  XIV.  '  Keith,  326. 

k  It  is  not  on  the  authority  of  Knox  alone,  that  we  charge  the  queen  with 
the  design  of  reestablishing  the  Roman  catholic  religion,  or  at  least  of  ex- 
empting the  professors  of  it  from  the  rigour  of  those  penal  laws  to  which 
they  were  subjected.  He  indeed  asserts  that  the  altars,  which  would 
have  been  erected  in  the  church  of  St.  Giles,  were  already  provided,  394. 

1.  Mary  herself,  in  a  letter  to  the  archbishop  of  Glasgow,  her  ambassador 
in  France,  acknowledges,  "  that  in  that  parliament  she  intended  to  have 
done  some  good,  with  respect  to  restoring  the  old  religion."     Keith,  331. 

2.  The  spiritual  lords,  i.  e.  the  popish  ecclesiastics,  had,  by  her  authority, 
resumed  their  ancient  place  in  that  assembly.  Ibid.     3.  She  had  joined  the 
confederacy  at  Bayonne.     Keith,  Append.  167.     4.  She  allowed  mass  to 
be  celebrated  in  different  parts  of  the  kingdom,  ibid  ;  and  declared  that  she 
would  have  mass  free  for  all  men  that  would  hear  it.      Good.  vol.  i.  274. 
5.  Blackwood,  who  was  furnished  by  the  archbishop  of  Glasgow  with  ma- 


284  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  iv. 

1566.     The  lords  of  the  articles  were  chosen,  as  usual,  to  pre- 

~  pare  the  business  which  was  to  come  before  the  parlia-  * 

ment.    They  were  all  persons  in  whom  the  queen  could 

confide,  and  bent  to  promote  her  designs.     The  ruin 

of  Murray  and  his  party  seemed  now  inevitable,  and 

the  danger  of  the  reformed  church  imminent,  when  an 

event  unexpectedly  happened  which  saved  both.     If 

we  regard  either  the  barbarity  of  that  age,  when  such 

acts  of  violence  were  common;  or  the  mean  condition  of 

the  unhappy  person  who  suffered,  the  event  is  little 

and  pre-      remarkable ;  but  if  we  reflect  upon  the  circumstances 

vented  by    wj^jj  wnich  it  was  attended,  or  upon  the  consequences 

racy  against  which  followed  it,  it  appears  extremely  memorable ;  and 

the  rise  and  progress  of  it  deserve  to  be  traced  with 

great  care. 

Damly  Darnly's  external  accomplishments  had  excited  that 

loses  the      sudden  and  violent  passion  which  raised  him  to  the 

queen  s 

affection,  throne.  But  the  qualities  of  his  mind  corresponded  ill 
with  the  beauty  of  his  person.  Of  a  weak  understand- 
ing, and  without  experience,  conceited,  at  the  same 
time,  of  his  own  abilities,  and  ascribing  his  extraordi- 
nary success  entirely  to  his  distinguished  merit;  all  the 
queen's  favour  made  no  impression  on  such  a  temper. 
All  her  gentleness  could  not  bridle  his  imperious  and 
ungovernable  spirit.  All  her  attention  to  place  about 
him  persons  capable  of  directing  his  conduct,  could  not 
preserve  him  from  rash  and  imprudent  actions l.  Fond 
of  all  the  amusements,  and  even  prone  to  all  the  vices 
of  youth,  he  became,  by  degrees,  careless  of  her  per- 
son, and  a  stranger  to  her  company.  To  a  woman,  and 
a  queen,  such  behaviour  was  intolerable.  The  lower 
she  had  stooped  in  order  to  raise  him,  his  behaviour 
appeared  the  more  ungenerous,  and  criminal:  and  in 


terials  for  writing  his  '  Martyre  de  Marie,'  affirms,  that  the  queen  intended 
to  have  procured,  in  this  parliament,  if  not  the  reestablishment  of  the  ca- 
tholic religion,  at  least  something  for  the  ease  of  catholics.  Jebb,  vol.  ii. 
204.  '  Good.  vol.  i.  122. 


BOOK  iv.  OF  SCOTLAND.  285 

proportion  to  the  strength  of  her  first  affection,  was  1566. 
the  violence  with  which  her  disappointed  passion  now  ~ 
operated.  A  few  months  after  the  marriage  their  do- 
mestic quarrels  began  to  be  observed.  The  extrava- 
gance of  Darnly's  ambition  gave  rise  to  these.  Instead 
of  being  satisfied  with  a  share  in  the  administration  of 
government,  or  with  the  title  of  king,  which  Mary,  by 
an  unprecedented  stretch  of  power,  had  conferred  on 
him,  he  demanded  the  crown  matrimonial  with  most 
insolent  importunity1".  Though  Mary  alleged  that  this 
gift  was  beyond  her  power,  and  that  the  authority  of 
parliament  must  be  interposed  to  bestow  it,  he  wanted 
either  understanding  to  comprehend,  or  temper  to  ad- 
mit, so  just  a  defence ;  and  often  renewed  and  urged 
his  request. 

Rizio,  whom  the  king  had  at  first  taken  into  great  Suspects 
confidence,  did  not  humour  him  in  these  follies.  By 
this  he  incurred  Henry's  displeasure;  and  as  it  was  of  it 
impossible  for  Mary  to  behave  towards  her  husband 
with  the  same  affection  which  distinguished  the  first 
and  happy  days  of  their  union,  he  imputed  this  cold- 
ness, not  to  his  own  behaviour,  which  had  so  well  me- 
rited it,  but  to  the  insinuations  of  Rizio.  Mary's  own 
conduct  confirmed  and  strengthened  these  suspicions. 
She  treated  this  stranger  with  a  familiarity,  and  ad- 
mitted him  to  a  share  in  her  confidence,  to  which  nei- 
ther his  first  condition,  nor  the  office  she  had  lately 
bestowed  on  him,  gave  him  any  title.  He  was  perpe- 
tually in  her  presence,  intermeddled  in  every  business, 
and,  together  with  a  few  favourites,  was  the  companion 
of  all  her  private  amusements.  The  haughty  spirit  of 
Darnly  could  not  bear  the  intrusion  of  such  an  upstart ; 
and,  impatient  of  any  delay,  and  unrestrained  by  any 


w  Keith,  329.  Id.  App.  165,  166.  Knox,  404.  The  eagerness  of  the 
king  to  obtain  the  crown  matrimonial  is  not  surprising,  when  the  extent 
of  the  powers  which  that  title  conveyed,  as  explained  in  the  text  and  note, 
page  131  of  this  volume,  is  taken  into  consideration. 


286  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  iv. 

1566.     scruple,  he  instantly  resolved  to  get  rid  of  him  by  vio- 

~  lence. 

Rizio  hated  At  the  same  time  another  design,  which  took  its  rise 
friends  of  ^rom  verv  different  motives,  was  carrying  on  against 
the  exiled  the  life  of  Rizio.  Morton,  Ruthven,  Lindsay,  and 
Maitland,  were  the  contrivers  of  it.  In  all  former  com- 
motions they  had  been  strictly  united  with  Murray, 
though  in  the  late  insurrection  they  had  deserted  him 
for  various  reasons.  Morton  was  nearly  allied  to  the 
family  of  Angus ;  and,  during  the  minority  of  the  pre- 
sent earl,  acted  as  chief  of  the  name  of  Douglas. 
Ruthven  was  married  to  the  king's  aunt.  Lindsay's 
wife  was  of  the  same  blood.  All  these  had  warmly  con- 
curred with  the  queen  in  promoting  a  marriage  which 
did  so  much  honour  to  the  house  of  Douglas,  and  na- 
turally expected  that,  under  a  king  of  their  own  blood, 
the  chief  management  of  affairs  would  be  committed  to 
them.  Maitland,  with  his  usual  sagacity,  foresaw  that 
Murray's  opposition  to  the  match  would  prove  danger- 
ous and  ineffectual;  but  whoever  ruled  at  court,  he 
hoped,  by  his  dexterity  and  talents,  to  render  himself 
necessary  and  of  importance.  They  were  all  equally 
disappointed  in  their  expectations.  The  king's  head- 
strong temper  rendered  him  incapable  of  advice.  The 
queen  could  not  help  distrusting  men  who  had  been 
so  long  and  so  intimately  connected  with  Murray,  and 
gave  herself  up  entirely  to  such  counsellors  as  complied 
with  all  her  inclinations.  The  return  of  that  nobleman 
and  his  followers  was,  therefore,  the  only  event  which 
could  restore  Morton,  Maitland,  and  their  associates, 
to  their  former  ascendant  over  the  queen's  councils. 
For  this  reason,  nothing  could  be  more  mortifying  to 
them,  than  the  resolution  which  Mary  had  taken  to 
treat  the  exiles  with  rigour.  This  they  imputed  to 
Rizio,  who,  after  he  had  engaged  to  aid  Murray  with 
all  his  interest,  was  now  the  most  active  instrument  in 
promoting  the  measures  which  were  concerted  for  the 
ruin  of  that  nobleman.  This  officious  zeal  completed 


BOOK  iv.  OF  SCOTLAND.  287 

the  disgust  which  they  had  conceived  against  him,  and      1566. 
inspired  them  with  thoughts  of  vengeance,  in  no  wise" 
suitable  to  justice,  to  humanity,  or  to  their  own  dignity. 

While  they  were  ruminating  upon  their  scheme,  the  They  corn- 
king  communicated  his  resolution  to  be   avenged  oft(Jnm1uI1r£g1.er 
Rizio  to  lord  Ruthven,  and  implored  his  assistance,  him. 
and  that  of  his  friends,  towards  the  execution  of  this 
design.     Nothing  could  be  more  acceptable  to  them 
than  this  overture.     They  saw  at  once  all  the  advan- 
tages they  would  reap,  by  the  concurrence  of  such  an 
associate.  Their  own  private  revenge  upon  Rizio  would 
pass,  they  hoped,  for  an  act  of  obedience  to  the  king; 
and  they  did  not  despair  of  obtaining  the  restoration  of 
their  banished  friends,  and  security  for  the  protestant 
religion,  as  the  price  of  their  compliance  with  his  will. 

But  as  Henry  was  no  less  fickle  than  rash,  they 
hesitated  for  some  time,  and  determined  to  advance 
no  further,  without  taking  every  possible  precaution  for 
their  own  safety.  They  did  not,  in  the  mean  time, 
suffer  the  king's  resentment  to  abate.  Morton,  who 
was  inferior  to  no  man  of  that  intriguing  age  in  all  the 
arts  of  insinuation  and  address,  took  the  young  prince 
under  his  management.  He  wrought  upon  his  ruling 
passion,  ambition  to  obtain  the  matrimonial  crown.  He 
represented  Rizio's  credit  with  the  queen  to  be  the 
chief  and  only  obstacle  to  his  success  in  that  demand. 
This  minion  alone,  he  said,  possessed  her  confidence ; 
and  out  of  complaisance  to  him,  her  subjects,  her  no- 
bility, and  even  her  husband,  were  excluded  from  any 
participation  of  her  secret  councils.  Under  the  appear- 
ance of  a  confidence  merely  political,  he  insinuated, 
and  the  king  perhaps  believed,  that  a  familiarity  of  a 
quite  different  and  very  criminal  nature  might  be  con- 
cealed". Such  various  and  complicated  passions  raged 

0  Of  all  our  historians,  Buchanan  alone  avowedly  accuses  Mary  of  a 
criminal  love  for  Rizio,  340.  344.  Knox  slightly  insinuates  that  such  a 
suspicion  was  entertained,  391.  Melvil,  in  a  conversation  with  the  queen, 
intimates  that  he  was  afraid  her  familiarity  with  Rizio  might  be  liable  to 


288  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  iv. 

1566.  in  the  king's  bosom  with  the  utmost  fury.  He  became 
~  more  impatient  than  ever  of  any  delay,  and  even  threat- 
ened to  strike  the  intended  blow  with  his  own  hand. 
At  last,  preliminaries  were  settled  on  both  sides,  and 
articles  for  their  mutual  security  agreed  upon.  The 
king  engaged  to  prevent  the  attainder  of  the  banished 
lords,  to  consent  to  their  return  into  Scotland,  to  ob- 
tain for  them  an  ample  remission  of  all  their  crimes, 
and  to  support,  to  the  utmost  of  his  power,  the  religion 
which  was  now  established  in  the  kingdom.  On  their 
parts,  they  undertook  to  procure  the  crown  matrimo- 
nial for  Henry,  to  secure  his  right  of  succession,  if  the 
queen  should  die  before  him  without  issue,  and  to  de- 
fend that  right  to  the  uttermost,  against  whatever  per- 
son should  presume  to  dispute  it;  and  if  either  Rizio 
or  any  other  person  should  happen  to  be  killed  in  pro- 
secuting the  design,  ^he  king  promised  to  acknowledge 
himself  to  be  the  author  of  the  enterprise,  and  to  pro- 
tect those  who  were  embarked  in  k°. 


misconstruction,  110.  The  king  himself  seems,  both  by  Melvil's  account, 
and  by  his  expostulation  with  the  queen,  which  Ruthven  mentions,  to  have 
given  credit  to  these  suspicions.  Melv.  127.  Keith,  Append.  123,  124. 
That  the  king's  suspicions  were  strong,  is  likewise  evident  from  the  paper 
published,  Append.  No.  XV.  But  in  opposition  to  these  suspicions,  and 
they  are  nothing  more,  we  may  observe  that  Raulet,  the  queen's  French 
secretary,  was  dismissed  from  her  service,  and  Rizio  advanced  to  that  office, 
in  December,  1564.  Keith,  268.  It  was  in  consequence  of  this  prefer- 
ment, that  he  acquired  his  great  credit  with  the  queen.  Melv.  107.  Darnly 
arrived  in  Scotland  about  two  months  after.  Keith,  269.  The  queen  im- 
mediately conceived  for  him  a  passion,  which  had  all  the  symptoms  of  ge- 
nuine and  violent  love.  Rizio  aided  this  passion,  and  promoted  the  mar- 
riage with  all  his  interest.  Melv.  111.  During  some  months  after  the 
marriage,  the  queen's  fondness  for  Darnly  continued.  She  soon  proved 
with  child.  From  this  enumeration  of  circumstances,  it  appears  almost 
impossible  that  the  queen,  unless  we  suppose  her  to  have  been  a  woman 
utterly  abandoned,  could  carry  on  any  criminal  intrigue  with  Rizio.  But 
the  silence  of  Randolph,  the  English  resident,  a  man  abundantly  ready  to 
mention  and  to  aggravate  Mary's  faults,  and  who  does  not  once  insinuate 
that  her  confidence  in  Rizio  concealed  any  thing  criminal,  is  in  itself  a  suf- 
ficient vindication  of  her  innocence. 
0  Good.  vol.  i.  266. 


BOOK  iv.  OF  SCOTLAND.  289 

Nothing  now  remained  but  to  concert  the  plan  of     1566. 
operation,  to  choose  the  actors,  and  to  assign  them  Perpetrate 
their  parts  in  perpetrating  this  detestable  crime.  Every  that  crime 
circumstance  here  paints  and  characterizes  the  manners  omen's 
and  men  of  that  age,  and  fills  us  with  horrour  at  both,  palace. 
The  place  chosen  for  committing  such  a  deed  was  the 
queen's  bedchamber.     Though  Mary  was  now  in  the 
sixth  month  of  her  pregnancy,  and  though  Rizio  might 
have  been  seized  elsewhere,  without  any  difficulty,  the 
king  pitched  upon  this  place,  that  he  might  enjoy  the 
malicious  pleasure  of  reproaching  Rizio  with  his  crimes 
before  the  queen's  face.     The  earl  of  Morton,  the  lord 
high  chancellor  of  the  kingdom,  undertook  to  direct  an 
enterprise,  carried  on  in  defiance  of  all  the  laws  of  which 
he  was  bound  to  be  the  guardian.     The  lord  Ruthven, 
who  had  been  confined  to  his  bed  for  three  months  by 
a  very  dangerous  distemper,  and  who  was  still  so  feeble 
that  he  could  hardly  walk,  or  bear  the  weight  of  his  own 
armour,  was  intrusted  with  the  executive  part;  and 
while  he  himself  needed  to  be  supported  by  two  men, 
he  came  abroad  to  commit  a  murder  in  the  presence  of 
his  sovereign. 

On  the  ninth  of  March,  Morton  entered  the  court 
of  the  palace  with  an  hundred  and  sixty  men;  and 
without  noise,  or  meeting  with  any  resistance,  seized 
all  the  gates.  While  the  queen  was  at  supper  with 
the  countess  of  Argyll,  Rizio,  and  a  few  other  persons, 
the  king  suddenly  entered  the  apartment  by  a  private 
passage.  At  his  back  was  Ruthven,  dad  in  complete 
armour,  and  with  that  ghastly  and  horrid  look  which 
long  sickness  had  given  him.  Three  or  four  of  his 
most  trusty  accomplices  followed  him.  Such  an  un- 
usual appearance  alarmed  those  who  were  present. 
Rizio  instantly  apprehended  that  he  was  the  victim  at 
whom  the  blow  was  aimed ;  and  in  the  utmost  conster- 
nation retired  behind  the  queen,  of  whom  he  laid  hold, 
hoping  that  the  reverence  due  to  her  person  might 
prove  some  protection  to  him.  The  conspirators  had 

VOL.  i.  u 


290  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  iv. 

1566.  proceeded  too  far  to  be  restrained  by  any  consideration 
~  of  that  kind.  Numbers  of  armed  men  rushed  into  the 
chamber.  Ruthven  drew  his  dagger,  and  with  a  fu- 
rious mien  and  voice  commanded  Rizio  to  leave  a  place 
of  which  he  was  unworthy,  and  which  he  had  occupied 
too  long.  Mary  employed  tears,  and  entreaties,  and 
threatenings,  to  save  her  favourite.  But,  notwithstand- 
ing all  these,  he  was  torn  from  her  by  violence,  and,  be- 
fore he  could  be  dragged  through  the  next  apartment, 
the  rage  of  his  enemies  put  an  end  to  his  life,  piercing 
his  body  with  fifty-six  wounds  p. 

Athol,  Huntly,  Bothwell,  and  other  confidents  of  the 
queen,  who  had  apartments  in  the  palace,  were  alarmed 
at  the  uproar,  and  filled  with  the  utmost  terrour  on 
their  own  account  ;  but  either  no  violence  was  intended 
against  them,  or  the  conspirators  durst  not  shed  the 
noblest  blood  in  the  kingdom  in  the  same  illegal  man- 
ner with  which  they  had  ventured  to  take  the  life  of  a 
stranger.  Some  of  them  were  dismissed,  and  others 
made  their  escape. 

They  con-       The  conspirators,  in  the  mean  time,  kept  possession 
palace,  and  guarded  the  queen  with  the  utmost 


er- 


self  >  care.  A  proclamation  was  published  by  the  king,  pro- 
hibiting the  parliament  to  meet  on  the  day  appointed  ; 
and  measures  were  taken  by  him  for  preventing  any 
tumult  in  the  cityq.  Murray,  Rothes,  and  their  fol- 
'  lowers,  being  informed  of  every  step  taken  against 
Rizio,  arrived  at  Edinburgh  next  evening.  Murray 
was  graciously  received  both  by  the  king  and  queen  : 
by  the  former,  on  account  of  the  articles  which  had 
been  agreed  upon  between  them;  by  the  latter,  be- 
cause she  hoped  to  prevail  on  him,  by  gentle  treatment, 
not  to  take  part  with  the  murderers  of  Rizio.  Their 
power  she  still  felt  and  dreaded  ;  and  the  insult  which 
they  had  offered  to  her  authority,  and  even  to  her  per- 
son, so  far  exceeded  any  crime  she  could  impute  to 

P  See  Appendix,  No.  XV.  i  Keith,  Append.  126. 


BOOK  iv.  OF  SCOTLAND.  291 

Murray,  that,  in  hopes  of  wreaking  her  vengeance  on      1566. 
them,  she  became  extremely  willing  to  be  reconciled  to  ~~ 
him.   The  obligations,  however,  which  Murray  lay  under 
to  men  who  had  hazarded  their  lives  on  his  account, 
engaged  him  to  labour  for  their  safety.     The  queen, 
who  scarce  had  the  liberty  of  choice  left,  was  persuaded 
to  admit  Morton  and  Ruthven  into  her  presence,  and 
to  grant  them  the  promise  of  pardon  in  whatever  terms 
they  should  deem  necessary  for  their  own  security. 

The  king,  meanwhile,  stood  astonished  at  the  bold-  but  she 
ness  and  success  of  his  own  enterprise,  and  uncertain  |^ns  ^ 
what  course  to  hold.     The  queen  observed  his  irreso-  makes  her 
lution,  and  availed  herself  of  it.     She  employed  all  herescape< 
art  to  disengage  him  from  his  new  associates.     His 
consciousness  of  the  insult  which  he  had  offered  to  so 
illustrious  a  benefactress  inspired  him  with  uncommon 
facility  and  complaisance.     In  spite  of  all  the  warnings 
he  received  to  distrust  the  queen's  artifices,  she  prevailed 
on  him  to  dismiss  the  guards  which  the  conspirators  had 
placed  on  lier  person ;  and  that  same  night  he  made  his  March  11. 
escape  along  with  her,  attended  by  three  persons  only, 
and  retired  to  Dunbar.    The  scheme  of  their  flight  had 
been  communicated  to  Huntly  and  Bothwell,  and  they 
were  quickly  joined  by  them  and  several  other  of  the 
nobles.      Bothwell's  estate  lay  in  that  corner  of  the 
kingdom,  and  his  followers  crowded  to  their  chief  in 
such  numbers,  as  soon  enabled  the  queen  to  set  the 
power  of  the  conspirators  at  defiance. 

This  sudden  flight  filled  them  with  inexpressible  con-  is  recon- 
sternation.     They  had  obtained  a  promise  of  pardon  ;"xieled° 
and  it  now  appeared  from  the  queen's  conduct,  thatnobles- 
nothing  more  was  intended  by  this  promise  than  to 
amuse  them,  and  to  gain  time.     They  ventured,  how- 
ever, to  demand  the  accomplishment  of  it ;  but  their 
messenger  was  detained  a  prisoner,  and  the  queen,  ad- 
vancing towards  Edinburgh,  at  the  head  of  eight  thou- 
sand men,  talked  in  the  highest  strain  of  resentment 
and  revenge.     She  had  the  address,  at  the  same  time, 


292  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  iv. 

1566.     to  separate  Murray  and  his  associates  from  the  con- 

"spirators  against  Rizio.      Sensible  that  the  union  of 

these  parties  would  form  a  confederacy  which  might 

prove  formidable  to  the  crown,  she  expressed  great 

willingness  to  receive  the  former  into  favour  ;  towards 

the  latter  she  declared  herself  inexorable.    Murray  and 

his  followers  were  no  less  willing  to  accept  a  pardon  on 

March  19.   her  terms.     The  conspirators  against  Rizio,  deprived 

spirators"     of  every  resource,  and  incapable   of  resistance,  fled 

against       precipitately  to  Newcastle,  having  thus  changed  situ- 

into  Eng-    ations  with  Murray  and  his  party,  who  left  that  place 
land.          a  few  javg  kefore. 


No  man  so  remarkable  for  wisdom,  and  even  for 
cunning,  as  the  earl  of  Morton,  ever  engaged  in  a 
more  unfortunate  enterprise.  Deserted  basely  by  the 
king,  who  now  denied  his  knowledge  of  the  conspiracy 
by  public  proclamations,  and  abandoned  ungenerously 
by  Murray  and  his  party  r,  he  was  obliged  to  fly  from 
his  native  country,  to  resign  the  highest  office,  and 
to  part  with  one  of  the  most  opulent  fortunes  in  the 
kingdom. 

On  her  return  to  Edinburgh,  Mary  began  to  pro- 
ceed against  those  concerned  in  the  murder  of  Rizio, 
with  the  utmost  rigour  of  law.  But,  in  praise  of  her 
clemency,  it  must  be  observed,  that  only  two  persons, 
and  these  of  no  considerable  rank,  suffered  for  this 
crime  *. 

In  this  conspiracy  there  is  one  circumstance  which, 
though  somewhat  detached,  deserves  not  to  be  for- 
gotten. In  the  confederacy  between  the  king  and  the 
conspirators,  the  real  intention  of  which  was  assassi- 
nation, the  preserving  of  the  reformed  church  is,  never- 
theless, one  of  the  most  considerable  articles  ;  and  the 
same  men,  who  were  preparing  to  violate  one  of  the 
first  duties  of  morality,  affected  the  highest  regard  for 
religion.  History  relates  these  extravagancies  of  the 

r  Melv.  130.  •  Keith,  Append.  130,  334. 


BOOK  iv.  OF  SCOTLAND.  293 

human  mind,  without  pretending  to  justify,  or  even  to      156$. 
account  for  them ;  and,  regulating  her  own  opinions  by  ~ 
the  eternal  and  immutable  laws  of  justice  and  of  virtue, 
points  out  such  inconsistencies,  as  features  of  the  age 
which  she  describes,  and  records  them  for  the  instruc- 
tion of  ages  to  come. 

As  this  is  the  second  instance  of  deliberate  assassi-  An  account 
nation  which  has  occurred,  and  as  we  shall  hereafter  meet  quenc/of 
with  many  other  instances  of  the  same  crime,  the  causes  assassina- 

i  .  i_  .  j.  ~  ii>  i          '     •.     tions  in  that 

winch  gave  rise  to  a  practice  so  shocking  to  humanity  age> 
deserve  our  particular  attention.  Resentment  is,  for 
obvious  and  wise  reasons,  one  of  the  strongest  passions 
in  the  human  mind.  The  natural  demand  of  this  pas- 
sion is,  that  the  person  who  feels  the  injury  should  him- 
self inflict  the  vengeance  due  on  that  account.  The 
permitting  this,  however,  would  have  been  destructive 
to  society;  and  punishment  would  have  known  no 
bounds,  either  in  severity  or  in  duration.  For  this 
reason,  in  the  very  infancy  of  the  social  state,  the 
sword  was  taken  out  of  private  hands,  and  committed 
to  the  magistrate.  But  at  first,  while  laws  aimed  at 
restraining,  they  really  strengthened  the*  principle  of 
revenge.  The  earliest  and  most  simple  punishment 
for  crimes  was  retaliation ;  the  offender  forfeited  limb 
for  limb,  and  life  for  life.  The  payment  of  a  compen- 
sation to  the  person  injured,  succeeded  to  the  rigour  of 
the  former  institution.  In  both  these,  the  gratification 
of  private  revenge  was  the  object  of  law ;  and  he  who 
suffered  the  wrong  was  the  only  person  who  had  a  right 
to  pursue,  to  exact,  or  to  remit  the  punishment.  While 
laws  allowed  such  full  scope  to  the  revenge  of  one 
party,  the  interests  of  the  other  were  not  neglected. 
If  the  evidence  of  his  guilt  did  not  amount  to  a  full 
proof,  or  if  he  reckoned  himself  to  be  unjustly  accused, 
the  person  to  whom  a  crime  was  imputed  had  a  right 
to  challenge  his  adversary  to  singje  combat,  and,  on 
obtaining  the  victory,  vindicated  his  own  honour.  In 
almost  every  considerable  cause,  whether  civil  or  crimi- 


294  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  iv. 

1566.  nal,  arms  were  appealed  to,  in  defence,  either  of  the 
~~  innocence,  or  the  property,  of  the  parties.  Justice  had 
seldom  occasion  to  use  her  balance;  the  sword  alone 
decided  every  contest.  The  passion  of  revenge  was 
nourished  by  all  these  means,  and  grew,  by  daily  in- 
dulgence, to  be  incredibly  strong.  Mankind  became 
habituated  to  blood,  not  only  in  times  of  war,  but  of 
peace;  and  from  this,  as  well  as  other  causes,  con- 
tracted an  amazing  ferocity  of  temper  and  of  manners. 
This  ferocity,  however,  made  it  necessary  to  discourage 
the  trial  by  combat ;  to  abolish  the  payment  of  com- 
pensations in  criminal  cases;  and  to  think  of  some 
milder  method  of  terminating  disputes  concerning  civil 
rights.  The  punishments  for  crimes  became  more  se- 
vere, and  the  regulations  concerning  property  more 
fixed ;  but  the  princes,  whose  province  it  was  to  inflict 
the  one,  and  to  enforce  the  other,  possessed  little 
power.  Great  offenders  despised  their  authority; 
smaller  ones  sheltered  themselves  under  the  jurisdic- 
tion of  those  from  whose  protection  they  expected  im- 
punity. The  administration  of  justice  was  extremely 
feeble  and  dilatory.  An  attempt  to  punish  the  crimes 
of  a  chieftain,  or  even  of  his  vassals,  often  excited  re- 
bellions and  civil  wars.  To  nobles  haughty  and  inde- 
pendent, among  whom  the  causes  of  discord  were  many 
and  unavoidable,  who  were  quick  in  discerning  an  in- 
jury, and  impatient  to  revenge  it ;  who  deemed  it  infa- 
mous to  submit  to  an  enemy,  and  cowardly  to  forgive 
him ;  who  considered  the  right  of  punishing  those  who 
had  injured  them,  as  a  privilege  of  their  order  and  a 
mark  of  independence;  such  slow  proceedings  were 
extremely  unsatisfactory.  The  blood  of  their  adver- 
sary was,  in  their  opinion,  the  only  thing  which  could 
wash  away  an  affront ;  where  that  was  not  shed,  their 
revenge  was  disappointed,  their  courage  became  sus- 
pected, and  a  stain  was  left  on  their  honour.  That 
vengeance,  which  the  impotent  hand  of  the  magistrate 
could  not  inflict,  their  own  could  easily  execute.  Under 


BOOK  iv.  OF  SCOTLAND.  295 

governments  so  feeble,  men  assumed,  as  in  a  state  of     1566. 
nature,  the  right  of  judging,  and  redressing  their  own~ 
wrongs ;  and  thus  assassination,  a  crime  of  all  others 
the  most  destructive  to  society,  came  not  only  to  be 
allowed,  but  to  be  reckoned  honourable. 

The  history  of  Europe,  during  the  fourteenth  and 
fifteenth  centuries,  abounds  with  detestable  instances 
of  this  crime.  It  prevailed  chiefly  among  the  French 
and  Scots,  between  whom  there  was  a  close  intercourse 
at  that  time,  and  a  surprising  resemblance  in  their  na- 
tional characters.  In  one  thousand  four  hundred  and 
seven,  the  only  brother  of  the  king  of  France  was  mur- 
dered publicly  in  the  streets  of  Paris ;  and  so  far  was 
this  horrible  action  from  meeting  with  proper  punish- 
ment, that  an  eminent  lawyer  was  allowed  to  plead  in 
defence  of  it  before  the  peers  of  France,  and  avowedly 
to  maintain  the  lawfulness  of  assassination.  In  one 
thousand  four  hundred  and  seventeen,  it  required  all 
the  eloquence  and  authority  of  the  famous  Gerson,  to 
prevail  on  the  council  of  Constance  to  condemn  this 
proposition :  "  That  there  are  some  cases  in  which 
assassination  is  a  virtue  more  meritorious  in  a  knight 
than  in  a  squire,  and  more  meritorious  in  a  king  than 
in  a  knight1."  The  number  of  eminent  persons  who 
were  murdered  in  France  and  Scotland,  on  account 
either  of  private,  or  political,  or  religious  quarrels,  du- 
ring the  fifteenth  and  sixteenth  centuries,  is  almost 
incredible.  Even  after  those  causes,  which  first  gave 
rise  to  this  barbarous  practice,  were  removed;  after 
the  jurisdiction  of  magistrates,  and  the  authority  of 
laws,  were  better  established,  and  become  more  uni- 
versal ;  after  the  progress  of  learning  and  philosophy 
had  polished  the  manners  and  humanized  the  minds  of 
men,  this  crime  continued  in  some  degree.  It  was  to- 
wards the  close  of  the  seventeenth  century  before  it 
disappeared  in  France.  The  additional  vigour,  which 

'  L'Enfant,  Hist.  Cone,  de  Const. 


296  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  iv. 

* 
1566.     the  royal  authority  acquired  by  the  accession  of  James 

~  the  sixth  to  the  throne  of  England,  seems  to  have  put 
a  stop  to  it  in  Scotland. 

The  influence,  however,  of  any  national  custom,  both 
on  the  understanding  and  on  the  heart,  and  how  far  it 
may  go  towards  perverting  or  extinguishing  moral  prin- 
ciples of  the  greatest  importance,  is  remarkable.  The 
authors  of  those  ages  have  perfectly  imbibed  the  sen- 
timents of  their  contemporaries  with  regard  to  assassi- 
nation; and  they  who  had  leisure  to  reflect  and  to 
judge,  appear  to  be  no  more  shocked  at  this  crime, 
than  the  persons  who  committed  it  during  the  heat  and 
impetuosity  of  passion.  Buchanan  describes  the  mur- 
der of  cardinal  Beatoun  and  of  Rizio,  without  express- 
ing those  feelings  which  are  natural  to  a  man,  or  that 
indignation  which  became  an  historian  u.  Knox,  whose 
mind  was  fiercer  and  more  unpolished,  relates  the  death 
of  Beatoun  and  of  the  duke  of  Guise,  not  only  without 
censure,  but  with  the  utmost  exultation*.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  bishop  of  Ross  mentions  the  assassination  of 
the  earl  of  Murray  with  some  degree  of  applause y. 
Blackwood  dwells  upon  it  with  the  most  indecent  tri- 
umph, and  ascribes  it  directly  to  the  hand  of  Godz. 
Lord  Ruthven,  the  principal  actor  in  the  conspiracy 
against  Rizio,  wrote  an  account  of  it  some  short  time 
before  his  own  death,  and  in  all  his  long  narrative 
there  is  not  one  expression  of  regret,  or  one  symptom 
of  compunction,  for  a  crime  no  less  dishonourable  than 
barbarous  a.  Morton,  equally  guilty  of  the  same  crime, 
entertained  the  same  sentiments  concerning  it ;  and  in 
his  last  moments,  neither  he  himself,  nor  the  ministers 
who  attended  him,  seem  to  have  considered  it  as  an 
action  which  called  for  repentance ;  even  then  he  talks 
of  '  David's  slaughter'  as  coolly  as  if  it  had  been  an 
innocent  or  commendable  deed b.  The  vices  of  another 

11  Buchan.  295.  345.  *  Knox,  334. 

y  Anders.  3.  84.  '  Jebb,  ii.  263. 

*  Keith,  Append.  119.  b  Crawf.  Mem.  Append. 


BOOK  iv.  OF  SCOTLAND.  297 

age  astonish  and  shock  us ;  the  vices  of  our  own  become     1566. 

familiar,  and  excite  little  horrour0.     I  return  from  this 

digression  to  the  course  of  the  history. 

The  charm  which  had  at  first  attached  the  queen  to  The  queen's 
Darnly,  and  held  them  for  some  time  in  an  happy  union,  ll*tre|1 to 
was  now  entirely  dissolved ;  and  love  no  longer  covering  creases. 
his  follies  and  vices  with  its  friendly  veil,  they  appeared 
to  Mary  in  their  full  dimension  and  deformity  d.  Though 
Henry  published  a  proclamation,  disclaiming  any  know- 
ledge of  the  conspiracy  against  Rizio,  the  queen  was 
fully  convinced  that  he  was  not  only  accessory  to  the 
contrivance,  but  to  the  commission  of  that  odious  crime e. 
That  very  power  which,  with  liberal  and  unsuspicious 
fondness,  she  had  conferred  upon  him,  he  had  employed 
to  insult  her  authority,  to  limit  her  prerogative,  and  to 
endanger  her  person.  Such  an  outrage  it  was  impossi- 
ble any  woman  could  bear  or  forgive.  Cold  civilities, 
secret  distrust,  frequent  quarrels,  succeeded  to  their  for- 
mer transports  of  affection  and  confidence.  The  queen's 
favours  were  no  longer  conveyed  through  his  hands. 
The  crowd  of  expectants  ceased  to  court  his  patronage, 
which  they  found  to  avail  so  little.  Among  the  nobles, 
some  dreaded  his  furious  temper,  others  complained  of 
his  perfidiousness ;  and  all  of  them  despised  the  weak- 
ness of  his  understanding,  and  the  inconstancy  of  his 
heart.  The  people  themselves  observed  some  parts  of 
his  conduct,  which  little  suited  the  dignity  of  a  king. 

c  In  the  first  accounts  of  Rizio's  murder  sent  to  England,  there  seem  to 
have  been  mingled  (as  is  usual  in  relating  extraordinary  events)  some  cir- 
cumstances, which  afterwards  appeared  to  be  false :  among  others,  that  a 
friar,  named  Black,  had  been  slain  at  the  same  time  with  Rizio.  Park- 
hurst,  bishop'  of  Norwich,  in  communicating  this  intelligence  to  his  corre- 
spondent Bullinger,  an  eminent  reformed  divine  of  Zurich,  expresses  no 
condemnation  of  the  murder  of  Rizio,  and  exults  over  the  supposed  death  of 
the  friar  in  terms  which,  in  our  times,  will  appear  as  shocking  as  they  are 
puerile :  "  Fraterculus  quidam,  nomine  Black,  papistarum  antesignanus, 
eodem  tempore  in  aula  occiditur.  Sic  niger  hie  nebulo,  nigra  quoque  morte 
peremptus,  invitus  nigrum  subito  descendit  in  orcum."  Burn.  Hist,  of 
Reform,  iii.  Append.  360. 

*  See  Appendix,  No.  XVI.  '  Keilh,  350. 


THE  HISTORY  BOOK  iv. 

1566.     Addicted  to  drunkenness,  beyond  what  the  manners  of 


that  age  could  bear,  and  indulging  irregular  passions, 
which  even  the  licentiousness  of  youth  could  not  excuse, 
he,  by  his  indecent  behaviour,  provoked  the  queen  to 
the  utmost ;  and  the  passions  which  it  occasioned  often 
forced  tears  from  her  eyes,  both  in  public  and  in  pri- 
vatef.  Her  aversion  for  him  increased  every  day,  and 
could  be  no  longer  concealed.  He  was  often  absent 
from  court,  appeared  there  with  little  splendour,  and 
was  trusted  with  no  power.  Avoided  equally  by  those 
who  endeavoured  to  please  the  queen,  who  favoured 
Morton  and  his  associates,  or  who  adhered  to  the  house 
of  Hamilton,  he  was  left  almost  alone  in  a  neglected  and 
unpitied  solitude8. 

The  rise  of  About  this  time  a  new  favourite  grew  into  great  cre- 
favour?  S  dit  with  the  queen,  and  soon  gained  an  ascendant  over 
her  heart,  which  encouraged  his  enterprising  genius 
to  form  designs  that  proved  fatal  to  himself,  and  the 
occasion  of  all  Mary's  subsequent  misfortunes.  This 
was  James  Hepburn,  earl  of  Bothwell,  the  head  of  an 
ancient  family,  and,  by  his  extensive  possessions  and 
numerous  vassals,  one  of  the  most  powerful  noblemen  in 
the  kingdom.  Even  in  that  turbulent  age,  when  so 
many  vast  projects  were  laid  open  to  an  aspiring  mind, 
and  invited  it  to  action,  no  man's  ambition  was  more 
daring  than  Bothwell's,  or  had  recourse  to  bolder  or 
more  singular  expedients  for  obtaining  power1'.  When 
almost  every  person  of  distinction  in  the  kingdom,  whe- 

(  Keith,  329.  e  Melv.  131,  etc. 

h  The  enterprising  spirit  of  Bothwell  was  so  conspicuous  as  to  procure 
him  several  marks  of  distinction  during  his  residence  in  France.  Hard- 
wick's  State  Papers,  i.  143.-  Throkmorton,  the  English  ambassador  at 
Paris,  and  one  of  the  most  sagacious  ministers  employed  by  Elizabeth, 
points  him  out  as  a  person  who  was  to  be  dreaded  and  observed.  "  The 
earl  of  .Bothwell,"  says  he  in  a  letter,  Nov.  28, 1560,  "  is  departed  to  return 
into  Scotland,  and  hath  made  boast  that  he  will  do  great  things,  and  live  in 
Scotland ,  in  despite  of  all  men.  He  is  a  glorious,  rash,  and  hazardous  young 
man ;  and  therefore  it  were  meet  that  his  adversaries  should  both  have  an 
eye  to  him,  and  also  keep  him  short."  Ibid.  p.  149. 


BOOK  iv.  OF  SCOTLAND.  299 

ther  papist  or  protestant,  had  joined  the  congregation  1566. 
in  opposing  the  dangerous  encroachments  of  the  French  ~ 
upon  the  liberties  of  the  nation,  he,  though  an  avowed 
protestant,  adhered  to  the  queen  regent,  and  acted  with 
vigour  on  her  side.  The  success  which  attended  the 
arms  of  the  congregation  having  obliged  him  to  retire 
into  France,  he  was  taken  into  the  queen's  service,  and 
continued  with  her  till  the  time  of  her  return  into  Scot- 
land'. From  that  period,  every  step  of  his  conduct 
towards  Mary  was  remarkably  dutiful ;  and,  amidst  all 
the  shiftings  of  faction,  we  scarcely  ever  find  him  hold- 
ing any  course  which  could  be  offensive  to  her.  When 
Murray's  proceedings  with  regard  to  her  marriage  gave 
umbrage  to  the  queen,  she  recalled  Bothwell  from  that 
banishment  into  which  she  had  been  obliged  with  re- 
luctance to  drive  him,  and  considered  his  zeal  and 
abilities  as  the  most  powerful  supports  of  her  authority. 
When  the  conspirators  against  Rizio  seized  her  person, 
he  became  the  chief  instrument  of  recovering  her  liberty, 
and  served  her,  on  that  occasion,  with  so  much  fidelity 
and  success,  as  made  the  deepest  impression  on  her 
mind,  and  greatly  increased  the  confidence  which  she 
had  hitherto  placed  in  himk.  Her  gratitude  loaded 
him  with  marks  of  her  bounty ;  she  raised  him  to  offices 
of  profit  and  trust,  and  transacted  no  matter  of  import- 
ance without  his  advice1.  By  complaisance  and  assi- 
duity he  confirmed  and  fortified  these  dispositions  of 
the  queen  in  his  favour,  and  insensibly  paved  the  way 
towards  that  vast  project  which  his  immoderate  ambi- 
tion had  perhaps  already  conceived,  and  which,  in  spite 
of  many  difficulties,  and  at  the  expense  of  many  crimes, 
he  at  last  accomplished. 

The  hour  of  the  queen's  delivery  now  approached. 
As  her  palace  was  defended  only  by  a  slender  guard,  it 
seemed  imprudent  to  expose  her  person,  at  this  time,  to 
the  insults  she  might  suffer  in  a  kingdom  torn  by  fac- 

1  Anders.i.  90.  "  Ibid.  92,  93.  •  Melv.  133.     Knox,  396. 


THE  HISTORY  BOOK  iv. 

1566.  tions  and  prone  to  mutiny.  For  this  reason  the  privy 
"council  advised  the  queen  to  fix  her  residence  in  the 
castle  of  Edinburgh,  the  strongest  fortress  in  the  king- 
dom, and  the  most  proper  place  for  the  security  of  her 
person1".  In  order  to  render  this  security  more  perfect, 
Mary  laboured  to  extinguish  the  domestic  feuds  which 
divided  some  of  the  principal  nobles.  Murray  and 
Argyll  were  exasperated  against  Huntly  and  Bothwell, 
by  reciprocal  and  repeated  injuries.  The  queen,  by 
her  authority  and  entreaties,  effected  a  reconcilement 
among  them,  and  drew  from  them  a  promise  to  bury 
their  discords  in  everlasting  oblivion.  This  reconcile- 
ment Mary  had  so  much  at  heart,  that  she  made  it  the 
condition  on  which  she  again  received  Murray  into 
favour". 

Birth  of  On  the  nineteenth  of  June,  Mary  was  delivered  of 
James  the  fogj.  oniy  son  James,  a  prince  whose  birth  was  happy 
for  the  whole  island,  and  unfortunate  to  her  alone. 
His  accession  to  the  throne  of  England  united  the  two 
divided  kingdoms  in  one  mighty  monarchy,  and  esta- 
blished the  power  of  Great  Britain  on  a  firm  founda- 
tion; while  she,  torn  early  from  her  son  by  the  cruelty 
of  her  fate,  was  never  allowed  to  indulge  those  tender 
passions,  nor  to  taste  those  joys  which  fill  the  heart  of 
a  mother. 

Melvil  was  instantly  despatched  to  London  with  an 
account  of  this  event.  It  struck  Elizabeth,  at  first,  in 
a  sensible  manner ;  and  the  advantage  and  superiority 
which  her  rival  had  acquired  by  the  birth  of  a  son, 
forced  tears  from  her  eyes.  But  before  Melvil  was 
admitted  to  an  audience,  she  had  so  far  recovered  the 
command  of  herself,  as  to  receive  him  not  only  with 
decency,  but  with  excessive  cheerfulness ;  and  willingly 
accepted  the  invitation  which  Mary  gave  her,  to  stand 
godmother  to  her  son0. 

As  Mary  loved  splendour  and  magnificence,  she  re- 

»  Keith,  335.  .  »  Ibid.  336.  Append.  139.  °  Melv.  138. 


BOOK  iv.          .     OF  SCOTLAND.  301 

solved  to  celebrate  the  baptism  of  the  young  prince  with      1566. 
great  pomp;  and  for  that  purpose  sent  invitations  of~ 
the  same  kind  to  the  French  king,  and  to  the  duke  of 
Savoy,  the  uncle  of  her  former  husband. 

The  queen,  on  her  recovery,  discovered  no  change  The  queen 
in  her  sentiments  with  respect  to  the  king?.    The  death 


of  Rizio,  and  the  countenance  he  had  given  to  an  action  with  indif- 
so  insolent  and  unjustifiable,  were  still  fresh  in  hernegiect. 
memory.  She  was  frequently  pensive  and  dejected*1. 
Though  Henry  sometimes  attended  at  court,  and  ac- 
companied her  in  her  progresses  through  different  parts 
of  the  kingdom,  he  met  with  little  reverence  from  the 
nobles,  while  Mary  treated  him  with  the  greatest  re- 
serve, and  did  not  suffer  him  to  possess  any  authority  r. 
The  breach  between  them  became  every  day  more 
apparent5.  Attempts  were  made  towards  a  reconcile- 
ment, particularly  by  Castelnau,  the  French  ambassa- 
dor; but,  after  such  a  violent  rupture,  it  was  found  no 
easy  matter  to  bind  the  nuptial  knot  anew  ;  and,  though 
he  prevailed  on  the  king  and  queen  to  pass  two  nights 
together',  we  may,  with  great  probability,  pronounce 
this  appearance  of  union,  to  which  Castelnau  trusted, 
not  to  have  been  sincere  :  we  know  with  certainty  that 
it  was  not  lasting. 

Bothwell,  all  this  while,  was  the  queen's  prime  confi-Herattach- 
dent.     Without  his  participation  no  business  was  con-  g^^u 
eluded,  and  no  favour  bestowed.     Together  with  this  increases. 
ascendant  over  her  councils,  Bothwell,  if  we  may  believe 
the  contemporary  historians,  acquired  no  less  sway  over 
her  heart.     But  at  what  precise  time  this  ambitious 
lord  first  allowed  the  sentiments  of  a  lover  to  occupy 
the  place  of  that  duty  and  respect  which  a  subject  owes 
his  sovereign  ;  or  when  Mary,  instead  of  gratitude  for 
his  faithful  services,  felt  a  passion  of  another  nature 
rising  in  her  bosom,  it  is  no  easy  matter  to  determine. 

P  See  Appendix,  No.  XVII.  'i  Melv.  148. 

r  Keith,  350.     Melv.  132.  •  Keith,  Append.  169. 

*  Keith,  169. 


302  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  iv. 

1566.     Such  delicate  transitions  of  passion  can  be  discerned 


only  by  those  who  are  admitted  near  the  persons  of  the 
parties,  and  who  can  view  the  secret  workings  of  the 
heart  with  calm  and  acute  observation.  Neither  Knox 
nor  Buchanan  enjoyed  these  advantages.  Their  hum- 
ble station  allowed  them  only  a  distant  access  to  the 
queen  and  her  favourite.  And  the  ardour  of  their  zeal, 
as  well  as  the  violence  of  their  prejudices,  rendered 
their  opinions  rash,  precipitate,  and  inaccurate.  It  is 
by  the  effects  of  this  reciprocal  passion,  rather  than  by 
their  accounts  of  it,  that  subsequent  historians  can 
judge  of  its  reality. 

Adventurous  as  Bothwell's  project  to  gain  the  queen 
may  appear,  it  was  formed  and  carried  on  under  very 
favourable  circumstances.  Mary  was  young,  gay,  and 
affable.  She  possessed  great  sensibility  of  temper,  and 
was  capable  of  the  utmost  tenderness  of  affection.  She 
had  placed  her  love  on  a  very  unworthy  object,  who 
requited  it  with  ingratitude,  and  treated  her  with  neg- 
lect, with  insolence,  and  with  brutality.  All  these  she 
felt  and  resented.  In  this  situation,  the  attention  and 
complaisance  of  a  man  who  had  vindicated  her  autho- 
rity, and  protected  her  person,  who  entered  into  all  her 
views,  who  soothed  all  her  passions,  who  watched  and 
improved  every  opportunity  of  insinuating  his  design 
and  recommending  his  passion",  could  hardly  fail  of 
making  an  impression  on  a  heart  of  such  a  frame  as 
Mary's. 
The  king  •  The  haughty  spirit  of  Darnly,  nursed  up  in  flattery, 

resolves       an(j  accustomed  to  command,  could  not  bear  the  con- 
to  leave 
Scotland,     tempt,  under  which  he  had  now  fallen,  and  the  state  of 

insignificance,  to  which  he  saw  himself  reduced.  But, 
in  a  country  where  he  was  universally  hated  or  de- 
spised, he  could  never  hope  to  form  a  party,  which 
would  second  any  attempt  he  might  make  to  recover 
power.  He  addressed  himself,  therefore,  to  the  pope, 

"  Anders,  i.  93,  94. 


BOOK  iv.  OF  SCOTLAND.  303 

and  to  the  kings  of  France  and  Spain,  with  many  pro-  1566- 
fessions  of  his  own  zeal  for  the  catholic  religion,  and  ~~ 
with  bitter  complaints  against  the  queen,  for  neglecting 
to  promote  that  interest x :  and,  soon  after,  he  took  a 
resolution,  equally  wild  and  desperate,  of  embarking  on 
board  a  ship  which  he  provided,  and  of  flying  into 
foreign  parts.  It  is  almost  impossible  to  form  any 
satisfactory  conjecture  concerning  the  motives  which 
influence  a  capricious  and  irregular  mind.  He  hoped, 
perhaps,  to  recommend  himself  to  the  catholic  princes 
on  the  continent  by  his  zeal  for  religion,  and  that  they 
would  employ  their  interest  towards  reinstating  him  in 
the  possession  of  that  power  which  he  had  lost.  Per- 
haps he  expected  nothing  more  than  the  comfort  of 
hiding  the  disgrace,  under  which  he  was  now  fallen, 
among  strangers,  who  had  never  been  witnesses  of  his 
former  prosperity. 

He  communicated  the  design  to  the  French  ambas-  His  capri- 
sador,  le  Croc,  and  to  his  father,  the  earl  of  Lennox. 
They  both  endeavoured  to  dissuade  him  from  it,  but 
without  success.  Lennox,  who  seems,  as  well  as  his 
son,  to  have  lost  the  queen's  confidence,  and  who,  about 
this  time,  was  seldom  at  court,  instantly  communicated 
the  matter  to  her  by  a  letter.  Henry,  who  had  refused 
to  accompany  the  queen  from  Stirling  to  Edinburgh, 
was  likewise  absent  from  court.  He  arrived  there,  how- 
ever, on  the  same  day  she  received  the  account  of  his 
intended  flight.  But  he  was  more  than  usually  way- 
ward and  peevish ;  and,  scrupling  to  enter  the  palace, 
unless  certain  lords  who  attended  the  queen  were  dis- 
missed, Mary  was  obliged  to  meet  him  without  the 
gates.  At  last  he  suffered  her  to  conduct  him  into  her 
own  apartment.  She  endeavoured  to  draw  from  him 
the  reasons  of  the  strange  resolution  which  he  had 
taken,  and  to  divert  him  from  it.  In  spite,  however, 
of  all  her  arguments  and  entreaties,  he  remained  silent 

*  Knox,  399. 


304  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  iv. 

1566.  and  inflexible.  Next  day  the  privy  council,  by  her  di- 
~~~  rection,  expostulated  with  him  on  the  same  head.  He 
persisted,  notwithstanding,  in  his  sullenness  and  obsti- 
nacy; and  neither  deigned  to  explain  the  motives  of 
his  conduct,  nor  signified  any  intention  of  altering  it. 
As  he  left  the  apartment,  he  turned  towards  the  queen, 
and  told  her  that  she  should  not  see  his  face  again  for 
a  long  time.  A  few  days  after,  he  wrote  to  Mary,  and 
mentioned  two  things,  as  grounds  of  his  disgust.  She 
herself,  he  said,  no  longer  admitted  him  into  any  confi- 
dence, and  had  deprived  him  of  all  power;  and  the 
nobles,  after  her  example,  treated  him  with  open  neg- 
lect, so  that  he  appeared  in  every  place  without  the 
dignity  and  splendour  of  a  king. 

Mary  en-  Nothing  could  be  more  mortifying  to  Mary,  than 
prevent  his  this  intended  flight  of  the  king's,  which  would  have 
1fln.tehnded  spread  the  infamy  of  their  domestic  quarrel  all  over 
Europe.  Compassion  for  a  monarch  who  would  then 
appear  to  be  forced  into  exile  by  her  neglect  and  ill 
usage,  might  have  disposed  mankind  to  entertain  senti- 
ments concerning  the  causes  of  their  discord,  little  to 
her  advantage.  In  order,  therefore,  to  prepossess  the 
minds  of  her  allies,  and  to  screen  her  reputation  from 
any  censure,  with  which  Darnly  might  endeavour  to 
load  it,  the  privy  council  transmitted  a  narrative  of  this 
whole  transaction  both  to  the  king  and  to  the  queen- 
mother  of  France.  It  was  drawn  with  great  art,  and 
sets  Mary's  conduct  in  the  most  favourable  point  of 
light y. 

About  this  time  the  license  of  the  borderers  called 
for  redress ;  and  Mary  resolving  to  hold  a  court  of  jus- 
tice at  Jedburgh,  the  inhabitants  of  several  adjacent 
counties  were  summoned  to  attend  their  sovereign,  in 
arms,  according  to  custom z.  Bothwell  was  at  that  time 
lieutenant  or  warden  of  all  the  marches,  an  office  among 
the  most  important  in  the  kingdom ;  and,  though  usu- 

y  Keith,  345.  347.  *  Ibid.  353.     Good.  vol.  i.  302. 


BOOK  iv.  OF  SCOTLAND.  305 

ally  divided  into  three  distinct  governments,  bestowed  1566. 
by  the  queen's  favour  upon  him  alone.  In  order  to"~ 
display  his  own  valour  and  activity  in  the  discharge  of 
this  trust,  he  attempted  to  seize  a  gang  of  banditti,  who, 
lurking  among  the  marshes  of  Liddesdale,  infested  the 
rest  of  the  country.  But  while  he  was  laying  hold  upon  Oct.  16. 
one  of  those  desperadoes,  he  was  wounded  by  him  in 
several  places,  so  that  his  followers  were  obliged  to 
carry  him  to  Hermitage  castle.  Mary  instantly  flew 
thither,  with  an  impatience  which  has  been  considered 
as  marking  the  anxiety  of  a  lover,  but  little  suited  the 
dignity  of  a  queen  a.  Finding  that  Bothwell  was  threat- 
ened with  no  dangerous  symptom,  she  returned  the 
same  day  to  Jedburgh.  The  fatigue  of  such  a  journey, 
added  to  the  anguish  of  mind  she  had  suffered  on  Both- 
well's  account,  threw  her  next  morning  into  a  violent 
fever  b.  Her  life  was  despaired  of;  but  her  youth,  and 
the  vigour  of  her  constitution,  resisted  the  malignity  of 
her  disease.  During  the  continuance  of  the  queen's  ill- 
ness, the  king,  who  resided  at  Stirling,  never  came  near 
Jedburgh c;  and  when  he  afterwards  thought  fit  to  Nov.  5. 
make  his  appearance  there,  he  met  with  such  a  cold 
reception,  as  did  not  encourage  him  to  make  any  long 
stay  d.  Mary  soon  recovered  strength  enough  to  return 
along  the  eastern  borders  to  Dunbar. 

m  The  distance  between  Jedburgh  and  Hermitage  is  eighteen  Scottish 
miles,  through  a  country  almost  impassable.  The  season  of  the  year  was 
far  advanced.  Bothwell  seems  to  have  been  wounded  in  a  scuffle,  occa- 
sioned by  the  despair  of  a  single  man,  rather  than  any  open  insurrection  of 
the  borderers.  It  does  not  appear  that  the  queen  was  attended  by  any  con- 
siderable train.  Had  any  military  operation  been  necessary,  as  is  supposed, 
Good.  vol.  i.  304,  it  would  have  been  extremely  improper  to  risk  the 
queen's  person  in  an  expedition  against  thieves.  As  soon  as  the  queen 
found  Bothwell  to  be  in  no  danger,  she  instantly  returned  ;  and  after  this 
we  hear  no  more  of  the  insurrection,  nor  have  we  any  proof  that  the  rioters 
took  refuge  in  England.  As  there  is  no  farther  evidence  with  respect  to 
the  motives  of  this  extraordinary  journey,  the  reader  must  judge  what  de- 
gree of  credit  is  due  to  Knox  and  Buchanan,  who  ascribe  it  to  the  queen's 
love  of  Bothwell. 

«•  Keith,  351,  352.  «  Ibid.  Append.  133.  d  Knox,  400. 

VOL.  I.  X 


306  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  iv. 

T566.  While  she  resided  in  this  place,  her  attention  was 
"turned  towards  England.  Elizabeth,  notwithstanding 
her  promise,  and  even  proclamations  to  the  contrary, 
not  only  allowed,  but  encouraged,  Morton  and  his  asso- 
ciates to  remain  in  England6.  Mary,  on  the  other 
hand,  offered  her  protection  to  several  English  fugi- 
tives. Each  queen  watched  the  motions  of  the  other 
with  a  jealous  attention,  and  secretly  countenanced  the 
practices  which  were  carrying  on  to  disturb  the  admi- 
nistration of  her  rival. 

The  Eng-  For  this  purpose  Mary's  ambassador,  Robert  Melvil, 
meat  fa-  and  her  other  emissaries,  were  extremely  active  and 
vours  Ma-  successful.  We  may  ascribe,  in  a  good  degree,  to  their 
tensions  to  intrigues,  that  spirit  which  appeared  in  the  parliament 
°f  England,  and  which  raised  a  storm  that  threatened 
Elizabeth's  domestic  tranquillity,  more  than  any  other 
event  of  her  reign,  and  required  all  her  art  and  dex- 
terity to  allay  it. 

Elizabeth  had  now  reigned  eight  years  without  dis- 
covering the  least  intention  to  marry.  A  violent  dis- 
temper, with  which  she  had  lately  been  seized,  having 
endangered  her  life,  and  alarmed  the  nation  with  the 
prospect  of  all  those  calamities  which  are  occasioned  by 
a  disputed  and  dubious  succession,  a  motion  was  made, 
and  eagerly  listened  to  in  both  houses,  for  addressing 
the  queen  to  provide  against  any  such  danger  in  times 
to  come,  either  by  signifying  her  own  resolution  to 
marry,  or  by  consenting  to  an  act,  establishing  the  or- 
der of  succession  to  the  crown f.  Her  love  to  her  sub- 
jects, her  duty  to  the  public,  her  concern  for  posterity, 
it  was  asserted,  not  only  called  upon,  but  obliged  her 
to  take  one  of  these  steps.  The  insuperable  aversion 
which  she  had  all  along  discovered  for  marriage,  made 
it  improbable  that  she  would  choose  the  former ;  and 
if  she  complied  with  the  latter  request,  no  title  to  the 


e  Cald.  vol.  ii.  p.  15. 

f  D'Ewes'  Journ.  of  Parl.  105. 


BOOK  iv.  OF  SCOTLAND.  307 

crown  could,  with  any  colour  of  justice,  be  set  in  op-  1566. 
position  to  that  of  the  Scottish  queen.  Elizabeth  was 
sagacious  enough  to  see  the  remotest  consequences  of 
this  motion,  and  observed  them  with  the  greatest  anxi- 
ety. Mary,  by  refusing  so  often  to  ratify  the  treaty  of 
Edinburgh,  had  plainly  intimated  a  design  of  embracing 
the  first  promising  opportunity  for  prosecuting  her  right 
to  the  English  crown ;  and,  by  her  secret  negotiations, 
she  had  gained  many  to  favour  her  title g.  All  the 
Roman  catholics  ardently  wished  for  her  succession. 
Her  gentleness  and  humanity  had  removed  many  of 
those  apprehensions  which  the  protestants  entertained 
on  account  of  her  religion.  The  court  faction,  which 
envied  the  power  of  Cecil,  and  endeavoured  to  wrest 
the  administration  out  of  his  hands,  advanced  the  pre- 
tensions of  the  Scottish  queen  in  opposition  to  him. 
The  union  of  the  two  kingdoms  was  a  desirable  object 
to  all  wise  men  in  both  nations ;  and  the  birth  of  the 
young  prince  was  a  security  for  the  continuance  of  this 
blessing,  and  gave  hopes  of  its  perpetuity. 

Under  these  circumstances,  and  while  the  nation  was  Elizabeth's 
in  such  a  temper,  a  parliamentary  declaration  of  Mary's  PerP'exity 
title  would  have  been  highly  detrimental  to  Elizabeth,  count. 
The  present  unsettled  state  of  the  succession  left  much 
in  her  power.     Her  resentment  alone  might  have  gone 
far  towards  excluding  any  of  the  competitors  from  the 
crown ;  and  the  dread  of  this  had  hitherto  restrained 
and  overawed  the  ambition  of  the  Scottish  queen.    But 
if  this  check  should  be  removed  by  the  legal  acknow- 
ledgment of  her  title,  Mary  would  be  more  at  liberty  to 
pursue  her  dangerous  designs,  and  to  act  without  fear 
or  reserve.     Her   partisans  were   already  meditating 
schemes  for  insurrections  in  different  parts  of  the  king- 
dom h ;  and  an  act  of  parliament,  recognising  the  rights 
of  that   princess,   whose    pretensions   they   favoured, 

*  Melv.  136.  "  Melv.  147. 


308  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  iv. 

1566.     would  have  been  nothing  less  than  a  signal  to  arms; 
~~  and,  notwithstanding  Elizabeth's  just  title  to  the  affec- 
tions of  her  subjects,  might  have  shaken  and  endangered 
her  throne. 

Mary  en-  While  this  matter  remained  in  suspense  in  both 
improvr  °  houses,  an  account  of  it  was  transmitted  to  Mary  by 
this,  oppor-  Melvil,  her  ambassador.  As  she  did  not  want  advo- 
cates for  her  right,  even  among  those  who  were  near 
Elizabeth's  person,  she  endeavoured  to  cultivate  the 
disposition  which  appeared  towards  settling  the  right 
of  succession  in  her  favour,  by  a  letter  to  the  privy 
counsellors  of  England.  She  expressed  in  it  a  grateful 
sense  of  Elizabeth's  friendship,  which  she  ascribes 
chiefly  to  their  good  offices  with  their  sovereign  in  her 
behalf.  She  declared  her  resolution  to  live  in  per- 
petual amity  with  England,  without  urging  or  pursuing 
her  claim  upon  the  crown  any  farther  than  should  be 
agreeable  to  the  queen.  But,  at  the  same  time,  as  her 
right  of  succession  was  undoubted,  she  hoped  it  would 
be  examined  with  candour,  and  judged  of  with  impar- 
tiality. The  nobles  who  attended  her  wrote  to  the 
English  privy  council  in  the  same  strain '.  Mary  art- 
fully gave  these  letters  the  air  of  being  nothing  more 
than  a  declaration  of  her  own  and  of  her  subjects'  gra- 
titude towards  Elizabeth.  But,  as  she  could  not  be 
ignorant  of  the  jealousy  and  fear  with  which  Elizabeth 
observed  the  proceedings  of  parliament,  a  step  so  un- 
common as  this,  of  one  prince's  entering  into  public 
correspondence  with  the  privy  counsellors  of  another, 
could  not  be  otherwise  construed  than  as  taken  with  an 
intention  to  encourage  the  spirit  which  had  already 
been  raised  among  the  English.  In  this  light  it  seems 
to  have  appeared  to  Elizabeth  herself k.  But  the  dis- 
position of  her  people  rendering  it  necessary  to  treat 
Mary's  person  with  great  decency,  and  her  title  with 

•  Keith,  354.  Append.  136.  "  Keith,  357. 


BOOK  iv.  OF  SCOTLAND.  309 

much  regard,  she  mentioned  it  to  her  only  in  the  softest     1566. 
language. 

Nothing,  however,  could  be  a  more  cruel  mortifica- Elizabeth 
tion  to  a  princess  of  Elizabeth's  character,  than  the8^8,^ 
temper  which  both  houses  of  parliament  discovered  on  parliament. 
this  occasion.     She  bent  all  her  policy  to  defeat  or 
elude  the  motion.    After  allowing  the  first  heat  of  their 
zeal  to  evaporate,  she  called  into  her  presence  a  certain 
number  of  each  house.      She  soothed  and   caressed 
them ;  she  threatened  and  promised  ;  she  remitted  sub- 
sidies which  were  due,  and  refused  those  which  were 
offered ;  and,  in  the  end,  prevailed  to  have  this  formi- 
dable motion  put  off  for  that  session.    Happily  for  her, 
the  conduct  of  the  Scottish  queen,  and  the  misfortunes 
which  befell  her,  prevented  the  revival  of  such  a  mo- 
tion in  any  future  parliament1. 

Meantime,  in  order  to  preserve  the  reputation  of  im- 
partiality, and  that  she  might  not  drive  Mary  into  any 
desperate  measure,  she  committed  to  the  tower  one 
Thornton,  who  had  published  something  derogatory  to 
the  right  of  the  Scottish  line m ;  and  signified  her  dis- 
pleasure against  a  member  of  the  house  of  commons, 
who  seemed,  by  some  words  in  a  speech,  to  glance  at 
Mary  n. 

Amidst  all  her  other  cares,  Mary  was  ever  solicitous  An  exiraor- 
to  promote  the  interest  of  that  religion  which  she  pro-^YZ/'sTn 
fessed.     The  reestablishment  of  the  Romish  doctrine  favour  of 
seems  to  have  been  her  favourite  passion ;  and,  though  P0?"?' 
the  design  was  concealed  with  care  and  conducted  with 
caution,  she  pursued  it  with  a  persevering  zeal.    At  this 
time  she  ventured  to  lay  aside  somewhat  of  her  usual 
reserve ;    and  the  aid  which   she  expected  from  the 
popish   princes,  who   had  engaged  in  the   league  of 
Bayonne,  encouraged  her  to  take  a  step,  which,  if  we 


>  D'Ewes' Journ.  104— 130.     Camd.  399.     Mel v.  119.     Haynes,  446. 
»  Camd.  401. 
»  Haynes,  449. 


THE  HISTORY  BOOK  iv. 

1566.  consider  the  temper  of  the  nation,  appears  to  be  ex- 
tremely bold.  Having  formerly  held  a  secret  corre- 
spondence with  the  court  of  Rome,  she  now  resolved 
to  allow  a  nuncio  from  the  pope  publicly  to  enter  her 
dominions.  Cardinal  Laurea,  at  that  time  bishop  of 
Mondovi,  was  the  person  on  whom  Pius  the  fifth  con- 
ferred this  office,  and  along  with  him  he  sent  the  queen 
a  present  of  twenty  thousand  crowns0.  It  is  not  the 
character  of  the  papal  court  to  open  its  treasury  upon 
distant  or  imaginary  hopes.  The  business  of  the  nun- 
cio in  Scotland  could  be  no  other,  than  to  attempt  a 
reconciliation  of  that  kingdom  to  the  Romish  see.  Thus 
Mary  herself  understood  it;  and,  in  her  answer  to  a  let- 
ter which  she  received  from  the  pope,  after  expressing 
her  grateful  sense  of  his  paternal  care  and  liberality, 
she  promises  that  she  would  bend  her  whole  strength 
towards  the  reestablishment  and  propagation  of  the 
catholic  faith ;  that  she  would  receive  the  nuncio  with 
every  possible  demonstration  of  respect,  and  concur 
with  the  utmost  vigour  in  all  his  designs  towards  pro- 
moting the  honour  of  God,  and  restoring  peace  to  the 
kingdom;  that  she  would  celebrate  the  baptism  of  the 
prince,  according  to  the  ceremonies  which  the  Romish 
ritual  prescribes,  hoping  that  her  subjects  would  be 
taught,  by  this  example,  again  to  reverence  the  sacra- 
ments of  the  church,  which  they  had  so  long  treated 
wifti  contempt ;  and  that  she  would  be  careful  to  instil 
early  into  her  son  the  principles  of  a  sincere  love  and 
attachment  to  the  catholic  faith  P.  But  though  the 
nuncio  was  already  arrived  at  Paris,  and  had  sent  over 
one  of  his  attendants  with  part  of  the  money,  the  queen 
did  not  think  the  juncture  proper  for  his  reception. 
Elizabeth  was  preparing  to  send  a  magnificent  embassy 
into  Scotland,  against  the  time  of  the  prince's  baptism, 
and,  as  it  would  have  been  improper  to  offend  her;  she 


0  Vita  Card.  Laur.  ap.  Burn.  vol.  iii.  p.  325. 
P  Coiwei  Vita  Marizc,  ap.  Jebb,  vol.  ii.  p.  51. 


BOOK  iv.  OF  SCOTLAND.  311 

wisely  contrived,  under  various   pretences,  to  detain     1566. 
Laurea  at  Paris'1.     The  convulsions   into  which  the~ 
kingdom  was  thrown  soon  after,  made  it  impossible  for 
him  to  pursue  his  journey  any  farther.  '.  *  :. 

At  the  very  time  that  Mary  was  secretly  carrying  on 
these  negotiations  for  subverting  the  reformed  church, 
she  did  not  scruple  publicly  to  employ  her  authority 
towards  obtaining  for  its  ministers  a  more  certain  and 
comfortable  subsistence r.  During  this  year,  she  issued 
several  proclamations  and  acts  of  council  for  that  pur- 
pose, and  readily  approved  of  every  scheme  which  was 
proposed  for  the  more  effectual  payment  of  their  sti- 
pends. This  part  of  her  conduct  does  little  honour  to 
Mary's  integrity :  and  though  justified  by  the  example 
of  princes,  who  often  reckon  falsehood  and  deceit 
among  the  necessary  arts  of  government,  and  even 
authorized  by  the  pernicious  casuistry  of  the  Roman 
church,  which  transfers  breach  of  faith  to  heretics  from 
the  list  of  crimes  to  that  of  duties,  such  dissimulation, 
however,  must  be  numbered  among  those  blemishes 
which  never  stain  a  truly  great  and  generous  character. 

As  neither  the  French  nor  Piedmontese  ambassadors  December, 
were  yet  arrived,  the  baptism  of  the  prince  was  put  ofF^  fore[he 
from  time  to  time.     Meanwhile,  Mary  fixed  her  resi-  king  exces- 
dence  at  Craigmillar8.     Such  a  retirement,  perhaps, sn 
suited  the  present  temper  of  her  mind,  and  induced 
her  to  prefer  it  before  her  own  palace  of  Holyrood 
house.    Her  aversion  for  the  king  grew  every  day  more 
confirmed,  and  was  become  altogether  incurable.     A 
deep   melancholy  succeeded   to   that  gaiety  of  spirit 
which  was  natural  to  her.     The  rashness  and  levity  of 
her  own  choice,  and  the  king's  ingratitude  and  obsti- 
nacy, filled  her  with  shame  and  with  despair.    A  variety 
of  passions  preyed  at  once  on  a  mind,  all  whose  sensa- 
tions were  exquisite,  and  all  its  emotions  strong,  and 


i  Keith,  Appenth  135.  r  Keith,  561,  562.     Knox,  401. 

•  Keith,  355. 


312  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  iv. 

1566.     often  extorted  from  her  the  last  wish  of  the  unfortunate, 
that  life  itself  might  come  to  an  end*. 

But  as  the  earl  of  Bedford,  and  the  count  de  Brienne, 
the  English  and  French  ambassadors,  whom  she  had 
long  expected,  arrived  about  this  time,  Mary  was  ob- 
liged to  suppress  what  passed  in  her  bosom,  and  to 
set  out  for  Stirling,  in  order  to  celebrate  the  baptism  of 
her  son.  Bedford  was  attended  by  a  numerous  and 
splendid  train,  and  brought  presents  from  Elizabeth, 
suitable  to  her  own  dignity,  and  the  respect  with  which 
she  affected,  at  that  time,  to  treat  the  queen  of  Scots. 
Great  preparations  had  been  made  by  Mary,  and  the 
magnificence  displayed  by  her  on  this  occasion  ex- 
ceeded whatever  had  been  formerly  known  in  Scotland. 
Dec.  17.  The  ceremony  itself  was  performed  according  to  the 
rites  of  the  Romish  church.  But  neither  Bedford  nor 
any  of  the  Scottish  nobles  who  professed  the  protestant 
religion,  entered  within  the  gates  of  the  chapel u.  The 
spirit  of  that  age,  firm  and  uncomplying,  would  not, 
upon  any  inducement,  condescend  to  witness  an  action 
which  it  deemed  idolatrous. 

The  king's      Henry's  behaviour,  at  this  juncture,  perfectly  discovers 
behaviour    ^e  excess  °f  n^s  caprice,  as  well  as  of  his  folly.     He 
at  the  bap-  chose  to  reside  at  Stirling,  but  confined  himself  to  his 
prince.        own  apartment ;  and,  as  the  queen  distrusted  every  no- 
bleman who  ventured  to  converse  with  him,  he  was  left 
in  absolute  solitude.     Nothing  could  be  more  singular, 
or  was  less  expected,  than  his  choosing  to  appear  in  a 
manner  that  both  published  the  contempt,  under  which 
he  had  fallen,  and,  by  exposing  the  queen's  domestic 
unhappiness  to  the  observation  of  so  many  foreigners, 
looked  like  a  step  taken  on  purpose  to  mortify  and  to 
offend  her.     Mary  felt  this  insult  sensibly ;  and,  not- 
withstanding all  her  efforts  to  assume  the  gaiety  which 
suited  the  occasion,  and  which  was  necessary  for  the 
polite    reception   of  her    guests,    she   was    sometimes 

*  Keith,  Prcf.  vii.  "  Ibid.  360. 


BOOK  iv.  OF  SCOTLAND.  313 

obliged  to  retire,  in  order  to  be  at  liberty  to  indulge      1566. 
her  sorrow,  and  give  vent  to  her  tears  x.     The  king  still 
persisted  in  his  design  of  retiring  into  foreign  parts, 
and  daily  threatened  to  put  it  into  execution  y. 

The  ceremony  of  witnessing  the  prince's  baptism  was  Elizabeth 
not  the  sole  business  of  Bedford's  embassy.     His  in- 


structions  contained  an  overture,  which  ought  to  have  modate  her 
gone  far  towards  extinguishing  those  jealousies  which  wjth  Mary. 
had  so  long  subsisted  between  the  two  queens.     The 
treaty  of  Edinburgh,  which  had  been  so  often  men- 
tioned, was  the  principal  occasion  of  these.    The  spirit, 
however,  which  had  risen  to  such  an  height  in  the  late 


*  Keith,  Pref.  vii. 

J  Camden  affirms,  401,  that  Bedford  was  commanded  by  Elizabeth  not 
to  give  Darnly  the  title  of  king.  As  this  was  an  indignity  not  to  be  borne 
either  by  Mary  or  her  husband,  it  hath  been  asserted  to  be  the  cause  of  the 
king's  absence  from  the  ceremony  of  his  son's  baptism.  Keith,  360. 
Good.  319.  But,  1.  No  such  thing  is  to  be  found  among  Bedford's  in- 
structions, the  original  of  which  still  remains.  Keith,  356.  2.  Bedford's 
advice  to  the  queen  by  Melvil  is  utterly  inconsistent  with  Camden's  asser- 
tion. Melv.  153.  Melvil's  account  is  confirmed  by  Elizabeth's  instructions 
to  sir  Henry  Norris,  where  she  affirms  that  she  commanded  Bedford  to  em- 
ploy his  best  offices  towards  reconciling  Mary  to  her  husband,  which  she 
had  attempted  to  no  purpose.  Digges's  Compl.  Ambas.  p.  13.  A  paper 
published,  Appendix,  No.  XVIII.  proves  the  same  thing.  3.  Le  Croc,  the 
French  resident,  mentions  the  king's  absence,  but  without  giving  that  rea- 
son for  it,  which  has  been  founded  on  Camden's  words,  though,  if  that  had 
been  the  real  one,  it  is  hardly  possible  to  conceive  that  he  should  have  neg- 
lected to  mention  it.  Le  Croc's  first  letter  is  dated  December  2,  some  time 
prior  to  the  arrival  of  the  earl  of  Bedford  in  Scotland ;  and  when  his  in- 
structions, either  public  or  secret,  could  hardly  be  known.  Le  Croc  plainly 
supposes  that  the  discord  between  the  king  and  queen  was  the  cause  of 
his  absence  from  the  baptism,  and  his  account  of  this  matter  is  that  which  I 
have  followed.  Keith,  Pref.  vii.  4.  He  informs  his  court,  that  on  account 
of  the  difference  betwixt  the  king  and  the  queen,  he  had  refused  to  hold 
any  further  correspondence  with  the  former,  though  he  appears,  in  many 
instances,  to  have  been  his  great  confident.  Ibid.  5.  As  the  king  was  not 
present  at  the  baptism,  he  seems  to  have  been  excluded  from^any  share  in 
the  ordinary  administration  of  business.  Two  acts  of  privy  council,  one  on 
the  20th  and  the  other  on  the  21st  of  December,  are  found  in  Keith,  562. 
They  both  run  in  the  queen's  name  alone.  The  king  seems  npt  to  have 
been  present.  This  could  not  be  owing  to  Elizabeth's  instructions  to 
Bedford. 


314  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  iv. 

1566.  parliament,  the  power  of  the  party  which  favoured  the 
~~  Scottish  queen's  title,  the  number  and  activity  of  her 
agents  in  different  parts  of  the  kingdom,  alarmed  Eliza- 
beth, and  induced  her  to  forego  any  advantage  which 
the  ambiguous  and  artful  expressions  in  that  treaty 
might  afford  her.  Nothing  was  now  demanded  of 
Mary,  but  to  renounce  any  title  to  the  crown  of  Eng- 
land during  Elizabeth's  life  and  the  lives  of  her  poste- 
rity ;  who,  on  the  other  hand,  engaged  to  take  no  step 
which  might  prove  injurious  to  Mary's  claim  upon  the 
succession2. 

Mary  could  not  with  decency  reject  a  proposition  so 
equitable;  she  insisted,  however,  that  Elizabeth  should 
order  the  right  upon  which  she  claimed,  to  be  legally 
examined,  and  publicly  recognised,  and  particularly 
that  the  testament  of  Henry  the  eighth,  whereby  he 
had  excluded  the  descendants  of  his  eldest  sister,  the 
queen  of  Scotland,  from  the  place  due  to  them  in  the 
order,  of  succession,  might  be  produced,  and  considered 
by  the  English  nobility.  Mary's  ministers  had  credu- 
lously embraced  an  opinion,  that  this  testament,  which 
they  so  justly  conceived  to  be  injurious  to  their  mistress, 
was  a  mere  forgery ;  and  on  different  occasions  had 
urged  Elizabeth  to  produce  it.  Mary  would  have  suf- 
fered considerably  by  gaining  this  point.  The  original 
testament  is  still  extant,  and  not  the  least  doubt  can  be 
entertained  of  its  genuineness  and  authenticity.  But  it 
was  not  Elizabeth's  intention  to  weaken  or  to  set  aside 
the  title  of  the  house  of  Stewart.  She  aimed  at  nothing 
more  than  to  keep  the  question  concerning  the  succes- 
sion perplexed  and  undecided;  and,  by  industriously 
eluding  this  request,  she  did,  in  one  respect,  real  ser- 
vice to  Mary's  cause3. 

A  few  days  after  the  baptism  of  the  prince,  Morton, 
and  all  the  other  conspirators  against  Rizio,  obtained 
their  pardon,  and  leave  to  return  into  Scotland.  Mary, 

*  Keith,  356. 

•  Rymer,  xv.  p.  1 10.     Keith,  358.    Note  (c).    Murdin,  368. 


BOOK  iv.  OF  SCOTLAND.  315 

who  had  hitherto  continued  inexorable  to  every  treaty 
in  their  behalf,  yielded  at  last  to  the  solicitations  of 
Both  well b.  He  could  hope  for  no  success  in  those  bold 
designs  on  which  his  ambition  resolved  to  venture, 
without  drawing  aid  from  every  quarter.  By  procuring 
a  favour  for  Morton  and  his  associates,  of  which  they 
had  good  reason  to  despair,  he  expected  to  secure  a 
band  of  faithful  and  determined  adherents. 

The  king  still  remained  at  Stirling  in  solitude  and 
under  contempt.  His  impatience  in  this  situation,  to- 
gether with  the  alarm  given  him  by  the  rumour  of  a 
design  to  seize  his  person,  and  confine  him  to  prison6, 
was  the  occasion  of  his  leaving  that  place  in  an  abrupt 
manner,  and  retiring  to  his  father  at  Glasgow. 

Two  assemblies  of  the  church  were  held  during  thisjune25. 
year.  New  complaints  were  made,  and  upon  good  J^c-  2^- 
grounds,  of  the  poverty  and  contempt  under  which  the  affairs. 
protestant  clergy  were  suffered  to  languish.  Penurious 
as  the  allotment  for  their  subsistence  was,  they  had  not 
received  the  least  part  of  what  was  due  for  the  preced- 
ing yeard.  Nothing  less  than  a  zeal,  ready  to  endure 
and  to  suffer  every  thing  for  a  good  cause,  could  have 
persuaded  men  to  adhere  to  a  church  so  indigent  and 
so  neglected.  The  extraordinary  expenses  occasioned 
by  the  prince's  baptism  had  exhausted  the  queen's  trea- 
sury, and  the  sums  appropriated  for  the  subsistence  of 
the  clergy  were  diverted  into  other  channels.  The 
queen  was,  therefore,  obliged  to  prevent  the  just  re- 
monstrances of  the  assembly,  by  falling  on  some  new 
method  for  the  relief  of  the  church.  Some  symptoms 
of  liberality,  some  stretch  towards  munificence,  might 
have  been  expected  in  an  assignment  which  was  made 
with  an  intention  of  soothing  and  silencing  the  clergy. 
But  both  the  queen  and  the  nobles  held  fast  the  riches 
of  the  church  which  they  had  seized.  A  sum  which,  at 
the  highest  computation,  can  hardly  be  reckoned  equal 

b  Good,  vol.i.  140.    Melv.  154.         «  Keith,  Pref.  viii.         •>  Ibid.  562. 


316  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  iv. 

1566.     to  nine  thousand  pounds  sterling',  was  deemed  suffi- 
'    cient  for  the  maintenance  of  a  whole  national  church, 
by  men  who  had  lately  seen  single  monasteries  possess- 
ed of  revenues  far  superior  in  value. 

The  ecclesiastics  in  that  age  bore  the  grievances 
which  affected  themselves  alone  with  astonishing  pa- 
tience ;  but,  wherever  the  reformed  religion  was  threat- 
ened, they  were  extremely  apt  to  be  alarmed,  and  to 
proclaim,  in  the  loudest  manner,  their  apprehensions  of 
danger.  A  just  occasion  of  this  kind  was  given  them, 
a  short  time  before  the  meeting  of  the  assembly.  The 
usurped  and  oppressive  jurisdiction  of  the  spiritual 
courts  had  been  abolished  by  the  parliament  in  the 
year  one  thousand  five  hundred  and  sixty,  and  com- 
missaries were  appointed  to  hear  and  determine  the 
causes  which  formerly  came  under  their  cognizance f. 
Among  the  few  acts  of  that  parliament  to  which  Mary 
had  paid  any  regard,  this  was  one.  She  had  confirmed 
the  authority  of  the  commissaries,  and  had  given  them 
instructions  for  directing  their  proceedings8,  which  are 
still  of  great  authority  in  that  court.  From  the  time  of 
their  first  appointment,  these  judges  had  continued  in 
the  uninterrupted  exercise  of  their  function,  when  of  a 
sudden  the  queen  issued  a  proclamation,  restoring  the 
archbishop  of  St.  Andrew's  to  his  ancient  jurisdiction, 
and  depriving  the  commissaries  of  all  authority  h. 

A  motive,  which  cannot  be  justified,  rendered  the 
queen  not  unwilling  to  venture  upon  this  rash  action. 
She  had  been  contriving  for  some  time  how  to  reesta- 
blish the  popish  religion ;  and  the  restoring  the  ancient 
ecclesiastics  to  their  former  jurisdiction  seemed  to  be  a 
considerable  step  towards  that  end.  The  motive  which 
prompted  Bothwell,  to  whose  influence  over  the  queen 
this  action  must  be  chiefly  imputed1,  was  still  more 
criminal.  His  enterprising  ambition  had  already  formed 


•  Keith,  562.  f  Ibid.  152.  ?  Ibid.  251. 

»•  Knox,  403.  '  Id.  ibid. 


BOOK  iv.  OF  SCOTLAND.  317 

that  bold  design,  which  he  soon  after  put  in  execution ;  1566. 
and  the  use  which  we  shall  hereafter  find  him  making 
off  that  authority  which  the  popish  ecclesiastics  regain- 
ed, discovers  the  reasons  of  his  present  conduct  in  con- 
tributing to  revive  their  power.  The  protestant  clergy 
were  not  unconcerned  spectators  of  an  event  which 
threatened  their  religion  with  unavoidable  destruction ; 
but,  as  they  despaired  of  obtaining  the  proper  remedy 
from  the  queen  herself,  they  addressed  a  remonstrance 
to  the  whole  body  of  the  protestant  nobility,  full  of  that 
ardent  zeal  for  religion,  which  the  danger  to  which  it 
was  exposed,  at  that  time,  seemed  to  require k.  What 
effects  this  vehement  exhortation  might  have  produced, 
we  have  no  opportunity  of  judging,  the  attention  of  the 
nation  being  quickly  turned  towards  events  of  another 
and  more  tragical  nature.  1567 

Immediately  upon  the  king's  leaving  Stirling,  and  The  king 
before  he  could  reach  Glasgow,  he  was  seized  with  a  Glasgow.** 
dangerous  distemper.     The  symptoms  which  attended 
it  were  violent  and  unusual,  and  in  that  age  it  was  com- 
monly imputed  to  the  effects  of  poison1.     It  is  impos- 
sible, amidst  the  contradictions  of  historians,  to  decide 
with  certainty  concerning  its  nature  or  its  cause1".    His 

"Keith,  567.  '  Melv.  154.     Knox,  401. 

m  Buchanan  and  Knox  are  positive  that  the  king  had  been  poisoned. 
They  mention  the  black  and  putrid  pustules  which  broke  out  all  over  his 
body.  Buchanan  adds,  that  Abernethy,  the  king's  physician,  plainly  de- 
dared  that  poison  was  the  cause  of  these  symptoms,  and  that  the  queen 
refused  to  allow  her  own  physician  to  attend  him.  Buch.  349.  Knox,  401. 
2.  Blackwood,  Causin,  etc.  Jebb,  vol.  ii.  59.  214.  assert  that  the  small- 
pox was  the  disease  with  which  the  king  was  seized.  He  is  called  a 
'  pockish  man"  in  the  queen's  letter.  Good.  vol.  ii.  15.  The  reason  given 
by  French  Paris  for  lodging  the  king  at  the  Kirk  of  Field,  viz.  lest  the  young 
prince  should  catch  the  infection,  if  he  staid  in  the  palace,  seems  to  favour 
this  opinion.  Anders,  vol.  ii.  193.  Carte  mentions  it  as  a  proof  of  Mary's 
tenderness  to  her  husband,  that  though  she  never  had  the  small-pox  herself, 
she  ventured  to  attend  him,  vol.  iii.  446.  This,  if  it  had  been  true,  would 
have  afforded  a  good  pretence  for  not  visiting  him  sooner ;  but  Mary  had 
the  small-pox  in  her  infancy.  Sadler's  Letters,  p.  330.  An  additional 
proof  of  this  is  produced  from  a  poem  of  Adrian  Turnebus,  by  the  publisher 
of  ancient  Scottish  poems,  p.  308.  3.  Bishop  Lesley  affirms  that  the  king's 


318  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  iv. 

1567.     life  was  in  the  utmost  danger;  but,  after  lingering  for 
~~  some  weeks,  the  vigour  of  his  constitution  surmounted 

the  malignity  of  his  disease. 

Neglected  Mary's  neglect  of  the  king  on  this  occasion  was  equal 
ary'  to  that  with  which  he  had  treated  her  during  her  illness 
at  Jedhurgh.  She  no  longer  felt  that  warmth  of  con- 
jugal affection  which  prompts  to  sympathy,  and  de- 
lights in  all  those  tender  offices  which  sooth  and  alle- 
viate sickness  and  pain.  At  this  juncture,  she  did  not 
even  put  on  the  appearance  of  this  passion.  Notwith- 
standing the  king's  danger,  she  amused  herself  with 
excursions  to  different  parts  of  the  country,  and  suf- 
fered near  a  month  to  elapse,  before  she  visited  him  at 
Glasgow.  By  that  time  the  violence  of  the  distemper 
was  over,  and  the  king,  though  weak  and  languishing, 
was  out  of  all  danger. 

The  breach  The  breach  between  Mary  and  her  husband  was  not 
themTrre-  occasioned  by  any  of  .those  slight  disgusts  which  in- 
parable.  terrupt  the  domestic  union,  without  dissolving  it  alto- 
gether. Almost  all  the  passions  which  operate  with 
greatest  violence  on  a  female  mind,  and  drive  it  to  the 
most  dangerous  extremes,  concurred  in  raising  and 
fomenting  this  unhappy  quarrel.  Ingratitude  for  the 
favours  she  had  bestowed,  contempt  of  her  person, 
violations  of  the  marriage  vow,  encroachments  on  her 
power,  conspiracies  against  her  favourites,  jealousy,  in- 
solence, and  obstinacy,  were  the  injuries  of  which  Mary 
had  great  reason  to  complain.  She  felt  them  with  the 
utmost  sensibility ;  and,  added  to  the  anguish  of  dis- 
appointed love,  they  produced  those  symptoms  of  de- 
spair which  we  have  already  described.  Her  resent- 
ment against  the  king  seems  not  to  have  abated  from 
the  time  of  his  leaving  Stirling.  In  a  letter  written  with 
her  own  hand  to  her  ambassador  in  France,  on  the  day 


disease  was  the  French  pox.  Keith,  364.  Note  (b).  In  that  age,  this 
disease  was  esteemed  so  contagious,  that  persons  infected  with  it  were  re- 
moved without  the  walls  of  cities. 


BOOK  iv.  OF  SCOTLAND.  319 

before  she  set  out  for  Glasgow,  no  tokens  of  sudden      1567. 
reconcilement  appear.     On  the  contrary,  she  mentions,  Jan  .M 
with  some  bitterness,  the  king's  ingratitude,  the  jea- 
lousy with  which  he  observed  her  actions,  and  the  in- 
clination he  discovered  to  disturb  her  government,  and 
at  the  same  time  talks  of  all  his  attempts  with  the 
utmost  scorn". 

After  this  discovery  of  Mary's  sentiments,  at 
time  of  her  departure  from  Edinburgh  to  Glasgow, 
visit  to  the  king,  which  had  been  neglected,  when  his 
situation  rendered  it  most  necessary,  appears  singular ; 
and  it  could  hardly  be  expected  that  any  thing  but 
marks  of  jealousy  and  distrust  should  appear  in  such 
an  interview.  This,  however,  was  far  from  being  the 
case  ;  she  not  only  visited  Henry,  but,  by  all  her  words 
and  actions,  endeavoured  to  express  an  uncommon  af- 
fection for  him :  and  though  this  made  impression  on 
the  credulous  spirit  of  her  husband,  no  less  flexible  on 
some  occasions  than  obstinate  on  others ;  yet  to  those 
who  are  acquainted  with  the  human  heart,  and  who 
know  how  seldom  and  how  slowly  such  wounds  in  do- 
mestic happiness  are  healed,  this  sudden  transition  will 
appear  with  a  very  suspicious  air,  and  will  be  consi- 
dered by  them  as  the  effect  of  artifice. 

But  it  is  not  on  suspicion  alone,  that  Mary  is  charged 
with  dissimulation  in  this  part  of  her  conduct.  Two mu  atlon" 
.of  her  famous  letters  to  Bothwell  were  written  during 
her  stay  at  Glasgow,  and  fully  lay  open  this  scene  of 
iniquity.  He  had  so  far  succeeded  in  his  ambitious 
and  criminal  design,  as  to  gain  an  absolute  ascendant 
over  the  queen;  and,  in  a  situation  such  as  Mary's, 
merit  not  so  conspicuous,  services  of  far  inferior  im- 
portance, and  address  much  less  insinuating  than  Both- 
well's,-may  be  supposed  to  steal  imperceptibly  on  a 
female  heart,  and  entirely  to  overcome  it.  Unhappily, 
among  those  in  the  higher  ranks  of  life,  scruples  with 

B  Keith,  Pref.  viii. 


320  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  iv. 

15«7.  regard  to  conjugal  fidelity  are,  often,  neither  many  nor 
"strong:  nor  did  the  manners  of  that  court,  in  which 
Mary  had  been  educated,  contribute  to  increase  or  to 
fortify  them.  The  amorous  turn  of  Francis  the  first 
and  Henry  the  second,  the  licentiousness  of  the  military 
character  in  that  age,  and  the  liberty  of  appearing  in 
all  companies,  which  began  to  be  allowed  to  women, 
who  had  not  yet  acquired  that  delicacy  of  sentiment, 
and  those  polished  manners,  which  alone  can  render 
this  liberty  innocent,  had  introduced  among  the  French 
an  astonishing  relaxation  in  domestic  morals.  Such 
examples,  which  were  familiar  to  Mary  from  her  in- 
fancy, could  hardly  fail  of  diminishing  that  horrour  of 
vice  which  is  natural  to  a  virtuous  mind.  The  king's 
behaviour  would  render  the  first  approach  of  forbidden 
sentiments  less  shocking ;  resentment  and  disappointed 
love  would  be  apt  to  represent  whatever  soothed  her 
revenge,  as  justifiable  on  that  account ;  and  so  many 
concurring  causes  might,  almost  imperceptibly,  kindle 
a  new  passion  in  her  heart. 

The  motives  But,  whatever  opinion  we  may  form  with  regard  to 
of  Il<  the  rise  and  progress  of  this  passion,  the  letters  them- 
selves breathe  all  the  ardour  and  tenderness  of  love. 
The  affection  which  Mary  there  expresses  for  Both- 
well,  fully  accounts  for  every  subsequent  part  of  her 
conduct ;  which,  without  admitting  this  circumstance, 
appears  altogether  mysterious,  inconsistent,  and  inex- 
plicable. That  reconcilement  with  her  husband,  of 
which,  if  we  allow  it  to  be  genuine,  it  is  impossible  to 
give  any  plausible  account,  is  discovered,  by  the  queen's 
own  confession,  to  have  been  mere  artifice  and  deceit. 
As  her  aversion  for  her  husband,  and  the  suspicious 
attention  with  which  she  observed  his  conduct,  became 
universally  known,  her  ears  were  officiously  filled,  as  is 
usual  in  such  cases,  with  groundless  or  aggravated  ac- 
counts of  his  actions.  By  some  she  was  told,  that  the 
king  intended  to  seize  the  person  of  the  prince  his  son, 
and  in  his  name  to  usurp  the  government ;  by  others 


BOOK  iv.  OF  SCOTLAND.  321 

she  was  assured  that  he  resolved  instantly  to  leave  the      1567. 
kingdom ;  that  a  vessel  was  hired  for  this  purpose,  and  ~ 
lay  in  the  river  Clyde  ready  to  receive  him0.     The  last 
was  what  Mary  chiefly  dreaded.     Henry's  retiring  into 
a  foreign  country  must  have  heen  highly  dishonourable 
to  the  queen,  and  would   have  entirely  disconcerted 
Bothwell's  measures.     While  he  resided  at  Glasgow, 
at  a  distance  from  her,  and  in  that  part  of  the  king- 
dom where  the  interest  of  his  family  was  greatest,  he 
might  with  more  facility  accomplish  his  designs.      In 
order,   therefore,   to   prevent  his  executing  any  such 
wild  scheme,  it  was  necessary  to  bring  him  to  some 
place  where  he  would  be  more  immediately  under  her 
own  eye.     For  this  purpose,  she  first  employed  all  her  Prevails  on 
art  to  regain  his  confidence,  and  then  proposed  to  re-  to"^™1116 
move  him  to  the  neighbourhood  of  Edinburgh,  under  burgh, 
pretence  that  there  he  would  have  easier  access  to  the 
advice  of  physicians,  and  that  she  herself  could  attend 
him  without  being  absent  from  her  sonp.     The  king 
was  weak  enough  to  suffer  himself  to  be  persuaded ; 
and,  being  still  feeble  and  incapable  of  bearing  fatigue, 
was  carried  in  a  litter  to  Edinburgh. 

The  place  prepared  for  his  reception  was  a  house 
belonging  to  the  provost  of  a  collegiate  church,  called 
Kirk  of  Field.  It  stood  almost  upon  the  same  spot 
where  the  house  belonging  to  the  principal  of  the 
university  now  stands.  Such  a  situation,  on  a  rising- 
ground,  and,  at  that  time,  in  an  open  field,  had  all  the 
advantages  of  healthful  air  to  recommend  it ;  but,  on 
the  other  hand,  the  solitude  of  the  place  rendered  it 
extremely  proper  for  the  commission  of  that  crime, 
with  a  view  to  which  it  seems  manifestly  to  have  been 
chosen. 

Mary  continued  to  attend  the  king  with  the  mostHeismur- 
assiduous   care.      She   seldom  was  absent   from  him dcred  there' 
through  the  day ;  she  slept  two  nights  in  the  chamber 

0  Keith,  Pref.  viii.  n  Good.  vol.  ii.  8. 

VOL.  I.  Y 


322  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  ivf 

•1567.  under  his  apartment.  She  heaped  on  him  so  many 
~~~  marks  of  tenderness  and  confidence,  as,  in  a  great 
measure,  quieted  those  suspicions  which  had  so  long 
disturbed  him.  But  while  he  was  fondly  indulging  in 
dreams  of  the  return  of  his  former  happiness,  he  stood 
on  the  very  brink  of  destruction.  On  Sunday,  the  ninth 
of  February,  about  eleven  at  night,  the  queen  left  the 
Kirk  of  Field,  in  order  to  be  present  at  a  masque  in 
the  palace.  At  two  next  morning,  the  house  in  which 
the  king  lay  was  blown  up  with  gunpowder.  The  noise 
and  shock  which  this  sudden  explosion  occasioned, 
alarmed  the  whole  city.  The  inhabitants  ran  to  the 
place  whence  it  came.  The  dead  body  of  the  king, 
with  that  of  a  servant  who  slept  in  the  same  room, 
were  found  lying  in  an  adjacent  garden  without  the 
city  wall,  untouched  by  fire,  and  with  no  bruise  or 
mark  of  violence. 

Hischa-  Such  was  the  unhappy  fate  of  Henry  Stewart  lord 
Darnly,  in  the  twenty-first  year  of  his  age.  The  in- 
dulgence of  fortune,  and  his  own  external  accomplish- 
ments, without  any  other  merit,  had  raised  him  to  an 
height  of  dignity  of  which  he  was  altogether  unworthy. 
By  his  folly  and  ingratitude,  he  lost  the  heart  of  a  wo- 
man who  doted  on  him  to  distraction.  His  insolence 
and  inconstancy  alienated  from  him  such  of  the  nobles 
as  had  contributed  most  zealously  towards  his  eleva- 
tion. His  levity  and  caprice  exposed  him  to  the  scorn 
of  the  people,  who  once  revered  him  as  the  descendant 
of  their  ancient  kings  and  heroes.  Had  he  died  a  na- 
tural death,  his  end  would  have  been  unlamented*  and 
his  memory  have  been  forgotten ;  but  the  cruel  circum- 
stances of  his  murder,  and  the  shameful  remissness  in 
neglecting  to  avenge  it,  have  made  his  name  to  be  re- 
membered with  regret,  and  have  rendered  him  the 
obiect  of  pity,  to  which  he  had  otherwise  no  title. 

Botnwell  *L  ,     .          . 

and  the  Every  ones  imagination  was  at  work  to  guess  who 

pectetUf8    had  contrrved  an^  executed  this  execrable  deed.     The 
the  murder,  suspicion  fell,  with  almost  general  consent,  on  Both- 


BOOK  iv.  OF  SCOTLAND. ,  323 

wellq;  and  some  reflections  were  thrown  out,  <->s  if  the      1567« 
queen  herself  were  no  stranger  to  the  crime.    Of  Both-  ~~ 
well's  guilt  there  remains  the  fullest  evidence  that  the 
nature  of  the  action  will  admit.     The  queen's  known 
sentiments  with  regard  to  her  husband,  gave  a  great 
appearance  of  probability  to  the  imputation  with  which 
she  was  loaded'. 

Two  days  after  the  murder,  a  proclamation  was  issued 
by  the  queen,  offering  a  considerable  reward  to  any 
person  who  should  discover  those  who  had  been  guilty 
of  such  a  horrid  and  detestable  crime 9 ;  and  though 
Bothwell  was  now  one  of  the  greatest  subjects  in  the 
kingdom,  formidable  on  account  of  his  own  power,  and 
protected  by  the  queen's  favour,  it  was  impossible  to 
suppress  the  sentiments  and  indignation  of  the  people. 
Papers  were  affixed  to  the  most  public  places  of  the 
city,  accusing  him  of  the  murder,  and  naming  his  ac- 
complices; pictures  appeared  to  the  same  purpose; 
and  voices  were  heard  in  the  middle  of  the  night, 
charging  him  with  that  barbarous  action.  But  the 
authors  of  these  rumours  did  not  confine  their  accu- 
sations to  Bothwell  alone;  they  insinuated  that  the 
queen  herself  was  accessory  to  the  crime  *.  This  bold 
accusation,  which  so  directly  attacked  Mary's  reputa- 
tion, drew  the  attention  of  her  council;  and,  by  en- 
gaging them  in  an  inquiry  after  the  authors  of  these 
libels,  diverted  them  from  searching  for  the  murderers 
of  the  king  u.  It  could  scarce  be  expected  that  Mary 
herself  would  be  extremely  solicitous  to  discover  those 
who  had  rid  her  of  an  husband,  whom  she  had  so  vio- 
lently hated.  It  was  Both  well's  interest,  who  had  the 
supreme  direction  of  this,  as  well  as  of  all  other  affairs, 
to  stifle  and  suppress  whatever  evidence  should  be 
offered,  and  to  cover,  if  possible,  the  whole  transaction 

•>  Melv.  155.     Anders,  vol.  ii.  156. 

r  See  dissertation  concerning  the  murder  of  Henry  Darnly,  and  the 
genuineness  of  Mary's  letters  to  Bothwell,  Appendix. 
•  Anders,  vol.  i.  36.          «  Idem,  vol.  ii.  156.          u  Idem,  vol.  i.  38. 

Y  2 


324  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  iv. 

1567.  under  the  veil  of  darkness  and  of  silence.  Some  in- 
quiry,  however,  was  made,  and  some  persons  called 
before  the  council ;  but  the  examination  was  conducted 
with  the  most  indecent  remissness,  and  in  such  a  man- 
ner as  to  let  in  no  light  upon  that  scene  of  guilt x. 

It  was  not  her  own  subjects  alone  who  suspected 
Mary  of  having  been  accessory  to  this  unnatural  crime ; 
nor  did  an  opinion,  so  dishonourable  to  her  character, 
owe  its  rise  and  progress  to  the  jealousy  and  malice  of 
her  factious  nobles.  The  report  of  the  manner  and 
circumstances  of  the  king's  murder  spread  quickly  over 
all  Europe;  and,  even  in  that  age,  which  was  accus- 
tomed to  deeds  of  violence,  it  excited  universal  horrour. 
As  her  unhappy  breach  with  her  husband  had  long 
been  matter  of  public  discourse,  the  first  conjectures 
which  were  formed  with  regard  to  his  death,  were  ex- 
tremely to  her  disadvantage.  Her  friends,  at  a  loss 
what  apology  to  offer  for  her  conduct,  called  on  her  to 
prosecute  the  murderers  with  the  utmost  diligence,  and 
expected  that  the  rigour  of  her  proceedings  would  prove 
the  best  and  fullest  vindication  of  her  innocence  y. 
Lennox  Lennox  at  the  same  time  incited  Mary  to  ven- 

Bothwell  of  geance>  witn  incessant  importunity.  This  nobleman 
the  king's  had  shared  in  his  son's  disgrace,  and,  being  treated 
by  Mary  with  neglect,  usually  resided  at  a  distance 
from  court.  Roused,  however,  by  an  event  no  less 
shocking  to  the  heart  of  a  father,  than  fatal  to  all  his 
Feb.  21.  schemes  of  ambition,  he  ventured  to  write  to  the  queen, 
and  to  offer  his  advice  with  respect  to  the  most  effec- 
tual method  for  discovering  and  convicting  those  who 
had  so  cruelly  deprived  him  of  a  son,  and  her  of  an 
husband.  He  urged  her  to  prosecute  those  who  were 
guilty  with  vigour,  and  to  bring  them  to  a  speedy  trial ; 
he  declared  his  own  suspicion  of  Bothwell,  and  of  those 
who  were  named  as  his  accomplices ;  he  required  that, 
out  of  regard  to  decency,  and  in  order  to  encourage 

*  Anders,  vol.  iv.  part  ii.  167,  168.  *  Keith,  Pref.  ix. 


BOOK  iv.  OF  SCOTLAND.  325 

evidence  to  appear  against  them,  the  persons  accused      1567. 
of  such  an  atrocious  crime  should  be  committed  to  .cus-  ~~ 
tody,  or  at  least  excluded  from  her  court  and  presence z. 

Mary  was  then  at  Seaton,  whither  she  had  retired 
after  the  burial  of  the  king,  whose  body  was  deposited 
among  the  monarchs  of  Scotland,  in  a  private  but  de- 
cent manner a.  The  former  part  of  the  earl's  demand 
could  not,  on  any  pretence,  be  eluded ;  and  it  was  re- 
solved to  bring  Bothwell  immediately  to  trial.  But,  Mary  con- 
instead  of  confining  him  to  any  prison,  Mary  admitted  v!°ur  ^m- 
him  into  all  her  councils,  and  allowed  a  person,  uni- 
versally reputed  the  murderer  of  her  husband,  to  enjoy 
all,  the  security,  the  dignity,  and  the  power  of  a  favou- 
rite1'. The  offices  which  Bothwell  already  possessed, 
gave  him  the  command  of  all  the  south  of  Scotland. 
The  castle  of  Edinburgh,  however,  was  a  place  of  so 
much  consequence,  that  he  wished  earnestly  to  have  it 
in  his  own  power.  The  queen,  in  order  to  prevail  on  March  19. 
the  earl  of  Mar  to  surrender  it,  consented  to  put  the 
person  of  the  young  prince  in  his  hands,  and  imme- 
diately bestowed  the  government  of  that  important  for- 
tress upon  Bothwell c.  So  many  steps  in  her  conduct, 
inconsistent  with  all  the  rules  of  prudence  and  of  de- 
cency, must  be  imputed  to  an  excess  either  of  folly  or 
of  love.  Mary's  known  character  fully  vindicates  her 
from  the  former ;  of  the  latter,  many  and  striking  proofs 
soon  appeared. 

No  direct  evidence  had  yet  appeared  against  Both-  Hastens  on 
well ;  but,  as  time  might  bring  to  light  the  circumstances 
of  a  crime  in  which  so  many  accomplices  were  concerned, 
it  was  of" great  importance  to  hurry  over  the  trial,  while 
nothing  more  than  general  suspicions,  and  uncertain 
surmises,  could  be  produced  by  his  accusers.  For  this 
reason,  in  a  meeting  of  privy  council  held  on  the  twentyr 
eighth  of  March,  the  twelfth  of  April  was  appointed 

1  Keith,  369.  a  Anders,  vol.  i.  23.  b  Idem,  ibid.  40»etc. 

c  Anders,  vol.  i.  Tref.  64.    Keith,  379. 


THE  HISTORY  BOOK  iv. 

1567.  for  the  day  of  trial.  Though  the  law  allowed,  and  the 
~~  manner  in  which  criminal  causes  were  carried  on  in 
that  age  required,  a  much  longer  interval,  it  appears 
from  several  circumstances  that  this  short  space  was 
considerably  contracted,  and  that  Lennox  had  only 
eleven  days'  warning  to  prepare  for  accusing  a  person 
so  far  superior  to  himself  both  in  power  and  in  favour  d. 
No  man  could  be  less  in  a  condition  to  contend  with  an 
antagonist  who  was  thus  supported.  Though  Lennox's 
paternal  estate  had  been  restored  to  him  when  he  was 
recalled  into  Scotland,  it  seems  to  have  been  consider- 
ably impaired  during  his  banishment.  His  vassals,  while 
he  resided  in  England,  had  been  accustomed  to  some 
degree  of  independence,  and  he  had  not  recovered  that 
ascendant  over  them,  which  a  feudal  chief  usually  pos- 
sessed. He  had  no  reason  to  expect  the  concurrence 
of  any  of  those  factions  into  which  the  nobles  were 
divided.  During  the  short  period  of  his  son's  pros- 
perity, he  had  taken  such  steps  as  gave  rise  to  an  open 
breach  with  Murray  and  all  his  adherents.  The  par- 
tisans of  the  house  of  Hamilton  were  his  hereditary 
and  mortal  enemies.  Huntly  was  linked  in  the  closest 
confederacy  with  Bothwell ;  and  thus,  to  the  disgrace 

d  The  act  of  privy  council,  appointing  the  day  of  Bothwell's  trial,  bears 
date  March  the  twenty-eighth,  which  happened  on  a  Thursday.  Anders. 
vol.  i.  56.  The  queen's  warrant  to  the  'messengers,'  empowering  them  to 
summon  Lennox  to  be  present,  is  dated  on  the  twenty-ninth.  Anders. 
vol.  ii.  97.  He  was  summoned  by  public  proclamation  at  the  cross  of 
Edinburgh  on  the  same  day.  Ibid.  100.  He  was  summoned  at  his  dwell- 
ing-houses in  Glasgow  and  Dumbarton  the  thirtieth  of  March,  the  first  and 
second  days  of  April.  Ibid.  101.  He  was  summoned  at  Perth,  April  the 
first.  Ibid.  102.  Though  Lennox  resided  at  that  time  forty  miles  from 
Edinburgh,  the  citation  might  have  been  given  him  sooner.  Such  an  un- 
necessary delay  affords  some  cause  for  suspicion.  It  is  true,  Mary,  in  her 
letter,  March  the  twenty-fourth,  invited  Lennox  to  come  to  Edinburgh  the 
ensuing  week ;  this  gave  him  warning  some  days  sooner,  that  she  intended 
to  bring  on  the  trial  without  delay.  But  the  precise  time  could  not  be 
legally  or  certainly  known  to  Lennox  sooner  than  ten  or  twelve  days  before 
the  day  on  which  he  was  required  to  appear.  By  the  law  and  practice  of 
Scotland,  at  that  time,  parties  were  summoned,  in  cases  of  treason,  forty 
days  previous  to  the  trial. 


BOOK  iv.  OF  SCOTLAND.  327 

of  the  nation,  Lennox  stood  alone  in  a  cause  where      1567. 
both  honour   and  humanity   called   so   loudly  on  his~ 
countrymen  to  second  him. 

It  is  remarkable  too,  that  Bothwell  himself  was  pre- 
sent, and  sat  as  a  member  in  that  meeting  of  privy 
council  which  gave  directions  with  regard  to  the  time 
and  manner  of  his  own  trial ;  and  he  still  enjoyed  not 
only  full  liberty,  but  was  received  into  the  queen's  pre- 
sence with  the  same  distinguished  familiarity  as  for- 
merly e. 

Nothing  could  be  a  more  cmel  disappointment  to  Lennox 
the  wishes  and  resentment  of  a  father,  than  such 
premature  trial;  every  step  towards  which  seemed  to 
be  taken  by  directions  from  the  person  who  was  him- 
self accused  of  the  crime,  and  calculated  on  purpose  to 
conceal  rather  than  to  detect  his  guilt.  Lennox  fore- 
saw what  would  be  the  issue  of  this  mock  inquiry,  and 
with  how  little  safety  to  himself,  or  success  to  his  cause, 
he  could  venture  to  appear  on  the  day  prefixed.  In 
his  former  letters,  though  under  expressions  the  most 
respectful,  some  symptoms  of  his  distrusting  the  queen 
may  be  discovered.  He  spoke  out  now  in  plain  lan- 
guage. He  complained  of  the  injury  done  him,  by 
hurrying  on  the  trial  with  such  illegal  precipitation. 
He  represented  once  more  the  indecency  of  allowing 
Bothwell  not  only  to  enjoy  personal  liberty,  but  to  re- 
tain his  former  influence  over  her  councils.  He  again 
required  her,  as  she  regarded  her  own  honour,  to  give 
some  evidence  of  her  sincerity  in  prosecuting  the  mur- 
der, by  confining  the  person  who  was  on  good  grounds 
suspected  to  be  the  author  of  it;  and,  till  that  were 
done,  he  signified  his  own  resolution  not  to  be  present 
at  a  trial,  the  manner  and  circumstances  of  which  were 
so  irregular  and  unsatisfactory f.  Applies  for 

He  seems,  however,  to  have  expected  little  success  ^j?u^P 
from  this  application  to  Mary ;  and,  therefore,  at  the  beth. 

e  Anders,  vol.  i.  50.  52.  '  Idem,  vol.  i.  52. 


THE  HISTORY  BOOK  iv. 

1567.     same  time  besought  Elizabeth  to  interpose,  in  order  to 


obtain  such  a  delay  as  he  demanded  g.  Nothing  can  be 
a  stronger  proof  how  violently  he  suspected  the  one 
queen,  than  his  submitting  to  implore  the  aid  of  the 
other,  who  had  treated  his  son  with  the  utmost  con- 
tempt, and  himself  and  family  with  the  greatest  rigour. 
Elizabeth,  who  was  never  unwilling  to  interpose  in  the 
affairs  of  Scotland,  wrote  instantly  to  Mary,  advised  her 
to  delay  the  trial  for  some  time,  and  urged  in  such 
strong  terms  the  same  arguments  which  Lennox  had 
used,  as  might  have  convinced  her  to  what  an  unfavour- 
able construction  her  conduct  would  be  liable,  if  she 
persisted  in  her  present  method  of  proceeding'1. 
The  trial  Neither  her  entreaties,  however,  nor  those  of  Len- 
nox, could  prevail  to  have  the  trial  put  off.  On  the 
clay  appointed  Bothwell  appeared,  but  with  such  a  for- 
midable retinue,  that  it  would  have  been  dangerous  to 
condemn,  and  impossible  to  punish  him.  Besides  a 
numerous  body  of  his  friends  and  vassals,  assembled, 
according  to  custom,  from  different  parts  of  the  king- 
dom, he  was  attended  by  a  band  of  hired  soldiers,  who 
marched  with  flying  colours  along  the  streets  of  Edin- 
burgh '.  A  court  of  justice  was  held  with  the  accus- 
tomed formalities.  An  indictment  was  presented  against 
Bothwell,  and  Lennox  was  called  upon  to  make  good 
his  accusation.  In  his  name  appeared  Robert  Cunning- 
ham, one  of  his  dependents.  He  excused  his  master's 
absence,  on  account  of  the  shortness  of  the  time,  which 
prevented  his  assembling  his  friends  and  vassals,  with- 
out whose  assistance  he  could  not  with  safety  venture 
to  set  himself  in  opposition  to  such  a  powerful  antago- 
nist. For  this  reason,  he  desired  the  court  to  stop  pro- 
ceeding, and  protested,  that  any  sentence  which  should 
be  passed  at  that  time  ought  to  be  deemed  illegal  and 
void.  Bothwell,  on  the  other  hand,  insisted  that  the 


P  Good.  vol.  ii.  352.          i>  Anders.  Pref.  60.    See  Appendix,  No.  XIX. 
'  Anders,  vol.  i.  135. 


BOOK  iv.  OF  SCOTLAND.  329 

court  should  instantly  proceed  to  trial.     One  of  Len-     1567. 
nox's  own  letters,  in  which  he  craved  of  the  queen  to  ~~ 
prosecute  the  murderers  without  delay,  was  produced. 
Cunningham's  objections  were  overruled;  and  the  jury, 
consisting  of  peers  and  barons  of  the  first  rank,  found 
Bothwell  not  guilty  of  the  crime. 

No  person  appeared  as  an  accuser,  not  a  single  wit-  Bothwell  is 
ness  was  examined,  nor  any  evidence  produced  against  ac(lult 
him.  The  jury,  under  these  circumstances,  could  do 
nothing  else  but  acquit  him.  Their  verdict,  however, 
was  far  from  gratifying  the  wishes,  or  silencing  the 
murmurs,  of  the  people.  Every  circumstance  in  the 
trial  gave  grounds  for  suspicion,  and  excited  indigna- 
tion; and  the  judgment  pronounced,  instead  of  being  a 
proof  of  Bothwell's  innocence,  was  esteemed  an  argu- 
ment of  his  guilt.  Pasquinades  and  libels  were  affixed 
to  different  places,  expressing  the  sentiments  of  the 
public  with  the  utmost  virulence  of  language. 

The  jury  themselves  seem  to  have  been  aware  of  the 
censure  to  which  their  proceedings  would  be  exposed ; 
and,  at  the  same  time  that  they  returned  their  verdict 
acquitting  Bothwell,  the  earl  of  Caithness  protested,  in 
their  name,  that  no  crime  should  be  imputed  to  them 
on  that  account,  because  no  accuser  had  appeared,  and 
no  proof  was  brought  of  the  indictment.  He  took  no" 
tice,  likewise,  that  the  ninth  instead  of  the  tenth  of  Fe- 
bruary was  mentioned  in  the  indictment,  as  the  day  on 
which  the  murder  had  been  committed ;  a  circumstance 
which  discovers  the  extreme  inaccuracy  of  those  who 
prepared  the  indictment ;  and  at  a  time  when  men  were 
disposed,  and  not  without  reason,  to  be  suspicious  of 
every  thing,  this  small  matter  contributed  to  confirm 
and  to  increase  their  suspicions k. 

Even  Bothwell  himself  did  not  rely  on  the  judgment 
which  he  had  obtained  in  his  favour,  as  a  full  vindica- 
tion of  his  innocence.  Immediately  after  his  acquittal, 

k  Bothw.  Trial,  Anders,  vol.  ii.  07,  etc. 


330  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  iv. 

1667.     he,  in  compliance  with  a  custom  which  was  not  then 

""obsolete,  published  a  writing,  in  which  he  offered  to 

fight  in  single  combat  any  gentleman  of  good  fame, 

who  should  presume  to  accuse  him  of  being  accessory 

to  the  murder  of  the  king. 

Mary,  however,  continued  to  treat  him  as  if  he  had 
been  cleared  by  the  most  unexceptionable  and  satis- 
factory evidence.  The  ascendant  he  had  gained  over 
her  heart,  as  well  as  over  her  councils,  was  more  visible 
than  ever ;  and  Lennox,  who  could  not  expect  that  his 
own  person  could  be  safe  in  a  country  where  the  mur- 
derer of  his  son  had  been  absolved,  without  regard  to 
justice,  and  loaded  with  honours,  in  contempt  of  de- 
cency, fled  with  precipitation  towards  England l. 
A  parlia-  Two  days  after  the  trial,  a  parliament  was  held,  at 
April  14.  th®  opening  of  which  the  queen  distinguished  Bothwell, 
by  appointing  him  to  carry  the  sceptre  before  herm. 
Most  of  the  acts  passed  in  this  assembly  were  calcu- 
lated on  purpose  to  strengthen  his  party,  and  to  pro- 
mote his  designs.  He  obtained  the  ratification  of  all 
the  possessions  and  honours  which  the  partiality  of  the 
queen  had  conferred  upon  him ;  and  the  act  to  that  ef- 
fect contained  the  strongest  declarations  of  his  faithful 
services  to  the  crown  in  all  times  past.  The  surrender 
of  the  castle  of  Edinburgh  by  Mar  was  confirmed.  The 
law  of  attainder  against  Huntly  was  repealed,  and  he 
and  his  adherents  were  restored  to  the  estates  and  ho- 
nours of  their  ancestors.  Several  of  those  who  had 
been  on  the  jury  which  acquitted  Bothwell,  obtained 
ratifications  of  the  grants  made  in  their  favour ;  and  as 
pasquinades  daily  multiplied,  a  law  passed,  whereby 
those  into  whose  hands  any  paper  of  that  kind  fell, 
were  commanded  instantly  to  destroy  it ;  and  if,  through 
their  neglect,  it  should  be  allowed  to  spread,  they  were 
subjected  to  a  capital  punishment,  in  the  same  manner 
as  if  they  had  been  the  original  authors  n. 

1  Keith,  378.  note  (4).  '»  Idem,  ibid.  "  Ibid.  380. 


BOOK  iv.  OF  SCOTLAND.  331 

But  the  absolute  dominion  which  Bothweil  had  ac-  1567. 
quired  over  Mary's  mind  appeared  in  the  clearest  man-  Remark_ 
ner,  by  an  act  in  favour  of  the  protestant  religion,  to  able  law  in 

i  •  i  i  •      *  i  i  •»«•        »  i     favour  of 

which  at  this  time  she  gave  her  assent.  Mary  s  attach-  the  refor. 
ment  to  the  Romish  faith  was  uniform  and  superstitious ; matlon- 
she  had  never  laid  aside  the  design,  nor  lost  the  hopes, 
of  restoring  it.  She  had  of  late  come  under  new  en- 
gagements to  that  purpose,  and  in  consequence  of  these 
had  ventured  upon  some  steps  more  public  and  vigorous 
than  any  she  had  formerly  taken.  But  though  none  of 
these  circumstances  were  unknown  to  Bothweil,  there 
were  powerful  motives  which  prompted  him  at  this 
juncture  to  conciliate  the  good-will  of  the  protestants, 
by  exerting  himself  in  order  to  procure  for  them  some 
additional  security  in  the  exercise  of  their  religion. 
That  which  they  enjoyed  at  present  was  very  precari- 
ous, being  founded  entirely  on  the  royal  proclamation 
issued  soon  after  the  arrival  of  the  queen  in  Scotland, 
which  in  express  terms  was  declared  to  be  only  a  tem- 
porary regulation.  From  that  period,  neither  the  soli- 
citations of  the  general  assemblies  of  the  church,  nor 
the  entreaties  of  her  people,  could  extort  from  Mary 
any  concession  in  favour  of  the  protestant  religion,  on 
which  the  professors  might  rest  with  greater  confidence. 
This,  however,  by  the  more  powerful  influence  of  Both- 
well,  they  now  obtained.  An  act  was  passed  in  this 
parliament,  repealing  all  the  laws,  canon,  civil,  and  mu- 
nicipal, adverse  to  the  reformed  religion,  and  exempt- 
ing such  as  had  embraced  it  from  the  penalties  to  which 
they  might  have  been  subjected  by  these  laws,  either 
on  account  of  their  past  conduct  or  present  profession ; 
declaring  at  the  same  time  that  then*  persons,  estates, 
honours,  and  benefices,  were  taken  under  public  pro- 
tection against  every  court,  civil  or  ecclesiastical,  that 
might  attempt  to  molest  them  on  accpunt  of  their  reli- 
gious sentiments.  Thus  the  protestants,  instead  of  hold- 
ing their  sacred  rights  by  no  better  tenure  than  a  de- 
claration of  royal  indulgence,  which  might  be  revoked 


332  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  iv. 

1567.  at  pleasure,  obtained  legal  and  parliamentary  protection 
~~  in  the  exercise  of  their  religion.  By  prevailing  on  the 
queen  to  assent  to  this  law,  Bothwell  seems  to  have 
flattered  himself  that  he  would  acquire  such  merit  both 
with  the  clergy  and  with  the  people,  as  might  induce 
them  to  favour  his  ambitious  schemes,  and  to  connive 
at  what  he  had  done,  or  might  do,  in  order  to  accom- 
plish them.  The  protestants  accordingly,  though  this 
act  was  far  from  amounting  to  a  legal  establishment  of 
the  reformed  faith,  seem  to  have  considered  it  as  an 
additional  security  of  such  importance,  that  it  was  pub- 
lished among  the  laws  enacted  in  a  parliament  held 
towards  the  close  of  this  year,  under  very  different 
leaders  °. 

0  I  am  indebted  to  the  accuracy  of  sir  David  Dalrymple,  for  pointing 
out  (Remarks  on  the  History  of  Scotland,  ch.  9,)  a  considerable  errour  into 
which  I  had  fallen  with  respect  to  this  act,  by  supposing  it  to  be  so  favour- 
able to  the  doctrine  of  the  reformation,  that  the  parliament  which  met  De- 
cember the  fifteenth,  could  substitute  nothing  stronger  or  more  explicit  in 
its  place,  and  thought  it  sufficient  to  ratify  it  word  for  word.  This  errour  I 
have  now  corrected ;  but,  after  considering  the  act  with  particular  atten- 
tion, though  I  am  satisfied  that  it  neither  established  the  reformed  religion 
or  the  religion  of  the  state,  nor  abolished  popery,  yet  it  granted  such  new 
and  legal  security  to  the  protestants,  as  was  deemed,  in  that  age,  an  ac- 
quisition of  great  value.  The  framers  of  the  law  seem  manifestly  to  have 
viewed  it  in  that  light.  After  reciting,  "  that  the  queen,  since  her  arrival, 
had  attempted  nothing  contrary  to  the  state  of  religion  which  she  found 
publicly  and  universally  standing,  on  which  account  she  was  most  worthy 
to  be  served,  honoured,  and  obeyed,"  etc.  the  act  goes  on,  "  that  as  she 
intends  to  continue  the  same  goodness  and  government  in  all  times  coming, 
the  professors  of  the  religion  aforesaid  may  and  shall  have  occasion  to  praise 
God  for  her  happy  and  gracious  government,  etc:  and  to  effect  that,  the 
professors  of  the  religion  aforesaid  may  assure  themselves  to  be  in  full  surety 
thereof,  and  of  their  lands,  lives,  etc.  and  may  with  the  better  will  jeopard 
and  hazard  their  lives  and  goods  in  her  highness's  service,  against  all  ene- 
mies to  her,  and  to  the  commonweal  of  this  realm,  etc.  Therefore  our  sove- 
reign, with  the  advice  of  the  whole  estates  in  parliament,"  etc.  Then  follow 
the  statutory  clauses  mentioned  in  the  text.  The  intention  of  passing  the 
act  is  apparent,  and  it  is  drawn  with  great  art.  This  art  is  peculiarly  mani- 
fest in  the  concluding  clause.  In  her  first  proclamation  the  queen  had  de- 
clared, that  it  should  continue  in  force  only  until  she  should  take  final  order 
concerning  religion  with  the  advice  of  parliament.  In  this  act  the  inten- 
tion of  taking  further  order  concerning  religion  is  mentioned,  probably  with 


BOOK  iv.  OF  SCOTLAND.  333 

Every  step  taken  by  Bothwell  had  hitherto  been  at-     1567. 
tended  with  all  the  success  which  his  most  sanguine  ]jothwell 

prevails  on 

a  view  to  please  the  queen  ;  but  it  is  worded  with  such  studied  dexterity, 
that  the  protection  granted  by  this  law  is  no  longer  to  be  regarded  as  tem- 
porary, or  depending  upon  the  queen  taking  such  final  order.  Parl.  1. 
K.  Ja.  VI.  c.  31.  In  the  same  light  of  an  important  acquisition  of  security 
to  the  reformed  religion,  this  act  is  represented  by  the  privy  council  in  a 
proclamation  issued  May  the  twenty-third,  1567.  Keith,  571.  Mary's 
principal  adherents,  in  a  paper  subscribed  by  them,  September  the  twelfth, 
)568,  declare,  that  she,  "  by  the  advice  of  the  three  estates,  had  satisfied 
the  desire  of  the  whole  nobility  in  an  act  concerning  all  the  points  of  reli- 
gion passed  in  the  parliament  held  April,  1567."  Goodall,  ii.  357.  The 
same  is  asserted  to  be  the  intention  and  effect  of  this  act  in  another  public 
paper  in  the  year  1570.  Haynes,  621.  This  act  is  perfectly  conformable 
to  that  system  of  policy  by  which  Bothwell  seems  to  have  regulated  his  con- 
duct both  before  and  after  this  time,  with  a  view  of  gaining  the  protestants, 
particularly  the  clergy,  by  acts  of  indulgence  and  favour.  On  the  third  of 
October,  1566,  when  Bothwell's  credit  was  very  considerable,  the  queen, 
in  a  meeting  of  privy  council,  where  he  was  present,  took  measures  for  se- 
curing to  the  protestant  clergy  more  regular  payment  of  their  stipends ;  and 
on  the  twentieth  of  December  of  that  year,  granted  an  assignation  of  a  con- 
siderable sum  to  be  applied  for  the  support  of  the  ministry.  Keith,  360, 
361,  362.  In  a  meeting  of  privy  council,  January  the  tenth,  1567,  when  all 
public  transactions  were  entirely  conducted  by  Bothwell,  an  act  was  passed 
in  order  to  provide  for  the  sustentation  of  ministers  in  boroughs,  and  Both- 
well  is  named  as  one  of  the  commissioners  for  carrying  it  into  execution, 
with  power  to  impose  a  tax  on  such  boroughs  as  had  no  ministers,  for  rais- 
ing a  stipend.  Keith,  570.  In  another  meeting  of  privy  council,  May  the 
twenty-third,  1567,  the  queen,  after  mentioning  the  declaration  which  she 
had  made  in  the  year  1561,  of  her  resolution  to  maintain  that  religion  which 
she  found  established  in  the  kingdom,  and  after  taking  notice  of  what  ad- 
ditional security  it  had  acquired  by  the  late  act  of  April  the  nineteenth, 
with  a  view  of  giving  still  farther  satisfaction  to  the  protestants,  she  de- 
clared that  all  licenses  which  had  been  obtained  from  her  by  any  persons, 
permitting  them  to  exercise  the  rites  of  popish  worship,  were  now  revoked 
and  annulled.  Keith,  570 — 572.  It  deserves  to  be  remarked,  that,  favour- 
able as  all  these  acts  were  to  the  reformation,  some  bishops, '  whose  ardent 
zeal  for  the  old  doctrines  history  records,'  were  present  in  those  meetings  of 
privy  council  in  which  they  were  passed.  From  considering  all  these  par- 
ticulars, one  need  not  wonder  that  a  law  "  anent  cassing,  (as  its  title  bears,) 
annulling,  and'  abrogating  of  all  laws,  acts,  and  constitutions,  canone,  ci- 
vile, and  municipal,  with  other  constitutions,  contrare  to  the  religion  now 
professit  within  the  realme,"  confirmed  by  the  royal  assent  of  the  queen, 
should  be  published  among  the  statutes  securing  the  protestant  religion. 
We  find,  accordingly,  in  a  very  rare  edition  of  the  acts  of  parliament,  im- 


334  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  iv. 

1567.  wishes   could   expect.     He    had   entirely   gained   the 

the  nobles  queen's  heart ;  the  murder  of  the  king  had  excited  no 

to  recom-  public  commotion ;  he  had  been  acquitted  by  his  peers 

as  an  bus-  of  any  share  in  that  crime  ;  and  their  decision  had  been 

band  to  the  m  some  sort  ratified  in  parliament.     But  in  a  kingdom 
queen.  .  . 

where  the  regal  authority  was  so  extremely  limited,  and 

the  power  of  the  nobles  so  formidable,  he  durst  not 
venture  on  the  last  action,  towards  which  all  his  ambi- 
tious projects  tended,  without  their  approbation.  In 
order  to  secure  this,  he,  immediately  after  the  dissolu- 
tion of  parliament,  invited  all  the  nobles  who  were  pre- 
April  19.  sent  to  an  entertainment.  Having  filled  the  house  with 
his  friends  and  dependents,  and  surrounded  it  with 
armed  men p,  he  opened  to  the  company  his  intention 
of  marrying  the  queen,  whose  consent,  he  told  them, 
he  had  already  obtained;  and  demanded  their  appro- 
bation of  this  match,  which,  he  said,  was  no  less  accept- 
able to  their  sovereign,  than  honourable  to  himselfq. 
Huntly  and  Seaton,  who  were  privy  to  all  Bothwell's 
schemes,  promoted  them  with  the  utmost  zeal ;  and  the 
popish  ecclesiastics,  who  were  absolutely  devoted  to  the 
queen,  and  ready  to  sooth  all  her  passions,  instantly  de- 
clared their  satisfaction  with  what  he  had  proposed. 
The  rest,  who  dreaded  the  exorbitant  power  which 
Bothwell  had  acquired,  and  observed  the  queen's  grow- 
ing affection  towards  him  in  all  her  actions,  were  willing 
to  make  a  merit  of  yielding  to  a  measure  which  they 
could  neither  oppose  nor  defeat.  Some  few  were  con- 
founded and  enraged.  But  in  the  end  Bothwell,  partly 
by  promises  and  flattery,  partly  by  terrour  and  force, 
prevailed  on  all  who  were  present  to  subscribe  a  paper 
which  leaves  a  deeper  stain  than  any  occurrence  in  that 
age  on  the  honour  and  character  of  the  nation. 

This  paper  contained  the  strongest  declarations  of 

print! t  at  Edinburgh  by  Robert  Lekprevik,  printar  to  the  king's  majestic, 
6  day  of  April,  1568,  the  act  of  April  19,  inserted  among  the  acts  of  the  re- 
gent's parliament  in  December. 

P  Good.  vol.  ii.  141.  i  Anders,  vol.  i.  94. 


BOOK  iv.  OF  SCOTLAND.  335 

Bothwell's  innocence,  and  the  most  ample  acknowledg-  1567. 
ment  of  his  good  services  to  the  kingdom.  If  any  fu-  ~~ 
ture  accusation  should  be  brought  against  him  on  ac- 
count of  the  king's  murder,  the  subscribers  promised 
to  stand  by  him  as  one  man,  and  to  hazard  their  lives 
and  fortunes  in  his  defence.  They  recommended  him 
to  the  queen  as  the  most  proper  person  she  could 
choose  for  an  husband :  and  if  she  should  condescend 
to  bestow  on  him  that  mark  of  her  regard,  they  under- 
took to  promote  the  marriage,  and  to  join  him  with  all 
their  forces  in  opposing  any  person  who  endeavoured  to 
obstruct  itr.  Among  the  subscribers  of  this  paper  we 
find  some  who  were  the  queen's  chief  confidents,  others 
who  were  strangers  to  her  councils,  and  obnoxious  to 
her  displeasure;  some  who  faithfully  adhered  to  her 
through  all  the  vicissitudes  of  her  fortune,  and  others 
who  became  the  principal  authors  of  her  sufferings ; 
some  passionately  attached  to  the  Romish  superstition, 
and  others  zealous  advocates  for  the  protestant  faith 8. 
No  common  interest  can  be  supposed  to  have  united 
men  of  such  opposite  principles  and  parties,  in  recom- 
mending to  their  sovereign  a  step  so  injurious  to  her 
honour,  and  so  fatal  to  her  peace.  This  strange  coali- 
tion was  the  effect  of  much  artifice,  and  must  be  con- 
sidered as  the  boldest  and  most  masterly  stroke  of 
Bothwell's  address.  It  is  observable,  that  amidst  all 
the  altercations  and  mutual  reproaches  of  the  two  par- 
ties which  arose  in  the  kingdom,  this  unworthy  trans- 
action is  seldom  mentioned.  Conscious  on  both  sides, 
that,  in  this  particular,  their  conduct  could  ill  bear 
examination,  and  would  redound  little  to  their  fame, 
they  always  touch  upon  it  unwillingly,  and  with  a  ten- 
der hand,  seeming  desirous  that  it  should  remain  in 
darkness,  or  be  buried  in  oblivion.  But  as  so  many 
persons  who,  both  at  that  time  and  ever  after,  possess- 
ed the  queen's  favour,  subscribed  this  paper,  the  sus- 

'  Anders,  vol.  i.  177.  •  Keith,  382. 


336  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  iv. 

1567.     picion  becomes  strong,  that  Bothwell's  ambitious  hopes 
~were  neither  unknown  to  Mary,  nor  disapproved  by 
her1. 

These  suspicions  are  confirmed  by  the  most  direct 
proof.  Melvil  at  that  time  enjoyed  a  considerable  share 
in  her  favour.  He,  as  well  as  his  brother,  kept  a  secret 
correspondence  in  England  with  those  who  favoured 
her  pretensions  to  that  crown.  The  rumour  of  her 
intended  marriage  with  Bothwell  having  spread  early 
in  that  kingdom,  excited  universal  indignation;  and 
Melvil  received  a  letter  from  thence,  which  represent- 
ed, in  the  strongest  terms,  what  would  be  the  fatal 
effects  of  such  an  imprudent  step.  He  put  this  letter 
into  the  queen's  hands,  and  enforced  it  with  the  ut- 
most warmth.  She  not  only  disregarded  these  remon- 


1  Of  all  the  different  systems  with  regard  to  this  transaction,  that  of 
Camden  seems  to  be  the  least  accurate,  and  the  worst  founded.  He  -sup- 
poses that  Bothwell  was  hated  by  Murray,  Morton,  etc.  who  had  been  his 
associates  in  the  murder  of  the  king,  and  that  they  now  wanted  to  ruin  him. 
He  affirms,  at  the  same  time,  that  the  subscriptions  to  this  paper  were  ob- 
tained by  them  out  of  fear  that  Bothwell  might  sink  in  his  hopes,  and  be- 
tray the  whole  bloody  secret,  404.  But  besides  the  absurdity  of  supposing 
that  any  man's  enemies  would  contribute  towards  raising  him  to  such  high 
dignity,  on  the  uncertain  hopes  of  being  able  afterwards  to  deprive  him  of 
it;  besides  the  impossibility  of  accomplishing  such  a  marriage,  if  it  had 
been  either  unknown  to  the  queen,  or  disagreeable  to  her ;  we  may  observe 
that  this  supposition  is  destroyed  by  the  direct  testimony  of  the  queen  her- 
self, who  ascribes  the  consent  of  the  nobles  to  Bothwell's  artifices,  "  who 
purchased  it  by  giving  them  to  understand  that  we  were  content  therewith." 
Anders,  vol.  i.  94.  99.  It  would  have  been  no  small  advantage  to  Mary, 
if  she  could  have  represented  the  consent  of  the  nobles  to  have  been  their 
own  voluntary  deed.  It  is  still  more  surprising  to  find  Lesley  ascribing 
this  paper  to  Murray  and  his  faction.  Anders,  vol.  i.  26.  The  bishop  him- 
self was  one  of  the  persons  who  subscribed  it.  Keith,  383.  The  king's 
commissioners,  at  the  conference  held  at  York,  1568,  pretended  that  none 
of  the  nobles,  except  the  earl  of  Huntly,  would  subscribe  this  paper  till  a 
warrant  from  the  queen  was  produced,  by  which  they  were  allowed  to  do 
so  ;  this  warrant  they  had  in  their  custody,  and  exhibited.  Anders,  vol.  iv. 
part  2.  5.  This  differs  from  Buchanan's  account,  who  supposes  that  all 
the  nobles  present  subscribed  the  paper  on  the  nineteenth,  and  that  next 
day  they  obtained  the  approbation  of  what  they  had  done,  by  way  of  se- 
curity to  themselves,  355. 


BOOK  iv.  OF  SCOTLAND.  337 

strances,  but  communicated  the  matter  to  Bothwell;      1567. 
and  Melvil,  in  order  to  save  his  life,  was  obliged  to~~ 
fly  from  court,  whither  he  durst  not  return  till  the  earl's 
rage  began  to  abate".     At  the  same  time  Elizabeth 
warned  Mary  of  the  danger  and  infamy  to  which  she 
would  expose  herself  by  such  an  indecent  choice ;  but 
an  advice  from  her  met  with  still  less  regard". 

Three  days  after  the  rising  of  parliament  Mary  went  Bothwell 
from  Edinburgh  to  Stirling,  in  order  to  visit  the  prince  q^eeiTby 
her  son.  Bothwell  had  now  brought  his  schemes  to force  to 

f  11  .  i  ,     .  ,  .   ,   Dunbar. 

mil  maturity ;  and  every  precaution  being  taken  which 

could  render  it  safe  to  enter  on  the  last  and  decisive 
step,  the  natural  impetuosity  of  his  spirit  did  not  suffer 
him  to  deliberate  any  longer.  Under  pretence  of  an 
expedition  against  the  freebooters  on  the  Borders,  he 
assembled  his  followers ;  and  marching  out  of  Edin- 
burgh with  a  thousand  horse,  turned  suddenly  towards 
Linlithgow,  met  the  queen  on  her  return  near  that  April  24. 
place,  dispersed  her  slender  train  without  resistance, 
seized  on  her  person,  and  conducted  her,  together  with 
a  few  of  her  courtiers,  as  a  prisoner  to  his  castle  of 
Dunbar.  She  expressed  neither  surprise,  nor  terrour, 
nor  indignation,  at  such  an  outrage  committed  on  her 


•  Melv.  156.  According  to  Melvil,  lord  Herries  likewise  remonstrated 
against  the  marriage,  and  conjured  the  queen,  on  his  knees,  to  lay  aside  all 
thoughts  of  such  a  dishonourable  alliance,  156.  But  it  has  been  observed  that 
Herries  is  one  of  the  nobles  who  subscribed  the  bond,  April  19.  Keith,  383. 
2.  That  he  is  one  of  the  witnesses  to  the  marriage  articles  between  the  queen 
and  Bothwell,  May  14.  Good.  vol.  ii.  61.  3.  That  he  sat  in  council  with 
Bothwell,  May  17.  Keith,  386.  But  this  remonstrance  of  lord  Herries 
against  the  marriage  happened  before  those  made  by  Melvil  himself,  157. 
Melvil's  remonstrance  must  have  happened  some  time  before  the  meeting  of 
parliament ;  for,  after  offending  Bothwell,  he  retired  from  court ;  he  allowed 
his  rage  time  to  subside,  and  had  again  joined  the  queen  when  she  was 
seized,  April  24.  158.  The  time  which  must  have  elapsed,  by  this  account 
of  the  matter,  was  perhaps  sufficient  to  have  gained  Herries  from  being  an 
oppo&er  to  become  a  promoter  of  the  marriage.  Perhaps  Melvil  may  have 
committed  some  mistake  with  regard  to  this  fact,  so  far  as  relates  to  lord 
Herries.  He  could  not  well  be  mistaken  with  regard  to  what  himself  did. 

x  Anders,  vol.  i.  106. 
VOL.  I.  Z 


338  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  iv. 

1567.  person,  and  such  an  insult  offered  to  her  authority,  but 
"seemed  to  yield  without  struggle  or  regret y.  Melvil  was 
at  that  time  one  of  her  attendants ;  and  the  officer  by 
whom  he  was  seized  informed  him,  that  nothing'  was 
done  without  the  queen's  own  consent2.  If  we  may  rely 
on  the  letters  published  in  Mary's  name,  the  scheme 
had  been  communicated  to  her,  and  every  step  towards 
it  was  taken  with  her  participation  and  advice a. 

Both  the  queen  and  Bothwell  thought  it  of  advan- 
tage to  employ  this  appearance  of  violence.  It  afforded 
her  a  decent  excuse  for  her  conduct;  and  while  she 
could  plead  that  it  was  owing  to  force  rather  than 
choice,  she  hoped  that  her  reputation,  among  fo- 
reigners at  least,  would  escape  without  censure,  or  be 
exposed  t?  less  reproach.  Bothwell  could  not  help 
distrusting  all  the  methods  which  had  hitherto  been 
used  for  vindicating  him  from  any  concern  in  the  mur- 
der of  the  king.  Something  was  still  wanting  for  his 
security,  and  for  quieting  his  guilty  fears.  This  was  a 
pardon  under  the  great  seal.  By  the  laws  of  Scotland 
the  most  heinous  crime  must  be  mentioned  by  name 
in  a  pardon,  and  then  all  lesser  offences  are  deemed 
to  be  included  under  the  general  clause,  "  and  all  other 
crimes  whatsoever6."  To  seize  the  person  of  the  prince 
is  high  treason;  and  Bothwell  hoped  that  a  pardon 
obtained  for  this  would  extend  to  every  thing  of  which 
he  had  been  accused0. 

Is  divorced  Bothwell  having  now  got  the  queen's  person  into  his 
own*  wife  nands,  it  would  have  been  unbecoming  either  a  poli- 
tician or  a  man  of  gallantry  to  have  delayed  consum- 
mating his  schemes.  The  first  step  towards  this  was 
to  have  his  marriage  with  lady  Jane  Gordon,  the  earl 
of  Huntly's  sister,  dissolved.  In  order  to  accomplish 
that,  in  a  manner  consistent  with  the  ideas  of  the 
queen  on  one  hand,  and  with  the  sentiments  of  his 


?  Keith,  383.  z  Melf.  158.  »  Good.  vol.  ii.  37. 

b  Parl.  6  Jac.  IV.  c.  62.  c  Anders,  vol.  iv.  part  ii.  61. 


BOOK  iv.  OF  SCOTLAND.  339 

countrymen  on  the  other,  two  different  processes  be-  1567. 
came  necessary ;  one  founded  on  the  maxims  of  the  ca- 
•MJ  law,  the  other  accommodated  to  the  tenets  of  the 
reformed  church.  Bothwell  accordingly  commenced  a  April  27. 
suit,  in  his  own  name,  in  the  spiritual  court  of  the  arch- 
bishop of  St.  Andrew's,  the  jurisdiction  of  which  the 
queen  had  restored,  by  a  special  commission  granted 
for  this  purpose,  and  pleaded  that  lady  Jane  and  him- 
self, being  cousins  within  the  prohibited  degrees,  and 
having  married  without  a  papal  dispensation,  their 
union  was  null  from  the  beginning d.  At  the  same  time 
he  prevailed  with  lady  Jane  to  apply  to  the  protestant 
court  of  commissaries  for  a  divorce,  on  account  of  his 
having  been  guilty  of  adultery.  The  influence  of  Both- 
well  was  of  equal  weight  in  both  courts.  In  the  course 
of  four  days,  with  the  same  indecent  and  suspicious 
precipitancy,  the  one  d.eclared  the  marriage  to  be 
illegal  and  null,  the  other  pronounced  a  sentence  of 
divorce e. 

While  this  infamous  transaction  was  carrying  on,  the 
queen  resided  at  Dunbar,  detained  as  a  prisoner,  but 
treated  with  the  greatest  respect.     Soon  after,  Both-  May  3. 
well,  with  a  numerous  train  of  his  dependents,  con- 


d  In  her  own  time,  it  was  urged  as  an  aggravation  of  the  queen's  guilt, 
that  she  gave  her  consent  to  marry  the  husband  of  another  woman  ;  and 
the  charge  has  been  often  repeated  since.  But,  according  to  Mary's  own 
ideas,  consonant  to  the  principles  of  her  religion,  the  marriage  of  Bothwell 
with  lady  Jane  Gordon  was  unlawful  and  void,  and  she  considered  them  as 
living  together  not  in  the  hallowed  bonds  of  matrimony,  but  in  a  state  of 
criminal  intercourse.  Bothwell's  addresses,  which  struck  her  protestant  sub- 
jects not  only  as  indecent  but  flagitious,  could  not  appear  in  the  same  light 
to  her  ;  and  this  may  be  pleaded  in  extenuation  of  the  crime  imputed  to  her 
of  having  listened  to  them.  But  it  will  not  exempt  her  from  the  charge  of 
great  imprudence  in  this  unfortunate  step.  Mary  was  well  acquainted  with 
the  ideas  of  her  subjects,  and  knew  what  they  would  think  of  her  giving  ear 
for  a  moment  to  the  courtship  of  a  man  lately  married  under  her  own  eye  in 
the  church  of  her  palace.  Appendix,  No.  XX.  Every  consideration  should 
have  restrained  her  from  forming  this  union,  which  to  her  people  must 
have  appeared  odious  and  shocking.  Remarks  on  the  History  of  Scotland, 
p.  199,  etc.  e  Anders,  i.  132.  Appendix,  No.  XX. 


340  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  iv. 

1567.  ducted  her  to  Edinburgh ;  but,  instead  of  lodging  her 
~in  the  palace  of  Holyrood  house,  he  conveyed  her  to 
the  castle,  of  which  he  was  governor.  The  discontent 
of  the  nation  rendered  this  precaution  necessary.  In 
an  house  unfortified,  and  of  easy  access,  the  queen 
might  have  been  rescued  without  difficulty  out  of  his 
hands.  In  a  place  of  strength  she  was  secured  from 
all  the  attempts  of  his  enemies. 

One  small  difficulty  still  remained  to  be  surmounted. 
As  the  queen  was  kept  in  a  sort  of  captivity  by  Both- 
well,  a  marriage  concluded  in  that  condition  might  be 
imputed  to  force,  and  be  held  invalid.  In  order  to 
obviate  this,  Mary  appeared  in  the  court  of  session, 
and  in  presence  of  the  chancellor  and  other  judges, 
and  several  of  the  nobility,  declared  that  she  was  now 
at  full  liberty ;  and  though  Bothwell's  violence  in  seiz- 
ing her  person  had  at  first  excited  her  indignation,  yet 
his  respectful  behaviour  since  that  time  had  not  only 
appeased  her  resentment,  but  determined  her  to  raise 
him  to  higher  honours f. 

Is  married       What  these  were,  soon  became  public.     The  title 

to  the 
queen. 


of  duke  of  Orkney  was  conferred  upon  Bothwell ;  and 


on  the  fifteenth  of  May  his  marriage  with  the  queen, 
which  had  so  long  been  the  object  of  his  wishes,  and 
the  motives  of  his  crimes,  was  solemnized.  The  cere- 
mony was  performed  in  public,  according  to  the  rites 
of  the  protestant  church,  by  Adam  Bothwell,  bishop 
of  Orkney,  one  of  the  few  prelates  who  had  embraced 
the  reformation,  and  on  the  same  day  was  celebrated 
in  private,  according  to  the  forms  prescribed  by  the 
popish  religion  g.  The  boldness  with  which  Craig,  the 
minister  who  was  commanded  to  publish  the  banns, 
testified  against  the  design ;  the  small  number  of  the 
nobles  who  were  present  at  the  marriage;  and  the 
sullen  and  disrespectful  silence  of  the  people  when  the 
queen  appeared  in  public;  were  manifest  symptoms  of 

f  Anders,  i.  87.  t  Ibid.  136.  ii.  276. 


BOOK  iv.  OF  SCOTLAND.  341 

the  violent  and  general  dissatisfaction  of  her  own  sub-      1567. 
jects.     The  refusal  of  le  Croc,  the  French  ambassa-"" 
dor,  to  be  present  at  the  nuptial  ceremony  or  enter- 
tainment, discovers  the  sentiments  of  her  allies  with 
regard   to  this   part   of  her  conduct;   and   although 
every  other  action  in  Mary's  life  could  be  justified  by 
the  rules  of  prudence,  or  reconciled  to  the  principles 
of  virtue,  this  fatal  marriage  would  remain  an  incon- 
testable proof  of  her  rashness,  if  not  of  her  guilt. 

Mary's  first  care  was  to  offer  some  apology  for  her 
conduct  to  the  courts  of  France  and  England.  The 
instructions  to  her  ambassadors  still  remain,  and  are 
drawn  by  a  masterly  hand.  But,  under  all  the  arti- 
ficial and  false  colouring  she  employs,  it  is  easy  to  dis- 
cover, not  only  that  many  of  the  steps  she  had  taken 
were  unjustifiable,  but  that  she  herself  was  conscious 
that  they  could  not  be  justified  h. 

The  title  of  king  was  the  only  thing  which  was  not 
bestowed  upon  Bothwell.  Notwithstanding  her  at- 
tachment to  him,  Mary  remembered  the  inconvenien- 
cies  which  had  arisen  from  the  rash  advancement  of 
her  former  husband  to  that  honour.  She  agreed,  how- 
ever, that  he  should  sign,  in  token  of  consent,  all  the 
public  writs  issued  in  her  name1.  But,  though  the 
queen  withheld  from  him  the  title  of  king,  he  possess- 
ed, nevertheless,  regal  power  in  its  full  extent.  The 
queen's  person  was  in  his  hands ;  she  was  surrounded 
more  closely  than  ever  by  his  creatures ;  none  of  her 
subjects  could  obtain  audience  without  his  permission ; 
and,  unless  in  his  own  presence,  none  but  his  confi- 
dents were  permitted  to  converse  with  herk.  The 
Scottish  monarchs  were  accustomed  to  live  among  their 
subjects  as  fathers  or  as  equals,  without  distrust,  and 
with  little  state ;  armed  guards  standing  at  the  doors 
of  the  royal  apartment,  difficulty  of  access,  distance 
and  retirement,  were  things  unknown  and  unpopular. 

h  Anders,  i.  89.  '  Good.  ii.  60.  k  Anders,  i.  136. 


342  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  iv. 

1567.          These  precautions  were  necessary  for  securing  to 

Endeavours  Bothwell  the  power  which  he   had  acquired.      But, 

to  become    without  being  master  of  the  person  of  the  young  prince, 

the  prince's  ne  esteemed  all  that  he  had  gained  to  be  precarious 

person.        ancj  uncertain.     The  queen  had  committed  her  son  to 

the  care  of  the  earl  of  Mar.     The  fidelity  and  loyalty 

of  that  nobleman  were  too  well  known  to  expect  that 

he  would  be  willing  to  put  the  prince  into  the  hands  of 

the  man  who  was  so  violently  suspected  of  having  mur- 

dered his  father.    .  Bothwell,  however,  laboured  to  get 

the  prince  into  his  power,  with  an  anxiety  which  gave 

rise  to  the  blackest  suspicions.     All  his  address,  as 

well  as  authority,  were  employed  to  persuade,  or  to 

force  Mar  into  a  compliance  with  his  demands  l.     And 

it  is  no  slight  proof,  both  of  the  firmness  and  dexterity 

of  that  nobleman,  that  he  preserved  a  life  of  so  much 

importance  to  the  nation,  from  being  in  the  power  of  a 

man,  whom  fear  or  ambition  might  have  prompted  to 

violent  attempts  against  it. 

General          The  eyes  of  the  neighbouring  nations  were  fixed,  at 
which  *thT  tnat  tin16*  upon  the  great  events  which  had  happened 


queen's       m  Scotland  during  three   months;   a  king  murdered 
conduct  ex-     .,,  T         •        i  •  PI-T  T 

cited.          with  the  utmost  cruelty,  in  the  prime  ot  his  days,  and 

in  his  capital  city  ;  the  person  suspected  of  that  odious 
crime  suffered  not  only  to  appear  publicly  in  every 
place,  but  admitted  into  the  presence  of  the  queen, 
distinguished  by  her  favour,  and  intrusted  with  the 
chief  direction  of  her  affairs  ;  subjected  to  a  trial  which 
was  carried  on  with  most  shameless  partiality,  and  ac- 
quitted by  a  sentence  which  served  only  to  confirm  the 
suspicions  of  his  guilt  ;  divorced  from  his  wife,  on  pre- 
tences frivolous  or  indecent  ;  and,  after  all  this,  instead 
of  meeting  with  the  ignominy  due  to  his  actions,  or  the 
punishment  merited  by  his  crimes,  permitted  openly, 
and  without  opposition,  to  marry  a  queen,  the  wife  of 
the  prince  whom  he  had  assassinated,  and  the  guardian 

1  Melv.  160.      Buch.  361. 


BOOK  iv.  OF  SCOTLAND.  343 

of  those  laws  which  he  had  been  guilty  of  violating.  1  367. 
Such  a  quick  succession  of  incidents,  so  singular  and 
so  detestable,  in  the  space  of  three  months,  is  not  to 
be  found  in  any  other  history.  They  left,  in  the  opi- 
nion of  foreigners,  a  mark  of  infamy  on  the  character 
of  the  nation.  The  Scots  were  held  in  abhorrence  all 
over  Europe  ;  they  durst  hardly  appear  any  where  in 
public  ;  and,  after  suffering  so  many  atrocious  deeds  to 
pass  with  impunity,  they  were  universally  reproached 
as  men  void  of  courage,  or  of  humanity,  as  equally 
regardless  of  the  reputation  of  their  queen  and  the 
honour  of  their  country  m. 

These  reproaches  roused  the  nobles,  who  had  been  The  nobles 
hitherto  amused  by  Bothwell's  artifices,  or  intimidated 


by  his  power.  The  manner  in  which  he  exercised  the  and  Both- 
authority  which  he  had  acquired,  his  repeated  attempts 
to  become  master  of  the  prince's  person,  together  with 
some  rash  threatenings  against  him,  which  he  let  fall  n, 
added  to  the  violence  and  promptitude  of  their  resolu- 
tions. A  considerable  body  of  them  assembled  at  Stir- 
ling, and  entered  into  an  association  for  the  defence 
of  the  prince's  person.  Argyll,  Athol,  Mar,  Morton, 
Glencairn,  Home,  Lindsay,  Boyd,  Murray  of  Tullibar- 
din,  Kirkaldy  of  Grange,  and  Maitland  the  secretary, 
were  the  heads  of  this  confederacy  °.  Stewart,  earl  of 
Athol,  was  remarkable  for  an  uniform  and  bigoted  at- 
tachment to  popery  ;  but  his  indignation  on  account  of 
the  murder  of  the  king,  to  whom  he  was  nearly  allied, 
and  his  zeal  for  the  safety  of  the  prince,  overcame,  on 
this  occasion,  all  considerations  of  religion,  and  united 
him  with  the  most  zealous  protestants.  Several  of  the 
other  nobles  acted,  without  question,  from  a  laudable 
concern  for  the  safety  of  the  prince  and  the  honour  of 
their  country.  But  the  spirit  which  some  of  them  dis- 
covered during  the  subsequent  revolutions  leaves  little 


m  Anders,  vol.  i.  128.  134.     Melv.  163.     See  Appendix,  No.  XXI. 
»  Melv.  161.  "  Keith,  304. 


344  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  iv. 

1567.     room  to  doubt,  that  ambition  or  resentment  were  the 
~~  real  motives  of  their  conduct ;  and  that,  on  many  occa- 
sions, while  they  were  pursuing  ends  just  and  neces- 
sary, they  were   actuated  by  principles  and  passions 
altogether  unjustifiable. 

The  first  accounts  of  this  league  filled  the  queen 
and  Bothwell  with  great  consternation.  They  were  no 
strangers  to  the  sentiments  of  the  nation  with  respect 
to  their  conduct;  and  though  their  marriage  had  not 
met  with  public  opposition,  they  knew  that  it  had  not 
been  carried  on  without  the  secret  disgust  and  mur- 
murings  of  all  ranks  of  men.  They  foresaw  the  vio- 
lence with  which  this  indignation  would  burst  out, 

May  28.  after  having  been  so  long  suppressed ;  and,  in  order 
to  prepare  for  the  storm,  Mary  issued  a  proclamation, 
requiring  her  subjects  to  take  arms,  and  to  attend  her 
husband  by  a  day  appointed.  At  the  same  time  she 
published  a  sort  of  manifesto,  in  which  she  laboured  to 
vindicate  her  government  from  those  imputations  with 
which  it  had  been  loaded,  and  employed  the  strongest 
terms  to  express  her  concern  for  the  safety  and  wel- 
fare of  the  prince  her  son.  Neither  of  these  pro- 
duced any  considerable  effect.  Her  proclamation  was 
ill  obeyed,  and  her  manifesto  met  with  little  credit p. 

The  queen       The  confederate  lords  carried  on  their  preparations 

w  ll^tf     with  no  less   activity,  and  with  much  more   success. 

to  Dunbar.  Among  a  warlike  people,  men  of  so  much  power  and 
popularity  found  it  an  easy  matter  to  raise  an  army. 
They  were  ready  to  march,  before  the  queen  and  Both- 
well  were  in  a  condition,to  resist  them.  The  castle  of 
Edinburgh  was  the  place  whither  the  queen  ought 
naturally  to  have  retired,  and  there  her  person  might 
have  been  perfectly  safe.  But  the  confederates  had 
fallen  on  means  to  shake  or  corrupt  the  fidelity  of  sir 
James  Balfour,  the  deputy  governor,  and  Bothwell 

June  6.       durst  not  commit  to  him  such  an  important  trust.     He 

v  Keith,  387.  395,  396. 


BOOK  iv.  OF  SCOTLAND.  345 

conducted  the  queen  to  the  castle  of  Borthwick ;  and     1567. 
on  the  appearance  of  lord  Home,  with  a  body  of  his  ~~ 
followers,  before  that  place,  he  fled  with  precipitation 
to  Dunbar,  and  was  followed  by  the  queen  disguised 
in  men's  clothes.     The  confederates  advanced  towards 
Edinburgh,  where  Huntly  endeavoured,  in  vain,  to  ani- 
mate the  inhabitants  to  defend  the  town  against  them. 
They  entered  without  opposition,  and  were  instantly 
joined  by  many  of  the  citizens,  whose  zeal  became  the 
firmest  support  of  their  cause  q. 

In  order  to  set  their  own  conduct  in  the  most  fa- 
vourable light,  and  to  rouse  the  public  indignation 
against  Bothwell,  the  nobles  published  a  declaration 
of  the  motives  which  had  induced  them  to  take  arms. 
All  Bothwell's  past  crimes  were  enumerated,  all  his 
wicked  intentions  displayed  and  aggravated,  and  every 
true  Scotchman  was  called  upon  to  join  them  in  aveng- 
ing the  one  and  in  preventing  the  other r. 

Meanwhile,  Bothwell  assembled  his  forces  at  Dun- 
bar;  and  as  he  had  many  dependents  in  that  corner, 
he  soon  gathered  such  strength,  that  he  ventured  to 
advance  towards  the  confederates.  Their  troops  were 
not  numerous ;  the  suddenness  and  secrecy  of  their 
enterprise  gave  their  friends  at  a  distance  no  time  to 
join  them ;  and,  as  it  does  not  appear  that  they  were 
supported  either  with  money,  or  fed  with  hopes,  by 
the  queen  of  England,  they  could  not  have  kept  long 
in  a  body.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  Bothwell  durst 
not  risk  a  delay s.  His  army  followed  him  with  reluct- 
ance in  this  quarrel,  and  served  him  with  no  cordial 
affection ;  so  that  his  only  hope  of  success  was  in  sur- 
prising the  enemy,  or  in  striking  the  blow  before  his 
own  troops  had  leisure  to  recollect  themselves,  or  to 
imbibe  the  same  unfavourable  opinion  of  his  actions, 
which  had  spread  over  the  rest  of  the  nation.  These 

i  Keith,  398.  r  Anders,  vol.  i.  128.  •  Keith,  401. 


346  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  iv. 

1567.     motives  determined  the  queen  to  march  forward  with 

~  an  inconsiderate  and  fatal  speed. 

The  nobles  On  the  first  intelligence  of  her  approach,  the  con- 
against  federates  advanced  to  meet  her.  They  found  her 
them.  forces  drawn  up  almost  on  the  same  ground  which  the 
English  had  occupied  before  the  "battle  of  Pinkie. 
The  numbers  on  both  sides  were  nearly  equal;  but 
there  was  no  equality  in  point  of  discipline.  The 
queen's  army  consisted  chiefly  of  a  multitude,  hastily 
assembled,  without  courage  or  experience  in  war.  The 
troops  of  the  confederates  were  composed  of  gentlemen 
of  rank  and  reputation,  followed  by  their  most  trusty 
dependents,  who  were  no  less  brave  than  zealous  *. 
An  accom-  Le  Croc,  the  French  ambassador,  who  was  in  the 
field»  laboured,  by  negotiating  both  with  the  queen 
and  the  nobles,  to  put  an  end  to  the  quarrel  without 
the  effusion  of  blood.  He  represented  to  the  confe- 
derates the  queen's  inclinations  towards  peace,  and  her 
willingness  to  pardon  the  offences  which  they  had  com- 
mitted. Morton  replied  with  warmth,  that  they  had 
taken  arms  not  against  the  queen,  but  against  the  mur- 
derer of  her  husband ;  and  if  he  were  given  up  to  jus- 
tice, or  banished  from  her  presence,  she  should  find 
them  ready  to  yield  the  obedience  which  is  due  from 
subjects  to  their  sovereign.  Glencairn  added,  that 
they  did  not  come  to  ask  pardon  for  any  offence,  but 
to  punish  those  who  had  offended.  Such  haughty 
answers  convinced  the  ambassador  that  his  mediation 
would  be  ineffectual,  and  that  their  passions  were  too 
high  to  allow  them  to  listen  to  any  pacific  proposi- 
tions, or  to  think  of  retreating  after  having*  proceeded 
so  far  u. 

The  queen's  army  was  posted  to  advantage  on  a  ri- 
sing ground.  The  confederates  advanced  to  the  attack 
resolutely,  but  slowly,  and  with  the  caution  which  was 

«  Cald.  vol.  ii.  48,  49.  "  Keith,  401. 


BOOK  iv.  OF  SCOTLAND.  347 

natural  on  that  unhappy  field.  Her  troops  were  1367. 
alarmed  at  their  approach,  and  discovered  no  inclina-~~ 
tion  to  fight.  Mary  endeavoured  to  animate  them; 
she  wept,  she  threatened,  she  reproached  them  with 
cowardice,  but  all  in  vain.  A  few  of  Bothwell's  imme- 
diate attendants  were  eager  for  the  encounter;  the 
rest  stood  wavering  and  irresolute,  and  some  began 
to  steal  out  of  the  field.  Bothwell  attempted  to  in- 
spirit them,  by  offering  to  decide  the  quarrel,  and  to 
vindicate  his  own  innocence,  in  single  combat  with 
any  of  his  adversaries.  Kirkaldy  of  Grange,  Murray 
of  Tullibardin,  and  lord  Lindsay,  contended  for  the 
honour  of  entering  the  lists  against  him.  But  this 
challenge  proved  to  be  a  mere  bravado.  Either  the 
consciousness  of  guilt  deprived  Bothwell  of  his  wonted 
courage,  or  the  queen,  by  her  authority,  forbade  the 
combat*. 

After  the  symptoms  of  fear  discovered  by  her  fol- 
lowers, Mary  would  have  been  inexcusable  had  she 
hazarded  a  battle.  To  have  retreated  in  the  face  of 
an  enemy  who  had  already  surrounded  the  hill  on 
which  she  stood,  with  part  of  their  cavalry,  was  utterly 
impracticable.  In  this  situation,  she  was  under  the 
cruel  necessity  of  putting  herself  into  the  hands  of 
those  subjects  who  had  taken  arms  against  her.  She 
demanded  an  interview  with  Kirkaldy,  a  brave  and 
generous  man,  who  commanded  an  advanced  body  of 
the  enemy.  He,  with  the  consent  and  in  the  name  of 
the  leaders  of  the  party,  promised  that,  on  condition 
she  would  dismiss  Bothwell  from  her  presence,  and 
govern  the  kingdom  by  the  advice  of  her  nobles,  they 
would  honour  and  obey  her  as  their  sovereign y. 

During  this  parley,  Bothwell  took  his  last  farewell  Bothwell 
of  the  queen,  and  rode  off  the  field  with  a  few  follow-  °bll£ed  to 
ers.     This  dismal  reverse  happened  exactly  one  month 
after  that  marriage  which  had  cost  him  so  many  crimes 

*  Cald.  vol.  ii.  50.  1  Good.  vol.  ii.  164.     Melv.  165. 


348  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  iv. 

1567.     to  accomplish,  and  which   leaves  so  foul  a  stain  on 


Mary's  memory. 

Marysur-  As  soon  as  Bothwell  retired,  Mary  surrendered  to 
the  noble"  Kirkaldy ,  who  conducted  her  toward  the  confederate 
army,  the  leaders  of  which  received  her  with  much 
respect;  and  Morton,  in  their  name,  made  ample  pro- 
fessions of  their  future  loyalty  and  obedience2.  But 
she  was  treated  by  the  common  soldiers  with  the  ut- 
most insolence  and  indignity.  As  she  marched  along, 
they  poured  upon  her  all  the  opprobrious  names  which 
are  bestowed  only  on  the  lowest  and  most  infamous 
criminals.  Wherever  she  turned  her  eyes,  they  held 
up  before  her  a  standard,  on  which  was  painted  the 
dead  body  of  the  late  king,  stretched  on  the  ground, 
and  the  young  prince  kneeling  before  it,  and  uttering 
these  words,  "  Judge  and  revenge  my  cause,  O  Lord!" 
Mary  turned  with  horrour  from  such  a  shocking  sight. 
She  began  already  to  feel  the  wretched  condition  to 
which  a  captive  prince  is  reduced.  She  uttered  the 
most  bitter  complaints,  she  melted  into  tears,  and 
could  hardly  be  kept  from  sinking  to  the  ground.  The 
confederates  conducted  her  towards  Edinburgh ;  and, 
in  spite  of  many  delays,  and  after  looking,  with  the 
fondness  and  credulity  natural  to  the  unfortunate,  for 
some  extraordinary  relief,  she  arrived  there.  The 
streets  were  covered  with  multitudes,  whom  zeal  or 
curiosity  had  drawn  together,  to  behold  such  an  un- 
usual scene.  The  queen,  worn  out  with  fatigue, 
covered  with  dust,  and  bedewed  with  tears,  was  ex- 
posed as  a  spectacle  to  her  own  subjects,  and  led  to 
the  provost's  house.  Notwithstanding  all  her  argu- 
ments and  entreaties,  the  same  standard  was  carried 
before  her,  and  the  same  insults  and  reproaches  re- 
peated". A  woman,  young,  beautiful,  and  in  distress, 
is  naturally  the  object  of  compassion.  The  comparison 
of  their  present  misery  with  their  former  splendour, 

1  Good.  vol.  ii.  165.  *  Melv.  166.    Buch.  364. 


BOOK  iv.  OF  SCOTLAND.  349 

usually  softens   us   in  favour  of  illustrious   sufferers.      1567. 
But  the  people  beheld  the  deplorable  situation  of  their  ~ 
sovereign  with  insensibility ;    and  so  strong  was  their 
persuasion  of  her  guilt,  and  so  great  the  violence  of 
their  indignation,  that  the  sufferings  of  their  queen  did 
not,  in  any  degree,  mitigate  their  resentment,  or  pro- 
cure her  that  sympathy  which  is  seldom  denied  to  un- 
fortunate princes. 


THE 

HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND. 

THE  FIFTH  BOOK. 

1567.     THE  confederate  lords  had  proceeded  to  such  ex- 
Delibera-     tremities  against  their  sovereign,  that  it  now  became 

turns  of  the  almost  impossible  for  them  either  to  stop  short,  or  to 

nobles  con-  . 

ceming  the  pursue  a  course  less  violent.     Many  of  the  nobles  had 

refused  to  concur  with  them  in  their  enterprise ;  others 
openly  condemned  it.  A  small  circumstance  might 
abate  that  indignation  with  which  the  multitude  were 
at  present  animated  against  the  queen,  and  deprive 
them  of  that  popular  applause  which  was  the  chief 
foundation  of  their  power.  These  considerations  in- 
clined some  of  them  to  treat  the  queen  with  great 
lenity. 

But,  on  the  other  hand,  Mary's  affection  for  Both- 
well  continued  as  violent  as  ever;  she  obstinately  re- 
fused to  hearken  to  any  proposal  for  dissolving  their 
marriage,  and  determined  not  to  abandon  a  man,  for 
whose  love  she  had  already  sacrificed  so  mucha.  If 
they  should  allow  her  to  recover  the  supreme  power, 
the  first  exertion  of  it  would  be  to  recall  Bothwell ;  and 
they  had  reason,  both  from  his  resentment,  from  her 
conduct,  and  from  their  own,  to  expect  the  severest 
effects  of  her  vengeance.  These  considerations  sur- 
mounted every  other  motive ;  and,  reckoning  themselves 
absolved  by  Mary's  incurable  attachment  to  Bothwell, 
from  the  engagements  which  they  had  come  under, 

a  Keith,  419.  446.  449.    Melv.  167.    See  Appendix,  No.  XXII. 


BOOK  v.  OF  SCOTLAND.  351 

when  she  yielded  herself  a  prisoner,  they,  without  re-      15«7. 
garding  the  duty  which  they  owed  her  as  their  queen,  ~ 
and  without  consulting  the  rest  of  the  nobles,  carried 
her  next  evening,  under  a  strong  guard,  to  the  castle 
of  Lochlevin,  and  signed  a  warrant  to  William  Douglas,  They  im 
the  owner  of  it,  to  detain  her  as  a  prisoner.     Thisjj 
castle  is  situated  in  a  small  island  in  the  middle  of  a 
lake.     Douglas,  to  whom  it  belonged,  was  a  near  rela- 
tion of  Morton's,  and  had  married  the  earl  of  Murray's 
mother.     In  this  place,  under  strict  custody,  with  a  few 
attendants,  and  subjected  to  the  insults  of  a  haughty 
woman,  who  boasted  daily  of  being  the  lawful  wife  of 
James   the   fifth,  Mary   suffered   all   the   rigour   and 
miseries  of  captivity11. 

Immediately  after  the  queen's  imprisonment  the  con- 
federates were  at  the  utmost  pains  to  strengthen  their 
party;  they  entered  into  new  bonds  of  association; 
they  assumed  the  title  of  '  lords  of  the  secret  council,' 
and,  without  any  other  right,  arrogated  to  them- 
selves the  whole  regal  authority.  One  of  their  first 
acts  of  power  was  to  search  the  city  of  Edinburgh 
for  such  as  had  been  concerned  in  the  murder  of  the 
king.  This  show  of  zeal  gained  reputation  to  them- 
selves, and  threw  an  oblique  reflection  on  the  queen 
for  her  remissness.  Several  suspected  persons  were 
seized.  Captain  Blackadder  and  three  others  were 
condemned  and  executed.  But  no  discovery  of  import- 
ance was  made.  If  we  believe  some  historians,  they 
were  convicted  by  sufficient  evidence.  If  we  give  credit 
to  others,  their  sentence  was  unjust,  and  they  denied, 
with  their  last  breath,  any  knowledge  of  the  crime  for 
which  they  suffered0. 

An  unexpected  accident,  however,  put  into  the  hands 
of  Mary's  enemies  what  they  deemed  the  fullest  evi- 
dence of  her  guilt.  Bothwell  having  left  in  the  castle 
of  Edinburgh  a  casket,  containing  several  sonnets  and 

% 

b,  Keith,  403.  note  (b).  '  Cald.  vol.  ii.  53.     Crawf.  Mem.  35. 


THE  HISTORY 


BOOK  v. 


queen. 


1567.  letters  written  with  the  queen's  own  hand  ;  he  now  sent 
"~  one  of  his  confidents  to  bring  to  him  this  precious  de- 
posite.  But  as  his  messenger  returned,  he  was  inter- 
cepted, and  the  casket  seized  by  Morton  d.  The  con- 
tents of  it  were  always  produced  by  the  party,  as  the 
most  ample  justification  of  their  own  conduct;  and  to 
these  they  continually  appealed,  as  the  most  unanswer- 
able proof  of  their  not  having  loaded  their  sovereign 
with  the  imputation  of  imaginary  crimes*. 

Some  of  the  But  the  confederates,  notwithstanding  their  extraor- 
dinary  success,  were  still  far  from  being  perfectly  at 
ease.  That  so  small  a  part  of  the  nobles  should  pre- 
tend to  dispose  of  the  person  of  their  sovereign,  or  to 
assume  the  authority  which  belonged  to  her,  without 
the  concurrence  of  the  rest,  was  deemed  by  many  of 
that  body  to  be  unprecedented  and  presumptuous. 
Several  of  these  were  now  assembled  at  Hamilton,  in 
order  to  deliberate  what  course  they  should  hold  in 
this  difficult  conjuncture.  The  confederates  made 
some  attempts  towards  a  coalition  with  them,  but  with- 
out effect.  They  employed  the  mediation  of  the  as- 
sembly of  the  church,  to  draw  them  to  a  personal  inter- 
view at  Edinburgh,  but  with  no  better  success.  That 
party,  however,  though  its  numbers  were  formidable, 
and  the  power  of  its  leaders  great,  soon  lost  reputation 
by  the  want  of  unanimity  and  vigour  ;  all  its  consulta- 
tions evaporated  in  murmurs  and  complaints,  and  no 
scheme  was  concerted  for  obstructing  the  progress  of 
the  confederates  f. 

There  appeared  some  prospect  of  danger  from  an- 
other quarter.  This  great  revolution  in  Scotland  had 
been  carried  on  without  any  aid  from  Elizabeth,  and 
even  without  her  knowledge6.  Though  she  was  far 
from  being  displeased  at  seeing  the  affairs  of  that  king- 


Elizabeth 

interposes 
in  her  be- 
half. 


d  Anders,  vol.  ii.  92.     Good.  vol.  ii.  90. 

e  See  Dissertation  at  the  end  of  the  History. 

f  Keith,  407.  «r  Ibid.  415. 


BOOK  v.  OF  SCOTLAND.  353 

dom  embroiled,  or  a  rival,  whom  she  hated,  reduced  to      1567- 


distress;  she  neither  wished  that  it  should  be  in  the 
power  of  the  one  faction  entirely  to  suppress  the  other, 
nor  could  she  view  the  steps  taken  by  the  confederates 
without  great  offence.  Notwithstanding  the  popular 
maxims  by  which  she  governed  her  own  subjects,  her 
notions  of  royal  prerogative  were  very  exalted.  The 
confederates  had,  in  her  opinion,  encroached  on  the 
authority  of  their  sovereign,  which  they  had  no  right 
to  control,  and  had  offered  violence  to  her  person, 
which  it  was  their  duty  to  esteem  sacred.  They  had 
set  a  dangerous  example  to  other  subjects,  and  Mary's 
cause  became  the  common  cause  of  princes'1.  If  ever 
Elizabeth  was  influenced  with  regard  to  the  affairs  of 
Scotland  by  the  feelings  of  her  heart,  rather  than  by 
considerations  of  interest,  it  was  on  this  occasion.  Mary, 
in  her  present  condition,  degraded  from  her  throne, 
and  covered  with  the  infamy  attending  an  accusation  of 
such  atrocious  crimes,  could  be  no  longer  the  object  of 
Elizabeth's  jealousy,  either  as  a  woman  or  as  a  queen. 
Sympathy  with  a  sovereign  in  distress  seems,  for  a  mo- 
ment, to  have  touched  a  heart  not  very  susceptible  of 
tender  sentiments;  and,  while  these  were  yet  warm, 
she  despatched  Throkmorton  into  Scotland,  with  power  June  30. 
to  negotiate  both  with  the  queen  and  with  the  confede- 
rates. In  his  instructions  there  appears  a  remarkable 
solicitude  for  Mary's  liberty,  and  even  for  her  reputa- 
tion; and  the  terms  upon  which  she  proposed  to  re- 
establish concord  between  the  queen  and  her  subjects, 
appear  to  be  so  reasonable  and  well-digested,  as  might 
have  ensured  the  safety  and  happiness  of  both.  Zea- 
lous as  Throkmorton  was  to  accomplish  this,  all  his 
endeavours  and  address  proved  ineffectual.  He  found 
not  only  the  confederate  nobles,  but  the  nation  in 
general,  so  far  alienated  from  the  queen,  and  so  much 
offended  with  the  indecent  precipitancy  of  her  marriage 

"  Keith,  412.  415. 
VOL.  I.  A  a 


354  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  v. 

1567:  with  the  reputed  murderer  of  her  former  husband,  as 
to  be  incapable  of  listening  to  any  proposition  in  her 
favour. 

During  the  state  of  anarchy  occasioned  by  the  im- 
prisonment of  the  queen,  and  the  dissolution  of  the 
established  government,  which  afforded  such  ample 
scope  for  political  speculation,  four  different  schemes 
had  been  proposed  for  the  settlement  of  the  nation. 
One,  that  Mary  should  be  replaced  upon  the  throne, 
but  under  various  and  strict  limitations.  The  second, 
that  she  should  resign  the  crown  to  her  son,  and,  re- 
tiring out  of  the  kingdom,  should  reside,  during  the 
remainder  of  her  days,  either  in  England  or  in  France. 
The  third,  that  Mary  should  be  brought  to  public 
trial  for  her  crimes,  and,  after  conviction,  of  which 
no  doubt  was  entertained,  should  be  kept  in  perpetual 
imprisonment.  The  fourth,  that  after  trial  and  con- 
demnation, capital  punishment  should  be  inflicted  upon 
her.  Throkmorton,  though  disposed,  as  well  by  his 
own  inclination  as  in  conformity  to  the  spirit  of  his  in- 
structions, to  view  matters  in  the  light  most  favourable 
to  Mary,  informed  his  court,  that  the  milder  schemes, 
recommended  by  Maitland  alone,  would  undoubtedly 
be  reprobated,  and  one  of  the  more  rigorous  carried 
into  execution. 

In  justification  of  this  rigour,  the  confederates  main- 
tained that  Mary's  affection  for  Bothwell  was  still  un- 
abated, and  openly  avowed  by  her;  that  she  rejected 
with  disdain  every  proposal  for  dissolving  their  mar- 
riage ;  and  declared,  that  she  would  forego  every  conir 
fort,  and  endure  any  extremity,  rather  than  give  her 
consent  to  that  measure.  While  these  were  her  senti- 
ments, they  contended,  that  concern  for  the  public 
welfare,  as  well  as  attention  to  their  own  safety,  ren- 
dered it  necessary  to  put  it  out  of  the  queen's  power  to 
restore  a  daring  man,  exasperated  by  recent  injuries,  to 
his  former  station,  which  must  needs  prove  fatal  to 
both.  Notwithstanding  their  solicitude  to  conciliate  the 


BOOK  v.  OF  SCOTLAND.  355 

good-will  of  Elizabeth,  they  foresaw  clearly  what  would      [567. 
be  the  effect,  at  this  juncture,  of  Throkmorton's  inter-  "~ 
position  in  behalf  of  the  queen,  and  that  she,  elated 
with  the  prospect  of  protection,  would  refuse  to  listen 
to  the  overtures  which  they  were  about  to  make  to  her. 
For  this  reason  they  peremptorily  denied  Throkmor- 
ton  access  to  their  prisoner;    and  what   propositions 
he  made  to  them  in  her  behalf  they  either  refused  or 
eluded'. 

Meanwhile,  they  deliberated  with  the  utmost  anxiety  Schemes  of 
concerning  the  settlement  of  the  nation,  and  the  future 
disposal  of  the  queen's  person.  Elizabeth,  observing 
that  Throkmorton  made  no  progress  in  his  negotiations 
with  them,  and  that  they  would  listen  to  none  of  his 
demands  in  Mary's  favour,  turned  towards  that  party 
of  the  nobles  who  were  assembled  at  Hamilton,  incited 
them  to  take  arms  in  order  to  restore  their  queen  to 
liberty,  and  promised  to  assist  them  in  such  an  attempt 
to  the  utmost  of  her  power k.  But  they  discovered  no 
greater  union  and  vigour  than  formerly,  and,  behaving 
like  men  who  had  given  up  all  concern  either  for  their 
queen  or  their  country,  tamely  allowed  an  inconsider- 
able part  of  their  body,  whether  we  consider  it  with 
respect  to  numbers  or  to  power,  to  settle  the  govern- 
ment of  the  kingdom,  and  to  dispose  of  the  queen's 
person  at  pleasure.  Many  consultations  were  held, 
and  various  opinions  arose  with  regard  to  each  of  these. 
Some  seemed  desirous  of  adhering  to  the  plan,  on  which 
the  confederacy  was  at  first  formed ;  and  after  punish- 
ing the  murderers  of  the  king,  and  dissolving  the  mar- 
riage with  Bothwell;  after  providing  for  the  safety  of 
the  young  prince,  and  the  security  of  the  protestant 
religion ;  they  proposed  to  reestablish  the  queen  in  the 
possession  of  her  legal  authority.  The  success  with 
which  their  arms  had  been  accompanied,  inspired 
others  with  bolder  and  more  desperate  thoughts,  and 

1  Keith,  417.  427.  "  See  Appendix,  No.  XXIII. 


356  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  v. 

1567.     nothing  less  would  satisfy  them  than  the  trial,  the  con- 


demnation, and  punishment  of  the  queen  herself,  as  the 
principal  conspirator  against  the  life  of  her  husband 
and  the  safety  of  her  son1:  the  former  was  Maitland's 
system,  and  breathed  too  much  of  a  pacific  and  mode- 
rate spirit,  to  be  agreeable  to  the  temper  or  wishes  of 
the  party.  The  latter  was  recommended  by  the  clergy, 
and  warmly  adopted  by  many  laics;  but  the  nobles 
durst  not,  or  would  not,  venture  on  such  an  unprece- 
dented and  audacious  deed1". 

They  oblige  Both  parties  agreed  at  last  upon  a  scheme,  neither  so 
the  queen  to  m0(jerat;e  ag  fae  Q  nor  so  daring  as  the  other.  Mary 
resign  the  '  °  J 

govern-       was  to  be  persuaded  or  forced  to  resign  the  crown ;  the 

young  prince  was  to  be  proclaimed  king ;  and  the  earl 
of  Murray  was  to  be  appointed  to  govern  the  kingdom, 
during  his  minority,  with  the  name  and  authority  of  re- 
gent. With  regard  to  the  queen's  own  person,  nothing 
was  determined.  It  seems  to  have  been  the  intention 
of  the  confederates  to  keep  her  in  perpetual  imprison- 
ment ;  but,  in  order  to  intimidate  herself,  and  to  over- 
awe her  partisans,  they  still  reserved  to  themselves  the 
power  of  proceeding  to  more  violent  extremes. 

It  was  obvious  to  foresee  difficulties  in  the  execu- 
tion of  this  plan.  Mary  was  young,  ambitious,  high- 
spirited,  and  accustomed  to  command.  To  induce  her 
to  acknowledge  her  own  incapacity  for  governing,  to 
renounce  the  dignity  and  power  which  she  was  born  to 
enjoy,  to  become  dependent  on  her  own  subjects,  to 
consent  to  her  own  bondage,  and  to  invest  those  persons 
whom  she  considered  as  the  authors  of  all  her  calamities, 
with  that  honour  and  authority  of  which  she  herself 
was  stripped,  were  points  hard  to  be  gained.  These, 
however,  the  confederates  attempted,  and  they  did  not 

»  Keith,  420,  421,  422.  582. 

m  The  intention  of  putting  the  queen  to  death  seems  to  have  been  carried 
on  by  some  of  her  subjects :  at  this  time  we  often  find  Elizabeth  boasting 
that  Mary  owed  her  life  to  her  interposition,  pigges's  Compl.  Amb.  14, 
etc.  See  Appendix,  No.  XVIII. 


BOOK  v.  OF  SCOTLAND.  357 

want  means  to  ensure  success.  Mary  had  endured,  for  1567. 
several  weeks,  all  the  hardships  and  terrour  of  a  prison;  ~ 
no  prospect  of  liberty  appeared ;  none  of  her  subjects 
had  either  taken  arms,  or  so  much  as  solicited  her 
relief0;  no  person,  in  whom  she  could  confide,  was 
admitted  into  her  presence ;  even  the  ambassadors  of 
the  French  king,  and  queen  of  England,  were  refused 
access  to  her.  In  this  solitary  state,  without  a  counsel- 
lor, or  a  friend,  under  the  pressure  of  distress  and  the 
apprehension  of  danger,  it  was  natural  for  a  woman  to 
hearken  almost  to  any  overtures.  The  confederates 
took  advantage  of  her  condition  and  of  her  fears. 
They  employed  lord  Lindsay,  the  fiercest  zealot  in  the 
party,  to  communicate  their  scheme  to  the  queen,  and 
to  obtain  her  subscription  to  those  papers  which  were 
necessary  for  rendering  it  effectual.  He  executed  his 
commission  with  harshness  and  brutality.  Certain 
death  was  before  Mary's  eyes,  if  she  refused  to  comply 
with  his  demands.  At  the  same  time  she  was  in- 
formed by  sir  Robert  Melvil,  in  the  name  of  Athol, 
Maitland,  and  Kirkaldy,  the  persons  among  the  confe- 
derates who  were  most  attentive  to  her  interest,  that  a 
resignation  extorted  by  fear,  and  granted  during  her 
imprisonment,  was  void  in  law,  and  might  be  revoked, 
as  soon  as  she  recovered  liberty.  Throkmorton,  by  a 
note  which  he  found  means  of  conveying  to  her,  sug- 
gested the  same  thing0.  Deference  to  their  opinion, 
as  well  as  concern  for  her  own  safety,  obliged  her  to 
yield  to  every  thing  which  was  required,  and  to  sign  all 
the  papers  which  Lindsay  presented  to  her.  By  one 
of  these  she  resigned  the  crown,  renounced  all  share  in 
the  government  of  the  kingdom,  and  consented  to  the 
coronation  of  the  young  king.  By  another,  she  ap-juiy24. 
pointed  the  earl  of  Murray  regent,  and  conferred  upon 
him  all  the  powers  and  privileges  of  that  high  office. 
By  a  third,  she  substituted  some  other  nobleman  in 

»  Keith,  425.  °  Keith,  425.  note  (b).    Melv.  169. 


358  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  v. 

1667.  Murray's  place,  if  he  should  refuse  the  honour  which 
was  designed  for  him.  Mary,  when  she  subscribed 
these  deeds,  was  bathed  in  tears ;  and  while  she  gave 
away,  as  it  were  with  her  own  hands,  the  sceptre  which 
she  had  swayed  so  long,  she  felt  a  pang  of  grief  and 
indignation,  one  of  the  severest,  perhaps,  which  can 
touch  the  human  heart  P. 

James  the        The  confederates  endeavoured  to  give  this  resigna- 
Slxth    d      tion  all  the  weight  and  validity  in  their  power,  by  pro- 
and  Murray  ceeding  without  delay  to  crown  the  young  prince.    The 
gent?"        ceremony  was  performed  at  Stirling,  on  the  twenty- 
ninth  of  July,  with  much  solemnity,  in  presence  of  all 
the  nobles  of  the  party,  a  considerable  number  of  lesser 
barons,  and  a  great  assembly  of  the  people.      From 
that  time,  all  public  writs  were  issued,  and  the  govern- 
ment carried  on,  in  the  name  of  James  the  sixth q. 

No  revolution  so  great  was  ever  effected  with  more 
ease,  or  by  means  so  unequal  to  the  end.  In  a  warlike 
age,  and  in  less  time  than  two  months,  a  part  of  the 
nobles,  who  neither  possessed  the  chief  power,  nor  the 
greatest  wealth  in  the  nation,  and  who  never  brought 
three  thousand  men  into  the  field,  seized,  imprisoned, 
and  dethroned  their  queen,  and,  without  shedding  a 
single  drop  of  blood,  set  her  son,  an  infant  of  a  year 
old,  on  the  throne. 

Reasonings      During  this  rapid  progress  of  the  confederates,  the 
of  both  par-  eyes  of  a]|  tne  nation  were  turned  on  them  with  asto- 

ties.  * 

nishment ;  and  various  and  contradictory  opinions  were 
formed  concerning  the  extraordinary  steps  which  they 
had  taken. 

Even  under  the  aristocratical  form  of  government 
which  prevails  in  Scotland,  said  the  favourers  of  the 
queen,  and  notwithstanding  the  exorbitant  privileges  of 
the  nobles,  the  prince  possesses  considerable  power, 
and  his  person  is  treated  with  great  veneration.  No 
encroachments  should  be  made  on  the  former,  and  no 

P  Keith,  430.    Crawf.  Mem.  38.  n  Keith,  437. 


BOOK  v.  OF  SCOTLAND.  S59 

injury  offered  to  the  latter,  but  in  cases  where  the  li-  J567. 
berty  and  happiness  of  the  nation  cannot  be  secured  ~ 
by  any  other  means.  Such  cases  seldom  exist,  and  it 
belongs  not  to  any  part,  but  to  the  whole,  or  at  least 
to  a  majority  of  the  society,  to  judge  of  their  existence. 
By  what  action  could  it  be  pretended  that  Mary  had 
invaded  the  rights  or  property  of  her  subjects ;  or  what 
scheme  had  she  formed  against  the  liberty  and  consti- 
tution of  the  kingdom?  Were  fears,  and  suspicions, 
and  surmises,  enough  to  justify  the  imprisoning  and 
the  deposing  a  queen,  to  whom  the  crown  descended 
from  so  long  a  race  of  monarchs  ?  The  principal  au- 
thor of  whatever  was  reckoned  culpable  in  her  conduct, 
was  now  driven  from  her  presence.  The  murderers  of 
the  king  might  have  been  brought  to  condign  punish- 
ment, the  safety  of  the  prince  have  been  secured,  and 
the  protestant  religion  have  been  established,  without 
wresting  the  sceptre'  out  of  her  hands,  or  condemning 
her  to  perpetual  imprisonment.  Whatever  right  a  free 
parliament  might  have  had  to  proceed  to  such  a  rigor- 
ous conclusion,  or  whatever  name  its  determinations 
might  have  merited,  a  sentence  of  this  nature,  passed 
by  a  small  party  of  the  nobility,  without  acknowledging 
or  consulting  the  rest  of  the  nation,  must  be  deemed  a 
rebellion  against  the  government,  and  a  conspiracy 
against  the  person  of  their  sovereign. 

The  partisans  of  the  confederates  reasoned  very  dif- 
ferently. It  is  evident,  said  they,  that  Mary  either 
previously  gave  consent  to  the  king's  murder,  or  did 
afterwards  approve  of  that  horrid  action.  Her  attach- 
ment to  Bothwell,  the  power  and  honours  which  she 
has  conferred  upon  him,  the  manner  in  which  she  suf- 
fered his  trial  to  be  carried  on,  and  the  indecent  speed 
with  which  she  married  a  man  stained  with  so  many 
crimes,  raise  strong  suspicions  of  the  former,  and  put 
the  latter  beyond  all  doubt.  To  have  suffered  the 
supreme  power  to  continue  in  the  hands  of  an  ambitious 
man,  capable  of  the  most  atrocious  and  desperate  ac- 


360  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  v. 

1567.  tions,  would  have  been  disgraceful  to  the  nation,  dis- 
~~  honourable  to  the  queen,  and  dangerous  to  the  prince. 
Recourse  was,  therefore,  had  to  arms.  The  queen  had 
been  compelled  to  abandon  an  husband  so  unworthy  of 
herself.  But  her  affection  toward  him  still  continuing 
unabated ;  her  indignation  against  the  authors  of  this 
separation  being  visible,  and  often  expressed  in  the 
strongest  terms ;  they,  by  restoring  her  to  her  ancient 
authority,  would  have  armed  her  with  power  to  destroy 
themselves,  have  enabled  her  to  recall  Bothwell,  and 
have  afforded  her  an  opportunity  of  pursuing  schemes 
fatal  to  the  nation  with  greater  eagerness,  and  with  more 
success.  Nothing,  therefore,  remained,  but,  by  one 
bold  action,  to  deliver  themselves  and  their  country 
from  all  future  fears.  The  expedient  they  had  chosen 
was  no  less  respectful  to  the  royal  blood,  than  necessary 
for  the  public  safety.  While  one  prince  was  set  aside 
as  incapable  of  governing,  the  crown  was  placed  on  his 
head  who  was  the  undoubted  representative  of  their 
ancient  kings. 

Whatever  opinion  posterity  may  form  on  comparing 
the  arguments  of  the  two  contending  parties,  whatever 
sentiments  we  may  entertain  concerning  the  justice  or 
necessity  of  that  course  which  the  confederates  held,  it 
cannot  be  denied  that  their  conduct,  so  far  as  regarded 
themselves,  was  extremely  prudent.  Other  expedients, 
less  rigorous  towards  Mary,  might  have  been  found  for 
settling  the  nation;  but,  after  the  injuries  which  they 
had  already  offered  the  queen,  there  was  none  so  effec- 
tual for  securing  their  own  safety,  or  perpetuating  their 
own  power. 

To  a  great  part  of  the  nation,  the  conduct  of  the 
confederates  appeared  not  only  wise,  but  just.  The 
king's  accession  to  the  throne  was  every  where  pro- 
claimed, and  his  authority  submitted  to  without  oppo- 
sition. Though  several  of  the  nobles  were  still  assem- 
bled at  Hamilton,  and  seemed  to  be  entering  into  some 
combination  against  his  government,  an  association  for 


BOOK  v.  OF  SCOTLAND.  361 

supporting  it  was  formed,  and  signed  by  so  many  per-     1567. 
sons  of  power  and  influence  throughout  the  nation,  as  ~ 
entirely  discouraged  the  attempt r. 

The  return  of  the  earl  of  Murray,  about  this  time,  Murray  as- 
added  strength  to  the  party,  and  gave  it  a  regular  and 
finished  form.  Soon  after  the  murder  of  the  king,  this 
nobleman  had  retired  into  France,  upon  what  pretence 
historians  do  not  mention.  During  his  residence  there, 
he  had  held  a  close  correspondence  with  the  chiefs  of 
the  confederacy,  and,  at  their  desire,  he  now  returned. 
He  seemed,  at  first,  unwilling  to  accept  the  office  of 
regent.  This  hesitation  cannot  be  ascribed  to  the  scru- 
ples either  of  diffidence  or  of  duty.  Murray  wanted 
neither  the  abilities  nor  the  ambition  which  might  in- 
cite him  to  aspire  to  this  high  dignity.  He  had  receiv- 
ed the  first  accounts  of  his  promotion  with  the  utmost 
satisfaction;  but,  by  appearing  to  continue  for  some 
days  in  suspense,  he  gained  time  to  view  with  attention 
the  ground  on  which  he  was  to  act;  to  balance  the 
strength  and  resources  of  the  two  contending  factions; 
and  to  examine  whether  the  foundation  on  which  his 
future  fame  and  success  must  rest,  were  sound  and 
firm. 

Before  he  declared  his  final  resolution,  he  waited  on 
Mary  at  Lochlevin.  This  visit,  to  a  sister,  and  a  queen, 
in  a  prison,  from  which  he  had  neither  any  intention 
to  relieve  her,  nor  to  mitigate  the  rigour  of  her  con- 
finement, may  be  mentioned  among  the  circumstances 
which  discover  the  great  want  of  delicacy  and  refine- 
ment in  that  age.  Murray,  who  was  naturally  rough 
and  uncourtly  in  his  manner5,  expostulated  so  warmly 
with  the  queen  concerning  her  past  conduct,  and 
charged  her  faults  so  home  upon  her,  that  Mary,  who 
had  flattered  herself  with  more  gentle  and  brotherly 
treatment  from  him,  melted  into  tears,  and  abandoned 
herself  entirely  to  despair l.  This  interview,  from  which 

'  Anders,  vol.  ii.  231.  •  Keith,  96.  «  Ibid.  445,  446. 


362  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  v. 

1567.     Murray  could  reap  no  political  advantage,  and  wherein 

~he  discovered  a  spirit  so  severe  and  unrelenting,  may 

be  reckoned  among  the  most  bitter  circumstances  in 

Mary's  life,  and  is  certainly  one  of  the  most  unjustifiable 

steps  in  his  conduct. 

Aug.  22.  Soon  after  his  return  from  Lochlevin,  Murray  ac- 
cepted the  office  of  regent,  and  began  to  act  in  that 
character  without  opposition. 

Fate  of  Amidst  so  many  great  and  unexpected  events,  the 

1  we  '  fate  of  Bothwell,  the  chief  cause  of  them  all,  hath  been 
almost  forgotten.  After  his  flight  from  the  confede- 
rates, he  lurked  for  some  time  among  his  vassals  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  Dunbar.  But  finding  it  impossible 
for  him  to  make  head,  in  that  country,  against  his  ene- 
mies, or  even  to  secure  himself  from  their  pursuit,  he 
fled  for  shelter  to  his  kinsman,  the  bishop  of  Murray ; 
and  when  he,  overawed  by  the  confederates,  was  ob- 
liged to  abandon  him,  he  retired  to  the  Orkney  isles. 
Hunted  from  place  to  place,  deserted  by  his  friends, 
and  accompanied  by  a  few  retainers,  as  desperate  as 
himself,  he  suffered,  at  once,  the  miseries  of  infamy 
and  of  want.  His  indigence  forced  him  upon  a  course 
which  added  to  his  infamy.  He  armed  a  few  small 
ships,  which  had  accompanied  him  from  Dunbar,  and, 
attacking  every  vessel  which  fell  in  his  way,  endea- 
voured to  procure  subsistence  for  himself  and  his  fol- 
lowers by  piracy.  Kirkaldy  and  Murray  of  Tullibardin 
were  sent  out  against  him  by  the  confederates ;  and, 
.  surprising  him  while  he  rode  at  anchor,  scattered  his 
small  fleet,  took  a  part  of  it,  and  obliged  him  to  fly 
with  a  single  ship  towards  Norway.  On  that  coast  he 
fell  in  with  a  vessel  richly  laden,  and  immediately  at- 
tacked it;  the  Norwegians  sailed  with  armed  boats  to 
its  assistance,  and,  after  a  desperate  fight,  Bothwell 
and  all  his  crew  were  taken  prisoners.  His  name  and 
quality  were  both  unknown,  and  he  was  treated  at  first 
with  all  the  indignity  and  rigour  which  the  odious  crime 
of  piracy  merited.  His  real  character  was  soon  dis- 


BOOK  v.  OF  SCOTLAND.  363 

covered;  and,  though  it  saved  him  from  the  infamous  I5t>7. 
death  to  which  his  associates  were  condemned,  it  could  ~ 
neither  procure  him  liberty,  nor  mitigate  the  hardships 
of  his  imprisonment.  He  languished  ten  years  in  this 
unhappy  condition;  melancholy  and  despair  deprived 
him  of  reason,  and  at  last  he  ended  his  days,  unpitied 
by  his  countrymen,  and  unassisted  by  strangers".  Few 
men  ever  accomplished  their  ambitious  projects  by 
worse  means,  or  reaped  from  them  less  satisfaction. 
The  early  part  of  his  life  was  restless  and  enterprising, 
full  of  danger  and  of  vicissitudes.  His  enjoyment  of  the 
grandeur,  to  which  he  attained  by  so  many  crimes,  was 
extremely  short ;  imbittered  by  much  anxiety,  and  dis- 
quieted by  many  fears.  In  his  latter  years,  he  suffered 
the  most  intolerable  calamities  to  which  the  wretched 
are  subject,  and  from  which  persons  who  have  moved 
in  so  high  a  sphere  are  commonly  exempted. 

The  good  effects  of  Murray's  accession  to  the  re- Success  of 
gency  were  quickly  felt.  The  party  forming  for  the  admhustra- 
queen  was  weak,  irresolute,  and  disunited ;  and  no  tion. 
sooner  was  the  government  of  the  kingdom  in  the 
hands  of  a  man  so  remarkable  both  for  his  abilities 
and  popularity,  than  the  nobles,  of  whom  it  was  com- 
posed, lost  all  hopes  of  gaining  ground,  and  began  to 
treat  separately  with  the  regent.  So  many  of  them 
were  brought  to  acknowledge  the  king's  authority,  that 
scarce  any  appearance  of  opposition  to  the  established 
government  was  left  in  the  kingdom.  Had  they  ad- 
hered to  the  queen  with  any  firmness,  it  is  probable, 
from  Elizabeth's  disposition  at  that  time,  that  she  would 
have  afforded  them  such  assistance  as  might  have  en- 
abled them  to  face  their  enemies  in  the  field.  But 
there  appeared  so  little  vigour  or  harmony  in  their 
councils,  that  she  was  discouraged  from  espousing  their 
cause ;  and  the  regent,  taking  advantage  of  their  situa- 
tion, obliged  them  to  submit  to  his  government,  with- 

«  Melv.  168. 


364 


THE  HISTORY 


BOOK  v. 


1567. 


A  parlia- 
Dec.  15. 


Confirms 


confede- 


out  granting  any  terms,  either  to  themselves  or  to  the 
"  queen  *. 

The  regent  was  no  less  successful  in  his  attempt  to 
get  into  his  hands  the  places  of  strength  in  the  king- 
dom. Balfour,  the  deputy-governor,  surrendered  the 
castle  of  Edinburgh ;  and,  as  the  reward  of  his  trea- 
chery in  deserting  Bothwell  his  patron,  obtained  terms 
of  great  advantage  to  himself.  The  governor  of  Dun- 
bar,  who  discovered  greater  fidelity,  was  soon  forced 
to  capitulate :  some  other  small  forts  surrendered  with- 
out resistance. 

This  face  of  tranquillity  in  the  nation  encouraged  the 
regent  to  call  a  meeting  of  parliament.  Nothing  was 
wanting  to  confirm  the  king's  authority,  and  the  pro- 
ceedings of  the  confederates,  except  the  approbation 
of  this  supreme  court ;  and,  after  the  success  which  had 
attended  all  their  measures,  there  could  be  little  doubt 
of  obtaining  it.  The  numbers  that  resorted  to  an  as- 
sembly which  was  called  to  deliberate  on  matters  of 
so  much  importance,  were  great.  The  meeting  was 
opened  with  the  utmost  solemnity,  and  all  its  acts  pass- 
ed with  much  unanimity.  Many,  however,  of  the  lords 
who  had  discovered  the  warmest  attachment  to  the 
queen,  were  present.  But  they  had  made  their  peace 
with  the  regent.  Argyll,  Huntly,  and  Herries,  acknow- 
ledged, openly  in  parliament,  that  their  behaviour  to- 
wards the  king  had  been  undutiful  and  criminal y.  Their 
compliance,  in  this  manner,  with  the  measures  of  the 
regent's  party,  was  either  the  condition  on  which  they 
were  admitted  into  favour,  or  intended  as  a  proof  of 
the  sincerity  of  their  reconcilement. 

The  parliament  granted  every  thing  the  confederates 
could  demand,  either  for  the  safety  of  their  own  per- 
sons, or  the  security  of  that  form  of  government  which 
they  had  established  in  the  kingdom.  Mary's  resigna- 


*  Keith,  447.  450.  463. 

i  Anders,  vol.  iv.  153.    See  Appendix,  No.  XXIV. 


BOOK  v.  OF  SCOTLAND.  365 

tion  of  the  crown  was  accepted,  and  declared  to  be  1567. 
valid.  The  king's  authority,  and  Murray's  election, 
were  recognised  and  confirmed.  The  imprisoning  the 
queen,  and  all  the  other  proceedings  of  the  confede- 
rates, were  pronounced  lawful.  The  letters  which 
Mary  had  written  to  Bothwell  were  produced,  and  she 
was  declared  to  be  accessory  to  the  murder  of  the 
kingz.  At  the  same  time,  all  the  acts  of  parliament 
of  the  year  one  thousand  five  hundred  and  sixty,  in 
favour  of  the  protestant  religion,  were  publicly  ratified ; 
new  statutes  to  the  same  purpose  were  enacted;  and 
nothing  that  could  contribute  to  root  out  the  remains 
of  popery,  or  to  encourage  the  growth  of  the  reforma- 
tion, was  neglected. 

It  is  observable,  however,  that  the  same  parsimoni- 
ous spirit  prevailed  in  this  parliament,  as  in  that  of  the 
year  one  thousand  five  hundred  and  sixty.  The  pro- 
testant clergy,  notwithstanding  many  discouragements, 
and  their  extreme  poverty,  had,  for  seven  years,  per- 
formed all  religious  offices  in  the  kingdom.  The  ex- 
pedients fallen  upon  for  their  subsistence  had  hitherto 
proved  ineffectual,  or  were  intended  to  be  so.  But, 
notwithstanding  their  known  indigence,  and  the  warm 
remonstrances  of  the  assembly  of  the  church,  which 
met  this  year,  the  parliament  did  nothing  more  for 
their  relief,  than  prescribe  some  new  regulations  con- 
cerning the  payment  of  the  thirds  of  benefices,  which 
did  not  produce  any  considerable  change  in  the  situa- 
tion of  the  clergy. 

A  few  days  after  the  dissolution  of  parliament,  four     1553. 
of  Bothwell's  dependents  were  convicted  of  being  guilty  Jan- 3- 
of  the  king's  murder,  and  suffered  death  as  traitors. 
Their  confessions  brought  to  light  many  circumstances 
relative  to  the  manner  of  committing  that  barbarous 
crime ;  but  they  were  persons  of  low  rank,  and  seem 
not  to  have  been  admitted  into  the  secrets  of  the  con- 
spiracy *. 
1  Good.  vol.  ii.  66.  Anders,  vol.  ii.  206.  *  Anders,  vol.  ii.  165. 


366  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  v. 

1568.  Notwithstanding  the  universal  submission  to  the  re- 
~~  gent's  authority,  there  still  abounded  in  the  kingdom 
many  secret  murmurs  and  cabals.  The  partisans  of  the 
house  of  Hamilton  reckoned  Murray's  promotion  an 
injury  to  the  duke  of  Chatelherault,  who,  as  first  prince 
of  the  blood,  had,  in  their  opinion,  an  undoubted  right 
to  be  regent.  The  length  and  rigour  of  Mary's  suffer- 
ings began  to  move  many  to  commiserate  her  case. 
All  who  leaned  to  the  ancient  opinions  in  religion 
dreaded  the  effects  of  Murray's  zeal.  And  he,  though 
his  abilities  were  great,  did  not  possess  the  talents  re- 
quisite for  soothing  the  rage  or  removing  the  jealousies 
of  the  different  factions.  By  insinuation,  or  address, 
he  might  have  gained  or  softened  many  who  had  op- 
posed him ;  but  he  was  a  stranger  to  these  gentle  arts. 
His  virtues  were  severe ;  and  his  deportment  towards 
his  equals,  especially  after  his  elevation  to  the  regency, 
distant  and  haughty.  This  behaviour  offended  some 
of  the  nobles,  and  alarmed  others.  The  queen's  fac- 
tion, which  had  been  so  easily  dispersed,  began  again 
to  gather  and  to  unite,  and  was  secretly  favoured  by 
some  who  had  hitherto  zealously  concurred  with  the 
confederates b. 

Mary  Such  was  the  favourable  disposition  of  the  nation 

froratjoch-  towards  the  queen,  when  she  recovered  her  liberty,  in 
levm.  a  manner  no  less  surprising  to  her  friends,  than  un- 
expected by  her  enemies.  Several  attempts  had  been 
made  to  procure  her  an  opportunity  of  escaping,  which 
some  unforeseen  accident,  or  the  vigilance  of  her  keep- 
ers, had  hitherto  disappointed.  At  last,  Mary  employ- 
ed all  her  art  to  gain  George  Douglas,  her  keeper's 
brother,  a  youth  of  eighteen.  As  her  manners  were 
naturally  affable  and  insinuating,  she  treated  him  with 
the  most  flattering  distinction;  she  even  allowed  him 
to  entertain  the  most  ambitious  hopes,  by  letting  fall 
some  expressions,  as  if  she  would  choose  him  for  her 

b  Melv.  179. 


BOOK  v.  OF  SCOTLAND.  367 

husband0.  At  his  age,  and  in  such  circumstances,  it  I56a. 
was  impossible  to  resist  such  a  temptation.  He  yielded,  ~ 
and  drew  others  into  the  plot.  On  Sunday,  the  second 
of  May,  while  his  brother  sat  at  supper,  and  the  rest 
of  the  family  were  retired  to  their  devotions,  one  of  his 
accomplices  found  means  to  steal  the  keys  out  of  his 
brother's  chamber,  and,  opening  the  gates  to  the  queen 
and  one  of  her  maids,  locked  them  behind  her,  and 
then  threw  the  keys  into  the  lake.  Mary  ran  with 
precipitation  to  the  boat  which  was  prepared  for  her, 
and,  on  reaching  the  shore,  was  received  with  the  ut- 
most joy  by  Douglas,  lord  Seaton,  and  sir  James  Ha- 
milton, who,  with  a  few  attendants,  waited  for  her. 
She  instantly  mounted  on  horseback,  and  rode  full 
speed  towards  Niddrie,  lord  Seaton's  seat  in  West- 
Lothian.  She  arrived  there  that  night,  without  being 
pursued  or  interrupted.  After  halting  three  hours, 
she  set  out  for  Hamilton ;  and,  travelling  at  the  same 
pace,  she  reached  it  next  morning. 

On  the  first  news  of  Mary's  escape,  her  friends,  Arrives  at 
whom,  in  their  present  disposition,  a  much  smaller  ac-  an^ahiles 
cident  would  have  roused,  ran  to  arms.  In  a  few  days,  numerous 

tirniv 

her  court  was  filled  with  a  great  and  splendid  train  of 
nobles,  accompanied  by  such  numbers  of  followers,  as 
formed  an  army  above  six  thousand  strong.  In  their 
presence  she  declared  that  the  resignation  of  the  crown, 
and  the  other  deeds  which  she  had  signed  during  her 
imprisonment,  were  extorted  from  her  by  fear.  Sir 
Robert  Melvil  confirmed  her  declaration ;  and  on  that, 
as  well  as  on  other  accounts,  a  council  of  the  nobles 
and  chief  men  of  her  party  pronounced  all  these  trans- 
actions void  and  illegal.  At  the  same  time,  an  associa-  May  a. 
tion  was  formed  for  the  defence  of  her  person  and  au- 
thority, and  subscribed  by  nine  earls,  nine  bishops, 
eighteen  lords,  and  many  gentlemen  of  distinction11. 
Among  them  we  find  several  who  had  been  present  in 

c  Keith,  469.  481.  note.  d  Keith,  475. 


3G8  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  v. 

'  1568.  the  last  parliament,  and  who  had  signed  the  counter- 
association  in  defence  of  the  king's  government;  but 
such  sudden  changes  were  then  so  common,  as  to  be 
no  matter  of  reproach. 

Constema-  At  the  time  when  the  queen  made  her  escape,  the 
tion  of  the  regent;  was  at  Glasgow,  holding  a  court  of  justice.  An 
herents.  event  so  contrary  to  their  expectations,  and  so  fatal  to 
their  schemes,  gave  a  great  shock  to  his  adherents. 
Many  of  them  appeared  wavering  and  irresolute ;  others 
began  to  carry  on  private  negotiations  with  the  queen ; 
and  some  openly  revolted  to  her  side.  In  so  difficult  a 
juncture,  where  his  own  fame,  and  the  being  of  the 
party,  depended  on  his  choice,  the  regent's  most  faith- 
ful associates  were  divided  in  opinion.  Some  advised 
him  to  retire,  without  loss  of  time,  to  Stirling.  The 
queen's  army  was  already  strong,  and  only  eight  miles 
distant;  the  adjacent  country  was  full  of  the  friends 
and  dependents  of  the  house  of  Hamilton,  and  other 
lords  of  the  queen's  faction ;  Glasgow  was  a  large  and 
unfortified  town ;  his  own  train  consisted  of  no  greater 
number  than  was  usual  in  times  of  peace ;  all  these 
reasons  pleaded  for  a  retreat.  But,  on  the  other  hand, 
arguments  were  urged  of  no  inconsiderable  weight. 
The  citizens  of  Glasgow  were  well  affected  to  the 
cause ;  the  vassals  of  Glencairn,  Lennox,  and  Semple, 
lay  near  at  hand,  and  were  both  numerous  and  full  of 
zeal;  succours  might  arrive  from  other  parts  of  the 
kingdom  in  a  few  days ;  in  war,  success  depends  upon 
reputation,  as  much  as  upon  numbers ;  reputation  is 
gained,  or  lost,  by  the  first  step  one  takes ;  on  all  these 
considerations,  a  retreat  would  be  attended  with  all  the 
ignominy  of  a  flight,  and  would,  at  once,  dispirit  his 
Hispru-  friends,  and  inspire  his  enemies  with  boldness.  In  such 
dent  con-  dangerous  exigencies  as  this,  the  superiority  of  Murray's 
genius  appeared,  and  enabled  him  both  to  choose  with 
wisdom  and  to  act  with  vigour.  He  declared  against 
retreating,  and  fixed  his  head-quarters  at  Glasgow. 
And  while  he  amused  the  queen  for  some  days,  by  pre- 


BOOK  v.  OF  SCOTLAND.  369 

tending  to  hearken  to  some  overtures,  which  she  made      1568. 
for  accommodating  their  differences,  he  was  employed,  ~~ 
with  the  utmost  industry,  in  drawing  together  his  ad- 
herents from  different  parts  of  the  kingdom.     He  was 
soon  in  a  condition  to  take  the  field;  and,  though  far 
inferior  to  the  enemy  in  number,  he  confided  BO  much 
in  the  valour  of  his  troops  and  the  experience  of  his 
officers,  that  he  broke  off  the  negotiation,  and  deter- 
mined to  hazard  a  battle  *. 

At  the  same  time,  the  queen's  generals  had  com- May  13. 
manded  her  army  to  move.  Their  intention  was,  to 
conduct  her  to  Dunbarton  castle,  a  place  of  great 
strength,  which  the  regent  had  not  been  able  to  wrest 
out  of  the  hands  of  lord  Fleming,  the  governor ;  but  if 
the  enemy  should  endeavour  to  interrupt  their  march, 
they  resolved  not  to  decline  an  engagement.  In  Mary's 
situation,  no  resolution  could  be  more  imprudent.  A 
part  only  of  her  forces  was  assembled.  Huntly,  Ogil- 
vie,  and  the  northern  clans,  were  soon  expected ;  her 
sufferings  had  removed  or  diminished  the  prejudices  of 
many  among  her  subjects ;  the  address  with  which  she 
surmounted  the  dangers  that  obstructed  her  escape, 
dazzled  and  interested  the  people ;  the  sudden  conflu- 
ence of  so  many  nobles  added  lustre  to  her  cause ;  she 
might  assuredly  depend  on  the  friendship  and  counte- 
nance of  France ;  she  had  reason  to  expect  the  protec- 
tion of  England ;  her  enemies  could  not  possibly  look 
for  support  from  that  quarter.  She  had  much  to  hope 
from  pursuing  slow  and  cautious  measures ;  they  had 
every  thing  to  fear. 

But  Mary,  whose  hopes  were  naturally  sanguine,  and 
her  passions  impetuous,  was  so  elevated  by  her  sudden 
transition  from  the  depth  of  distress,  to  such  an  un- 
usual appearance  of  prosperity,  that  she  never  doubted 
of  success.  Her  army,  which  was  almost  double  to  the 
enemy  in  number,  consisted  chiefly  of  the  Hamiltons 

«  Buchan.  369. 
VOL.  I.  B  b 


370  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  v. 

1568.  and  their  dependents.  Of  these  the  archbishop  of  St. 
"Andrew's  had  the  chief  direction,  and  hoped,  by  a  vic- 
tory, not  only  to  crush  Murray,  the  ancient  enemy  of 
his  house,  but  to  get  the  person  of  the  queen  into  his 
hands,  and  to  oblige  her  either  to  marry  one  of  the 
duke's  sons,  or,  at  least,  to  commit  the  chief  direction 
of  her  affairs  to  himself.  His  ambition  proved  fatal  to 
the  queen,  to  himself,  and  to  his  family f. 

Battle  of  Mary's  imprudence  in  resolving  to  fight,  was  not 
greater  than  the  ill  conduct  of  her  generals  in  the 
battle.  Between  the  two  armies,  and  on  the  road  to- 
wards Dunbarton,  there  was  an  eminence  called  Lang- 
side  Hill.  This  the  regent  had  the  precaution  to  seize, 
and  posted  his  troops  in  a  small  village,  and  among 
some  gardens  and  enclosures  adjacent.  In  this  advan- 
tageous situation  he  waited  the  approach  of  the  enemy, 
whose  superiority  in  cavalry  could  be  of  no  benefit  to 
them  on  such  broken  ground.  The  Hamiltons,  who 
composed  the  vanguard,  ran  so  eagerly  to  the  attack, 
that  they  put  themselves  out  of  breath,  and  left  the 
main  battle  far  behind.  The  encounter  of  the  spear- 
men was  fierce  and  desperate ;  but  as  the  forces  of  the 
Hamiltons  were  exposed,  on  the  one  flank,  to  a  con- 
tinued fire  from  a  body  of  musketeers,  attacked  on 
the  other  by  the  regent's  most  choice  troops,  and  not 
The  queen's  supported  by  the  rest  of  the  queen's  army,  they  were 
feated.6  soon  obliged  to  give  ground,  and  the  rout  immediately 
became  universal.  Few  victories  in  a  civil  war,  and 
among  a  fierce  people,  have  been  pursued  with  less 
.  violence,  or  attended  with  less  bloodshed.  Three  hun- 
dred fell  in  the  field.  In  the  flight  almost  none  were 
killed.  The  regent  and  his  principal  officers  rode 
about,  beseeching  the  soldiers  to  spare  their  country- 
men. The  number  of  prisoners  was  great,  and  among 
them  many  persons  of  distinction.  The  regent  marched 
back  to  Glasgow,  and  returned  public  thanks  to  God 

f  Anders,  vol.  iv.  32.    Melv.  181. 


BOOK  v.  OF  SCOTLAND.  371 

for  this  great,  and,  on  his  side,  almost  bloodless  vie-      1568. 


tory  g. 

During  the  engagement,  Mary  stood  on  a  hill,  at  no  Her  flight. 
great  distance,  and  beheld  all  that  passed  in  the  field, 
with  such  emotions  .of  mind  as  are  not  easily  described. 
When  she  saw  the  army,  which  was  her  last  hope, 
thrown  into  irretrievable  confusion,  her  spirit,  which  all 
her  past  misfortunes  had  not  been  able  entirely  to  sub- 
due, sunk  altogether.  In  the  utmost  consternation,  she 
began  her  flight ;  and  so  lively  were  her  impressions  of 
fear,  that  she  never  closed  her  eyes,  till  she  reached 
the  abbey  of  Dundrenan  in  Galloway,  full  sixty  Scot- 
tish miles  from  the  place  of  battle h. 

These  revolutions  in  Mary's  fortune  had  been  no  less 
rapid  than  singular.  ,In  the  short  space  of  eleven  days 
she  had  been  a  prisoner  at  the  mercy  of  her  most  in- 
veterate enemies ;  she  had  seen  a  powerful  army  under 
her  command,  and  a  numerous  train  of  nobles  at  her 
devotion.  And  now  she  was  obliged  to  fly,  in  the  ut- 
most danger  of  her  life,  and  to  lurk,  with  a  few  attend- 
ants, in  a  corner  of  her  kingdom.  Not  thinking  herself 
safe,  even  in  that  retreat,  her  fears  impelled  her  to  an 
action,  the  most  unadvised,  as  well  as  the  most  unfor- 
tunate, in  her  whole  life.  This  was  her  retiring  into 
England;  a  step,  which,  on  many  accounts,  ought  to 
have  appeared  to  her  rash  and  dangerous. 

Before  Mary's  arrival  in  Scotland,  mutual  distrust  Resolves 
and  jealousies  had  arisen  between  her  and  Elizabeth, 
All  their  subsequent  transactions  had  contributed  to 'and. 
exasperate  and  inflame  these  passions.     She  had  en- 
deavoured, by  secret  negotiations  and  intrigues,  to  dis- 
turb the  tranquillity  of  Elizabeth's  government,  and  to 
advance  her  own  pretensions  to  the  English  crown. 
Elizabeth,  who  possessed  great  power,  and  acted  with 
less  reserve,  had  openly  supported  Mary's  rebellious 
subjects,  and  fomented  all  the  dissensions  and  troubles 

g  Keith,  477.  h  Ibid.  481. 


372  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  v. 

1568.  in  which  her  reign  had  been  involved.  The  maxims  of 
~~  policy  still  authorized  that  queen  to  pursue  the  same 
course ;  as,  by  keeping  Scotland  in  confusion,  she  ef- 
fectually secured  the  peace  of  her  own  kingdom.  The 
regent,  after  his  victory,  had  marched  to  Edinburgh, 
and,  not  knowing  what  course  the  queen  had  taken,  it 
was  several  days  before  he  thought  of  pursuing  her  \ 
She  might  have  been  concealed  in  that  retired  corner, 
among  subjects  devoted  to  her  interest,  until  her  party, 
which  was  dispersed,  rather  than  broken,  by  the  late 
defeat,  should  gather  such  strength  that  she  could 
again  appear  with  safety  at  their  head.  There  was 
not  any  danger  which  she  ought  not  to  have  run,  rather 
than  throw  herself  into  the  hands  of  an  enemy,  from 
whom  she  had  already  suffered  so  many  injuries,  and 
who  was  prompted,  both  by  inclination  and  by  interest, 
to  renew  them. 

But,  on  the  other  hand,  during  Mary's  confinement, 
Elizabeth  had  declared  against  the  proceedings  of  her 
subjects,  and  solicited  for  her  liberty,  with  a  warmth 
which  had  all  the  appearance  of  sincerity.  She  had 
invited  her  to  take  refuge  in  England,  and  had  pro- 
mised to  meet  her  in  person,  and  to"  give  her  such  a 
reception  as  was  due  to  a  queen,  a  kinswoman,  and  an 
ally k.  Whatever  apprehension  Elizabeth  might  enter- 
tain of  Mary's  designs,  while  she  had  power  in  her 
hands,  she  was,  at  present,  the  object,  not  of  fear,  but 
of  pity;  and  to  take  advantage  of  her  situation,  would 
be  both  ungenerous  and  inhuman.  The  horrours  of  a 
prison  were  fresh  in  Mary's  memory ;  and  if  she  should 
fall  a  second  time  into  the  hands  of  her  subjects,  there 
was  no  injury  to  which  the  presumption  of  success 
might  not  embolden  them  to  proceed.  To  attempt 
escaping  into  France,  was  dangerous,  and,  in  her  situa- 
tion, almost  impossible ;  nor  could  she  bear  the  thoughts 

•  _ 

1  Crawf.  Mem.  59. 

k  Camd.  489.    Anders,  vol.  iv.  99.  120.    Murdin,  369. 


BOOK  v.  OF  SCOTLAND.  373 

of  appearing  as  an  exile  and  a  fugitive  in  that  kingdom      1568. 
where  she  had  once  enjoyed  all  the  splendour  of  a~ 
queen.     England  remained  her  only  asylum;  and  in 
spite  of  the  entreaties  of  lord  Herries,  Fleming,  and 
her  other  attendants,  who  conjured  her,  even  on  their 
knees,  not  to  confide  in  Elizabeth's  promises  of  gene- 
rosity, her  infatuation  was  invincible,  and  she  resolved 
to  fly  thither.  Herries,  by  her  command,  wrote  to  Low- 
ther,  the  deputy-governor  of  Carlisle,  to  know  what  re- 
ception he  would   give  her;    and,  before  his  answer  Her  recep- 

could  return,  her  fear  and  impatience  was  so  great,  !lon,.a* 

^  i  •  i  Carlisle. 

that  she  got  into  a  fisherboat,  and,  with  about  twenty  May  16. 

attendants,  landed  at  Wirkington  in  Cumberland,  and 
thence  she  was  conducted  with  many  marks  of  respect 
to  Carlisle '. 

As  soon  as  Mary  arrived  in  England,  she  wrote  a  Elizabeth 
long  letter  to  the  queen,  representing,  in  the  strongest  concerning 
terms,  the  injuries  which  she  had  suffered  from  her  the  manner 
own  subjects,  and  imploring  that  pity  and  assistance  her.re 
which  her  present  situation  demanded  m.  An  event  so 
extraordinary,  and  the  conduct  which  might  be  proper 
in  consequence  of  it,  drew  the  attention  and  employed 
the  thoughts  of  Elizabeth  and  her  council.  If  their 
deliberations  had  been  influenced  by  considerations  of 
justice  or  generosity  alone,  they  would  not  have  found 
them  long  or  intricate.  A  queen,  vanquished  by  her 
own  subjects,  and  threatened  by  them  with  the  loss  of 
her  liberty,  or  of  her  life,  had  fled  from  their  violence, 
and  thrown  herself  into  the  arms  of  her  nearest  neigh- 
bour and  ally,  from  whom  she  had  received  repeated 
assurances  of  friendship  and  protection.  These  cir- 
cumstances entitled  her  to  respect  and  to  compassion, 
and  required  that  she  should  either  be  restored  to  her 
own  kingdom,  or,  at  least,  be  left  at  full  liberty  to  seek 
aid  from  any  other  quarter.  But  with  Elizabeth  and 
her  counsellors,  the  question  was  not,  what  was  most 

1  Keith,  483.    Anders,  vol.  iv.  2.  "'  Anders,  vol.  iv.  29. 


374  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  v. 

1668.  just  or  generous,  but  what  was  most  beneficial  to  her- 
~~self,  and  to  the  English  nation.  Three  different  reso- 
lutions might  have  been  taken,  with  regard  to  the 
queen  of  Scots.  To  reinstate  her  in  her  throne,  was 
one ;  to  allow  her  to  retire  into  France,  was  another ; 
to  detain  her  in  England,  was  a  third.  Each  of  these 
drew  consequences  after  it,  of  the  utmost  importance, 
which  were  examined,  as  appears  from  papers  still  ex- 
tant n,  with  that  minute  accuracy  which  Elizabeth's  mi- 
nisters employed  in  all  their  consultations  upon  affairs 
of  moment. 

To  restore  Mary  to  the  full  exercise  of  the  royal 
authority  in  Scotland,  they  observed,  would  render  her 
more  powerful  than  ever.  The  nobles  who  were  most 
firmly  attached  to  the  English  interest  would  quickly 
feel  the  utmost  weight  of  her  resentment.  As  the  gra- 
titude of  princes  is  seldom  strong  or  lasting,  regard  to 
her  own  interest  might  soon  efface  the  memory  of  her 
obligations  to  Elizabeth,  and  prompt  her  to  renew  the 
alliance  of  the  Scottish  nation  with  France,  and  revive 
her  own  pretensions  to  the  English  crown.  Nor  was 
it  possible  to  fetter  and  circumscribe  the  Scottish  queen, 
by  any  conditions  that  would  prevent  these  dangers. 
Her  party  in  Scotland  was  numerous  and  powerful. 
Her  return,  even  without  any  support  from  England, 
would  inspire  her  friends  with  new  zeal  and  courage ; 
a  single  victory  might  give  them  the  superiority,  which 
they  had  lost  by  a  single  defeat,  and  render  Mary  a 
more  formidable  rival  than  ever  to  Elizabeth. 

The  dangers  arising  from  suffering  Mary  to  return 
into  France,  were  no  less  obvious.  The  French  king 
could  not  refuse  his  assistance  towards  restoring  his 
sister  and  ally  to  her  throne.  Elizabeth  would,  once 
more,  see  a  foreign  army  in  the  island,  overawing  the 
Scots,  and  ready  to  enter  her  kingdom;  and,  if  the 
commotions  in  France,  on  account  of  religion,  were 

"  Anders.  34.  99.  102. 


BOOK  v.  OF  SCOTLAND.  375 

settled,  the  princes  of  Lorrain  might  resume  their  am-      1568. 
bilious  projects,  arid  the  united  forces  of  France  and  ~ 
Scotland  might  invade  England  where  it  is  weakest 
and  most  defenceless. 

Nothing,  therefore,  remained  but  to  detain  her  in  Resolves  to 
England;  and  to  permit  her  either  to  live  at  liberty 
there,  or  to  confine  her  in  a  prison.  The  former  was 
a  dangerous  experiment.  Her  court  would  become  a 
place  of  resort  to  all  the  Roman  catholics,  to  the  dis- 
affected, and  to  the  lovers  of  innovation.  Though 
Elizabeth  affected  to  represent  Mary's  pretensions  to 
the  English  crown  as  ill-founded,  she  was  not  ignorant 
that  they  did  not  appear  in  that  light  to  the  nation, 
and  that  many  thought  them  preferable  even  to  her 
own  title.  If  the  activity  of  her  emissaries  had  gained 
her  so  many  abetters,  her  own  personal  influence  was 
much  more  to  be  dreaded;  her  beauty,  her  address, 
her  sufferings,  by  the  admiration  and  pity  which  they 
would  excite,  could  not  fail  of  making  many  converts 
to  her  party  °. 

It  was  indeed  to  be  apprehended^  that  the  treating 
Mary  as  a  prisoner  would  excite  universal  indignation 
against  Elizabeth  ;  and  that,  by  this  unexampled  se- 
verity towards  a  queen,  who  implored,  and  to  whom 
she  had  promised,  her  protection,  she  would  forfeit  the 
praise  of  justice  and  humanity,  which  was  hitherto  due 
to  her  administration.  But  the  English  monarchs  were 
often  so  solicitous  to  secure  their  kingdom  against  the 
Scots,  as  to  be  little  scrupulous  about  the  means  which 
they  employed  for  that  purpose.  Henry  the  fourth 
had  seized  the  heir  of  the  crown  of  Scotland,  who  was 
forced  by  the  violence  of  a  storm  to  take  refuge  in  one 
of  the  ports  of  his  kingdom ;  and,  in  contempt  of  the 
rights  of  hospitality,  without  regarding  his  tender  age, 
or  the  tears  and  entreaties  of  his  father,  detained  him 
a  prisoner  for  many  years.  This  action,  though  de- 

0  Anders,  vol.  iv.  56.  60. 


376 


THE  HISTORY 


BOOK  v. 


1568. 


May  20. 


Mary  de- 
mands ad- 
mittance 
into  Eliza- 
beth's pre- 
sence. 


She  offers 
to  vindicate 
her  conduct. 


tested  by  posterity,  Elizabeth  resolved  now  to  imitate. 
Her  virtue  was  not  more  proof  than  that  of  Henry  had 
been,  against  the  temptations  of  interest ;  and  the  pos- 
session of  a  present  advantage  was  preferred  to  the 
prospect  of  future  fame.  The  satisfaction  which  she 
felt  in  mortifying  a  rival,  whose  beauty  and  accomplish- 
ments she  envied,  had,  perhaps,  no  less  influence  than 
political  considerations  in  bringing  her  to  this  resolu- 
tion. But  at  the  same  time,  in  order  to  screen  herself 
from  the  censure  which  this  conduct  merited,  and  to 
make  her  treatment  of  the  Scottish  queen  look  like  the 
effect  of  necessity  rather  than  of  choice,  she  determined 
to  assume  the  appearance  of  concern  for  her  interest, 
and  of  deep  sympathy  with  her  sufferings. 

With  this  view,  she  instantly  despatched  lord  Scrope, 
warden  of  the  west  marches,  and  sir  Francis  Knollys, 
her  vicechamberlain,  to  the  queen  of  Scots,  with  let- 
ters full  of  expressions  of  kindness  and  condolence. 
But,  at  the  same  time,  they  had  private  instructions  to 
watch  all  her  motions,  and  to  take  care  that  she  should 
not  escape  into  her  own  kingdom p.  On  their  arrival, 
Mary  demanded  a  personal  interview  with  the  queen, 
that  she  might  lay  before  her  the  injuries  which  she 
had  suffered,  and  receive  from  her  those  friendly  offices 
which  she  had  been  encouraged  to  expect.  They  an- 
swered, that  it  was  with  reluctance  admission  into  the 
presence  of  their  sovereign  was  at  present  denied  her ; 
that  while  she  lay  under  the  imputation  of  a  crime  so 
horrid  as  the  murder  of  her  husband,  their  mistress,  to 
whom  he  was  so  nearly  allied,  could  not,  without  bring- 
ing a  stain  upon  her  own  reputation,  admit  her  into  her 
presence ;  but,  as  soon  as  she  had  cleared  herself  from 
that  aspersion,  they  promised  her  a  reception  suitable 
to  her  dignity,  and  aid  proportioned  to  her  distress  q. 

Nothing  could  be  more  artful  than  this  pretence; 
and  it  was  the  occasion  of  leading  the  queen  of  Scots 


Anders,  vol.  iv.  36.  70.  92. 


i  Idem,  vol.  iv.  8.  55. 


BOOK  v.  OF  SCOTLAND.  377 

into  the  snare  in  which  Elizabeth  and  her  ministers     1568. 
wished  to  entangle  her.     Mary  expressed  the  utmost  ~~ 
surprise  at  this  unexpected  manner  of  evading  her  re- 
quest; but,  as  she  could  not  believe  so  many  profes- 
sions of  friendship  to  be  void  of  sincerity,  she  frankly 
offered  to  submit  her  cause  to  the  cognizance  of  Eliza- 
beth, and  undertook  to  produce  such  proofs  of  her 
own  innocence,  and  of  the  falsehood  of  the  accusa- 
tions brought  against  her,  as  should  fully  remove  the 
scruples,  and  satisiy  the  delicacy,  of  the  English  queen. 
This  was  the  very  point  to  which  Elizabeth  laboured 
to  bring  the  matter.     In  consequence  of  this  appeal  of  Elizabeth 
the  Scottish  queen,  she  now  considered  herself  as  the  takets      c 

vantage  ot 

umpire  between  her  and  her  subjects,  and  foresaw  that  this  offer, 
she  would  have  it  entirely  in  her  own  power  to  protract 
the  inquiry  to  any  length,  and  to  perplex  and  involve 
it  in  endless  difficulties.  In  the  mean  time,  she  was 
furnished  with  a  plausible  reason  for  keeping  her  at  a 
distance  from  court,  and  for  refusing  to  contribute  to- 
wards replacing  her  on  the  throne.  As  Mary's  con- 
duct had  been  extremely  incautious,  and  the  presump- 
tions of  her  guilt  were  many  and  strong,  it  was  not 
impossible  her  subjects  might  make  good  their  charge 
against  her;  and  if  this  should  be  the  result  of  the 
inquiry,  she  would,  thenceforth,  cease  to  be  the  object 
of  regard  or  of  compassion,  and  the  treating  her  with 
coldness  and  neglect  would  merit  little  censure.  In  a 
matter  so  dark  and  mysterious,  there  was  no  proba- 
bility that  Mary  could  bring  proofs  of  her  innocence, 
so  incontested,  as  to  render  the  conduct  of  the  English 
queen  altogether  culpable ;  and,  perhaps,  impatience 
under  restraint,  suspicion  of  Elizabeth's  partiality,  or 
the  discovery  of  her  artifices,  might  engage  Mary  in 
such  cabals  as  would  justify  the  using  her  with  greater 
rigour. 

Elizabeth  early  perceived  many  advantages  which 
would  arise  from  an  inquiry  into  the  conduct  of  the 
Scottish  queen,  carried  on  under  her  direction.  There 


378  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  v. 

1568.  was  some  danger,  however,  that  Mary  might  discover 
~~her  secret  intentions  too  soon,  and,  by  receding  from 
the  offer  which  she  had  made,  endeavour  to  disappoint 
them.  But,  even  in  that  event,  she  determined  not  to 
drop  the  inquiry,  and  had  thought  of  several  different 
expedients  for  carrying  it  on.  The  countess  of  Len- 
nox, convinced  that  Mary  was  accessory  to  the  murder 
of  her  son,  and  thirsting  for  that  vengeance  which  it 
was  natural  for  a  mother  to  demand,  had  implored 
Elizabeth's  justice,  and  solicited  her,  with  many  tears, 
in  her  own  name,  and  in  her  husband's,  to  bring  the 
Scottish  queen  to  a  trial  for  that  crime r.  The  parents 
of  the  unhappy  prince  had  a  just  right  to  prefer  this 
accusation ;  nor  could  she,  who  was  their  nearest  kins- 
woman, be  condemned  for  listening  to  so  equitable  a 
demand.  Besides,  as  the  Scottish  nobles  openly  ac- 
cused Mary  of  the  same  crime,  and  pretended  to  be 
able  to  confirm  their  charge  by  sufficient  proof,  it 
would  be  no  difficult  matter  to  prevail  on  them  to  pe- 
tition the  queen  of  England  to  take  cognizance  of  their 
proceedings  against  their  sovereign;  and  it  was  the 
opinion  of  the  English  council,  that  it  would  be  reason- 
able to  comply  with  the  request s.  At  the  same  time, 
the  obsolete  claim  of  the  superiority  of  England  over 
Scotland  began  to  be  talked  of;  and,  on  that  account, 
it  was  pretended  that  the  decision  of  the  contest  be- 
tween Mary  and  her  subjects  belonged  of  right  to 
Elizabeth*.  But,  though  Elizabeth  revolved  all  these 
expedients  in  her  mind,  and  kept  them  in  reserve  to  be 
made  use  of  as  occasion  might  require,  she  wished  that 
the  inquiry  into  Mary's  conduct  should  appear  to  be 
undertaken  purely  in  compliance  with  her  own  demand, 
and  in  order  to  vindicate  her  innocence ;  and  so  long  as 
that  appearance  could  be  preserved,  none  of  the  other 
expedients  were  to  be  employed. 

1  Camd.  412.     Haynes,  469.  *  Anders,  vol.  iv.  part  i.  37. 

1  Anders,  vol.  iv.  part  i.  37. 


BOOK  v.  OF  SCOTLAND.  379 

When  Mary  consented  to  submit  her  cause  to  Eliza-  1568. 
beth,  she  was  far  from  suspecting  that  any  bad  conse- 
quences could  follow,  or  that  any  dangerous  pretensions 
could  be  founded  on  her  offer.  She  expected  that 
Elizabeth  herself  would  receive  and  examine  her  de- 
fences u ;  she  meant  to  consider  her  as  an  equal,  for 
whose  satisfaction  she  was  willing  to  explain  any  part 
of  her  conduct  that  was  liable  to  censure,  not  to  ac- 
knowledge her  as  a  superior,  before  whom  she  was 
bound  to  plead  her  cause.  But  Elizabeth  put  a  very 
different  sense  on  Mary's  offer.  She  considered  her- 
self as  chosen  to  be  judge  in  the  controversy  between 
the  Scottish  queen  and  her  subjects,  and  began  to  act 
in  that  capacity.  She  proposed  to  appoint  commission- 
ers to  hear  the  pleadings  of  both  parties,  and  wrote  to 
the  regent  of  Scotland  to  impower  proper  persons  to 
appear  before  them  in  his  name,  and  to  produce  what 
he  could  allege  in  vindication  of  his  proceedings  against 
his  sovereign. 

Mary  had  hitherto  relied  with  unaccountable  ere- Mary 
dulity  on   Elizabeth's  professions  of  regard,  and  ex- j^jgj  °t" 
pected  that  so  many  kind  speeches  would  at  last  be  Elizabeth's 
accompanied  with  some  suitable  actions.    But  this  pro- 
posal entirely  undeceived  her.     She  plainly  perceived 
the  artifice   of  Elizabeth's  conduct,  and  saw  what  a 
diminution  it  would  be  to  her  own  honour  to  appear 
on  a  level  with  her  rebellious  subjects,  and  to  stand 
together  with   them  at  the  bar  of  a  superior  and  a 
judge.     She  retracted  the  offer  which  she  had  made, 
and  which  had  been  perverted  to  a  purpose  so  con- 
trary to  her  intention.     She  demanded,  with  more  ear- 
nestness than  ever,  to  be  admitted  into  Elizabeth's  pre- 
sence; and  wrote  to  her  in  a  strain  very  different  from  July  13. 
what  she  had  formerly  used,  and  which  fully  discovers 
the  grief  and  indignation  that  preyed  on  her  heart. 
"  In  my  present  situation,"  says  she,  "  I  neither  will 

"  Anders,  vol.  iv.  10. 


380  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  v. 

1568.  nor  can  reply  to  the  accusations  of  my  subjects.  I  am 
ready,  of  my  own  accord,  and  out  of  friendship  to  you, 
to  satisfy  your  scruples,  and  to  vindicate  my  own  con- 
duct. My  subjects  are  not  my  equals ;  nor  will  I,  by 
submitting  my  cause  to  a  judicial  trial,  acknowledge 
them  to  be  so.  I  fled  into  your  arms,  as  into  those  of 
my  nearest  relation  and  most  perfect  friend.  I  did 
you  honour,  as  I  imagined,  in  choosing  you,  preferably 
,  to  any  other  prince,  to  be  the  restorer  of  an  injured 
queen.  Was  it  ever  known  that  a  prince  was  blamed 
for  hearing,  in  person,  the  complaints  of  those  who 
appealed  to  his  justice,  against  the  false  accusations  of 
their  e*nemies  ?  You  admitted  into  your  presence  my 
bastard  brother,  who  had  been  guilty  of  rebellion ;  and 
you  deny  me  that  honour !  God  forbid  that  I  should 
be  the  occasion  of  bringing  any  stain  upon  your  repu- 
tation! I  expected  that  your  manner  of  treating  me 
April  24.  would  have  added  lustre  to  it.  Suffer  me  either  to 
implore  the  aid  of  other  princes,  whose  delicacy  on 
this  head  will  be  less,  and  their  resentment  of  my 
wrongs  greater;  or  let  me  receive  from  your  hands 
that  assistance  which  it  becomes  you,  more  than  any 
other  prince,  to  grant ;  and,  by  that  benefit,  bind  me 
to  yourself  in  the  indissoluble  ties  of  gratitude31." 
June  20.  This  letter  somewhat  disconcerted  Elizabeth's  plan, 
Elizabeth's  but  did  t  jjvert  her  from  the  prosecution  of  it.  She 

precautions 

against  her.  laid  the  matter  before  the  privy  council,  and  it  was 

there  determined,  notwithstanding  the  entreaties  and 
remonstrances  of  the  Scottish  queen,  to  go  on  with 
the  inquiry  into  her  conduct;  and,  until  that  were 
finished,  it  was  agreed  that  Elizabeth  could  not,  con- 
sistently with  her  own  honour,  or  with  the  safety  of 
her  government,  either  give  her  the  assistance  which 
she  demanded,  or  permit  her  to  retire  out  of  the  king- 
dom. Lest  she  should  have  an  opportunity  of  escap- 
ing, while  she  resided  so  near  Scotland,  it  was  thought 

x  Anders,  vol.  iv.  part  i.  94. 


BOOK  v.  OF  SCOTLAND.  381 

advisable  to  remove  her  to  some  place  at  a  greater      1568. 
distance  from  the  borders  y. 

While  the  English  court  was  occupied  in  these  de-  Proceedings 
liberations,  the  regent  did  not  neglect  to  improve  the  °ent  against 
victory  at  Langside.  That  event  was  of  the  utmost the  queen's 

J  T  ,  .    ,  .  .          adherents. 

importance  to  him.  It  not  only  drove  the  queen  her- 
self out  of  the  kingdom,  but  left  her  adherents  dis- 
persed, and  without  a  leader,  at  his  mercy.  He  seemed 
resolved,  at  first,  to  proceed  against  them  with  the  ut- 
most rigour.  Six  persons  of  some  distinction,  who  had 
been  taken  prisoners  in  the  battle,  were  tried,  and  con- 
demned to  death,  as  rebels  against  the  king's  govern- 
ment. They  were  led  to  the  place«  of  execution,  but, 
by  the  powerful  intercession  of  Knox,  they  obtained 
a  pardon.  Hamilton  of  Bothwelhaugh  was  one  of 
the  number,  who  lived  to  give  both  the  regent  and 
Knox  reason  to  repent  of  this  commendable  act  of 
lenity z. 

Soon  after,  the  regent  marched  with  an  army,  con- 
sisting of  four  thousand  horse  and  one  thousand  foot, 
towards  the  west  borders.  The  nobles  in  this  part  of 
the  kingdom  were  all  the  queen's  adherents;  but,  as 
they  had  not  force  sufficient  to  obstruct  his  progress, 
he  must  either  have,  obliged  them  to  submit  to  the 
king,  or  would  have  laid  waste  their  lands  with  fire 
and  sword.  But  Elizabeth,  whose  interest  it  was  to 
keep  Scotland  in  confusion,  by  preserving  the  balance 
between  the  two  parties,  and  who  was  endeavouring 
to  sooth  the  Scottish  queen  by  gentle  treatment,  in- 
terposed at  her  desire.  After  keeping  the  field  two 
weeks,  the  regent,  in  compliance  to  the  English  am- 
bassador, dismissed  his  forces;  and  an  expedition, 
which  might  have  proved  fatal  to  his  opponents,  ended 
with  a  few  acts  of  severity  a. 

The  resolution  of  the  English  privy  council,  with  Mary  car- 


i  Anders,  vol.  iv.  part  i.  102.  *  Cald.  vol.  ii.  99. 

11  Cald.  vol.  ii.  99. 


THE  HISTORY  BOOK  v. 

1568.     regard  to  Mary's  person,  was  soon  carried  into  exe- 
.  ,         ~cution;  and,  without  regarding  her  remonstrances  or 
Bolton.       complaints,  she  was  conducted  to  Bolton,  a  castle  of 
July  13.      lord  Scrope's,  on  the  borders  of  Yorkshire b.     In  this 
place,  her  correspondence  with   her  friends  in  Scot- 
land became  more  difficult,  and  any  prospect  of  mak- 
ing her  escape  was   entirely  cut   off.     She   now  felt 
herself  to  be  completely  in   Elizabeth's   power,   and, 
though  treated  as  yet  with  the  respect  due  to  a  queen, 
her  real  condition  was  that  of  a  prisoner.     Mary  knew 
what  it  was  to  be  deprived  of  liberty,  and  dreaded  it 
as  the  worst  of  all  evils.     While  the  remembrance  of 
her  late  imprisonment  was  still  lively,  and  the  terrour 
'    of  a  new  one  filled  her  mind,  Elizabeth  thought  it  a 
July  28.      proper  juncture  to  renew  her  former  proposition,  that 
she  would  suffer  the  regent  and  his  adherents  to  be 
called  into  England,  and  consent  to  their  being  heard 
in  defence  of  their  own  conduct.     She  declared  it  to 
be  far  from  her  intention  to  claim  any  right  of  judging 
between  Mary  and  her  subjects,  or  of  degrading  her 
so  far  as  to  require  that  she  should  answer  to  their 
accusations.      On  the   contrary,  Murray  and   his  as- 
sociates were  summoned  to  appear,  in  order  to  justify 
their  conduct  in  treating  their  sovereign  so  harshly, 
and  to  vindicate   themselves  from   those   crimes  with 
which  she  had  charged  them.     On  her  part,  Eliza- 
beth promised,  whatever  should  be  the  issue  of  this 
inquiry,  to  employ  all  her  power  and  influence  towards 
replacing  Mary  on  her  throne,  under  a  few  limitations, 
Agrees  that  by  no  means  unreasonable.     Mary,  deceived  by  this 
be  made"7    seemmg  attention  to  her  dignity  as  a  queen,  soothed, 
into  her       on  one  hand,  by  a  promise  more  flattering  than  any 
which  she  had  hitherto  received  from  Elizabeth,  and 
urged,  on  the  other,  by  the  feelings  which  were  na- 
tural on  being  conducted  into  a  more  interior  part  of 
England,  and  kept   there   in  more   rigorous  confine- 

b  Anders,  vol.  iv.  14.     See  Appendix,  No.  XXV. 


BOOK  v.  OF  SCOTLAND.  383 

ment,   complied    at   length   with   what   Elizabeth   re-      1568. 
quired,  and  promised   to  send  commissioners   to   the 
conferences  appointed  to  be  held  at  York c. 

In  order  to  persuade  Elizabeth  that  she  desired  no- 
thing so  much  as  to  render  the  union  between  them 
as  close  as  possible,  she  showed  a  disposition  to  relax 
somewhat  in  one  point;  with  regard  to  which,  during 
all  her  past  and  subsequent  misfortunes,  she  was  uni- 
formly inflexible.  She  expressed  a  great  veneration  Her  dissi- 
for  the  liturgy  of  the  church  of  England;  she  IHfcJJjJ^w 
often  present  at  religious  worship,  according  to  the  to  religion. 
rites  of  the  reformed  church ;  made  choice  of  a  pro- 
testant  clergyman  to  be  her  chaplain;  heard  him 
preach  against  the  errours  of  popery  with  attention 
and  seeming  pleasure ;  and  discovered  all  the  symp- 
toms of  an  approaching  conversion*1.  Such  was  Mary's 
known  and  bigoted  attachment  to  the  popish  religion, 
that  it  is  impossible  to  believe  her  sincere  in  this  part 
of  her  conduct ;  nor  can  any  thing  mark  more  strongly 
the  wretchedness  of  her  condition,  and  the  excess  of 
her  fears,  than  that  they  betrayed  her  into  dissimu- 
lation, in  a  matter  concerning  which  her  sentiments 
were,  at  all  other  times,  scrupulously  delicate. 

At  this  time  the  regent  called  a  parliament,  in  order  August  18 
to  proceed  to  the  forfeiture  of  those  who  refused  to A  P^r!ia- 

ment  in 

acknowledge  the  king's  authority.  The  queen's  ad- Scotland. 
herents  were  alarmed,  and  Argyll  and  Huntly,  whom 
Mary  had  appointed  her  lieutenants,  the  one  in  the 
south  and  the  other  in  the  north  of  Scotland,  began 
to  assemble  forces  to  obstruct  this  meeting.  Com- 
passion for  the  queen,  and  envy  at  those  who  governed 
in  the  king's  name,  had  added  so  much  strength  to  the 
party,  that  the  regent  would  have  found  it  difficult  to 
withstand  its  efforts.  But  as  Mary  had  submitted  her 
cause  to  Elizabeth,  she  could  not  refuse,  at  her  desire, 

c  Anders,  vol.  iv.  part  i.  p.  11,  12,  etc.  109,  etc.      Haynes,  468,  etc. 
State  Trials,  edit.  Hargrave,  i.  90. 
d  Anders,  vol.  iv.  part  i.  113.    Haynes,  509.  See  Appendix,  No.  XXVI. 


384  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  v. 

1568.     to  command  her  friends  to  lay  down  their  arms,  and  to 

~~wait  patiently  until  matters  were  brought  to  a  decision 

in   England.      By   procuring   this    cessation   of  arms, 

Elizabeth  afforded  as  seasonable  relief  to  the  regent's 

•       faction,  as  she  had  formerly  given  to  the  queen's6. 

The  regent,  however,  would  not  consent,  even  at 
Elizabeth's  request,  to  put  off  the  meeting  of  parlia- 
mentf.  But  we  may  ascribe  to  her  influence,  as  well  as 
to  the  eloquence  of  Maitland,  who  laboured  to  prevent 
the  one  half  of  his  countrymen  from  exterminating  the 
other,  any  appearances  of  moderation  which  this  par- 
liament discovered  in  its  proceedings.  The  most  vio- 
lent opponents  of  the  king's  government  were  forfeited ; 
the  rest  were  allowed  still  to  hope  for  favour  g. 
Elizabeth  No  sooner  did  the  queen  of  Scots  submit  her  cause 

requires  the  to   her   rival,    than    Elizabeth  required  the  regent  to 

regent  to 

defend  his    send  to  York  deputies  properly  instructed  for  vmdi- 

conduct.  eating  his  conduct,  in  presence  of  her  commissioners. 
It  was  not  without  hesitation  and  anxiety  that  the 
regent  consented  to  this  measure.  His  authority  was 
already  established  in  Scotland,  and  confirmed  by  par- 
liament. To  suffer  its  validity  now  to  be  called  in 
question,  and  subjected  to  a  foreign  jurisdiction,  was 
extremely  mortifying.  To  accuse  his  sovereign  before 
strangers,  the  ancient  enemies  of  the  Scottish  name, 
was  an  odious  task.  To  fail  in  this  accusation  was 
dangerous ;  to  succeed  in  it  was  disgraceful.  But  the 
strength  of  the  adverse  faction  daily  increased.  He 
dreaded  the  interposition  of  the  French  king  in  its 
behalf.  In  his  situation,  and  in  a  matter  which  Eli- 
zabeth had  so  nTUch  at  heart,  her  commands  were 
neither  to  be  disputed  nor  disobeyed  h. 

Both  the  ... 

queen  and        1  he  necessity  of  repairing  in  person  to  Y  ork  added 
he  appoint   to  ^  jcrnomjny  of  the  step  which  he  was  obliged  to 

commis*  »  *  ' 

sioners.       take.     All  his   associates  declined    the  office;    they 


«  Anders,  vol.  iv.  125.  f  See  Appendix,  No.  XXVII. 

f  Buchan.  371.  h  Buch.  372.    See  Appendix,  No.  XXVIII. 


BOOK  v.  OF  SCOTLAND.  385 

were  unwilling  to  expose  themselves  to  the  odium  and  1568. 
danger  with  which  it  was  easy  to  foresee  that  the  dis-  ~ 
charge  of  it  would  be  attended,  unless  he  himself  con- 
sented to  share  these  in  common  with  them.  The  Sept.  18. 
earl  of  Morton,  Bothwell,  bishop  of  Orkney,  Pitcairn, 
commendator  of  Dunfermling,  and  lord  Lindsay,  were 
joined  with  him  in  commission.  Macgill  of  Rankeilor, 
and  Balnaves  of  Hallhill,  two  eminent  civilians,  George 
Buchanan,  Murray's  faithful  adherent,  a  man  whose 
genius  did  honour  to  the  age,  Maitland,  and  several 
others,  were  appointed  to  attend  them  as  assistants. 
Maitland  owed  this  distinction  to  the  regent's  fear, 
rather  than  to  his  affection.  He  had  warmly  remon- 
strated against  this  measure.  He  wished  his  country 
to  continue  in  friendship  with  England,  but  not  to 
become  dependent  on  that  nation.  He  was  desirous 
of  reestablishing  the  queen  in  some  degree  of  power, 
not  inconsistent  with  that  which  the  king  possessed; 
and  the  regent  could  not,  with  safety,  leave  behind 
him  a  man,  whose  views  were  so  contrary  to  his  own, 
and  who,  by  his  superior  abilities,  had  acquired  an  in- 
fluence in  the  nation,  equal  to  that  which  others  de- 
rived from  the  antiquity  and  power  of  their  families '. 

Mary  empowered  Lesley,  bishop  of  Ross,  lord  Li- 
vingston, lord  Boyd,  lord  Herries,  Gavin  Hamilton, 
commendator  of  Kilwinning,  sir  John  Gordon,  of  Loch- 
invar,  and  sir  James  Cockburn,  of  Stirling,  to  appear 
in  her  namek. 

Elizabeth  nominated  Thomas  Howard,  duke  of  Nor- 
folk, Thomas  RadclifFe,  earl  of  Sussex,  and  sir  Ralph 
Sadler,  her  commissioners  to  hear  both  parties. 

The  fourth  of  October  was  the  day  fixed  for  open-  The  con- 
ing the  *  conference.'     The  great  abilities  of  the  de-  York!6 
puties  on  both  sides,  the  dignity  of  the  judges  before 
whom  they  were  to  appear,  the  high  rank  of  the  per- 

4  Buchan.  371.    Anders,  vol.  iv.  35.    Melv.  186.  188. 
k  Anders,  vol.  iv.  33. 
VOL.  I.  C  C 


386  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  v. 

1568.  sons  whose  cause  was  to  be  heard,  and  the  importance 
~~  of  the  points  in  dispute,  rendered  the  whole  transaction 
no  less  illustrious  than  it  was  singular.  The  situation 
in  which  Elizabeth  appeared,  on  this  occasion,  strikes 
us  with  an  air  of  magnificence.  Her  rival,  an  inde- 
pendent queen,  and  the  heir  of  an  ancient  race  of 
monarchs,  was  a  prisoner  in  her  hands,  and  appeared, 
by  her  ambassadors,  before  her  tribunal.  The  regent 
of  Scotland,  who  represented  the  majesty,  and  pos- 
sessed the  authority  of  a  king,  stood  in  person  at  her 
bar.  And  the  fate  of  a  kingdom,  whose  power  her 
ancestors  had  often  dreaded,  but  could  never  subdue, 
was  now  at  her  disposal. 

Views  of  the     The  views,  however,  with  which  the  several  parties 
parties^      consented  to  this  conference,  and  the  issue  to  which 
they  expected  to  bring  it,  were  extremely  different. 

Mary's  chief  object  was  the  recovering  of  her  former 
authority.  This  induced  her  to  consent  to  a  measure 
against  which  she  had  long  struggled.  Elizabeth's 
promises  gave  her  ground  for  entertaining  hopes  of 
being  restored  to  her  kingdom ;  in  order  to  which,  she 
would  have  willingly  made  many  concessions  to  the 
king's  party ;  and  the  influence  of  the  English  queen, 
as  well  as  her  own  impatience  under  her  present  situa- 
tion, might  have  led  her  to  many  more1.  The  regent 
aimed  at  nothing  but  securing  Elizabeth's  protection  to 
his  party,  and  seems  not  to  have  had  the  most  distant 
thoughts  of  coming  to  any  composition  with  Mary. 
Elizabeth's  views  were  more  various,  and  her  schemes 
more  intricate.  She  seemed  to  be  full  of  concern  for 
Mary's  honour,  and  solicitous  that  she  should  wipe  off 
the  aspersions  which  blemished  her  character.  This 
she  pretended  to  be  the  intention  of  the  conference ; 
amusing  Mary,  and  eluding  the  solicitations  of  the 
French  and  Spanish  ambassadors  in  her  behalf,  by  re- 
peated promises  of  assisting  her,  as  soon  as  she  could 

* 

1  Anders,  vol.  iv.  part  ii.  33.     Good.  vol.  ii.  337. 


BOOK  v.  OF  SCOTLAND.  387 

venture  to  do  so  without  bringing  disgrace  upon  her-  isee. 
self.  But,  under  this  veil  of  friendship  and  generosity, 
Elizabeth  concealed  sentiments  of  a  different  nature. 
She  expected  that  the  regent  would  accuse  Mary  of 
being  accessory  to  the  murder  of  her  husband.  She 
encouraged  him,  as  far  as  decency  would  permit,  to 
take  this  desperate  step1".  And  as  this  accusation 
might  terminate  in  two  different  ways,  she  had  con- 
certed measures  for  her  future  conduct  suitable  to  each 
of  these.  If  the  charge  against  Mary  should  appear 
to  be  well-founded,  she  resolved  to  pronounce  her  un- 
worthy of  wearing  a  crown,  and  to  declare  that  she 
would  never  burthen  her  own  conscience  with  the  guilt 
of  an  action  so  detestable  as  the  restoring  her  to  her 
kingdom".  If  it  should  happen,  that  what  her  accusers 
alleged  did  not  amount  to  a  proof  of  guilt,  but  only  of 
maladministration,  she  determined  to  set  on  foot  a 
treaty  for  restoring  her,  but  on  such  conditions  as 
would  render  her  hereafter  dependent,  not  only  upon 
England,  but  upon  her  own  subjects0.  As  every  step 
in  the  progress  of  the  conference,  as  well  as  the  final 
result  of  it,  was  in  Elizabeth's  own  power,  she  would 
still  be  at  liberty  to  choose  which  of  these  courses  she 
should  hold ;  or,  if  there  appeared  to  be  any  danger  or 
inconvenience  in  pursuing  either  of  them,  she  might 
protract  the  whole  cause  by  endless  delays,  and  involve 
it  in  inextricable  perplexity. 

The  conference,  however,  was  opened  with  much  Complaint 
solemnity.     But  the  very  first  step  discovered  it  to  be  Reel's 
Elizabeth's  intention  to  inflame,  rather  than  to  extin-  commission- 

....  10  ers  against 

guish,  the  dissensions  and  animosities  among  the  Scots.  tne  regent. 
No  endeavours  were  used  to  reconcile  the  contending 
parties,  or  to  mollify  the  fierceness  of  their  hatred,  by 
bringing  the  queen  to  offer  pardon  for  what  was  past, 
or  her  subjects  to  promise  more  dutiful  obedience  for 


m  Anders,  vol.  iv.  partii.  11.  45.     Hayues,  487. 
"  Anders,  vol.  iv.  part  ii.  11.  °  Id.  ibid.  16. 

cc2 


388  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  v. 

1568.  the  future.  On  the  contrary,  Mary's  commissioners 
Oct  8  were  permitted  to  prefer  a  complaint  against  the  regent 
and  his  party,  containing  an  enumeration  of  their  trea- 
sonable actions,  of  their  seizing  her  person  by  force  of 
arms,  committing  her  to  prison,  compelling  her  to  re- 
sign the  crown,  and  making  use  of  her  son's  name  to 
colour  their  usurpation  of  the  whole  royal  authority ; 
and  of  all  these  enormities  they  required  such  speedy 
and  effectual  redress,  as  the  injuries  of  one  queen  de- 
manded from  the  justice  of  another  p. 

It  was  then  expected  that  the  regent  would  have 
disclosed  all  the  circumstances  of  that  unnatural  crime 
to  which  he  pretended  the  queen  had  been  accessory, 
and  would  have  produced  evidence  in  support  of  his 
charge.  But,  far  from  accusing  Mary,  the  regent  did 
not  even  answer  the  complaints  brought  against  him- 
self. He  discovered  a  reluctance  at  undertaking  that 
office,  and  started  many  doubts  and  scruples,  with  re- 
gard to  which  he  demanded  to  be  resolved  by  Eliza- 
beth herself q.  His  reserve  and  hesitation  were  no  less 
surprising  to  the  greater  part  of  the  English  commis- 
sioners than  to  his  own  associates.  They  knew  that  he 
could  not  vindicate  his  own  conduct  without  charging 
the  murder  upon  the  queen,  and  he  had  not  hitherto 
shown  any  extraordinary  delicacy  on  that  head.  An 
intrigue,  however,  had  been  secretly  carried  on,  since 
his  arrival  at  York,  which  explains  this  mystery, 
intrigues  The  duke  of  Norfolk  was,  at  that  time,  the  most 
withThe  re-  powerful  and  most  popular  man  in  England.  His  wife 
gent.  was  lately  dead ;  and  he  began  already  to  form  a  pro- 
ject, which  he  afterwards  more  openly  avowed,  of 
mounting  the  throne  of  Scotland,  by  a  marriage  with 
the  queen  of  Scots.  He  saw  the  infamy  which  would 
be  the  consequence  of  a  public  accusation  against 
Mary,  and  how  prejudicial  it  might  be  to  her  preten- 
sions to  the  English  succession.  In  order  to  save  her 

P  Anders,  vol.  iv.  part  ii.  52.  q  Haynes,  478. 


BOOK  v.  OF  SCOTLAND.  389 

from  this  cruel  mortification,  he  applied  to  Maitland,  1568. 
and  expressed  his  astonishment  at  seeing  a  man  of  so  ~~ 
much  reputation  for  wisdom,  concurring  with  the  re- 
gent in  a  measure  so  dishonourable  to  themselves,  to 
their  queen,  and  to  their  country ;  submitting  the  pub- 
lic transactions  of  the  nation  to  the  judgment  of  fo- 
reigners ;  and  publishing  the  ignominy,  and  exposing 
the  faults  of  their  sovereign,  which  they  were  bound, 
in  good  policy,  as  well  as  in  duty,  to  conceal  and  to 
cover.  It  was  easy  for  Maitland,  whose  sentiments 
were  the  same  with  the  duke's,  to  vindicate  his  own 
conduct.  He  assured  him,  that  he  had  employed  all 
his  credit  to  dissuade  his  countrymen  from  this  mea- 
sure ;  and  would  still  contribute,  to  the  utmost  of  his 
power,  to  divert  them  from  it.  This  encouraged  Nor- 
folk to  communicate  the  matter  to  the  regent.  He 
repeated  and  enforced  the  same  arguments  which  he 
had  used  with  Maitland.  He  warned  him  of  the  dan- 
ger to  which  he  must  expose  himself  by  such  a  violent 
action  as  the  public  accusation  of  his  sovereign.  Mary 
would  never  forgive  a  man,  who  had  endeavoured  to 
fix  such  a  brand  of  infamy  on  her  character.  If  she 
ever  recovered  any  degree  of  power,  his  destruction 
would  be  inevitable,  and  he  would  justly  merit  it  at  her 
hands.  Nor  would  Elizabeth  screen  him  from  this,  by 
a  public  approbation  of  his  conduct.  For,  whatever 
evidence  of  Mary's  guilt  he  might  produce,  she  was 
resolved  to  give  no  definitive  sentence  in  the  cause. 
Let  him  only  demand  that  the  matter  should  be 
brought  to  a  decision  immediately  after  hearing  the 
proof,  and  he  would  be  fully  convinced  how  false  and 
insidious  her  intentions  were,  and,  by  consequence, 
how  improper  it  would  be  for  him  to  appear  as  the 
accuser  of  his  own  sovereign r.  The  candour  which 
Norfolk  seemed  to  discover  in  these  remonstrances,  as 
well  as  the  truth  which  they  contained,  made  a  deep 

'  Melv.  187.    Haynes,  573. 


390  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  v. 

1568.     impression    on   the   regent.     He    daily   received    the 
"strongest  assurances  of  Mary's  willingness  to  be  re- 
conciled to  him,  if  he  abstained  from  accusing  her  of 
such  an  odious  crime,  together  with  the  denunciations 
of  her  irreconcilable  hatred,  if  he   acted  a  contrary 
part3.     All  these   considerations   concurred  in  deter- 
mining him  to  alter  his  purpose,  and  to  make  trial  of 
the  expedient  which  the  duke  had  suggested. 
Oct.  9.  He  demanded,  therefore,  to  be  informed,  before  he 

proceeded  further,  whether  the  English  commissioners 
were  empowered  to  declare  the  queen  guilty,  by  a  ju- 
dicial act;  whether  they  would  promise  to  pass  sen- 
tence, without  delay;  whether  the  queen  should  be 
kept  under  such  restraint,  as  to  prevent  her  from  dis- 
turbing the  government  now  established  in  Scotland ; 
and  whether  Elizabeth,  if  she  approved  of  the  pro- 
ceedings of  the  king's  party,  would  engage  to  protect 
it  for  the  future  *.  The  paper  containing  these  de- 
mands was  signed  by  himself  alone,  without  communi- 
cating it  to  any  of  his  attendants,  except  Maitland  and 
Melvil".  But,  lest  so  many  precautions  should  excite 
any  suspicion  of  their  proceedings,  from  some  con- 
sciousness of  defect  in  the  evidence  which  he  had  to 
produce  against  his  sovereign,  Murray  empowered  Le- 
thington,  Macgill,  and  Buchanan,  to  wait  upon  the 
duke  of  Norfolk,  the  earl  of  Sussex,  and  sir  Ralph 
Sadler,  and  to  lay  before  them,  not  in  their  public 
characters  as  commissioners,  but  as  private  persons, 
Mary's  letters  to  Bothwell,  her  sonnets,  and  all  the 
other  papers,  upon  which  was  founded  the  charge  of 
her  being  accessory  to  the  murder  of  the  king,  and  to 
declare  that  this  confidential  communication  was  made 
to  them,  with  a  view  to  learn  whether  the  queen  of 
England  would  consider  this  evidence  as  sufficient  to 

*  Anders,  vol.  iv.  part  ii.  77.     Good.  vol.  ii.  157.     See  Appendix,  No. 
XXIX. 

*  Anders,  vol.  iv.  part  ii.  55.     State  Trials,  i.  91.  etc. 
u  Anders,  vol.  iv.  part  ii.  56.     Melv.  190. 


BOOK  v.  OF  SCOTLAND.  391 

establish  the  truth  of  the  accusation.  Nothing  could  1568. 
be  more  natural  than  the  regent's  solicitude,  to  know~ 
on  what  footing  he  stood.  To  have  ventured  on  a  step 
so  uncommon  and  dangerous,  as  the  accusing  his  so- 
vereign, without  previously  ascertaining  that  he  might 
take  it  with  safety,  would  have  been  unpardonable  im- 
prudence. But  Elizabeth,  who  did  not  expect  that  he 
would  have  moved  any  such  difficulty,  had  not  em- 
powered her  commissioners  to  give  him  that  satisfac- 
tion which  he  demanded.  It  became  necessary  to 
transmit  the  articles  to  herself,  and  by  the  light  in 
which  Norfolk  placed  them,  it  is  easy  to  see  that  he 
wished  that  they  should  make  no  slight  impression  on 
Elizabeth  and  her  ministers.  "  Think  not  the  Scots," 
said  he,  "  over-scrupulous  or  precise.  Let  us  view 
their  conduct  as  we  would  wish  our  own  to  be  viewed 
in  a  like  situation.  The  game  they  play  is  deep;  their 
estates,  their  lives,  their  honour,  are  at  stake.  It  is 
now  in  their  own  power  to  be  reconciled  to  their  queen, 
or  to  offend  her  irrecoverably ;  and,  in  a  matter  of  so 
much  importance,  the  utmost  degree  of  caution  is  not 
excessive  V 

While  the  English  commissioners  waited  for  fuller 
instructions  with  regard  to  the  regent's  demands,  he 
gave  in  an  answer  to  the  complaint  which  had  been 
offered  in  the  name  of  the  Scottish  queen.  It  was  ex- 
pressed in  terms  perfectly  conformable  to  the  system 
which  he  had  at  that  time  adopted.  It  contained  no 
insinuation  of  the  queen's  being  accessory  to  the  mur- 
der of  her  husband ;  the  bitterness  of  style  peculiar 
to  the  age  was  considerably  abated;  and  though  he 
pleaded,  that  the  infamy  of  the  marriage  with  Bothwell 
made  it  necessary  to  take  arms  in  order  to  dissolve  it ; 
though  Mary's  attachment  to  a  man  so  odious  justified 
the  keeping  her,  for  some  time,  under  restraint;  yet 
nothing  more  was  said  on  these  subjects  than  was 

*  Anders,  vol.  iv.  77. 


392  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  v. 

1568.     barely  requisite  in  his  own  defence.     The  queen's  com- 

o  t  17       missioners  did  not  fail  to  reply y.     But  while  the  article 

with  respect  to  the  murder  remained  untouched,  these 

were  only  skirmishes  at  a  distance,  of  no  consequence 

towards  ending  the  contest,  and  were  little  regarded 

by  Elizabeth,  or  her  commissioners. 

The  confer-      The  conference  had,  hitherto,  been  conducted  in  a 

ence remov-  -,  .   ,     -,.  •    ,     i   i-i-      i     ,1  »       •  i 

ed  to  West-  manner  which  disappointed  Elizabeth  s  views,  and  pro- 
minster,  duced  none  of  those  discoveries  which  she  had  ex- 
pected. The  distance  between  York  and  London,  and 
the  necessity  of  consulting  her  upon  every  difficulty 
which  occurred,  consumed  much  tune.  Norfolk's  ne- 
gotiation with  the  Scottish  regent,  however  secretly 
carried  on,  was  not,  in  all  probability,  unknown  to  a 
princess  so  remarkable  for  her  sagacity  in  penetrating 
the  designs  of  her  enemies,  and  seeing  through  their 
deepest  schemes z.  Instead,  therefore,  of  returning 
any  answer  to  the  regent's  demands,  she  resolved  to 
remove  the  conference  to  Westminster,  and  to  appoint 
new  commissioners,  in  whom  she  could  more  absolutely 
confide.  Both  the  queen  of  Scots  and  the  regent  were 
brought,  without  difficulty,  to  approve  of  this  resolu- 
tion*. 

We  often  find  Mary  boasting  of  the  superiority  in 
argument  obtained  by  her  commissioners  during  the 
conference  at  York,  and  how,  by  the  strength  of  their 
reasons,  they  confounded  her  adversaries,  and  silenced 
all  their  cavils6.  The  dispute  stood,  at  that  time,  on  a 
footing  which  rendered  her  victory  not  only  apparent, 
but  easy.  Her  participation  of  the  guilt  of  the  king's 
murder  was  the  circumstance  upon  which  her  subjects 
must  have  rested,  as  a  justification  of  their  violent  pro- 
ceedings against  her ;  and,  while  they  industriously 
avoided  mentioning  that,  her  cause  gained  as  much  as 

J  Anders,  vol.  iv.  part  ii.  64.  80. 
z  Good.  vol.  ii.  160.     Anders,  vol.  iii.  24. 
»  Haynes,  484.    Anders,  vol.  iv.  94. 
b  Good.  vol.  i.  186.  284.  350. 


BOOK  v.  OF  SCOTLAND.  393 

that  of  her  adversaries  lost  by  suppressing  this  capital     1668. 
argument. 

Elizabeth  resolved  that  Mary  should  not  enjoy  the 
same  advantage  in  the  conference  to  be  held  at  West- 
minster. She  deliberated  with  the  utmost  anxiety,  how 
she  might  overcome  the  regent's  scruples,  and  persuade 
him  to  accuse  the  queen.  She  considered  of  the  most 
proper  method  for  bringing  Mary's  commissioners  to 
answer  such  an  accusation ;  and  as  she  foresaw  that  the 
promises  with  which  it  was  necessary  to  allure  the  re- 
gent, and  which  it  was  impossible  to  conceal  from  the 
Scottish  queen,  would  naturally  exasperate  her  to  a 
great  degree,  she  determined  to  guard  her  more  nar- 
rowly than  ever ;  and,  though  lord  Scrope  had  given 
her  no  reason  to  distrust  his  vigilance  or  fidelity,  yet, 
because  he  was  the  duke  of  Norfolk's  brother-in-law, 
she  thought  it  proper  to  remove  the  queen,  as  soon  as 
possible,  to  Tuthbury  in  Staffordshire,  and  commit  her 
to  the  keeping  of  the  earl  of  Shrewsbury,  to  whom  that 
castle  belonged0. 

Mary  began  to  suspect  the  design  of  this  second  con-  Mary's  sus- 
ference ;  and,  notwithstanding  the  satisfaction  she  ex-  ^^abeth' 
pressed  at  seeing  her  cause  taken  more  immediately  intentions, 
under  the  queen's  own  eyed,  she  framed  her  instructions    ct*     ' 
to  her  commissioners  in  such  a  manner,  as  to  avoid 
being  brought  under  the  necessity  of  answering  the 
accusation  of  her  subjects,  if  they  should  be  so  despe- 
rate as  to  exhibit  one  against  her6.     These  suspicions 
were  soon  confirmed  by  a  circumstance  extremely  mor- 
tifying.     The   regent  having  arrived  at   London,  in 
order  to  be  present  at  the  conference,  was  immediately 
admitted  into  Elizabeth's  presence,  and  received  by 
her,  not  only  with  respect,  but  with  affection.     This 
Mary  justly  considered  as  an  open  declaration  of  that 
queen's  partiality  towards  her  adversaries.     In  the  first  N°y.  22. 
emotions  of  her  resentment,  she  wrote  to  her  commis-  personal  au- 

c  Haynes,  487.        A  Anders,  vol.  iv.  part  ii.  95.        «  Good.  vol.  ii.  349. 


394-  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  v. 

1568.  sioners,  and  commanded  them  to  complain,  in  the  pre- 
dience  of  sence  °f  the  English  nobles,  and  before  the  ambassa- 
Elizabeth.  dors  of  foreign  princes,  of  the  usage  she  had  hitherto 
met  with,  and  the  additional  injuries  which  she  had 
reason  to  apprehend.  Her  rebellious  subjects  were 
allowed  access  to  the  queen;  she  was  excluded  from 
her  presence :  they  enjoyed  full  liberty;  she  languished 
under  a  long  imprisonment:  they  were  encouraged  to 
accuse  her ;  in  defending  herself  she  laboured  under 
every  disadvantage.  For  these  reasons  she  once  more 
renewed  her  demand,  of  being  admitted  into  the  queen's 
presence ;  and  if  that  were  denied,  she  instructed  them 
to  declare,  that  she  recalled  the  consent  which  she  had 
given  to  the  conference  at  Westminster,  and  protested, 
that  whatever  was  done  there,  should  be  held  to  be 
null  and  invalid f. 

This,  perhaps,  was  the  most  prudent  resolution  Mary 
could  have  taken.  The  pretences  on  which  she  de- 
clined the  conference  were  plausible,  and  the  juncture 
for  offering  them  well  chosen.  But  either  the  queen's 
letter  did  not  reach  her  commissioners  in  due  time,  or 
they  suffered  themselves  to  be  deceived  by  Elizabeth's 
professions  of  regard  for  their  mistress,  and  consented 
to  the  opening  of  the  conference  g. 

Nov.  25.  To  the  commissioners  who  had  appeared  in  her  name 
at  York,  Elizabeth  now  added  sir  Nicholas  Bacon, 
keeper  of  the  great  seal,  the  earls  of  Arundel  and 
Leicester,  lord  Clinton,  and  sir  William  Cecil h.  The 
difficulties  which  obstructed  the  proceedings  at  York 
were  quickly  removed.  A  satisfying  answer  was  given 
to  the  regent's  demands ;  nor  was  he  so  much  disposed 
to  hesitate,  and  raise  objections,  as  formerly.  His  ne- 
gotiation with  Norfolk  had  been  discovered  to  Morton 
by  some  of  Mary's  attendants,  and  he  had  communicated 
it  to  Cecil1.  His  personal  safety,  as  well  as  the  continu- 

j^.r... 

f  Good.  vol.  ii.  184.  s  Anders,  vol.  iii.  25. 

h  Id.  vol.  iv.  part  ii.  99.  'l  Melv.  191. 


BOOK  v.  OF  SCOTLAND.  395 

ance  of  his  power,  depended  on  Elizabeth.    By  favour-     1568- 


ing  Mary,  she  might  at  any  time  ruin  him ;  and  by  a 
question  which  she  artfully  started,  concerning  the  per- 
son who  had  a  right,  by  the  law  of  Scotland,  to  govern 
the  kingdom  during  a  minority,  she  let  him  see,  that, 
even  without  restoring  the  queen,  it  was  an  easy  matter 
for  her  to  deprive  him  of  the  supreme  direction  of  af- 
fairs1'. These  considerations,  which  were  powerfully 
seconded  by  most  of  his  attendants,  at  length  deter- 
mined the  regent  to  produce  his  accusation  against  the 
queen. 

He  endeavoured  to  lessen  'the  obloquy,  with  which  The  regent 
he  was  sensible  this  action  would  be  attended,  by  pro-  queerTof  * 
testing,  that  it  was  with  the  utmost  reluctance  he  under- being  acces- 
took  this  disagreeable  task;    that  his  party  had  long  husband's 
suffered  their  conduct  to  be  misconstrued,  and  hadmurder- 
borne  the  worst  imputations  in   silence,  rather  than 
expose  the  crimes  of  their   sovereign  to  the   eyes   of 
strangers ;  but  that  now  the  insolence  and  importunity 
of  the  adverse  faction  forced  them  to  publish,  what 
they  had  hitherto,  though  with  loss  to  themselves,  en- 
deavoured to  conceal1.     These  pretexts  are  decent; 
and  the  considerations  which  he  mentions  had,  during 
some  time,  a  real  influence  upon  the  conduct  of  the 
party ;   but,  since  the  meeting  of  parliament  held  in 
December,  they  had  discovered  so  little  delicacy  and 
reserve  with  respect  to  the  queen's  actions,  as  renders 
it  impossible  to  give  credit  to  those  studied  professions. 
The  regent  and  his  associates  were  drawn,  it  is  plain, 
partly  by  the  necessity  of  their  affairs,  and  partly  by 
Elizabeth's  artifices,  into  a  situation  where  no  liberty  of 
choice  was  left  to  them ;  and  they  were  obliged  either 
to  acknowledge  themselves  to  be  guilty  of  rebellion,  or 
to  charge  Mary  with  having  been  accessory  to  the  com- 
mission of  murder. 

The  accusation  itself  was  conceived  in  the  strongest 

k  Haynes,  484.  '  Anders,  vol.  iv.  part  ii.  115. 


39G 


THE  HISTORY 


BOOK  v. 


Nov.  29. 


1568.  terms.  Mary  was  charged,  not  only  with  having  con- 
sented to  the  murder,  but  with  being  accessory  to  the 
contrivance  and  execution  of  it.  Bothwell,  it  was  pre- 
tended, had  been  screened  from  the  pursuits  of  justice 
by  her  favour;  and  she  had  formed  designs  no  less 
dangerous  to  the  life  of  the  young  prince,  than  subver- 
sive of  the  liberties  and  constitution  of  the  kingdom. 
If  any  of  these  crimes  should  be  denied,  an  offer  was 
made  to  produce  the  most  ample  and  undoubted  evi- 
dence in  confirmation  of  the  charge"1. 

At  the  next  meeting  of  the  commissioners,  the  earl 
of  Lennox  appeared  before  them ;  and,  after  bewailing 
the  tragical  and  unnatural  murder  of  his  son,  he  im- 
plored Elizabeth's  justice  against  the  queen  of  Scots, 
whom  he  accused,  upon  oath,  of  being  the  author  of 
that  crime,  and  produced  papers,  which,,  as  he  pre- 
tended, would  make  good  what  he  alleged.  The  en- 
trance of  a  new  actor  on  the  stage  so  opportunely,  and 
at  a  juncture  so  critical,  can  scarce  be  imputed  to 
chance.  This  contrivance  was  manifestly  Elizabeth's, 
in  order  to  increase,  by  this  additional  accusation,  the 
infamy  of  the  Scottish  queen". 

Her  com-  Mary's  commissioners  expressed  the  utmost  surprise 
refuse"*)18  anc^  indignation  at  the  regent's  presumption,  in  loading 
the  queen  with  calumnies,  which,  as  they  affirmed,  she 
had  so  little  merited.  But,  instead  of  attempting  to 
vindicate  her  honour,  by  a  reply  to  the  charge,  they  had 
recourse  to  an  article  in  their  instructions,  which  they 
had  formerly  neglected  to  mention  in  its  proper  place. 
They  demanded  an  audience  of  Elizabeth ;  and  having 
renewed  their  mistress's  request  of  a  personal  interview, 
they  protested,  if  that  were  denied  her,  against  all  the 
future  proceedings  of  the  commissioners0.  A  protesta- 
tion of  this  nature,  offered  just  at  the  critical  time  when 
such  a  bold  accusation  had  been  preferred  against 


answer. 
Dec.  4. 


m  Anders,  vol.  iv.  part  ii.  119. 
0  Id.  ibid.  133. 158,  etc. 


Id.  ibid.  122. 


BOOK  v.  OF  SCOTLAND.  397 

Mary,  and  when  the  proofs  in  support  of  it  were  ready 
to  be  examined,  gave  reason  to  suspect  that  she  dreaded 
the  event  of  that  examination.  This  suspicion  received 
the  strongest  confirmation  from  another  circumstance : 
Ross  and  Herries,  before  they  were  introduced  to  Eli- 
zabeth, in  order  to  make  this  protestation,  privately 
acquainted  Leicester  and  Cecil,  that  as  their  mistress 
had,  from  the  beginning,  discovered  an  inclination  to- 
wards bringing  the  differences  between  herself  and  her 
subjects  to  an  amicable  accommodation,  so  she  was  still 
desirous,  notwithstanding  the  regent's  audacious  accu- 
sation, that  they  should  be  terminated  in  that  manner  P. 

Such  moderation  seems  hardly  to  be  compatible  with 
the  strong  resentment  which  calumniated  innocence 
naturally  feels ;  or  with  that  eagerness  to  vindicate  it- 
self which  it  always  discovers.  In  Mary's  situation,  an 
offer  so  ill-timed  must  be  considered  as  a  confession  of 
the  weakness  of  her  cause.  The  known  character  of 
her  commissioners  exempts  them  from  the  imputation 
of  folly,  or  the  suspicion  of  treachery.  Some  secret 
conviction,  that  the  conduct  of  their  mistress  could  not 
bear  so  strict  a  scrutiny  as  must  be  made  into  it,  if  they 
should  reply  to  the  accusation  preferred  by  Murray 
against  her,  seems  to  be  the  most  probable  motive  of 
this  imprudent  proposal,  by  which  they  endeavoured 
to  avoid  it. 

It  appeared  in  this  light  to  Elizabeth,  and  afforded  Dec.  4. 
her  a  pretence  for  rejecting  it.  She  represented  to 
Mary's  commissioners,  that,  in  the  present  juncture, 
nothing  could  be  so  dishonourable  to  their  mistress  as 
an  accommodation ;  and  that  the  matter  would  seem  to 
be  huddled  up  in  this  manner,  merely  to  suppress  dis- 
coveries, and  to  hide  her  shame ;  nor  was  it  possible 
that  Mary  could  be  admitted,  with  any  decency,  into 
her  presence,  while  she  lay  under  the  infamy  of  such  a 
public  accusation. 

P  Anders,  vol.  iv.  part  ii.  134.     Cabbala,  157. 


39a  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  v. 

1568.  Upon  this  repulse,  Mary's  commissioners  withdrew  ; 
~~  and,  as  they  had  declined  answering,  there  seemed  now 
to  be  no  farther  reason  for  the  regent's  producing  the 
proofs  in  support  of  his  charge.  But  without  getting 
these  into  her  hands,  Elizabeth's  schemes  were  incom- 
plete ;  and  her  artifice  for  this  purpose  was  as  mean, 
but  as  successful,  as  any  she  had  hitherto  employed. 
She  commanded  her  commissioners  to  testify  her  indig- 
nation and  displeasure  at  the  regent's  presumption,  in 
forgetting  so  far  the  duty  of  a  subject,  as  to  accuse  his 
sovereign  of  such  atrocious  crimes.  He,  in  order  to 
regain  the  good  opinion  of  such  a  powerful  protectress, 
offered  to  show  that  his  accusations  were  not  malicious, 
nor  ill-grounded.  Then  were  produced  and  submitted 
to  the  inspection  of  the  English  commissioners,  the 
acts  of  the  Scottish  parliament  in  confirmation  of  the 
regent's  authority,  and  of  the  queen's  resignation  ;  the 
confessions  of  the  persons  executed  for  the  king's  mur- 
der ;  and  the  fatal  casket  which  contained  the  letters, 
sonnets,  and  contracts,  that  have  been  so  often  men- 
tioned. 
Elizabeth  As  soon  as  Elizabeth  got  these  into  her  possession, 


treats  Mary  sne  \a{^  them  before  her  privy  council,  to  which  she 

with  greater  ...  .  .  J 

rigour.  joined,  on  this  occasion,  several  noblemen  of  the  greatest 
Dec.  14.  eminence  in  her  kingdom  ;  in  order  that  they  might 
have  an  opportunity  of  considering  the  mode  in  which 
an  inquiry  of  such  public  importance  had  been  hitherto 
conducted,  as  well  as  the  amount  of  the  evidence  now 
brought  against  a  person,  who  claimed  a  preferable 
right  of  succession  to  the  English  crown.  In  this  re- 
spectable assembly  all  the  proceedings  in  the  confer- 
ences at  York  and  Westminster  were  reviewed,  and  the 
evidence  produced  by  the  regent  of  Scotland  against 
his  sovereign  was  examined  with  attention.  In  parti- 
cular, the  letters  and  other  papers  said  to  be  written 
by  the  queen  of  Scots,  were  carefully  compared  "  for 
the  manner  of  writing  and  orthography,"  with  a  variety 
of  letters  which  Elizabeth  had  received  at  different 


BOOK  v.  OF  SCOTLAND.  399 

times  from  the  Scottish  queen;  and,  as  the  result  of  a  1568. 
most  accurate  collation,  the  members  of  the  privy  coun-  ~ 
cil,  and  noblemen  conjoined  with  them,  declared  that 
no  difference  between  these  could  be  disco  veredq.  Eli- 
zabeth, having  established  a  fact  so  unfavourable  to 
her  rival,  began  to  lay  aside  the  expressions  of  friend- 
ship and  respect  which  she  had  hitherto  used  in  all 
her  letters  to  the  Scottish  queen.  She  now  wrote  to 
her  in  such  terms,  as  if  the  presumptions  of  her  guilt 
had  amounted  almost  to  certainty ;  she  blamed  her  for 
refusing  to  vindicate  herself  from  an  accusation  which 
could  not  be  left  unanswered,  without  a  manifest  injury 
to  her  character;  and  plainly  intimated,  that,  -unless 
that  were  done,  no  change  would  be  made  in  her  pre- 
sent situation r.  She  hoped  that  such  a  discovery  of 
her  sentiments  would  intimidate  Mary,  who  was  hardly 
recovered  from  the  shock  of  the  regent's  attack  on  her 
reputation,  and  force  her  to  confirm  her  resignation  of 
the  crown,  to  ratify  Murray's  authority  as  regent,  and 
to  consent  that  both  herself  and  her  son  should  reside 
in  England,  under  English  protection.  This  scheme 
Elizabeth  had  much  at  heart ;  she  proposed  it  both  to 
Mary  and  to  her  commissioners,  and  neglected  no  ar- 
gument nor  artifice,  that  could  possibly  recommend  it. 
Mary  saw  how  fatal  this  would  prove  to  her  reputation, 
to  her  pretensions,  and  even  to  her  personal  safety. 
She  rejected  it  without  hesitation.  "  Death,"  said 
she,  "  is  less  dreadful  than  such  an  ignominious  step. 
Rather  than  give  away,  with  my  own  hands,  the  crown 
which  descended  to  me  from  my  ancestors,  I  will  part 
with  life ;  but  the  last  words  I  utter,  shall  be  those  of 
a  queen  of  Scotland5." 

At  the  same  time  she  seems  to  have  been  sensible 
how  open  her  reputation  lay  to  censure,  while  she  suf- 
fered such  a  public  accusation  to  remain  unanswered ; 

•i  Anders,  vol.  iv.  part  ii.  170,  etc. 

'  Id.  ibid.  179. 183.     Good.  vol.  ii.  260. 

«  Haynes,  497.    See  Appendix,  No.  XXX.   Good.  vol.  ii.  274.  301. 


400 


THE  HISTORY 


BOOK  v. 


1568.  and,  though   the  conference  was  now  dissolved,  she 
"empowered  her  commissioners  to  present  a  reply  to  the 

allegations  of  her  enemies,  in  which  she  denied,  in  the 
strongest  terms,  the  crimes  imputed  to  her ;  and  recri- 
minated upon  the  regent  and  his  party,  by  accusing 
them  of  having  devised  and  executed  the  murder  of 
Dec.  24.  the  king  *.  The  regent  and  his  associates  asserted  their 
innocence  with  great  warmth.  Mary  continued  to  in- 
sist on  a  personal  interview,  a  condition  which  she 
knew  would  never  be  granted  u.  Elizabeth  urged  her 
to  vindicate  her  own  honour.  But  it  is  evident  from 
the  delays,  the  evasions,  and  subterfuges,  to  which 
both  queens  had  recourse  by  turns,  that  Mary  avoided, 
and  Elizabeth  did  not  desire,  to  make  any  farther  pro- 

1569.  gress  in  the  inquiry. 

Feb.  2.  The  regent  was  now  impatient  to  return  into  Scot- 

the* "gent  Ian(l,  where  his  adversaries  were  endeavouring,  in  his 
without  absence,  to  raise  some  commotions.  Before  he  set  out, 
provingPor  h^  was  called  into  the  privy  council,  to  receive  a  final 
condemning  declaration  of  Elizabeth's  sentiments.  Cecil  acquainted 

hisconduct;     ..,  T  ,,  . 

him,  in  her  name,  that,  on  one  hand,  nothing  had  been 

objected  to  his  conduct,  which  she  could  reckon  detri- 
mental to  his  honour,  or  inconsistent  with  his  duty; 
nor  had  he,  on  the  other  hand,  produced  any  thing 
against  his  sovereign,  on  which  she  could  found  an 
unfavourable  opinion  of  her  actions ;  and,  for  this 
reason,  she  resolved  to  leave  all  the  affairs  of  Scot- 
land precisely  in  the  same  situation  in  which  she  had 
found  them  at  the  beginning  of  the  conference.  The 
queen's  commissioners  were  dismissed  much  in  the 
same  manner". 

After  the  attention  of  both  nations  had  been  fixed  so 
earnestly  on  this  conference  upwards  of  four  months, 
such  a  conclusion  of  the  whole  appears,  at  first  sight, 
trifling  and  ridiculous.  Nothing,  however,  could  be 


*  Good.  ii.  285. 

*  Good.  ii.  315.  333. 


»  Ibid.  283.     Cabbala,  157. 


BOOK  v.  OF  SCOTLAND.  401 

more  favourable  to  Elizabeth's  future  schemes.  Not-  1569. 
withstanding  her  seeming  impartiality,  she  had  no~  j^~ 
thoughts  of  continuing  neuter ;  nor  was  she  at  any  supports  his 
loss  on  whom  to  bestow  her  protection.  Before  the1*" 
regent  left  London,  she  supplied  him  with  a  consider- 
able sum  of  money,  and  engaged  to  support  the  king's 
authority  to  the  utmost  of  her  power  y.  Mary,  by  her 
own  conduct,  fortified  this  resolution.  Enraged  at  the 
repeated  instances  of  Elizabeth's  artifice  and  deceit, 
which  she  had  discovered  during  the  progress  of  the 
conference,  and  despairing  of  ever  obtaining  any  suc- 
cour from  her,  she  endeavoured  to  rouse  her  own  ad- 
herents in  Scotland  to  arms,  by  imputing  such  designs 
to  Elizabeth  and  Murray,  as  could  not  fail  to  inspire 
every  Scotchman  with  indignation.  Murray,  she  pre- 
tended, had  agreed  to  convey  the  prince,  her  son,  into 
England ;  to  surrender  to  Elizabeth  the  places  of 
greatest  strength  in  the  kingdom ;  and  to  acknow- 
ledge the  dependence  of  the  Scottish  upon  the  Eng- 
lish nation.  In  return  for  this,  Murray  was  to  be  de- 
clared the  lawful  heir  of  the  crown  of  Scotland ;  and, 
at  the  same  time,  the  question  with  regard  to  the 
English  succession  was  to  be  decided  in  favour  of  the 
earl  of  Hartford,  who  had  promised  to  marry  one  of 
Cecil's  daughters.  An  account  of  these  wild  and  chi- 
merical projects  was  spread  industriously  among  the 
Scots.  Elizabeth,  perceiving  it  was  calculated  of  pur- 
pose to  bring  her  government  into  disreputation,  la- 
boured to  destroy  its  effects,  by  a  counter-proclama- 
tion, and  became  more  disgusted  than  ever  with  the 
Scottish  queen 2. 

The  regent,  on  his  return,  found  the  kingdom  in  the  Efforts  of 
utmost  tranquillity.     But  the  rage  of  the  queen's  ad-  ^Iary's  ad~ 
herents,  which   had  been   suspended,  in  expectation  against  him. 
that  the  conference  in  England  would  terminate  to  her 

T  Good.  ii.  313.     Carte,  iii.  478. 
1  Haynes,  500.  503.     See  Appendix,  No.  XXXI. 
VOL.  I.  D  d 


402  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  v. 

1569.  advantage,  was  now  ready  to  break  out  with  all  the 
"violence  of  civil  war.  They  were  encouraged  too  by 
the  appearance  of  a  leader,  whose  high  quality  and 
pretensions  entitled  him  to  great  authority  in  the  na- 
tion. This  was  the  duke  of  Chatelherault,  who  had 
resided  for  some  years  in  France,  and  was  nojw  sent 
over  by  that  court  with  a  small  supply  of  money,  in 
hopes  that  the  presence  of  the  first  nobleman  in  the 
kingdom  would  strengthen  the  queen's  party.  Eliza- 
beth had  detained  him  in  England  for  some  months, 
under  various  pretences,  but  was  obliged  at  last  to 
Feb.  25.  suffer  him  to  proceed  on  his  journey.  Before  his  de- 
parture, Mary  invested  him  with  the  high  dignity  of 
her  lieutenant-general  in  Scotland,  together  with  the 
fantastic  title  of  her  adopted  father. 

His  vigor-  The  regent  did  not  give  him  time  to  form  his  party 
breaksn£Ct*nto  anv  regular  body.  He  assembled  an  army  with 
party.  his  usual  expedition,  and  marched  to  Glasgow.  The 
followers  of  Argyll  and  Huntly,  who  composed  the 
chief  part  of  the  queen's  faction,  being  seated  in  cor- 
ners of  the  kingdom  very  distant  from  each  other,  and 
many  of  the  duke's  dependents  having  been  killed  or 
taken  in  the  battle  of  Langside,  the  spirit  and  strength 
of  his  adherents  were  totally  broken,  and  an  accommo- 
dation with  the  regent  was  the  only  thing  which  could 
prevent  the  ruin  of  his  estate  and  vassals.  This  was 
effected  without  difficulty,  and  on  no  unreasonable 
terms.  The  duke  promised  to  acknowledge  the  au- 
thority both  of  the  king  and  of  the  regent;  and  to 
claim  no  jurisdiction  in  consequence  of  the  commission 
which  he  had  received  from  the  queen.  The  regent 
bound  himself  to  repeal  the  act  which  had  passed  for 
attainting  several  of  the  queen's  adherents ;  to  restore 
all  who  would  submit  to  the  king's  government  to  the 
possession  of  their  estates  and  honours ;  and  to  hold  a 
convention,  wherein  all  the  differences  between  the 
two  parties  should  be  settled  by  mutual  consent.  The 
duke  gave  hostages  for  his  faithful  performance  of  the 


BOOK  v.  OF  SCOTLAND.  403 

treaty ;  and,  in  token  of  their  sincerity,  he  ami  lord      1569. 
Herries  accompanied  the  regent  to  Stirling,  and  visited  ~ 
the  young  king.     The  regent  set  at  liberty  the  prison- 
ers taken  at  Langside  a. 

Argyll  and  Huntly  refused  to  be  included  in  this 
treaty.  A  secret  negotiation  was  carrying  on  in  Eng- 
land, in  favour  of  the  captive  queen,  with  so  much  suc- 
cess, that  her  affairs  began  to  wear  a  better  aspect, 
and  her  return  into  her  own  kingdom  seemed  to  be  an 
event  not  very  distant.  The  French  king  had  lately 
obtained  such  advantages  over  the  hugonots,  that  the 
extinction  of  that  party  appeared  to  be  inevitable,  and 
France,  by  recovering  domestic  tranquillity,  would  be 
no  longer  prevented  from  protecting  her  friends  in 
Britain.  These  circumstances  not  only  influenced  Ar- 
gyll and  Huntly,  but  made  so  deep  an  impression  on 
the  duke,  that  he  appeared  to  be  wavering  and  irre- 
solute, and  plainly  discovered  that  he  wished  to  evade 
the  accomplishment  of  the  treaty.  The  regent  saw 
the  danger  of  allowing  the  duke  to  shake  himself  loose, 
in  this  manner,  from  his  engagements;  and  instantly 
formed  a  resolution  equally  bold  and  politic.  He  com- 
manded his  guards  to  seize  Chatelherault  in  his  own 
house  in  Edinburgh,  whither  he  had  come  in  order  to 
attend  the  convention  agreed  upon ;  and,  regardless 
either  of  his  dignity,  as  the  first  nobleman  in  the  king- 
dom, and  next  heir  to  the  crown,  or  of  the  promises  of 
personal  security,  on  which  he  had  relied,  committed 
him  and  lord  Herries  prisoners  to  the  castle  of  Edin- 
burgh5. A  blow  so  fatal  and  unexpected  dispirited 
the  party.  Argyll  submitted  to  the  king's  government, 
and  made  his  peace  with  the  regent  on  very  easy  terms ; 
and  Huntly,  being  left  alone,  was  at  last  obliged  to  lay  April  16. 
down  his  arms. 

Soon  after,  lord  Boyd  returned  into  Scotland,  and 

»  €aWJala,  161.    Crawf.  Mem.  106. 
b  Crawf.  Mem.  111.    Melv.  202. 


404  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  y. 

1569.     brought  letters  to  the  regent,  both  from  the  English 
Jul  21       and  Scottish  queens.    A  convention  was  held  at  Perth, 
A  proposal  in  order  to  consider  them.    Elizabeth's  letter  contained 
o°Maryr     three  different  proposals  with  regard  to  Mary;   that 
rejected.      sne  should  either  be  restored  to  the  full  possession  of 
her  former  authority ;  or  be  admitted  to  reign  jointly 
with  the  king  her  son ;  or  at  least  be  allowed  to  reside 
in  Scotland,  in  some  decent  retirement,  without  any 
share   in    the    administration   of  government.     These 
overtures  were  extorted  by  the  importunity  of  Fenelon, 
the  French  ambassador,  and  have  some  appearance  of 
being  favourable  to  the  captive  queen.     They  were, 
however,  perfectly  suitable  to  Elizabeth's  general  sys- 
tem with  regard  to  Scottish  affairs.     Among  proposi- 
tions so  unequal  and  disproportionate,  she  easily  saw 
where  the  choice  would  fall.     The  two  former,  were 
rejected;  and  long  delays  must  necessarily  have  inter- 
vened, and  many  difficulties  have  arisen,  before  every 
circumstance  relative  to  the  last  could  be  finally  ad- 
justed p. 

Mary,  in  her  letter,  demanded  that  her  marriage  with 
Bothwell  should  be  reviewed  by  the  proper  judges, 
and,  if  found  invalid,  should  be  dissolved  by  a  legal 
sentence  of  divorce.  This  fatal  marriage  was  the  prin- 
cipal source  of  all  the  calamities  she  had  endured  for 
two  years ;  a  divorce  was  the  only  thing  which  could 
repair  the  injuries  her  reputation  had  suffered  by  that 
step.  It  was  her  interest  to  have  proposed  it  early; 
and  it  is  not  easy  to  account  for  her  long  silence  with 
Norfolk's  respect  to  this  point.  Her  particular  motive  for  pro- 
scheme  for  posing  it  at  this  time  began  to  be  so  well  known, 

marrying       r          ° 

the  queen    that  the  demand  was  rejected   by  the  convention  of 
f  Scots-      estates'1.     They  imputed  it  not  so  much  to  any  abhor- 

«  Spotswood,  230. 

d  Spotswood,  231.  In  a  privy  council,  held  July  30, 1569,  this  demand 
was  considered  ;  and,  of  fifty-one  members  present,  only  seven  voted  to 
comply  with  the  queen's  request.  Records  Priv.  Counc.  manuscript  in  the 
Lyon  Office,  p.  148. 


BOOK  v.  OF  SCOTLAND.  405 

rence  of  Bothwell,  as  to  her  eagerness  to  conclude  a     1569. 
marriage  with  the  duke  of  Norfolk. 

This  marriage  was  the  object  of  that  secret  nego- 
tiation in  England,  which  I  have  already  mentioned. 
The  fertile  and  projecting  genius  of  Maitland  first  con- 
ceived this  scheme.  During  the  conference  at  York, 
he  communicated  it  to  the-dtike'  himself,  and  to  the 
bishop  of  Ross.  The  former  readily  closed  with  a 
scheme  so  flattering  to  his  ambition:  the  latter  con- 
sidered it  as  a  probable  device  for  restoring  his  mis- 
tress to  liberty,  and  replacing  her  on  her  throne.  Nor 
was  Mary,  with  whom  Norfolk  held  a  correspondence, 
by  means  of  his  sister,  lady  Scrope,  averse  from  a  mea- 
sure, which  would  have  restored  her  to  her  kingdom 
with  so  much  splendour e.  The  sudden  removal  of  the 
conference  from  York  to  Westminster  suspended,  but 
did  not  break  off  this  intrigue.  Maitland  and  Ross 
were  still  the  duke's  prompters,  and  his  agents ;  and 
many  letters  and  lovetokens  were  exchanged  between 
him  and  the  queen  of  Scots. 

But  as  he  could  not  hope,  that  under  an  administra-  Conceals  it 
tion  so  vigilant  as  Elizabeth's,  such  an  intrigue  could  br°t™  'lza~ 
be  kept  long  concealed,  he  attempted  to  deceive  her 
by  the  appearance  of  openness  and  candour,  an  artifice 
which  seldom  fails  of  success.  He  mentioned  to  her 
the  rumour  that  was  spread  of  his  marriage  with  the 
Scottish  queen ;  he  complained  of  it  as  a  groundless 
calumny;  and  disclaimed  all  thoughts  of  that  kind, 
with  many  expressions  full  of  contempt  both  for  Mary's 
character  and  dominions.  Jealous  as  Elizabeth  was  of 
every  thing  relative  to  the  queen  of  Scots,  she  seems  to 
have  credited  these  professions f.  But,  instead  of  dis- 
continuing the  negotiation,  he  renewed  it  with  greater 
vigour,  and  admitted  into  it  new  associates.  Among 
these  was  the  regent  of  Scotland.  He  had  given  great 


«  Camd.  419.     Haynes,  573.    State  Trials,  i.  73. 
f  Haynes,  574.     State  Trials,  i.  79,  80. 


406  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  v. 

1569.  offence  to  Norfolk,  by  his  public  accusation  of  the 
queen,  in  breach  of  the  concert  into  which  he  had  en- 
tered at  York.  He  was  then  raady  to  return  into  Scot- 
land. The  influence  of  the  duke  in  the  north  of  Eng- 
land was  great.  The  earls  of  Northumberland  and 
Westmorland,  the  most  powerful  noblemen  in  that  part 
of  the  kingdom,  threatened  to  revenge  upon  the  regent 
the  injuries  which  he  had  done  his  sovereign.  Murray, 
in  order  to  secure  a  safe  return  into  Scotland,  ad- 
dressed himself  to  Norfolk;  and,  after  some  apology 
for  his  past  conduct,  he  insinuated  that  the  duke's 
scheme  of  marrying  the  queen,  his  sister,  was  no  less 
acceptable  to  him  than  beneficial  to  both  kingdoms, 
and  that  he  would  concur  with  the  utmost  ardour  in 
promoting  so  desirable  an  event g.  Norfolk  heard  him 
with  the  credulity  natural  to  those  who  are  passionately 
bent  upon  any  design.  He  wrote  to  the  two  earls  to 
desist  from  any  hostile  attempt  against  Murray,  and  to 
that  he  owed  his  passage  through  the  northern  coun- 
ties without  disturbance. 

Gains  the  Encouraged  by  his  success  in  gaining  the  regent,  he 
theEngUsh  next  attempted  to  draw  the  English  nobles  to  approve 
nobles.  his  design.  The  nation  began  to  despair  of  Elizabeth's 
marrying.  Her  jealousy  kept  the  question  with  regard 
to  the  right  of  succession  undecided.  The  memory  of 
the  civil  wars  which  had  desolated  England  for  more 
than  a  century,  on  account  of  the  disputed  titles  of 
the  houses  of  York  and  Lancaster,  was  still  recent. 
Almost  all  the  ancient  nobility  had  perished,  and 
the  nation  itself  had  been  brought  to  the  brink  of 
destruction  in  that  unhappy  contest.  The  Scottish 
queen,  though  her  right  of  succession  was  generally 
held  to  be  undoubted,  might  meet  with  formidable 
competitors.  She  might  marry  a  foreign  and  a  popish 
prince,  and  bring  both  liberty  and  religion  into  dan- 
ger. But,  by  marrying  her  to  an  Englishman,  a  zea- 

"  Anders,  iii.  34. 


BOOK  v.  OF  SCOTLAND.  407 

lous  protestant,  the  most  powerful  and  most  universally  1669. 
beloved  of  all  the  nobility,  an  effectual  remedy  seemed  ~ 
to  be  provided  against  all  these  evils.  The  greater 
part  of  the  peers,  either  directly  or  tacitly,  approved 
of  it,  as  a  salutary  project.  The  earls  of  Arundel, 
Pembroke,  Leicester,  and  lord  Lumley,  subscribed  a 
letter  to  the  Scottish  queen,  written  with  Leicester's 
hand,  in  which  they  warmly  recommended  the  match, 
but  insisted,  by  way  of  preliminary,  on  Mary's  pro- 
mise, that  she  should  attempt  nothing,  in  consequence 
of  her  pretensions  to  the  English  crown,  prejudicial 
to  Elizabeth,  or  to  her  posterity;  that  she  should 
consent  to  a  league,  offensive  and  defensive,  between 
the  two  kingdoms;  that  she  should  confirm  the  pre- 
sent establishment  of  religion  in  Scotland,  and  receive 
into  favour  such  of  her  subjects  as  had  appeared  in 
arms  against  her.  Upon  her  agreeing  to  the  mar- 
riage and  ratifying  these  articles,  they  engaged  that 
the  English  nobles  would  not  only  concur  in  restoring 
her  immediately  to  her  own  throne,  but  in  securing 
to  her  that  of  England  in  reversion.  Mary  readily 
consented  to  all  these  proposals,  except  the  second, 
with  regard  to  which  she  demanded  some  time  for 
consulting  her  ancient  ally,  the  French  kingu. 

The  whole  of  this  negotiation  was  industriously  con- 
cealed from  Elizabeth.  Her  jealousy  of  the  Scottish 
queen  was  well  known,  nor  could  it  be  expected  that 
she  would  willingly  come  into  a  measure,  which  tended 
so  visibly  to  save  the  reputation,  and  to  increase  the 
power  of  her  rival.  But,  in  a  matter  of  so  much  con- 
sequence to  the  nation,  the  taking  a  few  steps  without 
her  knowledge  could  hardly  be  reckoned  criminal; 
and  while  every  person  concerned,  even  Mary  and 
Norfolk  themselves,  declared,  that  nothing  should  be 
concluded  without  obtaining  her  consent,  the  duty  and 
allegiance  of  subjects  seemed  to  be  fully  preserved. 

h  Anders,  vol.  iii.  51.    Camd.  420. 


408  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  v. 

1569.  The  greater  part  of  the  nobles  regarded  the  matter  in 
"this  light.  Those  who  conducted  the  intrigue,  had 
farther  and  more  dangerous  views.  They  •  saw  the 
advantages  which  Mary  would  obtain  by  this  treaty, 
to  be  present  and  certain ;  and  the  execution  of  the 
promises  which  she  came  under,  to  be  distant  and 
uncertain.  They  had  early  communicated  their  scheme 
to  the  kings  of  France  and  Spain,  and  obtained  their 
approbation1.  A  treaty  concerning  which  they  con- 
sulted foreign  princes,  while  they  concealed  it  from 
their  own  sovereign,  could  not  be  deemed  innocent. 
They  hoped,  however,  that  the  union  of  such  a  num- 
ber of  the  chief  persons  in  the  kingdom  would  render 
it  necessary  for  Elizabeth  to  comply;  they  flattered 
themselves  that  a  combination  so  strong  would  be  al- 
together irresistible;  and  such  was  their  confidence 
of  success,  that  when  a  plan  was  concerted  in  the 
North  of  England  for  rescuing  Mary  out  of  the  hands 
of  her  keepers,  Norfolk,  who  was  afraid  that  if  she 
recovered  her  liberty,  her  sentiments  in  his  favour 
might  change,  used  all  his  interest  to  dissuade  the 
conspirators  from  attempting  itk. 

In  this  situation  did  the  affair  remain,  when  lord 
Boyd  arrived  from  England ;  and,  besides  the  letters 
which  he  produced  publicly,  brought  others  in  ciphers 
from  Norfolk  and  Throkmorton,  to  the  regent,  and 
to  Maitland.  These  were  full  of  the  most  sanguine 
hopes.  All  the  nobles  of  England  concurred,  said 
they,  in  favouring  the  design.  Every  preliminary  was 
adjusted;  nor  was  it  possible  that  a  scheme  so  deep- 
laid,  conducted  with  so  much  art,  and  supported  both 
by  power  and  by  numbers,  could  miscarry,  or  be  de- 
feated in  the  execution.  Nothing  now  was  wanting 
but  the  concluding  ceremony.  It  depended  on  the 
regent  to  hasten  that,  by  procuring  a  sentence  of  di- 
vorce, which  would  remove  the  only  obstacle  that  stood 

'  Anders,  vol.  iii.  63.  k  Carnd.  420. 


BOOK  v.  OF  SCOTLAND.  409 

in  the  way.    This  was  expected  of  him,  in  consequence      1569. 
of  his  promise  to  Norfolk  ;  and  if  he  regarded  either  ~~ 
his  interest  or  his  fame,  or  even  his  safety,  he  would 
not  fail  to  fulfil  these  engagements'. 

But  the  regent  was  now  in  very  different  circumr 
stances  from  those  which  had  formerly  induced  him 
to  affect  an  approbation  of  Norfolk's  schemes.  He 
saw  that  the  downfal  of  his  own  power  must  be  the 
first  consequence  of  the  duke's  success;  and  if  the 
queen,  who  considered  him  as  the  chief  author  of  all 
her  misfortunes,  should  recover  her  ancient  authority, 
he  could  never  expect  favour,  nor  scarce  hope  for 
impunity.  No  wonder  he  declined  a  step  so  fatal  to 
himself,  and  which  would  have  established  the  gran- 
deur of  another  on  the  ruins  of  his  own.  This  re- 
fusal occasioned  a  delay.  But,  as  every  other  cir- 
cumstance was  settled,  the  bishop  of  Ross,  in  the 
name  of  his  mistress,  and  the  duke,  in  person,  de- 
clared, in  presence  of  the  French  ambassador,  their 
mutual  consent  to  the  marriage,  and  a  contract  to  this 
purpose  was  signed,  and  intrusted  to  the  keeping  of 
the  ambassador1". 

The  intrigue  was  now  in  so  many  hands,  that  it  August  13. 
could  not  long  remain  a  secret.     It  began  to  be 


pered  at  court  ;    and  Elizabeth  calling  the  duke  into  the  dukeV 
,     ,  '     T  •  i  '    design,  and 

her  presence,  expressed  the  utmost  indignation  at  his  defeats  it. 
conduct,  and  charged  him  to  lay  aside  all  thoughts 
of  prosecuting  such  a  dangerous  design.  Soon  after 
Leicester,  who  perhaps  had  countenanced  the  project 
with  no  other  intention,  revealed  all  the  circumstances 
of  it  to  the  queen.  Pembroke,  Arundel,  Lumley,  and 
Throkmorton,  were  confined  and  examined.  Mary 
was  watched  more  narrowly  than  ever  ;  and  Hastings, 
earl  of  Huntingdon,  who  pretended  to  dispute  with 
the  Scottish  queen  her  right  to  the  succession,  being 

1  Haynes,  520.     Spotsw.  230.    See  Appendix,  No.  XXXII. 
»  Carte,  vol.  iji.  486. 


410  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  v. 

1569.  joined  in  commission  with  Shrewsbury,  rendered  her 
~*  imprisonment  more  intolerable,  by  the  excess  of  his 
vigilance  and  rigour".  The  Scottish  regent,  threaten- 
ed with  Elizabeth's  displeasure,  meanly  betrayed  the 
duke;  put  his  letters  into  her  hands,  and  furnished 
all  the  intelligence  in  his  power0.  The  duke  himself 
retired  first  to  Howard  house,  and  then,  in  contempt 
of  the  summons  to  appear  before  the  privy  council, 
fled  to  his  seat  in  Norfolk.  Intimidated  by  the  im- 
prisonment of  his  associates;  coldly  received  by  his 
friends  in  that  county;  unprepared  for  a  rebellion; 
and  unwilling  perhaps  to  rebel ;  he  hesitated  for  some 
days,  and  at  last  obeyed  a  second  call,  and  repaired 
Oct.  3.  to  Windsor.  He  was  first  kept  as  a  prisoner  in  a 
private  house,  and  then  sent  to  the  tower.  After 
being  confined  there  upwards  of  nine  months,  he  was 
released  upon  his  humble  submission  to  Elizabeth,  giv- 
ing her  a  promise,  on  his  allegiance,  to  hold  no  farther 
correspondence  with  the  queen  of  Scots  p.  During  the 
progress  of  Norfolk's  negotiations,  the  queen's  partisans 
in  Scotland,  who  made  no  doubt  of  their  issuing  in  her 
restoration  to  the  throne,  with  an  increase  of  authority, 
were  wonderfully  elevated.  Maitland  was  the  soul  of 
that  party,  and  the  person  whose  activity  and  ability 
Maitland  the  regent  chiefly  dreaded.  He  had  laid  the  plan  of 
b^thTrT-*1  that  intrigue  which  had  kindled  such  combustion  in 
gent.  England.  He  continued  to  foment  the  spirit  of  dis- 
affection in  Scotland,  and  had  seduced  from  the  regent 
lord  Home,  Kirkaldy,  and  several  of  his  former  as- 
sociates. While  he  enjoyed  liberty,  the  regent  could 
not  reckon  his  own  power  secure.  For  this  reason, 
having  by  an  artifice  allured  Maitland  to  Stirling,  he 
employed  captain  Crawford,  one  of  his  creatures,  to 
accuse  him  of  being  accessory  to  the  murder  of  the 
king ;  and,  under  that  pretence,  he  was  arrested  and 


»  Haynes,  525,  526.  530.  532.  «  See  Appendix,  No.  XXXIII. 

P  Haynes,  525.  597. 


BOOKV.  OF  SCOTLAND.  411 

carried  as  a  prisoner  to  Edinburgh.  He  would  soon  1569. 
have  been  brought  to  trial,  but  was  saved  by  the~ 
friendship  of  Kirkaldy,  governor  of  the  castle,  who, 
by  pretending  a  warrant  for  that  purpose  from  the 
regent,  got  him  out  of  the  hands  of  the  person  to 
whose  care  he  was  committed,  and  conducted  him  into 
the  castle,  which,  from  that  time,  was  entirely  under 
Maitland's  command  q.  The  loss  of  a  place  of  so  much 
importance,  and  the  defection  of  a  man  so  eminent  for 
military  skill  as  Kirkaldy,  brought  the  regent  into  some 
disreputation,  for  which,  however,  the  success  of  his  ally 
Elizabeth,  about  this  time,  abundantly  compensated. 

The  intrigue  carried  on  for  restoring  the  Scottish  A  rebellion 
queen  to   liberty  having  been  discovered,  and  disap- 


pointed,  an  attempt  was  made  to  the  same  purpose,  by  Mary's 
by  force  of  arms;  but  the  issue  of  it  was  not  more 
fortunate.  The  earls  of  Northumberland  and  West- 
morland, though  little  distinguished  by  their  personal 
abilities,  were  two  of  the  most  ancient  and  powerful 
of  the  English  peers.  Their  estates  in  the  northern 
counties  were  great,  and  they  possessed  that  influence 
over  the  inhabitants,  which  was  hereditary  in  the  po- 
pular and  martial  families  of  Percy  and  of  Nevil. 
They  were  both  attached  to  the  popish  religion,  and 
discontented  with  the  court,  where  new  men  and  a 
new  system  prevailed.  Ever  since  Mary's  arrival  in 
England,  they  had  warmly  espoused  her  interest  ;  and 
zeal  for  popery,  opposition  to  the  court,  and  commi- 
seration of  her  sufferings,  had  engaged  them  in  dif- 
ferent plots  for  her  relief.  Notwithstanding  the  vigi- 
lance of  her  keeper,  they  held  a  close  correspondence 
with  her,  and  communicated  to  her  all  their  designs'". 
They  were  privy  to  Norfolk's  schemes;  but  the  cau- 
tion with  which  he  proceeded  did  not  suit  then-  ardour 
and  impetuosity.  The  liberty  of  the  Scottish  queen 
was  not  their  sole  object.  They  aimed  at  bringing 

q  Spotsw.  232.  '  Haynes,  505.     Murdin,  44.  62,  etc. 


412  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  V. 

1569.  about  a  change  in  the  religion,  and  a  revolution  in 
~~  the  government  of  the  kingdom.  For  this  reason,  they 
solicited  the  aid  of  the  king  of  Spain,  the  avowed  and 
zealous  patron  of  popery  in  that  age.  Nothing  could 
be  more  delightful  to  the  restless  spirit  of  Philip,  or 
more  necessary  towards  facilitating  his  schemes  in  the 
Netherlands,  than  the  involving  England  in  the  con- 
fusion and  miseries  of  a  civil  war.  The  duke  of  Alva, 
by  his  direction,  encouraged  the  two  earls,  and  pro- 
mised, as  soon  as  they  either  took  the  field  with  their 
forces,  or  surprised  any  place  of  strength,  or  rescued 
the  queen  of  Scots,  that  he  would  supply  them  both 
with  money  and  a  strong  body  of  troops.  La  Mothe, 
the  governor  of  Dunkirk,  in  the  disguise  of  a  sailor, 
sounded  the  ports  where  it  would  be  most  proper  to 
land.  And  Chiapini  Vitelli,  one  of  Alva's  ablest  of- 
ficers, was  despatched  into  England,  on  pretence  of 
settling  some  commercial  differences  between  the  two 
nations  ;  but  in  reality  that  the  rebels  might  be  sure 
of  a  leader  of  experience,  as  soon  as  they  ventured 
to  take  arms8. 

Defeated.  The  conduct  of  this  negotiation  occasioned  many 
meetings  and  messages  between  the  two  earls.  Eliza- 
beth was  informed  of  these ;  and,  though  she  suspected 
nothing  of  their  real  design,  she  concluded  that  they 
were  among  the  number  of  Norfolk's  confidents.  They 
were  summoned,  for  this  reason,  to  repair  to  court. 
Conscious  of  guilt,  and  afraid  of  discovery,  they  de- 

Nov.  9.  layed  giving  obedience.  A  second  and  more  peremp- 
tory order  was  issued.  This  they  could  not  decline, 
without  shaking  off  their  allegiance ;  and,  as  no  time 
was  left  for  deliberation,  they  instantly  erected  their 
standard  against  their  sovereign.  The  reestablishing 
the  catholic  religion;  the  settling  the  order  of  suc- 
cession to  the  crown ;  the  defence  of  the  ancient  no- 
bility ;  were  the  motives  which  they  alleged  to  justify 

8  Carte,  vol.  iii.  489,  490.    Caind.  421. 


BOOK  v.  OF  SCOTLAND.  413 

their  rebellion4.  Many  of  the  lower  people  flocked  to  1569. 
them  with  such  arms  as  they  could  procure;  and,  had~ 
the  capacity  of  their  leaders  been,  in  any  degree,  equal 
to  the  enterprise,  it  must  have  soon  grown  to  be  ex- 
tremely formidable.  Elizabeth  acted  with  prudence 
and  vigour,  and  was  served  by  her  subjects  with  fidelity 
and  ardour.  On  the  first  rumour  of  an  insurrection, 
Mary  was  removed  to  Coventry,  a  place  of  strength, 
which  could  not  be  taken  without  a  regular  siege;  a 
detachment  of  the  rebels,  which  was  sent  to  rescue  her, 
returned  without  success.  Troops  were  assembled  in 
different  parts  of  the  kingdom ;  as  they  advanced,  the 
malecontents  retired.  In  their  retreat  their  numbers 
dwindled  away,  and  their  spirits  sunk.  Despair  and 
uncertainty  whither  to  direct  their  flight,  kept  together 
for  some  time  a  small  body  of  them  among  the  moun- 
tains of  Northumberland;  but  they  were  at  length 
obliged  to  disperse,  and  the  chiefs  took  refuge  among 
the  Scottish  borderers.  The  two  earls,  together  with  Dec.  21. 
the  countess  of  Northumberland,  wandering  for  some 
days  in  the  wastes  of  Lidclisdale,  were  plundered  by 
the  banditti,  exposed  to  the  rigour  of  the  season,  and 
left  destitute  of  the  necessaries  of  life.  Westmorland 
was  concealed  by  Scott  of  Buccleugh  and  Ker  of  Fer- 
niherst,  and  afterwards  conveyed  into  the  Netherlands. 
Northumberland  was  seized  by  the  regent,  who  had 
marched  with  some  troops  towards  the  borders,  to  pre- 
vent any  impression  the  rebels  might  make  on  those 
mutinous  provinces  u. 

Amidst  so  many  surprising  events,  the  affairs  of  the  Church 
church,  for  two  years,  have  almost  escaped  our  notice.  affairs> 
Its  general  assemblies  were  held  regularly ;  but  no  bu- 
siness of  much  importance  employed  their  attention. 
As  the  number  of  the  protestant  clergy  daily  increased, 
the  deficiency  of  the  funds  set  apart  for  their  sub- 
sistence became  greater,  and  was  more  sensibly  felt. 

'  Strype,  vol.  i.  547.  u  Cabbala,  171.     Camd.  422. 


414  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  v. 

1569.  Many  efforts  were  made  towards  recovering  the  ancient 
patrimony  of  the  church,  or,  at  least,  as  much  of  it  as 
was  possessed  by  the  popish  incumbents,  a  race  of  men 
who  were  now  not  only  useless,  but  burthensome  to  the 
nation.  But  though  the  manner  in  which  the  regent 
received  the  addresses  and  complaints  of  the  general 
assemblies,  was  very  different  from  that  to  which  they 
had  been  accustomed,  no  effectual  remedy  was  pro- 
vided ;  and,  while  they  suffered  intolerable  oppression, 
and  groaned  under  extreme  poverty,  fair  words  and 
1  70  liberal  promises,  were  all  they  were  able  to  obtain  x. 
Elizabeth  Elizabeth  now  began  to  be  weary  of  keeping  such  a 
riwupSt°  Prisoner  as  tne  queen  of  Scots.  During  the  former 
Mary  to  the  year,  the  tranquillity  of  her  government  had  been  dis- 
turbed, first  by  a  secret  combination  of  some  of  her 
nobles,  then  by  the  rebellion  of  others ;  and  she  often 
declared,  not  without  reason,  that  Mary  was  the  '  hid- 
den cause'  of  both.  Many  of  her  own  subjects  favoured 
or  pitied  the  captive  queen ;  the  Roman  catholic  princes 
on  the  continent  were  warmly  interested  in  her  cause. 
The  detaining  her  any  longer  in  England,  she  foresaw, 
would  be  made  the  pretext  or  occasion  of  perpetual 
cabals  and  insurrections  among  the  former ;  and  might 
expose  her  to  the  hostile  attempts  of  the  latter.  She 
resolved,  therefore,  to  give  up  Mary  into  the  hands  of 
the  regent,  after  stipulating  with  him,  not  only  that  her 
days  should  not  be  cut  short,  either  by  a  judicial  sen- 
tence or  by  secret  violence,  but  that  she  should  be 
treated  in  a  manner  suited  to  her  rank ;  and,  in  order 
to  secure  his  observance  of  this,  she  required  that  six 
of  the  chief  noblemen  in  the  kingdom  should  be  sent 
into  England  as  hostages y.  With  respect  to  the  safe 
custody  of  the  queen,  she  relied  on  Murray's  vigilance, 
whose  security,  no  less  than  her  own,  depended  on 
preventing  Mary  from  reascending  the  throne.  The 
negotiation  for  this  purpose  was  carried  some  length, 

*  Cald.  vol.  ii.  80,  etc.  »  Haynes,  524. 


BOOK  v.  OF  SCOTLAND.  4-15 

when  it  was  discovered  by  the  vigilance  of  the  bishop      1570. 
of  Ross,  who,  together  with  the  French  and  Spanish  ~ 
ambassadors,  remonstrated  against  the  infamy  of  such 
an  action,  and  represented  the  surrendering  the  queen 
to  her  rebellious  subjects,  to  be  the  same  thing  as  if 
Elizabeth  should,  by  her  own  authority,  condemn  her 
to  instant  death.      This  procured  a  delay;   and  the 
murder  of  the  regent  prevented  the  revival  of  that 
design  z. 

Hamilton  of  Bothwellhaugh  was  the  person  who  but  he  is 
committed  this  barbarous  action.  He  had  been  con-m' 
demned  to  death  soon  after  the  battle  of  Langside,  as 
I  have  already  related,  and  owed  his  life  to  the  re- 
gent's clemency.  But  part  of  his  estate  had  been  be- 
stowed upon  one  of  the  regent's  favourites,  who  seized 
his  house,  and  turned  out  his  wife  naked,  in  a  cold 
night,  into  the  open  fields,  where,  before  next  morn- 
ing, she  became  furiously  mad.  This  injury  made  a 
deeper  impression  upon  him  than  the  benefit  which 
he  had  received,  and  from  that  moment  he  vowed  to 
be  revenged  upon  the  regent.  Party-rage  strengthened 
and  inflamed  his  private  resentment.  His  kinsmen,  the 
Hamiltons,  applauded  the  enterprise.  The  maxims  of 
that  age  justified  the  most  desperate  course  which  he 
could  take  to  obtain  vengeance.  He  followed  the  re- 
gent for  some  time,  and  watched  for  an  opportunity  to 
strike  the  blow.  He  resolved  at  last  to  wait  till  his 
enemy  should  arrive  at  Linlithgow,  through  which  he 
was  to  pass,  in  his  way  from  Stirling  to  Edinburgh. 
He  took  his  stand  in  a  wooden  gallery,  which  had  a 
window  towards  the  street;  spread  a  featherbed  on 
the  floor,  to  hinder  the  noise  of  his  feet  from  being 
heard;  hung  up  a  black  cloth  behind  him,  that  his 
shadow  might  not  be  observed  from  without;  and, 
after  all  this  preparation,  calmly  expected  the  regent's 
approach,  who  had  lodged  during  the  night  in  a  part 

1  Carte,  vol.  iii.  491.     Anders,  vol.  iii.  84. 


41G  THE  HISTORY  BOOK  v. 

1570.  of  the  town  not  far  distant.  Some  indistinct  informa- 
~  tion  of  the  danger  which  threatened  him  had  been  con- 
veyed to  the  regent,  and  he  paid  so  much  regard  to  it, 
that  he  resolved  to  return  by  the  same  gate  through 
which  he  had  entered,  and  to  fetch  a  compass  round 
the  town.  But  as  the  crowd  about  the  gate  was  great, 
and  he  himself  unacquainted  with  fear,  he  proceeded 
directly  along  the  street ;  and,  the  throng  of  the  people 
obliging  him  to  move  very  slowly,  gave  the  assassin 
time  to  take  so  true  an  aim,  that  he  shot,  him  with  a 
single  bullet,  through  the  lower  part  of  his  belly,  and 
killed  the  horse  of  a  gentleman  who  rode  on  his  other 
side.  His  followers  instantly  endeavoured  to  break 
into  the  house  whence  the  blow  had  come,  but  they 
found  the  door  strongly  barricaded ;  and  before  it 
could  be  forced  open,  Hamilton  had  mounted  a  fleet 
horse,  which  stood  ready  for  him  at  a  back-passage, 
and  was  got  far  beyond  their  reach.  The  regent  died 
the  same  night  of  his  wound a. 

Hischarac-  There  is  no  person  in  that  age  about  whom  his- 
torians have  been  more  divided,  or  whose  character 
has  been  drawn  in  such  opposite  colours.  Personal 
intrepidity,  military  skill,  sagacity,  and  vigour  in  the 
administration  of  civil  affairs,  are  virtues  which  even 
his  enemies  allow  him  to  have  possessed  in  an  eminent 
degree.  His  moral  qualities  are  more  dubious,  and 
ought  neither  to  be  praised  nor  censured  without  great 
reserve,  and  many  distinctions.  In  a  fierce  age  he  was 
capable  of  using  victory  with  humanity,  and  of  treating 
the  vanquished  with  moderation.  A  patron  of  learning, 
which,  among  martial  nobles,  was  either  unknown  or 
despised.  Zealous  for  religion,  to  a  degree  which 
distinguished  him,  even  at  a  time  when  professions  of 
that  kind  were  not  uncommon.  His  confidence  in  his 
friends  was  extreme,  and  inferior  only  in  his  liberality 
towards  them,  which  knew  no  bounds.  A  disinterested 

a  Buchan.  385.     Crawf.  Mem.  124.     Cabbala,  171. 


BOOK  v.  OF  SCOTLAND.  417 

passion  for  the  liberty  of  his  country,  prompted  him      1570. 

to  oppose  the  pernicious  system  which  the  princes  of 

Lorrain  had  obliged  the  queen-mother  to  pursue.  On 
Mary's  return  into  Scotland,  he  served  her  with  a  zeal 
and  affection,  to  which  he  sacrificed  the  friendship  of 
those  who  were  most  attached  to  his  person.  But,  on 
the  other  hand,  his  ambition  was  immoderate;  and 
events  happened  that  opened .  to  him  vast  projects, 
which  allured  his  enterprising  genius,  and  led  him  to 
actions  inconsistent  with  the  duty  of  a  subject.  His 
treatment  of  the  queen,  to  whose  bounty  he  was  so 
much  indebted,  was  unbrotherly  and  ungrateful.  The 
dependence  on  Elizabeth,  under  which  he  brought 
Scotland,  was  disgraceful  to  the  nation.  He  deceived 
and  betrayed  Norfolk  with  a  baseness  unworthy  of  a 
man  of  honour.  His  elevation  to  such  unexpected 
dignity  inspired  him  with  new  passions,  with  haughti- 
ness and  reserve ;  and  instead  of  his  natural  manner, 
which  was  blunt  and  open,  he  affected  the  arts  of 
dissimulation  and  refinement^  Fond,  towards  the  end 
of  his  life,  of  flattery,  and  impatient  of  advice,  his 
creatures,  by  soothing  his  vanity,  led  him  astray,  while 
his  ancient  friends  stood  at  a  distance,  and  predicted 
his  approaching  fall.  But  amidst  the  turbulence  and 
confusion  of  that  factious  period,  he  dispensed  justice 
with  so  much  impartiality,  he  repressed  the  licentious 
borderers  with  so  much  courage,  and  established  such 
uncommon  order  and  tranquillity  in  the  country,  that 
his  administration  was  extremely  popular,  and  he  was 
long  and  affectionately  remembered  among  the  com- 
mons, by  the  name  of  the  GOOD  REGENT. 


THE  END  OF  THE  FIRST  VOLUME. 


PRINTED  BY  TALBOVS  AND  \VHEELEK,  OXFORD. 


UC  SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  UBRARY  FAOUjr 


V,V 

IK 


m