Columbia Wtmtev&itp 
 
 THE LIBRARIES 
 
THE 
 
 WORKS 
 
 OF 
 
 WILLIAM ROBERTSON, D.D. 
 
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THE 
 
 WORKS 
 
 OF 
 
 WILLIAM ROBERTSON, D.D. 
 
 FELLOW OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY, AND PRINCIPAL OF THE 
 UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH, ETC. ETC. 
 
 WITH A 
 
 SKETCH OF HIS LIFE AND WRITINGS, 
 
 BY R: A; DAVENPORT. 
 
 IN TEN VOLUMES, 
 I. 
 
 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND, VOL. I. 
 
 LONDON : 
 
 PRINTED FOR THOMAS TEGG, 73, CHEYPSIDE 
 R. M. TIMS, DUBLIN ; 
 AND R. GRIFFIN AND CO. GLASGOW. 
 
 182G. 
 
q tfh 
 
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THE 
 
 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 Ag20 , 84 GO 10 4 
 
(J. and C. Whitniighani, (Jlu:-\\ick. 
 
THE 
 
 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND 
 
 DURING THE REIGNS OF 
 
 QUEEN MARY, AND OF KING JAMES VI. 
 
 ''TILL HIS ACCESSION TO THE CROWN OF ENGLAND. 
 WITH 
 
 & Ifobicfo of tf)e j&cottigi) ?£iStorg 
 
 PREVIOUS TO THAT PERIOD : 
 
 AND 
 
 AN APPENDIX, CONTAINING ORIGINAL PAPERS 
 
 
 BY WILLIAM ROBERTSON, D.D. 
 
 PRINCIPAL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH, ETC. 
 
 IN THREE VOLUMES. 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 PRINTRD FOR THOMAS TEGG, 73, CHEAPSIDE: 
 
 R. M. TIMS, DTHLIN ; 
 
 AND R. GRIFFIN AND CO. GLASGOW. 
 
 1826. 
 
PREFACE 
 
 TO 
 
 THE FIRST EDITION. 
 
 I deliver this book to the world with all the dif- 
 fidence and anxiety natural to an author on pub- 
 lishing 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 whe- 
 ther 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 diffe- 
 rent 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 con- 
 tradict 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 reli- 
 gious zeal. Each of these produced historians of 
 considerable merit, who adopted all their senti- 
 
 vol. I. a 
 
h PREFACE. 
 
 merits, and defended all their actions. Truth was 
 not the sole object of these authors. Blinded by- 
 prejudices , and heated by the part which they them- 
 selves had acted in the scenes they describe, they 
 wrote an apology for a faction, rather than the his- 
 tory of their country. Succeeding: historians have 
 followed these guides almost implicitly, and have 
 repeated their errors 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 t|ae object 
 of doubt or of dispute ; the eager spirit of contro- 
 versy 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 
 private men have been ransacked by the zeal and 
 curiosity of writers of different parties. • The atten- 
 tion 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 illustrating 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, Haynes, 
 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 
 collections were published. By consulting them, 
 I have been enabled, in many instances, to correct 
 
PREFACE. iii 
 
 the inaccuracies 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 re- 
 mained in darkness, 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 Robert Cotton, or are extant 
 in the public offices in England. Of all these the 
 curators of that library were pleased to allow me 
 the perusal. 
 
 Though the British Museum be not yet open to 
 the public, Dr. Birch, whose obliging disposition is 
 well known, procured me access to that noble col- 
 lection, which is worthy of the magnificence of a 
 great and polished nation. 
 
 That vast and curious collection of papers rela- 
 ting 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 
 valuable collection of original papers, in two large 
 volumes. They relate chiefly to the reign of James. 
 Many of them are marked with Archbishop Spotis- 
 wood's hand; and it appears from several passages 
 
iv PREFACE. 
 
 in his History, that he had perused them with 
 great attention. 
 
 Mr. Calderwood, an eminent Presbyterian cler- 
 gyman of the last century, compiled a History of 
 Scotland from the beginning of the reign of James V. 
 to the death of James VI. in six large volumes : 
 wherein he has inserted many papers of conse- 
 quence, which are no where else to be found. This 
 History has not been published, but a copy of it, 
 which still remains 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 pas- 
 sage in the Scottish history, has enabled me to 
 place that transaction in a light which dispels much 
 of the darkness and confusion 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, com- 
 municated to me a volume of manuscripts in his 
 possession, which contains a great number of valu- 
 able papers copied from the originals in the Cot- 
 tonian Library and Paper Office, by the late Re- 
 verend Mr. Crawford, Regius Professor of Church 
 History in the University of Edinburgh. I like- 
 wise received from him the original Register of 
 letters kept by the Regent Lennox during his ad- 
 ministration. 
 
 I have consulted all these papers, as far as I 
 thought they could be of any use towards illus- 
 
PREFACE. V 
 
 trating that period of which I write the history. 
 With what success I have employed them to con- 
 lirm what was already known, to ascertain what 
 was (Jubious, or to determine what was controverted, 
 the Public must judge. 
 
 I might easily have drawn, from the different 
 repositories to which 1 had access, as many papers 
 as would have rendered my Appendix equal in size 
 to the most bulky collection of my predecessors. 
 l>ut I have satisfied myself with publishing a few of 
 the most curious among them, to which I found it 
 necessary to appeal as vouchers for my own vera- 
 city. Noue of these, as far as I can recollect, ever 
 appeared in any former collection. 
 
 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 
 observations 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 respect to the transactions in the reign 
 of Queen Mary. From whatever quarter informa- 
 tion came, in whatever mode it has been communi- 
 cated, I have considered it calmly and with atten- 
 tion. Wherever I perceived that I had erred, either 
 in relating events, or in delineating characters, I 
 have, without hesitation, corrected those errors. 
 "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 
 manuscript, 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 addi- 
 tions, which, I flatter myself, will be found to be of 
 some importance. 
 
 COLLEGE OF EDINBURGH, 
 
 March 5, 1787. 
 
A SKETCH 
 
 OF THE 
 
 LIFE OF DR. ROBERTSON. 
 
 BY 
 
 R. A. DAVENPORT, Esq. 
 
 William Robertson, the eldest son of the 
 Reverend William Robertson, was born on the 8th 
 of September, 1721, at Borthwick, in the shire of 
 Mid Lothian, of which parish his father was the 
 minister. By the paternal line he descended from 
 a respectable family in the county of Fife, a branch 
 of that which, for many generations, possessed the 
 estate of Struan, in Perthshire. His mother was 
 the daughter of David Pitcairn, Esq. of Dreghorn. 
 He had one brother and six sisters ; all of whom 
 were well settled in life, and most of whom lived to 
 an advanced age. 
 
 It was at the parochial school of Borthwick that 
 Robertson received the initiatory part of his educa- 
 tion ; but as soon as he was sufficiently forward to 
 enter on the study of the learned languages, he was 
 removed to the school of Dalkeith. The latter 
 seminary was then under the superintendence of 
 Mr. Leslie, whose eminence as a teacher was such 
 as to attract pupils from all parts of Scotland ; and 
 
VI11 SKETCH OF THE LIFE 
 
 the father of Robertson was consequently induced 
 to send him to Dalkeith rather than to the Scottisli 
 metropolis. 
 
 When the future historian was twelve years old, 
 his father was transferred from Borthwick to one 
 of the churches of Edinburgh. In the autumn of 
 1733 he joined his parents ; and, in October, he 
 was admitted into the college and university of the 
 northern capital. 
 
 Whatever were his first attempts at composition, 
 and it is probable they were many, nothing has been 
 preserved to show how early he began to exercise 
 his talents, or with what degree of rapidity those 
 talents were expanded. It is certain, however, that 
 in the pursuit of knowledge he displayed that ardour 
 and perseverance without which nothing great will 
 ever be accomplished. A strong proof of this is 
 afforded by some of his early commonplace books, 
 which bear the dates of 1735, 1736, and 1737. The 
 motto, vita sine Uteris mars est, which he prefixed 
 to these books, sufficiently indicates by what an 
 honourable ambition and love of literature he was 
 inspired at a very tender and generally thoughtless 
 age. The boy of fourteen, who can cherish the 
 feeling which is implied by this motto, gives pro- 
 mise that his manhood will reflect lustre on himself 
 and on the country of his birth. 
 
 Among the men of eminence, by whose instruc- 
 tions lie profited at the university, were Sir John 
 Pringlo, afterwards President of the Royal Society, 
 l)ii t then Professor of Moral Philosophy ; Maclau- 
 rin, justly celebrated for the extent of his mathema- 
 tical skill and the purity of his style ; and Dr. Ste- 
 venson, the learned and indefatigable Professor of 
 Logic. To the masterly prelections of the latter, 
 
OF DR. KOBERTSON. IX 
 
 especially to his illustrations of the Poetics of 
 Aristotle, and of Longinus on the Sublime, Robert- 
 son often declared that he considered himself to be 
 more deeply indebted than to any circumstance in 
 the course of his academical career. It was indeed 
 not towards the abstract sciences that the bent of 
 his genius was directed. To mathematical and me- 
 chanical speculations he seems to have been at least 
 cold, perhaps averse. Neither was he remarkable 
 for metaphysical acuteness. His delight was to 
 trace and elucidate moral and religious truths, to 
 apply the process of reasoning to subjects more 
 immediately connected with the every-day business 
 of existence, to search into the causes and effects 
 of historical events, to expatiate amidst the peren- 
 nial beauties of classic lore, and, by meditating on 
 the great models of oratorical art, to render himself 
 master of all the powerful resources of a ready and 
 persuasive eloquence. 
 
 With respect to eloquence, the possession of it 
 was in fact indispensable to one who, as in all pro- 
 bability was the case with Robertson, had deter- 
 mined to assume a prominent station among the 
 pastors and leaders of the Scottish church. The 
 mere knowledge of rules, however, or even a 
 thorough acquaintance with the rich stores of an- 
 cient and modern oratory, will not suffice to form 
 an orator. It is by use alone that facility of speech 
 and promptitude of reply can be acquired. It 
 is the collision of minds which strikes out the 
 " thoughts that breathe, and words that burn." 
 During the last years, therefore, of his residing at 
 college, he joined with some of his contemporaries 
 in establishing a society, the avowed purpose of 
 which, as we are told by Mr. Stewart, was " to 
 
X SKETCH OF THE LIFE 
 
 cultivate the study of elocution, and to prepare 
 themselves, by the habits of extemporary discussion 
 aud debate, for conducting the business of popular 
 assemblies." 
 
 Of the colleagues of Robertson in this society 
 many ultimately rose, like himself, to high reputa- 
 tion. Among them were Cleghorn, subsequently 
 Professor of Moral Philosophy at Edinburgh, Dr. 
 John Blair, who became a member of the Royal 
 Society, and a prebendary of Westminster, and who 
 gave to the public " The Chronology and History 
 of the World," Wilkie, the author of the Epigoniad, 
 a faulty poem, but above contempt, Home, the 
 author of Douglas, and Dr. Erskine, who, in after 
 life, was at once the coadjutor, rival, opponent, and 
 friend of Robertson. 
 
 This society continued in existence, and, no 
 doubt, was beneficial to its members, till it was 
 broken up by a quarrel, which had its rise from a 
 religious source, and which, consequently, was of 
 more than common bitterness. In 1741 that ex- 
 traordinary man Whitefield, who was then in the 
 zenith of his fame, paid a visit to Scotland, and his 
 preaching excited in that country a feeling equally 
 as strong as it had excited in England. On the 
 subject of his merit violent parties immediately 
 sprang up, especially among the clergy. By the 
 one side he was considered as a clerical wonder, a 
 kind of apostle, from whose evangelical labours 
 the happiest result might be expected ; by the other 
 side he was calumniated as an impostor, and a 
 worthless private character, while some, in the ex- 
 cess of their holy zeal, did not scruple to stigma- 
 tize him, even from the pulpit, as " an agent of the 
 devil." It was natural that this question should be 
 
OF DR. ROBERTSON. XI 
 
 debated by Robertson and his associates ; and it 
 was, perhaps, not less natural that it should be 
 argued with so much heat and asperity as not only 
 to cause the dissolution of the society, but even, it 
 is said, to interrupt, for some time, the intercourse 
 of the members as private individuals. Of those 
 who entertained doubts with regard to the personal 
 conduct of Whitefield, and the utility of his efforts, 
 Robertson was one. From his acknowledged mo- 
 deration and evenness of temper we may, however, 
 infer that his hostility to the -preacher was carried 
 on in a liberal spirit, and that he did not think it 
 either necessary or decorous to brand him as an 
 agent of the prince of darkness. 
 
 To excel in his written style as much as in his 
 oral was one object of his ambition. The practice 
 of clothing in an English dress the standard works 
 of the ancients has been often recommended, as 
 conducive to the improvement of style ; and he 
 seems to have believed it to be so, for it was 
 adopted by him. He carried it so far as to enter- 
 tain serious thoughts of preparing for the press a 
 version of Marcus Antoninus. His scheme was, 
 however, frustrated by the appearance of an anony- 
 mous translation at Glasgow. " In making choice 
 of this author," says Mr. Stewart, " he was proba- 
 bly not a little influenced by that partiality with 
 which (among the writers of heathen moralists) he 
 always regarded the remains of the stoical philo- 
 sophy." 
 
 Having completed his academic course, and 
 richly stored his mind, he quitted the university, 
 and, in 1741, before he had quite attained the age 
 of twenty, a licence to preach the gospel was given 
 to him by the Presbytery of Dalkeith. This kind 
 
xii SKETCH OF THE LIFE 
 
 of licence, which does not authorise to administer 
 the sacraments or to undertake the cure of souls, is 
 granted to laymen ; and the person who receives it 
 may be considered as being- placed by it in a state 
 of probation. 
 
 After the lapse of two years, from the period of 
 his leaving the university, when he was yet little 
 more than twenty-two, he was, in 1743, presented, 
 by the Earl of Hopetoun, to the living of Glads- 
 muir. Of this preferment the yearly value was not 
 more than one hundred pounds. Scanty, however, 
 as were its emoluments, it was most opportunely 
 bestowed. He had not long resided at Gladsmuir 
 when an unexpected and melancholy event occurred, 
 which put to the trial at once his firmness and his 
 benevolence. His father and mother expired within 
 a few hours of each other, leaving behind them a 
 family of six daughters and one son, without the 
 means of providing for their education and mainte- 
 nance. On this occasion Robertson acted in a 
 manner which bore irrefragable testimony to the 
 goodness of his heart, and which was also, as Mr. 
 Stewart justly observes, " strongly marked with 
 that manly decision in his plans, and that perse- 
 verins; steadiness in their execution, which were the 
 characteristic features of his mind." Regardless 
 of the privations to which he must necessarily sub- 
 mit, and the interruption which his literary and 
 other projects must experience, he received his 
 father's family into his house at Gladsmuir, edu- 
 cated his sisters under his own roof, and retained 
 them there till opportunities arose of settling them 
 respectably in the world. His merit is enhanced 
 by the circumstance of his fraternal affection having 
 imposed on him a sacrifice far more painful than 
 
OF DR. ROBERTSON. XHI 
 
 that of riches or fame. He was tenderly attached 
 to his cousin Miss Mary Nesbit, daughter of the 
 Reverend Mr. Nesbit, one of the ministers of Edin- 
 burgh, and his attachment was returned ; but it was 
 not till 1751, when his family had ceased to stand 
 in need of his protecting care, that he thought him- 
 self at liberty to complete a union which had, for 
 several years, been the object of his ardent wishes. 
 It is pleasant to know that the wife whom he so 
 tardily obtained was every way worthy of such a 
 husband, and that he suffered no interruption of his 
 domestic happiness. 
 
 While he was laudably occupied in promoting 
 the welfare of his orphan relatives, the rebellion 
 broke out in Scotland. " It afforded him," says 
 Mr. Stewart, " an opportunity of evincing the sin- 
 cerity of that zeal for the civil and religious liberties 
 of his country, which he had imbibed with the first 
 principles of his education ; and which afterwards, 
 at the distance of more than forty years, when he 
 was called on to employ his eloquence in the na- 
 tional commemoration of the Revolution, seemed 
 to rekindle the fires of his youth. His situation as 
 a country clergyman confined indeed his patriotic 
 exertions within a narrow sphere ; but even here 
 his conduct was guided by a mind superior to the 
 scene in which he acted. On one occasion (when 
 the capital was in danger of falling into the hands 
 of the rebels) the present state of public affairs ap- 
 peared so critical that he thought himself justified 
 in laying aside for a time the pacific habits of his 
 profession, and in quitting his parochial residence 
 at 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 
 
 vol. i. b 
 
XIV SKETCH OF THE LIFE 
 
 band who repaired to Haddington, and offered 
 their services to the commander of His Majesty V 
 forces." 
 
 With the exception of this one troubled interval 
 he continued, for many years, in the tranquil per- 
 formance of his pastoral duties. The hours of his 
 leisure were devoted to literary researches and to 
 laying the solid foundation of future eminence. It 
 was his practice to rise early, and to read and w T rite 
 much before breakfast. The remainder of the clay 
 he devoted to the claims of his profession. As a 
 minister of the gospel he was conscientious and 
 active; not confining himself to the mere routine 
 of his sacred office, but endeavouring by even 
 means to extend the comforts and influence of reli- 
 gion . In the summer months it was customary 
 for him, previous to the commencement of the 
 church service, to assemble the youthful part of his 
 flock for the purpose of explaining to them tin 
 doctrines of the catechism. By his zeal, his punc- 
 tuality, and the suavity of his behaviour, he won 
 the love of his parishioners ; so that, in all their 
 difficulties, it was to him that they resorted for 
 consolation and for counsel. His pulpit eloquence 
 was such as afforded delight to all classes of 
 people; because, while it was adorned with those 
 graces of style which are required to satisfy men of 
 judgment and taste, it was rendered level to the 
 comprehension of his humblest hearers, by the 
 clearness of its argument and the perspicuity of its 
 lan^ua^e. 
 
 The time at length arrived when the talents of 
 Robertson were to be displayed on a more exten- 
 sive and public scene of action, and he was to 
 assume a leading share in the government of the 
 
OF DR. ROBERTSON. XV 
 
 Scottish church. He did not, however, come for- 
 ward among his colleagues till he had attained the 
 mature age of thirty, and had thoroughly prepared 
 himself to sustain his new and important part with 
 untiring vigour and a decisive effect. It was on 
 the question of patronage that he first exerted his 
 powers of eloquence in a deliberative assembly. 
 
 To enable the mere English reader to compre- 
 hend this subject, it may, perhaps, be proper to 
 give some account of the constitution of the church 
 of Scotland, and also of the right of patronage, out 
 of which arose the contentions and heartburnings 
 by which the church was disturbed for a consider- 
 able period. 
 
 The church of Scotland is ruled by a series of 
 
 judicatories, rising by regular gradation from the 
 
 kirk session, or parochial consistory, which is the 
 
 lowest in order, to the general assembly, which is 
 
 the highest. The kirk session is composed of the 
 
 ministers and lay elders of parishes ; a presbytery is 
 
 formed of the ministers of contiguous parishes, with 
 
 certain representatives from the kirk sessions ; and 
 
 a provincial synod is constituted by the union of a 
 
 plurality of presbyteries. Crowning the whole is 
 
 the general assembly. This body consists of three 
 
 hundred and sixty-four members, of whom two 
 
 hundred and two are ministers, and the remainder 
 
 are laymen. Of this number two hundred and one 
 
 ministers and eighty-nine lay elders are sent by the 
 
 presbyteries ; the royal boroughs elect sixty-seven 
 
 laymen ; the universities depute five persons, who 
 
 may be either ecclesiastics or laymen ; and the 
 
 Scottish church of Campvere in Holland supplies 
 
 two deputies, the one lay and the other clerical. 
 
 The annual sittings of the assembly are limited to 
 
XVI SKETCH OF THE LIFE 
 
 ten days ; but whatever business it has left un- 
 settled is transacted by a committee of the whole 
 house (called the commission), which, in the course 
 of the year, has four stated meetings. Among the 
 lay members of the assembly are men of the highest 
 consequence in the kingdom ; lawyers, judges, and 
 sometimes nobles. 
 
 Though all the ministers in Scotland are on a 
 perfect equality with each other, yet each individual 
 and each judicatory is bound to yield a prompt obe- 
 dience to the superintending authority, and each 
 court must punctually lay the record of its proceed- 
 ings before the tribunal which is next in rank above 
 it; but the general assembly has the power of de- 
 ciding without appeal, of enforcing, uncontroled, 
 its decrees, and, with the concurrence of a majority 
 of the presbyteries, of enacting laws for the govern- 
 ment of the Scottish church. 
 
 The history of clerical patronage in Scotland 
 since the overthrow of Catholicism, and of the 
 struggles to which it has given rise, has been 
 traced with so much clearness by Dr. Gleig that, 
 though the passage is of some length, I shall give 
 it in his own words. " The Reformation in Scot- 
 land," says he, " was irregular and tumultuous ; 
 and the great object of the powerful aristocracy 
 of that kingdom seems to have been rather to get 
 possession of the tithes, and the lands of the digni- 
 fied clergy, than to purify the doctrine and reform 
 the worship of the church. Of this Knox and the 
 other reformed clergymen complained bitterly ; and 
 their complaints were extorted from them by their 
 own sufferings. Never, I believe, were the esta- 
 blished clergy of any Christian country reduced to 
 such indigence as were those zealous and well 
 
OF DR. ROBERTSON. XVU 
 
 meaning men during the disastrous reign of Queen 
 Mary, and the minority of her son and successor ; 
 whilst the pittance that was promised to them, in- 
 stead of being regularly paid, was often seized by 
 the rapacity of the regents and the powerful barons 
 who adhered to their cause, and the ministers left 
 to depend for their subsistence on the generosity of 
 the people. 
 
 " As nearly the whole of the ecclesiastical pa- 
 tronage of the kingdom had come into the posses- 
 sion of those barons, partly by inheritance from 
 their ancestors, and partly with the church lands 
 which, on the destruction of the monasteries, they 
 had appropriated to themselves, it is not wonderful 
 that, in an age when men were very apt to confound 
 the illegal and mischievous conduct of him who ex- 
 ercised an undoubted right with the natural conse- 
 cjuences of that right itself, strong prejudices were 
 excited in the minds of the clergy and more serious 
 part of the people against the law which vested in 
 such sacrilegious robbers the right of presentation 
 to parish churches. It is not indeed very accu- 
 rately known by whom ministers were nominated 
 to vacant churches for thirty years after the com- 
 mencement of the Reformation, when there was 
 hardly any settled government in the church or in 
 the state. In some parishes they were probably 
 called by the general voice of the people ; in others, 
 obtruded on them by the violence of the prevailing 
 faction, to serve some political purpose of the day; 
 and in others again appointed by the superintendent 
 and his council : whilst in a few the legal patron 
 may have exercised his right, without making any 
 simoniacal contract with the presentee; which, 
 
 b2 
 
xviii SKETCH OF THE LIFE 
 
 however, there is reason to suspect was no uncom- 
 mon practice l . 
 
 " Hitherto the government of the Protestant 
 church of Scotland had fluctuated from one form 
 to another, sometimes assuming the appearance of 
 episcopacy under superintendents, and at other 
 times being presbyterian in the strictest sense of 
 the word. In the month of June, 159*2, an act was 
 passed, giving a legal sanction to the presbyterian 
 form of government, and restoring the ancient law 
 of patronage. By that act the patron of a vacant 
 parish was authorized to present, to the presbytery 
 comprehending that parish, a person properly qua- 
 lified to be intrusted with the cure of souls ; and 
 the presbytery was enjoined, after subjecting the 
 presentee to certain trials and examinations, of 
 which its members were constituted the judges, 
 ' to ordain and settle him as minister of the parish, 
 provided no relevant objection should be stated to 
 his life, doctrine, or qualifications.' 
 
 " Though we are assured by the highest autho- 
 rity 2 that this right of patronage, thus conferred by 
 the fundamental charter of presbyterian government 
 in Scotland, was early complained of as a grievance, 
 it appears to have been regularly exercised until the 
 era of the rebellion against Charles I. during the 
 establishment as well of the presbyterian as of the 
 episcopal church. It was indeed abolished by the 
 usurping powers, which in 1649 established in its 
 stead what was then called ' the gospel right of 
 
 1 The reader will derive much valuable information on this 
 subject from Dr. Cook's " History of the Reformation in Scot- 
 land." 
 
 - Dr. Hill, Principal of St. Mary's College, in the University 
 of St. Andrew's. 
 
OF DR. ROBERTSON. XIX 
 
 popular election ;' but at the Restoration it was 
 reestablished together with episcopacy, and was 
 regularly exercised until the Revolution, when 
 episcopacy was finally overthrown, and, by an act 
 passed on the 2Gth of May, ' the presbyterian 
 church, government, and discipline, by kirk ses- 
 sions, presbyteries, provincial synods, and general 
 assemblies,' established in its stead. The act of 
 James VI. in 1592 was ' revived and confirmed in 
 every head thereof, except in that part of it relating 
 to patronages,' which were utterly abolished, though 
 nothing was substituted in their stead until the 19th 
 of July immediately succeeding. 
 
 " It was then statuted and declared, to use the 
 language of the act, ' that, in the vacancy of any 
 particular church, and for supplying the same with 
 a minister, the Protestant heritors and elders are 
 to name and propose the person to the whole con- 
 gregation, to be either approven or disapproven by 
 them ; and if they disapprove, they are to give in 
 their reasons, to the effect the affairs may be cog- 
 nosced by the presbytery of the bounds ; at whose 
 judgment, and by whose determination, the calling 
 and entry of every particular minister is to be or- 
 dered and concluded. In recompense of which 
 rights of presentation the heritors of every parish 
 were to pay to the patron six hundred merks 
 (£33. 6s. Sd. sterling), against a certain time, and 
 under certain proportions.' 
 
 " Whether this sura, which at that period was 
 very considerable, was actually paid to the patrons 
 of the several parishes, I know not; but if it was, 
 or indeed whether it was or not, had it been the 
 intention of the legislature to produce dissension in 
 the country, it could not have devised any thing 
 
XX SKETCH OF THE LIFE 
 
 better calculated to effect its purpose than this 
 mode of appointing ministers to vacant churches. 
 The heritors or landholders, if the price was paid, 
 would naturally contend for the uncontroled exer- 
 cise of the right which they, and they only, had 
 purchased ; but it is not by any means probable 
 that at such a period they could often agree in 
 their choice of a minister for a vacant parish. The 
 elders, who were men of inferior rank and inferior 
 education, would, by the envy of the low, when 
 comparing themselves with the high, be prompted 
 to thwart the wishes of their landlords, which the 
 act of parliament enabled them to do effectually ; 
 and the consequence must have been that two or 
 three candidates for every vacant church were at 
 once proposed to the people of the parish for their 
 approbation or disapprobation. The people might 
 either give the preference to one of the candidates 
 proposed, or reject them all, for reasons of which 
 the members of the presbytery were constituted the 
 judges ; and as it appears that the presbytery ge- 
 nerally took part with the people, a source of ever- 
 lasting contention was thus established between 
 the country gentlemen and the parochial clergy ; 
 an evil than which a greater cannot easily be con- 
 ceived. For these, and other reasons, this ill di- 
 gested law was repealed in the tenth year of the 
 reign of Queen Anne, and the right of patronage 
 restored as in all other established churches. 
 
 " By many of the clergy, however, patronage 
 seems to have been considered as an appendage of 
 prelacy ; though it has obviously no greater con- 
 nexion with that form of ecclesiastical polity than 
 with any other that is capable of being allied with 
 die state ; and, till after the year 17o0, ministers 
 
OF DR. ROBERTSON. XXI 
 
 continued to be settled in vacant parishes in the 
 manner prescribed by the act of King William and 
 Queen .Mary. ' Even then,' says Dr. Hill, ' the 
 church courts, although they could not entirely 
 disregard the law, continued, in many instances, to 
 render it ineffectual, and by their authority sanc- 
 tioned the prevailing prejudices of the people 
 against it. They admitted, as an incontrovertible 
 principle in presbyterian church government, that 
 a presentee, although perfectly well qualified, and 
 unexceptionable in his life and doctrine, was never- 
 theless inadmissible to his clerical office, till the 
 concurrence of the people who were to be under 
 his ministry had been regularly ascertained.' The 
 form of expressing this concurrence was by the sub- 
 scription of a paper termed ' a call ;' to which many 
 of the old ministers paid greater respect than to the 
 deed of presentation by the patron of the church. 
 
 " To render the call good, however, the unani- 
 mous consent of the landholders, elders, and people 
 was not considered as necessary, nor indeed ever 
 looked for. Xav, it appears that even a majority 
 was not in all cases deemed indispensable; for the 
 presbytery often admitted to his charge, and pro- 
 ceeded to ordain the presentee whose call, by what- 
 ever number of parishioners, appeared to them to 
 afford a reasonable prospect of his becoming, by 
 prudent conduct, a useful parish minister. On the 
 other hand, presbyteries sometimes set aside the 
 presentation altogether, when they were not satis- 
 fied with the call; and when the patron insisted on 
 his right, and the presbytery continued inflexible, 
 the general assembly was, in such cases, under the 
 necessity either of compelling the members of the 
 presbytery, by ecclesiastical censures, to do their 
 
XX11 SKETCH OF THE LIFE 
 
 duty, or of appointing a committee of its own body 
 to relieve them from that duty, by ordaining the 
 presentee, and inducting him into the vacant church. 
 To compulsion recourse had seldom been had; and 
 the consequence was that individuals openly claimed 
 a right to disobey the injunctions of the assembly, 
 whenever they conceived their disobedience justi- 
 fied by a principle of conscience. 
 
 " Such was the state of ecclesiastical discipline 
 in Scotland when Mr. Robertson first took an 
 active part in the debates of the general assembly ; 
 and he very justly thought that its tendency was to 
 overturn the presbyterian establishment, and intro- 
 duce in its stead a number of independent congre- 
 gational churches. He therefore supported the 
 law of patronage, not merely because it was part 
 of the law of the land, but because he thought it 
 the most expedient method of filling the vacant 
 churches. It did not appear to him that the people 
 at large are competent judges of those qualities 
 which a minister should possess in order to be a 
 useful teacher of the truth as it is in Jesus, or of 
 the precepts of a sound morality. He more than 
 suspected that if the candidates for churches were 
 taught to consider their success in obtaining a set- 
 tlement as depending on a popular election, many 
 of them would be tempted to adopt a manner of 
 preaching calculated rather to please the people 
 than to promote their edification. He thought that 
 there is little danger to be apprehended from the 
 abuse of the law of patronage ; because the pre- 
 sentee must be chosen from amongst those whom 
 the church had approved, and licensed as qualified 
 for the office of a parish minister; because a pre- 
 sentee cannot be admitted to the benefice if any 
 
OF DR. ROBERTSON. XXlit 
 
 relevant objection to his life or doctrine be proved 
 against him ; and because, after ordination and 
 admission, he is liable to be deposed for improper 
 conduct, and the church declared vacant." 
 
 \\ liatever may be thought of the merits of the 
 cause which Robertson espoused, it is impossible 
 to doubt that he was a conscientious supporter of 
 it. To undertake its defence some strength of 
 nerve was, indeed, required. Success seemed, at 
 the outset, to be scarcely within the verge of pro- 
 bability, and there was much danger of becoming 
 unpopular. The result, nevertheless, gave ample 
 proof of what may be accomplished by perseve- 
 rance and talents. The first time that he came 
 forward in the Assembly was in May, 1751 , when 
 a debate arose on the conduct of a minister, who 
 had disobeyed the sentence of a former assembly. 
 Seizing this opportunity to enforce his principles of 
 church discipline, Robertson, in a vigorous and 
 eloquent speech, contended that if subordination 
 were not rigidly maintained the Presbyterian esta- 
 blishment would ultimately be overthrown, and, 
 therefore, an exemplary punishment ought to be 
 inflicted on the offending party. But, though he 
 was heard with attention, his arguments produced 
 so little present effect that, on the house being 
 divided, he was left in a minority of no more than 
 eleven against two hundred. 
 
 Though this decision was not calculated to en- 
 courage him, he determined to persist, and an 
 occurrence very soon took place which enabled 
 him to renew the contest. The presbytery of 
 Dumferline having been guilty of disobedience, in 
 refusing to admit a minister to the church of Inver- 
 keithing, the commission of the assembly, which 
 
XXIV SKETCH OF THE LIFE 
 
 met in November, ordered them to cease from their 
 opposition, and threatened, that, if they continued 
 to be refractory, they should be subjected to a 
 high censure. Notwithstanding this, the presby- 
 tery again disobeyed the mandate of the superior 
 court. Yet, instead of carrying its threat into 
 effect, the commission came to a resolution that no 
 censure should be inflicted. 
 
 Such a resolution as this, after the commission 
 had gone so far as to resort to threats, was at 
 least absurd. So fair an opening as this circum- 
 stance afforded was not neglected by Robertson. 
 He accordingly drew up a protest, intituled, 
 " Reasons of Dissent from the Judgment and Re- 
 solution of the Commission." This protest, which 
 was signed by himself, Dr. Blair, Home, and a 
 few other friends, is an able and closely reasoned 
 production. It boldly declares the sentence of the 
 commission to be inconsistent with the nature and 
 first principles of society ; charges the commission 
 itself with having, by that sentence, £one beyond 
 its powers, and betrayed the privileges and de- 
 serted the doctrines of the constitution ; considers 
 the impunity thus granted as encouraging and in- 
 viting contumacy; insists on the lawfulness and 
 wisdom of ecclesiastical censures, and on the abso- 
 lute necessity of preserving subordination and obe- 
 dience in the church ; and, finally, maintains that 
 the exercise of no man's private judgment can jus- 
 tify him in disturbing all public order, that he who 
 becomes a member of a church ought to conform 
 to its decrees, or, " if he hath rashly joined him- 
 self, that he is bound, as an honest man and a 
 good Christian, to withdraw, and to keep his con- 
 science pure and undefilcd." 
 
OF DR. ROBERTSON. XXV 
 
 When the assembly met, in 1752, the question 
 was brought before it; and Robertson supported 
 the principles of his protest with such cogency of 
 argument, that he won over a majority to his side, 
 and achieved a complete triumph. The judgment of 
 the commission was reversed, Mr. Gillespie, one 
 of the ministers of the presbytery of Dumferline, 
 was deposed from his pastoral office, and ejected 
 from his living, and three other individuals were 
 suspended from their judicative capacity in the 
 superior ecclesiastical courts. Gillespie, whose 
 only crime was that of being absent on the day 
 appointed for the induction of the presentee, was a 
 pious and amiable man, and his deposition occa- 
 sioned so much dissatisfaction, that it gave rise to 
 a new sect of dissenters, afterwards known by the 
 appellation of " the Presbytery of Relief;" a sect 
 which still exists, and is of considerable magni- 
 tude. 
 
 From this time, though it was not till the year 
 1703 that he became its avowed leader, Robertson 
 was, in fact, at the head of the assembly ; which 
 body, for the whole period of his ascendancy, he 
 contrived to keep steady to his principles. In 
 this task he was ably seconded by Dr. Drysdale, 
 one of the ministers of Edinburgh. It was not, 
 however, without many struggles that he retained 
 his preeminence. Those which took place in 1765 
 and 1768 were peculiarly violent; motions having 
 then been made, and vehemently contended for, to 
 inquire into the causes of the rapid progress of 
 secession from the established church ; and, in 
 order to counteract them, to introduce a more po- 
 pular mode of inducting the parochial ministers. 
 From what is mentioned by Sir Henry "Wellwood, 
 
 vol. i. c 
 
XXVi SKETCH OF THE LIFE 
 
 in his " Memoirs of Dr. Erskine," it appears that 
 the exertions of Robertson were kept continually 
 on the stretch ; and that for his victory he was 
 partly indebted to cautious management, and to 
 patience which nothing could tire. " During Dr. 
 Robertson's time," says he, " the struggle with the 
 people was perpetual ; and the opposition to pre- 
 sentees so extremely pertinacious, as in a great 
 measure to engross the business of the assemblies. 
 The parties in the church were then more equally 
 balanced than they have ever been since that period. 
 The measures which were adopted, in the face of 
 such perpetual opposition, it required no common 
 talents to manage or defend ; especially consider- 
 ing that the leaders in opposition were such men as 
 Dr. Dick, Dr. Macqueen, Dr. Erskine, Mr. Ste- 
 venson of St. Madois, Mr. Freebairn of Dumbar- 
 ton, Mr. Andrew Crosbie, &c. &c. ; men of the 
 first ability in the country, and some of them pos- 
 sessed of an eloquence for a popular assembly to 
 which there was nothing superior in the church or 
 in the state. 
 
 " Dr. Robertson's firmness wasnoteasily shaken, 
 but his caution and prudence never deserted him. 
 He held it for a maxim, never wantonly to offend 
 the prejudices of the people, and rather to endea- 
 vour to manage than directly to combat them. 
 Some of the settlements in dispute were protracted 
 for eight or ten years together ; and though the 
 general assemblies steadily pursued their system, 
 and uniformly appointed the presentees to be in- 
 ducted, their strongest sentences were not vindic- 
 tive, and seldom went beyond the leading points to 
 which they were directed." 
 
 In 17o7 an event happened, which afforded to 
 
OF DR. ROBERTSON. XXVII 
 
 him an opportunity of manifesting the liberality of 
 his spirit, and of exercising his influence over his 
 colleagues, to moderate the vengeance which was 
 threatened to be hurled on some of his brethren, 
 for having been guilty of an act which was con- 
 sidered to be of the most profane nature. The 
 chief offender was his friend Home, who was then 
 minister of Athelstaneford. The crime consisted 
 in Home having not only produced the tragedy of 
 Douglas, but having also had the temerity to be 
 present at the acting of it in the Edinburgh theatre. 
 With him were involved several of his clerical in- 
 timates, who, as much from a desire to share with 
 him any odium or peril which might be incurred, 
 as from a natural curiosity, had been induced to 
 accompany him to the theatre on the first night of 
 the performance. The storm which this circum- 
 stance raised among the Scottish clergy can, in 
 the present age, hardly be imagined. It seemed 
 as if they had witnessed nothing less than the abo- 
 mination of desolation standing in the holy place. 
 The presbytery of Edinburgh hastened to summon 
 before its tribunal such of its members as had 
 committed this heinous offence, and it likewise 
 dispatched circulars to the presbyteries in the vici- 
 nity, recommending rigorous measures against all 
 clergymen who had desecrated themselves by ap- 
 pearing in the polluted region of the theatre. The 
 alarm thus sounded awakened all the bigotry of 
 the circumjacent presbyteries. That of Hadding- 
 ton, to which Home belonged, cited him and his 
 friend Carlyle, of Inveresk, to answer for their mis- 
 conduct. That of Glasgow had no criminals to 
 chastise, but it was resolved not to remain silent, 
 and, therefore, with a zeal which assuredly was not. 
 
XXVill SKETCH OF THE LIFE 
 
 according to knowledge, it fulminated forth a se- 
 ries of resolutions on this appalling subject. It 
 lamented " the melancholy but notorious fact, that 
 one, who is a minister of the church of Scotland, 
 did himself write and compose a play, entitled the 
 Tragedy of Douglas, and got it to be acted in the 
 theatre at Edinburgh; and that he, with several 
 other ministers of the church, were present, and 
 some of them oftener than once, at the acting of the 
 said play before a numerous audience ;" it affirmed, 
 in direct hostility to historical evidence, that stage 
 plays had " been looked upon by the Christian 
 church, in all ages, and of all different communions, 
 as extremely prejudicial to religion and morality;" 
 and, as a natural consequence from this, it called 
 on the general assembly to reprobate publicly " a 
 practice unbecoming the character of clergymen, 
 and of such pernicious tendency to the great inte- 
 rests of religion, industry, and virtue." The cry 
 of the church was echoed from the press, angry 
 disputants were arrayed on both sides, and a mul- 
 titude of ephemeral pamphlets and pasquinades was 
 rapidly produced 3 . 
 
 3 The following list of some of the most remarkable pamphlets 
 will show what a strong interest was excited by this question. 
 It is given in the Supplement to the Encyclopedia Britannica. 
 
 1. Admonition and Exhortation of the Presbytery of Edinburgh. 
 
 2. Witherspoons Serious Inquiry into the Nature and Effect of 
 the Stage. 3. The Immorality of Stage Plays in general, and of 
 the Tragedy called Douglas in particular, briefly illustrated. 4. 
 The Usefulness of the Edinburgh Staqe seriously considered. 5. 
 The Tragedy of Douglas analysed. 6. A Letter to Mr. David 
 Hume on the Tragedy of Douglas. 7 . An Apology for the Writers 
 against the Tragedy of Douglas, with Remarks on that Play. 
 $. The Deposition, or Fatal Miscarriage, a Tragedy. 9. Douglas, 
 a Tragedy, weighed in the Balances and found wanting. 10. The 
 First Night's Audience, an excellent new Ballad. 11. The Stage 
 or the Pulpit, two parts. 12. The Apostle to the Theatre his 
 
OF DR. ROBERTSON, xxix 
 
 Throughout the whole of the ecclesiastical pro- 
 ceedings, which on this occasion were instituted in 
 the presbyteries and in the general assembly, Ro- 
 bertson exerted himself with more than common 
 ardour and eloquence on behalf of his friends. 
 Though, being restrained by a promise which he 
 had given to his father, he had himself never been 
 within the walls of a theatre, he did not hesitate .to 
 avow his belief that no culpability attached to the 
 persons who were under prosecution. " The pro- 
 mise," said he, " which was exacted by the most 
 indulgent of parents, I have hitherto religiously 
 kept, and it is my intention to keep it till the day 
 of my death. I am at the same time free to de- 
 clare, that I perceive nothing sinful or inconsistent 
 with the spirit of Christianity in writing a tragedy, 
 
 Garland. 13. The Finishing Stroke, or Nothing, a Ballad. 
 14. The Infernal Council, an excellent new Ballad. 15. A Song 
 or Sermon, a new Ballad, Saturday 29th January, 1757. 16. The 
 Admonition, an execrable neio Ballad. 17. Advice to the Writers 
 in Defence of Douglas. 18. An Epilogue to the Tragedy of 
 Douglas, spoke by the Author. 19. An Argument to prove that 
 the Tragedy of Douglas ought to be burnt by the Common Hang- 
 man (ironical, by Dr. Carlyle). 20. The Moderator, Nos. 1 
 and 2. 21. Votes of the Presbytery of Edinburgh, 2Qth Decem- 
 ber, 1 750. 22. A Letter to the Reverend the Moderator, Sfc. of 
 the Presbytery of Haddington. 23. A Letter to the Author of 
 the Ecclesiastical Characteristics. 24. The. Morality of Stage 
 Plays seriously considered (by Dr. Ferguson). 25. Some serious 
 Remarks on a Pamphlet entitled, The Morality of Stage Plays 
 seriously considered (by the Rev. Mr. Harper, an Episcopalian 
 clergyman). 2G. The Players' Scourge. 27. A Second Letter 
 to the Author of the Ecclesiastical Characteristics. 28. Unto the 
 Right Ethereal the Siplers, the Petition of poor Alexander Mag- 
 num Bonum. Most of these are unfavourable to the play (some 
 of them written by Mr. Maclaurin, afterwards Lord Dreghorn); ' 
 others contain very indecorous strictures on the conduct of Drs. 
 Cuming, Walker, and Webster, who were active in discourag- 
 ing the attendance on the theatre, and in prosecuting olleudiug 
 brethren. 
 
 C 2 
 
XXX SKETCH OF THE LIFE 
 
 which gives no encouragement to baseness or vice, 
 and that I cannot 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." 
 
 Wholly to overcome the prevalent spirit of 
 bigotry was more than Robertson could accomplish, 
 but it is believed to have been at least greatly miti- 
 gated by his laudable efforts. To his persuasive 
 eloquence is attributed, and no doubt justly, the 
 comparative mildness of the sentence which was 
 ultimately pronounced. A declaratory act was 
 passed by the assembly, forbidding the clergy to 
 visit the theatres, but not extending the prohibition 
 to the writing of plays. The silence of the assem- 
 bly on the latter head was at least one point gained 
 in favour of liberal principles. As to the offending 
 ministers, some of them were rebuked by the pres- 
 byteries to which they belonged, and one or two of 
 them were suspended from their office for a few 
 weeks. Home, however, being disgusted with the 
 treatment which he had experienced, and having, 
 perhaps, already been offered patronage in the 
 British metropolis, resigned his living of Athel- 
 staneford in June, 1757, and fixed his residence in 
 London. 
 
 By the departure of Home, the Select Society, 
 as it was called, lost one of its ablest members. 
 This society was instituted at Edinburgh, in 1754, 
 by x\llan Ramsay, the painter, who was son to the 
 ■poet of the same name. The object of it was phi- 
 losophical and literary inquiry, and the improve- 
 ment of the members in the art of speaking. It 
 held its meetings in the Advocates' Library, and 
 
OF DR. ROBERTSOiN. XXXi 
 
 met regularly every Friday evening, during the sit- 
 tings of the Court of Session. At the outset it 
 consisted of only fifteen persons, of whom Robert- 
 son was one. It, however, soon acquired such 
 high reputation, that its list of associates was 
 swelled to more than a hundred and thirty names ; 
 among which were included those of the most 
 eminent literary and political characters in the 
 northern division of the kingdom. Of this number 
 were Hume, Adam Smith, Wedderburn, after- 
 wards Lord Chancellor, Sir Gilbert Elliot, Lord 
 Elibank, Lord Monboddo, Lord Karnes, Lord 
 Woodhouselee, Adam Furguson, Wilkie, Dr. Cul- 
 len, and many others, less gifted perhaps, but 
 still rising far above mediocrity of talent. This 
 society flourished in full vigour for some years; 
 and is said, by professor Stewart, to have " pro- 
 duced such debates as have not often been heard 
 in modern assemblies; — debates, where the dignity 
 of the speakers was not lowered by the intrigues of 
 policy, or the intemperance of faction ; and where 
 the most splendid talents that have ever adorned 
 this country were roused to their best exertions, by 
 the liberal and ennobling discussions of literature 
 and philosophy." That such an assemblage of 
 learning and genius must have done much towards 
 diffusing through Scotland a taste for letters, there 
 cannot be the shadow of a doubt. Robertson took 
 an active part, and was one of its presidents. As 
 a speaker, it was remarked of him, that " whereas 
 most of the others in their previous discourses 
 exhausted the subject so much that there was no 
 room for debate, he gave only such brief but artful 
 sketches, as served to suggest ideas, without lead- 
 ing to a decision." 
 
XXXii SKETCH OF THE LIFE 
 
 By a few members of the Society, a Review 
 was attempted in 1755, the principal contributors 
 to which were Blair, Smith, and Robertson. This 
 undertaking was designed to form a record of the 
 progress of Scottish literature, and, occasionally, to 
 criticise such English and foreign works as might 
 appear to be worthy of notice. After having pub- 
 lished two numbers, which appeared in July and 
 December, the reviewers were under the necessity 
 of relinquishing their plan. The failure is said to 
 have arisen from their having lashed, with just but 
 caustic severity, " some miserable effusions of fana- 
 ticism, which it was their wish to banish from the 
 church." Their attack upon this mischievous trash 
 excited such a vehement party outcry, that they 
 thought it prudent to discontinue labours which, 
 while they must fail of being useful, could not fail 
 to expose them to vulgar odium, and involve them 
 in endless disputes. Time, the great worker of 
 changes, has since produced a marvellous altera- 
 tion. At a period less than half a century later, the 
 most prejudice-scorning and pungent of all Reviews 
 was established in the Scottish capital, and was 
 received with enthusiasm ! 
 
 The first separate literary production of Robert- 
 son, or at least the first known production, was 
 also laid before the public in 1755. It is a sermon 
 which he preached in that year before the Scotch 
 Society for propagating Christian knowledge. He 
 chose for his subject, " The situation of the world 
 at the time of Christ's appearance, and its con- 
 nexion with the success of his religion." Though 
 this discourse never rises into a strain of glowing 
 eloquence, it is a dignified and argumentative com- 
 position, in a chaste and animated style. If it does 
 
OF DR. ROBERTSON. XXX111 
 
 not flash and dazzle, it at least shines with a steady 
 lustre. Its merit, indeed, affords us ample cause 
 to regret that, before his removal from Gladsmuir, 
 he lost a volume of sermons, on which much care 
 is said to have been bestowed. The sole specimen 
 which remains of his talents as a preacher has 
 passed through five editions, and has been trans- 
 lated into the German language by Mr. Edeling. 
 Some of his enemies have, however, invidiously re- 
 marked, that he evidently borrowed his ideas and 
 sentiments from the introductory chapters to Mos- 
 heim's Ecclesiastical History. Nothing is more 
 easy or frequently made, nothing is, in general, 
 more groundless and contemptible than a charge of 
 plagiarism. In this instance there appears to be 
 not a shadow of evidence to support the charge ; 
 the likeness, if in fact there be any, being more re- 
 mote than, under the similar circumstances of the 
 case, might naturally be expected. 
 
 The time now came when the high character for 
 learning and talent, which Robertson had acquired 
 among his friends, was to be ratified by the public 
 voice. He had long been sedulously engaged on 
 the History of Scotland, the plan of which he is 
 said to have formed soon after his settling at Glads- 
 muir. By his letters to Lord Hailes we are, in 
 some measure, enabled to trace his progress. It 
 appears that as early as 1753 he had commenced 
 his labours, and that by the summer of 1757 he 
 had advanced as far as the narrative of Gowrie's 
 conspiracy. In the spring of 1758 he visited Lon- 
 don, to concert measures for publishing; and the 
 History, in two volumes, quarto, was given to the 
 world on the first of February, 1759, about three 
 months subsequent to the completion of it. While 
 
XXXIV SKETCH OF THE LIFE 
 
 the last sheets were in the press, the author received, 
 by diploma, the degree of Doctor of Divinity from 
 the University of Edinburgh. 
 
 At the period when Dr. Robertson commenced 
 his career, this country could boast of few histo- 
 rians, possessed of philosophic views and an elegant 
 style. Rapin, who, besides, wrote in his native 
 language, Carte, and others, could not aspire to a 
 loftier title than that of annalists ; and the recent 
 production from the pen of Smollet, though dis- 
 playing talent, was by far too imperfect to give him 
 a place among eminent historical writers. Hume 
 alone had come near to the standard of excellence; 
 and, after enduring a doubtful struggle, in the course 
 of which his spirits were well nigh overpowered, 
 had at length begun to enjoy the literary honours 
 which he had so painfully acquired. For a con- 
 siderable time past he had been occupied on the 
 reigns of the Tudor race ; and, as this subject is 
 inseparably connected with Scottish history, Dr. 
 Robertson was alarmed lest he himself should sus- 
 tain injury from the volumes of his friend being 
 published simultaneously with his own. The new 
 candidate for fame endeavoured to induce Hume 
 to proceed with some other portion of his narrative ; 
 and, having failed in this, he appears to have been 
 desirous that he should at least be allowed to be 
 the first to claim the notice of the public. " I am 
 (says Hume in a letter to him) nearly printed out, 
 and shall be sure to send you a copy by the stage 
 coach, 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 friendship which always did, 
 
OF DR. ROBERTSON. XXXV 
 
 and I hope always will subsist between us. I 
 speak this chiefly on ray 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 remain, 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." He adds, " Millar was proposing to 
 publish me about 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 needlessly 
 delayed your publication till the first week of Fe- 
 bruary, 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 1 should not write this period. I 
 could not write downward. For when you find 
 occasion, by new discoveries, to correct your opi- 
 nion with regard to facts which passed in Queen. 
 Elizabeth's days; who, that has not the best op- 
 portunities of informing himself, could venture to 
 relate any recent transactions ? I must therefore 
 have abandoned altogether this scheme of the Eng- 
 lish History, in which J had proceeded so far, if! 
 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." 
 
 The alarm which Dr. Robertson conceived from 
 the rivalship of his friend was, however, groundless. 
 His success was not, like that of Hume, the slow 
 
XXXVI SKETCH OF THE LIFE 
 
 growth of years. It was complete and immediate. 
 So rapid was the sale of the book, that, before a 
 month had elapsed, his publisher informed him that 
 it was necessary to set about preparing; for a second 
 edition. It was read and admired by a part of 
 the royal family; and plausive and gratulatory 
 letters were showered on him from all quarters. 
 Warburton, Horace Walpole, Lord Mansfield, 
 Lord Lyttelton, Dr. Douglas, Hurd, and many 
 other men of eminence, all concurred in swelling 
 the chorus of praise. Among the foremost to 
 blazon his merits was his amicable rival, Hume, 
 whose letters bear repeated testimony to the warmth 
 of his friendship, and his noble freedom from the 
 base dominion of envy. " I am diverting myself," 
 says he, " with the notion of how much you will 
 profit by the applause of my enemies in Scotland. 
 Had you and I been such fools as to have given 
 way to jealousy, to have entertained animosity and 
 malignity against each other, and to have rent all 
 our acquaintance into parties, what a noble amuse- 
 ment we should have exhibited to the blockheads, 
 which now they are likely to be disappointed of! 
 All the people whose friendship or judgment either 
 of us value are friends to both, and will be pleased 
 with the success of both, as we will be with that 
 of each other. I declare to you I have not of a 
 long time had a more sensible pleasure than the 
 good reception of your History has given me within 
 this fortnight." In another place, with a sportive- 
 ness not unusual in his correspondence, he ex- 
 claims, " But though T 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 
 
OF DR. ROBERTSON. XXXV11 
 
 it. A plague take you ! Here I sat near the his- 
 torical summit of Parnassus, immediately under 
 Dr. Smollet; and you have the impudence to 
 squeeze yourself by me, and place yourself directly 
 under his feet. Do you imagine that this can be 
 agreeable to me ! And must not I be guilty of 
 great simplicity to contribute 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." 
 
 The hold which the History of Scotland thus 
 suddenly acquired on the public mind it yet retains. 
 Fourteen editions were published during the life- 
 time of the author, and the editions since his de- 
 cease have been still more numerous. It has un- 
 doubtedly established itself as a classical English 
 production. For a while, indeed, the voice of cri- 
 ticism was mute ; and the historian had only to 
 enjoy the luxury of his triumph. But, at length, 
 some of his opinions, particularly his belief of the 
 guilt of Mary, found opponents in the candid and 
 well informed Tytler, the learned, acute, and elo- 
 quent Stuart, and the dogmatical Whitaker; the 
 latter of whom, though master of talents, erudition, 
 and forcible reasoning, almost rendered truth itself 
 repulsive by the petulance and overbearingness of 
 his manner, and the ruggedness of his style. Of 
 his antagonists, however, the historian took not the 
 slightest public notice, contenting himself with the 
 silent correction of such passages in his work as 
 
 VOL. T. d 
 
XXXVlll SKETCH OF THE LIFE 
 
 his matured judgment had decided to be erroneous. 
 In a letter to Gibbon he laconically notices Whit- 
 aker. " You will see/' says he, " that I have 
 got in Mr. Whitaker an adversary so bigoted and 
 zealous, that though 1 have denied no article of 
 faith, and am at least as orthodox as himself, yet 
 he rails against me with all the asperity of theolo- 
 gical hatred. T shall adhere to my fixed maxim of 
 making no reply/' 
 
 It was not merely a harvest of unproductive 
 fame that was reaped by Dr. Robertson. He was 
 no sooner known to the world than preferment was 
 rapidly bestowed on him. In the autumn of 1758, 
 while his work was in the hands of the printer, he 
 was translated from Gladsmuir to one of the 
 churches of the Scottish metropolis. I believe the 
 church to which he was removed to have been that 
 of the Old Gray Friars, in which, some years after- 
 wards, his friend Dr. Erskine became his coadjutor. 
 On the History issuing from the press he was ap- 
 pointed Chaplain of Stirling Castle, and, in 1761, 
 v,;ie of his Masjesty's Chaplains in Ordinary for 
 Scotland. The dignity of Principal of the College 
 of Edinburgh was conferred on him in 1762 ; and, 
 two years subsequently to this, the office of Histo- 
 riographer for Scotland, which, since the death of 
 Crawfurd, in 1726, had been disused, was revived 
 in his favour, with an annual stipend of two hun- 
 dred pounds. 
 
 .By the remuneration which he had received for 
 his History, and the salaries which arose from his 
 various appointments, Dr. Robertson was now in 
 possession of an income far greater than had ever 
 before been possessed by any Scotch presbyterian 
 minister, and certainly not falling short of that 
 
C*F DR. ROBERTSON. XXXix 
 
 which had been enjoyed by some bishops at the 
 period when the church of Scotland was under 
 episcopal government. A few of his indiscreet 
 friends seem, however, to have thought that his 
 talents were not adequately rewarded, and even 
 that the clerical profession in the northern part of 
 our island did not afford for them a sphere of action 
 sufficiently extensive. The church of England held 
 forth richer prospects to ambition and to mental 
 endowments; and they were of opinion that, by 
 transferring his services to that church, he might 
 obtain a share in its highest dignities and emolu- 
 ments. To this scheme allusions may be found in 
 the letters which, about this time, were addressed 
 to him by Dr. .John Blair, Sir Gilbert Elliot, and 
 Mr. Hume. But Dr. Robertson had a larger share 
 of foresight and prudence than his advisers, and 
 he rejected their dangerous though well intended 
 counsel. It is, perhaps, more than doubtful whe- 
 ther, had it been executed, their plan would have 
 produced the desired effect. This kind of trans- 
 planting has often been tried, but seldom, if ever, 
 with any degree of success. The plant, vigorous 
 on its native bed, languishes and is dwarfed on an 
 alien soil. Dr. Robertson had now reached the 
 mature age of forty-one; his opinions, his habits, 
 his connexions, had all been formed with a refer- 
 ence to the circle in which he moved, and it was 
 not probable that they could be suddenly bent with 
 advantage in an opposite direction. In Scotland 
 he had no competitors who could rise to a level 
 with him; in England he would, perhaps, have 
 had many ; and lie may be supposed to have 
 thought, with Caesar, that it is better to be the 
 first man in a village than the second at Home. 
 
xl SKETCH OF THE LIFE 
 
 Nor was there any room in England for the ex- 
 ercise of that kind of eloquence in which he par- 
 ticularly excelled ; the eloquence which is mani- 
 fested in debate. By the force of his oratory he 
 left far behind all his rivals and opponents, and 
 wielded at will the general assembly of the Scottish 
 church ; but, since the convocation was shorn of 
 its controversial and declamatory glories, since it 
 was smitten with an incapacity of embarrassing the 
 government, fostering theological rancour, and dis- 
 playing the unseemly spectacle of Christian divines 
 arrayed in worse than barbarian hostility to each 
 other, there has not in this country existed any 
 deliberative clerical body in which Dr. Robertson 
 could have exerted those argumentative and rheto- 
 rical powers that, among his follow ministers, ob- 
 tained for him so entire an ascendancy. His pre- 
 ferment might also have stopped short of the point 
 which his sanguine friends expected it to attain ; 
 and, whatever its degree, it would in all probability 
 have been looked on with a jealous eye by many 
 of his brethren on the south of the Tweed. There 
 was, besides, another and still more powerful rea- 
 son that must have influenced his decision. He 
 had for nearly twenty years been a leading minister 
 of the presbyterian establishment ; and his now 
 quitting it to enter into a prelatical church, which, 
 as being deemed a scion from the hated stock of 
 Rome, was still held in abomination by many of 
 his countrymen, could scarcely have failed to be 
 considered as an interested and base sacrifice of 
 his principles and his character at the shrine of 
 lucre and ambition. To be branded as a deserter 
 by the zealots of the one institution, and by the 
 envious of the other, was not a favourable auspice 
 
OF DR. ROBERTSON. xli 
 
 under which to commence his new career; and he 
 therefore acted wisely, as well as honourably, in 
 remaining a member of the Scottish church. 
 
 Having resolved to remain in Scotland, and to 
 rely chiefly on his pen for the advancement of his 
 fortune, Dr. Robertson had now to choose another 
 theme on which his talents could be profitably em- 
 ployed. To the composition of history, in which 
 he had met with such stimulating success, he wisely 
 determined to adhere. It was, indeed, in that de- 
 partment that he was peculiarly qualified to excel, 
 by his power of vivid description, and his happy 
 delineation of character. His friends were con- 
 sulted on this occasion; each had some favourite 
 plan to suggest to him ; aud he seems to have been 
 absolutely embarrassed by the affluence of subjects, 
 many of which were worthy of his best exertions to 
 illustrate and adorn them. If a ludicrous simile 
 may be allowed, we may say that he found it no 
 less difficult to fix his choice, than it was for 
 Mr. Shandy to decide to what purpose he should 
 apply the legacy which was left to him by his 
 sister Dinah. Dr. John Blair strenuously recom- 
 mended to him to write a complete History of 
 England, and assured him that Lord Chesterfield 
 had declared his readiness to move, in the House 
 of Peers, for public encouragement to him, in case 
 of his undertaking a work which might with justice 
 be considered as being a national one. But from 
 adopting this project, though it was one which he 
 had early cherished, Dr. Robertson was deterred 
 by his honourable unwillingness to interfere with 
 his friend Hume, who was now putting the finish- 
 ing hand to his great labour. Iliimo himself ad- 
 vised him to undertake a series of modern lives, 
 
 d'2 
 
xlii SKETCH OF THE LIFE 
 
 in the manner of Plutarch. " You see," said he, 
 " that in Plutarch the life of Caesar may be read 
 in half an hour. Were you to write the life of 
 Henry the Fourth of Prance after that model, you 
 might pillage all the pretty stories in Sully, and 
 speak more of his mistresses than of his battles. 
 In short, you might gather the flower of all modern 
 history in this manner. The remarkable Popes, 
 the Kings of Sweden, the great discoverers and 
 conquerors of the New World, even the eminent 
 men of letters might furnish you with matter, and 
 the quick dispatch of every different work would 
 encourage you to begin a new one. If one volume 
 were successful, you might compose another at 
 your leisure, and the field is inexhaustible./ There 
 are persons whom you might meet with in the 
 corners of history, so to speak, who would be a 
 subject of entertainment quite unexpected; and as 
 long as you live, you might give and receive amuse- 
 ment by such a work." That so excellent an idea 
 should not have been acted upon must be regretted 
 by every one who is a lover of literature. By 
 Horace Walpole two subjects, of no trivial inte- 
 rest, were pointed out. These were the History of 
 Learning, and the History of the reigns of Nerva, 
 Trajan, Adrian, and the two Antonines; the latter 
 of which Walpole declared that he should be 
 tempted to denominate the History of Humanity. 
 Dr. Robertson himself seems, at onetime, to have 
 thought, though but transiently, of tracing the 
 events which occurred in the age of Leo the Tenth. 
 There is no reason to lament that he did not under- 
 take this task, which was once meditated on by 
 Warton, and has since been performed by a writer 
 whom nature has largely gifted, and who possesses 
 
OF DR. ROBERTSON. xliii 
 
 a profound knowledge of the records, arts, and 
 language of Italy. But the two plans which had 
 the ascendancy in his mind, and between which he 
 lonij hesitated, were the History of Greece, and 
 the History of Charles the Fifth. At length, not- 
 withstanding the objections which were urged by 
 Hume and Horace Walpole, he made choice of 
 the reign of Charles as the subject of his second 
 attempt. 
 
 When he had for about a year been engaged, 
 partly in those preliminary researches which are 
 necessary to give value to a work like that on 
 which he was occupied, and partly in composition, 
 his progress was suddenly suspended, by the inter- 
 vention of a personage of such elevated rank as to 
 render it almost impossible for him to decline a 
 compliance with that which was required from him. 
 It has been seen, that he was early desirous to be 
 the historian of his native island, and that friend- 
 ship alone prevented him from being so. He was 
 now informed that the wishes of the British Sove- 
 reign were in unison with his own. In the latter 
 part of July, 17G1, he was written to on this head 
 by Lord Cathcart. " Lord Bute told me the 
 King's thoughts as well as his own," said Lord 
 Cathcart, " 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, laborious, and extensive as the 
 work must be, he would take care your encourage- 
 ment 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 
 
xliv SKETCH OF THE LIFE 
 
 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 into Lord Bute's intentions 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 believe, he would 
 think inconsistent with the attention the other sub- 
 ject would necessarily require." 
 
 A proposition thus powerfully enforced it would, 
 under any circumstances, have been difficult for 
 Dr. Robertson to reject. But, in fact, the reasons 
 which formerly influenced his conduct had ceased 
 to exist. Hume had now completed his history, 
 it was before the public, and its fate must be irre- 
 vocably decided before a line of the rival narrative 
 could be committed to paper. Dr. Robertson was 
 convinced of this, and therefore he did not hesitate 
 to embrace the opportunity which was offered to 
 him. " After the first publication of the History 
 of Scotland, and the favourable reception it met 
 with," said he in his answer to Lord Cathcart, " 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 posses- 
 
OF DR. ROBERTSON. xlv 
 
 sion ; and 1 determined that my interference with 
 him should never be any obstruction to the sale or 
 success of his work. Nor do I yet repent of 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 
 several years before any work of mine on the same 
 subject can appear ; its first run will not be marred 
 by any justling with me, and it will have taken that 
 station in the literary system which belongs to it. 
 This objection, therefore, which I thought, and 
 still think, so weighty at that time, makes no im- 
 pression 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." 
 
 To enable him to accomplish so arduous a labour, 
 he considered it necessary, not only that he should 
 be established in such a manner as would divest 
 him of all anxiety as to pecuniary concerns, but 
 that he should likewise have the power of devoting 
 to study a larger portion of his time than it was now 
 possible for him to allot to that purpose. " Were 
 I to carve out my own fortune," said he, " I should 
 wish to continue one of His Majesty's Chaplains 
 for Scotland, but to resign my charge as a minister 
 of Edinburgh, which engrosses more of my time 
 than one who is a stranger to the many minute 
 duties of that office can well imagine. I would 
 wish to apply my whole time to literary pursuits, 
 which is at present parceled out among innumerahh 
 
Xlvi SKETCH OF THE LIFE 
 
 occupations. In order to enable me to make this 
 resignation some appointment must be assigned me 
 for life. What that should be, it neither becomes 
 me, nor do I pretend to say. One thing, however, 
 I wish with some earnestness, that the thing might 
 be executed soon, both as it will give me great 
 vigour in my studies to have my future fortune as- 
 certained in so honourable a manner, and because, 
 by allowing me to apply myself wholly to my pre- 
 sent work, it will enable me to finish it in a less 
 time, and to begin so much sooner to my new task." 
 But though he was desirous to obtain some ap- 
 pointment, in order that he might not be " reduced 
 entirely to the profession of an author," he at the 
 same moment, with becoming spirit, declared that 
 he did not wish to derive any emolument from it 
 before he could commence the particular task for 
 which the appointment was to be given. The pro- 
 posal that he should remove to London, he was 
 averse from complying with, though he did not put 
 a direct negative on it; and he could not consent 
 to begin the History of Britain till he had com- 
 pleted that of Charles the Fifth. 
 
 This scheme, which seems to have been almost 
 brought to maturity, was, nevertheless, dropped ; 
 but for what reason is unknown. Mr. Stewart is 
 disposed to believe that the failure of it may in part 
 be attributed to the resignation of Lord Bute. It 
 was certainly so much a favourite with Dr. Robert- 
 son, that he long cherished it, and abandoned it 
 with reluctance. We may, perhaps, be allowed to 
 smile, or to wonder, that a sovereign should have 
 selected a writer confessedly of Whig principles to 
 compose a History of England, in opposition to 
 one produced by a friend of arbitrary power; and 
 
OF DR. ROBERTSON. xlvii 
 
 we may also be allowed to doubt, whether, as far 
 as regarded its sentiments, such a work, written 
 by a Whig under the auspices of a court, would 
 have proved quite satisfactory either to the monarch 
 or to the people. There might, at least, have been 
 some danger that it would have justified the sar- 
 casm which was uttered by Horace Walpole, on 
 another occasion. " You must know, sir," said 
 Dr. Robertson to him, " that I look upon myself 
 as a moderate Whig." — " Yes, Doctor," replied 
 Walpole, " I look on you as a very moderate 
 Whig." 
 
 As soon as this negotiation was broken off", he 
 bent all his exertions to the task which he had 
 commenced. The public curiosity was highly 
 excited, and it was long kept on the stretch before 
 it was gratified. In the summer of 1701, he stated 
 that one third of the work was finished, and that 
 two years more would be required to bring the 
 whole to perfection. But there never yet was an 
 author who did not deceive himself, and conse- 
 quently deceive others, as to the period at which 
 his labour would be completed. The stupid, the 
 thoughtless, and the malignant (and there are many 
 persons, not literary, though connected with litera- 
 ture, who belong to these classes) consider as in- 
 tended for the purpose of deception the erroneous 
 estimate which authors are thus apt to form. They 
 either cannot or will not be taught that, in spite of 
 Dr. Johnson's bold assertion to the contrary, no 
 man is at all hours capable of thinking deeply, or 
 of clothing his thoughts in an attractive dress; that 
 he who is dependent on his reputation for existence 
 ought not to be compelled to hazard it by crude 
 and slovenly efforts, the product of haste ; that he 
 
Xlviii SKETCH OF THE LIFE 
 
 who draws up a narrative from widely scattered, 
 numerous, and conflicting documents must often, 
 in painful research and in balancing evidence, spend 
 more months than he had calculated on spending 
 weeks; that the discovery of a single paper, the 
 existence of which was previously unknown, may 
 not only throw a new light upon a subject, but give 
 to it an entirely new colour, and may compel a 
 writer to modify, to arrange, and even to cancel, 
 much that he had supposed to have received his 
 last touches ; and, therefore, that the delay which, 
 as being a proof of literary indolence, is so fre- 
 quently and so unfeelingly an object of censure, 
 ought rather in many cases to be rewarded with 
 praise, because it is a duty which an author con- 
 scientiously, and at his own cost, performs to 
 society and to truth. Impediments of this kind no 
 doubt retarded the progress of Dr. Robertson ; to 
 which must be added his multifarious avocations, 
 as principal of the University, a minister of one of 
 the churches of the Scottish metropolis, and an 
 active member of the General Assembly, in which 
 body, as Mr. Stewart informs us, faction was run- 
 ning high at that epoch. The transactions relative 
 to America he likewise found to be of too vast a 
 magnitude, to allow of their being compressed into 
 an episode. He was under the necessity of re- 
 serving them for a separate history ; and this cir- 
 cumstance obliged him in some degree to make a 
 change in his original plan. It is, therefore, not 
 wonderful that the publication of his work was 
 protracted six years beyond the time which he had 
 himself assigned for it. 
 
 At length, early in 1769, appeared, in three 
 volumes quarto, the History of Charles the Fifth. 
 
OF DR. ROBERTSON. xlix 
 
 It had been perused, while in the press, by Hume, 
 and probably by other friends, and had gained the 
 warmest praise. " I got yesterday from Strahan," 
 savs Uume, in one of his letters, "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 approba- 
 tion of them. To say only they are very well writ- 
 ten, is by far too faint an expression, and much 
 inferior to the sentiments I feel: they are composed 
 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 pleasure in being the only man in England, 
 during some months, who will be in the situation 
 of doing you justice, after which you may certainly 
 expect that my voice will be drowned in that of the 
 public." 
 
 Hume's anticipation was prophetic. Soon after 
 the work had come out, he wrote to his friend, in 
 the following unequivocal terms. " The success 
 has answered my expectations, and I, who con- 
 verse with the great, the fair, and the learned, have 
 scarcely heard an opposite voice, or even whisper, 
 to the general sentiments. Only I have heard that 
 the Sanhedrim at Mrs. Macaulay's condemns you 
 as little less a friend to government and monarchy 
 than myself." Horace Walpole was almost equally 
 laudatory; Lord Lyttelton testified his admiration; 
 and, as Hume had long before done, recommended 
 to the historian to write, in the manner of Plutarch, 
 the lives of eminent persons. Voltaire, also, paid 
 
 vol. i. e 
 
1 SKETCH OF THE LIFE 
 
 a flattering tribute. " It is to you aud to Mr. 
 Hume," said he, " that it belongs to write history. 
 You are eloquent, learned, and impartial. I unite 
 with Europe in esteeming you." Xor was the 
 fame of the author confined to his native island. 
 Through the intervention of the Baron D'Holbach, 
 M. Suard was induced to translate the work into 
 French, while it was being printed in England, and 
 his masterly translation is said to have established 
 his own literary character, and to have been the 
 means of his obtaining a seat in the French Aca- 
 demy. The remuneration which the author him- 
 self received was magnificent ; especially in an age 
 when it was not customary to give a large sum of 
 money for the purchase of copyright. It is affirmed 
 to have been no less than four thousand rive hun- 
 dred pounds. 
 
 It is not to be imagined, however, that the His- 
 tory of Charles the Fifth could entirely escape the 
 severity of criticism, which appears to be the com- 
 mon lot of all literary productions. By the Abbe 
 Mably it was attacked in rude and contemptuous 
 language; which, without having the power to in- 
 jure the work, was disgraceful to the person who 
 descended to use it. Gilbert Stuart likewise as- 
 sailed it; but with more skill than the French 
 critic, and with a vigour which was animated by 
 personal resentment. That his acuteness detected 
 many inaccuracies, it would be absurd to dispute; 
 but no one can doubt that he pushed his censure 
 farther than was consonant with justice, when he 
 characterized Dr. Robertson as an author " whose 
 total abstinence from all ideas and inventions of his 
 own permitted him to carry an undivided attention 
 to other men's thoughts and speculations." \Val- 
 
OF DR. ROBERTSON. li 
 
 pole, too, in later life, asserted that the reading; of 
 Dr. Robertson was not extensive, that the Intro- 
 duction to the History of Charles abounds with 
 gross errors, and that in many instances he has 
 mistaken exceptions for rules. The work, however, 
 still maintains its station ; and, even admitting- all 
 that truth or ingenious prejudice can urge against 
 it, who is there who will now have the boldness to 
 deny that it forms a splendid addition to our histo- 
 rical treasures ? 
 
 After having completed this arduous undertak- 
 ing, Dr. Robertson allowed himself some respite 
 from literary toil ; a respite which, in fact, was 
 necessary for the preservation of his health. His 
 mind was, however, too active to remain long un- 
 occupied, and he hastened to resume the pen. As 
 a sequel to the History of Charles, he had pro- 
 mised to give to the public a narrative of the 
 Spanish discoveries, conquests, and proceedings 
 in America. This plan he soon resolved to en- 
 large, so as to include in it the transactions of all 
 the European colonizers of the American continent. 
 To the origin and progress of the British empire in 
 that quarter, it was originally his intention to de- 
 vote an entire volume. Than the history of the 
 New World it was impossible for him to have 
 chosen a subject more fertile, more attractive, or 
 better calculated for the display of his peculiar ta- 
 lents. There was " ample room and verge enough" 
 for eloquence to expatiate in. The rapidly succeed- 
 ing events which he was to describe were scarcely 
 less marvellous than those of an oriental fiction ; 
 one of his heroes, the dauntless explorer of unknown 
 oceans, will always excite the wonder, admiration, 
 and pity of mankind ; others, though villains, were 
 
hi SKETCH OF THE LIFE 
 
 at least villains of no common powers; and the 
 characters, the customs, the manners, the scenery, 
 every thing in short that was connected with the 
 work, possessed throughout the charm of novelty, 
 and, in many instances, that of the most picturesque 
 and forcible contrast. 
 
 To the first part of his subject, that which re- 
 lates to the discovery of the New World, and the 
 conquests and policy of the Spaniards, eight years 
 of studious toil were devoted by Dr. Robertson. 
 At length, in the spring of 1777, he put forth, in 
 two quartos, the result of his labours. The public 
 again received him with enthusiasm, and his lite- 
 rary friends again pressed forward to congratulate 
 and to praise him. Hume was no longer in exist- 
 ence; but his place was supplied by Gibbon, who 
 testified his entire approbation of the volumes, even 
 before he had wholly perused them. " I have said 
 enough," said he, " 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 pro- 
 gress of discovery is displayed with learning and 
 perspicuity ; that the dangers, the achievements, 
 and the views of the Spanish Adventurers, are re- 
 lated with a temperate spirit ; aud that the most 
 original, perhaps the most curious portion of human 
 manners, is at length rescued from the hands of 
 sophists and deciaimers." 
 
 But, perhaps, of all the applause which was 
 bestowed on Dr. Robertson, none was more gra- 
 tify ing than that which was given by Burke ; a 
 man eminent at once as a writer, an orator, and a 
 statesman. In sentiment and in composition his 
 letter is so excellent that, like Mr. Stewart, I am 
 
OF DR. ROBERTSON. lili 
 
 unwilling to mutilate it. " I am perfectly sensi- 
 ble," says he, " of the very flattering- distinction 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 trouble- 
 some 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 naturally to be 
 expected from the author of the History of Scot- 
 land, and of the Age of Charles the Fifth. I be- 
 lieve few books have done more than this, towards 
 clearing up dark points, correcting errors, and re- 
 moving prejudices. 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 apprized of 
 the event. You have, besides, thrown quite a 
 new light on the present state of the Spanish pro- 
 vinces, and furnished both materials and hints for 
 a rational theory of what may be expected from 
 them in future. 
 
 " The part which 1 read with the greatest plca- 
 
 e 2 
 
liv SKETCH OF THE LIFE 
 
 sure is the discussion on the manners and charac- 
 ter of the inhabitants of the New World. I have 
 always thought with you, that we possess at this 
 time very great advantages towards the knowledge 
 of human nature. We need no longer go to His- 
 tory to trace it in all its ages and periods. His- 
 tory, from its comparative youth, is but a poor 
 instructor. When the Egyptians called the Greeks 
 children in antiquities, we may well call them chil- 
 dren ; 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 refine- 
 ment, which we have not at the same moment un- 
 der our view ; the very different civility of Europe 
 and of China; the barbarism of Persia and of 
 Abyssinia; the erratic manners of Tartary and of 
 Arabia ; the savage state of North America and 
 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 
 philosophy. I only think that in one or two points 
 you have hardly done justice to the savage cha- 
 racter. 
 
 " There remains before you a great field. Peri- 
 evlosce plenum opus alece tractas, et incedis per ignes 
 suppositos cineri doloso. When even those ashes 
 will be spread over the present fire, God knows. 
 I am heartily 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 
 
OF DR. ROBERTSON. lv 
 
 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 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 for- 
 ward in my speculations on this subject. All that 
 I have ventured to make have hitherto proved fal- 
 lacious. 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 coun- 
 try and its allies. I did not think it could have 
 been done without the declared interference 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 
 conjectures I have judged amiss. You will smile 
 when I send you a trifling temporary production, 
 made for the occasion of a day, and to perish with 
 it, in return for your immortal work. But our ex- 
 change resembles the politics of the times. You 
 send out solid wealth, the accumulation of ages, 
 and in return you get a few flying leaves of Ame- 
 rican paper. However, you have the mercantile 
 comfort of finding the balance of trade infinitely in 
 your favour ; and I console myself with the snug 
 consideration 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 preju- 
 dices of our own, convey wisdom at our expense to 
 uture ge ncrations." 
 
Wi SKETCH OF THE LIFE 
 
 The honours which were paid to hini by foreign- 
 ers were equally gratifying. The Royal Academy 
 of History at Madrid unanimously elected him a 
 member on the eighth of August, in 1777, " in 
 testimony of their approbation of the industry and 
 care with which he had applied to the study of 
 Spanish History, and as a recompense for his merit 
 in having contributed so much to illustrate and 
 spread the knowledge of it in foreign countries." 
 It likewise appointed one of its members to trans- 
 late the History of America into the Spanish lan- 
 guage, and considerable progress is believed to 
 have been made in the translation. But the latter 
 measure excited alarm in an absurd and decrepit 
 government, which sought for safety in conceal- 
 ment rather than in a bold and liberal policy, and, 
 like the silly bird, imagined that by hiding its own 
 head it could escape from the view of its pursuers. 
 The translation was, therefore, officially ordered to 
 be suppressed, with the vain hope of keeping the 
 world still in the dark, with respect to the nature 
 of the Spanish American commerce, and of the sys- 
 tem of colonial administration. 
 
 It was not from Spain alone that he received 
 testimonies of respect. In 1781, the Academy of 
 Sciences at Padua elected him one of its foreign 
 members ; and, in 1783, the same compliment was 
 paid to him by the Imperial Academy of Sciences 
 at St. Petersburgh. The Empress Catherine also, 
 who, numerous as were her faults, was a woman 
 of a strong and enlightened intellect, also con- 
 ferred on him a flattering distinction. She ordered 
 his friend, Dr. Rogerson, to transmit to him, as a 
 mark of her esteem, a gold snuffbox, richly set 
 with diamonds ; observing at the same time, that a 
 person whose labours had afforded her so much 
 
OF DR. ROBERTSON. Ivii 
 
 satisfaction merited some attention from her. So 
 much, indeed, was she delighted with the works of 
 the Scottish author, that she did not hesitate to 
 assign to him the place of first model in historical 
 composition, to express much admiration of the 
 sagacity and discernment which he displayed in 
 painting the human mind and character, and to 
 declare that the History of Charles the Fifth was 
 the constant companion of her journeys, and that 
 she was never tired of perusing it, particularly the 
 introductory volume. 
 
 As soon as enthusiasm had subsided, criticism 
 began its labours in search of defects. It was 
 objected to the author, that he had shown a dis- 
 position to palliate or to veil the enormities of the 
 Spaniards, in their American conquests, and that 
 he had shed an illusive lustre round the daring and 
 intelligent but sanguinary and unprincipled Cortes. 
 Even Professor Stewart, notwithstanding his ho- 
 nourable affection for the memory of his friend, 
 shrinks from vindicating him on this score, and con- 
 tents himself with opposing to the charge " those 
 warm and enlightened sentiments of humanity 
 which in general animate his writings." Unwil- 
 ling to censure severely, and unable to exculpate, 
 Bryan Edwards suggests, as an apology for Dr. 
 Robertson, that this is one of the cases in which 
 the mind, shrinking from the contemplation of 
 alleged horrors, wishes to resist conviction, and to 
 relieve itself by incredulity. Dr. Gleig, however, 
 the latest biographer of the historian, indignantly 
 rejects this apology as absurd; and, more enter- 
 prising than his predecessors, partly labours to 
 invalidate the accusation, by lessening the sum of 
 Spanish cruelties, and partly to render it of no 
 
Iviii SKETCH OF THE LIFE 
 
 weight, by pleading that the writer probably con- 
 sidered the conquests of Mexico and Peru as 
 means employed by Providence to accomplish the 
 noblest and most beneficent purposes. That Dr. 
 Robertson did really regard those conquests in 
 such a light we may easily believe; since, in his 
 Sermon, on the state of the world at the appear- 
 ance of Christ, he manifests similar sentiments 
 with respect to the measureless and unslumbering 
 ambition of those universal robbers the Romans, 
 whom he is pleased to style " the noblest people 
 that ever entered on the stage of the world." But 
 this defence is merely sophistical. Though we are 
 not ignorant that a wise and benignant Providence 
 educes good from evil, it is not the business of an 
 historian to diminish the loathing which evil deeds 
 ought to excite ; nor does it appear that mortality 
 is likely to be much benefited, by teaching tyrants 
 and murderers to imagine that, while they are 
 giving the rein to their own furious and malignant 
 passions, they are only performing their destined 
 tasks as instruments of the Deity. 
 
 This was by no means all that was urged against 
 the History of America. It is, in fact, not now 
 attempted to be denied that, in many instances, 
 Dr. Robertson was led astray by his partiality to 
 the brilliant but fallacious theories of De Pauw 
 and Buffon. Clavigero, in his History of Mexico, 
 detected and somewhat harshly animadverted on 
 several errors, a part of which were subsequently 
 rectified. Bryan Edwards, too, pointed out some 
 contradictions, and some erroneous statements. 
 But the most severe censor is Mr. Southey, a man 
 eminently well informed on ancient Spanish and 
 American events. " In his History of Brazil, 
 
OF DR. ROBERTSON. lix 
 
 after having; described the mode of reckoning in 
 use among the transatlantic tribes, he adds, " when 
 Pauvv reasoned upon the ignorance of the Ameri- 
 cans in numbers, did he suppress this remarkable 
 fact, or was he ignorant of it ? The same question 
 is applicable to Dr. Robertson, who, on this, and 
 on many other subjects, in what he calls his His- 
 tory of America, is guilty of such omissions, and 
 consequent misrepresentations, as to make it cer- 
 tain either that he had not read some of the most 
 important documents to which he refers, or that he 
 did not choose to notice the facts which he found 
 there, because they were not in conformity to his 
 own preconceived opinions. A remarkable exam- 
 ple occurs respecting a circulating medium; when 
 he mentions cocoanuts, which were used as money 
 in Mexico, and says, ' this seems to be the utmost 
 length which the Americans had advanced towards 
 the discovery of any expedient for supplying the 
 use of money.' Now, it is said by Cortes himself, 
 that when he was about to make cannon, he had 
 copper enough but wanted tin ; and having bought 
 up all the plates and pots, which he could find 
 among the soldiers, he began to inquire among the 
 natives. He then found, that in the province of 
 Tachco, little pieces of tin, like thin coin, were 
 used for money, there and in other places. And 
 this led him to a discovery of the mines from 
 whence it was taken. The reputation of this 
 author must rest upon his History of Scotland, if 
 that can support it. His other works are grievously 
 deficient." 
 
 Such are the defects which are attributed to 
 Dr. Robertson's History. On the other hand, it 
 ought to be remembered, that many sources of 
 
lx SKETCH OF THE LIFE 
 
 knowledge, which were then hidden, have since 
 become accessible, that no man is at all times 
 exempted from the dominion of prejudice, that the 
 most cautious vigilance may sink into a momentary 
 slumber, and that to him who has achieved much, 
 a tribute of gratitude is due, even though it may 
 be discovered that he has left something- undone. 
 AVere the History of the Spanish Conquests proved 
 to be merely a fiction, it would nevertheless, con- 
 tinue to be read, such attraction is there in the 
 general elegance of the language, the skilful deline- 
 ation of the characters, and the sustained interest 
 and spirit of the narrative. 
 
 In the preface to this portion of his labours, he 
 made known his intention to resume the subject at 
 a future period ; and he assigned the ferment which 
 then agitated our North American colonies as a 
 reason for suspending, at present, the execution 
 of that part of his plan which related to British 
 America. At the very beginning, in truth, of the 
 contest with the colonies, he congratulated himself 
 on his not having completed his narrative. " It is 
 lucky," said he, in a letter to Mr. Strahan, " that 
 my American History was not finished before this 
 event. How many plausible theories that I should 
 have been entitled to form, are contradicted by 
 what has now happened." A fragment of this His- 
 tory, which, however, was carefully corrected by 
 him, and which he preserved when he committed 
 his manuscripts to the flames, was all that he sub- 
 sequently wrote of the work ; and this was published 
 by his son to prevent it from falling into the hands 
 of an editor who might make alterations and addi- 
 tions, and obtrude the whole on the public as the 
 genuine composition of the author. 
 
OF DR. ROBERTSON. lxi 
 
 With respect to a separation between the mother 
 country and the colonists, Dr. Robertson seems 
 to have somewhat varied in his sentiments, and to 
 have contemplated the probability of such an event 
 with much more dislike in 1775 than he did in 
 1706. In the latter year, speaking- of the repeal 
 of the stamp act, he said," I rejoice, from my love 
 of the human species, that a million of men in 
 America have some chance of running the same 
 great career which other free people have held 
 before them. I do not apprehend revolution or 
 independence sooner than these must or should 
 come. A very little skill and attention in the art 
 of governing may preserve the supremacy of Bri- 
 tain as long as it ought to be preserved." But, in 
 1775, though he still acknowledged that the colo- 
 nies must ultimately become independent, he was 
 anxious that their liberation should be delayed till 
 as distant a period as possible, and was clearly of 
 opinion that they had as yet no right to throw off 
 their allegiance. Nor was he sparing of his cen- 
 sure on the ministers for the want of policy and 
 firmness, which he considered them to have dis- 
 played at the commencement of the quarrel. " I 
 agree with you about the affairs of America," said 
 he, in a letter, which was written in the autumn of 
 1775, " incapacity, or want of information, has led 
 the people employed there to deceive the ministry. 
 Trusting to them, they have been trifling for two 
 years, when they should have been serious, until 
 they have rendered a very simple piece of business 
 extremely perplexed. They have permitted colo- 
 nies, disjoined by nature and situation, to consoli- 
 date into a regular systematical confederacy ; and 
 when a few regiments stationed in each capital 
 
 vol. i. f 
 
lxii SKETCH OF THE LIFE 
 
 would have rendered it impossible for thern to take 
 arras, they have suffered them quietly to levy and 
 train forces, as if they had not seen against whom 
 they were prepared. But now we are fairly com- 
 mitted, and I do think it fortunate that the violence 
 of the Americans has brought matters to a crisis 
 too soon for themselves. From the beginning of 
 the contest I have always asserted that indepen- 
 dence was their object. The distinction between 
 taxation and regulation is mere folly. There is 
 not an argument against our right of taxation that 
 does not conclude with tenfold force against our 
 power of regulating their trade. They may pro- 
 fess or disclaim what they please, and hold the 
 language that best suits their purpose ; but, if they 
 have any meaning, it must be that they should be 
 free states, connected with us by blood, by habit, 
 and by religion, but at liberty to buy and sell and 
 trade where and with whom they please. This 
 they will one day attain, but not just now, if there 
 be any degree of political wisdom or vigour remain- 
 ing. At the same time one cannot but regret that 
 prosperous growing states should be checked in 
 their career. As a lover of mankind, I bewail it; 
 but as a subject of Great Britain, I must wish that 
 their dependence on it should continue. If the 
 wisdom of government can terminate the contest 
 with honour instantly, that would be the most 
 desirable issue. This, however, I take to be now 
 impossible ; and I will venture to foretell, that if 
 our leaders do not at once exert the power of the 
 British empire in its full force, the struggle will be 
 long, dubious, and disgraceful. We are past the 
 hour of lenitives and half exertions. If the con- 
 test be protracted, the smallest interruption of the 
 
OF DR. ROBERTSON. lxiii 
 
 tranquillity that reigns in Europe, or even the ap- 
 pearance of it, may be fatal." 
 
 It must be owned, that language like this goes 
 very far towards justifying the sarcasm of Horace 
 Walpole, that the reverend historian was " a very 
 moderate Whig." Perhaps, also, his belief that, 
 at the outset, a few regiments in each capital would 
 have sufficed to trample down the resistance of the 
 Americans, may now appear difficult to be recon- 
 ciled with a knowledge of military affairs, or of 
 human nature. Yet we must, at the same time, 
 remember that this erroneous idea was held by 
 him in common with many other men of intellect, 
 and that it was even brought forward in the British 
 senate as an undeniable truth. 
 
 Though the American war precluded Dr. Ro- 
 bertson from bringing to a close his history of the 
 British settlements, it is not easy to discover why 
 he could not continue it to a certain point ; or why, 
 at least, he could not proceed with that part of his 
 narrative which related to the colonization of Bra- 
 zil, and the violent struggles between the Dutch 
 and the Portuguese in that country — an extensive 
 subject, and worthy of his pen, as it would have 
 afforded him abundant opportunities for the display 
 of his delineative talents. Our curiosity on this 
 head is not satisfied by the reason which, as we 
 have recently seen, he himself gave, in his preface 
 and in his letter to Mr. Strahan. That reason, 
 however, he repeated in a correspondence with his 
 friend Mr. Waddilove, and it is now in vain to 
 seek for a better. It is certain that a wish to retire 
 from literary toil was not his motive ; for, at the 
 same moment that he postponed his History of 
 America, he declared that it was " neither his in- 
 
IxiV SKETCH OF THE LIFE 
 
 clination nor his interest to remain altogether idle." 
 As a proof of his sincerity, he projected a History 
 of Great Britain, from the revolution to the acces- 
 sion of the House of Hanover, and even began to 
 collect the necessary documents. Notwithstand- 
 ing this seems to have been, for a while, a favourite 
 scheme, it was speedily relinquished ; a circum- 
 stance which may justly be regretted. Hume then 
 suggested the History of the Protestants in France. 
 " The events," said he. " are important in them- 
 selves, and intimately connected with the great 
 revolutions of Europe : some of the boldest or 
 most amiable characters of modern times, the 
 Admiral Coligny, Henry IV., &c. would be your 
 peculiar heroes ; the materials are copious, and 
 authentic, and accessible ; and the objects appear 
 to stand at that just distance which excites curio- 
 sity without inspiring passion." 
 
 The hint given by Hume was, however, not 
 adopted. About the year 1779 or 1780 Dr. Ro- 
 bertson seems, indeed, to have seriously resolved 
 to write no more for the public, but to pursue his 
 studies at leisure, and for his own amusement. 
 " His circumstances," says Professor Stewart, 
 " were independent: he was approaching to the 
 age of sixty, with a constitution considerably im- 
 paired by a sedentary life ; and a long application 
 to the compositions he had prepared for the press 
 had interfered with much of the gratification he 
 might have enjoyed, if he had been at liberty to 
 follow the impulse of his own taste and curiosity. 
 Such a sacrifice must be more or less made by all 
 who devote themselves to letters, whether with a 
 view to emolument or to fame ; nor would it per- 
 haps be easy to make it, were it not for the pros- 
 
OF DR. ROBERTSON. IxV 
 
 pect (seldom, alas ! realized) of earning by their 
 exertions, that learned and honourable leisure which 
 he was so fortunate as to attain." 
 
 We must now contemplate Dr. Robertson in 
 another point of view — that of his ecclesiastical 
 and academical character; in which, no less than 
 in his literary capacity, he occupied a prominent 
 station. The eminence, however, which he had 
 not attained without difficulty, he did not hold 
 entirely without danger. Jn one instance he was 
 near falling a victim to his spirit of liberality. In 
 1778, thfi British legislature relieved the English 
 Roman Catholics from some of the severest of the 
 barbarous penalties to which they had been sub- 
 jected nearly a century before. Encouraged by 
 this event, the Scottish Catholics determined to 
 petition parliament to extend the benefit to them- 
 selves. To this measure Dr. Robertson was 
 friendly, and he successfully exerted his influence, 
 and that of his partisans, to procure the rejection 
 of a remonstrance against it, which was brought 
 forward in the General Assembly. But on this 
 occasion, as, unhappily, on too many others, bigotry 
 and ignorance triumphed over sound policy and 
 Christian charity. The trumpet of fanaticism was 
 immediately sounded, and men of the most oppo- 
 site principles and interests hurried to obey the 
 call. Presbyterians, Seceders, and even Episco- 
 palians, the latter of whom were themselves under 
 the lash of penal statutes, all combined in the cru- 
 sade against Papistry. Pamphlets and speeches 
 were lavished, to prove that the constitution in 
 church and state must inevitably perish, if an iota 
 of relief were granted to the faithless members of 
 an idolatrous and sanguinary church. The Roman 
 
 f2 
 
ixvi SKETCH OF THE LIFE 
 
 Catholics were so terrified at the fury that was 
 thus aroused, that the principal gentlemen among 
 them informed the ministry that they would desist 
 from appealing to Parliament; and they endea- 
 voured to calm the popular tempest, by publishing 
 in the daily papers an account of their proceedings. 
 But the enlightened mob of Edinburgh had sagely 
 resolved that the Catholics should not even dare 
 to wish for the slightest participation in the privi- 
 leges of British subjects, without being punished 
 for their temerity. Accordingly, on the 2d of 
 February, 1779, multitudes of the lowest classes, 
 headed by disguised leaders, assembled in the 
 Scottish capital, burnt the house of the Popish 
 bishop and two chapels: and, in their even-handed 
 justice, were on the point of committing to the 
 flames an Episcopal chapel, when they were pro- 
 pitiated, by being told that an Episcopal clergyman 
 was the author of one of the ablest tracts which 
 had been published against Popery. As, how- 
 ever, they could not consent to remit their ven- 
 geance, but only to change its object, they turned 
 their wrath upon those who had expressed opi- 
 nions favourable to the claims of the Catholics. 
 Dr. Robertson was marked out as one of the most 
 guilty, and nothing less than the destruction of his 
 property and life was considered as sufficient to 
 atone for his crime. Fortunately his friends had 
 provided for his safety, and, when the self-ap- 
 pointed champions of religion reached his house, 
 it was found to be defended by a military force, 
 which they had not enough of courage to look in 
 the face. As they had come only to destroy and 
 to murder, they, of course, retreated, when they 
 discovered that, to accomplish their purpose, it 
 
OF DR. ROBERTSON. lxvii 
 
 would also be necessary to fight. Dr. Robertson 
 is said to have manifested great firmness and tran- 
 quillity during this trying scene. 
 
 In selecting Dr. Robertson as the person most 
 worthy of suffering by their summary process of 
 punishment without trial, the mob of Edinburgh 
 acted with a more than mobbish share of injustice. 
 Though desirous that the Catholics should be re- 
 leased from their thraldom, he was not disposed to 
 put any thing to the hazard for the furtherance of 
 that object, and had already withdrawn his patron- 
 age from such obnoxious clients. He was not one 
 of those who, as Goldsmith says of Burke, are 
 " too fond of the right to pursue the expedient." 
 AVith him prudence was a governing principle. 
 When, therefore, he saw that his countrymen were 
 adverse to the measure, he advised the ministry to 
 forbear from lending their countenance to it. In 
 an eloquent speech, delivered in the General As- 
 sembly, he afterwards explained and vindicated 
 the view which he originally took of the subject, 
 and the manner in which he finally acted. The 
 perusal of that which he urged, on the latter point, 
 will not merely show what were his motives in this 
 instance, but also afford some insight into his ge- 
 neral character. How far his system of policy is 
 consonant with dignity or wisdom, which, indeed, 
 are inseparable, I shall not stop to inquire. It 
 might, perhaps, not improperly, be objected to him, 
 that he mistakes the voice of a blind infuriated 
 multitude for the voice of the people ; though it is 
 impossible for any two things to be more different 
 in their nature. It might be asked, too, why the 
 fanatical prejudices of a Scottish mob were to be 
 treated with more respect than the complaints of 
 
lxvih SKETCH OF THE LIFE 
 
 the American colonists ; why the one were to be 
 indulged or complied with, while the other were to 
 be silenced by " a few regiments stationed in each 
 capital?" " As soon," says he, " as I perceived 
 the extent and violence of the flame which the 
 discussion of this subject had kindled in Scotland, 
 my ideas concerning the expedience at this junc- 
 ture 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 know, that 
 in legislation, the sentiments and dispositions of the 
 people, for whom laws are made, should be at- 
 tended 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 recol- 
 lected with reverence, that the Divine 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, re- 
 spectable ; and an indulgent legislator ought not 
 unnecessarily to run counter to them. It appeared 
 manifestly to be sound policy, in the present tem- 
 per of the people, to soothe rather than to irritate 
 them; and, however ill founded their apprehen- 
 sions might be, some concession was now requisite 
 in order to remove them." 
 
 This was, I believe, the last speech which he 
 made in the General Assembly. While he was 
 yet in the vigour of his faculties, and in the exer- 
 cise of undiminished influence in that assembly, he 
 
OF DR. ROBERTSON. lxix 
 
 came to a resolution to withdraw himself entirely 
 from public business. It was in the year 1780, 
 about the time when he ceased to be an historian, 
 and when he was only fifty-nine, that he adopted 
 this resolution. Several causes seem to have con- 
 curred in producing his retirement. It has been 
 supposed by some, that he did not wish to remain 
 on the scene till he was eclipsed by younger rivals ; 
 and it is known that he felt disgusted by the con- 
 duct of the violent men of his own party, who, 
 though he had yielded many points to them against 
 his better judgment, were nevertheless dissatisfied 
 that he refused to resort to stronger measures than 
 he deemed to be either right or prudent, and who, 
 in consequence, tormented him with letters of re- 
 monstrance and reproach, which, as from their 
 nature may easily be imagined, were written in a 
 petulant and acrimonious style. In addition, there 
 was one subject, which had long been a particular 
 annoyance to him, and on which he had been more 
 pertinaciously urged and fretted than on every 
 other. This was a scheme for abolishing subscrip- 
 tion to the Confession of Faith and Formula. Into 
 this scheme, which he had avowed his determina- 
 tion to resist, whatever shape it might assume, 
 many of his friends had zealously entered, and his 
 patience was severely tried by their " beseeching 
 or besieging" him with respect to so important an 
 object. By his cautious and persuasive policy, he 
 had for a considerable period, prevented the con- 
 troversy from being agitated in the assemblies ; but 
 he was of opinion that it would ultimately compel 
 attention, and would give rise to vehement dis- 
 putes; and it was this circumstance, as he himself 
 
lxX SKETCH OF THE LIFE 
 
 confessed, that " at least confirmed his resolution 
 to retire." 
 
 Having rendered triumphant a cause which, to 
 say the least, had numerous enemies, it was hardly 
 to be supposed that his character would not be 
 aspersed by many of those who were mortified to 
 witness his success. Accordingly, the charge of 
 having deserted the genuine principles of the Scot- 
 tish church was often urged against him by some 
 of his antagonists. Others, who had more of the 
 zealot in their composition, did not stop here. 
 These went so far as to accuse him of being indif- 
 ferent to Christianity itself; and, in proof of this, 
 they alleged his habits of intimacy with Hume, and 
 his correspondence with Gibbon. It is difficult to 
 say whether this stupid calumny ought to excite 
 anger or contempt. 
 
 This, however, was the language of only malig- 
 nant hearts, or little minds. By the great majo- 
 rity, even of those who were in opposition to him, 
 full justice was done to his virtues, his taleuts, and 
 the purity of his motives. Among those who, 
 believing patronage to be a nuisance, were the most 
 strenuous in contending with him, was Dr. Ers- 
 kiue, his college mate, and colleague in the minis- 
 try. That venerable and learned person always 
 preserved for him a warm esteem, and, after the 
 historian was no more, paid to his memory an 
 animated and affectionate tribute from the pulpit. 
 " His speeches in church courts," says Dr. Ers- 
 kine, " were admired by those whom they did not 
 convince, and acquired and preserved him an in- 
 fluence over a majority in them, which none before 
 him enjoyed ; though his measures were sometimes 
 
OF DR. ROBERTSON. lxxi 
 
 new, and warmly, and with great strength of argu- 
 ment, opposed, both from the press and iu the 
 General Assembly. To this influence many causes 
 contributed : his firm adherence to the principles 
 of church policy, which he early adopted; his 
 sagacity in forming plans ; his steadiness in exe- 
 cuting them ; his quick discernment of whatever 
 might hinder or promote his designs ; his boldness 
 in encountering difficulties; his presence of mind 
 in improving every occasional advantage; the ad- 
 dress with which, when he saw it necessary, he 
 could make an honourable retreat; and his skill in 
 stating a vote, and seizing the favourable moment 
 for ending a debate and urging a decision. He 
 guided and governed others, without seeming to 
 assume any superiority over them ; and fixed and 
 strengthened his power, by often, in matters of 
 form and expediency, preferring the opinions of 
 those with whom he acted, to his own. In former 
 times, hardly any rose up to speak in the General 
 Assembly, till called upon by the Moderator, un- 
 less men advanced in years, of high rank, or of 
 established characters. His example and influ- 
 ence encouraged young men of abilities to take 
 their share of public business ; and thus deprived 
 Moderators of an engine for preventing causes being 
 fairly and impartially discussed. The power of 
 others, who formerly had in some measure guided 
 ecclesiastical affairs, was derived from ministers of 
 state, and expired with their fall. He remained 
 unhurt amidst frequent changes of administration. 
 Great men in office were always ready to counte- 
 nance him, to cooperate with him, and to avail 
 themselves of his aid. But he judged for himself, 
 and scorned to be their slave, or to submit to re- 
 
lxxii SKETCH OF THE LIFE 
 
 ceive their instructions. Hence, his influence, not 
 confined to men of mercenary views, extended to 
 many of a free and independent spirit, who sup- 
 ported, because they approved, his measures; which 
 others, from the same independent spirit, thought it 
 their duty steadily to oppose. 
 
 " Deliberate in forming his judgment, but, when 
 formed, not easily moved to renounce it, he some- 
 times viewed the altered plans of others with too 
 suspicious an eye. Hence, there were able and 
 worthy men, of whom he expressed himself less 
 favourably, and whose later appearances in church 
 judicatories, he censured as inconsistent with prin- 
 ciples they had formerly professed : while they 
 maintained, that the system of managing church 
 affairs was changed, not their opinions or conduct. 
 Still, however, keen and determined opposition to 
 his schemes of ecclesiastical policy, neither extin- 
 guished his esteem, nor forfeited his friendly offices, 
 when he saw opposition carried on without rancour, 
 and when he believed that it originated from con- 
 science and principle, not from personal animosity, 
 or envy, or ambition." 
 
 Of his private character, Dr. Erskine adds, that 
 " he enjoyed the bounties of Providence, without 
 running into riot; was temperate without austerity; 
 condescending and affable without meanness ; and 
 in expense neither sordid nor prodigal. He could 
 feel an injury, and yet bridle his passion; was grave, 
 not sullen ; steady, not obstinate; friendly, not offi- 
 cious ; prudent and cautious, not timid." 
 
 Than the triumph which the principles of Dr. 
 Robertson obtained in the General Assembly no- 
 thing could be more complete ; and it was the more 
 flattering, inasmuch as it was consummated after 
 
OF DR. ROBERTSON. lxxiii 
 
 he had ceased to take a part in the debates. It 
 had, from the year 1736, been the custom, annually, 
 for the Assembly to instruct the Commission, " to 
 make due application to the King; and Parliament 
 for redress of the grievance of patronage, in case a 
 favourable opportunity for doing so should occur." 
 So cautious was the policy of Dr. Robertson, that, 
 although he had entirely subverted the very ground- 
 work on which this instruction was raised, he 
 never chose to move that it should be expunged. 
 He knew that it was popular with the great body 
 of the people, and, therefore, he did not think it 
 expedient to risk the chance of dissension in the 
 Assembly, by an unnecessary and idle attack upon 
 this shadow of a shade. In the year 1784, how- 
 ever, it was omitted, without any struggle being 
 made in its favour, and it has never since been 
 renewed. 
 
 Whether the system established by him has con- 
 tributed to the harmony and welfare of the Scottish 
 church is a question which yet remains undecided. 
 It is urged, by the friends of the system, that it 
 has given peace to the church; that the General 
 Assembly is no longer occupied with angry appeals 
 and tumultuous disputes; that instead of there 
 being, as formerly, a necessity to call in a military 
 force, to protect the Presbytery in the act of induc- 
 tion, ministers are now peaceably settled; and that 
 the worst that ever happens is the secession of the 
 discontented part of the parishioners, and the con- 
 sequent erection of a separate place of worship, 
 which they frequent only till their zeal cools, and 
 then desert, to rejoin the kirk. But, on the other 
 hand, it is contended, that the peace is rather in 
 appearance than in reality ; that, though the people 
 
 VOL. I. o- 
 
lxxiv SKETCH OF THE LIFE 
 
 have ceased to appeal to the Assembly, their silence 
 arises from disgust and weariness, and not from 
 satisfaction ; that, grown too wise to enter into a 
 protracted and fruitless contest, they immediately 
 set themselves to rear a seceding meeting house, 
 which often carries off a large proportion of the 
 parishioners ; and that, by this quiet but continual 
 increase of seceding meetings, the influence of the 
 established church has been gradually weakened 
 and contracted, a spirit of disunion has been spread, 
 and a heavy additional burthen has been imposed 
 on property of every kind. 
 
 But, whatever doubt may exist on this point, 
 there seems to be none with respect to another. 
 It is o-enerallv acknowledged that Dr. Robertson 
 conduced greatly to give a more dignified character 
 to the proceedings of the General Assembly, to 
 introduce an impartial exercise of the judicial au- 
 thority of the church, and to diffuse the principles 
 of tolerance among men who had hitherto prided 
 themselves on their utter contempt of them. In 
 such respect are his decisions held, that they still 
 form a sort of common law in the church ; and the 
 time which elapsed between his being chosen Prin- 
 cipal of the University and his withdrawing from 
 public life, is distinguished by the name of Dr. Ro- 
 bertson's administration. 
 
 It is in his capacity of Principal that he is next 
 to be considered. In this important office he dis- 
 played his wonted activity and talent. He began 
 the performance of his duties, as his predecessors 
 had done, by delivering annually a Latin discourse 
 before the University. Of these orations, the first, 
 the object of which was to recommend the study of 
 classical learning, was delivered on the third of 
 
or DR. ROBERTSON. IxW 
 
 I Ybruary, 17o'3. It is said, among; numerous other 
 splendid passages, to have contained a beautiful 
 panegyric on the Stoical philosophy. In the fol- 
 lowing- year, his discourse " consisted chiefly of 
 moral and literary observations, adapted to the par- 
 ticular circumstances of youth," and the style is 
 ailinned to be " uncommonly elegant and impres- 
 sive, and possessed of all the distinguishing cha- 
 racteristics of his English compositions." In 1765 
 and 1766, he chose for his theme the comparative 
 advantages of public and private education ; a sub- 
 ject which he treated in a masterly manner. After 
 17b*6 these annual lectures ceased; his time being 
 too fully occupied to allow of the continuance of 
 them. 
 
 But, though his lectures were of necessity dis- 
 continued, he never remitted in his attention even 
 to the minutest duties of his office. He appears, 
 indeed, to have felt a filial anxiety to omit nothing 
 which could assist in giving lustre to the University 
 at which his own talents had been cultivated. With 
 very slender funds, he made large additions to the 
 public library ; he planned or reformed most of the 
 literary and medical societies, which have raised 
 Edinburgh to such eminence as a seminary of learn- 
 ing, and a focus of literature; and he contrived to 
 preserve an uninterrupted harmony among the nu- 
 merous members of the body which he superin- 
 tended. " The good sense, temper, and address," 
 says Professor Stewart, " with which he presided 
 for thirty years at our university meetings, were 
 attended with effects no less essential to our pros- 
 perity ; and are attested by a fact which is perhaps 
 without a parallel in the annals of any other lite- 
 rary community, that during the whole of that 
 
lxxvi SKETCH OF THE LIFE 
 
 period there did not occur a single question which 
 was not terminated by a unanimous decision." 
 
 To his exertions Scotland is also chiefly indebted 
 for its Royal Society, which received its charter of 
 incorporation in March, 1763. The basis of this 
 establishment was the Philosophical Society, the 
 founder of which was the celebrated Maclaurin. 
 In his zeal to give all possible lustre to the new in* 
 stitution, by drawing together men of every species 
 of merit, Dr. Robertson seems, for once, to have 
 acted with less than his usual liberality. An Anti- 
 quarian Society, at the head of which was the Earl 
 of Buchan, had, two years before, been formed in 
 the Scottish metropolis; and this body also was 
 desirous to obtain the Royal charter. The appli- 
 cation which it made to the crown was, however, 
 eagerly opposed, in a " Memorial from the Prin- 
 cipal and Professors of the University of Edin- 
 burgh." This memorial is signed by Dr. Robert- 
 son ; but it is so feeble in composition as well as 
 in reasoning, that it is difficult to believe it to have 
 flowed from his pen. The argument on which it 
 wholly relies is, that " narrow countries" cannot 
 supply materials for more than one society ; that 
 Scotland is such a country ; and, therefore; that it 
 " ought not to form its literary plans upon the 
 model of the more extensive kingdoms in Europe, 
 but in imitation of those which are more circum- 
 scribed." To this hostile proceeding the Antiqua- 
 ries responded, in a long memorial, which was 
 penned with much acuteness, and was naturally 
 expressive of some degree of resentment. They 
 were successful in the contest, and their charter 
 was granted. 
 
 The labours of Dr. Robertson, as a writer, were 
 
OF DR. ROBERTSON. Ixxvii 
 
 closed by a work which entered largely into anti- 
 quarian investigation, as connected with history. 
 In 1791 he published a quarto volume, containing 
 his " Historical Disquisition concerning the Know- 
 ledge which the Ancients had of India ; and the 
 Progress of Trade with that Country prior to the Dis- 
 covery of the Passage to it by the Cape of Good 
 Hope." An appendix was dedicated to observa- 
 tions on the civil policy, the laws and judicial pro- 
 ceedings, the arts, the sciences, and the religious 
 institutions of the Indians. This subject, which 
 occupied him twelve months, was suggested to him 
 by the perusal of Major llenneli's Memoirs for 
 illustrating his History of Hindostan, and was ori- 
 ginally taken up with no other object than his own 
 amusement and instruction. That it would become 
 as popular as his other productions was, from its 
 nature, not to be expected, but it obtained an ho- 
 nourable share of public approbation ; and, though 
 it has since been partly superseded by more elabo- 
 rate inquiries, which, however, were grounded on 
 more ample materials, it will always retain a cer- 
 tain degree of value and will be considered as a 
 proof of his industry, of his habits of research, and 
 of the solidity of his judgment. 
 
 The latter years of Dr. Robertson's existence 
 were passed in the well earned enjoyment of ho- 
 nourable leisure. But, though he ceased to write, 
 he did not cease to be studious. Till the end of his 
 life he is said to have risen early, and to have given 
 up no part of his time to company before the hour 
 of dinner. What he was in the moments of social 
 ease has been so excellently described by Profes- 
 sor Stewart, that his own words ought to be used. 
 " A rich stock of miscellaneous information, ac- 
 
lxxviii SKETCH OF THE LIFE 
 
 quired from books and from an extensive inter- 
 course with the world, together with a perfect ac- 
 quaintance at all times with the topics of the day, 
 and the soundest sagacity and good sense applied 
 to the occurrences of common life, rendered him 
 the most instructive and agreeable of companions. 
 He seldom aimed at art; but, with his intimate 
 friends, he often indulged a sportive and fanciful 
 species of humour. He delighted in good natured, 
 characteristical anecdotes of his acquaintance, and 
 added powerfully to their effect by his own enjoy- 
 ment in relating them. He was, in a remarkable 
 degree, susceptible of the ludicrous ; but on no 
 occasion did he forget the dignity of his character, 
 or the decorum of his profession ; nor did he ever 
 lose sight of that classical taste which adorned his 
 compositions. His turn of expression was correct 
 and pure ; sometimes, perhaps, inclining more than 
 is expected, in the carelessness of a social hour, 
 to formal and artificial periods ; but it was stamped 
 with his own manner no less than his premeditated 
 style : it was always the language of a superior and 
 a cultivated mind, and it embellished every subject 
 on which he spoke. In the company of strangers, 
 he increased his exertions to amuse and to inform ; 
 and the splendid variety of his conversation was 
 commonly the chief circumstance on which they 
 dwelt in enumerating his talents ; — and yet, I must 
 acknowledge, for my own part, that much as I 
 always admired his powers when they were thus 
 called forth, I enjoyed his society less than when 
 I saw him in the circle of his intimates, or in the 
 bosom of his family." 
 
 It is not one of the least amiable features of 
 his character, that, though he was not forward to 
 
OF DR. ROBERTSON. lxxix 
 
 volunteer his advice, yet, when he was consulted 
 by his young- acquaintance, as was very often the 
 case, " he entered into their concerns with the 
 most lively interest, and seemed to have a pleasure 
 and a pride in imparting- to them all the lights of 
 his experience and wisdom." 
 
 It was about the end of the year 1791 that the j 
 health of Dr. Robertson began to manifest indica- I 
 tions of decline. Strong symptoms of jaundice 
 next appeared, his constitution was sapped, and a 
 lingering and fatal illness ensued. His spirits, 
 however, remained unbroken. Till within a few 
 months of his death, he persisted in officiating as 
 a minister. When his decaying strength no longer 
 allowed him to perform his clerical duties, he re- 
 tired to Grange House, in the neighbourhood of 
 Edinburgh, that he might have the advantage of 
 more quiet, a pure air, and the sight of those rural 
 and picturesque objects in which he had ever de- 
 lighted. " While he was able to walk abroad," 
 says Mr. Stewart, " he commonly passed a part of 
 the day in a small garden, enjoying the simple 
 gratifications it afforded with all his wonted relish. 
 Some who now hear me will long remember, — 
 among the trivial yet interesting incidents which 
 marked these last weeks of his memorable life — 
 his daily visits to the fruit trees (which were then 
 in blossom), and the smile with which he, more 
 than once, contrasted the interest he took in their 
 progress, with the event which was to happen be- 
 fore their maturity." It was while he was thus 
 lingering on the verge of the grave, that he was 
 visited by two gentlemen from New York, who 
 were extremely anxious for an interview with him. 
 He rallied all his powers to entertain his guests, 
 and to inspire in their minds a feeling of kindness 
 
1XXX LIFE OF DR. ROBERTSON. 
 
 towards the parent land of the late colonists; and, 
 on their rising to take leave, he said to them, in 
 accents at once dignified and pathetic, " When 
 you go home, tell your countrymen that yon saw 
 the wreck of Dr. Robertson." In less than two 
 months that wreck disappeared in the ocean of eter- 
 nity. He expired; with the fortitude which became 
 him, on the lith of July, 1793, in the seventy-iirst 
 year of his age, and the fiftieth of his ministry. 
 
 So much has been written by others, respecting 
 the literary merit of Dr. Robertson, that on this 
 point it is unnecessary, even would my confined 
 limits permit me, to enter into a lengthened dis- 
 cussion. His style has less of careless easy grace, 
 but has more of equable dignity, than that of Hume ; 
 it does not display the masterly modulation, but it 
 has none of the occasional obscurity and meretrici- 
 ous ornament, of that of Gibbon ; it is well balanced, 
 unstained by vulgarisms, more idiomatically Eng- 
 lish than might be expected from a native of Scot- 
 land, and is defective, perhaps, only in being too 
 uniformly of an elevated tone. In arranging and 
 linking together into one harmonious whole the scat- 
 tered parts of his subject, he is eminently happy ; 
 and in delineating characters, manners, and scenery, 
 in making vividly present to the mind that which he 
 describes, he has few rivals, and no superiors. If 
 all that has been urged against his works be ad- 
 mitted, and some of it cannot be denied, it may 
 nevertheless safely be affirmed, that the balance 
 heavily preponderates in his favour, and that he 
 will always continue to rank in the first class of 
 modern historians. 
 
THE 
 
 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND 
 
 BOOK L 
 
 CONTAINING A REVIEW OF THE SCOTTISH HIS* 
 TORY PREVIOUS TO THE DEATH OF JAMES V. 
 
 The first ages of the Scottish History are dark 
 and fabulous. Nations, as well as men, arrive at 
 maturity by degrees, and the events which hap- 
 pened during their infancy or early youth, cannot 
 be recollected, and deserve not to be remembered. 
 The gross ignorance which anciently covered alt 
 the north of Europe, the continual migrations of its 
 inhabitants, and the frequent and destructive revo- 
 lutions 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 at- 
 tested 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 re- 
 cord truth and to teach wisdom, often sets out with 
 retailing fictions and absurdities. 
 VOL. i. n 
 
•2 THE HISTORY B. I. 
 
 The Scots carry their pretensions to antiquity as 
 hig'h as any of their neighbours. Relying upon 
 uncertain 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. But with regard to the 
 Scots, as well as the other northern nations, we 
 receive the earliest accounts on which we can de- 
 pend, not from their own, but from the Roman 
 authors. [81]. 'When the Romans, under Agri- 
 cola, first carried their arms into the northern parts 
 of Britain, they found it possessed by the Caledo- 
 nians, a fierce and warlike people ; and having 
 repulsed rather than conquered them, they erected 
 a strong wall between the Firths of Forth and 
 Clyde, and there fixed the boundaries of their em- 
 pire. [121]. Adrian, on account of the difficulty 
 of defending such a distant frontier, contracted 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 aban- 
 doned ; 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 empire, to recall those 
 legions which guarded the frontier provinces ; and 
 at that time they quitted all their conquests in 
 Britain. 
 
 421]. Their long residence in the island had 
 polished, in some degree, the rude inhabitants, and 
 the Britons were indebted to their intercourse with 
 
OF SCOTLAND. 3 
 
 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 be- 
 fore 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 ; circumstances 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 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. [838.] At length, Kenneth IT., 
 the sixty-ninth King of the Scots (according to 
 their own fabulous authors), obtained a complete 
 victory over the Picts, and united under one mo- 
 narchy all the country from the wall of Adrian to 
 the Northern Ocean. The kingdom henceforward 
 became known by its present name, which is de- 
 rived from a people who at first settled there as 
 strangers, and remained long obscure and incon- 
 siderable. 
 
 From this period the History of Scotland would 
 merit some attention, were it accompanied with 
 any certainty. 13ut as our remote antiquities are 
 involved in the same darkness with those of other 
 nations, a calamity peculiar to ourselves has thrown 
 almost an equal obscurity over our more recent 
 transactions. This was occasioned by the malicious 
 
4 THE HISTORY B. I. 
 
 policy of Edward I. of England. Towards the end 
 of the thirteenth century, this monarch called in 
 question the independence of Scotland ; pretending 
 that the kingdom was held as a fief of the crown 
 of England, and subjected to all the conditions 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 
 kingdom, he carried some of them into England, 
 and commanded the rest to be burned l , A univer- 
 sal oblivion of past transactions might have been 
 the effect of this fatal event, but some imperfect 
 chronicles had escaped the rage of Edward ; fo- 
 reign writers had recorded some important facts 
 relating to Scotland ; and the traditions concerning 
 recent occurrences were fresh and 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 re- 
 cords, it supplied the place of the authentic annals 
 of the kingdom. It was copied in many monas- 
 teries, and the thread of the narrative was conti- 
 nued, by different monks, through the subsequent 
 reigns. In the beginning of the sixteenth century, 
 John Major, and Hector Boethius published 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, 
 Buchanan undertook the same work ; and if his 
 
 loocs, Essay 552. 
 
OF SCOTLAND. 5 
 
 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 com- 
 positions 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. 
 
 The History of Scotland may properly be di- 
 vided into four periods. The first reaches from 
 the origin of the monarchy to the reign of Kenneth 
 II. The second, from Kenneth's conquest of the 
 Picts to the death of Alexander III. The third 
 extends to the death of James V. The last, from 
 thence to the accession of James VI. to the crown 
 of England. 
 
 The first period is the region of pure fable and 
 conjecture, and ought to be totally neglected, or 
 abandoned to the industry and credulity of anti- 
 quaries. Truth begins 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, 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 
 explained ; the characters of the actors are dis- 
 played ; the manners of the age described ; the re- 
 volutions 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 min- 
 
 B 2 
 
(j THE HISTORY B. I. 
 
 gled with those of other nations, its situation in the 
 political state of Europe was so important, its in- 
 fluence on the operations of the neighbouring king- 
 doms was so visible, that its history becomes an 
 object of attention to foreigners ; and without some 
 knowledge of the various and extraordinary revolu- 
 tions which happened there, they cannot form a 
 just notion with respect either to the most illustri- 
 ous events, or to the characters of the most distin- 
 guished personages in the sixteenth century. 
 
 The following history is confined to the last of 
 these periods : to give a view of the political state 
 of the kingdom during that which immediately pre- 
 ceded it is the design of this preliminary Book. 
 The imperfect knowledge which strangers have of 
 the affairs of Scotland, and the prejudices Scots- 
 men themselves have imbibed, with regard to the 
 various revolutions in the government of their coun- 
 try, render such an introduction equally necessary 
 to both. 
 
 The period from the death of Alexander III. to 
 the death of James V. contains upwards of two 
 centuries and a half, from the year one thousand 
 two hundred and eighty-six, to the year one thour 
 sand live hundred and forty-two. 
 
 It opens with the famous controversy concerning 
 the independence of Scotland. Before the union 
 of the two kingdoms, this was a question of much 
 importance. If the one crown had been consi- 
 dered, not as imperial and independent, but as 
 feudatory to the other, a treaty of union could not 
 have been concluded on equal terms, and every 
 advantage which the dependent kingdom procured 
 must have been deemed the concession of a sove- 
 reign to his vassal. Accordingly, about the be* 
 
OF SCOTLAND. 7 
 
 ginning of the present century, and while a treaty 
 of union between the two kingdoms was nego- 
 tiating, this controversy was agitated with all the 
 heat which national 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 mo- 
 mentous to our ancestors cannot be altogether in- 
 different 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 nowise derogatory from their royal 
 dignity. Nothing is more suitable to feudal ideas 
 than that the same person should be both a lord 
 and a vassal, independent in one capacity, and de- 
 pendent in another 2 . The crown of England was, 
 without doubt, imperial and independent, though 
 the Princes who wore it were, for many ages, the 
 vassals of the Kings of France ; and, in conse- 
 
 2 A very singular proof of this occurs in the Frencii history, 
 Arpin sold the vicomtt: of the city of Bourges to Philip I. who 
 did homage to the Count of Sancerre for a part of these lands, 
 which held of that nobleman, A. D. 1100. I believe that no ex- 
 ample of a King's doing homage to one of his own subjects is to 
 be met with in the histories either of England or Scotland. 
 Philip le Bel abolished this practice in France, A. D. 1302. 
 Henault Ahrtgi C/irunol. Somewhat similar to this, is a charter 
 of the Abbot of Melross, A. I). 1535, constituting James V. the 
 Bailiff or Steward of that Abbey, vesting in him all the powers 
 which pertained to that ollice, and recpuiring him to be answerable 
 to the Abbot for his exercise of the same. Archiv. pub I. Edin % 
 
8 THE HISTORY B. I. 
 
 quence of their possessions in that kingdom, bound 
 to perform all the services which a feudal sovereign 
 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 Kings of England. 
 The English Monarchs, satisfied with their legal 
 and uncontroverted rights, were, during a Jong 
 period, neither capable nor had any thoughts of 
 usurping more. England when conquered by the 
 Saxons, being divided by them into many small 
 kingdoms, was in no condition to extend its domi- 
 nion over Scotland, united at that time under one 
 monarch. And though these petty principalities 
 were gradually formed into one kingdom, the reign- 
 ing Princes, exposed to continual invasions of the 
 Danes, and often subjected to the yoke of those 
 formidable pirates, seldom turned their arms to- 
 wards 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 ac- 
 quire new authority, or to form new pretensions in 
 Scotland. An unexpected calamity that befell one 
 of the Scottish Kings first encouraged the English 
 to think of bringing his kingdom under dependence. 
 William, surnamed the Lion, being taken prisoner 
 at Alnwick, Henry II. 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 I., a 
 
OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 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 III., near a century after, 
 Edward I., availing himself of the situation of 
 affairs in Scotland, acquired an influence in that 
 kingdom which no English Monarch before him 
 ever possessed, and imitating the interested policy 
 of Henry, rather than the magnanimity of Richard, 
 revived the claim of sovereignty to which the 
 former had pretended. 
 
 Margaret of Norway, grandaughter of Alexander, 
 and heir to his crown, did not long survive him. 
 The right of succession belonged to the descend- 
 ants of David Earl of Huntingdon, third son of 
 King David I. 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 grand- 
 son of Margaret the eldest daughter. According 
 to the rules of succession which are now esta- 
 blished, the right of Baliol was preferable; and 
 notwithstanding Bruce's plea of being nearer in 
 blood to Earl David, Baliol's claim, as the repre- 
 sentative of his mother and grandmother, would be 
 deemed incontestable. 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 pre- 
 judices 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 tho 
 miseries of a civil war, Edward was chosen umpire. 
 
10 THE HISTORY B. I. 
 
 and both parties agreed to acquiesce in his decree. 
 This had well nigh proved fatal to the indepen- 
 dence of Scotland ; and the nation, by its eager- 
 ness to guard against a civil war, was not only 
 exposed to that calamity, but almost subjected to 
 a foreign yoke. Edward was artful, brave, enter- 
 prising, and commanded a powerful and martial 
 people, at peace with the whole world. The anar- 
 chy which prevailed in Scotland, and the ambition 
 of competitors ready to sacrifice their country in 
 order to obtain even a dependent crown, invited 
 him first to seize and then to subject the kingdom. 
 The authority of an umpire, which had been unwa- 
 rily bestowed upon him, and from which the Scots 
 dreaded no dangerous consequences, 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 king- 
 dom, that he might be able to deliver it to him 
 whose right should be found preferable ; and such 
 was the pusillanimity of the nobles, and the impa- 
 tient 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, rinding Baliol the most 
 
OF SCOTLAND. 11 
 
 obsequious and the least formidable of the two 
 competitors, soon after gave judgment in his fa- 
 vour. Baliol once more professed himself the 
 vassal of England, and submitted to every condi- 
 tion which the Sovereign whom he had now ac- 
 knowledged 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 in- 
 dependence of their country, had reason to con- 
 clude that his dominion was now fully established. 
 But he began too soon to assume the master: his 
 new vassals, fierce and independent, bore with im- 
 patience a yoke to which they were not accusr 
 tomed. Provoked by his haughtiness, even the 
 passive spirit of Baliol began to mutiny. But Ed- 
 ward, who had no longer use for such a pageant 
 King, forced him to resign the crown, and openly 
 attempted 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 countrymen hath ascribed 
 many fabulous acts of prowess, though his real 
 valour, as well as integrity and wisdom, are such 
 as need not the heightenings of fiction. He, almost 
 single, ventured to take arms in defence of the 
 kingdom, and his boldness revived the spirit of his 
 countrymen. At last, Kobert Bruce, the grandson 
 of him who stood in competition with Baliol, ap- 
 peared 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 entered Scotland at the head of 
 
12 THE HISTORY B. t* 
 
 a mighty army. Many battles were fought, and 
 the Scots, though often vanquished, were not sub- 
 dued. The ardent zeal with which the nobles con- 
 tended for the independence of the kingdom, the 
 prudent valour of Bruce, and above all, a national 
 enthusiasm inspired by such a cause, baffled the 
 repeated efforts of Edward, and counterbalanced 
 all the advantages which he derived from the num- 
 ber and wealth of his subjects. Though the war 
 continued with little intermission upwards of se- 
 venty years, Bruce and his posterity kept possession 
 of the throne of Scotland, and reigned with an au- 
 thority not inferior to that of its former monarchs. 
 
 But while the sword, the ultimate judge of all 
 disputes between contending nations, was em- 
 ployed to terminate this controversy, neither Ed- 
 ward 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 un^- 
 answerable. The letters and memorials addressed 
 by each party to the Pope, who was then reve- 
 renced as the common father, and often appealed 
 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 which Edward founded his title 
 to the sovereignty of Scotland ; and the homage 
 done by the Scottish Monarchs for their lands in 
 England is preposterously supposed to imply the 
 subjection of their whole kingdom . Ill founded, 
 however, as their right was, the English did not 
 
 3 Anderson's Historical Essay concerning the Indepen 
 dencv. .Sc 
 
OF SCOTLAND. 13 
 
 fail to revive it, in all the subsequent quarrels be- 
 tween the two kingdoms ; while the Scots dis- 
 claimed it with the utmost indignation. To this 
 we must impute the fierce and implacable hatred 
 to each other, which long inflamed both. Their 
 national antipathies were excited, not only by the 
 usual circumstances of frequent hostilities, and re- 
 ciprocal 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 enslaving their country. 
 
 1306.] At the time when Robert Bruce began 
 his reign in Scotland, the same form of government 
 was established in all the kingdoms of Europe. 
 This surprising similarity in their constitution and 
 laws demonstrates that the nations which over- 
 turned the Roman empire, and erected these king- 
 doms, though divided into different tribes and dis- 
 tinguished 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 stupen- 
 dous 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 dominions, 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 Sove- 
 reign and their Liege Lord; we are apt to pro- 
 nounce him a powerful, nay, an absolute monarch, 
 
 VOL. I. C 
 
14 THE HISTORY B. I. 
 
 No conclusion, however, would be more rash, or 
 worse founded. The genius of the feudal govern- 
 ment was purely aristocratical. With all the en- 
 signs of royalty, and with many appearances of 
 despotic power, a feudal King was the most li- 
 mited of all Princes. 
 
 Before they sallied out of their own habitations 
 to conquer the world, many of the northern nations 
 seemed not to have been subject to the government 
 of Kings 4 ; and even where monarchical govern- 
 ment was established, the Prince possessed but 
 little authority. A General, rather than a King, 
 his military command was extensive, his civil juris- 
 diction almost nothing 5 . The army which he led 
 was not composed of soldiers, who could be com- 
 pelled to serve, but of such as voluntarily followed 
 his standard 6 . These conquered not for their 
 leader, but for themselves; and, being free in their 
 own country, renounced not their liberty when they 
 acquired new settlements. They did not exter- 
 minate the ancient inhabitants of the countries 
 which they subdued ; but, seizing the greater part 
 of their lands, they took their persons under pro- 
 tection. The difficulty of maintaining a new con- 
 quest, 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 ac- 
 customed in their native country. Their General 
 still continuing to be the head of the colony, part 
 of the conquered lands were allotted to him ; the 
 remainder, under the name of bencficia or fiefs, 
 
 4 Cks. lib. \\. c. 23. s Tacit, de Mor. Germ. c. 7. 11. 
 
 e Cas. lib. vi. c. 23. 
 
OF SCOTLAND. 15 
 
 was divided among 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 themselves to take the 
 field, when called, and to serve him with a number 
 of men, in proportion to the extent of their terri- 
 tory. These great officers again parceled 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 es- 
 tablished, and the possession of land was the pay 
 which soldiers received for their personal service. 
 In consequence of these notions, the possession of 
 land was granted during pleasure only, and Kings 
 were elective. In other words, an officer disagree- 
 able 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 
 century, the feudal system had undergone many 
 changes, of which the following were the most con- 
 siderable. Kings, formerly elective, were then he- 
 reditary ; 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 spirit of the feudal constitu- 
 tion. The King, who at a distance seemed to be 
 invested with majesty and power, appears on a 
 nearer view to possess almost none of those advan- 
 tages which bestow on monarchs their grandeur and 
 authority. His revenues were scanty; he had not 
 
16 THE HISTORY B. I. 
 
 a standing army; and the jurisdiction he possessed 
 was circumscribed within very narrow limits. 
 
 At a time when pomp and splendour were little 
 known, 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 soldiers who served with- 
 out pay ; it was not necessary that a King should 
 possess a great revenue ; nor did the condition of 
 Europe, in those ages, allow its Princes to be 
 opulent. Commerce made little progress in the 
 kingdoms where the feudal government was esta- 
 blished. Institutions which had no other object 
 but to inspire a martial spirit, to train men to be 
 soldiers, and to make arms the only honourable 
 profession, naturally discouraged the commercial 
 arts. The revenues, arising from the taxes imposed 
 on the different branches of commerce, were by 
 consequence inconsiderable ; and the Prince's trea- 
 sury received little supply from a source, which, 
 among a trading people, flows with such abun- 
 dance as is almost inexhaustible. A fixed tax 
 was not levied even on land : such a burden would 
 have appeared intolerable to men who received 
 their estates as the reward of their valour, and 
 who considered 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 re- 
 tained in his own hands unalienated, furnished sub- 
 sistence to his court, and defrayed the ordinary 
 expense of government'. The only stated taxes 
 which the feudal law obliged vassals to pay to the 
 
 7 Craig, de Feud. lib. i. Dieg. 14. Du Cange Gloss, vqc, 
 Poinimcuiii. 
 
OF SCOTLAND. 17 
 
 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 
 married ; 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, &c. 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 will 8 . All these 
 added together produced a revenue so scanty and 
 precarious as naturally incited a feudal monarch 
 to aim at diminishing the exorbitant power and 
 wealth of the nobility, which, instead of enabling him 
 to carry on his schemes with full effect, kept him in 
 continual indigence, anxiety, and dependence. 
 
 Nor could the King supply the defect of his 
 revenues by the terror of his arms. Mercenary 
 troops and standing armies were unknown as long 
 as the feudal government subsisted in vigour. Eu- 
 rope 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 
 IVinces prevented them from fortifying their fron- 
 tier towns, while a campaign continued but a few 
 weeks, and while a fierce and impetuous courage 
 was impatient to bring every quarrel to the deci- 
 sion 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, however, far from being an engine 
 at the King's disposal, was often no less formi- 
 
 8 Du Cange, voc. Auxiliura. 
 
 c 2 
 
18 THE HISTORY B. I. 
 
 dable to him than to his enemies. The more war- 
 like any people were, the more independent they 
 became ; and the same persons being both soldiers 
 and subjects, civil privileges and immunities were 
 the consequence of their victories, and the reward 
 of their martial exploits. Conquerors, whom mer- 
 cenary armies, under our present forms of govern- 
 ment, often render the tyrants of their own people, 
 as well as the scourges of mankind, were com- 
 monly under the feudal constitution the most indul- 
 gent of all Princes to their subjects, because they 
 stood most in need of their assistance. A Prince, 
 whom even war and victories did not render the 
 master of his own army, possessed hardly any 
 shadow of military power during times of peace. 
 His disbanded soldiers mingled with his other sub- 
 jects; 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 
 authority of the King continued always feeble, and 
 was often contemptible. 
 
 Nor were these the only circumstances which 
 contributed towards depressing the regal power. 
 By the feudal system, as has been already observed, 
 the King's judicial authority was extremely circum- 
 scribed. At first, Princes seem to have been the 
 supreme judges of their people, and, in person, 
 heard and determined all controversies anions; 
 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 
 jurisdiction. But the barbarians, who overran 
 Europe, having destroyed most of the great cities, 
 and the countries which they seized being can- 
 
OF SCOTLAND. 19 
 
 toned out among powerful chiefs, who were blindly- 
 followed by numerous dependents, whom, in re- 
 turn, they were bound to protect from every injury ; 
 the administration of justice was greatly inter- 
 rupted, and the execution of any legal sentence 
 became almost impracticable. Theft, rapine, mur- 
 der, and disorder of all kinds prevailed in every 
 kingdom of Europe, to a degree almost incredible, 
 and scarcely 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 criminal often re- 
 quired the union and effort of half a kingdom 9 . In 
 order to remedy these evils, many persons of dis- 
 tinction were intrusted with the administration of 
 
 9 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 bor- 
 ders, the inhabitants of no less than eleven counties were sum- 
 moned to guard the person who was to act as judge, aud to enable 
 him to enforce his decisions. The words of a proclamation, 
 which afford such 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 concurrence of a good power of her faithful sub- 
 jects — 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 substantial manner, [i. e. com- 
 pletely 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 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 Scot- 
 land, 1US. 
 
20 THE HISTORY B. I. 
 
 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 Regalities. 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 appointed; 
 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 privi- 
 lege of ?epledging , remove the cause to his own 
 court, and even punish his vassal if he submitted 
 to a foreign jurisdiction 10 . Thus almost every 
 question, in which any person who resided on the 
 lands of the nobles was interested, being deter- 
 mined by judges appointed by the nobles them- 
 selves, 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 uuion. 
 The King was not only stripped of the authority 
 annexed to the person of a supreme judge, but his 
 revenue suffered no small diminution bv 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 id 
 power, the nobles rose towards independence. 
 Not satisfied with having obtained an hereditary 
 right to their fiefs, which they formerly held during 
 
 lu Craig, lib. iii. Dieg. 7. 
 
OF SCOTLAND. 21 
 
 pleasure, their ambition aimed at something bolder, 
 and, by introducing entails, endeavoured, as far as 
 human ingenuity and invention can reach that end, 
 to render their possessions unalienable and ever- 
 lasting. As they had full power to add to the in- 
 heritance 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 cha- 
 racters, ought to be appropriated to these. But 
 the son, however unworthy, could not bear to be 
 stripped of that appellation by which his father 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 
 audacious and more extravagant still remained. 
 The supreme 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 officers. But such was the pre- 
 posterous ambition of the nobles, and so success- 
 ful even in their wildest attempts to aggrandize 
 themselves, that in all the kingdoms where the 
 feudal institutions prevailed, most of the chief 
 
22 THE HISTORY B. I. 
 
 " officers of state were annexed to great families, 
 and held, like fiefs, by hereditary right. A per- 
 son whose undutiful behaviour rendered him odious 
 to his Prince, or whose incapacity exposed him to 
 the contempt 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 Chamberlain, High Steward, High Consta- 
 ble, 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 in- 
 struments for executing their boldest designs. That 
 portion of their lands, which they parceled out 
 among their followers, supplied them with a nume- 
 rous 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 
 Karl of Douglas, consisted of two thousand horse. 
 Those of the other nobles were magnificent and 
 formidable in proportion. Impatient of subordina- 
 tion, and forgetting their proper rank, such potent 
 and haughty barons were the rivals rather than the 
 
OF SCOTLAND. 23 
 
 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 exorbi- 
 tant ambition. 
 
 But, if the authority of the barons far exceeded 
 its proper bounds in the other nations of Europe, 
 we may affirm that the balance which ought to be 
 preserved between a King and his nobles was 
 almost entirely lost 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 genius of the 
 feudal government. Besides these, they possessed 
 advantages peculiar to themselves : the accidental 
 sources of their power were considerable ; and 
 singular circumstances concurred with the spirit of 
 the constitution to aggrandize them. To enume- 
 rate the most remarkable 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. 
 
 I. The nature of their country was one cause of 
 the power and independence of the Scottish nobi- 
 lity. Level and open countries are formed for ser- 
 vitude. The authority 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 obnoxious 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 independence. In 
 such places did the Scottish nobles usually fix 
 their residence. By retiring to his own castle, a 
 
24 THE HISTORY B. t. 
 
 mutinous baron could defy the power of his sove- 
 reign, it being almost impracticable to lead an 
 army, through a barren country, to places of diffi- 
 cult access to a single man. The same causes 
 which checked the progress of the Roman arms, 
 and rendered all the efforts of Edward I. abortive, 
 often protected the Scottish nobles from the ven- 
 geance of their Prince ; and ttaey owed their per- 
 sonal independence to those very mountains and 
 marshes which saved their country from being 
 conquered. 
 
 II. The want of great cities in Scotland con- 
 tributed not a little to increase the power of the 
 nobility, and to weaken that of the Prince. Where- 
 ever 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 subordination take 
 rise in cities : and where there are few cities, as in 
 Poland, or none, as in Tartary, there are 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 order to strengthen their influence over their 
 vassals, resided among them, and seldom ap- 
 peared 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 continual in- 
 roads 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 consequence of these peculiar circumstances. 
 
OF SCOTLAND. 2'p 
 
 added to the general causes flowing from the na- 
 ture of the feudal institutions, the towns in Scot- 
 land were extremely few, 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 seditious chief- 
 tain, or any whom he took under his protection, 
 they were all in arms for his defence, and obstruct- 
 ed 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 
 advantage, were not afraid to offend ; and the 
 difficulty of punishing almost assured them of im- 
 punity. 
 
 III. The division of the country into clans had 
 no small effect in rendering the nobles considerable. 
 The nations which overran Europe were originally 
 divided into many small tribes ; and when they 
 came to parcel out the lands which they had con- 
 quered, 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 toge- 
 ther, and were distinguished by some common 
 appellation, either patronymical or local, long be- 
 fore the introduction of surnames, or ejisigns armo- 
 rial. But when these became common, the de- 
 scendants and relations of every chieftain assumed 
 the same name and arms with him; other vassals 
 were proud to imitate their example, and by de- 
 grees they were communicated to all those who 
 held of the same superior. Thus clanships were 
 formed ; and in a generation or two, that consaa- 
 
 vol. i. D 
 
26 THE HISTORY B. I. 
 
 guinity, which was at first in a great measure ima- 
 ginary, 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 
 superior of their lands and the chief of their blood, 
 and served him not only with the fidelity of vas- 
 sals, but with the affection of friends. In the other 
 feudal kingdoms, we may observe such unions as 
 we have described, imperfectly formed ; but in 
 Scotland, whether they were the production of 
 chance, or the effect of policy, or introduced by 
 the Irish colony above mentioned, and strengthened 
 by carefully preserving their genealogies both ge- 
 nuine 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 
 kingdom, to dissolve associations which are founded 
 upon prejudices so natural to the human mind. 
 How formidable were nobles at the head of follow- 
 ers, 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 person or of his fame! Against 
 such men a King contended with great disadvan- 
 tage; and that cold service which money pur- 
 chases, or authority extorts, was not an equal match 
 for their ardour and zeal. 
 
 TV. The smallness of their number may be men- 
 tioned among the 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 posses- 
 sions of the nobles seem to have been extensive. 
 The ancient Thanes were the equals and the rivals 
 
OF SCOTLAND. 27 
 
 of their Prince. Many of the earls and barons, 
 who succeeded them, were masters of territories 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 
 overgrown proprietors. But the power of an aris- 
 tocracy always diminishes in proportion to the in- 
 crease of its numbers ; feeble if divided among a 
 multitude, irresistible if centred in a few. When 
 nobles are numerous, their operations nearly resem- 
 ble those of the people ; they are roused only by 
 what they feel, not by what they apprehend ; and 
 submit to many arbitrary and oppressive acts, be- 
 fore they take arms against their sovereign. A 
 small body, on the contrary, is more sensible and 
 more impatient ; quick in discerning, and prompt 
 in repelling danger, all its motions are as sudden 
 as those of the other are slow. Hence proceeded 
 the extreme jealousy with which the Scottish no- 
 bles observed their monarchs, and the fierceness 
 with which they opposed their encroachments, 
 liven the virtue of a prince did not render them 
 less vigilant, or less eager to defend their rights ; 
 and Robert Bruce, notwithstanding the splendour 
 of his victories, and the glory of his name, was 
 upon the point of experiencing the vigour of their 
 resistance, no less than his unpopular descendant 
 James III. Besides this, the near alliance 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 inte- 
 rested themselves in his quarrel as a common- 
 cause ; and every contest the King had, though 
 
28 THE HISTORY B. I. 
 
 with a single baron, soon drew upon him the arms 
 of a whole confederacy. 
 
 V. Those natural connexions, both with their 
 equals and with their inferiors, the Scottish nobles 
 strengthened by a device, which, if not peculiar to 
 themselves, was at least more frequent among 
 them than in any 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 other' 1 . 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 
 defensive against the throne ; and as their obliga- 
 tion was held to be more sacred than any tie what- 
 ever, they gave much umbrage to our Kings, and 
 contributed not a little to the power and indepen- 
 dence of the nobility. In the reign of James II. 
 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 for- 
 midable was this combination to the King, that he 
 1 ' Act 30, Pari. 1424. Act 43, Pai 1. 1$5$. 
 
OF SCOTLAND. 29 
 
 bad recourse to a measure no less violent than un- 
 just, in order to dissolve it. 
 
 VI. The frequent wars between England and 
 Scotland proved another cause of augmenting the 
 power of the nobility. Nature has placed no bar- 
 rier between the two kingdoms ; a river, almost 
 every where fordable, divides them towards the 
 east ; on the west they are separated by an imagi- 
 nary line. The slender revenues of our Kings pre- 
 vented them from fortifying or placing garrisons in 
 the towns on the frontier; nor would the jealousy 
 of their subjects have permitted such 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 perpetual 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 chieftain 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 
 nobles 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 bor- 
 derers. 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 
 
 D 2 
 
30 THE HISTORY B. I. 
 
 duty which they owed their sovereign, and to 
 aspire beyond the rank of subjects. 
 
 VII. The calamities which befel our Kings con- 
 tributed more than any other cause to diminish the 
 royal authority. Never was any race of monarchs 
 so unfortunate as the Scottish. Of six successive 
 Princes, from Robert III. to James VI., not one 
 died a natural death ; and the minorities, during 
 that time, were longer and more frequent than 
 ever happened in any other kingdom. From Ro- 
 bert Bruce to James VI. 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- 
 ment in Scotland these effects were still more fatal ; 
 the tierce and mutinous spirit of the nobles, unre- 
 strained by the authority of a King, scorned all 
 subjection to the delegated jurisdiction of a Re- 
 gent, or to the feeble commands of a minor. The 
 royal authority was circumscribed within nar- 
 rower limits than ever ; the prerogatives of the 
 crown, naturally inconsiderable, were reduced al- 
 most to nothing ; and the aristocratical power gra- 
 dually 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 an- 
 nexed to that office was sometimes rendered incon- 
 siderable 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 diguity. It was often conferred upon men 
 
OF SCOTLAND. ;>I 
 
 vho possessed little influence, and excited no jea- 
 lousy. They, conscious of their own weakness, 
 were obliged to overlook some irregularities, and 
 to permit others; and, in order to support their au- 
 thority, which was destitute of real strength, they 
 endeavoured to gain the most powerful and active 
 barons, by granting them possessions and immu- 
 nities, 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 independence 
 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 mino- 
 rity, or to wrest from them what they had usurped 
 during that time. If we take a view of what hap- 
 pened to each of our Kings, who was so unfortu- 
 nate as to be placed in this situation, the truth and 
 importance of this observation will fully appear. 
 
 The minority of David II. the son of Robert 
 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, invaded the kingdom. The success which 
 at first attended 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 ot their ancient privileges ; 
 
32 THE HISTORY B. I. 
 
 and even some title to arrogate new ones. It 
 seems to have been a maxim in that age [1320], 
 that every leader might claim as his own the terri- 
 tory 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 distributing among such as 
 adhered to him the vast possessions 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, augmented 
 both its power and its property during his mino- 
 rity. 
 
 1405]. James I. was seized by the English 
 during the continuance of a truce, and ungene- 
 rously detained a prisoner almost nineteen years. 
 During that period the kingdom was governed, 
 tirst by his uncle Robert, Duke of Albany, and 
 then by Murdo, the son of Robert. Both these 
 noblemen aspired to the crown ; and their unna- 
 tural ambition, if we may believe most of our his- 
 torians, not only cut short the days of Prince 
 David, the King's eldest 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 
 Kiug's return as the extinction of their authority 
 and the end of their hopes, they carried on the ne- 
 gotiations for obtaining his liberty with extreme re- 
 missness. At the same time they neglected nothing 
 that could either sooth or bribe the nobles to ap- 
 prove of their scheme. They slackened the reins 
 of government ; they allowed the prerogative to be 
 encroached upon ; they suffered the most irregular 
 acts of power, and even wanton instances of op- 
 
OF SCOTLAND. S3 
 
 pression, 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 authority to a state 
 of imbecility, from which succeeding monarchs la- 
 boured in vain to raise it. 
 
 1437]. During -the minority of James II. the 
 administration 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 au- 
 thority, 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 divi- 
 sions, erected a sort of independent principality 
 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. 
 
 14(J0]. Eight persons were chosen to govern the 
 kingdom during the minority of James III. Lord 
 Boyd, however, by seizing the person of the young 
 King, and by the ascendant which he acquired over 
 him, soon engrossed 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 bis family, 
 
34 THE HISTORY B. f. 
 
 according to the fate of favourites, was sudden and 
 destructive ; but upon its ruins the family of Ha- 
 milton rose, which soon attained the highest rank 
 in the kingdom. 
 
 As the minority of James V. was longer, it was 
 likewise more turbulent than those of the preced- 
 ing Kings. And the contending nobles, encou- 
 raged or protected either by the King of France 
 or of England, formed themselves into more regu- 
 lar factions, and disregarded more than ever the 
 restraints of order and authority. The French had 
 the advantage of seeing one, devoted to their inte- 
 rest, raised to be Regent. This was the Duke 
 of Albany, a native of France, and a grandson of 
 James II. But Alexander Lord Home, the most 
 eminent of all Scottish peers who survived the fatal 
 battle of Flowden, thwarted all his measures during 
 the first years of his administration ; and the in- 
 trigues of the Queen Dowager, sister of Henry 
 VIII. 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 
 several times to enter England, to the borders of 
 which kingdom he had led them. Provoked by 
 these repeated 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 Angus, 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 numerous vas- 
 sals and friends of his family adhered to him, be- 
 cause he divided with them the power and emolu- 
 
OF SCOTLAND. 3<J 
 
 ments of his office ; the people reverenced and 
 loved the name of Douglas ; he exercised, without 
 the title of Regent, a fuller and more absolute au-* 
 thority 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 
 unobserved by us, did the Scottish nobility owe 
 that exorbitant and uncommon power, of which in- 
 stances occur so frequently in our history. Nothing, 
 however, demonstrates 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, every where, shaken or laid 
 it in ruins, the foundations of that ancient fabric 
 remained, in a great measure, firm and untouched 
 in Scotland. 
 
 The powers which the feudal institutions vested 
 in the nobles soon became intolerable to all the 
 Princes of Europe, who longed to possess some- 
 thing more than a nominal and precarious autho- 
 rity. Their impatience to obtain this precipitated 
 J I (Miry ITT. of England, Edward II. and some 
 other weak Princes, into rash and premature at- 
 tempts against the privileges of the barons, in which 
 they were disappointed or perished. 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 evaporate in fo- 
 reign expeditions which, if they brought no other 
 advantage, secured at least domestic tranquillity. 
 But time and accidents ripened the feudal govern- 
 ments for destruction. Towards the end of the 
 
88 THE HISTORV B. I. 
 
 fifteenth century, and beginning of the sixteenth, 
 all the Princes of Europe attacked, as if by con- 
 cert, the power of their nobles. Men of genius 
 then undertook with success what their unskilful 
 predecessors had attempted in vain. Louis XI. 
 of France, the most profound and the most adven- 
 turous genius of that age began, and in a single 
 reign almost completed the scheme of their de- 
 struction. The sure but concealed policy of Henry 
 VII. of England, produced the same effect. The 
 means, indeed, employed by these monarchs were 
 very different. The blow which Louis struck was 
 sudden and fatal. The artifices of Henry resem- 
 bled those slow poisons which waste the constitu- 
 tion but become not mortal till some distant period. 
 Nor did they produce consequences less opposite. 
 Louis 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 legislature unknown to their prede- 
 cessors. But while these great revolutions were 
 carrying on in two kingdoms with which Scotland 
 was intimately connected, little alteration happened 
 there; our Kings could neither extend their own 
 prerogative nor enable the commons to encroach 
 upon the aristocracy ; the nobles not only retained 
 most of their ancient privileges and possessions, 
 but continued to make new acquisitions. 
 
 This was not owing to the inattention of our 
 Princes, or to their want of ambition. They were 
 abundantly sensible of the exorbitant power of the 
 nobility, and extremely solicitous to humble that 
 order. They did not, however, possess means suf- 
 ficient for accomplishing this end. The resources- 
 
OF SCOTLAND. 37 
 
 of our monarchs were tew, and the progress which 
 they made was of course inconsiderable. But as 
 the number of their followers, and the extent of 
 their jurisdiction, were the two chief circumstances 
 which rendered the nobles formidable ; in order to 
 counterbalance the one, and to restrain the other, 
 all our Kings had recourse to nearly the same ex- 
 pedients. 
 
 I. Among nobles of a fierce courage and of un- 
 polished manners, surrounded with vassals bold 
 and licentious, whom they were bound by interest 
 and honour to protect, the causes of discord were 
 many and unavoidable. As the contending parties 
 could seldom agree in acknowledging the authority 
 of any common superior or judge, and their impa- 
 tient spirit would seldom 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 shed the blood of 
 his enemies. To forgive an injury was mean ; to 
 forbear revenge infamous or cowardly 12 . Hence 
 
 12 The spirit of revenue was encouraged, not onlv by the man- 
 ners, I > 1 ■ t , what is more remarkable, bv the laws of those ages. If 
 imy person thought the prosecution of an injury offered to his 
 family tun troublesome or too dangerous, the Saliqoe laws per- 
 mitted him publiriyto desist from demanding vengeance; but 
 the same laws, in order to punish his cowardice and want of 
 affection to bis family, deprived him of the ri^bt of succession. 
 Hena alt's Abrege Chronol. p. 81. Amont; the Anglo-Saxons we 
 find a singular institution distinguished by the name of soda' 
 Hi him; a voluntary association, the object whereof was the per- 
 sonal security of those \\ bo joined in it, and which the feebleness 
 of government at that time rendered necessary. Among other 
 regulations, which are contained in one of these still extant, the 
 following deserves noti'-e : " If any associate shall either eat or 
 drink with a person who lias killed any member of the aodalitium, 
 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." Ilickes, Dissert. Epistolar. apud Tbesaur. Ling. 
 Septentr. vol. i. p. 21 . 
 
 VOL. I. E 
 
38 THE HISTORY B. I. 
 
 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 ex- 
 tinguish these quarrels ; and by scattering or che- 
 rishing the seeds of discord among the nobles, that 
 union, which would have rendered the aristocracy 
 invincible, and which must at once have annihilated 
 the prerogative, 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 public laws, and 
 arming against the person who had incurred their 
 displeasure those rival families which wished his 
 fall, they rewarded their service by sharing among 
 them the spoils of the vanquished. But this ex- 
 pedient, though it served to humble individuals, 
 did not weaken the body of the nobility. Those 
 who were now the instruments 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 fluc- 
 tuation of power and of property ; though old fa- 
 milies fell, and new ones rose upon their ruins ; 
 the rights of the aristocracy remained entire, and 
 its vigour unbroken. 
 
 II. As the administration of justice is one of 
 the most powerful ties between a King and his 
 subjects, all our Monarchs were at the utmost pains 
 to circumscribe the jurisdiction of the barons, and 
 to extend that of the crown. The external forms 
 of subordination natural to the feudal system fa- 
 voured this attempt. An appeal lay from the 
 judges and courts of the barons to those of the 
 
OF SCOTLAND. 39 
 
 King. The right, however, of judging in the first 
 instance belonged to the nobles, and they easily 
 found means to defeat the effects of appeals, as 
 well as of many other feudal regulations. The 
 royal jurisdiction was almost confined within the 
 narrow limits of the King's demesnes, beyond 
 which his judges claimed indeed much authority, 
 but possessed next to none. Our Kings were sen- 
 sible of these limitations, and bore them with im- 
 patience. 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 I. led the way 
 here, as well as in other instances, towards a more 
 regular and perfect police. He made choice, among 
 the estates of parliament, of a certain number of 
 persons, whom he distinguished by the names of 
 Lords of Session, and appointed 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 cog- 
 nizance of the King's council, and, being a com- 
 mittee of parliament, their decisions were final. 
 James II. obtained a law, annexing all regalities 
 which should be forfeited to the crown, and declar- 
 ing the right of jurisdiction to be unalienable for 
 the future. James III. imposed severe penalties 
 upon those judges appointed by the barons, whose 
 decisions should be found on a review to be un- 
 just; and, by many other regulations, endeavoured 
 
40 THE HISTORY B. I. 
 
 to extend the authority of his own court 13 . James 
 IV. on pretence of remedying - the inconveniences 
 arising from the short terms of the Court of Session, 
 appointed other judges called Lords of Daily Coun- 
 cil. The Session was an ambulatory court, and 
 met seldom ; the Daily Council was fixed, and 
 sat constantly at Edinburgh ; and, though not com- 
 posed of members of parliament, the same powers 
 which the Lords of Session enjoyed were vested 
 in it. At last James V. erected a new court that 
 still subsists, and which he named the College of 
 Justice, the judges or Senators of which were 
 called Lords of Council and Session. This court 
 not only exercised the same jurisdiction which for- 
 merly 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 it 14 . 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 be- 
 came the objects of confidence and of veneration. 
 Men willingly submitted their property to their de- 
 termination, and their encroachments on the juris- 
 dictions of the nobles were popular, and for that 
 reason successful. By devices of a similar nature, 
 (he jurisdiction of the nobles in criminal causes 
 was restrained, and the authority of the Court of 
 
 » a Act 20. P. 1 169. Act 94. P. 1493. Act 99. P. 1487. 
 M Keith, A pp. 7/3, fiep. 
 
OF SCOTLAND. 41 
 
 Justiciary extended. The crown, in this parti- 
 cular, gaining insensibly upon the nobles, reco- 
 vered more ample authority ; and the King, whose 
 jurisdiction once resembled that of a baron rather 
 than that of a sovereign 15 , came more and more to 
 
 15 The most perfect idea of the feudal system of government 
 may be attained by attending to the state of German) 1 , 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 couutry in 
 Europe, to trace its rise, its progress, and revolutions. In Ger- 
 many every principality may be considered as a fief, and all its 
 great princes as vassals, holding of the Emperor. They pos- 
 sess 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 powers small ; 
 his jurisdiction within his own demesnes 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 re- 
 mains, and ideas peculiar to that form of government direct all 
 its operations, and determine the rights of all its princes. Our 
 observations, with regard to the limited jurisdiction of kings un- 
 der the feudal governments, are greatly illustrated by what hap- 
 pened 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 
 Comte 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 
 (irands Jiaillis, or royal judges : all the other lands, towns, and 
 bailliages, 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. He- 
 naalt's Abrege, p. G17, &c. De ['Esprit des Loix, liv. xxx. ch. 
 20, &C. 
 
 E2 
 
42 THE HISTORY B. I. 
 
 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 re- 
 mained in great vigour; and their final abolition 
 was reserved to a distant and more happy period. 
 
 But besides these methods of defending their 
 prerogative and humbling the aristocracy, which 
 may be considered as common to all our Princes, 
 we shall find, by taking a view of their reigns, 
 that almost every one of our Kings, from Robert 
 Bruce to James V. had formed some particular 
 system for depressing the authority of the nobles, 
 which was the object both of their jealousy and 
 terror. This conduct of our monarchs, if we rest 
 satisfied with the accounts of their historians, must 
 be considered as flowing entirely from their resent- 
 ment 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, neces- 
 sarily occasioned great variety in their schemes ; 
 yet, without being chargeable with excessive re- 
 finement, we may affirm that their end was uni- 
 formly the same; and that the project of reducing 
 the power of the aristocracy, sometimes avowed 
 and pursued with vigour, sometimes concealed or 
 seemingly suspended, was never altogether aban- 
 doned. 
 
 No Prince was ever more indebted to his nobles 
 than Robert Bruce. Their valour conquered the 
 
OF SCOTLAND. 43 
 
 kingdom, and placed him on the throne. His gra- 
 titude and generosity bestowed on them the lands 
 of the vanquished. Property has seldom under- 
 gone greater or more sudden revolutions than those 
 to which it was subject at that time in Scotland. 
 Edward I. 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 unavoid- 
 able ; and many possessed their lands by titles 
 extremely defective. During one of those truces 
 between the two nations, occasioned rather by their 
 being weary of war than desirous of peace, Robert 
 formed a scheme for checking the growing power 
 and wealth of the nobles. He summoned them to 
 appear and to show 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, not- 
 withstanding Robert's popular and splendid vir- 
 tues, it occasioned a dangerous conspiracy against 
 his life. 
 
 David his son, at first an exile in France, after- 
 ward a prisoner in England, and involved in con- 
 tinual war with Edward III. had not leisure to 
 attend to the internal police of his kingdom, or to 
 think of retrenching the privileges of the nobility. 
 
 Our historians have been more careful to relate 
 the military than the civil transactions of the reign 
 of Robert 11. Skirmishes and inroads of little 
 
44 THE HISTORY B. I. 
 
 consequence they describe minutely : but with re- 
 gard to every thing that happened during several 
 years of tranquillity, they are altogether silent. 
 
 The feeble administration of Robert III. must 
 likewise be passed over slightly. A Prince of a 
 mean genius, and of a frail and sickly constitu- 
 tion, was not a fit person to enter the lists with 
 active and martial barons, or to attempt wresting 
 from them any of their rights. 
 
 The civil transactions in Scotland are better 
 known since the beginning of the reign of James I. 
 and a complete series of our laws supplies the de- 
 fects 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 residence in England, he had an 
 opportunity of observing the feudal system in a 
 more advanced state, and refined 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 govern- 
 ment; wise laws enacted; and a nation flourishing 
 and happy, because all ranks of men were accus- 
 tomed to obey them. Full of these ideas, he re- 
 turned 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 patri- 
 mony and revenues of the crown were almost to- 
 tally alienated. During his long absence the name 
 of King was little known, and less regarded. The 
 license of many years had rendered the nobles inde- 
 pendent. Universal anarchy prevailed. The weak 
 were exposed to the rapine and oppression of the 
 
OF SCOTLAND. 45 
 
 strong. Iii every corner some barbarous chieftain 
 ruled at pleasure, and neither feared the King nor 
 pitied the people 16 . 
 
 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 ap- 
 plied the gentler and less offensive remedy of laws 
 and statutes. In a parliament held immediately 
 after his return, he gained the confidence of his 
 people by many wise laws, tending visibly to re- 
 establish, order, tranquillity, and justice in the 
 kingdom. But at the same time that he endea- 
 voured to secure these blessings to his subjects, he 
 discovered his intention to recover those posses- 
 sions of which the crown had been unjustly be- 
 reaved ; and for that purpose obtained an act by 
 which he was empowered to summon such as had 
 obtained crown lands during the three last reigns, 
 to produce the rights by which they held them 17 . 
 As this statute threatened the property of the 
 nobles, another which passed in a subsequent par- 
 liament 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 unlaw- 
 ful 18 . Encouraged by this success in the begin- 
 ning of his enterprise, James's next step was still 
 
 16 A coteuiporary monkish writer describes these calamities 
 very feelingly in his rude Latin : " In diebus illis, non erat lex 
 in Scotia, sed quilibet potentiorum juniorem oppressit ; et totum 
 regnum fuit unum latrocinium; homicidia, deprsedationes, incen- 
 dia, et camera maleficia remanserunt impunita ; et justitia rele- 
 gata extra terminos regni exulavit." Chartular. Morav. apud 
 Innes Essay, vol. i. p. 272. 
 
 17 Act 'J.* P. 1421. IH Act 30. P. 1124. 
 
46 THE HISTORY B. I. 
 
 bolder and more decisive. During the sitting of 
 parliament he seized, at once, his cousin Murdo, 
 duke of Albany, and his sons; the Earls of Doug- 
 las, Lennox, Angus, March, and above twenty 
 other peers and barons of prime rank. To all of 
 them, however, he was immediately reconciled, 
 except 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 terror, and their for- 
 feiture added considerable 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 sup- 
 pressed. The splendour and presence of a King, 
 to which the great men had been long unaccus- 
 tomed, inspired reverence : James was a Prince of 
 great abilities, and conducted his operations with 
 much prudence. He was in friendship with Eng- 
 land, and closely allied with the French King : he 
 was adored by the people, who enjoyed unusual 
 security and happiness under his administration : 
 and all his acquisitions, however fatal to the body 
 of the nobles, had been gained by attacks upon 
 individuals ; were obtained by decisions of law, 
 and, being founded on circumstances peculiar to 
 the persons who suffered, might excite murmurs 
 and apprehensions, but afforded no colourable pre- 
 text for a general rebellion. It was not so with 
 
OF SCOTLAND. 47 
 
 the next attempt which the King- made. Encou- 
 raged 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 show 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 III. 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 trea- 
 son, 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 obtained, 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 subjected to 
 the review of courts of law, whose forms of pro- 
 ceeding and jurisdiction were in a martial age 
 little known, and extremely odious. Terror 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 senti- 
 ments among the nobles encouraged a few despe- 
 
48 THE HISTORY B. I. 
 
 rate men, the friends or followers of those who 
 had been the chief sufferers under the King's ad- 
 ministration, to form a conspiracy against his life. 
 The first uncertain intelligence of this was brought 
 him while he lay in his camp before Roxburgh 
 Castle. He durst not confide in nobles, to whom 
 he had given so many causes of disgust, but in- 
 stantly dismissed them and their vassals, and re- 
 tiring 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 the per- 
 sons 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 misfortune 
 of James, that his maxims and manners were too 
 refined for the age in which he lived. Happv ! 
 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 because he had attempted too much, a 
 grateful people would have applauded and se- 
 conded his efforts to reform and improve them. 
 
 Crichton, the most able man of those who had 
 the direction of affairs during the minority of James 
 II. had been the minister of James I. and well 
 acquainted with his resolution of humbling the no- 
 bility. He did not relinquish tho design, and he 
 endeavoured to inspire his pupil with ihe same sen- 
 timents. But what .lames had attempted to effect 
 
OF SCOTLAND. 4D 
 
 slowly and bv legal means, his son and Crichton 
 pursued with the impetuosity natural to Scotsmen, 
 and with the fierceness peculiar to that age. Wil- 
 liam, the sixth Earl of Douglas, was the first vic- 
 tim to their barbarous policy. That young noble- 
 man (as we have already observed), contemning the 
 authority of an infant Prince, almost openly re- 
 nounced his allegiance, and aspired to indepen- 
 dence. Crichton, too high spirited to bear such an 
 insult, but too weak to curb or bring to justice so 
 powerful an offender, decoyed him by many pro- 
 mises to an interview 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 uni- 
 versally odious. William, the eighth Earl of Doug- 
 las, was no less powerful, and no less formidable 
 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 credulitv 
 led him into the same snare which had been fatal 
 to the former Earl. Belying on the King's pro- 
 mises, who had now attained to the years of man- 
 hood, and having obtained a safe conduct under 
 the great seal, he ventured to meet him in Stirling 
 Castle. James urged him to dissolve that dan- 
 gerous confederacy into which he had entered ; the 
 Earl obstinately refused. " If you will not," said 
 the enraged Monarch, drawing his dagger, " this 
 shall;" and stabbed him to the heart. An action 
 so unworthy of a King filled the nation with asto- 
 nishment and with horror. The Earl's vassals ran 
 to arms with the utmost, fury, and dragging tin 
 safe conduct, which the King had granted and 
 VOL. i. f 
 
50 THE HISTORY B. I. 
 
 violated, at a horse's tail, they marched toward? 
 Stirling, burned the town, and threatened to besiege 
 the castle. An accommodation however ensued; 
 on what terms is not known. But the King's jea- 
 lousy, and the new Earl's power and resentment, 
 prevented 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 borderers, was far superior to the King's 
 both in number and in valour ; and a single battle 
 must, in all probability, have decided whether the 
 house of Stuart or of Douglas was henceforth to 
 possess the throne of Scotland. 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, convinced 
 of his want of genius to improve an opportunity, 
 or of his want of courage to seize a crown, de- 
 serted him that very night. This example was 
 followed by many ; and the Earl, despised or for- 
 saken by all, was soon driven out of the kingdom, 
 and obliged to depend for his subsistence on the 
 friendship of the King of England. The ruin of 
 this great family, which had so long rivaled and 
 overawed the crown, and the terror with which 
 such an example of unsuccessful ambition filled the 
 nobles, secured the King, for some time, from op- 
 position ; and the royal authority remained uncon- 
 trolled and almost absolute. James did not suffer 
 this favourable interval to pass unimproved ; he 
 procured the consent of parliament to laws more 
 advantageous to the prerogative, and more subver- 
 sive of the privileges of the aristocracy, than were 
 ever obtained by any former or subsequent mo- 
 narch of Scotland. 
 
OF SCOTLAND. 51 
 
 By one of these, not only all the vast posses- 
 sions of the Earl of Douglas were annexed to the 
 crown, but all prior and future alienations of crown 
 lands were declared 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 them 19 . 
 A dreadful instrument of oppression in the hands 
 of a Prince ! 
 
 Another law prohibited the wardenship of the 
 marches to be granted hereditarily ; restrained, in 
 several instances, the jurisdiction of that office ; 
 and extended the authority of the King's courts- . 
 
 By a third, it was enacted that no Regality, or 
 exclusive right of administering justice within a 
 man's own lands, should be granted in time to 
 come, without the consent of parliament 21 ; a con- 
 dition which implied almost an express prohibition. 
 Those nobles who already possessed that great 
 privilege would naturally be solicitous to prevent 
 it from becoming common, by being bestowed on 
 many. Those who had not themselves attained it 
 would envy others the acquisition of such a flatter- 
 ing distinction, and both would concur in rejecting 
 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 22 . 
 
 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, 
 
 19 Act 11. P. 1 155. °° Ibid. Act. 12. 
 
 21 Act 43. P. 1455. "Act 11. 
 
5*2 THE HISTORY B. I. 
 
 occasioned by the splinter of a cannon which burst 
 near him at the siege of Roxburgh, prevented his 
 progress, he wanted neither genius 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 III. 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 favourites, and hardly 
 any but they approached his person or were enti- 
 tled to his regard. But James, who both feared 
 and hated his nobles, kept them at an unusual dis- 
 tance, and bestowed every mark of confidence and 
 affection upon a few mean persons, of professions 
 so dishonourable as ought to have rendered them 
 unworthy 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 power and favour of these mi- 
 nions with indignation. Even the sanguinary mea- 
 sures of his father provoked them less than his 
 neglect. Individuals alone suffered by the former; 
 by the latter, every man thought himself injured 
 because all were contemned. Their discontent 
 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 
 
OF SCOTLAND. 53 
 
 timing his minority. Combinations among them- 
 selves, 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 ambitious spirits, and 
 incensed against James, who treated them with the 
 same coldness as he did the other great men, en- 
 tered deeply into all their cabals. The King de- 
 tected their designs before they were ripe for exe- 
 cution, and, seizing his two brothers, committed the 
 Duke of Albany to Edinburgh Castle. The Earl 
 of Mar, having remonstrated with too much bold- 
 ness against the King's conduct, was murdered, if 
 we may believe our historians, by his command. 
 Albany, apprehensive 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 motives which first 
 induced him to join the malcontents. 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 injuries, soon inspired Albany with more am- 
 bitious and criminal thoughts. He concluded a 
 treaty with Edward IV. of England, in which he 
 assumed the name of Alexander King of Scots ; 
 and, in return for the assistance which was pro- 
 mised him towards dethroning his brother, he 
 bound himself, as soon as he was put in possession 
 of the kingdom, to swear fealty and do homage to 
 the English monarch, to renounce the ancient alli- 
 ance with France, to contract a new one with 
 
 F 2 
 
54 THE HISTORY B. I. 
 
 England, and to surrender some of the strongest 
 castles and most valuable counties in Scotland 23 . 
 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 Gloucester with a powerful army con- 
 ducted him towards Scotland. The danger of a 
 foreign invasion obliged James to implore the as- 
 sistance of those nobles whom he had so long 
 treated with contempt. Some of them were in 
 close confederacy with the Duke of Albany, and 
 approved of all his pretensions. Others were im- 
 patient 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 24 , and took the field at the 
 head of a powerful army of their followers, but with 
 a stronger disposition to redress their own griev- 
 ances than to annoy the enemy ; and with a fixed 
 resolution of punishing those minions whose inso- 
 lence they could no longer tolerate. This resolu- 
 tion they executed in the camp near Lauder, with 
 a military dispatch and rigour. Having previously 
 concerted their plan, the Earls of Angus, lluntly, 
 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 
 
 23 Abercr. Mart. Atch. vol. ii. p. 443. 
 -' Black Acts, fol. GJ. 
 
OF SCOTLAND. 5 t > 
 
 mason ; Hommil, a tailor; Leonard, a smith; 
 Rogers, a musician ; and Torsifan, a fencing mas- 
 ter. So despicable a retinue discovers the capri- 
 ciousness of James's character, and accounts for 
 tliu indignation of the nobles when they beheld the 
 favour due to them bestowed on such unworthy 
 objects. 
 
 James had no reason to coniide in an army so 
 little under his command, and, dismissing it, shut 
 himself up in the castle of Edinburgh. After vari- 
 ous intrigues, Albany's lauds and honours were at 
 length restored to him, and he seemed even to 
 have regained his brother's favour by some impor- 
 tant services. But their friendship was not of long 
 duration. James abandoned himself once more to 
 the guidance of favourites ; and the fate of those 
 who had suffered at Lauder did not deter others 
 from courting that dangerous preeminence. Al- 
 bany, on pretext that an attempt had been made to 
 take away his life by poison, fled from court, and, 
 retiring 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 An- 
 gus openly negotiated that infamous treaty ; other 
 barons were ready to concur with it; and if the 
 sudden death of Edward had not prevented Alba- 
 ny's receiving any aid from England, the crown of 
 Scotland would probably have been the reward 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 na- 
 
66 THE HISTORY B. I. 
 
 tive country. Emboldened by his retreat, the King 
 and his ministers multiplied the insults which they 
 offered to the nobility. A standing guard, a thing 
 unknown under the feudal governments, and incon- 
 sistent with the familiarity and confidence with 
 which monarchs then lived amidst their nobles, 
 was raised for the King's defence, and the com- 
 mand of it given to Ramsay, lately created Earl of 
 Bothwell, the same person who had so narrowly 
 escaped when his companions were put to death 
 at Lauder. As if this precaution had not been suf- 
 ficient, a proclamation was issued, forbidding any 
 person to appear in arms within the precincts of 
 the court 25 ; which, at a time when no man of rank 
 left his own house without a numerous retinue of 
 armed followers, was, in effect, debarring the no- 
 bles 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, devolved 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 fifteen, to set him- 
 self at their head, they openly declared their inten- 
 tion 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 Ban- 
 nockburn ; but the valour of the borderers, of whom 
 the army of the malcontents was chiefly composed, 
 soon put his troops to flight, and he himself was 
 slain in the pursuit. Suspicion, indolence, immo- 
 derate attachment to favourites, and all the vices 
 
 25 Ferrcrius, 398. 
 
OF SCOTLAND. 57 
 
 of a feeble mind, are visible in his whole conduct; 
 but the character of a cruel and unrelenting tyrant 
 seems to be unjustly affixed to him by our histo- 
 rians. His neglect of the nobles irritated, but did 
 not weaken them ; and their discontent, the immo- 
 derate ambition of his two brothers, and their un- 
 natural confederacies with England, were sufficient 
 to have disturbed a more vigorous administration, 
 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 terror of the sentence of excommu- 
 nication which the Pope pronounced against them, 
 obliged them to use their victory with great mode- 
 ration and humanity. Being conscious how detes- 
 table 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 loy- 
 alty and duty towards the son. They placed him 
 instantly on the throne, and the whole kingdom 
 soon united in acknowledging his authority. 
 
 James IV. was naturally generous and brave ; 
 he felt in a high degree all the passions which 
 animate a young and noble mind. Me loved mag- 
 nificence, he delighted in war, and was eager to 
 obtain fame. During his reign the ancient and he- 
 reditary enmity between the King and nobles seems 
 almost entirely to have ceased. He envied not 
 their splendour, because it contributed to the orna- 
 ment of his court ; nor did he dread their power, 
 which he considered as the security of his kingdom, 
 not as an object of terror to himself. This confi- 
 dence on his part met with the proper return of 
 
58 THE HISTORY B. I. 
 
 duty and affection on theirs ; and, in his war with 
 England, he experienced how much a King' be- 
 loved 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 declare 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 dan- 
 gerous 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 so- 
 vereign. Twelve earls, thirteen lords, five eldest 
 sons of noblemen, and an incredible number of 
 barons, fell with the King 26 . 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. 
 
 But James V. who succeeded his father, was an 
 infant of a year old ; and though the office of He- 
 gent was conferred upon his cousin the Duke of 
 Albany, a man of genius and 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 aristo- 
 
 36 Aber. ii. 540. 
 
OF SCOTLAND. 59 
 
 cracy 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 con- 
 tended for the interest of their country with a bold- 
 ness which convinced him of their independence, 
 and of the impotence of his own authority. After 
 several unsuccessful struggles, he voluntarily re- 
 tired 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 re- 
 tained authority, to which all were obliged to sub- 
 mit, 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 perpetuate 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 his disposition 
 to be confined as a prisoner within his own palace ; 
 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 re- 
 solved to make sure of his person. James was 
 continually surrounded by the Earl's spies and 
 
(>0 THE HISTORY B. I. 
 
 confidants ; 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 mother, and the only place of strength in the 
 kingdom which was not in the hands of the Doug- 
 lases. The nobles, of whom some were influ- 
 enced 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 great- 
 est distinction. The Earl, though astonished at 
 this unexpected revolution, resolved at first to make 
 one bold push for recovering his authority, by 
 marching to Stirling at the head of his followers ; 
 but he wanted either courage or strength to execute 
 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 Eng- 
 land for refuge. 
 
 James had now not only the name, but, though 
 extremely young, the full authority of a King. He 
 was inferior to no Prince of that age in graceful- 
 ness of person, or in vigour of mind. His under- 
 standing was good, and his heart warm ; the former 
 capable of great improvement, and the latter sus- 
 ceptible of the best impressions. But, according 
 to the usual fate of Princes who are called to the 
 throne in their infancy, his education had been 
 neglected. His private preceptors were 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 
 
OF SCOTLAND. CI 
 
 early taste for such pleasures as afterwards occu- 
 pied 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, con- 
 fidence in his favourites, and the most engaging 
 openness and affability of behaviour. 
 
 What he himself had suffered from the exorbi- 
 tant power of the nobles led him early to imitate 
 his predecessors in their attempts to humble them. 
 The plan he formed for that purpose was more pro- 
 found, more systematic, and pursued with greater 
 constancy and steadiness, than that of any of his 
 ancestors : and the influence of the events in his 
 reicn upon those of the subsequent period renders 
 it necessary to explain his conduct at greater length, 
 and to enter into a more minute detail of his ac- 
 tions. He had penetration enough to discover 
 those defects in the schemes adopted by former 
 Kings, which occasioned their miscarriage. The 
 examples of James I. 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 sub- 
 dued by these alone. The effects of the violent 
 measures of James II. convinced him that the op- 
 pression 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 III. that neglect was still 
 more intolerable to the nobles than oppression, and 
 
 vol. i. G 
 
62 THE HISTORY B. I. 
 
 that the ministry of new men and favourites was 
 both dishonourable and dangerous to a 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 re- 
 presentatives in parliament; the number of these 
 was considerable, and they possessed great influ- 
 ence in that assembly. The superstition of former 
 Kings, and the zeal of many ages of ignorance, 
 had bestowed 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, notwithstand- 
 ing their attention to extend their usurpations, 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 nomi- 
 nation to vacant bishoprics and abbeys 27 ; and 
 James naturally concluded, that men who ex- 
 pected preferment from his favour would be willing 
 to merit it by promoting 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 conduct or from the 
 27 Epist. Reg. Scot. i. 197, <Scc Act 125. P. 1540. 
 
OF SCOTLAND. 6'3 
 
 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 incapable 
 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 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 aggrandize 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 abili- 
 ties, 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 obstinacy. 
 He then proceeded to repair the fortifications of 
 Rdinburgh, 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 bestowed on ecclesiastics, 
 who alone possessed the King's ear, and, together 
 with a few gentlemen of inferior rank to whom he 
 
G4 THE HISTORY B. I. 
 
 had communicated his schemes, were intrusted 
 with the management of all public affairs. These 
 ministers were chosen with judgment; and Cardinal 
 Beatoun, 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 mor- 
 tifying them to escape. Slight offences were ag- 
 gravated into real crimes, and punished with seve- 
 rity. Every accusation against persons of rank 
 was heard with pleasure, every appearance of guilt 
 was examined with rigour, and every trial proved 
 fatal to 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 burned for the crime of witchcraft, of 
 which even that credulous age believed her inno- 
 cent, 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 patience 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 
 
OF SCOTLAND. 65 
 
 which they took, presented to them, at length, an 
 advantage which they did not fail to improve. 
 
 Motives, which are well known, had prompted 
 Henry VIII. to disclaim the Pope's authority, 
 and to seize the revenues of the regular clergy. 
 His system of reformation satisfied none of his 
 subjects. Some were enraged because he had 
 proceeded so far, others murmured because he 
 proceeded no farther. By his imperious 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 
 kingdom. He knew that both the Pope and the 
 Emperor courted the friendship of the King of 
 Scots, and endeavoured to engage him in an al- 
 liance against England. He resolved, therefore, 
 to disappoint the effects of their negotiations, by 
 entering into a closer union with his nephew. Tn 
 order to accomplish this, he transmitted to James 
 an elaborate memorial, presenting the numerous 
 encroachments of the See of Home upon the rights 
 of sovereigns M ; 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 
 propose a personal interview with him at York. It 
 was plainly James's interest to accept this invita- 
 tion ; the assistance 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 govern- 
 ment, and must have greatly facilitated the execu- 
 
 • ! rvpe, Eccles. Mem. 1. App. 155. 
 
 G 2 
 
OH THE HISTORY B. I. 
 
 tion of his favourite plan. On the other hand, a 
 war with England, which he had reason to appre- 
 hend 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 no- 
 bles incensed against their Prince into the field 
 was to unite his enemies, to make them sensible of 
 their own strength, and to afford them an opportu- 
 nity of revenging their wrongs. James, who was 
 not ignorant that all these consequences might follow 
 a breach with England, listened at first to Henry's 
 proposal, and consented to the interview at York. 
 But the clergy dreaded a 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 fre- 
 quently 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, 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 indignation of the nobles ; 
 that their indecent lives gave offence to the people; 
 that the Protestant opinions were spreading fast 
 throughout the nation ; and that a universal defec- 
 tion from the established church would be the 
 consequence of giving the smallest degree of en- 
 couragement lo these principles. For these rea- 
 
OF SCOTLAND. 67 
 
 sons 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 their interest. They endea- 
 voured to inspire him with fear, by magnifying the 
 danger to which he would expose his person by 
 venturing so far into England 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 compensa- 
 tion for the sums which he might have received 
 from Henry, they offered an annual donative of 
 fifty thousand crowns ; they promised to contribute 
 liberally towards carrying on a war with England, 
 and flattered him with the prospect of immense 
 riches, arising from the forfeiture of persons who 
 were to be tried and condemned as heretics. In- 
 fluenced by these considerations, James broke his 
 agreement with Henry, who, in expectation of meet- 
 ing him, had already come to York ; and that 
 haughty and impatient monarch resented the af- 
 front, by declaring war against Scotland. 1 J is 
 army was soon ready to invade the kingdom, 
 •lames was obliged to have recourse to the nobles 
 for the defence of his dominions. At his command 
 they assembled their followers, but with the same 
 dispositions which had animated their ancestors in 
 the reign of James [II., and with a full resolution 
 of imitating their example by punishing those to 
 whom they imputed the grievances of which they 
 had reason to complain ; and if the King's minis- 
 ters had not been men of abilities, superior to those 
 of James Til., and of considerable interest even 
 with their enemies, who could not agree anion n 
 themselves what victims to sacrifice, the camp of 
 Fala would have been as remarkable as that o( 
 
08 THE HISTORY B. I. 
 
 Lauder, for the daring encroachments of the nobi- 
 lity 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 govern- 
 ment, and their contempt of his authority. Scarcity 
 of provisions, and the rigour of the season, having 
 obliged the English army which had invaded Scot- 
 land to retire, James imagined that he could attack 
 them with great advantage in their retreat : but the 
 principal barons, with an obstinacy and disdain 
 which greatly aggravated their disobedience, re- 
 fused to advance a step beyond the limits of their 
 own country. Provoked by this insult to himself, 
 and suspicious of a new conspiracy against his 
 ministers, the King instantly disbanded an army 
 which paid so little regard to his orders, and re- 
 turned 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 unnecessary war with England, 
 which, instead of yielding him the laurels and tri- 
 umphs that he expected, had begun with such cir- 
 cumstances as encouraged the insolence of his sub- 
 jects, and exposed him to the scorn of his enemies. 
 He saw how vain and ineffectual all his projects 
 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 importance and dignity. Impatience, re- 
 sentment, indignation, filled his bosom by turns. 
 The violence of these passions altered his temper, 
 and perhaps impaired his reason. He became 
 pensive, sullen, and retired. He seemed through 
 
OF SCOTLAND. <>!.' 
 
 tiie day to be swallowed up in profound medita- 
 tion, and through the night he was disturbed with 
 those visionary terrors which make impression upon 
 a weak understanding only, or a disordered fancy. 
 In order to revive the King's spirits, an inroad on 
 the western borders was concerted by his minis- 
 ters, 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 coun- 
 try. But nothing could remove the King's aver- 
 sion 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 appeared to take possession of the 
 dignity conferred upon him, than rage and indigna- 
 tion occasioned a universal mutiny in the army. 
 Five hundred English, who happened 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 before 
 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 English had the choice of what pri- 
 soners they pleased to take; and almost every per- 
 son of distinction who was engaged in the expedi- 
 tion remained in their hands 29 . This astonishing 
 
 29 According to an account of this event in the Hamilton MSS. 
 about thirty were killed, above a thousand were taken prisoners ; 
 and among them a hundred and liftv persons of condition. Vol, 
 ii. 2SG. The small number of the English prevented their taking 
 wore prisoners. 
 
70 THE HISTORY. B. I. 
 
 event was a new proof to the King of the general 
 disaffection of the nobility, and a new discovery of 
 his own weakness and want of authority. Inca- 
 pable of bearing these repeated insults, he found 
 himself unable to revenge them. The deepest 
 melancholy and despair succeeded to the furious 
 transports of rage, which the first account of the 
 rout of his army occasioned. All the violent pas- 
 sions 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 dis- 
 eases of the mind, when they rise to a height, are 
 often mortal ; and the known effects of disappoint- 
 ment, 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 a high strain, 
 and above mediocrity : he could die, but could not 
 digest a disaster." Had James survived this mis- 
 fortune, one of two things must have happened: 
 either the violence of his temper would have en- 
 gaged him openly to attack the nobles, who would 
 have found in Henry a willing and powerful pro- 
 tector, and have derived the same assistance from 
 him which the malcontents, in the succeeding reign, 
 did from his daughter Elizabeth; in that case, a 
 dangerous civil war must have been the certain 
 consequence. Or, perhaps, necessity might have 
 obliged him to accept of Henry's offers, and be re- 
 conciled 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 tempora- 
 lities of the church would have been seized; and 
 
OF SCOTLAND. 71 
 
 the friendship of the King and barons would have 
 been cemented by dividing 1 its spoils. 
 
 Such were the efforts of our Kings towards re- 
 ducing 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 abortive. The assassina- 
 tion of one King, the sudden death of another, and 
 the fatal despair of a third, contributed, no less 
 than its own natural strength, to preserve the aris- 
 tocracy from ruin. 
 
 Amidst these struggles, the influence which our 
 Kings possessed in their parliaments is a circum- 
 stance seemingly inexplicable, and which merits 
 particular attention. As these assemblies were 
 composed chiefly of the nobles, they, we are apt to 
 imagine, must have dictated all their decisions; 
 but, instead of this, every King found them obse- 
 quious to his will, and obtained such laws as he 
 deemed necessary for extending his authority. 
 All things were conducted there with dispatch 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 agree- 
 able to the Kin*;. 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 its operations, produced the same effects in 
 small as in great societies ; and the territory of a 
 baron was, in miniature, the model of a kingdom. 
 
72 THE HISTORY B. I. 
 
 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 executing 
 his sentences, When assembled on these occa- 
 sions, they established, by mutual consent, such 
 regulations as tended to the welfare of their small 
 society ; and often granted, voluntarily, such sup- 
 plies to their Superior as his necessities required. 
 Change now a single name ; in place of baron sub- 
 stitute 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 reve- 
 nues. Suitable to this idea, are the appellations of 
 the King's Court 30 , and of the King's Great Coun- 
 cil, by which parliaments were anciently distin- 
 guished ; and suitable to this, likewise, were the 
 constituent 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 privilege, but a service 31 . It 
 was exacted likewise of bishops, abbots, and the 
 greater ecclesiastics, who, holding vast posses- 
 sions of the crown, were deemed subject to the 
 same burden. 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 par- 
 
 30 Du Cange, voc. Curia. • 
 
 31 Du Cange, voc. [Taciturn, col. 519. Magna Charta, art. 14". 
 Aet. Jac. I. 1425. cap. 52. 
 
OF SCOTLANF. 73 
 
 Uament 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 burden 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 representation was first introduced in this 
 manner. An innovation still more important na- 
 turally followed. The vassals of the crown were 
 originally few in number, and extremely powerful ; 
 but as it is impossible to render property fixed and 
 permanent, many of their possessions came, gra- 
 dually, and by various methods of alienation, to 
 be split and parceled out into different hands. 
 Hence arose the distinction between the Greater 
 and the Lesser Barons. The former were those 
 who retained 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 
 electing, charters were obtained containing an ex- 
 emption from attendance; and the anxiety with 
 which our ancestors endeavoured to get free from 
 the obligation of sitting in parliament is surpassed 
 by that only with which their posterity solicit to be 
 admitted there. In order to accommodate both 
 parties at onee, to secure to the King a sufficient 
 number of members in his great council, and to 
 save his vassals from an unnecessary burden, an 
 easy expedient was found out. The obligation to 
 
 VOL. I. H 
 
74 THE HISTORY B. I. 
 
 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 ap- 
 pear in their name. Thus a parliament became 
 complete, in all its members, and was composed of 
 lords spiritual and temporal, of knights of the 
 shires, and of burgesses. As many causes contri- 
 buted 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 king- 
 dom than in the other ; England led the way in all 
 these changes, and burgesses and knights of the 
 shire appeared in the parliaments of that nation 
 before they were heard of in ours. [1326] Bur- 
 gesses were first admitted into the Scottish parlia- 
 ments by Robert Bruce 32 ; and in the preamble to 
 the laws of Robert TIL, they are ranked among 
 the constituent members of that assembly. [1427] 
 The lesser barons were indebted to James I. for a 
 statute exempting them from personal attendance, 
 and permitting them to elect representatives : the 
 exemption was eagerly laid hold on ; but the privi- 
 lege was so little valued that, except one or two 
 instances, it lay neglected during one hundred and 
 sixty years ; and James VI. first obliged them to 
 send representatives regularly to parliament 33 . 
 A Scottish parliament, then, consisted anciently 
 *" great barons, of ecclesiastics, and a few repre- 
 sentatives of boroughs. Nor were these divided 
 
 32 Abercromby, i. 635. 
 
 33 Essays on Brit. Antiq. Ess. II. Dalrymp. Hist, of Fead. 
 Prop. ch. 8. 
 
OF SCOTLAND. 7o 
 
 as in England into two houses, but composed one 
 assembly, in which the Lord Chancellor presided 34 . 
 In rude ages, when the science of government was 
 extremely imperfect among a martial people, unac- 
 quainted with the arts of peace, strangers to the 
 talents which make a figure in debate, and de- 
 spising 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 common, 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 VI. 35 , they 
 amounted only to fifty-three. The ecclesiastics 
 equaled them in number, and being devoted im- 
 plicitly to the crown, for reasons which have been 
 already explained, rendered all hopes of victory in 
 
 31 In England, the peers and commons seem early to have 
 met in separate houses; and James I., who was fond of imitating 
 the English in all their customs, had probably an intention of in- 
 troducing some considerable distinction between the greater and 
 lesser barons in Scotland ; at least he determined lhat their con- 
 sultations 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 parliament or general council." No such speaker, 
 it would seem, was ever chosen ; and by a subsequent law the 
 Chancellor was declared perpi tnal president of parliament. 
 35 And. Coll. vol.i. pre!. 10. 
 
7<> THE HISTORY B. i. 
 
 any struggle desperate. Nor were the nobles thenir 
 selves so anxious as might be imagined, to prevent 
 acts of parliament favourable to the royal preroga- 
 tive: conscious of their own strength, and of the 
 King's inability to carry these acts into execution 
 without their concurrence, they trusted that they 
 might either elude or venture to contemn them ; 
 and the statute revoking the King's property, and 
 annexing alienated jurisdictions to the crown, re- 
 peated 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 account for the 
 ascendant which our Kings acquired in parliament. 
 But, without having recourse to any of these, a 
 single circumstance, peculiar to the constitution of 
 the Scottish parliament, the mentioning of which 
 we have hitherto avoided, will abundantly explain 
 this fact, seemingly so repugnant to all our reason- 
 ings concerning the weakness of the King, and the 
 power of the nobles. 
 
 As far back as our records enable us to trace 
 the constitution of our parliaments, we find a com- 
 mittee distinguished by the name of Lords of Arti- 
 cles. It was their business to prepare and to digest 
 all matters which were to be laid before the parlia- 
 ment. 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 re- 
 jected 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 com- 
 mittee owed the extraordinary powers vested in it 
 
OF SCOTLAND, 77 
 
 to the military genius of the ancient nobles : too 
 impatient to submit to the drudgery of civil busi- 
 ness, too impetuous to observe the forms or to 
 enter into the details necessary in conducting' it, 
 they were glad to lay that burden 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 parliament, but possessed a negative before de- 
 bate. That committee was chosen and constituted 
 in such a manner as to put this valuable privilege 
 entirely into the King's hands. It is extremely 
 probable, that our Kings once had the sole right of 
 nominating the lords of articles 36 . They came af- 
 terwards to be elected by the parliament, and con- 
 sisted of an equal number out of each estate, and 
 
 36 It appears from authentic records, that a parliament was 
 appointed to be held March 12, 15(i0, and that the lords of arti- 
 cles were chosen and met on the 7th, five days before the assem- 
 bling 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 Glas- 
 gow : " \\ e, 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, and elected the lords articulars." If we 
 explain these words according to the strict grammar, we must 
 conclude that the Queen herself elected tliem. It is, however, 
 more probable that Mary meant to say, that the nobles then pre- 
 sent with her, viz. her privy counsellors and others, elected the 
 lords of articles. Keith's Hist, of Scotland, p. I»:i!. The other 
 account is Lord Ruthven's, who expressly allirms that the Queen 
 herself elected them. Keith's Append. 120. Whether we em- 
 brace the one or 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 advantageous 
 for the crown, as if the Prince had had the sole nomination of 
 them. 
 
 li 2 
 
ft* THE HISTORY B. I. 
 
 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 temporal 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 commonly 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 parlia- 
 ment before debate, as well as after it ; and, what 
 may seem altogether incredible, the most limited 
 Prince in Europe actually possessed, in one in- 
 stance, a prerogative which the most absolute could 
 never attain 37 . 
 
 37 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, perhaps, to some of my readers, to know 
 the subsequent variations in this singular 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 VI. on pretence 
 that the lords of articles could not find leisure to consider the 
 great multitude of affairs laid before them, obtained an act, ap- 
 pointing four persons to be named out of each estate, who should 
 meet twenty days before the commencement of parliament*, to 
 receive all supplications, &c. and, rejecting what they thought 
 frivolous, should engross in a book what they thought worthy the 
 attention of the lords of articles. !So 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 I. 
 was beginning to introduce those innovations which gave so 
 much offence to the nation, he dreaded the opposition of his par- 
 liament, and, in order to prevent that, an artifice was made use 
 
 * Act I'll. P. 1594. 
 
OF SCOTLAND. 1U 
 
 To this account of the internal constitution of 
 Scotland, it will not be improper to add a view of 
 the political state of Europe at that period, where 
 the following- history commences. A thorough 
 knowledge of that general system, of which every 
 kingdom in Europe forms a part, is not less requi- 
 site towards understanding the history of a nation 
 than an acquaintance with its peculiar government 
 and laws. The latter may enable us to comprehend 
 domestic occurrences and revolutions ; but without 
 the former, foreign transactions must be altogether 
 
 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 
 ollicers 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 con- 
 sequence 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 statute of James VI. was 
 repealed. After the restoration, parliaments became more ser- 
 vile than ever. What was only a temporary device, in the reign 
 of Charles I. was then converted into a standing law. " For my 
 part,' says the author from whom I have borrowed many of these 
 particulars, " I should have thought it less criminal in our Re- 
 storation Parliament, to have openly bestowed upon the King a 
 negative before debate than, in such an underhand 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. 1500, printed in the Appendix, 
 that this parliament had some appearance of ancient precedent to 
 justify their unworthy conduct. Various questions concerning 
 the constituent members of the Scottish parliament ; concerning 
 the era 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 this work, all 
 these disputed points have been considered with calmness and 
 accuracy in Mr. Wight's Inquiry into the Rise and Progress of 
 Parliament, Sec. 4to. edit. p. 17, &c. 
 
SO THE HISTORY B. I. 
 
 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 dis- 
 cover the cause. 
 
 The subversion of the feudal government in 
 France, and its declension in the neighbouring 
 kingdoms, occasioned a remarkable alteration in 
 the political state of Europe. Kingdoms, which 
 were inconsiderable when broken, and parceled out 
 among nobles, acquired firmness and strength by 
 being united into a regular monarchy. Kings be- 
 came 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 subsist- 
 ence. 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 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 quar- 
 rels by innocent and bloodless victories, were asto- 
 nished, wiien the French invaded their country, at 
 the sight of real war ; and, as they could not resist 
 
OF SCOTLAND. S\ 
 
 file 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 mo- 
 dern politics, by teaching them how to balance the 
 power of one Prince, by throwing that of another 
 into the opposite scale. By this happy device, the 
 liberty of Italy was long preserved. The scales 
 were poised 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 suc- 
 cess in Italy, was not long confined to that country 
 of political refinement. The maxim of preserving 
 a balance of power is founded so much upon obvi- 
 ous 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 observed by all his neighbours. 
 Ambassadors, a kind of honourable spies, autho- 
 rized by the mutual jealousy of Kings, resided al- 
 most 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. 
 Kf'venge or self-defence were no longer the only 
 causes of hostility, it became common to take arms 
 out of policy ; and war, both in its commencement 
 and in 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 importance, because 
 they could add weight to either scale. 
 
82 THE HISTORY B. I. 
 
 Francis 1., who mounted the throne of France 
 in the year one thousand five hundred and fifteen, 
 and Charles V., 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 
 their posterity for several ages. Charles succeeded 
 to all the dominions of the house of Austria. No 
 family had ever gained so much by wise and fortu- 
 nate 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 commerce of one half of Europe; and 
 he drew from them, on many occasions, those im- 
 mense sums, which no people 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 extrava- 
 gance of ambition could not exhaust. These advan- 
 tages rendered Charles the first Prince in Europe ; 
 but he wished to be more, and openly aspired to 
 universal monarchy. His genius was of that kind 
 which ripens slowly, and lies Long concealed ; but 
 it grew up, without observation, to an unexpected 
 
OF SCOTLAND. 83 
 
 height and vigour. He possessed, in an eminent 
 degree, the characteristic virtues of all the different 
 races of Princes to whom he was allied. In form- 
 ing his schemes, he discovered all the subtlety and 
 penetration of Ferdinand his grandfather ; he pur- 
 sued them with that obstinate and inflexible perse- 
 verance which has ever been peculiar to the Austrian 
 blood ; and in executing them he could employ the 
 magnanimity and boldness of his Burgundian an- 
 cestors. 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 I. 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 unwearied and joyless industry. Francis 
 could mingle pleasure and elegance with his ambi- 
 tion ; and, though he neglected some advantages, 
 which a more phlegmatic or more frugal Prince 
 would have improved, an active and intrepid cou- 
 rage supplied all his defects, and checked or de- 
 feated 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 Christendom, and, in order to avert it, 
 had recourse to the expedient which they had often 
 employed with success. They endeavoured to di- 
 vide the power of the two contending monarchs 
 into equal scales, and, by the union of several small 
 
84 THE HISTORY B. i. 
 
 states, to counterpoise 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 VIII. of England held 
 the balance with less delicacy, but with a stronger 
 hand. He was the third Prince of the age in dig- 
 nity and in power; and the advantageous situation 
 of his dominions, his domestic tranquillity, his im- 
 mense wealth and absolute authority rendered him 
 the natural guardian of the liberty of Europe. Each 
 of the rivals courted 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 overmatch for the maxims of the Kino-. 
 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 submit 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 influence upon the fate of distant nations. 
 Her assistance was frequently of consequence to 
 the contending parties, and the balance was oftei* 
 
OF SCOTLAND. 85' 
 
 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 invested Te- 
 rouenne, Francis attempted to divide his forces, by 
 engaging James IV. in that unhappy expedition 
 which ended with his life. For the same reason 
 Francis encouraged and assisted the Duke of Al- 
 bany to ruin the families of Angus and Home, 
 which were in the interest of England, and would 
 willingly have persuaded 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 was the 
 effect of their union. Charles endeavoured to break 
 this, and to embarrass Henry by another inroad of 
 the Scots. For this end he made great advances 
 to James V., flattering the vanity of the young mo- 
 narch by electing him a Knight of the Golden 
 Fleece, and by otfering him a match in the Impe- 
 rial family ; while, in return for these empty ho- 
 nours, he demanded for 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 Fmperor's proposals, 
 rejected them with decency, 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 
 example 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 
 
 VOL. J. J 
 
8G THE HISTORY B. I. 
 
 the contrary, he irritated the whole nation, by re- 
 viving the antiquated pretensions of the crown of 
 England to the sovereignty over Scotland. But 
 his own experience, and the examples of his ene- 
 mies, 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 mar- 
 tial 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 ob- 
 servation in the north of England ; and, after all 
 precautions, the Scottish borderers, who were su- 
 perior to all mankind in the practice of irregular 
 war, often made successful inroads, and spread 
 terror and desolation over many counties. He fell, 
 at last, upon the true secret of policy, with respect 
 to Scotland, which his predecessors had too little 
 penetration to discover, or too much pride to em- 
 ploy. The situation of the country, and the bra- 
 very of the people, made the conquest of Scotland 
 impossible ; but the national poverty, and the vio- 
 lence of faction, rendered it an easy matter to 
 divide and to govern it. He abandoned, therefore, 
 the former design, and resolved to employ his ut- 
 most address in executing the latter. It had not 
 yet become honourable 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 mi- 
 nisters, factious leaders, and favourites. AVhat 
 were the arguments by which Henry brought over 
 so many to his interest during the minority of 
 James V. we know by the original warrant still 
 extant 38 , for remitting considerable sums into Scot- 
 
 39 Barn. Hist. Rcf. vol. i. p.7. 
 
OF SCOTLAND. 87 
 
 land. By a proper distribution of these, many per- 
 sons 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 se- 
 quel of the history, we shall find Henry labouring 
 to extend his influence in Scotland. His succes- 
 sors adopted the same plan, and improved upon it. 
 The affairs of the two kingdoms became inter- 
 woven, and their interests were often the same. 
 Elizabeth divided her attention almost equally be- 
 tween them ; and the authority which she inherited 
 iu the one was not greater than that which she 
 acquired in the other. 
 
THE 
 
 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND, 
 
 BOOK II. 
 1542. 
 
 Mary, Queen of Scots, the daughter of James V. 
 and Mary of Guise, was born [Dec. 8], a few days 
 before the death of her father. The situation in 
 which he left the kingdom alarmed all ranks of men 
 with the prospect of a turbulent and disastrous reign. 
 A war against England had been undertaken without 
 necessity, 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 frith 
 of Sol way, 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 
 Scotland, and did not imprint much reverence in 
 the mrnds of a martial people. The government 
 of an infant Queen was still more destitute of real 
 authority ; and the prospect of a long and feeble 
 .minority invited to faction by the hope of impunity. 
 
lo42. HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 80 
 
 James had not even provided the common remedy 
 against the disorders of a minority, by committing 
 to proper persons the care of his daughter's educa- 
 tion, and the administration of affairs in her name. 
 Though he saw the clouds gathering, and foretold 
 that they would quickly burst into a storm, he was 
 so little able to disperse them, or to defend his 
 daughter and kingdom against the imminent cala- 
 mities, 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. 
 
 Cardinal Beatoun, who had for many years been 
 considered as prime minister, was the first that 
 claimed that high dignity ; and, in support of his 
 pretensions, he produced a testament 1 , 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 refor- 
 mation 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 proximity of blood 
 gave him a natural title. The nobles, who were 
 assembled for that purpose, unanimously conferred 
 
 1 Saddler's Lett. 101. Haines, State Papers, 48G. 
 
 1 '2 
 
DO THE HISTORY B. II. 
 
 on him the office of Regent; and the public voice 
 applauded their choice 2 . 
 
 No two men ever differed more widely in dispo- 
 sition and character than the Earl of Arran and 
 Cardinal Beatoun. The Cardinal was by nature of 
 immoderate ambition : by long experience he had 
 acquired address and refinement ; and insolence 
 grew upon him from continual 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 eminence 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 doctrine 
 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 unacquainted with the learning and con- 
 troversies of the age; he gave judgment, however, 
 upon all points in dispute, with a precipitancy, vio- 
 lence, and rigour, which contemporary historians 
 mention with indignation. 
 
 The character of the Earl of Arran was, in al- 
 most every thing, the reverse of Beatoun's. He 
 was neither 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 predomi- 
 nant failings ; the one occasioned by his natural 
 constitution, and the other arising from a consci- 
 ousness that his abilities were not equal to his sta- 
 tion. With these dispositions he might have en- 
 joyed and adorned private life : but his public con- 
 - Epist. Reg. Scot. vol. ii. p. 308. 
 
1542. OF SCOTLAND. 01 
 
 duct 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 na- 
 tion declared in his favour with such general con- 
 sent that the artifices of his rival could not with- 
 stand its united strength. 
 
 The Earl of Arran had scarce taken possession 
 of his new dignity, when a negotiation was opened 
 with England, which gave birth to events of the 
 most fatal consequence to himself and to the king- 
 dom. After the death of James, Henry VIII. was 
 no longer afraid of any interruption from Scotland 
 to his designs against France ; and immediately 
 conceived hopes of rendering this security perpe- 
 tual; by the marriage of Edward his only son with 
 the young Queen of Scots. He communicated his 
 intentions to the prisoners taken at Solway, 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 Scot- 
 land, 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 com- 
 ing to a 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 power- 
 ful and haughty prelate. 
 
 But Henry's rough and impatient temper was 
 
J)2 THE HISTORY B. IT. 
 
 incapable of improving this favourable conjuncture. 
 Address and delicacy in managing the fears, and 
 follies, and interests of men were arts with which 
 he was utterly unacquainted. The designs he had 
 formed upon Scotland were obvious from the mar- 
 riage which he had proposed, and he had not dex- 
 terity enough to disguise or to conceal them. In- 
 stead of yielding to the fear or jealousy of the Scots, 
 what time and accident would soon have enabled 
 him to recover, he at once alarmed and irritated the 
 whole nation, by demanding that the Queen's per- 
 son should be immediately committed to his cus- 
 tody, and that the government of the kingdom 
 should be put into his hands during her minority. 
 
 Henry could not have prescribed more ignomi- 
 nious conditions to a conquered people, and it is no 
 wonder they were rejected, with indignation, by 
 men who scorned to purchase an alliance with 
 England at the price of their own liberty. [1543] 
 The parliament of Scotland, however, influenced 
 by the nobles who returned from England ; desir- 
 ous 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 [March 12]. 
 After some dark and unsuccessful 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 proposals, 
 and to accept of theirs. On his side he consented 
 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 
 
1543. OF SCOTLAND. 1)3 
 
 England as soon as she attained the full age of ten 
 years, and instantly to deliver six persons of the 
 first rank to be kept as hostages by Henry till the 
 Queen's arrival at his court. 
 
 The treaty was still so manifestly of advantage 
 to England that the Regent lost much of the pub- 
 lic confidence 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 the Regent had be- 
 trayed the kingdom to its most inveterate enemies, 
 and sacrificed its honour to his own ambition. He 
 foretold the extinction of the true Catholic religion, 
 under the tyranny of an excommunicated heretic ; 
 but, above all, he lamented to see an ancient king- 
 dom consenting to its own servitude, descending 
 into the ignominious station of a dependent pro- 
 vince ; 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 Cardi- 
 nal were not without effect. They were addressed 
 to prejudices and passions which are deeply rooted 
 in the human heart. The same hatred to the an- 
 cient enemies of their country, the same jealousy 
 of national honour, and pride of independence, 
 which, at the beginning of the present century, went, 
 near to prevent the Scots from consenting to a 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, a hundred and fifty years of peace 
 between the two nations, the habit of being sub- 
 jected to the same. King, and governed by the sunn; 
 
94 THE HISTORY . B. II. 
 
 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 resent- 
 ment, it was natural to seek revenge, and to be 
 averse from reconcilement. At the Union in one 
 thousand seven hundred and seven, the wisdom of 
 Parliament despised the groundless murmurs occa- 
 sioned by antiquated prejudices; but in one thou- 
 sand 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 na- 
 tional 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 Eng- 
 land ; 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 prizes 3 . The Scots, astonished at this 
 proceeding of a Prince whose interest it was mani- 
 festly at that juncture to court and to sooth them, 
 felt it not only as an injury but as an insult, and 
 expressed all the resentment natural to a high- 
 spirited people 4 . Their rage rose to such an 
 
 3 Keith, 32. 31. Epist. Reg. Scot. ii. App. 311. Hamilton 
 MSS. vol.i. p. 389. 
 
 * In the MS. Collection of Papers belonging to the Duke of 
 Hamilton, Sir Ralph Sadler describes the spirit of the Scots as 
 extremely outrageous. In his letter from Edinburgh, Septem- 
 ber 1, 1513, 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 towu is com- 
 
1543. OF SCOTLAND. 0"» 
 
 height, that the English ambassador could hardlv 
 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 sys- 
 tem of reformation was so fatal to their power. 
 The nobles, after having- mortified the Cardinal so 
 lately 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 declared openly against the alliance with 
 England. By their assistance, the Cardinal seized 
 on the persons of the young Queen and her mother, 
 and added to his party the splendour and authority 
 of the royal name 5 . He received, at the same 
 time, a more real accession to his strength, by the 
 arrival of Matthew Stewart Earl of Lennox, whose 
 
 mover! against me, and swear great oaths, 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 lire over mv 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 Majesty onlv to undo them. — 
 This is the unreasonableness of the people which live here in 
 such a beastly liberty that they neither regard God nor governor ; 
 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 peo- 
 ple still continued so violent, " that neither I nor any of my folks 
 dare go out of my doors; and the provost of the town, who hath 
 much ado to stay them from assaulting me in my house, and keep- 
 eth 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 na- 
 tion, which God keep all honest men from." lb. 471. 
 
 i Keith's Hist, of Scotl. 30. 
 
DO THE HiSTORY B. If. 
 
 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 Cardinal flattered his vanity with the prospect 
 of marrying the Queen Dowager, and affected to 
 treat him with so 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 before the Earl of Lennox, and acted in con- 
 cert 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 endeavoured to 
 bring about a change in his sentiments by working 
 upon his fears. The desertion of the nobility, the 
 disaffection of the clergy, and the rage of the peo- 
 ple ; the resentment of France, the power of the 
 Cardinal, and the pretensions of Lennox, were all 
 represented with aggravation, and with their most 
 threatening aspect. 
 
 Meanwhile, the day appointed for the ratifica- 
 tion of the treaty with England, and the delivery 
 of the hostages approached, and the Regent was 
 still undetermined in his own mind. He acted to 
 the last with that irresolution and inconsistence 
 which is peculiar to w r eak men when they are so 
 unfortunate as to have the chief part in the conduct 
 of difficult affairs. On the 25th of August he ra- 
 tified a treaty with Henry 6 , and proclaimed the 
 Cardinal, who still continued to oppose it, an enemy 
 
 6 Rymer, Ford, xv. p. 4- 
 
1543. OF SCOTLAND. 9? 
 
 to his country. On the third of September he se- 
 cretly withdrew from Edinburgh, met with the Car- 
 dinal at Callendar, renounced the friendship of Eng- 
 land, and declared for the interests of France". 
 
 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 king- 
 dom to be less considerable than he had imagined, 
 the English Monarch began to treat him with little 
 respect. The young Queen was now in the cus- 
 tody of his enemies, who grew every day more 
 numerous and more popular. They formed a se- 
 parate court at Stirling, and threatened to elect 
 another Regent. 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 endeavoured, by ratify- 
 ing the treaty, to preserve the appearances of good 
 faith with England, he was obliged to throw him- 
 self into the arms of the party which adhered to 
 France. 
 
 Soon after this sudden revolution in his political 
 principles, the Regent changed his sentiments con- 
 cerning 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 powerfully sup 
 
 1 Sadler, 339. 356. Hamilton MSS. i. 470, &c. 
 VOL. I. K 
 
98 THE HISTORY B. II. 
 
 ported by those who had embraced their opinions, 
 he, in order to gratify them, entertained, in his own 
 family, two of the most noted preachers of the Pro- 
 testant 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 un- 
 derstood 8 . Truth needed only a fair hearing to be 
 an overmatch for error. Absurdities, which had 
 long imposed on the ignorance and credulity of 
 mankind, were detected and exposed to public ridi- 
 cule ; 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 encourage- 
 ment to opinions so favourable to Lennox's preten- 
 sions ; 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 
 argument by which it could be rendered doubtful 9 . 
 These insinuations made a deep impression on the 
 Regent's timorous spirit, who, at the prospect of 
 
 8 Keith, p. 36, 37. 
 
 9 The pretensions of the Earl of Lennox to the succession were 
 thus founded. Mary, the daughter of James II. was married \o 
 James Lord Hamilton, whom James III. created Earl of Arran 
 on that account. 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. 
 
1543. OF SCOTLAND. 99 
 
 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 Re- 
 formers 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 apostasy. 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 bar- 
 barous people. Many were condemned to that 
 dreadful death which the church has appointed for 
 the punishment of its enemies; but they suffered 
 with a spirit so nearly resembling the patience and 
 fortitude of the primitive martyrs that more were 
 converted than terrified by such spectacles. 
 
 The Cardinal, however, was now in possession 
 of every thing his ambition could desire ; and ex- 
 ercised all the authority of a Regent, without the 
 envy of the name. He had nothing to fear from 
 the Earl of Arran, who, having by his inconsistency 
 forfeited the public esteem, was contemned by one 
 half 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 instru- 
 ment, he was willing to get rid of him with decency. 
 Lennox soon began to suspect his intention ; pro- 
 
*i.00 THE HISTORY B. II. 
 
 mises, flattery, and respect were the only returns 
 he had hitherto received for substantial services : 
 but at last the Cardinal's artifices could no longer 
 be concealed, and Lennox, instead of attaining 
 power and dignity himself, saw that he had been 
 employed only to procure these for another. Re- 
 sentment and disappointed ambition urged him to 
 seek revenge on that cunning prelate, who, by sa- 
 crificing 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 Cardinal, 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 revolu- 
 tions 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 advocates for the Eng- 
 lish 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 Regent by a sudden march to Edinburgh 
 with a numerous army ; and might easily have 
 crushed them before they could prepare for their 
 defence. But he was weak enough to listen to pro- 
 posals for an accommodation ; and the Cardinal 
 nimised him so artfully, and spun out the treaty to 
 BUcb a length, that the greater part of the Earl's 
 
1-543. OF SCOTLAND. 101 
 
 troops, who served, as is usual wherever the feudal 
 institutions prevailed, at their own expense, de- 
 serted 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 dispersed ; 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 was not of a temper to bear tamely the 
 indignity 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 entered into a new and stricter confede- 
 racy with France. The rigour of the season re- 
 tarded for some time the execution of his ven- 
 geance. But, in the spring [l->44], a considerable 
 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 x such a 
 visit. Thev had trusted that the French war would 
 
 •I 
 
 find employment for all Henry's forces, and, from 
 an unaccountable security, were wholly unprovided 
 for the defence of the kingdom. The Earl of Hert- 
 ford, a leader fatal to the Scots in that age, com- 
 manded his army, and landed it, without opposi- 
 tion, a few miles from Leith. He was quickly 
 master of that place [May 3] ; and, marching di- 
 rectly to I'Minburgh, 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 ga- 
 
 k 2 
 
11*2 THE HISTORY B. II. 
 
 thered together by the Regent, put his booty on 
 board the fleet, and with his land forces retired 
 safely to the English borders ; delivering the king- 
 dom in a few days from the terror of an invasion, 
 concerted with little policy, carried on at great ex- 
 pense, and attended with no advantage. If Henry 
 aimed at the conquest of Scotland, he gained no- 
 thing 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 hu- 
 morously called it, disgusted the whole nation ; 
 their aversion for the match grew into abhorrence ; 
 and, exasperated by so many indignities, the Scots 
 were never at any period more attached to France, 
 or more alienated from England 10 . 
 
 10 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 94 and 95. 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 national animosity no less excessive. 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, April 10, 1544. 
 
 The instruction begins with observing, that the King had origi- 
 nally intended to fortify Leith and keep possession of it ; but, after 
 mature deliberation, 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 tar- 
 l \ing to beat down or overthrow the castle ; sack all the houses 
 and as many towns and villages about Edinburgh as ye may con- 
 veniently. Sack Leith, and subvert it, and all the rest, putting 
 
1,'>44. OF SCOTLAND. 108 
 
 The Earl of Lennbx alone, in spite of the Re- 
 gent and French King, continued a correspondence 
 with England, which ruined his own interest, with- 
 out promoting Henry's . Many of his own vas- 
 sals, preferring their duty to their country before 
 their affection to him, refused 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 re- 
 warded services which he had the inclination but 
 not the power to perform, by giving him in marri- 
 age his niece the Lady Margaret Douglas. This 
 unhappy exile, however, was destined to be the 
 
 man, woman, and cliild 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 de- 
 struction to all towns and villages whereuuto you may reach con- 
 veniently ; not forgetting, amongst all the rest, so to spoil and 
 turn upside down the Cardinal's town of St. Andrew's as the up- 
 per sort may be the nether, and not one stoke stand upon another, 
 sparing no creature alive within the same, specially such as either 
 in friendship or blood be allied unto the Cardinal ; and if ye see 
 any likelihood to win the castle, give some stout essay to the 
 same, if it be your fortune to get it, raze and destroy it piece- 
 meal ; 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 enterprise nothing but what you shall see may 
 be easily achieved, His Majesty thinkelh verily, and so all we, 
 ye shall lind this journey succeedeth this way most to His Ma- 
 jesty's honour," &c. 
 
 These barbarous orders seem to have been executed with a 
 rigorous and unfeeling exactness, as appears from a series of let- 
 ters from Lord Hertford, in the same collection, giving a full 
 account of all his operations in Scotland. They contain several 
 curious particulars, not mentioned by the writers of that age, and 
 with which both the historians of the city of Edinburgh were un- 
 acquainted : but they are of too great length to be inserted here. 
 
 11 Kyincr, xv. p. 22. 
 
104 THE HISTORY B. II. 
 
 father of a race of Kings. He saw his son Lord 
 Darnly mount the throne of Scotland, to the per- 
 petual 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. 
 
 Meanwhile hostilities were continued by both 
 nations, but with little vigour on either side. The 
 historians of that age relate minutely the circum- 
 stances of several skirmishes and inroads, which, 
 as they did not produce any considerable effect, at 
 this distance of time deserve no remembrance 12 . 
 
 12 Though this war was distinguished by no important or de- 
 cisive 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 incur- 
 sions of the borderers. The first seems to be the report made to 
 Henry bj 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, parish churches, 
 
 bastel-houses, cast down or burnt 192 
 
 Scots slain 403 
 
 Prisoners taken 816 
 
 Nolt, i. e. horned cattle, taken 10,386 
 
 Sheep 12,492 
 
 Nags and geldiugs 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 Hert- 
 ford, between the 8th and 23d of September, 1545 : the narra- 
 tive is more general, but it appears that he had burnt, rased, and 
 destroyed, in the counties of Berwick and Roxburgh only, 
 
 Monasteries and friar-houses 7 
 
 Castles, towers, and piles 16 
 
1544. OF SCOTLAND. 105 
 
 At last an end was put to this languid and inactive 
 war, by a peace, in which England, France, and 
 Scotland were comprehended. 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 continent had hitherto 
 delayed. But although a peace with England was 
 of the last consequence to Francis I., whom the 
 Emperor was preparing to attack with all his forces, 
 he was too generous to abandon allies who had 
 served him with fidelity, and he chose rather to 
 purchase Henry's friendship with disadvantage 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, bat- 
 tery, and address, he at length prevailed to have 
 the Scots included in the peace agreed upon. 
 
 An event which happened a short time before 
 the conclusion of this peace rendered it more ac- 
 ceptable to the whole nation. Cardinal Beatoun 
 had not used his power with moderation equal to 
 the prudence by which he attained it. Notwith- 
 standing his great abilities, he had too many of the 
 passions and prejudices of an angry leader of a fac- 
 tion to govern a divided people with temper. His 
 resentment against one party of the nobility, his 
 insolence towards the rest, his severity to the Re*- 
 
 Market towns 5 
 
 Villages 243 
 
 Milns 13 
 
 Hospitals 3 
 
 All these were cast clown or burnt. Haynes, 52. As the 
 Scots were no less skilful in the practice of irregular war, we 
 may conclude that the damage which they did in England wan 
 not inconsiderable ; and that their raids were no less wasteful 
 mi.iu ihe f arrays of the English. 
 
106 THE HISTORY B. II. 
 
 formers, and, above all, the barbarous and illegal 
 execution of the famous George Wishart, a man of 
 honourable birth and of primitive sanctity, wore out 
 the patience of a tierce age ; and nothing but a bold 
 hand was wanting to gratify the public wish by his 
 destruction. Private revenge, inflamed and sanc- 
 tified by a false zeal for religion, quickly supplied 
 this want. Norman Lesly, the eldest son of the 
 Earl of Rothes, had been treated by the Cardinal 
 with injustice and contempt. It was not the tem- 
 per of the man, or the spirit of the times, quietly to 
 digest an affront. As the profession of his adver- 
 sary screened him from the effects of what is called 
 an honourable resentment, he resolved to take that 
 satisfaction which he could not demand. This re- 
 solution deserves as much censure as the singular 
 courage and conduct with which he put it in exe- 
 cution excite wonder. The Cardinal at that time 
 resided in the castle of St. Andrew's, which he had 
 fortified at great expense, and, in the opinion of the 
 age, had rendered it impregnable. His retinue was 
 numerous, the town at his devotion, and the neigh- 
 bouring country full of his dependents. In this 
 situation, sixteen persons undertook to surprise his 
 castle, and to assassinate himself; and their suc- 
 cess was equal to the boldness of the attempt. 
 [May 20, 1546.] Early in the morning they seized 
 on the gate of the castle, which was set open to the 
 workmen who were employed in finishing the forti- 
 fications ; and having placed sentries at the door of 
 the Cardinal's apartment, they awakened his nume- 
 rous domestics one by one ; and turning them out 
 of the castle, they without noise or tumult, or vio- 
 lence to any other person, delivered their country, 
 though by a most unjustifiable action, from an am- 
 
lo4G. OF SCOTLAND. 107 
 
 bitious 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 French interest in Scotland. The same zeal 
 for both continued among a great party in the na- 
 tion, but, 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 occasioned among such as were at- 
 tached to him; while the Regent secretly enjoyed 
 an event which removed out of his way a rival, 
 who had not only eclipsed his greatness but almost 
 extinguished his power. Decency, however, the 
 honour of the church, the importunity of the Queen 
 Dowager and her adherents, his engagements with 
 Trance, 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 fide- 
 lity, 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 un- 
 derstood in Scotland. The weapons, the discipline, 
 and impetuosity of the Scots, rendered their armies 
 as unfit for sieges as they were active in the field. 
 A hundred and fifty men, which was the greatest 
 number the conspirators ever assembled, resisted 
 all the efforts of the Regent for five months ,;5 , in a 
 place which a single battalion, with a few battering 
 cannon, would now reduce in a few hours. This 
 13 Epist. Reg. Scot. 2. 370. 
 
108 THE HISTORY B. II. 
 
 tedious siege was concluded by a truce. The Re- 
 gent undertook to procure for the conspirators an 
 absolution from the Pope, and a pardon in parlia- 
 ment; and upon obtaining these, they engaged to 
 surrender 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 conspirators 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 supported by him. Not- 
 withstanding the silence of contemporary historians, 
 there are violent presumptions of the former ; of the 
 latter there is undoubted certainty 14 . 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- 
 cerningthe 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 situation in which they would no longer need a 
 pardon, but might claim a reward 15 . 
 
 14 Keith, 60. 
 
 15 In the first edition of this work, I expressed my suspicion" 
 of a correspondence between the murderers of Cardinal Beatoun 
 and Henry VIII., prior to their committing that crime. In the 
 papers of Duke Hamilton is contaiued the clearest evidence of 
 this, which I publish not only to establish that fact, but as an 
 additional coniirmation of the remarks which I made upon the 
 frequency of assassination in that age, and the slight opinion 
 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 
 
|547. OF SCOTLAND. 100 
 
 Jan. 28, 1547.] Tin- death of Henry blasted al! 
 
 these hopes. It happened 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 virtues of 
 others. His rapaciousness, his profusion, and even 
 his tyranny, by depressing the ancient nobility, and 
 by adding new property- and power to the Com- 
 mons, laid or strengthened the foundations of the 
 English liberty. His other passions contributed no 
 less towards the downfal of popery, and the esta- 
 blishment of religious freedom in the nation. His 
 resentment led him to abolish the power, and his 
 covetousness to seize the wealth, of the church ; 
 
 broaght me a letter from the Lord of Brinstone [id e. Crichton 
 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. Andrew's, and in case they can so apprehend him will deli- 
 ver him unto Your Majesty, which attemplate, he saith, they 
 would enterprise, it' they knew Your Majesty's pleasure therein, 
 and what supportation and maintenance Your Miijesty 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 enter- 
 tainment to keep 1000 or 1500 men in wages for a month or 
 two, they journeying with the power of the Earl Marshal, the 
 said M r of Rothes, the Laird of Calder, and the other the Lord 
 friends, will take upon them, at such time as your Ma- 
 jesty's army shall be in Scotland, to destroy the abhey and town 
 of Arbroath, being the Cardinal's, and all the other Bishops 
 VOL. T. L 
 
110 THE HISTORY B. II. 
 
 and by withdrawing- these supports, made it easy, 
 in the following reign, to overturn the whole fabric 
 of superstition. 
 
 Francis I. did not long survive a Prince who 
 had been alternately his rival and his friend; but 
 his successor Henry II. was not neglectful of the 
 French interest in Scotland. He sent a consider- 
 able 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 conspirators could not 
 defend them against the superior art of these new 
 assailants, they, after a short resistance, surren- 
 dered to Strozzi, who engaged, in the name of the 
 King his master, for the security of their lives ; 
 
 houses and countries on that side of the water thereabout, and 
 to apprehend all (hose which they say be the principal impugna- 
 tors of amity between England and Scotland ; for which they 
 should have a good opportunity, as they say, when the power of 
 the said Bishops and Ahbots shall resort towards Edinburgh to 
 resist Your Majesty's army. And for the execution of these 
 tilings, the said Wishart saith, that the Earl Marshal aforenamed 
 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 cre- 
 dence, 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 MSS. vol. iii. p. 38. 
 
 -Y. li. This is the letter of which Dr. Mackenzie, vol. iii. p. 18. 
 and Bishop Keith, Hist. p. 44, published a fragment. It doea 
 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 Pit- 
 arrow, the chief of that name, a man of abilities, zealously at- 
 tached to the reformed doctrine, and deeplv engaged in all the 
 intrigues and operations of that busy period. Keith, 96, 117, 
 119, 315. 
 
Lo47. OF SCOTLAND. Ill 
 
 and, as his prisoners, transported them into France. 
 The castle itself, the monument of Beatoun's power 
 and vanity, 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 l6 . 
 
 The archbishopric of St. Andrew's was bestowed 
 by the Regent upon his natural brother John Ha- 
 milton, Abbot of Paisley. 
 
 The delay of a few weeks would have saved the 
 conspirators. Those ministers of Henry VIII. who 
 had the chief direction of affairs during the minority 
 of his son Edward VI. 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 con- 
 temporary historians, but extremely remarkable for 
 the discovery it makes of the sentiments and spirit 
 which then prevailed among the Scots. The con- 
 spirators against Cardinal Beatoun found the Re- 
 gent's eldest son in the castle of St. Andrew's ; and 
 as they needed the protection 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 kingdom 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 
 ,6 Burn. Hist. Ref. J. S38. 
 
fit THE HISTORY B. II. 
 
 eldest son from all right of succession, public or 
 private, so long as he should be detained a prisoner, 
 and substituted in his place his other brothers, ac- 
 cording to their seniority, and in failure of them, 
 those who were next heirs to the Regent 17 ." Suc- 
 cession by hereditary right is an idea so obvious 
 and so popular that a nation seldom ventures to 
 make a breach in it, but in cases of extreme neces- 
 sity. Such a necessity did the Parliament disco- 
 ver in the present situation. Hatred to England, 
 founded on the memory of past hostilities, and 
 heightened 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 unalien- 
 able, and that ought not to be violated upon any 
 consideration whatsoever, seem to have been then 
 altogether unknown. 
 
 In the beginning of September, the Earl of Hert- 
 ford, now Duke of Somerset, and Protector of 
 England, entered 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 observ- 
 ed 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 alarm- 
 ed 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 
 17 Ej>ist. Reg. Scot. 2. 359. 
 
1547. OF SCOTLAND. 113 
 
 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 destruction of the English must 
 have been inevitable. They were in a situation 
 precisely similar to that of their countrymen under 
 Oliver Cromwell in the following 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 
 impetuosity of the Scots saved the English, and 
 precipitated their own country into the utmost dan- 
 ger. The undisciplined courage of the private men 
 became impatient at the sight of an enemy. The 
 General was afraid of nothing, but that the English 
 might escape from him by flight; and, [Sept. 10.] 
 leaving his strong camp, he attacked the Duke of 
 Somerset near Pinkey, with no better success 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 advanced towards the enemy in three great 
 bodies, and, as they passed the river, were consi- 
 derably exposed to the fire of the English fleet, 
 which lay in the bay of Musselburgh, and had 
 drawn near the shore. The English cavalry, flush* 
 
 L2 
 
114 THE HISTORY B. II. 
 
 ed 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 
 oft' the field. The English infantry, however, ad- 
 vanced ; and the Scots were at once exposed to a 
 fli°ht of arrows, to a fire in flank from four hundred 
 foreign fusileers, 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, endea- 
 voured to change his ground, and to retire towards 
 the main body. But his friends, unhappily, mistook 
 his motion for a flight, and fell into confusion, At 
 that very instant the broken cavalry, having rallied, 
 returned to the charge ; the foot pursued the ad- 
 vantage they had gained ; the prospect of victory 
 redoubled 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 or bloody ; but, in the pursuit, the English dis- 
 covered all the rage and fierceness which national 
 antipathy, kindled by long emulation and inflamed 
 by reciprocal injuries, is apt to inspire. The pur- 
 suit was contiuued for five hours, and to a great 
 distance. All the three roads by which the Scots 
 fled were strewed with spears, and swords, and 
 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 Protector had it now in his power 
 
1547. OF SCOTLAND. 115 
 
 to become master of a kingdom, out of which, not 
 many hours before, he was almost obliged to retire 
 with infamy 18 . 
 
 But this victory, however great, was of no real 
 utility, for want of skill or of leisure to improve it. 
 Every new injury rendered the Scots more averse 
 from a union with England ; and the Protector 
 neglected the only measure which would have made 
 
 18 Tbe following passage in a carious and rare journal of the 
 Protector's expedition into Scotland, written by W. Patten, 
 who was joined in commission 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 defend, I have thought necessary here to utter. 
 Hackbutters have they few or none, and appoint their fight most 
 commonly always a foot. 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 towards 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 undiscovered, no force can well withstand them. 
 Standing at defence they thrust shoulders likewise so nigh toge- 
 ther, the fore ranks well nigh to kneeling, stoop low before, their 
 fellows behind holding their pikes with both hands, and there- 
 with 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 lin- 
 ger pierce through the skin of an angry hedgehog, as any en- 
 counter 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 VI. 279, c\c. 
 
 The length of the Scotch pike or spear was appoiuted by Act 
 41. p. 1471, to be six ells ; i. e. eighteen feet six inches. 
 
116 THE HISTORY B. II. 
 
 it necessary for them to have given their consent 
 to it. He amused himself 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 im- 
 provement of it, the victory at Dunbar gave Crom- 
 well 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, indeed, be pleaded in ex- 
 cuse 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 vic- 
 tory. 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 ef- 
 fects for some time. The supreme power still re- 
 maining in his hands, he employed it to recover 
 the opportunity which he had lost. [April, 1548]. 
 A body of troops, by his command, seized and for- 
 tified Haddingtoun, a place which, on account of its 
 distance from the sea, and from any English garri- 
 son, could not be defended without great expense 
 and danger. 
 
 Meanwhile the French gained more by the defeat 
 of their allies than the English by their victory. 
 After the death of Cardinal Beatoun, Mary of 
 Guise, the Queen Dowager, took a considerable 
 
3 048. OF SCOTLAND. 117 
 
 share in the direction 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 king- 
 dom, all eyes were turned towards France, no pros- 
 pect of safety appearing but in assistance from that 
 quarter. But Henry II. being then at peace with 
 England, the Queen represented that they could not 
 expect him to take part in their quarrel, but upon 
 views of personal advantage ; and that without ex- 
 traordinary concessions in his favour, no assistance, 
 in proportion 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 convention ; they were swayed en- 
 tirely 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 indepen- 
 dence of' Scotland, which had prompted them to 
 reject the proposals of Henry VIII. ; and, by offer- 
 ing, voluntarily, their young Queen in marriage to 
 the Dauphin, eldest son of Henry II. ; and, which 
 was still more, by proposing to send her immedi- 
 ately 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 tho 
 offers of the Scottish ambassadors, and prepared 
 
118 THE HISTORY B. II. 
 
 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 Fran- 
 cis I., arrived at Leith. They served two cam- 
 paigns in Scotland, with a spirit equal to their for- 
 mer 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 
 defensive, prevented the French from attempting 
 any enterprise of consequence ; and obliged them 
 to exhaust their strength in tedious sieges, under- 
 taken under many disadvantages. Their efforts, 
 however, were not without some benefit to the 
 Scots, by compelling the English to evacuate Had- 
 dingtoun, 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 influence 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, concerning the Queen's marriage 
 with the Dauphin, and her education in the court 
 of France. In vain did a few patriots remonstrate 
 against such extravagant concessions, by which 
 Scotland was reduced to be a province of France ; 
 and Henry, from an ally, raised to be master of the 
 kingdom; by which the friendship of France be- 
 came 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 
 
1548. OF SCOTLAND. 119 
 
 point of so much consequence was hastily decided 
 in a parliament assembled [June 5] in the camp 
 before Haddingtoun : the intrigues 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 am- 
 bassador, 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 pre- 
 ferred before the honour of the nation. 
 
 Having hurried the Scots into this rash and fatal 
 resolution, the source of many calamities to them- 
 selves 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 Scot- 
 land, and without delay convoyed the Queen into 
 France. Mary was then six years old, and by her 
 education in that court, one of the politest but most 
 corrupted in Europe, she acquired every accom- 
 plishment that could add to her charms as a woman, 
 and contracted many of those prejudices which oc- 
 casioned her misfortunes as a Queen. 
 
 From the time that Mary was put into their 
 hands, it was the interest of the French to suffer 
 war in Scotland 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 suflicient 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 
 
120 THE HISTORY B. II. 
 
 been acquired with too much violence, and was ex- 
 ercised with too little moderation to be of long con- 
 tinuance. Many good qualities, added to great 
 love of his country, could not atone for his ambition 
 in usurping the sole direction of affairs. Some of 
 the most eminent courtiers combined against him ; 
 and the Earl of Warwick their leader, no less am- 
 bitious but more artful than Somerset, conducted 
 his measures with so much dexterity as to raise him- 
 self upon the ruins of his rival. Without the invi- 
 dious name of Protector, he succeeded to all the 
 power and influence of which Somerset was depriv- 
 ed, 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. 
 
 Henry was no stranger to Warwick's situation, 
 and improved his knowledge of it to good purpose, 
 in conducting the negotiations for a general peace. 
 He prescribed what terms he pleased to the Eng- 
 lish minister, who scrupled at nothing, however 
 advantageous to that monarch and his allies. — 
 [March 24, 1550]. England consented to restore 
 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 possession, were rased; and peace 
 between the two kingdoms was established on its 
 ancient foundation. 
 
 Both the British nations lost power, as well as 
 reputation, by this unhappy quarrel. It was on 
 both sides a war of emulation and resentment, ra- 
 ther than of interest; and was carried on under 
 the influence of national animosities, which were 
 blind to all advantages. The French, who entered 
 
1550. OF SCOTLAND. 121 
 
 into it with greater coolness, conducted it with 
 more skill ; and by dexterously availing themselves 
 of every circumstance which occurred, recovered 
 possession of an important territory which they had 
 lost, and added to their monarchy a new kingdom. 
 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 latter ; 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 satisfaction as to that of the nation. The 
 Scots soon found that the calling to their assistance 
 a people more powerful than themselves was a dan- 
 gerous expedient. They beheld, with the utmost 
 impatience, those who had come over to protect 
 the kingdom taking upon them to command in it; 
 and on many occasions they repented the rash in- 
 vitation which they had given. The peculiar ge- 
 nius of the French nation heightened this disgust, 
 and prepared the Scots to throw off the yoke, be- 
 fore they had well begun to feel it. The French 
 were in that age, what they are in the present, one 
 of the most polished nations in Europe. But it is 
 to be observed, in all their expeditions into foreign 
 countries, whether towards the south or north, that 
 their manners have been remarkably incompatible 
 with the manners of every other people. Barba- 
 rians are tenacious of their own customs, because 
 they want knowledge and taste to discover the rea- 
 sonableness and propriety of customs which differ 
 from them. Nations which hold the first rank in 
 politeness are frequently no less tenacious out of 
 pride. The G reeks were so in the ancient world ; 
 
 vol. I. M 
 
122 THE HISTORY B. II. 
 
 and the French are the same in the modern. Full 
 of themselves ; 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 man- 
 ners 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 con- 
 tempt, were not of a temper to admit all the pre- 
 tensions of such assuming 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 re- 
 strained ; and, on occasion of a very slight acci- 
 dent, broke out with fatal violence. A private 
 French soldier engaging in an idle quarrel with a 
 citizen of Edinburgh, both nations took arms with 
 equal rage, in defence of their 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 inhabi- 
 tants 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 peroid. 
 
1 o.')0. OF SCOTLAND. l'2o 
 
 From the death of Cardinal Beatoun, nothing 
 has been said of 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 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 acquired 
 strength, and advanced by large and firm steps to- 
 wards a full establishment in the kingdom. The 
 first preachers against Popery in Scotland, of whom 
 several had appeared during the reign of James V. 
 were more eminent for zeal and piety than for learn- 
 ing. Their acquaintance with the principles of the 
 Reformation was partial, and at second hand ; some 
 of them had been educated in England ; all of them 
 had borrowed their notions from the books pub- 
 lished 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 writing's of the 
 foreign reformers became generally known ; the in- 
 quisitive genius of the age pressed forward in quest 
 of truth ; the discovery of one error opened 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 com- 
 plete its ruin, but a daring and active leader to di- 
 rect the attack. Such was the famous John Knox, 
 who, with better qualifications 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 
 
124 THE HISTORY B. II. 
 
 which always accompanies a bold and popular elo- 
 quence. Instead of amusing himself with lopping 
 the branches, he struck directly at the root of Po- 
 pery, and attacked both the doctrine and discipline 
 of the established church with a vehemence pecu- 
 liar to himself, 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 ob- 
 served the tendency and progress of his opinions 
 with the utmost concern. But, at first, he retired 
 for safety into the castle of St. Andrew's, and, 
 while the conspirators kept possession of it, preach- 
 ed publicly under their protection. The great re- 
 volution in England, which followed upon the death 
 of Henry VIII. 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 ministers of 
 his son Edward VI. cast them off altogether, and 
 established the Protestant religion upon almost the 
 same footing whereon it now stands in that king- 
 dom. The influence of this example reached Scot- 
 land, and the happy effects of ecclesiastical liberty 
 in one nation inspired the other with an equal de- 
 sire of recovering it. The reformers had, hitherto, 
 been obliged to conduct themselves with the ut- 
 most caution, and seldom ventured to preach, but 
 in private houses, and at a distance from court ; 
 they gained credit, as happens on the first publica- 
 tion 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 principles, they 
 were no longer under the necessity of acting with 
 
1000. OF SCOTLAND. 125 
 
 the same reserve ; and, with more security and en- 
 couragement, 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 Ileformation this spirit was still 
 under 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 formidable 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 pene- 
 tration 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 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 Eng- 
 land, hastened the subversion of the Papal throne 
 in Scotland ; and, by a singular disposition of Pro- 
 vidence, 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 (iuise possessed the same bold and as- 
 pirins spirit which distinguished her family. But 
 in her it was softened by the female character, and 
 accompanied with great temper and address. Her 
 brothers, in order to attain the high objects at 
 which they aimed, ventured upon sucli daring mea- 
 sures as suited their great courage. Her designs 
 
 M *2 
 
12G THE HISTORY B. II. 
 
 upon the supreme power were concealed with the 
 utmost care, and advanced by address and refine- 
 ments more natural to her sex. By a dexterous 
 application of those talents, she had acquired a 
 considerable influence on the councils of a nation 
 hitherto unacquainted with the government of wo- 
 men ; and, without the smallest right to any share 
 in the administration of affairs, had engrossed the 
 chief direction 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 ambition of those who governed 
 him, might so easily disturb; 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 brothers 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. 
 
 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 con- 
 sent. Under a minority, and among a warlike and 
 factious people, the former was a very uncertain 
 and dangerous experiment. The latter appeared to 
 be no less impracticable. To persuade a man vo- 
 luntarily to abdicate the supreme power ; to de- 
 scend to a level with those above whom he was 
 raised ; and to be content with the second place 
 where he hath held a first, may well pass for a 
 wild and chimerical project. This, however, the 
 
1550. OF SCOTLAND. 127 
 
 Queen attempted; and the prudence of the attempt 
 was sufficiently justified by its success. 
 
 The Regent's inconstancy and irresolution, to- 
 gether with the calamities which had befallen the 
 kingdom under his administration, raised the preju- 
 dices both of the nobles and of the people against 
 him to a great height ; and the Queen secretly fo- 
 mented 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 im- 
 pose on the credulity of the factious. The favour- 
 ers of the Reformation being the most numerous 
 and spreading body of the Regent's enemies, she 
 applied to them with a particular attention ; and 
 the gentleness of her disposition, and seeming in- 
 difference 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 willing to fall in with her measures 
 [Oct.], the Queen set out for France, under pre- 
 tence of visiting her daughter, and took along with 
 her those noblemen who possessed the greatest 
 power and credit among their countrymen. Sof- 
 tened by the pleasures of an elegant court, flat- 
 tered 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 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 Kin- 
 
128 THE HISTORY B. II. 
 
 naird, 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 con- 
 sent. The overture was made to him in the name 
 of the French King, enforced by proper threaten- 
 iugs, in order to work upon his natural timidity, 
 and sweetened by every promise that could recon- 
 cile him to a proposal so disagreeable. On the 
 one hand, the confirmation of his French title, to- 
 gether with a considerable pension, the parliamen- 
 tary acknowledgment of his right of succession to 
 the crown, and a public ratification of his conduct 
 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 disaffec- 
 tion of the nobles, with the danger of an after reck- 
 oning, were represented in the strongest colours. 
 
 It was not possible to agree to a proposal so ex- 
 traordinary and unexpected, without some previous 
 struggle ; 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 obstruction to her views. 
 He was lying at the point of death, and in his ab- 
 sence the influence of the Queen's agents on a flex- 
 ible temper counterbalanced several of the strongest 
 passions of the human mind, and obtained his con- 
 sent to a voluntary surrender of the supreme power. 
 
 Dec. 1551.] After gaining a point of such dif- 
 ficulty with so much ease, the Queen returned into 
 Scotland, in full expectation of taking immediate 
 possession of her new dignity. But by this time 
 the Archbishop of St. Andrew's had recovered of 
 
1551. OF SCOTLAND. 129 
 
 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 contem- 
 poraries. 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, consider- 
 ed him as a powerful magician, when he applied to 
 him for relief; but it was his knowledge as a philo- 
 sopher, which enabled him to cure his disease 19 . 
 
 Together with his health, the Archbishop reco- 
 vered the entire government of the Regent, and 
 quickly persuaded him to recall that dishonourable 
 promise which he had been seduced by the arti- 
 fices 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 renew 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, 
 whatever impressions her emissaries might have 
 
 19 Cardan himself was more desirous of being considered as 
 an astrologer than a philosopher ; in his hook Ve Genifuris, we 
 find a calculation of the Archhishop's nativity, from which he pre- 
 tends hoth to have predicted his disease, and to have effected 
 his cure. He received from Ihe Archbishop a reward of 1800 
 crowns ! a great sum in that age. De Vila sua, p. 32. 
 
130 THE HISTORY B. II. 
 
 made on the Regent, it was no easy matter to over- 
 reach or to 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 impor- 
 tance so well merited. The universal defection of 
 the nobility, the growing power of the Protestants, 
 who all adhered to the Queen Dowager, the reite- 
 rated solicitations of the French King, and, above 
 all, the interposition of the young Queen, who was 
 now entering the twelfth year of her age, and claim- 
 ed a right of nominating whom she pleased to be 
 Regent 20 , obliged him at last to resign that high 
 office, which he had held many years. He ob- 
 tained, however, the same advantageous terms for 
 himself, which had been formerly stipulated. 
 
 It was in the parliament which met on the tenth 
 of April, one thousand five hundred and fifty-four, 
 that the Earl of Arran executed this extraordinary 
 resignation; 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 ap- 
 probation, a woman and a stranger was advanced 
 to the supreme authority over a fierce and turbulent 
 people, who seldom submitted, without reluctance, 
 to the legal and ancient government of their native 
 monarchs. 
 
 1553.] While the Queen Dowager of Scotland 
 contributed so much towards the progress of the 
 Reformation by the protection which she afforded 
 it, from motives of ambition, the English Queen, 
 by her indiscreet zeal, filled the kingdom with per- 
 sons active in promoting the same cause. Mary 
 ascended the throne of England on the death of her 
 20 Lesley, de Ileb. Gest. Scot. ap. Jebb. 1. 187. 
 
1553. OF SCOTLAND. 131 
 
 brother Fid ward [.July 6], and soon after married 
 Philip II. of Spain. To the persecuting- spirit of 
 the Romish superstition, and the fierceness of that 
 age, she added the private resentment of her own 
 and of her mothers sufferings, with which she 
 loaded the reformed religion ; and the peevishness 
 and severity of her natural temper carried the acri- 
 mony of all these passions to the utmost extreme. 
 The cruelty of her persecution equaled the deeds 
 of those tyrants who have been the greatest re- 
 proach 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 pro- 
 ceedings. Many among the most eminent Refor- 
 mers suffered for the doctrines which they had 
 taught; others fled from the storm. To the greater 
 part of these Switzerland and Germany opened a 
 secure asylum ; and not a few, out of choice or ne- 
 cessity, 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 hither- 
 to produced no other effects ; but they soon began 
 to operate with greater violence, and proved the 
 occasion, not only of subverting the established re- 
 ligion, but of shaking the throne and endangering 
 the kingdom. The causes which facilitated the in- 
 troduction of these new opinions into Scotland, and 
 which disseminated them so fast through the na- 
 tion, merit, on that account, a particular and care- 
 ful inquiry. The Reformation is one of the greatest 
 
132 THE HISTORY B. II. 
 
 events in the history of mankind, and, in whatever 
 point of light we view it, is instructive and in- 
 teresting. 
 
 The revival of learning in the fifteenth and six- 
 teenth 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 
 exercising their reason than religion was one of the 
 first objects which drew their attention. Long be- 
 fore Luther published his famous Theses, which 
 shook the Papal throne, science and philosophy 
 had laid open to many of the Italians the impos- 
 ture and absurdity of the established superstition. 
 That subtle and refined people, satisfied with en- 
 joying those discoveries in secret, were little dis- 
 posed to assume the dangerous character of Refor- 
 mers, and concluded the knowledge of truth to be 
 the prerogative of the wise, while vulgar minds 
 must be overawed and governed by popular errors. 
 But, animated with a more noble and disinterested 
 zeal, the German theologian boldly erected the 
 standard of truth, and upheld it with an uncon- 
 querable 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 conversant in history. From the 
 heart of Germany his opinions spread, with asto- 
 nishing rapidity, all over Europe: and, wherever. 
 
1553. OF SCOTLAND. V3S 
 
 they came, endangered or overturned the ancient 
 but ill founded system. The vigilance and address 
 of the court of Home, cooperating with the power 
 and bigotry of the Austrian family, suppressed 
 these notions on their first appearance in the south- 
 ern kingdoms 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 sen- 
 sibility of frame, peculiar to the inhabitants of 
 southern climates, rendered them susceptible of the 
 deepest impressions of superstitious terror and cre- 
 dulity. Ignorance and barbarity were no less fa- 
 vourable 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 understand- 
 ings, and the most improbable fictions were received 
 with implicit assent and admiration. 
 
 Accordingly, that form of Popery which pre- 
 vailed in Scotland was of the most bigoted and illi- 
 beral kind. Those doctrines which are most apt to 
 shock the human understanding, and those legends 
 which furthest exceed belief, were proposed to the 
 people without any attempt to palliate or disguise 
 them ; nor did they ever call in question the reason- 
 ableness of the one, or the truth of the other. 
 
 The power and wealth of the church kept pace 
 vol. I. N 
 
134 THE HISTORY B. II. 
 
 with the progress of superstition ; for it is the na- 
 ture of that spirit to observe no bounds in its re- 
 spect and liberality towards those whose character 
 it esteems sacred. The Scottish Kings early de- 
 monstrated how much they were under its influ- 
 ence, by their vast additions to the immunities and 
 riches of the clergy. The profuse piety of David I. 
 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 
 priesthood with new possessions. The riches of 
 the church all over Europe were exorbitant; but 
 Scotland was one of those countries wherein they 
 had furthest exceeded the just proportion. The 
 Scottish clergy paid one-half of every tax imposed 
 on land ; and as there is no reason to think that in 
 that age they would be loaded with an unequal 
 share of the burden, we may conclude that, by the 
 time of the Reformation, little less than one-half of 
 the national property had fallen into the hauds of a 
 society, which is always acquiring, and can never 
 lose. 
 
 The nature, too, of a considerable part of their 
 property extended the influence of the clergy. — 
 Many estates 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 21 . The connexion 
 between superior and vassal, between landlord and 
 tenant, created dependencies, and gave rise to a 
 union of great advantage to the church; and, in 
 21 Keith, 521. Note (b). 
 
lo">3. OF SCOTLAND. 135 
 
 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 representa- 
 tives 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 22 . 
 
 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 remarkable, both as causes and effects 
 of that dominion which they had acquired over the 
 rest of mankind. They were regarded by the cre- 
 dulous laity as beings of a superior species; they 
 were neither subject to the same laws, nor tried by 
 the same judges 2 '. Every guard that religion could 
 
 22 Spots. Hist, of the Church of Scotland, 449. 
 
 2i How far this claim of the clergy to exemption from lay juris- 
 diction extended appears from a remarkable transaction in the 
 Parliament held in 1.110. When that court was proceeding to 
 the forfeiture of Ihe murderers of Cardinal Beatoan, and were 
 about to include a priest, who was one of the assassins, in the 
 general sentence of condemnation, odious as tlie 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 mini. This claim was sustained 
 and his name is not inserted in the act of forfeiture. Episl. 
 Keg- Scot. ii. 350. 361. 
 
13G THE HISTORY B. II. 
 
 supply, was placed around their power, their pos- 
 sessions, and their persons; and endeavours were 
 used, not without success, to represent them all as 
 equally sacred. 
 
 The reputation for learning, which, however in- 
 considerable, 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 un- 
 instructive : but as the ecclesiastics alone were con- 
 versant in them, this procured them esteem; and a 
 very slender portion of knowledge drew the admi- 
 ration 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 pene- 
 tration and address than bodily vigour. Wherever 
 the former were necessary the clergy were entrust- 
 ed ; because they alone were properly qualified for 
 the trust. Almost all the high offices in civil go- 
 vernment 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 24 . The lords of session were 
 .supreme judges in all matters of civil right; and, 
 by its original constitution, the president and one 
 fialf of the senators in this court were churchmen. 
 
 To all this we may add, that the clergy being 
 
 24 Crawf. Oflice of State. 
 
1-333. OF SCOTLAND. 137 
 
 separated from the rest of mankind by the law of 
 celibacy, and undistracted by those cares, and un- 
 incumbered with those burdens which occupy and 
 oppress other men, the interest of their order be- 
 came their only object, and they were at full leisure 
 to pursue it. 
 
 The nature of their functions gave them access 
 to all persons, and at all seasons. They could em- 
 ploy all the motives of fear and of hope, of terror 
 and of consolation, which operate most powerfully 
 on the human mind. They haunted the weak and 
 the credulous; they besieged the beds of the sick 
 and of the dying; they suffered 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 bestowiug riches upon 
 those who called themselves his servants. 
 
 When their own industry, or the superstition of 
 mankind failed of producing this effect, the ecclesi- 
 astics 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 diocess, after 
 paying his funeral charges and debts, and distri- 
 buting among his kindred the sums to which they 
 were respectively entitled ; it being presumed that 
 no Christian would have chosen to leave the world 
 without destining some part of his substance to 
 pious uses 25 . As men are apt to trust to the con- 
 tinuance of life with a fond confidence, and child- 
 ishly shun every thing that forces them to think of 
 their mortality, many die without settling their af- 
 fairs by will ; and the right of administration in that 
 event, acquired by the clergy, must have proved a 
 
 M Essays on Brit. Antiq. 174. Annals of Scotland, by Sir 
 David Dalryiuple, vol. i. Append. No. ii. 
 
 N 2 
 
138 THE HISTORY B. II. 
 
 considerable source both of wealth and of power to 
 the church. 
 
 At the same time, no matrimonial or testamen- 
 tary cause could be tried but in the spiritual courts, 
 and by laws which the clergy themselves had 
 framed. The penalty, too, by which the decisions 
 of these courts were enforced, added to their autho- 
 rity. A sentence of excommunication was no less 
 formidable than a sentence of outlawry. It was 
 pronounced on many occasions, and against various 
 crimes: and, besides excluding those upon whom 
 it fell from Christian privileges, it deprived them of 
 all their rights as men or as citizens ; 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 
 immense 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 encroachments. No wonder haughty and 
 martial barons should view the power and posses- 
 sions of the church with envy; and regard the lazy 
 and inactive character of churchmen with the ut- 
 most contempt; while, at the same time, the inde- 
 cent and licentious lives of the clergy gave great 
 and just offence to the people, and considerably 
 abated the veneration which they were accustomed 
 to yield to that order of men. 
 
1553. OF SCOTLAND. 139 
 
 Immense wealth, extreme indolence, gross igno- 
 rance, and, above all, the severe injunctions of celi- 
 bacy, 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 Re- 
 formers, confirmed by several Popish writers, the 
 most open and scandalous dissoluteness of manners 
 prevailed among the Scottish clergy 2fr . 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 Crawford's son 27 ; 
 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 primate 28 . 
 
 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 eccle- 
 siastics, either out of pride or ignorance, neglected 
 
 26 Winzet. ap. Keith, Append. 202. 20>. Lesley de Reb. 
 Gest. Scot. 2?,2. 
 
 27 The marriage articles, subscribed with his own hand, in which 
 be calls her my daughter, are still extant. Keith, p. 42. 
 
 28 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 lirst thirty years after the Re- 
 formation 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 alie- 
 nated them to their children - , who, when they acquired wealth, 
 were desirous that the stain of illegitimacy might no longer re- 
 main upon their families. In Keith's Catalogue of Scottish Bishop* 
 we find several instances of such alienations of church lands, by 
 the Popish incumbents to their natural Children. 
 
140 THE HISTORY B. II. 
 
 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 resemble the first pro- 
 pagators of Christianity, the Popish clergy were 
 compared to all those persons who are most infa- 
 mous 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 es- 
 tablished doctrines ; instead of attempting to found 
 them upon Scripture, or to reconcile them to rea- 
 son ; they left them without any other support or 
 recommendation than the authority of the church, 
 and the decrees of councils. The fables concerning 
 purgatory, the virtues of pilgrimage, 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 compositions were 
 still more wretched and contemptible than the sub- 
 jects on which they insisted. While the Reformers 
 were attended by crowded and admiring audiences, 
 the Popish preachers were either universally de- 
 serted, 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 aid 29 . But such lvinyjwon- 
 ders, as were beheld with unsuspicious admiration, 
 
 - Spot&wood, G9. 
 
1053. OF SCOTLAND. 141 
 
 or heard with implicit faith, in times of darkness 
 and of ignorance, met with a very different recep- 
 tion in a more enlightened period. The vigilance 
 of the Reformers detected these impostures, 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 in- 
 dignation which they excited against those corrupt 
 doctrines which had perverted the nature of true 
 Christianity ; besides the zeal which they inspired 
 for the knowledge of truth and the purity of reli- 
 gion ; they gave rise also, among the Scottish no- 
 bles, 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 were now taught to consider as alienations 
 made by their ancestors with a profusion no less 
 undiscerning than unbounded. They flattered them- 
 selves, 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 aver- 
 sion 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 ad- 
 vantage, spread fast through the nation, and ex- 
 cited a spirit that burst out, at last, with irresistible 
 violence. 
 
 Religious considerations alone were sufficient to 
 have roused this spirit. The points in controversy 
 
142 THE HISTORY B. II. 
 
 with the church of Rome were of so much impor- 
 tance to the happiness of mankind, and so essentia! 
 to Christianity, that they merited all the zeal with 
 which the Reformers contended in order to esta- 
 blish them. But the Reformation having been 
 represented as the effect of some wild and enthu- 
 siastic frenzy 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 unneces- 
 sary digression. We now return to the course of 
 the history. 
 
 1554]. The Queen's elevation to the office of 
 Regent seems to have transported her, at first, be- 
 yond the known prudence and moderation of her 
 character. She began her administration by con- 
 ferring upon foreigners several offices of trust and 
 of dignity ; a step which, both from the inability of 
 strangers to discharge these offices with propriety, 
 and from the envy which their preferment excites 
 among the natives, is never attended with good 
 consequences. Vilmort was made comptroller, and 
 intrusted with the management of the public reve- 
 nues; Bonot was appointed Governor of Orkney; 
 and Rubay honoured with the custody of the great 
 seal, and the title of Vice-chancellor 30 . It was 
 with the highest indignation that the Scots beheld 
 offices of the greatest eminence and authority dealt 
 out among strangers 31 . By these promotions they 
 
 30 Lesley de Reb. Gest. Scot. 189. 
 
 31 The resentment of the nation against the French rose to such 
 a height, that an act of parliament was passed on purpose to re- 
 strain or moderate it. Pari. 6. Q. Mary, c. GO. 
 
1 »>4. OF SCOTLAND. 143 
 
 conceived the Queen to have ottered an insult botli 
 to their understandings and to their courage; to the 
 former, by supposing them unfit for those stations 
 which their ancestors had filled with so much dig- 
 nity ; to the latter, by imagining that they were 
 fume 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 
 incident happened which inflamed their aversion 
 from French councils to the highest degree. Ever 
 since the famous contest between the houses of 
 Valois and Plantagenet, the French had been ac- 
 customed to embarrass the English, and to divide 
 their strength by the sudden and formidable incur- 
 sions of their allies, the Scots. But, as these in- 
 roads were seldom attended with any real advan- 
 tage to Scotland, and exposed it to the dangerous 
 resentment of a powerful neighbour, the Scots be- 
 gan to grow less tractable than formerly, and scru- 
 pled 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 II., and foreseeing that the Queen of Eng- 
 land would take part in her husband's quarrel, was 
 extremely solicitous to secure in Scotland the as- 
 sistance of some troops, which would be more at 
 his command than an undisciplined army led by 
 chieftains who were almost independent. In pro- 
 secution of this design, but under pretence of re- 
 lieving the nobles from the expense and danger of 
 defending the borders, the Queen Regent proposed 
 
144 THE HISTORY B. II. 
 
 in parliament [1555], 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 regular troops in constant pay. A fixed 
 tax upon land, which the growing expense of go- 
 vernment had introduced 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 ge- 
 nerous and brave nobility than the intrusting to 
 mercenary hands the defence of those territories 
 which had been acquired or preserved by the blood 
 of their ancestors. They received this proposal 
 with the utmost dissatisfaction. About three hun- 
 dred of the lesser barons repaired in a body to the 
 Queen "Regent, and represented their sense of the 
 intended innovation with that manly and deter- 
 mined boldness which is natural to a free people in 
 a martial age. Alarmed at a remonstrance deliver- 
 ed in so firm a tone, and supported by such for- 
 midable numbers, the Queen prudently abandoned 
 a scheme which she found to be universally odious. 
 As the Queen herself was known perfectly to un- 
 derstand the circumstances and temper of the na- 
 tion, this measure was imputed wholly to the sug- 
 gestions of her foreign counsellors; and the Scots 
 were ready to proceed to the most violent extremi- 
 ties against them. 
 
 The French, instead of extinguishing, added fuel 
 to the flame. They had now commenced hostilities 
 against Spain, and Philip had prevailed on the 
 Queen of England to reinforce his army with a con- 
 siderable body of her troops. In order to deprive 
 him of this aid, Henry had recourse, as he project- 
 ed, to the Scots ; and attempted to excite them to 
 
i&dS. OF SCOTLAND. 145 
 
 invade England. But as Scotland had nothing to 
 dread from a Princess of Mary's character, who, 
 far from any ambitious scheme of disturbing her 
 neighbours, was wholly occupied in endeavouring 
 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 en- 
 gaging the kingdom in an enterprise so dangerous 
 and unnecessary. What she could not obtain by 
 persuasion, the Queen Regent brought about by a 
 stratagem. Notwithstanding the peace which sub- 
 sisted between the two kingdoms, she commanded 
 her French soldiers to rebuild a small fort near 
 Berwick, which was appointed, by the last treaty, 
 to be rased. The garrison of Berwick 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 mo- 
 ment, the wise and pacific resolutions which they 
 had so lately formed. War was determined, and 
 orders instantly given for raising a numerous army. 
 But before their forces could assemble, the ardour 
 of their indignation had time to cool; and the Eng- 
 lish having discovered no intention to push the war 
 with vigour, the nobles resumed their pacific sys- 
 tem, and resolved to stand altogether upon the de- 
 fensive. [1556.] They marched to the banks of the 
 Tweed, they prevented the incursions 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, 
 
 yoi.. i. o 
 
140 THE HTSTORY B. II. 
 
 D'Oysel, the commander of the French troops, who 
 possessed entirely the confidence of the Queen Re- 
 gent, endeavoured, with her connivance, to engage 
 the two nations in hostilities. Contrarv to the orders 
 of the Scottish general, he marched over the Tweed 
 with his own soldiers, and invested Werk Castle, a 
 garrison of the English. The Scots, instead of se- 
 conding his attempt, were enraged at his presump- 
 tion. The Queen's partiality towards France had 
 long been suspected ; but it was now visible that 
 she wantonly sacrificed the peace and safety of 
 Scotland to the interest of that ambitious and as- 
 suming 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 carried the authority of commands. 
 On this occasion the resentment of the nobles 
 broke out with such violence, that the Queen, per- 
 ceiving all attempts to engage them in action to be 
 vain, abruptly dismissed her army, and retired with 
 the utmost shame and disgust; having discovered 
 the impotence of her own authority, without ef- 
 fecting any thing which could be of advantage to 
 France 32 . 
 
 It is observable that this first instance of con- 
 tempt 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 Re- 
 gency had been principally supported by those who 
 favoured the Reformation, and as she still needed 
 them for a counterpoise to the Archbishop of St. 
 Andrew's, and the partisans of the house of Ha- 
 
 32 Strype's Memor. iii. Append. 274. Lesly, 196. 
 
1566. OF SCOTLAND. 147 
 
 inilton ; she continued to treat them with great re- 
 spect, and admitted them to no inconsiderable share 
 in her favour and confidence. Kirkaldy of Grange, 
 and the other surviving conspirators against Car- 
 dinal Beatoun were about this time recalled by her 
 from banishment; and, through her connivance, the 
 Protestant preachers enjoyed an interval of tran- 
 quillity, which was of great advantage to their cause. 
 Soothed by these instances of the Queen's modera- 
 tion and humanity, the Protestants left to others 
 the office of remonstrating; and the leaders of tne 
 opposite factions set them the first example of dis- 
 puting the will of their sovereign. 
 
 As the Queen Regent felt how limited and pre- 
 carious her authority was, while it depended on the 
 poise of these contrary factions, she endeavoured to 
 establish it on a broader and more secure founda- 
 tion, by hastening the conclusion of her daughter's 
 marriage with the Dauphin. Amiable as the Queen 
 of Scots then was, in the bloom of youth, and con- 
 siderable as the territories were, which she would 
 have added to the French monarchy ; reasons were 
 not wanting to dissuade Henry from completing his 
 first plan of marrying her to his son. The Con- 
 stable Montmorency had employed all his interest 
 to defeat an alliance which reflected so much lustre 
 on the Princes of Lorrain. He had represented 
 the impossibility of maintaining order and tran- 
 quillity among a turbulent people, during the ab- 
 sence of their sovereign ; and for that reason had 
 advised Henry to bestow the young Queen upon 
 one of the Princes of the blood, who, by residing 
 in Scotland, might preserve that kingdom a useful 
 ally to France, which, by a nearer union to the 
 crown, would become a mutinous and ungovernable 
 
148 THE HISTORY B. II, 
 
 province 33 . But at this time the Constable was a 
 prisoner in the hands of the Spaniards ; the Princes 
 of Lorrain were at the height of their power ; and 
 their influence, seconded by the charms of the young 
 Queen, triumphed over the prudent but envious re- 
 monstrances of their rival. 
 
 Dec. 14, 1557.] The French King accordingly 
 applied to the Parliament of Scotland, which ap- 
 pointed eight of its members 34 to represent the 
 whole body of the nation, at the marriage 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 in the kingdom. The in- 
 structions of the parliament to those commissioners 
 still remain 35 , 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 pre- 
 serving 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 
 whatever satisfaction their fear or jealousy could 
 demand. The young Queen, the Dauphin, and the 
 King of France ratified every article with the most 
 
 33 Melv. Mem. 15. 
 
 31 Viz. The Archbishop of Glasgow, the Bishop of Ross, the 
 Bishop of Orkney, the Earls of Rothes and Cassils, Lord Flem- 
 ing, Lord Seton, the Prior of St. Andrew's, and John Erskine of 
 Dun. 
 
 : '"' Keith, Append. 13. 
 
1557. OF SCOTFJAND. 149 
 
 solemn oaths, and continued 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 subscribe privately three deeds, 
 equally unjust and invalid ; by which, failing the 
 heirs of her own body, she conferred the kingdom 
 of Scotland, with whatever inheritance or succes- 
 sion might accrue to it, in free gift upon the crown 
 of France, declaring all promises to the contrary, 
 which the necessity of her affairs, and the solicita- 
 tions of her subjects, had extorted, or might extort 
 from her, to be void and of no obligation 36 . As it 
 gives us a proper idea of the character of the French 
 court under Henry II. 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 dishonourable project. The Queen of Scots 
 was the only innocent actor in that scene of iniquity. 
 Her youth, her inexperience, her education in a 
 foreign country, and her deference to the will of her 
 uncles, must go far towards vindicating her, in the 
 judgment of every impartial person, from any im- 
 putation of blame on that account. 
 
 This grant, by which Mary bestowed the inherit- 
 ance 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 settle- 
 ment of the succession in favour of the Duke of 
 Chatelherault. The zeal with which the arch- 
 bishop of St. Andrew's opposed all the measures 
 ' M Corps Diplomat, torn. v. 21. Keith, 73. 
 
 o 2 
 
150 THE HISTORY B. II, 
 
 of the Queen Regent, evidently proceeded from the 
 tears and suspicions of that prudent prelate on this 
 head w. 
 
 xApril 14, 1558.] The marriage, however, was 
 celebrated with great 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 Scotland. This 
 they considered only as an honorary title; but the 
 French laboured to annex to it some solid privileges 
 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 Scotland, a person who married an heiress, 
 kept possession of her estate during his own life, if 
 he happened to survive her and the children born of 
 the marriage 33 . This was called the courtesy of 
 Scotland. The French aimed at applying this rule, 
 which takes place in private inheritances, to the 
 succession of the kingdom ; 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 39 . As the 
 
 37 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. — 
 Havnes, 215, 219. Porbes's Collect, vol. i. 189. 
 
 M Reg. Mag. lib. ii. 58. 
 
 1)9 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 
 i all public instruments together with the Queen. In conse- 
 quence of this, the subjects took, au oath of fidelity to him, Keith, 
 
15oH. OF SCOTLAND. 151 
 
 French had reason to expect difficulties in carrying 
 through this measure, they began with sounding the 
 deputies who were then at Paris. The English, in 
 the marriage articles between their Queen and Phi- 
 lip 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 40 . Their answer was in 
 the same spirit, respectful but firm ; and discovered 
 a fixed resolution of consenting to nothing that 
 tended to introduce any alteration in the order of 
 succession to the crown. 
 
 Four of the deputies n happening to die before 
 they returned into Scotland, this accident was uni- 
 versally 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 na- 
 tions 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 which is natural to all, 
 that in every age they have been swallowed with- 
 
 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 consi- 
 dered as valid. By the oath of fidelity of the Scottish commis- 
 sioners 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 hound themselves to procure a giant 
 of the Crown Matrimonial to Darnly, during aii the days of his 
 life. Keith, Append. 120. Good i. 227. 
 
 *° Keith, Append. 20. 
 
 11 The Bishop of Orkney, the Earl of Rothes, the Earl of Cas- 
 si].s, and Lord Fleming. 
 
152 THE HISTORY B. II. 
 
 out examination, and believed contrary to reason. 
 No wonder the Scots should easily give credit to a 
 suspicion which received such strong colours of pro- 
 bability, 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, however, it must 
 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 committed. But the Scots of that age, in- 
 fluenced by national animosities and prejudices, 
 were incapable of examining the circumstances of 
 the case with calmness, or of judging concerning 
 them with candour. All parties 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. 
 
 Notwithstanding the cold reception which their 
 proposal concerning the Crown Matrimonial met 
 with from the Scottish deputies, the French ven- 
 tured to move it in parliament. The partisans of 
 the house of Hamilton, suspicious of their designs 
 upon the succession, 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 
 
1559. OI- SCOTLAND. 153 
 
 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 se- 
 curity of words and statutes, against the dangerous 
 encroachments of power 42 . 
 
 The concurrence of the Protestants with the 
 Queen Regent, in promoting a measure so accept- 
 able to France, while the Popish clergy, under the 
 Influence of the Archbishop of St. Andrew's, op- 
 posed it with so much violence 45 , is one of those 
 singular circumstances in the conduct of parties, 
 for which this period is so remarkable. It may be 
 ascribed, in some degree, to the dexterous manage- 
 ment of the Queen, but chiefly to the moderation 
 of those who favoured the Reformation. The Pro- 
 testants were by this time almost equal to the 
 Catholics, both in power and in number; and, con- 
 scious 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 op- 
 pressive jurisdiction, and publicly 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 
 
 42 The act of parliament is worded with the utmost care, with 
 a view to guard against any hreach of the order of succession. 
 Hut the Duke, not reiving on this alone, entered a solemn pro- 
 testation to secure his own right. Keith, 70. It is plain that 
 he suspected the French of having some intention to set aside 
 bis right of succession; and, indeed, if lhe_y had no design of 
 Miat kind, the eagerness with which they urged their demand 
 was childish. " Mel?. 17. 
 
154 THE HISTORY B. II. 
 
 two ways of obtaining. Either violence must ex- 
 tort 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 ex- 
 pedient 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 occa- 
 sion the Reformers wisely held the opposite course, 
 and by their zeal in forwarding the Queen's designs 
 they hoped to merit her protection. This dispo- 
 sition the Queen encouraged to the utmost, and 
 amused them so artfully with many promises, and 
 some concessions, that, by their assistance, she sur- 
 mounted in parliament the force of a national and 
 laudable jealousy, which would otherwise have 
 swayed with the greater number. 
 
 Another circumstance contributed somewhat to 
 acquire 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 44 . From 
 the time of her accession to the regency, the Queen 
 had kept in her own hands almost all those which 
 became vacant, except 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 4, \ 
 By this conduct she thinned the ecclesiastical 
 bench 4(3 , which was entirely under the influence of 
 
 « See Book I. > 5 Lesl.v, 202. 
 
 46 It appears from the rolls of this parliament, which Lesly 
 calls a vcrv full one, that only seven bishops and sixteen abbots 
 were present. 
 
1558. OF SCOTLAND. 155 
 
 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. 
 
 Before we turn towards this, it is necessary to 
 observe, that on the seventeenth of November, one 
 thousand five hundred and fifty-eight, Mary of 
 England finished her short and inglorious reign. 
 Her sister Elizabeth took possession of the throne 
 without opposition ; and the Protestant religion 
 was once more established by law in England. 
 The accession of a Queen, who, under very dif- 
 ficult 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 solici- 
 tude, as they easily foresaw that she would not 
 remain long an indifferent spectator of their trans- 
 actions. 
 
 Under many discouragements and much oppres- 
 sion, the Reformation advanced towards a full es- 
 tablishment 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 dispositions among 
 
156 THE HISTORY B. II, 
 
 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 
 passions had taken such strong possession of the 
 human mind, and moved and agitated it with so 
 much violence, the peaceable and regular demean- 
 our 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 pe- 
 riod no violation of public order or tranquillity had 
 proceeded from that sect 47 ; and though roused and 
 irritated by the most cruel excesses of ecclesiastical 
 tyranny, they did in no instance transgress 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 Archbishop of St. Andrew's encouraged this 
 pacific disposition. That prelate, whose private 
 life cotemporary writers tax with great irregulari- 
 ties 48 , governed the church, for some years, with a 
 temper and prudence of which there are few ex- 
 amples in that age. But some time before the 
 meeting of the last parliament, the Archbishop de- 
 parted 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 
 
 47 The murder of Cardinal Beafoiin was occasioned bv private 
 revenge; and being contrived and executed bv sixteen person* 
 onlv, cannot with justice be imputed to the whole Protestant 
 party. 
 
 ** Knos, Buchanan, Keith, 20*. 
 
1558. OF SCOTLAND. 157 
 
 a 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 embracing the Protestant opinions; and sum- 
 moned 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 horror of the Protes- 
 tants 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 permitted them the exercise of their re- 
 ligion with more freedom than they had hitherto 
 enjoyed. Unsatisfied with this precarious tenure 
 by which they held their religious liberty, the Pro- 
 testants laboured to render their possession of it 
 more secure and independent. With this view they 
 determined to petition the Parliament for some legal 
 protection against the exorbitant and oppressive 
 jurisdiction of the ecclesiastical courts, which, by 
 their arbitrary method of proceeding, founded in the 
 canon law, were led to sentences the most shock- 
 ing 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 promises of her protection, to desist 
 from any application to parliament, where their mini • 
 bers and influence would, in all probability, haw 
 
 vol. I. p 
 
158 THE HISTORY B. II. 
 
 procured them, if not entire redress, at least some 
 mitigation of their grievances. 
 
 They applied to another assembly, to a convo- 
 cation 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 
 error, 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 recommended by com- 
 mon utility, and justified by universal practice, are 
 viewed by its members without shame or horror; 
 and reformation never proceeds from themselves, 
 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 Pro- 
 testants were rejected with contempt; and the 
 Popish clergy, far from endeavouring, by any pru- 
 dent concessions, to sooth and to reconcile such 
 a numerous body, asserted the doctrines of their 
 church, concerning some of the most exceptionable 
 articles, with an ill timed rigour, which gave new 
 offence 49 . 
 
 1559.] During the sitting of the convocation, the 
 Protestants first began to suspect some change in 
 the Regent's disposition towards them. Though 
 joined with them for 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 
 
 49 Keitb, 81. 
 
1559. OF SCOTLAND. 159 
 
 produce the trite observations concerning the in- 
 fluence of prosperity to alter the character and to 
 corrupt the heart. The Queen, say they, having 
 reached the utmost point to which her ambition 
 aspired, no longer preserved her accustomed mo- 
 deration, but, with an insolence usual to the for- 
 tunate, looked down upon those by whose assist- 
 ance she had been enabled to rise so high. But it is 
 neither in the depravity of the human heart nor in 
 the ingratitude of the Queen's disposition that we 
 must search for the motives of her present conduct. 
 These were derived from another and a more re- 
 mote source, which, in order to clear the subse- 
 quent transactions, we shall endeavour to open with 
 some care. 
 
 The ambition of the Princes of Lorrain had been 
 no less successful than daring; but all their schemes 
 were distinguished by being vast and unbounded. 
 Though strangers at the court of France, their emi- 
 nent qualities had raised them, in a short time, to 
 a height of power superior to that of all other sub- 
 jects, and had placed them on a level even with the 
 Princes of the blood themselves. The church, the 
 army, the revenue, were under their direction. No- 
 thing 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 
 VIII. are known to all the world. Moved by the 
 caprices of his love or of his resentment, that im- 
 patient and arbitrary monarch had divorced or be- 
 
100 THE HISTORY. B. II, 
 
 headed four of the six Queens whom he married. 
 Ill order to gratify him, both his daughters had been 
 declared illegitimate by act of parliament; and yet, 
 with that fantastic inconsistence 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 Margaret Queen 
 of Scotland, he appointed the line of succession to 
 continue in the descendants of his younger sister, 
 the Duchess of Suffolk. 
 
 In consequence of this destination, the validity 
 whereof was admitted by the English, but never 
 recognised by foreigners, Mary had reigned in Eng- 
 land 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 insecure. Rome 
 trembled for the Catholic faith under a Protestant 
 Queen of such eminent abilities. The same super- 
 stitious 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 councils of Philip II. 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 after the death of 
 i uy, persuaded his daughter-in-law and her bus- 
 
1559. OF SCOTLAND. 161 
 
 band to assume the title of King and Queen of Eng- 
 land. They affected to publish this to all Europe. 
 They used that style and appellation in public 
 papers, some of which still remain 50 . The arms of 
 England were engraved on their coin and plate, 
 and borne by them on all occasions. No prepara- 
 tions, however, were made to support this impoli- 
 tic and premature claim. Elizabeth was already 
 seated on her throne ; she possessed all the intre- 
 pidity of spirit, and all the arts of policy, which 
 were necessary for maintaining that station. Eng- 
 land was growing into reputation for naval power. 
 The marine of France had been utterly neglected; 
 and Scotland remained the only avenue by which 
 the territories of Elizabeth could be approached. 
 It was on that side, therefore, that the Princes of 
 Lorrain determined to make their attack 51 ; 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. 
 
 It was in vain to expect the assistance of the 
 Scottish Protestants to dethrone a Queen whom 
 all Europe began to consider the most powerfid 
 guardian and defender of the reformed faith. To 
 break the power and reputation of that party in 
 Scotland became, for this reason, a necessary 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 sup- 
 pressing religious opinions known in that age, or 
 
 r '° Anders. Diplom. Scot. Nos. 08 and 104. 
 '•' Forbes's Collect, i. 253. 209. 271). 401. 
 
 p 2 
 
102 THE HISTORY B. II. 
 
 xlictated by the despotic and sanguinary spirit of 
 the Romish superstition, this, in its utmost vio- 
 lence, 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 imme- 
 diate destruction 52 ; and they hoped, by punishing 
 them, to intimidate their followers. Instructions 
 for this purpose were sent from France to the 
 Queen llegent. That humane and sagacious Prin- 
 cess condemned a measure which was equally 
 violent and impolitic. By long residence in Scot- 
 land, she had become acquainted with the eager 
 and impatient temper of the nation ; she well knew 
 the power, the number, and popularity of the Pro- 
 testant leaders; and had been a witness to the in- 
 trepid and unconquerable 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 authority of a Regent 
 would be little capable to subdue, or even to mo- 
 derate 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 perhaps overturned from the 
 foundation. These prudent remonstrances made no 
 impression on her brothers; precipitant, but inflex- 
 ible in all their resolutions, they insisted on the 
 full and rigorous execution of their plan. Mary, 
 52 Forbes's Collect, i. 152. 
 
1551). OF SCOTLAND. 103 
 
 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 submis- 
 sion 55 ; and, contrary to her own judgment and to 
 all the rules of sound policy, she became the in- 
 strument 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 regency with the Duke of Chatelherault, the 
 Popish clergy, under the direction of the Arch- 
 bishop of St. Andrews, had set themselves in op- 
 position to all her measures. Her first step to- 
 wards the execution of her new scheme was to 
 regain their favour. Nor was this reconcilement 
 a matter of difficulty. The Popish ecclesiastics, 
 separated 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 
 canceled the memory of past injuries, and engaged 
 to second the Queen in all her attempts to check 
 the progress of the Reformation. The Queen, be- 
 ing secure of their assistance, openly approved of 
 the decrees of the convocation, by which the prin- 
 ciples of the Reformers were condemned ; and at 
 53 Melv. 18. Mem. dc Custelnau, ap. Jcbb, vol. ii. 4-10. 
 
164 THE HISTORY B. II. 
 
 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 approach, in order to avert it, employed 
 the Earl of Glencairn, and Sir Hugh Campbell of 
 London, to expostulate with her concerning this 
 change towards severity, which their former ser- 
 vices 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 
 boldness, she so far forgot her usual moderation, as 
 to utter a sentiment, which, however apt those of 
 royal condition may be to entertain it, prudence 
 should teach them to conceal as much as possible. 
 " The promises of Priuces," says she, " ought not 
 to be too carefully remembered, nor the perfor- 
 mance of them exacted, unless it suits their own 
 conveniency." 
 
 The indignation which betrayed the Queen into 
 this rash expression was nothing in comparison of 
 that with which she was animated upon hearing 
 that the public exercise of the reformed religion had 
 been introduced into the town of Perth. At once 
 she threw off the mask, and issued a mandate, 
 summoning all the Protestant preachers in the 
 kingdom to a court of justice, which was to be 
 held at Stirling on the tenth of May. The Protes- 
 tants, who, from their union, began about this time 
 to be distinguished by the name of the CONGRE- 
 GATION, were alarmed, but not intimidated by this 
 
1559, OF SCOTLAND. 1(k> 
 
 danger ; and instantly resolved not to abandon the 
 men to whom they were indebted for the most valu- 
 able 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 tole- 
 rated afterwards under a feeble government: per- 
 sons accused of any crime were accompanied to the 
 place of trial by a retinue of their friends and ad- 
 herents, assembled for that purpose from every 
 quarter of the kingdom. Authorized by this an- 
 cient practice, the reformed convened in great num- 
 bers to attend their pastors to Stirling. The Queen 
 dreaded their approach with a train so numerous, 
 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 promise in her name that she would put a stop 
 to the intended trial, on condition the preachers 
 and their retinue 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 pro- 
 position. The preachers, with a few leaders of the 
 party, remained at Perth; the multitude which had 
 gathered from different parts of the kingdom dis- 
 persed, and retired to their own habitations. 
 
 But, notwithstanding this solemn promise, the 
 Queen, on the tenth of May, proceeded to call to 
 trial the persons who had been summoned, and, 
 upon their nonappearance, the rigour of justice 
 took place, and they were pronounced outlaws. 
 By this ignoble artifice, so incompatible with regal 
 dignity, and so inconsistent with that integrity 
 
166 THE HISTORY B. II. 
 
 which should prevail in all transactions between 
 sovereigns and their subjects, the Queen forfeited 
 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 abandoned Stirling, and repairing 
 to Perth, added to the zeal of his associates, by 
 his representations of the Queen's inflexible reso- 
 lution to suppress religion 51 . 
 
 The popular rhetoric of Knox powerfully se- 
 conded his representations ; he having been carried 
 a prisoner into France, together with the other per- 
 sons taken in the castle of St. Andrew's, soon made 
 his escape out of that country; and residing some- 
 times in England, sometimes 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 compliance 
 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 the common cause. — 
 While their minds were in that ferment which the 
 Queen's perfidiousness and their own danger occa- 
 sioned, he mounted the pulpit, and by a vehement 
 harangue against idolatry inflamed the multitude 
 with the utmost rage. The indiscretion of a priest, 
 who, immediately after Knox's sermon, was prepar- 
 ing to celebrate mass, and began to decorate the 
 
 54 Keith, p. 84. 
 
1559. OF SCOTLAND. 167 
 
 altar for that purpose, precipitated them into im- 
 mediate action. With tumultuary but irresistible 
 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 
 monasteries, they in a few hours laid those sump- 
 tuous fabrics almost level with the ground. This 
 riotous insurrection was not the effect of any con- 
 cert or previous deliberation ; censured by the re- 
 formed preachers, and publicly condemned by per- 
 sons of most power and credit with the party, it 
 must be regarded merely as an accidental eruption 
 of popular rage 55 . 
 
 But to the Queen Dowager these proceedings 
 appeared in a very different light. Besides their 
 manifest contempt for her authority, the Protes- 
 tants had violated every thing in religion which she 
 deemed venerable or holy ; and on both these ac- 
 counts she determined to inflict the severest ven- 
 geance 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 
 assemble their followers, whom, out of confidence 
 in her disingenuous promises, they had been rashly 
 induced to dismiss. Intelligence of these prepara- 
 tions and menaces 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 mea- 
 sures for their own defence. Their adherents, ani- 
 mated with zeal for religion, and eager to expose 
 M Knox. Hist. 127, 128. 
 
108 THE HISTORY 6. II. 
 
 themselves in so good a cause, flocked in such num-> 
 bers to Perth that they not only secured the town 
 from danger, but within a few days were in a con- 
 dition to take the field, and to face the Queen, who 
 advanced with an army seven thousand strong. 
 
 Neither party, however, was impatient to en- 
 gage. The Queen dreaded the event of a battle 
 with men whom the fervour of religion raised above 
 the sense of fear or danger. The Protestants be- 
 held 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, des- 
 titute of their aid and counsel, declined hazarding 
 an action, the ill success of which might have proved 
 the ruin of their cause. The prospect of an accom- 
 modation was for these reasons highly acceptable 
 to both sides : Argyll and the Prior, who were the 
 Queen's commissioners for conducting the nego- 
 tiation, seem to have been sincerely desirous of 
 reconciling the contending factions; and the Earl 
 of Glencairn, arriving unexpectedly with a powerful 
 reinforcement to the Congregation, augmented the 
 Queen's eagerness for peace. A treaty w 7 as ac- 
 cordingly concluded, 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 imme- 
 diately be held, in order to compose whatever dif- 
 ference might still remain 56 . 
 
 May 29.] The leaders of the Congregation, dis- 
 
 56 Keitb, SO. 
 
1559. OF SCOTLAND. lfi.'f 
 
 trustful of the Queen's sincerity, and sensible that 
 concessions, flowing not from inclination, but ex- 
 torted by the necessity of her affairs, could not 
 long remain in force, entered into a new associa- 
 tion, by which they bound themselves, on the first 
 infringement of the present treaty, or on the least 
 appearance of danger to their religion, to reassem- 
 ble their followers, and to take arms in defence of 
 what they deemed the cause of God and of their 
 country 07 . 
 
 The Queen, by her conduct, demonstrated these 
 precautions to be the result of no groundless or un- 
 necessary fear. No sooner were the Protestant 
 forces dismissed than she broke every article in the 
 treaty. She introduced French troops into Perth, 
 fined some of the inhabitants, banished others, re- 
 moved 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 Roman 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 garrison, 
 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 in- 
 struments for subduing the Scots, and wreathing 
 
 i7 Knox, 2:iS. 
 VOL. I. Q 
 
170 THE HISTORY B. II. 
 
 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 assem- 
 bled ; 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 rive hundred and 
 fifty, we cannot with any certainty determine. Con- 
 temporary historians often select with little judg- 
 ment the circumstances which they transmit to pos- 
 terity ; and with respect to matters of the greatest 
 curiosity and importance, leave succeeding ages 
 altogether in the dark. We may conjecture, how- 
 ever, from some passages in Buchanan, that the 
 French and Scots in French pay amounted at least 
 to three thousand men, under the command of Mon- 
 sieur D'Oysel, a creature of the house of Guise; 
 and they were soon augmented to a much more 
 formidable number. 
 
 The Queen, encouraged by having so consider- 
 able a body of well disciplined troops at her com- 
 mand, and instigated by the violent counsels of 
 D'Oysel, had ventured, as we have observed, to 
 violate the treaty of Perth, and by that rash action 
 once more threw the nation into the most dangerous 
 convulsions. The Earl of Argyll and the Prior 
 of St. Andrew's instantly deserted a court where 
 faith and honour seemed to them to be no longer 
 regarded ; and joined the leaders of the Congre- 
 gation, who had retreated to the eastern part of 
 Fife. The barons from the neighbouring counties 
 repaired to them, the preachers roused the people 
 to arms, and wherever they came, the same violent 
 
1559. OF SCOTLAND. 171 
 
 operations, which accident had occasioned at Perth, 
 were now encouraged out of policy. The enraged 
 multitude was let loose, and churches and monas- 
 teries, the monuments of ecclesiastic pride and 
 luxury, were sacrificed to their zeal. 
 
 In order to check their career, the Queen, with- 
 out losing a moment, put her troops in motion ; 
 but the zeal of the Congregation got the start once 
 more of her vigilance and activity. In that war- 
 like 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 a 
 hundred horse, crowds flocked to their standards 
 from every corner of the country through which 
 they marched; and before they reached Falkland, 
 a village only ten miles distant, they were able to 
 meet the Queen with superior force 58 . 
 
 The Queen, surprised at the approach of so for- 
 midable a body, which was drawn up by its leaders 
 in such a manner as added greatly in appearance 
 to its numbers, had again recourse to negotiation. 
 She found, however, that the preservation of the 
 Protestant religion, 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 conceived to be in im- 
 minent danger from the attempts of the French 
 forces ; and these two passions mingling, added 
 reciprocally to each other's strength. Together 
 With more enlarged notions in religion, the Refor- 
 mation tilled the human mind with more liberal and 
 
 58 Knox, 111. 
 
Xl'l THE HISTORY B. II, 
 
 generous 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 doctrines of the Reformers, by 
 overturning the established system of superstition, 
 weakened the firmest foundations of civil tyranny. 
 That bold spirit of inquiry, which led men to re- 
 ject theological errors, accompanied 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 exqui- 
 site models of free government, far superior to the 
 inaccurate and oppressive system established by 
 the feudal law ; and produced such illustrious ex- 
 amples of public virtue as wonderfully suited both 
 the circumstances and spirit of that age. Many 
 among the most eminent Reformers were them* 
 selves considerable masters in ancient learning ; 
 and all of them eagerly adopted the maxims and 
 spirit of the ancients with regard to government - 31 '. 
 The most ardent love of liberty accompanied the 
 Protestant religion throughout all its progress ; and 
 wherever it was embraced, it roused an independent 
 
 59 The excessive admiration of ancient policy was the occasion 
 of Knox's famous hook concerning the Government of Women, 
 wherein, conformable to the maxims of the ancient legislators, 
 which modern experience has proved to be ill founded, he pro- 
 nounces the elevation of women to the supreme authority to be 
 utterly destructive of good government. His principles, autho- 
 rities, and examples were all drawn from ancient writers. The 
 same observation may be made with regard to Buchanan's Dia- 
 logue, J)e Jure Regni apud Scoios, It is founded, not on the 
 maxims of feudal, but of ancient republican government. 
 
loot). OF SCOTLAND. 173 
 
 spirit, which rendered men attentive to their privi- 
 leges as subjects, and jealous of the encroachments 
 of their sovereigns. Knox and the other preachers 
 of the Reformation infused generous sentiments 
 concerning 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 demanded not only 
 the redress of their religious grievances, but, as a 
 preliminary toward settling the nation, and secur- 
 ing its liberties, required the immediate expulsion 
 of the French troops out of Scotland. It was not 
 in the Queen's power to make so important a con- 
 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 re- 
 ceive such reinforcements from France, as would 
 insure the accomplishment of that design which 
 she had twice attempted with unequal strength. 
 [June 13.] Meanwhile, she agreed to a cessation of 
 arms for eight days, and before the expiration of 
 these, engaged to transport the French troops to 
 the south side of the Forth ; and to send commis- 
 sioners to St. Andrew's, who should labour to 
 brine; 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 
 latter, having been inserted merely to amuse the 
 Congregation, was no longer remembered. 
 
 By these reiterated and wanton instances of per- 
 fidy, the Queen lost all credit with her adversaries ; 
 and no safety appearing in any other cause, they 
 
 Q2 
 
174 THE HISTORY B. II. 
 
 again took arras with more inflamed resentment, and 
 with bolder and more extensive views. The re- 
 moving- 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 actions of the garrison which 
 the Queen had left there, implored the assistance 
 of the Congregation for their relief.' Thither they 
 marched, and having without effect required the 
 Queen to evacuate the town iu 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, with- 
 out listening to her offers, the Protestants con- 
 tinued 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 Con- 
 gregation, having intelligence of her design, pre- 
 vented the execution of it by a hasty march thither 
 with part of their forces. 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 precipitation, and 
 retired to Dunbar. 
 
 The Protestant army, wherever it came, kindled 
 or spread the ardour of Reformation, and the ut- 
 most excesses of violence were committed upon 
 churches and monasteries. The former were spoil- 
 zed of every decoration, which was then esteemed 
 
i.>V.>. OF SCOTLAND. 175 
 
 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 monuments of our ances- 
 tors' magnificence, and among the noblest orna- 
 ments of the kingdom. But amidst the violence of 
 a Reformation, carried on in opposition to legal 
 authority, some irregularities were unavoidable ; 
 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 
 errors of Popery may be, some inquiry and atten- 
 tion are requisite towards discovering them. The 
 abuses and corruptions which had crept into the 
 public worship of that church lay more open to ob- 
 servation, and by striking the senses excited more 
 universal disgust. Under the long reign of hea- 
 thenism, superstition seemed to have exhausted its 
 talent of invention, so that when a superstitious 
 spirit seized Christians, they were obliged to imi- 
 tate 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 resembling those Pagan originals whence 
 it had been copied. The contrariety of such ob- 
 servances to the spirit of Christianity was almost 
 the first thing, in the Romish system, which awa- 
 kened the indignation of the Reformers, who, ap- 
 plying to these the denunciations in the Old Testa- 
 ment against idolatry, imagined that they could net 
 endeavour at suppressing them with too much zeal. 
 No task could be more acceptable to the multitude 
 
I7<> THE HISTORY B. II. 
 
 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 
 successful in executing a work deemed so pious. 
 Nor did their leaders labour to restrain this impe- 
 tuous 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 inhabitants, they hoped to 
 render it impossible ever to rebuild the one, or to 
 reassemble the other. 
 
 But amidst these irregular proceedings, a cir- 
 cumstance which does honour to the conduct and 
 humanity of the leaders of the Congregation de- 
 serves 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 insult, and not a 
 single man suffered death 60 . 
 
 At the same time we discover, by the facility 
 with which these great revolutions were effected, 
 how violently the current of national favour ran to- 
 wards the Reformation. No more than three hun- 
 dred men marched out of Perth, under the Earl of 
 Argyll and Prior of St. Andrew's 61 ; with this in- 
 considerable force they advanced. '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 ; [June 29] and, without striking a 
 single blow, they took possession of the capital of 
 the kingdom. 
 
 This rapid and astonishing success seems to 
 
 <*> Lesley, ap. Jebb, vol. i. 231. 61 Keitb, 94. 
 
1559. OF SCOTLAND. 177 
 
 -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 Protes- 
 tant doctrine on the ruins of Popery. For this 
 reason they determined to fix their residence at 
 Edinburgh ; and, by their appointment, Knox, and 
 some other preachers, taking possession of the pul- 
 pits, which had been abandoned by the affrightened 
 clergy, declaimed against the errors 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, 
 observed with pleasure that it now began to sub- 
 side. 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 concluding the 
 work to be already done, retired to their own habi- 
 tations. A few only of the more zealous or wealthy 
 barons remained with their preachers at Edinburgh. 
 As intelligence is procured in civil wars with little 
 difficulty, whatever was transacted at Edinburgh 
 was soon known at Dunbar. The Queen, regulat- 
 ing her own conduct by the situation of her adver- 
 
 lies, artfully amused them with the prospect of 
 an immediate accommodation; while, at the same 
 time, she by studied delays spun out the negotia- 
 tions for that purpose to such a length that, in the 
 •end, the party dwindled to an inconsiderable num- 
 -!" ! ; and, as if peace had been already reesta- 
 
178 THE HISTORY B. II. 
 
 blished, became careless of military discipline. — 
 The Queen, who watched for such an opportunity, 
 advanced unexpectedly, by a sudden march in the 
 night, with all her forces, and, appearing before 
 Edinburgh, filled that city with the utmost con- 
 sternation. The Protestants, weakened by the im- 
 prudent dispersion of their followers, durst not en- 
 counter 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 enemy's army, to gain 
 time for collecting their own associates. But the 
 Queen, in spite of all their resistance, would have 
 easily forced her way into the town, if the season- 
 able conclusion of a truce had not procured her 
 admission without the effusion of blood. 
 
 Their dangerous situation easily induced the 
 leaders of the Congregation to listen to any over- 
 tures of peace ; and as the Queen was looking 
 daily for the arrival of a strong reinforcement from 
 France, and expected great advantages from a 
 cessation of arms, she also agreed to it upon no 
 unequal conditions. Together with a suspension 
 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 govern- 
 ment; 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 reli- 
 
1559. OF SCOTLAND. 170 
 
 gion ; to allow the citizens of Edinburgh, during 
 the cessation of hostilities, to enjoy the exercise of 
 religious worship according to the form most agree- 
 able to the conscience of each individual ; and to 
 permit the free and public profession of the Pro- 
 testant faith in every part of the kingdom fie . 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, particularly the expulsion of the French 
 troops out of Scotland. The anxiety which the 
 Queen expressed for retaining this body of men 
 rendered them more and more the objects of na- 
 tional jealousy and aversion. The immediate ex- 
 pulsion of them was therefore demanded anew, and 
 with greater warmth; but the Queen, taking ad- 
 vantage of the distress of the adverse party, eluded 
 the request, and would consent to nothing more 
 than that a French garrison should not be intro- 
 duced into Edinburgh. 
 
 The desperate state of their affairs imposed on 
 the Congregation the necessity of agreeing to this 
 article, which, however, was very far fro<m giving 
 them satisfaction. Whatever apprehensions the 
 Scots had conceived, from 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 ren- 
 dered.formidable by regular discipline, had checked 
 the progress of a martial people, though animated 
 with zeal both for religion and liberty. The smallest 
 addition to their number, and a considerable one 
 62 Keith, 98. Maitland, Hist, of Edin. 16, 17. 
 
180 THE HISTORY B. II. 
 
 was daily expected, might prove fatal to the public 
 liberty, and Scotland might be exposed to the dan- 
 ger of being reduced from an independent kingdom, 
 to the mean condition of a province annexed to the 
 dominions of its powerful ally. 
 
 In order to provide against this imminent cala- 
 mity, the Duke of Chatelherault and Earl of 
 Huntly, immediately after concluding the truce, 
 desired an interview with the chiefs of the Con ore- 
 gation. These two noblemen, the most potent at 
 that time in Scotland, were the leaders of the party 
 which adhered to the established church. They 
 had followed the Queen during the late commo- 
 tions ; and, having access to observe more narrowly 
 the dangerous tendency of her counsels, their ab- 
 horrence 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 execution of her pernicious designs. They pro- 
 ceeded 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 insincerity, violate any article in the treaty of 
 truce, or refuse to gratify the wishes of the whole 
 nation, by dismissing her French troops, they would 
 then instantly join with their countrymen in com- 
 pelling her to a measure, which the public safety 
 and the preservation of their liberties rendered ne- 
 cessary 63 . 
 
 July 8.] About this time died Henry II. of 
 France ; just when he had adopted a system, with 
 rpo- ar d to the affairs of Scotland, which would, in 
 
 63 
 
 Knox, 154. 
 
1559. OF SCOTLAND. 1HL 
 
 all probability, have restored union and tranquillity 
 to that kingdom 64 . Towards the close of his reign, 
 the Princes of Lorrain began visibly to decline in 
 favour, and the Constable Montmorency, by the 
 assistance of the Duchess of Valentinois, recovered 
 that ascendant over the spirit of his master, which 
 his great experience, and his faithful though often 
 unfortunate services seemed justly to merit. — 
 That prudent minister imputed the insurrections 
 in Scotland wholly to the Duke of Guise and the 
 Cardinal of Lorrain, whose violent and precipitant 
 counsels could not fail of transporting beyond all 
 bounds of moderation men whose minds were pos- 
 sessed with that jealousy which is inseparable from 
 the love of civil liberty, or inflamed with that ardour 
 which accompanies religious zeal. Montmorency, 
 in order to convince Henry that he did not load 
 his rivals with any groundless accusation, prevailed 
 to have Melvil 05 , a Scottish gentleman of his re- 
 tinue, dispatched into his native country, with in- 
 structions to observe the motions both of the Re- 
 gent and of her adversaries; and the King agreed 
 to regulate his future proceedings in that kingdom 
 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 malccontonts in the most favourable light, 
 might have conducted the public disorders. Per- 
 haps, by gentle treatment and artful policy, the 
 progress of the Reformation might have been 
 checked, and Scotland brought to depend upon 
 
 64 Mel?; 10. M The Authoi of the Memoirs. 
 
 VOL. I. R 
 
182 THE HISTORY B. II. 
 
 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 to the crown, they might not only have de- 
 feated all Elizabeth's measures in favour of the 
 Reformation, but have reestablished the Roman 
 Catholic religion, and destroyed 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 ex- 
 plain their real causes and effects, is his peculiar 
 and only province. 
 
 The tragical and untimely death of the French 
 Monarch put an end to all moderate and pacific 
 measures with regard to Scotland. The Duke of 
 Guise, and the Cardinal his brother, upon the ac- 
 cession of Francis II., a Prince void of genius and 
 without experience, 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 Pro- 
 testant religion in Scotland ; and, sensible what an 
 unsurmountable obstacle 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 encouraged the Queen 
 
15oJ). OF SCOTLAND. 183 
 
 their sister to expect, in a short time, the arrival 
 of an army so powerful as the zeal of their adver- 
 saries, however desperate, would not venture to 
 oppose. 
 
 Nor were the Lords of the Congregation either 
 ignorant 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 as their personal safety, de- 
 pending entirely on the unanimity and vigour of 
 their own resolutions, they endeavoured to guard 
 against division, and to cement together more 
 closely by entering into a stricter bond of confede- 
 racy and mutual defence. Two persons concurred 
 in this new association, who brought a great acces- 
 sion 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 noble- 
 man, having resided some years in France, where 
 he commanded the Scottish guards, had imbibed 
 the Protestant opinions concerning religion. Hur- 
 ried 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 juncture 
 on the extinction of the Protestant religion ; in or- 
 der to accomplish which the greatest excesses of 
 violence were committed. The church was suf- 
 fered to wreak its utmost fury upon all who were 
 suspected of heresy. Courts were erected in dif- 
 ferent parts of France to take cognisance of this 
 crime ; and by their sentences several persons of 
 distinction were condemned to the flames. 
 
 But, in order to inspire more universal terror,, 
 
184 THE HISTORY B. II. 
 
 the Princes of Lorrain resolved to select, for a sa- 
 crifice, some persons 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 victim 66 . As he was 
 allied to one throne, and the presumptive 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 mak- 
 ing the desired impression on the whole kingdom. 
 But the Cardinal of Lorrain having let fall some 
 expressions which raised Arran's suspicions of the 
 design, he escaped the intended blow by a timely 
 flight. Indignation, zeal, resentment, all prompted 
 him to seek revenge upon these persecutors of him- 
 self and of the religion which he professed ; and as 
 he passed through England, 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 aver- 
 sion to France which possessed a great part of his 
 countrymen. He quickly communicated these sen- 
 timents to his father the Duke of Chatelherault, 
 who was already extremely disgusted with the mea- 
 sures carrying on in Scotland ; and as it was the 
 fate of that noblemen to be governed in every in- 
 stance 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. An- 
 66 Thaan. lib. x\iv. p. 462. Edit. Francof. 
 
15oi>. OF SCOTLAND. 18& 
 
 drevv's, was the person who moved and actuated 
 the whole body of the Protestants, among whom 
 he possessed that unbounded confidence which his 
 strenuous adherence to their interest and his great 
 abilities so justly merited. He was the natural son 
 of James V. by a daughter of Lord Erskine; and 
 as that amorous monarch had left several others a 
 burden 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 con- 
 ferred upon James : but, during so busy a period, 
 he soon became disgusted with the indolence and 
 retirement of a monastic life ; and his enterprising 
 genius called him forth to act a principal part on a 
 more public 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 illus- 
 trious. These he possessed in an eminent degree. 
 To the most unquestionable personal bravery he 
 added great skill in the art of war, and in every en- 
 terprise his arms was crowned with success. His 
 sagacity and penetration in civil affairs enabled him, 
 amidst the reeling and turbulence of factions, 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 de- 
 signs. As she could not, with all her address, make 
 the least impression on his fidelity to his associates, 
 
 R2 
 
186 THE HISTORY B. II. 
 
 she endeavoured to lessen his influence, and to 
 scatter among them the seeds of jealousy and dis- 
 trust, by insinuating that the ambition of the Prior 
 aspired beyond the condition of a subject, and aimed 
 at nothing less than the crown itself. 
 
 An accusation so improbable gained but little 
 credit. Whatever thoughts of this kind the pre- 
 sumption of unexpected success, and his elevation 
 to the highest dignity in the kingdom, may be al- 
 leged to have inspired at any subsequent period, 
 it is certain that at this juncture he could form no 
 such vast design. To dethrone a Queen, who was 
 lineal heir to an ancient race of Monarchs ; 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 
 illegitimacy of his birth, by the practice of all civi- 
 lized nations, rendered incapable of any inheritance 
 either public or private ; was a project so chimeri- 
 cal as the most extravagant ambition would hardly 
 entertain, and could never conceive to be practica- 
 ble. The promise too, which the Prior made to 
 Melvil, of residing constantly in France, on condi- 
 tion the public grievances were redressed 67 ; the 
 confidence reposed in him by the Duke of Chatel- 
 herault 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 de- 
 signs, with the imputation of which the Queen en- 
 deavoured at that time to load him. 
 
 ,i7 Melvil, 54. 
 
155!). OF SCOTLAND. \{\"J 
 
 The arrival of a thousand French soldiers com- 
 pensated,, in some degree, for the loss which the 
 Queen sustained by the defection of the Duke of 
 Chatelherault. These were immediately command- 
 ed 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 head-quar- 
 ters 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 
 possession 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 bv violence, and wandering: with- 
 out 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 preparing a yoke, to 
 which, without some timely exertion of national spi- 
 rit, the whole kingdom must of necessity submit. 
 
 It was with deep concern that the Lords of the 
 Congregation beheld this bold and decisive step 
 taken by the Queen Regent ; nor did they hesitate 
 a moment, whether they should employ their whole 
 strength in one generous effort, to rescue their reli- 
 gion and liberty from impending destruction. But, 
 in order to justify their own conduct, and to throw 
 the blame entirely on their adversaries, they re- 
 solved to preserve the appearances of decency and 
 respect towards their superiors, and to have no re- 
 course to arms without the most urgent and appa- 
 
188 THE HISTORY B. II. 
 
 rent necessity. [Sept. 29.] They joined, with this 
 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 de- 
 sisting from fortifying Leith. The Queen, conscious 
 of her present advantageous situation, and elated 
 with the hopes of fresh succours, was in no dispo- 
 sition for listening to demands utterly inconsistent 
 with her views, and urged with that bold importunity 
 which is so little acceptable to Princes 68 . 
 
 The sug,oestions of her French counsellors con- 
 tributed, without doubt, to alienate her still further 
 from any scheme of accommodation. As the Queen 
 was ready on all occasions to discover an extraor- 
 dinary deference to the opinions of her countrymen, 
 her brothers, who knew her secret disapprobation 
 of the violent measures they were driving on, took 
 care to place near her such persons as betrayed her, 
 by their insinuations, into many actions, which her 
 own unbiased judgment would have highly con- 
 demned. 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 in- 
 fluence 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 autho- 
 rity of their sacred character, they hoped effectually 
 to recommend to their sister that system of severity 
 which they had espoused 69 . With this view, but 
 under pretence of confounding the Protestants by 
 the skill of such able masters in controversy, they 
 
 68 Haynes, 211. 
 
 69 Lesley, 215. Castelnau, ap. Jcbb, vol. ii. 446, 473. 
 
xj-Ji). OF SCOTLAND. J81) 
 
 appointed several French divines to reside in Scot- 
 land. At the head of these, and with the charac- 
 ter of legate from the Pope, was Pelleve Bishop 
 of Amiens, and afterwards Archbishop and Cardi- 
 nal of Sens, a furious bigot 70 , 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 ad- 
 dress 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 defiled it, they, in direct 
 contradiction to one article in the late treaty, re- 
 established there the rites of the Romish church. 
 This, added to the indifference, and even contempt, 
 with which the Queen received their remonstrances, 
 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. 
 
 The eager and impetuous spirit of the nation, as 
 well as every consideration of good policy, prompt- 
 ed them 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 circumstances of 
 
 70 Davila, Brantorue. 
 
100 THE HISTORY B. II. 
 
 disadvantage, they conceived it possible to surprise 
 the Queen's party, and, by one sudden and deci- 
 sive blow, to prevent all future bloodshed and con- 
 tention. [Oct. 6.] Full of these expectations, they 
 advanced rapidly towards Edinburgh with a nume- 
 rous army. But it was no easy matter to deceive 
 an adversary as vigilant and attentive as the Queen 
 Regeut. With her usual sagacity, she both fore- 
 saw the danger, and took the only proper course to 
 avoid it. Instead of keeping the field against ene- 
 mies superior in number, and formidable on a day 
 of battle by the ardour of their courage, she retired 
 into Leith, and determined patiently to wait the ar- 
 rival of new reinforcements. Slight and unfinished 
 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 acquainted with the method of attacking any 
 place fortified 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 
 solicitations and promises she shook the fidelity or 
 abated the ardour of some. By open reproach and 
 accusation she blasted the reputation and diminish- 
 ed the authority of others. Her emissaries were 
 everywhere at work, and, notwithstanding the zeal 
 for religion and liberty which then animated the na- 
 tion, they seem to have laboured not without suc- 
 cess. We find Knox, about this period, abounding 
 in complaints of the lukewarm and languid spirit 
 which had begun to spread among his party 71 . But 
 
 71 Knox, 180. 
 
1559. OF SCOTLAND. 191 
 
 if their zeal slackened a little, and suffered a mo- 
 mentary intermission, it soon blazed up with fresh 
 vigour, and rose to a greater height than ever. 
 
 The Queen herself gave occasion to this, by the 
 reply which she made to a new remonstrance from 
 the Lords of the Congregation. Upon their arrival 
 at Edinburgh, they once more represented to her 
 the dangers arising from the increase of the French 
 troops, the fortifying of Leith, and her other mea- 
 sures, which they conceived to be destructive to the 
 peace and liberty of the kingdom ; and in this ad- 
 dress 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 vigorous and 
 explicit. She pretended that she was not account- 
 able to the confederate lords for any part of her 
 conduct ; and upon no representation of theirs would 
 she either abandon measures which she deemed 
 necessary, or dismiss forces which she found use- 
 ful, or demolish a fortification which might prove of 
 advantage. At the same time she required them, 
 on pain of treason, to disband the forces which they 
 had assembled. 
 
 This haughty and imperious style sounded harsh- 
 ly to Scottish nobles, impatient, from their national 
 character, of the slightest appearance of injury; 
 accustomed, even from their own monarchs, to the 
 most respectful treatment; and possessing, under 
 an aristocratical form of government, such a share 
 of power, as equaled at all times, and often con- 
 trolled, that of the sovereign. They were sensible 
 at once of the indignity offered to themselves, and 
 alarmed with this plain declaration of the Queen's 
 
192 THE HISTORY B. IT. 
 
 intentions ; and as there now remained but one step 
 to take, they wanted neither public spirit nor reso- 
 lution to take it. 
 
 But, that they might not seem to depart from the 
 established forms of the constitution, for which, 
 even amidst their most violent operations, men al- 
 ways retain the greatest reverence, [Oct. 21] they 
 assembled all the peers, barons, and representatives 
 of boroughs, who adhered to their party. These 
 formed a convention, which exceeded in number, 
 and equaled in dignity, the usual meetings of par- 
 liament. The leaders of the Congregation laid be- 
 fore 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 king- 
 dom ; and requiring their direction with regard to 
 the obedience due to an administration so unjust 
 and oppressive, 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 
 dispatch 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 de- 
 liberations to the shortest issue. It was the work 
 but of one day to examine and to resolve this nice 
 problem, concerning the behaviour of subjects to- 
 wards a ruler who abuses his power. But, how- 
 ever abrupt their proceeding 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 
 
15oi). OF SCOTLAND. 103 
 
 called to assist with their opinion. Knox and Wii- 
 lox appeared for the whole order, and pronounced, 
 without hesitation, both from the precepts and ex- 
 amples in Scripture, that it was lawful for subjects 
 not only to resist tyrannical Princes, but to deprive 
 them of that authority which, in their hands, be- 
 comes an instrument for destroying those whom the 
 Almighty ordained them to protect. The decision 
 of persons revered so highly for their sacred cha- 
 racter, but more for their zeal and their piety, had 
 great weight with the whole assembly. Not satis- 
 fied with the common indiscriminate manner of sis- 
 nifying consent, every person present was called in 
 his turn to declare his sentiments; and rising up in 
 order, all gave their suffrages, without one dissent- 
 ing voice, for depriving the Queen of the office of 
 Regent, which she exercised so much to the detri- 
 ment of the kingdom 72 . 
 
 This extraordinary sentence was owing no less to 
 the love of liberty than to zeal for religion. In the 
 act of 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 neces- 
 sary. The introducing foreign troops into a king- 
 dom 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 coin 73 ; the 
 
 72 Knox, 184. 
 
 73 The standard of money in Scotland was continually varying. 
 In lli e ltith of James V., A. D. 1529, a pound weight of gold, 
 when coined, produced 10X pounds of current money. But un- 
 der the Qneen Regent's administration, A. D. 1550, a pound 
 weight of gold, although the quantity of alloy was considerably 
 
 VOL. I. S 
 
194 THE HISTORY B. II. 
 
 subverting the ancient laws; the imposing of new 
 and burdensome taxes ; and the attempting to sub- 
 due 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 main- 
 tained, 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 ordained that, 
 for the future, no obedience should be given to her 
 commands 74 . 
 
 Violent as this action may appear, there wanted 
 not principles in the constitution, nor precedents in 
 the history of Scotland,, to justify and to authorize 
 it. Under the aristocratical form of government 
 established among the Scots, the power of the 
 sovereign was extremely limited. The more consi- 
 derable nobles were themselves petty Princes, pos- 
 sessing 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 
 
 increased, produced 144/. current money. In 1529, a pound 
 weight of silver, when coined, produced 9/. 2s.; but in 1550, it 
 produced 13/. current money. Ruddiniiin. Praefat. ad Anders. 
 Diplomat. Scotia 1 , p. SO, SI ; from which it appears, that this 
 complaint, which the malecontents often repeated, was not alto- 
 gether destitute of foundation. 
 
 74 M. Castelnau, after condemning the dangerous counsels 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 vindi- 
 cating their civil liberties than from any motive of religion. 
 Mem. 446. 
 
1559. OF SCOTLAND. 195 
 
 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 exer- 
 cised, the right of controlling the King. Jealous of 
 their privileges, and ever ready to take the field in 
 defence of them, every error in administration was 
 observed, every encroachment upon the rights of 
 the aristocracy excited indignation, and no Prince 
 ever ventured to transgress the boundaries which 
 the law had prescribed to prerogative, without 
 meeting resistance, which shook or overturned his 
 throne. Encouraged by the spirit of the constitu- 
 tion, 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 maladministration of the Queen Regent, 
 and to preserve their country 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 75 . They discover not only that mas- 
 culine and undaunted spirit, natural to men capable 
 of so bold a resolution ; but are remarkable for a 
 precision and vigour of expression, 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 affected, 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 them- 
 selves with perspicuity and force. 
 
 " s Knox, 184. 
 
THE 
 
 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND 
 
 BOOK III. 
 1559. 
 
 The Lords of the Congregation soon found that 
 their zeal had engaged them in an undertaking 
 which it was beyond their utmost ability to accom- 
 plish. The French garrison, despising their nume- 
 rous but irregular forces, refused to surrender Leith, 
 and to depart out of the kingdom ; nor were these 
 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, being 
 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 con- 
 stant 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 discovered itself at first in mur- 
 murs 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; 
 
1559. HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 197 
 
 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 Gene- 
 ral, sunk, with his usual timidity, under the terror 
 of approaching danger, and discovered manifest 
 symptoms of repentance for his rashness in espous- 
 ing such a desperate cause. 
 
 In this situation of their affairs, the Congregation 
 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 en- 
 tering into a secret correspondence with the court 
 of England 1 . Elizabeth, aware of the dangerous 
 designs which the Princes of Lorrain had formed 
 against her crown, was early sensible of how much 
 importance it would be, not only to check the pro- 
 gress of the French in Scotland, but to extend her 
 own influence in that kingdom " ; and perceiving how 
 effectually the present insurrections would contri- 
 bute to retard or defeat the schemes formed against 
 England, she listened with pleasure to these appli- 
 cations of the malecontents, and gave them private 
 assurances of powerful support to their cause. Ran- 
 dolph 3 , an agent extremely proper for conducting 
 any dark intrigue, was dispatched into Scotland, 
 and residing secretly among the Lords of the Con- 
 gregation, observed and quickened their motions. 
 Money seemed to be the only thing they wanted at 
 that time ; and it was owing to a seasonable remit- 
 
 1 Bom. Hist. Ref. 3. Append. 278. Keith, Append. 21. 
 1 See Appeud. No. 1. J Keith, Append. 2*J. 
 
 s 2 
 
198 THE HISTORY B. III. 
 
 tance from England 4 , 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 Con- 
 gregation could make little addition from their own 
 funds; and the ruin and dispersion of the party 
 must have instantly followed. 
 
 In order to prevent this, Cockburn of Ormiston, 
 was sent, with the utmost expedition, to the go- 
 vernors of the town and castle of Berwick. As 
 Berwick was at that time the town of greatest im- 
 portance on the Scottish frontier, Sir Ralph Sadler 
 and Sir James Crofts, persons of considerable figure, 
 were employed to command there, and were en- 
 trusted with a discretionary power of supplying the 
 Scottish malecontents, according to the exigency of 
 their affairs. From them Cockburn received four 
 thousand crowns, but little to the advantage of his 
 associates. The Earl of Both well, by the Queen's 
 instigation, lay in wait for him on his return, dis- 
 persed his followers, wounded him, and carried off 
 the money. 
 
 This unexpected disappointment proved fatal to 
 the party. In mere despair, some of the more zea- 
 lous attempted 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 
 terror and confusion which the prospect of pillage 
 or of massacre can excite in a place taken by storm, 
 4 Knox, 214. Keith, Append. 44. 
 
1559. OF SCOTLAND. WO 
 
 filled the city on this occasion. The inhabitants 
 fled from the enemy by the opposite gate; the forces 
 of the Congregation were irresolute 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 plundering 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 detachment to intercept a convoy of provi- 
 sions which was designed for Edinburgh. The 
 Lords of the Congregation, 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 surrounded by a second party 
 of French, who advanced in order to support their 
 own men. In this situation a 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 
 with order. A body of the enemy hung upon their 
 rear, horse and foot fell into the utmost confusion, 
 and it was entirely owing to the overcaution 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 
 Kdinburgh, but instantly determined to retire to 
 some place at a great distance from the enemy. In 
 vain did the Prior of St. Andrew's, and a few 
 others, oppose this cowardly and ignominious flight. 
 This dread of the present danger prevailed over 
 
200 THE HISTORY B. III. 
 
 both the sense of honour and zeal for the cause. 
 [Nov. G.] At midnight they set out from Edinburgh 
 in great confusion, and marched without halting till 
 they arrived at Stirling 5 . 
 
 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 defending LeithA Bothwell openly favoured 
 her cause, but resided at his own house. The Earl 
 of Huntly, conformable to the crafty policy which 
 distinguished his character, amused the leaders of 
 the Congregation, whom he had engaged to assist, 
 with many fair promises, but never joined them 
 with a single man 7 . The Earl of Morton, a mem- 
 ber of the Congregation, fluctuated in a state of 
 irresolution, and did not act heartily for the com- 
 mon 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 entrusted by parliament with the 
 command of the principal fortress in the kingdom, 
 he resolved that neither faction should get it into 
 their hands. 
 
 A few days before the retreat of the Congrega- 
 tion, the Queen suffered an irreparable loss by the 
 defection of her principal secretary, William Mait- 
 land of Lethington. His zeal for the reformed reli- 
 gion, 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 counsellors, that he, suspecting 
 his life to be in danger, withdrew secretly from 
 
 5 Keith, Append. 21—45. 6 Ibid. Append. 31. 
 
 7 Ibid. Append. 33. Knox, 222. 
 
1539. OF SCOTLAND. 201 
 
 Leith, and fled to the Lords of the Congregation 15 ; 
 and they with open arms received a convert, whose 
 abilities added both strength and reputation to their 
 cause. Maitland had early applied to public busi- 
 ness admirable natural talents, improved by an ac- 
 quaintance with the liberal arts; and, at a time of 
 life when his countrymen of the same quality were 
 following the pleasures of the chase, or serving as 
 adventurers in the armies of France, he was admit- 
 ted into all the secrets of the cabinet, and put upon 
 a level with persons of the most consummate expe- 
 rience in the management of affairs. He possessed, 
 in an eminent degree, that intrepid spirit which de- 
 lights in pursuing bold designs, and was no less 
 master of that political dexterity which is necessary 
 for carrying them on with success. But these qua- 
 lities were deeply tinctured with the neighbouring 
 vices. His address sometimes degenerated into 
 cunning; his acuteness bordered upon excess; his 
 invention, overfertile, suggested to him, on some 
 occasions, chimerical systems of policy, too refined 
 for the genius of his age or country; and his enter- 
 prising spirit engaged him in projects vast and splen- 
 did, but beyond his utmost power to execute. All 
 the cotemporary writers, to whatever faction they 
 belong, mention him with an admiration which no- 
 thing could have excited but the greatest superiority 
 of penetration and abilities. 
 
 The precipitate retreat of the Congregation in- 
 creased to such a degree the terror and confusion 
 which had seized the party at Edinburgh, that 
 before the army reached Stirling it dwindled to an 
 inconsiderable number. The spirit of Knox how- 
 ever still remained undaunted and erect; and having 
 
 8 Knox. 192. 
 
202 THE HISTORY B. III. 
 
 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 History 9 , and afford a striking ex- 
 ample of the boldness and freedom of reproof as- 
 sumed 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. 
 
 A meeting of the leaders being called, to consi- 
 der what course they should hold, now that their 
 own resources were all exhausted, and their destruc- 
 tion appeared to be unavoidable without foreign aid, 
 they turned their eyes once more to England, and 
 resolved to implore the assistance of Elizabeth to- 
 wards finishing an enterprise, in which they had 
 so fatally experienced their own weakness, and the 
 strength of their adversaries. 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 ser- 
 vice. 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 
 Maitland's address or eloquence to induce Eliza- 
 beth to take his country under her protection. She 
 observed the prevalence of the French counsels, 
 and the progress of their arms in Scotland, with 
 great concern ; and as she well foresaw the dan- 
 gerous tendency of their schemes in that kingdom, 
 she had already come to a resolution with regard 
 
 9 Knox, 193. 
 
1559. OF SCOTLAND. 20# 
 
 to the part she herself would act, if their power 
 there should grow still more formidable. 
 
 Iu order to give the Queen and her privy coun- 
 cil a full and distinct view of any important matter 
 which might come before them, it seems to have 
 been the practice of Elizabeth's ministers to pre- 
 pare memorials, in which they clearly stated the 
 point under deliberation, 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 submit- 
 ted by the Queen to the consideration of her privy 
 council, still remain 10 ; 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 
 Congregalion, are represented with perspicuity and 
 force; and the consequences of suffering the French 
 to establish themselves in Scotland are predicted 
 with great accuracy and discernment. 
 
 He lays it down as a principle, agreeably 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 employ to distress him. Upon these 
 grounds he establishes the right of England to in- 
 terpose in the affairs of Scotland, and to prevent 
 the conquest of that kingdom, at which the French 
 openly aimed. The French, he observes, are the 
 ancient and implacable enemies of England. Hos- 
 
 10 Burn vol. iii. Append. 283. Forbes, i. 387, c. Keith, 
 Append. 21. 
 
204 THE HISTORY B. III. 
 
 tilities had subsisted between the two 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 ob- 
 served, 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 unsuccessful war, it would 
 quickly be in a condition for acting, and the rest- 
 less and martial genius of the people render action 
 necessary. The Princes of Lorrain, who at that 
 time 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 ad- 
 vancing 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 Spaiu. They had persuaded Henry II. 
 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, declaring Elizabeth's 
 birth to be illegitimate. Though the wisdom and 
 moderation of the constable Montmorency had for 
 some time checked their career, yet these restraints 
 being now removed by the death of Henry II. and 
 the disgrace of his minister, the utmost excesses 
 of violence were to be dreaded from their furious 
 ambition, armed with sovereign power. Scotland 
 is the quarter where they can attack England with 
 most advantage. A war on the borders of that 
 
1559. OF SCOTLAND. 205 
 
 country exposes France to no danger; but one un- 
 successful action there may hazard the crown, and 
 overturn 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 efforts, have been obliged to quit 
 the field; and, far from expelling the invaders of 
 their liberties, they behold 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 there- 
 fore remained but to meet the enemy while yet at 
 a distance from England, and, by supporting the 
 Congregation with a powerful army, to render Scot- 
 land 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 mature counsel were 
 necessary in the first place, and afterwards vigour 
 and expedition in conduct; the danger was urgent, 
 and by losing a single moment might become un- 
 avoidable 11 . 
 
 These arguments produced their full effect upon 
 
 " The arguments which the Scots employed, in order to obtaiD 
 Elizabeth's assistance, are urged with great force in a paper of 
 Rfaitlaod'a. See Appeod. No. 11. 
 
 VOL. I. T 
 
206 THE HISTORY B. III. 
 
 Elizabeth, who was jealous, in an extreme degree, 
 of every pretender to her crown, and no less anxi- 
 ous to preserve the tranquillity and happiness of 
 her subjects. From these motives she had acted 
 in granting the Congregation an early supply of 
 money ; and from the same principles she deter- 
 mined, in their present exigency, to afford them 
 more effectual aid. One of Maitland's attendants 
 was instantly dispatched into Scotland with the 
 strongest assurances of her protection, and the 
 Lords of the Cono-reg-ation were desired to send 
 Commissioners into England to conclude a treaty, 
 and to settle the operations of the campaign with the 
 Duke of Norfolk 12 . 
 
 Meanwhile the Queen Regent, from whom no 
 motion of the Congregation could long be con- 
 cealed, dreaded the success of this negotiation with 
 the court of England, and foresaw how little she 
 would be able to resist the united efforts of the two 
 kingdoms. For this reason she determined, if pos- 
 sible, to get the start of Elizabeth ; and by ventur- 
 ing, notwithstanding the inclemency 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. Having 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. 
 12 Keith, 114. Rvmer, xv. p. 569. 
 
1559. OF SCOTLAND. 207 
 
 Fife was the most populous and powerful county in 
 the kingdom, and most devoted to the Congrega- 
 tion, who had hitherto drawn from thence their 
 most considerable supplies, both of men and provi- 
 sions ; and therefore, besides punishing the disaf- 
 fection of the inhabitants by pillaging the country, 
 the French proposed to seize and fortify St. An- 
 drew'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 
 
 3an 13 . 
 
 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, per- 
 formed, by their bravery and good conduct, a ser- 
 vice of the utmost importance to their party. — 
 Having assembled six hundred horse they infested 
 the French with continual incursions, beat up their 
 quarters, intercepted their convoys of provisions, cut 
 otT their straggling parties, and so harassed them 
 with perpetual alarms that they prevented them for 
 more than three weeks from advancing 14 . 
 
 1560.] At last the Prior, with his feeble party, 
 was constrained to retire, and the French set out 
 from Kirkaldy, and began to move along the coast 
 towards St. Andrew's. [Jan. 23.] They had ad- 
 vanced but a few miles when, from an eminence, 
 they descried a powerful fleet steering 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 has- 
 tily concluded that these ships belonged to them, 
 and gave way to the most immoderate transports of 
 joy on the prospect of this long expected succour. 
 
 13 Haynes, 221 , &c. u Knox, 202. 
 
'208 THE HISTORY B. III. 
 
 Their great guns were already fired to welcome 
 their friends, and to spread the tidings and terror 
 of their arrival among their enemies, when a small 
 boat from the opposite coast landed, and blasted 
 their premature and shortlived triumph, by inform- 
 ing 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 I5 . 
 
 Throughout her whole reign Elizabeth was cau- 
 tious, but decisive ; and, by her promptitude in 
 executing her resolutions, joined to the deliberation 
 with which she 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 squa- 
 dron to cruise in the Frith of Forth. She seems, 
 by her instructions to Winter her Admiral, to have 
 been desirous of preserving the appearances of 
 friendship towards the French 1 ' 1 . But these were 
 only appearances ; if any French fleet should at- 
 tempt to land, he was commanded to prevent it by 
 every act of hostility and violence. It was the 
 sight of this squadron which occasioned at first so 
 much joy among the French, but which soon in- 
 spired them with such terror 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 ut- 
 
 15 Knox, 202. ,6 Keitb, Append. 45. Haynes, 231. 
 
1560. OF SCOTLAND. 201) 
 
 most precipitation, and in a dreadful season, and 
 through roads almost impassable, arrived at Leith, 
 harassed and exhausted with fatigue 17 . 
 
 The English fleet cast anchor in the road of 
 Leith, and continuing in that station till the conclu- 
 sion of peace, both prevented the garrison of Leith 
 from receiving succours of any kind, and consider- 
 ably facilitated the operations of their own forces 
 by land. 
 
 Feb. 27.] Soon after the arrival of the English 
 squadron, the Commissioners of the Congregation 
 repaired to Berwick, 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 at- 
 tempts of conquest. Elizabeth, on her part, pro- 
 mised to employ in Scotland a powerful army for 
 their assistance, which the Scots undertook to join 
 with all their forces ; no place in Scotland was to re- 
 main in the hands of the English ; whatever should 
 be taken from the enemy was either to be rased or 
 kept by the Scots at their choice ; if any invasion 
 should be made upon England, the Scots were 
 obliged to assist Elizabeth with 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 pro- 
 testations of obedience and loyalty towards their 
 
 17 Knox, 203. 
 
 T 2 
 
£10 THE HISTORY B. III. 
 
 own Queen, in every thing not inconsistent with 
 their religion and the liberties of their country 18 . 
 
 The English army, consisting of six thousand 
 foot and two thousand horse, under the command 
 of Lord Gray of Wilton, entered Scotland early in 
 the spring. The members of the Congregation as- 
 sembled from all parts of the kingdom to meet their 
 new allies; and having joined them, with great mul- 
 titudes of their followers, they advanced together 
 towards Leith [April 2.] The French were little 
 able to keep the field against an enemy so much 
 superior in number. A strong body of troops, des- 
 tined for their relief, had been scattered by a vio- 
 lent storm, and had either perished on the coast of 
 France, or with difficulty had recovered the ports 
 of that kingdom 19 . 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 in- 
 vading enemy, by burning and laying waste all the 
 adjacent country ~°. The zeal, however, of the na- 
 tion frustrated their intentions : eager to contribute 
 towards removing their oppressors, the people pro- 
 duced their hidden stores to support their friends ; 
 the neighbouring counties supplied every thing ne- 
 cessary ; and, far from wanting subsistence, the 
 English found in their camp all sorts of provisions 
 at a cheaper rate than had for some time been 
 known in that part of the kingdom 21 . 
 
 18 Knox, 217. Haynes, 253, &c. 
 
 19 Mem. de Castel. 450. -° Knox, 225. « Id. ibid. 
 
1560. OF SCOTLAND. 211 
 
 On the approach of the English army the Queen 
 Regent 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 ad- 
 ministration. To avoid the danger and fatigue of 
 a siege, she committed herself to the protection of 
 Lord Erskine. This nobleman 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—. 
 
 April 6.] A few days after they arrived in Scot- 
 land, the English invested Leith. The garrison 
 shut up within the town was almost half as numer- 
 ous as the army which sat down before it, and by 
 an obstinate defence protracted the siege to a great 
 length. The circumstances of this siege, related 
 by contemporary historians, men without know- 
 ledge or experience in the art of war, are often ob- 
 scure and imperfect, and at this distance of time 
 are not considerable enough to be entertaining. 
 
 At first the French endeavoured to keep posses- 
 sion of the Hawk Hill, a rising ground not far dis- 
 tant from the town, but were beat from it with great 
 slaughter [April 15], chiefly by the furious attack 
 of the Scottish cavalry. AVithin 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 they 
 had lost in the former skirmish. Nor were the 
 English more fortunate in an attempt which they 
 M Forbes' Collect, vol. i. 603. Keith, 122. 
 
212 THE HISTORY B. III. 
 
 made to take the place by assault [May 7] ; they 
 were met with equal courage, and repulsed with 
 considerable loss. From the detail of these cir- 
 cumstances by the writers of that age, it is easy to 
 observe the different characters of the French and 
 English troops. The former, trained to war dur- 
 ing the active reigns of Francis I. and Henry II., 
 defended themselves not only with the bravery but 
 with the skill of veterans. The latter, who had 
 been more accustomed to peace, still preserved 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 
 imputed to manifest errors 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 stations ; and their trenches were almost with- 
 out a guard 23 . The ladders, which had been pro- 
 vided 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 won- 
 derfully 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- 
 23 Haynes, 294. 298. 305, &c. 
 
lob'O. OF SCOTLAND. 213 
 
 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 concluded at Berwick, they en- 
 deavoured to render the alliance with England firm 
 and indissoluble. Among the subscribers of these 
 papers we find the Earl of Huntly, and some others, 
 who had not hitherto concurred with the Congrega- 
 tion in any of their measures 24 . Several of these 
 Lords, particularly the Earl of Huntly, still ad- 
 hered to the Popish church ; but, on this occasion, 
 neither their religious sentiments nor their former 
 cautious maxims were regarded ; the torrent of 
 national resentment and indignation against the 
 French hurried them on c5 . 
 
 June 10.] The Queen Regent, the instrument 
 rather than the cause of involving Scotland in those 
 calamities under 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, 
 
 21 Burn. vol. iii. 287. Knox, 221. Haynes, 2G1. 263. 
 
 M The dread of the French power did on many occasions sur- 
 mount the zeal which the Catholic nobles had for their religion. 
 Besides the presumptive evidence for this, arising from the me- 
 morial mentioned bv Burnet, Hist, cf the Reformation, vol. iii. 
 281, and published by him, Append, 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. Haynes \s State Papers, 261. 263. See Append. 
 Mo. III. 
 
214 THE HISTORY B. III. 
 
 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 un- 
 fortunate and her name odious. Devoted to the in- 
 terest of France, her native country, and attached 
 to the Princes of Lorrain, her brothers, with most 
 passionate fondness, she departed, in order to gra- 
 tify them, from every maxim which her own wisdom 
 or humanity would have approved. She outlived, 
 in a great measure, that reputation and popularity 
 which had smoothed her way to the highest station 
 in the kingdom ; and many examples of falsehood, 
 and some of severity, in the latter part of her admi- 
 nistration, alienated from her the affections of a 
 people who had once placed in her an unbounded 
 confidence. But, even by her enemies, these un- 
 justifiable 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 26 . A few days 
 before her death she desired 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 errors of her own administration, and begged 
 forgiveness of those to whom they had been hurt- 
 ful ; 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 
 
 26 Buchanan, 324. 
 
1560. OF SCOTLAND. 215 
 
 were due to their sovereign 07 . The remainder of her 
 time she employed in religious meditations and ex- 
 ercises. She even invited the attendance of Wil- 
 lox, one of the most eminent among the reformed 
 preachers, listened to his instructions with reve- 
 rence and attention C8 , and prepared for the ap- 
 proach of death with a decent fortitude. 
 
 Nothing could now save the French troops shut 
 up in Leith but the immediate conclusion of a 
 peace, or the arrival of a powerful army from the 
 continent. The 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 terror of the English arms, 
 or the remonstrances of the Scottish malecontents, 
 constrained them, though with reluctance, to turn 
 their thoughts towards pacific counsels. The Pro- 
 testants in France were at that time a party for- 
 midable by their number, and more by the valour 
 and enterprising genius of their leaders. FVancis II. 
 had treated them with extreme rigour, and disco- 
 vered, 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. Animated 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 deem- 
 ed the authors of all the King's violent measures, 
 they marked them out to be the first victims of their 
 indignation. [March 15.] Hence, and not from 
 
 27 Lesley, de Rebus Gest. Scot. 222. 28 Knox, 228. 
 
21G THE HISTORY B. III. 
 
 disloyalty to the King, proceeded the famous con- 
 spiracy of Amboise ; and though the vigilance and 
 good fortune of the 1 Princes of Lorrain discovered 
 and disappointed that design, it was easy to ob- 
 serve new storms gathering in every province of the 
 kingdom, and ready to burst out with all the fury 
 and outrage of civil war. In this situation the am- 
 bition 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, in- 
 stead of sending new reinforcements into Scotland, 
 it became necessary to withdraw the veteran troops 
 already employed in that kingdom- 9 . 
 
 In order to conduct an affair of so much import- 
 ance and delicacy, the Princes of Lorrain made 
 choice of Monluc, Bishop of Valence, and of the 
 Sieur de Randan. As both these, especially the 
 former, were reckoned inferior 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 perhaps of the 
 greatest capacity who had ever held that office; 
 and Wotton, Dean of Canterbury, grown old in the 
 art of negotiating under three successive monarchs. 
 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 with- 
 draw those forces which had been the chief occa- 
 sion of the war, the other points in dispute between 
 that kingdom and England were not matters of tedi- 
 ous or of difficult discussion. 
 
 The grievances of the Congregation, and their 
 demands upon their own sovereigns for redress, 
 employed longer time, and required to be treated 
 
 - 9 Lesley, 224. 
 
1560. OF SCOTLAND. '217 
 
 with a more delicate hand. After so many open 
 attempts, carried on by command of the King and 
 Queen, in order to overturn the ancient constitu- 
 tion, and to suppress the religion 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, without derogating 
 from the honour of the Prince. The Scottish no- 
 bles agreed, on this occasion, to pass from the point 
 of right and privilege, and to accept the redress of 
 their grievances as a matter of favour. Whatever 
 additional security their anxiety for personal safety 
 or their zeal for public liberty prompted them to 
 demand 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 ambassa- 
 dor agreed to insert them in the treaty with Eliza- 
 beth, and thereby to bind the King and Queen in- 
 violably to observe them 30 . 
 
 In relating this transaction, contemporary histo- 
 rians have confounded the concessions of Francis 
 and Mary to their Scottish subjects, with the treaty 
 between France and England; the latter, besides 
 
 "■" Keith, 134, &c. 
 VOL. I. V 
 
21tf THE HISTORY B. III. 
 
 the ratification of former treaties between the two 
 kingdoms, and stipulations with regard to the time 
 and manner of removing both armies out of Scot- 
 land, contained an article to which, as the source of 
 many important events, we shall often have occa- 
 sion to refer. The right of Elizabeth to her crown 
 is thereby acknowledged in the strongest terms ; 
 and Francis and Mary solemnly engaged neither to 
 assume the title nor to bear the arms of King and 
 Queen of England in any time to come 31 . 
 
 July 6.] Honourable as this article was for Eli- 
 zabeth herself, the conditions she obtained for her 
 allies the Scots were no less advantageous to them. 
 Monluc and Randan consented, in the name of 
 Francis and Mary, that the French forces in Scot- 
 land should instantly be sent back into their own 
 country, and no foreign troops be hereafter intro- 
 duced into the kingdom without the knowledge and 
 consent of Parliament ; that the fortifications of 
 Leith and Dunbar should immediately be rased, 
 and no new fort be erected without the permission 
 of Parliament ; that a Parliament should be held 
 on the first day of August, and that assembly be 
 deemed 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 Parliament, 
 seven of which council to be elected by the Queen, 
 
 31 Keith, 131. Rymer, w. p. 581. 591, &c. Havnes, 32r> 
 —364. 
 
K>(JO. OF SCOTLAND. 21!) 
 
 and five by the Parliament ; that hereafter the 
 King and Queen should not advance foreigners to 
 places of trust or dignity in the kingdom, nor con- 
 fer the offices of treasurer or comptroller of the re- 
 venues upon any ecclesiastics ; that an act of ob- 
 livion, abolishing the guilt and memory of all 
 offences committed since the sixth of March, one 
 thousand rive 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 vio- 
 lation of their authority during that period, seek to 
 deprive any of their subjects of the offices, bene- 
 fices, or estates which they now hold ; that the re- 
 dress due to churchmen, 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 ambas- 
 sadors declared that they would not presume to 
 decide, but permitted the Parliament, at their first 
 meeting, to examine the points in difference, and 
 to represent their sense of them to the King and 
 Queen 32 . 
 
 To such a memorable period did the Lords of the 
 Congregation, by their courage and perseverance, 
 conduct an enterprise which at first promised a very 
 different issue. From beginnings extremely feeble, 
 and even contemptible, the party grew by degrees 
 to great power ; and, being favoured by many for- 
 tunate incidents, 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 Con- 
 gregation ; that limited prerogative which the crown 
 
 - Keith, 137, \c. 
 
•221) THE HISTORY B. 111. 
 
 had hitherto possessed, was almost entirely annihi- 
 lated ; and the aristocratical power, which always 
 predominated in the Scottish government, became 
 supreme and incontrolabie. 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- 
 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 Parlia- 
 ment, the Protestants might reckon upon obtaining 
 whatever decision was most favourable to the opi- 
 nions which they professed. 
 
 A few days after the conclusion of the treaty, 
 both the French and English armies quitted Scot- 
 land. 
 
 The eyes of every man in that kingdom were 
 turned towards the approaching Parliament. A 
 meeting, summoned 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 aristocra- 
 tical genius of the government, was properly an as- 
 sembly of the nobles. It was composed of bishops, 
 abbots, barons, and a few commissioners of bo- 
 roughs, 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 expense of attending, 
 according to the fashion of the times, with a nu- 
 merous train of vassals and dependants ; the inat- 
 tention of a martial age to the forms and detail of 
 
1560. OF SCOTLAND. 221 
 
 civil government; but, above all, the exorbitant 
 authority of the greater nobles, who had drawn the 
 whole power into their own hands, made this pri- 
 vilege 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 Par- 
 liament. The ordinary administration of govern- 
 ment was abandoned, without scruple or jealousy, 
 to the King and to the greater barons. But in 
 extraordinary conjunctures, when the struggle for 
 liberty was violent, and the spirit of opposition 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. 
 The turbulent reign of James III. affords examples 
 in proof of this observation ' 5 . The public indigna- 
 tion, against the rash designs of that weak and ill- 
 advised Prince, brought into Parliament, besides 
 the greater nobles and prelates, a considerable num- 
 ber of the lesser barons. 
 
 The same causes occasioned the unusual conflu- 
 ence 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 appeared the 
 representatives of almost all the boroughs, and 
 
 ' : Keith, 147. 
 
 u 2 
 
% 2'2'2 THE HISTORY B. 111. 
 
 above a hundred barons, who, though of the lesser 
 order, were gentlemen of the first rank and fortune 
 in the nation 34 . 
 
 The Parliament was ready to enter on business 
 with the utmost zeal, when a difficulty was started 
 concerning' 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 Edinburgh 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 outnumbered their adversaries, the latter 
 opinion prevailed. Their boldest leaders, and 
 those of most approved zeal, were chosen to be 
 lords of the articles, who formed a committee of 
 ancient use and of great importance in the Scottish 
 Parliament 35 . The deliberations of the lords of the 
 articles were carried on with the most unanimous and 
 active zeal. The act of oblivion, the nomination of 
 twenty-four persons, out of whom the council, in- 
 trusted with supreme authority, was to be elected ; 
 and every other thing prescribed by the late treaty, 
 or which seemed necessary to render it effectual, 
 passed without dispute or delay. The article of 
 religion employed longer time, and was attended 
 
 34 Keith, 1 i(i. 
 
 35 From an original letter of Hamilton, Archbishop of St. An- 
 drew's, it appears that the lords of articles were chosen in the 
 manner afterwards appointed bv an act of parliament, 1033. — 
 Keith, p. 487. Spottiswood seems to consider this to have been 
 the common practice. Hist. 1 »!). 
 
1500. OF SCOTLAND. 223 
 
 with greater difficulty. It was brought into Parlia- 
 ment by a petition from those who adopted the 
 principles of the Reformation. Many doctrines of 
 the Popish church were a contradiction to reason, 
 and a disgrace to religion ; its discipline had be- 
 come 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 absur- 
 dity, 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 Parlia- 
 ment to interpose its authority for rectifying these 
 multiplied abuses iC . 
 
 Several prelates, zealously attached to the ancient 
 superstition, were present in this Parliament. But, 
 during these vigorous proceedings of the Protes- 
 tants, they stood confounded and at gaze ; arid per- 
 severed in a silence 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 that the King and 
 Queen would soon be at leisure to 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, per- 
 haps, to sacrifice the doctrine, and even the power 
 pf the church, in order to ensure the safety of their 
 
 30 Knox, 237. 
 
224 THE HISTORY B. III. 
 
 own persons, and to preserve the possession of 
 those revenues which were still in their hands. — 
 From whatever motives they acted, their silence, 
 which was imputed to the consciousness of a bad 
 cause, afforded matter of great triumph to the Pro- 
 testants, and encouraged them to proceed with 
 more boldness and alacrity 37 . 
 
 The Parliament did not think it enough to con- 
 demn those doctrines mentioned in the petition of 
 the Protestants ; they moreover gave the sanction 
 of their approbation to a Confession of Faith pre- 
 sented to them by the reformed teachers 38 ; and 
 composed, as might be expected from such a per- 
 formance at 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 for- 
 merly came under their cognizance were transferred 
 to the decision of civil judges 39 . By a third sta- 
 tute, the exercise of religious worship, according 
 to the rites of the Romish church, was prohibited. 
 The manner 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 cor- 
 poral punishment at the discretion of the judge ; 
 banishment was the penalty of the second violation 
 of the law ; and a third act of disobedience was 
 declared to be capital' 10 . Such strangers were men 
 at that time to the spirit of toleration, and to the 
 laws of humanity ; and with such indecent haste 
 did the very persons who had just escaped the 
 
 » Knox, 253. 38 Id. ibid. 
 
 39 Keith, 152. I0 Knox, 254. 
 
LoiiO. OF SCOTLAND. '22-3 
 
 rigour of ecclesiastical tyranny, proceed to imitate 
 those examples of severity of which they them- 
 selves had so justly complained. 
 
 The vigorous zeal of the Parliament overturned 
 in a few days the ancient system of religion, which 
 had been 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 dilatory when they entered 
 on the consideration of ecclesiastical revenues. — 
 Among the lay members, some were already en- 
 riched with the spoils of the church, and others 
 devoured in expectation the wealthy benefices 
 which still remained untouched. The alteration in 
 religion had afforded many of the dignified eccle- 
 siastics themselves an opportunity of gratifying their 
 avarice or ambition. The demolition of the monas- 
 teries 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 Re- 
 formation from conviction, or so cunning as to 
 espouse them out of policy, seized the whole reve- 
 nues of the fraternity ; and, except what he allowed 
 for the subsistence of a few superannuated monks 41 , 
 applied them entirely to his own use. The propo- 
 sal made by the reformed teachers, for applying 
 these revenues towards the maintenance of minis- 
 ters, the education of youth, and the support of the 
 poor, was erpially dreaded by all these orders of 
 " Keith, 106. Append. 190, 191. 
 
'2'2G THE HISTORY B. III. 
 
 men. They opposed it with the utmost warmth, 
 and by their numbers and authority easily pre- 
 vailed on the Parliament to give no ear to such a 
 disagreeable demand 42 . Zealous as the first re- 
 formers were, and animated with a spirit superior 
 to the low considerations of interest, they beheld 
 these early symptoms of selfishness and avarice 
 among their adherents with amazement and sorrow ; 
 and we find Knox expressing the utmost sensibility 
 of that contempt with which they were treated by 
 many from whom he expected a more generous 
 concern for the success of religion and the honour 
 of its ministers 43 . 
 
 A difficulty hath been started with regard to the 
 acts of this parliament concerning religion. This 
 difficulty, which at such a distance of time is of no 
 importance, was founded on the words of the treaty 
 of Edinburgh. By that the parliament were per- 
 mitted to take into consideration the state of reli- 
 gion, 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 Parliament converted 
 them into so many acts ; which, although they 
 never received the royal assent, obtained all over 
 the kingdom the weight and authoritv of laws. Tn 
 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 
 overlooked or supplied any defect in the form of 
 these acts of parliament, and rendered the obser- 
 vance of them more universal than ever had been 
 
 42 See Append. No. IV. 4i Knox, 2Z9. 256. 
 
li'AiO. OF SCOTLAND. '1'1~ 
 
 yielded to the statutes of the most regular or con- 
 stitutional assembly. By those proceedings it 
 must, however, be confessed that the parliament, 
 or rather the nation, violated the last article in tiie 
 treaty of Edinburgh, and even exceeded the powers 
 which belong to subjects. But when once men 
 have been accustomed to break through the com- 
 mon boundaries of subjection, and their minds are 
 inflamed with the passions which civil war inspires, 
 it is mere pedantry or ignorance to measure their 
 conduct by those rules which can be applied only 
 where government is in a state of order and tran- 
 quillity. A nation, when obliged to employ such 
 extraordinary efforts in defence of its liberties, 
 avails itself of every thing which can promote this 
 great end ; and the necessity of the case, as well as 
 the importance of the object, justify any departure 
 from the common and established rules of the con- 
 stitution. 
 
 In consequence of the treaty of Edinburgh, as 
 well as by the ordinary forms of business, it became 
 necessary to lay the proceedings of parliament be- 
 fore the King and Queen. For this purpose Sir 
 James Sandilands of Calder, Lord St. John, was 
 appointed to repair to the court of France. After 
 holding a course so irregular, the leaders of the 
 Congregation had no reason to flatter themselves 
 that Francis and Mary would ever approve their 
 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 
 Parliament's proceedings. From the Princes of 
 Lorrain, and their partisans, he endured all tho 
 
228 THE HISTORY B. Ill, 
 
 scorn and insult which it was natural for them to 
 pour upon the party he represented 4i . 
 
 Though the Earls of Morton, Glencairn, and 
 Maitland of Lethington, the ambassadors of the 
 Parliament to Elizabeth their protectress, met with 
 a very different reception, they were not more suc- 
 cessful in one part of the negotiation entrusted 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 time to beseech her 
 to render the friendship between the nations perpe- 
 tual, by condescending to marry the Earl of Arran, 
 who, though a subject, was nearl} 7 allied to the 
 royal family of Scotland, and, after Mary, the un- 
 doubted heir to the crown. 
 
 To the former part of this commission Elizabeth 
 listened with the utmost satisfaction, and encou- 
 raged the Scots, in any future exigency, to hope for 
 the continuance 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 admit any partner to the 
 throne ; but, delighted with the entire and uncon- 
 trolled exercise of power, she sacrificed to the en- 
 joyment 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- 
 
 44 Knox, 255. Bticli. 327. State Papers published bv Lord 
 Hardwicke, vol.i. p. 125, &c. 
 
L660. OF SCOTLAND. 22.9 
 
 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 40 . 
 
 Towards the conclusion of this year, distinguished 
 by so many remarkable events, there happened one 
 of great importance. On the fourth of December 
 died Francis II. 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 com- 
 motions in Scotland, had taken part with the Con- 
 gregation. Mary, by the charms of her beauty, 
 had acquired an entire ascendant over her hus- 
 band ; 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 
 apprehensions of danger no less formidable than 
 well founded. The intestine disorders which raged 
 in France, and the seasonable interposition of Eng- 
 land 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 administrations, 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 future, from 
 the affairs of Scotland. In either of these events, 
 the Scots would stand exposed to all the venge- 
 ance which the resentment of the French court 
 could inflict. The blow, however long suspended, 
 was unavoidable, and must fall at last with redou- 
 
 '• Hum. :i. Append. 308. Keith, 154, &c. 
 vol. I. \ 
 
230 THE HTSTORY B. III. 
 
 bled 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 IX. her second 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 II. 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 
 mother, Catherine could never forgive such a dis- 
 appointment in her favourite passion, and beheld 
 now, with secret pleasure, the difficult and perplex- 
 ing scene on which her daughter-in-law was about 
 to enter. Mary, overwhelmed with all the sorrow 
 which so sad a reverse of fortune could occasion ; 
 slighted by the Queen-mother 46 ; and forsaken by 
 the tribe of courtiers, who appear only in the sun- 
 shine of prosperity, retired to Rheims, and there in 
 solitude indulged her grief, or hid her indignation. 
 Even the Princes of Lorrain were obliged to con- 
 tract their views; to turn them from foreign to 
 domestic objects ; and, instead of forming vast pro- 
 jects 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 onlv event whch could give firmness and 
 
 16 Henault, 340, Castelti. LS4. 
 
loGO. OF SCOTLAND. 231 
 
 stability to that system of religion and government 
 which was now introduced ; 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 47 . 
 
 About this time the Protestant church of Scotland 
 began to assume a regular form. Its principles had 
 obtained the sanction of public authority, and some 
 fixed external policy became necessary for the go- 
 vernment 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 doctrines which they taught, and 
 roused that spirit of inquiry 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 which abolished the former would have over- 
 turned 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 Christianity in the Roman 
 
 *» Knox,*.'*. 
 
232 THE HISTORY B. III. 
 
 empire. In both periods, the form of ecclesiastical 
 policy was modelled, in some measure, upon that of 
 the civil government. \\ hen the Christian church 
 was patronised and established by the state, the 
 jurisdiction of the various orders of the ecclesias- 
 tics, distinguished by the names of Patriarchs, 
 Archbishops, and Bishops, was made to corres- 
 pond with the various divisions of the empire : and 
 the ecclesiastic of chief eminence in each of these 
 possessed authority, more or less extensive, in pro- 
 portion to that of the civil magistrate who presided 
 over the same district. When the Reformation took 
 place, the episcopal form of government, with its 
 various ranks and degrees of subordination, appear- 
 ing to be most consistent with the genius of mo- 
 narchy, 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 popu- 
 lar form of government allowed more full scope to 
 the innovating genius of the Reformation, all pre- 
 eminence 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 empire, the si- 
 tuation of the primitive church, prior to its establish- 
 ment 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 perse- 
 cutions, and obliged to hold their religious assem- 
 blies by stealth and in corners, were contented with 
 a form of government extremely simple. The influ- 
 ence of religion concurred with the sense of danger, 
 
loo'O. OF SCOTLAND. 233 
 
 in extinguishing among them the spirit of ambition, 
 and in preserving a parity of rank, 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 ec- 
 clesiastical 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 admired it, warmly recommended it to the imi- 
 tation of his countrymen. 
 
 Among the Scottish nobility, some hated the per- 
 sons, and others coveted the wealth of the dignified 
 clergy. By abolishing that order of men, the former 
 iudulged 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 prac- 
 tice 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 ecclesiastical 
 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 
 nation from their exorbitant and oppressive jurisdic- 
 tion. The new mode of government easily made 
 its way among men thus prepared, by their various 
 interests and passions, for its reception. 
 
 Hut, on the first introduction of his system, Knox 
 did not deem it expedient to depart altogether from 
 
 x '2 
 
1>34 THE HISTORY B. III. 
 
 the ancient form 48 . Instead of bishops, he proposed 
 to establish ten or twelve superintendents in diffe- 
 rent parts of the kingdom. These, as the name 
 implies, were empowered to inspect the life and 
 doctrine of the other clergy. They presided in the 
 inferior judicatories 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 pre- 
 tended 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 ex- 
 tremely small ; they had embraced the principles of 
 the Reformation at different times, and from various 
 motives; during the public commotions, they were 
 scattered, merely by chance, over the different pro- 
 vinces of the kingdom, and in a few places only were 
 formed into regular classes or societies. [Dec. 20]. 
 The first general assembly of the church, which was 
 held this year, bears all the marks of an infant and 
 unformed society. The members 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 seve- 
 ral members. A convention so feeble and irregular 
 could not possess extensive authority; and. con- 
 scious of their own weakness, the members put an 
 end to their debates, without venturing upon any 
 decision of much importance 4 -'. 
 
 1561.] In order to give greater strength and con- 
 « 8 Spotswood, 158. i0 kcitli, l'JS. 
 
1561- of scon- and. '!:)> 
 
 sistence 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 50 . [Jan. 15.] They presented 
 it to a convention of estates, which was held in the 
 beginning of this year. "Whatever regulations were 
 proposed, with regard to ecclesiastical discipline and 
 jurisdiction, would have easily obtained the sanc- 
 tion of that assembly ; but a design to recover the 
 patrimony of the church, which is there insinuated, 
 met with a very different reception. 
 
 In vain did the clergy display the advantages 
 which would accrue to the public by a proper ap- 
 plication of ecclesiastical revenues. In vain did 
 they propose, by an impartial distribution of this 
 fund, to promote true religion, to encourage learn- 
 ing, and to support the poor. In vain did they even 
 intermingle threatenings of the divine displeasure 
 against the unjust detainers of what was appropri- 
 ated 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 vision- 
 ary, and treated it with the utmost scorn 51 . 
 
 This convention appointed the Prior of St. An- 
 drew's to repair to the Queen, and to invite her to 
 return into her native country, and to assume the 
 reins of government, which had been too long com- 
 mitted to other hands. Though some of her subjects 
 dreaded her return, and others foresaw dangerous 
 consequences with which it might be attended 5 -, 
 the bulk of them desired it with so much ardour 
 that the invitation was given with the greatest ap- 
 pearance of unanimity. But the zeal of the Roman 
 
 " Spots. 152. "*' Knox,25G. -' See Append. No. V. 
 
23G THE HISTORY B. III. 
 
 Catholics got the start of the Prior in paying court 
 to Mary; and Lesly, afterwards Bishop of Ross, 
 who was commissioned by them, arrived before him 
 at the place of her residence 53 . Lesly endeavoured 
 to infuse into the Queen's mind suspicions of her 
 Protestant 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 Pro- 
 testant doctrines had made no considerable progress 
 in that part of the kingdom, he gave her assurance 
 of being joined in a few days by twenty thousand 
 men ; and flattered her that, with such an army, en- 
 couraged by her presence and authority, 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 dan- 
 gerous proposal. Intent on defending themselves 
 against Catherine of Medicis, whose insidious po- 
 licy was employed in undermining their exorbitant 
 powers, they had no leisure to attend to the affairs 
 of Scotland, and wished their niece to take posses- 
 sion of her kingdom with as little disturbance as 
 possible. The French officers too, who had served 
 in Scotland, dissuaded Mary from ail violent mea- 
 sures; 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 
 provoke them, by a fruitless opposition, to become 
 her enemies 54 . Hence proceeded the confidence 
 and affection with which the Prior of St. Andrew's 
 was received by the Queen. His representation of 
 03 Leslj, 2-27. 31 Mclv. 61. 
 
1561. OF SCOTLAND. 237 
 
 the state of the kingdom gained great credit; and 
 Lesly 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 confede- 
 racy with England, and to restore the popish eccle- 
 siastics 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 iil 
 timed propositions. They were rejected with that 
 scorn which might well have been expected from 
 the temper of the nation 55 . 
 
 In this convention, the Protestant clergy did not 
 obtain a more favourable audience than formerly, 
 and their prospect of recovering the patrimony of 
 the church 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 56 ; and, though 
 neither the same pretence of policy, nor the same 
 ungovernable rage of the people, remained to jus- 
 tify or excuse this barbarous havoc, the convention, 
 considering every religious fabric as a relic of ido- 
 latry, passed sentence upon them by an act in form ; 
 and persons the most remarkable for the activity of 
 their zeal were appointed to put it in execution. 
 -Abbeys, cathedrals, churches, libraries, records, 
 
 '•'' Knox, 269, 273. 56 Spotswood, 153. 
 
'238 THE HISTORY B. III. 
 
 and even the sepulchres 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 de- 
 vastation of every thing venerable and magnificent 
 which had escaped its violence 57 . 
 
 In the mean time Mary was in no haste to return 
 into Scotland. Accustomed to the elegance, splen- 
 dour, and gaiety of a polite court, she still fondly 
 lingered in France, the scene of all these enjoyments, 
 and contemplated with horror the barbarism of her 
 own country, and the turbulence of her subjects, 
 which presented her with a very different face of 
 things. The impatience, however, of her people, 
 the persuasions of her uncles, but, above all, the 
 studied and mortifying neglect with which she was 
 treated bv the Queen-mother, forced her to think of 
 beginning this disagreeable voyage 58 . But while 
 she was preparing for it, there were sown between 
 her and Elizabeth the seeds of that personal jealousy 
 and discord which imbittered the life and shortened 
 the days of the Scottish Queen. 
 
 The ratification of the late treaty of Edinburgh 
 was the immediate occasion of this fatal animosity; 
 the true cause of it lay much deeper. Almost every 
 article in that treaty had been executed by both 
 parties with a scrupulous exactness. The fortifi- 
 cations of Leith were demolished, and the armies of 
 Trance 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 future security. With 
 
 57 Spotswood, 174. 58 Brantome, Jebb, vol. ii. 482. 
 
1181. OF SCOTLAND. 239 
 
 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 understanding of this able 
 politician had proved greatly an overmatch for 
 Monluc's refinements in intrigue, and had artfully 
 induced the French ambassadors, not only to ac- 
 knowledge that the crowns of England and Ireland 
 did of right belong to Elizabeth alone, but also to 
 promise, that in all times to come Mary should 
 abstain from usino- the title or bearing; the arms of 
 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 ambition. 
 Her pretensions to it gave her great dignity and 
 importance in the eyes of all Europe. By many, 
 her title was esteemed preferable to that of Eliza- 
 beth. 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 
 might fall in, to bring this opportunity nearer than 
 was expected. In these circumstances, Mary, bj 
 ratifying the article in dispute, would have lost the 
 rank she had hitherto held among neighbouring 
 
240 THE HISTORY B. III. 
 
 princes ; the zeal of her adherents must have gra- 
 dually cooled ; and she might have renounced from 
 that moment, all hopes of ever wearing the English 
 crown 59 . 
 
 None of these beneficial consequences escaped 
 the penetrating eye of Elizabeth, who, for this rea- 
 son, had recourse to every thing by which she 
 could hope either to sooth or frighten the Scottish 
 Queen into a compliance with her demands ; and 
 if that Princess had been so unadvised as to ratify 
 the rash concessions of her ambassadors, Elizabeth, 
 by that deed, would have acquired an advantage 
 which, under her management, must have turned to 
 great account. By such a renunciation, the ques- 
 tion 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 VI., who during his whole reign 
 she held in perpetual fear and subjection. The lat- 
 ter and more rigorous method of proceeding would, 
 in all probability, have been employed against 
 Mary, whom for many reasons she both envied 
 and hated. 
 
 Xor was this step beyond her power, unprece- 
 dented in the history, or inconsistent with the con- 
 stitution of England. Though succession by here- 
 ditary right be an idea so natural and so popular 
 that it has been established in almost every civi- 
 lized nation, yet England affords many memorable 
 
 09 Haynes, :)7?>. &e. 
 
15G1. OF SCOTLAND. 241 
 
 instances of deviation from that rule. The crown 
 of that kingdom having once been seized by the 
 hand of a conqueror, this invited the bold and en- 
 terprising in every age to imitate such an illustrious 
 example of fortunate ambition. From the time of 
 \\ illiam the Norman, the regular course of descent 
 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 con- 
 firm their dubious titles. Hence parliamentary and 
 hereditary right became in England of equal con- 
 sideration. That great assembly claimed and ac- 
 tually possessed a power of altering the order of 
 regal succession; and even so late as Henry VIJT. 
 an act of parliament had authorized that capricious 
 monarch to settle the order of succession at his 
 pleasure. The English, jealous of their religious 
 liberty, and averse from the dominion of strangers, 
 would have eagerly adopted the passions of their 
 sovereign, and might have been easily induced to 
 exclude the Scottish line from the right of succeed- 
 ing to the crown. These seem to have been the 
 views of both Queens, and these were the diilicul- 
 ties 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 question to an amicable issue. The inde- 
 finite and ambiguous 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 tin 
 title of Queen of England in nil times to come, 
 
 VOL. I. > 
 
242 THE HISTORY B. III. 
 
 might have engaged not to assume that title during 
 the life of Elizabeth, or the lives of her lawful pos- 
 terity 60 . 
 
 Such an amendment, however, did not suit the 
 views 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 how- 
 ever relinquished it. She determined to revive her 
 claim on the first prospect of success, and was un- 
 willing to bind herself, by a positive engagement, 
 not to take advantage of any such fortunate occur- 
 rence. Nor would the alteration have been more 
 acceptable to Elizabeth, who, by agreeing to it, 
 would have tacitly recognised the right of her rival 
 to ascend the throne after her decease. But neither 
 the Scottish nor English Queen durst avow these 
 
 60 This expedient for terminating the differences between Eli- 
 zabeth and Mary was so obvious that it could not fail of present- 
 ing itself to the view of the English ministers. 
 
 " There hath been a matter secretly thought of, (says Cecil in 
 a letter to Throkmorton, July l-l, 1561,) which I dare commu- 
 nicate to you, although I mean never to be an author thereof; 
 and that is, if an accord might be made betwixt onr Mistress 
 and the Scottish Queen, that this should by parliament in Scot- 
 land, &c. surrender unto the Queen's Majesty all matters of 
 claim, and unto the heirs of her body; and in consideration 
 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. 1. 174. 
 But with regard to every point relating to the succession, Eliza- 
 beth was so jealous and so apt to take offence that her most 
 confidential ministers durst not ur<je 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. 
 
loGl. OF SCOTLAND. 1 13 
 
 secret sentiments of their hearts. Any open disco- 
 very 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 preten- 
 sions. Any suspicion 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 enemies. These, 
 however carefully concealed or artfully disguised, 
 were, in all probability, the real motives which de- 
 termined the one Queen to solicit, and the other to 
 refuse, the ratification of the treaty in its original 
 form ; while neither had recourse to that explication 
 of it, which, to a heart unwarped by political inte- 
 rest, and sincerely desirous of union and concord, 
 would have appeared so obvious and natural. 
 
 But, though considerations of interest first oc- 
 casioned this rupture between the British Queens, 
 rivalship of another kind contributed to widen the 
 breach, and female jealousy increased the violence 
 of their political hatred. Elizabeth, with all those 
 extraordinary qualities by which she equalled or 
 surpassed such of her sex as have merited the 
 greatest renown, discovered an admiration of her 
 own person, to a degree which women of ordinary 
 understandings either do not entertain, or prudently 
 endeavour to conceal. Jler attention to dress, her 
 solicitude to display her charms, her love of flat- 
 tery, were all excessive. Nor were these weak- 
 nesses 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 affected the manners of a 
 
244 THE HISTORY B. III. 
 
 girl 61 . 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 compare her- 
 self with the Scottish Queen 62 ; and as it was im- 
 possible 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. 
 \n 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 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 difficul- 
 ties with respect to the treaty, continued to urge 
 her, by repeated applications, to ratify it 63 . Mary, 
 under various 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 ex- 
 treme politeness of behaviour, and loaded each 
 other with professions of sisterly love, with reci- 
 procal declarations of unchangeable esteem and 
 amity. 
 
 It was not long before Mary was convinced, that 
 among princes these expressions of friendship are 
 commonly far distant from the heart. In sailing 
 from France to Scotland, the course lies along the 
 
 61 Johnston, Hist. Rer. Britan. 3 iG, 347. Carte, vol. iii.699. 
 Catalogue of Royal and Noble Authors, article Essex. 
 
 02 Melvil, 98. « Keith, 157. 1G0, &c, 
 
L561. OF SCO [LAND. 245 
 
 English coast. In order to be safe from the insults 
 of the English fleet, or in case of tempestuous wea- 
 ther, to secure a retreat in the harbours of that 
 kingdom, Mary sent M. D'Oysel to demand of Eli- 
 zabeth a safe conduct during her voyage. This 
 request, which decency alone obliged one prince to 
 grant to another, Elizabeth rejected, in such a man- 
 ner as gave rise to no slight suspicion of a design, 
 either to obstruct the passage, or to intercept the 
 person of the Scottish Queen' 4 . 
 
 Mary, in a long conference with Throkmorton, 
 the English ambassador in France, explained her 
 sentiments 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 eigh- 
 teenth year ; and as Throkmorton's account of 
 what passed in his interview with her, is addressed 
 directly to Elizabeth 65 , that dexterous courtier, we 
 may be well assured, did not embellish the dis- 
 course of the Scottish Queen with any colouring 
 too favourable. 
 
 Whatever resentment Mary might feel, it did not 
 retard her departure from France. She was accom- 
 panied 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 nobles, were in her retinue. Catherine, 
 who secretly rejoiced at her departure, graced it 
 with every circumstance of magnificence and re- 
 spect. After bidding adieu to her mourning attend- 
 
 64 Keith, 171. Camden. See Appendix, No. VI. 
 M Cabbala, p. 374. Keith, 170, &-c. 
 
 y -2 
 
216 THE HISTORY B. III. 
 
 ants, 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 calamities 
 which imbittered the remainder of her days, she 
 sighed often, and cried out " Farewell, France ! 
 Farewell, beloved country, which I shall never 
 more behold !" 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 com- 
 manding a couch to be placed on the deck, she 
 there waited the return of day with the utmost im- 
 patience. 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 
 distinguish it, to utter the same tender expressions 
 of regret t6 . At last a brisk gale arose, by the fa- 
 vour 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 67 ; and on the nineteenth of 
 
 C6 Brantome, 483. He himself was in the same galley with 
 the Queen. 
 
 67 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 he doubtful. Elizabeth positively as- 
 serts that , at the request of the King of Spain, she had fitted out 
 a few ships of slender force, in order to clear the narrow seas of 
 pirates, which iufested them ; and she appeals for the truth of 
 this to Mary's own ministers. App. No. VT. Cecil, in a letter 
 to Throkmorton, Vug. 26, L561, informs him, that " the Queen's 
 phius, which were upon (he seas to cleanse them of pirates, saw 
 
1561. OF SCOTLAND. 247 
 
 August, after an absence of near thirteen years, 
 landed safely at Leith in her native kingdom. 
 
 Mary was received by her subjects with shouts 
 and acclamations of joy, and with every demonstra- 
 tion of welcome and regard. But as her arrival was 
 unexpected, 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 to her age, could not 
 help observing the change in her situation, and 
 seemed to be deeply affected with it 68 . 
 
 Never did any Prince ascend the throne at a 
 juncture which called for more wisdom in council, 
 or more courage and steadiness in action. The 
 rage of religious controversy was still unabated. 
 The memory of past oppression exasperated the 
 Protestants ; the smart of ancient injuries rendered 
 the Papists desperate; both were zealous, fierce, 
 and irreconcilable. The absence of their sovereign 
 had accustomed the nobles to independence; 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 aristo- 
 cracy, which stood not in need of any accession of 
 power. The kingdom had long been under the 
 government of regents, who exercised a delegated 
 
 lier [i. e. Mary], and saluted her galleys, and staying her ships 
 examined them of pirates, and dismissed them gently. One 
 Scottish ship they detained as vehemently suspected of piracy." 
 Hard. State Papers, i. 170. Castelnau, who accompanied Mary 
 in this voyage, confirms the circumstance of her galleys hcing in 
 sight of the English fleet. Mem. ap. Jebb. .\i. 1 5 .1 . 
 Brant. 11. 
 
248 THE HISTORY B. III. 
 
 jurisdiction, attended with little authority, and which 
 inspired no reverence. A state of pure anarchy 
 had prevailed for the two last years, without a 
 regent, without a supreme council, without the 
 power, or even the form, of a regular government*''. 
 A licentious spirit, unacquainted with subordination, 
 and disdaining the restraints of law and justice, had 
 spread through all ranks of men. The influence of 
 France, the ancient ally of the kingdom, was with- 
 drawn or despised. The English, of enemies be- 
 come 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 consideration, whether of interest or of self- 
 preservation, obliged Elizabeth to depress the royal 
 authority in Scotland, and to create the Prince per- 
 petual difficulties, by fomenting the spirit of dissa- 
 tisfaction among the people. 
 
 In this posture w T ere 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 
 
 69 Keith, Appendix, 92. 
 
1501. OF SCOTLAND. 240 
 
 splendour of the royal presence, but inspired with 
 awe and reverence. Besides the places of power 
 and proht bestowed by the favour of a prince, his 
 protection, his familiarity, and even his smiles, 
 confer honour and win the hearts of men. From 
 all corners 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, and to lay in a stock of future 
 merit. The amusements and gaiety of her court, 
 which was rilled with the most accomplished of the 
 French nobility, who had attended her, began to 
 soften and polish the rude manners of the nation. 
 Mary herself possessed many of those qualifica- 
 tions which raise affection and procure esteem. 
 The beauty and gracefulness of her person drew 
 universal 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 attained by princes ; and 
 all her other qualities were rendered more agreeable 
 by a courteous affability, which, without lessening 
 the dignity of a prince, steals on the hearts of sub- 
 jects with a bewitching insinuation. 
 
 PYom these circumstances, notwithstanding the 
 threatening aspect of affairs at Mary's return into 
 Scotland ; notwithstanding the clouds which ga- 
 thered 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 destruc- 
 tive violence of that storm which followed. 
 
•250 THE HISTORY B. III. 
 
 While all parties were contending who should 
 discover 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 cele- 
 brated in the chapel of her palace. The first ru- 
 mour of this occasioned a secret murmuring among 
 the Protestants who attended the court ; com- 
 plaints and threatenings soon followed ; the ser- 
 vants belonging to the chapel were insulted and 
 abused; and, if the Prior of St. Andrew's had not 
 seasonably interposed, the rioters might have pro- 
 ceeded to the utmost excesses 70 . 
 
 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 conde- 
 scension to the Papists was deemed an act of 
 apostacy ? and the toleration of a single mass pro- 
 nounced to be more formidable to the nation than 
 the invasion of ten thousand armed men \ Under 
 the influence of these opinions many Protestants 
 would have ventured to go dangerous lengths ; 
 and, without attempting to convince their sovereign 
 by argument, or to reclaim her by indulgence, 
 would have abruptly denied her the liberty of 
 worshiping 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 exclamations of the 
 preachers, obtained for the Queen and her domes- 
 tics the undisturbed exercise of the Catholic reli- 
 gion. Near a hundred years after this period, when 
 
 7° Knox, 284. Haines, :572. 71 knox, 287. 
 
lotil. OF SCOTLAND. 251 
 
 the violence of religious animosities had bejrun 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 Protestant leaders deserve, on this 
 occasion, the praise both of wisdom and of mode- 
 ration for conduct so different. But, at the same 
 time, whoever reflects upon the encroaching 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 des- 
 titute of any real foundation. 
 
 The leaders of the Protestants, however, by this 
 prudent compliance with the prejudices of their 
 sovereign, obtained from her a proclamation highly 
 favourable to their religion, which was issued six 
 days after her arrival in Scotland [Aug. 25]. The 
 reformed doctrine, though established over all the 
 kingdom by the parliament, which met in conse- 
 quence of the treaty of pacification, had never re- 
 ceived the countenance or sanction of royal autho- 
 rity. 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 
 declared, " that until she should take final orders 
 concerning religion, with advice of Parliament, any 
 attempt to alter or subvert the religion which she 
 found universally practised in the realm, should be 
 deemed a capital crime 72 ." Next year a second 
 proclamation to the same effect was published 73 . 
 
 The Queen, conformably to the plan which had 
 been concerted in France, committed the adminis- 
 tration of affairs entirely to Protestants. Her coun- 
 72 Keith, 504. 73 [bid. 510. 
 
252 THE HISTORY B. III. 
 
 cil was tilled with the most eminent persons of that 
 party; not a single Papist was admitted into any 
 degree of confidence 74 . 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 reputation of favourite mi- 
 nisters. Her choice could not have fallen upon per- 
 sons more acceptable to her people; 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 affec- 
 tion of her subjects 75 , the firmest foundation of a 
 prince's power, and the only genuine source of his 
 happiness and glory. 
 
 A cordial reconcilement with Elizabeth was 
 another object of great importance to Mary ; and 
 though she seems to have had it much at heart, in 
 the beginning of her administration, to accomplish 
 such a desirable conjunction, yet many events oc- 
 curred to widen rather than to close the breach. 
 The formal offices of friendship, however, are sel- 
 dom neglected among princes; and Elizabeth, who 
 had attempted so openly to obstruct the Queen's 
 voyage into Scotland, did not fail, a few days after 
 her arrival, to command Randolph to congratulate 
 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 76 . Both the ambassadors were received 
 with the utmost civility ; and on each side the pro- 
 fessions 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 
 
 <• Knox, 285, Lesley, 235. ;,; Keith, lsl, &c 
 
1561. OF SCOTLAND. 253 
 
 urged Mary, with fresh importunity, to ratify the 
 treaty of Edinburgh. Maitland endeavoured to 
 amuse Elizabeth, by apologizing 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 dis- 
 pute, 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 mentioned. 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 formerly she seemed determined 
 never to give up. She instructed Maitland to sig- 
 nify her willingness to disclaim 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 an act of parliament '"'. 
 
 Reasonable as this proposal might appear to 
 Mary, who thereby precluded herself from disturb- 
 ing Elizabeth's possession of the throne, nothing 
 could be more inconsistent with Elizabeth's inte- 
 rest, or more contradictory to a passion which pre- 
 dominated in the character of that Princess. Not- 
 withstanding all the great qualities which threw 
 such lustre on her reign, we may observe, that she 
 was tinctured with a jealousy of her right to the 
 crown, which often betrayed her into mean and un- 
 generous actions. The peculiarity of her situation 
 heightened, no doubt, and increased, but did not 
 infuse, this passion. It descended to her from 
 Henry VII. her grandfather, whom, in several fea- 
 tures of his character, she nearly resembled. Like 
 
 "Camden, 3*7. Bach. 320. 
 VOL. I. Z 
 
254 THE HISTORY B. III. 
 
 him, she suffered the title by which she held the 
 crown to remain ambiguous and controverted, ra- 
 ther than submit it to parliamentary discussion, or 
 derive any addition to her right from such authority. 
 Like him, she observed every pretender to the suc- 
 cession, not only with that attention which pru- 
 dence prescribes, but with that aversion which 
 suspicion inspires. The present uncertainty with 
 regard to the right of succession operated for Eli- 
 zabeth'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 ac- 
 knowledge a title which was dubious than to search 
 for one that was unknown. The latter, while no- 
 thing was decided, were held in dependence, and 
 obliged to court her. The manner in which she re- 
 ceived 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 expres- 
 sions of a resolution never to permit a point of so 
 much delicacy to be touched. 
 
 Sept. 1.] About this time the Queen made her 
 public entry into Edinburgh with great pomp. No- 
 thing was neglected that could express the duty 
 and affection of the citizens towards their sove- 
 reign. But, amidst these demonstrations of regard, 
 the genius and sentiments of the nation discovered 
 themselves in a circumstance, which, though incon- 
 siderable, ought not to be overlooked. As it was 
 the mode of the times to exhibit many pageants at 
 every public solemnity, most of these, on this oc- 
 casion, were contrived to be representations of the 
 vengeance which the Almighty had inflicted upon 
 idolaters 78 . Even while they studied to amuse and 
 
 78 Keith, 189. 
 
1561. OF SCOTLAND. 255 
 
 to flatter the Queen, her subjects could not refrain 
 from testifying their abhorrence of that religion 
 which she professed. 
 
 To restore the regular administration of justice, 
 and to reform the internal policy of the country, 
 became the 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 coun- 
 try. But the nature of the Scottish constitution, 
 the feebleness of regal authority, the exorbitant 
 power of the nobles, the violence of faction, and 
 the fierce manners of the people, rendered the exe- 
 cution of these laws feeble, irregular, and partial. 
 In the counties which border on England, this de- 
 fect 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 im- 
 punity, but even with honour. During the unsettled 
 state of the kingdom from the death of James V. 
 this dangerous licence had grown to an unusual 
 height ; and the inroads and rapine of those free- 
 booters 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. An- 
 drew's was the person chosen for this important 
 service, and extraordinary powers, together with 
 the title of the Queen's Lieutenant, were vested in 
 him for that purpose. 
 
 Nothing can be more surprising to men accus- 
 tomed to regular government, than the preparations 
 
25G THE HISTORY B. III. 
 
 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 coun- 
 ties, with all their followers completely armed, were 
 summoned to assist the Lieutenant in the discharge 
 of his office. Every thing resembled a military ex- 
 pedition, rather than the progress of a court of jus- 
 tice 79 . The Prior executed his commission with 
 such vigour and prudence as acquired him a great 
 increase of reputation and popularity among his 
 countrymen. Numbers of the banditti suffered the 
 punishment due to their crimes ; and, by the im- 
 partial 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 leaders of the popish faction seem to have 
 taken some steps towards insinuating themselves 
 into the Queen's favour and confidence 80 . But the 
 Archbishop of St. Andrew's, the most remarkable 
 person in the party for abilities and political ad- 
 dress, was received with little favour at court; and, 
 whatever secret partiality the Queen might have 
 towards those who Diofessed the same religion with 
 herself, she discovered no inclination 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. An- 
 drew's was owing to his connexion with the house 
 of Hamilton ; 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 Congregation. Princes 
 "Keith, 198. 60 Ibid, 203. 
 
1501. OF SCOTLAND. 257 
 
 seldom view their successors without 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 as- 
 pired to marry the Queen, he, by a most unpardon- 
 able act of imprudence, was the only nobleman of 
 distinction who opposed Mary's enjoying the exer- 
 cise of her religion ; and, by rashly entering a pub- 
 lic protestation against it, entirely forfeited her 
 favour 81 . At the same time, the sordid parsimony 
 of his father obliged him either to hide himself in 
 some retirement, or to appear in a manner unbe- 
 coming his dignity as first Prince of the blood, or 
 his high pretensions as suitor to the Queen 82 . His 
 love inflamed by disappointment, and his impa- 
 tience exasperated by neglect, preyed gradually on 
 his reason, and, after many extravagancies, broke 
 out at last in ungovernable frenzy. 
 
 Dec. 20.] Towards the end of the year, a con- 
 vention 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 sup- 
 pressing of Popery, the encouraging the Protestant 
 religion, and the providing for the maintenance of 
 the clergy 83 . The last was a matter of great im- 
 portance, and the steps taken towards it deserve to 
 be traced. 
 
 Though the number of Protestant preachers was 
 
 81 Keith, 201, 204. Knox, 280. M Keitli, 196. 
 
 " IbUi. 210. 
 
 Z 2 
 
258 THE HISTORY B. III. 
 
 now considerably increased, many more were still 
 wanted, in every corner of the kingdom. No legal 
 provision 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 established 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; 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 errors of Popery ; and, not- 
 withstanding this change in their sentiments, they 
 retained their ancient revenues. Almost the whole 
 order of bishops, and several of the other dignita- 
 ries, still adhered to the Romish superstition ; and, 
 though debarred from every spiritual function, con- 
 tinued to enjoy the temporalities of their benefices. 
 Some laymen, especially those who had been ac- 
 tive in promoting the Reformation, had, under vari- 
 ous pretences, and amidst the licence of civil wars, 
 got into their hands possessions which belonged to 
 the church. Thus, before any part of the ancient 
 ecclesiastical revenues 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 applica- 
 tion of a delicate hand. After much contention, 
 
1561. OF SCOTLAND. 259 
 
 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 kingdom was 
 appointed to be taken. The present incumbents, 
 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 
 undertook to assign a sufficient maintenance for the 
 Protestant clergy s4 . 
 
 As most of the bishops and several of the other 
 dignitaries were stiil firmly attached to the Popish 
 religion, the extirpation of the whole order, rather 
 than an act of such extraordinary indulgence, might 
 have been expected from the zeal of the preachers, 
 and from that spirit which had hitherto animated 
 the nation. But, on this occasion, other principles 
 obstructed the operations of such as were purely 
 religious. Zeal for liberty, and the love of wealth, 
 two passions extremely opposite, concurred in de- 
 termining; the Protestant leaders to fall in with this 
 plan, which deviated so manifestly from the max- 
 ims by which they had hitherto regulated their 
 conduct. 
 
 If the Reformers had been allowed to act with- 
 out control, and to level all distinctions in the 
 church, the great revenues annexed to ecclesiasti- 
 cal 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 
 * Keith, Append. 175. Knox, 194.' 
 
200 THE HISTORY B. III. 
 
 part of them was originally derived. The former 
 scheme, however suitable to the religious spirit of 
 many among the people, was attended with mani- 
 fold danger. The Popish ecclesiastics had ac- 
 quired a share in the national prosperity, which far 
 exceeded the proportion that was consistent with 
 the happiness of the kingdom ; and the nobles were 
 determined to guard against this evil, by prevent- 
 ing the return of those possessions into the hands 
 of the church. Nor was the latter, which exposed 
 the constitution to more imminent 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 VIII. presented a recent and alarming ex- 
 ample of this nature. The wealth w hich flowed in 
 upon that Prince, from the suppression of the mo- 
 nasteries, not only changed the maxims of his go- 
 vernment, but the temper of his mind ; and he who 
 had formerly submitted to his Parliaments, and 
 courted his people, dictated from that time to the 
 former with intolerable insolence, and tyrannized 
 over the latter with unprecedented authority. And 
 if his policy had not been extremely shortsighted, 
 if he had not squandered what he acquired, with a 
 profusion equal to his rapaciousness, and which 
 defeated his ambition, he might have established 
 despotism in England on a basis so broad and 
 strong as all the efforts of the subjects would never 
 
1561. OF SCOTLAND. 26 L 
 
 have been able to shake. In Scotland, where the 
 riches ol* 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 aristocracy. The 
 nobles, for this reason, guarded against such an 
 increase of the royal power, and thereby secured 
 their own independence. 
 
 Avarice mingled itself with their concern for the 
 interest of their order. The reuniting the posses- 
 sions 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 sanction to their 
 usurpation, they promoted it with their utmost in- 
 fluence. The Popish ecclesiastics, though the lop- 
 ping off a third of their revenues was by no means 
 agreeable to them, consented, under their present 
 circumstances, to sacrifice a part of their posses- 
 sions, in order to purchase the secure enjoyment 
 of the remainder ; and, after deeming the whole 
 irrecoverably lost, they considered whatever they 
 could retrieve as so much gain. Many of the an- 
 cient 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 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 
 
2(;2 THE HISTORY B. III. 
 
 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 alienation still remain 85 . 
 The nobles, with the concurrence of the incum- 
 bents, daily extended their encroachments, 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 
 clamours of the Protestant clergy, and to be some 
 equivalent to the crown for its claims, amounted to 
 no considerable sum. The thirds due by the more 
 powerful nobles, especially by such as had embraced 
 the Reformation, were almost universally remitted. 
 Others, by producing fraudulent metals ; by esti- 
 mating the corn, and other payments in kind, at an 
 under value; and by the connivance of collectors, 
 greatly diminished the charge against themselves 86 : 
 and the nobles had much reason to be satisfied with 
 a device which, at so small expense, secured to 
 them such valuable possessions. 
 
 Nor were the Protestant clergy considerable 
 gainers by this new regulation ; they found it to 
 be a more easy matter to kindle zeal than to ex- 
 tinguish avarice. Those very men, whom formerly 
 they had swayed with absolute authority, were 
 now deaf to all their remonstrances. The Prior of 
 St. Andrew's, the Earl of Argyll, the Earl of Mor- 
 ton, and Maitland, all the most zealous leaders of 
 the Congregation, were appointed to assign, or as 
 it was called, to modify their stipends. A hun- 
 dred merks Scottish was the allowance which their 
 liberality afforded to the generality of ministers. 
 
 85 Keith, 507. Spotsw. 17.">. 
 
 f6 Ibid. Append. 188. Spotsw. 183. 
 
1561. OF SCOTLAND. 'ifr. 
 
 To a few three hundred merks were granted 17 . 
 About twenty-four thousand pounds Scottish ap- 
 pears to have been the whole sum allotted for the 
 maintenance of a national church established by 
 law, and esteemed throughout the kingdom the true 
 church of God 88 . Even this sum was paid with 
 little exactness, and the ministers were kept in the 
 same poverty and dependence as formerly. 
 
 loG2.] The gentleness of the Queen's adminis- 
 tration, and the elegance of her court, had miti- 
 gated, in some degree, the ferocity of the nobles, 
 and accustomed them to greater mildness and hu- 
 manity; while, at the same time, her presence and 
 authority were a check to their factious and tumul- 
 tuary spirit. But, as the state of order and tran- 
 quillity was not natural to the feudal aristocracy, 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 
 Scotland, a monarch could possess little authority, 
 and exercise no extensive or rigorous jurisdiction. 
 The interfering 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 a hostile manner. Together with 
 his estate and honours, every nobleman transmitted 
 some hereditary feud to his posterity, who were 
 87 Knox, 301. 88 Keith, Append. 188. 
 
'264: THE HISTORY B. III. 
 
 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 heightened by mutual injuries during the late 
 commotions 89 . The Earl of Arran and Bothwell 
 happening to attend the court at the same time, 
 their followers quarreled frequently in the streets 
 of Edinburgh, [February] and excited dangerous 
 tumults in that city. At last, the mediation of their 
 friends, particularly of Knox, brought about a re- 
 concilement, but an unfortunate one to both these 
 noblemen 90 . 
 
 A few days after, Arran came to Knox, and, 
 with the utmost terror 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 murder the Prior, Maitland, and the 
 other favourites of the Queen. The Duke of Cha- 
 telherault regarded the Prior as a rival, who had 
 supplanted him in the Queen's favour, 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 hostile 
 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 de- 
 89 Keith, 215. 90 Keitb, 305. 
 
156*2. OF SCOTLAND. 2G5 
 
 termine. Among- men inflamed with resentment and 
 impatient for revenge, rash expressions might be 
 uttered, and violent and criminal expedients pro- 
 posed; and on that foundation Arran's distempered 
 fancy might rear the whole superstructure of a con- 
 spiracy. 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, who confined Bothwell, Arran, and a few 
 of the ringleaders in separate prisons, and obliged 
 the Duke to surrender the strong castle of Dumbar- 
 ton, which he had held ever since the time of his 
 resigning the office of Regent 91 . 
 
 The designs of the Earl of Huntly against the 
 Prior of St. Andrew's were deeper laid, and pro- 
 duced more memorable and more tragical events. 
 George Gordon Earl of Huntly, having been one 
 of the nobles who conspired against James III., 
 and who raised his son James IV. to the throne, 
 enjoyed a great share in the confidence of that ge- 
 nerous Prince 92 . By his bounty, great accessions 
 of wealth and power were added to a family already 
 opulent and powerful. On the death of that mo- 
 narch, Alexander the next Earl, being appointed 
 Lord-lieutenant of all the counties beyond Forth, 
 left the other nobles to contend for offices at court; 
 and retiring to the north, where his estate and in- 
 fluence lay, resided there in a kind of princely 
 independence. The chieftains in that part of the 
 kingdom dreaded the crowing dominion of such a 
 dangerous neighbour, but were unable to prevent 
 
 91 Knox, 307, 308. 92 Crawf. Officers of State, oG. 
 
 VOL. I. A A 
 
266 THE HISTORY B. III. 
 
 his encroachments. Some of his rivals he secretly 
 undermined, others he subdued by open force. His 
 estate far exceeded that of any other subject, and 
 his superiorities and jurisdictions extended over 
 many of the northern counties. With power and 
 possessions so extensive, under two long and feeble 
 minorities, and amidst the shock of civil commo- 
 tions, the Earls of Huntly might have indulged the 
 most elevated hopes. But, happily for the crown, 
 an active and enterprising spirit was not the cha- 
 racteristic 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 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 Congregation was uncertain, he as- 
 sisted 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 possessed. 
 
 He observed the growing reputation and autho- 
 rity 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. Per- 
 
1562. OF SCOTLAND. 2(J7 
 
 soual 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 take his title; and, that he might be better 
 able to support his new honour, bestowed upon him 
 at the same time the lands of that name. These 
 were part of the royal demesnes 93 , but the Earls 
 of Huntly had been permitted, for several years, to 
 keep possession of them 94 . [Feb. 1.] On this occa- 
 sion 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 neigh- 
 bour 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, his third son, and Lord Ogilvie, 
 had a dispute about the 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 danger- 
 ously wounded by Sir John. The magistrates seized 
 both the offenders, and the Queen commanded thuni 
 to be strictly confined. Under any regular govern- 
 ment, such a breach of public peace and order would 
 expose the person offending to certain punishment. 
 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 ;ig<- accus- 
 9;i Crawf. Peer. 297. w Bach. 334. 
 
268 THE HISTORY B. III. 
 
 toined to licence 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 dependants, in order to overawe or to 
 frustrate the decisions of justice 95 . Meanwhile 
 Gordon made his escape out of prison, and flying 
 into Aberdeenshire, complained loudly of the in- 
 dignity 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. 
 
 Aug.] At the very time when these passions 
 fermented, with the utmost violence, in the minds 
 of the Earl of Huntly and his family, the Queen 
 happened to set out on a progress 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 nobleman. But while the Queen was en- 
 tirely under the direction of Mar, all her actions 
 were more apt to be misrepresented, and construed 
 into injuries; and a thousand circumstances could 
 not but occur to awaken Huntly 's jealousy, to offend 
 his pride, and to inflame his resentment. Amidst 
 the agitation of so many violent passions, some 
 eruption was unavoidable. 
 
 On Mary's arrival in the north, Huntly employed 
 his wife, a woman capable of executing the com- 
 
 9i Keith, 223. 
 
15(»2. OF SCOTLAND. ".>(>*> 
 
 mission 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 himself 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 interpreted 
 to be new marks of Mar's rancour, and augmented 
 the hatred of the Gordons against him. 
 
 Sept. 1.] Mean time, 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, secretly 
 and at once, to cut off Mar, Morton, and Mait- 
 land, his principal adversaries. The time and 
 place for perpetrating this horrid deed were fre- 
 quently appointed; but the executing of it was 
 wonderfully prevented, by some of those unfore- 
 seen incidents which so often occur to disconcert 
 the schemes and to intimidate the hearts of assas- 
 sins 96 . Huntly's own house, at Strathbogie, was 
 the last and most convenient scene appointed for 
 committing the intended violence. But on her 
 journey thither, the Queen heard of young Gor- 
 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 
 
 '■* Keith, 230. 
 
 A A 2 
 
270 THE. HISTORY B. III. 
 
 resentment saved her ministers from unavoidable 
 destruction 97 . 
 
 The ill success of these efforts of private revenge 
 precipitated Huntly into open rebellion. As the 
 Queen was entirely under the direction of his rivals, 
 it was impossible to compass their ruin without 
 violating the allegiance which he owed his sove- 
 reign. On her arrival at Inverness, the command- 
 ing 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 defenceless; but 
 this too was quickly surrounded by a multitude of 
 the Earl's followers 98 . The utmost consternation 
 seized the Queen, who was attended by a very 
 slender train. She every moment expected the 
 approach of the rebels, and some ships were already 
 ordered into the river to secure her escape. The 
 loyalty of the Munroes, Frasers, Mackintoshes, and 
 some neighbouring clans, who took arms in her de- 
 fence, saved her from this danger. By their assist- 
 ance, 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 Mur- 
 ray, with the estate annexed to that dignity, which 
 had been in the possession of the Earl of Huntly 
 since the year 1548". From this encroachment 
 upon his domains he concluded that his family was 
 
 97 Knox, 318. 98 Crawf. Officers of State, 87, 88. 
 
 99 Crawf. Peer. 3o9. 
 
1562. OF SCOTLAND. 27 L 
 
 devoted to destruction; and, dreading to be strip- 
 ped gradually of all those possessions which, in 
 reward of their services, the gratitude of the crown 
 had bestowed on himself, or his ancestors, he no 
 longer disguised his intentions, but, in defiance of 
 the Queen's proclamation, openly took arms. In- 
 stead of yielding those places of strength, which 
 Mary required him to surrender, his followers dis- 
 persed or cut in pieces the parties which she dis- 
 patched to take possession of them 10 ° ; and he 
 himself advancing with a considerable bodv of men 
 towards Aberdeen, to which place the Queen was 
 now returned, filled her small court with consterna- 
 tion. Murray had only a handful of men in whom 
 he could confide 1 . 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 effec- 
 tual service could be expected. 
 
 Oct. 28.] With these troops, however, Murray, 
 who coidd 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 treache- 
 rously turned their back; and Huntly's followers, 
 throwing aside their spears and breaking their ranks, 
 drew their swords and rushed forward to the pur- 
 suit. It was then that Murray gave proof, both of 
 steady courage and prudent conduct. He stood 
 immoveable on a rising ground with the small but 
 trusty body of his adherents, who, presenting their 
 spears to the enemy, received them with a deter- 
 100 Kno,x, 310. ■ Keitfa, U30. 
 
272 THE HISTORY B. III. 
 
 mined resolution which they little expected. The 
 Highland broad sword is not a weapon fit to en- 
 counter the Scottish spear. In every civil commo- 
 tion, the superiority of the latter has been evident, 
 and has always decided the contest. On this oc- 
 casion the irregular attack of Huntly's troops was 
 easily repulsed by Murray's firm battalion. Before 
 they recovered from the confusion occasioned by 
 this unforeseen resistance, Murray's northern troops, 
 who had fled so shamefully in the beginning of the 
 action, willing to regain their credit with the victo- 
 rious 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 tri- 
 umph 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 
 Aberdeen. 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 clemency, the punishment was 
 remitted. The first parliament proceeded against 
 this great family with the utmost rigour of law, 
 and reduced their power and fortune to the lowest 
 ebb ~. 
 
 2 This conspiracy of the Earl of Huntly is one of the most in- 
 tricate and mysterious passages in the Scottish history. As it 
 was a transaction purely domestic, and in which the English were 
 little interested, few original papers 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 destroying Murray, and of employing the power of the 
 Earl of Huntly for this purpose. But his account of this whole 
 
lGb'8. OF SCOTLAND. 273 
 
 As the tall of the Earl of Huntly is the most 
 important event of this year, it would have been 
 improper to interrupt the narrative by taking notice 
 of lesser transactions, which may now be related 
 with equal propriety. 
 
 In the beginning of summer, Mary, who was 
 desirous of entering into a more intimate corres- 
 pondence and familiarity with Elizabeth, employed 
 JVIaitland to desire a personal interview with her, 
 somewhere in the north of England. As this pro- 
 posal could not be rejected with decency, the time, 
 the place, and the circumstances of the meeting 
 were instantly agreed upon. But Elizabeth was 
 prudent enough not to admit into her kingdom a 
 rival who outshone herself so far in beauty and 
 
 transaction appears to be so void of truth, and even of probabi- 
 lity, as to deserve no serious examination. At that time Mary 
 wanted power, and seems to have had no inclination to commit 
 any act of violence upon her brother. 
 
 Two other hypotheses have been advanced, in order to ex- 
 plain this matter; but they appear to be equally removed from 
 truth. 
 
 I. It cannot be well 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, &c. 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 than was usual in times of greatest tranquil- 
 lity. Keith, ;J30. 3. There remain two original letters with 
 regard to this conspiracy ; one from Randolph the English resi- 
 dent, and another from Maitland, both directed to Cecil. They 
 talk of Huntly's measures as notoriously treasonable. Randolph 
 mentions his repeated attempts to assassinate Murray, <Sco. No 
 hint is given of any previous resolution formed by Mary's minis- 
 ters to ruin Huntly and his family. Usui any such design evei 
 existed, it was Randolph's duty to have discovered it ; nor 
 
274 THE HISTORY B. III. 
 
 gracefulness of person ; and who excelled so emi- 
 nently in all the arts of insinuation and address. 
 Under pretence of being- confined to London, by 
 the attention which she was obliged to give to the 
 civil wars in France, she put off the interview for 
 that season 3 , and prevented her subjects from see- 
 ing the Scottish Queen, the charms of whose ap- 
 pearance and behaviour she envied, and had some 
 reason to dread. 
 
 During this year, the assembly of the church 
 met twice. [June 2, Dec. 25.] In both these meet- 
 ings were exhibited many 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 
 
 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 impro- 
 bable. 1. On the Queen's arrival in the north, he laboured, 
 in good earnest, to gain her favour, 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 such treasonable resolution. Knox, 
 318. 3. His conduct was irresolute and wavering, like that of 
 a man disconcerted by an unforeseen danger, not like one ex- 
 ecuting a concerted plan. 4. The most considerable persons 
 of his clan submitted to the Queen, and found surety to obey 
 her commands. Keith, 22G. 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 prin- 
 cipal 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 sadden start of resent- 
 ment, without charging him with any premeditated purpose of 
 rebellion. 
 
 3 Keith, 210. 
 
1562. OF SCOTLAND. 275 
 
 small fund appropriated for the maintenance of 
 preachers 4 . 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 request of such suppliants. As her ministers, 
 though all most zealous Protestants, were them- 
 selves growing rich on the inheritance of the church, 
 they were equally regardless of the indigence and 
 demands of their brethren. 
 
 1563.] Mary had now continued above two years 
 in a state of widowhood. Her gentle administra- 
 tion had secured the hearts of her subjects, who 
 were impatient for her marriage, and wished the 
 crown to descend in the right line from their an- 
 cient monarchs. She herself was the most amiable 
 woman of the age ; and the fame of her accom- 
 plishments, together with the favourable circum- 
 stance of her having one kingdom already in her 
 possession, and the prospect of mounting the throne 
 of another, prompted many different Princes to so- 
 licit 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 determination ; and no event 
 in that age excited stronger political fears and jea- 
 lousies ; none interested more deeply the passions 
 of several Princes, or gave rise to more contradic- 
 tory intrigues, than the marriage of the Scottish 
 Queen. 
 
 The Princes of the house of Austria remem- 
 bered what vast projects the French had founded 
 on their former alliance with the Queen of Scots; 
 and though the unexpected death, first of Henry 
 
 * Kuox, 311, 323. 
 
276 THE HISTORY B. III. 
 
 ami then of Francis, had hindered these from tak- 
 ing' 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 proposed to marry the Scottish Queen to the 
 Archduke Charles, Ferdinand's third son. The 
 matter was communicated to Mary ; and Melvil, 
 who at that time attended the Elector Palatine, 
 was commanded to inquire into the character and 
 situation of the Archduke 5 . 
 
 Philip II., though no less apprehensive of Mary's 
 falling once more into the hands of France, envied 
 his uncle Ferdinand the acquisition of so important 
 a prize; and, as his own insatiable ambition grasped 
 at all the kingdoms of Europe, he employed his am- 
 bassador 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 monarchy 6 . 
 
 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 ambiti- 
 ous 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 them to set the power 
 of the crown, which they already rivaled, at open 
 defiance : and as she was afraid that these splen- 
 
 5 Melv. 63, 65. Keith, 239. See Append. No. VII. 
 
 6 Castelnau, 461. Addit. a Labour. 501, 503. 
 
1563. OF SCOTLAND. 277 
 
 did proposals of the Austrian family would dazzle 
 the young Queen, she instantly dispatched Castel- 
 nau 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 7 . 
 
 Mary attentively weighed the pretensions of so 
 many rivals. The Archduke had little to recom- 
 mend hirn but his high birth. The example of 
 Henry VIII. 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, there- 
 fore, with partiality, to the Spanish propositions, 
 and the prospect of such vast power and dominions 
 flattered the ambition of a young and aspiring 
 Princess. 
 
 Three several circumstances, however, concur- 
 red 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 nobleman had involved his country in a civil 
 war; which was conducted with furious animosity 
 and various success. At last the Duke laid siege 
 to Orleans, the bulwark 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 pro\< d fatal to the Queen of 
 Scon. The young Dnkc was a minor; and the 
 Cardinal of Lorrain, though subtle and intriguing, 
 wanted that undaunted and enterprising courage, 
 which rendered the ambition of his brother so for- 
 midable. Catherine, instead of encouraging the 
 
 7 Castelnau, 401. 
 VOL. I. B B 
 
•278 THE HISTORY B. III. 
 
 ambition or furthering- the pretensions of her daugh- 
 ter-in-law, took pleasure in mortifying the one, and 
 in disappointing the other. In this situation, and 
 without such 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 venture upon no dangerous or 
 doubtful measure. 
 
 The second circumstance which weighed with 
 Mary was the opinion of the Queen of England. 
 The marriage of the Scottish Queen interested Eli- 
 zabeth 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 unmar- 
 ried, 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 do- 
 minions, and to disturb her possession of the crown. 
 The death of Francis II. 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 super- 
 stition, made her, in a particular manner, dread 
 their neighbourhood, 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 nation 
 would regard it as the dissolution of that confede- 
 racy which now subsisted between the two king- 
 doms ; that, in order to preserve their own religion 
 
lob'3. OF SCOTLAND. 270 
 
 and liberties, they would, in all probability, take 
 some step prejudicial to her right of succession, 
 which, as she well knew, they neither wanted 
 power nor pretences to invalidate and set aside. 
 This threatening was accompanied with a promise, 
 but expressed in very ambiguous terms, that if 
 Mary's choice of a husband should prove agree- 
 able to the English nation, Elizabeth would appoint 
 proper persons to examine her title to the succes- 
 sion, and, if well founded, command it to be pub- 
 licly recognised. She observed, however, a mys- 
 terious silence concerning the person on whom she 
 wished the choice of the Scottish Queen to fall. 
 The revealing of the 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 in- 
 offensive choice 8 . An advice, offered with such 
 an air of superiority and command, mortified, no 
 doubt, the pride of the Scottish Queen. But, un- 
 der 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 not the least considerable circumstance, which 
 called for Mary's attention at this conjuncture. 
 They had been taught, by the fatal experiment of 
 her former marriage, to dread a union with any 
 great Prince, whose power might be employed to 
 oppress their religion and liberties. They trembled 
 
 "Keith, 212, 2 if.. 
 
280 THE HISTORY B.. III. 
 
 at the thoughts of a match with a foreigner ; and if 
 the crown should be strengthened by new domi- 
 nions and alliances, they foresaw that the royal 
 prerogative would soon be stretched beyond its an- 
 cient 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 afford them her aid towards obstructing a 
 measure so disagreeable to herself. It was easy 
 for them to seize the person of the sovereign. By 
 the assistance of the English fleet, they could ren- 
 der it difficult for any foreign Prince to land in 
 Scotland. The Roman Catholics, now an inconsi- 
 derable party in the kingdom, and dispirited by the 
 loss of the Earl of Huntly, could give no obstruc- 
 tion to their designs. To what violent extremes 
 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 sacrifice her own ambition, in order to remove 
 the jealousies of Elizabeth, and to quiet the fears 
 of her own subjects. 
 
 The Parliament met this year, for the first time 
 since the Queen's return into Scotland. [May 26] 
 Mary's administration had hitherto been extremely 
 popular. Her ministers possessed the confidence 
 of the nation ; and by consequence, the proceed- 
 ings 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 
 JEarl of Huntly, and several of his vassals and de- 
 pendants, were attainted : the attainder against 
 
1063. OF SCOTLAND. 281 
 
 Kirkaldy of Grange, and some of his accomplices 
 in the murder of Cardinal Beatoun, was reversed 9 : 
 the act of oblivion, mentioned in the treatv 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 acknowledgment 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 sub- 
 jects by such a gracious law 10 . 
 
 No attempt was made in this Parliament, to 
 procure the Queen's assent to the laws establishing 
 the Protestant 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 protect the reformed doc- 
 trine. They had even prevailed on her to imprison 
 and prosecute the Archbishop of St. Andrew's, 
 and Prior of Withorn, for celebrating mass con- 
 trary to her proclamation 11 . Mary, however, was 
 still passionately devoted to the Romish church ; 
 and though, from political motives, she had granted 
 a temporary protection of opinions which she dis- 
 approved, 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 reconciling the Queen to the Protestant 
 religion. Time might abate her bigotry. Her pre- 
 judices might wear off gradually, and at last she 
 might yield to the wishes of her people, what their 
 
 9 Knox, 330. I0 Pari. 9. Q. Mary, c. G7. Spotsw. 188. 
 11 Keitb,23i>. 
 
 B B 2 
 
282 THE HISTORY B. III. 
 
 importunity or their violence could never have ex- 
 torted. Many laws of importance were to be pro- 
 posed in Parliament; and to defeat all these, by 
 such a fruitless and ill timed application to the 
 Queen, would have been equall} 7 injurious to indi- 
 viduals and detrimental to the public. 
 
 The zeal of the Protestant clergy was deaf to all 
 these considerations of prudence or policy. Eager 
 and impatient, it brooked no delay : severe and 
 inflexible, it would condescend to no compliances. 
 The leading men of that order insisted, that this 
 opportunity of establishing 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 ser- 
 vile. 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 become 
 regardless of those objects which he had hitherto 
 esteemed most sacred. This rupture, which is a 
 strong proof of Murray's sincere attachment to the 
 Queen at that period, continued above a year and 
 a half 12 . 
 
 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 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 support. The people, 
 inflamed by such vehement declamations, which 
 
 12 Knox, 331. 
 
1563. OF SCOTLAND. 283 
 
 were dictated by a zeal more sincere than prudent, 
 proceeded to rash and unjustifiable acts of vio- 
 lence. [Aug.] During the Queen's absence, on a 
 progress into the west, mass continued to be cele- 
 brated in her chapel at Holyrood-house. The mul- 
 titude of those who openly resorted thither gave 
 great offence to the citizens of Edinburgh, who, 
 being free from the restraint which the royal pre- 
 sence 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 13 . 
 
 Oct. 8.] Knox, who deemed the zeal of these 
 persons laudable, and their conduct meritorious, 
 considered them as sufferers in a good cause ; and 
 in order to screen them from danger, he issued cir- 
 cular 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 as- 
 sist their distressed brethren 14 . One of these let- 
 ters 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 prosecute Knox for that crime, before the 
 privy council. [Dec. 15.] Happily for him, his 
 judges were not only zealous Protestants, but the 
 very men who, during the late commotions, had 
 openly resisted and set at defiance the Queen's au- 
 thority. It was under precedents drawn from their 
 own conduct that Knox endeavoured to shelter 
 himself. Xor would it have been an easy matter 
 to these counsellors to have found out a distincr 
 13 Knox, 335. •* Ibid. 336. 
 
284 THE HISTORY B. III. 
 
 tion, by which they could censure him without con- 
 demning themselves. After a long hearing, to the 
 astonishment of Lethington and the other cour- 
 tiers l0 , he was unanimously acquitted. Sinclair, 
 Bishop of Ross, and president of the Court of Ses- 
 sion, a zealous papist, heartily concurred with the 
 other counsellors in this decision 16 ; a remarkable 
 fact, which shows the unsettled state of govern- 
 ment 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 con- 
 tinued still to be the object of attention and intrigue. 
 Though Elizabeth, even while she wished to direct 
 Mary, treated her with a disgustful reserve ; though 
 she kept her, without necessity, in a state of sus- 
 pense ; and hinted often at the person whom she 
 destined to be her husband, without directly men- 
 tioning his name; yet Mary framed all her actions 
 to express such prudent respect for the English 
 Queen, that foreign Princes began to imagine she 
 had given herself up implicitly to her direction 17 . 
 The prospect of this union alarmed Catherine of 
 Medicis. Though Catherine had taken pleasure 
 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 pen- 
 sion, and by bestowing the command of the Scottish 
 guards on a Frenchman 18 ; she resolved, however, 
 to prevent this dangerous conjunction of the British 
 
 15 Calderw. MS. Hist. i. 832. ,6 Knox, 343. 
 
 ,r Keitb, 248. ,8 Keitb, 244. 
 
1564. OF SCOTLAND. 285 
 
 Queens. For this purpose she now employed all 
 her art to appease Mary 19 , to whom she had given 
 so many causes of offence. The arrears of her 
 dowry were instantly paid ; more punctual remit- 
 tances were promised for the future ; and offers 
 made, not only ta restore but to extend the privi- 
 leges of the Scottish nation in France. It was easy 
 for Mary to peneirate into the motives of this sud- 
 den change ; she well knew the character of her 
 mother-in-law, and laid little stress upon profes- 
 sions of friendship which came from a Princess of 
 such a false and unfeeling heart. 
 
 The negotiation with England, relative to the 
 marriage, suffered no interruption from this appli- 
 cation of the French Queen. As Mary, in com- 
 pliance with the wishes of her subjects, and pressed 
 by the strongest motives of interest, determined 
 speedily to marry, Elizabeth was obliged to break 
 that unaccountable silence which she had hitherto 
 affected. The secret was disclosed, and her fa- 
 vourite Lord Robert Dudley, afterwards Earl of 
 Leicester, was declared to be the happy man 
 whom she had chosen to be the husband of a 
 Queen courted by many Princes J0 . Elizabeth's 
 wisdom and penetration were remarkable in the 
 choice of her ministers ; in distinguishing her favou- 
 rites, 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 per- 
 son, polished manners, and courtly address, were 
 19 See Append. No. VIII. 20 Keilh, 251. 
 
286 THE HISTORY B. III. 
 
 the accomplishments on which she bestowed her 
 favour. She acted in the one case with the wis- 
 dom of a Queen, in the other she discovered the 
 weakness of a woman. To this Leicester owed 
 his grandeur. Though remarkable neither for emi- 
 nence in virtue nor superiority of abilities, the 
 Queen's partiality distinguished him on every oc- 
 casion. She raised him to the highest honours, 
 she bestowed on him the most important employ- 
 ments, and manifested an affection so dispropor- 
 tionate to his merit, that, in the opinion of that 
 age, it could be accounted for only by the power 
 of planetary influence 21 . 
 
 The high spirit of the Scottish Queen could not 
 well bear the first overture of a match with a sub- 
 ject. Her 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 dis- 
 respectful Elizabeth's proposal was. She dissem- 
 bled, however, with the English resident ; and 
 though she declared, in strong terms, what a de- 
 gradation she would deem this alliance, which 
 brought along with it no advantage that could jus- 
 tify such neglect of her own dignity, she mentioned 
 the Earl of Leicester, notwithstanding, in terms full 
 of respect 22 . 
 
 Elizabeth, we may presume, did not wish that 
 the proposal should be received in any other man- 
 ner. After the extraordinary marks she had given 
 of her own attachment to Leicester, and while he 
 was still in the very height of favour, it is not pro- 
 bable she could think seriously of bestowing him 
 
 21 Camden, 5 19. 22 Keitb, 252. 
 
1564. OF SCOTLAND. 287 
 
 upon another. It was not her aim to persuade, 
 but only to amuse Mary 23 . 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 arti- 
 fices 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 ren- 
 dered 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 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 offending Elizabeth, he durst 
 not venture on the most distant discovery of his 
 sentiments, or take any steps 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 conceal 24 , might 
 inspire 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 
 23 Mel v. 104, 105. 2 « Ibid. 93, 94. 
 
288 THE HISTORY B. III. 
 
 considerations of prudence are, however, often sur- 
 mounted by love; and Leicester might flatter him- 
 self, 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 mar- 
 riage 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 c5 . 
 
 A treaty of marriage, proposed by one Queen, 
 who dreaded its success ; listened to by another, 
 who was secretly determined against it; and scarce- 
 ly desired by the mar. himself, whose interest and 
 reputation it was calculated, in appearance, to pro- 
 mote ; could not, under so many unfavourable cir- 
 cumstances, be brought to a fortunate issue. Both 
 Elizabeth and Mary continued, however, to act 
 with equal dissimulation. The former, notwithstand- 
 ing her fears of losing Leicester, solicited warmly 
 in his behalf. The latter, though she began about 
 this time to cast her eyes upon another subject of 
 Engl uid, did not at once venture finally to reject 
 Elizabeth's favourite. 
 
 The person towards whom Mary began to turn 
 her thoughts was Henry Stewart lord Darnly, 
 eldest son of the Earl of Lennox. That nobleman, 
 having been driven out of Scotland, under the re- 
 gency of the Duke 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 
 
 - 5 xMelv. 101. 
 

 15(M. OF SCOTLAND. 281) 
 
 Henry VIII. by the Earl of Angus, whom that 
 Queen married after the death of her husband 
 James IV. In that age, the right and order of 
 succession was not settled with the same accuracy 
 as at present. Time, and the decision of almost 
 every case that can possibly happen, have at lust 
 introduced certainty into a matter, which naturally 
 is subject 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 granddaughter of Mar- 
 garet. This was not the only advantage 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 inheri- 
 tance in the kingdom 25 ." This maxim, Hales, an 
 English lawyer, produced in a treatise which he pub- 
 lished 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 were to 
 be avoided with the utmost care. If Darnly should 
 happen to contract an alliance with any of the pow- 
 erful 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 
 pretensions of a foreigner and of a Papist. 
 
 Mary was aware of all this; and, in order to 
 
 -'' Carle, Hist, of Eng. vol. iii. 122. 
 VOL. I. C C 
 
290 THE HISTORY B. III. 
 
 prevent any danger from that quarter, had early 
 endeavoured to cultivate a friendly correspondence 
 with the family of Lennox. In the year one thou- 
 sand five hundred and sixty-two 26 , both the Earl 
 and the Lady Margaret were taken into custody by 
 Elizabeth's orders, on account of their holding* a 
 secret correspondence with the Scottish Queen. 
 
 From the time that Mary became sensible of 
 the difficulties which would attend her marrying a 
 foreign Prince, she entered into a still closer con- 
 nexion with the Earl of Lennox c? , and invited him 
 to return into Scotland. This she endeavoured to 
 conceal from Elizabeth ; 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 sub- 
 ject of one kingdom could pass into the other with- 
 out the permission of both sovereigns ; no sooner 
 did Lennox, under pretence of prosecuting his wife's 
 claim upon the earldom of Angus, apply to Eliza- 
 beth for her licence to go into Scotland, than he 
 obtained it. Together with it, she gave him let- 
 ters, warmly recommending his person and cause 
 
 26 Camden, 389. w Ibid. 396. 
 
1-3G4. OF SCOTLAND. 2'Jl 
 
 to Mary's friendship and protection J;; . 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 fatal 
 to herself, as his return could not fail of reviving 
 the ancieut 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 correspond- 
 ence between the two Queens 29 . Mary was not a 
 little alarmed at this ; she both dreaded the effects 
 of Elizabeth's resentment, and felt sensibly the dis- 
 advantage 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 number 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 England. He 
 found it no difficult matter to bring about a recon- 
 cilement ; 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 Melvil's replies in the name 
 of his mistress, were made in the language of the 
 warmest and most cordial friendship. But what 
 Melvil truly observes with respect to Elizabeth, 
 may be extended without injustice to both Queens. 
 " There was neither plain dealing nor upright mean- 
 ing, but great dissimulation, envy, and fear 30 ." 
 28 Keith, 2.>.i. 20*. -" Kcitli, 263. Melv. s;;. w Mel?. 104. 
 
292 THE HISTORY B. III. 
 
 Lennox, however, in consequence of the licence 
 which he had obtained, set out for Scotland, and 
 was received by the Queen, not only with the re- 
 spect due to a nobleman so nearly allied to the 
 royal family, but treated with a distinguished fami- 
 liarity 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 Scotland 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 31 . 
 
 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 friend- 
 ship by allowing his Lady's claim upon the earldom 
 of Angus to drop 3 ~. 
 
 After these preliminary steps, Mary ventured to 
 call a meeting of parliament [Dec.]. The act of 
 forfeiture passed against Lennox in the year one 
 thousand rive hundred and forty-five was repealed, 
 and he was publicly restored to the honours and 
 estate of his ancestors 33 . 
 
 June 25, Dec. 25.] The ecclesiastical transac- 
 
 •" Keith, 259; 3 - Ibid. 208. Note (6). 
 
 33 See Append. No. I\. 
 
15(H. OF SCOTLAND. 293 
 
 tions of this year were not considerable. In the 
 assemblies of the church, the same complaints of 
 the increase of idolatry, the same representations 
 concerning the poverty of the clergy were renewed. 
 The reply which the Queen made to these, and her 
 promises of redress, were more satisfying to the 
 Protestants than any they had hitherto obtained 34 . 
 But notwithstanding her declarations in their fa- 
 vour, they could not help harbouring many sus- 
 picions concerning Mary's designs against their 
 religiou. 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 resolu- 
 tion to reestablish the Catholic church" . She had 
 industriously avoided every opportunity of ratifying 
 the acts of parliament one thousand five hundred 
 and sixty, in favour of the Reformation. Even the 
 protection which, ever since her return, she had 
 afforded the Protestant religion, was merely tem- 
 porary, and declared, by her own proclamation, to 
 be of force only " till she should take some final 
 order in the matter of religion 35 ." The vigilant 
 zeal of the preachers was inattentive to none of 
 these circumstances. The coldness of their prin- 
 cipal leaders, who were at this time entirely de- 
 voted to the court, added to their jealousies and 
 fears. These they uttered to the people, in lan- 
 guage which they deemed suitable to the necessity 
 of the times, and which the Queen reckoned disre- 
 
 34 Keith, 533.539. Carte, vol. iiL 115, 
 
 16 Keitb, 501. 510. 
 
 C < 
 
294 THE HISTORY * B. III. 
 
 spectful 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 sovereigns 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 resist- 
 ance, so just in its own nature, but so delicate in 
 its application to particular cases, there ensued a 
 debate, 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 
 fearX 
 
 1565.] Two years had already been consumed 
 in fruitless negotiations concerning the marriage of 
 the Scottish Queen. Mary had full leisure and 
 opportunity to discern the fallacy and deceit of all 
 Elizabeth's proceedings with respect to it. But, 
 in order to set the real 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 [Feb. 5], 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 38 . Nothing could be further than this 
 from the mind and jntention of Elizabeth. The 
 right of succession was a mystery, which, during 
 her whole reign, her jealousy preserved untouched 
 and unexplained. She had promised, however, 
 when she first began to interest herself in the mar- 
 riage of the Scottish Queen, all that, was now 
 " Kuox, 310. » Keith, 2G9. 
 
15G5. OF SCOTLAND. 21)5 
 
 demanded. How to retreat with decency, how to 
 elude her former offer, was on that account not a 
 little perplexing. 
 
 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 JYIelvil's embassy, the Countess of Len- 
 nox 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 repeated advices from her minis- 
 ters, of the sentiments which Mary began to enter- 
 tain in his favour 39 . It was entirely in her power 
 to prevent his stirring out of London. In the pre- 
 sent conjuncture, however, nothing could be of 
 more advantage to her than Dandy'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 likewise her subject; and again 
 to involve Mary in all 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 dis- 
 concerted. Such unexpected events, as the fancy 
 of poets ascribes to love, are sometimes really pro- 
 duced 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 per- 
 sons. Lord Darnly was at this time in the first 
 bloom and vigour of youth. In beauty and grace- 
 39 Keith, 2.39. 2G1.2G0. 
 
296 THE HISTORY B. III. 
 
 fulness of person he surpassed all his contempora- 
 ries; he excelled eminently in such arts as add 
 ease and elegance to external form, and which en- 
 abled it not only to dazzle but to please. Mary 
 was of an age, and of a temper, to feel the full 
 power of these accomplishments. The impression 
 which Lord Darnly made upon her was visible 
 from the time of their first interview [Feb. 13]. 
 The whole business of the court was to amuse and 
 entertain this illustrious guest 40 ; 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 her marriage, the first thoughts of 
 which had been suggested by considerations merely 
 political. 
 
 Elizabeth contributed, and perhaps not without 
 design, to increase the violence of this passion. 
 Soon after Dandy's arrival in Scotland, she, in re- 
 turn to that message whereby Mary had signified 
 her willingness to accept of Leicester, gave an an- 
 swer in such terms as plainly unravelled her ori- 
 ginal intention in that intrigue 41 . 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 to the English succes- 
 sion, 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 re- 
 solution never to marry. Notwithstanding Eliza- 
 beth'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 
 
 A0 Knox, 309. 4f Keith, Append. 158. 
 
15G<i. OF SCOTLAND. *207 
 
 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 indig- 
 nation, and expressed, with the utmost bitterness, 
 her sense of that disingenuous craft which had been 
 employed to deceive her 42 . 
 
 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 im- 
 patience natural to those passions. 
 
 As Darnly was so nearly related to the Queen, 
 the canon law made it necessary to obtain the 
 Pope's dispensation before the celebration of the 
 marriage. For this purpose she early set on foot a 
 negotiation with the court of Home 43 . 
 
 She was busy, at the same time, in procuring 
 the consent of the French King and his mother. 
 Having communicated her design, and the motives 
 which determined her choice, to Castelnau the 
 French ambassador, 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 Dandy, which he represented to be so violent 
 and deep-rooted, that it was no longer in her own 
 power to break off* the match ' '. Nor were the 
 French ministers backward in encouraging Mary's 
 passion. Her pride would never stoop to an alli- 
 ance with a subject of France. By this choice 
 they were delivered from the apprehension of a 
 match with any of the Austrian Princes, us well 
 42 Keiih, Ippend. 159. 43 Camd. 396. " Caateln. 164. 
 
•298 THE HISTORY B. III. 
 
 as the danger of too close a union with Elizabeth ; 
 and as Darnly professed the Roman Catholic reli- 
 gion, this suited the bigoted schemes which that 
 court adopted. 
 
 While Mary was endeavouring to reconcile fo- 
 reign courts to a measure which she had so much 
 at heart, Darnly and his father, by their behaviour, 
 were raising up enemies at home to obstruct it. 
 Lennox had, during the former part of his life, dis- 
 covered no great compass of abilities or political 
 wisdom; and appears to have been a man of a 
 weak understanding and violent passions. Darnly 
 was not superior to his father in understanding, 
 and all his passions were still more impetuous 4j . 
 To these he added that insolence, which the advan- 
 tage of external form, when accompanied with no 
 quality more valuable, is apt to inspire. Intoxicated 
 with the Queen's favour, he begau already to as- 
 sume the haughtiness of a King, and to put on that 
 imperious air, which majesty itself can scarcely 
 render tolerable. 
 
 It was by the advice, or at least with the con- 
 sent of Murray and his party, that Lennox had 
 been invited into Scotland 4(3 : and yet, no sooner 
 did he acquire a firm footing in that kingdom than 
 he began to enter into secret cabals with those no- 
 blemen who were known to be avowed enemies to 
 Murray, and, with regard to religion, to be either 
 neutrals, or favourers of popery 47 . Darnly, still 
 more imprudent, allowed some rash expressions 
 concerning those favours which the Queen's bounty 
 had conferred upon Murray to escape him 48 . 
 
 But, above all these, the familiarity which Darnly 
 
 1 • Keith, '272, 273. « Knox, 3G7. Keith, 271. 
 
 ,7 Keith, 272. » Ibid. 274. 
 
1565. OF SCOTLAND. 299 
 
 cultivated with David Tlizio, contributed to increase 
 the suspicion and disgust of the nobles. 
 
 The low birth and indigent condition of this 
 man placed him in a station in which he ought 
 naturally to have remained unknown to posterity. 
 But what fortune called him to act and to suffer in 
 Scotland, obliges history to descend from its dig- 
 nity, and to record his adventures. He was the 
 son of a musician in Turin, and having accompa- 
 nied 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- 
 manners, 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 discovering 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 minis- 
 ter. Nor was Tlizio careful to abate that envy 
 which always attends such an extraordinary and 
 rapid change of fortune. He studied, on the con- 
 trary, 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 discovered, in all 
 his behaviour, that assuming insolence with which 
 unmerited prosperity inspires an ig;noble mind. It 
 was with the utmost indignation that the nobles 
 
300 THE HISTORY B. III. 
 
 beheld the power, it was with the utmost difficulty 
 that they tolerated the arrogance of this unworthy 
 minion. Even in the Queen's presence they could 
 not forbear treating- him with marks of contempt. 
 Nor was it his exorbitant power alone which ex- 
 asperated the Scots. They considered him, and 
 not without reason, as a dangerous enemy to the 
 Protestant religion, and suspected that he held, for 
 this purpose, a secret correspondence with the court 
 f>f Rome 4 ?. 
 
 It was Darnly's misfortune to fall under the ma- 
 nagement of this man, who, by flattery and assi- 
 duity easily gained on his vanity and inexperience. 
 All Rizio's influence with the Queen was employ- 
 ed in his behalf, and contributed, without doubt, 
 towards establishing him more firmly in her affec- 
 tions 50 . But whatever benefit Darniy might reap 
 from his patronage, it did not counterbalance the 
 contempt, and even infamy, to which he was ex- 
 posed on account of his familiarity with such an 
 upstart. 
 
 Though Darniy daily made progress in the 
 Queen's affection, she conducted herself, however, 
 with such prudent reserve, as to impose on Ran- 
 dolph, the English resident, a man otherwise shrewd 
 and penetrating. It appears from his letters at this 
 period, that he entertained not the least suspicion 
 of the intrigue which was carrying on ; and gave 
 his court repeated assurances, that the Scottish 
 Queen had no design of marrying Darniy 01 . In 
 the midst of this security, Mary dispatched Mait- 
 land to signify her intention to Elizabeth, and to 
 solicit her consent to the marriage with Darnlv. 
 
 40 Buclian. 340. Melv. 107. » Mel v. 111. 
 
 51 Keith, 273, and Append. 169. 
 
15G5. OF SCOTLAND. 301 
 
 This embassy was the first thing which opened the 
 eyes of Randolph. 
 
 April 18.] Elizabeth affected the greatest sur- 
 prise at this sudden resolution of the Scottish 
 Queen, but without reason. The train was laid by 
 herself, and she had no cause to wonder when it 
 took effect. She expressed at the same time her 
 disapprobation of the match in the strongest terms; 
 and pretended to foresee many dangers and incon- 
 veniencies 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 inof- 
 fensive. The danger of introducing a foreign inte- 
 rest into Britain, which Elizabeth had so justly 
 dreaded, was entirely avoided. Darnlv, 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 Eliza- 
 beth's apprehensions of danger could not possibly 
 be serious; and that in all her violent declarations 
 against Darnly, there was much more of grimace 
 than of reality 52 . % 
 
 There were not wanting, however, political mo- 
 tives of much weight to induce that artful Princess 
 to put on the appearance of great displeasure. 
 Mary, intimidated by this, might perhaps delay 
 
 52 Even tlie historians of that age acknowledge, that the mar- 
 riage of tlie Scottish Queen with a subject was far from being 
 disagreeable to Elizabeth, knox, 369. 373. Bachan. 'Mi'.}. 
 Castelnau, who at that time was well acquainted with the in- 
 trigues of both the British courts, asserts, upon grounds of threat 
 probability, thai the match was wholly Elizabeth's own work; 
 Casteln. \(V2 : and that she rejoiced at the accomplishment of 
 it, appears from the letters of her own ambassadors. Keith, 
 280. 288. 
 
 VOL. I. D D 
 
302 THE HISTORY B. III. 
 
 her marriage ; which Elizabeth desired to obstruct 
 with a weakness that little suited the dignity of her 
 mind and the elevation 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 conduct, 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. 
 Intestine 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 um- 
 pire between the Scottish Queen and her contend- 
 ing subjects; and England might look on with se- 
 curity, while a storm which she had raised, wasted 
 the only kingdom which could possibly disturb its 
 peace. 
 
 May 1.] In prosecution of this scheme, she laid 
 before her privy council the message from the Scot- 
 tish Queen, and 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 
 tlangers with which that event threatened the king- 
 dom 53 . Nor did she think it enough to signify her 
 disapprobation of the measure, either by Maitland, 
 Mary's ambassador, or by Randolph, her own re- 
 sident in Scotland : in order to add more dignity 
 to the farce which she chose to act, she appointed 
 Sir Nicholas Throgmorton her ambassador extra- 
 
 63 Keith, 274. See Append. No. X. 
 
1565. OF SCOTLAND. 303 
 
 ordinary. 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 determination 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 house, and then sent her to 
 the Tower 04 . 
 
 Intelligence of all this reached Scotland before 
 the arrival of the English ambassador. In the first 
 transports of her indignation, Mary resolved no 
 longer to keep any measures with Elizabeth ; and 
 sent orders to Maitland, who accompanied Throg- 
 morton, 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 a 
 husband. Maitland, with his usual sagacity, fore- 
 saw all the effects of such a rash and angry mes- 
 sage, 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 the few remaining ties which still linked 
 together the two Queens 55 . 
 
 Mary herself soon became sensible of her error. 
 She received the English ambassador with respect; 
 justified her own conduct with decency; and though 
 unalterable in her resolution, she affected a won- 
 derful solicitude to reconcile Elizabeth to the tin a 
 ■"•' kutli, Append. 101. 55 Ibid. 160. 
 
304 THE HISTORY B. III. 
 
 sure ; and even pretended, out of complaisance 
 towards her, to put off the consummation of the 
 marriage for some months 50 . It is probable, how- 
 ever, that the want of the Pope's dispensation, and 
 the prospect of gaining the consent of her own sub- 
 jects, were the real motives of this delay. 
 
 This consent Mary laboured with the utmost 
 industry to obtain. The Earl of Murray was the 
 person in the kingdom, whose concurrence was of 
 the greatest importance ; but she had reason to fear 
 that it would not be procured without extreme dif- 
 ficulty. From the time of Lennox's return into 
 Scotland, Murray perceived that the Queen's affec- 
 tions began gradually to be estranged from him. 
 Darnly, Athol, Rizio, all the court favourites, com- 
 bined 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 unable to contend 57 . The return of the Earl 
 of Both well, his avowed enemy, who had been 
 accused of a design upon his life, and who had re- 
 sided for some time 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 havins; him 
 brought to public trial, and prevailed, by his im- 
 portunity, 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 followers on horseback. He was once more 
 constrained to leave the kingdom ; but, by the 
 Queen's command, the sentence of outlawry, which 
 56 Keith, 27,s. " Ibid. 272. 274. Append. 159. 
 
1565. OF SCOTLAND. 305 
 
 is incurred by nonappearance, was not pronounced 
 against him 
 
 Mary, sensible, at the same time, of how much 
 importance it was to gain a subject so powerful 
 and so popular as the Earl of Murray, invited 
 him back to court [May 8], 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 under- 
 mined 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 consequences which might follow 
 upon a breach with England, were likewise of con- 
 siderable weight with Murray. He had always 
 openly preferred a confederacy with England, be- 
 fore the ancient alliance with France. By his 
 means, chiefly, this change in the system of na- 
 tional polities had been brought about. A league 
 with England had been established ; and he could 
 not think of sacrificing, to a rash and youthful pas- 
 sion, an alliance of so much utility to the kingdom; 
 and which he and the other nobles were bound by 
 every obligation to maintain '. Nor was the in- 
 terest of religion forgotten on this occasion. Mary, 
 though surrounded by Protestant counsellors, had 
 found means to hold a dangerous correspondence 
 with foreign Catholics. She had even courted tin 
 Pope's protection, who had sent her a subsidy of 
 
 Keith, Append. 160. ^ [bid. l<>(). 
 
 i) I) 2 
 
30C THE HISTORY B. III. 
 
 eight thousand crowns 6o . Though Mary had hi- 
 therto endeavoured to bridle the zeal of the reform- 
 ed clergy, and to set the Queen's conduct in the 
 most favourable light, yet her obstinate adherence 
 to her own religion could not fail of alarming him ; 
 and by her resolution to marry a Papist, the hope 
 of reclaiming her, by a union with a Protestant, 
 was for ever cut off*' 1 . Each of these considera- 
 tions had its influence on Murray, and all of them 
 determined him to decline complying at that time 
 with the Queen's request. 
 
 The convention of nobles, which was assembled 
 a few days after [May 14], discovered a greater 
 disposition to gratify the Queen. Many of them, 
 without hesitation, expressed their approbation of 
 the intended match; but as others were startled at 
 the same dangers which had alarmed Murray, or 
 were influenced by his example to refuse their con- 
 sent, another convention was appointed at Perth, 
 in order to deliberate more fully concerning this 
 matter 62 . 
 
 Meanwhile Mary gave a public evidence of her 
 own inclination, by conferring upon Darnly titles 
 of honour peculiar to the royal family. The oppo- 
 sition she had hitherto met with, and the many 
 contrivances employed to thwart and disappoint 
 her inclination, produced their usual effect on her 
 heart, they continued her passion, and increased 
 its violence. The simplicity of that age imputed 
 an affection so excessive to the influence of witch- 
 craft 03 . 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 
 
 60 Keith, 295. Mel v. 114. 6I Keith, Append. 160, 
 
 m Keith, 283. Knox, 373. 63 Keitli, 283. 
 
15G5. OF SCOTLAND. 307 
 
 with his prosperity. Flattered by the love of a 
 Queen, and the applause of many among her sub- 
 jects, 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 Albany, he, in a frenzy, 
 of rage, drew his dagger, and attempted to stab 
 him 64 . It required all Mary's attention to prevent 
 his falling under that contempt to which such beha- 
 viour deservedly exposed him. 
 
 In no scene of her life was ever Mary's own ad- 
 dress more remarkably displayed. Love sharpened 
 her invention, and made her study every method 
 of gaining her subjects. Many of the nobles she 
 won by her address, and more by her promises. 
 On some she bestowed lands, to others she gave 
 new titles of honour 05 . She even condescended to 
 court the Protestant clergy ; and having invited 
 three of their sitperintendants to Stirling, she de- 
 clared, in strong terms, her resolution to protect 
 their religion, expressed her willingness to be pre- 
 sent at a conference upon the points in doctrine 
 which were disputed between the Protestants and 
 Papists, and went so far as to show some desire to 
 hear such of their preachers as were most remark- 
 able tor their moderation 00 . By these arts the 
 Queen gained wonderfully upon the people, who, 
 unless their jealousy be raised by repeated injuries, 
 are always ready to view the actions of their sove- 
 reign with an indulgent eye. 
 
 On the other hand, Murray and his associates 
 were plainly the dupes of Elizabeth's policy. She 
 
 ' Ivcitb, Append. 100. Ibid. 283. M Knox, 37:}. 
 
308 THE HISTORY B. III. 
 
 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 denunciations of her vengeance if they 
 should presume to disobey 07 ; that all these expres- 
 sions of aversion fully persuaded them of her sin- 
 cerity. This belief fortified their scruples with re- 
 spect to the match, and encouraged them to oppose 
 it. They began with forming among themselves 
 bonds of confederacy and mutual defence; they 
 entered into a secret correspondence with the Eng- 
 lish resident, in order to secure Elizabeth's assist- 
 ance when it should become needful 6s ; they endea- 
 voured to till the nation with such apprehensions of 
 danger as nnVht counterbalance the influence of 
 those arts which the Queen had employed. 
 
 Besides these intrigues, there were secretly car- 
 ried on, by both parties, dark designs of a more 
 criminal nature, and more suited to the spirit of 
 the age. Darnly, 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 meet- 
 ing of the convention at Perth. Murray, on his 
 part, despairing of preventing the marriage by any 
 other means, had, together with the Duke of Cha- 
 telherault and the Earl of Argyll, concerted mea- 
 sures for seizing Darnly, and carrying him a pri- 
 soner into England. 
 
 If either of these conspiracies had taken effect, 
 this convention mi^ht have been attended with con- 
 sequences extremely tragical ; but both were ren- 
 67 Keith, 285, 260. 68 Ibid. 289. 292. 298. 
 
1SG5. OF SCOTLAND. 309 
 
 dered 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 them- 
 selves had meditated, or forgive the injuries in- 
 tended 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 ^ 
 
 69 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 seems, however, to be plausible reasons for believing that 
 there is some foundation for what has been asserted with regard 
 to both ; though the zeal and credulity of party-writers have 
 added to each manv exaggerated circumstances. The following 
 arguments render it probable that some violence was intended 
 against Murray : 
 
 I. 1. This is positively asserted by Buchanan, 341. 2. The 
 English resident writes to Cecil, that Murray was assuredly in- 
 formed that a design was formed of murdering liim at Perth, and 
 mentions various circumstances concerning the manner in which 
 the crime was to be committed. II 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. 10<S. 
 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 : bat, " when ii was brought 
 to Ifer Majoty by her servants sent fur that purpose, it appears 
 be Her Highness and her council, that his purgation in that bo- 
 
310 THE HISTORY B. III. 
 
 On Mary's return to Edinburgh, she summoned 
 her vassals by proclamation, and solicited them by 
 her letters to repair thither in arms, for the protec- 
 tion of her person against her foreign and domestic 
 
 lialf was not so sufficient as the matter required." Keith, App. 
 109. He was therefore summoned to appear within three davs 
 before the Queen in Holyrood-house ; and, in order to encou- 
 rage him to do so, a safe conduct was offered to him. Ibid. 
 Though he had once consented to appear, he afterwards 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 person on such security. 4. The furious pas- 
 sions of Darnly, the fierceness of his resentment, which scrupled 
 at no violence, and the manners of the age, render the imputa- 
 tions of such a crime less improbable. 
 
 II. That Murray and his associates had resolved to seize 
 Darnly, on his return from Perth, appears with still greater cer- 
 tainty ; 1. From the express testimony of Melvil, 112 ; although 
 Buchanan, p. 341, and Knox, p. 377, affect, vvithont 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 whatsoever sort they came unto us, i. e. whether 
 they returned to England voluntarily, 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 precipi- 
 tation 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 rendered the truth of both conspira- 
 cies 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 Randolph, in their ac- 
 counts of the conspiracy against Murray, differ widely in almost 
 every circumstance. The accounts of the attempt upon Darnly 
 are not mine consistent. Melvil alleges, that the design of the 
 conspirators was to carry Darnly a prisoner into England ; ihv 
 
15G5. OF SCOTLAND. 311 
 
 enemies 70 . She was obeyed with all the prompt : 
 ness and alacrity with which subjects run to defend 
 a mild and popular administration. This popu- 
 larity, however, she owed in a great measure to 
 Murray, who had directed her administration with 
 great prudence. But the crime of opposing her 
 marriage obliterated the memory of his former ser- 
 vices ; 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 pur- 
 pose she summoned him to appear before her upon 
 a short warning, to answer to such things as should 
 be laid to his charge 71 . At this very time, Murray 
 and the Lords who adhered to him were assembled 
 at Stirling, to deliberate what course they should 
 
 proposal made to Randolph agrees with this. Randolph says, 
 that they intended to carry the Queen to St. Andrew's, and 
 Darnlv to Castle Campbell. The Lords, in their declaration, 
 aflirm the design of tlie conspirators to have been to murder 
 Darnly and his father, to conline the Queen in Lochleven during 
 life, and to usurp the government. To believe implicitly what- 
 ever they rind in an ancient paper is a folly to which, in every 
 age, antiquaries are extremely prone. Ancient papers, how- 
 ever, 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 ambitions 
 as we can suppose, they must have had some pretences, and 
 plausible ones loo, before they could venture to imprison their 
 Sovereign for life, and to seize the reins of government ; but, 
 at that time, the Queen's conduct had afforded no colourable 
 excuse for proceeding to Bach extremities. It is likewise re- 
 markable, that in all the proclamations against M urray, of which 
 so many are published in Keith, Appendix, 10S, &c. neither 
 the violent attempt upon Darnlv, nor that which he is alleged 
 to have formed against the Queen herself, is ever once men- 
 tioned. 
 
 70 Keith, 298. 7I Ibid. Appendix, 108. 
 
312 THE HISTORY B. III. 
 
 hold in such a difficult conjuncture. But the cur- 
 rent of popular favour ran so strongly against 
 them, and, notwithstanding some fears and jea- 
 lousies, there prevailed in the nation such a gene- 
 ral disposition to gratify the Queen in a matter 
 which so nearly concerned her, that, without com- 
 ing to any other conclusion than to implore the 
 Queen of England'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 agree- 
 able proof of her own strength. While the Queen 
 was in this prosperous 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 she married Lord 
 Darnly. The ceremony was performed in the 
 Queen's chapel, according to the rites of the 
 Romish church ; the Pope's bull dispensing with 
 their marriage having been previously obtained 72 . 
 She issued at the same time proclamations, confer- 
 ring the title of King of the Scots upon her hus- 
 band, and commanding that henceforth all writs at 
 law should run in the joint names of King and 
 Queen 73 . Nothing can be a stronger proof of the 
 violence of Mary's love, or the weakness of her 
 counsels, than this last step. Whether she had 
 anv right to choose a husband without consent of 
 parliament, was, in that age, a matter of some dis- 
 pute 74 ; that she had no right to confer upon him, 
 by her private authority, the title and dignity of 
 
 7 2 Keith, 302. 73 Anderson, i. 33. See Append. No. XI. 
 ™ Buohan.341. 
 
15G5. OF SCOTLAND. 313 
 
 King, or by a simple proclamation to raise her 
 husband to be the master of her people, seems to 
 be beyond all doubt. Francis II., indeed, bore 
 the same title. It was not, however, 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, ren- 
 dered it still more necessary to have the concur- 
 rence of the supreme council in his favour. Such 
 a violent and unprecedented 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 subjects, that not- 
 withstanding all the clamours of the malecontents, 
 no symptoms of general discontent appeared on 
 that account. 
 
 Even amidst that scene of joy which always ac- 
 companies successful love, Mary did not sutler 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 penalties, and, upon his non- 
 appearance, the rigour of justice took place, and 
 he was declared an outlaw 75 . At the same time 
 the Queen set at liberty Lord Gordon, who, ever 
 since his father's insurrection in the year one thou- 
 sand live hundred and sixty-two, had been detained 
 a prisoner ; she recalled the Karl of Sutherland, 
 who, on account of his concern in that conspiracy, 
 had fled into Flanders ; and she permitted Both- 
 well to return again into Scotland. The first and 
 last of these were among the most powerful sub- 
 jects in the kingdom, and all of them animated with 
 
 7i Keitb, 30<>, :JI<>. 
 VOL. I. E E 
 
314 THE HISTORY B. III. 
 
 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 indica- 
 tion than any measure she had yet taken, of her 
 inexorable resentment. 
 
 The malecontents had not yet openly taken up 
 arms" 6 . But the Queen having ordered her sub- 
 jects to march against them, they were driven to 
 the last extremity. They found themselves unable 
 to make head against the numerous forces which 
 Mary had assembled ; and fled into Argyleshire, in 
 expectation of aid from Elizabeth, to whom they 
 had secretly dispatched a messenger in order to 
 implore her immediate assistance 77 . 
 
 Meanwhile Elizabeth endeavoured to embarrass 
 Mary by a new declaration of disgust at her con- 
 duct. She blamed both her choice of Lord Darnlv, 
 and the precipitation with which she had concluded 
 the marriage. She required Lennox and Darnly, 
 whom she still called her subjects, to return into 
 England ; and at the same time she warmly inter- 
 ceded in behalf of Murray, whose behaviour she 
 
 76 After their fruitless consultation in Stirling, the Lords re- 
 tired to their own houses. Keith, 304. Murray was still at 
 St. Andrew's on July 22. Keith, 300. By the places of ren- 
 dezvous, appointed for the inhabitants of 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, preveuted this expedition, and 
 fhe former rendezvous was altered. Keith, 310. 
 
 77 Keith, 312. Knox, 380. 
 
OF SCOTLAND. 315 
 
 represented to be not only innocent but laudable. 
 This message, so mortifying to the pride of the 
 Queen, and so full of contempt for her husband, 
 was rendered still more insupportable by the petu- 
 lant and saucy demeanour of Tamvvorth, the person 
 who delivered it 78 . Mary vindicated her own con- 
 duct with warmth, but with great strength of rea- 
 son ; and rejected the intercession in behalf of 
 Murray, not without signs of resentment at Eliza- 
 beth's pretending to intermeddle in the internal 
 government of her kingdom 7y . 
 
 She did not, on that account, intermit in the 
 least the ardour with which she pursued Murray 
 and his adherents 80 . They now appeared openly 
 in arms; and, having received a small supply in 
 money from Elizabeth 81 , 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 success. In order 
 to encourage her troops, she herself marched along 
 with them, rode with loaded pistols 8 -', and endured 
 all the fatigues of war with admirable fortitude. 
 Her alacrity inspired her forces with an invincible 
 resolution, which, together with their superiority in 
 number, deterred the malecontents from lacing them 
 in the field : but, having artfully passed the Queen's 
 
 « Camd. :'.*)h. ~" Keith, Append. 99. 
 
 hfl The must considerahle persona who joined .Mnrrav were, 
 the Duke ofCbatelberault, the Boris of Argyll, Olencairo, Rothes, 
 Lord Boyd and Ochiltree ; the Lairds of Grange, Cunniogham- 
 
 head, Balcomie, Canny lie, Lawers, liar, Dreghorn, I'ilarrow, 
 Comptroller, and the Tutor of I'iotur. Knox, 382. 
 
 -' Knox, 380. ' Keith, Append. 164. 
 
316 THE HISTORY B. III. 
 
 army, they marched with great rapidity to Edin- 
 burgh, and endeavoured to rouse the inhabitants of 
 that city to arms. [Aug. 91.] 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 83 . 
 
 As it was uncertain, for some time, what route 
 they had taken, Mary employed that interval in 
 providing for 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 de- 
 fence 84 . Having thus left all the country behind 
 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 accommo- 
 dation. But Mary, who determined not to let slip 
 such a favourable opportunitv of crushing the muti- 
 nous spirit of her subjects, rejected them with dis- 
 dain. As she advanced, the malecontents retired; 
 and having received no effectual aid from Eliza- 
 beth 85 , they despaired of any other means of safety, 
 fled into England [Oct. 20], and put themselves 
 under the protection of the Earl of Bedford, warden 
 of the marches. 
 
 Nothing which Bedford's personal friendship for 
 Murray could supply was wanting to render their 
 
 83 Keith, 315. M Ibid. 113. 
 
 See Append. No. XII. XIII. 
 
1565. OF SCOTLAND. 317 
 
 retreat agreeable. But Elizabeth herself treated 
 them with extreme neglect. She had fully gained 
 her end, 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 business now was to save appear- 
 ances, 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 con- 
 dition of exiles, who are obliged to depend on a 
 foreign Prince. Murray, and Hamilton, Abbot of 
 Kilwinning, being appointed 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 for- 
 ward 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 Spa- 
 nish ambassadors, that Elizabeth had given them no 
 encouragement to take arms. No sooner did they 
 make this declaration than she astonished them 
 with this reply: " You have declared the truth; J 
 am far from setting an example of rebellion to my 
 own subjects, by countenancing those who rebel 
 against their lawful Prince. The treason of which 
 you have been guilty is detestable ; and as traitors 
 I banish you from my presence 86 ." Notwithstand- 
 ing this scene of farce and of falsehood, so disho- 
 nourable to all the persons who acted a part in it, 
 Elizabeth permitted the malecontents peaceably to 
 reside in her dominions, supplied them secretly with 
 
 ^Mclv. 112. 
 VOL. I. F F 
 
Gia THE HISTORY B. III. 
 
 money, and renewed her intercession with the Scot- 
 tish Queen in their favour 87 . 
 
 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 recovering 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 88 . 
 
 Dec. 1.] The Duke of Chatelherault, on his hum- 
 ble application, obtained a separate pardon; but not 
 without difficulty, as the King violently opposed it. 
 He was obliged, however, to leave the kingdom, 
 and to reside for some time in France 89 . 
 
 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 con- 
 siderable 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 horsemen, however, and 
 three companies of foot, besides her guards, re- 
 ceived regular pay from the Queen. This extra- 
 ordinary charge, together with the disbursements 
 occasioned by her marriage, exhausted a treasury 
 which was far from being rich. In this exigency, 
 many devices were fallen upon for raising money. 
 Fines were levied on the towns of St. Andrew's, 
 Perth, and Dundee, which were suspected of fa- 
 vouring the inalecontents. An unusual tax was 
 
 ^ Knox, 389. P8 Keith, 320. h ' J Knox, 389. 
 
1565. OF SCOTLAND. 319 
 
 imposed on the boroughs throughout the kingdom; 
 and a great sum was demanded of the citizens of 
 Edinburgh, by way of loan. This unprecedented 
 exaction alarmed the citizens. They had recourse 
 to delays, and started difficulties, in 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 money' 10 . The thirds of ecclesiastical benefices 
 proved another source whence the Queen derived 
 some supply. About this time we find the Protes- 
 tant 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 91 . 
 
 The assemblies of the church were not uncon- 
 cerned spectators of the commotions of this turbu- 
 lent year. 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 influence 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 en- 
 deavoured to infuse into the nation. The assembly 
 complained, with some bitterness, of the stop which 
 had been put to the progress of the Reformation 
 by the Queen's arrival in Scotland; they rerjuircd 
 not only the total suppression of the popish worship 
 throughout the kingdom, but even in the Queen's 
 00 Knox, :Jh3. 386. 0I flfaitl. Ili^t. of Edinburgh, 27. 
 
320 THE HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. B. III. 
 
 own chapel ; and, besides the legal establishment of 
 the Protestant religion, they demanded that Mary 
 herself should publicly embrace it. The Queen, 
 after some deliberation, replied, that neither her con- 
 science 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 surfer by the offence 
 which her apostacy must give to the King of France, 
 and her other allies on the continent 92 . 
 
 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 per- 
 mission, some of the ancient monks ventured to 
 preach publicly to the people 93 . 
 
 92 Knox, 376. 93 Ibid. 3S9, 390. 
 
 END OF VOL. I 
 
 -?>- 
 
 . SOCIETY 
 
 C. and C»~\VU#fl7u^r.ii!i, Chiswfi 
 
COLUMBIA 
 
 This book i 
 expiration r 
 -ovido 
 
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 1 
 
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