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 NAEEATIVES OF 
 
 SCOTTISH CATHOLICS 
 
 UNDER 
 
 MAEY STUAET AND JAMES VI.
 
 NARRATIVES OF 
 
 SCOTTISH CATHOLICS 
 
 UNDER 
 
 MARY STUART and JAMES VI. 
 
 NOW FIRST PRINTED FROM THE ORIGINAL MANUSCRIPTS 
 IN THE SECRET ARCHIVES OF THE VATICAN 
 AND OTHER COLLECTIONS. 
 
 EDITED BY 
 
 WILLIAM FORBES-LEITH, S.J. 
 
 NEW EDITION. 
 
 LONDON: 
 THOMAS BAKER, SOHO SQUARE 
 
 1889.
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 Many causes have hitherto restrained Scottish Catholics 
 from publishing important documents which might have 
 supplied the chief materials for a history of the Church 
 in Scotland. Meanwhile, much that was valuable has 
 suffered from the ravages of time, or has been irrevo- 
 cably lost during the troubles of the French Revolution, 
 when the libraries of the Scotch Colleges abroad were 
 either dispersed or destroyed. 
 
 We can, at this date, scarcely hope for the discovery 
 of any hidden store of records to put us in easy posses- 
 sion of the severed thread of our Catholic history. It is 
 therefore perhaps best to make use of such documents 
 as are still within reach, and, as far as can be, to bring 
 our gleanings together. 
 
 In publishing these Narratives and Letters, my object 
 has been to make the condition of Catholics in Scotland, 
 after the Reformation period, more clearly and widely 
 known. 
 
 Without professing to be a consecutive history, they 
 will enable the reader to form his own judgment from 
 the evidence of contemporary witnesses. 
 
 The writers of the various narratives were not only 
 men of superior capacity, but in many cases of gentle 
 blood, who in the very flower of their age despised both
 
 IV PREFACE. 
 
 the ease and comforts offered them, and the prospects of 
 inheriting their family possessions, that they might 
 become in their own country the despised, hated, and 
 persecuted priests of Jesus Christ. 
 
 Their correspondence bears witness to two great prin- 
 ciples animating them — their love of country and their 
 love for the Faith. Years of concealment in caves 
 and secret places, rapid journeys, hair-breadth escapes, 
 captivity, and even death under torture and the priva- 
 tions of a long confinement, are ample proof of their 
 earnestness. 
 
 Some of the following narratives contain a few hard 
 words. I should have been glad not to have any such 
 to print, but if I had suppressed them, I should have 
 failed in my attempt to produce the materials for an 
 accurate idea of those times. 
 
 W. F. L.
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 PART I. 
 
 NARRATIVES OF SCOTTISH CATHOLICS UNDER MARY 
 
 STUART. 
 
 l'A«K 
 
 I. — Sketch of the History of Scotland During the Minority 
 of Mary Stuart. 
 The Scottish Nobility — The Clergy— Eminent Church- 
 men — Scotch Scholars abroad — Abuses amongst the 
 Clergy — Henry VIII. intrigues in Scotland — Marriage of 
 James V. — Rise of Cardinal Beaton — Sadler's Mission to 
 Scotland — Ecclesiastical Reforms — Invasion of Scotland — 
 Death of James V. — The "English" Lords — Imprisonment 
 of Cardinal Beaton — The Treaties repudiated by Scotland 
 — Cardinal Beaton's escape from Blackness Castle — 
 Vigorous action of Beaton — Henry VIII. proceeds to 
 extremes — Scotland devastated by an English Army — 
 Plots to assassinate Beaton — Offer of Blood-money — 
 George Wishart— Death of Henry VIII. — Somerset in- 
 vades Scotland — Battle of Pinkie— Cruelty of the Earl of 
 Lennox — The Infant Queen of Scotland sent to France — 
 Mary of Lorraine proclaimed Regent — John Knox-^ 
 Schemes of the French Court — The First Covenant — The 
 Lords of the Congregation — Spoliation of the Monasteries 
 — Destruction of St Andrew's Cathedral — Appropriation 
 of the Church Property — Landing of French Troops — 
 Secret Aid of Money from Elizabeth — Arrival of the 
 English Fleet — Relations with France and Spain — Dis- 
 asters to the French Fleet — The Treaty of Edinburgh — 
 Claims of the Lesser Barons — Catholics ejected from 
 Parliament — How the Kirk was established by Law — 
 Claims of Knox and his Colleagues — Death of Francis II. 
 King of France — Devastation of the Churches — Queen 
 Mary invited to return to Scotland — Treachery of D'Oysel 
 — The Lord James — Queen Mary's hesitation . . 3-58
 
 vi CONTENTS. 
 
 TACK 
 
 11. — Return of Mary Stuart to Scotland. Narrative of 
 Nicolas de Gouda's Embassy to Scotland. 
 Mary Stuart and the Reformers — Religious Disturbances 
 — Attack on the Royal Chapel — A Message from the Pope 
 — Letter of the Pope's Legate — Letter of Edmund Hay, 
 S.J. — The Lord James aspires to the Crown — The Divi- 
 sion of Benefices — The Earl of Huntly at Stirling — The 
 Lord James a Mortal Enemy of Huntly — The fall of 
 Huntly ....... 58-84 
 
 II. — Bishop Leslie's Narrative of the Progress of Events 
 
 in Scotland, 1562-1571 ..... 85-126 
 
 PART II. 
 
 I. — Narratives and Letters of Scottish Catholics under 
 James the Sixth. 
 Regency of Mar — Regency of Morton — Mary Stuart and 
 the Countess of Lennox — Design for abducting the young 
 King — Letters of Bishop Leslie — Letter of Fr. John Hay 
 of Dalgaty — Fall of Morton — Letter of Fr. Robert Parsons 
 — Letter of Cardinal Allen — State of Scotland in 1582 — 
 Mary Stuart urges that Catholic Priests be sent to Scot- 
 land — Arrival of William Crichton, S.J. — William 
 Crichton despatched to Rome — The Raid of Ruthven — 
 Letter of King James to his Mother — James VI. and the 
 Duke of Guise — Letter of Lord Seton to the Pope — 
 Letters of William Holt, S.J. — Letters of James Beaton, 
 Archbishop of Glasgow — Letter of Edmund Hay, S.J. 
 — Letter of James Beaton — Growth of the Catholic 
 Religion in Scotland — Public discussion on matters of 
 Faith — Christmas at Dumfries in 1585 — Death of John 
 Dury, S.J. — Letters of James Tyrie, S.J. — Return 
 of the Banished Lords to Power — James becomes 
 the Pensioner of Elizabeth — The Babington Plot — 
 Negotiations for the Murder of Mary Stuart — Eliza- 
 beth Signs the Death-warrant — Execution of Mary 
 Stuart — The Armada — Pension offered to King James — 
 James urged to assail the Catholics — Marriage of King 
 James VI. — Remarks of Tytler on the Persecution of 
 Catholics — The Spanish Blanks — Proceedings against the 
 Catholic Lords — The Pope's Legate at Aberdeen — James 
 urged to severity against Catholics — Battle of Glenlivet — 
 Huntly and Errol withdraw from Scotland — Letter of 
 Robert Abercromby, S.J. — Huntly and Errol return to
 
 CONTEXTS. Vll 
 
 Scotland — Domiciliary Intrusion — James' Letter to 
 Huntly — Letters of James Gordon, S.J. — The Ministers 
 remonstrate with the Queen — Letter of Robert Aber- 
 cromby, S.J. — Catholics at Court — Letter of Alexander 
 MacQuhirrie, S.J. — State of Scotland in 1601 — James' 
 Accession to the English Crown .... 128-274 
 
 II. — Letters and Memorials of the State and Progress op 
 Events from 1603 to 1625. 
 Letters of Alexander MacQuhirrie, James Seton, Robert 
 Abercromby, William Crichton, S.J. — Persecution of 
 Catholics in England — Persecution in Scotland — Letter of 
 Robert Abercromby, S.J. — Missionary Excursions — 
 Letter of James Gordon, S.J.— Letter of the Earl of 
 Angus — Imprisonment, Trial, and Martyrdom of John 
 Ogilvie, S.J. — Imprisonment of Patrick Anderson, S.J. — 
 Trial for Heresy — Death of Patrick Anderson — Imprison- 
 ment of George Mortimer, S.J. — Letter of William Leslie, 
 S.J. —The Spanish Match— Death of King James . 275-350 
 
 III. — Notes and Illustrations. 
 
 Account of the Present State of the Catholic Religion in 
 
 the Realm of Scotland, in the Year of our Lord 1594, 
 
 by Sir Walter Lindsay of Balgawies . . . 251-360 
 
 A List of Catholic Noblemen in Scotland in 1594 . . 361
 
 PART THE FIRST. 
 
 NARRATIVES AND LETTERS 
 
 ILLUSTRATING THE HISTORY OF SCOTCH CATHOLICS 
 UNDER MARY STUART.
 
 I. 
 
 SKETCH OF THE HISTORY OF SCOTLAND DURING 
 THE MINORITY OF MARY STUART. 
 
 The condition of Scotland at the beginning of the six- 
 teenth century was most critical, and of all countries 
 in Europe, perhaps, not one was more exposed to the 
 horrors of civil and religious war. During a long course 
 of years there had been a frequent succession of tedious 
 minorities in the Royal Family. This had naturally 
 given rise to many factions among the nobility, whose 
 contemptuous overriding of the laws produced much 
 weakness in the Government. The kings from James 
 I. to James V. were not only long under age, but all 
 died in the flower of youth, 1 before they could either 
 reform the abuses which had crept in during their 
 minorities, or place their Governments on a steady 
 footing. 
 
 After the death of James IV., in 1513, the nobles, 
 during the minority of his son, James V., became so 
 powerful, that the Regent Albany twice threw up the 
 reins of Government in despair, and at length abandoned 
 them altogether. The Douglases soon obtained posses- 
 sion of the person of the young king, 2 compelled Beaton, 
 
 1 Of these monarchs no fewer than three perished — the victims 
 of anarchy. 
 
 2 It seems to have been a matter of great importance for rival fac- 
 tions to get a prince into their custody. Thus, in 1526, Sir Walter
 
 4 THE SCOTTISH NOBILITY. [1528. 
 
 Archbishop of St Andrews, to resign the office of 
 chancellor, and filled every post with their adherents. 
 In 1528, however, James, with the help of Archbishop 
 Beaton, effected his escape from the hands of the 
 Douglases, and took refuge in the Castle of Stirling. 
 The reins of Government were now delivered over to 
 the clergy, to whom the king owed his liberty, and who 
 were his natural protectors. 1 His first act was to issue a 
 proclamation that no lord or follower of the House of 
 Douglas should dare to approach within twelve miles of 
 the court, under pain of treason. 2 The Earl of Angus 
 was driven out of Scotland, and his estates confiscated. 3 
 The Earl of Bothwell, the Lords Home and Maxwell, the 
 two Kerrs, the Barons of Buccleugh, Johnston, and Pol- 
 warth were seized and thrown into prison. 4 But though 
 
 Scott of Buccleugh was anxious to take James V. from the Earl of 
 Angus, and the young king inclined to a change of masters ; but the 
 Earl's brother, having in vain attempted to seduce him ' ' by alluring 
 words," resorted to a more convincing argument : — " Eather," said he, 
 " as the enemies take you from us, we must keep one-half of your 
 body with us." (Calderwood, " Historie of the Kirk," vol. i. 
 p. 98 ) When, in 1543, the Earl of Arran endeavoured to get pos- 
 session of the young Queen's person, " it was in hopes that he should 
 not only have upon his side the shadow of her name, but also might 
 dispose of her by marriage as he thought good, and either feed the 
 English king with promises, or draw him to his partie." (Ibid., 
 p. 164.) The repeated attempts to seize upon King James VI., the 
 raid of Ruthven, Gowrie's conspiracy, need no comment. 
 
 1 The Archbishop of St Andrews became his principal adviser, and 
 the important post of Chancellor was conferred on the Archbishop of 
 Glasgow (" State Papers of Henry VIII.," vol. iv. p. 501). The Abbot 
 of Holyrood was made treasurer, and the Bishop of Dunkeld became 
 Privy-Seal (" Diurnal of Occurrents," p. 11). 
 
 2 " Diurnal of Occurrents," pp. 10, 12. 
 "• Ibid., p. 11. 
 
 4 " De Origine, Moribus et rebus gestis Scotorum," Authore Joanne 
 Leslseo, Romse, 1578, 4°, p. 411.
 
 1 528.] THE SCOTTISH CLERGY. 5 
 
 excluded from Government, the nobles preserved their 
 social influence. The real foundation of their authority 
 was unshaken because that authority was the result of a 
 long train of circumstances, and was based on a com- 
 munity of blood and language between the vassal and 
 his lord. Therefore it was that the nobles, even such as 
 had been exiled and attainted, were able to conduct an 
 arduous, but eventually successful, struggle against the 
 Sovereign. Excluded from all state employment, their 
 anger burst out into act the instant that the Eeformation 
 promised its gratification. The plunder of the English 
 churches and monasteries enkindled their cupidity, and 
 they descried in the downfall of bishoprics, abbeys, &c. 
 great accession of territory and wealth to themselves. 
 The desire of revenge also was fresh motive for their 
 exertions, and gave rise to a deadly contest between the 
 Scottish aristocracy and the Church, which lasted without 
 interruption for thirty-two years, and was only con- 
 cluded by the triumph of the Protestant nobles, who, in 
 1560, overthrew the Catholic Church in Scotland. 1 
 
 Unlike the nobles, the clergy of Scotland were conspi- 
 cuous for their loyalty ; and we learn from Sir Kalph 
 Sadler 2 that they alone were capable, from their habits 
 and education, of rendering efficient aid to the king in 
 the conduct of public affairs. Interest, as well as intel- 
 lectual sympathy, therefore induced James to prefer them 
 to the unruly and unlettered barons, whose power his 
 ancestors had in vain attempted to break down. 3 
 
 1 Keith, " Affairs of Church and State in Scotland," Spottiswoode 
 Society edit., vol. i. pp. 35, 36. Buckle, " History of Civilization in 
 England," vol. ii. pp. 209, 210. 
 
 2 Sadler's "State Papers and Letters," i. p. 47. 
 
 3 James' reasons are stated by himself in a very curious letter 
 which he wrote so late as 1541, to Henry VIII. " We persaif," writes 
 James, " he zoure saidis writingis that ze ar informyt that thair suld be
 
 6 EMINENT CHURCHMEN. [1528. 
 
 On the eve of the Reformation, the Church of Scotland 
 could glory in prelates who were distinguished equally 
 for their talents and their virtues. Foremost among these 
 were Robert Reid, Bishop of Orkney, and abbot of two 
 northern monasteries, known as the founder of libraries, 
 the introducer of foreign schoolmasters and gardeners, 
 the restorer of the buildings as well as of the discipline 
 of the cloister 1 — also Alexander My In, Abbot of Cam- 
 buskenneth, and first president of the College of Justice 
 instituted by James V. in imitation of the law courts of 
 France, one who united in himself the man of business and 
 man of letters, the lawyer and reformer of learning. 2 The 
 bishopric of Ross was held successively by several men 
 of eminent qualities. David Panter, consecrated in 
 1546, whom Bishop Keith pronounces " a person of most 
 polite education and excellent parts," belonged to a 
 family of statesmen and scholars. 3 Another Bishop of 
 
 sum thingis laitlie attemptat be our kirkmen to oure hurte and skaith, 
 and contrar oure mynde and plesure. We can nocht understand, 
 quhat suld move zou to belief the samyn, assuring zou we have, never 
 fund hot faithfull and treio obedience of yame at all tymes, nor thai 
 seik nor attemptis nouthir jurisdictioun nor privilegiis, forthir nor thai 
 have usit sen the first institutioun of the Kirk of Scotland, quhilk 
 we may nocht apoun oure conscience alter nor change in the re- 
 spect we have to the honour and faith of God and Hali Kirk, and 
 douttis na inconvenient be thame to come to ws and our realme 
 therthrou ; for sen the Kirk wes first institute in our realme, the stait 
 thairof hes nevir failzeit, bot hes remanyt evir obedient to oure progeni- 
 touris, and in oure tyme mair thankefull to ws, nor evir thai wer of 
 before." (" State Papers of Henry VIII.," vol. v. pp. 188-190, 4to, 
 1836.) 
 
 1 Tytler's "Life of Sir Thomas Craig," p. 51. 
 
 2 Ibid., p. 46. 
 
 3 " The Quarterly Eeview," vol. lxxxix, p. 40-46. Knox admits 
 the public report of his learning, his honest life, and his fervency and 
 uprightness in religion. " History of the Reformation," edited by 
 D. Laing, p. 105.
 
 1523.] SCOTCH SCHOLARS ABROAD. 7 
 
 Ross after a very short interval, was Henry Sinclair, 
 " the reformer of the law, and the patron of the litera- 
 ture of his country." * He was succeeded by John 
 Leslie, " whose character combined all that was pious 
 and amiable in the prelate, sagacious, firm, and upright 
 in the statesman, learned and elegant in the scholar and 
 man of letters." 2 James Beaton, Archbishop of Glas- 
 gow, beloved by all who knew him, was ambassador 
 at the French Court for forty-two years. 
 
 The inferior clergy could also pride itself on many 
 learned and virtuous priests, who, after undergoing for 
 several years the various trials of a severe persecution, 
 were at last banished ; and who, strangers though they 
 were, acquired, in foreign universities, a high reputa- 
 tion for character, ability, and learning. 3 
 
 Unfortunately the same sad causes, which elsewhere 
 led to the relaxation of discipline and the multiplication 
 of abuses, had operated in Scotland with still greater 
 force. The Church was completely under the sway of 
 the king and nobles. During a considerable period the 
 
 1 Tytler's " Life of Sir Thomas Craig," p. 274. 
 
 2 Tytler, Ibid. 
 
 3 M'Crie says : " They were to be found in all the universities and 
 colleges. In several of them they held the honourable situation of 
 principal, and in others they amounted to a third of the professors." 
 In Paris alone, we find John Fraser, the fourth son of Alexander 
 Eraser of Philorth, elected in 1596 Sector of the University of Paris; 
 (Crawford's " Lives of the Officers of State," p. 282 ; cf. Borghese 
 MS., i. 931); Patrick Cockburn, who held a Professorship of Oriental 
 Languages, James Tyrie (of Drumkilbo), John Hay of Dalgaty, 
 "ectured successively on philosophy and theology ; Edmund Hay 
 was Eector of the College of Clermont ; John Bossevile, James 
 Laing, John Bellenden, David Cranstoun, James Ballantyne, David 
 and William Chamber, and many others, were Doctors of Sorbonne 
 (Praemetiae sive Caluniniae, &c, auctore G. Conaeo, Scoto, Bomae, 
 1621).
 
 8 ABUSES AMONGST THE CLERGY. [1528. 
 
 posts of highest dignity had, with few exceptions, been 
 held by either the illegitimate or younger sons of the 
 most powerful families, 1 men who, without learning or 
 morality themselves, paid little deference to the learning 
 and morality of their inferiors. According to contem- 
 porary and Catholic historians, 2 the negligence of these 
 in the discharge of their functions, and the rigour with 
 which they exacted their dues, had become favourite 
 subjects of popular censure. When the new preachers 
 appeared, they dexterously availed themselves of a never 
 failing theme for invective in the scandalous lives, osten- 
 tatious pomp, and occasional exactions of the unworthy 
 
 1 " James," says Mr J. Gairdner, " provided for his natural children 
 in a manner that was scandalous indeed. One of these, Alexander 
 Stewart, he caused to be made Archbishop of St Andrews before he 
 had passed the age of boyhood" (Keith, "Historical Catalogue of 
 Scottish Bishops," ed. 1824, p. 34). " In Scotland, so far from the 
 centre of ecclesiastical authority, abuses had been permitted that were 
 unknown elsewhere. Numerous instances of bishops of one family 
 succeeding each other in the same sees show the extraordinary pre- 
 valence of nepotism, while the names they bore indicate the influence 
 to which it was due. ... It was owing to the landed aristocracy. 
 In one see there had been a succession of Stewarts, in another of 
 Gordons, in another of Hepburns ; and the Church, which in all other 
 countries had broken the neck of feudalism, which, even in its worst 
 days, was the asylum of true greatness, and made genius independent 
 of birth, fell, like everything else in Scotland, completely under the 
 sway of the king and nobles. During the fifteenth century in England, 
 Cardinal Beaufort was the only bishop who came of the blood royal ; 
 but in Scotland during the same period were two sons and two grand- 
 sons of kings holding the see of St Andrews alone " (" Letters and 
 Papers illustrative of the reigns of Bichard III.," ed. by J. Gairdner, 
 vol. ii. pp. 59-70). James V. provided for his illegitimate children 
 by making them abbots and priors of Holyrood, Kelso, Melrose, Cold- 
 ingham, and St Andrews (Keith, i. p. 59). 
 
 2 G. Con., "De Duplici statu Eeligionis apud Scotos," Komee, 
 1628, pp. 89, 90. Leslie, " De Origine, et rebus gestis Scotorum," lib. 
 x. p. 504 et seq.
 
 1535.] HENRY VIII. INTRIGUES IN SCOTLAND. 9 
 
 men who had been thus unlawfully foisted into bishoprics 
 and abbacies. 
 
 Allured by the troubled state of Scotland after the 
 battle of Flodden, Henry the Eighth endeavoured, either 
 by open invasions or domestic treachery, to bring Scot- 
 land into subjection to England, and establish the Infor- 
 mation in the North. With this view, and before 
 the son of James IV. was old enough to assume the 
 government of his kingdom, more than a hundred of 
 the principal nobles and gentlemen of Scotland had been 
 seduced from their allegiance by Henry's bribes and 
 promises. 1 
 
 As early as 1535, we find Henry labouring to convert 
 his nephew of Scotland to his faith. With this view he 
 made an earnest proposal for a marriage between James 
 and his daughter the princess Mary, holding out to him 
 the hope of succession to the English crown. He 
 despatched his chaplain, Dr Barlow, to present to the 
 young monarch a book recently published, called the 
 " Doctrine of the Christian Man," and, if permission 
 were granted, to preach to the Scottish Court. James 
 submitted the treatise to theologians who pronounced it 
 full of heresy, and Barlow, finding every pulpit closed 
 against him, wrote to secretary Cromwell informing him 
 that the king " was surrounded by the Pope's pestilent 
 creatures and very limbs of the devil." 
 
 Barlow was succeeded by Lord William Howard, who 
 was intrusted to propose a conference at York between 
 his master and James ; but though James at first con- 
 sented to meet his uncle, he afterwards found pretexts 
 for delay, and the conference never took place. 
 
 Following the traditional policy of Scotland, and 
 
 1 Cf. Tytler, " History of Scotland," ed. 1842, vol. v. p. 210. State 
 Paper Office, Letter from Otterburn to Cromwell, 18th October 1535.
 
 10 MARRIAGE OF JAMES V. [1537. 
 
 encouraged by the cordial approval of his own people, 
 James renewed the league with France, and, in order to 
 cement more closely this time - honoured union, he 
 hastened to Paris and became a suitor to the princess 
 Magdalen, the only daughter of Francis I. Their 
 nuptials were celebrated with great pomp in the Church 
 of Notre Dame on New Years Day of 1537. Refused a 
 passage through England, the royal pair were compelled 
 to return to Scotland by sea. When the young Queen 
 landed at Leith she knelt down upon the beach, kissed 
 the very sand, and solemnly thanked God for having 
 brought her husband and herself safely through to the 
 land of her adoption. 1 But the health of Magdalen, fra- 
 gile from her childhood, could not endure the keen air of 
 the North, and forty days after she landed at Leith, on 
 the 10th of July, her brief hours of life and royalty were 
 brought to a close. 
 
 The popularity which had attended James's wedlock 
 with a royal daughter of France, disposed him to turn 
 his thoughts to that realm for a second alliance, which 
 might strengthen all the political advantages procured 
 by his first marriage ; and, before the days of his mourn- 
 ing were accomplished 2 he had sought and obtained the 
 hand of Mary of Guise, the youthful sister of the Duke 
 of Guise, and by her became the father of Mary Stuart, 
 Queen of Scotland. 
 
 If the first marriage displeased Henry, the second 
 wounded his jealousy to the quick. Henry himself 
 had passionately coveted the hand of Mary, 3 but she had 
 kept her fidelity to the Scottish King inviolate. If Henry 
 was exasperated at the preference shown by Mary for his 
 
 1 "Lindsay of Pitscottie," p. 159. 
 
 2 According to a letter from Wharton to Cromwell, October 4, 1537. 
 
 3 Carte's History, vol. iii. p. 152.
 
 1539.] RISE OF CARDINAL BEATON. 1 1 
 
 nephew, his conduct during the absence of James in 
 France was little calculated to allay the feelings of irrita- 
 tion aud resentment which already existed between them. 
 Ralph Sadler had been sent to Scotland to gain some 
 influence over the nobility, and to sound the inclinations 
 of the people as to the adoption of the reformed religion, 
 or a maintenance of the ancient faith. 1 Dissembling his 
 wrath, Henry again endeavoured to induce his nephew to 
 follow his example, and warned him " against the craft 
 and deceipt of the Bishop of Borne." He urged upon him 
 the wisdom of making himself independent by casting 
 off the "usurped authority of the Pope," and of increas- 
 ing his revenue by seizing the lands of the Churchmen. 
 James was unmoved by Henry's arguments, and Sadler 
 had to report that the Scottish King would not listen to 
 the sacrilegious proposal. 2 
 
 An event, which happened about this time, was at- 
 tended with important consequences. James Beaton, 
 Archbishop of St. Andrews, who had long exercised a 
 great influence over the affairs of the kingdom, died in 
 the autumn of the year 1539, and was succeeded in the 
 primacy by his nephew, Cardinal Beaton, a man far 
 superior in talent and devotedly attached to the interests 
 of the Catholic Keligion. So good an opinion did 
 James form of his abilities in the management of 
 State affairs that he soon selected him as his principal 
 adviser. 
 
 Beaton's accession to the supreme ecclesiastical autho- 
 rity was marked by the most stringent measures against 
 
 1 Meanwhile the Douglases were maintained with high favour and 
 generous allowances in England ; their spies penetrated into every 
 quarter, followed the king to France, and gave information of his 
 most private movements. 
 
 2 "State Papers, Henry VIIL," vol v. p. 81-89.
 
 12 sadler's mission to Scotland. [1539. 
 
 the Eeformers, and this may have led many of the per- 
 secuted to embrace the interests of the Douglases. 
 
 Meanwhile Henry received intelligence of a coalition 
 between Francis I. and the Emperor Charles V. Alarmed 
 lest James should be invited to join it, he once more 
 despatched Sir Ralph Sadler to the Scottish Court to 
 discover, if possible, James's real intentions. Sadler's 
 letters and despatches have been preserved, and throw 
 much light upon the state of parties in Scotland. 
 
 The private instructions of the envoy were to destroy, 
 if possible, the credit of Cardinal Beaton, who openly 
 advocated the alliance with France. He was to state 
 that Henry had discovered among certain letters, which 
 had accidentally fallen into his hands, a dangerous plot 
 by which Beaton designed to usurp the whole govern- 
 ment of Scotland, and to place it under the absolute 
 control of the Pope. James was poor, and Henry knew 
 it, and Sadler was instructed to persuade him to re- 
 plenish his exchequer by seizing all the abbey lands and 
 church property, to imitate Henry's rupture with Home, 
 and to make common cause with England against France. 
 He was also to renew the proposal of an interview 
 between the monarchs at York, and to flatter the hopes 
 of James' succession to the English crown in the event 
 of Prince Edward's death. 1 
 
 James received Sadler with marks of distinction and 
 kindness ; but the reasoning of his uncle made but slight 
 impression on his mind. He respected the talents and 
 learning of his clergy, who alone of his subjects had the 
 education necessary to assist his councils. 2 " I thank 
 my uncle for his advice," said James, "but in good faith 
 I cannot follow it, for methinks it against reason and 
 
 1 Sadler's "State Papers," vol. i. p. 9, 10. 
 
 2 Ibid., i p. 47.
 
 1540.] ECCLESIASTICAL REFORMS. 13 
 
 God's laws to put down these abbeys and religious houses 
 which have stood so long and maintained God's service ; 
 and what need have I to take of them to increase my 
 livelihood, when I can have anything I can require of 
 them 1 I am sure there is not an abbey in Scotland at 
 this hour, but if we mister l any thing, we may have of 
 them whatsoever we will desire that they have, and so 
 what needs us to spoil them ? " Sadler urged that the 
 monks were an idle unprofitable kind of people, and 
 withal very unchaste. " Oh," replied the king, " God 
 forbid that if a few be not good, for them all the rest 
 should be destroyed. Though some be not, there be a 
 great many good, and the good may be suffered, and the 
 evil must be reformed ; as ye shall hear that I shall help 
 to see it redressed in Scotland, by God's grace, if I 
 brooke life." 2 Driven from this point, a meeting with 
 Henry was warmly pressed by Sadler, and politely 
 evaded by the Scottish King. The wily tempter re- 
 minded him that his uncle was "well stricken in years," 
 and flattered the hopes of James succeeding to the Eng- 
 lish crown in the event of Prince Edward's death. 
 James was unmoved by the suggestion, and Sir Kalph 
 Sadler left the Scottish Court without attaining material 
 success as regards any object of his mission. 
 
 In the parliament which assembled during the month 
 of December 1540, James showed that he was not indis- 
 posed to a moderate reformation of the abuses which 
 existed among the clergy. Severe statutes were passed 
 against heresy, but James also exhorted the clergy to 
 reform their lives, declaring that the negligence, the 
 ignorance, and the scandalous example of some of the 
 
 1 If we need. 
 
 2 Sadler's "Papers," i. p. 30, 31.
 
 14 INVASION OF SCOTLAND. [1542. 
 
 clergy, were the causes why Church and churchmen were 
 scorned and despised. 1 
 
 These acts were hardly passed when a rupture took 
 place between Francis I. and Charles V. Milan became 
 once more a bone of contention, and the alliance for the 
 invasion of England, if ever contemplated, was for the 
 present abandoned. 
 
 It was this moment which Henry selected for another 
 embassy of Sadler to the Scottish Court. He appears all 
 along to have believed that by means of a personal inter- 
 view he would succeed in persuading his nephew "to 
 renounce his spiritual errors." James may have given a 
 reluctant consent, but Cardinal Beaton and his Council 
 did their utmost to prevent the meeting ; and they ad- 
 vised wisely, for we have undoubted proof that Henry 
 had formed the design of kidnapping his nephew, and of 
 carrying him off prisoner into England. 2 James sent 
 a courteous apology, but, thwarted in his intentions of 
 making either a convert or a captive of the King of 
 Scots, Henry conceived himself slighted and insulted, 
 and now determined to accomplish by force what he had 
 in vain attempted to do by artifice or persuasion. 
 
 In the autumn of 1542 the old Duke of Norfolk was sent 
 to the border with twenty thousand men, and gave to the 
 flames two towns and twenty villages ; but the left wing of 
 the invading force was defeated near Jedburgh by the 
 Earl of Huntly, and partly from this cause, partly from 
 want of supplies, Norfolk was soon compelled to retreat. It 
 was in vain that James urged his nobles to follow him 
 in a counter invasion ; they refused to cross the border, 
 asserting that they were not bound by their allegiance 
 
 1 Act. Pari. Scot., vol. ii. p. 370. 
 
 2 For Henry's plan and the remonstrance of Lis Council, see 
 Burton's " History of Scotland," vol. ii. p. 367.
 
 1542.] DEATH OF JAMES V. 15 
 
 to leave their native country. They knew that the war 
 in which they were desired to participate, had been 
 encouraged by the clergy with the object of checking 
 the introduction of heretical doctrines. This hope they 
 resolved to frustrate, and, being assembled on the field, 
 they declared with one voice that they would not invade 
 England. Threats and persuasions were equally useless. 
 James, stung with vexation, returned home, and ordered 
 the troops to be disbanded. It was to no purpose that 
 he afterwards with a smaller army attempted the inva- 
 sion of Cumberland. At Solway Moss the soldiers not 
 only refused to obey the leader he had appointed to com- 
 mand them, but, without striking a blow, laid down their 
 arms to a small English force. Thousands of men, with 
 twenty-four pieces of artillery, being the whole of the 
 royal train, fell into the hands of the enemy. This last 
 disaster broke James' gallant heart. A slow fever 
 wasted his strength ; he sank into a long stupor, and. 
 refusing all comfort, died in December 1542, leaving the 
 crown to his infant daughter, the Mary Stuart of later 
 history. 
 
 The king had in his will appointed Cardinal Beaton 
 guardian of the infant Queen and Governor of the realm. 
 The nobles, however, declared this will to have been 
 forged ; and, encouraged by the exiles, who had returned 
 to Scotland upon hearing of James' death, they put in 
 Beaton's place James Hamilton, Earl of Arran, a very 
 feeble and changeable man, who claimed to be at once 
 tutor of the young Queen and Governor of the realm 
 of Scotland during her minority. The country, torn by 
 factions, and with only a babe for Sovereign, seemed to 
 lie at the feet of Henry, who now altered the oppressive 
 tone he had assumed towards the Scotch nobles and 
 gentlemen captured at Solway Moss. He invited them
 
 1 6 THE " ENGLISH " LOKDS. [1543. 
 
 to a banquet on the 26tli of December, and after 
 sumptuously entertaining them and treating them with 
 the most flattering demonstrations of regard, intimated 
 his desire of uniting the two realms, by a marriage 
 between their new-born queen and his only son, Prince 
 Edward, the heir to the English crown. He pointed out 
 how largely it would contribute to the advantage of 
 both nations, asked them to join in this good work, and 
 promised that, if they would act along with him, they 
 should find he was neither ungrateful nor ungenerous. 
 The Scottish nobles received the proposition favourably 
 on the whole, and seven of them pledged themselves 
 under oath to invest Henry with the government of 
 Scotland during the minority of their sovereign, and 
 to place in his hands the young Queen, Cardinal 
 Beaton, and some other noblemen, and admit English 
 garrisons into the principal fortresses of the realm. 
 Having thus purchased their liberty they returned home, 
 bound by the most solemn obligation to employ their 
 strength in reducing their own country to the condition 
 of a province of England. 1 But information of this act 
 had preceded them. On their arrival in Edinburgh 
 these "English lords," as they were contemptuously 
 styled by their countrymen, cautiously abstained from 
 revealing the full extent of their ignominious bond, and 
 spoke in general terms upon the advantages to be derived 
 from the alliance with England. All their efforts, how- 
 ever, could not prevent the Cardinal from becoming 
 acquainted with their intrigues, and the use which he 
 made of this knowledge in strengthening his party 
 inspired them with a daring resolution. Beaton was 
 known to corresjDond with France ; his act was construed 
 
 1 Keith, i. pp. 65, 66. Eymer's " Fcedera," vol. xiv. pp. 796, 
 797.
 
 1543.] IMPRISONMENT OF CARDINAL BEATON. 17 
 
 into treason, the cry of a French invasion was raised, 
 and the Cardinal was hurriedly seized on the 26th 
 January 1543, and committed as a prisoner to Blackness 
 Castle. Hereupon all the priests of the diocese of St 
 Andrews ceased to celebrate the Divine Mysteries. 1 
 
 The Catholics loudly exclaimed against Arran and the 
 " English Lords " for so daring an act of sacrilege and 
 injustice, and the people began to identify the cause of 
 Beaton with the independence of the country, exclaiming 
 against the Douglases and the Scottish prisoners as 
 the pensioners of England. The Earls of Huntly, 
 Bothwell, and Moray, suspecting that more was con- 
 cealed under the proposed marriage and alliance with 
 England than the friends of Henry dared as yet avow, 
 offered themselves as surety for the appearance of the 
 Cardinal to answer the charges made against him, and 
 insisted that he should be set at liberty. Their demands 
 being refused, these three earls, together with Argyll, 
 supported by a powerful body of the barons and landed 
 gentry, and a numerous concourse of bishops and abbots, 
 assembled at Perth, avowing their determination to 
 resist the measures of the Governor and the Douglases. 
 They despatched Eeid, the Bishop of Orkney, a prelate 
 of primitive simplicity and integrity, to their opponents, 
 bearing certain proposals. Of these the first insisted 
 that the cardinal should be set at liberty, and that the 
 Scottish ambassadors who had been named by Henry 
 should not be entrusted with the negotiations of the 
 marriage, but others chosen in their stead ; and they 
 asserted their right to be consulted by the Governor in 
 all affairs of importance. Their message met with a 
 blunt and scornful refusal, and the Governor charged 
 
 1 Keith, i. p. 27. " Diurnal of Occurrents," p. 26. Sadler's 
 "State Papers," vol. ii. pp. 137, 138. 
 
 B 
 
 r
 
 18 THE TREATIES REPUDIATED BY SCOTLAND. [1543. 
 
 them, under pain of treason, to break up their con- 
 vocation. As they had evidently miscalculated their 
 strength, they deemed it prudent not to push matters to 
 extremity, trusting by their own influence in Parliament 
 to neutralise the influence of the English Lords, so 
 as to ensure the independence of their country. l 
 
 The temper of the nation itself was shown in the 
 answer made by the Scotch Parliament. If the estates 
 agreed to the young queen's betrothal, they not only re- 
 jected the demands which accompanied the proposal, 
 but insisted that in case of such union Mary should 
 reside within her own kingdom until she was ten years 
 of age, and that none of their fortresses should be 
 entrusted to Henry. Scotland was to preserve her laws, 
 her customs, her independence, and her royalty. 2 
 
 Warned by his very partisans that the delivery of 
 Mary was impossible, that if such a demand were 
 pressed "there was not a little boy but he would hurl 
 stones against it, the wives would handle their distaffs, 
 and the commons would universally rather die than 
 submit to it," 3 Henry consented that the young queen 
 should remain with her mother till the age of ten, and 
 offered guarantees for the maintenance of Scottish 
 independence. But a private agreement was formed 
 between Henry and his partisans, Maxwell, Glencairn, 
 Angus and the other Scotch peers and barons taken 
 at the Solway, by which they once more tied them- 
 selves to his service, and promised, in the event of any 
 commotion in Scotland " by practice of the Cardinal or 
 
 1 K. 0. Scot, Henry VIII., vol. vi., No. 10. Letter addressed by the 
 Earl of Angus and his brother, Sir George Douglas, to Lord Lisle, 
 16th March 1543; Tytler, vol. v. pp. 267, 268. 
 
 2 Act Pari. Scot. ii. p. 411. 
 
 8 Sadler's " State Papers," i. p. 70.
 
 1543.] BEATON'S ESCAPE FROM BLACKNESS CASTLE. 1 9 
 
 kyrkmen," to adhere solely to the interest of the English 
 monarch. 1 
 
 Meanwhile Cardinal Beaton made his escape from 
 Blackness Castle, having in all probability obtained in- 
 formation of the second combination of Henry and his 
 Scottish prisoners against the independence of their 
 country, and succeeded in consolidating a formidable 
 opposition. He entered into a negotiation with France, 
 in which it was arranged that a force of two thousand 
 men, under the command of Montgomery, Sieur de 
 Lorges, an officer of great reputation, should be sent to 
 Scotland. A convention of the clergy was at the same 
 time held at St Andrews, and in this the likelihood 
 of a war with England was discussed. It resolved to 
 levy a sum of ten thousand pounds by a tax upon all 
 prelacies and benefices of the yearly value of not less 
 than forty pounds " for the independence of the Catholic 
 Church and of Scotland ; " 2 and such was the spirit of the 
 clergy, that rather than the war should languish they 
 vowed they would melt down both their own plate and 
 the plate of their churches ; nay, if need were, w T ould 
 take the field in person.' 3 
 
 Henry's resentment against the Cardinal, with whose 
 practices Sadler did not fail to acquaint him, now rose to 
 a high pitch, and he repeatedly urged the governor and 
 his abettors to seize and imprison the prelate. Such, 
 however, were Beaton's vigilance and ability, that he not 
 only escaped the snares but for a while defeated the 
 utmost efforts of his enemies ; and many of the nobles, 
 
 1 " The Copie of the Secrete Devise," " P. 0. Scotland," Henry 
 VIIL, vi. NTo. 38 j cf. Tytler, " History of Scotland," vol. v. p. 281. 
 
 2 " Pro manutentione libertatis ecclesiastical et republica regni 
 praservanda," (Robertson, Concilia Scotica i. p. cxlii.) 
 
 3 Sadler's " State Papers," vol. i. p. 204, 211.
 
 20 VIGOROUS ACTION OF BEATON. [1543. 
 
 made aware of the plots which were in agitation for the 
 subjugation of Scotland, eagerly joined his party, and 
 prepared by arms to assert their freedom. With this 
 object the Cardinal and the Earl of Huntly concentrated 
 their forces in the north, Argyll and Lennox in the west, 
 whilst Bothwell, Home, and the Laird of Buccleugh 
 mustered their feudal array upon the borders. 1 They 
 declared that they were compelled to adopt these 
 measures for the protection of the Catholic faith, and 
 the defence of the independence of the realm, which had 
 been sold to Henry by Arran whom they stigmatized as 
 a heretic and an Englishman. 2 Sadler informs us that 
 Arran, in the event of the Cardinal becoming too power- 
 ful for him, had proposed that an English army should 
 be sent to invade the country, with which he and his 
 friends might effectually co-operate, alleging that, by 
 this means, although forsaken by their countrymen, he 
 doubted not that the whole realm might be forcibly 
 brought under subjection to England. 3 
 
 During these transactions the young queen was 
 strictly guarded in the Palace of Linlithgow by the 
 Governor and the Hamiltons. Aware of the dangerous 
 intrigues of the " English Lords " for the subjection of 
 the realm, Beaton exerted every effort to obtain possess- 
 ion of the royal child, and whether by the connivance of 
 her immediate guardians, or from some relaxation in the 
 vigilance of Arran, the Cardinal at last succeeded. To 
 his party this was an important accession of strength, 
 and having so far weakened his adversaries, Beaton now 
 laboured to detach the Governor from England. 
 
 In the early part of September 1543 the Earl of 
 
 1 Sadler's " State Papers," i. p. 236. 
 
 2 Ibid., i. pp. 233, 234. 
 
 3 Ibid., i. pp. 253, 256, 257.
 
 1543.] HENRY VIII. PROCEEDS TO EXTREMES. 21 
 
 Arran rode to Callander and met the Cardinal, all 
 causes of animosity were removed, and a complete re- 
 conciliation took place. Beaton proceeded with Arran 
 to Stirling, where in the Church of the Franciscan Con- 
 vent the Governor received absolution for his having 
 wandered from the Catholic faith. 1 Arran renounced 
 the treaties with England, delivered his eldest son to 
 the Cardinal as a pledge of his sincerity, and consented 
 to a union with Beaton, whom he never afterwards 
 deserted. 2 The young Queen was crowned at Stirling, 
 a new council was appointed, and the vigour of its 
 measures soon showed that Beaton and not Arran was 
 its real head. 
 
 Henry's wrath at this overthrow of his hopes declared 
 itself in a brutal act of vengeance. The resources fur- 
 nished by the dissolution of the abbeys in England had 
 been devoted in part to the building of ships of war. 
 And then, while Scotland was guarding herself against 
 an expected attack across the border from the army that 
 had been gathered together by Lord Hertford, the Earl's 
 forces were quietly put on board and appeared suddenly 
 in the Firth of Forth. So great a surprise made resist- 
 ance impossible. Leith was seized and sacked ; Edin- 
 burgh was given up to the flames, and continued burning 
 for three days and three nights, while Lord Hertford's 
 commands were to put all to fire and sword. 
 
 "Do what you can," wrote Henry, " out of hand and 
 without long tarrying, to beat down and overthrow the 
 Castle ; sack Holyrood House, and as many towns and 
 villages about Edinburgh as ye conveniently can ; sack 
 Leith, and burn and subvert it, and all the rest, putting 
 
 1 MS. Letter of Lord William Parr to the Duke of Norfolk, Sept. 
 13, 1543, quoted in Chalmers's "Life of Mary," vol. ii. p. 404. 
 
 2 Sadler's " State Papers," i. pp. 282, 283.
 
 22 SCOTLAND DEVASTATED BY AN ENGLISH ARMY. [1544. 
 
 man, woman, and child to fire and sword, without ex- 
 ception, when any resistance shall be made against you. 
 And this done, pass over to Fife land, and extend like 
 extremities and destructions in all towns and villages 
 whereunto ye may reach conveniently, not forgetting 
 among the rest, so to spoil and turn upside down the 
 Cardinal's town of St Andrews, as the upper stone may 
 be the nether, and not one stick stand by another, spar- 
 ing no creature alive within the same, especially such as 
 either in friendship or blood be allied to the Cardinal." 1 
 Sir Ralph Evers was remarkable for his cruelty " by 
 spoiling and burning in divers places, not sparing to burn 
 wives and bairns in their houses without any mercy." 2 
 As many as "192 towns, parish churches, castel-houses, 
 and 243 villages were cast down or burnt, and the 
 country was reduced almost to a desert." ; The Lords 
 of the English Privy Council laud these proceedings as 
 "wise, manly, and discreet." They add that Henry 
 took these doings of theirs in very thankful part, and 
 gave them his most hearty thanks for the same. 4 
 
 If Henry aimed at the conquest of Scotland, he gained 
 nothing by these brutal raids ; if the marriage he had 
 proposed was still in his view, such a rough courtship 
 disgusted the whole nation ; for, exasperated by so many 
 indignities, the Scots were never at any period more 
 attached to France or more alienated from England. 
 
 Mortified at this disappointment, Henry became more 
 
 1 Despatch of the Privy Council to the Earl of Hertford, 10th of 
 April. Notes and extracts in the Hamilton Papers, 93, 94. Tytler, 
 vol. v. p. 379. 
 
 2 Leslie, "History of Scotland," p. 187. 
 
 3 Haynes State Papers, 43 and 52, July-November 1544. Cf. 
 Tytler, vol. v. p. 310, footnote. 
 
 4 Ibid., p. 33.
 
 1545.] PLOTS TO ASSASSINATE BEATON. 23 
 
 vehement than before. In the autumn of the following 
 year (1545) Hertford crossed the Border with a large 
 force, and encamped before Kelso. The town, which 
 was an open one, he occupied with ease ; but the abbey 
 held out, and the Spanish mercenaries who assaulted it 
 were repulsed by the garrison, composed partly of monks. 1 
 Hertford brought up his ordnance, and a breach being 
 effected, the church was carried, the steeple stormed, and 
 its defenders put to the sword. The abbeys of Melrose, 
 Dryburgh, and Jedburgh shared the same fate. There 
 is preserved among the Cecil Papers a full list of all the 
 " fortresses, abbeys, friar houses, market towns, . . . burnt, 
 rased, arid cast down by the Earl of Hertford, between 
 the 8th of September and the 23d of the same, 1545. It 
 chronicles the destruction of 7 monasteries, 16 castles, 
 5 market towns, 243 villages, 13 mills, and 3 hospitals." 2 
 All this misery so wantonly inflicted did not yet satisfy 
 Henry's anger. He regarded with intense .hostility the 
 man who from the first had detected and who finally 
 defeated his policy in Scotland. For several years he 
 had expressed an earnest desire to secure Beaton's per- 
 son ; 3 now he could not conceal an earnest desire for the 
 Cardinal's destruction. On the 17th of April 1544, the 
 Earl of Hertford transmitted to him a letter from 
 Crichton of Brunston, containing a proposal on the 
 part of the Master of Rothes and Kirkaldy of Grange, 
 " to apprehend or slay the Cardinal at some time when 
 he shall pass through the Fife-land, as he doth sundry 
 times, to St Andrews. " 4 This proposal met with Henry's 
 
 1 "E. 0. Scotland," Henry VIII., vol. viii. No. 79, 11th Sept. 1545. 
 
 2 " E. 0. Scotland," Henry VEIL, vol. viii. No. SQ. 
 
 3 Sadler's " State Papers," i. 103, 106, 107, 249, 311. 
 
 4 " State Papers," Henry VIII., vol. v. p. 377. The answer from 
 the Privy Council is printed hy Haynes, p. 32.
 
 24 OFFER OF BLOOD-MONEY. [1545. 
 
 approval. The removal of the Cardinal would be 
 " acceptable service to God." But he would not give 
 the traitors a written warrant by which to pledge him- 
 self to pay the blood- money. The conspiracy now slept 
 for a year, when we find it again agitated by the Earl of 
 Cassillis, the friend and coadjutor of Brunston. There is 
 still in existence a letter from the English Privy Council 1 
 to the Earl of Hertford, dated May 30, 1545, which refers 
 to a letter from the Earl of Cassillis to Mr Ralph Sadler, 
 " containing an offer for the killing of the Cardinal, if 
 his Majesty would have it done, and would promise 
 when it were done a reward." Hertford is informed by 
 the Privy Council that " To the first point His Highness 
 . . . reputing the fact not mete to be set forward ex- 
 pressly by His Majestie, . . . will not seem to have to 
 do in it ; and yet not misliking the offer thinkyth good 
 that Mr Sadleyr . . . should write to the Earl . . . 
 what he thinkyth of the matter, [he shall say] that if 
 lie wer in the Earl of Cassillis place, and were as able 
 to do His Majesty good service there, as he knowyth 
 him to be, and thynkyth a right good will in him to do 
 it, he would surely do what he could for the execution 
 of it, believing verily to do thereby not only acceptable 
 service to the King's Majesty, but also a special benefit 
 to the realm of Scotland, and would trust verily the 
 King's Majesty would consider his service in the same ; 
 as you doubt not, of his accustomed goodness to them 
 which serve him, but he would do the same to him ..." 
 Again the conspiracy slept, for the blood-money could 
 not be stipulated. But the plan was not given up, and 
 Henry evinced the continuance of his mortal enmity 
 against Beaton, by recommending the Earl of Hertford 
 to advise the French deserters that they should show 
 1 It is printed in "State Papers," Henry VIII., vol. v. p. 449.
 
 1546.] GEORGE WISH ART. 25 
 
 their desire to be of service by trapping or killing either 
 the Cardinal or the Governor. 1 This was on the 9th of 
 September 1545, and on the 6th of October, about a 
 month after, the Laird of Brunston is once more in com- 
 munication with the English Government, "hoping to 
 God that the Cardinal's proposed journey will be cut 
 short," 2 but insisting in a letter to the Earl of Hertford 
 that "his Majesty must be plain with them, both what 
 his Majesty would have them to do, and in like manner 
 what they shall lippen to 3 of his Majesty." 4 After this 
 the correspondence appears to cease, or at least is not 
 preserved. 5 
 
 Of the existence of the plots against his life Beaton 
 was most likely aware ; G and, looking on George Wishart, 
 not only as a disseminator of forbidden doctrines, but the 
 friend of his most mortal enemies, he earnestly laboured 
 to apprehend him. Having heard that he was living 
 under the protection of Brunston, waiting for the arrival 
 of Cassillis, and about to hold a meeting at Edinburgh 
 with those hostile to himself, Beaton determined on his 
 instant arrest ; and when arguments and threats had 
 
 1 " E. 0. Scotland," Henry VIII., vol. viii. No. 75. 
 
 2 Letter from the Laird of Brunston to Henry VIII., quoted by 
 Tytler, vol. v. p. 386. 
 
 3 Trust. 
 
 4 " State Papers," Henry VIII., vol. v. p. 550. 
 
 5 This strange mystery is traced by Tytler, both in the text and in 
 valuable notes appended to the fifth volume of his " History of 
 Scotland." 
 
 6 Such was the perilous position of the Scottish Church, that Card. 
 Beaton, although thrice summoned by Pope Paul the Third to 
 share the deliberations of the Vatican (in 1541, in 1542, and 1544), 
 had not ventured to quit Scotland. (Theiner, Vetera Monumenta, pp. 
 613, 614. Eaynald. Annal. Eccles. ann. 1544, sec. 32 vol. xiv. p. 
 85.)
 
 26 DEATH OF HENRY VIII. [1547. 
 
 proved alike unavailing to induce him to renounce his 
 errors, he was led to the stake on the 28th of March 1546. 
 The death of Wishart produced a great sensation all 
 over Scotland. Some praised the Cardinal for his 
 seasonable severity ; others muttered threats of revenge, 
 and the Cardinal's enemies declared that there must be 
 life for life. And so it was. On the 29th of May 1546, 
 Cardinal Beaton fell a victim to the dagger f the 
 
 On 
 
 assassin ; and his mangled body, treated with every 
 indignity, was suspended from the window of the Castle 
 of St Andrews. In the language of Sadler the bloody 
 deed was done "to please God" and "for Christian zeal " 
 as well as for a " small sum of money." 1 Thus the main- 
 stay of religion in Scotland, and the master mind of 
 national independence, received the martyr's crown. 
 
 The conspirators who accomplished the bloody deed 
 were immediately joined by a number of other adherents, 
 among whom were John Knox and Henry Balnaves, 
 amounting in all to about one hundred and fifty persons. 
 They held the castle for fourteen months, setting at 
 defiance all the Regent's efforts to retake it. With the 
 help of the French the rebels were at last obliged to 
 yield, and were sent to the French galleys. 
 
 A few months after the murder of Beaton, on the 28th 
 January 1547, Henry was summoned to his great 
 account. During the last four years he had wasted and 
 destroyed the fairest part of Scotland with most wanton 
 barbarity ; " not so much harm having been done, these 
 hundred years." 2 He had pulled down churches and 
 
 1 " State Papers," Henry VIII., vol. v. p. 470. The principal 
 assassins were rewarded with pensions. The master of Eothes got 
 ,£250, Kirkaldy of Grange, £200, and others of less note got smaller 
 sums. (Privy Council Eecords, February Gth 1547; cf. Froude's 
 " History of England," vol. v. p. 31.) 
 
 2 "E. 0. Scotland," Henry VIII., vol. viii. No. 81.
 
 1547-] SOMERSET INVADES SCOTLAND. 27 
 
 monasteries, and murdered the leader of the Catholic 
 party. He had organised and paid to carry out his 
 work of destruction, a numerous party of nobles who had 
 pledged themselves to unite their banners to his for the 
 conquest of their native land, and, as they said, "to 
 make the Protestant religion be taught in their territories, 
 the Bible being the foundation of all truth and honour. 1 
 It is a matter of justice to remember how and by whom 
 the ruin of the Catholic Church was effected, and Henry's 
 share in it appears so great, that he may well be con- 
 sidered as the Father of the Reformation in Scotland. 
 
 The Duke of Somerset who now ruled England in the 
 name of the young King Edward VI., inherited Henry's 
 undying hatred towards Scotland. The English Monarch 
 had bequeathed to his successor the resolve to subdue 
 that country under the cloak of a marriage with its 
 infant Queen. After an ineffectual attempt at negotia- 
 tion, Somerset invaded Scotland with twenty thousand 
 men. At this crisis, Arran was completely stunned by 
 discovering, among the papers of Balnaves in the Castle 
 of St Andrews, a document containing the signatures of 
 two hundred noblemen and gentlemen who had secretly 
 sold themselves to England, had undertaken to assist 
 Somerset in the marriage project, and were bent on the 
 entire subjugation of the kingdom. 2 
 
 Notwithstanding these discouragements, the military 
 array of the kingdom was quickly mustered. The fiery 
 cross was despatched through Scotland ; thirty thousand 
 
 1 "State Papers," Henry VIII., vol. v. p. 387. 
 
 2 " E. 0. Scotland," Edward VI., vol. i. No. 49. Eymer's 
 " Feedera," (Syllabus), vol. ii. pp. 785, 786, 787. Tytler, vol. vi., 
 Froude, vol. v. pp. 32-46. Burnet, " History of the Eeformation," vol. 
 i. p. 322; cf. Keith edit. 1844, book I. ch. iii. p. 87. "K. 0. Scot- 
 land," Edward VI., vol. i. Nos. 5, 6, 40.
 
 28 BATTLE OF PINKIE. [1547. 
 
 men obeyed its summons and collected in great force 
 near Musselburgh. A large number of priests and 
 monks, seeing that the hour had come for facing a 
 deadly struggle in defence of the Catholic faith and 
 their national independence, accompanied the Scottish 
 army. Without armour or weapon they marched 
 under a white banner, on which was painted a crucifix, 
 with this motto embroidered beneath it, " Afflict ce 
 Ecclesice ne obliviscaris." 1 When the English came 
 upon them, the Scots occupied a position of great 
 strengtli on the west bank of the little river Esk. 
 To their left was the sea, toward the right an impas- 
 sable morass, while in front a river ran in a deep bed, 
 which could be crossed by cavalry at one bridge only. 
 Strong in numbers, the Scots believed that the English 
 would refuse to fight and would try to escape them. To 
 prevent this they deserted their unassailable position. 
 Somerset's advance from the hills of Falside and Car- 
 berry, where he had been encamped, towards Inveresk 
 Church, which partially commanded the Scotch position, 
 seems to have been mistaken for an attempt to reach the 
 fleet, anchored outside Musselburgh. The Scots crossed 
 the river by Musselburgh bridge, passed to the west of 
 Inveresk Church, and occupied the back of the hill, 
 between which and the sloping terraces of Falside there 
 was a depression. They also advanced southward, as 
 though to attempt to occupy the end of the ridge which 
 the English were leaving, and thus enclose the English 
 army between themselves and the river. This movement 
 hastened on the battle. The charge of the English 
 cavalry upon the advancing right wing of the Scotch 
 was repelled by the pikemen. But they were unable to 
 
 1 W. Patten, " The Expedition into Scotlade," Dalyell's edition, 
 Edinburgh, 1798, p. 73.
 
 1547.] CRUELTY OF THE EA11L OF LENNOX. 29 
 
 follow up their success, and covering his movement with 
 his artillery, Somerset brought the whole of his army 
 upon the Scotch, somewhat disordered by their change 
 of position, and shaken by the discharge of arrows, 
 musketry, and artillery. Their broken troops were 
 attacked by the English cavalry, and the battle became 
 a rout. But little quarter was given, the slaughter was 
 enormous, and it was recorded by an eye-witness that 
 "little pity was shown to the priests," multitudes of 
 whom were slain and found mangled amongst the dead 
 bodies of the common soldiers, whilst their sacred banner 
 lay trampled under foot and soiled with blood. 1 Admiral 
 Wyndham, who commanded the English fleet, vied with 
 Somerset in the work of destruction. He had pledged 
 himself — "not to leave one town nor village, nor fisher 
 boat unburned from Fifeness to Combe's Inch. 2 Bal- 
 merino Abbey was destroyed ; near Perth a nunnery was 
 burnt, and the Admiral brought away all the nuns and 
 many gentlemen's daughters." Dundee was taken and the 
 Church destroyed, Dryfe's Dale was laid waste, above 
 five hundred Scots were taken, slain, or drowned in 
 the Nith ; the prisoners, priests and friars, were dragged 
 along with halters round their necks, amid threats of 
 being tied up to the nearest trees. 3 The Earl of 
 
 1 " Among them lay thear, many prestes and kirkmen as thei call 
 them, of whom it was bruted among us, that their was a whole band 
 of iii. or iiii. M. (thousand) but we wear after enfourmed, it was not 
 altogyther so." — W. Patten, p. 72. According to Patten, one of the 
 war cries of the Scottish army was " Death to the heretical English" 
 which proves that the common people in Scotland were still true 
 to the ancient faith. — Cf. Patten, p. 60. 
 
 2 " K. 0. Scotland," Edward VI., vol. ii. No. 57, Dec. 18, fol. 592. 
 
 3 The Warden of the Grey Friars was executed. MS. letter from 
 Lennox and Wharton to the Earl of Somerset, 25th Feb. 1547-8.— 
 " K. 0. Scotland," Edward VI., vol. iii. No. 53, 25th Feb. 1548, fol. 939.
 
 30 THE INFANT QUEEN OF SCOTLAND SENT TO FRANCE. [1549. 
 
 Lennox, who was in command of some of the English 
 forces, drew upon himself the execration of all humanity, 
 not only as a ruthless soldier in the field, but as the 
 perpetrator of a deed of blood that "whispered 
 despair to his own soul whensoever it communed with 
 itself." 1 In the last of Lennox's inroads, a body of 
 Scottish horsemen, which he had forced into his service 
 by getting their children under his power, deserted him 
 at a critical moment. Twelve of these youths were 
 confined in prison, as hostages or pledges, at Carlisle. 2 
 When the Earl of Lennox returned defeated 3 along with 
 Lord Wharton to that city, he clamoured for the execu- 
 tion of these unhappy victims, and eleven of the boys 
 were hanged by his orders. 4 
 
 Had Somerset prosecuted his advantages, he might 
 have imposed his own terms on the Scottish nation ; but 
 he was impatient to return to England, where he heard 
 that some of the councillors, and even his own brother, 
 Lord Seymour, were caballing against him. As most of 
 the strongholds were now in the hands of the English, 
 it was thought best to send the infant Queen of Scotland 
 to France that she might be out of harm's way. Within 
 a short time the marriage question was settled once for 
 all, by Queen Mary being solemnly contracted to the 
 
 1 Letter of Margaret Countess of Lennox, quoted by Miss Strick- 
 land, "Lives of the Queens of Scotland," vol. ii. p. 332. 
 
 2 Kidpath's " Border History," p. 563. 
 
 3 " E. 0. Scotland," Edward VI, vol. iii. No. 57. Letter of Lord 
 Grey, Feb. 27. 
 
 4 Holinshed. The heir of Maxwell was one of the devoted num- 
 ber. The rope had been placed round his neck, but he was so very 
 young and boyish that one of the English soldiers who had to do the 
 work turned sick with horror, and could not pull the rope to destroy 
 him, and so the poor child's life was saved ("Hemes' Memoirs"). 
 Maxwell of Heiries lived to be one of the most manly protectors of 
 Mary Queen of Scots.
 
 1550.] MARY OF LORRAINE PROCLAIMED REGENT. 31 
 
 Dauphin, afterwards Francis II., and a war of nine years 
 was brought to a close by the proclamation of peace at 
 Edinburgh in the month of April 1550. 
 
 From that period of frightful devastation, civil tumult, 
 lawless ambition, and reckless deeds of ferocious passion, 
 may be dated the decline of the true faith in Scotland, 
 the progress of the English Protestant party, and the 
 continued growth of the different sects. 1 The Scotch 
 bishops were not unmindful of the evil. They assembled 
 in convocation at Linlithgow under the presidency of 
 John Hamilton, Archbishop of St Andrews, and drew up 
 several canons, the object of which was to regulate the 
 morals of the clergy, to enforce the duty of religious 
 instruction, and to repress abuses in the collection of 
 clerical dues. 2 They bound themselves by a common 
 declaration to remain faithful to the Roman Pontiff and 
 to the Sacred Council of Trent which was then holdino- 
 its sessions, and swore that they would approve or reject 
 whatever that assembly should receive or condemn. 
 Arran had, in two successive parliaments, revived the 
 old statutes against the teachers of heretical doctrines, 
 but the transfer of the Regency to the queen-mother 
 allowed the reformers time to breathe. By the advice of 
 her brothers, the Dukes of Guise, Mary of Lorraine had 
 formed the bold design of supplanting Arran in the pos- 
 session of the supreme power. To dispossess him by 
 violence would have been madness, she therefore quietly 
 bided her time, employing every artifice to draw the 
 "English Lords" to her party; she kept regal state at Stir- 
 ling, till at last Arran, finding the tide running strongly 
 against him, consented to resign, and the Queen-Dowager 
 
 1 Father James Tyrie's Eeport to the Pope on the state of 
 Scotland. (Blairs College MS.) 
 
 2 Wilkin's Cone, iv. pp. 46, 47, 69, 72, 78.
 
 32 JOHN KNOX. [1555. 
 
 was proclaimed regent. Arran's good will was imme- 
 diately rewarded with the Duchy of Chatellerault. 
 Being indebted mainly to the Protestant Lords for her 
 elevation to the Regency, Mary of Lorraine was 
 especially bound to prove her gratitude for the service 
 they had rendered her. The favour she manifested to 
 them, and the toleration tacitly extended by her to their 
 ministers, and to the preachers who fled from the perse- 
 cution in England, combined with the return of John 
 Knox from Geneva in giving a new impulse to their 
 zeal. 1 The enthusiasm of this new apostle, together 
 with his rude and commanding eloquence, soon raised 
 him to a high pre-eminence above his fellows. 
 
 During the winter of 1555-6 Knox was indefatigable 
 in preaching, not only in the capital but in the provinces. 
 Repairing to Kyle and Cunningham, where his friend 
 the Earl of Glencairn was omnipotent, he proclaimed 
 the doctrines of the Reformation. Under the shield 
 of Erskine of Dun he preached in the County of 
 Angus. The proselytes, inflamed by the lessons of their 
 teacher, and by scriptural denunciations against idolatry, 
 abolished, wherever they had power, the Catholic worship 
 by law established, expelled the clergy, dissolved the 
 monasteries, and gave the ornaments of the churches, 
 often the churches themselves, to the flames. 2 A 
 
 1 In the unpublished " Narrative of the State of Scotland " by- 
 young Maitland of Lethington, " Mary of Lorraine is censured for the 
 liberality of her conduct with regard to the Reformers." — Miss Strick- 
 land, " The Queens of Scotland," vol. ii. p. 795. 
 
 2 Lingard and Tytler remark, " it is not true to say that the burn- 
 in" of churches was begun by Knox at Perth. These excesses are 
 mentioned thrice in the proceedings of the Council held at Edinburgh, 
 which was dissolved before the arrival of Knox in Scotland " (Wilk. 
 Cone, iv. pp. 208, 209, 211), and in the Acts of Parliament of Scot- 
 land (vol. ii. p. 470).
 
 1557.] SCHEMES OF THE FRENCH COURT. 3 
 
 a 
 
 summons was issued for his arrest, but, having been 
 warned by his friends of some imminent danger, Knox 
 had again sought refuge in Geneva. 
 
 It was with pain that the Queen-Regent viewed these 
 revolutionary proceedings, but she dared not oppose or 
 punish them at a time when the approaching marriage of 
 her daughter to the Dauphin of France induced her to 
 win by condescension, rather than alienate by severity. 
 Her efforts were successful ; both parties joined in grati- 
 fying her wishes, and the Estates, not only consented to 
 the marriage, but named a deputation to assist at the 
 ceremony, which took place in April 1558. Unfor- 
 tunately, three days before the wedding, the young 
 queen had been advised to convey her kingdom away by 
 deed to the House of Valois. The deed was kept secret, 
 but Mary's act in demanding the crown for her husband 
 as consort aroused suspicions. It was known that the 
 government of Scotland was discussed at the French 
 Council-board, and whispers came of a suggestion that 
 the kingdom should be turned into an appanage for a 
 younger son of the French king. Meanwhile French 
 money was sent to Mary of Lorraine, a body of French 
 troops served as her body-guard, and on the advance of 
 the "English Lords" in arms, the French Court promised 
 her the support of a large army. These were not the 
 only schemes of the French Court. The Duke of Guise 
 persuaded Mary Stuart and her husband to assume, 
 on the accession of Elizabeth, the arms of England 
 in addition to those of Scotland and France. This 
 clearly meant that the Queen of England was a bastard, 
 and that the Queen of Scots was the heiress of Mary 
 Tudor. To this circumstance we may trace the begin- 
 ning of that rivalry between the two queens which led 
 to consequences so serious to both. 
 
 c
 
 34 THE FIRST COVENANT. [1557. 
 
 Alarmed at the growing power of France in Scotland, 
 and perceiving that the union of Mary with the heir- 
 apparent of the French monarchy would yield a con- 
 siderable advantage to the Catholics, the Reformers 
 entered into a religious covenant (3 December 1557). 
 The subscribers, with the Earls of Argyll, Morton, and 
 Glencairn at their head, assuming the title of the Con- 
 gregation of the Lord, bound themselves to stand by 
 each other at the hazard of their lives, 1 to forsake the 
 " Congregation of Satan " (the Catholic church), and 
 to declare themselves manifest enemies to it, its 
 abominations, and its idolatry. 2 They now took the 
 name of Lords of the Congregation, and sent forth their 
 agents to secure the subscriptions of those who wished 
 for a reformation of the church. 
 
 This covenant was considered by the Catholic party 
 as a declaration of war. The Archbishop of St Andrews 
 replied to the challenge by urging the laws against 
 heresy, which since the death of Beaton had been 
 abandoned. The attempt hurried on matters to a crisis. 
 Walter Mill, an apostate friar, was seized and executed 
 for heresy, and the Protestant party w r as roused to fury. 
 All the efforts of the Regent to pacify and conciliate the 
 two parties proved ineffectual. 
 
 1 It had long been the received practice in Scotland that those who 
 were about to embark in any dangerous enterprise should sign a 
 "band" or bond to stand by each other, at the hazard of their lives. 
 Mathew Paris says that it was a custom of the men of Galloway (a 
 district which in his day included nearly the whole of the south-west 
 of Scotland from the Solway to the Clyde), and one derived from the 
 remotest times, before engaging in any dangerous enterprise, to pledge 
 themselves in blood drawn from their own veins, to stand by each 
 other to the death.— M. Paris, London, 1640, fol. p. 430, JS T o. 20. 
 
 2 Keith, "Affairs of Church and State in Scotland," vol. i., 154 
 (Edinburgh, 1845).
 
 1558]. THE LORDS OF THE CONGREGATION. 35 
 
 With the appearance of the Lords of the Congregation 
 as an avowed league in the heart of the land, under 
 resolve to enforce a change of religion, the attitude of 
 the Regent suddenly changed. Smooth as were her 
 words she expressed her determination to oppose the Re- 
 formation with all her power. The Lords demanded 
 that bishops should be elected by the nobles and gentry, 
 and parish priests by the votes of the parishioners, and 
 that divine service should be henceforth conducted in the 
 vulgar tongue. 1 These demands were rejected by the 
 bishops, and the Lords resolved to defy both the tem- 
 poral and spiritual power by openly celebrating the 
 Protestant form of service at Perth. The preachers who 
 had thus violated the law were summoned to appear 
 before the Regent and her Council at Stirling. As they 
 did not appear they were outlawed. 2 This sentence was 
 a signal for open strife. The Lords wrote to Knox, 
 whose style of preaching would, they thought, be useful 
 in stirring up the people to rebellion. Knox was then 
 in Geneva ; he obeyed the summons, and arrived at 
 Leith on the 2d of May 1559. 3 Two nights were spent 
 in Edinburgh arranging plans for future action, that 
 done he hastened on to Dundee, the head-quarters of the 
 conspirators. It was on the 11th of May, the day after 
 the leading "Lords of the Congregation" had been 
 denounced as rebels, that Knox publicly entered the 
 pulpit of St. John's Church at Perth, and thundered 
 against idolatry. The indignation which glowed in his 
 breast was soon communicated to his hearers. The 
 
 1 Spottiswood, p. 120. 
 
 2 Probably they offered to appear, but with so large a multitude 
 behind them that the Eegent refused to see them. 
 
 3 Knox, " History of the Keformation," edited by D. Laing, vol. i. 
 p. 318.
 
 36 SPOLIATION OF THE MONASTERIES. [1559. 
 
 sermon being ended the crowd dispersed, and only a few 
 loiterers remained in the church. The clergy, over- 
 whelmed with grief at the exhibition they had wit- 
 nessed, and the sentiments they had heard uttered by 
 the innovator, gathered around the altar to expiate his 
 offence, and to offer prayers to God. The altar was 
 surmounted by an exquisitely carved crucifix, which was 
 held in great veneration by the faithful, and behind it 
 stood a rich painting of the martyrdom of St Bartholo- 
 mew, at that moment uncovered. No sooner, however, 
 were the tapers lighted around the altar, and the prayers 
 of the Church intoned, than the hired agents of the 
 " ConoTegation," who had come from Dundee well in- 
 structed and prepared for every emergency, cried out 
 "Away with this idolatry." A stone flung at the 
 painting of St. Bartholomew was the signal for a general 
 attack. The followers of Knox rushed to the altar, 
 assailed the priests, tore off their sacred vestments, and 
 broke the crucifix to pieces. In a few minutes every 
 chapel was ransacked, and all the costly furniture 
 of the church scattered in fragments on the floor. 
 Immediately the whole city heard of what had been 
 done, and a mob, still under the excitement of the 
 sermon, began to assemble. Tradition has ascribed to 
 Knox the party cry, " Down with the crows' nests, or 
 the crows will build in them again," which shows a far- 
 reaching policy. The usual tactics of war are to destroy 
 everything that shelters the enemy, and the Eeforma- 
 tion was a war to the death against monasteries. 1 The 
 cry was raised, " To the monasteries," and after hearing 
 a prayer from Knox, who was again among them, 2 all 
 
 1 J. Cunningham, "The Church History of Scotland," vol. i. 
 p. 260. 
 
 - " Lindsay of Pitscottie," folio edit., p. 203.
 
 1559.] SPOLIATION OF THE MONASTERIES. 37 
 
 the chapels of Perth were wrecked, the houses of 
 the Franciscans, Dominicans, and Carmelites were 
 plundered and reduced to ruin. Voices next cried 
 out, "To the Charter House," and, rushing on to 
 the noble edifice, the mob burst oj)en the massive gates 
 with a large wooden cross, which they pulled out of the 
 ground near the walls, and in a few hours the monastery 
 was razed to the ground. 1 
 
 On the 9th of June Knox passed into Fife, accom- 
 panied by the Lords of the Congregation and his rascal 
 multitude, as he himself lovingly styled them. He 
 preached first at Crail. Here the sermon on idolatry 
 was repeated and was followed by the same results. 2 On 
 the morrow Knox marched alone: the Fife coast, west- 
 ward to the burgh of Anstruther, which was also adorned 
 with a church. It was reformed, and the rows of 
 broken arches long attested how well the work was done. 
 Cupar had already followed the example set by Perth. 
 
 The Archbishop of St Andrews, finding that the storm 
 was approaching, and having only 100 men at his 
 
 1 Keith's "History, &c," vol. i., pp. 191, 192; cf. "Sketches of 
 Scenes in Scotland," by Lieut.-Colonel Murray ; Spottiswood, 
 p. 122. 
 
 2 Knox's own letters, quoted by M'Crie (Life of Knox, Edinburgh, 
 1846, p. 487). In a letter, of June 23, 1559, he thus describes the 
 manner in which he reformed (such is his phrase) the Abbey of 
 Lindores : " Their altars overthrew we, their idols, vestments of 
 idolatry, and Mass-books we burned in their presence, and com- 
 manded them to cast away their monkish habits." Kirkaldy, who 
 was an active agent in the work, wrote on the 1st of July 1559, to 
 Sir Henry Percy: "The manner of proceeding is this: they pull 
 down all manner of friars' houses, and some abbeys which willingly 
 receive not the reformation ; as to parish churches they cleanse them 
 of images, etc., and command that no Masses be said in them." — 
 Record Office, "Scotland, Eliz.," vol. i. No. 48. W. Kyrkcaldy to 
 Sir Henry Percy, 1st July 1559.
 
 38 DESTRUCTION OF ST ANDREWS CATHEDRAL. [1559. 
 
 command, fled from the city on the morning of Sunday, 
 the 11 th of June. That day Knox marched to the 
 cathedral of St Andrews, and mounting the pulpit, re- 
 peated his denunciations against idolatry, comparing his 
 own mission to that of our Divine Lord, who drove 
 the buyers and sellers out of the temple. For three days 
 he kept up, with unabated energy, a series of these in- 
 flammatory harangues. The result is easily told. " The 
 fine cathedral, the building of which occupied 160 years 
 — the metropolitan Church of Scotland, in which prelates, 
 nobles, and illustrious individuals had been interred — was 
 gutted and reduced to a melancholy ruin. Not only did 
 the mob spoil the Cathedral church, but every church in 
 the city, levelling the priory and the monasteries of the 
 Black and Grey Friars." * 
 
 In alarm at the scenes of riot which had accompanied 
 such fearful sacrilege, the royal troops were ordered to 
 take the field for the maintenance of public order, and 
 the defence of the lives of peaceable subjects. They 
 marched to Cupar Moor, but there they were met by 
 the army of the " Congregation," which now numbered 
 three thousand fighting men, and was commanded by 
 Lord James Stuart, the most skilful general in Scotland. 
 The Queen Eegent feared to risk a battle, and it was 
 arranged that Commissioners should be appointed to 
 enquire into all matters of dispute between the " Con- 
 gregation" and the Crown. 
 
 In the meantime the fine abbey of Scone was devoted 
 to destruction. Situated about three miles west from 
 Perth, where now stands the Castle of the Earls of 
 Mansfield, this abbey was venerable in the eyes of every 
 Scotchman, as the place where the kings of Scotland 
 
 1 Spottiswood, p. 124.
 
 1559.] APPROPRIATION OF THE CHURCH PROPERTY. 39 
 
 had from time immemorial been crowned. The torch 
 was applied, and soon the beautiful house, in which our 
 fathers had worshipped and our monarchs had been 
 crowned, was burned down by fire. 1 
 
 Only a day after this the noble churches of Stirling, 
 and the abbeys, even to the very gardens, were destroyed 
 by the mob in the presence and by the order of Argyll 
 and Lord James. 2 The citizens, however, guarded the 
 Franciscan Church, and it alone was saved. Proceeding 
 to the magnificent abbey of Cambuskenneth, which 
 lifted up its lofty walls amid the windings of the Forth, 
 they reduced it to a mass of ruins. Flushed with these 
 victories over the monuments of architecture, the Con- 
 gregation marched upon Edinburgh, " for reformation 
 to be made there likewise," as Knox himself assures us. 
 Half-way they halted at Linlithgow, to renew their work 
 of desolation. The Queen Eegent fled in terror from 
 Edinburgh, and the mob sacked all the monasteries 
 within the city. " We arrived the 29th of June," says 
 Knox, but such devastation was made, that " we were 
 the less troubled in putting order to such places." A 
 contemporary record assures us that Edinburgh pre- 
 sented one vast scene of riot and plunder. " All kirk- 
 men's goods and gear were spoiled and reft from them, 
 in every place where the same could be apprehended ; 
 for every man, for the most part, that could get anything 
 pertaining to any kirkmen, thought the same as well 
 won gear." 3 Even the Chapel Eoyal was involved in 
 the common ruin. Its paintings and costly ornaments 
 were torn down and cast into the fire, whilst its superb 
 
 1 Cf. Knox, " History," book ii. ; Spottisvvood, p. 125. 
 
 2 Teulet, Papiers d'Etat, vol. i. p. 321, 4to edition. 
 
 3 " Diurnal of Occurrents," p. 269.
 
 40 APPROPRIATION OF THE CHURCH PROPERTY. [1559. 
 
 altar vessels were seized for the private family use of the 
 plunderers. 1 
 
 Such were the first scenes enacted in the name of the 
 Reformation in Scotland. One who a few years later was 
 driven from the country by the same storm, has vividly 
 described the use to which the plundered monasteries 
 were now converted. " They made stables in Holyrood 
 House, sheep-houses of St Anthony's and St Leonard's 
 chapels, tolbooths of St Giles, &c, which this day may 
 be seen, to the great grief and sorrow of all good Chris- 
 tians." 2 The example was infectious, and spread fast 
 and far. The abbeys of Paisley, Kilwinning, and Dun- 
 fermline were attacked, and all their "popish stuff" 
 burned. 3 With the monasteries of Scotland were de- 
 stroyed the noble libraries, and the collections of manu- 
 scripts that had been gathered with so much industry, 
 and so long faithfully guarded within these asylums, 
 both of science and of religion. 
 
 All this was done in seven weeks time from the break- 
 ing out of the first riot. Yet these many deeds of 
 violence and plunder perpetrated by the lawless mob, 
 who finally carried away the bullion from the mint, 
 gradually awakened the alarm of the citizens. So that 
 the ranks of the insurgents began to grow thinner whilst 
 the strength of the royalists increased ; and, when at 
 
 1 A few days sufficed to overturn to the very foundations Our 
 Lady's Kirk in the Fields, the Monastery of the Greyfriars, and the 
 other monuments of ancient piety which adorned the capital and its 
 environs. 
 
 2 "True Information," &c, hy Rev. A. Baillie. Wurzburg, 1628. 
 
 3 Sadler's " State Papers," vol. i. p. 468. " All the monasteries 
 are everywhere levelled Avith the ground, the theatrical dresses, the 
 sacrilegious chalices, the idols and the altars are consigned to the 
 names, not a vestige of ancient superstition and idolatry is left." 
 (London, 1st August 1559). Zurich Letters, Parker Society.
 
 1559.] LANDING OF FRENCH TROOPS. 41 
 
 length the troops of the Regent approached the city, 
 "the saints," as Knox pitifully records, " quailed before 
 the congregation of Satan ;" a capitulation was signed, 
 and Edinburgh was again occupied by the Royalists. 
 
 Towards the end of August two thousand French 
 soldiers landed at Leith, and strongly entrenched them- 
 selves. It was in vain that the Lords of the Congregation 
 appeared in the field and demanded the withdrawal of 
 the foreigners. They were ordered to disperse as traitors, 
 were beaten off from the fortifications of Leith, and 
 attacked by the French troops in Fife itself. For their 
 own safety these Lords were obliged to seek the help of 
 Elizabeth. 
 
 Sir James Croft, Governor of Berwick, had already 
 been in confidential correspondence with the leading 
 men of the Scottish Reformation. On the 3d of August 
 Knox was at Berwick and suo-aested that Stirling; Castle 
 should be seized and strongly garrisoned ; that Broughty 
 Castle should, in like manner, be occupied ; that in order 
 to do this, money to pay the troops must be furnished by 
 England, ships of war must be ready to give assistance 
 in case of need, and pensions allowed to some of the 
 reforming barons." 1 Shortly afterwards Sadler and 
 Croftes received a visit from Balnaves. When talking 
 to friends Balnaves had no hesitation in unfolding the 
 real design of the Congregation, and he openly declared 
 that the principal mark they shot at was an alteration of 
 the State and of authority, so that they might enter into 
 open treaty with Elizabeth. They meant to throw off 
 their obedience to their Queen, and bestow it upon the 
 
 1 "K. 0. Scotland," Eliz., vol. i. No. 80. Croft to Cecil, 3d Aug. 
 1559. Sadler's " State Papers I.," p. 456. " Scotland," Eliz., vol. i. 
 No. 97.
 
 42 SECRET AID OF MONEY FROM ELIZABETH. [1559. 
 
 Duke of Chatellerault ; or, if he refused it, upon his son, 
 who would be rather more meet for the purpose. In 
 furtherance of this plan the Eeformers expected they 
 should receive some secret aid of money from England. 
 Sadler and Crofts were delighted no less with the candour 
 of Balnaves than with the designs of the party which he 
 represented. They granted him £2000 forthwith, and 
 gave him to understand that if Queen Elizabeth saw 
 this sum so employed as to advance their cause she 
 would show herself more liberal. It was money, in fact, 
 that the Lords of the Congregation chiefly wanted ; 
 money to pay their mercenaries, and money to support 
 their own state as feudal barons. Elizabeth was parsi- 
 monious and did not like to part with her wealth ; but, 
 overcome by the urgency of the case, she repeatedly sent 
 considerable sums to "the Reformers," 1 and the dis- 
 covery by the Queen Regent of the source whence the 
 money came only tended to make the English Council 
 less heedful of concealment. 2 The Queen Regent de- 
 termined, as Noailles expressed it, "to hammer the iron 
 while it was hot," boldly charged Elizabeth with assist- 
 ing "the disobedient and rebellious Scots," and informed 
 her that in consequence it had become necessary to obtain 
 further aid from France. 
 
 D'Oysel, who commanded the French forces, believed 
 that he could easily hold Leith until the arrival of 
 
 1 In October 1559, £3000, winch Elizabeth had recently sent for 
 their aid, reached Berwick in safety. Of this sum £1000 was by 
 Sadler entrusted to the Laird of Ormeston. He had a further sum 
 of 200 crowns for his own relief. " R. O. Foreign," Elizabeth, No. 
 153, 162, 163, 177, 211, 212, 215. In December Sadler sends to 
 Arran and the Prior of St Andrews £2000 for the furtherance of the 
 common cause. " E. O. Scotland," Eliz., vol. i. 155, iii.. Dec. 6, 1559. 
 
 2 The Queen Dowager of Scotland to Queen Elizabeth, Nov. 13, 
 1559. "R O. Scotland," Elizabeth, vol. i. No. 134.
 
 1559.1 ARRIVAL OF THE ENGLISH FLEET. 43 
 
 succours from France, and so assured was lie of the issue 
 of the struggle in which he was en<mp;ed for his 
 Sovereign, Mary of France and Scotland, that he pro- 
 fessed himself ready to march against the insurgents 
 who had retired to Stirling. 
 
 It was by no means, however, the policy of the Lords 
 to risk the success of their enterprise upon the uncertain 
 issue of a battle, " although proclamation had been made 
 by the drum for listing more men of war, yet partly for 
 lack of money, and partly because men had no will to 
 hazard themselves, the Reformers could make no num- 
 ber." 1 When intelligence reached Stirling that D'Oysel 
 was on his march thither, the Lords hastily abandoned 
 that jDosition, and commissioned Secretary Maitland to 
 jDroceed to London for the purpose of obtaining im- 
 mediate help from the queen. 2 Elizabeth had long been 
 unwilling to give public countenance to rebels who 
 claimed for subjects the right of sitting in judgment 
 upon the title, the opinions, and the actions of their 
 rulers. The peculiar delicacy of her position at this time, 
 arising from her questionable legitimacy, made her 
 specially sensitive of any discussion as to her right to 
 the English throne. On the other hand, the treaty of 
 Cdteau Cambresis, so recently and solemnly executed, 
 was supposed to have secured a long period of tranquillity 
 for Europe. By virtue of that treaty England was at 
 peace with France and Scotland, and no cause for the 
 renewal of hostilities had occurred. Yet, under these 
 circumstances she ordered the Duke of Norfolk to march 
 into Scotland at the head of a powerful army ; whilst a 
 numerous fleet of English ships of war under the com- 
 
 1 Knox to Croftes, Oct. 25, 1559. "P, 0. Foreign Papers," Eliza- 
 beth, No. 138, sec. 2. 
 
 2 " E. 0. Foreign Papers," Elizabeth, No. 320.
 
 44 DELATIONS WITH FRANCE AND SPAIN. [155y. 
 
 mand of Admiral Winter, was cruising in Scotch waters. 
 In doing this Elizabeth had a twofold object in view. 
 Having undertaken to assist some Scottish nobles in 
 their attempt to depose the Queen Regent, she 
 now sought to prevent the arrival of troops sent from 
 France. 
 
 This step had been urged upon her by Cecil as a 
 matter of simple necessity, on the acceptance or rejec- 
 tion of which depended her own personal safety and the 
 independence of the realm of England. Let the French 
 but secure a firm footing in Scotland, it was said, and 
 they will soon find their way across the border. The 
 moment they pass the Tweed they will be joined by the 
 English Catholics, who will rise in a body, and Mary 
 Stuart will be proclaimed Queen of England. It is there- 
 fore wiser and cheaper to anticipate this movement by 
 helping the Scotch Lords to drive every Frenchman out 
 of Scotland. As soon as her preparations were complete 
 Elizabeth threw off the disguise and formally intimated 
 to the Queen Regent that, unless she sent home the 
 French troops which were at that time garrisoned in 
 Scotland, it would become the duty of England to 
 expel them by force. 
 
 France lost no time in invoking the aid of Spain. 
 Philip had watched Elizabeth's proceedings with in- 
 creased jealousy and dislike, for he knew that the grow- 
 ing discontent of his subjects in the Low Countries was 
 encouraged by her direct interference. There existed, 
 however, a conflicting interest by which his wish to 
 interfere was balanced and controlled. Should he prevent 
 England from interposing between France and Scotland 
 he might possibly thereby give the preponderance to a 
 rival even more dangerous than Elizabeth herself. As 
 the Duchess of Parma declared, the ascendency of the
 
 1559.] RELATIONS WITH FRANCE AND SPAIN. 45 
 
 French in England would be a crushing disaster for 
 Spain. 1 The finances of Spain were so crippled that 
 they could not bear the expense of a war,- and before 
 Philip II. had time to come to a decision, his navy 
 sustained a crushing defeat at Gerbes, from which he 
 did not recover for many years. He there lost thirty- 
 eight galleys and twenty-seven large ships, containing 
 5000 or 6000 men. Elizabeth had no need to fear the 
 King of Spain. Her preparations were continued with 
 greater activity, and she declared more firmly and 
 loudly than ever that she would drive the whole of those 
 foreigners out of Scotland. 
 
 It was no fault of Mary of Lorraine if this sudden 
 declaration of the English Court found her unprepared 
 for the conflict thus forced upon her. The troops at her 
 disposal consisted only of a small body of French, 3 but 
 they were highly disciplined and admirably equipped, 
 and thought themselves a match for the entire force 
 which Scotland could bring into the field against them. 
 They had but to entrench themselves within the walls 
 of Leith, and there await the arrival of the reinforce- 
 ments which they daily expected from France. 
 
 The first object of the English Privy Council was, of 
 course, to prevent the arrival of additional troops from 
 France ; and with this design, on the 22nd of January 
 1560, Admiral Winter took up a position in the Firth of 
 Forth which effectually commanded the approach to 
 Leith from the shore. The French garrison viewed with 
 alarm the advent of this powerful fleet, but they soon 
 
 1 Teulet, i. 463, 469. 
 
 2 Correspondence of Cardinal de Granvelle, vi. 27, 40, 41. 
 
 3 According to Maitland of Lethington, the whole number of the 
 French in Scotland immediately after the arrival of the English did 
 not exceed 2200 men. Cecil's calculation was a little higher.
 
 46 DISASTERS TO THE FRENCH FLEET. [1560. 
 
 drew fresh courage from the conviction that, within a 
 few days, they would witness the arrival of their own 
 gallant fleet under the command of the Marquis of 
 Elbeuf. 
 
 In these anticipations they were doomed to disappoint- 
 ment, for the French squadron was signally unfortunate 
 at a juncture when delay was ruin. Early in December 
 four men-of-war, laden with stores and provisions for 
 Scotland, were driven upon the sandbanks by which 
 Zealand is surrounded, and at least 1000 soldiers were 
 drowned. Still it was not too late, the loss might yet 
 be supplied ; accordingly, another fleet was manned and 
 despatched from France ; again a storm caught the 
 second squadron, which had sailed about a month after 
 the former one, and six or seven vessels, carrying about 
 2000 men, perished upon the Danish coast. Thus 
 deprived of ships, troops, and stores, the French Court 
 was compelled for a time to abandon the hope of re- 
 inforcing their scanty army in Scotland ; and D'Oysel 
 was given to understand that he must hold out for the 
 next six months as best he could. 1 He had now no 
 alternative but to shut himself up in Leith, aud there 
 await the attack which he knew to be impending on the 
 arrival of the troops under the Duke of Norfolk. 
 
 In the early days of April the English army, consist- 
 ing of 6000 foot and 1250 light horsemen, encamped 
 on the fields to the south and south-east of Leith, and 
 opened fire on the town. Here, however, the Regent's 
 army made an easy stand against the Protestant attacks. 
 The crippled state of France now induced Elizabeth to 
 send a reinforcement of 8000 men, as she retained 
 little fear of French interference. The Reformation was 
 
 1 Calendar of State Papers, Foreign Series, 1560-1561, Preface, 
 p. xx.
 
 1560.] THE TREATY OF EDINBURGH. 47 
 
 fighting in her interests on both sides of the channel. 
 The English ambassador, Throckmorton, had orders to 
 press the Huguenots to take up arms ; Southern and 
 Western France was on the verge of revolt ; the House 
 of Bourbon had adopted the Reformed faith, and put itself 
 at the head of the Protestant movement. 1 In the face 
 of such dangers as these, the Guises could send to Leith 
 neither money nor men. Elizabeth therefore remained 
 immovable, while famine did its work on the town. 
 At the critical point of the siege, the death of Mary of 
 Guise threw the direct rule into the hands of Francis 
 the Second and Mary Stuart, and the extreme exhaustion 
 to which the garrison was reduced, forced the two 
 sovereigns to purchase its liberation by a pacification, 
 known as the treaty of Edinburgh. 2 
 
 By this treaty the French army was to be withdrawn 
 from Scotland, the government during the young queen's 
 absence was committed to the hands of a Council of the 
 Lords, and the obnoxious coat-of-arms was no longer to 
 be used. A special article of the Convention guaranteed 
 the restoration of the ecclesiastical lands and revenues 
 which the Protestants had everywhere seized, and it was 
 stipulated that in the month of August next a parliament 
 should be held, duly authorized by a commission sent 
 by the king and queen. It was scarcely to be expected 
 that Queen Mary should have ratified this treaty ; but 
 the death of the Queen-Regent had left the state without 
 
 1 From the struggle for ascendency which sprang up hetween the 
 Houses of Guise and Bourbon during the successive minorities of 
 Francis the Second and Charles the Ninth — a struggle which was 
 fed and fanned by the English ambassador in France — ultimately 
 arose the so-called wars of religion, by which that kingdom was 
 devastated during the remainder of the century. 
 
 2 July 6, 1560.
 
 48 CLAIM OF THE LESSER BARONS. [1560. 
 
 a head, and the departure of the French troops had 
 awakened the distrust and timidity of the royalists. The 
 whole power of administration was thus virtually con- 
 signed to the Protestant Lords, and the treaty was acted 
 upon as if it were good in every respect. 
 
 The article which permitted the Scotch to hold a Par- 
 liament, gave them the opportunity of effecting a refor- 
 mation in the Church, if it were found that a majority of 
 the representatives of the nation desired it. The estates 
 assembled on the 1st of August, without any royal com- 
 mission ; the Parliament House was unusually full, and 
 a scrutiny of the faces showed there were many who had 
 never sat in Parliament before. 1 In ancient times the 
 lesser barons had the privilege to sit in Parliament, but 
 their number was afterwards restricted to one or two 
 elected in a county, and none of them could have a seat 
 but by a special writ. 2 Now, upwards of a hundred of 
 these appeared and claimed their seats, — " a plain indica- 
 tion," says Bishop Keith, " that the faction have made it 
 their business to convene their friends and adherents 
 from all parts of the Kingdom, in order to terrify their 
 Sovereign with the sight of such a splendid appearance, 
 and thereby to force out of her hands a ratification of 
 all the Acts voted by them in that numerous Assembly ; 
 and though it mio-ht be true that that great convention 
 of gentlemen was ivithout all armour, yet their arms and 
 armour might be near enough, though not by their sides 
 and on their bodies ; and they, together with their devjen- 
 dents, could trample upon the rights of the queen at their 
 own will and pleasure." 3 After some ineffectual opposi- 
 
 1 Keith gives the parliamentary roll. The Reformers far out- 
 numbered all the others. (Book i., chap. xii. p. 311.) 
 
 2 Ibid, i. p. 316. 
 
 3 Keith, book i., chap. xii. p. 317.
 
 1560.] CATHOLICS EJECTED FROM PARLIAMENT. 49 
 
 tion, the claim of the lesser barons was allowed, and an 
 overwhelming majority was thus secured in favour of the 
 Reformation. On the other hand, all that refused to 
 subscribe to the new creed were ejected from Parliament, 
 and while the ministers from the pulpit urged the nobility 
 to slay every Catholic priest and prelate 1 who stood out 
 against a change of religion, it was suggested to call for 
 those who, in conformity with the treaty of Edinburgh, 
 claimed restitution of their possessions. As had been 
 foreseen, when summoned, they were found to be absent. 
 Forming a considerable part of the ejected members, they 
 were unable to appear ; and, although it was well known 
 that " they had made their claim, and solicited an answer 
 during thirty-three days," 2 they were declared to have 
 forfeited their rights. 3 The Protestants retained what 
 they had seized, and were enabled by their newly 
 acquired influence, and by English aid, 4 to prove more 
 
 1 " All thir new precheris perswadis opinly the Nobilitie, in the 
 pulpit, to putt violent handis, and slay all Kirkrnen that will not 
 concurr and tak thir opinion ; and openly reprochis my Lord Duk 
 that he will nocht begin first, (cf. Leslie) and oder to cause me do as 
 thai do, or els to use the rigour on me be slauchter, sword, or at the 
 leist, perpetuall prison : And with tyme, gif thai be thollit, na man 
 may haif lyf hot without thai grant thair Artickilis ; cpuhilk I will 
 nocht. Thairfor provide remeid. 
 
 All the poor priests that will not recant are banished the town of 
 Glasgow." Letter from John Hamilton, Archbishop of St Andrews, 
 to the Archbishop of Glasgow. (Keith, vol. iii. p. 6.) 
 
 2 Letter of Thomas Archibald to the Archbishop of Glasgow, at 
 Paris, 28th August 1560, quoted by Keith, iii. p. 8. 
 
 3 Keith, i. p. 325. 
 
 4 " So completely were the English interests predominant in the 
 assembly of the Estates, that Lethington and Moray in all important 
 measures received the advice of Elizabeth and her ministers ; and so 
 far was this carried that Cecil drew up and transmitted to them the 
 scroll of the Act which was to be passed in their assembly/' (Tytler, 
 vol. vi. p. 192.) 
 
 D
 
 50 HOW THE KIRK WAS ESTABLISHED BY LAW. [1560. 
 
 than a match for the adherents of the crown and of the 
 ancient faith. 
 
 In the same Parliament an Act was passed to abolish 
 the papal jurisdiction in Scotland, and to inflict punish- 
 ment on any who should presume to submit themselves 
 to it. The administration of baptism after the Catholic 
 rite, and the celebration of mass in public or private, 
 were prohibited under the penalty, both to the minister 
 who should officiate, and to the persons who should be 
 present, of forfeiture for the first offence, of banishment 
 for the second, and of death for the third. 
 
 A confession of faith, framed by Knox and his associates 
 after the Genevan model, was approved, and every statute 
 which had ever been enacted in favour of the Catholic 
 Church was at once repealed. 1 
 
 According to Spottiswood, the Earls of Athole, Cassillis, 
 Caithness, 2 and the Lords Somerville and Borthwick 
 alone dissented, saying, " they would believe as then- 
 fathers before them had believed. The Popish prelates 
 were silent." 3 But how many of them were present ? 
 Had they not been previously ejected ? And, if any were 
 present, is it not a question, as Keith remarks, 4 whether 
 they were allowed to speak ? The Duke of Chatellerault 
 threatened with death his brother, the Archbishop of St 
 Andrews, " if he attempted to speak a word at this time," 
 and no doubt the same intimation was made to other 
 prelates. 5 A protestation was however issued by Arch- 
 
 1 Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland, 1814, folio, vol. ii. p. 535, 
 24th August 1560. 
 
 2 Randolph to Cecil, 19th August 1560, R. 0. Scotland, Elizabeth, 
 vol. v. JSo. 11. 
 
 3 Spottiswood, p. 327. Keith, p. 321, 322. 
 
 4 Keith, i. p. 322. 
 
 5 From the example of what had happened to his immediate pre- 
 decessor in the See of St Andrews, Cardinal Beaton, Archbishop
 
 1560.] CLAIMS OF KNOX AND BIS COLLEAGUES. 51 
 
 bishop Hamilton, " in the name of the whole elergy and 
 kirkmen of Scotland." 1 
 
 The Lords of the Congi'Cffation had at last carried the 
 point. The hierarchy was overthrown and stripped of 
 its wealth. They had slain the enemy and thought they 
 were to divide the spoil." This, however, did not suit 
 the views of the Reforming; ministers, who held that it 
 was right, indeed, for the lords to plunder the Church ; 
 as for themselves, they took for granted that they were 
 simply to remove the old Catholic incumbents, and then 
 take possession of their benefices. With this intent, 
 Knox and his colleagues presented a petition to Parlia- 
 ment, calling on the nobles to restore the Church 
 property, of which they had unjustly possessed them- 
 selves ; 3 but to this request those powerful chiefs did not 
 even vouchsafe a reply. 4 Hence, as we shall presently 
 see, the Presbyterian clergy, smarting under the injustice 
 with which they were treated, displayed that hatred of 
 the upper classes, and that peculiar detestation of 
 monarchical government, upon which they acted when- 
 ever they dared. 5 
 
 Hamilton had too much reason to dread personal violence from the 
 Reformers, and his own final fate amply corroborated the fears he may 
 have entertained. He also ran a very narrow risk of his life about 
 this time, at the destruction of the Abbey of Paisley, of which he was 
 Abbot. 
 
 1 Keith, vol. iii. p. 372. 
 
 - " In all this time all Kirkmennis good is and geir were spoulzeit 
 and reft fra thame, in everie place quhair the samyne culd be appre- 
 hendit." (Diurnal of Occurrents, p. 269.) 
 
 3 M'Crie, Life of Knox, p. 179. Cf. Knox's " History of the Re- 
 formation," Edinburgh, 1848, vol. ii. pp. 89-92. 
 
 4 Spottiswood's " History of the Church of Scotland," vol. i. p. 
 327. Keith's " Affairs of Church and State," vol. i. p. 321. 
 
 5 Buckle, " History of Civilisation in England," vol. ii. p. 235, 
 236. In December 1561, the nobles declared that one third of the
 
 52 DEATH OF FRANCIS II. [1560. 
 
 The Convention of States, improperly called a Par- 
 liament, after abolishing the ancient religion and estab- 
 lishing a new form of worship in its stead, separated on 
 the 27th of August 1560. Sir James Sandilands, a 
 Knight of Malta, proceeded to the French Court with 
 an account of its proceedings, but Francis and Mary 
 refused to sanction the Acts which it had passed, 
 as it had assembled without any lawful authority. 
 The two sovereigns were deterred by the troubles in 
 France from demanding immediate redress ; and, in 
 less than a month, all chance of taking action against 
 the Lords of the Congregation was cut off by the young 
 king's death on the 6th of December. 
 
 This event was hailed with exultation by the 
 leaders of the Congregation. The government of Scot- 
 land was now entirely in the hands of the Protestant 
 nobility, and the course of the Keformation proceeded 
 without interruption. Nearly two years had elapsed since 
 war had been declared against the monastic houses in the 
 midland counties of Scotland; but throughout the other 
 districts of the country, north, south, and west, numbers 
 of religious houses still remained. An Act was now 
 passed for their total destruction, and it was obeyed to 
 the letter. " The work of destruction was superintended 
 
 Church revenues should be divided into two parts ; one part for the 
 Government, and another part for the preachers. The remaining two 
 thirds were assigned to the Catholic priesthood, who, at that very- 
 moment, were liable, by Act of Parliament, to the penalty of death, if 
 they performed the rites of their religion. ' Men, whose lives were in 
 the hands of the Government, were not likely to quarrel with the 
 Government about money matters, and the result was, that nearly 
 everything fell into the possession of the nobles.' " 
 
 Even the small stipends, which were allotted to the ministers, were 
 not regularly paid, but were mostly employed for other purposes. 
 (Acts of the General Assemblies, 1839, 4to, vol. i. p. 53.)
 
 1561.] DEVASTATION OF THE CHURCHES. 53 
 
 in the north by the Lord James, Prior of St Andrews ; 
 in the west by the Earls of Arran, Argyll, and Glen- 
 cairn ; and in other parts by some barons that were 
 held most zealous." ! 
 
 "Thereupon," says Spottiswood, "ensued a pitiful 
 devastation of churches and church buildings throughout 
 all parts of the kingdom, for every one made bold to put 
 their hands, the meaner sort imitating the example of 
 the greater. No difference was made, but all churches 
 either defaced or pulled to the ground. 2 The holy 
 
 1 " The Lordis of Secreit Counsall maid ane act, that all places and 
 monuments of ydolatrie suld be destroyit. And for that purpose wes 
 directed to the West, the Erie of Arrane, having joyned with him the 
 Erlis of Argyle and Glencarne, togidder with the Protestants of the 
 West; quha burnt Paislay, the Bishope [of Sanctandrois, cpiha was 
 Abbot thareof] narrowlie eschapit, kest doun Failfurd, Kylwynning, 
 and a part of Corsraguell. The Lord James wes appointed to the 
 North. . . ." (Knox, vol. ii. p. 167, D. Laing's edition.) 
 
 2 " In the year 1560, the reformers of our religion, in the vehemence 
 of their zeal, after having accomplished the destruction of some of the 
 monasteries of Aberdeen, proceeded in a body to the old town ; and, 
 being disappointed of the spoil of the jewels and sacred ornaments 
 belonging to the Cathedral, the greatest part of which had been pre- 
 viously secured by the Earl of Huntly and the Canons, they wreaked 
 the fury of their vengeance upon this venerable edifice by stripping 
 it of its roof, and carrying off the lead as their booty, along with the 
 three valuable bells which had been presented to it by Bishop 
 Elphinston. At the same time they demolished the choir and chancel 
 on the east end, which was furnished with stalls for the accommoda- 
 tion of the priests in the celebration of mass. The further progress 
 of the work of destruction was fortunately prevented by the timely 
 interference of Huntly, who through his exertions saved the building 
 from being completely destroyed. The lead of the church, along with 
 the three bells was, however, carried off by these sacrilegious people, 
 and shipped at Aberdeen for the purpose of being sold in Holland ; 
 but their avaricious views were disappointed, for the vessel, with the 
 whole plunder, had scarcely left the harbour, when she sank, within 
 half a mile of it, near the Girdleness." (Kennedy, " Annals," vol. ii. 
 p. 342.)
 
 54 QUEEN MARY INVITED TO RETURN TO SCOTLAND. [1561. 
 
 vessels, and whatsoever else men could make gain of, 
 as timber, lead, and bells, were put to sale ; the very 
 sepulchres of the dead were not spared," and, among 
 others, those of all our kings and queens since King 
 Malcolm III., at Dunfermline, and elsewhere, as at 
 Scone, Arbroath, Melrose, the Charter House of Perth, 
 etc., insomuch that of all our kings and queens there is 
 not so much as one monument left entire within Scotland. 
 "In a word, all was ruined ; and what had escaped 
 the first tumult did now undergo the common calamity, 
 which was so much the worse, that the violences com- 
 mitted at this time were coloured with the warrant of 
 public authority." 1 
 
 In the midst of these dismal scenes, the leading 
 members of the two jarring parties which divided Scot- 
 land — the adherents of the old faith and the supporters 
 of the Reformation — had each sent a deputy to invite 
 Mary Stuart to return to Scotland. The Catholic party 
 sent for this purpose John Leslie, afterwards the cele- 
 brated bishop of Ross ; the Protestants were represented 
 by Lord James Stuart, the natural brother of the queen. 
 Leslie tells us that he warned the queen not to allow 
 herself to be ensnared by the artifices of her brother, 
 who would probably advise her to bring with her no 
 French forces into Scotland, and would strive to insinu- 
 ate himself so far into her good graces, as to obtain 
 under her the chief management of affairs, and use his 
 power to crush the Catholic Religion, wrest the sceptre 
 out of her hand, and set the crown upon his own head. 
 In the name of the Catholic nobility Leslie entreated 
 Mary either to retain her brother in France, until she 
 
 1 Spottiswood, p. 175. Cf. Innes' Essay on the ancient inhabi- 
 tants of Scotland in " The Historians of Scotland," vol. vii. p. 307, 
 Edinburgh, 1870.
 
 1561.] TREACHERY OF D'OYSEL. 55 
 
 had arrived in Scotland, and had settled her affairs at 
 home, or at least to come supported by a military 
 force from France. The Catholic nobles promised, if she 
 decided on landing at Aberdeen, where every one was 
 of her own religion, they would meet her with twenty 
 thousand men, and enable her to repeal, with a high hand, 
 all the statutes that had been passed by the illegal Parlia- 
 ment, and to re-establish both Church and State on the 
 old footing. 1 But the much-abused French counsellors of 
 her mother, the unfortunate Queen-Regent, and d'Oysel 
 especially, in whom Mary Stuart placed such confidence, 
 although he was untrue to her, 2 convinced her of the 
 impolicy of attempting to put down the reformed party 
 by force, and suggested the expediency of her conciliat- 
 ing those who had hitherto been formidable opposers of 
 her Government by taking them into office. They 
 recommended her to bestow her favour on the Lord 
 James, Prior of St Andrews, and the Earl of Argyll, 
 who had married her illegitimate sister, the Lady Jane, 
 and by all means to secure the services of the Lords of 
 Lethington and Grange. 3 
 
 James Stuart had been brought up with the young 
 Mary, who placed full confidence in the playmate and 
 friend of her happy, childish days. James was received 
 with extreme cordiality as well by his sister as by her 
 uncles. Mary not only treated him with as much favour 
 and distinction as if he had been a legitimate scion of the 
 royal house of Scotland, but consulted him on her most 
 
 1 Leslie, "De Rebus Gestis Scotorum," Roma?, 1675, p. 531. 
 
 2 d'Oysel at this time acted in the interest of Elizabeth. "This,'' 
 says Tytler, " is quite apparent from the secret correspondence of 
 Throckmorton and Cecil in the State Paper Office." 
 
 3 F. James Tyrie's MS. Memorial on the State of Scotland (Blairs 
 College Library). Sir James Melvill's " Memoirs," folio, London, 
 1683, p. 26.
 
 56 THE LORD JAMES. [1561. 
 
 private affairs, and was disposed to grant him a commis- 
 sion to govern her realm till her proposed return in 
 August. Had Mary been aware that the man in whom 
 she was about to confide was already the pensioned spy 
 of Elizabeth, and had recommended Cecil to intercept 
 her on her voyage to Scotland, 1 she would have hesitated 
 before she entrusted herself to the guidance of one so 
 certain to play her false. But of this her open and 
 unsuspicious disposition left her in ignorance ; and one 
 of the most fatal defects in her character was the 
 facility with which she allowed her affections to be 
 engaged, and her confidence to be won by all towards 
 whom she felt drawn. 
 
 If Mary adopted externally her brother's policy of 
 accepting the religious changes in Scotland, she was at 
 heart resolved to remain firmly attached to the Catholic 
 faith. Throckmorton had no doubt been instructed to 
 sound her real sentiments upon this important point. 
 But she stopped him at once by a frank avowal of the 
 truth ; "I will be plain with you, the religion which 
 I profess I take to be the most acceptable to God, 
 and indeed, neither do I know, nor desire to know, 
 any other. I have been brought up in this religion, 
 and who might credit me in anything if I might show 
 myself light in this case." She concluded : " You may 
 perceive that I am none of those that will change my 
 religion every year ; and as I told you in the beginning, 
 I mean to constrain none of my subjects, but would wish 
 they were all as I am ; and I trust they shall have no 
 support to constrain me." 2 
 
 1 Tytler ed. 1842, vol. vi. p. 222-5 ; Hardwicke, "State Papers," i. 
 157 ; Keith, vol., ii. p. 57,58, edit. 1850; Chalmers's " History of 
 Mary Queen of Scots," i. p. 63. 
 
 2 Throckmorton to Elizabeth, 23d June. Keith ed. 1850, vol. ii. 
 p. 33.
 
 1561.] QUEEN MARY'S HESITATION. 57 
 
 Mary was only nineteen. She had neither troops nor 
 money, nor any other means of making head against her 
 rebellious subjects. The Princes of Lorraine, apprehen- 
 sive that she might possibly be driven out of her own 
 realm, at last came to the following arrangement. The 
 Earls of Huntly and Arran were the two most powerful 
 nobles of the kingdom, and were mutually united by 
 kindred and friendship ; moreover the realm of Scotland 
 descended to them by hereditary right after the Queen. 
 There was, therefore, grave cause for fear lest these 
 two families should coalesce, and either make the 
 Queen prisoner or expel her from the throne. The 
 wisest plan, in the opinion of the Princes of Lorraine, 
 was for the Queen to follow the advice of the Earl 
 of Moray, who was not only her brother, but also a 
 man of considerable influence among the nobility, and 
 (this being the principal consideration) accounted by 
 them as free from any ambitious aspirations after 
 royal power. 1 It was under the influence of such 
 ill-starred instructions as these that Mary returned 
 to Scotland. 
 
 1 Father Tyrie's Eeport upon the state of Scotland during the 
 reign of Queen Mary, written in a.d. 1594 and sent to Pope Clement 
 VIII. (Blairs College MSS.). The report is entitled : " Quo tempore 
 Scotia Eeligionem Christianam susceperit, a quibus gradibus in here- 
 sim sit delapsa, deque praesente illius statu in iis quae ad Eeligionem 
 spectant, brevissima narratio." It was written in the year 1595 by 
 Father James Tyrie, S.J., who was born at Drumkilbo in 1543, and 
 entered the Society of Jesus at Eome on the 19th of August 1563. 
 He published the first part of the Eeport in 1594, and entitled it : 
 " De Antiquitate Christianas religionis apud Scotos," 4°, Eomae, 1594. 
 A translation of the second part was published for the first time by 
 the Eev. F. J. Stevenson, S.J., in his " Memorials of the Keign of 
 Mary Stuart," Edinburgh, 1883. F. Tyrie died on the 20th of March 
 1597.
 
 
 II. 
 
 RETURN OF MARY STUART TO SCOTLAND— NARRATIVE 
 OF NICOLAS DE GOUDA'S EMBASSY TO SCOTLAND. 
 
 Kobertson pictures Scotland as being " in a state of pure 
 anarchy when the government 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 
 without a friend." The Catholic nobles, the Catholic 
 clergy, — her best friends, excluded from all State employ- 
 ment, expelled from their houses, and spoiled of all their 
 property, were now outlaws and exiles. 1 
 
 The insubordination of the Scotch aristocracy was of 
 itself sufficient to render any royal rule a task of great 
 difficulty. Unfortunately for the young Queen, two 
 other causes combined with it to make this Government 
 impossible. They were, first, the jealous enmity of Queen 
 Elizabeth, who, with men, money, spies, and plots, never 
 ceased to weary and trouble her; and, secondly, the most 
 potent and dangerous religious hatred of many of her 
 subjects. " The preachers of the Word of God," wrote 
 Kandolph to Cecil, " will make the place too hot for the 
 woman when she comes." 
 
 AVith a heavy heart Mary bade farewell to the reced- 
 ing shores of France, and on the 20th of August landed 
 at Leith. Her reception seemed to chide her forebodings. 
 
 1 Leslie, lib. x. p. 527.
 
 1561.] QUEEN MARY AND THE REFORMERS. 59 
 
 She had lauded a fortnight before she was expected, 
 yet the whole population poured out to meet her. 
 Hearty greetings, enthusiastic cheers from all classes,— 
 noble, burgher, and peasant, — at once dispelled her fears ; 
 she thought she had wronged her native land, and she 
 entered the palace of her fathers with bright anticipations. 
 
 That very night she was serenaded by the psalm-sing- 
 ing of a mob of Reformers. "There came under her win- 
 dows," says an eye-witness, " six hundred ragamuffins, 
 who gave her a concert of the vilest fiddles and little 
 rebecs, which are as bad as they can be in that country, 
 and accompanied them with singing psalms, but so 
 wretchedly out of tune and concord that nothing could be 
 worse. Ah, what melody it was, what a lullaby for the 
 night." x These solemn serenaders were the minstrels 
 and musicians of the congregation. To close her eyes 
 during the first three nights of her abode in her own 
 palace, was impossible in consequence of the diligent zeal 
 with which the unwearied psalmodists continued their 
 nocturnal chorus. A few days after, one of her chaplains 
 narrowly escaped being immolated as "a priest of Baal." 
 
 Nothing further was settled about religion than that 
 it should be permitted to remain as it stood at the date 
 of her return home until the meeting of Parliament, at 
 which period the Queen and the Princes of Lorraine 
 imagined that the Catholic faith would be restored to its 
 former condition. The leading Reformers, however, con- 
 trived to prevent any such meeting from being held, 2 
 and construed the concession made to be an establish- 
 ment of their doctrines and worship, and an abolition of 
 the religion of the State. 
 
 " The Queen having protested that of the two she 
 
 1 Brantome in Jebb's Collection, vol. ii., p. 485. 
 
 2 Father Tyrie's " Eeport."
 
 60 RELIGIOUS DISTURBANCES. [1561. 
 
 would rather lose her crown than the exercise of her re- 
 ligion, an exception was made in her favour. She was 
 allowed to have solemn High Mass daily in her chapel, 
 and might then cause Divine service to be celebrated 
 according to the form of the Catholic Church, with per- 
 mission that such of her subjects might assist thereat as 
 had not made a profession of faith to the contrary. Leave 
 was also granted for the Canons of the Chapel Koyal of 
 Stirling to celebrate Mass in the Queen's absence." 1 
 
 Notwithstanding this agreement passed in Council, the 
 celebration of Mass in the Chapel Koyal on the follow- 
 ing Sunday, 24th of August 1561, occasioned a tumult 
 which was with difficulty appeased. The more intolerant 
 of the Reformers had resolved to resist by force every at- 
 tempt to raise ivp the "Idol," as they termed the Mass, once 
 more in the land. When the Divine service was about 
 to begin, Patrick, Lord Lindsay, clad in full armour, and 
 followed by a party of zealots, rushed into the Chapel 
 brandishing his sword, and shouting aloud, " The idola- 
 ter priest shall die the death." The Lord James, how- 
 ever, opposed the violence, and placing himself at the 
 door of the chapel, overawed the multitude, and preserved 
 the lives of the chaplains who officiated, " and then," says 
 Knox, " the godly departed with grief of heart." 2 
 
 In spite of Mary's efforts to conciliate the Eeformers 
 these seemed to take every possible opportunity of 
 insulting her religion. On the 2d of September she 
 was entertained at a banquet in Edinburgh Castle, and 
 after the repast it was intended to have burnt a priest 
 in effigy, but the interference of the Earl of Huntly 
 
 1 Father Tyrie's " Report." 
 
 2 Knox, "History of the Reformation," book iv., p. 270, David 
 Laing's edition. Cf. Randolph to Cecil, 24th September 1561 ; 
 " Keith," vol. ii., p. 85.
 
 1561.] ATTACK ON HER CHAPEL AT STIRLING. 61 
 
 prevented this fresh outrage. 1 A few days after Mary 
 proceeded to Stirling Castle. On the Sunday morning 
 during the Mass which she had ordered to be said in 
 her private chapel, " the Earl of Argyll and the Lord 
 James so disturbed the choir that some, both priests and 
 clerks, left their places with broken heads and bloody 
 ears." " It was," observes Randolph, " sport alone for 
 some that were there to behold it. Others there were," 
 continues he, in allusion to the young Queen and her 
 ladies, " that shed a tear or two and made no more of 
 the matter." 2 A similar outrage was repeated a few 
 weeks after. On All-hallow day during Mass one of 
 Mary's priests was set upon by a servant of the Lord 
 Robert. 3 Scarcely had the Queen returned to her 
 metropolis when Knox and some of the preachers 
 threatened the nation with the vengeance of Heaven if 
 idolatry was suffered to remain. We learn further from 
 Randolph that the question began to be mooted whether 
 the princess, being an idolater, was to be obeyed even in 
 civil matters. Mary, however, gradually succeeded in 
 softening the asperity which many had felt towards her 
 because of her religion. Her beauty, her grace, her 
 affable and winning manners, charmed all who were 
 admitted into her presence. There was in her some 
 enchantment by which men were bewitched. 4 Within 
 two months after her arrival she felt herself strong- 
 enough to take a step in defence of Catholics. On two 
 occasions the magistrates of Edinburgh had published a 
 proclamation requiring all priests, monks, friars, and 
 
 1 "Randolph to Cecil, 7th September 1561" (given in "Keith," 
 vol. ii., p. 82). 
 
 2 " Keith," vol. ii. p. 86 ; " Randolph to Cecil, 24th September 
 1561." 
 
 3 Nov. 4, Wright's " Eliz.," i. 85. 
 
 4 Knox's " History," book iv., p. 276.
 
 62 A MESSAGE FROM THE POPE. [1562. 
 
 nuns to leave the city within eighteen hours, under pain 
 of being carted through the town and burned upon the 
 cheek. The Queen instantly issued a counter-proclama- 
 tion, commanding the Town Council to meet and deprive 
 the provost and bailies of their offices. The Council 
 obeyed, and elected others in their stead. 1 Convinced, 
 however, that from France, distracted as it was by civil 
 and religious dissension, she could derive no support, 
 Mary steadily carried out the advice of her uncles to 
 subdue by conciliation the hostility of her opponents. 
 She appointed a council of twelve, of whom seven 
 were reformers, 2 and she continued to follow the advice 
 of her brother, the Lord James, on all important 
 subjects." 
 
 Mary, having settled her Cabinet and Council, and 
 made the necessary diplomatic appointments, was de- 
 sirous of showing herself to her people, and acquainting 
 herself with the condition of her realm, by undertaking 
 a progress through the central counties. She was mak- 
 ing preparations for her departure when she learnt that 
 a Jesuit had arrived in Scotland with a secret message 
 from the Pope. 4 So violent at this time was the repug- 
 nance of the reformers to any intercourse with Borne 
 that Mary did not dare to receive him openly ; but, 
 whilst the Protestant nobles were at the sermon, he was 
 
 1 Keith's " History," book ii., chap. ii. 
 
 2 " Spottiswood," p. 179. 
 
 :i " R. 0. Scot. Eliz.," vol. vi., No. 84 ; " Lord James to Cecil, 8th 
 Xov. 1561." By a special Act, which Mary ordered to be inserted in 
 the Book of Privy Council, it was declared : " Whatever the Lord 
 James, by the advice of the most part of the Lords of the Privy 
 Council, happens to do, . . . the same shall be held as lawfully done, 
 as if special commission were given to him, upon ever}' point and 
 particle thereof, in the most ample form under the great seal (" Keith," 
 ii., p. 107). 
 
 * Letter of Randolph to Cecil, 7th Dec. 1561 ("Keith," ii., p. 114).
 
 1562. 1 LETTER OF THE POPE'S LEGATE. 63 
 
 conveyed by stealth into the Queen's closet. The Pope's 
 legate was Nicolas de Gouda, who in the following 
 letter has left us a most interesting account of his 
 interview with Mary : 
 
 Nicolas de Gouda, of the Society of Jesus, to James 
 Laynez, General of the Society of Jesus. 
 
 " Very Reverend Father m Christ, — Pax Christi. 
 — Being in Holland at Easter, I received on Tuesday in 
 Holy Week a letter from the Reverend Father Everard, 
 the Provincial, calling me to Lorraine. I went, and he 
 showed me a letter from the Rev. Father Salmeron, 
 Vicar-General, along with an apostolic brief and a letter 
 from the most Reverend Cardinal Armelius, directing me 
 to proceed to Scotland to deliver the apostolic brief to 
 the queen, the bishops, and some of the ministers of 
 state. 
 
 " I did not set off at once, but waited till June, for 
 reasons already explained in my letters, and in those of 
 the Rev. Father Provincial, addressed to the Cardinal and 
 to the Vicar-General, which I need not here repeat. I 
 will only relate the particulars of my mission, and what 
 occurred on my arrival, and introduction to the persons 
 to whom I was accredited ; with a few words about their 
 situation and that of the kingdom generally. 
 
 " Your Reverence will easily gather why I did not 
 write to report my proceedings sooner to the Cardinal 
 and to your Reverence. 
 
 " By the singular favour of God, who sweetly disposes 
 all things, I was just starting from Lorraine when I per- 
 ceived a wonderful increase in my strength, beyond any 
 expectation of myself or others. This was not all, for a
 
 64 LETTER OF THE POPE'S LEGATE. [1562. 
 
 Scottish priest, named Edmund Hay, 1 a Bachelor of 
 Theology, came and offered to go to Scotland with me. 
 He not only did this, but with extraordinary charity 
 remained with me all the time I was there, and but for 
 his aid I hardly think I could have accomplished what 
 I came for. Guided by this good man, as by an angel 
 Raphael, I reached Antwerp on the 10th of June, where 
 through God's goodness and providence I found a Scot- 
 tish vessel on the point of sailing, so that the Scottish 
 heretics on shore and on board, whose suspicions were 
 somewhat aroused, had no time to ask questions or try 
 to stop us. They would certainly have done so, had 
 they but known on what errand we were going. We 
 went on board, Christ accompanying us, and sailed out 
 to sea that day, June 10th, with a favourable wind. 
 Next day a great storm rose, and we were in imminent 
 danger of being sunk, but the Lord Jesus delivered us 
 through His goodness, the prayers of your Reverence, 
 and those of the Society. We reached Scotland safely 
 in nine days. Before we left the ship the heretical Scots, 
 who were many in number, and who now very strongly 
 suspected us, began to question Mr Edmund Hay about 
 me ; who I was, and why I had come ? He answered 
 rather stiffly that he had nothing to do with me, and 
 that I was old enough to speak for myself, and so I 
 passed undiscovered. 
 
 " Reaching the harbour, Mr Hay took me privately 
 
 1 Edmund Hay, belonging to the family of the Earl of Errol, entered 
 the Society in 1562. His zeal and courage in serving the cause of Mary 
 Queen of Scots merited for him the honourable commendation of St 
 Pius V. He reconciled Francis, Earl of Errol, to the Catholic Church; 
 was appointed Rector of the College of Clermont, first Rector of the 
 new Scotch College at Pont-a-Mousson, and Assistant both for Ger- 
 many and France to Father General Aquaviva. He died at Rome, 
 November 4, 1594.
 
 1562.] LETTEB OF THE POPES LEGATE. 65 
 
 to the house of a relative of his own. Here, almost 
 immediately, and very opportunely, the Lord Jesus sent 
 us a servant of the Queen, Mr Stephen, 1 a Scotchman, 
 who told her Majesty of our arrival, and enquired where 
 I could see her, and in what dress, whether as a cleric 
 or an ordinary traveller. I had to wait a whole month 
 for a definite answer, the Queen being engaged in various 
 matters of business. The delay, however, was provi- 
 dential for me, as I had time to recover from severe pain 
 in my feet of some days' standing, and an injury to one 
 of my legs received on board ship. I wrote to the Queen 
 often, and sent word by Mr Hay, asking for an audience. 
 On seeing him she arranged to receive me, but could not 
 allow the Pontiff's letter to be read, or any message 
 delivered publicly and before the officers of State, who 
 are all heretics and deadly enemies of the Apostolic See. 
 " I had therefore to be received privately, and the 
 queen desired Mr Hay and Mr Stephen [Wilson] to 
 bring me secretly to Edinburgh, her capital, which she 
 expected to reach in a few days. The arrival of a 
 Nuncio from the Supreme Pontiff had meanwhile been 
 rumoured all over the kingdom, throwing the heretics 
 and their adherents into the wildest confusion and alarm. 
 Their leader and most famous preacher in Edinburgh, 
 John Knox, a Scot by birth, raged against the Pope as 
 antichrist, and stigmatized me as a Nuncio of Baal and 
 Beelzebub, and an agent of the devil, in all his harangues, 
 urging the nobility and people, who used to crowd to 
 his sermons, that they should take up violent measures, 
 not against me only, but against the Queen as well, for 
 admitting into her realm, and receiving messages from 
 men who were bent on corrupting the pure Gospel, now 
 at length made known to his hearers. We were conse- 
 
 1 Stephen Wilson. 
 E
 
 66 LETTER OF THE POPE'S LEGATE. [1562. 
 
 quently often threatened with stripes or death, and could 
 not venture out. On this account Mr Hay took us to 
 his parents' house, who welcomed us most kindly, and 
 kept us concealed for two months. When at last we 
 were summoned to the Queen, they sent three horsemen 
 to attend us to Edinburgh, lest we should be attacked 
 on the road, as there was some reason to fear. But we 
 arrived in safety, and dismissing our guards, proceeded 
 under the guidance of Mr Stephen, not without danger, 
 across the fields and alone; the town walls, to the resi- 
 dence of the royal almoner. He had refused to see us 
 before, for fear of the heretics, but he now admitted us 
 out of respect for the Queen and the Supreme Pontiff, and 
 announced our arrival to her Majesty. She sent us word 
 to present ourselves at the palace next day, July 24, the 
 Vigil of St James. We were ushered along with the 
 almoner into a private room, at an hour when the cour- 
 tiers were attending the great preacher's sermon, and could 
 not therefore know of our interview. I was admitted first, 
 by myself, and having respectfully saluted the Queen in 
 the name of the Pope, briefly stated the object of my mis- 
 sion, and delivered his Holiness's letter. She said she 
 understood my Latin, but could not well reply in that 
 language. I asked if I might call in my colleague, Mr John 
 Rinaldus, who was a Frenchman, and Mr Hay, a Scot, 
 who were outside, and who would interpret faithfully. 
 She agreed, and they came in, when the Queen turned 
 at once to Mr Hay, as a subject of her own, whom she 
 had not met before, and spoke in the Scottish language. 
 She began by excusing herself for receiving the Pope's 
 Nuncio with so little ceremony, which she said was owing 
 to the disturbed state of the kingdom. Having read the 
 apostolic brief, she hoped the Supreme Pontiff would 
 have regard to her ready will rather than to anything
 
 1562.] LETTER OF THE POPE'S LEGATE. 67 
 
 she had actually done since her return, and much wished 
 that his Holiness could have seen the condition in which 
 she found her kingdom. She herself, and the other 
 adherents of the orthodox religion had been obliged to 
 do many things which they did not like, in order to 
 preserve the last traces of the Catholic faith and worship 
 in the country. The Pope exhorted her in defending 
 the faith to follow the example of Queen Mary of Eng- 
 land, now departed in Christ ; but her position, and 
 that of her kingdom, and of the nobility, was unhappily 
 very different from that of the English Queen. To the 
 request that Scottish prelates should be sent to the 
 Council of Trent, her reply was that she would consult 
 the bishops as to the means of accomplishing this, but 
 greatly feared it would be found impracticable. For 
 herself, she would rather forfeit her life than abandon 
 her faith. Such was the substance of her reply to my 
 message, and to the Pope's brief, and there was no time 
 to add more for fear the courtiers should come back from 
 the sermon. I then asked what I should do with the 
 letters from the Pope addressed to the bishops, and how 
 these could be delivered. Would she send for the 
 bishops and give the letters to them herself, or should I 
 convey them ? She said it was out of the question my 
 delivering them, adding, after a moment, that the attenrpt 
 would cause a great tumult, and the heretics would stop 
 at no violence in order to prevent it. I said my orders 
 were to deliver them, but she again replied that it was im- 
 possible, except perhaps in the case of one bishop. She 
 alluded to the Bishop of Eoss, the president of the Coun- 
 cil, or of the Parliament, who was then in town, and to 
 whom she sent her secretary the same day, requesting 
 him to see me ; but all this may be more conveniently 
 related further on. I then asked her whether she
 
 68 LETTER OF THE POPE'S LEGATE. [1562. 
 
 would like me to speak to her brother, the Earl of 
 Moray (who is a natural sou of the late kiug, aud 
 the first man in Scotland), and to explain the object 
 of my embassy, lest he should suspect me of any 
 designs against himself or any of the great nobles. 
 She said she would inquire whether he would see me, 
 but I heard no more of it, and learnt afterwards that it 
 would never have done for me to have gone near him, 
 since every one is so prejudiced and embittered against 
 the Pontiff. I then asked for a safe conduct, or security 
 of some sort, while I remained in the kingdom, but was 
 assured by her that no one would attack me publicly. 
 Were I in danger of being privately murdered she could 
 not prevent it, and did not suppose she could punish it 
 by a legal sentence, but I should be in greater peril than 
 ever if she gave me a safe conduct, because this would 
 indicate under what character I had come, whereas I 
 was safe in my present concealment. She warned me to 
 keep my room, and never to venture out. In concluding 
 our interview, I remarked that I had been anxious to 
 consult her, had time allowed, on the best means of 
 succouring her people, so miserably led astray by heretics ; 
 but as it did not permit (for it was necessary she should 
 dismiss us before the return of her brother and the 
 other heretics from the church), I would only say that 
 the best thing to do was what had been done by the 
 Emperor and most of the Catholic princes, including her 
 uncle, the most Reverend Cardinal of Lorraine, namely, 
 to establish a college where she could always have pious 
 and learned priests at hand, and where the young men, on 
 whom the hopes of the country depended, could be 
 trained in the Catholic religion. She replied, in one 
 word, that this might come in time, but was imprac- 
 ticable just then, and immediately dismissed us. Later
 
 1562.] LETTER OF THE POPE'S LED ATE. 69 
 
 in the same day she sent her secretary to me to ask what 
 further I wished to treat of with her ; I mentioned two 
 points, which I stated to the secretary, and expressed 
 afterwards more fully in a letter to the Queen. One 
 was, that I had intended, before I came to Scotland, to 
 try and confirm her in the orthodox religion, by examples 
 and testimonies taken from the Scriptures; but I had 
 since heard so much, and on such good authority, of her 
 piety and constancy in the faith, that I thought this 
 superfluous. I only begged her to reflect on the great 
 benefit her perseverance would occasion to the country, 
 to return thanks to God for the grace given her, and to 
 continue as she had begun. For the other matter, I 
 should like to have dwelt upon the benevolent feelings of 
 Pope Pius towards her, his good will and hearty affection 
 both for her and her kingdom, as well as his endeavour 
 to promote its peace, tranquillity, and happiness, as he 
 did that of all Christendom, and as became a true pastor 
 of the Church, who is also the Supreme Vicar of Christ 
 on earth. 
 
 " Once more she sent the secretary to ask for the 
 letters to the bishops, promising to have them duly 
 delivered. I gave them up on condition she should 
 inform the Pope, in her reply, that she had taken charge 
 of these letters, and that I could not possibly have 
 delivered them myself. This she willingly promised, 
 and sent me her letter to the Pontiff ojDen, and when it 
 had been read by Mr Hay and Mr John, my colleague, 
 she signed and closed it. This, Reverend Father, is the 
 history of my dealings with the Queen. I will next 
 relate briefly what occurred in my negociations with 
 the bishops, and with some officers of the State. 
 
 " The Queen, as I have narrated, sent her secretary to
 
 70 LETTER OF THE POPES LEGATE. [1562. 
 
 the Bishop of Boss, 1 requesting him to confer with me, 
 and received for answer that he would speak to the 
 Queen herself on the subject. He went to her directly 
 after dinner, but told her he could not possibly venture 
 upon seeing me. At any time, in any place, in whatever 
 dress, my visiting him would bring about the sacking 
 and plundering of his house within twenty-four hours, and 
 would involve himself and all his household in the peril 
 of their lives. Such was the bishop's message brought me 
 by the Queen's almoner. I endeavoured to open a cor- 
 respondence with him by letter, explained my business, 
 and j)ressed for a reply, or still better, that he should 
 himself write to the Pope. Receiving no answer, I wrote 
 again, and sent my second letter by the hand of a Carthu- 
 sian friar, a good and learned man who was living at Edin T 
 burgh, in the hope of obtaining from the Queen some por- 
 tion of the property of his monastery, which the heretics 
 had plundered and burnt. He gave my letter to the bishop, 
 whose answer was, 'I do not like it at all.' When the 
 prior told him he ought to acknowledge the letter, 
 or else write to the Pope, he owned he did not dare do 
 either. No one would convey such a letter, and it must 
 eventually fall into the hands of the heretics, for the 
 Nuncio would never get away from the country without 
 his letters being opened and read. So he desired the 
 Prior to offer his excuses, alleoino- that the administra- 
 tion of justice or some other occupation took up all his 
 time, and he could not find leisure to write to me. So 
 much for his Lordship. There was another Prelate in 
 Edinburgh at that time, the Bishop of Dunblane, 2 a 
 
 1 " Henry Sinclair, a son of the house of Eoslin, a person of eminent 
 parts." — Keith's "Scottish Bishops," p. 194. He was president of 
 the Court of Session. 
 
 2 William Chisholm, "one of the chief pillars of the Papisticall 
 Kirk."— Knox's " History," edited by D. Laing, vol. ii. p. 88.
 
 15G2.] LETTER OF THE POPE'S LEGATE. 71 
 
 kinsman of whose, named William Chisholm, wished to 
 join our Society at Rome. I had not yet seen this 
 prelate, but about eight days afterwards he left for his 
 Episcopal city, and thinking there could be no danger in 
 his seeing me there, I asked one of his relatives to take 
 me, as it was less than a day's journey. None would 
 have suspected me of being the Pope's Nuncio, for I was 
 disguised as one of the Bishop's servants. He was, 
 however, afraid to see me, for the same reasons as the 
 Bishop of Ross. Considering that it was from these two 
 Bishops, more than anyone else, I had looked for some 
 result of my efforts, T foresaw how far 1 was likely to 
 succeed with the others. I had of course given up all 
 idea of delivering the Apostolic Brief, from what the 
 Queen had told me, and many others since ; but I thought 
 I might have been able to see the Bishops and talk over 
 the objects of my mission ; this, however, I must now 
 abandon as equally hopeless. I then tried writing- 
 letters, and addressed them to the Bishops though not 
 quite to all, seeing that two of them are heretics, and 
 that two sees, Galloway and Brechin, are vacant, Bishops 
 having been only designated to them. Two out of the 
 number replied 1 — the Archbishop of St Andrews, who 
 wrote to me, and the Bishop of Dunkeld, 2 who directed 
 
 1 Fr. de Gouda in a subsequent letter to Fr. General acknowledges 
 that the Bishop of Aberdeen replied a little later. " I send his letter 
 to your Reverence that you may see his good disposition to the faith. 
 Most of the Bishops think as he does, but dare not do anything 
 owing to the tyranny of the heretics, against which even the Queen 
 herself is powerless. He says he will write to the Supreme Pontiff 
 as soon as he receives the Apostolic Brief. I sent him a copy of it 
 by Mr Hay, but left the original in the hands of the Queen, who 
 would not let me attempt to deliver it myself as being too perilous an 
 undertaking. She therefore took charge of it, and promised it should 
 be delivered some day." 
 
 2 Robert Crichton, who succeeded John Hamilton in Dunkeld, 
 and continued Bishop until ousted by the Reformers.
 
 ^ 2 LETTER OF THE POPE'S LEGATE. [1562. 
 
 his answer to the Pope. Both these letters I send 
 enclosed to your Paternity. The Bishop of Dunkeld 
 was the only prelate I was admitted to speak to in Scot- 
 land ; and he insisted that I should pass myself off as a 
 banker's clerk come to receive payment of a debt. He 
 hoped thus to prevent his servants finding out who I was, 
 though, as lie resides in an island somewhere, with no 
 other human habitation near, the danger of discovery 
 did not seem very great. His Lordship entertained me 
 at dinner, but on condition that we talked of nothing 
 except money matters all dinner time. Your Reverence 
 will be at no loss to gather from these particulars, how 
 far the cause of religion is likely to be advanced by 
 negotiation with these good men. So much then for the 
 Bishops. 
 
 "As regards the Queen's Councillors and officers of 
 State, your Reverence is no doubt aware that she has 
 not a single Catholic adviser. Nearly all public business 
 is transacted by heretics, both at court and throughout 
 the kingdom. Many nobles and Earls are Catholics, but 
 the heretics take care to keep them away from Court, and 
 from any share in the administration. I asked to whom I 
 might forward the Apostolic Briefs, and I then sent them 
 to three men of rank by a safe hand, not being allowed 
 to go myself. I enclosed, at the same time, letters which I 
 had written, expressing the kind wishes of the Supreme 
 Pontiff towards them and to the whole realm of Scotland, 
 and I now await the answers which Mr Hay is to bring. 
 
 " The above is a brief narrative of my negotiations 
 with the Queen, the Bishops, and some of the nobility. 
 I will add a few words as to their position at present, 
 and that of the kingdom in general, especially as regards 
 religion. The aspect of things from this point of view is 
 miserable enough. The monasteries are nearly all in 
 ruins, some completely destroyed ; churches, altars,
 
 1562.] LETTER OF THE POPE'S LEGATE. 73 
 
 sanctuaries arc overthrown and profaned, the images of 
 Christ and of the Saints broken and lying in the dust. 
 No religious rite is celebrated in any part of the king- 
 dom, no Mass ever said in public, except in the Queen's 
 chapel, and none of the sacraments are publicly adminis- 
 tered with Catholic ceremonial. Children can be baptized 
 only after the heretical form, and that on Sundays only, 
 so that many infants die unbaptized. The ministers, as 
 they call them, are either apostate monks, or laymen of 
 low rank, and are quite unlearned, being cobblers, shoe- 
 makers, tanners, or the like, while their ministrations 
 consist merely of declamation against the Supreme 
 Pontiff, and the holy sacrifice of the altar, the idolatry of 
 the mass, worship of images, and invocation of Saints. 
 These and other impieties they are continually shouting 
 into the ears of the credulous multitude, who know no 
 better. They are so insane as not only to have de- 
 stroyed the images of the saints, but also burnt the 
 writings of the holy Fathers of the Church, thus repu- 
 diating the authority of General Councils and Apostolic 
 tradition. They reverence nothing but Holy Scripture, 
 and this they interpret in a sense as opposite as possible 
 to the doctrines of the Church. They have super- 
 intendents, who diligently visit the churches, drive out 
 by force the legitimate pastors wherever they find any, 
 and not only confirm the wretched people in their errors, 
 but draw away Catholics, and sometimes even priests, 
 from the true religion. One day, close to the place 
 where I lodged, three priests publicly abjured the 
 Catholic faith ; and another time, while I was there, one 
 of the principal superintendents, a doctor of theology and 
 a monk, then about seventy years of age, was openly 
 married. This was done to enforce practically, as he 
 had often done verbally, their doctrine of the unlawful-
 
 74 LETTER OF THE POPE'S LEGATE. [1562. 
 
 ness of the vow of chastity, which they are perpetually 
 proclaiming from the pulpit They use every possible 
 device to lead the wretched people astray. Whenever 
 any one comes into a court of law, the magistrates 
 always enquire first if they are " Papists " or belong to 
 their congregation. Should they be Papists they can 
 get very little, if any, attention paid to their cause. 
 The men in power acknowledge the Queen's title, but 
 prevent her exercising any of the rights of sovereignty ; 
 whenever her opinion does not agree with theirs, they 
 oppose her at once. Not only so, but they deceive her 
 as well, and frighten her with threats of an English 
 invasion, especially when she is meditating any step in 
 support of her faith, reminding her that the English did 
 really invade Scotland three years ago, at the time when 
 her mother, of pious memory, endeavoured to shake off 
 her heretical tyrants with the aid of the French. What 
 can this good young princess * effect, brought up amid 
 the splendour and luxury of the French court, scarcely 
 twenty years old, and destitute of all human support 
 and counsel ? Her very confessor abandoned her just 
 before I came away, and returned to France with some 
 of her Catholic attendants, leaving her alone among 
 heretics, whom, notwithstanding, she continues to resist 
 and counteract to the best of her power. There is no 
 mistaking the imminent peril of her situation. Mean- 
 while the great men take unfair advantage of her 
 gentleness, do what they like, and take care to keep 
 every one from her presence unless they know the 
 errand on which he comes, so that she is obliged to 
 receive her visitors in secret, as she did us. The bishops 
 see all this, yet make no effort, Catholics though they be 
 for the most part ; but in truth things have now gone so 
 
 1 Pia domina juvenculn.
 
 1562.] LETTER OF THE POPE'S LEGATE. 75 
 
 far that they can do nothing against the heretics, however 
 much they may desire it. The Bishop of Dunkeld is 
 a case in point. He meant last Easter to administer the 
 sacraments with the Catholic rite, and sent for an able 
 Catholic preacher to teach his people. Thereupon he 
 was impeached before the Queen for acting in contra- 
 vention of the orders of the government, and was com- 
 pelled to desist by the Queen's command ; for it seems 
 that when she first came to Scotland the Lords cun- 
 ningly extorted from her a pledge to allow no change in 
 matters of religion until the assembling of Parliament, 
 and that till then all was to remain as before her arrival. 
 The bishops therefore keep quietly at home, and in truth 
 are for the most part destitute of all personal qualifica- 
 tions requisite for taking any lead in such stormy times. 
 The only exception is the coadjutor Bishop of Dunblane, 
 whom I have already mentioned. Though holding but a 
 secondary position during the lifetime of his superior, he 
 has already made his influence felt, both in public and 
 in private, having succeeded in confirming a great many 
 people in the faith, and being justly held in high esteem 
 and regard by all good men. There are some Catholic 
 preachers of note, but they are few in number, and 
 seldom venture to attack controverted points, being in- 
 deed unequal to the task of handling them with effect. 
 Only a few Religious are left, and most of these have 
 no fixed residence, but go about from place to place, 
 or wear the secular habit and live among their friends. 
 The Priests, of whom but few remain, are not dis- 
 tinguishable from laymen in dress or appearance. The 
 nobles and wealthy Catholics hear mass occasionally 
 with the greatest secrecy, and in their own houses. 
 Indeed any public profession of the orthodox religion 
 would expose them and their whole families to immediate
 
 76 LETTER OF THE POPE'S LEGATE. [1562. 
 
 danger. A large number of the common people are 
 still Catholics, but they are so trampled in the dust 
 by the tyranny of their opponents, that they can only 
 sigh and groan, waiting for the deliverance of Israel. 
 Yet they continue to hope for freedom, encouraged by 
 their Sovereign's firmness in the Catholic faith, and zeal 
 for religion. Those of the common people who have 
 been led astray by the heretics are beginning to see how 
 miserably they have been cajoled, and to feel the hollow- 
 ness of the promises of liberty held out to them. It 
 would be an easy matter to bring them all back to the 
 Catholic faith. I will explain shortly how I think this 
 might be done, but must first indicate in brief to what 
 the best and most sensible of the Catholics attribute all 
 these misfortunes. They consider them as owing to the 
 suspension of the ordinary mode of election to abbacies 
 and other high dignities. These preferments are con- 
 ferred upon children, or other incapable persons, without 
 any care for God's honour and the service of the Church, 
 and very often one such person holds several offices in 
 the same church. For instance, a son of one of the 
 Bishops has been appointed to the archdeaconry and 
 two canonries in his father's cathedral. Besides which, 
 the lives of priests and clerics are not unfrequently such 
 as to cause grave scandal ; an evil increased by the supine 
 indifference and negligence of the Bishops themselves. 
 Though we can hardly wonder at this, as they are so 
 miserably oppressed that they cannot venture to dis- 
 charge their duty, however much they may desire it, on 
 account of the fury and audacity of the heretics. I will 
 not describe the way in which these prelates live, the 
 example they set, or the sort of men they nominate as 
 their successors ; only, it is hardly surprising if God's 
 flock is eaten up by wolves, while such shepherds as 
 these have charge of it.
 
 1562.] LETTER OF THE POPE'S LEGATE. 77 
 
 " Leaving this subject, let me explain the steps 
 which, in the estimation of those whom 1 have con- 
 sulted, should be taken for the relief of the Kingdom 
 and the restoration of the old Religion. 
 
 " First, it is absolutely necessary that the Queen should 
 marry a Catholic prince — one powerful enough to put 
 a restraint on the excesses of the enemies of the faith, 
 who have shown themselves very sensitive to a stringent 
 line of argument. 
 
 " Next, she must have good Catholic councillors and 
 ministers of state. Then the Church in Scotland must 
 be supplied with faithful Bishops and prelates, who will 
 do their work, and labour for the welfare of the people. 
 To accomplish this the Holy See should send legates 
 invested with sufficient authority to examine into the 
 lives and conduct of the prelates, and remove them from 
 office if necessary. A college also should be established 
 where good and learned Priests would be ready when 
 Avanted, and where pious and Catholic instruction could 
 be given to the people, especially to the rising generation, 
 for on these the future hopes of the Commonwealth 
 depend. 
 
 " Lastly, King Philip of Spain must be induced to 
 promise his protection to the Queen of Scotland, in case 
 of invasion from England ; for it is by hurling this 
 threat in her face that her Councillors, and the more 
 violent heretics, always frighten her from acting in 
 opposition to their designs, or taking any steps in favour 
 of her Keligion. She is anxious to do all she can, but 
 her absolutely isolated and helpless position renders her 
 best wishes ineffectual, and deprives her of all power. 
 If she could only be aided in the way I have pointed 
 out, I have no doubt whatever of the reconversion of 
 this Kingdom to the orthodox faith.
 
 78 LETTER OF THE POPE'S LEGATE. [1562. 
 
 " There are still large numbers of Catholics among the 
 people, and even amongst the nobility ; whereas the 
 heretics are inferior both in numbers and influence. 
 They are scared at the idea of having a powerful 
 Catholic prince in Scotland, while they cannot but feel, 
 and are fain to acknowledge, that the present lawless 
 sway of madness and impiety, if it continues, will soon 
 ]3ut an end to their own tenure of authority. 
 
 "The trouble undergone on our account by Mr Hay's 
 parents, and the history of our return to Flanders, must 
 be briefly noticed, and then I will conclude. 
 
 " Such bitter threats were uttered against Mr Hay for 
 bringing us to Scotland, and against his parents for receiv- 
 ing us into their house, that I thought it well to write 
 to the Queen, entreating her not to give credence to any 
 lies or calumnies which might reach her. The measures 
 taken against ourselves need not be recorded in detail, 1 
 but I understood that all the ports were watched and 
 guarded, to prevent our getting away with our letters, 
 and it was only by the extraordinary courage and in- 
 genuity of Mr Hay himself, and his relative, Mr William 
 Crichton (who have both since joined the Society), that 
 we succeeded in escaping unharmed. They dressed me 
 as a sailor, and hired a boat to take us to the sailing 
 vessel when she was some miles out at sea, and so part- 
 ing from Mr Hay, we went on board. He returned, to 
 make sure we had got clear off, and were not followed. 
 
 er 
 
 1 Father de Gouda was diligently sought for to be put to death. 
 On one occasion the constables apprehended a French merchant pro- 
 ceeding from the town of Aberdeen to Stonehaven, and mistaking 
 him for the apostolic nuncio in disguise, beat him nearly to death, 
 though he continued vehemently to assert that he was not the person 
 they took him for. They would certainly have killed him, had he 
 not succeeded in getting back to the town, where he was recognised 
 as a merchant. (M. Tanner, " Societas Jesu apostolorum imitatrix," 
 p. 104, Pragne, 1694, in fol.)
 
 1562.] LETTER OF THE POPE'S LEGATE. 79 
 
 and also to bring with him a band of young men whom 
 he had collected together to be educated by us as Catho- 
 lics l — no contemptible result of our foray into Scotland. 
 Mr William Crichton, however, accompanied us as our 
 guide, showing us throughout a degree of charity and 
 kindness which I cannot easily describe. We left Scot- 
 land, under Divine guidance, in a Flemish vessel, on 
 the 3d of September, and reached Antwerp, safe and 
 sound, by God's mercy, on the 13th of the same month. 
 We went on to Louvain the same day, and not 
 finding the Father Provincial there, proceeded to 
 Cologne, and thence to Mayence, where we met 
 Father Natalis, and the Father Provincial, to our 
 great contentment. 
 
 " So much for our expedition to Scotland and return 
 thence. Other particulars will be more easily communi- 
 cated by word of mouth. Mr Hay and Mr Crichton, 
 whom we daily expect, will give full information. For 
 the rest, I pray Christ to complete the work He has 
 undertaken through His Supreme Vicar on earth, for 
 the relief and consolation of the Queen and Kingdom of 
 the Scots, by the hands of the same holy Pontiff, to the 
 honour of His holy name, and the salvation of His 
 people. And may the same most kind and loving Jesus 
 long preserve your Keverend Paternity to us and the 
 Church. Farewell, 
 
 " Your Reverend Paternity's 
 " Unworthy Son, 
 
 " Nicolas de Gouda. 
 
 "Mayence, September 30, 1562." 2 
 
 1 These all joined the Society of Jesus, and some of them hecame 
 famous in after years. Their names were James Tyrie, William 
 Crichton, John Hay, Kobert Abercromby, and William Murdoch. 
 
 2 Latin MS. Archives S.J. Eecently discovered and printed in 
 " Stimmen aus Maria-Laach."
 
 80 LETTER OF FATHER EDMUND HAY. [1562. 
 
 How far Father de Gouda's letter faithfully expressed 
 the state of Scotland may be ascertained from a letter of 
 Fr. Edmund Hay who had accompanied him to Scotland. 
 He writes : " Father de Gouda has described in great 
 part, what no letter could describe fully, the miseries 
 with which Scotland is afflicted (the particulars of which 
 he has collected with great diligence, and recorded with 
 great accuracy), as well as the causes which produced 
 these evils, and the best way of remedying them. On 
 these heads I have nothing to add, unless I were to 
 describe still more in detail the tyranny exercised 
 towards the Catholics by the heretical party now in 
 power, under pretence of carrying out the laws, of which 
 the effect is exactly that of a sword placed in the hands 
 of a madman. But what I want most particularly to 
 impress upon your Paternity, is that all the plans 
 hitherto suggested, and all that may be suggested, how- 
 ever wise perhaps, and however pious and prudent 
 their authors, will be premature, not to say absolutely 
 useless, as long as the Queen's illegitimate brother, the 
 Lord James, is alive, or at any rate, as long as he con- 
 tinues to govern the kingdom, which he has done ever 
 since the Queen's return. He holds all the heretics, 
 except the Earl of Hamilton, so completely under con- 
 trol by interest, and all the Catholics, who are fewer in 
 number, by fear and by the use of the royal authority, 
 which is scarcely, even nominally, in possession of the 
 Queen, that no one ventures to oppose his will. Many 
 of them are even compelled by force, or the dread of 
 force, to join the private feuds and seditions which he 
 carries on for his own interests. He always pretends 
 that he is acting in support of the Queen's title and 
 hereditary right, but no one in Scotland who has a 
 gleam of sense, and is not blinded by j^rejudice, can
 
 I '-M THE LOUD JAMES ASPIRES TO THE CROWN. 81 
 
 » l 
 
 entertain the smallest doubt what his real purpose is 
 Mary herself wrote to the Pope to thank him for his 
 kindness, and to express her regret that, owing to the 
 state of things in Scotland, she could not send any 
 bishops to the Council of Trent. At the same time she 
 assured him that she was defending the holy faith with 
 all her strength, and was ready to suffer the greatest 
 calamities, and even death itself, in defence of it." 2 
 
 The Lord James, however, retained his power, and 
 although he had defeated the Nuncio's designs, Mary as 
 usual left everything in his hands. " Her brother," says 
 Leslie, " perceiving that his influence prevailed so far 
 that it was no use for any one to speak to the Queen 
 about any matter, without consulting him first, began to 
 entertain still more ambitious views, and, not content 
 with the administration of the kingdom, aspired to the 
 crown itself. 3 There were, however, four things which 
 he considered necessary in order to attain his end. First, 
 he must take the management of public affairs entirely 
 out of the hands of the Queen, who was totally ignorant 
 of Scottish politics, and must secure it in his own ; next, all 
 public offices must be filled with his adherents ; thirdly, 
 the revenues of the clergy must be reduced by every 
 means possible, because he foresaw their influence would 
 be used against himself ; and lastly, knowing that the 
 ablest and most powerful of the nobles were opposed to 
 him, he determined that they should be put out of the 
 way or thrown into prison. All this he successfully carried 
 out by fair means or foul, as we shall see in the sequel." 4 
 
 1 Letter of Fr. E. Hay to Father Laynez, General of the Society of 
 •Jesus, dated 2d January 1563. (Archives of the Society. Latin MS.) 
 
 2 Labanoff, " Lettres de Marie Stuart," vol. i. p. 177. 
 
 3 This is not only related by Leslie, but was also observed by 
 Randolph, the English resident. See " Keith," vol. ii. pp. 79, 80. 
 
 4 " Secret Archives of the Vatican : Politicorum Variorum," vol. 
 
 F
 
 82 THE DIVISION OF BENEFICES. [1562. 
 
 Soon after the Reformation the Protestant preachers 
 had claimed as their due inheritance the lands and tithes 
 of the Catholic Church. Many of them were in abject 
 poverty, and they were clamorous against the Govern- 
 ment, as hungry men always are. Under these circum- 
 stances " Lord James held a meeting in Edinburgh, at 
 which the prelates who were present, the Archbishop of 
 St Andrews, the Bishops of Dunkeld, Moray, and Ross, 
 the Abbot of Cupar, and some others, were consulted on 
 a proposal to set apart a third portion of the Church 
 revenues for the wants of the Queen and the support of 
 the preachers of the new gospel ; and many controversies 
 were held on this subject between the churchmen and 
 James and his adherents. The latter insisted on claim- 
 ing the Church property entrusted to the bishops, while 
 the bishops refused to decide the question without con- 
 sulting the Roman Pontiff, or to impose such a burden 
 on the clergy without their consent. At length the 
 prelates who were present agreed to give a fourth part of 
 their revenues for one year to the Queen as a voluntary 
 offering. James determined to obtain by force and 
 violence what he had been unable to extort either by 
 chicanery or by terror. He sent commissioners, sup- 
 ported by armed soldiers, all over the kingdom, without 
 consulting the other nobles, to collect a third part of the 
 ecclesiastical revenues, in spite of the opposition of the 
 prelates ; and this act of spoliation was so cruelly executed 
 that not even the goods belonging to poor Religious and 
 inmates of collegiate houses, nor alms contributed for the 
 benefit of the departed, were exempted. The third part 
 which they nominally demanded was much more than 
 
 xvi., 297. " Paralipornena ad historiam. . . . Scotia?, Joannis Leslrci, 
 Episcopi Rosscnsis, eodem auctore."
 
 1562.] THE EARL OF HUNTLY AT STIRLING. 83 
 
 the two thirds they professed to leave, and this injustice 
 was continued for many years." ' 
 
 It was not to be expected that the bishops and the 
 Catholic nobles should bear the Lord James' proceedings 
 with equanimity ; they protested against his conduct 
 and respectfully remonstrated with Mary respecting a 
 policy so injurious to the interests of the Church. 
 " During the Queen's stay at Stirling the Earl of Huntly 
 conferred with her as to the means of restoring the 
 Catholic religion to its former condition, and used many 
 arguments to induce her to undertake it. He also per- 
 suaded her secretary, a Frenchman, whom he knew to 
 have great influence with her on account of his know- 
 ledge of business, and also to be in the confidence of the 
 Cardinal of Lorraine and the Duke of Guise, to exert his 
 efforts in the same direction. The secretary did so very 
 earnestly, and represented to her at some length the 
 extent to which the affections of many noblemen were 
 being alienated from her, owing to the suppression of 
 the Catholic religion ; and that, if she wished to recon- 
 cile them to her cause, she must permit the Earl of 
 Huntly to take measures for the restoration of religion. 
 He would readily undertake the commission on condition 
 of the removal from office of the men who were so 
 diligently using their authority to overthrow the founda- 
 tions of the Constitution. This advice was given to the 
 Queen very secretly, but by some means not known it 
 came to the ears of the Lord James. 2 He was furious, 
 and, considering the Earl of Huntly as his principal 
 enemy, determined to set no terms to his hostility till he 
 
 1 Leslie's "Paralipomena." 
 
 2 Randolph to Cecil, 24th September 1561. "It is said that the 
 Earl of Huntly and Lord James greatly discord. Some alleged that 
 the cause of the quarrel was a boast of Huntly that, if the queen 
 commanded him he could set up the Mass in three shires ; to which
 
 84 THE LORD JAMES A MORTAL ENEMY OF HUNTLY. [1562. 
 
 had accomplished his death ; while Huntly, informed of 
 this threat, withdrew from Court to his own residence in 
 order to escape his anger." J 
 
 So great, however, were Huntly's power and influence 
 that, as long as he survived, Lord James could not make 
 any progress either towards obtaining the crown to 
 which he aspired, or towards establishing the Protestant 
 religion in Scotland. He therefore employed every means 
 to rouse the Queen's suspicions against Huntly's overgrown 
 power. On the occasion of his marriage with the Lady 
 Agnes Keith he obtained an inchoate grant of the earl- 
 dom of Moray and of the lands of Abernethy ; but the 
 lands appertaining to the title were in Huntly's posses- 
 sion, and James made up his mind to have them. 
 Huntly refused to part with them, and he was in conse- 
 quence destined for ruin. 
 
 Moray, by which name we shall henceforward designate 
 James, advised the Queen to visit the north of Scot- 
 land, in order that he mio/ht receive his earldom from 
 Huntly in her Majesty's presence. But his real object, 
 as the event proved, was to secure either the murder of 
 Huntly, or, at any rate, the means of weakening his 
 authority, and so rendering that nobleman powerless to 
 conduct any serious opposition to his own plans. An 
 incident occurred at that time which singularly favoured 
 Moray's designs. A sort of skirmish took place in the 
 streets of Edinburgh between John Gordon, son of the Earl 
 of Huntly, and the Lord Ogilvie. The latter was wounded 
 by John Gordon, who in consequence was apprehended 
 by the citizens and committed to the public prison. 
 
 The incidents which follow are given in Bishop Leslie's 
 own words. 
 
 Moray answered that it was past his power to do so, and so he should 
 find the first moment he attempted it." (" Keith," vol. ii. p. 86.) 
 1 Leslie's " Paralipomena."
 
 III. 
 
 BISHOP LESLIE'S NARRATIVE OF THE PROGRESS OF 
 EVENTS IN SCOTLAND.— 1562-1571. 
 
 " . . . Gordon, after a few days imprisonment, being 
 given to understand that lie would not be liberated on 
 bail, took an opportunity of withdrawing secretly from 
 prison, and went to join his father in the North. Moray 
 considered that this gave him a means of annoying the 
 Earl of Huntly, and by public proclamation summoned 
 John Gordon to trial at Aberdeen on the 3rd of September. 
 The Queen meanwhile arrived at that city, and was 
 splendidly greeted both by the students and members of 
 the University and by the bishop and clergy. Huntly, 
 who always showed the utmost respect for the royal 
 authority, brought his son John Gordon to Aberdeen on 
 the appointed day, to submit to whatever commands the 
 Queen might impose. She, by Moray's advice, ordered 
 him to be shut up in Stirling Castle until she should 
 have completed her progress through the north, and 
 arrive there herself. But having been warned by 
 his friends that he would be in extreme danger if he 
 allowed himself to be once more incarcerated, and being 
 aided by the advice and assistance of some young men 
 who took his part, he thought fit to disobey the Queen's 
 injunctions, and meditated avenging the injury he had 
 received from Moray. He therefore secretly prepared 
 an armed force, and would unquestionably have taken 
 Moray's life at Inverness, had not the latter received
 
 86 bishop Leslie's narrative. [i562. 
 
 information of the attempt late at night, so as to make 
 arrangements to protect himself by doubling his guards. 
 The next day Moray sent orders in the Queen's name to 
 the garrison within the Castle of Inverness to surrender 
 the fortress to him without delay. Some of them resisted 
 this order until they should hear from George Gordon, the 
 eldest son of the Earl of Huntly, who was their chief ; 
 and these, together with Alexander Gordon, were put to 
 death by hanging. The Queen remained some days at 
 Inverness, and on her return to Aberdeen gained in- 
 telligence that another ambuscade was prepared for 
 Moray by the Gordons at Strathspey. She accordingly 
 summoned the chiefs of the clans, and the other in- 
 habitants of the neighbouring country, and assembling 
 a powerful force, returned by another route to Aberdeen. 
 On this route is the strong castle of Findlater, whither 
 Moray sent the Queen's heralds to require them to 
 surrender. The garrison absolutely refused to do so 
 without orders from John Gordon, who was the lord of 
 the place. Accordingly John Stuart, the commander of 
 the Queen's guard, was left with three hundred men to 
 keep them from breaking out. But, a few days afterwards, 
 they managed to receive reinforcements, made a sally, 
 attacked John Stuart's soldiers while asleep, took away 
 their arms, money, and everything else they possessed, 
 and compelled them to quit the neighbourhood, John 
 Stuart remaining a prisoner in the hands of the victors. 
 
 " While the Queen thus remained at Aberdeen mes- 
 sengers were sent out to call upon all men of noble 
 birth in Fife, Loudoun, Mearns, and other districts in 
 the vicinity, to protect her Majesty, or rather Moray, 
 from the attempts of Huntly. The Earl was then 
 summoned to defend his cause before the Council at 
 Aberdeen ; but he sent Master Thomas Keir, his secre-
 
 1562.] BISHOP Leslie's narrative. 87 
 
 tary, to make his excuses to her Majesty and the Council 
 for not appearing in Court, on the ground that he could 
 not do so in safety, the whole proceedings being carried 
 on according to Moray's directions, and in his interest. 
 Lest, however, he should seem to be avoiding his trial 
 through consciousness of guilt, he offered to surrender him- 
 self prisoner at Edinburgh, Stirling, or any other fortified 
 place, on condition that no capital sentence should be 
 pronounced against him, except with the consent of 
 the whole nobility of Scotland. Moray prevented this 
 message being carried to the Queen, threw the messenger 
 into prison, and compelled him by threat of torture to give 
 evidence against his master and his master's children ; 
 he also took from him the great seal which Huntly, who 
 was the Chancellor of Scotland, had entrusted to him. 
 
 " On learning this, Huntly sent another messenger, 
 Alexander Keir, the brother of the former, with the 
 same message to the Queen, and from him also Moray 
 violently extorted evidence against Huntly and his sons. 
 Meanwhile John the Prior of Coldingham, another natural 
 brother of the Queen, left Aberdeen, and hastened by 
 night, with fifty men lightly armed, to the castle of 
 Strathbogie, twenty-four miles distant, in the hope of 
 surprising the Earl of Huntly and his sons, and making 
 them prisoners; but they had information of the 
 attempt, and eluded it by escaping to the mountains. 
 Coldingham, nevertheless, entered the castle at the head of 
 his men, where the Countess received them with external 
 marks of friendship, and hospitably entertained them. 
 Being a very clever woman, she took the opportunity of 
 strenuously asserting, before Coldingham and the noble- 
 men who accompanied him, her husband's innocence and 
 loyalty towards the Queen, and earnestly entreated their 
 advocacy with her Majesty on his behalf. They returned
 
 88 bishop Leslie's narrative. [1562. 
 
 to Aberdeen, and Huntly, convinced that lie would not 
 be safe within the walls of any castle, assembled a force 
 of twelve hundred brave and trustworthy men from 
 among his relatives, clansmen, and followers, by whose 
 means he occupied all the neighbouring hill country. 
 He further sent Lady Gordon to the Queen with the 
 same message which he had before endeavoured to send ; 
 but when she arrived within two miles of Aberdeen, she 
 was met by a royal messenger commanding her to return 
 as quickly as possible to her own castle. This order came 
 from Moray; for the Queen was in reality very desirous 
 to see her, and Moray was perfectly aware that, if he 
 allowed anyone to explain to Mary the truth regard- 
 ing Huntly's innocence and his own plots, she would 
 probably take the Earl into favour, and place very little 
 confidence for the future in himself. Huntly, then, 
 havino- failed in all his efforts to obtain access to 
 her Majesty so far, drew nearer to Aberdeen, and being- 
 very anxious to make his peace with her, sent a Calvinist 
 preacher, named Strachan, with the same message that he 
 had attempted to send previously, desiring him if hin- 
 dered from conveying it, at any rate to assure the nobles 
 and the common people, in public and private discourse, 
 of his innocence. This man was imprisoned like the 
 rest, and got only bonds as the result of his embassy. 
 
 " Moray, learning that Huntly's forces were not far off, 
 hastened to collect some troops, and ordered them to be 
 in readiness for instantly marching against the enemy. 
 All being prepared, he set out, and having come in sight 
 of the foe [at Corrichie], 1 he sent a herald to name a 
 time within which they might lay down their arms and 
 depart unmolested, with the exception of Huntly himself, 
 
 1 About four miles north from Banchory. A small fountain near 
 the spot is still called Queen Mary's "Wei).
 
 1562.] BISHOP LESLIE'S NARRATIVE. 89 
 
 of his sons, and some of his principal friends. This had the 
 effect of detaching from Huntly a good many of his sup- 
 porters, particularly among the common people. Perceiv- 
 ing that a large number of his followers were deserting, 
 and that the enemy were beginning to surround him and 
 render escape impossible, Huntly resolved to give battle, as 
 the course most natural to his own courageous spirit, and 
 one justified by his suspicions that many of his opponents 
 were more strongly attached to his cause than to the side 
 of Moray. 
 
 " Before giving the signal for battle he addressed 
 such words to his companions as the time allowed of, in 
 order to animate and encourage them. ' If we were 
 about to fight on equal terms,' he said, ' or if we had 
 the alternative of either fighting or retiring, and chose to 
 engage in battle without the necessity which now compels 
 us, I should exhort you to acquit yourselves well in the 
 field. As it is, we are surrounded by an enemy who is 
 advancing upon us, so that our only hope lies in display- 
 ing courage and fortitude ; it needs not that I say more. 
 To yield would be disgraceful, and death against the odds 
 opposed to you were most glorious. When I look round 
 and see you all so full of strength and courage, many 
 words are uncalled for. Meet boldly the enemy's attack, 
 and doubt not God will give us strength. It is His 
 cause, and the cause of justice, which we defend against 
 the oppressor of our country and of the true Faith. We 
 are few, but God can preserve the lives of His servants, 
 whether they be many or few. I hope some of those 
 who now appear in arms against us will prove our 
 friends. But should they all continue to oppose us, we 
 have one friend a match for all — the justice of the cause 
 for which we fight, and are ready to die, and if this 
 suffers defeat, nothing will be left worth living for.'
 
 90 bishop Leslie's narrative. [i56a 
 
 The soldiers, encouraged by Himtly's words, stood the 
 enemy's attack with such spirit, that they drove back 
 the first line, and put to flight many that followed. 
 But the men from Fife armed with long lances now 
 coming up, and the light cavalry under Coldingham 
 charging on the left wing, with the musketeers on the 
 right, they were overwhelmed, after long and fierce 
 contest, by the number of their enemies and the variety 
 of weapons used against them, and at length turned and 
 fled, though in truth but few of them were by that time 
 left alive. The Earl himself was taken prisoner, and put 
 to death by Moray's order, with a firelock discharged, as 
 it was said, close into his ear. His son the laird of 
 Findlater, and many others, were made prisoners of war, 
 and about a hundred and forty noblemen fell in this 
 battle, many being kinsmen of the chief. The body of 
 Huntly was conveyed to Aberdeen along with the 
 prisoners. 
 
 "The Queen had strictly enjoined Moray, when he 
 was leaving Aberdeen, to preserve the life of the Earl of 
 Huntly, and she received the intelligence of his death 
 with tears. Her grief was much heightened, and was 
 shared in by all the nobility, when Moray proceeded to 
 condemn Findlater to a like fate. This sentence was 
 carried out, and many of his servants and followers were 
 hanged, after which Moray remained in undisputed 
 possession of absolute power, for none of the nobles 
 ventured even to open their mouths against him, and he 
 could safely crush the most powerful amongst them against 
 the Queen's wishes, and often without her knowledge. 
 
 " The dead body of the Earl of Huntly was exposed 
 unburied in the royal palace at Aberdeen, and some 
 months later in the Parliament House at Edinburgh : 
 ostensibly because judgment could not be passed on one
 
 1562.] bishop Leslie's narrative. 91 
 
 deceased except in the presence of his dead body, but 
 really because Moray's hatred of all good men prompted 
 him to insult even their remains. In the parliament 
 sentence of death was also pronounced upon Huntly's 
 eldest son, who had been apprehended by the Duke of 
 Chatelherault and delivered up to Moray, and he would 
 have been executed, but that the queen's earnest and 
 repeated solicitation in favour of this nobleman was not 
 to be resisted, and so he was rescued from Moray's 
 cruelty. 1 
 
 1 Huntly's eldest son was Lord George Gordon. He remained in 
 ward for several years. " Moray having noticed that the queen bore 
 a kindly feeling towards Gordon, and being apprehensive lest she 
 might liberate him at some time or other (a step which Moray saw 
 would be very injurious to his projects), despatched a letter stamped 
 with the queen's seal to the keeper of the castle, ordering him to cut 
 off the head of the Earl of Huntly without delay, yet assigning no 
 motive for the act. At the time of the delivery of this letter, Huntly 
 was playing at dice with the keeper himself. When the latter 
 suddenly grew pale on reading it, Huntly, seeing how matters stood, 
 told him to be of good heart, and as no blame was due to him, he 
 himself would willingly pardon him. The other, however, being a 
 prudent man — although he could doubt neither the queen's seal nor 
 Mary's signature attached, and knew well the danger in which he 
 would place his own life by delay — thought it safest to make some 
 inquiries. After letting Huntly know what he had been ordered to do, 
 and how urgent and imperative the letter was which he had received, 
 he decided upon visiting the Queen at his own risk. Posting off to the 
 Court with all speed, he prayed her Majesty to pardon him for not 
 having at once obeyed her commands. When Mary heard reference 
 made to ' her letter,' she was much surprised, and told him that she 
 had not sent any to him on the subject, and had no intention of so 
 doing. As soon as he produced the letter she saw through Moray's 
 fraud ; and in order to protect Huntly from the recurrence of any 
 such danger, she ordered that he should at once be set at liberty. At 
 the next meeting of parliament, the entire family was restored to its 
 former dignity and honour." (Fr. Tyrie's MS.) 
 
 The same story is told by Crawford, in his " Lives of the Officers 
 of the Crown and State in Scotland" (p. 91), on the authority of 
 Gordon of Straloch.
 
 92 bishop Leslie's narrative. [1563. 
 
 " In the following- year, 1563, the parliament was held 
 at Edinburgh. Moray's intention was to proscribe the 
 late Earl of Huntly and his sons, John Earl of Sutherland, 
 together with all the remaining Gordons, and deprive 
 them of their ancestral privileges and estates. Fearing 
 that the Archbishop of St Andrews might oppose, and 
 perhaps hinder, this arbitrary measure, he imprisoned 
 him, together with Hew Kennedy of Blairquhynneqhuy, 
 uncle of the Earl of Cassilis, and many other persons of 
 rank, on the ground that the archbishop had celebrated 
 mass at Easter, and administered the Eucharist to many 
 persons according to the Catholic rite, and contrary to 
 the statutes of the realm. 1 They were not set free until 
 the conclusion of parliament, by which time Huntly's 
 heirs were unjustly deprived of their inheritance by an 
 act of parliament, and the whole family of Gordon 
 branded with perpetual ignominy as traitors. The Queen 
 after this went to Argyllshire for relaxation, and spent 
 all the summer in hunting and other royal diversions. 
 
 " Elizabeth was very apprehensive that the Queen of 
 Scotland might marry a Catholic prince, a step which 
 would endanger the tranquillity of England. She ac- 
 cordingly sent an embassy to her, demanding that, in 
 case she should contemplate a second marriage, she must 
 not choose a foreign in preference to an English husband, 
 and promising, in the event of the Queen of Scotland 
 following her advice in the choice of a husband, she would 
 always regard her as a daughter and acknowledged heiress 
 to the Crown. The Queen, having consulted Moray and 
 Lethington, her secretary, replied that she had not yet 
 got over the grief she experienced at the death of the 
 late illustrious prince, her husband, and that she never 
 
 1 Cf. Pitcairn's " Criminal Trials," part x. p. 427.
 
 1568.] BISHOP LESLIE'S NARRATIVE. 9^ 
 
 thought of happiness or marriage ; hut should she con- 
 template the step, she would do nothing in a matter of 
 so much importance without consulting the Queen of 
 England, who of all princes was nearest to her both in 
 blood and in affection. Elizabeth was not satisfied with 
 this reply, and wrote secretly to Moray and Lethington, 
 using many artifices to gain them over to her side. All 
 those who were aware that the Queen of England's assist- 
 ance might materially further their designs likewise 
 took her part, and they at length obtained from Mary 
 the answer, that she was willing to accept the husband 
 proposed to her by the Queen of England, on condition 
 the estates of that realm should be summoned together, 
 and should formally recognise her as heir to the crown, 
 on the failure of legitimate issue of the Queen of England, 
 who always shrank from naming her successor, for fear 
 the successor thus designated should obtain more respect 
 and attention than herself. During these negotiations 
 the following noblemen were proposed to our Queen, 
 that she might choose a husband from among them : the 
 Duke of Norfolk ; Eobert Dudley, Earl of Leicester ; 
 Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, son of the Earl of Lennox ; 
 and the Earl of Warwick. But the Queen of England 
 seems to have preferred Robert, Earl of Leicester to 
 any of the others. 
 
 " About this time ambassadors arrived from several 
 Christian princes to visit Mary as Queen of Scotland, and 
 tender their assurances of friendship and offers of service. 
 One of these, Count Moret, who represented the Duke of 
 Savoy, when about to return, after accomplishing the 
 object of his mission, left with the queen a Piedmontese 
 and a very able man of business named David, whom he 
 much commended for his talents and good qualities. 
 This Piedmontese was attached to the royal household,
 
 94 BISHOP LESLIE'S NARRATIVE. [1563. 
 
 and as in a few days his value evidently more than justified 
 the Count's praises, he was appointed to write the Queen's 
 private letters in French, Italian, and Latin, and in this 
 capacity rendered great services to her Majesty herself 
 and to many of the nobles. The Queen soon afterwards 
 returned from Argyll to Stirling, and Moray, in order to 
 acquire some reputation as a dealer out of justice among 
 his countrymen, went to the borders and scattered a 
 numerous band of robbers, whom he not undeservedly 
 caused to be hanged, and thus delivered the country from 
 similar depredations in future. 1 
 
 " Meanwhile the Queen of England, much alarmed lest 
 the Scots should take up arms on behalf of the French, 
 against whom she had sent an expedition into Normandy, 
 and perceiving that the match she had proposed between 
 the Queen and Dudley was not likely to come off, 
 resolved to try and establish peace between her own 
 country and Scotland. She therefore by envoys and by 
 letters, pressed Mary to enter into a treaty of friendship 
 
 1 This year died William Ohisholm, Bishop of Dunblane. His 
 successor was his nephew of the same name, who was afterwards 
 driven into exile for his constancy in the Catholic faith, and plundered 
 of all his goods, and was on this account appointed by the Supreme 
 Pontiff, Pius V., to administer the bishopric of Vaison. 
 
 There died also this year Malcolm Fleming, Prior of Galloway, an 
 earnest follower of the true religion. Shortly after, at the beginning 
 of the following year, Henry Sinclair, Bishop of Ross, died at Paris, a 
 man of remarkable wisdom and learning. He was descended from an 
 illustrious family, and held the office of President of the Council of 
 Scotland. His successor in the see was John Leslie, who was de- 
 scended from another ancient and noble family, that of the Leslies. 
 He had previously discharged several public offices with success, and 
 the daring and strenuous efforts he made in favour of the religion of 
 his forefathers, and the defence of his sovereign, and the banishment 
 he underwent in consequence, will be sufficiently set forth in the 
 sequel.
 
 L568.] BISHOP LESLIE'S NARRATIVE. 95 
 
 with her, engaging that each should support the other, to 
 the utmost of their power, against any foreign enemies or 
 revolt at home. These conditions of treaty Mary accepted ; 
 and in token of their confirmation rings of great value 
 were mutuallv exchanged, besides other ornaments of 
 beautiful workmanship, especially characteristic of the 
 two royal donors. Directly after the conclusion of the 
 treaty, Matthew Stuart, Earl of Lennox, arrived in Scot- 
 land, furnished with letters of recommendation from the 
 Queen of England, and with a petition for the restitution 
 of his ancestral property, honours, fame, and dignity ; of 
 which he had been deprived twenty years before by the 
 Duke of Chatellerault, then at the head of the govern- 
 ment, and by an order from the parliament ; and for the 
 restoration of which lie now appealed to the generosity 
 and clemency of the Queen. Her Majesty, always 
 inclined to mercy, obtained this concession for him from 
 the estates of the kingdom, having previously effected a 
 reconciliation between him and the duke ; each side 
 aoreeino- to abandon their former animosities. 
 
 " This restoration of the house of Stuart gave some un- 
 easiness to Moray, who being aware that several of the 
 most powerful princes of Europe were united with the 
 uncles of the Queen in proposing a French marriage for 
 her, and reasonably fearing lest power might thus be trans- 
 ferred from his hands to those of her future husband, began 
 to talk to her, at first in guarded language, of the great 
 advantages of celibacy. Afterwards growing bolder, witli 
 his accustomed craft he took advantage of familiar inter- 
 course to address her in these terms, 'I cannot omit taking 
 this occasion, most gracious Queen, to lay before you 
 thoughts that have been night and day on my mind, and 
 are prompted simply out of regard for your honour and 
 service, which I have all my life had more at heart than
 
 9G BISHOP LESLIE'S NARRATIVE. 
 
 any other object I might desire. I know very well the 
 high value you set upon womanly modesty, your great 
 regard for your own honour, and the generosity which 
 always prompts you to consider the public welfare before 
 your own interest or inclination. Neither am I ignorant 
 of your anxiety for the dignity and advancement of your 
 own family. My long habit of allegiance will lead me to 
 acquiesce in whatever you determine. Do I advise you 
 to marry again ? That undoubtedly is the most direct 
 means of preserving to our family the succession of the 
 crown of Scotland ; but there are also others not less safe. 
 Shall I advise you against it ? I have, I acknowledge, 
 a strong impression that your remaining single is the only 
 way to secure the honour and tranquillity of your realm. 
 Your own personal dignity, as you have no doubt con- 
 sidered, would be lowered by a marriage with any man 
 of rank inferior to your late princely husband ; yet where 
 will you find on the earth a consort so illustrious in 
 birth and descent as he ? There are only three nations 
 among whom you could find a fitting partner — France, 
 Spain, and Italy. I leave out of consideration Sweden, 
 Denmark, and foreign countries like these, as being 
 barbarous and unbefitting your manners and mode 
 of life. But even as regards the three I have named, 
 great inconvenience would result from your taking a 
 partner from any of them. In the first place, their 
 princes are Papists, and bitter enemies of our religion. 
 They agree with you personally in religious faith, but are 
 far from sharing your equity and clemency. You retain 
 your own religion, but you leave the same freedom of 
 opinion to others, and by this means have secured the peace 
 and tranquillity of your kingdom. If you were to place 
 over us some one of these, who are as conceited as they are 
 confident in the efficacy of their mass and religious rites,
 
 1568.] BISHOP LESLIE S NARRATIVE. 97 
 
 you would reduce oue side or the other to the alternative 
 of forfeiting either their life or their religion ; for pride 
 leads each to insist on his own particular judgment 
 being followed. Our nation has always been zealous for 
 liberty in every thing, and especially in religion ; so 
 much so, that often a mere handful of men has stood out 
 against the royal authority, supported by a strong mili- 
 tary force, in defence of their freedom and their faith. 
 To take each foreign power in turn, you know how the 
 houses of Spain and Austria have made themselves hated 
 among the nations of Europe for their pride and ambi- 
 tion, and how calculated their governments are to pro- 
 voke insurrection. England is witness of this, for the 
 reign of King Philip, in conjunction with Mary, a woman 
 otherwise of gentle character, occasioned the violent death 
 and utter ruin of many citizens and persons of the 
 highest rank. And unless I am misinformed, we shall 
 soon have another very remarkable illustration of the 
 like truth in Flanders. You remember the tragic events 
 which your marriage with the French king occasioned in 
 Scotland, when almost the whole kingdom was filled 
 with war and conflagration. You also know, and France 
 has bitter reason to remember for ever, the bloodshed 
 and disturbance caused in it, when the crown of that 
 country was by royal marriage placed on the head of an 
 Italian princess ; how would it be if ours was conferred on 
 an Italian prince ? Again, if you marry a French prince, 
 you will incur the hostility of the Spaniards, and if you 
 marry a Spaniard, you will make the French your 
 enemies, instead of being your friends as now. Should 
 you marry an Italian, you will encounter the resentment 
 of both. Suppose you give your hand to any one of the 
 three, you will only be introducing war, sedition, and 
 tumult into your own kingdom. You will yourself see 
 
 G
 
 98 bishop Leslie's narrative. [1563. 
 
 the course you ought to pursue ; I think I have now 
 said all that affection and duty would prompt. If 
 any other step pleases you better than what I propose, 
 my assistance shall not be wanting towards carrying 
 it out.' 
 
 " The Queen replied that the life she had led for the last 
 five years was that which was most agreeable to her, and 
 which was best suited to the welfare of her kingdom and 
 her own honour. One thing alone gave her anxiety, fear 
 lest the inheritance of her house should devolve upon the 
 family of Hamilton, who were anything but friendly to 
 the Stuarts. Upon this Moray, firing the shot which he 
 had all the time held in preparation, advised, and vehe- 
 mently urged her to call together the estates of the 
 realm, and get them to pass a law forbidding the acces- 
 sion of any but a Stuart to the crown of Scotland. He 
 boldly requested for himself and his children the next 
 place in the succession after the Queen, that after him 
 should come the Earl of Lennox and his issue, and then 
 the Earl of Athole, followed by his brother, the Prior of 
 Coldinodiame ; with further remainder to Methven, Inner- 
 meath, and the rest in due course. 1 The Queen, shocked 
 at such arrogance and presumption, could not restrain 
 her tears ; then repressing her grief, with a generous 
 desire to soothe the storm of ambitious hope that seemed 
 to rage in her brother's breast, she exclaimed, ' Is it 
 possible, dearest brother,' for so she often addressed him, 
 in spite of his illegitimacy, out of respect for his rank 
 
 1 " Moray cherchait de se faire legitimer sous main, et feignant 
 m'aimer, ne me laissait d'un pas, et voulait pourvoir a tout le 
 gouvernement du royaume, et s'etait si bien fortifie qu'il me tenait en 
 tutelle ; et enfin on proposa bailler une couronne a lui et k Argyle, 
 et me defaire des Hamilton, comme j'avais fait de Huntly." — ("Me- 
 moir of Mary on her Second Marriage," Labanoff, vol. i. pp. 2G8- 
 275.)
 
 1564.] BISHOP LESLIES NARRATIVE. 99 
 
 and character, and from the affection with which she 
 regarded him, ' that you are so ambitious of royal rank 
 as to ask my consent to a measure which, not to speak of 
 other objections, must be repugnant to my own feelings 
 and to the laws and customs of the country ? What 
 has the house of Hamilton done either against us or the 
 laws of Scotland, that they should be deprived of their 
 just claim to their inheritance ? Had such a law existed 
 as that which you have described, the royal authority 
 would probably never have devolved upon our family at 
 all. No one living, and I least of all, ought to enter- 
 tain any such idea. You know the antiquity of the 
 house of Hamilton, its nobility, its influence, and abun- 
 dance of followers ; how is it likely they would stand 
 such an affront ? Depend upon it, they would rouse 
 the whole kingdom against me, to my utter ruin. Lay 
 aside, I entreat you, brother, this wild design. He 
 who is not content with moderate fortune is often 
 reduced to poverty, and to obscurity, while aiming 
 at too high a destiny. Let me warn you hencefor- 
 ward not to breathe a word of the plan you have now 
 unfolded, either to me or any of the nobles. Should 
 it reach the ears of the Hamiltons, they may easily raise 
 a storm, too formidable for us to be able to appease.' 
 
 " This repulse effectually destroyed all Moray's hopes of 
 obtaining the crown of Scotland ; he still, however, deter- 
 mined to retain the administration of public affairs in 
 his own hands, and with this view directed his efforts to 
 the arrangement of a marriage between the Queen and 
 Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, the son of the Earl of Lennox, 
 as being the only means of securing to the house of 
 Stuart its possession of the Scottish crown. He highly 
 commended to the Queen the young prince's handsome 
 appearance and corresponding qualities of mind ; but
 
 100 bishop Leslie's narrative. [ises. 
 
 Darnley's principal recommendation in the eyes of Moray 
 was his youth, which promised to leave him at the helm 
 of government for some time to come. The Queen re- 
 fused to do anything in the matter until she had seen 
 the young man whom she was asked to wed ; whereupon 
 Moray at once made full proposals to the Earl of Lennox. 
 Henry readily obtained from Elizabeth leave of absence 
 for six months, hastened to Scotland, found the Queen at 
 Wemyss Castle, and was presented to her by Moray. 
 She received him graciously, and asked many questions 
 respecting the Queen of England and the state of Eng- 
 lish politics. After this she frequently conversed fami- 
 liarly with him, and gave him many signs of her affection 
 and regard, so that in a short time their marriage was 
 commonly talked about as probable. When this report 
 reached the ears of Elizabeth, she greatly regretted that 
 she had given Darnley permission to go to Scotland, and 
 wrote to Moray, whom she knew to be entirely depend- 
 ent upon her, desiring him to prevent the match, and 
 demanding to have her subject restored to her hands 
 again. She wrote also to Darnley, threatening him with 
 her vengeance if he married the Queen. She put his 
 mother in prison, and in fact omitted no means of throw- 
 ing obstacles in the way of such a step. Mary sent her 
 secretary, Lethington, to soothe the anger of Elizabeth, 
 and obtain the release of the Countess of Lennox. 
 
 "Though Lethington had been always hitherto in 
 high favour with Elizabeth, on account of his partisan- 
 ship throughout Moray's treasonable correspondence with 
 her, he obtained admission to her presence with great 
 difficulty and after long delay ; and even then could only 
 obtain for answer that she was about to send an ambas- 
 sador of her own to Scotland, who would fully explain 
 her views. Meanwhile an assembly of the nobles had
 
 1565.] bishop Leslie's narrative. 10 1 
 
 been held in Stirling, at which the Queen made known 
 her intention of giving her hand to Darnley. Her design 
 was approved by all present, and the transaction entered 
 in the public records. The principal noblemen who 
 attached their names to this report were the Duke of 
 Chatellerault, the Earls of Argyll, Moray, Lennox, Athole, 
 Morton, Glencairn, Marishal, Rothes, Montrose, and many 
 other nobles, lords, and barons. Darnley was first made 
 a knight, then a baron, and lastly, amid great applause, 
 Earl of Ross, by commission from the queen ; and, to 
 add greater splendour to the ceremony, he himself con- 
 ferred the honour of knighthood upon twelve barons. 
 These public acts were followed by a banquet and ball, 
 and other Court entertainments, conducted with the 
 utmost decorum and magnificence. In the midst of the 
 royal festivities Throckmorton, the English ambassador, 
 arrived. He repaired at once to Stirling, but instead of 
 waiting according to custom till summoned from the 
 lodging assigned him, which had been fitted up on this 
 occasion with extraordinary splendour, he went of his 
 own accord to the castle gate, knocked loudly, and 
 peremptorily demanded admission to the Queen's pre- 
 sence. Sir John Bellenden and other nobles met him, 
 and explaining that the Queen was then engaged with 
 other business, re-conducted him honourably to his own 
 apartments. He was very angry, being afraid that the 
 whole affair would be concluded before he had delivered 
 his message ; and complained that the Queen of Eng- 
 land's envoy was disrespectfully and injuriously prevented 
 from appearing at Court ; but he gradually recovered his 
 temper and returned to his lodgings. Soon after, when 
 he had dined, the Queen sent for him, and listened to a 
 long address from him. First he set forth at length the 
 earnest desire of the Queen of England for her welfare
 
 102 BISHOP LESLIE'S NARRATIVE. [1565. 
 
 and the proofs of love and goodwill which she had 
 so often shown ; and then exhorted and entreated her 
 Majesty not to make any contract of marriage without 
 consulting Elizabeth. To enforce this request he in- 
 veighed against Darnley in severe and insulting language ; 
 declaring that the Queen could not possibly long endure 
 his dissolute behaviour, his insolence, vanity, and pride. 
 " Queen Mary endeavoured to take all this advice in as 
 good part as she could, but finding it of no avail, began 
 to threaten in her turn, very much as though she were 
 already at war across the border. Her manner soon 
 brought him to reason, when asserting that she had 
 never done anything to the injury of the Queen or realm 
 of England, she showed how the proceeding of which he 
 complained, so far from being injurious, was an advan- 
 tage and honour to England, since she had chosen for her 
 husband a nobleman of that country, not particularly 
 illustrious for rank or wealth, in preference to the most 
 powerful princes of Christendom, many of whom had 
 sought her hand. If all this was to be misrepresented 
 and made an occasion of w T ar, she could find amono- these 
 princes an alliance and support that would repel every 
 attack, especially as she had much more to fear from 
 plots and machinations among her own subjects than 
 from any external violence. Thus dismissed by the 
 Queen, Throckmorton went to Darnley and the Earl of 
 Lennox, and commanded them to return to England. 
 They answered that the term allowed them by the royal 
 license was not yet expired ; meanwhile they would con- 
 sider what to do, and let the Queen of England know 
 their decision. Upon this Throckmorton had recourse to 
 other measures. He first consulted Moray, and receiving 
 promise of his assistance, assembled a great many of the 
 nobles, including the Duke of Chatellerault, the Earls of
 
 1565.] bishop Leslie's narrative. 10" 
 
 Argyll, Glcncairn, the Lords Boyd and Ochiltree, and 
 others, and not only privately but also publicly urged 
 them to take up arms against the Queen and Darnley. 
 There was no difficulty in persuading the Duke of 
 Chatellerault to this course, for only a year before he 
 had been in open enmity with Lennox, and greatly dis- 
 liked the increase of influence which he now seemed on 
 the point of obtaining ; the others were instigated chiefly 
 by their zeal for the maintenance of the Calvinist heresy, 
 having heard that Darnley was a Catholic. Besides this, 
 they were the more ready to appeal to arms, taking it ill 
 that a young man of private station, not distinguished, as 
 they considered, by any particular achievement, should be 
 thus placed over their heads. Finding them inclined to 
 acquiesce in his proposals, Throckmorton in the name 
 of the Queen of England promised them money and aid, 
 and every assistance they might require. He then be- 
 sought and obtained leave to depart, and returned to 
 England with many presents from the Queen. When he 
 had left, John Hay was once more sent with letters to 
 Queen Elizabeth, but after some length of stay in 
 London, finding that she would neither see him nor 
 receive a message from him, he made his way back to 
 Scotland. 
 
 " The Duke of Chatellerault and the other rebel Lords 
 now quitted the Court and proceeded to their own homes. 
 Moray, who had hitherto managed all the affairs of 
 o-overnment, remained at St Andrews, and though often 
 summoned by the Queen, refused to attend Court. The 
 Queen, thus deprived of her usual councillors, was com- 
 pelled to choose new ones, and committed all public 
 business to the hands of Lennox, Athole, and the Lord 
 Kuthven. She also summoned to the palace from the 
 High Court of Justice John Leslie and James Balfour,
 
 104 bishop Leslie's narrative. [1565. 
 
 men of approved political wisdom and knowledge of 
 public business. She liberated Huntly from his prison 
 at Dunbar, and sent for Bothwell from France, that she 
 might replace both in their former honours and dignities. 
 The Bishop of Dunblane went, about the same time, on a 
 mission to the Supreme Pontiff to obtain a dispensation 
 because of Darnley's consanguinity with the Queen, and 
 in this he was successful. The conspirators, Moray, 
 Arran, and others resolved to seize the persons of the 
 Queen and Darnley on their way from Perth to Edin- 
 burgh, intending to put Darnley to death, and confine 
 the Queen in Lochleven Castle. While they were 
 assembling in force, the Queen received notice of 
 their intention. She left Perth suddenly late at night, 
 and reached Edinburgh in safety. The very man who 
 most strenuously exerted himself to obtain this informa- 
 tion for the Queen, Lord Lindsay, a kinsman of 
 Darnlev, now deserted her cause and went over to the 
 enemy. All was still in confusion when on the last day 
 of July the Queen created Darnley Duke of Albany, and 
 on the following day, the 1st of August, 1 the marriage 
 was celebrated by the most Reverend Lord John Sinclair, 
 Bishop of Brechin. It must be said that after the 
 marriage -rites had been celebrated outside the chapel 
 doors, Darnley, not further to irritate the Protestants 
 who were already on the point of breaking into open 
 violence on his account, would not enter the chapel to 
 hear Mass with the Queen. On the same day, in 
 compliance with the royal command he was publicly and 
 with great ceremony proclaimed King by the heralds in 
 the market place. 
 
 "The conspirators had meanwhile gathered their forces 
 
 1 Mary was married to Lord Darnley in the chapel of Holyrood on 
 Sunday the 29th of July 1565.
 
 1565.] bishop Leslie's narrative. 105 
 
 together. The Duke of Chatellerault, the Earls of 
 Argyll, Moray, Kothes, the Lords Boyd and Ochiltree, 
 and many other nobles and barons, though called to 
 defend themselves before the Queen and the Council, had 
 paid no attention to the summons. They were con- 
 demned for high treason and their goods declared con- 
 fiscate to the treasury. It was stated that the 
 confidential envoy of the Queen of England, who had 
 come to entreat Mary to proceed no further in her pro- 
 jected marriage with Darnley, had sent a large sum of 
 money to St. Andrews by James Johnson and James 
 Molson for the purpose of hiring armed men from the 
 towns ; a great part of this sum had actually been 
 sent to Perth and Dundee to pay the soldiers whose 
 services were engaged by the rebel Lords. The Queen 
 put herself at the head of an army and took the field 
 in person against them. On reaching Glasgow she 
 perceived the opposing force marching in the direc- 
 tion of the town, and gave orders for her troops to 
 draw up in order of battle, but moved by the tender 
 appeal of Lord Maxwell, she decided to refrain from 
 shedding the blood of her own subjects. The conspira- 
 tors then proceeded to Edinburgh, where they were very 
 kindly received by the citizens. The Queen followed, 
 and issued orders to the commandant of the castle at 
 Edinburgh to fire on them with his cannon and drive 
 them out. The commandant a;ave them due warning to 
 withdraw, but seeing that they did not obey, he opened 
 fire upon them and compelled them to quit the town. 
 After they had dispersed and wandered about in search 
 of refuge, the Lord Hemes at Dumfries, close to the 
 English border, gave them asylum in his castle. The 
 merchants of Edinburgh having freely supplied them 
 with funds, the Queen imposed a heavy fine on the city,
 
 106 BISHOP LESLIES NARRATIVE. [1565. 
 
 and proceeding to Perth and Dundee did the same with 
 those who had received money from England. Many 
 of these, however, had fled beyond recall. From St 
 Andrews she banished to the north of Scotland several 
 barons who had favoured the conspirators. Returning 
 to Edinburgh, Mary assembled a fresh army, and along 
 with Darnley, at the head of many of the nobles of the 
 kingdom, and a very large force, set out for Dumfries. 
 When she drew near that town, Maxwell came to throw 
 himself at her feet and ask for pardon. The Earl of 
 Argyll and Lord Boyd fled to Argyll ; the Duke of 
 Chatellerault and the others escaped to England, with 
 the exception of a very few who begged to be forgiven. 
 
 " Four months after celebrating her marriage, Mary, 
 who was now with child, sent David Chalmers, one of the 
 judges, to apprise the Queen of England and the French 
 King of that fact. He was to request Elizabeth not to 
 give assistance to her subjects in arms against her, but 
 oblige them to leave English territory. The first of these 
 demands the Queen promised to comply with, but as 
 regarded the second, she constituted herself intercessor on 
 behalf of the exiles. Chalmers went on to France, 
 found the king at Angers, and begged assistance from 
 him against the rebels. The Queen-mother, then acting 
 as regent, made great promises of sending an embassy 
 on the subject to the Queen of England, and of contribut- 
 ing money and troops. But she kept putting off, while 
 everything in Scotland remained in a state of confusion. 
 Moray, accompanied by Gavin Hamilton, the Commen- 
 dator of Kilwinning, left the other conspirators at New- 
 castle, went to the Queen of England and urgently 
 implored assistance. In private he pressed for the fulfil- 
 ment of the promises made him at various times by 
 Randolph, Throckmorton, and other agents of the Queen
 
 ir»65.] bishop Leslie's naukative. 107 
 
 in Scotland. Elizabeth, in order to free herself from 
 suspicion, required Moray, before any answer could be 
 returned, to declare in the presence of the whole Council 
 that she herself had no knowledge of, or share in, the 
 proceedings of the rebel lords. This he did, and then 
 renewed his request. At length the Queen, concluding 
 from private information which had reached her that 
 matters in Scotland were ripe for a revolution, and that 
 she could now help towards hastening it, sent an embassy 
 to Mary Queen of Scots entreating her to deal gently 
 with the rebels ; and meanwhile contributed a small 
 sum of money for their daily expenses. The Duke of 
 Chatellerault, at length perceiving that he was duped, 
 sent messengers to Scotland, through whom, and 
 through the Earl of Errol and his own brother, the 
 Archbishop of St Andrews, he handed over himself and 
 his possessions to the Queen's mercy, and sued for the 
 pardon of his fault. Being ordered by her to go over to 
 France and abide there in exile for four years, he took 
 leave of Elizabeth and obeyed his mistress's command. 
 The other conspirators were by the Queen judged deserv- 
 ing of severer punishment, since they had repaid the 
 long series of favours shown them, and the many benefits 
 conferred upon them, by a cruel and treacherous attempt 
 to take her life ; and by order of the Parliament they 
 were called to take their trial before the Lords on the 
 10th of March. Seeing absolute ruin hanging over 
 them, the rebels resolved to tempt the ambition of Darn- 
 ley, whose imagination was capable of being dazzled by 
 the offer of new honours and dignities. . They succeeded 
 in persuading him to enter into agreement with them on 
 the following terms. He was to pardon their treason, 
 secure them in the possession of their estates and of the 
 public offices they formerly held, abolish the Catholic
 
 108 bishop Leslie's narrative. [1566. 
 
 religion of his forefathers, and establish Calvinism 
 throughout the kingdom. In return they promised to 
 do all in their power to transfer the government into his 
 hands ; the crown being made hereditary in his family, 
 even if he should have no children by the Queen, and 
 the claim of the Hamiltons being entirely set aside. 
 Her Majesty was to be declared incapable, as a female, 
 of administering the government of the kingdom, and 
 was to be advised to give her attention to pursuits 
 more befitting her sex. The terms of this compact 
 being thus arranged, the king concealed his share in it, 
 and appeared to enter heartily into all the measures 
 taken for the restoration of the Catholic religion, and 
 for restraining the audacity of the rebel party. The 
 parliament was opened and two measures submitted for 
 discussion, one allowing the bishops and rectors of 
 churches the full exercise of their ancient religion, and 
 the other punishing the leaders of the conspiracy, who 
 had more than once broken their faith and had taken up 
 arms against the Queen. This punishment was to be 
 adjudged by the votes of the whole assembly, so as to 
 cut off all excuse for complaining that they were un- 
 justly treated. But on the day preceding that appointed 
 for the commencement of the debates the action of the 
 parliament was interrupted by the violent and atrocious 
 outrage now to be related. 
 
 " While the Queen was taking supper in her palace of 
 Holy rood, near Edinburgh, her sister the Countess of 
 Argyll sat at table with her, and many nobles of high 
 rank stood by. In the middle of supper the King broke 
 into the room, armed, and followed by Lord Ruthven, 
 George Douglas, first chamberlain to the king, Andrew 
 Ker of Fawdonside, and many others, armed with hel- 
 mets, swords, and loaded pistols. Seizing upon David
 
 156&] bishop Leslie's narrative. 109 
 
 the Piedmontese, who had been left in the Queen's 
 service by the envoy of the Duke of Savoy, and was a 
 man of fifty years of age, they dragged him with great 
 violence into the adjoining bed-chamber, the Queen 
 earnestly interceding for him and entreating them to do 
 him no injury. There he was cruelly butchered by the 
 Earl of Morton, who had but recently received that title 
 together with the office of Chancellor of Scotland from 
 the Queen, by Lord Lindsay, and many others, who 
 inflicted a great number of wounds upon him. It is 
 said that while in their hands he repeatedly called out, 
 'Justitia, justitia ! ' as though to condemn their cruelty 
 and assert his own innocence, since he had done 
 nothing to deserve this fate. The motive of the con- 
 spirators for their particular animosity against Rizzio 
 was the constancy and firmness with which he had acted 
 throughout these transactions in support of the ancient 
 religion 1 and the Queen's authority, and the great ability 
 and acquaintance with Scottish politics which enabled 
 him ever to suggest fresh means of defeating their 
 machinations. The murder being accomplished, and 
 those present reduced to terrified silence, the bitterest 
 threats were uttered against the Queen ; and worse still, 
 after reproaches, extortionate demands, and many other 
 indignities, she was thrust, pale with the terror she had 
 undergone, and in disregard of the critical state of her 
 health, into her own chamber, and there imprisoned. 
 Eighty soldiers were posted outside the door, with orders 
 to prevent any of her servants or maidens from attending 
 
 1 Morton and Kuthven, the leading conspirators, informed Cecil in 
 a letter from Berwick, written on the 27th March, that the end pro- 
 posed by them in the murder of Eizzio was to prevent the universal 
 subversion of religion within Scotland. Morton and Ruthven to Cecil. 
 27th March 1566. " R 0. Scot., Eliz.," xii., No. 41.
 
 110 bishop Leslie's narrative. [imi 
 
 her, and she was thus kept in custody for three nights 
 and two days. During that time the Earl of Moray 
 and the other exiles, who had awaited in England the 
 tidings of this deed of blood, hastened to Edinburgh and 
 conferred with the King concerning their designs. 
 
 " They proposed that Mary should be put to death on 
 the pretext of adultery, that all Catholics should be 
 either slain or driven out of the kingdom, the sacrifice of 
 the Mass and evangelical doctrine be prohibited, and 
 Calvinism established and strengthened by every possible 
 means. In fine, Darnley was to be crowned King, and 
 the royal authority conferred upon him by universal 
 consent. In order to induce the young man to believe 
 that they really intended carrying this out, the crafty 
 conspirators allowed certain proclamations to be issued in 
 his name alone. Whether Darnley was shocked at the 
 atrocity of the crime into which he had been led, not 
 having expected so tragical an issue of his plot, or 
 he now foresaw the Queen's removal would only lead to 
 similar or still worse measures against himself, he argued 
 that it would be sufficient, before deciding upon taking 
 her life, to lay before her the contact they had made on 
 the subject of religion, and if she refused to assent to it, 
 they could then consider what step to take next. The 
 conspirators accordingly commissioned him to extort the 
 Queen's assent to the support of the Calvinist party, by 
 entreaties or by threats and denunciations. He obtained 
 admittance to the chamber where the weeping Queen was 
 imprisoned, and thus addressed her : ' I could not bear to 
 meet your sight, if I thought of the horrors of the deed 
 in which I have had a share. But the imminent peril in 
 which we both stand at this moment claims all our 
 attention. I have gained admission to your presence by 
 an artifice, and my object is not to excuse but to accuse
 
 1566.] BISHOP LESLIE'S NARRATIVE. Ill 
 
 myself. I acknowledge my fault without extenuating 
 it, and entreat forgiveness, and, though my ingratitude 
 does not deserve it, your own wonted clemency and kind- 
 ness will easily grant it. By the hand I hold I entreat 
 you to pity one whose crime has made him miserable, 
 and recall him to your side. You will do so if you judge 
 of what has passed, not in its terrible reality, or from my 
 words, but according to your own readiness to forgive. 
 This I hope you will do, and your tears and the marks 
 of sorrow on your countenance, and the loss of the sur- 
 roundings of your rank— all so many evidences of my 
 guilt — prevent my saying more.' The Queen fell on his 
 shoulder as he knelt and raised him from the ground, for 
 he could scarcely stand, and, though herself greatly 
 affected, said much to him, reminding him gently of the 
 honours she had conferred upon him, and the ungrateful 
 return he had made, yet speaking neither unkindly nor 
 reproachfully, but rather endeavouring to restore his 
 courage and hope ; after which he related to her the 
 whole course of the conspiracy and his own share in 
 it. She then sent him back to the conspirators. He 
 told them that the Queen would consent to all their pro- 
 posals, and turning to Moray, remarked : ' There is 
 one thing which seems to me of importance. The Queen 
 promises to follow our advice, so that we can attain the 
 end proposed without bloodshed or danger of jjopular 
 tumult, which we have every reason to avoid if possible. 
 I will convey the conditions of peace in writing to the 
 Queen, and have no doubt she will subscribe them. But 
 since they are likely to be of great interest and moment 
 in future times, she ought not to sign them while in 
 custody of a military force, or else it will always be said 
 hereafter that her assent was wrested from her by 
 violence. I will undertake to guard her for this night
 
 112 BISHOP LESLIE'S NARRATIVE. [1566. 
 
 by means of my own servants, and place them at the 
 doors as my own attendants, not as gaolers of the Queen.' 
 "This proposal led to much deliberation. Those who 
 were most strongly prejudiced against the Queen thought 
 they had better not lose so favourable an opportunity of 
 accomplishing her death ; but others apprehended that 
 such a step would be the signal for a general insurrec- 
 tion and a civil war. The good fortune of the Queen did 
 not desert her. All agreed to the King's proposal, and 
 this the more readily, because Mary was commonly re- 
 ported to have been thrown into such a state of dejec- 
 tion and consternation that she could scarcely be expected 
 to live over the night, or the next one, at furthest. 
 The guard placed by the rebels was therefore removed, 
 and in the middle of the night the King and Queen 
 mounting their horses, held in readiness for them at 
 the gates according to her Majesty's orders given to 
 Arthur Erskine, the master of the horse, rode first to 
 Seton, the castle of the Lord Seton, and after resting 
 there a little while, and obtaining fresh horses, reached 
 in safety the strong fortress of Dumbarton before morn- 
 ing. The conspirators had recourse to different modes of 
 escape. Some sued for pardon, others proposed to take 
 up arms, while of the rest each took the line which 
 seemed best to him, whatever it might be. The Earls 
 of Glencairn, Argyll, and Rothes, Lord Boyd, and even 
 the Earl of Moray himself, went off into Argyllshire, 
 whence they sent messengers to demand pardon ; and 
 obtained it. 1 But Morton, Ruthven, Lindsny, and the 
 
 1 " With incredible facility," writes Mr Hosack, " Mary not only 
 pardoned Moray and his associates, but received her brother once 
 more into her confidence. If it was amiable in the sister to forgive, 
 it was unwise in the Queen to forget, his ingratitude and treachery. 
 Mary was not aware that at the very time when he was disclaiming 
 all connection Avith the murderers of Eizzio, he was using his utmost
 
 1566.] BISHOP LESLIE'S NARRATIVE. 113 
 
 others who had been guilty of the murder, finding them- 
 selves thus abandoned by their fellow accomplices, fled 
 into England. The Earls of Huntly and Bothwell (who 
 had escaped from the rebels through a window at the 
 time when the Queen was made prisoner), having ad- 
 mitted the Earl of Athole, Hamilton, and certain others 
 of the nobility into their counsels, collected a body of 
 nine thousand armed men, and brought Mary back in 
 safety to Edinburgh, where the persons involved in the 
 late conspiracy met with but a very slight degree of 
 severity. Morton, Kuthven, and Lindsay fled to the 
 Queen of England, and begged her to stand mediator 
 for them. 
 
 "The Queen now repaired to Edinburgh Castle to await 
 the birth of her child. Frequent consultations were held 
 how best to guard against possible surprise on the part 
 of the exiled lords, and also against Moray, Glencairn, 
 and Argyll, who, if more cautious than their associates, 
 were not much more loyal. The three last named had 
 been pardoned, and now frequented the Court. As the 
 time for the birth of her child drew nigh, Mary, wish- 
 ing to provide for every emergency, privately took into 
 her confidence John Leslie, Bishop of Koss, Alexander 
 Erskine, David Chalmers, and the Provost [of Edinburgh], 
 who were Catholics. She drew up her will with her own 
 hand, and nominated in it certain guardians for her son, 
 in case she should die in giving him birth. She also 
 left in writing a list of her jewels and other articles of 
 value, and entrusted them all to the care of the Bishop of 
 Ross. Further, she gave directions that during the time 
 of her confinement, meetings to deliberate upon the 
 
 influence with his English friends, Bedford and Bandolph, on their 
 behalf." J. Hosack, " Mary Queen of Scots," vol. i. p. 144. Cf. Sir 
 H. Ellis, " Letters on English History," ii. 220. 
 
 H
 
 114 BISHOP LESLIE'S NARRATIVE. [1566. 
 
 administration of the realm should be held within the 
 city of Edinburgh, which were to be presided over by the 
 Bishop of Eoss and the Earls of Huntly and Bothwell. 
 
 "At length, on the 19th of June 1566, she was de- 
 livered of a boy, an extremely fine and beautiful child. 
 The nobles were all admitted to see the heir to the 
 throne ; cannon were fired, and every testimony was 
 given of general satisfaction and rejoicing. Envoys were 
 at once despatched with the news to the King of France, 
 the Queen of England, and the Duke of Savoy, both in 
 order to announce the event and to request that these 
 sovereigns should send ambassadors to represent them 
 personally at the baptism. As soon as the Queen reco- 
 vered her health, she resumed hunting and other favourite 
 sports. While awaiting the arrival of the envoys, she 
 examined the treasury accounts, and fixed the sums re- 
 quired to render due honour to the baptismal ceremony. 
 She went on to Jedburgh, near the borders of Scotland 
 and England, and captured a formidable band of robbers, 
 of whom several were put to death. During the struggle 
 the Earl of Bothwell was severely wounded by a robber 
 of the name of John Loyd, and nearly died, but he 
 managed to slay his assailant, and ultimately recovered, 
 contrary to expectation. The Queen herself was suddenly 
 taken ill at Jedburgh, and all supposed she was dying, 
 but by God's favour her life was spared. 
 
 "About this time the most Eeverend the Bishop of 
 Mondovi was sent by Pope Pius the Fifth, as Legate 
 a Latere, to console the Queen in Scotland, and bear 
 her a present of 100,000 crowns of gold to supply the 
 sinews of war against the heretics. This aid had been 
 requested in her name by the Bishop of Dunblane and 
 Master Stephen Woltar [Wilson]. The Pope further 
 promised that he would never desert her, but would, on
 
 1568.] bishop Leslie's narrative. 1 1 5 
 
 the contrary, render her yet more efficient assistance if 
 it were needed. 
 
 " The Queen did her best, as well personally as through 
 the Bishop of Ross and others, to induce the nobles to 
 give free entrance into the kingdom to the papal legate. 
 The Catholic nobility were most anxious for this. No 
 argument, however, could move the sectarian nobles, and 
 especially the Earl of Moray, to assent. It became 
 necessary, therefore, for the Queen to send John Beaton 
 into France to offer her excuses to the legate on this 
 head. Beaton (who was a person of good family, an 
 excellent catholic, and a man of high character in every 
 respect) brought with him a portion of the money. 1 
 
 1 Cf. Labanoff, ii. 20; vii. 107. 
 
 Bishop Leslie's narrative receives an important confirmation from 
 a letter written shortly afterwards by Father Edmund Hay, on his 
 return from Scotland, whither he had been sent by the Nuncio. The 
 letter is dated Paris, 6th November 1566. " The papal Nuncio," writes 
 Father Hay, " is compelled to linger in France, for the Queen cannot 
 decide any way of receiving him with the respect which is due to him- 
 self, to the papal see, and to her own dignity, without occasioning very 
 great tumults. This is supposed to have been the cause which threw 
 her into that state of mind which produced such a dangerous illness, 
 which attacked her at Jedburgh about the 18th of October 15G6. 
 Thinking that her last hour had come, she summoned all the nobles 
 together with M. du Croc, the French ambassador, and requested that 
 they would come to her in her bed-chamber. When she saw that 
 they were there present, she protested that it was her wish to die in 
 the faith and religion in which she had been born and baptised. She 
 assured them that she frankly admitted that she had been neglectful 
 not only in the government of the realm, but also, and chiefly, in 
 promoting the Catholic religion ; and therefore she asked God that of 
 His mercy He would pardon her offences in this respect, and would 
 show her some way by which Catholic interests could be put into 
 better order for future. 
 
 " Having said this, she turned her eyes upon the Earl of Moray, who 
 happened to be present at the time along with the others, and spoke 
 to him with a grave earnestness, chiding him because that he, driven
 
 1 1 6 bishop Leslie's narrative. [1566. 
 
 " In the month of December the prince was baptised by 
 the Archbishop of St Andrews, with all the rites and 
 ceremonies of the Catholic Church. The Count d'Eu 1 
 represented the King of the French, and the Countess 
 of Argyll, took the place of the Earl of Bedford, the 
 ambassador of the Queen of England, who, as a heretic, 
 refused to be present at the rites of the Catholic Church. 
 The Earl of Moray acted instead of the ambassador of 
 the Duke of Savoy, who had been long waited for, and 
 was still on the road. The baptismal font, sent by the 
 Queen of England, was of pure gold. The child received 
 the name of James. All the ambassadors were after- 
 wards entertained at a banquet, with the principal men 
 of the kingdom ; they received valuable presents from 
 the Queen before returning to their respective countries. 
 Bedford, on leaving, carried with him favourable answers 
 to two requests made by him in the name of the Queen 
 of England. One was the pardon of the murderers of 
 the secretary David; the other was the confirmation of 
 the treaty made at Leith between the French, the Scots, 
 and the English, containing especially the article which 
 provided that the Queen of Scotland should never, under 
 any pretext, interfere with the peaceful succession of 
 Elizabeth and her heirs to the crown of England, provided 
 she had legitimate issue. On the other hand, Mary 
 named three ambassadors to the Queen of England, the 
 
 onwards by the blindness of error and the evil advice of some knaves, 
 not only had invested superstition with the name of religion, but had 
 gone beyond all the chiefs of that faction in cruelly persecuting the 
 Catholic faith. He alone was almost the only cause why it could 
 find scarce a resting place within the kingdom." (Archives, S. J.) 
 
 1 According to the State Papers, it was the Comte de Brienne who 
 represented Mary's royal brother-in-law, Charles IX. of France, as 
 godfather. Cf. Teulet, " Papiers d'Etat," vol. ii. pp. 147, 151. Labf- 
 noii; vol. vii. pp. 107, 108.
 
 1566.] bishop Leslie's narrative. 117 
 
 Bishop of Ross, the Earl of Huntly, and the Lord 
 Hemes, charged to obtain a public proclamation from 
 Elizabeth that, in case of her own death without issue, 
 the English crown should descend to the Queen of 
 Scotland as next heir. But just as they were preparing 
 to set out, Morton, Ruthven, Lindsay, and the other 
 rebels, who had taken refuge in England, having obtained 
 their pardon, returned to Scotland, and at the intercession 
 of Moray, by whom they were introduced to her presence, 
 were restored to all their former influence with the 
 Queen. They retained the strongest resentment against 
 Darnley for having betrayed their plans to the Queen, 
 and they anxiously sought an opportunity of vengeance. 
 In a short time they disclosed their design to Both well, 
 urging him to murder the King, and promising that if he 
 consented they would persuade or compel the Queen to 
 give her hand to him. Bothwell was a man of ambitious 
 and haughty character, endowed with great bodily 
 strength and masculine beauty, but vicious and dissolute 
 in morals, He accepted the task assigned him, conferred 
 with the different conspirators, obtained the adherence 
 of each one, and having assured himself of their concur- 
 rence, proceeded to take measures to carry out his plan. 
 Meanwhile Darnley had gone to Glasgow on a visit to 
 his father, the Earl of Lennox, and was there attacked by 
 an illness which confined him to his bed. The Queen 
 went from Edinburgh to him ; and, through her kind 
 words and attendance, he so far rallied as to be able to 
 return to the capital along with her, in obedience to the 
 advice of the nobility and his physicians. He was taken 
 to the house of the Provost of Saint Mary's in the Fields, 
 and though it was a humble building, one perhaps 
 scarcely adapted for the abode of royalty, yet it had been 
 decorated with the royal furniture and hangings used by
 
 1 1 8 bishop Leslie's narrative. [1567. 
 
 her Majesty, and was considered by the doctors the most 
 healthy spot in the whole town. The Queen paid him 
 daily visits, accompanied by many of her nobles, and the 
 conversation sometimes lasted till midnight. 
 
 " The conspirators, of whom the leaders were Moray, 
 Morton, Argyll, Bothwell, and the secretary Lethington, 
 met privately, and after interchange of views they 
 unanimously subscribed a written agreement to the 
 effect that Darnley might lawfully be put to death, both 
 because of the offence he had committed in rescuing the 
 Queen from custody on the occasion of David's murder, 
 and because he had endeavoured to make himself King 
 against her wishes. They added, for the encouragement 
 of Bothwell, that Mary could scarcely be much displeased 
 at what they were about to do, since Darnley had not 
 only frequently betrayed her interests, but had like- 
 wise inflicted many affronts and injuries upon her. On 
 the 10th of March 1567 the Queen had been to see 
 Darnley, and remained in conversation with him, amus- 
 ing him with various games until a late hour of the 
 night, when she took leave of him and returned to the 
 palace of Holyrood. Darnley then retired to rest. 
 Bothwell, who had previously prepared a mine under 
 the house and filled it with gunpowder, came shortly 
 after midnight along with some chosen partners in his 
 crime, and fired a train connected with the powder be- 
 neath. The explosion which followed blew the whole 
 house into the air, from its very foundations. And so 
 tremendous was the report that it roused nearly the 
 entire populace of the town, who all crowded to the spot, 
 nobles and common people alike. The body of Darnley 
 and that of one of his servants were found in the 
 garden close by. Some thought they had been blown 
 thither by the force of the explosion ; but I am inclined
 
 1567.] bishop Leslie's narrative. l L9 
 
 to think, with others, that they had been strangled by 
 Both well and his associates, and thrown into the garden, 
 before the mine was fired. As soon as the Queen heard 
 of this atrocious deed, she rose from her bed, summoned 
 the nobles who were in the palace, and expressing to 
 them all the grief and anguish she felt, demanded an 
 inquiry into the authors of the crime and their punish- 
 ment with all possible severity. Then entering the 
 chamber which had been hastily prepared for her 
 mourning, she first of all returned thanks to God for 
 her preservation from so great a peril, for it looked as 
 though the contrivers of the plot had expected that she 
 would pass the night there with the King, and had thus 
 planned the destruction of them both. She remained in 
 that retreat many days, constantly asking if anything 
 had been done. On the day after the murder the council 
 sent a magistrate accompanied by several surgeons to 
 examine the bodies of Darnley and his servant, and try 
 to discover in what way they had been killed. Ques- 
 tions were put to the other servants who slept in adjoin- 
 ing buildings, and whose escape was matter of general 
 surprise ; different witnesses were called, and nothing 
 was omitted that could lead to the discovery of the 
 authors of the crime. Bothwell himself showed greater 
 diligence in the enquiry than anyone else. At nightfall 
 the body of the dead prince was conveyed to the chapel 
 of Holyrood, attended by some gentlemen on horseback, 
 and was placed in the royal vault near the remains of 
 James V. ; but no befitting funeral pomp would have 
 been permitted in Scotland at that time when so many of 
 the great lords were Calvinists. While the Queen still 
 mourned in complete retirement, the people began 
 to murmur and accuse Bothwell of the crime, and notices 
 to this effect were posted in the city during the night.
 
 120 bishop Leslie's narrative. [1567. 
 
 Bothwell was highly incensed, and complained to every- 
 one that he was suspected of an outrage which he had 
 never thought of. One person who charged him with it 
 he challenged to mortal combat ; and later on he 
 petitioned the Queen to allow him to be put on trial, 
 that he might prove his innocence. This was granted, 
 and on the day appointed one Thomas Crawfurd, a 
 relative of the baron of Kilburnie, came forward and in 
 the name of the Earl of Lennox publicly charged 
 Bothwell with the murder of the king. He denied the 
 charge, and the case was then referred to the judges in 
 the usual manner. Fifteen men of noble birth, earls 
 and barons, were selected to try the cause, and having 
 listened to the arguments of Bothwell's accuser, the Earl 
 of Argyll, as president of the court, pronounced judg- 
 ment in its name, declaring Bothwell to be entirely 
 acquitted of the crime. This decision was entered on 
 the public records and attested by the signature of all 
 the members of the court. 
 
 " Meanwhile Elizabeth sent a spy, or rather traitor, as 
 was usual with her, under the guise of an ambassador, 
 whose mission was to offer condolences to the Queen. 
 This man's name was Killigrew, and he began at once to 
 concert measures with the disaffected nobles for the 
 purpose of creating a revolution in Scotland and dejDos- 
 ing the Queen. He made particular enquiries into the 
 circumstances of the recent tragedy, and the light in 
 which the populace regarded it, wishing principally to 
 gain time in which to arrange his plot against the 
 Queen's peace and honour. 
 
 "In the ensuing Parliament, which met as early as 
 could be convened in April 1567, the Earls of Huntly 
 and Sutherland were restored by general consent to their 
 hereditary dignities and patrimony, which Moray had
 
 1567.] BISHOP LESLIE'S NARRATIVE. 121 
 
 wrested from them with violence and fraud. The sen- 
 tence of the court also acquitting Bothwell was con- 
 firmed by the three estates of the realm. Bothwell, thus 
 formally declared innocent, began openly to treat with 
 them about his proposed marriage to the Queen, and made 
 every endeavour to win over their assent to it, tempting 
 some with promises, and menacing others with the most 
 atrocious threats. Finding his proj ect universally received 
 with suspicion and dislike, he resolved to take the matter 
 into his own hands and carry out his design by force. 
 With this end in view he induced the associates in his 
 crime to put their names to a letter which he drew up 
 himself, declaring that he was entirely free from any 
 imputation of guilt, and that there was no one to whom 
 the Queen could be more suitably married than himself. 
 They signed the paper without difficulty, for their only 
 hope of safety now lay in his accession to the supreme 
 power, as they were well aware. Next he summoned 
 the other nobles, who he knew detested him, to his own 
 house, one by one, and with threats, and the menace of 
 being seized by the Queen's guards whom he then com- 
 manded, compelled them to put their hands to the same 
 document ; which they did, having before them the plain 
 alternative of subscription or else death. Bothwell's 
 own wife, the sister of the Earl of Huntly, was still alive, 
 and as it was necessary for him to obtain release from 
 his marriage bond, he first endeavoured to prevail on her 
 by flattery and entreaty to consent to a separation or 
 divorce. He found, however, his prayers and persua- 
 sions of no effect, for his wife absolutely refused to take 
 part in so iniquitous a proceeding, and he therefore 
 determined to remove this weight from his neck by an 
 act of violence. He carried Lady Bothwell to Crichton 
 Castle, and when alone with her in her chamber pre-
 
 122 bishop Leslie's narrative. [1567. 
 
 sented to her a cup of poisoned wine, requiring that she 
 should either drink it or sign her name to the paper 
 approving the divorce. She agreed to have the notaries 
 summoned, as a means of escaping the immediate danger 
 to her life, but she would not sign until she had declared 
 in their presence that she did this unwillingly and 
 simply under compulsion. The only reason assigned by 
 Bothwell for a divorce openly proclaimed his baseness 
 and utter disregard of all decency, for it was the con- 
 fession of his own adultery, committed with a woman of 
 low rank, whom he produced in presence of the Calvinist 
 ministers. He was in consequence proclaimed by them 
 free from the bond of matrimony, and announcement 
 was made from the pulpit, in particular by John Craig, 
 a preacher of Edinburgh, that Bothwell was now at 
 liberty to marry any woman he pleased. Moray, after 
 long consultation with his friends as to what steps he 
 should take, left France under some pretext or other, and 
 passing through England began to raise money from his 
 own resources and to assemble a body of troops. 
 
 " The Queen now went from Edinburgh to Stirling to 
 see her son, who was carefully guarded in the palace there. 
 As she was returning, Bothwell met her on the way, at 
 the head of a very large force of nobility and armed men, 
 and compelled her by fears and menaces to go with him, 
 much against her will, to the neighbouring castle of 
 Dunbar. There he extorted her consent to marry him, 
 to place him in command of the castle of Edinburgh, 
 after accompanying him thither, to pardon him for the 
 violence he had used, and proceed at once to the cele- 
 bration of their nuptials. 
 
 " At this marriage — which strictly, however, cannot be 
 called a marriage at all, since it was celebrated contrary 
 to the laws of the Church — only a few nobles were
 
 1667.] BISHOP LESLIE'S NARRATIVE. 123 
 
 present. For all the ecclesiastics and the greater part of 
 the secular nobility, who made open profession of Catho- 
 licism, publicly opposed such nuptials. Above all the 
 Archbishop of St Andrews, the Bishops of Ross and Dun- 
 blane, the Earl of Montgomery, and the Lord Seton, all 
 of whom had ever been foremost supporters of the Queen, 
 used on this occasion their utmost efforts to oppose a 
 proceeding which was illicit, and likely to bring great 
 harm and shame upon her. It was on this account that 
 they met with the undisguised enmity of Bothwell. On 
 her return from that unlawful ceremony, the Queen, 
 finding some of them in her apartment, could not help 
 weeping. At once she sent for the Bishop of Ross, and 
 with many tears unlocked the secret of her heart to him ; 
 she showed many signs of repentance, and promised 
 that never again would she do anything opposed to 
 the rites of the Catholic and Roman Church, or permit 
 any such thing to be done in her presence, even if it 
 should be at the peril of her life. On the Feast of 
 Pentecost, which followed soon afterwards, she publicly 
 received the Eucharist after sacramental confession, in 
 order to repair by so excellent an example of piety the 
 mischief caused by her fault. It must be added, as was 
 indeed believed by most people at the time, with every 
 appearance of probability, that Bothwell threw the 
 Queen's mind into a confused state by means of magical 
 arts, and so brought her to consent to this marriage. By 
 what other means she can have been induced to take a 
 step so improper and unsuitable, and so unlike the usual 
 tenor of her life, I confess I cannot see. 1 
 
 1 Sir James Melville, who had been taken prisoner with her, 
 
 records that such violence was at last used to her that she had no 
 
 longer a choice. Bothwell, in his dying confession, said that he 
 
 accomplished his purpose "hy the use of sweet waters." Morton's 
 
 reclamations charged him with using violence to the Queen, " and
 
 124 bishop Leslie's narrative. [1567. 
 
 " While these events were passing in Edinburgh, there 
 met at Stirling the Earls of Argyll, Mar, and Morton, 
 Lord Lindsay, the Barons of Tullibardine and Lething- 
 ton, the Queen's secretary, who had recently left her 
 service and abandoned her cause. These had lately 
 attached to their party the Earls of Glencairn and Athole, 
 together with Lord Huntly and a great many others. 
 They united in opposition to the Queen, and proceeded 
 to assemble an armed force, under the pretext that they 
 desired to rescue her from Bothwell's tyranny, and bring 
 him to justice for the murder of the king. 
 
 " A fortnight after the marriage, Bothwell persuaded 
 the Queen to leave Edinburgh, partly to gain recreation 
 and change for her, and partly to use her name and 
 authority to turn Lady Bothwell out of Crichton Castle. 
 They went to Borthwick, and had remained there two 
 days, when in the middle of the night the Earl of Huntly 
 surrounded the castle with five hundred horsemen at 
 least. Mortou arrived at dawn, with a large reinforce- 
 ment, and Mar, Lindsay, and other nobles of the faction 
 soon came up, with as many soldiers as they could col- 
 lect, mounted and on foot. They were beginning a 
 regular siege, when Bothwell managed to get the Queen 
 away secretly to Dunbar, and the conspirators, baulked of 
 their prey, returned to Edinburgh. The Most Reverend 
 Bishop of Dunblane had gone to Paris, as the Queen's 
 envoy, to explain to the most Christian King and to the 
 Queen's uncles the circumstances attending her marriage, 
 and to offer excuses for it, assuring them at the same 
 time that it was her secret design to extricate herself 
 from the labyrinth in which she was involved, as soon as 
 she could find a chance of doing so. The tumults, above 
 
 other more unleisum mea?is." It seems not unlikely therefore that he 
 employed some sweetened potion.
 
 1567.] BISHOP LESLIE S NARRATIVE. 125 
 
 described, prevented the bishop's return to Scotland, 
 where his constancy in the profession of the Catholic 
 faith was well known. 
 
 " Shortly afterwards the Queen, on leaving the castle of 
 Dunbar, was met near Musselburgh by the conspirators 
 with an armed force. Bothwell had only a few soldiers 
 on his side, though these few were well prepared to fight. 
 But before they engaged, Kirkcaldy of Grange asked for 
 speech with the Queen, and assured her they had no in- 
 tention of doing her any injury, but only sought to rescue 
 her from the hands of Bothwell, provide for the safety of 
 her son, and bring the Earl to justice for the murder of 
 Darnley. They easily persuaded her to join their army, 
 with only a few waiting-maids and attendants, as the 
 best means of allaying the public excitement ; and she 
 recommended Bothwell, before she left him, to secure his 
 own safety. He first went to Moray, thence he sailed 
 to the Orkneys, and from that crossed over to Norway. 
 Arrived there he proceeded by land to the King of Den- 
 mark, by whom he was honourably received in the be- 
 ginning, but was afterwards consigned to a gloomy prison, 
 where he ended his days. The Queen was at first kindly 
 treated by the conspirators, as one whose term of power 
 was drawing to its close. The next morning she was 
 placed on horseback and conveyed to Loch Leven, and 
 taken in a boat to the castle, where she was detained for 
 a year in the closest confinement. The conspirators, 
 having now attained their object, sent for Moray from 
 France, and committed the government to his hands. 
 They proclaimed the Queen's son, who was scarcely a 
 year old, King of Scotland, appointed themselves his 
 guardians, and proceeded to govern and misgovern every- 
 thing at their pleasure. After a time the Lord Seton 
 and John Beaton, formerly intimate friends of the Queen,
 
 126 bishop Leslie's narrative. [1568. 
 
 and now old men, who had not ceased to devise plans 
 for her liberation, succeeded in winning over George 
 Douglas, who had charge of the gates of the castle, and 
 by his means gained one of the servants. The latter, 
 while his master was at supper, stole the keys of the 
 apartment in which the Queen was confined, opened the 
 door and took the keys to her. She left the castle by a 
 postern gate, entered a boat, and was rowed across the 
 lake by Douglas and his associate. These two on land- 
 ing raised the concerted signal of her freedom, and a 
 large body of horsemen who were waiting among the 
 hills came forward to greet her, and received her with 
 every mark of honour. Messengers were sent in all 
 directions to announce the liberation of the Queen. The 
 heartiest demonstrations of joy were visible throughout 
 the kingdom ; the nobles who remained faithful to Mary 
 flew to arms and assembled their forces. Not to prolong 
 the narrative of the almost endless calamities of this 
 kingdom and of its unfortunate queen, we barely tell 
 how, within a few days after she had been set free, she 
 was defeated in battle by the conspirators at Langside, 
 and hastened into England, to cast herself on the protec- 
 tion of her royal kinswoman. She was arrested by 
 Elizabeth, and has now been kept a prisoner twelve 
 years. Scotland during this time has been a scene of 
 marvellous confusion. The Queen's most determined 
 enemy and infamous betrayer, the Earl of Moray, was 
 killed in sight of his own supporters by a noble of the 
 house of Hamilton, and later a similar fate overtook the 
 Earl of Lennox ; while others who, on the Queen's forced 
 retirement from Scotland, had attempted to seize her 
 power and authority . 
 
 » i 
 
 1 This last sentence of Bishop Leslie's MS. is left incomplete. 
 Latin MS. "Arch. Vat. Politicorum Var.," xvi. p. 297.
 
 PART THE SECOND. 
 
 NARRATIVES AND LETTERS 
 
 ILLUSTRATING THE HISTORY OF SCOTCH CATHOLICS 
 UNDER JAMES THE SIXTH.
 
 T. 
 
 LETTERS AND MEMORIALS OF THE STATE AND 
 PROGRESS OF EVENTS FROM 1570 TO 1G03. 
 
 On learning the unexpected death of the Earl of 
 Moray, Elizabeth was at first in considerable perplexity, 
 as all her schemes now seemed baffled. But she was 
 soon reassured by the intelligence that her minister, 
 Cecil, and her other partisans had succeeded in raising 
 the Earl of Lennox to the regency. Arriving suddenly 
 from England with an English army, Lennox burnt the 
 castles of a few of the Scottish nobility, wasted the 
 Hamilton country, and put to a cruel death the Arch- 
 bishop of St Andrews, Primate of Scotland. Already, in 
 order to obtain power, Lennox had taken a share in the 
 murder of Eizzio in 1566, though he knew that the 
 attempt was directed not only against the unfortunate 
 Italian, but also against the Queen, who was then far 
 advanced in pregnancy. He who at that time had been 
 capable of endangering the life of his own son's child, is 
 not likely to have hesitated from any sensitive scruples 
 to deliver up this valuable hostage to Elizabeth four 
 years later ; and it was upon this subject of negotiation 
 that he began his correspondence with Elizabeth, who 
 was now the arbitress of Scotland. 
 
 While such negotiations were in progress, Lennox, 
 not content with the oppression he exercised towards all 
 the friends of the captive Queen, was shameless enough 
 to place among the attendants of the young Prince 
 
 i
 
 130 REGENCY OF MAR. [1571. 
 
 persons who taught him to apply to his mother terms 
 that were " filthy and most dishonest." 1 Those who had 
 gone so far in wickedness saw no other hope of safety 
 for themselves than in building up an impassable barrier 
 of prejudice between the son and his mother, and they 
 appointed the godless Buchanan, whose hatred to Mary 
 was well known, to be tutor to James VI. Lennox, 
 however, speedily met with the punishment of his 
 crimes ; for, on the 3rd of September 1571, the Queen's 
 party having surprised the Castle of Stirling, he was 
 put to death, in revenge for the murder of the Arch- 
 bishop of St Andrews. His place was taken by the 
 Earl of Mar, who had the care of the young King of 
 Scotland in Stirling Castle. James was then only six 
 years old, and as he would not attain his majority till 
 he was seventeen, the Earl looked forward to a prolonged 
 tenure of office, if only the Queen was not allowed to 
 escape from her prison and once more ascend the throne. 
 Mar, the former tutor and guardian who had protected 
 and instructed the young Queen, then a helpless child, 
 in his priory at Inchmahome ; who had resided for ten 
 years at her Court in France ; who had received from her 
 so many marks of favour and friendship, did not scruple 
 to piece together again the threads of the relations which 
 Elizabeth had established, and which had twice been 
 broken in her hands by the unexpected deaths of Moray 
 and of Lennox. The proposal was that the imprisoned 
 Queen should be given up, and put to death within four 
 hours after she had crossed the Border. 2 Everything was 
 
 1 Strickland, Letters of Mary Queen of Scots. London, 1848, vol. 
 i. p. 233. 
 
 2 Secret instructions for H. Killigrew, September 10, 1572 j Mur- 
 din's " State Papers," p. 224, 225 j Tytler's " Inquiry," vol. ii. p. 314 ; 
 Letters from Killigrew to Burleigh and Leicester, Cotton. Lib. Calig., 
 c. iii. f. 375, 19th September 1572.
 
 1573.] REGENCY OF MORTON. 131 
 
 agreed upon except the price which the Earl was to 
 receive for the murder, since he would not assassinate 
 his Sovereign for nothing. While only waiting for the 
 reply from London to a last message on this subject, 
 Mar went, perhaps imprudently, to dine at Dalkeith 
 with his worthy friend the Earl of Morton, who was a 
 secret aspirant to the regency. Next morning he was 
 seized with an illness which would yield to no remedies, 
 and expired as he was entering the castle at Stirling, 
 October 28, 1572. 
 
 Morton succeeded to the inheritance. On the 24th of 
 November he assumed the regency, which he owed to 
 the patronage of Elizabeth, 1 who wrote to him a very 
 flattering letter, and, without alluding to Mary's murder, 
 offered to give him most effective support in money and 
 troops. 2 On the 25th of April an English army appeared 
 in the capital, and the battering train having at the 
 same time arrived by sea, the siege of Edinburgh Castle 
 commenced. Kirkaldy of Grange and Lethington, who 
 had returned to their allegiance, looked with confidence 
 to the arrival of assistance from France ; but Verac, 
 commissioned to bring them relief from the French 
 King, was driven by a tempest into Scarborough, and 
 detained in England. The last gleam of hope which 
 their gallant defence had kindled in the desolate heart 
 of Mary, was extinguished by the surrender of her last 
 stronghold to the English forces under Sir William 
 Drury, on the 29th of May 1573. 
 
 The Queen, now in prison in England, was more 
 
 1 Great secrecy was to be used in the delivery of the money to 
 Morton. The sum was £2500. Letter from Sir Valentine Brown to 
 Lord Burghley, 26th December 1572, quoted by Tytler, vol. ix. p. 330. 
 
 2 MS. Letter, B. M. Vespasian, F. vi. fol. 181 d. ; Burghley to 
 Walsingham, 3d November, 1572.
 
 132 MAEY STUART AND THE COUNTESS OF LENNOX. [1575. 
 
 anxious than ever for the safety of her son, now that he 
 was in the power of Morton. 
 
 " I am in great distress," she writes, " at not having 
 any tidings of my son. Although the Earl of Shrews- 
 bury, when I ask him, always says that he has not heard 
 otherwise (thank God !) than that he is well ; and this 
 bearer, of whom I have made inquiry, has also assured 
 me of the same, which, as neither you nor the Bishop of 
 Ross have written anything to the contrary to me, con- 
 soles me ; yet, as I cannot but feel apprehensive till I 
 am thoroughly assured about it, I entreat you, Monsieur 
 de la Mothe Fenelon, to obtain, if possible, of the Queen 
 my good sister, permission to have tidings of him, from 
 time to time, on which I can depend. He is all I have 
 in the world, and the older I grow, the more foolish 
 mother do I become, in which, however, I think I may be 
 pardoned ; and, being deprived of the sight of him, if, at 
 least, I can be assured of his health, my ills would be half 
 alleviated, and I could bear my afflictions more easily." ' 
 
 Her principal and unceasing anxiety, as will easily be 
 understood, was to withdraw her son, if possible, from 
 the moral and religious influence of Morton, as well as 
 from the grasping eagerness of Elizabeth, who kept 
 returning to the subject in her correspondence with the 
 Regent. It was in reference to this subject 2 that Mary 
 renewed her former friendly relations with the Countess 
 of Lennox. The countess had at last penetrated the 
 terrible mystery of 1567. She could no longer doubt 
 the innocence of her daughter-in-law, and the guilt of 
 Morton towards her son. 3 The mother and the grand- 
 
 1 "Labanoff," vol. iv. p. 100. 
 
 2 We are not informed as to the exact date. 
 
 3 Nothing can be more affectionate than the letter she wrote to 
 Mary on the 6th of November 1575. "... I beseech your Majesty 
 fear not, but trust in God, that all shall be well ; the treachery of
 
 1576.] DESIGN FOR ABDUCTING THE YOUNG KTNG. 133 
 
 mother devised plans for the safety of the child in whom 
 the affections of both were centred — their " gentle and 
 peerless jewel of Scotland." Believing his life to be in 
 imminent danger while he was in the hands of his 
 father's murderer, they proposed that he should be 
 privily stolen out of Morton's hands, carried from Stirling 
 to Dumbarton, and then embarked for Flanders, and 
 consigned to the care of the King of Spain for his 
 education. The arrest of the Countess of Lennox and 
 her incarceration in the Tower of London put an end 
 to the design of abducting the little king. 
 
 In February 1576 Mary enjoyed one comfort. Mr 
 Hamilton, a faithful follower having returned from 
 Scotland, brought the consoling intelligence which she 
 communicates to La Mothe Fenelon in this brief but joy- 
 ous sentence : — " My son loves me much !" * About the 
 same time she received satisfactory news touching the 
 arrival in England of a copy of Both well's confession, 
 attested by the Danish bishop and nobles in whose pre- 
 sence it was uttered. Not the least interesting incident 
 connected with the publication of Bothwell's confession, 
 was the effect it produced on the mind of Mary's son. 
 One day, while the young Prince was studying in his 
 chamber at Stirling, his attention was caught by some 
 words which the Laird of Tullibardine, the controller of 
 the household, read aloud at that moment to another 
 gentleman of rank. The young James rose, left his 
 work, and coming suddenly upon them, demanded sight 
 
 your traitors is known better than before." She hopes that her 
 grand-daughter, Arabella Stuart, Darnley's niece, " may one day serve 
 Mary." She wishes Mary a " long and happy life," and subscribes 
 herself " Your Majesty's most humble and loving mother and aunt. 
 It. 0." See the facsimile of the document, vol. v. " Lives of the Queens 
 of Scotland and English Princesses," by Miss Strickland. 
 1 « Labanoff," vol. iv. p. 265.
 
 134 LETTER OF BISHOP LESLIE. [1579 
 
 of the paper they were reading. Tullibardme would not 
 at first allow him. to see it, but James snatched it out 
 of his hand, read it straight through, then gave it back 
 and returned to his seat without another word. The 
 rest of the day he was gayer than usual, conversed 
 cheerfully with the gentlemen about him, and as he con- 
 tinued in the like animated mood from dinner to supper, 
 all present were curious to learn the cause. After 
 supper, Tullibardine commended him for his gracious 
 deportment, and expressed pleasure at seeing him so 
 cheerful. " Have I not reason, Tullibardine, to be so," 
 replied the royal boy ; "and to rejoice that very grievous 
 accusations and calumnies having been all along im- 
 pressed upon me against her Majesty the Queen, my 
 mother, I have this day seen so manifest a testimony of 
 her innocence % " 1 
 
 Early in the spring of 1578, Mary exulted in the 
 tidings of a bold stroke by which the Earls of Argyll and 
 Athole had deposed Morton from the regency, and in- 
 vested her son with the government of Scotland, though 
 he had not fully completed his twelfth year. Athole's 
 design in effecting this bloodless revolution is thus 
 explained by one of his most intimate friends, the 
 Bishop of Koss : — 
 
 John Leslie, Bishop of Ross, to Cardinal de Como. 
 
 " Most illustrious and most Eeverend Lord, — I 
 wrote not long ago to your illustrious Lordship, stating 
 that we had no information of what was going on in 
 Scotland, because the messengers whom we sent to that 
 country were not permitted to return. Now, however, 
 
 1 Keith's "Appendix," page 143. The Archbishop of Glasgow 
 was informed of this by a gentleman to whom Tullibardine had 
 repeated it.
 
 1579.] LETTER OF BISHOP LESLIE. 135 
 
 two of them, sent into Scotland by us, came back here, 
 by God's goodness on the 13th of May, namely, Captain 
 Robert Stewart, a Scotchman of high birth, and another 
 from whom I learnt, by letter and by word of mouth, 
 what I am about to relate. In April last there was a 
 meeting of the nobles held at Stirling, at which it was 
 unanimously agreed that the King should be at liberty 
 to leave Stirling Castle at his pleasure, and should tra- 
 verse the kingdom and show himself to his subjects, in 
 order that they might acknowledge and receive him as 
 their sovereign. Further, the noblemen who were under 
 bond for his safe custody were released from the obliga- 
 tion. They have now under discussion the constitution 
 of his household, and the selection of a hundred men of 
 noble birth, who are to be charged with his safety. On 
 this account there are a great many on their way from 
 France into Scotland, to be enrolled among the King's 
 guards, and in the royal household. Fears are neverthe- 
 less entertained that, if the King should go anywhere 
 with an insufficient military force to protect him, he 
 may be carried into England at the instigation of Morton, 
 who lately has held the administration in Scotland, 
 and is said to have a private understanding with the 
 Queen of England on this point. The alarm is all the 
 better founded, because the illustrious Earl of Athole, 
 who was one of the King's nearest kinsmen, and stood 
 in the place of a parent to him, and who, out of Christian 
 zeal for religion, had deposed Morton from the adminis- 
 tration of the kingdom of Scotland, fell sick shortly after 
 the convention of the nobles, and died, to the King's 
 great regret and that of all ranks and orders in the 
 kingdom. He died, as they affirm, not without sus- 
 picion of poison, administered to him at table, when 
 Morton himself and several of his adherents were present
 
 136 LETTER OF BISHOP LESLIE. [1579. 
 
 with a large party. It is impossible to express how 
 great a loss the Christian cause in the country has sus- 
 tained by his death. He was a truly Catholic nobleman, 
 and illustrious protector of the Catholic party. He had 
 only one object, to which he directed all his efforts and 
 all his influence — the restoration to the Scottish people 
 of the Christian religion of their forefathers. He fre- 
 quently wrote to me, declaring that he desired nothing 
 more earnestly than that I should be permitted to return 
 to Scotland, and that he could not rest nor enjoy any 
 peace of mind until he had me at hand to assist the King 
 and himself with my advice. There is, however, one 
 very hopeful circumstance that the King has written to 
 summon his cousin, the Lord d'Aubigny, from France, 
 a man of sound judgment and marked prudence, and a 
 constant upholder of the Catholic religion, and one whom 
 the King is anxious to have at his side. There is every 
 hope that in process of time he will be able to do much 
 to settle the affairs of Scotland. The hand of the Lord 
 is not shortened, as your illustrious lordship is well 
 aware. We have lost the Earl of Athole, but God is able, 
 in the words of Holy Scripture, to raise us up another 
 saviour. There are many left who have not bent their 
 knees before Baal. The Earl's death has occasioned me 
 no little grief, since he was one of my most intimate 
 friends ; yet I shall not cease to promote the cause of 
 religion and good government in my native country, to 
 the utmost of my power. Yesterday I saw the most 
 Christian King of France, and the illustrious Duke of 
 Guise, and gave them all the information I could. They 
 promised every assistance in their power, and engaged 
 to arrange everything, with the utmost dispatch possible, 
 for the expedition of Lord d'Aubigny. There are, more- 
 over, many earls and other nobles, of good principles,
 
 1579.] LETTER OF BISHOP LESLIE. 137 
 
 besides men of inferior rank, who will have no difficulty 
 in repressing the efforts of these wicked men, if they can 
 only receive assistance from some Christian Prince. I 
 have no doubt your most illustrious Lordship will inform 
 the Holy Father of all these circumstances. I continually 
 pray Almighty God for the safety of his Holiness, and 
 that he will preserve your Lordship long in this life. 
 " Your illustrious Lordship's 
 
 " Devoted Servant, 
 
 John, Bishop of Ross." 
 
 Paris, May 15, 1579. l 
 
 The Same to the Same. 
 "Most illustrious and most Reverend Lord, — 1 
 have received a letter from your most illustrious Lord- 
 ship, in which you ask for information relative to the 
 Parliament held in Scotland in April, from which you 
 had conceived great hopes of the restoration of religion 
 in that country. All good men looked forward con- 
 fidently to this assembly of the nobles, because the illus- 
 trious Earl of Athole had raised a standard round which 
 the well-wishers of the State were eager to rally. His 
 influence with the young Prince was almost like that of 
 a father, and he had brought not only the King himself, 
 and most of the principal men of the Kingdom, but some 
 of the Calvinist ministers as well, to agree to my return- 
 ing to my country with safety, on condition that I would 
 abstain from raising any subject of controversy, and join 
 with the others in consultation as to the mode of carry- 
 ing; on the administration. This was indeed the matter 
 of most pressing necessity, and I could have introduced 
 
 1 Endorsed. Ill mo et E mo D no D. Card u Comensi Dno Meo Obser- 
 vandissimo. Koinse. Forwarded by Dandini, 17th of May. Original. 
 (Secret Archives of the Vatican Xunciatura Francise, vol. xiv. fol. 
 230).
 
 138 LETTER OF BISHOP LESLIE. [1579. 
 
 the subject of religion gradually as time went on, and 
 the progress of business brought it under notice. It was 
 another step in my favour that he induced the King to 
 approve and endorse all my proceedings in Germany on 
 behalf of the Scottish nation, a verbal account of which 
 has been rendered to his Majesty, who desired to have the 
 written documents submitted to him. I am about to 
 send them through the hands of the Lord d'Aubigny, a 
 French nobleman of the royal house of Scotland, one 
 devoted to the Catholic religion, who is proceeding 
 to Scotland with great authority, being specially sum- 
 moned by letters from the young King, his kinsman. I 
 have learnt these particulars partly from the letters of 
 the Countess of Athole, and partly from other sources. 
 Unhappily our hopes of success have been in great 
 degree overthrown by the perfidy of Morton. He has 
 poisoned the Earl of Athole, as every one believes — a 
 grievous loss to our cause. Previously to his death the 
 Earl received the Sacraments of the Church with every 
 indication of piety, deliberately made his will and 
 arranged his affairs, and wrote a private letter to the 
 young King, pointing out how he could best avoid the 
 treachery of his enemies, and what counsellors he ouo-ht 
 to call to his assistance. Since his death matters in 
 Scotland have continued to get worse and worse. 
 Morton exercises an intolerable tyranny. He has pro- 
 scribed the ancient house of Hamilton who are the next 
 heirs to the crown after Mary Queen of Scots, and the 
 young King, her son. He holds all their castles, and has 
 put to death many members of their family, and keeps 
 others in prison. Among these last is the Earl of Arran, 
 who is the head of the family, though unfortunately out 
 of his mind. Others he has interdicted from fire and 
 water, especially two of the Earl of Arran 's brothers,
 
 lf.ro. I LETTER OF BISHOP LESLIE. lof) 
 
 John the Commendator of Arbroath, who was at Rome in 
 the time of the late Pope Pius IV., and Claud, Commen- 
 dator of Paisley, both favourers of the Catholic Cause, 
 as well as many others who have succeeded in making 
 their escape. These he has accused of parricide, declar- 
 ing them, by a cruel edict issued in the King's name, to 
 be murderers of the Regent of Scotland, and pronouncing 
 them guilty of high treason. The relatives of the Earl 
 of Athole are reduced to silence, and prevented from com- 
 plaining of his death or bringing the authors of it to 
 justice. The atrocious nature of these injuries is 
 deeply felt by noble and generous minds, and may not 
 improbably bring about a reaction. The relatives of 
 Hamilton and of Athole are not likely to submit to such 
 treatment, but will defend their rights by force of arms, 
 if it cannot be done in any other way. Having crushed 
 the Hamiltons, Morton proceeded to exercise the same 
 severity against the Gordons, who are of their kin ; 
 besides being allied to them by marriage. The chief of 
 the Gordons is the Earl of Huntly, a young man eighteen 
 years of age, of excellent disposition, and well brought 
 up in the Christian Faith ; but he has escaped to Paris, 
 having obtained leave through the Earl of Athole 
 before that nobleman's death. We shall keep him for 
 better times, like another Joas rescued from the cruelty 
 of Athaliah, in hopes that he may restore the worship of 
 God in Scotland, one of these days. The men who took 
 part in the civil wars sometime back are apprehensive, 
 not without reason, of an interruption of the peace 
 which they had concluded with Morton. In order to 
 prevent any from seeking safety in flight, Morton has 
 published a letter written in the name of the young 
 King, filled with falsehood and misrepresentation, and 
 sufficiently indicating the cruelty of his mind and his
 
 140 LETTER OF BISHOP LESLTE. [1579. 
 
 detestation of the HamDtons. I shall use every exertion 
 in my power to discover, if possible, some means of de- 
 feating this man's machinations, and securing the safety 
 of our young Prince, who is in imminent danger of being 
 either given up to the English or put to death by the 
 treachery of Morton. Our hopes are certainly lessened but 
 not overthrown. Many good men remain, who in conjunc- 
 tion with the Hamiltons, the Atholes, and the Gordons, 
 may prove strong enough to overthrow Morton's 
 tyranny. The young Earl of Athole, the worthy son of 
 an excellent father, a young man of eighteen years of 
 age, and who inherits his father's piety and virtues as 
 well as his possessions, is complaining loudly among 
 all orders and degrees in Scotland, of the iniquitous 
 murder of his parent, and is entreating the assistance of 
 the great men of the Kingdom, the nobles, and everyone 
 else. He is thus coming forward as a leader of opposi- 
 tion to Morton, and unless the latter can obtain aid from 
 abroad, which he usually does, his usurpation may still 
 be easily overthrown. ..." 
 
 " Your illustrious Lordship's 
 
 " Devoted Servant, 
 
 "John, Bishop of Koss." 
 
 Paris, June 20, 1579. 1 
 
 Shortly after Athole's death, the General Assembly met 
 at Edinburgh, and having chosen Mr Thomas Smeton 
 for their moderator, appointed a council of the brethren 
 to wait upon the King, with some requests to which 
 they besought his attention. These were that he should 
 interdict all parents, under heavy penalties, from sending 
 their children to be educated at the University of Paris, 
 
 1 Endorsed:— Ill m0 et R mo D n °- . . . Card. Comensl Domino meo 
 observantissimo (Secret Archives of the Vatican).
 
 1579.] LETTER OF FR. JOHN HAY. 141 
 
 or other foreign colleges professing the Catholic religion ; 
 that he should cause the University of St Andrews, some 
 of whose professors had recently left the Protestant Com- 
 munion, to be reformed in all its colleges and founda- 
 tions ; and should take Order for the banishment of 
 the Jesuits, whom the Assembly denominated " the pesti- 
 lent dregs of a most detestable idolatry." 
 
 Father John Hay, of the Society of Jesus, had just 
 succeeded in penetrating into Scotland, where his presence 
 caused no little excitement, as will appear from the 
 following letter : — 
 
 Fr. John Hay to Edward Mercurian, General of the 
 
 Society of Jesus. 
 
 " Right Reverend Father in Christ — Pax Christi, 
 — I cannot say how much I was delighted with your 
 Paternity's letter, in which you reply at length to one 
 addressed by me to you from Bordeaux, just as I was 
 setting out for Scotland. 
 
 " Your epistle reached me at the moment when the 
 Calvinist ministers, who, alas ! have ruled with an iron 
 rod for many years past in Scotland, had decided to 
 summon me by royal letters before the Council. It 
 seemed like an interposition of Divine providence that 
 at the very moment I was undergoing persecution a 
 letter from your Paternity, so full of energy and wisdom, 
 should have come to strengthen me in my resolution of 
 adhering to our faith and rule, so that I more easily 
 repulsed the attacks made against me. It would only 
 fatigue your Paternity if I were to recount all my ad- 
 ventures in my long and toilsome expedition. I there- 
 
 1 John Hay, of the family of Hay of Dalgaty, horn in 1546, 
 entered the Society on the 25th January 1566. He died at Pont-a- 
 Mousson on the 21st of May 1607.
 
 142 LETTER OF FE. JOHN HAY. [1579. 
 
 fore merely note clown what will convey information as to 
 the state of the Kingdom of Scotland, in the hope that 
 this realm may be the sooner cleansed from the filth of 
 heresy which has so long defiled it. 
 
 " I embarked at Bordeaux on the 23d of December, 
 on board a Scottish vessel with a crew composed evi- 
 dently of Calvinists (except two who were Catholics 
 secretly), and I was often obliged to discuss with them 
 the mysteries of our religion. When they were unable 
 to answer my arguments they said their ministers would 
 help them. I protested that I was not only waiting but 
 desirous to meet their ministers in controversy, if the 
 King commanded me to do so. The voyage, which was 
 a very tedious one at that time of the year, occupied a 
 month, and on the 20th of January we reached in safety the 
 harbour of Dundee, having by God's mercy escaped from 
 imminent peril of our lives. There was no little commo- 
 tion in the town at the news of my arrival ; for the people 
 who had originally adopted the Lutheran heresy from 
 the Germans, and then abandoned it for that of Calvin, 
 now defended these latter errors with greater pugnacity 
 than in any other part of Scotland. The majority, how- 
 ever, were well inclined, had they been let alone, towards 
 the Catholic faith ; and the magistrates, fully aware of 
 this circumstance, were dreadfully afraid lest my expos- 
 tulations might bring the people to reject the impieties 
 of Calvinism, and yet did not know how to provide 
 against the danger. If they were to incite the citizens to 
 lay violent hands upon me, they foresaw that they would 
 expose themselves to great risk from the vengeance of 
 my kinsmen and clansmen ; but it was no less evident 
 that they would incur the hostility of their ministers if 
 they allowed me to remain in the town unharmed. It 
 was eight o'clock in the morning when our vessel cast
 
 1579.] LETTER OF FR. JOHN HAY. 1 43 
 
 anchor, so that the citizens received the first intimation 
 of our approach from the report of the discharge of our 
 cannon. 1 meant to have gone that night to a farm 
 three miles off, belonging to my brother ; but the master 
 of the inn where I put up dissuaded me from doing so, 
 assuring me that I was in no sort of danger, if only 1 
 kept my counsel about matters of controversy, and he 
 declared he could send me safely on to the North of 
 Scotland. I thought I could not well reject this man's 
 advice, as my brother was under some obligations to 
 him, though I saw very plainly what was about to 
 happen. 
 
 " On the following day, the minister w T as so frightened 
 at my arrival in the town that he stopped short in his 
 sermon, and left it unfinished, as many of his hearers 
 noticed ; he determined at once to take measures for 
 preventing my coming being ever repeated. He there- 
 fore proposed to the magistrate that I should be detained 
 at the inn, until the Royal Council had received 
 information of my arrival in Scotland. At the same 
 time he felt that this alone would be little use, as the 
 people were certain to assemble in large numbers to hear 
 me, which, indeed, they had already expressed their in- 
 tention of doing. He therefore secretly sent one of his 
 boon companions to inform my host that the magistrates 
 meant to detain me in custody. My host having com- 
 municated this piece of news to me, I exchanged my 
 cloak for a coarse woollen plaid, such as the peasantry 
 in Scotland commonly wear, and left the town instantly, 
 with a boy for my guide. I sent the lad back again to 
 bring me a horse, for though the journey was not long, 
 yet having been out of health, I found I was not strong- 
 enough to make it on foot. I had scarcely left the city 
 when I encountered a number of persons of rank, and
 
 1-44 LETTER OF FR. JOHN HAY. [1579- 
 
 was questioned with much curiosity as to who I was, and 
 where I came from. I would not reply till I had ascer- 
 tained that I had got beyond the boundary of the juris- 
 diction of Dundee ; and when they learnt that I was a 
 man of education, that I was withdrawing from the 
 control of the magistrate, and that the latter had 
 threatened to detain me in custody at the suggestion of 
 his minister, one of them asked whether I was a Jesuit. 
 When I answered frankly that I was one of those whom 
 they called Jesuits, he told me not to be under any 
 uneasiness, and that the minister had better look out 
 for himself, since my kinsmen lived close by, and would 
 be sure to pay him out very handsomely for any wrong 
 done to me. He inveighed sharply against the minister, 
 and invited me to rest at his house. But as I was 
 anxious to push on to the north, I resolved to decline 
 any invitation, however generous. On the evening of 
 that day four municipal officers of the town came to look 
 for me at the inn, and on hearing I had gone off, instead 
 of taking this at all ill, they commended the conduct of 
 my landlord highly. They quite understood they had 
 gone as far as they durst without offending any of my 
 clansmen ; though, in order to avoid incurring suspicion 
 from the chief ministers for neglect of their duty, they 
 summoned into court the master of the vessel which had 
 brought me to Scotland. He answered with great spirit 
 that he had done nothing in opposition to the laws of 
 the country, and had only brought to his native land a 
 Scotchman who was almost worn out with sickness, was 
 under no accusation of treason, and had no design of 
 disturbing the tranquillity of that part of the country by 
 simply coming to see his friends, with the hope of 
 recovering his health. He said, ' If you want to bring 
 him to trial you had better obtain an order from the
 
 1579.] LETTER OF FR. JOHN HAY. 145 
 
 King, and I will answer for his appearance if lie is sum- 
 moned before the Council' Most of the sailors who had 
 come with me from Bordeaux, took up my defence with 
 warmth when they heard that their minister threatened 
 proceedings against me ; and they roundly asserted that 
 the members of our Society were far beyond the mini- 
 sters in holiness of life, and if the question were to be 
 decided by force of arms, many more would stand up 
 for the Jesuits than for the ministers. 
 
 " The minister of Dundee began to assail the holiness 
 of our institute with great acrimony in his sermons, the 
 result of which was that the people took to making 
 enquiries for themselves, with respect to our mode of 
 life, manners and discipline, from such persons as had 
 lived in France. Several of them commended our rule, 
 and drew this argument in our favour from the name 
 Jesuit. ' Since they imitate Jesus Christ, those who so 
 cruelly oppose them must be under a great mistake, and in 
 profound ignorance of what the Christian religion is.' The 
 word Jesuit was in everybody's mouth, and nothing else 
 was heard at table, among the higher classes, in taverns, 
 in the market, or in sermons delivered in the church. 
 It was reported all over the kingdom that twelve mem- 
 bers of the Society, men of the most eminent piety and 
 learning, had landed at the port of Dundee, and had 
 begun to prove that all the ministers were ignorant 
 deceivers. This rumour caused so much dismay among 
 the ministers that they almost despaired of maintaining 
 their influence in Scotland, and set about exhorting their 
 hearers to constancy and perseverance in the cause, since 
 they could not conceal that their Church was threatened 
 with a grave and pressing peril. The Jesuits (they said) 
 were a new race of persons, far worse than the Papists 
 (as they call the Catholics), and so skilful in the use of 
 
 K
 
 146 LETTEtt OF FR. JOHN HAY. [1579. 
 
 controversial weapons, that wherever they go they easily 
 lead the minds of men astray. 
 
 " I was obliged to stay three days at my brother's 
 farm, having left my books and papers in the ship, but 
 through the care of two of the sailors, and of my land- 
 lord, I did not lose a single leaf. Some Hebrew books 
 fell into the minister's hands, who immediately returned 
 them to me as soon as he knew I was going into the 
 north. I received a message from my brother Master 
 Edmund Hay, 1 a man of eminence and a Catholic, held 
 in great repute among the people of our country for 
 wisdom ; who most kindly entreated me, if I retained 
 any human regard and benevolence towards those 
 attached to me by the ties of consanguinity, not to go to 
 my brother in the north until I had paid him a visit at 
 his house. Accordingly he kept me with him twelve 
 days, my brother having thrown out some hopes of 
 coming into that part of Scotland himself. The latter had 
 heard nothing all this time of my arrival in the country, 
 except by report ; and although everyone affirmed I had 
 reached Scotland, he refused to believe it, because the 
 people on his land at Dundee had neglected to inform 
 him of it. I found that the family who were to receive 
 and entertain me on my progress northward were 
 Catholics, ladies advanced in years, and so steadfast in 
 their faith that no threats of the ministers could deter 
 them from the open profession of it. 
 
 " My brother feared my arrival might seriously involve 
 
 1 Mr Edmund Hay, advocate, was one of the counsel for the Earl 
 of Bothwell, on his trial for the murder of Darnley, and in the 
 process of his divorce. (Buchanan's "Detection," and Goodall's 
 "Examination," i. 368). He signs a contract as a procurator, Jan. 2, 
 1572. (" Register Book of Contracts of the Commissariat of St 
 Andrew's.") Crawfurd seems to have confounded the Advocate with 
 Father Edmund Hay, S.J. (M'Crie's Life of Andrew Melville.)
 
 1579.] LETTER OF FR. JOHN HAY. 147 
 
 the family of the Hays ; for at this period, the influence of 
 the ministers was so great that they were able to place the 
 government of the country in the hands of any persons 
 they liked, or to remove them at pleasure. Since that 
 time (thank God) the numerous instances of dishonesty 
 in which they have been detected, have taken effect, and 
 they are now regarded with utter and universal con- 
 tempt. The Earl of Errol, Constable of the Kingdom, 
 and head of the family of the Hays, came to see me 
 at my brother's house, his own residence being only five 
 miles distant, and he earnestly entreated my brother to 
 allow me to spend some time with him, offering to 
 conduct me to the King, and confidently promising 
 that I should sustain no injury at the hands of the 
 ministers. My brother, however, would not part with 
 me, hoping that by this means he would be able to 
 soften the hatred of the ministers against me. As soon 
 as my arrival in the north was known, the people showed 
 extraordinary anxiety to hear me preach, and not un- 
 frequently there were larger numbers assembled in the 
 churches of the neighbourhood than had been known 
 within the memory of anyone living ; many persons 
 coming two days' journey on purpose. The most 
 marvellous and incredible reports were circulated regard- 
 ing me. I had seen and copied the dogmas of the 
 Christian faith written with the finger of God upon the 
 tables of stone given to Moses ; others said, I had been 
 carried down into hell ; others, that I was clothed only 
 in sackcloth, and gifted with such a wonderful and 
 miraculous power of healing that there was no sickness 
 or disease, how severe and dangerous soever, which I 
 could not remove with perfect ease. Multitudes of 
 people afflicted with hopeless ailments came in crowds to 
 my brother's house to be cured, and I could scarcely get
 
 148 LETTER OF FR. JOHN HAY. [1579. 
 
 them to believe me when I assured them I had no skill 
 in medicine, and had never studied it, but had in fact 
 come to Scotland myself for the recovery of my own 
 health. 
 
 " All this greatly tended to increase the dislike of the 
 ministers for me, bitter as it had been before. The first 
 thing they did was to obtain an order from the King, 
 that no one in future should enter the kingdom without 
 reporting his arrival to the Council, and appearing in 
 person before them ; and next, they procured letters 
 summoning me to present myself before the Council on 
 the 24th of March. They were in good hopes I should 
 be alarmed, and quit the country before that date, until 
 the event convinced them of their mistake. One of great 
 note amongst them, and in high repute for learning, who 
 had disputed with me on the subject of the invocation of 
 the saints, while I was at the house of my brother, Master 
 Edmund Hay, advised his brethren not to challenge me 
 to controversy, if they wished to preserve the high 
 opinion which the people had hitherto formed of them. 
 In the month of July the ministers held an assembly at 
 Edinburgh, and resolved, among other things, that I 
 should be compelled to quit the country. As soon as I 
 heard that the ministers had once more obtained royal 
 letters to this effect (what had become of the former ones 
 I know not), I wrote to the Constable of the kingdom, 
 from my sister's house, requesting him to meet me at 
 Stirling, where the King then resided, on the 10th of 
 August ; because it devolved upon him (the King being 
 too young) to defend me from so great an outrage. He 
 happened to be at my brother's house when my letter 
 was delivered to him, and on reading it replied imme- 
 diately that my demand was perfectly just, and that he 
 would not fail me on the day appointed. This answer
 
 1579.] LETTER OF FR. JOHN HAY. 149 
 
 to me lie showed to my mother and to my brother, and 
 desired the latter to acquaint him as soon as the royal 
 letters were published. Others of my kindred, and some 
 of the Protestants, declared that they would also accom- 
 pany me. After waiting several days for the letters 
 from the Court, and concluding as time went by that 
 they could not have been issued, they unexpectedly 
 arrived by the hands of an official messenger after sun- 
 set on August 6th. This was a great annoyance to my 
 brother, partly because the time allowed did not admit 
 of notice being given to the Constable and to my other 
 kinsmen, and also because it was a thing unheard of in 
 Scottish history for even a thief to be summoned from 
 our part of the country to appear before the Koyal Coun- 
 cil, without at least six days' interval for the journey, 
 this being the shortest space permitted by the law. He 
 thought, however, that it was better to submit, and I 
 asked him to let me go without any other companion 
 than one attendant, for he was engaged in building his 
 castle, and his servants were so much occupied in the 
 work that I saw he could not leave home just then with- 
 out serious inconvenience. For his part he wanted me 
 to remain at home, lest in my weak state of health I 
 should be quite knocked up by the fatigue of the journey. 
 But when he perceived me bent upon going, he arranged 
 his home affairs as well as he could in the emer- 
 gency, and we set out together at mid- day on the 7 th 
 of August, with a retinue of attendants, and were not 
 out of boot and saddle till we arrived at Perth, eighty 
 miles from my brother's residence. We encountered 
 heavy rain, followed by intense cold, and my brother, 
 who had not left his home for two years before, was 
 seized with a severe attack of fever ; some of his fol- 
 lowers were also laid up with various maladies, and one
 
 150 LETTER OF FR. JOHN HAY. [1579. 
 
 of them died in consequence after our return to the 
 North. On August the 9th we reached Stirling, the 
 ministers not expecting our arrival. They had intended 
 to proclaim me a rebel, in case of my not coming at the 
 time appointed, and were in fear that if I had been 
 allowed the six days' notice required by law to perform 
 the journey, the constable and other of my kindred who 
 would likely have accompanied me in considerable 
 numbers, might support my cause by force of arms, and 
 place the Calvinist's tenure of power in jeopardy. I 
 met, the same evening, a superintendent and chief leader 
 amongst the ministers, who followed his salutation with 
 the information that he had many weapons ready for 
 the attack upon me. The next day, August 10th, as 
 soon as I had entered the castle, where the King resided, 
 I was addressed by another minister with whom I had 
 formerly been on terms of much intimacy, when he was 
 a Catholic. This was the man who had advised the 
 others to have me summoned before the Council, though 
 when I charged him with it he denied the fact. When 
 I asked him why he had urged on his colleagues to this 
 unjust persecution of me, he replied that my name had 
 been quoted in the remotest corners of the kingdom, and 
 that various injurious sentiments uttered by me against 
 his Church, were everywhere in the mouths of the 
 common people. ' You must judge,' I said in answer, 
 ' whether it is a right proceeding for men of your stand- 
 ing and character to drag me from the further end of 
 Scotland to the bar of the Council on the plea of these 
 vague popular rumours. I am sure of this, that no 
 King of the Scots is ever recorded to have issued an 
 order so unmerciful as that which I have received at the 
 suggestion of the ministers.' Not being able to think of 
 any plausible excuse, he threw the blame on the negli-
 
 1579.] LETTER OF FR. JOHN HAY. 151 
 
 gence of the officers. We were joined by the superin- 
 tendent, who had told me of the darts which he had 
 prepared against me, and they both requested me to 
 undertake a private discussion on religion with some of 
 the ministers of their Church. I said I would not 
 attempt anything of the kind, without the order of the 
 King. Upon the entrance of his Majesty into the hall, 
 where the principal ministers of State were already 
 assembled, the superintendent whispered something into 
 his ear which I did not catch ; though afterwards I 
 found I had rightly conjectured the nature of the com- 
 munication, which was, as he himself told me, a request 
 that the King would allow my cause to be heard that 
 day. I was waiting anxiously at the door of the Council 
 chamber, expecting to be summoned by the King to 
 plead my cause, when a royal messenger came up, and 
 calling out my name with a loud voice, proceeded to 
 read to me a letter signed by the King and two of the 
 principal councillors of State, commanding me to remain 
 in my lodgings until I had given a reply to certain 
 questions which would be put to me in examination. I 
 then perceived, for the first time, the object of this new 
 contrivance ; the heretics were afraid lest, if I came into 
 the presence of the King and the Council, they might be 
 compelled to dispute with me concerning the mysteries 
 of religion in public. My brother related the whole 
 history to some of the statesmen, who told him in reply 
 that the ministers were liars, and that not only any one 
 professing the Christian faith, but even a Turk or a Jew, 
 was at liberty to travel all over the country, if he liked. 
 The attention of the Council that day was occupied with 
 the election of a Chancellor of the Kingdom, and with a 
 question respecting the capital punishment, by hanging, 
 of two men who had published libels reflecting on the
 
 152 LETTER OF FR. JOHN HAY. [1579. 
 
 character of certain persons of rank. August 13th, some 
 members of the Council were appointed to consult with 
 the ministers as to what was to be clone with me ; and 
 they decided that three ministers should ascertain from 
 my own mouth my sentiments on the mysteries of 
 religion. The same day, accordingly, these three came 
 to my lodging, accompanied by several other ministers, 
 among whom were the two superintendents. We sat in 
 the garden, and the minister, whom I have named above 
 as having been intimately acquainted with me in former 
 times, produced a book containing heads of religious 
 belief extracted from the writings of Calvin, and ap- 
 proved by a decree of Parliament, at the time of the rise 
 of the heresy in Scotland. He began by saying, 'We 
 can determine at once whether you hold the same senti- 
 ments with the Scottish people on religious matters, if 
 you assent to these articles of religious doctrine which 
 the states of Scotland have promulgated as true, and 
 have ratified by an Act of Parliament.' I told him he 
 was giving himself a great deal of unnecessary trouble, 
 since he was already perfectly well acquainted with my 
 sentiments on religious matters ; and that it was not for 
 me to pass judgment upon the decrees of the Parliament 
 of Scotland. On hearing this he put away the book. I 
 acknowledged I was a Catholic, and held the same opin- 
 ions as my forefathers regarding the dogmas of religion. 
 On which he impudently declared that the members of 
 his sect were Catholics as well, and retained the religious 
 sentiment of their forefathers. A dispute followed which 
 was only brought to a definite issue by my asserting 
 that I approved the decrees of the ecumenical Council of 
 Trent. ' So do we,' he said. To this I replied, I assent 
 to all the definitions of the Council. ' We,' he owned, 
 ' cannot approve them all.' Finding that the man spoke
 
 1579.] LETTER OF FR. JOHN HAY. 153 
 
 so unreasonably, and was not contented to receive my 
 open profession of my faith, I bade liim report to the 
 King and the Council what I had said, adding that I had 
 acted in the straightforward manner which became a 
 Christian and a Catholic. Upon this, and on the sugges- 
 tion of the superintendent, he proceeded to interrogate 
 me in detail on certain articles of religion, to all which I 
 replied according to the sense of the Catholic Church. 
 Then lie asked whether I was willing to discuss the sub- 
 ject with them. I said I had come to Scotland with a 
 view to the restoration of my health, and my medical 
 advisers had strictly forbidden me to expose myself to 
 any violent action or agitation either of body or mind ; 
 but if they felt so very strong a desire for disputation, 
 they had only to obtain a safe conduct from the King, 
 and they would attract to Scotland not Scotchmen only, 
 but men highly gifted with sound learning and every 
 virtue, from many other nations as well, who, I would 
 undertake, could give them full satisfaction in this 
 respect, and something over. The King's chaplain, one 
 of the three sent to confer with me, observed that a good 
 general does not recall the enemy whom he has once 
 expelled from the citadel ; his duty, on the contrary, 
 still obliges him to repel the attacks of the invader. 
 This speech was interrupted by the others with hisses 
 and marks of disapproval, so that they evidently did not 
 much relish it ; and the minister who occupied the place 
 of honour, asked me again whether I would consent to 
 hold a disputation. I said that if the King commanded 
 me, I would willingly do so, even at the risk of my 
 health, provided the discussion was carried on in the 
 presence of the King and his ministers. They said they 
 preferred a private discussion, because in a conversation 
 of that sort the reasons and arguments advanced on both
 
 154 LETTER OF FR. JOHN HAY. [1579. 
 
 sides could be more conveniently fought out in detail, 
 point by point. Then I gave for answer : — ' If you go 
 back to the farthest antiquity, you will find very little 
 or rather no advantage gained by disputing with 
 heretics. Should you really wish to know the arguments 
 by which Catholics defend their religion, you had better 
 study their books. I am pretty certain you have con- 
 fidence in yourselves and your cause, and do not want to 
 learn anything of me ; and I in turn consider that I 
 know quite enough about, not the Catholic religion only, 
 but that of the Calvinists as well, to make me in de- 
 pendent of any instruction from you. If, however, you 
 wish to engage in controversy with me, obtain an order 
 from the King, and you shall find me, God willing, 
 ready and prepared.' They then asked me if I would go 
 to the College of Glasgow. I said, I had no objection if 
 the King ordered it, but it must be understood that I 
 would not consent to be present at any of their sermons. 
 They asked why, and I answered, because if I was seen 
 at a sermon people might take great scandal, for it 
 would be reported and generally believed that I had 
 abandoned the Catholic faith. 
 
 " The ministers returned to the Council, and an- 
 nounced my constancy and my resolute adherence to the 
 Catholic religion. The officers of State urgently pressed 
 for an order from the King requiring me to quit the 
 kingdom within ten days ; but this was opposed by 
 three of the principal nobles — the Earl of Morton, who 
 had formerly been Eegent of the kingdom ; the Earl of 
 Argyll, Chancellor ; and the Earl of Buchan. These 
 thought it would be sufficient if my brother gave secu- 
 rity that I would leave Scotland by the first of October. 
 Meeting the ministers next day I told them I should be 
 sorry to have to return to France, especially as I had
 
 1579.] LETTER OF FIl. JOHN HAY. 155 
 
 derived great comfort from my visit to Scotland. Poli- 
 tical life was a succession of changes. Their dominion, 
 I hoped, would be very soon overthrown, and the ruler 
 whom their influence now consigned to a life of poverty 
 and exile, would then return and oust them from their 
 places. The others having gone back to the castle, there 
 remained with me a young man who, I thought, was not 
 a minister but a student, for he was scarcely twenty 
 years old, and yet he began to inveigh at great length 
 against the Supreme Pontiff. I considered the best way 
 of stopping his mouth was to remind him of the char- 
 acter of Beza, the god of their idolatry. Do not, I said, 
 continue to talk against the life and manners of the 
 Pope, a subject of which you are entirely ignorant ; but 
 read the verses which Beza wrote about himself, and 
 you will, I assure you, find him a profligate person, since 
 he proclaims himself under the dominion of vices which 
 ought not to be named in the hearing of a Christian 
 man. He reported to the other ministers what I had 
 said about Beza, and this so exceedingly enraged them 
 that they would have laid a complaint against me before 
 the Council, had not the superintendent, their chief man, 
 interposed his authority, and forbidden it. The super- 
 intendent invited me to supper the same evening, but 
 as it was Friday, and the Vigil of the Assumption of the 
 Most Blessed Virgin, though I sat with them at table, I 
 would not take supper ; observing this, they sent for 
 some raisins for me. The ministers feasted sumptu- 
 ously, and freely ate of flesh meat, though they pride 
 themselves on their obedience to the laws, whereas a 
 royal decree is still in force which forbids any one to eat 
 flesh either on Friday or Saturday. After supper they 
 all conducted me to my brother's lodging. The next 
 day, two, who hold the principal authority among them,
 
 156 LETTER OF FR. JOHN HAY. [1579. 
 
 dined with us. We discussed many subjects at dinner, 
 but said nothing about religion. I asked them to give 
 me their true opinion on the religious question, and 
 asserted, in my brother's hearing, that I would willingly 
 quit my native land for the sake of my religion, and was 
 ready even to shed my blood for it. I acknowledged, 
 however, I was very rejoiced and glad that the King 
 had not adjudged me to be a rebel, for loyalty had 
 always been the characteristic of the Hays, and none of 
 them had ever been charged with any treason. 
 
 "While all this was passing at Stirling, my relatives, 
 and especially the Constable of the Kingdom, felt the 
 greatest anxiety about me, as he would have been unable 
 to render me any assistance, in case my life had been 
 exposed to danger, owing to the distance, and the unjust 
 use of the royal authority made by the ministers in my 
 regard. It happened, however, that one of their body 
 from Aberdeen was returning northward about this time, 
 and the Constable, being a citizen of that town, sent to 
 him, and enquired as to the progress of my affairs, and 
 heard with great joy that my life was in no peril. I 
 soon left Stirling and repaired to the North, to visit my 
 mother, brothers, and other kindred. I heard the mini- 
 sters severely blamed wherever I went, for declining my 
 challenge to a public dispute, and for compelling me to 
 leave my own country. Most of those who agreed with 
 the ministers in doctrine had formerly been under the 
 belief that out of the whole number of Catholics there 
 was not a single one who would venture to engage with 
 them in controversy ; but now, having learnt that these 
 ministers had positively refused to enter the arena of 
 public disputation in the presence of the King and of those 
 of noblest rank in the kingdom, the high estimation 
 they had formed of the learning of their teachers was
 
 1579.] LETTER OF Fit. JOHN HAY. 157 
 
 marvellously lessened. By way of assigning some plau- 
 sible excuse for this refusal of a public discussion, they 
 said the King was only a boy, and were dreadfully 
 afraid that the arguments of the Catholics, if he were 
 permitted to hear them, might shake his confidence in the 
 religion in which he had been educated from his infancy. 
 But, say what they would, their refusal left upon them 
 an indelible and disgraceful mark of ignorance in those 
 matters with which their profession required them to be 
 familiar ; and by all circles of society, at table and else- 
 where, it is admitted that their system has sustained a 
 great diminution of strength and stability. 
 
 "A few days after my departure from the King's 
 castle I went back to Dundee ; because as his Majesty 
 had allowed me a fixed time for remaining in Scotland, 
 I decided to take the earliest opportunity of returning 
 to France. I had scarcely entered the town when my 
 arrival became known to all. On going down to the 
 harbour with my host, I perceived that the captain 
 hesitated, and for some reason was unwilling to perform 
 his engagement. My host desired him to state plainly 
 any difficulties he might feel. He said, ' You know 
 quite well how ready and glad I should be to assist you 
 and your friend, only I am afraid of incurring the 
 enmity of the town councillor.' One of these council- 
 lors encountered my host on his way home, and blamed 
 him for receiving me into his house. My host answered 
 that there was no law forbidding it, but he was sum- 
 moned next day to a meeting of the council, and re- 
 minded that the master of the ship which had brought 
 me to Scotland had been so powerfully influenced by my 
 exhortations in favour of the Catholic religion, that he 
 openly expressed his abhorrence and contempt for the 
 form of religion which had been approved by the Estates
 
 158 LETTER OF FR. JOHN HAY. [1579. 
 
 of Scotland. The opinion of the councillors was sup- 
 ported by the minister present ; and he adduced by way 
 of illustration the sad example of certain persons who, 
 having rashly exposed themselves to the danger of catch- 
 ing a contagious disease, had fallen victims to their 
 temerity. They enquired what could have induced my 
 host to receive me under his roof, since my presence was 
 fatal, not indeed to the bodies of men, but to their souls. 
 My host spoke out boldly and to the purpose in my 
 behalf, rebuking the minister's insolence with wonderful 
 force and energy, and informing him that the members 
 of his order at Stirling had invited me to supper with 
 them. My host bitterly lamented, in conversation with 
 me, the miseries into which Scotland had fallen, of 
 which he truly declared these ministers were the cause. 
 As long as they teach, said he, that all our works are 
 grievous wickedness, can they wonder if we become 
 wicked in earnest ? It is all the same whether you 
 practise piety and holiness, or take a man's life away, if 
 there be no difference of reward for good and for evil. 
 Just then some messengers, whom I had sent the day 
 before to my brother's seat in the neighbourhood, for the 
 purpose of bringing me some fresh horses, returned with 
 them, and I set out at once for the harbour, taking my 
 way through the principal streets of the town, lest I 
 should appear to be in any degree influenced by the 
 threats and intimidation employed ; and having dined 
 at the house of my brother, Master Edmund Hay, 1 
 wrote thence to the palace, and through the influence of 
 my relatives, obtained a letter from the King, strictly 
 prohibiting all seamen in any part of the kingdom to 
 place any obstacle or difficulty in the way of my cross- 
 ing over to whatever foreign land I wished to reach. 
 " It was in my power to embark at Dundee, with or
 
 1579.] LETTER OF FR. JOHN HAY. 159 
 
 without the consent of the councillors of that town, but 
 1 did not wish to bring my host into any trouble or 
 difficulty on my account, and decided to make for the 
 famous port of Leith, at which, the wind being unfavour- 
 able, I did not arrive till the twelfth day. I dined almost 
 daily in Edinburgh, the capital, and there not one ever 
 gave me any sort of offence, even by a word, though 
 nearly all knew perfectly well who I was. Not only this, 
 but the minister of Leith very kindly asked me to his 
 house, where we entered on a discussion about the diffi- 
 culties in Scripture. He thought these perfectly simple 
 and easy, and that there was no obscurity at all ; I 
 maintained, on the contrary, that they were often hard 
 to explain, and in order not to seem to have advanced 
 such an opinion without ground, I cited the well known 
 words of St Peter on the subject, and further asked him 
 to explain the apparent discrepancy between the state- 
 ment of St Stephen in Acts vii. as to the number of the 
 sons of Jacob who went down into Egypt, with that of 
 Moses in Gen. xlvi. He first turned to Luther's commen- 
 tary on the book of Genesis, but finding that this book 
 had not been finished, he went to Lyranus, and having 
 read there many discordant opinions of a number of 
 learned men, he acknowledged himself unable to solve a 
 question of so much difficulty. I advised him to study 
 the old ecclesiastical writers, from whom the modern 
 German authors derived their commentaries. 
 
 " I met and saluted the officer in command of the 
 royal garrison, a General of distinction and a Catholic, 
 as he was returning from the sermon. He asked me if I 
 would come and listen to a sermon, but I said I never 
 attended the preaching of the ministers, lest the people 
 should suspect me of favouring their doctrine. He took 
 me to the Castle, and assured me with many speeches
 
 160 LETTER OP FR. JOHN HAY. [1579. 
 
 that if at any time his influence or authority could be of 
 use he would willingly serve me. I also held a conver- 
 sation with the first counsellor of M. d'Aubigny, an able 
 man and a Catholic, and found him greatly in hopes that 
 through his mother's care and exertions the King may 
 one day reject the infidelity of the heretics, and return 
 to the Catholic religion of his forefathers. I had intended 
 to call upon M. d'Aubigny himself, but as he had scarcely 
 returned yet from his attendance on the King, and the 
 day fixed for the limit of my residence in Scotland had 
 gone by, I left to my great regret, without seeing him. 
 I do not doubt that, were a few men of influence to set 
 themselves resolutely to the task of raising and reanimat- 
 ing the prostrate cause of the Catholic religion in Scot- 
 land, it might shortly be restored to its former condition. 
 No one would believe the detestation which the common 
 people feel for the Calvinist ministers. As long as the 
 Catholic religion flourished among the Scottish people, 
 all the necessaries of life and the materials of food and 
 clothing, were plentiful and cheap ; but, since heresy 
 came in, the land has been left uncultivated, while 
 dearness and scarcity of provision of all kinds prevail 
 everywhere. The people acknowledge this, and lament 
 it, confessing that the misery which they suffer is a just 
 punishment for their crimes. They have, moreover, dis- 
 covered to their cost, though too late, that their ministers 
 are acting in direct violation of the promises and profes- 
 sions made by them when they first obtained admittance 
 to the country. At that time the ministers inveighed 
 insolently and vehemently against the riches and luxury 
 of the Ecclesiastical order, and promised to the people 
 the abolition of tithes, but their subsequent conduct has 
 proved how little generosity and sincerity were contained 
 in these professions. For the first three years they did
 
 1579.] LETTER OF Fit. JOHN HAY. 1G1 
 
 not exact tithes, but the people were afterwards com- 
 pelled to pay up the arrears of these three years all in 
 one sum, to their extreme inconvenience. 
 
 " It would be no injustice to call such ministers dis- 
 ciples of Epicurus, and not of Christ. Some have 
 married the wives of other men while their husbands 
 were yet alive, and, by their countenance and example 
 have encouraged others to do the same. Their tables 
 are furnished splendidly and luxuriously, they are unre- 
 lenting in the exaction of usury ; and in a word there 
 is scarcely any wickedness which they do not daily 
 practise. They are ambitious beyond all bounds in 
 grasping at honours and preferment. For a long time 
 they claimed the right to occupy the seats which the 
 Bishops had formerly held in Parliament ; and, when 
 this was refused them, they began to cry out loudly that 
 all ministers of the Church are of equal authority and 
 dignity. There is consequently a violent controversy 
 raging on this point between the ministers and those 
 who style themselves bishops, abbots, or priors ; indeed 
 the ministers themselves, while their number is daily 
 falling off, do not exhibit much concord or agreement 
 among themselves. As the apostate monks gradually 
 grow old or die, more and more difficulty is ex- 
 perienced in rinding men to supply their places, and 
 one preacher has not unfrequently to be put in charge of 
 three or four parishes at once. Under these circum- 
 stances, the people in the north of Scotland began this 
 summer to pay their devotions at a distance from home 
 on certain Sabbath days, in pursuance of an old and 
 pious custom of their forefathers ; and three hundred of 
 them or more were frequently seen in the church at 
 Turriff, clothed only in linen garments, and implor- 
 ing the aid of God and the Saints, and especially of the
 
 1G2 LETTER OF FE. JOHN HAY. [1579. 
 
 Blessed Virgin. Not a few went on pilgrimage to the 
 church of our Lady of Grace, situated on the river Spey, 
 and of all these expeditions common report pronounced 
 me the leader, though in fact I was a long way off at the 
 time. Eosaries were also offered for sale in the market 
 at the fair of Turriff. It is not difficult to conjecture the 
 real feelings of the people on religious matters, from such 
 indications as these. Tracts and public addresses were 
 also published in considerable numbers, in which the 
 profligate conduct of the ministers was very roughly 
 handled. The ministers are so odious to the nobility 
 that they would be only too glad to shake off their yoke, 
 for it was in consequence of the political confusion which 
 they introduced that the principal nobles of the kingdom 
 were divided into two camps, and involved in civil war 
 with one another, and have never been able to agree 
 together as they did before. Were they to do so, the 
 ministers would all be expelled. Those who first seized 
 upon the revenues of the Church have since been reduced 
 to such extreme poverty that their indigence and degra- 
 dation have passed into a proverb, and are the subject of 
 common and daily reproach. 
 
 " I cannot recall without the greatest pain, complaints 
 which I heard expressed by the poor people against their 
 ministers, accustomed as they had been to the most 
 generous treatment from the churchmen of old times. 
 Now the revenues of a single monastery which formerly 
 supported two hundred people in honesty and comfort, 
 are scarcely sufficient to maintain the profligacy and 
 extravagance of even one spoiler. In a word, the people 
 would not be heretics if it were not for their ministers, 
 and the tyranny of a certain number of men of aban- 
 doned life, who have either taken possession of the 
 revenues of the Church by force, or daily outrage public
 
 1579.] LETTER OF FR. JOHN HAY. 1G3 
 
 feeling by licentiousness and vice ; so that, as St 
 Augustine wrote, quoting the language of St Cyprian, 
 heretics arc always men who would be lost even if they 
 were in the Church. 
 
 " I should never get to the end of my letter if I were 
 to put down everything that has come to my knowledge. 
 I will, therefore, before finishing, very briefly declare the 
 reasons which have brought men of sense, and those well 
 acquainted with the state of Scotland, to the conclusion 
 that the restoration of the Catholic religion in this 
 country is not impossible. If the King could be rescued 
 from the hands of the heretics, he might very easily be 
 persuaded to cross over into France, for he is reported 
 to be very anxious to do so. As the illustrious Lord 
 d'Aubigny, his kinsman, is now very high in his favour, 
 and the King is now no longer shut up in a fortress, 
 there is every reason to hope that an arrangement so 
 advantageous to Christendom may easily be carried out, 
 especially if the Holy Father would desire his Nuncio 
 at the Court of the most Christian King: to give en- 
 couragement to M. d'Aubigny, by his advice, and, if 
 necessary, by pecuniary assistance as well. 
 
 ' In the next place, supposing this measure does not 
 produce the improvement we expect, owing to the 
 miserable condition of the country, then the Holy Father 
 might send a legate into Scotland to demand the con- 
 cession of freedom of faith and worship to all the Scot- 
 tish people. It would, however, be important that the 
 legate should be accompanied by some men of piety 
 and learning, as well as of public celebrity and fame, 
 who could withstand the controversial attacks of the 
 ministers. 
 
 " Lastly, if the most Christian King cannot be in- 
 duced to give his consent to such a scheme, advantage
 
 1G4 LETTER OF FR. JOHN HAY. [1579. 
 
 should be taken of the first movement of civil war in 
 Scotland, to send members of our Society into the 
 northern districts of the country to secure the ex- 
 pulsion of ministers from their benefices, which could 
 easily be effected by transferring the revenues of all 
 benefices held by heretics to the Catholic nobles, on con- 
 dition of the restoration of the ancient worship. 
 
 " The illustrious Lord Adam Gordon, brother to Father 
 James Gordon, entreated me to pass the winter in Scot- 
 land, because he was in expectation of civil war breaking- 
 out at an early date, promising at great length to pro- 
 tect me from any violence in case the public peace was 
 disturbed. This I would have done had not my brother 
 given his word to the King that I would leave the 
 country. 1 Besides which it would be necessary to have 
 some books written in the Scottish language, both for 
 moral instruction and for discussing the controverted 
 points of religion. I send my letter to the Supreme 
 Pontiff open, that your Paternity may read it, and judge 
 whether it be best to send it on. I do not doubt your 
 Paternity will shortly send me into Scotland to cultivate 
 that neglected vineyard of our Lord, and I am certain 
 every Scottish member of our Society, if he had the per- 
 mission of your Paternity, would gladly expose his life 
 to hazard, in the hope of being of use to his afflicted 
 country. For myself, God forbid that I should allow 
 the noisy threats of the ministers to deter me from 
 ardently desiring to be sent to Scotland again. My 
 brother's promise only extended to my leaving the 
 
 1 Caution by William Hay of Delgatie, in £1000, that Mr Johnne 
 Hay, Jesuit, his brother, shall go abroad, " wind and wedder serv- 
 and," before the 1st October next, and that he will do nothing 
 meanwhile " offensive to the trew and Christiane religioun estab- 
 lished." — " Register of the Privy Council," vol. iii. p. 204.
 
 1580.] FALL OF MORTON. 165 
 
 country, and my return would not therefore expose him 
 to any risk at the hands of the ministers. I have deter- 
 mined, however, in all things to obey the directions of 
 your Paternity, and I earnestly entreat not only that I 
 may be encouraged by your holy sacrifices and prayers, 
 but that you Avill ask and obtain for me the strength 
 requisite to fulfil the obligations of our institute. May 
 Almighty God long preserve your Paternity to us. 
 " Your Paternity's unworthy son and servant 
 in Christ, 
 
 John Hay." 
 
 "Paris, Nov. 9, 1579." 1 
 
 As the year 1579 passed away, it became apparent to 
 all who regarded the state of the country with attention, 
 that it could not long remain without some sudden 
 change or convulsion. Morton's great wealth, his energy, 
 courage, and experience, made him still a powerful 
 enemy, and it was rumoured that he had plotted to seize 
 the King and carry him to Dalkeith. The emancipation 
 of the royal youth was effected suddenly, and by his own 
 act, or more truly by that of his kinsman, Esme Stuart, 
 Count d'Aubigny. This young man, who was a nephew 
 of the Earl of Lennox, had come over from France with 
 the express object of destroying Morton. He succeeded 
 in winning the friendship and confidence of James VI., 
 and was able to cheer and encourage his flagging hopes. 
 Together they prepared the plan for their common de- 
 liverance with boldness and energy. When all had been 
 arranged, Morton was arrested at the Council table on 
 the 31st of December 1580, as an accomplice in the 
 murder of Darnley. In spite of the prayers of Elizabeth, 
 of her menaces, 2 and even of her armaments, the King, 
 
 1 Archives of the Society of Jesus. 
 
 2 Walsingham wrote to Randolph, " that if a hair of Morton's head
 
 166 LETTER OF FR. ROBERT PERSONS. [1580. 
 
 who was now in his fifteenth year, and was supported by 
 all his people, refused to relax his hold on his prey. 
 Morton expiated his crimes on the scaffold at Edinburgh, 
 the 2d of June 1581. 
 
 Delivered from this formidable adversary, the friends 
 of Mary Stuart in Scotland rallied joyfully round James 
 VI. A golden opportunity presented itself for the 
 return to Scotland of the Scottish priests who were 
 then abroad. "Their number in Paris," says Father 
 Tyrie, " was considerable. They were men of high 
 character and admirable learning ; and they would most 
 gladly have undertaken the mission. But some influ- 
 ential persons, who measured everything by the dictates 
 of human prudence, fearing that the King might possi- 
 bly incur danger hereby, decided that the attempt should 
 be postponed until some other opportunity offered." 
 Father Persons, however, who saw clearly the bearing 
 which the religious condition of Scotland must have on 
 England, sent thither a secular priest named William 
 Watts, and shortly afterwards a Jesuit, Father William 
 Holt, that both these might inform him of the state of 
 the country. In a letter to the General of the Society 
 of Jesus, Father Persons thus exposed his plans : 
 
 Fr. Robert Persons to Fr. Aquaviva, General of the 
 
 Society of Jesus. 
 
 "26th September 1581. 
 
 " Our chief hope is in Scotland, on which depends the 
 conversion not of England only, but of all the north of 
 Europe ; for the right of succession to the English crown, 
 
 were touched, it should cost the Scottish Queen her life." Feb. 9, 
 1580-81.— "R 0. Scot. Eliz.," vol. xxix. No. 32.
 
 1581.] LETTER OF FR. ROBERT PERSONS. 167 
 
 on the death of the present occupant, passes to the 
 Queen of Scotland and her son. Of this son some hopes 
 have begun to be formed, especially since the execution 
 of the Earl of Morton, and it is very desirable to take 
 him in hand while he still professes obedience to his 
 mother, to whom he is just now very much devoted ; 
 and the heretic party have recently given him great 
 offence. We thought the opportunity should not be 
 neglected, and regretted that it had not been more 
 warmly taken up by those who are most especially 
 interested in it, that is, by the Scots themselves ; though 
 indeed it concerns us, on many accounts, as much as it 
 does them. We accordingly collected contributions from 
 our Catholic friends, sufficient to purchase all the re- 
 quirements for a priest in the discharge of his office, and 
 sent him to Scotland, accompanied by a servant, with 
 directions as to the subjects he was to introduce in con- 
 versation with the King, if he obtained admittance to 
 his presence ; and if not, with the Scottish nobles. 
 First, he was to request him to take the persecuted 
 Catholics under his protection, particularly such as 
 escaped into Scotland, on the ground that the Catholics 
 were the only party who favoured his succession to the 
 crown of England. Then he was to dwell upon many 
 grave reasons which oug-ht to incline the King to view 
 the Catholics and their religion., with favour, and hold 
 the heretics in abhorrence. These were, the security of 
 the King's own crown ; the prospect of the English suc- 
 cession, which he could secure only by their help ; the 
 friendship of the neighbouring Catholic princes ; regard 
 for his mother, so unjustly deposed and imprisoned ; the 
 murder of his father by heretic hands ; the numerous 
 plots which these people had laid against his life, 
 and which the aid of Catholics had, by God's goodness,
 
 1G8 LETTER OF FR. ROBERT PERSONS. [1581. 
 
 enabled him to discover and escape. The priest was 
 then to offer the Kino; the assistance of the Catholics 
 of both countries, and that of us priests especially, in 
 recovering Scotland for the Catholic Church, a work we 
 were ready to undertake, though it cost us our lives. 
 He set out with these instructions, entered Scotland, 
 and by the grace of God accomplished his mission with 
 great success, as will appear from his letter which 
 follows. The most important and principal part of 
 what was said to him, was of a confidential character ; 
 and he would not write it down, but repeated it by 
 word of mouth to his servant, with directions to tell it 
 to me and to no one else. The servant, not finding me 
 in London, did not venture to reveal to those who were 
 left in my place what his master had told him. He 
 gave them, however, his master's letter, which was for- 
 warded to me at once ; and, he further added, what 
 indeed appears from the letter itself, that they had met 
 with an excellent reception in Scotland, and that the 
 Scots pledged themselves to give every assistance to me, 
 and to those whom I should send. This man also said 
 that a day was fixed for me to meet a large number of 
 the Scottish nobility, namely, the 26th of September in 
 this present year (1581), an engagement which unfor- 
 tunately I cannot keep, because it is the very day on 
 which 1 am now writing. The following is a copy of 
 the letter in question : 
 
 " 'As soon as I arrived in Scotland I was obliged, if 
 I would avoid running still greater risk, to repair to 
 the residence of the Warden of Scotland, 1 a Calvinist, 
 who resides at a place called Cesfurd. He enquired 
 
 1 John Lord Maxwell was appointed Warden of the West March 
 on the 29th of April 1581. William Ker of Cesfurd was Warden of 
 the Middle March.
 
 1581.] LETTER OP FR. ROBERT PERSONS. 1G9 
 
 the cause of my arrival, on which I said that I was a 
 refugee for conscience' sake, that protection was not 
 refused even to criminals in distress, and ought still 
 more readily to be conceded to exiles for religion. " But," 
 replied the Warden, " there is no greater criminal than 
 the professor of a false religion, and enemy of the 
 Church of Christ." This, I replied, was very true, but 
 the question was, who are the enemies of the Church % 
 He said there was no doubt whatever that they are 
 the Papists. I smiled at this, and proposed that we 
 should adjourn the controversy until after supper. 
 Accordingly when we had supped, they held what they 
 call a chapter. Oue of the ministers, for there were 
 three present, read a Psalm, and then delivered a short 
 address, during which the Warden with his wife, and 
 many gentlemen of noble birth and high position, who 
 were also present, listened reverently with heads un- 
 covered. I sat with my hat on, which occasioned sur- 
 prise to many of them, and when the address was 
 finished, with every mark of respect to the men of rank 
 who were present, I explained why I had refused to 
 uncover my head during the minister's speech. " At any 
 rate," replied the Warden, " you should have shown 
 respect to the word of God." I said, "the Scripture 
 wrongly expounded is not the word of God, because it 
 contains what is false, which God's word cannot." On 
 this response, he invited the minister to defend his 
 cause. The minister, who had heard our conversation, 
 at first declined to take any further part in the con- 
 troversy ; but being urged by the Warden, we entered 
 on a discussion as to whether it belonged to the Church 
 alone to pronounce judgment on the sense of the Scrip- 
 tures. This dispute detained us a considerable time, 
 and the Warden was so displeased with the opinions
 
 170 LETTER OF FR. ROBERT PERSONS. [1581. 
 
 advanced by the ministers, and with their mode 
 of argument, that he said he should not be so 
 ready to condemn Papists in future. . . . After this 
 he promised, before them all, to give me a safe conduct 
 to every part of Scotland, and ordered it to be imme- 
 diately written out and given me, as well as another for 
 my servant. He added that he should like to talk more 
 with me on these subjects, or with anyone I should send, 
 to whom he promised every kind treatment and security. 
 I then left him and went to the Baron of Grencknols, 
 who is disposed to favour the Catholic cause, in the 
 frigid manner which is customary here. I opened my 
 mind freely to him, and told him of the desire which 
 existed on the part of the English priests to incur any 
 danger, and to lay down their lives for the salvation of 
 Scotland ; adding that some of them had now determined 
 to give all the assistance in their power to the Scottish 
 priests, in order to effect this end, and try what could be 
 done by God's help. He rejoiced and gave thanks to 
 God for inspiring this holy resolution, and when I 
 suggested that he should take care of his own soul and 
 return to the communion of the church, he complied with 
 the request more readily than even I had made it. 
 Previously, however, I omitted to say that he had 
 earnestly desired me to give him some recommendation 
 to the Queen of Scotland, by means of which Mr Redman 
 (Father Persons) will be able to conjecture what he re- 
 quires, if he comes into this country. Thence I pro- 
 ceeded to the house of another nobleman, a member of 
 the Seton family, and a violent heretic. At his table I 
 heard an endless series of the most horrible blasphemies, 
 but said nothing until supper was ended, when I talked 
 with him for an hour and a half, I think, in protest 
 against this blasphemous violence ; many arguments being
 
 1581.] LETTER OF FR. ROBERT PERSONS. 171 
 
 brought forward on both .sides. In the end lie thanked 
 me very kindly, promising to be less vehement in his 
 attacks upon Catholics in future ; and he assured me 
 that he should always be happy to receive me or any 
 other English Catholic under his roof. At last I reached 
 Edinburgh, where the King was then staying. I con- 
 versed with many of the nobles, and among them Lord 
 Seton, the father of my late host, and the Prior his son, 
 and others, explaining the cause of my coming, and our 
 eager desire for their salvation. They treated me with 
 kindness, and introduced me to the King, but my con- 
 versation with the latter must not be committed to these 
 sheets. From the court I retired to the country seat of 
 the Baron Seton, where 1 found a number of Scottish 
 nobles assembled. They all joined in assuring me, and 
 desiring me to repeat to Fr. Persons, 1 that whenever he 
 came (and they advised him to do this soon), they would 
 ensure him protection, as we were English subjects and 
 not amenable to their laws. They made further promises 
 relating to the King, which I omit here, and extended 
 their assurance of protection not to ourselves only, but 
 to any others we might send, giving a secret token 
 which I will explain in another letter. I here supply 
 the names of several noblemen who favour the Catholic 
 cause, and who could easily be persuaded, by God's help, 
 to become Catholics, if proper pains were taken, although 
 at present they are far from a state of grace. These 
 are the Duke d'Aubigny,' 2 the Earl of Huntly, the Earl 
 of Eglinton, the Earl of Caithness, Baron Seton, Baron 
 Ogilvy, Baron Gray, Baron Fernihurst, and some others, 
 to whom our labours would neither be unacceptable nor 
 
 1 In the Latin original, " Mr Eedinan." 
 
 2 "On Monday the 8th of August (1581), D'Aubigny was pro- 
 claimed solemnly Duke of Lennox " (Calderwood, iii. 567).
 
 172 LETTER OP FR. ROBERT PERSONS. [1581. 
 
 profitless, on condition only that we do not put them to 
 any expense. This is an important point, and Fr. 
 Persons would do well to take every care to provide for 
 the expenses of the men he sends hither, at any rate for 
 some time ; otherwise he will find it very difficult to 
 effect anything, or rather I should say he will do no 
 good whatever. They must also be carefully selected, 
 and eminent both for virtue and learning, indeed if he 
 has none such ready to send, he should wait till he has. 
 It would be better that no one came at all, than any who 
 are unfit, and who would do a great deal of harm, in a 
 country where the work has to be begun from the be- 
 ginning, and at a time when the authority and reputation 
 of the Catholic Church depend entirely upon the learning 
 of her defenders. Fr. Persons should have many prayers 
 said for this undertaking, which is one of great import- 
 ance, and deeply affecting the welfare of all Europe, as 
 you will have perceived. If ever labour and prayer were 
 needed, it is now. — Farewell.' 
 
 " I received the above letter on the 15th of September, 
 and as the shortness of the time and the great number of 
 my engagements made it impossible for me to keep the 
 appointment and be in Scotland on the day named, I 
 did what I could ; that is to say, I wrote to Lord Seton, 
 explaining the cause of my delay, and encouraging him, 
 by all the considerations I could think of, to persevere 
 in the desire he felt for his own salvation and the salva- 
 tion of others, adding that I would, in a short time, 
 write to him again and enter fully into the whole ques- 
 tion. I also wrote to England begoino* that a corres- 
 
 O Co O 
 
 pondence should be opened by any means that were 
 possible with the Queen of Scotland, on the points above 
 mentioned, and promising to come myself very shortly
 
 1581.] LETTER OF PR. ROBERT PERSONS. 173 
 
 to arrange other matters, since I understood that my 
 presence was much desired. I also wrote to the priest 
 whom I had despatched to Scotland, directing him to 
 remain near the borders of that country sometime longer, 
 until he heard from me again, and I sent him as much 
 as I could afford for his maintenance. 1 now, therefore, 
 as regards this matter, rely entirely upon the answer you 
 send me ; first, as to whether I am to proceed in it or 
 not ? All the English Catholics most earnestly and 
 anxiously advise me to do so, because upon the conver- 
 sion of Scotland every human hope of that of England 
 absolutely depends. If this King is once for all con- 
 firmed in heresy, with which there is no doubt he is very 
 dangerously infected, there will be no help or refuge for 
 the unhappy English Catholics ; whereas, at present it is 
 an immense consolation to them to have Scotland open 
 to them as an asylum. It is at present easy to obtain 
 access to the King, and he is not at all unimpressionable, 
 but this may not continue always. It may also suit us 
 to spend some time in Scotland in order to avoid a 
 particularly cruel storm of persecution, and though the 
 Scots themselves are not without men excellently fitted 
 for the work, they are very few, and not nearly sufficient 
 for so extended a vineyard, especially just now when 
 they are most required. Scotland is to be won, if at all, 
 within the next two years ; while in many parts of the 
 country, power lies in the hands of men not greatly 
 opposed to us, especially to those of us who are foreigners. 
 There are no laws affecting us, and our language is 
 common both to us and the Scots. I have arranged to 
 get Catholic printed books sent to Scotland in future, 
 just as to England ; I refer to books in the vernacular, 
 to controversial and devotional works such as have 
 hitherto never, or very rarely, been seen in Scotland, for
 
 174 LETTER OF CARDINAL ALLEN. [1582. 
 
 there is no printing press in the country, and the heretics 
 get all their books printed in England. It is owing to 
 this want of books that Scotland is much more under the 
 influence of heresy than England." ! 
 
 Watts returned to London in January 1582, and hav- 
 ing addressed to Dr Allen at Eeims a report upon the 
 condition of Scotland, and the dispositions of the King 
 and the gentry towards the Catholic faith, he went back 
 to Edinburgh to continue the work assigned him. Allen 
 forwarded to the Cardinal of Como, the Pope's Secretary 
 of State, that part of the letter which regarded the 
 general affairs of Scotland. 
 
 Cardinal Allen to the Cardinal of Como. 
 
 " Eeims, 18th February 1582. 
 
 " Most Illustrious and Keverend Lord, — "We have 
 had this winter, in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, 
 two priests engaged in the task of ascertaining the 
 sentiments of the Prince and the nobles on the question 
 of religion. One is a member of the Society of Jesus, 2 
 the other a scholar from our college. 3 Their letters had 
 already filled me with hopes, as I stated before, and at 
 the beginning of the present month of February, one of 
 them came into England, to London, in order to be able 
 to write to me more fully about increasing the numbers 
 of the mission, and about the state of public affairs and 
 of religion. I will arrange all these matters with the 
 
 1 H. More, S.J., Historia Missionis Anglicance. Folio. St Omer, 
 1660, p. 116. 
 
 2 F. William Holt, who arrived in England with F. Gaspar Hey- 
 wood, soon after F. Campion's apprehension, July 17, 1581, and had 
 been despatched by Father Persons to Scotland. 
 
 3 William Watts.
 
 1582.] STATE OF SCOTLAND IN 1582. 175 
 
 Rev. Father General of the Society, but I think the 
 contents of the accompanying enclosure ought to be 
 communicated to our most Holy Father by your High- 
 ness. They are of great moment, and should be kept 
 profoundly secret. It is of much importance to all the 
 Christian world, that the Prince who is one day, by 
 God's grace, to rule over the whole of our island of 
 Britain, should become a son of the Church.' 
 
 "i 
 
 From London, Feb. 8, 1582. 
 
 The following is a statement of the present condition 
 of the kingdom of Scotland : — " The King has so far 
 been badly taught by the heretical ministers, and knows 
 hardly anything about the Catholic faith ; yet he is not 
 so obstinately confirmed in heresy but that we are in 
 hopes he will readily listen to the arguments of Catholics. 
 He has indeed promised the Queen, his mother, to do so, 
 in reply to her requests to that effect conveyed in her 
 letters ; for he is much attached to his mother, though he 
 never sees her. 
 
 "Many of the nobility are inclined towards the 
 Catholic cause, and are anxious for the restoration of 
 our religion in their country ; but they do not think 
 they are strong enough to effect this without assistance, 
 because, while they are afraid of interference from Eng- 
 land, they see no prospect of aDy aid from abroad. They 
 propose nevertheless to employ such means as are in 
 their power, suggesting that some learned men should 
 talk to the King, and that public disputations on reli- 
 gion between Catholic priests and heretical ministers 
 should be held ; in furtherance of which they are pre- 
 pared to obtain the authority of the Queen. If this is 
 
 1 Printed in Theiner, Annal. Eccles., torn. iii. p. 370.
 
 176 STATE OF SCOTLAND IN 1582. [1582. 
 
 found to be impossible, they would then get her Majesty's 
 license and permission to convey the King, her son, 
 if necessary, to some Catholic country, where he could 
 be better instructed in the true faith, and trained to 
 the duties of sovereignty, and obtain the friendship 
 of more powerful princes, without at the same time 
 sacrificing his own dignity or rights. At present, they 
 are of opinion that, owing to the peculiar situation 
 of England and Scotland, foreign alliances would be 
 rather a source of danger, unless supported by armed 
 forces from abroad ; while from the King of France, 
 they have no expectation that they would obtain any 
 assistance. They would seek this willingly from the 
 Supreme Pontiff, or from the King of Spain, were there 
 any chance of its being accorded. A small foreign force 
 might be sufficient, and Italian troops would be the best 
 that could be employed. 
 
 " The nobles of highest rank, as well as many other 
 persons, gladly receive our English priests, nominally as 
 fugitives from England for some offence against the 
 laws, which in truth most of them are, but in reality 
 from a desire to be present at Mass and hear their ser- 
 mons, as the difference between the two languages is 
 very slight. Many of the nobility do not conceal their 
 determination of quitting their own country and provid- 
 ing for the salvation of their souls in foreign lands, if 
 freedom of conscience is not speedily allowed them. An 
 additional motive for this course is the risk to which 
 both they and their young King are perpetually exposed 
 at the hands of the heretics of Scotland and of England, 
 as well as the conviction that the King has no chance 
 of obtaining the succession to the English crown (to 
 which he will become entitled as heir to his mother 
 on the Queen's death), otherwise than by means of the
 
 1582] STATE OF SCOTLAND IN 1582. 177 
 
 Catholics and the profession of the Catholic faith. 
 Ambitious views in this direction have very considerable 
 influence both ways. 
 
 " The principal supporters and agents of the King of 
 Spain are the Duke of Lennox, the Earl of Huntly, the 
 Earl of Eglinton, the Earl of Argyll, the Earl of Caith- 
 ness, Lord Hume, and Lord Seton, with some other 
 men of high position. Lord Seton, who is the father 
 of the Lord Alexander Seton, educated some years 
 back at the German College, in the Eoman Seminary, 
 offers to procure the signatures of these and some other 
 noblemen to a bond or engagement, and to give his 
 eldest son as a hostage for its fulfilment, if by that 
 means the aid of a foreign force can be obtained from 
 any prince. 
 
 " The opponents of the cause are, first, the ungrateful 
 Lord Arran, who has lately been made an earl by the 
 King's desire, together with a certain number of minis- 
 ters. Most of the inhabitants of the towns are heretics ; 
 yet in Edinburgh there are a good many Catholics scat- 
 tered up and down, and one of us gave communion to a 
 hundred last Christmas. 
 
 " Scotchmen are generally agreed that Scottish priests 
 cannot at present reside in the country, either so safely 
 or with so much advantage as English priests, who, 
 according to what I have just said, are received every- 
 where in the character of exiles. 
 
 " The Queen of Scots has always been afraid that, 
 because of ancient animosity between the two nations, 
 English priests could not labour with advantage in Scot- 
 land. But we have not found this to be the case, and 
 the nobles are of opinion that few Scottish priests should 
 be sent at first, and a rather larger number of English, 
 but not too many. The English priests require nothing 
 
 M
 
 178 STATE OF SCOTLAND IN 1582. [1582. 
 
 but altar vestments and travelling expenses, yet cannot 
 do anything without this assistance ; at the same time, 
 they are so full of hope, and ardent love of their mission, 
 that they are perfectly willing to risk their lives if there 
 be any prospect of accomplishing their end. 
 
 " In the opinion of the Scots themselves, the most 
 convenient course to take would be that the King of 
 Spain should send an envoy to the King of Scotland on 
 some other pretext, but accompanied by men of learning 
 and zeal for the faith. These persons would thus be able 
 to reside near the Court, and would have an opportunity 
 of suggesting arguments to the King and to the inmates 
 of the palace in favour of the Catholic faith, as well as 
 the steps to be taken for its promotion. They might 
 even propose a marriage between the King and the 
 daughter of the King of Spain, if his Catholic Majesty 
 approved this project ; but of this the Scots entertain 
 very little hope, on account of the poverty of their own 
 
 sovereign. 
 
 " We celebrated daily and preached during the Christ- 
 mas season in the house of Lord Seton, the greater part 
 of his household, which is very numerous, being present. 
 
 " Priests coming from France can land in any part of 
 Scotland they prefer ; but the most convenient port is 
 Leith, as it is only six miles from the residence of Lord 
 Seton. One of them should land and apprise Lord Seton 
 of their arrival. Men of learning and controversial powers 
 are urgently wanted, and especially in addition to those 
 whom it is hoped Fr. Robert 1 will bring from the Society, 
 they want Father William Remold, of your college, and 
 Richard Barrett, of the Roman College, if you can do 
 without them. 
 
 ' With the consent of the Catholic nobles, and the 
 1 Father Robert Persons.
 
 158?.] STATE OF SCOTLAND IN 1582. 179 
 
 advice of my colleague and fellow-priest, I have crossed 
 the frontier of the two kingdoms, and come to London, 
 without incurring any particular risk, that I may com- 
 municate with you more rapidly, and you may form 
 an opinion as to what ought to be done with regard to 
 the supply of priests and other matters. My colleague 
 remains at Lord Seton's, to watch the Catholic cause, 
 until I return. My intention originally was not to have 
 left London before receiving a reply from you, or from 
 Father Robert ; but upon consideration, they now think 
 it best for me to return at once, through fear the roads, 
 or the passage of the Scottish border, should be closed 
 by some insurrectionary movement which, it is said, 
 Arran and the ministers are setting; on foot against the 
 King and the Duke of Lennox, in opposition to the ex- 
 pected change of policy. A messenger arrived here from 
 Scotland yesterday, with the information that the Estates 
 are to be once more assembled by the King's authority, in 
 order to rescind the decrees passed against the Catholics 
 in Scotland, and are summoned to meet in the Duke's 
 palace, a place where Arran and the false ministers have 
 never ventured to appear. The heretics are consequently 
 taking up arms, with the object of excluding the Duke 
 of Lennox, who is a foreigner, from any share in the 
 government. 
 
 " The above is the position of affairs in Scotland down 
 to last January. Your Reverence can write in cipher 
 on any subject, either to London or to Edinburgh, in 
 Scotland. 
 
 " The custom of fasting has been entirely abandoned 
 in Scotland, owing to the fact that our priests are some- 
 times detected too soon by refusing to eat, thus putting 
 a hindrance in the way of their usefulness. Your Lord- 
 ship would do well to enquire whether his Holiness would
 
 180 MARY STUART URGES THAT PRIESTS BE SENT. [1582. 
 
 grant them a dispensation to eat flesh, in case of urgent 
 necessity. We require one priest who can speak French 
 well, for the Duke [of Lennox] does not know any other 
 language, and business has very often to be transacted 
 with him. Send your own men as early as possible ; we 
 will prepare the way for them, and avert the dangers to 
 which they would otherwise be exposed from the jealousy 
 of the heretics. I need not add my entreaties that you 
 will use every effort in this cause of Christ, which you 
 have taken up ; and that you will have prayers offered for 
 us. Farewell, my most revered Lord. The illustrious 
 Lord, in whose cipher I write, aids and consoles us in 
 every way, and makes us the amplest promises in the 
 name of his master. He is writing fully to-day on 
 these matters to yourself, as well as to some of the 
 sovereigns." 1 
 
 A wide door was apparently opened. Queen Mary 
 herself earnestly desired that some one should be sent 
 to promote the cause of religion with d'Aubigny and 
 her other friends ; and she believed that her son, now a 
 youth of fifteen years of age, might easily be brought to 
 better sentiments. Though trained up a Protestant, he 
 was docile in disposition, and seemed to have a great 
 regard for his mother, while the administration was now 
 almost entirely in the hands of Catholics. Mary, there- 
 fore, wrote to the Duke of Guise, requesting him to 
 arrange with the Apostolic Nuncio 2 at Paris, and with 
 the Provincial of the Jesuits, to have some of the Fathers 
 sent to Scotland. She entreated Persons himself, in a 
 
 1 Endorsed : Ill mo et Rev mo in Christo patri ac domino, domino 
 Cardinali Comensi, domino suo benignissimo. — Archives of the 
 Vatican. " Nunziatura d'Inghilterra," vol. i. p. 216. 
 
 2 Julius Caesar Castelli, Bishop of Rimini.
 
 1582.] ARRIVAL OF FATHER WILLIAM CRICHTON. 181 
 
 message sent by letter to Bernardino Mendoza, to under- 
 take the direction of the province, and not waste his 
 time writing books, when the salvation of a kingdom 
 was at stake. Many petitions were presented to him on 
 the subject, and indeed there was nothing Persons- him- 
 self desired so much ; nevertheless he thought it prudent 
 to send into Scotland Fr. William Crichton, who might 
 discover exactly how things stood and what measures it 
 was in the power of the Society to take for the relief of 
 that kingdom. 
 
 Crichton went to Scotland in the beQ-innino- of Lent 
 1582. "At the time of his arrival only one of the mem- 
 bers of the Eoyal Council, Lord Seton, remained con- 
 stant to his religion. This nobleman willingly received 
 Fr. Crichton into his house, and treated him witli kind- 
 ness and respect. All the others had subscribed to the 
 heretical confession of faith, through fear of the tyranny 
 of those who had seized upon the government, and 
 especially of the heretical preachers. The guardian of 
 the young King, then still a minor, was his cousin, the 
 Duke of Lennox. Fr. Crichton considered it best to 
 enter into correspondence with this nobleman, whom he 
 knew to be a Catholic at heart, although externally com- 
 plying in every respect with the requirements of the 
 ministers ; and it was not without great difficulty that 
 he obtained an interview with Lennox, for he had to be 
 introduced into the King's palace at night, and hidden 
 during three days in a secret chamber. The Duke pro- 
 mised that he would have the King instructed in the 
 Catholic religion, or else conveyed abroad, in order to be 
 able to embrace it with more freedom. To secure this con- 
 cession, he made some on his side, chiefly of a pecuniary 
 nature ; and such as seemed very insignificant when 
 compared with the object in view. The articles of this
 
 182 FATHER CRICHTON DESPATCHED TO ROME. [1582. 
 
 agreement were drawn up by Fr. Crichton, and signed by 
 the Duke's hand in evidence of his assent to it, so that 
 the Pope, then Gregory XIII., might possess in the 
 Duke's handwriting a proof of the accuracy of Fr. Crich- 
 ton's verbal statement. Armed with this document, 
 Father Crichton at once crossed over to France, and 
 arrived in Paris, where the Duke of Guise — the King's 
 relative, the Archbishop of Glasgow, Father Tyrie, and 
 the other Scotchmen, all considered the Catholic cause 
 as good as gained." l They therefore despatched Crichton 
 to Rome, and Persons into Spain. The object of their 
 mission was that they might secure the safety of the 
 young King, and of the Duke d'Aubigny, by assem- 
 bling a strong military force to guard them, and might 
 at the same time provide a Catholic bride for the Prince, 
 in the hope of making his conversion more probable. 
 The Catholic King had two daughters old enough to be 
 married, and the object was to obtain one or the other of 
 them for James. The Pope felt the calamities of Scot- 
 land deeply, and was roused to exertion by the dawn of 
 hopes so bright. He not only approved the plan and 
 took it up eagerly himself, but wrote to urge it on King 
 Philip as a matter greatly interesting all Christian 
 people, and one which the King ought zealously to for- 
 ward. No time was to be lost in assembling the armed 
 force required for the guard. The Pope subscribed 4000 
 gold crowns, the King 12,000, promising the same 
 amount every year, and an increase if necessary ; the 
 sum just named being sent at once. 2 " But," says Fr. 
 Crichton, "the plan, which might have been easily 
 
 1 Manuscript account by Fr. "William Crichton. Archives of the 
 Society of Jesus. 
 
 2 Fr. Persons in his Autobiographical Notes, summing up the results 
 of his first visit to Spain in 1582, writes thus: "At this my being
 
 1582.] THE RAID OF RUTHVEN. 183 
 
 carried out in two months, was spread over two years ; 
 and so came to the notice of the English Court." Eliza- 
 beth took the alarm, as did the Scotch Presbyterian 
 ministers. The rumour spread that Popery, as well as 
 Prelacy, was about to be re-introduced, and d'Aubigny's 
 professed conversion to Protestantism was regarded as a 
 sham. It was at this crisis that, on August 23, the 
 Earl of Gowrie and the Confederate Lords seized the 
 person of the young King, who, suspecting nothing, was 
 then on a visit to Gowrie, at his Castle of Kuthven ; 
 though surrounded with all the outward tokens of 
 respect, he was soon made to feel himself really a pris- 
 oner in their hands. The Duke of Lennox escaped to 
 Dumbarton Castle ; but James, if we can trust the 
 account given by Bowes, " having been sharply threatened 
 by the Lords, that if he did not cause the Duke to depart, 
 he should not be the longest liver of them all," l ordered 
 Lennox to leave Scotland. 2 
 
 Persons was still at the Court of Spain, when this 
 revolution was announced to him. Philip expressed 
 much grief at the young King of Scots' misfortunes, and 
 the dangers which beset both his soul and his life ; but 
 he acknowledged that he saw no remedy, and all that 
 could be done was to watch the further course of 
 events. 
 
 In spite of so great a blow, and the premature death 
 of his friend, who had taken refuge in France, the Scot- 
 
 with the King of Spaine I obtained 24,000 crowns to be sent to the 
 King of Scots, which were paid by John Taxis in Paris." Stonyhurst 
 Archives, Grene's MSS., p. 230. 
 
 1 "R. 0. Scot. Eliz.," vol. xxxi. No. 8, Jan. 5, 1582-3. 
 
 2 The Duke of Lennox, " passing through London, on his way to 
 take refuge in France, was poisoned, as is supposed, and died a few 
 days after his arrival in Paris." Fr. Wm. Crichton's MS., Archives 
 of the Society.
 
 184 LETTER OF KING JAMES TO HIS MOTHER. [15S3. 
 
 tish King did not entirely lose courage. He wrote 
 to his mother that, in the midst of all the troubles he 
 suffered for love of her, he had never failed in the 
 duty and affection he bore her, and that he only loved 
 her the more in proportion as his trials grew heavier. 1 
 Shortly after, the cheering tidings reached Mary in her 
 prison that her son had regained his liberty and his 
 power, on the 7th July 1583, by an act of vigour and 
 determination. Elizabeth made an ineffectual attempt to 
 recover her former influence in Scotland, by inciting the 
 Lords of the English faction — Gowrie, Angus, Lennox, 
 and Mar — to undertake yet another aggressive attack 
 upon the young King. Their consent only led to failure, 
 and this enabled James to bring the vengeance of the 
 law to bear upon Ruthven, Earl of Gowrie, whose long 
 catalogue of crimes extended as far back as the murder 
 of Rizzio. In a letter to his royal mother, the King ex- 
 pressed his determination of punishing all who had been 
 guilty of treason against her, without allowing a single 
 one to escape, whom it was in his power to secure. " As 
 regards your deliverance," he added, "in pursuance of 
 the intention which I have long entertained, your Ma- 
 jesty may be assured I shall, in a short time, send one of 
 my servants to receive your blessing, and inform you of 
 my plans ; and also to demand from the Queen of Eng- 
 land your liberation, which I wish above all other happi- 
 ness in this world. Most especially I promise your 
 Majesty, you shall receive from me every satisfaction 
 that a good mother can hope for from a humble and 
 obedient son ; for this I shall be to you all my life. 
 With such determination, and having humbly kissed 
 your hand, I pray God the Creator, madame, that He 
 
 1 Cf. Letter of James quoted by Miss Strickland, "History of 
 Mary Queen of Scots," vol. vii. p. 322.
 
 1584.] JAMES VI. AND THE DUKE OF GUISE. 185 
 
 will grant to your Majesty a long and happy life in 
 perfect health." l 
 
 James was, no doubt, perfectly sincere in what he 
 wrote. He loved and respected his mother ; he detested 
 the criminal jjerpetrators of so many murders and so 
 many calumnies ; and yet, the hour drew near, in which, 
 driven to act, he was to fail at the critical moment and 
 disappoint the promise of his earlier life. 
 
 The overthrow of the Ruthven usurpation had enabled 
 the young King to establish his authority on a firmer basis 
 than before, by surrounding himself with his mother's 
 faithful friends. He became every day more inclined to the 
 Catholic cause ; and, on the invitation of some Catholics 
 of rank, was induced to enter into a secret correspondence 
 with them, and not only to approve their plan for releas- 
 ing his mother from her severe and perilous captivity, 
 but to give them all the assistance in his power. He 
 had become very weary of the subjection in which 
 Elizabeth held him, surrounded as he was with spies 
 who reported to her everything he did, and the persons 
 with whom he conferred. He therefore urged upon the 
 Duke of Guise the immediate execution of his design, 
 and went so far as to seem very much inclined to adopt 
 his mother's proposal that he should marry the Duke of 
 Guise's daughter. Early in January he sent the laird of 
 Fintry and the Master of Gray, whom he had selected 
 as being most devoted to his mother and himself, with 
 a letter to the Duke, and instructions to arrange every- 
 thing with him. They were charged to urge the Duke 
 to undertake the expedition, and were to do all they 
 could to induce the Kings of France and Spain, as well 
 as the Supreme Pontiff, to encourage it by their authority 
 
 1 23rd July 1581, W. Murdin, "State Papers," London, 1759, foL, 
 p. 434.
 
 186 LETTER OF LORD SETON TO THE POPE. [1584. 
 
 and by a supply of money. Fintry and Gray, to all 
 appearance, eagerly undertook the commission. Lord 
 Seton, who had been sent as ambassador from the King 
 of Scotland to Paris, for the purpose of negotiating the 
 course of action with the French Kino; and the Duke of 
 Guise, informed the Pope that there was every reason to 
 believe, from what he had heard, that the Kiug of Scots 
 was seriously disposed in favour of the Catholic cause. 1 
 
 Lord Seton to Pope Gregory XIII. 
 
 "To our most holy Lord, — I need not explain to 
 your Holiness the part which I have taken in defending 
 the Catholic religion, and the authority of the Supreme 
 Pontiff, for I would rather leave this to others. Having 
 been sent hither by my most serene master, the King of 
 Scots, to implore the aid of the most Christian King, in 
 our dreadful emergencies, I could not do otherwise than 
 write to your Holiness some account of the state of our 
 affairs. Briefly, after the ministers had succeeded in 
 sending the Duke of Lennox away from Scotland, the 
 Kino; was so offended that he would hold no communi- 
 cation with them, though previously he had always 
 acted in accordance with their advice. They took 
 offence in turn, and set on foot a violent insurrectionary 
 movement against his authority, partly by means of the 
 agents of the Queen of England, and partly through their 
 own rebel leaders. Being reduced to extremity, he has 
 implored the aid of the most Christian King, and more 
 
 1 Letters of James VI. to the Duke of Guise, 22d January and 19th 
 February 1584 ; letter to the Pope, 19th February 1584, published 
 by Tbeiner, " Annales Ecclesiastici," vol. iii. pp. 801, 802, 806, 
 (" Archivio Vaticano, Anglia," vol. ii. fol. 274) ; cf. " E. O.," Wade 
 to Walsingham, May 5, 1581, from Paris.
 
 1584.] LETTER OF LORD SETON TO THE POPE. 187 
 
 particularly that of his relative the Duke of Guise ; a 
 proceeding which has raised the hopes of Catholics to the 
 highest point. So favourable an opportunity never 
 occurred before, and could not have been expected or 
 looked for ; and it is doubly important that it should 
 not be lost. The King has so high an opinion of the 
 Duke of Guise, that we are in hopes he will be guided 
 in everything by his advice ; indeed he has not only 
 written as much to the Duke, but has charged me with 
 a message to the same effect. Our hope is that your 
 Holiness will both animate and encourage the Duke to 
 make some effort in the cause of religion, and also give 
 him substantial assistance. God Himself, beyond all our 
 hopes, seems to have provided your Holiness with this 
 opportunity of extending religion and of obtaining never 
 ending glory. The King's age, his perilous and critical 
 position, the unbridled insolence of the ministers, are all 
 circumstances in our favour. But it is of the utmost im- 
 portance to lose no time, or the chance will pass away. 
 The Queen of England is straining every nerve to crush 
 the King of Scots by a rebellion in his own country, and 
 if successful, she will suppress the Catholic religion alto- 
 gether. The Duke of Guise, to whom I have trans- 
 mitted the King of Scotland's letter for your Holiness, 
 will doubtless explain matters in detail. But I would 
 implore your Holiness not to let the existence of these 
 communications be known to anyone, for this would, at 
 the present juncture, place the King in the most extreme 
 difficulty. At a later period we hope, by the aid of your 
 Holiness, that he will be free to declare himself openly a 
 son of your Beatitude. At present he is so situated 
 and so completely in the power of his enemies, that he is 
 scarcely at liberty to do anything whatever ; from this 
 condition it is for your Beatitude to rescue him. God
 
 1S8 LETTER OF FR. WILLIAM HOLT. [1584. 
 
 jireserve you long to his Church. — Your Holiness's 
 most humble servant, Seton." 
 
 "Paris, March 14, 1584." 1 
 
 Father Holt, who had recently experienced much kind- 
 ness from the Scottish King, 2 was equally sanguine, and 
 wrote hopefully of the King's conversion, as will appear 
 from several letters addressed to the Scots in Paris. 
 
 Father William Holt's letter from Edinburgh. 
 
 "March 20, 1584. 
 
 " I wrote a few days back touching events in this 
 country, but Gray's arrival in town has put me in 
 possession of further particulars, which I now send to be 
 communicated to the Duke of Guise, as his occupations 
 do not allow him to write. 
 
 " The King of Scotland has the best disposition to- 
 wards us, and remains firm in these sentiments, but com- 
 plains of your delay in sending to him. He says he has 
 
 1 Theiner, " Annales Ecclesiastici," vol. iii. p. 598. 
 
 2 Fr. Holt had worked with no little success, as long as the Catholics 
 remained in power. But after the raid of Ruthven, the machinations 
 of the stricter Calvinists frustrated all his endeavours, and in March 
 1583, he was apprehended near Edinburgh by order of the heretical 
 counsellors of State, in whose power the King then was. From 
 several letters between Walsingham and Elizabeth's agents in Scotland 
 we learn the efforts made by Elizabeth to obtain possession of the 
 prisoner's person, which would have inevitably resulted in his torture 
 and death ; had not the young King, supported by the French 
 Ambassador, refused to deliver him up, and put off his importunate 
 enemies with fair promises. On one occasion Bowes tells Walsingham 
 that the French Ambassador, in his late interview with the King, had 
 laboured earnestly that Holt might be speedily examined and handed 
 over to him to take to France. He has also been advised of an in-
 
 1584.] LETTER OF FR. WILLIAM HOLT. 189 
 
 involved himself in much difficulty on our account, and 
 has never received any reply to his letters. As regards 
 the affairs of state — the King's most faithful counsellors 
 are the Earls of Iluntly, Crawford, Montrose, and 
 Morton, and Lords Herries, Home, 1 Gray, Colonel 
 Stewart, commanding the guard, and some others. 
 Angus is under arrest, 2 but goes about free. On our side 
 are Mar, Glammis, Boyd, and many besides. Gowrie wiJl 
 shortly be banished from Scotland, unless he exerts him- 
 self to prevent it. Argyll, Glencairn, Arran, Marishal 3 
 are at Court, and take a moderate line, but they must be 
 considered as our opponents. 
 
 " These last have lately been endeavouring to per- 
 suade the King of Scotland to choose a wife from the 
 royal family of Sweden. This is done at the instigation 
 of the Queen of England, whose agent here, Andrew 
 Keith, acts through Arran. Their object is to detach 
 the King from the friendship of the Catholic Princes. 
 Our friends have done all in their power to prevent it, 
 and Gray, in particular, has worked for this end with 
 great industry, and to good effect. Colonel Stuart, as I 
 said just now, is entirely on our side, and is very anxious 
 to be commended to the Duke of Guise. It would be of 
 
 tention of withdrawing Holt, and a report was bruited through 
 Edinburgh tbat the prisoner and his keeper (Lord Seton, who 
 secretly entertained F. Holt) had actually fled. So he (Bowes) ob- 
 tained from the King a promise for Holt's detention, and to have him 
 sharply examined within four days, and after his examination to be 
 delivered to the writer for further examination on behalf of her 
 Majesty. (" R. 0. Scot. Eliz.," vol. xxxi., and Cott. MSS., " Caligula," 
 c. vii. 67.) An account of the examination will be found in the 
 Tanner MS., vol. 79 folio 187. 
 
 1 They were members of the Privy Council. 
 
 2 Angus, prosecuted as a Ruthven raider, made his escape to England 
 towards the end of April (1584). 
 
 3 Members of the Privy Council.
 
 190 LETTER OF FR. WILLIAM HOLT. [1584. 
 
 great advantage for the Duke to recognise him, by 
 letter or otherwise ; for the Colonel has the Kind's full 
 confidence, and devotes himself day and night to provide 
 for his master's safety. He has contracted an intimate 
 friendship with Gray, and is much guided by his advice, 
 so that the latter can easily influence the Colonel in any 
 direction the Duke of Guise may point out. God knows 
 how long the opportunity is likely to last. 
 
 " The English troops are said to be near the frontier, 
 ready to act in conjunction with the King's enemies, 
 and he is likely to be overwhelmed by this combination, 
 unless some effectual move is made to counteract it. 
 
 " The King's leaning towards the Catholic religion 
 may be gathered from several indications. He has sent 
 one of the ministers away from Edinburgh, and another 
 out of Scotland j 1 is on bad terms with them all, and, 
 when anything is referred to him, he puts difficulties in 
 their way rather than removes them. On the other haud, 
 he regards all the Catholics most favourably, and en- 
 joins Gray and Fintry to use no concealment in their 
 efforts on behalf of the Catholic cause, through fear or 
 friendship for anyone, promising them his protection if 
 they should be molested by the ministers. He shows 
 me greater marks of favour every day, and has not only 
 permitted, but even approved of my remaining in the 
 kingdom. He condescends to make use of my assistance 
 in some important affairs, but this he wishes to remain a 
 profound secret, for the present, in order to prevent any 
 risk to himself from the outcries of the ministers, until 
 
 1 On the 17th of February (1584) Andrew Melville was ordered to 
 enter himself a prisoner in Blackness Castle, but he fled to Berwick. 
 Melville was followed in his flight by several of his brethren, who had 
 reason to dread the displeasure of the King. (" Register of the Privy 
 Council of Scotland," vol. iii. p. 631, and seq.)
 
 1584.] LETTER OF FR. WILLIAM HOLT. 191 
 
 circumstances shall allow of his declaring himself more 
 openly. He has evidently made up his mind to grant full 
 liberty of worship to all the inhabitants of the kingdom, 
 provided he can do so consistently with his own personal 
 safety, and the peace of the country. I do not say this 
 only on conjecture, but from information received 
 through one of his most intimate friends, who, though 
 himself a Protestant, assures me that the Kino- entertains 
 this intention. 1 I will write more fully on the subject 
 another time. The great hindrance is the King's want 
 of money, which is such that he can scarcely manage to 
 pay his own guards. The noblemen around him have 
 spent all they possessed on the measures necessary to in- 
 sure his security, and unless a supply be obtained very 
 shortly, the downfall of all our hopes is imminent. 
 The King will be exposed to the utmost risk, and com- 
 pelled to change his policy, just at the moment when he 
 has resolved to follow the guidance of the Catholic 
 Princes, and attach himself to their views, for the rest of 
 his life. 
 
 " He is reported to have said that the Catholics were far 
 more faithful to him than the Protestants ; an additional 
 reason for transmitting without delay the subsidy 
 promised through M. de Meyneville. 
 
 "Two English Catholic noblemen, 2 who have lately 
 taken refuse here, are in high favour with the King;, as 
 well as a third, who has been with me all along ; and 
 he has resolved to avail himself of their help in some 
 
 1 Cf. Correspondence between Davidson and Walsingham. "E. 0. 
 Seotl. Eliz.," vol. xxxiv. n. 58, 59. 
 
 2 " One of them," says Bowes, " is thought to be Sir Robert 
 Gerard." They were entertained at Seaton. Robert Bowes to Sir 
 Francis Walsynghani, March 4,. 1584. (" It. 0. Scotland Eliz.," vol. 
 xxxiv. 23.)
 
 192 LETTER OF FPw WILLIAM HOLT. [1584. 
 
 important matters. It is desirable that his disposition 
 towards the English Catholics should be made known, 
 as they will thus be encouraged to forward his views. 
 The kindness he shows to a few of them is in fact 
 open to all, and each one would be sure of the same 
 liberal treatment were he in want of it. The King per- 
 fectly well understands, and we daily impress it on him, 
 that he will never obtain the crown of England but by 
 the aid of the Catholics, and that he cannot safely trust 
 his mother's enemies in Scotland. I did not hear his 
 Majesty say this himself, but I had it from men of un- 
 doubted veracity, whom I have lately spoken with. They 
 told me more, which I judge prudent not to write at pre- 
 sent. This much is certain — the King cannot declare 
 himself more openly without extreme peril, unless he 
 receives assistance first. That this may be done as soon 
 as possible, we most urgently entreat, and he himself as 
 earnestly desires. Gray is desired by the King to re- 
 quest that the six thousand gold pieces, which the King 
 asked for in his last letter, may be sent to him ; and 
 that further sums be got ready at Paris, so that, if his 
 affairs succeed, he may be able to assemble an army and 
 invade England. I write in Mr Gray's 1 house at Edin- 
 burgh, where I have been concealed for some days. 
 
 William Holt." 
 " March 20 [1584.]" 2 
 
 1 The Master of Gray, under an exterior -which was remarkahly 
 graceful, carried a heart as black and treacherous as any in this profli- 
 gate age. He pretended to be a Catholic, and had always professed 
 the deepest attachment to Mary Stuart, who trusted him with much 
 of her secret correspondence. Gray not only betrayed her cause, but 
 recommended the assassination of the unhappy Queen. — (Courcelles 
 to Henry III., 31st December; Egerton, 97. " Calderwood," iv. 
 p. 613). 
 
 2 Archives of the Society of Jesus, Latin MS.
 
 1581.] LETTER OF FR. WILLIAM HOLT. 103 
 
 Letter from Fr. Wm. Holt at Edinburgh. 
 
 " The King is excellently disposed and resolute in our 
 interests. He has communicated his purpose to Colonel 
 Stuart, having first obtained from him an oath of fidelity 
 and secrecy. The Colonel is ready for anything, and 
 the Duke of Guise should at once write, to thank and 
 encourage him. Gray, by the King's order, has treated 
 with Huntly, Crawford, and John Maitland, who are all 
 engaged on his side, but know nothing of the plan ; Gray 
 only having spoken in general terms. They have pro- 
 mised to assist him to the utmost, so that as soon as the 
 design is made public, we may depend upon their aid. 
 The King is quite resolved to send some one to you 
 with fuller powers than heretofore, and gets more eager 
 every day, intending to take the field in person. We 
 hear every day of fresh plots against his life, contrived 
 by enemies both at home and abroad ; and these he can- 
 not long withstand except by your aid. So make haste. 
 He has heard of some danger threatening him from his 
 rebellious subjects, and from the Queen of England ; and 
 is consequently assembling an armed force, though he 
 has no money with which to pay it. The Colonel 
 is entirely with us, and very active. The ministers are 
 in open opposition to the King, and in defiance of his 
 authority hold nightly assemblies within their place of 
 worship. They have been treated with very little con- 
 sideration of late, and probably keep their vigils with 
 greater zeal on that account. Huntly is full of courage, 
 Arran detested by every one. I have much to do, and, 
 thank God, am safe and free, through the King's bounty 
 and kindness. I have better hopes of him than ever, for 
 he does not refuse to converse about religion. John 
 Seton is said to have landed. 
 
 N
 
 194 LETTER OF FR. WILLIAM HOLT. [1584. 
 
 " The King has lately written to the Queen, his mother, 
 in very consoling terms, promising all that could be 
 expected at the present juncture." 
 
 " From Edinburgh, April 1, 1584." 
 
 Another from the Same, April 8. 
 
 " The King loves secrecy, observing it himself, and 
 expecting others to do the same. Be expeditious in his 
 affairs. All is being done here with zeal and fidelity, 
 and procrastination on your side will be ruinous. The 
 favours bestowed on Catholics by the King have roused 
 the suspicions of many Protestants. We are only wait- 
 ing for measures in support of his authority, and for 
 replies to our letters. I think he will shortly send me 
 on a commission to you. God be with you." 
 
 " Edinburgh, April 8, 1584." 
 
 Another from the Same. 
 
 " April 7. 
 
 " The ship being still in the harbour, it occurs to me 
 to add a few words about the excommunication. I have 
 no doubt you have done all that is necessary, but it 
 must be drawn up in such terms as to compel the Catho- 
 lics to take up arms against the excommunicated princess 
 under penalty, or else it is very likely they will not be 
 ready. Fintry's letter will tell you how great the har- 
 vest is here, and how few the labourers. During the last 
 few months, since the King quarrelled with the Mini- 
 sters, a great part of the country has abandoned them, 
 and begun to ask for Catholic preachers. Tell me when 
 you write, whether the matter you are engaged in is 
 
 likely to succeed, and what I am to do here." 
 " Edinburgh, April 7." l 
 
 1 Archives of the Society of Jesus, vol. Scotia, Latin MS.
 
 1584.] LETTER OF ARCHBISHOP BEATON. 195 
 
 From all accounts, such a favourable opportunity for 
 prosecuting the enterprise had not occurred before ; but 
 there was no time to be lost. "If it be not carried out 
 this year," said Allen, " I give up all hope in man ; and 
 the rest of my life will be bitter to me." The Arch- 
 bishop of Glasgow, writing to the Cardinal of Como, 
 expressed the same anxiety. 
 
 The Archbishop of Glasgow to the Cardinal of Como. 
 
 " The state of Scotland was never more hopeful, as 
 appears from their choosing for ambassador to France a 
 Catholic, one who has shown himself most resolute 
 of all during this crisis. He has been ordered to settle 
 nothing with the French King without previous consul- 
 tation with me ; I hardly know why. It seems to me 
 most important not to delay, for as things now stand the 
 Kind's crown and life are in most critical danger ; and 
 it is evident that we must look very shortly either for 
 success, or for his death, and the utter ruin of every- 
 thing. Our hopes depend in a very great degree upon 
 his Holiness ; if he comes to our aid in time, all may 
 be well. As regards the others, I fear their help will 
 be given too late, unless they can be induced to act 
 more promptly than is their wont." x 
 
 The only thing lacking was the final decision of the 
 King of Spain, without whose fleet, troops, and money, 
 nothing could be effected. But, whether it arose from 
 his habitual procrastination, or from want of money, 
 Philip II. let the propitious moment pass by unemployed, 
 until events happened in France and elsewhere which 
 turned the Duke of Guise's thoughts into another channel, 
 1 Theiner, "Annales," vol. iii. p. 598.
 
 196 LETTER OF ARCHBISHOP BEATON TO THE POPE. [1584. 
 
 and, without extinguishing, cooled the ardour of his zeal 
 for the enterprise which he had hitherto so warmly 
 advocated. 
 
 Beaton, however, would not wait till the plans of 
 politicians had become a failure, and as it was obvious 
 that the daily loss of souls in Scotland was great, he 
 encouraged the exiled priests * to return without delay, 
 and entreated the Pope to send some priests of the 
 Society of Jesus who were of Scottish birth. 
 
 The Archbishop of Glasgow to Pope Gregory XIII. 
 
 "Paris, 25th June 1584. 
 
 "Most Holy Father, — They write from Scotland 
 
 that the harvest is great, the labourers few, and that it 
 
 is desirable to send some to them for the purpose of 
 
 keeping the Catholics firm, and assisting those who are 
 
 1 There is in the secret archives of the Vatican a paper entitled : 
 " The humble petition to his Holiness of Priests of the Kingdom of 
 Scotland now in exile and desirous to return to their country even at 
 the risk of their lives." The Petition contains the " names of those 
 who are prepared to return at once, but cannot move from where they 
 are for want of means. They nearly all live in Paris or the neigh- 
 bourhood. Signed by — ■ 
 
 " Fathers Hunter, Doctor of Theology ; Gray, Public Professor of 
 Theology ; Chalmer, Preacher, Theologian ; John Hay, Doctor of 
 Theology ; James Lang, Doctor of Sorbonne ; Andrew Gallway, 
 Licentiate in Theology ; James Schin, Doctor in both Laws ; James 
 Mertin, Theologian ; William Meldrum ; Patrick Dunglas, Candidate 
 of Theology ; James Finlason, Candidate of Theology ; William 
 Viddiipon (sic) ; James Friserel, Theologian. Three Priests from the 
 Semminary at Pont-a-Mousson. Fathers Archibald Hamilton, Candi- 
 date of Theology ; Alexander Hamilton, Canon of St Quentin ; John 
 Hamilton, Professor of Philosophy at Paris ; Pobert Balfour, 
 Philosopher." 
 
 On the back, Scotland. Copy in an Italian hand of the end of the 
 XVIth century. Archiv. Vaticano. Nuntiatura Anglia;, vol. ii. 4 pp.
 
 1584.] LETTER OF ARCHBISHOP BEATON TO THE POPE. 197 
 
 ready to return, and might be easily reclaimed. On 
 this account, we request your Holiness to desire the 
 Rev. Superior of the Society of Jesus to send some 
 priests belonging to that order and of Scottish birth ; 
 and especially Father Edmund Hay, James Gordon, 
 James Tyrie, William Crichton, and others whom he 
 considers fit persons. We, on our part, have sent Dr 
 James Cheyne, to whom your Holiness has granted an 
 ordinary pension, which he finds sufficient. But there 
 are no benefices to support the Fathers in Scotland, and 
 neither their own relatives nor the Catholics in general, 
 are always willing to supply the need, for Catholics 
 have chaplains of their own to say Mass in their houses, 
 and the relatives of our Fathers are often heretics. Under 
 these circumstances, it will be desirable for your Holi- 
 ness to send the same instructions to your present 
 Nuncio, which were given to the most Reverend Bishop 
 of Ariminum, his predecessor ; namely, that he should 
 assign an annual and sufficient pension to such priests 
 as we shall deem suitable for this mission. Your Holi- 
 ness will, in this way, act for the best interests of those 
 kingdoms, and there is hope that a harvest will quickly 
 follow, by the grace of God, to His glory and the conso- 
 lation of your Holiness ; a result for which we have 
 laboured with tears and prayers during many years." x 
 
 In compliance with the Pope's desire, and at the 
 earnest request of the Catholic nobility, in 1584 Father 
 Crichton was sent to Scotland again, and with him 
 Father James Gordon ; but their vessel was seized on 
 the high seas by the heretics of Holland, who were in 
 rebellion against their own sovereign. The vessel was 
 set free, there being no war at that time between the 
 1 Theiner " Annales," ii. p. 602.
 
 198 LETTER OF FE. EDMUND HAY. [1584. 
 
 Scots and the Dutch ; but a merchant who had hired 
 her for the voyage, and had discovered the character 
 of Father Gordon and Father Crichton, accused them 
 of being enemies of his party in Scotland, and the 
 Dutch detained them on this account. The merchant 
 then became apprehensive that the Earl of Huntly, who 
 was Father Gordon's nephew, might kill him in revenge 
 for the betrayal and denunciation of his uncle to the 
 Dutch ; and he accordingly succeeded in procuring 
 Father Gordon's liberation, and the substitution in his 
 place of Mr Ady, a secular priest, then proceeding to 
 Ostend. Here Father Crichton was recognised as a 
 Jesuit, he and his companion were condemned to die for 
 the murder of the Prince of Orange. Obviously no one 
 else but the Jesuits could have done the deed ; they 
 therefore, the rebels resolved, must all be hanged. A 
 gallows was erected for the execution of Father Crichton ; 
 but just at this juncture a treaty was concluded in 
 England between the Dutch and the Queen of England. 
 Elizabeth, on learning that Father Crichton was a 
 prisoner at Ostend, requested the negotiators of the 
 treaty to have him given up to her, and sent a ship across 
 to Ostend for the special purpose of conveying him to 
 England. 1 
 
 Father Gordon's arrival and missionary labours in 
 Scotland form the subject of the following letters. 
 
 Fr. Edmund Hay to Fr. Claud Aquaviva, General 
 of the Society of Jesus. 
 
 " Very Beverend Father, — I learn by a letter from 
 the Laird of Fintry, the nephew of the Archbishop of 
 Glasgow, dated from Scotland in the middle of Sep- 
 
 1 Father Crichton's MS. account. Archives of the Society of Jesus. 
 Latin MS.
 
 1584.] LETTER OF FR. EDMUND HAY. 199 
 
 tember, that Fr. Gordon has arrived in that country, and 
 gone to the house of the Earl, his nephew. Also Fr. 
 Crichton, together with the chaplain of the Bishop of 
 Eoss, has been taken prisoner by the English on their 
 way from Flanders, or rather, as we had heard before, 
 from Flushing, and is now a prisoner in London. We 
 are ignorant how it happened that Fr. Crichton was the 
 only one taken, for Fintry does not mention this in his 
 letter, and Fr. Gordon has not yet written. As there is 
 no doubt he is really in prison, we have taken the only 
 step in our power. The Archbishop of Glasgow has 
 written to Mauvisiere, the resident envoy of the King of 
 France in London, entreating him in the most urgent 
 terms to go and see the Father, if this be possible, and 
 learn all about him from his own lips. If this be im- 
 possible, he is to make every inquiry and write directly 
 and say what steps we can take with the view of effect- 
 ing his liberation ; providing meanwhile for his wants, 
 as far as can be. We have ourselves taken precautions 
 for this end, through the very kind assistance of Mr 
 Matthew Zampini, a person favourably known to Father 
 Claudius. 1 He has an Italian friend in London, who, for 
 some years past, has rendered valuable assistance to 
 Catholics imprisoned for their faith. He has now written 
 to this friend, begging that he will not allow the Father 
 to want anything, and will ascertain how he is, either 
 from himself or through others. Fr. Gordon had scarcely 
 reached Scotland when he was betrayed by the sailors 
 and other companions of his voyage, the same in all 
 probability who betrayed Crichton, and he was denounced 
 to some of the few ministers left. This was done with 
 the addition of a statement of a most astonishing char- 
 acter, and artfully adapted to drive the ministers wild. 
 
 1 Father Claude Mathieu, Superior of the Jesuits in France.
 
 200 LETTER OF FR. EDMUND HAY. [15S4. 
 
 They declared that there were thirteen Fathers of our 
 Society on board the vessel, and that they were all given 
 up to the English, with a great number of chalices and 
 other sacerdotal ornaments. This so enraged the mini- 
 sters, who quite believed it, that they did all they could 
 in their sermons to induce the people to credit the story, 
 adding that the King had been already subverted by 
 our Fathers, and heard the Mass every day. This is 
 very crafty as well as malicious, for their object is to 
 bring James into detestation with the nobles and the 
 heretical populace, and once more turn all the united 
 violence of the sect against the throne. The unfortunate 
 prince was obliged to meet this trick with another, 
 and published a proclamation forbidding any Jesuit 
 to enter the kingdom in future, requiring also Fr. 
 Gordon to quit Scotland within a month, and meanwhile 
 not to come within ten miles of the court. If the mini- 
 sters complain hereafter that this proclamation was a 
 ruse, it will probably be answered, or at any rate might 
 be said with truth, that the story which occasioned it 
 was equally false. Fintry writes that Fr. Gordon has 
 nothing to fear, and will soon be set at liberty by the 
 Earl's influence. The King has restored the Bishop of 
 Dunkeld, and, I think, the Archbishop of Glasgow, but 
 this good prelate does not want his Holiness, or those at 
 Kome, to be made aware of it until he hears from his 
 nephew that the matter is settled, which he hopes he 
 will soon. I trust that all who have decided to help this 
 prince will do so without delay, that he may no longer 
 be afraid to enquire freely about religion, or say what he 
 thinks on the subject, and may act towards the ministers 
 as he thinks right, and they deserve. Father Eobert 
 feared for his life, and is gone to Eouen, or else to 
 Flanders, leaving in my hands the case of the Scottish
 
 1585.] LETTER OF ARCHBISHOP BEATON. 201 
 
 mission entrusted to him by your Paternity. The Arch- 
 bishop of Glasgow thinks I ought to be one of the 
 first to sail, perhaps with Fr. Tyrie. To prevent Fr. 
 Gordon being alone, and to help him if he has not been 
 very successful, your Paternity should consider in our 
 Lord to whom you will entrust this charge. But I will 
 write again on this subject, with God's help. I com- 
 mend myself to the Holy Sacrifices and prayers of your 
 Paternity and all at Eome. 
 
 " Your Paternity's unworthy son in Christ, 
 
 " Edmund Hay." 
 
 " Paris, October 29, 1584." 1 
 
 The Archbishop of Glasgow to Father Claud 
 
 Aquaviva. 
 
 " \Mh Feb. 1585. 
 
 " Very Reverend Father, — I must first express my 
 great gratitude to your Paternity for having acceded 
 to my wishes by permitting the Father Provincial to 
 send Fathers Hay and Tyrie, whenever I shall consider 
 the opportunity favourable. I faithfully promise to 
 make use of this advantage as may seem best for God's 
 glory, and the salvation of souls. Fr. Gordon has written 
 again. I cannot, however, as yet read his letter for want 
 of the counter-cypher, but I hope to receive this soon 
 from Fr. Claudius, 2 who I hear has arrived at Pont-a- 
 Mousson. Meanwhile I hear from my nephew, in whose 
 house both Fr. Gordon and Fr. Holt are entertained, that 
 the Fathers do not advise any Scottish priest, especially 
 a man of much note, being sent to that country, as they 
 are afraid that the King may be compelled, for the pro- 
 
 1 Archives of the Society of Jesus, vol. Scotia (I.), Latin MS. 
 
 2 F. Claude Mathieu, Superior of the Jesuits in France.
 
 202 GROWTH OF CATHOLIC RELIGION IN SCOTLAND. [1585. 
 
 tection of his own life from the attempts of the heretics, 
 to take some severe measures, against the Fathers 
 themselves, and the Catholics in general ; and thus our 
 difficulties for the future would be increased. As the 
 harvest, with God's help, seems likely to be great, they 
 recommend that two English priests should be sent 
 without delay, and should land at Aberdeen. I am thus 
 able to conjecture pretty well what Father Gordon's letter 
 contains, though as yet we cannot read it. But since 
 my nephew adds that he will send a messenger at the 
 beginning of March, to give full information, we have 
 decided to do nothing until that time, when we hope the 
 information brought by him will enable us to write fully, 
 not only to your Paternity, but to our Most Holy Lord 
 Gregory XIII. as well. I implore your Paternity mean- 
 while to have our King earnestly recommended to God. 
 The English Council is straining every nerve to procure 
 his destruction by treachery if they cannot by open 
 violence. We trust that, with the aid of your prayers, 
 God may be good to him, so that he may not be en- 
 trapped. Christ Jesus keep your Paternity ever safe and 
 mindful of Him. — Yours most affectionately in Christ. 
 
 "James, Archbishop of Glasgow." 
 
 " Paris, Feb. 15, 1585." 1 
 
 "Among the other causes which contributed in no small 
 degree to the growth of the Catholic religion in Scotland, 
 was the personal influence of Father Gordon. He was a 
 kinsman to the King, and not only touched the hearts of 
 many persons by his holiness of life, but, further, being 
 a man of great learning, he openly defeated the ministers 
 of the heretics in the public discussions which were held. 
 
 1 Archives of the Society of Jesus, vol. Francia, 1540-1G04. 
 Latin MSS.
 
 1585.] PUBLIC DISCUSSION ON MATTERS OF FAITH. 203 
 
 It happened also, most opportunely, that while the King 
 was expostulating with the young Earl of Huntly for not 
 embracing Calvinism, Huntly replied that there was an 
 uncle of his own in Scotland, to whom he would much 
 more willingly entrust the salvation of his soul than to 
 any of that heretical ministry. ' Let him come,' said the 
 King, ' we are not afraid of him.' Father Gordon put 
 on the habit of the Society, and made his appearance 
 before James and eight ministers. They asked him first, 
 for a definition of justification ; and, in reply, the Father 
 gave them the definition laid down by the Council of 
 Trent. They said, ' if that is your opinion of justifica- 
 tion, the Pope of Rome will have you burnt, for the 
 Papists ascribe it to good works.' Father Gordon held 
 to his ground, and they then proceeded to argue against 
 the Mass. The Father proved the truth of the Mass by 
 the most cogent arguments, when the King, perceiving 
 that the ministers said nothing to the purpose, himself 
 took up the argument against him. The debate ended 
 in noisy clamours and strong language, and was adjourned 
 till the next day. But the King, having observed that 
 Father Gordon was skilled in controversy, and that the 
 ministers were sure to be vanquished, prohibited any 
 discussion being held except in his own presence ; and in 
 future, whenever the ministers assembled for this purpose, 
 he invariably went out hunting. Father Gordon followed 
 his Sovereign to the chase, and everywhere else, for two 
 whole months, always seeking an opportunity to make 
 some effort for his conversion. Finding his endeavours 
 fruitless, he proceeded to the north of Scotland. Here, 
 at the request of a number of noblemen, a day was 
 appointed for him to hold a public discussion on matters 
 of faith with Mr George Hay, the most learned of the 
 ministers, a man of good birth, fairly versed in Greek
 
 204 CHRISTMAS AT DUMFRIES IN 1585. [1585. 
 
 and Latin literature, and occupying the first place 
 among their preachers. He admitted that the doctors 
 of the Church durinp; the first five centuries held what 
 was true, but when he proceeded to defend the opinions 
 of his sect by garbled quotations contained in the writ- 
 ings of their doctors, Father Gordon protested that the 
 ancient writers did not maintain such sentiments. Then 
 the minister, sending to his own house, which was at 
 some leagues distance, procured a whole horseload of 
 books, and among them the writings of the ancient 
 doctors. By means of these, in the presence of a great 
 concourse of nobles and ladies, Father Gordon van- 
 quished the minister by bringing forward complete 
 sentences and not isolated phrases, from the ancient 
 writers to whom the minister had appealed. This 
 occurrence made a great noise, and produced much 
 effect, for a large number of persons returned in 
 consequence to the religion of their fathers, and others 
 were encouraged to persevere therein. Among the 
 former was Francis, Earl of Errol, Master of the horse." 1 
 In 1585, Father Gordon was reinforced by Fathers 
 Edmund Hay and John Dury, both coming for the sake 
 of concealment, as domestic servants of one Robert Bruce, 
 a Scottish priest. The King knew all about it, but said 
 nothing. " John Dury, by his learning, his indefatigable 
 labours, and the sermons whereby he seemed able to 
 turn the minds of men in any direction he wished, con- 
 verted to the Catholic faith almost all the inhabitants of 
 Dumfries, together with Lord Maxwell, the governor of 
 the town and district." 2 "In spite of the persecution 
 
 1 Fr. Crichton's MSB., Archives of the Society. Cf., " History of 
 the Society," by Fr. Jouvency, S.J. 
 
 2 This nobleman, however, afterwards returned to his errors, or pre- 
 tended to do so, and was killed in battle, and his hand was cut off. 
 He used to pray that it might be, if it ever subscribed to heresy.
 
 1585.] DEATH OF FR. DURY. 205 
 
 against the Catholics, at that time sufficiently violent, 
 Father Dury determined to sing the whole of the office 
 of the festival of the Nativity of our Lord, together with 
 the three Masses, solemnly, in a monastery situated out- 
 side the town, and on the other side of the river, guards 
 being posted on the bridge, to prevent anyone crossing 
 without a written order. But the people were so eager to 
 hear him preach, and to witness the solemn office, that 
 those not allowed to cross the bridge forded the stream, 
 though the water was up to their waist ; and thus, wet 
 through, they passed the night of the vigil of the Nativity, 
 hearing the office in the Church. Not one of them sus- 
 tained any harm, a fact attributed to the miraculous 
 power of God, and the merits of the Father. Great 
 numbers of people visited him for confession and advice 
 regarding religion, many of whom came at night, not 
 venturing to appear by clay through dread of persecution 
 and the watchfulness of the spies. 
 
 " The Father was at length so worn out that his 
 recovery from fatigue was despaired of. On this account 
 Fr. Edmund Hay, Superior of the mission, sent for him, 
 but he died on the road, in the house of the illustrious 
 
 Lady of B , on the 20th of October, 1588. He 
 
 requested permission of the Lady to speak a few words 
 to the family before he died, as she had many sons and 
 a numerous household, all in some sort heretics. He 
 spoke on the certainty of the Catholic Eeligion, and the 
 vanity of any hope of salvation outside it, with so much 
 force and efficacy as to draw tears from all, and obtain 
 the conversion of many of them, among these beino- 
 several sons of the lady of the house. Soon after this 
 he rendered up his soul to God." 1 
 
 1 Father Crichton's MS., Archives, S. J.
 
 20G LETTER OF FR. JAMES TYRIE. [1585. 
 
 Father James Tyrie to Fr. Claud Aquaviva. 
 
 " Very Eeverend Father, — We have had a visit from 
 an Irish Bishop who has been sometime in Scotland with 
 Fathers Hay and Gordon, and was entrusted by them 
 with letters for your Paternity and the Fathers here ; but 
 being in peril, and fearing these letters might fall into 
 the hands of enemies, he threw them into the sea, an act 
 which has occasioned us no little distress. From letters 
 written by Eobert Bruce, and others which have reached 
 me, I extract some particulars which I think worth send- 
 ing to your Paternity. Fathers Hay and Gordon are in 
 the North of Scotland, with the Earl of Huntly ; Fathers 
 Holt and Dury, in the West with the Earl of Morton. 
 The number of Catholics increases rapidly every day, 
 and the Irish Bishop assures me that during the short 
 time he remained in Scotland he administered the sacra- 
 ment of Confirmation to at least ten thousand persons ; 
 from which circumstance the correctness of his statement 
 may be conjectured. The Queen of England has written 
 to James, strongly urging him to take some measures 
 against the Fathers of our Society, and the King, whose 
 Ministers of State are all in favour of Elizabeth, has pub- 
 lished a proclamation requiring us all to leave the king- 
 dom within one month, and forbidding any one, on pain 
 of death, to receive us into their houses. But the best 
 informed persons do not regard this as a real peril, and 
 not one, whose doors were open to us before, has closed 
 them now. The King; is in greater danger than he ever 
 was before. Your Paternity will learn everything fully 
 from Chisholm's letter, for if I were to detail all parti- 
 culars of the condition of the country, I fear I should 
 trespass too long on your patience. I will not detain
 
 1586.] LETTER OF FR. JAMES TYRIE. 207 
 
 you from more important occupations. God keep your 
 Paternity long in safety to us and all His Church. 
 " Your Paternity's unworthy servant, 
 
 " James Tyrie." 
 
 "Paris, Sept. 31, 1585." l 
 
 The return, even of a small number of Catholic priests 
 to Scotland, says Fr. Tyrie, was followed with remarkable 
 success. From that time the face of the country was 
 entirely changed, and so manifest did the great increase 
 of the Catholic body become, that it could easily have 
 shaken off the yoke of the heretics, and the Catholics in 
 England might have neutralised the power of their 
 enemies in that realm. 2 But the hopes of the Catholic 
 party were soon to be blighted by a fresh outbreak of the 
 tempest. 
 
 Father James Tyrie to Father Aquaviva. 
 
 " Very Reverend Father in Christ, — Pax Christi. 
 — 1 have lately heard from Fathers Hay and Gordon, who 
 desire me to salute your Paternity in their name, and to 
 say that the present troubled condition of Scotland, 
 together with the uncertainty of all future prospects 
 there, prevents their having any clear intelligence to 
 send. Father Holt went to visit the Catholics in the 
 
 1 Archives of the Society of Jesus, vol. Francia, Latin MS. 
 
 2 Fr. Tyrie's statement receives an important confirmation from a 
 letter of Thomas Rogers to Walsingham. " The Jesuits," he says, 
 " have certified lately that they proceed according to their wishes in 
 Scotland, and have reconciled 10,000 of late, and daily expect num- 
 bers, and also to gain the King, which is the mark they shoot at.' 
 (E. O. Domestic Eliz., vol. xxxix., No. 47, October 18th, 1585.) D. 
 Bernardino de Mendoca in a letter to Philip II., dated November 
 28th, 1586, states that "the Jesuits have converted three of the
 
 208 LETTER OF FR. JAMES TYEIE. [1586. 
 
 north, and I hear he has now returned westward to 
 Father Dury. All four are well, and full of resolution, 
 determined on no account to quit a country where they 
 are reaping so fine a harvest, whatever turn matters may 
 take. Before the storm burst, our Catholic friends had 
 obtained a royal letter granting us perfect freedom of 
 action and license to remain in the kingdom ; and 
 another forbidding any one to molest us. Before, how- 
 ever, these letters could be published, there was a complete 
 revolution in the Government. 1 The King is still in the 
 hands of his enemies, and exposed to extreme peril, 
 because, of course, were he to escape, they are likely to 
 pay severely for their violence towards him. But we 
 have great hopes of assistance from the Lord Claud 
 Hamilton, who has been for some months in France, and 
 by God's help has been brought to the Catholic faith. 
 He was always devoted to the King, and long ago 
 warned him of this conspiracy, but the King was too 
 confident in his own powers, and neglected to take j">ro- 
 per precautions. His Majesty has written to him with 
 his own hand, urging him to come to Scotland for reasons 
 which he will learn on arrival. This indicates that the 
 King is planning the recovery of his freedom, and hopes 
 to effect it by the aid of the first man in the kingdom, if 
 only he were present. God turn all to good ! Fathers 
 Hay and Gordon write that they have expended all the 
 
 principal noblemen and a great many gentlemen of note, and have 
 reconciled over 20,000 persons." (Teulet, Papiers d'Etat., vol. iii., 
 ed. in 4°, p. 503). 
 
 " El Padre Etmon [Edmund Hay] Escoces, de la Compania de 
 Jhesus, que fue en Escocia con otro companero, afirma por sus cartas 
 haver reconciliado a la Yglessia Catholica romana, en seis messes, pas- 
 sadas de diez mill almas." (Teulet, vol. iii. pp. 408, 409). 
 
 1 The Piuthven Lords had returned to Scotland. (See Tytler, vol. 
 viii., p. 242, et. seq.)
 
 1586.] RETURN OF THE BANISHED LORDS TO POWER. 209 
 
 money they received from us at setting out. They like- 
 wise say that it is necessary to send plenty of books in 
 the Scottish idiom, especially the New Testament, which 
 was translated into that language some years ago, and 
 illustrated with comments from the writings of the old 
 Fathers, and with meditations also in Scotch. They 
 think this will contribute more than anything else to the 
 conversion of the country ; but the books are rather 
 expensive, and there is not money enough to purchase 
 the number of copies required. I have mentioned the 
 subject to the Archbishop of Glasgow, who is anxious to 
 do all he can, but has not the means to carry out his 
 wishes. It is impossible to send letters to the Queen of 
 Scotland otherwise than open, since she has changed her 
 prison ; and if they contain anything about religion they 
 are not permitted to reach her hands. I must therefore 
 beg your Paternity to advise me what to say, for I turn 
 to you as to an anchor of refuge. I believe the Apostolic 
 Nuncio is going to write to his Holiness on the matter. . . - 1 
 " Your Paternity's son and servant, 
 
 " James Tyrie." 
 
 "Paris, Jan. 18, 1586." 2 
 
 The storm alluded to by Father Tyrie was the sudden 
 return of the banished Lords to power. As early as 
 September 1584, Elizabeth had been informed of the 
 design of the Scottish and Eno-lish Catholics to rescue 
 Mary Stuart from her hands. The Master of Gray, 
 James' ambassador, had revealed to her the arrangement 
 between Mary and her son, by which she was to resign 
 the Kingdom into his hands. The exile or the imprison- 
 
 1 The rest of the letter treats of French matters. 
 
 2 Endorsed : To the Very Rev. Father in Christ, Father Claud 
 Aquaviva, Superior General of the Society of Jesus at Rome. 
 (Archives of the Society, Latin MS.) 
 

 
 210 JAMES BECOMES THE PENSIONER OF ELIZABETH. [1585. 
 
 merit of her friends ; the reception of English and Scotch 
 
 Jesuits into Scotland ; the negotiations of the Scottish 
 
 nobles now in power, with the bishops of Glasgow and 
 
 Ross, Mary's ambassadors at the courts of France and 
 
 Spain ; all were so many facts, which clearly demonstrated 
 
 that Mary guided both King and nobles as she pleased. 
 
 This appeared an alarming state of things to Elizabeth. 
 
 and Gray artfully offered to overwhelm all the secret 
 
 plots of the Catholics. Angus, Mar, and the other 
 
 banished Lords, who were then in London, received 
 
 Elizabeth's permission to set out for Scotland. On the 
 
 31st of October, 1585, they concentrated their troops 
 
 at Falkirk, and from this marched to Stirling at 
 
 the head of eight thousand men. James, then engaged 
 
 in pursuing the sylvan sports which had lately become 
 
 not only the amusement, but the business of his life, was 
 
 surprised and taken. Arran, his Prime Minister, secretly 
 
 fled. The young prince was forced to submit, and the 
 
 exiled Lords now ruled everything at their pleasure. 
 
 The situation in which James found himself was 
 terrible. He was surrounded by implacable enemies, 
 always plotting for his overthrow, and as fiercely embit- 
 tered against the son as they had been against the 
 mother and the father. In London, the same opponents 
 who had persecuted his mother kept the rebels against 
 his authority in pay ; and English territory was always 
 ready to receive them when they required a refuge, in 
 which they could speedily gather fresh resources. If 
 ever the isolated and helpless prince obtained the services 
 of a loyal and capable minister, dark threats and darker 
 bribes, and inducements to treachery, came to corrupt 
 the latter 's wavering fidelitv. Thus it was that the son 
 of Mary Stuart, incessantly exposed to the most for- 
 midable engines of attack which, one after another, the
 
 1686.] THE BABINGTON PLOT. 211 
 
 genius of Elizabeth could devise, and to the treacherous 
 suggestions of favourite ministers, who were secretly in 
 the pay of his enemy, led astray also by his own ambi- 
 tion and self-love, and so poor that he had scarcely any- 
 thing of royalty left him but the name, at length clung 
 to this title with such obstinate pertinacity that he was 
 bent on wearing it by himself alone, refusing to share it 
 with another. Accordingly he rejected, after having in 
 principle accepted, the association in the royal authority 
 which Mary had offered him. Guided by his greed of 
 the English Crown, and lured by a secret promise of the 
 succession, James abandoned his mother, became the 
 sworn pensioner of her enemy, and in July 1586 formed 
 an alliance, defensive and offensive, with Elizabeth, 
 pledging himself to maintain the religion now professed 
 in both countries against all adversaries, notwithstanding 
 any former engagements to the contrary. 
 
 While James consented to become the avowed perse- 
 cutor of that religion which his mother believed to be the 
 truth, Walsin^ham, who had boasted that the death of 
 Morton would cost the Queen of Scots her head, succeeded 
 in entangling a number of young Catholic gentlemen in 
 a scheme which included the dethronement of Elizabeth. 
 It was known as Babington's plot, 1 and one of its principal 
 
 1 It seems pretty clear that they were induced to engage in it 
 through the artifices of Walsingham or his agents. Blackwood states 
 (Jebb, De vita et rebus gestis Mariae, 1725, vol. ii., p. 281) that two 
 years earlier Gifford was acting as Walsingharu's spy at Eheims, and 
 had come twice to London to incite Savage to regicide (cf. Howell's 
 " State Trials," vol. i., p. 1120). And both Morgan's correspondence 
 and Chateauneuf's "Memoir" (Labanoff, vol vi., p. 279) mark out 
 Gifford as the prime mover in the plot. When Gifford returned to 
 England, in December 1585. he went straight to Philipps's house, 
 where he lived during the month of January, " practising secretly 
 among the Catholics" — that is, insinuating himself into the confidence 
 of Babington and his friends, and opening Walsingham's route of 
 communication with Chartley.
 
 212 NEGOTIATIONS FOR THE MURDER OF MARY. [15S6. 
 
 associates was an agent of the Minister, who, by dint of 
 unheard of craft and treachery, succeeded in engaging 
 Mary and her secretaries to correspond with the con- 
 spirators. 1 This was all that was wanted to effect her 
 destruction, for her death had long been resolved upon. 2 
 Elizabeth shrank from incurring the infamy of bringing 
 her royal cousin to a public trial and execution. 
 " Surely," said she to Davison, " Paulet and Drury" 
 (the latter had been lately appointed additional keeper 
 of Mary) " might ease me of this burden. Do you and 
 Walsingham sound their dispositions." 
 
 A letter was accordingly forwarded to Sir Amias 
 Paulet on the same day, in the name of both secretaries. 
 It informed the two keepers that her Majesty charged 
 them with " lack of care and zeal for her service," other- 
 wise they would long ago have " found out some way 
 to shorten the life of that Queen." 3 
 
 " God forbid," replied Paulet, " that I should make so 
 
 1 Mary denied the authenticity of the letters produced against her. 
 Mr Hosack proves that in her alleged answer to Babington's letter 
 there are distinct traces of the forger's hand (" Mary Queen of Scots 
 and her Accusers," vol. ii., p. 364). 
 
 2 On the 10th of September, 1572, Killigrew received instructions 
 to press the Scottish Regent and Morton to relieve the English 
 Queen of her unwelcome guest. On the 9th of October, Killigrew 
 was able to write to Burghley that Mar and Morton were " willing to 
 do the thing he most desired." Certain noblemen, to be named by 
 the Regent, were to repair to England as hostages, and pledge their 
 lives that Mar and Morton should kill their Queen. (Killigrew's 
 letters, quoted by Mr Hosack, " Mary Queen of Scots," vol. ii., p. 508 
 et seq.) Before any agreement was concluded the sudden death of 
 the Regent Mar put an end to the negotiations, but two years after 
 the atrocious scheme was revived, and Killigrew was once more sent 
 to Scotland to ascertain the terms upon which Morton would murder 
 the Queen of Scots. (Letter of Killigrew to Walsingham, 12th July 
 1574, quoted by Mr Hosack, "Mary Queen of Scots," vol. ii., p. 184.) 
 
 3 " The Letter-Books of Sir Amias Poulet," edited by John Morris, 
 S.J., 8vo, 1874, p. 359.
 
 1586.] ELIZABETH SIGNS THE DEATH-WARRANT. 213 
 
 foul a shipwreck of my conscience, or leave so great a 
 blot to my poor posterity, as to shed blood without law 
 or warrant." 1 Mary's two gaolers having refused to dip 
 their hands in her blood, nothing remained but a public 
 execution. The form of a trial was therefore gone 
 through ; a commission of Peers sat as her judges at 
 Fotheringay Castle. With one exception they found 
 Mary guilty. Her life now lay at the mercy of Elizabeth. 
 Much pressure was brought upon the Queen to induce 
 her to consent to Mary's death. She at length listened 
 to the representations of her ministers, signed the warrant, 
 and bade Davison get it sealed at once, that she might 
 hear no more of it. On the 19th of November, 1586, 
 Lord Buckhurst, by order of Elizabeth, proceeded to 
 Fotheringay to read the sentence of death. He bade 
 Mary " look for no mercy, seeing that as long as she 
 lived the received religion in England could not subsist." 2 
 Whereupon Mary "seemed with a certaiu unwonted 
 alacrity to triumph, giving God thanks, and rejoicing in 
 her heart that she was held to be an instrument for the 
 re-establishing of religion in this island." 3 Again, upon 
 the eve of her execution (8th February 1587), the Earl 
 of Kent declared to her : " Your life would be the death 
 of our religion, and your death will be its preservation" ; 
 to which she replied : " Ah ! I did not flatter myself 
 with the thought that I was worthy of such a death, and 
 I humbly receive it as an earnest of my acceptance into 
 the number of God's chosen servants." 4 The same day 
 
 1 "The Letter-Books of Sir Amias Poulet," edited by John Morris, 
 S.J., 8vo, 1874, p. 361, 362. 
 
 2 Instructions to Lord Buckhurst and Beale, in Labanoff, vol. vii. 
 
 3 Buckhurst's Beport, " State Trials," i., 1201. 
 
 4 " Mort de la Boyne d'Escosse," Jebb, vol ii., p. 612. Cf. Tytler, 
 "Hist. Scot.," vol. viu., p. 393-470. 
 
 Pope Benedict XIV. thus expresses his conviction that the religion
 
 214 EXECUTION OF MARY. [1587. 
 
 at supper, addressing Burgoigne, who waited on her : 
 " Did you not mark the power of truth," said she, 
 " during the discourse I had with the Earl of Kent, who 
 was sent hither, I suppose, to convert rae ? They told 
 me I was to die for attempting the life of the Queen of 
 England, of which you know I am innocent ; but now 
 this Earl lets out the fact that it is on account of my 
 relioion. Oh, glorious thought ! that I should be chosen 
 to die for such a cause." 1 As she made herself ready for 
 the block, tenderly reproving her maids, she exclaimed : 
 " Do not weep ; I am very happy to leave this world. 
 You ought to rejoice to see me die in so good a cause." 2 
 Mary had declared upon oath that she had never been 
 party to any design against the life of Elizabeth, and the 
 same affirmation she repeated in the course of her prayer 
 on the scaffold. Kneeling at the block, she said several 
 times aloud, " Into Thy hands, Lord, I commend my 
 
 ■which Mary professed was the real cause of her death : — " Si vera 
 mortis causa examinetur, cum ilia constituenda sit in odio catholicse 
 religionis, quae, ipsa superstite, in Anglia perstitisset, si invicta per- 
 pendatur constantia, qua oblatam repulit deserendae catholicae religionis 
 conditionem ; si admirabile animadvertatur robur, quo mortem sus- 
 tinuit ; si attendantur, prout attendi debent, protestationes ante 
 obitum et in obitu emissae, se semper catholicam vixisse et propter 
 Fidem Catholicam libentissime mori ; si non omittantur, prout omitti 
 non debent, evidentissima? rationes quibus ostenditur nedum falsitas 
 criminum Maria? Reginas oppositorum, sed etiam iniquam mortis 
 sententiam, specie tenus calumniis innixam, vere processisse ex odio 
 catholicce religionis, et ut haaretica dogmata in Anglice regno imrnota 
 persisterent, nihil fortasse deerit ex iis quse pro vero martyrio sunt 
 necessaria." — De Canonis. SS. L. III. cap. XIII, n. 10, Eoman edition 
 of 1748. Opera omnia. Prati, 1840, vol. iii. p. 119. 
 
 This passage is quoted by Pius VI., Bull. Kom. Contin., t. ix., p. 
 613. Romse, 1845. 
 
 1 J ebb, Ibid. 
 
 2 MS. Narrative of Mary's Life and Death, quoted by Miss 
 Strickland.
 
 1588.] THE ARMADA. 215 
 
 spirit," and with admirable resignation received the fatal 
 stroke of the axe (8th February 1587). 
 
 The intelligence of Mary's death was received in Scot- 
 land with a burst of national indignation. So deep was 
 this feeling, that the nobles, in a transport of pity and 
 enthusiasm, threw themselves upon their knees before the 
 King, and, amid the clang of their weapons and their 
 load imprecations against Elizabeth, besought the King 
 to avenge the deed. 1 But James had no intention of 
 risking his chance of the English succession by any act 
 of indiscreet hostility, 2 so he was content to accept Eliza- 
 beth's apologies, and with her apologies to accept the 
 bribe of a fresh pension and an English dukedom. 3 
 
 The Catholic party, however, commanding nearly all 
 the northern counties, and having with them the 
 sympathies of the people, who were enraged at the 
 execution of the Queen, attained in a short time a 
 strength on which James had not calculated. They 
 knew that Philip II. of Spain had made stupendous 
 preparations for the invasion of England, to avenge the 
 damages done to Spanish commerce by the English 
 government, and the assistance given to his rebellious 
 subjects in Flanders ; while it was also intended to hurl 
 Queen Elizabeth from her throne and restore the Catholic 
 religion in England. Might not this be an opportunity 
 of punishing Elizabeth for her recent insult to Scottish 
 
 1 Carlyle to Walsingham, 3d August 1587. (Tytler, ix., p. 14.) 
 
 2 Cf. Letter of Walsingham to Sir Richard Maitland, printed by 
 Spottiswood, pp. 359-62. 
 
 3 E. 0. Scotland Eliz., vol. xlii, no. 108. William Asheby to 
 Lord Burghley, 6th August. On the 14th of December, 1588, the 
 Master of Gray, writing to Archibald Douglas, complains that the 
 King " has received only a fiddler's wages. ' Vol. xlii., no. 116. Cf. vol. 
 xxxix., no. 85. The Master of Gray ta Sir Fr. Walsingham, 17th 
 May 1586.
 
 216 PENSION OFFERED TO KING JAMES. [1588. 
 
 national pride and the royal blood of the Stuarts ? 
 Might there not be a Scottish invasion of England, or 
 might not Scotland be utilised in some other way for 
 the purposes of Philip in his enterprise ? It was not 
 only among the remnants of the Catholic party in 
 Scotland that these speculations were entertained. 
 While such well known Koman Catholic nobles as the 
 Earls of Huntly, Crawford, and Errol, and Lords Max- 
 well and Herries (with other Lords, lairds aud ladies, scat- 
 tered freely about through Scottish society), were actually 
 welcoming the prospect of a Spanish invasion, as being 
 likely to restore Scotland to the old faith, or at least to 
 ensure its restoration in the future, there were import- 
 ant Protestant magnates, such as the Hamiltons and 
 Both well, who were not indisposed towards a temporary 
 Spanish alliance against England as a means of retalia- 
 tion for Queen Mary's death. 1 Either through policy 
 or necessity, James was soon utterly estranged from 
 England, and, with his connivance, messengers were 
 sent to Spain, who held out hopes to Philip of Scottish 
 assistance in his great enterprise against England. 2 
 Elizabeth began to be in serious alarm, and instructed 
 Lord Hunsdon to open a communication with the 
 Scottish King. The promise of a yearly pension of five 
 thousand pounds, the fear of cutting himself out of the 
 succession, again made him a friend to England. In 
 proof of his sincerity against the Catholics, he sum- 
 moned his forces and started for the West March, to put 
 down the rebellion which Lord Maxwell, recently 
 
 1 The Register of the Privy Council of Scotland, edited by D. 
 Masson, LL.D., vol. iv., p. xxxiv. 
 
 2 Teulet, Papiers d'Etat hi., pp. 472, 516. Cf. Tytler, " History of 
 Scotland," ed. 1853, vol. ix., p. 14. Cf. R. 0. Domestic Eliz., vol. 
 xxix., No. 39. Thomas Rogers to Walsingham, Aug. 11, 1585.
 
 1588.] JAMES URGED TO ASSAIL THE CATHOLICS. 217 
 
 returned without leave from Spain, had managed to 
 raise in those parts, and which was intended to open a 
 door for the Spaniards, should they seek a landing in 
 Scotland. A proclamation was issued against all the 
 Catholic clergy who could be found in Scotland, and 
 against every one who should harbour them. No 
 Scottish auxiliaries were permitted to pass over to the 
 service of Spain, and soon the news flew from place to 
 place, that the invincible fleet had been smitten by the 
 skill of the English admirals, and afterwards scattered 
 by a succession of violent storms. 1 
 
 Delivered from her fears of a Spanish invasion, Eliza- 
 beth urged James to assail the Catholics, and assisted 
 him with money to proceed against them. 2 The prin- 
 cipal nobility found themselves excluded from court, 
 and loaded with accusations as though they were rebels, 
 while their followers were harassed and annoyed. In- 
 formed that their enemies were flocking in great num- 
 bers and inciting the Kino; to attack them, the Earls of 
 Huntly, Errol, and Crawford took up arms ; and, lest 
 any one should suspect them of rebelling against lawful 
 authority, they sent a deputation to his Majesty, with 
 the request that he would grant to his faithful Catholic 
 
 1 In England the crisis had roused the loyalty of the nation. 
 Catholics and Protestants, noble and merchant, all alike came for- 
 ward ; some fitted out vessels at their own expense, and there was 
 not a man in all England who did not show himself ready to die in 
 her defence. On receiving a false report that the Armada had been 
 dispersed by a tempest, Elizabeth, with characteristic parsimony, gave 
 orders that four of her largest ships should be dismantled. But 
 Howard of Effingham, the brave old Catholic admiral, retained the 
 vessels, and offered himself to defray the charges. 
 
 2 Letter of W. Asheby to Lord Burghley, 6th Aug. 1588. E. 0. 
 Scotland, Eliz., vol. xlii., no. 116.
 
 218 MARRIAGE OF KING JAMES VI. [1590. 
 
 subjects the right of professing the old Catholic faith. 1 
 They well knew that it was not of his own accord, but 
 in consequence of wicked counsel, that the King had 
 published severe edicts against Catholics. Now was the 
 time for his Majesty to extricate himself and his faithful 
 nobles from a situation involving continual danger. Let 
 him only say the word, and they would be answerable 
 for its execution. Unwilling to decline, yet reluctant to 
 accept their offers, James exhorted the Earls to disband 
 their troops ; it was easier, said he, to approve than to 
 carry out their schemes. Huntly and his followers 
 having ascertained that the King could not be rescued 
 from the hands of the Presbyterians without great 
 risk, disbanded their forces and relinquished their 
 design. 2 
 
 James was now bent upon matrimony. Frederick 
 the Second, King of Denmark, had lately offered to pay 
 up the money for which the Orkney and Shetland Isles 
 had been given in pledge, and as Scotland had no wish 
 to give them back, it was thought that the difficulty 
 might be got over by choosing one of his daughters, who 
 would most likely bring the islands as her dowry. This 
 proposal was agreed to by Frederick. His daughter 
 Anne was betrothed to James, and Keith, the Earl 
 Marshal, was sent to Copenhagen to act as proxy for the 
 King in the marriage ceremony and to bring home the 
 bride ; but contrary winds prevented her setting sail, 
 and James, at last losing all patience, gallantly pro- 
 ceeded in quest of her. He joined her at Upsal, but as 
 nothing could make him brave the long sea voyage 
 again, before the winter was over, they returned together 
 
 1 E. 0. Robert Bowes to Lord Burghley. Scotland, Eliz., xlix., 
 no. 45. 11th Nov. 1592. 
 
 2 Con. De Duplici statu, p. 147.
 
 1592.] TYTLER ON THE PERSECUTION OF CATHOLICS. 219 
 
 to Copenhagen, and did not come to Scotland till the 
 next spring, May 1, 1590. 
 
 Hope seemed to dawn with her arrival, for though the 
 Princess had been brought up in the Lutheran religion, 
 she regarded Catholics with favour. The serious 
 struggle between the principles of the Reformation and 
 the ancient faith seemed to be lulled. Had the Kirk 
 contented itself with this triumph, and rested satisfied 
 with the King's present dispositions, which appeared 
 wholly on its side, everything might have remained quiet: 
 seeing that the Catholics were ready to abstain from all 
 practices inimical to the Protestant religion, on the 
 single condition that they should not be persecuted 
 for their adherence to the ancient faith. 1 " But," says 
 Tytler, " the Kirk was not disposed to take this 
 peaceful course. The permission even of an indi- 
 vidual case of Catholic worship, however secret ; the 
 attendance of a solitary person at even one Mass, in 
 the remotest corner of the land, at the dead hour of 
 ni^ht, in the most secluded chamber, and where 
 none could enter but such as knelt before the altar for 
 conscience sake, and in all sincerity of soul ; such wor- 
 ship, and its toleration for an hour, was considered an 
 open encouragement of antichrist and idolatry. To ex- 
 tinguish the Mass for ever, to compel its supporters to 
 embrace what the Kirk considered to be the purity of 
 Presbyterian truth, and this under the penalty of life 
 and limb, or in its mildest form of treason, banishment 
 and forfeiture, was considered not merely praiseworthy, 
 but a point of high religious duty ; and the whole ap- 
 paratus of the Kirk, the whole inquisitorial machinery 
 of detection and persecution, was brought to bear upon 
 the accomplishment of these great ends. Are we to 
 1 Tytler, " History of Scotland," vol. ix., p. 65.
 
 220 THE SPANISH BLANKS. [1592. 
 
 wonder that, under such a state of things, the intrigues 
 of the Catholics for the overthrow of a government which 
 sanctioned such a system were continued ; that, when 
 they knew, or suspected the King himself to be averse to 
 persecution, they were encouraged to renew their inter- 
 course with Spain, and to hope that a fresh outbreak, 
 if properly directed, might lead either to the destruction 
 of a rival faith, or the establishment of liberty of con- 
 science." * 
 
 A discovery, which occurred at this time, corroborates 
 these remarks. In the month of December, 1592, the 
 Catholic nobles sent a messenger to the King of Spain, 
 bearing their promise that they would give him all the 
 help in their power if he made an attempt of some kind 
 or other upon the Queen of England. Were he to de- 
 cline this, they undertook to make war upon her them- 
 selves with their own forces, provided he sent them some 
 little assistance. It happened, however, that Lord 
 George Ker, the bearer of these letters, was seized ; and 
 although most important facts had been intrusted to 
 his fidelity, yet, under fear of torture, he made very 
 compromising revelations, and so placed many of the 
 leading nobles of the realm in a position of utmost 
 danger. The Earl of Angus and the Laird of Fintry 
 were immediately apprehended, and sentence of capital 
 punishment was pronounced upon both of them. The 
 Earl of Angus escaped from Edinburgh Castle by brib- 
 ing his guards, but the Laird of Fintry was executed. 
 He was held in the highest esteem in Scotland on 
 account of the purity of his life and his wonderful 
 prudence and learning. He might have saved his head 
 if he had accepted the proposal made to him, of em- 
 bracing the Protestant religion. But he answered very 
 1 Tytler, vol. ix., pp. G5, 66.
 
 1M2.] PROCEEDINGS AGAINST THE CATHOLIC LORDS. 221 
 
 resolutely that it would be a bad bargain for him, if he 
 were to prefer earth to heaven. 1 The Earls of Huntly 
 and Errol, with many others, who also had been dis- 
 covered, incurred the same danger, and were summoned 
 to compear before the Privy Council on the 5th of 
 February. On the day fixed for the trial they did cot 
 appear, but confined themselves to their strongholds in 
 the north ; upon which the King made instant prepara- 
 tions to march against them. 
 
 James advanced without opposition to Aberdeen, the 
 Catholic nobles having fled before him into the wilds of 
 Caithness ; and their immense possessions were then de- 
 clared forfeit to the crown, though the sentence was not 
 enforced. The King's clemency was strongly blamed by 
 the General Assembly, but had James granted what the 
 Assembly asked, an ecclesiastical court need only declare 
 a man to be a Papist, and he would become at once an 
 outlaw. A Catholic had but to let a priest come under 
 his roof, and he was liable to the confiscation of 
 his goods. 2 James was unwilling to put such laws 
 against Catholics into execution. Thirteen of his nobles 
 and a considerable part of the population of the king- 
 dom, especially in the north, were still attached to the 
 Catholic religion. The ministers, however, would have 
 no mercy upon them ; they sought to confiscate the estates 
 of the Catholics and drive them into exile. With this 
 view they held secret meetings, organised plans of insur- 
 rection, and aimed at getting the whole power of parlia- 
 ment into their hands. The excitement culminated in a 
 riot in Edinburgh, by which James thought his royal 
 life was endangered. He came to the conclusion that 
 
 iRr.Tyrie's Report. Cf. "Record Office, Scotland, Eliz." vol. 1., No. 4. 
 2 "Book of the Universal Kirk," pp. 381, 382. Calderwood's 
 " History," vol. v., p. 248.
 
 222 THE POPE'S LEGATE AT ABERDEEN. [1592. 
 
 the Presbytery could not be bridled, and that it must be 
 destroyed ; under these circumstances he determined to 
 raise the Catholics once more to power. 
 
 With the advice of his councillors of state James sent 
 Father Gordon and Father Crichton secretly to Eome, 
 for the purpose of laying the whole matter before the 
 Pope, and arranging with him the means of restoring 
 the Catholic religion in Scotland. Gordon accomplished 
 this mission according to his instructions, and returned 
 to Scotland in company of Father William Crichton and 
 the Pope's legate, George Sampiretti. The last named was 
 the bearer of a large sum of money which he was to give 
 to the King of Scotland, promising him a monthly allow- 
 ance of ten thousand ducats, on condition of his protect- 
 ing the Catholics and allowing them to remain unmo- 
 lested in the exercise of their faith. 1 On the 16th of 
 July, 1594, 2 the party landed at Aberdeen. Father 
 Gordon, being well known to the officials and to the 
 provost, was easily recognised ; and the news of his 
 arrival produced a very unfavourable impression on the 
 ministers, who suspected that his coming was connected 
 
 1 " For then," says Fr. Crichton, " our king had so great fear of the 
 number of Catholics, the puissance of the Pope and Spain, that he 
 offered liberty of conscience and sent me to Eome, to deal for the 
 Pope's favour, and making of a Scottish Cardinal; as I did show the 
 king's letters to Fr. Persons, and prayed him to concur, at least to 
 give some satisfaction to our king." MS. Letter of Father Crichton 
 to Father Parsons, June 4, 1605, Stonyhurst archives, vol. Anglia 
 A. iii. 55. Cf. Archives, S.J., De Missione Scotica puncta qua?dam 
 notanda historic societatis servienda, MS. by Father William Crichton, 
 S.J., Latin MS. Cf. Lord Walter Lindsay of Balgaries' "Account 
 of the present state of the Catholic religion in the realm of Scotland 
 in the year of our Lord, one thousand five hundred and ninety-four." 
 A very rare Spanish pamphlet in Blairs College Library. 
 
 2 R. 0. Scotland Elizab. liii., No. 81. Colville's letters, pp. 108, 
 111.
 
 1593.] JAMES URGED TO SEVERITY AGAINST CATHOLICS. 223 
 
 with some new scheme. They were afraid to seize him 
 through fear of his nephew, the Earl of Huntly, of 
 whom they stood in great awe, but they seized the 
 Pope's legate, along with the money and letters in his 
 possession. When the Earls of Errol and Angus heard 
 that the legate had been imprisoned, they immediately 
 took measures to get him liberated ; and being joined, 
 within three days, by the Earl of Huntly at the head of 
 seven hundred horsemen, they threatened to set fire to 
 the town unless the prisoner was at once released. 
 Alarmed by this threat, the provost yielded up the 
 captives to their rescuers. 1 
 
 Meanwhile the popular agitation had increased instead 
 of abating, and probably under the pressure of this, 
 James once more changed his mind and resolved that the 
 laws against Catholics should be enforced. Accordingly 
 on the 12th of November 1593, a fresh decree condemned 
 many thousand Catholics to the sad alternative of 
 renouncing either their religion or their country. The 
 Earls of Angus, Huntly, and Errol, Sir Patrick Gordon, 
 and Sir James Chisholm were to be " free and unaccus- 
 able, in time coming," of the crimes laid to their charge 
 in regard to the Spanish blanks, provided that they re- 
 frained from any such trafficking in future, banished all 
 Catholics from their presence, and received a Presbyterian 
 minister into their houses, whose duty was to resolve 
 their doubts and prepare them for subscribing the 
 Confession of Faith. 2 
 
 On the 30th of May the Parliament met. Huntly and 
 his followers had not complied with the decree, and now 
 
 1 Archives, S.J. Father Crichton's MS. Cf. Lord Walter Lind- 
 say's account, and extracts from the Council Register of the burgh of 
 Aberdeen, 1570-1625, 16 July, 1594; Rymer's fcedera, July 19, 1594. 
 
 2 Calderwood's "History," vol. v. p. 284. Spottiswood, lib. vi.
 
 224 BATTLE OF GLENLIVET. [1593. 
 
 rigorous measures were resolved upon. Their estates 
 were declared forfeited, and commission was given by 
 James to the Earl of Argyll, to pursue them with fire 
 and sword. 1 
 
 Argyll was Huntly's ancient enemy, and accepted the 
 commission with alacrity. Two ministers were despatched 
 to urge him to undertake the work, " as a thing accept- 
 able to God." 2 Argyll resolved to take instant action, 
 and in the beginning of October set out on his expedition, 
 at the head of a force of six thousand men. " Huntly 
 and Errol thought it would be more for their honour, 
 in so just a cause, to die sword in hand, than to be 
 murdered in their own houses. They quickly collected 
 fifteen hundred horsemen from among their friends and 
 retainers, with a few foot - soldiers, and invoked the 
 Divine assistance by confession and communion. Father 
 Gordon, with two or three other Jesuit Fathers, heard 
 the confessions of the whole army, and gave them com- 
 munion. They asked to have their weapons sprinkled 
 with holy water, and marked a white cross upon their 
 arms and coats, to let the enemy see that they were 
 fi editing in defence of the cross of Christ. Gordon of 
 Auchindoun, Father Gordon's brother, being desired to 
 fasten the cross upon his armour, answered that he would 
 show how truly he held it in his heart, but was so occu- 
 pied in arranging his troops that he had not a moment to 
 spare. On their engaging in battle at Glenlivet Auchin- 
 doun was killed, but the victory remained with the 
 Catholics. The heretics were routed with great loss, of the 
 Catholics a few were slain and many wounded, but it was 
 observed that none of those who bore the cross lost their 
 lives. The Earl of Errol received two wounds ; and his 
 
 i " Book of the Universal Kirk," pp. 404-8. 
 2 " Histoire of King James the Sext," p. 338.
 
 1595.] HUNTLY AND ERROL WITHDRAW FROM SCOTLAND. 225 
 
 horse, no less than eight. They attributed their victory to 
 the prayers of the Fathers of the Society, who continued 
 on their knees all the time of the engagement." 1 
 
 At the news of this reverse, James, in spite of the 
 severity of the season, advanced with his army to 
 Aberdeen, taking with him Andrew Melvil and a body 
 of the ministers of the Kirk, to be witness of his be- 
 haviour towards the Catholic rebels. No resistance was 
 made, and he dealt as he thought fit with the strongholds 
 of the Catholic Lords. But the extreme measure of 
 transferring their forfeited estates to those who would 
 hold them with a sure grip was still delayed. He per- 
 suaded Huntly and Errol to withdraw from the country 
 for six months, on condition that their property should 
 be safe, and that no injury should be done to their 
 followers and clansmen. The two Earls might easily 
 have held their ground in Scotland by armed resistance, 
 but they were willing to satisfy the King, of whose good 
 will towards them they felt persuaded ; and accordingly, 
 accepting the terms offered, they left Scotland in April 
 1595, and went to Germany. 
 
 From this time the ministers ceaselessly urged upon 
 James to send Father Gordon at least into exile as beino- 
 the author, they declared, of this rebellion. The Kino- 
 consented, and though he paid many compliments to the 
 pacific temper and patriotic loyalty of the Father, he 
 not the less insisted on his going. Fr. Gordon most 
 earnestly entreated that, before he went, he might have 
 the opportunity of engaging in public disputation with 
 the heretical doctors, in the presence of the King and the 
 council. He offered to surrender his very life were he 
 defeated in controversy, provided that if he prevailed, 
 liberty of conscience should be granted to Catholics. 
 
 1 Ft. Crichton's MS. 
 P
 
 226 . LETTER OF FR. ROBERT ABERCROMBY. [1596. 
 
 Nothing would induce the ministers to accept conditions 
 so obviously just. Gordon quitted the country with 
 the full prestige of victory. Crichton was also compelled 
 to leave Scotland ; he passed across to Flanders, and 
 devoted all his energy to the foundation of the Scottish 
 Seminary at Douay. 
 
 The place of these Fathers was secretly filled by 
 William Murdoch, sent over from Pont-a-Mousson, and by 
 John Morton, a Scotchman. The latter was immediately 
 recognised and apprehended, but shortly after was set 
 free by the King's order, and made to return into Belgium. 
 Murdoch and Abercromby (for William Ogilvie seems to 
 have died about this time), remained in hiding, to gather 
 up the fragments of the wreck of the Catholic cause. 
 Their life is thus described by Father Abercromby. 
 
 Fr. Robert Abercromby to Fr. Claud Aquaviva, 
 General of the Society of Jesus. 
 
 "... We live in caves, in secret and unfrequented 
 places, perpetually moving from place to place, like the 
 gipsies, and we never lodge two nights in the same 
 locality, for fear of falling into the hands of the enemy. 
 Spies and officers are posted at all the inns, and in every 
 parish, to discover our whereabouts, and give us up to 
 the authorities. On my first arrival I was taken 
 prisoner, together with my companions, by Bothwell, 
 the Admiral of the kingdom. After being robbed of 
 all I possessed, I was committed to a guard of soldiers, 
 whom I had to keep at my own expense, and who were 
 charged to hold me in safe custody. We were released 
 after fourteen days' detention ; and the greater part of 
 our goods was restored to us. For three years the per- 
 secution was not severe, as we were allowed to go where
 
 J596.] LETTER OF Fit. ROBERT ABERCROMBY. 227 
 
 we liked, and say Mass in private houses. But in course 
 of time matters grew worse, and the violence of the 
 ministers increased. They procured from the govern- 
 ment royal edicts, or, as they are called, " Acts of Par- 
 liament," declaring all Jesuits and Seminarists to be 
 traitors and rebels, subject to the penalties of high trea- 
 son, whom any person whatever was empowered to 
 capture, and put to death if they resisted. All who 
 received them into their houses, had dealings witli 
 them, or showed them any kindness, were pronounced 
 rebels and traitors to their country. The Parliament 
 decreed also that it was treason to say or even hear Mass, 
 and they published many other Statutes or ' Acts/ 
 directed against Catholics, whom they call Papists. 
 This name is more odious and abominable than that of 
 Turk, Saracen, or Jew. It is worse than calling a man 
 a heathen, or a member of the vilest sect on earth. We 
 are consequently obliged to travel by night ; or, if we do 
 so in the day time, we have to abandon the high roads 
 and ordinary routes, and proceed across rough and path- 
 less ground, or over the hills, where we are sure not to 
 meet any one. We dare not enter an inn except after 
 dark, nor leave it again until the next night comes on. 
 This is rather hard upon me, since I completed my six- 
 tieth year on the feast of our Lady in the past Lent. A 
 hot meal would be a luxury to me, even though I am 
 uncertain of my life every mile I go. 
 
 " Among our enemies who abound plentifully, the 
 most inveterate are the preachers of the Word, as they 
 are called. One especially named Bovis [Bowes], 1 
 
 1 In March 1591 we find Kobert Bowis (sic), Esquire, resident ambas- 
 sador for the Queen of England, in her name requesting King James 
 to order the " apprehension of an Irishman, lately fled out of Ireland, 
 being a Papist and adversary to the true religion professed in both the 
 realms." — " Register of the Privy Council," vol. iv. p. 597.
 
 228 LETTER OF FR. ROBERT ABERCROMBY. [1596. 
 
 Elizabeth's envoy in this part of the country, is a deadly 
 enemy of the Catholic religion, and more particularly of 
 our Society. This man, some four years ago, when there 
 were only four of us in Scotland, — Gordon, Ogilvie, 
 MacQuhirrie, and myself, — went to the King and said, 
 ' Most gracious Prince, in addition to other evils, your 
 Majesty has four terrible plagues in your kingdom.' He 
 then named us, and proceeded, ' Gordon is a learned man, 
 but without knowledge of political affairs ; Ogilvie has 
 such ill health, that he can do but little in opposition to 
 our religion ; MacQuhirrie is youug and inexperienced ; 
 but the fourth is an old and tried hand, who leaves not 
 a corner of the country unvisited, and this one must 
 absolutely be taken out of the way.' Bo vis has since 
 continued to denounce me in the most violent language 
 to the King ; but seeing that the latter paid little atten- 
 tion to him, he next offered 10,000 pounds Scots to four 
 different noblemen if they would apprehend me, as they 
 themselves related to their friends. I have hitherto 
 escaped, for it would be very unfair that I should be 
 sold for more than my dearest Lord was. Now our 
 enemies are become more violent, for they declare that 
 the victory would be as good as won, if three men were 
 cut off — meaning the Earl of Angus, the Laird of Boniton, 
 and myself. They have had a portrait of me painted, 
 that I may be more easily apprehended. So far I have 
 escaped their hands, in the name of the Lord. The ship 
 is about to sail, and I must conclude, but let me first say 
 a word as to the fervour of some of our Catholics. I 
 sometimes go to an inn, and indeed more than one, 
 where the master of the house is a Catholic, but his wife 
 and the rest of the family are heretics. I am lodged in 
 an inner room, where the Catholic friends of my host 
 cannot come to see me by the door- way, for fear of being
 
 1596.] HUNTLY AND ERROL RETURN TO SCOTLAND. 229 
 
 observed ; so they put up long ladders at the back of 
 the house, and come in and leave by the window. Per- 
 sons over sixty years of age will sometimes visit us in 
 this way during the night, but the inmates of the house 
 cannot imagine who they are, since no one is seen enter- 
 ing the house. I have an infinite number of things to 
 say, but there is no time. I commend your Keverence 
 to our Lord, and myself to your sacrifices and prayers. 
 I send greetings to every one, especially to those whom I 
 know, and I beg the prayers of all. 
 
 " Your Reverence's brother and servant in Christ, 
 
 " Robert Abercromby, S.J. 
 
 " Scotus." 
 " From Scotland, 9th June 1596." l 
 
 In a meeting of the Estates, held at Falkland upon the 
 1 2th of August, a petition was presented from the Earls 
 of Huntly and Errol, praying to be allowed to return to 
 Scotland. Alexander Seton, the President of the Court 
 of Session, supported it, arguing in his speech that, if 
 they were driven to despair, the Earls might, like Corio- 
 lanus the Roman, or Themistocles the Athenian, join the 
 enemies of the State, and endanger its well-being. 2 It 
 was arranged that they should be allowed to return, and 
 remain in the country till May of the following year, 
 with the hope that by that time they would be recon- 
 ciled to the Church. 3 
 
 The Kirk, however, apprehensive that the State was 
 negligent of its duty, placed the Catholic Lords under 
 the supervision of a police of its own. Certain clerical 
 detectives were appointed by the General Assembly to 
 attend upon the Marquis of Huntly, the Earls of Angus 
 
 1 Archives of the Society of Jesus, vol. " Scotia," Latin MS. 
 
 2 Calderwood, vol. v. p. 438. 
 
 3 Melville's " Diary," p. 249. Calderwood, vol. v.
 
 230 DOMICILIARY INTRUSION. [1596. 
 
 and Errol, and the Lords Hume, Hemes, and Maxwell. 
 The most important of the instructions given to these 
 detectives are : " First, Ye shall address yourselves with 
 all convenient diligence and necessary furniture to enter 
 in their company and families, there to remain still with 
 them for the space of three months continual ; during 
 the whilk time your principal care shall be, by public 
 doctrine, by reading and interpretation of the Scriptures 
 ordinarily at their tables, and by conference at all mete 
 occasions, to instruct themselves in the haill grounds of 
 true religion and godliness, specially on the heads 
 controverted, and confirm them therein," &C. 1 
 
 As Mr Hill Burton truly observes : "There are tor- 
 tures attributed to the Inquisition which some men would 
 rather endure than this scheme, dooming them and their 
 families to be ever haunted by a pragmatical priest of a 
 hostile Church armed with powers of exhortation, inquisi- 
 tion, and rebuke. Though their authority only lasted 
 for three months, one of their duties was to procure 
 successors for life, with this small difference, that while 
 they themselves were merely to receive temporary hospi- 
 tality, the permanent tormentors were to be put on a 
 permanent establishment at the expense of their victims." 2 
 Some time before this domiciliary intrusion was adopted, 
 the General Assembly had set it forth that one of the 
 national sins for which the wrath of God was let loose 
 on the land was " the not planting sufficient pastors " in 
 the houses of the Popish Lords. 3 
 
 The proceedings against the Catholic Earls had given 
 so much ascendancy to the zealots of the opposite side, 
 that no power in the State seemed sufficiently strong to 
 
 1 " Book of the Universal Kirk," 985. 
 
 2 Hill Burton, " History of Scotland," vol. vi. p. 75. 
 
 3 Calderwood, vi. 114.
 
 1597.] JAMES' LETTER TO HUNTLY. 231 
 
 restrain them ; and they soon became dangerous to the 
 safety of the King himself. 1 They declared that the 
 Catholic Lords were encouraged by the King, and that 
 no good had ever come to the country through the 
 Guisian blood. 2 The dread of Popery had engendered a 
 stern spirit, which knew no compromise. Huntly and 
 Errol must die the death. James was so completely 
 brow-beaten by the violence of his assailants, that he 
 promised he would require the Catholic Lords to conform 
 to the Church established, before he would consent to 
 the withdrawal of the forfeitures. He therefore wrote a 
 peremptory letter to Huntly, informing him that the 
 time had come when he must either embrace the Protes- 
 tant faith, remain in Scotland, and be restored to his 
 honours and his estates ; or leave the country for ever, 
 and never look to be a Scotsman again ! The letter con- 
 cluded with these words : 
 
 "Deceive not yourself, to think that by lingering* of 
 time, your wife and your allies shall get you better con- 
 ditions. I must love myself and my own estate better 
 than all the world, and think not that I will suffer any, 
 professing a contrary religion, to dwell in this land." 3 
 
 In an evil hour Huntly, Errol, and Angus, that they 
 might save their properties for themselves and families, 
 agreed to submit exteriorly at least and for a time ; and 
 
 1 Elizabeth had already written to James, in 1590, a warning which 
 must have added to his fears. " Let me warne you that ther is risen, 
 bothe in your realme and myne, a secte of perilous consequence, such 
 as wold have no kings but a presbitrye, and take our place while they 
 injoy our privilege. . . . Yea, looke we wel unto them." — " Letters 
 of Elizabeth and James VI.," edited by J. Bruce, Camden Society, 
 1849, 4to, p. 63. 
 
 2 James had received a severe warning from Elizabeth. (Camden 
 Soc, 1849, p. 63.) 
 
 3 Letter quoted by Tytler, vol. ix. p. 232 ; by Spottiswood, p. 438.
 
 232 LETTER OF FR. JAMES GORDON. [1597. 
 
 on the 2 9 tli of June 1597 they subscribed the Confession 
 of Faith. Father Gordon, who at this moment arrived 
 in Scotland, states, in the following letter, that he had 
 foreseen this sad misfortune. 
 
 Fr. James Gordon to Fr. Claud Aquaviva, General 
 of the Society of Jesus. 
 
 " Very Keverend Father in Christ, — Pax Christi, 
 — I will proceed to give an account of our adveutures 
 during the past three months. We waited some time at 
 Calais for a favourable wind, and at length set sail early 
 on the morning of the 4th of June. Upon the third day 
 we reached the coast of Scotland, close to the English 
 frontier, and four days later arrived at our destination. 
 
 " It is situated in the North of Scotland, near a castle 
 where the Earl of Huntly was then residing. We had a 
 servant of the Earl's with us, whom he had left in Bel- 
 gium when he went away. I sent this man on to the 
 Earl before we ourselves disembarked, to let him know 
 of our arrival, and explain the cautious manner in which 
 we were coming on shore. I did this on the supposition 
 that the Earl was still what he had been before. But I 
 found, on the contrary, that a great change had taken 
 place in him during my long delay in Flanders. This 
 was what I had feared ; and it is a great misfortune for 
 the Catholic cause. Huntly listened to the blandish- 
 ments of the King and of his heretical friends ; was per- 
 suaded to confer with the ministers ; then went to their 
 temples to hear their sermons, and ended by openly, at 
 least in words, if not sincerely, renouncing the Catholic 
 religion, for which he had so gloriously combated. This 
 miserable example has been followed, with fatal facility, 
 by two other Catholic nobles, the Earls of Angus and 
 Errol.
 
 1597.] LETTER OF FR. JAMES GORDON. 233 
 
 " These three were the only men of high rank who had 
 hitherto remained sincere Catholics and defenders of the 
 Catholic cause. The Catholic barons and nobles of in- 
 ferior rank were thrown into great perturbation by this 
 desertion of their leaders. Almost all have wavered, and 
 most of them have trod in the footsteps of the two earls, 
 and have either renounced their religion, or at least con- 
 sented to attend heretical worship. Catholics everywhere 
 yielded to grief and terror ; every day we heard of some 
 deserting their faith either by interior defection, or at any 
 rate in outward profession. The ministers triumphed 
 openly. Such was the state of things in Scotland when 
 we arrived, and it is very little, if at all, improved now. 
 The few of our Fathers who were left (three in all) had to 
 fly for their lives, and conceal themselves wherever they 
 could. Up to this time they had found themselves 
 secure in the north of Scotland, under the protection of 
 the Earls of Huntly and Errol, but henceforth they were 
 obliged to go elsewhere. 
 
 " The heretics had taken precautions that the Earls 
 should not receive any Jesuit, myself especially, nor 
 admit any person suspected of being a Catholic into their 
 households, nor have any intercourse with such persons, 
 nor yet receive letters or messages from them. Should 
 any Jesuit arrive in the north, the Earl of Huntly, who 
 exercised the royal authority there, was to apprehend 
 and give him up to the ministers, as well as those who 
 received and encouraged him. 
 
 " This Huntly had bound himself to do under a penalty 
 of 20,000 pounds Scots, a sum equal to the same num- 
 ber of Belgian florins. My arrival, under these circum- 
 stances, gave him very great uneasiness. He had written 
 to me a few months before entreating me not to return 
 to Scotland, conscious, no doubt, of his meditated
 
 23 4) LETTER OF FR. JAMES GORDON. [1597. 
 
 apostacy. This letter never reached me, but I received 
 one of an earlier date advising me to come. I wish I had 
 gone at once ; but God disposes all things, and I arrived 
 too late. The Earl's confusion was very great, for he 
 could not but feel the disgrace which his abandonment 
 of his faith and treacherous desertion of religion had 
 brought upon him in the eyes of the Catholics. His 
 long-standing friendship with me, and our kinship in 
 blood, made it impossible for him to take me prisoner 
 or give me up to the ministers. On the other hand, he 
 foresaw and feared the anger of the King, the rage of the 
 ministers, the fine in money, and the risk, as he averred, 
 of the total loss of his rank and fortunes to whicli he had 
 been only very recently restored. He replied to me, 
 therefore, by the servant whom I sent to him from the 
 ship that he was unable to receive me on his domains, or 
 speak to me without the knowledge of the King, but that 
 he should write to the King without delay to apprise 
 him of my arrival, and await his Majesty's answer. He 
 was resolved to follow the royal commands whatever 
 they might be, for fear of the loss of his property and 
 position. I therefore, with my companion, went on to 
 another part of the country, in the vessel which had 
 brought us, and reached next day the safest harbour in 
 Scotland, one which on that account is called the Bay of 
 Safety, 1 and was at the time perhaps the furthest removed 
 from where the King resides. Here we landed, and 
 remained for more than a month concealed among the 
 Highland tribes of Scotland, who are mostly Catholics. 
 We had no want of friends, who abundantly supplied our 
 wants, in spite of the threatening orders issued by the 
 government against me. Indeed from the moment of our 
 arrival the ministers were thrown into a most extraordi- 
 1 In the Latin text, Sinum Salutis — Cromarty.
 
 1597.] LETTER OF FR. JAMES GORDON. 235 
 
 nary state of confusion and alarm ; and, as the Catholics 
 all remarked, 20,000 Spanish troops would not have 
 frightened them so much. 
 
 " Thev were afraid we should recover, or at least trv to 
 recover, from the jaws of the Devil, and restore to their 
 true master, the prey which their lies and flatteries had 
 not Ions before torn from us, or rather from Christ. 
 Their terrors gave us renewed hopes. They obtained 
 or extorted from the King, who had lately restored them 
 to favour, and did everything they asked, an atrocious 
 proclamation, forbidding anyone to receive me into his 
 house, or give me anything to eat or drink, or show me 
 any encouragement, under penalty of high treason, which 
 incurs the severest punishment known to the laws of 
 this country. The proclamation went on to say that 
 anyone might take me prisoner, or kill me, if I would 
 not surrender ; and a reward of a thousand gold pieces 
 was offered to anyone who should apprehend or put me 
 to death. But God so ordered it that, in a very short 
 time this terrible edict came to nothing. Another was 
 published in the beginning of July, through the interest 
 of the Earl of Huntly, which revoked the former one, 
 and allowed anyone who should have obtained permis- 
 sion from Huntly to receive me, supply my wants, and 
 freely converse and speak with me, without either risk 
 or loss ; but on this condition that I left Scotland before 
 the 11th of August. Huntly had in fact bound himself 
 under a heavy penalty that I should do so, and he sent 
 to intimate this fact to me. I thought I ought not to 
 refuse compliance, under the circumstances, especially 
 as the condition only bound me to leave Scotland, and 
 did not forbid me to return. I myself stated this clearly 
 to the ministers, a little later, in a public conference 
 with them, openly professing my intention to come back,
 
 236 LETTER OF FR. JAMES GORDON. [1597. 
 
 to their great indignation ; and, with God's favour, I 
 mean very shortly to keep my word. Next, T reflected 
 that by this course I should render the former cruel pro- 
 clamation null and void, thus relieving the friends who 
 had entertained and supplied me from grave embarrass- 
 ment and anxiety, and lastly, I thus obtained a full 
 month, or rather more, during which I was free to go 
 wherever I liked, confer freely with Catholics, who were 
 at that time extremely desolate and afflicted, and all this 
 publicly and without risk to anyone ; and I gained also 
 the opportunity of meeting our Fathers, and consulting 
 with them. Two of them, Fathers William * and Alex- 
 ander, 2 came to me immediately. As Father Eobert 3 was 
 sick in a distant part of the country, I sent Father 
 William to him with the message of your Paternity. 
 
 " Everything has been done, which was necessary at the 
 time, for their spiritual consolation, and I shall soon 
 make all ready, with God's help, for my return. 
 
 " I met another pious Priest, Father James Seton, who 
 joined us from the Seminary at Pont-a-Mousson, ten 
 years ago, and was labouring earnestly with us in our 
 Lord's vineyard, as if he were one of us. He is desirous 
 of being admitted to the Society, but, as he is advanced 
 in years and somewhat infirm, we thought it best he 
 should remain in his present condition. 
 
 " To pursue my narrative — I left my place of conceal- 
 ment, to the great joy and wonder of the Catholics, and 
 with many fears on the part of the ministers and other 
 heretics, lest their wicked corruption of God's word 
 should lose credit thereby. Having observed the 
 triumph of the heretics, and dejection of the Catholics, 
 at the perversion of the three Earls, and seeing no better 
 course to take, I offered, after consultation with my com- 
 
 1 William Murdoch. 2 Alexander Seaton. 
 
 8 Eobert Abercroruby.
 
 1597.] LETTER OF FR. JAMES GORDON. 237 
 
 panions, a free public discussion to all the ministers in 
 Scotland on the controverted points of religion ; stipulat- 
 ing that it should be held in the presence of the King, 
 of the principal nobility, and above all of the three 
 noblemen who had lately changed their faith. This 
 delighted all the Catholics, and raised their highest 
 hopes. Our opponents themselves acknowledged that it 
 was just and fair, and among them were not a few of the 
 leaders of the party, who openly declared, and confirmed 
 it by oath, that they would abandon the heretical sect, 
 and embrace the Catholic religion, if the ministers re- 
 fused my challenge. 
 
 " The proposal threw these last into great consternation, 
 and as it had been made only verbally, and they had 
 replied ambiguously, according to their wont, I com- 
 mitted it to writing; in clear and unmistakeable terms. 
 I then sent it all over the kingdom, to let everyone see 
 how weak and unfounded the heretical cause must be, 
 since its own adherents and teachers did not dare defend 
 it publicly. I also wrote to the King, to the same effect. 
 I now forward a copy of each of these letters to Father 
 Crichton by the messenger who carries this, that they 
 may be transmitted to your Paternity. 
 
 " The heretical ministers, perceiving that many of their 
 supporters were openly offended at their conduct, and 
 that many more were beginning to murmur, sought to 
 gain time by replying, that they could not act otherwise, 
 without authority from the General Assembly, which 
 meets only once or twice in a year. This, however, will 
 avail them nothing, for as soon as the Assembly meets, 
 my challenge will be laid before it, and I shall then be 
 on the spot, by God's blessing, to receive their answer. 
 No other course than the one I have adopted seemed 
 open to me, under the difficulty in which I then found
 
 238 LETTER OF FR. JAMES GORDON. [1597. 
 
 myself. Our armour is spiritual, not carnal, and our 
 sword is the word of God, by means of which Christ our 
 Lord is accustomed to rout and overthrow the armies of 
 Satan. We trust in the promises of Christ, the prayers 
 of the whole Catholic Church, and especially of our Society. 
 " When the time of my embarkation drew near, and 
 I had already reached Aberdeen, the principal town in 
 the north of Scotland, whence the vessel was to sail, a 
 very unexpected and providential accident occurred, 
 which greatly encouraged the Catholics, and distressed 
 the heretics in the same proportion. I was lodged in 
 the house of a certain Baron, my kinsman, to which all 
 who wished to speak to me had free access. Father 
 William 1 was staying in the town, but secretly, and 
 used to come to see me once a day, or oftener. 1 re- 
 ceived frequent visits from the Protestant Bishop of the 
 place, and from a whole crowd of ministers, who said 
 they did not come to converse about religion, but simply 
 out of respect, and on account of my relations with the 
 Earl of Huntly, and that they might arrange for my 
 departure. I took advantage of this opportunity, more 
 than once, to repeat my offer of a public disputation. 
 They put me off, as usual, by referring the matter to the 
 General Assembly, and we proceeded to converse on other 
 subjects. But whether from a hope of obtaining ground 
 for calumny against me, or the desire of novelty, or a 
 wish to try their powers in a preliminary skirmish before 
 the general engagement, they all agreed that I should be 
 permitted to preach to them, not in a church, but in the 
 Baron's hall, which was large enough to accommodate 
 the whole number, and they promised that everybody 
 who wished to attend should be allowed to do so, with- 
 out prejudice or risk. Being then asked what words 
 
 1 William Murdoch.
 
 1597.] LETTER OF FR. JAMES GORDON. 239 
 
 of Scripture I should choose for my text, I said, ' The 
 Church is the pillar and ground of the truth.' Upon 
 which the Protestant Bishop interrupted me with the 
 remark, ' You must take the theme of your discourse 
 only from the Holy Scriptures ;' for he was so ignorant 
 of Scripture that he did not know St Paul had written 
 those words to Timothy. I answered, these words really 
 are in Scripture, and some of the ministers confirming 
 my assertion, the Protestant Bishop coloured and was 
 silent. Perceiving, however, that my choice of this text 
 was anything but pleasing to them, I said I would under- 
 take to preach on any text of Scripture they gave me. 
 They fixed on the words in John x., ' My sheep hear my 
 voice,' as appearing to them wholly at variance with our 
 system of doctrine. They added that I was not to treat 
 of tradition, but of the written word only. I accepted 
 this condition willingly, and August 16th was fixed as 
 the day for my sermon, at a particular hour. The affair 
 was talked about everywhere, and I purposely obtained 
 an interval of five days that it might be as widely known 
 as possible. All thought it strange to find liberty of 
 public preaching allowed to a Catholic priest, and he a 
 Jesuit, after an interval of more than six and thirty 
 years, and this by an assembled Council of the Ministers, 
 or as it is called, the Presbytery. But when the appointed 
 day came, and the ministers, from whom the Protestant 
 Bishop had withdrawn, saw the great numbers gathered 
 together, not of the common people only, but of the 
 nobility and higher ranks, they refused at once to keep 
 to their engagement. Not one of them would consent 
 that any person should be admitted except the ministers 
 themselves. Men of the highest rank, even the most 
 determined heretics, the best known supporters and 
 adherents of heresy, the most intimate friends of the
 
 240 LETTER OF FR. JAMES GORDON. [1597. 
 
 ministers, were one and all excluded. Nay, before the 
 ministers themselves would agree to enter the hall they 
 sent some of their own number to search every corner of 
 the house, the bedrooms, kitchen, larder, and every pos- 
 sible hiding place, lest anybody might be concealed 
 there. Of course such proceedings gave great umbrage, 
 not to Catholics alone, but to the leaders of the heretical 
 party themselves, who had been asked to hear a sermon, 
 and then found the doors shut in their faces. The very 
 people in the streets all exclaimed that the ministers had 
 proved the falsehood and weakness of their own cause. 
 Every one acknowledged that it would have been better 
 not to have given permission to preach, than to give 
 it, and then unreasonably and insolently shut out the 
 audience. Some of the ministers themselves declared 
 that the General Assembly would inflict a penalty upon 
 those who had granted me license to preach, while they 
 laid the whole blame upon the Bishop, asserting that he 
 had been the first to give me permission, and had then 
 withdrawn in order to throw the fault upon them. I 
 myself was much annoyed at the exclusion of such num- 
 bers of people who wanted to hear me, but I did not wish 
 it to be thought that I was afraid of the ministers. Ac- 
 cordingly, I spoke a few words on the subject assigned 
 me ; not indeed what I should have said in the presence 
 of the multitude, but what I thought better suited to 
 my actual auditors. 
 
 " When I had finished, I left them space for reply, if 
 they had anything to object. One or two spoke, but they 
 had evidently prepared their remarks at home, and these 
 bore in no particular way upon what I had advanced. 
 The substance of what I said was, that the voice of 
 Christ addressed us not in the letter alone of the written 
 word, but rather in the true exposition of its meaning ;
 
 1597.] LETTER OF FR. JAMES GORDON. 241 
 
 and that this is not to be found in private interpreta- 
 tion, but to be gathered from the sense and consent of 
 the ancient Fathers and Councils. This they assented to. 
 Then I pressed them further, asking what Fathers and 
 Councils they recognised as trustworthy. They answered 
 those of the first five hundred years (some said six 
 hundred) after Christ. I then engaged to prove all our 
 doctrines, and refute their heresies, from the writings of 
 these Fathers and Councils, as soon as they granted us 
 a free and public discussion. They desired me to 
 put the substance of what I had said into writing, so 
 that they could reply after fuller consideration. I 
 agreed to this, on condition they would also write down 
 what they had just said, especially their appeal to the 
 Fathers and Councils of the first five centuries. 
 
 " I wrote out my statement the same day, and have 
 sent a copy of it to Father Crichton, together with this 
 letter. The ministers never sent me theirs until I had 
 gone on board ship, when they despatched it for me, by 
 the captain, who was the last to come on board ; and 
 were doubtless under the delusion that this would 
 prevent my making any reply to their learned observa- 
 tions. In this, however, they will, by God's help, be 
 disappointed, for I mean to answer them very soon, and 
 to have my reply laid before them publicly. 
 
 " I embarked at Aberdeen on the 18th of August, and 
 arrived in Norway three days later. Thence I came to 
 the south of Denmark, where I now am. This is a most 
 convenient place whence to return to Scotland, and I 
 shall stay for the present, especially as we could not 
 both safely traverse Holland together on the way to 
 Belgium. I have no doubt of being able to go back to 
 Scotland in eight or ten days hence, weather permitting. 
 
 " Your Paternity will see how greatly the Scottish 
 
 Q
 
 242 LETTER OF FR. JAMES GORDON. [1597. 
 
 Mission stands in need of the sacrifices and prayers of 
 the whole Society. Our cause was never at a lower ebb 
 than now, but ' God is able from these stones to raise up 
 children to Abraham.' 
 
 " I will do what I can, so long as I am able, by Christ's 
 help ; may He do all the rest as seems good to Him. I 
 have written as best I could, when on the road and at 
 intervals. Your Paternity will obtain further informa- 
 tion from Father Crichton, as he can learn all particulars 
 and every detail from my companion, whom I am send- 
 ing to him. 
 
 " I earnestly commend myself to the holy sacrifices 
 and prayers of your Paternity, and of all the Society. 
 
 " Your Paternity's unworthy servant and son in Christ, 
 
 " James Gordon." 
 
 " Hersens, in Denmark, September 1st, 1597." 1 
 
 On hearing that the state of religion in Scotland grew 
 daily worse and worse, Father Gordon resolved to make 
 another expedition to his native country. He had a 
 special reason for returning. Although he more than 
 once openly challenged the Calvinist doctors to public 
 controversy, in the King's presence, they nevertheless 
 boasted that Gordon was afraid to dispute with them, 
 and that he had gone into concealment to avoid the 
 Kino- and his councillors, and the courts of law. This 
 false and injurious report induced him to go back as 
 speedily as possible, in order to try by every means to 
 draw his ojyponents into discussion ; and he did not 
 despair of conducting it in the presence of the King, who 
 knew and loved him. 
 
 He determined to visit his Majesty at once, and dis- 
 play before him the light of truth, whether he would 
 
 1 Archives of the Society of Jesus, vol. " Scotia."
 
 1500.] LETTER OF FR. JAMES GORDON. 243 
 
 receive it or no. Indeed, he could not very easily be- 
 take himself to anybody else, even one of the highest 
 rank, since the proclamation had made it a capital crime 
 to receive him under any roof. How he accomplished 
 his design, may be learnt from his own account in a letter 
 to Fr. General. 
 
 " Very Reverend Father in Christ, — I proceed to a 
 narrative of our adventures since the date of my last 
 letter to your Paternity from Lubeck in September last. 1 
 . . . There was no vessel likely to sail for Scotland, 
 and winter was now approaching. The sea near 
 Eukhingen is frozen over every winter, and we were 
 therefore in danger of being detained a long time if we 
 did not leave speedily. 
 
 " Under these circumstances our Catholic friends pro- 
 cured a vessel to bring us, hired the services of a captain 
 and sailors, and fitted her out with every requisite for a 
 long winter voyage, all at their own expense, and so after 
 two months detention in Holland, we at length set sail 
 for Scotland, where by God's mercy we arrived safe and 
 sound on the fifth day, having had a favourable wind, 
 and the weather as calm as if it were summer. My 
 purpose was to seek publicly without delay the presence 
 of the King, and therefore proceed at once to the 
 capital. Many reasons suggested this step, the first being 
 that I had openly bound myself to do so when I left 
 Scotland. The ministers had charged me with having 
 kept myself in concealment, not venturing to appear 
 before the King and his Council, or demand a public 
 discussion, such as they themselves, being private in- 
 dividuals, could not engage in on their own authority. 
 
 1 A long account of Fr. Gordon's stay at Lubeck and Hamburg is 
 here omitted.
 
 2-i4 LETTER OF FR. JAMES GORDON. [1599. 
 
 In reply to this, I had promised that when I came back 
 I would repair straightway to the King in the capital, 
 and defend before him the propositions I had advanced 
 in writing. My other reason was that two years had 
 now gone by, and the ministers to whom my challenge 
 to a disputation on points of controversy had been de- 
 livered did not meanwhile make any reply to it, pro- 
 crastinating day after day, evidently with the hope that the 
 whole subject would be forgotten, because they were not 
 bold enough to accept the challenge, yet felt it would be 
 ignominious entirely to refuse it. I thought it important 
 to press them on the point till I got a positive answer, 
 one way or other ; and that the best plan was for me to go 
 in person, and demand a discussion in the presence of the 
 King and the Council, for this would surely extract some 
 sort of reply from them however reluctantly given. I 
 had still another reason, namely, that some persons in 
 Scotland gave out, it was not only my religion which 
 prevented my appearing in the King's presence, but cer- 
 tain political causes and civil charges against me. To 
 prove the groundlessness of these insinuations, I resolved 
 to go to the King before I visited a single person else in 
 Scotland, more especially as any man of rank whom I 
 might visit would be exposed to the danger of losing all 
 his goods, and possibly his very life, since a royal pro- 
 clamation issued just before I went away forbad any one 
 to receive me under penalty of forfeiture of all his effects, 
 and indeed of his head. On this account I thought my 
 first visit was due to the King, inasmuch as it would not 
 expose any body to danger. The other thing I had to 
 fear was lest I should be intercepted by my adversaries 
 before I could reach his Majesty. In order to avoid this 
 mishap, I determined to disembark at nightfall, so as not 
 to be recognised, and then go straight to the palace,
 
 1500.] LETTER OF Fit. JAMES GORDON. 245 
 
 which is only an Italian mile distant from Lcith, where 
 we were to land. 
 
 " This attempt, by the aid of Almighty God, succeeded 
 perfectly, and averted all danger from myself or others. 
 The very day we reached Leith, being the feast day of St 
 Andrew, the Patron of Scotland, according to the old 
 calendar followed by the Scots, the King had arrived at 
 the palace, from which he had previously been for a short 
 time absent. An hour or two after his arrival I suc- 
 ceeded in reaching the door of his chamber without any 
 one knowing who I was. The second hour of the night 
 (7 p.m.) had sounded, and the King was at that moment 
 closeted with his ministers, holding a meeting of his 
 Privy Council, as it is called. One of the councillors had 
 formerly been acquainted with me, and was on terms of 
 friendship with my kinsfolk, besides being allied to them 
 by affinity. I sent therefore word to him by the door- 
 keeper of the King's chamber, that a friend of his was 
 waiting to speak with him. On coming, he took me 
 aside but did not recognise me, so I told him who I was, 
 and why 1 had come, and requested him to repeat to the 
 King what I had said without loss of time. He smiled, 
 and undertook my commission, though not without an 
 expression of wonder at my mode of proceding. He went 
 straight to the King; and informed him of what had 
 occurred. James himself and all present were surprised, 
 and being afraid lest the ministers, whose influence is 
 very great, and whose audacity is still greater, might be 
 highly incensed at my arrival, he sent me word by the 
 same member of the Council, that I must be detained in 
 custody within the castle not far from the palace in the 
 same city, until they had deliberated on the course to be 
 pursued. I said I was quite ready to obey the royal com- 
 mand. He left me to go and speak to the King once
 
 246 LETTER OF FR. JAMES GORDOX. [1599. 
 
 more, and returned along with another councillor, who 
 had received the King's orders to convey me to the 
 castle. 
 
 "This nobleman who conducted me was an enthusiastic 
 friend and supporter of my cause, in part because he was 
 himself not far from the kingdom of God, and also because 
 his estates lay in the north, bordering on the country sub- 
 ject to the Earl of Huntly, my nephew. He showed me the 
 utmost kindness all the time I was in Scotland, convey- 
 ing the King's messages to me and my replies to his 
 Majesty, who employed him for this purpose, well know- 
 ing both his friendship for me and his fidelity to his 
 Sovereign. I had desired my companion William, for 
 whose safety I was more anxious than for my own, to 
 leave me before I entered the palace. I was conducted to 
 the castle with a suitable escort, without violence, and 
 without the knowledge of any of our opponents. The royal 
 councillor who accompanied me was the only person that 
 knew who I was, the servants in attendance having 
 been told nothing as to my identity, while the darkness 
 prevented anyone, who might hapj>en to know me, from 
 recognising me on the way. When we arrived at the 
 castle the councillor spoke a few words to the officers in 
 charge of the fortress, commended me to their care in 
 the King's name, and desired that I might be abundantly 
 supplied with whatever I wanted at the King's expense. 
 The next morning I was visited by the official who had 
 conducted me thither on the previous evening, by two 
 ministers whom I supposed to be in the King's con- 
 fidence, and by a secretary whose office it was to write 
 down the answers given by me to the questions which the 
 others put. I replied to everything fully, fearlessly, and 
 faithfully ; and my answers, by God's good help, were so 
 satisfactory to the King and to his Council that they
 
 1599.] LETTER OF FR. JAMES GORDON. 247 
 
 never thought it necessary to interrogate me again on 
 any subject. The point of my reply was that I had come 
 to keep my promise, and to obtain a decided answer, one 
 way or the other, to the proposal of a public discussion 
 which I had made, two years before. I added that I had 
 not come secretly, or as though afraid, but had openly 
 and boldly gone to the King himself, relying first, on 
 the justice of my cause, and next, on the King's clemency 
 and piety, well persuaded of his candour and preference 
 of truth to error. Though he was unconsciously in error 
 himself, I professed myself certain he would never be 
 willing to condemn unheard and without trial, or to 
 subject to any unjust treatment, one who only upheld 
 the truth. If, on my trial, the ministers could show that 
 I had advanced anything against truth and contrary to 
 the Word of God, I would willingly undergo any punish- 
 ment they could inflict. In the meanwhile the ministers 
 were labouring earnestly, day after day, in all their 
 addresses from the pulpit, to convince the King, the 
 officers of State, and the populace, that I ought to be put 
 to death, because I had led so many souls astray and con- 
 signed them to ruin ; that the laws of the realm would be 
 outraged if I escaped capital punishment ; and that I 
 had disobeyed the King's order, which required me not 
 to return to Scotland under pain of death. These and 
 many other propositions, equally bloodthirsty, they 
 every day invented and urged. 
 
 " Within two or three days after my imprison- 
 ment in the castle, another cause of confusion arose, 
 which at first seemed serious, but ultimately came to 
 nothing. A certain Englishman resided in the town 
 of Edinburgh, who was a deadly enemy to Catholics. 
 It came to this man's knowledge that two English- 
 men, whom he did not know, had recently arrived
 
 248 LETTER OF FR. JAMES GORDON. [1599. 
 
 in the town ; and he suspected they had come in 
 the vessel which brought me, and were probably priests 
 of our Society, or belonged to some English seminary. 
 With a view to render my coming more odious, the 
 ministers were already spreading reports, that the Pope 
 had lately sent forth a number of Jesuits, or pupils of 
 Jesuits, to despatch all the principal sovereigns of Europe 
 by poison or the sword. One of these, it was said, had 
 been sent to France, one to Holland, a third to England, 
 and another to Scotland, this last being either myself, or 
 some one who had sailed in the same ship with me. The 
 King did not give the slightest credence to this extra- 
 ordinary story, nor did any of the men of influence in 
 the government ; but many of the common people were 
 induced by the authority of the ministers to receive it 
 as unquestionably true. On this account I had been 
 anxiously and carefully interrogated in my examination 
 as to whether I knew of such a plot ; whether I had had 
 any fellow passengers, who these were, and how many in 
 number. I said, according to truth, that there was no 
 one on board except myself, the Dutch sailors, and 
 William Martin, whom I had dismissed before I entered 
 the palace, and I knew he intended going away at once to 
 the west of Scotland. The Englishman above mentioned, 
 who was aware that I had given this answer, thought 
 himself now in a position to convict me of falsehood, and 
 of conspiring against the King. He went to the palace, 
 and declared that I had brought two or more English 
 Jesuits into Scotland, who meditated taking the Kings' 
 life. He had found out where they were lodged, and 
 asked for a body of police officers to apprehend and carry 
 them off to prison. Several noblemen instantly started 
 from the royal residence, and were joined by the guard. 
 They all repaired straight to the house where the two
 
 1599.] LETTER OF FR. JAMES GORDON. 249 
 
 Englishmen had been seen; and the soldiers, breaking 
 in, arrested them both, and conveyed them forthwith 
 through the crowded streets of the city to the public 
 prison. A popular tumult ensued, all crying out that 
 by the just judgment of God, and His great goodness, the 
 Jesuit conspiracy was at length laid bare ; and that I 
 deserved death a thousand times, and in the most terrible 
 form, for introducing these men into the kingdom to take 
 the King's life. Everybody was astonished at what had 
 occurred, and the friends and supporters of our cause 
 were distressed and anxious, fearing imminent peril both 
 to us, and to all Catholics on our account. These dif- 
 ferent circumstances were related to me, in the castle, 
 close by where they occurred ; and, though I knew 
 myself to be innocent of the charge, I could not help 
 seeing how difficult it would be to disprove it, in the 
 presence of enemies so embittered, or to clear myself, as 
 well as the two other prisoners. There remained also 
 this danger, that the heretics might take advantage of it 
 for some important political move, and that Catholics 
 themselves might be scandalised and offended. 
 
 " The Englishman who was the author of all this out- 
 cry, took so much pride in what he had done, that he 
 scrupled not to come and upbraid me, at the castle, in 
 the presence of many witnesses, with my wickedness in 
 bringing over, not the two Englishmen only, but several 
 more (three or four at least as he pretended), all sworn to 
 murder the King. Thence he set off to meet James him- 
 self, who had gone out hunting early in the morning ; 
 and, overtaking him in the open country, informed him 
 of the signal service he had been privileged to render to 
 his Majesty, for which he claimed due praise and reward. 
 He explained that two English Jesuits, engaged in a plot 
 against the King's life, had been apprehended in the
 
 250 LETTER OF FE. JAMES GORDON. [1599. 
 
 capital, and were then in custody ; and lie begged his 
 Majesty to enquire into the circumstances, adding that 
 the men were companions of mine, and had sailed to 
 Scotland with me. The Kino; heard this with extreme 
 surprise, for I had solemnly assured him that I had come 
 with only one companion, and so he was somewhat put 
 out, and began to be very angry with me. He had not 
 previously intended returning to Edinburgh that day, 
 being about to visit the Queen, who was expecting her 
 confinement, and was residing four miles out of the 
 town ; but he now changed his mind, and coming back 
 to the palace, ordered the accused to be brought before 
 him, and questioned anew in his presence. They had 
 already been examined twice or thrice, and the matter 
 was considered settled, but he insisted on having the 
 enquiry made all over again, and the witnesses, both 
 Scotch and English, recalled ; fresh evidence being also 
 given. It appeared from the uniform and unvarying 
 testimony of all these, and from undeniable proofs, that 
 the two Englishmen were neither Jesuits nor priests, 
 nor even Catholics, but were soldiers from the English 
 garrison in the frontier town of Berwick. They had 
 never seen me in their lives, and had come to Edinburgh 
 for no other purpose than to drink wine with their boon 
 companions, which they had so often done before, that 
 they were well known to nearly every one in the town. 
 This disturbance then, which had occasioned much alarm 
 to many honest men, came to nothing, on the same day on 
 which it had begun ; the King, and every one else with 
 him, having a good laugh at the expense of its English 
 author. 
 
 " This tragedy was, however, immediately followed by 
 another, far more serious in its consequences, but to our 
 opponents, and not to ourselves. One of the ministers
 
 1599.] LETTER OF Fit. JAMES GORDON. 251 
 
 was in particularly high favour with the King and the 
 whole Council. He was acknowledged by all to be the 
 most learned amongst them, and had written some books 
 in the Latin language which had been carried to Geneva, 
 and highly lauded by Beza. He had also undertaken 
 the care and management of the college not long before 
 established by the Reforming ministers at Edinburgh. 
 He had been present by the Kiug's desire, along with 
 others, at my examination, and seemed inclined to 
 accept my challenge to a disputation, but insisted that it 
 should be held privately, and not in public. In order 
 that matter for discussion might not be wanting, he 
 presented me with a book which he had lately written, 
 in Latin, against the first volume of the Controversies of 
 Cardinal Bellarmine, as a first essay towards a complete 
 refutation of the works of that writer. I was requested 
 to read this carefully over, and state my opinion of it, 
 not by word of mouth only, but in writing, that so the 
 Kino; and the members of his Council mio-ht all know 
 what I thought. I perceived that they preferred having 
 controversy conducted in writing rather than verbally. 
 I accepted the condition, lest I should seem to avoid the 
 challenge. I drew up a refutation of the book, brief, 
 but clear and pointed, which I finished in a few days, 
 and showed to the Councillor of State who had conducted 
 me to the castle, and who frequently visited me there ; 
 I, at the same time, desired him to hand a copy of it to 
 the Kino; and another to the minister who was the 
 author of the book. He willingly undertook to do this, 
 as soon as he had read it himself. 
 
 " But the power of Almighty God, always ready to 
 protect His own, intervened at this juncture. Within a 
 few days, the minister was seized with a mysterious ill- 
 ness which occasioned him continued and intolerable
 
 252 
 
 LETTER OF FE. JAMES GORDON". [1599. 
 
 anguish, both of mind and body, and at length cut short 
 his days by a miserable death, so that he never was able to 
 draw up any reply to what I had written. Thus the death 
 of torment, which my enemies had so often prayed might 
 befall me, by God's just judgment overtook their own 
 chief and leader ; and when, to the great grief of the 
 party, he was dead and buried, none of his survivors 
 would undertake either to answer what I had written, 
 or engage in any controversy with me, either public or 
 private. Some indeed openly declared that I had com- 
 passed the death of the most distinguished minister in 
 Scotland, by magical poisons and incantations, for it had 
 been noticed that, ever since the day of my examination 
 (at which he had been present, and had talked much in 
 a proud and impious strain), he had sickened and pined 
 away. The heretics not unfrequently thus ascribe to 
 Satan the actions of Almighty God. Meanwhile the 
 day appointed for the hearing of my cause before the 
 King and Council arrived. The ministers did all they 
 could to secure my being sentenced to death, but of all 
 the members of the Council present, one only favoured 
 their desire, and a certain Catholic observed in jest that 
 I possessed only one friend among them, since I longed 
 for nothing more than to leave this miserable world and 
 die in behalf of my religion, yet there was only one of 
 the lords who consented to grant me this satisfaction. 
 The King and all present, hearing this remark, laughed 
 much at it, and his Majesty not only inveighed strongly 
 against the opinion of my single adversary, but gave 
 testimony to my innocence in a long and excellent 
 speech, which he addressed to the Council. He said 
 that, had I been one of those who interfere in politics, 
 and endeavour to interrupt the tranquillity of the king- 
 dom, he would punish me without hesitation. But it
 
 1599.] LETTER OF FR. JAMES GORDON". 253 
 
 was evident I occupied myself only with my studies and 
 my books, without meddling with public affairs ; and 
 even if I maintained or taught anything contrary to 
 truth, I did so in all good faith, not witli any mis- 
 chievous intention, nor in opposition to my conscience. 
 To put to death or otherwise ill-treat such a person 
 would be unjust and cruel in the extreme ; and it would 
 be especially so for him to do this, because I had unre- 
 servedly and confidingly placed myself in his hands. 1 
 The King having expressed this decision at some length, 
 all came round to the conclusion that, as I had sought 
 the King's presence at the earliest opportunity, and had 
 acted throughout openly and without concealment, I had 
 not broken the laws of the kingdom. At the same time 
 the King promised the ministers, with the view of in 
 some degree appeasing their anger, that he would pro- 
 vide for my leaving Scotland as soon as it was possible 
 for me to sail. Meanwhile I was to be kept a close 
 prisoner in the castle, without the opportunity of con- 
 versing with any one about religion, or of leading any 
 one astray (as they termed it) ; for they had often, and 
 in many words, complained to the King that I was 
 allowed too freely to converse with all who wished to 
 see me, and was making many converts. Accordingly 
 directions were given that I should not be permitted to 
 argue with any person whatever, the ministers being 
 absolutely opposed to all discussion. 
 
 " These proceedings in Council took place on the 
 twentieth day from my arrival in Scotland. Shortly 
 after this the Earl of Huntly, who had been for some 
 time absent from Court, arrived, and obtained without 
 difficulty my release from the castle. He would not 
 
 x The Register of the Privy Council of Scotland. Edinburgh, 1882, 
 vol, v. p. 503, 504.
 
 254 LETTER OF FR. JAMES GORDON - . [1599. 
 
 permit the King to pay the debts which I had incurred 
 to persons in the castle, but discharged everything him- 
 self, though his Majesty had of his own accord, and more 
 than once, offered to do so. I left the castle, and took 
 up my residence at the house of a citizen of the town, 
 one of the principal men in Edinburgh, a man excel- 
 lently disposed towards me, though prejudiced against 
 the true religion. The Catholics resorted to me in num- 
 bers, and quite freely, an act which had been of course 
 impossible, or very difficult, while I was in the castle. 
 But when, in the course of conversation, some of us had 
 referred to my challenge made to the ministers, and 
 observed that they seemed absolutely disinclined to any 
 sort of controversy or discussion, whether public or 
 private, my entertainer could not persuade himself that 
 this was the case : and feeling convinced that a great 
 point had been gained by my having mentioned a dis- 
 putation in private as something I would not refuse — a 
 public one being, he knew well, such as the other party 
 would never agree to — he hurried off to the principal 
 minister in Scotland, a man of note, and held in high 
 estimation by the people, both for learning and integrity 
 of life, reported what I had said, and then entreated and 
 implored him to engage in controversy with me. The 
 other replied that he could not speak to me without the 
 King's consent, for the latter might be displeased, as I 
 was under his protection ; but if the King had no objec- 
 jection, he would willingly undertake to do what he was 
 asked. I imagine he expected James would not give 
 his consent, and he would thus be able to throw upon 
 the King the responsibility of refusing the discussion. 
 It, however, turned out otherwise. My friend had no 
 difficulty in obtaining the royal permission, by means of 
 one of the members of the Council ; and so, returning
 
 1599.] LETTER OF FR. JAMES GORDON. 255 
 
 joyfully to the arch-minister, informed him of his suc- 
 cess, and entreated him to come at once to his house. 
 The minister now regretted the rash pledge he had given, 
 and tried to induce my host to forego his purpose ; hut 
 the Litter held him to his eno-ao-ement in such a way that 
 the minister perceived a refusal would give serious offence 
 both to my host and to other persons who were assembled 
 in his house. He then pretended to doubt whether the 
 King's permission had been really given, nor could he be 
 assured on this head until he himself went to the Coun- 
 cillor of State, by whom the leave had been obtained, and 
 received an assurance from him that it was really so. 
 At length he gave in, and promised he would come to 
 my host's residence for the discussion ; and the hour and 
 method of proceeding were fixed upon. On the day 
 named we waited for him, according to the hour and 
 terms arranged, and the same on the next day, and the 
 next ; but our friend never appeared. At length he laid 
 aside all reserve, and plainly intimated that he could not 
 consent to any such discussion as had been proposed ; 
 that I was unreasonably obstinate in insisting upon it ; 
 that it could lead to no result ; that he had not leisure 
 for it ; and that it was not right to waste time in alter- 
 cations of such a nature ; that as the King protected 
 me, my host had better go to the King's preachers, and 
 ask them to dispute with me. He proceeded to name 
 one whom he thought most suited for the task, and 
 suggested that the person should be sent for. My host 
 was astonished at all this, but finding the minister deter- 
 mined, came away with very considerable indignation, 
 and set out as had been suo-aested to invite the Kino-'s 
 preacher. This minister likewise promised to come, 
 reiterated his promise, yet never appeared ; shortly after 
 he also pleaded pressing business, and declined the con-
 
 25 6 LETTER OF FR. JAMES GORDON. [1599. 
 
 troversy altogether. My indefatigable friend then went 
 to a third, a man of much note among the city preachers, 
 but he replied that he was not well enough to attend. 
 
 " It now became evident that all the ministers in 
 Edinburgh, who had any reputation for learning, were 
 resolved not to engage in discussion with me, even 
 privately ; and as I had been waiting for them ten 
 days, living the whole time without concealment in an 
 inn, my presence being thus perfectly well known to all 
 the town, and as there was still no sort of expectation 
 that the controversy would ever be really held, it ap- 
 peared to me I might as well go. Accordingly, I left 
 Edinburgh and repaired to the castle of a Baron not far 
 off. I took this step by desire of the King and of 
 the Earl of Huntly, to whose charge the King had 
 committed me. I carried with me letters from the 
 King, bearing- not so much his commendation as his 
 commands, and was very kindly and amicably received. 
 The nobleman in question was Lord Seton, elder brother 
 of Mr Alexander Seton, who had formerly made his 
 classical studies in the German College at Eome. His 
 house is very splendid and very agreeable, and not more 
 than eio-ht miles distant from Edinburgh. My removal 
 to this place irritated the ministers to the last degree. 
 I had shown myself the principal opponent of their faith 
 — or rather want of faith — and yet here I was lodged in 
 the best quarters in all Scotland, treated as a friend, and 
 living among my kinsmen and connections, and the 
 strongest adherents of my religion. They appointed a 
 meeting, or, as they call it, presbytery, and drew up an 
 admonition to the Baron, that he must turn me out of 
 his house, under pain of excommunication. They are 
 accustomed to act in this manner, even in opposition to 
 the commands of the King, to which they pay no regard
 
 1599.] LETTER OF FK. JAMES GORDON. 257 
 
 when it docs not suit them. At the same time they sent 
 directions to every preacher of their sect to inveigh in 
 all their sermons, not against me only, for that they had 
 done from the first, but against Lord Seton, for receiving 
 me into his house, and against the King himself, who 
 had commanded my being received there. This the 
 ministers zealously did, referring to the subject both in 
 their morning and afternoon discourses, since they preach 
 twice on all solemn days, and some of them three or four 
 times, so inexhaustible is their flow of language. 
 
 " The Baron brought this insolent act of the ministers 
 to the notice of the King, observing that they had 
 threatened him with excommunication, simply for com- 
 plying with the commands signified to him in the King's 
 letters. James was extremely provoked, and sent one of 
 his councillors to the next meeting of the presbytery 
 (which occurs at a particular time every week), with a 
 message to the effect that if they did not desist from 
 the excommunication of the Baron, they should all be cited 
 to appear before the High Court. This in some degree 
 alarmed them, and they proceeded no further with the 
 excommunication, but made it a condition that I should 
 leave Scotland as soon as possible. During this time 
 they continued to declaim against me, against Lord Seton, 
 and against the King, from all their pulpits. The minister 
 of a neighbouring village, one of the foremost to denounce 
 me in the most violent language, was advised by some 
 of his friends to come and say it all to my face, as this 
 would be more creditable than going on railing at me 
 behind my back ; to which he replied, that T was under 
 sentence of excommunication, and it was not allowable 
 to hold speech with an excommunicated person. The 
 same reply was made by others. This country preacher 
 had been in the habit of frequenting the Baron's house 
 
 R
 
 258 LETTER OF FR. JAMES GORDON. [1599. 
 
 before I came there, quite as much, I think, to indulge 
 his appetite as for piety's sake. The day following my 
 arrival he came suddenly into the hall, where the Baron 
 happened to be talking with me, and was so panic-stricken 
 at the sight of me that off he ran down the stairs, 
 through the courtyard, across the garden, and never 
 looked back till he found himself on the safe side of the 
 outer fence, nor did he ever reappear while I was there. 
 He told his friends, indeed, that he had been confined to 
 the house the whole of that day by a violent access of 
 fever, and had not even left his bed, — an unaccountable 
 malady which he attributed to magical influences, and 
 felt certain no one could safely venture into any house 
 where I was present. 
 
 " Some weeks passed by, and people about the Court 
 were beginning to be afraid that my affairs would lead 
 to a serious rupture between the King and the ministers. 
 The former insisted that I should remain at Lord Se ton's 
 house, whether the ministers liked it or not ; while they 
 were equally resolved to excommunicate the owner of 
 the house if I were not turned out. I thought best, 
 under these circumstances, to find some honourable 
 pretext for removing, and so prevent this disagreement 
 about me from proceeding to a public quarrel. I was 
 also informed that several vessels were in readiness to 
 sail to different ports, and that I could be conveyed to 
 any part of the Continent I liked. I soon received a 
 summons to Leith, whence the ships departed, but earlier 
 than was necessary, and hence I had to stay a month or 
 more at Leith, waiting for favourable weather. Here I 
 was freer than I had ever been. I found lodging in a 
 commodious inn, not far from the capital, and still 
 nearer to the royal residence. My friends could come to 
 me whenever they wished, and not a few of my opponents
 
 1590.] LETTER OF FR. JAMES GORDON. 259 
 
 came likewise, either openly or secretly. Among those 
 who visited me publicly and officially, without any 
 intention of religious controversy, were the subaltern 
 civil officers called the Bailies of Edinburgh and Leith — 
 for the principal magistrate of both towns is Mr Alex- 
 ander Seton, before mentioned. Many others called on 
 me, several being men of rank, though the ministers 
 stormed at them for so doing. One of these, a magis- 
 trate of the town of Leith, had a brother a minister. 
 This minister, while drinking with his friends, and 
 emboldened, as is often the case, by the effect of his 
 potations, offered to go and dispute with me on the 
 subject of religion that very day, in presence of his 
 brother and of the other chief men of the town, and 
 engaged that he would unmistakably convict me of many 
 errors. The magistrate, his brother, and the others who 
 were present, heard this welcome intelligence with joy, 
 and gave unbounded thanks to God that at length one 
 minister was found who would venture to engage in con- 
 troversy with me. All the bailies of Leith, with other 
 principal people of the town, instantly set out for the 
 house where I lodged. The minister, I know not wh} 7 , 
 turned aside on the road, saying he would follow imme- 
 diately. The others came, and sat down, and we entered 
 into conversation, they explaining to me the object of 
 their visit, and the pledge which the minister had given. 
 1 accepted the challenge, and they sent to find the 
 disputant. Several minutes passed, and they sent again, 
 but the worthy man did not appear, and could not even 
 be found, having evidently taken measures to prevent 
 the chance of my even setting my eyes upon him. So 
 there w T as an end of this disputation also, and the bailies 
 and their friends took their departure in considerable 
 confusion, and not without some very uncomplimentary 
 reflections on their minister's conduct.
 
 260 LETTER OF FR. JAMES GORDON". [1599. 
 
 " At last a vessel was ready to convey me, the weather 
 was propitious, and the Earl of Huntly provided liberally 
 for all the expenses of my voyage. On the 10th of May 
 I set sail from Leith, where I had arrived on the 1 0th of 
 the previous December, having thus spent five months 
 in Scotland. I crossed over to Denmark. The King of 
 Scotland provided me with letters of protection to the 
 States of Zealand and Holland, which letters I still have 
 in my possession ; but I thought it better to go by way 
 of Denmark, as being more out of the way of the English 
 and the Dutch. Having reached that country, I pro- 
 ceeded to Copenhagen, the capital of the kingdom, as I 
 had very favourable letters from the Queen of Scotland 
 to her brother, the King of Denmark. The King was 
 absent at some distance, and I delivered the letters to 
 the Chancellor. This functionary received me kindly, 
 laid the letter before the Council, reported to me their 
 reply, and asked me what assistance I required for my 
 journey. I said I wanted nothing but a letter in the 
 King's name, giving me and my companions (there were 
 six of us in all) permission to travel through the country 
 by land, because the contrary wind prevented our pro- 
 ceeding to Germany by sea. He sent me at once an 
 order from the Council, not only granting me what I 
 requested in the fullest and most ample terms, but 
 providing much more — namely, four carriages, drawn by 
 two horses each, to convey us, at the royal expense, 
 through Denmark and Holstein, which last province ex- 
 tends to the gates of Hamburgh. Some of us reached Ham- 
 burgh, and thence Altona, with great despatch, by the 
 help of the King's horses and carriages, and without any 
 expense to ourselves ; so much so, that even when cross- 
 ing the straits, of which there are three, one of them 
 being twenty-eight Italian miles across, not a single
 
 1599.] LETTER OF FR. JAMES GORDON. 261 
 
 person asked us even for boat hire. Of course in so long 
 a journey the horses had often to be changed, and thus 
 between Copenhagen and Hamburgh we used about a 
 hundred and forty of the King's horses. No one ever 
 offered to molest or insult us, or refused us either lodging 
 or anything else we wanted on the road. Thus we came 
 safe to Altona, praise be to God for it, where I am now 
 writing to your Paternity. 
 
 " Such, very Rev. Father, have been our adventures 
 during the last few months. If our proceedings have been 
 in any degree successful, if they satisfy you, and tend 
 to the glory of God, we ascribe all first to the Divine 
 mercy, and next to the pious prayers of your Paternity 
 and our other Fathers and brethren. What has happened 
 otherwise I ascribe to my own sins, negligence, and 
 tepidity. This letter is rather long, but I know your 
 Paternity will pardon that fault, because I have been 
 obliged to write down not only what I have done, but 
 in most cases, also, my reasons and the objects I have 
 had in view. 
 
 " T earnestly desire to be commended to the most holy 
 sacrifices and prayers of your Paternity. 
 
 " Your Paternity's unworthy son and 
 " servant in Christ, 
 
 "James Gordon, S.J." 
 
 " Altona, near Hamburgh, July 13, 1599." l 
 
 While Father Gordon waited in Denmark for better 
 days, three Fathers continued to serve the Catholics from 
 their hiding places. These were Robert Abercromby, 
 William Murdoch, and Alexander MacQuhirrie. Another, 
 George Christie, was betrayed and brought to the King, 
 
 1 Arch. S. J., vol. " Scotia," Latin MS.
 
 2G2 THE MINISTERS REMONSTRATE WITH THE QUEEN. [1599. 
 
 who received him kindly, but recommended him to leave 
 the kingdom, and so he went to Belgium. 
 
 The Catholic Earls having been put down and forced 
 to submit to the discipline of the Kirk, the ministers now 
 looked to the ordering of the Court. They sent a deputa- 
 tion to the Queen, " to speak and deal with her touching 
 her religion, her manners for favouring and acting 
 towards the enemies of the truth — namely, the Earl of 
 Huntly ; her speaking contemptuously and reproach- 
 fully of the ministry, as also her not repairing to the 
 word and sacraments." * 
 
 Anne of Denmark had not anticipated the full weight 
 of the troubles preparing for her in the home of her 
 adoption. She had been educated in the extremest 
 form of Lutheranism, and a clause had been inserted in 
 the articles of marriage, providing that the young Queen 
 should not be molested in the exercise of the faith in 
 which she had been educated. 2 But in Scotland to be a 
 Lutheran was about as bad as to be a Papist. The 
 preachers reminded James that he kept a Canaan itish 
 woman in his household, and cherished her in his bosom. 
 James advised her to yield. She was assailed by the 
 preachers, by the nobility, by her own household. 
 Young as she was, the Queen proved herself a woman of 
 spirit ; she possessed strong will and firm resolution. Help 
 arrived at the fitting moment. The following old letter, 
 which has recently come to light, preserves to us an 
 episode in her life, all but forgotten, and therefore worth 
 recording. 
 
 1 Calderwood, v. p. 459. 
 
 8 " Papers relative to the Marriage of James the Sixth," printed hy 
 the Bannatyne Club, p. 37. (Edin., 1828, 4to.)
 
 1600.] LETTER OF FR. EOBERT ABERCROMBY. 2G3 
 
 The Reverend Robert Abercromby, a Scotchman, to 
 John Stuart, Prior of the Monastery at Ratisbon. 
 
 "About the year 1G00 [Queen Anne] began to think 
 about cliano;iii£ her religion from Lutheranism to 
 Catholicism, for the following reasons. 
 
 " When she came into Scotland she had brought with 
 her a Danish minister, who was a Lutheran, and was her 
 preacher, and she attended to her religious services after 
 the Lutheran fashion ; for an arrangement had been 
 made, at the marriage, that she should have the free 
 exercise of the religion in which she had been born and 
 educated. In process of time, this same minister cast 
 off his Lutheranism and became a Calvinist. Noticing 
 this, the Queen declined his services any longer, and was 
 very anxious as to what course she could take for the 
 future, for she was most decidedly opposed to Calvinism. 
 It recurred to her how, being in Germany while she was 
 very young, and resident for her education in the house of 
 a certain great princess who was a Catholic, she had seen 
 a priest who daily celebrated Mass ; the memory of 
 whom, and the love of the princess (who, if I be not 
 mistaken, was the grand-daughter of Charles the Fifth), 
 suggested to her that she should embrace that religion. 
 She consulted some friends of hers, who were Catholics, 
 about this matter, especially a Catholic Earl, as to what 
 should be done ; and he assured her that the Catholic 
 religion was the only true religion, and that all the rest 
 were sects and heresies, and he recommended me by 
 name to her as her spiritual father. After a considerable 
 delay, I was summoned to wait upon the Queen, where, 
 having been introduced into the palace, I remained for 
 three days, in a certain secret chamber. Every morn- 
 ing, for one hour, she came to me there for the purpose
 
 264 LETTER OF FR. ROBERT ABERCROMBY. [1600. 
 
 of being instructed ; her ladies remaining all the time in 
 the outer chamber, while she herself went into it, as 
 if she had some letters to write. Whenever she came 
 out, she always carried some paper in her hand. On the 
 third day, she heard Mass and received from me the 
 most Holy Sacrament, and then I took my departure 
 from her. 
 
 " My stay in Scotland did not exceed two years com- 
 plete after this communion, during which time, if my 
 memory does not cheat me, she nine times received the 
 most Holy Sacrament, and this so early in the morning 
 that all the rest of the household was asleep, with the 
 exception of a few women who communicated along with 
 her. After communion, she always gave herself up to 
 holy conversation ; sometimes she expressed her desire 
 that her husband should be a Catholic, at other times, 
 her son should be educated under the direction of the 
 Sovereign Pontiff. She spoke also about the happiness 
 of the life of a nun, among whom she felt sure she 
 would end her days. She had a great scruple because 
 a part of her dower arose from a monastery, and she 
 promised that, whenever there should be a change of 
 religion, she would restore that monastery either to its 
 lawful owners, or at least would change it into a college 
 of Jesuits. She would not set out for England until I 
 had been summoned, and had provided her with the 
 most holy viaticum, she further made me promise to 
 come to her in England, if she should summon me. 
 
 " As a consequence of this frequent use of the sacra- 
 ments, her husband noticed a great improvement in her, 
 and suspecting that it arose from the influence of some 
 Popish priest — noticing also that she had held her own 
 minister in contempt — one night, when they were in bed 
 (she herself told me the story), he spoke to her in some
 
 1600.] LETTER OF FR. ROBERT ABERCROMBY. 2G5 
 
 such terms as these : — ' I cannot but see a great change 
 in you, you are much more grave, collected, and pious. 
 I suspect, therefore, that you have some dealings with a 
 Catholic priest.' She admitted that it was so, and she 
 named me, an old cripple. His only answer was this : — 
 1 Well, wife, if you cannot live without this sort of thing, 
 do your best to keep things as quiet as possible ; for, if 
 you don't, our crown is in danger.' After this conference 
 between them, the King always behaved to me with 
 greater gentleness and kindness. 
 
 " The Queen, moreover, spoke with such of the leading 
 courtiers as had shown themselves most hostile to the 
 priests, forcing them by the threat of her vengeance to 
 give their word to abstain from molesting me more. 
 
 "A laughable incident happened, which gave the 
 Queen some amusement. An action- at-law was in 
 progress between one of the chief noblemen, who was a 
 heretic, and a certain minister. The Queen took the 
 part of the latter, and spoke in his favour. Upon this 
 the nobleman said, 'Your Majesty, by the wounds of 
 Christ, I will tell upon you, and I will accuse you before 
 Father Robert. . . .' " 1 
 
 1 Father Abercroruby concludes bis letter as follows : — " One of the 
 leading ladies at the Court has written to me from Greenwich about 
 tbe Queen's state of mind at this present time (September 1608). As 
 to her religion she is just as she was when I left her ; there is this 
 difference, however, that she can no longer enjoy that free practice of 
 her religion which she had while in Scotland. I will here record two 
 acts of hers, which show her heroic courage. 
 
 "The first of the two occurred shortly after the arrival of the King 
 and Queen in England, at the time of their coronation. When they 
 reached the church, it had been decided that before they could be 
 crowned they must receive communion in the heretical fashion. This 
 the King did forthwith, but the Queen refused, stating distinctly 
 that she could not communicate, and rather than receive their com- 
 munion, would go without the coronation. The King and the coun- 
 cilors were urgent with her, but all in vain.
 
 266 LETTER OF FR. ROBERT ABERCROMBY. [1600. 
 
 When the ministers discovered that the Queen had 
 become a Catholic, they insulted her in a manner which 
 would have been unbearable even to a private indi- 
 vidual. The King tried to excuse her in public by 
 saying that she was crazy ; but in private he told her 
 that she might follow any religion she liked, provided 
 only she was cautious about it. 1 James, however, was 
 bitterly blamed for allowing her to be surrounded by 
 Catholic ladies. The Countess of Huntly, a Catholic, was 
 a great favourite at Court ; Lady Livingston, a Catholic, 
 had the charge of the Princess Elizabeth ; the sister of 
 the Laird of Bonington, a Catholic too, was one of the 
 Queen's maids. Her brother was in high favour with 
 
 "The next instance is the following. Upon one occasion she 
 visited the Spanish Ambassador ; apparently it was a mere visit of 
 compliment, but she heard Mass and received the Most Adorable 
 Sacrament. When the King heard this he scolded her bitterly, and 
 told her that she would lose the crown and the kingdom. 
 
 " What shall I say about their daughter 1 I knew her very inti- 
 mately when she was about eight or ten years old. She was brought 
 up in the house of a Catholic lady, who is a countess, and is a child 
 of most excellent disposition. 
 
 " EOBERT ABERCROMBY, 
 
 " Priest of the Society of Jesus." 
 " Braunsberg, in the Month of September, 1608. 
 
 " To the Very Reverend Father and Lord in Christ, John Stuart, 
 of the Order of St Benedict, Prior of the Scots at Eatisbon, his most 
 honoured Father and friend." 
 
 A copy of this letter is preserved in the National Library in Paris, 
 Fonds " Latin," MS. 6051, foil. 49, 50, formerly Colbert, 3236. It 
 is printed in James Gretser's " Collected Works," vol. vii., and in the 
 Catholic periodical The Month. 
 
 1 G. Conceus, De Duplici statu religionis apud Scotos, pp. 147, 148, 
 Romse, 1628, 4to; and also a work by the same author, entitled 
 Prcemdice, sive Calumnies Hirlandorum indicate, p. 20, Bonon., 
 1621, 8vo.
 
 1600.] CATHOLICS AT COURT. 267 
 
 the King, Queen, and the whole court, on account of his 
 affability and varied accomplishments. It was noted, 
 too, by Cecil that Elphinstone, James' principal Secretary 
 of State, and Seton, the President of the Session, were 
 Catholics ; and that Huntly, who, notwithstanding his 
 recent recantation, was strongly suspected of a secret 
 attachment to his ancient faith, possessed the highest 
 influence over the Kino-. 1 These were sore evils in the 
 eyes of the Kirk. The ministers made allusions to secret 
 negotiations with the Papal Court, which occasionally 
 caused the King to wince. There is no doubt that he 
 had secret agents dispersed throughout the Catholic 
 courts, to sound their inclinations towards his claims, if 
 they were not actually authorised to make stipulations 
 for securing their concurrence with his accession to the 
 throne of England. In this, however, James was faith- 
 ful to his old policy — stirring up hopes now in Catholics, 
 now in Protestants ; at one time tremblingly solicitous 
 for the Pope's friendship, then as suddenly seized with 
 the fear of incurring the hatred of the Reformers, and so 
 allowing a fierce persecution of the most devoted of his 
 Catholic friends. But tremble and shift as he might, 
 James' purpose kept ever in view the one unchanging 
 point. At all and every cost, he would be King of 
 England. 
 
 As may be seen from the following series of letters, 
 the deluded Catholics at last opened their eyes to the 
 painful reality, and understood that James' only motive 
 for not breaking entirely with them was the fear of 
 losing their aid in raising him to the throne of 
 England. 
 
 1 E. 0., " Memorials of the present state of Scotland," 1598, quoted 
 by Tytler, vol. ix. p. 258.
 
 268 LETTER OF FR. MACQUHIRRIE. [1601. 
 
 Fr. Alexander MacQuhirrie, S.J., to Fr. Claud 
 Aquaviva, General of the Society of Jesus. 
 
 Edinburgh, 25th February 1601. 
 "... What I have to say of the King must be ex- 
 plained more fully on another occasion, but I can venture 
 to say this much, that he is an easy tempered prince, 
 very desirous of peace, and, what perhaps your Paternity 
 will be surprised to hear, is extremely well acquainted 
 with the affairs of our mission, and with ourselves per- 
 sonally. He is disposed to wink at our proceedings, 
 but he urges our friends to act with great caution, lest 
 his ministers should compel him, by solicitation or by 
 threats, which they do not shrink from using, to take 
 some violent measure against us ; and this he would 
 greatly regret. Such being the case, we earnestly entreat 
 your Paternity to confer with his Holiness very seriously 
 about the King's position and the affairs of this mission, 
 and to do promptly whatever is determined on, since 
 the restoration of the faith, now utterly ruined in the 
 country, must depend upon it. To speak plainly, what we 
 want is some powerful agency to protect ourselves, and 
 enable us to suppress the poisonous fomenters of heresy 
 swarming all over the country. I am not such an ardent 
 royalist or patriot as to desire any ill-considered or 
 violent measure. On the contrary, I think we should 
 proceed with great caution, since we have to deal with 
 a prince who is still an alien from the Catholic faith, and 
 who is struggling for the rights of his crown." * 
 
 Dundee, in Scotland, Id May 1601. 
 
 " When I wrote last, I seemed to hold out to your 
 Paternity some hopes of improvement in the condition 
 1 Archives of the Society of Jesus, voL " Scotia." Latin MS.
 
 1601] STATE OF SCOTLAND IN 1601. 269 
 
 of our affairs ; but all is now changed, and we are in 
 great trouble. We have lost the noble baron, whose 
 brother, John Wood, at this moment, is so ably guiding 
 our counsels. He fell nobly, a martyr to the malice and 
 envy of the priests of Calvin. We, the survivors, are 
 in constant danger of a cruel death, preceded by more 
 cruel torture, as if to deprive us of our hope in Christ 
 and our life together," 
 
 The following Memorial of the State of Scotland 
 during 1601, in the handwriting of Father MacQuhirrie, 
 is preserved in the Archives of the Society of Jesus. 
 
 The State of Scotland, 1601. 
 
 " The bearer of this letter is in possession of full infor- 
 mation as to the condition of this kingdom, during the 
 time he resided here, derived from his own experience 
 and observation, and we can add little to what he has to 
 say. Heresy is everywhere triumphant, and the exercise 
 of Catholic worship is not tolerated, as your Paternity 
 will see from the selection of the Acts of the Parliament 
 which the bearer carries with him. 1 
 
 "The consequence of this is that Catholics are deprived 
 of all protection of the laws, and so is every one who is 
 suspected of showing them any kindness. Indeed, all 
 these enactments and proclamations are without excep- 
 tion glaringly tyrannical and antichristian. 
 
 1 Father Abercromby, writing on 1st July 1602, says: — "All are 
 now compelled with tears to submit to the King, and to the law 
 passed by his authority, the alternative being for the rich either exile or 
 the loss of all their goods, which for the sake of their wives and children 
 they will not risk ; and for the poor, if they refuse obedience, to be 
 turned adrift by their lords from the lands they cultivate, like Israel 
 in Egypt, and to live miserably among the wild animals, a prospect 
 from which they shrink in terror."
 
 270 STATE OF SCOTLAND IN 1601. [1601. 
 
 " The ministers have full power and authority in their 
 hands, and the King and Council grant them everything 
 they ask for, as long as it does not inconvenience them- 
 selves. 
 
 " The King and the members of the Council are over- 
 awed and corrupted by the power and the gold of 
 England, they furnish her with information, and carry 
 out her orders, receiving ample payments for doing so. 
 The King himself accepts an annual pension, not of large 
 amount, which I think he would be glad to refuse, if his 
 Holiness would offer him one worthy of his rank and 
 dignity instead of it. It is certain that nothing would 
 tend more to the conversion of this prince ; and without 
 it, to speak freely, every other exertion to obtain that 
 end would be quite fruitless. 
 
 The King. 
 
 " The King is not only the cause of all the evils which 
 have afflicted the country during the greater part of his 
 reign, but continues to support, protect, and increase 
 them. His language consists almost entirely of blasphemy 
 or heresy. The single object of his ambition is the crown 
 of England, which he would gladly take, to all appear- 
 ance, from the hand of the Devil himself, though Catho- 
 lics and heretic ministers were all ruined alike, so great 
 is his longing for this regal dignity. 
 
 " He hates all Catholics, except so far as he can make 
 use of them for the purpose of furthering his design of 
 securing the English crown. Fear of Catholic ascend- 
 ency, or the hope of obtaining the favourite object of his 
 ambition, might some day make him a hypocrite ; but only 
 a great miracle of God's power, and an extraordinary 
 inspiration, will ever make him a Catholic in reality. 
 
 "He is a determined enemy of the Fathers of our
 
 1601.] STATE OF SCOTLAND IN 1601. 271 
 
 Society, thinking that they are unfriendly to him, and 
 
 that they oppose his claim to the crown of England. 
 
 Pie considers them also causes of discord, sedition, and 
 civil war. 
 
 "There are two principal motives for his prejudice 
 against us, first the recent attempt upon the life of the 
 King of France, which he has been told was made by a 
 disciple of ours ; and secondly, a book published in 
 England, and supposed to be written by Fr. Persons, in 
 which the King of Scotland's right to the succession to 
 the crown of England is denied. 
 
 " Nevertheless he cannot help seeing that, in the course 
 of the changes which are likely to occur, and in the 
 difficult circumstances under which he may very pro- 
 bably be placed, it will be in the power of our Fathers 
 materially to hinder or to assist his plans, and he is 
 therefore secretly desirous to get into our good graces. 
 Mr Strachan will tell your Paternity all about this, and 
 I hope, God willing, to write to you more fully on the 
 subject another time. 
 
 Of our Fathers. 
 
 " All our annoyances proceed from the causes above- 
 mentioned, and we are constantly being excommuni- 
 cated, outlawed, ordered abroad, and publicly proclaimed 
 traitors to our King and country. No one is allowed 
 to receive us under his roof on pain of death, loss of all 
 his goods, and outlawry. The royal order requires every 
 one to apprehend or kill us, wherever he finds us. The 
 laws are so strict and rigorous that we are often obli fifed 
 to travel at night, and we have very great difficulty in 
 finding shelter in the daytime. Those who receive us 
 rarely do so except for some consideration, either a share 
 of the pittance which God has given us, or the hope of
 
 272 STATE OF SCOTLAND IN 1601. [1601. 
 
 our obtaining payment for them from his Holiness, which 
 they consider us bound to do, because they risk their 
 lives and property for us, which is no doubt actually the 
 case. The remuneration of these persons we have left 
 entirely to the wisdom of your Paternity, since we can 
 neither perform nor promise anything without the ex- 
 press knowledge, advice, and direction of your Paternity, 
 as obedient children. 
 
 " The extent of our field of labour, our mode of oper- 
 ation, and the results which are to be expected, will be 
 sufficiently described by the bearer of this letter, who 
 has passed through almost the whole district in the 
 course of his travels, and has visited and conversed with 
 each one of us. 
 
 " In my opinion the harvest is not so great but that 
 the workers, at present engaged in it, are sufficient for 
 the task ; and, whatever others of our brethren may 
 have written as to sending more labourers, I think, on 
 the contrary, that there is no immediate hurry about 
 sending any until the condition of public affairs becomes 
 more peaceful, and our Lord sends us greater freedom. 
 Whereas, if only one single additional Father landed in 
 Scotland, we should only suffer from fresh tumults and 
 severer persecution, and the ministers would, in their 
 addresses from the pulpit, multiply that one into 
 twenty. . . . 
 
 The Queen. 
 
 " Three years ago, on the feast of St. Peter in vinculis, 
 the Queen sent for one of our Fathers, and secretly told 
 him of her ardent desire to embrace the Catholic religion, 
 and renounce every heresy. After much conversation 
 she entreated him to stay three days, that he might in- 
 struct her fully in the Catholic doctrine and ceremonies,
 
 1601.1 THE STATE OF SCOTLAND IN 1601. 273 
 
 which he did willingly, to the great satisfaction of both. 
 On the fourth day, full of holy joy, she made her renun- 
 ciation and general confession, and having heard Mass 
 twice, received the most holy Sacrament, with the 
 utmost spiritual joy, in the presence of only a few persons 
 of rank. During the three years which have elapsed 
 since, she has received some nine or ten times, always 
 sending for one of our Fathers for the purpose. In the 
 first year of her reconciliation she was very desirous to 
 render due Christian homage to his Holiness by letter, 
 and accordingly enjoined her spiritual father to dic- 
 tate a suitable letter for her to write to his Holiness, 
 informing him of her reconciliation with the Catholic 
 Church, and tendering her obedience and respect. She 
 also wrote a letter, addressed to your Paternity, request- 
 ing you to act as her advocate with his Holiness. 
 Both these letters were written out, signed and sealed, 
 with the Queen's own hand. The person selected by her 
 Majesty to convey these letters, James Wood of Boniton, 
 took charge of them ; but was shortly afterwards, 
 as you have heard, taken prisoner and beheaded. He 
 lost his life, beyond all doubt, in behalf of the Catholic 
 religion, for, had he been a heretic, he would certainly 
 not have exposed himself to such a death. God, for His 
 greater glory, and the preservation of the innocent 
 Queen, did not permit the letters to be intercepted, and 
 Boniton had them secretly conveyed to me just before 
 his trial. After his martyrdom, we asked the Queen 
 what she would wish to be done with them, and whether 
 they should be destroyed. She replied that they were 
 not on any account to be destroyed, that she did 
 not abandon her pious purpose of sending them, but 
 would add three others to explain the cause of the 
 long and unfortunate delay, and the accident which 
 
 s
 
 274 JAMES' ACCESSION TO THE ENGLISH CROWN. [1603. 
 
 had led to it. One of these was addressed to his Holi- 
 ness, another to the illustrious Cardinal Aldobrandini, 
 and the third to your Paternity ; and after they had 
 been dictated to her, she wrote them out, signed them 
 with her own hand, and sealed them, as she had done 
 the other two last. They were all to have been 
 despatched to your Paternity last summer, by a noble- 
 man who was a member of the Queen's household ; but 
 I am ashamed to own that this was prevented through 
 want of money. I should hardly venture to write this 
 down, only I know to whom I am writing, and in whose 
 presence; and that your Paternity, in whom the poor 
 Queen reposes her greatest hopes, will regard her situa- 
 tion with compassion. The fact is, the letters are still in 
 the hands of the honest gentleman, who keeps them 
 quite safe. Her Majesty has promised every day, for the 
 last year, to send the money requisite for their despatch, 
 but has never been able to do so. I hope, however, they 
 will reach you early in the spring. 
 
 " I thought it best, for several reasons, to send this 
 account to your Paternity at the present time, because I 
 have found one who can be trusted to carry the letter." 1 
 
 The days of Elizabeth were drawing fast to a close. 
 Practically all doubt as to the succession had vanished, 
 and nearly the whole of England was ready to accept 
 James. With him both Cecil and Essex were in corres- 
 pondence. Cecil recommended silence and delay, assur- 
 ing the Scottish King that all parties were gradually 
 inclining in his favour. 
 
 Queen Elizabeth on her death-bed recognised the title 
 of her kinsman James, and when she expired, on the 
 24th of March 1603, the whole nation seemed ready to 
 welcome him with joy and pleasure. 
 
 1 Archives of the Society of Jesus. See Notes and Illustrations.
 
 II. 
 
 LETTERS AND MEMORIALS OF THE STATE AND 
 PROGRESS OF EVENTS FROM 1603 TO 1625. 
 
 Catholics thought they might look for some sympathy 
 from the son of Mary Stuart, but their hopes were 
 speedily and rudely disappointed. James yielded to 
 the popular clamour, and issued a proclamation, by which 
 he strictly commanded all priests to depart the realm 
 within less than a month, upon pain of having the laws 
 executed agaiust them, without the least favour or mercy. 1 
 In September 1604, twenty-one priests and three laymen 
 were taken out of various prisons and placed on board 
 a ship to be transported to perpetual banishment. 
 Two years later, no fewer than forty-seven priests were 
 subjected to the same treatment. 2 All the sanguinary 
 laws enacted by Queen Elizabeth, were put into force 
 by James, and he "revived the barbarous usage and 
 tyranny that the rackmasters and tormentors, the in- 
 ferior officers and examiners, had used in the causes of 
 Catholics for many years." 2 
 
 While the king inflicted such severities on his subjects 
 in England, the persecution was continued in Scotland. 
 Its progress is described in the following correspondence 
 of the missionaries then labouring in various parts of the 
 country. 
 
 1 Feb. 22, 1605, cf. Camden's Annals of James the First. 
 
 2 " Apology of T. F. in defence of himself and other Catholics," p. 4.
 
 276 LETTER OF FR. ALEXANDER MACQUHIRRIE. [1604. 
 
 Fr. Alexander MacQuhirrie to Fr. Aguaviva, General 
 
 of the Society. 
 " I will briefly relate such of the occurrences during the 
 last year, and the commencement of the present one, 
 as are pleasant to tell and worth recording. On the 
 King's progress into England, to take possession of the 
 throne, the ministers met him in considerable numbers, 
 not with the threats and comminations they were wont 
 to use, but with the most abject flattery, preferring at the 
 same time three requests to him. One was, that he would 
 not alter their form of worship, for they were much 
 afraid of being subjected to what is called the English 
 discipline, against their will. The next, that Bruce who 
 had, some years ago, with the aid of a considerable 
 body of the nobility, held the city of Edinburgh against 
 the authority of the King and Council, should be rein- 
 stated in the post formerly held by him among the 
 ministers of that town, and in the administration of the 
 state, from which he had been deposed. The third was, 
 that James would order a more strict execution of the laws 
 against the Catholics. The King promised to reply to 
 their questions fully and deliberately, on the following 
 day, and appointed the place where he would meet 
 them ; but he changed his route, and hurrying on his 
 way, left them without an answer. Since that time the 
 ministers speak less freely in their sermons about public 
 affairs, and in their own assemblies complain only of 
 private injuries, and that secretly. They fear the worst, 
 but they relax nothing of their virulence and venom 
 against the Catholics. Some of these last have met 
 their attacks with great courage, and many, perceiving, 
 at length, that joining with heretics in public worship 
 is inconsistent with the profession of the faith, have
 
 1604.] LETTER OF FR. ALEXANDER MACQUHIRRIE. 277 
 
 begun to stand firm. I pressed this upon them when I 
 
 came back from England, urging each to provide for his 
 
 own salvation, and I am in hopes that many, with 
 
 whom I have earnestly conferred on the subject, will 
 
 change their minds, and come to regard the matter as of 
 
 more consequence than they have thought it hitherto. 
 
 "Al. Macquhirrie." 
 "Jan. 21, 1604." 1 
 
 Fr. MacQuhirrie to Fr. Aquaviva, General of the Society. 
 
 "Very Reverend Father in Christ, — . . . The 
 state of things at present may be summed up in very 
 few words, for everything just now depends upon the 
 proposed union of Scotland and England in one king- 
 dom, — a project which seems to me very difficult of 
 execution ; and better judges than myself consider it 
 impracticable. A number of our nobles, entrusted with 
 the conduct of the negotiation, are to go to London for 
 the purpose next October, by the King's desire. Should 
 the union be carried out, one system of law will prevail 
 in both countries. At present they are very different, 
 the English laws being founded mainly on the municipal, 
 and ours on the civil, division of the Roman code. The 
 result to be expected is that Scottish Catholics will be 
 liable to the English penalties for non-attendance on 
 public worship, and will consequently be enabled to 
 compound for a payment in money. This will at once 
 give us a great accession in numbers, and yield quite a 
 harvest; such composition being at present not per- 
 mitted by the severity of the Scottish law, which abso- 
 lutely enforces forfeiture of goods, loss of liberty, or 
 banishment upon all who openly profess the Catholic 
 
 1 Archives of the Society of Jesus.
 
 278 LETTER OF FR. ALEXANDER MACQUHIRRIE. [1604. 
 
 faith. This is the only reason of the slender harvest we 
 reap, and it will doubtless be richer in future, if we are 
 allowed to live under the English law. It is impossible 
 at present to maintain any but a very small staff of 
 workers, because people are forbidden to receive us, 
 under the same penalties by which they themselves are 
 driven to the kirk, and with so cruel a restriction we 
 labour in vain. Very few indeed will run so great a 
 risk, and almost all, one perhaps here and there excepted, 
 comply with the requirements of the law. They take us 
 for fools, when we remind them of the duties on which 
 their salvation depends ; and, what is worse, they gen- 
 erally tell us it is easy enough for us to give such advice, 
 because we have nothing to lose, or nothing worth 
 regretting if we did lose it, and that were it to come to 
 the worst, we can always go back to our college. To 
 such a pass has heresy brought these poor people ! Some 
 of them feel deeply the misery of their position, and for 
 those we always have great compassion. In a certain 
 degree they reward our efforts, since every now and 
 then they come to their senses, and for a time remain 
 firm in their purpose. 
 
 "Burnet." 1 
 
 "From Scotland, 7th September, 1604." 2 
 
 Ft. James Seton to Ft. C. Aquaviva, General of the 
 
 Society of Jesus. 
 
 " Very Eev. Father in Christ, — The persecution 
 in Scotland does not cease or lessen since the departure 
 of the King. The government is entirely in the hands 
 of the Lord Alexander Seton, whom the King has made 
 
 1 i.e., Alexander MacQuhirrie. 
 
 2 Archives of the Society of Jesus, vol. Scotia.
 
 1605.] LETTER OF FR. JAMES SETON. 279 
 
 Earl of Dunfermline, and who is favourably known to 
 your Paternity. He is, or should be, abbot of that place, 
 where there was once a famous monastery. He was for- 
 merly President of the Council, and is now Chancellor of 
 the Kingdom. The Viceroy is the Earl of Montrose, the 
 President of the Council the Lord James Elphinston, 
 brother of Father George ; but they are all directed by 
 Lord Alexander Seton. He is a Catholic, as is also 
 the Lord President and the Koyal Advocate. In political 
 wisdom, in learning, in high birth, wealth, and authority, 
 he possesses far more influence than the rest, and his 
 power is universally acknowledged. But he publicly 
 professes the state religion, rendering external obedience 
 to the King and the ministers, and goes occasionally, 
 though rarely, to the sermons, sometimes to their hereti- 
 cal communion. He has also subscribed their confession 
 of faith, without which he would not be able to retain 
 peaceable possession of the rank, office, and estates with 
 which he is so richly endowed. He has brought all the 
 principal men of the kingdom round to the same view, 
 and very few venture to differ from him, owing to his 
 eloquence, learning, and authority. Two or three times 
 a year he comes to Catholic confession and communion 
 with his mother, brother, sister, and nephews, who are 
 better Catholics than himself ! Among those holding the 
 same opinion is Mr John Colvill, an aged man, who 
 became a Catholic after living forty years in heresy, and 
 w T hom your Paternity has seen and assisted with money 
 in Rome. This gentleman persuaded the illustrious 
 Cardinal de Baffoli, when nuncio at Paris, that there 
 was great hope of the conversion of the King of England, 
 and that he ought to treat him as a friend. 
 
 " James Seton." 
 
 "Sept. 30, 1605." ! 
 
 1 Archives, S. J.
 
 280 LETTER OF FR. ROBERT ABERCROMBY. T1605. 
 
 Fr. Robert Abercromby to Fr. Claud Aquaviva, General 
 
 of the Society of Jesus. 
 
 " Very Eev. Father, — P. C. — . . . I am now, Reverend 
 Father, ready to be sacrificed, and the time of my dissolu- 
 tion is at hand. I am seventy years old, and afflicted by 
 several maladies ; my head is never at rest, except when 
 asleep ; my hands tremble, my legs swell, my feet are 
 pained with gout, my thighs with sciatica, my whole 
 body is racked now with fever, now with other com- 
 plaints. Added to all this is the continual and cruel 
 persecution which I suffer at the hands of the ministers 
 of the Word (as they are called), who are so enraged at 
 my having celebrated one Mass at Perth in the presence 
 of some noble ladies, that they have sent after me to 
 several places to get me apprehended and punished. 
 The consequence is that ever since that time, which was 
 the Holy Week of last year, I have been obliged to 
 conceal myself in the north of Scotland, under the 
 protection of the Marquis of Huntly, where I continue 
 to carry on the work of our Society. I have, within a 
 short time, brought nineteen persons into the bosom of 
 the Church, who were never Catholics before, and I have 
 brought back to the true sacraments some who, for 
 forty-six years, have kept away from Catholic com- 
 munion, and contented themselves with the unholy rites 
 of the Calvinists. Your Reverence would not believe 
 what joy they manifested while they were being in- 
 structed in the doctrine of the Catechism, and discovered 
 the falsehoods which had been passed off on them by 
 the ministers. The great men in this place complain 
 that there are not more of us, and wonder no others are 
 sent. 1 
 
 " Robert Abercromby." 
 
 1 Latin MS. Archives, S. J.
 
 1605.] LETTER OF FR. WILLIAM CRICHTON. 281 
 
 Fr. Cricliton to Fr. Claud Aquaviva. 
 
 "Very Reverend Father in Christ, — P. C. — 
 Father James Gordon has summoned Fr. Anderson to 
 Bordeaux, with the view of sending him to Scotland, 
 under the impression that the persecution is coming 
 entirely to an end, for he writes to tell me there now 
 exists very little opposition, or none at all. This good 
 Father is much too sanguine ; it was he who believed the 
 King himself to be a Catholic, in Pope Clement's time. 
 Father Gordon thinks the recent disputation which the 
 King has caused to be held between the English minis- 
 ters and the Scottish puritan or Calvinist divines, will 
 give an accession of strength to the Catholic party, as a 
 result of the King's secession from the cause of the 
 puritans and Calvinists to that of the English ministers. I 
 am of a contrary opinion. His Majesty's abandonment of 
 errors which were manifestly inexcusable, while he obstin- 
 ately adheres to other errors, fewer in number and more 
 easily tolerated, makes the ground still more difficult for 
 the Catholics whose object is to expose the falseness of his 
 belief ; because the more obvious and intolerable error is, 
 the more clearly and easily is it exposed. Father Cotton 
 writes that James is proceeding to confirm the laws passed 
 in the reign of the late Queen against the Catholics. In 
 Scotland he has deprived the ministers of no part of their 
 power of exercising cruelty towards Catholics, nor has 
 their malice at all abated. The Catholics in Scotland 
 have this much comfort, that the rulers of the kingdom, 
 whom he has appointed, are all in favour of their cause. 
 The Viceroy, the Earl of Montrose, though a heretic, is 
 friendly to the Catholics, and the Lord Alexander Seton, 
 who is favourably known to your Paternity, and who is 
 Chancellor of the Kingdom, governs both the Viceroy and
 
 282 LETTER OF Fit. WILLIAM CRICHTOX. [1605. 
 
 the whole country. He continues a Catholic, though he 
 occasionally attends heretical sermons. The President of 
 the Council, the Lord James Elphinston, brother of 
 Father George Elphinston, is also a Catholic. But they 
 all carry on the government in conformity with the exi- 
 gencies of the times, while prudence and discretion are 
 as much required, to avoid offending them, as zeal in the 
 conversion of heretics. Lord Seton often said to me in 
 Scotland, when I urged him to support the Catholic 
 cause, ' be not eager to act before the time comes. I 
 have to live in Scotland, and I must give way to circum- 
 stances. When the opportunity presents itself, and there 
 is any hope of success, I shall not be sparing of my goods, 
 my blood, or my life, for the restoration of the Catholic 
 religion.' He is now all powerful in Scotland, but he 
 will attempt nothing until he sees a solid foundation for 
 hope. Meanwhile he takes his portion in this life, 
 though at the risk of that which is eternal. In my 
 opinion nothing is more important than caution, so as 
 not to offend the governing powers. If our Fathers act 
 with prudence and wariness, those in office will protect 
 us ; if not, they will j>ersecute and drive us out, for they 
 can do anything with Catholics, as well as with heretics. 
 The rulers of Scotland will prevent the ministers exercis- 
 ing cruelty or violence, but they will not depose them 
 from their authority. To return to Father Patrick 
 Anderson, it would be well to send him into Scotland, 
 and with a companion ; but he should not go by way of 
 Bordeaux, for that route is three times as long and 
 difficult as the other. The direct way is to travel by 
 Paris and Eouen, thence across to England, since Scots- 
 men have now no difficulty in traversing England, and 
 then to Scotland by the west, which is Father Patrick's 
 destination, and may easily be reached from England.
 
 1605.] LETTER OF FR. WILLIAM CRICHTON. 283 
 
 The Edo-HsIi Fathers at Rome will be able to recommend 
 him to those of our Fathers who are in England, and he 
 will travel much more safely through that country than 
 by sea. Scotchmen can go anywhere in England with- 
 out inquiry or annoyance. 
 
 " AVlLLIAM CrICHTON." 
 "Billom, July 20, 1605." ! 
 
 The Same to the Same. 
 
 "Very Rev. Father in Christ, — Pax X. Jesu. 
 — Ever since the accession of the Kino; of Scotland to 
 the kingdoms of England and Ireland, the Catholics 
 have awaited the liberty of conscience which he pro- 
 mised the Scots, before the death of the Queen of Eng- 
 land. That hope has now failed them. At the King's 
 last conference with his English, ministers he asserted his 
 opinion, in opposition to the Anglican doctrine that the 
 King is the head of the English Church, as well as 
 against the teaching of the Scottish heretics who deny 
 that the Roman Pontiff is the successor of St Peter. 
 Against both of these he declared that the Pontiff is the 
 head of the Church and the true successor of St Peter, 
 but that he is not to be obeyed, because he is outside the 
 truth of the Faith and the doctrine of the Gospel. This 
 is to assert the doctrine of the Lutherans. In conse- 
 quence of the King's view many think that his conver- 
 sion to the Catholic faith will be accomplished more 
 easily than heretofore. I am of an opposite opinion, for 
 the Lutherans, whose view he seems to have embraced, 
 are much more difficult of conversion to the Catholic 
 faith than the Calvinists, just because their errors are 
 fewer and less intolerable than those of the latter. In 
 the principal controversy, which is on the subject of the 
 1 Archives of the Society of Jesus. Latin MS.
 
 284 LETTER OF FR. WILLIAM CRICHTOX. [1605. 
 
 Holy Eucharist, they agree with the Catholics entirely, 
 except on the single point of transubstantiation. 
 Heretics are always convinced and converted more easily 
 and effectually, in proportion as their errors are more 
 numerous and more gross. It is of no advantage that 
 the King of England acknowledges the authority of the 
 Supreme Pontiff, while he refuses obedience to him ; for 
 this the Lutherans also do, and yet continue obstinate 
 enemies of the Church. I have no expectation of the 
 King of England ever being anything else, unless 
 God and man should combine to use force, and overthrow 
 the temporal dominion on which these laws regarding 
 religion rest and are grounded. The three kingdoms of 
 England, Ireland and Scotland, are all agreed in the 
 substance of their erroneous belief, but differ in their 
 mode of action. In England and Ireland religion 
 is enforced by the same laws, but they carry out 
 these laws in England in such a way as to allow 
 Catholics, who refuse to attend the heretical worship, 
 to pay a pecuniary fine. Those who receive a 
 Jesuit or a priest into their houses are apprehended 
 under charge of high treason, and condemned to death. 
 In Ireland no fine is paid, nor is there any inquiry as 
 to those who receive priests into their houses, the number 
 of Catholics in that country being too great. It is done 
 occasionally in some of the towns, but rarely, and in a 
 gentle manner. In Scotland, on the other hand, the 
 utmost severity is used, for the power of the heretical 
 ministers is so great that they can compel every one to 
 subscribe their false confession of faith, attend their 
 sermons, and take the profane supper of the Calvinist 
 rite, or else lose all his goods and go into banishment. 
 Catholics are cited by the minister to render obedience to 
 the law before a particular day, on pain of excommuni-
 
 1605.] LETTER OF FR. WILLIAM CRICIITON. 285 
 
 cation ; and forty days after this excommunication, if 
 they have not submitted, they are declared guilty of 
 high treason, their property is confiscated to the treasury, 
 and they are sent into exile. The Catholics are so un- 
 nerved by this severity that very few of them remain 
 firm ; but a very large number, now obedient to Satan, 
 would raise their hands once more, were an opportunity 
 given them of successfully asserting their liberty. Unless 
 God quickly looks upon them, they will become so callous 
 and obdurate in their sinful concession that it will be 
 extremely difficult, at a later period, to recall them to 
 Catholic practice, even if liberty of conscience were 
 accorded them. There are very few of our Fathers left 
 in Scotland to encourage the Catholics, and yet it would 
 be of no use to send many more, for they would only be 
 taken prisoners. The King has established in Scotland 
 a squadron of cavalry specially charged to apprehend 
 rebels, and under this title are included determined 
 Catholics who refuse obedience to the ministers, as well 
 as the Fathers of our Society, for whom diligent search 
 is made everywhere. The Scottish Catholics are not so 
 zealous as those in England, who take so much care to 
 construct hiding places in their houses for the preserva- 
 tion of the priests. Some should nevertheless be sent, 
 for Father Robert Abercromby is too much afflicted with 
 illness to be of any use whatever. Less danger exists in 
 the remoter parts of the country. I entreat your Pater- 
 nity to intercede with his Holiness to assist in some way 
 the Scotch seminaries in Rome and at Louvain. It is 
 true there is no apparent hope of the conversion of these 
 kingdoms, and still, I cannot but hope that they will 
 all three be converted in the lifetime of the present Pope. 
 I look for this event on account of the great number of 
 Catholics daily groaning under the cruel yoke of heresy,
 
 286 LETTER OF FR. WILLIAM CRICHTON. [1605. 
 
 and imploring the help of God, as well as because of the 
 earnest desire which his Holiness, when Cardinal, always 
 professed for the conversion of these countries, — a desire 
 which I cannot but think must be increased by his ac- 
 cession to the supreme dignity which he holds, after 
 Christ, on earth. There are some persons in whom the 
 diligence of the priests is able to preserve the faith, with 
 hope of their salvation ; but for the conversion of whole 
 kingdoms there is no hope, except that expressed in the 
 words used in the dedication of a church, ' Stones 
 beaten and polished, fitted in their places by the hands 
 of the builder, to remain in the sacred edifice.' Stones 
 are not wanting in sufficient number, but there are 
 wanting the architect and the lime to fit and cement 
 them in their places. May God inspire those to whom 
 this, His work, specially belongs. It is of very great 
 importance that such Fathers of the Society as have 
 it in their power to afford consolation to the Scottish 
 Catholics, should either go to Scotland, or come nearer 
 to it, as for instance to Rouen. I would willingly offer 
 my own services, but my age, now very far advanced, 
 renders it impossible for me to bear the labours which 
 the present disturbed state of the country would impose. 
 In England the peril is very considerable, but the toil is 
 not so great, and the means of safety are more obtainable, 
 on account of the great charity and diligence which the 
 English Catholics show in providing for the security of 
 the priests. I have nothing more to add. ... I 
 earnestly commend myself to the most holy sacrifices 
 and prayers of your Paternity, whom may the Lord 
 Jesus long preserve in safety, to His Church and to us. 
 
 "William Crichton." 
 "Billom, Sept. 30, 1605." J 
 
 1 Archives of the Society of Jesus.
 
 1605.] PERSECUTION OF CATHOLICS IN ENGLAND. 287 
 
 The increasing persecution of Catholics in England 
 led in November 1G05 to the notorious Gunpowder Plot, 
 and upon its failure all Catholics, even those who had 
 no share in it, suffered grievously for the guilt of a few 
 desperate men. Although the Catholic Lord Mounteagle, 
 who had been cautioned to keep clear of St Stephen's, 
 revealed what he knew of the plot, and although the 
 Catholics of England and the Continent raised a sincere 
 cry of horror at the news, it has been termed, often 
 maliciously so, the Popish Plot. 1 Nothing was now too 
 bad to be believed of Catholics : to tolerate them was, in 
 the language of Abbot Archbishop of Canterbury, to 
 commit a deed " hateful to God ; " and to prosecute them 
 to the death was " to advance His glory." No time was 
 lost in enacting a new penal code containing seventy 
 fresh articles whilst the existing laws were executed with 
 relentless severity. Eighteen priests and seven laymen 
 suffered death for the mere exercise of their religion. 
 One hundred and twenty-eight priests were banished ; 
 the heavy fine of twenty pounds a month was exacted 
 with the utmost rigour from every Catholic who did not 
 attend the service of the established church ; and a new 
 
 1 Father Garnet's trial was conducted so as to prove, cost what it 
 might, the guilt of the Catholic priesthood, and in particular of the 
 Jesuits. In his examination contradictory statements were recorded 
 which he did not acknowledge as his own; the rack was freely employed 
 to force the desired confession from him and the other accused ; no 
 heed was paid to the binding nature of the seal of confession for a 
 Catholic Priest. What effectual measures the Jesuits cuuld have 
 taken to hinder the Gunpowder Plot without breaking the seal of 
 confession, which is binding on a Catholic priest under all circum- 
 stances, has as yet never been made known. Cf. " Lingard's History 
 of England," ix. p. 59, seq. ; " The Condition of Catholics under James 
 I.," and " Father Gerard's Narrative of the Gunpowder Plot," by John 
 Morris, S.J., Loud. 1871.
 
 288 PERSECUTION OF CATHOLICS IN ENGLAND. [1605. 
 
 oath of allegiance was framed in terms which no Catholic 
 could subscribe without committing an act of apostacy, 
 whilst to refuse it subjected him to all the penalties of 
 high treason. 
 
 James had special motives for encouraging the perse- 
 cution in Scotland. Being the head of the Church of 
 England, he had naturally aspired to the same pre- 
 eminence in his native kingdom. The maxim, " No 
 bishop, no king," was moreover deeply impressed on his 
 mind, and he saw danger to the throne in the growing 
 independence of the Kirk. Hence he resolved to over- 
 throw the fabric raised by Knox and to re-establish 
 Episcopacy. An Act of Parliament restored the Episcopal 
 estate, and another Act was extorted by menace and 
 bribery from the General Assembly, appointing the 
 Bishops moderators both of the Synods and of the 
 presbyteries within which they officiated. 1 A com- 
 mission was instituted in every diocese, consisting of 
 the bishop and some influential laymen, invested with 
 power to arrest and imprison any one they pleased. 
 The Kirk was bound hand and foot and its voice stifled. 
 
 The Kino; owed the success of the negotiation to George 
 Home, Lord Treasurer and Earl of Dunbar. This noble- 
 man began by intimidating the ministers, who had 
 assembled without the royal permission at Aberdeen. 
 Six of the most refractory were tried and condemned 
 to banishment. The sentence frightened their colleagues, 
 and a timely distribution of forty thousand marks did 
 the rest. 
 
 1 Calderwood affirms that money was given in payment of votes, 
 though under the name of defraying travelling expenses. (History, 
 vol. vii., 97.) Spottiswood declares that this money was given only 
 as the payment of the stipulated salaries of the permanent moderators. 
 (History, lib. vii., p. 513.)
 
 1605.] PERSECUTION OF CATHOLICS IN ENGLAND. 289 
 
 To induce the refractory Ministers to yield to the 
 wishes of the King, with respect to the superiority 
 of bishops, he placed at their mercy the persons 
 and property of the idolatrous papists. "This," says 
 Balfour, " was taken as cream and oil to soften 
 and smooth the King's mysterious designs." 1 Some of 
 the ministers, however, had no great faith in that show 
 of generosity. Law, Bishop of Orkney, endeavoured to 
 reassure them. "They shall call me a false knave," 
 said he, " and never to be believed again, if the papists 
 be not sae handled as they never were in Scotland." 2 At 
 last the compromise was accepted. The parliament 
 enacted laws of recusancy ; the clergy issued sentences 
 of excommunication, and every Catholic nobleman was 
 compelled to receive an orthodox minister into his 
 family, and was forewarned that, unless he should con- 
 form within a given period, his obstinacy would be 
 punished with the judgment of forfeiture. At the same 
 time, the prisons were rilled with victims of inferior 
 quality ; and so severe was the persecution, that, accord- 
 ing to the statement of the French Ambassador, the fate 
 of the Scottish, was still more deserving of pity than 
 that of the English, Catholics. 3 
 
 A loud cry for more fierce persecutions was raised by 
 
 1 " The progress of persecution against the Catholics may be traced 
 all through this period by the equal progress of the King's measures 
 for introducing the Episcopal system into the Church. The King is 
 so anxious to establish the English religion in that country, and get 
 himself recognised as its head, as he is here, that in order to gain 
 over the puritans, who are the only obstacle to his wishes, he has 
 given them free leave to oppress the Catholics to their heart's 
 content." (" Ambassade de Monsieur de la Boderic," vol. iv. p. 23.) 
 Robert Chambers' Domestic Annals of Scotland, vol. i. p. 41 5. 
 
 2 Balfour, Annals, ii. 18. 
 
 3 Melville's Diary, p. 6S8. 
 
 T
 
 290 LETTER OF FR. ABERCROMBY. [1609. 
 
 the leaders of the Kirk, and on the 24th of June 1609, 
 the parliament, assembled at Edinburgh, passed new 
 penal statutes against Catholics. The Earls of Huntly, 
 Angus, and Errol were imprisoned for returning to the 
 Catholic Church. Huntly once more subscribed the 
 Confession of Faith, but Errol and Angus refused to 
 subscribe. Angus went into exile rather than forsake his 
 faith. The laird of Gight and the laird of Newton, both 
 Gordons, and both Catholics, were sentenced by the 
 privy Council to perpetual banishment and never to set 
 foot in Scotland, under pain of death, unless they 
 professed the Protestant faith. 
 
 " I went to Scotland last June," wrote Fr. Aber- 
 cromby, " and the only one of ours I found there was 
 Fr. Anderson. The state of this poor kingdom is most 
 lamentable. Catholics are forced to go to the churches 
 of heretics, and very few resist. The Marquis of 
 Huntly and the Earl of Errol are still in prison for their 
 faith. The Earl of Dunbar, sent this summer by the 
 King to Scotland, lias roused still greater persecution. 
 Fr. Andrew Crichton and Fr. Roger Lindsay were taken 
 prisoners, and Fr. Anderson and myself escaped with 
 the greatest difficulty. Fr. Anderson fled to the North, 
 and I took refuge in Ed gland ; but in a few days I 
 propose to return to Scotland, where a great many 
 would embrace the true Faith, were it not for fear of 
 being thrown into prison and of losing their property. 
 The system of persecution followed is first to excom- 
 municate the Catholic landowner, who afterwards is 
 either banished from the country, or sent to prison and 
 deprived of all his goods. If the wife be a Catholic, 
 she is excommunicated, and her husband is not allowed 
 to keep her in the house ; and, if the husband is a 
 heretic, the ministers and the magistrates allow him to
 
 1010.] MISSIONARY EXCURSIONS. 291 
 
 take another wife according to the present laws of the 
 country. Should the children or the servants be 
 Catholics, they are likewise excommunicated, and the 
 parents are obliged to turn them out of the house. Ours 
 have scarcely where to go, but are obliged to lie 
 unknown in the houses of heretics, or at some inn. May 
 our Lord give them grace and patience to bear all for 
 Him." l 
 
 Father Anderson, who had now spent two years in 
 Scotland, has left us some interesting notes of his 
 missionary work. He was especially qualified to bear 
 witness to the state of the Church in Scotland during 
 the reign of James the First. His missionary excursions 
 extended over both the Highlands and Lowlands ; he 
 was conversant with all classes, rich and poor alike, and 
 was greatly trusted and esteemed by all. 
 
 The numerous examples of heroic defence of the faith, 
 especially on the part of converts, which Fr. Anderson 
 quotes in his Memorial, 2 and which took place, not only 
 amongst the poor and uneducated, but principally 
 amongst the Scotch nobility, show how large a propor- 
 tion of noble families were firmly attached to the 
 Catholic Religion. 3 
 
 The only extract that we shall take from Father 
 Anderson's Memorial is his description of a very bitter 
 mode of persecution, to which little attention is drawn 
 in our days. 
 
 " When one thinks cf the persecution which now 
 
 1 Letter of Fr. Thomas Abercromby to Fr. Claud Aquaviva, 3 
 October 1610, Stonyhurst Archives, Latin MS. 
 
 2 It was printed in the Catholic periodical "The Month," 1876. 
 
 3 The Scottish Catholics are said, in Winwood, iii. 52, to amount 
 to twenty-seven earls and barons, and two hundred and forty knights 
 and gentlemen. See also Spotiswood, 502, 5, 6, 9, 13.
 
 292 MISSIONARY EXCURSIONS. [1611. 
 
 rages in Scotland, it seems impossible that anyone could 
 have undergone it. First, if anyone profess the Catholic 
 religion, it is enough to make him hated by all his 
 heretic friends, and some are so bigoted that they will 
 not remain in the house with a Catholic, especially if he 
 has been excommunicated. Besides, the royal statutes 
 against Catholics are so severe, that anyone excom- 
 municated for being a Catholic is disqualified from 
 possessing his paternal estates, or from making a con- 
 tract with anyone, and is liable to prosecution for 
 attempting it. While I was writing these lines, a 
 certain nobleman who had been for sixteen years excom- 
 municated by the heretics, was summoned by them 
 to appear before the judge. He was charged with 
 owing a debt, for which he told me he was not 
 responsible. He did not dare to appear, or even to send 
 a procurator, as they term it, to plead his cause, and so 
 lost it. Again, no Catholic lady can be married without 
 attending the heretic churches. If, as often happens, 
 either through cunning or by skill, they manage to 
 evade this law, they are incredibly tormented by the 
 importunity of the ministers. For instance, a noble 
 lady, married to a certain baron, was much afflicted by 
 her husband, who besought her with prayers and tears, 
 in which his kinsfolk joined, to give up the Catholic 
 faith. Although steadfast and fearless, she fell into such 
 grief by reason of their pertinacity, that for a whole 
 year she never went to bed or rose up without shedding 
 floods of tears. She remained, however, so constant in 
 the Catholic faith, that she used to say she would rather 
 die than give it up, or do anything to the dishonour 
 of the Roman Church. 
 
 I could quote many similar instances. Thus heretics 
 avoid Catholic ladies. Hence it is difficult for the latter
 
 1611.] MISSIONARY EXCURSIONS. 29 
 
 •> 
 
 to marry, and many of tliem wish to lead a religious life. 
 A Catholic heir may be disinherited by his heretic father. 
 If any one is suspected of being a Catholic, and does not 
 frequent the heretical churches, he is first cited by the 
 ministers to give a reason : this if he fail to do, he is 
 excommunicated, and if he remain a year under the 
 excommunication, all his goods and chattels are con- 
 fiscated, and if caught he is cast into prison. Thus 
 it is that excommunicated Catholics are unable to 
 frequent the society of others, or to walk openly in the 
 streets. They walk at night only, and secretly, to the 
 great detriment of their health, and risk of their 
 property. The hatred of the people for any excom- 
 municated person is marvellous. They will neither eat 
 nor drink with him, and if a heretic speak with an 
 excommunicated Catholic, the ministers either excom- 
 municate him, or sentence him to some public and 
 shameful penance. The contrivances and stratagems by 
 which Catholics evade going to the ministers' churches 
 are truly wonderful, now feigning sickness, now the 
 intention of leaving, now imaginary actions at law. 
 Now they bribe the ministers to silence, now they try 
 one thins; and now another. As an instance I will add 
 this amusing invention of a certain Catholic. He is so 
 steadfast in the Catholic faith, that when the ministers 
 cited him to appear before his congregation, as they call 
 it, he beiran to shuffle and sent one excuse after another. 
 They decreed the excommunication unless he satisfied 
 them. The Catholic then unfolded his plan to his 
 servant, and to a surgeon and public notary, who were 
 his friends ; and these pledged their faith to stand by 
 him. The nobleman mounted his horse in presence of 
 the surgeon and of the notary. They set out on their 
 way, but as soon as they had reached a place safe from 
 
 /
 
 294 MISSIONARY EXCURSIONS. [1611. 
 
 observation, the nobleman jumped off his horse and 
 cried out that his leg was broken. People ran up, for he 
 was very well known in that neighbourhood, and friends 
 and kinsfolk began to condole with him. The surgeon 
 talked of the nature and danger of a broken leg, and 
 applied some poultices and fomentations, while the 
 notary drew out a written attestation of the accident. 
 Thus our Catholic friend was able to evade their excom- 
 munication for a whole year. He walked about with 
 such ingenious lameness, leaning on his stick, that any- 
 one would have believed his leg to have been really 
 broken. His halting gait certainly deceived me, but he 
 told me the whole truth with great delight, when I went 
 to give him the holy Sacraments of the Church. 
 
 " It would be too long to recapitulate all the laws and 
 statutes issued against Catholics, by which the persecu- 
 tion is carried on. One thing is certain ; the violence 
 shown here in Scotland is greater than in England, 
 where Catholics (whom they name recusants) are allowed 
 to pay a fine to the king, instead of going to the 
 churches of the ministers. The Scotch Catholics have 
 never been able to obtain this alternative from the King 
 for love or money. I say nothing of the abundance of 
 pastors, nor of Catholic books, which surely are a great 
 help in such times. But here in Scotland there is not 
 one of our Fathers working except myself, and only one 
 secular priest, who is worn out with years and sickness. 
 
 " Though the severity of the persecution, to which I 
 nave briefly alluded, is so great, yet the steadfastness of 
 the Catholics is so strong, their numbers so large, and 
 the eagerness of their souls to approach the Divine 
 Mysteries so keen, that they seem to have inherited the 
 fervour of the primitive Christians. God confirms their 
 zeal and constancy by many miracles."
 
 1611.] LETTER OF Fit. J. GORDON. 295 
 
 Father Anderson concludes with these words : " Under 
 a daily increasing persecution, God still preserves an 
 immense number of Catholics, who remain steadfast in 
 spite of ridicule, loss of goods, imprisonment, infamy, 
 and the like ; and are ready to shed their blood for the 
 Catholic faith." 1 
 
 Father Anderson quitted Scotland for a period 
 towards the close of the year 1611, in obedience to 
 the orders of his superior, Father James Gordon. This 
 was considered an act of necessary precaution on account 
 of the violent persecution stirred up by his zeal and 
 success, and of the diligent search being made for him 
 on all sides. " The ministers are searching everywhere 
 for me, but I have many times escaped their hands by 
 an evident miracle. One of the chief consolations of a 
 son of the Society is that whether we die, or whether we 
 live, we live and die to Christ Jesus, and that to us to 
 live is the greatest consolation, and to die the greatest 
 gain. The Catholic nobility are stricken with grief at 
 my departure. Some of the more prudent, however, 
 judge it necessary on account of the present persecution, 
 and unanimously beg of your Paternity to appoint one 
 of our Scotch Fathers to reside in Paris. The nobility 
 of this country often go thither for amusement, and such 
 seems to be the only way in which we can assist 
 them." 2 
 
 Father Anderson retired to Rouen, and remained there 
 a few years to regain his strength. At the time of his 
 departure there was, says Father Gordon, but one priest 
 in all Scotland, and he very old and very infirm. 3 Two 
 
 1 Stonyhurst Archives. 
 
 2 MS. Letter to Father Aquaviva (Stonyhurst Archives). 25th 
 July 1611. 
 
 3 In this Father Gordon was mistaken ; a few other priests were 
 then concealed in Scotland.
 
 296 LETTER OF THE EARL OF ANGUS. [1611. 
 
 worthy secular priests, Andrew Creighton and Roger 
 Lindsay, had been apprehended in August 1610, and, 
 after suffering imprisonment, had been sentenced to 
 perpetual banishment. To supply this dearth, Father 
 Anderson had collected nearly one hundred promising 
 youths in Scotland, eager to serve God and the Church. 
 "They are very fit for the seminaries," wrote Fr. 
 Gordon, "but we have none into which we can admit 
 them." l 
 
 Meanwhile, on the death of the Earl of Dunbar, who, 
 as High Commissioner of the General Assembly, had 
 enjoyed unbounded influence in Scotland, and had 
 exercised great animosity against Catholics, a sudden 
 relaxation of the persecution became manifest. Fr. 
 Gordon deemed it advisable not to let the opportunity 
 escape, but to send over some missionaries into Scotland. 
 Fr. John Ogilvie 2 and Fr. James Moffat were selected. 
 
 " I entreat your reverence," wrote the Earl of Angus, 
 "to send none but such as both desire, and are able 
 to bear with a courageous heart, the burden and heat 
 of the day. For by our new law it is provided 
 that whoever receives a priest of the Society, or any 
 other into his house, or is present at Mass, or celebrates, 
 is held guilty of high treason." The Earl's anxiety 
 was well founded. Notwithstanding a momentary relax- 
 ation of the persecution, the fear of Popery had not died 
 away, and it was impossible to disabuse the minds of 
 the people of the groundless notion that the "Episcopacy," 
 forced by James upon the Scotch nation, was in some 
 way connected with the old faith. The Presbyterians 
 were accordingly looking anxiously to these new bishops 
 
 1 There was a Scotch seminary at Dotiay, but too small and too poor. 
 
 2 John Ogilvie was the eldest son of Walter Ogilvie of Drum, near 
 Keith.
 
 1615.] IMPRISONMENT OF FR. OGILVIE. 297 
 
 for some unmistakable proof of the sincerity of their 
 hatred toward the Catholic religion, such as the hanging 
 of a Jesuit clearly would be. The bishops were, on 
 their part, looking out with no less anxiety for some 
 means of conciliating the Presbyterians, and convincing 
 them of the unfounded character of their suspicions. It 
 was at this juncture that Father Ogilvie and Father 
 Moffat, accompanied by Friar John Campbell, Capuchin, 
 returned to Scotland in 1613. 
 
 The three missionaries travelled in disguise and under 
 assumed names. Father Osilvie took the name of 
 Watson, Father Moffat of Haly burton, and Friar 
 Campbell of Sinclair. The dress which Father Ogilvie 
 wore was that of a soldier, one not unsuitable to the 
 profession of a son of Ignatius Loyola. The wearing 
 of some disguise was not optional, it was a matter of 
 necessity, as it was well known that the government 
 had spies scattered over the continent, to pick up informa- 
 tion about the priests destined for the home missions. 
 The information thus obtained was forwarded to the 
 searchers of ships, who were ordered to apprehend " all 
 Jesuits, seminary priests, and excommunicated papists." l 
 
 The missionaries separated on their arrival in their 
 native land. Father oil vie went to the north, Friar 
 Campbell to Edinburgh, and Father Moffat to St 
 Andrews. For the first six months Father Moffat 
 succeeded in gathering a rich harvest of souls, and 
 found opportunity of celebrating Mass almost every 
 day after his landing, when, through the contrivance 
 of the Bishop of St Andrews, the Father was appre- 
 hended in his brother's house. 2 The Prelate's eldest 
 
 1 Spotiswood, "History of the Church," p. 506. 
 
 2 Archives of Stonyhurst College. Letter of Father James Gordon 
 to the General, 27th January 1615. Latin MS.
 
 2 08 IMPRISONMENT OF FR. OGILVIE. [1614. 
 
 son, Alexander Glaclstanes, even though Archdeacon, 
 did not consider it beneath his dignity to head the 
 guards who had arrested the prisoner, and to escort him 
 from St Andrews to Edinburgh, where he was shut up 
 in the strictest confinement within the castle. 
 
 Father Ogilvie spent six weeks in the north, and then 
 returned to Edinburgh, where he resided for nearly a 
 year till October 1614, at the house of William Sinclair. 1 
 He devoted all his time to the conversion of the old and 
 the young, of the noble aud the poor. " I know," says 
 an eye witness, " of a considerable number of persons 
 whom he converted from heresy to the obedience of the 
 Catholic faith during the short time he spent in Scotland 
 outside of prison. Among them were his fellow captives, 
 and two or three barons in Eenfrew, and some other 
 gentlemen. 2 He also visited the prisons at great risk 
 of his life, in order to give religious consolations to the 
 afflicted Catholics." 3 
 
 In August 1614 Father Oo-ilvie ventured into 
 
 o o 
 
 Glasgow, where Archbishop John Spottiswood held 
 supreme sway, both as prelate and magistrate. 4 Father 
 Ogilvie's labours were at first very successful, for he 
 received " sundrie young men " and many persons " of 
 the better sorte." 5 This is confirmed by the Records 
 
 1 Archives, S.J. " Proceedings of the trial and mode of death of 
 Father John Ogilvie." Latin MS. 
 
 2 Ibid. 
 
 3 " He, in particular, visited Sir James Macdonald, a Catholic 
 gentlemen, imprisoned in Edinburgh Castle, whom he consoled with 
 pious counsel and encouragement. The wife of Sir James Macdonald 
 was Lady Margaret Campbell." Ibid. 
 
 4 Spottiswood held his own court and had his own officials, and 
 divided with the crown jurisdiction in temporals. 
 
 5 Calderwood, vol. vii. p. 193.
 
 1614.] IMPRISONMENT OF FR. OGILVIE. 209 
 
 of the proceedings which were taken against him. 1 
 1 rcachery, however, was soon at work, for on Tuesday, 
 the 14th of October, Father Ogilvie was seized by one of 
 the Archbishop's men in the place of public resort. 
 No description of what he suffered after his seizure can 
 excel that indited by himself. 2 
 
 " I was betrayed," he wrote, "by one of those whom I 
 was to have reconciled with the Church. The traitor be- 
 longed to a very high family, was very rich, and had been 
 recommended to me by many as a Catholic, and as one 
 who, for a long time, had been seeking some opportunity 
 of being reconciled. I intimated to him the hour which 
 would be convenient for me to instruct him. About 
 four o'clock in the afternoon I went out for a walk through 
 the streets with the magistrate's eldest son ; at a sign 
 given by my betrayer, there runs up to me a servant of 
 the Archbishop, a man of good family, and stalwart 
 withal, and orders me off to his Lordship. Imagining 
 that I was called to the Sheriff, the grandson of the 
 traitor (as we had arranged), I said that I would willingly 
 go, and accordingly turned back for the purpose. But 
 the son of the magistrate was loath to part with me, and 
 insisted on my first going to his house, although the 
 other man opposed it. Whilst, however, I am amicably 
 
 1 These documents show the following to have been in communica- 
 tion with him as a priest : the Earl of Eglinton, Lady Maxwell, Sir 
 James Kneilland of Monkland, David Maxwell, brother of Newark, 
 William Maxwell of Cowglen, John Wallace of Corsflat, Eobert Hey- 
 gate, merchant, a zealous Catholic, William Sinclair, advocate, &c. 
 
 2 Eelatio Incarcerationis et Martyrii P. Ioannis Ogilbei . . . de- 
 scripta Ad Verbum ex autographo ipsius. Duaci, 1615. 
 
 In 1615, the companions of his captivity solemnly declared the 
 authenticity and truthfulness of this memorial, and confirmed by oath 
 their declaration. ("Proceedings of the trial and mode of death of 
 Father John Ogilvie." Latin MS., Archives S.J.)
 
 q 
 
 00 IMPRISONMENT OF FR. OGILV1E. [1614. 
 
 arranging the dispute between the two, there is a con- 
 course of town-officers and citizens. They seize my 
 sword, and begin pushing me and pulling me about. I 
 inquire what harm I was doing % and whether they were 
 quite in their right senses ? I said that the others were 
 quarrelling amongst themselves, and that I had nothing 
 to do with it. No need for a long story. I am lifted up 
 by the united rush of the gathering crowd, and almost 
 borne away on their shoulders into the house of the 
 magistrate. They snatch away my cloak. I said that I 
 would not stir a step without my cloak, and thereupon 
 somebody promised me his ; but I wanted my own, and 
 at last got it away from them. I protested against the 
 inhumanity of the angry crowd, and promised them that 
 everybody should one day know how barbarously they 
 had treated me, when I was doing no harm to any one ; 
 and that, too, without any form of law taken out, or any 
 cause assigned. Whilst this was going on, the Bishop, 
 who stayed in another part of the city, was told that 
 those whom he had sent to me had been killed, that a 
 general slaughter was taking place, and that the city was 
 up in arms. As soon as he heard this statement, he 
 assembled the lairds and barons who happened to be at 
 that time in the city, and came with them, in a body, 
 into the street. He saw that everything was quiet there, 
 and inquired where I was. It was night by this time. 
 They told him that I was in the house of the magistrate 
 that day elected. Thither he hastened with his whole 
 company, and called me out as I was sitting between the 
 table and the wall. I obey, and he strikes me a blow, 
 and says : ' You were an over-insolent fellow, to say your 
 Masses in a reformed city.' I reply: 'You do not act 
 like a bishop, but like an executioner in striking me.' 
 Then, as though the signal had been thus given them,
 
 1614.] IMPRISONMENT OF FR. OGILVIE. 301 
 
 they shower their blows from all sides upon me, the hair 
 is plucked from my beard, my face is torn with their nails, 
 until Count Fleming, by his authority and by main force, 
 restrains those who were striking me. Then, whilst my 
 senses had barely returned from the stunning effect of so 
 many blows on my head, I am commanded to be stript. 
 Some men there immediately obeyed the order, untying 
 the strings and unfastening the buttons of my clothes ; 
 but when they are on the point of pulling off my shirt, 
 very shame brought me back to my senses, and I cried 
 out to know what such wanton insolence was for." * 
 
 Father Ogilvie was cast into prison that night. 
 Meanwhile Spottiswood had written as follows to the 
 Kino; : — 
 
 " Most sacred and gracious Sovereign, — It has 
 pleased God to cast into my hands a Jesuit that calls 
 himself Ogilvie. He came to this city and said some 
 Masses, at which we have tried eight of our burgesses 
 to being present. He was busy in preventing some 
 others that went too far with him, for some of them 
 presumed to resist my servants in his apprehension. 
 Himself will answer nothing that serves for discovering 
 his traffic in the country, that appears to be great. . . . 
 I will not trouble your Majesty with circumstance of 
 his apprehension and names of his partakers here, anent 
 whom I have written to your Highness's servant, John 
 Murray, more particularly. Only, I will crave your 
 Majesty's pardon to deliver my advice for the punish- 
 ment of these transgressors and the trial of the Jesuit, 
 because exemplary punishment is necessary in this case, 
 and by the laws their lives, lands, and whole estate are 
 in your Majesty's hands ; and the condition of the per- 
 
 1 An authentic account of the imprisonment and martyrdom of 
 Father John Ogilvie, translated by C. J. Karslake, S.J., Glasgow, 1877.
 
 302 IMPKISONMENT OF FR. OGILVIE. [1614. 
 
 sons offending is not equal, your Majesty would be 
 pleased to refer the determination thereof to my Lord 
 Treasurer, my Lord Kilsyth, my Lord Advocate, and 
 myself, as having here jurisdiction under your Majesty. 
 
 " Commissioners would be given for this effect, and 
 the Council commanded to depute one to the forenamed 
 persons for putting the transgressors to the law. 
 
 " Being tried guilty and put in your Majesty's will, 
 they would be fined according to their quality and 
 estate. . . . 
 
 " The fine your Majesty will be graciously pleased to 
 command the Treasurer divide with me, both in respect 
 that all are burgesses of the city ; and by the privilege 
 your Majesty's most noble predecessors have granted to 
 this see the escheats and forfeitures of all malefactors 
 fall to the bishop, and that, I may have wherewith to 
 recompense the discoverer and others that have served in 
 the business, to whom I have particularly obliged my- 
 self. . . . 
 
 " For the Jesuit, your Majesty may be pleased to 
 command him to be brought to Edinburgh, and exam- 
 ined by such of the Council as your Majesty shall please 
 to nominate ; of that number, the Secretary, Treasurer, 
 my Lord Kilsyth, my Lord Advocate, and myself, be- 
 cause I have the writings (writtis), would seem fittest. 
 
 " Thev would be commanded to use his examination 
 with great secrecy, and if he will not answer nor confess 
 ingenuously, to give him the Boots or the torture. . . ." 
 Spottiswood is for using " the boots" and " torture." 
 It is to be feared that nothing but Ogilvie's death will 
 satisfy him. 
 
 On the 15th of October, Father Ogilvie had passed 
 his first night in prison. He was faint and wearied. 
 He writes of himself : —
 
 1614.] TRIAL OF FR, OGILVIE. 30 
 
 o 
 
 " On the next clay I am led out of the prison to the 
 Episcopal palace, where there was a great concourse of 
 preachers and barons, and whither two had been sum- 
 moned from the Royal Parliament. I am brought up 
 accordingly, ill as I am still from the blows of the 
 previous day, and with an unusual trembling upon 
 me. . . . 
 
 " They asked if 1 had said Mass in the royal domi- 
 nions % 
 
 " R. If this is a crime it ought to be investigated, 
 not by my oath, but by witnesses. 
 
 " We have proved it, they say, by the testimony of 
 those who saw you. 
 
 " R. If the witnesses satisfy you on the point, all 
 right ; their testimony shall neither be weakened by my 
 denial, nor strengthened by my confession, until I see 
 fit. 
 
 " Then you are a priest, they say 1 
 
 " R. If you have proved to demonstration that I have 
 said Masses, by the same witnesses you will be convinced 
 that I am a priest, 
 
 "They ask, do you acknowledge the King? 
 
 " R. James is, de facto, King of Scotland. 
 
 " Here I was a little afraid ; but the stupid fellows, 
 not understanding law terms, did not know how to 
 examine further. . . . 
 
 " Once more I was asked if I had said any Masses 
 in the King's dominions ? 
 
 " R. This, by reason of the King's edicts and the 
 Acts of Parliament, would prejudice me and my neigh- 
 bour, and does not pertain to the King's forum, and 
 therefore I am not bound to say, because 1 am not bound 
 by any law to ruin myself and other innocent persons. 
 If they were judges, I say it was their duty to inquire
 
 304 TRIAL OF FR. OGILVIE. [1614. 
 
 after crimes, not after sacrifices. And I add that thefts, 
 treasons, homicides, poisonings, belonged to the King's 
 forum, not the sacraments of religion. Then they asked 
 me, what I had come to Scotland for ? 
 
 " R. To imteach heresy. 
 
 " They inquire who had given me jurisdiction, since 
 neither the King nor any bishop had given it. 
 
 " R. Neither King nor false pastor have any power 
 over sacred things, and could not therefore confer upon 
 others what they do not possess themselves. I have 
 received Christ's priesthood from his lawful vicar, who 
 alone has power in sacred things." 
 
 As Father Ogilvie insisted strongly upon this opinion, 
 and proved that the Roman Pontiff lias universal do- 
 minion in all matters belonging to religion, they inquired 
 if he was ready to subscribe this statement with his own 
 hand. " Yes, or with my own blood," he said. Then 
 they brought up the old story of the Powder Treason. 
 He repelled the calumny, and showed that Jesuits were 
 acknowledged to be entirely free from all blame with 
 regard to it, and reminded them of the numerous con- 
 spiracies in which they themselves had been engaged 
 against the King in former years, a retort which reduced 
 them to silence. 
 
 The court rose. Father Ogilvie was led down the 
 High Street to the Tolbooth, and thus ended that day's 
 proceedings. His narrative tells what followed. 
 
 " I am led back to prison October 15th, and two days 
 afterwards I am shut up in a cell ; after a little while I 
 am fastened with two rings to a lump of iron of about 
 two himdred pound in weight, shaped like a pole, so 
 that I could only sit and lie on my back, but could do 
 nothing else whatever, unless stand for a little while." 1 
 
 1 Authentic account.
 
 1614.] TRIAL OF FIX. OG1LVIE. 305 
 
 It will be remembered that Spottiswood had encour- 
 aged James to order Father Ogilvie to be subjected to 
 the torture of the boots. The hint was not lost upon 
 the king. 
 
 " Meanwhile," wrote Father Ogilvie, " a letter comes 
 back from London. I am ordered to be examined with 
 the leg torture of the boots that I may betray the places 
 and the persons of the Catholics. The commissioners 
 from the kino; arrive, and condemn to death fourteen 
 Catholics who were in prison with me, some to the 
 gallows and some to the wheel, and whilst the king is 
 asked about the carrying out of the sentence the con- 
 demned are shut up in different places, I am taken to 
 Edinburgh, and whilst I am being led through the crowd 
 of the friends and wives of the condemned I am greeted 
 with mud, snow, and curses, the provincial judge even 
 urermff them on to it, and although it was forbidden 
 by the servants of the bishop, the ministers looked on in 
 silence and did not try to stop it. I ride on gaily 
 through the streets as if I cared naught for it, so that 
 they are surprised at my coolness. I said in a loud 
 voice, according to the Scottish proverb, ' It's past 
 joking when the head's off.' 'Is there anything else 
 you may wish to do and say to me ? ' A certain woman 
 cursed 'my ugly face.' To whom I replied, 'The 
 blessing of Christ on your bonnie countenance ; ' there- 
 upon she openly protested she was sorry for what she 
 had said and would never more after that say anything 
 bad about me. The heretics took notice that I gave 
 back blessings for curses, and was good-humoured with 
 those who were angry. 
 
 "To avoid being recognised at Edinburgh by my 
 cloak, I changed it temporarily for my riding coat ; but 
 it was to no purpose. They bring in every day whom- 
 
 u
 
 306 TRIAL OF FR. OGILVIE. [1614. 
 
 soever they can, and question them if they had seen me 
 before, and in whose company, and in this way they 
 found out that many had been with me, and where I 
 had been. Then they spread about the report that I 
 had secretly betrayed those whom they had thus found 
 out, or whom they had made tell and betray others from 
 fear for their own safety. I stop at Edinburgh at the 
 bishop's house. The boots for torturing the legs are 
 brought forth, and I am every day threatened that they 
 will proceed to extremities, that so I may betray the 
 places and persons. If I would betray them they 
 promise me liberty and rewards, and if I should be 
 willing to turn heretic they promise me a provostship at 
 Moffat and a grand marriage. I said laughingly that, 
 from the similarity of the names, these ought to be 
 offered to Father Moffat, 1 not to me, who was an 
 Ogilvie." 
 
 The Lords Commissioners met, in virtue of James' 
 missive, on December 12. Father Ogilvie was now 
 again wearied with questions not unlike those which 
 had been put to him and answered on the 15th of 
 October. They were as follows : — 
 
 " When you came to this city where did you receive 
 hospitality % 
 
 " R. I say that I am not bound to tell the persons 
 and the places ; granted they were judges it was their 
 duty to look out for crimes, not for persons. . . . 
 
 " Your silence deepens our suspicions that you fear 
 lest your accomplices should betray you. 
 
 1 Father Moffat, who was then a close prisoner in Edinburgh 
 Castle, was tempted with a similar offer. "They offered me," he 
 wrote, " a bishopric, or the abbey of Coklingham, which is one of the 
 best in the country, and still retains its leaden roof." — (Stonyhurst 
 Archives, MS. Letter, 13th December 1615.)
 
 1614.] TRIAL OF FR. OGILV1E. 307 
 
 " R. You ask me to give up the mimes of those who 
 heard Mass — who were in communication with me. 
 That I cannot and will never do. First, because by 
 offending God, as a traitor who ruins his neighbour, I 
 should kill my own soul. Secondly, nor would it do 
 any good, but only harm, for the terror of you and the 
 king's rewards might make some inconstant person feign 
 that there was a conspiracy, to gain your favour and the 
 king's, and thus you might have some cloak for your 
 cruelty in taking my life, whom now, for fear of infamy, 
 you do not punish as you would wish to do. 
 
 " The king, they said, takes no one's life on account of 
 religion. 
 
 " R. And why, then, have the Glasgow prisoners been 
 condemned to the wheel and the gibbet ? 
 
 " This interchange of words ended in a threat : — 
 ' Pray do not force us to torture you according to the 
 king's command.' " 
 
 The judges did not much like to use the boots, because 
 it left permanent traces of the cruelty inflicted, and they 
 would fain have avoided the reproach of atrocious 
 barbarity. But though they shrank from the reproach of 
 cruelty, they did not shrink from cruelty itself. They 
 revived an old method of torture which did not en- 
 danger the victim's life, but impaired his firmness and 
 mental powers : this was to deprive him of sleep. 
 
 "For eight days and nine whole nights," says Father 
 Ogilvie, " they forced me to keep awake with styles, 
 pins, needles, and pinchings, threatening me meanwhile 
 with extraordinary tortures and promising me great 
 rewards, 1 so that the report of my watchings was spread 
 
 1 Authentic account, p. 26, The Historie of King James the Sext. 
 " This barbarous mode of extorting confession had been prevalent in 
 cases of witchcraft. Human nature could not long stand so exquisite
 
 308 TRIAL OF FR. OGILVIE. [1614. 
 
 through all Scotland, and many were indignant and 
 compassionated my case. Many lords and barons had 
 recourse to me, urging me to satisfy the King ; but when 
 they obtained nothing except reasons for reasons, the 
 bishop grew desperate and said that he would have given 
 a large sum of money never to have had anything to do 
 with me." 
 
 The nine nights of watching had run out. The com- 
 missioners summoned Father Ogilvie before them. He 
 admitted that he was quite exhausted. 
 
 " I was weak ; for the watching so weakened me that 
 I scarce knew what I said and what I did, or in what 
 place I was, and very often I knew not in what city I 
 was. 
 
 " They say unless you satisfy the King, there are more 
 horrible things coming. 
 
 " R. Try your worst, on with your boots ; with God 
 as my guide, I will show you that in this cause I care 
 no more for my legs than you for your leggings. I con- 
 sider myself born for greater things than to be overcome 
 by sense ; but I do not trust in myself but in the grace 
 of God." 
 
 The Royal Commission failed. Christmas was nigh, 
 and Archbishop Spottiswood had to repair to Glasgow 
 for its celebration. Being unwilling to leave his pri- 
 soner in Edinburgh, he ordered him to be led back 
 to Glasgow. Hence says Ogilvie : — 
 
 " I came to Glasgow on the vigil of our Lord's 
 nativity, and was then fastened by both feet to my iron 
 pole ; but now I am only fastened by one foot, with a 
 
 a torture. The suspected parties were often driven into a state of 
 delirium ; ami in many instances they must have heen glad to confess 
 anything which may have been proposed by their examinators, to 
 escape from a life held by such miserable torture." — (Pitcairn's 
 Criminal Trials, notes, vol. iii., p. 332.)
 
 1614.] TRIAL OF Fll. OGILVIE. 309 
 
 bolt and two iron chains binding the iron, lest I should 
 contract disease from always lying on my back." 1 
 
 In vain were threats uttered and rewards promised. 
 Their efforts were futile. Tortures were twice tried, and 
 twice failed. Father (Vilvie was immoveable. It was 
 determined at last he should be put to death. This was 
 glad news. The martyr breathed at ease, and joyfully 
 invited his friends to his wedding. The Catholics, how- 
 ever, had carefully prepared everything for his escape 
 from the archbishop's castle the night before his death. 
 We know from a contemporary account that " on the 
 night which preceded the martyrdom, Mr John Brown 
 of Lochhill, 2 father of the Rev. James Brown, S.J., 
 whilst making a visit of charity to Father Ogilvie in 
 prison, promised he would that night open to him a way 
 of escape, of saving his life and recovering his liberty. 
 The Father smiled affectionately, and embracing the dis- 
 tinguished gentleman with great marks of friendship, 
 expressed his extreme gratitude for the proffered kind- 
 ness, but assured him that death for so grand a cause 
 was more acceptable than any life, and that he looked 
 forward to it with so sincere a desire as to fear nothing 
 so much as that by any accident he should be snatched 
 from it." 3 The two rushed into one another's arms, and 
 the generous martyr begged Mr Brown not to leave the 
 city until God had completed what he had begun in 
 him. This Mr Brown promised he would faithfully 
 
 1 Authentic Account. 
 
 2 Lochhill belonged to a branch of the Browns of Carsluith, &c. 
 
 P. H. M'Kerlie, " History of the Lands and their Owners in 
 Galloway," vol. v. p. 16. 
 
 3 Document written and signed by Father James Brown, S.J., 
 who was Kector of Douay College in 1688. (Presholnie MSS.), 
 published by F. Karslake. Authentic Account, &c.
 
 310 TRIAL OF FR. OG1LVIE. [1615. 
 
 observe, and undertook to keep as close to the Father's 
 side as he could." 
 
 The rest of the night Father Ogilvie spent in prayer. 
 He was at first much wearied by the uproar of the 
 gaolers and others, but with the dawn there came quiet, 
 and then he could speak as he desired to Him whom in a 
 few moments he was to see face to face. Early in the 
 morning, on Tuesday, March 10, a magistrate arrived 
 with armed citizens to take him to the Town Hall. 
 
 "... They led him out of the prison, half dressed, 
 in a short cloak, torn under the arm, for the Archbishop's 
 steward had appropriated his own cloak for himself. 
 Whilst they proceed, people of all sexes and conditions 
 come runnino; together to the sight, and aniono-st them 
 the wives and relatives of his condemned fellow-pri- 
 soners who, a few days before, had heaped reproaches 
 upon him, and pelted him with snow balls, regarding 
 him as they did as the cause of all their miseries. But 
 now that the affair had been more thoroughly investi- 
 gated, and his innocence, constancy, and fidelity made 
 known, inasmuch as he had not discovered a single one 
 of the Catholics, they were invoking every blessing on 
 his head, and not without tears. And all the rest of 
 the crowd, even the heretics, were doing the same." 
 Father Ogilvie, in coming to court, was conducted to 
 the place where criminals sat. Sir William Elphinston 
 of Newton, read the indictment against the prisoner. 
 The jury all in one voice found the prisoner guilty, and 
 the dempster was summoned to read the sentence of 
 death. 
 
 " The martyr thanked them, and imparted his bless- 
 ing to the one who pronounced the sentence, and em- 
 braced him. He then thanked the rest, along with the 
 Archbishop, and giving them his right hand, said that
 
 1615.] MARTYRDOM OF FR. OGILV1E. 311 
 
 lie forgave all from his heart, as lie desired that God 
 would forgive him his sins, and after commending him- 
 self to the prayers of Catholics, if any should be there in 
 concealment, he turned himself to the wall and gave 
 himself to prayer." 1 
 
 " When the martyr was brought out from the prison 
 on the road to the scaffold he was met by the heretical 
 minister and gaol officials. Mr Brown and other 
 Catholic gentlemen were also close at hand. The minister 
 addressed the Father and expressed the extremely kind 
 feeling he had for him. ' Oh, how much I grieve for 
 you, my dear Ogilvie,' he said, ' who are knowingly and 
 wilfully casting yourself into the jaws of an infamous 
 death.' Then the Father, feigning fear, said, ' Just as if 
 my life hung on my own free will. I am accounted 
 guilty of high treason, and for that I am condemned.' 
 ' Have done,' said the minister, ' with that crime of 
 yours. Give up the Pope and Papistry and you shall be 
 forgiven that crime, and I will reward you with gifts.' 
 ' You mock me,' said the Father. ' I speak seriously and 
 with certain authority,' subjoined the minister. ' My 
 Lord Archbishop gave commission to me to promise you 
 his daughter in marriage, and the richest prebend of the 
 diocese as her dowry, provided 1 found you willing to 
 step over from your religion to ours.' Whilst these 
 things were being said they reached the scaffold. The 
 minister urged the Father to be willing to live. The 
 Father replied that he was willing, but not with disgrace. 
 ' I have said, and repeat/ urged the minister, ' that you 
 may live with honour.' ' Would you be willing to say 
 that, so that the people could hear?' 'By all means,' 
 he replied. ' Listen all present,' cried Father Ogilvie, 
 ' to what the minister is going to say to us.' Then the 
 
 1 Authentic Account, p. 46.
 
 q 
 
 12 MARTYRDOM OF FR. OGILV1E. [1615. 
 
 minister gave out : ' I promise to Mr Ogilvie life, the 
 Lord Archbishop's daughter, and a very rich prebend, 
 provided he be willing to come over to our side.' ' Do 
 you hear this?' said the Father ; 'and will you confirm 
 it as witnesses when it shall be needed?' 'We have 
 heard,' cried the people, ' and we will confirm it. Go 
 down, Mr Ogilvie ; go down !' Upon this the Catholics 
 began to tremble, and the heretics to triumph. ' There 
 is no fear, then, that I shall be held hereafter as guilty 
 of high treason V ' By no means !' all the people from 
 the street cried out together. ' I stand here, therefore, a 
 criminal on the head of religion alone V 'Of that alone!' 
 they cry out. ' Very well ! ' triumphantly exclaimed the 
 Father ; ' that is plenty. On the head of religion alone 
 I am condemned, and for that I would willingly and joy- 
 fully pour out even a hundred lives. Snatch away that 
 one which I have from me, and make no delay about it ; 
 but my religion you will never snatch away from me.' 
 At this the Catholics raised their heads in triumph, 
 whilst the heretics who had been thus taken in were in a 
 fury, and above all the minister, who harshly received 
 the Father as he was preparing to say more, and com- 
 manded him to be led away to the scaffold as quickly as 
 possible." x 
 
 On getting upon the platform he kissed the gibbet and 
 gave himself up to prayer. John Abercromby, his kins- 
 man, stood near him. The minister cried out, " Ogilvie 
 is to die for treason !" The martyr, hearing this, shook 
 his head, showing the minister lied. He would have 
 spoken, but was not allowed. " Don't mind their lies, 
 John ; the more wrongs the better," said Abercromby. 
 Some one shouted, "Off with that other traitor!" 
 
 1 Attestation of Father James Brown, S.J. Signed at Douay, 
 Fub. 23, 1672. (Presholme MSS.)
 
 1615.] MARTYRDOM OF FR. OGILVIE. 313 
 
 Thereupon one of the Archbishop's servants cast Aber- 
 cromby head foremost into the crowd. " Are you not," 
 said the minister, "afraid to die?" "I fear death," 
 answered Father Ogilvie, "as much as you do your 
 dinner." 
 
 " They now tied his hands behind his back, so tightly 
 that his fingers trembled, and he was commanded to 
 ascend the ladder. 1 As he went up he was persevering 
 in prayer, and in begging the suffrages of Catholics, if 
 any should happen to be present. Then he invoked 
 aloud all the heavenly court, declaring, in the hearing of 
 all, that his hope was reposed in the merits of the blood 
 of Christ, and that first in Latin and then in English. 
 After the repeated command of the Sheriff to throw him 
 off the ladder, the executioner at last reluctantly, and 
 
 1 It was, very probably, just before his hands were bound that he 
 flung his rosary beads (his farewell gift to the Catholics present) into 
 the crowd about the scaffold. His rosary struck the breast of a young 
 nobleman who was on his travels in these kingdoms. He was a 
 foreigner and a Protestant — his name, Baron John of Eckersdorff. 
 "I was on my travels through England and Scotland — as it is the 
 custom of our nobility — being a mere stripling, and not having the 
 faith. I happened to be in Glasgow the day Father Ogilvie was led 
 forth to the gallows, and it is impossible for me to describe his lofty 
 bearing in meeting death. His farewell to the Catholics was his 
 casting into their midst, from the scaffold, his rosary beads just before 
 he met his fate. That rosary, thrown haphazard, struck me on the 
 breast in such wise that I could have caught it in the palm of my 
 hand ; but there was such a rush and crush of the Catholics to get 
 hold of it that unless I wished to run the risk of being trodden down, 
 I had to cast it from me. Religion was the last thing I was then 
 thinking about ; it was not in my mind at all ; yet from that moment 
 I had no rest. Those rosary beads had left a wound in my soul ; go 
 where I would I had no peace of mind. ... At last conscience won 
 the day. I became a Catholic." — (Attestation of Father Boleslaus 
 Balbinus, S.J., Presholme MSS. See J. Schmidl, S.J., " Historia 
 Provincise Bohemias," PragEe, 1749, vol. ii. p. 795).
 
 314 MARTYRDOM OF FR. OGILVIE. [1615. 
 
 with great compassion, cast him down from the step. A 
 deep groan broke from all the spectators ; and then, as 
 if their tongues were loosened, they proclaimed their 
 sentiments freely enough, openly declaring their horror 
 and detestation at the unjust sentence they had just seen 
 executed." 1 
 
 " It is certain," wrote an eye-witness, " that his 
 martyrdom has been of the greatest advantage to the 
 Catholics of Scotland, for a very large number of them 
 have been encouraged by his example to a firmer adher- 
 ence to the Catholic faith. I know this by my own 
 experience. A similar sentence was passed against me 
 about the same time. The Father's example and a 
 Divine inspiration gave me so much firmness that, when 
 in August 1615, I was brought to the foot of the gallows, 
 with two others, named Robert Wilkie and Robert 
 Cruikshank, in the presence of fifty thousand people, 
 we all three, by God's grace, prepared to suffer death 
 with the utmost firmness. Our adversaries, in deference 
 to the murmurs of the people, obtained the King's order 
 for the revocation of our sentence, which was received 
 with every demonstration of joy by those present, and 
 we were sent instead into banishment. Ever since that 
 time the Catholics have been less molested in Scotland. 
 Andrew Crichton, a secular priest, was apprehended by 
 the Government, and so were Fathers Patrick Anderson 
 and John Macbreck, priests of the Society of Jesus. 
 They defended the authority of the Supreme Pontiff, 
 and denied the spiritual power of the King, as Father 
 
 1 " Their lamentations and expressions of compassion were so 
 general that the same minister who accompanied him to the scaffold, 
 Mr Robert Scott, in a sermon which he delivered on the next Sunday 
 he appeared in public, upbraided the people for exhibiting such indi- 
 cations of grief for the death of a Popish priest." — (Proceedings, etc.)
 
 1615.] MARTYRDOM OF FR. OGILV1E. 315 
 
 Ogilvic had done, but they were all let go and sent into 
 exile. 
 
 King James regretted the death of Father Ogilvie, 
 and laid the blame on the importunity of the Calvinist 
 ministers. 1 
 
 " The death of Father Ogilvie," wrote Father Gordon, 2 
 " ought not much to deter us, but rather urge us to take 
 up this mission still more earnestly, now that God has 
 
 1 " After the martyr's death, George Gordon, Marquis of Huntly, 
 had proceeded to Court, where he was high in the favour of King 
 James. The King asked him, ' How his Scotsmen took the death of 
 the Jesuit ]' ' Very ill,' replied Huntly. ' It was not my fault,' said 
 James ; ' Spotswood hurried on the execution. I have no wish to 
 see bloody heads round my deathbed.' Huntly was surprised at this 
 expression, and requested the King to explain himself. James looked 
 at him seriously, and replied, not without emotion, ' Do you not know 
 how Queen Elizabeth died V and proceeded to give him a relation of 
 the miserable and dreadful end of that princess, and how she saw the 
 spectres of the monks whom she had put to death, standing before 
 her and gazing at her as she died. On his return to Scotland the 
 Marquis went to see Spotswood, who was in his castle at Darse, em- 
 ployed as we have described, and conferred for a long time with him 
 on the subject of what the King had said. 
 
 " After the death of King James, and on the breaking out of the 
 civil war, Spotswood, who had been the principal cause of Father 
 Ogilvie's death, was sent into banishment, and his eldest son Robert 
 was killed fighting with the Presbyterians. Thus he received the 
 reward of his iniquity. The Marquis related his conversation with 
 the King and with Spotswood to his friend Lord Maxwell, Earl of 
 Nithsdale, who has recorded it in his MS. History of Scotland. This 
 history, which has never been printed, is kept in the Scottish College 
 of the Society of Jesus at Douay, where it was seen and carefully read 
 by a Scottish priest of our Society related to the Ogilvie family, who 
 extracted and preserved the particulars I have related, and incor- 
 porated them in his own memoir, and told me them at Prague, when 
 he was of very advanced age." — J. Schmidl, Historia Provinciae 
 Bohemia. Pragse, 1749. Part II. lib. vi. p. 793. 
 
 2 S.J., Stonyhurst Archives, MS. Letter, dated Paris, 5th May 
 1615.
 
 316 MARTYRDOM OF FR. OGILVIE. [1615. 
 
 rewarded it with the crown of martyrdom. If Father 
 Moffat dies or is put to death, there will not be one of 
 our Society remaining in Scotland. If we are slow in 
 coming, our enemies will call out that we are kept away 
 by fear of death ; and what is worse, many Catholics 
 will believe it, when they see themselves altogether de- 
 prived of the aid of our Fathers. "With regard to the 
 question of your Paternity about Father Patrick Ander- 
 son, I think he is a fit man to send, if willing to go. 
 While he was here he was disinclined to go to Scotland, 
 but the proposal was not then to send him alone, but 
 accompanied by another Father, who would moderate 
 his fervour, and was to preside over the whole Scottish 
 Mission, in case more were sent afterwards. The fittest 
 man for this duty would be Father John Eobb ; and 
 unless this Father, who has such large experience of 
 missions, can be sent, with power to direct and control 
 Father Patrick and others, that they may not go beyond 
 the bounds of prudence, I should think it better for the 
 mission to be deferred. If Father Patrick goes alone, 
 he will not be safe. I know by experience, when he 
 was there alone before, that it was necessary to recal 
 him on account of the imminent peril he ran. Will 
 your Paternity therefore consider whether it would not 
 be better to send Father Eobb and Father Patrick into 
 Scotland at once, lest the Catholics should be entirely 
 deprived of the aid of our Fathers, especially now in so 
 great affliction, or whether the mission of Father Patrick 
 had better be deferred to another time, and until a suit- 
 able companion to him can be found. I do not think 
 one such could be easily fixed upon, for the others are all 
 his juniors, and not so fit." 
 
 To the great consolation of the Scotch Catholics,
 
 1616.] IMPRISONMENT OF FR. ANDERSON. 317 
 
 Father Anderson was allowed by his superiors to re- 
 turn to Scotland. 
 
 After some time spent in the visitation of the High- 
 lands, he proceeded to the south, where he was betrayed 
 on St Patrick's day, March 17, 1620, into the hands of 
 the magistrates of Edinburgh, by a pretended Catholic, 
 Alexander Boyd, whose honour could not resist the bribe 
 of £75 sterling. During his rigid confinement in the 
 Tolbooth, the good Father, whose constitution was 
 greatly impaired, had to stand several examinations, in 
 which he gave evident proofs of superior learning and 
 invincible constancy. He was subjected to the bar- 
 barous torture of the " Boots," in which the legs of the 
 prisoner were so compressed that the blood, and some- 
 times the marrow, started from the compressed parts. 
 But nothing could intimidate his generous soul, which 
 panted for martyrdom. " Quis mihi tribuit," he says, 
 " ut pro dulcissimo Domino Jesu moriar ? felix hora, 
 qua comparatur aeterna ilia felicitas." But whilst in 
 daily expectation of death, he was restored to liberty at 
 the intercession, as it is thought, of the French ambas- 
 sador, the Marquis D'Effiat, who chose him for his con- 
 fessor. 
 
 The following narrative of his trial for heresy, which 
 we have from his pen, forms a fitting supplement to the 
 Notes of his Mission in Scotland in 1610. In a letter 
 addressed to Father General Mutius Vitelleschi, and 
 dated from Scotland, May 14, 1620, Father Anderson 
 repeats at considerable length the Conversations, as we 
 may call them, which took place between himself and 
 his examiners : — 
 
 " Very Keverend Father in Christ, — Pax dulcis- 
 simi Jesu, — I have been for a long time in the closest
 
 318 TRIAL FOR HERESY. [1620. 
 
 imprisonment, with nothing to expect but the sentence 
 of death, or, at least, of imprisonment for life. I can do 
 all things in Him who strengthens me, who is Christ 
 Jesus, from whose love I am certain that neither life nor 
 death, nor principalities, nor any creature, can separate 
 me. To Him be glory, for ever and ever, Amen. Whilst 
 in prison, I have had many conversations on the Catholic 
 faith with its enemies, to the great joy of the Catholics. 
 For the Lord Jesus, of His immense goodness, gave me 
 a mouth and wisdom which His enemies could not with- 
 stand. I suffered almost daily from sickness in prison, 
 and very severely ; during which, stripped of all human 
 aid, I always experienced Divine help. "Who will grant 
 me that I may die for my sweetest Lord Jesus ? Oh, 
 happy hour, in which never-ending happiness is gained. 
 Oh, how many things do the heretics plot, chiefly against 
 our Society, of which I have ever and truly borne wit- 
 ness, and in the strongest terms, that I have never seen 
 anything but eminent piety and holiness. The Society, 
 as a holy member of the Church, will have much to 
 suffer, and we shall be hated by all men for Christ's 
 sake. This ought to be the reason wdiy we should be 
 the more closely bound to each other by charity, and 
 also to our head Christ Jesus in every virtue, especially 
 in assiduous prayer, true humility, and perfect obedience. 
 I kiss all my fathers and brothers in the kiss of peace, 
 and earnestly beg their prayers. I commend to your 
 Paternity the students of the Scotch College, for whom 
 I compiled the lives of the Scottish saints with great- 
 trouble, knowing that this would give them no small 
 consolation. May the Lord Jesus Christ preserve your 
 Paternity for the good of the Church. God bless your 
 Paternity with every heavenly blessing. God console
 
 1620.] TRIAL FOR HERESY. 319 
 
 your Paternity in so many difficulties. Amen. I have 
 no room to say more. 
 
 " Your Paternity's most obedient son, bound for 
 " the Lord Jesus, 
 
 " Patrick Anderson." 
 "Scotland, May 14, 1620." 
 
 " Very Reverend Father in Christ Jesus, — Pax 
 Cliristi Jesu, — Your Paternity knows well how great has 
 been my care and trouble during these last years, and 
 how much I have undergone for the sake of this my 
 country, which the fierce boar of heresy has almost com- 
 pletely destroyed, shaken from its foundations. What 
 labours, what perils, by land and by sea, I underwent to 
 win these souls, redeemed by the blood of Christ to the 
 faith of their Fathers ! It at last pleased the Most High, 
 whom I, though an unprofitable servant, serve in spirit, 
 to receive these my labours, and by His grace to ennoble 
 and reward them with imprisonment and other suffer- 
 ings. To Him, who was with me in all my tribulations, 
 be glory and honour, for I know that He will save me. 
 
 " I left the north of Scotland, in which I had spent 
 the winter, and came to the south about the month of 
 May last, on the seventeenth day of which, in Edin- 
 burgh, the capital of Scotland, by the contrivance of one 
 Boyd, who professed himself a Catholic, I was seized by 
 the magistrates. At the moment of my capture I greeted 
 my betrayer most kindly, saying, ' Friend, dost thou be- 
 tray the Son of Man with a salutation ? God forgive 
 thee.' Meanwhile the satellites rushed upon me, took 
 away whatever I had, and searched everything, but in 
 vain. A crowd assembled, and the news spread directly 
 through the city, ' Anderson is caught ; no doubt he is 
 in all the Jesuits' secrets.' They took me to prison, and
 
 320 TRIAL FOR HERESY. [1620. 
 
 threatened the head gaoler, with the loss of his life and 
 the confiscation of all his goods, if he let any one speak 
 to me. The windows were nailed np, and my knife, 
 which I used for cutting food, was taken from me. These 
 good Evangelicals thought I had so much on my con- 
 science, that I was likely to lay violent hands on myself. 
 They also took away various other necessaries. The 
 senators and other great people went away, and I was 
 left alone. I collected myself, fell on my knees, and, 
 overwhelmed with joy and tears, I gave thanks to my 
 sweetest Jesus that He had granted me, not only to 
 believe in Him, but also to suffer for His name from the 
 enemies of the holy Catholic Church. I also humbly 
 begged the Eternal Father, through the precious blood 
 of Jesus, that He would grant me speech and wisdom 
 which my enemies could not resist ; that this imprison- 
 ment might be acceptable to Him in union with the 
 Passion of His Son Jesus, for whom to suffer is the 
 greatest glory ; and that I might fight the good fight, 
 and be found faithful to Him in whom I have trusted. 
 Shut up in this narrow cell, and deprived of the fresh 
 air, which I used to breathe through the chinks of the 
 window, I thought of David's words, ' Os meum aperui, 
 et attraxi spiritum.' I fell ill, suffering at once most 
 acutely from colic and gravel. Vomiting succeeded, dis- 
 gust of all food, and frequently utter prostration of mind. 
 Worse than all, they would not allow the warder to give 
 me any help. I rejoiced that my most faithful Jesus, 
 who does not suffer His own to be tempted above their 
 strength, did not withdraw His Divine aid when human 
 help seemed to be out of reach. Contrary to all expe- 
 rience, after a few days, both my ailments decreased, the 
 vomiting ceased, and I became soon convalescent, remain- 
 ing however very weak. This is quite natural to me,
 
 1620.] TRIAL FOR HERESY. 321 
 
 since I have borne the sweet yoke of Jesus Christ in the 
 Society. I know that strength is made perfect in in- 
 firmity, and infirmity is not a less good gift than health, 
 but is often a better. When I was stronger one of the 
 senators, with the principal ministers of the town, came 
 to see me. They saluted me, and asked how I was. I 
 replied, 
 
 ' ' Readily and willingly do I suffer here for Christ, for 
 whom to suffer is the greatest glory.' 
 
 " ' The cause, and not the suffering, makes the martyr, 
 Master Anderson,' said one of the ministers. 
 
 '"I am certain that mine is the cause of Christ, and 
 that it is that for which St Cyprian, whose words you 
 quote, suffered.' 
 
 " ' How can you be certain, Master Anderson,' said 
 the minister, ' when it is a dogma of your faith to doubt 
 about matters of faith.' 
 
 " ' It is not so,' replied I, ' the truth is the very con- 
 trary. Our doctors distinguish two kinds of doubt. The 
 first is intellectual, which rather embraces the manner of 
 the thing, than the thing itself which is firmly believed ; 
 and it is evident, from your own Bible, that the holiest 
 and most faithful men have had doubts of this kind, 
 which are of no moment. A wilful doubt, say they, is 
 another thing ; and of such it is commonly said, "He 
 who doubts is no longer faithful." Let it thus be far 
 from us, Sir Minister, to harbour such doubts as these, 
 but let us condemn them as heresy and infidelity.' 
 
 " ' It is just as Master Anderson says,' said another of 
 the ministers, whom this had much piqued ; ' one can 
 be certain of the things of faith, but one does not believe 
 with the certainty of divine faith, for instance, that one 
 is in the grace of God.' 
 
 " ' Quite so,' said I, ' and exactly what we believe. 
 
 x
 
 322 TRIAL FOR HERESY. [1620. 
 
 But,' added I, ' I will prove to you, my masters, that 
 you Protestants must necessarily doubt of all the articles 
 of your faith, if indeed faith it can be called. Pray,' 
 said I, turning to one of the ministers, ' how do you 
 know that Christ the Lord is the Redeemer of the 
 world ? ' 
 
 " ' Our Bible proves it,' replied the ministers. 
 
 " ' Very well,' I retorted ; ' but how do you know 
 that your Bible is the Word of God % Is it because the 
 Church says it ? You say the true Church has erred, 
 and consequently can err. You confess, with the King, 
 whom may God bless, and with Calvin, that the Roman 
 Church was the true Church during the first four hun- 
 dred years, but that she afterwards erred ; whence it 
 follows that the true Church, whichever she be, can err. 
 Let us grant that the Scotch Church be the true one, 
 and that she approve the Scottish Bibles as the Word of 
 God. If she do, it is in vain, for she may err in this 
 approbation. Whence he who believes in this Church 
 will always be in doubt concerning the things which 
 such a Church approves, because if the true Church her- 
 self can err, how much more can one member ? Let us 
 suppose that thou art a minister of the Scotch Church, 
 to celebrate the Lord's Supper, and preach to the people. 
 A Protestant enters the temple to hear thee, and receive 
 the Lord's Supper. This thought comes into his mind : 
 the Scotch Church is indeed the true Church, but she 
 may err ; how much more this minister, who is only one 
 of her members ? How shall he preach infallibly, and 
 with that infallibility that is required for the things of 
 faith, and how shall he preach truth rather than fables ? 
 or how shall he have true authority to preach and ad- 
 minister the sacraments ? Nothing here is certain ; all 
 is doubtful. The foundation of faith ought to be in-
 
 1020.] TRIAL FOR HERESY. 323 
 
 fallible, and if it be not, there is no Divine faith, but a 
 vain human opinion.' 
 
 " ' We will appoint an auditor,' said the ministers, 
 'who will examine into what we say, and compare it 
 with the Bible itself.' 
 
 " ' That would be of no use,' said I, ' for if you can err 
 in preaching, how much more could he in this colla- 
 tion ? You must indeed say that the Roman Church has 
 erred, in order thus to show that you are sent from God.' 
 
 " This argument piqued the listeners not a little. They 
 did not know which way to turn, for they knew it was 
 an argumentum ad hominem, and deduced from their 
 own principles. One of them, however, retorted, ' You 
 Catholics and Papists have no greater infallibility in the 
 articles of your faith.' 
 
 " ' We have the very greatest,' I answered. ' We have 
 infallibility; we tread another way, and one which leads 
 to life. For we believe, with a firm faith, that the true 
 Church cannot err ; so all your Bibles have it, " And 
 the gates of hell shall not prevail against her;" "I will 
 pray the Father that thy faith may not fail;" "I am 
 with you (all days) to the end of ages ;" " the Church is 
 the pillar and ground of truth," and any number of other 
 things of the kind. Thus the true Church has the same 
 infallibility which God has, who promised her His un- 
 failing assistance. Therefore, whatsoever this Church 
 proposes to be believed by her children, as revealed by 
 God, must be infallible. Thus there is the greatest unity 
 of faith with us, and no variation. What the Roman 
 Church believed during the first four hundred years she 
 believes still without any change. You, on the con- 
 trary, alter the Bible and the articles of faith year by 
 year. There are as many opinions as there are heads 
 among you, and no unity, no conformity.'
 
 324 TRIAL FOR HERESY. [1620. 
 
 " ' Surely,' interrupted a senator, ' Anderson, with 
 his sublimities and sophistries, is corrupting the whole 
 country.' 
 
 " Much more occurred during this discussion, which 
 for brevity's sake I omit. The Catholic nobles, who were 
 then in the city, heard that if I had not confuted the 
 ministers, I had at least bothered them ; and this report 
 came from the Protestants themselves, for they never 
 suffered any Catholic, who might tell the truth, to be 
 present. I had at least shut them up. The report 
 of this discussion spread abroad to the great joy and 
 consolation of the Catholics. To Him be glory, 
 from whom is every good and perfect gift, for ever and 
 ever. 
 
 " But there was a circumstance which caused me the 
 greatest pain, and made me shed many tears, so that I 
 might have said with the Prophet, ' My tears have been 
 my bread day and night.' I had a servant whom, for 
 greater security, I used to send to the houses of heretics 
 at my own expense, that he might lodge safely and 
 quietly there. He was caught, through his own fault, 
 by the Senate, and revealed the names of certain 
 Catholics, or at least of those who were believed by all 
 to be Catholics. Thus did the miserable fellow reward 
 me. The event, by God's blessing, was fortunate, be- 
 cause I could deny all that he asserted, and those 
 Catholics had not a few friends among the heretics. 
 That servant was the brother of an excellent Catholic 
 woman, who has been sixteen years excommunicated by 
 the ministers for the Catholic faith. This woman, and 
 one of our Fathers, who had shortly before reconciled her 
 to the Church, besought me earnestly to take him for a 
 servant, and pledged themselves for his conduct ; but 
 the event was unfortunate. He only remained five
 
 1620.] TRIAL FOR HERESY. 325 
 
 months in my service. Here, in Ireland, and in other 
 places, our Fathers have their own servants, without 
 whom it is impossible to live conveniently. The great 
 inconstancy of all of them, and the venality of the 
 majority, are the cause of frequent and daily misfortunes 
 to their employers. 
 
 " Our Catholics are surely much to be admired for the 
 way in which they expose themselves and all their goods 
 to the inconstancy of these men. Their zeal for the 
 doctrine and sacraments of the true faith is so great that 
 they disregard everything else. Their days are passed 
 in such purity of life, although surrounded by heretics 
 who give the rein to every vice, that the Protestants 
 themselves and their ministers publicly express their 
 admiration. This, then, was the cause of my greatest 
 trouble. But God, whose nature is goodness, and whose 
 work is mercy, dissipated it, and I see through the plans 
 of my enemies. Meanwhile certain senators came into 
 the prison, and led me to the Town Hall, where four 
 bishops awaited me. They were the Archbishop of St 
 Andrews and Primate of Scotland, and the Bishops of 
 Glasgow, Galloway, and Caithness ; the prefect and 
 Senators of the city, the ministers, and many others. As 
 I was being led away, I thought of the words of Christ : 
 ' They shall drag you before kings and governors for my 
 sake,' . . . and ' I will give you a mouth and wisdom 
 which all your adversaries shall not be able to resist and 
 gainsay.' They all saluted me as I entered, and the 
 Archbishop of St Andrews asked my name. 
 
 " ' Patrick Anderson, and of the Koman Catholic 
 religion, for which I am ready to die, and for which I 
 am kept here ; by profession a Jesuit.' 
 
 " ' Your name is Master Patrick Anderson,' said the 
 Archbishop.
 
 326 TRIAL FOR HERESY. [1620. 
 
 " ' It is now twenty- three years/ replied I, ' since I 
 despised and made nouglit of all such honorary titles, 
 esteeming them unworthy of consideration, like all else 
 in the world, and renouncing them for Christ Jesus, for 
 whose Name I am suffering here.' 
 
 " ' We know that you have been twice in Scotland,' 
 said the Bishop ; ' thus it is the will of the King that 
 you discover to us with whom you have been staying all 
 this time.' 
 
 " I replied, ' It is better to obey God than man. The 
 King commands this thing to be done, and the self-same 
 thing is forbidden by God. Know that I am equally 
 ready to shed my blood for this cause as for the Catholic 
 faith itself, or for whatsoever is commanded by the 
 Divine law.' 
 
 " ' You will at least confess this, Master Anderson,' 
 said the Bishop, ' whether you have said Mass in Scot- 
 land or not ? ' 
 
 " ' That I have,' replied I. 
 
 " ' But for whom V asked the Bishop. 
 
 " ' Alone,' I replied. 
 
 "'That is nonsense,' said the chief minister. 'Mass 
 comes from mitto, because the people are dismissed.' 
 
 " ' An argument founded upon etymology is worth 
 nothing to a philosopher,' I retorted, ' and Mass does not 
 come from the dismissal of the people, but from the 
 Hebrew Missach, which signifies a voluntary oblation, 
 or, by contraction, from the word Messias, for there 
 indeed is the true Messias offered for the sins of the 
 people, and art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not 
 these things ? ' 
 
 " The minister was silent. 
 
 " ' But Master Anderson,' said the Bishop, ' how can 
 you prove the word " Mass " from the New Testament ? '
 
 1620.] TRIAL FOR HERESY. 327 
 
 " ' Much more easily, right reverend lord, than you 
 will find the word " sacrament " in the New Testament, 
 or prove that the number of the sacraments is two.' (1 
 always gave this title to bishops, and to others their 
 proper style.) Let us open the Bible, either the Greek 
 version of the Old Testament, or the Syriac and Hebrew 
 versions of the New. You know I had all these Bibles, 
 because you have just taken them away from me with 
 everything else. Now, indeed, I can say, " For Jesus 
 Christ I have suffered the loss of all things, and for His 
 sake count them but as dung." We shall see whether 
 I shall more easily prove the word " Mass," or you 
 " Sacraments," from the Bible.' 
 
 " ' You will at least confess, Master Anderson/ said 
 the Bishop of Galloway, ' that they are Catholics whom 
 your servant named ? ' 
 
 " ' You are a philosopher, I know, right reverend lord, 
 and you well know it is useless to prove from a greater 
 what can be proved from a less. You are versed in the 
 Scriptures, and they say, " The disciple is not above his 
 master, nor the servant above his lord." Thus, my 
 servant should follow my example, and not I his.' Oh, 
 how this little breath of praise, by which I distinguished 
 him above the others, pleased the Bishop ! These sort of 
 men are most greedy of praise. 
 
 " ' How many Jesuits are there in Scotland ? ' asked 
 the Archbishop of St Andrews. 
 
 " ' Here am I, the last one left,' I answered. 
 
 " ' I will tell you some more,' said the Bishop. ' There 
 are two others (whom he named) and a Franciscan also.' 
 
 " ' Right enough, my right reverend lord, and most 
 mathematically. There are four of us altogether (for the 
 archbishop had included one of the Order of St Francis 
 of Paula) ; four is the number of perfection. Thus, if
 
 328 TRIAL FOR HERESY. [1620. 
 
 you, my right reverend lord, will cause us four to be 
 hanged upon a circular gibbet, you may boast of having 
 squared a circle, an operation which has hitherto baffled 
 all mathematicians.' 
 
 " ' I see, Master Anderson,' said the Bishop, ' that you 
 have received many talents from God. If you would 
 use them for the benefit of our country, you would do 
 good service to our King, and I promise you that the 
 King would esteem it most highly. There are ministers, 
 very learned men, here to-day for this object. I desire 
 that they forthwith treat of the whole of our religion. 
 For the Lord's hand is not shortened.' 
 
 " ' May God bless the King with every heavenly 
 blessing. I will tell you plainly what I would hear of 
 your religion, since it is the wish of your most reverend 
 lordship. I am here before you, the chief bishops of 
 the kingdom, the noble Lord Provost is here, and many 
 magistrates of great weight, and here are learned mini- 
 sters, and many others. I take God to witness, in whose 
 sight I stand, and for whose name I here suffer, that I 
 do not, and never have seen, any consistency in your 
 religion, nor anything in conformity with the revealed 
 will of God, nor in uniformity with even your own 
 Bibles, or with the Fathers, antiquity, the councils, or 
 even with natural reason. You daily compose new 
 articles, new ceremonies, as all Scotland knows and 
 bewails, but in vain : your Church has forsaken the 
 fountain of living waters, and have digged to themselves 
 cisterns in which there is no water.' 
 
 " The bishops and the rest were not a little nettled, 
 at which certain sheriffs of the city gave orders that I 
 should be led back to prison. When I heard this I ex- 
 claimed, ' You know, my right reverend lords, if I am not 
 mistaken, that I am most desirous of having books.
 
 1620.] TRIAL FOR HERESY. 329 
 
 Command, if it please you, that I may keep at least 
 your Scottish Bible by me in prison.' 
 
 " They refused, saying that I perverted the Bible to a 
 false sense. Thus during the various conversations 
 which I held in prison, now with the bishops, and now 
 with the chief ministers of the kingdom, although we 
 often felt the want of books, neither did they bring with 
 them a book of any kind, nor did they allow me to keep 
 any. I left the council full of joy at being found worthy 
 to suffer continually for the name of Jesus, and on reach- 
 ing my cell I fell on my knees and returned thanks for 
 it to the sweetest Jesus. I reiterated the exercises on 
 the Life and Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ, and often 
 recited the Rosary, keeping eternity and the goodness 
 of God before my eyes. Often and often did I think of 
 the holy lives and conversation of many of our Fathers 
 with whom I used to be so intimate, and the example of 
 whose virtues I quietly stored up in my memory. 
 
 " Many bishops and ministers came to the city on 
 hearing that Anderson had been taken and was in the 
 closest confinement, for his fame much exceeded his 
 deserts. The Bishop of Brechin, who was renowned for 
 his theological learning, came to the prison, with the 
 ministers and many others, and accompanied by certain 
 magistrates, without whom no one was allowed to enter. 
 The bishop saluted me most politely. 
 
 " ' I hope you are well, Master Anderson.' 
 
 " * I am here in bonds for Christ Jesus, and meditat- 
 ing over His words, " Blessed are they who suffer perse- 
 cution for justice' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of 
 heaven," ' I returned. 
 
 " ' Very well,' said the bishop, ' but the Greek says for 
 
 righteousness svexsv dixaioauvri;.' 
 
 " ' So I say,' replied I, ' but T pray your lordship, why
 
 330 TRIAL FOR HERESY. [1620. 
 
 do you so manifestly corrupt the Bible in that place. In 
 the Greek it certainly is //.axap/oi 0/ didiwypsvoi 'in%M buam-jvris ; 
 but you render the word dixuioaJvri:, by righteousness, and 
 not by justice, its equivalent, which you understand of 
 your own supposititious justice, and ignore the true and 
 essential justice. And why, I pray, do you translate 
 the same word otherwise in another place. In the first 
 chapter of St Luke we find "'Hsav d's dixam a^onpoi 
 havriov rov ^eoS." Here you translate dlzaioi by just instead 
 of righteous.' 
 
 " ' Have a care,' said the bishop, ' how you call our 
 Bibles corrupt, which the royal commission have de- 
 clared to be the Word of God.' 
 
 " ' But,' said I, ' either the commissioners can err in 
 this declaration, or they cannot. You surely will not 
 say that, as men, they cannot err ; and if they could err, 
 how could they be sure of being right ? I will call your 
 King himself (whom may God bless) to witness that 
 your Bibles are crammed with corruptions, and therefore 
 it was that the King caused a new Scotch Bible to be 
 printed, about the year 1616, to the best of my belief, 
 and which is called the Boyal Bible. If you compare it 
 with yours, as I have often done, they will be found to 
 differ totally. Take care how you condemn the errors 
 of the Boyal Bible, for it will follow that your Bibles 
 are no more the Word of God than Tully's Epistles.' 
 
 " They all took this comparison very ill, and said I 
 was deserving of the severest punishment for having 
 thus openly spoken with irreverence of the Scotch Bible. 
 I replied as modestly as I could, for it was always my 
 care never to be a stumbling-block to them. 
 
 " This most reverend and learned bishop well knows 
 the custom between literary disputants, to speak candidly, 
 sincerely, and without disguise, and not to take it ill if
 
 162a] TRIAL FOR HERESY. 331 
 
 the truth comes out during the discussion, for this is the 
 object and end of all discussion. He also well knows that 
 the ministers, in order to show that Catholics are wrong 
 when they use blessings, translate the word " evXoyfcai," 
 which always means to bless, by to give thanks. This 
 occurs in Matthew, twenty-sixth chapter, and, unless 1 
 mistake, twenty-sixth verse. He also knows that those 
 ministers, in order to abolish Purgatory, or any place 
 between paradise and hell, translate the passage in the 
 second chapter of the Acts, 'Thou wilt not leave my 
 soul in hell,' by 'Thou wilt not leave my soul in the 
 grave;' whereas the Greek word a^?, never, even among 
 the profane authors, signified the grave. Those who 
 have the most elementary acquaintance with Hebrew 
 know that the Hebrew word which occurs in that text, 
 signifies hell. This is clear from the twenty-seventh 
 chapter of Genesis, where Jacob, grieving for his son 
 Joseph, says, ' I will go down to my son into hell, 
 mourning.' ' Hell' you have corrupted into 'the grave.' 
 I could give any number of similar instances. 
 
 " ' We may conclude from this, Master Anderson, that 
 there are some errors in the Scotch Bibles, which I grant ; 
 but it in nowise follows that they are not in general 
 rightly and well translated, and are not the Word of 
 God. The guilt of the evil doer cannot be justly im- 
 puted to the innocent.' 
 
 " ' I beg your pardon,' I interrupted, ' quite the con- 
 trary ; if I prove the existence of one error in your 
 Scotch Bibles, and I could prove that there are ten thou- 
 sand, it would suffice to show that they are not the Word 
 of God. If the Scotch interpreter and translator erred 
 in one instance in his version, it would follow of neces- 
 sity that in that instance he had not the infallible assist- 
 ance of the Holy Spirit. Thus the reader of that Bible
 
 332 TRIAL FOR HERESY. [1620. 
 
 would ever be uncertain when he had it and when he 
 had it not, and no rule could be given why he should 
 have it in one instance and not in another. Whence 
 nothing certain can be instilled into the mind of the 
 reader or hearer of this Bible, and certainty is of the 
 first necessity in the foundation, and in all matters of 
 faith.' 
 
 " ' It matters little,' said the bishop, ' whether the 
 Scotch Bible be the Word of God or not (the bystanders 
 were much irritated at this), let us go back to the foun- 
 tain-head, the Hebrew, Greek, and Syriac text.' 
 
 " ' I stand corrected,' replied I, ' now that we have 
 settled that the Scotch Bible is not the Word of God. 
 Let your reverend lordship prove, from the Greek or 
 Syriac text of the New Testament, that there are two 
 sacraments only, and neither more nor less ; and this 
 must be formally expressed in terms, or a necessary con- 
 sequence. For, whether for better or for worse, we must 
 leave the Bible and go to logic' 
 
 "'All your doctors,' rejoined the Bishop, 'and es- 
 pecially Bellarmine, say that the sacraments confer grace 
 ex opere operato — that is, by the force and nature of the 
 sacrament, and ex opere operantis — that is, from the 
 intention of him who administers the sacrament. Whence 
 it is evident that there are only two sacraments.' 
 
 " ' Bellarmine shows his wisdom in remaining in Koine 
 and not coming to these parts,' I answered. ' If you are 
 so severe on him when absent, what would you not do 
 to him if you could catch him ? Neither Bellarmine nor 
 any of our doctors ever taught that the opus operans in 
 the sacraments was the intention of the minister, but 
 rather the disposition of him who received the sacrament. 
 But all this is nothing to the purpose. I beg that this 
 proposition, in terms, may be found in the Bible :
 
 1620.] TRIAL FOR HERESY. 33 
 
 o 
 
 "There are only two sacraments of the New Law," or 
 this : " There is no Purgatory, there is no invocation of 
 saints, the good works of Christians do not justify or 
 merit before God." I ask for express terms, and not for 
 your fancies, interpretations, or inferences. If we have 
 to refer to interpretations, who in his senses would not 
 prefer those of the Fathers to yours, among which, 
 especially in Scotland, there is no unanimity, as you well 
 know. You also know that many ministers, and some 
 very distinguished ones, have been lately expelled from 
 their houses, deprived of the faculty of preaching, and 
 banished to the furthest parts of Scotland because they 
 would not administer the Lord's Supper kneeling to the 
 people, because they would not observe five feast days, 
 like the English, or because they would not receive other 
 things commanded by the King, whom may the Lord 
 bless. You, who receive these and such things, they 
 accuse of idolatry, and declare you worthy of eternal 
 damnation.' 
 
 " One of the magistrates, who apparently condemned 
 the reception of the Lord's Supper kneeling, here inter- 
 rupted : 
 
 " ' Pray, Master Anderson, what is your opinion of 
 this matter, which is now the subject of so much con- 
 troversy ? Speak freely, I beg.' 
 
 "There were so many present, and of such various 
 opinions on this matter, that I paused for a while. I 
 remembered the prudence with which St Paul declared 
 himself to be a Pharisee, and not a Saclducee, by which 
 means he escaped for that time the snares of the Jews. 
 
 " ' I freely say, with the Puritans, that it savours of 
 idolatry to kneel before bread.' The greater number 
 approved this my opinion, in opposition to the Bishop and 
 a few others, and said I was a good fellow. The others
 
 334 TRIAL FOR HERESY. [1620. 
 
 said I was bad, and was beguiling the whole country. 
 Meanwhile the bishop and ministers took leave. He 
 promised to return and confer at greater length with 
 me. Many other. bishops and ministers made the same 
 promise, but no one came back. These men are carnally 
 inclined, and do not understand the things of the Spirit ; 
 they have no charity, no faith, and do all by force, 
 instead of by reason, which with you is the noblest of 
 powers. Meanwhile the King was daily restricting the 
 authority of the ministers, and vesting it in such of the 
 bishojDS as showed themselves ready to obey the King's 
 slightest wish, at the expense of humiliating the 
 ministers. Thus a great schism has broken out among 
 the ministers, part of whom favour the bishops and are 
 subject to the King, and others are against them. The 
 nobility, however, at the King's behest, are with the 
 bishops, and the people, although opposed to the bishops 
 in feeling, do not dare to move in the matter. This 
 diversity of opinions among the ministers is the cause 
 why so many, noble and simple, do not know which way 
 to turn, or what religion to embrace. The ministers, 
 whose lives are scandalous, and the bishops, who are 
 equally bad, have enforced the laws of the land against 
 Catholics, and will have them punctiliously carried out 
 in the law courts. At first they used to appeal to the 
 Bible, and to invoke the Word of God, but now they set 
 aside all reasoning on religious questions, and appeal 
 only to the laws of the land. 
 
 "After some weeks I began to suffer from cholic, 
 caused by the want of fresh air, and the other very 
 numerous inconveniences of the prison. The Father of 
 Mercies and God of all Consolation was with me, and 
 He consoled me in all my tribulation. Oh, how great is 
 the abundance of divine sweetness which He communi-
 
 1620.] TRIAL FOR HERESY. 335 
 
 eates to those who sincerely love Him and steadfastly 
 suffer for Him. Later, two magistrates came into the 
 prison. Two officers, whose duty it is to accompany the 
 criminal, waited outside the gates. Pale and weak as I 
 was, and hardly able to walk, they led me through the 
 town. The people crowded round, saying, ' Here is 
 Jesuit Anderson.' I walked cheerfully on, smiling and 
 erect, developing St Paul's idea for the benefit of the 
 senators as I went along, ' We are made a spectacle to 
 God, to angels, and to men. We are fools for Christ's 
 sake, but you are wise in Christ.' I was brought before 
 two of the chief bishops of the kingdom, him of St 
 Andrews, and him of Glasgow, and the Lord High Steward, 
 a man of much prudence and judgment, and of great 
 weight in the kingdom. These men had received a new 
 commission from the King to subject me to a most 
 searching examination. The High Steward read the 
 commission granted to him and the others. He then 
 required an oath from me, by which I should bind myself 
 to answer all questions directly and sincerely, dilating 
 at some length on the nature and obligation of an oath. 
 
 " ' My dear Lord Steward,' said I, ' there are four 
 heads by which I could be examined by you four 
 distinguished men. First, concerning my religion, which 
 is Catholic and Roman, for which I appear here, and for 
 which I am willing to die a thousand times if I could. 
 As the time is now come for confessing it, that Jesus 
 Christ may confess me before the Eternal Father, I 
 promise to reply directly and sincerely to all questions 
 touching faith. Secondly, I could be examined on all 
 that involves the crime of high treason against the King's 
 person, of which I take God to witness that 1 am most 
 innocent, and I pledge myself equally to reply directly 
 and sincerely, when questioned concerning this. Thirdly,
 
 336 TRIAL FOR HERESY. [1620. 
 
 I might be examined on thiags of state — to wit, whether 
 I mixed myself up in them. I promise equally, conscious 
 of my innocence, to reply directly and sincerely. 
 Fourthly, I may be questioned as to what places I have 
 visited in Scotland, and with whom I have stayed. 
 Touching these things I am unwilling to reply directly 
 and to your purpose, nor will I take any oath to do so. 
 The law and commandments of Christ our Lord, for 
 whose sake I appear here, His example, the practice of 
 the Catholic Church during these sixteen hundred years, 
 forbid me to reveal these things.' 
 
 " ' How now, Master Anderson/ said the Bishop of 
 Glasgow, ' you attempt to quote Christ before us ; Christ, 
 who never gave any such example ? ' 
 
 '"With all respect, reverend lord,' replied I, 'Christ, 
 when brought up before Annas, the bishop and high 
 priest, and interrogated by him touching His disciples 
 and His teaching, and with whom He had been, replied, 
 as St John the Evangelist says, " I have spoken nothing 
 in secret, but have taught openly ; why askest thou Me ? 
 ask those who have heard me." Upon which " one of 
 the servants gave him a blow," as the text says. In the 
 Greek it is, slg ruv -jtyipstcov 'ibw%i\i pu'-io/Aa rip 'irjsov. Whence 
 we may see how old the quarrel is between Christ and 
 the ministers. It is no wonder if they have persecuted 
 our King (whom may God bless) from his youth, as he 
 himself declared in his Basilicon Doron, when they 
 could first strike Christ, the King of Kings.' The Lord 
 High Steward smiled, for, like the King, he was no 
 great friend to the ministers. 
 
 " ' What Divine law is there which forbids the revela- 
 tion of accomplices % I find none such in the Bible.' 
 
 " ' The law,' I answered, ' which forbids us to give 
 scandal to our neighbour, " Woe to the man by whom
 
 1620.] TRIAL FOR HERESY. 337 
 
 scandal cometh," which is a negative precept, and binds 
 .always and for ever, as theologians teach. Their lord- 
 ships the bishops well know that St Paul says, "If to 
 eat scandalize my brother, I will not eat flesh for ever ; " 
 and, writing at some length on offerings made to idols, 
 he inculcates this very precept upon the Corinthians.' 
 
 " ' Is it therefore lawful,' asked the Lord High Steward, 
 'for one guilty of a capital crime, or of high treason, 
 to conceal the names of accomplices, whom he might 
 scandalize if he revealed them ? ' 
 
 " ' It is certainly not lawful,' I replied. ' They have 
 sinned against the Divine law, or against the human 
 law, which is founded upon the Divine, whence a grave 
 injury might ensue to their neighbour ; thus their names 
 ought to be revealed, and the law of scandal does not 
 bind in such a case.' 
 
 " ' You have sinned against our human laws, which 
 are surely founded upon the Divine law,' said the Lord 
 High Steward. 
 
 " ' Whatever I have done while in Scotland, in virtue 
 of my office, I will prove from your own Bibles to be in 
 conformity with the law of God. Let us open the Bible 
 and we shall soon see whether your human laws are 
 equally so. This is very certain, that any man of sense 
 would prefer the laws made by eighty Scotch Kings 
 during a thousand and forty years, to yours made under 
 one King only, and only sixty years ago ; especially when 
 it is well known that the most learned, holiest, and 
 wisest men flourished under these Kings, and assisted in 
 making; these laws.' 
 
 " ' Hark, Master Anderson,' said the Lord Hiodi 
 Steward, ' if you were at Eome, and knew that a mini- 
 ster was preaching there in secret, and had accomplices, 
 would you not discover him to the Pope ? ' 
 
 Y
 
 338 TRIAL FOR HERESY. [1620. 
 
 " ' Certainly not,' I replied, ' but I should privately 
 admonish him, according to the precept of charity, that 
 he might reform himself. I should not cast him into 
 prison, nor take everything from him, nor close up the 
 windows of his cell, nor withdraw his necessary food 
 bought by himself, nor leave him in bed, and sick almost 
 to death, without any help, nor expose him to the rabble 
 under a false charge of high treason ; but, like the good 
 Samaritan, I should pour out the oil of charity upon the 
 jDrisoner and let him free.' 
 
 "' Nothing will do, Master Anderson,' said the Lord 
 High Steward, 'but violence. So we must, by the 
 King's command, try if we cannot wring out of you 
 on the rack what we cannot get out of you by gentleness.' 
 
 " ' Come pains, torments, crosses, gibbets, and all 
 manner of tortures, I shall count them as roses, whereby 
 I may gain Christ, and from whose charity I am certain 
 (with the help of His grace) that neither life, nor death, 
 nor torments, nor racks, can separate me, and I can do 
 all things in Him who strengthens me.' 
 
 " I was removed a little way off, and they spoke 
 among each other for a short time. Then I was recalled. 
 
 " ' What do you hold,' said the Lord High Steward, 
 ' concerning our King and his authority V 
 
 " ' I acknowledge him as King, and often and often, 
 during these last twenty-six years, have I prayed on my 
 knees that God the Father would bless him in every 
 heavenly blessing. So I was taught by my uncle, the 
 Bishop of Eoss, of holy memory, who was always most 
 faithful to Queen Mary, the martyr, the mother of the 
 King.' 
 
 " The Lord Steward said much in praise of the Bishop 
 of Ross, and then asked, 
 
 " ' Has the Pope, I pray, any authority over our 
 King ? '
 
 1620.] TRIAL FOR HERESY. 339 
 
 The same,' I answered, ' that he was aeknowledged 
 to have by eighty Scotch Kings, from Donald I. to Mary, 
 the martyr, and by the Catholic Church during sixteen 
 hundred and twenty years.' 
 
 " Finally, the Bishop of Glasgow said something about 
 St Augustine's teaching that obedience was due to Caesar. 
 I assented, saying that subjects were bound in conscience 
 to obey kings. 
 
 " ' I call God to witness,' I added, ' that I have never 
 taught anything else since my arrival in Scotland than 
 that subjects ought to love King James, whom may God 
 bless, ought often to pray for him, and to obey him in 
 all things not against the Word of God. Thus the Scrip- 
 ture teaches, " Servants obey your masters in fear and 
 trembling.'" 
 
 " This answer much pleased them all, and spared me 
 other questions, which would not have been to edifi- 
 cation. 
 
 " ' What do you say of the Gunpowder Plot V asked 
 the Lord High Steward. 
 
 " ' I say it was a diabolical invention, contrary to the 
 law of God or man. I consider it is a horrible crime to 
 lay hands on God's anointed, and crimes of this kind 
 have ever been condemned by the Holy Eoman Church 
 in the Councils.' 
 
 " ' You shall not escape so, Master Anderson,' said the 
 bishop. ' I will summon a witness well known to you.' 
 
 " This was the traitor, Alexander Boyd, who had re- 
 ceived seventy-five pounds Euglish for betraying me to 
 the bishops and ministers. When he appeared before 
 the commission, the bishop asked him, 
 
 " ' Have you not heard Master Anderson speaking 
 against the King and the royal authority, especially in 
 taking the oath of allegiance V
 
 340 TEIAL FOR HERESY. [162& 
 
 " ' Never,' replied lie, ' but I have always heard him 
 speak with respect of the King, and when he gave thanks 
 to God at table, I have often heard him praying for the 
 King.' This was quite true. The bishop was disap- 
 pointed, and remained silent. My examination had 
 lasted almost three hours, for many other things had 
 occurred, which, for brevity's sake, I omit, especially the 
 long speeches of my adversaries, which were full of lies, 
 calumnies, and inconsistencies. 
 
 " The Steward saw that I was hardly able to hold out 
 any longer, for I was too weak to eat anything that day, 
 and very humanely ordered the Sheriffs to lead me back 
 to prison. Many ran up to look at me, and a Catholic 
 youth saluted me from the windows on my way into 
 prison. A great many imitated him in his profession of 
 faith, saluting me, and weeping for grief. 
 
 " In the prison I passed my time as before, alone with 
 God, and meditating upon the life of Christ. I never 
 cease to marvel at the deluge of consolations which God 
 pours forth upon him who willingly suffers for Christ's 
 name. When his only desire is to suffer for Christ, and 
 when his soul is evermore steeped in consolations, what, 
 I ask, boots the actual suffering ? The very pains borne 
 for Christ, though hard to the flesh, and to human weak- 
 ness, are acceptable to reason and sweet to Divine love. 
 He who is enduring tribulation for Christ more easily 
 forgets the vanities of the w T orld. Severe suffering takes 
 possession of him, disposes him for the visits of Divine 
 grace, and causes him to be more frequently and more 
 deeply penetrated by its presence. Wherefore St Paul, 
 set in the midst of tribulations, says, ' The world is cruci- 
 fied to me, and I to the world.' 
 
 " Fifteen days afterwards the three ministers came to 
 the prison of the city of Edinburgh, accompanied by the
 
 1620.] TRIAL FOR HERESY. 341 
 
 Sheriffs and many others, to bold a discussion. They 
 saluted me most civilly, as I came to meet them in the 
 prison. Then the chief and most learned of them spoke 
 to me much in this way : — 
 
 We know that you were born and brought up in 
 Scotland, Master Anderson, and that you studied in 
 this renowned city and university of Edinburgh. You 
 favoured our religion then doubtless, and openly pro- 
 fessed it.' 
 
 " ' I was born in Scotland, and brought up in Moray, 
 as is well known,' I replied, ' and I do not deny that I 
 studied in this your college. When I was a child I 
 understood as a child, I spoke as a child, I thought as a 
 child. I remember to have had good Catholic parents. 
 If I, at that tender age, had any external connection 
 with you, I did it in ignorance, and have thus received 
 mercy. You know those words of Christ, for whose 
 sake I am suffering here from you, " No man can come to 
 Me except the Father draw him ; " the Father does not 
 draw the unwilling, but the willing; but that he will 
 not be drawn, and that he will, is by God's mercy. It 
 is not by him willing, or by him unwilling, but by God 
 having mercy.' 
 
 1 ' Listen, I pray,' said another and the younger of 
 the ministers. He had been preparing arguments against 
 the Pontifical authority for many days, and could hardly 
 contain his impatience to begin. ' When Augustine 
 came to convert the English, do you think, Master 
 Anderson, that the Britons who resisted him, acknow- 
 ledged the Pontifical authority ? Do you suppose that 
 he brought Papal bulls with him to England. Did the 
 English receive him as sent by the Pope ? ' 
 
 " I looked at the fair and rosy face, and well-brushed 
 head of the man who had apparently so good an opinion 
 of himself.
 
 342 TRIAL FOR HERESY. [1620. 
 
 " c You are setting up to be a doctor here, Master 
 Thomas, and are taking upon yourself to ask a great 
 many questions. I will ask you three in return, which, 
 as a Scotchman, you will find very much to the purpose. 
 What did St Jerome mean, I pray, when thus speaking 
 of St Pelagius ? " Pelagius," says Jerome, " was a monk 
 over full of Scotch porridge." * Did the Scotch porridge 
 do Jerome no harm % Secondly, Prosper of Aquitaine, 
 the great historian of Palladius' Mission to Scotland, 
 about the year 440, under Pope Celestine, states that 
 Palladius was made first bishop of the Scots. It is well 
 known that the Scotch were converted to the faith of 
 Christ under the Pope and martyr St Victor and King 
 Donald I., about the year 200. This Tertullian men- 
 tions as a note in his book against the Jews. Now, 
 pray, did all Scotland continue to exist as a Christian 
 country, for two hundred and forty years, without bishops 
 or priests, sacraments or preachers of the word. You 
 will surely tell, thirdly, how it was that Augustine, of 
 whom you just now spoke, Master Thomas, preferred the 
 Scotch to the Britons, as Bede says ; when the Scotch as 
 well as the Britons were irregular in the celebration of 
 Easter ? ' 
 
 " ' Let these things pass,' said the third minister, ' let 
 us return to religious controversy, whereby the hearers 
 may be edified.' 
 
 " ' Do let us,' I answered. 
 
 " ' How can you prove Purgatory out of the Bible, 
 Master Anderson % ' asked he. 
 
 " ' 1 can do it, and most easily, Master William, but I 
 have no doubts as to my religion ; it is for it that I am 
 suffering here ; but I have doubts about yours, and I 
 
 1 This comes in his commentaries, and is quoted hy Baronius in 
 Pelagio about the year 450.
 
 1620.] TRIAL FOR HERESY. 343 
 
 know that you are come into this prison, for which I 
 thank you, to prove to me that it is well founded, and 
 upon the express Word of God. Your intention so to 
 persuade me is very good. I beg that you will tell me 
 what text of the Bible says in so many terms that there 
 is no Purgatory, and I will give in.' 
 
 " ' It is not necessary,' replied he, ' that I should give 
 the exact words of Scripture ; it is enough that it be 
 deduced as a necessary consequence.' 
 
 " ' Enough, and more than enough,' I retorted ; ' but 
 we have first to settle how a necessary consequence is to 
 be distinguished, and this from Aristotle's logic, and not 
 from the Bible. We must settle what is the difference 
 between consequens and consequentem, and how a philo- 
 sopher, like you, will distinguish consequens from conse- 
 quentiam. By the time we have laid down what are 
 the rules for discerning a necessary consequence, the 
 listeners who do not understand will be fairly weary.' 
 
 " This is the method I have always adopted in all dis- 
 cussions with the ministers, especially when no Catholic 
 was present, and none was ever allowed to be there, and 
 I have always found it the best. I begin by showing 
 their weakness, and thus obtaining that I may call on 
 them to prove their point, instead of being obliged to 
 prove mine. I studied the turn of mind of the man 
 with whom I had to do, and his capacity, which can be 
 found out from their own words, they are so puffed up. 
 I always spoke with modesty, checking all anger and 
 excitement, and said little, but with energy, prudence, 
 and to the point. It is a great thing to have the Holy 
 Scriptures ready to be brought in on all occasions, but 
 with brevity, even during a discussion, when there is 
 question of any religious matter. Presence of mind and 
 watchfulness of oneself, and of the adversary, if possible,
 
 o 
 
 44 TRIAL FOR HERESY. [1620. 
 
 are also necessary. The whole thing should be com- 
 mended to God, who alone can touch the heart of a 
 heretic or an infidel, and all the praise and glory should 
 be referred to Him. Nothing so much hinders the con- 
 version of a soul as pride ; and who, indeed, can make 
 that clean which is conceived of an unclean spirit, unless 
 He who alone is clean. 
 
 " Eight days after, the Bishop of Moray came into my 
 prison, with three ministers, a sheriff, and others, to 
 speak with me. We spoke of the Church, and her works, 
 and, although they are as clear as daylight, he took 
 refuge in her invisibility. When entangled by my argu- 
 ments, he ingenuouslv confessed that the Protestant 
 Church was invisible in Scotland during fifteen hundred 
 and fifty-nine years ; that her ministers were invisible ; 
 her sacraments invisible ; the temples in which they met 
 invisible ; as also the wives they married and the chil- 
 dren they begot. Everyone laughed excessively at this. 
 After twenty days, I was brought up for the third time 
 before the commission of six noblemen, for the King 
 had increased their number. The chief was the Lord 
 High Steward, who asked much the same questions 
 as before. This examination lasted about three hours. 
 The only difference was that they asked me if I would 
 take the so-called oath of allegiance. I replied that I 
 neither would nor could with a safe conscience. This 
 gave rise to a discussion with the bishops upon con- 
 science and its obligations. They then brought in the 
 stock to put me to the torture. This is a cruel mode of 
 punishment, similar to the rack. The legs of the sufferer 
 are squeezed so tightly that the blood and marrow some- 
 times come out. 
 
 " ' Do your work,' I said, ' this is your hour, and the 
 
 power of darkness, aXX a'-orn tyxwv sdrlv i] upa, xai 7) i^ouffioc rou
 
 1620.] TRIAL FOR HERESY. 345 
 
 gxorcug. Christ, for whom I suffer, says it were better 
 for me to go into heaven without feet or legs, which 
 your racks can take from me, than to he cast into hell 
 with them. Think not, because you see me weak and 
 ill, that you can frighten me with your threats, for " my 
 strength is made perfect in infirmity." You sent to 
 England and Ireland to make strict inquiry whether I 
 was guilty of high treason, or had ever mixed up in the 
 affairs of the State. Although this was false, and would 
 have been most unbecoming in a religious, you found me 
 guilty of it.' 
 
 " ' By no means,' said the Archbishop of St Andrews. 
 
 "'Thank God,' I answered. 'I suffer therefore for 
 religion only, and because I am a Jesuit, and most 
 gladly do I suffer.' 
 
 " I was led back to prison, and there continued my 
 accustomed exercises of piety, in which, as in my bonds, 
 and in all my sufferings for Christ, I was ever mindful 
 of the Society, my holy mother ; mindful of your Pater- 
 nity ; and most mindful of those in the Society whom I 
 have known most intimately ; mindful of France, most 
 dear to me as she is in this her deplorable state ; and 
 mindful of Germany, crushed by war. Let God arise, 
 and let our enemies be scattered, that, freed from the 
 hands of our enemies, we may serve Him in holiness and 
 justice. I do not know what the King, whom may God 
 bless, will determine concerning me ; may whatever is 
 good in the eyes of my Lord and Master be done, for He 
 hath care of us. There is a report that I am to be 
 treated with the utmost rigour. God grant it ! Oh, 
 happy hour, but short hour, in which eternity is gained. 
 It is said that I shall at least be imprisoned for life in 
 the Tower of London. Therefore it is that I have 
 written these to your Paternity in haste and by stealth, 
 and in fear and trembling.
 
 346 DEATH OF FR. ANDERSON. [1621. 
 
 " I embrace all my Fathers and Brothers in the bonds 
 of charity and in Christ Jesus, and beg for their holy 
 prayers. May God preserve your Paternity to us. 
 Amen. 
 
 " Your Paternity's most unworthy servant and son, 
 
 " Patrick Anderson." 
 
 " By stealth and in haste. From the prison of Edin- 
 burgh, August 24, 1620. 
 
 " I beg, for the sake of Christ our Lord, that these 
 may not be shown to externs, because there are many 
 false brethren who will go to you in sheep's clothing, 
 but are inwardly ravening wolves. These heretics, wiser 
 than the children of light, have their spies everywhere. 
 
 " Feliciter." l 
 
 Possibly King James had heard of the merits of 
 Father Anderson as a man of learning, and felt some 
 sympathy for him ; perhaps the French ambassador 
 made friendly intercession in his behalf. However it 
 was, after the Father had suffered nine months' imprison- 
 ment, the King came to the resolution to show him 
 some mercy. At his command the Privy Council liber- 
 ated the Father from prison, with a suit of good clothes 
 and some money in his pocket, on condition that he 
 should leave Scotland and return no more ; otherwise he 
 would be liable to capital punishment, It was enjoined 
 upon the provost and bailies of Edinburgh that they 
 should " try and speir out some ship bown from the port 
 of Leith towards France or Flanders ; and when the 
 ship is ready to lowse, that they tak the said Patrick 
 Anderson furth of their Tolbooth, carry him to the ship, 
 and deliver him to the skipper, and see him put aboard 
 
 1 Stonyhurst Archives.
 
 1622.] IMPRISONMENT OF FR. MORTIMER. 347 
 
 of the ship, 1 with intimation made to him, that if he shall 
 return without the Kings license, it shall be capital to 
 him:' 2 
 
 Father Anderson retired to London, where he died 
 quietly on the 24th of September 1624. 
 
 In May 1622, Father George Mortimer was detected 
 within the house of one Haddow, in Glasgow, and he 
 and Haddow were both taken into custody. The King 
 lost no time in ordering a court of justice to be held in 
 Glasgow for the trying of Haddow and his wife for the 
 crime of resetting Jesuits, certifying that, if found guilty, 
 they should be banished the kingdom, as the impunity 
 of the offence " might hearten that wicked and perni- 
 cious sort of people more bauldly to go on in perverting 
 good subjects in religion, and withdrawing them from 
 their dutiful obedience to us." He at the same time 
 wrote to the principal ecclesiastical authorities, desiring 
 them to consult about the best means of checking the 
 present " new growth of popery," that " thereby the 
 world may see that we strike with the sword of justice 
 equally against the papist and puritan; that thereby no 
 just imputation may be laid upon our proceedings as a 
 cause of the increase of popery." 
 
 In September, we learn that Mortimer lay a prisoner 
 at Glasgow, " so heavily diseased, as it is feared he shall 
 hardly if ever escape." The King — " because we do not 
 desire the lives of ony of that sort of people, if we may 
 be secured from ony harm which they might do by the 
 perversion of ony of our guid subjects in their duty to 
 God and us " — was now pleased to order that he should 
 be committed to some ship sailing to a foreign port, 
 " with certification to him, that if at any time here- 
 after he shall return, it will be capital unto him." 
 
 1 Acts of the Privy Council held at Edinburgh 13th February 1621. 
 
 2 Original letters relating to ecclesiastical affairs, vol. ii. p. 618.
 
 348 LETTER OF FR. WILLIAM LESLIE. [1622. 
 
 This and some other instances of levity towards 
 Catholics in Scotland gave offence to zealous Presby- 
 terians, and there arose murmurs to the King's prejudice. 
 James, however, gave himself with increased energy to 
 carry out his arrangements for the " Spanish Match." 
 "He had resolved," he says, "to mitigate the severity of 
 those laws which inflict on Catholics any penalty in 
 respect of their religion. He further intended to grant 
 pardons and dispensations to such of his subjects and 
 Romish Catholics as within the space of five years shall 
 apply for the same." 1 In accordance (as it would seem) 
 with these promises, Popish recusants to the number 
 (it is said) of four thousand were liberated from prison. 
 The judges were directed to " make no niceness or diffi- 
 culty," to extend the royal favour to all such papists as 
 are in prison for any Church recusancy whatsoever ; or 
 for refusing the oath of supremacy, or for dispersing 
 Popish books, or for hearing or saying Mass, or any 
 other point of recusancy. 2 
 
 The following letter shows how the long afflicted 
 Catholics were induced to believe that the iron rule 
 under which they had been living for so many years had 
 at last past away. 
 
 Father William Leslie to Father Vitelleschi, General 
 of the Society of Jesus. 
 
 Feb. 4, 1G23. 
 
 "Very Reverend Father — P.C., — There are only 
 
 four of us in all this kingdom, — two in the north and two 
 
 in the south, — and we have almost more work on our 
 
 hands than we can attend to. If the marriage of our 
 
 1 MS. Bodl. Tanner, 73, fol. 368. 
 
 2 E. 0. Dom. cxxxii. n. 84, Aug. 2, 1622.
 
 1623.] THE SPANISH MATCH. 349 
 
 Prince with the daughter of the Spanish King has any 
 good effects, as is here thought likely, and if favour is 
 shown to the Catholics, then all the Scottish priests 
 belonging to our Society, who are fit for this mission, 
 should be sent here. Both the nobles and the common 
 people are now much better affected towards the Catho- 
 lic faith than was the case formerly, the more so as they 
 witness the increasing alienation between the party of 
 the bishops and the Puritans, about which I have 
 already written to your Paternity. We are likely, there- 
 fore, before long to want a multitude of labourers for 
 this hitherto neglected vineyard. Would that the Holy 
 Father, the Vicar of Christ on earth, out of his charity 
 to God and pastoral solicitude, might duly weigh this, 
 for if he did, he would certainly provide men to labour 
 anions this nation, so well affected as it is to the faith 
 of its forefathers and the Apostolic See. The Catholic 
 religion is in great peril for want of men, and it would 
 be sad if a nation, which has flourished for so many 
 centuries with the integrity of its faith inviolate, should 
 fall away now under the assaults of heresy. Yet this is 
 what will certainly happen, in my judgment, so untiring 
 is the vigilance of the heretics, and so great their power, 
 unless diligent and early efforts are made to supply men to 
 work in Scotland. I do what I can, but cannot satisfy all 
 the calls upon me. We join in greetings to our brethren, 
 and pray the Lord of the harvest to send them hither. 
 
 " William Leslie." l 
 
 For some time it seemed as if the Spanish match 
 would succeed, and in 1623, Charles, Prince of Wales, 
 actually went to the Court of Spain, along with Buck- 
 ingham, to prosecute his suit. Buckingham, however, 
 having quarrelled with the leading men, and given great 
 1 Latin MS., Stonyhurst Archives, voL Scotia.
 
 350 DEATH OF JAMES I. [1625. 
 
 offence to the ladies of the Spanish Court, the negotia- 
 tion ultimately failed. A new treaty of marriage was 
 immediately set on foot to console James for the failure 
 of that with Spain, and Buckingham busied himself in 
 trafficking for a marriage between Charles and the 
 Princess Henrietta Maria of France. She was the 
 youngest daughter of the last King, in her fourteenth 
 year, and distinguished by the beauty of her features, 
 and the elegance of her figure. The Pope, Urban VIII. , 
 and Philip of Spain made several attempts to dissuade 
 Louis XIII. from giving his consent to a marriage which 
 caused much indignation in England, and was likely to 
 alienate the English people more than ever from the 
 Holy See. The King of France, yielding to the influ- 
 ence and the reasoning of his mother, who represented 
 the marriage as a measure likely to prove most beneficial 
 to France, gave his consent. Cardinal de Eichelieu, 
 aware that James had fixed his heart on the match, and 
 that the power of Buckingham depended on the success 
 of the treaty, required that the King of England, in a 
 secret engagement signed by himself, his son, and a 
 secretary of state, should promise to grant to his Catho- 
 lic subjects, that all Catholics imprisoned for religion 
 should be discharged, and that for the future they should 
 suffer no molestation on account of the private and 
 peaceable exercise of their worship. 1 
 
 It was at this juncture that James instructed the 
 Lord Chancellor Hay to put a stop to the persecution 
 in the country. 2 This was James' last act in connection 
 with the Catholic Church in Scotland. A few weeks 
 later, after a short indisposition, he expired on the 27th 
 March 1625, in the fifty-ninth year of his age. 
 
 1 Hardwicke Papers, i. 547-561. 
 
 2 Letters and State papers during the reign of King James VI. 
 Edinburgh, 1838, 4to, p. 388.
 
 NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 I. 
 
 Sir Walter Lindsay of Balgawies, younger son of David of 
 Edzell, ninth Earl of Crawford, and a convert to Catholicism, 1 
 seems to have been sent on a mission to Spain even before 
 the death of Queen Mary. A paper, entitled " The Content 
 of the Discourse made by Mr Walter Lindsay of Balgays, 
 put in Spanish and in print" is preserved among the 
 Cottonian MSS. 2 It is but a summary of the original Narra- 
 tive, a translation of which is here appended : 3 — 
 
 Account of the present state of the Catholic religion 
 in the realm of Scotland, in the year of our 
 Lord One Thousand Five Hundred and Ninety- 
 four. [By Sir Walter Lindsay of Balgawies.] 
 
 " I premise by stating that the King of Scotland is pos- 
 sessed of good natural abilities, and is now twenty-six years 
 of age. He was reared in the heretical doctrine of Calvin, 
 which he now holds, nevertheless he is mistrusted by the 
 Scotch heretics and the Queen of England ; and the Catho- 
 lics, recollecting his pious mother, and trusting in his natu- 
 
 1 Lord Crawford, described in 1583 as " in religion unsettled" (" Lives 
 of the Lindsays," vol. i. p. 300), though always a favourer of the French 
 or Catholic interest, had, between that year and 1589, been converted to 
 the Roman Catholic faith. — (" Lives of the Lindsays," i. p. 312.) 
 
 His brother, Sir James Lindsay, " exercised great authority at Court, 
 and James VI. would have advanced him to high dignity and office, and 
 great emoluments, but he abandoned all for conscience' sake, and preferred 
 leaving his native country rather than give up his religion." — (Letter of 
 Fr. Eobert Abercromby, Dundee, 1st Aug. 1598. Archives, S.J.). 
 
 8 Calig. C.IX. 477. The date 1586 is wrong. It should be 1594. 
 
 3 A copy is preserved in Blairs College Library, Aberdeenshire.
 
 352 NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 rally good disposition, hope that he will one day open the 
 gate to the light of truth. In general, the inhabitants of the 
 towns and maritime districts hold heretical opinions ; there 
 reside the preachers, calling themselves ministers, who are 
 continually seeking to fortify their positions, so as to weigh 
 more and more on the Government, but their movements are 
 jealously watched by the King and nobles, who are in general 
 favourably disposed towards the Catholic faith, as are also the 
 villagers and labourers. By the law of the land, and in virtue 
 of their inheritance, the nobles form the King's council, in 
 which they have a right to vote when at Court, unless found 
 guilty of treason, and thus they have more influence, and the 
 Crown less authority, than is the case in other kingdoms. 
 
 " The preachers meet on Fridays, and they term their 
 assembly or congregation, church and presbytery, affirming 
 that it is superior to the King's jurisdiction, and that it is 
 supreme in cases of religion or ecclesiastical government, 
 differing in that respect from their colleagues in England, 
 who acknowledge the Queen's ecclesiastical supremacy. 
 
 " Although the King of Scotland dislikes them, he stands 
 in awe of the ministers, in consequence of the prominent posi- 
 tion and authority they have assumed, and because they are 
 favoured by the Queen of England ; things have come to such 
 a pass that they excommunicate the nobles when they refuse 
 to comply with their heretical mandates, and have actually 
 threatened to excommunicate the King himself. 
 
 "Some years since the ministers put forth certain heretical 
 articles, denying the principal mysteries of our holy Catholic 
 religion, which they requested the King and his subjects to 
 sign, in token of obedience and submission, and as a public 
 profession of their faith and creed, in the same way as in 
 England one might attend a sectarian place of worship, or 
 swear that the Queen is head of the Church. In order to 
 please the King and gratify the ministers, the articles were 
 signed by many persons who thought that their compliance 
 with the request was of less importance and less displeasing 
 to God than they afterwards knew to be the case, after con- 
 ferring with Father James Gordon, Father William Crichton,
 
 NOTES AND ILLUSTEATIONS. 353 
 
 and other Fathers of the Society of Jesus, sent to Scotland by 
 Gregory the Thirteenth, of blessed memory, who are now in 
 that kingdom, and with the Bishop of Dunblane, who gave up 
 his bishopric to become a Carthusian friar, and was sent by 
 Sixtus the Fifth to his native land, and, after remaining there 
 disguised for several months with much edification and spiritual 
 advantage, ended his life at Rome in the odour of sanctity; and 
 lastly, through the agency of certain priests of English semi- 
 naries, who, being forced to leave England in consequence of 
 the rigorous decrees directed against them in the year 1501, 
 and taking into account the similarity of language, took refuge 
 in the neighbouring country of Scotland, by the special pro- 
 vidence of God our Lord, who from the perversity of His 
 enemies derives glory for Himself and good for His Church, 
 as appears by the sequel. Convinced that they had given 
 offence to God, and incurred grave sin by signing the articles, 
 the Laird of Fintry and Lord Balgawies were the first to 
 recant and oppose the ministers. The Laird of Fintry was 
 beheaded in Edinburgh by command of the King, and became 
 a glorious martyr. Refusing to submit to laws put in force 
 by heretical judges, the other nobleman withstood the ministers 
 for a long time with the help of an English priest, named 
 Ingram 1 (afterwards martyred in England), who lived in his 
 house as chaplain, said Mass, and preached sermons, which the 
 noble lord invited heretics and others to attend, not without 
 signal benefit, for many became converted to our holy faith. 
 
 " Seeing this, the ministers wrung from the King a deed, 
 enabling them to apprehend the nobleman on a charge of 
 treason, as a traitor excommunicated two or three years pre- 
 
 1 John Ingram, son of Ingram, Esq., of Stoke, in the county of 
 
 Hereford, " having employed his travel, since his mission from the Semi- 
 nary, in the country of Scotland, for the restoring of souls out of heresy 
 unto the unity of the Catholic Church, upon some urgent occasion had 
 been in England, and returning back again had entered into a boat to 
 pass over the river Tweed into Scotland (November 25, 1593), was stayed 
 by the keepers of Norham Castle, apprehended, and carried to Newcastle, 
 and put in a prison called the New Gate." — (" The Troubles of our Catholic 
 Forefathers related by Themselves." Third Series. Edited by John 
 Morris, S.J., p. 200.) John Ingram was executed at Gateside-head, on 
 the 26th of July 1594. 
 
 Z
 
 354 NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 viously ; and he gave them a blank warrant, authorising them 
 to arrest the nobleman, on condition of their finding a person 
 to execute it. We should here remark that the Scotch, espe- 
 cially the nobles, are accustomed to act in concert, so that 
 every one sides with his family, consequently an offence given 
 to a member of a family is resented by the whole of his house; 
 and in cases of bloodshed, vengeance is not confined to the 
 guilty person, but involves the whole family and lineage of 
 the transgressor. That law and custom, invented by Satan 
 to shed innocent blood, entered Scotland with heresy, which 
 is wont to produce such fruit, and diffused itself over the 
 whole country. But as the wisdom and goodness of the 
 Almighty are infinite, God has deigned to convert the poison 
 into a remedy, and to use the adversary's device to introduce 
 the Catholic religion. 
 
 " In consequence of this custom, Lord Walter Lindsay, 
 Baron Balgawies, being son of the Earl of Crawford of the 
 royal family, and nearly related to two or three earls and 
 many other Scotch noblemen, not only did no one dare to 
 exhibit the warrant or to take him into custody, but when the 
 ministers, after having excommunicated certain persons, and 
 threatened them with severe punishment for having dined 
 with an excommunicated recusant, were assembled for the 
 purpose of having him arrested, Lord Balgawies, accompanied 
 by a numerous escort of friends and relations, came into the 
 room where the preachers were plotting, and after making 
 them beg his pardon and promise that they would molest 
 no one on his account, he insisted on their partaking of a 
 sumptuous banquet prepared for them. He had come for the 
 purpose of making short work with them, but, in deference 
 to the representations of his friends and kinsfolk, he contented 
 himself with this proof of their submission, and did them no 
 harm. 
 
 " Encouraged by this example, the Earls of Huntly, Errol, 
 and Angus, and many other noblemen and gentlemen, openly 
 professed themselves Catholics. The ministers had recourse to 
 the Queen of England, the Catholics appealed to the Pope 
 and to the King of Spain, and sent Mr George Carr to Spain ;
 
 NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 355 
 
 but the English ambassador at Madrid, having got wind of 
 his departure, caused the ship and despatches to be seized ; 
 and the ministers, after inserting the letters to the King of 
 Spain, and many others, previously addressed to the Duke of 
 Parma and others, in a pamphlet of theirs, entitled "Treason 
 of the Scotch Papists revealed," prevailed on the King to 
 have them proclaimed traitors ; and, by the advice of Cecil, 
 Treasurer of England, a law was passed, declaring guilty of 
 high treason any one who should celebrate Mass or harbour a 
 priest. But, as the Crown is less powerful in Scotland than 
 in England, the law proved beneficial to the country, inas- 
 much as it stirred up numbers to profess their creed and 
 unite in defence of their faith. 
 
 " The ministers have excommunicated the Earls of Huntly, 
 Errol, and Angus, and many other noblemen, and the King in 
 Parliament has pronounced them rebels, and has ordered their 
 goods and chattels to be confiscated ; but they hold their own 
 by the strong arm, they make head against the heretics, and 
 they have entered towns, and have had some obnoxious mini- 
 sters beaten with ropes, in consequence of which the others 
 have thought fit to decamp, and in the hurry-scurry and con- 
 fusion of a nocturnal flitting, some have disappeared, and their 
 place has known them no more. 
 
 " The King threatens the allied nobles, but does not act 
 against them ; the ministers hold their peace in fear and 
 trembling, and regret having pushed matters so far, for every 
 day the league receives fresh accessions ; the heretics put their 
 faith in the Queen of England, and hope she will send them 
 troops. 
 
 " A few months since, his Holiness Pope Clement the 
 Eighth, moved by the zeal and compassion which, as Pontiff, 
 he feels for the whole Church, wrote to the King of Scotland, 
 to exhort him to embrace the Catholic faith, and sent him 
 forty thousand ducats, promising him a monthly allowance of 
 ten thousand ducats, on condition of his protecting the Catho- 
 lics, and allowing them to remain unmolested in the exercise 
 of their faith. When the vessel from Flanders arrived at 
 Aberdeen with the Pope's Nuncio, bearing the letters and
 
 356 NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 money, accompanied by Father Gordon, of the Society of 
 Jesus, on his return from Rome, where he had gone to inform 
 his Holiness of the state of affairs in Scotland, with several 
 other Scotchmen and three English priests, the heretics were 
 afraid to seize Father Gordon, uncle of the Earl of Huntly, 
 nor did they interfere with the Scotchmen, but they seized 
 the Nuncio, money and letters, and detained the English 
 priests, on the strength of a decree of the King, that no Eng- 
 lish subject should enter or leave Scotland without a passport 
 from the English Government or embassy. 
 
 " When the Earls of Errol and Angus heard that the 
 Nuncio and priests had been imprisoned, they immediately 
 took measures to deliver the captives, for fear lest they should 
 be removed to another place, and being joined within three 
 days by the Earl of Huntly at the head of a large force, they 
 attacked the town and set fire to it in four places, in consequence 
 of which the heretics were only too glad to escape destruction 
 on condition of releasing their captives, and promising to assist 
 the Catholics. Seeing how little dependance they can place 
 on the King, the nobles in league have used the money, their 
 soldiers keep the field and hold possession of the northern 
 half of Scotland, not to mention a great number of Catholics 
 who live peaceably in the other districts. 
 
 " Many remarkable events have occurred here, tending to 
 encourage the adherents of the true faith, and many signal 
 visitations of providence have befallen persons who have sub- 
 mitted to the ministers, which has caused many conversions and 
 has encouraged timid dissemblers to avow their creed openly. 
 It is customary with the Scotch Catholics to draw lots on St 
 Valentine's day in order to determine who shall be their 
 guardian saint and the object of their especial care during the 
 following year. After the Earl of Huntly had prepared 
 himself by devout confession and communion for celebrating 
 the festival of St Lawrence, who was to be his patron that 
 year, the Earl was listening to the sermon when he was in- 
 formed that his enemy the Earl of Argyll, taking advantage 
 of the censure of the ministers and royal proclamation, had 
 marched six or seven leagues into his dominions, pillaging
 
 NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 357 
 
 and burning villages and farms, harrying cattle and spoiling 
 the land. As soon as he had finished his devotions, the Earl 
 and thirty-six followers rode off in pursuit of the enemy over 
 the mountain pass by which they were retiring, and having 
 come up with them near some lakes, the Earl, being afraid 
 lest the trooj)ers driving the cattle should reach a morass 
 where the horses might be in danger of sinking, assailed the 
 enemy's rearguard single handed, slaying right and left, until 
 the arrival of his followers, who discomfited their adversaries 
 miraculously, for they were only thirty-six, and the hostile 
 force more than fifteen hundred ; they put more than five 
 hundred to death, and recovered the whole of the spoil, having 
 only one man hurt, though all the horses were killed. 
 The heretics were much dismayed by this success, and the 
 King caused the details of the affair to be related to him 
 several times, and would not believe them until they were 
 confirmed by some of the vanquished invaders. The Earl 
 said that he never felt so courageous in all his life; it seemed 
 as if nothing could resist him ; while his followers declared 
 the same. This victory, which led to many conversions, en- 
 couraged the Earl to fight for God's cause, and many of his 
 vassals who had rebelled against him, in consequence of the 
 censure of the ministers and the royal proclamation, returned 
 to his service. 
 
 " Great alarm was caused by a no less marvellous event 
 which befell the Earl of Morton, who, although a Catholic, 
 was persuaded by his kinsfolk and relations to treat with the 
 ministers and sign the articles contrary to our holy faith. 
 While he was in this frame of mind, sitting alone in his room 
 about twelve o'clock, he had a vision of an angel in the form 
 of a young man, who warned him : Earl, do not comply with 
 the advice of your relations, for if you sign the articles you 
 will lose your right hand and perish miserably. Moved by 
 these words, the Earl again fastened round his neck a gold 
 crucifix and Agnus Dei which he used to wear and had laid 
 aside when he gave up his resolution of serving God as a good 
 Catholic, and said to his chief advisers that they had led him 
 astray. He told them of the angel's visit and of his repentance,
 
 358 NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 and in order that God's great mercy might be ever known and 
 thankfully acknowledged by his lineage, he caused an angel 
 to be represented in his ancestral coat-of-arms, declared him- 
 self opposed to the ministers, and refused to sign the articles. 
 Subsequently, however, owing to the long continued and per- 
 severing representations of his relations, after the King had 
 made him great offers and had appointed him his lieutenant- 
 general, the unhappy noble again consented to sign the 
 articles, but he did not live long to exercise his new office, 
 for some time afterwards, being commissioned by the King to 
 arrest Baron Johnston, with five thousand soldiers, he met 
 with the end foretold him by the angel, as we shall presently 
 relate. 
 
 " On the approach of the Earl of Morton, the Baron took 
 advantage of his position, and arranged his band of six hun- 
 dred horsemen in three separate companies, in the form of a 
 triangle, so as to allow the vanguard of the Earl's forces to 
 penetrate the centre of his troops, on which the Baron 
 attacked the Earl's squadron in flank so violently that, break- 
 ing through the pikemen and musketeers, with one blow he 
 cut off his right hand, and with another he broke his leg and 
 unhorsed him, after which he was killed, on which the assail- 
 ing forces took to flight, the Baron gained the day, and it 
 became evident to all that the Earl had perished by the 
 judgment of God. 
 
 " Lord Claud Hamilton, youngest son of the Duke of 
 Chatellerault, signed the articles, aware that he was doing 
 wrong, but yielding to the persuasion of the ministers and of 
 his wife and her relations, being desirous moreover to gain 
 favour with the King. Being seated one day at dinner, while 
 the Gospel was being read, as is the custom in Scotland, when 
 the reader repeated the words, ' Whosoever denieth Me before 
 men, I will deny him before my Father,' Lord Claud rose 
 from his seat and tried to cut his wife's throat, saying that it 
 was in consequence of her and her brothers' persuasions that 
 he had renounced his faith and lost his soul. For many days 
 afterwards he remained raving mad so that it was necessary
 
 NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 359 
 
 to bind him with cords, and even now he has to be watched, 
 and has not entirely recovered his reason. 1 
 
 " The example of the house of Hamilton is an awful warn- 
 ing to men to look to themselves and to their families, bidding 
 them fear the just judgments and chastisements of God, which, 
 though they may delay, are sure to fall on the guilty. The 
 Duke of Chatellerault, head of the family, one of the 
 noblest and bravest knights that Scotland has produced for 
 many years, was esteemed and prospered in Scotland and in 
 France, as long as he served God and the Catholic faith. 
 But when the Queen of England had deluded him into be- 
 lieving that she was willing to marry his son the Earl of 
 Arran ; when the Duke and Earl came to Scotland with 
 their adherents, and by the help of the English dethroned the 
 Queen Regent Dowager, widow of James the Fifth, sister of 
 the Duke of Guise, and mother of Queen Mary, who about 
 this time suffered martyrdom in England ; and when the Duke 
 of Chatellerault made himself Regent of Scotland, and turned 
 out the French garrisons, laying hands, he and his accom- 
 plices, on the revenues and possessions of the Church, and 
 demolishing churches and monasteries; in the midst of his 
 seeming prosperity he began to feel the weight of God's judg- 
 ments on himself and his family. Pierced with poignant grief 
 and sorrow upon seeing how he had been deceived by the 
 Queen, who had craftily induced him to offend God and ruin 
 his native land, the Earl went out of his mind, and at the 
 present time is living in a state of idiocy. The Duke him- 
 self, being of the blood royal, thought by changing his reli- 
 gion, and by arranging the marriage which he desired, to 
 make himself lord of Scotland and England, but he too saw 
 himself deposed, all his family possessions confiscated, and his 
 whole kindred proclaimed traitors by those very men who 
 for his sake had turned heretics ; to which punishments God 
 
 1 Lord Claud Hamilton had been received into the Church by Fr. 
 James Tyrie in 1580. His son, James Hamilton, Earl of Abercorn, was 
 a Roman Catholic. His grandson, James Hamilton, second Earl of Aber- 
 corn, was, in 1649, excommunicated by the General Assembly of the 
 Church of Scotland, and ordered out of the kingdom. He died about 
 1670.
 
 3G0 NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 our Lord added that he lived to see all his sons lose their 
 reason, with the exception of Lord Claud Hamilton, who has 
 become insane since, and thus overwhelmed by anguish and 
 affliction, he ended his wretched life in dishonour, after incur- 
 ring, as is to be feared, the Divine displeasure, that he might 
 be a warning, not only to his own countrymen, but to 
 powerful noblemen in other lands. 
 
 " To conclude this sketch of the present religious condition 
 of the realm of Scotland as far as it concerns our holy faith, 
 I may add that whereas there has existed in times past 
 amongst English and Scotch a national enmity and hatred, 
 which has led to the most cruel wars, and has been produc- 
 tive of infinite bloodshed, by the grace of God our Lord there 
 is now such mutual love and union between the Catholics of 
 England and Scotland, that in persecutions and afflictions they 
 assist one another with the greatest charity and goodwill. I 
 have thought it right to note this, in order to show how much 
 the grace of God can effect when it is received in earnest ; 
 and as, in the days of the primitive Church, it caused 
 all the faithful to be animated by one heart and one soul 
 (cot unum et anima una), so the present unanimity between 
 the Catholics of both countries may well lead us to hope 
 that great good may result therefrom in regard to the glory 
 of God, the welfare of souls, and the prosperity of our holy 
 Catholic faith in those lands."
 
 II. 
 
 THE PRESENT STATE OF THE NOBILITY IN 
 SCOTLAND, 1st July 1592. 
 
 (State-Paper Office. " Scotland Eliz.," vol. xliii. No. 53, indorsed : 
 " Of the Nobility in Scotland." Burghley had studied the paper, and 
 marked the names of the Papists. Quoted by Tytler, vol. ix. p. 376.) 
 
 LIST OF THE CATHOLIC NOBILITY. 
 
 Eaels. 
 
 " Huntly (Gordon). Of thirty-three years. His mother, 
 daughter to the Duke Hamilton. Married the now 
 Duke of Lennox s sister. His house, Strathbogy. 
 
 " Crawford (Lindsay). Of thirty-five years. His mother, 
 daughter to the Earl Marshall. Married first the 
 Lord Drummond's daughter, and now the Earl of 
 Athol's sister. His house, Finhaven. 
 See above, p. 351, footnote 1. 
 
 " Errol (Hay). Of thirty-one years. His mother, Keith, 
 daughter to the Earl Marshall. Married first the 
 Regent Murray s daughter, next Athol's sister, and 
 now hath to wife Morton's daughter. His house, 
 Slanes." 
 The Earl of Errol, as a " recusant Papist," was only enabled 
 to remain in Lis country on a condition that he should not 
 pass beyond a small circle around his own castle in Aberdeen- 
 shire. Being embarrassed by debt, and troubled by his credi- 
 tors, he found himself constrained to take some legal steps 
 " for the provision of his mony young children, and settling of 
 some good course for the estate of his house." He therefore 
 got a formal licence (Nov. 9, 1615), " to repair to Edinburgh, 
 and there to remain in some lodging, not kything ony way in
 
 362 NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 daylight upon, the heich street, for ten days after the 20th of 
 November." — (P. C. R). 
 
 Deprived of his possession, the Earl was compelled to eat 
 the bread of exile. Nor was he more secure abroad than at 
 home. Shortly after his arrival in Holland, where he was 
 carried by contrary winds, as he was about to make his way 
 into Flanders, disguised as a menial, suspicions were excited 
 by his appearance and manner, and he fell into the hands of 
 the emissaries of Queen Elizabeth, to whom he was delivered 
 contrary to the law of nations, and he would assuredly have 
 been put to death if, the day before the sailing of the vessel 
 on which he was to embark, the Earl had not invited his 
 captors to a sumptuous banquet, during which, throwing him- 
 self on his bed, as though he had taken too much wine, he 
 contrived to intoxicate his guardians so completely that he 
 managed to escape un perceived by a back door, leaving his 
 servants to complete the work he had begun, and prevent his 
 escape from being discovered by the retinue of the English 
 officials. He then went on board a Scotch vessel which 
 happened to be in waiting, and was restored to his family 
 and friends. 
 
 After James' accession to the throne of England, at the 
 instigation of the crafty Cecil, a fearful storm of religious per- 
 secution burst forth against Catholics. Errol was imprisoned 
 in the castle of Edinburgh, acquiring great merit, and be- 
 queathing to others a bright example of constancy in confess- 
 ing the true faith. He was still alive in 1628. — (Conn. De 
 Duplici Statu Religionis apud Scotos, p. 153.) 
 
 " Montrose (Graham). Of forty -nine years. His mother, 
 daughter of the Lord Fleming. Married the Lord 
 Drummond's sister. Auld Montrose, in Angus. 
 
 Lords. 
 
 " Seton. Of forty years. His mother, daughter to Sir Wm. 
 Hamilton (of Sanquhar). His wife is Montgomery, 
 the EarVs aunt. His house, Seaton." 
 George, fifth Lord Seton, a man whose diplomatic talents
 
 THE PRESENT STATE OF THE NOBILITY IN SCOTLAND. 3G3 
 
 and unshaken loyalty had recommended him, in the first in- 
 stance, to Mary, and afterwards to James VI., was employed 
 during the greater part of his life in important embassies to 
 the different Courts of Europe. 
 
 Hay, in his MS. collections, has preserved a curious anec- 
 dote of George, fifth Lord Seton. " After the battle of 
 Langsyde," says he, " the said George, Lord Seton, was forced 
 to fly to Flanders, and was there in exile two years, and drove 
 a waggon of four horses for his livelihood. His picture, in 
 that condition, I have seen vividly painted upon the north 
 end of the long gallery at Seton, now overlaid with timber." 
 — ("Hay's Coll.," vol. iii. p. 261, Advocate's Library. Cf. 
 Tytler's "< Life of Craig," p. 230.) 
 
 Alexander Seton, fourth son of George Lord Seton, and 
 Isabel Hamilton, had resided long at Rome, where he was 
 much esteemed for his virtue and piety, and on his return to 
 Scotland he was held in high honour, no less on account of 
 his illustrious origin than for his prudence. He was much 
 loved by the King, from whom he received valuable grants 
 of land. 1 After having been appointed President of the High 
 Court of Justice, he subsequently became Chancellor of Scot- 
 land, in which high office he acquired such a wide-spread 
 reputation for justice and integrity that, on the occasion of 
 his funeral, all classes vied with one another in exhibiting 
 every mark of respect and sorrow for the loss the nation had 
 sustained. Four years before his death, in presence of a 
 numerous assembly of Catholics, attended by the ringleaders 
 of the Puritan faction and many other Protestants, after affirm- 
 ing that he had never ceased to hold the doctrine of the 
 orthodox Church, he declared that nothing gave him greater 
 pain than to recollect how he had shown himself lukewarm 
 and remiss in his profession of faith, in order to ingratiate 
 himself with his Sovereign. When he had thus spoken with 
 tears in his eyes, he called the assembly to witness that he 
 would die in the profession of the Roman Catholic faith. — 
 (Conn. De Duplici Statu Religionis apud Scotos, p. 154.) 
 
 1 Queen Mary stood godmother to him at the font ; on which occasion 
 she presented to him as " one godbairne gift the lands of Pluscarty, in 
 Moray."
 
 364 NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 " Livingston (surname, Levingston). Of sixty -one years. 
 
 His mother, daughter of umquhile Earl of Morton. 
 
 His wife, the Lord Fleming's sister. Calendar." 
 Alexander, seventh Lord Livingstone. He married Dame 
 Eleanor Hay, only daughter of Andrew, seventh Earl of Errol. 
 The charge of the young Princess Elizabeth was entrusted to 
 the care of Lady Livingstone. Among the causes assigned, 
 in the General Assembly in May 1601, "of the defection 
 from the puritie of true religion," one was, " the educatioun 
 of his Majesties childrein in the companie of profest and 
 obstinat Papists, such as, the Ladie Livingstoun." 
 
 " Maxwell (surname, Maxwell). Of forty-one years. His 
 mother, daughter of the Earl of Morton that preceded 
 the Regent. His wife, Douglas, sister to the Earl of 
 Angus. 
 
 " Harris (surname, Maxwell). Of thirty-seven years. His 
 mother, Harris, by whom he had the lordship. His 
 wife is the sister of Newbottle. His house, Terragles. 
 
 " Sanquhar (surname, Chrichton). Of twenty-four years. 
 His mother, daughter of Drumlanrig. Unmarried. 
 His house, Sanquhar. 
 
 " Gray. Of fifty-four years. His mother, the Lord Ogilvy's 
 
 daughter. His wife, the Lord Ruthvens sister. 
 
 Fowlis." 
 
 Andrew, eighth Lord Gray, was lieutenant of the Gens-d'armes 
 
 Ecossais in France, under Lord Gordon, 1624, and was much 
 
 engaged in the wars there. 
 
 He was banished the kingdom by parliament, never to 
 return on pain of death, for being with Montrose, 6th Octo- 
 ber 1645 ; but this does not appear to have been carried into 
 effect. He was excommunicated by commission of the Gene- 
 ral Assembly, 1649, on account of his being a Roman 
 Catholic, and had a fine of £1500 imposed on him by Crom- 
 well's act of grace and pardon, 1654. . . .
 
 THE PRESENT STATE OF THE NOBILITY IN SCOTLAND. 365 
 
 His son Patrick, Master of Gray, was killed at the siege of 
 a town in France. — (" Wood's Peerage," p. G72). 
 
 " Ogilvy. Of fifty-one years. His mother, Campbell of 
 Caddell. His wife, the Lord Forbes' daughter. No 
 castle, but the B. of Brichen's house. 
 
 " Fleming. Of twenty-five years. His mother, daughter of 
 the Master of Ross. His wife, the Earl of Montrose's 
 daughter. Bigger. 
 
 " Urquhart (surname, Seaton). Of thirty-five years. The 
 Lord Seaton's brother. His wife, the Lord Brummond's 
 daughter. Founded on the Priory of Pluscardy." 
 
 To Burghley's list should be added the following names of 
 
 Catholic noblemen. 
 
 Earl of Angus. 
 
 The Earl of Angus, one of the three Catholic lords whose 
 correspondence with Spain caused so much trouble in 1592, 
 had since lived at home in quietness and obedience. In 
 1608 we find his lordship pleading that, to avoid imprison- 
 ment for his religion, he might be allowed to go into exile. 
 In a letter to the King, August 10, 1608, adverting to the 
 fact of the General Assembly having given forth an act for 
 his immediate excommunication, he says : " What grief and 
 sorrow this brings to my heart, God knows ; because my 
 greatest care has ever been, and sail be, that I might end my 
 days (whilk, I am persuaded, will not be many) at peace with 
 God, and in your Majesty's obedience. . . . The permission 
 whilk of grace only I crave (gif it please not your hieness to 
 ease me with a better), is either to depart this country . . . 
 with surety not to return, or else that it wold please your 
 majesty to confine me in ane of mine awn houses, and so 
 mony miles about the same, where I am glad to live as ane 
 private subject, and never to meddle me with public affairs, 
 but by your majesty's direction."
 
 36 G NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 Compelled to leave his country, Angus took refuge in 
 France, and established himself in Paris, where he ended his 
 days in the exercise of solid piety. 
 
 " He was so fond of prayer," wrote an eye-witness, " that 
 he assisted every day at the Canonical Hours in the Abbey 
 Church of St Germain des Pre's. The church doors being shut 
 at Matins, he rose and recited the office at midnight by him- 
 self, and often spent two hours at a time in meditation. He 
 observed the fasts and commandments of the Church with 
 such exactitude that he would rather have died than trans- 
 gressed in these respects without great necessity. Such a 
 holy life won for him the esteem and respect of every one, 
 and it was in these dispositions that he died in the fifty- 
 seventh year of his age.' 
 
 »i 
 
 Earl of Argyll. 
 
 Archibald, seventh Earl of Argyll, succeeded his father, 
 1584, being then under age. His lordship's first public 
 appearance was in 1594, when the Catholic Earls of Huntly 
 and Errol, who had been convicted of high treason, and their 
 estates forfeited, raised a rebellion against King James VI. 
 The Earl of Argyll, then a gallant young man of eighteen, 
 was appointed the King's lieutenant to go against the rebels. 
 They encountered at Glenlivat, on the 3d of October 1594. 2 
 
 After the conflict at Glenlivat, the Earl of Argyll remained 
 some time in Rome, and became a Catholic. On his return 
 to Scotland, he was reconciled with Huntly, and their friend- 
 ship was cemented by the betrothment of Argyll's daughter 
 to Huntly's son. 
 
 The Earl concealed for a long time his change of religion, 
 
 1 (T. du Breul, Theatre des Antiquite's de Paris. Paris, 1639, 4to, p. 
 261). Cf. " Diseours funebre sur la mort de feu J/. Le Comte d'Anguys, 
 seigneur e'cossais, de'cede a Paris, oil il estait refugit four y avoir libre exer- 
 cice de la religion Ca.tholique," Paris, 1611. 
 
 2 " Wood's Peerage," vol. i. p. 93. Cf. A faithful narrative of the great 
 and miraculous victory obtained by George Gordon, Earl of Huntly, and 
 Francis Hay, Earl of Errol, Catholic noblemen, over Archibald Campbell, 
 Earl of Argyll, lieutenant, at Strathaven, 3d October 1594. "Scottish 
 Poems of the 16th century," edited by Dalyell, i. 136. Edinburgh, 1801.
 
 THE PRESENT STATE OF THE NOBILITY IN SCOTLAND. 367 
 
 but King James having discovered it, he obliged Argyll to 
 make over all his estates to his son, reserving only such a 
 provision for himself as might support him. 
 
 In 1G18 he left Scotland, and entered the service of the 
 King of Spain, and distinguished himself in the war against 
 Holland. 
 
 On the death of his first wife, the Earl had married again 
 at St Botolph's, Bishopsgate, London, in 1610, Anne Corn- 
 wallis, 1 a Roman Catholic. Three of the Earl's daughters, 
 " Victoria de Campbell d'Argyle," the Honourable Lady 
 Barbara Campbell, and Dame Melchiora Campbell, became 
 Benedictine nuns in Bruxelles. 
 
 Lord Robert Semple, Colonel Semple, &c. 
 
 In September 1560, " was the Castell of Sempill 2 besieged 
 and tane, because the Lord thairof disobeyed the lawes and 
 ordinances of the Counsall in many thingis and especiallie in 
 that, that he wold manteane the idolatrie of the Messe." 
 
 The Earl of Arran having taken possession of Castle Semple, 
 Lord Semple took refuge in France. 3 On the 6th of May 
 1573, " Robert, Lord Semple, was denounced and put to the 
 home, for intruding Sir Johnne Hamilton, a Papist priest, in 
 the vicarage of Eastwood." 4 
 
 On the 20th Aug. 1588, order was issued by the Privy 
 
 1 She was the daughter of Sir William Cornwallis, of Bronie, ancestor 
 of the Earl of Cornwallis. She published, in 1622, a Spanish translation 
 of the Confessions of St Angustin : " El Alma del Incomparable S. 
 Augustin, sacada del cuerpo de sus Confessiones." Antverpise, 1622, 4to. 
 (Archives of Lille. Cf. " Historia Sacra . . . Archiepiscopatus Mechli- 
 nensis Cornelii van Gestel," 2 vols. fol. Haga?, 1725.) 
 
 2 The castle surrendered about the 21st of October 1561. " B. 0. Scot- 
 land Eliz ," vol. v. No. 39. 
 
 Castle Semple is in the parish of Lochwinnoch, and county of Ren- 
 frew, and stood at the northern end of the lake called Lochwinnoch, from 
 which the parish derived its name; it was demolished in the year 1735, 
 and replaced by a modern mansion. — (D. Laing, " "Works of Knox," vol. 
 ii. p. 130.) 
 
 3 " Diurnal of Occurrents," pp. 62, 63. " E. O. Scotland Elizabeth," 
 vol. vii. No. 40. 
 
 4 " Register of the Privy Council/' vol. ii. p. 229.
 
 368 NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 Council against resetting Captain Semple, who had recently 
 come on a " pretended" mission from the Prince of Parma, 
 and had been trafficking treasonably with his Majesty's sub- 
 jects " for alienating thair myndis frome his Hienes obedience, 
 and overthraw of the trew relienoun." 1 
 
 Captain William Semple was the son of the third Earl of 
 Semple. He was born in 15 46, and resided for some years 
 in the Court of Mary Stuart. When that unfortunate Prin- 
 cess fled into England from her rebellious subjects, he also 
 forsook his native country, and passing into Belgium, served 
 for some time under the Prince of Orange, deceived, it would 
 seem, by the professions of loyalty with which that Prince at first 
 strove to conceal his rebellion. In 1573, Mary Stuart, from 
 her prison in England, was enabled, through the agency of 
 John Seaton, son of the Earl of Winton, to undeceive him, 
 and to notify her pleasure that he should pass to the service 
 of the King of Spain. He immediately obeyed the command 
 of his Sovereign. Through his influence three regiments of 
 Scottish infantry and three companies of cavalry, together 
 with the fortresses of Guelders, Bruges, and Lierre, embraced 
 the Spanish cause. In recompense of these services, and of 
 his heroic defence of Lierre against the French, commanded 
 by the Duke of Alencon in person, the Duke of Parma offered 
 him 70,000 ducats, but he would accept of nothing. 
 
 In 1582 Colonel Semple passed into Spain. Philip II. 
 availed himself of him, to send to Scotland the succours of 
 money which he gave to the Catholic missionaries in that 
 kingdom ; he also employed him in several confidential mis- 
 sions, and especially in the secret correspondence with the 
 Catholic nobility of Scotland. In 1588, the Duke of Parma 
 sent him on a secret mission to James, King of Scotland, to 
 induce him, by the offer of aid in men and money, to declare 
 war against Elizabeth of England. The King appeared to 
 favour the design until the miscarriage of the Armada ; but 
 he then ordered the Colonel to be apprehended, and appointed 
 for his prison the uppermost apartment of a house seven 
 storeys high, in Edinburgh. That the Catholics might not be 
 
 1 » 
 
 Register of the Privy Council," vol. ii. p. 229.
 
 THE PRESENT STATE OF THE NOBILITY IN SCOTLAND. 3G9 
 
 able to liberate him, the King placed a guard of 400 men 
 around the house, and ordered that four sentinels should 
 always remain in the Colonel's room, and not lose sight of him 
 by day or night. Notwithstanding these precautions, God 
 delivered him from the death which his enemies had pre- 
 pared for him. The Countess of Ross, a sister of the Colonel, 
 sent him, by a trusty servant, what appeared to be three 
 large pies, forewarning him that only two were in reality pies, 
 that the third was a silken cord covered with paste. She 
 informed him that he was condemned to die on the following 
 day, after having suffered the torture of the boot, to make 
 him denounce his accomplices ; that in consequence, if he 
 wished to save his life, it was necessary that he should make 
 his escape by the window of his prison that night, and that 
 he would find horses ready at the South Gate. The Colonel 
 knew how to avail himself of the means of escape thus offered 
 to him. At night-fall he divided the two pies among the 
 soldiers, and for this kindness they consented to leave him 
 alone while he said his accustomed prayers ; he immediately 
 fastened his door, placed his bedstead at the window, and 
 having tied the cord to it, and put on his gloves, he began to 
 descend. On account of his corpulence and the extreme 
 thinness of the cord, his flesh was cut with the most acute 
 pain, and he was on the point of abandoning the cord and 
 letting himself fall to the ground, when his foot struck upon 
 a balcony. After resting for a short time upon it, he reached 
 the ground in safety. He now found himself in a garden, 
 the wall of which, on account of the inequality of the ground, 
 was low inside and high without. Before him was a square 
 (the Grass Market), guarded by soldiers. In this difficulty, 
 with great presence of mind and assisted by the darkness of 
 the night, he resolved to act the drunkard, and throwing him- 
 self into a pool which adjoined the enclosure, he purposely 
 besmeared his clothes and face, and bespattered the soldiers 
 with mud ; they believed him to be really drunk, and after a 
 few kicks suffered him to pass. Having thus regained his 
 liberty, he had interviews with the Marquis of Hamilton and 
 the Earls of Huntly and Errol, with whom he arranged that 
 
 2 A
 
 370 NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 the secret correspondence should be continued by Sir David 
 Graham, Baron of Fintry, and Robert Bruce. He thereupon 
 returned to Flanders, and the Duke of Parma gave him a 
 letter of recommendation to the King of Spain, setting forth 
 his great services, and praying his Catholic Majesty to reward 
 him as he deserved. He was consulted on several occasions 
 by the King regarding the manner in which Spain might 
 most efficaciously interfere in the affairs of Scotland and Eng- 
 land. The King assigned him considerable sums of money 
 as pensions and salaries, which he in part accepted, as he was , 
 now deprived of his patrimony ; but these pensions were so 
 irregularly paid that he was often reduced to great want. He 
 married, in 1593, Dona Maria de Ledesma, widow of Don 
 Juan Perez de Alizaga, and daughter of Don Juan de 
 Ledesma, member of the " Council of the Indies." By her 
 he had two daughters, one of whom married, the other entered 
 into religion. 
 
 As the salaries of the Colonel were not paid, his arrears 
 amounted to a very considerable sum, and seeing no other 
 way of obtaining payment, he asked His Catholic Majesty to 
 grant him, as an equivalent, the house known by the name 
 of Jacomotrezo. It had belonged to the celebrated Milanese 
 artist Jacomo or Jacobo de Trezo — the same who erected the 
 beautiful tabernacle in the Church of the Escurial — and his 
 heirs had sold it to the King. On the 1 3th of December 
 1613, the house of Jacomotrezo together with its title-deeds, 
 &c, were delivered over to the Colonel, as payment for 
 175,256 reals, at which the house was legally valued. The 
 site was 25,348 square feet in extent, and the measurements 
 of the frontage in the streets of Chinchilla, Jacomotrezo, and 
 La Salud, were respectively 139,159, and 165 feet. The 
 house was in a ruinous condition, and, in order to repair it, 
 the Colonel had to contract a debt of 200,000 reals. 
 
 Grieved at the state to which he saw the Catholic religion 
 reduced in his native country, the Colonel at this time formed 
 the design of founding a College for the education of mis- 
 sionaries, to perpetuate the true faith in the Kingdom of 
 Scotland. At his entreaty the King of Spain, Philip IV.,
 
 THE PRESENT STATE OF THE NOBILITY IN SCOTLAND. 371 
 
 wrote in 1625, to Pope Urban VIII., praying him to grant 
 an annual rent of 38,000 reals from ecclesiastical benefices, 
 to assist in founding and endowing a College for that object. 
 The foundation was to be made in Madrid, in the house of 
 the Colonel. The Holy Father thought it more convenient 
 that the foundation should be made in Rome ; but the Colonel 
 proved in his answer, by reasons founded on experience, that 
 it would be more useful in Madrid, and besought His Holiness 
 to accede to the desires of His Catholic Majesty. On the 
 10th of May 1627, was executed the deed of foundation, an 
 authentic copy of which exists in the Archives of the College, 
 in Valladolid. On the 17th of June of the same year, the 
 Pope addressed a brief to the Colonel, in which he gave him 
 his apostolic benediction, congratulated him on the foundation 
 of the College, and on the good fortune which he had had, of 
 being brought up in the Court of Mary Stuart ; and he prayed 
 Almighty God to reward with eternal happiness his great 
 virtues and merits, of which he had been fully informed by 
 George Conn. 
 
 The foundation of the College closed the active life of the 
 Colonel. His health was then very delicate, and in the 
 following years it gradually declined until he was confined to 
 bed, and deprived of the use of his hands and feet. On the 
 20th of February 1633, he made his last will, in which he 
 confirmed the foundation and endowment of the College. He 
 ordered that it should never contain more than twelve students, 
 and that they should be drawn from the nobility of Scotland, 
 with a preference for his own family. 1 
 
 Philip II. in his letter to Don B. de Mendoca observes that 
 in spite of the zeal in his service manifested by the Colonel, 
 " he is nevertheless extremely Scotch." 2 He died in his 
 
 1 Cf. Catholic Directory, 1873. Conn, De Duplici Statu Religionis apud 
 Scotos, p. 144, 145. Valladolid MSS., Blairs College, Aberdeenshire. 
 During the lifetime of the Colonel some Scottish youths had come to 
 Spain, with the intention of preparing themselves for the missions of 
 their native country. These he maintained at his own expense. In 1639 
 the foundation of the College was approved by the King in Cortes, but 
 some years passed before any students arrived. 
 
 2 Teulet, vol. viii. p. 582.
 
 372 NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 house of Jacomotrezo on the 1st of March 1633, at the age 
 of eighty-seven. 1 
 
 A brother of Colonel Semple, Gilbert, lost his life in the 
 wars in Flanders. His sister Helen sought refuge in Belgium, 
 being reduced to a state of great poverty. She is thus 
 described in a letter addressed by F. M'Quhirrie, to Father 
 General, 6th October 1601. 
 
 " The bearer of this letter to your Paternity has always 
 been among the most zealous of our friends, and, for years 
 past, she has rendered us constant assistance and encourage- 
 ment. She has adhered to the Catholic faith so constantly 
 and resolutely that this, and the good offices which she has 
 rendered to us, have exposed her to great injuries and suffer- 
 ings, to imprisonment and danger of death, and at last being 
 obliged to seek safety in exile from her native land, she is 
 taking refuge with your Paternity." 2 
 
 F. Hugh Semple, S.J., a relative of Colonel Semple, was 
 born in 1596, entered the Society at Toledo in 1615, and 
 was esteemed an eminent linguist and profound mathemati- 
 cian. He died rector of the Scotch College, Madrid, Sept- 
 ember 29, 1654, at 58. 3 
 
 The Semples remained Catholics till 1680, when Francis 
 Lord Sempill made profession of the reformed religion and 
 took his seat in Parliament, where none of his ancestors had 
 sat since the reign of Queen Mary. 
 
 Hamilton. 
 
 Lord Claud Hamilton, the youngest son of the Duke of Chatellerault, 
 was received into the Church by Fr. James Tyrie, S.J., in 1580. (See 
 above, p. 359 and 360.) 
 
 James Hamilton, styled " Master of Paisley," son and heir 
 apparent of Claud (Hamilton) 1st Lord Paisley, by Margaret, 
 
 1 Teulet., Papiers d'Etat, vol iii. p. 582. 
 
 2 Archives of the Society of Jesus, Latin MSS. 
 
 3 For his writings see Father de Backer's Biblioth. des Ecrivains, S.J. 
 He is also briefly referred to in a letter of Father Christopher Mendoza, 
 dated from Madrid, 1675, as residing in that city. (See F. Bichard 
 Cardwell's Collection of Transcripts from MSS., S.J., Brussels Archives, 
 vol. iii. p. 649, Stonyhurst, MSS. ; also Oliver.)
 
 THE PRESENT STATE OF THE NOBILITY IN SCOTLAND. 373 
 
 daughter of George (Seton) 6 th Lord Seton, being P.C. and 
 Gent, of the Bedchamber to James VI. , obtained in 1G00 
 the office of sheriff of Co. Linlithgow to him and his heirs 
 male, and in 1601, a grant of the Lands of Abercorn, &c, 
 in that Co., subsequently erected into a free Barony. In 
 1604 he was on the Commission which treated of a proposed 
 union of Scotland with England. On 10th July 1606 he 
 was created Lord Paisley, Hamilton, &c, and Earl of Aber- 
 corn (Co. Linlithgow), to him and his heirs male whatever. 
 He married Marion, first da. of Thomas (Boyd), 5th Lord 
 Boyd, by Margaret, da. of Sir Mathew Campbell of Loudoun. 
 He died at Monkton, 23d March, and was buried 29th April 
 1618. in the Abbey Church, Paisley, aged 43. His widow 
 died in the Canongate, Edinburgh, 26th August 1632, and 
 was buried 13th September, with her husband. 
 
 James Hamilton, Earl of Abercorn, succeeded to his 
 father's peerage in Scotland in 1618, and in 1621 he suc- 
 ceeded his grandfather as Lord of Paisley. Being a Roman 
 Catholic, he was excommunicated by the General Assembly 
 of the Church of Scotland and ordered out of the kingdom. 
 He died about 1670. ("The Genealogist," Jan. 1884.) 
 
 John Lord Hume. 
 
 In September 1565 the following letter was addressed to 
 Lord Hume by Pope Pius IV. 
 
 "To our beloved son, the noble Lord John Hume. 
 
 " Beloved son and nobleman, health, &c. — We were 
 delighted at the information brought by our Venerable 
 Brother the Bishop of Dunblane, sent as ambassa- 
 dor to us by your most Serene Queen, who told us about 
 many of the noblemen of your country, and regarding your- 
 self in particular, described your resolution and perseverance 
 in God's service, and in the defence of the Catholic religion, 
 and your loyalty to the Queen. This disposition towards our 
 holy religion, and fidelity to those who bear rule, are due 
 alike from all men, but are particularly conspicuous in men 
 of high rank. We congratulate you on the praise and 
 honour you have thus won in the opinion of men, and you
 
 374 NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 may look for much greater rewards from God ; and since, by- 
 God's blessing, there is every hope of improvement in the 
 condition of that valued kingdom, we entreat your Lordship 
 to persevere in your efforts in the service of the Catholic 
 religion and of the State. By so doing you will earn our 
 deep gratitude, and our prayers to God for the furtherance of 
 all your wishes. 1 
 
 " Given at Rome, at St Mark's, under the Fisherman's 
 
 Ring, Sept. 25, 1565; in the sixth year of our 
 
 Pontificate." 2 
 
 Lord James Elphinston. 
 
 Described in Burghley's list as " Neutral," became a Catholic before 
 1605. (See above, pp. 279, 282.) 
 
 Lord Eglinton was also a Catholic. 
 
 Sir Charles Cornwallis in his letter to the Privy Council, 10th June 
 1609, refers to a list of Scottish Catholics "containing 27 Earles and 
 Barones, and 240 Knights and Gentlemen, Lords of Signories and Tenants 
 that are of that Affection." (Sir Ralph Winwood's Memorials, vol. iii. 
 p. 52 ; cf. Registers of Privy Council of Scotland, vol. vi. ; Spotiswood, 
 502-13.) 
 
 1 In 1603. Lord Hume (il baron di Hume) is described as a zealous 
 Catholic by the Nuntio in Paris. (Archiv. Vatic. Francia, vol. xlviii. 
 p. 31.) 
 
 2 Rome, Barberini MSS., xxxi. 10.
 
 ALPHABETICAL INDEX. 
 
 Abercroruby, John, 312, 313 
 Abercromby, Fr. Robert, 226, 236, 
 
 261, 265, 269, 280, 285, 290 
 Ady, 198 
 
 Albany, Regent, 3 
 Allen, Cardinal, 174 
 Anderson, Fr. Patrick, 281, 290-296, 
 
 314, 316, 317-347 
 Angus, Archibald, sixth Earl of, 4, 18 
 Angus, David, seventh Earl of, 184, 
 
 189, 210 
 Angus, William, tenth Earl of, 220, 
 
 223, 228, 229, 231, 290, 296, 357 
 Anne of Denmark, Queen, 218, 262- 
 
 267, 272 
 Argyll, Archibald, fourth Earl of, 20 
 Argyll, Archibald, fifth Earl of, 34, 
 
 39, 50, 53, 55, 61, 101, 105, 106, 
 
 113 
 Argyll, Colin, sixth Earl of, 120, 124, 
 
 134, 154, 177, 189 
 Argyll, seventh Earl of, 224, 356 
 Argyll, Countess of , 108, 116 
 Arran, see Hamilton 
 Athole, John, fourth Earl of, 50, 101, 
 
 134-137 
 Anbigny, Duke of Lennox, Esme 
 
 Stuart, 136-138, 160, 163, 171, 177, 
 
 179-183, 186 
 
 Balfour, James, 103 
 
 Balfour, Robert, 196 
 
 Balnaves, Henry, 26, 27, 41 
 
 Barlow, Dr, 9 
 
 Beaton, David, Cardinal Archbishop 
 of St Andrews, 11, 12, 16, 17, 19, 
 20, 21 
 
 Beaton, James, Archbishop of St An- 
 drews, 4 
 
 Beaton, James, Archbishop of Glas- 
 gow, 7 
 
 Beaton, John 
 
 Bedford, Duke of, 116 
 
 Bellenden, Sir John, 101 
 
 Boniton, Wood, Laird of, 22S, 266, 
 269, 273 
 
 Bothwell, James, fourth Earl, 104, 
 113, 114, 117, 119-125 
 
 Borthwick, Lord, 50 
 
 Bothwell, Francis Stewart, Earl of, 
 
 216 
 Bothwell, Lady, 121-124 
 Bowes or Bovis, 183, 227 
 Boyd, Lord, 189 
 Boyd, Alexander, 317 
 Brown, John, Laird of Lochhill, 309, 
 
 311 
 Brunston, Laird of, 23, 24, 25 
 Buccleugh, Laird of, 20 
 Buchan, Earl of, 154 
 Buchanan, George, 130 
 Burgoigne or Bourgoing, 214 
 
 Caithness, George, third Earl of, 50, 
 
 171, 177 
 i Campbell, Friar John, 297 
 j Cassillis, Earl of, 24, 25, 50 
 
 Castelli, Julius Ca?sar, 180 
 
 Cecil, Sir William, 44, 49, 56, 274 
 
 Chalmer, 196 
 
 Chalmers, David, 106, 113 
 
 Cheyne, Dr James, 197 
 
 Chisholm, Sir James, 223 
 
 Chisholm, William, Bishop of Dun- 
 blane, 70, 71, 75, 94, 104, 114, 124 
 
 Christie, Fr. George, 261 
 
 Clement VIII. , Poj>e, 355 
 
 Coldingham, John, Prior of, 87, 90 
 
 Colville, John, 279 
 
 Crawford, David, Earl of, 189, 193. 
 216, 217, 351 
 
 Crawfurd, Thomas, of Kilburnie, 120 
 
 Crichton, Fr. Andrew, 290, 296, 314 
 
 Crichton, Robert, Bishop of Dunkeld, 
 70, 71, 75, 82, 200 
 
 Crichton, Fr. WiUiam, 78, 79, 181- 
 183, 197, 198, 222, 226, 241, 2S1, 
 283 
 
 Croft, Sir James, 41, 43 
 
 Darnley, Henry, King of Scotland, 99, 
 
 100-107, 117 etseq. 
 Davison, 212 
 Douglas, George, 126 
 Dunglas, Patrick, 196 
 Dury, Fr. John, 204, 205.
 
 376 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Eckersdorff, Baron, John of, 313 
 Elizabeth, Queen of England, 39, 41, 
 42, 47, 56, 58, 92, 93, 100, 105, 107, 
 120, 129, 133, 1S7, 189, 198, 206, 
 209, 211-217 
 Elphinston, Fr. George, 279, 2S2 
 Elphinston, Lord James, 267, 279, 
 
 282 
 Elphinston, Sir William, 310 
 Errol, George Hay, Earl of, 64, 107, 
 147, 204, 216, 217, 220, 223-225, 
 229-233, 274, 290, 354, 357, 361 
 Erskine, Alexander, 113 
 Erskine, of Dun, 32 
 Evers, Sir Ealph, 22 
 
 Fintry, Graham of, 185, 190, 198, 199, 
 
 200, 220, 353, 370 
 Fleming, Count, 301 
 Fleming, Prior Malcolm, 94 
 
 Galway, Andrew, 196 
 
 Gladstanes, Alexander, 29S 
 
 Glammis, Lord, 189 
 
 Glencairn, Earl of, 18, 32, 34, 53 
 
 Gordon, Lord Adam, 164 
 
 Gordon, George, fourth Earl of Huntly, 
 
 14, 17, 19, 53, 60, 83-90 
 Gordon, George, fifth Earl of Huntly, 
 
 86, 91, 113, 115, 117, 120, 124, 139, 
 
 1S9, 193, 216, 217, 218, 220, 221, 
 
 224, 225, 229, 231-233, 238, 256, 
 
 260, 262, 267, 290, 354 
 Gordon, Fr. James, of Huntly, 197-206, 
 
 222, 224, 225, 228, 232-260, 281, 296 
 Gordon, John, 84-S6, 104 
 Gordon, Sir Patrick, 223, 224 
 Gouda, Fr. Nicolas de, 63 et seq. 
 Gowrie, Earl of Ruthven, 1 S3- 186 
 Gray, Lord, 171 
 Gray, Master of, 185, 186, 189, 190, 
 
 192, 193, 209-210 
 
 Hamilton, Alexander, 196 
 Hamilton, Archibald, 196 
 Hamilton, Lord Claud, 208, 358, 360 
 Hamilton, Gavin, Commendator of 
 
 Kilwinning, 106 
 Hamilton, James, Earl of Abercorn, 
 
 359, 373] 
 Hamilton, James, Earl of Arran, 15, 
 
 20, 21, 32, 42, 50, 53, 91, 95, 101, 
 
 102, 103-107, 359, 373 
 Hamilton, John, Archbishop of St 
 
 Andrews, 31, 34, 49, 50, 71, 82, 107, 
 
 116, 123, 129 
 Hay, Fr. Edmund, 64, 65, 66, 69, 72, 
 
 78, 115, 198, 206 
 Hay, Fr. John, 141 
 
 Henry VIII. King of England, 9, 10, 
 
 11, 12 
 Hertford, Lord, 21, 23 
 Holt, Fr. William, 166, 188, 193, 194, 
 
 201, 206. 
 Home, George Home, Earl of Dunbar, 
 
 189, 288, 296 
 Howard, Lord William, 9, 10, 11 
 Hume, Lord, 177, 230 
 
 Ingram, Fr. John, 353 
 
 James V. King of Scotland, 4, 9, 10, 
 
 11, 12 
 James VI., 116-129, 130, 133 et seq. 
 
 Kennedy, Hew, 92 
 Kent, Earl of, 213 
 Keir, Master Thomas, 86 
 Ker, Lord George, 220 
 Kerr or Keir, Alexander, 87 
 Kerr of Cessfurd, 168 
 Kerr of Ferniehurst, 171 
 Killigrew, 120, 212 
 Kirkaldy of Grange, 23, 55, 125, 131 
 Knox, John, 26, 32, 33-39, 41, 43, 49, 
 51, 60, 61, 65 
 
 Lang, James, 196 
 
 Law, Bishop of Orkney, 289 
 
 Lennox, Lord dAubigny, Duke of, 
 
 136, 138, 160, 163, 171, 177, 179, 
 
 180-183, 186 
 Lennox, Countess of, 100, 133 
 Lennox, Matthew, fourth Earl of, 20, 
 
 30, 95, 100, 126, 129, 130 
 Leslie, John, Bishop of Boss, 7, 54, 85 
 
 et seq., 103, 113-115, 117, 123, 134, 
 
 210 
 Leslie, William, 349 
 Lethington, see Maitland 
 Lindsay, Patrick, Lord, 60, 104, 112, 
 
 113, 117, 123, 124 
 Lindsay, Fr. Boger, 290, 296 
 Lindsay, Sir Walter, of Balgawies, 351 
 
 Macbreck, Fr. John, 314 
 MacQuhirrie, Fr. Alexander, 228, 261, 
 
 268, 269, 276, 277 
 Maitland, William, of Lethington, 29, 
 
 43, 55, 92, 100, 101, 124, 131, 193 
 Mar, Earl of, 130, 184, 189 
 Mary of Guise, 10, 31, 33, 39, 45, 47 
 Mary Stuart, Queen of Scotland, 33, 
 
 47, 52, 54-56, 60, 62-95, 104, 105, 
 
 106, 113, 114, 118 et seq., 210 et seq., 
 
 214 
 Maxwell, John, seventh j^ord, Earl of 
 
 Morton, 168, 204, 216, 230
 
 INDEX. 
 
 377 
 
 Maxwell, Sir John, Lord Hemes, 105, 
 
 117, 189, 216, 230 
 Melville, Andrew, 225 
 Melville, Sir James, 196 
 Mondovi, Bishop of, 114 
 Montgomery, Hugh, Earl of Eglinton, 
 
 123, 171, 177, 299, 374 
 Montrose, William, Earl of, 279, 2S1 
 Moray, James Stuart, Earl of, 39, 49, 
 
 53, 54, 60-67, 81-102, 104, 113, 115, 
 
 116, 118, 120, 125, 129 et seq. 
 Moret, Count, 93 
 Mortimer, Fr. George, 226 
 Morton, James Douglas, Earl of, 34, 
 
 117, 123, 124, 131, 132, 135, 139, 
 154, 165, 166 
 
 Morton, Fr. John, 226 
 
 Murdoch, Fr. William, 226, 236, 261 
 
 Norfolk, Duke of, 14, 43, 46 
 
 Ogilvie, Fr. John, 296, 297, 298 
 Ogilvie, James, Lord, 84, 171 
 Ogilvie, Fr. William, 226, 228 
 Oysel, H. Cleutin, Sieur d\ 43, 44, 46. 
 55 
 
 Panter, David, Bishop of Ross, 6 
 
 Paulet, Sir Amias, 212 
 
 Persons, Fr. Robert, 182 
 
 Philip II., King of Spain, 77, 97, 182, 
 
 195, 215 
 Pius V., Pope, 114 
 
 Randolphe, Thomas, 58, 61, 62 
 Reid, Robert, Bishop of Orkney, 6, 
 
 17 
 Rinaldus, John, 66 
 Rizzio, David, 93 
 Robb, Fr. John, 316 
 
 Rothes, Master of, 23 
 Ruthven, Patrick, Lord, 112 
 
 Sadler, Sir Ralph, 11-13, 24, 41, 43 
 
 Sampiretti, George, 222 
 
 Sanddand, Sir James, 52 
 
 Semple, Lord Robert, 367 
 
 Semple, Colonel, 367-368 
 
 Seton, Lord Alexander, 177-229, 259, 
 
 267, 278, 281, 363 
 Seton, George, fifth Lord, 123, 125, 
 
 171, 172, 177-181, 186, 256, 257, 362 
 Seton, Fr. James, 236, 278, 279, 282 
 Seymour, Lord, 30 
 Sinclair, Henry, Bishop of Ross, 7, 67, 
 
 70, 71, 94 
 Sinclair, John, Bishop of Brechin, 
 
 104 
 Smeton, Thomas, 139 
 Somerset, Duke of, 27, 29, 30 
 Spottiswood, John, Archbishop of 
 
 Glasgow, 298, 301 et seq. 
 Strachan, Mr, 271 
 Stuart, see Mary, Darnley 
 Stuart, John, Captain of the Queen's 
 
 Guard, 86, 189 
 Stuart, Captain Robert, 135 
 
 Throckmorton, Sir Nicolas, 47, 56, 
 
 101, 102, 103 
 Tullibardine, the Laird of, 124, 133, 
 
 134 Zl 
 
 Tyrie, Fr. James )r 57, 182, 206, 207 
 
 Watts, William, 166, 174 
 Wharton, Thomas, Lord, 30 
 Wilson, Stephen, 65, 66, 114 
 Winter, Admiral, 44, 45 
 Wyndham, Admiral, 29 
 
 TURNBULL AND SPEAKS, PRINTERS, EDINBURGH.

 
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