m lifornia Lonal lity JSP ini LIBRARY UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SAN DIE60 ^ J 7% 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