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KINGCRAFT IN SCOTLAND 
 
KINGCRAFT IN SCOTLAND 
 
 AND 
 
 OTHER ESSAYS AND SKETCHES 
 
 BY 
 
 PETER ROSS, LL.D. 
 
 AUTHOR OF 
 
 The Literature of the Scottish Refonnation ;" '^Scotland and tJie Scots ;\'^ 
 
 ^^ Robert Burns front a Literary Stajidpoint ; " "Life of Saint Andrew ; " 
 
 " The Book of Scotia Lodge ; " Editor of the " Songs ofScotlaftd, 
 
 Chronologically Arranged;" ^^ Life and Works of 
 
 Sir Williatn Alexander, Earl of Stirling," etc. 
 
 NEW YORK: 
 THE RAEBURN BOOK COMPANY 
 
 PAISLEY : 
 ALEXANDER GARDNER, Publisher to the Queen 
 
<. 
 
 ^ 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 Kingcraft in Scotland, 
 
 The Progress of Popular Liberty in Scotland, 
 
 Scotland under Cromwell, 
 
 Scots in Russia, 
 
 St. Andrew and other Scottish Saints, 
 
 David Dale and his Grandsons, 
 
 Geikie, the Scotch Etcher, 
 
 A Scot in South America, 
 
 Prince Charlie in Rome, 
 
 Scottish Freemasonry in America, 
 
 A Sainted New-England Family, 
 
 Edgar Allan Poe, 
 
 American Songs and Song-Writers, 
 
 The Minister of Spott, 
 
 Page. 
 
 9 
 
 37 
 
 6i 
 
 lOO 
 
 io8 
 
 121 
 
 125 
 
 131 
 
 135 
 
 155 
 
 171 
 
 176 
 
 188 
 
 214 
 
 250 5G2 
 

 
 Kingcraft in Scotland. 
 
 In studying the History of Scotland we get, among other things, 
 a better idea of the rise, progress, value, and decay of the system 
 of kingly power than possibly we could derive from reading the 
 story of any other nation in Europe. We can trace the system 
 of monarchial government from its earliest stage, when the king 
 was simply a leader, until the year 1603 when the singular com- 
 pound of ruler and teacher who then held sway gladly quitted 
 Scotland for a new tenure of power in England. We find the 
 monarchy at times held by a saint, a hero, a statesman, a woman, 
 and by a dozen or so of nonentities, whose capacity for kingship, 
 or even for ordinary leadership, was only perceptible to their 
 courtiers and dependents. We find a long continued struggle 
 for power with the nobility, we see the gradual rise of the people 
 to influence, and finally hear the complaints of one who believed 
 in the sacredness of his kin2;lv callins; as he realises that the 
 people are wielding a power superior to all his divine right pre- 
 tentions through their chosen leaders — the preachers of the 
 Reformation and their immediate successors. It is an instruc- 
 tive story. It shows us that kingship is a special vocation — that 
 means leadership. It proves that its strength, from the begin- 
 ning, really lay in the love and confidence of the people, — and 
 that when the qualities of leadership — whether superior sanctity, 
 heroism, or statesmanship, were wanting, the kingly title was of 
 very little value. When the wearer of the crown was a weakling, 
 the power was wielded by someone else. When the sovereign 
 was in sympathy with the desires or sentiments of the people his 
 word was law ; when the people distrusted, despised, or even 
 disliked a king his real influence upon the community was small 
 indeed. How truly royal in every way were such kings as the 
 sainted David, the heroic Bruce, or the statesman-like first of 
 the James's, and what miserable caricatures of royalty were most 
 of the others, Davids, Roberts, and James's, who held the 
 sceptre after Bannockburn made Scotland a nation ? " The 
 
40 H/i ^:•''.^*;S^II{G,(^RAFr^ in Scotland. 
 
 divine right " of Bruce became a contemptible affair in the 
 hands of his son and successor. The statesmanship of James I. 
 and what James VI. understood by statesmanship were two very 
 different things, and the loyalty, potency, influence and kingship 
 of the former may be placed against the feebleness, treachery, 
 jealousy and effeminancy of the latter as indicating how high 
 royalty could rise in Scotland, and to what a degree of puerility 
 it might descend and still retain its nominal condition of actual 
 kingship. 
 
 So far as we can trace even with the aid of tradition, the 
 government in Scotland has always been monarchical — that is, 
 it was under one chief who by his prowess, or by the devotion 
 of his followers, or it may be by his birth, was deemed superior 
 to those about him. The early kings were necessarily warriors, 
 and they owed their supremacy directly or indirectly, to their 
 sword. Who was really the first recognized king of Scotland is 
 not exactly known, although the early chroniclers would fain not 
 allow us to be ignorant. One traces the Scottish royal house 
 back to the time of Noah ; another, desiring to be more precise, 
 fixes the date of the first monarchy at B.C. 443. Catalogues of 
 the ancient kings have been carefully and laboriously drawn up 
 by monkish historians, and, although prior to Fergus II. we are 
 permitted to know little of them beyond their names and the 
 manner of their deaths, we have enough to show that even the 
 fertile brain of the cloistered historian never imagined kings to 
 be anything else than soldiers. The first glimpse of history we 
 get, that is real history and not unsupported tradition, is in the 
 year 843, when the Picts and Scots united under King Kenneth 
 Macalpine, and this union made Kenneth so much more power- 
 ful than all the other chiefs that his supremacy was unquestioned. 
 His power was simply, however, that of a commander over an 
 army. He looked to his chiefs for support as the general looks 
 to his officers, and they in turn commanded the loyalty of the 
 people. His kingship was merely a military government, and it 
 was his acts or fighting superiority which gave him the leader- 
 ship over the many little chiefs who made up his community. 
 The people owed allegience not to him directly but to their 
 chiefs, and it is fair to believe that these little potentates owed 
 their supremacy in their own localities simply on account of their 
 strength, courage, daring or warlike skill. Land charters had 
 slight potency in those early days, birthright amounted to very 
 little ; the clan was a community, the chiefship was not heredi- 
 
KINGCRAFT IN SCOTLAND. • ii 
 
 tary, and merely family houses were unknown. The kingdom 
 over which Kenneth reigned, even after the union of the Picts 
 and Scots, was after all a very insignificant one in point of size, 
 although its exact dimensions cannot now be determined. Its 
 centre was probably Dunkeld, and it did not extend further 
 south than the Forth, although in the south-west it seems 
 likely that Galloway owned Kenneth's sway, but except 
 where his court and camp were Kenneth's authority was very 
 slight. Strathclyde was received into the kingdom under 
 Malcolm I. {circa 950), and the Lothians (which had previously 
 been part of Northumberland) were won in battle by ^Malcolm 
 II. in 1018. It seems probable, however, that Edinburgh and 
 the country around it had been annexed to the Scots kingdom 
 before that date. This made the kingdom of Scotland pretty 
 much what it is to-day in size, but although one kingdom it was 
 not a nation. It was made up of a great number of septs or 
 clans, descendants of the Picts. the Scots, the Danes, the 
 Bretons, and most of the leaders professed allegiance to the 
 king, only because they could not help themselves. The coun- 
 try was one of soldiers. The king was supreme. What he had 
 was his by right of conquest ; he represented the majesty of law, 
 of might, of government, and he could say in all truth, as was 
 said in conceit by a late French king, " I am the State." Until 
 David I. came upon the throne, the Scottish kings were warriors, 
 good, bad, or indifferent, successful or otherwise. They cared 
 only for the sword, and while they tolerated the Church, they 
 really despised it, for they had not the foresight to perceive that 
 the wandering priests were building up an interest which, in 
 time, would stand on an equaliiy with their own. As the kings 
 rose in power over the chiefs, the influence of the throne 
 increased. The sovereign had no equal ; he was above the law, 
 and was accountable to God only for his doings. He was the 
 owner of all the lands, the source of all honourable distinctions. 
 He himself could do no wrong, for as he was above the law, the 
 law^ could not be brought to bear to his disadvantage. ]Malcolm 
 n. was the first of the kings to give lands unto the complete 
 ownership of subjects, but exacted the usual feudal return for 
 their use, and probably took this step simply to bind the 
 grantees more firmly to his throne. The only way by which a 
 hated king could be got rid of was by assassination, and enough 
 instances of this are known to show that the Scots did not 
 scruple about getting rid of a tyrant now and again in this 
 
12 KINGCRAFT IN SCOTLAND. 
 
 summary way. The divine right theory is all very well as a 
 theory, nay, as a theory it is really beautiful and symmetrical ; 
 as much a part of the kingly trappings as are the crown, the 
 sceptre, the orb, or the ermine robe, but it does not wear well 
 in practice, because it is not true. It is but a pinchbeck orna- 
 ment after all. 
 
 In the ScoticJironicon the following is given as the oath taken 
 by the early Scottish kings at their coronation : " In the name 
 of Christ I promise these three things to the Christian people, 
 my subjects : ist. That I shall give order and employ my force 
 and assistance that the Church of God and the Christian people 
 may enjoy true peace during our time, under our government. 
 2nd. I shall prohibit and hinder all persons of whatever degree 
 from violence and unjustice. 3rd. In all judgments I shall 
 follow the prescriptions of justice and mercy, to the end that our 
 clement and merciful God may show mercy to me and to you." 
 I give this oath as it is found in Father Innes' invaluable Essay, 
 On the Ancient Inhabitants of the Northern Parts of Britain or 
 Scotia?id, not because I believe it to be authentic, for it bears 
 every evidence of being a cloister fiction, but because it shows 
 what in early times — that is to say, prior to the War of Indepen- 
 dence — were considered by the people to be the kingly preroga- 
 tives, and these were everything connected with the disposal, 
 management, and direction of the State, with responsibility only 
 to God. 
 
 David I., Saint David, was the first of the Scottish kings to 
 emerge from the mere business of soldiering into something like 
 the capacity of statesmanship. Indeed, as far as the art of 
 governing was then understood, he was a very superior states- 
 man, and as a warrior, although by no means a brilliant success, 
 he proved that he possessed bravery, daring, readiness, and 
 endurance. He was an honest man, kindly disposed to all, and 
 evidently desired that in his realm strict justice might prevail, 
 and that all classes should flourish. As the visible head, the 
 executive, the manifestation of the law, he went regularly about 
 through his kingdom, hearing complaints or appeals, and 
 punishing the guilty. He fostered commerce, promoted trade, 
 and induced a feeling of security throughout the country. As 
 a statesman, he saw that trouble was likely to arise sooner or 
 later between the crown and one or other of the great chiefs, and 
 that against almost any combination of these petty potentates, 
 the crown could hardly expect to stand. He had had himself 
 
KINGCRAFT IN SCOTLAND. 13 
 
 some taste of the influence of several of these chiefs, and knew 
 that unless the throne was placed far beyond their reach, the 
 temptation to possess it would be a constant source of trouble 
 to his successors, and lead to the disintegration of the kingdom 
 and the impoverishment of the people. He accordingly took 
 three distinct measures with the view of guarding against all 
 this. The most important of these measures, then and for a 
 long time afterwards, was the support he gave to the Church. 
 He founded six bishoprics — Dunblane, Brechin, Aberdeen, 
 Ross, Caithness, and Glasgow — covering, with the exception of 
 Dunblane, the very parts of his kingdom which were the least 
 under his immediate control. Galloway was the only piece of 
 dubious territory over which a bishop was not set, and it was 
 not really regarded as an integral part of the kingdom until the 
 reign of his successor. He established monasteries and abbeys 
 in every quarter of the land, and endowed them so richly with 
 lands that his great successor, James L, standing by his grave 
 in Dunfermline, centuries afterwards, described him as a "ane 
 sair sanct for the crown," meaning that he had given away so 
 much valuable land that the royal patrimony had been greatly 
 diminished. But it was in reality a stroke of thoughtful states- 
 manship, and bore good fruits even for King James. David 
 welcomed colonies of monks from England and the Continent, 
 and settled them in generous places. All these monks were 
 travellers and missionaries as well as teachers. The Romish 
 Church, outside of Rome, was then pure and full of spiritual 
 life, and had not acquired the taint which called for the Refor- 
 mation, and one can readily understand how these hundreds of 
 religious men, journeying hither and thither all over the land, 
 penetrating into its forests, wandering through its glens, and 
 climbing along its highest hills, carrying with them the cross of 
 Christ, and preaching the love and brotherhood of Christians, 
 also taught that David was King of Scotland, and that within 
 its boundaries religion, right, and law demanded that he and his 
 legal successors be recognized as supreme. If he was a " sair 
 sanct," he was also a sure saint for the crown, and in his reign 
 may be said to have arisen that personal loyalty to their sove- 
 reign which became so characteristic of the Scottish people. 
 
 The second of David's measures for neutralizing the power 
 of the native nobility was the welcoming into the country of 
 Anglo-Norman barons and knights, to most of whom he gave 
 large grants of land, on which castles, keeps, and strong places 
 
14 KINGCRAFT IN SCOTLAND, 
 
 of various sorts were quickly erected. Such strongholds, accord- 
 ing to the feudal tenure, were all held subject to the king, and 
 were so many additional hostages for the maintenance of the 
 crown. These new-comers, including among them such knights 
 as the first of the Bruce's, were constantly about the court, and 
 formed a stronger and more reliable bodyguard than could have 
 been found among the turbulent, unruly, and untamed native 
 chiefs, whose lineage was even more remote than that of the 
 king himself. David's third measure, however, proved for his 
 country the wisest and most statesmanlike of them all. It con- 
 sisted in the erection of royal burghs throughout the kingdom. 
 In these burghs the citizens were free not merely to trade and 
 to amass wealth, but also to make to a considerable extent the 
 laws for their own government. They were also independent of 
 feudal servitude to any superior except the king. David was 
 not the originator of these popular commonwealths, for Alex- 
 ander I. seems to have granted charters to Edinburgh, Berwick, 
 Roxburgh, and Stirling, but he certainly appears to have been 
 the first to perceive their great advantage to the crown, and he 
 increased their number, and conferred additional privileges upon 
 them wherever possible. The clergy were not long in appreciat- 
 ing the advantages which this system of constituting burghs 
 gave, and as soon as they became strong enough, they followed 
 the royal example and granted burgh charters to the lay com- 
 munities which gathered outside of their monasteries and abbeys. 
 Thus Newburgh, Kelso, St. Andrews, Glasgow, and other towns, 
 were chartered in the first place by Romish dignitaries. Some 
 of the imported barons tried a similar policy, and Lochmaben 
 and Lauder were among the fruits of their ventures, but the 
 results of neither the clerical nor the baronial experiments in 
 burgh-making were marked successes. The royal burghs rapidly 
 grew in importance, but the others remained stationary, and not 
 one of them became of the slightest consequence in the 
 commercial or civil history of the country until they came 
 directly under the royal patronage. Glasgow, for instance, was 
 little better than a village until it obtained a charter from 
 Charles I., and then its modern greatness may be said to have 
 fairly commenced. It is singular that such centres of radicalism 
 and political restlessness as the Scottish burghs have proved to 
 be, should owe their existence and their prosperity to royalty, 
 but there seems no doubt of the fact. King David's rule, so 
 far as it went, was autocratic. He sought advice from no Coun- 
 
KINGCRAFT IN SCOTLAND. 15 
 
 cil, he summoned no Parliament or Assembly, he recognized no 
 laws except those he had himself enacted or which had been 
 sanctioned by his royal predecessors. Doubtless the Church 
 swayed his opinions and his actions to a very considerable 
 extent, but the Church in Scotland was not powerful enough to 
 dictate to, or even to presume upon, the royal prerogatives. 
 David's rule was beneficent to the country, but it was selfish. 
 The whole aim of his State-craft was to strengthen the crown. 
 The people he seemingly thought as little about as did any of 
 his predecessors, except when they served to ensure the success 
 of his policy or to fight his battles. He made the dwellers or 
 citizens in his royal burghs freemen, but permitted the rest of 
 the commonalty to remain really or virtually in slavery. 
 
 David's three immediate successors were soldiers rather than 
 kings, men who were fonder apparently of having a sword than 
 a sceptre in their hands. Under Alexander III. the country 
 appears to have advanced in wealth, the kingly powder was 
 steadily consolidated, the monarch still governed alone, and 
 personally held assizes and administered the laws. He carefully 
 fostered the royal burghs, encouraged commerce in many ways, 
 and held the aggressiveness of the barons and chiefs very effect- 
 ually in check. Under his sway the Church advanced greatly 
 in importance and power, the country people however remained 
 in feudal bondage, and alternately revelled in rude plenty, or 
 suffered in abject poverty, the burghers grew in numbers and 
 means, but understood nothing of the power of union or the 
 influence of wealth, x^s Alexander advanced in years he seems 
 to have grown more liberal in his opinions, and to have had a 
 clearer idea than any of his predecessors as to w^hat kingship 
 really implied. Had his life been spared it is possible that he 
 would have made all his subjects as free as his priests and nobles 
 and burgesses ; he might have fully realised that he was the 
 representative head of a community and not its owner, that he 
 was the ruler of a free people and not merely the head of an 
 armed force, but the fatal accident at Kinghorn occurred when 
 he was in the very prime of manhood and when his experience 
 as a ruler might have been used to benefit his country. His 
 sudden death not only plunged Scotland into a sea of blood 
 and led to a long era of dule and sorrow, but showed the weak- 
 ness of the monarchical structure which David had built up and 
 Alexander had tried to strengthen. Had the government not 
 been so purely autocratic, had the power been less centred in 
 
i6 KINGCRAFT IN SCOTLAND. 
 
 the individual monarch, or even had there been a national 
 council of recognized authority, the war of independence would 
 never have been fought, and the peace and integrity of the 
 country would undoubtedly have been preserved. But the death 
 of Alexander and his grand-daughter, the Maid of Norway, 
 brought about such a degree of confusion that Edward I. was 
 almost invited to commence his designs for subduing the king- 
 dom and consolidating the government of the island. It was a 
 grim lesson, but somehow it was appreciated by the people. 
 Alexander was the last of the acknowledged autocratic kings of 
 Scotland, for when, after Bannockburn, Robert Brace wore the 
 crown he had so heroically won, we find that the authority of a 
 representative parliament was, at least, recognized. 
 
 Bruce was the ideal of a hero-king, and his success in the 
 field consolidated all the petty races of the country into a nation. 
 He was animated with the purest patriotism for his country, but 
 it cannot be denied that this patriotism centred in himself. He 
 fought not for the State but to be the head of the State, to 
 maintain the integrity of the kingdom for the sake of wearing its 
 crown, and to perpetuate the throne he had won. He was a 
 hero first and a king afterwards, but he never rose to the height 
 of statesmanship. The country, when it was not engaged in 
 fighting during his reign, governed itself by aid of the laws which 
 had been promulgated in previous reigns, and beyond providing 
 for the passing moment Bruce never seemed to have troubled 
 himself very liltle concerning the internal polity of his kingdom. 
 He was a feudal baron, and ruled his subjects as he would the 
 dependants on his estate. In the history of the land he served 
 a noble purpose, and his figure must even stand out prominently 
 for his heroism, intrepidity, perseverance and success, but his 
 whole policy as a ruler was simply one of defence and not one 
 of improvement. Even on his deathbed, his final instructions 
 were not how the kingdom should be governed, how the people 
 should be elevated, but simply how the country and the throne 
 should be protected from English invasion. Besides, however, 
 moulding the people into a nation and making them free as far 
 as any outside power was concerned, Bruce did service to Scot- 
 land in two other ways. He introduced a new race of nobles, 
 for most of the old autocrats had thrown in their fortunes with 
 the English, and so in Bruce's triumph lost their honours and 
 patrimonies. This itself was no small service. Bruce's nobles 
 were heroes and soldiers like himself, men who would have died 
 
KINGCRAFT IN SCOTLAND. 17 
 
 rather than that Scotland should simply rank as an English 
 province. Their services were great, and so were their rewards, 
 but their descendants became a curse to the country as well as 
 to its kings. Bruce's other service was rendered in a manner 
 that was not intended, and certainly never understood by him. 
 He claimed the crown as his birthright, but John Baliol's claim 
 on that ground was certainly stronger and clearer. Of this he 
 must have been himself perfectly aware, and he evidently 
 used all his influence, first with the English king and after- 
 wards with the Scottish leaders, to have Baliol's claim 
 ignored, or rather overlooked. His strongest card in this 
 was played in 1309, when he got a congress or council of the 
 Church, assembled at Dundee, to admit his right and to recog- 
 nize him as the lawful King of Scotland. Tytler surmises, and 
 probably correctly, that the recognition of the clergy in this 
 congress was identical with a similar recognition " of a Parlia- 
 ment which assembled at the same time." This was a recogni- 
 tion also of the fact that the country, through its representatives, 
 had to be consulted in the matter of its ruler. Up to this time 
 the crown was simply a question of birthright between Baliol 
 and Bruce ; before that, it was one of birthright, military 
 superiority, and force of arms. Now a precedent had been set 
 which gave the community some voice or standing in the matter. 
 In the reign of Bruce's son, David XL, one of the silliest of all 
 the Scottish kings, another precedent was set, viz., the right of 
 the Parliament (in which representatives of the burghs now sat) 
 to impose taxes and to discuss and regulate the royal expendi- 
 ture. In the reign of Robert III. still another precedent was 
 set, for in a Parliament held at Perth in 1398, the principle of 
 the king's responsibility for his Government or that of his minis- 
 ters was declared. The Parliament of Robert III. and his 
 predecessor made several other inroads on the royal prerogatives, 
 but always in a friendly spirit to the reignmg prince. The full 
 effect of these innovations, or even their natural results, were 
 not fully understood by either the kings or the Parliaments. 
 From Alexander III. until the death of Mary, no king in Scot- 
 land appears to have been desirous of acting the part of a 
 tyrant, and the wars were all of defence and not of defiance. 
 The commonalty and the king had one common enemy — the 
 barons ; and it was fortunate for the country that these petty 
 potentates were constantly animated by a burning sense of jeal- 
 ousy towards each other, otherwise the amenity of the royal 
 
i8 KINGCRAFT IN SCOTLAND. 
 
 house, or the freedom of burgess or merchant, would have had 
 short shrifts. The aristocracy of Scotland have sullied its 
 history oftener than all the other classes in the country put 
 together. Under Robert II. and Robert III. the real power 
 was not wielded by the sovereigns, but by the peers, if a wild 
 scramble after wealth, estates, and influence, can be called 
 power. The influence of the throne was practically reduced to 
 nothing, and the sceptre itself might have been seized if it would 
 not inevitably have led to civil war, and to the utter ruin not 
 merely of the kingdom but of the individual who had assumed 
 the crown. The country had to be consulted now, through its 
 Parliament, about its royal ruler, and that alone must have 
 proved sufficient to deter many ambitious spirits, for no Parlia- 
 ment would have willingly passed over the claims of the Stuarts 
 as the lawful successors of the royal Bruce. Thus even the 
 curtailment of one of the royal prerogatives proved its real safe- 
 guard when the crown rested on weak heads and the country 
 was torn and distracted by the ambitious schemes of such a 
 man as the Duke of Albany, the brother of Robert III., and 
 uncle of the first of the James's. 
 
 Under James I., the greatest of all the Kings of Scotland, the 
 crown attained a stronger position in the commonwealth than it 
 ever enjoyed before. It was a position, in fact, of absolute 
 power. James was supreme in the State, and though he acted 
 nominally with the aid or advice of a series of Parliaments, these 
 conventions took their cues from him, and really carried out the 
 royal will. He crushed the nobility in a matter that appears 
 startling to us who, even in the best of histories, can only see 
 the events of the time as through a glass, darkly, for its cruelty 
 and thoroughness. He seized a large portion of the royal 
 estates which had been forcibly taken from or weakly given by 
 his immediate predecessors to the most importunate and grasp- 
 ing of the barons. On entering his kingdom he is said to have 
 exclaimed, " Let God but grant me life, and there shall not be 
 a spot in my dominions where the key shall not keep the castle, 
 and the furze bush the cow, though I myself should lead the life 
 of a dog to accomplish it." A grand speech truly, for it showed 
 that a king had at last arisen who understood what kingship 
 really was in all its bearings. He was prepared to rule so that 
 all — nobles on their estates and cotters on their cow-loans — 
 should equally enjoy honest, impartial, and reliable government, 
 although he himself personally should suffer. The sole purpose 
 
KINGCRAFT IN SCOTLAND. 19 
 
 of the kingdom was not to ensure pleasure and comfort to the 
 king, but the latter was to promote the prosperity, security, and 
 happiness of the realm. That was his business, the main 
 requirements of his position, the very meaning of the crown. 
 
 He tabulated the old laws of the kingdom, showing clearly 
 those which were obsolete or had been superseded, a work 
 which was of the utmost moment in a country in which, until 
 James' time, each baron always used such laws as were agreeable 
 to himself, and interpreted them according to his own pleasure. 
 The Acts of Parliament were henceforth to be drawn up in 
 English instead of Latin — an edict that was not only dictated 
 by common sense but by common honesty. Commerce was 
 promoted by wise measures ; standards of weight, of capacity, 
 and of money, were introduced, and nearly every branch of 
 internal economy during his reign was touched upon and 
 improved by judicious legislation. Justice was rigorously 
 administered, the retinues of the nobles were curtailed, and 
 extravagance in dress was prohibited. James' efforts on behalf 
 of the welfare of his subjects even went so far as to touch the 
 labouring classes. The trades' guilds in the burghs were 
 supported so long as they obeyed the general laws, and were 
 careful not to practice extravagance in their demands for 
 remuneration, and provision was made for ameliorating the con- 
 dition of the down-trodden agricultural labourers, and the very 
 poor. One instance may be given of James' methods, as it 
 really shows his determination that right should prevail. One 
 of his statutes ordained that if any one was unable, from lack of 
 means, to have his case pleaded in a court of justice, the presid- 
 ing judge was bound to appoint " a lele and wyse advocate to 
 follow sic creaturis cause." Such a thing was practically 
 unheard of before in Scotland. 
 
 From the moment he entered Scotland until he was murdered 
 at Perth, in 1436, James was king in fact as well as in name. 
 He was more an autocrat than any of his predecessors, and yet 
 he was more than all of them a servant of the State. Under 
 him Scotland flourished as it had never done before, and made 
 greater progress in all that tends to advance and bless and 
 strengthen a nation. He took hold of the helm of state alone 
 and steered the ship for the equal benefit of all. During his 
 reign he organized no faction, permitted no favourite to influence 
 him, and made no compacts with priest or peer. He was the 
 head of the judicial system, and he was the head of his parlia- 
 
20 KINGCRAFT IN SCOTLAND. 
 
 ments. These latter simply formulated, endorsed, and carried 
 out the kingly wishes, and these were numerous and far-reaching 
 enough to embrace every section and class in the land. But it 
 must be remembered that the presence and authority of parlia- 
 ment was candidly acknowledged by the king. The, body politic, 
 was diseased, and he stood by it as a surgeon stands by a patient 
 with a knife, to remove the parts that are diseased and then to 
 heal them. James had been accused of cruelty, but without 
 cause. The Christian graces were not so well understood in his 
 day as in ours. He had suffered terrible wrongs, so had the 
 country, at the hands of a crowd of scheming barons, and the 
 most direct way, nay, under the circumstance, the only way, to 
 purge the country of them was by forcing them to expiate their 
 lawlessness and crimes on the scaffold. For his own sake he 
 did not go far enough, and his death is an evidence of the reck- 
 lessness and treachery of the class he so terribly crushed. 
 When he pulled down the nests he should have destroyed all 
 their contents, and his mercy, or carelessness, in this regard was 
 proven to be the grand error of his life when he was murdered 
 by a gang of these same noblemen in the Dominican monastery 
 at Perth. When James died the justest, noblest, and ablest of 
 all the kings of Scotland passed away, and a greater crime 
 against the best interests of the country was perpetrated than had 
 been committed by any of the armies, or pensioners of its 
 southern enemies. 
 
 The second, third, fourth and fifth James's were from the 
 kingly — the leader-like standpoint — about as paltry a succession 
 of rulers as ever cursed any country, and during their reigns the 
 history of Scotland is little more than the story of a struggle be- 
 tween the crown and the baronage. All of them succeeded to 
 the throne when under age, and except James IV., who is claimed 
 to have commenced the actual business of kingship when he 
 succeeded his father at the age of 17, all necessarily introduced 
 regencies of more or less duration. Except James XL, who 
 appears to have been the ablest of the lot, each of them were 
 often king only in name, while whatever power belonged to the 
 crown was wielded by some favourite whose influence for the 
 time was supreme. James III. was governed by Robert Coch- 
 rane, until that courtier, a man of considerable brains however, 
 was hanged by the barons at Lauder ; James IV. was ruled more 
 or less directly by a succession of paramours ; while James V. 
 quarrelled with all the autocrats of the kingdom merely for the 
 
KINGCRAFT IN SCOTLAND. 21 
 
 paltry sake of Oliver Sinclair. All these kings were athletes, 
 men who enjoyed the pleasures of life, and doubtless would 
 have been amiable country squires but for playing at the game 
 of kingcraft, in a turbulent transitory age, with a horde of hungry 
 gentry watching their every movement and taking advantage of 
 their every weakness, they were utterly unfitted. Except for the 
 fact that the people remained loyal to the throne in the midst of 
 all the turmoil, and that not one of the barons proved strong 
 enough to silence his brethren the crown would most certainly 
 have been wrenched from the Stewarts, particularly when it 
 rested on the head of the third James, the greatest imbecile of 
 the lot. It must be admitted, however, that the latter in one 
 instance rose to the full dignity of his position, and that was in 
 repelling the claims for supreme power made by the Romish 
 Church, then in the bloated arrogance of its political strength. 
 During these four reigns, especially in that of the fourth James, 
 parliament met with commendable regularity, and quietly, slowly, 
 but surely its influence was directed towards lessening the power 
 of the baronage and the landed proprietors, while the preroga- 
 tives of the crown were left intact and even strengthened by the 
 successive enactments. Tenants were gradually freed from 
 feudal ties, were insured the legality of their leases, were de- 
 clared not to be liable for the debts of their landlords, and the 
 position of merchants, tradesmen, and even common labourers 
 w^as improved and dignified by several statutes. In spite of all 
 his faults James IV. possessed statesman-like qualities, and 
 might have been of service to his country had he applied him- 
 self to the business of his station as well as to the pleasures it 
 afforded. He was, personally, one of the most popular of all 
 the Stewart kings with the bulk of the people, for his love of 
 display, and his generous expenditure appealed to their good 
 graces and their surface notions of what royalty should be, 
 although these excellencies impoverished the royal treasury and 
 drew heavily on the resources of the kingdom. James V. was 
 also popular. He mingled with the people, was fond of invent- 
 ing innocent surprises for them, and took a special interest in 
 understanding their wants, desires, and grievances, but he was 
 too impotent a statesman to know how to help them to any 
 extent. In his reign the Parliament even assumed so far as to 
 admonish the clergy for their extravagance and licentiousness, 
 and one important statute ordered that the laws of the kingdom 
 should be printed, for the "art preservative" had been fostered 
 
22 KINGCRAFT IN SCOTLAND. 
 
 as a new toy by his predecessor. The memory of James, as the 
 " Guidman of Ballangeich '' or as the " King of the Commons " 
 has appealed to the affections of the Scottish people until our 
 own day, and he has even been awarded by literary antiquaries 
 and popular consent a prominent position among the poets of 
 the country upon the flimsical grounds that the honour of 
 authorship was ever credited even to royalty. 
 
 James V. died in 1542, and from that time until 1567, when 
 Queen Mary was dethroned, the Scottish throne was mainly in 
 the hands of women. During Mary's minority and absence 
 from the kingdom, her mother, Mary of Lorraine was, for the 
 greater part of the time, regent, and even when she was not 
 recognized as such, during Arran's administration, she wielded 
 considerable influence in the State. So far as actual ruling was 
 concerned neither Mary or her mother were of much practical 
 importance in the realm. The sole aim of Mary of Lorraine 
 was to make the interest of France paramount in the country, 
 Vi'hile Mary desired above all things the re-establishment of 
 Roman Catholicism. Neither of them had any policy either for 
 the strengthening of the crown as an estate in the kingdom, the 
 weakening of the aristocracy, or the progress of the people. 
 Each of them bent their energies, and their undoubtedly great 
 abilities, to accomplish one object, and each of them signally 
 failed. Their failure was so complete that they even united the 
 baronage and the people solidly together against the crown, and 
 in Queen Mary's reign the Scottish monarch was, for the first 
 time in history, publicly hooted by the populace. The people 
 believed, rightly or wrongly is no question of ours here, that the 
 Queen not only was determined to trample on the Reformed 
 religion, but that she defied the ordinary laws of morality and 
 the sanctity of the marriage vows, while the nobility dreaded 
 that, if the Queen was successful in restoring the papacy, they 
 would have to give back to the priests the church lands which 
 had been divided among them, as would, undoubtedly, have 
 been the case. It was a strange position of affairs — for Scotland 
 — and did not last very long, but it must be borne in mind that 
 even while it did last the barons were not the actual leaders of 
 the people. That honour was in the hands of Knox and the 
 other Reformed ministers, and it was the influence and teaching 
 of these men that carried the country safely through the religious 
 and political crisis of the Reformation. So far as I can trace, 
 during the regency of Mary of Lorraine or the reign of her 
 
KINGCRAFT IN SCOTLAND. 23 
 
 daughter no public matter ever emanated from the throne except 
 in connection with the two points I have indicated, and so far 
 as the actual sovereignty of either of these women was concerned 
 the crown and the sceptre might have adorned the heads and 
 hands of lay figures. It is singular how Scottish historians have 
 wasted time, patience, temper, paper and learning in tracing out 
 all the little details of Mary's personal career and discussing them 
 as points in Scottish history. Take the case of the so-called 
 " Casket Letters." Tytler. Robertson, Burton and others gravely 
 argue about Mary's guilt or innocence in connection with these 
 documents at great length, and with the utmost critical 
 acumen. But really the whole question, while undoubtedly 
 of the utmost interest to the personal biographer of Mary, is only 
 of passing moment to the history of Scotland. What is of 
 infinitely greater consequence is that while the crown rested on 
 her head, the kingly power slipped from her grasp, and was 
 never fully restored. Indeed, from her reign may be said to 
 have commenced that chain of events, and that gradual develop- 
 ment of popular power, which makes Scotland to-day not only to 
 be the stronghold of liberalism and radicalism in Britain, but be 
 also a republic in everything but the name, and the manner of 
 election to a few public ofiices. The pulpit of St. Giles exer- 
 cised more authority in Mary's time than did the audience 
 chamber at Holyrood. The Assembly and the Lords of the 
 Congregation were of more potency than the sceptre or the 
 sword of State. When executive work was to be done, it was 
 the Parliament — it is immaterial how it was constituted — every- 
 one looked to, and the decrees of that body were as wide- 
 reaching and as conclusive as were those of King James I., in 
 whose hands kingcraft in Scotland was at the very height of its 
 power. Whenever any crisis occurred in the national affairs, a 
 Parliament was summoned, and its right and authority as an 
 executive seems never to have been questioned by either of the 
 royal ladies. It even instituted a press censorship without 
 apparently arousing a murmur. When Mary left France and 
 returned to Scotland, it was on the invitation of Parliament, and 
 it acquiesced in her dethronement. Its consent was asked and 
 granted before Lord Lennox could be restored to his forfeited 
 titles and estates, a prerogative which formerly lay solely in the 
 hands of the sovereign, who had the power, when he had the 
 courage, ability, and opportunity, of making and unmaking 
 noblemen merely according to the dictates of his own will. 
 
24 KINGCRAFT IN SCOTLAND. 
 
 Nay, it was a necessary prerogative in a real kingship, for as the 
 king was the centre and source of honour, the old feudal law 
 out of which royalty emanated gave him the right to take away 
 as well as to give. Under Queen Mary this right was lost, and 
 with it passed away the only shred of queenship, outside of the 
 robes and jewels, which she might have retained. 
 
 Queen Mary was undoubtedly a woman of more than ordi- 
 nary ability, as has already been said, but her mind was not 
 comprehensive enough to survey the entire situation in the 
 midst of which she was placed. Her notions of royality were 
 those which prevailed at the court of France, and ultimately 
 ruined it, and she perceived that the strong democratic tenden- 
 cies which were developed among the Scottish Reformers could 
 not dwell in harmony with the throne as she understood its 
 prerogatives and purpose. This knowledge, next to her devo- 
 tion to Rome, coloured her whole public life and dictated its 
 actions. This is no place to enquire into or discuss her 
 personal character ; we have simply to deal with her as one of 
 the wearers of the Scottish crown, and in that respect she 
 appears to no greater advantage than did her father. Had she 
 moved in some other station, had she been the lady of a coun- 
 try mansion, with a husband who could have ruled, advised, and 
 guided her, Mary might have passed through life a happy 
 woman, beloved by her dependants, and a model of all the 
 proprieties. But temptations of exalted rank, and the fierce 
 light that beats upon every throne, proved too strong for her ; 
 the times were too tempestuous for one to whom pleasure was 
 essential ; the change from the gay and false court of France to 
 the stern, expectant, and earnest throng which she found in 
 Scotland, was too great, and she made mistake after mistake, 
 lost friend after friend, until she found herself a helpless prisoner 
 in the grim castle of Fotheringay. 
 
 No better evidence can be given of how weak the crown had 
 become in Mary's time, and the advances the Parliament was 
 making in real authority, than is afforded by a study of the 
 Parliament of 1567, which convened immediately after her 
 deposition and the proclaiming of her son as her successor. 
 Hitherto the " Lords of the Articles," as the committee having 
 charge of the introduction of public measures was called, were 
 appointed by the crown, on this occasion they were chosen by 
 the Parliament, and among the " lords " were the provosts of 
 eight towns — Edinburgh, Dundee, Montrose, Aberdeen, Ayr, 
 
KINGCRAFT IN SCOTLAND. 25 
 
 Cnpar, St. Andrews, and Stirling. This Parliament sanctioned 
 the dethronement of the queen, and acquiesced in the project 
 for the immediate coronation of her infant son. Its members 
 endor.>ed the appointment of Murray as Regent, and expressly 
 denied the authority of Rome in any matters pertaining to the 
 civil or religions government of the country. They upheld the 
 Confession of Faith, and declared that their kings or regents, 
 before assuming the crown, should take an oath to uphold the 
 Reformed Church, thus in one step practically throwing to the 
 winds the divine-right theory of kingcraft. The Parliament 
 even trenched upon matters which properly lay within the 
 power of tiie General Assembly, such as conferring on patrons 
 the power of presentation of ministers to churches, but giving 
 the Assembly the right to reject the presentee should an appeal 
 against him be made by the congregation or presbytery. They 
 also passed a law that admission into the ministry in the first 
 instance could only be granted by the Church, one of the cardi- 
 nal points on which the whole basis of Scottish Presbyterianism 
 rests. No parliament even in the present enlightened day 
 would do more to extend the national liberties than did this 
 convention of 1567, nor could the dictates of a modern parlia- 
 ment be more successfully and completely carried out. 
 
 During the minority of James VI. the executive formed was 
 exercised in succession by four regents, the Earls of Murray, 
 Lenox, Mar and Morton. All were ambitious men, whose main 
 object in wielding the kingly authority was for the influence it 
 gave them in the realm, the advantage it gave them over the 
 other barons, and the opportunities for personal and family 
 aggrandisement it afforded. Mar was probably the most inno- 
 cent-minded of the lot, but his memory is held in scorn by the 
 ecclesiastical historians for his part in introducing the Tulchan 
 Bishops — that is, bishops in name only — into the kingdom. 
 Murray was the greatest statesman of the quartette, but his 
 peculiar position made it absolutely necessary that he should 
 pay more attention to the Earl of Murray than to the kingdom 
 of Scotland. He was halt-brother to Mary, and she certainly 
 befriended him when she had the power. She even desired to 
 lean upon him for advice and counsel as a sister would upon a 
 brother, but he acted a double part. Had he been an honest 
 man, Mary would not have been led into that train of circum- 
 stances which ended in her dethronement, neither would he 
 have been regent. He played a deep game for years until his 
 
 B 
 
26 KINGCRAFT IN SCOTLAND. 
 
 murder at Linlithgow by Hamilton of Bothwellhaugh defeated 
 his plans as well as ended his triumph. But the tragedy invested 
 the victim with the halo of martyrdom, as other tragedies, more 
 legal, have done to the memories of other Scots, and he has 
 floated down to us in history as " The good Lord James " and 
 as " The good regent.'' Neither of these four rulers did much 
 for the country. They remind one of the hostler boys of old, 
 who mounted the box of the stage-coach and held the reins, 
 permitting the horses to daunder hither and thither in front of 
 the inn, while the regular coachman was inside. When, at 
 length, James assumed the duties of his calling, and the rule of 
 the regents was at an end, the crown suddenly became again a 
 very active factor in the affairs of the State. James desired to 
 be king in fact as well as in name, to be reinvested with all the 
 old prerogatives, but the country had been ruled too long by 
 women and regents to take kindly to his personal interferences, 
 and besides, while James had the desire to be a real king he did 
 not possess the necessary stamina, courage, or genius to play 
 such a role successfully in the transitory times in which he lived. 
 As has often been said, James was a singular compound of 
 sense and silliness. He could plan, meditate, scheme, and use 
 diplomacy with astuteness and dexterity, but he was a poor 
 judge of men, and utterly unable either to work out the details 
 of a great issue, or to meet such an issue fairly and squarely. 
 His prevailing weakness was his vanity, and that led him into 
 many extravagances which he otherwise might have avoided. 
 To that was due, for instance, his belief in the divine right 
 theory of the throne — of any throne in fact, his power over 
 witchcraft, his ideas as to his superior abilities as a scholar, and 
 as to his genius as a poet. With all his faults, shortcomings 
 and grievances however, James VI. had a difficult part to play, 
 it must be confessed, for his own sake he played it remarkably 
 well, although his son suffered " the burden of the sang." For 
 the retention of their kingly station, even the weakest of his 
 ancestors among the James's and the Roberts had only to keep 
 the nobility in check and their own pre-eminence was assured. 
 There was a noteworthy difference now. The nobility mainly 
 was on James's side in all his schemes and devices and claims, 
 but in direct opposition to him stood the General Assembly, and 
 behind it was the people. The king soon realized that the re- 
 formed ministers, with right, religion and the people behind them, 
 were opponents of quite a different calibre from the ambitious 
 
KINGCRAFT IN SCOTLAND. 27 
 
 time-serving, grasping barons, who made the lives of so many of 
 his predecessors miserable. Very quickly after he began to 
 govern, James experienced the influence and power of the Kirk, 
 and while he continued in Scotland his reign was simply a one 
 steadily continued fight with the General Assembly and its 
 members. That the crown was active while it rested on his 
 shoulders cannot be denied, but a study of this quarrel shows 
 the contempt which really was felt for the wearer of the crown, 
 as well as for the kingly authority itself. In an interview with 
 him in 1583, some of them spoke to the king in the following 
 very plain language : " Think not lightly, Sir, of our commis- 
 sion, and look well that your deeds agree with your promises, 
 for we must damn sin in whoever it be found ; nor is that face 
 upon flesh we may spare, in case we find rebellion to our God, 
 whose ambassadors we are. Disregard not our threatening, for 
 there never was one yet in this realm, in the place where your 
 Grace is, who prospered after the ministers began to threaten 
 him." These were not the words of subjects to a king. They 
 were spoken by men who believed themselves equal in every 
 way to the man they addressed. They were words of defiance, 
 not the defiance that comes from despair, but the defiance of 
 one who is certain of power and of ultimate victory. James 
 thoroughly understood their import, and while he dared not 
 return the defiance, he determined silently to humble these new 
 thorns in the kingly side. In this, to a certain extent, he suc- 
 ceeded. But such a condition of affairs testifies that kingcraft 
 had fallen from its high estate, and there was not a parish 
 minister in Scotland who did not in 1583, as well as before and 
 after, consider he was as important a personage in the kingdom 
 as the gawkish individual who wielded the sceptre in Holyrood. 
 
 There is one detail in James' career as a Scottish king which 
 shows the methods and weakness of his kingship, as well as the 
 influence and determination of his great opponents — the 
 ministers — more clearly than anything else, and it may be well 
 to relate the circumstances here. 
 
 With the view of strengthening himself with the nobility, 
 James resolved to permit three Roman Catholic peers — the 
 Earls of Huntly, Errol, and Angus — who had been deservedly 
 banished from the country, to return and enjoy their estates and 
 dignities again. It was not in keeping with his nature to man- 
 fully state his reasons for such a step, and to rely quietly on the 
 old-time prerogatives of the crown as sufficient authority for his 
 
28 KINGCRAFT IN SCOTLAND. 
 
 permitting them to re-enter Scotland. Had he done so, he 
 would certainly have been severely criticised, but to a certain 
 extent he had royal right and precedent on his side, and would 
 doubtless not only have carried his point, but would have 
 placed his kingship on a higher pinnacle than he had yet 
 managed to place it. Instead of pursuing this course, he pre- 
 ferred to work in the devious, tortuous ways which he was 
 pleased to regard as diplomatic. The affair, however, was soon 
 discovered by the Church, and as the story could not be fully 
 known or honestly or candidly told, rumours filled the air to the 
 effect that the Roman Catholics were steadily gathering strength 
 within oS well as without the court, that they had found favour 
 with the king, and that it was only a matter of time when the 
 work of the Reformation would be undone. The rumours cer- 
 tainly magnified the evil, but the fault for that lay not with the 
 preachers, who necessarily groped in the dark, but with the 
 sovereign, who had not sufficient royalty in his whole composi- 
 tion to make him act in a straightforward and kingly manner. 
 The issue, however, was met at once and openly by the Kirk, 
 for the General Assembly appointed a solemn fast, on which 
 prayers might be offered up that the threatened pollution of the 
 land by the enemies of God might be averted. They did more 
 than this, for they appointed a body of sixteen ministers, whose 
 duty it was, under the title of the Council of the Church, to 
 watch the king and the course of public affairs. This was a 
 serious blow to the vanity of the king, but he met it by showing 
 his full hand, and stating, as he should have done in the first 
 instance, his reasons for negotiating with the banished lords 
 concerning their return. He called a number of the ministers 
 together, and laid his views before them in an interesting and, 
 from any standpoint, convincing manner. But the king's repu- 
 tation for truthfulness was very delicate among these straight- 
 forward, plain-spoken, God-fearing, Bible-loving preachers, and 
 even the most kindly disposed among them could only answer 
 the king's arguments by expressing the hope that there might be 
 an agreement on the matter between the King and the Assem- 
 bly. Such a suggestion implied that the two parties were equal 
 in the State, and this James, with his head filled with divine 
 right notions, was not prone to acknowledge. So, on one occa- 
 sion, he made a speech to some of these statesmen-ministers, 
 and described the condition ot things so admirably that it is 
 worth considering. "There will never be an agreement," he 
 
KINGCRAFT IN SCOTLAND. 29 
 
 said, "as long as the limits of the two jurisdictions, the civil 
 and the ecclesiastical are so vague and undistinguishable. The 
 lines must be strongly and clearly drawn. In your preachings 
 your license is intolerable ; you censure both prince, estate and 
 council; you convoke General Assemblies without my authority; 
 you pass laws under the allegation that they are purely ecclesias- 
 tical but which interfere with my prerogative and restrict the 
 decisions of my council and my judges. To these my allow- 
 ance or approbation is never required ; and under the general 
 head of scafidal your synods and presbyteries fulminate the 
 most bitter personal attacks and draw within the sphere of their 
 censure every conceivable grievance." It would be impossible 
 for the most devoted admirer of the kingly office to find any- 
 thing really royal or noble in this speech. There is nothing in 
 it that shows the "dux" — the leader of men. It is the whine 
 of a poltroon who feels himself surrounded by men stronger 
 than himself, and who finds his only solace in complaining. 
 Even his mother when she wept before John Knox did not for- 
 get her queenship; this man even forgot his manhood and asked 
 like a child. The State, in his opinion, was but a part, an attri- 
 bute of his absorbing " my " — my coronet, my judges, 7ny appro 
 bation — the poor, weak lump of clay. 
 
 Things were drifting along in unsatisfactory fashion — King 
 and Assembly standing watching each other, and waiting for 
 whatever course events might take — when one of the preachers 
 in the fervidness of his zeal for the cause, and in the height of 
 his impatience with the royal trimmer, and regardless of all 
 sense of expediency, delivered a discourse which, while generally 
 true, and a clear utterance of the opinions actually held by his 
 colleagues, and by the people, was neither characterized by 
 timeliness nor common-sense. There is, in the world, a time 
 to speak and a time to be silent, and this preacher, Mr. David 
 Black, although only uttering then what he and most others re- 
 garded as truth, placed a weapon in the hands of the king and 
 his counsellors which was ultimately used to the detiiment of 
 the Kirk. A grain of wheat is good in itself and possesses 
 growing and reproductive powers, but if it be cast on a blue- 
 stone pavement it will soon be trodden out of shape, and when 
 it is carried to soft earth may only be able to shoot up a blade 
 of grass. So with truth — if uttered at the wrong time it may 
 wither and require long years of nursing ere it revive again, and 
 in its revival it may assume a shape which is altogether different 
 
30 KINGCRAFT IN SCOTLAND. 
 
 from what it originally was intended to have : but if uttered in 
 season it may not only at once take root but grow with amazing 
 rapidity until it touches everything that surrounds it and sends 
 its fragrance or its bounty all over the world. 
 
 The Reverend Master Black, in this outspoken sermon, de- 
 clared that Queen Elizabeth was an atheist and that the religion 
 established in England was an empty mummery, of no use either 
 in this world or the next, and that the bishops led the people 
 by the nose. King James, he claimed in attempting to bring 
 back to Scotland the Catholic earls was guilty of treachery, but 
 then that was only to be expected as Satan was the head of the 
 court, and was to be found everywhere about it. All kings, he 
 said, were bairns of the devil, and the Queen of Scotland was a 
 woman who they might pray for just for fashion's sake, but 
 without the slightest idea that their prayers would do any good. 
 
 Compare this sermon with King James's craven speech, and 
 let us ask ourselves which of these two men were the most king- 
 like. The preacher spoke as having authority, as though he 
 had power, and with a consciousness that his cause was just and 
 was bound to conquer. His words created a great commotion, 
 just as, veiy probably, he intended they should, and James 
 summoned him to appear before the Privy Council. Black per- 
 emptorily refused, and stated to his brethren in the ministry his 
 reasons for refusal in a document which shows conclusively that 
 the spiritual estate considered itself the equal at least of the 
 civil government of the country. In matters temporal he was 
 willing at all times, he averred, to be judged by the king and 
 his council, but his utterances were in the pulpit, and for what 
 he said there he was only responsible to the General Assembly. 
 To permit the interference of the kmg in these circumstances 
 would simply be an acknowledgment of the right of the sovereign 
 to interfere in matters spiritual, and so the position of the kirk 
 as well as its entire discipline and independence would be in- 
 volved. The Commissioners of the Kirk at once endorsed Mr. 
 Black's declinature, and sent copies of his letter or plea or state- 
 ment, whatever it might be called, to all the presbyteries 
 throughout the country, asking their endorsation, assistance, and 
 prayers. The authorities of the kirk plainly stated that the 
 king's eagerness to punish a presbyterian minister and to pardon 
 the Catholic lords were very significant evidences of his personal 
 desires, and that if his power was quietly submitted to, the 
 church would fall completely under the power of the civil 
 
KINGCRAFT IN SCOTLAND. 31 
 
 magistrate. The issue was a square one, and the king, per- 
 ceiving its import, tried to rise to the requirements of the occa- 
 sion from the royal point of view. '' Shall not I," he said to 
 some of the clergy who were permitted to approach him, "have 
 power to call and punish a minister that breaketh out in treason- 
 able speeches, but must come to your presbytery and be a 
 complainer ? " Certainly there could be nothing kingly-like in 
 such a position, and James had good reason for his complaint, 
 but the fact of its utterance simply proved again not only his 
 own weakness but the depth to which the kingly institution had 
 sunk. 
 
 A weaker mind than James's could not have failed to under- 
 stand that if the position of the church in this instance was to 
 be allowed there was then an end to even the pretence of royal 
 government. So James and his counsellors insisted on Black 
 being tried, and as the latter persisted in his declination, they 
 tried him in his absence, and as a natural sequence found him 
 guilty. As best he could the king told his woes to the people, 
 charging the clergy in general terms with insolence, sedition and 
 treason. In such an appeal, however, the clergy had a great ad- 
 vantage over the king, for the bulk of the people sympathised with 
 the ministers, and the latter made every pulpit resound with de- 
 nunciations of the monarch, his judges, his officers, his ancestors, 
 and every thing connected with him or his office. Just as his 
 mother was hooted so he was ridiculed — all the claimed sacred- 
 ness of James's majesty could not repress contempt. He 
 appeared to have realized this, and as his vanity and self-conceit 
 were wounded, he bestirred himself to action. The com- 
 missioners of the church were summarily ordered to return to 
 their pulpits, and Mr. Black was commanded to take himself 
 anywhere he liked north of the river Spey. In addition to these 
 things an edict was issued obliging all ministers to sign a bond 
 in which they agreed to submit, like other subjects, all matters 
 not of a strictly religious or dogmatic character, to the civil 
 courts. The upshot of this was a riot in Edinburgh when the 
 people, devoted to their ministers, broke beyond the bounds of 
 law, in their defence. This outbreak ultimately enabled the 
 king temporarily to carry his point, and the civil magistrate 
 apparently came out of the trouble triumphant. 
 
 I say apparently, for we must remember the education which 
 the people were all this time receiving in the art of government 
 and in a knowledge of the uselessness of the kingly office. The 
 
32 KINGCRAFT IN SCOTLAND. 
 
 Presbyterian Church was in the truest sense a church govern- 
 ment of the people, by the people, and for the people, and it 
 claimed such a wide jurisdiction that it really embraced within 
 its sphere every interest in the kingdom. Its source of power 
 was the Kirk meeting ; from that, by steady degrees, rose its 
 highest court, the Assembly, and in these two powers, as in all 
 that lay between them, everything was done by elected represen- 
 tatives, and was the result of earnest discussions, and majority 
 votes. Under James, the Parliament was of little use in initiat- 
 ing legislation ; it did no good to him or conferred any immedi- 
 ate benefit on the people ; it was utterly subservient to him and 
 his wishes, but in the face of the powerful people's parliament, 
 which the General Assembly really was, its legislative enact- 
 ments were of little passing importance. Its members only 
 exhibited restiveness m regard to the royal commands when 
 questions of finance and taxation were submitted to them. Then 
 the representatives rebelled, for their own pockets were likely to 
 suffer, and as James was always impecunious, the suffering was 
 likely to be pretty extensive. In general, however, the Parlia- 
 ment cut a subordinate figure in the events of the time, and the 
 whole of James' reign was a battle for supremacy against the 
 Kirk. In detail he was generally successful, for his devious 
 arts and diplomatic tricks, as well as his lying and contemptible 
 disposition, very often combined to sow discord in the ranks of 
 the kirk ; but, on the whole, his last years in Scotland showed 
 a steady diminution of the royal authority, and an equivalent 
 advance in real strength and power by the people, through the 
 example, teachings, and practices of their clerical leaders and 
 courts. Of course the preachers were not all perfect in their 
 patriotism or consistency. Several were always at the king's 
 command, and many on critical occasions tried to find favour 
 in the royal sight ; but, on the whole, the Presbyterian ministers 
 stood up manfully for their cause, for their independence, and 
 for the people. A careful study of James' reign in Scotland 
 prompts the belief that but for his accession to the English 
 throne in 1603, his grasp of the Scottish sceptre would not have 
 continued very long after that date. Influence he had none, his 
 kingly authority was a farce, his dependence on worthless 
 favourites was a scandal, his silliness and incompetency were 
 daily apparent, while his vacilating, hypocritical, and selfish 
 policy provoked discontent and disgust among nearly all classes. 
 When the crown of England fell to him, the people rejoiced, 
 
KINGCRAFT IN SCOTLAND. 33 
 
 but so far as he was concerned there was nothing personal in 
 their joy. They were proud that they gave a king to their auld 
 enemy, and they were gladdened by the thought of the rich 
 harvest they might glean in the productive pastures of England. 
 Some of them even wept for joy when the time came for the 
 king to depart for the South, and the snivelling trickster thought 
 the tears were those of regret at the loss of his presence. He 
 set out for his new dominion in grand array, attended by a 
 gorgeous cavalcade, amidst the huzzas of the people, from Edin- 
 burgh to Berwick, and entered England, to be welcomed with 
 more enthusiastic loyalty than he had ever been accustomed to. 
 But when he crossed the Border, kingcraft was no longer a 
 reality in Scotland — it became simply a sentiment. 
 
 The sentiment proved a costly one. The Scottish Parliament 
 continued its existence until the Union in 1706, but it was a 
 nonentity, and no more represented Scotland than it did France. 
 It was impotent in itself for good, but its impotency and sub- 
 serviency permitted horrors to fall upon the country, and when 
 it did expire, when the last note of the "auld sang " died out, 
 it was in the midst of as dirty a cloud of fraud, corruption and 
 scoundrelism as the history of the world can parallel. Long 
 before that, however, it actually had no reason for existence ; 
 it was no longer a representative body, and its functions were 
 really performed by each General Assembly. The kirk was the 
 people's parliament. It had their authority and their confidence, 
 and as it derived its existence from the people, and as the latter 
 had a voice at least in its deliberations, it was the only repre- 
 sentative body in the country. The sentimental regard for 
 royalty put Scotland in a wrong position in the conflict between 
 Charles I. and his English subjects, and placed the old crown 
 on the head of his son, the most worthless scoundrel the royal 
 race of Stewart produced. It led to the disastrous battle of 
 Dunbar, to the conquest of Scotland by Cromwell, the establish- 
 ment of his military dictatorship, the cruel rapacity of the traitor 
 Monck, and the terrible persecution of the Covenanters. Even 
 the church itself was crushed, distracted and scattered during 
 part of this awful era, but the Revolution Settlement of 16S8 
 re-established it in power, and it quickly recovered its influence. 
 From the time that Charles II. left Scotland in 1651 on the 
 ill-advised expedition which ended in his rout at Worcester, 
 until 1822, none of its monarchs ventured to visit Scotland, and 
 as far as the country was concerned, its royal court might just 
 
34 KINGCRAFT IN SCOTLAND. 
 
 as well have been located in Finland ; nay, it might have been 
 better if it had. In 1822, however, the old sentiment, which 
 had pretty much died out was revived in a more intensified 
 form than ever when George II., the "greatest blackguard in 
 Europe " as he has been called, condescended to visit his Scot- 
 tish dominions. The royal reprobate was received amidst 
 demonstrations of the most unbounded enthusiasm and loyalty, 
 and under an accomplished master of ceremonies like Sir Walter 
 Scott, royalty again held high carnival at Holyrood. The king 
 was delighted with his northern subjects, rigged out his fat 
 carcass in full Highland costume to please them, and even went 
 in state to the kirk. But the visit was a brief one, he never 
 returned, and nothing resulted from it. The next royal visit 
 was in 1841, when Queen Victoria landed at Granton, and her 
 frequent after visits, the establishment of her home in the High- 
 lands, and her deep-rooted love for the country has revived and 
 strengthened the sentiment for the monarchy. 
 
 But notwithstanding this sentiment, founded on personal 
 reverence to the monarch, kingcraft is no longer a power in 
 Scotland. In everything but the name it is a democratic com- 
 monwealth, and it is recognised as the stronghold of Liberalism 
 and intelligent radicalism in the Empire. It is constantly re- 
 forming ard wiping out the old abuses which yet linger in its 
 system of government, but it does so cautiously and slowly, that 
 nothing may be lost which has been successfully tested by time. 
 The land laws, the law of entail, the question of church estab- 
 lishments, the game laws, and many others are claiming the 
 attention of the people, and they are working out the various 
 problems which come up in their own "canny" way and in a 
 conservative fashion that is perfectly satisfactory to themselves. 
 The kiik still has its weight in the counsels of the people, but 
 the printing press has usurped the place of the pulpit in inter- 
 fering with civil affairs, while the growth of education, of 
 thought, and of Christian toleration make all classes understand 
 their various uses, purposes, and functions better than was 
 possible in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, and enable 
 them all to work in harmony for the common good. 
 
The Progress of Popular 
 Liberty in Scotland. 
 
 The condition of the Scottish people at the beginning of the 
 tweltth century, the period at which the authentic history of the 
 country commences, and for a long time afterwards, was by no 
 means favourable to the cause of popular liberty. In fact, the 
 liberty of the subject, as we now understand it, did not exist 
 anywhere in the land and very probably was not even thought 
 about. The king was the head of the State, nominally supreme 
 in all things, but owing an undefined, semi-acknowledged fealty 
 to England. Even this fealty became little more than a tradi- 
 tion, when the king was of average intellect, like Alexander III., 
 or was acknowledged only for lands which he personally pos- 
 sessed in England. When a hot-headed firebrand like William 
 the Lion was on the throne, however, the question of rendering 
 homage to the southern king for the kingdom became a very 
 definite and disagreeable reality. Inside the country, except in 
 the remote Highlands, the Western Islands or on the debate- 
 able land on the Borders, the supremacy of the King was un- 
 disputed. The only check upon his authority lay with the 
 barons. They held their lands direct from the Crown and were 
 under obligations to serve it on all occasions, but their wealth 
 and influence, individually, sometimes exceeded that of the king 
 himself, and when they chose to combine against the monarch, 
 the latter very often had to succumb. The king was really 
 supreme when he possessed wisdom and courage like Robert 
 Bruce, or was a clear-headed, firm, far-seeing statesman like 
 James I. But when the sceptre was in the hands of such weak- 
 lings as David II., or James III., the actual power was in the 
 hands of the barons. 
 
 As was generally the case under the feudal regime, each noble 
 held almost unlimited sway in his own baronry or estate. He 
 
36 PROGRESS OF POPULAR LIBERTY IN SCOTLAND. 
 
 presided over his own court, administered justice according to 
 his own ideas of right and wrong, pronounced punishment even 
 to the death penalty, and rewarded those he pleased, or those 
 who pleased him. He summoned his retainers, like a king, to 
 guard his person, led them to battle or used them to wreak ven- 
 geance upon a neighbour with whom he might be at enmity. 
 When the king and the barons were united, the people had no 
 chance whatever for bettering their own condition, or for acquir- 
 ing new privileges, but fortunately for the cause of liberty, this 
 union seldom existed, and when it did its continuance and sin- 
 cerity were generally brief. The sovereign and the barons alter- 
 nately appealed to the people for support in their schemes, and 
 the people thereby reaped many benefits which, otherwise, would 
 never have been peacefully conceded. The royal burghs got 
 their charters and rights, and ultimately their political power, 
 solely from a desire on the part of the kings to reduce the influ- 
 ence of the nobility. David I., that "sair sanct for the crown," 
 as one of his successors styled him, was among the first of the 
 kings to perceive clearly the immense advantage which the sove- 
 reign could command by strengthening and elevating the people. 
 He introduced into the country quite a number of foreign nobles 
 and gave them grants of land, thus weakening the power of the 
 native chiefs. He also granted charters to many burghs, such 
 as Edinburgh, Inverkeithing, Haddington, Forfar, Jedburgh, 
 Linlithgow, Lanark, Montrose, Peebles, Stirling, Selkirk, St. 
 Andrews, Perth, Rutherglen, Dumfries and Aberdeen. The 
 sagacity of David, as a ruler, was shown in many ways, but by 
 none more plainly than this, for as the years roll on, we find that 
 the strength maintained in these burghs often aided the 
 monarchs in times when ambition and treason threatened to 
 rend the State, and when the "auld enemy'' of England was 
 inflicting on the country the penalties of war. But above all, 
 these burghs became the nursing places of individual liberty in 
 Scotland, and in the long run won for the people most of the 
 privileges they now enjoy. 
 
 The common people, at the time mentioned, might be divided 
 into two classes : ist, those who held land direct from the 
 crown, the church, or the barons ; and 2nd, slaves. The burghs 
 were not strong enough to make up a third class. The first 
 were freemen, or at least as free as men could be who had to 
 perform direct service to their lords for their holdings. Their 
 service was chiefly military, and from their ranks were drawn the 
 
PROGRESS OF POPULAR LIBERTY IN SCOTLAND. 37 
 
 armies of the kingdom. They had the power of removing when 
 they so desired, from one place to another, under the same 
 over-lord, or, if they held direct from the crown, to some of the 
 other lands belonging thereto. This was the grand difference, 
 socially speaking, between them and the bulk of the population 
 — the slaves, cotters, or labourers. These belonged to the soil, 
 and were sold or transferred with it. Their chattels and effects 
 belonged to their masters, and the most implicit obedience was 
 exacted from them. They had no family names, no privileges 
 of any description, and were rated on an equality with the cattle 
 that grazed on the meadow, or the deer that bounded through 
 the glen. They had no chance of winning or renting a bit of 
 the soil on which they were reared, and were bondsmen, hand 
 and foot, as literally as human beings were in Virginia before 
 President Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation was issued.* 
 
 * The two deeds of sale, which follow, were granted to the prior of Cold- 
 ingham Abbey, the oldest religious house in Scotland. Their exact date 
 cannot be determined, but they were certainly executed between the years 
 1200 and 1220. Sir Alan, of Swinton, one of the witnesses to the second 
 deed, got a charter of the barony of Swinton from Bertram, Prior of Cold- 
 ingham, in the reign of William the Lion, who becam.e king in 1165, and 
 died in 1214. These deeds of sale illustrate better than anything else which 
 could be adduced the abject slavery which then existed in Scotland. 
 
 I. 
 
 ** Henry of Prendergeste, to all who shall see or hear these letters, greet- 
 ing. Be it known to you all that I have granted, sold, and for ever quit- 
 claimed from me and my heirs, Joseph son of Elwold, and all his issue, to 
 the Prior and Convent of Coldingham, for the price of three marks, which 
 he gave to me in my great necessity, of money of the house of Coldingham. 
 Wherefore I will and grant that the foresaid Joseph and all his issue shall 
 be free and quit from all reclamation of me and my heirs. Before these 
 witnesses : Ralf the Archdeacon and John his son, Elyas of Prendergeste 
 and Adam his son, Richard Forester and Richard his son, Richard of Kis- 
 tun, William of Lumisdene, Adam of Little Ristun, Maurice son of Merlin 
 and Renigald his brother, Adam son of Ilif of Aldengraue, Uctred son of 
 Coloman and Rodger his son, and Reginald of Little Ristun and William 
 his son, William son of Elgi, Walter of Edenham and Robert of Edenham, 
 Ralph the Provost, and the whole court of Homelescnel, and many others." 
 
 IL 
 
 " Robert of Prendergest, to all who may see or hear these letters, greet- 
 ing. Be it known to you all that I have granted, sold, and entirely for ever, 
 from me and my heirs, quit-claimed, Osulf the Red and Walter his son, and 
 all who shall issue from them hereafter, to the Prior and Convent of Cold- 
 ingham, for the price of ten marks, which they gave to me in my great 
 
38 PROGRESS OF POPULAR LIBERTY IN SCOTLAND. 
 
 The only hope for these unfortunates was the burghs. In this 
 connection, and viewing the absolute serfdom of these people, it 
 is curious to reflect how an educated poet like Henry Scott 
 Riddell could write — 
 
 " Never yet the foot of slave 
 Hath trod the wilds of Scotia," 
 
 and that people believe it. Why, slavery existed in Scotland f 
 until Henry Scott Riddell's own time (1799), when the colliers 
 and salters were declared free by Act of Parliament. As a 
 general rule, however, slavery in the agricultural districts was 
 abolished in the 15th century. 
 
 In the Highlands, the chiefs at the time indicated were the 
 rulers. That portion of the country was divided into little 
 communities, or clanships, holding land in common, and sharing 
 the spoils of the foray or the chase. Slavery was practically 
 unknown, and owing to the nature of the soil, agriculture was of 
 
 necessity, in goods of the property of tlie house of Coldingham. Wherefore 
 I will and grant that the foresaid Osulf and Walter, and all their issues, be 
 free and quit from all reclamation and demand of me and my heirs. In 
 presence of these witnesses : Patrick son of Alden, Henry of Prendergest, 
 Alan of Swinton, Helyas of Upper Eyton, Elyas of Prendergest, William of 
 Lumesdene, Adam of Riston, Reginald of Riston, Reginald son of Merlin, 
 Maurice his brother, and many others." 
 
 + The following advertisement is from the Coitrant newspaper of March 
 7, 1727. It refers to a female servant who had run away from the Canon- 
 gate, and a reward was offered for her apprehension : — "A negro woman, 
 named Ann, about eighteen years of age, with a green gown, and a brass 
 collar about her neck, on which are engraved these words — ' Gustavus 
 Brown in Dalkeith, his negro, 1726.'" 
 
 Negro servants seem to have been in considerable request in the Canon- 
 gate of old. The following advertisement, taken from the Edinburgh 
 A dver/iser newspaper, of March 12, 1773, will serve to illustrate this : "A 
 negro run away. — That on Wednesday, the loth current, an East India 
 negro had eloped from a family of distinction residing in the Canongate of 
 Edinburgh, and is supposed to have gone towards Newcastle. He is of the 
 mulatto colour, aged between sixteen and seventeen years, about five feet 
 high, having long black hair, slender made, and long limbed. He had on, 
 when he went off, a brown cloth short coat, with brass buttons, mounted 
 with black and yellow button-holes, breeches of the same, and a yellow vest 
 with black and yellow lace, with a brown duffle surtout coat, with yellow 
 lining, and metal buttons, grey and white marled stockings, a fine English 
 hat with yellow lining, having a gold loop and tassle, and double-gilded 
 button. As this negro lad has carried off sundry articles of value, whoever 
 shall receive him, so that he may be restored to the owner, on sending notice 
 thereof to Patrick M'Dougal, wtiter in Edinburgh, shall be handsomely 
 rewarded." 
 
PROGRESS OF POPULAR LIBERTY IN SCOTLAND. 39 
 
 little moment especially in the far western country. The people 
 maintained themselves mainly by hunting and fishing, and now 
 and again by a descent upon the Saxon Scots of the Lowlands, 
 when they harried the rich cattle and plundered whatever was 
 portable. For the king these mountaineers cared nothing. 
 They professed allegiance solely to their chief and followed him 
 blindly. Hence, one of these potentates, like Donald of the 
 Isles, who could attach a number of petty chiefs to his person, 
 wielded far more influence in the Highlands than the king who 
 had been crowned at Scone and proclaimed at Stirling. The 
 Border tribes possessed many of the characteristics of their 
 Highland cousins. Their chiefs, however, acknowledged some 
 degree of fealty to the crown, and instead of pillaging their 
 brother Scots they paid their respects to the fat beeves of Eng- 
 land. They were a rough, lawless, but withal honourable race, 
 fond of adventure and excitement, enamoured of war and the 
 chase. 
 
 Such were the constituent elements in Scottish society, briefly 
 stated, at the beginning of the twelfth century. The prospect 
 for the advancement of the people was dreary in the extreme. 
 The feudal law and its ramifications pressed heavily on the 
 masses, and elevated the classes. It deepened and widened the 
 gulf between them, and even to-day, after all these centuries of 
 progress, that gulf has not fairly been bridged over. Education, 
 such as it was, lay in the hands of the monks. The classes des- 
 pised it, the masses did not appreciate or desire it. Property 
 lacked security. The civil law was irregular and often irrational; 
 the criminal law was grossly defective and manifestly unfair to 
 the weak. Of foreign commerce, there was almost none ; the 
 internal trade was of the most trifling description, and the coin- 
 age was scarce and debased. Whatever wealth accumulated was 
 dissipated in foreign or civil wars, taxation was generally ex- 
 cessive, and the heads of families, the yeomen farmers of the 
 land were too often absent from their fields in attendance on 
 their lord, or fighting batdes for their king, to reap a full return 
 from the soil they held and cultivated. Thus the country was 
 poor and undeveloped, and might so have long continued but 
 for the judicious statecraft of David I. He endeavoured to 
 enforce the laws of the realm, so far as his authority could reach. 
 He crushed a formidable rebellion in the North, removed the 
 representatives of the old IMorm^ers of Moray from that district, 
 and divided their lands among Norman barons who had become 
 
40 PROGRESS OF POPULAR LIBERTY IN SCOTLAND. 
 
 attached to his person. He made regular journeys through the 
 kingdom, administering justice impartially, redressing wrongs 
 wherever he found them existing, and alleviating as much as 
 possible the condition of the common people. He bestowed 
 great attention upon the church, and gave it by his endowments, 
 its first start on the road to wealth in Scotland, thus enabling it 
 in time to become, as he intended, one of the political powers 
 of the country. But his greatest achievement was the patronage 
 he bestowed upon the burghs already alluded to. Their privileges 
 and immunities enabled them to rank ultimately, as a power in 
 the land, more durable and influential than either the baronage 
 or the church, or even both combined. 
 
 The earliest burghs in Scotland found their inception in the 
 huts which rose beside the royal or baronial castles, or in the 
 immediate vicinity of some abbey. Edinburgh, Perth and St. 
 Andrews, for instance, can easily be traced back to this humble 
 origin. There the artisans congregated, and, on the east coast 
 especially, the Flemish and English merchants made their head- 
 quarters, and added considerably to the importance of the little 
 communities. As the population increased, so did the wealth 
 of the people and those of them who belonged to the bond class 
 gradually purchased their freedom. After a time the citizens 
 found themselves, as it were, a distinct class from the agricul- 
 tural workers, lived under special laws adapted to communal 
 life, and depended in a measure for protection from lawless 
 marauders upon their own numbers and strength. The burghs 
 which held their charters from the Crown paid a specified 
 amount of rent or taxes to the royal exchequer, and claimed 
 the monarch's influence and favour. They also allowed them- 
 selves to be taxed for any occasion of national emergency which 
 might arise, but such special payments, whether in the form of 
 assessments or contributions, were generally made the pretext 
 for demanding some fresh privilege or immunity. The burghs 
 had their own courts. They elected their own magistrates, 
 made and enacted their own communal laws, legislated for their 
 own trades, promoted the growth of the guilds, exercised a voice 
 in tariff matters and had the power of admitting a stranger to 
 their privileges, or of rejecting him. The " freedom of the city " 
 was a valuable and desirable honour in those early times, for its 
 bestowal made a man really free, much more so indeed than the 
 followers of the court, or the barons, or the rural tenants of the 
 church. When the burghs became strong enough in point of 
 
PROGRESS OF POPULAR LIBERTY IN SCOTLAND. 41 
 
 population to make a choice, slaves were not very freely admitted 
 into their fellowship, but if one of these unfortunates was able 
 to buy a house in a town, and live in it for a year and a day, he 
 was recognized as a citizen. A slave, too, who resided in a town 
 for several years and had established a reputation for industry 
 and trustworthiness was also admitted to the rights and privi- 
 leges of a freeman. The civic population was also swelled by 
 immigrants from the south of the Tweed and by traders and 
 artificers from the continent. In the reign of David II. the 
 number of royal burghs had increased to seventeen, and when 
 we recollect that these burghs owed allegiance to no man except 
 the king, that their inhabitants were, in a measure, accustomed 
 to rule themselves and think for themselves, that they were in 
 constant communication with the outer world, and that the 
 whole principle of their existence was to make men independent 
 and the community powerful, we may well regard them as so 
 many beacons diffusing the light of liberty all over the land. 
 They gradually educated their country brethren up to the stan- 
 dard to which they had been themselves exalted, and their influ- 
 ence in an indirect way at first, did much to shape the course 
 of political events in their kingdom. The burghs possessed 
 money, their wealth was generally available and its extent and 
 service were duly appreciated when they paid nearly the whole 
 of the ransom which the English demanded for the return of 
 David II. Then they learned that w^ealth itself was power, al- 
 though the lesson nearly drove the country into bankruptcy. 
 
 Still, although these burghs in course of time, managed and 
 to a great extent controlled their own affairs, they had at first no 
 voice in those of the nation. So far as can be traced the sove- 
 reigns ruled without the aid of any recognized or regularly con- 
 stituted assembly until the death of Alexander III. According 
 to Wynton's Chronicle, a Parliament was summoned after the 
 tragedy at Kinghorn, in 1286, but if it met, which is doubtful, 
 no record of its proceedings has come down to us. A meeting 
 of the Scottish Estates (or Parliament), however, was held in 
 1289 to draw up a treaty in connection with the proposed mar- 
 riage of the English Prince of Wales and Alexander's heiress, 
 the Maid of Norway. This Parliament comprised the five 
 regents of the kingdom, ten bishops, twelve earls, twenty-three 
 abbots, eleven priors and forty-eight barons. The crown, the 
 church and the baronage were fully represented, but the people 
 were ignored. Not even a single burgh was recognized, although 
 
 c 
 
42 PROGRESS OF POPULAR LIBERTY IN SCOTLAND. 
 
 several of them then contributed more to the wealth of the 
 country than some of the barons. But a great change was at 
 hand, although how it was brought about is not very clearly 
 known. After the elevation of John Baliol to the throne in 
 1292, the condition of affairs made it necessary that the internal 
 strength of the kingdom should be maintained at all points, and 
 the burghs were admitted to the dignity of being regarded as 
 one of the estates of the reahii. The viajores populi or chiefs 
 of the people sat in council in Baliol's Parliament, with the 
 king, barons and clergy. This was the first really National 
 Parliament in Scotland. Of the details of its business we know 
 little, but of the results of its dehberations we know enough to 
 make us regard it as one of the boldest and most independent 
 assemblies which ever sat in Scotland. It forced Baliol to re- 
 nounce his allegiance to Edward, it passed an edict banishing 
 all natives of England from the realm, it confiscated the estates 
 in Scotland of English peers, or of Scottish peers who openly 
 preferred to rank as ot England ; it arranged a marriage between 
 the eldest son of the king and a French princess ; and it finally 
 declared for war against the southern kingdom. We do not 
 know exactly the part which the representatives of the burghs 
 played in all this business, but the aggressiveness of this Parlia- 
 ment was so superior to that of 1289 that it seems natural and 
 just to credit its superiority to the new element in its composi- 
 tion, the element which represented the back-bone of the nation 
 and which was steadily, if slowly, advancing in wealth and 
 power. One bit of evidence is significant, however. The Treaty 
 of Marriage Act contained a provision that it should be corro- 
 borated by the seals and signatures of the representatives of the 
 church and baronage, and of the "communitatis villarum regni 
 Scotise," that is, of the royal burghs of Scotland. The position 
 which the burghs thus acquired in the councils of the country 
 was never lost, although for a long time its importance was 
 hardly understood, and its duties were deemed burdensome. 
 But in this respect the burghs were no more blamable or negli- 
 gent than the other factors in the realm. "In the year 1367," 
 says Hallam in his masterly work on the Co7isiitutio7ial History 
 of England, "a parliament having met at Scone a committee 
 was appointed by the three estates, (lord temporal, lord spiritual, 
 and people), who seem to have had full powers delegated to 
 them, the others returning home on account of the advanced 
 season. The same was done in the one [parliament] held next 
 
PROGRESS OF POPULAR LIBERTY IN SCOTLAND. 43 
 
 year without any assigned pretext But in 1369, this committee 
 was chosen only to prepare all matters determmable in parlia- 
 ment or fit it to be therein treated for the decision of the three 
 estates on the last day but one of the session. The former 
 scheme appeared even to those careless and unwilling legislators 
 too complete an abandonment of their functions. But even 
 modified as it was in 1369 it tended to devolve the whole 
 business of parliament on this elective committee, subsequently 
 known by the appellation of ' Lords of the Articles.' " Parlia- 
 ment had thus drifted into a most perilous position which might 
 easily have caused its ultimate ruin, had any of the sovereigns 
 been strong enough, or capable enough, or ambitious enough to 
 make it simply an instrument for the expression of their own 
 desires. Fortunately the Stewarts, with the exception of James 
 I., were men of small capacity in statecraft, and unfitted to take 
 sufficient advantage of the remissness of the legislature, to re- 
 duce it to the position of a mere figurehead, or to assume 
 personally its powers. Besides, the Stewarts, until 1578, when 
 the sixth James assumed the government, sought to ally them- 
 selves with the people to save the throne from the insolence and 
 encroachments of the barons, and in this lay mainly the safety 
 of the independence of the parliamentary institution. At no 
 period prior to 1578 do we discover the Scottish parliament 
 either directly or through its " Lords of the Articles," engaged 
 in concocting measures for seriously clipping the royal preroga- 
 tives such as so long formed the main business of the English 
 assembly. Instead, we find the royal authority in Scotland 
 steadily strengthened against that of the nobility on all sides and 
 on nearly all occasions, and the weak-minded princes of the 
 reigning house had just sense enough to perceive this tendency 
 and to encourage it in every way they deemed possible. 
 
 The nobility of Scotland, as a body, were never of much ser- 
 vice to the cause of its liberty, whether national, popular or reli- 
 gious. The fertile fields, generous pensions and gay court of 
 England, when occasion offered, were too tempting and alluring 
 to permit them to be steadfast in their loyalty to their own 
 country, while they regarded the " common orders " among their 
 countrymen as merely tools to contribute to their pleasure or to 
 assist them in their petty quarrels and traitorous designs. The 
 idea of a squire, or yeoman, or trader, or artisan, or labourer, 
 having thoughts, principles or aspirations, was beyond their 
 comprehension. Their whole thoughts were concentrated upon 
 
44 PROGRESS OF POPULAR LIBERTY IN SCOTLAND. 
 
 themselves and their own petty fortunes and selfish ambitions, 
 and they regarded the people as simply machines to be used 
 when wanted and to be laid quietly aside when their services 
 could be dispensed with. Fortunately for Scotland the " com- 
 mon orders " were men of greater loyalty, sturdier honesty, and 
 purer patriotism than the patricians. In the wars of independ- 
 ence which may be said to have commenced in 1296 and to 
 have ended only with the battle of Bannockburn in 13 14, the 
 fidelity of the people to the leaders who had risen to the front 
 was steadfast, devoted and unalloyed. Not so the nobility, for 
 take them as a body a more miserable set of poltroons never 
 disgraced any country than they did at that supreme epoch in 
 their nation's history. After Wallace was elected Governor of 
 Scotland, and when he returned from his invasion of the northern 
 counties of England, his reception by his countrymen raised the 
 malicious envy of the barons to an extraordinary degree. " They 
 could ill brook the popularity of one whose actions had thrown 
 them so much into the shade ; and his praise which they heard 
 on all sides, sounded in their ears like so many reproaches 
 against themselves, who, possessing wealth and power, either 
 could not, or from treachery would not, do what he, so much 
 their inferior in wealth and influence, had taken in hand and 
 finished with glory to himself and honour to his country. Hence 
 the private heartburnings which arose among these noblemen 
 whose consciences whispered that they had been either traitors 
 or sluggards when the liberty of their country was at stake." 
 (Carrick's Life of Wallace^ page 54, fourth edit., Glasgow). It 
 was at least two of these noblemen, the Earl of Dunbar and the 
 Earl of Angus, who betrayed the Scottish forces just before the 
 battle of Falkirk and caused the disaster which there befel their 
 country's arms, and treachery was also imputed at the same 
 time, and on good grounds, to Sir John Cumyn, lord of Bade- 
 noch, and others of the Scottish chiefs. Again, during the 
 occupation of the country by Edward in 1303, we are told by 
 Carrick that whenever the English army appeared " the chief- 
 tains were found anxiously awaiting to tender their submission 
 and again repeat their oaths of allegiance. Some of the most 
 prominent nobles in order to claim the merit of an early repent- 
 ance even met the invader on the Borders and thus procured 
 more advantageous terms than they otherwise would have ob- 
 tained." That rank cowardice was as much the cause of the 
 disgraceful attitude of the Scottish nobles to Wallace, as was his 
 
PROGRESS OF POPULAR LIBERTY IN SCOTLAND. 45 
 
 own comparatively lowly origin, may be safely concluded when 
 we read of their behaviour toward Bruce. That patriot certainly 
 was of as high lineage as any of them, was higher even than 
 most of them, and yet, in 1305, when he had fairly entered upon 
 his struggle for the independence of the kingdom, he could only 
 rally to his standard two Earls, Lennox and Athole, and fourteen 
 barons. It was the stout burghers in the royal cities, the tenant 
 farmers, the lesser lairds, the freeholders on the crown and 
 church lands throughout the country, who sustained these heroes, 
 furnished all the sinews of war, and enabled them ultimately to 
 ensure for ever the freedom and independence of the country, 
 and to knit the people together into a nation. Towards the 
 close of his reign, Bruce was surrounded by many nobles, but 
 they were mostly men who had fought with him the good fight 
 for freedom, who had jeopardised all for him and his cause, and 
 been advanced to the baronage as a reward for their prowess 
 and patriotism. Out of the forfeited estates of the recreant 
 peers, Bruce liberally provided both houses and lands for these 
 new " favourites of fortune," and men of greater simplicity of 
 heart, singleness of purpose, or devotion to their king, never 
 wore the ermine in Scotland. But their descendants soon lost 
 these noble attributes, and became as selfish, grasping, and 
 worthless, as any of the families on whose ruin their ancestors 
 rose. 
 
 During the reign of James I., the greatest of all the Stewarts 
 and the grandest statesman among all the Scottish kings, we get 
 many glimpses of the parliaments and their work. The royal 
 burghs were permitted to send about thirty delegates, and the 
 small barons and free tenants in each sheriffdom were allowed 
 to choose two representatives to the national council, except 
 Clackmannan and Kinross, each of which was only allowed one. 
 This appears to have been the first time in which the country 
 gentry or farmers were admitted to Parliament, but like the 
 burgh leaders, they thought lightly of the privilege, although 
 their expenses were ordered to be paid by those choosing them. 
 The king reserved the right to summon to each council such 
 peers and priests as he thought fit. The whole sat in one 
 chamber and deliberated together, although James appears to 
 have had an idea of organizing the legislature into two divisions 
 — peers and priests, and knights and burghers — somewhat after 
 that of England, but the general apathy of the people, the 
 parties most interested, prevented him from carrying his idea 
 
46 PROGRESS OF POPULAR LIBERTY IN SCOTLAND. 
 
 into practice. But it will be observed that in all the Parlia- 
 ments during James' reign, the different interests in the country 
 were represented, and many of the statutes passed show that the 
 delegates of the burghs were, to a certain extent at least, mind- 
 ful of the trust reposed in them. The thirteen parliaments which 
 were summoned by James, legislated in a wide variety of ways. 
 They prohibited private wars among the nobles and their 
 followers, and made it illegal for those ambitious subjects to 
 travel through the country with unnecessarily large retinues of 
 servants and dependants. They also made it imperative that 
 when these gentry did travel, they should pay their expenses like 
 ordinary honest people. A law was passed restoring to the king 
 the crown lands which had been appropriated by the barons, and 
 requiring the latter to show the charters or deeds for the lands ^ 
 which they claimed to hold by gift or otherwise. The taxes, 
 especially that one which was devised to furnish the funds for 
 the king's ransom, were equally distributed among all classes, 
 not even the clergy escaping from the levy, and the rules regard- 
 ing the collection of all imposts were prepared with so much 
 care, and with such an evident desire for fairness, that they 
 might be studied with profit by legislators of the present day. 
 Treason or rebellion were declared punishable by forfeiture of 
 life, lands, and goods, and this statute was ruthlessly enforced. 
 Laws were passed against the sturdy beggars who infested the 
 populous and prosperous sections of the country ; the fisheries 
 were protected by restrictive laws ; the produce of the mines 
 was declared to be, in part, the property of the people ; the 
 coinage, weights, and measures, were regulated by common 
 standards, and tariffs were placed on exports of merchandise, 
 gold, and even coin. The customs duties were lodged entirely 
 in the hands of the king. Local trades were protected in many 
 ways, and foreign merchants collecting money in Scotland for 
 their wares, were required to expend the same in the purchase 
 of Scottish merchandise and in their own personal expenses. 
 The wealth which the burghers were accumulating was sufifi- 
 ciently great to become the object of special legislation, and laws 
 were passed against undue magnificence in the apparel of the 
 wives and daughters of citizens, while tradesmen were admo- 
 nished not to imitate the grandeur of the court in their 
 costumes. 
 
 King James' parliaments descended still further, however, and 
 legislated for a class which had hitherto been deemed beneath 
 
PROGRESS OF POPULAR LIBERTY IN SCOTLAND. 47 
 
 the notice of such enactments — the artisans and labourers in 
 burghs. The different trades had their guilds, and these were 
 presided over by elected deacons, who appear to have had con- 
 siderable power. The workmen, combined together in close 
 corporations, seem to have regulated their prices, and to have 
 fixed the rates of wages pretty much as they pleased, while the 
 deacons had the right to mete out punishment to whoever 
 among the workers violated the trade law. These trades-unions, 
 for such they virtually were, appear to have created the same 
 amount of financial trouble and commercial disturbance that 
 their successors do at the present time. But the working- 
 classes had not then advanced sufficiently to struggle on general 
 principles, to understand the laws which regulate capital and 
 labour, to look beyond their own individual interests, nor were 
 they united enough or possessed of sufficient sense of their 
 importance in the community as to seek to have representatives 
 in the legislature, or to inspire the law-makers with any notion 
 as to their having rights. So, in the Parliament of 1427, the 
 powers of the deacons were curtailed, and the craftsmen 
 were prohibited from holding trade-meetings. Then the 
 privilege of legislating for them in their trade affairs was given 
 into the hands of free burghers who were represented in Parlia- 
 ment. The officials of each burgh were to determine what wages 
 were to be paid to carpenters, masons, weavers, smiths and other 
 artisans within its bounds. They were also empowered to 
 estimate the value of raw material, the price of labour, and then 
 define the worth of any description of work. No appeal could 
 be made from their decision except to the Lords of Session, 
 about the very last course a working-man of those days would 
 think of pursuing. These arrangements do not seem to have 
 been very honestly carried out. The officials of the burghs pro- 
 bably acted and judged more in accordance with their own 
 interests than in those of the wage-workers in fixing the scale of 
 wages. At all events the discontent was so marked that, before 
 the same Parliament adjourned, it turned over the regulation of 
 wages to wardens who were to be elected yearly, and to fix a 
 price for each description of labour which was not to be ex- 
 ceeded in the demands of the artisans. That is, the latter were 
 to get as much as they could, within a certain limit, for their 
 work. 
 
 Thus we find the parliamentary system in the reign of James 
 I. complete m its composition so far as property and wealth 
 
1 
 
 48 PROGRESS OF POPULAR LIBERTY IN SCOTLAND. 
 
 were concerned, and we see the parliaments legislating on all 
 matters pertaining to the business or welfare of the kingdom. 
 Neither James nor any of the sovereigns who succeeded him, 
 until the Scottish Parliament was dissolved for the last time, 
 permitted the estates an unfettered control over the making and 
 enacting of the laws. Over Parliament the king was the direct 
 head. The sovereigns reserved apparently the right of ignoring, 
 or permitting by license the ignoring by others of any Act of 
 Parliament, or even any of the criminal statutes. There was no 
 warrant for this, but there were plenty of precedents, and its 
 exercise varied according to the power or ambition of the ruler, 
 or of his favourite if he happened to have one — as was generally 
 the case. The officers of state, chosen by the king, were by 
 virtue of their offices members of each Parliament, and very 
 often these dignitaries were the moving spirits in the chamber. 
 But even with these limitations the principle underlying the 
 existence of any body of representatives was conceded. Having 
 thus traced parliamentary government until its full establishment, 
 it is needless to follow its progress in detail, and show how it 
 increased in influence and power until, in the reigns of James 
 V. and James VI., its importance was almost equal to that of 
 the sovereign ; how it appointed sessions for the adminstration 
 of justice, revised the shipping laws of the realm, negotiated 
 with English monarchs, attainted noblemen, regulated royal 
 marriages, appointed regents and assumed all the prerogatives 
 which the earlier monarchs possessed. In such an assembly as 
 this the " divine right " nonsense of the later Stewarts could 
 hardly be expected to find many loyal adherents. 
 
 The reigns of the second and third of the James' saw Scotland 
 little better than a hot bed of wars, civil and foreign. The 
 people were impoverished, trade was at a standstill, and agri- 
 culture was unsettled. The kings and the barons seemed as 
 though engaged more in a game of chess than in the study of 
 practical government, but it was a game every move of which 
 caused woe and wailing, poverty and blood. 
 
 In these circumstances, interest in Parliament, and the popu- 
 lar influence of Parliament, began to decline. In the reign of 
 James III. thirty freeholders were the greatest number ever 
 present at any Parliament, and James IV. was content when he 
 had twelve. That sovereign, however, imparted new life into 
 parliamentary work. He possessed at least a share of the 
 statesmanship of his great ancestor, James I., and he had hardly 
 
PROGRESS OF POPULAR LIBERTY IN SCOTLAND. 49 
 
 ascended the throne and got rid of the condition of things which 
 accompanied that event, before the country began to recuperate. 
 He weakened the influence of the barons by interesting them in 
 the routine of court h'fe, thereby lessening the prestige they en- 
 joyed among their vassals. He promoted agriculture in divers 
 ways, devoted unusual attention to commerce, and even visited 
 the houses of the wealthier merchants in the burghs. He caused 
 particular attention to be devoted to the collection of customs, 
 and extended the privileges of the royal burghs. He introduced 
 a scheme of education, which, though it did not benefit the 
 poor, enlightened the younger aristocracy, and prepared some 
 of them, or some of their sons, for the important part they were 
 to play in the events of the near future. But the greatest par- 
 liamentary event of this monarch's reign was the inauguration of 
 the feu system by which tenants on lands held by the sovereign, 
 the barons or the church, were permitted to exchange their 
 mihtary or manual service for a land rent. This new system 
 was first promulgated in an Act of Parliament passed in 1447, 
 but for some reason it had not been acted upon. James seems 
 to have appreciated its significance, and one of his parliaments 
 brought the subject to the front again. The land-owners, being 
 still the controlling element in the estates, passed subsidiary 
 laws, protecting their own interests, the principal of which was 
 the law of hypothec, denying the right of any creditor seizing the 
 crops or agricultural implements for debt until all claims due to 
 the owner of the soil had been fully satisfied. With all its limi- 
 tations, however, the statute was a grand one. It weakened the 
 superiority of the land-owning classes, lessened their opportuni- 
 ties for indulging in private strife, and made the tillers of the 
 soil practically as free as the dwellers in the burghs. The energy 
 displayed by James in building a navy for commercial as well as 
 for warlike purposes quickened trade within the entire kingdom, 
 and gave employment, among others, to the hordes of wandering 
 beggars who infested the country, and who had been reduced to 
 their degraded condition through the long continued depression 
 which characterized the reigns of his father and grandfather. 
 The movement greatly extended also the foreign trade of the 
 country, and caused its seaports to be visited by many merchants 
 from foreign lands, while traders and artizans from the Continent 
 crowded into the principal towns. These all, of course, had 
 their influence in advancing and moulding the character of the 
 people, but that which tended more than aught else to their 
 
50 PROGRESS OF POPULAR LIBERTY IN SCOTLAND. 
 
 benefit was the introduction into their midst of the art of print- 
 ing by Walter Chepman, a member of the king's household. 
 James appears to have encouraged the new art, purchased 
 liberally from the printer, and granted him a special license to 
 pursue the business. While the country was thus progressing in 
 wealth and intelligence, the king himself was often poor, for the 
 royal exchequer had frequent drains upon it. Although James 
 possessed many virtues, he had not a few grave vices, and his 
 faults were never more apparent than in connection with the 
 campaign which culminated in the crushing defeat at Flodden, 
 when his own, and thousands of the best lives in the country, 
 were needlessly sacrificed. He was a brave soldier, but a most 
 incapable general. The first Parliament of James VI. after he 
 assumed the reins of government was a very important one. 
 " It annexed," says Mr. G. T. W. Omond in his Lord Advocates 
 of Scotland^ " the temporalities of all benefices to the crown ; 
 the suppression of popish literature was provided for ; severe 
 penalties were presented against persons who raised tumults and 
 riots in churches. By an Act the right of free speech was 
 declared to be the privilege of members of Parliament ; by 
 another Act strict rules were enacted for the behaviour of mem- 
 bers." From 1427 every freeholder was supposed to have the 
 franchise, but an Act of the Parliament of 1587 defined that 
 those only should have the right to vote who " hes fourtie shil- 
 ling land in free tenendry halden of the kmg, and hes their 
 actual dwelling and residence within the same schire." The 
 effect of this was to disfranchise many, to make the power of the 
 king more potent, and to weaken the barons. But its most use- 
 ful purpose, although not understood or intended at the time, 
 was to fix a limit to the franchise, and make it more valuable 
 and appreciated. It was easy to work in the future to have the 
 limit reduced, than to fight against an unknown barrier. 
 
 With parliamentary representation secured, and the franchise 
 defined, the privilege of acquiring the use of land by rent 
 allowed and practised, freedom of speech acknowledged as a 
 parliamentary right, civil rights confirmed in burghs, and with 
 the experience of guild and trade associations to teach the 
 humblest the value of unity in action, the foundation was com- 
 pleted in Scotland for the erection of a temple of national 
 liberty. Every stone in that foundation was slowly laid, but 
 once laid it was irremovable. What was wanted now was a 
 more direct voice in passing affairs, and more perfect control by 
 
PROGRESS OF POPULAR LIBERTY IN SCOTLAND. 51 
 
 the people of the government of the realm, and in the making 
 and enacting of its laws. It took a long time for this power to 
 be acquired ; the struggle was a bitter one ; often enough both 
 sides lost sight of the real issue at stake in the intensity of the 
 conflict over local or temporary questions, but in the long run 
 the contest ended, as such contests must end, in the complete 
 victory of the people, and the establishment and acknowledg- 
 ment of all their rights and privileges. 
 
 The opportunity of the commonality came with the Reforma- 
 tion. The Scots had always been a religious people, but their 
 religious ideas and observances had never reduced them to a 
 condition of intellectual slavery such as, unhappily, had been 
 the case in other countries. Like all the rest of Christendom, 
 they acknowledged the spiritual supremacy of Rome, and, when 
 the yoke did not press too hard, were willing to render a passive 
 submission to papal interference in matters political or domestic. 
 But the moment the foreign pressure began to be burdensome, 
 the king or the people, or both combined, regarded it with scant 
 ceremony or respect. 
 
 In the early history of the Church in Britain, we find that the 
 English priests claimed spiritual oversight over the northern 
 part of the island. This claim was not only never allowed, but 
 was so vigorously repudiated, that even the papal court distinctly 
 recognized the right of the Scottish Church to acknowledge no 
 other suzerain than itself William the Lion, in defiance of the 
 Pope, and in spite of excommunication, not only made his own 
 chaplain Archbishop of St. Andrews, but banished the nominee 
 of Rome from the kingdom. In the reign of Alexander III. a 
 summons from a papal legate to the Scottish clergy, ordering 
 them to meet him at York, was contemptuously ignored. The 
 legate, seeing that the Scottish priests would not go to him, pro- 
 posed to go to the priests, and also imposed a tax upon all the 
 parishes throughout the kingdom. But Alexander refused to 
 permit either of these inflictions, and the clergy themselves 
 assembled in conclave at Perth, and promulgated orders of their 
 own. Even the last dire penalty of excommunication, as has 
 just been pointed out in the case of William the Lion, and as 
 might further be illustrated by a memorable and well-known 
 passage in the life of Robert Bruce, had no terrors for the king 
 or the community when the welfare of the State was imperilled 
 or concerned. 
 
 As a general rule, the Scottish patriot never became sunk in 
 
52 PROGRESS OF POPULAR LIBERTY IN SCOTLAND. 
 
 the Scottish priest. He retained his citizenship and his interest 
 in, and sympathies with, civil life. He sprung from the people, 
 and acknowledged the relationship. He was even at one time a 
 merchant as well as a priest. The clergy were once the great 
 ship-owners of the country, and were granted special customs and 
 privileges in connection with foreign trade, and in that manner, 
 as well as in agricultural industries, helped to promote the pros- 
 perity of the land. In the earlier ages they paid the utmost 
 attention to preserving the purity of the Church, and thought, 
 spoke, and legislated for themselves pretty much as though 
 the Holy See was more a figure-head than an active, 
 ambitious, jealous, and unforgiving power. Indeed, there 
 always existed in Scotland a class of priests of one order 
 or other, who carried on the functions pertaining to their 
 calling in utter opposition to Rome. In the time of James 
 I. the tenets of Wycliffe were espoused by quite a number of 
 people, and by several of the more intelligent and better edu- 
 cated priests. The knowledge of this disaffection was so wide- 
 spread that it reached Prague, and its citizens sent over to Scot- 
 land a missionary named Paul Crawar, to expound the new 
 faith. Crawar appears to have met with much success, but the 
 general sentiment of the clergy proved too strong against him, 
 and he was executed as a heretic in 1433, as John Resby, an 
 English Wycliffite missionary, was some years before. But such 
 tragedies did not check the progress of religious freedom among 
 the people, and the priests themselves furnished the leaders in 
 every movement which promised to spread the pure light of the 
 gospel throughout the land. Even in the dark age just before 
 the Reformation, when the Church in Scotland, as elsewhere, 
 was a festering mass of debauchery and corruption, it was priests 
 who revolted the most bitterly against such a condition of things 
 and led the people on, until in 1560, the Reformed religion was 
 established by law, and Roman Catholicism as a political or 
 popular power became a dream of the past. George Wishart 
 was a priest, so were Alesius, Hamilton, Gourlay, Logie, 
 Richardson, and others of the early Reformation worthies. The 
 central figure of the epoch — John Knox — was also a priest, and 
 it may safely be said that although the church was debased, the 
 people were not. Its contaminations were confined within 
 itself, and those of its priests in Scotland who had not fallen 
 into the moral cesspool with so many of their brethren, who 
 were concerned about the purity of the church rather than 
 
PROGRESS OF POPULAR LIBERTY IN SCOTLAND. 53 
 
 enamoured of its pleasures, who had the courage to cast them- 
 selves out from its ways of sin and reproachfulness, found plenty 
 of adherents to sustain and encourage them. 
 
 The Reformation, guided and matured by John Knox — that 
 grandest of all Scotsmen — was purely a movement on the part 
 of the people, for, as has already been said, most of the priests 
 were themselves taken from the humbler classes, from families 
 reared on the soil, and in whose breasts national honour and 
 patriotism burned brightly from their earliest years. Scotland 
 never offered a very inviting field for the enforced settlement of 
 Italian or Continental ecclesiastics — a class of immis;rants which 
 often occasioned much trouble and discontent. In the struggle 
 of the Reformation, the nobility took hardly any part except 
 where their own personal interest and aggrandisement prompted. 
 They cared little for either the old or the new forms of religion, 
 but if they had any preference it was for the old, for the new 
 brought with it a degree of democratic levelling of the upper 
 classes, and a general elevating, utilizing and developing of the 
 lower masses, which was hardly in accordance with baronial 
 tastes. The Rev. Dr. Donald Macleod, of Glasgow, in his 
 lecture on "The Reformation," touches upon the position of the 
 Scottish nobility to the Reformation struggle in a similar style. 
 "In Scotland," he says, "the Reformation was the work of the 
 people, effected in spite of the Executive. The barons with a 
 few exceptions cared little for the doctrines of the preachers. 
 Nearly all of them were governed by purely selfish motives, and 
 many of them were ready to return to Rome, as some did re- 
 turn, when the Reformation no longer served their interests. 
 The movement was essentially a popular one, consequent on 
 newly awakened religious convictions, and partaking of the ex- 
 citement which usually accompanies such outbursts. . . . 
 There were doubtless, conscientious men, like Argyll, Moray, 
 and Glencairn among them, who were in full sympathy with the 
 preachers, but they were the exception. For years they had, as 
 a class, been bribed either by England or France, and they now 
 displayed a rapacity, the disgrace of which can only be equalled 
 by the injury inflicted on the country." Such, briefly and truth- 
 fully stated, was the position at this critical juncture of their 
 country's history of the Scottish nobility, the most contemptible 
 brood which even the history of aristocracy in Europe can 
 adduce. 
 
 With the religious questions involved in the Reformation, 
 
54 PROGRESS OF POPULAR LIBERTY IN SCOTLAND. 
 
 this essay has nothing to do, but its civil or secular side furnishes 
 many topics for consideration. Knox did not content himself 
 with simply clearing the church from the abuses which had 
 crept into it, but he also planned out a complete Christian 
 commonwealth, with religion for its basis, and the kirk and the 
 school as its great active agencies. His educational scheme, one 
 of the most magnificent ever devised by man, and his plans for 
 the amelioration of the condition of the very poor — complete, 
 kindly, and elevating — were sadly hampered by the greed of the 
 barons. The estates of the church were seized by tuem as per- 
 sonal property instead of being fully restored to the government 
 for the benefit of the community. Had it not been for their 
 selfishness, Knox would have carried out his designs, and placed 
 Scotland within a generation, in the front of all the nations of 
 Europe. But the patriotism of the peerage was not equal to the 
 occasion, and unfortunately its powers had not yet been suffi- 
 ciently shorn to permit of its influence being disregarded. The 
 preaching of Knox and the other reforming ministers, however, 
 accomplished a great deal in the way of lessening this influence. 
 The pulpit governed the masses. The utterances from St. Giles' 
 Cathedral swayed the multitude, and exerted a wider influence 
 over the land than did the court or the parliament. The kirk, 
 in fact, became the parliament of the masses, and as they had a 
 direct influence in its management, so did they take an active, 
 personal, and ever-present interest in its welfare. In its temporal 
 government, the new church was founded on purely republican 
 principles, with the will of the majority as its central pivotal 
 power. The people had a voice in the selection of their pastors, 
 and, fortunately for the country, these pastors, under the guid- 
 ance of Knox, proved equal to the mighty issues which were 
 placed in their hands. As were the people in the church, so did 
 Knox wish them to be in the nation, and to this end all his 
 temporal teaching ended. He believed in the political supre- 
 macy of the majority, even although he denounced the "rascall 
 multitude " when occasion required. He placed kingcraft or 
 queencraft in its proper light before the community. " I find 
 no more privilege,'' he once said, "granted unto kmgs by God, 
 more than unto the people to offend God's majesty. When 
 kings do expressly oppose themselves to God's commandment, 
 the people are bound to execute God's law upon them." This 
 was rare language for the time, and made men think. The 
 greed, rapacity, and licentiousness of the nobility were also 
 
PROGRESS OF POPULAR LIBERTY IN SCOTLAND. 55 
 
 denounced by that indomitable man in words which sank deeply 
 into the hearts of the people. The old pulpit in St. Giles' 
 became a sort of tribune where every matter of interest to the 
 nation was discussed in connection with religion, for with Knox 
 religion was the summiim boiiuni of all things, entered into all 
 things, and should control all things. The result of all this 
 teaching and preaching has been well summed up by Froude, 
 the English historian, in these words — " It was not for nothing 
 that John Knox had for ten years preached in Edinburgh, and 
 his words been echoed from a thousand pulpits. Elsewhere the 
 plebeian element of nations had risen to power through the arts 
 and industries which make men rich \ the commoners of Scot- 
 land were sons of their religion. While the nobles were splitting 
 into factions, chasing their strong ambitions, taking security for 
 their fortunes, or entangling themselves in political intrigues, 
 tradesmen, mechanics, and poor tillers of the soil, had sprung 
 suddenly into consciousness with spiritual convictions for which 
 they were prepared to live or die. The fear of God in them 
 left no room for the fear of any other thing, and in the very 
 fierce intolerance which John Knox had poured into their con- 
 victions, they had become a power in the State. The poor clay 
 which, a generation earlier, the haughty barons would have 
 trodden into slime, had been heated in the red hot furnace of 
 the new faith . . . Scotch Presbyterianism was shaped by 
 Knox into a creed for the people, a creed in which the ten com- 
 mandments were of more importance than science, and the 
 Bible than all the literature of the world." 
 
 Henceforth their religion became part of the destinies of the 
 Scottish people, and coloured all their thoughts and actions. 
 Whatever trenched upon their religion, trenched upon their 
 political freedom, and their liberties, could only be reached 
 through their faith. Whatever assailed the kirk was a menace 
 to liberty, for the church was the people's ; it was their forum, 
 their mouth-piece ; through it their desires found their most 
 direct utterance, through it their manhood was always asserting 
 itself, and in it they found their best protector and their common 
 bond of union. For the sake of their faith they were willirig and 
 ready to suffer, to die. Their ministers, also, were zealous and 
 outspoken in defence of the liberty of the commonality, and, 
 like good old Samuel Rutherford, proclaimed on all occasions 
 the grand doctrine of " Lex Rex " — the law is the king, and the 
 law is made for the people. 
 
56 PROGRESS OF POPULAR LIBERTY IN SCOTLAND. 
 
 The monarchy and the nobility did not allow such a change 
 in the order of things to come into existence without making 
 desperate efforts to prevent it. The history of the jury system 
 in Scotland shows how the sovereign and his officials strove to 
 retain direct power in the hands of the crown, even after it was 
 nominally in the hands of the people, in the first, or determin- 
 ing instance. From the earliest times we have a record of the 
 existence of a jury system in Scotland, but possibly the following 
 extract from Social England^ edited by H. D. Trail (New York, 
 1894) may very truthfully be applied to the primitive idea of a 
 jury in Scotland : — " For a long time past Englishmen have 
 been proud of their trial by jury, proud to see the nations of 
 Europe imitating as best they might this * palladium of English 
 liberties, this bulwark of the British Constitution.' Their pride, 
 if in other respects it be reasonable, need not be diminished by 
 any modern discoveries of ancient facts, even though they may 
 have to learn that in its origin trial by jury was rather French 
 than English, rather royal than popular, rather the livery of con- 
 quest than the badge of freedom. They have made it what it is, 
 and what it is is very different from what it was. . . Origin- 
 ally the juries are called in, not in order that they may hear, but 
 in order that they may give evidence. They are witnesses. 
 They are the neighbours of the parties. They are presumed to 
 know before they come into court the facts about which they 
 are to testify. . . In course of time, and by slow degrees — 
 degrees so slow that we can hardly detect them — the jury put 
 off its old and acquired a new character." In 1587 — the first 
 year that James VI. assumed the reins of government — the jury 
 system was to a certain extent codified by the enactment of new 
 statutes. A jury was to be selected from a roll of forty-five 
 drawn up by the prosecutor, and penalties for tampering with 
 the jurors were provided. No challenges were allowed unless 
 the juror was insane, under age, or a pauper. Jurors were fined 
 for non-attendance, but their numbers were made up by selected 
 persons who happened to be in court, or who were passing along 
 the street near the court. The public prosecutor was ordered 
 to produce all his evidence in open court, in presence of the 
 jury, the judge, and the accused. When the evidence was all 
 in, the jury could ask, through their foreman, any question they 
 liked, and then retire to a room, the door of which was locked. 
 No one was to be permitted access to them, nor was even one 
 of them to be permitted to leave the room until a verdict, either 
 
PROGRESS OF POPULAR LIBERTY IN SCOTLAND. 57 
 
 unanimously or by a majority, was reached, when it had to be 
 presented to the court in writing. Such were the features of the 
 law — as perfect a jury system as could be devised — but its 
 features were soon disregarded, even by King James' ministers, 
 as well as by those of his successors. To their aid an older 
 statute was made very effective. It had been passed in 1475, 
 and allowed the Prosecutor, when he suspected a jury was going 
 to find for the prisoner, to enter a protest for wilful error before 
 they left the jury-box. This was a threat that if the jury did not 
 agree with him, the king's prosecutor could put them on trial for 
 their wilful error and punished. The evidence in the first trial 
 was submitted to an extraordinary jury of twenty five landed 
 proprietors, and if they agreed that a conviction should have 
 been had on the first trial, the offending jurors were liable to 
 suffer a year's imprisonment, and to lose their personal effects. 
 But the acquitted person could not be tried agam, even though 
 this second jury had said he should have been convicted. How- 
 ever, the continuance of this law nullified the effect of the 
 statutes of 1587, and made them virtually dead letters. But the 
 principles they enumerated remained, and in time they did good 
 service. 
 
 The struggle to determine the power and fix the influence of 
 the people in the community, was a long and bitter one, and 
 caused bloodshed and confusion on both sides. The ambitious 
 and crafty, and much misunderstood James VI., strove against 
 it before he left Scotland to become the first of the British 
 Stewarts, and the conquest was continued down through the 
 Covenanting times until the Revolution settlement, when 
 the people won the final victory, and the church owned no 
 spiritual head but Christ. Into the details of that long and 
 bloody struggle, full of interest, patriotism, genius pathos, 
 daring, endurance, self-denial, cruelty, error, and intoler- 
 ance, as they are, I need not enter. They have been 
 chronicled in an hundred ways, and their influence on the politi- 
 cal independence of the people has been pointed out by abler 
 pens than mine. Suffice it to say that from the Reformation 
 downward the church and the people in Scotland have always 
 marched together, hand in hand. As has been well said by 
 another, " the middle class which John Knox was inspiring with 
 his own convictions was the beginning of that Scottish people to 
 which we belong. The Scotch people have grown with the 
 Reformed Scotch Church. The church has been the later 
 
 D 
 
S8 PROGRESS OF POPULAR LIBERTY IN SCOTLAND. 
 
 palladium of popular liberty, the mother of education, the trainer 
 of the people in truthfulness and in an independence regulated 
 by a supreme loyalty to the word of God." 
 
 Thus popular freedom had advanced in Scotland, until, 
 although the king was the executive, the parliament was the 
 nominal and law-making power, or was conceded to be such. 
 But the General Assembly of the Church was another power, 
 sustained and trusted by the people, greater than both the 
 others, and in which even the very poorest member of the com- 
 munity could have a direct voice. For many long years that 
 assembly was the real parliament of Scotland, and its influence 
 extended through every nook and corner of the land. Hence- 
 forth, as time and events rolled on, and the emancipation of the 
 people became the burning question of Europe; when "Liberty, 
 Equality, and Fraternity " were watchwords on every lip, and 
 nations everywhere rose in revolt against the oppression and 
 tyranny which had long held them in bondage ; when the horrors 
 of the French Revolution made many shrink even from the 
 thought of "the emancipation of man," the men of Scotland 
 marched steadily forward in promoting the cause of the sover- 
 eignty of the people, with their national escutcheon unstained 
 by any of the awful deeds of the Continent. For the church 
 was with them and sympathized with them, and its influence 
 helped to prevent any outburst of those angry passions which 
 such developments of popular sentiment are apt to excite. 
 
 And as they marched, with religion in their hearts, they had 
 a song on their lips. At the very time when the air was the 
 most densely darkened by righteous discontent, and a spirit of 
 revenge ran rampant among the people, there arose in Ayrshire 
 — a county full of memories of heroic deeds done in the cause 
 of civil and religious liberty — a patriot singer, whose clear, ring- 
 ing, unfaltering, earnest notes, dispelled the mists of the present 
 and gave a prophet-like glimpse into the future when 
 
 " Man to man, the world o'er " 
 should 
 
 " Brithers be for a' that ; " 
 
 who showed his fellow toilers that 
 
 " Rank was but the guinea stamp," 
 and spoke hopefully of the time when artificial distinctions of 
 rank, founded on the old feudal laws, should be abolished for- 
 ever with all their tinselled baubles 
 
 — '* Ribbons, stars, and a' that ; " 
 
PROGRESS OF POPULAR LIBERTY IN SCOTLAND. 59 
 
 when the dignity of manhood should everywhere be acknow- 
 ledged, and sense and worth reign forever supreme. The words 
 of this song and other declarations of the independence of man- 
 hood by the same writer, fell like dew from heaven upon the 
 panting, excited multitude, and helped to hold them in check 
 when their demand for justice was just about to break beyond 
 the bounds of law. Robert Burns did much for the literature of 
 his country, but his highest service to Scotland consisted in thus 
 substituting a song for a deadly weapon in the cause of liberty, 
 and making it quite as effective an agent in the triumph of the 
 cause he had at heart, as anything which human ingenuity could 
 devise. Blood and iron are powerful remedies, so too are the 
 traitor's cell and the hangman's rope, but they are brutal and 
 provisional. A song, if it be a real song like the one I have 
 named, is divine, and being divine it is eternal, so far at least as 
 that word may be applied to anything emanating from humanity. 
 In all the popular movements since then the people of Scot- 
 land have ever been foremost, and its sons have not hesitated 
 to yield up their lives in defending whatever they may have 
 regarded as their rights. In the many political agitations and 
 persecutions which disfigure British history until the passing of 
 the Reform Bill, and perhaps even after that measure was in- 
 corporated into the constitution, Scotsmen have borne at least 
 their share, and in the Chartist troubles which followed Scots- 
 men were again in the front in demanding privileges, many of 
 which have since been conceded, although the demand then 
 constituted treason and caused many to suffer. So much has 
 this liberty-loving quality of Scotsmen come to be recognized 
 that British statesmen now look confidently to Scotland to sus- 
 tain them in all those movements which are intended to broaden 
 and deepen the liberties of the nation, and find in Scotland not 
 only their most steadfast supporters, but their most intelligent 
 coadjutors, and their most undaunted and unwavering advocates. 
 
Scotland under Cromwell. 
 
 One of the most memorable and important of all the General 
 Assemblies of the Kirk of Scotland, was that which convened 
 in the Cathedral at Glasgow, on November 21st, 1638. It was 
 more than a mere ecclesiastical body, it represented other in- 
 terests than those of the Kirk, and its edicts had a more direct 
 influence upon the community, and made a more lasting impres- 
 sion on the general history and welfare of the country, than it 
 would have done had it concerned itself merely with church 
 formulas and forms. It was essentially a parliament, and repre- 
 sented the people of the country more perfectly than any other 
 gathering could in those days. Its members consisted of 149 
 ministers, chosen by the Presbyteries, and 98 elders. The 
 ministers may be said to have represented the commonality 
 from whom they sprung, and on whose side they were generally 
 to he found. Of the elders, 17 were peers, 9 were knights, 25 
 were landed proprietors without titles, except what their lands 
 gave them, and 47 were burgesses. All these elders had been 
 directly elected by the voices of the congregations to which they 
 belonged, and, taken as a whole, they contained within their 
 own ranks a spokesman for every interest among the people. 
 King Charles I. sent, as his Commissioner, the Marquis of 
 Hamilton, who, in ordinary circumstances, would have proved 
 a perfect adept in carrying out successfully the treacherous 
 wishes of the king, but who had neither brains, influence or per- 
 sonal magnetism enough to control such an Assembly. Its 
 members were so terribly in earnest, so determined to have 
 right prevail that a lie had no chance to stand up before them, 
 whether it came direct from the royal mouth or was told them 
 by one of the royal flunkies. The representative of the lie had 
 opposed to him as the elected head of the Assembly, Moderator 
 Alexander Henderson, minister of Leuchars. He was by no 
 means a genius in point of intellect. But he was a sturdy up- 
 
62 SCOTLAND UNDER CROMWELL. 
 
 holder of the truth, a zealous Covenanter, a man of profound 
 learning, clerically speaking, and an earnest faithful minister. 
 He was calm and moderate in his counsels, but firm and deter- 
 mined in his advocacy of what he considered to be right before 
 God and man. A liar, whether a king or a marquis, was no 
 match for such a man. The proceedings opened serenely 
 enough with all the stilted courtesies of the time. The Marquis 
 spoke fair words to the gathering on behalf of his royal master, 
 and the Moderator proclaimed the loyalty of the Assembly to 
 the King, of which there was no doubt. The policy of the 
 Commissioner was to so divide the elements of the Assembly 
 that the royal commands could not fail to prevail amidst the 
 confusion of factions. The leaders of the Assembly had a policy 
 too, but it was one of reform, and was announced without any 
 attempt at dissimulation. One of its first acts of business was 
 the abolition of the Episcopal order of church government with 
 its bishoprics. Hamilton loudly protested against this but 
 without avail, and when he saw that his protests were useless, 
 he declared the Assembly dissolved. But the members ignored 
 his dissolution proclamation and calmly proceeded with their 
 business even when the shadow of royalty was removed from 
 their midst. " Seeing," said the Moderator, " we perceive his 
 Grace, my Lord High Commissioner, to be so zealous of his 
 royal master's commands, have we not also good reason to be 
 zealous toward our Lord and to maintain the liberties and privi- 
 leges of His kingdom ? " It was the brave speech of Andrew 
 Melville to James VL in other words — " I must tell you," said 
 that undaunted man to his sovereign — King James " the sapient 
 and the best " — "there are two kingdoms in Scotland ; there is 
 King James the head of this commonwealth; and there is Christ 
 Jesus the King of the Church, whose subject James the Sixth is 
 and of whose kingdom he is not a king, nor a lord, nor a head, 
 but a member." The Assembly continued to sit until it had 
 accomplished its work of rooting out Episcopacy and practically 
 declared the independence from civil control of the highest court 
 of the Presbyterian kind. Its sessions were ended with an elo- 
 quent speech by the moderator, who closed with these memor- 
 able words : — " We have now cast down the walls of Jericho, let 
 him that re-buildeth them beware of the curse of Hiel the 
 Bethelite." 
 
 The Kirk had virtually triumphed, and its glory was shared 
 by the majority of the people whose mouthpiece the Assembly 
 
SCOTLAND UNDER CROMWELL. 63 
 
 was, just as much as though it had been elected by a plebiscite. 
 The people were united, and had they continued so the nation 
 might not only have been spared the huaiiliation of Dunbar and 
 Worcester, but have dictated its own terms to England and the 
 common ruler of both countries whoever he might be. But the 
 seemingly natural propensity of the Scots to take strong indi- 
 vidual views on matters pertaining to religion and religious forms 
 and government, the inherent love of the people for the "auld 
 Stewart " and the duplicity of King Charles I. soon broke that 
 unity and in the end laid the country open to the victorious 
 march of any armed force which crossed the Border. 
 
 The proceedings of the Assembly were marked by a degree 
 of firmness, tempered by moderation and good sense. It had a 
 definite policy to pursue, and it pursued it regardless of royal 
 frowns or courtiers' threats. Its course was broad enough and 
 liberal enough to enfold every section in the community, and in 
 this lay its great strength and significance. By it " the Tables " 
 — as the four Committees in charge of the covenant — nobles, 
 gentry, burghers, and ministers, were called — was really consti- 
 tuted the highest authority in Scotland, and the general com- 
 mittee of four representatives selected from each of the respective 
 other tables was more omnipotent than the king and court 
 combined. That Committee's demands — a free parliament and 
 a free General Assembly — were the watchword of the day. The 
 Assembly had continued its deliberations in spite of the king, 
 and the same popular approval which sustained it could bring 
 about and give life and authority to a free parliament whenever 
 the Tables elected to call one, with or without the consent of 
 the king. The Tables represented the Covenant, and the Cove- 
 nant was virtually the mouthpiece, the Charter, of the liberties 
 of Scotland. 
 
 Against all this resoluteness of purpose and distinctness of 
 policy, King Charles could offer nothing but his usual system of 
 dissimulation and delay. What he possibly could gain by that 
 in the long run we, who have the whole history of the time 
 before us and who can weigh all its incidents, cannot possibly 
 imagine. He seems to us like a drunken man who, having 
 fallen into a pond, wonders how he got there, and aimlessly 
 plunges about trying to get out. Had he been wise, he would 
 at this crisis in his fortunes done everything in his power to fan 
 the loyalty of Scotland for his house to fever heat. He should 
 have granted his northern subjects every boon they craved, and 
 
64 SCOTLAND UNDER CROMWELL. 
 
 so attached them to his person that he could have relied on 
 their support whatever the southern Parliament might do. Had 
 he adopted this policy, the tragedy of Whitehall would have 
 been impossible, but his policy was to sow disunion among the 
 leaders of the Covenant, and so weaken the power of the Tables. 
 In this he was partially successful, and one of his first converts 
 was James Graham, Marquis of Montrose, who had led a Cove- 
 nanting army in triumph to Aberdeen, and brought the malcon- 
 tents of that quarter into subjection. 
 
 Besides his duplicity, Charles thought fit also to make a show 
 of force, thinking that by a decided effort he might cause 
 the multitude to leave the leaders. Hamilton was placed in 
 command of a fleet of over twenty vessels, which in May, 1639, 
 anchored in the Firth of Forth. Charles gathered together a 
 brave army and marched northward, as foolishly conscious of 
 victory as was the son of Edward Longshanks when he paraded 
 to Bannockburn. The challenge thus thrown down was 
 undauntedly met by the Covenanters. They seized the strong- 
 holds, appropriated the royal ammunition and arms which they 
 found therein, and, arming themselves as best they could, 
 marched southward, under little, crooked General Alexander 
 Leslie, to meet the king. Their banners contained the Scottish 
 arms, the same which Charles' ancestors had been proud to 
 fight under, but the motto was changed to " For Christ's crown 
 and covenant." The Covenanters took up a strong position on 
 Dunse Law, while the royal forces lay between that and Berwick, 
 within sight of each other. The Scots had won the best posi- 
 tion, and, secure in their strength, calmly waited the attack of 
 the king. 
 
 But it is questionable if Charles ever really meant to fight. 
 He had engaged in a game of bluff, and was checkmated, and 
 besides, a glance at the ranks of the Covenanters showed him 
 that his own discontented troops were no match for such men, 
 so he fell back on his favourite policy of negotiation, and the 
 Scots tumbled into the trap. Victory was within the swing of 
 their arms, but they stood motionless while the fickle represen- 
 tative of the " auld Stewarts " spoke to them in sugared tones, 
 and listened to their supplications as if he were the conqueror 
 instead of the conquered. Says the Rev. Mr. Baillie, one of the 
 Dunse Law heroes, " Had we been ten times victorious in set 
 battles, it was our conclusion to have laid down our arms at his 
 feet, and on our knees presented nought but our first supplica- 
 
SCOTLAND UNDER CROMWELL. 65 
 
 tions." All they asked for was a free Assembly and a free 
 Parliament, and Charles, who would have given them whatever 
 they demanded in order to get rid of them, willingly consented, 
 and the Scots army at once disbanded. 
 
 The Assembly met at Edinburgh soon after and confirmed 
 everything that had been done by its great predecessor at Glas- 
 gow. When the Parliament met on June 2nd, 1640, it con- 
 firmed the doings of both Assemblies and ordered, under heavy 
 penalties, that the Covenant should be signed by every one in 
 the realm. Many demands were made by this Parliament with 
 the view of widening and strengthening parliamentary govern- 
 ment and freedom, and one of the most important of these was 
 that Parliament should be convened at least once every three 
 years. This was more than Charles with his notions of divine 
 right and experiences of disagreeable relations with Parliament in 
 England could swallow, so he again determined to force the 
 Scots into submission. He appealed to the English Parliament 
 for money to carry on a contest with his northern subjects, but 
 the money was not forthcoming. The king raised his army 
 however — an ill-assorted discontented array from the first — and 
 started at their head for the Tweed. These preparations again 
 stirred the fighting spirit in the Scots, and, still united, they re- 
 organised the army of Dunse Law and marched this time right 
 into England. They met an English force at Newburn, which 
 they easily defeated, and then took possession of Durham and 
 several smaller towns. Another part of their forces were at work 
 on the king's strongholds in Scotland, and soon the flag of the 
 Covenant and not of the king was flying from Edinburgh and 
 Dumbarton. The cowardly manner in which the English troops 
 had fled before the Scots at Newburn seems to have convinced 
 Charles that he could not conquer the Covenanters by force, 
 and again he substituted diplomacy or lying. He opened 
 negotiations at Ripon, in Yorkshire, and the silly Scots nibbled 
 at the bait which he threw at them. They sent commissioners 
 again to his presence with their "supplications." Hostilities 
 were suspended, the Scots remaining in camp while the com- 
 missioners at Ripon and afterwards in London pursued their 
 negotiations. The " supplications " were serious affairs for 
 Charles, for they wanted all proclamations against the Scottish 
 Parliament or Assembly recalled, and the doings of both these 
 bodies ratified ; the strongholds of the country ofiflcered by such 
 men as should be named by the Parliament, and the councillors 
 
66 SCOTLAND UNDER CROMWELL. 
 
 of the king who advised his Scottish policy be punished. They 
 also " supplicated " that Parliament should be called every three 
 years, that the expenses of the Scottish army should be paid, 
 and mentioned several other requirements equally stringent and 
 nauseous to the divine right king. To them all he consented 
 however, for with the English Parliament and people in opposi- 
 tion, and refusing to furnish him with supplies, the poor royal 
 fool was only too glad to smile on any one who still believed in 
 his kingship, and that much, at least, the Scots sincerely did. 
 
 Charles even went further than this, for the next year, August, 
 1641, he visited Scotland and strove by graciousness of manner 
 and the distribution of honours to bind the whole country to 
 his person. Not that he had come to love or respect the Scots 
 any more than he had formerly done, but he now saw, what he 
 ought to have seen clearly before, that they might be useful in 
 defending his English throne. So he created several of the 
 Covenanting leaders earls, made the Earl of Argyll a marquis, 
 distributed gifts with a liberal hand, and for some three months 
 appeared to succeed so well that when he left for London in 
 November he believed Scotland to be once more both loyal and 
 contented. 
 
 His visit, however, so far as he was concerned, was only 
 successful in one respect, and that was in breaking the bond of 
 union which had previously existed among the leaders and had 
 made Dunse Law and the invasion of England possible. While 
 for the moment this entering wedge of disintegration un- 
 doubtedly gratified the king's idea of his own diplomatic clever- 
 ness, it really helped to bring about his own ultimate ruin, and 
 was the first link in the chain of events which permitted the 
 conquest of Scotland by Cromwell. 
 
 Between the Montrose and Argyll families a rivalry had 
 long existed, and the heads of each at this time were in char- 
 acter so utterly dissimilar that the old feud appears to have been 
 strengthened the more they saw of each other. Neither was fit to 
 be supreme loader in anything, but under a wise superior, who 
 could have kept them apart and understood their talents, they 
 would have made magnificent subalterns in any cause. No two 
 characters in Scottish history have had their characters painted 
 in such divers hues by their admirers and detractors than these 
 two. By one section Argyll is described as a human being who 
 would have been an angel if he only had been blessed with a 
 pair of wings, and his death on the scaffold has won for him the 
 
SCOTLAND UNDER CROMWELL. 67 
 
 honour of being regarded as a martyr. The Rev. James Baillie, 
 speaking of him with that degree of spread-eagleism — if we may 
 so call it — which many Scotsmen employ when referring to the 
 Argyll family, calls him "the greatest subject the king had.'' A 
 recent writer (Rev. C. G. M'Crie) sums up the final opinion of 
 that section by saying, " We contend that nothing will explain 
 the character and conduct of the Covenanting leader except the 
 theory that he was first a sincere Christian and then a true 
 patriot." Another enthusiast has said, " He was the first states- 
 man of his age." The other section, of whom Sir Walter Scott 
 is the foremost, speak of him as a cool-hearted time-server, a 
 man of no principles, and whose memory is only redeemed from 
 infamy by the manner of his death. 
 
 Argyll certainly was no statesman, or he would have seen that 
 loyalty to the divine right Stewarts and to the Covenant were 
 incompatible. He was no soldier, for his conduct in the field 
 at Inverlochy and other places was both stupid and cowardly. 
 He was full of ambition, was crafty, unscrupulous, and avarici- 
 ous, a lover of power, supercilious in his manner, unfaithful to 
 his friends, and ready to dismiss them after they had served 
 their usefulness to him. He believed only in one man, and that 
 man was himself. Charles has been censured for sending 
 Argyll to the scaffold, but we must remember how he tyrannized 
 over that precious sovereign, when the latter had been crowned 
 in Scotland but not in England, and was virtually at the mercy 
 of the chief of the Campbells and his colleagues. Then, too, 
 the letters which General Monk produced proved that Argyll 
 was quite ready to sacrifice Charles if thereby he could secure 
 the good-will of Cromwell. He early espoused the cause of the 
 Covenant, probably because he thought it right, certainly 
 because he believed it could win, and he openly supported it 
 throughout, and made its opportunities feed his ambition. The 
 Covenant made him for a time the virtual ruler of Scotland, and 
 gave him pre-eminent rank in a party among whom marquises 
 or earls were not common. He seems to have been hated on 
 his own estates, and distrusted by his associates, but his death 
 and its heroic incidents soon made much of his unpopularity be 
 forgotten. The Rev. Professor Flint, in a lecture on the Cove- 
 nant, thus fairly and judicially sums up the whole case of the 
 marquis : "There may easily be difi'erent opinions as to various 
 parts of his conduct. There can be but one as to the moral 
 grandeur of his death. That death freed the king from the only 
 
68 SCOTLAND UNDER CROMWELL. 
 
 man in Scotland whose intellect and power he had much reason 
 to dread, and yet perhaps it injured him more than anything 
 Argyll could have done against him." 
 
 The admirers of Argyll, even to the present day, cannot find 
 words or expressions strong enough to convey a sense of their 
 detestation of Montrose. A clergyman, who writes a namby- 
 pamby " history '' to show that Scotland was created mainly for 
 the purpose of producing the Free Kirk, calls Montrose " our 
 brigand," and the Marquis has been accused of treasons, cruel- 
 ties, and crimes enough to condemn an army of ordinary men 
 to deserved perdition. But Montrose's great fault was that his 
 loyalty to the king made him forget that the State was above 
 the king. He subscribed to the National Covenant, and 
 defended it with all his acknowledged military skill, even against 
 the forces of the king, and at that time, according to the Cove- 
 nanters, he showed too much mercy towards his opponents, and 
 did not burn and destroy enough. A born soldier, he knew 
 nothing of statecraft, and could not understand or appreciate 
 the devious ways of Argyll and the Covenanting leaders. 
 While with the Covenanters he was loyal to them, but when he 
 threw everything else aside and joined his fortunes first with 
 those of Charles, and then with those of his disreputable son, no 
 lover was ever more devoted, more faithful, or more ready to 
 yield up his life. The story of his campaigns with the High- 
 landers is one of the most wonderful in the military annals of 
 the country. As a soldier, his record is a grand one, but his 
 knowledge of men and of affairs was defective, otherwise he 
 would never have devoted his life and his genius to the service 
 of a liar and fool like Charles, or to that of his selfish and 
 besotted son. He was simply a soldier, and he fought for his 
 king as his lawful commander ; had he been a statesman, he 
 would have fought for his country. We may dismiss most of 
 the charges of personal cruelty and grossness which have been 
 made against him, as most of what happened, so far as can be 
 authenticated, was due to the exigencies of war in an era when 
 human life was not so sacred as now. Those who knew him 
 best, describe him as a warm-hearted, impulsive man, fond of 
 danger, enamoured of social pleasures, and intensely loyal to his 
 friends and to whatever camp circumstances caused him to drift 
 into. His admirers have hailed him as a poet as well as a 
 courtier, but his poetry alone would not have preserved his 
 memory for an hour, or given him the honour of even a line or 
 
SCOTLAND UNDER CROMWELL. 69 
 
 two in any literary history. His death on the scaffold, together 
 with the indignities that were heaped upon him during the last 
 few days of his life, and his heroic bearing, won for him the 
 sympathy of many who were opposed to his sentiments and 
 actions, and made his memory be idolized by the royalists, and 
 their successors, in sentiment at all events, until our own day. 
 Thus Montrose and Argyll were in a sense fortunate in their 
 deaths, for the scaffold enshrined the memories of both with the 
 halo of romance. Argyll died like a diplomat, Montrose like a 
 soldier ; the former, however, wove around his dying hours the 
 dignity which comes from religion, and has been enrolled in 
 what might be called the calendar of Scottish Protestant saints, 
 while we think of Montrose simply as a soldier still. 
 
 If Charles thought that Scotland was contented when he left 
 it in 1 641, there was no possibility of his mistaking the dangerous 
 condition of affairs in England. His great want was money, 
 and the means he used to raise supplies were thwarted or op- 
 posed by the English Parliament — the Long Parliament which, 
 after doing good service for many a year, finally became so un- 
 manageable and ridiculous that Cromwell kicked it out of power 
 with the scantiest of ceremony. The battle between the king 
 and the parliament went on month after month ; and the sove- 
 reign was sometimes defiant, sometimes submissive, and always 
 hopeful that his policy of lying and diplomacy would make 
 matters come out all right for him and his house. But in Eng- 
 land as in Scotland that policy utterly failed and the issue came 
 when the people at last rose in arms against their ruler. During 
 all this time Scotland continued quiet. She had won her battles, 
 and saw no need of doing aught else than allowing England to 
 fight for its own hand. She really held the key to the position, 
 but unfortunately she had within her borders no statesmen cap- 
 able of appreciating and utilizing her advantage. The real ruler 
 of the country was the Kirk, and so when the Long Parliament 
 embraced the Solemn League and Covenant and made it im- 
 peraiive that every one should sign it, the Scottish leaders lost 
 their heads and their neutralitv and organized their forces to 
 help the Parliament. The Covenant appealed to their sympa- 
 thies more than did the commonwealth, and thus while witch- 
 craft, monarchy, oppression, unjust taxation, and a whole cate- 
 gory of blunders failed to move them, the formal acknowledge- 
 ment of the Covenant stirred them to the very depths and sent 
 their armies flying over into England under General Alexander 
 
70 SCOTLAND UNDER CROMWELL. 
 
 Leslie, now Earl of Leven. They fought at Marston Moor, be- 
 sieged Newcastle and helped greatly to bring about the triumph 
 of the Parliamentary forces. 
 
 But the era of peace was also over in Scotland itself, the evil 
 done by the king during his visit had accomplished its purpose 
 and the nation had become divided into parties. Montrose 
 gathered together a few Highlanders, and a small body of wild 
 Irish soldiery raised the royal standard in the North and entered 
 on that remarkable succession of campaigns which made him 
 for a brief period master of the country. He was victorious 
 where ordinary men could have seen nothing but defeat, and 
 showed with what advantage the untrained Highlanders could 
 appear as soldiers under a capable leader in whom they trusted. 
 He harried Argyll's country, reduced Aberdeen, Perth, Dundee, 
 Edinburgh and Glasgow to submission; he even called a Parlia- 
 ment in the king's name in the last named town, and gradually 
 won to his standard a large number of the aristocracy of the 
 land. When at the height of his success Montrose became pos- 
 sessed of the idea that he was to be the chosen leader who was 
 to place Charles again in full authority over Britain, and to re- 
 construct his now badly battered and broken down throne. But 
 the king was not fit to seize the golden opportunity, the last that 
 was ever offered to him, and while he lied and doubted, and 
 procrastinated, Montrose's victorious army melted away. The 
 Highlanders did not understand negotiations and were tired of 
 waiting and so they went back to their mountains with their 
 spoils, and when Charles at length made up his mind to give 
 Montrose extraordinary powers, the latter had only a handful of 
 men left. Even the aristocrats, becoming frightened, hied them 
 to the security of their castles and keeps. Nothing daunted, 
 however, Montrose tried to recruit his army from among the 
 warlike clans on the Borders, but his hopes in that direction 
 were doomed to disappointment. The Scotts, headed by Buc- 
 cleuch, honestly supported the Covenant, and the Traquairs, 
 Roxhurghes and Humes, all avowed royalists, thought more of 
 their carcases than their king and held aloof. The king was to 
 send a force of cavalry from England, but it failed to present 
 itself, and Montrose's chief supporter, the Earl of Annandale, 
 could bring to the standard only a small array of troops. The 
 Borderland was undoubtedly in favour of the Covenant, and so 
 when General Leslie attacked Montrose at Philiphaugh with a 
 trained body of Covenanting troops fresh from England, he won 
 
SCOTLAND UNDER CROMWELL. 71 
 
 an easy and a complete victory. With that battle Montrose's 
 sun went down never really to rise again. 
 
 The battle of Philliphaugh was fought in September, 1645. 
 Some six months before (in May) Charles surrendered himself 
 into the hands of Scots armies lying before Newark, and was 
 virtually their prisoner. But the Scots did not forget that he 
 was their king — the representative of the "auld Stewarts." He 
 was received with the utmost deference and many outward 
 manifestations of loyalty, yet he was closely guarded, and raising 
 siege of Newark, the Scots carried him to Newcastle, a town 
 that was garrisoned by their own forces. Then some months of 
 negotiations followed. The English Parliament offered terms 
 to the now throneless king, but, as they involved the overthrow 
 of Episcopacy among other conditions, he refused to accept 
 them. He seems to have believed that having thrown himself 
 upon his northern subjects their old loyalty and chivalry would 
 impel them to engage in his defence. But he refused to sub- 
 scribe to the Covenant, or to pledge himself to support Presby- 
 terianism, and the Kirk issued its mandate that negotiations 
 with such a king were unlawful. What to do with Charles was 
 a troublesome question for the Scots, but it was solved when the 
 Parliament offered to pay the Scottish troops ^^200,000 in the 
 shape of part of their arrears of pay on condition that the king 
 should be delivered up to the Southern Commissioners. This 
 was done ; Charles was placed in the hands of his English sub- 
 jects, the Scots evacuated their English camps and returned 
 across the Tweed. 
 
 Many historians, with Sir Walter Scott as the fj.remost of them 
 all, have professed shame at the conduct of the Scots in thus 
 getting rid of their king, but it is difificult to understand what 
 better or more politic method, so far as the best interests of the 
 country itself were concerned, could have been adopted. The 
 Covenant had proved its right by the sword as well as by the 
 voice of the people, and a Stuart King and a Solemn Covenant 
 could never thrive together in Scotland. The offer was made 
 to Charles to accept the Covenant, but he declined, and after all 
 these campaigns and dearly bought victories the people could 
 hardly be expected to surrender unconditionally to him and his 
 divine right nonsense. He hated Presbyterianism, and they 
 knew it. He had time and again played them false, and they 
 knew it. Pie had proven himself a liar, a worthless tool in the 
 hands of unscrupulous favourites, a man utterly incapable of 
 
72 SCOTLAND UNDER CROMWELL. 
 
 governing, and they knew it. They could not, even for the sake 
 of the old loyalty, risk taking such a man back with them to 
 Scotland and setting him on a throne again in Holyrood un- 
 pledged to the reforms and liberties they demanded, with a 
 sceptre of authority in his hands. He gave them any amount 
 of promises^ spoke fair words, and was exceedingly gracious to 
 all and sundry, but bitter experience had taught the Covenanters 
 the value of these. Sir Walter Scott has suggested that as 
 Charles went freely into the Scotch camp they ought to have 
 allowed him to depart as freely, and then he could have made 
 his way to the seaboard and thence to the Continent. But that 
 would simply have raised up a standing menace against them- 
 selves to haunt the courts of Europe, ready to seize every 
 opportunity to crush them. They had conquered Charles, and 
 as he refused to be guided by the laws of the realm they had no 
 further use for his kingship, and so they handed him over to 
 their English allies, an act which they ought to have performed 
 within a week after he came among them. The theory that 
 they sold the king for the money they received is silly, for the 
 money that came to their camp was only part of what actually 
 belonged to them in accordance with their agreement with the 
 Southern Parliament. The latter promised that the king should 
 suffer no personal insult or bodily harm, and the Scots having 
 won their own battles went away, leaving Charles and his Eng- 
 lish subjects to settle theirs in whatever way seemed to them the 
 best. 
 
 The king fared badly in England. This was in a great 
 measure his own fault, for his shiftmess and procrastination 
 made it impossible for men of stern purpose and determined 
 will to have any dealings with him. Another reason was that a 
 stubborn conflict was also going on in England — that conflict 
 between weak parliamentary government and military rule, 
 which culminated in the defeat of the former and the elevation 
 of Oliver Crumwell nominally as Dictator of the commonwealth 
 but really as Military Governor. The Parliament would have 
 made terms with Charles, relying on its own powers to enforce 
 the terms, but the military section, which included the non-con- 
 formists, desired the monarchy swept away and a new form of 
 government set up. In the midst of the struggle things went on 
 from bad to worse with the king until he found himself in Caris- 
 brook Castle, a closely guarded prisoner, stripped of all preten- 
 tions to royalty. He had still hope for the future, however, and 
 
SCOTLAND UNDER CROMWELL. 73 
 
 one of his strongest reliances was, strange to say, upon the old 
 loyalty of the Scots. There is no doubt the Scots were in their 
 hearts sorry for the ignominy and ruin that had fallen upon the 
 representatives of their old rulers, although most of them were 
 ready to admit that he was himself the author of all his own 
 misfortune. But the Duke of Hamilton, the Earls of Lanark 
 and Lauderdale, Lord Chancellor Loudon, and the party who 
 happened to be then in power in the Scottish Parliament thought 
 the king miglit yet be saved. So they managed to draw up a 
 treaty with Charles in his prison at Carisbrook, which, had it 
 been agreed to half a dozen years before, might have changed 
 the current of British history, as we have it, very considerably. 
 By the treaty he acquiesced in the Covenant and the full estab- 
 lishment of Presbyterianism, and in return the Scottish army 
 was to assist the sovereign in his struggle to regain the throne. 
 This treaty was passed by the Scottish Parliament despite the 
 stubborn opposition of the clergy, the Argyll faction, and, it is 
 safe to say, the great body of the people. With the passage of 
 this act the disintegration of the Scottish nation may be said to 
 have been completed. It became for a long time simply a 
 country of parties. Brotherly love or patriotic fraternity was 
 forgotten in the conflict of opinions, beliefs, ambitions, jealousies, 
 recriminations and religious enthusiasm which followed. The 
 Engagers (as the loyal party was called), the Whigamores headed 
 by Argyll, the Moderator, and many other factions of lesser note 
 very soon became so bitter in their enmity to each other that 
 they lost sight of their country. The Parliament generally 
 favoured the king, the General Assembly, the real Parliament, 
 followed the lead of Argyll. In their squabblings they lost the 
 good-will of all parties on the Southern side of the Border, and 
 then the once zealously adopted Solemn League and Covenant 
 was soon openly sneered at and derided. 
 
 So the Engagers equipped with considerable difficulty an army 
 of some 15,000 men and sent that force into England to help 
 the king, while Argyll and the Assembly scowled and sulked at 
 home. The Scots army was commanded by the Duke of 
 Hamilton and it wended its way into Lancashire where it loitered 
 for many days with the expectation that the loyalists of that 
 section would join it and swell its ranks. But at Preston, on 
 the 17th August, 1648, the half-hearted, ill-assorted Scotch 
 forces came face to face with the stern, resolute English troopers 
 under Oliver Cromwell, and went down before them as easily as 
 
 E 
 
74 SCOTLAND UNDER CROMWELL. 
 
 a mob when opposed to armed men. They had no business to 
 be there, they were fighting without cause against men who had 
 a cause that enwrapped their very souls ; their general was 
 merely a courtier, a man whose whole career was one long false- 
 hood, and who was simply a soldier by courtesy and rank ; and 
 when a real practical soldier and statesman like Cromwell lifted 
 his sword, Duke Hamilton's toy sabre had but little chance. 
 The conflict could hardly be called a battle ; it was a rout, and 
 after a few days retreating and skirmishing, the Scots infantry, 
 commanded by General Baillie, surrendered, and the melancholy 
 history of this ridiculous campaign ended on the 25th of August, 
 when Hamilton, with all his cavalry, voluntarily went into Crom- 
 well's camp as prisoners. With this may be said to have closed 
 Duke Hamilton's career, for he was hustled off to London, and 
 in course of a few months mounted the scaffold at Westminster. 
 He was altogether a poor specimen of a nobleman, and as a 
 Duke — a dux — a leader of men, proved a contemptible failure. 
 As a courtier he was what might be called a success, and pro- 
 bably, from a royalist point ot view, he deserved the dukedom 
 which his king conferred upon him, but he thought more of his 
 prince than he did of his country, and more of James Hamilton 
 than of both of them combined. As a statesman he was a 
 nonentity, he was devoid of honesty or truth, and lacked that 
 earnestness of purpose which, in a good cause, is almost a guar- 
 antee of success. 
 
 The progress of this ill-fated expedition was watched with 
 mingled feelings in Scotland, and when the full news of its dis- 
 astrous failure was made known, the country became completely 
 demoralised. All that was left to represent the royalist forces 
 was a handful of men under the Earl of Lanark, a brother of 
 Duke Hamilton, and a few worn and beaten fugitives from the 
 rout under the Earl of Callender. Argyll and the Assembly saw 
 their opportunity, organized the " Whigamore's Raid," and enter- 
 ing Edinburgh, seized upon what was left of the Government. 
 Argyll thus became again, for a time, the ruler of Scotland, and 
 as soon as he possibly could, entered into negotiations with 
 Oliver Cromwell, who was even then the real ruler of England. 
 
 After getting the Hamilton squad out of his way, Cromwell 
 lost no time in marching on Scotland. On September 15, 1648, 
 he was at Alnwick, and sent a message to Berwick demanding 
 its surrender, threatening Ludovic Lesley, its governor, with " a 
 second appeal to God " if he failed to comply. Then he sent 
 
SCOTLAND UNDER CROxMWELL. 75 
 
 two trusty emissaries to discuss the situation with " the Lord 
 Marquis of Argyll and the rest of the well affected lords, gentle- 
 men, ministers, and people now in arms." His next move was 
 to write to the Committee of Estates demanding the surrender 
 of Berwick and Carlisle, otherwise he would make an appeal to 
 God. The Protector did not seem to understand very distinctly 
 who was represented authority in Scotland, but he knew his own 
 power, and on the 21st September he crossed the Tweed with 
 his forces. On the following day Argyll, Elcho, and others, 
 waited upon Cromwell in his camp at Mordington, two miles 
 north of the Border, and there apparently came to an under- 
 standing. The exact details of this undertaking are not known^ 
 but they were eminently agreeable to Cromwell. In one of his 
 letters he thus writes of the conference : "After sometime spent 
 in giving and receiving mutual satisfaction concerning each 
 others integrity and clearness, wherein I must be bold to testify 
 for that noble lord the Marquis [Argyll], the Lord Elcho, and 
 the other gentlemen with him, that I have found nothing in 
 them other than what becomes Christians and men of honour." 
 So far as the Scots, however, were concerned, the conference 
 evidently ended in submission. The cry that the Covenant 
 must prevail in Scotland was for the time forgotten. Cromwell 
 and his troops were no believers in the Solemn League, nay, they 
 publicly scoffed at it. The old loyalty sentiment was completely 
 thrown aside without even, as heretofore, a pretence of its being 
 in existence. The separate nationality of the kingdom was 
 ignored, and a message from these Scottish " men of honour " 
 was sent to the Governor of Berwick ordering him to surrender 
 his fortress to the English. He still refused until he could 
 receive orders from Lord Lanark, whom he recognized as the 
 king's representative. But Lanark's fighting propensities had 
 cooled off, and he at once advised surrender. On September 
 30, Cromwell took possession of Berwick ; four days later 
 (October 4)hQ entered Edinburgh in triumph, and the first act 
 in the conquest of Scotland was over. 
 
 Cromwell's stay in Scotland at this time was very brief, only 
 a few days in fact, for on October 14 he w^as at Carlisle. In 
 Scotland he and his ofiEicers, as he confesses, were " nobly enter- 
 tained," but he never lost sight of the purpose of his visit — that 
 of reducing the country to entire submission, and as far as 
 possible rendering it a dependency on the Government which 
 he and his forces represented. On the day after his arrival he 
 
76 SCOTLAND UNDER CROMWELL. 
 
 wrote to the Scottish Estates or Parliament demanding " That 
 your Lordships will give assurance in the name of the kingdom 
 of Scotland that you will not admit or suffer any that have been 
 active in, or consenting to, the said Engagement against Eng- 
 land, or have lately been in arms at Stirling or elsewhere in the 
 maintenance of that Engagement, to be employed in any public 
 place or trust whatsoever. I have received an order from both 
 Houses of the Parliament of England which I hold fit to com- 
 municate to your Lordships, whereby you will understand the 
 readiness of the Kingdom of England to assist you who were 
 dissenters from that Invasion, and I doubt not but your Lord- 
 ships will be as ready to give such further satisfaction as they in 
 their wisdom shall find cause to desire." 
 
 These are the words of a conqueror, not of a compatriot, and 
 Argyll and the rest of their " Lordships " bent their knees and 
 licked the gloved hand which threatened them. In fact, the 
 terms of the dictator appeared to be exceedingly gratifying to 
 those in power, and the Whiggamore leaders gleefully crowded 
 to Moray House, in the historic Canongate, every day that 
 Cromwell remained in the city. Sir William Dick, the Lord 
 Provost of Edinburgh, was extremely anxious to make the con- 
 querers' stay in Moray House as pleasant as possible, and the 
 Earl of Leven gave the English commander and his officers a 
 dinner in the Castle, and fired a salute in their honour as they 
 departed. Everything went along just as the dictator desired, 
 and on the 9th October, five days after he sent his ultimatum to 
 their Lordships, he was able to report as follows to the English 
 Parliament : " All the enemy's forces in Scotland are now 
 disbanded. The Committee of Estates have declared against 
 all of that party's sitting in Parliament. [An Act of Classes was 
 passed forbidding virtually all enemies of the Covenant from 
 holding any ofifice in the kingdom.] Good elections are already 
 made in divers places of such as dissented from and opposed 
 the late v.icked Engagement, and they are now raising a force of 
 about 4000 horse and foot, which, until they can complete, they 
 have desired me to leave them two regiments of horse, and two 
 troops of dragoons." This was a stroke of consummate wisdom — 
 the leaving of an English force in the Scottish capital. These 
 troops were supposed to assist in preventing the Earl of Lanark 
 and other royalists, or " Engagers," from doing any open harm, 
 but doubtless their presence was primarily intended to keep 
 Argyll and the weak-kneed Scottish leaders from going astray 
 
SCOTLAND UNDER CROMWELL. 77 
 
 from the paths of patriotism and virtue according to the Crom- 
 wellian theory. Cromwell was too shrewd a judge of men to 
 value the Scottish statesmen at more than they were really 
 worth, and General Lambert, who was in charge of the troops, 
 was the very man to see that his chiefs interests were attended 
 to. But, on the surface, the troops were friendly to the Estates, 
 and Cromwell crossed the Border satisfied that, for a time at 
 least, Scotland would offer no opposition to the course of events 
 in England. 
 
 With these events, or with the causes which led to them, this 
 essay has nothing to do. They culminated on January 30th, 
 1649, when Charles I. was executed in front of his palace at 
 Whitehall, and Cromwell became the Protector of the Liberties 
 of England, its almost autocratic governor, and the real ruler of 
 the kingdom north of the Tweed as well. 
 
 Historians differ as to whether the execution of Charles was 
 really a popular piece of statecraft in England, but of the opinion 
 of the Scottish people there is no room for doubt. It aroused a 
 feeling of detestation throughout the country, and even the bulk 
 of the Covenanters were opposed to such a fate overtaking one 
 who was, after all, an anointed king. As in the cases of Mon- 
 trose and Argyll afterward, the blood that flowed on the scaffold 
 at Whitehall washed away many wrongs and imperfections, and 
 threw around his memory a halo of heroism which nothing in 
 his entire worthless life warranted. Whatever his faults, to the 
 Scots he was a crowned king, the true king, the representative 
 of that long line which had come to the throne through the 
 daughter of Bruce, and his sudden taking ofT brought these 
 facts to the front with extraordinary clearness. What the Scot- 
 tish leaders really expected to be the result of the Parliamentary 
 and Covenanting struggle, it is impossible exactly to determine. 
 The popular idea appears to have been that the people would 
 triumph and the king be prevented from doing harm, but how 
 the latter consummation was to be brought about does not seem 
 to have entered into their calculations. It has been alleged that 
 Argyll and Cromwell had an understanding as to what was to 
 be the fate of the monarch, but nothing definite has been proved 
 on that point, and it is open to very serious doubt. Argyll 
 himself denied the ahegation, and his conduct on the death of 
 the king seems to demonstrate very clearly that if he did not 
 want Charles for a monarch he certainly did not desire Crom- 
 well for a protector or ruler in Scotland at all events. Argyll 
 
78 SCOTLAND UNDER CROMWELL. 
 
 and his adherents, it must be remembered, had control of the 
 Scottish Parliament, and as soon as the news of the Whitehall 
 tragedy reached that body, they proclaimed Charles's eldest son 
 as king of Scotland, and agreed to place him on the throne of 
 his ancestors provided he accepted the Covenant and promised 
 to carry out the will of the Parliament in civil affairs and of the 
 General Assembly in religious matters. The " two kings of 
 Scotland " were again to rule, but the old civil power of the 
 secular king was to be in the hands of the Estates, and Charles 
 was to be a sort of fixed standard between the civil and religious 
 authorities, useless in himself or without the healthy action of 
 both. That was a position which might have been creditably 
 filled by a very v,'ise man or a very simple one. But young 
 Charles was neither. He had more brains than his father, but 
 he was a greater prevaricator and trimmer; and he lacked all 
 sense of morality, a quality which was one of the most com- 
 mendable in the melancholy make-up of his parent. He was a 
 spendthrift, a knave, a coward, and a libertine, and for such a 
 man to carry out the wishes of an honest parliament or an 
 earnest church was an utter impossibility. Besides, he had 
 inherited the divine right theory of the princely calling, and had 
 all the contempt of his father and grandfather for assemblies 
 and for parliaments. 
 
 We know all these things now, but they were not then known 
 in Scotland, and so the Estates sent a deputation to the Con- 
 tinent to get the royal wanderer's acceptance of the throne on 
 the conditions they laid down. The young man commenced a 
 course of arguings and negotiations, but meanwhile permitted 
 Montrose to raise the royal flag in Scotland in the hope of com- 
 pelling his restoration without disagreeable stipulations, and 
 simply as the " auld Stewart." Montrose's mission was a disas- 
 trous failure, however, and ended summarily in his execution at 
 Edinburgh. Charles then agreed to the inevitable ; accepted 
 every condition that was demanded, was even ready to subscribe 
 to a dozen Covenants if they so wanted, and in June 1650 was 
 welcomed to Scotland as its lawful king. 
 
 But he was merely a puppet, and in after life he remembered 
 bitterly the doings of his Scotch friends in that momentous time. 
 He was compelled to give up his English and Continental com- 
 panions, to obey the behests of the Covenanting party, to listen 
 to the long drawn exhortations and admonitions of its preachers, 
 and to have the sins of his fathers even to the fourth generation 
 
SCOTLAND UNDER CROMWELL. 79 
 
 back daily pointed out to him. The nominal centre of authority, 
 he was kept carefully from the centre of action. That was re- 
 served for Argyll and his associates, and they treated the king 
 as though he were an infant, whose every footstep required 
 careful watching. Argyll, amidst all his protestations of loyalty 
 to the young monarch, and his outward deference to the royal 
 wishes, seems to have been playing rather a deep game, which 
 had for its object the aggrandisement of his own house. The 
 cool, selfish craftiness which has been the leading characteristic 
 of so many of his family incited him to endeavour to bring an 
 event to pass which would ensure his pre-eminence not merely 
 in the councils and household of the kmg in Scotland, but in 
 England also, should the troubles there be overcome or adjusted. 
 His scheme was the marriage of his daughter, Lady Ann Camp- 
 bell, to Charles. We do not desire to be understood as either 
 asserting or implying that Argyll preferred to bring about this 
 marriage rather than to strengthen the cause of the Solemn 
 League and Covenant. Probably he sincerely believed that the 
 society of a religious-minded and innocent young lady, as his 
 daughter undoubtedly was, would have an influence for good 
 upon the king, but there can be no doubt whatever that his 
 principal motive in attempting to bring about this union was the 
 advancement of his own selfish interests. His policy in this 
 regard soon became apparent, and pleased no one. Even those 
 who regard him as a hero and a statesman confess that in this 
 instance his ambition ran ahead of his judgment. Charles 
 accepted the situation, however, made love to the young lady, 
 or pretended to, promised to marry her, and called Argyll father. 
 Even under these circumstances he did not neglect every chance 
 that presented itself of indulging in debauchery and riot, so that 
 once at least the good people who made up his court sent 
 Argyll to remonstrate with him as to his conduct. The young 
 king we are told by Wodrow received his new ''father" with 
 every indication of being ashamed of his conduct. He even 
 shed tears, and then Argyll and the king prayed and mourned 
 together until the early hours of the morning. But, as Lady 
 Argyll is said to have remarked when she heard of the weeping, 
 they were " crocodile tears." Charles did not marry the Lady 
 Anne, never had any intention in fact, of making her his bride, 
 and the poor lassie, when she realised that neither a royal hus- 
 band nor a crown were after all to be hers fell into ill health. 
 
8o SCOTLAND UNDER CROMWELL. 
 
 lost her reason, and died an imbecile, a victim to her father's 
 cunning and ambition. 
 
 This matrimonial scheme was, however, only a side issue, 
 curious for the insight it affords us of one of the motives of a 
 leading actor in the great national tragedy which was being 
 worked up to its climax. The news of Charles' arrival in Scot- 
 land, and his reception there by the recognized leaders of the 
 government, caused considerable flutter in England, and Crom- 
 well was sent north with an army of veterans to arrange matters 
 according to the ideas of the new ruling power in London. 
 
 It is difficult to consider, calmly and temperately, the char- 
 acter of Oliver Cromwell, and yet the completeness of this essay 
 demands that an atempt, at least, should be made to indicate 
 what manner of a man he was. So much, true and false, has 
 been written concerning him that it has become almost impos- 
 sible to pick out the real from the ideal, and historians with the 
 most honest intentions in the world have differed widely in their 
 estimates of his character and ability. Some have praised him 
 as the personification of all that is just and noble and great, 
 while others, and these used to be in the majority, held him up 
 to scorn as the embodiment of everything evil. The labours of 
 Thomas Carlyle, however, have cleared away much of the mis- 
 conceptions of historians, and if we cannot place Cromwell on 
 such an inapproachable and immaculate pedestal as did the 
 Sage of Chelsea, we can start a survey of his character from the 
 undoubted standpoint of his downright, unswerving honesty. 
 Of that no one who reads the letters and speeches with Carlyle's 
 elucidations or even without them, can possibly entertain a 
 doubt. From these same letters we gather evidences enough to 
 show that he had all the highest qualities of a statesman and a 
 soldier, that he was brave, self-reliant, steadfast, void of mere 
 vanity, a hater of shams, whether religious, civil, or social ; a 
 firm believer in the inspiration of the Bible, and a literal inter- 
 preter of its words as set forth in the German version. But he 
 had his faulls and imperfections as have all men under the sun 
 no matter how gifted. He had not the slightest compunction 
 at the shedding of human blood if such a sacrifice was necessary 
 to further his puri)oses. He was harsh and arbitrary in his 
 methods, utterly void of sentiment, cruel and passionate in his 
 disposition, and intolerant in his opinions. He was pre- 
 eminently a self-assertive man, believed he was always right and 
 that everyone who differed from him was always wrong. He 
 
SCOTLAND UNDER CROMWELL. 8l 
 
 several times appealed to the Scotch clergy and Estates " by 
 the bowels of Christ " to think that they might be mistaken, but 
 he never imagined it necessary to make the same appeal to him- 
 self. In this lay the key to his own weakness and to the ulti- 
 mate overturning of the fabric of government which he intro- 
 duced in place of that monarchical system of which the Stuarts 
 were the heads. In this collapse of his system. Cromwell's life 
 must be regarded as a failure for all his actions, battles, and as- 
 pirations led up to it. We cannot regard him as a man of 
 destiny, but he was certainly a man of purpose, and when that 
 purpose was easily and successfully thrown to the winds by 
 Monk and his traitorous soldiers we can regard it as nothing 
 else than a failure. He attempted to establish in Britain a form 
 of government which was utterly impossible to endure in a 
 country that pretended to enjoy freedom, a form that was in 
 keeping with neither the tradition of the country or the desires 
 of the people; he put into practice a theory which was not fitted 
 for practice, and his own genius upheld and sustained it. His 
 system of government endured while he lived, but it crumbled 
 to pieces almost as soon as he was laid in the grave. Notwith- 
 standing his Puritan principles he strove to be fair to all parties 
 according to his ideas, but his fairness to his opponents was that 
 of the jailer to his captives, cool, determined, callous, suspicious, 
 watchful ; recognizing them as sinners who continued in sin, 
 but who might by healthy discipline be made to turn from their 
 own paths to the paths of Oliver Cromwell. Wrong and crime 
 he punished with unsparing hand even when the delinquents 
 were among his own followers, and he had the most supreme 
 contempt for time-servers although he mingled among them 
 daily and apparently knew it not. He was essentially a man of 
 action who walked through life with a Bible in the one hand 
 and a sword in the other and believed implicitly in the efficacy 
 of both. He had the most child-like faith in the promises of 
 religion, trusted humbly in God, but never wavered in his belief 
 that Providence was always on his side. He and his were 
 simply animated '■ with the courage the Lord was pleased to 
 give," he says in one place, and in another that the enemy was 
 "made by the Lord of Hosts as stubble to their swords." So 
 he always writes ; he was always fighting the battles of the Lord 
 and the Lord was simply using him and his forces for carrying 
 out His own desires. A difficult sort of a man to beat ; nay 
 rather it was impossible to really beat him, for even had he been 
 
82 SCOTLAND UNDER CROMWELL; 
 
 defeated and his forces scattered to the winds, he would simply 
 have imagined it a part of the Divine plan, and waiting calmly 
 and without despair for whatever was next to come. It was 
 this spirit that animated the real men of the Covenant in Scot- 
 land — the Wisharts, Melvilles, Cargills, Guthries, Camerons, 
 Wellwoods, and the rest of the " Cloud of Witnesses." Such 
 men, in the words of one of their number, believe that God has 
 given them their commission, and that He would carry them 
 well through, and their faith won triumphs for their cause in 
 spite of their own weaknesses and imperfections. 
 
 Cromwell had no personal ambition, and he seems rather to 
 have been forced by circumstances into his exalted position as 
 Lord Protector than by any particular desire or paltry scheming 
 on his part. He wanted simply to benefit his country, to rid it 
 of a monarchy that ruled for self and not for God or the people, 
 and to make Britain an ideal religious commonwealth, honoured 
 for her sanctity and feared for her strength by all the other 
 nations of Europe. Whether his course or his policy be right 
 or wrong, Cromwell was animated with the purest motives which 
 could inspire a patriot, and a man of his stamp could have little 
 sympathy or regard for such creatures as Argyll and the time- 
 serving Scotch lords who were associated with him, and cried 
 aloud for " the Solemn League and Covenant " so long as, by so 
 doing, they could advance their own paltry interests or preserve 
 their own, often ill-gotten, estates. If ever a man honestly gave 
 himself up to the service of his country that man was Oliver 
 Cromwell, and when he finally saw that his course was wrong, 
 that the structure he had reared and upheld with such earnest- 
 ness and battle was certain to fall, and that his beloved England 
 was even then weary of it, he grew sad at heart, and went to his 
 grave with his last thoughts embittered by the knowledge of his 
 failure. 
 
 Such, in a certain measure at least, was the man who was now 
 advancing upon Scotland with a stronger and abler army than 
 ever followed a Plantaganet king or a Tudor general. They 
 were nearly all men who were fighting for a cause, and the 
 determination of those who were in earnest aroused enthusiasm 
 in those who were naturally lukewarm or careless. It has been 
 said that Cromwell detested Scotland, but we have no real 
 evidence on that point. If we consider the circumstances in 
 which he was placed, we must confess that either Scotland had 
 willingly to fall into line with his policy, or it was his business 
 
SCOTLAND UNDER CROMWELL. 83 
 
 to force it if he could. If he neglected this he would have on 
 the northern frontier of England a land where its Royalist forces 
 and disaffected parties might find a resting-place, a gathering 
 point or a haven of refuge, and this condition was not to be 
 thought of, or his claim for statesmanship would deservedly have 
 been scorned. Had Scotland possessed any statesmen, it would 
 likely have wheeled into line with Cromwell and sent the auld 
 Stewart across the seas again, but statesmen it had really none. 
 Its leaders were quarrelling among themselves and jealous of 
 each other, while the people were divided into factions. The 
 king had subscribed the Covenant, the English leaders had 
 thrust the document aside, and so half the country mildly sup- 
 ported the monarch, and the other half believed in the method 
 of the Cromwellian victors, or stood idly by waiting to see how 
 the play was to end. But Cromwell could not wait. Time was 
 exceedingly precious to him and the cause he fought for, and so 
 before Scotland was fully aware of what had happened, he had 
 routed its only army, and its government was completely in his 
 grasp. Carlyle states the matter, in his own picturesque way, 
 as follows : — "The faults or misfortunes of the Scotch people in 
 their Puritan business are many, but properly their grand fault 
 is this — that they have produced for it no sufficiently heroic man 
 among them. . . With Oliver Cromwell born a Scotsman, 
 with a Hero King and a unanimous Hero Nation at his back, it 
 might have been far otherwise. With Oliver born Scotch, one 
 sees not but the whole world might have become Puritan. . . 
 But of that issue there is no danger. Instead of inspired Oliver, 
 glowing with direct insight and noble bearing, we have Argylls, 
 Loudons, and narrow, more or less opaque, persons of the 
 Pedant species. Committees of Estates, Committees of Kirks, 
 much tied up in formulas, both of them ; a bigoted Theocracy 
 without the inspiration, which is a very hopeless phenomenon 
 indeed ! The Scotch people are all willing, eager of heart, ask- 
 ing Whitherward ? But the leaders stand aghast at the new 
 forms of danger, and in a vehement, discrepant manner, some 
 calling Halt ! others calling Backward ! others, Forward ! — huge 
 confusion ensues." 
 
 Cromwell and his forces passed through Berwick and into 
 Scotland, July 22nd, 1650. They stated their purposes in pro- 
 clamations addressed " To all that are Saints and Partakers of 
 the Faith of God's Elect in Scotland," and also simply to " The 
 People of Scotland." The messages were eminently pacific, but 
 
84 SCOTLAND UNDER CROMWELL. 
 
 the canny Scots removed as much of their goods as possible out 
 of the Enghshmen's reach, and the proclamations had accom- 
 plished little in the way of soothing the saints or the elect, for 
 the clergy denounced the invaders as " an army of sectaries and 
 blasphemers." On the 30th the troops were encamped at 
 Musselburgh, and there had a slight brush with a section of the 
 Covenant army, and drove them back towards their main forces, 
 lying in camp between Edinburgh and Leith. In this engage- 
 ment Cromwell "took many prisoners [and] killed a great many 
 of them" [the Covenanters], and this he called "a sweet be- 
 ginning." 
 
 Cromwell was now face to face with the enemy, but was 
 unable to make any further headway. General Leslie had taken 
 up a strong position with Edinburgh behind him, and as was 
 proper enough waited for the invaders to attack him. This 
 Cromwell saw was useless, and with a ravaged desolated tract of 
 country between him and England his position was perilous 
 enough. Had the Scottish commander been a genius as well 
 as a product of mathematical soldiership he might have 
 manoeuvred so as to get Cromwell into a still more awkward 
 position and then routed him. But the genius lay with Crom- 
 well, while Leslie's martinet spirit and training permitted him 
 only to see that as long as he held his position he was practically 
 impregnable. On August 3rd, Cromwell addressed a communi- 
 cation " To the General Assembly of the Kirk of Scotland," in 
 which he attempted to show them that they had taken up a false 
 position in the struggle. "Your own guilt," he told the Right 
 Reverend body, " is too much for you to bear ; bring not there- 
 fore upon yourselves the blood of innocent men — deceived with 
 pretences of king and Covenant ; from whose eyes you hide a 
 better knowledge ! I am persuaded that divers of you, who 
 lead the people, have laboured to build yourselves in these 
 things ; wherein you have censured others and established your- 
 selves upon the Word of God, all that you say. I beseech you, 
 in the bowels of Christ, think it possible you may be mistaken. 
 Precept may be upon precept, line may be upon line, and yet 
 the Word of God may be to some a Word of Judgment ; that 
 they may fall backward, and be broken, and be snared, and be 
 taken." He concluded by referring them to a text of Scripture, 
 but the Scotch preachers were in no mood then, or indeed at 
 any other time, to take their theology or code of morality from 
 Oliver Cromwell. 
 
SCOTLAND UNDER CROMWELL. 85 
 
 Finding that Leslie would not fight, and that his supph'es were 
 short, Cromwell moved back his army to Dunbar. The re- 
 mainder of that month of August was spent in a useless sort of 
 fashion. Leslie continued strictly on the defensive, and Crom- 
 well tried all his arts to force him into a battle (with the advan- 
 tage on the English side of course), but in vain. He left Dunbar 
 again on the 12th, and on the 14th, from his encampment en 
 the Pentlands, sent Leslie an argumentative letter saying "if you 
 resolve to fight our army you will have opportunity to do that ; 
 else what means our abode here?" But the Scottish commander 
 did not accept the challenge, and Cromwell returned to Dunbar 
 with his troops on the 31st. The weather was not good for 
 fighting. The snell winds from the Firth of Forth had not 
 agreed with the English ; many of them were sick, all of them 
 were dispirited. It was a retreat more than anything else. The 
 Scots thought their opportunity had come and closely followed, 
 and when Cromwell's troops reached Dunbar, they found Leslie's 
 forces arrayed on a commanding hill which overlooked it — one 
 of the strongest positions the Scots had occupied since they took 
 the field to meet the invaders. Everything seemed favourable 
 to the cause of the Covenant, but an inexplicable succession of 
 events sprung up which changed the whole aspect of affairs, and 
 enabled the English to snatch a complete victory when certain 
 defeat stared them in the face. 
 
 The trouble in the Scottish camp was that the preachers and 
 Covenanters generally had got tired of Leslie's waiting game, 
 and believed that the English were so disheartened that they 
 were no longer worth considering in the light of an enemy. 
 Cromwell made no sign of attacking them, nay, he dared not, 
 and had they left Leslie alone for a little longer, the cause of the 
 Covenant would have triumphed, for the time at anyrate, as 
 Cromwell, despairing of dislodging them, was thinking how best 
 he could get his army back to England. But the Church mili- 
 tant ruled the day in the Scottish camp, and despite Leslie's 
 remonstrances, the army left its commanding position and went 
 down to the level country to force the English to fight. The 
 fatal mistake was at once seen by Cromwell, for he knew that 
 the ill-assorted forces of the North, unaccustomed to fighting, 
 and with only one really capable commander, were no match 
 against the veterans who were under his standard. When the 
 news was brought to him that the Scots had left their position 
 and were marching to his camp, he is said to have exclaimed, 
 
86 SCOTLAND UNDER CROMWELL. 
 
 "The Lord has delivered them unto our hands." The Scots 
 fought well, but their want of discipline soon threw them into 
 confusion, and the fight had hardly commenced before the 
 victory was Cromwell's. The preachers, in going to the conflict, 
 had shouted that they were going against the Philistines at 
 Gilgal ; had they quietly remarked that they were going like 
 lambs to the slaughter, they would have approached more 
 closely to the truth. The conflict can hardly be called a battle, 
 it was a slaughter. Cromwell lost only some thirty men, while 
 the Scots had about 3000 killed, left all their arms, ammunition, 
 colours, and paraphernalia of war, while 10,000 men of all 
 degrees were detained as prisoners. The forces of the Covenant 
 were crushed beyond recovery within an hour, and Cromwell 
 was virtually master of all Scotland south of the Forth. " Before 
 the fight," Cromwell wrote a day or two afterwards, "our condi- 
 tion was very sad, the enemy greatly insulted and menaced us, 
 but the Lord upheld us, with comfort in Himself, beyond ordi- 
 nary experience." 
 
 The massacre at Dunbar took place on September 3, and on 
 the 9th we find Cromwell as a conqueror in Edinburgh. His 
 first duty was to send a message to the Governor of the Castle, 
 which fortress still held out for the Cause, and to which the Cove- 
 nanting ministers had taken refuge when the conqueror entered 
 the city. His message requested the Governor to let the 
 ministers know "They have free liberty granted them if they 
 please to take the pains to preach in their several churches." 
 The invitation did not find favour with the preachers, and on 
 their behalf Governor Dundas wrote, " That though they [the 
 preachers] are ready to be spent in their Master's service, and 
 to refuse no suffering so they may fulfil their ministry with joy, 
 yet perceiving the persecution to be personal, by the practice of 
 your Party upon the ministers of Christ in England and Ireland, 
 and in the kingdom of Scotland since your unjust invasion 
 thereof; and finding nothing expressed in yours whereupon to 
 build any security for their persons while they are there, and for 
 their return hitherto, they are resolved to reserve themselves for 
 better times, and to wait upon Him who hath hidden His face 
 for a while from the sons of Jacob." 
 
 This contemptible, canting epistle must have aroused the 
 wrath of Cromwell to an extraordinary degree, as well it might. 
 There was nothing in it but the most abject cowardice and 
 hypocrisy. The miserable skins of these preachers were of more 
 
SCOTLAND UNDER CROMWELL. %j 
 
 consequence to them than the Cause, but instead of honestly 
 saying so, they had to throw a cloak of religion over their own 
 cravenness, and whiningly said they would reserve themselves 
 for better times, as, at present, the Lord had hidden his face ! 
 Such a letter was not a composition to place before a conqueror 
 who was fresh from a decisive battle, and who believed the Lord 
 was on his side, and had given to him the victory. Here is his 
 answer in full, because it expresses just what any man, not 
 bereft of manliness, would think of such a communication, and 
 because it shows us Cromwell's opinion of what the position of 
 the clergy in the Commonwealth should be. The answer was 
 addressed to Governor Dundas, and written on the same day 
 that functionary's letter came to hand : — " The kindness offered 
 to the ministers with you was done with ingenuity [truth or 
 honestly], thinking it might meet with the like, but I am satis- 
 fied to tell those with you that if their Master's service (as they 
 call it) were chiefly in their eye, imagination of suffering would 
 not have caused such a return ; much less would the practice of 
 our party, as they are pleased to say, upon the Ministers of 
 Christ in England have been an argument of personal persecu- 
 tion. The ministers in England are supported and have liberty 
 10 preach the Gospel, though not to rail, nor, under pretence 
 thereof, to overtop the civil power, or debase it as they please. 
 No man hath been troubled in England or Ireland for preaching 
 the Gospel, nor has any minister been molested in Scotland 
 since the coming of the army hither. The speaking truth 
 becomes the ministers of Christ. When ministers pretend to a 
 glorious Reforuiation, and lay the foundations thereof in getting 
 to themselves worldly power, and can make worldly mixtures to 
 accomplish the same, such as their late agreement with their 
 king ; and hope by him to carry on their design, they may know 
 that the Sion promised will not be built with such untempered 
 mortar. As for the unjust invasion they mention, time was 
 when an Army of Scotland came into England, not called by 
 the Supreme authority. We have said in our papers with what 
 hearts and upon what account we came, and the Lord hath 
 heard us, though you would not, upon as solemn an appeal as 
 any experience can parallel. And although they seem to com- 
 fort themselves with being Sons of Jacob, from whom, they say, 
 God hath hid His lace for a time, yet its no wonder, when the 
 Lord hath lifted up his hand as eminently against a family as 
 He hath done so often against this [" of the Stuarts" — Carlyle], 
 
88 SCOTLAND UNDER CROMWELL. 
 
 and men will not see His hand — it's no wonder if the Lord 
 hides His face from such ; putting them to shame both for it 
 and their hatred of His people, as it is this day." 
 
 The Covenanting clergy were trying to carry out Knox's 
 theory of a Christian Commonwealth in which the Church 
 should take the leading part in directing men to lead godly lives, 
 to educate their children, and to carry on the general govern- 
 ment in a manner that was in keeping with the teachings of the 
 Scriptures. But there was no Knox among them, otherwise 
 they would never have bound up the king (and especially such 
 a worthless one as Charles) with the Covenant, and made them 
 one and inseparable. These preachers were fighting, not for 
 religion, not for religious liberty, but for civil authority and 
 power. They were in reality bitterly opposed to religious liberty 
 in its truest sense, and however much we may sympathise with 
 them in their troubles, we cannot forget that their misled am- 
 bition and policy brought havoc upon their native land, and 
 ultimately made it, for the first time in its history, a conquered 
 country. They stood all through this Cromwell business in a 
 false position — and this falsity made them cravens. What a 
 difference between their resolution "to reserve themselves for 
 better times and to wait upon Him who hath hidden His face," 
 and the immortal defiance of John Knox : " I am in the place 
 where I am demanded of conscience to speak the truth, and the 
 truth I will speak impugn it whoso list." Fortunately all the 
 Scottish preachers did not forget their manhood as much as 
 these Edinburgh Castle refugees did, and Cromwell had to sub- 
 mit to many a pulpit onslaught and upbraidal before he left the 
 country. It must be confessed that his promise of religious 
 freedom was well carried out, although he had often to admonish 
 the clergy in private as well as in public. 
 
 Having thus got an idea of Cromwell's opinion of the clergy 
 as civil rulers, we may now consider how he governed in the 
 city which had become his headquarters by right of conquest, 
 and so get an understanding of his methods as a civil ruler who 
 brought his interpretation of the Scriptures to bear upon his 
 actions. On September 14th he issued a proclamation to the 
 people. In the course of it he said — "All the inhabitants of 
 the country not now being or continuing in arms shall have free 
 leave and liberty to come to the army and to the city [Edin- 
 burgh] and town [Leith] aforesaid with their cattle, corn, horse, 
 or other commodities or goods whatsoever, and shall there have 
 
SCOTLAND UNDER CROMWELL. 89 
 
 free and open markets for the same ; and shall be protected in 
 their persons and goods in coming and returning aforesaid from 
 any injury or violence of the soldiery under my command, and 
 shall also be protected in their respective houses. And the 
 citizens and inhabitants of the said city and town shall, and 
 hereby likewise have, free leave to vend and sell their wares and 
 commodities, and shall be protected from the plunder and 
 violence of the soldiers. And I do hereby require all officers 
 and soldiers of the army under my command to take due notice 
 hereof, and to yield obedience hereto, as they shall answer the 
 contrary at their utmost peril." This was fair enough, and 
 showed little of the spirit of the conqueror, but Cromwell issued 
 many orders trivial in themselves, but troublesome to the lieges, 
 proving to them that they were to a very considerable extent at 
 least under the rule of military law. For instance, in Nicol's 
 Diary we read it was ordered " that upone ony allarum no in- 
 habitant luik out of his hous, upone payne of death, or walk on 
 the streets after top-tow, upon payne of imprissonment." Such 
 things, however, were inseparable from the condition of affairs 
 which existed. How he proceeded with his rule will be best 
 understood by grouping together events which occurred during 
 his entire stay in the metropolis. This is permissible enough 
 considering that we are not writing history, but examining history 
 with the view of getting at the truth of Cromwell's conduct in 
 Scotland. 
 
 Cromwell appears to have taken up his residence in the 
 Moray House, a quaint historic structure which still stands in 
 the Canongate of Edinburgh. Here he posted a strong guard, 
 and not far away, in Holyrood Chapel and Palace, a large por- 
 tion of his army was quartered. The billeting of his soldiers 
 must have been a matter of concern to the conqueror. He 
 could not with safety scatter them among the people, for they 
 had to be ready for all possible emergencies. Besides, their 
 occupation of the city was by no means an inactive one, for 
 away up the street on which Cromwell fixed his abode was the 
 castle, commanding the city, and full of soldiers and preachers 
 — "sons of Jacob" — and most of them as bitterly opposed to 
 Cromwell's occupation of Scotland and interference with its 
 affairs, as though the rout of Dunbar had never occurred, and 
 Charles, the cause of all this misunderstanding, was still guzzling 
 and drinking and idling his time on the Continent. The castle 
 was a much more important stronghold then than it is now, and 
 
 F 
 
90 SCOTLAND UNDER CROMWELL. 
 
 to silence it, to capture it, was a task that required steady work, 
 skilful engineering, and persistent firing. So the troops were 
 quartered in such places as the College Kirk and the College 
 itself, in Greyfriars Church, the High School, and places which 
 enabled the troops to watch the castle. But soldiers, even when 
 inspired by religion, are not the most careful of mortals, and 
 they played sad havoc in these buildings. The edifices them- 
 selves were mutilated and injured, their interior decorations 
 were burned, their pulpits, seats, pews, and furnishings were 
 smashed, and they became hardly fit even for the stabling of 
 horses. The worst result of this occupation of soldiery, how- 
 ever, was the almost total destruction of Holyrood Palace by 
 fire, although that catastrophe was due to carelessness alone, 
 and was not the result of a wanton spirit of destruction there 
 can be no doubt. The people, however, sulked and fumed 
 under all this appropriation and destruction of property, and 
 when Cromwell, after Holyrood fire, lodged his men in Heriot's 
 Hospital, and afterwards knocked down the Weigh House on 
 the High Street so as to get a better chance of firing on the 
 castle, they felt as bitterly towards the conquered as conquered 
 citizens should feel. He levied heavy payments from the citizens 
 too, making them pay sweetly for his company, and he offended 
 their dignity by threatening to fortify Leith, and so making it 
 even a more important place than the metropolis. In one sig- 
 nificant respect he showed his ultimate purpose and indicated 
 his policy towards Scotland. He removed and destroyed the 
 royal arms from all the public buildings, and strove to abolish 
 everything that tended to connect the rule of the auld Stewarts 
 with his own time. 
 
 But irksome as Cromwell's occupation was, with his martial 
 regulations, his destructive soldiery, and his cannon booming 
 away at the castle, it was not without its benefits. He did not 
 interfere with any of the Scottish laws, he acted justly, he allowed 
 business to go on and prosper as it best could, he repressed dis- 
 orders, and he brought about a feeling of security which did not 
 reign very often in Edinburgh. He found the Scottish judges 
 corrupt, and he removed them and substituted English judges, 
 but these men were honest and administered the laws of Scot- 
 land as best they could. This was a novel feature in Scottish 
 law practice, for favouritism, perjury, and worse, had been in 
 the courts more potent than the laws themselves. His justice 
 was impartial, and his hand fell as heavily on his own troopers 
 
SCOTLAND UNDER CROMWELL. 91 
 
 when they trespassed, as when the Scots happened to be the 
 trespassers. Three of his soldiers were found guilty of plunder- 
 ing some citizens, and they were scourged up and down the 
 Canongate by the Provost Marshal. For drunkenness a soldier 
 was generally marched to the Market Cross and there made to 
 " ride the mare " (sit on a wooden horse), " with ane pynt stoup 
 about his neck, his handis bund behind his back, and musket 
 hung at his feet, the full space of twa hours " — a most lament- 
 able-looking specimen of a conquering hero, but he served two 
 useful purposes. In the first place he was a warning against 
 drunkenness, and in the second he was evidence to all the 
 citizens of Cromwell's strict and impartial justice. 
 
 Perfect religious liberty was another leading principle of 
 Cromwell's Edinburgh government, just as it characterised his 
 entire Scottish administration. Those preachers who chose to 
 preach were permitted to do so without hindrance, and the 
 invaders exhorted the people themselves on every occasion. 
 General Lambert, one of Cromwell's most trusted lieutenants, 
 preached regularly in the East Church. Even Cromwell him- 
 self, we are told, held forth frequently to the people, and his 
 troopers exhorted at the street corners and other public places. 
 The Parliament House was a favourite preaching place for the 
 sermon-giving soldiers, although they did not understand 
 Christian charity and love sufficiently to go down to the vaults 
 below and attempt to comfort spiritually the Scottish political 
 prisoners who were there confined. With all their shortcomings, 
 however, these soldier sermonisers meant well, and earnestly 
 endeavoured to do good among those with whom they dwelt. 
 But such a spectacle was not agreeable to the Scottish preachers, 
 and they bitterly expressed their resentment in their counsels. 
 In one of Governor Dundas' letters to Cromwell they made him 
 express their " regret that men of mere civil place and employ- 
 ment should usurp the calling and employment of the ministry 
 to the scandal of the Reformed Kirk." But Cromwell's ideas 
 on this subject differed widely from those of the reformed 
 preachers, and ministers he regarded simply "as helpers of, and 
 not lords over, God's people." So in reply to this complaint he 
 wrote : " You say you have just cause to regret that men of civil 
 employments should usurp the calling and employment of the 
 ministry to the scandal of the Reformed Kirks. Are you 
 troubled that Christ is preached ? Is preaching so exclusively 
 your function ? Doth it scandalise the Reformed Kirks and 
 
92 SCOTLAND UNDER CROMWELL. 
 
 Scotland in particular ? Is it against the Covenant ? Away 
 with the Covenant if this be so ! I thought the Covenant and 
 these professors of it could have been willing that any should 
 speak good of the name of Christ. Where do you find in the 
 Scripture a ground to warrant such an assertion, — that preaching 
 is exclusively your function ? Though an approbation [ordina- 
 tion] from men hath order in it and may do well, yet he that 
 hath no better warrant than that hath none at all. I hope He 
 that ascended up on high may give His gifts to whom He 
 pleases." This was unanswerable logic, although of course those 
 for whom it was intended were not convinced by it, but Crom- 
 well's preaching and ordaining, as well as his military strength, 
 kept Edinburgh in better order than it had ever been before. 
 
 If Scotland was divided into factions before the massacre of 
 Dunbar it was worse after. The royalists, including what was 
 left of the Dunbar army, concentrated at Stirling and left Crom- 
 well pretty much master of the country south of the Forth. 
 Then there were the Engagers, the Revolutionists, the Malig- 
 nants, and ir is hard to say how many more. Some of them, 
 however, were beginning to get a httle glimmer into the true 
 state of things, and the Presbyterians of the West — possibly the 
 most stiff-necked of all the Covenanting race — threw over the 
 cause of the king. They thought the massacre of Dunbar was 
 simply a chastisement for adopting the royal cause, and they 
 were angry at Cromwell for his having thrown aside the Cove- 
 nant. So deeming the present a fitting opportunity for ridding 
 Scotland at once of King and Cromwell, and establishing once 
 more the rule of the Covenant, they gathered together, four 
 thousand strong, and marched in battle array to Hamilton, where 
 a small detachment of English troops were stationed. There 
 they were scattered like a flock of sheep. 
 
 This was but a side issue, however, and matters little except 
 as illustrating one phase of the condition of thin^^s in the coun- 
 try. The national centre of authority was in Stirling, where were 
 the King, the Committee of Estates, and the army, while the 
 Parliament held its deliberations in Perth. Edinburgh Castle, 
 on a clear day, could almost be seen from the ramparts of Stir- 
 ling, and while the royal flag floated over both these strongholds, 
 and the army had control of the passes of the Forth, the cause 
 of the Stuarts could hardly be regarded as irretrievably lost. 
 
 Cromwell evidently understood this, for on September 14th 
 he left Edinburgh with the view of seeing for himself what had 
 
SCOTLAND UNDER CROMWELL. 93 
 
 best be done. Part of his army accompanied him, and after a 
 day's march Falkirk was reached. On the i8th they were in 
 front of Stirling ready to commence action ; but the appearance 
 of things did not satisfy Cromwell, and he returned to Edin- 
 burgh on the 20th. His outing had convinced him that the 
 submission of Edinburgh Castle was absolutely necessary to his 
 safety. The energy with which it was besieged was increased 
 and mines were begun at the base of the rock on which it stands. 
 
 Cromwell's next excursion was to Glasgow, where the Western 
 Revolutioners were beginning to cause trouble, the result of 
 which we indicated on a previous page, so as to dispose of them 
 quickly, for they really were of very little moment. While rest- 
 ing at Linlithgow, on his way, Cromwell sent a message to " the 
 Committee of Estate at Stirling or elsewhere," in which he indi- 
 cated how the whole of the present trouble and war might be 
 ended. In part, these were his words — "The daily sense we 
 have of the calamity of war lying upon the poor people of this 
 Nation, and the sad consequences of blood and famine likely to 
 come upon them ; the advantage given to the Malignant, Pro- 
 fane and Popish Party by this war, and that reality of affection 
 we have so often professed to you — and concerning the truth of 
 which we have so solemnly appealed — do again constrain us to 
 send unto you to let you know — that if the contending for that 
 Person [Charles] be not by you preferred to the peace and wel- 
 fare of your country, the blood of your peoples, the love of men 
 of the same faith with you, and (in this above all) the honour of 
 that God we serve. Then give the State of England that satis- 
 faction and security for their peaceful and quiet living beside 
 you, which may in justice be demanded from an Nation giving 
 so just ground to ask the same — from those who have, as you 
 taken their enemy into their bosom whilst he was in hostility 
 against them. Do this and it will be made good to you. That 
 you may have a lasting and desirable peace with them [the 
 English] and the wish of a blessing upon you in all religious and 
 civil things." 
 
 This was a manly, honest letter, and its conditions were not 
 those of a conqueror, but rather those of a brother who felt he 
 had been justly offended, yet desired that peace and love might 
 prevail. He only asked that they put away that " Person," and 
 he was willing to forego all things else, as also to leave the coun- 
 try for the preachers and Covenanters and Estates, and all the 
 rest of their men, to get along as well as they could without his 
 
94 SCOTLAND UNDER CROMWELL. 
 
 presence. No real reply was vouchsafed to this important 
 communication, and Cromwell leisurely proceeded with his 
 forces to Glasgow, which he reached on the i8th. He only 
 remained there two days, one of them being a Sunday, and had 
 a very cool reception. The magistrates, and most of those in 
 authority, fled, as did most of the ministers. The city was 
 thoroughly in sympathy with the western Revolutioners, and it 
 might be regarded as the stronghold of that dour, Calvinistic, 
 Whig element of the country, which we question if even Crom- 
 well could have quelled effectually — that is, made it amicably or 
 passively disposed to his rule — if he had exerted himself in his 
 usual grim fashion to bring about that end. But the game was 
 not worth the candle trouble. Glasgow was a very insignificant 
 place then ; its fighting population was away on the moors with 
 the Revolutionary army, or battalion rather, and no one was left 
 to offer any resistance to the English forces. Cromwell did not 
 escape altogether, however. On the Sunday he attended divine 
 service in the High Church, and the preacher was no less a 
 personage than the famous Master Zachary Boyd — a man who 
 would as soon have thought of flying up to heaven with his 
 clothes on, as of running away from a whole army of Oliver 
 Cromwells. In his sermon he denounced the invaders in 
 unmeasured terms, but Cromwell had the good sense to listen 
 to his harangue quietly, and suffered whatever annoyance he 
 may have felt in silence. He returned next day to Edinburgh, 
 and for a month or so rested there quietly, pounding away at 
 the Castle, and endeavouring to clear the country of outlaws — 
 robbers belonging to none of the recognized armies or sects — 
 whom the unsettled state of affairs had permitted to flourish. 
 He seems to have believed, in lact, that these desperadoes were 
 encouraged by those in power to annoy and rob his troops, and 
 on November 5th issued a proclamation declaring "That where- 
 soever any under my command shall be hereafter robbed or 
 spoiled by such parties (the outlaws) I will require life for life, 
 and a plenary satisfaction for their goods of those parishes and 
 places where the fact shall be committed, unless they shall dis- 
 cover and produce the offender." This seems to have brought 
 about a fairly good effect, and as the Western Revolutioners 
 were put to flight at Hamilton on December 1, Cromwell bent 
 all his energies to reducing the Castle of Edinburgh. He 
 planted his cannon on every available spot from which the place 
 could be fired at, and sent Governor Dundas, on December 12, 
 
SCOTLAND UNDER CROMWELL. 95 
 
 a formal demand for the surrender of the stronghold. That 
 warrior, who seems to have been rather a weak-headed sort of 
 individual, was frightened at the evident earnestness of Crom- 
 well, and after a good deal of negotiating and letter-writing, 
 evidently with a design to impress the Scots that nothing better 
 could be done, Dundas and his garrison marched out of the 
 Castle on December 24, and the En.trlish forces entered it. 
 Cromwell wrote to the Speaker of the English Parliament con- 
 cerning this event, as follows : — " Indeed the mercy is very great 
 and seasonable. I think I need to say little of the strength of 
 place, ivhich if it had not come out as it did^ would have cost 
 very much blood to have attained, if at all to be attained^ 
 These words seem to give fair ground for believing that some 
 other form of diplomacy than a display of force caused Governor 
 Dundas to give up the charge which had been committed to his 
 care by the Scotch Estates, and, indeed, at the time he was 
 publicly denounced as a traitor. Cromwell acted with his usual 
 forbearance in the matter, as well he might, for the surrender of 
 the castle had virtually made him master of Scotland. 
 
 While Cromwell was thus firmly establishing his government 
 in Scotland, Argyll and his associated notabilities and followers, 
 lay as well as clerical, were not idle. They established their 
 head-quarters, as we have seen, at Stirling, and there the Royal 
 Charles held a sort of court. By that time the prince was 
 beginning to understand his friends better, and possibly had wit 
 enough to perceive that the weakness and discussions which 
 prevailed in his own camp were ill-calculated to sustain any real 
 hope of freeing Scotland from the sturdy, solid English host 
 which had latter possession of its most important section, or of 
 bringing the Puritans of England to understand again the 
 sacredness of human majesty as represented in his own person. 
 When things were at their darkest in the Scottish camp the 
 leaders resolved upon a new stroke of policy by formally 
 crowning Charles and making that disreputable scoundrel an 
 anointed king. But their preparations were accompanied by 
 such ponderous discourses, full of warning, admonition, 
 reflections, and invectives of all sorts by the clergy, that Charles 
 once so far forgot the miserable part he was playing, that he 
 made his escape from the fold. With a few followers, he fled to 
 a village called Clova, in the northern part of Forfarshire, where 
 some divine right enthusiasts had made him believe an army 
 was in readiness to support his claims to superiority over Church 
 
96 SCOTLAND UNDER CROMWELL. 
 
 and State. But he was bitterly disappointed. The army he 
 expected failed to materialise, never had any existence in fact, 
 and the runaway was received by two or three rather peaceably 
 inclined Highlandmen. Soon after a squad of soldiers from the 
 camp at Stirling appeared on the scene, and Charles very 
 willingly allowed himself to be conducted back to the arms of 
 Argyll and the preachers. 
 
 Strange to say, this episode did not disgust the Scots with 
 their precious king, for whose behalf, to a certain extent at 
 least, they had plunged their country into civil war, brought upon 
 it many humiliations and troubles, sacrificed many valuable 
 lives of all degrees, and risked even their fortunes, estates, and 
 comforts. The episode indeed had the very opposite effect for 
 it made them apparently all the more determined to cement 
 with the most sacred ties the strange alliance they had formed 
 and the silly allegiance they professed to entertain. So they 
 hurried on the arrangements for the Coronation. The pro- 
 ceedings commenced with a season of fasting and humiliation, 
 and the sermons preached had special and particular reference 
 to the sins of his Majesty's predecessors and family. On 
 January ist, 1651, the coronation took place at Scone, near 
 Perth, the ancient crowning-place of Scottish monarchs. In the 
 morning the godly Mr. Robert Douglas preached before the 
 young man and the coronation party a stirring and appropriate 
 sermon, and he laid down the law very plainly to the monarchy 
 saying " Kings not only have their crowns from God but must 
 reign according to His will [meaning His will, as interpreted by 
 Mr. Douglas and his coadjutors] ; they are called ministers of 
 God, they are God's servants." The crown was placed on the 
 royal head by the Marquis of Argyll and then the newly 
 anointed, the peers and the people took the requisite oaths. 
 The proceedings, solemn in all things except for the leering, 
 sensual, hypocritical, and ungrateful scoundrel who was the 
 central figure, closed with another long sermon, in the course of 
 which all were exhorted to fight for the Kingdom of Jesus 
 Christ. 
 
 Argyll had played his trump card, and a poor one it proved. 
 We cannot believe in this man's patriotism, and as to his zeal 
 for the Covenant we have grave doubts. Certainly if he was 
 animated by any love for his country when he placed the crown 
 on the head of Charles, he had also taken care that personally 
 he should reap a due reward. For he had in his pocket a 
 
SCOTLAND UNDER CROMWELL. 97 
 
 written and signed declaration from Charles testifying to his 
 great services and saying, " I do promise that I will make him 
 Duke of Argyll, a Knight of the Garter, and one of the gentle- 
 men of my bedchamber. I do also promise to hearken to his 
 counsel. Whenever it shall please God to restore me to my 
 past rights in England I shall see him paid the ^40,000 sterling 
 which are due to him." Did ever usurer extort from a pros- 
 pective heir a more exacting and disreputable document than 
 this ? The " godly nobleman " in whose favour it was drawn, 
 showed more greed than honesty or patriotism when he made the 
 young king subscribe it. God may well be said to have turned his 
 face from the sons of Jacob when He permitted, a selfish, grasping, 
 double-dealing, worldling wretch like this to pose as a patriot, as a 
 religious reformer, and to become a leader of men. No cause 
 could triumph with such a falsehood as this man at its head 
 when opposed to it was a leader of sterling honesty and un- 
 doubted unselfish patriotism like Oliver Cromwell. Strange it 
 is that even to this day people will talk of the " sainted noble- 
 man " the good Argyll, in the face of what is known of his 
 intentions, wishes, and purposes in this long crisis, but as we 
 have said, the scaffold hides a great many shortcomings, and so 
 he drops out of our study. For in selfishness, insincerity, 
 prevarication, and lack of honour, the king was his superior, and 
 when the time came, Argyll found to his cost that true patriotism 
 would have paid him better than paper promises. His last days 
 on earth were his noblest, and brought out all the good that was 
 in him. It was a pity for Scotland that this noblity had not 
 developed itself when the country needed it, instead of waiting 
 until all the purpose it could serve was to enable him to quit 
 this world in as dignified and impressive a manner as was pos- 
 sible under the circumstances attending the exit. 
 
 With his kingship thus secured, Charles took command of 
 his army in person, having General Leslie as his right hand 
 man. Under that soldier's advice the same cautious policy of 
 defence was played in front of Stirling as was previously sa 
 successfully tried before Edinburgh. Cromwell, as has been 
 stated, once led his army north and looked at the Royal force. 
 He offered battle, but the memory of the Dunbar massacre was 
 still very vivid in the minds of the Scots, and they declined to 
 attack, and Cromwell saw that for him to attempt to drive them 
 out of their positions would be a very hazardous task. 
 
 It was a game of waiting, and while it was going on Cromwell 
 
98 SCOTLAND UNDER CROMWELL. 
 
 continued his civil government with a firm hand, and to such 
 purpose that the people seemed to have believed that he was at 
 least as a man "who feared God, and had that fear in him, and 
 the true interest of religion at heart." On April i6th he paid a 
 second visit to Glasgow and quelled a riot there, a riot which 
 seems not to have been occasioned by his rule but by some 
 local disturbance. His arrival was unexpected, and the preach- 
 ers had not, as on his former visit, time to run away. This was 
 admitted by one of their number, Mr. Robert Baillie, when he 
 wrote to a friend that Cromwell arrived " sooner than with safety 
 we could well have retired." On the Sunday after he attended 
 church twice, and the preachers, true to their offices, duly 
 admonished and denounced him and his presence and policy. 
 In all the churches when his soldiers attended the ministers 
 railed against them. Cromwell appears to have been much dis- 
 turbed at this, and ordered the preachers to meet him at a con- 
 ference, which they very unwillmgly agreed to. Baillie tells us 
 in the course of the letter already quoted : " When we came he 
 spoke long and smoothly, shewing the scandal himself and 
 others had taken at the doctrine they had heard preached, 
 especially that they were condemned, i, as unjust invaders; 2, 
 as contemners and tramplers under foot of the ordinances ; 3, 
 as persecutors of the ministers of Ireland. That as they were 
 unwilling to offend us by a public contradicting in the church, 
 so they expected we would be willing to give them a reason 
 when they craved it in private." The conference, however, 
 turned out a very unprofitable one on both sides, for Cromwell 
 and his battalions were too strong for any mere array of words. 
 
 With the view of bringing matters to a crisis, as both he and 
 his soldiers were getting tired of the long-continued game of 
 "watching and waiting," Cromwell determined to cross over into 
 Fife, and there not only cut away the basis of supplies of the 
 royal army, but also to force it to change its position. The 
 troops crossed the river almost where the shadow of the Forth 
 Bridge now falls, and the castle on Inchgarvie was surrendered 
 to them without trouble. Old Leslie, when he heard of this 
 movement, understood its importance, and Charles, having an 
 open road before him, seems to have suddenly determined upon 
 making one great effort to recover his English kingship. The 
 Scottish camp was raised, and the troops marched as quickly as 
 possible into England with Cromwell in full pursuit. The armies 
 met at Worcester, and there Charles' first attempt at kingship 
 
SCOTLAND UNDER CROMWELL. 99 
 
 terminated most disastrously. The Scots fought bravely, and 
 sustained the reputation of their country for valour, but their 
 leaders were as children compared with the veterans who acted 
 as Cromwell's lieutenants, and almost from the beginning of the 
 fight defeat stared the northern troops in the face. With the 
 army out of Scotland the work begun there by Cromwell was 
 easily finished. His lieutenant, General Monk, who afterwards 
 undid all the work, captured fortress after fortress, stormed town 
 after town, and awed the people as much by his brutality as by 
 his military successes. English troops overran the whole country, 
 and, for the first time in its history, the conquest of Scotland 
 was complete. 
 
 Cromwell never returned to Scotland, but it seems to have 
 been seldom absent from his thoughts during the remainder of 
 his life. His rule north of the Tweed, it must be admitted, was 
 a harsh one, and smacked very little of that boasted liberty of 
 the subject which was one of the fundamental principles of the 
 Puritan war. Neither did it carry out that principle of no taxa- 
 tion without representation, or without the consent of the people, 
 which was the very essence of the trouble between Charles L 
 and his English subjects. At first he levied an assessment of 
 ;!^ 10,000 per month on the country, and although latterly that 
 amount was reduced to ;^6ooo, it was a very serious burden, 
 more especially as the real wealth of the nation — out of 
 which such a contribution could be paid, lay mainly in the 
 capital and a short distance from it. Edinburgh also had to 
 pay a special tax of ;3^5ooo for the purpose of erecting a citadel 
 in Leith. Stories of oppression and wrong during the reign of 
 the Commonwealth are undoubtedly rife, and very frequently 
 may have been founded on facts. But such stories are always 
 common where military rule is uppermost, and in the case of 
 Cromwell and his soldiers they should at least be received with 
 caution. In a general way, reviewing the whole of his occupa- 
 tion and after government, it may safely be said that the pulpit 
 was never more free, that the people were never more prosperous, 
 that their property was never more secure, that their business 
 was never less subject to interruption, or that riots, broils, or 
 lawlessness of any kind, were never less prevalent than while the 
 helm of State was in his hand. All this is admitted even by 
 Hume and other historians, among whom the name of Cromwell 
 is by no means venerated, and surely these blessings and advan- 
 tages are only enjoyed by a people when their government is 
 
loo SCOTLAND UNDER CROMWELL. 
 
 strong, honest, patriotic, and pure. If Cromwell did nothing 
 else, he deserves credit for the manner in which he reformed the 
 law-courts. The men who sat on the highest judicial bench in 
 Scotland were little better than a pack of knaves. They made 
 no secret of their baseness, and openly sold themselves to who- 
 ever had means enough to buy their decisions. "The Court of 
 Session," says one historian, " was at times so corrupt that in 
 the public opinion the rich had never occasion to lose their 
 cause ; at times so venal, that money was notoriously dispensed 
 to purchase the votes on the bench. Cromwell changed all this 
 by appointing seven new judges — three Scots and four English- 
 men — to preside over the circuit courts. It was galling to 
 Scotsmen to see foreigners thus elevated to the bench to 
 administer justice, but under the circumstances a better arrange- 
 ment could not have been made. The appearance of the 
 strangers aroused the pride of their judicial brethren, and Crom- 
 well's judiciary acquired a high reputation for its rigid application 
 of the laws, its strict impartiality, and its scrupulous honesty. 
 Such a reformation was indeed worth a revolution for its own 
 sake. The nobles were prohibited from making wars on each 
 other, from using their tenants in feudal services, and from 
 meddling unduly in affairs of the State. They were forced to 
 retire to their own properties, where they chafed their ambitions 
 as well as they could, and groaned at a dispensation which made 
 them as amenable to the laws of the realm as the poorest cotter 
 on their estates. Many of the younger sons of noble houses 
 deserted the country altogether, and entered the service of some 
 of the European powers, and possibly by so doing they rendered 
 much better service to Scotland than they could have done had 
 they remained within her borders. 
 
 Cromwell's policy towards Scotland appears to have been to 
 unite it firmly with England, and to wipe out altogether its 
 separate nationality. He saw clearly enough that the time had 
 forever gone past when two separate kingdoms, with antagonistic 
 interests and oitter jealousies, could flourish on the same island. 
 His policy, in this respect, was a mistaken one, for Scotland had 
 no desire to forget her nationality, even when Cromwell's forces 
 were in the height of their power, but of all those who preceded 
 him in the effort to really unite or amalgamate both nations into 
 one, his method was by far the best, and, barring the effacing 
 of nationality, the most honourable and most deserving of 
 success. He formulated a complete scheme of union between 
 
SCOTLAND UNDER CI^OMWEIL. i-oi 
 
 the countries, and in the Parliament at London of 1654 Scot- 
 land was represented by thirty members — the first really British 
 Parliament on record. 
 
 Such from beginning to end was Cromwell's connection with 
 Scotland. The story is by no means creditable to Scotsmen, 
 and it is questionable whether the whole annals of the country 
 show such miserable leadership, such a sinking of patriotism into 
 party, such a neglect of religion for polemics. It was an era of 
 time-serving, hypocrisy, and faintheartedness. The choice of 
 the country lay between Cromwell, a foreigner, but an honest 
 man, and Charles, equally a foreigner, but a knave. Common 
 sense prompted an alliance with Cromwell, but a perverted 
 sentiment and an unwise jealousy caused the people's leaders, 
 not without grave misgivings, to throw in their lot with Charles. 
 How that scamp repaid them for their loyalty is too well known. 
 Through his misgovernment, his arrogance, his divine right 
 notions, sprung much grevious wrong to Scotland. To us, 
 however, the crimes of the king have been of service, for they 
 called into existence the real race of Covenanters, the story of 
 whose persecutions, sad as it is, is of the most priceless legacies 
 which Scotsmen of the present day have received from their 
 ancestors. 
 
Scots in Russia. 
 
 For many centuries the vast Russian Empire has been a sort of 
 happy hunting-ground for the Scot abroad, and so it continues 
 to the present day. They have curling clubs in Russia, and at 
 least a couple of golf clubs, and some years ago we read of the 
 formation of a Burns club in St. Petersburg, and a St. Andrew's 
 Society in Moscow. The latter organization, however, if it still 
 exists, must be patriotic rather than charitable in its operations, 
 for we have been unable to learn of any Scotsman in Russia who 
 got " stranded " in such a manner as to make it necessary for 
 him to invoke the good offices of the old motto of the St. 
 Andrew's societies, " Relieve the Distressed." 
 
 Every reader of American history knows how Paul Jones, that 
 adventurous son of Kirkcudbright whom some regard as a 
 patriot and others as a pirate, became an admiral in the Russian 
 service, and showed that he could fight as zealously under an 
 imperial flag as under that of a republic. The fact is not so 
 well known that the foremost poet in Russian literature, Michael 
 Andruvich Lermantof, was of Scottish race, and the direct 
 descendant of a Scot named Geordie Lermont, who, in or about 
 the year 1600, left the quiet civilization of Peebles for the rough 
 barbarity of Russia. Like a canny Scot, his first act was to fix 
 up his ancestral name in accordance with Russian tastes, and so 
 he made it Lermantof, as his descendants are called to the 
 present day. So far as we can read of them, they are all proud 
 of their Scotch descent, and never miss an opportunity of 
 making the fact known. 
 
 A stirring novel might be made of the career of James Birnie, 
 who, besides being a merchant in Poland, was secretary to John 
 Casimir, one of the most turbulent, ambitious, and warlike kings 
 of that unhappy country, but who, at the same time, exhibited 
 many statesmenlike qualities. How far his statesmanship may 
 have been due to the brains of James Birnie, history does not 
 inform us, but the Scotch secretary was for a long time seldom 
 
SCOTS IN RUSSIA. 103 
 
 absent from his side. Birnie was a descendant of an old Elgin 
 family, and his father, William Birnie, was minister of Lanark 
 from 1597 till 16 14, while his brother, Robert, held the same 
 pulpit from 1643 ^o 1691. It was while James Birnie was in 
 power that Palnesk Gordon, a young Scot from Aberdeen, visited 
 Poland in search of military employment. Very possibly it was 
 the knowledge that a countryman of his held high office in the 
 Polish Court that induced Gordon to turn his footsteps in that 
 direction, but he could not make terms suitable, and has left it 
 on record that John Sobreska, afterwards Poland's hero-king, 
 was rather close-fisted in money matters. Gordon was a good 
 type of hundreds of Scots who then wandered over the European 
 Continent and elsewhere. In his early life he had studied for 
 the Church, but when he summed up the opportunities of fame 
 and fortune, he preferred to wield a sword. General Gordon 
 was a sort of Sir Dugald Dalgetty in his early soldiering career ; 
 but from 1621, when he offered his services to the Czar, until he 
 died in 1699, he was devoted in his loyalty to the Muscovite 
 sovereign. He was Peter the Great's favourite soldier, and 
 when General Gordon's last moments were at hand that monarch 
 stood weeping by the bedside, and after all was over closed the 
 eyes of the Scotch wanderer and embraced the dead body. 
 Prince and Field-Marshal Michael Barclay de Tolly, who ren- 
 dered brilliant service to Russia in the struggle against Napoleon, 
 was a descendant of the old family of Barclay of Tolly, Aber- 
 deenshire, and brought the Russian armies to a greater state of 
 discipline, and, consequently, power, than they had ever been 
 before. 
 
 If we turn to the medical profession one hardly knows how to 
 make a selection of names to serve as illustrations of Scottish 
 success in Russia, for several hundred might be mentioned with- 
 out much trouble, all eminent men in their day, and all regarded 
 in the empire as the foremost exponents of the art of healing. 
 There was Dr. James Mounsey, for many years physician-in- 
 chief to the great Empress Catherine. He was born in the old 
 parish of Trailflat, Dumfriesshire, and was a grand-nephew of 
 William Paterson, the founder of the Bank of England, and in- 
 stigator of the ill-fated Darien scheme, who was born in the 
 same house in the clachan of Skipmire. Dr. John Rogerson, 
 another Dumfriesshire man, made a fortune as a pyhsician in 
 Russia, and retiring when he began to feel old age creeping 
 upon him bought the property of Dumcrieff, Moffat, and there 
 
104 SCOTS IN RUSSIA. 
 
 spent his closing years in ease and comfort. Dr. Guthrie, an 
 Edinburgh man ; Dr. Grieve, a native of Peeblesshire, and Dr. 
 W. Halliday, who hailed from the parish of Johnstone, in Dum- 
 fries, were also among the most noted of the Court physicians 
 in Russia. 
 
 Another Scottish physician made a name for himself as a 
 diplomat as well as a medical practitioner, not only had an in- 
 teresting career abroad but returned home in the sunset of life 
 to watch its shadows fall softly and to win a reputation as a 
 traveller and a writer of travels. This was John Bell of Anter- 
 mony, Stirlingshire, who was born on that estate in 1691. After 
 completing his medical education he found himself possessed of 
 a desire, first of all, of seeing foreign lands, and secured letters 
 of introduction to a "brother Scot," Dr. Erskine, Chief Physi- 
 cian and Privy Councillor to Peter I. of Russia, he proceeded 
 to St. Petersburg. His countryman gladly welcomed him, and 
 soon after his arrival Bell received the appointment of physician 
 to the Ambassador of Russia at the Persian Court and after- 
 wards held a similar position in the suite of the Russian minister 
 to China. These appointments included considerable travelling 
 so that Bell's desire to see strange countries was fully gratified. 
 He next became one of the physicians at the Court of Peter L, 
 the Great, and accompanied that sovereign and his empress in 
 the expedition against the Afghans, which resulted in an increase 
 to the territory of the Russian Empire — a very general result of 
 its expeditions. In 1737 he was sent to Constantinople to 
 arrange terms of peace with the Sultan and appears to have 
 given general satisfaction in this new role. A year later he re- 
 turned to the Russian capital and was welcomed on every side. 
 While in the Sultan's dominion, he saw a chance for making 
 "sillar," and returning to Constantinople he engaged in business 
 as a merchant there, remained there several years, acquired con- 
 siderable means, and in 1747 returned to Scotland to "settle 
 down." He became a general favourite, won the name of 
 " Honest John Bell," acquired considerable fame by the publi- 
 cation of the story of his travels, and died on his paternal estate 
 of Antermony in 1780, when he had reached the patriarchal age 
 of 81 years. 
 
 But our purpose in this paper is not to present a list of names 
 of Scotsmen who won fame or fortune or both in the country of 
 the great European autocrat. We desire to confine our attention 
 to one family, which to the present day ranks among the fore- 
 
SCOTS IN RUSSIA. 105 
 
 most in Russia, and so illustrate as clearly as possible not only 
 how high a Scottish family can rise in a foreign land but how 
 thoroughly they throw in their interests with it and become part 
 and parcel of its people. At the same time, as has been shown 
 in the case of the descendants of the Russian poet, and as will 
 be seen in what follows in the case of the descendants of the 
 founder of the Russian family of Greig. Auld Scotland is never 
 forgotten although the regard these Russian-Scots entertain for 
 it may be merely a sentiment. 
 
 In the Statistical Account of Scotland, the article on the Parish 
 of Inverkeithing, Fifeshire, has the following notice : — " The 
 parish has produced no eminent men, unless Admiral Greig, 
 who rose to the chief command of the Russian Navy and died 
 in 1788, is to be accounted one." This is one of those illustra- 
 tions which prove that a prophet has no honour in his own 
 country. Surely the genial clergyman who wrote these lines 
 might have admitted, without expressing any doubt on the sub- 
 ject, that a man who held the chief command of the Russian 
 Navy really was entitled to claim eminence, and the minister 
 might have submitted the claim with a Httle pride too, from the 
 facts that the man in question was the representative of an old 
 Fifeshire family, and born not far from the very manse in which 
 the lines quoted were written. 
 
 Samuel Greig was born in 1735 in the pretty town of Inver- 
 keithing, and was educated at the parish school there. His 
 father was a seaman of tried skill, a " master mariner," and well 
 known on the east coast of Scotland, and in Holland and the 
 Baltic. He managed to get his son, while the latter was in his 
 teens, appointed a cadet in the Royal Navy. Young Greig 
 quickly rose in the service until he obtained the rank of lieu- 
 tenant, and saw actual service in many parts of the world. In 
 1759, when in his 24th year, he particularly distinguished him- 
 self by his courage and resourcefulness in the action in which 
 Admiral Hawke defeated the French, as well as at the storming 
 of Havannah, and in several other engagements. When an 
 officer was wanted to head a boarding expedition, or lead a for- 
 lorn hope, Lieutenant Greig was always the first to respond. In 
 the British navy there is no doubt he would have earned the 
 greatest honours, but his lines were destined to be cast in other 
 places. 
 
 In 1763 the Russian Government requested the British 
 Admiralty to send to St. Petersburg some of its most skilful 
 
 G 
 
io6 SCOTS IN RUSSIA. 
 
 officers with the view of placing the Muscovite navy in a 
 thoroughly organized condition. Lieutenant Greig was one of 
 those named, and his exertions and success so thoroughly 
 pleased the Russians that he was offered and accepted permanent 
 service under their flag. His advance to the rank of captain 
 soon followed. In 1769 he was appointed commodore of the 
 Russian fleet in the Mediterranean, and in the war which then 
 broke out between Russia and Turkey he performed many 
 signal feats of bravery. One of the most noted was when he 
 totally destroyed the Turkish fleet by means of fireships. Along 
 with a brither Scot, named Drysdale, Greig remained on the first 
 fireship to the last moment and applied the torch with his own 
 hands. Then the two Scots leaped into the water and reached 
 their own boat in safety, although the Turks wasted as much 
 powder and shot on them as would have sufficed for an ordinary 
 battle. The naval power of the Turks by this manoeuvre was 
 completely paralyzed, and Count Orloff, the Russian commander- 
 in-chief, at once nominated Greig a Vice-Admiral. When the 
 war was over Admiral Greig received the supreme command of 
 the Russian Navy, and soon brought it to the very highest con- 
 dition of discipline and power. He really made it become, for 
 the first time, as important in the offensive and defensive ar- 
 rangements of the country as the army, and justly earned his 
 proudest title, that of " Father of the Russian Navy." He was 
 appointed Governor of Cronstadt, raised to the ranks of the 
 nobility and received all the knighthood honours of the empire, 
 including that of St. Andrew, of which he was especially proud. 
 In all his campaigns, notably against the Swedes and the Turks, 
 he was uniformly successful, and at the Russian Court he was 
 always received with the highest honours. He served Russia 
 loyally, and though he was a naturalized subject of the empire 
 he kept a warm corner in his heart for Scotland. He sent his 
 sons to be educated at the High School of Edinburgh, and 
 hoped some day to revisit his native land himself; but his career 
 was suddenly ended in 1788 by fever, while engaged in service 
 in the Baltic. His funeral was one of the most imposing ever 
 given to a Russian subject. 
 
 His children grew up as Russians, but Scotland was not an 
 unknown country to them, and they all loved to speak of it as 
 the home of their ancestors. They were educated there, and 
 one, Alexis, was permitted to visit Inverkeithing when an Admiral 
 in the Russian Navy like his father. Sir Alexis's son was an 
 
SCOTS IN RUSSIA. 107 
 
 aide-de-camp on the staff of Prince Menchikoff during the 
 Crimean War, and carried a flag of truce from Sebastopol to 
 Lord Raglan. He was killed at the battle of Inkermann. 
 
 With the death of this brave man the Russian Greig family 
 passed for a time out of sight. In the interesting Memoirs of 
 George A. Sa/a, published in 1894, we get another glimpse of 
 them. Sala was visiting Russia, and on leaving Moscow the 
 compartment he occupied in the railway train was also occupied 
 by a Russian officer, evidently of very high rank. They talked 
 in French for an hour or so, and then in English for quite a 
 while. According to Mr. Sala's narrative the Russian suddenly 
 asked him : — 
 
 " ' What is just at this moment the predominating thought in 
 your mind concerning my humble self?' 'I felt slightly embar- 
 rassed at the directness of this question, and was stammering 
 out some conventional banality about my gratification, and so 
 forth, when the General stopped me.' ' Let us be frank; you 
 were thinking that I was speaking with a broad Scotch accent.' 
 ' I replied, laughing, that that was precisely the impression on 
 my mind.' ' I'll tell you how it is,' he resumed. ' I am Admiral 
 Greig, a descendant of Catherine II. 's Admiral Greig, and I am 
 an aide-de-camp to the Grand Duke Constantine. We are at 
 present Russian subjects and members of the Orthodox Greek 
 Church ; but, from father to son, all the boys of our family are 
 always sent to be educated at the High School, Edinburgh.' " 
 
 Mr. Sala further on mentions meeting a brother of this per- 
 sonage, who was Minister of Finance at St. Petersburg^ and 
 from another source it has been learned that this statesman's 
 favourite songs were those of Burns, and that he used the Doric 
 as though he had been brought up on it from infancy. To these 
 Russian Greigs Scotland is something real, and the living con- 
 nection between them and their ancestral country is kept bright 
 and fresh by the family policy of sending the boys to Edinburgh 
 to be educated. 
 
St. Andre"w and other 
 Scottish Saints. 
 
 Several years ago a venerable schoolmaster in Fife, in whom 
 \)[\& prcefervidum ifigefiiiim Scotorum was more strongly developed 
 than in most of his countrymen, wrote an essay to demonstrate 
 that the seven champions of Christendom were all Scotsmen. 
 He was aroused to do this by the fact that a little book re- 
 counting the deeds and triumphs of these seven redoubtable 
 personages was one of the most popular literary treasures of the 
 young folks in his village. The popular account made them all 
 foreigners, while his essay, the result of many years' cogitations 
 and researches, showed them to be all Scotsmen, who had left 
 their native land and wandered forth to win fame and to help 
 the rest of the world along, as so many Scots have done and 
 are doing. According to him St. Patrick was a Dumbarton- 
 shire man, St David hailed from Edinburgh and was brought 
 up in Potterow, where his mother kept a wee shop ; St. Dennis 
 was born in Forfar ; St. Jago, or James, in Peterhead ; St. 
 Andrew in Kirkcaldy, and so on. He was rather dubious about 
 St. George, because certain incidents in that gentleman's career 
 were such as no Scotsmen would be guilty of ; but he thought 
 it likely that these incidents were misrepresentations, and that 
 time and additional research would show that George first saw 
 the light somewhere in the neighbourhood of Dumfries. 
 
 People laughed at the old teacher's whims and reasoning, but 
 he was no further away from the truth than have been graver 
 and more recognised authorities who have essayed to write the 
 lives of the earlier Saints. Recently a bulky volume was pub- 
 lished in Dublin by a clergyman who, from the initials after his 
 name, seems to be a member of a dozen learned societies. The 
 volume recounted the Hves of some fifty saints of all kinds, and 
 descended into very minute particulars in many cases. Fur 
 
ST. ANDREW AND OTHER SCOTTISH SAINTS. 109 
 
 instance, he not only gave the exact day and year of the martyr- 
 dom of St. Peter, but reported verbafwi a pretty and appropriate 
 little speech made by that saint just before he was tied, head 
 downwards, to the cross on which he suffered. 
 
 It is singular how little is in reality known of the lives of the 
 twelve Apostles subsequent to the ascension of their Master. 
 After that event they remained together for twelve years, 
 preparing themselves undoubtedly for the great work to which 
 their lives were to be devoted. St. Peter seems to have been 
 their leader, and by divine command he acted as a shepherd to 
 the flock. When the twelve years had expired they divided the 
 world into districts. Each apostle then drew a district by lot, 
 and they went forth to preach the Gospel. They never all met 
 together again, and their further movements are so disguised by 
 legend and fable that it is not possible always clearly to 
 distinguish the true from the false. That each of them proved 
 true to the great trust is undeniable in view of the influence 
 they have had upon the ages, and the manner in which their 
 memories are cherished throughout Christendom. But that is 
 about all that is known definitely. Even the manner of most of 
 their deaths is unknown except by tradition. Philip, Thomas 
 and Matthew are said by one set of historians to have died 
 natural deaths, but others, as trustworthy, give them the honours 
 of martyrdom. St. Peter, St. Andrew and St. James the Less 
 were crucified ; St. Bartholomew was flayed alive, while St. 
 Luke was hanged to an olive tree. So run the old legends, but 
 none of them can be substantiated, except, perhaps, that of the 
 death of our own patron, St. Andrew, who really does appear to 
 have suffered martyrdom at Patras, about a.d. 60. 
 
 Andrew was the great traveller of the Twelve, and was a 
 practical man, as well as an enthusiast in the cause to which he 
 had been called, and the words of his commission, " Follow 
 Me," animated his whole career after his departure from his 
 associates. Canon Farrar, in his Early Days of Christiariity^ 
 summarizes the undoubted facts known about Andrew as 
 follows: — "St. Andrew, determined to convert the Scythians, 
 visited on the way Amynsus, Trapezus, Heraclea and Sinope. 
 After being nearly killed by the Jews at Sinope he was mirac- 
 ulously healed, visited Neo Csesarea and Samosata, returned to 
 Jerusalem where he appointed Stachys to be a bishop. After 
 various other travels and adventures he was martyred at Patrge 
 by being crucified on the decussate cross now known as the 
 
no ST. ANDREW AND OTHER SCOTTISH SAINTS. 
 
 cross of St. Andrew." There are many other matters recorded 
 of the saint which Canon Farrar might have included in his 
 summary, but he evidently wished to err, if at all, on the side of 
 extreme accuracy. He does not even attempt to measure the 
 extent of Andrew's work, although the work of a man who is 
 accepted as the patron saint of at least two countries — Scotland 
 and Russia — and whose memory is held in reverence over the 
 greater part of Europe, must have been very great, very quick- 
 ening and beneficial in its results. 
 
 In the saint's indomitable perseverance, restless energy, faith- 
 fulness to duty, and singleness of purpose, may be seen the very 
 qualities that have made Scotland and Scotsmen respected 
 throughout the world. These were the qualities which led Watt 
 to labour until he discovered the power of steam — which enabled 
 Colin Campbell to rise until from being a poor lad he be- 
 came a peer of the realm and a Marshal in the British army — 
 and which sent David Livingstone (who has been called a 
 modern St. Andrew) into the wilds of Africa spreading the light 
 of the Gospels, with unyielding fidelity of purpose, until he laid 
 down his life in his task, and was called upward to his reward. 
 
 It is asserted that St. Andrew several times refused to settle 
 down as a bishop, and in Scythia he was offered a kingship, but 
 declined on the simple ground that he had other work to do. 
 He held a commission which impelled him to preach the 
 Gospel, and forbade his ceasing. The order he received from 
 the Master, " Follow Me," was to him as imperative in the last 
 stage of his long and toilsome journey as when it was first 
 uttered ; and he knew that when his wanderings were over a 
 purer, nobler and more enduring crown would be his than any 
 that could be bestowed by an earthly power. Such was his 
 answer according to one of the old legends. Whether it be true 
 or not we cannot say, but it was just such a reply as we believe 
 the saint would make to any proffer of mere worldly honours. 
 
 No better or more fitting saint could be allotted to the Scot 
 abroad than Andrew, the Disciple. He left his native land and 
 went about over a large portion of the known world doing good 
 to himself and others. By his wanderings, painful and trouble- 
 some as they must have been, he was fitting himself for the 
 eternal reward, which was to him the greatest boon he could 
 gain, and he was leading and directing others to travel along 
 with him in the same road towards the beautiful river. When 
 he died, if we are to believe the traditions which have come 
 
ST, ANDREW AND OTHER SCOTTISH SAINTS. ill 
 
 down to us, his remains were not permitted to rest in the grave 
 to which they had been consigned. At Patrae, where he was 
 crucified, only a httle bit of one of his bones is left. According 
 to the Marquis of Bute the main portion of his body rests in the 
 grand cathedral at Amalfi ; one portion of his head is there also, 
 and another is one of the most prized relics in St. Peter's at 
 Rome; three of his fingers and the fragment of an arm were 
 sent to St. Andrews ; an arm is in the church originally named 
 after him in Rome ; a small bone is the most venerated relic in 
 St. Mary's Cathedral, Broughton Street, Edinburgh ; and at the 
 cathedrals at Milan, Nola and Brescia in Italy are other frag- 
 ments. Many churches in France profess to have small pieces 
 of the saint's skeleton ; a church in New Orleans claims or 
 claimed to have one of his finger nails ; and claims for the 
 possession of other fragments has been put forward by other 
 Roman Catholic Churches in the United States and Canada. 
 We do not assert that any portion of this story of the distribution 
 of the Disciple's remains is correct. Very possibly it is just a 
 series of monkish traditions and fiction ; but all the same these 
 reliques are, or were, devoutly venerated, and keep alive the 
 memory of the missionary saint in spite of time and political, 
 social and religious changes. 
 
 In one notable respect St. Andrew stands out in bold relief in 
 the very extensive calendar of saints, and that is, his thorough 
 respectability. We have saints of all sorts, good, bad and in- 
 different, saints who, had they lived in these days, would have 
 been sent to the penitentiary — or to Coventry. We have saints 
 who transgressed all the moral laws, and saints who were in- 
 different to sanitary regulations. We have saints who were 
 suspicious characters, as well as others whose peccadilloes were 
 so glaring that they made no strong pretensions to sanctity. All 
 sorts of men — and women — have been given the prefix of 
 canonization in times when the honour was less scrupulously 
 awarded than now, but having once got a place in the calendar 
 they cannot be removed. Of course no saint was ever utterly 
 bad, he or she must have had some good qualities that made 
 them endeared to, or be looked up to, by some one else. That 
 good quality brought about their canonization. Yet the quality 
 of goodness, it must be confessed, was sometimes very thin. 
 Very often the sole quality was that of being a liberal giver, not 
 necessarily a cheerful one, to a neighbouring monastery or 
 abbey, and our own David, " the sair sanct,'' as one of his sue- 
 
112 ST. ANDREW AND OTHER SCOTTISH SAINTS. 
 
 cessors called him, owed his canonization mainly to the generous 
 habit he had of founding abbeys and churches — with other 
 people's money. 
 
 But against our patron saint not the slightest detrimental 
 whisper has ever been uttered. In every respect he was a model 
 even for saints. In his early youth, so far as we know to the 
 contrary, he was all that a good young man should be, and when 
 plying his vocation as a fisherman he invariably reported his full 
 and exact catch. In all his wanderings he maintained his early 
 reputation. A man of his undoubted intellectual advantages, 
 and possessing, in his later years, a wide experience of men and 
 nations, he might have acquired unbounded wealth, but he gave 
 away whatever he had as he went along. He received his com- 
 mission, and he stuck to it all through his long and weary years, 
 and his only earthly reward was the knowledge that he was 
 doing good. He won the love of every people among whom he 
 tarried, and in Russia, Greece, Asia Minor, Hungary, Con- 
 stantinople, or wherever he wandered, he won golden opinions 
 from all classes of the population. He was a missionary, pure 
 and simple. He preached the Gospel ; he caused the people 
 to organize into churches, and spread abroad, wherever he went, 
 the spirit of love and charity. He never mingled in local 
 troubles, cared nothing about rulers or politics ; had no views 
 on finance, government, taxation or civil law. He was a re- 
 former, but he did not believe in reform by edict or law. He 
 tried to reform from within, he endeavoured to make a nation 
 happy by making its people better, wiser and purer. He was 
 an honest man, and his very honesty was so apparent that it 
 preserved him in the midst of dangers beneath which other 
 reformers might have fallen, or sustained him through tempta- 
 tions which would have caused others to tarry, at least, by the 
 wayside. 
 
 It is not known who first associated St. Andrew with Scotland. 
 That is an interesting point which has been lost by the march of 
 time, and we fear it will forever remain lost. But whoever he 
 was, he must have been a man of remarkable powers, almost as 
 great in his way as the patron saint himself. He must have 
 been endowed with the wisdom of a sage and the foresight of a 
 prophet, or he would never have been able to have selected from 
 the calendar of saints one so thoroughly typical of Scotsmen. 
 Whatever may have been the date at which St. Andrew first 
 became enshrined in Scottish hearts, there is no doubt that he 
 
ST. ANDREW AND OTHER SCOTTISH SAINTS. 113 
 
 has since held the foremost place there, so far, that is to say, as 
 saints are concerned. Others have come and gone, some have 
 apparently loomed up into greater passing prominence, others 
 have been more written about, but amidst all the mutations of 
 time and tide, St. Andrew has steadfastly held his place in the 
 affections of the people. 
 
 It is when we turn our thoughts to the make up of other 
 national saints that we can understand best the thorough-going 
 respectability of Andrew, and appreciate the most keenly the 
 patriotism and common sense of the genius that selected him as 
 " Scotland's own.'' Our saint ranks as one of the " Seven 
 Champions of Christendom," whose history in the old chap- 
 books used to be known to every boy in Scotland, and was in 
 reality at one time a part of the popular literature of Europe. 
 Of these seven worthies, according to one version, St. Denis of 
 France was turned into a deer for seven years for taking fruit 
 which did not belong to him and eating it — in other words, for 
 stealing it. St. George was an army contractor, and to those 
 who remember the stories told of army contractors during any of 
 the great or even little wars of the world, nothing more need be 
 said. The term really covers a fiery great multitude of sins. 
 St. David of Wales was a wild, roving sort of blade in his 
 younger days, and so far as we can see never had any visible 
 means for earning his living, and that naturally gives rise to grave 
 suspicions as to the general morality of his life and conduct. 
 St. James of Spain was of a very roving disposition, and devoted 
 too much of his time to hunting. St. Anthony spent many of 
 his best years away from the haunts of men. According to the 
 most veracious traditions, he was wont to leave his home and 
 remain away for ten or twenty years at a time. Modern com- 
 mentators would assert that he simply cleared out until the 
 trouble had "blown over," or that he merely left his ow^n home 
 and disported himself in a far country for change of scene and 
 enjoyment, but we simply give such assertions for what they may 
 be worth. Of St. Patrick the last, but by no means the least of 
 the seven, the Saint that Ireland has appropriated, not a word 
 can truthfully be said that is not to his credit. Some evil- 
 minded writers have tried to show that he and St. Brigid were 
 not as circumspect as they might have been, but strict historical 
 investigation has demonstrated that there is no truth whatever in 
 such charges. His early training beneath the shadow of Dum- 
 barton was enough to give him backbone to withstand all the 
 
114 ST. ANDREW AND OTHER SCOTTISH SAINTS. 
 
 vain allurements of life, and enable him to attend strictly to 
 business. Next to St. Andrew, Patrick is recognised, as he well 
 deserves to be, as the foremost of the champions. 
 
 The only real objection ever urged against our patron saint 
 holding the honoured place he does in connection with Scotland 
 is, that he was a foreigner, and what was equally as serious, never 
 saw Scotland. Well, there is no denying the fact that these are 
 drawbacks in an otherwise perfect selection for patronship, but 
 still, it must be confessed, that they have their advantages. The 
 greatest of these lies in the fact that in the selection of a 
 foreigner no room is given for local jealousy. For instance, had 
 St. Fergus been selected, the folk around Inverugie might have 
 rejoiced, but the people of Drumoak would never have forgiven 
 them owing to the slight that thereby would have been put on 
 St. Moloch and, in their opinion, his superior claims. So on it 
 would have went all over Scotland, when every parish had at 
 one time a patron saint in its midst — sometimes half a dozen. 
 
 Of course, we do not mean to belittle any of the native saints 
 by thus expressing a decided preference for Andrew, for, accord- 
 ing to all the laws governing saintship, our patron saint is entitled 
 to take precedence over those born in Scotland by the fact that 
 he was one of The Twelve. This alone would have entitled him 
 to all the honours of national sainthood anywhere. But had 
 Scotland not taken him up and had left him to the Russians and 
 others who also exert their energies under his protection, Auld 
 Caledonia had an abundance of good saints and true to have 
 worn the dignity which has been his for so many centuries. 
 There was St. Margaret, who, although she was born on the 
 wrong side of the Tweed, lived long enough in Scotland, and 
 had such a commanding voice in her councils as to be fairly 
 recognised as a naturalized Scotswoman as well as a Scottish 
 queen. Besides, she gained her honours of saintship in Scot- 
 land, and so deserves to be held in reverence as a Scottish saint. 
 She would have made a dainty patroness, and been welcomed 
 in that capacity by everyone, and as she was buried in Dunferm- 
 line, the good folk there would have stuck her name up beside 
 that of the Bruce on the tower of the abbey. Then there was 
 St. Cuthbert, St. Baldred, St. Ninian, St. Mungo, St. Colm, St. 
 Machar, St. Inan, and a hundred others, all remarkably respect- 
 able and in every way worthy saints, but St. Andrew " dings 
 them a'." 
 
 At the Reformation, when the Scottish people ** harried the 
 
ST. ANDREW AND OTHER SCOTTISH SAINTS. 115 
 
 churches," and, as Andrew Fairservice said, took " the idolatrous 
 statues of saunts out o' their neuks," and broke them into pieces, 
 much interesting lore regarding the country's saints was dissi- 
 pated and lost for ever. Scotland, if we may judge by the 
 records which remain, had her full share of representatives in the 
 Roman " Calendar of Saints,*' and sometimes she seems to have 
 added to her own list not a few who really were Irish luminaries, 
 male and female. These saints were adopted, probably;, because 
 they visited old Caledonia, went to it to complete their educa- 
 tion, or to get a day or two's work at harvest time. Who 
 knows ? History and tradition are equally dark, and we cannot 
 re-illuminate the past. The only thing certain about these 
 adopted saints is, that they must have been perfectly respectable 
 personages, otherwise the Scots would never have claimed them 
 — saints or no saints. Some people may still assert that a man 
 had to be respectable before he could be a saint, but then these 
 people do not know any better. The truth is, as we have said, 
 some queer specimens of humanity managed now and again, in 
 the Dark Ages, to get on the roll of saints, but the Scotch ones, 
 native and adopted, were all above suspicion, perfectly model 
 saints in their way, and according to their opportunities. 
 
 We are not certain if a really complete catalogue of the Scot- 
 tish saints has ever been compiled. There doubtless would be 
 many manuscripts with their names before the time that the 
 " rascall multitudes " (as John Knox humorously called a large 
 number of his fellow-citizens) fell foul of the religious houses, 
 but none now exist. Of course we all know about St. Columba, 
 St. Cuthbert, St. Patrick, St. Ninian, and a dozen other particu- 
 larly prominent men, and what we don't know we can guess at, 
 as very many hagiologists have done before. Then St. Giles is 
 identified with Edinburgh, St. Nicholas with Aberdeen, St. 
 Mungo with Glasgow, and many other towns, and even villages, 
 have their patron saints, whose careers have been the subject of 
 more or less extended inquiry. But outside of these our know- 
 ledge of the names and careers of the personages on the Scottish 
 calendar of saints is very meagre, very traditional, very unsatis- 
 factory. If we may judge by what remains, however, Scotland 
 must have had at one time a complete outfit — that is, a saint for 
 every season, for every day, for every circumstance, for every 
 fortune, for every trade. In a general, world-wide sort of way, 
 St. Clement was the patron saint of the tanners, St. Goodman of 
 the tailors, St. Joseph of the carpenters, St. Crispin of the shoe- 
 
ii6 ST. ANDREW AND OTHER SCOTTISH SAINTS. 
 
 makers, and so on. But these trades must have had their 
 special patrons in Scotland, and who were they ? History is 
 silent, and tradition says nothing. 
 
 There are some of the Scottish saints, however, outside of St. 
 Giles, St. Mungo, and the others, who remain in what may be 
 termed the front row, about whom a little is yet known. There 
 was St. Phink, for instance, who left Ireland it is hard to say 
 when, and after wandering around for a long time, settled in the 
 parish of Bendochy, Perthshire, and built a church, with a 
 steeple on it, and the ruins of it remain to this day. He was a 
 great preacher in his time, but when he began building in Ben- 
 dochy he was well up in years, and the people called him " Old 
 Phink," much to his disgust. He was a very argumentative sort 
 of man, and never tired lecturing the wild Hielandmen upon 
 the necessity of supporting the Church — meaning the one he 
 built. In time, however, they got tired of listening to his 
 lectures, and so one fine autumn afternoon they buried him in 
 the chancel of his church. 
 
 St. Rowan was another Perthshire saint, and one with many 
 marked characteristics. Most of our saints were poor, but this 
 one was a gentleman, and a landed gentleman at that. His 
 estate, now called Strowan, had been in the possession of his 
 family for generations before he succeeded to it, which was 
 about the year 630. He was the second son of his father, and 
 was educated for the Church. He and his brother went out 
 fishing one day in the Earn, at a spot now called Pol-Ronan, and 
 the brother was never seen after, and so the younger son was 
 -heir to the property. Notwithstanding his improved prospects. 
 Rowan still continued his connection with the Church, and 
 became famous all over the world for his learning. His great 
 adversary was St. Finan (in whose honour the baddies were 
 named), but he vanquished him in debate and carried his point, 
 which was undoubtedly a great victory, although we do not know 
 what the point was exactly. During his life he was scrupulous 
 in the attention he paid to all the requirements of the Church, 
 collected the tithes regularly, and in the cause of home and 
 foreign missions he was always lifting up his voice. When he 
 wanted to address the people, he went round ringing a bell, and 
 they had more sense than to disobey the summons. The bell 
 exists to the present day, and is in the possession of the present 
 owner of the Strowan estate. 
 
 Aberdeen was, probably, better supplied with saints at one 
 
ST. ANDREW AND OTHER SCOTTISH SAINTS. 117 
 
 time than any other part of Scotland. St. Apollonaris was the 
 saint of Inverury, and was the first apostle of temperance in the 
 country. His memory is a household one in many places on 
 account of the excellent mineral water which bears his name, 
 and of which he was the earliest discoverer, and which is now so 
 much in vogue. Some people assert that he was not a Scots- 
 man, but there are evidences that he was a good Gaelic scholar, 
 so what else could he be ? Methlick's patron saint was Deve- 
 nick, an earnest worker and a stern disciplinarian. St. Nathalin, 
 Meldrum's own particular saint, was a believer in the faith cure, 
 and was successful with it, as his many testimonials from all 
 classes sufficiently attest. It is said that once when St. Oyne, 
 of the parish of Rathen, was very sick of some sort of fever, 
 Nathalin started for his bedside to deliver a series of orations 
 which were warranted to cure. As soon as Oyne heard of 
 Nathalin having started, the fever left him, and he rushed down 
 to Peterhead on a preaching expedition. 
 
 In the south country the good men were very numerous. St. 
 Medan had a cave near East Tarbet, Wigtownshire, and held 
 religious services in it regularly for many years. Beside the cave 
 was a well, and although ]^Iedan did not use it much himself, 
 he showed the people that it was a powerful medicinal agency, 
 and they used to bathe in it when they thought they were sick 
 — or going to be — paying a respectable fee to Medan for the 
 privilege. St. Querndon, who lived in the parish of Troqueer 
 (before it was a parish, of course), had a similar well, although 
 it did not pay quite so well. One of the greatest of the south 
 country saints was Fechan. He was the son of an Irish king, 
 and in his younger days was a roving, swaggering, fighting blade. 
 He got the worst of a conflict one time, and was glad to escape 
 from Ireland in a boat. He had neither sails, nor oars, nor 
 water, nor meal, but he was so thankful to get away that he did 
 not bother about these things ; in fact, he knew nothing of his 
 condition until he found himself in the open sea, with no sign 
 ol land in sight. The waves, however, directed his boat to lona, 
 and there he was converted, or said he was, for he had to get 
 something to do, and he knew it was as much as his life was 
 worth to return to Ireland. Being a prince, they made a great 
 time over him in lona, and he was so well liked that he was 
 elected an abbot. But his old restlessness in time came back, 
 and to appease it he started out as a missionary. He made his 
 great hit in what is now the county of Dumfries, and this should 
 
Ii8 ST. ANDREW AND OTHER SCOTTISH SAINTS. 
 
 be remembered to his credit, because many had tried to do 
 something for the people there before him and failed. His 
 headquarters was a church which he called Ecclesia Fechan, 
 intending it to be his monument, and it is called Ecclefechan to 
 this day, to the dismay of every Englishman or Irishman who 
 attempts to pronounce it. 
 
 The thirteenth day of November in each year is the anniver- 
 sary of Saint Andrew, the day in the calendar which Scotsmen 
 abroad claim as peculiarly their own. In Russia, Bohemia, 
 Greece, and other places, where the memory of the great mis- 
 sionary disciple is venerated, the day is marked by imposing 
 ceremonies and services in the churches, although the occasion 
 is only of importance in an ecclesiastical sense. In Scotland it 
 is now passed over with hardly any recognition. John Knox 
 made saints' day of very little moment here, and neither the 
 style of the Scottish churches nor the vestments of the clergy 
 are much adapted for ecclesiastical display. One or two of the 
 few St. Andrew's Societies in the country have a dinner or sup- 
 per at which local politics are discussed ; but the saint cuts a 
 very small figure. Scotsmen in Scotland have many memorials 
 of the saint. Their patriotism is ever wary and watchful. They 
 zealously guard the relics of the past, relieve the poor, promote 
 good works, venerate religion, and practice, in a remarkably 
 consistent and commendable manner, all the recognised Chris- 
 tian charities and graces. They have the spirit of St. Andrew 
 always with them, and in Scotland his day is in reality every day 
 in the year. 
 
 But abroad it is different. The Scot generally leaves his 
 native land poor, and his parting resolutions are that he will 
 work hard, gather gear, and get back after a few years to his 
 native country with enough at least of this world's wealth to 
 enable him to spend his declining years in comfort, if not in 
 affluence. But as the song says : — 
 
 * Time changes a' things, the ill-natured loon." 
 
 The years speed on, the ties which bound his heart to Scot- 
 land grow less and less, old friends there go to their lang, lang 
 hame, and the clachan, the village, the town gets filled up with 
 strange faces, and the wanderer gradually realises that hame is 
 hame no longer. Then in the place in which his lot is cast new 
 ties and interests spring up around him. He enters into full 
 sympathy with the people among whom he dwells, gets accus- 
 tomed to their ways, and wins their bawbees with the utmost 
 
ST. ANDREW AND OTHER SCOTTISH SAINTS. 119 
 
 equanimity. The thought of returning to Scotland, except as a 
 sojourner, gradually leaves him ; he recognizes that his home is 
 where his interests and daily associations are, and that Scotland 
 has become little more than a sentiment. His Scotland is not 
 so much a thing of to-day as of a quarter or perhaps half a cen- 
 tury ago. If we notice the speeches made at the St. Andrew's 
 celebrations in countries " furth of Scotland," we cannot help 
 noticing how little Scotland of the present moment figures in the 
 thoughts of the orators. They may mention such a modern 
 wonder as the Forth Bridge; or eulogise the hero of the latest 
 battle, but the bulk of what is spoken refers to what has been 
 incorporated into history a dozen years ago or more. We do 
 not wish to say that the Scot abroad thinks less of the Scotland 
 of to-day than he does of the Scotland of yesterday ; but he 
 knows the latter best, and so his heart warms to it the more. 
 
 The fame of St. Andrew, in these modern times, when we 
 have discarded simple legends and abandoned the consideration 
 of mere traditions, rests upon the charity inculcated by his life- 
 work, and his reputed possession of all the characteristics which 
 make up a representative Scot. His system of charity, so far as 
 we can gather any idea of it, was simple, practical and timely. 
 Apart from being one of The Twelve, his doings in this regard 
 would have kept his memory green, even had he no national 
 affiliations ; but it is the latter which have given his name such 
 prominence. Whenever the Scot Abroad wants to dwell upon 
 his country's story, whenever he desires to recall the grand quali- 
 ties which have made his race welcomed and honoured and suc- 
 cessful all over the world, whenever he wishes to emphasize the 
 fact that civil and religious liberty have ever been the twin stars 
 in the firmament of Scottish liistory, he brings up to his memory 
 the good Saint Andrew as the one personage that is typical of 
 them all. 
 
 So, on what is regarded as the anniversary of the Saint's mar- 
 tyrdom, Scotsmen all over the world each year gather together 
 — sometimes in hundreds, sometimes in dozens, sometimes in 
 two and threes — to honour his memory, and under the sanctity 
 of his name to recall the dear old motherland and the happy 
 days of auld lang syne. It is one day in the year given to a 
 public demonstration — to the glory of St. Andrew and of Scot- 
 land. But during the other days of the year the mission of St. 
 Andrew is kept alive, and his memory fittingly perpetuated, by 
 deeds of charity, done kindly and unostentatiously by the various 
 
120 ST. ANDREW AND OTHER SCOTTISH SAINTS. 
 
 societies called by his name. These societies keep alive the 
 flame of patriotism, they feed the stream of fraternal charity, 
 they make all Scotsmen warm once more to the tartan, and the 
 phrase of " brither Scot " becomes more than a mere figure of 
 speech. These meetings are in reality practical demonstrations 
 of the grandest features of Scottish character, and in contem- 
 plating the good which comes from them year by year, in all 
 parts of the world, we may well re-echo the words of the poet in 
 referring to them : — 
 
 ** Love, health and peace be each chiel's lot 
 Baith here and far away, 
 "Whose patriot heart throbs loud with pride 
 Upon St. Andrew's Day." 
 
David Dale and his 
 Grandsons, 
 
 Among the many worthies which a study of the history of Glas- 
 gow brings to our notice none stands out in bolder relief for 
 strong individuality of character, or for uprightness and useful- 
 ness of career, than David Dale. The story of this man's life is 
 interesting in many ways, notably for the lessons to be learned 
 from its teachings, and from the fact that two at least of his 
 descendant sons became very prominent — in different ways — in 
 the United States. 
 
 David Dale was born in 1739 in a little two-storey thatched 
 cottage, right beside the Cross at Stewarton, Ayrshire. His 
 schooling was not great, for his parents were poor ; but he got 
 the best that his parish school could give — a thorough grounding 
 in the "Three R's," and a perfect mastery of the Shorter Cate- 
 chism. Apart from its religious significance this catechism has 
 had more to do with the moulding of modern Scottish character 
 than any other manual used as a text book. Its statements are 
 so terse, so direct, that they inspire a similar mode of expression. 
 It is said that Scots are conservative in religion and liberal in 
 politics, and there is no doubt that both these qualities spring 
 from the little "Carritch" which some one called "the Cale- 
 donian's complete vade-mecum." 
 
 During the holidays at school, and for a year or so after he 
 left it. Dale was employed herding sheep. Then he became a 
 weaver, and finished his apprenticeship to that calling at Paisley 
 — at that time the centre of the highest and most picturesque 
 development of the art in Scotland. Then he went to Glasgow, 
 and was a clerk for a time, but he soon got into business on his 
 own account as a dealer in linen yarn. From that on his 
 business career was an eventful one. He founded, in 1783, 
 with the assistance of Arkwright, the famous works at New 
 Lanark, and was one of the founders of the mills at Blantyre 
 
 H 
 
122 DAVID DALE AND HIS GRANDSONS. 
 
 and Catrine. He founded at Barrowfield the pioneer establish- 
 ment for Turkey-red dyeing in Scotland, and, besides these 
 enterprises, he opened in Glasgow a branch of the Royal Bank 
 of Scotland, and managed it successfully. Only one of his 
 adventures turned out wrong, and that was the attempt to mine 
 coal at Barrowfield. This was a favourite fad for a long time 
 among the wealthy citizens of Glasgow, and more than one 
 fortune was swallowed up in trying to get at the "black dia- 
 monds " which were supposed to lie so near the surface at that 
 once often sung section of Glasgow. 
 
 With that exception everything that David Dale touched was 
 remunerative, and he made money faster than he could use it. 
 So he tried zealously to do good with it. To give work to the 
 Highlanders he opened factories at Dornoch and Oban, and 
 every man in his employment derived some benefit from his 
 success. At New Lanark he put his theories most conspicuously 
 into practice. He established model schools for the children of 
 the workers, built comfortable dwellings for each family, sur- 
 rounded each home with the most advanced sanitary safeguards, 
 and made liberal arrangements for the religious and moral im- 
 provement of all his people. He was a practical philanthropist 
 and a living example of that true kindness of heart which is the 
 outcome of the teaching of Christianity. In the Town Council 
 of Glasgow (of which Mr. Dale was for some time a member) 
 he was found in line in every movement that promised to aid in 
 the development of the city, and so add to its opportunities of 
 furnishing employment to its citizens ; and he was foremost in 
 advocating whatever tended to improve the condition of the 
 poor. 
 
 Mr. Dale, as a philanthropist, was ever liberal yet thoroughly 
 practical. He gave away largely, but never indiscriminately; 
 and, unlike many modern philanthropists, his good deeds were 
 done without ostentation or needless additions in the shape of 
 speeches and receptions. His hand was always extended to the 
 poor. Naturally, he had a host of pensioners, but he believed 
 the greatest amount of good was done by giving people the 
 means to help themselves. He was an ardent believer in home 
 missions, and was always exceedingly liberal in giving the 
 missionaries the means to alleviate the distress they found, and 
 so draw people to the Gospel by an exhibition of sympathy as 
 well as by persuasion, thus being an exponent of practical as 
 well as theoretical Christianity. He acted as a missionary him- 
 
DAVID DALE AND HIS GRANDSONS. 123 
 
 self, and visited the Glasgow jail regularly to plead with the 
 prisoners. Every Sabbath he preached in his own church, one 
 of the '' Old Scotch Independents," in Greyfriars Wynd, and he 
 frequently visited the scattered congregations of that body to 
 give aid, and counsel, and encouragement. To better help him 
 as a preacher he studied Hebrew and Greek, and made a patient 
 exploration of systematic theology. He tried hard to conceal 
 his charity, and to one who reproached him for his profuse 
 liberality he said, " Man, I give my money to God in handfuls 
 and He gives it back to me in shovelfuls." 
 
 The stories extant concerning Mr. Dale would, were they 
 collected together, make an interesting book. One in particular 
 serves to illustrate the practical use he made of his wealth as 
 well as of his thoughtful kindness. Between the years 1782 and 
 1799, when grain rose to famine prices, and meal was sold as 
 high as 21s. 4d. a boll, he chartered several ships and imported 
 great quantities of grain from the Continent and sold it in small 
 quantities at the exact sum each importation cost him. In this 
 way he relieved much distress, and undoubtedly kept the price 
 of the home product from mounting still higher. But in spite 
 of hundreds of instances of such public benefactions, and of his 
 known private generosity, it is sad to think that Mr. Dale for 
 many years was by no means a favourite in Glasgow, and that 
 he was especially unpopular among the poorer classes, the very 
 classes he was striving most earnestly to help. The cause was 
 his religious views. That he, without being publicly called, or 
 prepared, or ordained, should take upon himself the work of the 
 Christian ministry, should actually " wag his pow in a poopit," 
 was to them an almost unpardonable sin. They had a vague 
 sort of idea, too, that the sect he was so prominent in was not 
 thoroughly orthodox ; that it had some ulterior designs against 
 the Auld Kirk, and even against all other kirks. So good David 
 Dale was often hooted and jeered at when on his way to enter 
 upon each Sabbath's work, and the little chapel in which he 
 preached had many narrow escapes from destruction at the 
 hands of angry mobs. But he understood the source of all this 
 prejudice and forgave the people their insults and contumely. 
 In fact, he lived it all down, and long before he died he had 
 the satisfaction of seeing the people according him the privilege 
 of worshipping in his own fashion and according to his own 
 beliefs. Indeed, in his later days, as some one said, "he could 
 have preached from the top of a tree and no one would have 
 
124 DAVID DALE AND HIS GRANDSONS. 
 
 hindered or molested him." In his home life he was much 
 given to hospitality, was full of pawky humour, and no one 
 could sing an old Scotch song with more humour or pathos as 
 the sentiment of the song demanded. He died in 1806, and 
 his funeral passed along the streets of Glasgow to the Ramshorn 
 Kirkyard amid more manifestations of genuine sorrow than any 
 funeral in St. Mungo before or since. 
 
 David Dale left five daughters, and one was married to that 
 once well known socialistic dreamer, Robert Owen. With that 
 strange compound of common sense and craziness we have 
 nothing to do, but two of his sons — grandsons of David Dale — 
 have more than a passing interest for us on account of the 
 prominent positions they held in public life. They were both 
 more identified with America, and had several of their grand- 
 father's characteristics. 
 
 Robert Dale Owen, who was born at Glasgow in 1801, in- 
 herited the religious independence and charity of his grandfather, 
 as well as much of the Socialistic tendencies of his father. He 
 went to the United States with his father, took an active part in 
 the latter's social experiment in the State of Indiana, known as 
 the New Harmony Community. Mr, Owen was for three years 
 (1835-38) a member of the Indiana Legislature, and served two 
 terms in Congress. While in Washington he took an active 
 part in organizing the Smithsonian Institution, of which he be- 
 came a regent. From 1853 to 1858 he represented the United 
 States at Naples, and his opposition to slavery and to the 
 dissolution of the Union, carried on by means of speeches, 
 pamphlets and newspaper articles, made his name very con- 
 spicuous for many years. The sunset of his life was spent in 
 the advocacy of spiritualism, and several works he produced on 
 that subject, notably his Footfalls on the Boundary of Afiother 
 Worlds had a large sale. He died near Lake George, N. Y., in 
 1877. 
 
 The other grandson, David Dale Owen, who was born at New 
 Lanark in 1807, became the foremost of United States geologists. 
 He settled in America in 1825, pursued scientific studies and 
 returned to Europe to complete his prescribed course. On his 
 return in 1833 he was appointed State Geologist of Indiana, and 
 held, later, several valuable appointments under the national 
 Government, in surveying mineral lands in Iowa and other 
 States. He died in i860 while in the very midst of his pro- 
 fessional successes and usefulness. 
 
Geikie, the Scotch Etcher. 
 
 Walter Geikie, the locally famous Edinburgh etcher, was born 
 in that city on November 9th, 1795, and although the centen- 
 nial of that artist, to the regret of many admirers of his artistic 
 work, did not make much noise in the world, or the occasion of 
 any artistic or popular remembrance, it caused not a few at 
 least to turn to the much treasured volume containing his pub- 
 lished drawings, and by their aid not only renew their acquaint- 
 ance with his scenes and characters, but recall many of their 
 own memories of auld lang syne. Geikie was by no means an 
 artist of the most brilliant type. There were, and are, hundreds 
 of his countrymen who stand much higher in merit and popu- 
 larity than he, but his genius was such that he has stamped his 
 name indelibly upon a branch of his native art, and so deserves 
 to be held in kindly remembrance. He won his success by his 
 exact fidelity to nature — by reproducing scenes and men exactly 
 as they were ; and as a result of his life-work he has left a series 
 of drawings which to-day retain their original value and popu- 
 larity. These drawings are mainly scenes descriptive of persons 
 and places in " Auld Reekie," and of passages in its daily life ; 
 but they are so true to nature, so scrupulously exact as to de- 
 tails, that we get a better idea from them of Edinburgh life in 
 the beginning of the present century than in any printed book. 
 Geikie was a humourist, too, and could "get out" (as the artists 
 say) all the fun there was in a face, or a crowd, without apparent 
 effort ; and, while he was satirical at times, there was no trace of 
 maliciousness in his satire. So even to-day we lovingly turn 
 over his volume of " etchings " and feel that Geikie, in drawing 
 them, performed a historical, as well as an artistic, service to his 
 native land. 
 
 If we were asked to state in what branch of art Scotland has 
 the most particularly excelled we would unhesitatingly answer — ■ 
 in portrait painting. We are not unmindful of the magnificent 
 array of historical canvases produced by Sir William Allan, Sir 
 
126 GEIKIE, THE SCOTCH ETCHER. 
 
 David Wilkie, Sir Noel Paton, and a host of others, but the 
 portrait painters of Scotland have been still more numerous, 
 and, as a whole, have occupied as high a position in the world 
 of art, in that branch, as those belonging to any other nation- 
 ality. We have only George Jamesone, it is true, to match 
 against such names as Holbein and Vandyke, but then Jame- 
 sone (he was born at Aberdeen in 1558 and died in 1664) was our 
 opening example, "the father of Scottish art," and painted his 
 portraits under difficulties of which the foreigners we have men- 
 tioned had no conception. The old Scotch garment had not 
 the flowing plenitude and the graceful lines which lent so much 
 aid to the work of the Continental artists, and dour Highland 
 chiefs were not as easy models as the more facile noblemen and 
 burgesses of the South; but, in spite of his limitations, Jamesone 
 did grand work. He did not, like Sir John Medina, depict a 
 Celtic potentate in the garb of an ancient Roman warrior, or 
 like John Scougal rig up Scotch burgesses in the style of Euro- 
 pean grandees. When we study Jamesone's canvases we feel we 
 are looking at real portraits and that the artist actually repro- 
 duced in his work, not only an exact copy of the living model 
 before him, but, so to speak, reproduced some portion of that 
 model's life and its leading characteristics. 
 
 It says much, too, for the inherent love of art in the Scotch 
 people when we find a dour Highland warrior like Sir Colin 
 Campbell of Glenurchy not only submitting to have himself 
 " done" by Jamesone, but keeping the painter as a guest in his 
 house at Balloch (Tayport), and keeping him busy with his rela- 
 tives, and furnishing from copies portraits of ancient kings and 
 queens of the realm. These specimens of early art were so 
 identified with Tayport that when, by legal process they, or 
 many of them, were removed to Berwickshire about 1865, it was 
 felt that the law had permitted an act of legal sacrilege. In 
 Langton House these portraits were deprived of much of their 
 significance, their real natural surroundings, and were little better 
 than curiosities in some new-fangled millionaire's dwelling. 
 They might indeed as well been transported to Chicago, where, 
 indeed, a band of speculators once desired to remove the old 
 home of Shakespeare and the natal cottage of Robert Burns ! 
 
 But passing by Jamesone, to the painters of times when Scot- 
 land had more time to cultivate art, we can match Sir Joshua 
 Reynolds with Sir Henry Raeburn, and the names of Allan 
 Ramsay (son of the poet), Watson Gordon, George Watson, 
 
GEIKIE, THE SCOTCH ETCHER. 127 
 
 Daniel Macnee and Graham Gilbert, are recognised the world 
 over as those of masters in their art. These men did more 
 than merely reproduce human figures ; they essayed to paint 
 men and women, to show what was below the surface, and so 
 give us not counterfeit presentments but realities with some evi- 
 dence of that soul, that spirit, that intelligence which gave indi- 
 viduality, if not fame or position, to each individual sitter. These 
 men made the Scottish School of portrait painting more thor- 
 oughly recognised and honoured in artistic circles than any of 
 their brethren did in different departments. Somehow they 
 never permitted the world to forget that they were Scotch, and 
 it is to the fame which their work brought to Scotland that we 
 now really owe the Grand National Gallery of Portraits in Edin- 
 burgh, which is yearly visited by thousands of people. 
 
 Geikie's artistic predecessor, if not his inspirer, was by no 
 means great as a painter, although he, too, has left his mark upon 
 the artistic annals of the country. This was John Kay, who 
 was born at Dalkeith in 1742, and by what are called his 
 " Edinburgh Portraits," he has given us a series of sketches of 
 the men of his time, which any country on earth would be glad 
 to duplicate. They are artistic, inasmuch as they are true 
 likenesses, but they are not graceful, and their hard lines, 
 angularities, and utter lack of anything like originality, or poetic 
 feeling, or sentiment, on the part of their artist, have won for 
 them anything but praise at the hands of critics not influenced 
 by local bias. It is admitted, however, on all hands that Kay's 
 portraits have the essential element of truthfulness, and without 
 truth all the most dexterous mingling of colours in the world, in 
 the case of portraiture, at all events, will be of little practical 
 avail or possess any genuine merit. In a sense Geikie and Kay 
 were contemporaries, but the latter virtually stopped work in 
 181 7, and it was in 181 2 that Geikie fairly started to learn 
 drawing in the Edinburgh Academy of Design. Kay was 
 originally a barber, but his talent for drawing led to his becom- 
 ing a miniature painture in water colours. With practice he 
 became an adept at portraiture, and when he applied that art to 
 etching in aqua fortis, his fame was established. His etched 
 portraits of public personages and local characters were at once 
 admired for their correctness, and the exaggerations, almost 
 always slight, seldom left a sting. Sometimes the caricaturing 
 was more in the position in which he placed his subject than 
 anything else, and while there is no doubt that he, at times, 
 
128 GEIKIE, THE SCOTCH ETCHER. 
 
 brought out weak points, he was ever kindly and subdued in so 
 doing, being in that respect altogether unlike Gilray and the 
 host of modern caricaturists. He strove to be faithful to nature 
 whether in portrait work or in some scene from the passing life 
 of the city ; and this quality has made his work be even more 
 valuable at the present day than when he himself sold his prints 
 in his little shop in the Parliamentary Square of Edinburgh. 
 He died in 1826. 
 
 Walter Geikie was the son of an Edinburgh perfumer. He 
 started life under more auspicious material circumstances than 
 Kay, except that he was deaf and dumb, the result of an illness 
 in his second year. However, he had all the advantages in the 
 way of education that could then be imparted to such unfortun- 
 ates, and he not only became a quick and appreciative reader, 
 but a judicious critic of what he read. From his childhood he 
 had a predilection for drawing, perhaps because thereby he could 
 more quickly convey his meaning, impressions, and desires to 
 those around him. When a boy he used to roam through his 
 native town, sketch-book in hand, and draw whatever captured 
 his fancy — a bit of an old building, a landscape, or an individual. 
 There was no method in such practice, but there were lots of 
 fun and experience, and it exactly suited the lad, barred by his 
 infirmities from taking part in the often rude, and always boister- 
 ous, pranks of the Edinburgh schoolboys of those days. 
 
 Geikie's excellence as a sketcher, and his evident liking for 
 the pencil, induced his father to give him what artistic training 
 " Auld Reekie " afforded, and he seriously settled down to study 
 under Patrick Gibson, and afterward under John Graham, the 
 teacher of Sir William Allan and Sir David Wilkie. He was an 
 industrious student, and as a result produced several paintings 
 in oil which were deemed very satisfactory, but he did not seem 
 to advance further in that branch of the art. Possibly he did 
 not possess the highest artistic genius, or, possibly also, that 
 quality lay in him undeveloped by reason of his unfortunate 
 deprivation of hearing and speech. In view of his career, that 
 last-named possibility seems the most correct. At all events, 
 judging by those of his serious attempts in cil, we have seen he 
 reached a certain point in his faculty or power of artistic expres- 
 sion with the brush and stopped there. He preferred sketching 
 to the elaboration necessary to work in oil, and he was never so 
 happy as when working out with his pencil some scene which 
 passed before him. To sit in a studio and "work up " sketches 
 
GEIKIE, THE SCOTCH ETCHER. 129 
 
 was against his nature. So, too, was the hunt after the merely 
 beautiful in art, upon which so many artists have spent golden 
 hours. He would rather have painted a picture of a Newhaven 
 fishwife, with her creel on her back, than all the Venuses that 
 ever charmed a painter or a poet. But then Geikie was not a 
 poet, he was a humorist. He seems to have been deficient in 
 fancy and invention, to have been incapable of adding to a 
 scene any of those indefinable touches which gives a painter the 
 title of genius. But he could extract all the humour possible 
 out of a passing scene, out of a human face, out of a group at 
 the corner of any of Edinburgh's streets. He exaggerated little, 
 if at all; he drew directly from the people around him the 
 characters he represented, and he found in them enough of the 
 comic, of the ludicrous, to satisfy his own sense of artistic 
 expression, and he was satisfied. The grace and invention, the 
 artistic arrangement of his subjects, the quick and fertile imagi- 
 nation, the regard for the niceties of art, all of which, with 
 undoubted artistic genius, were the qualities, even in his day, had 
 won for David Allan the title of " The Scottish Hogarth," were 
 wanting, or were mute, in Walter Geikie. His merit, like that 
 of John Kay, lay in his careful adhesion to truth, and in his 
 placing before us a face or an incident in a manner that no mere 
 use of words could equal as a means of conveyance. Art to him 
 was but a secondary consideration to actuality, not from inherent 
 choice very likely, but because his misfortunes had limited his 
 grove, and his common sense led him to make the most of his 
 actual opportunities. His etchings and drawings, however, were 
 at once recognized as spirited representations of real scenes and 
 occurrences, of noted local characters, bearing good as well as 
 bad repute, and became very popular with all classes. Amusing 
 tales are told of the difficulties he sometimes encountered in 
 sketching his models. There is a story of his being chased 
 through the town by a street porter with a curious physiognomy 
 and figure, until the artist was compelled to seek refuge in a 
 common stair, from a window of which the irate fellow was 
 sketched at leisure while he waited in the street for the artist to 
 come out again. 
 
 Geikie's etchings still retain their popularity, the best evidence 
 that can be adduced as to their real value. They were published 
 in all sorts of forms and sizes, and are to-day treasured in many 
 Edinburgh homes where other art productions are rarely seen. 
 When, about the time of the Crimean War, the Edinburgh 
 
130 GEIKIE, THE SCOTCH ETCHER. 
 
 newspaper publishers first got the premium fever, after issuing 
 " Watty and Meg," war maps, and cheap, steel engravings, they 
 struck a profitable field in Geikie's plates, and their issue made 
 more than one now forgotten weekly paper struggle through a 
 winter. But such means of publication made the drawings 
 familiar in hundreds of humble homes, and won for their artist 
 a greater degree of genuine popularity than was enjoyed by 
 painters of higher rank in the world of art. 
 
 Geikie's private life was blameless, and, in spite of his misfor- 
 tune, full of happiness. He was a deeply religious man, and 
 started a Sunday meeting for the religious instruction of deaf- 
 mutes, in which he was at once teacher and superintendent. 
 He died after a brief illness on August i, 1837, and was buried 
 in Old Greyfriars Kirkyard. Soon thereafter his drawings were 
 gathered together by Sir Thomas Dick Lauder, and published 
 with a biographical introduction and notes explanatory of the 
 pictures. But such explanations were little needed in Edin- 
 burgh, or indeed in Scotland, at the time. To Scotsmen each 
 scene told its own story perfectly, and this truthfulness makes 
 the drawings still interesting, although the scenes and the people 
 have long passed away. 
 
A Scot in South America. 
 
 We hear little, comparative!}', of the doings of our countrymen 
 in South America, though there, too, they have been as active 
 as in more northern parts ; but then affairs in South America 
 have always been uncertain, and the opportunities for a man 
 developing all the qualities within him are so slight that Scots- 
 men have seldom had a chance to be of such service to the 
 country as they otherwise might have been. Wherever in South 
 or Central American communities the chance has offered itself 
 Scotsmen have taken advantage of it to the benefit of the coun- 
 try and themselves. The late Emperor of Brazil said in Glasgow 
 once that his country owed a great deal to the natives of Scot- 
 land who had cast in their lot with it, and expressed the wish 
 that many then in Scotland would join his people, and assured 
 them all of a hearty welcome. In Mexico, too, Scotsmen have 
 often come to the front, and but for them the International 
 Railway of that country would never have been the ably-managed 
 and well-equipped and popular road it is to-day. A notable 
 example of a Scotsman's career in South America is that of John 
 Parish Robertson, whose adventures and hairbreadth escapes 
 read like a romance. Possibly if the details were applied to the 
 hero of a novel the critics would find fault w^ith its extravagances 
 and impossibilities — thus illustrating the often repeated remark 
 that " there are things in actual life more extraordinary than 
 those related in fiction." 
 
 John Parish Robertson was born in Kelso, Roxburghshire, in 
 1792. Thereafter his father obtained a position in the Bank of 
 Scotland in Edinburgh, and it is said that John received most 
 of his early education in the Dalkeith Grammar School. Owing 
 to ill-health, it is supposed, the father had to resign his position 
 in the bank, and went to Glasgow, where he secured employ- 
 ment in an office. His family followed him to Glasgow. In 
 1806, \\hen the news reached the Clyde that Buenos Ayres had 
 been captured by a British fleet, the Scottish youths of the day 
 
132 A SCOT IN SOUTH AMERICA. 
 
 thought they saw a new El Dorado opened up expressly for 
 them, and many went there. John P. Robertson, then 14 years 
 of age, managed to secure a passage on a ship called the Eftter- 
 prise^ commanded by Captain Graham. The voyf^ge occupied 
 three months, and when port was reached there was no chance 
 of landing, for the ship was ordered to proceed to Montevideo, 
 then being besieged by the British. Robertson witnessed the 
 bombardment of that city, and when it was over was permitted 
 to land. He might have done well there, but the fortunes of 
 war were against commercial enterprise. After a month or two 
 the city was delivered back to Spain, and the British residents 
 had to leave. Robertson in a few months found himself back 
 in Scotland. 
 
 The little he had seen of South x^merica, however, had shown 
 him, as he said, " that there was something in it." After a 
 month at home he was again on the ocean, and October, 1808, 
 found him at Rio. He soon tired of that place. Liking neither 
 the people nor the climate he left it for Buenos Ayres, where an 
 opportunity for making money was held out to him. He re- 
 mained there for two years, acquired considerable capital, and 
 then determined to proceed to Paraguay. 
 
 Robertson chartered a ship and loaded it with such merchan- 
 dise as he judged might be suited for that place, and sent it 
 away. The journey by water took three months, but only about 
 sixteen days by land, and he judged it good policy to go by 
 land and so endeavour to have a m.arket all ready for his wares 
 when the ship should arrive. He travelled fully armed, with a 
 servant and a guide, and reached Assumption, the capital of 
 Paraguay, in safety. His first act on getting there, naturally 
 enough, was to enquire if there were any brither Scots around, 
 and he found only one, an old army sergeant, who had deserted 
 from the British army. This veteran appeared to like the place 
 well enough, but hoped to see his " ain countrie " once again. 
 
 When the ship reached port, Robertson found himself ham- 
 pered by many ridiculous restrictions, owing equally to the 
 jealousy and the ignorance of the people and of their rulers. 
 But he made no complaint, adapted himself as well as he could 
 to the condition of things, and soon became so popular that he 
 not only made money rapidly, but was told that, although the 
 decrees against traders like himself were to be strictly enforced, 
 they were to be, in his case, ignored. At that time he considered 
 that he was on the fair road to amass a fortune, and yet he was 
 
A SCOT IN SOUTH AMERICA. 133 
 
 only in the twentieth year of his age. His good looks, amia- 
 bility and popularity led him at this time into a peculiar dilemma. 
 His principal friend in Paraguay was one of the Government 
 high ofTficials, Don de la Cerda. Through this man's recom- 
 mendation Robertson boarded in the mansion of a wealthy lady, 
 over eighty years of age. She had a magnificent establishment 
 and a large retinue, and she fell head over ears in love with her 
 boarder. She was very outspoken about the matter, too, and 
 had Robertson said the word his fortune would have been made 
 much quicker than he anticipated. But he was too honest to 
 marry the old woman for her money. He flady rejected her 
 matrimonial overtures, and threatened to leave the house alto- 
 gether unless she ceased to bother him with her professions of 
 Tove. Finally the old lady left him severely alone. While re- 
 siding in this mansion his neighbour was Dr. Francia, afterward 
 Dictator of Paraguay — a man whose name is yet remembered 
 there for his despotism. Robertson, however, won his good 
 graces, and continued to prosper, even under his rule, for several 
 years. 
 
 In 1 8 14 Robertson felt home-sick, and with the consent of 
 Dictator Francia left Paraguay. He was even commissioned by 
 the despot to negotiate a political and commercial alliance with 
 Great Britain. In Parana, however, he was robbed of all his 
 moveable gear, even to the clothing he wore, by a band of rob- 
 bers. Had it not been for the timely arrival of his brother (who 
 had joined him from Scotland a year before) on the scene of the 
 robbery Robertson would have been shot. As it was he was 
 permitted to get away from the robbers with an old army coat 
 as his only garment. Next year Francia ordered both brothers 
 to leave Paraguay. 
 
 They intended to proceed to Buenos Ayres, but got no further 
 than Corrientes, for the country was in such a state that travel 
 was unsafe both for life and property. While resting there, how- 
 ever, John recognised, and was in turn recognised by, one of the 
 band of robbers who had treated him so harshly at Parana. 
 The robber, at this time, was accompanied by another lawless- 
 lookinsf individual. He introduced himself to the Robertsons 
 as Don Pedro Campbell and his comrade as Don Edwardo, and, 
 with a wink, said they were both from Tipperary. These men 
 offered to do business in the surrounding country for the Robert- 
 sons. The offer was accepted, and this strange connection was 
 a profitable one, for the robbers turned out to be good fellows 
 
134 A SCOT IN SOUTH AMERICA. 
 
 after all, and to take pride in faithfully carrying out every con- 
 tract and accounting for every shilling. This sort of business 
 lasted for over a year, when the Robertsons deemed it prudent 
 to withdraw, and they retired to Buenos Ayres. 
 
 In 1817 John was able to carry into effect his long-cherished 
 wish of revisiting his native country, and extending there his 
 business connection. Three years afterward found him again in 
 South America, and in 1824 he landed in Greenock with assets 
 in his possession, worth ^^i 50,000, and valuable interests at 
 work in South America. Two years later a general commercial 
 panic involved him in difficulties, and he crossed the Atlantic 
 again. He saved some of his property and returned to Britain 
 to wait until the commercial crisis was over, and politics in South 
 America had become more favourable to him. While waiting 
 he entered himself as a student at Cambridge, so as to acquire 
 some of that scholarship which he had always regretted he had 
 not acquired in his youth. He also wrote several books on 
 South American topics, which were extensively read. It was 
 noticed, however, that his health had begun to give way, and he 
 gradually declined in strength until in November, 1843, he 
 entered into rest. 
 
 Possibly John Parish Robertson is now almost forgotten even 
 in Scotland, but such should not be the case in a country where 
 stories of adventure are so widely appreciated and applauded. 
 He was in every way a worthy, if not a great son of auld Scotia, 
 and the story of his career, and that of hundreds of other Scots 
 of like adventurous spirit in South America would form not the 
 least interesting chapter in a full survey of " the Scot abroad." 
 
Prince Charlie in Rome, 
 
 The venerable Church of the Apostles at Rome, was, in the 
 early days of January, 1766, the scene of an impressive and 
 melancholy pageant. A long procession of the ecclesiastical 
 and military dignitaries of Rome filed into the sacred edifice, all 
 dressed in whatever regalia or garb their positions entitled them. 
 The red robes of the cardinals, the more sombre gowns of the 
 priests, the white surplices of the choristers and acolytes, the 
 elaborate costumes and gew-gaws of the soldiery, and the 
 picturesque attire of the aristocratic part of the congregation, 
 mingling together, made a magnificent spectacle on which the 
 eye of a lover of the mediaeval would have rested with pleasure. 
 Mitres, jewelled orders, begemmed croziers, and richly orna- 
 mented banners sparkled and gleamed with wonderful lustre in 
 the light of over a thousand torches carried by as many priestly 
 attendants and servants. In the central section of this pro- 
 cession was a bier on which lay the wasted and worn body of an 
 old, old man. There was nothing about the pinched and pallid 
 features that might excite anything but pity, no trace of intellect, 
 no shadow of refinement, no sign of past kingship or of fitness 
 for that leadership which royalty implies, and which honest 
 royalty should possess. Yet the poor decaying body was dressed 
 as a king, for the Church of Rome, like most others, keeps up 
 the pomp and trappings of this life until the tomb has fairly 
 gathered into its inexorable grasp everything that is mortal of 
 man. On the head, as it lay on a satin pillow, was a royal crown, 
 a sceptre had been placed in the nerveless hand, and the robe 
 which clothed the body had armorial bearings indicating kingly 
 birth wrought upon it in gold and gems. The bier was sur- 
 rounded by a special guard of twenty cardinals — princes of the 
 church — and as the procession had passed through the streets 
 of Rome on its way to the Church of the Apostles it was watched 
 with reverent interest by thousands of spectators. The sacred 
 edifice hardly needed the light afforded by the torches accom- 
 
136 PRINCE CHARLIE IN ROME. 
 
 panying the processionists, for it had been prepared for the 
 occasion with unusual care and elaboration. The great chan- 
 deliers which hung from its roof had been newly trimmed and 
 supplied with oil, and fresh, sweet smelling tapers had been 
 placed in the grasp of skeletons, which according to a common 
 fashion of the time, were ranged at short and regular intervals 
 along the walls and around the pillars and columns, thus show- 
 ing those of the living worshippers the glories of the sanctuary 
 and, at the same time, reminding them of their own mortality. 
 The high altar was a blaze of light, and on it were displayed the 
 jewels, reliquaries and mementoes which the churchmen held 
 sacred — the holiest of their holies. In front of the altar was 
 placed a singular structure. It was a huge four-posted bed, 
 draped with purple silk, and elaborately trimmed with laces and 
 with needlework decorations of all sorts. At the head of the 
 bed was placed a chair, representing a throne, with angels 
 bearing a crown and sceptre. On and around the structure 
 were placed crowns representing three kingdoms, a sceptre, 
 globe, sword of State, purple robes trimmed with ermine, and 
 other trappings of royalty, which, however, are of little avail, nay, 
 are rather ridiculous when not associated with authority. The 
 crosses of the kingly orders of St. Andrew and St. George were 
 also displayed with the rest of the kingly belongings, and over 
 all was the legend Jacobus, Magnae Britannias Rex, Anno 
 MDCCLXVI. On this extraordinary erection the body carried 
 by the processionists was placed with great reverence, and for 
 three days the cardinals and priests said mass, sung requiems, 
 chanted hymns, and prayed around it, then it was removed, 
 amidst further demonstrations of respect, to the Church of St. 
 Peter's, and there left to nature, which deals alike with the dead 
 whether of noble or ignoble birth. When the tomb was closed 
 the last chapter in the history of a royal line was ended, and the 
 final tap of the mason's mallet on the stone door sounded the 
 last echo of an auld sang, a sang which in spite of all its jarring 
 tones and discordant notes is still dear to Scotsmen, a sang 
 which often brought woe as well as weal to Scotland, but under 
 which, with God's blessing, the country steadily advanced in all 
 that constitutes national greatness, and displayed that constancy 
 to the principles of true civil and religious liberty which has 
 drawn to the land the admiration of the civilized world. 
 
 For the poor emaciated body was that of the last of the Stuart 
 princes, who had been publicly proclaimed as a king in Scot- 
 
PRINCE CHARLIE IN ROME. 137 
 
 land and England, and had been acknowledged as a ruling 
 sovereign by any of the European powers. He was the only 
 son of that James who had been hurled from the thrones of the 
 United Kingdom as a just retribution for his own attempt to 
 override the wishes of his people, and to virtually reduce the 
 country to the level of a province of France. James III. of 
 England and VIII. of Scotland, as he was proclaimed and as he 
 styled himself, never for a moment possessed anything more 
 than the mere shadow of kingship. He was carried out of his 
 ancestral kingdoms when a baby. He was in Scotland for a 
 brief period in 17 15, when he played a somewhat ignoble part 
 in the rebellion of that year, but that was the only glimpse he 
 ever got of a land with which his ancestral name had held the 
 first place for three hundred years. Spending one's life as an 
 exile, a dependant upon the bounty and good-will of others, and 
 passing day after day and year after year as the head of a system 
 which had no reality, is by no means conducive to bringing to 
 the front any of the real nobility of soul, firmness of purpose, or 
 decisiveness in action, of which a man may be possessed ; still 
 if a man is endowed with any of these estimable qualities they 
 will at times assert themselves under the most trying circum- 
 stances. But James and the empty titles never developed any 
 of these ; he was a mere cipher, a nonentity, a weakling who 
 would likely have shrivelled into nothing beneath the weight of 
 a real crown and the responsibility of power, or transferred the 
 burden and responsibility to a favourite like several of his 
 ancestors. He seemed content with his position as a humble 
 dependant at the Court of France, or a loiterer in the ante- 
 chambers of the Vatican. In his latter years he was seemingly 
 quite reconciled to play the part of a Pretender, and made so 
 much money at the business that, besides keeping up the ex- 
 penses of his mimic court, during his life here, he left behind a 
 fortune of ^250,000 when he was laid at rest in St. Peter's. 
 
 Had James died fifteen or twenty years before, the event would 
 have raised high hopes in the hearts of the Jacobites in Scotland 
 and England, for his eldest son had shown himself possessed of 
 those very kingly qualities which his father had lacked. The 
 campaign of 1745-46, disastrous as had been its conclusion, 
 demonstrated that its leader, Prince Charles Edward, was 
 embued with all those requisites which go to the making up of 
 an ideal king. He was generous, brave, enthusiastic, and a 
 master of the art of winning the confidence and admiration of 
 
138 PRINCE CHARLIE IN ROME. 
 
 all with whom he came in contact. That he was a natural 
 leader of men is evident from the simple fact that the undisci- 
 plined Highland clans followed his standard as long as they did, 
 and his princely qualities adapted him to appear to advantage as 
 much on the battlefield at Gladsmuir, as in the festive halls of 
 Holyrood, and were never more apparent than when he was a 
 hunted fugitive in the Western Highlands. He almost had the 
 crown within his grasp when he entered England after the battle 
 of Prestonpans, and, had the English Jacobites rallied to his 
 standard as heartily as had the Scotch, there seems no doubt he 
 would have sent King George skurrying back to his dominions 
 in Hanover, and re-established the royal line of Stuart upon the 
 British throne — for another term at least. Realising how boldly, 
 heroically, and ably, Charles had conducted the outbreak of 
 1745, and how nearly successful it was, it is little wonder that, 
 even after the dark shadow of Culloden, the Jacobites continued 
 to think of the hero of the campaign as one under whose leader- 
 ship there was more than a mere chance for restoring the old 
 order of things. 
 
 But many things had come and gone during the years that 
 had passed between the battle of Culloden and the death of the 
 Old Pretender, or James III., as he styled himself, and many 
 changes had taken place ; but the changes which had come over 
 the hero of Prestonpans was the greatest of them all. While in 
 Scotland he was careless of the formalities of royalty, but his 
 royal bearing and prerogative were freely acknowledged, and in 
 the palace or the cave royal deference was always willingly 
 rendered him, without apparent solicitation on his part. He 
 now comes before us, in 1766, a broken-down drunkard, whose 
 violent temper, despicable conduct, and heartless treatment of 
 his friends, combined to make him more an object of contempt 
 than of reverence. As a tool and pensioner of France, he had 
 long failed to be of any service to his masters, and was not even 
 legally permitted to enter that kingdom whose rulers for centu- 
 ries were the firm friends of his house. When he received the 
 news of his father's death, Charles Edward was living at Bouillon, 
 in Luxemburg, where his excesses and his cruelties were 
 notorious, and he at once posted off to Rome expecting to be 
 received, as his father's eldest son, with all the deference due to 
 a king. Instead, however, he was permitted to enter the Eternal 
 City as a private individual, and only his brother, Cardinal 
 Henry Stuart, was waiting to welcome him. Deeply chagrined. 
 
PRINCE CHARLIE IN ROME. 139 
 
 he adopted the name of John Douglas, and retired to his palace, 
 welcoming those who visited him and paid him royal homage, 
 as did one or two cardinals, and a few of his father's and 
 br^ other's dependants. But the Vatican sternly refused its 
 recognition, rebuked the magnates of the Church who had 
 recognized his titles, and even caused the English royal arms 
 to be removed from the front of his dwelling. Charles continued 
 in the sulks, and refused to visit the Pope, or take any part in 
 the social gaieties of the Eternal City. He consoled himself 
 with the bottle, and uttered querulous lamentations as he 
 wandered, with bleared eyes and muddled brain, through his 
 private apartments. Even his brother began to despair of his 
 reformation, and in the future of their royal house^ although he 
 never quitted for a moment his efforts to persuade the Vatican 
 to acknowledge the royal claims. But he was the only one who 
 did so, and even Charles was incapable of assisting him in gain- 
 ing so important a diplomatic victory. He was no longer a 
 hero, his kingdom had left him ; he had simply become a 
 pretender, and a poor, weak, nerveless one at that. 
 
 He had forgotten the glorious past, and was dreaming away 
 the ignoble days of the present in thinking: — when he could 
 think — over the indignities and slights to which he was subjected. 
 Like every other drunkard, he thought the world was against 
 him, and never imagined that his own conduct and his own 
 neglect were responsible for the coldness with which nearly 
 everyone looked upon him. One by one the old Scotch and 
 English Jacobites withdrew from their allegiance — an allegiance 
 which, in most cases, had cost them their titles and fortunes — 
 until his court was reduced to a few Irish adventurers. When 
 in Edinburgh he had borrowed 1,500 guineas from Lord Elcho, 
 and that nobleman, whose fortunes had gone down with those of 
 the Stuarts, thought that now, when the Prince had inherited his 
 father's wealth, he would repay the loan. But his application 
 was refused, for Charles' old-time magnanimity had given way 
 to avarice — avarice of the most grasping and contemptible des- 
 cription. A story has come down that at times ttie recollection 
 of Scotland and the Highlanders flashed upon him, and caused 
 him to fall to the floor in convulsions, and we are told that he 
 could not hear the tune of " Lochaber no more " without burst- 
 ing into tears. But such stories, although they inspired a 
 modern Scottish poet to write one of his best known pieces, have 
 no tangible foundation, and are worthy of no credence. It is 
 
I40 PRINCE CHARLIE IN ROME. 
 
 doubtful if he ever heard " Lochaber no more " played in his 
 life, or was able to grasp the melancholy tenderness which it 
 inspires in the breast of every Highlander. Certainly a fact like 
 the treatment of Lord Elcho is a better guide to the Prince's 
 sentiment for the past than a dozen romantic and unverified 
 stories. Years of debauchery and riot had soddened the brain 
 and crushed out or obliterated the thought of what had been, 
 just as they had put an end to any substantial hopes as to what 
 might be. The man dwelt neither in the past nor in the future 
 but only in the present, and the present was bounded only by the 
 intervals between drunkenness and semi-sobriety. When a man 
 loses control of himself so far that he abandons everything for 
 drink — and even Charles' brother acknowledged with grief that 
 such appeared to be his condition — he has no thought nor care 
 but for self and self-gratification. Give him but the means and 
 the opportunity for the immediate satiation of his desires and 
 he does not care to linger over the thoughts of yesterday's de- 
 bauch, or concern himself with planning one for another day. 
 A numbness settles upon his brain, a feebleness upon his limbs; 
 ambition he has none, self-respect he does not value, another's 
 cares he has no heart left to feel for. Had Charles been a poor 
 man he would have gone "down to the depths," just as surely 
 as have thousands of other men who have woven around them 
 the chains with which he fettered himself, and found no release 
 until their remains were laid in a dishonoured grave. A curse 
 seems to fall upon them, as it fell upon Charles, blighting all the 
 hopes and aspirations which in the sunny morn of youth, 
 flattered, elevated and inspired not merely themselves but of 
 their friends and dear ones. Charles at this time was in his 46th 
 year — in what should have been the very prime of his life — but 
 he had become almost a physical as well as a mental wreck. 
 He was rude in his manners and brutal in his disposition, un- 
 fitted to rule even his own little household, and certainly in- 
 capable of ruling a nation. And this petulant hiccuping wretch, 
 this ingrate claimed to be by Divine right King of Great Britain 
 and Ireland and Defender of the Faith, and had a dim sort of 
 idea that his claims sometime and somehow would be acknow- 
 ledged. The man's very appearance had become a caricature 
 upon his old self; his habits would have been a libel upon the 
 royal purple, and the divine right claim in his mouth was little 
 better than blasphemy. Still he was of royal race, and once 
 upon a time had soared aloft among his fellow-men as became 
 
PRINCE CHARLIE IN ROME. 141 
 
 a real king, so that his downfall simply demonstrates once again 
 that royalty means power, that it means leadership, that it needs 
 supporters, that it needs character, and that, when stripped of 
 all these, its divine right basis or theory avails it nothing at all 
 — in fact proves that the divine right theory has no real basis, 
 and is but an impertinent assumption on the part of one of our 
 fellow-creatures. 
 
 Deserted thus by everyone except his brother the Cardinal, 
 his household, and a tew chance acquaintances, Charles at 
 length agreed, probably as the result of his brother's continued 
 importunities, to make what peace he could with the Papal 
 court, and to win a position in Roman society. In doing so he 
 abandoned every one of his pretentions, and was received by 
 Pope Clement as a private individual. He seems to have been 
 announced simply as the brother of Cardinal, and knelt as he 
 kissed the hand of his Holiness. Then the Pope and the Prince 
 talked together for a quarter of an hour, the latter standing 
 during the conversation. Cardinal Stuart, writing of this inter- 
 view to a friend in Scotland, said : — " I carried my brother to 
 the Pope's privately, as a private nobleman, by which means he 
 certainly has derogated nothing of his just pretentions, and has 
 at the same time fulfilled an indispensable duty owing to the 
 head of the Church. The visit went much better than I ex- 
 pected, the Pope was extremely well satisfied, and my brother 
 seemed well enough content." For nearly a year afterwards 
 Charles continued to "shine," as the saying goes, in the society 
 of the Eternal City. He made few real friends — probably in- 
 deed not one, and at balls, re-unions, and other forms of fashion- 
 able amusement he was welcomed more as a side-attraction than 
 for any social function he performed, or for any assistance he 
 was in promoting enjoyment. Indeed at these gatherings he 
 seldom spoke to anyone, preferring to be an on-looker. He 
 loved music and theatricals, and was fond of sporting. It was 
 said that he abstained for a few days at a time from drinking 
 heavily, but the effort was too much, and after such periods of 
 temperance he was wont to shut himself up in his apartments, 
 and by his excesses undo whatever benefit his short intervals of 
 moderation had accomplished. Early in 1770 dissipation had 
 made such inroads upon his constitution that a change of scene 
 and medical treatment were determined upon, in the hope that 
 a radical change for the better might ensue. So he set off to 
 try the mineral baths at Pisa. While on his way he stopped for 
 
142 PRINCE CHARLIE IN ROME. 
 
 a while at Florence, and there, like a child, " played " at being 
 a king. We are told that he held levees in his rooms, and re- 
 ceived his guests seated in a chair of State " with the garter 
 under his coat and the badge of St. Andrew at the button hole 
 of his waistcoat." None of the local dignitaries went near him, 
 and his pretentions received no recognition from anyone in 
 authority. At Pisa he still further revelled in royalty by touch- 
 ing with his hand several poor people suffering from scrofula or 
 king's evil. Whether the touch did these unfortunates any 
 good, we do not know, but the baths at Pisa seem to have re- 
 paired Charles' own constitution, although they did not cure 
 him in the slightest degree of the insane, swinish appetite which 
 had caused that once strong constitution to break down. 
 
 Charles did not return to Rome until April 22, 1772, and in 
 the meantime a change had taken place in his legal conditions. 
 In the winter of 1771 he went to Paris to complete by his 
 presence a bit of statecraft, and thereby add to his means, and 
 possibly strengthen his claims to recognition as a sovereign 
 prince. For political reasons the French Government was 
 desirous that the Prince should have a legitimate heir, and not 
 only offered him a handsome pension, but promised to forget 
 his disagreeable, if not disgraceful record in France, provided he 
 would marry the lady it kindly designed for him. He accepted 
 the terms, and then, certain that he would for his own sake fulfil 
 them, the French Ministers had no further need of his presence, 
 and he was summarily ordered to leave Paris. The lady was 
 Louise, Princess of Stobberg, "a penniless lass wi' a lang pedi- 
 gree." Neither were acquainted with each other, or had even 
 seen each other until on April 17, 1772, they stood before a 
 private altar at Macerata in Italy and were married. The Prince 
 had no love for the woman, and she, highly educated, refined in 
 her tastes, romantic in her disposition, and in the first flush of 
 youth, could hardly be expected to have much real regard for 
 the broken-down roue beside whom she stood at the sacred 
 altar. Nor did she deem it at all incumbent on her that she 
 should actually entertain any real love for her husband. In the 
 traditions of the royal society of which she was a member prin- 
 cesses were simply State pledges, and their life partnerships were 
 arranged by politics, and not suggested by the heart. She was 
 thoroughly artificial, and was perfectly willing to change the 
 quiet dignified repose of her convent life to enter into the 
 gaieties of fashionable society in Rome as the titular Queen of 
 
PRINCE CHARLIE IN ROME. 143 
 
 Great Britain. As for Charles, the pension was sufficient to 
 reconcile him to the marriage, or to anything. Such were the 
 sentiments which appeared to animate these two personages 
 when they became man and wife. That a union under all such 
 circumstances and conditions was to end disastrously for both 
 might have been predicted, and although for a time the marriage 
 seemed a happy one, it was only for a time, and then Charles 
 became even a more confirmed drunkard than ever, while the 
 pure convent-bred girl fled from her husband and became the 
 mistress of a second-rate poet, glorying even, to the end ol her 
 long life, in her own shame. 
 
 The Cardinal brother was delighted with the marriage, pro- 
 bably as much for the promise it gave of opening up a new and 
 more encouraging page in the life story of Cnarles, so he exerted 
 himself, like the kindly-hearted busybody that he was, in 
 arranging that their entry into Rome should be as truly royal as, 
 under the circumstances it could be made. When the Prince 
 and his wife entered the streets of the Eternal City they were 
 the principals in quite a dignified procession. Four couriers 
 rode in front to clear the way, and after them was driven the 
 Prince's private carriage. Then came a state coach drawn by 
 six horses, carrying the bride and bridegroom, closely followed 
 by two carriages with their servants, and then all the carriages 
 that the Cardinal possessed. As soon as they reached their 
 palace the Cardinal brother called to pay his respects, and, what 
 Charles doubtless thought was more to the purpose, presented 
 the fair Louise with a diamond adorned snuff-box in which lay 
 a draft for forty thousand crowns. Charles rose to the level of 
 the occasion, and proudly sent to the Papal Secretary of State a 
 notification that the King and Queen of Britain had arrived. 
 But the Vatican made no reply. 
 
 Except, however, for the absence of any formal recognition 
 on the part of the State, Charles at this juncture received royal 
 honours, and was even welcomed at the Vatican. His receptions 
 were crowded by the aristocracy of Rome, and his wife assumed 
 all the airs of a reigning queen. Charles even appeared to love 
 her, after a fashion, if we can accept jealousy as indicative of a 
 feeling of love, and he was constantly by her side evidently 
 anxious to anticipate her slightest wish. For an interval his 
 excessive dissipation seems to have been given up, and his 
 abstemiousness showed itself in his improved appearance, his 
 sprightly conversation, and his constant desire to please. He 
 
144 PRINCE CHARLIE IN ROME. 
 
 was liker the "Bonnie Prince Charlie" of the '45, or rather 
 hker a reminiscence of him, than he had been ever seen in 
 Rome, and popular and social homage was willingly accorded 
 to him and his gay young wife. The change was soon whispered 
 about and carried to the Jacobite exiles on the Continent, and 
 their hopes again centred round the head of the royal house. 
 Cardinal York was more than delighted, and fully believed that 
 a permanent reformation had set in, and that the star of the 
 Stuarts, which had so long been hidden and obscured by dark 
 clouds, was about to emerge and shine, more brilliantly and 
 fixedly than ever in the royal constellation which was supposed 
 to govern the destinies of Europe. 
 
 Charles had again reached a crisis in his career. The first 
 was at Holyrood after Prestonpans, and then he fully understood 
 and appreciated the significance of each day's proceedings. It 
 is questionable now if he even knew that a crisis had come. 
 Drunkenness is a more potent and treacherous enemy than even 
 the armed forces of a kingdom, and when it obtains one victory 
 it never ceases to work for another, no matter how many defeats 
 it may sustain, or how hard and evidently unbreakable the 
 moral force which is arrayed against it, or how long a time 
 may have elapsed since the first victory had been won. Whether 
 a victim to bibacity can ever become thoroughly reformed, ever 
 be perfectly superior to any temptation, seems an open question. 
 Physicians who ought to know say no. Many temperance 
 workers who have spent years in trying to uplift the fallen de- 
 clare the opposite, and bring figures and their experience to 
 prove that they are correct. They adduce practical evidence 
 against the physicians' theories and deductions. The most 
 general opinion, and the one that appears to be most warranted 
 by experience is that a man may be reformed if the desire for 
 reformation proceeds from himself. This was the opinion of a 
 man who did more good service on behalf of temperance than 
 any other who lived, the late John B. Gough, the American 
 lecturer, and those who are acquainted with the story of his life 
 will readily agree that notwithstanding all the beneficial and 
 uplifting influence by which he was hourly surrounded, and in 
 spite of his knowledge of what drunkenness really was, Gough 
 would have been a sot himself; have lapsed back into the con- 
 dition out of which he had been lifted, had it not been that he 
 himself wanted to be a sober man, that he was constantly 
 engaged in helping others to become sober, that he always had 
 
PRINCE CHARLIE IN ROME. 145 
 
 the evils of intemperance kept steadily before him, and that day 
 and night he was always prayerful, watchful, and wary lest 
 temptation should overcome him. 
 
 If we apply the tests of experience to Charles, at this crisis in 
 his life, we can easily see that the hopes of his reformation 
 were based upon no real or tangible grounds. He eave no sign 
 on his part that he wanted to be freed from the evils he had 
 wound around himself. The sprightly girl who presided over 
 his home, and the numerous calls of social life, as well as the 
 whirl and excitement of fashionable pleasures had for a time 
 supplanted the wine cup, but soon these all became tiresome 
 and Charles was as great a slave to his excesses as before. During 
 the sober interlude he charmed all with whom he came in con- 
 tact, and if the Vatican continued to withhold its recognition of 
 his kingly claims, it confessed that it was solely from motives 
 of state policy and not from any want of sympathy with himself 
 or belief in the righteousness of his cause. When sober, Charles 
 seemed to understand and appreciate all this, and professed, 
 rather gracefully, to acquiesce in the position of the Vatican, 
 but when the curse of his later life once more assumed its sway 
 over him, his gracefulness and good-sense were thrown aside 
 with his sobriety. He again formally demanded that his kingly 
 right should be openly acknowledged, and that he should be re- 
 ceived by the Pope with the honour usually accorded to royalty. 
 This was once more peremptorily refused, and he grew moody 
 and sulky. He kept to his own rooms, refused to mingle in 
 society, left his wife to entertain guests or be entertaining as she 
 pleased, entered into silly intrigues with a few aspiring, discon- 
 tented or sympathising cardinals, and finally, early in 1774, 
 finding that no heed was being paid to his importunities or com- 
 plaints, he sullenly quitted Rome, declaring that he would never 
 return to it again. 
 
 From Rome he went to Leghorn and thence to Sienna, 
 where a story was circulated to the effect that his union with 
 the Princess had resulted in the birth of a son. How this story 
 started is not very clear. Certainly neither Charles nor his wife 
 seem to have originated the report, and neither ever acknow- 
 ledged, if they were ever aware, of the existence of the child 
 whose early history, according to later stories, was involved in 
 such romance. That a child was born while they were at Sienna 
 is certainly true, and that it received the care of Admiral Allan, 
 a British officer whose frigate was lying off Sienna at the time, 
 
146 PRINCE CHARLIE IN ROME. 
 
 seems to be also true, but that is all that is authentic in the 
 story. The motives for its invention are not known, and even 
 a careful review of all the circumstances, leaves no room on 
 which to hazard a guess, unless it was a bit of French diplomacy 
 on beginning to realize that the marriage was likely to fail in its 
 main purpose. 
 
 In October, 1774, the Prince and Princess moved to Florence 
 intending to take up their permanent residence there. The little 
 court in that beautiful city proved to be as inflexible as the 
 Vatican in refusing to acknowledge the royal title, and so 
 Charles was known, at his own request apparently, as the Count 
 of Albany. There his career was simply that of a debauchee, 
 and his conduct failed to present a single redeeming quality. 
 His main amusement was the theatre, and there he was wont to 
 get into a box along with his own inseparable bottle, and drink 
 and sleep and blink during each performance. Often he had 
 to be carried through a crowd of theatre-goers in a state of impo- 
 tent helplessness, or senility, or " fighting drunkenness " to his 
 coach, and soon his very name was but a by-word and a re- 
 proach. His health became exceedingly precarious. He was 
 constantly under medical treatment, his legs began to swell, his 
 stomach refused to contain solid food, his nerves were unstrung, 
 his eyes were red and lustreless and his countenance would 
 have betrayed his carousals to even the least curious observer. 
 An oinomaniac's home, no matter how rich it may be, is never 
 a happy one, and in this respect at least all drunkards are on 
 an equality and Charles was no exception. It may be that his 
 princess wife had, at the beginning, dreamed that she had loved 
 him, but no love, even if smcere, can survive neglect, abuse and 
 wanton cruelty, and all these were her lot. She had had to 
 suffer since she stood, a wedded wife, at the altar. She meant, 
 doubtless, when she started out in life, to be a good woman and 
 a true wife, but she had never imagined she was to be mated to 
 a sot, and that blows instead of caresses were to be her reward. 
 What love could endure in any woman toward a man who was 
 almost constantly under the influence of his cups, who was 
 publicly known as a drunkard, and whose temper was often 
 sulky when sober and very often violent when intoxicated? She 
 had no friends among; the ladies of Florence to whom she could 
 look to for comfort or advice in her trials and perplexities, and 
 so when, in 1777, she made the acquaintance and won the ex- 
 pressed sympathy of Alfieri, the Italian poet and dramatist, a 
 
PRINCE CHARLIE IN ROME. f4Jt 
 
 man of considerable intellect but of no moral calibre, her 
 woman's heart went out to him and her sentiments towards her 
 husband became those of absolute hatred and detestation. 
 
 The jealousy of Charles, and his wife's regard for the doctrines 
 of the Church, made the friendship between the Princess and 
 the poet, apparently, not exceed the bounds of propriety. 
 Charles, however, saw that Alfieri had won the affections of the 
 Princess, and in addition to watching her movements he struck 
 her and insulted her even in public, and taunted her with her 
 new found love. The poor woman wrote to Cardinal Henry, 
 telling of her treatment and of the conduct of her husband and 
 asking for his advice. That good-natured nonentity could only 
 counsel her to bear with her husband as long as she could, 
 although he promised that, should she be forced to leave her 
 husband, he would afford her what protection and assistance he 
 could. By that he meant he would place her in a nunnery ; he 
 did not know of the presence of the poet. 
 
 St. Andrew's day was always celebrated by the Prince with 
 some demonstration, and he observed November 30, 1780, by 
 getting more noisily intoxicated than usual. At night he 
 entered his wife's bedroom, and after reproaching her and call- 
 ing her by all kind of names, struck her repeatedly, and finally 
 attempted to strangle her. Her screams aroused the household, 
 and their interference undoubtedly saved her life, for Charles 
 had reached that point in the drunkard's career when he was 
 capable of adding deliberate murder to his weary, daily round. 
 This was the last strain on the matrimonial chain. A few days 
 later it was broken for ever, and the Countess took refuge in a 
 convent, to which Charles could not gain admission, although 
 apparently the door was open to Alfieri whensoever he listed. 
 Here we leave this unfortunate woman, for although her own 
 life-story was just beginning, she has no further connection with 
 our immediate theme. From the very beginning she had no 
 influence over Charles, and seemed more regardful of his royal 
 pretensions than his love. She had many good qualities, and 
 would have made a true wife had she been mated to a true 
 man, but she was not the sort of woman to reform a drunkard, 
 or to exercise much influence over a man whose excesses had 
 weakened his will power, and soddened his intellect. She was 
 herself a victim of a State marriage, and her own happiness and 
 reputation would have been better conserved had she been per- 
 mitted to remain in her maiden nunnery, where she, doubtless, 
 
148 PRINCE CHARLIE IN ROME. 
 
 would have excelled in all the gifts and graces of that Christian 
 sisterhood. 
 
 Charles was frantic when he realised that his wife had thrown 
 off her allegiance to him, and he appealed to the Grand Duke 
 of Tuscany as well as to the Vatican for her restoration, but 
 without avail. Her absence deprived him of 6000 crowns 
 annually, which the Vatican had allowed as her pension, and 
 which was now to be paid to her direct. His negotiations were 
 fruitless, and he became low-spirited, fancying even that poverty 
 as well as ignominy was to be the accompaniment of his declin- 
 ing years. He for a time drank less than usual, and nursed his 
 ailments, which were such that, in March, 1783, his life was 
 despaired of, and his brother was summoned from Rome to 
 receive his confession, and administer the last sacraments of the 
 Church. The Prince recovered, however, and showed his humility 
 by petitioning the French court for money, and accepting a 
 charitable donation of four thousand rix-dollars from Gustavus 
 in.. King of Sweden, who happened to be sojourning at 
 Florence, and was led to believe that the Prince was suffering 
 from the want of the necessaries of life. Avarice for the time 
 was his predominant passion, and under it even his debauchery 
 was kept in check, so that he was seldom seen drunk in public. 
 Finally, on the facts becoming known to the Vatican of the 
 intimacy between the Princess and Alfiera, a formal separation 
 was effected between them, and her pension of 6000 crowns was 
 henceforth paid to Charles. 
 
 On his recovery from his illness, Charles found himself in an 
 unenviable plight. Deserted by his wife, shunned by the 
 society of Florence, looked upon with coldness by the Jacobite 
 exiles, whose hopes, by his conduct, he had blasted, and regarded 
 with contempt by France, in shattered health, and little hope of 
 ever attaining the great aim of his life, he was utterly alone in 
 the world, with the exception, perhaps, of his brother, the 
 Cardinal, who had however left him and returned to Rome. 
 We can well believe that the Prince was now realizing that he 
 was reaping what he himself had sown. In his despair for 
 companionship, he thought of that daughter of the old Scottish 
 house of Barrowfield, which had rallied to his standard in the 
 '45, and whom he had betrayed, ill-used, and finally deserted in 
 France. His enquiries led to the discovery that the lady was 
 living a quiet and holy life in a nunnery with her child — his 
 daughter. In his lonesomeness his heart yearned for the 
 
PRINCE CHARLIE IN ROME. 149 
 
 possession of this girl, now a sprightly young lady of some 
 twenty summers. As a result of his negotiations and promises, 
 she agreed to join him, and in his joy he at once executed a 
 deed providing for her maintenance, and conferring on her the 
 title of Duchess of Albany. She reached Florence in October 
 of 1784, and he at once took her to his heart, and appeared to 
 be prouder of his daughter than he had ever been of his wife. 
 She was a girl of vivacity and spirit, fond of social gaieties, and 
 tried as best she could to free her parent from his besetting sin, 
 which she soon saw prevented him from obtaining a tithe of that 
 social position and sympathy which he might otherwise have 
 enjoyed. She was in a measure successful at first, but the 
 Prince's habits were too deeply set, and his health too sadly 
 broken to permit of any change being possible, and she aban- 
 doned the attempt, leaving him to pursue his own inclinations, 
 while she contented herself with making him as comfortable in 
 his palace, and as much respected in society as was possible 
 under the circumstances. Charles in return grew daily prouder 
 of his accomplished and spirited daughter, gave her the royal 
 jewel which he had treasured so long, allowed her ample pocket- 
 money, and permitted her to give as many social entertainments 
 as she liked to the ladies of Florence. On the St. Andrew's 
 Day after her arrival he even gave what he called a State ban- 
 quet, at which she was present, and before all his guests invested 
 her with the order of St. Andrew, an honour only conferred on 
 ladies of royal birth. 
 
 When the excitement occasioned by the arrival and presence 
 of the young Duchess somewhat subsided Charles again became 
 despondent and irritable, and was advised to go to Pisa for 
 medical treatment. From there he went to Perugia where he 
 met his Cardinal Brother once more. The latter had not been 
 altogether satisfied with his brother's action in brinsiins: the 
 young Duchess out of a convent and installing her as the head 
 of his household, but after he had an interview or two with the 
 young lady he was delighted to acknowledge her as his niece, 
 and asked her to induce her father to return to Rome again. 
 To this she readily consented, as Rome was then the Mecca of 
 the fashionable world ; and her father, when the subject was 
 broached to him, had neither the will nor determination to 
 oppose it even if, remembering what had passed, he would have 
 persevered in avoiding the city till the end. So, about the 
 middle of December, 1785, Charles again took up his quarters 
 
ISO PRINCE CHARLIE IN ROME. 
 
 in the Eternal City. He was received in audience by the Pope 
 on the 17th, along with his daughter, and was pleased with the 
 interview, but what afforded him the greatest satisfaction was 
 that the Holy Father acknowledged the validity of the title he 
 bad bestowed upon the young woman and called her Duchess. 
 This, however, was doubtless done to gratify the Cardinal, who 
 acknowledged her as his niece, rather than to please the Prince, 
 but the latter had not discernment enough left to understand 
 this. The Cardinal in fact doted on the girl as much as did her 
 father, and through his influence the most aristocratic society in 
 Rome gladly welcomed her and she soon became one of the 
 social queens of that grand old city. 
 
 And her father? After the first few days of excitement were 
 over he settled down into the degrading role^ pure and simple, 
 that had been his so long. Age had now crept on him, although 
 in ordinary circumstances he might not have been described as 
 an old man for several years to come; his health was completely 
 undermined, all hope of reformation or recovery was abandoned 
 even by the Cardinal, and the few people interested in him 
 simply waited for the end which, it was only too evident, could 
 not be far off. He still, in his sober moments, allowed himself 
 to play the king, and we are told how at Albano, a suburb of 
 Rome to which he retired during the summer months of 1786, 
 he permitted old men and women who were afflicted with King's 
 Evil to touch his sacred person, and how, after paying him 
 homage, he gave them tiny silver medals to wear on their necks. 
 But of his story henceforth there is litde to tell. He was simply 
 a wreck thrown on a treacherous and rocky coast, washed, 
 broken, twisted and parted by the waves tide after tide, and it 
 was only a question of time when some final wave would come 
 and carry away the wasted frame into the bosom of the dark 
 and mighty sea. When a drunkard has done all he can to ruin 
 himself and his family, to blast his hopes and their hopes, his 
 health and their happiness, to bring reproach upon himself and 
 shame upon them, he has done all the evil which a man may do 
 in this world, and he can only wait as well as he can for the end 
 and the w^ages. So it was with Charles. If he experienced any 
 remorse during the last few months of his life, he gave no sign. 
 He continued simply to live and breathe and drink. Early in 
 January, 1788, the first solemn, definite warning that the end 
 was close at hand, came in the shape of a paralytic stroke, which 
 deadened one half of his body, and left him only dimly 
 
PRINCE CHARLIE IN ROME. 151 
 
 conscious of what was passing around him. In this condition 
 he lingered until the 31st of the month, when he breathed his 
 last in the arms of his daughter. 
 
 But he was a crowned king at last. No sooner was the official 
 decree promulgated that he was dead, than the faithful Cardinal 
 brother, now head of the house of Stuart and titular king, had 
 the body arrayed in all the empty paraphernalia of royalty. A 
 pinchbeck crown was placed on the cold, clammy head, and the 
 body was arrayed in purple robes, with a sceptre in the right 
 hand, a sword of State at the left side, while pinchbeck imitations 
 of the stars of the Orders of St. George and St. Andrew were 
 placed gallantly on the breast. So the body lay while negotia- 
 tions were in progress for the privilege of kingly burial in the 
 great church of St. Peter's. All earthly honours that a faithful 
 brother could command were rendered to the body. In a hall 
 adjoining the chamber where the remains lay, no less than six 
 altars were erected, and within thirty hours from the time of dis- 
 solution, no fewer than two hundred masses were chanted for 
 the repose of the soul. Into the death-chamber itself few were 
 permitted to enter excepting some Irish monks and the physi- 
 cians who made a post-7jiorte7?i examination of the body, and 
 found the brain and heart greatly diseased. The negotiations 
 for the royal interment in Rome failed, however, and the 
 Cardinal determined to remove the body to Frascati, a little 
 town over which he had spiritual jurisdiction, and in which, 
 thanks to the leniency of the Pope, he was permitted to carry 
 out his wishes. So the body, arrayed in all its royal trumpery, 
 and with all its kingly emblems, was ceremoniously placed in a 
 Cypress-wood coffin and taken by easy stages to Frascati. There 
 it lay in state, and had all the ceremonies usual in connection 
 with real kingly funerals enacted before it. The Cathedral 
 Church of Frascati was shrouded in black, the pillars were 
 covered with dark festoons of drapery, intermingled with gold 
 and silver tissue, and countless wax tapers lighted up the whole 
 scene. The body was placed on a catafalque in the nave of the 
 church, the crown still on the inanimate head, and from the 
 coffin dropped a pall on which was embroidered the royal arms 
 of Scotland, England, and Ireland. On each side stood three 
 gentlemen, supposed to have been retainers of the dead prince, 
 each of whom held aloft a banner bearing royal insignia, and 
 beyond these, as a Guard of Honour, were a company of 
 soldiers. The people of the town thronged into the Cathedral, 
 
152 PRINCE CHARLIE IN ROME. 
 
 and knelt as they passed the catafalque, not because they loved 
 or appreciated, or even knew, much of him who lay so silently 
 amidst so many marks of honour, but because he was the 
 brother of their bishop. The latter was really the central figure 
 in the scene. "About ten in the forenoon " (February 3, 1788), 
 says a contemporary record, "the Cardinal was brought into the 
 church in a sedan chair, covered with black cloth, attended by 
 a large suite of his ofificers and servants in deep mourning. He 
 seated himself on the throne on the right hand side of the great 
 altar, and began to sing the office appointed by the Church for 
 the dead, assisted by the choir, which was numerous, and 
 included some of the best voices from Rome. The first verse 
 was scarcely finished when it was observed that his voice 
 faltered, and the tears trickled down his cheeks, so that it was 
 feared he would not have been able to proceed. However, he 
 soon recollected himself, and went through the function in a 
 very affecting manner, in which manly firmness, fraternal affec- 
 tion, and religious solemnity, were blended." Little wonder is 
 it that the old man, as he stood over the bier of his brother, 
 should have shed tears of sorrow and the bitterest regret. He 
 saw himself, that most melancholy fragment of humanity, the 
 last of his line, and that line one in which kingly power, knightly 
 courage, and historic fame, had been more closely allied, since 
 it first rose to the surface, than any other single race that had 
 been identified with the history of Europe. He knew that when 
 his time came, the last leaf in the history of the Stuarts would 
 be completed, and all that would be left of their greatness, their 
 influence, their achievements, their kingships, would be merely 
 memories and reminiscences. The position of the Cardinal was 
 sad enough to make any human being weep, and yet, as he 
 gazed on tlie lifeless body before him, the sad tears must have 
 been tinged with bitter ones, as he thought of what might have 
 been had drunkenness not obtained the mastery, and crushed 
 the honour, ambition, and hope out of Charles, and destroyed 
 even the slightest chance of his attaining what once was, and 
 ought to have been to the end, the absorbing object of his life. 
 The ceremonies continued for three whole days, and then the 
 coffin was tenderly lifted up and placed in a high niche in the 
 great Cathedral, the most honoured position in the sacred 
 edifice. The funeral ceremonies had satisfied everyone, and the 
 poor body had received distinctions which it had been denied 
 while life and the power of appreciation remained within it. 
 
PRINCE CHARLIE IN ROME. 153 
 
 Even the last resting-place was one which only the greatest of 
 the earth could have commanded, and as the body was placed 
 there, in the presence of the Cardinal and his officers, the priests 
 and monks, the military and populace, a stranger might well 
 have imagined that a power in the earth's history was being laid 
 at rest to await his reward. It was a magnificent spectacle, but 
 it was without any real significance beyond its exemplification of 
 fraternal affection. The last years of the life just ended had 
 been blighted by a curse, and, stripped of all its upholstery and 
 spectacular rites and ceremonials the proceedings in the 
 Cathedral were hollow and meaningless, while the honoured 
 niche in which they all ended was after all nothing but a 
 drunkard's grave. 
 
 The late R. L. Stevenson has given to the world in his sketch 
 of Dr. Jeykyl a7id Mr. Hyde a study of a dual character in- 
 habiting one body, and the characters are so widely apart, so 
 utterly foreign to each other that many critics have declaimed 
 against the story on account of its apparent unnaturalness. 
 But the quality of character presented by Prince Charlie 
 in Scotland in 1745, and that presented by the titular king in 
 Rome in 1785 was in every way as extraordinary as anything 
 which even the brain of a novelist has conceived. In the one 
 year we see a real leader of men, high-spirited, brave, successful, 
 magnetic, generous, in the other, forty years later, a bloated sot, 
 cruel, grasping, mean, avaricious, careless of anything but the 
 gratification of his own ignoble pleasure, and utterly regardless 
 to the wants or appeals of those who had ruined themselves by 
 their attachment to his cause. The Charles of 1785, so far as 
 we can trace, did not retain one trace even of the characteristics 
 of the hero of Prestonpans. He was every inch a king who led 
 the clans on their last victorious march through Scotland, and 
 who aroused their enthusiasm and won their personal love as 
 did no man before or since. But even a microscope could not 
 have detected any trace of kingship in the loathesome babbler 
 who in 1781, was notorious for his love of strong drink in an 
 age when drinking was common and temperance sentiment was 
 unknown. The sun which arose in such splendour became 
 eclipsed before noon, and finally went down into the invisible 
 amidst an awful gloom. The traditions of the Bruce, the mem- 
 ories of the James', the descent from " a centenary of kings," the 
 devotion of the clans, the fortunes of hundreds of loyal hearts, 
 the glories of the past, the promise for the future were wantonly 
 
 K 
 
154 PRINCE CHARLIE IN ROME. 
 
 thrown aside by this man when he lost his manhood and be- 
 came simply a slave to drink. And if, in the shades of the 
 other world there be, according to an old legend, a spirit who 
 wanders in outward darkness, as he has wandered for many ages, 
 crying " lost ! lost ! lost ! " he must have been joined by a com- 
 panion when, in 1788, the last was seen on earth of Charles 
 Edward Stuart. 
 
Scottish Freemasonry 
 in America. 
 
 It is the purpose of this essay to discuss, briefly, a part of the 
 history of Freemasonry in the United States, so as to illustrate 
 as clearly as possible the direct and indirect influence which the 
 "Sons of Light" in or from Old Scotland exerted upon it, and 
 so add, mayhap, another chapter to the wonderful history of the 
 Scot abroad. 
 
 In pursuing this purpose, we have no need of going into any 
 study or consideration of the early history and antiquarian 
 claims of the Order. We have nothing to do with speculation 
 or mystery ; no need of losing ourselves in one writer's dogma 
 and another's surmises. We deal with a period which is, in 
 proportion to the rest of Masonic story, as commonly told, but 
 of yesterday, while most of the facts upon which we base our 
 knowledge or arguments are beyond cavil or dispute. 
 
 So far as can be traced, Freemasonry in legitimate lodges, 
 having their authority from some Grand Lodge, was first intro- 
 duced into North America by warranted lodges working under 
 the jurisdiction of one of the Grand Lodges in the United 
 Kingdom. The early records of these Grand Lodges are very 
 defective, especially those of Ireland, as most of its papers were 
 destroyed by fire. The English records appear to have been 
 purposely kept in an indifferent manner, probably from an idea 
 which once prevailed that as little as possible should be com- 
 mitted to writing concerning Freemasonry and its doings — even 
 the doings of subordinate lodges. To this erroneous notion is 
 due much of the defective information we have concerning 
 many matters of interest in the general history of the craft. 
 
 There is some dispute as to which is the oldest Grand Lodge 
 in the United States. That of Pennsylvania claims to date from 
 1730, while the date assigned to Massachusetts is 1733. There 
 is some uncertainty about Pennsylvania's date, and the Old Bay 
 
156 SCOTTISH FREEMASONRY IN AMERICA. 
 
 State claims priority. The question does not very much concern 
 us, although it may be said that the bulk of the evidence seems 
 to point to the priority of Massachusetts. 
 
 Among the early lodges in the American Colonies or States 
 which held warrants from the Grand Lodge of Scotland were : 
 
 1755 — St. Andrew's Lodge, Boston. 
 
 1756 — Lodge No. 82, Blandford, Va. 
 
 1760 — Union, No. 98, South Carolina. 
 
 1763 — St. John's, No. 117, Norfolk, Va. 
 
 1767 — Moriah Lodge, in 22nd Regiment, afterward in New 
 York. 
 
 1 77 1 — King Solomon's Lodge, No. 7, in New York, had a 
 charter indirectly from the Grand Lodge of Scot- 
 land, for there is no record of the Grand Lodge 
 of Scotland ever having issued a direct warrant to 
 any lodge in New York, whether as a colony or a 
 State. 
 
 The most noted of these lodges, that of St. Andrew's, Boston, 
 still survives, and a brief sketch of its history, written for another 
 publication, which has long since been out of print, may be 
 reprinted here : — 
 
 " The most prosperous and influential of all the ' Saint 
 Andrew's ' lodges in the world is that at Boston, Massachusetts, 
 It received its charter in 1755 from the Grand Lodge of Scot- 
 land, and the document was signed by Sholto-Charles-Douglas. 
 Lord Aberdour, at that time Grand Master. The original 
 members, it is believed, were all natives of Scotland, and several 
 of them had settled in Boston by way of Halifax, N.S. For 
 several years before receiving the charter, most of them were 
 known to each other as members of the fraternity, and, as such, 
 had frequently met together in an informal manner. These 
 meetings, so far as can be traced, first began to be held in 1750. 
 In 1754 a much honoured Scotch resident, named James Logan, 
 went over to his native land, and stated the case of his Boston 
 friends to the members of a lodge in Falkirk, of which he was a 
 member. This lodge endorsed the application for a charter by 
 the brethren "yont the sea,' It took four years for the charter 
 to reach Boston after its issue, the delay being caused, in part, 
 by the extreme care which was taken to prevent its falling into 
 the hands of improper parties. The bearer of the charter to 
 this country was William McAlpine, and he completed his 
 mission successfully on September 4, 1760, when the important 
 
SCOTTISH FREEMASONRY IN AMERICA. 157 
 
 document was laid before the brethren. The first entered 
 apprentice was initiated the same evening in the person of the 
 now celebrated Paul Revere. The early irregular meetings of 
 the lodge were held in private residences, but the organization 
 under the charter took place in the lodge room of the Royal 
 Exchange Tavern on King Street, now State Street, Boston. 
 Tiie brethren continued to meet there until 1764, when they 
 purchased the Green Dragon Tavern for £^66 (a property 
 which still remains in the hands of the lodge), and there the 
 communications were held until 1818. The Lodge of Saint 
 Andrew has occupied in all six relationships in connection with 
 grand bodies, ist, as a subordinate of the Grand Lodge of 
 Scotland ; 2nd, under recognition by a provincial grand body, 
 substantially of its own creation ; 3rd, a qualified recognition as 
 a Grand Lodge caused by the exigencies of the Revolution ; 
 4th, by recognition of the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts; 5th, 
 as an isolated lodge ; and 6th, in its present honoured position 
 as a member of the Massachusetts Grand Lodge. Amidst all 
 these changes of official relationship it has uniformly worked 
 under its original Scotch charter. From the first it had an 
 abundance of candidates, and some of these were men whose 
 names were destined to go down through American history in 
 consequence of the part they played in the Revolutionary war. 
 Joseph Warren, for instance, the hero of Bunker Hill, joined 
 the lodge in 1761. During the war the scenes in the lodge 
 room were full of practical interest. With one or two exceptions, 
 the members embraced the American cause, and in these 
 troublous times the Mason became sunk in the Patriot, and the 
 walls of the lodge room in the old Green Dragon Tavern re- 
 sounded to patriotic appeals and stirring speeches on behalf of 
 liberty. During the siege of Boston, the lodge room was closed, 
 and the building used as an hospital. The brethren did not 
 forget the cause of charity in that epoch, and committees were 
 formed to look after prisoners of war and distressed foreign 
 brethren. In the winter of 1777 the distress in Boston was 
 great, and the members voted ;2^2 5o for the general relief For 
 this they received the thanks of the Overseers of the Poor, and 
 the Grand Lodge of Scotland also thanked them for their kind 
 offices to the British prisoners. 
 
 "The history of Saint Andrew's Lodge after the Revolution 
 contains little to cause comment or note in such a work as this. 
 It felt the ups and downs of the times, as did all other institu- 
 
158 SCOTTISH FREEMASONRY IN AMERICA. 
 
 tions, and like other Masonic lodges it experienced the blighting 
 effect of the general outcry which arose against the Order in the 
 beginning of the present century. But 'through the whirling 
 wheel of time, through the tempest and the storm, through 
 attritions of the waves and sands of life, through good report 
 and bad, it has still maintained its beneficent influence.' It is 
 regarded as one of the wealthiest lodges in the world, and 
 membership in it is justly esteemed an honour. 
 
 " In 1855 t^^ members of Saint Andrew's Lodge determined 
 to celebrate the anniversary of its existence in a becoming 
 manner. Mr. C. W. Moore, Grand Secretary of the Grand 
 Lodge of Massachusetts, and a member of the lodge, being 
 about to visit Europe, was authorized to invite the Grand Lodge 
 of Scotland to be present by delegation. At a communication 
 in October, 1855, a committee was appointed with full power to 
 make the necessary arrangements for the festival, and at a sub- 
 sequent communication the lodge agreed to have a jewel pre- 
 pared to be worn for the first time at the anniversary festival. 
 The jewel was made of gold, emblazoned with the cross of Saint 
 Andrew. The anniversary was duly celebrated by the brethren 
 on Saturday, November 29, 1856, in company with a large 
 number of guests, two of whom specially represented the Grand 
 Lodge of Scotland." * 
 
 It is safe to infer that all the lodges named as having received 
 charters from Scotland were induced to make the necessary 
 application to that Grand Lodge because the majority of the 
 brethren who were active in originating them were of Scottish 
 birth or immediate descent. This, as we have seen, was the 
 case with St. Andrew's Lodge, and it w^as certainly the case with 
 St. John's of Norfolk, the centre of a considerable Scotch popu- 
 lation. In 1685, James Blair, a Scottish minister, was sent as 
 a missionary to Virginia, and founded WiUiam and Mary College, 
 of which he was president. He also served as president of the 
 Council of the Colony. When he died, in 1743, the family 
 honours were ably maintained by his nephew, whom he had 
 induced to cross the Atlantic from Scotland, and the son of this 
 nephew, John Blair also, early took an active interest in the 
 Order. He was Master of the lodge at Williamstown and first 
 Grand Master of Virginia. At that time freemasonry was very 
 
 * From The Life of St. Andrew: the Disciple, the Missionary, the Patron 
 Saint, by Peter Ross. New York, 1886. 
 
SCOTTISH FREEMASONRY IN AMERICA. 159 
 
 popular and influential in Virginia — thanks mainly to the char- 
 acter of its Scotch adherents. This was clearly and willingly 
 acknowledged by the late esteemed John Dove, for many years 
 the Nestor of the craft in the Old Dominion State. In his 
 valuable Masonic Handbook, Mr. Dove said : — " The masonry 
 of Virginia was at that time [just prior to the Revolution] in the 
 hands of as talented, as pious, and as firm a set of men as the 
 world has ever seen. These were her ministers, who were 
 generally high-educated Scotsmen; her merchants and mechanics, 
 who were generally prudent, enlightened and methodic Scots- 
 men ; her school teachers, who were her Scotch divines, and 
 who made this occupation tributary to the meagre support which 
 the sparsely settled colony gave them for preaching ; and when 
 we add to this fact the well known devotion of all Scotia's sons 
 to her usages and laws it is matter of little wonder that they 
 should endeavour to teach and diffuse Scotch masonry." 
 
 Among purely regimental lodges in America holding warrants 
 from the Grand Lodge of Scotland, one is said to have been in 
 the 55th Regiment of Foot, and we find this lodge applying, in 
 1762, to the Provincial Grand INIaster of Massachusetts for a 
 charter to be issued to the Provincial troops at Crown Point, 
 which charter seems to have been granted. On May 7, 1783, 
 " sundry Ancient brethren " presented a petition to the New 
 York Grand Lodge, " praying for a warrant for holding a lodge 
 in His Majesty's Loyal American Regiment." This petition 
 was granted, and the lodge became No. 7 on the New York 
 register. This has given rise to the suggestion that these 
 "Ancient brethren " were survivors of the old lodge in the 55th, 
 which had borne for some time the same number. 
 
 The earliest military lodge in the records of the Scottish 
 Grand Lodge was granted, according to Mr. D, Murray Lyon, 
 Grand Secretary, in 1743, by recommendation of the Earl of 
 Kilmarnock, upon petition of some " sergeants and sentinels 
 belonging to Colonel Lees' Regiment of Foot." This regiment 
 has since been given the number, 44th. The regiment was 
 raised in 1741 in England, and had its first experience in actual 
 warfare in the American colonies in 1758. It took part in the 
 expeditions against Ticonderoga, Fort Du Quesne, and Fort 
 Niagara, and the engagements of Long Island and Brandywine. 
 
 Dr. Peter Middleton, who was Deputy Grand Master of New 
 York's Provincial Grand Lodge during the Revolution, was one 
 of the original members of the St. Andrew's Society of the State 
 
i6o SCOTTISH FREEMASONRY IN AMERICA. 
 
 of New York, and its president for three years — 1767-68-69. 
 He was a native of Edinburgh, and graduated in medicine at 
 the university of that city. He settled in New York about 1730, 
 and soon rose to eminence as a physician. In 1750, he, in 
 company with another famous New York doctor of those days, 
 made the first dissection of a body to students, and in the edu- 
 cation of young men for his profession he always took a deep 
 interest. Dr. Middleton wrote several medical works and essays 
 of much value at the time, and appears to have stood as high in 
 his profession in the country as any of his professional contem- 
 poraries. In 1767 he established a medical school in New 
 York, which was soon merged into Columbia (then King's) Col- 
 lege, of which institution he was one of the Governors from 1770 
 to 1780. He died in 1781. 
 
 In 1756 there arrived in the colonies John, Earl of Loudon, 
 Governor of Virginia, and "Commander-in-Chief of His Majesty's 
 Forces in North America." He was a brave soldier, an enthusi- 
 astic Scotsman, and although most of his life was spent abroad 
 in the service of his country, his thoughts were ever with 
 " Loudon's bonnie woods and braes." Wherever he went he 
 selected trees to adorn his ancestral estate, and he was always 
 on the outlook for suggestions in the way of landscape garden- 
 ing by which he might add to the natural beauty of the policies 
 around Loudon Castle. I have before me a copy of a scarce 
 picture of his lordship, in which he is represented in rather a 
 stagey attitude, in full Highland costume, with his drawn clay- 
 more in one hand, and rosetted Kilmarnock bonnet in the other. 
 Judging by this picture, we would suppose him to be a man 
 possessing no very great amount of brains, but with a very great 
 amount of self-conceit, a jolly good fellow, one who did not care 
 a snuff about danger, and this is about what all the histories of 
 the man we have been able to find agree in describing him to 
 have been. His American career was a failure, both in its civil 
 and its military aspects, and he was recalled in 1784. In Britain, 
 however, it was thought that his failure here was rather the 
 result of public clamour than of his own incompetence, and he 
 continued to advance in the service of his country for many 
 years after his American experiences. He died at Loudon 
 Castle in 1782. 
 
 In Freemasonry the Earl of Loudon was an enthusiast, and 
 in 1736 he was Grand Master of England (Moderns). One of 
 the regiment which served under him was the 62nd, " Loyal 
 
SCOTTISH FREEMASONRY IN AMERICA. i6l 
 
 American Provincials." Lord Loudon was its colonel, but as 
 he was a general officer its actual commanding officer was Major 
 John Young, who, in 1752, was Deputy Grand Master of Scot- 
 land, and during his whole life was one of the most active 
 workers in promoting the spread of Freemasonry who ever hailed 
 from the "Land o' Cakes." In 1759 the regiment became the 
 60th Loyal American, and Major Young became its colonel. 
 Two years before, in 1757, he was appointed Provincial Grand 
 Master for all the Scotch lodges in iVmerica and the West 
 Indies. With two such masons as Loudon and Young — both 
 prominent Scots — we may feel certain that Freemasonry not only 
 was represented, but that it was made popular in the regiments 
 and wherever they were stationed. The Loyal Americans had a 
 warrant, but all record of it seems to have been lost. In 1783 
 the then newly established New York Grand Lodge granted it a 
 charter according to the following extract from the minutes of 
 the meeting of June 12th of that year : — 
 
 " This Grand Lodge, being called for the special purpose of 
 constituting Lodge No. 7, to be held in His Majesty's Loyal 
 American Regiment or elsewhere, the petitioners for that lodge 
 presented Brother William to be Master, Brother Anthony 
 Allaire to be Senior Warden, Brother Caleb Fowler to be Junior 
 Warden, who, meeting with the approbation of the Brethren, 
 were installed and invested with their proper jewels, after which 
 the Right Worshipful Grand Master delivered them their War- 
 rant, By-laws, and Book of Constitution, with instructions to 
 meet on the first and third Tuesdays of each calendar month." 
 
 This seems to have been the last evidence on record of the 
 existence of this lodge. The regiment moved away from the 
 vicinity of New York. Certainly it would not continue to work 
 under its New York warrant after the conclusion of peace, and 
 the exaltation of the New York Grand Lodge to sovereign 
 Masonic powers. Colonel Young left America in 1761, and 
 went to the West Indies 
 
 What is supposed to have been the outcome of another regi- 
 mental lodge was that in the 22nd Regiment which received its 
 warrant from the Grand Lodge of Scotland in 1767. The regi- 
 ment was in New York in 1781, and was known as Moriah 
 Lodge. It was one of the five which united to form the Grand 
 Lodge, but outside of that very important bit of service it does 
 not seem to have had much to do with the progress of Ameri- 
 
l62 SCOTTISH FREEMASONRY IN AMERICA. 
 
 can Masonry. The regiment soon afterwards was ordered away 
 from New York lo another scene of usefulness — or carnage. 
 
 The most prominent lodge, however, which, in 1781, took 
 part in the formation of the New York Grand Lodge, was that 
 known as "Lodge No. 169," probably under a warrant of the 
 Grand Lodge of Scotland. This lodge afterward adopted the 
 name of " St. Andrew's Lodge," and continued to be active in 
 New York Masonry until 1827, when its charter was surrendered. 
 
 The origin of this lodge is not exactly known, but it very 
 likely was one of the regimental lodges. It is not known even 
 where it got its original charter, and some Masonic writers 
 mix it up with the St. Andrew's Lodge of Boston. On July 13, 
 177 1, a warrant from the Grand Lodge of England (Ancients) 
 was issued to " Lodge No. 169." Some claim that this is the 
 same lodge that officially received the name of St. Andrew in 
 1786 rather than that working under the Scotch warrant. It is 
 asserted, too, by several writers that the lodge met under its 
 numerical designation in Boston, but this is doubted, and 
 certainly there is nothing on record to prove it, and the general 
 consensus of opinion among Masonic antiquaries is that its first 
 settled home was in New York City. 
 
 A careful sifting of all the data at hand or in existence seems 
 to warrant the following statement as being the most probable 
 solution of the whole matter. 
 
 On the roll of the Grand Lodge of Scotland there is record of 
 a lodge — St. John, No. 169 — at Shettleston, near Glasgow, 
 receiving a warrant in 1771. It is a question whether this had 
 any connection with the Lodge No. 169 which met in Boston, 
 and whose warrant was dated the same year. Gould, in his 
 History of Freemasonry, says: "No. 169 was established in 
 Battery Marsh, Boston, 177 1. This lodge, which is only once 
 named in the records of the Massachusetts Grand Lodge, 
 accompanied the British army to New York on the evacuation 
 of Boston in 1776." On this point Mr. M'Clenachan, the able 
 historian of the New York Grand Lodge, remarks : " Brother 
 Hughes, as well as Brother Gould, inclines we think quite pro- 
 perly to the idea that No. 169 was a field lodge. It is not 
 improbable that the Scottish warrant granted for Shettleston was 
 transferred to an army lodge, and Lodge St. John became in 
 time St. Andrew." Another matter which seems not improbable 
 is that the origin of the St. Andrew's Lodge of New York was 
 
SCOTTISH FREEMASONRY IN AMERICA. 163 
 
 this same regimental warrant, and that it was held by the 42nd 
 Regiment, the famous '' Black Watch." 
 
 The Scottish regiments in New York, from 1770 to the 
 evacuation of the city, were the 42nd, which came here in 1776 
 for a short stay, returned in 1780, spent a winter here, had their 
 headquarters most of the time in Albany, and were in this city 
 some months before the evacuation, November 25, 1783, w^hen 
 they went to Halifax. The 71st (old) was in this city in 1777, 
 and then went South. They had a stirring career in the United 
 States, until they surrendered with Cornwallis at Yorktown. 
 The present 71st Regiment was never in this country. The 
 74th (old) was represented in this city by its grenadier company 
 in 1779, but after a short stay they were ordered to Charleston, 
 and took part in its siege. The 76th (old), or the Macdonald 
 Highlanders, were stationed between this city and Staten Island 
 in 1779, and from here left for Virginia, to surrender in the end 
 with Cornwallis. So far as I have been able to discover, this 
 completes the list. Doubtless many temporary commands were 
 sent over to take part in the great struggle, but such commands 
 would not be likely to apply for or to receive a warrant from any 
 Grand Lodge. 
 
 Whatever the early history of St. Andrew's Lodge here, it 
 seems to have early held an important position in the craft. 
 The first meeting to organize what is now the Grand Lodge of 
 New York State was held in its meeting-room, and its iNIaster, 
 the Rev. William Weaker, was the first Grand Master, and was 
 subsequently re-elected twice, relinquishing it only when duty 
 called him to another field of labour. " For a time," M'Clena- 
 chan says, " the history of this lodge seemed to be that of the 
 Grand body, and it stood pre-eminent under the title of St. 
 Andrews, No. 3, on and after June 3, 1789. In time the Grand 
 Lodge became stronger, and was enabled to walk alone ; the 
 Grand officers were more widely distributed, and, although No. 
 3 continued in its constancy, its excessive influence waned." 
 
 St. Andrew's, however, continued in active existence in New 
 York until December 30, 1830, when the Grand Lodge was 
 notified that it was desirous of surrendering its warrant. The 
 lodge had been meeting in what was then Tammany Hal), and 
 is now the Sim building, at the corner of Park Row and Frank- 
 fort Street, but probably by that time most of the Scotch 
 members had left its ranks. But the Scotch dourness remained 
 as a legacy to those who still constituted its adherents. The 
 
l64 SCOTTISH FREEMASONRY IN AMERICA. 
 
 communication to the Grand Lodge stated that the lodge had 
 no money, property, jewels, or assets of any kind, and that it was 
 free from debt. When, however, the Grand Lodge looked into 
 the matter at its meeting in March, 1835, the Grand Secretary 
 stated that the Grand Lodge dues for some members had not 
 been paid, that some members were unaccounted for, and that 
 the lodge had a very considerable quantity of effects. So the 
 subject was referred to the Lodge of Grand Stewards, a sort of 
 detective lodge of morals and manners, and when its members 
 commenced to institute their inquiry, the lodge survivors flatly 
 told them they did not see what right the Grand Lodge or any- 
 body else had to inquire into what had been done with the 
 private effects of St. Andrew's Lodge. " They desired to state 
 frankly," says M'Clenachan's history, " that after paying all 
 debts, and making donations to the poor of the lodge, they had 
 given all their property to the Institution for the Blind, and 
 directed their books and papers to be destroyed ; and what was 
 done was by a unanimous vote. The Grand Stewards' Lodge 
 having considered the subject, reported to the Grand Lodge 
 that, while St. Andrew's Lodge had not technically violated the 
 Constitution, they had violated the spirit of the Masonic Com- 
 pact, inasmuch as they had given away Masonic funds which 
 had been contributed by Masons for the relief of the Masonic 
 poor, and have left the poor of their own lodge to suffer, some 
 of whom have since been recommended by a part of these very 
 same persons to the Grand Stewards for relief; and they have 
 made a mockery of Masonic charity by giving to an institution 
 for the bhnd the jewels and other Masonic embellishments, 
 which to such an institution can be of no use." In spite of all 
 this, however, old St. Andrew's Lodge was allowed to die in 
 peace. 
 
 As an evidence that Scotsmen were active as Masons and in 
 Masonic work, although the question of their nationality did not 
 come to the front, a glance over the names of the rolls of mem- 
 bers of many of the earlier lodges is sufficient, for even names 
 are, to a very great extent, certain evidences of nationality or 
 race. 
 
 Union Lodge, Albany, probably the oldest existing in New 
 York State, was formed out of the warranted lodge in the 
 Second Battalion Royals, which warrant was granted by the 
 Grand Lodge of Ireland in 1737. The present lodge was 
 organized in 1765, and stood as Union Lodge No. i on the roll 
 
SCOTTISH FREEMASONRY IN AMERICA. 165 
 
 of the New York Grand Lodge when it was first formed. In 
 this lodge, among any amount of downright Dutchmen — fellows 
 with names stubborn enough to crack an ordinary man's jaw — 
 we find in the early records such canny fellows as Donald 
 Cameron, Andrew French, Robert Cochrane, John Blair, 
 Donald Campbell, Andrew Doun, and many of like " kenned- 
 ness." We might as well doubt the existence of the country of 
 Ben Lomond as question the nationality represented by these 
 names. 
 
 The first lodge in Maryland of which there is record was 
 organized in 1750, and its first Master was Dr. Alexander 
 Hamilton, and its first Senior Warden the Rev. Alexander 
 Malcolm, both Scots. In the course of his oration at the 
 centennial meeting of the Grand Lodge of Maryland, Past Grand 
 Master Carter said : " Tradition says there were other and 
 earlier lodges in Maryland, including one called St. xA.ndrews at 
 Georgetown, now in the District of Columbia, formed by the 
 Scotch settlers sometime prior to 1737." One of the early 
 Grand Masters of that State (the fourth) was David Kerr, who 
 was born in Scotland on February 5, 1749. He crossed the 
 Atlantic when in his twentieth year, just as the Revolutionary 
 movement was beginning to make headway, and took sides with 
 the colonists. After independence had been won, he settled at 
 Easton, and prospered in business. He died in 18 14, leaving a 
 family which upheld the credit of his name throughout the 
 State. 
 
 The Grand Lodge of the State of New York was organized, 
 as we have seen, in the meeting-room of St. i\ndrew's Lodge in 
 New York city in 1 781. Its charter was granted by the " Grand 
 Lodge of the most Ancient and Honourable fraternity of Free 
 and Accepted Masons, according to the old constitutions granted 
 by His Royal Highness Prince Edwin at York, anno domini 
 nine hundred and twenty and six, and in the year of Masonry 
 four thousand nine hundred tw^enty and six." This English 
 Grand Lodge was generally spoken of as the " the Ancients," in 
 distinction to another Grand body called the " Moderns," and 
 many a fierce and wordy battle was fought between the two until 
 they united in 1813. 
 
 The New York charter was signed by the Duke of AthoU as 
 being then Grand Master of "the Ancients." This popular 
 Scotch peer was born June 30th, 1755, and succeeded his father 
 as fourth duke in 1774. He died in 1820. He was a public- 
 
i66 SCOTTISH FREEMASONRY IN AMERICA. 
 
 spirited nobleman, raised once a regiment of soldiers — the 
 AthoU Highlanders — for the service of his sovereign, but except 
 in Masonry he sought no public honours. In many ways he 
 proved himself to be a shrewd, far-seeing man. He was the last 
 of the Kings of Man, a dignity which had been in his family 
 for many generations, and sold all his rights and privileges in 
 the island to the British crown for ;^409,ooo. He had sense 
 enough to see that it was only a question of time when the 
 crown would assert direct sovereignty over the island, and when 
 that time arrived it might be doubtful whether the government 
 in office would make any financial allowance at all. For the 
 duke's apparent complaisance in this transaction, he was re- 
 warded by being created Baron Murray of Stanley and Earl 
 Strange in the peerage of the United Kingdom, thus entitling 
 his successors in the dukedom to the hereditary seat in the 
 British House of Lords, which they still enjoy. The duke was 
 also a Knight of the Thistle, and appears to have been much 
 beloved by his tenantry and by all classes with whom he came 
 in contact. In 1773 and 1778-9 he was Grand Master in Scot- 
 land, and in England was Grand Master of the " Ancients " 
 from 1775 to 1781, and from 1791 to 1813, when the union 
 took place. 
 
 The warrant or charter issued in 1781 authorized the Masons 
 in New York to congregate and form a Provincial Grand Lodge 
 in the city of New York. In 1783 the independence of the 
 United States was acknowledged, and with that independence 
 the inchoate, provincial lodge became a sovereign Grand Lodge. 
 I do not propose to enter into its history ; that is being thor- 
 oughly done in the magnificent series of octavos so carefully 
 compiled by Charles T. M'Clenachan and to which I have been 
 indebted for many details. I desire to show, however, that 
 Scotsmen have been so much identified with it that the nation- 
 ality can claim to have done its full share in making it what it 
 is to-day, one of the best organized and progressive organisations 
 of Masons to be found anywhere. 
 
 Of the first Grand Master little is known, except that he was 
 chaplain in one of the regiments ; that he was Master of St. 
 Andrew's Lodge at the time of his elevation ; and that he re- 
 signed his high office because duty called him to another place. 
 That he was highly respected is shown by the various offices to 
 which he was elected by his Masonic brethren, and by the re- 
 solutions of regret which expressed their sorrow at the necessity 
 
SCOTTISH FREEMASONRY IN AMERICA. 167 
 
 of parting with him. In this inchoate Grand Lodge there must 
 have been quite a strong Scotch element, if we may judge by 
 the names of its officials. James M'Cuan (M'Ewan) was 
 Deputy Grand Master, James Clarke Grand Secretary, Archi- 
 bald M'Neill Grand Steward, etc. M'Cuan was succeeded in 
 
 1783 by Archibald Cunningham, and in that year the Grand 
 Treasurer was Samuel Kerr, a representative Scotch merchant. 
 
 The Hon. R. R. Livingstone, who was Grand Master from 
 
 1784 to 1800, was the descendant of an old Scottish family 
 which claims descent from the baronial family of the Living- 
 stones of Linlithgow. Their greatest ancestor, however, was 
 the Rev. John Livingstone, minister of Ancrum. This famous 
 Scotch divine was born at Kilsyth in 1603, and was a leader in 
 the Scottish Kirk until 1663, when he was banished for holding 
 steadfast to his religious convictions, when the " blessed restora- 
 tion " of Charles II. marked the beginning of one of the sad- 
 dest, yet noblest pages in the history of Scotland, that of the 
 persecution of the Covenanters. The minister's son, Robert, 
 settled in America when about nineteen years of age. He ac- 
 quired what was afterward known as the magnificent manor of 
 Livingstone, and founded a family which rendered many valu- 
 able services to the State and the nation. The grandson of the 
 founder, Robert R. Livingstone, was born in New York City in 
 1747; was educated at Columbia (then King's) College; and 
 afterward studied law and adopted that profession. When the 
 Revolutionary troubles broke out he threw himself heart and 
 soul into the patriotic cause, and in 1776 was elected a member 
 of the Continental Congress, and in the new Government was 
 Secretary of State. In 1783 he was appointed Chancellor of 
 New York, and as such admmistered the oath of office to Presi- 
 dent George Washington on the first inauguration of the Father 
 of his Country to that high office. President Jefferson in iSoi 
 sent him to represent the United States at the Court of Napoleon, 
 and there Livingstone successfully carried through the negotia- 
 tions for the transfer or sale of Louisiana from the French. He 
 also deserves to be remembered for the assistance he gave 
 Robert Fulton in experimenting with steam navigation, enabling 
 the latter to produce the Clermo?it, the first steamboat ever seen 
 in American waters. The Chancellor died in 1813. "Gentle 
 and courteous in his manner," says one writer, " pure and up- 
 right in his morals, his benefactions to the poor were numerous 
 
l68 SCOTTISH FREEMASONRY IN AMERICA. 
 
 and unostentatious. In his life he was without reproach ; in 
 death victorious over all its terrors." 
 
 Most of the members of Chancellor Livingstone's family were 
 enthusiastic Masons, and all were proud of their Scotch descent, 
 and took every opportunity of demonstrating that very pardon- 
 able pride. Chancellor Livingstone became a member of the 
 St. Andrew's Society in 1784, and was its President from 1785 
 till 1 79 1. In fact, so exalted were his abilities and his character, 
 and so greatly did he adorn every station in life, that he was 
 chosen as the head of every circle in which he moved. Of all 
 the Scottish families who have helped to build up America, 
 none deserve to be more kindly remembered by Scotsmen than 
 the Livingstones. They did rare service to their adopted coun- 
 try without losing their love and reverence for the land of their 
 forefathers. 
 
 Reference has already been made to Samuel Kerr, who served 
 under Grand Master Livingstone as Grand Treasurer and after- 
 ward as Deputy Grand Master. He was also associated with 
 Livingstone in the St. Andrew's Society, having joined it in 
 1784 and serving as an officer under him for several years. 
 That organization, it may be here stated, was formed in 1756 
 for the purpose of helping natives of Scotland who might need 
 assistance. This work it nobly carries on to the present day. 
 According to its constitution, none but Scotsmen, the sons and 
 grandsons of Scotsmen, or the sons of a member, are eligible to 
 membership, and as these requirements have been carefully 
 adhered to, we may safely claim all who appear on its roll of 
 membership as having been of Scottish race, if not (as is most 
 generally the case) of Scottish birth. Among other members of 
 this national organization whose names figure in connection with 
 the Grand Lodge are : — 
 
 Peter McDougall, who joined the society in 1784, and was 
 Vice-President in 1797. He was Junior Grand Warden in 
 1786-7-8, Se'iior Grand Warden in 1789 and 1790, and Deputy 
 Grand Master in 179 1-2-3-4. 
 
 Peter W. Yates, who was Master for many years of Union 
 Lodge, Albany, and was Senior Grand Warden from 1784 to 
 1788. His name appears on the roll of the St. Andrew's Society 
 for 1785, when he joined as the "Hon. Peter W. Yates." 
 
 William Malcolm, Deputy Grand Master 1789 and 1790, was 
 treasurer and secretary of the society from 1772 until 1774, 
 when its records were interrupted on account of the Revolution- 
 
SCOTTISH FREEMASONRY IN AMERICA. 169 
 
 ary troubles. In 1785, when the war was over, he served for 
 several years as one of the Vice-Presidents and was designated 
 as " Gen." 
 
 William Maxwell, Grand Treasurer 1787-8 (two terms), was 
 several times elected one of the Vice-Presidents of the society. 
 
 James Scott, Senior Grand Warden 1795-6-7, was a manager 
 of the society, and in 1791 and 1792 was its secretary, succeed- 
 ing in that capacity Robert Lenox, founder of the family to 
 whom New York owes the Lenox Library, the Presbyterian 
 Hospital, and many other public benefactions. 
 
 The most noted of the early Scottish-American officials, how- 
 ever, was Cadwallader D. Golden, who was Mayor of New York 
 in 1818, 1819, 1820. Like most of his family he was a member 
 of the St. Andrew's Society, joining it in 1795. The founder of 
 the family in this country was Cadwallader Golden, a native of 
 Dunse (where his father was a minister), who was Deputy 
 Governor and actual ruler of the state for nearly 15 years prior 
 to the Revolution. After that he retired to a farm on Long 
 Island and died, it was said, of a broken heart. Mayor Golden 
 was as staunch an American as his grandfather was loyal as a 
 Royalist. He was a zealous advocate for the prosecution of the 
 war of 181 2, and bitterly denounced any movement that seemed 
 to aim at bringing the struggle to a close, by giving way to any 
 of the British contentions. He was an enthusiast, too, in the 
 promotion of inland navigation, and ably seconded the efforts 
 of De Witt Clinton for the construction of the Erie and Cham- 
 plain Canals. As Mayor, he proved a brilliant executive, and 
 was active, not only in every scheme intended to promote the 
 commercial welfare of the city, but its progress in all other 
 directions. His professional training as a lawyer aided him 
 greatly in his administrative career, especially as he devoted 
 particular attention to commercial law. 
 
 We might, in this way, go over the records of the Grand 
 Lodge down to our own time and find Scotsmen in the front 
 ranks of the institution, furthering the cause of Masonry and 
 spreading abroad the beneficence of Masonic light. Perhaps 
 the most noted example of recent years is that of Mr. William 
 A. Brodie, a native of Kilbarchan, who was Grand Master in 
 1884, after having filled the offices of Junior and Senior Grand 
 Warden and Deputy Grand Master. So it will likely continue 
 to the end, or so long as the craft holds fast to the high standards 
 of truth, equality, and morality, which have in the past made for 
 
 L 
 
170 SCOTTISH FREEMASONRY IN AMERICA. 
 
 it friends among all who have at heart the progress of the world 
 toward the highest ideal of human happiness, and who believes 
 in the great and powerful and essential aid of fraternal co-opera- 
 tion to enable that ideal to be attained. Fraternity and union, 
 along the lines taught by Freemasonry, are as practical means 
 toward bringing about the poet's dream of a golden age, as have 
 yet been put in operation by human agencies. 
 
A Sainted New-England 
 
 Family. 
 
 It is the fashion now-a-days to mention the name of Cotton 
 Mather with a sneer, and to speak reproachfully of his credulity, 
 his cruelty, his ignorance, and his superstition. His very name 
 has become a synonym for blind zeal and religious bigotry, and 
 in an editorial article in a newspaper recently we read a long 
 statement about " intolerance in the New-England States," 
 having " its origin in the family of which Cotton Mather was the 
 most noted representative." When an idea like this gets abroad, 
 it is difficult to remove or correct it. Charges of ignorance and 
 bigotry are easily made, and one writer follows in the lead of 
 another without taking the trouble to investigate the truth or 
 untruth of the matter. Flippancy is a vice which prevails 
 among writers as well as among public speakers, and it is easy 
 to direct the shafts of ridicule at a good man whose life and 
 actions are swayed simply by a desire to follow out the precepts 
 of his faith as literally as possible, and sarcasm can more deftly 
 frame an epigram or round a paragraph than a word of com- 
 mendation. When the memory of Cotton Mather first began to 
 be assailed, the eminence of his character and the value of his 
 life-work were not ignored, but with each succeeding generation 
 the commendable features were thrust more and more into the 
 background, while the angularities and extravagances (according 
 to modern notions) became prominent in the same degree. 
 Now, Cotton Mather is regarded in the popular mind as a 
 morose, cranky, narrow-minded, illogical, witch-burning, bigot, 
 and all the New-England Mathers are put down as of the same 
 stripe. 
 
 The very opposite is the case, however. Certainly Cotton 
 Mather, his grandfather, father and son, and the rest of his 
 family whose names and works are known to us, said and wrote 
 things which, had they been alive to-day, they would neither 
 
172 A SAINTED NEW-ENGLAND FAMILY. 
 
 have spoken nor written. They all respectively reflected the 
 spirit of the age in which they lived, and in no degree were 
 ahead of it. Their faults, therefore, were the faults of their 
 times, and should be overlooked, while their simple faith, their 
 stern advocacy of the truth, their perseverance, their courage, 
 their honesty, their industry, their patriotism, and their devotion 
 to Christ's Crown and Covenant, ought to have given them a 
 precious place among the sainted memories of New England, 
 and, at least, win for their names honoured homage in "the 
 Land of the Covenant " itself. 
 
 The founder of this family, so far as New England was con- 
 cerned, was Richard Mather, who was minister at a small place 
 in Lancashire called Toxteth Park. He was settled there for 
 over fifteen years prior to 1634, and was noted for his scholar- 
 ship, his charity, his independence of thought, and his habit of 
 openly reproving sin wherever he found it, without regard to his 
 own popularity. It was, however, a dangerous time in England 
 for religious liberty. Mather soon became a marked man, and 
 was involved in the troubles which were showered upon 
 Nonconformist ministers. As a preacher, he was noted for 
 soundness rather than eloquence. His discourses were long, 
 and, as usual, very prolix in their reasoning. He believed in 
 dividing a sermon into five heads, and then adding " finally," 
 " to conclude," " to sum up," " in conclusion," and " one word 
 more, my brethren." Some one has said that the enemies of 
 the Nonconformists were unable to follow the thread of their 
 sermons, and so regarded every sermon divided into heads as 
 suspicious, if not seditious. However that may be, Richard 
 Mather's discourses were not satisfactory to the authorities in 
 power, and his troubles and vexations determined him, when he 
 was suspended for nonconformity in 1634, to seek that religious 
 peace and toleration in New England which were apparently lost 
 issues in the southern portion of Great Britain. So he crossed 
 the Atlantic, and reached Boston with his family in August, 
 1635. Next year he was chosen minister of a church at Dor- 
 chester, in Massachusetts, and laboured there with much 
 acceptance until his death in 1669. 
 
 It was at Dorchester, in 1637, that Richard Mather's cele- 
 brated son, Increase, was born. Being destined for the 
 ministry, Increase Mather was carefully educated by his father, 
 and completed his studies at Trinity College, Dublin. Con- 
 tinuing in Great Britain after his graduation, he preached for 
 
A SAINTED NEW-ENGLAND FAMILY. 173 
 
 some time in Devonshire ; but the passage of the Act of 
 Uniformity convinced him that there was no use in contending 
 for rehgious toleration or equality in the old country, so he 
 returned to America and became pastor of the North Church in 
 Boston. Soon after being thus settled, he married a daughter 
 of the Rev. John Cotton of Boston — another clergyman who 
 had found religious sentiment in England too intolerant. In 
 1684 Increase Mather was made Principal of Harvard College, 
 and in that position he rendered many valuable services to the 
 cause of education, and received the degree of Doctor. He was 
 an industrious man, and it used to be said of him that he 
 "understood everything except idleness." He was always doing 
 something " for the Master " — preaching in the pulpit, writing 
 in the study, planning new schemes for the spread of the Gospel, 
 and zealous in all the duties of citizenship. Increase Mather 
 thus gradually rose to a position of influence and prominence 
 such as no other New England clergyman enjoyed. This was 
 seen in 1687, when King James's declaration of religious liberty 
 of conscience was received in New England. Many of the 
 congregation drew up addresses of thanks to the King, and 
 Increase Mather was chosen as their delegate to present them, 
 and in other ways to advance their interests. He embarked for 
 Britain in April, 1688. While he was there, the Revolution of 
 1688 (which placed William of Orange on the throne) took place, 
 and the new Government gladly consulted Dr. Mather about 
 America, and followed his advice — just as it consulted Dr. 
 Carstares about Scotland. Dr. Mather's course in the delicate 
 transactions of the time was so satisfactory to his constituents in 
 New England that on his return a day was set apart for solemn 
 thanksgiving. As an author. Dr. Mather was very popular, but 
 probably few people, excepting literary antiquaries, ever read 
 now any of the eighty works bearing his name, or are even 
 aware of their titles. Who, however, can calculate the amount 
 of good which this man did in his day and generation, and who 
 can contend that even after the lapse of a couple of centuries 
 this good is not still productive? 
 
 The central figure in the third generation of the family was 
 Cotton Mather, the eldest son of the famous Increase. He was 
 born in Boston in 1663, and after graduating at Harvard be- 
 came his father's colleague in charge of the North Church, 
 Boston, in 1684. Throughout his life he was a diligent student, 
 was particularly fond, as a recreation, of studying modern 
 
174 A SAINTED NEW-ENGLAND FAMILY. 
 
 languages, and, among others, became an expert in Iroquois 
 Indian. The keynote of his career may be said to lie in the 
 fact that he believed a minister should be as active in secular as 
 in sacred affairs. He did not see how the two could be separ- 
 ated. He did not believe that religion ought to be confined to 
 Sundays, or to the Meeting-house, but considered that it should 
 be an essential element in the government of the people and 
 enter into their homes and pleasures. This was John Knox's 
 theory, and the great Scottish Reformer strove to put it into 
 practice. It was the theory of his successors in the Scottish 
 Church, and they endeavoured also to put it into practice. It 
 was mainly because Mather was adapting Knox's theory to New 
 England — he could see no other way of secular government 
 consistent with the teachings of the inspired Book — that led to 
 his intense veneration for the Scottish Kirk. It was also a 
 unanimity of sentiment and a desire for aiding their mutual 
 strength in the way of comparing notes, thoughts, experiences, 
 and illustrations that led to a delightful interchange of letters 
 between Woodrow, the Scottish Church historian and antiquary, 
 and others in Scotland, and Cotton Mather. These letters are 
 extant to-day. Many of them have been printed, and they are 
 yet delightful reading for their piety, their hopefulness, their 
 suggestiveness, and their sterling honesty. The theory of Knox, 
 of Rutherford, of Livingston, of Woodrow, of Mather, about the 
 essential unity of all religious and secular affairs is still the 
 theory of modern preachers, but few endeavour to put it into 
 practice, and some even decry what they call "the sacrilege of 
 dragging religion into politics." 
 
 The craze against witchcraft in New England was at its height 
 in Cotton Mather's time, and, as he was a believer in it, he 
 zealously engaged in the work of extermination. In this he was 
 not alone. He published a book on witchcraft, which was not 
 only endorsed by all the ministers in Boston, but was reprinted 
 in Britain with an introduction by the famous Nonconformist 
 Richard Baxter, who declared its arguments "thoroughly con- 
 vincing." The trouble was, that while Mather was no more 
 intolerant than any of his contemporaries his prominence made 
 him more noteworthy. The crusade against witchcraft was 
 marked by much cruelty, but Cotton Mather never imagined for 
 a moment that he was cruel or unjust, although, long after the 
 craze had passed, he thought that in some instances their zeal 
 might have carried them too far. His active interference in 
 
A SAINTED NEW-ENGLAND FAMILY. 17S 
 
 political matters raised him many enemies, but there was a good 
 deal of the fighter in him, and he appears to have accepted 
 abuse, defeat, and even obloquy, as matters of course. In his 
 way he was ever striving to improve the religious, moral and 
 social conditions of his fellow beings. He was one of the 
 earliest advocates of vaccination here, and was the first native 
 of this country to be elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of 
 London. As an author he was as voluminous as his father, and 
 while some of his writings attracted wide attention many never 
 received the dignity of print, and still remain in manuscript 
 among the treasures of the Massachusetts Historical Society, 
 and in other collections. He died in 1728. 
 
 The fourth generation found a fitting representative in Dr. 
 Samuel Mather, who, as an author and preacher, was for half a 
 century a prominent figure in Boston. The work by which he 
 is best known is a life of his father, Cotton Mather, one of the 
 most interesting books ever published in this country. 
 
 Thus in succession one family furnished four men who de- 
 serve to rank as "Princes in Israel," and their common name 
 should ever be remembered, not only in New England, but 
 throughout the country, with veneration and respect, instead of 
 with levity and ridicule, as is now so often the case. 
 
Edgar Allan Poe. 
 
 There is not to be found on this broad earth a more pitiable 
 spectacle than a human soul so warped and twisted by mere 
 animal excesses that it has lost nearly all the spirituality which 
 it was endowed with when it was first fitted to enter on the battle 
 of life, and has little left beyond what is of the earth, earthy. 
 And yet, pitiable as the spectacle is, it has become so common, 
 especially in the larger cities of the world, that we are too apt to 
 pass it by without thought or comment, or at most, with a shrug 
 of the shoulders, Pharasaically thanking God that we are not 
 like other men. It is not always rum which causes a human 
 being to lose his spirituality. A man may live in a palace, be 
 attired in purple and fine linen, and have at his command all 
 that money or credit, or both, can control, and yet be as repre- 
 sentative an animal as his brother man who grovels in a cellar, 
 and sneaks through the slums. The vices which crush and blot 
 out the soul are many, and present themselves in every direction, 
 often in even the most innocent and alluring disguises, but any 
 one of them is strong enough to do its deadly work, to transform 
 a human being into a brute, and to make the soul, which came 
 upon this earth as pure and sparkling as the snow that lies on 
 the hillside on a Christmas morning, so foul and corrupt as to 
 be unworthy of the name of soul any longer. But when dissipa- 
 tion is the vice, its course is so plainly seen, its progress so 
 evident, its curse so complete, its end so certain, and its ravages 
 so widespread, that it appears greater in its devilish malignity 
 than all the others combined. We can follow it so easily in its 
 movements, from the time that it begins its work as an " appe- 
 tiser," " a social glass," or a remedy for petty worries and cares, 
 until it sends its victim, a helpless wreck, to the grave, leaving a 
 long, serpent-like trail of sorrow, tears, and lamentations, to 
 mark the drunkard's course on the earth, and a sigh of relief 
 instead of a tear the most fitting farewell at the tomb. The 
 more noble, the more exalted, the more finely strung, the more 
 
EDGAR ALLAN POE. 177 
 
 delicately attuned the soul, the more rapid and the more com- 
 plete the fall, and hence it is probably that when men of genius 
 — poets, whose works have proven that they possessed the very 
 highest form of spirituality which can be vouchsafed to mere 
 mortals ; artists, whose creations on canvas or in marble are 
 wondrous in their perfection and design ; and men of letters, 
 whose writings are so full of real life that the lapse of centuries 
 find them as fresh, as interesting, and as full of meaning, as 
 when they were first penned — commence to tamper with the 
 finer sensibilities and faculties with which they have been 
 endowed, they are less able than coarser men to stand the hate- 
 ful contamination, and their lights are darkened for ever, just 
 when they should have shone with their purest and brightest 
 radiancy. In another article I have spoken of the evils which 
 the drinking habit has wrought among the poets of Scotland, 
 and of the loss which the literature of that country had sustained 
 by the triumph of the " social glass " over genius. But Scotland 
 is not the only country which has suffered in that way. 
 
 Brief as American literary history is, however, it furnishes us 
 with one genius of the highest type — a poet who should have 
 held rank with the foremost of the immortals, a man whose life 
 should almost have been as a glimpse of the life above, for the 
 finer and nobler qualities which endow mankind were his to an 
 unusual degree, but who so antagonized those very qualities 
 that his whole career was a hell, and brought sorrow and misery 
 to all who were in any degree connected with him. In him 
 wine thrust out an angel, and left instead a devil, and that devil 
 never ceased its hateful work until the poor, frail body it 
 animated was lowered into its grave in the little burial plot that 
 surrounds Westminster Church in Baltimore. 
 
 I question much, whether there be in any literature a sadder 
 story than that of Edgar Allan Poe. From first to last it pre- 
 sents to us a man in the toils of the tempter, scarcely ever 
 making a real effort to free himself. It shows us a heart, 
 naturally warm and kindly, grow callous and cold even to those 
 nearest and dearest to it. It shows us a man in whom ingrati- 
 tude became so strongly developed that it spurned those who 
 had the most truly befriended him ; a man of fine fancies 
 grovelling with the grotesque and repulsive ; a brain diseased, a 
 spirit darkened ; and, above all, it shows us a human wreck, a 
 stately craft full of the most beautiful lines and graceful contours, 
 ballasted with the most precious messages, which like the mur- 
 
178 EDGAR ALLAN POE. 
 
 murings of a shell come to us from the unseen world, lying 
 stranded on the shore of life, as wretched, battered, gnarled, 
 twisted, and contemptible a bulk as might remain from the 
 wreck of a mud boat. It is not an inviting study, but it is a 
 necessary one, for a knowledge of the shoals and pitfalls of 
 literature is imperatively required to enable us to appreciate its 
 broad bounding streams, magnificent highways, and mountain 
 heights. 
 
 Edgar Allan Poe was born in Boston in 1809. His parents 
 were strolling players, and ere the poet was three years old they 
 were both dead. Along with an elder brother and a younger 
 sister, all of whom were left without any provision, Edgar was 
 for a time cared for by kind friends whose charity was touched 
 by the children's helplessness and misfortune. Edgar was a 
 beautiful boy with winning manners, and soon these so won the 
 fancy of Mr. John Allan, a wealthy gentleman from Richmond 
 Va, that he took the boy into his own house. So far as can be 
 learned, Mr. Allan intended simply to befriend the child, to 
 educate him and give him a good start in life, but the lad some- 
 how thought otherwise, and imagined that he was the destined 
 heir to all the wealth which his protector possessed. When he 
 conceived that the role of a pampered son of wealthy parents 
 was the most proper and fitting one for him to play, he developed 
 it to the utmost. In 181 7 Mr. and Mrs. Allan visited England, 
 and taking Edgar along with them, placed him in the private 
 school of the Rev. John Bramley at Stoke-Newington, a seminary 
 which was attended only by children whose parents or guardians 
 were of the wealthy classes. When they returned to the United 
 States Edgar was placed in a school at Richmond, and remained 
 there until he attained his 17th year, when he entered the uni- 
 versity at Charlottesville Va. There the evil within him for the 
 first time assumed the mastery, and, according to his biographer, 
 Dr. Griswold, he became a drunkard, a rake, and a gambler. 
 Some of Poe's p.dmirers deny the two first charges, but the third 
 is supported by so much evidence that even those who look 
 upon Poe as an angel have to admit its truth. He remained at 
 the university only one session, and during that time his gamb- 
 ling debts reached such proportions that even Mr. Allan, 
 generous and kind as he was, refused to pay them, and Poe 
 quitted his hospitable house, voluntarily withdrew from his 
 friendship and protection, and took refuge with an aunt, Mrs. 
 Maria Clemen, then living in Baltimore. There he first saw his 
 
EDGAR ALLAN POE. 179 
 
 cousin Virginia, his future wife, then a winsome little child of 
 some six years. He published a volume of his poems at this 
 time, but the venture brought him no pecuniary return, and he 
 was literally a burden on his widowed relative, whose slender 
 resources hardly sufficed for the wants of herself and her child. 
 Poe did not bestir himself in any practical way to earn his own 
 living, but wandered round the book-stores and literary haunts 
 of the city in the guise of a man of letters, waiting, like Micaw- 
 ber, for something to turn up. In 1829 he learned that Mrs. 
 Allan, the wife of his former benefactor, was dangerously ill at 
 Richmond, and he hastened there in the hope of seeing her. 
 But he was too late for the good lady — one of the kindest 
 friends he ever had, passed away before he reached her bedside. 
 His visit, however, had the effect of reconciling him to Mr. 
 Allan, and that gentleman's influence secured the poet a cadet- 
 ship at West Point. The ball of fortune was again at his feet, 
 and another of life's opportunities lay before him. For a while 
 he was an enthusiastic cadet, and attended to all the irksome 
 duties of that nursery of soldiers with commendable diligence, 
 but his evil genius in time regained the mastery over him, and 
 he was dismissed from the academy in disgrace. Notwithstand- 
 ing this, Mr. Allan received him again into the house, and was 
 looking about for some other sphere of usefulness for the poet, 
 when the latter announced his intention of getting married. As 
 Poe was penniless and without any immediate prospect of being 
 able to earn a living, Mr. Allan remonstrated very severely and 
 candidly with him. The result was another quarrel, when Poe 
 again left his benefactor's house, never to return. Soon after- 
 wards Mr. Allan married again, and ere long had a son of his 
 own, to whom he bequeathed his estate when he died in 1834. 
 
 Poe had now to begin in reality the hard battle of life. It 
 proved a grim struggle, full, however, of promising opportunities, 
 every one of which was wantonly cast aside. He again threw 
 himself into the household of his aunt, Mrs. Clemm, and wrote, 
 for various newspapers and magazines, many of those weird 
 stories which are still read on both sides of the Atlantic. He 
 won considerable reputation by these efforts, and in 1836 re- 
 ceived the appointment of Editor of the Southern Literary 
 Messenger. This necessitated his taking up his abode once 
 more in Richmond, but before leaving for that city he married 
 his cousin Virginia. In Richmond his love for the wine-cup 
 became so pronounced that his admirers do not attempt to deny 
 
i8o EDGAR ALLAN POE. 
 
 that intemperance had gained such a hold upon him as to con- 
 trol his career. It is singular how people will try at all times 
 every pretext and every artifice to avert any suspicion of the 
 mastery of rum, when of all the vices which prostrate and 
 degrade humanity it is the most certain to invite, nay, demand, 
 publicity sooner or later. In its earlier stages drunkenness has 
 no better preventative than publicity, for before a man has 
 become a confirmed inebriate and glories in his cups, while his 
 mind yet retains its native sense of dignity and is able to argue, 
 and think, and conceive, while its natural desires for improve- 
 ment and influence and power remain, then is the proper time 
 to show him plainly the nature of the road upon which he is 
 travelling and the terrible abyss which lies at the end of it. 
 Publicity in the early stages of a drunkard's career will make 
 him ashamed of being a victim, and that very shame may be 
 the means of making him pause, and perhaps turn away for ever 
 from the foul enchantress who has hitherto guided his steps. 
 With regard to Poe, we are asked to condone his drunkenness 
 because very little made him drunk ! Nathaniel Parker Willis, 
 one of the kindest and purest of America's literary men, says — 
 " With a single glass of wine Poe's whole nature was reversed ; 
 the demon became uppermost, and although none of the usual 
 signs of intoxication were visible, his will was palpably insane." 
 Another writer, a much loved Scottish-American poet — the late 
 Thomas C. Latto of Brooklyn — in commenting on this, takes 
 courage in the defence of the poet and says — " Whatever his 
 lapses might have been, whatever he might say of himself, the 
 American poet never was a sot." This is about the strangest 
 reasoning which ever emanated from men possessed of reason- 
 ing power. Mr. Willis virtually acknowledges that Poe was a 
 drunkard, but asks us to think lightly about it, as he was not a 
 heavy drinker ! We might as well say a man should be excused 
 for murder, because he only struck a single blow. We do not 
 judge men by what they do as much as by the result of what 
 they have done. The principle of the power of steam was in 
 many brains before that of James Watt, but he turned it to 
 practical account, and to him belongs the glory of discovery. 
 Men go through life mentally conceiving pictures which, if trans- 
 ferred to canvas, would make them immortal, yet men of lesser 
 ability produce ordinary painting and win renown. In every 
 churchyard mute inglorious Miltons rest the last long sleep, 
 while more ordinary singers warble forth their trivial lays and 
 
EDGAR ALLAN POE. i8i 
 
 are enshrined among the poets. Drunkenness is none the less 
 drunkenness, whether it is produced by a single glass or an 
 entire demijohn. The condition and the result are the same, 
 and the ruin is alike complete. As to the reasoning which 
 would have us agree that Poe, although a drunkard with many 
 lapses, never was a sot, it must be regarded as weaker still, even 
 although it was enunciated by a Scot to whom logic is one of 
 the national characteristics. A sot is simply a drunkard, what- 
 ever way we regard him, and a drunkard is inevitably a sot, for 
 the phrase really means one whose mind is weakened, stupified, 
 or besotted with drink. Sots are sometimes sober. We see 
 them tramping along our highways, sleeping in our parks, 
 begging at our doors, shuffling along our streets, herding in our 
 cellars and in the recesses of our wharves, perfectly sober, but 
 sober only because they lack the means to obtain drink. That 
 was the condition into which Poe had sunk ; henceforth he was 
 sober only when necessity compelled sobriety, and any success 
 meant only an outbreak of debauchery and riot. 
 
 In 1837, Poe had to retire from his editorship, as the pro- 
 prietor could no longer entrust the management of his property 
 to a man who day after day became more and more incapable 
 of managing himself. So he removed with his child and wife 
 to New York, and supported himself by writing for the New 
 York Quarterly Review. While here he published his wonderful 
 story " The Adventures of Arthur Gordon Pyn," but its success 
 was slow. In 1838 he removed to Philadelphia, having secured 
 a position as one of the staff of writers on the Ge?itlema7i's 
 Magazine. As a prose writer his greatest triumphs were won at 
 this time, and among the many literary enterprises of the Quaker 
 City he might have secured steady employment even if he had 
 not carried off the honours of his profession. But intemperance 
 doggedly followed his footsteps, often embittered his pen, 
 clouded his critical faculties, and lost him friend after friend. 
 When he found all sources of employment closed to him he 
 thought of doing something for himself, or in other words, as he 
 had not proved a capable servant he imagined he might be a 
 super excellent master, and he made arrangements for issuing a 
 magazine of his own. His genius commanded the co-operation 
 of a partner with the necessary capital to launch the concern, 
 and, armed with funds from this source, the poet proceeded to 
 Washington, for the purpose of trying to secure the names of 
 members of the Cabinet and other personages of national 
 
i82 . EDGAR ALLAN POE. 
 
 reputation as partners, writers or patrons of the new venture. 
 In Washington, instead of pressing his business he got drunk, 
 and his condition became so outrageous that a mutual friend 
 wrote to the partner in Philadelphia, frankly stating the case 
 and asking that he (the partner) should go on to Washington 
 and convey the poet back to his home. This of course broke 
 up all the arrangements for the Magazine and Poe again became 
 a casual writer for the periodicals. He also tried lecturing, and 
 delivered one lecture in Baltimore, but the effort although 
 intellectually a treat was not financially a success. 
 
 The last stage in the journey of this ill-starred son of genius 
 commenced in 1844 when he returned to New York. He tried 
 again to settle down to literary work, got rooms in a frame 
 building at the corner of 84th Street and St. Nicholas Avenue 
 and, very possibly, tried to reform, for the pleadings and tears 
 of his young wife, who was evidently fast passing away from 
 earth, seemed to make him pause in his mad rush towards ruin. 
 In that same year he wrote his wondrous poem " The Raven," 
 and received for it about a couple of pounds, a small sum truly, 
 for such a magnificent piece of real heart-wrung poetry, but it 
 was better for Poe to receive such a trifle than to be burdened 
 with money, for it was only while poverty stood guard at the 
 door that the poet could keep the demon of drink from crossing 
 the threshold. He contributed to most of the New York 
 periodicals of his time, stories, essays and criticisms, although 
 at intervals his pen was so savage in the last-named compositions 
 that even he was afterwards ashamed of their malignity. But in 
 spite of such blemishes Poe's writings were gladly accepted. 
 In his tales he showed a degree of skilful analysis of character 
 such as no other writer in America has equalled, his essays were 
 always interesting, and his criticisms were generally truthful, 
 outspoken and correct. His language was always chaste and 
 beautiful, his powers of expression seemed to be without any 
 limit, while as a word painter, a writer of descriptions, whether 
 of murder or religion, persons or places, he possessed a charm 
 which invested even the most trivial occurrences as well as the 
 most important with the glamour of poetry. In October 1845 
 he became proprietor of a magazine called The Broadway^ 
 but after a reign of barely three months he was glad to relinquish 
 it. His habits were too unsteady to permit him to undergo the 
 necessary amount of diligent plodding labour which such a 
 publication required, and he fell back once more on the fitful 
 
EDGAR ALLAN POE. 183 
 
 irresponsible position of a casual writer. In his home his wife 
 and her mother suffered the agonies of poverty, and the aged 
 woman saw her beloved child gradually waste away before her 
 eyes for the very lack of that nourishment and medical attend- 
 ance which her ailment required. The love which those two 
 women bore to the poet is the only redeeming feature of his 
 life's history, the only thing that keeps it from being a dreary, 
 darksome story of the wilful descent of a human being into 
 perdition. They pled with him, urged him, prayed for him, 
 coaxed him and caressed him, but their womanly hands were 
 too weak to throw off the gaunt sinewy clutches of the demon, 
 who was luring him to his doom. 
 
 In the spring of 1846, the poet removed his household to 
 Fordham, and took possession of a cottage which still stands, 
 and is visited by hundreds of persons every year, who are 
 attracted to it as the home of a man of genius, but to Edgar 
 Allan Poe it was the saddest of all the houses which had yet 
 sheltered him. He had barely settled in it ere the angel of 
 death began to hover over it, and as his powers for work became 
 impaired through watching at the sick bed of his wife and the 
 natural result of his own excesses, the sufferings of the inmates 
 must have been intense, from actual want as well as from pain 
 and anguish. The drunkard's home is never a very enviable 
 one, and Poe must have fully realised what its terrible reality 
 meant during the closing months of that year. A visitor to the 
 cottage in those sad winter months writes, " The autumn came 
 and Mrs. Poe sank rapidly into consumption and I saw her in 
 her bed chamber. The weather was cold and the sick lady had 
 the dreadful chills that accompany the hectic fever of consump- 
 tion. She lay on the straw bed wrapped in her husband's great- 
 coat with a large tortoise-shell cat on her bosom. The wonder- 
 ful cat seemed conscious of her great usefulness. The coat and 
 the cat were the sufferer's only means of warmth, except as her 
 husband held her hands and her mother her feet. Mrs. Clemm 
 was passionately fond of her daughter, and her distress on 
 account of her illness and poverty and misery was painful to 
 see." 
 
 Through the kindness of this visitor a subscription was started 
 to relieve the distress of the family. In a short time 60 dollars 
 were placed in Mrs. Clemm's hands, and in the New York 
 Express an appeal to the public charity was made on the ground 
 that the poet and his household were without the actual neces- 
 
l84 EDGAR ALLAN POE. 
 
 saries of life. Early in January, 1847, ^is wife died. Her 
 sojourn on earth was an unhappy one, and but for the great 
 love and sheltering arms of her mother she would have passed 
 away long before. She was a winsome girl, innocent, affec- 
 tionate, and confiding, but the awful shadow of her husband's 
 life crushed her heart. 
 
 For a time Poe seemed crushed by the calamity, and it re- 
 quired careful nursing on the part of Mrs. Clemm to pull him 
 through. In January, 1848, he wrote to N. P. Willis that he 
 had determined to re-establish himself in the literary world, and 
 asked for that kind friend's aid in his endeavour. Next year he 
 went to New England and lectured in Boston and elsewhere 
 without winning any pecuniary success. Indeed his behaviour 
 in Boston was such as to make him decidedly unpopular. He 
 became engaged to be married to a lady in Providence, but, 
 fortunately for her, the match was broken off, although for what 
 particular reason it is impossible in justice to say as the stories 
 regarding it are so contradictory. But this much is certain, she 
 knew he was a victim to drink, that he was one of a set of 
 dissolute men, and that on one occasion at least, he visited her 
 house when intoxicated. She knew perfectly well of his failings, 
 saw him — heedless of reproof or argument or persuasion — • 
 deliberately continue in his vice, and such knowledge certainly 
 was sufificient to justify her in refusing her hand, even if she 
 knew nothing worse, as it is said she did. In the summer of 
 1849 Pos returned to Richmond, having secured a position on 
 Southern Literary Messenger^ on which he had been engaged 
 some twelve years before. After three months residence in 
 Richmond he started for a visit to the North, intending to take 
 his mother-in-law back with him to his new home. But he 
 stepped off at Philadelphia, fell in with old associates, and got 
 drunk. His last escapade was in Baltimore, whither he had 
 stopped on another excursion to the North to bring Mrs. Clemm 
 to Richmond to witness his marriage to a lady to whom he had 
 become engaged. While in the depot at Baltimore he met a 
 friend who persuaded him to take a drink, with its usual result 
 of mental derangement. The train went on its way with the 
 poet on the verge of delirium, but the conductor, knowing 
 he had friends in Baltimore, carried him only as far as his 
 journey went and then brought him back to the city. When 
 reeling about the streets he fell into the hands of some political 
 rowdies, who gave him more drink, and he was finally carried 
 
EDGAR ALLAN POE. 185 
 
 to the Washington University Hospital, where on the 7th Octo- 
 ber, 1849, he breathed his last. Inflammation of the brain had 
 set in from the action of the liquor, and from that malady there 
 was no chance of escape. A short time before he died, as he 
 lay stretched on his cot in the hospital ward, the physician in 
 charge asked him if he would take some wine. The dying man 
 opened his large piercing eyes to their fullest extent, and, gazing 
 stedfastly into the doctor's face, said, with an awful anguish, 
 " Sir, if its potency would transport me to the Elysian bowers of 
 the undiscovered spirit I would not taste it, — I would not taste 
 it. Of its horrors who can tell." 
 
 The words of a dying man are to be respected and believed, 
 and there can hardly be any doubt that when Poe uttered this 
 condemnation of rum he was perfectly earnest and sincere. But 
 would such a sentiment have coloured and shaped his future 
 had a new lease of life been vouchsafed to him ? Death-bed 
 repentance is an easy thing, but somehow the world does not 
 place great value upon it. As the old rhyme says — 
 
 " When the devil was sick 
 
 The devil a saint would be ; 
 When the devil was well 
 The devil a saint was he." 
 
 When a drunkard is full of whiskey it is easy for him to deter- 
 mine and vow to be henceforth an abstainer. When the body 
 is saturated with rum, and the strained stomach is surfeited by 
 its load, and the brain begins to be benumbed beneath the strain 
 to which it has been subjected, it requires no effort for a man 
 to declare that henceforth he will drink no more, and that riot 
 and he have parted company for ever. So, too, when a man is 
 brought face to face with death, and the old life is fading away 
 before the awful nearness of the future, when the tired frame is 
 incapable of really doing either good or evil, it is easy to say, 
 *' I will be good and sin no more." If we may judge Poe by 
 his own life history, his own weakness, his own wayward dis- 
 position, the ease with which he sunk into drunkenness, and his 
 continued devotion to his cups, and compare his case with 
 others, we may safely judge that he would have continued on in 
 his old ways, unless a higher than human power had come to 
 his aid, as it has come, and will come, to all who humbly, but 
 earnestly, implore it. 
 
 The life work of this unfortunate genius, so far as it has come 
 down to us, bears ample testimony to the greatness of his endow- 
 
 M 
 
l86 EDGAR ALLAN POE. 
 
 ments, but, by what we have, we cannot adequately realise the 
 position in literature he wantonly threw away. For he has left 
 only a few fragments, precious jewels without setting, just sufifi- 
 cient to let us know that a brilliant star has appeared in our 
 firmament only to be dashed into atoms by coming into contact 
 with some baneful meteor. His poems are full of exquisite 
 rhythm, hardly equalled in our day by Swinburne, the great 
 modern master of the English language in poetry. His poetry 
 overruns with beautiful thoughts, a luxuriousness, almost Eastern 
 in its style, pervades all his lines, and a sort of mediaeval 
 mysticism hangs everywhere around them. Poe was not one of 
 nature's poets. He could not sing like Wordsworth of a fresh 
 dashing mountain torrent, or lilt, like Burns, a song to the daisy, 
 or philosophise on the panting form of a frightened mouse. But 
 he looked at life as though from a cloister, and loved to gather 
 inspiration away from the haunts of men among the ruins of a 
 former time, with the sensual and unhealthy fancies of an 
 oriental dreamer. With rum as his besettmg sin, and a full 
 knowledge of his weakness and of the hardships which it brought 
 upon himself and those nearest to him, it is singular that he 
 should never refer to it in his writings, either condemnatory, 
 regretfully, or with a promise of reformation, as other men of a like 
 stamp would have done. Only once in his prose writings, in his 
 story of "William Wilson," do we find anything at all approaching 
 to a confession of sin. In that story, which is regarded as being 
 in a measure autobiographical, the hero is followed by his own 
 better spirit which tries to shield him from wrong-doing. Wilson 
 however spurns the intervention of the attendant embodiment 
 and finally gives it a mortal wound ; as it lies dying before him 
 it says, " You have conquered and I yield. Yet, henceforth art 
 thou also dead, dead to the world to heaven and to hope. In 
 me didst thou exist, and in my death, see by this image which 
 is thine own, how utterly thou hast murdered thyself." And 
 truly, in his early years, Poe completely smothered all that was 
 good and noble and pure in himself, and walked through life 
 almost without a conscience or even the supporting arm of a 
 saviour, a God. Long after these words were written he penned 
 the most beautiful of all his poems, that of " The Raven," and 
 its sad burden of "never-more," seems, one would almost think, 
 to be a dirge of regret for the good spirit which had been killed 
 in early life, and which, like the seed " what might have been " 
 
EDGAR ALLAN POE. 187 
 
 of ordinary humanity, awakens a pang of regret even in the most 
 debased soul — 
 
 " And the raven, never flitting, still is sitting, still is sitting 
 On the pallid bust of Pallas up above my chamber door. 
 And his eyes have all the seeming of a demon's that 'tis dreaming, 
 And the lamp-light o'er him streaming, throws his shadow on the floor, 
 And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor, 
 Shall be lifted — nevermore." 
 
 In the whole study of Poe's life only one bright human vision 
 comes before us — a poor, weak, loving aged woman, who simply 
 knew how to do her duty, and who did it. That was the mother 
 of his wife, the nurse of his own many illnesses, the councillor 
 whose words carried weight with him when other human words 
 were of no avail. Drunkard as he was she never forsook him, 
 never wavered in her motherly love for him, never forgot that 
 he had a soul to be saved as well as a soul which might be saved, 
 and her care and watchfulness in time brought their reward and 
 have given her a place among the women whose names are im- 
 mortalised in American history. We care not to know what 
 manner of a woman she was, whether she was quarrelsome, vain, 
 or avaricious, or anything else, enough for us to know that she 
 did what she thought was right, that to her care we are indebted 
 for much of what Poe has bequeathed to us, for beyond doubt 
 she prolonged his life and thus gave him the opportunity to 
 write nearly all for which the world will hold him in remem- 
 brance. 
 
American Songs and 
 Song-Writers. 
 
 Students of American literature for several years past have 
 found a pleasant relaxation from graver and more important 
 themes, in trying to discover the first American song, and 
 although much has been written on the subject, the discovery 
 has not yet been made. It has been found, however, that a 
 song was written to celebrate some local event at Pasonagessit, 
 in New-England, in 1632. The literary value of the composi- 
 tion was of the most trifling order, but it was a real folk-song, 
 and its date gives a starting point, for the present at all events, 
 to the history of such productions in the literary annals of the 
 United States. That gives it a degree of significance in the 
 literature of the country far more important than its intrinsic 
 merits warrant. 
 
 That there were earlier songs, or ditties, there is no doubt, 
 although it is questionable if they were very numerous, or would 
 now be deemed to possess any value, excepting in an antiquarian 
 sense. Such songs as were sung by the Spanish, or other 
 discoverers, or by the Dutch settlers, were doubtless of the most 
 rude, fragmentary, or ephemeral description, and unworthy of a 
 place in any literature. Among the Puritans song-singing was 
 deemed as idle, if not as sinful, an amusement as dancing, and 
 a writer of ballads would have been frowned upon with the 
 utmost severity, if not absolutely frozen out of the community 
 in which he dwelt. Life, present and future, was a serious 
 matter to these good people, and idle frivolities of any kind 
 found little favour in their eyes. If a man or woman felt inclined 
 to sing, he or she could chant the praises of their Creator. That 
 was the orthodox Puritan idea of singing, and however we in the 
 present, more enlightened, and much less straight-laced age. 
 
AMERICAN SONGS AND SONG-WRITERS. 189 
 
 may differ from them in their views in this respect, as in most 
 others, we must admit that their strict notions, narrow-minded- 
 ness, and honest sincerity, laid the foundations of one of the 
 most perfect Commonweahhs in the world. 
 
 But under the restrictions of the Puritans, and the so-called 
 Blue Laws of their descendants throughout New-England, and 
 in the face of the troubles, excitements, and dangers of which 
 the Revolution of 1776 was but the central point, song-writing 
 could not and did not thrive. About the only survivor of this 
 long era is " Yankee Doodle," the air of which seems to have 
 been of British origin. As for the words, no one can tell 
 exactly how they originated, or how often they have been altered 
 and remodelled before they assumed their present form. The 
 earliest version we can trace, probably came into existence about 
 1755) aiid one of its verses was : — 
 
 *' Father and I went down to camp, 
 Along with Captain Gooding, 
 And there we see the men and boys 
 As thick as hasty pudding." 
 
 Many people, in spite of the silly words which are even to-day 
 popularly associated with it, claim that " Yankee Doodle " is 
 the national anthem of America. Doubtless if the words were 
 only really worthy of being sung, instead of being arrant and 
 undignified trash, it would be, for the air seems to possess 
 re echoes of that aggressiveness, impulsiveness, self-conscienti- 
 ousness, and that happy-go-lucky spirit of going right ahead 
 under all conditions and circumstances, which are all so thor- 
 oughly characteristic of the American people. The absence of 
 appropriate words has been admitted to be the only drawback 
 to the earlier acceptance of " Yankee Doodle " by the nation. 
 Hardly a year passes that some writer, more or less endowed 
 with the art of poesy — if not with its genius — does not attempt 
 to supply the want by writing a set of words to accom.pany the 
 air, and so give it an acknowledged place among the national 
 songs of the world. This is an honourable and laudable ambi- 
 tion truly, but somehow none of these efforts has, as yet, pos- 
 sessed that undefinable essence, that nameless " something " 
 which would cause it to be taken into the hearts of the people. 
 Perhaps the best of these attempts, strange to say, is the work 
 of a native of Edinburgh, Mr. William Macdonald Wood, who 
 has resided in Brooklyn for many years and is editor of one of 
 the leading newspapers in that city. Two of its verses read — 
 
190 AMERICAN SONGS AND SONG-WRITERS. 
 
 " With a thousand tongues we come 
 
 In one anthem blended ; 
 Faction's feeble voice is dumb, 
 
 Ancient feuds are ended. 
 Gothic force and Gaelic fire 
 
 Mingling here unhindered ; 
 One and all we hail thee, sire, 
 
 Clasping hands of kindred. 
 
 Hail to thee, America ! 
 
 Lift thy banner stainless ; 
 Land of freedom, land of law, 
 
 Kingless land and chainless. 
 Lo ! the nations far that bear 
 
 Brand of fetters feudal, 
 Lift their hearts in hope to hear 
 
 The song of Yankee Doodle ! " 
 
 The war of 1812 gave rise to a considerable number of songs, 
 only one of which is now really worthy of consideration. It has 
 been accepted by many, provisionally, thanks to its spirited air, 
 and its undoubted patriotic sentiments as America's national 
 air, and so will continue until " Yankee Doodle " is fitted with 
 a dress that will at once please the popular fancy and captivate 
 the critics, or until a yet unknown genius writes words for " Hail 
 Columbia " that will not be too high strung to be truthful or, as 
 is very likely, some one will write and some one compose a new 
 anthem that will at once take its place in the affections of the 
 people and drive the then already mentioned from their promi- 
 nent positions. Of course the song which the war of 181 2 pro- 
 duced, the " Star-spangled Banner," possesses undoubted merit 
 in spite of its theatrical qualities and its illogical references to 
 the " hireling and slave " in a country that contained many thou- 
 sands of the latter for years after the " foul footsteps " of the 
 country's foes of 181 2 had ceased to trouble the "heaven- 
 rescued land." But the song typifies the American flag, and at 
 the sight of that beautiful emblem of a nation every honest heart 
 in the United States thrills with pride. From a literary stand- 
 point the second stanza of the song is superior to that of any 
 contained in the national songs belonging to any other country 
 which possesses such belongings. It is a painting in words : — 
 
 '* On the shore dimly seen, through the mists of the deep, 
 Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes, 
 What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep, 
 As it fitly blows, half conceals, half discloses ? 
 
AMERICAN SONGS AND SONG- WRITERS. igi 
 
 Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam, 
 In full glory reflected now shines on the stream. 
 'Tis the star-spangled banner ! O long may it wave 
 O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave." 
 
 The writer of this song, Francis Scott Key, was a lawyer in 
 Maryland, and had a lucrative practice in Frederick City. He 
 was for several terms District Attorney of Washington and held 
 high rank as a jurist until his death, in Baltimore, in 1847. He 
 may be regarded as one of the single-poem poets, for though a 
 volume of his verses was published in 1857 it added nothing to 
 his fame and has long since been forgotten. " The Star-spangled 
 Banner," in spite of its faults, is a real poem, full of fire, of 
 action and of colour. It was written on an actual incident, and, 
 mainly, when the author was completely under the influence of 
 that incident. To use an illustration from the studio, Key had 
 a live model for this piece, while his other productions were 
 studies from lay figures. And so the latter are forgotten while 
 the former still lives and arouses day after day a feeling of 
 patriotic ardour whenever it is sung in the land, over which the 
 banner it enshrines holds sway. 
 
 " Hail Columbia," which might be called the semi-official 
 national air of the States, as it was very frequently at one time, 
 and still is to a considerable extent, played by the bands on 
 official occasions, but no one ever now attempts to sing it either 
 on the stage or in private life. It was written in 1798 by Joseph 
 Hopkinson, a famous lawyer of his day in Philadelphia. The 
 music to which the words are wedded were composed by a 
 German orchestra leader in America, and was originally known 
 as "The President's March." But for the music, Hopkinson's 
 words would have been forgotten the day after they were first 
 heard in Philadelphia. They were written for an actor, as an 
 attraction for his benefit, and would have fully served their pur- 
 pose when the curtain fell on the entertainment. 
 
 The only other American song that has been to a very con- 
 siderable extent adopted as a national ode is the hymn bearing 
 the name "America," and there seems no doubt of its having 
 attained full acceptance had it not been for the air to which the 
 words were written, and to which they are yet sung — "God Save 
 the Queen." The author. Dr. Samuel F. Smith, was born at 
 Boston in 1808, and died in that city in November 1895. He 
 was a classmate at Andover of Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes, and 
 the two men during their long and pleasant lives entertained the 
 
192 AMERICAN SONGS AND SONG-WRITERS. 
 
 most pleasant relations. Dr. Smith became a Baptist minister, 
 and as such his career was a useful and devoted one. In litera- 
 ture he was a busy worker, and it is said that more than a 
 hundred hymns came from his pen, several of which, notably 
 the one beginning "Morning Light is breaking,'' are destined to 
 preserve their vitality. But the memory of the good old man 
 will, we think, ever command a place in American literature 
 through the popularity of his "America." It is a simple, yet 
 grand, patriotic without boastfulness, and over every line hovers 
 that spirit of religion which is deeply imbedded in the hearts 
 and thoughts of all true Americans, and has more or less 
 coloured all the real institutions of the country : — 
 
 " Our father's God— to Thee, 
 Author of liberty. 
 
 To Thee we sing ; 
 Long may our land be bright 
 With freedom's holy light — 
 Protect us by thy might, 
 
 Great God, our King." 
 
 Writing a short time before his death of the history of the 
 hymn which alone has made his name stand out prominently in 
 American literature, Dr. Smith made public the following de- 
 tails : — 
 
 "On a dismal day in February, 1832, looking over one of 
 these [German hymn books] books, my attention was drawn to 
 a tune which attracted me by its simple and natural movement, 
 and its fitness for children's choirs. Glancing at the German 
 words at the foot of the page, I saw that they were patriotic, and 
 I was instantly inspired to write a patriotic hymn of my own. 
 Seizing a scrap of waste paper, I began to write, and in half an 
 hour, I think, the words stood upon it substantially as they are 
 sung to-day. I did not know at the time that the tune was the 
 British ' God Save the King.' I do not share the regret of those 
 who deem it an evil that the national tune of Britain and 
 America is the same. On the contrary, I deem it a new and 
 beautiful tie of union between the mother and the daughter, one 
 furnishing the music (if, indeed, it is really English) and the 
 other the words. 
 
 "I did not propose to write a National hymn. I did not 
 think that I had done so. I laid the song aside, and nearly for- 
 got that I had made it. Some weeks later I sent it to Mr. 
 Mason, and on the following Fourth of July, much to my sur- 
 
AMERICAN SONGS AND SONG-WRITERS. 193 
 
 prise, he brought it out at a children's celebration in Park Street 
 Church in Boston, where it was first sung in public." 
 
 All over New England, and indeed all over the country, 
 '' America " has been accepted as a national ode — as a national 
 expression — and its recognition is yearly being extended. It is 
 played by musicians on national occasions just as " God Save 
 the Queen " is given in Great Britain. But the objection to the 
 air is still very great, especially where the " Irish vote " is a con- 
 sideration, and every now and again leads to a sharp discussion. 
 A writer in one of the New York dailies, a patriotic American 
 writer — who very likely hails from Cork or Limerick — recently 
 contributed to the discussion the following diatribe : — 
 
 "We have been singing 'God Save the Queen' as our 
 national hymn for more than half a century simply because it 
 was published in a down-East tune book, T/ie Boston Academy, 
 and called ' America, National Hymn.' Ever since The Boston 
 Acade77iy was published, in 1836, the American people have 
 been singing at all of their festivals Britain's national air, ' God 
 Save the Queen,' which a little more than a century ago was 
 insultingly sung in the streets of New York by our most bitter 
 enemies, the soldiers of that hated monarch, King George, at 
 which time Victoria had not ascended the throne, and the tune 
 was known as 'God Save the King.' 
 
 " At all our national conventions, as soon as the nomination 
 is made, this stereotyped phrase is always flashed over the wires : 
 ' The nomination was made unanimous, and the band played 
 " America." ' Thus, in nominating a candidate for President of 
 our great republic, we borrow the national air of a monarchy to 
 enliven the Convention. On our centennial birthday, Jan. i, 
 1876, we celebrated the looth anniversary of our freedom from 
 the British yoke by singing the British national air everywhere 
 from Maine to California, simply because it was called 'America ' 
 in the tune book. 
 
 "The New York Schuetzen Corps visited Germany in 1885, 
 and were entertained in Berlin by Emperor William on the 
 Fourth of July, and much to the astonishment of the Germans 
 they sang the American national hymn to the music of ' God 
 Save the Queen,' which is known all through Europe, if it is not 
 so known here, as the English national air ; and at our Washing- 
 ton centennial, in 1889, the German chorus in Madison Square 
 sang ' America,' and the multitude, thinking the air was the 
 American national hymn, joined in the singing of the English 
 
194 AMERICAN SONGS AND SONG-WRITERS. 
 
 national anthem while celebrating the centennial of Washington. 
 And thus we entwine the British national air, ' God Save the 
 Queen/ into all our great historical and political events, even 
 when we are celebrating the downfall of the British, as on the 
 Fourth of July, when 'America' is sung in all the village 
 churches." 
 
 This fairly represents the feelings of the noisy few who object 
 to the nationalization of the hymn on account of its air, but in 
 spite of the objection the American people seem to look at the 
 matter from the author's kindly and truly patriotic and Christian 
 standpoint, and his view will prevail, and national honour con- 
 tinue to be paid to his lines, until some still more acceptable 
 words and music shall be evolved. 
 
 The question of an appropriate national air has been a dream 
 among the musicians, as well as having suitable rhymes among 
 the poets, and the evolution of such a composition was for years 
 the artistic dream of the late Patrick S. Gilmore, the greatest 
 and most popular of American bandmasters, who was born in 
 Dublin in 1839, and died in St. Louis, while on a professional 
 tour, in 1892. He made several efforts, and honestly thought 
 he had solved the problem when he completed and played in 
 public the composition to which he gave the name of " Colum- 
 bia." It was certainly well received, and was not without merit 
 from an artistic point of view, but no one who ever heard it 
 could fail to notice that it awoke echoes and recollections of 
 " Rule Britannia," and a non-professional auditor might well be 
 pardoned for the remark, actually made, that, unconsciously 
 perhaps, the entire production was based on the stirring notes 
 of that grand air. Gilmore used his abundant opportunities to 
 create a degree of popularity for his work, but failed, and since 
 his death it has not been heard on any occasion. His memory 
 as a composer will be longer preserved in the popular mind by 
 his airs to "When Johnny comes Marching Home," and "Good 
 News from Home," both of which were very great favourites in 
 the stirring times of the Civil War. 
 
 Apart from national efforts, one of the earliest of the real 
 American songs still retains its popularity to the present day, 
 and is in fact more truly popular now than it ever has been — 
 that is, the touching poem — it can hardly be described as a 
 pure lyric — of " The Old Oaken Bucket," which has long been 
 a favourite on both sides of the Atlantic, and is now, unoffici- 
 ally, the anthem of temperance societies and workers wherever 
 
AMERICAN SONGS AND SONG-WRITERS. 195 
 
 the English language is known or the principles of temperance 
 are inculcated. Strange to say, the writer of that song was not 
 by any means an advocate of temperance, or at any time a 
 particular believer in water as an aid in quenching thirst. He 
 was a printer to trade, had considerable literary ability, but, if 
 all stories are true, would have furnished a fine illustration to a 
 modern temperance advocate as a " horrible example." The 
 following story has been told of the origin of the song. One 
 hot day, in the summer of 18 17, Wood worth went to his home 
 in Duane Street, New York, and, having nothing stronger at 
 hand, drank a glass of water. Setting down the vessel, he 
 remarked to his wife, "That tastes good, but how I wish I could 
 drink just at this minute from the old oaken bucket on my 
 father's farm." His wife replied, " What a poem could be written 
 on that theme." Woodworth thought for a few moments, and 
 then, taking up his pen, began to shape the verses which are his 
 sole claim to remembrance. It is right to say that there are 
 other stories about the origin of the song, but this one seems the 
 most correct. At all events, it is the kindliest to the memory of 
 the author. The poem did not become popular until some time 
 after, when it was wedded to a melody composed by Kiallmark 
 for " Araby's Daughter." The words and music seemed actually 
 written for each other. Woodworth was a man of considerable 
 literary and poetic ability, but though his poems have been col- 
 lected and published, none have touched the popular fancy like 
 the one in which he recalled his early days on the farm. In 
 fact, but for its popularity, his other productions would not have 
 been deemed worth collecting at all, even if his name had 
 continued floating in a dim, rather disagreeable sort of way, in 
 the local literary history of New York city. 
 
 Woodworth's partner in the ownership of the New York 
 Mirror^ George P. Morris, was the author of several songs which 
 had considerable popularity, but only one of which has survived 
 till our time and bids fair to retain its popularity. This is the 
 lines beginning " Woodman, spare that tree," a sentimental pro- 
 duction of the wholesome sort, and said to have had its origin 
 in the author seeing an old tree on a farm on which he had 
 been reared about to be cut down. It awakens early recollec- 
 tions wherever sung and so reaches the hearts of thousands, and 
 that alone ensures its preservation. In a popular song some 
 chord must be struck in the heart of the multitude, and a line 
 or a word may do it. If we attempt to sit down and analyse 
 
196 AMERICAN SONGS AND SONG-WRITERS. 
 
 in cold blood some of the most popular lyrics of the world we 
 often fail to find anything in them to warrant their wide accept- 
 ance and might wonder how others written by famous poets 
 have failed to win equal popularity. But if the song touches 
 some inner spring in the human heart it goes to the heart and is 
 there treasured, no matter how halting its lines or apparently 
 how insipid its language or commonplace its theme. But this 
 song of Morris's has poetic merit, its sentiment is elevated from 
 beginning to end, its language is chaste and its rhythm perfect. 
 In many respects the most popular of all American songs, 
 " Home, Sweet Home," was written by John Howard Payne 
 when a wanderer from home and country. Payne was born in 
 New York in 1792 and educated for a mercantile career. The 
 failure of his father led to his adopting the stage as a means for 
 earning a livelihood, and he made his first appearance as 
 " Norval " in Home's play of " Douglas " in the old Park 
 Theatre, New York, in 1809. In 18 13 he went to England 
 and as the *' American Roscius " made his bow from the stage 
 of Drury Lane as " Norval." As a player he was deemed re- 
 spectable, but that was all, and he was soon battling with for- 
 tune as an author, actor and playwright, and meeting unequal 
 success. He produced a number of plays which have long since 
 been forgotten, with the exception of " Clari, or the The Maid 
 of Milan," and that is remembered simply because in it occurs 
 the song which has been " sung round the world," the *' auld 
 lang syne" of America, the "land of homes." After a hard 
 experience with the world Payne was appointed United States 
 Consul at Tunis in 1841, and held that office until 1845, when 
 he was recalled. In 1851 he was re-appointed to the post and 
 died at Tunis in the following year, an " exile from home." On 
 the whole, Payne's career in Europe was not a financial success. 
 He was even, according to his own account, often reduced to 
 the direst poverty, and in the sunset of his life he wrote patheti- 
 cally to a friend in the United States : " How often have I been 
 in the heart of Paris, Berlin, London, or some other city, and 
 have heard persons singing or hand-organs playing ' Home, 
 Sweet Home,' without having a shilling to buy myself the next 
 meal, or a place to lay my head." The song which has pre- 
 served his name has since been adopted by the world, one of 
 the few, very few, real anthems which may be said to have cap- 
 tured the human heart, and it will keep his memory greener and 
 and dearer than though he had added an epic to the world's 
 
AMERICAN SONGS AND SONG-WRITERS. 197 
 
 wealth of literature. There is nothing so tenacious of life as a 
 real song. An epic might win praise from critics and students 
 and be accorded, after the first novelty had worn off, an honoured 
 place on our critical annals, but a song like " Home, Sweet 
 Home," finds its surest, safest and sweetest resting-place in the 
 hearts of the people. There it is safe from the changes which 
 come to literature as regularly, if not as often, as to the milliner. 
 
 The recognized, or rather the generally accepted, leading 
 poets of the United States have contributed very little to its 
 popular minstrelsy, with the exception of Longfellow, whose 
 *' Bridge " is still sung by sentimental damsels on both sides of 
 the Atlantic, while his " Village Blacksmith " continues to exer- 
 cise the lungs of every " basso profundo " in the Old and New 
 Worlds. Neither of these, however, can be classed as great 
 songs, they are convenient as words for musical exercises and 
 that is all by which their popularity is maintained. Poe, 
 Holmes, Lowell, Whittier, or Whitman have, notwithstanding 
 their undoubted genius for song, failed to give us one real lyric 
 which has won the popularity of " Home, Sweet Home," to 
 measure such popularity by an American standard. This, how- 
 ever is nothing new in literature, nor is it to be wondered at, for 
 even if we do not admit that poetry is all art, we must acknow- 
 ledge its indebtedness to art, while the lyrical gift is nature's 
 benefaction pure and simple. A song may owe much of its 
 grace to art, but the indebtednesss must never be visible, and 
 the sentiments, the emotions, must be stirred, not the eye and 
 the ear or the fancy. It takes a strange depth of passion, of 
 sensitiveness, a wonderful feeling of fraternity \vith our fellows 
 to utter words which they will henceforth take up and utter as 
 though they were their own, and that condition comes but 
 seldom to men. Even Robert Burns did not always find in 
 himself the strange power to interpret the sentiments of the 
 people. Nor did Beranger his French follower. The gift is rare 
 even in those who have proved themselves gifted. When an Ameri- 
 can sings "The Star-Spangled Banner," he does not think of it 
 writer, of the circumstances in which the song was written, or of 
 its literary merits or demerits. He feels he is only giving utter- 
 ance to thoughts and sentiments that burn within him, that 
 have full possession of him, which are his completely and 
 wholly. 
 
 The greatest master of American minstrelsy, and with the 
 exception of Payne's single effort the writer of the most popular 
 
198 AMERICAN SONGS AND SONG-WRITERS. 
 
 songs the country has produced, is a poet whose claim to poesy 
 is, somehow, not yet fully recognized in his native land. This 
 was Stephen Collins Foster, a Pennsylvanian, who was born 
 in 1826, and died, penniless, in an hospital in New York, on 
 January 18, 1864, after a varied and often sad career. In the 
 American anthology, So?igs of Three Centuries, compiled, or said 
 to be compiled, by John Greenleaf Whittier, the good old 
 Quaker poet, we do not find a single specimen of Foster's 
 writings, and the same omission may be reported of other 
 " standard " collections of American poetry. And yet Foster 
 wrote songs that have set more people singing than any others 
 that have yet been written, except those by the master singer of 
 the world — our own Robert Burns. 
 
 It is safe to say that many of Foster's songs will retain their 
 freshness and their charm as long as the language lasts, or until 
 human nature and human sentiments develop into something 
 very different from what they are now. " Old Folks at Home," 
 or "Way Down upon the Swanee River," as it is generally 
 known now, is in itself a gem, brilliant and flawless enough to 
 confer immortality on any poet. It has been sung in college 
 and in hall, in opera-house and concert saloon, hy pri??ia doima 
 and amateur, and never fails to touch the tenderest emotions of 
 its auditors. Foster was a voluminous writer of songs, some of 
 which were inferior compared with others — that is to say, his 
 genius flowed in irregular currents, but none of his pieces show 
 any signs of laboured effort. He seized upon an idea, chrystal- 
 lized it, as it were, and gave it expression without thought of its 
 value, its literary possibilities, or its improvement. Indeed, 
 many of the most popular songs of this wayward and unfortun- 
 ate man was written on fragments of wrapping-paper in the rear 
 of a little grocery store in New York. He was ever in the 
 depths of poverty, while the world was being made brighter and 
 happier by his efforts. Everything nearly that he wrote caught 
 the popular fancy, and " My Old Kentucky Home," " Come 
 where my Love lies Dreaming," " Nelly was a Lady," " Old 
 Uncle Ned," and " Old Dog Tray," are a few of the names 
 of those which became equal favourites on both sides of the sea. 
 Of the last-named, it is said that more than 125,000 copies were 
 sold in eighteen months. 
 
 But Foster did more than write songs. He laid the founda- 
 tion of a native minstrelsy for the land of his birth, and if that 
 minstrelsy is to continue to assume anything like due proportion 
 
AMERICAN SONGS AND SONG-WRITERS. 199 
 
 and standing in American literature, it must be on the lines he 
 unconsciously and unheedingly laid down. Americans will 
 never give much more than lip-honour to mere heroes of 
 romance. The basis of the national character is practicability, 
 and whatever treats of home, the domestic affections, the joys 
 and sorrows — not of the classes but of the masses — will find a 
 ready welcome. It is that sentiment that has caused Jeanie 
 Deans to be the favourite of all Sir Walter's Scott's characters 
 among American readers, and that has made the nation take 
 more lovingly to Robert Burns than to any other poet not born 
 among them. In fact, there are many similarities between 
 Burns and Foster, and one of the most noted is that both estab- 
 lished their country's minstrelsy, and gave it not only character 
 but direction. Since Foster's day, American writers of songs 
 have been very numerous, and a generous percentage of their 
 productions will continue in time to come to swell any antho- 
 logy that may be published. But no matter what may be in 
 store in the future, the position of Stephen CoUins Foster as the 
 High Priest of American song seems assured. 
 
 The War of the Rebellion did not add as much as might be 
 expected to the standard song literature of the country, though 
 it evolved a vast amount of poetry, lyrical and otherwise. Mrs. 
 Julia Ward Howe's p^an, " The War Song of the Republic," 
 is a magnificent outburst : — 
 
 *' In the beauty of the lilies Christ was born across the sea, 
 With a glory in His bosom that transfixes you and nie, 
 And He died to make men holy, let us die to make men free, 
 
 While God is marching on. " 
 
 With all its grandeur, however, of thought and sentiment, it 
 touched the feelings only of the politicians and philosophers, 
 and the orators and women, who remained at home during the 
 conflict, rather than the hearts of the men who braved the snock 
 and danger of battle at the front. With the usual perversity, 
 according to merely critical and aesthetic ideas of human nature, 
 the soldiers found more inspiration, amusement, and satisfaction 
 in such strains as "John Brown's Body," which they twisted, 
 adapted, and paraphrased in a thousand ways, and in keeping 
 with whatever object they had in view, or whatever excited their 
 interest, admiration, or condemnation, at the moment. That 
 was the fate, too, of many other high-strung productions intended 
 to express the sentiments of the soldier, or to put sentiments in 
 their mouths. The men engaged in actual warfare would have 
 
200 AMERICAN SONGS AND SONG- WRITERS. 
 
 none of them. Their thoughts were of home, of their com- 
 rades, of the country's flag, and while they got as much fun out 
 of the situation as possible, their susceptibilities were keenly 
 open to its pathos, only the fun and the pathos must have some- 
 thing real for its foundation. Root's song, "Just before the 
 Battle, Mother," started many a tear, and caused many a brave 
 heart to sink for a time, while such really beautiful lines as 
 George H. Bowker's " Dirge for a Soldier " would arouse no 
 more than a passing thought. Their own danger, their fatigues, 
 and wants, did not depress the soldiers on either side in that 
 awful conflict, but turn their thoughts to home and the loved 
 ones, and the heroes became as tender-hearted as children. 
 
 One of the earliest of the writers of " War Songs," Henry 
 Clay Work, was born in Connecticut in 1832. His father soon 
 afterward moved West, and settled for a time in Illinois. He 
 was a staunch Abolitionist, and in 1841 was sentenced in 
 Missouri to twelve years' imprisonment for assisting runaway 
 slaves in their flight for liberty. Henry C. Work learned the 
 printing-trade, and spent his spare time in studying poetry and 
 harmony. It was not until the outbreak of the war that he 
 became known as a song-writer, but soon after that his success 
 and his fame were something phenomenal. He is credited with 
 the authorship of over 100 songs, and fully 25 per cent, of the 
 whole was sung all over the land. " Marching through Georgia " 
 has been called the anthem of the war, and is still as popular as 
 when it was first sprung on the public, although the war has 
 long since passed into history. " Kingdom Coming " also 
 proved a favourite, and songs which had no bearing on the con- 
 flict, such as " Lilly Dale " and " My Grandfather's Clock," were 
 as popular in London as in New York. In 1865 Work visited 
 Europe, and on his return went into a fruit raising speculation 
 in New Jersey, which turned out disastrously. Then he devoted 
 himself to musical composition. He was an inventive genius, 
 and among other things patented a knitting machine, a walking 
 doll, and a rotary engine, but none of these things won him as 
 much fame or as much money as his single song " My Grand- 
 father's Clock," which yielded him, it is said, $5000 in royalties. 
 He died at Hartford, Connecticut, in 1884. 
 
 The poet-laureate of the war was undoubtedly George F. 
 Root, whose " Tramp, Tramp, Tramp, the Boys are Marching " 
 was sung in every camp, and enlivened the tedium and the toil 
 of many a weary movement. " The Battle Cry of Freedom " 
 
AMERICAN SONGS AND SONG-WRITERS. 201 
 
 was equally popular, and these and his other war songs would 
 have won him an honourable place in American literature when 
 the art of song writing is regarded at its popular value in that 
 country. But his lyrics were not all inspired by the war, 
 "Rosalie, the Prairie Flower," "The Hazel Dell," "The Old 
 Folks are Gone," and many others were sung in cabin as well as 
 around camp-fire, and wherever the English language is spoken, 
 while the airs were popular enough to become monotonous when 
 they were heard over two continents ground out by hand-organs 
 or discoursed by itinerant brass bands. Root was a composer 
 of a high order, and his cantatas, such as " The Flower Queen " 
 and " The Haymakers," deserve to be heard more frequently 
 than they now are — in his own country at least. His life was 
 a pleasant and happy one. For a long time he resided in 
 Boston, and was successful there as a teacher, while after he 
 took up his residence in New York he not only extended his 
 clientage in that profession but was looked upon as a leader, an 
 authority in all matters pertaining to music. In 1852 he was 
 one of the faculty of the first musical conservatory in New York. 
 He removed to Chicago in i860, and from the university of that 
 city he received the degree of Doctor of Music in 1870, and was 
 held in deserved honour by the musical community there as 
 well as by all to whom his genius as a lyrical writer and ability 
 as a composer was known. His death took place in August, 
 1895, at Bailey's Island, Maine, while on a visit among old 
 friends and scenes in his beloved New England. 
 
 Another New England song-writer was Jesse Hutchinson, one 
 of the once famed Hutchinson family of singers, who were noted 
 for their pronounced anti-slavery principles as well as for their 
 musical abilities. Jesse, who died in 1894, was the writer of 
 such pieces as "The Old Granite State," " The Slave Mother," 
 " Uncle Sam is Rich Enough," and " The Slave's Appeal," all of 
 which at one time created a furore whenever sung. But that time, 
 happily, has long since passed away, and with it the condition 
 which gave life to most of Hutchinson's songs. But they should 
 not be forgotten, for they did grand service to the cause of 
 liberty and of humanity in a time when even the suspicion of 
 being tainted with abolitionism exposed people to danger and 
 sometimes, in places, to ruin. These productions and many 
 like them will hold a place in all collections of American song, 
 and their position will be guaranteed by their own intrinsic 
 
 N 
 
202 AMERICAN SONGS AND SONG-WRITERS. 
 
 merit, and declared honourable by the circumstances in which 
 they were composed and sung. 
 
 It would be strange if a specimen of the ubiquitous Scot did 
 not turn up in this connection as in most others in the United 
 States, and so we find James Lorraine Geddes, an Edinburgh 
 man, claiming a prominent place among the writers of American 
 war-songs as the author of " The Soldier's Battle Prayer," " The 
 Stars and Stripes," and several others. Geddes had a most 
 varied career. Born in Auld Reekie in 1829, he accompanied 
 his father to Canada in 1837. He became a seaman, but got 
 tired of life on the raging main, and while in Calcutta enlisted 
 in the Royal Artillery. For his services under Sir Colin Camp- 
 bell he got a medal and clasp, and on leaving the British army 
 he returned to Canada, and after a time found himself the 
 colonel of a cavalry squad. In 1857 he took up his residence 
 in the United States, and engaged in teaching at Vinton, Iowa. 
 When the civil war broke out he enlisted as a private in the 8th 
 Iowa regiment of Volunteers, on August 8, 1861, and rose by 
 bravery and military skill until on June 5, 1865, he was com- 
 missioned a Brigadier-General. His war record was a notable 
 one in other respects than the honours it won for him. At the 
 battle of Shiloh he was wounded and captured by the Con- 
 federates. On being exchanged he served under Grant before 
 Vicksburg, and under Sherman at Jackson, Miss. As Provost- 
 Marshal of Memphis, he saved that city from capture by General 
 Forest, the brilliant Confederate leader, and during the Mobile 
 campaign his capture of Spanish fort was regarded as the most 
 heroic achievement of that chapter in the history of the war. 
 When peace was restored General Geddes returned to Iowa, and 
 his closing years were spent in the service of the Iowa College 
 of Agriculture, at Ames, in which institution he was a professor, 
 as well as its vice-president and treasurer. He died in 1887. 
 
 Charles G. Halpine ("Miles O'Reilly"), wrote a song that 
 was once a great favourite around the camp-fire, "Tear down 
 the Flaunting Lie," and there is not an American survivor of 
 the war who could not recite if he could not sing the words of 
 " We have drank from the same Canteen." We could thus pass 
 in review a dozen or more writers, some the authors of but a 
 single lyric, others distinguished as much for their fecundity as 
 for their gracefulness or spirit, but the limits of this essay forbid 
 further details and we leave this section with a stanza from a 
 song by Judge Finch of New York, a song that represents the 
 
AMERICAN SONGS AND SONG-WRITERS. 203 
 
 sentiments now entertained by the Northern soldiers toward 
 their opponents in the stirring days of "the late unpleasant- 
 ness " as the awful national tragedy which began at Sumter and 
 ended at Appomattox is euphemistically called : — 
 
 " By the flow of the inland river, 
 
 Whence the fleets of iron have fled. 
 Where the blades of the grave-grass quiver, 
 
 Asleep are the ranks of the dead : 
 From the silence of sorrowful hours 
 
 The desolate mourners go, 
 Lovingly laden with flowers, 
 
 Alike for the friend and the foe : 
 
 Under the sod and the dew, 
 
 Waiting the Judgment day ; 
 Under the roses, the Blue, 
 
 Under the lilies, the Gray." 
 
 It must not be inferred from what has been written concern- 
 ing the war songs that the North had a monopoly of the singing 
 in the campaign. The South equally had its lyrists and versi- 
 fiers, and the campfires of the " boys in gray " was in every way 
 as brimful of melody as were those round which gathered the 
 " boys in blue." Possibly the most general favourite in the 
 South was the air which would very likely have been that of its 
 national anthem had Jefferson Davis really made the confeder- 
 ated States a nation, was " Dixie." It was to the South what 
 " John Brown's Body " was to the North, and it was sung with 
 countless variations. Will S. Hays, Albert Pike, and other 
 Southern poets, tried to clothe the air with words that would be 
 at once poetical and in keeping with the dignity that becomes 
 national honours, but they all failed and the words sung generally 
 owned no author. Like Topsy, they simply "grow'd." In a 
 recent Southern newspaper what is claimed, with apparent 
 reason as the original version of the words of " Dixie " is given 
 as follows : — 
 
 *' I wish I was in de land of cotton, 
 Old times dar am not forgotten ; 
 In Dixie land whar I was bawn in, 
 Early on a frosty mawnin'. 
 
 Ole missus marry Will de weaber. 
 Will he was a gay deceaber ; 
 When he put his arm around her 
 He look as fierce as a forty-pounder. 
 
204 AMERICAN SONGS AND SONG-WRITERS. 
 
 His face was sharp as a butcher's cleaber, 
 But dat didn't seem a bit to grieb 'er ; 
 Will run away, missus took a decline, 
 Her face was de color ob de bacon rine. 
 
 While missus libbed she libbed in clober, 
 When she died she died all ober ; 
 How could she act de foolish part 
 An' marry a man to broke her heart? 
 
 Buckwheat cake an' cawn meal batter 
 Makes you fat or little fatter ; 
 Here's a health to de nex ole missus, 
 An' all de gals dat wants to kiss us. 
 
 Now if you want to dribe away sorrow 
 Come an' hear dis song to-morrow ; 
 Den hoe it down an' scratch de grabble, 
 To Dixie land I'm bound to trabble. 
 
 CHORUS. 
 
 I wish I was in Dixie, hooray, hooray ! 
 
 In Dixie's land 
 
 We'll take our stand 
 To live an' die in Dixie : 
 Away, away, away down Souf in Dixie ; 
 Away, away, away down Souf in Dixie ! " 
 
 Who wrote this version — a version that certainly formed the 
 groundwork of all the variations that were really popular during 
 the war is a vexed question. Its construction, however, would 
 make us adopt the claim that its author was Dan Emmet, the 
 once-famous negro minstrel who, it is certain, used to sing these 
 words with an accompanying "nigger plantation dance" all over 
 the country long before the war. The real origin of the song, 
 however, was undoubtedly in some negro ditty chanted in praise 
 of a kind master whose name was Dixie, ultimately became used 
 as a synonym for the South. Dan Emmett, if he really wrote 
 the lines above quoted, as is very likely, built his words around 
 the old plantation incoherences to suit his stage " business." 
 The words of " The Bonnie Blue Flag," a song that was — and 
 is — second only to " Dixie " in point of popularity in the South 
 was Mrs. Annie Chambers Ketchum, the daughter of a Scotch 
 officer in the British army who settled in Kentucky during the 
 early part of the century. The words she wrote were penned to 
 supplant a song, on the same theme and having the same title, 
 which was composed by Harry M'Carthy, an Irish comedian 
 
AMERICAN SONGS AND SONG-WRITERS. 205 
 
 and vocalist, and which were really unworthy of being sung out- 
 side of the commonest grades of concert halls. They, in turn, 
 supplanted an earlier version, but all have been forgotten since 
 Mrs. Ketchum's lines made their appearance. 
 
 John H. Hewitt, who died in Baltimore in 1890, when in his 
 ninetieth year, has been called the " Father of the American 
 ballad." He edited several Southern papers in the early part of 
 his career, and while in charge of the Baltimore Minerva^ he so 
 severely criticised a volume of poems by Edgar Allan Poe as to 
 incur the lasting dislike of that wonderful yet misguided genius. 
 When the war broke out Hewitt was at the head of Chesapeake 
 College at Hampton, Virginia, and after hostilities were over he 
 took up his residence in Baltimore and there waited for the end. 
 Most of his songs, "The Minstrel's Return," "Rock me to 
 Sleep, Mother," " Take me Home to the Sweet, Sunny South," 
 were written before the struggle between the States commenced, 
 but nevertheless they formed part of the Southern soldiers' col- 
 lection of favourites. Hewitt was noted in his prigje as a com- 
 poser, and a long list of his operas, cantatas, and even oratorios, 
 were sung in the South. But these have long since been for- 
 gotten, and it is only his ballads that will keep his memory 
 green. 
 
 As in the North, songs in praise of various sections of the 
 country were very popular in the Southern ranks. Undoubtedly 
 the best of these, and the one that most conspicuously retains 
 its power to the present day, is " Maryland, my Maryland," by 
 James R. Randall. Since the war it has lost its purely local 
 sentiment, or rather, that sentiment has been merged in its 
 national application and, like " My Old Kentucky Home," it 
 arouses all the patriotism in the heart of the American who hears 
 it whether he hails from Maine or from New Mexico : — 
 
 '* Hark to thy wandering son's appeal, 
 Maryland ! 
 My mother State ! To thee I kneel, 
 
 Maryland ! 
 For life and death, for woe or weal, 
 Thy peerless chivalry reveal. 
 And gird thy beauteous limbs with steel, 
 Maryland, my Maryland ! 
 
 • ••••■ 
 
 ** I see the blush upon thy cheek, 
 Maryland ! 
 For thou wast ever bravely meek, 
 Maryland ! 
 
2o6 AMERICAN SONGS AND SONG-WRITERS. 
 
 But, oh, there surges forth a shriek, 
 From hill to hill, from creek to creek, 
 Potomac calls to Chesapeake, 
 Maryland, my Maryland ! " 
 
 In speaking of the Southern War songs, the fact should not 
 be omitted that the "boys in Gray" were not very particular as 
 to the origin of the songs they sung, so long as they were appli- 
 cable, or could be made applicable, to their cause and 
 circumstances. With the easy-going ideas concerning property 
 that prevails among campaigners, they made themselves welcome 
 without ceremony to any good rollicking or patriotic song that 
 helped to enthuse their adversaries in blue. Miss Roots' lines, 
 " Rally round the Flag," received a Southern revision, and was 
 sung all over the South. For instance, Roots' lines — 
 
 " The Union for ever ! Hurrah, boys, hurrah ! 
 Down with the traitor and up with the star ! 
 While we rally round the flag, boys. 
 Rally once again. 
 Shouting the battle-cry of freedom." 
 
 were amended for Southern voices as follows : — 
 
 " Here's Dixie forever ! Hurrah, boys, hurrah ! 
 Down with the Yankee, up with the bars, 
 While we rally round the flag, boys, 
 
 Rally once again. 
 Shouting the battle-cry of freedom." 
 
 With the close of the war, the spirit of poetry, as well as all 
 the other ambitions, was crushed in the South, and it is only 
 within a comparatively recent period that the harp has been 
 heard again to assert itself below Mason and Dixon's imaginary 
 line. Not so in the North, however. As became the victor, 
 she kept right on singing. Harrison Millard, for many years the 
 most famous tenor vocalist in the States, acquired wonderful 
 popularity by bis song, "Vive I'America." He was a native of 
 Boston, was educated for the lyric stage or concert-platform in 
 Europe, and commanded the praises of most of the leading 
 Italian critics when he made his first appearance in grand 
 opera in Florence. In his own land, his artistic career from first 
 to last was a notable one, and it was only interrupted when he 
 served as an ofificer in the army during the early part of the war. 
 He was badly wounded at the battle of Chicamanga, and his 
 day of stage successes was then virtually over, but he continued 
 composing music to the end of his career, which took place in 
 
AMERICAN SONGS AND SONG-WRITERS. 207 
 
 New York city in 1895. His favourite songs, "Waiting," 
 " When the Flowing Tide comes in," and " Under the Daisies," 
 among others, are still regarded as parts of the country's song 
 classics, and so, we can readily believe, will ever continue. 
 
 A sea-song that used to be a prime favourite everywhere, that 
 has even been accepted by the British seamen as part of their 
 own lyrical wealth, was written by Epes Sargent, its occasion 
 being a scene off the historic Battery — the spot where so many 
 thousands of immigrants made their entree into the New World. 
 There was a stiff breeze blowing, the vessels in the harbour rode 
 easily at their anchors, or, with sails filled, were darting hither 
 and thither, rising and falling with the waves, and apparently in 
 responsive harmony with nature. The spectacle was a beautiful 
 one, and as he looked he wove together the words of " A Life 
 on the Ocean Wave." Sargent was a literary man by profession, 
 and a series of school-readers he prepared had a wide circulation. 
 He did a large amount of hack work, but his ambition in life 
 was to be a successful dramatist. He thought he had attained 
 his ambition in 1837 when his tragedy of " Velasco" was pro- 
 duced for Miss Ellen Tree, and presented with much success in 
 Boston, New York, and other cities. It kept possession of the 
 stage for several years, and was acted frequently in America ; it 
 was even produced in London, with considerable critical eclat^ 
 in 1840, but after that it fell into disuse, and has long ago been 
 a stranger to any stage. A similar fate overtook his other 
 dramatic ventures, and his late years were devoted mainly to 
 work for the booksellers. The best example of his art in book- 
 making — his Cyclopcedia of Poetry — was published in 1881, about 
 a year after his death. 
 
 John R. Thomas, a native of Wales, who settled in America 
 in his youth, wrote a number of songs which were — and most of 
 them still are — prime favourites. '• The Cottage by the Sea," 
 "Happy be thy Dreams," "'Tis but a Little Faded Flower," 
 " Beautiful Isle of the Sea," are a few of the names that most 
 readily occur, and no one who has listened to ballad-singing 
 during the past quarter of a century, can have failed to have 
 heard most, if not all, of them. Each of Thomas's songs illus- 
 trated or dwelt upon a single sentiment, but the sentiment 
 invariably that was felt in the fullest degree by all men, and so 
 his songs awoke a responsive echo wherever heard. 
 
 Next to the career of Edgar Allan Poe, the most conspicuous 
 example — conspicuous on account of the genius of the subject 
 
2o8 AMERICAN SONGS AND SONG- WRITERS. 
 
 — of a wasted life in American literary history, is that of William 
 Ross Wallace, whose life went out, in misery and despair, in 
 New York in 1881. He was a Kentuckian by birth, and 
 educated for the legal profession. He practised in New York 
 city for a time, but his habits forbade any hope of success, and 
 the closing years of a man who might have been the most pro- 
 minent figure in law and literature of his time, were marked by 
 poverty, contumely, and degradation. His course in life not 
 only deprived him of honour, but robbed American literature 
 of much that would have enriched it. This may seem a strange 
 remark, but the gift of producing is given to so few that it ought 
 to be held as a trust for the delectation or the instruction of 
 those not so gifted, and anything that tends to repress or crush 
 the expression of that gift in those who do possess it, is just the 
 means of depriving the world of something that might have 
 beautified, or purified, or elevated it, and so the world is so 
 much the poorer, has been robbed to the extent of the value of 
 the gift that has been repressed. That Wallace was capable of 
 adding to the volume and quality of his country's literature there 
 is no doubt, yet his name will be kept alive by a single song, 
 "The Sword of Bunker Hill," which was published in 1861, 
 just when the war broke out, and its stirring words gave expres- 
 sion to the patriotic ardour that then swept over the country. 
 They still fan the flames of patriotism, much as "Scots Wha 
 Hae " arouses the Scot. But we never hear them sung without 
 a feeling of regret that this man's patriotism did not impel him 
 to enter into a struggle against the pitiless enemy which dragged 
 him down to his own discomfiture and ruin. Wallace published 
 several volumes of poetry in early life, and wrote a number of 
 songs, but " The Sword of Bunker Hill " is the only thing from 
 his pen that continues to be part and parcel of the current, of 
 the standard, song-literature of America. 
 
 The song of "Ben Bolt" by Thomas Dunn English, of New 
 Jersey, which firjt appeared in 1843, has maintained its popular- 
 ity, through frequently printed in a mutilated form, until now. 
 Indeed, at present it seems to have acquired a new lease of 
 public attention — a thing that frequently happens to old songs 
 that have the principle of song-life in them. "Ben Bolt " appeals 
 to the sentiments of auld lang syne as much as the Scotch 
 song bearing those tender words does. Thus its sentiment, 
 unlike its singers, never grows old, and each new generation, in 
 turn, feels its pathetic influence, its power for expressing a senti- 
 
AMERICAN SONGS AND SONG-WRITERS. 209 
 
 ment which more or less desires to find expression among all 
 men. Another old tune favourite, " When the Moon on the 
 Lake is Beaming," by Stephen Massett, seems to retain its hold 
 on the public as a love song. Equally popular is America's 
 best convivial song, " Sparkling and Bright," written by Charles 
 Fenn Hoffman, whose life, in spite of physical afflictions, was 
 a happy one, until that veil fell over the intellect which removed 
 the writer from the haunts of men. " Rock Me to Sleep, 
 Mother," a pretty bit of home-life sentiment, may be mentioned 
 as another song which age does not seem to wither. The writer 
 was Mrs. Elizabeth Aikers, wife of Paul Aikers, the American 
 sculptor. After his death she married a Mr. E. M. Allan of 
 New York. She was a poetess of undoubted merit, and her 
 spirited lines, " In the Defences," are entitled to rank per- 
 manently among the poems of the civil war. 
 
 One of the most interesting studies in connection with 
 American song-literature is what is called the genesis of each 
 lyric, that is to say, the circumstances under which it was com- 
 posed, and its history, as well as any influence it may have had. 
 or its story, or its sentiment may have had upon the life of the 
 author, or his own views regarding it. These genesis stories 
 turn up in unlooked for quarters, and as an instance here is one 
 copied from a Colorado paper telling the story of two songs 
 which are still, to a certain extent, at least, popular favourites : 
 
 " State Street, Leadville, held a first mortgage on every other 
 form of dissipation. Beginning with an excellent good variety 
 theatre, the Grand Central, where the performances soared into 
 the realm of comic opera and high-class burlesque, the street 
 ran the downward gamut of questionable amusements through 
 four or five state variety shows, dance-houses, winter gardens, 
 French rows, and stuffy saloons. Many a genius had run to 
 seed in some of these wicked little music halls, says the Sf. Louis 
 Globe. In one of the wretched places poor O'Reardon was 
 pounding an old piano to the strident vocalization of some garish 
 ballad shouter. 
 
 " O'Reardon's songs are sung even now. He was the com- 
 poser of 'The Marriage Bells Are Ringing,' which is never 
 heard without sending a thrill of delight through the veins of the 
 listener. He also composed 'The Dream of Love Is O'er.' 
 The two songs tell the beginning and end of his history. He 
 was a young Irish musician, who went to London to make his 
 fortune. Success smiled upon him from the outset. In a few 
 
210 AMERICAN SONGS AND SONG- WRITERS. 
 
 years the handsome and talented son of the muses was wielding 
 the baton at one of the best theatres in the metropolis. Along 
 came Alice Gates to crush his heart. It was mutual. When 
 her London engagement was over it was arranged that they 
 should be married. They agreed that the ceremony should take 
 place in this country as soon as his contract with the London 
 manager expired. They parted in England to meet again in San 
 Francisco. Alice took with her one of her lover's songs which 
 he had written in the transports of his consuming love, like a 
 warm-hearted son of Erin that he was. The song was ' The 
 Marriage Bells Are Ringing.' She sang it in this country. Its 
 success was phenomenal. It swept the United States like a 
 hurricane. Three months later O'Reardon set sail for New York 
 to meet his Alice and make her his own for life. He was 
 throwing up a berth that filled the scope of his ambition and 
 satisfied every reasonable claim he had on the world — gave it 
 up without a pang of regret, in anticipation of finding greater 
 happiness in the love of this woman. AVhen he reached New 
 York he picked up a paper. A short telegram arrested his 
 attention. It was dated San Francisco, and announced that 
 Alice Gates had been married to some rich man with a military 
 title. G'Reardon did not go to San Francisco. He did not re- 
 turn to London. He played for a while in the orchestras of 
 New York theatres, and then took a header into the gulf of 
 dissipation. 
 
 " Just once he rallied all his old faculties, like the dying swan 
 of the misty past, and sang his last song, which he sent to her 
 as a tearful protest against her treachery. It was a song now as 
 famous as his first : ' The Dream of Love Is G'er and I Never 
 More Shall See You.' Alice accepted it with the proverbial 
 sang-froid of the born-stage coquette, and added it to her reper- 
 toire, the song eclipsing, if possible, even the success of the first. 
 
 " Down went G'Reardon. Many tried to save him. He had 
 admirers in every town. He appeared a while with a second- 
 class star who played * The Old Curiosity Shop ' in an inter- 
 polated act with water tumblers, from which he extracted some 
 exquisite music. But he looked slovenly and bloated, and the 
 act did not catch on. 
 
 ^' Gne Sunday night in Leadville Alice Gates and her husband 
 attended a performance of 'The Gld Curiosity Shop,' seated in 
 a box, all unconscious that G'Reardon was within one thousand 
 miles. The moment came for the tumbleronicon to do his act. 
 
AMERICAN SONGS AND SONG-WRITERS. 211 
 
 O'Reardon stepped upon the stage without his improvised instru- 
 ment. He had quietly given the director of the orchestra a tip, 
 and there floated out upon the theatre the opening strains of 
 •The Dream of Love is O'er.' O'Reardon sang it as if his soul 
 was a part of it. The house shook with applause. The actress 
 leaned forward in her box to see who it was that was paying her 
 the compliment of singing a song with which her fame was so 
 closely interwoven. O'Reardon slowly turned his bloated face 
 towards hers. With a sudden start she withdrew her head, and 
 a few minutes after passed, heavily veiled, out of the theatre. 
 
 " O'Reardon did not leave Leadville when the company left. 
 His next step was into a music hall. There he played a cracked 
 piano for the drinks and his keep. What became of him after- 
 wards is a mystery." 
 
 No study of American songs would be complete without at 
 least a reference to the work which the singers, known under the 
 generic name of " Negro Minstrels," did in bringing into notice 
 and popularising the songs themselves. So far as we can learn, 
 the pioneer band of minstrels in America made their first 
 appearance in 1842^ but it was not until Christy's Minstrels was 
 organized that the popularity of " burnt-cork vocalism," as some 
 one called it, was assured. The performers in these minstrel 
 entertainments were, as a general rule, good and capable singers, 
 but whatever their merits as vocalists pure and simple, they 
 seemed to throw their whole hearts into whatever they sung, and 
 so managed to extract all the poetry there was in a sentimental 
 ditty, or squeeze out all the fun there happened to be in a plan- 
 tation rhyme. They were actors as well as vocalists, and their 
 sable faces and stage accessories enabled them to introduce those 
 realistic touches which, on or off the " boards," add so much to 
 the impression which a song leaves on the mind of the auditor. 
 The most helpless, the most wooden, form of ballad-singing is 
 when the singer essays the task with a sheet of music held close 
 before his or her face, and appears to be more intent on render- 
 ing the music than upon interpreting the meaning of the words. 
 That is why so many ballad-concerts are such dreary affairs, and 
 why such concerts as those of the negro minstrels were full of life, 
 of interest, and of " snap," especially when such minstrels like 
 George Christy, Dan Bryant, Matt Peel, Jack Herman, and 
 David Reid — whose "Sally Come Up" created a furore in its 
 way — held the stage. Many of these men wrote the verses they 
 
212 AMERICAN SONGS AND SONG-WRITERS. 
 
 sung, and in not a few instances they adapted native plantation 
 melodies to the songs they uttered, and it is a significant fact 
 that no music found more general acceptance among the people 
 than those taken bodily from, or suggested by, the folk-songs of 
 the hapless men and women who were so long ranked among 
 the chattels of the white population of the South. Indeed, it 
 seems safe to predict that when America can claim a national 
 melody as peculiarly its own, or rises to the dignity of possessing^ 
 a national school of song, its starting point — its genesis, in fact 
 — will be found among those simple melodies of the southern 
 negro, which, whatever their technical merit, have already found 
 a place in the affections of millions of people. 
 
 What has been written, imperfect as are its details, and 
 limited as have been its instances, is sufficient to prove that 
 America now possesses a body of popular song which will 
 favourably rank with most of such literature, and, in fact, if care- 
 fully studied, will prove that the country has made greater 
 advances in song-writing than in any other branch of literary 
 work. It has produced, in Stephen Collins Foster, a song- 
 writer whose works will steadily grow in popularity — that is, 
 in genuine popularity among the people — as the years roll on, 
 and a host of lesser lights, whose writings will continue to cheer 
 the hearts and lighten the pathway of men and women when 
 more elaborate and praised efforts of the muse will be permitted 
 to sleep on the upper shelves of our libraries under a coating of 
 hallowed dust. 
 
 This essay might close here, but we cannot resist the tempta- 
 tion to add a paragraph to allude to the fact that among the 
 songs of other nations which have won popularity in America, 
 those of dear old Scotland hold a first place. " Scots wha hae " 
 arouses the national spirit in America much as it does in Scot- 
 land, and " Auld Lang Syne" is as well known on the banks of 
 the Mississippi and the St. Lawrence as on the P'orth or Clyde. 
 Bayard Taylor has shown how " Annie Laurie " has adapted 
 itself to American sentiment by making it the theme of one of 
 his most touching poems : — 
 
 •* * Give us a song ! ' the soldiers cried, 
 The outer trenches guarding. 
 
 They sang of love and not of fame, 
 
 Forgot war, Britain's glory ; 
 Each heart recalled a different name — 
 
 But all sang * Annie Laurie.' " 
 
AMERICAN SONGS AND SONG-WRITERS. 213 
 
 In the theatres and music-halls of New York, Boston, Phila- 
 delphia, Chicago, and other large cities, a Scotch song is always 
 welcome. The singers very often — indeed very generally — 
 make a terrible " botch " of our dear old doric, but somehow 
 they express the sentiment, and the music finds a re-echo in the 
 hearts of the auditors. It is one of the many tributes which 
 America unconsciously pays to Scottish genius, and makes us 
 think how much of what is bright, and good, and true, in the 
 land of the Stars and Stripes has been shaped and influenced 
 by the heart-touching songs of our own native land. 
 
The Minister of Spott. 
 
 The faithful in the httle sequestered village of Spott, in East 
 Lothian, were delighted when they learned that one of their 
 number had received a letter from the Rev. John Spottiswood, 
 the Superintendent or overseer of the kirks in the Scottish 
 border counties, announcing that the Rev. John Kello was to 
 be settled in their midst as their minister. They had almost 
 thought that the General Assembly had forgotten them, or that 
 the few inducements of their parish — a mass of hill and dale, 
 bleak Lammermoor ridges and desolate, ill-cultivated valleys, 
 with not a stream to catch a breakfast within its confines, and 
 scant game on its brown hillsides — were insufficient to persuade 
 a servant of the Lord to settle in their midst, when so 
 many other places, offering in one way or another far greater 
 attractions, were crying out for spiritual teachers. Of course, 
 thanks mainly to the interest of Superintendent Spottieswood, 
 their spiritual welfare was not altogether overlooked by the 
 Kirk. Many a time did one of its most trusted leaders tarry 
 for a brief season at Spott and preach in the little church — a 
 building which had been erected as a chapel long ago when the 
 old Church was in the height of its power, and the small, but 
 cosy residence adjoining comfortably lodged the brother in 
 charge, generally some aged monk who desired to end his days 
 in quiet retirement and spiritual meditation and yet not be con- 
 fined to the shadow of a cloister. John Knox himself had 
 preached and administered the communion in the little chapel 
 and had exhorted the people to be stedfast and patient and the 
 living Word would yet be expounded to them regularly by one 
 who would dwell among them as one of their people. So, too, 
 had the godly Mr. Craig, the earnest Mr. Row, and the worthy 
 Mr. Lindsay brought them words of encouragement and hope 
 in seasons when travel was easy over the Lammermoors. But 
 for the greater part of the year such travel was not easy and 
 they were left alone, spiritually. Of course they had the minis- 
 
THE MINISTER OF SPOTT. 215 
 
 trations of the Elder, Tammas Dunkeson, a man of little worldly 
 learning but of rare spiritual insight. But Tammas could not 
 always be depended on, for whiles he had a hoast, and whiles 
 he had little time to think over a chapter out of the big Geneva 
 Bible which belonged to the parish and to read and expound it 
 fittingly and clearly, and frequently, too, it was noticed that the 
 spirit moved in him very slowly and falteringly. It must not be 
 forgotten, however, that the youthful Mr. Simpson of Dunbar 
 often visited Spott to see some relatives, and on such occasions 
 he never failed to preach to the people, and his Bible Reader 
 always tried to include Spott in his travels. But such services 
 were irregular and therefore, to a certain extent, unsatisfactory, 
 inasmuch as they only served to make the people discontented 
 at being kept so long without a preacher whom they could look 
 upon as their own. So when, in the early autumn of 1567, Mr. 
 Spottiswood wrote to Dunkeson that he had induced Mr. Kello, 
 a young man of wonderful gifts, to settle among them, the hearts 
 ot the people of Spott were uplifted. 
 
 Within a month — in the month of October — the new minister 
 arrived at Spott with his young and winsome wife, and the meet- 
 ing between the pastor and his flock was a memorable one. The 
 chapel and the house had been put in thorough repair — well 
 able to stand the severest blast that might blow down from the 
 hills, or from across the sea — and the furnishings in the house, 
 although rough, were comfortable and convenient. Houses in 
 those days were mainly built for shelter, and the furniture was 
 made for use, not for show. The minister had brought with 
 him some additions, three or four pictures, two chests with books 
 and sermons, and some carved chairs and the like, while Mrs. 
 Kello had a box or two of laces and ribbons and coloured silks 
 and other things which generally delight the female heart, and 
 under her care the manse, as the residence came to be called, 
 grew wonderously neat. Mr. Kello lost no time in beginning 
 his work. He walked or rode all over his parish, across hill 
 and moss and moor, and within a very short time a stranger 
 would have supposed that a special season of quickening had 
 set in in the parish ; that it was enjoying "showers of blessing." 
 Elder Dunkeson wrote a warm letter of thanks to Superinten- 
 dent Spottiswood and told him that Mr. Kello was destined to 
 make the name of their village known all over Scotland, and that 
 the little church of Spott was to be a light set up to illuminate 
 and guide the people of the whole Borderland. 
 
:2i6 THE MINISTER OF SPOTT. 
 
 Mr. Kello was a native of Edinburgh and was born in a little 
 cottage which stood in the Grassmarket. In his infancy his 
 health was delicate, and he used to sit on a square stone beside 
 the door which his father had placed there as a seat for him so 
 that he might watch the other boys at their wild games and 
 riotous pranks. He was sent to a " sang-schule," and then to a 
 grammar school which the monks of Holyrood maintained in 
 the West Port, and made rapid progress in his studies, such as 
 they were. In 1548 his constitution was still weak, and the 
 playtime of the bairns found him invariably sitting on the stone 
 beside the door, wondering generally how he was to become 
 strong and wild and full of health like the boys before him. 
 
 One day, in April of that year, while talking with his mother, 
 he observed her curtsey to a passing stranger whom she recog- 
 nized as her old master. Sir John Erskine, the laird of Dun. 
 That great and good man recognized her in turn and stopped to 
 speak to her. While inquiring into her welfare and her history 
 since she left his mansion, near Montrose, he noticed the boy 
 and soon learned of his studies and his continued ill-health. In 
 the kindness of his heart, Sir John offered to take the lad as a 
 sort of page into his own family and see to his education being 
 attended to, while, he said, as the poor mother well knew, there 
 was nothing like Angus breezes for bringing the roses to the 
 cheeks. It did not take long for the parents to agree to the 
 laird's proposition, and the boy went north to Montrose with his 
 benefactor. In the mansion he soon became a favourite ; Lady 
 Erskine's remedies and strengthening cordials seemed to go 
 right to the weak spots in his system, while, as the laird had 
 prophesied, the keen air of Angus made the life blood 
 sparkle in his cheek. The summer, when it waned, left the 
 youth strong, active, and really skilful in many of the boyish 
 amusements which heretofore he had only looked at from a dis- 
 tance and with a sigh of despair and envy. In October he went 
 to the famous Grammar School of Montrose with two of the 
 laird's own sons, and in a few months was regarded as the 
 brightest and most promising of the scholars. 
 
 The Laird of Dun was more than pleased at the rapid pro- 
 gress his protege was making, and determined that in due time 
 he would send him to St. Andrews University along with his 
 own sons. 
 
 All this time Kello was learning something more than what 
 was ostensibly taught at the Grammar School of Montrose. It 
 
THE MINISTER OF SPOTT. 217 
 
 was a momentous era in Scotland. The old Romish Church 
 was tottering ; it had lost its hold upon the people ; its vitality 
 through the ignorance and excesses of its own teachers was 
 gone, and the movement for a change — a reformation — was 
 making rapid strides. The Laird of Dun was one of the leaders 
 of the new movement, his children were believers in it, and so 
 was the teacher at Montrose. Thrown into such an atmosphere, 
 young Kello could hardly escape its effects, especially as those 
 who had befriended him were such enthusiastic believers in the 
 change and so devout in their own daily lives. Until he fell 
 under their influence he had not thought seriously about religion 
 in any way. He had accepted the priests as his father and 
 mother did, as a matter of custom, and without any particular 
 interest in their doctrines or their work. If anything, he was 
 disposed to think lightly about them remembering what was 
 said about the holy monks in general in many of the songs 
 which were then very popular among his neighbours in the 
 Grassmarket. 
 
 So, while at Montrose, he began to think on religious matters 
 and he questioned the Laird and the teacher about the struggle 
 then waging between Rome and reform. They answered his 
 questions carefully and fully, but evidently more with the view 
 of making him think out the problem for himself than of inducing 
 him to accept their views merely on account of the respect which 
 was naturally entertained for them by the inquirer. His greatest 
 help, however, came from Mr. John Winram, then Sub-Prior of 
 St. Andrews, who visited the Laird of Dun about that time, and 
 the result of their interviews and discussions was that when 
 Kello was sent to St. Andrews he was in full sympathy with the 
 Reformation doctrines. 
 
 Of course, at that period, 1552, the friends and adherents of 
 the new teachings had to move very cautiously, for it was only 
 a few years before that Wishart had been burned at the stake in 
 the university city of St. Andrews, and the Church, whose down- 
 fall was at hand, was yet installed in high places and possessed 
 all the civil power to carry its decrees against the Reformers into 
 effect, as it had already shown itself ready to do on all occasions. 
 Arran, the Regent of the kingdom, was completely under the 
 influence of the hierarchy and looked to Rome to support him 
 in all his schemes, and to those who were not watchful of the 
 undercurrent of affairs the Church was never stronger than at 
 this time — only a few years before it was completely overthrown. 
 
 o 
 
2i8 THE MINISTER OF SPOTT. 
 
 So Kello passed through St. Andrews University without giving 
 much indication of his preferences, but after three years, when 
 he returned to the Laird's house as a tutor to the younger boys, 
 he was not only permeated with the new doctrines but longed 
 to be regarded as one of their public exponents. The house of 
 Dun at that time was as good as a theological seminary, and so 
 when, in 1560, the Reformation came into effect and everyone 
 was needed to help, Kello was sent to Linlithgow to act as 
 reader and teacher until such time as he was formally called to 
 the ministry. 
 
 While at St. Andrews Kello had imbibed some queer philoso- 
 sophical opinions. One of the Regents of St. Leonard's College 
 — Thomas Cunningham — was one of the many priests who were 
 halting between the old and the new order of things. He pro- 
 fessed the Mass and all that it implied, but he saw there was 
 something wrong with the whole system when it permitted its 
 professors to break with impunity, nay with applause, all the 
 canons and tenets of the Church which concerned the lives of 
 mankind in the world. But he was not prepared to cast in his 
 lot with the new party. He did not believe in throwing off one 
 yoke to don another. He knew what the Church of Rome was; 
 knew it had been tried for centuries, and that it had exerted a 
 wondrous influence for good on the world. It had certainly, in 
 these latter days, permitted much evil to creep within its gates, 
 but what guarantee was there that the new Church people talked 
 about would develop in time into anything better than the old ? 
 Besides, in the old were preferment, position, place, and security, 
 while the new offered nothing. St. Andrews at that time was a 
 nest of doubt and unbelief, and the shrewd old monk, knowing 
 that the students were permeated with the new theology, often 
 reasoned with them on such matters, carefully avoiding all dan- 
 gerous points of doctrine, and warning them to leave all mooted 
 questions until they had had more years of study vouchsafed to 
 them, but meanwhile hold fast to what was secure — to the old 
 Church. Such arguments, however, had little weight among the 
 young minds of the college classes, for it was a time when the 
 soul was active, when thought was quick, when history was being 
 made, and young hearts were incapable of standing on the banks 
 and idly watching the current, especially when the current had 
 in it so much of weal or woe to them. Such arguments had no 
 weight with Kello; his mind was made up that his path lay with 
 the new dispensation which, he was assured, was so shortly to 
 
THE MINISTER OF SPOTT. 219 
 
 be inaugurated all over Scotland. But there was one species of 
 argument the priest used in condonation of the heinous sins of 
 the clergy which captured his fancy and filled his thoughts until 
 he believed it to be irrefutable. " God speaks," said the priest, 
 " through children as well as through the fathers, and the line 
 ought always to be drawn between the words which are inspired 
 by God and those which are inspired by the devil. A preacher 
 ought to be judged by what he is moved to speak and not by 
 his daily life. Absolution to the layman is perfect whether he 
 receives it from the hands of a sinful priest or from those of a 
 saint. Indeed, even canonised saints were not all perfect men, 
 and the Apostles were weak and human, except when inspired 
 to speak and act by the Father. The highest truths might be 
 uttered, and have been uttered, by the most depraved men, and 
 it was wrong to estimate such truths by the personality and 
 weakness of their utterer. The two things should be kept dis- 
 tinct. A man might be a faithful pastor, carrying out often un- 
 consciously the divine will, although personally he was steeped 
 in sin. Indeed, the greater the sinner the more likely was he to 
 utter the very highest spiritual truths, for he would thus be 
 made to testify against himself." In short, the priest held that 
 a man could serve both God and mammon, and he even more 
 than hinted that it was by such double service that the highest 
 prizes of the earth were secured. 
 
 This sort of argument suited John Kello exactly. He was 
 poor and he shuddered when he remembered the poverty of his 
 father's household. He was destined by his benefactor to be a 
 preacher, and his own inclination fitted in with that destiny. But 
 he knew too well that the life of a preacher of the new faith was 
 to be one of dependence, of poverty as well, so the temporal 
 outlook did not seem very encouraging. 
 
 He determined, therefore, to divide his life in twain, to keep 
 John Kello the preacher entirely distinct from the John Kello 
 who was to strive to make an independence for himself. The 
 one he saw very clearly, or thought he saw very clearly, would 
 help the other. If he acquired wealth he would have power, and 
 that power would be at the service of his work as a preacher ; 
 nay, the very fact of his being independent of the care of pro- 
 viding for his daily sustenance, the removal of all anxiety for old 
 age, would permit him in the long run to devote more time and 
 thought to his work in the pulpit. So he set before his life these 
 ideals — John Kello the man of God ; John Kello the man of 
 
220 THE MINISTER OF SPOTT. 
 
 the world. In his heart he believed both capable of accom- 
 plishing the highest results in their several spheres, and both 
 capable of going hand in hand. 
 
 In 1560, when the Reformation in Scotland was an accom- 
 plished fact, and the Parliament had passed all the statutes 
 which the leaders of the new Church wanted, and when the 
 mass had been forbidden by law and was nowhere publicly 
 spoken about with favour or reverence, Sir John Erskine 
 desired Kello to become ordained as a preacher, but to every- 
 one's surprise the young man hesitated and demurred. He 
 did not yet feel fitted to take up the work of the ministry, 
 he said, his theological studies were yet imperfect, and he 
 craved further time for preparation lest, inadvertently, by his 
 ignorance and untempered zeal he might say something, or 
 acquit himself in a manner, that might place the new Church 
 in a position that would give cause for criticism to its enemies. 
 The Laird of Dun was annoyed and disheartened at the young 
 man's "lukewarmedness " as he called it, but old John Winram, 
 to whom the matter was referred, questioned Kello closely, and 
 in the end said he was impelled to respect the young man's 
 scruples. The lad, according to Winram, did not feel as though 
 he had a call from the Lord, but he was persuaded that he 
 would soon hear, and then John Kello would be a pillar in up- 
 holding the truth, a light whose brilliance would be seen afar 
 off, and would bring many to the fold. Several conferences 
 were held on the subject, and it was finally decided that the 
 young man's scruples should be respected, so far as the pulpit 
 was concerned ; but as there was so much work for all to do, 
 they resolved to find him some employment which would be in 
 the line of training for the ministry, and would humour his 
 scruples. A little discussion among the leaders soon after 
 showed that it was eminently necessary that some one should 
 be sent to Linlithgow Grammar School, some one on whom the 
 Reformers could rely, for Ninian Wingate, the teacher there, not 
 only held on to the old faith, but gloried in his delusions and 
 his bigotry. So it was proposed to Kello to go to Linlithgow as 
 the assistant to this unregenerate professor, and by his presence 
 not only keep Wingate's love for the old Church within bounds, 
 but by his words and influence offset any pernicious effects the 
 old teacher's professions might have on the pupils. To this 
 Kello willingly agreed. He wanted to see and judge the world 
 for himself, and Linlithgow seemed a big field to one whose 
 
THE MINISTER OF SPOTT. 221 
 
 operations had heretofore been mainly confined to the family 
 circle. 
 
 With a parting gift of two hundred pounds Scots from the 
 Laird of Dun, Kello journeyed with Superintendent Spottiswood 
 to Linlithgow and was at once installed into his duties. The 
 head master, Ninian Wingate, was a man of considerable learn- 
 ing, and had been a most successful teacher, but his devotion 
 to the fallen Church had made him turn his school into a theatre 
 of polemics rather than an academy for the education of youth. 
 The very first day Kello appeared in the school the old man 
 publicly accused him of being a spy rather than a teacher, and 
 then denounced in most vigorous terms every one of the Refor- 
 mation leaders he could think of, sparing neither the great nor 
 the humble, and being equally unsavoury in his remarks about 
 the Lord James, the regent of the kingdom ; John Knox, the 
 Abbot Winram, the Laird of Dun, and the new-comer. That 
 same day, however, the latter declined some Latin verbs so 
 clearly and correctly that the old teacher's dislike became 
 mollified a little, and Kello's knowledge of Greek — of which 
 Wingate knew little — gave him in a short time a high respect for 
 his assistant's scholarship. Within a couple of weeks Wingate 
 concluded that the young man was not a spy ; that he did not 
 seem particularly offended even at the bitterest sarcasms which 
 might be levelled at the new preachers, or even when their 
 doctrines were impugned. Wingate found, however, that Kello's 
 opinions were as steadfast as his own, and on that score there 
 was nothing to be gained by any controversy between them. So 
 they worked together under a sort of flag of truce, but the 
 children, young men rather, who attended the school, took sides 
 either under the venerable representative of the Church which 
 had been cast down, or under the young disciple of that which 
 had been raised in its place, although it must be confessed that 
 the followers of the old man were few. 
 
 Kello had one purpose in view — to make money. His duties 
 at the school were scrupulously performed, so evidently so as to 
 win in a few months warm commendation from the Roman 
 Catholic Principal and the Protestant Superintendent. But he 
 gave just as scrupulous attention to other matters. He soon 
 got in the way of lending out his money at usury, small sums to 
 needy tradesmen and farmers, often at most excessive rates. In 
 this way his cash capital of two hundred pounds, Scots, had 
 increased within a year to seven hundred and fifty, and as he 
 
222 THE MINISTER OF SPOTT. 
 
 became known as a lender his opportunity for making money 
 was only limited by the amount of his capital. In 1562, when 
 Wingate, having got into an angry quarrel with Knox, was re- 
 moved from his school and had even to leave the country, 
 Spottiswood offered Kello the Principalship, but the offer was 
 refused. Such a position would hamper him greatly in his 
 business affairs, and the recompense was trifling compared with 
 what was to be made through his money lending scheme. His 
 answer to the Superintendent was that he desired to remain in 
 his present position for another year and devote his spare time 
 to the study of theology and then present himself as a candidate 
 for the ministry. To this Spottiswood readily acceded. Labourers 
 were greatly needed in the vineyard, he said. So for another 
 year Kello continued to teach and make money. His capital 
 at the end of it was exactly 1,300 pounds Scots. Then as the 
 time drew near when he could no longer defer taking steps to 
 be ordained he gradually drew in his means and relinquished 
 his petty and miserable business. He did this the more willingly 
 because an opportunity presented itself by which his store might 
 still increase. One of the burgesses of the city, Master Henry 
 Thomson, had died a short time before, leaving his business as 
 a tanner and the care of a daughter to an only son. The son 
 had been one of Kello's customers, for he had gotten a lease of 
 some fields which his father had long wanted, and so was in a 
 position in which he could rear cattle as well as dress their 
 hides. The consequent increase of operations led to a need for 
 extra capital and Kello was appealed to. The teacher-usurer 
 knew there was plenty of money to be made in this business, 
 and so, when he drew out from his petty usury connection he 
 quietly sank his fortune in the tannery, and, to make his position 
 more secure he married the daughter. The girl had long loved 
 him for some reason — she herself very likely did not know what 
 particularly, for love is such a curious thing — and he had courted 
 her in a sort of perfunctory manner, for such a sentiment as that 
 of love had not even a corner in his mental make-up. Then he 
 went to Edinburgh, was ordained, and then preached hither and 
 thither, all over the country, and was soon regarded as a rising 
 light in the Church. During all of that period of roving his 
 capital, according to reports, was steadily increasing at Linlith- 
 gow, and his young wife had a nice little home there and a 
 sweet smile awaiting him whenever circumstances enabled him 
 
THE MINISTER OF SPOTT. 223 
 
 to turn in that direction and rest from his missionary labours 
 for a brief season. 
 
 Kello could have obtained a settlement as minister in several 
 churches in the north and west, but he wanted to be near Edin- 
 burgh. He desired to acquire influence in the Court and in 
 the Assembly, and, perhaps, to win power as a statesman as well 
 as a preacher, and as proximity to the national capital, according 
 to his calculations, constituted half the battle, he refused all 
 offers that would have buried him at a distance. When, at 
 length, Spottiswood suggested that he should take charge of the 
 parish of Spott, he consented after a good deal of hesitation, and 
 with many mental misgivings. The salary was small, and the 
 distance from Edinburgh a little greater than he had determined 
 on. But the work was certain to be light, Edinburgh was not 
 so very far away, and success in the field thus offered would 
 bring him directly under the eyes of the leaders in the kirk — of 
 the General Assembly itself 
 
 Successful as a minister in Spott, Kello's success as a money- 
 maker seemed to have stopped altogether with his arrival there. 
 The very first week he was in the place his brother-in-law wrote 
 him that an epidemic had broken out among the cattle and the 
 whole stock was dead or dying. Then came news that Lord 
 Livingstone had claimed the recently leased fields as their 
 rightful owner from the " wee laird " who had made the lease, 
 and that he had forcibly taken possession, and so threatened to 
 wipe out the money bequeathed to Mrs. Kello by her father, and 
 also the entire fortune of the minister. This was all very serious 
 news, but Mr. Kello placed his interests in the hands of Gideon 
 Gray, a priest who had studied civil law, and had cast in his 
 fortunes with the Reformers, and felt assured that he would save 
 all that he could. Soon afterwards he was made aware of a 
 chance to buy a really desirable farm at a moderate rate in the 
 parish of which he was minister. It was part of the estate of 
 Bothwell, and the owner, who had two daughters, was anxious 
 to place some money in safe hands in Edinburgh for his eldest, 
 whose mind was affected. The younger daughter, the good 
 man thought, would get married some day and her husband 
 might not treat the silly sister as tenderly as she required, so he 
 desired to see her made independent of such chances. To help 
 to bring about this end he placed the farm already mentioned 
 on the market for 2000 pounds, Scots, and so great was the 
 minister's faith in Gideon Gray that after several talks on the 
 
224 THE MINISTER OF SPOTT. 
 
 subject he agreed to buy, and to pay 1500 pounds within a year, 
 and the balance at such interval as he could. While these 
 negotiations were going on Kello conceived the idea that had 
 he not been foolish and hasty in getting married when he did, 
 he might now have won the younger sister and so got the entire 
 estate in time without much ado and without any cost to him- 
 self. 
 
 But Gideon Gray's reports were not very encouraging. No 
 money was forthcoming, and indeed, it was even hinted that the 
 cost of taking the matter before the Lords of Session would not 
 only be very great, but very likely useless, for Kello had no 
 influence with the Lords, while Baron Livingstone had, and, as 
 things went in Scotland then the law courts were very subservient 
 to a man with a title and with influence in high places. Gideon 
 Gray set all this forth as circumspectly as he could, and each of 
 his communications made the world darker for the minister. A 
 man in these circumstances must have some one to vent his 
 spleen upon. That seems to be a natural requirement, so very 
 generally is it to be observed in times of trouble, and, as is so 
 very often the case, the minister vented his anger on his wife. 
 There was a peculiar fitness in this in the present instance, for 
 was not her brother the cause of all his troubles, and did she 
 not herself stand between him and the prospective possession of 
 an estate which would have given him a place among the landed 
 gentry and raised him to a position of independence and in- 
 fluence in sectarian circles ? So he began to upbraid her ; to 
 scold her ; to denounce her, and because she bore it all meekly 
 he struck her. Having got that far he threw off all control of 
 himself, so far as she was concerned, and often the poor woman's 
 treatment was such that she had to remain in bed for weeks at 
 a time from the effects of his blows. He told her to die ; to 
 commit suicide ; to do anything so as to get out of his path ; 
 and the wonder of it all was that she retained her love for him 
 amidst its cruelties, and even chided herself for being in his 
 way. From the little outside world she carefully concealed her 
 sufferings, her insults, her sorrows, and thus, while the minister 
 was winning praises abroad for his enthusiasm in his pastoral 
 work, and was renowned all over the Border land for his elo- 
 quence and for the fervour of his pulpit utterances, his little 
 wife, broken-hearted, was already feeling in the minister's home 
 the torments, physical and mental, which should only have been 
 experienced by one in hell. 
 
THE MINISTER OF SPOTT. 225 
 
 The people, however, noticed how pale and careworn she 
 looked, and her frequent absences from church caused inquiry, 
 but the minister silenced all by stating that her mind was giving 
 way ; that insanity had been frequent among her relatives and 
 ancestors ; and he was ever frightened lest anyone, in the course 
 of conversation with her should refer to her condition as that 
 would very likely inspire a determination to commit suicide, 
 which had been the sad ending to the lives of her father and 
 several others of her kin. This he told to all and sundry who 
 were most closely associated with him in the church or were 
 most likely to visit his home, and by this means he deprived 
 the poor woman who should have been the joy of his life, of 
 even the commonest words of sympathy. The minister, the 
 neighbours said, was a good man, a learned man, a man full of 
 compassion for the downcast and sorrowing, and he knew best 
 how comfort and sympathy were to be exercised in such a case. 
 
 As the end of the year drew near in which he was to pay the 
 first instalment on the price of the farm and thereby gain pos- 
 session, the minister's condition financially became very dis- 
 heartening. Out of his own petty income of seventy pounds a 
 year he could save nothing, and Gideon Gray held out no hope 
 of any speedy settlement at Linlithgow, or even of any settle- 
 ment at all. In his distress he even consulted Marion Lillie, 
 the ancestress of a long line of reputed witches who once made 
 Spott famous, and she repeated and taught him some incanta- 
 tions, and even promised to get him a philter which would 
 remove his wife, for the old hag completely and quickly read his 
 thoughts and wanted to secure him, as she afterwards confessed, 
 as an offering to the devil. He tried the incantations, so he 
 told Marion, but they were of no use, and then, when he secured 
 the philter he was afraid to try it lest its use might be detected, 
 so, as Marion afterwards said, he did not go to the devil by her 
 road after all, and her so sure of him. 
 
 At length, on a Friday afternoon, a message came from 
 Gideon Gray which stated that there was no use in troubling 
 about the Linlithgow matter any longer, for his brother-in-law 
 was bankrupt ; had been ousted even from the tenement which 
 had been the family home for centuries, and had left for the 
 West where he was taking part in some scheme to root the 
 unregenerated out of Cowal. This news, although somewhat 
 anticipated, came to Kello with all the direct force of a terrible 
 blow, and even after he had recovered from the first shock he 
 
226 THE MINISTER OF SPOTT. 
 
 felt like a man from out of whose life all hope had gone forever. 
 He talked to his wife on the subject with such bitter earnestness 
 that the words came from his lips only half articulated, and so 
 incoherently as to be hardly understandable. Several times his 
 frenzy prompted him to murder her on the spot, but he retained 
 enough prudence to make him fear the consequences to himself, 
 yet he struck her again and again until his blows made her fall 
 insensible at his feet. The next day, Saturday, he spoke to her 
 but little, as he had to prepare for the pulpit on the following 
 day, and in the evening he had to take part in a meeting of the 
 Elders, who then discussed the religious condition of the parish 
 and the means to be used to bring the influence of the Gospel 
 closer to the homes and hearts of the people. " Never," good 
 Master Dunkeson said long afterwards, "did Master Kello speak 
 more hopefully or more instructively " than on that particular 
 evening. 
 
 When everyone had gone ; when the heads of the discourses 
 for the morrow had all been arranged and studied ; when the 
 prayers had been thought over, the points in the expository 
 lesson clearly understood and noted, and everything was in per- 
 fect readiness for the pulpit, Mr. Kello fell back on his own 
 resources. He laid aside the minister and assumed the man, 
 the man of sin. His financial troubles came back to him with 
 a force that had apparently gathered new energy while they had 
 been pushed to the background by other matters, and his heart 
 was wrung as he thought of his life plans frustrated, his hopes 
 blasted, and how all this had been brought about by others in 
 whom he had trusted. His wife, seeing the storm gathering, 
 slipped away to her room, and so great was the concentration of 
 his thoughts upon the bleakness of his future that he did not 
 notice her going nor did he even miss her. But she heard him 
 long after as he paced the room below, and she shuddered at 
 the sounds which every now and then indicated a paroxysm of 
 rage. There were prayers, many of them, in the minister's 
 home that night, but none were uttered by him. The poor wife 
 prayed that Divine consolation might heal the wounds of her 
 husband, might assuage his grief, might restore his losses, might 
 pardon those who had wronged him whoever they might be, and 
 so she prayed for her husband until sleep closed her eyes. 
 
 The more Mr. Kello thought over his troubles, the more 
 intense did his anger become, and when the thought again came 
 to him that the little woman up-stairs, the sister of him who had 
 
THE MINISTER OF SPOTT. 227 
 
 done him such foul wrong, was all that stood between him and 
 independence and power the temptation came to him with 
 supernatural force to free himself from the slender chain which 
 environed and hampered him, and which needed only one effort 
 to be broken forever. His wife was not a strong woman by any 
 means, was not destined for long hfe. To her, death now 
 meant but a hastening of an event that was not, even in natural 
 circumstances a long way off. She was a paltry thing, had no 
 ambition, was always crying like an infant, and she had been 
 the means, though unconsciously, of bringing about the present 
 awful crisis in his life. It seemed as though the devil, unseen, 
 was prompting him all that night, preventing a single thought of 
 mercy from entering his heart, and even removing from him all 
 fear of danger or of discovery as he inspired him with a deter- 
 mination to get rid of his wife at once. The deed could be so 
 easily done, and then he could marry the laird's youngest 
 daughter, and begin anew his career. His past wrongs seemed 
 to melt into nothingness as he contemplated how easy was the 
 remedy. So he thought, gathering composure as he thought, 
 and while he worked out in theory the details of his new plan, 
 saw clearly in his mind's eye the effectiveness of its method, and 
 the perfectness of the schemes and by-play by which all suspicion 
 was to be diverted from himself, he even became, as he after- 
 wards expressed it, "jocose." By the time the early morning 
 hours had passed his plans were not only fully matured but he 
 had enjoyed a brief season of the most refreshing sleep. 
 
 With the early dawn he commenced to put his plans into 
 execution. The window shutters in the lower part of the house 
 he carefully secured with the aid of cords, and the doors he 
 locked and barred. Then with a rope which had fastened some 
 of his belongings when his "guids and gear" were removed 
 from Linlithgow to Spott, he went to the bedroom where his 
 wife lay, intending to strangle her as she slept. He approached 
 quietly in his naked feet, and crossed the threshold without 
 making the slightest noise. But his wife was not asleep. 
 Kneeling in front of a chair, with her back to the door, she was 
 quietly but fervently praying for him, for herself, for grace all 
 over the earth. Her position and the words he heard stopped 
 him for a moment — but only for one. The next he started to 
 creep up behind her, and the work of throwing the noose 
 around her neck, and drawing it as tightly as his strength 
 allowed him, was done so quickly and so thoroughly that Mrs. 
 
228 THE MINISTER OF SPOTT. 
 
 Kello lay dead at his feet probably without having realized fully 
 the manner of her death. Then he lifted her on to the bed, 
 attached one end of the rope to one of the crossbars which held 
 its four posts together and formed a roof, and left her lying 
 there until he further carried out his arrangements for the day. 
 He cooked his own breakfast, read over his pulpit notes care- 
 fully, and dressed himself with scrupulous care. Then, when 
 the time came nigh for his going to church, he went again to his 
 wife's room, felt her pulse, her heart, to see if she were really 
 dead, and lifted her so that she hung suspended about eight 
 inches from the floor. As he left the room, he overturned a 
 chair beside the lifeless form, and soon after got out of the 
 house by emerging from a small windov/ in the rear part of the 
 roof, from whence he dropped lightly to the ground, and the 
 first act in the minister's tragedy was over. 
 
 The church was crowded that Sabbath morning, for the fame 
 of Mr. Kello's preaching had spread so far that, on a day when 
 the weather was fine, good people would travel miles to " sit 
 under him." On that particular Sabbath it seemed as if he was 
 endowed with more than mortal gifts, for never had his people 
 heard such eloquence, never had the Gospel lesson been more 
 clearly or more thoroughly expounded ; never had a sermon 
 been more spiritual, or more full of words which lingered in the 
 memory. His imagery was beautiful, his analysis keen, and 
 his thoughts were so grand and so fitting that they seemed 
 almost to have been inspired. His people were moved toward 
 him as they never had been before, from the time he prayed in 
 tearful accents for an old parishioner on his deathbed until he 
 pronounced the benediction, and sank back exhausted into the 
 narrow seat in the pulpit. When he got to the little vestry, the 
 laird of Bothwell and his youngest daughter were waiting to con- 
 gratulate him on his discourse, and the lady was particularly 
 gracious in her words of praise. The entire congregation 
 seemed loath to disperse, and when the minister came out many 
 would fain have detained him. But he said he was anxious to 
 get home, for Mrs. Kello had had one of her fits of depression, 
 and he was greatly worried about her. Turning to two elderly 
 women, Mrs. Siddie and Mrs. Balfour, he asked them to 
 accompany him to the manse, as their presence might help to 
 lift up the cloud which had fallen upon his poor wife. They 
 willingly consented, and the three departed on their way, but 
 most of the people remained in the kirkyard for a while to talk 
 
THE MINISTER OF SPOTT. 229 
 
 over the remarkable words they had heard in the pulpit that 
 day. "Master Kello," said Tammas Dunkeson, "will no be 
 lang among us. Thae Embro' folk will sune be aifter him, mark 
 my words on that," and everyone present agreed with him. 
 When the kirkyard discussion was at its height, loud screams 
 were heard coming from the manse, and nearly everyone 
 hurried in that direction, only to learn that Mrs. Kello, during 
 her husband's absence at church, had committed suicide. 
 *' She never was a canny women," was all the comment that was 
 wasted upon her, but the sympathy shown for the minister in 
 this terrible dispensation was something extraordinary, " He'll 
 need the grace o' God to sustain him," said old John Lichtbody. 
 " Aweel," replied Dauvit Mylne, "he's gotten plenty o' that." 
 
 They gathered outside the doorway, most of them. Only two 
 of the Elders went inside, and none but women ventured to the 
 upper story, where was the minister and his dead wife. So the 
 people were glad to get hold of Mrs. Syddie to learn exactly how 
 it all happened, and she was so full of her own important part in 
 the matter, that she was not loathe to explain. "Ye see," she 
 said, " when Maister Kello askit me and Mistress Balfour to 
 gang ower an' cheer Mistress Kello up a bit, we gaed richt will- 
 antly. Gin we got to the manse the door was snibbed, an' tho' 
 the minister knocked an' kicked an' shook it there cam' nae 
 answer. We thocht it strange that she soold be oot when she 
 kenned it was time that the minister was hame, but we never 
 imagined. I think, tho', the minister began to jaloose, for big 
 draps o' sweat ran doon his cheeks, an' I thocht his haunds 
 shook. But we gaed to the back door, an' it was fastened too ; 
 an' neist the windows we tried, but there was nae opening o' 
 them. ' This is strange,' said the minister. Surely she's been 
 murdered, says I, but the minister turned richt on me, an' said, 
 ' No, no, wumman, dinna think o' such a thing.' Wi' main force 
 he broke open ae window, an' gaed in, tellin' us to wait an' he 
 wad open the door for us. Sae he gaed in, an' in a minute or 
 twa we heard a wild shout an' the door syne opened, an' before 
 us stood the minister, as white's a cloot, sayin', ' Come in, come 
 in, my dear wife is dead ; I fear she's ta'en her ain life.' Sae 
 we hurried up the stair, an' there, sure enough, hang the 
 wumman wi' her neck thrawn, an' her body as cauld as an 
 isechokill. The minister lifted her doon an' pit her on the bed, 
 but there was nae life in her, an' when we lookit we saw the 
 chair that she had kickit awa' aifter she had pitten the rope 
 
230 THE MINISTER OF SPOTT. 
 
 roun' her neck. It's an awfu' blow to the minister. I'm feart 
 he'll gang oot o' his heid next. We tried to comfort him, but 
 he's sittin' up yonder wi' her cauld haunds in his, cryin', ' My 
 dearie, my lamb,' an' askin' the puir corp why she sould hae 
 been sae far left to hersel' to dae sic a thing. Puir man ! my 
 heart feels for him ; but he kens weel where to turn for the best 
 consolation. But aifter a's said an' dune, it's weel he's rid o' 
 her, for a wumman wha wad dae the like o' that is no fit to 
 live." 
 
 The gossip's story was listened to with eagerness, and all 
 coincided with its sentiments in every respect. There was no 
 doubt that the woman had taken her own life while in one of 
 her fits of despondency. Everything pointed that way, from the 
 careful manner in which she had closed up each window and 
 door to the final kick she had given to the chair on which she 
 had stood while making her awful preparations. The Sheriff of 
 the district sent one of his agents to make an inquiry, and he, 
 too, coincided with the general view. A clearer case of suicide 
 was never known. The woman's despondency, this expert in 
 crime argued, must have arisen from insanity. She had every- 
 thing to live for. Her husband was a rising minister, and 
 sincerely loved her, as the last will and testament, which he 
 casually showed the of^cial, in which he bequeathed all his 
 earthly possessions to her, abundantly proved that he had her 
 welfare constantly in mind. So Mrs. Kello was buried in Spott 
 kirkyard, and the hearts of the people went out to the minister 
 and his disconsolate home. Wherever he went he met with the 
 kindest sympathy — except from Marion Lillie, who had an evil 
 twinkle in her eye when he passed her one day on the highway, 
 and muttered as she went that, as the devil had now got him, 
 the dark master might have allowed her to have shown him the 
 way. 
 
 A year later there was great rejoicing in the Parish of Spott. 
 The minister's gifts had been developed more fully than ever by 
 the awful experience through which he had passed. His spiri- 
 tuality had become purer it seemed by his personal affliction, 
 and his sorrows appeared to have drawn him more widely than 
 ever to the people. The minister was devoted to his work 
 before the tragedy occurred that blighted his life, but his activity 
 now was increased an hundredfold. He was everywhere in the 
 parish where his services were needed, even before they were 
 asked, seeming to know by intuition just where he was wanted. 
 
THE MINISTER OF SPOTT. 231 
 
 Never was there such a strengthener beside a sick bed, and, as 
 Tammas Dunkeson said, " Dying itself was nothing while the 
 minister stood by," while in the house of mourning he was such 
 a comforter that even the dispensations and chastisements of 
 Providence appeared to be truly blessings in disguise. The 
 little kirk at Spott was filled every Sabbath, while the com- 
 munion had to be dispensed in the open air, beside the Spott 
 Water, so great were the throngs on such occasions, and so 
 particular was the minister lest any one should be passed over 
 or missed. Oh, it was a rare season of quickening, such as 
 Spott had never before seen or enjoyed. Showers of blessing 
 seemed to fall day after day over the entire parish, and so 
 wonderful and widespread was the good work that Spott, once 
 so sadly forgotten, was now indeed a power in the land, a beacon 
 light in the darkness, much more powerful and far-reaching than 
 that of the Lamp of Lothian itself. 
 
 This wonderful success seemed too good to last, and it was 
 again feared that the minister — he who had brought about the 
 success — would be taken from them to some wider sphere of 
 labour, some place where his extraordinary gifts and astounding 
 aptitude for the work of the ministry would nourish a greater 
 field. It was not to be expected that the General Assembly 
 would leave such a worker in a small, country parish when there 
 was such mighty work to be done in the towns — in Edinburgh, 
 for instance. Mr. Kello himself gave no sign, not even a hint, 
 that he wanted a change. But it was only natural that he 
 should be called to a more important sphere, and the people all 
 reasoned that he was too staunch a Presbyterian, too loyal a 
 minister, too devoted a servant of the Kirk, not to obey any 
 demands which the leaders in the General Assembly might 
 submit to him. Meanwhile, however, they hung upon his 
 words, supported him in his work, and made his path as pleasant 
 as possible. 
 
 Such were the sentiments of the parishioners of Spott. The 
 satisfaction, therefore, was general when it became understood 
 that the minister and the youngest daughter of the laird of 
 Bothwell were engaged to be married. That meant that the 
 minister was really to remain with them, that he was to be 
 bound to them by ties of ownership in the soil, and that under 
 his guidance, and inspired by his eloquence, the Parish of Spott 
 was to continue to be the Gospel light of the Lammermoors. 
 
 Mrs. Kello had not long been buried when, in a quiet and 
 
232 THE MINISTER OF SPOTT. 
 
 unassuming way, without any protestations, the minister began 
 paying his attentions to Miss Carfrae. She was pleased at his 
 advances, sHght as they were, and becoming in every way to his 
 pecuhar position, and she encouraged them by those Httle arts 
 which every woman who wants to get married, and sees the 
 opportunity, knows just how to exercise. They spoke not of 
 love, but the minister professed to find such comfort in her 
 society that he often sought it. Her favourite Bible study was 
 the Book of Revelation, and this the minister was only too glad 
 to read over with her, and to attempt to open all its mysteries to 
 her as far as was possible for mortal ken. It was a delightful 
 theme for both, one which promised never to have an end, for 
 out of a line the minister would unfold an argument which led 
 to a dozen others. His financial arrangements with the laird 
 were broken through on the ground that the expenses attendant 
 upon his misfortune had temporarily crippled his means. This 
 was very disappointing to the old man at first, but as he began 
 to see how events were turning, and the prospect of having the 
 minister for a son-in-law dawned upon him, he became less 
 worried about the future of his eldest and helpless child. Mr. 
 Kello was a man whom he believed he could trust with the most 
 implicit confidence, and with such a one to carry on his burden 
 and extend a brother's love to the unfortunate girl, would have 
 no need of worrying about the future of his children, for in Mr. 
 Kello's care the estate would be in safe hands. Quietly, but 
 surely, did the light of love gather into a flame between the 
 minister and the maiden, and when his year's term of mourning 
 had expired, he proposed in gentle terms, and was promptly and 
 gladly accepted. When the news spread abroad — how it was 
 is not exactly known — every man, woman, and child in Spott 
 rejoiced with an exceeding great joy. 
 
 The time approached when it was settled that Mr. Kello was 
 to accompany his prospective father-in-law to Edinburgh to give 
 his advice in the drawing-up of the marriage agreement, and the 
 arrangements for the settlement of the estate and the charges 
 thereon. In the conversations over these matters which took 
 place between the laird and Mr. Kello, the latter acted in a 
 manner that seemed to indicate there was nothing sordid in his 
 disposition. Indeed, his main idea was, or seemed to be, that 
 the entire estate should be devised to the elder sister, with the 
 younger named simply as trustee, with the succession to herself 
 and children, as was only natural and right. Under these 
 
THE MINISTER OF SPOTT. 233 
 
 circumstances he thought the future Mrs. Kello should be con- 
 tent with an annual sum from the estate in the way of recom- 
 pense, and this, with his own stipend, would be enough for her 
 suitable maintenance, while the bulk of the income from the 
 estate, after the father's death, could be devoted to the afflicted 
 one. Both the prospective father-in-law and the intended bride 
 were more than charmed with the minister's self-abnegation in 
 the arrangements he proposed, but neither cared to agree to 
 them. There was no use, the old man said, of needlessly tying 
 up the estate, for he had entire confidence in Mr. Kello, and it 
 would be better, when the time came, for the helpless daughter 
 to remain in his charge, rather than in a condition of indepen- 
 dence, which might leave her a prey to some unprincipled 
 influence. Her own safety made it necessary that she should 
 have some one to whom she could look for her care and 
 guidance, and for her own sake it was better that the one 
 selected as protector should be connected with the family. The 
 younger sister wanted the estate settled upon herself, so that she 
 might enjoy the social standing that would naturally come to its 
 heiress or proprietoress, and affirmed that she could attend to 
 the wants and bear with the afflictions of her sister better than 
 any stranger who might be appointed trustee. So it was finally 
 decided that the estate was to be devised to the younger sister, 
 and that a charge of a certain amount was to be administered 
 by Mr. Kello for behoof of the elder. This was deemed the 
 best disposition of the whole matter that could be devised, and 
 Mr. Carfrae and his intended son-in-law started for Edinburgh 
 to have it set forth in writing in legal form. They were to be 
 absent three weeks, or rather three Sabbaths, and during that 
 time the spiritual welfare of the parish was to be looked after by 
 John Melville, a scion of that Melville family which left such a 
 glorious record in the history of the Kirk. Melville was just 
 from college, and was much pleased to begin his ministry in a 
 parish that had such a record. 
 
 Mr. Kello left Spott with the good-wishes of all — that is, with 
 the good-wishes of all who had souls to be saved, and that was 
 all excepting old Marion Lillie, who, it was vaguely hinted, had 
 long ago sold her soul to the Evil One. Like most of the women 
 who were reputed witches, it is safe to say that many of Marion's 
 alleged dealings with the Evil One were due rather to popular 
 amazement at her natural shrewdness than to any real evidence 
 of supernatural powers. Certainly her nephew, ]\Ir. Simpson, 
 
 P 
 
234 THE MINISTER OF SPOTT. 
 
 who was minister at Berwick, and was her chief confident, 
 declared he never saw any indication of her alleged unholy 
 alliance, but, in fact, relied greatly on her judgment when any 
 of the customary trials or vexations of life overtook him. Still, 
 she had the gift of prophecy — of that there was no doubt — and 
 the doom was assured of any wretch on whom she cast her evil 
 eye. She had long ago confided her suspicions regarding Mr. 
 Kello to her nephew, but he had admonished her that she was 
 wrong, and that she ought to restrain such thoughts about a man 
 who was doing such grand work. All this admonition, this 
 evidence of perfect faith on the part of one so full of learning as 
 her nephew, did not make Marion's suspicions subside for a 
 moment. She had watched carefully, treasured in her memory 
 the details of her interviews, had put one bit of evidence along- 
 side of another, and guessed at the minister's terrible secret more 
 closely than she even dared to tell her nephew openly, although 
 her hints fully indicated the direction and result of her thoughts. 
 As might be expected from one harbouring such suspicions, she 
 did not grieve when Mr. Kello mounted his horse and rode 
 down through the village. She even ventured openly upon a bit 
 of prophecy. " Aye, ye may a' say fareweel till him, for he'll 
 never come back,'' and then, turning to Mr. Melville, who stood 
 near, waving his hand in adieu, she said, " Laddie, when he 
 gangs oot o' the boonds o' the parish ye'U be its minister, for yon 
 man's day is nearly dune. The hemp is woven that is to fit his 
 neck — that is, to thraw his craig as he thrawed anither's." Mr. 
 Melville turned away without saying a word, or paying much 
 attention to what he thought to be the ravings of a partially 
 insane woman, but afterwards he remembered. 
 
 Mr. Kello's reception in Edinburgh by the leaders in the 
 Kirk was in the nature of an ovation — or what would be called 
 such in clerical circles in modern times. It was quiet, as became 
 the matter-of-fact, undemonstrative nature of the Scots, and as 
 became men who were impressed with the dignity of their 
 calling. There was an utter absence of what modern newspaper 
 reporters would call " enthusiasm." But wherever the minister 
 went he was welcomed with a degree of warmth that left no 
 doubt as to its sincerity. Two days after his arrival he was 
 taken down to the Netherbow, beside which was the residence 
 of John Knox, and there had an interview with that great and 
 good man who was then in ill-health and upon whom the 
 shadows of the great night were beginning to fall. Knox re- 
 
THE MINISTER OF SPOTT. 235 
 
 ceived him in his Httle study, complimented him on his worl^ at 
 Spott, gave him such wise counsel as an aged minister might 
 give to one whose work was, in comparison, only beginning, and 
 admonished him, above all, to devote himself with singleness of 
 heart to the work to which God had called him. "The Master," 
 he said, "demands every thought of the servant's mind, every 
 moment of his time. With singleness of heart even a man of 
 ordinary gifts can, with the blessing of God, do grand work by 
 precept and by example, but without it even the greatest of 
 talents are of no avail, are rather in the end a curse to those 
 endowed with them." Knox spoke throughout to Mr. Kello as 
 to a m.an who was likely to become one of the leaders in the 
 Kirk, warned him against pride or avarice, or luke-warmedness, 
 and implored him, in dealing with the world, to remember that 
 religion was all in all or rather was the outcome of all. " A 
 State without religion," he said, "would be a barren waste; a 
 home without religion would be a menace. We cannot separate 
 religion from common, domestic, or State life. It enters into 
 all. A State which does not profess religion is doomed, and it 
 behoves every true servant of God to watch over the affairs of 
 State to see that everything proposed or done redounds to the 
 glory of the Father. I give ye one charge. Whatever comes 
 before in Kirk or State, whether puir man or prince be con- 
 cerned, ask yourself 'where does Christ come in.' That is the 
 grand test for everything, and its application will surely keep ye 
 right in all seasons." After much talk of this sort, the Scottish 
 Apostle bade the younger man a kindly farewell. 
 
 On the first Sabbath of his Edinburgh visit, Mr. Kello preached 
 in the Chapel Royal on the invitation of the minister, Mr. 
 Duncaneson, in presence of the young King, the Regent Murray, 
 and a brilliant congregation of lords and ladies. His text was 
 from II Timothy, iii. 10: "Thou has seen the experience of 
 my doctrine," and the sermon seemed to thrill all who listened 
 to it. It reviewed the progress of Scotland during the few years 
 that had passed since the Reformation was established, and 
 showed what great blessings might be expected to fall upon the 
 country in the future by adhering to the principles then agreed 
 to. The preacher's words, Lord Murray said, were as precious 
 as any he had ever listened to, so full were they of strength, of 
 hope, of guidance, and when the services were over he took Mr. 
 Kello by the hand and thanked him in the presence of the 
 entire people. 
 
236 THE MINISTER OF SPOTT. 
 
 The following Sabbath he preached in John Knox's old pulpit 
 in St. Giles Cathedral at the request of Mr. John Lawson, and 
 on that occasion he analyzed the policy of the Regent, pointed 
 out two or three trifling mistakes, but commended it on the 
 whole, and showed clearly the providence of God in raising up 
 such a man to guide Scotland through such a crisis. This dis- 
 course, being carried to the Court, raised Mr. Kello vastly in 
 the good opinion of the Regent, did more in fact to make him 
 really popular than did the service of many who had grown gray 
 battling for the right, so easily is fame sometimes won, so care- 
 lessly is work done often forgotten. He would have preached 
 there again on his third Sabbath in the capital had not Mr. 
 Robert Pont held him to a previous promise to exhort the 
 people of St. Cuthbert's. 
 
 The grand holiday in Edinburgh, with all its pleasures and 
 triumphs had to come to an end as have all things earthly. The 
 day before their departure, Mr. Kello and Mr. Carfrae went to 
 Holyrood and had an interview with the Regent. The latter 
 regretted that Mr. Kello was to return to Spott, to a place so 
 little in keeping with his talents, and offered him an appoint- 
 ment as domestic chaplain until some charge could be found for 
 him in Edinburgh, or one or other of the university towns. 
 When, however, the circumstances of the approaching marriage 
 were explained to the Good Lord James, he ceased all opposi- 
 tion to the minister's departure, but said that whenever an 
 opportunity arose he would remember him, and that he had no 
 doubt Edinburgh would soon see him again and claim him until 
 the end of his days. 
 
 So, too, thought the minister as he rode through Musselburgh 
 on his way homeward. He told the laird that he had a pre- 
 sentiment he would return to the capital before long, and the 
 laird agreed with him, for the words of the Regent were too 
 earnest to be merely perfunctory, and the man's fame had so 
 spread that he could hardly escape a call. Indeed he thought 
 that such a call should be accepted, for he was sure his daughter 
 would enjoy spending a year or two in the metropolis before the 
 time came for her and her husband to settle down on the estate 
 of Bothwell. Everything at that moment seemed to favour the 
 minister. The world was at his feet. His slightest word was 
 law to the laird. His struggles were over. His position in life 
 was assured. He had won the fight. 
 
 The journey proceeded quietly until Berwick was reached, 
 
THE MINISTER OF SPOTT. 237 
 
 and there the minister suddenly fell sick. A local doctor bled 
 him so much that he became too weak to leave his bed, and 
 then fever set in, showing that a speedy restoration to health 
 was not to be expected. So, after the crisis was past the laird 
 left him in Berwick and proceeded alone to Spott, his purpose 
 being to explain to the waiting congregation and people the 
 cause of the delay and then return. Before he left, however, he 
 called on Mr. Simpson, the local minister, and asked him to 
 look after Mr. Kello's comfort. Ah ! how little in this world do 
 we know of the web which fate is continually weaving around 
 us, or how easily our own weft is broken. Had Mr. Kello fallen 
 ill at Haddington, or Dunbar, or anywhere else on the road, 
 how very different the result might have been, but fate had 
 woven around him a line which led him to Berwick — and ended 
 there, at least that line reached a point there and then turned 
 toward Edinburgh again. 
 
 Mr. Simpson had heard all his aunt's sayings about Mr. Kello, 
 and had not only listened to her suspicions of his having 
 murdered his wife, but also to her theory of how it was done. 
 He had placed little reliance on it all, regarding it as only the 
 gossip of an old woman who had for some reason taken a pre- 
 judice against the minister of her parish. But to his amazement, 
 when seated at the bedside of Mr. Kello, who became delirious 
 after the departure of Mr, Carfrae, what should he hear from the 
 lips of the unconscious man but the same story that old Marion 
 had told him of the death of Mrs. Kello, only the story was 
 acted, as it were, in his presence with the thoughts, the soul, of 
 the principal actor laid bare. The good man was pained beyond 
 all description at the unconscious betrayal, and shrunk from the 
 writhing but helpless wretch before him, now chuckling with 
 fiendish glee, now whispering cunningly, now grasping at 
 shadows, at unseen forms, now crying aloud from despair. It 
 was an awful recital, and though it made his flesh creep, Mr. 
 Simpson kept everyone from the room until the paroxysm had 
 passed and the patient had fallen into a sound and peaceful 
 sleep, a sleep which the surgeon said meant life to the patient. 
 But no sleep came to Mr. Simpson that night. 
 
 The next morning when he got to the bedside of the patient 
 he found him much improved. The fever had entirely left, his 
 mind was clear, and his pulse beat regularly and normally. The 
 sick man knew he had been delirious, had learned that Mr. 
 Simpson had sat beside him through it all, and had a vague 
 
238 THE MINISTER OF SPOTT. 
 
 idea that he had been talking about the great tragedy of his life. 
 Mr. Simpson, as in duty bound, first prayed by the bedside of 
 the sufferer, and then had a brief religious conversation, which 
 proved to be all that a spiritual adviser could wish. Then Mr. 
 Kello began talking about his illness, described its approach and 
 culmination, and said it had reached its height in a horrible 
 dream the remembrance of which still haunted and troubled 
 him. " I imagined that I was sitting in my own bedroom at 
 Spott with my dear departed wife, when suddenly I felt myself 
 bound. A man whose face I could not discern came into the 
 room, slipped up beside my partner as she was bending over 
 some sewing, cast a rope around her neck and strangled her 
 before my eyes, I tried to break my bonds but could not. I 
 tried to speak but my tongue failed. My dear one I saw die. 
 The man walked slowly away, his face always in such deep 
 shadow that I could not distinguish the features. Next I heard 
 him ascend to a garret and open the skylight so as to leave the 
 house by the roof Then everything faded away and I remem- 
 ber nothing more till I awoke this morning. I have only a 
 vague recollection of my dream. Said I aught of all this in your 
 hearing ? " 
 
 " Aye, and a great deal more," replied Mr. Simpson, who was 
 trembling with excitement. 
 
 " Did I describe the man?" asked the minister, raising him- 
 self up in the bed with an anxious look. " Did I mention his 
 name ? Who was he ? Speak man, I want to know who was 
 my own worst enemy. Who did I say was the man ? " 
 
 '' Thou art the man," hissed Mr. Simpson, and with a cry of 
 despair, and trembling in every limb, the patient threw himself 
 back on his pillow and covered his face from the light. " Thou 
 art the man, thou wert the murderer," repeated Mr. Simpson, 
 " and thy guilt clings to thee even yet. Oh, what a crime, how 
 heartless, how mercenary ! A human life, perhaps an immortal 
 soul, sacrificed for a little money, and an unrepentant soul wan- 
 dering the earth but hastening on to doom, day after day get- 
 ting nearer the awful judgment seat from which the truth cannot 
 be hidden. You have said enough in your delirium to show the 
 motive for your crime, to relate its incidents, so that I see you 
 now fasten your doors, creep up behind your wife and send her 
 soul into the presence of its maker, while on her knees asking 
 grace from the mercy seat for you. I implore you to confess, 
 to ease your conscience of the awful burden of concealment. 
 
THE MINISTER OF SPOTT. 239 
 
 Your life now hangs by a thread, another return of the delirium 
 and your career with its burden of guilt will be ended, and you 
 will be driven into the presence of your God unrepentant, 
 damned for all eternity. Repent now. Ask from men that 
 pardon you will have to ask from your Maker. Only a little 
 time may be left to you. I beseech you to unburden your soul 
 as completely as you can, for it is only by asking mercy here 
 that mercy will be granted hereafter. Repent now. An hour 
 later it may be beyond your power to repent." 
 
 The world seemed dark to the sick man, and not even a ray 
 from above appeared to lighten the gloom. Physically he was 
 greatly debilitated by his illness, and as a result his iron will 
 was, for the time, broken. With tears in his eyes he confessed 
 all, told of his career from the time he left Linlithgow and Mr. 
 Simpson wrote it all down. Then, sending out for Robert 
 Lauder and George Haliburton, who were associated with him 
 in the religious work of the place as Bible readers, he read in 
 their presence what he had witten, in the form of a confession, 
 and Mr. Kello signed it and the others witnessed his signature. 
 That same night Haliburton carried the confession to Edinburgh, 
 and the next morning placed it in the hands of the King's Advo- 
 cate, John Spens — Black John Spens as he is called in Scottish 
 contemporary history. 
 
 Mr. Kello slept well that night and when he awoke long after 
 daybreak, he felt very much stronger. Mr. Simpson called early 
 but said nothing as to what had been done with the confession, 
 and the patient, feeling that he had passed the danger stage in 
 his illness, was sorry he had made it. He implored Mr. Simpson 
 that, as he had confessed to him in the same spirit that a dying 
 Catholic penitent confesses to a friar, to say nothing about it to 
 any one. Indeed he assured him that in his confession, as he 
 recalled it, he had said things which were really the result of 
 delirium and were untrue, and he even asked to see the paper he 
 had signed. Mr. Simpson promised he would surely see it 
 again, and that was all he would say on the subject, although 
 as the day wore on Mr. Kello became very importunate in his 
 demands, to get even a sight of it. Had it been possible to 
 have gratified these demands he would have made short work 
 with its destruction. 
 
 On the following day Mr. Kello was able to sit up, and he 
 talked about going to Spott in the morning. In the evening 
 Laird Carfrae and his daughter arrived in a big conveyance 
 
240 THE MINISTER OF SPOTT. 
 
 from Spott so that they could take the patient back with them 
 comfortably. They all spent a merry evening, and it was 
 arranged when they parted for the night that they should leave 
 on the following day and travel leisurely to Spott. All retired 
 to bed by nine o'clock, so that the minister might get a good 
 night's rest. The minister, however, could not sleep, the con- 
 fession which he had been so foolish to make and to sign, 
 troubled him, and he arose, partly dressed himself, and wrote a 
 pathetic note which he proposed to send to Mr. Simpson early 
 in the morning before he left for Spott. While writing, he was 
 disturbed by the noise of some new arrivals at the inn, and he 
 had hardly sealed his note ere some one knocked at the door of 
 his room seeking admittance. An hour later he was travelling 
 along the Edinburgh road in a wagon and with an officer on 
 either side — a prisoner arrested on a charge of murder. 
 
 The arrest caused a painful sensation in Berwick, in Spott, in 
 Edinburgh, and few at first believed there were any grounds for 
 it. The minister left a note for the laird, saying he was the 
 victim of a foul conspiracy, and when the old man read it in the 
 morning his first thought was to rush in to Edinburgh and get 
 means to defend the victim. But he could not leave his 
 daughter, who seemed to be growing crazy from the suddenness 
 of the blow which had darkened her life, and after a long talk 
 with Mr. Simpson Mr. Carfrae deemed it best to leave Mr. Kello 
 to his fate and to carry his daughter to her home. In Edin- 
 burgh everyone believed the minister to be innocent. So he 
 himself stoutly declared, but Mr. George Borthwick, one of the 
 public prosecutors, visited him in the Tolbooth jail, confession 
 in hand, and after questioning him the prisoner broke down, again 
 confessed his guilt, and asked for mercy. At his own request he 
 washurried before the Lords of Session, his confession was read, his 
 plea was accepted, and his doom was pronounced before people 
 had even time to discuss the strange series of incidents which 
 had made so terrible a transformation in a human life. 
 
 In prison, while waiting for the execution of his terrible sen- 
 tence, Kello had time to review his life and to prepare a defence 
 of several of the charges which had been brought against him. 
 When a man finds himself stripped of friends and fortune, and 
 bereft of hope and even of character, he is generally able to take 
 a clearer view of his own conduct than when he is able to apply 
 to it any of the gloss which social position or hypocrisy, or self- 
 conceit, or assurance, or cunning can give it. A prison is a 
 
THE MINISTER OF SPOTT. 241 
 
 great leveller ; as great a leveller in its way as death. It strips 
 the prisoner of all the accessories of civilisation, the trappings of 
 the stage of life, and leaves his true character bare and without 
 the means of assuming any disguise. A prison is in many ways 
 less kind than the grave. " Death steps in an' speirs nae ques- 
 tions," says an oft quoted proverb, but the prison is a place 
 where man is subject to all sorts of questions, where he has no 
 refuge from the questioner. Death throws at least the mantle 
 of charity over a man's life and his sins, but in prison every 
 vestige of charity is rudely thrown away, and nothing but evil is 
 seen, and seen so plainly that it is magnified even in the eyes of 
 the charitable and the good. 
 
 Having confessed at least twice to the charge of committing 
 murder, Kello knew there was little use in trying to disguise or 
 explain away the enormity of his crime. But as it seems to be 
 natural for all men to blame someone else for their misdeeds he 
 blamed the devil, not John Kello. He knew from a letter re- 
 ceived from Mr. Simpson — a letter full of implorings for repent- 
 ance — that all was over between him and the lands of Bothwell, 
 and as he had no need of further regard on that matter, he dis- 
 missed the subject from his thoughts but not, it must be con- 
 fessed, without some pangs, for the prize had been so nearly in 
 his grasp. His severest trial was when Superintendent Spottis- 
 wood and Mr. Pont visited him and accused him of bringing 
 disgrace on the ministry, and of acting the part of a hypocrite 
 toward the church, and spoke of how its enemies in the old 
 religion were glorying in his crime. From the charge of hypo- 
 crisy he defended himself with vigour. In connection with the 
 ministry he defied them to point to one act which was not in 
 keeping with his ordination vows. As a minister he had worked 
 hard, he had converted many evildoers, he was faithful and 
 prompt to every call which had been made upon him, and his 
 pulpit utterances were always carefully prepared, always thought- 
 fully wrought out. As a minister he had ever been faithful, as a 
 man he had been tempted by the devil, and fell, as did David 
 of old. They declined to see the distinction he had drawn, told 
 him a minister was a minister with every breath he drew after 
 his ordination. Leaving that argument, he strove with them to 
 plead for him with the Regent, but they told him that public 
 opinion was now aroused to the heinousness of his offence and 
 demanded his death. To him this world was done, and it be- 
 hoved him to think of trying to win peace and pardon in the 
 
 Q 
 
242 THE MINISTER OF SPOTT. 
 
 * 
 
 world to which he was so swiftly hastening. But Kello still 
 dung to the hope of life. He urged that he could yet do much 
 good work in the Master's service, and that by doing such work 
 he could most surely work out his own salvation. He would 
 leave the country. He would work in Ireland where much was 
 to be done. But to all this they turned a deaf ear. "Ye maun 
 dree your weird," said Mr. Pont. Again he returned to the 
 hope of life. The Lord Regent thought highly of him he said, 
 and a word from the Court would override the sentence. He 
 was too young to give up his life, and the Kirk was too young 
 to permit one of its ministers to die on a scafifold. He con- 
 tinued on in this strain for some time, but the good men told 
 him plainly there was no use of his trying to escape the doom 
 his crime had fully merited, and implored him to think that the 
 moments were fleeting away and that he had little time in which 
 to try and make his peace with his Maker. Then they talked 
 of the sufferings of Christ, who died upon the tree so that He 
 might plead even for the most unworthy of sinners, and when 
 they prayed Mr. Kello knelt beside them. 
 
 The prisoner, however, did not make up his mind that the 
 end was really at hand until he had dispatched a humble petition 
 to the Lord Regent, and for answer received a message by 
 Advocate Borthwick that nothing on earth could save him ; that 
 he had been unfaithful to his trust as a preacher, and must now 
 submit to the just penalty which his fellow men had imposed on 
 him for his awful crime, and look for pardon only from above. 
 
 It was two days before the time set for his execution that this 
 message reached the doomed man, and then, realizing that all 
 was over he dismissed the thought of life from his mind. He 
 had only one thing left to do, and that was to defend his 
 memory from being recalled as that of one who had brought 
 disgrace upon the ministry. With that purpose in view he care- 
 fully prepared a " declaration " which was to be given to Mr. 
 Pont after all was over. This document contained again a con- 
 fession of the crime, but its main purpose was an attempt to 
 prove that the failure of the man did not necessarily imply any 
 failure of the teacher or militate in the slightest against what he 
 taught. " He acknowledged his fault," the old record tells us, 
 "and desired the people not to measure the truth of God's word 
 by the lives or falls of the preachers." If, however, he was 
 wrong in this " he desired all good Christians to forgive him the 
 slander, specially the preachers of the word, whose doctrine and 
 labours Satan had laboured through him to deface." Thus, 
 
THE MINISTER OF SPOTT. 243 
 
 throwing his burden of sin once more on the devil, the fallen 
 minister prepared for the death now so close at hand. 
 
 It was on a beautiful morning in early October when the cart 
 drew up in front of the Tolbooth that was to take Kello to the 
 usual place of execution in the Grassmarket to end there his 
 life's strange journey. Mr. Pont rode with him to keep his mind 
 bent on spiritual matters, and to show the multitude that if 
 Kello had sinned he had also repented. When the little pro- 
 cession reached the appointed spot the rude scaffold was all 
 ready for its victim — victims were plentiful in those days — and 
 as soon as Mr. Kello had mounted it he fell on his knees and 
 began praying in a manner so beautiful, so pathetic, that it made 
 everyone, even the hangman, weep. Then he spoke to the 
 people, confessing once more his crime, and telling them that he 
 had given a most complete acknowledgment to his good friend 
 Mr. Pont, showing how he had become a helpless agent in the 
 hands of the devil, and warning everyone against the wiles of 
 that arch-enemy. Everything was then in readiness for his un- 
 doing, but he walked to the other end of the scaffold and stood 
 there alone for a few moments. Desiring to know his latest 
 thoughts, Mr. Pont at length stepped up to him and asked what 
 they were. "Do you see that house," he replied, "that house 
 across the street with the boy sitting on the stone seat at the 
 door ? I was born there. I used to sit on that seat, my father 
 placed it there for me. That boy's beginning and mine were the 
 same, and I was trying to look into the future to see what his 
 end might be. But the future is yet veiled from me. Farewell." 
 Then, shaking Mr. Pont's hand he mounted the little ladder 
 which led to the noose, gave himself up to the hangman, and in 
 a few moments had penetrated the veil which separates the seen 
 from the unseen. Within an hour his body was burned to ashes, 
 and these were thrown loosely away in the darkness of the night, 
 so that not even a grave held evidence of his ever having existed. 
 
 "A singular man," muttered Mr, Pont as he turned mourn- 
 fully away. 
 
 " This is a queer warld," said Tammas Dunkeson when the 
 news of the execution reached Spott. 
 
 "The devil's got his due at last," said Marion Lillie. 
 
 "Vengeance is mine," was the text on which Mr. Melville 
 preached the Sabbath following the execution. 
 
 But in all broad Scotland there was not one to say : '' Poor 
 Mr. Kello." 
 
 THE END. 
 
London Office: ^ilS p- ^ >"2??Sk 1897. 
 
 26 Paternoster Square. 
 
 1Re\\) Booh6 anC) Hnnouncemente 
 
 BY 
 
 Alex. Gardner, Paisley, 
 
 publisher nub bookseller to ^er Jttajestp the Quceu. 
 
 :^ 
 
 IN FOUR VOLUMES, ABOUT 500 PAGES EACH. 
 
 The Editions are — 
 
 1. The Ordinary Edition, in Demy Octavo, Cloth Binding. ^"4 4s. 
 
 2. The Same Edition, in llalf-crinison Calf Extra, Gilt Top. ^5 5s. 
 
 3. The Large Paper Edition, in Royal Octavo, Roxburgh or Half-Calf Extra 
 
 Binding, Antique Paper. /^6 6s. 
 
 Carriage Paid to any Address. 
 
 The History of Civilisation in Scotland. 
 
 By John Mackintosh, LL.D. 
 
 The Publisher has the pleasure of announcing that the New Edition 
 of this important work — in great part re-written and thoroughly 
 revised — is now completed. A detailed Prospectus gives full jjar- 
 ticulars respecting the contents of each volume. It may be pointed 
 out that in no other existing publication has the same ground been 
 covered in connection with the Intellectual, Social, and Industrial 
 History of Scotland, and that no other attempt has ever been made to 
 treat it on the same plan or with the same fulness of detail, 
 
 *' The book has already taken a definite place as a monument of 
 learning and patient patriotic industry."— G/asr/ott' Herald. 
 
 " This is a book that ought to be read by every student who wishes 
 to understand in its true bearings the marvellous history of the Scot- 
 tish people."^/'eop/e's Friend. 
 
 " Dr. Mackintosh is to be congratulated on the completion of the new edition of 
 his History of Civilisation in Scotland. His heavy and arduous task has been ac- 
 complished under difficulties of no ordinary kind. The merits of Dr. Mackintosh's 
 work are many. The general arrangement is good. His meaning is always 
 obvious. Instead of slavishly adopting the opinions of men of acknowledged 
 eminence in their own department, he not infrequently ventures to differ from 
 them ; but while bringing a vigorous intellect and shrewd common-sense to bear 
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 criticisms usually fair. No one can turn over the pages of this work in the most 
 cursory manner without perceiving that the indefatigable author is not only a man 
 of wide and varied culture, but a laborious reader with an extensive knowledge of 
 books. The general reader will find Dr. Mackintosh's work a veritable storehouse 
 of information concerning the history of Scotland." — "J'he Bookman. 
 
Scandinavian Folk-Lore. By W. A. 
 
 Craigie, M.A., F.S.A. Cr. 8vo. Cloth, ys. 6d. Post Free. 
 The Stories here collected fall into ten divisions — 
 
 I. Legends of the Old Gods. 
 II. Trolls and Giants. 
 
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 V. Nisses or Brownies. 
 
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 ken, Mermaid, etc.). 
 
 VII. Monsters (Lindorm, Were- 
 wolf, Dragon, etc.). 
 VIII. Ghosts and Wraiths. 
 IX. Witches and Wizards. 
 X. Christian Legends (Stories 
 connected with churches, 
 etc.). 
 
 The collection covers the whole period of Scandinavian folk-lore, 
 from the Icelandic sagas down to modern works on the subject. In 
 all cases the most amusing or interesting legends have been taken ; 
 dry details are mainly relegated to the notes, which also give the 
 sources and variatio7is of the tales. 
 
 "Mr. Craigie's book is a treasure indeed, the stories being short, startling, per- 
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 Craigie has ransacked the stores of the Icelandic, Faeroese, Danish and Swedish. 
 Here are the fancies of a thousand years, collected from the Ancient Sagas and the 
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 samples of Mr. Craigie's tales, which deal with many other amusing topics, and 
 
 FILL A GREAT BLANK L\ ENGLISH BoOKS ON FOLK LORE." — Daily Nezvs. 
 
 "The unwritten literature of primitive races in every part of the universe is being 
 drawn upon, and the stories handed down from sire to son supply the links that 
 are required to till the breaks in the history of mankind. Beyond the decider 
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 variants of a folk-tale there is for the general reader an element ot strong but 
 simple intere.-^t, ... A work which commends itself to the attention of both 
 sets of readers — to the scientific and the seeker after mere entertainment. This is 
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 arrangement, and edited with fine judgment. The spirit of the originals have been 
 retained in the simplicity of the translations, and very wisely the text has not been 
 over-burthened with notes. Into this volume the reader who has some intimacy 
 with the old-world lore of his own country cannot dip without discovering some 
 source of enjoyment." — Dundee. Courier. 
 
 " Here we have, brought within one cover, the whole d'aiiiatis persojia: of the 
 invisible world ; a real .nnd substantial world enough to men of old, in whose 
 beliets the student may trace the germs of many a superstition that lingers in the 
 civilised zone to-day. In that quest he will find Mr. Craigie a sure-footed guide, 
 while they who seek only amusement will not be turned empty away." — Daily 
 Chronicle. 
 
 " He has done his work excellently, and has made a book which is not only 
 valuable to the student, but also entertaining to the general reader." — Academy. 
 
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 us three years ago as ' one of the best parish histories that Scotland has pro- 
 duced. — Atltenoeum. 
 
 " Is the fruit of the encouragements Mr. Maughan leceived for his valuable 
 parish history of Rosneath. Of Garelochside, and indeed of the County of Dum- 
 barton he has much to say that is of more than mere local value. The details are 
 minute, but not too much so for readers interested in one of the most beautitul 
 counties in Scotland. In a history of this kind we look for the record of customs, 
 amusements, and primitive superstitions common to the locality, and Mr. Maughan 
 does not disappoint us. We may add that Mr. Maughan's volume is well prmted, 
 and is made more serviceable and attractive by a map and by illustrations of the 
 neighbourhood. — Sped a/ or. 
 
 " Mr. Maughan has given us a most careful study, as well historical as topogra- 
 phical, of the three chief parishes which border the smaller but not much less 
 charming loch which lies to the west of Loch Lomond ; the parishes namely of 
 Row, R(Ksneath, and Cardross. He gives us details of the life and pursuits of the 
 inhabitants, of their industries and occupations; and has much to say of the estates 
 of the landholding families of the neighbourhood, both in ancient and in modern 
 limes. We commend his book with confidence to everybody who takes an interest 
 in (the district) — and the more securely because, when he is tired of reading, he 
 can amuse himself with the illustrations, which are numerous and excellent." — 
 Vanity Fair. 
 
 "Mr. Maughan, as was to be expected, has done his work faithfully and well. 
 He has brought under contribution all the best authorities on the portion of Scot- 
 tish history with which he had to deal. The result of these studies as embodied in 
 the first two chapters — 'County of Dunbarton Two Centuries Ago,' and 'The 
 Lennox and Colquhoun P'amilies,' is a most excellent summary of historical events 
 and a compact picture of the social life of what was in these distant times a some- 
 what remote portion of the West of Scotland. Passing over Mr. Maughan's gra- 
 pb.ic account of the Battle of (jlenfruin, we come to some interesting reminiscences 
 which have been furnished to him by a nonagenarian still living, Mr. John bell of 
 Dunbarton. In the interesting chapters dealing with the Parish of Rosneath, the 
 author gives some reminiscences of the early days of P. B. Smollett, descendant of 
 the author of ' rium]:)hrey Clinker.' . . . He must be congratulated on having 
 produced a most interesting and instructive book, which will take an important 
 place among the local histories of the West of Scotland." — Glasgo'cU Herald. 
 
 "In his present volume Mr. Maughan has surpassed himself and produced a 
 work fuller, more graphic, and in every respect suj^erior to his earlier performance. 
 He has evidently gone further afield for information, anil besides consulting aged 
 inhabitants of the district, and using his own faculties of observation, he has marie 
 use of a large amount of printed material, and apparently spared no effort to make 
 his 'Annals' of one of the most beautiful districts of Scotland as comjilete as pos- 
 
9 
 
 sible. We have summaries of the histories of the Lennox and Colquhoun families, 
 and excellent sketches of Henry Bell, of steamboat fame, and of Robert Napier of 
 West Shandon, the engine builder. Mr. Maughan has made good use of the 
 parochial records of each parish, and has much to say about their ministers." — 
 Scottish Kevieiv. 
 
 " The author has brought together much valuable information regarding the 
 proprietary history, topography, and general history of these localities, and he 
 writes with an intimate knowledge of the places described. Rarely has there been 
 a history of so circumscribed a district in Scotland written with the fullness and 
 accuracy which characterise Mr. Maughan's work." — Dundee Advertiser. 
 
 " Forms attractive reading. Mr. Maughan's work is a most interesting review. 
 The Annals of Garelochside is in three sections, Row, Rosneath, and Cardross, 
 and each is handled with discriminating pen." — Glas'^ow Evening Citizen. 
 
 "The region thus embraced in bis "Annals " stretches from Loch Lomond to 
 Loch Long, and from the vicinity of Dunbarton to the great hills at the top of 
 Glenfruin. It has a history that is not unworthy of the beautiful and pic- 
 turesque features of the scenery ; and in Mr. Maughan it has found a zealoas 
 and painstaking chronicler. . . . He and the district are to be congratu- 
 lated on his having recovered and preserved so much valuable and interesting 
 matter, otherwise in danger of being lost, in the shape of reminiscences and old 
 M'orld memories of the Gareloch and its inhabitants, of times when conventicles 
 were held in Ptow churchyard, when smuggling was rife in the locality." — 
 Scotuman. 
 
 The Harp of the Scottish Covenant. 
 
 Poems, Song-, and Ballads relating to the Covenanting Struggle. 
 C«')llei:ted and edited by John AL\cfarlaxe, author of ' Heather 
 and Harebell.' With a Preface by Prof. J. Clark Murray, 
 author of 'The Ballads and Songs of Srot'nnd.' Crown Svo. 
 Cloth. 340 paies. Price 6s. Post free. 
 
 " Much that is excellent and characteristic belongs to the minstrelsy of the blue 
 banner ; and loveis of poetry in gentrral, antl of SdHiish poetry in particular, owe 
 a debt of gratitude to the editor for the skill mid knowledge with which he has 
 l)rought together into one view the best ot the C>>venanting pieces. . . . The 
 anthohigy is carefully made, and will be welcauied as exemplifying in one of its 
 most characteristic phases the national gift of song, and as illustrating a theme 
 which will stir the hearts of men wherever men are readv to fisrht and die for the 
 faith that is in them. ' — Scoisinan. 
 
 " The editor has done his work exceedingly well. lie has ranged from Allan 
 Cunningham to Robert Louis Stevenson, and we do not remember anything of im- 
 portance he has omitted. Most readers will agree with Prolessor Murray that 'the 
 editor oi' this volume has proved that there is a Harp of the Covenant, which can 
 strike a genuine poetic tone ; and Scotsmen, all the world over, must feel intlebted 
 to him for having done such a labour of love, ^nO^ for having (Wn-\c it so well.' " — 
 Glasoow Herald. 
 
 ■'A' 
 
 Hutton. — '' The Ascent of Man " : Its Note of 
 
 Theology. By the Very Rev. Principal Hutton, D.D. Fcap. 
 4to. Price is. nett. 
 
 The Word and the Hook. By the 
 
 Very Rev. Principal Hutto.*^, D.D. Crown 8vo. Boards, is. 
 
 B 
 
TO 
 
 Ne7v and Revised Edition. 
 Cr. 8vo. 6go Pages. Price ^s. ; Thick Paper ^ ys. 6d. ; Post Free. 
 
 The Ballad Minstrelsy of Scotland : 
 
 Romantic and Historical. With Introduction and Notes, etc., 
 by Patrick Buchan. Collated and Annotated. 
 
 The lovers and students of Scottish ballad poetry will learn with pleasure that 
 Mr. Alexander Gardner, of Paisley, has issued a new and revised edition of " The 
 Ballad Minstrelsy of Scotland : Romantic and Historical," originally published a 
 little more than twenty years ago, and which has been out of print for some time. 
 This collection, which is full, and carefully edited, with ample notes and introduc- 
 tion, owes much of its accuracy and completeness to the assistance which the editor 
 received from the late Dr. Patrick Buchan, the son of the more celebrated Peter 
 Buchan, who collected and edited the " Ancient Ballads and Songs of the North of 
 Scotland," published at Edinburgh in 1828. The Buchans — father and son — were 
 enthusiastic, painstaking, and excellent students of ballad literature, and no work 
 of the kind which was fortunate enough to secure the services of their pen could 
 fail to be greatly enriched thereby. 
 
 *' A new and revised edition of The Ballad Minstrelsy of Scotland is the more 
 welcome for the generous system of inclusion, which for the general reader has 
 more value than selections based upon a sterner plan of eclecticism. . . . Be- 
 sides the completeness of the text, it is no small benefit to have before us in the 
 shape of notes, as well as extracts from Jamieson and others, pretty nearly all that 
 Sir Walter left in his annotations on the ' Minstrelsy.'" — Athenceum. 
 
 " There is no one country so rich in that style of poetry known as the ballad, as 
 Scotland. Its store is so ample, so varied, that the task to collect it into one volume 
 which shall be thorough and representative, is no light undertaking. . . . The 
 editor has done his work conscientiously and comprehensively. We know of no 
 anthology of the ballads of Scotland so complete." — Lady^s World. 
 
 " Mr. Alexander Gardner, of Paisley, deserves the warmest thanks for his beau- 
 tiful and cheap edition of the Ballad Minstrelsy of Scotland, Rof/iantic and His- 
 torical. It is fully annotated, and is in all respects a delightful volume. Although 
 it is so full of matter and extends to nearly 700 pages, the skill of the publisher has 
 made it a most agreeable volume to handle. It should have a very wide circula- 
 tion." — British Weekly. 
 
 " A very full and representative collection of Scottish minstrelsy. The notes are 
 copious and teem with learning. If it be possible to learn English from Shake- 
 speare's dramas, it is possible to learn Scottish history from such a volume of songs 
 as this is." — Echo. 
 
 *' A very readable book, and between the text and the notes we get almost every 
 line that has been retained or invented in this class of ancient poetry." — Bookseller. 
 
 A Short Proof that Greek was the 
 
 Language of Christ. By Professor Roberts, D.D., St. Andrews. 
 Post 8vo, price 2s. 6d. 
 
 The River and the City, By George 
 
 Philip. 6d. 
 
 The Subjects and Mode of Baptism. By Rev. 
 
 J. Paton Gloag, D.D., Galashiels. 3d. ; post free, 4d. 
 
II 
 
 UNIFORM 'WITH " BALLAD MINSTRELSY." 
 
 The Songs of Scotland. Chronologically 
 
 Arranged. Edited by Peter Ross. 
 
 EXTRACT FROM PREFACE TO THIRD EDITION. 
 In compiling this work my design was to gather together a representative 
 body of classical Scottish song with brief explanatory notes, and, where 
 possible, with a few particulars concerning the lives of the writers. The 
 chronological arrangement was adopted not merely on account of its 
 novelty, but that the work might be illustrative of the successive stages of 
 one branch — the richest — of Scottish literature. The various songs selected 
 were printed as nearly as could be determined in the order in point of time 
 in which they were written, the only exception being in the case of the 
 Jacobite songs, which were arranged according to the events celebrated, 
 so as to give, in a measure, a history of the Rebellion of 1715 and 1745 in 
 verse. Much antiquarian and historical matter which could not be used in 
 the body of the book was placed at the disposal of readers in the Introduction. 
 
 Another purpose was that the book should be thoroughly national. 
 Nothing was admitted to its pages that was not the production of Scottish 
 writers. 
 
 My idea was that the song minstrelsy of Scotland was in itself grand 
 enough and varied enough to be measured by its native productions solely. 
 This high standard was endorsed by many of the English reviews of the 
 book, notably that of the London Standard, which closed a markedly appre- 
 ciative notice by saying that the collection was " the most convenient and 
 exhaustive we have seen of the songs of Scotland, which, taken as a body 
 of lyric poetry, have not been surpassed even by the lyric poets of Greece, 
 hitherto the supreme masters of the lyric muse." The same idea was also 
 enunciated by the laudatory notice which appeared in the Westminster 
 Review, Had the volume not been thoroughly Scotch, these compliments 
 would not have been so clearly earned. In this connection, too, I cannot 
 forbear quoting an extract from a letter by Professor Blackie on the national 
 influence of our loved " hame sangs." " Next," he says, " to our Christian 
 and independent pulpit, which we owe to John Knox, there is no moral 
 influence to which Scotsmen owe more than to their Scottish song. It is 
 not merely as a healthy recreation, but as a moral stimulant of the first kind, 
 that Scottish song acts in forming the character of the Scottish people ; 
 and in this respect, and also as being the best exposition of Scottish his- 
 tory, Scottish song ought always to form not only a prominent element but 
 a pervading atmosphere in all Scottish schools. A familiar acquaintance 
 with our rich treasure of national song is, in my opinion, far more valual'le 
 as a moral agent than the most exact knowledge of the principles o:" Greek 
 and Latin grammar." 
 
12 . 
 
 BOOKS BY ROBERT FORD. 
 
 American Humourists. Selected and 
 
 Edited by Robert Ford. Crown 8vo, 3s. 6d. 
 
 Thistledown. A Book of Scotch 
 
 Humour, Character, Folk-Lore, Story, and Anecdote. New, En- 
 larged, and Illustrated Edition. Price 3s. 6d. Post free. 
 
 '* Mr. Ford is an experienced raconteur^ and he has a keen sense of the ludicrous 
 that enables him to seize upon the main point in a story and to emphasise it in the 
 most telling manner. He has exhibited the humour to be found in all classes of 
 society, from the minister to the village fool, in the pulpit and the pew, at the 
 Bench and at the Bar ; and his pages are replete with wit and overflowing with 
 genuine merriment. Many a pleasant hour may be spent in innocent mirth over 
 the amusing pages of Thistledown.^'' — Dundee Advertiser. 
 
 C/oth, gilt top^ bevelled edges., j/j" pages. With Frontispiece. 
 
 Price 6s. Post Free. 
 
 Ballads of Bairnhood. Selected and 
 
 Edited, with Notes. 
 
 The object of this work is to place in the hands of the public, in an 
 elegant, convenient, and enduring form, a comprehensive collection oi 
 the choicest poems, songs, and ballads, by Scottish authors, relating to 
 the subject of child-life. To the well-known nursery song>> of William 
 Miller, the author of " Wee Willie Winkie," Thom's " Miiherless Bairn." 
 Ballantine's " Castles in the Air," etc., and to liie various touching and 
 animated songs of child-life from the pens of Rodger, Donald, Smart, 
 Fergusson, Latto, and the other champions of the famous " Whistle 
 Binkie " brotherhood, are added tiie most fascinating and engaging 
 pieces in the same way that have since been written by Dr. George 
 MacDonald, R. L. Stevenson, Alexander Anderson, Robert Buchanan, 
 William Allan, James Smith, James Nicholson, and other recent and 
 living authors who have earned distinction in this as well as in other 
 fields of literary endeavour ; the whole making a collection of " bairns' 
 sangs " unique in Scottish literature. 
 
 Auld Scots Ballants. Fcap. 8vo, cloth 
 
 antique. 250 pages. Price 5s. Post free. 
 
 " A capital collection of ballads and poems of kindred form. It comprises 
 genuine ballads and tbe poetic wares of the vagrant chapman ; old ballads such as 
 ** Chevy Chase " and "Helen of Kirkconnell," and modern examples. Where a 
 choice of ver>ions is possible. Mr. Ford is, so far as we have consulted the book, to 
 bi commended, while the selection of chap ballads is altogether excellent. In this 
 division are included rare and notable specimens not accessible to the general 
 reader. Mr. Ford's collection is a book for ballad-lovers to rejoice in as a com- 
 panion. The introductory notes are good and sufficient. — Saturday Review. 
 
 Love Songs of the Scottish Poets. \in the Press. 
 
Burnsiana : a Collection of Literary 
 
 Odds and Ends relating to Robert Burns. Edited by John 
 D. Ross. Small 4to. Price 2S. 6d. ; cloth extra, 4s. 6d. 
 Volumes I. to VI. with Index are now ready. 
 
 Isobel Burns (Mrs. Begg). A Memoir. 
 
 By her Grandson. J'cap. 8vo. 136 pages. With Portrait. 
 Price 2s. 6d. 
 
 Highland Mary. Interesting Papers on 
 
 an Interesting Subject. Edited by John D. Ross. Crown 8vo. 
 150 pages. With Portrait. Price 2s. 6d. 
 
 New and Greatly Enlarged Edition. 
 
 Round Burns' Grave : the Paeans and 
 
 Dirges of Many Bards. Gathered together by John D. Ross. 
 Post 8vo, cloth, 316 pp., 3s. 6d. Post free. 
 
 " The study of this little volume enables one to apprehend more clearly tban 
 ever the place Robert Burns occupies, not merely in literature, but in the hearts of 
 men." — Glasgow Evenins; Netvs. 
 
 " All lovers of the poet must feel grateful to Mr. John D. Ross for the little 
 volume. Mr. Ross has wisely refrained from exhausting his subject, and so has 
 escaped the misfortune of exhausting his reader. His collection is an eminently 
 judicious one." — Evening Times. 
 
 History of Paisley Burns Clubs: 1805- 
 
 1893. Sy Robert Brown. With numerous Portraits, Illustra- 
 tions, and Facsimiles. 4to, cloth extra, 356 pages. Price los. 6d. 
 
 Burns' Highland Mary. By Archi- 
 bald Munro. Crown 8vo. 168 Pages. With Frontispiece. 3s. 
 
 Scottish Poets in America. With Bio- 
 graphical and Critical Notices. By John D. Ross, Editor of 
 " Celebrated Songs of Scotland." 8vo, 218 pp., cloth, 6s.. post free. 
 
 Hew Ainslie. — A Pilg^rimao-e to the 
 
 Land of Burns, containing Anecdotes of the Bard and the 
 Characters he immortalized ; together with Scottish Songs, Bal- 
 lads and Poems. By the late Hew Ainslie, Author of " The 
 Ingle Side," "Tam o' Balloch," "It's Dowie at the Hint o' 
 Hairst," &c. Edited, with Memoir, by Thomas .C. Latto, 
 2 Photogravures and other Illustrations. Crown 8vo, cloth, 6s., 
 post free. 
 
Ancient Lives of the Scottish Saints. 
 
 Translated by W. M. Metcalfe, D.D. Demy 8vo. Price 15s ; 
 on Whatman's Paper, 25s., post free. Very limited impression. 
 
 •' Dr. Metcalfe has performed a valuable service in giving us such really admir- 
 able translations." — The Glasgow Herald. 
 
 " Dr. Metcalfe has achieved a most useful piece of work. The translation is on 
 he whole excellent." — AthencBiim. 
 
 " Dr. Metcalfe has confined himself almost entirely to making accurate and at the 
 same time very readable translations of the Latin lives without attempting to sift 
 legend from history, or to compare these lives with others in the vast hagiography 
 of the Roman Church. At the same time, a brief introduction of twenty pages 
 gives valuable indications to students of the way in which they should use these 
 lives, with their strange mixture of fact, invention, and credulity, to throw light 
 upon the real history of the times which they describe." — TIMES. 
 
 Pinkerton's Lives of the Scottish Saints. 
 
 Revised and Enlarged by W. M, Metcalfe, D,D. Two Vols. 
 Demy 8vo. Price 15s. per Volume, post free. Very limited 
 impression. 
 
 Celebrated Songs of Scotland. From 
 
 King James V. to Henry Scott Riddell. Edited with Memoirs. 
 Notes, Glossary, and an Index, by John D. Ross. Large 8vo, 
 400 pages, cloth, gilt top. Price los. 6d, Post free. 
 
 The Church of Scotland, from the time 
 
 of Queen Margaret to the Reformation, with Supplementary 
 Chapter dealing with Scottish Ecclesiastical Affairs to the Pres- 
 byterian Settlement of 1690. By Richard Morris Stewart. 
 Demy 8vo, cloth, 400 pages, price 7s. 6d. 
 
 The Historical Castles and Mansions 
 
 of Scotland. By A. H. Millar, F.S.A. Scot., author of The 
 History of Rob Roy^ The Story of Queen Alary, Castles and 
 Mansions of Ayrshire, etc. Fcap. 4to, 15 s. 
 
 America and the Americans. A Narra- 
 tive of a Tour in the United States and Canada, with Chapters 
 on American Home Life. By the Rev. A. Craib. Illustrations. 
 Crown 8vo. Price 3s. 6d. Post Free. 
 
 At the Front. By One who v^as There. 
 
 A Realistic Record of a Soldier's Experiences in the Crimean War 
 and Indian Mutiny. Crown 8vo, is. 6d. ; cloth, 2s. 
 
15 
 
 The University of St. Atidrews. 
 
 Rectorial Address, November 20, 1893. 
 
 By the Marquess of Bute, K.T. Second Edition. Price is.; 
 post free, is. 2d. 
 
 The Itinerary of King Edward the First, 
 
 as far as Relates to his Expeditions against Scotland, 1 286-1307. 
 By Henry Gough. 410. [/« the Prfss. 
 
 Seven Essays on Christian Greece. By 
 
 Demetrios Bikelas. Translated by the Marquess of Bute, 
 K.T. I vol.. Demy 8vo, 300 pj). Price 7s. 6d. Post Free. 
 
 "Carlton Gakdens, S.W., Dec. 6, 1S90. 
 
 " Dear Sir, — I thank you very much for the Volume of Essays by Mr. Bikelas 
 on Christian Greece. It appears to me of great historical value, though, having 
 only received it on Thursday of this busy and disturbed week, I have as yet read 
 only the first two Essays. 
 
 "Of all widely prevalent historic misconceptions, probably the very greatest is 
 to be found in the notions commonly entertained of the character and work of 
 Constantinople and of the Byzantine Empire. This misconception, I trust that the 
 volume which you have published may do much to clear away. I observe with 
 particular pleasure that it has found a translator in the Marquess of Bute. 
 
 " I remain. Dear Sir, 
 
 '• Your very faithful Servant, 
 
 "Mr. A. Gardner. "W. E. Gladstone. 
 
 "They are well worthy to be gathered into permanent form. To every student 
 of Grecian history this volume will be of great interest. The author commends 
 himself to us at once by his patriotism and the candour and skill with which he 
 deals with the difficult problems of his country's history." — Dtuidee Advertiser. 
 
 " All who are interested in the history of the ' Lower Empire,' ... or in the 
 ever-changing Eastern Question, or in the narrower Greek Question, will ihank the 
 Marquess of Bute for making so accessible these excellent Essays." — Daily Free 
 Press. 
 
 God Save the Queen, varied in Twenty- 
 four forms, p«rojected over certain selected Modes of the ancient 
 diatonic genus and of the more characteristically-Oriential chro- 
 matic genus. A Supplement to Dr. Hatherly's well-known 
 "TREATISE ON BYZANTINE MUSIC." Price 2s. 
 
 This work is an answer to the oft-put question, ' Are these ancient 
 Modes or Scales of any practical use to us moderns ? ' The question 
 was answered in the affirmative by the distinguished French orientalist 
 M. Bourgault-Ducoudrayi in 1878, and our present author has merely 
 taken up the French parable and largely extended its application. 
 
i6 
 
 The Great Palace of Constantinople. 
 
 Translated from the Greek of the late Dr. A G. Paspates. 
 By William Metcalfe, B.D. With a Map. Demy 8vo, 381 
 pages. Price los. 6d. 
 
 " English readers will welcome the translation which Mr. William Metcalfe has 
 now com[)]eted of so valuable a record." — Morning Post. 
 
 " A work well known to Byzantine students. . . The translator has, so far 
 
 can be judged frum a few test-passages, given an accurate, clear, and perspicu- 
 ous version ot the original." — Byzantinische Zeitschrift. 
 
 "The chief authority on the subject is Constantine Porphyrogennetos, and Dr. 
 Paspates follows him closely, but confirms and supplements this writer from a 
 knowledge of the earlier historians such as has no parallel in any English book." — 
 Scotsman. 
 
 "The fact that the author, unlike other writers on the subject, pursues his in- 
 vestigations on the spot, impresses a special stamp on his work, . . . The re- 
 searches of Dr. Paspate serve to stimulate curiosity and provoke further investiga- 
 tion. It is to be hoped that this book, introduced to the British public in an attrac- 
 tive form by Mr. Metcalfe, will arouse interest in this tantalizing question, which 
 the presence of the Turkish intruder in Europe prevents us from approaching in 
 the only way which can conduct to even an approximate solution." — J. B. Bury 
 in the Scottish Rcvieiv. 
 
 "A work of exceeding interest and importance." — Daily Chronicle. 
 
 "Against the day when thorough investigation becomes possible, Dr. Paspates' 
 work will be invaluable." — Literary World. 
 
 "The stout Svo volume, accompanied by a map showing the position of the 
 ancient buildings, is of commanding interest to archaeologists and, though in a less 
 degree, to readers and students of Byzantine history. . . It is not to be expected 
 that one author alone could fix definitely, in one effort, the position of buildings of 
 which all traces are either completely lost, or the sites are covered with modern 
 abominations. Students of Roman Topography will understand the difficulty, and 
 hence we are all the more grateful to Dr. Paspates and his translator for the pre- 
 sent attempt, successful as it is almost beyond all hope." — Imperial and Asiatic 
 Quarterly Reviezv. 
 
 An Introduction to Ethics. By J. Clark 
 
 Murray, LL.D., F.R.S.C, M'Gill College, Montreal. Crown 
 Svo, 6s. 6d, Post Free. 
 
 By the Same Author. 
 
 A Handbook of Psychology. Fourth 
 
 Edition. Crown Svo, cloth, 7s. 6d. Post free. 
 
 "We ar-e not surprised that Dr. Murray's book has soon reached a second 
 edition. It is one of the best manuals on psychology that we know. Every topic 
 is treated with great clearness, with much philosophic acumen, and in such a style 
 as to make ordinary people, as well as students, feel this book pleasant reading." 
 — London Quarterly Review. 
 
 M orison-Grant. — Life, Letters, and Last 
 
 Poems of Lewis Morison-Grant. By Jessie Annie Andkr- 
 SON. With Portrait and Illustrations. Crown Svo. Price 4s. 6d. 
 
17 
 
 In Oban Town. A Novel. By Camp- 
 bell AI'Kellar. Crown Svo, 6s, 
 
 "The author has very considerable descriptive and dramatic power. Mr. 
 M'Kellar gives us a vivid gh'mpse into Oban society. Glenlogan and his courtship 
 afford the author the opportunity of displaying his gift of humour, which is con- 
 siderable. " — Literaiy World. 
 
 '* We cannot deny the author the praise of reminding the reader very pleasantly 
 of the many charms and interests of the West Highland capital, and of making a 
 strong case for the Celtic revival in the midst of increasingly modern surroundings." 
 AtheiKvttm. 
 
 '■''In Oban Toivn opens with a startling murder, the secret of which is well kept 
 till towards the end. . . . There is some admirable descriptive writing in the 
 volume, several good shooting scenes. . . . The conversations are bright and 
 frequently clever. . . . The story may be said to be of much xwoxt than average 
 ability and to contain the elements of a genuine success." —vS'(r<?///j-// Keviezv. 
 
 "A good piece of work, and will commend itself to many readers ; the fact that 
 we are willing to adniit this much, after listening to the author's denunciation of 
 the 'mighty, iniquitous, anonymous press,' must be taken to indicate that we our- 
 selves have derived some pleasure from the book." — Daily Record. 
 
 " Another Scotch story — and a good one — and breathing freely of the tartan and 
 the heather and not of the kail-yard. The characters are well drawn, the incidents 
 are all possible and probable, and Oban, the Charing Cross of the Highlands, is 
 invested with an air of romance, and, at the same time, reality, which will add to 
 its attractions as a holiday resort. As a Scotch story, /// Oban Toiun will take 
 rank with the best popular novels of the present day. There is not a tedious chap- 
 ter in the whole volume. The sentimental element is far from being overdone, the 
 humour is genial, and the power displayed throughout is well worthy of the author. 
 In every respect In Oban Toivn has fully maintained the growing reputation of a 
 now popular author." — Ayr Observer. 
 
 " The story is considerably above the average. Perhaps the best part of the 
 story is that which deals with fashionable life in Oban. The author is evidently at 
 home here, and his descriptions of the scenes to be witnessed at the famous resort 
 in the summer season, and the functions which society finds pleasure in there, 
 makes very interesting reading indeed. The dialogue between the various charac- 
 ters is very sweet and smart, and the situations are extremely effective." — Dundee 
 Courier. 
 
 " The novel should be popular in the Highlands. The typical Highlander is 
 notmuch in evidence ; but there is abundance of characters as true to life. The 
 story luns on vigorously from first to last, and some excellent songs are scattered 
 through the book." — British Weekly. 
 
 Lilias Garment ; or, For Better for Worse. By 
 
 Gordon Roy, author of For Her Sake, Bis Cousin Adair, etc. 
 Cr. 8vo, 6s. 
 
 On Heather Hills. 2 vols. Crown 8vo, 21s. 
 
 •' The plot is wholly new, and that is something at a time when all plots are 
 said by experts to have been used up long ago. ' On Heather Hills ' is in fact one 
 of those rare phenomena a thoroughly fresh and vividly interesting story, and as 
 such deserves a cordial welcome." — Daily Telegraph. 
 
i8 
 
 The Braes o' Balquhidder. A Novel. 
 
 By Douglas Aytoun. Crown 8vo. 6s. 
 
 " I thank you for your courteous gift. I am glad there is so much disposition 
 to incorporate Scottish manners in permanent form." — IV. E. Gladstone. 
 
 " Eminently readable . . . the book has a distinct charm. Mr. Aytoun is 
 a good judge of character, and knows and loves his Scotland well." — Weekly Sun. 
 
 " In Mr. Aytoun's long, but, on the whole, very attractive story, the scenes are 
 laid in Edinburgh and in other parts of Scotland famous in history . . . the 
 writer has a great deal of interest to say, descriptive and historical, throughout 
 this romantic tour." — Scotsman. 
 
 " A delightful novel ! redolent of Scotland, Edinburgh, the Highlands, Ban- 
 nockburn, Bruce, Wallace, Macleods, Macgregois, Macdonalds, Campbells, and 
 everything Scotch. Interesting from first to last ... as good a novel as we 
 have read for a long time." — Ayr Ohseit^er. 
 
 " Cannot be condemned on account of want of variety . . . good matter in 
 the book ; healthy sentiment, and miscellaneoiis information. " — Duiuiee Advertiser. 
 
 " There is matter in it sufficient for three or four books. As real people are 
 introduced into the story under very thin disguises, it is not at all unlikely that 
 the book will have a decided vogue. A very interesting portion of Mr. Aytoun's 
 book is that recording the symposium at Oban — taken part in by the Emeritus 
 Professor of Greek, the American Consul at Edinburgh, and the local newspaper 
 editor." — Glasgoiv (Daily ) Record. 
 
 " There is a rich Kirk flavour everywhere. The hero thus rebukes a friend who 
 wished to take out a boat on the Sabbath : — ' How is it that you, brought up as 
 you have been, and with a godly and anointed brother, now set so little store by 
 the day which has contributed so much to the prosperity — I may say the greatness 
 — of Scotsmen both at home and abroad ? ' The God-fearing characteristics of 
 our countrymen — even her common soldiers — have been feathers in the cap of the 
 dear old land wherever her ubiquitous sons have planted their feet." — London 
 (Daily) Courier. 
 
 i 
 
 Dare MacDonald. A Tale of the Riviera. By 
 
 E. R. MacNicol. Crown 8vo, cloth. 5s., post free. 
 
 In a Kingdom by the Sea. By Thos. D. Robb. 
 
 Second Edition. Crown 8vo, is. 
 
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19 
 
 Redburn. By Henry Ochiltree. Crown 
 
 8vo. Cloth Extra, bevelled boards, gilt top. Price 5s. 
 
 From tke ''TIMES/' 
 
 " However dark and thrilling the good old novel might be, we were 
 •always cheered by the certainty of a comfortable ending. It was only 
 •once and again that the genial Sir Walter Scott gave himself over to a 
 Bride of Lauunerinoor^ and that story was imagined in the agonies of 
 •cramp. But now when a clever young novelist aspires to make his 
 mark he is more likely than not to end a la Hamlet and bring down 
 the curtain in the blackness of gloom. Redburn strikes us as a re- 
 markable story. It has all the minuteness of observation, the quaint 
 humour, the happy sympathy with odd rustic idiosyncrasies of the 
 Window in Thrinns. If Mr. Ochiltree goes on as he has begun, we 
 venture to predict for him notoriety and wide popularity. ... In 
 a manufacturing town like Thrums, with its overtasked weavers, small 
 social tragedies may be of every-day occurrence. But the hill farm 
 of Redburn is situated in the Western iMuirlands which Scott has 
 made familiar to us in Old Mortalily. Those sparsely populated 
 solitudes, the sanctuaries of the muirfowl and the curlew, have 
 changed but little since the Life Guards came to signal grief in the 
 moss-flows of Drumclog. The novelist would be fairly jusiified in 
 depicting a primitive Arcadia, and in idealizing the peaceml Presby- 
 terian folk, whose worst failing is hereditary fanaticism. And the 
 novel begins brightly and breezely. We are charmed with the pleasing 
 pictures of primitive rural simplicity. The sketches of old Scottish 
 life and manners are worthy of the author of G2ty Ma?ineriHg — not at 
 his worst; and the dialogues, with their breadth of "pawky" native 
 humour in the vernacular, are rich in piquancy to the Scotchman who 
 can run as he reads. But Mr. Ochiltree, like Lockhart in his Adam 
 Blair, has sought his motive in the lapse from morality of a minister 
 who is sincerely religious. The fall of Adam Scott is powerfully 
 handled, but it is an unpleasant theme at the best. The tutor and 
 probationer, a youth of brilliant promise, has glided rather than fallen 
 into love with the daughter of the laird of Redburn. Unhappily the 
 cousin of the girl he calmly admires sets her snares for the unsus- 
 picious young divine, who is fatally entrapped by the Circe of the 
 Muirlands. As we have hinted, retribution falls swiftly upon sin. 
 The temptress, recognizing too late that the glamour of her witcheries 
 was dispelled when she had given herself, dies of mortification and a 
 broken heart; and the fate of her misguided victim is yet more 
 lamentable, as his was a deeper and more earnest nature." 
 
 " Redburn contains some good work. Tlie story of the temptation and fall of 
 the young theological student is certainly not wanting in either insight or power. 
 There are some touches of genuine humour in the record of Jims Buchan's rather 
 comically unsatisfactory experiences of courtship." — Spectator. 
 
20 
 
 James Macpherson, the Highland Freebooter. 
 
 A stirring Tale of Love and Revenge. By J. G. Phillips. 
 Cloth, 3s. 6d. 
 
 Cora Linn. A Romance of the Clyde. 
 
 By J. Gordon Phillips, author of 'James Macpherson, the 
 Highland Freebooter,' etc. Crown 8vo, clotli. 3s. 6d., post free. 
 
 " It is a stirring old legend which is not so well known as it should be, and in 
 making it the foundation of his latest novel Mr. Phillips has not only shown fine 
 discrimination in the selection of an attractive theme, but has rendered a distinct 
 service in preserving and, indeed, elaborating what undoubtedly is one of the finest 
 gems of legendary lore. ... If the ability to produce a stirring book is a 
 thing to be commended, Mr. Phillips is entitled to a large meed of praise, for in 
 ' Cora Linn ' there is not a dull page. Whether depicting the fierce passions of 
 men roused to their utmost, or describing the romantic love scenes between Mac 
 Ian Rua and the Princess, Mr. Phillips is equally effective, some of his passages 
 being really inimitable. Of history he appears to have a thorough grasp, and the 
 result is that his book is as instructive as it is thrilling." — Diiiulee Courier. 
 
 "Mr, J. Gordon Phillips has produced another story of peculiar attractiveness. 
 The combination of historical illusion, character sketches, tradition, 
 romance, and all the warring elements of an unsettled and adventurous period is as 
 creditable to the author as it is gratifying to the reader. . . . The strength of 
 the work may be judged from the fact that unlike so many of the novels of the 
 present day its scenes and characters do not pass away with the closing of the book 
 but leave an abiding impression on the mind of the reader." — Dundee Advertiser. . 
 
 " In Cora Linn Mr. Phillips has given us a picture of Scotland and the Scots as 
 they were in the seventh century. We could name several living writers who might 
 have produced a smoother narrntive . . . but we know of none who could 
 have reproduced an epoch in more life-like colours. ... Its chief merit is. 
 that it makes a dim. strange past live before our eyes. We have primeval forests 
 full of wild beasts and wilder men — rivers that reflect no steeples, but only trees — 
 strong castles poised on precijjices, savage nomads, and half-tamed nobles — wild 
 tribes that flock from the north and from the souih to the King's standard at the 
 sign of beacon-fires — strange figures c^f priests — Danes in companies roaming the 
 woods, or in armies by the sea-shores. Mr. Phillips sees the object and has the art 
 of making others see it. . . . W^hile a traveller may be skulking in the woods 
 here, there is wassail in some lordly hall, there are wars and rumours of wars upon 
 the borders of the sea. Some of ihe dra/nafts persontc are strikingly individual; 
 Indeed the spirit of society just emerging from savagery into Christian 
 civilization is admirably conceived." — Elgin Courant and Courier. 
 
 *' To those whose tastes incline to the good, old-fashioned type of romance, in 
 which incident after incident of a marvellous kind trip on each other's heels, and 
 the reader is kept constantly on tenter-hooks concerning the fate of the hero and 
 
 the heroine, Mr. J. Gordon Phillips' Cora Linn will seem a godsend 
 
 This task he achieves with unfailing vigour and fertility of invention ; although it 
 may be hinted that he makes too frequent and cruel use of the romancist's device of 
 leaving the dagger suspended over the bosom of the heroine, or the heroine herself 
 suspended over the flood, in order to break off and resume another thread of his 
 intricate x\z.xx'\\a\q..^'' —Scotsman. > 
 
21 
 
 *A treasure of rare and curfous interest, and of incalculable 
 
 prJcc'^SCOTSMAN. 
 
 Letters from and to 
 Charles KirkpatiHck Sharpe^ Esq. 
 
 EDiTEn VA^ ALEXAN13ER ALLARDYCE, 
 With a MEMOIR by the Rev. W. K. R. BEDFORD. 
 
 Illustrated with Two Portraits of Mr. Sharpe, and Twenty-seven Portraits, 
 Etchings, &c., reproduced from his Drawings. 
 
 In Two Volumes (600 pases each), 8vo, extra cloth, uncut, price 
 
 £2 12s. Cd. ; offered at 25/- nett. 
 
 ( Jhe rii;h( to raise the Price is reserved.) 
 
 MR. ALEX. GARDNER has pleasure in intimating that he has purchased from 
 Messrs. Blackwood & Son, Edinburgh, the entire remaining copies of the 
 above highly interesting and valuable Work ; and as the number is not large, he 
 anticipates that they will be taken up very speedily. It may be noted that a large 
 part of the Correspondence given in these volumes is that which passed between 
 Sir Walter Scott and C. K. Sharpe, and was hitherto unpublished. 
 
 The Notices which have appeared in the Press sufficiently testify to the interest 
 and piquancy of the Work. The Daily Neios says : — 'A rich and various trea- 
 sure of gossip, anecdote, and history — perhaps the best of such collections that we 
 inherit from the early part of the century.' The Scotsinan says : — * They furnish a 
 literary feast of considerable piquancy and great variety. . . They have restored 
 to the zvorld a buried ireasure of rare and curious interest, and of incalculable 
 price.'' The AthencBUm says : — 'The volumes form a mine of quaint and curious 
 reading.' The Echo says : — ' Full of caustic wit and vivacious descriptions of the 
 distinguished people among whom he moved.' The Liverpool Cotirier says : — 'A 
 book full of racy wit, literary gossip, piquant scandal, curious bits of history, sug- 
 gestive glimpses of the manners ot aristocratic persons at the end of the last century 
 and the beginning of this.' 
 
 A Treatise on Byzantine Music. By 
 
 Rev. S. G. Hatherly, Mus. Bac. Oxon. Demy quarto. Paper 
 covers, 4s.; cloth, 6s. 
 
 This is an endeavour, for the first time in Enghsh, to clear up some 
 of the difficulties which beset the student when confronted with 
 Eastern music generally. Reasoning from what is better known to 
 that which is less known, the work, after discussing the mathematical 
 formation of the musical scale, passes in review the Gregorian system, 
 a Western development of Eastern tradition, and proceeds to a full 
 description of the old Greek diatonic genus, the chromatic genus, and 
 the mixture of the diatonic and chromatic on which the bulk of 
 Eastern music now prevalent is constructed. There are upwards of 
 Fifty unabbreviated Musical Pieces, ancient and modern, from Greek, 
 Russian, Turkish, and Egyptian sources, given and fully analyzed : 
 the way thereby being opened up for future Musical Composers who 
 may desire to cultivate this vast and fertile, but hitherto unknown and 
 unexplored, musical field. 
 
0-) 
 
 Edited by ROBERT FORD. Is. Post Free, Is. 2d. each. 
 
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• 23 
 
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 Etched Frontispiece and Fac-simile, Price 7s. 6d. ; Large 
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 t 
 
 The Harp of Perthshire. A Collection 
 
 of Songs and other Poetical Pieces, many of which are Original. 
 With Notes Explanatory, Critical, and Biographical. 
 
 "Taking the volume as a whole, it contains some of the best poetry in the 
 language." — Perthshire Constittitional. 
 
 " Pf 1 thshire men, and others than they, will be grateful to have all the varied 
 streams of song brought within the compass of a single volume. Mr. Ford has 
 compiled the book with evident love for his task, and has been at pains in preparing 
 critical notes on Perthshire poems and biographical notices of Perthshire poets." — 
 Scotsman. 
 
 "The author has done his work well, and every true son of Perthshire will feel 
 indebted to him for giving us the best collection of Perthshire songs and ballads 
 that ever has been published. No library in the county, public or private, will be 
 complete without it. It is a storehouse of local material that must endure for all 
 time. " — Perthshire Advertiser. 
 
 Complete^ i?i Four Volumes. 
 
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 Popular Tales of the West Highlands. 
 
 Orally Collected, with a Translation By the late J. F. Campbell, 
 Tslay. 
 The Publisher has pleasure in announcing the completion of the 
 new Edition of the above important work. It contains all the illus- 
 trations as they appeared in the original issue, including the some- 
 what scarce frontispieces. He trusts this edition of the "Arabian 
 Nights " of Celtic Scotland will be acceptable to all lovers of what is 
 quaint and curious in literature. 
 
 " The book is one that no modern student can afford to miss, and that few persons 
 of any age or degree of culture would not come to again and again." — Daily Xczijs. 
 
 " Mr. Campbell has published a collection of tales which will be regarded as one of 
 the greatest literary surprises of the present century. It is the first instalment of what 
 was to be expected from any fair statement of the scientific value of popular tales. 
 . . It required some striking demonstration of the real worth of popular tales to 
 arouse Gaelic scholars from their apathy. They have been aroused, and here is the first 
 fruit in a work that is most admirably edited by the head of a family beloved and 
 honoured in those breezy western isles, who has produced a book which will be equally 
 prized in the nursery, in the drawing-room, and in the library." — Times. 
 
 " Mr. Campbell has brought together in his introduction and his notes much that 
 is valuable and curious. The coincidences which he has pointed out between the 
 stories of the Western Highlands and other parts of the Aryan world are striking in 
 themselves, and will be useful for further researches. But the most valuable parts of 
 his work are the stories themselves. For these he will receive the thaiiks of all who are 
 interested in the study of language and popular literature, we hope that his example 
 will be followed by others in other parts of England, Scotland, and Ireland," — AJax 
 Mullcr, in " Chips from a German Workshop." 
 
24 
 
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 you ever heard of. Buy that Book."— Ally Sloper. 
 
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 are jenny Wren's 'Art of Dinner-giving' and Jenny Wren's 'Dainty Dishes.' 
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 tions on Vegetable Cookery, Pickling, etc. 
 
25 
 
 POETRY. 
 
 Poems and Songs: Humorous, Serious, 
 
 and Saiirical. By Alexander Rodger. Edited, with an Intro- 
 duction, by Robert Ford. Crown 8vo. Cloth. 200 pages. 
 3s. 66. nett. [Ou^ of Print. 
 
 Poems and Sonnets. By James Ren- 
 wick. \Iu the Press. 
 
 Tannahill's (Robert) Poems, Edited 
 
 by the late David Semple, F.S.A. A new edition. \Iti the Press. 
 
 Morning and Noonday Chimes : Poems, 
 
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 Crown 8vo. Cloth. 219 pages. Gilt edges. 3s. 6d. nett. 
 
 Wallace: a Poem. By Neil Macleod. 
 
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 Twilight Thoughts. Poems. By Os- 
 
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 Scottish Pastorals and Ballads. By 
 
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 The Viking's Bride, and other Poems. 
 
 By R. Menzies Fergusson, M.A., author of " Rambles in the 
 Far North." Post 8vo. Price 3s. . Post Free. 
 
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28 
 
 Ayrshire Idylls of Other Days. By 
 
 George Umckr. Crown 8vo. Illustrations. 5s. Post Free. 
 
 "His characters are original and interesting, and his picture of life in an Ayr- 
 shire town true and vivid. And certainly it is a pleasure in these days to come 
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 a genuine interest in the subject." — British Weekly. 
 
 In My City Garden. By George Umber. 
 
 With Illustrations. Crown 8vo. Price 6s, Post Free. 
 
 The art of making something out of nothing is a rare accomplishment and hard 
 of attainment. This art ' George Umber ' undoubtedly possesses. Alongside of 
 Barrie — like touches are delightful, transcripts of human life and experience, and 
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 thing about what Scotch life was will at once recognise its truth and feel its 
 charm . " — Glasi^ow Herald. 
 
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 Heroines of Scotland. By Robert 
 
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 narrative. . . . Mr. Fittis has made a useful contribution to history, and pro- 
 duced at the same time an attractive and deeply interesting book." — Scotsman. 
 
 " Mr. R. Scott Fittis . . . has the rare art of imparting vitality to the most 
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 Advertiser. 
 
 " We can imagine no more attractive gift than this book. The youth of the pre- 
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 Evening Times. 
 
29 
 
 Gilzean-I\eid. — 'Tween Gloamin' and the Mirk: 
 
 Tales and Sketches of Scottish Life. By Sir Hugh Gilzean- 
 Reid, LL.D., F.J.I. Crown 8vo, antique. Price 6s. 
 
 "A welcome addition to a class of literature for which both 
 demand and supply seem to be rapidly growing."— Scotsman. 
 
 "A rare book for a Christmas gift." — 'JV/e I'ireside. 
 
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 with the ' Rab ' whose name Dr. John Brown has made a household word." — Tnc 
 Spectator. 
 
 "As a true reflex of the national character, the book is necessarily both grave 
 and gay, but the transition from pathos to humour is effected with ease, and both 
 are artistically blended." — 'I he Aberdeen Journal. 
 
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 the approval of the historical Rab himself, has very considerable charm. 
 On the whole the work will be read with interest and pleasure." — Glasgow Herald. 
 
 " A welcome addition to a class of literature for which both demand and supply 
 seem to be rapidly growing. . . . 'Old Oscar' is the story of the life of a 
 collie dog, of unusual sagacity and fidelity, here told with much poetic power." — 
 The Scotsman. 
 
 " All the world will admit patriotism to be a viitue that flourishes in Caledonia, 
 but it may probably be forgotten in some quarters that Scotchmen claim to be 
 historically a:: distinguished f^or cosmopolitanism as for patriotism, and it is not im- 
 possible that the justice of this claim may be disputed. Sir Hugh Gilzean-Reid 
 exemplifies both claims. . . His volume is one of the best of the kind, perhaps 
 the very best, that we have had occasion to examine." — I'he Liter a7y IVorld. 
 
 " Under this title Sir Hugh Gilzean-Reid has collected a number of new and old 
 sketches from his ever-brilliant pen. . . . What William Black has done for the 
 Highlands, Sir Hugh Gilzean-Reid may be said to have accomplished for the 
 Lowlands. As we turn the pages we seem to be wafted amongst the sweet hills 
 and valleys of the country, and when we lay it aside the uppermost. thought in 
 our mind is a wish that the same pen would give us a Lowland novel, so that we 
 might live with some of his creations for a longer time than is possible in a series 
 of short sketches." — Liverpool Daily Post. 
 
 '"'''' l\veen Gloamin^ and the Mirk is a volume into which many Scotchmen 
 will (li[) at odd times with pleasure, and which even Englishmen may read with 
 profit. — Spectator. 
 
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 F.J.L Paper Covers, is. ; Clnth, 2S. 
 
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 in assuring the best possible sanitary conditions, and in giving facilities for the 
 erection and acquirement by the occupiers of suitable dwellings in town and coun- 
 try. Some appear to think that public charity is the final alternative. But it must 
 be obvious to every thf)ughtful inquirer that when Parliament has done its utmost 
 and the resources of philanthropy are exhaiisted. the real and great work must be 
 done by the people themselves. Here, as elsewhere, self-reliance and mutual help 
 are the only sure foundations of general and permanent prosperity." — From Pre- 
 face. 
 
0- 
 
 Macrae. — The Railway Chase, and other Sketches. 
 
 By Rev. David Macrae. Crown 8vo. 128 pages. Price is. 
 Post free, is. 2d. 
 
 Popping the Question, and other Sketches. 
 
 By Rev. David Macrae. Crown Svo. 128 pages. Price is. 
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 The above is one Volume. Clo/h, 2s. 
 
 James Hepburn, Free Church Minister. By 
 
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