NOTICES RELATIVE TO THE BANNATYNE CLUB, INSTITUTED IN FEBRUARY, M.DGCC.XXIII. INCLUDING CRITIQUES ON SOME OF ITS PUBLICATIONS. EDINBURGH: PRINTED FOR PRIVATE CIRCULATION. M.DCCC.XXXVI. s&se '::..^TPT-V COPIES PRINTED. EDINBURGH PRINTING COMPANY. LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS. LIBRARY OF THE ABBOTSFORD CLUB, LIBRARY OF THE FACULTY OF ADVOCATES. LIBRARY OF THE BANNATYNE CLUB. LIBRARY OF THE BRITISH MUSEUM. LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH. LIBRARY OF THE WRITERS TO HIS MAJESTY'S SIGNET, presented by Robert Pitcairn, Esq. CHARLES BAXTER, ESQ. ROBERT BELL, ESQ. WILLIAM BELL, ESQ. BERIAH BOTFIELD, ESQ. J. H. BURTON, ESQ. HON. H. COCKBURN, LORD COCKBURN. J. T. GIBSON-CRAIG, ESQ. RICHARD DUNCAN, ESQ. GEORGE DUNDAS, ESQ. EDINBURGH PRINTING COMPANY. J. B. GRACIE, ESQ. PROFESSOR HENDERSON. SIR JOHN HAY, BART. M. P. DAVID IRVING, ESQ. LL.D. JAMES IVORY, ESQ. SIR HENRY JARDINE, KNIGHT. G. R. KINLOCH, ESQ. DAVID LAING, ESQ. 9&!435 REVEREND DR LEE. THE RIGHT HON. LORD LINDSAY. J. G. LOCKHART, ESQ. ALEXANDER MACDONALD, ESQ. WILLIAM MACDOWALL, ESQ. JAMES MACKENZIE, ESQ. HON. J. H. MACKENZIE, LORD MACKENZIE. J. W. MACKENZIE, ESQ. ALEXANDER M'NEILL, ESQ. THOMAS MAITLAND, ESQ. JOHN MURRAY, ESQ. LONDON. JAMES MAIDMENT, ESQ. PROFESSOR NAPIER. EDWARD PIPER, ESQ. ROBERT PITCAIRN, ESQ. ALEXANDER PRINGLE, ESQ. M.P. JOHN RICHARDSON, ESQ. LONDON. THOMAS THOMSON, ESQ. W. B. D. D. TURNBULL, ESQ. JOSEPH STEVENSON, ESQ. LONDON. JOHN SMITH, YGST. ESQ. GLASGOW. WILLIAM SMITH, ESQ. GLASGOW. SIR PATRICK WALKER, KNIGHT. PREFATOEY NOTICE. lOa Collection of Papers relative to the Bannatyne Club, and its Publications, it can hardly be thought out of place that a few notices connected with its original institution should be prefixed; for although Sir Walter Scott, in his admirable remarks on Pit- cairn's Criminal Trials, has given an interesting and lively sketch of the origin and objects of the Bannatyne, the Maitland, and the Roxburghe Clubs, the limits of his critique necessarily ex- cluded minute and particular detail. It was apprehended, there- fore, that there could be no impropriety, in the brief prefatory ob- servations to the present volume, of introducing a more accurate account of the accidental circumstances that brought about the formation of the Club than has hitherto appeared. An imperfect recollection had induced the Editor erroneouslv to imagine that the conversation referred to, in a note on page 229, had led to the original foundation of the Club. In this supposition it turns out he was mistaken, as, upon applying to Mr Pitcairn, that gentleman was so obliging as to transmit the following valuable information on the subject, and to accompany his communication with various documents belonging to himself, with full permission that they should be printed. " The Bannatyne Club,"* he observes, " owes its origin to rather a different train of circumstances than those related by * Extract of a Letter from Robert Pitcairn, Esq. to James Maidment, Esq. March 21, 1836. vi PREFATORY NOTICE. me when we last met; and I now find that my memory had been considerably at fault, which perhaps is not surprising after the lapse of above thirteen years. Although a considerable por- tion of my correspondence appears to have been lost or mislaid, I am very happy to say, that, after a good deal of trouble, very satisfactory proofs have been preserved by me; and I believe that the missing links in the chain can easily be supplied by yourself and our present Secretary, being the only two indivi- duals who were at first consulted. " I now send you accurate copies of these original communica- tions. It is very probable that no more written evidence exists under Sir Walter Scott's hand — for we had met at least thrice before the first private meeting was held in Sir Walter's house, at which I recollect that, among others, our present learned President happened to be present. " No memorandum of what passed at the various preliminary meetings we had with Sir Walter Scott, in January 1823, has been preserved by me; but it is fresh in my recollection that the Association which he had originally contemplated was one for the preservation of historical and antiquarian Tracts illustrative of the early history of Scotland, similar to those eighteen Tracts which had previously been privately printed by ourselves, and distributed among our friends, and were afterwards collected into one volume, under the title of ' Nugce Derelictce! Sir Walter's original intention was, that the cost of these publications should be defrayed at the mutual expense of the Members, and the amount of the contribution to be fixed on and paid at each An- nual Meeting — that each Member should occasionally contribute a Tract or Reprint at his individual expense — and that the shape and size of such contributions ought necessarily to vary, accord- ing to the taste of the contributor, from 16mo to quarto. PREFATORY NOTICE. vii " In drawing up for Sir Walter Scott's inspection the Pro- posals alluded to in the accompanying Letters, I ventured strongly to recommend to him the propriety of adhering to an uniform quarto shape, in all our publications, of the size and typography now adopted — that we should have a stated annual contribution, so as to place a regular revenue at the disposal of our Committee — that we should adopt a paper made from private moulds to be procured for the Club, having an appropriate device or water- mark, so as to identify all works emanating from our Association — and that it should be imperative on each Member to present at least one contribution at his own expense, as soon after the period of his election as convenient. The other details I cannot now recollect. " With regard to the designation of the Club, you know I was all along anxious that it should be identified, in some way or another, with the name of Scott; and in this feeling I was keenly supported by my friend Mr Constable, who was very partial to the name suggested by me of " The Abbotsford Club ;" — but on Mr Constable taking an opportunity of hinting that name to Sir Walter, he most pointedly declined such a distinc- tion. I think you ought explicitly to shew that there was no intentional neglect or oversight in this matter; for it may after- wards be considered, either that the original Members had been insensible to the merits of their illustrious founder, or that they had unintentionally, but most ungratefully, slighted him; and that, after all, they had adopted a very vague and pointless nom de guerre! " I dare say Mr Laing still has the original Proposals, and it may afterwards be considered curious to trace the origin of an Institution which has already so far outrivalled the Roxburghe Club, after whose example — but I humbly think upon a far viii PREFATORY NOTICE. superior model — so much has been done for the illustration of the early history, literature, and antiquities of Scotland." The accuracy of Mr Pitcairn's obliging communication is verified by the following Letters: — SIR WALTER SCOTT, BART. TO ROBERT PITCAIRN, ESQ. My Dear Sir — Before I could answer your kind and flattering letter, I was obliged in conscience to make a very perfect search, here and at Abbotsford, for the articles which I possess of your curious and invaluable publication.* I was at the same time removing the whole of an extensive collection of books, which made my researches very slow. I have at length concluded them, and cannot find more than the inclosed. I am far from expecting the breaches can be made up, but " the slightest donation will be most thankfully accepted." I have long thought that a something of a Bibliomaniacal Society might be formed here for the prosecution of the important task of publishing dilettante editions of our National Literary Curiosities. Several persons of rank, I believe, would willingly become Members, and there are enough of good operatives. What would you think of such an Association? David Laing was ever keen of it, but the death of Sir Alexander Boswell and of Mr Alexander Oswald has damped his zeal. I think if a good plan were formed, and a certain number of Members chosen, the thing would still do well. I should like to talk this over with Mr Maidment and you some day ; and am, meanwhile, very much your obliged servant, Walter Scott. Castle Street, Wednesday, January 22, 1823. II. SIR WALTER SCOTT, BART. TO ROBERT PITCAIRN, ESQ. Dear Sir — I have to return you my best thanks for the valuable Restituta. I will be happy to see you here to-morrow at three o'clock, being obliged to name that late hour by a meeting on some business. I remain your obliged servant, Walter Scott. Edinburgh, Friday, January 24, 1823. * " Ndg^: Derelicts quas colligerunt J. M. et R. P. Edinburgh mdcccxxii," containing eighteen Tracts, privately printed, at various times, by James Maidment, Advocate, and Robert Pitcairn, W.S. Only six complete sets of these Tracts are now supposed to exist ; of these one copy was presented to Sir PREFATORY NOTICE. ix m. ROBERT PITCAIRN, ESQ. TO SIR WALTER SCOTT, BART. Dear Sir — Having been considerably occupied since I had the honour of waiting on you with Mr David Laing, I have not until now been able to overtake a sketch of the Pro- posals for forming a Society here, on the principles mentioned in conversation with you. Before Mr Laing left town I had another conversation with him, when he jotted down a few hints, and requested me to draw up Proposals for your revision, as it appeared to be very desirable that every thing should be now fixed, as soon as consistent with your leisure, in order that the Committee to be appointed may have sufficient time to prepare Tracts for the first General Meeting. I now inclose a note of what occurs to me as most useful to be considered before calling a Meeting, and as Mr Laing will return by the time these Proposals can be printed, I will feel obliged by your correcting and returning them to me at your convenience, and I will have a proof copy waiting Mr L.'s arrival, when he will wait on you, and arrange a day for calling a Meeting of those proposed to be Members of the Society. No names,* saving those affixed to the Proposals, occurred either to Mr Laing or me. It seems difficult to hit upon one which is both short and intelligible. — I remain, &c. Robert Pitcairn. 50, Castle Street, February 3, 1823. IV. SIR WALTER SCOTT, BART. TO ROBERT PITCAIRN, ESQ. Dear Sir — I return you the Proposals, which I think likely to secure the high respec- tability of the proposed Association. I think it a pity to take the name of " Roxburghe," since our object is different, and I humbly think more useful; and the other name is long- winded.f I should prefer taking the name of one of the old printers of Scotland — " The Raban Club," for example. Walter Scott, being the one alluded to in this and the following Letter. Another set had been presented to David Constable, Esq. which at his sale, Cat. No. 2368, produced three pounds, seven shillings, and was bought by Mr Thomas Thorpe ; the third set i9 in the library of Thomas Thomson, Esq. Messrs Maid- ment and Pitcairn have each one ; and the sixth, it is understood, is now in the possession of the Right Hon. Thomas Grenville. * The Proposals drawn up by Mr Pitcairn have unluckily fallen aside ; but, so far as he recollects, the names alluded to, as suggested by him, were " The Abbotsford Club," " The Auchinleck Club," " The Bassandyne Club," " The Melrose Club," and " The Scotish Roxburghe Club." t " The Select National Society for the Preservation of the Ancient Literature of Scotland," proposed by Mr Laing. b x PREFATORY NOTICE. It may be perhaps unnecessary exactly to determine the number of the Club. I think we will make up thirty good men and true. Nothing else occurs upon the Proposals, which I return. A sufficient number should be spoken to before circulating the Proposals, in case of falling through, which would look rather foolish. Your most obedient servant, Walter Scott. Castle Street, Sunday Night, February 2, 1823. V. ROBERT PITCAIRN, ESQ. TO SIR WALTER SCOTT, BART. Dear Sir — I have just read your note of Sunday evening. For the reasons men- tioned by you, it seems much better to wait until Mr D. Laing returns to town ; and per- haps it might be prudent not to print or circulate Proposals, but have two or three written copies made, to shew to such persons as may be fixed on by you as likely to be useful and proper members ; and then a meeting of these gentlemen might be called, and resolutions entered into, which could easily be effected without the matter becoming public, until every- thing is arranged — I remain, &c. Robert Pitcairn. 50, Castle Street, Wednesday Morning, February 5, 1823. VI. ARCHIBALD CONSTABLE, ESQ. TO ROBERT PITCAIRN, ESQ.* Edinburgh, February 10, 1823. My Dear Sir — I return you the sketch of Regulations for a Roxburghe Club in Edinburgh. I take the liberty of recommending that the Rules should not be numerous. There is great difficulty in fixing on a name. Sir Walter Scott has said, and with much truth, that as our objects are not to be entirely those of the London Roxburghe Club, we ought not to adopt the same title. Unfortunately, Scotland has had few Collectors to boast of, and I fancy we must adopt the name of one of them. We cannot propose it to Sir Walter Scott, but, as you observed the other day, there could not have been any hesitation, under different circumstances, of christening it at once " Abbotsford." The chief Collectors whose names occur to me, and, with one or two exceptions, their * Mr Pitcairn 's letter has unluckily been mislaid ; but Mr Constable seems in general to have adopted his suggestions. PREFATORY NOTICE. xi libraries being long ago dispersed, we cannot perhaps ascertain which of their collections best deserved the honourable perpetuity proposed ; but let it be considered. They are — Sir William St Clair of Rosslyn, end of 1 6th century. Sir Thomas Hamilton, Earl of Melrose, and afterwards Earl of Haddington. Sir David Lindesay, first Earl of Balcarras, 1600 — 1640. Sir Robert Gordon of Gordonstoun. William Drummond of Hawthornden. Sir John Scott of Scotstarvet. Sir James Balfour of Denmyln. George Mackenzie, first Earl of Cromarty. Thomas Ruddiman. Robert Miln, Writer, Edinburgh. Alexander Stuart of Dunearn. Walter Macfarlane of Macfarlane. Sir John Gordon of Invergordon. Alexander Boswell, Lord Auchinleck. George Paton. Archibald Swinton of Kimmerghame. Sir Alexander Boswell of Auchinleck. Of printers, Edward Raban, as Sir Walter Scott suggests, would be very appropriate. The only other printer that occurs to me is Thomas Bassandyne. Edward Raban was a printer in Edinburgh before going to St Andrews or Aberdeen, and he dwelt " in the Cowgate at the sign of the A. B. C. " I have seen such an imprimatur of his to a work of Sympson of Dalkeith, printed about 16 16. Raban was an Englishman, however, which constitutes an objection. He was a native of Gloucester, or Worcestershire, I forget which. How would "The A. B. C. Club" do?— "The Bassandyne Club," or "The Denmyln Club," would, I think, be unexceptionable; but above all, what do you say to " The Thomas of Ercildoune Club?" The Rymer's Glen is the property of Sir Walter Scott, and we should thus, in a delicate way, range under the banner of Abbotsford! With regard to the Regulations, I have made some marks in the margin, and I suggest that not more than sixty copies of each book should be printed, being two for each member. There should be, besides, eleven copies for Stationers' Hall. We must avoid every appear- ance of commercial objects, and I am therefore decidedly of opinion that no copies of any thing ought to be printed for sale. The books of the Roxburghe Club acquire a great value from their limited number. The object of the Edinburgh Club should be directed more to the publication of MSS. than facsimiles, and reprints of old books. I shall have the honour of conversing with Sir Walter Scott on the whole affair the first time I have an opportunity of seeing him. Indeed, his opinion should regulate every thing. xii PREFATORY NOTICE. I feel particularly obliged to you for " The Funerals of Queen Mary," the publication of which does you much credit. "The Scottish Queen's Burial! at Peterborough" was one of the articles of greatest rarity in the Roxburghe Catalogue, and I was happy in the oppor- tunity of securing it for the Advocates' Library. There is not another copy known. — I am, with much esteem, My dear Sir, yours sincerely, Archd. Constable. VII. ROBERT PITCAIRN, ESQ. TO ARCHIBALD CONSTABLE, ESQ. My Dear Sir — I received your most welcome letter, returning the sketch of Regula- tions for the proposed Roxburghe Club, this morning. Your most judicious and useful hints relative to the minutiae of this Society have afforded me much pleasure, and, had not an unlucky aecident confined me chiefly to bed ever since, I would have waited on you this forenoon. You have given a delightful variety of names, many of which would afford an excellent title to the proposed Club. Those which at first glance strike my fancy are — " The Bassan- dyne Club," " The Ercildoune Club," " The Auchinleck Club," " The Hawthornden Club ;" or what do you say to " The Melrose Club?"* I am afraid our old friend Raban was not a printer of sufficient eminence to entitle his name to be pitched upon, for he ranks infinitely beneath Andro Hart, Liprevick, and a host of our early printers. The chief, I may almost say the only, merit of his press is the present rarity of a few of his books, none of which are famous for typographical excellence. All that now remains to be done is, that you should, when your health permits, see Sir Walter Scott, and talk over the matter with him, and make out between you a list of per- sons proposed to be spoken with and invited to become Members of the Club, and our friend D. Laing will afford a helping hand. As soon as this is arranged — or, indeed, as soon as a dozen or fifteen have accepted, as brethren and fellow-labourers — a meeting of these members may be called, the society regularly constituted, and a publishing committee named, with instructions as to what Tracts should be got ready against the first Annual Meeting, which I think Sir Walter Scott said might with propriety be fixed for St Andrew's * When the designation of ' ' Bannatyne " was first adopted, many "wise people imagined the Club was called so in honour of Sir William M'Leod Bannatyne, one of the original members; others sup- posed that Bannatyne was a misprint for " Ballantyne," and that it was intended as a compliment to Mr James Ballantyne, on account of his beautiful printing. Whilst on the subject of Bannatyne, we cannot help observing that Dr Dibdin, in his Reminiscences, vol. i. page 473, has made a very odd mistake rela- tive to the Bannatyne MS. After mentioning that this " national relic" is now inlaid and bound in two volumes, he adds this note : — " The whole of the first volume, in two parts, and the first part of the second ' * volume, have been already published by the Club, under the editorial care of Mr Laing, the Secretary." It would be curious to learn from whom theReverend Gentleman received this piece of authentic information. PREFATORY NOTICE. xiii Day, provided that did not interfere with that of the Antiquarian Society, or any similar anniversary meeting. This committee will of course be authorised to make all the neces- sary arrangements as to the device of the Club, the selection of proper paper, &c; and they will also draw up regular bye-laws, after they have seen those of the Roxburghe Club, which the Secretary can easily procure from London. — I remain, &c. Robert Pitcairn. 50, Castle Street, February 10, 1823. VIII. ROBERT PITCAIRN, ESQ. TO DAVID LAING, ESQ. My Dear Sir — Mr Constable having the copy of the sketch of Proposals for the Club, which Sir Walter Scott returned without any material correction, I send you the scroll of these Proposals, so that you may see Mr Constable and Sir Walter Scott when convenient. Mr Constable means to wait on Sir Walter Scott the first day he can, and talk over the matter with him. The sooner you see him and fix the particulars the better ; for it would be a pity to let the matter drop, when every thing seems in such a good train. I will be happy to have a call from you, or a note if you are better occupied, of the result of your visit to Sir Walter Scott and Mr Constable. — I am, &c. Robert Pitcairn. 50, Castle Street, February 11, 1823. IX. EXTRACT FROM LETTER SIR WALTER SCOTT TO DR DIBDIN. It will not be uninteresting to you to know, that a fraternity is about to be established here something on the plan of the Roxburghe Club, but having Scotch Antiquities chiefly in view. It is to be called the Bannatyne Club, from the celebrated George Bannatyne, who compiled by far the greatest manuscript record of old Scotish poetry. Their first meeting is to be held on Thursday, when the health of the Roxburghe Club will not fail to be drank.* February 25, 1823. , * From Dibdin's Reminiscences, vol. i. xiv PREFATORY NOTICE. The first Dinner Meeting of the Bannatyne Club was held in Barry's Hotel on February 27th. The following names were taken from the bill, in the order of their insertion in Mr Barry's list : — A PARTY OF GENTLEMEN. Sir Walter Scott, Bart, in the Chair. Messrs John Clerk [afterwards Lord Eldin]. J. A. Murray. G. L. Meason. James Ballantyne. Robert Pitcairn. James Maidment. David Constable. Henry Jardine (Croupier). George Smythe. P. F. Tytler. David Laing. Thomas Kinnear. Robert Dundas. Robert Bell. Archibald Constable. Considerable difficulty was experienced in forming the Club. Many gentlemen, whose tastes it was imagined would have in- clined them to join a literary Association of this description, kept back,* and the project was viewed coldly in quarters where apathy was assuredly not expected. But Sir Walter Scott's zeal overcame all difficulties; and it may truly be said it was to his exertions, almost exclusively, that the subsequent prosperity of the Club may be ascribed. With the exception of certain critiques in the public Journals, • Sir Walter Scott was exceedingly amused when some of the gentlemen who had thrown cold water on the project afterwards became eager candidates for admission. PREFATORY NOTICE. xv on the different parts as they appeared of Pitcairn's Trials, which it was judged expedient to omit, this volume contains all the papers, so far as could be traced, relative to the Bannatyne Club and its publications, occurring in the different periodical pub- lications of the day.* One or two articles — viz. the scurrilous attack on the Club from the New Scots Magazine, and the in- temperate letters on Dempster — would have been excluded, had not those gentlemen with whom the publication originated in- sisted upon their insertion, and intimated that their suppression would merely increase the desire to possess copies, and a supple- mental reprint of omitted articles would infallibly be the result. In these circumstances, it was thought much better to insert these pasquils at their proper dates, than allow them to appear as an appendix, after the fashion of the Delphin Classics, in which the objectionable matter is carefully removed from the text to the end, to enable the reader, if he so chose, to peruse it en masse, without being put to the trouble of wading through the volume in order to get at it. The remarks in the New Scots Magazine, it is understood, were occasioned by the non-election of a gentleman who had been a candidate for admission to the Club, but were unquestionably published without his knowledge and sanction. The letters on Dempster are singularly curious specimens of angry and unjus- tifiable criticism, and were evidently written under the influence of feelings not of the most amiable description. The authors, too, carried away by personal hostility, seem to have forgotten that their lucubrations, so far from impugning, materially supported the accuracy of the republication they had the boldness to * There, however, is one exception — a review of the Lord Advocate's contribution, — which appeared in the Edinburgh Times, a paper that survived its publication a short time, and which, after every exertion, could not be procured. xvi PREFATORY NOTICE. criticise; and it is passing strange it never occurred to them, that there could hardly be a better test of the ability of an Editor, than that, in the new edition of a work of many hundred pages, the original text of which was so vitiated and corrupt as to require the greatest critical skill to put it right, the only ob- jection the ingenuity of parties, evidently on the look-out for faults, could urge was, that, in one solitary instance, in correct- ing an evident error, a better reading might have been given than that which had been ingeniously suggested by the accom- plished Editor. When this collection was originally projected, it was not sup- posed that it would extend to half its present size. In conse- quence, however, of an unexpected increase of materials, the work became necessarily more bulky. To meet the additional expense thus occasioned, fifty instead of thirty copies have been thrown off, all of which have been subscribed for. April 16, 1836. CONTENTS. PAGE. List of Subscribers, iii Prefatory Notice, v I. Notices of, and Critiques on, the Institution of the Club, .... 1 1. Bannatyne Club (1), July 9, 1823, . . . . . . ib. 2. Transactions of the Bannatyne Club, No. 1, December 24, 1823, . 2 3. Bannatyne Club (2), 8 4. New Literary Society, . . . December 30, 1823, . . ib. 5. Bibliomania, January 7, 1824, . . ib. 6. Transactions of the Bannatyne Club, No. 2, February 4, 1824, . . 9 If. Review of the Historie and Life of King James the Sext, from the last Num- ber of the Scots Magazine, 21 III. Critique on Atkinson's Gold Mines of Scotland, from Brewster's Philosophical Journal, ............ 37 IV. Observations on Sir Frederick Madden's edition of Havelok the Dane, includ- ing Strictures on the Bannatyne Club, by T. G. Repp, F.A.S.E. . . 48 V. Remarks upon the Bannatyne Club, April 1829, from the New Scots Magazine, 58 VI. Notice relative to the Memoirs of Sir James Turner, from do. ... 60 VII. Review of the Memoirs of Sir James Turner, from the London Literary Gazette, . 61 VIII. Do. from the Edinburgh Literary Gazette, 81 IX. Do. from the Edinburgh Review, by the Rev. Thomas M'Crie, D.D. . 88 X. Clubs, Literature, Antiquities, from the Scots Times, Glasgow, . . 120 XI. Critique on the new edition of Dempster's Ecclesiastical History of the Scots, from the Caledonian Mercury, by Alexander Henderson, Esq. . . 130 XII. Attila's Corrections for the last edition of Dempster, from do. . . . 135 XIII. Sir Peter Nimmo's Letter to Attila, from do 139 C xviii CONTENTS. PAGE. XIV. Quarto -Ains worth to the Editor of the Caledonian Mercury, . . 142 XV. Some Account of Thomas Dempster of Muiresk, from the Dundee Chronicle, by J. H. Burton, Esq. 145 XVI. Review of " Les Affairs du Conte de Boduel," from the Edinburgh Literary Gazette, . 151 XVII. Review of the Memorials of George Bannatyne, from the Edinburgh Lite- rary Journal, 160 XVIII. Account of the Leven MS. of Lesley's History of Scotland, by Thomas M'Crie, D.D., from Blackwood's Magazine, . . % . . 167 XIX. Review of Bishop Leslie's History of Scotland, from Edinburgh Literary Journal, 178 XX. Remarks on the Trial of Clerk and Macdonald for the Murder of Sergeant Davies, from the Aberdeen Journal, by Joseph Robertson, Esq. . 182 XXI. Authentic Account of an Appearance of a Ghost, as disclosed in a civil suit, in Queen Anne's County, Maryland, . . . . . . 191 XXII. Stemmata-Humiana, containing some account of an Ancient Chronicle of the Picts, from the Edinburgh Constitution, 198 XXIII. Brief Remarks on the new edition of the Chronica de Mailros, from do. 204 XXIV. Horse Bannatynianse, from the Edinburgh Constitution — 1. Sir James Turner, ib. 2. Sir Robert Aiton, with an Appendix of three original Letters by him, 206 3. General Mackay, 212 XXV. Review of Pitcairn's Criminal Trials, from the Quarterly Review, by Sir Walter Scott, Bart 216 XXVI. Remarks on the Papers collected by Mr Pitcairn in his Trials, relative to the Gowrie Conspiracy, from the Edinburgh Literary Journal, . 261 XXVII. Bibliographical Notices relative to the Sales of Club Books, . . 273 NOTICES RELATIVE TO THE BANNATYNE CLUB M.DCCCXXIII— M.DCCCXXIV. NOTICES AND CRITIQUES ON THE INSTITUTION OF THE CLUB. I. THE BANNATYNE CLUB. ! ! T'v S ».; } ■ • | The object of this Club cannot be too highly commended. Indeed, vve :,> J may hail its existence as something nouvelle et riche, in the literary world. Its members consist of a limited number, each of whom contribute an annual sum, to be expended in printing, in an uniform and handsome manner, a series of works illustrative of the History, Topography, Poetry, and Miscellaneous Literature of Scotland, in former times. An Album is kept, in which notices of ancient manuscripts, books and tracts, transmitted by the members, are to be inserted; and from this Record a selection is to be made, from time to time, for the purpose of publica- tion. Some of the first men in this country are enrolled as members — men celebrated upon the bench and at the bar — whose names, as pos- sessed of ardent and extensive literary acquirements, are well known, and whose labours, joined with the other learned members, cannot fail of rescuing from the land of oblivion many an antique treasure, which, but for their investigations, would have remained unnoticed and unseen. * These extracts (with the exception of one from the London Courier, dated Dec. 30, 1823) are taken from the Edinburgh Literary Gazette, and were written by Mr Parry, the Editor of that periodical. 2 NOTICES RELATIVE TO We understand that the Committee of the Bannatyne Club had the honour of dining with their President, Sir Walter Scott, on Thursday last. It is unnecessary to add, that they spent a delightful evening under the roof of the hospitable Baronet. — Edinburgh Literary Gazette, July 9, 1823. II, TRANSACTIONS OF THE BANNATYNE CLUB. " Come lithe now, and listen, I pray, to my song, Sir Knight, whom Colossus we dub; It shall be, like an Archbishop's grace, never long, And my theme is the BANNATYNE CLUB! I shall shortly attempt, and a fig for the muse, In prose to depaint every feature aright ; If it should be a daub, I will give no excuse; So I'll rush to my task like the horse to the fight." ; ' ' ' <©uolr pennglests $etet Pecttwt to tf)e $tngcf)t of abbotsfovtr. Amidst' the almost innumerable Clubs, for all objects and purposes, which seem to start into notice every day, it is with feelings of no ordinary interest that we sit down to notice one whose existence was originally intended for, and will continue to be marked by, the revival or renewal of our old Scotish Literature. For though Edinburgh has long held an undisputed place among nations, as the Athens of the North, it was not till lately that, for pure love of lore, a society of gentlemen congregated themselves, as it were., into an Acropolis, round which to rally the scattered literary vestiges and frag- ments of the olden times — times when the Muse would become so frisky, that, though all the while in exceeding good humour, she would dip the pens of a Dunbar and Kennedy deep in ** Castalia's fount, an' a' that," under the influence of which they could vent such heaven-(or rather hell)- born eloquence, as would bring your flashy spirits and modern sentiment- alists to a dead stand. But this is a digression, and M time still spares the Thistle and the Rose," to show what Dunbar's genius could do even in those turbulent times. THE BANNATYNE CLUB. 3 The thought of such an association is not a thought of yesterday; for as far back as the year 1819 the idea had arisen in the minds of some of its leading members, as we have been credibly given to understand ; but it was only in August 1822 that it assumed a decided appearance, was brought to bear, and finally was instituted in February 1823, by the cherish- ing attentions and fostering patronage of its illustrious President, and its labour-loving Secretary; aided by Thomas Thomson and Archibald Con- stable, Esqrs. — a quaternion, who may be called its chief corner-stones — its columns after the antique, with highly-decorated capitals, at once founding and supporting this goodly superstructure, which bids fair to outrival the Roxburghe. For some time — grieved are we to announce it — their learned heads were puzzled to find an appropriate name; but what more suitable than that which was ultimately chosen ? what more appropriate than Banna- tyne ? — he, who in 1568 compiled a " tall folio" (now divided into two), every line of which is precious as the " Orient pearl," and himself a poet to boot — he who " Left such a treasure of old Scotish lore, As enables each age to print one volume more!" Like its elder brother, the Roxburghe, it has only thirty-one members, and it is under consideration whether or not this number should be in- creased to forty; but the rumour is abroad that this is only a manoeuvre to make way for the " Prince of Critics," and the Dean of a certain lawful Faculty, who are anxious for admittance; and though we might be glad to see the number augmented, because our own chance of admis- sion should grow in the same ratio, still, if we were once in, we should then deprecate the idea of any ulterior extension, though we should there- by exclude even " the King of men.'''' But we find ourselves to be getting more and more involved in the old differences of opinion, which, from time immemorial, have existed between the Outs and Ins. A more charitable spirit, however, if it continue, seems to pervade this younger branch of the bookworm family ; for, by one of their laws, each member will be entitled to two copies of every work printed from the general fund) besides a clause in another, which gives the right of print- 4 NOTICES RELATIVE TO ing copies of the more valuable productions for sale, with only some variation in the texture of the paper. And though there be no law commanding each member to print some " rare tome" from his own private purse, yet, as not a few have begun to do so, it is more than probable that each one will take his turn, and, besides the requisite number demanded by the rules of the Club, probably he will print a few more for his friends, by which we may still have a chance of peeping without paying, though we would gladly pay for peeping. At their last meeting, on the 18th November 1823, there were only eighteen members (being just double the number of the muses) present, the rest being unavoidably absent ; but this was amply compensated by the cordiality and conviviality of those few, and the hours flew with most unaccountable rapidity, amid the " immortal memories" of our Warriors, Statesmen, and Poets, which each one joined to ingulph in a bumper of champaigne. As for their past-ten-o'clock deeds, are they not over all the house ? But it is pardonable in a new Judge to be so uplifted, and think so highly of his talents, as to fall " tooth and nail" upon Stair! We shall now turn our attention to the fruit of their past year's labour, and it will be found to be worthy of the glorious good old cause which they have undertaken. Of the larger works, specimens only were laid on the table at the meeting, but they will be completed in time to be shewn as " Ane New-Yere Gift," or at farthest when the Court sits. And first in order comes the "23atmatjme (Bfavlantr, Xo. 1." from the pen of the Magician Knight of Abbotsford, which was sung* at their first meeting to the tune of "four bottles more!" We shall give a stanza or two, byway of sample, forewarning our readers, that, as we have not seen a copy since the day of its birth, we will not swear for its being critically correct. " Assist me, ye friends of old books and old wine, In singing the praises of sage Bannatyne, Who left such a treasure of old Scotish lore, As enables each age to print one volume more ! One volume more, my friends! one volume more! We will ransack old Banny for one volume more! * By the late James Ballantyne, Esq., an original Member of the Club. THE BANNATYNE CLUB. 5 And first, Allan Ramsay was eager to glean From old Banny's hortus his bright Evergreen; Two tight little volumes, intended for four, Still leaves us the task to print one volume more ! One volume more, my friends! one volume more! We wip ransack old Banny for one volume more ! But his ways were not ours, for he cared not a pin How much he left out, or how much he put in ; The truth of the reading he thought was a bore, So this accurate age calls for one volume more! One volume more, my friends! one volume more! We will ransack old Banny for one volume more ! Correct and sagacious, now comes my Lord Hailes, a And he weighs every letter in critical scales! But he left out those words which the prudish abhor, And he castrated Banny in one volume more! One volume more, my friends! one volume more! We'll restore Banny's manhood in one volume more ! As bitter as gall, and as sharp as a razor, And feeding on herbs like a Nebuchadnezzar, His diet too acid, his temper too sore, Little Ritson came out with his two volumes more! Two volumes more, my friends ! two volumes more ! We will ransack old Banny for two volumes more!" We regret exceedingly that we cannot give the whole of this Garland, every line of which blossoms with wit and humour, and shall only say, that it goes on to describe the different editors who have culled from " old Banny's hortus" with equal vigour and precision, not unmixed with the attic salt which sparkles so conspicuously in the specimen. We shall now turn to the " 23aroiat$)He tfBrartauir, ^*o. 2," which is ushered in by the following exordium, and which clearly proves the author to be a good poet, a pat phraser, and an admirable Tytler. NOTICES RELATIVE TO " fytiv aftet follotous a &trf)t tnetrte anfc Icavnit Uallat iStcbtt ic ane counccIUt of ti)e fSinsus Cfjecat. " Old Burny read Heyne and Bruncker, Though his critical skill was mere bam; Dick Porson got drunk, and then drunker, As he pored o'er thy page, Toby Dam. To us Toby's roots are a bore, Sir, And the Scholia of Bruncker unsound; For the best Scotish classical lore, Sir, In Chepman and Myllar is found. Missals and masses an' a', Brave ballats and books of the law ; Here's a glass to the first Scotish printers, Their missals and masses an' a'. You prate of your Foulis and Bodoni, And their tomes in morocco you bind; There's a printer far better than ony, Tarn Davidson, • dwellar in auld freyer's wynd.' For he, first of all in this nation, To print ' Scottis Chronikles' plann'd, And gave us old Hector's narration, Translated by Bellendene's hand. Scottis and Pichtis and a', Kings Nathack and Dorvidilla, With Fergus and Drustus and Duffus, That entered the ark with No-ah. Some eulogise Taylor and Barrow, Or of Chalmers eternally craik, But our true Theological Marrow You only will find in Lepraik. He gave us the glorious ' Cpnfesm'ott/ And the i&taout of ane Cfjtfetian, With Theodore Beza's Digression, Who leadeth the orthodox van. Preachers and Pastors an' a', In their skull-cap brought from Geneva; Who with lion-soul'd Knox for their leader, Drove the Romanist louns to the wa'." THE BANNATYNE CLUB. 7 This " M&tfyt mtvvie aulr cvnteiUto 23anat" was sung with great effect by its learned author, and not a little heightened the mental feast of the members. The next, and certainly their most important production, is the " Vitse Episcoporum Dunkeldensis Ecclesise," or Lives of the Bishops of Dun- keld, from the unpublished manuscript of Alexander Myln, Abbot of Cambuskenneth, and First Senator of the College of Justice. He com- mences with the first foundation of the See, which was anciently a Mo- nastery of the Culdees, founded by Constantine, third king of the Picts, which, about the year 1127» was raised to its Cathedral dignity by David, that " sair sante for the Crown;" and after giving a succinct chronolo- gical account of each Bishop, until J 515, which only makes us regret that he did not enlarge it to as many pages as there are lines, he con- cludes with giving a splendid eulogium on Gawane Douglas, the cele- brated translator of Virgil, to whom, with the rest of the Chapter, it is dedicated. We can never say enough in praise of the great pains which Mr Thomson has taken to render it accurate, and fill in the contrac- tions; and the style is too intricate in some parts to admit of an extract being of general interest; but viewing it as a reprint, it would do honour to any institution to bring forth this gem, which is farther enhanced by two most beautiful fac-similes of the emblazoned part of the original manuscript. But the time would fail were we to launch forth on the wide and delightful field which has now been opened to our view ; and as we have hastily glanced over the works from the general fund, we here conclude by intimating our full intention of resuming, at some future period, " the willing task" of discoursing, in the Jirst place, of what lias already been done by each member as an individual, and secondly \ what is intended to be done, with some short reflections on the utility of such a Club — proving, in one word, that it is " A nation good thing." — Edinburgh Literary Gazette, Dec. 24, 1823. NOTICES RELATIVE TO III. THE BANNATYNE CLUB. The Bannatyne Club, as we have heard from certain whisperings, is proceeding with great activity in the very laudable object of its institu- tion. It is a great mistake to suppose that its meetings are all of that sombre cast which certain ill-informed persons imagine to be the case. There is a great deal of the most attic mirth mingled with all their gravest deliberations; so much so, indeed, that very lately one of our most intelligent Judges did not " well understand" (to use a facete phrase from " Paradise Lost") all the good things that were poured forth at a session at which his Lordship assisted. — Edinburgh Literary Gazette, Dec. 24, 1823. IV. NEW LITERARY SOCIETY. A new Literary Society has recently sprung up in Edinburgh, of the nature of the London Roxburghe Club, for the republication of scarce and valuable tracts, especially poetry. Sir Walter Scott very properly takes the lead in this literary junta, and Mr Laing, junior, son of the respectable bookseller, is the Secretary. At their last convivial meeting one of the members sung a new ballad to the old tune of " one bottle more," which was repeatedly encored, and ordered to be repeated at all subsequent meetings. This song is attributed to the great known un- known author of Waverley. We hope soon to present our readers with a copy of it. — London Courier, Tuesday, Dec. 30, 1823. V. BIBLIOMANIA. This most ridiculous of all the affectations of the day has lately ex- hibited another instance of its diffusion, in the establishment of a Rox- burghe Club in Edinburgh. Its object, we are told, is the republication THE BANNATYNE CLUB. 9 of scarce and valuable tracts, especially poetry. — " Republication!" — In what manner? — Common sense forbid that the system of the London Roxburghe Club be adopted ! Of this there are some four and twenty members or so, who dine together a certain number of times in the year, and each member in his turn republishes some old tract, at his own ex- pense. There are just so many copies printed as there are members of the Club, and one copy is presented to each. It is evident that no sort of good can be effected by this system, and indeed there has not yet resulted any benefit to the literature of the country from the Roxburghe Club. They have not published a single book of any conceivable merit. The truth is, that the members, for the most part, are a set of persons of no true taste — of no proper notion of learning and its uses — very con- siderable persons in point of wealth, but very so-so in point of intellect. — Museum. The observations on the Roxburghe Club established in London, which are contained in the above extract, are mere railing. What imaginable reason can be assigned why four and twenty gentlemen should not " dine together," and " each in his turn publish some old tract, at his own expense?" We are told that no sort of good can be effected by this system. Why, is it not good enough that the members please them- selves, and find some employment for a poor devil of a printer? The sneer at the taste and the intellect of the members will hurt them less than it will the writer of the article, who, by what he has written, has un- doubtedly furnished matter for the impeachment of his own taste, by his «' Specimens of discourteous Phraseology." — Edinburgh Literary Gazette, Jan. 7, 1824. VI. TRANSACTIONS OF THE BANNATYNE CLUB. " To future ages shall their dullness last Who have preserved the dullness of the past." Agreeably to our promise, like a gallant Knight and true, we hasten to redeem the pledge held out in a former number, and with eagerness resume the Transactions of the Bannatyne Club. Seeing, therefore, that B 10 NOTICES RELATIVE TO we have taken the Championship upon us, we rush fearlessly forward to cope with this Literary Hydra, " And damn'd be he who first cries hold ! — enough." In taking a cursory view of the product of each member's purse as an individual, which was the First thing proposed to be done, we shall en- deavour to avoid what Philip Gualtier, in the 5th book of his Alexandreis, has so elegantly described by the " Incidis in Scyllam cupiens vitare Charibdim" which is freely translated in the cook's proverb of " falling from the frying-pan into the fire; by taking part with your high-toned antiquary on the one hand, who can give no more cogent reason for pre- serving the rust and dust of past ages, than that it is the dust of these ages; nor, on the other side, would we fall into the Charybdis of encourag- ing your more modern Vandal, who, giving lasting importance to the ephemera of the day, with Goth-like hand would strive to destroy what even Father Time has venerated and preserved. We have now before us the fruit of the past year's labour, which has burst upon our view, like a hail storm, thick and THREE-fold; and as each author seems equally well-dressed, and shouldering each other for notice, we will take up at a venture he who seems to be the most consequential, and, holding him between our aged eyes, and our flickering farthing candle, we will see if he bear unblanched the scrutinizing critic's eye. Ah! what mournful muse have we caught, sighing and weeping in black? So ho! 'tis " ®ty ISufce t>t \ty ^ofolat, fcg ?^ofcmtr," that most singularly strange production, and nearly the ne plus ultra of soft allite- ration's senseless sound, with its " rhymes running in rattling rows." It has been the misfortune of the poor author — but in this respect he is far from being singular — that each " stout Gothick Yeditour" has been at sixes and sevens with his predecessor. Some have stoutly maintained that his Howlat is a satire upon pride, particularly directed against the clergy of the Romish persuasion, the higher orders of which, as the Cardi- nals and Bishops, are depicted to the life in the shape of eagles, vultures, and other birds of prey; the lesser orders by " Craws and Jays," who are everlastingly taking a pick at other people's corn, without leave asked or obtained. Other Editors have as boldly averred, that it contains a direct THE BANNATYNE CLUB. 11 attack upon the person and government of King James the Fourth, during whose reign it was composed, who little deserved any thing of the kind himself; and it was during his reign that the proudest period of our history may be dated. But really, these latter must see deeper than ourselves into this bottom- less pit of alliteration, which is so forced and frequent, that truly it might be questioned, without presumption, whether or not the well-meaning author himself knew what he would be at. It is clear, however, that he had ac- quired the art, ny B*&y 1629- We shall give one extract from the latter part of the Sonnets, which will serve at once as a specimen of the author's style, and make us regret that he has left so little to support his fame, which we boldly assert to be superior to most, and inferior to few, of the Scotish poets of his age — not even excepting Drummond, his friend and companion. " The com- plaint of the shepherd Harpalus" is what we mean to pitch upon in support of this our assertion. " Poore Harpalus, opprest with love, Sate by a cbxistall brooke; Thinking his sorrowes to remove, Oft-times therein did looke. And hearing how on pibble stones The murmuring river ran, As if it had bewailed his grones, Vnto it thus began: — * Faire streame (quoth he), that pities me, And heares my matchlesse moane, If thou be going to the sea, As I do so suppone, Attend my plaints, past all releefe, Which dolefully I breathe; . Acquaint the sea-nymphes with the greefe Which still procures my death; THE BANNATYNE CLUB. 15 Who, sitting on the cliffy rockes, May in their songs expresse, While as they combe their golden lockes, Poor Harpalus' distresse. And so, perhaps, some passenger, That passeth by the way, May stay and listen for to heare Them sing this doleful lay: Poore Harpalus, a shepheard swaine, More rich in youth than store, Lov'd faire Philena, haplesse man! Philena, oh, therefore! Who still, remorceles-hearted maide, Tooke pleasure in his paine; And his good-will (poore soule) repayd With undeserv'd disdayne. Ne're shepheard lov'd a shepheardesse More faithfully then he, Ne're shepheard yet beloved lesse Of shepheardesse could be. How oft with dying lookes did he To her his woes impart ; How oft his sighs did testifie The dolour of his hart; How oft from valeis to the hills, Did he his griefes rehearse; How oft re-echo'd they his ils Abacke againe (alas!) How oft on barkes of stately Pines, Of Beech, of Holen green, Did he ingrave in mournfull lines, The dole he did sustaine. Yet all his plaints could have no place, To change Philena! s mind: The more his sorrows did increase, The more she proved unkind. 16 NOTICES RELATIVE TO The thought whereof, through verie care, Poor Harpalus did move; That, overcome with high despaire, He quat both life and love.' " Next, and last, though not least, by this gentle knight, comes the Paraphrase of the celebrated civ. Psalm, which seems to have formed the bone of contention among those poets who have scrambled for the Laurels, during a period of several centuries, and we have no less than eight or ten different versions of it in Latin. Sir David's version shall speak for itself in the following specimen : — " My soule, praise thou Jehovah's holie Name, For he is great and of exceeding Might, Who, cloth'd with glorie, majestie, and Fame, And cover'd with the garments of the light, The azure Heaven doth like a curtaine spred, Andin the depths his chalmer beams hath lay'd. The clouds he makes his chariot to be, On them he wheeles the christall skies about, And on the wings of Colics doth Hee At pleasoure walke, and sends his Angels out, Swift Heralds, that doe execute his will; His words the heavens with firie lightnings fill. The Earth's foundation he did firmelie place, And lay'd it so that it should never slyde ; He made the depths her round about embrace, And like a Robe her naked shores to hide, Whose waters would o'rflow the mountains high, But that they backe at his rebuke doe flie. At the dread voice of his consuming thunder, As these retire, the mountaines in the skie Doe raise their tops like Pyramids of wonder, And at their feet the pleasant valleys lie ; And to the floods he doth prescribe a Bound, That thy Earth's beautie may no more confound. THE BANNATYNE CLUB. 17 The fertile Plaines he doth refresh and cheare With pleasant streames which from the mountaines fall, To which (to quench their thirst) all Beastes draw neare, Even to the Asse, whom never yoake did thrall; And on the Trees, by every chrystall spring, Heavens Quiristers doe sweatly Bill and Sing. The thristie tops of skie menacing Hils He from the Clouds refresheth with his raine, And with the Goodness of his Grace he fills The Earth, with all that doth therein remaine; He causeth her both Man and Beast to feede, The wholesome Herbes, and tender grasse to breede." These, with a Sonnet to Drummond of Hawthornden, being the only- productions handed down to us by Sir David Murray, have been reprinted by Thomas Kinnear, Esq. Treasurer to the Club,* in a style which can never be sufficiently commended, and must excite universal admiration in the members, at the same time that it strongly urges them — to go and do the like. The next on the roll for notice is the " Teares for the never-sufficientlie- bewailed death of Alexander Earle of Dunfermeling, Lord Fyvie and Vrquhart, Lord Chancellar of Scotland, by John Lyoun, Edinburgh, 1622," who was cousin to Lady Beatrix Ruthven, and to whom it is dedicated. Of the merits of this author, whom the editor, Mr Maidment, suggests to have been a descendant of the ancient family of Auldbar, in Forfarshire, we have little to say, its uniqueity being the only claim which has been put in for its reproduction; and out of his 162 lines, there are no doubt many good, more bad, and the greater proportion indifferent. From the beautiful poem at the end of these Tears we shall venture to make an extract, for we think some parts exceedingly good, and fully equal to most of our older poems on that never-failing source of medita- tion, on " Life's uncertaintie." It commences with apostrophizing on the loss of all sublunary titles, and proceeds in the following strain: * This gentleman died on the 20th October 1830, at his house at Cornwall Terrace, Regent Park, London, deeply regretted by his numerous friends. C 18 NOTICES RELATIVE TO " Yea, if the world would poure into thy lappe Her richest treasures in a liberal shoure, Yet think not much of this imagin'd happe, Which may be spent or perish in an houre. Earth's flying joyes are like a summer field, Whose blossomes must to flower-quell winter yield. Imagine this (which to be found is rare), Thy joyes were never interrupt with griefe, Thy lifetime spent without a dram of care, Yet at the last, death, like a subtill thiefe, Will steale thy joyes, which is a fading treasure, To make thee know how perishing is pleasure. Life which the worldlings doe so much adore, Is like a dream, a blast of wavering wind, A shade, a span, a smoke, an airie store, A gulf of griefe, where few contentment find ; A see of sorrows and a ship of toyes, Fraught full of certaine cares, vncertaine joyes. Since life is such, then let us learn to die, That we by death a better life may gain : Let vs this Scilla, this Charibdes flie, Haste to the port and flee the troubled main, Where wee shall find contentment, and till then No true contentment is to mortal men." As for the Second branch of this our discourse, we had well nigh lost sight of it altogether, viz. What is intended to be done by these champions for the fame of Dame Scotia's literary relics. From the general fund, we believe that the " Life of King Jamie the Sapient and Sext," is in a state of forwardness; this is from the manuscript which Crawfurd of Drumsoy, her Majesty's Historiographer, made such improper use of, and has been subsequently reprinted by Malcolm Laing, octavo, Edin- burgh, 1804. The " Bannatyne Miscellany," No. I. is also to make its appearance from the same fund, containing all the poems by George Bannatyne, the THE BANNATYNE CLUB. 19 god-father of the Club; and No. II., some interesting and highly curious fragments, which will be farther specified hereafter. With regard to what is intended to be done by the members individu- ally, this has as yet been confined to mere vague report, without any fixed design having been assumed — some speaking of reprinting Sir Thomas Urchard's curious volume of epigrams, printed in 1646, with perhaps his Precious Jewel. George Chalmers also is preparing, we believe, Henryson's most beau- tiful ballad of Robene and Makyne, cum notis variorum, with perhaps some other of his poems. Another gentleman has also in progress a highly curious account of Scotland, with regard to its trade and shipping, in the time of Cromwell. Others again talk of joining together and printing, at their mutual expense, Dempster's inaccurate, but invaluable, Historia Ecclesiastica. While another party talk of joining purses to print some of the old Char- tularies; and this being an important branch of our history, we had been at some pains to collect an accurate list of them, with the places where they are preserved, but we must defer shewing off our monastic lore till some more convenient season. Having now so notoriously bid defiance to all bounds, we would draw to a close, with a few reflections on the utility of such associations as that which we have been attempting to review ; and as much might be advanced both pro and con on this, which was the Third and last branch of our subject, we must indeed be brief. That they have much in their power cannot be denied; they might cause a reflux of attention from all parties to be directed towards our ancient literature, which, if we may judge from the size of their writings, the talents of our ancestors must have been gigantic indeed. In fact, they would seem to have thought about as much of composing a folio, as the present diminutive race would think of reading one. And what will future generations think of us, when it is known that the character of the age was to fritter down these folios, and what with cutting, copying from their predecessors, and by dint of joining and eking, they would vamp up a few-leav'd periodical, which can give little satisfaction on any subject, is forgotten even in the hour of its birth, and must, almost of necessity, die with the life of the next succeeding number? 20 NOTICES OF THE BANNATYNE CLUB. Too frequently, however, these associations ascend only one step above the selfish antiquarian pleasure of possessing a unique copy ; and like the miser extolling his generosity, if he admit one, or perhaps two, partakers of his board, they think they have acted nobly and generously if they admit a few of their own circle to partake of their pleasure. But this, we are most happy to find, is not altogether the case with the present Society; and now the only fear which we have is, that in their eagerness and anxiety to let nothing good escape their researches, they will throw up so much rubbish that it will clog the utility of their operations. But why disturb the deservedly dead? Why renovate those writings which were never meant to be of any but a temporary importance, and only interesting to those more immediately concerned ? Who cares now for the never-to-be-sufficiently-lamented death of my Lord Dunfermling? It is a trite maxim, but true, that there is " as good fish in the sea as ever came out of it;" and Mr Lyoun's Teares, but for the morality in the fag end of them, might have been torn, or shed around the four corners of the globe, which we verily believe to have been the case, and the world not one whit the more ignorant. We will now abruptly put a stop to our lengthy remarks for the present, with the common-place, " Fare-thee-well, and if for ever, Still for ever Fare-thee-well." — Edinburgh Literary Gazette, Feb. 4, 1824. REVIEW HISTORIE AND LIFE OF KING JAMES THE SEXT: BEING AN ACCOUNT OF THE AFFAIRS OF SCOTLAND, FROM 1566 TO 1596, WITH A SHORT CONTINUATION TO 1617- PRINTED AT EDINBURGH, 1823. We commence our critical labours on the present occasion with more than usual complacency, perfectly satisfied, as we happen to be, that we are indifferently well qualified for reviewing the volume before us. Impri- mis, It is the offspring of a club of literati, whose Shiboleth is, in plain phrase, Bibliomania; and we have been the victims of this dreadful disease for many years, during which we have exhibited all its most notorious symptoms, from incipient affection for large paper, to the dan- gerous paroxysms ycleped uniques and fifteeners. Secundo, The work embraces a period of Scottish history, on which more has been written, and writers have displayed greater differences of opinion, than on any other portion of our annals, and we are sufficiently pugnacious to have a strong inclination to enter the lists. Tertio, It details not a few inci- dents in the early life of one of the most incomprehensible of Scotish monarchs, and we should like to avail. ourselves of the opportunity thus afforded us of delivering our opinion of the youthful days of (a pheno- menon in history!) a learned King. In one word, honest as Biblioman- ists, and, we trust, good Scotsmen, our heart is in the subject; and we shall be right well pleased if we communicate to our readers a tithe of the interest we attach to it. 22 REVIEW OF THE HISTORIE There are a few anecdotes connected with the present " Historie," which merit a place in our pages. One of the manuscripts used in print- ing the volume fell into the hands of David Crawfurd of Drumsoy, Royal Historiographer for Scotland at the union of the kingdoms, who in 1706 published a work under the title of " Memoirs of the Affairs of Scotland, &c." and announced to the world that it was "faithfully 'published from an authentic MS" Crawfurd was a partisan of Queen Mary, and while apparently acting in the neutral character of editor of an " ancient MS.," he took a most unjustifiable method of shewing his attachment to her cause. He not only altered every passage in the manuscript which was unfavourable to the character of the Queen, and inserted, from other writers, statements of a directly opposite tendency, under the guise of quoting these writers (Spottiswood and others) on the margin, as colla- teral authorities for the very facts he was thus wilfully perverting ; but, to remove all suspicion, he boldly asserted, in his preface, that he had " not wrested any of the words, nor heightened nor diminished any par- ticular character or action, but kept as close as possible to the meaning and sense" of the writer of the MS. His impudence concealed his fraud for nearly a century, and the " Memoirs" were quoted by all parties as a genuine contemporary narrative of events. Mr Laing, in his Disser- tation on the Murder of Darnley, published in 1804, first denounced the fraud; and the strong language he employed on the occasion having provoked much criticism, he felt it necessary, in his own justification, immediately to publish an accurate transcript of the MS. which Crawfurd had so shamefully interpolated. The publication of this MS. (now known by the name of the Belhaven MS., from its being the property of the family of Lord Belhaven) brought to light several other manuscripts, of which an account is given in the preliminary notice to the present volume. The whole have been used in the formation of the text now published, the various readings being given in an appendix. It is remarkable how very closely all these manuscripts agree; indeed there is not a fact of any importance about which they differ. The " various readings," therefore, need scarcely be consulted by the reader, unless he possess an inordinate portion of bibliographical OF JAMES THE SEXT. 23 curiosity, and can experience delight in the pursuit of a trifling expletive, or in the mere addition of a synonymous and frequently clumsy epithet. With regard to the authorship of the present volume, we are decidedly of opinion that it ought not to be assigned to one individual. The learned editor seems to hint (Prelim. Notice, p. 1), that he thinks it " the work of several hands;" and though, after such authority, we would like to speak with diffidence, we are really disposed to hazard something more than a conjecture, or even a vague expression of belief in the mat- ter. We think, then, that there is an obvious change of writers at page 123; that the second, who appears to us to be inferior to the first writer, continues his labours no farther than page 158; that the third writer, who there takes up the thread of the story, is one who was connected with the practice of the law; that this writer continued the narrative to the year 1595, or to page 357; and that even after him there were at least two writers employed on the four remaining pages of the MS. Be these things as they may, however, the work is, throughout, the labour of individuals who were living at the time the various events which they narrate took place, but who do not appear to have been either eye-wit- nesses, or persons who had particular opportunities of knowing the private history of these events. They seem, in short, to have merely embodied the national feeling at the time ; but they have done so in a dispassionate manner, and, in our opinion, with very commendable impartiality. Our limits will not permit us to present to our readers any of the various views of the character and conduct of Queen Mary, which have been suggested by a perusal of the first portion of the volume; these we reserve for a future article, in which we propose to ourselves to form something like an impartial estimate of the evidence and argument for and against this unfortunate Princess. In the meantime, we may hint to her admirers, that were they to make use of the " Historie" now pub- lished, as a running commentary on the statements of Tytler, Whitaker, and others, they would probably feel it necessary to revise, if not to alter, their creed. But to our present purpose — that which the title of the work embraces — " The Historie and Life of King James the Seat." James was born in the Castle of Edinburgh, on the 19th of June 1566. 24 REVIEW OF THE HISTORIE His birth did not heal the breach which previously existed betwixt his parents, and which the murder of Rizzio, under the auspices if not with the assistance of his father, Darnley, on the 9th of March preceding, had widened and confirmed. Various causes have been assigned for the unfortunate disagreement of the royal pair, but the truth seems to have been that Queen Mary had married a vain young man, who was too weak minded to make a proper use of his elevation ; and that amidst the fac- tions of the period, the wife and husband attached themselves to differ- ent parties, who were perfidious enough to make each the instrument of their own selfish purposes. Certain it is, that very soon after their mar- riage Mary evinced little anxiety for her husband's company, and that Darnley took very little pains either to preserve or regain her affections. He allowed himself to be persuaded that Rizzio was a more favoured object of the Queen's attentions than himself, and the unfortunate musician was the victim of his revenge. We are far from thinking that Darnley had any good grounds for depriving Rizzio of life, yet, if we may credit the contemporary narrative of Sir James Melvil, the Queen displayed an immoderate portion of sorrow for the death of her lutenist. " So many great sighs she would give, that it was pity to hear her."* After this period she seems to have regarded her husband with no other feelings than those of hatred, and accordingly he was not even present at the cere- mony of the baptism of James, which took place at Stirling on the 22d of August following. f Within a few months afterwards, during which he followed the Queen " whithersoever she rode, but got no good coun- tenance"% he was murdered by Bothwell at a house in the suburbs of Edinburgh (9th February 1567)» " and uponn the fyft day therefter, his body was bureit in the tombe of the Kings at Halyruidhous, quyetlie in the night, without any kynd of solemnitie or murnyng hard amang all the personis at court." § The conduct of Mary before the perpetration * Melvil's Memoirs. Edition 1735, p. 148. f The " Historie" assigns December as the month in which the ceremony of baptism was performed, but all other accounts agree in fixing the date to be the 22d of August. Birrel's Diary, p. 5 ; Balfour's Annals, vol. i. p. 335. % Melvil's Memoirs, p. 154. § Historie, p. 7. Birrel's Diary, p. 7. Balfour's Annals, vol. i. p. 336. OF JAMES THE SEXT. 25 of this abominable crime, her apparent preparation for the event, and the little concern which it excited in her mind, joined with her sudden mar- riage to Bothwell, who was even then generally recognised as the mur- derer, created an impression in the minds of her subjects that she was privy to Bothwell's designs, and raised against her feelings of dislike, to which she ultimately fell a victim. Internal divisions now disturbed the country more violently than before. The name and safety of the young Prince James were assumed by various noblemen (Morton, Mar, Athol, and others), as a cloak to their designs ;* troops were assembled by them to carry their purposes into effect ; and after inducing the queen to surrender and to quit Bothwell, they hurried her to the castle of Lochleven as a prisoner.f In July 1567 they crowned James at Stirling, and in the following month the Earl of Murray (the queen's bastard brother) was appointed Regent of the kingdom. He adopted various strong measures for the safety of the people, but the queen's escape from Lochleven Castle, in May 1568, led to the battle of Langside, between her partisans and those of Murray, in which she was defeated, and from which she fled into England, where she remained a prisoner until 1587* when she fell a victim to the policy and envy of her cousin Queen Elizabeth. Murray, in 1570, was shot on the street of Linlithgow; and after Lennox and Mar had successively been appointed regents, Morton, the most able politician and most selfish man of the whole party of the king, was proclaimed regent in 1572. The troubles which agitated Scotland during this unhappy period, as well as the succeeding five years of Morton's regency, we purposely omit, our limits being alto- gether inadequate to the slightest sketch of them. In 1577 James, at the age of eleven, performed his first act of govern- ment, by accepting of Morton's resignation of the regency. His manage- ment in this affair proves him to have been an adroit, or a very docile boy, for Morton's request to resign was a mere feint, to acquire greater in- fluence over James, and was never intended to be carried into effect. Accordingly, in the following year, he took advantage of his office of a councillor to expel the other nobles, who were hostile to him, from the * Historie, p. 10. t Ibid, P« 14. 26 REVIEW OF THE HISTORIE king's presence, and to resume the government of the kingdom as before. He was violently opposed by the Chancellor (Athol), and an appeal to arms seemed to be unavoidable ; but the king contrived to allay the rising storm, and to prevent bloodshed between the adherents of the hostile factions. In September 1579> James made his first public entry into Edinburgh ; and though our present sovereign, on his late gracious visit to Scotland, was surrounded with splendour and magnificence, we doubt much if any part of the pageantry of 1822 is to be compared with the following : — " And withall, the haill streits war spred with flowers ; and the forehowsis of the streits, be the whilks the king passit, war all hung with magnificent tapestrie, with payntit historeis, and with the effigeis of noble men and wemen."* James afterwards held a Parliament in Edin- burgh, and created Lord D' Aubigny, of the house of Lennox, in France, Earl, and afterwards Duke of Lennox, and appointed him great chamber- lain of the kingdom, &c. Lennox was a great favourite with the king, and seems to have deserved the character given of him by Pinkerton, that he was " the most worthy and innocent of this monarch's favourites."! Next to Lennox, Captain James Stewart, the second son of Lord Ochil- tree, was most in favour with the king. He was a man of a very ambitious and enterprising character, or, in the words of the text, " he was of a prowd and arrogant mynd, and thoght na man to be his equall."J His first exploit was directed against Morton, who was, in consequence, tried, condemned, and executed, for the foreknowledge and concealment of Darnley's murder. His fortunes were pushed with great ardour by various nobles and preachers, in the hope that he would prove a rival to Lennox in the king's affections : and as their efforts were ably seconded by his own address, he was soon created Earl of Arran, and wielded almost exclusively the government of the kingdom. His power alarmed even his friends, and they promoted a quarrel between Lennox and him, that they might rid themselves of both ; but he deserted his sup- porters and joined Lennox, and with him divided the king's favours and the kingdom's rule. However, " certayne unquyet people of the nobi- litie war still devysing thair machinations againis the young king, and * Historie, p. 179. t Inconographia Scotica. J Historic p. 185. OF JAMES THE SEXT. 27 the new Due of Lennox, and the Erie of Arran, how thay mycht shift thir thre from uthers severallie ;"* and they accomplished their wishes by conveying his majesty, in August 1582, to the castle of Ruthven, and from thence to Stirling, and by compelling him to issue " a warrand under his hand, charging Lennox to depairt fra Scotland."! Arran, in the mean time, was committed to the castle of Duplin. J Lennox died soon after his return to France ; and James lost no time in sending for his son and daughters, and installing the former in his father's honours and posses- sions, and marrying the latter to the Earls of Huntly and Mar. Several previous commotions in our country were either stirred up, or at least countenanced by England and the watchful Elizabeth ; and it was well understood that the Earl of Gowrie, and the other nobles who at present held the king under personal restraint, were in communication with the English queen, whose ambassadors, supported by this faction, and by the " preachers of Edinburgh" (who now began to move some- what too frequently in the political affairs of the time), carried all measures they thought necessary to promote their own ends, and treated with contempt the ambassadors of France. James, however, in 1583, escaped from his self-created guardians, " and rayde with extreme dili- gence to the castell of Sanctandrois, wharin he remanit in great secrecie, till sic nobles as he had writtin for cam to him with their forces ;"$ and as soon as he found himself safe, he banished Gowrie and his confede- rates, sent for the Earl of Arran, and published a well-penned proclama- tion to his subjects. Queen Elizabeth reproached him for his conduct to the banished nobles, and his reception of Arran ; but he answered her ambassador in a strain of independence, with which the latter pretended to be satisfied, and most probably was so, as the embassy appears to have been got chiefly up for the purpose of obliging Gowrie and the other con- spirators, and retaining and confirming them in the interest of the English queen. Melvil seems to have thought that the English ambassador had another object in view, viz. to ascertain and report to his mistress the qualities of her royal successor ; || and this opinion is certainly strengthened * Historie, p. 188. f Balfour's Annales, vol. i. p. 374. J Historic, p. 189. § Ibid, p. 197. U Memoirs, p. 296. 28 REVIEW OF THE HISTORIE by the circumstances of the ambassador being her own secretary, and at that time loaded with years and infirmities, and of his declining all com- munication with every person in the Scotish Court, except his majesty. Afterwards " the King convocat all his peaceabill prelates and nobles, and be thair general voittis decernit the rayd of Ruthven to be manifest treasoun. The ministers, on the uther part, persuadit the people that it was a godly fact."* Gowrie, Mar, and others, soon after broke out into open rebellion, and fortified Stirling ; but, on the approach of the king's army, abandoned the town and fled. Gowrie was apprehended, tried for treason, and on 4th May 1584 beheaded at Stirling. The Earl of Arran seized on his estates. His adherents, Angus, Mar, and others, were de- clared, in a Parliament held on the 22d August following,-)- to have " committit and incurrit the crymes of treasoun and lesemaiestie ;" and their estates were confiscated. Thus ended the Rayd of Ruthven. James was now governed more completely than ever by the counsels of the Earl of Arran, and the measures of this intriguing minion were ably seconded by his wife, a beautiful but a profligate woman, whose passions and ambition knew no restraint. Her husband's fortunes were promoted by every disturbance ; he was even guilty of involving men in treasonable practices that he might seize on their estates — in one word, he grasped at boundless acquisitions, and his power seemed to be firmly established. According to Hume of Godscroft,J " In the civill government there was none now but the Earle of Arran ; he lacked the name of King, but hee ruled as absolutely, and commanded more imperiously, than any King, under the shadow of the King's authority, and the pretext that all that he did was for the King's good and safety. Hee had gotten before the keeping of the Castle of Stirlin ; hee behooved also to have the Castle of Edinburgh in his power." He was Chancellor of Scotland. U Hee did whatsoever hee pleased ; if there were no law for it, it was all one, he caused make a law to serve his ends. It was observed that his lady said to one who alledged there was no law for doing of what shee desired to have done, It is no matter (said shee), wee shall cause make an Act of • Historic p. 202. f Folio Acts, vol. iii. 344. % Melvil's Memoirs, p. 310 ; Balfour's Annals, vol. i. p. 383. OF JAMES THE SEXT. 29 Parliament for it"* But powerful and unprincipled as Arran was, he soon became the victim of a plot, contrived by men who, by his means, were then living in exile at the court of England — the Presbyterian ministers and the Scotish nobles. Queen Elizabeth had found him less subservient to her interests than she wished, and she therefore forwarded the enterprise by contributions of money and the exertions of her ambas- sador in Scotland ; and every thing was so well conducted, that the con- federated nobles arrived before Stirling without opposition, won the town and castle, came straight into the king's presence, "and all of them desyrit the King's pardoun for that hardie enterpryse, whilk was grantit rather for feare nor favor."t Arran escaped into France ; and the con- federated nobles used their triumph in a very moderate manner. James, as usual, surrendered his mind into the keeping of another, and Secretary Maitland seems to have been Arran's successor in the meritorious office. Towards the end of 1586 James received intelligence of the con- demnation of his mother by the English queen, and he immediately dis- patched two ambassadors to get the sentence annulled. " In the moneth of Februar 1587, the ambassadors returnit from England with ansuer, that the Queyne of Scotland sould be safe till the Queyne of England sould send her awin ambassador heir in Scotland ; but how sone she had sure adverteisment that our ambassadors war returnit hayme, immediatelie the Queyne of Scotland was put to death. "J James put himself into " a dule weid of purple for a certayne dayis," convened a parliament, " where all the estates cried out in a great rage to set forward to revenge that unkindly and unlawful murder," and actually refused to receive the ambassador sent by Elizabeth, with an absurd story, that Davison, her secretary, was the sole author of the foul deed ; — " but after his Majesty had ripely considered the best and worst of that deed, remembered him- self of the many friends he had in England who had no hand in his mother's death, he thought it not just to trouble the peace and quiet of the kingdom for the deed of a few who guided the queen and court, he being thereof himself apparent heir."§ Our historian is not well pleased with * History of the Houses of Douglas and Angus— [Edinburgh, 1644, folio] — p. 390. f Historie, p. 21. J Historie, p. 225. § Melvil's Memoirs, p. 345-9. 30 REVIEW OF THE HISTORIE this peaceable, though selfish resolution of James; and accordingly, when an English ambassador was received in the following year, he writes with some bitterness of feeling: " Thus all memorie of Queyne Marie's mur- ther was bureit. The King ressavit thair ambassador, as I have sayd, and be his persuasioun is becum thair yeirlie pensioner. What honestie the commonweill ressavis heirby, I think the posteritie sail better knaw than that this tyme can judge,"* &c. But James, who was always a lover of peace, bethought himself of other employment than our historian would force upon him, and began seriously to look around him for a wife. Ambassadors were dispatched to Denmark, and in August 1589 he was married by proxy to Anne, a Danish princess. Stormy weather obliged her to take refuge in Norway ; and James was so gallant, or impatient, that he encountered the dangers of a winter voyage, and married her in person. This brave act, the only one which distinguished the career of the peaceable monarch, seems to have cured his passion for adventure ; he did not choose to encounter the waves a second time during winter, but tarried and feasted in Denmark, with his newly married spouse, and reached his own dominions only in the summer of 1590. The poor witches of Scotland were the only sufferers from the storms which im- peded Queen Anne's progress, " dyvers being executit to the death,"f for their officious interference with the winds of Heaven. An unruly nobleman, Francis, Earl of Bothwell, gave rise to the only extraordinary incidents which distinguished the two following years of James' public life, by his repeated attempts to secure the king's person. In domestic life, James seems to have displayed an unworthy portion of jealousy ; and in consequence, a young nobleman, the Earl of Murray, " quhom the Queyne, more rashlie than wyselie, had commendit in the King's heiringe with too many epithetts of a proper and gallant man," was put to death by the Earl of Huntly, who surrendered himself for trial, but was almost instantly liberated, on " averring that he had done nothing but by the King's Majestie's commissione."J In addition to * Melvil's Memoirs, p. 241. f Historie, p. 236. X Balfour's Annals, vol. i. p. 390. It is but fair to mention, that Balfour's statement of the cause of Murray's murder is not supported by the authority either of the author of the M Historie," or of Robert Birrel ; and that Melvil attributes the deed to a family feud, and speaks of the commission under which OF JAMES THE SEXT. 31 these troubles, he was beset with his old foes, the ministers of Edinburgh, who urged numerous complaints against various noblemen, for entertain- ing Popish tenets, and so far succeeded as to procure the arrest of some and the execution of others, on the ground of a papistical correspondence with Spain. They grew bolder in their demands, in proportion as James seemed to favour them, and at length interfered so directly in matters of state, that he was obliged to check them, and to appeal to his subjects against their pretensions. An event now occurred, which for a short time united, or at least re- strained all parties — the birth of Prince Henry, who was afterwards highly and deservedly praised by poets and statesmen, by royalists and republi- cans; in one word, by men of the most opposite political principles. But the breathing-time thus afforded seemed to add vigour to the hostile measures afterwards resorted to. Huntly, Errol, and others in the North, defeated the king's lieutenant, and Bothwell advanced to Leith with 500 horsemen. Surrounded with difficulties, and unable to extricate himself, James " came to sermon, and thair, in the kirk, maid great in- stance to the people, that they sould assist him with thair gudewillis and strength to suppress his enemie Bothwell,"* and he was successful. He led his troops against Bothwell ; and though he could not boast of vic- tory, he reaped all the advantage of a triumph, his enemy being obliged to retire to England. But his labours in the field were followed by new troubles in the council. The ministers were clamorous against the noble- men suspected of Popery, and at their request a Parliament was called, and Huntly, Angus, and others, were pronounced traitors; but, much against the wishes of the clergy, James was contented with this sentence, and devoted himself to pursuits much more congenial to his nature — he " had his haill mynd bent for reparation of the Castell of Sterling, and to prepare all glorious things necessar for the triumphe of the baptisme of the yong Prince."f He was prevailed upon, however, to issue a procla- mation to please the clergy, and then, with great pomp, he celebrated the Huntly afterwards sheltered himself, as one given to him *' to pursue the Earl of Bothwell and his par- takers." * Historie, p. 304. f Ibid, p. 333. 32 REVIEW OF THE HISTORIE baptism of his son. The ministers of Edinburgh, taking advantage of the proclamation, persuaded Argyle to attack Huntly ; but the latter de- feated Argyle's forces, and secured considerable plunder. James after- wards proceeded to the North, and, by levying fines on his rebellious subjects, restored peace. He returned to Edinburgh, but only to en- counter new difficulties. The Queen, the Chancellor, and others, had concerted a plan to withdraw the Prince from the custody of his guardian, the Earl of Mar ; but by reasoning with her privately, and by reproach- ing the others separately, James destroyed the conspiracy. In the course of a few weeks afterwards, the Chancellor (Maitland) died — a man of talent, but of great intrigue, and suspected, not without reason, of many unprincipled acts and unjustifiable aggressions. The King " composit a worthie epitaph upon the death of the said Chanciller," — the people " sparit not to calumniat him."* In the beginning of 1596 James adopted a new expedient to remedy the disorders which had crept into his household and the revenues of the crown, " and estableist eight chosin men to be of his perpetuall coun- sall ;"f but these Octavians, as they were denominated, " thoght that thair was na securitie in thair standing, unless they first investit thaym- selfis in uther menis ofFeces,"^: and accordingly they began their reforms by dividing among themselves " the offices of the crown, to every man one."§ They were also suspected of favouring the nobles who were accused of Popery ; and in consequence, the good citizens of Edinburgh, {i being commoovit in their myndis by a preacher of the town," thought themselves bound to purge the land of such backsliders. " Then, with- out more, was the Blue Blankit advanced;" but after much turmoil and confusion, and suspension of clergymen, and removal of the courts of law, matters were arranged, and the guid town found itself minus 30,000 merks.|| The only other event of importance which is noticed in the " Historie," and to which alone our limits will now permit us to attend, is that known by the name of the Gowrie Conspiracy. The " Historie," Balfour's • Historie, p. 350. f Ibid, p. 357. % Ibid, p. 365. § Melvil's Memoirs, p. 382. || Balfour's Annals, vol. i. p. 401. OF JAMES THE SEXT. 33 Annals, and BirrePs Diary, all concur in representing the attempt of Gowrie and his brother as " treacherous and bloodie," and in avowing their report to be in unison with the belief of the people, except the minis- ters of Edinburgh. We are aware that the authorities we have quoted have been questioned by writers of talent and research, and that it is now a fashionable dogma in Scotish history to maintain that this conspiracy was altogether a coinage of the brain of James, to revenge himself of an obnoxious nobleman. But after perusing the argument on both sides, we confess ourselves inclined to believe, that though Gowrie and his brother did not meditate the death of the king, they certainly did intend to keep his person under restraint, until they had accomplished some measures in the government favourable to themselves and their adherents. If the invitation to Ruthven had been given with the sole view of amus- ing the king by chemical experiments, why did Gowrie's brother attempt to confine him, and even struggle with him to prevent his escape? The heresy of the five Edinburgh clergymen weighs little with us. They had often bearded James — they were frequently thwarted and deceived by him — and therefore owed him no courtesy; but, what is of more importance, they and Gowrie were not merely of one mind as to the necessity of a change of men and measures at court, but were both the instruments of English policy in this work. Now, in the rude times of which we write, there was no other mode of accomplishing such a change ever dreamt of, except by getting possession of the person of the king. But while our belief is that Gowrie and his brother had such an enterprize in view, we are equally ready to avow that we have seen no satisfactory evidence of their determination to shed blood, or encounter hostility, rather than relinquish their object. On the contrary, we think that their utter want of prepa- ration for hostile measures proves satisfactorily that they contemplated a peaceful coercion merely. The severe legislative enactments which followed the Gowrie conspiracy — the opposition, and disbelief, and consequent suspension of various clergymen — and the trial and condemnation of several persons for their share in the deed, occupied a great portion of James' thoughts for many months. But they did not exclude the supreme object of his wishes — 34 REVIEW OF THE HISTORIE his succession to the English crown. On the contrary, he was in con- stant communication with his ambassador in England during the three years which intervened between Gowrie's conspiracy and the death of Elizabeth, and directed their measures with a degree of skill and know- ledge of life which could scarcely have been expected from his previous management in Scotish affairs. He tampered with the influential men of all parties in Elizabeth's court; and at last, when the demise of this princess opened the way to his advancement, he ascended the throne of England with the good wishes of all. Our " Historie" contains very meagre notices of the affairs of the next fourteen years, and we shall not trouble our readers with any account of them. After the ample summary of the events of James' reign in Scotland, which we have laid before our readers, we trust they will be able to form a pretty correct estimate, not only of the character of James, but also of the characters of those who successively ruled Scotland from his birth to his departure for England. The history of the period is, indeed, a history of the domination of faction ; one party or noble fell but to give way to another, and, in the hands of all, James seems to have been the mere puppet of royalty, in whose name Faction promulgated her own decrees, and perpetrated many crimes. The youth of James gave great promise; his manhood disappointed the most moderate expectations. While he was very young, Buchanan made him an excellent scholar; and, in other matters, he displayed a maturity of judgment far beyond his years. Before he was eighteen, he had written many poetical pieces; and though these, of course, are not free of juvenile conceits and weaknesses, we may safely pronounce them, on the whole, equal in merit to those of any other youthful poet at or prior to the times of James. In 1584, while only in his eighteenth year, he published Essay es of a Prentise in the Divine Art of Poesie, and in 1591, his Poeticall Exercises, which he characterizes as the work of his " verie young and tender years."* His other compositions during the same period are creditable to his talents and his learning. • Both works were lately reprinted under the editorial care of Mr R. P. Gillies. The first contains several sonnets, which were well worthy of being rescued from oblivion ; and we embrace this opportunity OF JAMES THE SEXT. 35 As a man, we feel ourselves compelled to regard James in a contempt- ible light. He seems literally to have resigned himself and his govern- ment to one favourite after another, with as much facility as these minions were changed. If we except the family of Lennox, no person in the kingdom seems to have acquired his steady friendship. We fear he was incapable of permanent regard. His measures displayed the same vacil- lating mind. What was done yesterday was often undone to-day; and there was no security that another change would not take place to-mor- row. He was vain of his dignity and literary acquirements, and had very high notions of the rights of kings. Constitutionally a coward, he was — like almost all royal cowards — a tyrant. He was selfish in his desires, and, if we except hunting, even in his amusements. He could dissemble, too, and resort to mean practices to accomplish his purposes. In short, James was a sovereign at once weak and ambitious, unstable and tyran- nical; and however mediocre his poetry may be deemed, his claims on our regard are much stronger as a poet than as a man or a king. It is probable that to many of our readers the estimate we have formed of his character will appear partial and unjust. To such we have little to say in justification of ourselves. We have enabled every reader to judge for himself; and we have merely exercised our right in offering an opinion, on facts patent to all. These facts we have detailed at as great a length of preserving another, which, so far as we know, has never met the public eye as a production of James. It is prefixed to Hudson's translation of Du Bartas' History of Judith, published in 1584. Of Du Bartas' works James had a very favourable opinion, and betwixt the two authors poetical compliments were not wanting, as well as other marks of literary friendship. Since ye immortall sisters nine has left All other countries lying farre or nere : To follow him who from them all you reft, And now has caused your residence be here ; Who, thoughe a straunger, yet he loode so dere This realme and me, so as he spoilde his avvne. And all the brookes, and banks, and fountains clere That be therein of you, as be bath shavvne In this his work : then let your breath be blavvne, In recompence of this his willing minde, On me ; that sine may with ray pen be draune His praise : for though himself be not inclynde, Nor preaseth but to touch the lawrer tre, Yet well he merits crovvn'd therewith to be. 36 REVIEW OF THE HISTORIE, fcc. as our limits would permit, and for the very purpose of placing data for judgment within the reach of all who feel an interest in the matter. They have been gathered exclusively from contemporary writers — from men, too, who seem to have thought more favourably of James than we do: they are therefore free from any bias which might have been communi- cated by a perusal of the narratives of later historians only. For our- selves we can vouch, that we began and completed the collection and collation in the most impartial spirit; and so far from consulting modern writers, we have never even tried to recollect what opinions they had formed. If, therefore, the results we have drawn are either partial or unjust, our philosophy is at fault, and we must stand convicted of de- ducing erroneous conclusions from the premises before us.* * Before dismissing the " Historie," we are bound to tender our thanks to the learned Vice-President of the Bannatyne Club for the editorial care he has bestowed on the volume. We would also embrace the opportunity of recommending to the attention of this Club the field — the fair field of Scotish history and poetry, which has hitherto been but partially cultivated, though rich and fertile even to luxuriance. Leslie remains in obscurity, — Pitscottie has not yet appeared in the costume to which he has an undoubted claim, — Baillie was little better than mangled by Hume and Robertson, — and Sir James Melvil merits a better fate than he has hitherto met with. But we cannot enumerate in a note a tithe of the Scotish his- torical writers who demand the attention of the Club, and who ought, with all speed, to take their places beside the Historie; nor is it necessary that we should, for we must not hope to rouse a proud national spirit within the breasts of its members, if, with the name, they do not claim the feelings of their illus- trious predecessor. Our poetry will not suffer in the hands of Mr Laing, but he is most unconscionably lazy. Scots Magazine, vol. xviii, 179, for Feb. 1826. ATKINSON'S GOLD MINES IN SCOTLAND* Account of a Curious Manuscript Volume, entitled " The Discover ie and Historic of the GoldMynes in Scotland, written in the year 1619* By Stephen Atkinson? Printed A.D. 1825, with a Preface and an Appendix of Notes, for distribution among the Members of the Bannatyne Club. By Gilbert Laing Meason, Esq. F.R.S. Edin. This most singular work, with a copy of which we have been favoured, furnishes us with a complete and very instructive history of the mining schemes which agitated the whole of Scotland in the 16th and 17th cen- turies. The chief object of mining speculation in Scotland was the search after gold. That gold existed, and that it even now exists, diffused through certain mountains, particularly in the south of Scotland, there can be no possible doubt. Its diffusion is, however, in such very sparing quantity, as to render it questionable if it ever has been detected in situ, that is, actually imbedded in a solid matrix. The rock in which it is contained has, like all other rocks, been for ages subject to gradual disintegration, and it is from the result of this disintegration, namely, alluvial deposits, that grains of gold have been collected. The native gold of Scotland has thus been indebted for its development to a process which has occu- pied a duration of time that cannot be estimated ; and as it is probable that the investigation of the contents of this alluvium has been long since completed, and, consequently, the supply of Scotish gold exhausted, we must wait for a revolution of many more thousand years before the bed will be again sufficiently rich with gold once more to tempt the avarice of mankind. * From the Edinburgh Journal of Science, conducted by Sir David Bre water, LL.D , &c, 8vo. Edin- burgh, 1827. Vol. yu. p. 174. 38 ATKINSON'S GOLD MINES For a narrative of the mining speculators of Scotland we are indebted to the manuscript volume written by one Atkinson, an Englishman, and now printed, with some very valuable notes and a preface, by Mr Laing Meason, for the use of the Bannatyne Club. From this work we shall make a few extracts. Atkinson distinctly informs us that gold was to be found " on Cray- ford Moore, and Fryer Moore, within Clidesdale ; on Robburt Moore, and Mannocke Moore, in Nydesdale ; uppon Glangabe Water, and in Henderland within the forest of Atrike." We are also instructed that the gold found at Crawford Moor and other places was obtained from alluvium, generally after it had been diffused through the valleys by great rains, and that the ore was afterwards separated by washing. Atkinson's speculations, that the gold found in these places was the result of the general deluge, would accord with the views of many geolo- gists of the present day. We shall quote what he says on the subject, particularly as it is introductory to a very interesting description of the mode in which the Scotish gold was formerly collected. The passage is as follows : — " God said unto the Trinity, * Lett there be dry land,' which was long after the worlde J s creation, and immediately it was so, at which time the generall deluge was ; and then, even att that time, naturall gold and silver (which now is found to be in combes and vallies) was forced or toorne from his bedd or vazen, from his dwelling-place, viz. God's treasur house in the earth, &c. And thyther even our Scots gold, which is now found in sternes, or in graines, and peices, did discend, or was washed downe. In which vallies, combes, skirts of hills, or cloughes, even untill this present day, it hath laid still and not removed, except after a great speat of raine, the force whereof doth breake and weare the superficies of the earth, but not the solidd earth ; after which, the Scotts men, and women, and children, run to seeke for it, and doe find it still, even until this day : and thereby they find with it alsoe the saxere stones in great abundance, and alsoe much of the calamineere stones ; but the salineere stones is as small as the mustard seede, and some like meale ; and the sappar stone Jn lumps, and like unto the fowl's eyes or bird's eggs. And the most strangest of all is this : there is found naturall gold, linked fast IN SCOTLAND. 39 unto the sappar stone, even as vaines of lead ewer and white sparrs doe growe togeather, &c. But theire usual manner is, when they seeke for gold in combes and vallies, to frame or make a long sowgh, or scowring place, into which they bringe the streame water, to scower away the light earth from the heavy sand earth, and to cull away the great stones from the heavy sand, which sand or heavy earth they scrape into theire troughe or tray, and by stirring it, and washing the same often, there is found both raine gold, flatt gold, pale gold, and blacke gold : yett all these be naturall gold, &c. And alsoe all these are called perfect compacted gold, made in the beginning of the worlde, and engendreth with these stones aforesaid amongst rocks and craighs, without the helpe of soon, moone, or starrs." We shall now give a brief chronological view of the history of the gold mines of Scotland, as far as can be collected from Mr Atkinson's work and the illustrations of Mr Meason. James IV., who was a studier of alchemy, is the earliest of the Scotish monarchs who is recorded to have worked the gold mines. In his reign the gold mines of Crawford Moor were said to have been first discovered. These mines were worked under the inspection of Sir James Pettigrew, who employed some Englishmen and Dutchmen to conduct the refining and melting department. In the year 1526 a company of Germans obtained a grant from James V. for twenty-one years of the gold and silver mines of Scotland. In this reign three hundred men are said to have been employed for several summers in washing gold, of which they are reported to have obtained L. 100,000 in English money. Gold was also said to have been got in the Pentland Hills, in Langham Water, in Megget Water, and other places. In the early part of the reign of James VI., probably between 1580 and 1592, two Dutch painters, De Vos and Bronkhorst (brought over to exe- cute the pictures in the gallery of Holyrood-house), entered into a part- nership to work the gold mines of Scotland. Nicholas Hilliard, jeweller to Queen Elizabeth, was also a mining adventurer of this reign. The success of Cornelius De Vos is thus curiously described : — " This Corne- 40 ATKINSON'S GOLD MINES lius was sent thither to discover the golden bedd or vaine, at the charge of certaine merchants in London, who procured unto him Queen Eliza- beth's signett unto the king's majesty, that now is king of England, &c. then only of Scotland. And then Cornelius went to viewe the saide moun- taines in Clidesdale and Nydesdale ; upon which mountaines he gott a small taste of small gold. This was a whettstone to sharpen his knife upon ; and this naturall gold tasted so sweete as the honny or honny-combe in his mouth. And then he consulted with his freinds at Edenborough ; and by his perswasions provoked them to adventure with him, shewing them first the naturall gold, which he called the temptable gold, or alluring gold. It was in sternes, and some like unto birds' eyes and eggs: he compared it unto a woman's eye, which intiseth her joyes into hir bosome. And Cornelius so earnestly persuaded his late frequented friends in Scot- land, that he possessed them to adventure also with him." — "The Earle of Moorton had ten partes. Mr Robert Ballentine, then secretary, had ten partes. Abraham Peterson, a Dutchman of Edinborough, had ten partes. James Rede, a burgeous of Edinborough, had five partes. And Cornelius reserved to himself, and his London friends which adventured with him, alsoe ten partes."— " Some brought come, some victuals, and some malt or meal, besides monies; and amongst them all L.5000 Scotts." — " Cor- nelius then set to work six score of men in vallies and dales ; he employed both lads and lasses, idle men and women, which before went a begging." "Within the space of thirty days, they caused to be conveyed into the king's mint-house half a steane weight of natural gold, viz. viij. pound weight, worth L.450 Starling." Afterwards, when the Earl of Morton was re- gent, he obliged Cornelius "to bring all such naturall gold as he there- after should gett into the mint-house at Edinborough, where it was after- wards coyned into iij. pound Starling peeces, of an ounce weight each peece. Much gold was then bought from the poor workemen for twenty shillings the ounce weight." In the same reign, Abram Gray, a Dutchman, was an adventurer. He is said by Atkinson to have brought with him certain artsmen from Eng- land, and others of his own countrymen, into Scotland, which were at London. His success is thus noticed: — "At Winlocke-head he gott a IN SCOTLAND. 41 good quantity of naturall gold. With this naturall gold gotten in the Greybeard's time (for so was he called, because of his great long beard, which he could have bound about his middle), was made a very faire deepe bason, of the same naturall gold, without any addition of any other gold att Edenborough, in Cannegate Streete; it was made by a Scots- man; it conteyned, by estimation, within the brymes thereof, an English gallon of liquor. The same bason was of clean, neat, naturall gold ; itself was filled up to the bryme with coyned pieces of gold called unicorns, which bason and pieces both were presented unto the French king by the Earl of Moreton, who signified upon his honour unto the king, saying, ' My Lord, behold this bason, and all that therein is; it is natural gold, gotten within this kingdom of Scotland, by a Dutchman, named Abraham Grey.' And Abraham Grey was standing by, and affirmed it upon a solemne oath. But he said unto the said kinge, that he thought it did engender and increase within the earth, and that he observed it so to do by the influ- ence of the heavens. And he said that it increased, and grew more and more, but neither by the power of the sun, moone, nor starres, but by the omnipotent power of God, as he thought. And then the Earl of More- ton stood up, saying, * I alsoe believe that it engenders within the earth, but only of these ij. elements, (viz.) the water and the earth; and that it is and was made perfitt malliable gold from the beginning by God, the Creatour thereof. But it was not, nor is not, pure fine gold, without any allay, as was Opheire gold ; but,' said he, ' I am certain that all this gold, (viz.) the cup and all the pieces therein, are of natural Scott's gold, without any other compound or addition.'" Another adventurer was Mr George Bowes, an Englishman, who is thus noticed: — He "procured a commission into Scotland unto the gold mines." He *' discovered a small vaine of gold, which had much small gold in it, uppon Winlocke-head. But he swore all his workmen to keepe it secrett, and never to disclose the same unto the King of Scotland, nor his counsell : for so he had promised to do, at his departure from the Queene of Eng- land, if he found it." — "And he went home richly into the north countrey where he dwelt; [but] unfortunately, in riding to see the copper works and mines in Cumberland, at Keswicke, as he was going downe into the F 42 ATKINSON'S GOLD MINES deepe pits the ladder broke, and the earth fell in uppon him, and so was bruised to death ; and thus he lost his life, and the vaine of gold was not since discovered in Scotland." In A.D. 1593, James VI. granted the gold, silver, and lead mines in Crawford or Friar Moor, and Glengonnar, to Thomas Foullis, goldsmith in Edinburgh, for twenty-one years. The king was due to Foullis L. 14,594, and his majesty pledged in security some gold plate. In A.D. 1597* Foullis worked the lead mine to some extent, but was annoyed, as he stated, by the broken men of the Borders. Sir Bevis Buhner is another mining hero of this period, who visiting Scotland under Queen Elizabeth's patronage, is said to have been very successful. He had a patent from her majesty to obtain gold, and pro- cured it on Mannock Moor, Winlock Water, Robbart Moor, Fryer Moor, Glangonner Water in Clydesdale, Crawford Moor, at Langclouch, where he found gold in a vein of other substances, which they discovered in searching the rock, after discovering two pieces of gold five and six ounces in weight. In a piece of brown spar, weighing two pounds, (described to be like sugar-candy), a piece of gold, one ounce weight, was said to have been extracted. Mr Bulmer conceived his operations to be of such consequence that he erected a stamping mill. "Upon Glangabere Water, in Inderland," says Atkinson, "within the forrest of Attrick, Mr Bulmer gott the greatest gold, the like to it in no other place before of Scotland ; but he was at no cost to bring home water- courses there, nor build no houses to dwell in, neither staid he long. And he had there sometimes great gold, like Indian wheate or pearle, and blacked-eyed like to beanes. And he did not mean to settle his work- men there, untill another fitter time should serve, for he was driven away by force of weather, and called away by other great occasions (as is said"), &c. It is also added, that " amongst all the gold which Mr Bulmer had gotten in Scotland, besides that which he had given amongst his friends, this is to be noted, that he presented unto the late Queene Elizabeth so much natural gold as made a porringer of cleene gold." IN SCOTLAND. 43 Bulmer, in the next instance, sought to gain over King James to em- bark a capital in mining concerns. The monarch's cupidity for gold was at first greatly excited, as appears from the following very remarkable conversation which took place between him and Bulmer: — " And shortly after Bulmer said that his majesty conceived so good an opinion of the mines, that he had them much in remembrance (amongst others his great and mighty busynesses), esteeming them to be none of the smallest, pleas- ing unto God, nor the least that God had ordeyned for man within the earth. Therefore the king had devised a plott how the said gold works might be set awork anew, and thereby become commodious unto his crowne and dignity, and so a great terrour to all the enemies of God, if it hitt, which I will declare hereafter, &c. — * I doubt the silver mines of England decayes,' quoth the king, * else are not found so plentiful as in times past.' — ' It is true,' said Mr Bulmer; * and therefore,' quoth the king, ' as I desire to have a new onsett to find out from whence this natu- ral gold doth descend, so I have meditated thereuppon, and have devised a plott how the gold mines may be sett open, and thereby become profit- abler than heretofore; and to that purpose I have devised this plott, whereby they may be continually supplied and continued in working with- out ceasing; and thus, with labour of man, may hills and mountains be turned into dayles and vallies, and the waters run over the hills, and so after courses into other places.' — And Mr Bulmer liked well of the plott, and said, * That it is the most readiest way to discover it, but it was a chargeable way, for it is as easy to find the true philosopher's stone.' — ■ I have alsoe foreseene and prevented that,' quoth the king. It is thought fitting that Bulmer shall be a superiour or chief thereof, because of his trust and skill, which was liked of by the lords of the counsell in Scotland. Therefore, lett Bulmer procure, or move twenty-four gentle- men within England, of sufficient lands and livings, or any other his friends of Scotland, that shall be willing to be undertakers thereof, and to be adventurers towards the discovery thereof, and see that all these gentle- men be of such sufficiencie in lands, goods, or chattelis, as the worst be worth L. 10,000 Starling, else L.500 per annum Starling. And all such gentlemen to be moved to disburst L.300 Starling each man, in monies 44 ATKINSON'S GOLD MINES or victuals, for maintenance of the gold mynes in Scotland ; for which dis- bursement each man to have the honour of knighthood bestowed upon him, and so for ever to be called the Knight of the Golden Mynes, or the Golden Knight." It is unnecessary to make any further remark on this Quixotic project, than that it was truly worthy the name and character of the British Solo- mon. In A. D. 1607, the discovery of the silver mine of Hilderston, near Lin- lithgow, took place, which raised the most flattering expectations. Ten tons of the various metals were sent to England to be assayed, and were refined by Atkinson, (then a refiner in the Tower of London.) In A. D. 1608, Sir Bevis Bulmer was appointed, by patent, master and surveyor of the Hilderston mine, and under his direction it was worked for the crown three years. He called the shaft of one silver mine at Hil- derston " God's Blessing." The silver was got out of what was called red metal, and the purest sort contained in it twenty-four ounces of fine silver obtained from every hundred weight. Bulmer soon gave up these works to pursue other mining speculations; for in the year 1613 Sir William Alexander, Thomas Foullis, and Paulo Pinto, a Portuguese, got a grant of the mine of Hilderston on paying a tenth of the refined ore. The vein, however, eventually failed. We may now advert to Atkinson himself, the author of the very curious account of the mines of Scotland. He had served an apprenticeship to a refiner in London of gold and silver, and was admitted a refiner in the Tower of London, A. D. 1586. He afterwards was engaged in Devon- shire in refining silver from lead ore. He was taught his mining skill by B. B. an " ingenious gentleman," and was two years in Ireland with Sir Bevis Bulmer. He was afterwards tempted to leave his refining business, in order to explore gold mines in Scotland. In A. D. 1616 Atkinson obtained leave to search for gold and silver in Crawford Moor, on paying to the king one-tenth of the metals found. He probably, as Mr Laing Meason supposes, wanted money for the undertaking, and therefore wrote to his majesty; and after comparing several of the king's acts to those of David and Solomon, suggested the opening of the gold mines of Scot- IN SCOTLAND. 45 land, which would make his majesty the richest monarch in Europe, yea, in all the world. The Scots' gold mines were compared by him to God's treasure-house, and named Ophir gold for their goodness. — " Some have doubted (he adds) that any goodness could be produced from Scots' ground ; arguing it in the following reasons : — First, That, as it were admitted by schoolmen that gold and silver were engendered by the heat of the sun and moon, there could be no such metals in Scotland, because the sun and moon did not there shine :" which objection the author answers by an apt allusion to the heat that exists in deep mines, or in the entrails of the earth, which he supposes to be quite sufficient for the pur- pose of engendering gold. After this hypothesis he pays an extravagant, and almost profane compliment to King James, which he introduces by a sort of side-wind. " Lett my judiciall man understand, that twenty fathoms under ground, within the entrails of the earth, it is as hott, even in the coldest country or nation under the whole scope of heaven, as in the hottest ; so that it is no argument that in Scotland there can be no naturall gold or silver, for assuredly it hath bin found there uppon Cray- ford Moore, and other moores adjoyning thereto, before any man now alive was borne, some thereof in solidd places, uppon mountaines and mosses, and some in shallow places, within vallies and dales, neere to the river or brooke-side, yea, even as if the omnipotent Creator of heaven and earth should have invited the king's majesty thereunto for a great blessing." Atkinson then proceeds to point out some of the localities of the gold ; and the comparison which he makes of a certain district of Scotland, which watered by rivers, to the Garden of Eden, is in precisely the same ex- travagant character. — " In the second chapter of Moses, called Genesis, I read, (viz.) 1st, that God planted a garden in Eden, wherein he put man." " In Clydsdale and Nydsdale, within the kingdom of Scotland, [is a place] which may be compared unto it [the garden of Eden], or called a second garden, though not so pleasant and fruitful, yet richer under ground than above for gold. And there be foure waters and rivers, the heads whereof descend out of mountaines and mosses, or hard rocks and craggs. These rivers are also devided, by God's omnipotent power, into foure heads. 46 ATKINSON'S GOLD MINES The name of one called Glengonnor water, within Clydsdale. The name of the second is called Short-clough water, upon Alwayne, within Clydsdale, upon Crawford Moore. The name of the third river is Win- locke-head, or Wynlocke-water, upon Robbart Moore, within Nydsdale. The name of the fourth river is called Mannocke-water, upon Mannocke Moore, within Nydsdale." The king, however, eventually gave no ear to these fine stories. He had already expended L.3000 in the gold mines of Crawford Moor, and had obtained not quite three ounces of gold. But it is now time to close this narrative. It appears that Sir Bevis Bulmer completely failed in his mining speculations, which was attributed to his having too many irons in the fire, and to his too great extravagance. ** He wasted much himselfe," says Atkinson, " and gave liberally to many for to be honoured, praised, and magnified, else he might have been a rich subject, for the least of these frugalities (profusions) were able to robe an abbott. By such synister means he was impoverished, and followed other idle veniall vices to his dying day, that were not allowable of God nor man : and so once downe, aye downe ; and at last he died at Awstin- moore, in Ireland, in my debt L.340 sterling, to my great hinderance, and left me in Ireland much in debt for him. God forgive us all our sinnes !" The last account which we have of these mines is, that in A.D. 1621 a lease was granted to John Hendlie, physician, to work the gold mines in the mining districts of Lead-hills and Wanlocke-head, for twenty-one years. This curious history is now brought to a close. If these gold mines had been thought of in the year 1825, it is not impossible but that their revival might have been contemplated, and that the minds of the mad projectors of that period might have been diverted from the golden mountains of Mexico to hunt for treasure on the cold and dreary plains of Crawford Moor. The last project would have had this advan- tage, that it would have dispersed a few of the thousands which have been idly squandered away in distant speculations among our own coun- trymen. IN SCOTLAND. 47 Mr Laing Meason has edited this volume with a care and judgment that cannot fail to be highly gratifying to the gentlemen who compose the members of the Bannatyne Club, the patriotic object of which is the preservation of early Scotish records and literature. The notes are highly valuable. They comprise, among various matters, a collection of early documents illustrative of the localities of other metals besides gold, said to have been found in Scotland. ROMANCE OF HAVELOK THE DANE* The Ancient English Romance of Havelok the Dane, accompanied by the French Text ; with an Introduction, Notes, and Glossary. By Frederick Madden, Esq., Sub- keeper of the MSS. in the British Museum. Printed for the Roxburghe Club. London, 1828. 4to. We once were present at a Juvenile exercise in the Latin tongue, where two of the disputants disagreed about the definition of a book, and where the president, in order to settle the question at once, with great solem- nity pronounced this axiom : — " Liber est quicquid publici juris factum est." This was eagerly caught by one of the parties, who founded on it the following syllogisms : — Prop. Maj. Liber est quicquid publici juris factum est. Min. Mare publici juris factum est, secundum illud Virgilli: " Undam- que aramque patentem." Concl. Ergo : Mare liber est. Porro Liber est quicquid publici juris factum est. Mulier vocata Mademoiselle Busk publici juris facta est quod praesentium omnium testatur experientia. Ergo : Mademoiselle Busk liber est. We need not add that the axiom was found somewhat too compre- hensive for dialectical purposes ; but, notwithstanding, it will appear to be too limited for the literary productions of two very learned bodies in Great Britain, we mean the Roxburghe and the Bannatyne Clubs ; for, comprehensive as the above definition is, it cannot be evinced even by * From the Edinburgh Evening Post. Written by Mr T. G. Repp. ROMANCE OF HAVELOK THE DANE. 49 it, that what they print be books, since those literary productions are in general not published. We must speak more explicitly, as what we have to communicate may be a new piece of information to a great number of our readers. Some years ago there was first in England, founded by the Earl Spencer and some other noblemen and gentlemen of high rank and great wealth, the above alluded to institution, under the name of the Roxburghe Club, and the Earl Spencer has since been its president. The professed purpose of this highly respectable body, is to print ancient unpublished MSS. and other monuments of literature, not for the use of the public, but for their own use and amusement. It is, in some respects, fortunate that their choice has, in many cases, fallen on such MSS. as are but little in request among the literary public ; but whenever it falls on works of general interest and utility, it would not be in bad harmony with the spirit of our age to complain of this system of exclusive dealing in literature ; and the excuse, that men may do with their own money what they please, will hardly be sufficient to characterise the system as a liberal one. However, as to the " Land o' Cakes" " Nos poma natamus ;" and we must, forsooth, have a Bannatyne Club in Scotland, established for a similar purpose, on a similar plan, with Sir Walter Scott as its president; and the man whose works are put out in editions as numerous as those of the Bible, circulated in all quarters of the globe, and some- times re-edited in less than a fortnight — he must, of all men, be a party to this still work of literature ! It may be asked whether we can show any authority to meddle with these literary stills? No : and we are not going to meddle any further. This would be particularly ungrateful in us, as we occasionally are fa- voured with a sight of what the rest of mankind never see. Ought we not, O reader, " Sublimi ferire sidera vertice?" By such a favour we have got Havelok the Dane into our hands; and as thou, O reader, if thou wert by chance let into the pantry of the king of Persia, wouldst devour mangoes as long as thy maxillary muscles would G 50 ROMANCE OF do their function, so we have devoured Havelok with a trebled appetite, it being an ancient book, written in languages which few people under- stand, and, lastly, a Roxburghe Club book. We, however, understand from the conclusion of Mr Madderts intro- duction, that Havelok is in a manner published, making thus an excep- tion from the general rule; and we may say that we are glad of it, as Havelok will be highly interesting for many an inquisitive reader. Mr Madden is entitled to a very high compliment for the care, assi- duity, and research, which he has bestowed on this work. He has looked for information in most likely places, and collected it with taste and judg- ment. The introduction perhaps might have been a little abridged, but the glossary is excellent. Mr Madden would, however, have found his work easier if he had been more intimately acquainted with some other ancient languages of northern Europe besides old English ; the Icelandic (or, which is the same, the ancient Danish) would in particular have been of great service for his purpose. We have not either been able to discover that Mr Madden has noticed the peculiar dialect in which the romance is written. Upon the whole, we have in Mr Madden's very learned intro- duction looked in vain for remarks on that subject, which, of all subjects connected with the ancient romance literature, surely is the most import- ant, and on which this romance, in particular, seemed to claim investi- gation. The subject to which we allude is language. It is not on account of their taste, their poetry, their metrical, or any other beauty, that the old English or Norman romances are particularly interesting to the scholar. Only he who cannot read Homer, or Ariosto, or Chaucer, or Spencer, or the masterpieces in the ancient northern literature, will bother himself with the pedant's investigation, seeking for beauties where there are none or few. His (the pedant's) business is to spell himself through a line, look learnedly, consult fifteen dictionaries and glossaries, and, having by these means got a meaning even more absurd than the ancient romancer ever thought of, to applaud himself, and cry, like an- other Archimedes, " I have found it! I have found it!" He then folds his hands across his breast, looking for all the world like a man fallen down from the moon. «< What is the matter with you?" says his friend HAVELOK THE DANE. 51 who enters. " 1 am reading Danish, sir, and a little old Spanish, sir! I find that these misguided nations have genius, much more than people generally believe, sir. I am sorry to find that so little is done for the romance literature of our country, sir. I assure you it is very valuable." Now, we know Mr Madden to be no such man as the one we have here described, and therefore we speak so freely. He ought, therefore, not to write any thing which " hoc genus omne" should have an opportunity to admire or quote, or upon which they could easily attempt to father their own ravings and literary balderdash. It would have been worthy of Mr Madden to use the opportunity afforded by this poem for researches respecting the old English tongue. That subject is one of comprehensive utility, and one which is sure amply to repay the noblest efforts. The ancient dialects of nations do not desert us in our path of inves- tigation where all other historical data fail : it is from them that we often must ascertain the abodes and migrations of ancient nations, their state of civilization, and mutual relationship. It is of no moment, we humbly conceive, to our patriotic feeling now- a-days, whether the Norman or English romances are oldest, as the poetical glory which is to be reaped from these sources is so exceeding petit, and has been entirely superseded by the works of genius in latter ages. Yet, for the history of language, this same fact is of moment; and the history of language itself is of importance for every purpose for which history itself is so ; nay, the history of language is the most important part of the history of man, as speech is the very agent by which all the most important changes and revolutions in the world could have been effected. But we must stop here, not having room for what we have to say. If we do not find that Mr Madden had done as much as we could wish in this department, we still must gratefully acknowledge that his introduc- tion contains much valuable information, and we are aware that, upon the whole, he has more than satisfied the demands of many millions. We shall here insert only a few of the remarks that occurred to us in reading the poem. 52 ROMANCE OF It is written in that kind of old English, which is the daughter of the Danish Saxon dialect, of that language which is generally called Anglo- Saxon. Still it is written in old English, and not in Saxon, for here the whole Saxon system of inflexions is entirely gone. As a relic, however, of a language so closely related to Danish Saxon, it is valuable, as pro- bably it is the only thing in its kind, unless Lazamon's translation of Wace's " Le Brut" be written in the same dialect. Not having seen Lazamon's work, we cannot form any positive opinion on the subject. We shall here give a few of the old Danish words we observed during our cursory reading. ■ Dreng, a warrior, .... Glede, embers, .... Altherbest, best of all, Yemme, keep, .... Tel, deceit, Ern, an eagle, .... Lax, a salmon, .... Leyken, to play, .... Gad, a sharp-pointed instrument, Ertchebishop, . . . Drepen, to kill, .... Cleue, a cell, And many others, for there is certainly more than a sufficient number to establish our theory. In the same manner, and upon the same principle, we were enabled to ascertain the meaning of a few words which Mr Madden has left without interpretation in his glossary. Thertekene, v. 2878, ought doubtless to be read Yertekene, and is identical with the common Icelandic word Jarteiknir, meaning infallible signs. Kaske, active, Icelandic kaskir. Teyte, allert, Icelandic tetir. Nay more, the very construction is the same as in the old Danish, for as we find here kaske and teyte, so kaskir ek teytir is very common in Icelandic verse. Led, 924, seems to be nothing else but the lid of some pot, or goblet, or pan. Therl, 178, is a manifest slip, instead of yerl. The cha- racters used in this, as well as other old MSS., iox y and th are exceed- ing similar. Denemak, v. 666, must also be considered as a mere slip 31 Isl . Drengr. 91 ... Glod. 182 ... Allrabest. 182 ... Geima. 191 ... Tal. 573 ... Oern. 754 ... Lax. 950 ... Leika. 1016 ... Gaddr. 1178 ... Erkibiskup. 1783 ... Drepa. 596 ... Klefi. HAVELOK THE DANE. 53 for Denemarh. Thos her Me, v. 1129, is a slip for vas her ille, male se habuit, a frequent Saxon mode of construction, and thus thos may be erased out of the glossary. The story of Havelok is shortly this : — Athelwold, king of England, a most virtuous and powerful prince, had an only daughter called Goldeborow ; as she was yet very young, he, on his death-bed, constituted Goderich, Earl of Cornwall, her guardian, till she should be twelve years of age; and made him swear that he then would marry her to the best, handsomest, and strongest man he could find, and then deliver up to her the government of the country. His majesty's stipulations were as follows: — " That he sholde yemen hire wel, Withuten lac, wituten tel, Til that she were tuelf winter hold, And of speche were bold ; And that she covthe of curteysye Con, and speken of luue drurye ; And til that she leuen mithe, Worn so hire to gode thoucte; And that he shuld hire yeue The best man that michte live, The beste, fayreste, the strangest ok ; That dede he him sweren on the bok. And than shulde he Engelond, All bitechen into hire hond." i. e. in modern English — " That he should keep her well, without any blame or deceit, till she should be twelve years old, and could speak boldly for herself; and demean herself with courtesy, and speak of love and courtship; and until she might love whomsoever she might choose; and that he should marry her to the best man that lived — the best, the handsomest, and the strongest — this he made him swear on the book; and then he should deliver up the kingdom of England into her hands." Soon after this the king died. As soon as the burial was over, Earl Goderich lost no time in taking steps for the establishment of his own dynasty ; and, for this purpose, he first received oaths of allegiance from all classes of people in England. But when the princess Goldeborow began to grow up he enclosed her in a strong castle, allowing no person to have any communication with her. 54 ROMANCE OF At this same period the royal house of Denmark underwent a similar fate. Birkabeyn, the king of that country, died, leaving three children, a son and heir, Havelok, and two daughters, Swanborow and Helfled, and he had constituted his own relation, Earl Godard, their guardian ; likewise making him swear a solemn oath, " that he would keep them well," and deliver the government into the hands of his son when he should be of age. He acquitted himself of his charge just as faithfully as the English Earl. Thinking his dynasty sufficiently well established, he went to the tower where he had enclosed the children and nearly starved them to death, and, pretending to play with the princesses, he cut the throats of both of them ; but when they were going to dispatch Havelok in the same manner, the boy thus far softened him by prayers that his life was spared for the moment ; yet soon after he ordered his slave Grim to take him and sink him into the sea far from land, and fasten an anchor to his neck. Grim having for this purpose taken him to his hut, and presented him to his wife " Dame Leue" intended to execute the deed next morning; but during the night Dame Leue observed a radiant glory round his head, and having acquainted her husband with the miracle, they agreed that he doubtless was by fate destined for some- thing great, and accordingly they resolved to save his life. Grim, how- ever, pretending to have executed Godard's behest, repaired to his castle and claimed the promised guerdon. Godard told him that the only guerdon he would get would be the gallows. Grim then, not thinking himself quite safe in Denmark, sold all he had, bought a ship, and sailed off with his whole family and the prince Havelok, landed in Yorkshire, and built a hut on the very spot where Grimsby now stands. There he lived several years supporting himself and family by fishing, the prince, who now grew very stout and strong, assisting him in carrying the fish to market; but as Grim found his means fast decreasing, he at length was obliged to send the prince adrift. ' Almost naked, he came to the kitchen of Earl Goderich, where he was received as a helper, and soon distin- guished himself by his extraordinary strength ; when he had got on a new suit of clothes, which the kitchenmaid lent him, he was by everybody thought to be the most beautiful man that ever was seen. When Gode- HAVELOK THE DANE. 55 rich called the Parliament together, he appeared at the public sports which were given on that occasion, and there threw a stone, which the strongest men would hardly lift, over the heads of the assembled multi- tude. This feat being reported to Goderich, and that he withal was so eminently good tempered that he never did harm to any body, he thought that this person would fulfil all the requisites which Athelwold had stipu- lated for his daughter in her husband, and being low-born, as he thought, he would not be a person to claim the kingdom of England at his hands. He then sent for the princess, and, much against her will, married her to Havelok. Being provided with nothing wherewithal to support himself and his wife, he instantly, after the wedding, went with her to Grimsby. Old Grim was dead, but he found his children rather in a state of afflu- ence ; they received him and the princess with open arms, offered to them all they had, and only wished to be servants to the princely, couple. Here Havelok had a dream or two which Goldeborow interpreted, and said that they foreboded that he was to become king of Denmark and England. She moreover advised him instantly to set sail for Denmark. Thus far the first 1350 verses. The rest the imagination of the reader will easily supply. That Havelok arrives in Denmark and subdues that kingdom, has his enemies condemned by a jury, which orders them to be torn to pieces by wild beasts; that he then arrives in England, conquers that country, and in asimilar manner avenges Goldeborow's injuries on Earl Goderich ; and that he, in fine, betook himself to that peaceful occu- pation of the patriarchs, which is recorded in the 5th chapter of Genesis. All these are facts and events which every reader, who is at all acquainted with the romances from this age, will easily anticipate, as they have all a very similar conclusion, and almost in every case a fortunate one. The poem is supposed to consist of 3,000 verses, but about 170 verses are wanting in the middle of it. The story of these cannot be supplied from the French romance, as the whole narrative is so very different. To attempt to harmonize the incidents of this romance with any event in history, would be fruitless. There is nothing in Danish history in the remotest degree connected with them, or resembling them. The undoubted historical fact to which Mr Madden alludes, that Hakon the son of Harold 56 ROMANCE OF HAVELOK THE DANE. Fairhair, King of Norway, was educated at the court of King Aihelstone of England, bears no resemblance whatever to the romance of Havelok; nor are the circumstances in this fiction and that history at all similar. Moreover, Denmark and Norway were at this period two distinct king- doms, and often at war between themselves ; a fact which, in the thirteenth century, could not be unknown to any romance writer in England, as fre- quently Norwegians were the allies of the English when the Danes were their foes, and vice versa. There never was a king of Denmark of the name of Birkabeyn, or of any similar name; this any one may ascertain who will refer to " Torfcei Series Regum Damce." But, in the twelfth century, there was in Norway a most savage political party, or rather a formidable band of highway- men, called Birkibeinar (Birchshanks), from their savage mode of life, as they mostly lived in the wild woods of Norway. A detailed account of them is found in Snorro's Heimskeingla. The evil fame of this party was certainly far spread over Northern Europe in the century in which they flourished and the subsequent one, and no doubt reached Great Britain. The romancer wanted only a foreign name to his outlandish king, and the name of the Norwegian party occurred to his memory as remarkably foreign-sounding, and therefore it was chosen. The French romance gives to the same king the name of Gunter, which he doubtless borrowed from Germany. The French poet also wanted a foreign name, and nothing else. Thus, though the name of Birkabein be of little con- sequence in itself, it helps us to ascertain the age of the English Havelok, at least thus far, that we can safely say this romance was written subse- quent to the period of the Norwegian Birkibein's. The name of Havelok can be explained from the local traditions of Grimsby respecting him. REMARKS UPON THE BANNATYNE CLUB.* The Bannatyne Club was instituted at Edinburgh in February 1823. The purpose of its foundation is thus poetically described in one of those exquisite morceaux published from time to time under the title of Gar- lands : " Here we are met a club of Bannatynians, Pilgrims to Antiquity's deserted shore, Rescuers of tracts from oblivion's dominions, Wakeners of authors who begin to snore." Such is the object for the promotion of which this society for the diffusion of useless knowledge was formed — a society which boasts of Dukes, Earls, Marquesses, Viscounts, Lords (paper included), besides Honourables and Right Honourables, and some of our most distinguished literati and public men. We are not aware that any Noble or Right Honourable person has made any offering in the shape of old MSS.; they are to be considered only as the patrons of the institution, who have been graciously pleased to give it fostering care and protection. There are others, too, who appear to be only snoring partners in the concern. Thus, though we see the names of the editor of the Edinburgh Review, and of the edi- tor of the Supplement to the Encyclopaedia Britannica, neither of these distinguished persons have as yet earned any title to be called " Wakeners of authors who begin to snore." Sir Walter Scott is the only individual of note in the world of letters who is a staunch " Bannatynian." After these deductions, the remnant of the Club are chiefly persons about whom nobody knows or cares, and who therefore very naturally wish to gain a little notoriety by being in such good company. But, did ever men club * From the New Scots Magazine for April 1829. H 58 REMARKS UPON THE together to promote objects so utterly useless? Was ever time and money more egregiously misapplied? What benefit is the public to derive from reprinting old trash? Had the Bannatyne Club spent their money in reprinting standard works on science and literature, as well as history and antiquities, we could have no fault to find ; but hitherto they have pro- duced nothing which can interest any beyond a small knot of mere anti- quarians and bookworms. If they are determined to confine their attention to Scotish history and antiquities, why not print the best works on these subjects? Much of what they have brought to light might, without loss to mankind, have been left in obscurity. A Bannatynian is a sort of literary scavenger, whose duty it is to save from oblivion all kinds of rubbish. He is a " resurrectionist of old parchments," as Dr Chalmers very appro- priately designates him. Doubtless he will stare and look " unutterable things," to hear his calling so slightingly spoken of. The difference between us is this — that we attend to the value of a book or MS., whereas he only thinks of its being curious or rare. A Bannatynian never thinks of printing a modern work ; he only thinks of getting something curious and rare, something musty and antique. It seems to be a thing under- stood that nothing of a modern aspect shall be admitted; and we verily believe that any attempt to deviate from the good old path would be looked upon as a damnable heresy. Nothing can exceed the unbounded affection which a Bannatynian bears to an old MS. covered with the vener- able dust of two hundred years ; and never did fond youth survey with greater rapture the charms of his adored, than does he contemplate the said MS., printed in Ballantyne's best style, enriched with a preface from his own brain, and neatly half-bound in morocco or blue silk. Another word with the Bannatyne Club at parting. — We entreat them not to afflict us with any more doggrel under the name of Garlands. These productions are much upon a par with the penny ballads sung in the streets. Take this as a specimen: — " Old Burney read Gruter and Muncker, Yet his critical skill was mere bam; Dick Porson got drunk and then drunker, As he por'd o'er thy pages, John Damm." BANNATYNE CLUB. 59 The Bannatyne Club have many auxiliaries who pursue the same ignoble vocation. These are small and insignificant personages, who, lacking the brain to produce any thing original, yet marvellously afflicted with the cacoethes scribendi, endeavour to gain a reputation for author- ship by writing a preface to an old book. They are Bannatynians on a small scale, and content themselves with 12mos, and now and then an 8vo. In this shape, books of songs and ballads, the life of somebody or other, and the genealogy of the Lord knows whom, ever and anon make their appearance, with the important nota bene — " only 50 copies printed." We do not think that these gentlemen keep pace with the "march of intellect." There is surely no want of subjects at present to employ men's wets; yet while all the world is improving and progressing, they busy themselves in the most egregious and contemptible trifling.* * [This article was written to please a gentleman, who, having been a candidate for admission to the Club, had not been elected.] NOTICE RELATIVE TO THE MEMOIRS OF SIR JAMES TURNER/ This is a very interesting book, and will be read with peculiar relish by that class of historical readers who prefer the rude but genuine monu- ments out of which history is compiled, to the flimsy, superficial, and more elegant modern essays, which sometimes assume the name of history. Sir James Turner, even by his own account of the matter, was a regular military adventurer, utterly regardless of all principles with reference to the cause in which he drew his sword, and quite the prototype of Major Dalgetty, and all that tribe of chevaliers, who were equally ready to sabre their countrymen for hire, and to "smoak some hundred countrey fellows out of a cave as they doe foxes," without the slightest compunction or remorse. Sir James was therefore a fit instrument for carrying into effect the cruelties which were perpetrated in his day and generation. It is not our purpose to go into any details of the contents of this volume ; but it is well worth reading, and contains many singular- traits, both of indivi- dual and of political character, prior and subsequent to the Restoration of Charles the Second.f * From the New Scots Magazine for November 1829. f The publisher of the "New Scots Magazine" cannot refrain from taking the present opportunity of entering his humble protest against the aristocratical mode in which this and several other volumes, illus- trative of Scotish History, have lately been brought forward ; he refrains from saying more at present, as he has access to know that an article on " The Bannatyne Club" which will appear in No. XIV. of this Miscellany, will set the matter at rest in the opinion of all true lovers of their country and its litera- ture. [This "article" never appeared, as the Magazine was shortly afterwards discontinued. — Editor. .] MEMOIRS OF HIS OWN LIFE AND TIMES* BY SIR JAMES TURNER. FROM M.DC.XXXII TO M.DC.LXX.— FROM THE ORIGINAL MS. PRINTED AT EDINBURGH 1829. This quarto volume of 300 pages, though printed by the Bannatyne Club of Scotland, has, fortunately in our opinion, been considered the repository of so much curious matter as to justify the general publi- cation of a limited number of copies. When we state that this autobio- graphy of Sir James Turner furnishes the remarkable history of the prototype of the famous Dugald Dalgetty, we say enough to interest every reader in the work. But it is still more important in a higher point of view, being one of those narratives which throws a certain light over the times of which it treats, and enables posterity to compare conflicting testimonies, so as to elicit the truth — to form correct ideas of men and things — and, while fairly appreciating political and national concerns, enlivens the reader with those glimpses of inferior character and domestic manners which are more agreeable and entertaining. Of the authenticity of this manuscript no doubt whatever can exist; it bears internal evidence of its fidelity, which is far stronger than even the satisfactory account of its transmission to the present day, furnished by the preface. We miss, however, a slight biographical sketch of the writer's lineage and family. At seventeen years of age, having passed through the schools, young Turner was sent to Glasgow University ; but neither at school nor college does he seem to have had any powerful * From the London Literary Gazette, July 25, 1829. 62 TURNER'S MEMOIRS OF HIS vocation to learning. On the contrary, at eighteen, having a restless desire to be an actor, or at least a spectator, in the wars " which made so much noise over all the world, and were managed against the Roman emperor," he obtained the consent of his friends, and in 1632 joined the Swedish forces of Gustavus Adolphus, as an ensign in the Scots auxili- ary regiment, commanded by Colonel Lumsdaine. Serving with this regiment, and its English companion under Colonel Ashton, our hero took part in many a bloody fray, and became inured to the hardships and privations, which, alternating with plunderings and excesses, made the soldier of fortune of that period. He tells us : " In the beginning of the yeare 1634, our English and Scotch regi- ments, such as they were, came to be quartered at that Oldendorpe neere to which the battell was fought. I was lodged in a widows house, whose daughter, a young widow, had been married to a ritt-master of the em- perors. She was very handsome, wittie, and discreet ; of her, thogh my former toyle might have banished all love thoughts out of my mind, I became perfectlie enamoured. Heere we stayd sixe weeks, in which time she taught me the Hie Dutch, to reade and write it, which before I could not learne bot very rudlie from sojors. Haveing then the countrey language, I learned also the fashions and customes of the Germane offi- cers ; and about this time was both regiments reducd to tuo companies ; tuo captaine lieutenants, and tuo ensigneys (whereof I was one), onlie ordained to stand ; all the rest casheered, and in great necessitie and povertie. The tuo companies were bot badlie used, tossed to and fro, in constant danger of ane enemie, and without pay. Bot I had learnd so much cunning, and became so vigilant to lay hold on opportunities, that I wanted for nothing, horses, clothes, meate, nor moneys; and made so good use of what I had learned, that the whole time I servd in Germanie I sufFerd no such miserie as I had done the first yeare and a halfe that I came to it." About this time his father's death recalled him to Scotland ; but he speedily returned to his adventurous career, and presents us with the following ruthless picture of the horrors of war in those days : " In the yeare 1637 I went with some commanded men, with Lieu- tenant-general King, into the land of Hessen to assist the landgrave to OWN LIFE AND TIMES. 63 beate some imperiall regiments out of his territories, who indeed were makeing havocke of all among his poore subjects. Upon our approach they retird ; bot thogh we were tuo to one against them at least, and that Bigod, who commanded them, made a stand at Eshvegen, yet did we retire in great haste, thogh in good order, back to Cassels, the land- graves residence and capitall citie, and left the poor countrey to the mercy of an enraged enemie, who had order by fire and sword to force the landgrave to accept of the peace of Prague. Neither did Bigod spare to burn three faire tounes, Eschvegen, Olendorpe, and Vitsen- hausen, before our eyes. A mournfull sight it was, to see the whole people folow us, and climbe the tuo hie rockes which flanked us. Old and young left their houses, by the losse of them and their goods, to save their lives. Aged men and women, many above fourscore, most lame or blind, supported by their sonnes, daughters, and grandchildren, who themselves carried their little ones on their backes, was a ruthfull object of pitie to any tender-hearted Christian, and did shew us with what dreadfull countenance that bloodie monster of warre can appear in the world. Neither did our feare (which often masks itself with reason of state, as then it did) permit us to make any stay at Cassels, bot pousd us with some haste to Westphalia." Some differences having arisen with his commander, in 1639 Turner paid another visit to Scotland, and afterwards went to Stockholm to endeavour to obtain redress ; failing in which, he finally came back to his native land, in principles as genuine a Dalgetty as ever was drawn. " I had (he candidly confesses) swallowed without chewing, in Ger- manie, a very dangerous maxime, which militarie men there too much follow ; which was, that so we serve our master honestlie, it is no matter what master we serve; so, without examination of the justice of the quar- rell, or regard of my duetie to either prince or countrey, I resolved to goe with that ship I first rencountered. After tuo days necessare stay at Gottenberg, I hired a boat, and went away in the evening ; we rowed all night ; and haveing pasd tuo Suedish castles, about breake of day we came neere Millstrand. Understanding the wind blew faire for both ships, I was advised to step out and goe a-foot straight thorough the 64 TURNER'S MEMOIRS OF HIS toune to the shoare, it being the nearer cut, whill the boat went a greater way about with my servant and coffer. I did so, and came just there as the Englishman was hoyseing his sailes. I askd him if he wold give me passage to Hull (a place I have since beene too well acquainted with), who told me he wold with all his heart, provided I wold presentlie step in. I beseeched him to stay till my servant and coffer came, without whom I could not goe; but no entreatie or prayer could prevaile with the inexorable skipper — for away he flew from me, as ane arrow from a bow. This onlie hinderd me to present my endeavours to serve the king against the Covenanters. I calld instantlie for the Dane who was bound for Scotland, resolving to serve either the one or the other without any reluctance of mind; so deeplie was that base maxime rooted in my heart. The people pointed with their fingers to the ship, which had got a great way out from the shoare, and stayd there for a passenger whom the skip- per had promisd to carry to Edinburgh. He was ane old man, who, at taking his farewell of his friends the night before, had drunke so much that he had sleepd his time. Immediatelie I clapd in fresh men in my boate, the others being overwearied with rowing, and so came to the ship; neither did the skipper make any scruple to ressave me, thogh at first he conceaved his old man was in my companie. To the neglect of this old man, nixt to all-ruling providence, may I attribute my goeing at that time to Scot- land. On the sixth day after my embarking, we saw ourselves not farre from Aberdeene. I was glad we were so farre north, because I had heard the kings ships were in the firth; bot I was mistaken, for they were gone; and no matter they had been gone sooner, for any good service they did the king there. The skipper set me ashore at a place called the Cove; from thence I hired horses to Edinburgh. This was in the month of September; and Generall Leslie haveing marchd into England with a numerous armie at the Lambes before, and put my Lord Conway with some of the king's forces to a shameful retreat at Newburne, had made himself master of Neucastle and all the Bishoprick of Durham, I found this successe had elevated the minds of my countreymen in generall to such a height of vanitie, that most of them thought, and many said, they sould quicklie make a full conquest of England." He ac« OWN LIFE AND TIMES. 65 cordingly joins the strongest party, goes to Newcastle, and is made a major in the rebel army: but] " All this while (he adds) I did not take the Nationall Covenant; not because I refused to doe it, for I wold have made no bones to take, sueare, and signe it, and observe it too; for I had then a principle, haveing not yet studied a better one, that I wrongd not my conscience in doeing any thing I was commanded to doe by these whom I served. Bot the truth is, it was never offerd to me; everie one thinking it was impossible I could get into any charge, unles I had taken the Covenant either in Scotland or England." Serving with the Covenanters, but frequently negotiating with others to desert them for the royal cause, circumstances kept our easy-con- scienced soldier true to his engagements; and in 1642 he went in Sin- clair's regiment against " the rebellious Irish." His descriptions of this warfare are very striking; and we select a few examples: " After we had refreshed a little, Major-gCnerall Monro left seven or eight hundreth men in Craigfergus, and went to the field with the rest, among whom was my lieutenant-colonel and I; my Lord Conway went along also with neere two thousand English. In the woods of Kilwarn- ing we rencountered some hundreths of the rebells, who, after a short dispute, fled. These who were taken got bot bad quarter, being all shot dead. This was too much used by both English and Scots all along in that warre ; a thing inhumane and disavouable, for the crueltie of one enemie cannot excuse the inhumanitie of ane other. And heerin also their revenge overmasterd their discretion, which sould have taught them to save the lives of these they tooke, that the rebells might doe the like to their prisoners. Then we marchd straight to the Neurie, where the Irish had easilie seizd on his majesties castle, wherin they found abund- ance of ammunition, which gave them confidence to proclaime their rebellion. The fortification of the toune being bot begunne, it came immediatelie in our hands; bot the rebells that were in the castle keepd it tuo days, and then deliverd it up upon a very ill-made accord, or a very ill-keepd one; for the nixt day most of them, with many merchands and tradesmen of the toune, who had not beene in the castle, were carried to the bridge and butcherd to death, some by shooting, some by hanging, 66 TURNER'S MEMOIRS OF HIS and some by drowning, without any legal processe; and I was verilie informed afterwards, that severall innocent people suffered. Monro did not at all excuse himselfe from haveing accession to that carnage, nor coulde he purge himselfe of it; thogh my Lord Conway, as marshall of Ireland, was the principall actor. Our sojors (who sometimes are cruell, for no other reason bot because mans wicked nature leads him to be so, as I have shoune in my discourse of crueltie), seeing such prankes playd by authoritie at the bridge, thought they might doe as much any where els ; and so runne upon a hundreth and fiftie women or thereby, who had got together in a place below the bridge, whom they resolved to massacre by killing and drouning; which villanie the sea seemed to favour, it being then flood. Just at that time was I speaking with Monro, bot seeing a fare off what game these godles rogues intended to play, I got a horse- back and gallopd to them with my pistoll in my hand; bot before I got at them they had dispatchd about a dozen ; the rest I savd. This exe- cution had not the successe which Conway and Monro had promisd themselves; for instead of terrifieing the rebells from their wonted cruel- ties, it enraged them, and occasioned the murthering of some hundreths of prisoners whom they had in their pouer. Sir Phelomey Oneale, the ringleader of the rebellion, hearing of the losse of the Neurie, in a beast- lie furie burnt the toune of Armagh, where he then was, and as much of the cathedrall as fire could prevaile over, and then retird himselfe to the woods and bogs. * * * " My lieutenant-colonel stayd at the Neurie, haveing got two hundreth commanded men added to his oune, till I sould bring up from Craigfer- gus as many of the regiment as were comd from Scotland. Accordingly I went thither with the armie ; we tooke our march thorough the woodes and mountaines of Morne, where severall rebells were killd, and many cows taken. I do remember that there we sufferd one of the most stormie and tempestuous nights for haile, raine, cold, and excessive wind (thogh it was in the beginning of May), that ever I yet saw. All the tents were in a trice bloune over. It was not possible for any matche to keepe fire, or any sojor to handle his musket, or yet to stand; yea severalls of them dyed that night of meere cold. So that if the rebells, whereof OWN LIFE AND TIMES. 67 there were 500 not farre from us, had offered to beate up our quarters with such weapons as they had, which were halfe pikes, suords, and daggers, which they call skeens, they wold undoubtedlie have had a cheap market of us. Our sojors, and some of our officers too (who suppose that no thing that is more then ordinarie can be the product of nature), attributed this hurrikan to the devilish skill of some Irish witches; and if that was true, then I am sure their master gave us good proofe that he was reallie prince of the aire." The war in England between the king and parliament having now broken out, Turner says — " The officers of this our Scots armie in Ireland, finding themselves ill payd, and, which was worse, not knowing in the time of the civill warre who sould be their paymasters, and reflecting on the successful issue of the Nationall Covenant of Scotland, bethought themselves of makeing one also ; bot they were wise enough to give it ane other name, and there- fore christened it a Mutual Assurance; whereby upon the matter they made themselves independent of any, except those who wold be their actuall and reall paymasters, with whom, for any thing I know, they met not the whole time of the warre. The generall was very dissatisfied with this bond of union, as he had reason; and at first spoke hie language of strikeing heads of; but the officers, sticking close one to another, made these threates evanish in smoake. And, indeed, it is like ane active gene- rall (who could have added policie to courage, and divided them) might have made their union appear in its oune collors, which were even these of blacke mutinie. Bot the Earle of Leven, not being able to overmaster it, got himselfe ane errand to go to Scotland, and so gave an everlasting adieu to Ireland. The most remarkeable thing he did in the time of his stay was, that he tooke 25001b. sterline to himselfe, which the parliament of England had sent to the officers of his armie for wagon-money. And trulie this earle, who lived till he past fourscore, was of so good a memorie that he was never known e to forget himselfe, nay, not in his extreame age. I cannot say more of his deportments in Ireland than what my Lord Vis- count Moore (who was killd nixt yeare) said to tuo of my friends, and it was this: That the Earle of Leven's actions made not such a noyse in the world as these of Generall Lesley." 68 TURNER'S MEMOIRS OF HIS This is a hard hit: — but we must revert to our hero, who, after sojourn- ing two years in Ireland, and securing a wife (of whom throughout he speaks most affectionately) in Miss White of Newrie, in the year 1644 again joined the Covenanters in their invasion of England. Here he played over the old game, fighting on the one side and tampering with the other; and he points out one particular occasion, in which, if the design had been successfully effected, the king's cause would in all pro- bability have triumphed, in consequence of his own and other regiments going over, at a critical emergency, to the Marquess of Montrose. But the plan failed in the execution; and the writer naively tells us — " Upon these grounds my Lord Sinclars regiment marchd into Eng- land, and I with them, and made a fashion (for indeed it was no better) to take the Covenant, that under pretence of the Covenant we might ruine the Covenanters; a thing, thogh too much practisd in a corrupt world, yet in itselfe dishonest, sinful, and disavouable; for it is certaine that no evill sould be done that good may come of it ; neither did any good at all come of this, for Callander all along proovd true to his own interest and gaine, and fals to the kings, never laying hold on any oppor- tunitie whereby he might, with small difficultie, have done his majestie signall service." When the fatal battle of Naseby blighted the king's hopes, we have next an interesting account of his surrender by the Scots, of which Turner was a personal witness, having seen and spoken with the unfortunate prisoner, whom he endeavoured in vain to save by aiding him to escape. And we find now a characteristic touch of his personal conduct — " Haveing drunke at one time too much at parting with a great person, rideing home I met one Colonell Wren, betueene whom and me there was some animositie. He was a foot, and I lighted from my horse; drinke prevailing over my reason, I forced him to draw his sword, which was tuo grit handfulls longer then mine. This I perceiving, gripd his suord with my left hand, and thrust at him with my right; bot he stepping backe, avoyded it and drew his suord away, which left so deepe a wound betueene my thumbe and foremost finger that I had almost losd the use of both, unles I had been well cured. Ane other hurt I got in my left arme. The passengers parted us, bot I could never find him out after, OWN LIFE AND TIMES. 69 to be revengd on him, though I sought him farre and neere. This was ane effect of drinking, which I confesse, beside the sinne against God, hath brought me in many inconveniences. This was the first time euer my blood was draune, though I have hazarded it and my life very often, not onlie in battells, skirmishes, rencounters, sieges, sallies, and other publick dueties of service, bot also in severall private duells." We will here (though it happened afterwards), insert another, equally characteristic, of our hero's adventures. " My tuo brigads lay in a village within halfe a mile of Applebie; my oun quarter was in a gentlemans house, who was a ritmaster, and at that time with Sir Marmaduke; his wife keppd her chamber readie to be brought to bed. The castle being over, and Lambert farre enough, I resolvd to goe to bed everie night, haveing had fatigue enough before. The first night I sleepd well enough; and riseing next morning, I misd one linnen stockine, one halfe silke one, and one boot-hose, the accous- trement under a boote for one leg; neither could they be found for any search. Being provided of more of the same kind, I made myselfe reddie, and rode to the head-quarters. At my returne I could heare no news of my stockins. That night I went to bed, and nixt morning found myselfe just so used; missing the three stockins for one leg onlie, the other three being left intire as they were the day before. A narrower search then the first was made, bot without successe. I had yet in reserve one paire of whole stockings, and a paire of boothose greater then the former. These I put on my legs. The third morning I found the same usage, the stocins for one leg onlie left me. It was time for me then, and my servants too, to imagine it must be rats that had shard my stockins so equallie with me; and this the mistress of the house knew well enough, bot wold not tell it me. The roome, which was a low parlour, being well searchd with candles, the. top of my great boothose was found at a hole in which they had drawne all the rest. I went abroad and ordered the boards to be raised, to see how the rats had disposed of my moveables. The mistress sent a servant of her oune to be present at this action, which she knew concernd her. One boord being bot a little opened, a little boy of mine thrust in his hand, and fetchd with him foure and tuentie 70 TURNER'S MEMOIRS OF HIS old peeces of gold and one angell. The servant of the house affirmed it appertaind to his mistress. The boy bringing the gold to me, I went immediatlie to the gentlewoman's chamber, and told her it was probable Lambert haveing quarterd in that house, as indeed he had, some of his servants might have hid that gold, and if so, it was laufullie mine; bot if she could make it appear it belongd to her, I sould immediatlie give it her. The poore gentlewoman told me with many teares, that her hus- band being none of the frugallest men (and indeed he was a spendthrift), she had hid that gold without his knowledge, to make use of it as she had occasion, especiallie when she lay in; and conjurd me, as I lovd the king (for whom her husband and she had suffered much), not to detaine her gold. She said, if there was either more or lesse then foure and tuentie whole peeces, and two halfe ones, it sould be none of hers, and that they were put by her in a red velvet purse. After I had given her assureance of her gold, a new search is made, the other angell is found, the velvet purse all knawd in bits, as my stockins were, and the gold instant- lie restored to the gentlewoman. I have often heard that the eating or knauing of cloths by rats is ominous, and portends some mischance to fall on these to whom the cloths belong. I thank God I was never addicted to such divinations, or heeded them. It is true that more misfortuns then one fell on me shortlie after; bot I am sure I could have better forseene them myselfe then rats or any such vermine, and yet did it not. I have heard, indeed, many fine stories told of rats, how they abandon houses and ships, when the first are to be burnt, and the second dround. Natu- ralists say they are very sagacious creatures, and I beleeve they are so; bot I shall never be of the opinion they can forsee future contingencies, which I suppose the divell himselfe can neither forknow nor fortell ; these j being things which the Almightie hath keepd hidden in the bosome of his divine prescience. And whither the great God hath preordained or predestinated these things which to us are contingent, to fall out by ane uncontrollable and unavoidable necessitie, is a question not yet decided." There are some appalling details of the Highland wars between the Covenanters and the Royalists; and a very striking account of those between Cromwell and the Scots, to the decisive battle of Preston. Of OWN LIFE AND TIMES. 71 the former, take the subjoined particulars of an action when the Camp- bells went against Sir Alaster Macdonald: — " We beseegd Dunavertie, which keepd out well enough, till we stormd a trench they had at the foot of the hill, wherby they commanded tuo stripes of water. This we did take in the assault. Fortie of them were put to the suord. We losd five or sixe, with Argiles Major. After this, inexorable thirst made them desire a parley. I was orderd to speake with them; neither could the lieutenant-generall be movd to grant any other conditions, then that they sould yeeld on discretion or mercy; and it seemd strange to me to heare the lieutenant-generalls nice distinction, that they sould yeeld themselvs to the kingdomes mercy, and not to his. At length they did so; and after they were comd out of the castle, they were put to the suord, everie mothers sonne, except one young man, Mackoull, whose life I begd, to be sent to France with a hundreth coun- trey fellows whom we had smoakd out of a cave, as they doe foxes, who were given to Captaine Cambell, the chancellors brother." After the field of Preston, Turner was taken prisoner, and conveyed to Hull, where he was detained fourteen months, till November 1649, when his liberation was effected, and he sailed for Hamburgh. Thus ending the first chapter of an eventful life, we are enabled to pause; but will take up this volume again (which must always be a scarce one), for the edification and amusement of our friends. — [The critique stops here, but is resumed and concluded upon the 15th of August following.] Having seen our author safely delivered from imprisonment at Hull in 1649, we shall briefly accompany him abroad, where many plans were agitated, by the numerous emigrants of that period, for the restoration of King Charles. Here we learn that want of money prevented him from joining in the expedition of Montrose, 1650, respecting which gallant leader, and other affairs of the time, however, he says : " I went by land to Holland, accompanied with Colonell Sibbald, who carried letters from Montrose both to Scotland and Ireland. From Roterdame I wrote with him to my wife at Edinburgh, to furnish him with a considerable peece of money (for he was not well stored), which she did; and he had his 72 TURNER'S MEMOIRS OF HIS heade chopd of, not long after, at the Crosse of Edinburgh; so I losd both my friend and my money. My wife, in a stormie and tempestuous winter, gave me a visite in Holland ; and haveing furnished me with what I most stood in need of, returnd with much trouble and danger to Scotland. I pasd the rest of the winter in visiteing the best places in Holland; and in March of the yeare 1650, went to Breda to attend the treatie betuene the King and his Scottish subjects; the issue whereof was a gracieous condiscendence of his majestie to all or most of their demands; and with them he went to Scotland, accompanied with severall lords, who, after his arriveall, were removd from him, and himselfe so used as I wish posteritie may never know." In 1651, he adds: " I went privatlie to Fife, where I had the comfort to met with my deare wife, who, haveing put her best things in the castle of Edinburgh, and left the rest to their hazard, came and livd with me that winter at Disart. About this time, the monstrous Remonstrance was hatchd; and if Lambert had not, by good fortune to us all, beaten Colon ell Ker at Hammilton, I beleeve the king had beene just as safe at St. Jonston as his father was at Westminster. The desperate condition of affaires movd some of the best-naturd of the Presbiterian cleargie to thinke of some meane, to bring as many hands to fight against the pub- like enemie as was possible; and therfor, notwithstanding all their acts of assemblies and commissions of the kirke to the contrare, they declared all capable of charge in state or malitia, who would satisfie the church, by a publike acknowledgment of their repentance for their accession to that sinfull and unlawfull engadgment. The king commanded all who had a mind to serve him to follow the churches direction in this point. Here- upon Duke Hamilton, the Earles of Craufurd and Lauderdaill, with many others, were admitted to court, and numbers of officers ressaved and put in charge, and entrusted with new levies. My guilt in affronting the ministrie (as they calld it), in the person of Mr Dick at Glasgow, and my other command in the west, retarded my admission very long; bot at length I am absolved, and made adjutant-generall of the foot; and after the misfortunate rencounter at Innerkeithen, had once more Lieutenant- generall Holburns regiment given me by his majesties command. Behold OWN LIFE AND TIMES. 73 a fearfull sinne ! The ministers of the Gospell ressavd all our repen- tances as unfained, thogh they knew well enough they were bot counter- feit; and we, on the other hand, made no scruple to declare that engadg- ment to be unlawfull and sinfull, deceitfullie speakeing against the dictates of our oune consciences and judgments. If this was not to mocke the all-knoweing and all-seeing God to his face, then I declare myselfe not to know what a fearfull sinne hipocrisie is. The defeate of that part of the armie at Innerkeithen, Cromwells march with most of his forces to St. Jonston, whereby he cut of all succourse of men and meate from the North, obliged the king, with the advice of the committee of estates, to lay present hold on occasion to leave the rebell behind him, and march with his whole armie from Stirline into England. The horse and dra- goons might be about foure thousand ; and the foot, as I reckoned them that day we marched from Stirline Park, were upwards of nine thousand. A traine of artillerie of some field peeces and leather canon we had, with suteable amunition, under the conduct of Sir James Wemis, generall of the artillerie. We got quicklie to English ground, bot with a great deale of mischiefe to all these poore Scotch people by whose dwellings we marchd, robbing and plundering being used by the sojors, even to admi- ration and inhumanitie. Neere to Carlile, the king is proclaimed king of England and Ireland:, with the great acclamations of the armie ; and severe commands made against all other robberies, plunderings, and exac- tions ; which being put in execution, by hanging tuo or three, were well enough observed, and very good order and discipline keeped the whole march. I will not amuse myselfe to relate all the particulars, circum- stances, or miscarieages of this unfortunate expedition, my intention being to speake of what befell myselfe till this present yeare of God. In that armie I was colonell of foot, and adjutant-generall ; and with no better fortune than I had when I exercd these charges in the yeare 1648." At the ensuing defeat of Worcester, Sir James was taken, but con- trived to escape at Oxford, and came to London (whither his companions were marched prisoners) in disguise. His proceedings are very charac- teristic of these strange and eventful days. " The search, which was not very strict, being over, and the prisoners K 74 TURNER'S MEMOIRS OF HIS with their guards prettie well advanced touards London, I creepd out of my retreate, and in a very pitiefull disguise, accompanied with half-a- dozen of watermen (who had all served the late king as sojors), tooke my journey straight to London. The first day I walked a-foot to Morly, which was tuentie miles from Oxford ; but my feet were so spoild with the clouted shooes which I wore, and myself so wearie, that my compa- nions were forced to carry me almost the last tuo miles. Lustie, strong, and loyall fellows they were, hot extremelie debauchd. They misd not one ale-house in the way ; and my paying for all the ale and beere they dranke (for I thanke God they wold drinke no wine) did not at all trouble me ; but it was a vexation to me to drinke cup for cup with them, els they sould have no good opinion of me, and to them I was necessitated to reveale myselfe, my honest barger goeing before us all the way a horse- backe, and so serving us for a scout. At Morley I hird ane old carkasse of a horse from a knaveish old fellow, who made himselfe exceeding merrie with me, jeering me verie broadlie; and indeed I was in so wofull a plight that I was ridiculous enough, neither could any man have con- ceaved that ever I had been ane officer in any armie of the world. On horseback I came from Bramford, threteene miles from Morley, and seven from. London, and rode thorough at leaste tuo hundreth red coates that had convoyd my countreymen to Titlefield; bot was well seconded in passing them by my trustie comrades the watermen. At Bramford I tooke oares, and in the night time landed at Westminster staires, which I had never seene; for I came in ane evil houre to London, where I had never beene before. I was lodged that night with ane honest Welchman, to whom my barger reveald what I was, that he might make me knoune to some of the royall partie, for I had no acquaintances in that great citie. After I had reposed myselfe tuo days, whereof I stood in great need, some clothes, linnens, and a litle money, were sent me by three honnest men, and brought to me by my hoste. The clothes I accepted, bot refused the money; and nixt night I was brought by water to the citie; to the three gentlemen who had sent me so sure tokens of their kindnes, and whom I had never seene all my life before. Three loyall persons they were, who, after they had made themselvs knoune to me, they desired OWN LIFE AND TIMES. 75 a particular rehearsall of the king's misfortunate expedition, and his losse at Worcester; which they heard with as grievd hearts as I related it. They thought it fit to lodge me in a publike inne within the citie, and entrusted me to the care of the drawer, who was both ane honest and ane understanding fellow. That house I changed, and so did I many others, till I lighted on the house of ane honnest widow, who had no creature in the house with her bot her oune daughter ; and there indeed I was as secure as if I had beene in my mother's house. Severall appointments were made betueene my three noble friends and me, and all punctuallie keepd. Their kindnes I can never forget, unles I intend to accuse my- selfe of the highest ingratitude. They entrusted me with a message to the king, wherin his majestie was neerlie concernd, which I faithfullie delivered to him at Paris." Returning from Scotland in 1664, Sir James stayed a month at Bruges, as he tells us, " Partlie to see my old acquaintances, whom I knew not when I sould see againe; partlie to cure myself of a disease which is epidemicall allmost in the place from whence I brought it, the Hielands ; I meane the ich or scab, the hote bathes of that citie being excellent for it." What will our northern friends say to this picture of their country? It is very different now, but then we do not wonder at the sequel of the sen- tence just quoted, where the patient relates, " I got his majesties passe to goe to Bremen, bot not to leave his service. Haveing kisd his and the princesse royalls hands, and taken my leave at court, I left Aken the very same day." His majesty and the princess were quite right to have the cure of the baths of Bruges perfected before the ceremony of kissing of hands took place ! Till near the era of the Restoration, Sir James served in the Danish army ; and after that event, it was not till 1662 that he was employed in a military charge ; which brings us to the third part of these Memoirs. And this portion will, in our judgment, be found the most interesting to Scots, and probably to English readers; for it contains a full narration of the short insurrection of the Covenanters in 1666, and of those previous 76 TURNER'S MEMOIRS OF HIS oppressive proceedings of the writer in the west of Scotland, which seem, in spite of his glosses, in a great measure to have provoked that rising. These he attempts to extenuate and justify ; but with indifferent success, since the result was, that a committee of enquiry into his conduct, even by the council whom he served, led to his being deprived of his commis- sions and disgraced. Having, as we have noticed, by fining, cessing, quartering soldiers, &c. &c, during several expeditions in support of episcopacy against presbyterianism, excited a spirit of resistance among the Covenanters, they rebelled ; and one of their first acts was to make their persecutor prisoner. In this condition, and in hourly fear of death, he was marched about by them in all their movements, for the fortnight of their continuance, and of which his accounts are extremely curious. We regret that we can only select a few examples. " Towards the evening, Mr Robbinsone and Mr Crukshank gave me a visite. I calld for some ale, purposlie to heare one of them blesse it. It fell Mr Robbinsone to seeke the blessing, who said one of the most bom- bastick graces that ever I heard in my life. He summond God All- mightie very imperiously to be their secondarie (for that was his lan- guage); 'and if,' said he, 'thou wilt not be our secondarie, we will not fight for thee at all — for it is not our cause bot thy cause ; and if thou wilt not fight for our cause and thy oune cause, we are not obliged to fight for it. They say,' said he, ■ that dukes, earls, and lords, are comeing with the kings generall against us ; bot they shall be nothing but a thresh- ing to us.' This grace did more fullie satisfie me of the follie and in- justice of their cause, then the ale did quench my thirst. That night they sent several parties abroad, who brought many horses to them. One partie they sent to the toune of Aire, which brought out of the tolbooth all these armes which E. Glencairne and I had taken from the countrey people the yeare before." " I was taken into a contrey house under pretence to refresh ; but it was, that I sould not looke upon their armie (for so they were plesd to call it), till they had marshalld it rightlie. At length I was mounted and led along the reare of both horse and foot; and thereafter I was brought to the front of the battell, where I did not let the opportunitie slip to OWN LIFE AND TIMES. 77 reckon them. I found their horse did consist of foure hundreth and fortie, and the foot of five hundreth and upwards, besides the partie of horse which was at Lainrick, and some other small parties which they had sent abroad to plunder horses; — a Sundayes exercise, proper onlie for phanaticks. The horsemen were armed for most part with suord and pistoll, some onlie with suords. The foot, with musket, pike, sith, forke, and suord ; and some with staves, great and long. There I saw tuo of their troopes skirmish against other tuo (for in foure troopes their caval- lerie was divided), which I confesse they did handsomlie, to my great admiration. I wondered at the agilitie of both horse and rider, and to see them keepe troope so well, and how they had comd to that perfection in so short a time." " That night a councell or committee was keepd, where it was con- cluded that nixt morning the Covenant sould be renewd and suorne. And the question was, whether immediatlie after, they sould put me to death; they who were for it pretended ane article of the Covenant obliged them to bring all malignants to condigne punishment. Bot it was resolved that I sould not dy so soone, bot endeavors sould be used to gaine me. All this was told me by one of my intelligencers before tuo of the clocke nixt morning. Yet I have heard since, that it was formallie put to the vote, whether I sould die presentlie or be delayed, and that delay was carried in the councell by one vote onlie. Let now all people of impartiall judgments determine whether this armie of pretended saints spent this Lords day as Christians ought to do; and these who make Sabbath breakeing a cryeing sinne, how will they excuse this crue of re- bellious hipocrites, who began that dayes worke in the morning with steal- ing a silver spoone and a night goune at Douglas, and spent the rest of the day most of them in exerciseing in a militarie way, and the rest in plundring houses and horses, and did not bestow one hour or minute of it in the Lordes service, either in prayers, praises, or preaching! Bot they made a good amends at night for omitting the dueties of the day, by passing ane act for renewing the Covenant, and ane other for murthering me whenever they sould think it fitting. This I shall say, they were not to learne to plunder, and that I have not seen lesse of divine worship any 78 TURNER'S MEMOIRS OF HIS where then I saw in that army of theirs; for though at their rendevouses and halts they had opportunitie enough everie day for it, yet did I never heare any of their ministers (and as themselves told me, there was not so few as tuo and threttie of them, wherof onlie five or sixe conversed with me) either pray, preach, or sing psalmes; neither could I learne that it was ever practised publiklie, except once by Mr Robbisone at Corsfairne, ane other time by Mr Welch at Damellinton, and now the third time by Mr Semple at Lanrick, where the laufull pastor was forcd to resigne his pulpit to him. What they did in severall quarters I know not, perhaps they had some familie exercise there. I am sure in my quarters my guards neither prayd nor praised, for any thing I ever heard; and being for most part in one room together, it is to be supposed I must have beene a wit- ness to their devotions. But I confesse I was more overwearied with the tediousnes and impertinencies of their graces before and after meate, than Iwas either with the scarsnes or badness of my meate and drinke. It was now Monday morning, the tuentie sixth of the month, when one of their ministers did reade the Covenant on the top of the staires of the tolbooth, which was suorne by all the assistants. Bot neither I nor any of my guards were invited to that morning exercise." At last, when "the saincts" were routed by the king's forces, Sir James says — ( t When I saw the encounter wold be inevitable, and that my guards were doubtfull of the event, I thought it hie time to propone that to them which I had long premeditated, and which none of them could at that nick of time reaveale without their oune danger. * My friends,' said I, brusklie, ' the day will be either yours or ours. If yours, I am still your prisoner; and I beleeve I shall not be long troubled with you after your victorie. If the day proves ours, your lives and mine are in equall dan- ger. If, then, the kings forces gaine the victorie, defend you me from the violence of your partie in the flight, and I shall assure you of your lives.' To this proposition the eight who were with me (for the other eight left me to my fortune) readilie assented. 'Then,' said I, 'put your suords in your left hands, and hold up your right hands to heaven, and let both you and me sueare the performance of our mutuall promises.' OWN LIFE AND TIMES. 79 This was presentlie done. * And who will now say,' said I, * that I am not a Covenanter?' Not long after this we might heare Mr Welch and Mr Semple cry out very loudlie and very often, * The God of Jacob ! the God of Jacob ! ' without adding any more. This was because they saw our commanded men give some ground ; my very latlie suorne guards echoed the same words — 'The God of Jacob! the God of Jacob!' I askd them what they meant. They ansuered, Could I not see the Lord of Hostes fighting for them? I told them then very passionatlie, that they understood not their oune condition; for they might see that party which they thought was beaten rally and stand. They could not bot see the whole bodie of our foot, and left wing of our horse, advance with much courage and in very good order, with trumpets sounding and drums beate- ing. 'And in one word,' said I, 'if your partie doe not reele, runne, and fly, within one quarter of ane houre, then I shall be contented you pistoll me.' It fell out so, that though the rebells, for their number, fought des- peratlie enough, yet it pleased the Lord that they were beaten, and their horse fled apace. While I thought to make use of this opportunitie, came Canon of Mondroget, bleeding very fast — for* wounded he was. He had professed kindnes to me formerlie for some curtesies I had done to some neere friends of his ; but he told me then, that I must goe with him. I ansuered, that I was so pitifullie ill mounted that I could not ride up with him; besides he knew I had no spurre allowd me wherby I might helpe my nagge to run. Bot he replyd, it was probable some of their officers might be made prisoners, and that I might helpe by exchange to relieve them ; therfor forward I must goe, for he neither could or would leave me behind him, and tooke God to witness it was much against his will. I told him, that since sure it was he could not get me forward with him as I was mounted, and his party being routed, and himselfe wounded, it wold be no advantage to him to kill a person who had never done him any injury, whatever other crimes were layd to his charge ; and with that I looked ouer my shoulder (for my guards still forced me to ride after him), and saw our horse pursueing eagerlie enough, and were not farre from us. Then I called to Mondroget, and advisd him to look about and ' * Sore? 80 TURNER'S MEMOIRS. see who was pursueing him, telling him it was now more time to save his oune life than to seek after ane other mans. This advice he followed by galloping away. Foure more of my guards had left me out of feare ; the other foure were soon persuaded to turne with me. I then commanded a drummer of mine, who had waited constantlie upon me, to tell any officer he met with that I was there. He rencountered with Alexander Cockburne, a servant of my Lord Duke Hammiltons, who was well armd and mounted. He came to me with much kindnes, and gave me and my prisoners (for such were now my guards) the word and the signe, and conducted me to my lord duke. His grace was pleasd to ressave me with much civility and favour, and entertained me with ex- pressions of so much kindnes, as I doe reallie acknowledge not to have deserved. He gave order likewise that my prisoners sould be kindly used, till nixt day they were delivered to the foot guards : and not long after, upon my humble supplication, had their lives and liberties granted them." He was, however as we have stated, called to account for his transac- tions in the west, and dismissed the king's service; the details of which (with an appendix of correspondence, &c, including letters from the Duke and Duchess of Hamilton, Lord Arran, Lord Ross, Gilbert Burnet, &c. &c.) conclude the volume. Into these we have not room to enter, and can only give our opinion, that the author's " misfortunes" were justly merited by his want of all principles but those of the Dalgetty school. He was, in a word, a soldier for any body's pay; and so that he gained, cared for no sufferings on any side. His book is a singular record of this, and a striking picture of the bad age in which he flourished. REVIEW MEMOIRS OF SIR JAMES TURNER.* The author and hero of these Memoirs is one of those unhappy per- sons who have been damned to a painful eternity of fame. He is accused by the Presbyterian party of having occasioned, by the cruelties and ex- tortions he exercised in Galloway, the rising which was finally put down at Pentland. He has been treated, on the other hand, by the advocates of the government as a kind of scapegoat, and the sins of the whole party have been bundled on his back, in order that he might carry them away into the wilderness. His autobiography is a piece of special pleading in his own behalf, particularly the third part, which more immediately re- lates to the events above alluded to. We must confess, that after a most attentive perusal of his statements, with all possible desire to be impartial, we are of opinion that he makes but a lame defence. At the same time, as the devil is credibly reported not to be quite so black as he is painted, so we believe that Presbyterian zeal has made a greater monster of Sir James than truth warrants; and we feel inclined, from the work now before us, to attempt a fair picture of the man. He received as good an education as the state of the Scotish univer- sities, in his time, afforded, and was created master of arts in his seven- teenth year. In recording this portion of his history, he speaks with * From the Edinburgh Literary Journal, August 1, 1829. 82 TURNER'S MEMOIRS OF HIS great modesty of his acquirements, and tells us, " the title was undeser- vedlie bestowed upon me, as it was on many others before me, and hath beene on too many since." His progress in learning must, notwithstand- ing, have been considerable, for we find him, after a lapse of four-and- twenty years, spent in one uninterrupted series of active military service, still able " to pen a letter in Latine." Besides, he informs us that he spent a year after he left college in retirement — u Applying myselfe to the studie of humane letters and historie, in bothe which I allways tooke delight. I did reade also the controversies betweene us and the Roman Catholickes — for the Presbyterians at that time made litle or no noyse — whereby I might be enabled to discern the truth of the Protestant per- suasion, and the fallacies of the Popish one, or any other, that so I might not, in traversing the world, be carried away with everie wind of doctrine." An analysis of the contents of the MSS. which Sir James left behind him, prefixed to his Memoirs, embracing treatises on various important points of history, morals, criticism, and religious controversy, shows him to have been a man of considerable reach and activity of mind. In after life, he attained good proficiency in the French and German languages ; and his English style is correct and sensible. He also attempted poetry ; but, judging from his Memoirs, we cannot in conscience say that we regret having no specimens of his poetical compositions before us. He seems to have been naturally of a humane disposition. Several anecdotes, which he gives unostentatiously, confirm this. Even after the battle of Pentland, he saved, by his intercession, the lives of several of the insurgents ; and would have saved more but for the interference of the curates. He was not inaccessible to love. The following brief ac- count of his first fit shows him to have been of Lord Byron's opinion on the important question of the best method of learning languages : — " I was lodged in a widow's house, whose daughter, a young widow, had been married to a rittmaster of the Emperor's. She was very handsome, wittie, and discreet ; of her, thogh my former toyle might have banished all love thoughts, I became perfitelie enamoured. Heere we stayd sixe weeks, in which time she taught me the Hie Dutch, to reade and write it, which I before could not learne bot very rudelie from sojors." He OWN LIFE AND TIMES. 83 makes mention only of one other fair enslaver — the lady whom he mar- ried. It is but justice to say, that his attachment to her has, for length and constancy, been rarely paralleled ; and that his anxiety to have her with him on all occasions shows his domestic character in a most amiable light. With naturally good and highly cultivated talents, therefore, and with originally good dispositions, confirmed by the decent and orderly habits of the middle ranks of life, in which he was born, our hero was thrown upon the world to seek his fortune, in the eighteenth year of his age. He enrolled himself as ensign in a regiment then raising in Scotland for the service of Gustavus Adolphus, in his German wars. He suffered much at first from sickness and poverty ; but, in course of time, his con- stitution became confirmed, and that peculiar sagacity, which ill-natured people allege is characteristic of our nation, enabled him to pick up a little money. Some experience in military matters likewise entitled him to promotion. He continued in the Swedish service till 1640. Leslie was at this time about to enter England with an army. A person wishing to attach himself to the King's party would naturally have embarked for England, as one intending to attach himself to the Covenanters would for Scotland. Our author frankly confesses : — " I had swallowed, without chewing, in Germanie, a very dangerous maxime, which militarie men there too much follow ; which was, that so we serve our master honnestlie, it is no matter what master we serve ; so, without examination of the justice of the quarrell, or regard of my duetie either to prince or countrey, I resolved to goe with that ship I first rencoun- terd." He took passage in a Dane bound for Leith ; but found, on arriv- ing at Edinburgh, that the Scotish army had already marched into England, and possessed themselves of Newcastle. Thither he followed them, where he was appointed major of Lord Kirkcudbright's regiment. He held this post, and afterwards a similar one in Lord Sinclair's regi- ment, till the year 1647, being employed sometimes in Ireland, and some- times in Scotland; although his fidelity to his employers was occasionally more than doubtful. The chief power in Scotland was at this time di- vided between Hamilton and Argyle. By some management, the former 84 TURNER'S MEMOIRS OF HIS of these noblemen got a Parliament called, in which a majority of the members were either royalists, or attached to his own interest. Argyle, however, carried all before him in the commission of the Kirk. This latter party were much averse to the raising of a new army, which they knew, under the command of Hamilton and Middleton, could not fail to favour the King. The army was, however, raised, notwithstanding their opposition ; and Turner obtained a commission in it. The party of the Kirk continued to remonstrate against raising forces for the King's relief. The west of Scotland, and, in particular, the city of Glasgow, was distinguished by its refractory spirit. Turner was sent to reduce it to obedience, and gave the inhabitants a specimen of the energetic habits he had acquired in the army. As this was his first open quarrel with the Presbyterians, we give it in his own words : " At my comeing to Glasgow, I found my work not very difficile ; for I- shortlie learned to know, that the quartering of two or three troopers, and halfe a dozen musketeers, was ane argument strong enough, in two or three nights time, to make the hardest-headed Covenanter in the towne to forsake the Kirk, and side with the Parliament. I came on the Friday, and nixt day sent to Mr Dick, and desired him and his brethren to say nothing nixt day in their pullpits that might give me just reason to disturb the peace of the church. In the forenoone he spake us very faire, and gave us no occasion of offence; but in the afternoone he transgressed all limits of modestie* and railed malitiously against both King and Par- liament. This obliged me to command all my officers and sojors to goe presentlie out of the church, because I neither could nor would suffer any under my command to be witnesses of a misdemeanour of that nature. At the first Dick was timorous, and promisd, if I wold stay, he wold give me satisfaction ; but I told him I wold trust him no more, since he had broke his promise made in the forenoone. Seeing I intended no worse than to remove, he continued his sermon, and nixt day went to Edenburgh to complaine ; bot sent one that same night to make his grievance to the Duke, who was comd the day before to his palace of Hamilton. Thither I went nixt morning. His Grace approved of all I had done ; and there was reason for it ; because I had done nothing bot OWN LIFE AND TIMES. 85* by his oune order, and his brother Earl Lanrick's advice. This was that great and well neere inexpiable sinne which I committed against the sacred soveraigntie of the Kirk ; for which all members were so implacable and irreconcileable enemies to me afterwards." It may be that this was the occasion of their first open declaration of hostilities against him ; but he had already given them much cause of offence . His almost unconcealed intriguing for the King in the Co- venanting army, and his connexion with Montrose, had not passed unno- ticed. His habit of laughing at the prevailing superstitions of the age, of which the work now before us contains several instances, must have offended the weaker brethren ; and the indifference with which he re- garded all systems of religious belief, must have raised him many enemies in that age of Puritanism. But what must have contributed most to alienate men's minds from him, was his own ungovernable temper. He says himself — " I confesse my humour never was, nor is not yet, one of the calmest ; when it will be, God onlie knowes." This natural weak- ness he seems to have aggravated by habits of intemperance ; of which the following is a remarkable instance : — " Haveing drunke at one time too much at parting with a great person, rideing home I met one Colonell Wren, betweene whom and me there was some animositie. He was a-foot, and I lighted from my horse ; drinke prevailing over my reason, I forced him to drawe his sword, which was two great handfulls longer than mine. This I perceiving, gripd his sword with my left hand, and thrust at him with my right; bot he stepping back avoyded it, and drew his sword away, which left so deepe a wound betweene my thumbe and foremost finger, that I had almost losd the use of both, unles I had beene well cured. Ane other cut I got in my left arme. The passengers parted us ; bot I could never find him out after, to be revenged on him, though I sought him farre and neere. This was ane effect of drinking, which I confesse, beside the sinne against God, hath brought me in many inconveniences." Notwithstanding these blemishes in his character, we have little hesita- tion in describing Sir James Turner as a naturally humane, affectionate, and talented man. His talents were highly cultivated, both by early education, and the experience of a busy and active life. But his feelings 86 TURNER'S MEMOIRS OF HIS were blunted in a considerable degree by his habits of military discipline, and by the transactions in which the life of a soldier of fortune unavoid- ably implicated him. Dissipated habits, acting upon a naturally violent temper, had yet farther degraded him. The military creed which he had adopted has shaken greatly the principles of strict faith and honour, in which he seems to have been educated. Along with the grosser super- stitions of the age, he seems to have shaken off much of its religious feeling. His fidelity to the King and the Episcopalian religion seems to have been ensured mainly by the hatred which the unrelenting persecu- tion kept up against him by the Presbyterians, for twenty years, had awakened in his breast. It is not our intention to follow this character through the whole of the adventures narrated in his Memoirs ; although we are much tempted to dilate upon them, seeing how much they contain that reflects light on the domestic manners, and the public policy, of Europe during the seventeenth century. We shall wind up this desultory article by a glance at the new light which has been thrown by this pub- lication on the insurrection which terminated in the rout at Pentland. Sir James's narrative confirms the account of the march of the insur- gents given by the biographer of Veitch, and by Colonel Wallace, and explains satisfactorily some of their less explicit passages. It confirms the opinion we already entertained, that the rising was not the premature explosion of any preconcerted scheme, but occasioned solely by the des- peration of some who had been driven by the oppressions of the govern- ment troops to acts of violence. It broke out originally in Galloway, but the principal excitement was in the west country, where the Presbyterians were not only more numerous, but had attained, by the instrumentality of the societies, a degree of union and discipline which they wanted in other parts of Scotland. It might there have assumed a more serious aspect, had not the government previously imprisoned a number of the leading men of that district. Even as it was, had the Presbyterians held to their original intention of taking up their head-quarters at Lanark, instead of following the foolish or treacherous advice of Steuart to march towards Edinburgh, they must soon have become formidable from increase of numbers. In regard to the materials of which the insurgent army was composed, OWN LIFE AND TIMES. 87 Turner bears unwilling testimony that the men, although undisciplined, were as stout and hearty men as he had seen. That it was not much infected by the spirit of fanaticism we were already inclined to suspect, from the secession of Peden and others of the more violent party. But Sir James establishes the fact. He had apparently expected to have an opportunity of sneering at the length and frequency of their sermons, and, disappointed in this respect, he ventures to deny that they observed any external ceremonials of religion at all. He rails at the whole body, but cannot avoid commemorating every moment instances of kind and gentle treatment. He confirms the ac- counts given by Presbyterians of the gentlemanly manners of Colonel Wallace. The account of his intercourse with the Laird of Monreith affords one of the most beautiful pictures of gentle and unaffected piety, endeavouring to win, but not to force others to its own sentiments, that we remember to have met with. The soldier who holds the controversy with Major M'Culloch (p. 160) seems to have had a large portion of the fidelity, caution, and humour of Cuddie Headrigg. The truth is, that except in some of the strongholds of Presbytery, there was much religion, but little bigoted attachment to particular forms, in the land. It is not impossible that time and lenient measures might have conciliated the nation to Episcopacy. But impatient and short-sighted rulers let loose an infuriated soldiery, which made little distinction between friend or foe ; till partly in self-defence, partly in the madness of despair, the nation rose against its rulers, and that church, in whose name they perpetrated their enormities. This is an interesting work, in many points of view, and ought to find its way very generally into the scholar's library. REVIEW OF THE MEMOIRS OF SIR JAMES TURNER. BY THE REV. THOMAS M'CRIE, D.D. No period of the history of England is so deeply and so deservedly inte- resting as that which embraces the events of the civil war during the seventeenth century, in which Scotland and Ireland were equally involved. In consequence of the rival claims of successive competitors for the crown, or the turbulence of powerful and ambitious vassals, the country had often before been the theatre of internal conflicts, the interest of which, how great soever at the time, gradually subsided and was forgotten. But there was something magnificent, though terrible, in the spectacle of the people of three kingdoms, who owned the authority of one prince, and resembled one another so closely in language and manners, rising in arms, and ranging themselves under opposite standards, not in sudden tumult, nor to decide whether this or the other individual or family should inherit the crown, but in a contest which involved, on the one side, the prerogatives of an ancient monarchy and a richly endowed clergy, and on the other, national rights, liberty, laws, and religion ; one branch of the legislature in open hostility with the other two, and dividing between them the allegiance and affections of the subjects; a king and his parlia- ment, after long negotiation and mutual preparations, deliberately and formally proclaiming war against one another, and waging it for a course * From the Edinburgh Review, No. CI., for April 1830. M'CRIE'S REVIEW OF TURNER'S MEMOIRS. 89 > of years with dubious success : while the surrounding nations, as if awe- struck, stood at a distance, and remained passive spectators of the struggle. It is impossible to contemplate this scene with indifference, though we should not take into view the unexampled fermentation of opinion, in politics and religion, excited during the progress of this war of principle, which burst forth at last with such fury as to overturn the monarchy and the whole frame of the constitution, and to produce a" commonwealth, with a military Protector at its head, whose death paved the way for the restoration of the royal family, and the re-establishment of the ancient order of things. Earlier portions of English history borrow much of their interest from extrinsic causes. Events which happened ages after the humiliation of King John, emblazoned Magna Charta, and consecrated the plain of Runnemede. In spite of Cressy, and Poictiers, and Agincourt, the reigns of the Edwards and Henries, and Richards, would have been read by comparatively few, had they not been immor- talized by the pen of Shakspeare, from whose pages, rather than those of Rapin or Hume, we recollect the order of their succession, and of the principal events connected with their names. But the transactions during the reign of Charles I. and the Commonwealth stand in need of no adventitious aids to render them memorable. They have been recorded by many historians, and they have also furnished materials for fictitious composition; but we do not detract from the splendid talents possessed by some of these authors, when we say, they have been indebted to their subject for the interest excited by their writings, more than their subject is indebted to them. Such being the case, we need not wonder that the documents illustra- tive of this period should be numerous. Whether the history of it has yet been written in a manner worthy of its importance we shall not pre- sume here to determine, but sure we are there is no lack of materials for such a work. This is no doubt to be ascribed, in a great degree, to the anxiety felt by the parties, political and religious, which grew out of the confusions of that time, to bring forward what they deemed favour- able to their respective views. But even at present, when the violence of party-spirit has subsided, and the parties themselves are nearly eon- M 90 M'CRIE'S REVIEW OF founded and lost, additions are daily making to the mass which is already collected. It would be unreasonable to expect that recent discoveries should supply facts entirely new, or furnish grounds for a representation of events substantially different from any which has already been given to the public. But nothing is unnecessary or superfluous which throws the least light on the incidents of so great an era, or tends either to cor- roborate or to invalidate statements which rest on doubtful and contested authority. On this ground, the publishers of the work now before us are entitled to our thanks:* we do not welcome it the less cordially that the sentiments which the author expresses on the leading questions which he has occasion to touch differ widely from our own; and we hasten to give our readers an idea of its contents, taking the liberty, as we proceed, to intersperse a few relative facts from other sources which are not access- ible to many. The author of these Memoirs served during the Civil Wars as an offi- cer in all the three kingdoms; and accordingly writes in many instances of transactions which he saw, and in which he sustained a part. But a great portion of the work, and that which will probably attract the chief attention of most readers, relates to Scotland, and particularly to that transaction which gained for the author a notoriety not of the most envi- able kind. We refer to the insurrection suppressed at Pentland in the year 1666. This part of the Memoirs is properly an apology or defence, and indeed the work generally partakes of this character. We may take an opportunity, before we have done, of making some remarks on the degree of success which has attended the author's attempt to set himself right with the public ; for the Memoirs were evidently intended for pub- lication, though his friends were discouraged from executing the purpose by the untoward event of the Revolution, and the great change of mea- sures and principles to which it gave rise. In the meantime, we may state that the editor, in his preliminary notice, has in substance expressed our opinion, when, speaking of the letters addressed to Sir James Turner, * Its publication is mainly, we believe we may safely say wholly, owing to the encouragement afforded to the undertaking by the Bannatyne Club — one hundred copies of the work having been subscribed for by that Association. The public is farther indebted to the learned and accomplished Vice-President of the Club for those editorial labours which have ensured the fidelity and accuracy of the impression. TURNER'S MEMOIRS. 91 after his removal from military employment, he says, they " will be found to exhibit some amiable contrasts to those darker impressions of his cha- racter, which have been too deeply, and it is to be feared too justly, stamped on the contemporary history of his age ever to be effaced." Sir James Turner was born in the year 1614, but in what part of Scot- land he does not say; nor does he give us any information respecting his parentage. We only learn that he went through the usual course of philosophy at the College of Glasgow, where, though, by his own con- fession, he made small proficiency, it is probable he acquired that taste for letters which he retained during life. Being of a buoyant and roving disposition, he was averse to the labours of a sedentary employment, and chose the profession of arms. As Scotland was at that time in profound peace, he turned his eyes, like many of his adventurous countrymen, to the continent, where Gustavus Adolphus, king of Sweden, was in the career of his victories, as the champion of the Protestant cause, and of the liberties of Germany. Having obtained the post of ensign in a regiment of Scots, raised by Colonel Lumsden, he set out with them for the continent in the year 1632; but he never saw the Swedish hero, who had gone into the interior of Germany, and soon after fell in the battle of Lutzen. A better field for acquiring military skill, and a worse school for forming personal character, could not be found by a young man than that in which Turner was now placed. After the death of their magnanimous leader, whose clemency was as conspicuous as his valour, and of whom it has been said that he traversed Germany " with the sword in one hand and mercy in the other," the allied army began to imitate those cruelties which had excited such horror in the Imperialists ; and the auxiliaries, including the Scots, being often employed in the most hazardous services, and ill paid, as they thought, by their employers, learnt to remunerate themselves by plundering and oppressing the peaceable inhabitants, with whom they felt no sympathy in language or manners. In the account which Turner has given us of the proficiency he made in this species of warfare, we can dis- cover those early habits which subsequently influenced his conduct in his native country. «« The tuo companies (of Scots and English) were bot badlie used, 92 M'CRIE'S REVIEW OF tossed to and fro, in constant danger of ane enemie, and without pay. Bot I had learned so much cunning, arid became so vigilant to lay hold on opportunities, that I wanted for nothing, horses, clothes, meate, nor moneys ; and made so good use of what I had learned, that the whole time I served in Germanie I sufferd no such miserie as I had done the first yeare and a halfe that I came to it." Having remained nearly eight years on the continent, during which time he was more than once thrown out of employment, and on one occa- sion had projected a journey to Persia, Sir James returned home in 1640, to take part in the hostilities which had been renewed between Charles I. and Scotland. He was not altogether ignorant of the ground of the quarrel, having paid a visit to his native country in the preceding year, when everything foreboded a breach between the sovereign and his ancient kingdom. But Turner was actuated neither by loyalty, nor by love to religion and liberty: a mere soldier of fortune, it was immaterial to him on what side he drew his sword, and spilt his own blood or that of others; and therefore he left the determination to accident. " I had swallowed, without chewing, in Germanie, a very dangerous maxime, which militarie men there too much follow; which was, that so we serve our master honnestlie, it is no matter what master we serve ; so, without examination of the justice of the quarrell, or regard of my deutie to either prince or countrey, I resolved to goe with that ship I first rencounterd. After tuo days necessare stay at Gottenberg, I hired a boat, and went away in the evening. We rowed all night; and haveing pasd tuo Suedish castles, about breake of day we came neere Millstrand. Understanding the wind blew faire for both ships, I was advised to step out and goe a-foot straight thorough the toune to the shoare, it being the neerer cut, whill the boat went a greater way about with my servant and coffer. I did so, and came just there as the Eng- lishman was hoyseing his sailes. I askd him if he wold give me pas- sage to Hull (a place I have since beene too well acquainted with), who told me he wold with all his heart, provided I wold presentlie step in. I beseeched him to stay till my servant and coffer came, without whom I could not goe; but no intreatie or prayer could prevaile with TURNER'S MEMOIRS. 93 the inexorable skipper — for away he flew from me as ane arrow from a bow. This ohlie hinderd me to present my endeavours to serve the king against the Covenanters. I calld instantlie for the Dane who was bound for Scotland, resolving to serve either the one or the other without any reluctance of mind; so deeplie was that base maxime rooted in my heart. The people pointed with their fingers to the ship, which had got a great way out from the shoare, and stayd there for a passenger whom the skip- per had promised to carry to Edinburgh. He was ane old man, who, at taking his farewell of his friends the night before, had drunke so much that he had sleepd his time. Immediatelie I clapd in fresh men in my boate, the others being overweried with rowing, and so came to the ship ; neither did the skipper make any scruple to ressave me, thogh at first he conceaved his old man was in my companie. To the neglect of this old man, nixt to all-ruleing providence, may I attribute my goeing at that time to Scot- land. On the sixth day after my embarkeing, we saw ourselves not farre from Aberdeene. I was glad we were so farre north, because I had heard the kings ships were in the firth; bot I was mistaken, for they were gone; and no matter they had been gone sooner, for any good service they did the king there." Sir James wrote this in his old age, after he had adopted high mo- narchical opinions ; and, though he confesses his former want of princi- ple, yet it is evident he wished the reader of his narrative to believe that even at that early period his inclinations were with the king, and that he would have been glad of an opportunity of joining his standard; a sup- position not easily reconcilable with his continuing to fight for the Parlia- ment until the royal cause was ruined beyond recovery. Repairing to Newcastle, where the Scotish army was encamped under General Leslie, afterwards Earl of Leven, he obtained the only vacant place which was left, that of major in Lord Kirkcudbright's regiment, con- sisting of the men of Galloway — " a place," says he, " and a people fatal to me." Sir James does not say what share he got of " the brotherlie present of L.300,000 sterling," with which the Parliament of England sent the Scotish army home ; but he is careful to preserve the following piece of information: 94 M'CRIE'S REVIEW OF " All this while I did not take the Nationall Covenant, not because I refused to doe it, for I wold have made no bones to take, sueare and signe it, and observe it too; for I had then a principle, haveing not yet studied a better one, that I wrongd not my conscience in doeing anything I was commanded to do by these whom I served. Bot the truth is, it was never offered to me ; everie one thinking it was impossible I could get into any charge, unles I had taken the Covenant either in Scotland or England." The Irish massacre having broken out in the end of 1641, the Parlia- ment of Scotland sent an army of 10,000 men to assist in suppressing it; and among these Sir James went as major in Lord Sinclair's regiment. Nothing of importance occurs in this part of the Memoirs, if we except the accounts of the cruelties committed by the Irish, and the reprisals made upon them by the Protestant army, in which last the memorialist tells us he had no share, having confined himself to " bringing in store of cows, with the flesh and milke whereof," says he, " we much refreshed the decayed bodies and fainting spirits, not only of our sojours, but of many of our officers also." Having remained two years in Ireland, where he " got no more than what maintained" him, he came to Scotland, whence, after some stay, he repaired to Newcastle and joined his countrymen, who, under command of Leslie, had gone to the assistance of the Eng- lish Parliament against the king. In reading the account which Sir James has given of the proceedings of the Scotish army in Ireland and Eng- land, we were particularly struck with his repeated attempts to fasten the charge of incapacity on the general. Not content with his own reflec- tions on particular measures, he inserts a saying which a deceased noble- man was reported to have employed, " that the Earle of Leven's actions made not such noyse in the world as those of General Lesley." It argues more than conceit when a subaltern officer, who had hitherto distinguished himself chiefly in marauding expeditions, or by enlisting and training recruits, censures with such confidence and asperity the plans of a veteran, whose military talents and bravery had been long established. One example of this may suffice. In the beginning of 1644, Major Turner was sent by his lieutenant-general to represent the destitute state of their regiment to General Leslie, who was at that time endeavouring to pass TURNER'S MEMOIRS. 95 the Tyne near Newcastle. The gallant major, thinking that a detachment, which guarded the workmen employed in constructing a bridge of boats, was in danger, provided the enemy should make a sally from the town, went to the general's tent, and advised him to cause false alarms of an assault to be made round the walls. " When I returned," says he, " I was ashamed to relate the answer of that old captane ; which was, that he feared the brightness of the night (for it was moonshine) would dis- cover the burning matches to those on the walls. I told him the moon- shine was a prejudice to the designe, for it would hinder the matches to be seen; for the more lunts were seen, the better for a false alarm." This was no doubt a piece of information to the old captain ! We think we could give almost the very words which Leven used on the occasion; but it would be too much; for it is worse than ridiculous to suppose for a moment that any man, not to say an experienced soldier, should feel an apprehension that the very thing by which he meant to create an alarm should be seen by the enemy. Sir James himself is, however, a reluc- tant witness to Leslie's generalship at the time referred to. " The Scots," says he, " got over the river afterward, and by peacemeal made Newcastle's armie, almost as strong as their own, and far better sojours, moulder away, and the relecks of it to take sanctuarie within the walls of Yorke. Such was the king's sad fate, and the infatuated stupidity of these under him." — (P. 32.) This last expression is a common one with the writer of the Memoirs. Had it not been for the fates, and the stupidity of his servants, the king would have been uniformly successful and victorious. There is a fact mentioned near the beginning of the Memoirs, which may perhaps account for Sir James's feelings towards Leven ; he had a quarrel with his brother in Germany, on which ground he supposes the general to have been afterwards unfavourable to him. But we suspect there was another reason for the general's coolness to Turner, and for that prejudice against him on the part of the Parliamentary Commis- sioners who attended the army, which he imputes to their suspicions of his political leanings. We refer to the violence of his temper, and those irregularities of conduct inconsistent with military discipline, and pecu- 96 M'CRIE'S REVIEW OF liarly offensive to his superiors at that time, in which he was apt to indulge. Bishop Burnet, who was intimate with him in his later days, says — " Sir James Turner was naturally fierce, but was mad when he was drunk; and that was very often. I knew him well afterwards, when he came to himself, being out of employment. He was a learned man, but had been always in armies, and knew no other rule but to obey orders. He told me he had no regard to any law, but acted as he was commanded, in a military way." The truth of this description is con- firmed by a testimony above all exception. When speaking of his wish to retire from the Parliamentary army, at a time when " the committee and general entertained very ill thoughts" of him, Sir James relates the following incident.* It would appear also that the regiment to which Turner belonged was noted for the immoral conduct of their officers. For Colonel Arthur Erskine, in an original letter now before us, interceding with Mr Ro- bert Douglas for an officer who had been cashiered for profaneness, says — " It is true, indeed, he was in my Lord Sinclair's regiment in Ireland; and I do believe, with many others of that regiment, was inso- lent and scandalous all that time ; but I dare boldly say he is not that now." On recovering from the wounds which he had received in the drunken fray, Sir James was married at Hexham to a young lady of whom he had become enamoured during his Irish campaign. She appears to have been a woman of excellent character, who gave many proofs of spirit and attachment to her husband during his imprisonment and exile ; and the affectionate tributes paid to her worth, in the course of his Memoirs, exhibit one of the most amiable traits in the character of Sir James Tur- ner. The following is his account of their first becoming acquainted in Ireland : — " Yet I had a purchase in it of that I value more than any worldlie riches ; that was of my deare wife, Mary White, with whom I was first acquainted and then enamoured at the Neurie. She was comd of very * Dr M'Crie here relates the anecdote of Sir James Turner's attack on Colonel Wren, which the reader will find already printed, page 85. TURNER'S MEMOIRS. 97 good parents; her father being the second sonne of a knight, and her mother of ane other good familie of the Whites. She was thought by others, much more by me, to be of a good beautie. For the qualities of her mind, I have had such experience of them as they have renderd me happie amidst all the afflictions hath befallen me since. I did not then marry her, because at that time she was tenacious of the Roman Catho- lick persuasion, which was verie hatefull to our leading men of Scotland ; neither indeed, in the condition wherein I was then, could I maintaine her in any good fashion." We must not omit Sir James's statement of his change of views as to the quarrel (for we cannot call it cause) in which he had fought. This he places in the year 1644. " I had then lookd a litle more narroulie in the justice of the cause wherin I servd then formerly I used to do, and found I had done well enough in my engadgement against the bloodie rebells in Ireland. Bot the new Solemne League and Covenant (to which the Committee of Estates requird an absolute submission) summond all my thoughts to a serious consultation; the result wherof was, that it was nothing bot a treacherous and disloyall combination against laufull authoritie. Some captaines of my Lord Lothians (who were well enough principld, and had got good information of the designes of the prime Covenanters from the late Lord Chancellor, E. of Glencairne) and I communicated our thoughts one to another, and then I broke the matter first to my lieu- tenant colonell, and then to my Lord Sinclare. All of us thought it our duetie to doe the king all the service we could against his ungracious subjects; and therefore resolvd not to take the Covenant, bot to joyne with the Marques of Montrosse, who had the king's commission. In the mean tyme, we made faire weather with the Committee of Estates, till we got one thousand pound, and tuo hundreth sterline money, for each regiment, and a sute of cloths for everie sojor. The Committee pressd much the signing of the Covenant, with many letters, messages, and messengers. We wavd it with many specious pretences; especialle we desird sixe weeks time to advice with our consciences, a thing they had N 98 M'CRIE'S REVIEW OF granted to all other subjectes; hopeing before the end of that time to be in a capacitie to speake plainer language." Now we shall not call in question the sincerity of this conversion, nor shall we examine the validity of its grounds; but we must be allowed to express our doubts whether the change undergone was to the better. The worthy major formerly reckoned it his duty, without examination, to do whatever he was commanded by his superiors, that is, his employers; now, after being convinced that their commands are unjust, he still obeys them, only it is with the intention of turning their money and arms against themselves, that is, of betraying them. And what benefit did the king derive from his consultations with so many " very loyal per- sons?" O, had it not been for the perfidy of Callendar (" who with the deepest oathes, even asking the Supper of our Lord to turne to his dam- nation, which he was to take next Sunday, if ever he sould engage under these, or with these Covenanters"), and for the neglect of Montrose, the latter might have " joind with our two regiments — and he wold, with the assistance of Huntley in the north, and those Irish who soon after came over from Antrim, have reduced Scotland without bloodshed to their duty and obedience. But the unauspicious fate and disastrous destiny of the incomparable good king would not have it to be so." — (P. 36.) Callendar accepted the command of the new parliamentary levy; and Turner, trusting, forsooth, to his broken vows, and knowing that he him- self " was vehemently suspected by the Committee of Estates, and ran the risk of imprisonment, if not worse," agreed to act under him. " Upon these grounds my Lord Sinclars regiment marchd into Eng- land, and I with them, and made a fashion (for indeed it was no better) to take the Covenant, that under pretence of the Covenant we might ruine the Covenanters; a thing (thogh too much practisd in a corrupt world), yet in itselfe dishonest, sinful, and disavouable; for it is certaine that no evill sould be done that good may come of it." In this manner he continued to act, not for months, but for years. Leaving " the incomparable good king" to his " disastrous destiny," or rather helping it forward, Sir James continued to fight under the parlia- mentary banners. We do not forget that at Nottingham he drew up a TURNER'S MEMOIRS. 99 petition to the king, " according to the laudable custom of both the first and second Covenanters," before entering on any active hostility against him. But this was the only service which he performed for Charles. He was present at the siege of Newcastle, led the division which first entered the town when it was stormed, " gave very good quarter," but " had not a pennyworth of the plunder." While u Montrose did those feats which hath rendered his name immortal," instead of repairing to his standard, our author was marching southward into Gloucestershire, investing Here- ford, and besieging Newark-upon -Trent; and he was actually employed in bombarding the last of these cities, when the king, being hemmed in on all sides, threw himself into the Scotish army, and when " E. Lothian, as president of the committee, to his eternal reproach" required his ma- jesty to command the governor, Lord Bellasis, to deliver it up to the Parliament's forces. Nay, at a subsequent period (in 1647), he was " easily persuaded" to accept the place of adjutant-general, under Lieu- tenant- General Leslie, and to assist in cutting off that " graceless and disobedient crew of desperadoes" from Ireland, by whose assistance, under Montrose, he had formerly boasted that he would " reduce Scotland without bloodshed to their duty." The "fanatics" could, at least, plead conscience for fighting against the king, and we have no doubt that some of them acted conscientiously when they brought him to the block; but what shall we say for such sober-minded loyalists as Sir James Turner? The Scots have been accused of harsh treatment of Charles when he came to their army; and it has been repeatedly asserted that they sold their king to the English for a sum of money. Our author broadly makes the first of these charges, but barely insinuates the second. Both of them are unfounded. The king received all the marks of respect which he could expect. The sum which the Scots received was due as arrears of pay to their army, and had been fixed by the Parliament of England nearly four months before the king's person was entrusted to the English commissioners. Having come into England to assist the Parliament, and at its expense, it is doubtful if the Scots could have retained the king without breach of honour: they certainly could not have done it without bringing on a war between the two kingdoms. The commissioners of 100 M'CRIE'S REVIEW OF the two Parliaments presented to the king their propositions for putting an end to the differences which had arisen between them, and restoring him to the exercise of the royal authority. Some of the conditions might be hard, though not more so than were to be expected from conquerors, who had too much ground to suspect his sincerity; but Charles obstinately rejected them, and resisted all the entreaties of the commissioners, par- ticularly those of Scotland, who, on their knees, besought him to consider the danger to which both he and they were exposed from the daily in- creasing power of the sectaries and enemies to monarchy. These repre- sentations only served to inspire the infatuated monarch with the hope that he would obtain better terms by carrying on secret intrigues with the leaders of the Presbyterians and Independents. In vain did his best and wisest friends, who had risked their lives and fortunes in his cause, re- monstrate with him on the folly of this conduct. He persevered in urging his scruples of conscience against consenting to the abolition of Episco- pacy; and yet when these scruples were examined, it was found that they resolved themselves chiefly into this — that Episcopacy was more friendly than Presbytery to monarchy, that is, to arbitrary government. If any person doubts that we have assigned the true cause of the ruin of Charles at this time, we think the following extracts from his confidential corres- pondence will produce conviction. Writing to his counsellors, Lords Jermyn and Culpepper, and Mr Ashbumham, he says, " Shew me any president wher ever Presbiteriall government and Regall was together, without perpetuall rebellions; which was the cause that necessitated the king, my father, to change that government in Scotland. And even in France, wher they are but upon tolerance (which, in likelihood, should cause moderation), did they ever sit still so long as they had power to rebell? And it cannot be otherwais, for the ground of their doctrine is antimonarchical. Indeed, to prove that cleerly, would require more tyme, and a better pen, than I have. — I will say, without hiperboly, that ther was not a wyser man since Salomon, than he who said, No bishop no king."* The reply which the persons above named made to his majesty, * Clarendon's State Papers, vol. ii. pp. 260, 274. When Mr Robert Blair was officiating as chaplain at Newcastle, the king found fault with him for determining a controversy in prayer, because he had called TURNER'S MEMOIRS. 101 proves that he did not perish for want of sound counsel. " If by con- science your meaning is, that you are obliged to doe all that is in your power to support and maintaine that function of bishops, as that which is the most ancient, reverent, and pious government of the church, we fully and hartaly concur with you therin. But if by conscience is intended to assert, that Episcopacy is jure divino exclusive, wherby no Protestant (or rather Christian) church can be acknowledged for such without a bishop, we must therin crave leave wholy to differ. And if we be in an errour, we are in good company; ther not being (as we have cause to believe) six persons of the Protestant religion of the other opinion. Thus much we can add, that, at the treaty of Uxbridge, none of your divines then present (though much provoked therunto) would maintaine that (we might say, uncharitable) opinion; no, not privately among your commis- sioners. — The question, in short, is, whether you will choose to be a king of Presbitery, or no king."* The same arguments, substantially, were used by Henderson, Blair, and the other Presbyterian ministers, who had access to his majesty at Newcastle; for they were all cordially attached to royalty and the reigning family. But what security could they have for the existing ecclesiastical establishment in Scotland, from a king who persevered in declaring that Presbytery was essentially antimonarchical and rebellious, and not entitled even to " tolerance?" The observations we have made may be considered as determining the question as to the war which the Scotish Parliament entered into with England in 1648, with the view of rescuing the king, and which is com- monly called Duke Hamilton's Engagement. Such readers as wish information respecting the military operations in this disastrous expedi- tion, will find it in Sir James Turner's narrative; but we look in vain into it for any thing like a defence of the war on sound political principles. Indeed, we have often been confounded at the way in which writers of great ability have treated this portion of our history. They content themselves either with railing against the opposition made by the church, the Pope antichrist. Mr Blair replied, he was sure that was no controversy to his majesty's father. " This silenced the king, for he was a great defender of his father's opinions." — Blair's Memoirs, p. 104. * Clarendon's State Papers, vol. ii. p. 202. 102 M'CRIE'S REVIEW OF or with censuring the military conduct of Hamilton. Now, we must be excused for saying, that this argues a very shallow understanding of the subject. To call the expedition unfortunate, is an abuse of terms; it was mad. To say it was ill-conducted, is to say nothing; the evil lay in its very conception. It palpably led to the execution of the king, the subversion of the monarchy, and the subjugation of Scotland; for subju- gated it was, though not so abased and trampled upon as it was after the Restoration. Hamilton was not a better politician than he was a general. The party which protested against the war, and of which Argyle was the head, pointed out what was unquestionably the true line of policy. What was their plan ? Simply this — that the army should be kept up ; and that the kingdom, without declaring war, should remain united in adherence to the public interest which the two Parliaments were solemnly pledged to support. Thus Scotland would preserve a commanding attitude, both morally and physically, which could not fail to give weight to her repre- sentations. This would encourage the English Parliament to resist the arrogant and unconstitutional demands of their army; and it would deter any party from doing violence to the person of the king, while it allowed him time to be undeceived, and to consult his true interest. To accom- plish this object, and at the same time to ease the country, the officers had agreed to relinquish a third part of their pay; an act of disinterested patriotism at which our author is pleased to sneer. — (P. 50.) These wise measures were defeated by the rash vote of the Parliament to send an army immediately into England, in consequence of a secret negotia- tion, which the Earl of Lanark, brother to the Duke of Hamilton, had carried on with the king; upon which many of the old officers resigned, and their places were filled up with persons who possessed neither their military talents nor their principles. Though Scotland had been united, it is more than probable that the invasion of England at that time would have been unsuccessful; but when the vote to engage in hostilities was carried in opposition to a most respectable minority in Parliament, and to the declared opinion of the ministers of the church, who, besides the influence which they possessed over the public mind, had a deep interest at stake in the quarrel, it was worse than infatuation to make the attempt. TURNER'S MEMOIRS. 103 The issue is well known. The Scotish army was totally routed; and, soon after, the king was arraigned, condemned, and, in spite of remon- strances from the civil and ecclesiastical authorities of Scotland, and from various parts of England, was brought to the block. Sir James Turner refers to a conversation, " in the Lady Hume's house in the Canongate," between Cromwell and some of the leading Presbyterians, at which the latter agreed " that there was a necessitie to take away the king's life." (P. 69.) Now, we could produce good authority to show, that, instead of this, the conversation referred to infused into the minds of the Presby- terians a strong distrust of Cromwell; but we reckon it sufficient to appeal to the testimony of Sir George Mackenzie, as stout a cavalier as Sir James, and much better acquainted with the discoveries made after the Restoration, who says, " After several trials, it was found that no Scots- man was in accession to the murder of that incomparable prince."* Had the expedition under the Duke of Hamilton been successful, there can be little doubt that the reform in church and state, for which the Parliament had been contending, would have been abandoned and lost. Our author, indeed, would have us believe that the opposition to the Engagement was grounded chiefly on the circumstance, that the com- mand of the army was given to Hamilton instead of Leven. No person who is acquainted with the facts of that period can accede to this suppo- sition. It is true that strong, and not unreasonable, suspicions were excited by the appointment to military posts of men who had been cold or disaffected to the cause hitherto maintained by the Parliament. On this head a very judicious person, Mr Patrick Sympson, minister of Ren- frew before the Restoration and after the Revolution, has the following remark : — " The Montrosians might as well, for any thing I know, have been taken upon the Engagement as some others. For I have ground to think Montrose himself died a Presbyterian ; for I myself heard him, the day before he died (being in conference with some ministers), say, Bishops, he cared not for them, and never intended to advance their interest; that he adhered to the National Covenant, which he took, but * History of Scotland, pp. 51, 52. 104 M'CRIE'S REVIEW OF was against the League and Covenant, for the reasons he then gave; that he would gladly have been reconciled to the Church of Scotland, and relaxed from their sentence, but could not take with those things charged on him as sin, which he judged his duty." It is also true that the Parliament, to gain their object, especially after the church had de- clared against it, agreed to rest the Engagement on nearly the same grounds on which the late war had been carried on; and Turner, in a paper which he wrote at a late period of his life, affirms, that " Duke Hamilton, in 1648, really intended the performance of what was promised to the church." But Sympson, already referred to, has justly remarked, that this affirmation is flatly contradicted by the authentic documents published in Bishop Burnet's Memoirs of the Dukes of Hamilton, which Sir James had an opportunity of perusing before as well as after their publication. In the year 1661, when the Act Rescissory was under con- sideration, it was proposed by some members that the Parliament held in 1648 should be excepted from its operation; to which the Earl of Mid- dleton, Lord High Commissioner, replied, " We were designing then the same thing which we are doing now, though we professed the quite con- trary. We went into England like a number of hypocrites, and were driven out of it like a company of sheep. Let that Parliament go with the rest."* It may be proper to notice a service in which Major, now Colonel, Turner was employed by the managers of the Engagement, as it throws light on his subsequent military operations in Scotland. The nation being divided in opinion as to the lawfulness of the war, and the clergy decidedly averse to it, the recruiting of the army went on slowly, and was in some places resisted. To remove these obstructions, Turner was sent to Glasgow with his regiment, and three troops of horse. " At my comeing there I found my worke not very difficill; for I shortlie learnd to know, that the quartering tuo or three troopers, and half a dozen musketeers, was ane argument strong enough, in two or three * Mr Andrew Sempill, town-clerk of Renfrew, and commissioner from that burgh to the Parliament 1661, related this anecdote to his minister, Mr Patrick Sympson. TURNER'S MEMOIRS. 105 nights time, to make the hardest-headed Covenanter in the toune to forsake the kirk and side with the Parliament." " This was that great and well neere inexpiable sinne which I com- mitted against the sacred soveraigntie of the kirk; for which all members were so implacable and irreconcileable enemies to me afterward. Find- ing my Glasgow men groune prettie tame, I tenderd them a short paper, which whoever signed I promisd sould be presentlie easd of all quartering. It was nothing bot a submission to all orders of Parliament, agreeable to the Covenant. This paper was afterward by some merrie men christend Turner's Covenant." All this appears to have been a very simple and easy process; but take the particulars as given by one who was present : — " On some 10, on some 20, on others 30 soldiers and more, did quarter, who, beside meat and drink, wine and good cheer, and whatever they called for, did exact cruelly their daily pay, and much more. In ten days they cost a few honest but mean people 40,000 lb., besides plundering of those whom necessity forced to flee from their houses."* The depredations of the soldiers on that occasion gave rise to the saying, u that Turner's lambs were worse than Montrose's wolves." Turner, who had been taken prisoner after the rout at Preston, con- trived to procure his release, and repaired to the continent, whence he came to Scotland, subsequently to the coronation of Charles II. at Scoon. The Parliament, in 1649, had excluded those who took part in the engage- ment from civil and military posts; but after the defeat at Dunbar, a resolution was passed, with consent of the Commission of the General Assembly, to re-admit them, on their professing their repentance. This gave rise to a division among the Presbyterians into resolutioners and protesters. The latter affirmed that the professions were feigned, and that the pretended penitents intended to use the powers which they acquired to overturn the established religion and lately acquired liberties of the nation. This was denied by the other party, in support of whose views Sharpe (afterwards archbishop of St Andrews) delivered a laboured Baillie's Letters, vol. ii. p. 294. 106 M'CRIE'S REVIEW OF harangue before the Protector and his council at Whitehall. Let us hear what our author says on the subject: ** Behold a fearfull sinne! The ministers of the gospell ressavd all our repentances as unfained, thogh they knew well enough they were bot counterfeit; and we, on the other hand, made no scruple to declare that engadgment to be unlaufull and sinfull, deceitfullie speakeing against the dictates of our oune consciences and judgments. If this was not to mocke the allknoweing and allseeing God to his face, then I declare myselfe not to know what a fearefull sinne hypocrisie is." Turner was taken prisoner, for the second time, at the battle of Wor- cester, effected his escape from confinement, and, entering into the service of Denmark, was employed in levying soldiers for it against his old masters the Swedes. On his return to Scotland at the Restoration, he complained, like many others, that his exertions and sufferings in the royal cause were unrewarded. This he imputes to an umbrage con- ceived against him by the Earl of Middleton, over whose fall he mora- lizes in the following distich, translated by him from Tasso : — " Sudden and hie advancements, frequentlie By precipiteous downfalls follow'd be." Charles, however, conferred on him the honour of knighthood. His majesty would have done him a greater service had he touched him for the King's Evil, and cured him of his slavish disposition to execute every command which issued from those in power. By the way, Sir James appears to have been a sincere believer in the miraculous gift alluded to, and, in one of his unpublished essays, has shown that it is confined to legitimate sovereigns, and never varies from the just line of hereditary succession. Having traced it in the royal lines of France and England, he continues thus: " By what meanes those two kings workes that cure, others may inquire; once certain it is they doe it frequentlie, but not always. The cure, no doubt, is wrought by the Allmighte physician of bodies and soules. The king toucheth, after devout prayers and reading some parcells of holy scripture. It is to be observed that if any usurpe the crowne of France or England, though they be fullie invested with the soveraigntie therof, TURNER'S MEMOIRS. 107 yet because they are not the lawfull successors, they cannot heale that evil, and therefore Cromwell did well never to attempt it. Neither doth exile, banishment, or absence from France or England, of either of the kings, hinder the cure. I saw the king, now raigning, touch severall hundreths, both in the Spanish Netherlands, and in those belonging to the Generall Estates, who were (for any thing I know) all cured ; and that many of them were, I had it related to me from severalls of their friends." In 1661, the Restoration Parliament having, in a frenzy of loyalty, or rather a fit of drunkenness, declared all the parliaments held since 1633 to be illegal, Middleton, to please the king and the Earl of Clarendop, procured the re-establishment of episcopacy. The king, in a letter to the presbytery of Edinburgh, had, during the former year, promised to preserve the government of the church as settled by law; and, with the view of covering the breach of the royal word, recourse was now had to the wretched sophism, that the laws establishing presbyterianism being annulled by parliament, episcopacy was the legal government of the church. With a very few exceptions, the nation was decidedly hostile to prelacy; but the managers of that time, having neither conscience nor principle themselves, thought that others were equally destitute of them, and determined to enforce not only a passive submission, but an active conformity to the arbitrary will of the court, even in matters of religion. By a single act of Privy Council, two hundred ministers were ejected from their parishes, a number which was soon nearly doubled ; and their places were filled by low, uneducated, graceless, and, in many instances, immoral men, whom the people, by a name more odious than accurate, called curates. Proclamation after proclamation was directed against the ousted ministers, who were at last ordered, under the pains of sedition, to remove themselves and their families twenty miles from their own parishes, six miles from every cathedral, and three miles from every royal burgh, while two of them were not allowed to reside in the same parish — one of the most wanton pieces of absurdity which the history of legislation furnishes; for, in the first place, it subjected persons to punish- ment, perhaps death, for a blunder in geography; and, in the second place, we do not believe the most ingenious geographer could find out so 108 M'CRIE'S REVIEW OF many spots in Scotland situated at the distances marked out in the pro- clamation. Warmly attached to their own ministers, and detesting those who were intruded into their places, the people, especially in the south and west of Scotland, deserted their parish churches in great numbers, and sought their spiritual food either in the neighbouring parishes, or from the ejected ministers, who performed divine service in private houses, and a few of them in the fields. To correct these irregularities, fines were imposed by the council on those who received the silenced ministers into their houses, or attended their sermons, or absented them- selves from their own parish churches, or whose wives, children, servants, or tenants, were guilty of these offences; and a military force was em- ployed to collect the fines. Sir James Turner was judged a fit person for carrying these odious and oppressive measures into execution; and although he could not but feel himself degraded, he made no scruple of undertaking the task. Accord- ing to his own account, he was engaged in expeditions of this kind during the years 1663, 1664, and 1665, in Ayrshire, and in the counties of Kirk- cudbright and Galloway: "It being my fate," says he, "that nothing was intended to be done that was displeasing in that countrey, but wherin I was made instrumentall." He tells us he had the thanks of the Privy Council given him for his services; and he was made a member of the High Commission Court — an honour of which he takes no notice. In 1666, he made his last and most noted expedition, being sent into Gallo- way and Dumfries-shire, with 120 foot and 30 horse. " I was sufficientlie impoured with orders and instructions from my Lord Commissioner, for cessing, quartering on, and fineing persons dis- obedient to church ordinances; neither had I at all any order to cite or processe formallie the contemners and disfrequenters of churches, and these who married and baptised with outed ministers; all which persons could not be dilated to me by the conforme ministers, for they knew lesse than I which of their parishoners frequented conventicles. They might indeed misse them out of their churches, bot could not tell where they were. I was commanded to make inquirie after such, and to bestow libe- rallie upon intelligence, both to find them out and the fugitive ministers TURNER'S MEMOIRS. 109 (whom I fiad order to apprehend), and to find out such who harbourd them, and to quarter on them and fine them. And by this meanes I was more able to informe the bishop and ministers of these disorderlie meet- ings, and who were at them, than they could informe me." What madmen must the rulers of that time have been, to imagine that the peace of the country could be preserved in such circumstances! Had not the people been better men and Christians than their superiors, they would have risen in a mass, and cut off the scattered soldiers with their leader, who preyed on them in this lawless manner. They did at last rise; but the manner in which they conducted themselves, so far as relates to humanity at least, was such as to entitle them to praise, and from none more than the author of these Memoirs. They disarmed the soldiers, made Sir James Turner a prisoner, and called upon the government to redress their grievances, and upon their countrymen to support them in seek- ing that redress. The history of this insurrection, which was suppressed by the king's forces, under General Dalziel, at Pentland, is already well known. A narrative of it, written by Colonel Wallace, who commanded the insurgents, was lately published;* and in the Memoirs before us we have a similar narrative by one who accompanied them as a prisoner until their dispersion. The two narratives agree in the material facts; and we have only a very few remarks to offer on that of Sir James Turner, and on the defence of himself, which he has subjoined to it. Sir James states, that, at the scuffle which led to the insurrection, one of his soldiers was wounded, " because he refused to signe the Covenant," and another killed next day, " because he would neither take the Cove- nant, or cared for their quarter." — (Pp. 148, 151.) Now this, to say the least, is a proof of great credulity; for, so far from having copies of the Covenant for signature, the insurgents had not then resolved to take that oath themselves. Who would have expected that Sir James Turner would bring it as a charge against " the fanatics," that, while he was in their army, he never heard their ministers " either pray, preach, or sing psalms;" and that he never could learn that they practised it publicly * Memoirs of Mr William Veitch, &c. pp. 388 to 432. Edinburgh, 1835. 110 M'CRIE'S REVIEW OF more than three times! — (P. 169.) Of the same kind are his censures of them for violating the Sabbath by " exercising in a military way." In the same strain does he accuse them of " plundering" horses and arms, and "stealing a silver spoone and a night-gowne;" adding, with great gravity, " I have heard many poore people curse them for taking free quarter!" — (Pp. 167, 169.) From the pleasure with which Sir James recurs to this topic, it is evident that he would have been gratified at find- ing the insurgents oftener employed in a trade with which he had himself been so familiar. He even waxes witty on this theme. " Not a few," says he, " I saw go into Fulford, not to plunder (for that was an odieous word in the eares of the saints), bot only to enquire how Sir William Purves his cellars were provided. His servants can tell if these pieous people did offer any drinke money for what they ate, dranke, or tooke." (P. 180.) The sober truth, however, is, that their moderation and respect to private property, during their march, were such as to extort the approbation of their adversaries.* Sir James himself may be pro- duced as a witness on this head. " At this place I neither heard prayers, psalmes, or preaching; yet one of their ministers (and they said it was either one Guthrie or one Oglebie) made a speech to them, which, if his cause had beene good, had not been evill. He desired them to remember that covenant and oath of God which they had suorne the day before, and that they were obliged to cary themselves not onlie pieouslie to God, bot civillie and discreetlie to man. — * Bot,' said he, ' you must not stop there, for to be civill to those who are good to you, deserves neither thankes nor reward. Bot I entreate you,' said he, ' to use all imaginable discretion to those who are not of your persuasion ; endeavor to gaine them with love, and by your good carrieage, stop the mouths of your adversaries.' This speech, though it was not unworthie a Christian, thogh a rebell," &c. He acknowledges the civility and respect with which he was treated by the officers generally, and by Colonel Wallace in particular. — (Pages * " They were a poor, harmless company of men, become mad by oppression ; and they had taken nothing during all the time they had been together, but what had been freely given them by the country people." — Burnet's Own Times, a. 1666 — Comp. Naphtali, p. 218. — Memoirs of Veitch, &c. p. 47. TURNER'S MEMOIRS. Ill 162, 163, 177j 181.) The following is his account of the discipline of their army, which he says never exceeded 1100 men, including horse and foot : — " I doe confesse I never saw lustier fellows than these foot were, or better marchers; for thogh I was appointed to stay in the reare, and notwithstanding these inconveniences, yet I saw few or none of them stragle." " There I saw tuo of their troopes skirmish against other tuo (for in foure troopes their cavallerie was divided), which, I confesse, they did handsomlie, to my great admiration. I wonderd at the agilitie of both horse and rider, and to see them keepe troope so well, and how they had comd to that perfection in so short a time." In defence of his conduct before the insurrection, Sir James pleads, that he was exonerated by the Privy Council — that the acts of oppression of which he was accused were exaggerated and unsupported by evidence — and that he was warranted in all that he did by his instructions. With respect to the first plea, not to insist that his judges were implicated in his deeds, the exoneration by the council is expressly declared to proceed upon this ground, that "they conceave there would be a difficultie to prove legalize the charge given in against him by the countrey." In fact, they acceded to the modest proposal which Sir James had made to them at the beginning ; for, says he, " I freelie told them the shortest way wold be to take my own relation, which I promisd sould be a faithfull one." And he knew they would be obliged to yield to this; for he pleaded that all those from whom he had exacted cess or fines were " parties," and that " no witnesses could be led against him bot those who were socii crijninis" i.e. his own soldiers. — (Pages 202, 204.) In short, the whole was a farce got up to quiet the public outcry, and to save the credit of government. The sum acknowledged by Turner does not include " what was exacted from any of those who rose in the rebellion;" as to which he says, " it was bot little." Credat Judceus Apella. In illustration of his second topic of defence, he calls upon his " nameless libeller and shame- less Naphtali " to appear openly against him. A very safe challenge, truly ! He alleges also, that he often exacted only the half of the fines, 112 M'CRIE'S REVIEW OF and that none of the rebels, at their execution, '* blamed him for oppres- sion, or directlie or indirectlie insinuated that he had occasioned the insurrection;" for the truth of which he appeals to the work called Naph- tali. This is passing strange, when Sir James had staring him in the face the joint testimony of ten of the sufferers, including Major Macculloch and Captain Arnot, subscribed on the day of their execution, and printed in the book to which he refers.* In addition to the overwhelming mass of evidence already published, we have before us documents which con- vict Sir James of gross oppression. For example, Major Macculloch had soldiers quartered on him for thirty days, and paid L.100 for church fines, besides 1200 merks for fines by Middleton, and 300 merks for riding money. William Maclellan of Barmagechan, in a declaration made on his death-bed, written by his son, and attested by James Mon- teith, minister of Borg, states, " that a party of soldiers being sent by Sir James Turner to quarter in his house, destroyed ane part of his furniture, and carried off another, upon which he went to Sir James to seek an order to remove them; but, instead of getting a removal, Sir James caused apprehend his person, and put him in his court of guard until he should pay the fine, and also pay cess-money to the soldiers." Afterwards a party of horsemen was sent, and he was obliged to pay 600 merks Scots of fine, and 2s. sterling a-day to each soldier. " So (continues the declaration), because of such cruel oppressions used upon him and many others, he and others did rise in defence of their lives and liberties." Sir James does not deny that persons who came to complain of the insolencies of his soldiers were refused access to him ; but then on such occasions he was always " taking phisicke" or " letting blood." We reject at once Sir James's last plea, that he was borne out in all that he did by his instructions; meaning those which he received from Rothes, the commissioner, and the two archbishops. No commission can authorise or justify an immoral, oppressive, or barbarous deed. The person who performs it, if he cannot be made legally, must be held • Naphtali, p. 307 " We, with other?, for our simple forbearance, heing fined, confined, imprisoned, exiled, scourged, stigmatized, beaten, bound as beasts, and driven into the mountains for our lives— and all this either arbitrarily, and without any law," &c. TURNER'S MEMOIRS. 113 morally responsible. If tyrants did not find instruments to execute their arbitrary and unjust orders, tyranny would cease. But Sir James was aware that the orders under which he acted were illegal; and he assigns this as the reason why he did not produce his commission — that it would have injured his employers without being of benefit to himself. — (P. 205.) It may be more difficult to find a reason why he did not insert it among his papers for his future justification. We happen, however, to have before us a copy of these instructions, the genuineness of which there is no reason to doubt. They appear to have been those which were given by Rothes, on the 6th of March 1666; and we insert them without comment, as characteristic of the men and measures of that time. INSTRUCTIONS FOR SIR JAMES TURNER. " Beeinge suficiently informed, that in Galloway and severall other shyres of this kingdome, there are Conventicles keeped, contrare to the established lawes of church and state — 1. You shall therfor march with ane hundereth foote out of thos companies in Glasgow to Galloway, and quarter on the houses of thos that recepts the Conventicles, or keepes disorderly ministers, or on the houses of thos that frequent thos unlawfull meetings, till aplication be maid to me, and you receave further order thereanent. 64 2. You shall apprehend all ministers that keeps thos Conventicles wher ever you can find them, thought ye know not ther names; and if need bees, require the assistance of the civill magistrat for that effect. " 3. You shall also apprehend all personnes carying arms, seeinge some disorderly ministers disguisses themselves under that collour: and after tryall, if you have not your end, no gentillman will take it ill that you doe your duetie accordeinge to your order. '* 4. You shall punctualy observe, and give obedience to the bishop of the diocese, or any minister apointed be him, who shall give in to you a subscribed list of the disorderly withdraweres from ordinances, and exact the penalties, without noticinge the mediation of any minister, or others that shall interceed for them. " 5. You shall, when you find any of thos disorderly persons, that shall 114 M'CRIE'S REVIEW OF pretend povertie as to the payment of the penalties, quarter upon them till they give satisfaction, that others may be terrified. " 6. You shall, if you find any people in armes, either goeing to Con- venticles, or comeing from them, aprehend them and sease upon them; and if they ofer any resistance, that you deal with them as ane publick enimie, in arms against his Ma tie , and the lawes and government of this kingdoome. " 7. You shall not faill to give me ane accompt, once in ten or twelfve dayes, of what you discover, and of your wholl proceedure, that so I may renewe your instructions, as shall be found fitteing, and convenient for the humour of the people you are amonge." " O that mine adversary had written a book!" exclaimed an ancient sufferer. This gratification the shades of the Covenanters have obtained. The book has been written and printed; and few of its readers, we appre- hend, will be disposed to form a worse estimate of their character, or a more favourable opinion of their oppressors. The greatest criminal ever brought to the bar must be better acquainted with the facts of his case than the public prosecutor, or any of the witnesses called to depose against him, and thus may be able to point out inaccuracies in the indict- ment or the evidence ; but if he shall rashly commit himself by making declarations, or by giving a detailed narrative of his conduct, it is almost certain that he will be betrayed into confessions, which, though they may not form a complete ground for legal conviction, will leave no doubt on the mind as to the reality of his guilt. Since the above was written, we have met with direct evidence of the truth of our assertion, respecting Turner's trial before the Privy Council, as reported by himself — that it was a farce. From the confidential cor- respondence of the agents of government, it appears they were satisfied that Sir James had grossly abused his powers, and must have been con- victed, had they deemed it prudent to prosecute him legally. The follow- ing is an extract of a letter from the Earl of Tweeddale to the Earl of Lauderdale, dated February 18, 1668; and we give the first part of it, because it furnishes information respecting the insurgents dispersed at Pentland, which we do not recollect to have met with elsewhere: TURNER'S MEMOIRS. 115 4i Of the rebels we have comd to this count: 218 have taken the benefit of his Mat ies gratious pardon; 309 have neglected it; about 80 wer kild in the fild; 40 execut; 31 dead in the Stewartry and Dumfrise- shyr, we know not what in the rest; 30 are fugitive, and 20 forfawlted; the rest ar fled out of the country, or had noe constant residence, belong- ing to other shyrs, and ar still vagabonds. Now most conclud, ther wer not 1000 at the fight; and this account is of about 700. " Yesterday afternoune the tryal of Sir James Turner was brought to a conclusione by the Committee, and will be reported in Councel on Thursday, and possibly transmitted that night. He hes acknoldged mor then may doe his turne as to imployment, and if prosecut the length of a proces might draw deep ; and this morning he wrott to M. R.* a very hansom letter, at reading wherof we could not chuse bot say, he was a better secretar than sojer, and should mak use of his pen, bot never of a sword mor. He confesses 30,000 lb. Scots lifted in that country; much hes been also lifted by others. The councel most ask the king's pleasur, how what is recoverable should be disposed of. * * * * * Sir Wil. Balendean wald fayn putt of counting till June; bot he shal find cawlione for count and payment befor he goe: and treuth is, all the accounts we meet with of the rebels estaits rune thus ; the half of what is lifted is spent in the lifting by the parties, notwithstanding they have free quarter in the country, and the king's pay; that is to be thrys payd. Bot half I supose went to the officers, and a great part of the other half is given upon precept at pleasure of the Comiss", or General persons, or for ther use; as we find 1000 lb. given for the charg of cornet and trum- pets, and ther caparisone, to the General Dyel's troup. The treuth is, it is a shame to see what spul of the country and prey of the king's revenue hes bein mead." Sir James Turner acknowledges that he " had strong obligations to Tweddail," who was President of the Committee appointed to investigate his conduct, and to Sir Robert Murray, " for their kindnes in the report." Rothes, who was Chancellor as well as High Commissioner, felt hurt at * Sir Robert Murray. 116 M'CRIE'S REVIEW OF the manner in which he was implicated by Turner's statements ; and the method adopted for his exoneration will appear from the following ex- tract of a letter from Tweeddale to Lauderdale, dated March 10, 1668: " Yours of the 5 received Sunday at noone. I went after sermon to my Lord Chancelour with the King's letter to the councel, which I said I supposed was soe directed and sent least he should not have been arrived. He asked what I knew of the subject. I told that you wrott to me it was ane ans. to the councels concerning Sir J. Turner, and that the king had commanded his commissione to be called for; that Kelly was to have the company, and Hury to be Major. He said he had heird of that report, and that Strang things wer mead out agains him, that he had wronged him in aleadging his commissione for his warrand. I told him how far we had pushed that, and at lenght had bid aleadg nothing upon what he could not produce. Then the Ch. said, will not it be time enought in Aprile councel day. I represented how unfit it wer a letter of the Kings should lay soe long, and soe many in toune. If, said he, that my aprobatione can be ready past the seals to read in councel, we shall meet on Tuesday morning. * * * This morning wee met in councel, and S r James Turner waited on, I having sent him word that the King's ans. in his business was come. The Ch. Exoneratione was first read, then the letter, and S r James was called in and told the King's pleasur, to which he spoke both hansomly and submissively, and delay- vered up his comissions." In his Memoirs, Sir James has repeatedly referred, with evident marks of sore feeling, to the " nameless libeller," the author of a statement of the oppressions suffered in Galloway and Nithsdale, which was exten- sively circulated in manuscript after the insurrection was suppressed, and, by the impression which it made on the public mind, led to the investiga- tion of which we have spoken.* Sir James drew up an answer to this statement, addressed to the Lords of the Committee, which is now before us. It consists generally of a simple denial of the charges ; but when he enters into a particular defence of himself, he more than once makes * Copies of this statement are still preserved in manuscript; and the substance of it is to be found printed in Naphtali, pp. 266 to 274. TURNER'S MEMOIRS. 117 admissions which u draw deep." The following is one instance of oppres- sion complained of in the libel : " 10. In the same paroch (Balmaclellan) ane ould deaf man was soe tossed, what by being drawine before the hie Commissione, what by ruide useadge at home, that he took sickness and dyed, and having first payed 52 rix dollars, and then givene bond for 350 lb. Scots. And notwith- standing, the poore widdow, since his death, hath paid 120 lbs., being quartered upon mainie dayes, till she was forst to leave her hous, and now through coald and double grieff hath contracted seiknes, and is at the poynt of death." To this charge Sir James replies as follows : " The old deafF man he meant in his 10 instance, never payed more than 100 lb. Scots, and his penalty extendit to 600 lbs. He was a most malicious fellow, and I pray your Lordships observe how the lybeller useth the Commissione for church affaires. That fellow left a legacy to his familie to pay their penalties with for not goeing to church, and his curses to all them if they did goe. It's true, I caused his wyff pay 120 lb. Scots in the latter end of the last May, a tyme when people ordinarly doe not catch cold." Before concluding the article, we may shortly advert to Sir James Turner's conduct after he was deprived of his military commission. Whether he succeeded in his humble supplication to his majesty for a " gratuity," in consideration of services performed to him and his royal father, we do not know. It is probable he was unsuccessful; for it appears, from the letters appended to his Memoirs, that he attached himself to the Duke of Hamilton, who was in opposition to the ministry. From 1668 to 1680 he resided privately in Glasgow; and Bishop Burnet, who knew him at that period, says he had then " come to himself," and confessed that " it went often against the grain with him to serve such a debauched and worthless company as the clergy generally were." But the restless knight came to himself again, and once more resumed active measures against his old friends the fanatics. On the fall of Lauderdale, the Duke of Hamilton was received into favour, and Turner obtained the double appointment of commander of a company of dragoons, 118 M'CRIE'S REVIEW OF and commissioner, with justiciary powers, to try the rebels within the shires of Lanark and Dumbarton. In the exercise of his powers, in the latter capacity, which were no less illegal than those under which he had for- merly acted, he was concerned in proceedings of a most unjustifiable character.* As a military officer, he was employed in hunting out and seizing those who were to be brought before him as a criminal judge. In the correspondence which he carried on at this period, and which is printed at the end of his Memoirs, we find frequent mention of the noted troopers (so frightful to the country), Inglis, Kennoway, and Creighton; and the same documents give us a glimpse of the shameful arts employed, by persons high in rank and command, to screen from punishment such of their subordinate officers and men as had been guilty of illegal and oppressive acts.f Sir James being again allowed to handle " a sword," was determined also to "make use of his pen," at which the privy councillors had pro- nounced him so dexterous. In 1680, the Cameronians (who have been erroneously identified with the main body of Presbyterians or Covenan- ters), inflamed by persecution, put forth the Sanquhar Declaration, in which they disowned the king, and advanced some sentiments of a danger- ous description. Soon after there appeared a paper entitled Hackstori's Ghost, professing to come from one of these ultra-covenanters, and assert- ing that the principles of the Sanquhar Declaration were those held by Presbyterians in general during the late civil war, and especially in the years 1648 and 1649. This squib was ascribed at the time to Bishop Paterson; but we have no doubt that it proceeded from the pen of Sir James Turner. It is certain that he followed it up by different contro- versial pieces — whether printed or not we cannot say, but extensively circulated — in which he carried the attack much farther than had been done by the Ghost; charging Knox, Buchanan, and their coadjutors, with * Wodrow, ii. 338, 348, 372. t See particularly two letters from Lord Ross to Turner, pp. 292, 293 — The correspondence, too, between the Earl of Arran and Sir James, relative to a regiment which his Lordship was raising for the Dutch service, discloses some very dishonourable transactions, to which noblemen at that time were not ashamed to be accessory, by kidnapping men, or throwing them into prison as rebels, and then shipping them off to Holland as recruits. TURNER'S MEMOIRS. 119 antimonarchical principles, and representing the whole procedure in the Scotish Reformation as a course of rebellion against lawful authority. We mention this fact because it presents us with the prototype of those tirades which, in the form of satire or history, proceeded from the Jaco- bites after the revolution, and betrayed a spirit and sentiments not pre- viously evinced by Episcopalians either in Scotland or England. We have occasionally looked into Sir James's literary effusions, of which a list is given at the beginning of the Memoirs; comprehending dis- quisitions on history, morals, religion, &c, in prose and verse. These the editor has wisely allowed to remain in manuscript. The poetry is wretched, the prose passable as to style, the sentiments commonplace; always excepting his doctrine as to the duty of subjects, to which we do not know well what name to give. As held by others, it has been called passive obedience ; but, as pleaded for and practised by Sir James Turner, it is entitled to the more intelligible name of active obedience; nor is the reader perplexed with those nice casuistical distinctions between legal and illegal, constitutional and unconstitutional, just and unjust, with which other writers have thought it necessary to guard their doc- trine on this head. Murder and assassination become innocent, and even glorious deeds, when sanctioned by the authority of a crowned head. Speaking of General Wallenstein, Duke of Friedland, and his assassination during a feast, by Gordon, Leslie, and Devereux, agents of the Emperor of Germany, Sir James says — '* This act of theirs was, in my opinion, noble and generous, though many have been pleasd to give it the contrarie caracter." And having occasion to speak of the person who murdered the patriotic William, Prince of Orange, he expresses himself in the following terms: — " I am farre from reckoning him among martirs, for all his patience; neither can I call him an assassin, since he had a public warrand from his soveraigne, the king of Spane, for dispatch- ing that revolted prince." CLUBS, LITERATURE, ANTIQUITIES.* In Glasgow a more extraordinary tripartite combination could scarcely be formed than that which we have chosen for our title. Our excellent fellow-citizens have hitherto regarded clubs as sacred to conviviality, oddity, or gambling; and we doubt not many worthy members of the Jumble, the Hodge Podge, and the SmcC Weft, will stare with incredu- lous astonishment at the tale we are now about to unfold. Be it known, then, gentle readers ! whether you do or do not belong to any of the thousand-and-one clubs, which celebrate their orgies betwixt Camlachie Burn and Partick Bridge, that in this city of rum puncheons and sugar hogsheads, a club does exist, the objects of which are neither drinking, nor gaming, nor fun! To you this announcement may be startling enough ; it is nevertheless a veritable fact. The monster, in club history, is denominated the and its objects are, the Printing and Publication of Works illustrative of the History, Literature, and Antiquities of Scotland. But what is still more wonderful, it claims Glasgow for its origin, as well as its field of exercise ; and already has our University press sent forth its first-born in the shape of as beautiful a quarto volume as ever kissed the edges of our ivory folder. Good Glasgovidians as we are, and highly as we appreciate the talents and worth of many of our fellow-citizens, we were scarcely prepared for an institution, the growth of Glasgow, which at once promised so nobly and performed so well ; and we think we cannot devote a column to better purposes than to a short account of its nature, and a few obser- vations on its first fruits. * From the Scots Times (a Glasgow paper), September 19, 1829. CLUBS, LITERATURE, ANTIQUITIES. 121 We presume that to a great portion of our readers the existence, and somewhat of the objects, of the &oxfiurg6 and that a work which the author thought worthy of being presented to a princess whom he served so zealously, and which he seems to have bequeathed as a legacy to his countrymen (Scotis solum nostris loquebatur Scotice), should have been so little attended to as to be almost unknown. Along with this I send you a few notes and references, which I took in going through the MS. They may be of some use in abridging your labour, if you shall think it proper to compare it with the printed history, to satisfy yourself how far they agree, and wherein they differ. It will gratify me much if this account shall give any degree of satis- faction to one whose friendly aid has been of such great utility to me in the course of my historical inquiries. I am, dear Sir, yours very faithfully, Tho. M'Crie. T. Thomson, Esq. EXTRACTS FROM BISHOP LESLEY S MS. HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. The MS. begins with the following account of the execution of William, the sixth Earl of Douglas: — " During all the tyme of thair trubles, Williame erle of Douglas, fol- lowing his fatheris tred, wold not obey the governoris aucthoiitie, nor yet assist the chancellor in any his enterprises, qlk moved thame both to seik revenge of him. And to the effect thay micht the better get thair intent execut, Immediatelie efter this concord, the governor and chancellor caused warne all the nobles of the realme to come to ane counsell to be haldin OF THE LEVEN MS. 171 in Edinburgh castell, quhair Williame Erie of Douglas come amangis the rest, and entred into the castell, and eftir he was set doun to the burd w th the governor, chancellor, and vtheris noblemen present — the meit was sudantlie removed, and ane buillis heid presented, quilk in thay daies wes ane signe of executione.* And incontinent the said erle Dauid his broder, and malcolme fleming of cumernauld, wer heidit befoir the castell yet of edinburgh. Thaireftir the estate of the realme become moir quiet nor of befoir. And succedit to him James douglas barone of abircorne, his fader brodir, quha was ane man of gryit stature and verrey factt, and Levit onely bot the space of three yeiris: all his time he preissit to na- thing bot to life quietlie. The said erle Williame had bot ane sister quha was callit the fair maidin of galloway, and was mareit on williame douglas sone to James last erle before his deceis, that the heretage micht remane together becaus his fader succeidit to the erledome of douglas be tailze. And she to vigtoun, balvany, annerdaill and ormond by lyne"-\ Comp. Leslseus de Rebus Gestis Scotorum, p. 284, edit. 1675, 4to. The following is the account of the battle of Arbroath, fought in 1445, between the Earl of Crawfurd and the Ogilvies : — " In the next winter following, the erle of craufurd (solicisted be ye erle of douglas) tuick ane gryit pray of guids fur* of the landis in fife pertain- ing to the bishop of sainct-andros called James kennedy, sister sone to king James the first, and lykwise he purposeit to haif spulzeit the abbay of arbroth, perteining to the said bischop. And for defence thairof the ogiluyes of angus covenit to the abbay, quhair it chansed the erle of * " The bull's head was in those days a token of death, say our historians; but how it hath come in use so to be taken, and signify, neither do they nor any else tell us; neither is it to be found, that I remember, any where in history, save in this one place; neither can we conceive what affinity it can have therewith, unless to exprobate grossness, according to the French and our own reproaching dull and gross wits, by calling him Calves-head {tete de Veau), but not Bulls-head." Hume's (of Godscroft) History of Douglas and Angus, vol. i, p. 283. The same author states, that the popular execration of this deed was handed down by the following lines : — " Edinburgh Castle, Town, and Tower, God grant thou sink for sin ; And that even for the black Dinner Earl Douglas got therein." f Where the variations from the Latin history are short, they are printed in Italics. 172 DR M'CRIE'S ACCOUNT huntley in his jorney returnig north from court, as the vse of hospitalitie of the Abbaies was in theis dayis,* to be ludgit, acciipaneit w th his ordi- ner houshold servantis only, and sum barronis w th him, quhen suddantlie the erle of craufurd and the ogilvies joynit in battell. qlk was verrey crewellie fochin on boith the sydis, and the erle of craufurd was slayne and mony barronis of angus, sic as Robert maxvell laird of telyn, W m gardin of Burrowfield, S r Johne oliphant of abirdagy. And of the erle of huntlieis ciipany war slayne John forbes of petsligo, and alexander bar- clay of gartullie. And in the haill aboue the nombre of fyve hundrey' men. The M r of craufurd tuik the laird of arley presoner, quha was pricipall of the ogiluyis at that tyme, and the erle of huntlie eskapit. This field was strickin the 23 day [in the Latin it is the 13] of Januar 1445. Thairefiir this M r of craufurd succeidit to his fader, and was called erle beirdy,\ quha was a verrey awful and rigorus man to all the barronis and gentlemen of the cutrey, and heist doun mony of thair houses in angus, quha wold nocht assist to him, quhairof sindrie re- main yit on biggit agane in this our dayis." Comp. De Rebus Gestis, &c. p. 286. Under the year 1447, the MS. contains an account of the eldest daughter of James I., which is omitted by the author in his Latin work. " The saide Lady Margaret was mariet w* ye dolphin of fraunce before ye deceis of the king her fadir, in ye town of towr in ye yeir of god 1436, and being honorablie interteneit w th her husband and king charles ye sevint his father. She sent for twa of hir sisteris to cum in fraunce to remane w* hir quhill thay shold haue bene honorablie mariet. And quhen thay war cu to flanders in thair Jornay, Thay war thair advertesed that the quene thair modir was deceissit in Scotland, and madame the dophins wif, thair sister, was deceisit also in the toun of chailons in champagny, quhais body was erdit in the cathedral kirk thairof, bot quhou sone Levis the elevint, her husband, com to be king, after ye deceise of his fadir, he * In the Latin work the hospitality of the Ahbeys is passed over, and the gratitude of Scotsmen to those who entertain them is celebrated. " Nam Scoti eo sunt in hospites officio et humanitate, ut illius partes, apud quern diversantur, aut ante cibum concoctum proxime diversati sunt, manu sanguineque tueantur." t See Hume's (of Godscroft) History of Douglas and Angus, vol. i, p. 312. Edin. 1743. OF THE LEVEN MS. . 173 causit transport her body to the kirk and abbay of Laon of thouars in poytow; alwaies the said twa young ladies war convoyeit to the king of france quhair thay war honorablie receivit and interteit, quhill thay war boeth marieit, the ane vpon ye duke of Britanye, and the vther vpon ye duke of Austriche." That part of the MS. which contains the history from 1455 to the death of James II. is wanting. In his printed history, the author has wisely omitted the verses which the MS. says were written on the •' doun cast- ing" of the Castles of Roxburgh and Wark: " Quadringentenis decies sex mille sub anis, Roxburt wark solo precipitata lego." Under the year 1474, the MS. states the following fact, not contained in the printed history : " In the same parliament it was thoucht expedient that the king suld send commissione to his fadir ye king of Denmark, to mak and bind confideratioun and allyance w th ye empero r , exceptand thair first allyance, quhilk wes treatit schortelie thaireftir, and thair seallis interchenged thair- vpon, betwix the empirour and Scotland." Under the year 1481, an Act of Parliament is engrossed in the MS. in which the three estates, after narrating the injuries received from Eng- land, promise to stand by their sovereign (James HI.) in defence of his most nobill persoun, &c* After the account of the marriage of James IV. with Margaret, daugh- ter of Henry VII. of England, the following paragraph is added in the MS. " The king and quene all the rest of this yeir (1503) past throch the principalle townes in ye south partis of ye realme and abbay placeis quhair gryit interteynment wes maid to yame and sindrie gudely propynels and giftis was giffin to the quene in token of bleithnes : for ye vse obseruit in Scotland was at yat tyme as it was mony yeiris befoir, that the king, the quene, and thair trayn, traivaillit for ye maist part of ye yeir throch ye • Printed in the Black Acts, and in the Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland, vol. ii, p. 138. 174 DR M'CRIE'S ACCOUNT realme, and lodged in ye abbay placeis, or w th ye bishops and prelats quhair thay war weille intertayneit certane dayis; and at thair departing the bischop or abbot master of ye place gave ane purse to the king, and ane vther to the quene w th certane quantitie of gold contenit thairintill, qlk extendit yeirly to ane gryit sowm." The letter sent by James IV. to Henry VIII. before engaging in the unfortunate expedition which issued in the defeat of the Scots at Flodden Field, is inserted at large in the MS. The printed history gives merely a summary of its contents. The bishop, in his printed history (pp. 378-9, edit, ut sup.), has passed a very high eulogium upon Gawin Douglas's Translation of the iEneid. The MS. speaks of it in more moderate terms, in noticing the death of its author. " Maister Gawin dowglas bischop of Dunkeild, hering of this extremite begun be ye duik, for feir fled into ingland and remanit in London in ye place of ye sawoy, quhair he deceissit, and is buryit in ye kirk yairof : he wes ane learned man and ane guid poet translatit ye xii buicks of ye aeneads of virgill in Scottis metir almost ansring in verses to ye Latine, and made ye palice of hono r . w* dyuers vyers notable werks in o r scottis Language qlks are extant in thir o r dayis." The following character of Boece's History of Scotland, which occurs in the MS. under 1530, may be compared with the tribute which Lesley has paid to that historian in his printed work, pp. 413-4. " In thir daies a singlare wele learned Clark called hecto r Boetius docto r in Theologie and principalle of the vniuersitie of aberdene a man of gryit erudicione in all ye liberall sciences, wreit ye hole historie of Scot- land in ye Latin tongue from the beginninge y r of to ye death of king James the first in ye yeir of ye natiuite of Christ l m . xxxvi in so eloquent stile so trulie and diligently collected yat none of all ye wreittaries at yat tyme wreitt better as ye wark it self bearis record, qlk wes eftiruart trans- lated in ye scottishe Language be Mr Johne ballanden and recited to ye greit furderance and comoune weill of ye hole natione." There is a chasm in the MS. including the history from the year 1539 to 1543. The attentive reader of Lesley's History must have observed OF THE LEVEN MS. 175 that he embraces every opportunity of speaking to the commendation of the House of Huntly. After mentioning the generosity of the Earl in relieving the prisoners taken at the battle of Pinkie, the MS. records an anecdote descriptive of the attachment borne to that nobleman by his followers. " And heir is worthie to be remembred the gret favo r qlk ane certane of the said erlis friendis and gentill men, to the number of ane hundreth or thairby bure towart him the time of his extremitie, and wald on no wyis leave him quha perceaving ye hoil army of Scotland to have gevin backis [at Pinkie] and gret slauchter maid on eurie pairt be ye Inglismen in the chase, and ye said erle being on fuit charged w* ane weichtie stand of harnes, quhairw* he had travelled so far on fuit yat he had no breath, and thearfoir gawe frome him his heid pece for fear that he should haif bene w* ye hatt y r of discomfitte. Quhilk moued one of his trustie gentill men called dauid dumbar to giue him his owin steill bonet, qlk he put on the erlis heid for his sauftye and remaned him self bairheidit. but suddentlie the said dauid for laik of the samin wes slayne be the straik of ane masse apoun the heid. The rest faucht stoutlie for sauftie of ye erle and slew syndrie of the Inglismen quha first did assailye thame, bot in ye end ye most pairt of theme all wer slayne, in the erlis presence be quhais defence his lyf was saufeit, or ellis he had gone the same way throw ye gret furie and rage qlk piitlie was vsed be ye inglismen." The Scotish work is often more minute than the Latin in detailing the skirmishes and sieges during the warfare which followed the battle of Pinkie. For example, the defeat of the English in Fife by the Laird of Weems, which is referred to in p. 472 of the printed history, is very cir- cumstantially described in the MS. In relating the journey of the Queen Dowager to France, in 1551, the MS. gives an account of a conspiracy to poison the young Queen of Scots, which is not mentioned in the printed work, nor, as far as I recollect, in any of our histories. " Quhill ye quene Regent was in france thair was ane treassonable practise devised and interprised to be execut for poysoning of the quene of Scotland in france, qlk was tryed fur 1 and reveled be ane scottisman 176 DR M'CRIE'S ACCOUNT callit James hendersoun at that tyme resident in Ingland be quhais adver- tisment the princepall auch (author?) callit stewart being ane archear (archer?) of ye king of france gard, quha had takin upon land (hand) to execut ye same was aprehendit in ye towne of blaisse in france and eftir dyvers tormentis was hangit and quarterit for ye same." To this may be added the following notice respecting a learned native of Scotland: " During the tyme that ye Quene douarier and Lordis thair came ane ye nobilitie ofscotlande was in france* doctour phisitiane callit ramsay, scottisman, fur* of turing in pyedmount to france, being of gret aige and guid lerninge and experience, quha seruit all the nobill men of Scotland and thair hoill cumpanye, w* sic things as was necessar for yame, frelie apoun his awin charges, moved onely for ye zeill he bure toward his countrey, swa that he wald not suffer yame to cum onder ye cuir and medicine of strangers, in case thay my 1 haif hapinit in sum onrecoverabill incovenient ather be euill drogges or onlerned mixto r yairof, as hapinit to ye nobill men quha come to the mariage of the quene in france in the fiftie aught yeiris of god thaireftir." There is a marked difference between the manner in which the Protes- tant opinions are spoken of in the Latin and in the Scotish work. We are at no loss to perceive that the author of the MS. is attached to the Roman Catholic religion ; but he preserves far greater moderation on this topic in it than he has done in his printed history. To account for this it is perhaps sufficient to recollect, that the former was written in Scot- land or in England, whereas the latter was composed and printed at Rome, and dedicated to the sovereign Pontiff. This circumstance may also serve, in part, to account for the different way in which the author has expressed himself, in the two works, respecting the death of Queen Mary of Eng- land and the succession of Elizabeth. In the printed history, after recording the deaths of great men, and the prodigies which prognosticated " the overthrow of every monument of religion in both kingdoms, by the * The transcriber has here repeated some words and transposed others. The sentence should run thus — " During the tyme that the Quene Douarier and Lords of Scotlande was in France, thair came ane," &c. OF THE LEVEN MS. 177 audacity and fury of the heretics," the bishop says, "On the 15th of the calends of December, Mary Queen of England, a woman adorned with every virtue, and every way worthy to be admitted to divine bliss upon leaving this world, rendered her soul to God, to her great advantage, but to the unspeakable loss of the church. Upon this Elizabeth, the daughter of Henry VIII. by Anne Boleyn, assumed the government; and having induced many good men to believe that she was friendly to the Catholic religion, was consecrated with oil, and with the other ceremonies of the church, by the hands of Catholic bishops. But soon after, contrary to what was expected by many, she used every effort to overthrow the Catholic religion, and to establish the monstrous Luthero-Calvinian doctrine," &c. In the MS. the bishop describes the same events in the following terms : — " About ye middis of the monethe of November Marie quene of Ing- land partlie throuche gret maloncalie for the lose of calice and partlie thro* cosumptione of seiknes, endit hir lyf the xvij day of the same monethe and in hir place ane beutifull and verteous princess Lady Elizabethe was proclamed quene of Inglande quha Jvyses ye same to thir daies." REVIEW OF BISHOP LESLEY'S HISTORY OF SCOTLAND,* FROM THE DEATH OF KING JAMES I., IN THE YEAR 1436, TO THE YEAR 1361. BY JOHN LESLEY, BISHOP OF ROSS. EDINBURGH, 1830. " The following volume," says the editor in his preliminary notice, " con- tains what may properly enough be denominated the original of the most valuable portion of Bishop Lesley's well-known History of Scotland, printed at Rome in the year 1578," in which "he presents to his country- men, for the first time, a copious detail of events from that era (the death of James I.), down to the year 1562. In the dedication of this latter part of his history to Mary Queen of Scots, Bishop Lesley alludes to its first composition in the Scotish tongue as one of the expedients which his affectionate zeal in her service had prompted him to employ for sus- taining the fortitude and constancy of his ill-fated mistress." A manuscript copy seems to have been presented by Lesley to Mary in the year 1571, two years before his final retreat to the continent. No- thing has been ascertained respecting the fate of this document; but it is worthy of remark, that the earliest copy known to exist is that in pos- * From the Literary Journal, 1831. LESLEY'S HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 179 session of the family on whom have descended the honours of the first Earl of Melville, the brother of the faithful master of Mary's household. It is apparently in the handwriting of a contemporary English scribe, deformed by occasional errors of transcription, particularly in proper names, and considerably mutilated. This copy has been adopted as the groundwork of the present edition ; its defects having been supplied from one of later date, preserved among the manuscripts of Archbishop Laud, in the Bodleian library. The whole has been collated with other copies, more or less perfect, preserved in different private libraries. The bishop gives the following account of the motives which induced him to compile his history. We modernise his orthography: — " I being retired from the court of England (where I was resident for a great space in 1568, at your majesty's command, in treating of your weighty affairs with the queen's highness of England and her counsel), and thereafter remaining at Burton-upon -Trent, awaiting only, yet never- theless neither having commodity to exercise myself in your majesty's service therein, for that I was by commandment restrained, nor yet for the present having that place to give counsel in the commonwealth affairs of my native country, or in administration of justice as I was wont to do in Scotland, being one of the counsellors and senators thereof; I thought it very necessary to spare some part of my time to the reading of history, as a most easy, pleasing, and profitable study for the present, principally not having the commodity in these parts to exercise my time in the divine study of the scriptures, or of the laws, for lack of books in these faculties, and also of the resort and conference of expert and learned men in these sciences, such as I was wont to accompany withal in Scotland. I there- fore betook me to read the histories of the realm of England, think- ing well to have commodity to get the principal books thereof in this country, as I did; and also that the knowledge of their history is most necessary unto us before all other nations. And so I employed earnestly my labours in reading the histories written by Polidore Virgil, Bede, &c. &c. ; in which I find many and sundry things set forth by these authors of the deeds and proceedings between England and Scotland, and quite contrary to our annals, registers, and true proceedings collected in Scot- 180 LESLEY'S HISTORY land. And albeit the true history of our country be largely, truly, and eloquently treated and written by that cunning and eloquent historio- grapher, Hector Boetius, yet he writes only to the death of King James the First. ** Wherefore, most dread and benign sovereign lady, lest that cankered oblivion should deface the glory and deeds of these four sovereign princes, and that some part of your own time may be holden in memory, I have in this vacant time compiled and gathered (and not made) out of diverse, as well foreign as Scotish writers, this simple treatise for the convenience of my country; only not taking upon me to write a history, for I know well how unmeet I am thereto, but that your majesty and my country may have some short abbreviation or summary of the principal deeds in these days, to serve only till it shall please others, better learned and more diligent in searching of the whole circumstances, to set forth the same^at greater length for the honour of our nation and country." It would be doing the good bishop great injustice to say, that he has modelled his history upon that which has generally been attributed to Lindsay of Pitscottie. But it deserves, at all events, to be remarked, that there is a most suspicious coincidence in the thread of their narra- tive. The different characters of the two compilers have, however, com- municated themselves to their writings. Pitscottie is gossiping, but in the highest degree graphic. The style of the bishop is more generalised — less adorned with individual portraits: he is a statesman, in short, and looks upon men only in the mass — as political engines. As a specimen of his historical style, we subjoin our author's summary of the CHARACTER OF JAMES THE FIFTH. " There was great dule and moan made for him through all the parts of his realm, because he was a noble prince, and laboured all his days to maintain his subjects in peace, justice, and quietness. He was a man of person and stature convenient, albeit mighty and strong therewith, of countenance amiable and lovely, specially in his communication, his eyes OF SCOTLAND. 181 gray and sharp of sight, that whomsoever he did once see and mark, he would perfectly know in all times thereafter, of wit in all things quick and prompt, of a princely stomach and high courage in great perils, doubt- ful affairs, and matters of high importance; he had in a manner a divine foresight, for in such things as he went about to do he did them advisedly, and with great deliberation, to the intent that amongst all men his wit and prudence might be noted and regarded, and as far excel and pass all others as his estate and dignity. Besides this, he was sober, moderate, honest, affable, courteous, and so far abhorred pride and arrogance, that he was ever quick and sharp to those who were spotted with that crime. He was also a good and sure justiciar, by which one thing he allured to himself the hearts of all the people, because they lived quietly and in rest, out of all oppression and molestation of the nobility and rich persons; and to this severity of his was joined and annexed a certain merciful pity, which he did oftimes show to such as had offended, taking rather compositions of money than men's lives, which was a plain argu- ment that he did not use his rigour, except (as he said himself) to bow and abate the high and lawless hearts of the people, specially Erischmen and Borderers, and others nourished and brought up in seditious factions and civil rebellions, and not for greedy desire of riches or hunger of money, although such as were afflicted would cry out ; and surely this good and modest prince did not devour and consume the riches of his country, for he by his high policy marvellously enriched his realm and himself, both with gold and silver, whereof he left great store and quantity in all his palaces at his departing." The volume is neatly and correctly printed, after the manner rejoiced in by the sons' of St Bannatyne; and the brothers of the Order have purchased one hundred copies. REVIEW TRIAL OF DUNCAN TERIG ALIAS CLERK, AND ALEXANDER BANE [OR BAIN] MACDONALD, FOR THE MURDER OF ARTHUR DAVIS, SERGEANT IN GENERAL GUISE'S REGIMENT OF FOOT—1 1th June 1754* SINGULAR GHOST STORY.t " Ghost. — * * * ' This foul and most unnatural murder !' Hamlet. — ' Murder?' Ghost. — ' Murder most foul!"' The Ghost Story, with which we are about to make our readers acquainted, is perhaps one of the most extraordinary on record. It rests upon evi- dence of a very different character from that which is usually brought forward in support of such legends, and which evidence is, indeed, in almost every instance, of the most vague and unconvincing nature. The proof upon which we are called to yield our belief to the appearance of the ghost or spectre, is commonly nothing more than an old family tradi- tion, or a popular rumour, which we can trace to no trustworthy source. At the best, we are told that the truth of the tale was firmly believed by certain honourable persons who had the best means of knowing the circumstances; or, we are informed by our narrator, that he had it from Mr So-and-so, who had it from Mr Such-and-such, to whom the story was told by Sir What-d'ye-call-him, What's-his-name, who was brother- * Edinburgh: Printed by Ballantyne & Co., 1831. 4to., pp. 15 and 54. Presented to the Bannatyne Club by Sir Walter Scott, Bart., President, as his [second] contribution, t From the Aberdeen Magazine, vol. ii. p. 89. OF TERIG AND MACDONALD. 183 in-law to Mr Blank, to whose father it was that the phantom made its un- welcome appearance. Perhaps the proofs may be even a degree stronger, and the irreverent sceptic may be referred to the pages of some creditable historian, where the tale is set forth in the minutest details; yet still, if we sift the testimony adduced, we will find it to be nothing better than hearsay and report ; and that the historian wrote in these dark periods of society, when the belief in these supernatural appearances was universal. " That such stories," says an eminent writer, " are believed and told by grave historians, only shows that the wisest men cannot rise in all things above the general ignorance of the age." Of this class is one of the best- authenticated phantom tales in existence — the apparition of the spirit of Sir George Villiers to an ancient serving-man of his house, as told and credited by Clarendon. But the following Ghost Story is based upon no such shadowy and inconclusive evidence ; it is not attested by musty traditions or uncertain rumours ; nor by a distant hearsay, or by a credulous annalist of a credu- lous age. It is supported by the solemn oaths and judicial declarations of two witnesses in a trial for murder before the High Court of Justiciary at Edinburgh, in the year 1754. The trial at which this extraordinary evidence was given, is one well known to the lawyer — the trial of Duncan Terig alias Clerk, and Alexander Bain Macdonald. The record, as it is technically called, or the judicial documents of the trial, have lately been edited by Sir Walter Scott, from the Archives of the Justiciary Court. The volume was never published, being printed for the Bannatyne Club; it is consequently not generally accessible, and will likely have been seen by very few of our readers. On this account, and as the trial involves a most singular point of evidence, as the circumstances which occasioned it occurred in our own country, and cast much light upon the condition of one of its most romantic districts at a very interesting period of history, we trust that the following account will be found not altogether unacceptable. The murder which led to this trial was committed in the year 1749, three years after the suppression of the rebellion of 1745. The severity of the measures which the government took to keep down and extinguish 184 REVIEW OF THE TRIAL the slumbering embers of insurrection in the Highlands is well known. It may be known, likewise, that after the first vigour of persecution had passed over, and the English army had retreated from the scene of havoc and desolation, " As mountain waves from wasted lands Sweep back to ocean blue." It was still thought necessary to maintain garrisons in almost every quarter of the Highlands, to impress the rude people with awe ; and more effec- tually to carry into execution the disarming act, and the act proscribing the Highland costume. One of the districts most obnoxious to govern- ment, was the mountainous country at the western extremity of our shire, commonly called the Aberdeenshire Highlands, whereof the inhabitants, though comparatively quiet in the Forty- Five, had acted so prominent a part in the Fifteen — and the inaccessible defiles of which formed so secure a retreat for turbulent, disaffected, and broken men. Care was taken that this rugged region should be thickly planted with soldiers; besides the two garrisons in the castles of Braemar and Corgarf, small picquets were established in all directions, communicating with each other, and constantly patrolling through the whole country. One of these picquets had its station at Dubrach, a small upland farm, near the clachan of Inverey — farther up the glen than which, at that time, there was no cultivated land.* This picquet consisted of eight private soldiers; and, in the year 1749, was under the command of sergeant Arthur Davis, the unfortunate man for whose murder Clerk and Macdonald were brought to trial. He appears to have been a very intelligent, bold, and active man. He was a very keen and eager sportsman, and went out a-fishing * We state this fact on the authority of Gordon of Straloch, who wrote a curious description of Aber- deenshire several years before. This description is preserved in MS. in the Advocates' Library, and is entitled " Adnotata ad descriptionem duarum praefecturarum in Scotia ultra-montana Aberdoniae et Banfiae." His account of the Deeside Highlands is wonderfully correct, and being curious, and not easily to be seen, we had intended to quote it at length, but our limits forbid in the meantime. We give the passage we allude to: — " Ad Inner-ey, cui ab amniculo Ey nomen, septum a scatebris milliariis [Dea], primum culturam sentit." We may perhaps be excused for giving another sentence, showing to what tract the name Strathdee was given: — " Paulo inferius a dextris Abirgeldie arx, ubi tractus hie Strathdess nomine audit." It will be seen that, since Gordon's days, agriculture has extended its march far; the banks of the Dee are now cultivated for three or four miles above Inverey. OF TERIG AND MACDONALD. 185 or shooting by himself almost every day. When with his party on their patrol, he would generally lag behind, and pursue his sport among these wild hills alone. He had saved money to the value of fifteen guineas and a half, which he carried about with him in gold, contained in a green rich purse. He, besides, generally wore a silver watch in his fob; and on his fingers two gold rings, one of which had " a little lump of gold raised on it in the form of a seal, with a gold stamp waved round the upper side of the plate;" and the other had "the letters D. H. on the inside, and had this posie on it, ' When this you see, Remember me.'" He likewise wore on his shoes a pair of large silver buckles — Item, a pair of silver knee buckles — Item, four-and-twenty silver buttons on his waist- coat. It appeared on evidence at the trial, that sergeant Davies made no secret of his wealth; but, that upon all of the many occasions he had to pay or receive money, he somewhat ostentatiously produced the green silk purse with the fifteen and a half golden guineas — and that even, when he was playing with children, he was in the practice of drawing forth the said purse, and clinking it for their diversion. In short, " it was," in the words of his widow, " generally known by all the neighbour- hood that the sergeant was worth money, and carried it about him." To these barbarous and wretched Celtic savages, among whom his lot was cast, this small sum of gold, and the few valuables he carried on his per- son, were enough of themselves, as Sir Walter Scott remarks, to be a temptation to his murder. This temptation was increased by the odious- ness of the office with which he was entrusted — that of depriving the barbarians of their arms and national dress; and, still farther, by the facilities of slaying him unseen, which were afforded by the solitary sports he so frequently pursued over the desolate mountains and through the rarely-trodden glens. About the dawn of the morning of the 28th September 1749* the sergeant set out from Dubrach with a party of four soldiers, to meet with a party stationed at the Spittal of Glenshee. He had with him his green silk purse, containing the fifteen guineas and a half, and his whole 2 A 186 REVIEW OF THE TRIAL stock of valuables, gold rings, silver buttons, watch, and buckles. As was his wont, he carried his gun with him, and loitered behind his party in search of game. About noon the four soldiers under his command reached the place appointed, and, having met the Glenshee party, returned home. Shortly after they had left the place of rendezvous, sergeant Davies came up to the spot, all alone. The corporal of the patrol from Glenshee remonstrated with him on the danger of his wandering among the hills by himself. To this sergeant Davies answered, that with his arms and ammu- nition he did not fear any body he could meet, and then set out to return to Dubrach. At this place, about four o'clock in the afternoon, his party arrived without having seen their sergeant since he left them in the morn- ing, or received any knowledge of his motions, except that they had seen and heard him fire a shot shortly after he parted from them. Night came on, but serjeant Davies made not his appearance at Dubrach; and, in short, the unfortunate man was never again seen in this life. The coun- try side was raised to search for his remains, but though hill and dale was closely searched far and near, no trace of them was found. Four years afterwards, rumours arose that the brave serjeant had been murdered by Clerk and Macdonald, and these rumours appeared to " the proper authorities" so well founded, that the " pannels at the bar" were apprehended and brought to trial.* The evidence, in our opinion, leaves not the faintest shadow of a doubt that they were the guilty persons; and it is understood that, but for the evidence of the ghost-seer, the jury would have returned an unanimous verdict of guilty. As it was, H they all in one voice found the pannels not guilty of the crimes libelled." The chief points of the evidence were shortly these: — The remarkable gold rings, above described, belonging to the sergeant, were seen, after the murder, on the fingers of a girl who was the sweetheart and afterwards the wife of one of the pannels. The green silk purse and its contents were observed in the possession of Clerk, who all at. once, from a state of destitution and poverty, rose into comparative wealth. A penknife, of a singular form, which it was proved the sergeant had in his pocket on the day of his * This trial took place at Edinburgh. OF TERIG AND MACDONALD. 187 murder, was seen afterwards in the custody of Mncdonald. The pannel Clerk, when accused of the murder by one of the witnesses, requested him to hold his tongue about the matter, and promised, if he did so, " that he would be a brother to him, and give him every thing he stood in need of, and particularly would help him to stock a farm when he took one." He besides gave the witness a promissory note " for L.20 Scots, to hold his tongue of what he knew of sergeant Davies;" and shortly before the trial, Clerk's brother solicited this witness to leave the country, promis- ing him (witness) if he did not give evidence, that of every penny he was worth the witness should have the half. The accounts which the pannels gave of their actions, on the day of the murder, were not only contradic- tory of each other, but proved to be false. Numerous witnesses deposed to having seen them near the scene of the murder about the time when it must have been perpetrated. It was proved farther that they were men of worthless characters ; also, that one of their relations had admitted that they were the murderers of the sergeant, and that the pannel Clerk, when accused by one of the witnesses, made no answer, but said, " what can you say to an unfortunate man?" But there was still more conclu- sive evidence of their guilt. The witness, Angus Cameron, deponed that, on the day when the sergeant was killed, being " in hiding," he was skulking on the hill where the murder was committed. He lay con- cealed on the hill all that day, and about noon the two pannels passed close by him, when he obtained a full view of their persons. About two hours before sunset he saw sergeant Davies on the top of a knoll about a gunshot from where he lay. The pannels came up to the sergeant, when Clerk struck him on the breast; the sergeant on this cried out, and turned round to go away. The pannels stood still for a little, and then followed the sergeant; and the witness then saw them both fire at him, and immediately the sergeant fell. These were the principal facts established at the trial, and they are, we humbly think, sufficient to satisfy any reasonable dozen of men that the prisoners were guilty of the crime laid to their charge. To this conclu- sion, it is believed, the jury would have come, had it not been for the extraordinary story of the ghost, to which we shall now advert. The 188 REVIEW OF THE TRIAL ghost-seer was Alexander M'Pherson in Inverey. He, "being solemnly sworn," deponed that, one night in the summer of 1750, " When he was in bed, a vision appeared to him, as if a man clad in blue, who told the deponent — * I am sergeant Davies !' That the deponent rose from his bed and followed him to the door, and then it was, as has been told, that he said he was sergeant Davies who had been murdered in the Hill of Christie, near a year before, and desired the deponent to go to the place he pointed at, where he would find his bones. And further depones, that while he was in bed another night, after he had first seen the body by himself, but had not buried it, the vision again appeared naked, and minded him to bury the body. Depones, that upon the vision's first appearance to the deponent in his bed, and after going out of the door, and being told by it he was sergeant Davies, the deponent asked him who it was that had murdered him, to which it made this answer, that if the deponent had not asked him he might have told him, but as he had asked him, he either could not or would not, but which of the two expressions deponent cannot say; but at the second time the vision made its appearance to him, the deponent renewed the same ques- tion, and then the vision answered, that it was the two men now at the bar that had murdered him. And being further interrogated in what manner the vision disappeared from him first and last, depones, that after the short interviews above mentioned, the vision at both times disappeared and vanished out of his sight in the twinkling of an eye; and that in describing the pannels, by the vision above mentioned, as his murderers, his words were — ' Duncan Clerk and Alexander Macdonald.' Depones, that the conversation betwixt the deponent and the vision was in the Irish [*. e. Erse or Gaelic] language. And upon the pannels interrogating, depones, that upon the vision's appearing to him, it described the place where he should find the bones so exactly, that he went within a yard of the place where they lay upon his first going out. And this is truth, as he shall answer to God." M'Pherson's evidence is corroborated by the next witness, whose testi- mony is as follows: — " Isobel M'Hardie, in Inverey, who, being solemnly sworn, fyc, OF TERIG AND MACDONALD. 189 depones, that one night, about four years ago, when the deponent was lying in one end of the shealing, and Alexander M'Pherson, who was then her servant, lying in the other, she saw something naked come in at the door, which frighted her so much that she drew the clothes over her head: that when it appeared it came in a bowing posture; and that next morning she asked M'Pherson what it was that had troubled them the night before ? to which he answered, she might be easy, for that it would not trouble them any more. And all this is truth, as she shall answer to God."" Here, sceptical reader, have you strictly legal evidence of the appear- ance of a ghost ! This is no old woman's tale by the fireside — here there is no "he thought's" and "he fancied's" he saw a spectre! Two wit- nesses advisedly declare, on their solemn oaths, that they did actually and really see a ghost — (one of them depones that he held a conversa- tion with it in Gaelic) — and they swear that they have spoken truth, as they shall answer to God! We are doubtful whether or not we should attempt to offer any expla- nation of this remarkable evidence. Those who are inclined to believe (if any such there be), will believe, of course, in spite of any thing we could urge — the solemn oaths of two witnesses in a Court of Justice are not to be overcome by the flippant and infidel observations of any anony- mous writer in a monthly magazine! Those, on the other hand, who do not believe in the existence of ghosts, will scarcely be converted from their scepticism by the declarations of Alexander M'Pherson and Isobel M'Hardie. It may be as well, in these circumstances, to leave the case just as it stands. That sergeant Davies was murdered by the pannels, Clerk and Macdonald, is, in our opinion — and, we may add, in the opi- nion of the counsel they employed on their trial — quite clear and certain. As to whether or not his ghost appeared to Mr Saunders M'Pherson, the inquisitive reader may obtain our opinion upon transmitting to us a me- morial accompanied with a fee, and which, we trust, in the complicated circumstances of the case, will be a handsome one. Before concluding, we would refer to the trial of Hugh M'Leod for " the Assynt murder," at Inverness in September last, where evidence 190 REVIEW OF THE TRIAL was given somewhat similar to the curious evidence in the case of Clerk and Macdonald. One Kenneth Fraser, a tailor, deponed, that " I was at home when I had the dream in the month of February. It was said to me in my sleep, by a voice like a man's, that the pack was lying in such a place. I got a sight of the place just as if I had been awake ; I never saw the place before. The voice said in Gaelic, * The pack of the merchant is lying in a cairn of stones in a hole near their house.' The voice did not name the Macleods, but he got a sight of the ground, fronting the south, with the sun shining on it, and a burn run- ning beneath Macleod's house. I took the officer to the place I had got a sight of. It was on the south-west side of Lochtor-na-eigin. We found nothing there. We went to search on the south side of the burn. I had not seen this place in my dream. It was not far from the place seen in my dream that the things were found. There were five silk handker- chiefs lying in a hole." The witness never was told the articles were put in the hole, and knew nothing of them but from the dream. This marvellous dream produced in the minds of many a shrewd suspicion that Kenneth Fraser was not wholly innocent of the murder of the pedlar, or at least that he knew more about it than he chose to tell. If we are to give any credit to the last speech and dying declaration of the unhappy criminal, this suspicion is groundless. When on the scaffold, arrayed in black robes and white night-cap, and with the halter round his neck, he said, " Kenneth Fraser, the dreamer, knew nothing of my transactions, or any thing that I have done. I now free him from the charge that has been brought against him ; and I hope no person will say that he had any concern in the murder. I hope no person will cast up any thing to my parents and friends, or to Kenneth Fraser, as they are all innocent." Like the " confessions" of criminals in general, Macleod's last words have met with a pretty universal belief; and Kenneth Fraser, freed from all suspicion, is now immortalized as the dreamer. We have no doubt but that he will now dream twice as much as ever; and that the inhabi- tants of Assynt, and Drumbaig, and Lochindarroch, and Lynnmeanach, and Lynnemore, and Lochtor-na-eigin, will be wonderfully edified by his OF TERIG AND MACDONALD. 191 somniastic lucubrations. As, however, we have a very sincere regard for him, we would advise him not to dream again where the pack of a mur- dered pedlar is concealed, lest, perchance, the unbelieving gentlemen of the long robe should bring him into trouble.* [Singular as the ghostly portion of the trial of Clerk undoubtedly is, we are much inclined to think that the following case is still more remarkable, where testimony as to the alleged appearance of a ghost was given in a civil suit. The love the Americans have for the marvellous, and the ex- aggeration with which they are accustomed to embellish their facts, might induce a suspicion as to its accuracy, but the names of the parties, witnesses, counsel, and judge, give such an appearance of reality to the report, that we do not think our readers will find fault with our laying it before them. It appeared in a weekly periodical entitled the Opera Glass, February 3, 1827; and the following address to the editor was prefixed.] Mr Editor — I have had a curious document by me for a number of years, which, I think, might amuse some of your readers. It was handed to me, when I was making a tour on the other side of the Atlantic, by Judge Nicholson, then, and I believe now, one of the judges of the state of Maryland, who was one of the counsel in the case ; and, to my certain knowledge, all the parties to it were of the highest respectability. It is, I believe, the only instance upon record of the appearance of a ghost being sworn to in a court of justice. The narrative is a very homely one, and may now and then make your readers smile ; but it is, neverthe- less, worth preserving, as it is perfectly authentic, and certainly very curious. — I am, Sir, your most obe- dient servant, Simon Shadow. AUTHENTIC ACCOUNT OF AN APPEARANCE OF A GHOST IN QUEEN ANN'S COUNTY, MARYLAND, UNITED STATES OF NORTH AMERICA, PROVED IN THE FOLLOWING REMARKABLE TRIAL, FROM ATTESTED NOTES TAKEN IN COURT AT THE TIME BY ONE OF THE COUNSEL. James, Fanny, Robert, and Thomas Harris, devisees of Thomas Harris, versus Mary Harris, administratrix of James Harris. The above suit was an action of debt, brought on the administration bond of Mary Harris, administratrix of James Harris. * Shortly after Macleod's execution, there appeared in the Inverness Courier a communication from a most respectable individual— if we recollect rightly, from the clergyman of Assynt — establishing clearly 192 REMARKABLE TRIAL The facts in the above cause were as follow: — There were two brothers, Thomas Harris and James Harris. Thomas, the elder, held a piece of land in fee, as he supposed. He had the four children above named, and for whom this action was brought; those children were ille- gitimate. Thomas made his will, directing his land to be sold, but did not thereby appoint any person to make sale of it. He devised the pro- ceeds that should arise from the sale of his land, together with all his other estate, should be divided amongst his four above named illegiti- mate children, and appointed his brother, James Harris, his executor of his will; who, after the death of his brother Thomas, caused the said will to be proved, and took out letters testamentary thereon. James Harris, the executor, returned an inventory of the personal estate of his brother, Thomas Harris, and made sale of the land above mentioned, believing that his said brother had been seised in fee, and that he was authorised, under the said will, to make sale thereof. When the purchase money was paid to James Harris, and counsel was applied to draw the convey- ance, it was then for the first time discovered to James Harris that his elder brother, Thomas Harris, was not seised in fee, but in tail of the land, and that of course he had no right to devise it, nor could it descend that there were several falsehoods in Macleod's dying declaration, and, in particular, proving some pretty unequivocal facts about the Dreaming Tailor. We would beg to refer the believers in snip's dream to this document. It may be remarked, that snip deponed that the voice in his dream spoke in Gaelic a language, it would seem, to which supernatural beings have an unaccountable partiality. In the trial of Clerk and Macdonald, Macpherson, snip's predecessor, swears that sergeant Davies' ghost spoke as good Gaelic as there was in Lochaber, though it appeared that the sergeant, when alive, did not know one word of that very euphonious language! Are we to infer from this, and from the voice in the tailor's dream, that the language of the other world is the Gaelic? We are sure Mr Logan will say Yes! and that a dozen of the ingenious Highland students at King's College will swear to it any day of the week. If so it must be true; and as the cholera still continues to advance, we have purchased a Gaelic grammar, and would earnestly advise all our un- Celtic readers to do the same. — [We suspect the writer of this article was putting himself to much unnecessary trouble in learning Gaelic, for sergeant Davies, while an inhabitant of this world, appears to have been ignorant of that language, yet he, without diffi- culty, acquired it upon his translation to the realm of spirits ; and we know no reason why the above mentioned gentleman should not be similarly favoured. The alleged absurdity of the Englishman speak- ing Gaelic is imaginary, for it would have been infinitely more absurd had his ghost spoken in English to a Highlander. The strangest thing about the whole affair is the selection of the witness, for we opine that it would have answered the apparition's purpose much better had he made the disclosure, in proper sea- son, to one of his own countrymen. His appearance at all was, to say the least of it, very injudicious, as, had he stayed away, there seems no doubt that his murderers would have been convicted and hanged. Editor.} IN MARYLAND. 193 to his children, because of their illegitimacy, but that he, James Har- ris, was the heir in tail, and entitled to the land in his own right, and without any title derived under his brother's will. He then con- veyed his right to the purchaser, and claimed the purchase-money to himself. About two years after, James Harris died intestate; and his widow, Mary Harris, the present defendant, administered on his estate. This suit was brought on her administration bond, to recover the estate of Thomas Harris for the use of his illegitimate children, to whom he had devised all his estate. The only point in dispute was, Whether the pro- ceeds of the sale of the land in question were to be considered as the estate of Thomas Harris? Before the trial of the cause, this case had made much noise, it having been said that the ghost of Thomas Harris, in the lifetime of his brother, James Harris, frequently appeared to a man by the name of Briggs; and the reason why the ghost of the elder brother had appeared, was to compel James Harris, his youngest brother, to return the proceeds of the sale of the land to the orphans' court; to make himself responsible for it as a part of the estate of Thomas Harris. The fact was, that such was the communication of Briggs to James Harris, relative to his brother's ghost having appeared to him, that he, James Harris, did go to the orphans' court, returned himself to the estate of his brother, to the amount of the purchase-money of the land. James Harris was soon after taken sick, and died. Before the jury was sworn in the case, it was agreed by the counsel on both sides, that nothing could be recovered in the action except the balance of the personal estate, because the land was entailed. Secondly, because, if it had been a fee-simple estate, no person was appointed by the will to sell the land; the testator had directed it to be sold, and no doubt believed that his executor would be authorised to make sale of it. This understanding of the counsel was only known to themselves; they were anxious to hear the extraordinary reports that were circulated out of doors as to the appearance of the ghost of Thomas Harris to Briggs, related and sworn to in a court of justice. Briggs was known to be a man of character, of firm undaunted spirit; had been a soldier in the 2 b 194 REMARKABLE TRIAL revolutionary war; and perfectly disinterested between, and unconnected with the parties. This cause was tried in 1798 or 1799. After the nature of the action, the ground of controversy had been stated with great solemnity by the counsel on both sides, and the very extraordinary reports that had been in circulation, relative to the appear- ance of the ghost of Thomas Harris — William Briggs, the witness, was produced and sworn, and his relation was as follows: — William Briggs said, that he was forty-three years of age; that Thomas Harris died in September, in the year 1790. In the March following he was riding near the place where Thomas Harris was buried, on a horse formerly belonging to Thomas Harris. After crossing a small branch, his horse began to walk on very fast; it was between the hours of eight and nine o'clock in the morning; he was alone — it was a clear day; he entered a lane adjoining to the field where Thomas Harris was buried; his horse suddenly wheeled in a pannel of the fence, looked over the fence into the field where Thomas Harris was buried, towards the grave-yard, and neighed very loud; witness then saw Thomas Harris coming towards him in the same apparel as he had last seen him in his lifetime; he had on a sky-blue coat; just before he came to the fence he varied to the right and vanished; his horse immediately took the road. Thomas Harris came within two pannels of the fence to him; he did not see his features, nor speak to him. He was acquainted with Thomas Harris when a boy, and there had always been a great intimacy between them. He thinks the horse knew Thomas Harris, because of his neighing, pricking up his ears, and looking over the fence. About the 1st of June following, he was ploughing in his own field, about three miles from where Thomas Harris was buried, about dusk. Thomas Harris came alongside of him, and walked with him about 200 yards; he was dressed as when first seen; he made a halt about two steps from him. J. Bailey, who was ploughing along with him, came driving up, and he lost sight of the ghost; he was much alarmed; not a word was spoken; the young man, Bailey, did not see him; he did not tell Bailey of it; there was no motion of any particular part; he vanished. It preyed upon his mind so as to affect his health. He was with Thomas Harris IN MARYLAND. 195 when he died, but had no particular conversation with him. Some time after, he was lying in bed, about eleven or twelve o'clock at night; he heard Thomas Harris groan ; it was like the groan he gave a few minutes before he expired; Mrs Briggs, his wife, heard the groan; she got up and searched the house; he did not, because he knew the groan to be from Thomas Harris. Some time after, when in bed, and a great fire- light in the room, he saw a shadow on the wall, at the same time he felt a great weight upon him. Some time after, when in bed and asleep, he felt a stroke between his eyes, which blackened them both; his wife was in bed with them, and two young men were in the room; the blow awakened him, and all in the room were asleep; is certain no person in the room struck him; the blow swelled his nose. About the middle of August he was alone, coming from Dickey Collins' after dark, about one hour in the night; Thomas Harris appeared, dressed as he had seen him when he was going down the meeting-house branch, three miles and a half from the grave-yard of Thomas Harris. It was star-light; he extended his arms over his shoulders; does not know how long he re- mained in this situation; he was much alarmed; Thomas Harris disap- peared; nothing was said; he felt no weight on his shoulders; he went back to Col. Linsi, and got a young man to go with him; after he got home he mentioned it to the young man : he had before this told James Harris he had seen his brother's ghost. In October, about twilight in the morning, he saw Thomas Harris about one hundred yards from the house of the witness: his head was leant to one side; same apparel as before; his face was towards him; he walked fast and disappeared; there was nothing between them to obstruct the view; he was about fifty yards from him, and alone; he had no con- ception why Thomas Harris appeared to him. On the same day, about eight o'clock in the morning, he was handing up blades to John Bailey, who was stacking them ; he saw Thomas Harris come along the garden fence, dressed as before; he vanished, and always to the east; was within fifteen feet of him; Bailey did not see him; an hour and a half afterwards in the same place, he again appeared, coming as before; came up to the fence, leaned on it within ten feet of the witness, who called to Bailey to 196 REMARKABLE TRIAL look there, (pointing towards Thomas Harris). Bailey asked what was there? Don't you see Harris? does not recollect what Bailey said; witness advanced towards Harris; one or the other spoke as witness got over the fence on the same pannel that Thomas Harris was leaning on. They walked off together about five hundred yards ; a conversation took place as they walked; he has not the conversation on his memory; he .could not understand Thomas Harris, his voice was so low; he asked Thomas Harris a question, and he forbid him; witness then asked, why not go to your brother instead of me? Thomas Harris said, ask me no questions; witness told him his will was doubted; Thomas Harris told him to ask his brother if he did not remember the conversation which passed between them on the east side of the wheat stacks, the day he was taken with his death sickness; that he then declared that he wished all his property should be kept together by James Harris, until his children arrived at age; then the whole should be sold and divided among his children; and should it be immediately sold as expressed in his will, that the property would be most wanting to his children while minors, therefore he had changed his will, and said that witness should see him again; he then told witness to turn, and disappeared; he did not speak with the same voice as in his lifetime; he was not daunted while with Thomas Harris, but much afterwards. Witness then went to James Harris, and told him that he had seen his brother three times that day, related the conversa- tion he had with him; asked James Harris if he remembered the conver- sation between him and his brother at the wheat stack — he said he did, and told him what had passed; said he would fulfil his brother's will; he was satisfied that witness had seen his brother, for that no other person knew the conversation. On the same evening, returning home about an hour before sunset, Thomas Harris appeared to him; came alongside of him; witness told him that his brother said he would fulfil his will: no more conversation on this subject: he disappeared. He had further conversation with Thomas Harris, but not on this subject; he was always dressed in the same manner. He has never related to any person the last conversation, and never would. Bailey, who was sworn in the cause, declared, that as he and Briggs IN MARYLAND. 197 were stacking blades, as related by Briggs, he called to witness and said, look there; do you not see Thomas Harris? — witness said no. Briggs got over the fence and walked some distance; appeared by his action to be in deep conversation with some person; witness saw no person. The counsel was extremely anxious to hear from Mr Briggs the whole of the conversation of the Ghost, and on his cross-examination took every means, without effect, to obtain it. They represented to him, as a religious man, he was bound to disclose the whole truth. He appeared agitated when applied to, declaring nothing short of life should make him reveal the whole conversation, and claimed the protection of the court, that he had declared all he knew relative to the case. The court overruled the question of the counsel. Hon. James Tilg- man, Judge. His excellency Robert Wright, late governor of Maryland, and the hon. Joseph H. Nicholson, afterwards judge of one of the courts in Mary- land, were the counsel for the plaintiff. John Scott and Richard T. Earle, esqrs., were counsel for the defen- dant. STEMMATA HUM-IANA* " It is truly refreshing," as a great modern author has it, for an antiqua- rian to make discoveries which have eluded the research of his predeces- sors, and great must have been the delight of the late George Chalmers when he demolished " the dark grey man," the reputed founder of the race of Douglas, and substituted in his place a certain Flemish trader called Flamaticus, who obtained, about the middle of the twelfth century, from the Abbot of Kelso, a grant of lands on Douglas water. Still greater must have been the rapture of old George, when he settled the " questio vexata" of the Stewart descent, by touching with the wand of truth the spectral forms of Banquo and Fleance, which, vanishing into empty air, left in their place " Walterus filius Alani," a younger son of Fitz-Alan, one of the ancient Earls of Arundel. But what satisfaction could he have felt in comparison with that which we have experienced, not in settling the pedigree of barbarous barons or murderous monarchs, but in fixing the descent of one, compared to whom the " good Sir James" or the indomitable Bruce must sink into insignificance ? Can either one or other, or both, be likened to that glori- ous Grecian, the immortal Joseph, the honoured Hume ? Certainly not ; for we confidently ask, could the Bruce have negotiated the difficult sub- ject of the Greek bonds, or have carried through the Russian loan, with such exquisite skill, or such perfect consistency, as our beloved Joseph ? Or, could the " good Sir James" have enacted a Tory at Weymouth, a Whig at Aberdeen, or a Radical in Middlesex, with such admirable pro- priety as our versatile statesman has done ? Not they. Can the battle of Bannockburn, as a matter of strategic science, be put in competition * From the Edinburgh Constitution, 1835. STEMMATA HUM-IANA. 199 with the discomfiture of the Greek committee ? Or, can the arspugnandi of " the good Sir James" be mentioned in the same breath with the ars numerandi of our modern Cocker ? But comparisons are " odorous," as a great civic authority has it, and we shall, therefore, without further pre- amble, communicate our discoveries to the world. It is well known that there were a set of Borderers of the name of Hume, more remarkable for kicking up rows and fighting, than for any- thing else. With this family the great Joseph would disdain to be con- nected. Heaven knows he has no taste for fighting, excepting with his tongue. The founder of his family was Hum, an artist of great eminence, who flourished in the time of Fungus, King of the Picts, and who, for his great state services, was promoted to an office of dignity and importance in the court of that monarch. To verify the truth of this assertion, we shall lay before our readers an extract from the Manuscript Chronicon Pictorum, preserved amongst the Exchequer records, and which is in cursu of being printed (under the editorial care of Cosmo Innes, Esq.) for the use of the Bannatyne Club, by the Right Honourable James Abercrombie, Speaker of the House of Commons, and an obsequious and ardent follower of the ancient family of Hum. " In tempore Fungi, regis Pictorum, qui debellavit regem Athelstain, orientalium Saxonum, fuit quidam burgensis Aberdoniensis, nomine Hum, artis tonsoriae facile princeps, qui porro studia et artes fovet. Apud Be- regonium Rex vixit, sed non in pace, quia misere vexatus erat propter multitudines cimicum (lie Bugges) et pulicum, qui eum et ejus servos horrifice incommodaverunt. Magnatibus regni convocatis, Rex eis os- tendit calamitates domesticas, et interrogavit, si aliquis inter eos miseriam ejus atque famulorum curaret. Cancellarius, homo venerabilis, respondit quod non versatus fuit in rebus ingenuis,* sed admoneret ut praeclarum Hum accerseret, qui haud dubito, rem necessariam faceret.f Rege con- sentiente, cancellarius Hum evocavit, eique ostendit causam propter quam evocatus fuit. Vapore sulphuris, tonsor illustris expedite expulsit hostes, qui ejus impetus non potuerunt resistere, et paulisper, regium palatium * Anglice — Not skilled in the fine arts. f Anglice — Do the needful. 200 STEMMATA HUM-IANA. eorum aggressionibus vehementibus liberatum fuit. Turn Rex, exultans, brachia Hum collo circumdat, eique dixit, ut esset unus ex conciliis, et quod praecelsum officium occisoris cimicum teneret: etiamque ei dedit terras de Bugge, et ordinavit, ut in omni tempore futuro, gereret nomen de Hum-Bugge, propter praeclara servitia reipublicae." Of this illustrious individual our distinguished patriot is the male repre- sentative; and it is not too much to say, that he and his scientific ancestor are alike remarkable for their services to the commonwealth. We must be permitted however to suggest, that, out of respect to the memory of his accomplished progenitor, the patriot should resume the family name, for we know no one upon whom the euphonious appellative of Humbug would sit more gracefully, or who, on every account, is more justly entitled to use it. It may not be out of place to mention, that through the female line the blood of the venerable Humbug flows in the veins of many of our most talented countrymen ; we may instance Daniel O' Con- nell and Lord Palmerston. The late St John Long, and Graham, the earth bather, were also descendants ; and we have heard, but this is dis- puted, that Lord Brougham is of the same family. Should the great Joseph lose his seat for Middlesex, of which melan- choly event there is every prospect, he will no doubt be elevated to the peerage, on which occasion, we presume, his good taste will be displayed in reviving the family name in his person, as Baron Humbug of Hum- Bugge, in the county of Aberdeen. CHRONICA DE MAILROS. E CODICE UNICO, IN BIBLIOTHECA COTTONIANA SERVATO, NUNC ITERUM IN LUCEM EDITA. NOTULIS INDICEQUE AUCTA. EDINBURGI : TYPIS SOCIETATIS EDINBURGENSIS. MDCCCXXXV. 4tO. We have just seen the valuable New-Year's Gift which those two worthy Conservatives, Sir John Hay, Baronet, M.P., and Alexander Pringle, Esquire, M.P., have presented, as their joint contribution, to their brethren of the Bannatyne ; and although we have merely glanced over the pages of this very handsome volume in a somewhat hurried manner, we could not refrain from expressing our satisfaction with the work, which is one of great historical importance, and the publication of which reflects great credit on the taste and zeal of the two gentlemen at whose expense it has been printed. The typographical part, too, of the work is worthy of every praise ; and Bodoni himself might have been proud to have avowed himself the printer. It would be unfair to offer any decided opinion as to the manner in which Mr Stevenson, the editor, has discharged the duties of his depart- ment, as we have not had sufficient time to go through the text carefully; but we are pleased with two things ; first, his Preface ; and, secondly, his Notes. The former we have attentively perused ; and we have cursorily looked over the latter, which are brief but useful, and tend, we should think, materially to assist the reader. The Editor has judged correctly in placing them at the foot of the page, instead of putting them en masse at the end of the book, as is sometimes done. We confess we are no great admirers of the system, which is not unfrequently pursued, of barely 2c 202 CHRONICA DE MAILROS. giving the text of an ancient writer, without explanatory notes or eluci- dations. The MS. which forms the basis of the text, was formerly in possession of that eminent antiquary, Sir Robert Cotton, and was transferred, with the rest of his manuscripts, to the British Museum. Sir George Mac- kenzie, it would seem, objected to it as unfaithful, and Bishop Nicholson, to whose opinions great weight is generally to be attached, agrees on this subject with Mackenzie. Mr Stevenson very satisfactorily proves that both these eminent persons were wrong; and we concur with him in thinking that, the Cottonian MS. is the only ancient copy of whose exist- ence there is any proof, and that the Scotish MSS. are merely trans- cripts from this original. Our readers are probably aware that the Chronicle of Melrose was originally published at Oxford in 1684, in a Collection of Ancient Writers upon English affairs, but in a very faulty and imperfect manner, which is principally attributable to the editor having followed a transcript, now preserved at Oxford, in place of having had recourse to the original MS. As the transcript was carelessly made, it was hardly possible for the editor to avoid falling into error. Mr Stevenson, on the other hand, has carefully followed the original MS. ; and in this way an accurate copy of the Chronicle has at last seen the light. In order that readers may form an opinion of their own upon the age of the MS., three plates, containing fac-similes, have been given, and these at once show that the compila- tion must have been made at different periods, and by different hands. Indeed, we believe that few persons, from an inspection of these speci- mens, can hold any other opinion than that the compilation was not by any particular individual, but was made, from time to time, and at con- siderable intervals, by monks successively belonging to the Monastery of Melrose. These fac-similes have been most successfully lithographed by Mr Netherclift, and it is impossible to figure more accurate delinea- tions of ancient MSS. We will venture to put them in competition with any of the engravings done under the authority of the Record Commission. Whilst expressing an opinion that this MS. had been carried off from Melrose at a period, if not anterior to, at least immediately after, the Re- CHRONICA DE MAILROS. 203 formation, the editor falls into a mistake, which may be easily accounted for, in consequence of his not being sufficiently versed in Scotish pedi- grees. He remarks, " Had it been preserved there when Viscount Had- dington had a grant of the Abbey lands, it is probable that he would have preserved it along with the splendid collection of charters," &c. Now the only Viscount of Haddington was Ramsay, afterwards Earl of Hol- dernesse, who obtained favour from James VI. for his services in the matter of the Gowry Conspiracy. He never had any thing to do with Melrose. The individual meant was Sir Thomas Hamilton, originally created Lord Binning and Byres, and thereafter elevated to the earldom of Melrose. Upon the extinction of the earldom of Holdernesse and vis- county of Haddington, Lord Melrose, conceiving that a title derived from church lands was not sufficiently honourable, obtained his Majesty's con- sent to have his peerage of Melrose changed for that of Haddington, and accordingly he became the first of that name — but the viscountcy expired with Ramsay, the original patentee, and was never revived. It is Thomas Earl of Haddington, whose collection of charters, now in the Advocates' Library, is referred to. Mistakes of this kind are not unfrequent. As one instance we may mention, that in the Ragman Rolls, not long since given to the Bannatyne Club by the Lord Chief Commissioner Adam and Sir Samuel Shepherd, and the text of which was so carefully and anxiously revised, John de Botetourt, the ancestor of the Barons Botetourt (a peerage now merged in the dukedom of Somerset), is uniformly called Botecourt. We have only time further to observe, that the editor is not exactly correct in remarking that the extensive and valuable collection of Melrose charters is in course of publication by the Deputy Clerk Register. That a work of this description, under that accomplished gentleman's superin- tendence, is nearly finished, is true enough ; but it is at the expense of his Grace the Duke of Buccleuch and Queensberry, who, with a princely munificence, intends to present it to the members of the Bannatyne Club.* * When finished, this collection of charters will extend to two volumes 4to. The length of time which has elapsed since this contribution was put to press, and the great attention bestowed upon a revisal of the text, will undoubtedly make it the most perfect work hitherto brought out under the auspices of the Bannatyne Club. HORiE BANNATYNIANiE. No. I.— SIR JAMES TURNER.* If any one, having a fancy for the investigation of Scotish literary his- tory, would submit to the fatigue of travelling through the ponderous tomes of our law reports, he would here and there pick up much curious infor- mation. We are led to make this observation by having, whilst looking for a law authority, stumbled upon two decisions, the one relative to Sir James Turner, and the other to Dr Alexander Pennicuick of Romanno, the topographer and poet. Sir James Turner's autobiography is so full of interest, that we regret Mr T. Thomson, who edited it for the Bannatyne Club, has been unable to throw more light than he has done on the subsequent fortunes of the author. Although some very fastidious persons have vituperated the Knight, we cannot find it in our heart to think ill of him. His resem- blance to the inimitable Dalgetty probably biases us in his favour; and then, too, he was neither cruel (for the age in which he nourished) nor vindictive; in short, we " own the soft impeachment," and confess that we do like him. As to the humbug of finding fault with him for his chopping and changing, as some folks do, what of that? Is there any thing wonderful in it? And can we subscribe to the doctrine in these happy days, when the blessings of reform are so widely disseminated, and when patriots are as plentiful as blackberries, that one's politics should mar his fortunes? On the contrary, it is an established maxim of modern patriotism, that a man should always sacrifice his principles- " pro bono • From the Edinburgh Constitution, 1835. SIR JAMES TURNER. 205 publico" or " to bone the public," as Lord Palmerston happily trans- lates it. One recent notion, we suspect, Sir James could never have understood — that of " fructification," so beautifully explained in Parliament by a gentleman formerly in the slop line, but now " a right honourable." Prejudice, particularly amongst persons of a certain age, is inveterate, and we doubt exceedingly if the Knight could ever have been brought to a belief that his money was much better " fructifying" in his neighbour's pocket than his own. The legal process we are about to notice, affords tolerable evidence of his obtuseness on this subject. Upon the 21st December 1682, a law-suit was determined between Sir James Turner and Mr James Pillans, relative to the lands of Craig; the disputants had respectively adjudged these lands, but Mr Pillans had previously intromitted with the rCnts. The case was reported to the Court by the Lord Boyne, when " the Lords found that Mr James, though a compriser within year and day, yet ought not to come in pari passu to a share of the mails and duties with Sir James; because Mr James having intromitted already, had got part of his annual-rents, whereas Sir James had got none: and, therefore, allowed him to possess till he were as forward as Mr Pillans was: and then allowed them after that to come in pari passu." Had Sir James been a "regular built" political economist, he would have permitted the cash to fructify in the pockets of Mr James, but such is the force of early habit, that he was so foolish as to imagine that these very rents would " fructify" more bene- ficially in his own than those of his antagonist. So much for Sir James; now for Pennicuick. It appears from a decision pronounced upon the 20th January 1709> that Alexander Pen- nicuick (of Romanno, M. D.), the poet, had two brothers, Robert, who was Captain of the St Andrew, " that went out to our Darien colony in 1700," and Stephen, who is also styled " Captain." Robert made a testament of his moveable effects, in favour of his brother Stephen, failing him to two nieces of the names of Campbell and Edgar. Stephen predeceased his brother; and the two nieces confirming the testament, the poet brought a reduction of it, as nearest of kin, upon the ground 206 HOR.E BANNATYNIANiE. that it laboured under " all the nullities that any writ is capable of." The principal defence was, that the deed *' must have the privilege of a military testament, which requires fewer solemnities than others." There was also a plea of homologation. The poet was unsuccessful. * The Lords, finding no other testament in competition with this, sustained it, notwithstanding the nullities objected, the same always being proven to be holograph. Some thought this of a dangerous consequence, as removing the great checks on falsehood." As many members, both of the Bannatyne and Maitland, are on the outlook for contributions, an edition of the works of the elder Pennicuick (for his nephew, Alexander the younger, was also a poet), many of which are still in MS., would be very acceptable. No. II.— SIR ROBERT AITON'S POEMS. The poems of Sir Robert Aiton are little known, although possessing infinite merit, from the extreme elegance of their diction, and the general smoothness of their versification. Chiefly of an amorous description, they have the rare merit of being free from any taint of indelicacy — a circumstance very unusual in compositions of that description, more especially those written during the seventeenth century. Such of his English verses as could be traced, have been carefully collected together, and form one of the articles in the second part of the first volume of the Bannatyne Miscellany. As the biographical notice of this neglected Scotish poet, prefixed to the above mentioned collection of his verses, is, from the paucity of ma- terials, necessarily meagre, we have been induced, in consequence of having accidentally fallen in with three of his letters, preserved amongst the Balfour MSS. in the Library of the Faculty of Advocates, to glean a few facts, which may throw some additional light on the fortunes of one, whom Dryden honours as the writer of " some of the best" poems " of that age." Sir Robert was a younger son of Andrew Ayton of Kinaldie, in the SIR ROBERT AITON'S POEMS. 207 county of Fife. He was born in the year 1570, and died in March 1637. It is not a matter of deep moment in what manner he spelt his name; but it may be noticed, in passing, that in his subscription to the three letters we have just alluded to, the poet uniformly signs Aiton. No doubt he is called Ayton in the collection of his Latin verses, con- tained in the Delitise Poetarum Scotorum, and by the editor of the Ban- natyne Miscellany; but we apprehend that his own signature is the best evidence on the subject, and one against which there can be no appeal.* Having written a panegyric in praise of King James VI. upon his acces- sion to the crown of England, that monarch received him into his favour — conferred the honour of knighthood upon him, and successively ap- pointed him Gentleman of the Bedchamber, and Private Secretary to Queen Anne of Denmark. In April 1623 the office of Provost of Eton became vacant by the death of Mr Thomas Murray; and in a letter from Aiton dated the 10th of that month, transmitted probably to the Viscount of Annan (after- wards Earl of Annandale) — for it has no address — application is made to his Lordship to use his influence to procure the situation. Amongst his competitors, Aiton mentions Sir Robert Naunton, author of the " Frag- menta Regalia," Sir Dudley Carlton, afterwards Viscount Dorchester, and Lord Bacon, who, as the reader will recollect, had two years before been disgraced for his gross and notorious corruption. The late Pro- vost Murray had left a wife and seven children, without any adequate means for their support, his whole substance being L.2000; his wife, however, seems to have had a pension of L.200 a-year. Great difficulty arose as to the disposal of the Provostship from the absence of the Duke of Buckingham, who was then in Spain with the Prince ; and without his consent, Sir Robert states no office of any importance could be given away. At that period Aiton appears to have enjoyed a pension of L.500 a-year; for he says, " I am so desirous of it for the good of Mr Murray's children, that I have made ane offer to the king to surrender my pension * In his epitaph his name, though Latinized, is spelt with an I in place of a Y. The letters referred to, ■which are very curious, have been transcribed from the Balfour MS., and will be found appended to this article. 208 HORiE BANNATYNIAN^E. offyve hundred poundes, in exchange of it" The profits of the office must have been very considerable to have allowed of such a sacrifice. In a second letter, dated the 8th of May, he remarks, " The business of Eaton is yet vndetermined. I might have some hopes if the sentence wernot to come from Spaine; yet there I have made freinds, and do expect that the prince will deale for me at my Lord Buckinghames hand : if these to whome I did cheifly trust to heer, had been true freinds indeed, there had never been suche difficultie in it; but let go as it will, I shall be still what I have been." One singular fact is disclosed, showing how completely his Majesty was controlled by his haughty favourite. The King, in consequence of representations to that effect, had granted a pension of L.500 a-year, in favour of the widow of Mr Murray, to de- volve at her death on her eldest son. In a postscript to his letter, Aiton adds, " My Lord Treasurer hath refused to pas Mrs Murray's pension till he heare from Spaine" where, as before mentioned, Buckingham then was. In the third letter no allusion is made to the office in question, which was ultimately conferred upon the celebrated Sir Henry Wotton. The most curious passage relates to the quarrel between the Earl of Carlisle and the Lord Chamberlain, " whiche begunne at the table with some words of distast; and ane houre after they had risen from table, ended in mutuall blowes; but in all the carriage of the business, my Lord of Cairleel is much blamed even by his owne friends, and the reports of it have generally gone to his disadvantage ; and as commonly one misfor- tune does draw on another, these reports (as my Lord Cairliel did con- ceive proceeding cheifly from my Lord Marquis of Hamilton) did beget a dangerous expostulation betwen them two, the end whereof as yet is no other but a coldness and forbearance of speaking one to another, to the great greif of all these that love them both." In our notice relative to Sir James Turner, we omitted to mention that, besides the " Pallas Armata," Sir James was author of a rare Historical Tract, entitled " A Discourse Historical and Political of the War of Hungary, and of the Causes of the Peace between Leopold the first Emperor of the Romans, and Mahomet the fourth Sultan of Turkey. By SIR ROBERT AITON'S LETTERS. 209 Louis de May of Sallettes, knight, and Counsellor of his Highness the Duke of Wirtemberg. Translated in English. Glasgow, printed by Robert Saunders* printer to the Town, mdclxix." — 12mo. LETTERS FROM SIR ROBERT AITON. I. Right honorable and my very good Lord — My last, did but threaten your lordship with ill newes, this strikes a right even doune blow. Our freind, our honest and deare freind, even Mr Murray, hath changed this life with a better, yesterday, whiche was the ninth of the moneth, and the twelft after his being cut; about six a'clock in the morning he even sleept away, his spirits being so farre spent, what by age, what by greef and paine of his disease, that they were not able to contribute any thing towards the cure of his wound. No man could die more happilie, and whiche is the argument of an honest man in these days, no man that hath lived in suche a qualitie as he did ever died so poore. All that he hath left amongst his seven children is that two thowsand, whiche is not yet re- ceived, but is to be payed at Michaelmas by the custumes; his wife hath nothing but the two hundred pound of pension whiche he had out of the Exchequer, and the keeping of Bark- hamstade during her life. The king, who had promised him fyve hundred pound land, and renewed his promeis to him a litle before his deathe, dothe now go back, and say it was but a pension during life whiche he did promeis, and no land. Every body speak es for her and pities her case, but the tymes ar hard, and the prince is not heer, whose interces- sion must do the turne. His place of Eaton hathe now many sutors and great ones, suche as my Lord of St Aubons, Sir Robert Nanton,* Sir Dudley Carlton,f Sir Albertus Morton; but Sir William Becher, a Clerk of the Councell, pretends a promeis from my Lord Buckinghame: if it had not ben for him, who had the good look to anticipat my sute by two or three houres, I had caried it without opposition, and yet the King stands well affected to me; but the determination is differd till my Lord of Buckinghame signifie his pleasure. I am so desirous of it for the good of Mr Murray's children, that I have made ane offer to the King to surrender my pension of fyve hundred poundes in exchange of it. I have writen to Spaine to make freinds their; what the succes will be I know not; these that I trusted most to, have proved most unprofitable vnto me. My Lord of Lenox was engaged to Becher, my Lord Hamilton wold not meddle to crosse my Lord of Lenox, all the rest of the Bedchamber ar mainlie for me. I have not so muche faith as to beleave that I shall prevaile, but I thoght good to do the part of one that loved him that was gone, and wold not by his owne negligence betray his owne fortune. I wrote to your Lordship in my last that I did see no good to be done in your bussines of Orknay, and I doubt not but before this time you haue hearde as muche of others. I haue made myself an eyesore • Author of the Fragmenta Regalia. f Afterwards Viscount Dorchester, 2 D 210 HOR.E BANNATYNIAN^]. to the man to whom your Lordship trusted, and I pray to God I may neuer haue any occa- sion to employ him. I dare say no more ; anger for his negligence, and greif for Mr Mur- ray's death, do so confound me, that I can write no more, only I can not conceall from your Lordship that our bussines in Spaine goes but slowly one, and Title hope is their of the prince's returne this prettie while. Wee heare they are to send back his chaplaines againe, because they can be of no vse their, the prince being lodged within the King's palace; if the prince will heare a sermon, he must steal out the Ambassadres, whiche as yet he hath not done since he cam their. I pray God blesse the prince. My Lord Carliel is well usd their, and lodged within the King's palace too; his bussines heer go slowly one. — I am, your lordship's most humble and affectionat servant, Ro. Aiton. 10 ofAprile, 1623. n. Right honakable and my very good Lord — Before I had received your Lordship's information concerning the Lady Coldenknowes, your very trustie freind, Archbald Hay, had, by your lordship's directions, done already in that mater as muche as could be de- sired, and I do not dowbt but your lordship hath received such satisfaction as may hence- forth make your lordship rest secure ; yet, if I do heare any thing of it, I shall be ready to do what becomes your lordship's true servant in that behalf. It is true that these that have fairest faces ar most carefull of them, that they should not be tainted with the least spot (becaus in them the least blemish is soonest perceived) ; but, otherwise, I think your lordship needed not to have taken it so to hart, for, as Seneca said of Cato, that whosoever wold reproche him with drunkennes, wold sooner perswade the world that ebrietie was a vertew then that Cato could be vicious, so I dare boldly say, that all these that know your lordship have suche ane assurance of your integritie, that they will sooner think that vniust dealing may passe for a commendation, then that your lordship can be iustly obnoxious to suche ane imputation. I doubt not but before this your lordship hath received the news of Mr Murray's death, and that by a letter of mine writen a fortnight ago. I have heer sent yow a copie of some lines,* which may serve to let the world see that I care not to be thoght ane bad poet, so being that. I may make it appeare that I was his true freind. All that his freinds have been able to do for his wife and his children is a grant of a pension of 500 lb. out of the Exchequer for her life and her eldest sones ; and, of all the freinds he had, my Lord Brooke and James Maxwell haue proved the most reall and most faithfull. The bussines of Eaton is yet undetermined. I might haue some hopes if the sentence wer not to come from Spaine ; yet there I have made freinds, and do expect that the prince will deale for me at my Lord of Buckinghame's hand. If these to whome I did cheifly trust to heer, had * Amongst Sir Robert's Latin poems, in the Delitiae Poetarum Seotiae, there is an epitaph upon a John Murray, but, as we learn from the Life of Sir Henry Wotton, written by Isaac Walton, and prefixed to the Reliquiae Wottonianee, that the name of the Provost of Eton was Thomas, not John, the printed lines cannot be those referred to in the letter. SIR ROBERT AITON'S LETTERS. 211 ben true freinds indeed, their had never ben suche difficultie in it ; but let go as it will, I shall be still what I have been. There is one come from Spaine of late, but, for anything I can heare, as litle hope of the celebration of the mariage as the first day the prince came there; in the meanewhile, wee hope even against hope. I pray God our joy es be but an- swerable to our confidence, then all will go well, and I shall not need to be still begging at my Lord Treasurer's dore as now I am. — Howsoever, I am your lordship's most humble and most devoted servant, R. Aiton. 8 of May. My Lord Treasurer hath refused to pas Mrs Murray's pension till he heare from Spaine. III. Right honorable and my very good Lord — I no sooner received your lordship's letters, but straightway I repaired to my Lord Duke of Richemont, by whom I found, after his grace had redd your lordship's letter, that he had written to yow not long before, and was confident that he had given your lordship full satisfaction ; yet if it wer no other then that whiche he seemed to touche in a word to me (that Sir Robert Manssell was content to take your glass workes, and pay yow as muche for them as any other wold do), I dowbt me muche that it will neither be honorable for the countrey, nor so beneficiall towards the refounding of your lordship's charges, as otherwyse it might be ; frome thence I went to Sir William Clavile, committed to the Marshallceas, till he bring back againe those men whiche he was charged to have seduced from Sir Robert Mansell's service. — I showed him the copy of your lordship's letter to my Lord Duke of Richemont. He seemed to be muche conforted withe it, and so muche the more, becaus I told him that my Lord Duke had told me that he was committed chiefly for going about to lay some aspersions vpon yow, frome whiche he did maintaine him self to be very cleare, as having said nothing but what it seemed your lordship did take vpon yow in your owne letter; he did desire the copy of it, but your lordship having commanded me to do otherwise, I did not retaine it by me. For any thing that I see, if our Scots Counsailors heer do not embrace the cause of their countrie more cheerfully then they do, Sir William is like to ly long by it,- and your lord- ship have litle right done yow. I offerd to do him all the service I could for your lord- ship's cause, yet because I may erre in ouerdoing, not knowing how far your lordship is bound to assist him, I desire to be more particularly instructed by your lordship, before I medle in a thing that may reflect vpon your lordship without your owne advise. When I had so performed your lordship's directions to him, I went and delivered your lordship's letter to Kilmeny, and this muche for that. I cannot enough marvell of that report con- cerning my Lord of Cairleel. I did never heare the least muttering of suspicion of any suche thing heer, nor was their any cause. True it is, that when the lords of the reception (as they wer called) did go downe to Southhampton, their did fall out ane vnfortunat acci- dent between my Lord Chamberlayn and my Lord of Cairleel, whiche begunne at the 212 HORiE BANNATYNIANiE. table with some words of distast, and ane howre after they had risen from table ended in mutuall blowes; but in all the carriage of the bussines, my Lord of Cairleel is muche blamed even by his owne freinds, and the reports of it have generally gone to his disad- vantage ; and as commonly one misfortune does draw on another, these reports (as my Lord Cairliel did conceive proceeding cheifly from my Lord Marquis of Hamilton) did beget a dangerous expostulation between them two, the end wherof as yet is no other but a coldnes and forbearance of speaking one to another, to the great greif of all these that loue them bothe. I dowbt not but your lordship heares this from others at more lenth ; vnles it wer to your lordship I wold not willingly remember it. For the stiles your lordship desires to know, I kno no other then the Duke of Buckinghame and the Duke of Richemond Lenox, as your lordship will find by his owne subscription, may be. Wee have had heer of late two messengers from Spaine, but no more newes of the matche then the first day. I must end, becaus I am pressed ; other idle newes I hope to send your lordship with the next occasion. — I am your lordship's most humble and most faithfull servant, Ro. Aiton. 11 of July, London, 1623. No. Ill— GENERAL MACKAY. The Memoirs of Lieutenant- General Mackay, from 1689 to 1691, which Messrs Hogg, Tytler, and Urquhart, have for the first time printed from a MS. in the Library of the Faculty of Advocates, are of considerable historical importance, and the value of this Bannatynian publication is enhanced by an appendix of contemporaneous letters from originals in the possession of the Earl of Leven and Melville. Mackay is best known by the drubbing he got from Dundee at the battle of Killiecrankie ; indeed, the brief account of him prefixed to this volume, indicates that he was rather an able than a successful commander. He was killed at the battle of Steenkirk, July 24th, 1692, as was also the Earl of Angus, the only son of the Marquis of Douglas, and Lieutenant- Colonel Fullerton. Upon the news reaching Edinburgh of the death of these distinguished persons, there appeared certain verses bearing this title, " Three elegies, the first, to the memory of Lieutenant-General Mackay. The second, to the memory of my Lord Angus, only son of the Marquiss of Dowglas. The third, to the memory of Lieutenant- Colonel Fullerton, who were all three slain at the attacque at Stenkerken near Enguin on Aug.?,' st Nov! GENERAL MACKAY. 213 Anno Dom. 1692, written by Ro. Fleming. Edinburgh, printed in the year 1692," 4to. pp. 12. We cannot say much for the poetical merit of this performance ; but, as we intend to give a few extracts from the elegy on Mackay, the reader will be enabled to judge for himself. From it we learn, that Nature did frame him in the womb for war, And sent him in the very bud afar, To do such actions even whilst a youth As did amaze all hearts, and fill'd each mouth. Pretty well this for a beginning — it puts one in mind of a certain Lord Clarina, an Irish peer, who, according to one of the editions of that venerable authority, Debrett's Peerage, must have commenced his warlike career just as early, for he died a Lieutenant-General at the advanced age of thirteen. But to proceed — Let Venice tell how bravely then he fought And with a Roman courage glory sought, , Yea, let all Europe and the world say If theyl but speak ingenuously, if they Did not admire the dawning of his day. The poet very provokingly refrains from gratifying our curiosity as to these Venetian exploits; — the editors of the Memoirs appear never to have heard of them, and we are thus left in the dark. However, his actions were so many and so great Both first and later, here for to relate Do so affright my weak and bashful muse That she's resolved, but one or two to chuse * Out of the rest. Imprimis, we are assured that King William was much indebted to the General, for Of all the hero's help'd him to the throne, Mackay is one of th' first and yields to none. This is something new; although Mackay may have " help'd" to keep 214 HORiE BANNATYNIANiE. his Majesty on the throne, we were not previously aware of his being one of the heroes that " help'd" to put him there; neither can much be said as to the assistance he gave the king in Scotland ; for, had it not been for the death of Viscount Dundee, the adherents of the exiled dynasty would not have been so easily put down. This portion of Mackay's career is somewhat delicately handled. Let Scotland say, what actions there he did Which spite of envy's clouds, cannot ly hid ; What wisdom and what valour he did show In all attacks against the rebel foe Where had all others been as brave and true No need had been a treaty to pursue With the poor, conquer'd, thieving Highland crew. The Highland army must have felt very much gratified by the compli- ment paid to it. Colonel Cleland, a Whig, who was killed at Killie- crankie, in his poem on the Highland Host, which we recommend our Celtic friends to read, is equally complimentary. Having arranged matters with his thieving antagonists in Scotland, the hero adjourns to Ireland, where at Athlone he was the first to leap " into the river:" he next With the first did scale the frighten'd town And at his feet made th' bloody foe fall down. At Aughrim, He like thunder on the foe did charge And shew'd his might was as his courage large ; When he the fury of the foe did quell • And by his hand the sons of Anak fell. What a terrible fellow he must have been! No wonder the " poor Irishes" could not stand his thundering attack. His career now draws to a close. The Irish war being terminated, he joins the army abroad, and Near Enguin's fields, it was resolved to try One brisk attack upon the enemy. GENERAL MACKAY. 215 There Wirtenberg the Danes did bravely lead ; And bold Mackay marched glorious on the head Of daring Scots and English, who that day, Resolved to make the French for Namur pay. ***** Ther 'twas Mackay wonders did perform, Roul'd through the fields like an impetuous storm, Forc'd all before him, till a fatal ball Stopt his career. At whose so sudden fall, The foe encouraged venture on anew, And with fresh forces their designs pursue. Then did our soldier's strength begin to tyre, Yet did such things as made the French admire: But who needs wonder that they did retire, Since brave Mackay their heart and life was gone, Whose presence seemed an army all alone. If we were to form an opinion of Mackay from an inspection of his por- trait, we should think, judging from his jolly good-natured face, that he was more calculated to " perform wonders" at the dinner table, than in the stricken field. However, without taking the word of his panegyrist on the subject, there are sufficient existing materials to show that he was a bold and gallant soldier, and an honourable man. Sir Walter Scott intended to have printed Mackay's Memoirs for the Maitland Club, but was deterred from doing so in consequence of bis not being able to get a partner in the publication, it being much too large a work for one individual. He had previously intimated a strong desire to edit an edition of Dougal Graham's History of the Rebellion 1745, a most strange production, and one with which he was heartily amused. Had the work been printed, Sir Walter was to have given a preface and notes, but he was unfortunately prevented from carrying his intentions into effect, by the advice of certain matter-of-fact persons, who could not understand why he should have taken a fancy to what appeared to their own wise selves to be merely wretched doggrel. We should like to know where the first edition of Dougal Graham is to be found : the earliest we have seen is the third edition, Glasgow, 1774, 12mo. PITCAIRN'S CRIMINAL TRIALS* This has been called u the age of clubs;" and certainly the institution of societies which, under no more serious title than that of a festive sym- posium, devote themselves to the printing of literary works not otherwise likely to find access to the press, will hereafter be numbered among not the least honourable signs of the times. The two Scotch clubs of this class have of late been doing so much and so well, that we venture to introduce a few general remarks on the circumstances under which their exertions have been called forth. It is a frequent subject of complaint among young authors, that they experience difficulty in bringing their works before the public, under a general shyness which the trade, as they are usually called (we suppose par excellence), or, in plain language, the booksellers, entertain with respect to MSS. which do not bear either a well known name, or, at least, the announcement of some popular and attractive subject in the title-page. In fact, there is real ground, on some occasions, for com- plaining of this species of impediment. The bookseller, though a pro- fessed trader in intellect, cannot be in every case an infallible judge of the vendibility of the wares submitted to him, the only circumstance, it is plain, which his business requires him to attend to. The name of a veteran author is one, though by no means an infallible, insurance against * Quarterly Review, February 1831. — The last piece of criticism which came from the pen of Sir Walter Scott was this, on the first six parts of the Collection, entitled " Trials, and other Proceedings, in matters Criminal, hefore the High Court of Justiciary in Scotland ; selected from the Records of that Court, and from original Manuscripts preserved in the General Register House, Edinburgh. By Robert Pitcairn, Writer to his Majesty's Signet, F. S. A." This valuable work has since been completed un^er the auspices of the Bannatyne Club, in 4 vols. 4to, Edinburgh, 1833. PITCAIRN'S CRIMINAL TRIALS. 217 loss; just as a knowing jockey, destitute of other foundations for his betting system, will venture his money upon a descendant of Eclipse. Failing this kind of recommendation, the bookseller is often, and natu- rally enough, determined by considering the style of those works which have been successful about the same time. If he finds the new comer adopting the sort of topic, or form of composition, actually much in vogue, he is very apt to indulge the hope, that although it may intrinsi- cally fall short of such as are esteemed the models of the day, his book may, nevertheless, fall in with the reigning taste, and take advantage of the popular gale. This may not be thought, on the part of the book- seller, a very intellectual method; we are inclined, nevertheless, to sus- pect that it is one of the safest which he could adopt. We have had considerable opportunities of observation in these matters, and undoubtedly the result is, that whenever we hear of a young bookseller, as laying high pretensions to critical skill and acumen, we augur badly of his career. Among the unsuccessful booksellers whom we have chanced to know, the majority have been men who relied upon their own taste, and so ventured on speculations which would not have been hazarded by more cautious men, who confine themselves to the more mechanical part of the con- cern, and seldom look beyond a title-page. We are not so absurd as to suppose that the bookseller, who adds to complete acquaintance with the commercial parts of his trade, a liberal and enlightened familiarity with literature, is to be considered the less fit for his calling from such an acquisition. On the contrary, such a publisher must not only rise to the top of his profession, but become an ornament to his country, and a benefactor to letters, while his fortune increases in proportion to his fame. His name, imparted with a mixture of liberality and caution, adds a con- sideration to the volumes on which it stands, and is in itself a warrant for their merit. But to rise to such a pitch of eminence requires an unusually sound judgment — and a long train of observation and experience — and he that attains it will seldom if ever be found to have acted, in the earlier stages of his business, under the impulses of pure literary enthusiasm. His object and rule is, and should be, to buy and publish what bids fairest to be withdrawn from the counter by a steady and rapid sale; and 2 E 218 SIR WALTER SCOTT'S REVIEW OF no capacity for estimating what favour a given MS. ought to meet with, will compensate for the want of tact to judge of the degree of favour which the public are likely to bestow on it. Let us take a memorable instance, though a hackneyed one. We will suppose Samuel Simmons, a respectable member of the Stationers' Company, of London, leaning over his counter in some dark street, to the eastward of Temple-bar, in the year 1667; an aged, grave, and reverend person, led by a female decently attired, enters and places in his hands a voluminous manuscript, which he requests him to purchase. Now, suppose our friend Simmons to have been himself a man of pure taste and high feeling of poetry, it is extremely probable that he would have offered money to the extent of the whole value of his stock for the copyright of the Paradise Lost. But what would have been the event? it was full two years before one thousand three hundred copies were sold, and poor Samuel Simmons, supposing him, in his just confidence in his own discrimination, to have overstepped the bounds of commercial caution, must have " marched in the rear of a Whereas," sooner or later — exactly in proportion, indeed, to the degree of judgment and feeling of poetry which had moved him — in other words, to the proportion in which the copy-money offered by him had approached to the real intrinsic value of the English epic. But Samuel Simmons was a man of the world, and judged with refer- ence to the extrinsic probabilities attending the publication of the poem in question. If he did not know Milton by person, he could not fail to discover that he had been the secretary of Cromwell, and the violent defender of the regicides ; that his was therefore a name highly unlikely to command popular success when the tide of politics set in a different direction. Nor were the style and subject of the poem, grave, serious, and theological, more apt to recommend it to the light and giddy paced times, when Butler and Waller headed the world of fashionable writers. A shrewd trader, therefore, was likely to do, as in fact Simmons did, namely, to offer to the author such a price, and no more, as was calcu- lated upon the probability of sale which attached to a grave work in a light age, and written by an author hostile to the triumphant party. Under the influence of such reflections, he made with the author of Para- PITCAIRN'S CRIMINAL TRIALS. 219 dise Lost the well-known bargain " for an immediate payment of five pounds, with a stipulation to receive five pounds more when thirteen hundred should be sold of the first edition; and again five pounds after the sale of the same number of the second edition; and five pounds after the same sale of the third;" and when it is considered, that before 1680, Simmons, already twenty pounds out of pocket, transferred the whole right of Paradise Lost for twenty-five pounds, it can scarcely be alleged that he made a Jewish bargain with the great poet. The circumstances are shameful, but the shame must rest with the age — not with the book- seller. It is not to be dreamed that the caution of the present trade has excluded from the public any volumes worthy to be named in the same day with the divine poem to which the wicket of Samuel Simmons's shop so reluctantly opened. On the contrary, our own observations authorise us to say, that the circumstances of unpopularity are very few which will preclude the possibility of publication on the part of any author, who exhibits even the most moderate chance of success. There are always booksellers enough, though, perhaps, not the most respectable, who are willing to encounter the risk of placing their names in the imprint of works the most extravagant and the most hazardous, under the idea that their very extravagance and singularity may have a chance of captivating the public favour; and we cannot but add, that, considering the quality of many volumes which yearly find their way to the press, we are rather puzzled to conjecture what must be the nature of those which cannot in some corner find a patronising bookseller. Nevertheless, there are un- doubtedly persons to whose solicitations the trade are totally obdurate; and we well remember, that during the year of projects, what seemed to us the most inauspicious of all its brood was the scheme of a proposed joint-stock company, intended to redress the wrongs of those authors who could not find their way to the public by the legitimate channel of Pater- noster Row, or the equally patent north-west passage of Albemarle Street. What would have been the consequences of this project, had it been carried into execution, may be easily guessed. The press employed by such a company would have had little cause to complain of want of cus- 220 SIR WALTER SCOTT'S REVIEW OF torn, and the trunkmakers and pastrycooks would have had cheaper bar- gains of waste paper than have been yet known in the vicinity of Grub Street. The ancient mode of relief 'in such cases, where the booksellers were slow in reposing faith in the good works of their authors, was wont to be the intervention of subscription. But although many persons, highly deserving better fortune, have been obliged to have recourse to a mode of publication inferring too much personal solicitation to be agreeable to a generous mind, yet it has become now so infrequent, that, as a means of facilitating the access of authors to the world, it may be almost left out of consideration. There are still, however, a certain class of works interesting to a cer- tain class of readers, which cannot, in the usual mode of publication, find their way to the press. We allude to the numerous class of what the public at large call mere curiosities. Such are, ancient poems, ancient chronicles, ancient legends, and the proceedings in ancient law cases; antiquities in general, whether in history, law, literature, drama, or polemics. Tracts connected with most of these curious topics lie hidden in rare manuscripts, scarce pamphlets, large and unwieldy collec- tions, broadsides, and stall or cheap copies, placed either so far above the eye. of the common observer, as to be out of his sight, or so much beneatn it as to be overlooked. Such morsels of literature, mere baubles in the estimation of the multitude, bear yet an intrinsic value of their own, and a large or rather an extravagant one ; but this is only in the little world of the bibliomaniacs, and the particular knot of booksellers who devote themselves to supply these gentlemen's hobby-horses with forage, or, in other words, to fill their shelves with the " Small rare volumes, dark with tarnish'd gold" (Cbabbe), which are the Dalilahs of their imagination. These pursuits have no charms for the world at large ; and, passing over a very few splendid exceptions, the volumes in which such things have been reproduced to the public have met with no encouraging reception. Such reprints, in fact, do not exactly suit the humour of either class of purchasers; they PITCAIRN'S CRIMINAL TRIALS. 221 are too easy of acquisition to have mucli merit in the eye of the pro- fessed book collector; while the antiquity of the orthography, and, to speak fairly, the slender proportion which they, in most cases, contain of what is truly valuable or instructive, render them caviare to the common purchaser. The many repositories of antique tracts in verse and prose, valuable state papers, and collections relating to the history of the coun- try, both in arts and arms, which may at this hour be had at a rate hardly sufficient to cover the expense of the printing, indicate plainly what bad subjects of speculation even the best of this class[must have proved to the publishers. We need only mention the highly meritorious undertaking of the London booksellers for the republication of the ancient English chronicles, comprehending Hollinshed, Stowe, Grafton, Lord Berners' Froissart, &c. &c, forming a curious and most valuable selection of the materials on which English history is founded, since sold at a consider- able reduction of price. David Macpherson's edition of Wintori's Chronicles of Scotland, put forth in a manner which might have been a model for every publication of the kind, was also for several years sold at a greatly abated price. The Restituta and Archaica, published in a splen- did form by those eminent antiquaries, Sir Egerton Brydges and Mr Park, met with even less favour in the market. The large collection, called " Thurlow's State Papers," containing the most authentic materials respecting the period of the great Civil War and of Cromwell's domina- tion, was not long since, and perhaps still is, to be purchased at some- thing little higher than the price of waste paper. It is true — habent et sua fata libelli — that such works have their fphases, and become valuable as they grow scarce in the market, and get dispersed in libraries, from which they rarely return into public sale. In such case, they become at length high priced — because they have the merit of cu- riosity attached to them. Before such a rise, however, takes place, the original adventurers have usually lost all concern with the books, which have been probably sold off to the trade in the shape of remainders, by which is well understood that species of a bookseller's property which is the residuum of his stock, and which he parts with for what he can get. This fate, which seems usually, though not inevitably or constantly, 222 SIR WALTER SCOTT'S REVIEW OF attendant upon the reprints of ancient, rare, and curious publications, seems to exclude them, in a great measure, from the adventures of book- sellers, who, if they are to publish at all, must necessarily do so under the expectation of a reasonable profit. Nor has the method of subscrip- tion been of late years found applicable to works of this nature, though the system of the present day is, in a certain degree, a modification of that plan. A very few words upon the pursuits of that class of persons usually called bibliomaniacs or book collectors, may explain the nature and use of the private associations which we now allude to. This species of lite- rary amusement, for which there have been men in all ages who have had a passion, has its source in the most noble and generous qualities, a love of literature, a reverence for the earliest indications of its influence, a de- sire to trace its progress from the very first germ of its appearance in a nation, until it influences, ornaments, and overshadows it. All that can separate man from the mere money-getting herd of mortals, and fix his attention upon science, philosophy, and letters, may be accounted motives which have originally determined the peculiar departmen of the book-collector. But although these are the origin of this peculiar taste, it is liable unquestionably, like other favourite tastes and habits, to be driven to excess — to exhibit that tendency to ultraism, that aliquid inane, which merit- just ridicule. Lucien has left us a severe satire upon the ignorant collector, who abused his wealth by squandering it upon manuscripts which he could not read, or at any rate, was incapable of understanding. " You resemble," says he, " those unskilful physicians who bestow large sums of money in making surgical instruments of silver, tipping them with gold, and depo- siting them in caskets made of ivory, while the owners all along are totally ignorant of the art of using the instruments which they ornament with so much pains." Such extravagance of absurdity is rarer perhaps in our day, than it was in that of Lucien ; but no doubt it still sometimes occurs that individuals, enrolled high in the list of collectors, are more distin- guished for knowing the mere technical circumstances which warrant the signature of rarissimus, than for profound intimacy with the contents of PITCAIRN'S CRIMINAL TRIALS. 223 the volume itself, or its intrinsic value, if it happens to have any. This species of ridicule, however, attaches to all not necessary pursuits, when too enthusiastically and exclusively followed. The Virtuoso in pictures, for example, sets out at first upon the idea of acquiring pieces exhibiting the beauty and compass of his favourite art, but, after persevering for some time in this natural and reasonable object, he begins to find it necessary to acquire knowledge of a thousand petty circumstances of a mechanical nature, with respect to great painters, in order to avoid imposition in the purchase of what are put up to sale as their works. Hence he is gradually seduced from the pursuit of what is beautiful and striking in itself, to hunt after minutiae which possess in themselves at best but very trifling interest. In like manner, even those gentlemen who are distin- guished for their attention to agriculture, the plainest, one would suppose, of studies, and the least exposed to be influenced by mere whims and va- garies, are nevertheless subject to the gradual invasions of caprice, which misdirect their pursuits, force them from their proper bias, and set all upon some little arbitrary rules which have no foundation either in reason or in common sense, and in which the most knowing may possess little real or useful knowledge. When this perversion is in full sway, the prize of the agricultural society is no longer bestowed upon the cow which gives best to the dairy, but upon some animal of a far-famed descent ; some "cow with a crumpled horn," to which fancy and prejudice have ascribed certain qualities which are supposed to prove that she is descended from the right-breed. The book-collectors, like other enthusiasts, have their own marks and Shibboleths, by which they exhibit their proficiency— proving, after Ab- horson's fashion, their art to be a mystery. These little mechanical particulars of a title-page or a colophon are of no esteem in themselves, when they cease to be like " the mason's word;" but whilst they remain the secret rule and direction of the few adepts, it is far otherwise. Who can deny that it is useful and noble to collect books for the sake of the knowledge which they contain — to trace with accuracy what authors are necessary to complete a collection in any department of literature; when and by whom its mysteries were first investigated; how, and in what 224 SIR WALTER SCOTT'S REVIEW OF manner, they were explained and brought to light? But, then, it is impossible to divide this entirely from the information respecting edi- tions of works, their dates, and form, and the minutiae of their outward appearance: and so it frequently happens that the necessary adjunct comes gradually to be preferred to the great end itself. We can easily sympathize with the student who prefers the editio princeps of a classic, that he may compare it with those which have followed — still more with another who pays a high price to obtain a copy of some work of less fortune than merit, which has been birth-strangled at its entrance into the world, and deserves to be rescued from the state of oblivion into which it has fallen. We do not much wonder at the preference which Cracherode, and such amateurs, have given to peculiarities of binding, and understand how the love of a book, as of a child, should extend itself, in an amateur, to the reform of its outward dress. Nay, we can make allowance, as far as common sense will admit, for the preference given to clean copies, tall copies, large paper copies, and the other varieties of outward appearance, though sometimes resting on qualities little better than chimerical. There is a point, however, at which our indulgence and sympathy must pause; we cannot, for instance, learn to prize what our always-entertain- ing friend, Dr Dibdin, calls " the shaggy honours of an uncut copy," — a copy which, of course, must suffer materially in its value so soon as it is put to the real purpose of being read ; nor can we see what advantage an old edition, presenting in many instances inconveniences and errors pecu- liar to itself, has over a well-printed, accurate copy of the modern press; and we think that, when pushed to this extremity, the taste which col- lectors display resembles very much that of " the idle dreamer, Who leaves the pye to gnaw the streamer." After all, however, many, and most respectable persons, have been distinguished for their expertness in turning and winding this peculiar species of hobby-horse. It is connected with much which is valuable in literature; and, among some Quixotic extravagances, has a tendency to promote much that is important and useful. And, for example, not the least important or the least useful of the consequences of the bibliomania PITCAIRN'S CRIMINAL TRIALS. 225 is now before us in these clubs of book-collectors — to which alone we are indebted for the printing of so many manuscripts which might have remained long in obscurity, and the still more numerous reprints of ancient tracts, almost equal to manuscripts in rarity. The productions of these societies now form a particular class of books, if not of literature, and, in tracing their origin, we willingly suffer ourselves to be recalled to- wards recollections dear to our youth, and to the memory of the individual whose grave this peculiar species of imprimatur seemed first to garland. John, third Duke of Roxburghe, who was born in 1740, and died in 1 804, was a nobleman whose lofty presence and felicitous address recalled the ideas of a court in which Lord Chesterfield might have acted as master of ceremonies. Youthful misfortunes, of a kind against which neither rank nor wealth possess a talisman, had cast an early shade of gloom over his prospects, and given to one so splendidly endowed with the means of enjoying society that degree of reserved melancholy which prefers retirement to the splendid scenes of gaiety. His court life was limited to the attendance required of him by his duty as groom of the stole, an office which he was induced to retain by his personal friendship with King George III. — a tie of rare occurrence between prince and subject. Silvan amusements occupied the more active part of his life when in Scotland, and in book collecting, while residing in London, he displayed a degree of patience which has rarely been equalled, and never excelled. The assistance of Mr George Nichol, bookseller to his Majesty, was as serviceable to the duke as to the celebrated library of George III., so liberally bestowed by George IV. upon the British Museum. It could hardly be said whether the Duke of Roxburghe's assiduity and eagerness were most remarkable, when he lay for hours together, though the snow was falling at the time, by some lonely spring in the Cheviot hills, where he expected the precarious chance of shooting a wild-goose when the dawning should break; or when he toiled for hours, nay, for days, collating and verifying his edition of the Black Acts, or Caxton's Boke of Troy.* This latter taste, we have heard, was inspired • [In the catalogue of his Grace's Library, p. 173, it is said that " This matchless copy of the first book printed in the English language belonged to Elizabeth Gray, Queen of Edward the IV." It brought the enormous price of £1060, 10s.] 2 F 226 SIR WALTER SCOTT'S REVIEW OF by an incident to which his grace had been witness while his father was alive. It is in such cases pleasing to trace that species of impression in youth which stamps the leading point of character on the mind in advanced age ; and we may therefore give the anecdote. It seems that Lord Oxford and Lord Sunderland, both famous collectors of the time, dined one day at the house of Robert, the second Duke of Roxburghe, when their con- versation chanced to turn upon the editio princeps of Boccaccio, printed at Venice in 1471, and so rare that its very existence was doubted of. The duke was himself no collector, but it happened that a copy of this very book had passed under his eye, and been offered to him for sale at a hundred guineas, then thought an immense price. It was, therefore, with complete assurance that he undertook to produce to the connoisseurs a copy of the treasure in question, and he did so, at the time appointed, with no small triumph.* His son, then Marquis of Beaumont, who never forgot the little scene upon this occasion, used to ascribe to it the strong passion which he ever afterwards felt for rare books and editions, and which rendered him one of the most assiduous and judicious collectors that ever formed a sumptuous library. At the death of this accomplished person, his noble collection, after the train of a long litigation, was at length brought to auction, attracting the greatest attention, and bringing the highest prices of any book sale that had ever been heard of in Britain. The number of noblemen and gentle- men, distinguished by their taste for this species of literature, who assem- bled there from day to day, recorded the proceedings of each morning's sale, and lamented or boasted the event of the competition, was unexam- pled ; and, in short, the concourse of attendants terminated in the forma- tion of a society of about thirty amateurs, having the learned and amiable Earl Spencer at their head, who agreed to constitute a club, which should have for its object of union the common love of rare and curious volumes, and should be distinguished by the name of that nobleman, at the dis- * [At the Roxburghe sale this copy of Boccaccio was purchased by the Marquis of Blandford (afterwards Duke of Marlborough), in competition with the late Earl Spencer, for the sum of £2260. Upon the dispersion of the Blandford Library, this precious volume was purchased by Longman & Co. and there- after transferred to Lord Spencer for about a third of the price it originally cost the Marquis.] PITCAIRN'S CRIMINAL TRIALS. 227 persion of whose library the institution had taken rise, and who had been personally known to most of the members. We are not sure whether the publication of rare tracts was an original object of their friendly reunion, or, if it was not, how or when it came to be ingrafted thereupon. Early, however, after the establishment of the Roxburghe Club, it became one of its rules that each member should present the society, at such time as he might find most convenient, with an edition of a curious manuscript, or the reprint of some ancient tract, the selection being left at the pleasure of the individual himself. These books were to be printed in a handsome manner, and uniformly, and were to be distributed among the gentlemen of the club, with such overcopies, as they are technically termed (the re- gular edition being limited to the number of the club), as the member who acted as editor might choose to distribute among his own particular friends — regard, however, being always paid to preserving the rarity of the volume. In this respect the gentlemen of the Roxburghe Club dis- played the consideration of old sportsmen, who, while they neglect no opportunity of acquiring game themselves, are not less anxious to preserve and keep up the breed for the benefit of others : neither was the effect on the public either useless or trivial. Such rare tracts as fell in the way of the members of this association, and were deemed worthy to be re- printed, would, at best, under other circumstances, have remained shut up within the wires of bookcases, which operate too often, according to Burke's pun, "as Locke upon the human understanding;" but sometimes they might have been entirely lost sight of, as, in the various changes of human life, they chanced to pass into ignorant or indifferent hands. It is, indeed, equally well known and singular how many books of curiosity appear in the catalogues even of our own day, and must have been dis- posed of at the sales of remarkable collectors, which are now not known to exist, notwithstanding the watch which is kept upon their fate. Whereas, if the original of one of these reprints should disappear, its tenor is ascer- tained by the fidelity of the club copies; and whatever may be valuable in its contents is preserved by the book being multiplied by the number of at least thirty to one, and the chance of ultimate and total loss of the original diminished in the same proportion. Under this system the Rox- 228 SIR WALTER SCOTT'S REVIEW OF burghe Club has proceeded and flourished for many years, and produced upwards of forty reprints of scarce and curious tracts, among which many are highly interesting, not only from their rarity, but also their intrinsic merit. They fetch, whenever accident brings one of them into the market, a high price ; and in the only instance where a complete set occurred, it was purchased at the considerable sum of one hundred and thirty pounds. * It has been said over and over again by those who feel, perhaps, a spe- cies of inferiority in being, by circumstances, excluded from a society which requires an easy fortune at least, if not opulence in its members, that there is something aristocratic in all this — that it constitutes an at- tempt to form a class divided from others, as skilful, and as ardent, at least, as themselves, in the pursuit of real knowledge — and, in short, that the Roxburghe Club has done more harm than good to literature. We would wish to speak on this subject, as on things of more import- ance, without cant or affectation. We have already said that book- collecting, like most other separate and exclusive pursuits, especially such as are followed rather in sport than as a part of life's serious business, is apt to gather about it a deal of Quixotic prejudice which may be harm- lessly enough subjected to ridicule: nor are we prepared to say that the same sum of money which has been expended upon the Roxburghe books might not have been so bestowed, under judicious management, as to produce more important services to English literature. But that is not the question ; for it is impossible to conceive any means by which the sums thus expended, could have been levied out of the pockets of indivi- duals for any other purpose than one which should please their own fancy, and should therefore possess some peculiar charms in their own eyes, su- perior to what it exhibits to those of other, perhaps more impartial, judges. If, however, we were to weigh in the balance of common sense the various publications, which for various causes men give to the world, we should be disposed, on considering the general result, to speak far from disre- spectfully of those of the bibliomaniacs. The Roxburghe books, though seldom in the market, are accessible at all times to any gentleman en- * [It is to be much regretted that a set of the Roxburghe books is not in any of the public libraries in Scotland. Surely the Library of the Faculty of Advocates, the national depositary of literary treasures, ought to possess one.] PITCAIRN'S CRIMINAL TRIALS. 229 gaged in the study of our literary or historical antiquities : and in them he certainly will find a mass of out-of-the-way learning, such as he could not otherwise reach ; — so much for the existing generation. They have, we may almost say, insured the preservation of their originals to all future ages. If word be still to be sent to them that their compilation is not well selected, the matter will enter into the category of the "knight's beard," and they may return for answer, they compiled their collection to please themselves. We come back, therefore, to the point from which we set out, and to our opinion, that at a period when the restoration of ancient literature cannot be looked for among the booksellers, — not for want of their good wishes, but of such encouragement as a public alone can afford, — when we see how many hopeful attempts of this kind have been ship- wrecked, although conducted with great spirit and only too much liberality, — we should think ourselves highly fortunate that a club of individuals have taken on themselves a duty which would not have otherwise been performed; and have very little title severely to question the nature of the services which they have actually rendered us at their own expense, and necessarily, therefore, according to their own pleasure. The example of the Roxburghe Club has not been thrown away upon our neighbours of Scotland, which contains at least two societies adjusted upon the similar form of a convivial meeting, and to the same purpose, the preservation and revival of ancient literature, with national and par- donable partiality to that of Scotland in the first instance. The eldest of these clubs was instituted in the year 1822, and consist- ed, at first, of a very few members,* gradually extended to one hundred, at which number we believe it has now made a final pause. They assume the name of the Bannatyne Club, from George Bannatyne, of whom little is known beyond that prodigious clerical effort which produced his present * [The late lamented Sir Alexander Boswell had projected a Scotch Club of a similar description, but was unable to form one. The first idea of the Bannatyne Club originated in an accidental conversation between the late Archibald Constable, Esq., Robert Pitcairn, Esq., David Laing, Esq., and the writer of this note, in the shop of Mr Abraham Thomson, when it was agreed that Mr Laing should have a com- munication with Sir Walter Scott and Thomas Thomson, Esq. Deputy-clerk Register, on the subject. These gentlemen at once expressed their willingness to give their assistance in the matter, and Sir Walter invited a few gentlemen to a conference, which took place in Barry's Hotel, when the Club was constitu- ted. The name was originally suggested by Mr James Laing, the brother of Mr David Laing, and approved of by Sir Walter, as preferable to the " Scotch Roxburghe," which was atone time thought of.] 230 SIR WALTER SCOTT'S REVIEW OF honours, and .is, perhaps, one of the most singular instances of its kind which the literature of any country exhibits. His labours as an amanuen- sis were undertaken during the time of pestilence, in the year 1568 ; the dread of infection had induced him to retire into solitude, and under such circumstances he had "the energy," says an account of him published by the club, " to form and execute the plan of saving the literature of the whole nation ; and, undisturbed by the universal mourning for the dead, and general fears of the living, to devote himself to the task of collecting and recording the triumphs of human genius in the poetry of his age and country ; thus, amid the wreck of all that was mortal, employing himself in preserving the lays by which immortality is at once given to others, and obtained for the writer himself. His task, he informs us, had its diffi- culties ; for he complains that he had, even in his time, to contend with the disadvantage of copies old, maimed, and mutilated, and which long before our day must, but for this faithful transcriber, have perished en- tirely. The very labour of procuring the originals of the works which he transcribed must have been attended with much trouble and some risk, at a time when all the usual intercourse of life was suspended, and when we can conceive that even so simple a circumstance as the borrowing or lend- ing a book of ballads was accompanied with some doubt and apprehension, and that probably the suspected volume was subjected to fumigation, and the other precautions practised in quarantine." The volume containing these labours is no less than eight hundred pages in length, and very neatly and closely written, containing nearly all the ancient poetry of Scotland now known to exist.* The pious care of the members of the Bannatyne * While this article is passing our hands, we notice a singular intimation how easily such a depositary of national literature might be lost, even when under the most apparently secure custody. The Banna- tyne Manuscript is deposited in the Advocates' Library of Edinburgh ; but from a little volume now before us, we find it was, with more liberality than discretion, permitted to pass into the possession of an indi- vidual in another country, in whose custody it remained for several months, and was conveyed from place to place both in Ireland and England. It is true, that the individual to whom it was entrusted was the celebrated Dr Percy, Bishop of DrOmore, for whose pursuits every degree of encouragement might justly be claimed. Still we think, the modern Bannatynians will hear, with something like misgiving, of the dangerous travels of their great palladium. See the proofs of this in Letters of Thomas Percy, D.D., John Callender, David Herd, and others, to George Paton. Edinburgh, Stevenson, 1830, — a work curious in several respects. — [Edited, with notes, preface, &c. by James Maidment, Esq. Advocate. This work was intended as the first volume of a series of Illustrations of the Literary History of Scotland, for which there are abundant materials in the Library of the Faculty of Advocates, but want of encouragement pre- vented the project from going farther.] PITCAIRN'S CRIMINAL TRIALS. 231 Club has been able to discover little more concerning " him of the un- wearied pen," save that he was of gentle descent, lived, apparently with- out sustaining any inconvenience, through the troublesome times of Mary and the Regents, and died in quiet, after he had passed the age of at least three score. Some meagre records give an account of his transactions in business; for there was little of poetical or romantic about the personal adventures of this indefatigable amanuensis. In a word, " He was, could he help it, a special attorney." This Caledonian association, which boasts several names of distinction, both from rank and talent, has assumed rather a broader foundation than the parent society. The plan of the Roxburghe Club, we have already said, is restricted to the printing of single tracts, each executed at the expense of an individual member. It follows, as almost a necessary con- sequence, that no volume of considerable size has emanated from the Roxburghe Club ; and its range has been thus far limited in point even of utility. The Bannatyne, we understand, holding the same system as the Roxburghe with respect to the ordinary species of club reprints, levies moreover a fund among its members of about L.500 a-year, expressly to be applied for the editing and printing of works of acknowledged im- portance, and likely to be attended with expense beyond the reasonable bounds of an individual gentleman's contribution. In this way either a member of the club, or a competent person under its patronage, superin- tends a particular volume or set of volumes. Upon these occasions, a very moderate number of copies are thrown off for general sale; and those belonging to the club are only distinguished from the others by being printed on the paper, and ornamented with the decorations, peculiar to the society. In this way, several curious and eminently valuable works have recently been given to the public, for the first time, or, at least, with a degree of accuracy and authenticity which they had never before attained. The contemporary history of King James VI. may be mentioned as an instance of the former kind ; and as one of the latter, the inimitable Me- moirs of Sir James Melville, which were not before known to exist in an authentic form, and which — not inferior in interest, information, and amuse- ment, to the very best memoirs of the period — have been at last presented in 232 SIR WALTER SCOTT'S REVIEW OF their genuine shape, from an undoubted original in the author's autograph.* The last we heard of this society was the interesting tidings that the young Duke of Buccleuch and Queensberry was preparing for the Bannatyne Club an edition, at his own expense, of the Chartulary of Melrose, con- taining a series of ancient charters from the eleventh, we believe, to the fourteenth century, highly interesting to the students of Scotish history. We need hardly say what pleasure it affords us to see wealth and rank in the hands of a person inclined to devote himself so liberally to the patron- age of the literature of his country. It must be seen that in thus stretch- ing their hand towards the assistance of the general public, the members of the Bannatyne Club, in some degree, wave their own claims of indivi- dual distinction, and lessen the value of their private collections ; but in so doing they serve the cause of historical literature most essentially, and to those who might upbraid them with their departure from the prin- ciples of monopoly otherwise so dear to book-collectors, we doubt not the thanes would reply, " We were Scotsmen before we were bibliomaniacs." The plan of the Bannatyne has been adopted by another Society of the same country, termed the Maitland Club, from an eminent Scotish statesman and poet of the gifted family of Lethington.f This club holds its meetings at Glasgow, and is chiefly supported by the gentlemen of the west of Scotland. It has not subsisted quite so long as the Banna- tyne, but has already produced several volumes of much interest, edited and printed in a most creditable style ; and the two associations have fre- quently, as in the instance of Mr Pitcairn's work now on our table, com- bined their exertions when the strength of one of them has been found unequal to an object peculiarly desirable. The history and success of these institutions must be dwelt on with pride in Scotland, and contem- plated with admiration every where.J * The autograph was found in the library of the Right Honourable Sir George Rose, and sent to press under that accomplished amateur's permission. f [This club principally owed its formation to the late Joseph Bain, Esq. younger of Morriston, who unfortunately did not live long enough to witness its subsequent prosperity. The works printed by it are as valuable as any of those published by the Bannatyne. We may instance the Chartulary of Paisley, presented by the Earl of Glasgow ; the complete collection of the poetical works of Drummond of Haw- thornden, by Mr M'Dowall of Gartland; the Romance of Clariodus, by Edward Piper, Esq.; Winzet's tracts, by J. B. Gracie, Esq. ; the Chartulary of Lennox, by A. Campbell, Esq.; and the Scala Chronica, Maitland Poems, and Wodrow's Biographies, presented by the Club.] | [A third literary club may now be added to the list, the object of which is not limited to the preser- vation of Scotish, but is extended to English literature and antiquities. It is called the Abbotsford Club, PITCAIRN'S CRIMINAL TRIALS. 233 It will easily be believed, that the publication of a set of criminal re- cords, tracing the administration of justice in a distracted country, and a remote and barbarous age, presents a thorny and unpromising field; and that the greatest external encouragement which could be proposed for a task so dreary and so difficult, would be inadequate to induce a person of suitable talents to undertake it, were it not that, fortunately, literary labour, like labour of other kinds, is, in some degree, its own reward. The hours may feel heavy, while they pass over the transcriber; but diffi- culties surmounted, and hardships endured, are recollections on which it is natural to dwell with pleasure; and the reflection that his enduring and patient toil has thrown a light upon the history of his country, which could not have shone but for his self-denying exertions, cannot be worth- less to Mr Pitcairn. Of this collection six parts, or fasciculi, are before us. They form as accurate a transcript as could be given of the early criminal records of Scotland. These curious documents are not, unfortunately, preserved with much accuracy, partly owing to the careless manner in which they were made up at the time — partly to the disturbed state of the country, vexed with foreign invasion, domestic discord, and war, public and private — and partly owing to portions of the national record having been subject- ed from time to time to the risk of suppression, in whole or in part, by one or other of the factions which chanced to be uppermost. The earlier part of the record is, therefore, very imperfect and meagre ; and it is not until James VI. had attained his majority, that even a keen antiquary finds fully opened to him that singular view of jurisprudence, literature, and manners, which the announcement of such a work might have led him to anticipate. Mr Pitcairn, therefore, unwilling to begin his extracts at a point where they might have been peculiarly unsatisfactory, commences with certain important trials, and law proceedings, which took place in the latter years of James's Scotish reign, from the year 1568 downwards. in honour of our illustrious countryman, and consists of fifty members. The annual payment is three guineas, and the same for entry money. Each member is also under an obligation to print a contri- bution at his own expense. Various works are in the course of publication, and already a most interest- ing volume of " Ancient Mysteries from the Digby manuscripts, preserved in the Bodleian Library, Ox- ford," has been printed at the expense of the Club, and circulated amongst the members.] 2g 234 SIR WALTER SCOTT'S REVIEW OF This course has the effect of rendering the first specimens of the work more interesting than they would otherwise have been; yet we cannot help being of opinion that there is a great disadvantage in any departure from regular chronology, in the case of such a publication. We should have been disposed to echo the expostulation of the giant Molineau, "Je vous prie, Belter, mon ami, commencez par le commencement" How- ever, receiving it as it is given to us, it cannot be denied that the present collection exhibits a most extraordinary picture of manners — one such as we hardlv conceived could have existed even in the idea of the wildest romancers of the North; and which is rendered doubly curious by the re- markable opposition in which the practical disorder of the country stands to the theoretical accuracy of its contemporary law. A few short rules will enable any reader to master the common difficul- ties of the northern dialect ; and most words of technical import, or of unusual occurrence, are regularly explained at the bottom of the page. In truth, the Scotish dialect chiefly differs from the English, as being a shade nearer to the Anglo-Saxon; and he who studies it, with whatever other views, becomes necessarily better acquainted in his progress with the history and structure of his own tongue. Mr Pitcairn's work is highly valuable in a philological point of view; but this is a secondary merit. It furnishes the historian with the means of settling, in many instances, disputed facts and dates, and ascertaining the fortune and fate of particular persons not elsewhere to be traced with any accuracy. The history of Scotland exhibits many incidents which make a deep and almost romantic impression on the mind, and regarding which we find new and highly important information in these at last ex- humated records. The whole history of Queen Mary, for example, too much and too darkly connected with the operations of the criminal courts of justice, may be traced there with a degree of certainty, far superior to what had previously been attained. Yet how dark will it still remain ! And how strange must it be considered, that the records of the actual process concerning Darnley's death, in the course of which Dalgliesh, Bothwell's servant, the alleged bearer of the famous casket of letters, ap- pears as answering freely enough to all manner of interrogatories, bear PITCAIRN'S CRIMINAL TRIALS. 235 no trace of a single question put to the man respecting the history, the appearance, or even the existence of such a casket. Another celebrated and contested piece of Scotish history, already illustrated by Mr Pitcairn's labours, is that dark and bloody chapter of the Gowrie conspiracy. The editor has given us the depositions of all the witnesses examined, and the result of all the judicial informations which were entered into for the purpose of illustrating this obscure conspiracy. Tragical stories, of a more domestic character, are, however, the very staple of these pages. In them many or most of our high-born and long-descended Scotish neighbours may find the misfortunes of their families recorded in ample detail. Few of note but will discover some ancestor that had either suf- fered or inflicted injuries in the course of deadly feud, or had some awk- ward affair with justice on account of the gentlemanly crimes of slaughter or high treason. Not the least curious of these causes celebres is that of the Mures of Auchindrane — a case, indeed, which the editor pronounces the most remarkable in the whole range of the criminal annals of Scotland, or perhaps of any other country. " In it (says the editor) are unfolded their most hidden transactions, and the secret springs of their most private and craftily-contrived plots, all of them leading to the perpetration of crimes so singular in atrocity, and of so deep a dye, that one can hardly expect to meet with their pa- rallel, even in the pages of romantic fiction. By the clew, now afforded, may be traced almost the secret thoughts of two of the most accomplish- ed and finished adepts in crime — individuals who murdered by rule, and who carried forward their deadly schemes of ambition by means of a regularly connected chain of plots and stratagems, so artfully contri- ved, as to afford them every reasonable prospect of success — and even in the event of the entire failure of their plans, almost to ensure their escape from suspicion; at the least, in their estimation, to warrant their security against ultimate detection, and, consequently, exempt them from the penalty of capital punishment. " Ambition and the lust of power appear to have been the immediate procuring causes of all the crimes in which these infatuated men were in- 236 SIR WALTER SCOTT'S REVIEW OF volved. Theirs was not the sudden burst of ungoverned passions, which, might have hurried them on to the commission of a solitary deed of frightful but unpremeditated violence — nor were their crimes the conse- quence of ancient feuds, inherited from their restless and vindictive ancestors — nor yet had they the too common apology, that they originat- ed in impetuous assaults made upon them, and that their hasty quarrels sprung from a fiery and unbridled temper, which had unfortunately termin- ated* in fatal results. On the contrary, the whole of their numerous at- tempts and crimes may be characterised as cool, calculating, and deliberate acts, anxiously studied, and by slow and patient, but sure degrees, ma- tured and prosecuted, for a long series of years, until at length * the measure of their iniquities overflowed,' — and the unlooked-for occurrence of an extraordinary train of circumstances, the most unlikely to have hap- pened, eventually led to a triumphant discovery of their enormous crimes. " It is quite unnecessary here to enter into any detailed account of the facts connected with the crimes of these individuals. Their leading fea- tures are already familiar to all, ever since the publication of ' Auchin- drane, or the Ayrshire Tragedy,' from the pen of Sir Walter Scott; in the preface to which dramatic sketch, the origin and progress of these dark transactions are so fully discussed, that the editor begs simply to refer the reader to a reperusal of that work.* •:' In addition to the information contained in the * Dittay,' and in the pleadings in this trial, the editor has been anxious to collect and lay be- fore the reader the most remarkable circumstances connected with the history of the elder and younger Mures. For this purpose, he has for some years past used all exertions to extend his researches in every di- rection, where authentic illustrative documents and records could be pro- cured — and he has now the satisfaction of appending to this highly interest- ing case a variety of papers, which may almost be said to throw all the light that can now be reasonably expected, on proceedings which occurred now above two hundred and twenty years ago." — Vol. iii. p. 124. Accordingly, the whole of this infernal business may be traced with the utmost minuteness in these authentic documents, in which it will be * See Poetical Works of Sir Walter Scott, edition of 1833, vol. xii. p. 241. PITCAIRN'S CRIMINAL TRIALS. 237 seen how Auchindrane long persecuted and finally despatched an unfor- tunate boy, merely because he possessed a casual piece of knowledge tending to develop an assassination which the cruel laird had committed. He at length slew him by the help of his own son and another assistant, too steady a clansman to question his chief's pleasure. The death of his unscrupulous accomplice in the boy's murder was next planned, and after that, it was hoped and schemed that the third assassin,, to whom the slaughter of this accomplice was to be intrusted, might be himself killed by some friend of the deceased, upon the old quarrel of deadly feud. The remarkable species of pride displayed by this singular old ruffian, when he resolved not to be exiled for so mean a crime as killing the poor boy — a pride which induced him to commit a bloody assault upon one of his feudal enemies, merely that a more gentlemanlike charge against him- self might be established as an excuse for his non-appearance, — all this opens points of character which could, perhaps, be paralleled from no other age or country. Many instances singularly and frightfully indicative of the ferocity of the Highland clans, neither fancifully coloured with fictitious circum- stances, nor adorned with those evening lights with which the compassion of a civilized age gilds the legends of a decaying and romantic race, but depicted in their broad character of blood and inhumanity, are given in this veracious record, where nothing can be either extenuated or set down in malice. The feud between the Macdonalds and the Macleans forms one terrible example; and if we wished to draw from the life the picture of a feudal tyrant, we would not go farther than a selection from the indictment of Patrick Stewart, Earl of Orkney, for treason and op- pression. This person, a near relation of his sovereign, exercised a royal power within the distant isles of Orkney and Shetland, where his man- dates had the force of laws, against which the voice of the oppressed island- ers was far too weak to make itself heard. This haughty savage exacted from his subjects engagements in which they became bound to support his quarrel against every man, without exception of the King himself. The subscribers of these treasonable obligations moreover bound them- selves to be judged by the said Earl, without reserving or acknowledging any appeal to King, council, or session; "a thing," says the indictment, 238 STR WALTER SCOTT'S REVIEW OF "unnatural, unjust, tyrannical, impossible, and treasonable." He was also accused of interrupting the passages and ferries of Orkney and Shetland, so that none should be allowed to use them without his own special license, and those who transgressed this petty tyrant's mandate were subject to ruinous fines and imprisonment. Nor was the property of the King's tenants in these islands more secure than their personal liberty. The earl altered, at his own pleasure, and always to his own advantage, the acknowledged standards of coins, weights, and measures, current through the archipelago. In erecting his castle of Scalloway, and other expensive edifices, the King's tenants were forced to work in quarries, transport stone and lime, dig, delve, climb, and build, and sub- mit to all possible sorts of servile and painful labour, without either meat, drink, hire, or recompense of any kind; "finally," says the indictment, " the said Earl has treasonably discharged the said inhabitants of Orkney or Shetland to buy or sell meal, malt, meat, drink, fish, flesh, butter, cattle, sheep, or other commodities, without his license, under severe penalties, which were levied by imprisonment or forfeiture at the pleasure of the Earl." This noted oppressor was finally brought to trial, and executed at the Cross of Edinburgh. It is said that the King's mood was considerably heated against him by some ill-chosen and worse-written Latin inscriptions with which his father and himself had been unlucky enough to decorate some of their insular palaces. In one of these, Earl Robert, the father, had given his own designation thus — " Orcadise comes Rex Jacobi quinti filius." In this case he was not perhaps guilty of any thing worse than bad Latin. But James VI., who had a keen nose for puzzling out treason, and with whom an assault and battery upon Priscian ranked in nearly the same degree of crime, had little doubt that the use of the nominative Rex, instead of the genitive Regis, had a "treasonable savour." Earl Patrick himself seems to have been but a dull monster in the article of apprehension. A clergyman, from whom he demanded an in- scription for his already mentioned tower of Scalloway, supplied him with the following quotation from Scripture — " The house which is built on a rock shall stand, but that founded on the sand shall perish." The Earl adopted the inscription, and had it labelled on the portal of the tower, where it is still to be seen. " My father," said Earl Patrick, " built his PITCAIRN'S CRIMINAL TRIALS. 239 house at Sumburgh on the sand, and it has given way already ; this of mine on the rock shall abide and endure." He did not or would not understand that the oppression, rapacity, and cruelty, by means of which the house arose, were what the clergyman really pointed to in his recom- mendation of a motto. Accordingly, the huge tower remains wild and desolate — its chambers filled with sand, and its rifted walls and dismantled battlements giving unrestrained access to the roaring sea-blast. But it is not only as illustrative of historical tradition that we would recommend the present collection. It contains also, if they will have the courage to seek such ore amidst a mass which has something of an alarming appearance, much that will greatly interest both the jurist and the moralist. It may, indeed, be compared to that second tower, which Spenser's Alma showed to her guests — " whose wals Were painted faire with memorable gestes Of famous wisards ; and with picturals Of magistrates, of courts, of tribunals, Of commen wealthes, of states, of pollicy, Of lawes, of judgementes, and of decretals, All artes, all science, all philosophy, And all that in the world was ay thought wittily."* The Scotish judicial system contained, like the criminal procedure of all nations derived from the noble Gothic stem, the principles of freedom, the darling attribute of those gallant tribes, to whom the use of arms was as familiar as that of their limbs, and who felt that life could not be en- joyed without the full possession of personal liberty. In particular, the Scots were acquainted, as far back as we can trace the matter, with the institution of juries, though it was only by frequent alterations, and a great many accommodations to the change of manners, that it finally settled into that appearance which it now presents. Of the more ancient jurors, we may doubt whether they were any other than an improvement upon the system of compurgators, adopted among the Scandinavians. These were, in fact, rather witnesses to the character of the accused — a matter which must in those days have been of decisive consequence — than persons invested, like our modern jurors, with a judicial capacity pro re natd. * [Tod's Spencer, vol. iv. p. 76. Lond. 1805, 8vo.] 240 SIR WALTER SCOTT'S REVIEW OF Upon this old and rude plan the evidence against the accused having been submitted to the court, he produced in support of his answer a cer- tain number of persons, his friends and neighbours, who made oath that, having heard all that was stated against the accused, they were neverthe- less of opinion, from their knowledge of his temper and habits, that he was innocent. This opinion concerning the origin of Scotish juries has been fortified by the learned Dr Hibbert, who cites the oath of the Rad- man of Zetland — an oath nearly the same with that now administered to Scotch jurors, "the truth to tell, and no truth to conceal," and which certainly bears nearer reference, prima, facie, to the office of a compurga- tor than to that of a juror, whose business it is to report his faithful opinion on the import of tne evidence of others. The supposition has been, that the one institution merged into the other ; but this certainly was not the fact, at least in the way assumed, for there is historical proof that, in at least one noted case in which the accused person desired to excuse him- self by compurgation, he was required to subject himself to the trial by jury. It occurred as follows : — In the year 1242, David de Hastings, Earl of Atholl, was, among other Scotish nobles, engaged in a tournament, where he chanced to over- throw William Bisset, a favourite of the King, whose interest was great, and his family powerful and numerous. A fatal animosity rose ; in conse- quence of which (as was at least generally supposed) the Earl of Atholl was assassinated at Haddington, and the house in which he lodged was burned. Suspicion fell on Bisset, and the nobility of Scotland rose in arms and demanded his life. Bisset stood on his defence. He declared he was fifty miles distant from Haddington on the night when the crime was perpetrated. He offered to vindicate his innocence by single combat against every accuser ; and what is more to our present purpose, to prove, by the oaths of any number of veteran soldiers whose testimony should be required, that he was incapable of such an act of treachery as had been charged against him. The Queen herself, a beautiful young princess of the heroic family of Couci, offered, as a compurgator, to make her solemn oath that Bisset had never meditated so enormous a crime. But the nobles around the King rejected the defences offered by Bisset, demand- ing, at the same time, if he was willing to commit himself to the oaths PITCAIRN'S CRIMINAL TRIALS. , 241 of his fellow subjects and the opinion of the neighbourhood. This he re- fused, "considering, "says Fordun, " the malicious prepossessions of rustics, and the general prejudice of the province." He was obliged, therefore, to fly from Scotland, and the event was his ruin with that of his numerous family and allies. In this celebrated instance we certainly read the early establishment of the Scotish jury, properly so called ; but then, and for many ages afterwards, it existed on a precarious footing, and was far from affording to the subject any very efficient means of protection. In very ancient times, indeed, and even down to the beginning of the six- teenth century, the jurors took the law as well as facts of the case under their consideration, and decided whether the incidents narrated in the in- dictment corresponded with or fell short of the crime charged. They brought in a verdict, not, indeed, of guilty or not guilty, but what amounted to the same thing, of cleansed or assoilzied, or proven and convict ; such was, apparently, the original process. But by a train of gradual encroachments, the judges wrested from the jury the most im- portant part of their privilege, and while they allowed still the uncontrol- led decision of the facts of the case, they contrived to assume to them- selves the cognizance of the law, and thus made themselves masters, in a great degree, of the fate of the prisoner. The form then introduced was of the following tenor. The indictment charged the prisoner, or, as he is called, " more Sco- tico," the pannel, with having been actor or art and part (artifex et par- ticeps) in a particular set of facts, charged as amounting to murder, or some other specific crime. The counsel debated, if there was room for debate, what crime such facts ought to infer, in case they were proven. The court pronounced on these circumstances an interlocutor of rele- vancy, as it was called, settling exactly to what offence the facts libelled would amount, provided they should be regularly proved. The jury had then nothing to do save to ascertain whether the facts alleged were pro- ven or not proven : in the latter case the prisoner was dismissed ; in the former the doom of the court took place, as ascertained by the interlo- cutor of relevancy, whatever might be the real opinion of the jurors re- specting the nature of the prisoner's guilt, which, of course, would very often 2h 242 SIR WALTER SCOTT'S REVIEW OF be considered by them in a milder view than had been adopted by the judges. A singular case occurred in last century, which occasioned a remarkable revolution in this matter; its whole circumstances belong to a former day, though its particulars are still fresh in remembrance. It may be shortly recapitulated here, though in Scotland, as a cause celebre, both consider- ing its circumstances and its jurisprudential result, it is well known. A numerous party of Angus-shire country gentlemen met at a funeral in the town of Forfar, about the year 1728. James Carnegie of Finhaven was a principal person present: he was obnoxious to some of the com- pany, who were violent Jacobites, on account of his political principles, or rather of some change he was supposed to have made in them. An indi- vidual named Lyon of Brigton was also present, respected as a man of good family, but of a character so savage and rough, especially when warmed with liquor, that the gentry in the neighbourhood were accustom- ed to refuse him admission into their society, unless he came without a sword, which was at that time accounted the distinctive mark of a man of condition. It was the wild custom of that day, that much wine was con- sumed at funerals; and Carnegie, who acted as host, being nearest rela- tive to the deceased, had his own share, and pressed it, as was the custom, on the other persons present. Lyon was inflamed with liquor, of which all parties had too much. He annoyed Carnegie with many cutting and brutal sarcasms, doubly severe as applied at such a time, and in such a com- pany. The gentleman in the chair endured all with remarkable tempe- rance until personal aggression was added to verbal insult. When the company came into the street, the aggressor thrust Carnegie down into the kennel, from which he arose mad with the natural passion to which he had been long wrought up. He drew his sword, exclaiming — " This is too much to be borne !" and staggered towards Lyon with mortal inten- tions, not to be wondered at, considering the continued and gross provo- cation he had received, and the condition in which he himself was. Lyon, who had no sword of his own, for the reason already mentioned, rushed towards the Earl of Strathmore, his friend and chief, and endeavoured to seize his lordship's weapon to repel the attack of Carnegie. The noble- PITCAIRN'S CRIMINAL TRIALS. 243 man was a person generally and justly esteemed, and, desirous to preserve the peace on either hand, he pushed his relation aside, and threw himself between him and the gentleman so grossly offended. Unhappily, in thus interposing himself in the quarrel, he received a mortal thrust, designed by Carnegie for the person who had given him such mortal insults, and died immediately afterwards. Such was the memorable case before the court. The facts were stated accurately in the indictment, and the judge pronounced them relevant to infer the crime of murder. The feelings of the jury, however, revolted against being bound by the declaration of the law laid down by the bench — they felt that the death of the Earl of Strath- more was an incident altogether unintended and deeply lamented by the un- fortunate homicide — they considered his real purpose of aggression against Lyon as excused, if not fully justified, by the grossness of Lyon's provo- cation ; and, accordingly, they brought in a general verdict, finding that Carnegie was not guilty of the crime of murder, while they avoided giving any opinion whether the facts of the indictment were either proved or otherwise. In this leading case was first ascertained the right of the Scot- ish jury to acquit an accused person, although it should be proved upon ' his trial that he was guilty of acts which the judges had found by their in- terlocutor of relevancy to amount to the crime libelled. Similar general verdicts have been brought in where the judgment of relevancy was es- teemed too severe, nor is this valuable privilege now questioned. But this was far from being the only change necessary to invest the jury with that wholesome power which we now consider as its necessary possession. Far down in the seventeenth century the crown still exercised a superior and magisterial right of interfering with the verdict of a jury, and, in fact, of controlling and overawing the inquest itself — a practice which, however iniquitous in many of its results, may be traced to the very root of the judicial system not only in Scotland, but in most other Euro- pean states. The sovereign was, in all these systems, the source of judi- cial authority, and in early times, like the Kings of Israel, distributed justice, sitting personally in the gate, to those who demanded it at his hand. This is the obvious reason why all writs run in the name of the King. The intervention of justiciars, as they are named in Scotland — 244 SIR WALTER SCOTT'S REVIEW OF professional judges, that is to say — was a great and obvious improvement ; for though a young king might lead his army bravely, and hold his court royally, he could hardly be expected to be born with the habits of mind necessary to exercise the judicial functions. Still, however, he remained the principal judge; and the circumstances which controlled his adminis- tration in that capacity were so numerous, that it was natural he should seize on all sorts of opportunities and pretexts to sweep such obstacles from his way; and one of the methods thus resorted to was indeed a strange one. By a primeval, and exquisitely absurd fiction of law, the indictment or libel was supposed to be the very words of the King himself, addressed to the court, the accused person, and the jurors. From this the ingenu- ity of crown-lawyers derived a hideous result, — namely, that when the accused was put upon his trial, he might support his cause otherwise as he best could, but he must on no account take up any line of defence inconsistent with the truth of the facts charged in the libel, which, as the King's own account of the matter, could not be called in question. A defence, therefore, of alibi, the most direct and intelligible which could be stated, as being contradictory to the royal libel, was of no avail ; and thus the accused person was exactly in the state of one who should be placed in the lists to fight for his life with his right hand tied behind his back. Something of the same absurd doctrine may be observed in England during the trials which flowed out of the Popish plot, when the judges often checked and repelled any pleading for the accused which went to impeach the testimony of the King's witnesses, — namely, Oates, Dugdale, and Bedloe, now universally given up as a set of perjured monsters. Common sense by degrees softened down this absurd doc- trine in Scotland, and jurists at length plucked up heart to pronounce the accused at liberty capitulare directe contrarium ejus quod libellatur. And full time it was that such an absurdity should be exploded, since, while it existed, it must have been easy for an expert lawyer to draw up his libel in such a manner that no defence should be available against it. In considering the extraordinary methods, however, by whicrrthe crown maintained influence in the criminal courts of Scotland, we must not PITCAIRN'S CRIMINAL TRIALS. 245 forget what continual obstruction it was exposed to in its attempts to administer any thing like justice to so unruly a people — especially when- ever any powerful individual or party was concerned. A delinquent who felt himself bold enough to face the tribunal of justice took marvellous care not to trust to his innocence alone, even if he was furnished with that moral defence. Wherever he was himself powerful, or where his cause was for any reason well befriended, he presented himself at the bar with as many armed friends and retainers as would, according to the phrase of the day, " do for him." The most innocent and meritorious — the most guilty and criminal — had recourse to the same means for controlling the course of the law. When the government of Mary of Guise determined on proceeding criminally against the reformed preach- ers, the enthusiastical hearers of the congregation agreed, as discharging the ordinary part of friends and favourers of an accused party, to present themselves in court in arms, in defence of their pastors, and assembled a little army, which soon overawed and suspended the plans of the Queen. In like manner, when Bothwell subjected himself to a mock trial for the murder of Henry Darnley, he took care to be so well guard- ' ed, both by his own retainers and dependents, and by bands of mercenary soldiers, that it was impossible the slightest chance of conviction should occur. In this, as in many other cases, the observation of Lucan held just:— " Quis castra timenti Nescit mista foro ? gladii cum triste minantes Judicium insolita trepidum cinxere corona, Atque auso medias perrumpere milite leges Pompejana reum clauserunt signa Milonem ?" In the same tone says Richard Maitland of Lethington, contrasting the excellence of the Scotish laws with the violence by which their execu- tion was too often opposed : — " To make acts we have some skeil ; God woteth if we keip them weil! We come to bar with jack of steil, As we wou'd boast the judge and fray. Of sic justice I have nae skeil, Where rule and order are away." 246 SIR WALTER SCOTT'S REVIEW OF Besides the risk that the common course of justice, when directed against persons of importance, should be obstructed by the intervention of jack and spear, it must be remembered that there was a great part of Scotland in which the King had little authority, and his writs no efficient currency, unless supported by actual military force. To the whole of Scotland north of the Highland line this fully applied down to a late pe- riod ; nor were the four frontier counties, though containing much excel- lent and fruitful soil, in a condition more amenable to the law, until after the union of the crowns. When the prince, feeling himself more than usually strong, provoked, perhaps to extremity, by the disorders of these wild people, formed a resolution to suppress them at all risks, he was wont to place himself at the head of an army, and march into the offend- ing districts, executing, with the utmost rigour, whomsoever he came upon in his way. In these frantic exertions of power, under the disguise of justice, much blood was shed ; the seed was sown, of course, for much deadly feud, in a country where it could not fail to germinate ; and as there could be small leisure for drawing distinctions between the guilty and innocent, the King rather resembled Attila, the Scourge of Heaven, or a vindictive feudal champion dealing blows with his battle-axe at a ven- ture, than a sovereign wielding the sword of justice with composure and serenity. It is not necessary, however, to enter into this part of the subject, and it may be more profitable to enquire by what expedients the Kings of Scotland endeavoured, in cases that fell within the common course of judicature, to overcome the disadvantages by which it was so miserably in- terrupted. One of these was a resource which we are afraid is very common in similar cases, being, in fact, near of kin to the principle which bounded the chirurgical practice of P. P., clerk of this parish, " who to bleed ad- ventured not, except the poor." The King of Scotland, in like manner, when his purposes of justice were defeated by these proud thanes, who made the bar of criminal jurisprudence resemble the defended garden of Eden, " With dreadful faces throngM and fiery arms," sought for a recompense to his hurt pride and injured authority, by letting PITCAIRN'S CRIMINAL TRIALS. 247 the full weight of his indignation descend upon some unfortunate wretch of the lower orders, who had been guilty of any cognizable crime, but espe- cially if he had been instigated by the insubordination of his betters to do something inferring disrespect to his sacred majesty, — it seems, in short, on such occasions, to have been a matter of great indifference where the staff was cut with which such a dog was to be beaten, provided only it was a cur of low degree who underwent castigation. The following extraordinary and despotic instance is probably unique in the annals of judicial proceedings. We will first mention the circum- stances as they are recorded in the journal of an honest citizen of Edin- burgh, often quoted by Scotish antiquaries. "April 27, 1601. — Archibald Cornuel, town officer, hanged at the Cross, and hung on the gallows twenty-four hours ; and the cause where- for he was hanged; he, being an unmerciful, greedy creature, poinded (that is, attached by distress) an honest man's house; and amongst the rest he poinded the king and queen's picture; and when he came to the Cross to comprise (appraise and expose to auction) the same, he hung them up on two nails on the same gallows to be comprised; and they being seen, word went to the king and queen, whereupon he was appre- hended and hanged.'" These were the days, Mr Rigmarole ! We scarcely know whether to wonder most at such an exertion of power, or at the quiet and matter-of- fact manner in which the punishment and its cause are recorded. It is supposed that Sir Thomas Hamilton, then King's Advocate, well known by the name of Tom of the Cowgate, must have procured this extraor- dinary conviction upon some dicta drawn from the civil law, where the imagines of the emperors are recommended to religious veneration, and those who profaned or insulted them were held guilty of impiety. It was even doubted at the time whether the unfortunate Cornuel had done more than meditate the foul treason which he died for; it was alleged he had only bored a hole in the King's picture with the treasonable purpose of disposing it upon the gibbet, but was prevented from doing so by the mur- murs of the people. It is obvious that the whole passed per incuriam on a 4 248 SIR WALTER SCOTT'S REVIEW OF the part of the catchpole, and without the slightest degree of "malice prepense;" the unlucky man could have had no further purpose than to hang the picture where it might be best seen when exposed to auction with the debtor's other effects. But the jury — by the by, Mr Pitcairn thinks it an aggravation of Cornuel's wrongs that no fewer than eight of them were tailors — probably held opinion with the worthy journalist above cited, that any reason might serve for hanging an unmerciful, greedy bumbailiff, who bore the character of being severe in his odious office of attaching honest men's goods. It would seem that the reign of James VI., good-humoured as that prince certainly was, afforded various other instances of similar despotism, in which his sacred majesty played the "tyrant of the minnows." We ourselves had lately occasion, in our re- view of his "Royal Progresses," to notice the brevi manu execution of a fellow who was taken for cutting purses during his majesty's halt in Newark in 1603, and forthwith strung up by no further warrant than the King's order; and the ingenious editor points out one or two other cases equally summary. John Dickson, for example, a stubborn Englishman, being commanded by an officer of the ordnance to veer his boat and give place to the King's artillery, he answered, he would not veer his boat either for king or kaisar, and thereto added, that James was but a bastard king, and not worthy to be obeyed, for which crimes he was condemned to death. October 10th, 1600. — Francis Tennant was indicted for a libel, as we should now term it, detracting from the king, and terming him (in allusion to Rizzio) the son of Signor Davie. He was sentenced to be taken to the Market Cross, his tongue cut out by the roots, his brows crowned with a paper on which his crime should be inscribed, and then hanged till death. A subsequent revision of the sentence dispensed with the cutting out the tongue, or any further torture, such being the tender mercies of the sapient monarch ; but the punishment of death was inflicted. It was not, however, always safe or easy for the sovereign to proceed by so straight a road ; but then he had oblique methods of working both upon the fears of the criminal and the apprehensions of the jury, which frequently carried him as certainly, if not as directly, to the desired point. ■I PITCAIRN'S CRIMINAL TRIALS. 249 The most common of these was that species of argument by which the accused was prevailed upon to come in the King's will, that is, to submit to his mercy, and leave the nature and extent of the punishment to the royal pleasure. It is evident that in many cases this might serve both parties. A criminal might escape with a milder punishment, who, if con- victed under the law, would have been liable to a great one ; and a fine to the exchequer might often reconcile the sovereign to robbing the gallows. A remarkable case of this kind occurs in the present publication. One John Kincaid of Craighouse, a wild young gentleman, having his resi- dence and property near Edinburgh, had cast his eyes upon a comely young widow, well endowed with a jointure, and, according to the rough mode of wooing, not uncommon at the time, projected an attack upon her person when she was quietly residing under the roof of John Johnston, bailie of the Water of Leith. Kincaid, supported by divers accom- plices, having arms both offensive and defensive, entered the house, laid hands on the fair widow, and carried her off to the laird's tower of Craig- house, situated on the Braidhills. Little is said of Isabel Hutchison's desperation or resistance, and, considering the small distance to which the pretty dame was transported, it seems extremely dubious whether more violence was either offered or intended than just that modicum of it which might give her an apology for following her own inclinations. But the unlucky laird had chosen the hours of broad daylight for his gallant exploit, and what was worse, King James and his attendants were abroad hunting in the fields through which Craighouse and his party conveyed their fair prize. At the sight of the royal cortege, no doubt, the kidnapped widow assumed a disconsolate appearance, and uttered her cries for help more earnestly than before, and King James, though scarce by habit a professed slave of the fair sex, was moved to interpose his authority in her behalf. The Earl of Mar and Sir John Ramsay were dispatched to beset, with a sufficient retinue, the ravisher's tower of Craighouse, and deliver the distressed dame, Isabel Hutchison, in which they found no difficulty ; — but mark the end. The unfortunate laird of Craighouse, not knowing to what extremities he might be subjected for an act of violence committed almost in the royal presence, was probably easily induced to come in the 2i 250 SIR WALTER SCOTT'S REVIEW OF King's will, and his punishment was a fine of nearly a ruinous extent, being twenty-five thousand merks to be paid to his highness and his treasurer ; and, what is diverting enough, the unfortunate culprit is per- emptorily appointed to deliver to the King or to his treasurer, over and above the fine, his brown horse, which perhaps had pleased his grace when he had a glimpse of it at their rencounter on Braidhills. The King's will was not always so favourable: sometimes actual exe- cution of the criminal was ordered ; and we remember one outrageous case of this kind, seemingly allied to those of Tennant and Cornuel before mentioned. This unlucky person was a Scotishman by birth, and, what appears of itself an anomaly, was brought to trial in his own country for a crime committed in England. He was charged with having put upon the door of St Mary's College (New College), in the university of Oxford, a scandalously false and treasonable libel, containing reflections upon his own countrymen, asserting that all Scotishmen should be put from court except the King and his family, and upbraiding the English for suffering themselves to be domineered over by such offscourings of the people. The unfortunate libeller placed himself in the King's will, ac- knowledging that he had committed the act in a fit of madness, and ex- pressing extreme contrition ; he was nevertheless condemned to have his hands struck off, and to be beheaded.* Another mode remained, of a nature yet more violent, by which the King of Scotland might wrest to his own purpose the opinion of the jury. These persons were always liable, if they brought a verdict contrary to the opinion of the crown counsel, to be themselves called to account for per- jury or wilful error; and whenever the King's Advocate had any suspicion that an accused person was likely to escape by the verdict of the jury, he was sure to remind them what the consequences might be to themselves. There was yet another method in which the sovereign power of Scot- land currently interfered with the procedure of justice, not to enforce its authority indeed, but to obstruct it by snatching offenders from its ven- geance ; and its operations are more frequently to be traced through Mr Pitcairn's collection than those of any, or perhaps of all the doctrines we * Introduction to Maclaurin's Cases, p. 38. PITCAIRN'S CRIMINAL TRIALS. 251 have touched upon. There was no crime so gross that the party accused of it did not very often plead the King's remission at the bar, and compel the judges to dismiss him without farther trial. The general looseness of this practice had most deplorable effects; and in James's reign it became more than ever prevalent-, owing to the natural facility of his temper, his indulgence to courtiers and favourites, and his want of power to resist the most unreasonable requests, when urged by those who had access to, or interest with him. In the case of the notorious Archibald Douglas, the King appears to have been induced to shelter under the shadow of his protection a person whom no one ever doubted to have been particularly active in the murder of Henry Darnley, his father. After this, it would be superfluous to add other instances of those unseemly and indecent re- missions; yet the following case so completely illustrates the impuissance of the laws, and the sacrifices which a sovereign of Scotland was compel- led to make to the troubles of the time, that we are tempted to quote it. Captain James Stewart (sometime Earl of Arran) was one of King James's earliest minions, and neither he nor any other prince ever settled his affections on a worse. Having ventured to stir from the solitude in which he had spent some years of retirement, after being banished from court, this Stewart ventured, in 1595, to appear in public, and to pass near the castle of Douglas of Torthorwald. That haughty baron was made acquainted with a freedom which he esteemed to be done in bra- vado, as the disgraced favourite was at mortal feud with all the name of Douglas, for having been the principal agent in pressing forward the trial and execution of the Regent Morton. Torthorwald, therefore, incensed at his enemy's audacity, threw himself hastily on horseback, as soon as he knew of his journey, pursued Stewart up a wild pass called the Gate- slack, ran a lance through his body and left him dead on the highway. The friends of the deceased endeavoured to bring the homicide to jus- tice. But Douglas, not caring to undergo the risk of a trial, rather chose to submit to the decree of outlawry, which followed on the occa- sion. Meanwhile, he resided at his castle near Dumfries, with the cer- tainty of making his part good against any one who should approach him with the purpose of giving him disturbance. Things remained in this 252 SIR WALTER SCOTT'S REVIEW OF state till 1598, when the Earl of Angus, lord warden of the whole marches, and having full power of King's lieutenant over the entire frontier, had oc- casion to command a general assembly of all the gentlemen within his terri- tory for some branch of public service. On such meetings, all the landhold- ers in the district were bound to attend under high penalties ; and the Baron of Torthorwald failed not to obey the summons, the rather that it was sent forth by the Earl of Angus, the head of the house of Douglas. Nor had the Earl, acting in his high office, the least hesitation at accepting the military services and aid of a person accused of the murder of the King's ancient minister and near cousin, and who was denounced rebel, and under sentence of outlawry for his refusal to abide trial for this crime. But this is only one shade of an extraordinary picture. To complete it we must add, that the appearance of Torthorwald at the host officially assembled by the Earl of Angus, and, it may be supposed, the predom- inance of the Douglas interest, determined many gentlemen in Ayrshire, Cunninghames, Kennedies, and others, connected by blood or friendship with that Stewart for whose slaughter Torthorwald was under outlawry, to absent themselves from the host assembled by the King's lieutenant, rather choosing to incur the penalties which might attach to their absence, than risk the quarrels and bloodshed likely to spring from their meeting with Torthorwald, where both parties were in arms. The remission granted by the King on this occasion affords a most striking proof of his helpless state as a sovereign. It may at the same time serve as a specimen of the structure and orthography of the record. " We vnderstanding that our louittis, William Cwninghame of Cap- rintoune and Daniell Cwninghame of Dalbeyth, being chargeit be vertew of Proclamatioune, to haif mett our rycht traist cousing, Williame Erll of Angus, our Lieutennent and Wardane of our West Marcheis, att Drumfreis, or sic vther pairtis contenit in our said Proclamatioun, for persuit of the disobedient persounis within our said Wardanrie, in the moneth of Februar, I m . V c .lxxxxviij yeiris : And that for obedience thairof, and command of our said Proclamatioune, thay addressit thame selffis in weirlie maner with thair freindis and seruandis to our said raid ; and James Dowglas of Torthorrell, being our rebell, and lying att our PITCAIRN'S CRIMINAL TRIALS. 253 home, for the slauchter of our vmq le cousing, James Stewart of New- toune, and thair neir kynnisman, being than in cumpany att the said raid with our said Lieutennent : swa that the saidis Williame Cwninghame of Caprintoune, George Campbell of Cesnok, nor the said Daniell Cwninghame, could nocht guidlie remane att our said raid (the said James Dowglas being in thair cumpany) : Quhairvpoun thay haifing than menit thame vnto ws, We, for eschewing of gritar inconuenient, than faithfullie promittit in verbo principis, and gave licence to thame, thair friendis and seruandis, to pas hame fra our said raid, and that they sould thairefter, att na tyme addres thame selffis to ony raid with our said Lieutennent (the said James Dowglas being in cumpany with him), bot that thay sould remane att hame, and incur na skaith nor danger thair- throw. And als, that the saidis Williame, George, and Daniell, being lykewyis chargeit agane to haif mett with our said Lieutennent att our said burch of Drumfreise, vpon the xxij day of September lastbypast (with quhom the said James Dowglas was than in cumpany), swa that thay mycht not addres thame selffis thairto : Thairfor, and according to our said promeis, we haif freelie Remittit, and be thir presentis Remittis the saidis Williame Cwninghame, George Campbell, and Daniell Cwning- hame, thair kyn, freindes, and seruandis, of all offence, cryme, and panis committit be thame, for abyding fra the saidis raidis, or ony of thame ; Discharging heirfore our Treasaurer, Aduocat, Justice, Justice-deputis, and vtheris officieris quhatsoever, of all calling, atteiching, areisting, poinding, vnlawing, trubling or intrometting with the saidis personis, thair freindis or seruandis, or ony of thame, for abyding fra the saidis raidis, or ony of thame, and of thair offices in that pairt for ewir ; notwithstand- ing ony lettres, proclamatiounes, and charges direct thairanent : Quhair- anent and haill painis contenit thairin, We haif dispensit, and dispensis be thir presentis. Subscryuit with our hand, Att Halyruidhous, the xvj day of Februar, 1600. (Sic subscribitur) " JAMES R. " Lenox, Montroise, Cassillis, Vchiltrie, Fyvie, Blantyre, Secretarius."— Part III. pp. 107, 108. In this curious letter, the King expresses no displeasure against his 254 SIR WALTER SCOTT'S REVIEW OF lieutenant, for admitting an outlawed murderer to form part of his royal host, and by doing so preventing the attendance of the relations of the slain man. Neither does he rebuke the Earl of Angus, his representa- tive, who, vested with full power for all such purposes, did not arrest Torthorwald when in his presence. He * helplessly and quietly admits, that the objection of the Ayrshire petitioners to being exposed to meet with a person with whom they were at deadly feud, was a good apology for absenting themselves from the King's service, and pardons their non- appearance accordingly ; in short, acknowledges and submits to, without daring to censure, the sway of passions and practices at open war with the welfare of society, the power of law, and the dignity of his crown. The end of this affair was, that a nephew of the slain Captain Stewart avenged the deadly feud by running Torthorwald through the body some time after, as he was walking in the streets of Edinburgh. But, in truth, no reader of these volumes, whatever his previous acquaintance with Scotish history may have been, will contemplate, without a feeling of absolute wonder, the view of society which they unveil — or find it easy to comprehend how a system, subject to such severe concussions in every part, contrived, nevertheless, to hold itself together. The whole nation would seem to have spent their time, as one malefactor expressed it, "in drinking deep, and taking deadly revenge for slight offences." It is startling to find how late the brutal and savage scheme of manners remained in full force. In June 1608, for example, we find a youth of quality, nearly related to the royal family, namely, John Stewart, son to the Lord of Doune, and brother to the Lord of St Colme, tried for the murder of an individual in a very inferior station, called John Gibb, in Over Lessody, under the following circumstances. A quarrel having taken place between the poor man Gibb and the young gentleman's attendant or groom, an exaggerated account of the matter was carried to Stewart, who was at that time engaged over his bottle. He instantly started up, and swore to bereave Gibb of his life. The company interposed, and would not permit him to leave them, until he had given his "faithful word" that he had changed his blood-thirsty resolution. Yet so soon as he was free from the company, he rode instantly to Gibb's house, and PITCAIRN'S CRIMINAL TRIALS. 255 called to the poor man in bed to rise and open the door. Gibb, knowing his voice, arose in his shirt, without the slightest apprehension of evil, and on undoing the door, received a stab from Stewart's dirk, of which he died in forty-eight hours. It was also charged, that the assassin next morning showed the bloody dirk in triumph, saying, that if Gibb were the devil's man he had got enough to quench his thirst. This case was withdrawn from the court of justiciary, and further proceedings therein stopped, no doubt by the royal order, so that it becomes another illustration of the general system of remissions. Let it be remembered, that to inflame a race of such extreme irritability, the custom of deadly feud lent its ready assistance — a custom which enjoined that every injury or insult received from an individual of a particular clan or name, might be honourably, if not legally, retaliated upon any other person bearing the same name ; and we have a state of manners presented to us, more resembling the perpetual storm and fury of the infernal regions than the civilized order of a Christian nation. The northern legislature itself seems to have been fully sensible of the atrocity of the national temper, and accordingly their laws concerning homicide were far more rigorous than those of the sister kingdom, which their jurists gravely defended, by alleging the necessity of restraining the p erf ervidum ingenium Scotorum. The traces of this still remain. The Scotish law has been so framed to discountenance all approaches to personal encounter, that even marked aggressions will not vindicate the person who receives them. Nor, even at this hour, do the judges receive openly or avowedly the distinction, so broadly marked in the English law, between the homicide whose guilt arises out of some sudden strife and unpremeditated quarrel, and the deliberate and aforethought murderer,. Yet not only did this affectation of judging with extreme severity the first provocation to violence fail of producing the desired effect in the elder time, but at this hour many of their own authors are forced to recognise the rem- nants of the fierce and vindictive propensities of their fathers among a nation otherwise proverbially moderate in their passions, and moral in their deportment. If we consider the criminal calendars of England and Scotland in a comparative view, we must of course first make allow- 256 SIR WALTER SCOTT'S REVIEW OF ance for the population and the wealth of the principal nation. While our northern provinces are, for the most part, thinly peopled, and by a simple race, removed from the general temptations of higher civiliza- tion — a great part of England is, on the contrary, densely inhabited by a manufacturing population, sometimes wallowing in opulence, which they waste in sensual enjoyment, sometimes reduced to the most sordid distress — either condition, unhappily, the fruitful mother of vices, which cannot so readily occur in a country still mainly pastoral and agricultural. To this must be added, the great effect produced upon the Scotish nation by their excellent system of parochial schools and general education. Such instruction, almost universally diffused, has had potent influence in ameli- orating men's minds and taming their stormy passions. It has taught them reflection and moderation as its necessary consequence ; it reminds them, that as sure as the day is followed by the night, so sure must the actions of the day be accounted for, and the indulgence of passion of whatever kind repaid by distress, remorse, or punishment. Where the population of a country is generally instructed, the influence of education of course extends far beyond the visible limits of its machinery; and in no country has that species of instruction, without which all others are more likely to do evil than good, been more systematically and successfully attended to than in modern Scotland. Still all this being granted, — all deduction being made on the one hand for the infinite concatenation of crime, connected with the mercantile and manufacturing system, and on the other for such superiority of general education as the under ranks of the Scotch can justly pretend to, — it is at least the common opinion that Scotland is, even at this day, remarkably fertile in producing the darker kinds of crime, arising out of deep passion, matured revenge, long- harboured spite, family feuds, disputes among neighbours, and casual quarrels, which the good-natured Englishman forgives and forgets, before the sun has gone down upon his wrath. Without pretending to ascer- tain whether the traces of such national violence or atrocity, as were stigmatized by old Scotish writers, remain at the present day, we may boldly say, that there is abundance of proof in these volumes of the fero- cious and sullen temper of the race in former times. An injury, however PITCAIRN'S CRIMINAL TRIALS. 257 trivial, once sustained — an insult, once given, though slight and uninten- tional — the aggrieved person, like Tarn o' Shanter's dame, sat, perhaps for years — "Gathering his brows, like gathering storm, Nursing his wrath to keep it warm." Many events are recorded in Mr Pitcairn's collection, which are inter- esting to the dramatist or the novelist, as they indicate those evolutions of the human heart which such men long to copy from the frightful ori- ginal. Many afford scenes which the painter might study; and some of them have already exercised the legendary muse of their country. Here we are to look for the real and unadorned history of Hugh the Graham, of Gilderoy, both famous in song; of the freebooter, Macpherson — " Who played a spring, and danced it round Beneath the gallows-tree;" and other turbulent chiefs, whose memory survives in the northern min- strelsy. Here are abundance of adventures from which a Lillo might have drawn his plots for tragedies of domestic life, like Arden of Fever - sham,* or The Fatal Curiosity. In opening the book at random, we light upon an example of the kind, concerning the murder of the Laird of Warriston by his own wife. It is the subject of a Scotish ballad, well known to collectors in that department; and the history of the conversion of the murderess, and of her carriage at her execution, compiled appar- ently by one of the clergymen of Edinburgh, has been lately printed by Mr Charles Kirkpatrick Sharpe, whose merits as an author, antiquary, and draughtsman, stand in no need of our testimony, f The story of the young lady is short and melancholy. — She was a daughter of Livingston of Dunipace, a courtier, and a favourite of James VI. An ill-assorted marriage united her at an early age with the Laird of * [ Lillo is principally known as the author of George Barnwell, a play certainly of great power, but, in our humble apprehension, much inferior to his Arden of Feversham, a tragedy of intense interest, and one which entitles him to be ranked with Ford, Marlow, and Webster. The reader will probably forgive us for availing ourselves of this opportunity of drawing his attention to this beautiful bnt neglected drama. ] f [ " A memorial of the conversion of Jean Livingston, Lady Warriston, and an account of her carriage at her execution, July 1600. Printed at Edinburgh MDCCcxxvn,"4to. pp. 44, a private publication, and now exceedingly scarce. ] 2k 258 SIR WALTER SCOTT'S REVIEW OF Warriston, a gentleman whom she did not love, and who apparently used her with brutal harshness. The Lady Warriston accused her husband of having struck her several blows, besides biting her in the arm; and conspired with her nurse, Janet Murdo, to murder him. The confidante, inspired by that half-savage attachment which in those days animated the connexion between the foster-child and the nurse, entered into all the injuries of which her dalt (i. e. foster daughter) complained, encouraged her in her fatal purpose, and promised to procure the assistance of a per- son fitted to act the part of actual murderer, or else to do the deed with her own hands. In Scotland, such as we have described it, such a cha- racter as the two wicked women desired for their associate was soon found in a groom, called Robert Weir, who appears, for a very small hire, to have undertaken the task of murdering the gentleman. He was ushered privately into Warriston's sleeping apartment, where he struck him severely upon the flank-vein, and completed his crime by strangling him. The lady in the meantime fled from the nuptial apartment into the hall, where she remained during the perpetration of the murder. The assassin took flight when the deed was done, but he was afterwards seized and executed. The lady was tried, and condemned to death on the 16th of June 1600. The nurse was at the same time condemned to be burnt alive, and suffered her sentence accordingly; but Lady Warriston, in respect of her gentle descent, was appointed to die by the Maiden, a sort of rude guillotine, imported, it is said, from Halifax, by the Earl of Morton, while regent, who was himself the first that suffered by it. The printed account of this beautiful murderess contains a pathetic narrative of the exertions of the worthy clergyman (its author) to bring her to repentance. At first, his ghostly comfort was very ill received, and she returned with taunts and derision his exhortations to penitence. But this humour only lasted while she had hopes of obtaining pardon through the interest of her family. W 7 hen these vanished, it was no longer difficult to bring her, in all human appearance, to a just sense of her condition ; her thoughts were easily directed towards heaven, so soon as she saw there was no comfort upon earth. It is not for us to judge of the efficacy of repentance upon a death-bed, or at the foot of a gibbet. Lady Warriston's, like that of PITCAIRN'S CRIMINAL TRIALS. 259 other criminals, had in it a strain of wild enthusiasm, such as, perhaps, an assistant may be very naturally tempted to sympathize with. It must, indeed, seem astonishing, with what tenacity a wretch condemned to part with life clings to the sympathy of his fellow-mortals, and how readily he adopts the ideas suggested by those who administer the most grateful flattery, if it can be called so, by continuing to express an interest in his desolate condition. Hypocrisy is daily resorted to in cases where it seems utterly useless; nay, it is common to see those, who are under sentence of death for acknowledged crimes, load their souls with deliberate false- hood — only for the purpose of lessening their criminality, in a very small degree, in the eyes of the world they are about to close their eyes upon for ever. Spiritual emotions may be, in like manner, feigned or fostered, for attracting the approbation and sympathy of a spiritual guide. In all such cases, therefore, as Mr Sharpe justly concludes, a confessor ought to be severely cautious how he misleads his penitent with too sure a hope, or presents him to the multitude, as one laying down life rather like a martyr than a criminal ; and in none such can it be safe or decent to follow the example of the Lady Warriston's reverend assistant, who did not hesitate to term his penitent a saint, though the blood of her husband had hardly been washed from her hands. The pride of Lady Warriston's parents suggested a petition that she might be executed betwixt five and six in the morning ; but both the clergyman and magistrates seem to have consented unwillingly to this arrangement. The clergyman was particularly offended that the display of her penitence should not be as public as that of her guilt had been ; and we may forgive the good man if there was any slight regret for a diminished display of his own success, as a religious assistant, mixed with this avowed dissatisfaction. Time will not permit us to linger longer upon these records, in which we find, among many meagre and unimportant details, fragments that are inexpressibly interesting. In the ipsissima verba, the actual words spoken during the conspiring and the acting of these horrid things, the reader has before him the native language of the strongest passions of the mortal breast — the threat of the murderer — the scorn with which he taunts the 260 SIR WALTER SCOTT'S REVIEW, &c. victim of his revenge — the petition for pity — the frantic expression of deadly fear — all the terrible, unapproachable, inimitable eloquence of agony. To explain what we mean, we may quote the well-known instance of the death of Caesar, in which the three words, Et tu Brute, affect the mind more, and stamp a more impressive image of the whole transaction, than all its historic details. In pursuing this work, we conceive the editor might do well to abridge his own labour by omitting the pleadings upon the relevancy of the indict- ments, unless when these are singularly interesting or ingenious. They cannot now be in any respect instructive, even to the legal practitioner. We would also recommend, as essential to the value of the collection, such an accurate and extensive index, both of names and circumstances, as may afford an easy and secure means of reference amongst subjects which naturally lie dispersed and disconnected. We are not altogether willing even yet to leave the subject, without addressing a word to those who have it in their power with convenience to assist an antiquarian publication of this nature. Mr Pitcairn would not, probably, thank us were we to make this expostulation in the tone of the recruiting sergeant, who assures the public that only a very few young gentlemen, of the most irreproachable habits, are wanted to com- plete the gallant regiment for which he beats up. We may, however, observe, that the two associations of the Bannatyne and Maitland Clubs have done all which can be expected from societies so constituted, in encouraging the present laborious and expensive work ; and it will be but fair in those who call loudly upon them to give the world the benefit of their private presses, to show, on an occasion like the present, that they really set a value upon such things — since, whether the exclusive system practised by these institutions is or is not the most advantageous that might be devised, it certainly has arisen from the carelessness and coldness with which almost all insulated attempts of this nature have recently been suffered to fall to the ground. PITCAIRN'S CRIMINAL TRIALS, Part III* THE GOWRIE CONSPIRACY. Mr Pitcairn's industry and research increase with the interest of his materials. This new part of his work far surpasses in importance those which have preceded it. Among other things, it contains much valuable "matter, in the form of arguments respecting the relevancy of libels and the competency of jurors, which throw light on the notions entertained on these heads about the end of the 16th century; also, a curious notice of an early trial and condemnation for duelling without a license ; and several witch trials, in one of which we think we observe a refreshing evi- dence of the progress of rational opinions — the parties throughout being only accused of pretending to skill in witchcraft. That, however, which gives Mr Pitcairn's labours their chief value, is the very complete collection of documents bearing upon the Gowrie Conspiracy, with a considerable part of which he presents us in this Number. We have been politely favoured with a perusal of that part which still remains unpublished, and have thus been enabled to take a view of the whole transaction, more extensive and complete than we were ever able to take before. The result we have much pleasure in now submitting to our readers, and feel fully confident, * From the Edinburgh Literary Journal, November 1829. 262 PITCAIRN'S CRIMINAL TRIALS. that though this article may exceed our usual limits, its interest will be found sufficient to atone for its length. The documents connected with the Gowrie Conspiracy may be divided into three classes : — I. The dittays of the persons brought to trial ; the depositions of the witnesses examined by the Lords of Articles ; and the record of the investigation conducted before the magistrates of Perth. These form a rich body of authentic information respecting the whole overt acts of the Earl of Gowrie and his followers. — II. The dittay and confession of Sprott; Logan of Restalrig's letters; and two letters of the Earl of Gowrie — illustrative of the characters and previous steps of the actors in the conspiracy. — III* A large collection of contemporary narratives, orations, and correspondence, calculated to throw light on the views which different parties and individuals took of the event at the time. We shall make use of all of these in the remarks we have now to offer re- specting the probable objects of the conspirators; to the right understand- ing of which, however, it will be necessary to prefix a narrative of the principal incidents which occurred during the eventful day of the GoWrie Conspiracy. Early on the morning of the 5th of August 1600, Alexander, Master of Ruthven, with only two followers, Andrew Henderson and Andrew Ruthven, rode from Perth to Falkland, where King James was at that time residing. He arrived there about seven o'clock, and stopping at a house in the vicinity of the palace, sent Henderson forward to learn the motions of the King. His messenger returned quickly with the intelligence, that his Majesty was just departing for the chase. Ruthven proceeded im- mediately J;o the paface, where he met James in front of the stables. They spoke together for about a quarter of an hour. None of the attendants overheard the discourse, but it was evident from the King's laying his hand on the Master's shoulder and clapping his back, that the matter of it pleased him. The hunt rode on, and Ruthven joined the train ; first, however, dispatching Henderson to inform his brother that his Majesty was coming to Perth with a few attendants, and to desire him to cause dinner to be prepared. A buck was slain about ten o'clock, when the King desired the Duke of Lennox and the Earl of Mar to accompany GOWRIE CONSPIRACY. 263 him to Perth, to speak with the Earl of Gowrie. The Master of Ruth- ven now dispatched his other attendant to give the Earl notice of the King's approach ; and immediately afterwards James and he set off at a rate that threw behind the royal attendants, who lost some time in changing horses. When the Duke of Lennox overtook them, the King with great glee told him that he was riding to Perth to get a pose (trea- sure). He then asked the Duke's opinion of Alexander Ruthven, which pro- ving favourable, he proceeded to repeat the story which that young noble- man had told him, of his having the previous evening surprised a man with a large sum of money on his person. The Duke expressed his opi- nion of the improbability of the tale, and some suspicion of Ruthven's purpose ; upon which the King desired him to follow when he and Ruth- ven should leave the hall — an order which he repeated after his arrival in the Earl of Gowrie's house. Meantime, Henderson, on his arrival at Perth, found the elder Ruthven in his chamber, speaking upon business with two gentlemen. Gowrie drew him aside the moment he entered, and asked whether he brought any letter or message from his brother. On learning that the King was coming, he took the messenger into his cabinet, and inquired anxiously in what manner the Master had been received, and what persons were in attendance upon his Majesty. Returning to the chamber, he made an apology to the two gentlemen, and dismissed them. Henderson then went to his own house. When he returned, in about an hour, the Earl desired him to arm himself, as he had to apprehend a Highlander in the Shoe- gate. The master of the household being unwell, the duty of carrying up the Earl's dinner devolved upon Henderson. He performed this ser- vice about half past twelve ; and afterwards waited upon the Earl and some friends who were dining with him. They had just sat down when Andrew Ruthven entered, and whispered something in the Earl's ear, who, however, seemed to give no heed. As the second course was about to be set upon the table, the Master of Ruthven, who had left the King about a mile from Perth, and rode on before, entered and announced his Majesty's approach. This was the first intelligence given to the inha- bitants of Gowrie-house of the King's visit, for Gowrie had kept not only 264 PITCAIRN'S CRIMINAL TRIALS. his coming, but also the Master's visit to Falkland, a profound secret. The Earl and his visitors, with their attendants, and some of the citizens among whom the news had spread, went out to meet the King. The street in which Gowrie-house formerly stood, runs north and south, and parallel to the Tay. The house was on the side next the river, built so as to form three sides of a square, the fourth side, that which abutted on the street, being formed by a wall, through which the entry into the interior court, or close, was by a gate. The scene of the subsequent events was the south side of the square. The interior of this part of the edifice contained, in the first story, a dining-room looking out upon the river, a hall in the centre, and a room at the further end looking out upon the street, each of them occupying the whole breadth of the building, and opening into each other. The second story consisted of a gallery occu- pying the space of the dining-room and hall below, and at the street end of this gallery, a chamber, in the north-west corner of which was a circu- lar closet, formed by a turret which overhung the outer wall, in which were two long narrow windows, the one looking towards the spy-tower (a strong tower built over one of the city gates), the other looking out upon the court, but visible from the street before the gate. The access to the hall and gallery was by a large turnpike stair in the south-east corner of the court. The hall likewise communicated with the garden, which lay be- tween the house and the river, by a door opposite to that which opened from the turnpike, and an outward stair. The access to the chamber in which was the round closet, was either through the gallery, or by means of a smaller turnpike (called the Black Turnpike), which stood half-way betwixt the principal one and the street. The unexpected arrival of the King caused a considerable commotion in Gowrie's establishment. Craigingelt, the master of the household, was obliged to leave his sick bed and bestir himself. Messengers were dispatched through Perth to seek, not for meat, for of that there seems to have been plenty, but for some delicacy fit to be set upon the royal table. The bailies and other dignitaries of Perth, as also some noblemen who were resident in the town, came pouring in, some to pay their re- spects to his Majesty, others to stare at the courtiers. Amid all this con- GOWRIE CONSPIRACY. 265 fusion, somewhat more than an hour elapsed before the repast was ready. To judge by the King's narrative, and the eloquent orations of Mr Patrick Galloway, this neglect on the part of the Earl seems to have been re- garded as not the least criminal part of his conduct. And with justice : for his Royal Highness had been riding hard since seven o'clock, and it was past two before he could get a morsel, which, when it did come, bore evident marks of being hastily slubbered up. As soon as the King was set down to dinner, the Earl sent for Andrew Henderson, whom he conducted up to the gallery, where the Master was waiting for them. After some short conversation, during which Gowrie told Henderson to do any thing his brother bade him, the younger Ruthven locked this attendant into the little round closet within the gal- lery chamber, and left him there. Henderson began now, according to his own account, to suspect that something wrong was in agitation, and set himself to pray, in great perturbation of mind. Meanwhile, the Earl of Gowrie returned to take his place behind the chair of his royal guest. When the King had dined, and Lennox, Mar, and the other noblemen in waiting, had retired from the dining-room to the hall to dine in their turn, Alexander Ruthven came and whispered to the King, to find some means of getting rid of his brother the Earl, from whom he had all along pretended great anxiety to keep the story of the found treasure a secret. The King filled a bumper, and, drinking it off, desired Gowrie to carry his pledge to the noblemen in the hall. While they were busy returning the health, the King and the Master passed quietly through the hall, and ascended the great stair which led to the gallery. They did not, however, pass altogether unobserved, and some of the royal train attempted to follow them, but were repelled by Ruthven, who alleged the King's wish to be alone. From the gallery they passed into the chamber at the end of it, and the door of this room Ruthven appears to have locked behind him. When the noblemen had dined, they enquired after their master, but were informed by Gowrie that he had retired, and wished to be private. The Earl immediately called for the keys of the garden, whither he was fol- lowed by Lennox and a part of the royal train ; whilst Mar, with the rest, 2l 266 PITCAIRN'S CRIMINAL TRIALS. remained in the house. John Ramsay, a favourite page of the King, says in his deposition, that, on rising from table, he had agreed to take charge of a hawk for one of the servants, in order to allow the man to go to dinner. He seems, while thus engaged, to have missed Gowrie's ex- planation of the King's absence, for he sought his Majesty in the dining- room, in the garden, and afterwards in the gallery. He had never before seen this gallery, which is said — we know not upon what authority — to have been richly adorned with paintings by the Earl's father, and he stayed some time admiring it. On coming down stairs, he found the whole of the King's attendants hurrying towards the outer gate, and was told by Thomas Cranstone, one of the Earl's servants, that the King had rode on before. Ramsay, on hearing this, ran to the stable where his horse was. Lennox and Mar, who had also heard the report of the King's departure, asked the porter, as they were passing the gate, whether the King were indeed forth. The man replied in the negative. Gowrie checked him with considerable harshness, and affirmed that the King had passed out by the back gate. " That is impossible, my lord," answered the porter, " for it is locked, and the key is in my pocket." Gowrie, somewhat con- fused, said he would return and learn the truth of the matter. He came back almost instantly, affirming positively that the King had ridden out by the back gate. The greater part of the company were now assembled on the High Street, in front of the house, waiting for their horses, and discussing how they were to seek the King. At this moment, the King's voice was heard, crying — " I am murdered ! Treason ! My Lord of Mar, help! help!" Lennox and Mar, with their attendants, rushed through the gateway into the court, and up the principal stair. Sir Thomas Erskyne and his brother, James, seized the Earl of Gowrie, exclaiming, "Traitor! this is thy deed!" Some of the Earl's servants rescued their master, who was, however, thrown down in the scuffle, and refused admittance to the inner court. On recovering his feet, he retired a short way, then drawing his sword and dagger, he cried, " I will be in my own house, or die by the way." During these proceedings, the King had found himself rather criti- cally circumstanced. Alexander Ruthven, having locked the door of the GOWRIE CONSPIRACY. 267 gallery chamber, led the way to the round closet. James was not a little astonished, when, instead of the captive he expected, he saw a man armed at all points except his head. He was more astonished when the Master, putting on his hat, drew the man's dagger, and presented it to his breast, saying, " Sir, you must be my prisoner! Remember my father's death !" James attempted to remonstrate, but was interrupted with " Hold your tongue, sir, or by Christ you shall die !" But here Henderson wrenched the dagger from Ruthven's hand, and the King then resuming his remon- strances, was answered, that his life was not what was sought. The Master even took off his hat, when the King, who, amid all his perturba- tion, forgot not his princely demeanour, reminded him of the impropriety of wearing it in his presence. He then requested James to give him his word not to open the window, nor call for assistance, whilst he went to bring his brother, the Earl, who was to determine what farther should be done. Ruthven then left the closet, locking the door behind him ; but, according to Henderson's belief, went no farther than the next room. This is more than probable; for, by the nearest calculation, Ramsay must have been at that time still in the gallery. The Master re-entered, there- fore, almost instantly, and telling the King there was now but one course left, produced a garter, with which he attempted to bind his Majesty's hands. James freed his left with a violent exertion, exclaiming, "I am a free Prince, man! I will not be bound !" Ruthven, without answering, seized him by the throat with one hand, while he thrust the other into his mouth, to prevent his crying. In the struggle which ensued, the King was driven against the window which overlooked the court, and, at that moment, Henderson thrust his arm over the Master's shoulder and pushed up the window, which afforded the King an opportunity of calling for assistance. The Master, thereupon, said to Henderson, " Is there no help in thee? Thou wilt cause us all to die;" and tremblingly between excitement and exertion, he attempted to draw his sword. The King, perceiving his intent, laid hold of his hand ; and thus clasped in a death-wrestle, they reeled out of the closet into the chamber. The King had got Ruth- ven's head under his arm; whilst Ruthven, finding himself held down almost upon his knees, was pressing upwards with his hand against the 268 PITCAIRN'S CRIMINAL TRIALS. . King's face, when, at this critical moment, John Ramsay, the page, who had heard from the street the King's cry for help, and who had got before Mar and Lennox, by running up the black turnpike formerly mentioned, while they took the principal staircase, rushed against the door of the chamber and burst it open. The King panted out, when he saw his page, " Fy ! strike him low ! he has secret armour on." At which Ramsay, casting from him the hawk which still sat upon his hand, drew his dagger and stabbed the Master. The next moment, the King, exerting all his strength, threw him from him down stairs. Ramsay ran to a window, and called upon Sir Thomas Erskyne, and one or two who were with him, to come up the turnpike. Erskyne was first, and as Ruthven staggered past him on the stair, wounded and bleeding, he desired those who followed to strike the traitor. This was done, and the young man fell, crying, " Alas ! I had not the wyte of it." The King was safe for the meantime, but there was still cause for alarm. Only four of his attendants had reached him ; and he was uncertain whether the incessant attempts of Mar and Lennox's party to break open the door by which the chamber communicated with the gallery, were made by friend or foe. At this moment the alarm bell rang out, and the din of the gathering citizens, who were as likely, for anything the King knew, to side with their provost, Gowrie, as with himself, was heard from the town. There was, besides, a still more immediate danger. Gowrie, whom we left attempting to force his way into the house, was met at the gate with the news that his brother had fallen. Violet Ruth- yen, and other women belonging to the family, were already wailing his death, screaming their curses up to the King's party in the chamber, and mixing their shrill execrations with the fierce din which shook the city. The Earl, seconded by Cranstone, one of his attendants, forced his way to the foot of the black turnpike, at which spot lay the Master's body. " Whom have we here ?" said the retainer, for the face was turned down- wards. " Up the stair !" was Gowrie's brief and stern reply. Cranstone, going up before his master, found, on rushing into the chamber, the swords of Sir Thomas Erskyne, and Herries, the King's physician, drawn against him. They were holding a parley in this threatening attitude when Gow- GOWRIE CONSPIRACY. 269 rie entered, and was instantly attacked by Ramsay. The Earl fell after a smart contest. Ramsay immediately turned upon Cranstone, who had proved fully a match for the other two, and having wounded him severely, forced him finally to retreat. All this time they who were with- the Duke of Lennox had kept bat- tering at the gallery-door of the chamber with hammers, but in vain. The partition was constructed of boards, and as the whole wall gave way equally before the blows, the door could not be forced. The party with the King, on the other hand, were afraid to open, lest they should thus give admission to enemies. A servant was at last dispatched round by the turnpike, who assured his Majesty that it was the Duke of Lennox and the Earl of Mar who were so clamorous for admission. The ham- mers were then handed through below the door, and the bolts speedily displaced. When these noblemen were admitted they found the King unharmed, amid his brave deliverers. The door, however, which entered from the turnpike, had been closed upon a body of Gowrie's retainers, who were calling for their master, and striking through below the door with their pikes and halberds. The clamour from the town continued, and the voices from the court were divided, — part calling for the King, part for their provost, the Earl of Gowrie. Affairs, however, soon took a more decided turn. They who assaulted the door grew tired of their ineffec- tual efforts, and withdrew ; and almost at the same moment the voices of Bailies Ray and Young were heard from the street, calling to know if the King were safe, and announcing that they were there with the loyal bur- gesses of Perth, for his defence. The King gratified them by shewing himself at the window, requesting them to still the tumult. At the com- mand of the magistrates the crowd became silent, and gradually dispersed. In the course of a few hours, peace was so completely re-established, that the King and his company were able to take horse for Falkland. This bird's-eye view of the occurrences of the fifth of August will be found correct in the main. Although some details have been necessarily omitted, they are sufficient to establish a preconcerted scheme between the brothers against the King, but of what nature, and to what purpose, it would be difficult, without further evidence, to say, Of all the people 270 PITCAIRN'S CRIMINAL TRIALS. that day assembled in Gowrie's house, not one seems to have been in the secret. Henderson, to whom an important share in the execution of the attempt had been assigned, was kept in ignorance to the last moment, and then he counteracted, instead of furthering their views. Even with regard to Cranstone, the most busy propagator of the rumour of the King's departure, it is uncertain whether he may not have spread the report in consequence of the asseverations of his master ; and we have his solemn declaration at a time when he thought himself upon his death- bed, that he had no previous knowledge of the plot. The two Ruthvens of Freeland, Eviot, and Hugh Moncreiff, who took the most active share in endeavouring to stir the citizens up to mutiny to revenge the Earl and his brother, may have been actuated, for any evidence we have to the contrary, solely by the feelings of reckless and devoted retainers, upon seeing their masters fall in an affray whose origin and cause they knew not. To this evidence, partly negative, and partly positive, may be added the deposition of William Rynd, who said, when examined at Falkland, that he had heard the Earl declare, — " He was not a wise man, who having intended the execution of a high and dangerous purpose, should communicate the same to any but himself; because, keeping it to himself, it could not be discovered nor disappointed." Moreover, it does not suffi- ciently appear from the deportment of the Master that they aimed at the King's life. He spoke only of making him prisoner, and grasped his sword only when the King had made his attendants aware of his situation. At the same time, it was nowhere discovered that any measures had been taken for removing the royal prisoner to a place of security; and to keep him in a place so open to observation as Gowrie-house, was out of the question. Without some other evidence, therefore, than that to which we have as yet been turning our attention, we can scarcely look upon these transactions otherwise than as a fantastic dream, which is coherent in all its parts, and the absurdity of which is only apparent when we reflect how irreconcilable it is with the waking world around us. The letters of Logan of Restalrig throw some further light upon the subject, though not so much as could be wished. Of their authenticity little doubt can be entertained, when we consider the number and respec- GOWRIE CONSPIRACY. 271 tability of the witnesses who swore positively to their being in Logan's handwriting. It appears from these letters, that Gowrie and Logan had agreed in some plot against the King. It appears also that Logan was in correspondence with some third person who had assented to the enterprise. It would almost seem from Logan's third letter, that this person resided at Falkland : " If I kan nocht win to Falkland the first nycht, I sail be tymelie in St Johnstoun on the morne." And it is almost certain from the fifth letter, that he was so situated as to have oral communica- tion with Gowrie the Master of Ruthven : " Pray his lo. be qwik, and bid M. A. remember on the sport he tald me." It does not appear, however, that any definite plan had been resolved upon. The sea excur- sion, which Mr Lawson, in his History of the Gowrie Conspiracy, suppo- ses to have been contemplated with the design of conveying James to Fast Castle, was only meant to afford facilities for a meeting of the con- spirators with a view to deliberation. Logan's fifth letter is dated as late as the last day of July, and yet it does not appear that the writer knew at that time of the Perth project. Taking these facts in conjunction with the hairbrained character of Gowrie's attempt, it seems highly probable, that although some scheme might be in agitation with Logan, and per- haps some other conspirators, the outrage of the fifth of August was the rash and premature undertaking of two hot-blooded fantastical young men, who probably wished to distinguish themselves above the rest of their associates in the plot. The very scanty information that we possess respecting the cha- racter and previous habits of these two brothers, is quite in accordance with this view of the matter, and goes a good way to corroborate it. They are allowed, on all hands, to have been men of graceful exterior, of winning manners, well advanced in the studies of the times, brave, and masters of their weapons. It is not necessary surely to prove, at this time of day, how compatible all these qualifications are with a rash and headlong temper, completely subject to the control of the imagina- tion — a turn of mind bordering upon frenzy. A man of quick per- ception, warm feeling, and ungoverned fancy, is, of all others, the most fascinating, when the world goes smoothly ; but he is of all others the most 272 PITCAIRN'S CRIMINAL TRIALS. liable, having no guiding reason, to err most extravagantly in the serious business of life : being " unstable as water," he is easily irritated, and lashed into madness by adverse circumstances. How much Gowrie was the dupe of his imagination, is evident from the fondness with which he clung to the delusions of the cabala, natural magic, and astrology. Armed (according to his own belief) with powers beyond the common race of man, doomed by his stars to achieve greatness, he laughed at danger, and was ready to neglect the calculations of worldly prudence, alike in his aims, and the means by which he sought their attainment. The true state of his brother's mind is pourtrayed, incidentally, by Logan, in his first letter: — " Bot incase ye and M. A. R. forgader, becawse he is somqhat consety, for Godis sake be very var with his rakelese toyis of Padoa ; ffor he tald me ane of the strangest taillis of ane nobill man of Padoa that ever I hard in my lyf, resembling the lyk purpose." This suggests at once the very picture of a young and hot-blooded man, whose brain had been distracted, during his residence in Italy, with that country's numerous legends of wild vengeance. Two such characters, brooding conjointly over real or fancied wrongs, were capable of projecting schemes, against which the most daring would remonstrate ; and irritated by the coldness of their friends, were, no doubt, induced to undertake the execu- tion alone and almost unassisted. It only remains to enquire what was the object which Gowrie proposed to himself, in his mad and treasonable attempt, and upon whose seconding he was to depend, suppose his design had succeeded ? These two enquiries are inseparably connected, and have been rendered more interesting, by a late attempt to implicate the Presbyterian party in the Earl's guilt. We are not a little astonished that such an attempt should have been made at this late period, when we recollect, that notwithstanding all the ill odour in which the Presbyterian clergymen stood at court, not one of the thou- sand idle rumours to which Gowrie's enterprise gave birth tried to direct suspicion towards them. The sole grounds upon which such an accusa- tion can rest for support, are the facts, — That Gowrie's father was a leader among the Presbyterians, and his son strictly educated in that faith; that shortly after his arrival in Italy, he wrote one letter to a Presbyterian GOWRIE CONSPIRACY. 273 minister; and, that some of the Edinburgh clergymen manifested consi- derable obstinacy in throwing discredit upon the reality of the conspiracy. The two former are of themselves so weak, that we pass them over, the more willingly, that we shall immediately point out the motives from which Gowrie acted, and the sort of assistance upon which he really relied. The conduct of the clergymen admits of an easy explanation. James, whose perception was nearly as acute as his character was weak, was fully sen- sible of the ridicule to which he had exposed himself, by allowing his desire of money to lead him into so shallow a device as Ruthven's. In addition to this, he wished, upon all occasions, to appear as much of the hero as possible. The consequence was, that his edition of the story was so dressed up, as to render it inconsistent, first, with his well-known character; secondly, with the most distant possibility of his having been deceived with the Master's pretences; and, thirdly, with the depositions of the witnesses. Inconsistencies so startling were sufficient to justify some preliminary scep- ticism; and if ever there was an occasion, where it was allowable openly to call a king's word in question, it was when James demanded not merely that his party should hypocritically profess a belief which they did not entertain, but that they should, daringly and blasphemously, mix up this falsehood in the solemn services of devotion. A short time, how- ever, was sufficient to convince the most incredulous of the truth of the conspiracy, stripped of the adventitious circumstances which the King linked with it; and the obstinate recusancy of Bruce the clergyman is sufficiently accounted for, by James's insisting upon prescribing the manner in which he was to treat the matter, and by that individual's over- strained notions of the guilt incurred by a minister, who allowed any one to dictate to him concerning the mode in which he was to conduct public worship. But Gowrie relied upon the support of no faction, religious or political. His sole motive seems to have been a fantastic idea of the duty incumbent upon him to revenge his father's death. He is reported, on one occasion, when some one directed his attention to a person who had been employed as an agent against his father, to have said, "Aquila non capiat muscas." Ruthven, also, expressly declared to the King, when he held him prisoner 2m 274 PITCAIRN'S CRIMINAL TRIALS. in the closet, that his only object was to obtain revenge for the death of his father. The letters of Logan (except in one solitary instance, where a scheme of aggrandisement is darkly hinted at, and that as something quite irrelevant to the purpose they had on hand) harp on this string alone, proving that Gowrie and his friends seek only "for the revenge of that cawse." The only members of the conspiracy who are known to us, were men likely enough to engage in such a cause, but most unlikely to be either leaders or followers in a union, where the parties were bound to- gether by an attachment to certain political principles. The three con- spirators are, the Earl and his brother, such as we have already described them, and Logan of Restalrig, a broken man — a retainer and partisan of Bothwell — a maintainer of thieves and sorners — a man who expressly objects to communicating their project to one who he fears "vill disswade us fra owr purpose wt ressounes of religion, qhilk I can never abyd." And if any more evidence were required, to show how little Gowrie relied upon the Presbyterians, we might allude to his anxiety, that Logan should sound his brother Lord Home — a Catholic. In short, every thing leads us to the opinion we have already announced, that the Ruthvens were instigated to their enterprise by feelings of private revenge alone, and that they did not seek to make any political party sub- servient to their purposes. It is to this isolated nature of their undertak- ing — its utter want of connexion with the political movements of the period — that we attribute the circumstance of its history having so long remained unknown, and are satisfied that much of that history must ever remain a riddle. It is with it, as with the adventures of the Iron Mask, and the whole class of events which seem political, merely because they befall per- sons who rank high in the state. They generally appear more mysterious than they really are, because, if no chance unveils them at the time, they stand too far apart from all other transactions, to receive any reflected light from them. BIBLIOGRAPHICAL MEMORANDA RELATIVE TO THE SALE OF BANNATYNE CLUB PUBLICATIONS. The first entire collection of the Works published by the Bannatyne Club which was brought to the hammer, was the one belonging to David Con- stable, Esq. which was sold upon the 12th of December 1828. It con- tained — 1. Rules of the Club, and eighteen Circulars. 2. Catalogue of Works printed by the Club, No. I. 3. Album of the Club, No. I. 4. Bannatyne Garlands, five in number, of which forty copies were printed. 5. The Poems of George Bannatyne, of which forty copies were printed. And a complete set of the books (twenty-four in number), commencing with the Vitse Episcoporum EcclesiaB Dunkeldensis, ending with the first volume of Dempster's Ecclesiastical History, and including Clerk's Etch- ings, in folio, of which only forty copies had been thrown off on India paper. The books were all in an uncut state. The collection was put up at one hundred guineas, and was purchased by the Right Honourable Sir George Warrender for one hundred and thirty-five pounds. The anxiety — natural enough — to witness the sale filled the room with members. Sir Walter Scott was present, and was much gratified by the price the books brought. He observed to the writer of this notice, that the Bannatyne Club was the most flourishing 276 BIBLIOGRAPHICAL MEMORANDA. joint stock company he had ever been engaged in, and the only one in which the partners got a good return for their advances. The original print, supposed to be unique, oft he " Englishe Victone against the Scottes at Muskelbrughe," of which a fac-simile had been given by Mr Constable in his contribution of " le Recit de 1' Expedition en Escosse, l'au mdxlvi," was purchased by David Laing, Esq. for the Bannatyne Club, at the price of seven pounds, ten shillings. The next set occurring for sale was Lord Eldin's, which contained forty-three volumes in 4to (including the Etchings), and nine pieces in 8vo. It wanted, however, one or two of the Garlands. It was exposed (26th January 1833) at the upset price of one hundred and twenty guineas, and was purchased by Edward Piper, Esq. for one hundred and fifty pounds. Lord Bannatyne's collection, consisting of forty-nine volumes 4to and nine in 8vo, was brought to the hammer on the 25th April 1834, and was purchased by Mr A. Thomson for Sir John Hay, Bart, of Smithfield and Hayston, M.P. for one hundred and sixty-eight pounds. Some of the Garlands were wanting. Upon the 30th of January 1835, the set belonging to J. G. Kinnear, Esq. was offered for sale, at the upset price of one hundred and thirty guineas, and was purchased by Mr Thomas Thorpe, bookseller, London, for one hundred and forty- one pounds, fifteen shillings. It contained fifty volumes in 4to and fourteen in 8vo. The set of Garlands was com- plete. One volume — the rarest of the whole, Clerk's Etchings — was wanting; and the first fourteen volumes were bound in morocco. These circumstances necessarily depreciated the price. A copy of Mr Kinnear's contribution, the Palace of Honour (one of four), on vellum, was purchased by David Laing, Esq. for six pounds, ten shillings ; and Mr Nairn's contribution of Lord Rothes' Affairs of Scotland (one of two copies), also printed on vellum, brought six guineas, and was bought by J. T. G. Craig, Esq. BANNATYNE CLUB. 277 Upon the death of Robert Jameson, Esq. advocate, one of the mem- bers of the Club, his set, which was very imperfect, was brought to auction (March 13, 1835), and sold in separate lots. The prices, gen- erally speaking, were moderate. For example — 376 The Bannatyne Miscellany, both Parts,* . . . . £3 10 377 Sir James Melville's Memoirs, . . . . . . 3 15 379 Extracts from Courcelles' Dispatches, . . . . 2 380 Papers relative to Marriage of James VI 2 16 381 Siege of the Castle of Edinburgh, 2 2 383 Hume of Crossrig's Diary, .... . . .20 385 Dempsteri Historia Ecclesiastica, 4 10 388 The Diary of Mr James Melville, 3 8 394 Pitcairn's Criminal Trials, on Club paper, purchased by J. W. Mackenzie, Esq. . . . . . . . 3 10 399. Rothes' Affairs of Scotland, . 1 19 402 Hume's Hymnes, 1 13 404 Diurnal of Occurrents, 4 6 405 Mackay's Memoirs, 2 10 406 Buik of Alexander the Great, 3 10 407 The Ragman Rolls, 2 6 These volumes were almost exclusively purchased by booksellers, who in some instances realised a hundred per cent. At the sale of the library of the late Andrew Skene, Esq. advocate, during the winter 1835, a complete set of the Club Works was bought by his Grace the Duke of Bedford, for one hundred and sixty-two pounds, fifteen shillings. A copy of the Book of the Howlat (Mr David Laing's contribution) occurred for sale on the dispersion of the late Mr Siywright's library, and was purchased, 8th February 1836, for George Dundas, Esq. at the price of nine guineas and a half. * At Constable's sale, the second part of the Miscellany, No* 2879, brought £2, 5s., and was purchased by the late Mr R. Buchanan, bookseller. EDINBURGH PRINTING COMPANY. 983435 THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY