UC-NRLF ' v i : § • a., li ■ v-:^ SOOTH THE MAKING OF ABBOTSFORD 3InciDents in §>cottisf) ^)i0torp o * : r ° j THE MAKING OF ABBOTSFORD AND INCIDENTS IN SCOTTISH HISTORY. BY THE HON M*? MAXWELL SCOTT OF ABB OTS FO! AB BOTS FORD IN 18 12 The Making of Abbotsford AND 3fnct&ents in £>cotttsl) J^istorp DRAWN FROM VARIOUS SOURCES BY The Hon. Mrs. MAXWELL SCOTT OF ABBOTSFORD CARVED PANEL AT ABBOTSFORD LONDON ADAM & CHARLES BLACK 1897 X)A7(^3 PREFACE In publishing this collection of hitherto scattered papers, my warm thanks are due to the courtesy of those who have permitted me to reprint them. To the Editor of the Scottish Review I owe thanks for permission to use the six articles which first appeared in that Review. To the Editors of the Dublin Review and of The Month I am indebted for leave to republish the Article on u Barbour's Legends of the Saints " and the paper on " The Ruthwell Cross." To the Secretary of Catholic Truth Society my thanks are due for the use of the little life of Mary Queen of Scots ; and to Messrs. Blackwood I am grateful for leave to reprint the paper on Claude, Duchess of Lorraine. I wish also to express my thanks to Messrs. A. and C. Black, and to Mr. William Gibb, for kind permission to republish the paper on " The Making of Abbotsford " which formed the Introduction to the beautiful book on Abbotsford and its Treasures vi Preface published in 1893, and which owes its chief interest to Mr. Gibb's admirable drawings. One of these, the drawing of Abbotsford taken from the other side of the Tweed, is here reproduced as frontispiece to show Abbotsford as it now is ; while the opposite vignette (taken from an early edition of Lockhart's Life) shows us the Abbots- ford of 1 8 12. I wish also to express my warm thanks to the Marquis of Bute for his very valuable assistance and co-operation in the article on "St. Magnus of the Orkneys," which, owing to my being ill at the time, he kindly completed, adding at the same time much to its literary value. These papers can claim unity of aim only in so much as they all deal with the history of my own country, or with that of our ancient ally — France. M. M. MAXWELL SCOTT. Abbotsford, August 1897. CONTENTS 3- 4- 5- 6. 7- 8. 9- 10. The Making of Abbotsford Barbour's Legends of the Saints The Life of Saint Margaret . St. Magnus of the Orkneys The Scots Guards in France . The Lennox .... A Sister-in-Law of Mary Queen of Scots Scottish Catholics under Mary and James Mary Stuart ...... The Chevalier de Feuquerolles Winifred, Countess of Nithsdaill . The Ruthwell Cross .... PAGE I 23 48 7 6 118 160 200 227 248 297 325 352 THE MAKING OF ABBOTSFORD O words of mine are needed to remind my readers of Sir Walter's love for his home. We know that, as in joy, so also in sorrow and loss, and to the very end, his thoughts turned constantly to Abbotsford. As Mr. Lockhart truly says, "to have curtailed the exposition of his fond untiring enthusiasm on that score, would have been like omitting the Prince in a cast of Hamlet." It was in his early youth that Sir Walter first saw the site of the future Abbotsford. " I have often heard him tell," writes Mr. Lockhart, "that when travelling in his boyhood with his father, from Selkirk to Melrose, the old man suddenly desired the carriage to halt at the foot of an eminence, and said, * We must get out here, Walter, and see a thing quite in your line.' His father then conducted him to a rude stone on the edge of Making of Abbot sf or d an acclivity, about half a mile above the Tweed at Abbotsford, which marks the spot Where gallant Cessford's life-blood dear Reeked on dark Elliott's border spear. This was the conclusion of the battle of Melrose, fought in 1526, between the Earls of Angus and Home and the two chiefs of the race of Kerr on the one side, and Buccleuch and his clan on the other, in sight of the young King James V., the possession of whose person was the object of the contest. The battle is often mentioned in the Border Minstrelsy. ... In the names of various localities between Melrose and Abbotsford, such as Skirmish-field, Charge-law, and so forth, the incidents of the fight have found a lasting record ; and the spot where the retainer of Buccleuch terminated the pursuit of the victors by the mortal wound of Kerr of Cessford (ancestor of the Dukes of Roxburghe) has always been called Turn-again" l Sir Walter probably never forgot this incident, for when, in 181 1, he determined to become a " Tweedside Laird/' he fixed upon the little property which, though then " not a very attractive one to the general observer, had long been one of peculiar interest " to him. On the 1 2 th May 181 1, Sir Walter writes to James Ballantyne upon business, and adds : " My 1 Turn-again is situated in the wood to the left above the house. Life (in 10 vols.), vol. iii. p. 335. Making of Abbot sf or d attention has been a little dissipated by considering a plan for my own future comfort which I hasten to mention to you. My lease of Ashestiel is out ... I have therefore resolved to purchase a piece of ground sufficient for a cottage and a few fields. There are two pieces, either of which would suit me, but both would make a very desirable property indeed. They stretch along the Tweed, near half- way between Melrose and Selkirk, on the opposite side from Lord Somerville, and could be had for between £7000 and £8000, or either separate for about half the sum. I have serious thoughts of one or both, and must have recourse to my pen to make the matter easy." Of the two adjoining farms here mentioned, Sir Walter soon after bought the one comprising Turn-again. The person from whom he bought the property was a valued friend of his own, Dr. Robert Douglas, minister of Galashiels. He had never resided on the property, and the only embellishments he had effected had been " limited to one stripe of firs, so long and so narrow that Scott likened it to a black hair -comb. It ran from the precincts of the homestead towards Turn- again, and has bequeathed the name of the Doctor s redding-kame to the mass of nobler trees amidst which its dark straight line can now hardly be traced." 1 1 Life, vol. iii. p. 339. Making of Abbot sf or d Clarty Hole, as the farm was termed, seems to have deserved its inharmonious name ; the haugh or meadow by the river and about a hundred acres of undulating ground at the back were alike in a most neglected state, " undrained, wretchedly enclosed, much of it covered with nothing better than the native heath. The farmhouse itself was small and poor, with a common kail-yard on one flank and a staring barn, of the doctor's erection, on the other." But, as Mr. Lockhart says, the Tweed was everything to Sir Walter, and from the moment he took possession, "he claimed for his farm the name of the adjoining ford, situated just above the influx of the classical tributary Gala. As might be guessed from the name of Abbotsford, all these lands had belonged of old to the great Abbey of Melrose." l The neighbourhood of two antiquarian remains of interest lent an additional charm to the little property in Sir Walter's eyes. To the left of the site of the house we can still see the old Roman road leading down to the ford, while on the hill opposite Abbotsford may be traced the Catrail, so often mentioned in Sir Walter's early letters to Mr. Ellis. In a letter to his brother-in-law Mr. Carpenter, dated 5th August, Sir Walter describes his new property, adding, " I intend building a small 1 Life, vol. iii. p. 340. Making of Abbots ford cottage here for my summer abode, being obliged by law, as well as by inclination, to make this county my residence for some months every year. This is the greatest incident which has lately taken place in our domestic concerns. And I assure you we are not a little proud of being greeted as laird and lady of Abbots ford?' And again, in a letter to Joanna Baillie, written the same week, the new Abbotsford is thus mentioned : " My schemes about my cottage go on ; of about a hundred acres I have manfully resolved to plant from sixty to seventy ; as to my scale of dwelling, why, you shall see my plan when I have adjusted it. My present intention is to have only two spare bed- rooms with dressing-rooms, each of which will, on a pinch, have a couch bed ; but I cannot relinquish my border principle of accommodating all the cousins and duniwastles who will rather sleep in chairs and on the floor, and in the hay-loft, than be absent when folks are gathered together." Sir Walter lost no time in planning his future residence, and begged Mr. Stark ' to give him a design for an ornamental cottage in the style of the old English vicarage house. But before his wishes could be met, Mr. Stark died, and his building plans, checked for a time, expanded by degrees ; and in place of the cottage the present Abbotsford gradually took form. Sir 1 An Edinburgh architect of whose talents Sir Walter had a high opinion. Making of Abbot sf or d Walter's first plans for his house are sketched in a letter to Mr. Morritt : "I have fixed only two points," he writes, "respecting my intended cottage; one is that it shall be in my garden, or rather kail- yard, the other that the little drawing-room shall open into a little conservatory, in which con- servatory there shall be a fountain. These are articles of taste which I have long since determined upon, but I hope before a stone of my paradise is begun we shall meet and collogue upon it." By the following year some little progress had been made, and such improvements as "a good garden wall and complete stables in the Haugh " are mentioned in a letter to Terry. In the spring of 1 8 14 Sir Walter presses the Morritts to visit him. "I am arranging this cottage a little more conveniently," he writes, " to put off the plague and expense of building another year ; and I assure you I expect to spare Mrs. Morritt and you a chamber in the wall, with a dressing-room and everything handsome about you. You will not stipulate of course for many square feet." In the autumn Sir Walter says, in a letter to Mr. Terry : " I wish you saw Abbotsford, which begins this season to look the whimsical, gay, odd cabin that we had chalked out. ... I have made the old farmhouse my corps de logis, with some outlying places for kitchen, laundry, and two spare bed- rooms, which run along the east wall of the Making of Abbot sf or d farm-court not without some picturesque effect." Two years later a letter to the same friend, dated November 1816, and written from Edinburgh, reports further progress ; after mentioning the arrival of Mr. Bullock and Mr. Blore, to both of whom Abbotsford was to owe much, Sir Walter continues : "I have had the assistance of both these gentlemen in arranging an addition to the cottage at Abbotsford, intended to connect the present farmhouse with the line of low buildings to the right of it. Mr. Bullock will show you the plan, which I think is very ingenious. He has promised to give it his consideration with respect to the interior ; and Mr. Blore has drawn me a very handsome elevation both to the road and to the river. . . . This addition will give me first a handsome boudoir. . . . This opens into the little drawing-room, to which it serves as a chapel of ease ; and on the other side to a hand- some dining parlour of 27 feet by 18, with three windows to the north, and one to the south, the last to be Gothic and filled with stained glass. Besides these commodities, there is a small con- servatory or greenhouse, and a study for myself which we design to fit up with ornaments from Melrose Abbey. . . . Abbotsford is looking pretty at last, and the planting is making some show." By the July of 18 17 the foundations of that 8 Making of Abbot sf or d portion of Abbotsford which extends from the hall westwards to the square tower had apparently- been laid, and in September Sir Walter writes to Joanna Baillie that the building is about to be roofed in, " and a comical concern it is," he adds. The projected tower seems to have suggested some criticism from Mr. Terry, to which Sir Walter replies : " I agree with you that the tower will look rather rich for the rest of the building ; yet you may be assured that with diagonal chimneys and notched gables it will have a very- fine effect, and is in Scotch architecture by no means incompatible." A few days later Sir Walter again writes to Mr. Terry detailing plans for the new house, of which he says : " Wilkie admires the whole as a composition, and that is high authority. ... I do not believe I should save £100 by retaining Mrs. Redford 1 by the time she was raised, altered, and beautified ; for, like the Highlandman's gun, she wants stock, lock, and barrel, to put her into repair. In the meantime * the cabin is convenient/ " Some months later Sir Walter could con- gratulate himself on the strength of the new building. " I have reason to be proud," he writes, c< of the finishing of my castle, for even of the tower, for which I trembled, not a stone has been 1 The original farmhouse. Making of Abbot sf or d shaken by the late terrific gale which blew a roof clear off in the neighbourhood." It was in the autumn of this year, 1818, that Mr. Lockhart first saw Abbotsford, and he confesses that it then had a fantastic appearance, being but a fragment of the existing edifice, and not at all harmonising in its outline with " Mother Redford's original tenement to the eastward." He continues, "Scott, however, expatiated con amore on the rapidity with which, being chiefly of darkish granite, it was assuming a ■ time - honoured ' aspect." Later in the same evening Mr. Lock- hart tells us how the younger portion of the party, headed by Sir Walter, ascended the tower and viewed the Tweed and Melrose by moonlight. 1 In the spring of 1820 Sir Walter writes to Lady Scott from London : " I have got a de- lightful plan for the addition at Abbotsford, which I think will make it quite complete, and furnish me with a handsome library, and you with a drawing-room and better bedroom, with good bedrooms for company, etc. It will cost me a little hard work to meet the expense, but I have been a good while idle." On his return from town, Sir Walter brought Mr. Blore's detailed plans for this, the completion of Abbotsford, including the wall and gateway of the courtyard to the south and the graceful arched and carved 1 Lif e -> vo1 - v - PP- 37 5> 376. io Making of Abbot sf or d stone screen which divides the court from the gardens. The latter, however, had been originally devised by Sir Walter himself. " The foundations might have been set about without further delay ; but he was very reluctant to authorise the demolition of the rustic porch of the old cottage, with its luxuriant overgrowth of roses and jessa- mines ; and, in short, could not make up his mind to sign the death-warrant of this favourite bower until winter had robbed it of its beauties." l The building operations continued throughout the year, and in the summer of 1822 the house was, to use Sir Walter's expression, " like a cried fair," with the masons busy at work, and the numerous guests from the south, who, after engaging in the festivities of the royal visit in Edinburgh, hastened to Abbotsford. In October Sir Walter writes to his son : " My new house is quite finished as to masonry, and we are now getting on the roof, just in time to face the bad weather." In the August of the following year Miss Edgeworth visited the almost completed Abbotsford, and her impressions are charmingly summed up in her greeting to Sir Walter, who received her at the archway to the courtyard. "Everything about you is exactly what one ought to have had wit enough to dream." 1 Life, vol. vi. p. 388. Making of Abbot sf or d 1 1 Thus by the beginning of 1825 Abbotsford was ready for the " house- warming," that joyous occasion so pleasantly described in the Life} Who could then have foreseen that before the year was over heavy clouds of misfortune would hang over Abbotsford, and cause Sir Walter to write such words as these in his Journal: — 18th December. "Sad hearts at Darnick and in the cottages of Abbotsford ... I have half resolved never to see the place again. How could I tread my hall with such a diminished crest ? How live a poor indebted man where I was once the wealthy — the honoured ?" And again, 22nd January 1826, "I have walked my last on the domains I have planted — sate the last time in the halls I have built. But death would have taken them from me if misfortune had spared them. " 2 Happily this foreboding was not fulfilled, and many tranquil days were to be spent at Abbotsford, and much happy work still to be done in the study so well known to all who visit Sir Walter s home, and of which he gives us the following description in the Reliquiae Trottcosienses 3 ; — 1 See vol. viii. pp. 293, etc., 344. 2 Journal, vol. i. pp.' 52, 89. 3 " The descriptive Catalogue of the Abbotsford Museum, which he began towards the close of his life, but, alas ! never finished, is entitled Reliquiae Trottcosienses — or the Gabions of the late Jonathan Oldbuck, Esq." — Life, vol. v. p. 143. 12 Making of Abbot sf or d Sir Walter's Study "The study is a private apartment 16 feet high, like the others, 20 feet long by about 14 broad, with a space of about 7 feet in height to the ceiling of the apartment, which affords room for a small gallery filled up with oaken shelves running round three sides of the study, and resting upon small protecting beams of oak. The gallery and its contents are accessible by a small stair, about 3 feet in breadth, which gains room to ascend in the southward angle of the chamber and runs in front of the books, leaving such a narrow passage as is sometimes found in front of the balustrades of old convents, and was certainly designed for the use of the lay brethren alone. In the south-east angle of the room a small door encloses a staircase which leads about seven paces higher, and by another private entrance reaches the bedroom story of the house, and lands in the proprietor's dressing-room. The inhabitant of the study, therefore, if unwilling to be surprised by visitors, may make his retreat unobserved by means of this gallery to the private staircase which unites his study with his bedroom, — a facility which he has sometimes found extremely convenient." The door of the study opens upon a small hall THE STUDY, ABBOTSFORD Making of Abbot sf or d 15 communicating with the door of the entrance-hall, which is hung with armour. It was through these doors that Mr. Lockhart wheeled Sir Walter for his last visit to the study, so touchingly described in the Life. These doorways are also connected with the story of Lord Byron's supposed apparition to Sir Walter, soon after his death. (August 1827.) Those who have seen Abbotsford will re- member that there is at the end of the hall, opposite to the entrance of the library, an arched doorway leading to other rooms. One night some of the party observed that, by an arrange- ment of light, easily to be imagined, a luminous space was formed upon the library door, in which the shadow of a person standing in the opposite archway made a very imposing appearance, the body of the hall remaining quite dark. Sir Walter had some time before told his friends of the deception of sight (mentioned in his Demonology), which made him for a moment imagine a figure of Lord Byron standing in the same hall. We quote Sir Walter's words — " Not long after the death of a late illustrious poet who had filled, while living, a great station in the eye of the public, a literary friend, to whom the de- ceased had been well known, was engaged during the darkening twilight of an autumn evening in perusing one of the publications which professed 1 6 Making of Abbot sf or d to detail the habits and opinions of the dis- tinguished individual who was now no more. As the reader had enjoyed the intimacy of the deceased to a considerable degree, he was deeply interested in the publication, which contained some particulars relating to himself and other friends. A visitor was sitting in the apartment, who was also engaged in reading. Their sitting- room opened into an entrance-hall, rather fan- tastically fitted up with articles of armour, skins of wild animals, and the like. It was when laying down his book, and passing into this hall, through which the moon was beginning to shine, that the individual of whom I speak saw, right before him, and in a standing posture, the exact representation of his departed friend, whose recollection had been so strongly brought to his imagination. He stopped for a single moment, so as to notice the wonderful accuracy with which fancy had im- pressed upon the bodily eye the peculiarities of dress and posture of the illustrious poet. Sensible, however, of the delusion, he felt no senti- ment save that of wonder at the extraordinary accuracy of the resemblance, and stepped onwards towards the figure, which resolved itself, as he approached, into the various materials of which it was composed. These were merely a screen, occupied by great-coats, shawls, plaids, and such other articles as usually are found in a country Making of Abbot sf or d ij entrance-hall. The spectator returned to the spot from which he had seen the illusion, and endeavoured with all his power to recall the image which had been so singularly vivid. But this was beyond his capacity ; and the person who had witnessed the apparition, or, more properly, whose excited state had been the means of raising it, had only to return into the apart- ment, and tell his young friend under what a striking hallucination he had for a moment laboured." 1 The desk so long used by Sir Walter, and " his own huge elbow chair," are familiar to us all. The former was copied from one at Rokeby, as we 4earn by the following passages in a letter to Mr. Morritt which bears the postmark of 23rd May 1 8 10 : — " I have a little commission for you if you will be kind enough to accept of it. You know I fell in love with your library table, and now that the ' Lady ' has put crowns into my purse I would willingly treat myself to the like. Only I think I have not much occasion for the space which holds accompt-books ; in other respects it is quite a model, and in that respect I don't quarrel with it, for why should I not be a rich man some day and have accompt-books ? And therefore I in- trude so far on your time as to request you when 1 Scott's Prose Works, Letters on Demonology and Witchcraft. 2 1 8 Making of ' Abbot sf or d you are taking a walk to order me such a table as yours." The desk cannot be better described than in Mr. Lockhart's words. They relate to it as he first saw it in the " Den" in Castle Street in 1818. " The only table was a massive piece of furniture which he had had constructed on the model of one at Rokeby ; with a desk and all its appurtenances on either side, that an amanuensis might work opposite to him when he chose ; and with small tiers of drawers, reaching all round to the floor. The top displayed a goodly array of session papers, and on the desk below were, besides the MS. at which he was working, sundry parcels of letters, proof-sheets, and so forth, all neatly done up with red tape. His own writing apparatus was a very handsome old box, richly carved, lined with crimson velvet, and containing ink-bottles, taper- stand, etc., in silver, the whole in such order that it might have come from the silversmith's window half an hour before." And again what can be more pathetic than Mr. Lockhart's description of the opening of the desk on that sad day fourteen years later ? "But perhaps the most touching evidence of the lasting tenderness of Sir Walter's early domestic feelings was exhibited to his executors when they opened his repositories in search of his testament, the evening after his burial. On lifting Making of Abbot sf or d 19 up his desk, we found arranged in careful order a series of little objects which had obviously been so placed there that his eye might rest on them every morning before he began his tasks. These were the old-fashioned boxes that had garnished his mother's toilette, when he, a sickly child, slept in her dressing-room — the silver taper-stand which the young advocate had bought for her with his first five guinea fee — a row of small packets inscribed with her hand, and containing the hair of those of her offspring that had died before her — his father's snuff-box and etui case, and more things of the like sort, recalling The old familiar faces." In conclusion, it may perhaps be of interest to insert here an extract from a description of the house as it appeared during the year 1826. The account is taken from a magazine article published in 1829, written in the character of an imaginary American, supposed to visit Abbotsford during the summer of 1825, in Sir Walter's absence. 1 After describing the changes wrought in the surroundings of Abbotsford by Sir Walter's patient plantings and judicious improvements, the writer continues : " But I am keeping you too long away from 'The Roof-tree of Monkbarns,' 1 The paper on Abbotsford from which I give this extract was published in a keepsake, called the "Anniversary," and added by Mr. Lockhart to the second edition of his Life of Scott (in 10 vols.), vol. vii. p. 395. 20 Making of Abbot sf or d which is situated on the brink of the last of a series of irregular hills, descending from the elevation of the Eildons to the Tweed. On all sides, except towards the river, the house connects itself with the gardens (according to the old fashion now generally condemned) ; — so that there is no want of air and space about the habitation. The building is such a one, I dare- say, as nobody but he would ever have dreamed of erecting ; or, if he had, escaped being quizzed for his pains. Yet it is eminently imposing in its general effect ; and in most of its details, not only full of historical interest, but beauty also. It is no doubt a thing of shreds and patches, but they have been combined by a masterly hand ; and if there be some whimsicalities, that in an ordinary case might have called up a smile, who is likely now or hereafter to contemplate such a monument of such a man's peculiar tastes and fancies, without feelings of a far different order ? By the principal approach you come very suddenly on the edifice ; — as the French would say, ' Vous tombez sur le chateau'; but this evil, if evil it be, was un- avoidable, in consequence of the vicinity of a public road, which cuts off the chateau and its plaisance from the main body of park and wood. The gateway is a lofty arch rising out of an embattled wall of considerable height ; and the jougSy as they are styled, those well-known emblems Making of Abbot sf or d 21 of feudal authority, hang rusty at the side ; this pair being relics from that great citadel of the old Douglases, Thrieve Castle in Galloway. On entering, you find yourself within an enclosure of perhaps half an acre, two sides thereof being pro- tected by the high wall above mentioned, all along which, inside, a trellised walk extends itself — broad, cool, and dark overhead with roses and honeysuckles. The third side, to the east, shows a screen of open arches of Gothic stone-work, filled between with a net-work of iron, not visible until you come close to it, and affording therefore delightful glimpses of the gardens, which spread upwards with many architectural ornaments of turret, porch, urn, vase, etc. This elegant screen abuts on the eastern extremity of the house, which runs along the whole of the northern side (and a small part of the western) of the great enclosure. . . . The house is more than 150 feet long in front, as I paced it ; was built at two different onsets ; has a tall tower at either end, the one not the least like the other ; presents sundry crowfooted y alias zigzagged, gables to the eye ; a myriad of indentations and parapets, and machicolated eaves ; most fantastic waterspouts ; labelled windows, not a few of them painted glass ; groups of right Elizabethan chimneys ; balconies of diverse fashions, greater and lesser ; stones carved with heraldries innumerable, let in here and there in 22 Making of Abbot sf or d the wall, and a very noble projecting gateway — a facsimile, I am told, of that appertaining to a certain dilapidated royal palace." * The story of the building of Abbotsford now ends. A few more years and we come to the very affecting account, given by Mr. Lockhart, of Sir Walter's last return to his home. Let me con- clude with his own words : " I have seen much," he kept saying, " but nothing like my ain house." 2 1 Linlithgow. 2 Life, vol. x. p. 209. II BARBOUR'S LEGENDS OF THE SAINTS HE discovery in 1871 of a hitherto unknown MS. containing a large collection of the unpublished writings of Barbour has not attracted the attention it deserves, and yet the fact is one not only of national interest, but, as we venture to think, has a very general interest. The name of the author of The Bruce is familiar to us all, and famous in Scotland as that of one of her earliest poets and historians, and we welcome the discovery in our own generation of another work from his pen — one calculated to sustain his fame as a man of great piety and learning, and as affording a fresh example of the purest style of the early Scottish language. We owe the discovery of the Legends to the late Mr. Bradshaw, librarian of the University of Cambridge, and for the publication of as much of the MS. as has as yet appeared in print we are 24 Barbour s Legends indebted to the zeal of M. Horstmann, who has brought out an edition in Germany. 1 That the Legends should have attracted some attention abroad is gratifying, but we cannot but regret that as yet no edition has appeared in England ; and while we trust that such an edition will eventually be published, we are tempted in the meantime to lay before our readers a specimen of the Legends, together with a few words regard- ing the author himself and the scanty historical facts known in connection with him. The Saint whose legend we have chosen to illustrate our subject also deserves some more special notice. The exact date of Barbour's birth is uncertain, but it is conjectured to have taken place probably in or about the year 1 3 1 6 ; and he is supposed to have been a native of Aberdeenshire. He is known to have studied both at Oxford and in France, and to have become a priest. He was raised to the dignity of Archdeacon of Aberdeen by the year 1357. 2 1 Barbour's Des Schottischen Nathnaldickten Legendensammlung, C. Horstmann, Heilbronn, 1881. The legend of St. Machar is, however, not included in the collection of Scotch Legends, but is bound up in M. Horst- mann's edition of the Altenglhche Legenden, Heilbronn, 188 1. 2 The Cathedral of St. Machar, in Aberdeen, in which the nave now remains almost entire, was commenced in 1366. Bishop Henry Leighton (1422-40) erected the two western towers and founded the north transept. Bishop Lindsay (1441-59) paved and roofed the church, and Bishop Elphin- stone built the central tower and the wooden spire. In 1560, when the fury of the mob had wrecked this stately church, the leaden roofing, bells, and other church property were shipped for Holland by the sacrilegious robbers, but the ship laden with these ill-gotten goods sank of the Saints 25 From the evidence of his writings, Barbour must have been a man of childlike faith and simplicity, but combined at the same time with a deep know- ledge of the human heart. His poem of The Bruce shows him to have been a devoted patriot, animated by that zeal for Scotland's freedom which has at all times been one of the chief characteristics of his country. It has been asserted that Barbour wrote The Bruce at the request of King David II. to honour the memory of his heroic father ; but a comparison of dates proves this to have been impossible. The poem was evidently written in the latter years of the reign of Robert II., who likewise granted a certain pension to Barbour in token of his grati- tude. Barbour's death took place in the year 1395-96, and it must have been during the last few years of his life that he wrote the legends we are considering. Of this we have his own testimony in the prologue to the Legends. The author tells us that he is debarred by his great age from con- tinuing his priestly duties, and so to escape the dangerous vice of idleness he intends writing stories of the Saints. To kene us how we suld do Tharefore in lytil space here I wry t the lyf of Sanctis sere, near the entrance of Aberdeen Harbour. Besides the cathedral, two parishes still bear the name of our Saint — Old, and New, Machar. 26 Barbour s Legends How that mene ma ensample ta For to serwe God, as did thai. M. Horstmann thinks it possible that the Legends were composed in the shape of familiar instructions to be read from the pulpit, but we incline to the belief that they were more probably- intended as pious reading for the use of the faithful in general. The author, as he tells us in the prologue, commences with the legends of the Twelve Apostles, giving each Saint in the order of his dignity instead of in the order of the Calendar. These are followed by legends of the immediate disciples of our Lord, and after them we find the story of the two penitents — St. Mary Magdalen and St. Mary of Egypt. These again are suc- ceeded by the lives of four martyred Saints, whose history is followed by that of four confessors, representing the three states of life — Matrimony, Continency, and Virginity. In compiling the re- mainder of the legends, Barbour does not seem to have followed any definite plan, but would appear to have grouped together the stories of the Saints with regard to the interest merely of particular legends and their reference one to another, as will be seen by the following list : — St. Margaret St. Placid St. Theodora St. Eugenia St. Justina St. George of the Saints 27 St. Palagia St. Thadea St. Baptista St. Vincent St. Adrian SS. Cosmas and Damian St. Ninian St. Agnes St. Agatha St. Caecilia St. Lucy St. Christina St. Anastasia St. Euphemia St. Juliana St. Thekla St. Katherine. The chief source from which Barbour has taken the legends appears to be from the Legenda Aura a y and they are as a rule free translations, interspersed, however, with the author's own reflections and comments ; and he seems also to have introduced some matter from other sources now lost. Again, some of the legends claim other origin than the " Legenda Aurasa " ; for instance, that of St. Thadeus, which is taken from the Vita Patrum itself, the original source of the " Golden Legend." Another great exception is the legend of St. Machar of Aberdeen. This legend is taken from the Vita Sancti Macharii, now lost, from which life the six lessons for the Saint's feast in the Aberdeen Breviary were likewise probably derived. As it would be impossible to consider in full the whole of these interesting legends, we have selected for illustration the story of St. Machar ; and this for several reasons. As the friend and companion of the great St. Columba, and as being 28 Barbour s Legends with him one of the earliest apostles of the North of Scotland, the life is historically interesting, and in the absence of any other full account of the Saint, Barbour's legend is of peculiar value. That Barbour should have given us this life, the only one of a Scottish Saint in the collection (with the exception of that of St. Ninian), shows his special desire to honour the memory and spread the fame of the patron Saint of Aberdeen, of whom he complains that even in his day too little was known, and portions of whose cathedral now alone remain to remind the inhabitants of Aberdeen of their great apostle. We have, of course, followed Barbour entirely in our short sketch of St. Machar's life and labours ; but there are several points in the legend to which we would wish specially to call attention. It will be ob- served that Barbour distinctly states that St. Machar spent the last few years of his life at Tours, and that he died Bishop of that city. In this his account agrees with that given in the Aberdeen Breviary, where we are told that the Saint was buried at Tours — " His body the Church of Tours in reverence retains." But of this fact, unfor- tunately, no proof now remains. St. Machar's name does not occur in the list of the Archbishops of that diocese, either under this name or under that of Mauritius, the name given to the Saint by the Pope just before the journey to Tours, and on of the Saints 29 occasion of his consecration. Nor again can we find any historical evidence that the shrine erected, as Barbour tells us, over St. Machar's body and close to the tomb of St. Martin, existed. 1 At first sight therefore it seems difficult, if not impossible, to reconcile Barbour's statements with facts ; but there is one way in which we think it is possible to prove that Barbour was not mistaken, or only partially mistaken, in his statement. We know that the Archdiocese of Tours possessed several suffragan Sees, whose Bishops were under the jurisdiction of the Archbishop of Tours. Among these Sees we find mention of Le Mans, Rennes, Vennes, and other Armorican Sees. The inhabitants of these suffragan dioceses, being a Keltic-speaking race, would have a com- munity of language with our Saint, and may we not conjecture that when, as Barbour describes, the clergy of Tours earnestly besought St. Columba to leave them one of his companions to preach the knowledge of God, they were seeking to give the Bretons a Bishop whose language would be almost familiar to them ? And therefore it is possible to conclude that, although at present we cannot certify that St. Machar was Bishop of Tours itself, he very probably occupied one of the Sees subordinate 1 The fact of the Saint being buried in " St. Martin's Chamber," and the miracles which occurred at his tomb, are likewise commemorated in the Hymn for the Saint's Office in the Aberdeen Breviary. 30 Barbour s Legends to that diocese. Writing, as Barbour did, seven centuries after the Saint's death, and with but scanty written records to bear out the traditions which had come down to him, such a confusion of facts would not be unlikely to occur. As regards the statement that St. Machar was buried at Tours, we think that a possible explanation may have been that, his sanctity being so well known and honoured throughout the diocese, a commemorative shrine, possibly containing some of the relics, was erected in the church of St. Martin, believed by succeeding generations to be the actual burying- place of the Saint. The whole story of the Saint's connection with Tours and his devotion to St. Martin is especially interesting, and affords another proof of the peculiar veneration felt by our early Scotch missionaries for that great Saint. Our readers will recall the affection evinced by St. Ninian for St. Martin, and the interesting details of their mutual friend- ship to which the church erected in Galloway by St. Ninian long bore witness. This church, which St. Ninian caused to be built by workmen brought from Tours, was in course of erection when St. Martin died, and St. Ninian dedicated it to him, the first of many churches in Scotland which were placed under the invocation of the Saint of Tours. If we consider also the long friendship that was so happily to unite France and Scotland for many of the Saints 31 generations, it is pleasant to trace the com- mencements of this sympathy in those early days of our national history, and to connect it with the mutual friendships of the Saints of the two countries. In conclusion, we would suggest that the legend of St. Machar is but one of the many gems of saintly biography contained in these volumes of Barbour, which we earnestly recom- mend to the study of our readers. lLz%ttto of fet ^acljar* Born of a noble race, Machar was the son of Syaconus, a king or chief in Ireland, and Synchene his wife, and being baptized by St. Colman, was named u Mocumma." From his infancy God's grace shone in him brightly, and angels watched over him. The king, his father, saw one day these gracious visitants hovering over the house where the child lay, singing heavenly music, and, entering, saw them watching round the infant's cradle. Filled with joy, he praised God for the gift of such a son, and prayed that he might be kept from all evil, and grow up in God's service ; and he and the queen, in token of their gratitude to Heaven, redoubled their prayers and alms-deeds. Before long, a great sorrow came upon them ; another son was born, who died without the grace of baptism, and the country was plunged into mourning ; but the king, calling to mind the 32 Barbour s Legends privileges granted to his eldest son, commanded that the body of the dead child should be taken to Mocumma and laid beside him, trusting in God's mercy that the elder brother might win grace for the younger ; and his faith was rewarded, for the child was restored to life, to the joy and wonder of the whole people. Other marvels are recorded as having occurred during Mocumma's childhood, and so he grew in strength and virtue, showing gracious promise of his future holiness. When his boyhood was passed, Syaconus, who had a special veneration for St. Columba, besought that Mocumma might join his disciples, and, Columba consenting, the youth quickly became one of his most devoted followers, and was specially beloved by his master, whose teaching he kept ever in his heart. Making rapid progress, he soon surpassed his fellow -disciples as well in knowledge as in virtue, and he was especially remarkable for his great humility. Lest we should wonder at the perfection attained by Mocumma in so short a space of time, Barbour reminds us that Solomon became wise in a single night — " For to God as we ma se, Naething may impossible be." Columba, perceiving how clearly God's grace shone in his pupil, spoke of him in these terms to his other disciples : — of the Saints 33 Zone mane that schenis as a zeme, I ame nocht dingne to lere, trewly Fore angelis of tyme sene haf I Repare til hyme I kene hyme al That he wald lere, gret and smal, & namely, hou he huly wryt Sal understand & expond It. The others, hearing these praises of Mocumma, were filled with envy, and strove to disparage him, but Columba, knowing the jealousy of their hearts, was unmoved, and continued to cherish Mocumma singularly. Meanwhile the fame of Mocumma's virtues spread through Ireland, and crowds flocked to visit him from all parts of the country. Mocumma, desiring to escape this homage shown to him, and feeling that wish which comes to all Saints of ridding himself of earthly ties, and devoting himself more entirely to God's service and the good of souls, determined to leave his native land and go whither he should be unknown, and where his royal birth might not stand in the way of the work he contemplated. Therefore, opening his heart to his master, he declared to him his wishes. Columba rejoiced at his resolution, and confided to him his own determination to seek another land wherein to preach God's truth, but counselled Mocumma to endeavour in the first place to gain the consent of his family and friends, who might naturally be 3 34 Barbour s Legends displeased at his project. Mocumma, however, replying in the touching words of Ruth, assured Columba that in the future he should consider him as his earthly father, and Holy Church as his mother, and so he should follow his master, " Fore quhare thu gays wil I ga, Til ded tak ane of ws twa." Columba, rejoicing at the perfection to which his pupil had attained, declared to him that as in youth he had borne the name of Mocumma, the time was now come when, as he had attained to manhood in Christ, a more appropriate name should be his, and called him from that time forth Machar. Then Columba, desiring a boat to be prepared and provision to be made for the voyage, he entered it with those who were willing to accompany him, and Machar in his eagerness was the first to place himself in the boat. The voyage was prosperous, and after sailing for a time they reached in safety the shores of Hy (Iona), where one called Melumma hospitably received them. After a time Columba, seeing that the island was fair, adorned with trees, and " spryng and well is fare and clere," chose it for the place of his abode, and caused huts to be erected for himself and his monks — the lowly commencements of the world- famed monastery of Iona. Machar meanwhile was sent to preach the Gospel in the Island of Mull, hard by, and after accomplishing this mission he of the Saints 35 returned to his master and devoted himself to the study of Holy Scripture. Miraculous assistance was granted to him in his work, and his brother monks began to murmur at the favours received by their comrade, and accused him to Columba as a sorcerer, declaring that their master must choose between them and him. Golumba, grieving at their hardness of heart, and at the necessity either of banishing that disciple (or, as Barbour quaintly calls him, Printyse) whom he most loved, or those whom he had cherished from their youth upwards, besought the brethren to hold their peace for a time, and, deliberating within himself, decided to send Machar from him to preach the Gospel on the mainland of Scotland. Sending for Machar, therefore, he reminded him of our Lord's words to His disciples : " Go, therefore, and teach all nations," and of the impossibility of continuing this work on the island on which they dwelt ; and telling him that as his own age forbids him journeying far to spread God's seed, Machar, as younger, " Scharpare of wyt and mare mychtty," should carry the tidings of the faith to the many lying in darkness. Machar agreed willingly to his master's wishes, answering that it was good for him to do his bidding. Then giving him twelve companions to assist him, Columba made him presents of a bishop's staff, a belt, and two of his own garments, together with some books, and 36 Barbour s Legends ordered a galley to be provisioned for the voyage. When therefore Machar was ready to pass the sea, Columba called the other brethren together, and reminding them how he had fostered them for so many years, and how earnestly he had striven to inculcate charity among them, he reproached them for their unbrotherly conduct to Machar, who had never wronged them. Touched by his words, they repented of their wickedness, and implored St. Columba to reconcile them with him whom they had injured, and Machar willingly consenting, they separated in all peace and charity. Machar, after receiving his beloved master's blessing, em- barked on his perilous voyage, and after sailing for three days he and his companions disembarked on the coast of Aberdeenshire. Near where they landed they found dwelling a certain " Cristine man " named Farcare : a man of wealth and position, who, when he had discovered who they were, greeted them with great joy, and knowing by fame of Machar' s holiness, besought them to enter his town (or dwelling ?) and pressed them to accept all that was needful to them. Profiting by the Saint's teaching, Farcare made great progress in the spiritual life, and praised God that he was considered worthy of harbouring such a guest. Full of love for his instructor, he desired to make over to him his lands in that part, in order that they might be devoted to God's service. Machar of the Saints 37 accepted the gift, and, remembering St. Columba's prophetic words regarding the spot upon which he was to build his church, sought till he found a piece of ground on the banks of the river, round which the water flowed in the shape of a bishop's staff. Seeing this, Machar called his disciples and declared to them that he had found the place fore- told him by his beloved master, announcing to them — " Lo, here myne dwelling-place for ay." Then he caused the ground to be prepared and a costly church to be erected — that church which was hereafter to be called after its saintly founder, and on the site of which there still remains entire the stately nave of the cathedral built in later years to honour the patron Saint of Aberdeen. While the church was being built the workmen suffered much from thirst, and in their distress appealed to Machar, who, always full of sympathy and pity, by his prayers caused a spring of fair water to flow. This spring still existed in Barbour's time. This is the first miracle recorded of St. Machar in the new land of his apostleship — that country which Barbour quaintly describes as "now the name is Scotland, bot Pychtis then in it were duelland." Near by our Saint's dwelling-place there lived a holy man named Dewynik, who had served the Lord from his youth. Between him and St. Machar a loving friendship grew up ; but they were not long to enjoy this mutual comfort. One 38 Barbour s Legends day Dewynik, coming to his friend, represented to him how many were still living in spiritual darkness in other parts of the country, and proposed that, while Machar should remain to instruct the Picts, he himself should go into Caithness to preach the Gospel. Machar was grieved to lose him, but Dewynik replied that they would meet in the heavenly kingdom, and knowing that his own days were numbered, besought Machar to promise that when tidings of his death should reach him, he would cause his body to be brought back and buried in the country in which he had so long dwelt. Machar promised, and they parted, to meet no more in this life — Dewynik to go into Caithness, and Machar to continue his work among the Picts, where his apostleship was greatly blessed, many of the leading men and the greater part of the people being converted to Christianity by his means. The temples and idols were destroyed, and his mission was blessed by many miracles and graces : among others, we are told how the Saint restored a person to life, delivered another from the power of the devil, and gave sight to the blind. We select one of the last- named miracles as an example : — Ane vthir tyme Sanct Machor zed Prechand & sawand Godis Sed, Mene brocht a mane that was blind-borne & seit hyme Sanct Machor beforne of the Saints 39 & prayt hyme ful fare that he Thru his prayere wald gere hyme se, & he, that reucht ay in hert had, Tuk wattir & blissit it but bad & there-with-all ennoyntit richt thane Oure-corce the eyne of that blind mane & sad till hyme " luk vpe and se " & as he bad, richt saw did he : & saw als clerly all-kine thinge As he of sicht had neur merring, And that na tyme saw befor, Saw thane, & lowyt Sanct Machor, Quhame thru the sieht God swa hyme gefe. The fame of Machar's holiness spread abroad, and people came from other countries to gain his blessing. Among these are specially mentioned two young men from Ireland, who, after long search, discovered Machar's abode, and being, as Barbour says, "sume dele lettryt," anxiously desired his assistance in the study and understand- ing of Holy Scripture. The Saint received them with much kindness, and instructed them in Christian knowledge, and in all that concerned their soul's health ; but his words fell on barren soil, and these young men took their departure, reviling the learning and admonitions of the Saint, and calling him a hypocrite. But their irreverence did not pass unpunished ; sudden death overtook them, and their bodies, falling into a morass, were never recovered. 4o Barbour s Legends Meanwhile Machar's fellow-workman in the Lord's vineyard, St. Dewynik, was approaching the term of his labours in Caithness. On his deathbed Dewynik desired his disciples, as soon as he should be dead, to bear his body to one of Machar's churches, and remind his friend of his promise on the occasion of their sorrowful parting. When all was over, therefore, the disciples hastened to fulfil their master's bidding, and bore the sorrowful news to St. Machar. The latter was deeply grieved at the tidings, but strove to resign himself to God's holy will, and spent the night in prayer. During this vigil he was consoled by a vision of angels watching over St. Dewynik's body. Rejoicing at this testimony to his friend's beatitude, Machar, when day came, summoned his disciples to accompany him, saying they must hasten to perform the rites of burial, and sing the Office appointed for those who die in the Lord. Machar buried his saintly friend at Banchory, and the place in Barbour's own day was still known as Banchory-Dewynik. It would be pleasant to linger over this period of our Saint's life : but for a fuller account of the miracles, and for a pretty story of the visit of St. Ternan, a neighbouring Bishop, to Machar, we must refer our readers to Barbour's graphic description, and follow the Saint's life in its concluding years. A few years before his death Machar was of the Saints 41 consoled by a visit from his beloved master, St. Columba, and so rejoiced were the Saints to meet that they shed tears of joy. Then, as on a former occasion, St. Columba had confided to Machar his intention of leaving his native country to evan- gelise Scotland, he now told him that he was again bent upon a long journey, and that he purposed to make a pilgrimage to Rome. Machar implored that he might be allowed to accompany him, to which St. Columba consented, and the two Saints set forth on their way to those foreign lands from whence Machar was not destined to return. Their journey was long and toilsome, but God watched over them singularly, and many wonders were wrought on their behalf, and so at last they came to the Eternal City, and hastened first to the churches of St. Peter and St. Paul, as is the pious practice of all pilgrims on first reaching Rome. The Pope (St. Gregory the Great), hearing of the arrival of the two venerable pilgrims, sent for them to his presence, and received them with great kindness and reverence, inquiring the object of their journey, and asking many questions about the distant land from which they came. They, in a few words, making known the cause of their journey, thus replied : — The cause of this trawall That we haf tane one hand but fale Is for-to wyne lestened re nude, 42 Barbour s Legends Till our sawlis eftire our dede. Ane uthir cause als haf we eke Petire and Paule here for-to seke, And mony ethir in this stede For Godis sake that tholit dede, & for till haf zoure benysone & zoure gud informacione. The Pope then calling Machar to him, told him that he should create him Bishop of the Picts, and bade him change his name. Thus he who had been called in his own country Mocumma, and in the land of his apostleship Machar, was hereafter, by the bidding of the Holy Father, to be called Morise. On a day fixed the Pope consecrated Morise, after instructing him in all the duties of the episcopal state, and then addressed him in this strain : — Lo, bruther & in Criste sone dere Thru wefcheyng of our handis here The haly gast als callit the Of bischape to the dignite That is schofine & to the hicht, Trawale that for all thi mycht In Goddis wyne-zarde forto vyne Fule folk that bundine ar with syne The wark of wangeliste tha do, & the office, that is the to Committit, fulfill ilke day & unreprofit kepe the ay. of the Saints 43 & gaynand & unchangeabili, As thu se nid is, thu chastly In pacience argw, and pray & in doctrine be besy ay. After this ceremony the new Bishop and St. Columba received again the Pope's blessing, and then set forth on their return journey. According to Barbour's narrative, the two Saints had no settled plan of visiting Tours on their way home, but Providence would seem to have led them to that town, dear to them as containing the shrine of St. Martin. While they were approaching Tours, the Bishop of that town — to whom God made known the holiness of His servants — came forth to meet them, accompanied by his clergy, and made them welcome, entertaining them most hospitably. Not content with thus honouring the pilgrims, the Bishop urged them to remain and dwell at Tours, but St. Columba, whom nothing could tempt to abandon Scotland, could not be persuaded to comply with this request. Then the clergy im- plored him that he would at least leave them, in his place, one of his disciples to preach God's word to them. Columba was disturbed at this request, and he and his companions remained silent till St. Morise spoke, and addressing St. Columba as his " fadire dere," said whatever the Saint thought needful to command he would undertake as being God's will, 44 Barbour s Legends however hard or painful it might be. Columba, blessing his resolve, declared he should remain at Tours to work in God's cause, and comfort Holy Church for three years, and that when this was accomplished he should receive the heavenly reward, and be with himself and St. Martin fellow- saints in God's kingdom. The tender friendship which united the two Saints made the parting a hard one, and Morise affectionately reproached his master for leaving him thus alone amongst strangers ; and to console him Columba promised always to be near him in spirit. Then they repaired together to the Bishop to ask his blessing before Columba should set out on his journey. After this leaving-taking was accom- plished, Columba spent the night in prayer in the church of St. Martin, where it is said the great Bishop appeared to him and gave him the book of the Gospels, which had been buried with him. This book, preserved as a great treasure by Columba, was left by him at his death to his church. 1 When the night was passed, Columba left Tours, accompanied by Morise and many of the clergy and laity, who, after escorting him for 1 It will be observed that Barbour's version of this occurrence differs from the account given by O'Donnell, who says that the people of Tours having lost the remembrance of the place of St. Martin's sepulture, begged Columba to discover it for them, which he consented to do on condition that he should be allowed to take whatever was in the hallowed tomb, except the bones of the Saint, and became in this way the possessor of the precious book. of the Saints 45 some distance, took leave of him with much sorrow, or as Barbour has it, With oft Hissing and regrat bath. For it is a full noyus thing Of dere friendis the departying. The night after St. Columba's departure, the Bishop of Tours had a vision regarding the new teacher who had been given to his flock. St. Martin appeared to him, and bade him praise God for the grace done to Tours in possessing so great a servant of God as its apostle and intercessor : one whose heavenly reward would be equal to that of the patriarchs and prophets, whose example he had followed on earth, by leaving his mighty kindred and all this world's goods to undertake for God's sake this long pilgrimage. The Bishop lost no time in consulting his clergy upon this vision, and so impressed were they all with its heavenly character, that the Bishop, with the unanimous consent of his flock, gave St. Morise full jurisdic- tion over himself and his diocese. The Saint's work at Tours was greatly blessed ; he himself was the most beautiful example of the virtues he preached, and the clergy and people rejoiced at possessing such a pastor. Temporal blessings were likewise granted to Morise's prayers, so that during the time of his episcopacy no pesti- lence troubled man or beast, and the seasons were 46 Barbour s Legends fair and fruitful. When three and a half years had passed, the time of his exile, as foretold by St. Columba, was accomplished, and his reward was at hand. Falling into a "lytill fewire," the Saint was soon in danger, and after six days, so rapid was the disease, death was at hand. He caused his grave to be made, and had himself carried to his oratory, and then desiring his disciples to come to him, he bade them a loving farewell, exhorting them to continue in the practice of all virtues and of brotherly charity ; and as they weeping implored him not to leave them desolate, he assured them that he would always be near them, making inter- cession for their needs before the throne of God. As God had blessed his life with many super- natural blessings, so in his death these graces continued. The Bishop and religious who sur- rounded Morise's deathbed saw our Lord and the twelve Apostles standing by him, and St. Martin and St. Columba also present to receive the soul of their brother in Christ. Our Lord, address- ing Morise, welcomed him in loving words to heaven. At these gracious words Morise rose, and throwing himself on his knees, said in a strong voice, " In manus tuas Domine, my saule I gyf," and so saying he yielded up his soul to his Maker. The legend goes on to tell us that the people of Tours, in token of their reverence for St. Morise, of the Saints 47 laid his body by the side of St. Martin, and erected a costly shrine over the tomb ; and from the date of the Saint's death till Barbour's own day the miracles wrought by his intercession continued to show forth his glory. Ill THE LIFE OF SAINT MARGARET 1 i T has long been matter for regret that so little should be known of the life of our great Saint and Queen, and that the only authentic record of her virtues should exist in a form unavailable to the general reader. We therefore rejoice to see "St. Margaret's Life," written by her confessor, the learned and pious Turgot, Bishop of St. Andrews, in the admirable translation of Father Forbes-Leith. This little work is not only interesting from the simple and beautiful description of the Saint's daily life by one who witnessed it, and instructive from the light it throws on the state of Scotland and the Church towards the latter part of the eleventh century ; it is also one of the first really authentic 1 The Life of St. Margaret, ^ueen of Scotland. By Turgot, Bishop of St. Andrews. Translated from the Latin by Wm. Forbes-Leith, S.J. Edinburgh, 1884. As regards the question of the authorship of the Life, we refer our readers to F. Forbes-Leith's preface. We have followed his decision in ascribing it to Turgot. Life of St, Margaret 49 histories we possess, and as such has been often referred to by later historians. Turgot appears to have been a Saxon of good birth, who, during the troubles in England, was offered as a hostage to William the Conqueror, by whom he was imprisoned in the castle of Lincoln, from whence he escaped and fled to Norway. In his exile he was employed to instruct the holy king and martyr Olave in sacred literature. The example shown by his royal pupil greatly influenced Turgot, so that he also strove to withdraw his heart more and more from the world. Having on his return to his native land lost all his worldly goods, and been in great danger of losing his life, he realised still more deeply the nothingness of this world. Having resolved to devote his life to God in the cloister, he asked for admittance into the monastery of Durham, where his great piety and learning led to his being eventually chosen as prior. After Margaret Atheling had become Queen of Scotland, she prayed him to be her confessor, and he remained her constant guide and adviser until close upon the end of her life. After the Queen's death Turgot continued to devote himself to the service of her family, remaining with Matilda of Scotland after her marriage with Henry I. It is to this princess, the worthy inheritor of her mother's virtues, that we owe the Life in which Turgot committed to writing his recollections of 4 50 Life of St. Margaret the Saint. He prefaces his narrative by a letter to Matilda, in which, after saluting her with wishes for her welfare, spiritual and temporal, he thus continues : — " You have by the request you made to me commanded me — for a request of yours is to me a command — to offer you in writing the story of the life of your mother, whose memory is held in veneration. How acceptable that life was to God you have often heard by the concordant praise of many. You remind me how in this matter my evidence is especially trustworthy, since (thanks to her great and familiar intercourse with me) you have under- stood that I am acquainted with the most part of her secrets. These your commands and wishes I willingly obey : nay, more, I venerate them exceedingly and I respectfully congratulate you — whom the King of the Angels has raised to the rank of Queen of England — on this, that you desire not only to hear about the life of your mother, who ever yearned after the Kingdom of the Angels, but further, to have it continually before your eyes in writing, in order that, although you were but little familiar with her face, you might at least have a perfect acquaintance with her virtues. For my part, my own wish inclines me to do what you bid, but I have, I do own, a lack of ability : as the materials forsooth for this undertaking are more than my writing or my words can avail to set forth." He concludes by again stating the difficulty he finds in doing justice to the greatness of his subject, and assuring Matilda that, far from exaggerating Life of St. Margaret 51 the Saint's virtues, he omits many things, fearing that they might be thought incredible, and he himself accused of " decking out the crow in the swan's plumage/' Margaret, this precious pearl, as Turgot styles her, came of a kingly race, and many of her ancestors were famous as wise and valiant rulers of their people, as well as for holiness of life. Grand-daughter of Edward Ironside, she was the eldest of the three children of Edward Atheling, surnamed Outre-Mer, from the fact that the chief part of his life was passed in exile in a foreign land. In his infancy Edward had been sent by the usurper Canute to Volgar, who governed part of Sweden, in order that he might be made away with ; but Volgar, more merciful, determined to save the child's life, and sent him secretly to the court of the King of Hungary, who received him with great kindness and charity, and had him brought up as if he had been one of his own children. When Edward had attained to man- hood he so distinguished himself as to obtain the hand of the Princess Agatha, who, it is conjectured, was the niece of the Emperor Henry II. of Germany. Of this marriage was born a son, Edgar, and two daughters, Margaret and Christina ; Margaret's birth probably took place in the year 1046, at Alba the Royal, the chief residence of the kings of Hungary. 52 Life of St. Margaret For nine years our Saint had lived in the foreign court, which yet was a very home to her, when her father, being recalled to England by his uncle, St. Edward the Confessor, returned to his native country, accompanied by his wife and children. At the court of Edward this noble family were received with all honour and affection, and the years that followed must have been peace- ful and happy. Margaret, early instructed in piety and knowledge, thus grew up in the un- worldly court of her uncle, whose influence, united with that of his Queen, Editha, must have greatly strengthened the pious teaching of her own parents ; and we may conclude that it was there that she learned by such noble examples how to show love and reverence to God's poor in their wants both of soul and body. From her infancy Margaret had shown that she was no common child ; endowed as she was with many mental gifts, clearness of intellect, and great facility in expressing her thoughts in elegant language, her studies presented few difficulties to her, and she became one of the most accomplished princesses of her time. But her chief wish and aim was to serve God as perfectly as she was able ; and so, even in her earliest years, " loving God above all things," as her biographer tells us, she spent much time in prayer and the study of Holy Scripture, and, in the midst of a court, led a very strict life. In all Life of St. Margaret 53 this she was preparing herself unconsciously for the high duties which awaited her. And now, leaving the Saint for a while, it may be well to learn what we may of the character of the King of Scotland, her future husband. Malcolm, eldest son of Duncan, spent his childhood in retire- ment and obscurity, concealed by faithful friends from the vengeance of the usurper, and the murderer of his father, Macbeth. As he grew up, however, he was received at the court of St. Edward the Confessor, who showed a paternal interest in his welfare ; and it was, no doubt, owing to his care that Malcolm became proficient in those knightly exercises which enabled him in after life to distinguish himself as a valiant warrior as well as a wise and able monarch. It is probable that it was during these years that Malcolm first saw his future bride, and it is not unreasonable to conjecture that he had thus already become attracted by her many graces of mind and person, before the time came when he could beg her to share his throne. Some years had gone by since Malcolm had been restored to his father's throne, and England had passed through stormy days, when the successes of William the Conqueror forced Edgar Atheling, the last Saxon prince of the royal line, to leave the country with his mother and sisters. Taking ship, they, together with many of their followers, 54 Life of St. Margaret intended passing to Hungary, to which country- many grateful ties still bound them ; but Providence had other views for the royal fugitives. Meeting with adverse weather, and being unable to proceed further on their voyage, they were forced to take refuge on the shores of Scotland, where the place of their landing still bears the name of St. Margaret's Hope. As soon as Malcolm received news of the arrival and destitute condition of his royal friends, he hastened to assure them of his sympathy and bid them welcome to his kingdom, entertaining them most honourably at his palace of Dun- fermline. We learn that the King soon became most desirous of making the Princess Margaret his wife : but at first he met with strong opposition to his suit, not only from Edgar and his nobles, but also from Margaret herself, who wished to consecrate her life to God in the cloister. However, it would appear that Edgar did not dare eventually to refuse his friend and benefactor's wishes, for, being so urged, the Saxon chronicler says, " he answered yea and durst not otherwise, for they were come into his power." And no doubt Margaret sub- mitted herself humbly to her brother's decision, perceiving that it was the will of God that she should serve Him in the married state. The exact date of the marriage is uncertain, but Life of St. Margaret 55 it seems most probably to have taken place in 1068-69. The ceremony was performed at Dun- fermline, where the Queen afterwards founded the stately Church of the Holy Trinity to comme- morate the event ; it was to be in after years the last resting place of herself, her husband, and many of their descendants. Margaret, being now raised to the greatest earthly dignity, was not on that account moved to alter her former desires of serving God in every way possible, and set herself, to this end, to perform those duties most suited to her new state. She desired to find a wise and prudent adviser to aid her in ruling her daily life, and in Turgot she found one who worthily performed this office, as we know, for many years. The Queen's first care was to perform her duties as a loving wife and helpmate to the King, her husband, and it is beautiful to see how she used her gentle influence for his good and that of his people, to whom she was ever a very mother. She persuaded the King to be more attentive to the care of his soul ; and, although his early life had not been blameless, he became from this time more earnest in prayer and good works, especially those of mercy, justice, and alms-deeds, and showed such sorrow for his sins, that Turgot says it was a marvel to see such repentance in one living in the world. The description of Malcolm's devotion to his Queen is 56 Life of St. Margaret so charming and simple that we must give it in the words of her biographer : — "There was in him [the King] a sort of dread of offending one whose life was so venerable, for he could not but perceive from her conduct that Christ dwelt within her ; nay more, he readily obeyed her wishes and prudent counsels, in all things. Whatever she refused, he refused also ; whatever pleased her, he also loved for the love of her. Hence it was, that although he could not read, he would turn over and examine books which she used either for her devotions or her study, and, when- ever he heard her say that she was fonder of one of them than the others, this one he too used to look at with special affection, kissing it, and often taking it into his hands. Sometimes he sent for a worker in precious metals, whom he commanded to ornament that volume with gold and gems, and when the work was finished the King himself used to carry the volume to the Queen as a kind proof of his devotion." The Queen, being thus encouraged and aided by the support of her husband, soon effected great changes at Court, and so regulated the conduct of those who surrounded herself and the King that the palace offered the highest example to all the nation. By her sweet and gentle manner and mild reproof, she acquired such influence that all, " Men as well as women, loved her while they feared her, and in fearing, loved her ; and in her presence no one dared say or do ought that was wrong." Life of St. Margaret 57 Skilled in the use of the needle and embroidery of all kinds, the Queen devoted some of her time to adorning vestments for the churches, and Turgot tells us that in her chamber were always to be seen such tokens of her industry. The charge of these works was confided to ladies of high birth and approved conduct. Nor was Margaret neglectful of the outward customs and ceremonies of royal pomp so necessary to maintenance of the kingly dignity. She it was who so arranged that a nobler class of persons should attend the king whenever he went abroad, and this was carried out with so much order that none were ever suffered to injure or take anything belonging to the poor people of the country. The Queen also encouraged the nobles of the court to dress in a manner more suitable to their rank, causing merchants from other countries to intro- duce materials for this purpose, such as had been hitherto unknown in Scotland. Anxious that the royal table should be served with becoming splen- dour, she also introduced the use of dishes and cups of precious metals. But, although the Queen made these changes from the sense of what was right and suitable for her royal husband's Court, she herself was not uplifted, but remained humble in heart, despising the things of this world, and, as her biographer tells us, even while she appeared in regal state, " She, like another Esther, in her heart 58 Life of St. Margaret trod all these trappings under foot, and bade herself remember that beneath the gems of gold there was but dust and ashes." She meditated constantly on the shortness of life and on the judgments of God, and used to urge her Confessor to spare no pains to point out to her, her faults ; and, as he did this less often than she wished, she would reproach him for what she termed his slackness in this respect, urging him to reprove her and to use no flattery in her regard. Malcolm and his Queen were blessed with eight children, and the Saint so trained them that they were the worthy children of such parents. They were instructed in all virtue from their earliest years, and no pains were spared in their education ; and, desiring that they should not be unduly indulged, the Queen charged the governor of the royal nursery to see that they were punished when they were naughty, "which," as remarks Turgot, " frolicksome childhood will often be." Owing to their mother's care, the royal children were loving and peaceable with each other, and in good behaviour surpassed many who were their seniors in years, and everywhere the younger paid due respect to the elder. The Saint often spoke to her children of the things of God in a manner suitable to their age, and urged them to love Him, saying, " Oh, my children, fear the Lord, for they who fear Him shall lack nothing, and if you love Life of St. Margaret 59 Him, he will give you, my darlings, prosperity in this life and everlasting happiness." This was her dearest wish for her children, and she ceased not to pray that their lives might be acceptable to God and that they might be worthy to attain to eternal blessedness. Not content with doing her duty to her own family, the Queen showed herself a true mother to her subjects. Persuaded that one of the surest ways of testifying love of God is shown by tender charity to His poor, she spent herself in their service. She desired that the poor should ever have access to her, and when she went abroad they were encouraged freely to approach her. There is still shown a stone on the road to Dunfermline which bears her name, and which tradition points out as being one of the spots where she used to sit and receive all who needed her compassionate assistance. The news of the great charity shown by their Queen was soon noised abroad in the whole kingdom, and crowds of distressed persons hastened to the royal palace, where they were treated with the greatest kindness. Like another saintly princess, St. Elizabeth of Hungary, it was the Queen's joy, for the love of God, to attend in person to the wants of the sick and suffering, and in these deeds of mercy the King cheerfully joined. In Lent the royal pair redoubled their acts of charity, and Turgot tells 60 Life of St. Margaret us how each morning they washed the feet of six poor persons, and daily fed three hundred in one of the halls of the palace, waiting on them them- selves. The Queen daily supported twenty-four poor people throughout the year, and spent her substance in relieving the wants of all who came near her, so that she was herself as poor as her own poor subjects, not having even the desire to possess aught. When her own means failed she was wont playfully to take money from the King's purse, which he as pleasantly permitted, sometimes pretending, when he caught her in the act, that he would have her arrested for these pious thefts. The Queen had the greatest sympathy for captives, and all those who were exiles from their native land, and it is impossible to say how many she restored to liberty ; for this purpose she employed trustworthy persons to discover the most miserable among the prisoners and slaves, and having done so, hastened to ransom them. Doubtless her mother's heart yearned in a special manner to poor and helpless children, for we learn that she often had little orphans brought to her own chamber, where she would feed them herself. The many duties of her state and these acts of charity in no way interfered with the Saint's devotion to prayer and meditation. In the midst of so much external occupation her heart was full of the thought of God, and she spent her spare Life of St. Margaret 61 time in prayer, not only by day, but by night, rising to devote hours to praise and adore her Lord in the church, and in this she was often accompanied by the King. Devoted to the study of Holy Scripture, she used earnestly to urge Turgot to procure for her copies of the sacred volumes ; no less for her own benefit than for the comfort and instruction of those around her. Turgot relates a pretty story of what befell one of her books, for which she had a special affection. It was a copy of the Gospels beautifully bound and enriched with gold and precious stones. During one of the Queen's journeys, the attendant who was carrying this book let it fall into a stream, and, not knowing what had happened, proceeded on his way. When the loss was discovered, dili- gent search was made, and the book was found lying in the bed of the river, whence it was taken up " so perfect, so uninjured, so free from damage, that it looked as if it had not been touched by the water." When it was restored to the Queen she returned thanks to God, and valued the book more even than before. 1 Margaret, whose tender heart was moved with such charity for the bodily wants of her people, had a still greater desire for their spiritual good. Being pained at perceiving certain grave abuses in her new country, such as the neglect of the 1 This precious MS. is now in the possession of the Bodleian Library, Oxford. 62 Life of St. Margaret Sunday, the practice of unlawful marriages, and divers other points in which the Church in Scotland did not conform to the universal Church, she so wrought with the King, that he, agreeing willingly to all her desires, and understanding the necessity of reform, held councils of the chief ecclesiastics and nobles of the realm for the purpose of dis- cussing these grave questions. The Queen was present on these occasions, and full of zeal for the greater glory of God, stated what she observed ; the King acting as her interpreter, having himself an equal knowledge both of the English and Scotch tongues. The chief subjects discussed were those con- nected with the observance of the Lenten Fast, the Liturgy, and the non-observance of the com- mandment of the Church that all should receive Holy Communion at Easter. As regards the Fast of Lent, it appears to have been the custom at that time to begin the Fast from the first Monday of Lent instead of the previous Wednesday, thus reducing the time to thirty-six days instead of forty. This custom, apparently tolerated in the early ages of the Church, was abrogated towards the close, at least, of the sixth century ; and the full period of forty days was generally observed in the Western Church. St. Margaret, then, showed that, as they agreed in faith, so they should unite also in discipline with the Holy See. Life of St, Margaret 63 As regards the question of Easter Communion, our Saint persuasively pointed out how sad and deplorable a thing it was to refrain from ap- proaching the altar at the season appointed by the Church. To the argument advanced that sinners were unworthy of such a grace, and that they feared to offend God, and, in the words of the Apostle, dreaded to eat and drink judgment to themselves, she showed how this did not apply to those who rightly prepared themselves by prayer, penance, and confession. Her words so touched her hearers that from that time they failed not to communicate devoutly at the holy season. It is difficult to say in what the " bar- barous rite," alluded to by Saint Margaret's biographer, and which she strove to alter, con- sisted. The expression does not appear to apply, as some have thought, to the use of the vulgar tongue in the celebration of Mass. If it is the ancient Ephesian liturgy which is referred to, and which was in use in some parts of Scotland, it seems probable that the Keledei or Culdees were alone permitted to retain it after St. Margaret's efforts had caused the Church of Scotland generally to follow the Roman rite. The endeavours of the Queen to promote the holiness and progress of the Church of Scotland in these and in all other matters were greatly blessed ; so that Baronius says of her, " that 64 Life of St. Margaret having found the Church of Scotland like a wild desert, she left it at her death in so flourishing a state that it resembled a well-cultivated beautiful garden." Having now briefly considered the life and exalted virtues of the Queen, we approach the end of her holy career ; and, as suffering in this life is ever the portion of those chosen souls who strive most nearly to imitate their Divine Model, so we find that Margaret's last days on earth were overshadowed with trials and afflictions. Sorrowful days for Scotland were at hand, and Turgot says that the Queen had a foreknowledge of the evils to come, and of her own death. Some months before the end, she summoned Turgot to her, and related to him the history of her whole life, shedding as she did so floods of tears. Her compunction was so wonderful, and the tenderness of her conscience so manifest, that Turgot says he felt unworthy of being admitted to so intimate a friendship with one so holy; he thus concludes his account of this his last interview with the Saint — "When she had ended what she had to say about matters which were pressing, she then addressed herself to me, saying : ' I now bid you farewell. I shall not continue much longer in this world, but you will live after me for a considerable time. There are two things which I beg of you. One is, that as long as you survive Life of St. Margaret 65 you will remember me in your prayers ; the other is, that you will take some care about my sons and daughters. Lavish your affection upon them ; teach them before all things to love and fear God ; never cease instructing them. When you see any one of them exalted to the height of an earthly dignity, then, as at once his father and his master in the truest sense, go to him, warn him lest through means of a passing honour he become puffed up with pride, or offend God by avarice, or through prosperity in this world neglect the blessedness of the life which is eternal. These are the things,' said she, 'which I ask you — as in the sight of God Who now is present along with us two — to promise me that you will carefully perform.' At these words I once more burst into tears and promised her that I would carefully perform her wishes ; for I did not dare to oppose one whom I heard thus unhesitatingly predict what was to come to pass. And the truth of her prediction is verified by present facts ; since I survive her death, and I see her offspring elevated to dignity and honour. Thus, having ended the conference, and being about to return home, I bade the Queen my last farewell ; for after that day I never saw her face in the flesh." This parting with her valued friend and adviser must have been a trial to the Queen, but a far sadder one was before her. Malcolm had now reigned for thirty-five years, and the country had been prosperous under his wise and beneficent rule ; and as the even course of a peaceful reign leaves little scope for the historian, so we find but few facts of the domestic history of this period, 5 66 Life of St. Margaret save that the King gradually incorporated the different provinces, of which the kingdom had hitherto been composed, into one monarchy, and at his death left Scotland in possession of the same southern frontier ever after retained. With regard to Malcolm's dealings with England, it would be foreign to our purpose to enter into the details of the various causes which led him to invade that country on five different occasions. The English chronicler speaks with bitterness of the savage way in which the Scottish King and his troops de- vastated the Border country, and of the many captives carried back to Scotland. We have seen how Malcolm's gentle Queen endeavoured to mitigate their hard lot. The immediate cause which led to Malcolm's final and fatal breach with England appears to have been a refusal on the part of William Rufus to fulfil the conditions of a treaty with the Scottish King, and the insult offered to the latter by requiring him to do homage as vassal to the English crown. In con- sequence of this affront, Malcolm once more pre- pared to invade the English border, and although the Queen, as if foreseeing the fatal issue of events, strove to dissuade him from accompanying the troops in person, he on this occasion remained deaf to her entreaties, and they parted to meet no more in this world. Margaret had been for some months in failing Life of St. Margaret 67 health, and, indeed, was seldom able to leave her bed. The account of her last days was preserved and given to Turgot by a priest who remained with her to the end, and to whom for his simplicity and holiness of life the Queen was much attached. He relates that one day, some time after this painful separation from her husband, and three days before her own death, the Queen became sadder than usual, and, turning to him, uttered these words : " Perhaps on this very day such a heavy calamity may befall the realm of Scotland as has not been for many ages past." Words only too surely realised, for on that day Malcolm and his son and apparent heir Edward were slain. Although accounts differ as to the place and manner of the Scottish King's death, all agree that there was treachery on the part of the English. The Scottish army perished partly by the sword and partly by the inundations of the rivers, swollen by the heavy rains of winter, and as none of his faithful followers were left to do honour to their lord's remains, Malcolm's body was placed in a cart by the English, and buried at Tynemouth. Meanwhile the holy Queen was drawing near her end ; united as they had been in life, so were they in death ; but three days were to elapse from the day of Malcolm's death before his Queen should follow him. He was slain on November the thir- teenth ; and on the sixteenth, Margaret's weakness 68 Life of St. Margaret having slightly decreased, she was enabled to rise and assist at Mass in her oratory, strengthening herself for her passage by receiving Holy Com- munion. Then, returning to her bed, her former pains attacked her with renewed force. The disease increased, and death was at hand. The Queen desired that the chaplains should remain near her reciting psalms ; and, sending for the Black Cross, for which, as it contained a portion of the True Cross, she had a special devotion, she, despite her excessive weakness, attempted to kiss it, and, signing herself with it, continued steadfast in prayer. A short time had elapsed, and the Queen had apparently become unconscious, when her second son, Prince Edgar, entered the room, the bearer of heavy tidings. Coming to announce the news of the death of his father and brother, what must have been his grief to find his beloved mother on her death-bed ! Rousing herself at her son's entrance, the Queen inquired for the King and Prince Edward. Edgar, loth to tell her the truth, and fearing to hasten her death, answered that they were well, but she, replying, said with a deep sigh, " I know it, my boy, I know it. By this holy cross, I adjure you to tell me the truth." Thus urged, Edgar related all, and concealed nothing from her, and Margaret, making her last great sacrifice, accepted the trial in all patience and resignation. Raising her eyes to heaven, she ex- Life of St. Margaret 69 claimed, " I give praise and thanks to Thee, Almighty God, for that Thou hast been pleased that I should endure such deep sorrow at my departing, and I trust that by means of this suffering it is Thy pleasure that I should be cleansed from some of the stains of my sins ! " Then, as death visibly approached, Margaret began to recite one of the prayers used by the priest during Mass : M Lord Jesus Christ, Who, according to the will of the Father, through the co-operation of the Holy Ghost, hast by Thy death given life to the world, deliver me." As she repeated these words, "deliver me," her soul passed to the judg- ment seat of her God, whom she had striven to love and serve above all things. After her death a great beauty was observed upon her countenance, all traces of suffering having passed away, and she appeared rather as one who calmly slept than as a dead person. The Chronicle of Mailros, one of the most authentic records we possess, states that the Queen's blessed death took place in Edinburgh Castle. From thence her body was removed to the church erected by her at Dunfermline, and interred, as she had herself desired, opposite the altar. Later, the bodies of Malcolm and their son Edward were brought from Tynemouth and placed beside her. Turgot's memoir ends here, and while we regret that he should not have entered more fully into jo Life of St. Margaret many details which would have been of great interest, yet we have, in his vivid and truthful pages, as charming and edifying a picture of the life of a great and holy Queen as perhaps exists anywhere ; and no doubt this little volume will be read with interest as revealing the inner life of one with whose name we are so familiar; a name graven as it were on the history of our country, and even yet borne by many of the spots connected with her memory. It may be interesting, before concluding, to cast a glance upon the history of Margaret's children, and to see how her teaching bore fruit in their lives. Five of her sons survived her, but Ethelred died shortly, and Edmund, the only one who appears to have been — and this for a short time only — unworthy of his family, died a penitent in an English cloister. The other three, Edgar, Alexander, and David, succeeded each other on their father's throne. Of the two princesses, their sisters, Matilda, the eldest, became the Queen of Henry the First of England, thus uniting the royal Saxon line to that of the Norman dynasty. Her sister Mary was married to Eustace, Count of Boulogne. Of her little is known, save that she was "a princess of singular piety towards God, and charity towards her neighbour." Her only child, Matilda, became the wife of King Stephen of England. Life of St, Margaret 71 Of Matilda (Queen of Henry the First) much more is known, and those who study her life cannot fail to be struck with the resemblance she bears to her mother, especially in those practical acts of mercy to the poor for which she was famous. A story is told which well illustrates this. One day her brother David, whilst visiting the English court, saw his sister employed in washing the feet of poor lepers, and kissing them : he asked her how the King, her husband, could bear to touch her lips after she had put them to such usage, to which she replied with a smile, " that she preferred the feet of the Eternal King to the lips of any mortal prince." It would not be within the scope of the present article to enter fully into the history of the reigns of Margaret's sons, rather let us, following the same course in which we have endeavoured to treat of their mother's life, state briefly the special personal characteristics of each. Of Edgar, who, after some years, succeeded his father on the throne, Ailred tells us that he greatly resembled his kinsman, Edward the Confessor ; his nature was sweet and amiable, and, incapable of harshness or tyranny towards his subjects, he ruled them with the utmost gentleness. Of Alexander, who suc- ceeded his brother on the throne, Ailred gives a different account. Although kind and humble to the clergy, " he was to the rest of his subjects 72 Life of St. Margaret beyond everything terrible, a man of large heart, exerting himself in all things beyond his strength" ; a man of learning, zealous in erecting churches, enriching them with the relics of saints, and in supplying them with sacred books ; generous to strangers, and so full of love to the poor that he seemed to like nothing so much as feeding and clothing them, and attending to their wants in person. Alexander dying like Edgar, childless, the youngest brother, David, ascended the throne. He was in all respects the most distinguished of the royal brothers, and perhaps the one who bore most resemblance to his mother. Like her, he showed a special love to his poor and suffering subjects, and on certain days he, like the kings of old, " sat at the gate " giving audience to the poor and aged, and would defer a hunting expedition without a murmur to attend to some poor suppliant. In compliance with the policy pursued by Malcolm and Margaret, he encouraged foreign merchants to frequent the Scottish ports, at the same time pre- serving to native traders the advantages possessed by them during Malcolm's reign. Many noble buildings owed their foundation to David's pious zeal, among them notably Melrose, Jedburgh, and Kelso. We may gather that he had a special love for the beautiful Abbey of Holyrood, erected by him to enshrine the " Black Rood," for which his mother had so great a veneration ; and on his Life of St. Margaret 73 death-bed his last wish was to be carried to pray before this representation of his crucified Saviour. While her descendants continued worthily to fill their parents' throne, the love felt for the memory of their holy mother by her adopted country had grown in strength and reverence ; and all felt that in losing her visible presence they had gained an advocate in heaven. Miracles were wrought at her tomb, and throughout Britain she was considered to be a saint. In the year 1250, during the reign of the Saint's great-grandson, Alexander, the public recognition of her sanctity was formally sanctioned by Pope Innocent IV. Her; body was removed from the grave where it had hitherto lain, in the Church of the Holy Trinity, Dunfermline, and enclosed in a silver shrine richly adorned with jewels, which was placed under the high altar in the same church. The young King, together with his mother, Queen Jane, and many bishops and nobles, was present at this ceremony, which was performed with great solemnity and splendour. The Feast of St. Margaret was originally kept upon November the 1 6th, the day of her death, but in the seventeenth century it was transferred to the 10th of June, at the request of James II., probably from the fact of that day being the birthday of his son, the Prince of Wales. At the same time, our Saint was declared Patroness of Scotland, together 74 Life of St. Margaret with St. Andrew. Her shrine continued to be the object of the greatest veneration until the time of the Reformation, when it was plundered and desecrated ; the relics were, however, preserved. The head was 'brought at Queen Mary's desire to Edinburgh Castle where she then was, probably when, exposed to many dangers, she took refuge there to await the birth of her son. After Mary's flight to England the Saint's head was removed to the house of the Laird of Drury, where it was for some years preserved by a Benedictine Monk. Confided by him to the missionary Jesuits, it was by one of them, John Robie, taken to Belgium, and after due authentication was publicly exposed for veneration, first at Antwerp, from whence it was removed to the Scots College at Douay ; there it remained till the days of the French Revolution, when it disappeared amid the general spoliation of the churches. George Carruthers, the historian, saw this relic at Douay in 1785, and describes it as being in a state of extraordinary preservation, and with a quantity of fine hair, fair in colour, still upon it. It was enclosed in a bust of solid silver, larger than life ; the crown, and chain about it, richly adorned with pearls and other jewels. With regard to the other remains of the Saint and her husband, they are stated to have been sent to Spain at the earnest request of Philip the Second, and placed by him in the Escurial. Some years Life of St. Margaret 75 ago Bishop Gillies, in the hope of restoring St. Margaret's relics to a Scottish shrine, applied for this purpose to the Spanish Government, but they could not then be identified. It is, however, possible to hope that these relics still exist, and that the day may come when they will be brought back to the land which still glories in the memory of its illustrious Queen. IV ST. MAGNUS OF THE ORKNEYS RAISE, glory, and reverent honour be unto God Almighty, our Maker and Redeemer, for His manifold goodness and mercy, which He hath granted unto us, who dwell in the uttermost parts of earth, and as the learned have written that it seemeth unto them, as though we were gone out of the world. But though it be so, it hath pleased God to show forth His goodness upon us in this thing most excellently, that He hath suffered us to come unto the knowledge of His Blessed Name and hath given unto us thereafter those who were strong pillars, the holy standard-bearers of His Church, with whose sanctity the whole North, both afar off and near at hand, is lighted up and shineth. These are holy King Olaf, and his august kinsman Halward, who adorn Norway with their sacred relics ; Magnus, the illustrious Earl of the Isles, who enlighteneth the Orkneys with his holy power, and to whose honour this history here following \ 67. Magnus of the Orkneys jy hath been written ; with whom are numbered the blessed Bishops, John and Thorlac, who have illuminated Iceland with the glory of their famous and worthy acts. Whence it is manifest that albeit our dwelling in this world be set far apart from other nations, we are not far from the Mercy of God ; and unto them we owe thanks, honour, and reverence all the days of our lives." Such is the commencement of the Greater of the two Sagas which record the life of the martyred Earl of the Orkneys. His name is still a familiar one in his native land, and the magnificent pile raised in veneration of his memory strikes and impresses the eye of every traveller who approaches Kirkwall. The Cathedral of St. Magnus is indeed one of the architectural glories of Scotland, and possesses a special and mournful interest as being one of the two Cathedral Churches which alone remain entire in their original grace and beauty ; but, by too many, little is known of the Saint in whose honour this glorious fabric was raised by his loyal and grateful people. Until lately, the history of the Martyr was little known save to the readers of Torfasus — not as numerous a body as even that author, especially in the absence of better authorities, might well have found. The Greater Magnus Saga — an Icelandic text which is in great part a translation of the life written in Latin by Master Robert twenty y8 St. Magnus of the Orkneys years after the martyrdom, on the occasion of the enshrinement of the relics, was again translated into Latin and published at Copenhagen in 1780, and was republished in London by Pinkerton in his Vita Sanctorum Scotia in 1789. The public has since been indebted to Messrs. Hjaltalin and Goudie for their learned and interesting translation of the Orkneyinga Saga, edited by Dr. Joseph Anderson in 1875 ; an d another most valuable addition has now been made to English literature by the publication, in 1894, of Sir George Dasent's new translation of the same Saga, and also of both the Greater and Lesser Magnus Sagas, with Appendices, containing, among other things, a col- lection of the liturgical monuments connected with the martyred Earl. It is to the personal courtesy of the late eminent scholar last mentioned that the present writer was indebted, in 1886, — when this paper was published, — for the use of the materials upon which the following pages are mainly founded. In order to follow the story of St. Magnus and to gain more knowledge of the country he ruled, we must first glance briefly at some of the chief events in the history of the Northern Islands. Up to the middle of the sixth century, but very little is known of. them. Classical writers, it is true, mention their existence, but their allusions only serve to show that hardly anything else was known about them. Julius Solinus, in the first century St. Magnus of the Orkneys 79 of the Christian Era, remarks that they are un- inhabited. It is supposed that the wave of Celtic population which swept over the North of Scotland gradually extended to them, and this theory is corroborated by the similarity of weapons and other remains found in the Orkneys and Shetlands to those discovered on the mainland of Scotland. If the language of the poet Claudian is to be taken seriously, there was also a Saxon occupation of them, at least temporarily, in the middle of the fourth century, but Nennius records that a hundred years later they were harried by the Teutonic pirates Octa and Ebissa. Although it appears probable that the Northern Archipelago was evangelised at a very early date by Irish missionaries, we have no record of this fact, and it is in Adamnan's Life of St. Columba that we first find distinct mention of the Orkneys, and of the mission of Cormac and his fellow-monks to these islands. They were at that time subject to the suzerainty of the King of the Picts, from whom Columba besought protection for the missionaries. From this date up to the time of the Norse conquest in 872, it seems certain that a great portion at least of the inhabitants embraced the Christian faith. The evidences of this are fourfold — 1. The dedication of the early ecclesiastical foundations; 2. The discovery of monumental stones, sculptured in the style peculiar 80 St. Magnus of the Orkneys to the earliest Christian monuments of the North of Scotland, and inscribed with the Ogham character ; 3. The bells found in the Islands, of the square form belonging to the early ages of the Church ; 4. The names that occur in the local topography, and which bear witness to a previous Celtic Christian settlement — for example, in Rinansey (St. Ninian's Isle), Daminsey (St. Adamnan's Isle), in the Orkneys ; St. Ninian's Island in the Shetlands ; and in the constant recurrence of the name Papa in different places. That the memory of St. Columba was fresh in the hearts of the people may be inferred from the fact that in the parish of South Ronaldsey alone — the spot where probably his monks first landed — there were three chapels dedicated to the Saint. From the scanty records that have survived, we gather that the Islands remained under the alternate sway of the Pictish and Dalriadic kings from the time at least of St. Columba until the Norse invasion. In 872, with Harald Harfagri and his Northmen, a flood of heathenism swept over them, and for more than a hundred years Christianity was banished from their shores. At length, about the year 994, Earl Sigurd — fourth in succession to that Sigurd on whom Harald bestowed the Earldom of the Islands — was converted by Olaf Tryggvisson, King of Norway, and his people St. Magnus of the Orkneys 81 with him. Although it would appear from the history of this event that their conversion was at first due to policy rather than to conviction, yet after some years the faith was firmly re-established. The first church known to have been built in the Orkneys after the Norse conquest is Christ Church, Birsay, hereafter to be mentioned as the first burial - place of St. Magnus. This church, of which some existing foundations are possibly the remains, was erected by the Saint's grandfather, Earl Thorfinn, one of the most famous of the Earls in the Norse line. He reigned, according to the Saga, for " seventy winters," and about the year 1050 made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. It is supposed that the church was built after his return from Palestine. Earl Thorfinn died in 1064, and was succeeded by his sons Paul and Erlend as joint rulers of the earldom. Earl Paul and his wife Ingibiorg had but one son, Hakon, while Erlend and his wife Thora were the parents of four children, St. Magnus, Erling, and two daughters. Paul and Erlend ruled peaceably for many years, and were brotherly and well agreed in the joint exercise of their power, until their sons grew up. Then troubles began. Hakon and Erling were turbulent, overbearing youths ; and Hakon, in especial, showed early signs of the havoc his proud selfish nature was to cause in after days. In right 6 82 St Magnus of the Orkneys of his mother's royal descent, he considered him- self superior to his cousins in rank, and strove to rule over them. 1 In consequence, dissensions arose not only between the cousins, but also among the people, as Erlend's many friends could not bear to see his children despised. At length Paul and Erlend interfered to settle matters between the disputants, and a meeting was held in order that peace might be made, but it soon appeared that, as was natural, each Earl supported his own son's interests, and they could not agree, but parted in anger. The Earls, however, soon made friends, and things went well for a time. Then fresh troubles arose, till at last Hakon was persuaded to leave the islands, and in his absence peace was restored to the land. As some of Hakon's doings during his wander- ings resulted in events of deep importance to his cousin, we must follow him to Norway before considering the early days of the Saint. Hakon " first fared east to Norway " to visit his kinsman, King Olaf the Great. He did not remain here long, but proceeded to Sweden, where he was well received by King Ingi, and made welcome by his maternal grandfather, Hakon, and his other kins- men. Christianity was still young in Sweden, and although King Ingi was earnestly endeavouring to 1 Earl Paul's wife was a grand-daughter of King Magnus, the son of St. Olaf. St. Magnus of the Orkneys 83 root out every vestige of heathenism, the people clung to some of their ancient superstitions, and Hakon, who appears also to have had some little leaning to the practices of his forefathers, deter- mined to seek the assistance of a certain spaeman of the country, to learn what the future had in store for him. The account of the interview is curious. After ascertaining Hakon's name and kindred, the wizard suggested that it might be better for him to ask the assistance of his kinsman, King Olaf, instead of coming to one in whom his relations no longer believed. Hakon answered by owning plainly that he was not worthy to receive help from Olaf, adding, that in the point of merit, he did not think there was much to choose between himself and the wizard. " It hath come into my mind," said he, "that here neither of us twain will need to look down upon the other for the sake of matters of virtue or belief." The wizard then bade him return in three nights' time to receive his answer. In the second interview the sorcerer stated his belief that Hakon would become sole ruler over the Orkneys, though the time might seem long in coming, and that his children also would probably rule there ; he added that Hakon would " let that wickedness be done for which he must either make atonement, or not, to the God in whom he believed," and concluded by saying that his querent would take a journey farther out 84 St. Magnus of the Orkneys into the world than he could get to see, but would probably return to die in the North. After this Hakon remained a short time longer with King Ingi, and then returned to Norway. During his absence Olaf had died, and had been succeeded on the throne by Magnus Barelegs. At his Court Hakon heard news from the Orkneys, to the effect that Earl Erlend and his sons were now the chief rulers in the islands, and greatly beloved of the people, so that Earl Paul had little authority. Hakon thought also that he perceived that his own presence was not greatly desired by his countrymen, and he feared that if he returned, his kinsmen would hold the earldom against him. He therefore determined to seek help from King Magnus, hoping, according to the warlike ideas of his age, that if he could persuade Magnus to conquer the islands for the glory of the thing, he would place him in power. So he took opportunities of saying before the King what a fine thing it would be for a prince to call out his forces and take possession of the islands as Harald Harfagri had done, hinting that once in possession of the Southern Islands, it would be easy to make harrying expeditions into Scotland and Ireland, and from thence to try the power of the Northmen against the English. As often happens, ambition brought its own punishment — King Magnus heartily agreed to the proposed expedition, but St. Magnus of the Orkneys 85 by no means intended to gratify his kinsman's wishes, of which no doubt he had his own suspicions. He spoke out plainly, bidding Hakon understand that if he conquered the Western Islands he should probably keep them for himself. At his words Hakon " grew cold, and said little more about it," but the deed was done. Before relating the results of this expedition, so disastrous to St. Magnus's family, it is needful to turn to the few details we possess of the Saint's childhood and youth. It would be difficult to fix the exact date of Magnus's birth, but, judging from after events, we may conjecture that it took place probably about the year 1075. From his earliest childhood he was remarkable, and showed promise of his future sanctity. He was, as his biographer tells us, " old in good behaviour, shareless of childish life in his deeds, gladspoken and blythe, gentle in his loving words, and yielding and reasonable in his conduct and in all his doings." Docility and obedience seem to have been his ruling characteristics as a child, for the Saga dwells on the obedience and attention he paid to his parents and masters. He was sent to school at an early age, to receive religious in- struction, and to learn the secular knowledge considered necessary for a lad of his time and rank. As he grew up, he continued also to 86 St. Magnus of the Orkneys advance in virtue, " in sweetness of temper and soberness of life," so as to be a cause of edifica- tion to all about him. But this youth, who was destined to be so brave a soldier of Christ, was allowed, like many other saints, to pass through a time of sin and humiliation between his innocent childhood and the steadfast virtue of his manhood. When Magnus was " about full grown of age " he for a time suffered from the influence of bad com- panions, and for some winters joined in their life of robbery and plunder, and, to use the words of the Saga, " stood by at manslaughters along with others." It is supposed that this most probably occurred at the period when Magnus and his brother and cousin were all together in the Orkneys before Hakon's voyage to Norway, and the narrative which now commences certainly shows us that, by the time of the Norwegian invasion, Magnus had turned aside from all un- lawful pursuits, and had begun again to tread the narrow path from which he never afterwards strayed. The words of the Greater Saga concern- ing his conversion are an ascription which is ever- lastingly true. " This is the change of Thy right hand, O Thou Most High. Thou art strong to strengthen, gracious to help, ready to better, mighty to save." In pursuance of the design above mentioned, King Magnus Barelegs presently came from the St. Magnus of the Orkneys 87 east out of Norway with a great multitude of ships and force of warriors. When he came to the Orkneys he seems to have effected his purpose without difficulty, for we have no record of any battle, but simply of the fact that " he seized the Earls Erlend and Paul, and forced them away from the isles, and sent them east to Norway ; but he set his son Sigurd over the Orkneys, and gave him councillors, for he was not older than nine winters. King Magnus settled that the sons of the earls should fare with and attend him : Magnus and Erling, the sons of Erlend, and Hakon, Paul's son. Magnus, the son of Earl Erlend, was a tall man of growth, quick and gallant, and strong of body, fair to look on, light hued, and well limbed, noble in aspect, and the most courteous in all his behaviour ; him King Magnus made his waiting-swain, and he always served at the King's board." The King made the three cousins, Hakon, Magnus, and Erling, thus accompany him on his southward voyage. On his way south, the Norwegian monarch devastated the islands of Harris, Lewis, Uist, and Skye. He also landed at Iona, and, as it would appear, with no friendly intentions, but the Holy Island was saved from his plunder. One of the Sagas tells how, going to the little chapel of Columcille (St. Oran's), he opened the door and was about to enter, when he suddenly stopped, 88 St. Magnus of the Orkneys either struck by remorse or by some supernatural wavering, then closing the door, he forbade any one to enter, and gave the inhabitants peace. After his expedition to the islands, the King proceeded south to the Welsh coast and fought a great battle in Anglesea Sound against the Earls of Chester and Shrewsbury, the latter of whom was killed, probably by an arrow shot by Magnus Barelegs himself. This battle is chiefly interesting to us from the following incident. Whilst the King's men were arming themselves for action, the young Magnus took his seat on the fore-deck as was his custom, but did not arm himself. The King inquired wherefore he did not prepare for battle like the others, to which the Saint replied that he had no quarrel with any man there, and therefore would not fight. Then the King bade him go below out of men's way if he was afraid to fight ; but Magnus remained where he was, and taking a psalter, sang out of it while the battle raged, seeking no shelter from the storm of shafts and arrows that fell around him, and although many close to him were killed or wounded, he received no hurt. The King did not enter into the high motives which influenced his young kinsman's conduct on this occasion, and from that day took a dislike to him. This was so evident, that after a time, Magnus, seeing that " it would neither be for his St. Magnus of the Orkneys 89 honour nor his soul's sake " to remain longer with the King, took counsel with himself, praying that God would direct him. Having determined to escape, he left the ship one night and swam to shore. The fleet had now returned to the coast of Scotland, and there he lay hid for some time in the woods, to elude the search made after him, but ultimately made his way in safety to the Court of the King of Scots. We know very little about the period of Magnus's exile. All we can gather is, that his time was spent partly at the Scottish Court, and partly in visits to a certain Bishop in Wales, whose name is not recorded. The monarch of Scotland at this time was Edgar, the fourth son of Malcolm Canmore and St. Margaret, who had only recently been placed upon the throne with the assistance of William Rufus, who became his brother-in-law in the November of the year 1100. The character of Edgar is thus described by St. Ailred of Rievaux : " He was a sweet-tempered, amiable man, in all things resembling Edward the Confessor ; mild in his administration, equitable and beneficent." It is not an improbable con- jecture that these features may have endeared him to the Martyr, and, in the absence of greater certitude as to dates, it is possible that Magnus may have remained with him until his death, 8th January 1106, when he was succeeded by 90 St. Magnus of the Orkneys his brother Alexander I., a man of a very different temperament. It is certainly to this period that the writers of the Northern histories ascribe the most remarkable advance made by Magnus in the spiritual life. In the meanwhile, great political and personal changes were passing in the world to which the Orkneys belonged. The Earls Paul and Erlend both died in exile in Norway, and in the spring of 1099 King Magnus Barelegs gave Gunnhilda, daughter of Erlend and sister of Magnus, in marriage to Kol Kalisson, with a considerable dowry. In the year 1102 the Norwegian King was killed in battle in Ulster, and it is supposed that the Saint's brother Erling fell at the same time. When the young Prince Sigurd received news of his father's death, he left the Orkneys to take possession of his paternal throne conjointly with his brothers Eystein and Olaf. The op- portunity sought for by Hakon seemed now at hand. He accordingly visited the Norwegian Court, and obtained from Sigurd the title of Earl and such authority in the Islands " as his birth might claim." This expression shows that the King did not intend to deprive Magnus of his share of the earldom ; but Hakon thought little of his cousin's rights, and, sailing for the Orkneys, took possession of the whole realm, slaying the steward of the King of Norway who had charge St. Magnus of the Orkneys 91 of the half of the Islands which by inheritance belonged to Magnus. The latter made his way into Caithness, where the people received him with joy, and chose him to be their ruler, giving him the honoured title of Earl. When the Saint heard of his cousin's conduct, he took counsel with his friends and agreed with them to wait for a time, until Hakon's anger and greed had cooled, before taking any steps to obtain his rights, desir- ing only to seek his inheritance in the spirit of right and justice. When, however, the time arrived that it seemed prudent for him to return home, he went to the Orkneys attended by a goodly company from Caithness, and was well received by his friends and kinsmen. Then he asked to take his inheritance in the Islands, and this pleased the people, who bore him much affection, but Hakon prepared to fight, rather than give up the realm. However, by the aid of mutual friends, it was agreed that if the King of Norway approved Magnus's claim, Hakon should give up half the country to his cousin. Magnus therefore went over to Norway, and the King made him welcome, and willingly granted his petition. After this decision, Hakon was con- tented to share the rule with Magnus, and for some years peace was restored to the Islands. These years form — from an earthly point of view — one of the most prosperous periods of the 92 St. Magnus of the Orkneys Martyr's life : a resting place, as it were, between the trials of his youth and the later conflicts which awaited him. What he was as a Prince and a ruler of men, is written in the Orkneyinga Saga : — " The holy Magnus, Earl of the Islands, was a most excellent man. He was of large stature, a man of noble presence and intellectual countenance. He was of blameless life, victorious in battles, wise, eloquent, strong-minded, liberal and magnanimous, sagacious in counsels, and more beloved than any other man. To wise men and good he was gentle and affable in his conversation ; but severe and unsparing with robbers and vikings. Many of those who plundered the landowners and the inhabitants of the land he caused to be put to death. He also seized murderers and thieves, and punished rich and poor impartially for rob- beries and thefts and all crimes. He was just in his judgments, and had more respect to divine justice than difference in the estates of men. He gave large presents to chiefs and rich men, yet the greatest share of his liberality was given to the poor. In all things he strictly obeyed the divine commands ; and he chastened his body in many things, which in his glorious life were known to God, but hidden from men." 1 Very different in character from his holy cousin, Hakon cared little to punish evil among his 1 Orkneyinga Saga, xxxiv. St. Magnus of the Orkneys 93 followers, and, greedy both of money and power, he rather urged them to warfare than restrained them. Hakon was filled with envy at the popu- larity of his cousin, and when, after these years of peace, wicked counsellors, especially two named Sigurd and Sighvat, endeavoured to sow discord between the Earls, Hakon lent a willing ear to their suggestions, and began to plan with them to overthrow Magnus's power, and even to plot against his life. At this point the Greater Magnus Saga makes a circumstantial and detailed statement, which is supported neither by the Orkney inga nor the Lesser Magnus Sagas. It is to the effect that when Magnus became aware of the designs against him and saw that his cousin desired his ruin, he determined to absent himself from the Islands, thinking it best for a while to give place unto wrath. He chose therefore some of his most trusty men to accompany him, and travelled to the court of Henry of England. Here he made known his history to the King, who welcomed him, and soon grew to love and revere his saintly guest, and took advice with him in affairs of State, listening willingly to his advice. Magnus was loved and honoured by all at the English Court, so attractive was his cheerful kindliness of demeanour and the marked holiness of his life. He and his followers remained as Henry's guests 94 St. Magnus of the Orkneys for a year, but the atmosphere of the Court was uncongenial to Magnus's pure soul, and " may be," says the writer, " that God had revealed to him that he should close his toils within a short time, and so offer to God the pure flower of his chastity by the triumphant death of his martyrdom. For to be set free from the body, and live with Christ, is far more glorious than to be held in the defile- ment of this world." After taking an affectionate farewell of Henry, Magnus visited the holy shrines in the neighbourhood, and then turned his steps homeward. In his absence Hakon had once more usurped his cousin's place, and had taken forcible possession, not only of the Islands, but also of Caithness. He was established at the latter place when news reached him that Magnus had returned to the Orkneys and sought to win back his posses- sions. His cousin's return aroused all Hakon's worst feelings, and he planned to come unexpectedly upon Magnus and slay him ; but the day when, through the apparent triumph of evil, Magnus was to win his crown, had not yet come. Accord- ing to his biographer, God still saw some "rust of worldly behaviour " in His chosen servant, and left him a little longer in his exile, till earthly trial and temptation should have purified him entirely and fitted him to enter into his reward. It came about, therefore, that peace was once more made between the cousins, and for some time longer St. Magnus of the Orkneys 95 Magnus ruled his people and redoubled his efforts in the service of God ; but Hakon, under the cover of friendship, let the bitterness of anger and envy take root in his heart, so that when the moment of temptation came he fell an easy prey to the suggestions of his own evil heart and to the counsels of others no less wicked than him- self. Among Hakon's followers, two have already been named as taking the lead in striving to make mischief between the Earls, and these men, Sigurd and Sighvat, with their companions, by their wicked reports, brought about so great a misunder- standing that Hakon and Magnus called out their followers, and met each other in warlike guise at Hrossey. This meeting took place in Lent of the year 11 16, and ended without bloodshed, as the well-disposed friends of the Earls interposed to make peace. It was arranged that Hakon and Magnus should have a final meeting on the Island of Egilsha after Easter. Each Earl was to come with only two ships and the same number of men on each side, and they bound themselves by oath to keep the agreements their friends should make for them at the Easter meeting. After this was determined upon, the cousins and their men returned home. Magnus, well pleased with these preliminaries of concord between them, being himself " thoroughly g6 St. Magnus of the Orkneys whole hearted and of good conscience, without all mistrust," but Hakon, who had made the agree- ment with treachery in his heart, did not intend to fulfil the conditions, and was even now plotting his cousin's destruction. On Easter Monday, which fell that year on 15th April, the Earls and their followers set forth for the place of meeting. Magnus had summoned to his aid the men he knew to be most friendly both to Hakon and himself, and embarked his company in two long ships. The weather was fine and the sea calm, but as they rowed towards Egilsha, on a sudden a large wave rose close to the ship in which the Saint was, and broke over the place where he sat. All who were there marvelled greatly that such a wave should fall on them when the sea was smooth and the water deep, but Magnus said, "It is not strange though ye wonder at this, but my thought is, that this is a foreboding of my life's end ; may be that may happen here which has before been spaed, that Earl Paul's son would work the greatest wickedness, may be that Hakon is plotting treachery against us at this meeting." The Saint's comrades were greatly alarmed at his words, and implored him to beware of Hakon, and not to expose his life by continuing his voyage ; but Magnus replied that he must certainly proceed to the place of meeting as agreed, and not have to reproach himself with having broken St. Magnus of the Orkneys 97 his word for a mere foreboding of evil ; and then, expressing his desire that God's will might be done in their voyage, he added that if he had a choice, he would rather suffer wrong himself, than do evil to another, concluding with these words, " So may God let my kinsman Hakon get forgive- ness, though he may do wrong to me." While the Saint and his followers were making their way to Egilsha in this wise, Hakon was making his preparations for the coming interview in very different dispositions. He summoned a numerous band of warriors to accompany him, and filled seven or eight large war-ships with his followers. The Earl did not conceal his intention that this meeting should so settle matters between himself and his cousin that in future one of them alone should enjoy supreme power over the realm. Many of his men, and in especial Sigurd and Sighvat, were all pleased at Hakon's words, but there was one man on board, the son of Havard Gunni, and an intimate friend of both Earls, who, when he heard of Hakon's evil intentions, leapt overboard, and swam to a little island where no man dwelt, for he was determined to take no part in any treachery against Earl Magnus. Magnus and his company were the first to reach Egilsha, but as they approached the island, they could see Hakon's ships in the distance, and the 7 98 St. Magnus of the Orkneys Martyr then perceived that his cousin indeed intended to break the conditions and make him the victim of his treachery. The Saint's followers also, fearing that in very truth their master's foreboding was about to be realised, offered to fight Earl Hakon's men, but Magnus would not let them imperil their lives for him, repeating that if peace could not be made between himself and Hakon, he would be willing to suffer himself rather than to do injury to others. On landing at Egilsha, Magnus's first act was to seek the church, and there he spent a large part of the night in earnest prayer, committing his case to Almighty God, and begging for light and grace to do His will. The church which thus witnessed the last earthly hours of the Saint, and in which he received the Holy Communion upon the following morning in immediate preparation for the conflict of martyrdom, appears to be almost certainly that which is still standing, although in a roofless and mutilated condition. Professor Munch is indeed of opinion that it dates from the earliest days of Christianity in Orkney. 1 If so, it is not im- probable that the island may have been selected for the meeting of the Earls on account of its sacredness, as containing one of the earliest memorials left in Orkney of the preaching of 1 The learned Professor also inclines to the opinion that the very name of Egihba is a mere corruption of ecclesia. St. Magnus of the Orkneys 99 the Gospel of peace on earth as well as of glory to God in the highest. And this consideration, along with the fact of its being committed almost in the very light of the Resurrection morning, adds a peculiar circumstance of horror to the crime about to be perpetrated. The church of Egilsha affords one of the only three instances in Scotland of a round tower after the Irish manner, the others being Brechin and Abernethy. This tower has been partially pulled down, but was then at least sixty feet high. At the top were four windows facing the cardinal points, and it was roofed with a conical stone roof ; its external diameter at the bottom is about fourteen feet. The towers of Brechin and Abernethy are, at least at present, isolated, but that of Egilsha is built into the west end of the church, with which it seems to be contemporary. This church, which is known to have formerly been roofed with stone shingles, consists of a nave and chancel, the former almost thirty and the latter nearly sixteen feet in length. 1 The con- struction of the chancel, which has a stone vault, above which has been an attic entered from a door over the chancel-arch, suggests the probability that the nave had a flat wooden ceiling. On the following morning, 2 being Easter 1 See Dr. Anderson's Scotland in Early Christian Times, pp. 34-37. 2 The authors of the Sagas tell us, that for the account of the Saint's ioo St Magnus of the Orkneys Tuesday, Earl Magnus, as already mentioned, caused Mass to be sung, and at it received the Holy Communion. What must have been the feelings of the Saint on this occasion it would seem like an impertinence, were it not an impossibility, to conjecture. As the earthly warfare was now drawing to such a close, the Martyr must have listened with an emotion altogether indescribable to the words of the risen Saviour read by the Church in the Gospel for that day : 1 " Peace be unto you ; it is I, be not afraid." The Mass was hardly ended when four of the followers of Hakon arrived at the Church. The authorities differ as to whether they found the Saint still there. The Greater Magnus Saga states that they entered with great tumult and violence, seized him, and carried him bound before their master. This account is accepted in the Aberdeen Breviary. On the other hand, the Lesser Saga and Orkney inga Saga agree with the living local tradition of Egilsha, that the Martyr had left the church, seemingly in an attempt to conceal himself, accompanied by only two companions, one of whom was Holdbodi. It is said that he was engaged in prayer, but that as the search for him last day and his conversations with Hakon, we are indebted to the report of one of Magnus's followers, a trusty and truthful man called Holdbodi, who was with the Earl to the end. 1 So in the Arbuthnott Missal, and the same seems to have been the immemorial custom of all the Latin Churches using a Petrine Liturgy. St. Magnus of the Orkneys 101 proceeded (probably when discovery had become inevitable), he came forward and surrendered himself. All are agreed as to his demeanour at this moment. In contrast to the fury of his captors the Saint was calm and cheerful, " as glad and merry when they laid hands on him, as if he were bidden to a banquet, and with such steadfast heart and soul that he neither spoke to his adversaries with any bitterness, wrath, or broken voice/' When they reached Hakon's presence, Magnus was the first to speak, and addressed his cousin in these words — " Thou doest not well, kinsman, that thou holdest not thine oaths, and it is much to be looked for that thou hast done this more by the ill-will of others, and their egging on, than by thine own badness. Now, I will offer thee three choices, that thou may'st take one of them, rather than that thou should'st spoil thine oaths and let me be slain, thy kinsman, and guiltless, as some will say." Hakon agreed to hear his cousin's pro- posals. Then Magnus suggested three ways in which he himself should be sacrificed and Hakon gain supreme power, the object of his ambition. First, he offered to make a pilgrimage to Rome or to the Holy Land, to make atonement both for himself and Hakon, taking with him two ships manned by trusty followers, and containing necessary provisions, and promising never to return 102 St. Magnus of the Orkneys to the Orkneys. This proposal was immediately rejected by Hakon and his men. Then the Saint said, that knowing his life and the lives of his companions were in their power, and consider- ing that he had been guilty in many things against Almighty God, and must make reparation to Him, he would propose that he should be sent to their mutual friends in Scotland, and kept there in ward, with two of his own men to bear him company, and never return to the Orkneys unless Hakon gave him leave to do so. The Saint's enemies found many objections to this second proposal, and refused to act upon it. Magnus then offered them one more alternative, hoping to save his cousin from the guilt of bloodshed, and here we will use his own words, " Now is that one (choice) alone left, which I will offer thee, and God knows that about this, I look rather to the salvation of thy soul than to the life of my body, for after all it beseems thee less to quench my life. Let me be maimed in my limbs, or let my eyes be plucked out, and set me in a dark dungeon, from which I may never come out." To this, surely one of the most heroic proposals ever made by one man to another, Hakon replied that he was well satisfied, and desired nothing further, but his men declared that they would not agree to torture Earl Magnus, but that they would either kill him, or their own lord, Hakon, so that from that day one only of St. Magnus of the Orkneys 103 them should rule the earldom. When Hakon heard these words, he said that, for his part, he would rather rule the country than die so quickly ; and Magnus knew that his hour was come. He betook himself therefore to prayer, covering his face with his hands, and offering his whole self and his life to God. A scene now ensued between Hakon and his standard-bearer, whom he commanded to play the part of executioner. The man, whose name was Ofeig, indignantly refused. The Earl then forced Lifolf, his cook, to do the bloody work. The poor wretch began to cry. But the Saint said : — 11 Thou shalt not weep, for there is fame for thee in doing such deeds. Be thou of steadfast heart, for thou shalt have my clothes, as is the wont and law of the men of old. Thou shalt not be afraid, for thou doest this by force, and he that forces thee to do it hath greater sin than thou." So speaking, he took off his kirtle and gave it to him ; after which he asked and obtained a few minutes for prayer. These he spent lying upon his face upon the ground. He prayed earnestly for the pardon of his murderers, as well as for the forgiveness of his own sins, and finally commended his spirit into the hands of his Maker, whose angels he invoked to meet it. He then rose from his knees and faced Lifolf with the words, "Stand thou before me, and hew me on the head a great 104 St, Magnus of the Orkneys wound, for it beseems not to behead chiefs like thieves. Strengthen thee, O man, and weep not, for I have prayed God that He will pardon thee." So speaking, he made the sign of the Cross, and bowed himself to the stroke. Lifolf gave him a heavy stroke upon the head with the axe. Then Hakon bade him strike again, and Lifolf hewed another blow in the same place. The Saint thereupon fell forward, first upon his knees, and then upon his face, dead. Hakon, whether from hatred of his cousin's memory, or from shame at his own evil deed, would not allow Magnus's body to be buried in a Christian manner, but apparently caused it to be hidden in the ground on the spot of his martyr- dom. It did not long remain there, however, as the Saint's mother, Thora, of whom we hear too little in the Saga, so dealt with Hakon that he granted her leave to remove her son's remains. It had been settled that after the peace-meeting at Egilsha, the two Earls should go together to a feast at Thora's house on the island of Paplay, and, strange as it may appear, Hakon proceeded thither with his followers as if nothing had occurred. Thora, seeing, no doubt, that she was powerless to prevent this ill-timed visit, and hoping to win the favour of Christian burial for her son, put aside her own feelings and welcomed her guilty nephew. During the feast, and when St. Magnus of the Orkneys 105 the wine had taken some hold on Hakon, Thora approached him, and beseeching him so to deal with her petition as he would have Almighty God to deal with him at the day of judgment, implored him to give her leave to bury Magnus in church. Hakon seems to have been touched at the moment with sorrow at what he had done, and shedding tears, bade Thora bury her son where she wished. Thora chose Christ's Church, Birsay, as the place of her son's sepulture. Soon after the holy body was laid there, it was told that a heavenly light was often seen to shine over the tomb, and a sweet fragrance perceived by those who approached it. Those who invoked the Saint obtained their request, and the sick who visited his grave were cured of their ailments ; but as long as Hakon lived, the people feared to spread these wonders abroad. Hakon, meanwhile, for some time showed no symptoms of repentance for his sin, but took possession of the whole earldom, and made those who had been Magnus's followers swear fealty to him, laying heavy burdens on those who had been most devoted to his cousin's interests. It is said that the men who had taken the most promi- nent part in treachery against St. Magnus met with sudden and terrible death, and possibly Hakon took warning by their fate, for after some years had elapsed, he made a pilgrimage to Rome and 106 St. Magnus of the Orkneys to the Holy Land, in atonement for his sin ; and that his repentance was sincere, we may gather from the fact that he returned to the Islands a changed man, and for the remainder of his life appears to have ruled his people well and peaceably. When Hakon died, he was succeeded by his son Paul, and during his reign the glory of St. Magnus was fully manifested and his sanctity recognised. William, called the Old, who was then ruling as first Bishop of Orkney, invited all the chief in- habitants of his See to meet him in Christ Church. A large multitude joyfully obeyed the summons, and in their presence the remains of the Saint were removed from the lowly grave in which they had lain for twenty years, and placed in a shrine over the altar. This took place on 13th December, St. Lucy's Day, and the Bishop appointed that this day and also the anniversary of the Saint's martyrdom, 16th April, should both henceforth be kept holy throughout the diocese. From Birsay the shrine was shortly afterwards removed to Kirkwall, and placed over the altar in the church there. This church must have been that dedicated to St. Olaf, said to have been built by Earl Rognvald Brusison, in honour of his sainted foster-father. 1 It appears to have been the only 1 The fact that the Saint's body was placed in St. Olaf s Church derives additional interest when we consider that the names of these Saints seem to have been specially united by the devotion of the people. In the account of one of St. Magnus's miracles, we find St. Olaf invoked conjointly with St. Magnus of the Orkneys 107 church then existing in Kirkwall, and it seems probable that the town owes its name to the sacred building, Kirkwall being derived from Kirkiu-vagr or Creek-of-the-Kirk. Kirkwall was but a poor hamlet at this time, but the fame of the Saint's shrine attracted people to the place, and the town rapidly increased. Less than forty years had passed from the date of St. Magnus's martyrdom, when the first stones were laid of the church erected in his honour. The founder of this glorious pile was Earl Saint Rognvald II., his nephew and ultimate successor. In his endeavour to secure that half of the earldom to which he considered himself the lawful heir, Rognvald met with much opposition. In one of his seasons of greatest difficulty, his father Kol recommended him to make a vow to his kinsman St. Magnus, promising that if he should obtain his rights he would build a stone church in his honour at Kirkwall, " more magnificent than any in these lands/' and endow it, so that it should be fitly established, and the Saint's relics removed to it, and likewise that the Bishop's See should be removed thither from Birsay. Rognvald's prayer was granted, and when he came to power he generously fulfilled his vow. It is said that Kol him, and one of the reasons tending to prove that the ancient Church of St. Magnus the Martyr in London was dedicated to our Saint Magnus is the fact that in close neighbourhood to it is the Church of St. Olaf. 108 St Magnus of the Orkneys himself designed and superintended the building, and that after his death Bishop William continued the work till his own decease. After this time we have no record of the progress of the building till the sixteenth century, when it is said that Bishop Edward Stuart (who succeeded in 1511) added the pillars and pointed arches of the east end, and Bishop Robert Reid, who came to the See in 1540, has the reputation of having completed the western extremity of the nave, with its porch and windows. This traditional history, however, is rendered extremely unsatisfactory by a contemplation of the actual building. To enter here into a disquisition on these points, or even an architectural description, is of course impossible. It may be said that if Kol was indeed the designer, his abilities were very remarkable ; and even if the plan was not his own, he deserves almost equal credit for his judgment in the selection of an architect. The whole building, as it at present stands, is only 217 feet long, by 47 broad (89 in the transepts), and 7 1 from the floor to the vaulting ; the nave between the pillars is only 16 feet broad. And yet, "the first thing," says the late Dr. Neale, " which strikes the visitor, on entering the Cathedral, is its enormous size. I do not think that either York or Lincoln gave me the idea of greater internal length'' — an effect which must St. Magnus of the Orkneys 109 have been very much greater when not obstructed, as at present, but enhanced by the successive vistas of the rood-loft, the altar-screen, and the shrine. 1 The earliest portion of the building seems to be the west part of the chancel, which, with an apse, must have had an internal length of about 50 feet, but the apse has been destroyed and the church prolonged in the Gothic style. Similarly, the five easternmost bays of the nave, giving an internal length of about 80 feet, may be of the time of Bishop William. But here, again, the church has been prolonged. It may therefore be conjectured that the Cathedral, as originally designed, would have consisted of a nave and chancel, ceiled with a flat wooden roof, intersected by transepts and a lantern surmounted by a square tower, and ending in an apse covered by a semi- dome, the whole being about 130 feet long internally. The front of the altar was probably designed to coincide with the chord of the apse, and the shrine to stand upon pillars behind it. After the prolongation of the church, it would appear as if the site of the altar (perhaps already consecrated) had not been changed, but that the shrine was moved somewhat eastward, so as to stand under the centre of a very remarkable piece 1 According to a section given by Sir Henry Dryden, the effect is en- hanced by a sham perspective in the choir, caused by the vaulting sinking a little eastward — a rather base trick, of which the Cathedral of Poitiers probably offers the main example. no St. Magnus of the Orkneys of oblong vaulting which here forms the ceiling. The relative positions must therefore have been very similar to those of the altar, and the shrine of the Confessor, with an aisle round behind, in Westminster Abbey. Unfortunately no details have come to us of the consecration of the Cathedral, or of the solemn translation of the Saint's remains to their stately shrine. It seems probable that this took place previous to Rognvald's visit to the Holy Land in the year 1152, and Bishop William, as we know, assisted at the ceremony. The Episcopal See was removed to Kirkwall also during his lifetime. Both the Magnus Sagas contain a long and detailed list of miracles believed to have been wrought, up to the time of their compilation, upon those who commended themselves to the prayers of the martyr. The usual method seems to have been, if possible, to make a pilgrimage to Kirkwall, and to remain all night at the shrine. Sometimes we hear of the beautiful and beneficent figure, 1 clad in glistening raiment, appearing to 1 Such is the unvarying description of the appearance of St. Magnus which attests the constant tradition of his noble and winning comeliness. One of the latest, however, is subsequent to the probable date of the com- position of either of the Sagas, and is that belonging to the dream said by the Norwegians to have been dreamt by Alexander II., just before his death, in 1 149. "King Alexander, then lying in Kiararey (Kerrara) Sound, dreamed a dream, and thought three men came to him. He thought one of them was in royal robes, very stern, ruddy in countenance, somewhat thick, and of middling size. Another seemed of a slender make, and of all St. Magnus of the Orkneys 1 1 1 the sick as in a dream and laying its hands upon them, and thereupon they awoke healed. The Bishops of Orkney of course continued to belong to the Scandinavian hierarchy, as long as the islands remained under the dominion of Norway. When, on the marriage of James III. with the Princess of Norway, in 1468, the Orkneys and Shetlands came into the possession of the Scottish crown, the bishopric became one of the suffragan Sees of the Archbishopric of St. Andrews. For a short hundred years from this time Scotland continued to honour her Saints, and the glory of St. Magnus remained unchanged, but when the storm of the Reformation swept over the land, St. Magnus' shrine was destroyed, like so many others ; and though the church itself was spared and still bears witness to the faith of the early Orcadians, the story of its origin has fallen into the background, and among his fellow- countrymen the Saint's memory has grown dim. men the most engaging and majestic. The third, again, was of very great stature, but his features were distorted, and of all the rest he was the most unsightly. They addressed their speech to the King, and inquired whether he meant to invade the Hebrides. Alexander thought he answered that he certainly proposed to. subject the islands. The genius of the vision bade him go back j and told him no other measure would turn out to his ad- vantage. The King related his dream, and many advised him to return. But the King would not } and a little after he was seized with a disorder, and died. The Scottish army then broke up ; and they removed the King's body to Scotland. The Hebrideans say that the men whom the King saw in his sleep were St. Olave, King of Norway, St. Magnus, Earl of Orkney, and St. Columba." — Norwegian Account o/Haco's Expedition against Scotland in 1263. 112 St. Magnus of the Orkneys Nature, however, — more faithful than man, — still seems to testify to the glory of St. Magnus, upon the ground watered by his blood. " That spot on which Saint Magnus was smitten/' says the Saga, a was stony and mossy ; but a little after his worthiness towards God was revealed, so that since there is there a green field, fair and smooth ; and God showed by this token that Earl Magnus was slain for righteousness' sake, and that he had gotten the fairness and greenness of Paradise in the land of the living." Mr. J. W. Cursiter, F.S.A. Scot., visited Egilsha on 7th December 1886, and writes from Kirkwall, on the same day, the following description of the spot : — " It is slightly above the surrounding ground, the rock almost at the surface, which is closely covered with green moss, short natural grass, and very short young heather. . . . The spot, and for at least six yards all round, has never been cultivated, and shows certainly green among the surrounding shorn fields. In addition to the murder, the only story attaching to it which survives is — " That one will always find an open flower growing there " — and to-day, after ten days of occasional snow and strong gales, we found there several daisies, fresh , but not so numerous as to be striking in describing the herbage of the spot." 1 1 Mr. Cursiter's letter, for which the writer of these lines desires here publicly to acknowledge deep obligation and to offer the most grateful St. Magnus of the Orkneys 1 1 3 Certainly to few memories seems more appli- cable the exquisite passage from the Book of thanks, is so extremely interesting and valuable, that it seems well to give here the following additional extracts from it : — " We had a bitterly cold day in a large open boat . . . and found that there are at present two spots pointed out as the site where St. Magnus was beheaded. We were accompanied to both places by one of the oldest and most intelligent natives of the island, David Robertson, tenant of South Tofts, over eighty years of age. " The spot of which I sent you the bearings, as given me by Mr. some time ago, we have no hesitation in characterising as the fictitious one, and was never associated with the tradition until about twenty years ago, and that was fixed by , we believe, on insufficient evidence, . . . without consulting the natives, but by his interpretation of the accounts which he had read. " The only spot previously pointed out, and believed in by the inhabitants, is a good way farther from the church, very similar in appearance, and in somewhat similar direction from the church, and in our opinion the correct one. I shall try to describe it. " [It is slightly above the surrounding ground, the rock almost at the surface, which is closely covered with green moss, short natural grass, and very short young heather.] It is not so much a ' knoll ' as the termination of a short ridge which slopes more abruptly on the east and south sides j along the crest of this ridge a shallow zig-zag cut was made long ago, to convey water to a mill on the south end of the island ; which mill was demolished or disused some few years ago. The tradition states that St. Magnus from the church saw Hakon's ships off Vaady on the S.W. of the island, tried to make for Howan, S.E., and when thus far on the way saw Hakon's men come over a slight rising-ground at Warsett (to the S.W.), and in the hope of being unobserved lay down on the east side of the ter- mination of this ridge, which is the only place near at hand where hiding might have been obtained (I consider an elevation of two or three feet might thus be interposed between them and him), but he was perceived, set upon and killed there. "It is situate about 350 yards S.S.E. \ S. of the church, and 250 yards W. by S. of the farm-house of Feally Ha'. The wart on the top of Knitchenfield (a hill) in Rousay lies W.£N.— and the top of Kierfea (another hill in Rousay) N.W. \ N. These bearings taken to-day exactly by compass. . . . "From inquiries to-day we were able to fix 1792 as the year in which the top of the round tower was removed, and were informed that the top 8 114 &• Magnus of the Orkneys Wisdom (iv. 7-15), assigned during the Middle Ages to be read on the anniversary of his death — But if the righteous be cut off early by death, he shall be at rest. For honour standeth not in length of days, Neither is it computed by number of years. The understanding of a man is his eldership, And the spotless life is venerable. He pleased God, and was beloved, And he was taken away from living among sinners. His place was changed, lest evil should mar his under- standing, Or falsehood beguile his soul. For the bewitching of folly darkeneth goodness, And wandering desire leadeth astray the guileless under- standing. He was made perfect in a little while, And finished the work of many years. For his soul pleased God, And therefore He made haste to lead him forth out of the midst of iniquity. of it was of quite a different sandstone from that of which its wall is built, and the stones taken away to be used as whetstones for the old shearing- hooks of that period. "The schoolmaster told me that his inquiries led him to think, with regard to the tivo spots, that St. Magnus was killed at the southerly one, and buried for some time near the northerly one. . . ." Mr. Cursiter, in a later communication, says that all sources of informa- tion which he has been able to consult are unanimous in supporting the authority of Mr. David Robertson as to the local tradition, and the correct- ness of the opinions transcribed above. Mr. Cursiter is indeed inclined to doubt whether it may not be by a mere mistake that Mr. is locally credited with having advocated the substitution of the new spot north of the school for that which has always been recognised as the true one by the natives of the island. St Magnus of the Orkneys 1 1 5 And the people saw it and understood it not ; Neither considered this, That the grace of God and His mercy are upon His saints, And His regard is unto His elect. In his own day, and for long afterwards, the blessed example of this servant of God shed its brightness over all that part of the world to which his native islands belong. It is not for the sake of the merely antiquarian interest attaching to a sermon which was esteemed in the Orkneys more than seven centuries ago, but as a monument of the feeling which the martyr evoked among his own contemporaries, that these pages are closed by extracting, in its entirety, from the Greater Magnus Saga, a discourse delivered upon St. Magnus's Day by the same Master Robert who compiled his earliest biography on the occasion of the enshrinement of his relics twenty years after his victorious death. 1 This day, dearest brethren, is the day of the death of the blessed Earl Magnus the Martyr, the day of his rest, and of his eternal gladness. Let us rejoice and be glad upon this illustrious day. He, beside whose holy remains, and under whose care and guardianship we dwell, and for 1 We have not extracted this sermon from Sir George Dasent's transla- tion, but have made it from the Latin version in Pinkerton, as we think that Sir George, from want of familiarity with the Vulgate, has failed to recognise several of the Scriptural quotations or allusions. 1 1 6 St. Magnus of the Orkneys whose sake we hope, doth invite us unto solemn kindliness and especial thanksgiving ; for it was on account of the nobleness of the example and the holiness of the life of this glorious martyr that the seemly ordinances of his own bright kindliness and holy laws first flourished in the coasts of the kingdom of the Orkneys, and brought forth manifold fruit in good living. He it was who cast down the throne which Lucifer had exalted for himself in the sides of the North, and who raised up instead thereof the tabernacle of the God Almighty. He it was who by his exhortation utterly plucked up the tares, and caused green things to spring up unto a sweet harvest of life-giving fruit. He it was who turned the bitter leaven of the Orkneys into the praise and sweetness of holy living. And upon this day he overcame this world and the prince of this world, and went up above this world a radiant conqueror, gifted with a crown of glory from the hand of his and our Holy Lord Jesus Christ. Upon this day he was set free from the bondage of fleshly corruption, he was received up into the heavens, and entered into the joy of [his Lord], being in all things made like unto the saints. Upon this day he laid aside the earthly garments of this changeful life, and went up higher than man's weakness may reckon. Upon him, therefore, is bestowed greatness in heaven, honour and blessedness in the presence of all the saints. So did the blessed Earl Magnus, this illustrious witness for God, go up bright with worthiness, rich with the fulness of happiness, triumphant in glorious victory, adorned with a crown of his own blood. . . , 1 It remaineth, my dearly beloved, that 1 A few words are here omitted in which the existing texts give the date wrongly, doubtless through a mistake of copyists. St. Magnus of the Orkneys 117 we lay aside fleshly lusts, that we beware of loving things unlawful, that we vanquish and overcome the assaults of sin. Let us with all the strength of our mind follow after the footsteps and life of this glorious martyr. As far as our weakness will allow, let us walk in the way of his life, let us keep firm hold upon the example of his doings, let us try to make our lives like his life, albeit it appeareth and is made manifest day by day, by those great and wondrous works and famous marvels which God Almighty doth grant unto the North, both by land and by sea, for the sake of his excellent prayers and praiseworthy works, that his life and holy righteousness are things more meet for us to honour and wonder at than to compare with our own weakness. He hath appeared on earth to guard us and to ask for us healing and grace from God Almighty. We, therefore, who are pressed down under the heavy load of our own sins, ought constantly to honour him for his excellent leaning to due obedience and thanksgiving, so that it may please this illustrious martyr, Earl Magnus, to beseech for us, for the sake of his worthy deeds and prayers, that we also may come to be made partakers of the eternal glory whereon he entered upon the day of his suffering, through the gift of the Lord Jesus Christ, who is Himself the glory and the salvation, the help and the health, the joy and the honour of all His own holy and righteous servants, and who liveth and reigneth with the Father and the Holy Ghost, One God in Three Persons, world without end. Amen. IE SCOTS GUARDS IN FRANCE N omni modo fidelis." " Ever faithful." Such is the device emblazoned on the standards of the famous com- panies whose history is contained in the volumes before us. A proud motto truly, but one fully justified by the deeds of those who bore it. Few things can be more interesting than to trace through three hundred years the career of those brave men — many of them, perhaps, bearing our own names — who, leaving their country, devoted themselves with unswerving fidelity to the service of a foreign king united to their nation by ancient alliance. We are indebted to Father Forbes-Leith for these most interesting volumes, 1 in which he has spared no pains to enable us to follow the history of the Scots Guards, from the first detachments 1 Scots Men-at-Arms and Life Guards in France. By William Forbes- Leith, S.J. Two vols. Edinburgh. The Scots Guards in France 119 sent to France at the request of Charles VII. , till the moment when this faithful bodyguard of the French kings disappeared with the Monarchy itself, swept away by the torrent of the French Revolution. We propose to give a slight sketch of this curious and valuable book, making free use, with this object, of the author's own words. But we feel how inadequately any such attempt can re- present the stores of research and learning contained in these volumes. We must refer the reader also to the original work itself, to gain a just idea of the various etchings, beautiful in themselves, and historically interesting, which illustrate its pages. To understand the reason that led so many of our countrymen to devote their services to a foreign land, we must revert to the ancient alliance between France and Scotland. Some historians trace this back as far as to the days of Charlemagne ; but, however gratifying this may be to our national pride, and though, no doubt, there are records of friendship between the two countries from early days, there seems no reason to suppose that any permanent alliance existed before the time of the Wars of Independence in Scotland, and the contemporary claims of the English kings to the French crown. In these two historical facts we may look for the source of that sympathy which drew the two countries to- gether. But this alliance, springing from a common 120 The Scots Guards in France hatred of England, does not come prominently into notice, as regards our present purpose, until the year 141 8, when France, in her hour of greatest danger, appealed to Scotland for help. It would be impossible to imagine a more complete scene of anarchy than that presented by France under Charles VI. To the confusion arising from the disasters of Poitiers and Agincourt must be added the distracted state of the govern- ment. The nobles, headed by the queen and court, taking advantage of the mental infirmities of Charles himself, indulged in every species of unbridled luxury ; whilst the wretched peasantry, meanwhile, were ground down by cruel and unjust taxes. The whole country was in a state of utter lawlessness ; the population seemed frenzied ; so that, to quote the words of the Chroniques de Saint Denys, " treading under foot the fear of God and man, they swept over the land with the fury of a tempest ; their only thought was of plunder, fire, and bloodshed." Such was the condition of France when Henry V. of England landed in Normandy, on 1st August 14 1 7, and, meeting with no opposition, marched inland, taking every town on his road. With all speed Charles the Dauphin now tried to raise an army. This was no easy matter ; for, though there were marshals and constables of France, there were but few troops to command. The Scots Guards in France 1 2 1 It was in this great strait that Charles turned for assistance to Scotland. Reduced to the lowest ebb by his own rebellious subjects, Charles sent ambassadors to all the princes in alliance with France to ask for aid, and particularly to Scotland, trusting that from the ancient alliance with that country he might the more readily expect effective assistance. Towards the end of 141 8, Charles the Dauphin sent ambassadors to the Scottish court craving the aid of Scotland against King Henry. A Parliament was assembled ; and it was decided by Robert Stewart, Duke of Albany and Regent of Scotland, to send into France a large force under the command of his second son, Sir John Stewart, Earl of Buchan, Archibald Douglas, Earl of Wigtown, and Sir John Stewart of Darneley, who appear to have been selected by the Dauphin himself. The transport vessels were to be furnished by France. The King of Castile, with the Infant of Aragon, allies of the Scots, had promised to fit out forty ships. On the 22 nd of July 141 9 Henry V. received information of these pre- parations from the town authorities of Bayonne ; and on the 1 2th of August the Duke of Bedford received orders to intercept the Scots. But the order arrived too late ; for, by the 1 7th of May, Sir William Douglas had already landed in France with 150 men-at-arms and 300 archers. By the 26th of August we find him stationed with his 122 The Scots Guards in France troops at Puiset in Beauce. He had under his command Sir Thomas Kilpatrick, William Fresal, John Tod, Thomas Cunyngham, John Ofur, David Fleming, John of Meldrum, Andry of Meldrum, Alexander de Alexandry, and William Flocart. Each of these captains commanded a body of men- at-arms and archers. Thomas Seton and his brother, each at the head of a company, were conspicuous amongst the most faithful followers of the Dauphin. Thomas received at the hands of Charles the estate of Langeais, and was appointed to accompany him wherever he went. The Earl of Buchan embarked later with a body of troops numbering 6000 men. The Spanish fleet landed this army at La Rochelle, in September 14 19. These troops were thoroughly trained soldiers, who had been hardened in long and bloody wars for national freedom. All were accoutred in the order of Scottish armour and arms, which, by the laws of that period, were plate-mail from head to heel for every man possessed of land yielding an annual rent of ^20, with battle-axe, two- handed sword, and iron mace, or spear. Persons of inferior rank, worth only £10 of yearly rent, or ^50 in goods, had to provide themselves with helmet and gorget, vambrace, rerebrace, corslet, and greaves. This invasion, Father Forbes remarks, was truly a great achievement. In those days it was no easy matter for some 6000 or 7000 troops to pass from Scotland to France in carracks and row- The Scots Guards in France 123 galleys, which for sea-worthiness were little better than rafts, and which ran great risk of capture by English cruisers. These difficulties were much increased by the fact that La Rochelle was the only port at which they could attempt to land. Buchan reached France shortly after the murder of the Duke of Burgundy. The Dauphin was unjustly suspected of being accessory to his death. Popular feeling had risen against him ; and Henry of England was, in consequence, acknowledged in many cities as heir to the crown. Our space will not allow us to follow the whole course of the struggle between Charles and Henry, interesting though it would be to trace each step of the first Scottish auxiliaries. That Charles highly prized his northern allies is certain ; for shortly afterwards we find him applying for further reinforcements. Accordingly, Sir John Stewart of Darneley landed at La Rochelle in 1421 with some 4000 or 5000 men, and, marching inland, was welcomed by Charles at Poitiers. Soon after this was fought the battle of Bauge, the first great battle in which the Scots took part. Under the command of the Earls of Buchan and Wigtown, they fought valiantly ; and it was to them in great part that Charles owed his victory. The two armies were separated by a rapid river, crossed by a narrow bridge. On the 23rd of March the Scottish general had sent a detachment, commanded by 1 24 The Scots Guards in France Sir John Stewart of Darneley and the Sire de Fontaines, to reconnoitre. This troop, coming upon the English unawares, fell back, in time to warn Buchan of the approach of the Duke of Clarence. Happily he had a short time to make ready for an advance, whilst Sir Robert Stewart of Railston and Sir Hugh Kennedy kept the bridge with a small advance corps, over which the Duke of Clarence with his best officers tried to force a passage, having left the great bulk of the army to follow as best they could. The effects of this manoeuvre were, by a strange coincidence, the same as at the battle of Stirling, where Wallace defeated Surrey and Cressingham. The Duke of Clarence, conspicuous by the golden crown surmounting his helmet, and by his gorgeous armour, was first attacked vigorously by John Kirkmichael, who broke his lance on him. Then wounded in the face by William Swinton ; at last brought to the ground, and killed by a blow of a mace by the Earl of Buchan. The bravest of his knights and men-at-arms fell with him. The Earl of Somerset was taken prisoner by Lawrence Vernor, a Scot ; and his brother by Sir John Stewart of Darneley ; the Earl of Huntingdon by John Sibbald, a Scotch knight ; and the Sire de Fewalt by Henry Cunningham. The rest, furious at the disaster, rushed to the bridge to take revenge ; but were killed or taken prisoners, as they arrived, by the Scots. According to Monstrelet, two or three thousand English lay dead on the spot. Bower limits the number who fell to 161 7. The honour of having killed the Duke of Clarence has been claimed by various competitors. According to Chastelaire, he was slain by Charles Le Boutellier, a French knight ; Father Anselme says that Gilbert de la Fayette killed him by his own hand. A Scotch author The Scots Guards in France 1 2 5 claims, less absolutely, this honour for John Kirkmichael, Chaplain of Lord Douglas, who was afterwards made Bishop of Orleans by Charles VII. in reward for his good services. "John Kirkmichael," says this author, "broke a spear on the Duke of Clarence." Another Scotsman, Sir John Swinton de Swinton, according to an old tradition, "unhorsed the Duke, and wounded him in front." "The Earl of Buchan," so continues the tradition, " killed the Prince with one blow of his sword." But the merit of the victory belongs to the brave Swinton. The last Swinton de Swinton presented to Sir Walter Scott the point of the weapon with which his ancestor accomplished the deed of prowess. The lance of Swinton is still to be seen in the collection of antiquities at Abbotsford. As might have been expected, the Scots were, at first, regarded with dislike and contempt by the French people. Owing to their habits of enforced abstemiousness at one time, and the excesses in which they indulged at others, they were denounced to Charles as sacs a vin et mangeurs de mouton. Charles paid but little heed to these murmurs ; but, after the battle of Bauge, he summoned the accusers before him, and said : " What think you now of these Scots mutton-eaters and wine-bags ? " " The malcontents," says the quaint chronicle, " as if they had been struck with a hammer on the head, knew not what to reply." It was after this first important battle that Charles conferred the greatest honour in the 126 The Scots Guards in France kingdom on Buchan, by making him Constable of France. To this high mark of favour, he added, we are told, a curious present, an astrologer, " Master Germain de Thibonville, doctor of medicine and sovereign astrologer," who seems immediately to have predicted the deaths of Charles VI. and Henry V. On Sir John Stewart of Darneley was bestowed the seigneurie of Concressaut in Berry. Laurence Vernor received the lands of Montreuil-Bonnin in ransom for his prisoner, the Earl of Somerset. These and various rewards, bestowed on others of the officers, were but the first of a series of what we may term the magnificent gifts and honours lavished on the Scots by successive French kings. Verily, if our countrymen were faithful and true in their services to the foreign masters they had voluntarily chosen, they met with constant gratitude and substantial proofs of consideration in return. Henry V., after a temporary absence in England, returned to France at this period, forcing his prisoner, James I. of Scotland, to accompany him. He hoped, no doubt, that the near presence of their lawful king would be an inducement to the Scots to desert the cause of France. The result was very different. Even when a message was delivered from James himself to Buchan, com- manding him to leave Charles's service, Buchan merely replied, that, as long as his sovereign The Scots Guards in France 1 27 was a prisoner in the hands of strangers, he did not consider that he was bound to obey him. This answer highly incensed Henry ; and it was observed that from this time he affected to look on the Scots as rebels, and showed his hatred by severe measures taken on more than one occasion with the Scotch prisoners. In the autumn of 1422, both Henry of England and Charles VI. of France died. The Duke of Bedford took measures at once to have the infant Henry VI. proclaimed King of France; and Charles's prospects of succeeding to his father's kingdom seemed as dark as ever. He lost no time in applying for fresh troops from Scotland. They reached France the following year, 1423 ; and, a few months later, was fought the battle of Cravant, disastrous to the French and Scots. The latter fought bravely to the end, though deserted by their leaders and the other mercenary troops. Three thousand Scots were left dead on the field ; and, among them, we note the names of Sir Thomas Seton, Sir John Halibourton, Sir William Hamilton, and Sir William Conigham. After this defeat, Charles sent the Earl of Buchan and other noblemen to Scotland, with a large number of ships. The Scottish envoys induced Archibald, second Earl of Douglas, to engage in the French service ; and accordingly he reached France, after many perils, early in 128 The Scots Guards in France 1424, at the head of 10,000 men-at-arms. He joined the Court at Bourges, and Charles im- mediately appointed him lieutenant-general of his armies, and bestowed on him the duchy of Touraine for himself and his male heirs for ever. Douglas, however, was not long to enjoy his new dignities. He lost his life in the great battle which took place under the walls of Verneuil : a day of defeat and loss to the French, and of great slaughter to their Scotch adherents, to whom no quarter was given by the English. This engagement is of especial interest to us, as it was after it that Charles gave the strongest proof of his complete trust in the Scots, by assign- ing to them the care of his royal person. That there was even in the previous century a body of Scots archers attached to the King's service, called Les Gardes de la Manche, seems to be certain ; but we know nothing of their origin, and Father Forbes considers that we may place at this date, 1425, the first formation of the famous Scots Guard ; although they were not definitely organised till 1445. Among the Scots slain at Verneuil were John Stewart, Earl of Buchan, son-in-law to the great Douglas, Sir Walter de Bekirtoune, Sir William de Setoune, Sir Alexander Meldrym, and other knights of fame. After some years had passed, a Frenchman who had fought at Verneuil and The Scots Guards in France 129 had afterwards become a hermit visited the field of battle. He had it blessed, and caused a chapel to be erected, after collecting the bones of the slain. In 1426 the States of Dauphine founded a perpetual service in remembrance of the battle, in the Abbey of St. Antoine de Viennois. This service was known by the name of the Mass of Verneuil. During the next three years we read of no fresh reinforcements from Scotland. But in 1428 Charles sent the Archbishop of Rheims and Sir John Stewart of Darneley to James I., to implore fresh assistance, and to beg the hand of the Princess Margaret for the Dauphin Louis. Both these proposals were favourably received, and King James promised to furnish his ally with 6000 men-at-arms, and engaged to send his daughter to France in the following spring. The date of 1428 marks the darkest period of the reign of Charles VII. ; and we may well ask what would have been the fate of France had not an unlooked for and providential occurrence turned the tide of events. One of the most interesting chapters of Father Forbes's book is that in which he treats of the glorious share of the Scotch soldiers in the defence of Orleans and of their connection with Joan of Arc. At the time of the siege the see of Orleans was filled by John Kirkmichael, who, 9 130 The Scots Guards in France more fortunate than so many of his countrymen, had escaped at Verneuil and had been raised to the bishopric by Charles, in recognition of the services rendered to France by the Scots. It is natural to suppose that he encouraged many of his own nation to flock to Orleans ; and we are told that previous to the siege the Scots, with the bishop at their head, fortified the town. During the siege the Scots distinguished themselves by their gallantry. Among them we find special mention of Sir John Stewart, Sir William Douglas of Drumlanrig, Sir William Douglas de Kyross, and Sir Hugh de Kennedy. The two Douglases, who were brothers, both curiously bearing the same Christian name, were killed in repelling an assault of the enemy, and were buried in front of the high altar in the church of Sainte Croix. Father Forbes gives us a graphic account of the battle of Rouvray St. Denis, fought at some dis- tance from the walls of Orleans : an engagement fatal to the French, and in which the Scots and men of Orleans suffered great losses. Among the slain were John and William Stewart ; one brother having lost his life in attempting to save the other on the field of battle. They were buried in the cathedral church of Orleans, in the Chapel of Notre Dame Blanche. John Stewart, aware of the dangers that surrounded him, had made his will, and left money for a mass to be said in this The Scots Guards in France »'3» chapel every day. His wife, who had been with him throughout the siege, followed him to the grave before the year was out. On hearing of the defeat of Rouvray, Charles, considering that he had now no hopes of preserving his kingdom, was on the point of leaving it. One morning, when indulging in these sad reflections, he entered his oratory, "and there," says a con- temporary writer, "he made a humble request and prayer to our Lord within his heart, without using a word, and begged that, if he really were the rightful heir and descendant of the noble House of France, and if the kingdom were his by right, He would be pleased to guard and defend him, or at the worst permit him to escape without death or imprisonment, and to fly to Spain, or to the land of the Scots, who had, from time immemorial, been brothers in arms and allies of the kings of France." But better days were in store for Charles and France ; and the change was wrought by one who, though a weak woman,, was endowed with heroism superior even to that of the many brave men who surrounded Charles. Joan of Arc, from the first, seems to have looked to the Scots as especially likely to aid her in her work ; and we find her acting in concert with them on several important occasions. It was accompanied by Scotch troops, with Sir Patrick 132 The Scots Guards in France O'Gilvy at their head, that she made her way into the beleaguered city, and after one short week raised the siege which had lasted seven months. In gratitude for their deliverance, the inhabitants of Orleans, with Joan of Arc and Bishop Kirkmichael at their head, went from church to church to thank God. This was the origin of a procession which continued to take place for centuries in remembrance of the Maid of Orleans : a mark of veneration to her who, in its moment of greatest danger, saved her country. When Charles at last yielded to Joan's earnest persuasions, and consented to be crowned at Rheims, many of the Scots officers accompanied him, and attended the ceremony. Among them were Sir Patrick O'Gilvy, Sir Gilbert de la Haye, and Sir Christin de la Chambre, with the archers of the Guard. John Kirkmichael, Bishop of Orleans and peer of France, was one of the con- secrating prelates. Joan's mission was now nearly ended ; but it is interesting to see that, shortly before she was taken prisoner, she was again in action with the Scots troops. " Unwilling to remain a witness of the King's futile efforts to recover his crown, Joan determined to join those who were willing to fight. One day, therefore, without wishing adieu to the King, she set out, pretending to be going ' to some sport,' and on the 1 6th of April 1430 arrived at Lagny-sur- The Scots Guards in France 1 3 3 Marne. ' There she knew to be men who made good war against the English.' They were Scotch troops, commanded by Sir Hugh Kennedy, who had already fought by her side at Orleans and Patay. After defeating a body of English troops in August 1429, he had occupied Lagny, and made it a stronghold. The English, to the number of 200 or 400, were devastating the country all around. They were on their return with their booty when Joan received information of their whereabouts. Taking a body of cavalry, about equal in number, she set out and cut them off. The English dismounted, and took up posi- tion behind a hedge ; but Joan and her troop assailed them on foot and horseback, and cut them to pieces. A few days after this, Joan was taken prisoner before Compiegne, and transferred to Arras. At Arras a Scotchman showed her a portrait of herself which he bore on his person, a symbol of the veneration which her faithful com- panions had vowed to her. A Scotchman, perhaps the same, followed the Maid of Orleans during the whole of her wonderful career. After being present at her death, he returned to his native country, and became a monk in the Abbey of Dunfermline. At the request of his abbot, he continued Fordun's Scoti Ckronicon, and in it bore witness to the 'marvellous Maid who brought about the recovery of the kingdom of France, 1 34 The Scots Guards in France . . . whom I saw and knew, and in whose com- pany I was present, during her endeavours for the said recovery, up to her life's end/ " By putting to death Joan of Arc, remarks Father Forbes, the Duke of Bedford terminated the English ascendency in France. John Theissart, Notary of King Henry the VI., exclaimed after witnessing her execution — " We are all lost men ; for a saintly woman has perished." From that day the nationality of France revived. In the spring of 1436, the Princess Margaret of Scotland reached France, and joining the King at Tours, was there married to the Dauphin Louis : an unhappy alliance, and one ending in the early and tragic death of the bride. The Scots Guards followed Charles in his final encounters with the English till the truce was signed, and France had an interval of peace after her long struggle. Charles turned these moments of comparative tranquillity to good account by devoting himself to the important work of forming his army ; and it is from this period, 1445, which saw the first permanent and regular organisation of the French armies, that we date the definite establishment of the two famous Scotch companies known as Les Gendarmes Ecossais (Scots Men- at-Arms) and La Compagnie Ecossaise de la Garde du Corps du Roi (the Scots Royal Life Guards). The Scots Guards in France 135 Speaking of these honours bestowed on the Scots, Louis XII. solemnly declares that "the institution of the Scots Men-at-Arms and Scots Life Guards was an acknowledgment of the service the Scots rendered to Charles the Seventh in reducing France to his obedience, and of the great loyalty and virtue which he found in them." Soon after this, the loyalty of the Scotch regiments was put to the test. Louis, a worthless son, as well as a bad husband, intrigued against his father, and endeavoured to bribe the Scots ; but his efforts were vain ; and, the treachery being discovered, Louis was banished from the King's presence. On the 24th of May 1449 one of the English captains openly broke the truce by taking posses- sion of Fougeres in Brittany. Charles in con- sequence marched into Normandy, and Verneuil, Nantes, and many other cities surrendered to him. At the siege of Rouen, the Scots, commanded by Robert Cunningham, distinguished themselves ; and after his victory Charles entered the city in state accompanied by the Scots Guards " sumptu- ously equipped ; Archers and Crossbowmen about 120, more gorgeously clad than the rest. They wore jackets without sleeves, red, white, and green, covered with gold embroidery, with plumes on their helms of the same colours, and with their swords and leg harness richly mounted in silver." 136 The Scots Guards in France The Scots took part likewise in the sieges of Bayeux and Caen. But here we must pause to consider the one act of treachery recorded of the Scots Guards. Bribed by the English, Robert, or Robin Campbell, William Cunninghame, Robert Johnston, and James Haliburton, became involved in a plot to deliver up to the enemy the Count Dunois, Lord de Villequier, and two others. The meditated crime was discovered, and the accused were brought to trial. Robert Campbell was declared guilty of high treason, and was sentenced to immedi- ate death. The other prisoners were remanded pending further inquiries. Meanwhile Robert Cunningham seems to have been unjustly suspected of being an accomplice, and he also had to stand his trial. He belonged to a good Scotch family, and King James exerted himself on his behalf, and wrote to the King of France. His letter has been preserved, and we gather from it that James considers the arrest as due to the wicked and calumnious accusations of jealous enemies. At the same time a petition was addressed to Charles by twelve Scotch noblemen, in which they set forth the services rendered by Cunningham both to Scotland and to France, and conclude with a challenge in the name of the Scotch nobility, all the signers undertaking to maintain his honour in personal combat. It certainly seems probable The Scots Guards in France 137 that Cunningham was falsely accused, as a con- temporary French chronicler states that during the whole war in Normandy he behaved most nobly and honourably ; and later on we find him entrusted with the command of the Scots Guards by Louis XL, a sure proof that that suspicious monarch considered him loyal. Normandy and Guienne having now returned to their allegiance, only the cities of Calais and Guines remained in the possession of the English. Charles, however, lived but a short time to enjoy his hardly won victory. He expired on 22nd July 146 1, his death causing great grief to his faithful Scots, whose lamentations are thus quaintly described by Martial of Paris : — Les Gens et serviteurs pleuroient A chaudes larmes fondamment, Et les Escossoys hault crioient Par forme de gemissement. It might have been expected that Louis XL, on his accession, would have dispensed with the services of the Scots Guards, remembering how they had resisted his offers and bribes at an earlier date. But no doubt he saw in this very incorruptibility his own greatest safeguard ; and that he did not trust in vain is proved by the fact that the Scots saved his life on more than one occasion. They fought bravely by his side 138 The Scots Guards in France in the struggles with the revolted nobles, and in the war with Burgundy. At Montlhery several Scotch officers were killed ; and after the battle the remainder of the Guards, "considering the danger that the King was in, and the great loss that they had sustained, and finding that the Burgundians were still pursuing those squadrons they had already broken, took His Majesty, who had been in arms all day without eating and drinking, and was much fatigued and dispirited, and carried him safe to the castle." When Louis, following his usual crooked policy, strove to raise the Liegeois against the Duke of Burgundy to aid his own cause, Robert Cunningham was despatched to confer with them ; the king himself repairing to Peronne with his guard to meet the Duke. Throughout that time of danger to Louis, when Charles, justly incensed by his guest's treachery, thought of putting him to death, the Guards showed their fidelity ; and Commines does not fail to note their gallant behaviour. The perils from which he so narrowly escaped caused Louis to think of increasing the number of his guard. Accordingly in 1474 he established a new company of a hundred guardsmen, to which none were admitted save those who could furnish proofs of good descent. We find at this time among Louis's counsellors the Bishop of Aberdeen, Sir William Monipeny, and Patrick The Scots Guards in France 139 Flockart who had commanded the Life Guards under Charles VII. Sir William Monipeny and his son rose to great favour under Louis, and their services were rewarded by the lands of Villa and Aubin. Alexander Monipeny was likewise appointed steward of the Royal Palace. At one moment, yielding to Louis's solicitations, James III. of Scotland proposed going over to France at the head of 6000 men to aid the French King in crushing the power of Burgundy ; but the Estates interfered to prevent the expedition, showing the King that " he had enough to do at home, and commenting on the questionable dealings of King Louis with regard to the count- ship of Saintonge," which was to have been made over to Scotland on his marriage with the Princess Margaret. Thus the idea was abandoned. In his declining years Louis seems to have relied more and more on his Scots Guards, and it was to them he entrusted his son on his death-bed. The reign of Charles VIII. was a stirring time for our Scots. Immediately on coming to the throne the King sent Bernard Stewart of Aubigny to Scotland, to conclude a fresh treaty confirming the alliance between the two countries. The treaty was signed in Edinburgh by James III., 1483. Two years later, Stewart was, by the command of Charles, engaged, with many Scotch recruits, on the side of the Earl of Richmond at 140 The Scots Guards in France the battle of Bosworth. After the accession of Richmond to the throne as Henry VII., and the consequent peace between the two countries, Charles turned his thoughts to the fulfilment of his visionary schemes on Italy. During the long wars that lasted throughout his reign and those of his two successors, Louis XII. and Francis I., we find the Scotch regiments actively engaged in upholding the honour of France. On 8th Sep- tember 1494 Charles entered Italy, and, after a progress which reads more like a festive pro- cession than the advance of a foreign army, entered Florence on 18 th November at the head of his troops. He was surrounded by his Scots Guards, whom a contemporary writer thus de- scribes : — Nearest the King march twenty -five Scots archers, denominated Life-guardsmen, arrayed in white jerkins embroidered with gold from top to bottom, and wearing a crown on the breast. Now the above-mentioned archers are under the orders of my Lord Stewart of Aubigny, and are quartered nearest the King's chambers. My Lord Stewart of Aubigny has under his orders all the other Scots-guardsmen, as well as 100 men-at-arms not entered in the guard Muster Roll ; and the aforesaid Scots, as soon as it is dark, and when the officer has retired with his archers, mount guard, while the captain of the 100 guardsmen (not the officer in command of the twenty -five Life -guardsmen) goes to fetch the keys. The Scots Guards in France 141 When the King left Florence and entered Rome on 31st December, his Guards were again the object of much attention. There, as on other occasions, they guarded not only the first door, but all the doors giving access to the King's lodgings. It would take us too long to follow the whole campaign in Italy and Spain, and we must content ourselves by mentioning the chief actions in which our countrymen distinguished themselves. At Seminara, Bernard Stewart, at the head of the Scots Men-at-Arms, gained a complete victory over the Spaniards under Gonzalvo de Cordova ; but, suffering from fever, he was unable to follow up his victory. For a whole year, though ill, and lacking both money and supplies, he defended Calabria against Gonzalvo ; but at length, over- powered by the superior number of his foes, and deserted by his sovereign, he signed a capitulation which allowed him to return to France with his few remaining troops. On reaching the French court Stewart was rewarded for his services by the collar of the Order of St. Michel. Soon afterwards, in the prime of life, Charles died suddenly : an event which caused throughout his kingdom general sorrow, in which the Scots in particular joined so heartily that, as we are told by more than one historian, an archer and a butler of the Guard died of grief. Louis XII. 142 The Scots Guards in France was as anxious to assert his claims to the crown of Sicily as his predecessor had been ; and in 1499 he invaded Italy with an army of 20,000 men, half of whom he placed under the command of Stewart of Aubigny, who " continued to serve France as zealously as the brave, honourable, prudent knight had done since the reign of Charles VIII." After subduing Lombardy and taking Genoa, Stewart was ordered to invade the kingdom of Naples. Success at first crowned his efforts, but the Spaniards, having obtained large reinforcements, marched to meet the invaders, and the two armies met in conflict, 24th April 1503, between Gioia and Seminara. After a hard struggle the victory remained with the Spaniards. Though far outnumbered by their foes, the Scots refused to yield or fly. Three hundred and six men-at- arms, and sixty archers, met their death. Their gallant standard-bearer, Turnbull, was found dead on the field, grasping his lance with his hand, while he held his much loved banner with his teeth. Six of his own clan lay dead beside him. It was noticed that, wherever a Scotch corpse was discovered, one or two Spaniards were stretched near. Stewart, reduced almost to despair by this disastrous defeat, tried in vain to rally the French fugitives, but they did not recognise him, and continued to fly. Some wounded officers, who alone remained on the field, endeavoured to The Scots Guards in France 143 persuade him to accompany them. " No ! " cried the brave veteran, " rather let me die by the hands of the enemy than return to my friends like a vanquished fugitive." They, however, at length prevailed on him to retire to the citadel of Angistola, to which Gonzalvo laid siege ; and at the end of a month, having no further ammunition or provisions, Stewart was obliged to capitulate. After these reverses, Aubigny returned to France, and was sent by Louis as ambassador to Scotland, where James IV. received him with honour. This was his second embassy to his own land ; and yet once again he was to represent France at the court of his own natural sovereign. Anxious, no doubt, to secure James as his ally in his action against Venice, Louis in 1508 despatched Stewart to the Scotch court with a train of eighty horse. In providing him thus honourably, the King seems to have been actuated by" James's wishes, who was not only personally attached to Stewart, but had a great respect for his reputation as a warrior. Stewart was received with every mark of attention in Scotland : tourna- ments were held in his honour, and verses com- posed by a contemporary poet to celebrate his arrival. But he was already in very feeble health, and these well -deserved honours served but to console his last days. Never again was he to see France, the country of his adoption. Worn out 144 The Scots Guards in France by his long and arduous career, he died at Corstorphine early in June, after directing that his heart should be sent to the shrine of St. Ninian in Galloway. He was buried, as appears by his will, in the Church of the Blackfriars in Edinburgh. Brantome tells us that he was known as the " Chevalier sans reproche " ; and Dunbar, who had so joyfully greeted his arrival shortly before, gives us the following touching lines on his death. Pray now for him, all that him loveit heir ! And for his saull mak intercessioun Unto the Lord, that hes him bocht so deir, To gif him mercie and remissioun ; And namelie We of Scottis natioun, In till his lyff quhom most he did any, Foryett we nevir in to our Orisoun To pray for him, the Flour of Chevalrie. We have lingered with pleasure over the details that have come down to us of Bernard Stewart, as he seems to stand forth as a representative type of what surely must have been the career and characteristics of many of his countrymen, of whom, unfortunately for us, history has left no record. While their aged commander was peace- fully ending his life far away, his gallant soldiers were winning fresh laurels in Lombardy. Louis had placed Robert Stewart at their head ; and after the campaign raised him to the dignity of marshal. Stewart seems to have had great The Scots Guards in France 145 influence with the King. It was owing, we are told, to his solicitations that Louis, to show his favour to the Scots who had made their habitation in France, issued the decree exempting them from requiring letters of naturalisation, and giving them the right of devising property and inheriting and holding benefices as if they were Frenchmen. The King gave another proof of his trust in the Scots, just before his death, by making Marshal Stewart, and his lieutenant, John Stewart, swear to execute his last will. The marshal swore that he and his hundred archers would fulfil this promise at the risk of their lives. One of the dignitaries of the court of France at this date also leaves the following testimony to the fidelity of the Guard. " For so long a time as they have served in France, never hath there been one of them found that hath committed any fault against the kings or their state, and they can make use of them as of their own subjects." Throughout the reign of Francis I. the Scots held high position in France, and were by his side at the victory of Marignano, and again on the fatal day of Pavia, where their brave conduct could not prevent their royal master from being taken prisoner. In happier days, the Scots Men- at-arms distinguished themselves at the battle of Landrecies ; and the following year they greatly contributed to the victory of Cerisola, where, 146 The Scots Guards in France led by the Duke of Enghien, they twice broke the Spanish ranks. This was Francis's last battle; he died in 1547, after signing the peace of Ardres. The middle of the sixteenth century is the period at which we first perceive symptoms of a decline in the friendship between France and Scotland. The death of Cardinal Beaton was the first blow received by this alliance ; and although, for a time, the marriage (eagerly promoted by France) between Mary of Scotland and the Dauphin seemed a fresh link to bind the two nations more closely together, there were elements at work which were eventually to destroy the sympathy that had existed so long. The chief thought of Henry II. at this time appears to have been to incorporate Scotland with France . a pro- position naturally resented by his allies. In addition to this, the conduct of the French troops in Scotland, and the exactions of French agents in that country, were occasioning a bitter feeling of antagonism among the people. Thus the breach gradually widened ; but this general feeling of discontent does not seem to have affected the existence or influenced the conduct of the French regiments. Indeed, in addition to the Guards and Men-at-arms, we find mention at about this time of several fresh companies, which joined the French service, and assisted in the war with The Scots Guards in France 147 Charles V. Among their commanders are the names of Reyman Cockburn, John Clavers, Cunningham, Mons, and Doddes. It is a curious fact that Henry, who relied so much upon his Scotch auxiliaries, and was served by them with unfaltering fidelity, was yet to lose his life by the hand of one of their countrymen. At the fatal tournament at which the King was to receive his death-wound, Gabriel Montgomery, son of the captain of the Guard, was his third antagonist. Henry, after running two courses, the first with the Duke of Savoy, and the second with the Duke of Guise, and having acquitted himself with his usual prowess, engaged with Montgomery, and in the first encounter received so violent a shock as almost to lose his saddle. It was now the turn of one of the French officers to enter the lists with the King ; but Henry interposed his royal authority, and commanded Montgomery to make a fresh trial in the place of Monsieur de Villeville. Montgomery re- luctantly obeyed, and on the second occasion was even more unfortunate than on the first. His broken lance struck the King on the head ; and a splinter, entering above the eye, inflicted so severe a wound that he remained almost without consciousness. He was conveyed to his chamber at the Tournelles near at hand, and there, after lingering ten days, died. No proceedings were 148 The Scots Guards in France taken against Montgomery ; but we are not surprised to find that he had no wish to remain at court after the terrible event of which he was the innocent cause. He accordingly retired to his property in Normandy. He afterwards visited England, and there embraced Calvinism, and on his return to France became one of the commanders of the Protestant party. After several years he was taken prisoner at the siege of Domfront, and, being carried to Paris, was executed in the Place de Greve May, 1574. Brightly as the reign of Francis II. seemed to dawn on the prospects of a closer union between the two countries, these hopes were so soon blighted by the King's early death, that these few months have left but scanty records which can lend an additional interest to the history of the Scots Guards in France. During the first ten years after the accession of Charles IX. to the throne, France was in a state of such complete anarchy, and the historians of the period were so entirely occupied with the dangers that threatened the country, that we must not expect many incidents relating to the Scots. It is satisfactory, however, to perceive among the names of Charles's loyal followers those of John Gordon, Lord of Glenluce, Peter Aliday, Maxville de Lovat, and Claude Stewart. But their influence was not sufficiently powerful to prevent the Royal The Scots Guards in France 149 Council from proposing at this time to disband the companies of Scotch cavalry, despite the great esteem in which they were held by the French nobles, and the high praise which their services had won in the late war. The Protestant leaning shown by many of the Scots, especially by James, Earl of Arran, then commander of the Men-at- arms, had doubtless much to do with this proposed change. It shortly after took effect, and the body of the Men-at-arms ceased to exist. Under Henry III. many Scotch Catholics flocked to France ; and we find Queen Mary commending them to the favour of Cardinal de Lorraine, and Henry himself urging them to take refuge in his kingdom. The King, whilst apologis- ing to Lord Seton for not re-establishing the company of the Men-at-arms, promises to main- tain the Scots Guards in all their privileges, and mentions them in terms of high esteem and praise. The Scots Guards were the first to salute Henry of Navarre as their sovereign ; and throughout his reign their ancient glory revived. The alliance with Scotland was also strengthened ; and it was with the aid of the troops sent by James VI. that Henry was able to subdue the revolted nobles, and to secure his hold on the French throne. He conferred even higher privileges on the Guard than those granted by any previous 150 The Scots Guards in France monarch, and continued to all the Scots in France " the graces and privileges whereof they have rendered themselves worthy, through the affection and fidelity which they have borne this crown." Henry also took steps to reorganise the company of Men-at-arms. He desired to make the Duke of Lennox their commander, and entered into negotiations with James VI. for that purpose ; but for a time the project fell into abeyance. Henry had a faithful memory for old friends ; and when Lord Colville, who had served under him, revisited France in his old age, the King received him with every mark of affection. The courtiers mean- while, as we are told, looked on with amazement at the old-fashioned equipment of the good old man. The time had now gone by when France and Scotland could claim the same interests, and consider England as a common foe. James VI. of Scotland now filled the English throne, and the two nations were one. The French felt that the ancient alliance could no longer be continued ; and realising, and, perhaps, resenting the new condition of things, began to show less considera- tion towards the Scotch regiments. Soon after the accession of Louis XIII., the Guards had reason to complain of certain points of forfeiture of rank and breach of privilege. Their captain, De Nerestan, himself a Frenchman, The Scots Guards in France 1 5 1 showed undue favour to his own countrymen; and the company, which should have been wholly Scotch, was now two -thirds French. In conse- quence of these and other grievances against their commander, the Scots, finding they could get no redress, sent a petition to James VI. praying him to intercede at the French court on their behalf. But this step so enraged De Nerestan and the chief French ministers that even James's endeavours were fruitless ; and when Lord Colvill of Culross, to whom the King had entrusted the mission, came to Paris, "a great minister" plainly told him " that France could no longer consider them as they were, viz. Scottes, but English, and therefore were determined to extinguish them. ,, Unluckily at this moment an incident occurred which did not tend to calm the hostile feeling towards the Scots. One of the Guard, a Douglas, was murdered, from motives of jealousy, by a Frenchman. His brother sought to be revenged, and, in company of a young man named Drummond, assaulted and almost killed the author of the crime, after which they fled the country. A Scotch gentleman named Robert Douglas had witnessed the scene, although taking no part in the affair. It seems that he had previously incurred the displeasure of the Government by aiding to write a statement put forward by the Guards pointing out their grievances. The authorities therefore 152 The Scots Guards in France determined to make an example of him, and, this being considered a good opportunity, he was thrust into prison on accusation of having taken part in the affray. Notwithstanding the exertions of the English ambassador, and of several great French noblemen, Douglas was condemned and executed. Another Scotchman was about the same time accused of treason and beheaded, though declared innocent in the memorial addressed to the King and Council by James VI. After these events, James wrote to King Louis insisting on the restoration of the Guards to their original number and privileges, and, should his request be refused, discharging them from continuing to be embodied under the name of the Scots Company. The Guards, however, were maintained, and, shortly after, steps were taken to bring about the restora- tion of the Men-at-arms. This is proved by a petition to James, dated Edinburgh, 1623, and signed by the Lords of the Privy Council. In the same year, Lord Gordon, Earl of Enzie, was sent to France to press the matter ; and shortly before the death of Louis, his letters patent ordering the re-establishment of the Men-at-arms were delivered in London. The Duke of Gordon was made commander ; but, as he died soon after, his nephew, Lord Gordon, succeeded him. It was thus that this post of honour, which had been filled for generations by the families of Lennox The Scots Guards in France 153 and Aubigny, passed to that of Gordon, with whom it remained till the final dispersion of the regiment. In the month of July 1645, Lord Gordon made the first muster of his company at Leith, in presence of French officers sent over by Louis XIV. for the occasion ; the latter were honourably entertained, and returned to France much gratified by their reception. In the year 1627, when the war broke out between France and Great Britain, the Men-at-arms were suppressed. But upon peace being proclaimed, three years later, the body was again reorganised, and, with Lord Gordon at their head, took an active part in the war with Germany. He and his soldiers showed so much gallantry that they were always employed in the most hazardous enterprises. In 1635, Charles I. desired to have Lord Gordon's assistance in his own cause ; but Gordon felt that he could not with honour leave the army of the French King, who had resolved to take part in the Thirty Years' War. There were at this moment in the French service, besides the Scots Men-at-arms and the Guards, four other Scotch regiments: — Les Gardes Ecossaises, organised by the Earl of Irvine ; Sir John Hepburn's company ; and the regiments of Colonel Douglas and Colonel Forbes, the former numbering 1000 men. These formed part of nineteen foreign regiments raised by Richelieu ; and the French army was in such an 1 54 The Scots Guards in France efficient state, that it soon proved that it was more than a match for the Spanish troops which had been so long the pride of the House of Asturia. A few negotiations, preserved in the records of the Privy Council of Scotland, are apparently the last attempts that were made to renew the ancient league and restore the privileges of the Scots in France. In 1642, William, Earl of Lothian, was sent to France for the purpose. Louis XIV. declared that he would renew the league only on the condition that the " Scots directlie or indirectlie enter not in armes in England, whether under the pretext of serving the King of Great Britain or under the pretext of serving religioun, without expresse commissioun from the King their master/ ' Soon afterwards, the first English revolution caused numbers of Scotch Royalists to emigrate to France. Their prospects were indeed a contrast to those of their countrymen in former times. Instead of being looked for anxiously by their allies, as necessary to their plans of conquest, and seeking on their own part to promote their fortune by voluntarily embracing a foreign service, they were now merely poor fugitives seeking a place of safety. But Louis XIV. had not forgotten the many services rendered to his kingdom by the Scots ; and he showed a kindly sympathy with them, and, moreover, continued to them the rights The Scots Guards in France 155 and privileges conferred by so many of his pre- decessors. He also maintained the company of Men-at-arms and the Guards — the only two corps in the French army which had survived the troubles of the sixteenth century. Owing to their seniority to all other regiments, they took precedence of the whole army in time of war. To the Guards also belonged the honour of being placed next the Sovereign on state occasions, and the still greater dignity of bearing the body of the King at royal funerals. It is not surprising that these high privileges should have often aroused feelings of jealousy among the French, and we have accounts of various endeavours on their part to contest the rights of the Scots. These efforts, however, would appear generally to have been made in vain. In consequence of these favours, it was considered a high honour to enter the company of Guards or Men-at-arms. But their title of Scotch regiments was soon to be but a name. From the end of the seventeenth century, the Guards were recruited chiefly from noble French families ; and, though occasionally the descendants of the first Scotch officers were admitted, these cases occur more and more rarely. Thus this famous body, which had been an ornament to our nation for two centuries, and had boasted of having two of our sovereigns as commanders, was gradually transformed into a French regiment. The company of the Men-at- 156 The Scots Guards in France arms shared the fate of the Guards. The French, however, who composed it scrupulously kept up the original customs : only men of the standard height could enter the regiment, and the officer on duty, after the palace gates were closed, replied when challenged, "I am here," in Gaelic. The Guards were at the head of the French army during all the great battles which marked the reign of Louis XIV., and particularly distinguished themselves at Malplaquet. There, commanded by Prince James Stewart, they charged the enemy with such valour as to pierce in succession the first, second, and third lines. The Prince exposed him- self with great coolness, and was wounded at the same time as Stewart of Aubigny, who was then commanding the Royal regiment. The last action in which the Guards took part was the battle of Lawfeld in 1747. Of the thousands of Jacobites who followed their King to France, but few were admitted into the corps embodied by their ancestors ; but the unsuccessful candidates were not the less mindful to maintain the honour of their nation, and took a glorious part in the perils and victories of the French army. In consequence of the emigration of so many Royalists, many new Scotch regiments were formed, such as the Hamilton, Campbell, Royal Ecossais, Ogilvy, Douglas, and Albany. Among the brave men who, preferring honour to The Scots Guards in France 157 personal advancement, and refusing to forsake a fallen cause, followed James to France, we must call special attention to the gentlemen who had served under Claverhouse. After the fatal day of Killiecrankie, one hundred and fifty of these gallant soldiers passed into France, and for some time formed the King's guard at the palace of St. Germain. Perceiving, however, that their presence served but to increase the expenses of the royal household, they resolved, although all of good birth, to volunteer as privates in the French army. Having obtained James's consent, these brave men mustered in order to be reviewed for the last time by their exiled monarch. We cannot imagine anything more touching than the scene which took place. The King, deeply affected by the gallantry and unselfishness of his faithful subjects, did not attempt to hide his emotion ; and, after thanking each one by name, and bowing most graciously, he burst into tears. The whole body of men knelt and bowed low to the unfortunate monarch, and then simultaneously gave him the royal salute. The historian of these gallant men tells us that during their service in the French cause they were always the first in battle and the last to retreat ; and that, though they were often in want of the first necessaries of life, they were never heard to complain, save of the misfortunes of their King. Who does not recall Aytoun's stirring lines in 158 The Scots Guards in France which he relates the story of one of the exploits of this chosen band ? The scene, even yet after two hundred years, bears testimony to their prowess by its name — the Island of the Scots. After the battle of Lawfeld, we have no records to enable us to trace clearly the career of the Guards to its close. The state of France was becoming gradually more and more disturbed, and we cannot but suppose that the storm of revolutionary feeling so soon to sweep over the country must have carried away with it the chosen bodyguard of the French Kings. Their previous history tells us that, had the Scots Guards still survived in their national character, they would have been, as ever, faithful to the end, and the Swiss Guards would not have been alone in their fidelity to a fallen monarch. After many years, when France, slowly recovering from the desolation of the reign of terror, once more welcomed a rightful sovereign in the person of Louis XVIII., the Guards were reorganised, and for a few years we see them filling their own place in royal pageants, and exercising their former privileges. They had the mournful honour of bearing the remains of Louis XVI. and Marie Antoinette to St. Denis, and again they accompanied Louis XVIII . to the grave. But all too soon came the revolution of 1830 ; and Charles X., forced to fly his kingdom, took refuge in Scotland, linked for so long with the The Scots Guards in France 159 throne of France. With the close of the French Monarchy ends the history of the Scots Guards. All who have followed its records will acknowledge a debt of gratitude to Father Forbes-Leith for presenting us with this hitherto unwritten chapter of national history. VI THE LENNOX §§|C0TLAND is greatly indebted to Mr. Fraser 1 for the many valuable docu- ments he has brought to light, which not only illustrate the domestic history of so many of our great families, but throw a new light on matters of deep national interest. In studying such a work as the volume before us, and in striving to place before our readers a few gleanings from its pages, we are puzzled by the very abundance of our materials. The history of the Lennox family is interwoven with that of Scotland from early times, and the members of that family seem to have taken an active part in the concerns of the kingdom — whether for good or evil, we must leave the readers of their history to decide. In turning aside from the general history of such a family, and concentrating our attention on that of one generation only, we are actuated by the feeling that particular interest attaches to the 1 See The Lennox. By William Fraser. Edinburgh : 1874. The Lennox 1 6 1 persons concerned. Matthew, twelfth Earl of Lennox, from the position he occupied in the annals of his country, and as Darnley's father, claims a special interest — and this of a painful kind, for we can claim no sympathy with his character — and in endeavouring to form some idea of his life and that of his Countess, Margaret Douglas, we obtain curious glimpses of the history of the turbulent times in which they lived, and the story of his parents' chequered life enables us to form a better estimate of their unhappy son's youth and surroundings. Matthew, twelfth Earl of Lennox and fourth Lord Darnley, was born in Dumbarton Castle, on the Feast of St. Matthew, 21st September 15 16, shortly after the siege of the castle by the Duke of Albany. We hear but little of his early days, save that when he was three years old his father entered into a contract of marriage for him with Christian Montgomerie, daughter of the Master of Eglinton. This early planned marriage never took place — the bridegroom-elect was destined to marry a more illustrious bride. In consequence of his father's violent death, which occurred in the fatal feud between him and the Hamiltons, Matthew and his young brothers, according to one account, appear to have been sent, when quite young, into France, to be placed in safety under the care of their uncle, the Lord of Aubigny, and to be brought up as 11 162 The Lennox Frenchmen. But Mr. Fraser quotes documents which prove that Lennox only went to France about the year 1532, when he was a youth of sixteen. 1 The years he spent in France may be reckoned the fairest of his life, and in considering his future career we are tempted to regret that he did not find an honoured grave in that country, instead of returning to his native land, whose honour he was so often to betray. The Earl of Lennox was appointed to a command in the Scots Guard, and distinguished himself in the war between France and Spain ; he was greatly admired by the French for his valour and skill in martial deeds, and his great height and beauty of person enhanced the interest he excited. At length, when the Earl had reached the age of twenty-six, events took place which invited his return to Scotland. James V. dying in 1542, the Earl of Arran was appointed Regent during the minority of the infant Queen. This nobleman and Lennox each claimed to be the nearest to the royal succession in the event of the Queen's death. It is a curious fact, which we have on the authority of John Knox, that James V. had appointed Matthew heir to the kingdom after the death of his infant sons, but 1 The history of the French branch of the Lennox family is full of interest, and the favours shown to its members by the French sovereigns are honourable alike to them and to those who deserved so well of their chosen masters. The Lennox 163 this ambitious dream was of course dispelled on the birth of Mary Stewart. It is said that Cardinal Beaton at this juncture urged upon Lennox that he should return, pointing out to him that Arran's legitimacy was questioned, and that the late King had appointed him next in the succession after the Princess Mary. Some motive of the kind, probably, prompted Lennox's movements, and accordingly he landed at Dumbarton on 31st March 1543. Another secret hope seems to have led Lennox to take this step : he aspired to the hand of the Queen Dowager, Mary of Lorraine, hoping at the same time to take Arran's place as Regent of the realm. James, Earl of Bothwell, returned from exile at the same time, and he was equally anxious to win favour in the eyes of the Queen Dowager. Lindsay of Pitscottie gives a quaint description of the rival noblemen, and their efforts to gain Mary's good graces ; how they " daily frequented the court, striving in mag- nificence of apparel and in all courtly games the one to exceed the other, especially in the Queen's sight." Lennox would seem to have carried the day by his superior attractions of person and skill, but neither nobleman received more than fair words in return for his devotion ; and after a time Lord Bothwell, " having spent much " in these vain efforts to obtain the royal favour, was obliged to retire from court. 164 The Lennox Lennox now found himself disappointed in the hopes he had entertained. At first ranging him- self on the side of the Queen, he supported her against Arran and his faction, but finding before long that Arran had been reconciled to Cardinal Beaton and the Queen's party, and that his own expectations of becoming Regent were frustrated, he retired to Dumbarton, making no secret of his resentment and desire for vengeance. At this point Henry VIII. , hoping that if he could secure the aid of one of the princes of the blood, he should the better succeed in his designs against Scotland, made overtures to Lennox, proposing to give him in marriage his niece, the Lady Margaret Douglas. Sir Hugh Campbell, Sheriff of Ayr, was the agent employed by Sadler to try and withdraw Lennox from his allegiance, and he reports that if Lennox receives money from France he will surely remain steadfast to the Queen and the Cardinal, but failing this, it would be easy to gain him to the English interest. Sadler him- self adds these words in his report to Henry : " And though the Sheriff thinketh that the said Lennox would be content to marry the said Lady Margaret Douglas, yet, whether he would have her so, as for her he would leave France (French interest) and adhere firmly to your Majesty he is in great doubt." After the coronation of the youthful Queen Mary, Sadler is able to report The Lennox 165 more decisively on Lennox's intentions ; and in a letter undated, but which was probably written the month following the coronation, he tells his royal master that he has just been visited by a servant of the Earl, who informed him that his master had left the Governor and Cardinal's party, and having " been hitherto a good Frenchman, he is now a good Englishman, and will bear his heart and service to your Majesty ; and very shortly intendeth to despatch a servant of his to your Highness and to the said Lady Margaret, with his full mind in all behalf." However, Lennox would seem even yet to have been uncertain as to his course of action. In October 1543, while still in Dumbarton, he received considerable sums of money from the King of France, with instructions to distribute it according to the advice of the Queen Mother and the Cardinal. Determining to reap the benefit of the French money, and at the same time to marry the King of England's niece, Lennox gave a portion of the gold to the Queen, dividing the remainder among his own friends. Indignant at Lennox's conduct, the Cardinal and Arran proposed sending an army to Glasgow to seize upon the gold, but Lennox proceeded to Leith and intimated that he was ready to meet the Queen's forces in battle ; a delay was created, and no fighting took place, but instead a treaty was signed at Leith to the 1 66 The Lennox advantage of the Queen's cause. Lennox soon after this despatched a message to France to apologise to the French King for his conduct, and to make protestations of his desire to be recalled to France, and to the society of his friends there; but added that, being embarked in an enterprise that had His Majesty's especial sanction, and of the success of which (supposing the King did not withdraw his assistance), there was good hope, he could not now desert the Queen and his friends, and leave them to the mercy of his enemy the Regent. On 13th January 1543-44 an agreement was signed at Greenside Chapel, between Commissioners of the Earl of Arran, Governor of Scotland, on the one side ; and on the other, by Commissioners of the Earls of Angus and Lennox, for mutual obedience to the Queen, and for brave and true resistance to the old national enemy England. But despite this solemn protestation, we very soon find Lennox and Angus again engaged in warfare against the Cardinal and Arran, and far from resisting their English enemy, they are content to seek his aid against their sovereign and country. In March of the same year, Arran laid siege, with 12,000 men, to Glasgow Castle, which was garrisoned by some of Lennox's friends. After ten days, the latter were obliged to surrender, which they did under promises of reward from The Lennox 167 Arran. These promises were cruelly violated, the keepers of the Castle, John and William Stuart, being thrown into prison, and the rest of the garrison hanged. Enraged at these proceedings, the Earls of Angus, Lennox, and others of the Anglo-Scottish faction, implored the aid of Henry in opposing the Governor and Cardinal. Ac- cordingly, Henry directed his Commissioners, Lord Wharton and Sir Robert Bowes, to meet the Commissioners of the rebel Lords, to determine the conditions upon which the English King would agree to send an army into Scotland. Meanwhile Lennox sailed from Dumbarton to England. In May, Glencairn having joined Lennox at Carlisle, the two Earls joined in an agreement with Henry VIII. of a most treasonable character to their native country. By it they acknowledged Henry as protector of the kingdom of Scotland, and promised to do their best to put him in possession of some of the strongest fortresses in Scotland, especially the Castles of Dumbarton, of Rothesay, and the Isle of Bute. They likewise bound themselves to promote the marriage of their infant Queen with Prince Edward of England, to place Mary under Henry's care, and to serve him against France and all countries, not excepting Scotland, and to further the cause of the Reformation. The King on his part, to encourage his promising adherents, engaged to 1 68 The Lennox continue Lennox as his pensioner, to give him his niece, the Lady Margaret Douglas, in marriage, and to make him Governor of Scotland if his schemes should be successful. He also promised to grant an annual pension of iooo crowns to the Earl of Glencairn. Lennox had now taken the final step, and henceforth, for many years, we find him foremost in the ranks of his country's enemies. The great marriage to which he aspired, and which was to be the promised reward of his treachery, was now to take place, and it will be well to become acquainted with the chief facts connected with the youth of the illustrious bride. Margaret Douglas was the daughter of Margaret Tudor, Queen to James IV. of Scotland, by her second marriage with the Earl of Angus ; and even from her cradle sorrow and misfortune would seem to have been her portion. Her mother, forced to fly from Scotland by the Regent Albany, was compelled to take refuge in the Castle of Harbottle, one of the Border fortresses, then held by Lord Dacre for Henry VIII. ; and there, on 7th- 8th October 15 15, the Lady Margaret was born, and dreary must have been her surroundings. In consequence of the war between England and Scotland, Dacre refused admission to the Queen's Scotch ladies, and it is not probable that a Border fortress of that day contained many of the comforts necessary to the hapless royal lady and her infant. The Lennox 169 Poor Lord Dacre seems to have been much oppressed by his royal guests, and in his report to Henry does not conceal the " unusual cumber " which the arrival of the Queen caused in his martial household. Lord Dacre did not, however, neglect his duties to the infant princess. She was baptized the day after her birth, and, as Lord Dacre informs her royal uncle, " everything was done pertaining to her honour, and yet only with such convenience as could or might be had in this barren and wild district, the suddenness of the occasion ordained by God's providence being considered." Cardinal Wolsey had promised to stand godfather to the royal child, and was evidently represented by proxy, as in future years the Lady Margaret claimed his assistance as her godfather. From some contemporary verses, we gather that Henry had desired that in the event of his sister's child being a daughter, she should be called Margaret, and this royal wish was ac- cordingly complied with. When she was three days old, Margaret's youthful father, the Earl of Angus, arrived at Harbottle with his relatives and followers, and was only admitted by Dacre on the condition that he and those who accompanied him should sign the first treaty which was to make them traitors to their country : an act which was not only an indelible stain on the honour of Angus, but laid the seeds of his daughter's 170 The Lennox troubles in time to come. Angus was proud of the birth of the child, who formed an important tie between him and her powerful uncle, and, whatever his faults, was an affectionate father, to whom Margaret clung during the stormy days of her youth, for little notice was taken of her by her royal mother. After a month had elapsed, Angus escorted his wife and daughter to Morpeth Castle, Lord Dacre's seat, where the latter remained until the following spring, and then proceeded to London at the invitation of Henry, Angus himself preferring to remain in Scotland. Tottenham Cross was the spot at which all distinguished visitors from the North were welcomed to the capital, and, accordingly, Queen Margaret and the infant princess were there greeted by King Henry, who received them with all honour. The little Margaret was greeted at Greenwich Palace by a companion more suitable to her tender years, the Princess Mary, destined to be her warm friend through life. Mary, Queen Dowager of France, and Duchess of Suffolk, also took an especial and tender interest in her little niece. Her terrible uncle took a great fancy to her likewise, and is said to have loved her equally with his daughter Mary ; and it was well for her in the days to come that he cherished some affectionate feeling for his " niece Marget," as he was wont to call her in her babyhood. After twelve months The Lennox 171 spent at Henry's court, Margaret received a hint from her royal brother that it was time she returned home, and from this time little Margaret's troubles began. Angus met her and her mother at Berwick, and accompanied them into Scotland ; but he and the Queen soon separated, violent quarrels took place between them, and agreement seemed impossible. At last, when Margaret was three years old, Angus withdrew her from her mother's care, and took her to his castle of Tantallon, where he formed a household for her, suitable to her rank, appointing the wife of his brother Sir George Douglas as her governess or first lady. For several years Angus kept possession of his little daughter. When he was forced, at the second return of the Regent Arran to Scotland, to take refuge in England, she accompanied him ; and when, in 1521, he passed over to France, it seems probable that she followed him and remained with him during his embassy in that country. When the Regent Albany finally with- drew to France, and Angus, returning to Scotland, established himself as Regent, he had Margaret brought home to him. She was then ten years old, and for three years the poor child enjoyed a comparatively peaceful time. But even these years were embittered by dissensions between her parents, and by the desire of the Queen to obtain a divorce from her father. When, in 1528, the 172 The Lennox revolution took place which gave the government into the hands of the young James V. and the Queen, Margaret again followed the fortunes of her father, and for months became a wanderer, passing from one stronghold to another, wherever Angus could find a safe shelter for her, until at last her aunt, the Duchess of Suffolk, moved by the thought of her position, exerted herself on Margaret's behalf, and invited her to live with her. After a short time Henry appointed Margaret to reside with the Princess Mary, who was then still enjoying her splendid establishment at Beauly. Here the cousins renewed the friendship begun in infancy, and formed a close and affectionate intimacy which ended only with Mary's life. If our space permitted us to linger, it would be interesting to trace Margaret's life through the years which followed ; but for a full account of her chequered career, with its transient gleams of prosperity, we must refer our readers to Miss Strickland's admirable memoir of our heroine, and content ourselves with a brief statement of the most important events. For a time Henry showed much affection for his niece, and invited her father to his court, making him (apparently at Margaret's request) large presents of money. During the brief period of Anne Boleyn's triumph, Margaret gained a new friend, and on the birth of the Princess Elizabeth The Lennox 173 was appointed to be her first lady of honour. It was during this period that Margaret formed the attachment, fated to end so sadly, with Lord Thomas Howard, son of the Duke of Norfolk, and it is evident that Anne's influence at this time induced Henry to look favourably on the lovers. But with the Queen's disgrace came that of Margaret and Lord Thomas, and they were both, according to Henry's amiable custom, sent to the Tower. In vain did the unhappy lovers plead that the King had himself encouraged their affection : the tide of royal favour had turned, and Parliament, hastening to meet Henry's wishes, proceeded to impeach the Lord Thomas for treason for daring to aspire to the hand of the King's niece. Meanwhile, we are not surprised to learn that Margaret fell ill of grief and terror in her dreary prison ; and for once it is pleasing to know that her royal mother exerted herself on her behalf. Queen Margaret received the news of her daughter's imprisonment at Perth. The Queen, full of anxiety and indignation, thereupon wrote to her royal brother and in no measured terms of reproach. After receiving this missive and several others from his sister, Henry relaxed so far as to permit his unhappy niece to be removed from the Tower and placed in a comparatively mild captivity at Sion House. Here she remained for some time, whilst poor 74 The Lennox Lord Thomas was still incarcerated in the Tower. Less faithful than her lover, Margaret would seem to have repented her encouragement of his suit, and we find her interceding for forgiveness from her uncle through the medium of Cromwell, and desiring in all things to do his good pleasure. At length, on the birth of Edward VI., Margaret was released from her long imprisonment. Lord Thomas, less fortunate, died in the Tower from fever added to his mental sufferings. Soon after this, Margaret lost her mother, who, little as she seems to have cared for her daughter during life, strove to make amends to her on her death -bed. She died acknowledging Angus to be her rightful surviving husband, and declaring her penitence for her neglect of Margaret, and confessing that all her personal effects ought to belong to her, on whom she had never expended anything. Sundry marriages were proposed for Margaret, and, indeed, she incurred Henry's displeasure by encouraging the suit of another scion of the house of Norfolk, Lord Charles Howard, and was, in consequence, again banished for a time from the court ; but at the age of twenty-eight Margaret still remained unmarried. We have now reached the moment when Henry, engaged in his schemes against Scotland, thought well to offer his niece's hand as a bribe to Lennox ; and we have seen that, The Lennox 175 after some hesitation, the latter accepted the honour proposed to him. The circumstances would not seem to promise much happiness to the two persons chiefly concerned ; but, as far as his own happiness went, Lennox never engaged in a more fortunate venture, and Margaret, on her side, was ever a most attached wife. The marriage took place on 6th July 1544, at St. James's Palace. The bride, although no longer in the bloom of youth, is described by Buchanan as a princess of unusual comeliness and beauty ; and the bride- groom, as we know, was her equal in personal attraction. By the marriage settlement, Lennox promised to endow Margaret with part of his Scotch possessions ; and the King, on his side, confirmed the treaty entered into at Carlisle, also granting Lennox land to the value of 1700 merks sterling per annum. Moreover, on his marriage day, Lennox obtained from the King letters of naturalisation, thus drawing even closer the bonds which held him pledged to the English interest. Henry graced the marriage feast with his presence, and, during the banquet, made a speech referring specially to the proximity of Lady Margaret to the throne, declaring that should his own heirs fail he should be glad if her heirs succeeded : a prophetic speech, little as Henry himself intended it, and, in fact, those best acquainted with the King considered such a speech to bode little good 176 The Lennox to the bride. At this time Margaret's claims to the position of third princess of the royal blood were very evenly balanced. Against her was her mother's divorce from Angus, and sub- sequent marriage ; while in her favour there was the Queen's dying declaration that Angus was her only true surviving husband. The newly -married pair did not enjoy each other's society long. Shortly after the wedding, Lennox, taking leave of his bride, set out on his dishonourable expedition to Scotland, with the intention of molesting the Border, and with the hope of securing Dumbarton Castle for Henry. Lennox had left this stronghold under the charge of one of his retainers, Stirling of Glorat, and did not doubt that he would meet with resistance to his intentions. The event proved far otherwise. Stirling admitted Lennox into, the castle and acknowledged him as his master, but, more loyal to his country than Lennox, utterly refused to deliver the castle to the English. Lennox, finding that there was a plot among the garrison to give him over to the Scottish Government, made good his escape with less dignity than befitted his reputation for valour, and, after some successful raids upon the mainland, returned to England. Meanwhile the Scottish Parliament, assembled at Linlithgow, pronounced Lennox a traitor and declared him to have forfeited his The Lennox 177 lands and vassals. The King of France, on hearing of Lennox's desertion of the Scoto-French interests, showed his displeasure, surely unfairly, by casting his brother, John Stewart of Aubigny, into prison, and depriving him of his offices and dignities. This arbitrary proceeding may have been suggested to Francis by the Scottish Govern- ment, as there is a memorandum extant, signed by Arran, and addressed to the Scotch ambassador in Paris, in which he is desired to counsel the French King to beware of advancing any of the house of Lennox in consequence of the treacherous conduct of the head of the Scottish branch. Margaret would seem to have lived, for some time after her marriage, at Stepney Palace, and here her eldest son, who died in infancy, was born. But as her husband's constant expeditions in the Border countries required a more northern residence, she and the Earl settled at Temple Newsham, in Yorkshire, until lately the property of Lord D'Arcy and Meynel, who was executed for his share in the Pilgrimage of Grace. Here, on 7th December 1545, Margaret gave birth to her second son, who was destined to bring so much sorrow to her maternal heart, and whose unhappy fate invests him with an interest not otherwise belonging to his weak and wayward character. The room in which Darnley was born was long pointed out as the " King's Bedchamber," 12 178 The Lennox and we are told that the bed was emblazoned with the famous mottoes of the family — "Avant Darnley " and " Jamais Darriere " — fatal words, which were ultimately to prove his ruin. Young Darnley never saw his great uncle ; and the latter, in consequence of a fresh quarrel with Margaret, shortly before his death did his best to exclude him from the succession to the throne. Henry's death at this moment was perhaps fortunate for Margaret, as it is not unlikely that her tyrant uncle would have sent her again to the Tower. Her worthy husband, meantime, continued to assist in the expeditions across the Border. He entered Scotland with Somerset, and was present at the battle of Pinkie Cleugh. His memory is, we fear, justly charged with cruelty to his fellow-country- men on more than one occasion, and his after life was clouded by remorse, and it is to this sentiment that his strange unwillingness to be left alone is attributed. The English Government rewarded Lennox's fidelity by grants of land ; some of the property of the disgraced Percys was awarded to him, and he was made keeper of Wressil Castle. He also received a grant of the Percy mansion at Hackney, and this house Lady Margaret re- tained until her death. At the period at which we now write, however, Margaret resided almost entirely at Temple Newsham, devoting herself to the education of her son Darnley. She desired The Lennox ijq earnestly to bring him up in the Catholic faith, of which she was herself a faithful member, and selected for his tutor a learned Scotch Catholic priest John Elder. Under his care the young Darnley made rapid progress with his studies. Music and other graceful accomplishments were added to his more solid acquirements, and when Darnley grew up he was assuredly one of the most highly educated princes of his day. His signature, of which Mr. Fraser gives more than one example, is a beautiful specimen of penman- ship, and we are not surprised at Elder's pride in his pupil's success in this and in the more difficult arts of composition and translation. We may presume that Darnley shared his studies with some of his numerous brothers and sisters, but of these younger members of the family little is known. Charles, Lady Margaret's third son, the only one destined to live to the years of man- hood, is familiar to us chiefly as the father of the hapless Arabella Stuart. In the autumn of 1551 Lady Margaret broke the monotony of her life in the north by a journey to London, on the occasion of the visit of the Queen Dowager of Scotland to the court of Edward VI. The attentions she received from Mary of Lorraine were no doubt gratifying to Margaret, and she made such good use of this favourable opportunity as to obtain leave from Mary to visit 180 The Lennox Scotland. The English Government, after some hesitation, confirmed this permission, and Margaret proceeded to Tantallon to visit her aged father, who, feeling death approach, earnestly desired to see her. Soon after her return home, the death of Edward VI. occurred : an event destined to bring great changes, for a time, in Margaret's life. As the cousin and early companion of the new Queen, Margaret was in high favour at court, and the old friendship between the royal ladies was tenderly renewed. On the occasion of Mary's marriage with Philip of Spain, Margaret held the 'position of first lady and custodian of the royal purse. In connection with this office an amusing trait is recorded. When the moment came at which the bridegroom presents the bride with the offering of money, Philip gave three handfuls of gold and silver as an earnest of the riches in store for his wife. Margaret immediately opened the purse and secured the money within it. The Queen was observed to smile at this incident, no doubt recalling the days she and her cousin had passed in which money was often wanting. It is supposed that the young Darnley was likewise present on the occasion of the Queen's wedding festivities. Poor Lady Margaret ! if this brief time of favour and friend- ship gladdened her heart, dark days were in store for her at no distant date. At Mary's death, Margaret may possibly have The Lennox 1 8 1 felt disappointed that her cousin had taken no steps to establish her claim to the throne. How- ever this may have been, she and her husband lost no time in presenting their homages to Queen Elizabeth, and were graciously received by her. It was on this occasion that Elizabeth, after listening with sympathy to Margaret's description of her husband's malady, expressed her opinion that his affectionate wife should never leave him — a piece of advice not likely to be forgotten ; and we accordingly find Margaret reminding the Queen of it when she and her husband found themselves shut up in separate prisons for months together. The first cloud in Elizabeth's favourable sentiments towards the Lennoxes arose from the same cause which was eventually to bring down on the un- lucky Margaret the full force of her cousin's resentment. Great changes had taken place at the court of France, and the young Queen of Scotland was now seated upon the French throne. Soon after the accession of Francis and Mary, Margaret determined to make an effort to heal the breach between her family and the Queen, trusting to Mary's youth and gentle disposition to forgive the past : the more so, as Mary had never been personally offended by the Lennoxes. She there- fore despatched her son's tutor, Elder, to Mary, with affectionate letters of congratulation. These missives were evidently graciously received, as, 1 82 The Lennox somewhat later, Margaret sent another envoy to her royal niece, in whom it is surmised that we may recognise Darnley himself. This mysterious visitor was warmly greeted by Francis and Mary, and entertained at Chambord, where the court was spending Christmas. This reception must have rejoiced Margaret, but Queen Elizabeth probably looked upon these interchanges of courtesy with very different eyes. As yet, however, she took no active steps to mark her displeasure, and, shortly after the death of Francis, Darnley seems to have again visited Queen Mary, bearing letters from his mother. These he delivered to his widowed cousin at Orleans. It is even asserted by one Scottish historian that the marriage with Darnley was arranged at this time between Lady Margaret and Mary. Added to these grave misdemeanours in Elizabeth's eyes, exaggerated reports of speeches made by Margaret were conveyed to her by spies placed at Settrington. Even in her private apart- ments the poor lady's words were watched. At length, upon receiving the news of the safe landing of Mary in Scotland, Margaret was overheard to express her deep thankfulness for her niece's safety, and this seems to have irritated Elizabeth more than any of her previous delinquencies. Margaret aggravated her offence by sending a messenger into Scotland to congratulate Mary on her return to her kingdom. It would have been impossible, The Lennox 183 even for Elizabeth, to punish Margaret for ex- pressing favourable sentiments regarding her own niece ; but to send an envoy into Scotland, to a power lately at war with England, was considered sufficient ground for accusation. Margaret there- fore was summoned to London by her imperious cousin, together with her husband, family, and servants. On reaching town, some of the party were incarcerated in the Gate House prison, the Lennoxes and their children being allowed to take up their abode at Westminster Palace. Lord Darnley, however, showed his sense by leaving the palace and concealing himself in the city. Vain search was made for him, and, as he eluded pursuit, his parents were made to suffer for his disappearance. At first Margaret was forbidden to leave her residence, and Lennox was committed to the charge of the Master of the Rolls ; but this being too mild a punishment, he was sent a close prisoner to the Tower. His wife was removed to Sheen, together with Lord Charles and another of the younger children, and here they remained for many months. The poor lady made constant appeals to the Queen through Cecil, that she and her husband might be united, reminding him of her lord's illness and constitutional melancholy, which, as the Queen herself had said, rendered solitude dangerous to him. But months passed before Lennox was restored to his faithful wife, 1 84 The Lennox and permitted to share her less rigorous imprison- ment. During these months they had both been harassed by the various accusations made against them. Margaret in particular must have been puzzled by the reports of her own speeches furnished to Cecil by his spies : little can she have thought that words spoken in her own room, and probably as quickly forgotten, would be brought against her in this manner. The old charges against her legitimacy were again also brought forward, and for her son's sake Margaret must have felt this bitterly ; but Elizabeth dared not press a question in which her own claims must have suffered. After a year or more of captivity, Lennox and his countess were set free, and the latter apparently returned to Settrington. After Elizabeth's serious illness in 1564, during which Margaret's claims to the royal succession were freely discussed in Parliament, the Queen showed more favour to her cousins, and gave permission to Lennox to visit Scotland. For a short time Margaret was even permitted to appear at Elizabeth's court, together with her son, Lord Darnley, and according to her own account he made a favourable impression. Darnley carried the sword before the Queen at all state pageants, this being the privilege of the prince nearest the throne ; and he was present at the creation of Lord Robert Dudley as Earl of Leicester. On The Lennox 1 8 5 this occasion Elizabeth tried to draw the Scottish ambassador into an acknowledgment as to his preference for Darnley over Leicester as a bride- groom for his mistress. But Melville, too wary to commit himself, pretended to disparage Darnley to the Queen, and thus prevent her perceiving that he had any leaning to the match, although, as he himself tells us, he had a secret charge to deal with his mother, the Countess of Lennox, to purchase leave for him to visit Scotland. Poor Lady Margaret was wholly unable to purchase anything of the kind, and the money seems to have been provided by Mary herself, and thus, early in the spring of 1564-65, Elizabeth granted permission for Darnley to join his father in Scot- land. Lennox had before this obtained a pardon from Queen Mary, and leave to return to his native country ; but there had been delays, caused partly by the fears of Knox and his party that the return of Lennox and Darnley, both Catholics, would be injurious to their cause. At one moment Elizabeth had even begged that Mary should be asked to revoke the permission given to Lennox to return, but Murray and Maitland refused to forward this appeal to their Queen. Finally, as we have seen, Elizabeth, in the summer of 1566, had allowed Lennox to cross the Border and present himself before Mary, who received him graciously. Before many months 1 86 The Lennox were over, the marriage between Mary and Darnley was concluded. Even before the event, Margaret had to suffer for her wishes concerning it. Elizabeth, wreaking her vengeance on Darnley's mother, imprisoned her afresh ; and, in spite of Queen Mary's warm intercessions on her behalf, Darnley's wedding day found his mother shut up in the Tower, where she was destined to remain during the brief span of her son's elevation, and where she was to receive the news of his awful fate. The exact spot of Margaret's prison in the Tower is known by the discovery of an inscription in a room in that portion of the building now the residence of the governor. The stone bears the record that on the 20th June 1565, the Lady Margaret Lennox was here imprisoned " for the marriage of her son, my Lord Henry Darnley, with the Queen of Scotland." The names of her five attendants are engraved below. And here we must leave the poor lady for a time and follow the fortunes of her husband. Mary and her father- in-law seem to have been generally on good terms, but his conduct on the occasion of Rizzio's murder must have destroyed her confidence in him. Yet, later on, Mary corresponded in a friendly manner with Lennox, and Mr. Fraser gives us a letter hitherto unpublished, of an especially interesting character. It is written in September 1566, at the time when, owing to Darnley's wayward conduct, The Lennox 187 fresh misunderstandings had arisen between them. Mary states that the importance of the matters in which they disagreed had forced her to take the advice of her Privy Council, and that they had begged the King to state his grievances, as her Majesty was willing to do all in her power to content him ; that Darnley had disavowed that he had any cause of discontent or that he entertained the design alleged against him ; but his reply was unsatisfactory, and the Queen was ignorant of his future intentions. When, a few months later, the terrible tragedy of Darnley 's death occurred, Lennox was overwhelmed by the blow. In his grief and desire for vengeance, he turned to Elizabeth for help, imploring her aid against the murderers of his son, her near relative and native- born subject. Shortly before Bothwell's marriage with the Queen, Lennox returned to England, and was permitted to join his wife, who was still in a kind of honourable durance. What a meeting it must have been, and what words can describe the misery Margaret had suffered in her long imprison- ment, with its many privations, all of which, however, must have faded into insignificance beside the agony she endured when hearing of her son's death. It was on the afternoon of 19th February 1567 that the fatal news was conveyed to the wretched mother, aggravated by a rumour that her husband had shared their son's fate. Her grief 1 8 8 The Lennox was so intense as to touch even Cecil, and he hastened to prove to her that it was impossible that Lennox could have perished, as he was known to have been in Glasgow the night of the murder. Having duly impressed the unhappy Margaret with those suspicions of Mary's guilt which were necessary to their plan of action, Cecil then advised Elizabeth to release Margaret, but the Queen took but tardy measures for this, and Darnley had been dead more than a month before Margaret was taken from the Tower, and placed under the charge of the Ladies Sackville and Dacre. It was in this position that Lennox found her, and the unhappy couple proceeded in their grief and desolation to follow the secret wishes of Cecil and his mistress. Convinced of Mary's guilt, they became her most bitter accusers, and their appearance in deepest mourning at Elizabeth's court, and their lamentations over Darnley's fate, was a welcome sight to Mary's enemies. At length, when news was brought that Mary had taken refuge in England, Lennox and his wife presented themselves before Elizabeth, demanding vengeance on their daughter-in-law. " The lady's face," says a contemporary, " was all swelled and stained with tears. She and her lord wore the deepest mourning. They knelt before the Queen, and Lady Margaret cried so passionately for vengeance that Queen Elizabeth The Lennox 189 affected to console her with soothing words, and finished by reproving her, saying that such accusations must not rest against the good name of the Princess without further proof/' When the commission deputed to investigate Darnley's murder opened its proceedings at Westminster, Lennox made a speech demanding vengeance for the death of his son. Having fulfilled their part in the terrible accusations brought against Mary, the Lennoxes were allowed to return to their home in the north. After the violent death of the Regent Moray, the position so long coveted by Lennox became his. Supported by Queen Elizabeth, he became Regent of Scotland, and obtained the guardianship of the King his grandson. The chief events of his regency are facts of general history, and our limits do not allow us to dwell on them ; we there- fore purpose restricting ourselves to some notice of the siege of Dumbarton, and of Lennox's death at Stirling, as on these points Mr. Fraser gives some fresh and interesting particulars. Dumbarton Castle, held for Queen Mary by her devoted adherent Lord Fleming, was much coveted by the Regent and his party ; and it was Lennox's fortune to secure it through the daring of Captain John Crawfurd, one of his followers. The purpose of the besiegers was assisted by an event that occurred within the fortress. The wife 190 The Lennox of one of the garrison had been punished for some small theft by order of the governor ; her husband, desiring to avenge her, offered to betray the castle to Lennox, and proposed a scheme to him which, though dangerous, seemed to be feasible. Lennox confided the execution of the project to Crawfurd, trusting more in him than in Robertson. On the evening of 1st May (on which day expired the truce between the Queen's party and the Govern- ment), Mr. Drummond of Drumquhassel was despatched with some horsemen to prevent any one communicating with the castle. Late at night Crawfurd followed him with the remainder of his men on foot, and after halting for a short time at Dumbuck Hill to address some encouraging words to the troops, They proceeded in single file to the base of the rock, retaining their places by means of a cord that was held by each of the party, the foremost carrying the scaling ladders. Before reaching the castle they had many ditches and a deep water, bridged only by a single tree, to cross. It was resolved to attempt to effect an entrance into the castle at the highest part of the crag called the 'Beik,' where no sentry was placed, there being no suspicion of danger at that point. A fog which surrounded the upper part of the rock was favourable to the enterprise by screening the assailants from observa- tion. After they had joined the ladders so as to make one of sixty steps, they were yet left twenty steps from a tree above them, to which the guide and Crawfurd with The Lennox 191 great difficulty had made their way without ladders, taking with them cords which they fastened to the tree, letting them hang down to the ladder that the men, taking hold of the ropes, might draw themselves up to the tree. But on the first attempt there was besides a risk of failure from the difficulty of managing the long ladder required by the height of the ascent, and of fixing it with sufficient firmness in the slippery rock. The weight of those who ascended loosened the hold of the ladder, and several of the party fell to the ground. No harm was, however, sustained ; and, fixing the ladder more securely, they got to the projecting ledge, where grew an ash tree, by means of the ropes that were fastened to it. But here their difficulties were far from ended. They found themselves still a hundred fathoms from the bottom of the wall. The ladder was fixed for a new ascent ; but at this stage of the proceedings an accident occurred which might have had serious results. Day was now dawning, and the danger was great of their being discovered by the sentries. The feeling of his peril so affected one of Crawfurd's men that in climbing the ladder he was seized with a kind of fit, and held on so firmly to the ladder that his comrades could neither pass him nor withdraw his hold from it. But Crawfurd was equal to the occasion, and binding the poor man securely to the ladder he had it turned round, and the besiegers proceeded on their way. The three men who first scaled the wall were discovered by the sentinels and the 192 The Lennox alarm was given. The assailants managed to defend themselves until reinforced by their comrades, who all ascended by the one ladder, and meeting with but feeble resistance the place was soon secured. Fleming made his escape by a postern gate which gave access to the Clyde. Lady Fleming was among Crawfurd's prisoners, but was treated with much courtesy, and was per- mitted to depart in safety. Another of the prisoners was John Hamilton, Archbishop of St. Andrews, who on being removed to Stirling was there cruelly condemned to death and executed. Crawfurd was rewarded for his valour by a grant of lands and a pension of £200 a year. At ten o'clock of the day on which the siege took place Lennox dined at Dumbarton. While her lord was advancing in Elizabeth's good graces by the manner in which he conducted himself in Scotland, the Countess, "his good Meg" as he was wont to call her, was residing at Elizabeth's court. Having access to the Queen and her ministers, Margaret exerted herself in her husband's interest, and acted as an intermediary between him and the English Government. Lennox and his faithful wife were not destined to meet again, and the mutual affection between them, which, on Lennox's side, is the one redeeming point in his character, was soon to be severed by death. After governing Scotland for little The Lennox 193 more than one short year, he met his violent end at Stirling, a few days after holding the Parliament at which the infant King made the well-known speech that so greatly startled his leal subjects. These words, " This Parliament has got ane hole in it," coming from the mouth of an infant, were considered prophetic of evil, and Lennox's death seemed to his contemporaries a fulfilment of the child's words. The assembly at Stirling was considered by the Queen's party to be a favourable moment for an attack on the Regent, and accordingly a large body of men, with Lord Huntly and other noble- men at their head, left Edinburgh for Stirling on the evening of 3rd September, and reached the latter place at four next morning. The whole town was asleep, and the Parliament, in false security, had posted no sentinels. Making their way to the market-place, Huntly and his men surrounded the residence of the Regent and the chief nobles, and secured Lennox and ten of his friends. So far, success had crowned Huntly's efforts, but now, Lord Mar sallying from the castle with a body of men, and being supported by the citizens, defeated the Queen's men and rescued the prisoners, all save one, and he the most important. Lennox was shot in the fray by Captain George Calder, at the instigation, it is said, of Huntly and Lord Claude Hamilton. Lennox 13 194 The Lennox had been made prisoner by Spens of Wormiston, who, having been charged by Kirkaldy of Grange to save the Regent's life at any cost, acted so faithfully to these orders that, perceiving Lennox's danger, he threw himself before him, and the bullet passed through his body before reaching its victim. Spens was mercilessly killed by the Regent's followers when they came up, in spite of Lennox's earnest entreaties that he should be spared. Although mortally wounded, Lennox continued to ride until he reached the castle. His chief thought was for his grandson the King. His answer to the encouraging words of his friends was, " If the babe be well, all is well." Knowing that he had but a few hours to live, the Regent addressed those around him in the following terms : — I have now, my lords [he said], to leave you at God's good pleasure, and to go into a world where is rest and peace. Ye know that it was not my ambition but your choice that brought me to the charge I have this while sustained, which I undertook the more willingly that I was persuaded of your assistance in the defence of the infant King, whose protection by nature and duty I could not refuse. And now, being able to do no more, I must commend him to Almighty God, and to your care, entreating you to continue in the defence of his cause (wherein I do assure you in God's name of your victory), and make choice of some worthy person, fearing God, and affectionate to the King, to succeed unto my The Lennox 195 place. And I must likewise commend unto your favour my servants, who never have received benefit at my hands, and desire you to remember my love to my wife Meg, whom I beseech God to comfort. He then said farewell to his friends, begging their prayers, and after spending some hours in prayer, he expired at four o'clock in the afternoon. Lennox was buried in the Chapel Royal at Stirling Castle, where a tombstone was afterwards erected to his memory by his sorrowing wife. The news of Lennox's death reached Margaret in London, and it seems probable that Elizabeth herself broke the awful tidings to her. No record of Margaret's feelings on the occasion have come down to us, but we who have followed her through the twenty-six years of her married life, and have tested her affection for her husband, can guess what she must have suffered. In memory of her love for Lennox, Margaret caused a jewel to be made, which she constantly wore and which still exists. It is a gold heart two and a half inches in diameter, richly enamelled and jewelled, and emblazoned with Scotch mottoes and emblematic figures, significant of the Countess's sentiments or bearing on the history of the family. It might have been supposed that Margaret in her lonely widowhood would have been permitted to spend her few remaining years in peace, but, when her husband had been dead three years, she 196 The Lennox again incurred Elizabeth's displeasure. This time, Margaret's disgrace was caused by the share taken by her in her son Charles's marriage with Lady Elizabeth Cavendish. The Queen evinced the highest displeasure at the match, and summoned the bride and bridegroom to her presence, desiring Margaret to accompany them. Accordingly the disconsolate family party travelled to town from the north through the fogs and mud of December, well knowing the kind of welcome that awaited them. When the Lennoxes reached London, they were desired to keep entirely to their own residence, and above all to speak to none save those permitted to listen to them by the Privy Council. But even this seclusion was not deemed sufficient punishment for Margaret. After a few days she was removed to the Tower to undergo her third and last imprisonment in that royal dungeon. Here she spent many weary weeks, and was only released to find a fresh sorrow awaiting her. Her son Charles began to show symptoms of decline, and after a few short months he likewise was taken from her, and the only con- solation left to the sorrowing lady was her infant grand-daughter, the little Arabella. Margaret's own days were numbered ; she never rallied from the death of her son, and fell into a "languishing decay," from which death was soon to release her. Before closing our narrative, it is pleasing to record The Lennox igy that Margaret, ere this, had become reconciled to her wronged and desolate daughter-in-law, Queen Mary. What it was that wrought this change in Margaret's sentiments we know not, but the fact is certain, and we have interesting proof in an affectionate correspondence between the two ladies. We venture to quote a specimen in a letter of Margaret's to the Queen, written from her residence at Hackney, ioth November 1575. Margaret Countess of Lennox to Mary Stewart. It may please your Majesty, I have received your token and mind, both by your letter and other ways much to my comfort, specially perceiving what zealous natural care your Majesty hath of our sweet and peerless jewel in Scotland. 1 I have been no less fearful and care- ful as your Majesty of him, that the wicked Governor 2 should not have power to do ill to his person, whom God preserve from his enemies. Nothing I neglected, but presently upon the receipt of your Majestie's, the court being far off, I sent one trusty who hath done so much as if I myself had been there, both to understand the past, and for prevention of evil to come. He hath dealt with such as both may and will have regard to our jewel's preservation, and will use a bridle to the wicked when need require. I beseech your Majesty fear not, but trust in God that all shall be well. The treachery of your traitors is known better than before. I shall always play my part to your Majesty's content, willing God, so as may tend 1 James VI. 2 Morton. 198 The Lennox to both our comforts. And now must I yield to your Majesty my most humble thanks for your good re- membrances and bounty to our little daughter x here who some day may serve your Highness, Almighty God grant, and to your Majesty long and happy life. Hackney this Vlth of November, Your Majesty's most humble and loving Mother and Aunt, M. L. Indorsed by Thomas Phelipps : " My Lady's Grace the Countess of Lennox to the Queen of Scots." Shortly before this letter was written, Margaret had solaced her imprisonment by working a touch- ing present for the Queen, namely, a small square of point lace made of her own hair, now gray, mixed with fine flax threads. That Darnley's own mother, at first Mary's bitter accuser, should have become convinced of her innocence is surely a fact well worthy of attention. More fortunate than her unhappy daughter-in-law, Margaret was permitted to close her days peacefully in her own house at Hackney. In the end death came rather suddenly. On 15th March 1577-78 the Countess was taken violently ill with a complaint to which she was subject, and when after much suffering she experienced relief, it was evident that death was near. She then bade a calm farewell to those around her, expressing her joy at leaving this world ; and, after preparing for death and receiving 1 Arabella Stuart. The Lennox 199 all the rites of the Catholic Church, she peacefully expired, at the age of sixty-two. Margaret died, as she had lived, in poverty, and Queen Elizabeth bore the expenses of her funeral. She was interred at Westminster Abbey, by the side of her son Charles. When James VI., in tardy recognition of his filial duty, raised a tomb to his mother's memory, he likewise erected the altar -tomb to his grandmother, and we now know that the remains of the unfortunate Darnley rest beside those of his mother. Our task is now done, and in concluding the story of Margaret Lennox and her family we would suggest to our readers that the history of their lives represents but a small portion of the interesting facts contained in the " Lennox Book," which all lovers of Scotch history would do well to study. VII A SISTER-IN-LAW OF MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS Elle a ete belle, sage, vertueuse, bonne, et douce Princesse. — Brant6me. MONG the many brilliant personages of the sixteenth century, Claude, Princess of France and Duchess of Lorraine, plays a modest part ; yet the short story of her life has, we venture to think, a gentle and gracious fragrance of its own, — the fragrance of a pure and earnest nature, which remained unspoilt amid the dangers inseparable from her position at the gayest courts in Europe, and which by its tender charity to the poor merited for her during her married life the title of u true Mother of her people." 1 Claude, second daughter of Henri II. and Catherine de Medicis, was born at Fontainebleau, 1 " Si grande etait la charite de cette jeune Princesse qu'en tout ce pays de Lorraine elle etait tenue pour la vraie Mere du peuple." — A. Sorbin, Oraison Funebre. A Sister-in-law of Mary Queen of Scots 201 1 2th November 1546. Another son had been greatly desired, and the court was " toute troublee " at the disappointment ; but, with all their great faults, the royal parents were singularly devoted to their children, and the little princess was tenderly welcomed, and for three months (a wonderfully long time for the period) remained with her mother. She was baptized on 9th February by the Cardinal de Guise, Archbishop of Rheims, after- wards the famous Cardinal de Lorraine ; and was called Claude, in memory of her grandmother, Claude de France, and in honour of the chief of the house of Guise. For political reasons Henri had asked the Swiss cantons, his " bons comperes," to be the sponsors; and four delegates were despatched for the occasion by the thirteen cantons, bearing as token of amity a large gold medallion, on which was engraved a hand holding thirteen cords united by one knot and a cross, with the motto, " If God be with us, who can be against us ? n The godmothers were Jeanne d'Albret, future mother of Henri IV., and the admirable Duchesse de Guise, Antoinette de Bourbon. Not long after the ceremony the little Claude was removed to the royal nurseries at St. Germain- en-Laye, where the Dauphin and Princess Elizabeth were already established under the charge of M. d'Humyeres, Governor of the Children of France. M. d'Humyeres had held this office in the previous 202 A Sister-in-law of reign, and we find the King in constant and intimate communication with his old governor. Thus, on hearing of the princess's safe arrival, 28th March, Henri writes : — My cousin, I have seen by your letters of the 29th that my daughter Claude had arrived the preceding day in good health at St. Germain-en-Laye, where our other children were also in good health. You will give me pleasure by sending me news of them as often as you can during the journey that I am about to undertake on leaving this. 1 Madame d'Humyeres, who shared her husband's important charge, had, by her devoted care of the children, acquired the entire confidence of the King and Queen. Two other ladies assisted her, and the most celebrated of the court doctors, Gouvrot and Chretien, watched daily over the children's health. No doubt news of his family was constantly forwarded to the King during his celebrated progress into Piedmont, and it is pleasing to learn that, at the end of about six months, Henri, weary of all these festivities, and more desirous of seeing his children again than of prolonging his triumphs, quitted it all, and, starting almost alone, never stopped till he reached St. Germain. This King, who has been described as so cold and taciturn, could not " patienter " a few days longer, but " went off in great devotion to see Messieurs his children and enjoy them all to himself." 2 1 Henri II. a Mons. d'Humyeres, 31 Mars 1547. Bib. Nat., France. 2 Claude de Lorraine, by M. de Magnienville, p. 27. Mary ^ueen of Scots 203 During the King's absence the little court of St. Germain was augmented by the arrival of two children of the family of Count Galeotto Pica della Mirandola, who had just ceded his principality to France. Three months later a much more im- portant addition was made to the youthful company in the person of the Queen of Scots, already, as we know, affianced to the Dauphin. After her perilous voyage from Scotland, Mary Stuart, accompanied by her Maries, reached this happy haven early in October 1548. Every effort had been made to welcome and honour her. The King settled each detail himself, and had written letter upon letter to M. d'Humyeres regarding the arrangement of the palace and the etiquette to be observed : As regards what you ask me [he writes] concerning the rank which I desire my said daughter, the Queen of Scots, to hold, I wish to say that I intend that she shall walk before my daughter x, as the marriage between her and my son is quite settled ; and even without that she is a crowned queen, and as such I wish her to be served and honoured. 1 The rooms to be prepared for Mary and his own children are designated by the King as " the saloons and chambers above those of the King, as well as those above the rooms of the Queen, the King of Navarre, and the Constable." In spite of 1 Henri II. a Mons. d'Humyeres. 204 A Sister-in-law of all these elaborate arrangements for their comfort at St. Germain, the royal children seem to have made frequent moves to Blois, to Amboise, to Carrieres, or to Maison whenever the fear of " bad air " caused a flight to the north or south. In 1549, when the Queen went to Rheims for her coronation, the little court was left at St. Germain. In 1 551 we find it established at Blois ; and here Lord Northampton (sent by Edward VI. to bear the Garter to King Henri) paid it a visit, of which his official report gives us an agreeable glimpse : — When he reached Blois, Mandose invited him to visit the King's children. . . . Next morning, horses being sent for him and his company, they rode to the castle, where they were received by the governor with great ceremony ; and being brought to the Dauphin's presence, were embraced of him, the Duke of Orleans, and the two young ladies their sisters, as amiably as could be imagined. 1 A few days later Lord Northampton made a formal demand for the hand of Mary Stuart on behalf of his royal master, to which the little Queen, who was present, and who had already learned to love her future husband, herself returned a hearty negative. 2 1 The Marquis of Northampton to the Council, 16th June 155 1. Nantes. Cal. State Papers. 2 Northampton to Cecil. State Papers, MS. Mary <$ueen of Scots 205 It was beautiful to see this little court [writes a contemporary] placed apart and generally established at St. Germain, which was, moreover, a true school of good manners and chivalrous exercises, especially after Monseigneur the Dauphin and these young nobles began to grow up, when they had masters to teach dancing and shooting, without counting their other studies of belles- lettres, music, mathematics, painting, and engineering, and other similar sciences, suitable for such scholars. There appear to have been, besides, three gentle- men attendant on the Dauphin, who trained the young people " in intellectual attainments, in constant cheerfulness, and honest recreations." 1 The recreations, we are glad to find, played an important part. Either in the beautiful park, or in the spacious halls and corridors of the palace, there were mimic fights and tournaments, scenes acted from the romances of chivalry, and other pastimes. Among the latter, we may conjecture that " the hackneys sent to the Dauphin by Governor Lord Arran " figured frequently — the hackneys being, we suppose, Highland or Shetland ponies. We are inclined to agree with Madame Claude's biographer, who thinks that these children, all destined to wear a crown, managed to amuse themselves very well. Amid all these duties and pleasures, however, sorrow more than once visited the little circle. 1 Vie de Philippe de Stozzi. Bib. Nat. 206 A Sister-in-law of When Claude was four years old her young brother, the Duke of Orleans, died. Some years later, in 1549, Princess Elizabeth, always delicate, was very ill of the measles, and in the following spring Claude herself was seriously indisposed — an illness which elicited anxious letters from the King and Queen. The little patient recovered slowly, and had to be sent to Amboise, with her brother and sister, for change of air. The political events of the year 1551 were destined to have a lasting effect on the life of our little princess, by bringing to the French court her future husband, Charles III., Duke of Lorraine. Son of the late Duke Francis and his wife, Christina of Denmark, 1 Charles was a mere child when, as the result of the campaign known as that of " Les trois Eveches," Henri II. took possession of the Duchy of Lorraine. Christina endeavoured to place her son and his inheritance under Henri's protection ; but his plans were fixed, and, while showing her every courtesy, he expressed his determination of taking Charles to be educated under his own eye and of marrying him to his daughter. The young Duke accordingly made his appearance at Fontainebleau, 1 Christina was the daughter of Christian II. of Denmark, niece of Charles V., and widow of Francis Sforza, Duke of Milan. During her widowhood her hand was sought by Henry VIII., but she promptly refused him, and in 1541 married Francis, Duke of Lorraine. A beautiful full- length portrait of this lady by Holbein is in the possession of the Duke of Norfolk. Mary ^ueen of Scots 207 for his advanced age of nine seems to have admitted him at once to actual court life, and we do not hear of him as joining the youthful circle at St. Germain, nor do we learn when or where he first saw his future bride. The impression made by Charles at this time was