^o. ^/^'^^'^ ">W^^^^* ,V^-' ^^ '^^m^S J^^ WW: ^^ ^0^ c . -^^ ""' v^^ .'•- -^o^ .0^ "^^ Q^ O ^^ 0^ c ^"■'*. -, V >°-n^. .1 « ./ 1 "^ V(< * « o v-^^ -0^ ■Ho ^ cy" " »'v ^-^..^^^ .';*i??/>.-'. "".n, 82 — Return of James I. •, Reign of James I, ; the Duke of Albany and a number of Nobles seized and imprisoned ; Trial and Execution of Albany, his sons, and the Earl of Lennox, 83 — Parliament at Inver- ness; seizure and Execution of Highland Chiefs, 85 — Policy XI 1 CONTENTS. PAGB and Legislation of James I., 85 — His Encroachments upon the Nobles : they formed a plot against him, S6 — Murder of the King, 88. VII. Conflicts between the Crown and thf. Nobles 89-104 Struggle amongst the Nobles in the minority of James II. ; Execution of the young Earl of Douglas and his brother, 89 — Contest between the Crown and the head of the Douglas Family ; Murder of the Earl of Douglas, 92 — Civil War ; the Battle of Hrecliin ; the King hard pressed ; the new Earl of Douglas defeated, 93 — Minority of James III. ; faction of the Boyds, 94— Marriage of the King ; Fall of the Boyds, 05 — The Nobles seized and executed the King's servants, and then imprisoned him, 98 — Rebellion of the Southern Nobles ; Battle of Sanchie Burn; Death of James III., 99 — James IV. ; Foreign Relations of Scotland ; Marriage of the King, 100— War with England ; Battle of Flodden, 102 — Reference to the Literature of the Nation ; Barbour's Bruce ; Winton's Original Chronicle ; Henry's Life of Sir W. Wallace; James I. a poet ; Robert H'enryson, 102 — Institution of Scotch Universities, 104. VIII. Progress of the Reformation' in Scotland TO THE Death of Cardinal Beaton . 105-122 The Era of Modern History ; Coronation of the Infant King; his Mother named Regent, but siie failed ; the Duke of Albany assumed the Government ; tried to curb the Nobles, but this was hopeless ; he threw it up and returned to France, 105 — The Earl of Angus seized the young King and ruled himself; at last the King escaped and Angus fled to England, 106 — Policy of James V. toward the Nobles ; Causes of the Reformation, 107 — Introduction of Heretical Books ; Martyr- dom of Patrick Hamilton ; Friar Airth's Semion, 108 — James V. remained faithful to Catholicism, and pursued his policy of curbing the Nobles, .no— War with England; the Scotch Nobles decline to follow their King ; Disaster of Sohvay Moss; Death of James \'., 112 — The Infant Queen Mary, 113 CONTENTS. ' xiii PAGE — Scheme of Henry VIII. defeated, 115 — War proclaimed against the Scots ; Wanton destruction of life and property, 116 — A plot to murder Cardinal Beaton, 118 — Execution of Wishart the Preacher, 120 — The Cardinal seized in his own castle and murdered, 122. IX. Reformation Movement to the Overthrow OF the Roman Catholic Church in Scot- land. ....... 123-136 The Assassins retained the Cardinal's Castle, and John Knox joined them ; the Castle taken ; the Garrison and Knox con- veyed captives to France, 123— Aggressive Policy of England ; the Scots reduced to great extremities, 125 — Attempts of the Catholic Clergy to Reform the Abuses of the Church ; New Canons and Catechism, 125 — Trial and Execution of Adam Wallace for Heresy, 127 — Arran's regency terminated; Regency of the Queen's mother ; Advance of the Reformed Doctrines ; Efforts of Knox, 128 — A party of the Nobles formed a bond to advance the reform of Religion ; Braking of Images ; Influence of Sir David Lindsay's Writings on the Reform Movement, 130 — Execution of Walter Mill; the Chief Preachers summoned, 131 — Crisis; Knox's Sermon in Perth; Destruction of Monasteries ; Vehement Manifestoes, 132 — Civil War ; Death of Henry II. of France ; Arrival uf French Troops to uphold Catholicism, 133 — The Reform Party reduced to great extremities ; ihey concluded a Treaty with England, and an English Army advanced to Leith ; Treaty of Edin- burgh ; Peace Proclaimed, 134 — Death of the Queen Regent : a New Confession of Faith adopted, the Roman Catholic Church abolished in Scotland, 136. X. RtiGN OF Queen Mary 137-^57 Arrival of Queen Mary ; she was placed in trying cir- cumstances, 137 — Efforts of the Reformers to organise the new Church ; scheme of the Government disposing of the Revenue of the Church; Knox denounced i', 139 — The Preachers declaimed against the amusements of the Court ; Interview between Knox and the Queen, 141 —The Queen's XIV CONTENTS. PAGE Marriage with Darnley : Moray's party bitterly opposed it ; Revolted ; Proclaimed Rebels and fled to England. 142 — Darnley became the dupe of the Nobles ; a plot to murder Riccio and restore the banished Nobles ; Murder of Riccio, 145 — Return of the Nobles ; Flight of the Queen ; an army rallied round her and the rebellious Nobles again fled, 149 — Birth of James VI. ; Policy of the Scotch Aristocracy, 149 — A Plot to murder Darnley ; he became sick ; Visited by the Queen, and removed to Edinburgh ; Preparations; Murder of Darnley, 150 — Excitement in Edinburgh; Conduct of Both- well; his Mock Trial, 151 — The Nobles .recommended Both- well as a husband for the Queen, 153 — He seized Mary and married her; Troubles gathered around the Queen, 153 — A party of the Nobles seized Edinburgh and the Government ; Mary and Bothwell mustered an Aimy, but the Nobles faced it; she surrendered and Bothwell fled, 155 — The Nobles im- prisoned- the Queen ; Deposed her ; Appointed the Earl of Moray Regent, and crowned the Infant King, 156. XI. Conflict of the Nation to the Union of the Crowns 158-176 State of Parties; Moray assumed the Government, 158 — Mary's escape from prison ; Battle of Langside ; Flight of Mary to England, 159 — Moray struggled to maintain order, but he was shot, 159 — The Factions of the King and Queen fought bitterly ; the Regent Lennox slain, 160 — The Earl of Morton elected Regent ; the Queen's Party subdued, 161 — Death of Knox ; his Work, 162 — Efforts of the Clergy to improve the organisation of the Church ; Morton's enemies closing around him ; the King's Favourites ; Trial and Execu- tion of Morton, 163 — The King's Favourites supreme; a plot against them ; the Raid of Ruthven ; the King a captive, 164 — Escape of the King ; Flight of the Nobles ; Execution of the Earl of Gowrie, 164 — Contest of the Clergy with the Crown ; Andrew Melville before the Council ; Despotic Acts ; a number of the Clergy fled, 165 — Return of the Banished Nobles, 167— Legal Establishment of Presbyterianisni, 168 — Rebellion of ihe Catholic Earls ; Battle of Gl- nlivet ; Advance of the Royal Army ; Flight of the Catholic Earls, 168 — Their Return alarmed the Clergy ; Vehement Speeches ; a Tumult CONTENTS. XV PAGE in Edinburgh ; the King enraged, 169 — The King intent on changing the Polity of the Chiircli ; Gowrie Conspiracy, 172 — Accession of the King to the Throne of England, 173 — Literature of the Period, 174. XII. Result of the Union of the Crowns on Scotland. ...... 177-184 Increased power of the Crown used to crush Liberty and Freedom ; the King summoned the leading Presbyterian Ministers to London, 177 — His attempts to Establish Episco- pacy, 178 — Charles I. ; Act of Revocation alarmed the Nobles ; a Compromise ; Tithes adjusted, 180 — Charles's visit to Scotland ; a New Liturgy and Book of Canons promulgated and the People commanded to conform ; the National Senti- ments opposed to them, 181 — Great Tumults in Edinbur^li, 183. XIIL Covenanting Conflict 185-206 Charles I. mifunderstood the National Sentiments ; Petitions against the Liturgy; the King's Answer, 185 — Tumultuous Proceedings, i88--Energy of the Opposition; their Com- mittees assumed the Functions of Government, 189 — Their demands, 190 — The King resolved to force the Liturgy upon the People, 192 — Crisis; the Covenant adopted; enthusiastic assemblage of the People, 193 — Copies of the Covenant circu- lated throughout the Kingdom ; Embarrassment of the Govern- ment, 194 — The Marquis of Hamilton's Mission failed ; the Covenanters demanded a Free Assembly, 195 — Meeting of the Assembly ; the Royal Commissioner dissolved it, but it con- tinued to sit and completed its work ; the Liturgy and Epis- copacy condemned ; Presbyterianism restored, 197 — The Cove- nanter-, appeared in arms ; the King faced them ; a Compro- mise, but Charles trifled with them, 198 — A Committee of Parliament assumed the Government, and the Covenanting Army crossed the Tweed, 199 — The King temporised ; visited Scotland and sanctioned the proceedings of Parliament, 201 — Solemn League and Covenant adopted ; the Scotch Army again crossed the Tweed, 202 — Career of Montrose, 204 — XVI CONTENTS. PAGE The King's Cause failing ; he fled to the Scotch Army ; Dispute between the EngUsh and Scots touching the pay of the Scotch Army, 204 — The Long Parhament compelled the Scots to surrender the King ; Execution of Charles I., 205. XIV. Charles II. The Kingdom under Cromwell 207-211 Charles II. proclaimed King ; he signed the Covenant, and landed in Scotland, 207 — Cromwell invaded Scotland, and defeated the Scots, 208 — The King .crowned ; Scotland sub- dued, 209 — Cromwell's Government of Scotland, 210 — l^eath of Cromwell; Departure of the English Army; tlie King recalled, 211. XV. Restoration. Persecution . . . 213-234 Sentiments associated with the Restoration ; State of the Scotch Nobles, 213 — Public Meetings prohibited ; the Grand Achievement of the New Parliament, 214 — Trial and Execu'ion of the Marquis of Argyle, Rev. James Guthrie, and Johnston of Warriston, 215 — The Privy Council invested with new powers ; Reintroduction of Episcopacy ; Characteristics of the new Hierarchy, 216 — Presbyterian Ministers ejected, 217 — Oppressive Acts of Parliament and the Privy Council ; Severe Persecution, 217 — Rising of 1666 ; Defeat of the Insurgents ; Treatment of the Prisoners, 218 — An Army enforcing Religious Conformity, 219 — Attempt to assassinate Archbishop Sharp, 220 — Field Meetings increased ; the soldiers ordered to kill all who resisted ; a Body of Special Sheriffs commissioned to try Religious Offenders ; Murder of Archbishop Sharp, 221 — Great Meeting on Loudon Hill ; Skirmish with the Troops ; Spread of the Insurrection ; Battle of Bothwell Bridge ; Defeat of the Insurgents ; Treatment of the Prisoners, 222 — Duke of York in Scotland ; Trial and Escape of the Earl of Argyle, 224 — Continuation of the Persecution ; Death of Charles II. ; Accession of the Duke of York, 226 — Failure of Argyle's attempt against the Government, 227 — The King's Scheme of reintroducing Roman-Catholicism, 228 — Crisis approaching ; Prince of Orange's Declaration ; Great Excitement in Scot- land ; the Bishops, 229 — Orange assumed the Government and CONTENTS. XVll PAGE summoned a Convention, 230— Meeting of the Convention in Edinburgh ; Letters from the Prince of Orange and King James, 231 — Flight of Viscount Dundee to the North ; intense excitement in the Convention ; the Covenanters called to arms, 232 — The Throne declared vacant ; the Claim of Right, 233. XVI. The Revolution and the Union . . 235-260 Conflicting Convictions and Parties; King William's Diffi- culties ; Carstairs, 235 — Movements of Viscount Dundee and the Jacobites ; Battle of Killiecrankie ; Consternation, 237 — Presbyterian Polity restored ; Means employed by the Govern- ment to subdue their Opponents, 240 — Pacification of the Highland Chiefs ; Massacre of Glencoe, 241 — Progress of Elementary Education, 243— Rise of a Commercial Spirit; the Darien Scheme ; its tragic end raised intense indignation in Scotland, 246— Attempts to form a Union, 250 — Meeting of Parliament ; a Series of alarming Acts passed, and the Nat'on assumed a determined attitude, 251 — The English Parliament authorised a Treaty to be negotiated ; this placed before the Scotch Parliament, and after long and vehement debate it authorised the appointment of Commissioners to treat with the English, 252— The Treaty of Union drawn ; placed before the Scotch Parliament and the Articles read and debated, 254 — A vehement Debate before the Vote was taken on the Pirst Article. 256— Many Petitions presented against the Union ; the last great effort of the Jacobi es to defeat the Union ; Animated Debates ; Protests and Counter-protests ; — Treaty of Union carried, 259. XVII. Risings of 1715, and 1745 . . . 261-273 'I'he Jacobites encouraged disaffection ; other causes of irrita- tion, 261 — Mar's connection with the Highland Clans ; Rising of 1715; Arrival of the Pretender; Collap e of the Rising ; Prisoners, 263 — Measures to secure peace in the Highlands ; Causes of the Rising of 1745, 264— Landing of Prince Charles ; Mustering of the Clans ; Advance on Edin- XVlll CONTENTS. PAG£ burgh ; Battle of Preston, 265 — March to Derby ; Retreat of the Prince's Army, 267 — Battle of Culloden ; Cruel Treatment of the People, 269 — ^Jacobite Ballads and Songs, 272. XVIII. General Result of the Operation of the Union 274-289 Commercial advantages of the Union, 274 — Moral advantages, 277 — Some of its advantages and disadvantages in Political and Legislative Relation-, 277 — Fiscal ami Excise Arrange- ments ; Malt-Tax ; Determined opposition to it ; Disturbance; the Military called out ; Excessively raised in 1S03, 278 — Scotch Whisky ; Snniggling ; Quantities of Whisky produced and consumed in Scotland. 282 — Forfeited Estates; Emigra- tion ; Making of Canals, Roads, and Bridges, in the Highlands, 2S4 — no Popular Representation in the last century ; Suppres- sion of all attempts of Reform ; Etfect of changed conditions, 287. XIX. Religious Movements .... 290-306 Theocratic conception of the Church and State, 290 — Historic Polity of the Church of Scotland ; Election of Ministers, 391 — Internal Struggles of the Church, 293»— Disruption ; Causes and Character of the Movement, 295 — The Assem'rly of 1843 > the Final Scene, 303. XX. Modern Literature of Scotland . . 307-325 Historical Literature : Hume, Robertson. Tytler, Alison, Burton, Carlyle, Skene, 307 — Poetry : Ramsay, Thomson, Fergusson, Burns, Campbell, Scott, Hogg, 311 — Fiction: Smollett, Scott, Gait, Wilson, 320 — Miscellaneous Litera- ture : Lord Karnes, Lord Erskine, Dr. Chalmers, Lord Jeffrey, Dr. Tulloch, 323 — Conclusion, 327. Index . 331 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. PAGE FrontisUece JAMES VI. . , , . , MAP OF SCOTLAND To face page ROMAN URN (FOUND AT THE DEAN, EDINBURGH). COINS OF ALEXANDER I. . . . COINS OF DAVID I COINS OF WILLIAM THE LION SEAL OF ALEXANDER III. COINS OF ALEXANDER II. AND III. . SEALS OF D-WID I. AND ROBERT I. THE OLD BRIDGE OF STIRLING STIRLING CASTLE .... CORA LINN, NEAR THE SUPPOSED CAVE OF WALLACE ROBERT BRUCE . RUINS OF ST. ANDREWS CATHEDRAL INVERNESS FROM THE RIVER SIDE SOUTH SIDE OF EDINBURGH CASTLE ARRAN . JOHN, DUKE OF ALBANY, AND QUEEN MARGARET JAMES v., KING OF SCOTLAND .... I 7 27 32 35 38 40 42 54 57 58 64 80 84 90 96 lOI 109 PALACE OF MARY OF GUISE, CASTLE HILL, EDINBURGH MI XX LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. THE EARL OF ARRAN HOLYROOD ABBEY CARDINAL BEATON HOUStC OF CARDINAL BEATON .... PORTRAIT AND AUTOGRAPH OF JOHN KNOX MARY OF GUISE, QUEEN REGENT . JOHN KNOX'S HOUSE MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS CIPHER OF LORD DARNLEY AND QUEEN MARY DOORWAY IN WHICH RICCIO WAS MURDERED THE REGENT MORTON .... QUEEN MARY'S ROOM, CRAIGMILLER CASTLE MUSSELBURGH CASTLE LOCH LEV EN AND CASTLE GRAVE OF JOHN KNOX GEORGE BUCHANAN . COMMON SEAL OF EDINBURGH THE EARL OF LOUDON FLAG OK THE COVENANTERS THE MAIDEN ... THE PASS AT GLENCOE . LORD BELHAVEN BOTHWELL CASTLE ^ CHARLES EDWARD IN LATER Y THE OLD TOLBOOTH TOWER, ABERDEEN 45, GUEST ROW, ABERDEEN, INHABITED BY THE OF CUMBERLAND ..... EARS DUKE 271 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS, xxi PAGE MONUMENT TO C. H. BELL (THE BUILDER OF THE FIRST STEAM vessel) ON THE BANKS OF THE CLYDE . 275 THE CLYDE MAKER AT WORK 276 SCUIR NA-GILLIAN . , 286 DR. CHALMERS 298 EDINBURGH 304 HUME'S GRAVE 308 THOMAS CARLYLE 310 THE HOUSE IN BROAD STREET, ABERDEEN, WHERE BYRON LIVED WHEN A BOY 312 THE COTTAGE WHERE I'.UKNS WAS BORN . . . 313 ROBERT BURNS 315 SIR WALTER SCOTT 317 LOCH LOMOND 321 HOUSE OF JAMIESON, THE SCOTCH VANDYCK, ABERDF.IlN 326 ELLEN'S ISLE, LOCH KATRINE 339 THE STORY OF SCOTLAND I. EARLY HISTORY. When Man awoke from a long dream to conscious- ness, and looked wistfully around him in amazement, he readily snatched at anything, and believed in any- thing, that seemed to give him any explanation or relieved his embarrassment. Thus the early histories of most nations are enveloped in legends and myths ; and Scotland has a legendary story touching the origin of the early inhabitants of the country. One form of our legend was that Gathelus, a Greek, with a band of followers, went to Egypt about the time of the Exodus, and, after performing many great actions, was appointed commander-in-chief of the Egyptian forces, and married Scota, Pharaoh's daughter. After the destruction of the Egyptian army in the Red Sea, he fled with his wife by way of the Medi- terranean, landed in Portugal, and founded a king- dom in Brigantium, and there reigned as king. In process of time a descendant of his became King of Ireland. The Scots came from Ireland, and Fergus, 3 EARLY HISTORY. the son of Ferchand, was their first king on this side of the sea. So Fergus I. founded the Scottish monarchy, three centuries before the Christian era ; and a Hne of one hundred and ten kings succeeded and sat on the throne which he had estabHshed. This story was put forward in support of the anti- quity and independence of the kingdom, after the difficulties with England had arisen in the later }^ears of the thirteenth century. In the disputes with England the long line of kings had some effect. From evidence obtained by a different method it appears that Britain was inhabited in a far past age, at least several thousands of years before the Christian era. A people of the Basque race spread over the greater part of Europe before the arrival of any branch of the Aryan race, and were in possession of Britain at a remote period. But the traces of their occupation of the several parts of the island are scanty, consisting of stone objects and tools, and human remains, and they cannot be discussed in this volume, further than to say that, from the evidence, it seems probable that tribes akin to the Basques had penetrated into Scotland before the coming of ' the Celtic race. The Celts were the first branch of the Aryan race who invaded Europe. They spread over a large part of it, and afterwards, at intervals, they were followed by other branches of the same race, and the new- comers pressed the Celts onward and outward. Thus began the long struggle which subsequently made European history. It is highly probable that the Celtic race occupied EARLY INHABITANTS. ROMAN INVASION. 3 Scotland in the polished Stone Age, and gradually- subdued and absorbed the race which had preceded them. There is evidence of various kinds to show that they had inhabited the country for a long period before the Roman invasion. They had domesticated animals and herds of cattle ; they had war-chariots and metallic weapons ; and they had attained to a certain degree of organisation and culture. Their religion was polytheistic. It consisted of a belief in supernatural beings, ghosts, and spirits, which pervaded nature, man, and animals, rivers, wells, and mountains. Very little indication of an organised heathen priesthood among the early Celtic tribes of Scotland has yet been found. Julius Caesar visited Britain forty-five years before the Christian era, but nearly a century elapsed ere the Romans made a determined effort to conquer the island. In the year A.D. 43, the real conquest of Britain was begun ; and by yy the Roman province had been extended nearly to the Solway Firth. Agricola was appointed to the chief command in Britain in 78. In the summer of the following year, he appears to have advanced to the border counties of Scotland. In that region his advance was con- tested at every step by warlike tribes, who were unable, however, to withstand the disciplined Legions. Everywhere the inhabitants offered resistance ; and during the winter Agricola was engaged in bringing under subjection the territory overrun by his troops. In 80 he determined to move northward and attack the Caledonians in their own strongholds. He pene- trated nearly as far as the Firth of Tay, and secured, 4 EARLY HISTORY. by erecting forts and outposts, some portions of the territories through which he had passed. His main hne of defence he fixed on the ground lying between the Firths of Forth and Clyde, and the summer of 8i was spent in erecting a chain of forts along this line. Afterward he seems to have entered Fifeshire, and slowly advanced with the assistance of the Roman fleet toward the Ta\\ His army proceeded in three divisions not far apart from each other ; and the Caledonians resolved to attack one of them — the Ninth Legion. One night they assailed it, and fought their way through the gate and into the heart of the Roman camp ; but Agricola himself, with the fleetest of the horse and foot, came to the rescue. When day dawned the Caledonians had to fight the Ninth Legion on the one hand, and the reinforcement on the other, and the real struggle \\-as at the gate of the camp. The Legions were victorious, and the Caledonians retired under cover of the marshes. They were not disheartened. Agricola learned as the season passed that they were combining to strike a blow^, and were removing their wives and children to places of safet}'. Roth combatants were preparing for the struggle which was to determine whether the Romans were to obtain dominion over the whole island. In the beginning of summer 86, Agricola sent his fleet round the coasts to ravage the seaboard and alarm the inhabitants. He then advanced with his army to Mons Grampius, and there the Caledonians were posted for battle. The native force numbered 30,000, under the command of Galgacus. As it was BATTLE OF MONS GRAMPtUS. 5 the custom for the leaders of armies to address their troops on the eve of a battle, so Tacitus the historian puts a speech into the mouth of Galgacus, the leader of the Caledonians, and a few sentences of it may be quoted : — ■ " When I reflect on the circumstances of our posi- tion, I feel a strong persuasion that our united efforts this day will prove the beginning of universal liberty to Britain. . . . In all the battles yet fought against the Romans, our countrymen may be deemed to have reposed their final hope in us ; for we, the noblest sons of Britain, and therefore stationed in its last recesses, far from the view of servile shores, have preserved even our eyes unpolluted by the contact of subjection . . . Those plunderers of the world, after exhausting the land by their devastations, are rifling the ocean ; stimulated by avarice if their enemy be rich, by ambition if poor ; unsatiated by the East and by the West, the only people who behold wealth and indigence with equal avidity. To ravage, to slaughter, to usurp, under false titles, they call empire, and where they make a desert, they call it peace. . . . And shall not we, untouched, unsubdued, and struggling not for the acquisition, but for the security of liberty, show at the very first onset what men Caledonia has reserved for her defence ? Be not terrified by an idle show, and the glitter of silver and gold, which can neither protect nor wound. In the very ranks of the enemy we shall find our own bands. The Britons will acknowledge their own cause. The Gauls will recollect their former liberty. The rest of the Germans will desert them, as the 6 EARLY HISTORY. Usipii have lately done. Nor is there anything formidable behind them. Ungarrisoned towns, colo- nies of old men, municipal towns, distempered and distracted between unjust masters and ill-obeying subjects. There is a general ; here an army. There tributes, mines, and all the train of punishments inflicted on slaves, which, whether to bear eternally, or instantly to revenge, this field must determine. March, then, to battle, and think of your ancestors and of your posterity ! " Agricola was afraid of being out-flanked, and ex- tended his line to the utmost. His front consisted of 8,000 au.xiliaries and 3,000 cavalry on the wings, the Legions or Roman soldiers were held in reserve ; and placed behind the centre. The Caledonian charioteers were moving on the ground between the two armies, and the footmen were posted on the heights. While the fighting was with missiles at a distance, the native troops held their ground, and their charioteers drove back the Roman cavalry ; but Agricola sent forward five cohorts to charge them with swords. For this weapon the natives were unprepared, and their first line fell back. The whole Roman line then advanced to the charge. Galgacus tried a flank movement with his reserve, but it failed ; the chariots became entangled in the broken ground, and a defeat ensued. They retreated, and attempted to check the pursuit of the Romans ; but many of the natives were slain. The Roman general did not pursue them bej'ond the Ta}-, but returned south to his winter quarters ; and shortly after he was recalled to Rome. ROMAN WALLS, 7 The Roman troops continued to have an incessant struggle with the northern tribes ; and forty years later the border counties were not within the lines of the empire. Between the years 120 and 138 the Romans built a wall from the river Tyne to the Solway Firth, which extended over seventy miles, and was strengthened at intervals by forts and towers. Soon afterwards they erected another wall, which commenced at Bridgeness on the Firth of Forth and ROMAN URN. {Poidnd at the Dean, Edinburgh.') crossed the country to near West Kilpatrick on the Clyde. This wall was the northern limit of the empire ; and it was the strip of territory on the south of it which the Romans occupied in Scotland, and even there they were never long permitted to hold undisputed possession. By the middle of the fourth century the attacks of the Picts, the Scots, and other tribes upon the Roman 8 EARLY HISTORY. province had become extremely harassing. In 407 Constantine passed over to Gaul, withdrawing all the available forces in Britain, and the Imperial sway ceased in Scotland. The Roman occupation of a portion of the country had failed to subdue the native tribes, and it left no abiding impression. When the Romans left the island, the tribes occupying the part of the country which had been subdued, formed the small kingdom of Strathclyde, h'ing between the two Romtan walls. After it was cut off from the north of F-iigland by the encroach- ment of the Saxons, it comprised the counties of Ayr, Lanark, Renfrew, and. parts of Dumbarton, Stirling, and Dumfries. The small state was ex- posed to the incessant attacks of the Saxons from the south, and the Picts and Scots from the north and the west. Although the Britons struggled hard to defend their kingdom, it finally became absorbed in the rest of Scotland early in the eleventh century. The Picts were of the same race of tribes as tho. " whom the Romans called Caledonians. In the sixth century they occupied the whole country on the north of the Firths of Forth and Clyde, excepting the district of ArgN'le which was held by the Scots. Southward of the Forth, in Galloway the inhabitants were Picts, that is, Celtic tribes. The Scots from Ireland seem to have come and gone at different times ; but their final settlement in Argyleshire and the neighbouring isles was in the beginning of the sixth century. This body of Scots consisted of the three sons of Ere — Lorn, Fergus, and Angus — a tribe who sometimes fought among themselves, and often came into STRUGCrLF.'le ; and in 844, he mounted the throne of the Picts at Scone. This was the natural result of the long struggle of the various tribes, as the accumulating force of circumstances and a common religion tended to a greater concentration of power under some one of the chief tribes. The actual kingdom which Kenneth McAlpin obtained only comprised a limited part of modern Scotland : it consisted of Argyle, the counties of Perth, Fife, and parts of Forfar, Dumbarton, FOUNDATION OF THE MONARCHY. II and Stirling, with Scone, the Mount of Belief and Royalty, as its chief seat. The districts beyond this j:entre on the north-east, the north, the west, and south, were only gradually and with extreme difficulty subdued as the nation developed to its ultimate limits. After the establishment of the historic monarchy under McAlpin, the reigning monarchs were called kings of the Picts, then kings of Alban. Not till the tenth century was any part of the country called Scotland, but from the opening of the eleventh century this name gradually came to be applied to the whole country. II INTRODUCTION OF CHRISTIANITY. The chief tribes, and the centre of the historic kingdom, having thus been indicated, some account must be given of the introduction of a new rehgion. Christianity was a prime factor in the development of Scotland. It became interwoven with the government, the institutions, the education, the literature, the music, the amusements, and the life of the people. Its influence operated from the cradle to the grave. St. Ninian is amongst the earliest of the new teachers whose names have come down to us. He was the son of a British prince, and was educated in the Christian faith at Rome. His life was written by Ailred, a monk of the twelfth century, but it contains little reliable information. Bede lived nearer to the saint's time, and records that Ninian converted the southern Picts, and built a church of stone, which was unusual among them. This church was in Galloway at a spot called Whithern, and it developed into a monastery. St. Ninian restored the sight of a king of Strath- clyde, on whom God had inflicted the punishment of ST. NIMAN. ST. KENTIGERN. I3 blindness for his opposition, and when thus subdued and healed, the king became a friend of the saint and a ready supporter of the servants of Christ. He died in 432, and was buried in his own church at Whithern. His biographer affirmed that the relics of the saint worked many miracles ; that at his tomb the sick were cured, the lepers cleansed, the blind restored to sight, and the wicked terrified. We know from later sources that the relics of St. Ninian were objects of veneration down to the Reformation. The best evidence of the mission of St. Ninian in Scotland, and his place in the grateful remembrance of the people, is shown in the number of the church^es dedicated to his name. Churches were dedicated to him in twenty-five counties stretching from Wigton to Sutherland; upwards of sixty dedications to him have been recorded. In the middle of the sixth century St. Kentigern, better known as St. Mungo, began his work amongst the Britons of Strathclyde, where he encountered many difficulties. The king and the people were all heathens ; and in spite of St. Mungo's energy and miracles, King Morken scorned his life and doctrine, and publicly resisted him. When the saint asked for some supplies of food to the monastery, the king spurned his petition, and inflicted new injuries on him. He said to the saint — " Cast thy care upon the Lord and He will sustain thee, as thou hast often taught others, that they who fear God shall lack nothing. Thou though thou fearest God and keepeth His com- mandments art in want of everything, even thy necessary food ; while to me, who neither seek the 14 INTRODUCTION OF CHRISTIANITY. Kingdom of God nor the righteousness thereof, all prosperouo things are added, and plenty of all sorts smileth upon me. Thy faith therefore is vain, and thy teaching false." The saint pleaded that it was part of the inscrutable ways of God to afflict just and holy men in this life, while the wicked were exalted by wealth. The king rose in a passion and said — '' What more desirest thou ? If trusting in thy God, without human hands, thou canst transfer to thy mansion all the corn in my barns, I yield with a glad mind and gift, and for the future w411 be devotedly obedient to thy requests." When evening came the saint prayed earnestly. Then behold ! the rain poured down in torrents, the w'aters of the Clyde rapidly rose into a flood and overflowed its banks where the king's barns were and carried them down the stream to the saint's dwelling, beside the Mollindinor burn w'hich flows through Glasgow. But the miracle only enraged the king, who uttered many reproaches against the saint ; and when he approached, the king rushed on him and struck him with his heel, and smote him to the ground upon his back. The time had come to manifest the Divine power on behalf of the injured saint. As Cathen, the king's adviser, had instigated the matter, so after mounting his horse to ride off, and laughing at the saint's discomfiture, his prancing steed stumbled and the rider fell backward, broke his neck, and expired. The king also was smitten with a swelling in his feet which ended in his death, and the same disease afflicted his family till it became extinct But the saint was forced to leave Strathclyde, ST. COLUMBA. 15 and went to Wales, where he laboured many years. Afterward, when King Rederech reigned in Strath- clyde, the saint returned and spent the remaining years of his life amongst the Britons. He died about the beginning of the seventh century. Under the name of St. Mungo, he became the patron saint of Glasgow, and was v/idely known and much revered in Scotland. His tomb and relics at Glasgow were objects of intense veneration down to the period of the Reformation. The most renowned of the saints who introduced Christianity among the tribes of Scotland was St. Columba. All have recognised in him the features of a veritable hero. He was born of royal race at Gratan, in the county of Donegal in Ireland, on the 7th of December, 521. He was educated in his native land ; and about the year 553, he founded the monastery of Durrow, his chief institution in Ireland. It appears that he was connected with, some of the political disputes of his countrymen ; but he left Ireland with- out any stigma on his character, and frequently re- visited it, and everywhere met with the highest respect. In 563, Columba with twelve companions embarked in a wicker boat covered with hides, and after touching at Islay, landed and settled on the small isle of lona. It lay on the confines of the territories of the Scotch and Pictish tribes : Connal, the king of the former, gifted it to Columba ; and shortly after its possession was confirmed to him by Brude, the king of the Picts. There he founded his chief monastery, and thence sent forth missionaries to convert the rude tribes of l6 INTRODUCTION OF CHRISTIANITY. the north of Scotland. The Scots of Argyle were then nominally Christians, but the Picts were not, and it was among the latter that Columba mostly laboured. He often visited the mainland, and gained an influence over its chiefs. In the year 565, Columba sought out the Pictish king's seat, which was on the south side of the river Ness, on or near the old Castle hill of Inver- ness. Brude in his pride had shut the gate against the holy man, but the saint, by the sign of the cross and knocking at it, caused it to fly open : Columba and his companions then entered, the king advanced and met them, and received the saint with due respect, and ever after honoured him. Columba and his disciples preached the gospel among the Picts, baptized them, and founded many monasteries. Every monastery consisted of a body of clergy, who from these centres went out in circuits among the surround mg tribes to teach and convert them, and returned to their common home for shelter and support ; and in this way they gradually spread over the country. A few incidents connected with Columba's action among the people ma)- be narrated. When on a visit in the land of the Picts, he heard of a famous well which the heathen people worshipped. It had many evil qualities, and those who drank of it or washed in it were smitten with leprosy or some severe infirmity. Having learned the state of the case, he went boldly to the well, and then the Magi rejoiced, as they thought that he, too, would suffer from the touch of the baneful water ; but the saint raised his hands and invoked the name of Christ, then washed his hands, Columba's institution of ion a. 17 and with his disciples, drank of the water which he had blessed. Henceforth the demons departed from the well, and it never after injured any one, but, on the contrary, became famous for curing diseases. In the account of St. Columba's life there is no evidence of an organised heathen priesthood in Scot- land ; he was more engaged in fighting demons than Druidical priests. He went out one day to a seques- tered spot in the woods to pray ; and when he began a host of black demons suddenly attacked him with iron darts : " But he, single-handed, against innumerable foes of such a nature, fought with the utmost bravery, having received the armour of the Apostle Paul. Thus the contest was maintained on both sides for the greater part of the day, nor could the demons, countless though they were, vanquish him, nor was he able by himself to drive them from the island, till the angels of God, as the saint afterward told certain persons, and they few in number, came to his aid, when the demons in terror gave way." The sign of the cross was much employed. It was common to cross tools and implements before using them ; and in Columba's time there was an extensive use of charms which were produced by his blessing on a great variety of objects. The form of Christianity introduced was essentially monastic. As Columba's institution of lona was the centre of religious life in Scotland for two centuries, it presents the best example. The monastery of lona consisted of a church with its altar and recesses, a refectory and kitchen, the huts of the monks, and the abbot's house, in which St. Columba read and wrote, l8 INTRODUCTION OF CHRISTIANITY, having several attendants awaiting his orders. All the buildings were inclosed b}' a wall, which was intended more for the restraint of the monks than for security. Outside the wall there were erections for cows, horses, grain, and agricultural implements ; for the monks heartily engaged in the labour of the field. The church and all the buildings were primitive structures formed of wood. The Abbot was the head of the community, and his authority extended over all the monasteries and churches founded by Columba. Bishops in lona and Scotland in the lifetime of Columba, and for two centuries after, were subject to the Abbots of lona. St. Columba named his own successor, and afterwards a preference was given in the election of the Abbot to the founder's kin. Thus the sentiment of clanship entered strongly into the constitution of the Colum- bian monasteries. The members of the monastery were summoned to the church b}' a bell, and at night they carried lan- terns. The chief service was the solemn mass, when the offices were chanted and certain saints com- memorated by name. On special occasions the Abbot summoned the monks by the toll of the bell to the church in the dead of night, addressed them, asked their prayers, then kneeled himself at the altar and pra\'ed. Besides the religious services, the stated employ- ment of the Columbian community was reading, writing, and manual labour. The manual labour was mainly connected with agriculture ; and there is ground for believing that they were the best agri- INFLUENCE OF THE EARLY SAINTS. 19 culturists of the period. Their example of peaceful toil had a beneficial influence upon the people. lona continued to prosper, and occasionally sent forth men of energy, who founded monasteries beyond the bounds of Scotland. In its day it performed good service, and contributed to the civilisation of the people. In spite of its solitary position evil days came upon it, for in 801 the monastery was burned by the Danes ; again in 806, they landed on the island and slew sixty-eight of the inhabitants ; and they returned in 815, and killed a number of the monks. By this time the influence of lona had from other causes begun to decline, and ere the end of the ninth century Dunkeld had become the chief religious centre. The influence of the early saints and their imme- diate successors upon the subsequent religious feelings of the people was remarkable, for till the Reformation their deaths and miracles were continually comme- morated as part of the worship of the nation. Their shrines and relics became objects of extreme vene- ration, and some relics were believed to possess marvellous powers. They took an extensive hold on local history and the nomenclature of the country ; the old markets all over the kingdom were named after them ; the wells, the caves, the rocks, and the moun- tains, often bear traces of the early saints. The new religion tended to draw the people more together, and contributed greatly to develope the unity of the natioa III. STATE OF THE COUNTRY TO THE END OF THE ELEVENTH CENTURY. After the historic kini;"dom was founded, and while its development was proceeding from the centre out- ward, it was persistently attacked by external enemies. The Danes and Norwegians, under the name of Norse- men, threatened its total overthrow. Though these struggles cannot be fully detailed in this volume, it is requisite to mention them. Thus there were an internal and an external conflict going on at the same time. Kenneth IMc.Mpin died in S6o, and was succeeded by his brother Donald, who reigned four )-ears. Con- stantine I., a son of Kenneth, then ascended the throne, and had to struggle against the Norsemen. In the middle of tlie ninth centur\- these ruthless warriors extended their destructive ravages along the east and west coasts of Scotland ; the\- entered b}- the firths and inlets, and penetrated far into the interior of the countr}-, ransacked it on every side, inflicted much suft'ering and privation on the people, and pro- longed the reign of confusion. They obtained a STRUGGLE WITH THE NORSEMEN. 21 footing in Caithness, Sutherland, and other parts along the coasts, where they established lasting memorials of their prowess in the mcm(My of suc- ceeding generations. In 877 Constantine I. was slain in a conflict with the Norsemen on the coasts of l-'ifc. Toward the end of this century they advanced into the heart of the kingdom, and in 900 King Donald, when fighting against them, was slain at Uunnotter. Constantine II. then mounted the throne ; and in 904 he defeated the Norsemen and slew their leader in Strathcrn. In 906 the king held a national council on the Mote Hill of Scone, in which the bishop and the jicople vowed to observe the laws and discii)line of the faith. Con- stantine retired to the monastery of St. Andrews in 943, and Malcolm I. succeeded to the throne. He attempted to extend the bounds of the kingdom beyond the Spey, but failed ; and after a reign of eleven years, he was slain at I'^etteresso, in Kincar- dineshire. Indulf, a son of Constantine II., ascended the throne in 954. He took ICdinburgh and added it to the kingdom. In 962 he disappeared from the scene, and a contest for the throne arose between Duff and Colin, which terminated on the death of the latter in 971. Kenneth II., a son of Malcolm I., then .suc- ceeded to the throne. He immediately threw up entrenchments at the fordable points f)f the river Forth, and endeavouretl to extend the kingdom south- ward. He invaded Northumberland, and struggled hard to consolidate the kingdom. After a reign of twenty-four years, he was slain at Fettercau-n, in Kincardineshire. 22 THE COVXTRY TO EXD OF IlTH CENTURY. Constantine III. mounted the throne, but his right was contested by Kenneth McDufif; and after a struggle Constantine fell in the second year of his reign. McDuff reigned eight }-ears ; and was slain in Strathern. He was succeeded by Malcolm II., who ascended the throne in 1005. Malcolm II. began his reign by an invasion of Northumberland ; but he was defeated, and many of his followers were slain. He next attempted to extend his inlluence over the northern region of Scotland by the marriage of his daughter with Sigurd, the ruler of the Orkney Island.s. In lOiS he mustered his army and again invaded Northumberland. A battle was fought at Carham, on the banks of the Tweed ; and Malcolm gained a complete victory ; a multitude of the enem\- perished in the rout. The result of this battle was the cession of Lothian and the territory up to the Tweed. In his reign the kingdom of Strathclyde was incorporated into Scotland ; and the kingdom had reached its permanent frontier on the south side, as it stood when the great struggle with England began two centuries and a half later. Malcolm died in 1034. He was succeeded by a grandson, Duncan, but other aspirants to the throne disputed his right ; and he soon became involved in a contest with the local chiefs bexond the Spey. After a severe struggle, Duncan was slain by Macbeth, near Elgin. Macbeth, the local chief o( INIoray, then advanced southward and mounted the throne, and for five years reigned in peace. In 1045 ^^^^ adherents of the late king attempted to drive him from the throne, but he MACBETH. MALCOLM CANMORE. 23 utterly defeated them. He was an able and vigorous ruler, and the kingdom enjoyed unusual tranquillity under his s\va\'. The late King Duncan left two sons, and their mother was a sister of Siward, Earl of Northumberland. The eldest son Malcolm, with the assistance of his uncle, collected an army in 1054, and marched northward to attack Macbeth. A battle ensued around the hill fort of Dunsinnane, where Macbeth had taken up his position, but the action was not decisive. The war was carried beyond the river Dee. On the 15th of August, 1057, Macbeth was defeated and slain at Lumphanan, in Aberdeenshire. The contest was continued by Lulach, the local chief of Moray, who was killed in Strathbogie, the following spring. Thus Malcolm III., called Canmorc, obtained the kingdom, and mounted the throne in 1058. He attempted to extend his power over Northumberland and Cumberland — districts which had been the scene of many contests for centuries, and were not as yet incorporated with England. One effect of the Norman Conquest of England was to drive a number of the Saxon people northward into Scotland. In 1067 Edgar, the heir of the Saxon line of kings, his mother and his two sisters, came to Scotland, and were welcomed by Malcolm. He married Margaret, one of Edgar's sisters, and hence became much interested in the claims of the Saxon prince. Malcolm HI. lent his aid to the disaffected chief of the north of England ; and he invaded Northumber- land five times. In the last of these, when attacking 24 THE COUXTRY TO END OF TlTH CENTURY. the Castle of Alnwick, he was slain along with his eldest son on the 13th of November, 1093 ; and thus ended his reign of thirty-five years. At his death Malcolm left five sons — Duncan, the eldest by his first wife ; b)- Margaret, his second wife, Ethelrcd, who was lay-abbot of Dunkeld, and Earl of Fife; Edgar, Alexander, and David. But Donald Bane, a brother of Malcolm III., claimed the throne, and a conflict arose between him and Malcolm's sons. On the death of Malcolm, Donald Bane imme- diately took possession of the kingdom, and held it for six months, when he was driven out by Duncan, Malcolm's son. After a reign of six months Duncan was slain ; and Donald Bane again mounted the throne, and reigned three years and a half But in 1097, Malcolm's eldest son by Margaret, Edgar, was placed on the throne, by the aid of a Saxon army led by his uncle ; and he reigned nine years and five months. In the preceding pages I have briefly indicated how the historic kingdom was gradually developed outward from Scone and the banks of the Tay. It was at a later period that Edinburgh became the centre of government ; it never was the centre of the kingdom. At the end of the eleventh century the Celtic race occupied the greater part of Scotland. There were Saxons in the south, and along the eastern coast, and in the course of five centuries of contact the}' had partly commingled with the Celtic people, though not so completely as to sink their own language and customs. It was different in the west of Scotland and in the Western Islands EARLY CELTIC ART. 25 where great numbers of Danes and Norwegians were absorbed by the Celtic race, and their language continued in these regions. Only a brief reference to early Celtic art can be given. A few vestiges of primitive church building still remain in the Western Islands. The round towers of Brechin an^' Abernethy present an in- teresting type of early architectural structure. They show a striking resemblance to the round towers of Ireland. The round tower of Brechin stands at the south-west angle of the church, but was originally sepa- rate from it. The chief characteristic of Celtic art is its elaborate and beautiful ornamentation. This feature appears on weapons and personal ornaments and other objects. The peculiar style of ornament occurs on the early sculptured stones of Scotland. This class of monuments is chiefly found to the north of the Tay, and is believed to belong to the eighth, ninth, and tenth centuries. IV. THE NATION IN THE TWELFTH AND THH^TEENTH CENTURIES. The Norman conquest of England had the eftect of forcing a number of Saxons into Scotland, and a little later a small number of Norman nobles frequented the court of the Scotch kings, and received many grants of land by charter from the Crown. In this way legal feudalism was slowly introduced and spread over the kingdom, though it was long and bitterly opposed in some parts of the country. But before the end of the thirteenth ccntur\- feudalism was esta- blished in the Lowlands ; and Lowland Scotch — an English dialect — was gradually encroaching on the Celtic tongue. This dialect appeared in Lothian and the south-east in the sixth century, and spread round the north-east coasts as the Celtic language receded ; and this change of language would have proceeded in Scotland though there had been no Norman conquest of England. On the death of King Edgar at Edinburgh in 1 107 his brother, Alexander I., succeeded to the throne ; while his younger brother. Earl David, claimed the THE KING AND THE CHURCH. 27 portion of the kingdom A\'hich lies to the south of the Firths of Forth and Clyde. This arrangement con- tinued during the reign of Alexander I. Shortly after his accession the king had to face a rising of the northern inhabitants, which he boldly met and sup- pressed. COINS OF AT.F.XANDF.R I. The relation of the Crown and the Church was then closer than in modern times, and one of the king's first acts was to nominate a bishop for St. Andrews. In 1 107 he api)ointcd Turgot, a monk of Durham, to the see, and immediately the Arch- bishop of York claimed a right to perform the cere- mony of consecration, but the king and the Scotch clergy maintained that he had no authority over St. 28 THE NATION IN 12TH AND I^^TH CENTURIES. Andrews. At last a compromise was effected, leaving the disputed point unsettled; and in 1109 Turcot was consecrated b)' the Archbishop of \'ork. The new bishop did not find himself liappy in the See of St. Andrews, and he threatenetl to go to Rome and settle all difficulties, but he died in 111 5. The bishopric remained five years vacant, but in 1 120 the king nominated Kadmer, a monk of Canter- bur}', who was elected by the Scotch clergy and the people. The point of consecration was revived, but this time the Archbishop of Canterbury claimed the right to perform it. Eadmcr thought that the rights of his mother church extended over all the British Islands ; but the king rejected this view, and declined to listen to it. The monk was as determined as the king, ami at last ho declared, " Not for all Scotland will I renounce being a monk of Canterbur\'." As he could not agree with the king nor the people, he left St. Andrews and returned to his mother church. In 1123 Alexander appointed the Prior of Scone to the See of St. Andrews, but the king died before he was consecrated. In 11 28 the ceremony of consecration was performed by the Archbishop of York, and there was an express condition which reserved the rights of both sees. The claim of feudal lordship over Scot- land had not yet arisen, but it is obvious that if the dependence of the Scotch Church on the English Church could have been established, it would have affected the independence of the kingdom. .Alexander I. died in 1 134, and was succeeded by his brother, David I. The kingdom was again placed under one head, and the era of the introduction of INTRODUCTION OF NORMAN FEUDALISM. 29 Norman feudalism had commenced. A large part of Scotland as yet hung loosely on the central authority ; the country beyond the river Spey was hardl)' under the Scottish Crown, and Galloway was rather a tributary than an incorporated part of the kingdom. The local chiefs were naturally averse to the planting of Norman nobles among them, though these adventurers were favourites at the Court of David I. During his government of the southern part of the kingdom he had made some progress in introducing feudalism by giving his new followers and favourites grants of land by charter, which dispossessed the real owners of the land. In 11 30 the people of Moray, under their local chiefs, Angus and Malcolm, rose against the king. They advanced to Stracathro in Forfarshire, where the king's forces met them. Angus was slain and his followers were overthrown, but his brother Malcolm retreated and prolonged the contest for four years. In 1134 the king in person proceeded to the disaffected north, and with his army succeeded in overawing the local chiefs, and then pro- claimed the province of Moray forfeited to the Crown. He parcelled out large portions of the land of Moray among the Normans and adventurers who followed his banner. In 1 135 Henry I. of England died, and bequeathed his dominions to his daughter; but Stephen, a nephew of the late king, contested her right to the throne, and he proved successful. David I. naturally supported the claims of his relative the queen, and led an army across the border. Many of the northern castles of England opened their gates to him ; when he advanced 30 THE NATION IN 12TH AND l^TH CENTURIES. to Durham, Stephen approached with a large army, and the two kings confronted each other for fourteen days, and finally concluded a peace. But David I., besides his obligation to support the queen's claim, had a strong desire to annex the northern counties of England, aiui some hope of succeeding to the throne of England himself So earh' in 1138 he again led an army across the Tweed. The defenders of Knglantl nuistered at Northallerton, planted their standard, and prepared for battle. On the Scotch side the Gallo\\a\' men led the attack, and rushed with such force on the enem\- that the front ranks reeled and were driven back in confusion. Ikit the English, supported by their bowmen, re-formed, and after a severe contest the Scents were completely defeated and man\' of them slain. Peace was con- cluded the following year. The remaining xears of David's reign were devoted to the various reforms which he introduced into the Church and the government. He reorganised the external polit\- of the Church, encouraged to the utmost the settlement oC a class of Norman nobles in his kingdom, and endeavoured to assist and protect the borough communities. In his reign the Church of Scotland was brought into accord with the prevailing form of Christendom. He founded or reorganised most of the bishoprics and monasteries, and endowed them liberal!}' ; he was the first king in Scotland who enforced the pay- ment of tithes. The division of parishes and a parochial organisation began to assume form. But the monastic ideal cramped the development of David's EDUCATION. CHARTERS. 31 reforms. The kin^^s and the nobles granted much land to their favourite churches and monasteries, with all the rights then attachetl to it, and for several gene- rations this tended to jiromote the prosperity of the kingdom, as the monks were the best agriculturists of the country. All the education of the age was in the hands of the Church. The chancellor of each diocese was entru.sted with the .supervision of the .schools within his bound.s. At this period there were schools in Abernethy, .St. Andrews, lierwick, Perth, Stirling, Ayr, Aberdeen, and other places. The literature of the learned and all official documents were written in Latin ; the literature of the iK'0[)le consisted of ballads and songs, traditional tales and legends, which were orally learned and transmitted from generation to generation with such additional varia- tions as imagination and circumstances suggested to the national mind. Charters were first granted to monasteries and churches as title-deeds of their lands. Then the kings granted charters conveying lands to Nor- man and Saxon nobles with despotic powers over the inhabitants on these lands. From this starting- point legal feudalism was gradually developed in Scotland into a .system unsurpassed in any nation. And from then till now its effects upon the [)eoplc have been felt, but it was most |)alpably apparent in the power and lawlessness of the Scotch nobles, and the consequent weakness of the central govern- ment of the kingdom. As there were rights of property in land before the COINS OF DAVID I. COURT OF THE BOROUGHS. 33 era of granting charters, so the inhabitants of towns had their recognised customary rights long ere they received royal charters. The earliest charters of royal boroughs always implied the existence of a community, and the charters simply recognised towns which already existed. But the Crown charter con- ferred on the citizens of the boroughs special rights and privileges of trade, local organisation, and govern- ment. Berwick, Edinburgh, Perth, Stirling, and Roxburgh were amongst the earliest royal boroughs, but the greater number of the boroughs received charters from David I. In the twelfth century the boroughs to the north of the Grampians were associated for trade purposes. In the south they had a union called the Court of the Four Boroughs, which included Edinburgh, Stirling, Berwick, and Roxbui^h. The members of this Court exercised legislative and judicial functions, and it has been inferred that they framed the code called the Burgh Laws which was sanctioned in the reign of David I. It is the most complete of all the early fragments of our legislation. This union gradually extended, and in 1405 delegates from all the boroughs south of the river Spey were ordered to assemble once a year to treat on their common affairs. Under the name of the Convention of Royal Boroughs it still exists, though most of its powers have departed. These trading communities continued, and struggled to develop their organisations, the industry and the commerce of the kingdom. They afforded a source of revenue to the Crown, and the citizens were generally loyal supporters of the throne. 34 THE NATION IN 12TH AND l^TH CENTURIES. This was the church-building era in Scotland, and and most of the remarkable abbeys and cathedrals were erected or begun before the end of the thirteenth century. Some of them were a long time in* process of building, and exhibit features of various styles of architecture. The Abbey of Melrose shows these varied characteristics. David I. died in May, 1153, and was succeeded by his grandson, Malcolm IV., a boy of twelve years. He was crowned at Scone, but shortly after there was a rising in Argyle and the west, and the war continued through the winter among the mountains. There was also great disaffection in Galloway, and the royal army was repeatedly repulsed ; but at last the local chief, Fergus, was subdued, and then Galloway was placed in a kind of feudal subjection to the Crown. Still the inhabitants for long after retained their own local laws and customs. In 1 161 the people of Moray revolted, as they resented the intrusion of foreign nobles placed amongst them by the government, and the new taxes thus imposed upon them. Malcolm marched into the province with an army, and removed many of the people from the land of their birth, and placed them in other parts of the country among the mountains. Malcolm died in December, 1 165, and his brother William the Lion, then mounted the throne. The Scotch kings had long desired to annex the northern counties of England, and the disaffection of Henry's own children presented an opportunity to William. But Northumberland and Cumberland were then naturally almost absorbed into England. In 1173 WILLIAM THE LION CAPTURED. 35 William led an army across the border and wasted the north of England. The following year he again invaded England. When amusing him.self he was taken prisoner by a party of English barons, and his capture entailed serious disaster on Scotland. Henry 11. had now a chance of obtaining the feudal superiority over Scotland which he eagerly desired. So he demanded an unqualified admission of this, and William gave it as a ransom for his personal freedom; and five of the chief castles of COINS OK Wn.I.IAM THE T.ION. Scotland were to be placed in Henry's hands. This treaty continued in force for fifteen years, and to the day of his death Henry H. evinced a desire to cling to its fulfilment. In 1189, Richard I. ascended the throne, and annulled all the concessions extorted from William by Henry ; the Scots paid to England ten thousand marks of silver, and the independence of the kingdom and the castles were restored to them. Internal conflicts in the kin-dom continued. The 36 THE NATION IN 123'// AND I^TH CENTURIES. Norman settlers in Galloway were driven out and slain; and in 1175, the king entered it with an army and subdued Gilbert, the local chief. In 11 79 William invaded the remote district of Ross, subdued it, and erected two castles to support his authority. From 1 181 to 11 88, the districts of Moray and Caith- ness were in revolt, and the local leader, MacWilliam, aspired to the throne of Scotland. In 1187 the king mustered all the feudal force of the kingdom and marched to Inverness, with the intention of pursuing his enemy into the remote parts of the Highlands. William remained at Inverness, and a part of his army proceeded in search of MacWilliam. They encountered him in the upper valley of Strathspey ; an engagement ensued on a moor, and MacWilliam was defeated and slain. For a time peace was restored in the north. But in 1196 the king was again in Moray and Inverness extinguishing a rebellion; and in I2ii,hewas among the mountains of Ross suppressing a rising, which was terminated two years later, when its leader was taken and executed. William's reign was marked by the progress of feudalism and an increase of the ro)'al power. Charters had become necessary to prove the rights of property. He reigned nearly fift\' years, and died in 1214 ; and was succeeded by his son, Alexander. Shortly after Alexander II. ascended the throne, he joined the English barons against King John, crossed the border, and invested the castle of Norham. John was extremely wroth, and advanced POLICY OF THE KINGS. 37 to the north with a minfrlcd host of mercenaries. Alexander M'ithdrew, and John followed him toward Edinburgh, burning Roxburgh, Dunbar, and Had- dington, in his march. Alexander encamped on the river Esk, a few miles south of Edinburgh ; but John was afraid to risk a battle, and retreated and burned the Abbey of Coldingham, and kindled with his own hands the house where he slept the preceding night, as the signal for the burning of Berwick, The line of the marches between England and Scotland had become pretty well marked. In 1237 a definite arrangement was come to, and from that date the efforts to extend the Scotch frontier southward ceased. But in the north and the west, and in Galloway risings were still frecjuent. In 1222, the king invaded Argyle, subdued it, and placed a portion of it under feudal subjection to the Crown ; but the northern part of it remained under the Lord of Lome. The ultimate aim of the policy of the kings was to extend their authority to the utmost limits of the Highlands and Islands ; and in the midst of an expedition with this object, Alexander II. died in the Isle of Kerrera, on July 8, 1249. He was succeeded by his son, a boy of eight years of age, who was immediately crowned at Scone under the title of Alexander III. During his minority the nobles entered on the policy of faction and ambition which figured so darkly in the subse- quent history of the kingdom. The chief parties were the nobles of the north and west, the most potent of whom was Comyn, Earl of Menteith. The Comyns were a numerous and united group, and H acq's invasion. 39 many of the old Scotch chiefs adhered to diein ; the other parly were niostl)' eomieeted with tlie south of Scothmd, and their foremost men were Alan Durward, justiciar of the kingdom, the ICarl of March, and the Steward of Scothuid. The latter party at every turn showetl a ilesire to forward tlie interest of the kin^s of ICnjj^land, in the liope of thereby securing their own hold upon the land of Scotland. The repeated attacks of the Norsemen were noticed in the preceding pages. The Islands of Orkney and Siictland were dependencies of Norway — ruled by a local chief; the Western Islands, were also claimed by her ; and on the mainland, to the north-west of the Moray Firth and (ilenmore, there was a region forming a kind of debateable land, which the kings of Scotland had been long alteni[)ting to subdue. When Alexander I If. attained the age of twenty-one he announced his intention to subject the Western Isles, and the war was commenced by the local chiefs of Ross. lUit Ilaco, the king of Norway, considered this pressure on the Western Isles as an encroachment on his rights, and prepared for war. In July, 1263, he embarked for the Orkney Islands with the most powerful armament that had ever steered from the ports of Norway. lie plundered several places in his course, and the main fleet anchored in the Firth of Clyde between the Island of Arran and the coast of Argyle.shire. The Scots proposed and obtained a truce, with the aim 01 gaining time, and when winter approached it was ended. The elements of nature were unfavourable 40 THE NATTOiSr IN I2TH AND l^TH CI-NTURIES. to Haco, and a tempest arose and disabled his great fleet. Some of his ships were stranded near the village of Largs, while the heights above the shore were crowded with the Scots, ready to attack the crews. Next day Haco landed with a strong reinforcement, to bring o(T his men from the shore, and a sharp engagement ensued. The Norwegians fought bravely, COINS OF ALEX AN PER II. AND III. and at last the remnant of his stranded men gained their ships. Haco, in a few da}-s steered for Orkney ; and on the 15th of December, 1263, he died. When the tidings of his death reached the govern- ment of Scotland^ it was immediately resolved to reduce the Western Islands to subjection. Alex- ander HI. sent an army into the Isles, and the local DEATH OF THE ROYAL CHILDREN. 4 1 chiefs were expelled, slain, aiui iiant^cd ; and the Earls of Mar and Buchan, and Alan Durward, returned with the spoil of the Islands. In 1266 a treaty was concluded with Norway, which ceded to Scotland all the islands off the coasts of North Britain ; but the Orkney and Shetland Islands remained attached to the Crown of Norway till toward the end of the fifteenth century. The remaining years of Alexander's reign were peaceful. He had a .son and a daughter, both married, and the prospects of the nation were exceedingly bright ; but they both died within a few weeks of each other, and left the king childless. The difficulty was at once seen, and a national council was immediately summoned. It assembled on the 5th of February, 1284, and there were present twelve earls, eleven bishops, and twenty-five barons, and they bound themselves in the name c^ the nation to support the right of the king's grand-daughter, Margaret, the Maid of Norway, as the heiress of the Crown of Scotland. On the 15th of March, 1286, when the king was riding in the night along the coast of Fife, near Kinghorn, he was thrown from his horse and killed. A sad and mournful end ; the lamentation was universal, and all looked forward to the future with dismay. The last king of the Celtic race slept with his fathers, and the Crown of a far-descended line fell to a weakly infant. A meeting of the nobles and clergy was held at Scone, on the 2nd of April, 1286, when six guardians were elected to govern the kingdom. Several of the -^m \ TREATY WITH ENGLAND. 43 nobles aspired to the throne, which they considered vacant. Robert Bruce entered into a bond with a number of Scotch and English nobles for the purpose of supporting his own claim to the Crown. It is uncertain whether Edward I. knew of this ; but he had a project of his own. He had a son, and if his son could be married to the Maid of Norway, he imagined that all would go right. He therefore applied to the Pope to sanction the marriage of the two children ; and a papal bull authorising it was issued in November, 1289. A treaty between England and Scotland was concluded at Brigham, in March, 1290, which sanctioned the marriage of the royal children. In this treaty the complete independence of Scotland was fully recognised and strictly guarded. Edward I. quickly equipped a ship to transport the young queen from Norway. In due time the ship sailed from Norway with the queen on board. He despatched agents to Orkney to meet her, and sent jewels into Scotland to bedeck her. But the child died just before she reached the Orkney Islands, in September, 1290; and thus perished the hopes which Edward had associated with his marriage project V WAR OF INDEPENDENCE.— WALLACE AND BRUCE. The nation then found itself without an heir to the throne in the direct Hne of succession. The chief nobles who aspired to the Crown were eagerly looking for supporters ; but the king of England had resolved to decide the fate of Scotland, and the current of events seemed favourable to him. On the first rumour of the queen's death the Bishop of St. Andrews sent a letter to Edward I., suggesting his interference in the affairs of Scotland, and this was the only invitation that he got to settle the succes- sion to the Crown. Indeed, Edward I. had already formed his scheme, chosen his own path, and directed his energy to its accomplishment with great delibera- tion. He issued writs commanding his barons to attend him at Norham on the 3rd of June, 1291 ; thus he prepared for any cmergenc)' which might arise ; while he invited the Scotch nobles and clergy to a con- ference at Norham on the loth of May, to which they agreed. I'he conference was opened by an address from the Chief Justice of England, in which his lordship strongly asserted that Edward I. was EDWARD I. CLAIMED FEUDAL SUPERIORITY. 45 the Overlord of Scotland, and, therefore, he appealed to the Scots to acknowledge this, that the settlement of the great matter before them might be facilitated. The Scots replied that they were not aware if such a right of feudal superiority belonged to him, and requested time to consult with the absent nobles and the community of Scotland, before giving an answer ; and three weeks were allowed to them, and then all were to reassemble at Norham. A clear answ:r was to be given on the question of the superiority of Edward I., and all those opposing it were requested to produce the documents or other evidence on which they founded their objections. At the appointed time the meeting assembled on a green plain opposite the castle of Norham : eight claimants for the Crown of Scotland, and many of the Scotch nobles and clergy appeared. The Bishop of Bath began the business by reading the king's speech, which, after referring to the unhappy state of Scotland, proceeded, in a fine flowing style, to characterise the benignity of the prince who had come to her rescue. He then said that his master had allowed three weeks to the nobles and clergy of Scotland to bring forward whatever they could to impugn King Edward's right of superiority over that kingdom, and they had adduced nothing to invalidate it. But, in connection with this emphatic statement, one important fact has recently been brought to light, for a contemporary record proves that the community of Scotland lodged an answer in writing against Edward's demand of feudal superiority ; although it was not deemed relevant by Edward, 46 WAR OF INDEPENDENCE. as it was more conv^enicnt for him and the claimants of the Crown to ignore the people. Thus, when all disturbing questions were brushed aside, Edward announced that his title of Lord Superior was un- disputed, and therefore he intended to act in that character. Robert l^ruce was asked whether he was willing to pro.secute his claim to the Crown of Scot- land in the Court of the Lord Superior ; and Bruce, in the presence of the meeting, expressl}' recognised Edward as Lord Superior, and agreed to abide by his decision. The same question was put to each of the claimants, and they all consented, without reserve to the demand of Edward, and immediately sealed their consent by letters patent. Edward L quickly followed up this recognition of his power. He exacted the oath of allegiance from all the Scots at the meeting ; he commanded that all the castles in the kingdom should be surrendered into his hands ; he reconstituted the government of the country ; the old seal of Scotland was broken into four pieces, and a new one made, more suited to the circumstances. A herald then proclaimed the peace of King Edward, as Lord Paramount of the Realm. He next commanded the Guardians of Scotland to exact the oath of allegiance to him as Lord Superior of the Kingdom. Stations were fixed where attendance should be given, and the swearing- in process began on the 23rd of July, 1291, and was continued for fifteen days. Edward himself visited various stations, proceeding by Edinburgh, Stirling, Dunfermline, Kinghorn, and St. Andrews, and ACTION OF EDWARD I. 47 called upon all ranks to sign the rolls of homage as the vassals of their Lord Superior. All who were refractory were coerced by imprisonment and other punishments. In 1 29 1 eleven meetings were held, and at the last one, in August, Edward intimated that Bruce and Baliol should each select forty men as commissioners, while he should choose twenty-four or more if he thought fit, and these men were to meet in a body and consider the claims of the candidates for the Crown. At this meeting twelve candidates appeared and entered their claims ; and Edward requested the commissioners to consider them all attentively, and report to the next meeting, to be held on the 2nd of June, 1292. But none of the candidates affected the current of history, except Bruce and Baliol, and to enter minutely into the details of the scramble would be foreign to the aim of this volume. When the commissioners reassembled, the pro- ceedings which followed present the air of an admir- able piece of acting. The king first asked the Scotch commissioners to inform the Court by what laws and customs judgment should be given. They answered that, owing to difference of opinion among themselves and the importance of the cause, they were unable to come to a conclusion without deliberation, and therefore they sought the opinion of the English commissioners ; but they also declined to commit themselves till enlightened by an English parliament. Edward then adjourned the meeting to the 15th cif October, 1292, and declared that meanwhile he would consult the learned all over the world. 48 WAK OF INDEPENDENCE. Mail)' mootinq;s were held before the final decision was announced, l^ruce and Bahol argued their pleas at great length. When it became evident that Baliol would be preferred, Bruce presented a second claim for a part of the kingdtMii. and John de Hastings put in a similar one : these two in turn pleaded that the kingilom ought to be divided into three parts, and insisted that Scotland was partible like any other feudal fief But the most peculiar feature of the proceedings was the complete elimination of an\- reference to the peoi>le of Scotland. It seems never to have occurred io the grasping claimants that there lived amongst the vallews and mountains of Scotland a strcMig-willed race, habituated to independence and freci-lom, whose spirit must be broken ere even the decision of the great Lord-Superior could be of much avail. On the 17th of Noxembcr, IJ9J, in the castle of Berwick, lulward, before a large assemblage, delivered judgment in favour of Baliol. The vassal king then rendered homage to his superior, and orders were issued to invest him in his fief Baliol proceeded to Scone to be crowned, with a warrant from his Lord- Superior authorising the ceremony which was ac- cordingl}' performed on the 30th of November. Shortl\- after he passed into England, and there concluded the last act of the drama by rendering homage to Edward I. as the invested king of Scot- land. ^ When Baliol -returned to his kingdom he found himself among a pet^ple little disposed to submit to him or his Lord- Paramount. If at any moment he BALIOL PUT IN A HUMILIATING POSITION. 49 had fancied himself fortunate in accedint^ to the throne of Scotland he was speedily and rudely dis- abused. It does not appear that he was gifted with much talent, but he was thwarted at every turn as an unwelcome master. Indeed it was rumoured that the poor man was in terror of his life, as he was now far away from his threat lord and benefactor. The Lord-Superior soon had an opjiortunity of exhibiting- his power ; and he placed the vassal king in a most humiliating position. It had become known that the King's Courts were no longer supreme, as there was a higher authority which might reverse their decisions. A citizen of Berwick appealed to the Court of Kdward I. against a judgment of the late guardians of Scotland ; and it was followed by another, touching lands of the Earl of Fife, on which the Scotch Parlia- ment had given a decision, and Macduff, the defeated party, appealed to the Lord-Superior. Edward made it a condition that the king of Scotland must appear as a party, and he was summoned to the Bar of the House. Baliol was insulted before the English Parliament as a contumacious offender, who had failed to show due respect to this august assembly : accordingly it was proposed to deprive him of the means of wrong-doing by taking three of the chief castles of Scotland into the hands of the Lord- Superior, until his vassal, King John, should render proper satisfaction. In 1 294, a quarrel arose between the king of France and Edward I., and war was declared. Edward summoned King John and the Scotch nobles to join his army ; but instead of obeying they held a parlia- 50 WAR OF INDEPENDENCE. ment and dismissed all the Englishmen from the Court ; and appointed a committee of twelve members to conduct the government of the kingdom. The position of the nation was rapidly becoming perilous. In 1295, a treaty with France was concluded, in which Scotland and France agreed to assist each other against England. Shortly after, the Scots made two inroads upon the northern counties of England. But some of the nobles had joined the English, while many others only gave a wavering support to the national cause. Thus, at the outset, the people were placed at a disadvantage ; while Edward I. could command a far greater number of fighting men, and he acted with energy and decision. Edward determined to pounce upon Berwick, then the richest town in Scotland ; and in the spring of 1296 he marched northward with a well-equipped army. The citizens naturally resisted his attack, but they were soon overpowered, indiscriminately put to the sword, and eight thousand of the inhabitants ruthlessly massacred. The town was utterl\' ruined. Baliol now renouncctl his allegiance to Edward I., and declared war against him ; but he had little energ}', and he was placed in trying circumstances, so no effective resistance was offered to the invader at any point. r^rom Berwick Edward and his army proceeded toward Dunbar, where a straggling Scotch force was met and dispersed. The castles of Dunbar, Jedburgh, Roxburgh, and others in the line of his march, were surrendered to him. He reached Edinburgh on the 6th of June, attacked the castle, and shortly took it. kdwakd's invasion. 51 He continued his triumphal progress to LinHthgow and Stirhng, crossed the Forth unopposed, and, pro- ceeding by Perth, passed the Tay, and entered Forfarshire. At the castle of Brechin on the loth of July, 1296, the vassal King John came to his lord like a criminal suing for mercy, and submitted to Edward's pleasure. Then the documents considered necessary to degrade and dispossess him were drawn up and signed, and Baliol and his son were sent into iMigland prisoners. Edward advanced northward by Aberdeen, till he reached Elgin ; thence he returned by a higher route, calling at Rothes, Kildrummy Castle, and on to Brechin. When returning south he took away the Coronation Stone from Scone— the venerated Stone of Destiny — as he was extremely anxious to efface every vestige of the national and patriotic feeling of the Scots. He adopted measures for the government of the kingdom ; and having settled everything, he proceeded home with the Stone of Destiny as a memorial of his Conquest of Scotland and a suitable offering to Edward the Confessor. The seemingly complete dc[)ression of the Scots under the heel of the invader was the result of easily- understood circumstances, which have already been indicated. Thus hxlward I. obtained a footing in the kingdom through the disputed succession ; while many of the nobles who sh(uild have come to the front at this crisis as the natural leaders of the people, had joined the enemy, and left them helpless and forlorn. But the native race of Scotland keenly felt their position, and the demeanour of the English soldiers aroused their ire, hatred sprung up between them, and 52 WAR OF INDEPENDENCE. bitter strife reigned in the land. At this perilous moment a hero arose to fight the battle of suffering, freedom, and national independence. Wallace belonged to the lower cla.ss of the Scotch nobles, one of those who had never sworn allegiance to Edward I. In his early years he was under the care of his uncle, an ecclesiastic in Stirlingshire, from whom he received the rudiments of a classical training ; afterward he attended a school in Dundee for two years. He was gifted with rare mental faculties, tall in stature, and a commanding presence ; he was a military genius, with a remarkable force of moral character. He soon kindled in the heart of the nation an unquenchable spirit of resistance to op- pression. He began his public career by attacking outlying parties of the English, and his followers increased with his success. At length he ventured to assail the English Justiciar in his court at Scone : the Justiciar escaped with difficulty, and a rich booty and some prisoners fell into Wallace's hands. In a short time Edward's new arrangements were thrown into utter confusion. But when he was told of the rising in Scotland he could not believe it, because so many of the Scotch nobles were with himself or in prison : he never even imagined that the Scots might attempt to act without nobles, and this lack of foresight to estimate the spirit of resistance among the people proved to be the missing link in Edward's scheme of conquest. Bishop Beck was sent to Scotland to extinguish the rising ; but he soon had to beat a retreat and narrowly escaped with his life, BATTLB of STIRLING BRIDGE. 53 When Beck returned, Edward commanded the whole mihtary force north of the Trent to muster and crush the rebellion. An army of 40,000 men entered Scotland, under Henry Percy, and marched through Annandale and on to Irvine, where Robert Bruce and other nobles were lying in arms. As usual they were wavering and undecided, and without striking a single blow they concluded a treaty with the English at Irvine on the 9th of July, 1297. A copy of this treaty was sent to Wallace, who was then in the north organising an army in conjunction with Andrew Moray of Bothwell, and they disregarded it. Andrew Moray was working hard in the district of Strathspey enlisting men and instructing them. Wallace was working vigorously in the counties north of the Tay, where he soon organised an army. He then attacked the castles, and many of them soon fell into his hands. He had just begun the siege of the castle of Dundee when tidings came that the English army was marching on Stirling. Wallace at once saw his opportunity, ordered the citizens to con- tinue the siege, and hurried off with his army to guard the passage of the Eorth. Wallace posted his men on the rising ground which commanded the bridge of Stirling. The English army, 50,000 strong, lay on the opposite side of the riv^r. When the English general saw the position of his enemy he tried to temporise, and sent forward messengers of peace ; but Wallace knew well the advantages of his position, and told them that he had resolved on battle — " to set his country free." On the nth of September the enemy began to pass over the 54 WAR OF INDEPENDENCB. narrow bridi^c, wlion one half of the anu\- had crossed it ; Wallace, by a preconcerted movement, attacked tlie ICiii^lish in tiio rear, and intercepted between them and the bridi^e. When this was executed, the main bod}' of the Scots instantly rushed down and assailed the formiui; lines of the English, and throw them into cimfusion ; a panic seized the whole army, and a rnK oi n i;kiim;k ok sriRi.iNo. headlong- rout ensued. Man\- wore drowned in the river and slain in the flight. This bat lie had the elVoct o( clearing the country of the enemy, and all the strongholds were recovered. Wallace was anxious to promote peaceful industry. A document, dated the nth of October, i^o;*. was despatclied to Lubcck cuid Hamburgh in the names of BATTLE OF FALKIRK. 55 Andrew Moray and William Wallace — generals of the army of the kin<^dom and community of Scotland ; they thanked the friends of the country for their services which the state of the kingdom had prevented the due acknowledt^ment, and informed them that commerce with the ports of Scotland would now be restored : " As the kinj]^dom of Scotland, thanks be to God, has been delivered by battle from the power of the luii^lish." In the end of this year Wallace was chosen j^uardian of the kingdom and leader of its armies, hi name of Kin^ John. Althoui;h his abilities and enerj^y were undoubted, still there was little hope for the nation, because the state of society rendered his success almost impossible. With the kin^ banished and many of the nobles directly opposin*;^ him, and others lurkin*^ out of the way, the feudal system of defence could not be effectively worked, as Wallace could not chan<^re the or<^anisation of .society in a day. When Mdward I. entered Scotland in June, 1298, with an army of 80,000 men, Wallace could not face it in the field. So he drove off everythinj.^ which could be removed, and left the country behind him wa.ste ; in this way he hoped to starve and weary out the enemy, l-'or a time he .seemed likely to succeed ; the English were be^innin^ to suffer severely. At last, throu^di treachery, Wallace was forced to ^nve battle near T'alkirk. And, notwithstanding the original skill and generalship which he showed in the dispo.sal of his troops on this memorable occasion, the dis- parity of numbers in the opposing armies were too great, and his small army sustainetl a crushing defeat. 56 WAR OF INDEPENDENCE. But Wallace retreated with the remnant of his force ; and Edward's victory was fruitless, as he was com- pelled to drag his starving host back to England. Soon after the battle Wallace resigned the govern- ment of Scotland ; and from this time wc hear little more of him, although he was in various ways striving to serve his country up to the hour of his apprehension ; he went to France in connection with the affairs of Scotland. John Com}'n of Badenoch and John de Foulij were elected guardians of the kingdom. Edward I. was then much embarrassed by the demands of his barons touching the great Charter ; but he was still straining every nerve to crush Scotland. In 1300, he invaded the country with a great army, and took several castles ; but after a campaign of five months he returned home w ithout achieving any important success. In the spring of the following }'ear he again invaded the kingdom at the head of a large army ; but the Scots retired and avoided a battle, and he did not venture to cross the Forth. He then held most of the country on the south side of the Forth ; the Scots had retained the northern division of the kingdom since the battle of Stirling Bridge; and in 1302 they were gaining ground on the south of the Forth. When Edward I. was freed of his difficulties at home and abroad, in the spring of 1303, he led an army into Scotland with the determination to reduce it to subjection or render it a desert. The Scots were unable to offer effective resistance to this overwhelm- ing force. So the invader proceeded through the kingdom till he reached Caithness ; thence he re- GOVERNMENT SURRENDERED. 57 turned south and established his head-quarters at Dun- fermline, and remained there through the winter. The government and officials of the kingdom surrendered to him in the winter of 1304. The terms granted to Comyn and the chiefs who then surrendered were, that they should retain their titles and estates subject to a nominal punishment — merely to show that they were rebels received to mercy. After a long and S'lIULING CASTI-F.. heroic defence the castle of Stirling surrendered on the 24th of July, and the garrison which numbered 140 men, were despatched to England prisoners. Touching William Wallace, Edward determined that he must surrender unconditionally. Comyn and the nobles who adhered to him interceded for Wallace ; there is evidence that Edward was pressed to offer terms to him, but he declined to listen to any suggestion of the kind. Edward I. at Stirling openly EXECUTION OF WALLACE. $g promised special favours to any of the pardoned rebels who should exert themselves to capture Wallace ; thus he hunted the man who had never sworn oaths of allegiance to him to break them again like many others whom he had often pardoned. What, then, was the offence which Wallace had committed ? Simply this, he had openly stood up and fought against the invader for the liberty and independence of the home of his fathers. Wallace was found in Glasgow, put in fetters, and conveyed to London. Tried for treason, which he never committed, condemned, tortured, and executed with all the cruelties of the Norman law, in 1305, the details of which shall not pollute the pages of this volume. But it is certain that his unjust and cruel death did not advance the end which it was intended to serve. For the story of the heroic action and deeds of Wallace was embalmed in the heart of the Scottish people, and his memory was venerated till it became the very idol of the nation. In the later part of the fifteenth century blind Henry the Min.strcl, in his rhymed book of Wallace, embodied the current notions and sentiments of the people touching their greatest hero : and for three centuries it had an unexampled {popularity amongst the Scots. Many of our later poets have paid homage to Wallace, and a few lines from a living poet of the people may be quoted : — " Hail to thee, mighty Wallace ! so praiid is thy fame, That the lapse of six centuries ])ut i)rightcns thy name ; And when cycles and cycles of time may have fled, They'd but heighten the glory enwreathing thy head. 60 WAR OF INDEPENDENCS. When U>t:;ioiis of fooiuon, liUo dire inumhitions Strove to l^lot Scotlaiui's name tVom tlic roll of the nations. Tlicii did'sl tliou arise, as tlie lower of her miglit. To rally her sons ami lo lead them to tight — And vowed to the Towers (hat are sacred on high, l'\ir Seotland to conquer, or for her to die." After t\vcl\o Ncars of iticossaiit craft and bloodshed, closinii^ wilh the execution of Wallace, Edward I. fancied that his conquest of Scotland was complete. Hut a worth}" successor to Wallace iininediately appeared upon the scene, and the shattered king lived to see it all passing" Worn his i^rasp. The Scotc> clergy had i;"iven lulward I. much trouble. Bishc>[) l.atuberton of St. Andrews and Bishop W'ishait o{' Glasgow had rej')eatedly sworn alle>;iance to him, atul hatl broken it and joined Wallace and the national party. In 1304 Robert i^ruce and Bislu^p l.amberton entered into a bond, in which the)' ai;"reed to consult tot;ether and aid each other, and at all times assist their friends against their opponents. The existence i^f this document became known to ICdward I., and Bruce, when attending the English Court, was questioned concerning it ; he at once saw that his life was in peril, and one morning he tnounted his horse atul rode swifth' to Scotland. Bruce arrived at Dumfries in Februar\-, 1306, when the hjiglish jutlges were holding their courts ; and he haltO(.l there tit attend to his duties as a freeholder of the county, and Com\-n was present on similar duties. Bruce and Com\-n entered the Gra\- Friars convent to ha\e a- private interview, and their conver- sation waxed warm. Bruce referred to the miserable state of Scotland, once an independent kingdom, and BRUCE AND COMYN. 61 now nothinix but ;i piox'Itioc of I'ji^laiul. He llu-ii proposed thai C'()in\n should lake his huuls and help him to bo kini; ; or if he prelVncd it, Hrucc was to take his kinds and assist him to be kinj;-. C'omj'ti ilcnuuTcck and prolVssrd lo\-aUy to Kini^ lulwarik Hrucc charged him with bctia)inL; important secrets of his ; their talk became bittei- and hot ; and l?ruce drew his daL;i;er and stal)l)ed ('om\n. lie turned from the coiuent anti rushed into the street shouting- lor a horse! his friends asked if anjihintj;' was amiss. " I doubt," said Hiuci*, " I have slain C"om)ii." In- stantly Kirkpati ick, one of his followers, ran into the convent and slew the wounded man outri_L;hl, anil also kilK'd his unt le. Sir Robert ("om\n. Trobabl)- the nunder of C"om\n was unpremeditateil. Still it removed the only comi)elitor for the throne of Scotland whom Hrucc had reason to fear. Hrucc was a t^randson of the man who fouidit out the conti\st in lCch\arirs Court with the deposed Haliol. liis own father died in 1 304, ami he then succeeded to the lar^c faun' 1\- (.-stall's in l'".nL;land and in Scotland, lie was a )-ounL;' man, little o\er thirty j-ears, and hitherto had shown a rathei" vacillatiuLj" character. lie had alwa\s looked forward to the crown of Scotland ; but C"om)ii at the time of his nuu'der had a preferable < laim to it. There was also a tradition that Comj-n was liescended iVom Donald Hane, a brother of Malcolm III., which wc'uld have ,niven him a i^real adxanta^c amon^ the people in any stru,L;i;le between the two for the throne of Scotland. Hut Hrucc had rashly coin- mitted himself, and tould not recede ; he had assassi- nated the hij^'hest ne)ble in the kingdom, stained the 62 WAR OF INDEPENDENCE, altar with blood, brought down on his Own head all the terrors of religion, and the enmity of the kin and followers of the departed earl. Immediately after the tragic deeds, Bruce drove the English judges out of Dumfries and across the border. The news soon spread, the people assumed a threaten- ing attitude, and many of Edward's officials fled from the kingdom. Bruce resolved on a bold step and mounted the throne, and \\'as crowned at Scone on the 27th of March, 1306; but his followers as yet \vere few. When Edward I. heard of these events in Scotland he was extremely wrath, and threatened dire ven- geance. Orders with a sharp ring were issued. It was proclaimed in all the cities and towns of Scotland, that all those in arms against the king should be pursued by hue and cry, from city to city, from county to county, trom place to place, and taken dead or alive. All persons taken in arms against Edward I. were to be hanged and beheaded ; and all in any way con- nected with the murder of Comyn were to be drawn and quartered. The implacable rage of Edward runs through all the royal proclamations. Another great invasion of Scotland was resolved on, and the advance army under Pembroke reached the doomed country in the spring of 1 306. Edward I. braced up all his remaining energy, and once more moved northward, but his frailty rendered his progress very slow. Bruce and his party found that they could not face the English army. But he imprudently allowed the enemy to approach his small party ; and it was attacked at Methven on the 19th of June, 1306, and BRUCE IN EXTREMITIES. 63 utterly defeated. Bruce himself narrowly escaped, while many of his followers were taken and hanged and quartered. Many Scotsmen were tortured and executed with all the cruel formalities of the Norman law of treason. The desperate nature of the enterprise now ap- peared. Bruce and his friends soon began to feel the extreme miseries of their position. They were pursued as outlaws, and forced to betake themselves to the rocks and mountains, while his supporters all over the kingdom were hunted, captured, and doomed to destruction. Bruce himself had great difficulty in keeping out of the clutches of the emissaries of Edward, and the Comyns pursued him with the inflamed and bitter feeling of revenge. For a time he became a simple fugitive, and endured many privations ; but he had the genuine mettle in his constitution, and the hard training which he was compelled to undergo, ultimately developed a man of rare ability and character. In the end of the year 1306, Bruce, with a few of his friends passed over to the small island of Rachin on the northern coast of Ireland, and remained there during the winter. He returned to the mainland of Scotland in the spring of 1307. He had now gained some experience ; and on the loth of Ma}', in a well-chosen position at Loudon Hill, in Ayrshire, he gave battle to the Earl of Pembroke. Bruce posted his six hundred spearmen, and coolly awaited the attack of the English cavalry. They advanced and charged, but the spearmen stood firm, the cavalry reeled and broke ; the earl was totally defeated, and ROBI'KI' IIRI CE. {From the picture at Tavnouth by Jamii-son.) BRUCE GAINING GROUND. 65 retreated to the castle of Ayr. Rruce's followers now began to have confidence in him, and from this time he gradually gained ground. Edward I. by short stages had advanced within sight of Scotland, but the hand of the grim enemy was upon him, and on the 7th of July, 1307, he expired. Edward II., who succeeded, was weak and incapable as compared with his father ; and Scotland slipped out of his hands. He advanced to the out- skirts of Ayrshire, and without effecting anything of importance, he returned home. Bruce was slowly gaining ground, and step by step retaking the kingdom. In 1309, the Scotch clergy proclaimed their adherence to Bruce, which was a great accession of strength to his cause, 8.s he was under the ban of the Pope for the murder of Comyn. The English were driven out of the castles one by one, and Bruce immediately demolished the most of them, to prevent the enemy from again seizing them. In the autumn of 13 10, Edward II. entered Scot- land with a great host, but Bruce avoided a battle. After driving off their cattle and sheep into the narrow glens, the Scots retired to the woods and mountains ; while the invading army advanced to Renfrew, looking intently for an enemy to conquer, but in vain The English began to suffer for want of food, and without doing an}'thing of the slightest moment, the army retreated to Berwick. Several subsequent expeditions came to a similar end. In the summer of 131 1, the Scots invaded the northern counties of England, and levied money, and plundered the country. 66 WAR OF INDEPENDFNCE. At last all the castles IkuI siinciulcivil to Bruce save Stirliiit;", ami in 13 13, it was bcsicL;xxl by ICdward Hriicc. The l"jii;Iish ntn'cnior of the castle ai;rcecl to suireiulei it, unless it shouUl be relieved before the 24th of June, 1314. As it was the most important stroni^hold in the kini;doni, if lMii;land was to retain a hold of Scotland, she nuist relieve it. So another invasion was resolved on, and \ast preparations were made for a i^reat displax- of foive. The feudal array of I'-iiLiland was calknl out, and levies drawn from Wales and Ireland, lulwanl ll.entereil Scotland at the heail of the largest and best ecjuipiKxl army that had ever inarehed (vom h'.n^land ; it nuinbereil onelunulred thousand I'li^hliiii; men, one halt" of tluMU eaxah)', who were then eonsitlered the chief arm i)f strenL;th. The Scots made a supreme effort. l>ruce ortlcred his foici^ to mcvi in the ror\\(HHl, near Stirlini^'. and found that he could only muster thirty thousand men, and five hundred cavalry. 1 le prepared to ouard and stren*^- then his posititMi t(> the utmost, aiul t(^ fi^ht on foot. AfliMa careful examination of the L;rounil,he resoKed to dispose his arm\' in four ili\isions : three of them formini;" a fn^nt line inclining;" [o the south-east, facini;" the advance of the enem\' ; the fourth ili\ ision hciui; hekl in reserve and placed behintl til? centre, under the ci>mmaiul of the kiui^ him.self The formatiim of the Sciitch spearmen was a series of soliil circles so inclined in front as most elTectixely to resist the shock of cavalry chari^es. The ri^ht Hank of his line was w ell jMotected by the ruiifj^^ed ground ami by the broken banks of the Hannockburn ; while his left wini]j was admirabl)' secured bv pits ami trenches, which effec- BANNOCklWRN. dy lively limited the .s[);iec for the inovemeiits of the enemy's cavalry. On the 23id of June, 1314, the enemy appeared, and attempted to throw a hoily of cavalry into the the castle of Stirling', but ihey were rci)ulsc:(l by Randolph, the h'.arl of Moray. The Scots made all the necessary arrangements for the battle, and passed the nij^ht uniler arms on the: field. At day- break the Abbot of Inchaffary celebrated mass on an eminence in front of the army, lie then passed along' the line, and in a few w(M-tls exhorted the Scots to fight for their liidits and liberty. The soldiers breakfasted, and placed themselves nnder their different banners in battle array. The l'",nglish bej.'; in the battle by the advance of a body of lancers and archers under the connnand of the r'.arls of lleieford and (Gloucester. The lancers charged at full gallop on the riidit wing of the Scots, connnanded by ICdward Jhaice ; but the spearmen Hrmly withstood the im])etuous onsc:t of the enemy. The main body of the enemy advanced and charged the centre, which was under the I'.arl of Moray. For a moment his division ap[)earetl to be engulphed amid the seething mass of the luiglish ; and the whole Scottish line was .soon assailed and wrestling in a hand-to-hand combat with the enemy. The battle raged with the utmost fury. The ICnglish attempted by desperate charges, many times repeated, lo bicak through the .Scottish spearmen, but in vain. At this all-important hour they thought of the home of their fathers and their own native hearths ; and remember- ing too the many grinding injm-ies, galling outrages, 68 WAR OF INDEPENDENCE. stinging insults, cruel and unmitigated suffering inflicted upon them during long years of dire oppres- sion, they repelled every attack with steady valour and slew heaps upon heaps of their assailants. The English bowmen were galling the ranks of the Scotch spearmen. Bruce sent Sir Robert Keith with five hundred cavalry round the Milton Bog to charge the left flank of the archers, who, having no weapons to defend themselves at close quarters, were instantly broken and scattered in all directions. In front the battle continued to rage with unabated fury, but with obvious disadvantage to the English. Seeing the enemy flagging, Bruce encouraged his leaders to strive on, and assured them that the victory would soon be won. He then brought up the reserve, and all the divisions of his army were engaged. The English fought bravely, making many, but unavailing, attempts to pierce through the front of the spearmen, and at every successive charge losing more men and horses, and falling into greater confusion. Then were heard afar the clashing and crashing of armour ; the whizzing flight of arrows through the air ; the com- mingled shouting of the war cries ; and withal, the agonising moans and groans of the wounded and dying. Masterless horses were madly running hither and thither, heedless of friend or foe. The ground was streaming with blood, and strewn with shreds of armour, broken spears, arrows, and pennons, rich scarfs and armorial bearings torn and soiled with blood and clay. The Scots continued to gain ground, and pressed with fresh energy upon the confused and totter- BANNOCKBURN. 69 ing mass of the enemy, rending the air with shouts of " On them ! on them ! they fall ! " The Eng- lish gave way slowly along the whole line. Bruce perceived this, placed himself at the head of the reserve, and raising his war-cry pressed on with redoubled fury on the falling ranks of the enemy. This onset, well seconded by the other divisions, decided the fate of the day. The English broke into disjointed squadrons and began to quit the field. In spite of all the efforts of their leaders to rally them and restore order, they dispersed and fled headlong in all directions. King Edward stood gazing intently upon the scene around him, and remained on the fatal field till all was lost, and at last fled in utter bewilder- ment. The struggle was over, the enemy in flight, and the victory complete. Glory to the heroes who fought, and bled, and fell on Bannockburn ; while Scotsmen's blood runs warm, and human .sympathies endure, the nation's heart will throb over the remembrance 01 Bannockburn. Thirty thousand of the EnglLsh fell upon the field, and the standards of twenty-seven barons were laid in the dust, and their owners slain. Two hundred knights and seven hundred squires were among the fallen. The prisoners consisted of twenty-two barons, sixty knights, and a mul- titude of the lower ranks. Though only two men of high degree were slain on the Scotch side, nearly four thousand of the rank and file fell on the field. Bruce showed a noble forbearance in the hour of victory, and treated his fallen enemies and the prisoners with respect and humanity. In this he 70 WAR OF INDEPENDENCE. exhibited a striking contrast to the cruel policy of the Edwards. After the battle of Bannockburn, Bruce's chief aim was to bring the English Government to equitable terms of peace, but they refused to treat him as a king. The Scots resorted to a convincing mode of showing the advantages which they had gained ; they cro.ssed the border in force, and plundered and wasted the northern counties of England. England became anxious for peace, but the Scots would listen to it only on the condition of the full acknowledgment of the independence of the kingdom. The English were still loth to recognise this, and Edward II. tried the weapons of spiritual warfare and applied to the Pope for a pacifying Bull, which was issued in the beginning of 13 17. This document was addressed to the illus- trious Edward, King of England, and the noble Robert de Bruce conducting himself as King of Scotland. It ordered the observance of a truce between England and Scotland for two years. But Bruce declined to observe it or to treat with the representatives of the Pope unless he was addressed as King of Scot- land, and told them that he would listen to no Bulls until he had taken Berwick. He pushed on the siege of Berwick, and it surrendered in the end of INIarch, 13 18. The Scots then invaded Northumberland, and took the castles of Wark, Harbottle, and Mitford. Shortly after, Bruce and his followers were excommu- nicated, but owing to the national sympathies of the Scotch clerg\-, this had no effect in Scotland. It was felt, however, that the attitude of the king and the nation toward the head of the Church was ADDRESS TO THE POPE. 7 1 unsatisfactory. Many denunciatory edicts had been issued from Rome ajjaiiist Hruce and Scotland since he mounted the tiirone, and luigland had done all that she could to increase their number and to enfcjrce them. The innnaculate lulward II. pretended that he could not treat with an excommunicated man like Bruce without a papal dispensation. Thus obstacles were constantly thrown in the way of peace, and the policy of King Robert was hampered. It was resolved by parliament in April, 1320, to prepare an address to the Pope, and present to him the real state of the nation : it is a document of much importance, and the following passage touching Bruce and the rights of the people is exceedingly interesting: — " Put at length it pleased God, who only healeth wounds, to restore us to liberty from these innumer- able calamities, by our most valiant prince and king, lord Robert, who for delivering of his people and his own rightful inheritance from the enemies' hands, has most cheerfully undergone all manner of toil, fatigue, hardship, and hazard. The Divine Providence, the right of succession, and the customs and laws of the kingdom which we will maintain till death, and the due and lawful consent and assent of all the people, make him our prince and king. To him we are obliged and resolved to adhere in all things, both on account of his right and his merit, as the person who has restored the people's safety, in defence of their liberties. But, after all, if this prince should leave those principles which he has so nobly pursued, and con.sent that we or our kingdom be subjected to the king or people of England, we will immediately 72 WAR OF INDEPENDENCE. endeavour to expel him as our euem}-, and as the subverter of both his own and our ritj^hts, and will choose another king who will defend our liberties ; for as long" as one hundred of us remain alive, we will never consent to subject ourselves to the English. For it is not glor\', it is not riches, neither is it honour, but it is liberty alone that we fight and contend for, which no honest man will Kx^^o but w ith his life." This spirited and constitutional address had an immediate effect at the papal court ; the severe measures against Scotland were suspended, and afterward the Pope consented to address Bruce bj' the title of the King of Scotland. Many attempts were made to treat with England for a final peace ; but the English Government still continued to instigate the papal court to renew its edicts against Scotland. Bruce, however, determined to bring the English Government to reason. In June, 1327, a Scotch army entered England on the western borders, plundered the countr}', and returned home with their boot)-. They immediately prepared for another expedition against the eastern counties, and the king at its head crossed the border and attacked the castle of Norham. Thus did Bruce b\' his energy at last compel the Engli.sh Government to sue for peace on equal terms. In Januar\-, 1328. the English Government framed and issued a document which recognised Scotland as an independent kingdom as it stood in the reign of Alexander III. Thereupon a treaty was drawn and concluded at Edinburgh on the 17th of March, and ratified by the English Parliament in Ma)-, the same INDEPENDENCE SECURl.D. 11 year. The important point of it was this — "And we renounce whatever claims we or our ancestors in by- gone times have laid in any way o\'cr the kingdom of Scotland." Robert I. had now secured the independence and liberty of the nation. For this he had struggled more than twenty long years ; .sometimes standing alone while his nearest kindred and his followers fell captives and victims to the imi)lacable rage and ambition of the enemy. Still, for all that he had suffered, he was forgiving and generous to his opponents, and he rarely abu.sed a victory. He ruled the kingdom with much sagacity and wisdom, and enrolled the humblest class of the people in his army. He was kind and liberal to the jx)or and helpless, and withal one of nature's noblest .son.s. lie died on the 7th of June, 1329, at Cardro.ss, on the northern shore of the Firth of Clyde, and was buried in the choir of the abbey of Dunferm- line. A marble monument was jilaced over his grave ; but he left a nobler monument — an enduring impression on the hearts of the people and in the memory of succeeding generation.s. VI. STATE OF THE NATION TO THE DEATH OF JAMES I. Robert T. was succeeded by his son David, a boy of eight years, who was crowned and anointed at Scone on the 24th of November, 1331. Under King Robert's settlement, Randolph, Earl of Mor.ay, became regent, and while he lived the kingdom was governed well. But he died in July, 1332, just when new troubles were coming upon the nation ; and the Earl of Mar, who was elected regent, utterls- failed to master the difficulties which quickly gathered round him. Assisted by England, Edward Baliol, a son of the deposed King John, claimed the throne of Scotland. He landed in Fifcshire in the summer of 1332, with a force of four hundred cavalry and four thousand infantrw Although there were two Scotch armies in the field to oppose him, the incapacity of the regent led to the ruin of one, and the inaction of the Earl of March to the disband ment of the other, without the striking of a single blow. Thus it happened that Edward Baliol was crowned at Scone, on the 24th of ANDRE IV MORAY. BALIOL. 75 September, seven weeks after his arrival in the king- dom. For the next seven years the nation was torn by civil war, instigated and su])ported by England. In this space of time the King of England in person led four invasions in succession into the kingdom, and took possession of a large part of the country. Yet the national party, though sadly shattered, had one or two able and honest men amongst them. Sir Andrew Moray, of Bothwell, was elected regent ; a skilful leader and an upright man, who infused confidence in the ranks of the party. In 1335 he attacked, defeated, and slew the Earl of Athole, at Culben, in the west of Aberdeenshire. After strug- gling hard to drive the enemy out of the country, he died in 1338, and was succeeded by the Steward of Scotland, a grandson of Robert I. In 1337 Edward III. advanced his claim to the throne of France, and there he found a more tempting field for his inordinate ambition. When Edward Baliol was left to his own resources, his poverty and nakedness soon appeared. He was an object of suspicion and hatred among the Scots ; and he fled in terror from the kingdom in 1339, and became a pensioned de- pendent on England. The regent besieged Perth, the headquarters of the enemy, and in August, 1339, it surrendered. Before the end of this year Stirling and all the castles north of the Forth were recovered ; but those of Edinburgh, Roxburgh, Jedburgh, Berwick, and others were in the hands of the English. Edinburgh Castle was retaken in April, 1341. Truces were concluded, but the Scots were unable 76 THE NATION TO THE DEATH OF JAMES I. to observe them while the English held possession of districts in the south of the kingdom. In 1346 the king mustered an army at Perth, and marched southward, crossed the border, and advanced to the vicinity of Durham. On the 17th of October a battle was fought, the Scots were defeated, and the king and many of the nobles taken prisoners ; but the Steward escaped with the remnant of the arm)\ The king and the prisoners of note were conveyed to Lon- don and imprisoned. The Earls of Menteith and Fife were selected as traitors, and tried and condemned. Menteith was executed, but Fife's life was spared. The English followed up their victory, entered Scotland, and overran anew several of the southern counties. The Steward was re-elected regent. At this time of panic and confusion he ruled with wisdom and firmness. In 1347 a truce was concluded between England and France, which included Scotland, and it was continued by renewals to 1354. The adjust- ment of the king's ransom was a most difficult matter. After many abortive attempts and much wrangling it was fixed at 100,000 marks, to be paid in ten yearly instalments of 10,000 marks, or ;^4,ooo of modern money. The Scotch Parliament acknow- ledged it as a national debt, and it proved an enor- mous burden on the people, as they were already impoverished b\' a war of sixty years. As a security for the fulfilment of the agreement, many hostages were delivered into the hands of the English govern- ment, and a truce was to be observed till the ransom was paid. Under these onerous terms David II. David n. robert ii. 77 returned to Scotland in 1357. But owing to his disposition and habits he found little in his own king- dom to satisfy him ; and he frequently returned to England and entailed more annoyance and expense on the people. David II. had no children by his wife, and in 1363 he suggested to the Scotch Parlia- ment that it should choose as his successor Prince Lionel, one of the sons of Edward III. ; but Parlia- ment rejected his proposal with scorn. In 1366 he submitted other proposals inimical to the inde- pendence and unity of the kingdom, which Parlia- ment threw out as intolerable and unworthy of consideration. Such a man was utterly unfitted to lead the nation ; but his end was approaching, and he died in 1371, having nominally reigned forty-one years. The Steward, who had been twice regent, suc- ceeded to the throne, and was crowned at Scone, on the 26th of March, 1371,35 Robert II. He was a man of good judgment, and inclined to the paths of peace, if the state of the kingdom had permitted it. The truce with England was continued ; but the Scots could not refrain from driving out the invaders, and by a slow process, which extended over many years, they retook the conquered territory in the southern counties of the kingdom. The league between France and Scotland was renewed in 1371. France resolved to stimulate the Scots against Eng- land, and in May, 1 385, a French force of two thousand men arrived at Leith, under the command of John de Vienne, Admiral of France. The French had the pleasure of a raid into England, and of wasting 78 THE NATION TO THE DEATH OF yAMES t. Cumbcilami and Northumberland. Rut the French and Scotch modes of warfare were so different that disinites arose between the leaders. The French commaiulcr insisted tliat they should face the Kns^lish in battle, and at once strike a blow ; the Scots said such an attempt would be disastrous. The dispute waxed warm ; the Frenchmen talked contemptuously of the spirit of their allies ; and they were onl\' silenced when taken to the top of a moun- tain and shown the strength of the enemy's force. A truce was concluded between France and Eng- land in 1389, which was accepted by Scotland, and continued by renewals to 1399. This cheered the last days of the ai;ed king, who had long desired peace ; and he died in April, 1390, and was buried at Scone. He was succeeded by his eldest son, under the title of Robert 111. This prince was an amiable man, and fond of peace, but he lacked the strength of character to restrain the restless and lawless nobles. His brother, the Karl of Fife, afterwards known as Duke of Albany, who had acted as regent in the later years of his father's reign, continued to wield the chief authority, under the name of Governor of the Kingdom. The l^arl of Buchan, another brother of the king, ruled the northern part of the countr\', and earned for himself the name of "the Wolf of Badenoch." Amongst other oppressive acts he took possession of Ir.nd which belonged to the bishopric of Moray ; for this he was excommunicated. But he retaliated by advancing with a body of his followers to Elgin, and burning the grand cathedral, the chantry, and the city THE KING AND THE NOIiLES. 79 Shortly aftcivvard.s the Wolf's iiatuial son, Duncan Stuart, led a jjarty of his adherents across the mountnins, and plundered the Lowlands. In 1392 the landed i;entry mustered and met him at Gasklune, but he completely defeated them. The government ordered Duncan Stuart and his accomplices to be proclaimed outlaws, for the slaughter of Walter Ogilvy and others ; but it is evident that Duncan Stewart was not harmed, for in subsequent history he reappeared as the Earl of Mar. The weakness of the Crown and the lawlessness of the nobles were the most striking features of the period. The king, instead of being in a position to accuse the chief offenders or the administrative officials of the Crown, was entering into bonds with the nobles for the protection of himself and his heir. Indeed, the weak monarch was reduced to the extremity of purchasing the favour of the nobles. The bonds between the king and his nobles assuincd the form of annual grants of money, under the condition that they were to defend him and his eldest son ; thus he bound himself to give large sums annually to indi- vidual nobles for the natural period of their lives, and in some instances of the lives of their children. The Duke of Albany, Lord Stuart of IJrechin, Lord Murdoch .Stuart, Sir William Lindsay, Sir John Montgomery, and many others, were parties to bonds of this character with the king. In 1398, owing to the infirmity of the king. Parlia- ment appointed his eldest son, the Duke of Rothe- say, Lieutenant of the Kingdom, with regal powers for three years. Rothesay was a somewhat thought- RLl.Nb OF ST. ANDREWS CAIHEUKAL. MURDER OF THE DUKE OF ROTHESAY. 8l less yourif^ man, impatient of opposition, yet open and courageous, and not beyond hope of improve- ment under the sobering effect of experience. But his uncle Albany, the late governor, was an ambitious man, fond of power, and cold and pitiless. Their position made them enemies of each other ; and Albany formed a plot against the young prince, who was unable to cope with his unscrupulous relative. The Earl of Douglas and others joined Albany, and means were soon found for executing their dismal design. The Bishop of St. Andrews died in 1401. It was customary for the castle of a deceased bishop to be occupied by the Crown till the election of anew one. With this idea in his mind Rothesay was pro- ceeding to occupy the castle of St. Andrew's, and when within a mile of it he was arrested, conveyed to the castle of Falkland, and imprisoned. A few weeks afterwards his body was removed, and interred in the monastery of Lindores, and a report issued that he had died of a bowel complaint. But the people asserted that he had been murdered — by the cruel mode of utter starvation. There was the usual farce of a parliamentary inquiry into the cause of his death, in which it was gravely stated that he died by the visitation of Divine Providence, and not otherwise. Albany, Douglas, and their accom- plices were indcinnified, and every one was for- bidden to spread false rumours against them. The aged and unhappy king bitterly lamented the fate of his son, but he was utterly powerless. On the death of Rothesay, Albany resumed his position as governor of the kingdom. Sz THE NATION TO THE DEATH OF y.iMES I. It was resolved that Prince James, the king's other son, a boy of fourteen years, should be sent to France for safety, and to complete his education. He sailed in March, 1405, and when off Flamborough Head he was captured by an English ship, conveyed to London, and lodged in the Tower. When his guardians remonstrated, Henry IV. replied that he knew the French language very well, and therefore his father could not have sent him to a better master. The Duke of Albany was rather pleased at the capture of the prince, and it was suspected that he had concerted it. After seeing the misfortunes of his family, Robert III. died on the 4th of April, 1406, having reigned sixteen years. Parliament recognised the captive Prince James as the heir to the throne. .•\s next in the line of succession Albany was elected regent, and continued to rule the kingdom. The Scots were gradual!)' pressing the English out of the border counties. In 1409, the castle of Jedburgh was recovered, and, having been more use- ful to the enemy than to the Scots, was levelled to the ground. About the same time Fast Castle was retaken. A truce was concluded with England in 1412. The Duke of Albany died at Stirling on the 3rd of September, 1419, at the age of eighty years. He had ruled the kingdom for thirty-four years, and his son, Murdoch Stuart succeeded to the office of governor. But he lacked the cncrg\' to pursue a line of policy like his father, and the kingdom under him soon presented a scene of anarch)-. Prince Janies began to make efforts to obtain his freedom. Negotiations were opened and a treaty RETURN OF JAMES I. 83 was concluded in I424. Scotland agreed to pay to England forty thousand pounds in annual sums of ten thousand marks. It was arranged that James should marry the daughter of the Karl of Somerset ; and the marriage was celebrated in Southwark amid great pomp. A truce for seven years was concluded. The King moved northward, crossed the bortlcr on the 1st of April, and was warmly welcomed by the people. The return of James I. was an imi)ortant event in the history of Scotland. He was crowned at Scone on the 2 1st of May, 1424. It .soon appeared that a man of talent and energy was at the head of the government. James had resolved to humble the nobles and break their power. His plans were well conceived, and executed with striking energy. He assembled a parliament at Perth on the 12th of March, 1425. For eight days it was engaged in passing laws against the diffusion of heresy, bands among the nobles, and the restoration of the lands of the Church which had been wrested from her and illegally posses.scd. On the ninth day the Duke of Albany, his second son, and a number of the chief nobles, were seized and imprisoned. Parliament was then adjourned. The Earl of Lennox and Albany's eldest son, Walter Stuart, had been previously arrested and imprisoned. A court was held at Stirling on the 24th of May. It began with the trial of Walter Stuart, who was accused of robbery, convicted, condemned, and immediately beheaded. The next day the king's own cousin Murdoch Stuart, Duke of Albany, his .second son, Alexander, Parliament at Inverness. 85 and the aged Earl of Lennox, were tried, convicted, and sentenced to death ; and they were all executed before the castle of Stirling. Albany and his sons were men of stalwart and commanding presence, and their fate excited much sympathy among the people. Indeed this action of the king, which flooded the scaffold with the blood of his own kindred, cannot be justified. Probably he intended to exhibit a striking example of severity ; he may have wished the nobles to understand that a change had taken place in the government, and that the lawlessness which had prevailed, must henceforth cease. James, having restored order in the Lowlands, directed attention to the Highlands and Western Islands, and summoned a parliament to meet at Inverness. In 1427, he proceeded to Inverness, and summoned the Lord of the Isles and fifty of the most notable chiefs to attend his parliament. They attended, and were instantly seized and imprisoned, and a number of them were executed. The Lord of the Isles was related to the royal family, and on making due submission, he was liberated. But he was displeased with the whole proceedings, and immediately after the departure of the king he mustered his followers and attacked Inverness. The king returned, and met him in Lochabcr, defeated him, and pursued his retreating followers over the mountains and from glen to glen. At last the Lord of the Isles surrendered, and in 1429 he was im- prisoned in the castle of Tantallon ; but after a few years, he was liberated and restored to his possessions. The chief aim of James I. was to make the nobles 86 THE NATION TO THE DEATH OF JAMES I. more dependent upon the Crown ; to restrain them from oppressing the people ; and to rule the kingdom through Parliament acting with the executive power of the Crown. He attempted to introduce the princii)le of representation in the election of members of Parliament. In his short reign parliament was assembled fifteen times, and besides transacting other business, his parliaments passed upwards of i6o dis- tinct statutes, which were written and proclaimed in the language of the people. These Acts were brief, incisive, and clearly expressed, and dealing with many- important matters, especially the reform of the administration of justice. It was commanded that justice should be equally distributed in every part of the kingdom, " to the rich as to the poor, without fraud or favour." He pursued his object of reducing the power of the nobles with inflexible determination. In 1431 he ventured on an extremely bold step. Parliament had decided that the late governor, Albany, had no power to alienate any lands which by the death of a bastard might have fallen to the Crown, and on this ground a grant of land to Adam Kcr was invalid. In this way the king prepared for a great stroke. The Earls of March, who usually commanded the castle of Dunbar, and held large estates in the south of the kingdom, had long been a cause of annoy- ance to the Crown. In 1401, the Earl of March joined the English and fought against the Scots ; but he returned to Scotland in 1408, and his estates were restored to him by the Duke of Albany. He died in 1420, and his son George succeeded to the lands FORFEITURE OF MARCH. PLOT AGAINST JAMES I. 87 of the earldom ; and it was this man that the king resolved to humble. A parliament was assembled at Perth in 1435, ^"d proceeded to discuss the cause of the earldom of March. It was debated On both sides : — First, touching the treason and forfeiture of the late earl, and the consequent reversion of his estates to the Crown ; and second, the position and claim of his son then in possession. The verdict of the judges was against the earl, and all the lands of the earldom were annexed to the Crown. The dispossessed earl and his family retired to England. About this time died the Earl of Mar, Duncan Stuart, the outlaw and hero of Harlaw, mentioned in a preceding page, and his estates reverted to the Crown on the ground of his illegitimacy. The Scotch nobles were now alarmed, and enraged at the proceedings of the king ; and they formed a plot to murder him. The chief actors in the dismal plot were Walter Stuart, Earl of Athole, a son of Robert II. ; Robert Stuart, a grandson of Athole's, who was then chamberlain to the king ; and Sir Robert Graham. Graham in parliament vehemently de- nounced the king for his encroachment upon the nobles, and he was banished and his property for- feited. He then went to the Highlands and matured the plot ; he renounced his allegiance, and warned the king that he would pursue him as his enemy and slay him. James resolved to hold his Christmas at Perth, in the Black Friars Monastery. Though he was solemnly warned of his personal danger, he disregarded it. Graham and his accomplices arranged to commit 88 THE NATION TO THE DEATH OF yAMES t. their horrid crime on the night of the 20th of February, 1437 ; and Stuart, the chamberlain, re- moved the bolts of the doors which made commu- nication in the interior of the building easy. The king had undressed, and was standing in his night- gown before the fire, talking with the queen and the ladies of the bedchamber, when he was alarmed by the clang of arms and the glare of torch-lights in the outer court. The queen and the ladies rushed to secure the door, but the bolts were gone. The king instantly saw his peril, and, seizing the tongs, wrenched up a flag and descended to a vault below. The cruel ruffians rushed through the building and feared that their victim had escaped. But Thomas Chambers suspected what had happened, and returned to the bedchamber, and seeing that the floor had been newly broken, instantly tore it up, and their victim appeared. Sir John Hall leaped down, but the king seized him by the throat and threw him under his feet. A brother of Hall's followed, and met the same fate. Graham then sprang down with his drawn sword, and the king implored for mercy ; but Graham called him a cruel tyrant, who had never shown mercy to his own kindred, and in an instant thrust his sword through the king's body Thus perished, by the hands of atrocious villains, the ablest king of all the Stuart line. VTT. CONFLICTS BETWEEN THE CROWN AND THE NOBLES. After the tragic end of James I., iiis son, a boy of eight years, succeeded to the throne, and was crowned in the monastery of Holyrood on the 25th of March, 1437. The custody and care of the prince was entrusted to his mother ; and the luirl of Douglas was appointed Lieutenant of the Kingdom. During the minority the factions of the nobles struggled to kidnap the king. The queen with her son had taken refuge in the castle of Edinburgh, but the governor, Sir William Crichton, isolated the boy from his mother and made him a kind of prisoner. The queen outwitted him, and conveyed her son tc) Stirling Castle, which Sir Alexander Livingston command2d. In 1439, the queen married Sir James Stewart, the l^lack Knight of Lorn, with the hope of strengthening her position ; but Livingston im- prisoned them both, and kept the young prince a captive in Stirling Castle. The Earl of Douglas died in 1439, and his son, a youth of seventeen years, succeeded to the earldom. EXECUTION OF THE EARL OF DOUGLAS. gi He kept a host of retainers, and scorned to appear at Court or parliament The factions of Livingston and Crichton saw that the earl must be crushed. As they were unable to attack him in the field, they resolved to allure him into a trap. They invited him to visit the young king iti Edinburgh Castle. The carl and his brother proceeded there, and were received with much show of respect. But in a few days after their arrival, they were both beheaded. This blow stunned the Douglas family. A portion of the estates of the earldom reverted to a sister of the murdered earl, while his grand uncle, James Douglas, succeeded to the title and the greater part of the lands. ' He died in 1443, and his son, William Douglas, succeeded. William was a man of energy and ambition. His power soon became enormous and inconsistent with order, and the kingdom presented a scene of turmoil. To make himself master of the kingdom, he sought admittance to the king's presence at Stirling Castle, and Livingston who had the custody of the prince granted the request. Livingston and Douglas became friends, and Crichton saw with dismay that he was undone. Douglas assumed the title and power of Lieutenant-general of the Kingdom, called a parliament and summoned Crichton and his ad- herents to appear and answer to a charge of high treason. Crichton, instead of obeying the summons, mustered his followers, plundered the lands of Douglas, then retired into the castle of Edinburgh, and defied his enemies. And they afterwards came to terms with him. The Earl of Douglas divorced his wife, then 92 THE CROWN AND THk NOBLES. married his cousin, the " Fair Maid of Galloway," and thus reunited the domains of his house. His power rapidly increased, and a struggle with the Crown became inevitable. In 1449 the king married, and began to show energy and ability, but he mainly relied on the counsel of Crichton the Chancellor and Bishop Kennedy. The king had not sufficient power to attack Douglas openly, and so the faction of the Livingstons were first crushed. The Livingston family who had enriched themselves during the king's minority, were seized and imprisoned. The head of the house, an old man, was granted his life ; but his son and several others of the faction were executed. Douglas continued to hold a haughty attitude toward the king, and it was proposed to try the effect of a personal interview. In February, 1452, he was invited to visit the king at Stirling Castle, and he com- plied. He dined and supped with the royal party, and then the king took him aside to an inner room where they entered into a private conversation. One matter after another was touched on, till the question of Douglas's bonds with the Earls of Crawford and Ross was broached. Their talk waxed hot, the king insisted that Douglas must break these secret bonds, but he declined to desert his allies. At last the king exclaimed, " This shall," and instantly drew his dagger and twice stabbed his guest. The nobles at hand rushed upon the bleeding man and killed him out- right. There can be no justification or palliation of this murder ; perhaps it was unpremeditated, as there was no preparation made to meet its consequences. The rash act of the king hastened the crisis, and MURDER OF DOUGLAS. CIVIL WAR. 93 civil war raged from the borders to Inverness. The struggle was desperate, and the king was hard and sorely pressed. He appointed the Earl of Huntly Lieutenant-general of the Kingdom, and entrusted to him the task of suppressing the rebellion of the Earls of Crawford and Ross. Huntly, at the head of the royal army, attacked Crawford near Brechin, and, after a severe battle, defeated him. But Crawford retreated to Finhaven Castle, and continued to harass all whom he considered his enemies. Huntly turned to chastise the Earl of Moray, who had invaded and wasted Strathbogie. He crossed the Spey, advanced into Moray, and destroyed one half of the city of Elgin. Thus the rebellion was subdued in the north. But in the south the war raged with intense fury. The new Earl of Douglas and his brothers defied and scorned the king's authority, and burned and wasted the country. At last the Earl of Angus, a member of the Douglas tribe, joined the king's standard. His kinsmen looked on this as an unpardonable crime, and attacked his possessions with extreme ferocity. After many fruitless efforts the king managed to muster an army, and advanced in person against the Earl of Douglas, entered his territory and proceeded through Peebles-shirc, Selkirk Forest, Dumfries, and Galloway. Douglas Castle was captured, and peace was concluded in August, 1452. Douglas agreed to renounce his claim to the earldom of Wigton, and the lands of Stewarton, and to abandon all quarrels arising out of recent events and all illegal bonds. But Douglas married his brother's widow, and once 94 THE CROWN AND THE NOBLES. more united the territories of the family. He entered into communications with the Yorkish party in England, and conspired to overthrow the Government and the Stuart dynasty. An appeal to arms again became neccssar\-. The king raised an ami)-, and marched into the lands of Douglas, besieged and took the castle of Abercorn ; and other castles of the rebel chief soon fell into the hands o( the king. Douglas made a last effort at Arkinholm, but was defeated by the royal troops under Angus. In this engagement one of Douglas's brothers fell, and another was captured and beheaded. Douglas himself fled to England, and the estates of the earldom were forfeited to the Crown. England still retained Berwick and the castle of Roxburgh, and the Government determined to take the latter ; but it was strong and obstinately defended by the r^ngiish. In the siege of Roxburgh cannon were used, and the king was present to urge on the operations. One of the great guns was brought from Flanders, and the king was eager to see the effect of its working. When it was discharged some of the wedges which were used to tighten the iron hoops were driven out, and one of them struck and killed the king. But the siege was continued, and the castle taken. Having been more serviceable to the enemy than to Scotland, it was levelled with the ground. James H. was succeeded by his son, a boy of eight years of age, who was proclaimed king at Kelso under the title of James HI. For several years the government was conducted by Bishop Kennedy. He died in 1466, and the usual plotting of the restless RISE OF THE BOYDS. MARRIAGE OE JAMES III. 95 nobles recommenced. The family of the Hoyds en- tered into a bond with a number of nobles to support each other, to sieze the young king, and rule the kingdom in their own interest. So on the 19th of July, when the chamberlain was holding his court at Linlithgow with the king, Lord Boyd and a number of his associates entered the court, and requested the king to accompany them to Edinburgh, and of course he complied. Lord Boyd was then ap[)ointcd guar- dian of the king's person, governor of the royal castles, and High Justiciar of the kingdom. Thus he at once became sui)reme, and his family and relations speedily acquired large tracts of territory. In 1467 Lord Boyd's eldest son was created Earl of Arran, and married to the king's sister. It was stated in a preceding chapter that the Western Islands were ceded to Scotland in 1266, and the payment of an annual rent of 100 marks was one of the terms of the treaty. This had not been regularly paid, and the arrears amounted to a considerable sum. A inarriage was i)roposed between James III. and a daughter of the King of Denmark, and the Earl of Arran and other commissioners proceeded there to negotiate it. They concluded a treaty with King Christian, in which he agreed to abandon his claims for the arrears of rent on the Western Islands ; to endow his daughter with 60,000 florins, of which he proposed to pay 10,000 florins before she departed to Scotland, and to secure the remaining 50,000 on the Orkney Islands. But on further reflection, he proposed to give the bride 2,000 florins for her immediate use FALL OF THE BOYDS. 97 and secure the balance on the Shetland Islands. The treaty thus adjusted was accepted ; and, as the money was never paid, the Orkney and Shetland Islands became incorporated with Scotland. When the Earl of Arran returned with the king's , bride, he found that his enemies had undermined his power and that he was utterly deserted ; and he immediately fled with his wife to Denmark. But he was soon stripped of his royal wife by a divorce. She afterward married the head of the Hamilton family, and this house subsequently attained a high position in the kingdom. As the Boyds had risen rapidly, .so their fall was equally swift and complete. In 1469, they were tried for trea.son and convicted. Old Boyd, the head of the house, fled to England, where he shortly afterwards died. His brother Alexander was executed on the Ca.stle Hill of Edinburgh. The extent of the lands which they had unjustly seized in the short day of their power, is well shown by the local names in the act of their forfeiture. The lord.ship of Kilmarnock was the hereditary possession of the family, but the list in the act contained the lordship of Bute, the castle of Rothesay, the lordship of Arran, the earldom of Carrick, the lordship of Cowal, the lordship of Stewarton, the barony of Renfrew, and several others. The case of the l^oyds is not an isolated one in our story, as a similar policy was pursued by tlie nobles whenever they had an opportunity. It was the chief source of their endless feuds. James HI. had attained his ninteenth year, and, as already stated, was married, But his education gS THE CROWN AND THE NOBLES. had been sadly neglected, and he showed Httle capacity in the government of his kingdom. He was peace- fully inclined and lacked the energy of character necessary to control the nobles. Ills two brothers, the Duke of Albany and the Earl of Mar, perhaps because they were active and popular men, the king seems to have regarded as his enemies. Mar died in the castle of Craigmiller, and it was widely rumoured that the king had caused him to be murdered. Albany was imprisoned in the castle of Edinburgh, but he escaped and fled to France. In 1482 he came over to England, and entered into a treaty with the English Government, in which he agreed to recognise the feudal superiority of England, while the English king was to give him the Crown of Scotland under the title oi Alexander IV. Albany promised to render homage to his feudal lord whenever he was put in possession of the kingdom ; to support England ; and abandon the old alliance with France. The old Earl of Douglas was still alive and a retainer of the English king, and he and several other Scotch nobles joined the plot. Thus the relations of England and Scotland be- came menacing. In July, 1482, an army was mus- tered on the Burghmoor, near Edinburgh, and with the king at its head marched toward the border. When it reached Lauder a tragic action happened. Cochrane, one of the king's favourites, who had originally been a mason, had charge of the artillery. The nobles met in a church.- and resolved to sweep off the king's favourites. While they were talking a knock was heard at the door ; it was Cochrane with a message EXECUTION OF THE KING'S FAVOURITES. 99 from the king. The Earl of Angus seized and pulled the gold chain from Cochrane's neck, saying that a rope would befit him better. " My lords," said he, " is it jest or earnest ? " He was told it was earnest, and was quickly bound and placed under guard. A party of the nobles, who were despatched to the royal tent, instantly seized the king's musician, Rogers, and the rest of his favourites and servants. These were then led along with Cochrane to the bridge of Lauder, where they were all hanged. After the execution of the favourites, the nobles disbanded the army and left the country a prey to the enemy. The English retook Berwick, which hence- forth remained in their possession. Tiie nobles im- prisoned the king in Edinburgh Castle. The Duke of Albany came to Edinburgh with the English army, with the intention of mounting the throne. Eor a short time he ruled the kingdom ; but when his in- trigues with the English Government became known in Scotland, he was forced to retire, and he finally settled in France. The nobles, continuing to plot against the king, at last resolved to dethrone him. It occurred to them that the king's son, a youth of sixteen years of age, would serve their purpose, and the southern nobles induced him to join them and rise in rebellion against his own father. They mustered their followers and advanced upon Edinburgh. The king crossed the Forth and passed into the northern counties which were loyal, and there a strong force rallied round him. He then marched on Stirling, but the governor of the castle had joined the rebels. On the 28th of 100 THE CROWN AND THE NOBLES. June, 1488, the two armies approached each other at a small brook, called Sauchie Burn, in the vicinity of Stirling. An engagement ensued, and was fiercely contested. The king fled from the field. His horse stumbled and threw him, and some of the rebels came up and killed him. Thus fell James III. in the thirty- fifth year of his age and twenty-eighth of his reign, another victim to the ambition of a reckless aristocracy. A few days after his father's death, James IV". was crowned at Scone ; and the faction who held the reins of government proceeded to make themselves secure. James IV. took an interest in shipbuilding, and in his reign the nation made some progress as a naval power. The relations of Scotland became more and more interwoven with the other kingdoms of Europe. Spain, then in the zenith of her glory and power, had an ambassador at the Court of Scotland. She was forming a league against France, and desired to sever James IV. from his old ally ; but in this she failed. The internal state of England had for some time rendered her a quiet neighbour. In 1495, negotia- tions were begun touching the marriage of the king with the daughter of Henry VII. The treaty of marriage between James IV. and the Princess Margaret of England was concluded in January, 1502 ; and on the 8th of August, the marriage was celebrated in the chapel of Holyrood amid the rejoicing of the people. A hundred years later the issue of this marriage united the crowns of the two kingdoms. 102 THE CROWN AND THE NOBLES. In 1509, Henry VII. died, and Scotland lost a quiet neighbour. His son, who succeeded, was a different personage, and shortly after his accession the old strife was renewed. England was entering on a war with France, in which Scotland was to take the side of her old ally. In the summer of 15 13 the feudal force of the kingdom mustered on the Burghmoor ; and, with the king at its head, marched to the border and crossed the Tweed on the 22nd of August. Much time was lost in attacking a few border castles, instead of advancing and striking a blow before the enemy was prepared to offer serious resistance. But the king, disregarding the counsel of the ablest men in Scotland, allowed the enemy to take every advan- tage. The battle of Flodden was fought on the 9th of September, 15 13. James, whose idea was to have a stand-up battle, fought on foot with his own hand in front of the centre ; and although his bravery was surpassing, it only increased the carnage, as the flower of the army crowded round him and fell in a hand-to-hand struggle with the enemy. The loss of the Scots was lamentable, upwards of eight thousand being left upon the fatal field, and among them the king. Indeed there was hardly a family of any note in the kingdom but had lost some of its members, A glance may be taken here at the rise of the literature of the nation, and the institution of the Universities. Prior to the fourteenth century the national literature consisted of ballads and traditional tales. The early Scotch Chroniclers composed their narratives in rhyme. John Barbour's metrical story BARBOUR. WtNTOI^. BLIND HARRY. I03 of King Robert Bruce is the best extant speci- men of the national Hterature of the fourteenth century. He was writing it in the year 1375, and the Government rewarded him with a pension " for writing the Book of tlie Deeds of King Robert I." Barbour died, at an advanced age, about 1396. His book on Bruce has much literary merit and historical value. Andrew Winton, Prior of St. Serf's Monastery, produced his Original Chronicle of Scotland in the form of a metrical story. He was prior in 1395, and lived to 1420. Winton commenced his Chronicle with a history of the world, and treated of angels, the Creation, the death of Abel, the generations of Cain and Seth, the primeval race of giants, the ark of Noah and the Flood, and a long scries of other topics. His language is similar to Barbour's. The later portion of his narrative is valuable, its simple account of events being generally trustworthy ; and his descrip- tions are .interesting in relation to the state of society in his own time. Henry the Minstrel, usually called Blind Harry, composed the metrical " Life of Wallace " in ihc later part of the fifteenth century. He earned his living by travelling through the country and reciting his rhymes to the people. His " Life of Wallace " has hardly any hi.storical value. The materials which he used in its composition were the traditions, the stories, and the ballads, then current among the people, touching Wallace, which had been accumulating around his name since his execution. It is thus an embodiment of the notions and sentiments which the Scots en- 104 ^^^ CROWN AND THE NOBLES. tertaincd about their greatest hero in the fifteenth century. Vor this it is interesting and vakiable. James I. ranks among the poets of his age, and was the author of a poem entitled " The King's Quair," which extends to 197 stanzas. It is animated, and shows imaginative faculty, keen feeling, and marks of real poetry. Robert Henryson, one of the most emi- nent of our early writers, was born in 1425, and died toward the end of the century. He was the author of various pieces of poetry which were much esteemed, including thirteen moral fables in verse. His style is easy and flowing, though it does not show great passion or emotional power ; his realisation of the beauties of external nature is very fine, and the asso- ciated objects arc handled with rare skill. The first Scotch University was a very si.mple institution, and was originated by a few men who formed an association in St. Andrews, under the patronage of Bishop Wardlaw. They commenced to deliver public lectures in 14 10; and the Pope's Bull sanctioning the establishment of the University arrived in 141 3 The event was celebrated with a gladness and joy worthy of its significance. The University of Glasgow was founded in 145 1, but it was poorly endowed. The University of Aberdeen dates from 1494. A considerable part of the build- ings of King's College, Aberdeen, belongs to the beginning of the sixteenth century. The branches usually taught in these schools were philosophy, theology, and canon and civil law. VIII. PROGRESS OF THE REFORMATION IN SCOTLAND TO THE DEATH OF CARDINAL BEATON. We are now entering on the era of modern history, when influences which had been long working began to show themselves in unexpected forms. The languages of the chief nations of Europe were almost fully formed ; the various peoples were seeking unity and national independence ; and the printing press was ready to diffuse the new ideas as they appeared. The sixteenth century is a period of vast iinportance and interest in the annals of Europe, and in the development and civilisation of the human race. I shall narrate, as fully as the limits of this volume admit, the part which Scotland played in the revolu- tionary movement. When Euro[)e was on the eve of the Reformation, Scotland had lost her king on the disastrous field of Flodden. In October, 15 13, his son, an infant, was crowned at Scone and his mother named Regent ; but this arrangement came to an end upon her marriage in the following year with the Earl of Angus. A party of the nobles were looking to the Duke of Albany as a likely personage to take the lo6 THE REFORMATION IN SCOTLAND. reins of government. He was a son of Alexander Stuart, Duke of Alban)-, a brother of James III., and, after the infant king, was next heir to the throne. He was an Admiral of France, whither his father had fled, and where he himself lived in princely state. Invited to the governorship of the kingdom, he arrived in May, 1515, and was warmly welcomed by the people, who hoped to enjoy an increase of peace under his rule. The task of restoring order among the Scotch nobles was enormously difficult. Although the new governor's talents were above the average of his class, he laboured under the disadvantage of being French in manner and habits, and of being un- acquainted with the usages and feelings of the Scots. He began his government with bold measures. Offenders of the highest rank were seized, imprisoned, and executed. But these proceedings failed to pro- duce the intended effect, and in a .short time Albany discovered the hopelessness of his task. He re- peatedly returned to France to be free of the turmoil ; and after a fluctuating sway of eight years, his regency ended in 1524. The Earl of Angus, who during Albany's regency had been forced to flee the country, now returned to pusA his claims to power. With the concurrence of the Earl of Arran and others, he became nominally guardian of the king, and, in realit}-, his gaoler. He himself assumed the office of Chancellor of the Kingdom, he made his uncle Treasurer, and they compelled the king to sign everything which they presented to him. At last, in May, 1528, the king escaped ; and from that day to the end of his THE NOBLES. CAUSES OF THE REFORMATION. 107 reign, he pursued Angus and his accompHces with relentless severity. Angus's estates were forfeited, and he was forced to flee to England. James appointed the Archbishop of Glasgow, Chancellor ; thie Abbot of Holyrood, Treasurer ; and the Bishop of Dunkeld, Keeper of the Privy Seal. When the nobles were thus excluded from the government, they began to show a leaning toward the doctrines of the Reformation Hating the clergy they became enraged at the ecclesiastical in- fluence over the king ; and as time passed and the prospects of the division of the Church lands approached, they grew firmer in their adherence to the principles of the Reformation. But there were many causes of the Reformation, external and internal. The external causes were selfish and transient, and when the aims which stimulated their activity were gained, they ceased to operate. But the real religious sentiment was con- stant in its action and persistent in its manifestation in the face of fearful odds, till it attained its complete triumph in the recognition of religious freedom. The religious feeling, aspiration, and idea, were the real causes of the Reformation ; and they involved social and political issues which were not foreseen by the politicians of the period. Political combinations in some quarters accelerated, and in others retarded, the religious movement ; but all the political powers in the world could have neither accomplished nor pre- vented the final consummation of the Reformation. No external power can extinguish the internal opera- tions of the human mind. I08 THE REFORMATION IN SCOTLAND. In 1525, Parliament prohibited the importation of Luther's books, and tlie propagation of his damnable opinions ; for the Scots had al\va}'s adhered to the holy faith, and had never yet admitted any contrary opinion. Tyndale's version of the New Testament was brought into Scotland in 1526, and prett}' freely circulated. In 1535, Parliament ordered all persons who had heretical books to deliver them to the authorities within forty days, under the penalty of imprisonment and confiscation. The first Scotsman who suffered for the new opinions was Patrick Hamilton, the Abbot of Feme. He had received the proscribed doctrines from the lips of Luther when sojourning in German}-. Ha\'ing returned home in 1527, he began to teach what he had learned ; and early in the following year he was seized and imprisoned in the Castle of St. Andrews. He was tried for heresy, convicted, condemned, and burned on the 29th of February, 1528, before the College of St. Andrews. He left a short treatise in Latin, which contained a summary of his leading doctrines, and which was translated into English shortly after his death. It was chiefly among the lower orders of the clergy that the new doctrines were embraced. The Friars were the preachers of the time, and here and there they would be found inveighing against the prevailing abuses of the priesthood. Friar William Airth had preached a sermon in Dundee, in which he touched on the lives of the bishops, and the evils associated with excommunication ; whereat the Bishop of Brechin's followers were greatly ofiended, JAMES \., KINC; OK S(OTI,ANU. {From a print in I lie British Museum. 110 THE REFORMATION IN SCOTLAND. and they buffeted him as a heretic. The Friar undaunted, intimated that he would a<:;ain preach in the parish church of St. Andrews ; and on the appointed da\- the rei^ents of the University and other persons of rank attended. He ascended the pulpit and t:^ave out the text, " Verity is the strongest of all things." He referred to excommunication, and said that it should not be applied for every light cause, but onl\' against open and incorrigible sinners. " But now," said he, " the avarice of priests and the ignorance of their office has caused it altogether to be utterly vilified ; for the priest whose duty it is to pray for the people, stands ui) on Sunday and cries : ' One has tint a spurtle ; there is a flail stolen bc}'ond the burn ; the good wife of the other side of the gate has tint a horn spoon ; God's malison and mine I give to them that know of this gear and restore it not ; ' " so that the people only mocked such cursing. The clergy held James V. faithful to the Church, and obtained his countenance to the persecution of the heretics. In 1534, after a truce of several years, proceedings were taken against a number of suspected persons, some of whom fled to England, and others renounced their opinions. Gourly, a priest, and Straiton, a layman, however, adhered to their heresy, and vindicated their faith ; they were condemned in the presence of the king , who, it is said, would have granted them grace but for the intervention of the bishops), and were hanged and burnctl. Straiton's offence appears to have originated in his refusal to pay teinds to the prior of St. Andrews for fish caught ^-~f£^^^ --"-^^^^ Hi* THE REFORMATION tN SCOTLAND. ill his boat at sea. "If they would have teind thereof, which his servants won in the sea, it were but reason," he said, " they should come and receive it where he got the stock." Henry VIII. wished Jam^s to throw oflf the authority of the Pope, and would gladly have seen the two countries brought together by a marriage with his daughter, the Princess Mary ; but his plans came to nothing. In 1537, James married Magdalen, daughter of the King of France. She died a few months after her arrival in Scotland ; and in the following year he married Mary, daughter of the Duke of Guise. The French alliance was thus secured, and the policy of the clergy confirmed. The king pursued his policy of crushing the nobles. In 1541, Parliament passed an Act confirm- ing the revocation of all grants of land, customs, borough rents, fishings, and gifts, which had been made during the king's minority. Another Act annexed to the Crown the Western, Orkney, and the Shetland Islands ; and also the lordships of Douglas, Bothwell, Preston, Tantallon, Crawford, Lindsay, Bonhill, Jedburgh Forest, Glammis, Liddes- dale, Evandale. and the earldom of Angus, with all that belonged to it. Though these acts were within the limits of the constitution, they were overbold, as the Crown had not the power to enforce them. The nobles were nervously apprehensive, and their feelings soon became manifest While these events were passing at home, Henry VIII. was assuming a more dictatorial tone, and makinsT demands which Scotland could not entertain. solwav moss, death of jamrs v. I13 In 1542, taking the occasion of James's failing to appear at an appointed conference at York, he pro- claimed war. James mustered his army and marched southward, but tidings came that the luighsh army had disbanded ; and the Scotch nobles then declined to follow their king. Their oi)portunity had come, and they resolved to mortify the man who had dared to encroach upon the rights of their class. The king was forced to disband the army. But he was ex- tremely loth to abandon his intention of retaliating on Henry VIII., and shortly after it was agrcx-d that a smaller force should make a raid across the border. This army mustered, advanced, and was approaching English ground when Oliver Sinclair, one of the king's favourites, began to read the commission which appointed himself to the chief command. The nobles present were enraged at this new en- croachment upon their hereditary rights, a storm of indignation ensued, and all discipline was forgotten. Lord Dacre, the English leader, who was near at hand with three hundred cavalry, when he observed the confusion of the Scots, dashed in amongst them, and in an instant the Scottish army was scattered. A number of prisoners fell into the hands of the enemy, and among them nine nobles. This disaster is known in history as the panic of SoKvay Moss. When the tidings reached the king it broke his spirit ; he brooded over his disappointment and disgrace, gradually sank into a helpless state, and expired on the 14th of December, i 542. The Crown then fell to an infant Mary Stuart, born in the palace of Linlithgow seven days before TIIK r.AKI. Ol'- ARUAN. {l^aiiilcr unknotini.) BtRTH OF MARY. EARL OF ARRAN REGENT. II5 the death of her father. She was destined to become the most famous of the long line of Scottish sovereigns. In her infancy and innocent childhood she was an object of fierce contention. Her youth and beauty, her talents and accomplishments, her success and failure, the strength and weakness of her character, her long captivity and tragic end — all concurred to fill the story of her life with the most absorbing interest. James Hamilton, Earl of Arran, being next heir to the throne, was elected regent. When Henry VHI. heard of these events, he at once formed the idea that he should have the infant queen for a wife to his son, and it occurred to him that the banished Earl of Angus, and the Scotch nobles taken at Solway Moss, might be made useful agents for advancing his scheme. He proposed to them accordingly that they should exert themselves to place the infant queen in his hands. To this Angus and several others con- sented, agreeing also to recognise Henry as Lord Superior of Scotland, and to place the national castles in his hands. The bond was drawn with great formality, but Henry gained nothing by it. The Regent Arran was not a man capable of great resistance, and, left to himself, the temptations which were held out to him, and which included the marriage of his son to the Princess l^lizabeth, would have made him yield to the English king ; but the strength of the national feeling against England proved fatal to the scheme. So far had it gone that treaties establishing an alliance between England and Scotland and agreeing to a marriage between Prince Il6 THE REFORMATION tN SCOTLAND. Edward and the }oung Queen of Scots had been concluded, subject only to ratification by the Scottish Parliament. The clergy, headed by Cardinal Beaton (who, on the death of his uncle in 1539, had become Archbishop of St. Andrews), were vehement against the scheme. There was much diplomatic wrangling, but the Cardinal triumphed. In December, 1543, Parliament repudiated the treaties, and, in the presence of the French ambassadors, renewed the ancient league with P^rance. Henry declared war, and avowed his intetition of taking the infant queen by force. On the nth of April, 1544, he issued instructions to the Earl of Plertford, which were marked with a ferocity of spirit unmatched in the annals of Europe. The earl was ordered to make an inroad into Scotland : " There to put all to fire and sword, to burn Edinburgh town, and to raze and deface it, when you have sacked it and gotten what you can of it, as there may remain for ever a perpetual memory of the vengeance of God lighted upon it for their falsehood and dis- loyalty. . . . Sack Holyrood House and as man\' towns and villages about Edinburgh as ye con- vcnientl)' can. Sack Leith, and burn and subvert it, and all the rest, putting man, woman, and child to fire and sword without exception, when aii}' resistance shall be made against you. And this done, pass over to the Fife land, and extend like extremities and destructions in all towns and \illages whereunto ye may reach conveniently, not forgetting amongst all the rest, so to spoil and turn upside down the Car- dinal's town of St. Andrews, as the upper stone may HOLVROUl> ABbhY. llS THE REFORMATION IN SCOTLAND. be the nether, and not one stick stand by another, sparing no creature aHve within the same, specially such as either in friendship or blood be allied to the Cardinal. The accomplishment of all this shall be most acceptable to the majesty and honour of the king." Hertford carried out his instructions, and led two expeditions into Scotland, one in May, 1544, and another in September. Towns and villages one after another were sacked and burned ; and the monas- teries of Melrose, Kel.so, Holyrood, Jedburgh. Dry- burgh, and other religious houses, were committed to the flames. The instructions to Hertford reveal not only the bitterness of Henry's feeling towards the Scots, but also his especial detestation of Cardinal Beaton, who was the chief opponent of his policy. Numerous plots existed against the Cardinal's life. Henry encouraged them, and in effect offered a reward to any one who would rid him of his enemy. " And if the execution of this matter," wrote Sir Ralph Sadler to the Laird of Hrunston, '• doth rest onl\- upon the reward of the king's majesty to such as shall be the executors of the same, I pray you advertise me what reward they do require, and if it be not unreasonable, because I have been in your country, for the Christian zeal that I bear to the common weal of the same, I will undertake it shall be paid immediately upon the act executed, though I do myself bear the charge of the same, which I would think well employed." Meanwhile the persecution of those who had accepted the reformed doctrines, which were gradually spreading among the people, was undertaken with i.'AUDINAI, liKATON. {From a pyiiit in the British Museum.) 120 THE REFORMATION IN SCOTLAND. increased vigour. The Cardinal held a court at Perth in January, 1544, and many persons were summoned and accused of heresy. A number of them were banished ; but four men, James Hunter, a flesher ; WilHam Anderson, a maltman ; James Randl- son, a skinner ; Robert Lamb, a burgess of Perth, and his wife — were all condemned to death. The men were hanged ; but the helpless woman, who iiad an infant at her breast, was drowned. She gave her infant to the attendants, her hands and feet were bound, and she was thrown into a pool of water. George Wishart, a popular reformed preacher, returned to Scotland in the end of 1 544. He was supported by the Earls of Cassillis and Glencairn, the Lairds of Brunston, Ormiston, and Caldcr, who were deeply in league with Henry VHL, and were plotting the murder of Cardinal Beaton ; but the evidence is not conclusive that Wishart was implicated in the plot. On the i6th of January, 1546, Wishart was preaching in Haddington, accompanied by John Knox. That same night he was apprehended at Ormiston by the Earl of Bothwell, and conveyed first to Edinburgh and shortl)- after to St. Andrews. He was tried for heresy on the 28th of Ecbruary, condemned, and executed on the iith of March, The burning of this man aroused a deep feeling in the popular mind, and many ventured to say that they would not suffer the life of innocent men to be taken away. The Cardinal had endeavoured to strengthen his position by the old custom of bonds with the nobles, the Scotch faction opposed to his policy were dis- HOUSI-: OK CARDINAL UliAlON. 122 THE REFORMATION IN SCOTLAND. credited, and he was secure on the side of France. He passed through Fife, and attended the marriage of one of his natural daughters at Finhaven Castle. When enjoying himself, tidings came that Henry was preparing to invade Scotland, and he hurried home to put his castle in a defensive state. At that very time his enemies had matured their plot to murder him. He was living in his castle of St. Andrews, and had a number of men engaged in repairing it. Early on the morning of the 29th of May, 1546, Norman Lesly and other two men slipped into the castle. They were followed by James Melville and other three, who asked an interview with the Cardinal, and immediately after the Laird of Grange approached with eight armed men. This roused the suspicion of the porter at the gate, but he was instantly stabbed and cast into the ditch, and in a few minutes the party were within the walls of the castle. With surprising alacrity its defenders and the workmen on the ramparts were turned out, and all the gates shut and guarded. The unusual noise aroused the Car- dinal from his bed, and he was ascending the stair when his enemies came upon him and ruthlessly murdered him. Meanwhile the alarm was raised in the city ; the common bell was rung, the citizens and the provost rushed in confusion to the castle, and called warmly and loudly for the Cardinal, but they were too late. Thus perished the ablest champion of Roman Catholicism in the kingdom. mmmm IX. REFORMATION MOVEMENT TO THE OVERTMOW OF THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH IN SCOTLAND. The sixteen conspirators, joined by one hundred and fifty others, succeeded for more than a year in holding the castle of St. Andrews against the regent. In April, 1547, John Knox joined the garrison, and in May he assumed the functions of a preacher. A congregation was formed in the city, to whom he ministered, and a number of the citizens embraced the reformed doctrines. After the siege had lasted several months, the besiegers saw that they could not take the place without investing it by sea as well as by land, and, owing to the presence of the English ships, this was impossible. In the end of June, 1547, however, a number of French galleys appeared in sight, and the attack was renewed from the seaward side. This soon brought the defenders to submission. The garrison surrendered to the French commander, and were conveyed to France. Some of the chief men were imprisoned ; the others, amongst whom were John Knox and James Balfour and his two brothers, were condemned to work as galley-slaves. jZ^ 4^ PORTRAIT AXD AUTOGRAPH OF JOHN KNOX. {From' the tPtgraving in Beza's ^' Av/us.'') &:( MtkSliT'S INVASION. T25 In 1549 Knox obtained his liberty, came to England, and preached in Berwick and Newcastle. He was appointed one of King Edward's chaplains in 1551. In March, 1554, he left England and passed to Geneva. Henry VHI. died in January, 1547, while the castle of St. Andrews was still untaken, but his policy was continued. Lord Hertford, now Duke of Somerset, carried on the invasion of Scotland. The Scots were reduced to great extremities. Their crowning blow seemed to have come in a disastrous defeat at Pinkie in the autumn of 1547. Next year, however, a French army of seven thousand itien arrived to assist them ; the young queen was sent to France, and thus one object of the war was removed. After many severe struggles, the French and the Scots drove the English out of the castles and recovered the southern part of the kingdom. Peace was at length concluded in 1550. Though the pressure of external enemies was removed, the internal religious struggle proceeded. As the conflict of the old and the new religious views became clearer, and the shadow of the revolution was seen approaching, the Church and the Government acutely felt the gravity of the issues. In the ten years preceding 1560 four provincial councils of the Church were held in Scotland, at which were enacted one hundred and thirty-one canons, mostly directed against the immoral lives of the clergy, their igno- rance, and the neglect of their duties. A strict and exhaustive search was ordered for heresy and here- tical books, and especially poems and ballads. The MARY OK CLMSK, (JIKKN KKC.K.N r . nXECUTlON OF ADAM WALLACE, 127 party who wished to redress abuses without demo- h'shing the old Church prepared a catechism in the vernacular for the use of the clergy, which is characterised by moderate statement and by grace of manner and of composition. It was intended as a manual for the clergy to be read to the people. But all the canons and the catechism were of no avail ; the accumulated corruptions of many generations had resulted in a system of institutions incapable of refor- mation from within ; the features of purity, the love of truth and justice, had departed from their walls and altars ; the great ethical principles at the heart of all true religion had waxed dim, and there were no glowing rays to lighten up the darkness which enveloped the Church. In the end of the summer of 1550, Adam Wallace, a layman from Ayrshire, a man of humble rank, was accused of heresy. He was tried in Edinburgh before the bishops, the regent, the Earl of Huntly, and others. Amongst other things he was accused of having assumed to preach without authority, and of read- ing the Scriptures. He denied having preached in public, but admitted that he was in the habit of reading the Bible, and that he had given such exhor- tation as God had pleased to give him. One of his accusers said, " What, then, shall we leave to the bishops and kirkmen to do, if every man shall be a babbler upon the Bible ? " Questions were put to him touching the sacraments, prayer for the dead, and other points. At last the Earl of Huntly asked him what he thought of the mass. Wallace replied, "That which is io greatest estimation before men 128 THE REFORM ATTON MOVEMENT. is abomination before God ; " whereat they all cried out, "Heresy! heresy!" He was condemned, and burned on the Castle Hill of Edinburgh. Arran's regencj' was approaching its close. Through the vacillating character of his govern- ment he had fallen in public estimation, and the queen's mother was aspiring to the regency, and exerting all her influence to obtain it. Arran's party dwindling away, he resigned the regency in April, 1554, and Mary of Guise took his place. She was a woman of exceptional talents, and had acquired some knowledge of the character and habits of the Scots ; but she had many adverse influences and circumstances to contend against. Nevertheless, she ruled with remarkable moderation, and showed much sagacity and tact. During the period of reaction and persecution in England under Mary and Philip of Spain, a number of Scotsmen who had formerly fled across the border returned home. Knox came back in September, 1555, and preached zealously against the mass. Amongst the hearers who approved his doctrines were the Prior of St. Andrews, afterwards known as the Regent Moray, the Earl of Argyle (then Lord Lome), and other leading men. The Catholic clergy were alarmed, and Knox was summoned to appear at Edinburgh on the 15th of May, 1556. He resolved to appear, but when Erskine and other nobles who professed the new doctrines met in Edinburgh in force, the citation of Knox was abandoned. Dn the day that he should have appeared in court, he preached in Edinburgh to a REFORMED PREACHERS. 129 larger audience than had ever h'stened to him. Soon after came to him a summons from the congregation ii Geneva to repair to them as their pastor, and thither he proceeded accordingly. Immediately after his departure the bishops again summoned him, and, on his failure to appear, had Mm burnt in effigy at the cross of Edinburgh. But JOHN KNOX S HOUSK. the reformed doctrines continued to spread. William Harlavv, originally a tailor, a man of great zeal; John Willock, a native of Ayrshire, who in England had suffered imprisonment for the faith ; John Douglas, a reformed friar; Paul Methven, originally a baker; and others, preached the new doctrines with great accept- 130 THE REFORMATION MOVEMENT. ance in various parts of the kingdom. A number of the landed aristocracy came to an understanding as adherents of the Reformation movement, for they had cast their eyes on the property of the Church, and this perhaps more than anything else stimulated them to hasten on the revolution. In December, 1557, they joined in a bond known as the First Covenant, to assist each other in advancing the reformation of religion, in maintaining God's true congregation, and renouncing the congregation of Satan. Among those who subscribed this vigorously worded document were the Earls of Argyle, Glen- cairn, and Morton, the Lord of Lome, and John Erskine, of Dun. The leaders of the movement came to be known as " the Lords of the Congre- gation." The feelings of the people began to appear in many ways. Images were stolen and broken, and monasteries were defaced. In Edinburgh the great image of St. Giles was first drowned in the North Loch, and afterwards burned. In some places the images were hanged in mockery. At the same time popular ballads and rhymes appeared, in which the clergy and the abuses of Catholicism were sharply and effectively assailed ; and all the efforts of the government to suppress this class of writings utterly failed. The rhymed, dramatic, and satirical writings of Sir David Lindsay had a vast influence on the people in relation to the Reformation — exposing the abuses and corruptions of the existing system, and completely destro}-ing the national veneration so long associated with it. Lindsay's composition and EXECUTION OF MILL. 13I phraseology is coarse and vulgar, but it was effec- tive for its purpose. Indeed, his satire is too coarse for quotation ; although his writings throw much light on the state of society. In April, 1558, Walter Mill, an old man of over eighty years, a reformed priest, was apprehended and imprisoned in St. Andrews, and, being brought to trial, was convicted of heresy and burned. His execution tended to inflame the minds of the people and strengthen the position of the reform party, whose leaders gave warning that, unless such cruelties were stayed, they would be compelled to take up the sword for conscience' sake. The queen regent for a time made a show of conciliation, but the French influence impelled her to open hostility. In 1559, after a meeting of the Ecclesiastical Council, a proclamation was issued prohibiting any person from preaching without authority from the bishops, and commanding the observance of the rites of the Catholic Church. Four of the chief preachers were cited to appear before the Justiciary Court at Stirling on the loth of May, 1559, for convening the people, preaching erroneous doc- trines, and inciting them to sedition. The Lords of the Congregation resolved to protect the preachers and mustered their feudal followers at Perth. John Knox had landed at Leith on the 2nd of May, and proceeded to join his brethren. An attempt was made to effect an arrangement with the regent, who promised to withdraw the citations, but she broke her word. The accused preachers were summoned, and, failing to appear, were proclaimed rebels. 132 THE REFORMATION MOVEMENT. This breach of faith so excited the people that only an occasion was needed to drive them to violence. On the nth of May, after Knox had preached a vehement sermon against the mass in the parish church of Perth, a priest was so imprudent, or so contemptuous, as to uncover an altar in order to say mass. A youth exclaimed, at the top of his voice, "This is intolerable, that when God, by His Word, hath plainly damned idolatry, we shall stand and see it used in despite." The priest gave him a blow ; he threw a stone at the priest which struck the tabernacle and broke one of the images. Instantly the multi- tude proceeded to cast stones and to tear down the altars and images and to destroy every vestige of the ornaments of the church. The mob proceeded to sack the monasteries of Grey Friars, Black Friars, and Charterhouse, and such was the destruction, that "within two days," says Knox, " the walls only did remain of all these great edifications." This example was followed in other places ; and in an incredibly short time most of the religious houses in the kingdom were despoiled of their altars, images, and monuments. The regent threatened the heavy punishment of all who had taken part in the outbreak at Perth ; but she soon discovered that her power was not commensurate with her wishes. The Lords of the Congregation issued several manifestoes to the regent and to others in authority, all pervaded by a conviction of the truth and justice of their cause, and breathing a spirit of defiance and determination to carry out their views of reform. One of them, addressed " To the generation LORDS OF THE CONGREGATION MANIFESTO. I33 of Antichrist, the pestilent prelates and their shave- lings within Scotland," concluded thus: "We shall begin that same war that God commanded the Israelites to execute against the Canaan ites ; that is, contract of peace shall never be made, till ye desist from your open idolatry and cruel persecution of God's children. And this we signify unto you in the name of the eternal God, and of His Son, Jesus Christ, whose verity we profess, and evangel we will have preached, and holy sacraments rightly ministrate, so long as God will assist us to gainstand your idolatry. Take this for advertisement, and be not deceived." The Lords of the Congregation were assembled in Perth with a considerable force under them. The regent's French troops advanced as far as Auch- terarder, when an arrangement was made through the influence of the Earl of Argyle and Stuart, the Prior of St. Andrews. The regent again broke faith, and the prior and Argyle then left her and joined the Congregation. The Lords, proceeding rapidly, invaded St. Andrews, and the primate fled. The regent's army approached, another treaty was made, and this also she failed to keep. She was expecting reinforce- ments from France to crush the heresy, and was desirous only of delay. Thus, failing to obtain peace, the Congregation took more vigorous measures. One division of their army entered Perth on the 25th of June ; another under Argyle and the Prior of St. Andrews took possession of Edinburgh on the 29th, and the regent retired to Dunbar. They demolished the monasteries of the capital, and seized the coining irons of the Mint. l34 '^^tii-: RFFnR^rATroN movement. Tidint^s came that Ilenry II. of France was dead, and the husband of the Ouccn of Scots succeeded to the throne of that kingdom. This foreboded severer opposition to the Congrcy;ation, and they were soon in great distress. They left Edinburgh on the 36th of July, and retired to Stirling. In August antl September, a number of French troops disembarked at Leith, and began to fortify it. The Frenchmen soon made the defences so strong that the Lords of the Congregation could not hope to take the town. But they re-entered Edinburgh, and issued a proclamation deposing the regent from all authority. Skirmishing immediately began between them and the Frcnchmen.and in these encounters the forces of the Congregation were generally defeated. Forced to retire from Edinburgh, they returned to Stirling. The reform party now resolved to make an ur- gent request to the English Government for assistance. William Maitland of Lethington, who had joined the Congregation, proceeded to London with in- structions 'to treat with Elizabeth and her Council, who were eager to detach Scotland from the French alliance. Knox had already been won over by Cecil, and Sir Ralph Sadler had reported that the French alliance was by no means so popular in Scotland as the English Council imagined. ]\Iuch difficulty was occasioned by the fact that Elizabeth, the believer in divine right, felt herself treating with a body of men at war with their sovereign. Rut this was got over, and in January, 1560, the treaty of Berwick was con- cluded, whereby it t\-as agreed to send English forces to expel the French from Scotland. SIEGE OF LEITII. TREATY OF EDINBURGH. 135 An English fleet, with six thousand men, appeared in the Firth of Forth. The united Scotch and English forces besieged Leith, but the French defensive works were strong and the attacks repeatedly repulsed. The garri.son, however, began to feel sorely pressed, and provisions were failing; while the growing strength of the Protestants in France was rendering necessary the recall of the French troops. Negotia- tions were opened, and resulted in the treaty of Edinburgh on the 6th of July. It dealt with various matters touching the relations of France and England, some of which were never ratified. The articles more directly affecting the cause of the Congregation were mainly these :— That the French troops should depart (with the exception of one hundred and twenty men who were to hold the forts of Dunbar and Inchkeith) ; that the king and queen should not make peace or war except with the consent of the estates of the realm ; that neither the administration of civil and criminal justice, nor the high offices of the realm, should be deputed to aliens, and that churchmen should not hold the offices of treasurer and comptroller ; that a parliament should be assembled in August, and be as lawful as if it had been summoned by royal authority; that there should be ordained "a law of oblivion," so that " all remembrance of bearing of armour and other things which have been done, shall be buried, earthed, and forgot," from the 6th of March, 1558, Peace was proclaimed on the 8th of July, and a few days after, the French and English troops departed. The regent had retired into the castle of Edinburgh 136 THE REFORM ATIOX MOVEMENT. on the approach of the English army. She was wearied and worn out with the responsibiUties of her position, and died on the lotli of June, 1560. ParHament assembled in the beginning of August, 1560, and there was an unusually large attendance. The leaders of the Reformation had prepared a petition to parliament setting forth their charges against the Church of Rome, and indicating the ways of redressing the existing enormities. It was a sweeping production and rather vehement in expres- sion. One part of it referred to the patrimony of the Church, but Parliament waived this important question, and requested the reformers to lay before the House a summary of the doctrines which they proposed to establish. In four da\'s they produced a Confession of Faith on the lines of the Confessions of the other Reformed Churches. On the 17th of August the Confession was read in parliament, and adopted, three onl}- of the nobles voting against it. The bishops and clergy did not oppose ; and this fact, said the Lord IMarischal, confirmed him in his belief of its truth. Parliament then passed an Act pro- hibiting, under penalties, the administration of the mass, and another which abolished the jurisdiction of the Pope in Scotland, These Acts, however, it should be remembered, did not receive the royal assent. The Scotch nobles had done their work, and laid the Church of their fathers in the dust ; here- after it will appear what was the depth of their religious feelings and convictions. X. REir.N OF OUKKN MARY. In December, 1 560, came news of the death of Francis II. Tliis event was favourable to the leaders of the Reformation, for it limited, if it did not break, the ambitious schemes of the house of Guise. The work of reform proceeded in Scotland ; and the nation looked for the early return of their queen. After a .series of interviews with James Stuart, Prior of St. Andrews, her natural brother, and with other personages, Mary resolved to return to the home of her ancestors. She embarked on the 14th of August, 1561, landed at Leith on the 19th, and all ranks of the people hastened to welcome her. It was a trying situation in which she found herself. The Scotch nobles, her natural coun.sellors, were a turbulent, jealous, and grasping class, while her religion was an offence to a great and increasing number of her sub- jects. Four days after her arrival, when the arrange- ments for the celebration of mass were made, such an outcry was raised that the chapel door had to be guarded, and order was with difficulty preserved. Next day it was proclaimed that till the assembly of .\ AK\ v,i i.i.N or srors. h'NOX AND {)('I:F.N MAKY. T^j the estates of the realm no one slionid take on hand to make any allir.ilion or innovation ol ihc state of rehL;ion which thi; ([neen had fonnd cslal) lislied at her arrival, and, on the other hand, that no one shonld molest any ol the i|U('<'n's servants or attendants, in each case inuKa- jiain tiT death. ( )n the foUowinj^ Sunday Knox dec lainied a!.;ainsl the mass. That oik! mass of the ])revious week "was more fearful unto him," he said, " than if ten thou- sand armed enemies were landeci in any |)art ol the realm, of puipose to su|)|)ress the holy iowers. One Act allirmed his supreme authority in all matters civil and religious ; another enacted that to speak against any of the proceedings of Tarliament should be accounted treason ; and all the Acts and decisions of the Church Courts, if unsanctioned by Parliament, were to be held unlawful. All meetings to consult on any matter without the king's special license were unlawful. All comment oh the proceedings of the king anil Council was prohibited under severe penalties. And that these powers, which b\- the gift of heaven belonged to his INTajest)- and to all his successors on the throne, should contimie unimpaired, it was necessary to condemn Puchanan's " History of Scotland" and his " De Jure Regni apud Scotos," and, therefore, all who possessed copies of these books were ordered to deliver them to the royal oflficers within forty days, " that they may be purified of the extraordinary matters which they contain." When the Acts were proclaimed, three of the ministers — Lawson, Pont, and Balcanquhal — protested against them as injurious to the liberties of the Church. Soon after more than twenty of the ministers fled to England. The king and his party, having obtained an ample recognition of their supreme power, resolved to crush the rebellious BANISHED NOBLES. THEY RETURN. 167 preachers and nobles. Parliament re-assembled in August. A process of treason was passed against the banished nobles, and their lands were forfeited. An Act was passed commanding all clergymen, masters of colleges and of schools, to sij^n and humbly promise to obey the Acts of the last Parliament ; and to show their submissive s[)irit, they were ordered to obey the bishops appointed to rule over them. All the ministers between Stirling and lierwick were summoned to appear at Edinburgh on the i6th of November, 1584, and attest their submission to the king. Under the threat of losing their stipends, a majority of them yielded ; but it soon appeared that they were not subdued. Lord Maxw. 11 had been for many generations the leading noble in Dumfries and its neighbourhood ; but the king had ventured to encroach upon his local supremacy in the election of a i)rovost. Maxwell was therefore at war with the king, and mustered a thousand men ; and the banished nobles saw their opportunity and joined him. In Novem- ber, 1585, they returned and collected their ad- herents, met Maxwell at Selkirk, and thence with an army of eight thousand men marched on Stirling. The king and Arran were in Stirling when the rebels approached, Arran fled to the Highlands, and the king had no alternative but to receive the proffered homage of his rebellious nobles and pardon them. Most of the exiled ministers returned with the nobles, and resumed their functions. After a severe struggle with the Crov/n, the Presbyterian party prevailed. l68 CONFLICT TO THE UNION OF THE CROWNS. The General Assembly in May, 1 592, resolved to petition Parliament to pass an Act recognisint; the polity and liberties of the Church. Parliament assembled at lulinlnir^h in June, and an Act was passed which confirmed all the liberties granted to the Church by the regents and the king. It re- cognised and sanctioned the General Assemblies, synods, presbyteries, and sessions of the Church. The Act of 15S4, touching the ro\al supremac\-, and the Act relating to the bishops were expressly repealed. Although this Act is incomplete, it has always been regarded by the Presbyterian body as an important step in the national reformation. Still there were rumours of plots, and designs of the Jesuits ; and the clcrg}- were annoyed at the lenity of the king to the Catholic nobles of Huntly, Errol, and Angus. The\' were constantly on the outlook for their enemies. In February, 1595, the king made a demonstration against the Catholic earls, and they retired to Caithness. But the Re- formed clergy insisted on the complete submission of the Catholics. The Catholic earls thus driven to extremities rebelled, and the Earl of Argyle was commissioned to muster his vassals and march against them. The undisciplined army under him was attacked by the Karls of Muntly and Errol in Glenlivct on the 13th of October, 1594, and after a severe engagement, he was completely defeated, and his followers fled in confusion. The king had advanced to Dundee when tidings of Argyle's defeat reached him', and he proceeded with his army to Aberdeen, where several of the local chiefs joined CATHOLIC EARLS REDUCED. THE CLERGY. l6g him. Andrew Melville and a number of other popu- lar preachers accompanied the army, which advanced into the centre of the enemy's territory. Huntly was unable to face the royal army, and fled to Caithness. His stronghold, the castle of Strath- bogie, was dismantled ; the castle of Slaincs, the scat of the Earl of Errol, and other mansions, were also defaced. On returning to Aberdeen, the king caused a number of lluntly's -followers to be executed, and then proclaimed pardon to those who had been at the battle of Glenlivet, if they paid the fines imposed by the Council. After making some arrangements for securing peace in the district, the army was disbanded, and the king returned to Stirling on the 14th of November. The Catholic earls were reduced to despair, and left Scotland in March, 1595. But the clergy never relaxed their efforts, fearing that the Catholic nobles would return. They did return in the summer of 1596, and the king seemed inclined to restore them. The body of the clergy were opposed to this, and selected a committee of sixteen of their own number to sit in Edinburgh, and act in concert with the ministers of the capital. The king tried to convince the clergy of the justice of his proposal to restore the Catholic earls, but utterly failed. Mr. Black, one of the ministers of St. An- drews, delivered a vehement sermon in which he assailed the king, the court of session, and the nobles, in the mo.st outspoken style. He was immediately summoned before the Privy Council, and appeared, but declined its jurisdiction. The king was enraged at the 1 70 CONFLICT TO THE UNION OF THE CROWNS. preacher's denial of his supremacy, and commanded the committee of the Church to depart from Edin- burgh, and announced that the ministers should sign a bond to obey the king and the Privy Council before they received their stii)cnds. His flatterers keeping him on the line of thought and the mode of feeling to which he had always been inclined, he next commanded twenty-six of the most ardent Protestants in Edinburgh to depart within six hours. The excitement in the capital then became extreme. On the 17th of December, a rumour spread that Huntly had been at the palace of Holyrood. Bal- canquhal was ascending the pulpit when this story was told to him, and unaware of its falsehood, he commented on it in his sermon, and raised the feeling of the congregation. At the close of his sermon, he called on the barons present not to disgrace their names and their ancestors, but to meet the ministers immediately in the Little Church. A crowd had collected, and the preacher addressed them on the danger to which the Church was ex- posed by the return of the Catholic earls. A deputation waited on the king, who was in the council chamber with the lords, and informed him that they were sent by the barons convened in the Little Church, to lay before his Majesty the dangers which threatened religion. " What danger see you," said the king, " and who dares to assemble against my proclamation ? " Lord Lindsay replied, " We dare do more than that, and will not suffer religion to be overthrown." The clamour increased and a number of the people rushed into the room ; RELIGIOUS EXCITEMENT. 171 the king in great alarm started to his feet, and without giving any answer, ran down the stairs and ordered the doors to be shut. The deputation re- turned to the Little Church, where one of the ministers had been reading the story of Haman and Mordecai ; and when it was announced that the king had given no answer, the multitude were furious. The tumult thickened, and Lord Lindsay shouted at the top of his voice not to separate, that their only hope of safety was to remain and send notice to their friends to come and assist them. Some cried, " To bring out the wicked Maman " ; others shouted " The sword of the Lord and Gideon ! " one of the crowd cried, " Fy ! fy ! save yourselves, the Catholics are coming to massacre you ! to arms, to arms ! bills and axes." Some fancied that the king was a prisoner, and ran to the council chamber ; others, imagining that the ministers were being murdered, flew to the church ; some knocked on the chamber door and called for the president and other counsel- lors to be delivered up to them, that summary punishment inight be executed upon the misdoers. The provost of the city at last arrived on the scene, addressed the multitude, and advised them to go quietly to their homes ; thus the uproar was quelled without any serious mischief. After the king's courage revived, he determined to let the ministers and the citizens feel the weight of his wrath. The following morning he left Edinburgh for Linlithgow, and issued a proclamation which de- scribed the disturbance as a treasonable uproar, and ordered the Courts of Law to be removed from the 172 CONFLICT TO THE UNION OF THE CROWNS, capital, wliich was an unfit place for the administra- tion of justice. The burqesscs antl craftsmen saw in this move the loss of their trade, and therefore were ready to \'ieUl, an^l the\- impKired his Majesty's clemenc)'; but the onl\- answer which he g;ave them was an announcement that ere loni^" he would return to lulinburi;h and lot them know that he was their kint^. The provost was commanded to imprison the ministers, antl the tumult was declared a treason- able riot, l^'inalh' the provost and magistrates were were .se\'erely punished, and a tuie of -:o,(.X)0 marks was imposed on the ca[Mtal. The severe punishment of the citizens of lulin- burqh enabled the kin^; to extend his power over the Church. For a time the chief ministers of the capital were silenced, and some of them fled to Eui^land. James then directed his efforts to under- mine the Presbyterian po!it\' and re-introduce ICpiscopac)-, and be persistently pursued this line of i>olicy to the end of his rcis^n. He endeavoured to limit and control the acliiMi of the General Assemblies, but he elTected comparatively little till after his accession to the throne of h'.ni^land. Readers of Scotch histor\- become familiar with the plots of the nc^blcs ai^ainst the Crown, and the 5th of August, \6oo, was memorable for an event of this character, known as the Gowrie Conspiracy. The l^arl of Gowrie of that time was the grandson of Lord Ruthven, who acted a leading part in the Riccio tragedy. It seems probable that Gowrie intended to imprison the king and rule the kingdom in his name, as had often been done before. The earl r,Y;n7v7/': conspiracv 173 decoyed the kiiii; to his castle, and after dinner con- ducted him into a room in which the Master of Ruth- ven handled him rather roughly. But the nobles who accompaiu'ed the king came to his rescue, and after a short scuffle the master and his brother, the luirl of Govvrie, were both slain. The king insisted that all men must believe that his precious life was miraculously preserved from the hands of the two wicked brothers. lie issued a mandate to change the week-day religious service in all the towns to Tuesday, the day on which the miraculous event happened ; and an Act of Parliament was passed which commanded that the 5th of August should be observed annually — "in all ages to come as a per- petual monument of their humble, heart}-, and unfeigned thanks to God for His miraculous and extraordinary deliverance from the horrilile and detestable murder attempted against his Majesty's most noble person." Queen Elizabeth died on the 24th of March, 1603 ; and the same day James VI. was proclaimed her successor. For some time the English had been looking toward the rising sun ; and if he did not fulfil all the expectations of his new subjects, perhaps it was more their own fault than his, for if they li;ite the gootl of the people ; (4) Because it was notoi ious what disputes and trouble had arisen in the Church about a few of the many ceremonies in this liturgy ; (5) Because since the Reformation the people have always been taught a different doctrine, and they would not likely be willing to agree to such changes, even though their pastors were willing to submit. The Council informed the king of the discontent and the clamour against the liturg}-, and agreed to let the matter rest till further instructed by his Majest}'. The king replied on the loth of September, and expressed his displeasure that they had not caused the liturgy to be read, nor inllieted ci>ndign punish- ment on those who had raised the tumult. He insisted that .each bislu^p should cause it to be observed in his invn tlic^cese. On the 20th oi Se[nember, many petitions against PETITIONS AGAINST THE LITURGY. iHy the liturgy were presented to the Council. The movement was fast gaining strength ; twenty nobles, many of the gentry, and the chief men of the towns had joined it. A great number of people assembled in Edinburgh, and the luirl of Sutherland presented a general petition to the Council, in name of the nobility, the ministers, and the burgesses. The COMMON SRAL OK RDINRURGII. Council were perplexed and hesitated ; at last they declined to answer the petitions till they got in- structions from the king. They informed the king of the state of matters ; and on the 9th of October, he replied that he had postponed an answer to the petitions. l88 THE COVENANTING CONFLICT. In the middle of October, a greater number of people than before met in Edinburgh, with the aim of inducing the magistrates to join the movement, and to await the king's answer Fresh petitions from two hundred parishes were presented ; but a plain and wise answer from the king might still have dissipated all alarm. On the 17th of October, the king's answer was announced in the form of three proclamations at the cross of Edinburgh. The first intimated that nothing would be done that day touching religious matters, and the petitioners were commanded to leave the capital within twenty-four hours ; the second ordered the Government and the Courts of Law to remove to Linlithgow ; and the third denounced a book which was popular, " A Dispute against the English Popish Ceremonies obtruded upon the Church of Scotland," all copies of which were ordered to be brought to the Council and publicly burned. The people were deeply offended, and at once resolved to disobey the proclamations, and not to separate till the)' cstablishctl a rall}-ing point. Next morning, when the Bishop of Gallowa\- was going to the Council-house, a mob attacked him and pursued him to the door. The crowd surrounded the Council- house and demanded that the obnoxious lords .should surrender. The Council despatched a messenger to the magistrates to ask their help, but they were in the same plight as the Council. A part of the mob gathered around the town-house, and, entering the lobbies, threatened that, unless the magistrates joined the citizens in opposing the liturgy, they would burn the SCENE. AUTHORITIES liESET. 1S9 building. When this became known to the ('ouncil, the Treasurer and tlic ICarl of Wijj^ton forced their way to the town-house. After a brief consultation, the magistrates agreed to do all in their power to disperse the crowds, and announced to tlie seething nniltitudc that they liad acceded to the demands of the people. The Treasurer and his friends now thought that they might venture to return to the Council-house ; but the moment they appeared on the street, they were assailed with hootings and jeers. Then a rush was made, and the Treasurer was thrown to the ground ; his hat, cloak, and staff of office were torn from him, and he was in danger of being trodden to death. Some of his companions, however, got him to his feet, and the pressure of the crowd luilf carried him and his friends to the Council-hou.se door. In a short time the magistrates joined the Council, and all the authorities were beset, and many of them trembled. At last it was res(^lved to send for the nobles who had already announced themselves opposed to the liturgy, and by their exertions the crowd was dis- persed, and the counsellors got safely to their homes. l^efore separating, the opposition party agreed to meet again on the 15th of November. In the interval they exerted themselves to the utmost to secure a large meeting of the people, to await for an answer to their former petition.s. The Privy Council greatly feared a repetition of the tumults, and held a conference with the leaders of the pctitioner.s. The ncjbles on the side of the petitioners maintained their right to meet and to present their grievances ; but to obviate all cause of complaint, I go THE COVENANTING CONFLICT. they said that their party were ready to act through representatives. The Council agreed ; and the oppo- sition party appointed four permanent committees. The first comprised all the nobles who had joined the movement ; the second consisted of two representa- tives from each county ; the third embraced one minister from each presbytery ; and the fourth included one or two deputies from each borough. These committees sat at different tables in the parliament-house (hence in history they were called the Tables), and acting together they represented the nation. For effective action and business each of the committees elected four representatives, and these united formed a select deliberative body of sixteen members, appointed to sit constantly in Edinburgh, with instructions to assemble the larger body when any emergency arose. At first the)' only took charge of the petitions, and urged them on the attention of the Government ; but they shortly began to form proposals for the party, to assume the functions of government, and the control of aff^iirs passed into their hands. On the 2 1st of December, 1637, the representatives of the Tables appeared before the Privy Council and demanded that their petitions should be heard. Lord Loudon boldly stated their grievances. As the bishops were the chief delinquents and directly interested parties, it was claimed that they should not be allowed to sit as judges upon the matters in dispute between the Government and the petitioners. The Council remitted the whole matter for the determination of the king. IHE EAKL UK LUUDON. {From ihc painting by Jamieson.) 192 THE COVENANTING CONFLICT. In the beginning of 1638, Traquair, the Lord Treasurer, was called to London. He found that the king was not only extremely ignorant of the state of afifairs, but was unwilling to listen to information about the difficulties which he had caused. Some consultation was held concerning what should be done, but any idea of yielding to the opinions of the Scots could not be entertained by the king ; and it was resolved to adhere to the liturgy and the Court of High Commission, to ignore and condemn all that had been objected against them, as the royal supre- macy must be maintained. Charles took the respon- sibility of the liturgy on himself; and the Treasurer returned with his instructions in the middle of February. A proclamation in accordance with the king's con- clusions was issued on the 19th of February. But the representatives of the Tables immediately protested that they should still have a right to petition the king ; that they would not recognise the bishops as judges in any Court ; that they should not incur any loss for non-observance of such canons and proclama- tions as were contrary to the Acts of Parliament and of the General Assembly ; and that if any disturbance should arise, it should not be imputed to them. The crisis had come. The opposition party felt that they could not recede, and therefore it was requisite to look to the future. Their only hope of successfully resisting the king was to unite on some easily understood principle, which should touch the sympathies and the religious emotions of the people. At this stage an old custom suggested itself SIGNING THE COVENANT. 193 as appropriate to the emergency ; it was proposed, as in bygone days, that every adherent of the cause should be bound as one man by a solemn Covenant. The framing of the Covenant was entrusted to the Rev. Alexander Henderson, and Johnston of Warris- ton, an advocate ; and the Earls of Rothes, Loudon, and Bal merino, were selected to revise it. This national Covenant consisted of three parts : — The first was a copy of the negative confession of 1581 ; the second contained a summary of the Acts of Parliament which condemned. Roman Catholicism, and ratified the Reformed Church ; and the third was the new Covenant, by which the subscribers swore in the name of the " Lord their God," that they would remain in the profession of their religion ; that they would defend it to the utmost of their power from all errors ; that they would stand by the king's person in support of the true religion, the liberties, and the laws of the kingdom ; and that they would stand by each other in defence of the same against all persons. When everything was prepared it was resolved to inaugurate the Covenant in Edinburgh on the 28th of February, 1638. A multitude of the people assembled in the Greyfriars Church and Churchyard, and they were warmly addressed touching the preservation of their religion, their duty to God, and to their country. At two o'clock the Earls of Rothes and Loudon, Henderson and Dickson ministers, and Johnston of Warriston, appeared with the Covenant. The Earl of Sutherland was the first who signed it, and then all crowded toward the table and added their names. When those in the Church had signed, it was taken If)4 T^E COVENANTING CONFLICT. out to the churchyard and placed on a flat gravestone. There the enthusiasm reached its height, men and women were equally eager to subscribe their names, and the work proceeded till every inch of the long roll of parchment was covered. At last night closed the scene. The following day the Covenant was circulated in Edinburgh, and copies sent throughout the kingdom. Everywhere great efforts were made to arouse the enthusiasm of the people, and in two months nearly all the inhabitants of the countcy had signed the Covenant. The Privy Council were sitting in Stirling when the Covenant appeared, and were greatly em- barrassed. After two days' deliberation they agreed to send the Lord Justice Clerk to London to tell the king that the whole nation was in a state of vehement excitement. In April several members of the Privy Council were called to the Court, and some of the bishops were alread\- there, so that Charles L had a good opportunity of learning the real state of Scot- land. The Scotch counsellors suggested soothing remedies, and the state of matters was earnestly discussed. At last the king called to his closet the Archbishops of Canterbury and St. Andrews, the Bishops of Galloway, Brechin, and Ross, and the Marquis of Hamilton ; and measures of repression were adopted. The king announced that Hamilton would proceed to Scotland as High Commissioner, with power to settle the troubles. Charles' instruc- tions to Hamilton were signed on the i6th of Ma}-, 1638. and extended to twent)--eight articles, of which the concluding one was in these terms : — " If you can- MARQUIS OF HAMILTON AND COVENANTERS. 195 not, by the nieans prescribed by us, briiifr bade the refractory and seditious to due obe', 1715. In August, Mar asscml)led his friends aiul followers at Braemar Castle, and announced to tlicm his scheme. He was joined b)' the Marcjuis of iluntly, the Marquis of Tullibardie, the Marls of Marischal, Scaforth, Southcsk, Stormont, Nithsdale, and a number of the Ilighlantl chiefs. As the rising spread some of the nobles in the north of ICngland joined it. Mar unfurled the standard of revolt on the 6th of September, near l^raemar Castle, marched by Dun- keld, and entered Perth on the 28th with 5,000 men. In November there were 14,000 men in arms for the Stuart cause. But Mar had no military skill, and remained too long inactive in Perth. Before the arrival of James VIII., the Pretender, at Peterhead on the 22nd of December, the army had melted away to a few thousands, J. imcs, who suffered from attacks of ague in his progress southward, reached Perth on the 6th of January, 1716; but his presence inspired no new hope. lie had not the mien of a man likely to lead an army to victory and to glory. Preparations were made for his coronation at Scone on the 23rd of January ; but when that day came, the royal army under Argj-Ie had bcgim their march on Perth, and James was seriously thinking of flight. 264 RISINGS OF 1715 AND 1745. The hapless prince and the arm)- commenced their retreat on the 30th of January, and marched by Dundee to Montrose, where on the 4th of February, James and the Earl of ]\Iar went aboard a French vessel and sailed for France. The insurgent arm)' was fast diminishing as it proceeded northward, and on reaching Aberdeen, it disbanded on the 7th of Februar)'. Thus ended a project begun without requisite preparation, conducted without energy or skill, and leading to nothing but suffering and ruin to a portion of the people. Lenient counsel toward the insurgents prevailed in Scotland, and few of them were judicially punished. But the English Government took the punishment of the prisoners and those implicated in the rising into their own hands. A large number of all ranks of men were executed ; and hundreds were sent to the plantations to drag out a wretched life in slaver)'. The estates of upwards of forty families in Scotland were forfeited. Shortl)- after the suppression of the rising, the Government adopted measures to secure the peace of the Highlands. Acts were passed for disarming the Celtic people. General Wade planned and con- structed a system of militar)^ roads. But the action of the imperial Government often irritated the Scots ; and the Jacobites still longed for the return of the banished d)-nasty. The clan organisation, with a few feudal elements superposed upon it, continued in the Highlands till after the rising of 1745. Even the Lowland nobles retained their hereditary jurisdictions over their PRINCE CHARLES RAISED HIS STANDARD. 265 vassals. So among the causes of the rising under Prince Charles, may be enumerated the local power of the Highland chiefs and the nobles over many of the people. There were also the prejudices still existing against the Union, and an undercurrent of disaffection to England, kept alive by the memories of centuries of war and oppression. Besides, a kind of half-romantic and indescribable feeling leaning toward the ancient line of kings, undoubtedly existed and still exists in the nation. Among minor causes we must count the culpable neglect of the Government, which allowed the prince and his followers to appear for a time in a career of success. When Prince Charles Stuart landed in the Western Isles on the 23rd of June, 1745, his pros- pects of success were dreary. It was some time before he found one single man to give him the least spark of hope. The Highlanders whom he first met told him and insisted that a rising was utterly iinpos- sible. But the young prince was naturally full of hope and faith in his destiny, and determined to recover the throne of his ancestors. After repeated efforts he induced a number of the chiefs to promise him support ; and on the 19th of August, he raised his standard in Glenfinnan, with upwards of a thousand men around him. Next morning they commenced their march, and were soon joined by other chiefs and their followers. As the only regular army in the kingdom under General Cope was moved from Edinburgh to Inverness, Prince Charles resolved to advance on the capital. He entered Perth on the 4th of September, and there CHARLES EDWARD IN LATER YEARS. {From the Portrait by O. Htniiphrey. Taken at Florence.) CHARLES ENTERS EDINBURGH. 267 his army was largely reinforced. On the iith he recommenced his march, crossed the Forth, and took possession of Edinburgh on the 17th, amid the applause of the people. By this time Cope had returned from Inverness, and was landing his troops at Dunbar. But the in- surgents anticipated his action and advanced to meet him. The Highlanders attacked the royal army at Preston on the 21st of September, completely defeated it, and Cope fled in haste to Berwick. Many prisoners and much booty fell into the hands of the victors. The Highland army re-entered Edinburgh in triumph; and for a few weeks Charles held court at Holy rood Palace and acted as king of Scotland. But his difficulties were only beginning. He had failed to take the castle of Edinburgh, and few of the Low- land people supported his cause. Full of confidence in his destiny, Charles, with an army of about six thousand men, commenced to march on London on the ist of November. They took Carlisle on the i8th, and levied a contribution from the citizens. Leaving a garrison in the castle, they resumed the march on the 22nd. Few recruits joined the prince's ranks in the progress southward. They reached Manchester on the 27th, where two hundred men joined the army ; but there was no indication of a great movement on Charles' side in England. They advanced to Derby, which is within one hundred and twenty miles of London, when the leaders of the army received tidings which convinced them of the fatuity of continuing the march. There were three armies in the field opposed to them, two between them and 268 RISINGS OF 17 15 AND 1 745. Scotland, and one posted for the defence of London. Immediate retreat was their last chance of saving themselves from destruction. But Prince Charles was extremely unwilling to turn back, and bitterly pro- tested against such a proposal ; he had great faith in the divine right and justice of his cause, and persisted in advancing to the climax of his destiny. The retreat was ordered on the 6th of December. The rank and file of the army rent the air with cries of indig- nation ; they could have endured to be defeated by superior numbers, but to retreat without striking a blow was an insufferable disgrace. When they returned, Edinburgh was in the hands of the Government, and in other parts of the kingdom troops were organised and prepared to act against them. They retreated through Dumfries, and entered Glasgow on the 24th of December, wearied and tattered. Charles exacted a large contribution of clothing and shoes from the city, rested a week, and proceeded to Stirling. On the 17th of January, 1746, they attacked and defeated the royal force under General Hawley, at Falkirk. The Duke of Cumber- land was commissioned to extinguish the rising. He arrived at Edinburgh on the 30th of January ; and, with an army of fourteen thousand men, and a train of artillers', advanced northward. Charles' army was attempting to reduce Stirling Castle when tidings of Cumberland's advance came. The insurgents then commenced a retreat, and reached Crieff on the 2nd of February. There they sepa- rated into two divisions, one, under the prince, moved by Blair Athole ; the other, under Lord George CUMBERLAND'S MARCH. CULLODEN MOOR. 269 Murray, marched by Montrose and Aberdeen, It was arranged that they should meet at Inverness. Cumberland proceeded to Aberdeen and rested his army till the spring. On the 8th of April he com- menced his march for Inverness along the coast in connection with a victualling fleet, which sailed parallel with his army ; and on the 14th he reached Nairn. THE OLD TOLBOO'llI TOWER, ABERDEEN. By this time the prince's army was suffering severely from constant exposure and want of food. The men were much exhausted, and at the utmost only num- bered five thousand foot, and one hundred cavalry. They were mustered on Culloden Moor ; but though the most experienced chiefs earnestly entreated Charles to 2^0 RISINGS OF 1715 AND 1745. avoid a battle or remove to a better position, yet he was deaf to all reason and insisted on an immediate action. Thus his followers were forced to form on the Moor behind the enclosure of Cullodcn House. The Duke continued his march, and came in sight of the insurgents. On the i6th of April, he began the battle by a canonade which committed much havoc in the insurgent's ranks. After a heroic charge and a severe but brief combat, the clansmen were defeated by the weight of superior numbers, and many of them were mercilessly massacred in the pursuit. Prince Charles escaped, and the remnants of his army dis- persed. The victors then began an indiscriminate slaughter of all those supposed to be disaffected to the Government, or in any way connected with the rising. The Duke of Cumberland and General Hawley have entailed on themselves eternal infamy by the cruelties which they inflicted upon the defenceless and innocent inhabitants of the Highlands. There was great rejoicing in London over the vic- tory at Culloden. But many people who were not Jacobites, were shocked by the details of the cruelties and sufferings inflicted on the Celtic population. Dr. Smollett, the well-known novelist, gave expression to this feeling in his poem, entitled " The Tears of Scot- land," of which the following lines are a specimen : — " Mourn, hapless Caledonia, mourn, Thy banished peace, thy laurels torn ! Thy sons, for valour long renowned, Lie slaughtered on their native ground ; Thy hospitable roofs no more Invite the stranger to the door ; 272 RISINGS OF 1715 AND I745. In smoky ruins sunk they lie, The monuments of cruelty. Oh ! baneful cause, oh ! fatal morn, Accursecl to ages yet unborn ; The sons against their fathers stood, The parent shed his children's blood. Yet, when the rage of battle ceased, The victor's soul was not appeased : The naked and forlorn must feel Devouring flames and murdering steel. The pious mother, doomed to death, Forsaken wanders o'er the heath, The bleak winds whistle round her head, Her helpless orphans cry for bread ; Bereft of shelter, food, and friend. She views the shades of night descend ; And stretched beneath the inclement skies, Weeps o'er her tender babes, and dies." From the Revolution to the suppression of the last rising, the rhymes and ballads were the common out- come of the rhymers of the street, the alehouse, the club, the festival board, the farmhouse, and the cot, amongst the valleys and the hills. The Jacobites always endeavoured to catch the ear of the people, and constantly appealed to the lighter emotions, the passions, and the selfish feelings under the guise of a mass of rough humour and coarse satire — thrown at the new dynasty and the Whigs — the alleged authors of all the woes of the nation. After the battle of Culloden a higher strain was struck. The bitterness of defeat, of suffering, and of sorrow, filled the souls yACOBtTE SONGS. ^73 of the Jacobites and inspired them with a mournful and yet noble resolution to yield to their fate, and .make the best of the changed circumstances. There are a large number of these later Jacobite songs and ballads. Some of them are beautiful and exceedingly touching, and still popular in Scotland. XVIII. GENERAL RESULT OF THE OrERATION OF THE UNION. Looking at the Union as means to an end, we find it had a vast eftect on the welfiiie of the people. At once it greatly widened the field of commercial enter- prise to the Scots, and directly tended to afford them more security in every quarter of the globe. The Scots always had a fund of energy and ample power of endurance, but external obstacles had long retarded their progress and crippled their best efforts. Hence, when the nation was placed under more favourable conditions by the Union, the people advanced rapidly in wealth and civilisation. It was the earnest desire of the Scots to obtain equal commercial rights which made the Union possible and endurable. Though (as we shall see) the first attempts to adjust the fiscal relations of the two kingdoms caused disturbance, still it was ultimately beneficial. Another most important arrangement was the coinage. In 170S the Scottish coins were finally called in, and preparations were made for a coinage cxacth- on the method of the COMMERCIAL ADVANTAGES. 275 Enc^H-^h mint. Thus one of the good results of the Union was soon obtained ; as the convenience and advantage of only one coinage and standard of monej' for the island is obvious. Prior to the Union the Scots were permitted to trade only where the English Government thought fit. But after it there was no limitation, their ships might trade with the remotest quarters of the world. The splendid ships and fine steamers which have steered from the ports of Scotland for .MONUMENT TO C. H. BEM. (XHK BUILI^FR OF TIIF FIRST STEAM vessel) on the banks ok lUK (.lYDl.. several generations afford ample evidence of the energy, the skill, and the enterprise of her sons. Since the Union the development of shipping and shipbuilding, has been vast and varied. Shipbuilding itself has passed through several revolutions in which Scotland has taken a leading part. It ma\', therefore, be aflRrmed that the Union 'commercially has been highly beneficial, and that the advantages flowing from it have tended to promote the prosperity and MORAL ADVANTAGES. 277 the material development of the natural resources of the country. Although the Scots relinquished their separate legislative power, they gained a position and a share in the government of a larger nation, and in the honour and glory of the British Empire. As they retained their own laws and legal organisations, and their religious and educational institutions, the great change implied in the Union embraced many elements of moral advantage. Scotch nationality and patriotism have continued essentially unimpaired, but much of its prejudice and narrowness which the strife of preceding ages had generated, .has been slowly thrown off. It is always true that a people's own country and affairs arc of prime importance to them ; yet a people that limited all their faculties and energies to the internal affairs of their own country, would be emphatically characterised as a narrow- minded, a poor, and an unsympathetic community. If all our political institutions and social organisations were expressly framed and exclusively directed to this one end, it would manifest a weak and a con- temptible ideal of humanity. From these and many other considerations, it appears to rne that the Union afforded great and inestimable moral advantages to Scotland. And the records of the last hundred years show that Scotsmen have fully appreciated and enjoyed these advantages. The Union conferred many advantages, and also entailed disadvantages, in political and legislative relations. It might be assumed that the united deliberation and counsel of the British Parliament 278 GENERAL RESULT OF THE UNION, would be more competent to frame wise and useful legislation than a Scotch Parliament. This would depend on the accuracy of the information which the British Parliament possessed of the opinions and convictions of the Scotch people and of their insti- tutions, and, from a lack of this, has occasionally- inflicted pain and injustice on the people of Scot- land. An instructive instance occurred after the first rising, touching the disposal of the forfeited estates. Parliament placed the control of the matter in the hands of a Commission, which proceeded to sell the estates. A number of creditors who had claims on the estates applied to the Court of Session, and sequestration was granted. The commissioners failed to understand tiiis proceeding, and complained to the Government that they were prevented from dis- charging their duty by a body calling itself the Court of Session ; they therefore asked the Government to increase their powers. And the British Parliament passed an Act which ignored the jurisdiction of the Court of Session, in direct violation of the stipulations of the Union, and in spite of the protest of the Scotch judges. In finance and fiscal arrangements the British Parliament has not generally treated Scotland worse than England, For a generation or two after the Union much irritation was caused b\' changes and rearrangements in this branch of government, and a few examples may be narrated. Ale was a staple necessary in the domestic economy and trade of the nation. At the time of the Union there was no malt tax in Scotland, but there was a duty on liquor. In DIFFICULTIES WITH THE MALT TAX. 279 1713 a malt tax of 6d. per bushel was imposed upon Scotland, though the Scotch members in both Houses of Parliament bitterly opposed it. At this date there were upwards of five thousand maltsters in Scotland ; and in June the tax was ordered to be enforced. " But such was the general and determined resolution of the inhabitants not to submit, that the officers of excise for several years were everywhere refused access to survey and charge the duty ; and that when charged it was never paid, nor could it be recovered by proceedings at law, as the justices of peace in all the counties refused to act. The consequence was that, during the twelve years after the 24th of June, 171 3, while the tax continued at 6d. per bushel, the duty actually levied amounted to a mere trifle, and fell considerably short of the necessary expense attending this branch of the revenue." In 1724 the Government wished to raise ^20,000 by a tax on Scotch ale. Parliament passed an Act proposing to levy 6d. per barrel on ale instead of the malt tax, and to exclude the Scots from the bounty on exported grain, which was to be continued in England. The nation vehemently resented the proposal, and protested against it. It was relin- quished, and a malt tax of 3d. per bushel imposed. As iJ"20,000 had to be drawn from the Scots, it was enacted that, if the tax of 3d. failed to produce the amount, it must be made up by a surcharge on maltsters. The Act came into operation in June, 1725, and the citizens of Glasgow manifested a sullen attitude when the excisemen were preparing to enforce it. The 28o GENERAL RESULT OF THE UNION. following day they appeared in crowds on the streets ; the magistrates failed to disperse them, and a party of soldiers were called into the city. Shouts were raised against Campbell of Shawfield, their member of parliament, who was suspected of having assisted the Government. They said, as he had already betrayed them, now he was to enslave them beneath a military yoke, and slay them if they resisted. At night they attacked his house and laid it in ruins. Next morning the mob appeared and jeered at the soldiers on guard. Their com- mander ordered them to turn out and form square, and, without the authority of the provost, commanded them to fire on the crowd. Eight of the citizens were killed and many wounded. The crisis was reached. The people ran to an old armoury, and having armed themselves, at once presented so threatening a front that it was feared all the soldiers would be massacred, and the officer marched them to Dumbarton. A regiment of infantry, seven troops of dragoons, and a company of Highlanders from General ■ Wade's force, were sent into Glasgow, and quietness was restored. Criminal proceedings were instituted, the magistrates of Glasgow were seized and imprisoned in L-dinburgh. The charges against them were abandoned, but a few of the rioters were punished. The captain in command of the party who fired upon the crowd, was tried and condemned, but received a royal pardon. The citizens of Glasgow were deeply offended, and the Jacobites were exceedingly jubilant. In Edinburgh the opposition to the malt tax assumed a determined form. All the brewers MALT TAX. SMUGGLING. 281 resolved to cease brewing. The, Lord Advocate lodged a complaint against them in the Court of Session, and the Court ordered them to proceed with their work as usual. They refused, and some of them were imprisoned ; but at last they yielded. These proceedings were only the first of a series of excise difficulties which continued for more than a hundred years. In some parts of the north and west of the kingdom smuggling whisky was common till past the first quarter of the present century. The smuggling brewing houses were often beside a fresh spring or stream of water, in out-of-the-way glens and hill-sides, where no one could see them without searching carefully ; in general, they were small and rudely constructed. The whisky smuggler usually stored his malt in a square pit on a hill among long heather and at some distance from his brewing house. The malt tax continued at from 3d. to /d. per bushel till the end of last century. In 1802 it was raised to is. 8d. per bushel, which caused universal complaints in Scotland. The following year the tax was raised to 3s. 8d. per bushel, which occasioned a great outcry throughout the kingdom, though the tax was 8d. per bushel more in England than in Scotland. But the effect of this enormous increase of the tax on the cultivation of Scotch bcre or barley was immediately ruinous. And in 1804 Sir John Sinclair stated: "The malt duties lately imposed seem to have been intended to annihilate the cultivation of this grain altogether; it would be but spending time to no purpose to express anything on the subject. We may indeed 282 GENERAL RESULT OF THE UNIOtf. continue to gro\v a little of it for the purpose of feeding our horses, or feeding our poor people, but as to making it into malt, that appears to be altogether out of the question, aj the demand for it for that purpose has not merely declined, but ceased altogether ; insomuch that, had it not been for a few cargoes of it that were taken off our hands this season to feed the people that were starving in Shetland and in Norway, we might have dunged our land with it for any other market that this country now affords." It was further recorded that the use of ale and beer had been very generally relinquished over whole districts ; and that the extinguishing of the Scotch farmer's market for his principal crop was reducing his ability to cultivate the land, and rendering him less able to pay his rents and taxes, and less capable of serving, as well as less serviceable to the com- munity by producing the necessaries of life. Of Scotch whisky, which has long been famous 50,844 gallons were produced in 1708. In 1756 there were 433,81 1 gallons; but then the duty was increased, which caused a fall in the production. Shortly after a demand for Scotch whisk}' arose in England, and large quantities of it were transmitted there ; but an import duty of 2s. 6d. a gallon was imposed, which was quickly followed by a system of smuggling. It is said that in 1787, upwards of 300,000 gallons of Scotch whisky crossed the Border without the cognisance of the excise. A new mode of charging the duty on spirits was tried in 1786, the licence duty being calculated upon the capacity of the stills. But the distillers soon altered the form Scotch whisky. 283 of the stills, and increased the rate of production. When the Government discovered this, the amount of the licence was raised year by year, till in 1798 it amounted to £64 i6s. 4d. per gallon of still capacity. The mode of chaii^ing the duty was again changed in 1799, when a duty of 4s. io)^d. was put on each gallon of spirits produced for home consumption. There were then eighty-seven licensed distillers in Scotland, but they diapproved of the change, and many of them gave up business, so the amount of duty fell off for a year or two. In 1802 the Government reduced the duty to 3s. lo^d. per gallon. In 1803 there were eighty-eight distillers, who paid a duty of ^2,022,409. The next year the duty was raised, and the number of distillers decreased, till in 181 3 there were only twenty-four ; at this time the duty was 9s. 4^d. per gallon. In 1823 it was lowered to 2s. 4-"4d. per gallon, when the number of distillers greatly increased, and the revenue accord- ingly rose. In 1833 the rate of dut)'- was 3s. 4^^d. a gallon, and the number of distillers 243, who paid a duty of ^5,988,556. In 1840 the duty was 3s. 8d., the number of distillers 205, and the quantity of whisky produced 9,032,353 gallons. The .same year the quantity of spirits charged with duty as consumed in Scotland was 6,007,631 gallons. In 1855 the quantity of whisky produced was 11,283,636 gallons. In 1867 there were in distillers, and the whisky produced was 10,813,996 gallons, and the same year the quantity of spirits charged with duty as consumed in Scotland was 4,983,000 gallons. In 1748 the Imperial Parliament abolished here- 2S4 GENERAL RESULT OF THE UNION. ditary jurisdictions in Scotland, which were associated with the ownership of land and titles of rank. It was a wise measure, but it should have been passed immediately after Mar's rising. The forfeited estates of the nobles and chiefs implicated in the rising of 1745 were pretty well managed by a board of com- missioners ; and a part of the proceeds drawn from them were applied to public improvements. The Highland Society, instituted in 1784, received a grant of i"3,ooo, and ;^50,ooo was lent to complete the Forth and Clyde Canal, which the proprietors of the canal repaid before 1806. ;^25,ooo was lent for completing the Crinan Canal ; and a like sum to the magistrates of Edinburgh to improve the harbour of Leith ; and ^^1,000 to erect a prison in Inverness. In 1784 the estates were restored to the heirs of the former owners, under the condition that they should repay the sums paid by the public on account of the debts due by the persons whose estates had been forfeited, which amounted to upwards of ;^90,000. In the closing years of the last and the opening years of the present century there was a spirit of emigration in the Highlands. The Highland Society, in the years 1801, 1802, and 1803, transmitted several reports giving detailed information to the Govern- ment, touching the means of diverting the rage for emigration which prevailed ; they strongly urged the Government to encourage public works, such as the Caledonian Canal, and the construction of roads and bridges in the Highlands. In 1803 Parliament passed an Act authorising a sum of ;^20,ooo for MEAN a OF COMMUNICATION. 285 making roads and bridges in the Highlands, and enabh'ng landowners to encumber their estates with a portion of the expense of such works. The Government had employed Mr. Telford, the eminent engineer, to survey and report on the state of the roads and bridges, and on the means of promoting the fisheries on the east and west coasts, with the object of preventing further emigration of the inhabitants of the Highlands. Me collected a vast mass of interesting and important facts, and pre- sented his report in April, 1803 ; and in summer he received instructions to prepare for practical opera- tions. He proceeded to the Highlands, planned the lines of roads and bridges which were most necessary, and aimed at securing the connection of the new lines of roads by bridges at the most important points, such as Dimkcld, over the Tay. The bridge of Dunkeld, which forms the opening to the central Highlands, was finished in 1809, and the communi- cation to the north of Inverness was continued by a bridge over the Beauly. He also erected important bridges to connect the existing lines of roads — one at Ballater over the Dec, another at Alford over the Don, and one at Craigcllachie over the Spey. Having thus connected the main lines of roads, he concentrated his attention upon the interior of the Highlands, And by the year 1820, twelve hundred new bridges were erected, and nine hundred and twenty miles of good roads were added to the means of commiuiication in this region. The first stage coaches which ran northward from Perth to Inver- ness were tried in i8o8 ; before 181 1 they were POLITICAL STATE OF THE PEOPLE. 287 regularly established; and in 1820 forty stage coaches arrived in Inverness every week, and as many departed. The Caledonian Canal, also the work of Telford, was opened in 1822. It is needless to say that since that time there has been a complete revolution in the means of communication both on sea and land : nevertheless, the opening up of the Highlands was an important step in the Story of Scotland. In the last century there was no popular represen- tation in Scotland. The town councils elected the borough members of parliament; and in 1790, , the total number of voters in all the counties of the kingdom was only 2,652. In those days it was an easy matter for the Government to manage the elections as they thought fit, and they did so. The press was only in its infancy : a hard and bitter contest had to be fought ere it obtained freedom of discussion. Corporations and public bodies might speak for them- selves ; but the opinion of the general community was not recognised as having any claim to be heard or consulted. The Government recognised no public opinion save that which issued from themselves or their official organs. So long as the people plodded on quietly at their daily occupations, the corruption of the political fabric was concealed behind its official trappings. But, when the French Revolution burst out, it sent a shock of alarm and panic into the heart of every government in Europe. Its effects soon appeared in the administration of Scotland. The terror of revolution seized the British Government ; reason itself shook, and justice and 288 GENERAL RESULT OF THE UNION. humanity were driven beyond the gates of mercy. Everything rung with the French Revohition, which was made the all-in-all for about twenty years. " Every- thing, not this or that, but h'terally everything, was soaked in this one event." Although there is no evidence that any considerable number of persons in Scotland ever embraced the French revolutionary principles, there were many people who desired to reform the existing political system of government. But the reigning Toryism, in order to retain its monopoly of power, fixed upon all reformers and opponents the stigma of Jacobins, revolutionaries, and seditious persons. There were but few real Whigs in Scotland, and they were viewed by the Government with extreme suspicion : even Dugald Stewart, the fluent professor of moral philosophy in Edinburgh, was an object of great secret alarm. All persons who held liberal opinions were subjected to contumely, insult, and personal loss and danger for many years. The Government suppressed all attempts to form political associations. It employed a set of spies who often brought innocent and unsuspecting persons into the iron grasp of the criminal law. When any government expressly pays men to discover sedition among a peaceful community, these men in the interest of their trade will soon create a show of the article required by their employers : this was what happened in Scotland. A number of men were seized, imprisoned, and accused of sedition, tried, convicted, and sentenced to death or transportation. At one of these political trials the Lord Justice FREEDOM. CHANGED CONDITIONS. 289 Clerk in his address to the jury laid it down as an unquestionable doctrine — "That the Jiritish Con- stitution is the best that ever was since the creation of the world, and it is impossible to make it better." After that there was nothing more to be said, since all reform was futile. Liberal princi[)les and freedom of discussion slowly advanced in Scotland. First the better classes of tradesmen, next the middle and commercial class, and then the Whigs raised their voice in parliament-. Signs began to appear which convinced those in authority that their lease of power was not eternal. Still the body of the people were for long left outside of the constitution ; they had to fight more than a generation ere they obtained political rights. If we look to the change of conditions and circum- stances arising from the extension and the develop- ment of the British Empire since the Union, the greater complexity of internal organisation, and the advance of civilisation in the United Kingdom, it may easily be seen that the Imperial Government of 1707 had a much narrower range of business, and less difficult problems to deal with, than fall to the lot of the Government of the present day. In the present century there have been revolutions in governments, in commerce, in the means of warfare, in industry, in the means of communication, and also in thought and belief It is idle to imagine that the legislative apparatus and constitution of the past, is competent to master and to treat the political and social problems of the present. XIX. RELIGIOUS MOVEMENTS. The ideas of the Scotch Rofornicrs were not elabo- rated at once ; relitjion and secular government were often mixed in tlie early stages of the Reformation movement. A Church distinct from and independent of the State was an idea quite alien to the forms of thought which prevailed amongst the Reformers ; on the other hand, a secular government distinct from and independent of the Church was a conception scared)- entertained by any statesman of the sixteenth or seventeenth centuries. The common notions of theocracy were held b\- the Church and State as being both under the direction of God, and therefore requiring to be associated. The theocratic idea is grand and inspiring in contemplation. But in prac- tical operation it appears that the Church and the State both claim a supremacy : and they often hold very ditVerent views as to what is the will of God, or how far and in what circumstances the word of God should' be followed. The king may maintain that he alone under God has a supremacy over the Church, and everything else within his dominions, POLITY OF THE CHURCH OF SCOTLAND. 291 as was done by James VI., Charles I.,Cliarlcs II., and James VII. Whoever wishes to understand ^thc many stru[^lesof the Pivsbyterian Church, and she opposed and rejected it, and fought against it. It was abolished shortly after the Revolution of 1688, but again restored by the British Parliament in 1712, contrary to the letter and the spirit of the Treaty of Union, and to all conceptions of a wise policy toward the Scottish nation. After this the struggles of the Church were mainly internal, although they still sprang from the theory of her powers. The sentiments and feelings en- gendered by many j-ears of persecution continued to be represented in the Church courts ; and hence an internal struggle arose between the party who held firmly to these sentiments and the new party — called " the Moderate party." At first the diffe- rence between the twi> was slight ; but in the middle of the eighteenth century the opposite views of the Election or ministers. 293 popular and the moderate parties had become distinct. The chief point of polity in dispute was the settle- ment of ministers in parishes against the wishes of the congregations. Cases of this character were constantly coming bcfcnc the presbyteries and general assemblies ; and in 1733, it was on matters arising from such cases that a secession took place. Ebenezer Erskinc, minister of Stirling, was a vehement and able advocate of [)oi)ular election, and in a sermon at the opening of the Syncjd in 1732, he stated that: "There is a twofold call necessary for a man's ineddling as a builder in the Church of God — there is the call of God and of I lis Church. (iod's call consists in qualifjing a man for his work. . . . The call of the Church lies in the free choice and election of the Christian people. The promise of conduct and counsel in the choice of men that are to build is not made to patrons or to any set of men, but to the Church, the body of Christ, to whom apostles, prophets, pastors, and teachers are given. As it is the natural privilege of every house or society of men to have the choice of their own servants, so it is the privilege of the house of God in particular. What a miserable b(Midage would it be reckoned for any family to have servants imposed on them by strangers, who might give the children a stone for bread, or a scorpion instead of a fish, or poison instead of medicine! And shall we suppose that ever God granted a power to any .set of men — patrons or whatever they be, to impose servants on His family?" 294 RELIGIOUS MOVEMENTS. Erskine was sharply rebuked by the synod and the General Assembly for the sentiments uttered in his sermon. But he adhered to every word of it, and protested at every stage of the proceedings against him, with three of his brethren who joined him. They boldly repelled every attempt of the assembly to threaten or to coerce them. At last, in 1740, they were turned out of their churches and manses but several years before this they had formed a pres- bytery. Dissent continued to increase, and in 1773, there were upwards of two hundred dissenting congregations, besides Episcopalians and Roman Catholics. The question of patronage and the intrusion of presentees on reclaiming congregations occupied much of the time of the Church courts. In 1752 Dr. Robertson, the historian, inaugurated a movement for the enforcement of the law of patron- age. His policy had a most deadening tendency, inasmuch as those who adopted it had no higher principle than that of a cringing allegiance to the patrons. So this party soon lost the confidence and the respect of the people, because they had cast off the historic glory of their Church. Dr. Robertson retired from the management of Church affairs in 1780. In 1 78 1 the synod of Glasgow and Ayr presented overtures to the General /\ssembly touching patron- age, which insisted that no call should be sustained unless it was signed by a majority of the heritors, elders, and communicants of the parish. The assembly dismissed the proposal, because it was of A REVOLUTION PREPARING. 295 a dangerous tendency. The synods of Dumfries, Perth and StirHng overtured the assembly to state exactly what was meant by a call ; but this was simply dismissed without comment. In 1783 the synods of Perth and Stirling, and Fife, implored the assembly to make the utmost effort to get patronage repealed. The moderate party tried hard to avoid a debate ; but the popular party proposed that presbyteries should be instructed to consult with the landed gentry, and report to the next assembly. In the debate it was emphatically stated that the aversion of the people to patronage was invincible, and could never be overcome. A great revolution was preparing. The changed conditions and circumstances of society had rendered the theocratic conception impracticable, while the fundamental principles of Presbyterianism were almost incomprehensible to politicians and lawyers beyond the Tweed. Hence their futile and laughable efforts to check the evolution of the movement. As an attempt to redress the evils involved in patronage, the popular party proposed, in the assembly of 1833, that when a majority of a con- gregation objected to the minister presented by the patron, the presbytery should not proceed with the settlement. The proposal was debated at great length ; both parties exerted themselves to the utmost. Dr. Cook moved that the proposal should be adopted, and it was carried. The assembly of 1834 passed it into an act; and its effect was that when a clear majority of the male heads of families, being members of the congregation and in commu- 296 RELIGIOUS MOVEMENTS. nion with the Church, dehbcrately objected to the presentee's settlement as their minister, in that case the presbyter}- of the district should not proceed to thrust him upon the congrei^^ation. This rule is else- where called " rhe \'cto Act." It was on this reason- able rei:i;ulation that the struggle which issued in the Disruption was foui:^ht, although there were other principles involved in the contest. • Without entering- into many details I shall present the leading steps of the movement. In 1834 the Earl of Kinnoull presented Mr. Robert Young to the parish church of Auchterarder, in Perthshire, and the presbytery of the district, proceeding in the usual form to admit him, found that onh- two of the con- gregation had signed his call, and therefore decided that the\' could not induct him. The case was brought before the Court of Session, and the judges decided that the presbytery had acted contrar\- to the statute of 1712. This decision was appealed to the House of Lords, which asserted that the juris- diction of the civil court is supreme, and affirmed the judgment of the Court of Session. This settled the point that the rejection of a patron's presentee on the ground of the dissent of the congregation was illegal. It also implied the conclusion that the con- gregation had no legal standing in the settlement of their ministers ; their onl\- (.luty was to submit quietly to whoever the patron thought fit to place over them. The General Assembly met on May 16, 1S39, and intimation of the grounds of the final contest was given. Dr. Cook, the leader of the moderate party, PATRONAGE, 297 eihnouncccl that his followers had resolved to conduct the affairs of the Church in accordance with the decrees of the civil courts. Dr. Chalmers said that he would submit a motion to the assembly. The debates were lon^ and exceed in<;"ly animated. Dr. Cook i'usisted that " The Veto Act," by the decision of the courts, was rendered null, as the Church had been acting under an error as to her power. Dr. Chalmers's motion was that the Church bowed to the decision of the court, so far as matters of civil right were concerned, but he avowed that : " Whereas the principle of non- intrusion is one coeval with the Reformed Church of Scotland, and forms an integral part of its constitution, cinbodied in its standards, and declared in various acts of assembly, the General Assembly resolved that this principle cannot be abandoned, and that no presentee should be forced upon any parish contrary to the will of the congrega- tion." This motion was carried by a majority of forty-nine, and a deputation from the committee appointed under it proceeded to London to consult with the Government. The Government were un- willing to attempt to legislate on the points in dispute, and their almost utter ignorance of the subject was a reason for their apathy. So little were the Government aware of the facts of the case that they never dreamed of such an event as 'the Dis- ruption. It was evident that the crisis wns nearing its issue, when, in 1839, the seven rebellious ministers of Strathbogie were suspended to prevent them from proceeding with the settlement of Mr. lul wards, in DR. CUAl.MliRS. ACTION OF THE SUSPENDED MINISTERS. 299 the parish of Marnoch. The suspended ministers placed their faith in the Court of Session, and ex- hibited great energy. They first obtained an interdict to prevent the minority of the presbytery, and others, from using any of the churches, churchyards, or schoolhouses, in executing the sentence which the assembly had pronounced against them. They next obtained a warrant from the court authorising them to continue to exercise all the functions of the ministry. The General Assembly met in May, 1840, and the popular party assumed a firm attitude. The sus- pension of the Strathbogie ministers was sustained by a majority of eighty-four, but the debate was extremely vehement. The moderate party main- tained that the Church must submit to the dicta- tion of the civil courts, as this was the law of the land, and obedience to it the first duty of all loyal subjects. Under an order from the Court of Session the suspended ministers of Strathbogie inducted Mr. Edwards in the church of Marnoch, on January 21, 1841. The majority of the General Assembly were driven into a position which rendered any compromise impossible ; so they deposed the Strathbogie ministers. For several years the country rang with the clamour and talk of non-intrusion and spiritual indepen- dence, and the excitement was intense. Pamphlets, speeches, and ballads were circulated through the kingdom in hundreds of thousands. The engrossing subject attracted the attention of every household, and many a family became divided in religious senti- 300 RELIGIOUS MOVEMENTS. ments. As the ai;itation, the controversy, and hot discussion approached its cHmax, the non-intrusion party repeatedly sounded the kingdom by platform speeches and open-air meetings. When the General Assembly of 1842 met the anarchy of tiie Church was painful. Under a warrant from the Court of Session the deposed ministers of Strathbogie elected two of their number, and an elder from Aberdeen, to represent them in the assembly ; but on a division their members were rejected by a majority of one hundred and thirty. The deposed ministers went further, and interdicted the members elected by the other party in the presbytery ; but the assembly ignored this, and the members took their seats. A motion to abolish patronage was proposed and carried by a majority of sixty-nine. The Claim of Right was moved and debated at great length, and finally carried b\- a majority of one hundred and thirty-one. The Claim is an able and well-known document. It was drawn up b}- Mr. Andrew Dunlop, advocate, a wise and resolute gentleman ; he gave much of his time and thought to the service of the Church, for which he never accepted a single farthing. Ho was one of the ablest and calmest men who appeared in the assemblies of the period. But the attitude and the claims of the Church of Scotlanci were misunderstood and misrepresented in Parliament. On 7th and 8th of March, 1843, ^ debate in the House of Commons took place on the Church of Scotland's Claim of Right. The subject was intro- duced by Mr. Fo.x Maule, in a very clear and able speech. Sir James Graham followed with a rambling CHURCH OF SCOTLAND'S CLAIM OF RIGHT. 3OI harangue, in which he asserted in the most dogmatic style that the Claims of the Church of Scotland were opposed to law, to order, and to common sense, " and therefore the sooner that the House extinguished them the better." Others spoke in favour and against the claims of the Church. But the Prime Minister, Sir Robert Peel, was vehemently opposed to her claims, although it is very evident that he had not taken the trouble to understand them. He solemnly declared that the Church, in its proceedings against the Strathbogie ministers, had laid claim to greater powers than ever were advanced, even before the Reformation, by the Church of Rome. Touching the question of the limits of the civil and ecclesiastical powers, he thought that this should be determined by the English law lords. On a division the motion was rejected by a majority of one hundred and thirty-five ; and out of the thirty-seven Scotch members who were present, twenty-five voted in favour of the motion. Thus the British Parliament rejected the Claim of Rights, though it was approved by the representatives of Scotland. On April 5th Lord Campbell introduced five resolutions in the House of Lords of the following character : — i. That the House of Lords was de- sirous that the Church of Scotland should freely enjoy her rights, government, discipline, and privi- leges, according to law, in all time coming. 2. That she is an excellent Church. 3. That, with a view to heal the unhappy dissensions prevailing, this House is of opinion that the demands of the Church should be conceded by the Legislature, in so far as tliey can 302 RELIGIOUS MOVEMENTS. be safely conceded ; and that when any measure for correcting the alleged abuses of patronage shall be constitutionally brought before this House, this House will favourably entertain the same, and anxiously endeavour that the end of the said measure may be attained. 4. That in the opinion of this House the demand that patronage should be abolished as a grievance is unreasonable and unfounded, and ought not to be conceded. 5. That the demand of the Church that the law should be so framed as to give her courts absolute authority in every case, to define the limits of their own jurisdiction, without any power in any civil court in any way to question or interfere with her proceedings or decrees, although they may exceed their jurisdiction, is unprecedented in any Christian Church since the Reformation, is inconsis- tent with the permanent welfare of the Church, and the existence of subordinate and good government of the country. In the debate the speakers maintained that no redress should be given until the Church obeyed the existing law. Lord Brougham said, " he would not be a party to the suicidal, to the self-destructive folly, of giving men new laws to break until they consented to obey the old law." Referring to Lord Aberdeen, he said, " his noble friend who seemed to be a non- intrusionist. What ? Would he have that principle not only established in Scotland, but carried south of the Tweed ? Would he have it eat into our English system ? Would he seek, by means of it, to destroy our Erastianism ? " Such was the twaddle vented in the House of Lords ; not a glimpse of what was due to the people of Scotland entered their minds. FAREWELL SERMONS. ASSEMBLY OF 1843. 3O3 The popular party were everywhere preparing to leave the Establishment, as it was now hopeless to prolong the contest. The forethought, the syste- matic order, the discipline of the rank and file of the clergy, and the completeness of all their arrangements, were really wonderful. The final scene of leaving the Establishment presented the characteristics of the closing act of a noble and well-played drama. On the two Sundays before the meeting of the assembly, many congregations throughout the country were deeply affected by farewell sermons from the ministers to whom they were warmly attached. It was well known that a startling move was to be made, but the uncertainty of its form and extent caused an anxiety and uneasiness of feel- ing unexampled since the Union. How would the royal commissioner act .-* Would he dissolve the assembly? Or would he recognise the minority as constituting it ? The assembly met on the i8th of May, 1843. Dr. Welsh of Edinburgh opened the proceedings, and delivered a sermon in St. Giles, in which he announced what was going to happen. He then proceeded to St. Andrew's Church, where the assembly was to be held, and took his place in the Moderator's chair ; and a (e\v minutes later the royal commissioner entered. The church was crowded, and Dr. Welsh rose and engaged in prayer. After the members had resumed their seats, he again rose, and announced : — "That in consequence of certain proceedings affecting their rights and privileges, which had been sanctioned by the Government of the country ; and more espe- FINAL SCENE. 365 ci'ally seeing that there had been an infringement on the hberties of the constitution of the Church, so that they could not constitute this court without violating the terms of the union between the Church and the State in this nation, therefore I protest against our proceeding further." Amidst profound silence and intense alarm on the opposition benches, he read the protest, which fully ex[)lained the grounds of the step they were about to take. When he had finished reading it, he handed it to the clerk at the table, bowed to the royal commissioner, quitted the chair, Hfted his hat, and walked away. Instantly Dr. Chalmers, Dr, Gordon, and the whole of those in the left side of the church, rose and followed him. Up- wards of two hundred ministers walked out, and they were joined outside by three hundred clerg)'mcn and other adherents. Dr. Welsh wore his Moderator's dress, and when he appeared on the street, and the people saw that prin- ciple had risen above interest, shouts of triumph rent the air such has had not been heard in Edinburgh since the days of the Covenant. They wallced through Hanover Street to Canonmills, where a large hall was erected for the reception of the disestablished assem- bly. They elected Dr. Chalmers moderator, and formed the first General Assembly of "The Free Church of Scotland." Four hundred and seventy- four ministers left the Establishment in 1843 ; they were also joined by two hundred probationers, nearly one hundred theological students of the University of Edinburgh, three-fourths of those in Glasgow, and a majority of those in Aberdeen. The Disruption was an accomplished fact. I call it 3o6 RELIGIOUS MOVEMENTS. a revolution of a high character, as it was effected without violence or bloodshed. It was an event charged with a moral power of vast import, which could not fail to produce beneficial results. The Free Church commenced her work with vigour and earnest- ness, and her success from the first has been remark- able. The Established Church for a time was greatly crippled, and her pre-eminence has not been restored, although she has worked steadily and well, and ex- tended her lines considerably. The Roman Catholics in recent years have relatively increased more than any other denomination ; and the hierarchy was restored in Scotland in 1878. Toleration and freedom of thought have made almost incredible progress in Scotland within the last fifty years ; and no one need now be afraid to announce his opinions and senti- ments if ho has anything to tell worth attention. XX. MODKRN LITER ATUKK OF SCOTLAND. The political and religious contests of the seven- teenth century were extremely unfavourable to literary culture. In the succeeding century circumstances became more propitious, and j^^rcater literary activity was displayed. Style was made a special object of study. The critical examination of historical evi- dence be^an to be recognised, and the real recjuisites of historical inquiry better appreciated and under- stood. David Hume was filled with a passionate love of literary fame, and turned aside from his philosophical speculations to try his skill in historic compo- sition. His "History of Great Britain," which ex- tended to six volumes, was at first bitterly assailed by the Whigs of the day ; but it soon became popular, new editions appeared in rapid succession, and he was placed in the front rank of English historians. Al- though he was highly gifted and well qualified to estimate every kind of historical evidence, he allowed himself to fall into some mistakes and inconsistencies. He was constitutionally disqualified from forming fair 3o8 MODERN LITERATURE OF SCOTLAND. and just opinions on the Covenanting struggle and the period of the persecution, or from reah'sing the position of his suffering countrymen. While he shows a lamentable deficiency in appreciating many of the genuine influences of the seventeenth century, yet on other occasions the views of conflicting parties are Hume's gravk. grasped and presented with rare power and fairness. His form of narration is admirable. He fully recognised the importance of culture, and devoted certain portions of his history to it. His style is exceedingly clear, easy, graceful, and polished. ROBERTSON, TYTLER, ALISON, BURTON. 309 Dr. William Robertson, a minister of the Church of ft K^ Scotland, attained a wide reputation as a historian. His chief works are the " History of Scotland," and " History of the Reign of Charles V. of Spain." He shows considerable realistic power and good judg- ment. The historic works of Hume and Robertson formed an era in Scotch literature ; they cleared the ground and swept in front of all their British prede- cessors : insomuch, that Gibbon who followed, only wished to rank with them — " The perfect composi- tion, the nervous language, and the well-turned periods of Dr. Robertson, inflamed me to the am- bitious hope that I might one day tread in his foot- steps." Patrick F. Tytlcr was the author of a " History of Scotland," and many other works, chiefly of a bio- graphical character. His "History of Scotland" evinces much original research and great industry. His style is plain and animated, but somewhat diffuse. Sir Archibald Alison's " History of Europe," which covers the period from the commencement of the French Revolution to the accession of Napoleon in 1852, has some historic merit, and has been translated into most of the European languages. His mastery o( arrangement was creditable, his narration fresh and animated, and his description realistic and interesting. Dr. John H. Burton produced a large number of works, chiefly on legal, biographical, and historical subjects ; most of which were valuable and interest- ing contributions to the literature of Scotland. His longest work is the " History of Scotland," from 310 • MODERN LITERATURE OF SCOTLAND. Agricola's invasion to the suppression of the rising in 1745. One of his latest efforts was a "History of the Reign of Queen Anne," He was an able, an instructive, and an indefatigable writer. The works of Thomas Carlyle extend over various fields of literature, translations from the- German, critical essays, political and satirical pamphlets, bio- graphy, and history. He is the author of many ^«^iQ*4 THOMAS CARLYLB volumes, and commands the attention and admiration of a large body of readers. His chief works in the historic branch which he cultivated were, "The French Revolution ; " " Oliver Cromwell's Letters and Speeches;" and the " History of Frederick 11., called the Great." " The French Revolution " is the best of his historic works. His powers of description CARLYLEy SKENE. 31I were amazing, and he presents a realistic and seething panorama of the Revolution. *' Frederick II." is the longest of his works, and extends to six large volumes. There is much patient research in it, vivid touches on men and things, sage remarks, and humour, fine descriptions of battle-fields and scenes ; yet it is not history in the strict sense, it is merely personal bio- graphy, varied and enlivened by the author's rare genius and worship of power. Although Carlyle had no remarkable analytic facul- ties, as a historical biographer he was really great. His insight of character and power of .seizing reality, his power of discerning and selecting appropriate incidents and points, enabled him to shine and take the first rank in this branch of literature. Taking him all round, he was a real genius, a sagacious man, a noble and brave character. Dr. W. F. Skene, Historiographer Royal for Scot- land, has done much useful historical work. He edited the collection known under the title of " The Chronicles of the Picts and Scots," to which he pre- fixed an able introduction. He is the author of an admirable " Hi.story of Celtic Scotland," which was designed to ascertain and present what could be fairly extracted from the early authorities. A transition from history to poetry is natural, as the two branches have many points of contact. Allan Ramsay's writings were pretty various, consisting of comic and satirical pieces, pastoral poems, songs, fables, and tale.s. His tales are humorous, but rather indelicate. Some of his songs are still favourites, such as " Lochaber no More," and " The Yellow Haired 312 MODERN LITERATURE OF SCOTLAND. Laddie." His greatest effort is " The Gentle Shep- herd," which appeared in 1725, and was well received. He drew his shepherds and characters from real life, placed them in scenes whicJi he had seen, and made them utter the idiomatic speech of their own native vales and hills. His skill is chiefly shown in the selection of his materials, in the grouping of his THE HOUSE IN PROAD STKF.ET, AHERDEEN, WHERE RYRON LIVED WHEN A I?OY. natural and well-defined characters, and in the clear conception and elaboration of an interesting and romantic plot. Ramsay had many of the qualities of the real poet — imagination, the elaborative faculty, passion, humour, and pathos. James Thomson, author of "The Seasons," "The THOMSON y FERGUSSON. 313 Castle of Indolence," and other poems, when a very young man proceeded to London to pursue his for- tune, and after a hard struggle died in 1748, in the prime of life when he was working to his mental strength. His genius was luxuriant, glowing, and enthusiastic, and needed discipline. His feelings were warm and wide, embracing all mankind ; his love of nature was intense ; and his heart and soul throbbed with humanity. THE COrTAC;E WHERE BURNS WAS BORN. Omitting many other poets of some note, I come to Robert Fcrgusson, a native of Edinburgh, who died in the twenty-third year of his age in 1774. His chief characteristics were a keen sense of the ludicrous, a strong vein of original comic humour, and a copious command of expressive language. Burns had an excessive admiration for the effusions of Fer- gusson and preferred them to Ramsay's. A few 314 MODERN LITERATURE OF SCOTLAND. lines from his piece, " Cauler Water," may indicate why Burns admired him : — " When father AcHe first pat spade in The bonny yard o' ancient Edin, His army had nae Uquor hiid in To fire his mon. Nor did he tliole his wifes upbraidin', For bein' fou . His bairns had a' before the flood, A langer tack o' flesh and blood, And on niair pithy shanks they stood Than Noah's line, Wha still hae been a feckless brood, \Vi' drinkin' wine. The finMlin' bardies, nowadays, Rin mankiii wad in Bacchus' praise." The first edition of Burns's poems was published in 1786 ; and other three editions appeared in his Hfetime. Since his death ninety-three years ago, upwards of three hundred editions of his poems ha\e been published. His influence on the imaginative literature of Scotland has been deep and abiding. The satirical and comic features of many of his poems have had a most beneficial effect upon the sentiments of the people ; as in conjunction with other influences, they have enlightened their minds, and enabled them to banish from their breasts a host of delusive and absurd fears. Touching liberty and independence, Burns's writings were clear and emphatic. His own manly and independent spirit shows itself in his poems and has had much effect ROBERT BURNS. {From the Portrait by Nasmyth.) o 1 6 MODERS LITERATURE OF SCOTLAND. on the nation. " The Tree of Liberty," and " A Man's a Man for a' that," were not written in vain. Thomas Campbell's " Pleasures of Hope " appeared in 1799, ^^hen he was in his twenty-first year. The poem was immediately successful. It attracted many readers by its fine melody, polished style, and the generous sentiments which pervaded it. His short poems, and songs have been much admired, and some of the latter are popular favourites. His " Specimens of British Poets," with biographical and critical notices, published in 1S18, is of much value; his criticisms are exceedingly just and interesting, and presented in a fine polished style. Sir Walter Scott was a versatile genius, and attained distinction as a poet, a novelist, and in other branches of literature. From his childhood, he was a student of the ballad lore, the traditions, and superstitions of Scotland. His first independent poetic effort appeared in 1805, under the title of the " Lay of the Last Minstrel." It was very popular, and he was placed in the front rank of living poets. In 180S, his poem of "■ Marmion " was issued ; and followed at short intervals by six or seven volumes of poetry. The " Lady of the Lake " was the most popular of his poems, and in a few months twenty thousand copies were sold. Though some of his poems are still read, they are not nearly so popular as his novels. Within a limited range of poetic conceptions which embraced an elaboration of past events and incidents, traditions and popular belief, Scott's poetry had merits of its own ; but it lacked the glow of internal emotion, and that poetic fire generated in tlie mind and elaborated by intellectual energy. SIK WALTER SCOTl . 3l8 MODERN LITERATURE OF SCOTLAND. James Hogg, a native of the vale of Ettrick, is best known by his poetic name of "The Ettrick Shepherd." He was sent to service when a boy, and received little education. But his mother had a habit of reciting legends and singing ballads, and many of her son's evenings in childhood were occupied in listening to her. He became an ardent reader of poetry and romances, and devoured the contents of a circulating library in Peebles. He assisted Sir Walter Scott in collecting ballads for the " Minstrelsy of the Border." Hogg's first volume of songs and short pieces appeared in 1801. He acquired a facility of imitating the style of the old ballads ; and in 1807, he published " The Mountain Bard," a volume of songs and poems. His legendary poem entitled "The Queen's Wake" appeared in 181 3. It consists of a number of tales and ballads supposed to be sung to Queen Mary of Scots by the native bards assembled at a ro}'al wake in Holyrood, to show the fair Queen " the wondrous powers of Scottish song." The effort was well conceived and elaborated, and placed Hogg high in the rank of Scotch poets. At the end of it he adverted to an advice which Scott had once given him, to abstain from his worship of poetry : — " Even fairies souEjht our land again So powerful was his magic strain. Blest be his generous heart for aye ; He told me where the relic lay ; Pointed my way with ready will Afar on Eltrick's wildest hill ; Watched my first notes with curious eye. And wondered at my minstrelsy : Hogg, the ettrick shepherd. 319 He little weened a parent's tongue Such strains had o'er my cradle sung. But when to native feelings true, I struck upon a chord was new ; When by myself I 'gan to play, He tried to wile my harp away. Just when her notes began with skill, To sound beneath the southern hill, And twine around my bosom's core, How could we part for evermore ? 'Twas kindness all — I cannot blame — For bootless is the minstrel Hame : But sure a bard might well have known Another's feelings by his own." Hogg produced many works. "The Mador of the Moor," a poem in the Spenserian stanza ; " The Pilgrims of the Sun," in blank verse ; " Queen Hynde ; " " Dramatic Tales ; " several novels ; and " Jacobite Relics." He was an able and veritable genius. His imaginative and reproductive faculties were high, his sympathies wide, and his powers of realisation rarely excelled. There are passages in his writings which few poets have ever surpassed. The following lines are from his verses to the Comet of 181 1 :— " How lovely is this wiklered scene. As twilight from her vaults so blue, Steals soft o'er Yarrow's mountains green. To sleep embalmed in midnight dew ? All hail, ye hills, whose towering height, Like shadows, scoops the yielding sky ! And thou, mysterious guest of night. Dread traveller of immensity. Stranger of heaven I I bid thee hail ! Shred from the pall of glory riven, That flashcst in celestial gale, Broad pennon of the King of heaven. 320 MODERN LITERATURE OF SCOTLAND, Art thou the flag of woe and death, From angel's ensign staff unfurled ? Art thou the standard of His wrath Waved o'er a sordid, sinful world? Whate'er protends thy front of fire, Thy streaming loclvs so lovely pale — Or peace to man, or judgment dire, Stranger of heaven, I bid thee hail 1 O on thy rapid prow to glide ; To sail the lioundless skies with thee, And plough the twinkling stars aside. Like foambells on a tranquil sea ; To brush the embers from the sun. The icicles from ofl' the pole ; Then far to other systems run, Where other moons and planets roll." It may be mentioned that the number of Scotch poets whose names have been ascertained exceeds two thousand. In the Mitchell Library of Glasgow there are upwards of six thousand volumes of Scottish poetry and verse. Turning to the region of fiction, some of Dr. Smollett's novels, which appeared in the middle of the last century, are still read. His " Roderick Ran- dom " was long a popular favourite. The taste and moral tone of Smollett's fiction is not of an elevated character ; but he had inventive power, native humour, and a wide range of knowledge. Between him and Scott there were a number of Scotch novelists, but the scale of this volume cannot admit of particularising them. Sir Walter Scott was a man of wonderful and un- tiring industry. The quantity and variety of his 322 MODERN LITERATURE OF SCOTLAND. works exceed that of any Scotch writer, although both in thought and style he has been frequently excelled in special branches of literature. In the field of the historic novel and romance of bygone, centuries, drawn from the customs, the manners, the notions, and the superstitions of the Scottish people, Scott is unrivalled. His strength mainly lay in a facility of reproducing pictures and representations of the external action and superstition of past generations, and skill in weaving these into attractive and interesting stories. His novels have been ex- ceedingly popular. Many millions of them have been sold. The moral tone of his fiction is manly and instructive ; but its original aim was to interest and amuse readers, and in this its success is unmatched. John Gait was a contemporary of Scott, and the author of a long list of novels, tales, and various writings. He had great energy, but his genius was crippled by adverse circumstances. His life was one hard struggle, in which his brave spirit and warm heart never failed. In the perception of motive and character he was unsurpassed. But his taste was defective. The most popular of his novels were the " Wandering Jew," the " Ayrshire Legatees," and the " Annals of the Parish." John Wilson, "Christopher North," was professor of moral philosophy in the University of Edinburgh from 1820 till his death in 1854, and was one of the leading contributors to Binckivooifs Ma^a::iuc in its palmy days. Some of his tales contain touching pictures and interesting scenes. He also wrote verse, but attained no distinction as a poet. LORD KAMES, LORD ERSKINE. 323 Miscellaneous literature would take in many names of note, but only a few can be mentioned. The religious literature of Scotland, in the form of ser- mons and hortative discourses, is large ; but in the department of theology there are few works of much authority, and till recently there was not the slightest necessity for them. For the religious differences among the Scots were not concerning the existence and attributes of God, or the fundamental doctrines of Christianity, but chiefly about forms of Church government and the powers of the Established Church, and the rights of congregations in relation to their ministers. Hence the characteristics of the religious literature of the nation. Henry Home, Lord Kames, was called to the Scotch bar in 1732, and in 1752 was raised to the bench. He became a distinguished member of the literary circles of Edinburgh, a warm patron of litera- ture, and of every movement calculated to promote the prosperity and civilisation of the nation. His writings were numerous, and treated of law, morality, religion, and other subjects. His " Elements of Criticism," if considered as an attempt to investigate the principles of the fine arts as results of the operation of the mind, has merits, though it has many defects. The subject is difficult, and he was among the first to essay its explanation in modern times. His " Sketches of Man " contain some curious facts, pregnant hints, and acute reflections on society. Thomas, Lord Erskine, the youngest son of the Earl of Buchan, served both in the army and navy, but resigned his commission, and turned to the study 324 MODERN LITERATURE OF SCOTLAND, of law, and was called to the Enti^lish bar in his twenty-eighth year. lie soon attained a good posi- tion, and entered Parliament as member for Ports- mouth in 1783. In 1S06 he was appointed Lord Chancellor, but he had to retire on the dissolution of the Whig Government in the spring of 1807. He published in 1817 a political fragment, entitled, " Armata," which contains some good remarks on constitutional law and history. Dr. Thomas Chalmers was the most (hstinguished of Scotch divines of the early part of this century. Prior to the Disruption he led the popular party in the General Assemblies of the Church. He was a popular preacher, delivered his sermons with intense earnestness, energy, and vehemence. He was ap- pointed to the chair of divinity in the University of Edinburgh in 1828, but he relinquished it in 1843. His collected works extend to thirty- four volumes, and treat of a wide range of subjects — theology, evidences of Christianity, moral philosophy, political economy, astronomical discourses, sermons, and other subjects. The chief characteristics of his writings were earnestness, energy, and profuse illustration. His knowledge was comprehensive and varied, both in literature and in science. He had also an unusually accurate appreciation of the feelings, the habits, and daily life of the people, which was the main source of his influence over the nation. In method and style his writings were defective. His usual mode of exposi- tion was to present his main theme or idea in a variety of forms and from different points of view, with the aim of impressing it on i\\e mind of his hearers. LORD JEFFREY. 325 Lord Jeffrey was called to the Scotch bar in 1794. He was one of the originators of T/ie Edinburgh Review, which appeared in October, 1802, and from 1803 to 1829 was its editor and manager. In its pages he found ample scope for his political opinions, and his literary and critical faculties. The Reviezv contributed much to raise the standard of criticism in Britain, and to advance more liberal principles in politics. Jeffrey collected the most important of his own contributions to the Reviezu, and published them in 1844, in four volumes, since reprinted in one. His articles and criticisms embraced poetry, literature, and moral science. As a critic he showed sound judgment, good taste, and an elevated tone ; although occasionally in the early numbers of the Reviezv he was harsh and severe. In poetic criticism he sometimes failed to appreciate the genuine merits of his author. I present a short specimen of his style on the prevailing notion that genius is a source of peculiar \mhappiness to its possessor : — " Men of truly great powers of mind have generally been cheerful, social, and indulgent ; while a tendency to sentimental whining or fierce intolerance may be ranked among the surest symptoms of little souls and inferior intellects. In the whole list of our Mnglish poets we can only remember Shenstone and Savage — two, certainly of the lowest — who were querulous and discontented. Cowley, indeed, used to call himself melancholy ; but he was not in earnest, and, at any rate, was full of conceits and affectations, and has nothing to make us proud of him. Shake- speare, the greatest of them all, was evidently of a free 32b MODliRN LITERATURE OF SCOTLANI). and jo}'ous tcmpcianient, luid so was Chaucer their common master. The same disposition appears to have predominated in Fletcher, Jonson, and their i^rcat conteni[H)raries. The irenius of Milton partook something of the austerity of the part)- to which he belonged, and of the controversies in which he was HOUSF. OK JAMIESON, rili: bCUlCU \AMi\i. k. Al AliKKUEEN. (LiJtfly dttnoiisfiiii. ) involved ; but even when fallen on c\il days and evil tongues, his spirit seems to have retained its serenity, as well as its dignity ; and in his private life, as well as in his poetry, the majesty of a high character is tempered with great sweetness, genial indulgences, and practical wisdom. In the succeeding age our DR. TV J. LOCI I. 327 poets were but too gay ; and lliough wc forbear to speak of livinjj authors, we know enough of them to say with confidence, that to be miserable or to be hated is not now, any more than heretofore, the com- mon lot of those who excel." Dr. John Tulloch was the author of a number of works, chiefly theological and historical. His first notable effort was a treatise on Theism which received one of the Burnett i)rizes in iuncan, King, slain by Macbeth, 22 Duncan, King, 24 Dundee, 52, 53, loS, 141, 16S. 264 Dundee, \iscount, 231, 237-240 Dunfermline, 46, 57, 73 iJunkeld, lo, 19, 263, 285 Dunnichin, battle of, 9 Dunnotter, 21 Dunsinnane, 23 Durham, battle of, 76 Durward, .\lan, 39, 41 E Eadmer, 28 Edgar, King, 24, 26 Edinburgh annexed, 21 ; burned by the English, 116-118; tumults in, 169-172, 183-184, 188-189, 230, 232-233 INDEX. 3S3 Edinburgh Castle, 50, 75, 91, 98, 99, 135, 149. 155' '60, 161, 198, 226, 232, 237, 267 Education, 31, 104, 176, 243-246 Edward I., 43, 44-49 ; invasions, 50-5 1' 53-54, 55, 56-59, 62-65 Edward 1 1., invasions, 65,66-69 Edward III., invasions, 75, 76 Egfrid, 9 Eglinton, Earl of, 153 Elgin, 22,51, 78, 93 Elizabeth, Queen, 134, 142, 159, 173 Episcopacy, 163, 165-167, 172, 179, 198, 216, 234, 237 Ere, 8 Errol, Earl of, 168 Erskine, John, of Uun, 130 Erskine, Lord, 323 Excommunication of Bruce, 70 Falkirk, battle of, 55, 268 Falkland Castle, 81 Fergus I., 2 Fergus, chief, 34 Fergiisson, 313 Feudalism, 26, 29, 31, 34, 36, 48, 55 Fife, Earl of, 24 Fifeshire, 4, 10, 21, iiO, 122, 221 Firth of Forth, 4, 7, 8, 99 Fletcher, Sir John, 214 Fletcher of Saltoun, 251, 253 Forfarshire, 10, 51 Forfeited estates, 278, 2S4 France, alliance, 50, 77, 100,112, 116, 125 Francis II., 134, 137 G Galgacus, 4-6 Galloway, risings in, 8, 29, 34, 36 Gait, John, 322 Gaskluiie, 79 Gilbert, 36 Glasgow, 14, 15, 59, 150, 197, 217, 219, 223, 268, 279 Glencairn, Earl of, 120, 130, 144, 158, 214 Glenroe, 241-243 Glentinnan, 265 Glengarry, 241, 242 Glenlivet, battle of, 168, 169 Gordon, Duke of, 231, 232, 237 tiowrie, Carse of, 10 Gowrie conspiracy, 172-173 Gowrie, Earl of, 164, 165 Graham, Sir Robert, 87, 88 Grayfriars churchyard, 193, 194, 224 Grayfriars church, 184 Guise, house of, 112, 137, 141, 142 Guthrie, James, 215 H Hackston, of Rathillet, 221, 223 Haco, 39, 40 Hamilton, Claud, 159, 161 Hamilton, Duke of, 231-233, 236, 253, 256, 260 Hamilton, Marc|uis of, 194-197 Hamilton, of Buthwcllliaugh, 160 Hamilton, Patrick, 108 Henderson, 186, 193, 197 Henry the Minstrel, 59, 103 Henry VII., 100, 102 Henry VIII., 112, 113, 115, 116, 118, 125 Henryson, poet, 104 Heresy, 83, 108, no, 120, 125, 127-131 Hertford, 118 Hogg, 318-320 Holyrood, 89, 100, 1 1 6, 144, 151, 155, 267 Hume, 307 Huntly, Earl of, 93 ; fourth earl, 140, 141 ; fifth earl, 147, 149, 151, 152, 159, 160; sixth earl, 168, 169 I Inchaffary, Abbot of, 67 Inckkeith, 135 Indulf, 21 Inverness, 16, 36, 85, 141, 265, 269, 285, 287 lona, 17, iP 19 Irish, Scots, I, 8 Irvine, 53, 219 334 LXDFX. Jacobites, 232, 233, 235, 237, 239, 249, 251, 253, 254, 259, 260, 26 1 , 263 £•/■ J^V/. , 2S0 Jacobite songs, 270-273 James I., 82-S8 James II., 89-94 James III., 94-100 James IV., 100-102 James V., 105-113 James VI., 163-179 James VII., 226-233, 240 James VIII., I'retender, 263-264 Jedburgh Castle, 50, 82; Monas- teiy, 118 JeftVey, Lord, 325 Jesuits, 168 Johnston, of Warriston, 193, 197, 203, 214, 215 K Keith, Sir Rnbert, 68 Kelso, 94, 118 Kennedy. Archbishop, 92, 94 Kenneth II., 21 Kemuth McAlpin, 10, 20 Kenneth McDuft", 22 Ker, 86 Kildrummy Castle, 51 Killiecrankie, battle of, 237-240 Kil pat rick, West, 7 Kincardineshire, 21 Kinghorn, 41, 46 Kirkcaldy of Grange, 159, 161 Kirkpatrick, 61 Kno.\, 123, 125, 128, 131, 132, '34.139. 140, 141. 157. 160, 162 I.amberton, BishopofSt. Andrews, 60 Langside, battle of, 159 Largs, 40 Lnud, iSi, 194, 196 Lauder Bridge, 98, 99 Lauderdale, Earl, of, 217 Lawson, James, 162, 166 Leith, 116, 131, 134, 135, 137, 147, 202 Lennox, Earl of, 142, 152, 160, 161 I Lennox, Eme Stuart, Duke of, 163, 164 Leslie, Alexander, 198, xyy Leslie, David, 204 Lesly, Norman, 122 Leven, Earl of, 233 Lindsay, Lord, 170, 171 Lindsay, Sir David, 130, 174 Linlithgow, 51. 113,130, 171, iSS Livingston, Sir Alexander, 89, 91, 92 Lochaber, 85, 237 Lochleven, 156, 159 Lockhart, Sir George, of Carn- wath, 254 Long Parliament, 201, 202, 204, 205 Lords of the Congregation, 130, 131. 132. 133 136 Lorn, Black Knight of 89 Lome, Lord, 130 Lothian, 9, 22, 26 Loudon II ill, 63 Louilon, Lord, 190, 193 Lude Hill, 237 Lulach, 23 Lumphahan, 23 M Macbeth, 22, 23 Macdonald, of Glencoe, 242 Macduff, 49 Mackay, General, 23^-17, 23S, 239 Mackenzies, 241 Maclean, 241 MacWilliam, 36 Magi, i6 .Maid of Norway, 41, 43 Maitl.ind of Lethington, 134, 161 Malcolm I., 21 Malcolm II., 22 Malcolm III., 23 Malcolm IV., 34 Malcolm, chief, 29 Mar, 255 ; headed a rising, 263- 264 Mar, earldom, 87 Mar, regent, 74, 161 March, earls of, 74, 86, 87 INDEX. 335 Margaret, Queen of Malcolm III., 23 Margaret, Queen of James IV., 100, 105 Marisclial, Earl, 136, 263 Mary of Guise, Queen of James v., 112: she became regent, 128, 131, 132, 133, 134, 136 Mary Queen of Scots, 113, 125, 134. 137-157, 159 Maxwell, Lord, 167 Melrose Abbey, 34, 118 Melville, Andrew, 163, 165, 169, 177, 178 Melville James, 177, 178 Melville, James, 122 Melville, I.ord, 236 Methven, 62 Middlelon, 215, 216, 217 Mill, Walter, 13 1 Mitchell, 220 Monk, General, 209, 211 Monmouth, Duke of, 223, 227 Monteith, Earl of, 37, 76 Montgomery, .Sir lames, 236 Montrose, 264, 269 Montrose, Marquis of, 204 Woray, Andrew, 53, 55 Moray, Andrew, regent, 75 Moray, Earl of, regent, 128, 133, 137, 140, 143. 144, 149' 157, 158, 159, 160 Moray, Randolph, 67, 74 Morken, King of .Stralhclyde, 13, 14 Morton, regent, 145, 147, 149, 150, 155, 157, 158. 161, 163, 164 N Nithsdale, Earl of, 263 Norham, 44, 45 Norman Conquest, 23, 26, 29, 31, 39- 51 Norsemen, 19, 20, 21, 25, 39 Northumberland, 21, 22, 23, 34, 70 Norway, 39, 43 O Ogilvy, Waiter, 79 Orkney, IJisiiop of, 220 Orkney Isles, 22, 39, 41, 95, 97, 112 Ormiston, Laird of, I20 Papal Court, 70-72 Parliament, 49, 71, 76, 77, 79, 81, 83, 85, 86, 91, 108, 112, 116, 136, 145, 152, 157, 159, 164, 166, 168, 173, 178, 181, 199, 201, 207, 214, 217, 224, 227, 236, 240, 245, 249, 251- 260 Pentland hills, 219 Perth, 10, 31, 33, 51, 75, 76, 83, 87, 131, 132, 133, 141, 164, 263, 265, 285, 295 Perth, Earl of, 230 Peterhead, 263 Picts, 8, 9, 10, 12, 16 Preston, battle of, 267 Presl)yterianism, 163, 168, 198, 240, 259, 290-306 Quakers, 228 Queensberry, Duke of, 251 R Raid of Ruthven, 164 Ramsay, Allan, 31 1 Kedercch, 15 Reformation in .Scotland, 107, 108-II2, 118-122, 125-136, 159 Renwick, 229 Ricci.t, 145, 147, 149 Ripon, 201 Roads, 264, 284-287 Robert I., see Bruce Robert II., 77, 78 Robert III., 78, 79, 81, 82 Roljcrtson, 309 Roman invasion, 3-8 Ross, 36, 39 Ross, Bishop of, 194 Ross, Lord, 237 Rothes, Earl of, 159, 193,214, 217 Rollics.ay, Duke of, 79, 81 Ro.xburgh Castle, 50, 75, 94 336 INDEX. I\uLher<;len, 222 Ruthven, Lord, 147, 149 Ruthven, Master of, 173 Saxons, 9, 23, 24, 26 Schools, 31, 176, 243-246, 328 Scone, 10, 21, 24, 28, 34, 37. 48, 51, 62, 74, 77, 78, 83, 106, 105, 209, 263 Scott, Sir Walter, 316, 320 Seaforth, Earl of, 209, 263 Seton House, 149, 152 vSeton, of Pitmedden, 255 Sharp, Archbishop, 216, 220, 221 Shetland Isles, 39, 41, 97, 112 Sigurd, 22 Sinclair, Oliver, 113 Skene, 311 Solway Moss, 113 Somerset, Duke of, 125 Southesk, Earl of, 263 Spain, 100, 144 Spey. 21, 22, 29, 33, 93, 208, 285 Stephen, 29, 30 St. Andrews, 21, 27, 44, 46, 81, 108, no, 116, 120, 122, 123, 131. 133. 150. 169 St. Columha, 15-19 St. Giles' Church, 162, 183 St. Kentigern, 13-15 St. Ninian, 12, 13 Stirling Bridge, battle of, 53-54 Stirling Castle, 9, 57, 66, 67, 75, 92, 99, 134, 155, 160, 239, 268 Slirlingshire, 8, 10, II Stirling, town of, 31, 33, 51, 82, 141, 167, 194, 215 Stormont, Earl of, 263 Strathbogie, 23, 93, 141, 169 Strathern, 21, 22 Strathspey, 10, 36, 53 Succession Act. 224 Sutherland, Earl of, 187, 193 Tables, 189-192 Tacitus, 3, 4, 6 Tay, 3, 4, 6, 9, 10, 24, 51, 141, 285 Test Act, 225, 227 Thomson, 312 Tithes, 30, no, iSo Torture, 219 Tranquair, Earl of, 189, 192 Tullibardie, Marquis of, 263 Tulloch, 327 Turgot, 27 Turner, Sir James, 219 Tweeddale, Marquis of, 252 Tytler, 309 U Union, Treaty of, 250, 252-260 Universities instituted, 104 Vane, Sir Henry, 202 Vienne, John de, 77 W Wall, Roman, 7 Wallace, 52-56, 57, 59 Western Isles, 39-41, 95, 112, 265 West Kilpatrick, 7 Westminster Assembly of Divines, 202 Westminster Confession of Faith, 240 Whisky, 282 William, Prince of Orange, 229, 231, 233, 235, 236, 240-243, 249, 250 William the Lion, 34-36 Wilson, 322 Winton, Andrew, 103 Wishart, Bishop, 60 Wishart, George, 120 Worcester, battle of, 209 York, Archbishop of, 27, 28 York, Duke of, 224, 226 XTbe Stoc^ of tbe IRations. Messrs. G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS take pleasure in announcing that they have in course of publication, in co-operation with Mr. T. Fisher Unwin, of London, a series of historical studies, intended to present in a graphic manner the stories of the different nations that have attained prominence in history. In the story form the current of each national life is distinctly indicated, and its picturesque and noteworthy periods and episodes are presented for the reader in their philosophical relation to each other as well as to universal history. It is the plan of the writers of the different volumes to enter into the real life of the peoples, and to bring them before the reader as they actually lived, labored, and struggled — as they studied and wrote, and as they amused themselves. 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