68 TALES OF A GRANDFATHER. chief of the name, who was killed by the lance of one of the Elliots, a retainer of Buccleuch. His death occasioned a deadly feud between the clans of Scott and Ker, which lasted for a century, and cost much blood. This skirmish took place on the 25th July, 1526. About eighty Scots were slain on the field of battle, and a sentence was pronounced against Buccleuch and many of his clan, as guilty of high treason. But after the King had shaken off the yoke of the Douglasses, he went in person to Parliament to obtain the restoration of Buccleuch, who, he declared on his kingly word, had come to Melrose without any purpose of quarrel, but merely to pay his duty to his Prince, and show him the number of his followers. In evidence of which, the King said that the said Wat was not clad in armour, but in a leathern coat, (a buff-coat, I suppose,) with a black bonnet on his head. The family were restored to their estates accordingly; but Sir Walter Scott was long afterward murdered by the Kers at Edinburgh, in revenge of the death of the Laird of Cessford. The Earl of Lennox being disappointed in procuring the King's release by means of Buccleuch, now resolved to attempt it in person. He received much encouragement from the Chancellor Beaton, (distinguished at the skirmish called Clean-theCauseway,) from the Earl of Glencairn, and other noblemen, who saw with displeasure the Earl of Angus confining the young King like a prisoner, and that all the administration of the kingdom centred in the Douglasses. He assembled an army of ten or twelve thousand men, and advanced upon Edinburgh from Stirling. Angus and Arran, who were still closely leagued together, encountered Lennox, with an inferior force, near the village of Newliston. The rumour that a battle was about to commence soon reached Edinburgh, when Sir George Douglas hastened to call out the citizens in arms, to support his brother, the Earl of Angus. The city-bells were rung, trumpets were sounded, and the King himself was obliged to mount on horseback, to give countenance to the measures of the Douglasses, whom, in his soul, he detested. James was so sensible of his situation, that he tried, by every means in his power, to delay the march of the forces which were mustered at Edinburgh. When they reached the village of Corstorphine, they heard the thunder of the guns, which increased the fierce impatience of George Douglas to reach the field of battle, and also increased the delays of the young King, who was in hopes Angus might be defeated before his brother could come up. George Douglas, perceiving this, addressed the King in language which James never forgot nor forgave; "Your Grace need not think to escape us," said this fierce warrior, "if our enemies had hold of you on one side, and we on the other, we would tear you to pieces ere we would let you Tidings now came from the field of battle that Lennox had been defeated, and that Angus had gained the victory. The young king, dismayed at the news, now urged his attendants to gallop forward, as much as he had formerly desired them to hang back. He charged them to prevent slaughter, and save lives, especially that of Lennox. Sir Andrew Wood, one of the King's cup-bearers, arrived in the field of battle time enough to save the Earl of Glencairn, who was still fighting gallantly by assistance of some strong ground, though he had scarce thirty men left alive. Wood contrived to convey him safe out of the field. But Lennox, about whose safety the King was so anxious, was already no more. He had been slain, in cold blood, by that blood thirsty man, Sir James Hamilton of Draphane, who took him from the Laird of Perdivan, to whom he had surrendered himself. This deed seemed to flow from the brutal nature of the perpetrator, who took such a pleasure in shedding blood, that he slashed with his own hand the faces of many of the prisoners. Arran, the father of this ferocious man, bitterly lamented the fate of Lennox, who was his nephew. He was found mourning beside the body, "The over which he had spread his scarlet cloak. hardiest, stoutest, and wisest man that Scotland After these two victories, the Earl of Angus seemed He prevailed upon his mother, Queen Margaret, to yield up to him the Castle of Stirling, which was her jointure-house, and to put it into the hands of a person whom he could trust. This was done with much secrecy. Thus prepared with a place of refuge, James watched with anxiety an opportunity of flying to it; and he conducted himself with such apparent confidence towards Angus, that the Douglasses were lulled into security, and concluded that the King was reconciled to his state of bondage, and despaired of making his escape. James was then residing at Falkland, a royal palace conveniently situated for hunting and hawking, in which he seemed to take great pleasure. The Earl of Angus at this period left the court for Lothian, where he had some urgent business-Archibald Douglas of Kilspindie went to Dundee, to visit a lady to whom he was attached-and George Douglas had gone to Saint Andrews, to extort some further advantages from Chancellor Beaton, who was now Archbishop of that see, and Primate of Scotland. There were thus none of the Douglasses left about the King's person, except Parkhead, with his guard of a hundred men, in whose vigilance the others confided. The King thought the time favourable for his escape. To lay all suspicion asleep, he pretended he was to rise next morning at an early hour for the purpose of hunting the stag. Douglas of Parkhead, suspecting nothing, retired to bed after placing his watch. But the King was no sooner in his private chamber, than he called a trusty page, named John Hart:-"Jockie," said he, "dost thou love me?" "Better than myself," answered the domestic. And will you risk any thing for me?" "My life with pleasure," said John Hart. The King then explained his purpose, and dressing himself in the attire of a groom, he went with Hart to the stable, as if for the purpose of getting the horses ready for the next day's hunt. The guards, deceived by their appearance, gave them no interruption. At the stables three good horses were saddled and in readiness, under charge of a yeoman or groom, James mounted with his two servants, and galwhom the King had intrusted with his purpose. loped, during the whole night, as eager as a bird just escaped from a cage. At daylight he reached the bridge of Stirling, which was the only mode of passing the river Forth, except by boats. It was defended by gates which the King ordered to be closed, and directed the passage to be watched. He was a weary man when he reached Stirling Castle, where he was joyfully received by the governor, whom he had himself placed in that strong fortress. The draw-bridges were raised, the portcullises dropped, guards set, and every measure of defence and precau tion resorted to. But the King was so much afraid of again falling into the hands of the Douglasses, that, tired as he was, he would not go to sleep, until the keys of the castle were placed in his own keeping, and laid underneath his pillow. In the morning there was great alarm at Falkland. Sir George Douglas had returned thither on the night of the King's departure, about eleven o'clock. On his arrival, he inquired after the King, and was anailmo swered by the porter as well as the watchmen upon | oath never to employ a Douglas, he would have reguard, that he was sleeping in his chamber, as he intended to hunt early in the morning. He therefore retired to rest in full security. But the next morning he learned different tidings. One Peter Carmichael, ballie of Abernethy, knocked at the door of his chamber, and asked him if he knew "what the King was doing that morning?" "He is in his chamber asleep," said Sir George. "You are mistaken," answered Carmichael; "he passed the bridge of Stirling the last night." On hearing this, Douglas started up in haste, went to the King's chamber, and knocked for admittance. When no answer was returned, he caused the door to be forced, and when he found the apartment empty, he cried, "Treason!-the King is gone and none knows whither." Then he sent post to his brother, the Earl of Angus, and sent in every direction to seek the King, and to assemble the Douglasses. When the truth was known, the adherents of Angus rode in a body to Stirling; but the King was so far from desiring to receive them, that he threatened, by sound of trumpet, to declare any of the name of Douglas a traitor who should approach within twelve miles of his person, or who should meddle with the administration of government. Some of the Douglasses inclined to resist this proclamation, but the Ear, of Angus and his brother resolved to obey it, and withdrew to Linlithgow. Soon afterward, the King assembled around him the numerous nobility, who envied the power of Angus and Arran, or had suffered injuries at their hands; and in open parliament, accused them of treason, declaring, that he had never been sure of his life all the while that he was in their power. A sentence of forfeiture was, therefore, passed against the Earl of Angus, and he was driven into exile, with all his friends and kinsmen. And thus the Red Douglasses of the house of Angus shared almost the same fate with the Black Douglasses of the elder branch of that mighty House; with this difference, that as they had never risen so high, so they did not fall so irretrievably; for the Earl of Angus lived to return and enjoy his estates in Scotland, where he played a distinguished part. But this was after the death of James V., who retained, during his whole life, an implacable resentment against the Douglasses, and never permitted one of the name to settle in Scotland whilst he lived. James persevered in this resolution even under circumstances which rendered his unrelenting resentment ungenerous. Archibald Douglas of Kilspindie, the Earl of Angus's uncle, had been a personal favourite of the King before the disgrace of his family. He was so much recommended to James by his great strength, manly appearance, and skill in every kind of warlike exercise, that he was wont to call him his Graysteil, after the name of a champion in a romance then popular. Archibald, becoming rather an old man, and tired of his exile in England, resolved to try the King's mercy. He thought that as they had been so well acquainted formerly, and as he had never offended James personally, he might find favour from their old intimacy. He, therefore, threw himself in the King's way one day as he returned from hunting in the park at Stirling. It was several years since James had seen him, but he knew him at a great distance, by his firm and stately step, and said, "Yonder is my Graysteil, Archibald of Kilspindie." But when they met, he showed no appearance of recognising his old servant. Douglas turned, and still hoping to obtain a glance of favourable recollection, run along by the King's side; and although James trotted his horse hard against the hill, and Douglas wore a heavy shirt of mail under his clothes, for fear of assassination, yet Graysteil was at the castle gate as soon as the King. James passed him, and entered the castle, but Douglas, exhausted with exertion, sat down at the door, and asked for a cup of wine. The hatred of the King against the name of Douglas was so well known, that no domestic about the court dared procure for the old warrior even this trifling refreshment. The King blamed, indeed, his servants for their discourtesy, and even said, that but for his ceived Archibald of Kilspindie into his service, as he had formerly known him a man of great ability. Yet he sent his commands to his poor Graysteil to retire to France, where he died heart-broken soon afterward. Even Henry VIII. of England, himself of an unforgiving temper, blamed the implacability of James on this occasion, and quoted an old proverb,A King's face Should give grace. CHAPTER XXIV. Character of James V.-His expedition to punish the Forder of Freebooters-- His Adventures when travelling in Disguise-Rustic Hunting Palace in Athole-Institution of the College of Justice-Gold Mines of Scotland-Encouragement of Learning. FREED from the stern control of the Douglas family, James V. now began to exercise the government in person, and displayed most of the qualities of a wise and good prince. He was handsome in his person, and resembled his father in the love of military exercises, and the spirit of chivalrous honour which James IV. loved to display. He also inherited his father's love of justice, and his desire to establish and enforce wise and equal laws, which should protect the weak against the oppression of the great. It was easy enough to make laws, but to put them into vigorous exercise was of much greater difficulty; and in his attempt to accomplish this laudable purpose, James often incurred the ill-will of the more powerful nobles. He was a well-educated and accomplished man, and, like his ancestor, James I., was a poet and a musician. He had, however, his defects. He avoided his father's failing of profusion, having no hoarded treasures to employ on pomp and show; but he rather fell into the opposite fault, being of a temper too parsimonious; and though he loved state and display, he endeavoured to gratify that state as economically as possible, so that he has been censured as rather close and covetous. He was also, though the foibles seem inconsistent, fond of pleasure, and disposed to too much indulgence. It must be added, that when provoked, he was unrelenting even to cruelty, for which he had some apology, considering the ferocity of the subjects over whom he reigned." But, on the whole, James V. was an amiable man, and a good Sovereign. His first care was to bring the Borders of Scotland to some degree of order. These, as you were formerly told, were inhabited by tribes of men, forming each a different clan, as they were called, and obeying no orders, save those which were given by their Chiefs. These Chiefs were supposed to represent the first founder of the name or family. The attachment of the Clansmen to the Chief was very great; indeed they paid respect to no one else. In this the Borderers agreed with the Highlanders, as also in their love of plunder, and neglect of the general laws of the country. But the Border men wore no tartan dress, and served almost always on horseback, whereas the Highlanders acted always on foot. You will also remember, that they spoke the Scottish language, and not the Gaelic tongue used by the mountaineers. The situation of these clans on the frontiers exposed them to constant war; so that they thought of nothing else, but collecting bands of their followers together, and making incursions, without much distinction on the English, on the Lowland Scots, or upon each other. They paid little respect either to times of truce or to treaties of peace, but exercised their depredations without much regard to either, and often occasioned wars which would not otherwise have taken place. It is said of a considerable family on the Borders, that when they had consumed all the cattle about the castle, a pair of spurs was placed on the table, in a covered dish, as a hint that they must ride out and fetch more. The chiefs and leading men told down their daughters' portions according to the plunder which they were able to collect in the course of a Michaelmas moon, when its prolonged light allowed them opportunity for their freebooting excursions. | might remain on their pastures unwatched. James They were very brave in battle, but in time of peace was also enabled to draw profit from the lands they were a pest to their Scottish neighbours. As which the crown possessed near the Borders, and is their insolence had risen to a high pitch after the field said to have had ten thousand sheep at one time of Flodden had thrown the country into confusion, grazing in Ettrick Forest, under the keeping of AnJames V. resolved to take very severe measures drew Bell, who gave the King as good an account against them. of the profits of the flock, as if they had been grazing in the bounds of Fife, then the most civilized part of Scotland. His first step was to secure the persons of the principal chieftains by whom these disorders were privately encouraged. The Earl of Bothwell, the Lord Home, Lord Maxwell, Scott of Buccleuch, Ker of Fairnyherst, and other powerful chiefs, who might have opposed the King's purposes, were seized, and imprisoned in separate fortresses in the low country. James then assembled an army, in which warlike purposes were united with those of sylvan sport, for he ordered all the gentlemen in the wild districts which he intended to visit, to bring in their best dogs, as if his only purpose had been to hunt the deer in these desolate regions. This was intended to prevent the Borderers from taking the alarm, in which case they would have retreated into their mountains and fastnesses, from whence it would have been difficult to dislodge them. On the other hand, the Borders of Scotland were greatly weakened by the destruction of so many brave men, who, notwithstanding their lawless course of life, were true defenders of their country: and there is occasion to censure the extent to which James carried his severity, as being to a certain degree impolitic, and indeed cruel and excessive. In the like manner James proceeded against the Highland Chiefs; and by executions, forfeitures, and other severe measures, he brought the northern mountaineers, as he had already done those of the south, into comparative subjection. He then set at liberty the Border Chiefs, and others whom he had imprisoned, lest they should have offered any hinderance to the course of his justice. These men had indeed no distinct idea of the As these fiery chieftains, after this severe chastiseoffences which they had committed, and conse- ment, could no longer as formerly attack each other's quently no apprehension of the King's displeasure castles and lands, they were forced to vent their against them. The laws had been so long silent in deadly animosities in duels, which were frequently that desolate country, that the outrages which were fought in the King's presence, his royal permission practised by the strong against the weak, seemed to being first obtained. Thus, Douglas of Drumlanrigg the perpetrators the natural course of society, and to and Charteris of Amisfield did battle together in prepresent nothing that was worthy of punishment. sence of the King, each having accused the other of Thus, as the King, in the beginning of his expedi-high treason. They fought on foot with huge twotion, suddenly approached the Castle of Piers Cock-handed swords. Drumlanrigg was somewhat blind, burn of Henderland, that Baron was in the act of or short-sighted, and being in great fury, struck about providing a great entertainment to welcome him, him without seeing where he hit, and the Laird of when James caused him to be suddenly seized on, Amisfield was not more successful, for his sword and executed. Adam Scott of Tushielaw, called the broke in the encounter; upon this, the King caused King of the Border, met the same fate. But an event the battle to cease, and the combatants were with of greater importance, was the fate of John Arm- difficulty separated. Thus the King gratified these strong of Gilnockie, near Langleeholm. unruly barons, by permitting them to fight in his own presence, in order to induce them to remain at James V. had a custom of going about the country disguised as a private person, in order that he might hear complaints which might not otherwise reach his ears, and, perhaps, that he might enjoy amusements which he could not have partaken of in his avowed royal character. This is also said to have been a custom of James IV. his father, and several adventures are related of what befell them on such occasions. One or two of these narratives may help to enliven our story. This freebooting chief had risen to great consequence, and the whole neighbouring district of Eng-peace elsewhere. land paid him black mail, that is, a sort of tribute, in consideration of which he forbore plundering them, He had a high idea of his own importance, and seems to have been unconscious of having merited any severe usage at the King's hands. On the contrary, he came to meet his sovereign at a place about ten miles from Hawick, called Carlinrigg chapel, richly dressed, and having with him twenty-four gentlemen, his constant retinue, as well attired as himself. The King, incensed to see a freebooter so gallantly equipped, commanded him instantly to be led to execution, saying, "What wants this knave, save a crown, to be as magnificent as a king?" John Armstrong made great offers for his life, offering to maintain himself, with forty men, ready to serve the King at a moment's notice, at his own expense; engaging never to hurt or injure any Scottish subject, as indeed had never been his practice; and undertaking, that there was not a man in England, of whatever degree, duke, earl, lord, or baron, but he would engage, within a certain time, to present to the King, dead or alive. But when the King would listen to none of his offers, he said, very proudly, "I am but a fool to ask grace at a graceless face; but had I guessed you would have used me thus, I would have kept the Borderside, in despite of the King of England and you both; for I well know that King Henry would give the weight of my best horse in gold to know that I am sentenced to die this day." John Armstrong was led to execution, with all his men, and hanged without mercy. The people of the Lowland countries were glad to be rid of him; but on the Borders he was both missed and mourned, as a brave warrior and a stout man-at-arms against England. Such were the effects of the terror struck by these general executions, that James was said to have made "the rush bush keep the cow;" that is to say, that even in this lawless part of the country, men dared no longer make free with property, and cattle When James V. travelled in disguise, he used a name which was known only to some of his principal nobility, and attendants. He was called the Goodman (the tenant that is,) of Ballengiech. Ballengiech is a steep pass which leads down behind the Castle of Stirling. Once upon a time, when he was feasting in Stirling, the King sent for some venison from the neighbouring hills. The deer were killed and put on horses' backs, to be transported to Stirling. Unluckily they had to pass the castle gates of Arnpryor, belonging to a chief of the Buchanans, who had a considerable number of guests with him. It was late, and the company were rather short of victuals, though they had more than enough of liquor. The chief, seeing so much fat venison passing his very door, seized on it; and to the expostulations of the keepers, who told him it belonged to King James, he answered insolently, that if James was King in Scotland, he, Buchanan, was King in Kippen, being the name of the district in which the castle of Arnpryor lay. On hearing what had happened, the King got on horseback, and rode instantly from Stirling to Buchanan's house, where he found a strong fierce-looking Highlander, with an axe on his shoulder, standing sentinel at the door. This grim warder refused the King admittance, saying, that the Laird of Arnpryor was at dinner, and would not be disturbed. Yet go up to the company, my good friend," said the King, "and tell him that the Goodman of Ballengiech is come to feast with the King of Kippen." The porter went grumbling into the house, CHAP. XXIV.] SCOTTISH HISTORY. and told his master, that there was a fellow with a to Scotland, the descendant of John Howieson of Upon another occasion, King James, being alone John put on his best clothes, as you may suppose, and appearing at a postern gate of the palace, inquired for the Goodman of Ballengiech. The King had given orders that he should be admitted; and John found his friend, the Goodman, in the same disguise which he had formerly worn. The King, still preserving the character of an inferior officer of the household, conducted John Howieson from one apartment of the palace to another, and was amused with his wonder and his remarks. At length he asked him if he should like to see the King; to which John replied, nothing would delight him so much, if he could do so without giving offence. The Goodman of Ballengiech, of course, undertook that the King would not be angry. "But," said John, "how am I to know his grace from the nobles who will be all about him?"-"Easily," replied his companion; "all the others will be bareheaded-the King alone will wear his hat or bonnet." So speaking, King James introduced the countryman into a great hall, which was filled by the nobility and officers of the crown. John was a little frightened, and drew close to his attendant; but was still unable to distinguish the King. "I told you that you should know him by his wearing his hat," said his conductor. "Then," said John, after he had again looked around the room, it must be either you or me, for all but us two are bare-headed." The King laughed at John's fancy; and, that the good yeoman might have occasion for mirth also, he made him a present of the farm of Braehead, which ne had wished so much to possess, on condition that John Howieson, or his successors, should be ready to present an ewer and basin for the King to wash his hands, when his Majesty should come to Holyrood palace, or should pass the Bridge of Cramond. Accordingly, in the year 1822, when George IV. came The reign of James V. was not alone distinguished by his personal adventures and pastimes, but is honourably remembered on account of wise laws made for the government of his people, and for restraining the crimes and violence which were frequently practised among them, especially those of assassination, burning of houses, and driving of cattle, the usual selves of their feudal enemies. and ready means by which great men avenged them For the decision of civil questions, James V. invented and instituted what is called the College of Justice, being the Supreme Court of Scotland in civil affairs. It consisted of fourteen Judges and a President, who heard and decided causes. A certain number of learned men, trained to understand the laws, were appointed to the task of pleading the causes of such as had law-suits before these judges, who constituted what is popularly termed the Court of Session. These men were called Advocates; and this was the first establishment of a body, regularly educated to the law, which has ever since been regarded in Scotland as an honourable profession, and has produced many great men. James V. used great diligence in improving his navy, and undertook what was at the time rather a perilous task, to sail round Scotland, and cause an bays, and islands, harbours, and roadsteads of his accurate survey to be made of the various coasts, kingdom, many of which had been unknown to his predecessors even by name. This active and patriotic Prince ordered the mineral wealth of Scotland to be also inquired into. He obtained miners from Germany, who extracted both silver and gold from the mines of Lead-hills, in the upper part of Clydesdale. The gold was of fine metal for a very elegant gold coin, which, bearing on quality, and found in quantity sufficient to supply one side the head of James V. wearing a bonnet, has been thence called the Bonnet-piece. It is said, that upon one occasion the King invited the ambassadors of Spain, France, and other foreign countries, to hunt with him in Crawford-moor, the district in which lie the mines I have just mentioned. They dined in the Castle of Crawford, a rude old fortress. The King made some apology for the dinner, which was composed of the game they had killed during the hunting and hawking of the day, but he assured all their clergymen in the Christian world. As the his guests that the dessert would make them some amends, as he had given directions that it should consist of the finest fruits which the country afforded. The foreigners looked at each other in surprise, on hearing the King talk of fruits being produced amidst the black moors and barren mountains around them. But the dessert made its appearance in the shape of a number of covered saucers, one of which was placed before each guest, and being examined, was found full of gold bonnet-pieces, which they were desired to accept as the fruit produced by the mountains of Crawford-moor. This new sort of dessert was no doubt as acceptable as the most delicate fruits of a southern climate. The mines of the country are now wrought only for lead, of which they produce still a very large quantity. people of these times were extremely ignorant, any little knowledge which remained, was to be found among the clergy, who had some leisure to study; while the laity, that is, they who were not clergymen, learned little, excepting to tilt, fight, and feast. The Popes of Rome, having established themselves as Heads of the Church, went on, by degrees, introducing into the simple and beautiful system delivered to us in the gospel, other doctrines, many of them inconsistent with, or contradictory of, pure Christianity, and all of them tending to extend the power of the priests over the minds and consciences of other men. It was not difficult for the Popes to make these alterations. For as they asserted they were the visible successors of Saint Peter, they pretended that they were as infallible as the Apostle himself, and that all that Although, as we have mentioned, James was a they published in their ordinances, which they called good economist, he did not neglect the cultivation of Bulls, must be believed by all Christian men, as much the fine arts. He rebuilt the palace of Linlithgow, as if the same had been enjoined in the Holy Scripwhich is on a most magnificent plan, and made ad-ture itself. We shall notice two or three of these ditions to that of Stirling. He encouraged several innovations. excellent poets and learned men, and his usual course of life appears to have been joyous and happy. He was himself a poet of some skill, and he permitted great freedom to the rhymers of his time, in addressing verses to him, some of which conveyed great censure of his government, and others satires on his foibles. James also encouraged the sciences, but was deceived by a foreigner, who pretended to have knowledge of the art of making gold. This person, however, who was either crack-brained or an impostor, destroyed his own credit by the fabrication of a pair of wings, with which he proposed to fly from the top of Stirling Castle. He actually made the attempt, but as his pinions would not work easily, he fell down the precipice and broke his thigh-bone. As the kingdom of Scotland, except during a very short and indecisive war with England, remained at peace till towards the end of James's reign, and as that monarch was a wise and active prince, it might have been hoped that he at least would have escaped the misfortunes which seemed to haunt the name of Stewart. But a great change, which took place at this period led James V. into a predicament, as unhappy as attended any of his ancestors. CHAPTER XXV. Abuses of the Church of Rome-Reformation in England-and in Scotland-War with England, and Death of James V. You remember, my dear child, that James V. was nephew to Henry VIII. of England, being a son of Margaret, sister of that monarch. This connexion, and perhaps the policy of Henry, who was aware that it was better for both countries that they should remain at peace together, prevented for several years the renewal of the destructive wars between the two divisions of the island. The good understanding would probably have been still more complete, had it not been for the great and general change in religious matters, called in history the Reformation. I must give you some idea of the nature of this alteration, otherwise you cannot understand the consequences to which it led. After the death of Our Blessed Saviour Jesus Christ, the doctrine which he preached was planted in Rome, the principal city of the great Roman empire, by the Apostle Peter, as it is said, whom the Catholics, therefore, term the first Bishop of Rome. In process of time the Bishops of Rome, who succeeded, as they said, the Apostle in his office, claimed an authority over all others in Christendom. Good and wellmeaning persons, in their reverence for the religion which they had adopted, admitted these pretensions without much scrutiny. As the Christian religion was more widely received, the Emperors and Kings who embraced it, thought to distinguish their piety by heaping benefits on the church, and on the Bishops of Rome in particular, who at length obtained great lands and demesnes as temporal Princes; while in their character of clergymen, they assume the title of Popes, and the full and exclusive authority over Some good men, in an early age of Christianity, had withdrawn from the world to worship God in desert and desolate places. They wrought for their bread, and gave alms to the poor, spent their leisure in the exercise of devotion, and were justly respected. But by degrees, as well-meaning persons bestowed great sums to support associations of such holy men, bequeathed lands to the monasteries or convents in which they lived, and made them wealthy, the Monks, as they were called, departed from the simplicity of their order, and neglected the virtues which they undertook to practise. Besides, by the extravagant endowments of these convents, great sums of money and large estates were employed in maintaining a useless set of men, who, under pretence of performing devotional exercises, withdrew themselves from the business of the world, and from all domestic duties. The worship also of saints, for which Scripture gives us no warrant whatever, was introduced in those ignorant times. It is natural we should respect the memory of any remarkably good man, and that we should value any thing which belongs to him. But it was as much authorized by the Church of Rome to worship the relics of a saintly character, such as locks of hair, bones, articles of clothes, and other trumpery, as to believe that such things are capable of curing sickness, or of working other miracles shocking to common sense. Yet the Roman Church opened the way to this absurdity, and imputed to these relics, which were often a mere imposture, the power which God alone possesses, of altering those laws of nature which his wisdom has appointed. The Popes also encouraged and enjoined the worship of saints, that is, the souls of holy men deceased, as a sort of subordinate deities, whose intercession may avail us before the throne of God, although the Gospel has expressly declared that our Lord Christ Jesus is our only Mediator. And in virtue of this opinion, not only was the Virgin Mary, the apostles, and almost every other person mentioned in the Gospels, erected by the Roman Catholics into the office of saints, but numerous others, some of them mere names, who never existed as men, were canonized, as it was caited, that is, declared by the Pope to be saints, and had altars and churches dedicated to them. Pictures also, and statues, representing these alleged holy persons, were exhibited in churches, and received the worship which ought not, according to the second commandment, to be rendered to any idol or graven image. Other doctrines there were, about fasting on particular days, and abstaining from particular kinds of food-all of which were gradually introduced into the Roman Catholic faith, though contrary to the Gospel. which the priests made most money, was the docBut the most important innovation, and that by trine, that the Church, or, in other words the priest, had the power of pardoning such sins as were confessed to him, upon the culprit's discharging such penance as the priest imposed on him. Every per |