CHAP. XXV.] SCOTTISH HISTORY. son was, therefore, obliged to confess himself to a priest, if he hoped to have his sins pardoned; and the priest enjoined certain kinds of penance, more or less severe, according to the circumstances of the offence. But, in general, these penances might be excused, providing a corresponding sum of money was paid to the Church, which possessed thus a perpetual and most lucrative source of income, which was yet more increased by the belief in Purgatory. We have no right, from scripture, to believe in the existence of any intermediate state betwixt that of happiness, which we call Heaven, to which good men have access immediately after death, or that called Hell, being the place of eternal punishment, to which the wicked are consigned with the devil and his angels. But the Catholic priests imagined the intervention of an intermediate state, called Purgatory. They supposed that many, or indeed that most people, were not of such piety as to deserve immediate admission into a state of eternal happiness, until they should have sustained a certain portion of punishment; but yet were not so wicked as to deserve instant and eternal condemnation. For the benefit of these, they invented the intermediate situation of Purgatory, a place of punishment, to which almost every one, not doomed to Hell itself, was consigned for a greater or less period, in proportion to his sins, before admission into a state of happiness. But here lay the stress of the doctrine. The power was in the Church to obtain pardon, by prayer for the souls who were in Purgatory, and to have the gates of that place of torture opened for their departure sooner than would otherwise have taken place. Men, therefore, whose consciences told them that they deserved a long abode in this place of punishment, left liberal sums to the Church to have prayers said for the behoof of their souls. Children, in like manner, procured masses (that is, a particular sort of devotional worship practised by Catholics) to be said for the souls of their parents. Widows did the same for their departed husbands-husbands for their wives. All these masses and prayers could only be obtained by money, and all this money went to the priests. But the Pope and his clergy carried the matter still farther; and not only sold, as they pretended, the forgiveness of Heaven, to those who had committed sins, but also granted them (always for money) a liberty to break through the laws of God and the church. These last were called Indulgences, because those who purchased them were indulged in the privilege of committing irregularities and vices, without being supposed answerable to the divine wrath. To support this extraordinary fabric of superstition, the Pope assumed the most extensive powers, even to the length of depriving kings of their thrones, by his sentence of excommunication, which declared their subjects free from their oath of allegiance, and at liberty to rise up against their sovereign and put him to death. At other times the Pope took it upon him to give the kingdom of the excommunicated prince to some ambitious neighbour. The rule of the Church of Rome was as severe over inferior persons as over princes. If a layman read the Bible, he was accounted guilty of a great offence, for the priests well knew that the perusal of the Sacred Scriptures would open men's eyes to their extravagant pretensions. If an individual presumed to disbelieve any of the doctrines which the Church of Rome taught, or to entertain any which were inconsistent with them, he was tried as a heretic, and subjected to the horrid punishment of being burnt alive; and this penalty was inflicted without mercy for the slightest expressions approaching to what the Papists called heresy. This extraordinary and tyrannical power over men's consciences was usurped during those ages of European history which are called Dark, because men then wanted the light of learning and information. But the discovery of the art of printing began, in the fifteenth century, to open men's minds. The Bible, which had been locked up in the hands of the clergy, then became common, and was generally read; and wise and good men in Germany and VOL. VI.-J Switzerland made it their study to expose the errors Now Henry, you must know was married to a very ments, and distributing the wealth of the convents among the great men of his court, broke up for ever those great establishments, and placed an irresistible obstacle in the way of the Catholic religion being replaced, after the interest of so many persons had been concerned in its being excluded. The motive of Henry VIII.'s conduct was by no means praiseworthy, but it produced the most important and salutary consequences; as England was for ever afterward, except during the short reign of his eldest daughter, freed from all dependance upon the Pope, and from the superstitious doctrines of the Roman Catholic religion. Now here, returning to Scottish history, you must understand that one of Henry's principal wishes was to prevail upon his nephew, the young King of Scotland, to make the same alteration of religion in his country, which had been introduced into England. Henry, if we can believe the Scottish historians, made James the most splendid offers, to induce him to follow this course. He proposed to give him the hand of his daughter Mary in marriage, and to create him Duke of York; and, with a view to the establishment of a lasting peace between the countries, he earnestly desired a personal meeting with his nephew in the North of England. There is reason to believe that James was, at one period, somewhat inclined to the Reformed doctrines; at least, he encouraged a Scottish poet, called Sir David Lindesay of the Mount, and also the celebrated scholar George Buchanan, in composing some severe satires against the corruptions of the Roman Catholic religion; but the King was, notwithstanding, by no means disposed altogether to fall off from the Church of Rome. He dreaded the power of England, and the rough, violent, and boisterous manners of Henry, who disgusted his nephew by the imprudent violence with which he pressed him to imitate his steps. But, in particular, James found the necessity of adhering to the Roman Catholic faith, from the skill, intelligence, and learning of the clergy, which rendered them far more fit to hold offices of state, and to assist him in administering the public business, than the nobility, who were at once profoundly ignorant, fierce, arrogant and ambitious. The Archbishop Beaton, already mentioned, and his nephew David Beaton, who was afterward made a Cardinal, rose high in James's favour; and, no doubt the influence which they possessed over the King's mind, was exerted, to prevent his following the example of his uncle Henry in religious affairs. The same influence might also induce him to seek an alliance with France rather than with England; for it was natural that the Catholic clergy, with whom James advised, should discountenance, by every means in their power, any approaches to an intimate alliance with Henry, the mortal enemy of the Papal See. James V. accordingly visited France, and obtained the hand of Magdalen, the daughter of Francis I., with a large portion. Much joy was expressed at the landing of this princess at Leith, and she was received with as great splendour and demonstration of welcome, as the poverty of the country would permit. But the young Queen was in a bad state of health, and died within forty days after her marriage. After the death of this Princess, the King, still inclining to the French alliance, married Mary of Guise, daughter of the Duke of Guise, thus connecting himself with a family, proud, ambitious, and attached, in the most bigoted degree, to the Catholic cause. This connexion served, no doubt, to increase King James's disinclination to any changes in the established Church. are now called, and the Roman Catholic Church. Many among the Scottish, both of the greater and lower rank, became converts to the new doctrines. The popish ministers and councillors of the King ventured to have recourse to violence, in order to counteract these results. Several persons were seized upon, tried before the Spiritual Courts of the Bishop of Saint Andrews, and condemned to the flames. The modesty and decency with which these men behaved on their trials, and the patience with which they underwent the tortures of a cruel death, protesting at the same time their firm belief in the doctrines for which they had been condemned to the stake, made the strongest impression on the beholders, and increased the confidence of those who had embraced the tenets of the Reformers. Stricter and more cruel laws were made against heresy. Even the disputing the power of the Pope was punished with death; yet the Reformation seemed to gain ground in proportion to every effort to check it. The favours which the King extended to the Catholic clergy, led the Scottish nobility to look upon them with jealousy, and increased their inclination towards the Protestant doctrines. The wealth of the abbeys and convents, also, tempted many of the nobles and gentry, who hoped to have a share of their lands, in case of their being dissolved, as in England. And although there were, doubtless, good men as well as bad among the monks, yet the indolent, and even debauched lives of many of the order, rendered them, generally, odious and contemptible to the common people. The popular discontent was increased by an incident which took place in the year 1537. À matron of the highest rank, Jane Douglas, sister of the banished Earl of Angus, widow of John Lyon Lord of Glamis, and wife of Archibald Campbell of Kepneith, was accused of having practised against the life of James, by the imaginary crime of witchcraft, and the more formidable means of poison. Her purpose was alleged to be the restoration of the Douglasses to Scotland, and to their estates, and influence in that country. The lady was burnt alive on the Castle-Hill of Edinburgh, and the spectators, filled with pity for her youth and beauty, and surprised at the courage with which she endured the sentence, did not fail to impute her execution less to any real crime, than to the King's deep-rooted hatred against the house of Douglas. Another capital pnnishment, though on an object of general dislike, served to confirm the opinion enter tained of James's severity, not to say cruelty of disposition. We have mentioned Sir James Hamilton of Draphane, called the Bastard of Arran, as distinguished on account of the ferocity of his disposition, and the murders which he committed in cold blood. This man had been made Sheriff of Ayr, and had received other favours from the King's hand. Notwithstanding, he was suddenly accused of treason by a cousin and namesake of his own; and on that sole testimony, condemned and executed. Upon this occasion also public opinion charged James with having proceeded without sufficient evidence of guilt. In the mean time, Henry continued to press the King of Scotland, by letters and negotiations, to enter into common measures with him against the Catholic clergy. He remonstrated with his nephew, upon his preferring to improve his royal revenue by means of herds and flocks, which he represented as an unprincely practice, saying, that if he wanted money, he, his kind uncle, would let him have what sums he pleased; or, that the wealth of the Catholic convents and monasteries was a fund that lay at his command whenever he liked to seize it. Lastly, the But whatever were the sentiments of the Sove-directed by his instructions, upon the evil doctrines English Ambassador, Sir Ralph Sadler, insisted, as reign, those of the subjects were gradually tending and vicious lives of the clergy, against whom he more and more towards a reformation of religion. urged the King to take violent measures. Scotland, at this time, possessed several men of learning who had studied abroad, and there learned and embraced the doctrines of the great Reformer Calvin. They brought with them, on their return, copies of the Holy Scripture, and could give a full account of the controversy between the Protestants, as they Much of this message was calculated to affront James, yet he answered temperately. He acknowledged that he preferred living on his own revenue, such as it was, to becoming dependant upon another king, even though he was his uncle. He had no pretext or motive, he said, to seize the possessions of CHAP. XXVI.] SCOTTISH HISTORY. the clergy, because they were always ready to advance him money when he had need of it. Those among them who led vicious lives, he would not fail, he added, to correct severely; but he did not consider as just to punish the whole body for the faults of a few. King James suffered a doubtful promise to be extracted from him that he would meet Henry at York, if the affairs of his kingdom would permit. The King was now brought to a puzzling alternative, being either obliged to comply with his uncle's wishes, break off his alliance with France, and introduce the Reformed religion into his dominions, or, by adhering to France and to the Catholic faith, to run all the hazards of a war with England. The churchmen exercised their full authority over the mind of James at this crisis. The gold of France was not spared to determine his resolution; and it may be supposed that the young Queen, so nearly connected with the Catholic House of Guise, gave her influence to the same party. James at length determined to disappoint his uncle; and after the haughty Henry had remained six days at York, in the expectation of meeting him, he excused himself by some frivolous apology. Henry was, as might have been expected, mortally offended, and prepared for war. A fierce and ruinous war immediately commenced. Henry sent numerous forces to ravage the Scottish Border. James obtained success in the first considerable action, to his unutterable satisfaction, and prepared for more decisive hostility. He assembled the array of his kingdom, and marched from Edinburgh as far as Fala, on his way to the Border, when tidings arrived, 1st November, 1542, that the English general had withdrawn his forces within the English frontier. On this news the Scottish nobles, who, with their vassals, had joined the royal standard, intimated to their Sovereign, that though they had taken up arms to save the country from invasion, yet they considered the war with England as an impolític measure, and only undertaken to gratify the clergy; and that therefore the English having retired, they were determined not to advance one foot into the enemy's country. One Border chieftain alone offered with his retinue to follow the King wherever he chose to lead. This was John Scott of Thirlstane, whom James rewarded with an addition to his paternal coat of arms, with a bunch spears for the crest, and the motto, Ready, aye Ready. James, finding himself thus generally thwarted and deserted by the nobility, returned to Edinburgh, dishonoured before his people, and in the deepest dejection of mind. To retaliate the inroads of the English, and wipe out the memory of Fala-Moss, the King resolved that an army of ten thousand men should invade England on the Western Border; and he imprudently sent with them his particular favourite, Oliver Sinclair, who shared with the priests the unpopularity of the English war, and was highly obnoxious to the nobility, as one of those who engrossed the royal favour to their prejudice. The army had just entered English ground, at a place called Solway-Moss, when this Oliver Sinclair was raised upon the soldiers' shields to read to the army a commission, which, it is said, named Lord Maxwell commander of the expedition. But no one doubted that Oliver Sinclair had himself been named commander-in-chief; and as he was greatly disliked and despised, the army instantly fell into a state of extreme confusion. Four or five hundred English Borderers, commanded by Thomas Dacre and John Musgrave, perceived this fluctuation, and charged the numerous squadrons of the invading army. The Scots fled without even attempting to fight. Numbers of noblemen and gentlemen suffered themselves to be made prisoners rather than face the displeasure of their disappointed Sovereign. The unfortunate James had lately been assaulted by various calamities. The death of his two sons, and the disgrace of the defection at Fala, had made a deep impression on his mind, and haunted him even in the visions of the night. He dreamed he saw the fierce Sir James Hamilton, whom he had caused The disgraceful news of the battle, or rather the Negotiations for a Marriage between the Young Queen Mary and Prince Edward of England-their failure-Invasion of Scotland-Cardinal Beaton's Administration and Death-Battle of Pinkie-Queen Mary is sent to France, and the Queen Dowager becomes Regent-Progress of the ReformationQueen Mary resolves to return to Scotland. THE misfortunes of Mary Stewart, who succeeded her father in the Crown of Scotland, commenced at her very birth, and could scarce be considered as ceasing during the whole period of her life. Of all the unhappy princes of the line of Stewart, she was the most uniformly miserable. She was born 7th December, 1542, and, in a few days after, became, by her father's death, the infant queen of a distracted country. Two parties strove, as is usual in minorities, to obtain the supreme power. Mary of Guise, the Queen Mother, with Cardinal David Beaton, were at the head of that which favoured the alliance with France. Hamilton, Earl of Arran, the nearest male relation of the infant Queen, was chief of the other, and possessed more extended popularity; for the nobles dreaded the bold and ambitious character of the Cardinal, and the common people detested him, on account of his cruel persecution of the Reformers. timid man, with little, it would seem, to recommend The Earl of Arran, however, was but a fickle and him besides his high birth. He was, however, preferred to the office of Regent. Henry VIII. is said to have expressed much concern for the death of his nephew, saying there would never again reign a King in Scotland so nearly related to him, or so dear to him, and blaming, not the late James V., but his evil councillors, for the unfortunate dispute between them. At the same time, Henry formed a plan of uniting the kingdoms of England and Scotland, by a match betwixt the infant Queen of Scotland and his only son, Edward VI. then a child. He took into his councils the Earl of Glencairn and other Scottish nobles, made prisoners in the rout of Solway, and offered to set them at liberty, provided, on their return to Scotland, they would undertake to forward the match which he proposed. They were released accordingly, upon giving pledges that they would return in case the treaty should not be accomplished. Archibald, Earl of Angus, with his brother, Sir George Douglas, took the same opportunity of re turning into Scotland after fifteen years' exile. They had been indebted to Henry for support and protection during that long space of time. He had even admitted them to be members of his Privy Council, and by the countenance he afforded them had given great offence to the late King James. When, therefore, the influence of the Douglasses, naturally attached to him by gratitude, was added to that of Glencairn and the others, who had been made prisoners at Solway, and to the general weight of the Protestants, favourable, of course, to an alliance with England, Henry must be considered as having a party in Scotland completely auspicious to his views. per But the impatient temper of the English monarch ruined his own scheme. He demanded the custody of the young Queen of Scotland till she should be of age to complete the marriage to be contracted by the present league, and he insisted that some of the strongest forts in the kingdom should be put into his hands. These proposals excited the national jealousy of the Scots, and the characteristic love of independence and liberty which we find that people have always displayed. The nation at large became suaded that Henry VIII., under pretence of a union by marriage, nourished, like Edward I. in similar circumstances, the purpose of subduing the country. The lords who had agreed to assist Henry's views, could be of no use to him, in consequence of the extravagance of his propositions. They told Sir Ralph Sadler, the English ambassador, frankly, that the nation would not endure the surrender of the Queen's person to Henry's charge-that their own vassals would not take arms for them in such a cause that the old women of Scotland, with their distaffs, nay, the very stones in the street, would rise and fight against it. Henry was with difficulty prevailed upon to defer the time for giving to him the custody of Queen Mary's person, until she should be ten years old; but even this modified proposition excited the greatest jealousy; and Sir George Douglas, Henry's chief advocate, only ventured to recommend acquiescence in the King's proposal, as a means of gaining time. He told the Scottish nobles of a certain King who was so fond of an ass, that he insisted that his chief physician should teach the animal to speak, upon pain of being himself put to death. The physician consented to undertake the cure, but gave the King to understand that it would be ten years before the operation of his medicines could take effect. The King permitted him to set to work accordingly. Now, one of the physician's friends seeing him busy about the animal, expressed his wonder that so wise a man should undertake what was contrary to nature; to which the physician replied,-" Do you not see I have gained ten years advantage? If I had refused the King's orders, I must have been instantly put to death; but as it is, I have the advantage of a long delay, during which the King may die, the ass may die, or I may die myself. In either of the three cases, I am freed from my trouble. Even so," said Sir George Douglas, "if we agree to this treaty, we avoid a bloody and destructive war, and have a long period before us, during which the King of England, his son Prince Edward, or the infant Queen Mary, may either of them die, so that the treaty will be broken off." Moved by such reasons, a Parliament, which consisted almost entirely of the Lords of the English party, consented to the match with England, and the Regent Arran also agreed to it. But while one part of the Scottish nobles adopted the resolution to treat with King Henry on his own terms, the Queen Mother and Cardinal Beaton were at the head of another and still more numerous faction, who adhered to the old religion, and to the ancient alliance with France, and were, of course, directly opposed to the English match. The feeble temper of the Regent contributed to break off the treaty which he had subscribed. Within a fortnight after he had ratified the conditions of the match with England, he reconciled himself to the Cardinal and Queen Mother, and joined in putting a stop to the proposed marriage. The English King, if he could have been watchful and patient, might perhaps have brought the measure, which was alike important to both countries, once more to bear. But Henry, incensed at the Regent's double dealing, determined for immediate war. He sent a fleet and army into the Frith of Forth, which landed, and, finding no opposition, burnt the capital of Scotland, and its seaport, and plundered the country around. Sir Ralph Evers, and Sir Brian Latoun, were, at the same time, employed in making inroads on the Border, which were of the fiercest and most wasteful description. The account of the ravage is tremendous. In one foray they numbered one hundred and ninety-two towers and houses of defence burnt or razed; four hundred Scots slain, and eight hundred made prisoners; ten thousand cattle, twelve thousand sheep, and a thousand horses, driven away as spoil. Another list gives an account of the destruction of seven monasteries, or religious houses, sixteen castles, or towers, five market towns, two hundred and forty-three villages, thirteen mills, and three hospitals, all pulled down or burnt. The exploits of the English leaders might gratify Henry's resentment, but they greatly injured his interest in Scotland, for all the natives became united to repel the invaders; and even those that liked the proposed match with England best, were, to use an expression of the time, disgusted with so rough a mode of wooing. The Douglasses themselves, bound to Henry by so many ties, were obliged, on seeing the distress and devastation of the country, to take part in the war against him, and soon found an opportunity to do so. It seems Henry had conferred upon his two successful leaders, Evers and Latoun, all the lands which they should be able to conquer upon the Border, and, in particular, the fine counties of Merse and Teviotdale.-"I will write the instrument of possession upon their own bodies, with sharp pens, and in blood-red ink," said the Earl of Angus, "because they destroyed the tombs of my ancestors at the Abbey of Melrose." He urged, accordingly, the Regent, or Governor, as he was called, Arran, to move towards the frontiers to protect them. The Governor was with difficulty prevailed on to advance southward to Melrose, with scarce so many as five hundred men in his company. The English leaders were lying at Jedburgh with five thousand men, Three thousand of these were regular soldiers, paid by the King of England; the rest were Borderers, amongst whom there were many Scottish clans who had taken the red cross, and submitted themselves to the dominion of England. With these forces Evers and Latoun made a sudden march, to surprise the Governor and his handful of men; but they failed, for the Scots retreated beyond the Tweed, to the hills near Galashiels. The English then prepared to retire to Jedburgh, and the Governor, acting by Angus's advice, followed them, and watched their motions. In the mean time, succours began to come in to the Scottish army. A bold young man, Norman Leslie, the master of Rothes, was the first to come up, with three hundred horse, from Fife, gallantly armed. Afterward the Lord of Buccleuch joined them with a few of his clan, who arrived at full speed, and assured them the rest would be presently on the field. This Border chieftain was a man of great military sagacity, and knew the ground well. He advised the Governor and Angus to draw up their men at the foot of a small eminence, and to send their horses to the rear. The English seeing the horses of the Scots ascend the hill, concluded they were in flight, and turned hastily back to attack them, hurrying in confusion, as to an assured conquest. Thus they came in front of the Scottish army, who were closely and firmly drawn up, at the very moment when they themselves were in confusion with their hasty advance. As the Scots began to charge, the Earl of Angus, secing a heron arise out of the marsh, cried out, "Oh that I had my white hawk here, that we might all join in battle at once!" The English, surprised and out of breath, having besides the wind in the Protestant doctrines, reconcile himself to the Church of Rome, and give way to the prosecution of the heretics, as the Protestants were still called. Many cruelties were exercised, but that which excited public feeling to the highest degree, was the barbarous death of George Wishart. their face, and the sun in their eyes, were completely had prevailed upon that fickle nobleman to abandon defeated, and compelled to take to flight. The Scottish Borderers, who had joined them, perceiving their countrymen to be victorious, threw away their red crosses, the distinction which they had assumed as subjects of England, and fell upon the English, for the purpose of helping whom they had come to the field. These renegades made a pitiful slaughter, and the Scots, in general, provoked, probably, by the late ravages of the English, showed themselves so cruel to the vanquished, that they seemed to deserve the severe blow which the nation soon afterward received. Tradition says, that a beautiful young maiden, called Lilliard, followed her lover from the little village of Maxton; and when she saw him fall in battle, rushed herself into the heat of the fight, after slaying several of the English. From this female, they call the field of battle Lilliard's Edge to this day. This battle was fought 14th December, 1544. A thousand Englishmen were killed, together with their two leaders, of whom Evers was buried in the Abbey of Melrose, which he had repeatedly plundered and finally burnt. A great many prisoners were made. One was Thomas Read, an alderman of the city of London, whom we are surprised to meet with in such a predicament. This worthy citizen had, it scems, refused to pay his share of a benevolence, as it was called, that is, of a sum of money, which the King demanded from the citizens of London. It seems that though the power of the King could not throw him into jail until he paid the money, yet he could force him to go as a soldier; and there is a letter to Lord Evers, directing that Read should be subjected to all the rigours and hardships of the service, that he might know what soldiers suffered, and be more ready another time to assist the King with money to pay them. It is to be supposed, that the Alderman had a large ransom to pay to the Scotsman who had the good luck to get him for a prisoner. Henry VIII. was extremely offended at this defeat of Lilliard's Edge, or Ancram-moor, as it is frequently called, and vented his displeasure in menaces against the Earl of Angus, notwithstanding their connexion by the Earl's marriage with the King's sister. Angus treated the threats of the English monarch with contempt. "Is our royal brother-in-law," he said, angry with me for being a good Scotsman, and for revenging upon Ralph Evers the destruction of my ancestors' tombs at Melrose? They were better men than he, and I could in honour do no less. And will he take my life for that? Little does King Henry know the skirts of Cairntable (a mountain near Douglas Castle;) I can keep myself there against all his English host." The truth is, that, at no period of their history, had the Scottish people ever been more attached to France, and more alienated from England, than now; the proposed match between the young Queen and the English Prince of Wales being generally regarded with abhorrence, which was chiefly owing to the vindictive and furious manner in which Henry conducted the war. Of all the Scottish nobles who had originally belonged to the English party, Lennox alone continued friendly to Henry; and he being obliged to fly into England, the King caused him to marry Lady Margaret Douglas, daughter of his sister Margaret, by her second husband, the Earl of Angus, and of course the King's niece. Their son was the unhappy Henry Lord Darnley, of whom we shall have much to say hereafter. This martyr to the cause of Reformation was a man of honourable birth, great wisdom and eloquence, and of primitive piety. He preached the doctrines of the Reformed religion with zeal and with success, and was for some time protected against the efforts of the vengeful Catholics by the Barons who had become converts to the Protestant faith. At length, however, he fell into the hands of the Cardinal, being surrendered to him by Lord Bothwell, and was conveyed to the Castle of Saint Andrews, a strong fortress and palace belonging to the Cardinal as Archbishop, and there thrown into a dungeon. Wishart was then brought to a public trial, for heresy, before the Spiritual Court, where the Cardinal presided. He was accused of preaching heretical doctrine by two priests, called Lauder and Oliphant, whose outrageous violence was strongly contrasted with the patience and presence of mind shown by the prisoner. He appealed to the authority of the Bible against that of the Church of Rome, but his judges were little disposed to listen to his arguments, and he was condemned to be burnt alive. The place of execution was opposite to the stately castle of the Cardinal, and Beaton himself sat upon the walls, which were hung with tapestry to behold the death of his heretical prisoner. Wishart was then brought out and fastened to a stake with iron chains. He was clad in a buckram garment, and several bags of gunpowder were tied around his body, to hasten the operation of the fire. A quantity of fagots were disposed around the pile. While he stood in expectation of his cruel death, he cast his eyes towards his enemy the Cardinal, as he sat on the walls of the castle enjoying the dreadful scene. 76 Captain," " he said to him who commanded the guard, may God forgive yonder man, who lies so proudly on the wall-within a few days he shall be seen lying there in as much shame as he now shows pomp and vanity," The pile was then fired, the powder exploded, the fire arose, and Wishart was dismissed by a painful death to a blessed immortality in the next world. Perhaps the last words of Wishart, which seemed to contain a prophetic spirit, incited some men to revenge his death. At any rate, the burning of Wishart greatly increased the public detestation against the Cardinal, and a daring man stood forth to gratify the general desire, by putting him to death. This was Norman Leslie, called the master of Rothes, the same who led the men of Fife at the battle of AncramMoor. It appears, that besides his share of the common hatred to the Cardinal as a persecutor, he had some private feud or cause of quarrel with him. With no more than sixteen men, Leslie undertook to assault the Cardinal in his own castle, among his numerous guards and domestics. It chanced that, as many workmen were still employed in labouring upon the fortifications of the castle, the wicket of the castle-gate was open early in the morning, to admit them to their work. The conspirators took advantage of this, and obtained possession of the entrance. Having thus gained admittance, they seized upon the domestics of the Cardinal, and turned them one by one out of the castle, then hastened to the Cardinal's chamber, who had fastened the door. He refused them entrance, until they threatened to apply fire, when, learning that Norman Leslie was without, he at length undid the door, and asked for mercy. Melville, one of the conspirators, told him, he should only have such mercy as he had extended to George Wishart, and the other servants of God, who had been slain by his orders. He then, with his sword pointed The Scottish affairs were now managed almost to his breast, bid the Cardinal say his prayers to God, entirely by Cardinal Beaton, a statesman, as we be- for his last hour was come. The conspirators now fore observed, of great abilities, but a bigoted Catho-proceeded to stab their victim, and afterward dragged lic, and a man of a severe and cruel temper. He had the dead body to the walls, to show it to the citizens gained entire influence over the Regent Arran, and of Saint Andrews, his clients and dependants, who The King of France now sent a powerful body of auxiliary troops to the assistance of the Scots, besides considerable supplies of money, which enabled them to retaliate the English ravages, so that the Borders on both sides were fearfully wasted.. A peace at length, in June 1546, ended a war in which both countries suffered severely, without either attaining any decisive advantage. |