Castle, in spite of a stout resistance offered by its garrison, under Captain M'Culloch.

That officer, in afterwards giving an account of the affair to a Parliamentary committee in Edinburgh, repeated the views expressed to him by Montrose as to the double-dealing of Lord Hartfell. When parleying with Montrose, before submitting to him, M'Culloch inquired "the reason of his incoming to Dumfries, and invasion of this kingdom:" upon which the Marquis "declared to the deponer that he had assurance from the Earl of Hartfell of his assistance, and raising of the country in his favour; but the said Hartfell deceived him, having promised, from day to day, to draw up his men, and yet did nothing but proved the traitor; and further, he said he thought to have betrayed him by drawing him to his house." When, some time afterwards, Lord Ogilvie was captured by the Covenanters, certain documents were found upon him which he had received from Montrose for presentation to the King. In one of these he used the following strong language with reference to his treatment by the Border barons:-" You are to inform his Majesty," he says, "of all the particulars that stumbled his service as of the carriage of Hartfell, Annandale, Roxburgh, and Traquair, who refused his Majesty's commission, and debauched our officers, doing all that in them lay to discountenance the service, and all who were engaged in it. Your Lordship is seriously to represent the notable miscarriage of the Earls of Crawford and Nithsdale; how often they crossed the business, and went about to abuse us who had undertaken it, to the great scandal and prejudice of the service." A curious game would seem to have been played, by Hartfell and Annandale identifying themselves with the Leaguers, and at the same time professing loyalty to the Crown. They appear to have been false to both; but Nithsdale had given such evidence of his devotedness to the King as should have placed him above suspicion.

Montrose, after reducing Morpeth Castle, was required to unite his forces with those of Prince Rupert. Before he could do so, however, the battle of Marston Moor was won by the valour of Cromwell and the skill of Leslie. The royal cause was thus overthrown in England, and the plans formed by Montrose on

its behalf were hopelessly shattered. Disguised as a groom, and accompanied by only two friends, the hero, brooding over new schemes, hastened to the Highlands, there to give them birth and development. By sheer military genius, he, before many weeks elapsed, raised the fortunes of his royal master from the dust of abasement to the summit of a splendid, but short-lived, success. But at the very period when he was vanquishing the Covenanters at Tippermuir and the Bridge of Dee, the antiRoyalists were carrying all before them in the north of England. Callendar, now that the enemy he had been sent to waylay was out of the road, left Dumfries, effected a junction with the Earl of Leven; and to their united forces Newcastle capitulated in October. Among the prisoners were the Earl of Crawford, its commander, and Lord Maxwell, the Earl of Nithsdale's eldest son, who were carried to Edinburgh, and incarcerated in its tolbooth, where they and other captives lay till they were liberated by the irresistible Montrose, who, following up five previous victories, routed the Covenanters at Kilsyth, and became not only master of the capital, but virtually dictator of the kingdom. The dictatorship, however, was so brief that it must have seemed to Montrose himself, in retrospect, but a dazzling dream. On the 12th of September he experienced the stern reality of a defeat, at Philiphaugh, by the Earl of Leven, which all but annihilated his followers, and destroyed the vision of a restored monarchy, which he had built up on the basis of his six great triumphs. Not a few Nithsdale and Galloway men fought under Leslie on this famous field, and, among others, a regiment of infantry raised at his own expense by Lord Kirkcudbright, and headed by that jealous anti-Royalist. Some Dumfriesians were also present on the other side, under the Earl of Hartfell, who, though at first mistrusted by Montrose, proved his devotedness to Charles at Philiphaugh. When the royal troops were dispersed, the Earl, in company with other fugitives, lost his way, was seized by the country people of the neighbourhood, sent to Edinburgh, and sentenced to death by the Scottish Parliament, but had his life spared through the interposition of the Marquis of Argyle.

Montrose himself escaped to the Highlands, then took refuge in Hamburg; and, returning to Scotland in 1650, for the pur

pose of renewing the war, fell into an ambuscade, was captured, and executed in Edinburgh on the 21st of May, about sixteen months after the beheading of the King, whom he had served with incomparable gallantry and devotedness.

Its

Then followed the ineffectual attempts of the late King's son, Charles II., to restore the monarchy which Cromwell had set aside. The Scots, aggrieved by its abrogation, and deeply resenting the execution of the King, though he had treated them shamefully, proclaimed Charles a few days after that dread event; and he having subscribed the National Covenant and the Solemn League and Covenant, a Scottish army, under General David Leslie, prepared to do battle for his cause. defeat at Dunbar, and again at Worcester, left Cromwell "master of the situation," and the Commonwealth without an open enemy. On the death of the Protector, in 1658, he was succeeded by his son Richard, whose feeble rule only continued for a few months; and in 1660 Charles was recalled from his exile he having first, with his usual facility for promise-making, made the "Declaration of Breda," in which he offered indemnity for the past, and liberty of conscience for the future.

CHAPTER XXXI.

A COLLEAGUE TO THE PARISH MINISTER APPOINTED-ACTINGS OF THE SESSION AND PRESBYTERY TOWARDS OFFENDERS -PUNISHMENT FOR SWEARING, BLASPHEMY, SLANDER, TERMAGANCY, SABBATH-BREAKING, AND OTHER TRANSGRESSIONS-ROMAN CATHOLICS AND COVENANT-BREAKERS SEVERELY TREATED THE PARISH MINISTER TRIES TO SEIZE A MASS PRIEST; ESCAPE OF THE PRIEST, AND A BONFIRE MADE OF HIS VESTMENTS AND PICTURES -MORE POPISH TRASH" CONFISCATED AND BURNT-THE PRIVY COUNCIL SCANDALIZED BY THE CONTINUED ADHERENCE OF THE MAXWELL FAMILY TO THE ROMISH FAITH-PROCEEDINGS OF THE COUNCIL IN OTHER CASES OF CONTUMACY-LORD AND LADY HERRIES, THE COUNTESS OF NITHSDALE, AND OTHERS THEIR CO-RELIGIONISTS EXCOMMUNICATED BY THE SYNOD OF DUMFRIES.

IT has been repeatedly observed, that the Reformation made at first slow progress in Dumfries. By the beginning of the seventeenth century, however, Protestantism was greatly in the ascendant, nearly all the inhabitants professing it, and only a few, chiefly of the upper ranks, adhering to the proscribed faith. Not only had the Dumfriesians become Protestant, but, as we have seen, intensely Presbyterian, and, as such, hating Episcopalianism nearly as much as Popery. Detesting the Prelatical measures which Charles I. tried to thrust upon the country, they rejoiced when the public voice and the General Assembly put the Service-book and its accompaniments under ban. After the Presbyterian form of religion had been established, the old Roman Catholic place of worship-St. Michael's-was constituted the parish church of Dumfries: Mr. Hugh Fullerton was its first minister, Mr. Thomas Ramsay its second minister, Mr. James Hamilton was the third, and Mr. Hugh Henderson (settled in 1648) was the fourth. It was not till 1657 that the officiating minister had a colleague appointed to him, so that for nearly a hundred years after the Reformation the spiritual oversight of the Burgh and Parish devolved upon one incumbent;

but, as we shall afterwards see, he was supported by a large and active staff of laymen.

In the year above named the Town Council consulted the inhabitants on the propriety of obtaining the services of a second minister; and at a meeting on the 26th of September, they "having before thair eyes the glorie of God, the propagatioune of the gospell, and the putting downe of sin and iniquitie in this place, and considering that it is impossible for ony one minyster to dyscharge all the dewties of the ministrie to this populous and numerous congreggatioune," they "with consent of the hail comunalitie," and the requirements of the Presbytery and Synod, "resolvit unanimouslie with all diligens to set about the calling of ane helper and colleigue" to the incumbent, Mr. Hill. At the same sitting the Council granted a thousand merks Scots as annual stipends to the assistant, and by their signatures to the minute gave legal effect to the agreement it embodied.

An entry in the Session record, dated 19th July, 1646, shows, that on that day several elders and deacons were ordained; and about this period there appear to have been twenty-one elders and eighteen deacons officiating in the burghal, and ten of both in the landward part of the Parish. These lay office-bearers were specially entrusted with the exercise of church discipline: for this purpose they took strict cognizance of Sabbath-breakers, profane swearers, drunkards, and transgressors of the seventh commandment; and so many cases occurred that meetings of Session were held every Monday and Friday afternoon, at which they were disposed of. We may think that they and the ministers of the time often overstretched their authority, and interfered with matters which they ought not to have meddled with. Undoubtedly, they were at times guilty of intolerance; but there is abundant evidence to show that they honestly acted out their convictions, and, according to the light given to them, endeavoured to restrain iniquity, and render the people of the Parish Godfearing and moral. In this work, as we have said, the church courts were actively assisted by the civil magistrates; and, between both, the inhabitants were in danger of suffering from too much law-though we must not overlook the circumstance,