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diff --git a/old/54245-0.txt b/old/54245-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index da9751b..0000000 --- a/old/54245-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,8314 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Bygone Scotland, by David Maxwell - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - - - -Title: Bygone Scotland - Historical and Social - -Author: David Maxwell - -Release Date: February 26, 2017 [EBook #54245] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BYGONE SCOTLAND *** - - - - -Produced by ellinora and the Online Distributed Proofreading -Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from -images generously made available by The Internet Archive) - - - - - - - Transcriber Notes - - ● Obvious printer typos and punctuation errors fixed. - ● The page number in the index for an entry “Anne, Queen, reign of” has - been corrected from 672 to 272. - ● The name Serenus has been changed to Severus on pp. 5-6 and his year - of death at York changed from 241 to 211 on p. 6. The year of 1588 - for the festival day of St. Giles on p. 115 changed to 1558. The - year of 1630 on p. 124 for Montrose's execution changed to 1650. - The year of 1560 on p. 132 for fire at Holyrood Palace during - Cromwell's time changed from to 1650. - ● Otherwise, variations in spelling and hyphenation, and other possible - typos or errors in dates have been left as in the original. - ● The text has quotations from centuries when words were spelled - differently than today. The spelling in these quotations has been - left as is. - ● Italics are represented by underscores surrounding the _italic text_. - ● Underlines are represented by plus signs surrounding the +underlined+ - text. - ● Small capitals have been converted to ALL CAPS. - ● A small decorative line at the start of the first chapter has been - replicated. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - BYGONE SCOTLAND. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - -[Illustration: WEST FRONT OF HOLYROOD ABBEY CHURCH.] - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - BYGONE SCOTLAND: - - HISTORICAL AND SOCIAL. - - BY - - DAVID MAXWELL, C.E. - - - “Stands Scotland where it did?” - - - EDINBURGH: - WILLIAM BRYCE, LOTHIAN STREET. - - HULL: - WILLIAM ANDREWS & CO., THE HULL PRESS. - - LONDON: - SIMPKIN, MARSHALL, HAMILTON, KENT & CO., LD. - - 1894. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - -[Illustration: WILLIAM ANDREWS & Co. THE HULL PRESS] - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - Preface. - - -For a country of comparatively small extent, and with a large proportion -of its soil in moor and mountain, histories of Scotland have been -numerous and well-nigh exhaustive. The present work is not a chronicle -of events in order and detail, but a series of pictures from the earlier -history, expanding into fuller narratives of the more striking events in -later times. And it includes portions of contemporaneous English -history; for the history of Scotland can only be fully understood -through that of its larger and more powerful neighbour. - -The growth of a people out of semi-barbarism and tribal diversity, to -civilization and national autonomy, is ever an interesting study. This -growth in Scotland included many elements. The Roman occupation of -Southern Britain banded together for defence and aggression the northern -tribes. For centuries after the Roman evacuation the old British race -held the south-western shires, up to the Clyde; the Anglo-Saxon kingdom -of Northumbria extended to the Frith of Forth; there were Norse -settlements on the eastern coast, in Orkney, and the Hebrides. Of the -various races out of which the Scottish nation was formed, the Picts -were the most numerous; but the Scots—a kindred race, wanderers from -Ireland—were the more active and aggressive—came to assume the general -government, and gave their name to the whole country north of the Solway -and the Tweed. - -It is interesting to trace how, in unsettled times, the burghs developed -into little, distinct communities, largely self-governed. And the -religious element in Scotland has been a powerful factor in shaping the -character of the people and of the national institutions; the conflict -of the Covenant was the epic in Scottish history. The rebellion of 1745, -as the last specially Scottish incident in British history, is properly -the closing chapter in _Bygone Scotland_. - - D. M. - - HULL LITERARY CLUB, - _St. Andrew’s Day, 1893_. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - Contents. - - - PAGE - THE ROMAN CONQUEST OF BRITAIN 1 - BRITAIN AS A ROMAN PROVINCE 12 - THE ANGLO-SAXONS IN BRITAIN 18 - THE RISE OF THE SCOTTISH NATION 26 - THE DANISH INVASIONS OF BRITAIN 38 - THE LAST TWO SAXON KINGS OF ENGLAND 48 - HOW SCOTLAND BECAME A FREE NATION 63 - SCOTLAND IN THE TWO HUNDRED YEARS AFTER 73 - BANNOCKBURN - THE OLDER SCOTTISH LITERATURE 80 - THE REFORMATION IN ENGLAND AND SCOTLAND 85 - THE RIVAL QUEENS, MARY AND ELIZABETH 102 - OLD EDINBURGH 111 - OFFENCES AND THEIR PUNISHMENT IN THE 134 - SIXTEENTH CENTURY - OLD ABERDEEN 152 - WITCHCRAFT IN SCOTLAND 160 - HOLY-WELLS IN SCOTLAND 166 - SCOTTISH MARRIAGE CUSTOMS 172 - SCOTLAND UNDER CHARLES THE FIRST 178 - SCOTLAND UNDER CROMWELL 199 - SCOTLAND UNDER CHARLES THE SECOND 211 - SCOTLAND UNDER JAMES THE SECOND 236 - THE REVOLUTION OF 1688 252 - THE MASSACRE OF GLENCOE 264 - THE UNION OF SCOTLAND AND ENGLAND 270 - THE JACOBITE RISINGS OF 1715 279 - THE REBELLION OF 1745 289 - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - BYGONE SCOTLAND. - - -->-•♦•-<-- - - - - - The Roman Conquest of Britain. - - -We cannot tell—it is highly improbable that we ever shall know—from -whence came the original inhabitants of the islands of Great Britain and -Ireland. Men living on the sea-coasts of the great quadrant of -continental land which fronts these islands, would, when the art of -navigation got beyond the raft and canoe, venture to cross the narrow -seas, and form insular settlements. It is indeed possible that, before -that subsidence of the land of Western Europe which separated our -islands from the mainland and from each other, was effected by the slow -but ever-acting forces of geology, men were living on the banks of -ancient rivers which are now represented by the Clyde, the Thames, and -the Shannon. - -The authentic history of Britain dates from the Roman invasion; before -this event all is myth and legend. Half a century before the -commencement of our era, Julius Cæsar, whilst consolidating in strong -and durable Roman fashion his conquest of Gaul, was informed by certain -merchants of the country that on the other side of the narrow sea which -bounded them on the north, there was a fertile land called Britain, or -_the land of tin_. With his legions, in the trireme galleys of the -period, Cæsar crossed the narrow sea, and, so far as he went, he -conquered the land. - -The inhabitants were in a rude condition of life; semi-barbarous -perhaps, but certainly the peoples of Fingal and Ossian in the north, -and of Caractacus and Boadicea in the south, had advanced far beyond -simple savagery. Climatic and geographical influences had moulded into a -robust, if a fierce and stubborn type, the common materials of humanity. -The ancient Britons had, in their ideas of government, advanced beyond -mere clan chieftainship. Their annals, in stone cairns and the songs of -bards, commemorated bygone battles and deeds of warrior renown. They had -a religion with its trained priesthood—it was not a religion of -sweetness and light, but of ferocity and gloom, of human sacrifices, and -mystical rites. Its temples and altars were clusters of huge stones, -arranged in forest glades on some astronomical principles. The Druidic -faith was one of the many offshoots of ignorant barbarism, in which the -celestial orbs and the forces in terrestrial nature—lightning and -tempest—life and fire—were deified. Its priesthood was a close order, -holding in their mystical gripe the minds and lives of the people. It -has been said that the ancient Britons were such firm believers in a -future state, that they would even lend each other money, to be repaid -in the spiritual world. Their language was a dialect of the Gaelic—the -language spoken in more ancient times over the greater portion of -Western Europe. - -The Roman invasion under Julius was little more than a raid. He marched -his legions as far inland as the Thames, and again retired to the coast; -he left Britain without forming a Roman settlement, and for nearly a -hundred years the island remained free, and did a considerable maritime -trade with Gaul and Scandinavia. In A.D. 43, the fourth Roman emperor, -Claudius, with a large army, invaded Britain. The native tribes, -although generally inimical to the Romans, had no concerted action -amongst themselves, were often, indeed, at war with each other; and thus -the disciplined soldiers of Rome had a comparatively easy task, although -they had many fierce encounters with native bravery and hardihood. One -British chief, Caractacus, held out the longest. He was the King of the -Silurians, the dwellers in South Wales and its neighbourhood. For -several years he withstood the masters of the world, but was ultimately -defeated in battle, and he and his family were sent prisoners to Rome. - -On the eastern coast, in what is now Suffolk and Norfolk, was a tribe -called the Icenians. This tribe, under Boadicea, the widow of one of its -kings, made, in the absence of the Roman governor, Suetonius, raids upon -London, Colchester, and other Roman towns. When Suetonius returned, he -defeated Boadicea in a battle near London. She killed herself rather -than submit. Agricola succeeded Suetonius as governor, and he pushed the -Roman Conquest northwards to a line between the Firths of Forth and -Clyde. Beyond this line the Romans never made permanent conquests. Along -this line Agricola built a chain of forts as a defence of the Roman -province against incursions from the northern tribes, and as a base of -operations in attempting farther conquests. In a campaign in the year -84, he was opposed by a native force under a chief called Galgacus. A -battle was fought amongst the Grampian Hills, near Blairgowrie, with a -hardly-won victory to Agricola. It was such a victory as decided him to -make the Tay the northern boundary of Roman occupation. But Roman fleets -sailed round the northern shores,—planting the Imperial Standard on -Orkney,—and returned, having proved that Britain was an island. - -The northern portion of the island, beyond the line of forts, was then -called Caledonia; border fighting was the rule, and the “barbarians from -the hills” made frequent raids into the Romanized lowlands. Indeed, not -only had the Romans to build a wall connecting the forts of Agricola, -but also, as a second line of defence, one between the Tyne and the -Solway Firth. The two walls prove the determination of the Romans to -maintain their British conquests, and also at what a high rate they -estimated the native resistance. - -In 208, Severus had to re-conquer the country between the walls, -restoring that of Agricola, and he carried the Roman eagles to the -farthest points north which they ever reached. The remains of Roman -roads through Strathearn to Perth, and thence through Forfar, the -Mearns, and Aberdeen to the Moray Firth, belong to this period; and they -represent attempts to subdue the whole island. Dion, the Roman -historian, ascribes the failure of this attempt to the death of Severus -at York, in 211. He describes the Caledonians as painting on their skins -the forms of animals; of being lightly armed; making rapid dashes in -battle; of having no king, only their tribal chieftains. In 305, -Constantius defeated the tribes between the walls; they are called in -the Roman records, “Caledonians and other Picts;” the latter name being -then used for the first time, and as being the more generic appellation. -In 360, the Scots are named for the first time. They and the Picts made -a descent upon the Roman province, and this is spoken of in terms which -imply that they had previously passed the southern wall. - -For about 366 years the Romans held sway in Britain; if we think of it, -for as long a period as elapsed between Henry the Eighth’s publishing -his treatise in defence of the seven Romish sacraments, and the jubilee -of Queen Victoria. The conquest of an inferior by a superior race is -generally fraught with progressive issues to the conquered people. In -the roads and architecture, the laws and the civic institutions of the -country, the Romans left lasting memorials of their British rule. Towns -rose and flourished; marshes were drained; the land was cultivated; low- -lying coast lands were, by embankments, protected from the sea; trade -advanced; Christianity and Roman literature were introduced. - -As a constituent portion of the empire, Britain occupies a place in -Roman history. A Roman commander in Britain, Albinus, had himself -nominated emperor. He carried an army into Gaul, but was there beaten -and slain in a battle with the rival emperor, Severus. Severus himself -died at York, then called Eboracum; and, in 273, Constantine, since -styled _The Great_, was born in that city, his mother, Helena, being -British. Constantius, the father of Constantine, had a long struggle for -the possession of Britain with Carausius, a Belgian-born Roman general, -who, in 286, rebelled against the authority of the empire. The usurper -formed a navy, with which he for eight years prevented Roman troops from -landing on our shores, but he lost his life through treachery, and once -more the imperial eagles floated over Britain. For a time Britain might -be said to be the head-quarters of the empire. Residing principally at -York, Constantius gave his commands to Gaul and Spain, to Italy itself, -to Syria and Greece. It was in Britain that on the death of his father, -in 306, Constantine was proclaimed emperor. He was the first Christian -emperor, and all the emperors who succeeded him professed Christianity, -except Julian, who, returning to the old gods, was called _The -Apostate_; but Julian was really a wiser ruler and a better man than -many of those who called themselves Christian. The new religion became -the official faith of the empire. Not much is known with certainty of -the early British church, but there are said to have been archbishops in -the three chief cities, London, York, and Caerleon. - -The grand old Latin language, containing in its literature the garnered -up thoughts and attainments of centuries, spread its refining influences -wherever the Roman camp was pitched. Latin was the official language in -Roman Britain, and it would be known and probably spoken by the well-to- -do Britons in the towns. But it never amalgamated with the old Celtic- -Welsh of the common people. Celtic, although in many respects a well- -constructed language, is not a pliant one—is not adapted for readily -intermingling with other tongues. It has in its various dialects, which -have through the succeeding centuries maintained their existence in -Wales, in Ireland, and in the Highlands of Scotland, kept itself -altogether apart from the English language; and it has given -comparatively few of its words to the modern tongue. - -In the third century the Roman empire was in its decline, and hastening -to its fall. Constantine transferred the seat of government to -Byzantium, and that city was thenceforth named from him, Constantinople; -and then the Roman power was divided—there were eastern emperors and -western emperors. In the Patriarch of the Greek Church residing in -Constantinople and the Pope of the Catholic Church in Rome, we have that -division perpetuated to this day. - -The Romans had never been able to conquer more than small portions of -the great country in Central Europe which lies north of the Danube and -east of the Rhine, which we now call Germany. One Teutonic chief called -Arminius, afterwards styled _The Deliverer_, destroyed a whole Roman -invading army. Towards the end of the fourth century the Teutonic -nations began to press into the Roman empire, and one by one the -provinces were wrested from it by these incursions. The Romans hired one -tribe against another; but stage by stage the empire shrank in its -dimensions, until it came to be within the frontiers of Italy; and still -the barbarians pressed in. - -On the 24th day of August, 410, the evening sun was gilding the roof of -the venerable Capitol, and peace and serenity seemed to hover over the -eternal city. But at midnight the Gothic trumpets sounded as the blasts -of doom. No devoted Horatius now kept bridge and gate as in the brave -days of old. Alaric, “the curse of God,” stormed the city, to burn and -slay and inflict all the horrors of assault; but sparing Christian -churches, monks and nuns. It is said that forty thousand slaves in the -city rose against their masters. - -From the spreading of the Teutonic tribes, new nations were formed in -Western Europe. The Franks pressed into Northern Gaul. Their name -remains in Franconia, and in that portion of Gaul called France. In -Italy, Spain, and Acquitaine, the Goths and other Teutonic peoples -mingled with the Romans. From the Latin language, corrupted and mixed up -with other tongues, arose the Italian, Spanish, Provençal, and French -languages, all, from the name of Rome, called the _Romance_ languages. -The eastern empire still went on; in the sixth century it recovered for -a time Italy and Africa. Its people called themselves Romans, but were -not so much Roman as Greek. After a lengthened decline, its last -fragments were destroyed by the Turks, who took Constantinople in 1453. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - Britain as a Roman Province. - - -It was fortunate for Britain that it came under the rule of Rome, not in -the time of the Republic, when the conquered peoples were ruined by -spoliation and enslavement; nor yet in the earlier years of the empire, -a time of conflict and unsettlement, but after the death of the infamous -Caligula, when Claudius had assumed the purple. At the beginning of the -second century the Roman Empire was, under Trajan, at its culminating -point of magnitude and power. Trajan was succeeded by Hadrian, whose -governmental solicitude was shown in continuous journeying over his vast -empire; and by the general construction of border fortification, of -which the wall in Britain, linking the Tyne with the Solway Firth, is an -example. Antoninus followed Hadrian, and of him it has been said: “With -such diligence did he rule the subject peoples that he cared for every -man of them, equally as for his own nation; all the provinces flourished -under him.” His reign was tranquil, and his fine personal qualities -obtained for him the title of _Pius_. Of course for Britain it was the -rough rule of military conquest; but it prevented tribal conflicts, -secured order, and encouraged material development; corn was exported, -the potter’s wheel was at work, there was tin-mining in Cornwall, and -lead-mining in Northumberland and Somerset; iron was smelted in the -Forest of Dean. - -But distance from the seat of government, as well as its murky skies, -and wintry severity—no vines, no olive or orange trees in its fields— -made Britain an undesirable land for Roman colonisation; it was held -chiefly as a military outpost of the empire. - -Whilst the more intimate Roman rule in South Britain gave there its -civilizing institutions, its Latin tongue, its arts, laws, and -literature, and in the fourth century Christianity, these results became -less emphasized northwards—hardly reaching to the wall of Hadrian. The -country between the walls remained in the possession of heathen semi- -barbarians, scarcely more civilized or trained in the arts of civil -government than were the Celtic tribes of the north. There were no Roman -towns, and very few remains of Roman villas have been found, beyond -York: remains of roads and camps, of altars and sepulchral monuments are -found. To the south of York, Britain was a Roman settlement; north of -York it was a military occupation. - -In spite of its roads, its towns, and its mines, Britain was still, at -the close of the Roman rule, a wild, half-reclaimed country; forest and -wasteland, marsh and fen occupied the larger portion of its surface. The -wolf was still a terror to the shepherd; beavers built their dams in the -marshy streams of Holderness. - -Unarmed, and without any military training, feeling themselves weak and -helpless in the presence of the dominant race, the Britons of the -province were yet sufficiently patriotic, to give negative help at least -to the Pictish tribes who were ever making incursions into the district -between the walls, and even at times penetrating into the heart of the -province. One of these inroads in the reign of Valentinian all but tore -Britain from the empire: an able general, Theodosius, found southern -Britain itself in the hands of the invaders; but he succeeded in driving -them back to their mountains, winning back for Rome the land as far as -the wall of Agricola, and the district between the walls was constituted -a fifth British province, named after the Emperor, Valentia. - -And whilst the Pictish clans were thus making wild dashes over the -walls, the sea-board of the province was harrassed by marauders from the -sea. Irish pirates called Scots, or “wanderers,” harried the western -shores; whilst on the eastern and southern coast, from the Wash to the -Isle of Wight, a stretch of coast which came to be called the Saxon -Shore, Saxon war-keels were making sudden raids for plunder, and for -kidnapping men, women, and children, to be sold into slavery. They also -intercepted Roman galleys in the Channel, which were engaged in -commerce, or on imperial business. In the year 364, a combined fleet of -Saxon vessels for a time held the Channel. - -And now the Romanized British towns began to shew their lack of faith in -imperial protection, by strengthening themselves by walls. A special -Roman commander was appointed, charged with the defence of the Saxon -shore. The shore was dotted by strong forts, garrisoned by a legion of -ten thousand men. The thick forests which lined the coast to the -westward of Southampton water were considered sufficient guards against -invasion in that quarter. As long as the Romans remained in Britain they -were able to repel the attacks of their barbarous assailants. But when -the fated hour came—when Rome in her death-struggle with the Teutonic -hordes, whose gripe was at her throat in every one of her dominions in -western Europe, and even in Italy itself, had to recall her troops from -Britain—then the encircling foes closed in upon their prey. - -In withdrawing, in 410, his troops from Britain, the Emperor Honorius, -grandson of the general Theodosius we have mentioned, told the people in -a letter to provide for their own government and defence. We may imagine -how ill prepared, after ten generations of servitude, the Romanized -Britons were for such an emergency. But they had fortified towns with -their municipal institutions, and under the general sway of Rome they -had lost their tribal distinctions, and become a more united people; and -not in any one of the Romanized lands which became a prey to the -barbarians did these encounter so prolonged and so energetic a -resistance as in Britain. For some thirty years after the Roman -evacuation of the province, it held out or maintained a fluctuating -struggle with its enemies. The Scoto-Irish bucaneers were not only -continuing their raids upon the western coast, but they planted -settlements in Argyle to the north of Agricola’s wall, and in Galloway— -between the two walls. And the Picts were ever making incursions from -the north. The policy was tried of hiring barbarian against barbarian. -The Picts were the nearest and most persistent danger; and the marauders -from over the North Sea,—Saxons, Angles, and Jutes, were, if not hired -as mercenaries, permitted to hold a footing in the land, as a defence -against Pictish invasion. About 450, three keels filled with Jutes, -under two brothers, Hengist and Horsa, with a white horse as their -cognisance, came by invitation from their own home—which is from them -called Jutland—and landed on the Isle of Thanet on the eastern Kentish -shore, making this their base for further conquests. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - The Anglo-Saxons in Britain. - - -The Teutonic nations from mid-Europe which, in their various tribes, -conquered Italy, Spain, and Gaul, had had previous intercourse with the -empire. Many had become Christians, and in their conquests they did not -destroy. Their kings ruled the invaded lands, and their chiefs seized -large portions of soil; but they adopted the provincial Latin tongues, -and the general government was by Roman law. The clergy were mostly -Romans, and they retained considerable power and estates. Thus the -Goths, Visigoths, and Vandals did not become the peoples of the -countries which they overran. The Teutonic element was absorbed into the -national elements, largely resembling what afterwards took place in -England, under the Norman Conquest. - -But it was very different in Britain. Its Teutonic invaders—Jutes, -Angles, and Saxons, had lived outside the influence of the empire; and -indeed we know very little about them before they came to Britain. With -the landing of Ella, in 477, Anglo-Saxon history may be said to begin. -They were still heathens, and they knew nothing, and they cared nothing -for the arts, the laws, or the language of Rome. Their object was not -merely rule and authority over the Romanized Britons, but their -destruction, and the entire occupation of the land. As they conquered, -they killed the Britons or made them slaves, or drove them into Cornwall -and Wales in the west, and into Caledonia in the north. They came over -the North Sea in families, and thus propagated largely as an unmixed -Anglo-Saxon race. But doubtless there were many more men than women in -their bands, and there would be marriages with native women. Thus -strains of British and Roman blood were left in the new occupants of -what came to be England, and the lowlands of Scotland. The Anglo-Saxon -tribes in Britain thus became a nation with its own language and laws, -manners and customs. From the name of one tribe—the Angles—the southern -and larger portion of the island came to be called _England_. _English_ -is the common language of Britain, and of its many off-shoots scattered -over the habitable globe. - -Kent—the nearest British land to the continent—bore the first brunt of -Anglo-Saxon, as it had done of Roman, conquest. Then came Sussex (South -Saxon). But the third settlement, that of Wessex (West Saxon), was a far -larger one; taking in at least seven shires. It began in Hampshire, -under Cedric, and his son Cynric—then styled Ealdermen—and gradually -extended over all south-western Britain, and stretching northwards over -Oxford and Buckingham shires. This was the era assigned to the legendary -British King Arthur, fighting strongly for his native soil and his -Christian faith, against the heathen invaders. - -Another, the fourth Saxon kingdom, was that of Essex. And then there -were three Anglian kingdoms—East Anglia, Northumbria and Mercia. East -Anglia comprised Suffolk (South-folk), Norfolk (North-folk), and -Lincolnshire. Northumbria included the country north of the Humber, as -far as the Frith of Forth. That portion of Northumbria now known as -Yorkshire was then called Deira, with York, then named Eboracum, its -chief town; the portion north of the Tees was named Bernicia. The -kingdom of Mercia, that is, of the _March_, had its western frontier to -Wales, being thus the midlands of England. - -And besides South Wales, including Cornwall, Devonshire, and the greater -portion of Somersetshire, the old race still held a large district to -the north of Wales, called Strathclyde, taking in Galloway and other -districts in the south-east of what is now Scotland; together with -Cumberland, Westmoreland, and Lancashire, down to the river Dee, and the -city of Chester; they, even to the end of the sixth century, held -portions of west Yorkshire, including Leeds. - -The Anglo-Saxon occupation having thus at the close of the sixth century -resolved itself into seven independent governments, is hence called the -Heptarchy. But the division was not a lasting one. The conquerors, -although a kindred race—with one understood language—and one old -Scandinavian faith, were far from being a homogeneous people. They had -tribal proclivities, and were generally at war with each other—“battles -of kites and crows,” Milton wrote. At times one king was powerful, or of -such personal superiority to his neighbours, that he assumed a -suzerainty over them, and was called a _Bretwalda_. But the Anglo-Saxon -kings were not autocrats; they had to consult their Witans—their council -of “witty or wise ones.” And there was in society the elements of what -came to be feudalism. The King had his Thanes, or Earls; and these had -their _churls_, who, holding lands under their lords, were expected to -follow him in the wars. And there was slavery; men were made slaves who -committed crimes, or were taken prisoners in war. - -The seventh century witnessed in Anglo-Saxon Britain the conversion from -the old Norse belief in Odin, Thor, and Fries to the Christian faith. -Not from their British slaves, nor from the independent British of Wales -and Strathclyde, did the new faith reach them. In 597, Pope Gregory sent -Augustine and a number of other monks to preach Christianity in England. -The most powerful ruler in Britain at this time was the Kentish king, -Ethelbert; he was Bretwalda, exercising some authority over all the -kings south of the Humber; and he had married a Frankish wife who was a -Christian. The King received the missionaries kindly; and they preached -to him and his chief men through interpreters. In a short time the King -and a number of his people were baptized. Augustine made Canterbury his -headquarters, and it has ever since been the chief See of the Anglican -Church. - -In 635, Oswald, King of Northumbria, routed a British Strathclyde army, -largely shattering this kingdom of the older race; it was as much as the -Welsh could do to hold the country west of the Severn. - -In this seventh century, Devon and the whole of Somersetshire became -English. Oswald was now Bretwalda, and Northumbria, in the struggles for -supremacy of the Saxon kingdoms, was for a generation the foremost -power. It also became Christian, but more from the labours of Scottish -missionaries from Iona, than from the successors of Augustine. - -In early life, Oswald, during an exile amongst the Scots, had visited -Iona, and there became acquainted with Christianity. On his return he -founded a monastery on Lindisfarne, thence called Holy Isle; a Scottish -Bishop, Aidan, he placed at its head; a succeeding Bishop, Cuthbert, was -the most famous of the saints of Northern England. And the Christianity -which came to Scotland from Ireland through Columba, himself a Dalriadan -Scot, differed in many ways from that which had come from Rome. Not only -did they differ in ritual, in dates of festivals, and in the shape of -the monkish tonsure, but in what was of more political importance— -ecclesiastical discipline and organization. The Church of Augustine -implied dioceses, bishops in gradation of rank and authority, -culminating in the Bishop of Rome as the head of the Church. The Church -of Columba was a network of monasteries, a missionary church full of the -zeal of conversion, but wanting in the power of organization. And thus -there was conflict between the two churches, and this conflict was an -important factor in the political history of the times. Ultimately the -policy of Rome prevailed. The country was divided into dioceses, the -loose system of the mission-station sending out priests to preach and -baptize as their enthusiasm led them, gave place to the parish system -with its regular incumbency, and settled order. - -In the beginning of the ninth century the strife for headship over the -others, which had been long waged by the kings of the stronger kingdoms, -was terminated by the Northumbrian Thanes owning Egbert, King of Wessex, -as their over-lord. Egbert defeated the Britons in Cornwall, brought -Mercia under his rule, and united all the territories south of the -Tweed. The Kings of Wessex were henceforth, so far as Anglo-Saxon rivals -were concerned, Kings of England. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - The Rise of the Scottish Nation. - - -In the second century, Ptolemy, the Egyptian astronomer, composed the -first geography of the world, illustrated by maps. He would probably get -his information about Britain—which was still called Albion—from Roman -officers. What is now England, is shown with fair accuracy; but north of -the Wear and the Solway it is difficult to identify names, or even the -prominent features of the country; and the configuration of the land -stretches east and west, instead of north and south. - -The Celts were not indigenous to Britain. It is hardly possible to trace -in any—in the very earliest peoples, of whom history or archæology can -speak—the first occupants of any one spot on the earth. Science is ever -pushing back, and still farther back, the era of man’s first appearance -as fully developed man upon the globe. And in his families, his tribes, -and his nations, man has ever been a migrant. Impelled by the -necessities of life, or by his love of adventure or of conquest, he has -changed his hunting and grazing grounds, made tracks through forests, -sought out passes between mountains; and the great, all-encompassing sea -has ever been a fascination; the sound of its waves a siren-song -inciting him to make them a pathway to new lands beyond his horizon. -Before the Celtic Britons dwelt in this island in the northern seas, -which they have helped to a great name, there were tribes here who had -not yet learned the uses of the metals, whose spear-heads and arrow-tips -were flints, their axes and hammers of stone. But the Celts were of that -great Aryan race, tribes of which, spreading westwards over Europe, had -carried with them so much of the older civilization of Persia, that they -never degenerated into savagedom. The Britons were probably in pre-Roman -times the only distinctive people upon the island. - -How came the Celts to Britain? Probably colonies from Old Gaul first -took possession of the portions of Britain nearer to their own country; -and gradually spreading northwards, came in time to be scattered over -what is now England and Wales, and the Lowlands of Scotland. Ireland -being in sight of Britain from both Wigton and Cantyre, adventurers -would cross the North Channel, and become the founders of the Irish -nation. - -The Picts—a Latin name for the first northern tribes whom the Romans -distinguished from the Britons—called themselves _Cruithne_. Their -earliest settlements in and near Britain appear to have been in the -Orkneys, the north-east of Ireland, and the north of Scotland. They must -then have made considerable advancement in the art of navigation. At the -time of the Roman invasion, the southern Britons called the dwellers in -the northern part of the island _Cavill daoin_, or “people of the -woods,”—and thus the Romans named the district Caledonia. It has been -surmised that the Picts of ancient Caledonia were a colony of Celtic- -Germans; for such offshoots from the parent race occupied portions of -central Europe. There was the same element of Druidism; but the Druids -in Caledonia declined in influence and authority at an earlier date than -did their brethren in Wales and South Britain. The bards took their -place in preserving and handing down—orally and in verse—the traditions -of their tribes—the heroism and virtues, the loves and adventures, of -their ancestors. It may be noted that whilst in this early poetry the -spirits of the dead are frequently introduced, and the powers of nature— -sun, moon, and stars, the wind, the thunder, and the sea—are -personified, there is no mythology,—no deities are called in to aid the -heroes in battling with their foes. - -By the end of the Roman occupation, the Caledonian Picts had spread down -east and central Scotland as far as Fife. And there are Pictish traces -in Galloway on the west coast; probably a migration from Ireland. After -the Romans left, the Picts, in their southern raids, so often crossed -and made use of Hadrian’s wall, that the Romanized-Britons came to call -it the Pictish wall. Their language was a dialect of Celtic, afterwards -coalescing with, or being absorbed in, the Gaelic of the Scots, and -which came to be the common tongue in the Highlands and western isles; -but it was never a spoken tongue in the Scottish Lowlands. - -The Scots are first found historically in Ireland; and they were there -in such numbers and influence, that one of the names of Ireland from the -sixth to the twelfth century was Scotia. Irish traditions represent the -Scotti as “Milesians from Spain;” Milesia was said to be the name of the -leader of the colonizing expedition. But their Celtic name of Gael -sounds akin to Gaul. Their history in Ireland forms an important factor -in the annals of that country. Those of the Irish people who considered -themselves the descendants of the earlier colonists of the island never -came heartily to recognise as fellow-countrymen,—although these had been -for many generations natives of the land,—the descendants of those who -settled at a later date. On the other hand—and similarly keeping up old -race hatreds and lines of demarcation—the descendants of the later -settlers looked upon themselves as a superior race, and never heartily -called themselves Irishmen. This restricted and mock patriotism, -aggravated by religious differences, has almost made of the Irish people -two nations. - -The Scotti must have made considerable settlements in North Britain in -the second or third century, or they would not have been in a position -to join the Picts in attacks upon the Roman province in the fourth -century. When we come to enquire who were the peoples associated with -the Christian missionary Columba in the latter half of the sixth -century, we find that the districts bordering the east coast down to the -Firth of Forth, and the central Highlands, with the chief fort at -Inverness, were peopled by Picts; and that Scots were in Argyle and the -Isles as far north as Iona. Their settlement around the shores of Loch -Linnhe—the arm of the sea at the entrance to which Oban now stands— -became in time a little kingdom called Dalriada, which gradually shook -off the over-lordship of the Scotic kings in Ireland, and maintained -itself against the Picts on its northern and eastern borders. A British -king ruled in Strathclyde, which included the south-west of Scotland up -to the Clyde; and, bordering on Strathclyde, Anglo-Saxon Northumbria -included the east of Scotland up to the Forth. Up to this time the Celts -in North Britain had left no written history behind them; indicating -that they were less civilized than their Welsh and Irish kin. It is in -the annals of Beda and other Anglo-Saxon writers that we find anything -like trustworthy history after the departure of the Romans. The -Romanized Britons got Christianity from their rulers, but subjection to -the Bishop of Rome was not transmitted with the faith. The British -bishops, at their meeting under St. Augustine’s oak, declined to submit -to the missionary from Rome. - -It is usually said that Scotland gave Patrick to Ireland. It was a -strange kind of _giving_. Shortly after the Roman exodus, amongst a -number of Britons taken captive by a Scotti-Irish raid on the banks of -the Clyde, was a young lad of sixteen, who was sent as a slave to tend -sheep and cattle in Antrim. The people round him were idolators; but in -the solitude of the pastures he nursed the Christian faith of his -childhood, and burned with the zeal of a young apostle for the -conversion of the land. For ten years he remained in captivity, then he -made his escape, and after many wanderings, reached his old home. -Ordained a priest, and in time a bishop, he set manfully to realize in -Ireland the dream of his youth, and he had abundant success. He founded -churches, seminaries, and monasteries; the new faith spread like -wildfire over the land. - -And a century later, in 563, thirty-three years before the Roman mission -of Augustine, Ireland sent over Columba to Britain. He, with twelve -companion monks, founded on the little isle of Iona a monastery, which -became the centre of Christianity in North Britain. The Scotti who had -settled in the neighbouring islands, and on the nearest mainland, were -already Christians. But Columba visited and converted the Pictish King -Bruda, and founded a number of churches and monasteries. Than Iona there -is no spot of greater historical interest in the United Kingdom; but -none of the ecclesiastical ruins found there date from Columba. The -first buildings were of wood, but the original foundations in Skye and -Tiree were his work. Columba was also a warrior, taking a strong part in -several campaigns in Ireland, as a liegeman of the Scotic King. The -disciples of Columba were called Culdees, meaning, from their monastic -life, “sequestered persons.” The Pictish bard Ossian is said, when blind -and in old age, to have met and conversed with one of these Culdees. -After ten years of prosperous rule in Iona, Columba contributed to start -into greater unity and more vigorous life the Scotic settlement of -Dalriada. He consecrated a young chieftain, Aedhan, as king; and Aedhan -drove the Bernicians from the debatable land south of the head-waters of -the Forth, and formed a league of Scots and Strathclyde Britons against -Northumbria itself. But the league was, in 603, defeated by the -Northumbrian King Ethelfrith in a great battle. The Scots were thrown -back into their Highland fastnesses, and Beda says, writing a hundred -years later, “From that day to this no Scot King has dared to come into -battle with the English folk.” Ethelfrith, by another victory over the -Welsh at Chester, in 611, and further successes up to Carlisle, divided -by a great gap the Kingdom of Strathclyde from North Wales, and it -became tributary to Northumbria. On the decline of Northumbria, in the -eighth century, Strathclyde re-asserted its independence; and, in a -restricted sense, its extent, more nearly answered to its name, “The -Valley of the Clyde.” With Galloway, it continued under its own rulers, -until, in the tenth century, it was connected with the Kingdom of Scone -by the election to its throne—if it could afford a throne—of Donald, -brother of Constantine II., King of Scots. - -The Picts whom Columba converted appear to have been then consolidated -under one monarch, Brude; his rule was from Inverness to Iona on the -west; on the north to the Orkneys—probably including Aberdeen; its -southern boundary is undefined. Of succeeding kings to Brude, there is a -list of names; but little is known of the men themselves until, in 731, -we come to Angus Mac-Fergus. In reprisal for the capture of his son by -Selvach, King of the Dalriad Scots, he attacked Argyle, and reduced the -whole western highlands. The Strathclyde Britons were assailed by a -brother of Angus, in 756, and their chief town, Alclyde, destroyed. In -the beginning of the ninth century, the seat of the Pictish government -appears to have migrated from Inverness into Perthshire,—Scone becoming -its political capital. - -The history of the Dalriadan Scots, although interwoven with that of the -Picts, and meeting at many points with the histories of the Britons of -Strathclyde, and the Angles of Northumbria, is yet misty and legendary. -True, there is a list of kings, and their stalwart portraits hang in the -great hall of Holyrood; so extensive is this list, that if they had -reigned for anything like an average period, it would carry the history -back to about three hundred years B.C. - -We find something like a trustworthy beginning in Fergus, the son of -Earac, in 503. From this date for upwards of two hundred years, down to -Selvach, who was conquered by the Pictish King Angus Mac-Fergus, there -is from the _Irish Annals_, and the _Church History_ of Beda, a -reasonable certainty. After this there is another century of hazy -legend. If, as seems probable, Dalriada continued through the latter -seventy years of the eighth, and the first half of the ninth century, -under Pictish rule, it is not easy to see how, in the middle of the -ninth century, Kenneth Mac-Alpine, called in the _Irish Annals_ a king -of the Picts, founded, as there is no doubt he did, a line of Scottish -monarchs on the throne of Scone. One hypothesis is, that Kenneth was the -son of a Pictish king by a Scottish mother, and by the Pictish law, the -mother’s nationality determined that of the children. Whatever the -circumstances of the case, the accession of Kenneth Mac-Alpine -represents an era in Scottish history. There was thenceforth such a -complete union of Scots and Picts, that as separate races they lost all -distinctiveness. But it certainly appears that, both by numerical -superiority and historical prestige, the country should have been -Pictland, rather than Scotland. - -The kingdom of Kenneth included central Scotland from sea to sea, Argyle -and the Isles, Perthshire, Fife, Angus, and the Mearns. Lothian was -still Northumbrian. The Vale of the Clyde, Ayr, Dumfries, and Galloway, -were under a British king at Dumbarton. There were several independent -chieftains in Moray and Mar; and Orkney and the northern and north- -western fringes of the country, were dominated by Norsemen. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - The Danish Invasions of Britain. - - -In the first quarter of the ninth century, invaders from lands farther -north than Jutland—hence called Norsemen—played broadly the same parts -in Britain as the Angles and Saxons had played three hundred years -previously. These Norsemen, in their war galleys, prowled over the -Northern Seas, plundering the coasts, and making first incursions and -then settlements in Muscovy, Britain, and Gaul. They discovered and -colonised Iceland. Many centuries before Columbus, they had sailed along -the coast of North America, and even attempted settlements thereon. On -the northern coast of France, Normandy, under its powerful dukes, had -become almost an independent state. - -In their English invasions they are commonly called Danes, but in their -own homes they formed three kingdoms, Norway, Sweden, and Denmark. -Probably the invaders of England were mainly Danes. They were still -“heathens,” _i.e._, of the old Scandinavian faith; and they held the -Christian faith in supreme detestation. They were daring, fierce, and -cruel; but still people of a kindred race, speaking dialects of the same -Teutonic tongue; and when they settled in the land and became -Christians, their language and manners differed so little from those of -the Anglo-Saxons, that they did not remain a separate nation, as the -Anglo-Saxons did from the British. It was more as if another Teuton -tribe had come over and become joint occupants of the land. But, to -begin with, they came as plunderers, taking their booty home. They -ravaged Berkshire, Hampshire, and Surrey, destroying churches and -monasteries. They invaded and took possession of East Anglia. They -penetrated into Mercia; at Peterborough they burned the minster, slaying -the abbot and his monks. They made extensive settlements in Yorkshire -and Lincolnshire. - -In 876, the Danes invaded Wessex, of which Alfred—one of the grandest -names in old English history—was then King. Alfred had to fight the -invaders both on sea and land. In and about Exeter there were several -engagements, resulting in the Danes agreeing to leave Alfred’s -territories. Two years later they broke truce, made a sudden incursion -to Chippenham, and became for a time masters of the west country. This -is the time assigned to the neatherd-cottage negligence of Alfred, in -allowing the cakes to burn in baking, whilst sheltering amongst the wood -and morasses of Somersetshire. After a time he organised a sufficient -army to meet, fight with, and beat the Danes—they gave him oaths and -hostages against further disturbance, and their King Guthrum—thence -called Athelstan—with thirty of his chief followers were baptized. But -the Danes now held East Anglia, Northumbria, and large portions of Essex -and Mercia,—indeed more than one-half of what is now England. Alfred -being in peace during the latter years of his reign, devoted himself to -works of governmental utility, he made a digest of the laws, and saw -that justice was impartially administered; and he was the father of the -English navy. His mind was cultured with the best learning of the times, -and he made Anglo-Saxon translations of the Psalms, of Æsop’s Fables, -and of Bede’s Church History. - -In the first year of the tenth century, Alfred’s son, Edward (styled the -Elder, so as not to confuse him with later Edwards), began a reign of -twenty-five years. He was a strong king; through all his reign he had -conflicts with the Danes, who had settled in the north and east of -England; always beating them, and then having to quell fresh -insurrections. And he made himself Over-King of the Scots and Welsh; so -he was the first Anglo-Saxon king who became lord of nearly all Britain. -Wessex, Kent, and Sussex he had inherited, Wales, Strathclyde, and -Scotland acknowledged him as Suzerain. His son, Athelstan, succeeded him -in 925; and the King of England now held such a high place among the -rulers of Western Europe, that several of his sisters married foreign -kings and princes. In 937 a great battle was fought in the North, when a -combination of Scots under Constantine, and Danes and Irish under Anlaf, -were defeated with much slaughter by Athelstan. It is called by the old -chroniclers the Battle of Brunanburg, but the locality is uncertain. -Constantine and Anlaf escaped; but Constantine’s son was killed, as, -says the old chronicler, were “five Danish Kings and seven Jarls.” - -Athelstan died in 941. Two of his brothers, and one brother’s son -occupied the throne successively during the next eighteen years. Then, -in 959, Edgar, a grandson of Alfred, then only sixteen years of age, was -by the Witan made King. He was called _The Peaceable_; during his reign -of sixteen years, no foe, foreign or domestic, vexed the land. -Northumbria, extending as far north as the Forth, with Edwinsburh its -border fortress—garrisoned by Danes and Anglo-Saxons—having long been a -trouble to the Kings of Wessex, Edgar divided the earldom. He made -Oswulf Earl of the country beyond the Tees—including the present county -of Northumberland; and Osla, Earl of Deira, where the Danes had ruled, -with York for his chief town; but the Danes were allowed to live -peaceably under their own laws. And Edgar granted Lothian, containing -the counties of Linlithgow, Edinburgh, and Haddington, to Kenneth, King -of Scots, to be held under himself. And thus Lothian was ever after held -by the Scottish Kings, and its English speech became the official -language of Scotland. With Strathclyde, west of the Solway, under a -Scottish prince, the map of the Kingdom of Scotland was now broadly -traced out. - -Edgar commuted the annual Welsh tribute to 300 wolves’ heads. He -appointed standard weights and measures, maintained an efficient fleet, -and was altogether a fine example of a man who—although of small stature -and mean presence—by vigour of mind and will, ruled ably and well in -rude times. He was really _Basileus_,—lord-paramount of all Britain. -After his coronation at Bath, which was not before he had reigned -thirteen years—he sailed with his fleet round the western coasts. Coming -to Chester, it is related that eight Kings, viz.: Kenneth of Scotland, -Malcolm of Cumberland, Maccus of the Western Isles, and five Welsh -princes did homage to him. They are said to have rowed him in a boat on -the Dee—he steering—from the palace of Chester to the minster of St. -John, where there was solemn service; and then they returned in like -manner. - -But these halcyon days for England of peace and settled government ended -with Edgar. He died in 975, leaving two sons—Edward by a first wife— -Ethelred by a second. Edward succeeded, but reigned only four years, -being assassinated at the instigation of his step-mother, who desired -the crown for her son. Edward was in consequence styled _The Martyr_. -Ethelred was named _The Unready_. He was weak, cowardly, and thoroughly -bad; his long reign of thirty-eight years, was one duration of -wretchedness and confusion. He had hardly begun to reign when the -foreign Danes began to be troublesome, and this time it was a farther -stage of invasion: they meant not plunder or partial settlement, but -conquest! - -In the first quarter of this tenth century, the Northmen had taken -possession of a large district on the north of France. Their leader, -Rolf Ganger, became a Christian—or at least was baptized as such,— -married the daughter of Charles the Simple, King of the West Franks, and -was, as Duke of Normandy, confirmed in his possessions—a territory on -either side of the Seine, with Rouen for its capital. And after this, -the Danes and other Northmen, in their expeditions against England, had -assistance from their kinsfolk in Normandy. - -Ethelred tried first to bribe the Danes to leave him in peace; and for -the money for this purpose he levied the first direct tax imposed upon -the English nation. It was called Dane-gild, and amounted to twelve -pence on each hide of land, excepting lands held by the clergy. But the -idea was a vain one, for whilst the tax was vexatious, the pirate-ships -still swarmed along the English shores. In 1001, the Danes, under King -Sweyn, attacked Exeter, but were repulsed by the citizens. Then—beating -an English army—they ravaged Devon, Dorset, Hants., and the Isle of -Wight; loading their ships with the spoils. Next year Ethelred gave them -money; but finding this of no use, he devised the mad and wicked scheme -of ordering a general massacre of the Danes residing in England. On St. -Bryce’s Day this massacre, to a large extent, took place; it included -aged persons, women, and children. Gunhild, a sister of Sweyn’s, was one -of the victims. Burning for revenge, Sweyn again invaded England. Exeter -he now took and plundered, and again marched eastwards through the -southern shires. He was generally successful, for there was treason and -incompetency amongst the English leaders; and the unpopularity of -Ethelred was a down-drag on the English cause. Year after year, Sweyn’s -fleets appeared on the fated coasts, and the Danes marched farther and -farther inwards. Through East Anglia they went into the heart of -England, burning Oxford and Northampton. - -In August, 1013, Sweyn sailed up the Humber and Trent to Gainsborough. -Here he had submission made to him of the Earl of Northumbria, and of -the towns of Leicester, Lincoln, Nottingham, Stamford, and Derby. He -then marched to Bath, where the western Thanes submitted to him, and -then London submitted. Ethelred and his queen fled to Normandy, Emma, -the Queen, being the Duke’s sister, and Danish Sweyn was virtually King -of England. But he did not long enjoy his conquest; early in 1014 he -died at Gainsborough. - -Canute, the son of Sweyn, was a man of strong will, and he had already -achieved warrior renown: but he had a severe struggle before he secured -his father’s conquests. First, after Sweyn’s death, the Witan, after -extorting promises that he would now govern rightly, recalled King -Ethelred. Receiving better support, and his son Edmund, named Ironside, -being an able commander, he defeated Canute, who had to take to his -ships. Then Ethelred died, and Canute returned. There was much -fighting,—London being twice unsuccessfully assaulted by the Danes,—and -then the rival princes, Edmund and Canute, had a conference on a little -island in the Severn. They agreed to a division of the kingdom,—the -Saxon district to be south,—and the Danish district to be north of the -Thames. A few weeks after the treaty, Edmund died, and although he left -a young son Edward, Canute became sole monarch. For twenty-four years,— -1017 to 1041,—England was under Danish rule. Canute married Emma, the -widow of King Ethelred, and he further tried to win over his English -subjects by sending home all Danish soldiers, except a bodyguard of 3000 -men. Besides England, he ruled over the three Scandinavian kingdoms in -the north, and is said to have exacted homage from Malcolm, King of -Scotland, and his two under-kings. He was the first Danish King who -professed Christianity. He introduced the faith into Denmark, and -himself made a pilgrimage to Rome. He reigned nineteen years, dying in -1036. - -After Canute’s death, the Witan divided England into two portions. The -counties north of the Thames, including London, were assigned to Harold, -a son of Canute by his first wife; and the district south of the river -to Hardicanute, his son by Emma. Harold died in 1039, and Hardicanute -became sole King. He died two years later, and before he was buried, his -half-brother Edward, the son of Ethelred and Emma, and thus a descendant -of Alfred, was chosen King. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - The Last Two Saxon Kings of England. - - -A notable personage, Earl Godwin, was the chief influence in this -reversion to the old race. Who was Earl Godwin? In 1020, Canute, having -come to trust his English subjects, and wishing to mix the two nations -in the administration of affairs, created Godwin Earl of the West -Saxons. He was an able administrator, an eloquent speaker, of high -courage, and these qualities generally exerted for the freedom and -independence of his country; and he came to have the greatest personal -influence of any man in England. Little is known with certainty of his -birth, but he married Gytha, the sister of Ulf, a Danish Earl, who had -married a sister of Canute, and whose son, Sweyne, became after the -death of Hardicanute, King of Denmark. Godwin had several children, all -of whom occupy conspicuous places in the history of this eleventh -century; the second son, Harold, being the last of the Saxon Kings of -England. - -Earl Godwin became the King’s chief minister, and the King married his -daughter Edith. The King lived an ascetical, monkish life, and they had -no children. Edward had been born in England, but on the deposition of -his father Ethelred, his mother Emma took him to the court of her -brother Robert, Duke of Normandy; and he had lived there through the -reigns of Canute and Harold, coming back to England with Hardicanute. He -was thus thoroughly Norman-French in his speech and his manners,—very -fond of his young cousin, Duke William, and he now gathered French -people about him, and promoted them to office and estate. The French -language and fashions prevailed at Edward’s court; and in this language -lawyers began to write deeds, and the clergy to preach sermons. These -foreign modes, so different from the English, gave great displeasure to -the old nobles; and Earl Godwin—although three of his sons had been -advanced to earldoms—rebelled against the King’s authority. After some -fighting, the Earl’s army deserted him at Dover, and he had to seek -refuge in Flanders. His daughter, the queen, was deprived of her lands, -and sent to a nunnery of which the King’s sister was abbess. - -At the outbreak of the revolt, Edward asked aid from William; the aid -was not required, but William, then twenty-three years of age, came, -with a retinue of knights to his cousin’s court. They were hospitably -entertained, and it is said that the King promised to bequeath his crown -to William. - -Things did not go on well during Godwin’s absence, so when, in 1052, he -and his sons appeared with a fleet in the Channel, there was an under- -current of mutiny in the King’s ships under their French commanders. -“Should Englishmen fight with and slay Englishmen, that outlandish folks -might profit thereby?” So the King had to take Godwin back into his -honours and estates: but he died next year, leaving to Harold his -titles, and his place as foremost man in England. - -And now the dangers of a disputed succession loomed over England. The -Witan advised Edward to send for Edward, the son of Edmund Ironside, -then an exile in Hungary. Edward came with his family—a son Edgar, and -three daughters: but he died shortly after his arrival. About this time -Harold was shipwrecked on the Norman coast; William kept him prisoner -for some time, and under circumstances of fraud and chicanery, an oath -was extorted from him to favour William’s pretensions to the English -throne. Edward died on 5th January, 1046, at the age of 65. He was -buried next day in Westminster Abbey, which he had built. There, in the -centre of the magnificent pile, is his shrine, for, about a century -after his death, he was canonised, and awarded the title of _Confessor_. - -And now, who was to be chosen King of England? For a choice had to be -made. Edgar the Atheling was quite young, and was hardly English—having -been born and brought up in a foreign land; so, in these unsettled -times, he was not thought of. The Witan were obliged to do what had -never previously been done in English history, and has never been done -since (except partially, in the case of calling William of Orange to -reign jointly with his wife Mary),—to choose a King not of the blood -royal. - -But it was not a difficult choice. Amongst the nobles of England, one -man, Harold, stood foremost, both in strength of position and in -personal qualifications. He had now for years been the chief -administrator—a born ruler of men—energetic yet prudent—valiant without -ferocity; and he had been the later recommendation of Edward as his -successor. So, on the very day of Edward’s burial, Harold was crowned in -the same Abbey, King of England. - -Harold’s troubles began almost from the day of his coronation. William -sent demands for the crown; Edward had promised it to him, the King’s -nearest of kin, and Harold had sworn over concealed relics, to help him -to it. It was replied that the crown was not disposable by Edward; all -he could do was to recommend a successor to the Witan; and this he had -done in favour of Harold: Edward’s kinship to William was on the -maternal side, not on that of the blood-royal of England: and as to -Harold’s oath, it was extorted by force and fraud, and was entirely -_nil_ in that it pledged Harold to do what he had no right to do,—the -diversion of the crown from the will of the English people. William -stormed and threatened, and, in building ships and organising troops, -made active preparations for the invasion of England. - -Harold set about preparations for the defence of his kingdom. He spent -the summer in the south, getting ready a fleet and army. He had to wait -too long for William; provisions falling short in the beginning of -September, he had to disband the most of his troops. And meantime -another foe, and this one of his own house, was intriguing against him— -his brother Tostig. Harold had given Tostig the earldom of -Northumberland; but he reigned so badly that the people rose and -expelled him,—Harold sanctioning the expulsion. Tostig now went to -Harold Hardrada, the King of Norway, and induced him to invade England. -A fleet was sent up the Humber; York was captured, and there Harold -Hardrada was proclaimed King. But English Harold—hastily getting an army -together, met the invaders at Stamford Bridge; and there, on September -25th, a fierce battle was fought,—ending in victory for England; the -Norwegian King and the traitorous Tostig both being slain. - -But in meeting the Norwegian invasion, the Anglo-Saxons lost England. -Four days later, William, with a banner consecrated by the Pope, landed -near Pevensey in Sussex. Harold was seated at a banquet in York when the -evil news reached him. And now, the last in a life of turmoil, Harold -began his march through England; collecting on his way what troops he -could, he reached the hill Senlac, nine miles from Hastings, on the 13th -of October. Here he marshalled his army—nearly all on foot—and next day -the Normans attacked him. It was a well-contested fight; but discipline -and knighthood prevailed. The setting sun witnessed a routed English -army, its leader slain, and the Norman William, conqueror of England. - - * * * * * - -The eleventh century, so momentous in English history, was also an -important one in the history of Scotland. The Norse energy and ability -to rule shewed itself in the Earls of Orkney, who dominated the -Hebrides, and Ross, Moray, Sutherland, and Caithness. About 1010, Earl -Sigurd married the daughter of King Malcolm II. In 1014, Sigurd went -over to Ireland, to aid the Danish kings there against Brian Boru. In a -battle at Clontarf, the Danes were defeated—Sigurd being slain—and the -Celtic dynasty was restored. Sigurd’s territories were divided amongst -two sons by a former marriage, and an infant son, Thurfinn, by Malcolm’s -daughter; to the last was assigned the earldom of Caithness. In 1018— -taking advantage of the distracted state of England in this, the first -year of Canute’s reign—Malcolm invaded upper Northumbria; by a victory -at Carham, near Coldstream on the Tweed, the Lothians were brought more -under his rule. But after Canute’s return from his pilgrimage to Rome, -he invaded Scotland, and received the submission of Malcolm and two -under-kings, Mælbæthe and Jehmarc. - -Malcolm II. was succeeded by his grandson Duncan,—a daughter’s son by a -secular abbot of Dunkeld. Duncan’s right was disputed by his cousin -Thurfirm, who was now Earl of Orkney. Duncan went north to check the -advance of his kinsman, and was defeated near the Pentland Firth. But an -invasion of Danes under King Sweyn on the coast of Fife, and which was -probably made in aid of Thurfirm, was defeated by Macbeth, an able -general of Duncan’s, and who, it is said, was also a grandson of -Malcolm’s, by another daughter. Duncan was _probably_—as in -Shakespeare’s great drama—killed by Macbeth. Certainly, to the exclusion -of Duncan’s two sons, Malcolm and Donaldbane, Macbeth seized the crown. -He reigned seventeen years—1040 to 1057—being contemporary with the -Confessor,—a glowing description of whom, posing as a saint with -miraculous powers of healing, occurs in Shakespeare’s play. When, on the -return of Earl Godwin from exile, there was a general exodus of the -Normans, whom Edward had placed in high positions, many of them went to -Scotland, and were well received by Macbeth. He appears historically, in -spite of our great poet’s portraiture of him, to have been an able -monarch; and he might be said to represent Celtic supremacy in Scotland, -as against the tendency to subvert it by Anglo-Saxon alliances. Duncan -had married the daughter of Siward, Earl of Northumbria, and Macbeth had -to resist the attacks of Siward on behalf of his grandson Malcolm. -Malcolm spent his boyhood in Cumbria, and his youth at the court of the -Confessor. He appealed to Edward for help to gain his father’s throne, -and by an English army under Siward, and Macduff, the powerful Thane of -Fife, and Tostig, the son of Earl Godwin, Macbeth was overthrown and -slain. - -Malcolm III., named Canmore—“big-head”—reigned thirty-five years, 1058 -to 1093. The Norman victory at Hastings brought to the Scottish court, -then at Dunfermline, a number of English refugees—these were a leaven of -higher culture and refinement amongst the rude thanes and chieftains, -and tended to further the advance of civilization, of letters and the -arts of life, throughout the northern kingdom. And numbers of Normans -also came and took service under Malcolm—and thus it came about that not -only in England, but in Scotland also, most of the noble families have -in them a strain of Norman blood. - -Amongst the refugees were Edgar Atheling and his sisters, grand-children -of Edmund Ironside. Malcolm married Margaret, the eldest sister; she was -a noble woman, learned, pious, and charitable, doted upon by her -husband, and ever influencing his fierce nature for good. Thus connected -by birth with the heir of the old race of English Kings, Malcolm invaded -Northumberland on behalf of Edgar; but William was too strong for him, -and in turn invaded Scotland. William marched as far north as Abernethy, -where he forced Malcolm to do him homage. William never really -subjugated Northumbria north of the Tyne, but built Newcastle as a -border fortress. After the death of William in 1087, Malcolm made other -invasions of Northumbria, and to consolidate the possession of Lothian, -he removed the seat of government to Edinburgh. In 1093, he made a -desperate attempt to gain the counties of Northumberland and Cumberland; -but, whilst besieging the border fortress of Alnwick, he was attacked, -defeated, and killed by a Norman army. - -The marriage of Henry, the youngest son of the Conqueror, with Matilda, -daughter of Malcolm, and niece of Edgar Atheling, united the Norman and -the older English royal lines. Henry’s son William was, in 1120, drowned -in “The White Ship,” and his only other child, Maud, was thus the -rightful heir to the throne. But the proud Norman barons had not been -used to female rule; so, after Henry’s death, in 1135, Stephen, a son of -the Conqueror’s daughter Adela, was made King. - -David I., youngest son of Malcolm Canmore, succeeding his two elder -brothers, was at this time King of Scotland, and he took up the cause of -his niece Maud. In 1138 he invaded Northumberland, penetrating into -Yorkshire. At Northallerton he was met and defeated in a battle called -“Of the Standard.” It is said that he was gaining the day, when an -English soldier cut off the head of one of the slain, placed it on a -spear, and called out that it was the head of the King of Scots, thus -causing a panic in the Scottish army which the King, riding amongst it -without his helmet, vainly tried to overcome. After peace, David was -allowed to retain Northumberland and Durham, excepting the fortresses of -Newcastle and Bamborough. He was so good a king that after his death, in -1153, he was canonised. - -David was succeeded by his twelve years old grandson, Malcolm. He was, -from his gentle disposition, called _The Maiden_. He was greatly -attached to the English King, Henry II., accompanying him to France as a -volunteer in his army. Malcolm’s Scottish subjects were afraid of the -influence of the older sovereign. Homage rendered by the Scottish kings -for their possessions in England, was always liable to be construed into -national homage; and it was notified that Malcolm had gone beyond mere -homage, and had absolutely resigned these possessions. So Malcolm had a -strong message from Scotland, asking him to return; this he did, was -again in favour with his people, but died in 1165, being then only -twenty-four years old. - -He was succeeded by his brother William. He was called _The Lion_ -because he used as his armorial bearing a red lion—_rampant_—that is in -heraldry, standing upon its hind legs; and this has ever since been the -heraldric cognizance of Scottish royalty. In 1174, for the recovery of -his ancestral possessions in Northumberland, William invaded England. -One day riding in a mist with a slender retinue, he came upon a body of -four hundred English horse. At first he thought that this was a portion -of his own army; seeing his mistake he fought boldly, but was -overpowered and made prisoner. He was taken to Northampton and conducted -into King Henry’s presence, with his feet tied together under his -horse’s belly. Now Henry had just been to Canterbury doing penance at -the tomb of the murdered Thomas à Becket; he had walked barefoot through -the city, prostrated himself on the pavement before the shrine, passed -the whole night in the church, and in the morning had himself scourged -by the priests with knotted cords. And now, as a token that his penance -had reconciled him to heaven, and obtained the saint’s forgiveness, here -was his enemy, the King of Scots, delivered into his hands. - -Henry shewed no generosity towards his captive. He demanded to have -homage paid him as Lord Paramount of Scotland. In his prison, first at -Richmond, and then at Falaise in Normandy, William’s spirit was so far -broken that he acceded to Henry’s demands, and the Scottish parliament, -to obtain the release of their king, ratified a dishonourable treaty. At -York the required homage was publicly paid; and for fifteen years it -continued in full force. But in 1189, Henry’s son, Richard, the Lion- -hearted, on the eve of his crusade to the Holy Land,—desirous to place -his home affairs in safety during his absence, renounced the claim of -general homage extorted from William,—reserving only such homage as was -anciently rendered by Malcolm Canmore. - -And in almost unbroken peace between the two countries for upwards of a -century, the generous conduct of Richard bore good fruit. Then a course -of accidents, which nearly extinguished the Scottish royal family, gave -an English monarch the opportunity for reviving old pretensions to -supremacy, and was thus the cause of renewed wars and national -animosities. - -William died in 1214, and was succeeded by his son, Alexander III. He -reigned thirty-five years, and being of good parts, and with -considerable force of character, did much for the progress of Scotland -in the arts of civilization. He was succeeded in 1249 by his son, -Alexander III., then only eight years of age. He married the daughter of -Henry III., but the children of the marriage died young. The chief -trouble of his reign was from Norwegian invasions, but in 1263 Alexander -defeated Haco, King of Norway, at Largs, at the mouth of the Firth of -Clyde. By this victory Scotland obtained possession of the Hebrides and -the Isle of Man. Alexander was accidentally killed in 1263; riding too -near the edge of a cliff on the Fifeshire coast, near Kinghorn, in the -dusk of the evening, his horse stumbled and threw him over the cliff. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - How Scotland became a Free Nation. - - -We are not attempting to present a detailed history of Scotland: such a -history has both a general and a national value, and there has been no -lack of writers of ability to give to it their best of thought and of -research. But as having been a supreme crisis in this history, and as -having placed Scotland high on the list of free nations, we give a brief -summary of events at the end of the thirteenth and beginning of the -fourteenth century. - -The English King, Edward the First, who has been called the greatest of -the Plantagenets, was led to undertake the conquest of Scotland. He -found that insurgent spirits amongst his own subjects therein found -refuge, and that France—the natural enemy of England—was generally in -alliance with Scotland. His designs on Scotland had three separate -phases. First: King Alexander the Third of Scotland having died without -immediate issue, the crown devolved upon his grand-daughter, Margaret, -daughter of Eric, King of Norway. The young princess is called in -history the Maid of Norway. Edward proposed a marriage between her and -his own eldest son, also named Edward. A treaty for this marriage was -entered into. It was one of the might-have-beens of history; had it -taken place, and been fruitful, the union of the crowns might have been -anticipated by over three centuries, and the after-histories of the two -countries very different. But on her voyage to take possession of her -crown, Margaret sickened; she landed at Orkney, and there died, -September, 1290. - -Then there were various claimants to the crown, the rights of the -claimants dating back several generations. All having their partizans, -and anarchy and conflict appearing imminent, it was agreed that Edward -should be arbitrator. He here saw an opening for the revival of what -might now have been thought the obsolete claim of the English sovereign -to be recognised as Lord Paramount of Scotland. Two of the candidates, -Robert Bruce, Lord of Annandale, and John Baliol, Lord of Galloway, were -found to be nearer in blood to the throne than all the others. Both of -them traced their descent from daughters of David, Earl of Huntingdon, -brother of King William, called _The Lion_. Edward gave his decision in -favour of Baliol, as being descended from the elder daughter; but he -declared that the crown was to be held under him as feudal superior; and -Baliol did homage to Edward as to his lord sovereign, and was summoned -as a peer to the English Parliament. - -[Illustration: EDWARD I.] - -Edward soon shewed that his claim was not to be a merely formal one; he -demanded the surrender of three important Scottish fortresses. Baliol -would himself have submitted to this arrogant demand, but at the -instigation of the nobles he sent a refusal, and a formal renunciation -of his vassalage. In a war which in 1294 broke out between France and -England, Scotland allied itself with France. Then Edward assembled a -powerful army and invaded Scotland. He gained a victory near Dunbar, and -made a triumphant march through the Lowlands. The country was divided -within itself; the powerful Bruce faction was arrayed against that of -Baliol. Baliol made a cringing submission to Edward; and Bruce sued for -the nominal throne, as tributary sovereign of Scotland. “Think’st thou I -am to conquer a kingdom for thee?” was Edward’s stern reply; and he -forthwith took measures to make evident his purpose of keeping Scotland -to himself. He appointed an English nobleman his viceroy, garrisoned the -fortresses with English troops, and removed to London the regalia and -the official records of the Kingdom, and also the legendary stone upon -which the Scottish Kings had sat on their coronation. It was the very -nadir in the cycle of Scottish history. - -Then came revolts, with varied measures of success. A notable hero, Sir -William Wallace, whose name yet lives in Scottish hearts as the very -incarnation of patriotism and courage, took the leadership in an all but -successful insurrection. But the larger, better appointed, and better -disciplined armies of Edward again placed Scotland under his iron heel. -Brave Wallace was, through treachery, taken prisoner, carried up to -London, and tried for treason at Westminster Hall. “I never could be a -traitor to Edward, for I was never his subject,” was Wallace’s defence: -the English judges condemned him to a traitor’s death. With the -indignities customary in these semi-barbarous times, he was executed on -Tower Hill, 23rd August, 1305. - -Robert Bruce, Earl of Carrick, a grandson of the Bruce who was Baliol’s -rival for the Crown, had been one of Wallace’s ablest lieutenants. He -had a fine person, was brave and strong, was moreover prudent and -skilful, fitted to be a leader of men, both in the council and on the -battle-field. He had the faults of his times—could be passionate, and in -his passion cruel and relentless. He now aimed at the sovereignty, and -within a year of the death of Wallace, had himself, with a miniature -court and slender following, crowned King at Scone. When Edward heard of -this he was exceedingly wroth, and would himself again go into Scotland -and stamp out all the embers of rebellion. In 1307, he did accompany an -army through Cumberland, to within three miles of the Scottish border. -But ruthless and determined in spirit, he was now old and feeble in -body, and - - “Hate and fury ill-supplied - The stream of life’s exhausted tide.” - -He was stricken by mortal sickness and died, 6th July, 1307. Before he -died he made his son promise to carry his unburied corpse with the army -until Scotland was again fully conquered. The Second Edward did not -carry out that savage injunction, but had his father buried in -Westminster Abbey, where his tomb styles him, with greater truth than is -found in many monumental inscriptions, “The hammer of Scotland.” - -For years Bruce was little other than a guerilla chief, sometimes even a -fugitive, hiding in highland fastnesses, or in the Western Isles. He was -under the pope’s excommunication, for that in a quarrel within the walls -of a consecrated church in Dumfries he had slain Sir John Comyn, who had -also certain hereditary claims to the throne. But he was possessed of -wonderful perseverance. Edward II. had, by the withdrawal of his -father’s great army of invasion, encouraged the Scottish hopes of -independence. In different parts of the country there were partial -insurrections against English rule and English garrisons. In March, -1313, by a sudden _coup_, Edinburgh Castle was taken. Gradually the -greater number of the Scottish nobles, with their retainers, declared -for Bruce. By the early spring of 1314, all the important towns except -Stirling had passed out of English possession; and it was to be given up -unless relieved before midsummer. - -Such a state of things would not have come about in the days of the -elder Edward, before he would have been with an army in Scotland, to -drive back the tide of insurrection. Now, instigated by his counsellors -to save Stirling, Edward the Second assembled one of the largest armies -which had ever been under the command of an English King. One hundred -thousand men are said to have crossed the Scottish border, the flower of -English chivalry—the best trained archers in the world—soldiers from -France, Welsh and Irish, a mighty host. Bruce with all his efforts could -not bring into the field more than one disciplined soldier for every -three such in the enemy’s ranks; but there were many loose camp- -followers, half-armed and undisciplined, who, if their only aim was -plunder, could yet harass and cut off stragglers of an army on the -march. Bruce himself was a consummate general, possessing the entire -confidence of his men; he had the choice of his ground, and he had as -lieutenants his brave brother Edward, his nephew Randolph, and his -faithful follower Lord James Douglas, all commanding men with whom they -had in previous hard fights stood shoulder to shoulder and achieved -victory. - -On the afternoon of the 23rd of June, 1314, the mighty English host -rolled on in splendid order, towards the plain near Stirling, where -Bruce, taking every advantage of the ground, had posted his army. In the -evening there were a few skirmishes, and the Bruce had a personal -encounter with, and slew an English knight, De Bohun. Such an act—if it -could have been honourably avoided—was not generalship, but in those -days personal prowess in the field was an essential for leadership. - -On the next morning, before daybreak, the battle began, it is named “of -Bannockburn,” from a small stream, the Bannock, on the right of Bruce’s -position. We have no need to say that, despite of numbers and discipline -being on the side of the English, and courage a common quality in both -armies, it was a decisive Scottish victory. The causes of this result -are not far to seek; Bruce was the better general, and he had a position -from which he could bring a superior force to bear upon any single point -of attack. The course of the English cavalry lay through morass and -broken ground; and by pitfalls and barriers, Bruce had made this ground -more difficult and dangerous. He closed at the earliest possible moment -with those terrible foes at a distance—the English archers; his object -was to throw the enemy into confusion at some one point, knowing how -such confusion spreads itself. The very numbers of the English told -against their united action—more than the half of them were never -actually engaged in the fight. And when some early advantages showed in -favour of the Scots, their motley crowd of camp followers thought that -victory was assured, and, eager for plunder and revenge, they burst down -the slopes with wild shouts and gesticulations. And thus a partial -confusion in the English ranks became a general panic, a rout, and a -“save-himself-who-can” flight from the field. With the Douglas in hot -pursuit, Edward rode across the country to Dunbar, where he found a -small vessel by which he sailed to England. - -And thus—by one day’s devoted patriotism, by steady valour and skilful -generalship, as Scottish historians say,—by hap-hazard, stratagem, and -surprise, as others have alleged, Robert Bruce secured his crown, and -could now really be called _Rex Scotorum_, King of Scots. And Scotland -itself rose, by that day’s event, from the dust of conquest and -depression into a free and independent state, to be governed by its own -laws and ruled by its own princes. There have been since that day some -disastrous Scottish defeats by English arms, and Scotland has often felt -itself in the shadow of a superior power; but the halo of Bannockburn -has never been obscured. It was not only a glorious day for Scotland, -but an auspicious one for England also; the Scottish people could, after -a preliminary union of the two crowns in a sovereign common to both -countries, frankly, and on equal terms, join with England in a national -union; together, hand in hand, going down the stream of history; in weal -and in woe standing by and aiding each other. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - Scotland in the Two Hundred Years following Bannockburn. - - -Never in all its previous history had Scotland been so united within -itself, or held so important a place amongst other nations, as during -the reign of Robert Bruce. - -In what are called the dark ages of Europe, feudalism was a general -institution amongst the western nations. The Conqueror introduced this -phase of society into England; and it soon thereafter spread into -Scotland, where clanship had been its forerunner. Under the feudal -system, the King was chief; the land of the nation was nominally his, to -bestow in large estates on the nobles and great barons; these became his -vassals, under tenure obligations to do him homage, to take part, with -their retainers, in his wars, and to attend and take part in the Great -Councils which he summoned. The lesser barons, or fief-holders met in -their districts or shires, and chose from amongst themselves deputies or -representatives. And the Great Council contained besides, -representatives of the clergy, and of the chartered boroughs. In England -the national Council was divided into two separate houses, namely, that -of Peers, where the members sat by personal right, and that of Commons, -who were members by representation. In Scotland there was a single -house: nobles and prelates, representatives of shires, and delegates -from boroughs, all sat together, took a common share in the debates, and -all votes were of equal account. Acts were made into law, and powers -were granted for raising money, by the bills passed in Parliament, being -assented to by the sovereign. The form of assent was touching the bills -with the sceptre. - -And the old Scottish statute book is replete with wise, well-considered -laws. But from the powers assumed by the nobles, each virtually claiming -absolute authority within his own domains, the administration was -woefully defective. The nobles were, moreover, often engaged in deadly -feuds against each other; perpetuating family quarrels through -generations, and at times powerful houses would coalesce against -sovereignty itself. - -In the English quarrels which arose, a Scottish army would be composed -of brave and hardy fighting men, trained to arms, and devoted to their -immediate leaders. But the leaders were jealous of, and many of them -inimical to each other; so could not act in concert, and a battle under -such circumstances would be a disaster and a disgrace. A great -personality, like that of Robert the Bruce, could over-master the -discordant elements, and make his own authority paramount; but amongst -his successors there were several weak monarchs, unable to beat down -personal rancour and ambition in the council and in the camp. And one -great curse to Scotland in the fourteenth, fifteenth, and sixteenth -centuries, was the comparatively large number of regencies, from the -under ages of monarchs at their accession to the throne,—thus creating -jealousy, rivalry, and partizanship amongst the more powerful nobles. - -The burghs had risen in population and importance, generally clustering -round the larger religious houses. Men not connected with the land -either as proprietors or retainers, congregated together for mutual -trade and mutual protection. The sovereigns encouraged this growth, as -affording a readier means of raising revenue, and as an equipoise to the -power of the nobles; granting the towns chartered privileges, which -constituted them royal burghs. The citizens elected their municipal -Council; the chief magistrate was styled Provost, the others Bailies. -Many burghs were defended by walling, and the citizens were trained to -arms; they had to defend the burgh, and, in levies, to help the King in -his wars. - -In the midland shires law and order obtained generally, but in the -Highlands and their adjacent islands, and in the frontier shires, there -was, as a rule, lawlessness and disorder. The halo of romance, largely -kindled by the genius of Sir Walter Scott, hovers round the Scottish -Highlands. The - - “Land of green heath and shaggy wood, - Land of the mountain and the flood” - -bred a stalwart race of brave men, with persistent loyalty in their -hearts to their clanship, and to the hills and glens which were to them -their fatherland; but they long continued in semi-barbarism, separated -by race and language from the comparatively civilized Lowlands, with -little of national patriotism, and a great distrust of the—to them -distant—sovereignty of Holyrood. They often, as did their forefathers in -the time of the Romans, a thousand years previously, made plundering -incursions into the Lowlands; but they had continual clan-quarrels -amongst themselves, which helped to keep them in their native wilds, and -the government would foment these quarrels, and even, to their mutual -destruction, employ one clan against another. So late as the reign of -James IV. an Act of Parliament, for the better government of the -Highlands and Islands, states that for want of justices and sheriffs, -these districts had become almost savage. - -And the border counties—on both sides of the hardly defined line of -demarcation—were also in an unsettled state. They, too, had their family -clanships, their hereditary feuds, their predatory raids. There was a -sort of debatable land of moor, forest, and morass, where neither -national nor forest-law was paramount. On both sides Wardens of the -marches were appointed, with a mutual understanding to prevent border- -raiding. But the Wardens themselves were generally heads of the great -neighbouring families, and they often broke their own laws, by -sheltering or encouraging offenders. Altogether the picture which we -gather from the history of Scotland in the fourteenth and fifteenth -centuries is not a pleasant one to dwell upon. - -But there were rifts in the cloud. The first James, 1406 to 1437, has -left a noble record as a man of knightly nature, a fine poet, and a wise -ruler. When eleven years of age, he was put by his father, Robert III., -on board of a vessel to sail to France, to save him from his uncle, the -Duke of Albany, who had caused the death by starvation of his elder -brother. The vessel was captured by the English, and the young prince -was for eighteen years a prisoner. But he was well educated, and seems -to have had great freedom of movement—even taking part in the French -wars. He married Joan Beaufort, daughter of the Earl of Somerset, and -nearly related to the royal family of England. In 1424, a ransom was -negotiated; James was set at liberty, and he and his queen were crowned -at Scone. Under him many wise laws were enacted for the proper -administration of justice, and for the fostering of home trade and -foreign commerce. His great task was in curtailing the powers assumed by -the nobles. This made him enemies, and cost him his life. Temporarily -occupying a house in Perth, a band of miscreants under Sir Robert -Graham, who had recently been punished by the King for law-breaking, -burst at night into the King’s chamber, and in his wife’s presence -savagely slew him. The Queen took wild vengeance on the murderers. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - The Older Scottish Literature. - - -Perhaps in no part of Scotland was there—even in the fourteenth century— -pure Anglo-Saxon blood. The Lothians and the south-eastern shires had -been a portion of the old kingdom of Northumbria, in which, with the -Angles as a normal population, there had been large Danish settlements; -and numbers of Normans also settled therein, both before and after the -Conquest; whilst the descendants of the old Britons had peopled the -south-western shires, from the Solway to the Clyde. Thus whilst the -generally spoken language of the two countries was essentially the same, -the literature of England would be more purely Teutonic; that of -Scotland would include Celtic elements; but these elements would assert -themselves more in qualifying the style of the literature than in the -use of Celtic words. - -Thus, Scottish poetry generally shows a passionate love of Nature; its -picturesque descriptions and vivid colourings reaching or bordering upon -exaggeration. Its humour is broad, and of coarsish fibre. And then the -sentiment of patriotism has ever been more pronounced in Scotland than -in England. As a rule, English Nationalism was, after the Norman -Conquest, even in the most disastrous times, safe and self-assertive. On -the other hand, Scottish Nationalism was at one period, for a time, -entirely lost; it was often in extreme danger, and was saved only by -extreme efforts,—as we might say, “by the skin of the teeth.” Can we -wonder then that fervid patriotism pervades,—becomes obtrusive even, in -Scottish literature; and that this literature almost deifies the -National heroes? - -Thus, amongst the earlier efforts in Scottish poetry replete with this -glowing patriotism, we have Archbishop Barbour’s poem, _The Bruce_; -Blind Harry’s _History of Sir William Wallace_; and Andrew of Wyntoun’s -_Chronykil of Scotland_. We mentioned as a poet James I., he wrote _The -Kings Quhair_ (_i.e._, book); it is in Chaucer’s seven-line stanza, and -contains the best poetry published in Great Britain, between that of -Chaucer and the Elizabethan period. From a full heart he tells the story -of his love; a love which brightened his life, and shone true at his -death, when his queen did her best to save him from the daggers of the -conspirators. The King,—whilst a prisoner in Windsor Castle,—saw from -his window his future queen, walking in an adjacent garden. - - “Cast I down mine eyes again, - Where as I saw, walking under the tower, - Full secretly, now comen here to plain. - The fairest, or the freshest younge flower - That ever I saw, methought, before that hour, - For which, sudden abate—anon astart— - The blood of all my body to my heart. - - “And in my head I drew right hastily - And eftesoons I leant it out again, - And saw her walk that very womanly, - With no wight mo’, but only women twain, - Then gan I study to myself, and sayn,— - ‘Ah, sweet! are ye a worldly creature, - Or heavenly thing in likeness of nature? - - “‘Or, are ye god Cupidis own princess - And comin are to loose me out of hand? - Or, are ye very Nature the goddess, - That have depainted with your heavenly hand - This garden full of flowers as they stand? - What shall I think, alas! what reverence - Shall I outpour unto your excellence?’” - -Another king, James Fifth of the name, was also a poet; he may be called -the originator of that satirical humour in verse which afterwards -characterized so many Scottish poets, including Robert Burns, the -greatest of them all. - -[Illustration: WILLIAM DRUMMOND.] - -After the union of the crowns, and the removal of the Scottish Court to -London, in 1603, the old language came to be considered a provincial -dialect. William Drummond, of Hawthornden (1585-1649), was the first -notable Scottish poet who wrote well in modern English. He was imbued -with true literary taste and feeling, and he ranks, as do subsequent -Scottish writers, amongst British authors. - -The Lowland folk-speech has really changed less from the Old English -than the tongue of any other portion of the island; its glossary is very -largely a key to Chaucer and Spenser, to Barbour and Andrew Wyntoun. As -might have been expected, the folk-speech which is nearest to the -English of modern literature is that of the more remote Highlands, as of -Inverness and its surroundings. Where the old Gaelic has succumbed to -book-learned English, there was no intermediate stage of the older -tongue. - -That the Scottish tongue is a fitting vehicle for pathos as well as for -humour, scores of fine old songs are in evidence. Allan Ramsay’s _Gentle -Shepherd_, a pastoral drama of the loves and lives of the Scottish -peasantry in the beginning of the last century, is the best lengthy -example we have of every-day folk-speech. Burns never hesitated, when it -seemed to better suit his verse or his meaning, to introduce modern -English words; Ramsay rarely does this. With Burns the Scottish dialect -as the expression of high-class poetry, might well have ended; but it -yet lingers on, chiefly in humorous songs and descriptions. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - The Reformation in England and in Scotland. - - -In the progress of civilization, the middle of the sixteenth century may -be taken as the turning point between the old past, with its feudalism, -its authoritative church, its restricted culture, its antiquated -science,—and the newer order of things from which has sprung the ever- -expanding present. Since Guttenberg first used moveable types, a century -had so far perfected his invention that books were becoming plentiful; -and the one which is morally and socially, as well as religiously, the -chief book in the world, had been translated into the mother-tongue of -England. Towns were asserting their chartered privileges. The telescope -was ransacking the heavens, and, for the first time, Magellan had -circumnavigated the globe. Cannon were used in warfare, and iron had -been smelted in England. The newspaper had been born; and Law was -gradually gaining the ascendancy over disorder and old prerogative. - -The Reformation of religion had established itself in Central and -Northern Europe, and was now fighting its way in England and Scotland. -But the battle with Papal authority and its dogmatic creeds was begun -under very different circumstances, was carried on by very different -methods, and had very different results in the two neighbouring -countries. - -How did the English Reformation come about? During nearly forty years in -the first half of the sixteenth century (1509 to 1547) England was ruled -by the last of her really despotic kings, Henry VIII. As everybody -knows, Henry had a peculiar domestic experience,—he married in -succession six wives. As fresh fancies took him, he rid himself of four -of these—two by divorce, and two by the headsman’s axe. One wife, Jane -Seymour, died in childbirth of his only son, who succeeded him as Edward -VI. Wife No. 6, by her extraordinary prudence contrived to escape -destruction, and survived the kingly monster. _This_ is a harsh term for -the historical father of the English church, and some modern historians -of ability and repute have done their best—as has been done in the cases -of Macbeth and Richard III., as these kings are portrayed by -Shakespeare—to partially whitewash Henry. That he was, in common -parlance, a great king, and a man of ability, of energy and decision, -and that under him England prospered, and held an advanced position -amongst the nations, few will dispute; but that he was a cruel, lustful, -selfish tyrant seems equally undeniable. He made use of men and women as -subservient to his will or his pleasure, and when his ends were so -served, he ruthlessly destroyed them. His great minister, Wolsey, would -not bend to his wishes in the matter of divorcing his first wife, so -Wolsey was degraded, and in his old age sent into seclusion, to die of a -broken heart. And in succession Thomas Cromwell, Sir Thomas More, and -the Earl of Surrey, suffered the fate of Anne Boleyn and Catherine -Howard. - -Henry, when a young man, opposed the Reformation. He wrote a book -against Luther and his heresies, which so pleased the Pope that he -granted Henry the title of _Defender of the Faith_. This papal title has -passed down by inheritance through all succeeding English sovereigns; -every coin from the mintage of Queen Victoria bears its initial letters. - -Henry first married, under the Pope’s dispensation, the widow of his -elder brother Arthur, Catherine of Arragon, by whom he had a daughter, -afterwards Queen Mary. But the King fell in love—if, in the passions of -such a man, the noble word _love_ can be rightly used—with Anne Boleyn, -one of Catherine’s lady attendants. To gain Anne, Henry, after a number -of years of wedded life with Catherine, all at once became conscience- -stricken that his marriage with her was an unlawful one; and he asked -the Pope to recall his dispensation and annul the marriage. Now, -Catherine was sister to the Emperor of Germany, Charles the Fifth, one -of the Pope’s best supporters in these sad Reformation times. And, -moreover, to have rescinded the dispensation would have been an -admission of papal fallibility; so the Pope gave Henry a refusal. - -Henry threw off his allegiance to the Pope, and had himself acknowledged -by Parliament as the supreme head of the English Church. Powerful, -unscrupulous, and popular, he confiscated church revenues, broke up -monasteries, and by Act of Parliament, in 1537, completed politically -the English Reformation. It was, so far as the King was concerned, a -reformation only in name, for as to liberty of conscience, and the right -of private judgment, he was as arrogant a bigot as any pope who ever -wore the tiara. He vacillated in his own opinions, but enforced those he -held at the time by such severe enactments, that many persons of both -religions were burned as heretics. - -And from the Anglican Church, so founded on despotism and intolerance, -can we wonder that the shadow of Rome has never been thoroughly lifted? -In the abstract it is essentially a close corporation of ecclesiastics, -the mere people hardly counting as a necessary factor. Its sacraments -have still miraculous or supernatural properties attached to them; no -one must officiate therein who has not been _ordained_, and the assumed -powers of ordination came through the Romish Church. From the older -Church it adopted certain creeds, as dogmatic in their assertions, and -intolerant in their fulminations, as were ever Papal Bulls or Decrees of -Councils. Of course the mellowing influence of time, the broadening -thoughts of later years, and the rivalship of Nonconformity, have done -much to take out old stings and deaden old intolerance; whilst a cloud -of witnesses for righteousness and progress in the Church itself, have -raised it above its old self, and brought it in nearer touch with the -spirit of the present age. - - * * * * * - -The history of the Scottish Reformation is an entirely different one. -Instead of being originated and fostered by State authority, it was a -fierce and obstinate battle with such authority. Scotland was then under -one of its disastrous regencies, that of Mary of Guise, the widow of -King James V., acting for her infant daughter Mary, known afterwards in -history as the beautiful and unfortunate Queen of Scots. The Reformation -in England had sent a wave of agitation into Scotland, and this wave -advanced strongly as refugees from the cruel persecutions of Mary Tudor -flocked into the Northern Kingdom; and as the Regent, with her -coadjutor, the bigoted and relentless Cardinal Beaton, also began to -persecute the new faith, and send its adherents to the stake; for it has -ever been found to be a true saying, “The blood of the martyrs is the -seed of the Church.” In revenge for the burning, in 1545, of one of the -saintliest of men, George Wishart, a party of the Reformers murdered the -Cardinal in his own castle of St. Andrews, from one of the windows of -which he had gloated over the martyr’s cruel death. - -In 1557, a number of the Reformers, including several noblemen, and -styling themselves the Lords of the Congregation, entered into a mutual -bond or covenant, “To defend the whole congregation of Christ against -Satan and all his powers; to have prayers made and the sacraments -administered in the vulgar tongue; in worship to use only the Bible, and -the Prayer-book of Edward VI.” In 1559, the Regent, who was entirely -under French influence, and had been gradually filling high offices with -Frenchmen, and accumulating French troops, issued a proclamation, -forbidding any one to preach or administer the sacraments without the -authority of the bishops. - -And at this period a sterling man fitted to be a leader in such -turbulent times, John Knox, appears in the forefront of the conflict. He -had been college-bred, and became a priest, but adopted the Reformation -in its Calvinistic phase, and, as he had opportunity, disseminated the -new tenets with eloquence and zeal. After Beaton’s death, his slayers, -with others, and Knox amongst these, held out the castle of St. Andrews -for fourteen months, but had to yield at last to their French besiegers, -and were sent prisoners to France. Knox had to work in the galleys on -the river Loire. But again he is in Scotland, preaching from place to -place. After a powerful sermon against idolatry in a church in Perth, a -priest began to celebrate mass. Heated by the glowing words of Knox, the -people broke the images in the church. The Regent was very wroth, she -deposed the Protestant provost of the city, and threatened it with -French troops. The Congregation raised troops and appealed to Elizabeth, -now on the English throne, for aid. Elizabeth sent some troops, and -there was fighting with varied successes, until, by a treaty made in -Edinburgh, the French agreed to abandon Scotland, and the Protestants -were to be allowed the free exercise of their religion. In the Scottish -Parliament of 1560 there was a solemn abjuration of the Pope and the -mass. And the Geneva Confession of Faith was constituted the theological -standard of the kingdom. - -[Illustration: JOHN KNOX.] - -Differing from the English Church with its orders, its episcopacy, and -its sovereign headship, the Scottish Reformers denied the authority of -the sovereign, or secular government, to interfere in the affairs of the -Church; determining that these affairs should be under the direction of -a Court of Delegates, the greater number being chosen from the -ministers, all of whom were of the same standing and dignity, and the -remainder—with equal authority in the deliberations—of a certain number -of the laity, called Elders, thus forming what is called “The General -Assembly of the Church.” The sacraments were to be simple observances, -spiritual only as they were spiritually received. Church edifices were -regarded as merely stone and lime structures, having no claims to -special regard, except during divine service. So to these Reformers, -defacing in the churches what had been considered sacred statuary and -ornamentation, even to the sign of the cross, was deemed a ready mode of -testifying against Popish superstitions. As to the abbeys and -monasteries—“Pull down the nests,” said stern John Knox, “and the rooks -will fly away.” - -Thus the Kirk of Scotland was essentially democratic in its origin, and, -although always rigid and often intolerant, it has in the main so -continued. Its theological tenets, although wordy and abstruse, were a -whetstone to the intellect, and helped to develope a serious and -thoughtful, a reading, and an argumentative people. Shepherds meeting -each other on the hillsides, weavers with their yarn at the village -beetling-stone, would, like Milton’s angels:— - - “Reason high - Of providence, foreknowledge, will, and fate, - Fixed fate, free-will, foreknowledge absolute.” - -The English Church, on the other hand, did not encourage doctrinal -discussion, but simple faith in its articles, and obedience to its -rubric. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - -[Illustration: JOHN KNOX’S HOUSE.] - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - -But—which we would hardly have expected from its complex system of -faith, and its niceties in phraseology—the Presbyterian Kirk produced -zeal and earnest devotedness in the Scottish people. Without ordination -by a bishop, whose orders were presumed to have come in direct -succession from the Apostles, the ministers were held in high reverence -and esteem; without printed prayers its common members learned to pray. -It had its army of martyrs; except amongst Puritan Nonconformists, the -Scottish Covenanters have hardly their English representatives. - -John Knox largely impressed the Reformed Church with his own -individuality. No doubt he was rigid, and, to our modern ideas, narrow- -minded and intolerant. He would not have accomplished the work he did if -he had not himself thoroughly believed in it, as the greatest work which -then needed to be done. He has been blamed for speaking harsh words to -Queen Mary; but he had to speak what he felt to be stern truths, for -which honied words could hardly fit themselves. Mary, accustomed to -fascinate the eyes and sway the wills of all who approached her, -demanded of Knox:—“Who are you who dare dictate to the sovereign and -nobles of this realm?” “I am, Madam,” answered Knox, “a subject of this -realm.” A subject, and therefore a co-partner in the realm; to the -fullest extent of his knowledge and his capabilities responsible for its -right government; just as the Hebrew prophets claimed a right to stand -before their kings, and, not always in smooth words, to denounce sin and -hypocrisy, oppression, and backslidings from the law of God. - -[Illustration: - - JOHN KNOX’S PULPIT, ST. GILES’S. - (_From the Scottish Antiquarian Museum._) -] - -For supporting the introduction of bishops into the Presbyterian Church, -as impairing the republican equality of its ministers, Knox had bitterly -rebuked the Regent Morton. But when, in November, 1572, the Regent stood -by the grave of the Reformer, it was in a choking voice that he -pronounced the grand eulogium:—“There lies he, who never feared the face -of man.” - -At the era of the Reformation no translation of the Scriptures had yet -been printed in Scotland; what copies in the vernacular had been brought -from England, were in the hands of the wealthy; indeed few of the common -people could then have read them. The parish school as yet was not. The -old church had not encouraged inquiry into the rationale of its dogmas, -and although theological discussion was in the air, it had not -penetrated into the lower strata of Scottish society. And thus the -popular outburst against the old church was hardly founded on conscience -and conviction; in its beginnings at least, it was more a revolution -against priestly domination. - -[Illustration: GRAVE OF JOHN KNOX.] - -But the cry of _idolatry_ was raised. In the destruction of images in -the churches, the leading reformers found the populace only too willing -agents. Even architectural ornamentation—without religious significance— -was removed or destroyed, the capitals of pillars were covered with -plaster, the very tombs were rifled and defaced. The parish church had -been the nucleus around which, for centuries, the veneration and the -spiritual thought of past times had revolved, and now the idea of its -“consecration” was to be banished from the popular mind. The reformers -encouraged male worshippers to enter churches with their hats on— -uncovering during prayer, psalm-singing, and scripture reading, and -resuming their hats when the minister gave out the text for his sermon. -When the discourse touched a popular chord, there was applause by -clapping of hands and stamping of feet. Rome had demanded unquestioning -submission to its authority,—an unreserved veneration for its ritual; -and in breaking away from this bondage, the spirit of reverence was -largely impaired. - -Thus to other religionists, the form of worship in a Scottish church -appeared bald and careless, hardly decorous. There was no private prayer -on sitting down; in the public prayers, the stubborn presbyterian knee -did not bend,—all stood upright, and the eyes would roam all over the -church. In singing the psalms, there was no assistance from the swelling -tones of an organ; gloves were put on during the benediction, and all -were prepared for a hurried exit at its _Amen_. Funeral sermons, and -even tomb-stones, were proscribed by the early reformers. One in King -James’s English retinue, accompanying him in a visit to Scotland, -remarked,—“The Scots christen without the sign of the cross; they marry -without the ring; and bury without any funeral service.” - -Although the old psalmist said,—“O sing unto the Lord a new song,”—the -Presbyterians did not seem to think that anything had occurred in the -following two thousand years, to incite to new songs of praise and -thanksgiving: so they continued to sing only the Hebrew psalms. It was -not until 1745 that the General Assembly authorized the use of -Paraphrases,—that is, metrical versions of other portions of Scripture, -but many congregations refused them. Now, there are authorized hymnals— -the organ is again finding its place in the churches—and other changes -have come about, bringing the form of service in nearer consonance with -that of other churches, and with the more ornate tendency of the present -times. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - The Rival Queens—Mary and Elizabeth. - - -Mary’s evil fortunes began with her birth. Her dying father, heart- -broken over a disastrous battle, lived only a week after his “poor -lass,” as he called her, was born. Then Henry VIII. of England saw in -this infant niece of his a means of uniting the two crowns, much in the -way by which a wolf unites itself with the lamb it devours, by having a -marriage contracted between her and his only son, Prince Edward. He sent -negotiators to enforce, under threats, his project. There was much -opposition amongst the Scottish nobility. It looked like surrendering -their country to England. They said to Henry’s negotiators, “If your lad -were a lass, and our lass were a lad, would you then be so earnest in -this matter; and could you be content that our lad should, by marrying -your lass, become King of England? No! your nation would never agree to -have a Scot for King; and we will not have an Englishman as our King. -And tho’ the whole nobility of the realm should consent thereto, yet the -common people would rebel against it; the very boys would hurl stones, -and the wives handle their distaffs against it.” - -Henry was wroth exceedingly, threatened war, and demanded the custody of -the child-Queen. To have him for an ally against the Queen-Regent and -her minister, the persecutor Beaton, the Reformers temporized, and the -Scottish Parliament consented to the match; Mary to be sent to Henry -when she was ten years old. - -In the meantime Henry got embroiled with France; and Scotland, under the -influence of the Queen-Regent, allied itself with that country. Henry -sent an army into Scotland. There were some Scottish successes; but at -Pinkie, in 1547, the English general Somerset gained a complete victory. -Before this event Henry had died; but his long cherished object, the -possession of the child of Scotland, was still pressed, and now seemed -on the point of attainment. But the Scottish people were irritated and -alarmed to such a degree that they resolved to make the projected -marriage impossible, by marrying their young mistress to the Dauphin of -France, and sending her to be brought up at the French court. To this -resolve Parliament gave a hasty assent; and in July 1548, the poor -child, now in her sixth year, accompanied by her four Maries—girls her -own age, of noble birth, her present play-fellows and future companions— -was shipped off to France. - -Prince Edward, who succeeded Henry as Edward VI., was twelve years of -age when his father died, and he reigned only four years. Then there was -the painful incident of Lady Jane Grey being pushed forward by her -ambitious kindred as a claimant to the throne; the venture being death -to her and to them. And then Henry’s daughter by his first wife became -Queen. A rigid Catholic, she at once took steps, intolerant, relentless, -and cruel, to re-establish the old faith. The savage persecutions of her -reign have rendered it for ever infamous. She goes down through all time -as the _Bloody_ Mary. Smithfield blazed with the fires of martyrdom; -five Protestant bishops were amongst the sufferers. Happily her reign -was a brief one, lasting only five years; and they were for her years of -domestic misery, her marriage with the Spanish King, Philip II., being -an unhappy and unfruitful one. - -Her half-sister Elizabeth, the issue of Henry’s marriage with Anne -Boleyn, succeeded to the throne in 1558. Elizabeth had been brought up -as a Protestant, had been kept a close prisoner during Mary’s reign,— -narrowly escaping being herself a martyr. And now to maintain her claims -to the throne, she had to depend upon her Protestant subjects; for the -Catholics denied the validity of her father and mother’s marriage, and -consequently denied her legitimacy and right to reign. They asserted -that Mary Stuart of Scotland was the rightful heir, and as such entitled -to their allegiance. - -A brief explanation will show on what foundation the Stuart claim— -afterwards allowed at the death of Elizabeth in favour of Mary’s son -James—was based. At Bosworth Field, Richard III., of the house of York, -was defeated and slain. The victor was Richmond of Lancaster, who thus -became King Henry VII.; his son was Henry VIII., and his daughter -Margaret married James IV., King of Scotland. The neighbouring Kings, -James and Henry VIII., were thus brothers-in-law; none the less did they -quarrel and go to war with each other, their hostilities ending, so far -as James was concerned, with the battle of Flodden. Henry was then -engaged in a war with France, and James was killed in the battle which -his vanity had provoked, and which he generalled so badly. His son, -James V., was Henry’s nephew, and full cousin to Henry’s children, -Edward, Mary, and Elizabeth. Thus, failing direct legitimate heirs to -the English throne, James’s daughter Mary was, in virtue of her descent -as the grand-daughter of Henry VII., the nearest heir. - -At Elizabeth’s accession, in 1558, Mary was sixteen years of age. As the -wife of the Dauphin of France, the French monarchy put forward her -claims as the rightful sovereign of England, and even had a coinage -struck with her effigy thus designated. So Elizabeth feared and hated -Mary as her rival; hated her yet more, with a woman’s spite, for her -beauty and accomplishments. Soon Mary, by his early death, lost her -husband, then King of France, and at nineteen years of age, in the -splendour of her queenly beauty, she—regretfully for the land of her -youth—returned to her native Scotland. - -[Illustration: - - MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTLAND. - (_From a painting by Zucchero._) -] - -By her sweet presence, her courtesy, and winning manners, Mary largely -gained the hearts of her people; but murmurings soon arose about her -foreign ways, her foreign favouritisms, and her fidelity to her Catholic -faith. And a cloud gathered over her domestic life. She had married a -young nobleman, Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley. He was next to Mary in the -hereditary line of succession to the English throne—as Mary was a grand- -daughter of Margaret Tudor he was a grandson—by Margaret’s second -marriage with the Earl of Angus. He was also a Catholic. Darnley seems -to have been little other than a handsome, but petulant, ill-behaved, -and ill-mannered boy, fitted, neither by intellect nor disposition, to -be the husband and life-companion of such a proud, clever, and -accomplished woman as Mary. Mary refused him the crown-matrimonial, and -they very soon fell apart. Mary was not forbidden to have her private -chapel; an Italian singer in this chapel, David Rizzio, became a -favourite, he acted as her secretary, and was admitted into the inner -circle of Holyrood. One evening the supper-party was broken in upon by -Darnley and a number of his associates, and Rizzio was dragged out to -the landing, and by several weapons barbarously stabbed to death. Mary’s -fair countenance and gentle voice were mated with an iron will, -persistent in carrying out her hatreds to the death. Darnley was -murdered by a rude villain, Earl Bothwell, and Mary has never been -satisfactorily cleared of complicity in the murder. Shortly afterwards -she married this Bothwell—by force, her apologists say. - -We shall not even briefly go over the oft-told tale of Mary’s after- -life. As the incidents loom out of the tangled web, we feel, even -through the centuries, as if we would fain arrest them by a warning -voice, fain save that fascinating woman from her doom. We feel a -yearning pity, almost akin to love, although stern justice gives her -blame as a woman, a wife, and a Queen. That pitiful winter’s morning in -Fotheringay Castle, in 1587, brought to Mary, by the headsman’s axe, a -cruel death, but also a kind release from captivity and unrest. - -And what of her rival queen and kinswoman, “that bright Occidental -star,” Elizabeth? A woman with a strong masculine intellect, of -dauntless courage, one fitted to rule and govern, and advance a nation. -But unmistakably her father’s daughter, cruel, heartless, unforgiving, -and thoroughly false: with a woman’s caprice exalting to supreme -favouritism to-day, and striking down into the dust to-morrow. She -signed Mary’s death-warrant, and, by grimaces and plainest hints, she -made her people slay her own cousin. And when the deed was irretrievably -done she went into a hypocritical paroxysm of well-acted anger and -regret, and dealt round punishment for the act which she herself had -compassed. These two women cited to the bar of judgment, Mary might well -hide her face for many sins and frailties; but the better actor would -try to stand up, boldly and unabashed. Our own hearts must answer which -of the two we justify, rather than the other. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - Old Edinburgh. - - - “Edina! Scotia’s darling seat! - All hail thy palaces and tow’rs, - Where once beneath a monarch’s feet - Sat legislation’s sov’reign powers! - - There, watching high for war’s alarms, - Thy rough, rude fortress gleams afar; - Like some bold vet’ran grey in arms, - And marked with many a seamy scar.” - -So sang Burns, when “from marking wildflowers on the banks of Ayr,” he -“sheltered,” and was feted and petted in the “honoured shade” of the -capital of Scotland. And Sir Walter Scott, in describing Marmion’s -approach to the city on a summer’s morning, cannot, from a full proud -heart, refrain from introducing his own personality:— - - “Such dusky grandeur clothed the height - Where the huge castle holds its state, - And all the steep slope down, - Whose ridgy back heaves to the sky, - Pil’d deep and massy, close and high— - Mine own romantic town!” - -Doubtless, as a picturesque town, Edinburgh stands in the foremost rank. -The natural configuration of the ground in ridges and hollows, and the -commanding prospects from its heights of undulating landscape, of broad -Frith, of distant hills, and of the adjacent Arthur’s Seat, like a -couchant lion guarding the town, are striking, and stir up any poetic -feeling that may be lurking in the heart. In the architecture there is a -strange and incongruous mingling of the modern and the antique, of the -genuine and the meretricious. There are many interesting historical -memorials, and very many reminders of the everyday present. Buildings -and monuments bring cherished and illustrious names to our mind; other -names are obtruded which we would gladly forget. But no one can, from -the Castle bastions, see the panorama of the city and its surroundings, -without intense interest, and an admiration which will abide in the -memory. - -In 647, Edwin, the son of Ella, Saxon King of Northumbria, extended his -conquests beyond the Forth. He re-fortified the rock-castle, called -Puellerum, and to the little town which rose up around it, was given the -name of Edwinsburgh. In 1128, Edinburgh was made a Royal burgh by David -I. In 1215, a Parliament of Alexander II. met here for the first time. -In 1296, the title of the chief magistrate was changed from Alderman to -Provost. - -In 1424, James I. was, at £40,000, ransomed from his long and unjust -imprisonment in England: the towns of Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Perth, and -Dundee, guaranteeing the ransom. James had, on his parole, been free to -move about England; and he soon saw how far behind her his own land was -in agriculture and commerce. To amend this he made laws, which to us -seem meddlesome and going into petty details, but doubtless were then -useful and progressive. For the prevention of fires in buildings it was -advisable to enact that “hempe, lint and straw be not put in houses -aboone or near fires,” and that “nae licht be fetched from ane house to -ane uther but within covered weshel or lanterne.” The lofty piles of -buildings for which the older town of Edinburgh is now remarkable, were -in the fifteenth century represented by wooden houses not exceeding two -stories in height; for we find that in providing against fires, -Parliament ordained that “at the common cost aucht twenty-fute ladders -be made, and kept in a ready place in the town, for that use and none -other.” From the murder of James I. in Perth, in 1456, Edinburgh dates -as the capital, and where Parliaments were exclusively held. - -In 1496, in order to qualify the eldest sons of barons and freeholders -for exercising the functions of sheriffs (holding judicial powers in a -Scottish county) and ordinary justices, it was enacted that such be sent -to grammar schools, and there remain, “quhill they be competentlie -founded and have perfite Latin; and thereafter to remain three zeirs at -the schules of art and jure; so that they may have knowledge and -onderstanding of the laws.” The population of Edinburgh was then about -8,000. - -When, in 1503, Margaret, daughter of Henry VII., came to Scotland as the -bride of James IV., the King met her at Dalkeith, and the royal lovers -made their entry into Edinburgh, “the Kyng riding on a pallafroy, with -the princesse behind him, and so through the toun.” Ten years later -came, on the 10th September, the sad news of Flodden, fought on the -previous day; when the brave but fool-hardy King, and the flower of -Scottish manhood “were a’ wede away.” At first it was consternation and -the confusion of despair; but soon order and new energy prevailed. Under -pains of forfeiture of life and goods, all citizens capable of bearing -arms were convoked to form, with the stragglers from Flodden, a fresh -army: the older citizens were to defend the city. The women were, under -a threat of banishment, forbidden to cry and clamour in the streets; the -better sort were to go to church and pray for their country; and -thereafter to mind their business at home, and not encumber the streets. - -In 1543, under the regency of the Earl of Arran, an Act was passed -permitting the scriptures to be read in the vulgar tongue, and the -Reformation ideas began to be bruited about. Twelve years later, statues -in St. Giles’ Church, of the Virgin and certain saints were destroyed; -but the then Regent, Mary of Guise, by threatenings, given strength to -by her French troops, contrived to keep down open revolt against the old -faith. But in 1558, on the festival day of St. Giles, the patron saint -of Edinburgh, and for which festival the priests and monks had made -great preparation, it was discovered that the image of the saint had -been taken from the church during the previous night, and thrown into -the North Loch. The priests got a smaller statue from the Greyfriars, -this the people called in derision “the bairn-saint.” The Queen-Regent -was in the procession. She must have been a woman of strong character; -in her presence all went smoothly, but having left, the populace tore -the little St. Giles to pieces, hustling and dispersing the priests. - -From the death of the Queen-Regent, and the withdrawal of the French -troops in 1560, the Protestant cause was in the ascendancy. An Act was -passed denouncing Popery, and sanctioning the hastily compiled -Confession of Faith. Penalties on Catholic worship, very similar to -those under which Protestants had groaned, and which they had bitterly -denounced, were imposed. Any one celebrating mass or being present at -its celebration, was to be punished by forfeiture of goods for the first -offence, by banishment for the second, and by death for the third. Queen -Mary, then in France, and her husband Francis, who held from Mary the -crown-matrimonial of Scotland, refused to ratify the Acts, and insulted -the messenger of the Parliament. - -Next year, 1561, Mary, now a widow, and as such having lost her high -position at the French court, returned to Scotland. She waited upon the -deck of the vessel which was taking her from the land of her youth, -until its shores faded from her tear-dimmed eyes. “Farewell, beloved -France,” she sobbed, “I shall never behold thee again.” When, on the -first day of September, she made her public entry into Edinburgh, never -had the city shown such an exuberance of warm enthusiasm. The procession -included all the foremost citizens, Protestant and Catholic, clad in -velvet and satin; twelve citizens supporting the canopy over the -triumphal car, where, like an Helen in her matchless loveliness, sat the -young Queen. When on the following Sunday she attended mass at Holyrood, -her Catholic servants were insulted, and the crowd could hardly be -restrained from interrupting the service. And so began the hurley- -burley, through six years little other than a civil war; a time of -confusion, of plotting and counter-plotting, of intolerance, of malice -and revenge; that fair figure with the dove’s eyes, but also with a -determined will and an unswerving purpose, ever emerging into the -foreground, now an object of admiration, and then for denunciation, but -always for the highest interest and the profoundest pity. - -After Marys enforced abdication in Lochleven Castle, on 29th July, 1567, -her year-old son James was proclaimed King. The Earl of Morton, head of -the powerful Douglas family, taking, in the child’s name, the usual -coronation oaths. Mary’s half-brother, the Earl of Murray, became -Regent. Three years later Murray, whilst riding in State through -Linlithgow, was shot dead in revenge for a private injury. Then followed -two years of discord and confusion from rival factions; and then, 1572, -Morton became Regent, and was the master-power in the kingdom. For eight -years he was the controlling influence. He was haughty and revengeful, -and at the same time avaricious and corrupt; so he made many enemies, -and these plotted his destruction. One day when the King, now fourteen -years of age, was sitting in Council, one of James’s favourites entered -the chamber abruptly, fell on his knees before the King, and accused -Morton of having been concerned in the murder of the King’s father, Lord -Darnley. Morton replied that instead of having been in the plot, he had -himself been most active in dragging to light and punishing the -conspirators. He now demanded a fair trial; but fair trials were not -then general. Morton’s servants were put to the torture to extort -damnatory evidence, and several known enemies were on the jury; so he -was found guilty of having been “art and part” in Darnley’s murder. To -the last he denied having advised or aided in the foul deed; but it is -probable that he knew that it was in purpose. He suffered death by -decapitation at Edinburgh, in June, 1581, the instrument of death being -a rough form of guillotine, called the _Maiden_, which, it is said, he -introduced into Scotland from Yorkshire. The gruesome machine is now in -the Edinburgh Antiquarian Museum. - -[Illustration: THE SCOTTISH MAIDEN.] - -In 1596, James, now thirty years of age, quarrelled with his capital. -There was in all the Stuart kings a strong strain of the old faith in -what hearts they had; or, there was at least a very strong dislike of -the independent, self-assertive idea which was the basis of the -Presbyterian Church. James granted certain favours, which we should now -think simply common rights, to his Catholic nobles, and this roused the -ire of the Kirk, then ever ready to testify against popery, to assert -for itself the right of free judgment in religious matters, but -practically to deny this right to others. A standing _Council of the -Church_ was formed out of Edinburgh and provincial Presbyteries; -inflammatory sermons were preached, and the King, refusing to receive a -petition demanding that the laws against papacy be stringently enforced, -was mobbed, and seditious cries were raised. - -[Illustration: JAMES THE SIXTH OF SCOTLAND AND FIRST OF ENGLAND.] - -James hastily removed the Court to Linlithgow, ordering the courts of -law to follow him there; and he ordered the magistrates to seize and -imprison the Council of Ministers as promoters of sedition. The -magistrates, anxious to regain the King’s favour, were preparing to obey -him when the ministers fled to Newcastle. The King’s unwonted -promptitude and decision, seem to have borne down all opposition. On the -1st of January, 1596-7, he re-entered Edinburgh between a double file of -guards, chiefly from the wild Highland and border clans, which lined the -streets. The magistrates on their knees submitted to him in most abject -terms, and many of the nobles pleaded for pardon. James was not a large- -minded man,—the more humble they, the more inexorable he. He gave three -of his lords charge of the city, declaring that it had forfeited all its -corporate privileges, was liable to all the penalties of treason, and -deserved to be razed to the ground. We learn that Elizabeth interceded -for the penitent city, which, deprived of its magistrates, deserted by -its ministers, and proscribed by the King, was in the lowest depth of -despondency. James relented so far as to absolve the city on the payment -of a fine of 20,000 marks, and the forfeiture to the crown of the houses -of the recreant ministers. - -Elizabeth died in March 1603, and James was at once proclaimed King of -England, and warmly invited to take up his residence in London. On the -Sunday previous to his departure he was present at the service in St. -Giles’ Church. At the close of the service he rose and addressed the -congregation in a speech full of kindly expressions, declaring his -abiding affection and regard for his native land; and the sighs and -tears of the people shewed how their hearts were moved by his words. - -Fifteen years later, James was again in Edinburgh. His progress from -Berwick was one continued ovation. In every town which he passed -through, flattering panegyrics, in Latin or Greek, were addressed to -him. As he entered Edinburgh by the West Port, he was met by the -magistrates in their robes, and the town-clerk read a long address -replete with compliments, so inflated and exaggerative, that the -dedication to “the most high and mighty Prince James,” of the authorised -translation of the Bible, reads comparatively flat and commonplace. -Afterwards, the king was sumptuously entertained, and presented with -10,000 marks in a silver basin. - -Just at this time, the invention of logarithms, by a Scotch laird, John -Napier of Merchiston, near Edinburgh, was becoming known in the then -comparatively restricted scientific world. Logarithms are prepared -tables of numbers, by which complex problems in trigonometry, and the -tedious extraction of roots, can be performed by the simpler rules of -arithmetic. To the well-educated, they save much time and labour; in the -art of navigation, they enable the mariner who may be unskilled in -mathematics, to work out the most intricate calculations. In all vessels -on the open seas, when observations can be taken, in all mathematical -schools and astronomical observatories, logarithms are in daily use. As -with other things, familiarity discounts our wonder at their aptitude -and value; but the estimate by scientists of Napier’s invention is, that -it ranks amongst British contributions to science, second only to -Newton’s _Principia_. Kepler regarded Napier as one of the greatest men -of his age; and in the roll of those who were foremost in establishing -real science in Europe, his is the only name which can be placed -alongside the names of Copernicus, Tycho Brahe, Kepler, and Galileo. - -The long sloping street called the Canongate, which reaches down from -the centre of the Old Town to Holyrood, was, with its tributary lanes -and closes, created a Burgh of Regality by King David the First. It was -outside the walls of Edinburgh, and had its own Council of Bailies, -Deacons of Trades, and Burgesses. The Canongate is full of old memories. -There is the house of John Knox, the sturdy Reformer and typical -presbyterian. There is the Tolbooth—the Heart of Midlothian. From the -balcony of that old mansion, called Moray House, a gay party were, in -1650, with malicious and triumphant eyes, looking down upon a crowd -through which was slowly wending a low cart, in which was ignominiously -bound down that spent thunderbolt of war, Montrose—he is on his way to -execution. Aye, but in after years two in that jubilant party—Argyles, -father and son—will both also pass up that street amidst jeering crowds, -and to similar fates. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - -[Illustration: THE CANONGATE TOLBOOTH.] - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - -Edinburgh Castle is the central feature of the city. Its site is on the -summit of a huge isolated rock of eruptive basalt,—rising on the north -side,—out of the valley, now a garden, which divides the new from the -old town, to about 175 feet of perpendicular height. The castle, with -the slopes, occupies fully six acres of ground, and includes barrack -accommodation for 2,000 men; the armoury is calculated to contain 30,000 -stands of arms. On the Argyle bastion there is a huge piece of old -artillery called Mons Meg; it is constructed of wrought iron, and had -burst at the muzzle at its last discharge. Its liner is formed of -longitudinal bars,—these are strongly hooped; it is thus allied in -construction to that of present ordnance, and, rude as the work is, it -shows the comparative high state of iron manufacture amongst the Dutch -several centuries ago. - -The castle was used by Malcolm Canmore and his saintly queen, Margaret, -as a royal residence. The oldest building on the plateau which crowns -the rock, is St. Margaret’s Chapel, said to have been used by the queen. -On two sides of the quadrangle called Palace Yard are an ancient hall -which has just been restored, and a suite of residential apartments. In -a small turret-chamber, Mary’s son, James, was born. In a well-protected -room adjoining, the regalia of Scotland—crown, sceptre, sword of state, -and other insignia—are shewn. - -The ancient regalia were “_conveyed_, the wise it call,” out of Scotland -by Edward I. Robert Bruce was _crowned_ at Scone with only a makeshift -crown; but it also fell into the hands of the English. The present crown -is, from the style of its workmanship, supposed to have been made in the -later years of Bruce’s reign. It was first used in the coronation of -David II., in 1329. Later sovereigns added to the ornamentation. The -sword of state was presented to James V. by Pope Julius II. There are -also certain jewels which were restored to Scotland at the death of -Cardinal York, the last of the Stuarts. - -When Cromwell invaded Scotland, the regalia were, for security, taken by -the Earl Marischal to his own strong castle of Dunottar, in -Kincardineshire. When this castle was besieged by General Monk, the -regalia—known to be there by the English—were, by a feminine stratagem, -carried out by Mrs. Grainger, the wife of the minister of the -neighbouring church of Kinneff. The minister buried them in the church, -and there they remained until the Restoration. - -At the Union, in 1707, the Scottish Estates passed a resolution that the -regalia were never to be removed from Scotland. A hundred years after -the whereabouts was unknown,—their very existence a matter of doubt. The -following extract is from the article “Edinburgh,” in the “Edinburgh -Encyclopedia,” edited by Sir David Brewster, published about 1815:— - - “At the time of the Union, the Scottish regalia were, with much - solemnity, deposited in a strong iron-barred room, entered from a - narrow staircase; but most probably prudential reasons have long ago - led to their destruction or removal. They were too dangerous - insignias of royalty to lie within the reach of the disaffected - during the rebellions of the last century. Towards its close, - however, some doubts were raised, and a warrant to search was issued - to certain official persons. Nothing was found but an old locked - chest covered with dust, and the deputation _did not think that they - were authorized to break this open_. So the search was abandoned, - and an opportunity, _not likely to recur_, of ascertaining whether - the regalia were really in existence, was lost.” - -The _italics_ are ours. In 1818, the regalia were found in a search -ordered by George IV.—then Prince Regent—in that same old chest, which -is still in evidence at the back of the jewel room. - -[Illustration: SEAL OF HOLYROOD ABBEY.] - -Holyrood Palace, founded by David I., in 1158, was originally an abbey -of St. Augustine canons. The ruins of the church evidence the grandeur -of the ancient structure. Of a later date is the north-west wing of the -palace,—a portion of which was a royal residence of successive -sovereigns. One of the complaints against James III. was that he here -preferred the society of poets and musicians, to that of the ruder -nobility. James IV. was also partial to artists and literary men. In his -_Marmion_, Sir Walter Scott has the quatrain:— - - “Still is thy name in high account - And still thy verse has charms,— - Sir David Lindsay of the Mount, - Lord Lion King-at-arms!” - -Sir David was in the first half of the sixteenth century the leading -poet in Scotland. When a boy he was page of honour to the infant king, -James V.,—carrying him on his back,—his playmate, and, in a sense, his -tutor. Sir David addresses the king, giving some early reminiscences:— - - “And the first words that thou gan’st mute - Were, ’pay Da Lin;” upon the lute - Then played I twenty springs and three,— - With whilk richt pleasurt thou would be.” - -The suite of apartments occupied by Queen Mary are still left, with a -portion of the old furniture and hangings. As we wander through the -rooms, we can, in fancy, see Mary in the audience chamber, in one of her -distressing interviews with the leaders of the Reformation,—when most -unjustifiable demands were made on her that, against conscience and -conviction, she should renounce the faith in which she had been -nurtured,—should change her religion to accommodate the popular change. -Or, in the private supper-room, see her and her ladies at their -needlework; or hear one of these ladies sing an old Scots ballad of -loves gone astray, and with a sad ending. Then Rizzio’s rich baritone -rises in an Italian strain; and then there is on these stairs the -trampling of armed men, and foul murder is done before the eyes of a -queen and an expectant mother; and her life is never the same again. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - -[Illustration: - - HOLYROOD PALACE, THE REGENT MORAY’S HOUSE ADJOINING THE PALACE, ON THE - NORTH, THE ROYAL GARDENS AND ANCIENT HOROLOGE. - (_From a drawing by Blore, published in 1826._) -] - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - -Little more than this wing of the palace was left by a fire, in 1650, -when Cromwell’s soldiers were quartered in the building. All the newer -portion was built in the reign of Charles II. The picture gallery is 150 -feet long, and contains portraits (?) of 106 ancient Scottish kings. -Here, in the autumn of 1745, Prince Charles Edward held his mimic court. -At every general parliamentary election the sixteen representative -Scottish peers are chosen in this hall. - -James VI. repaired and embellished the church, providing it with an -organ, a throne, and twelve stalls for the Knights of the Thistle. The -roof fell in in 1768, and the fine eastern window yielded to a violent -tempest in 1795. Since then the church—the sepulchre of Scottish kings -and queens—has been allowed to become a ruin. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - -[Illustration: INTERIOR OF HOLYROOD CHURCH, LOOKING EAST.] - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - Offences and their Punishment in the Sixteenth Century. - - -The century which included the Reformation, and the long minorities of -three sovereigns,—James V., his daughter Mary, and her son, James VI.,— -all periods of strife and unsettledness, was for Scotland, -governmentally and politically, a turbulent one. The state was often in -confusion; but the burghs were little states, acting by their own laws, -under properly constituted magistrates. - -The oldest records of the Burgh Court of Dundee which have been -preserved commence in 1550, and extend to 1568. These, with other old -records, have recently been carefully examined, and many portions -transcribed, by Mr. Alexander Maxwell, F.S.A. Scot., and they form the -ground-work for his two interesting volumes on Old Dundee. With the -author’s kind permission, we make several extracts, illustrative of the -social history of the period, so far as this is brought into view by the -matters which came before the Burgh Court. These records may be fairly -taken as a sample of the then condition, as respects crime, of the whole -of Scotland. - -And three things will be in evidence from these records:— - -1. That this was really a Court of Justice; patient consideration given, -as a rule, to the cases which came before it; and although some of the -punishments may seem severe, and others rather ridiculous, yet on the -whole the spirit was paternal, corrective, and peace-making. The -penalties inflicted were all on the supposition that the offenders had -still a sense of shame left, and that to have the good opinion of their -fellows was an incentive to well doing. - -2. That considering the unsettled condition of the country, there was -not an abnormal amount of disorder and crime. Whisky, that curse of -Scotland in later years, had not come into use, and there was no -excessive ale and wine drinking. Theft was not common. - -3. That a main point with the burgh authorities was to get locally rid -of their incorrigibles; leaving neighbouring towns and the country -districts to take care of themselves. - -That ever unruly member, the tongue, gave a good deal of trouble:— - -Reche Crag, baker, being warned that his bread was under weight, charged -the officer with using false weights to weigh his bread with, for which -insult “he is ordainit to come to the church on Sunday next in the time -of high mass to there offer a candle of a pound of wax, to ask the -officer’s forgiveness, and say, That the word was false he said.” James -Denman, having “blasphemed” a notary, has to ask his forgiveness, and to -pay to the master of the Hospital twenty shillings to be given to the -poor,—“and gif he be again apprehendit with the like, to be banishit the -burgh a year and a day.” - -John Robertson and his wife had slandered Katrine Butcher. John sung -very small in Court,—“revokit his allegance as nocht of veritie, and he -knows nocht of Katrine but honour.” John’s wife appears to have first -uttered the slander in “flyting,” and she and he were “adjudgit to come -instantly to the Mercat Cross, and there ask Katrine’s forgiveness upon -their knees: and gif the wife be funden by day or nicht blasphemin any -man or woman, she will be banishit the burgh.” - -For “wrangeous mispersoning of Will Gibson’s wife, Jonet Crag is -ordainit to pass to the Mercat Cross, and on her knees, with the beads -about her neck to say ‘My tongue leeit,’ and pass with the beads about -the town.” The tolbooth “beads” were derisively hung on the neck of a -termagant, whilst she made a promenade through the burgh. Poor husbands -had to bear the brunt of their wives’ characters. William Rannald, being -about to leave the burgh, “the Council decernit that nae testimonial be -given to him; but if he labours for ane, that it be made conform to his -wife’s demerits, and specify wherefore she was banishit this burgh for -ever.” - -Besse Spens is admonished “that gif she be found flyting with ony -neighbour, man or wife, and specially agains Jonet Arthe, she shall be -put on the cuck-stule, and sit there twenty-four hours.” This cuck-stule -had just been put up in an open position beside the Market Cross. To be -set up to public derision in this chair was the height of ignominy. - -Whilst in these comparatively rude times women’s tongues often wagged -fiercely against each other, men’s wranglings would end in blows. Charly -Baxter “sall give to Robert Nicholson, for the hurting of him, forty -shillings, but as Robert was also to blame, he sall pay the leech -[surgeon] himself. And gif ony of them maks ony stroublance till other -in time to come, to pay a stane of wax to Our Lady.” So long as the old -Church held sway, fines were generally in candles for lighting St. -Mary’s altar. - -The stocks now and again come into the record. For “stroublance of Patte -Baxter, Jok Galloway is ordainit to come on Sunday next with a candle of -a pund of wax, efter to be given to Our Lady licht, and ask the Bailies -and Patte’s forgiveness. And gif he will nocht do this, to lie the nicht -in the stocks, and ask Patte’s forgiveness the morn at the Mercat -Cross.” Nichol Anderson “is decernit to lie twenty-four hours in the -stocks, for stroubling of this gude town and wounding of ane stranger, -because he has nocht to pay the leech.” - -When Rob Dawson “stroublit” Wille Pangell, “he is ordainit to pay the -leech for his craft of healing Wille’s head breaking, and give Wille -twelve pence ilk day that the leech may depone that he may nocht gudely -lawbour through the hurt.” “Henry Justice is ordained to cause cure -Margret Leischman’s head, broken by him within silence of the nicht.” It -was an aggravation of an offence that it was committed at night. Allan -Sowtar being charged by Besse Spens for the “stroublance of her and her -house, under silence of the nicht, he is amerciate [punished by fine] -for the trouble done to this gude town, an if he be founden committing -sic fault again, nicht-walking and making trouble, that he be banishit.” - -[Illustration: - - THE STOCKS, FROM THE CANONGATE TOLBOOTH. - (_Now in the Scottish Antiquarian Museum._) -] - -The sentences on a brawl in the churchyard, in September, 1554, are -notable as being the last in the record where the fines were in the -shape of offerings on the high altar of St. Mary’s Church. Fines where -they were not given as a _solatium_ to the injured persons, were -generally applied to aid “puir folks.” And punishments were as a rule -inflicted summarily; lengthy imprisonments, taking the persons away from -their ordinary occupations and maintaining them by the labours of -others, are quite a modern invention. - -The vehemence of an outrageous fisherman is quenched in his own element. -“George Blak, boatman, is discernit to be doukit owr the head in the -sea, and also to pay forty shillings to the common gude for that he -keist Fothringham, ane workman, our the shore [pier], and also struck -Andro Cowtie, ane other of them, upon the face.” A worthless fellow is -awarded the punishment of a woman: “Sande Hay, for troublance made upon -Andro Watson, is discernit for his demerits to be put in the cuck-stule, -there to remain until four hours efter noon.” - -This is how an objectionable couple is got rid of: “Alexr Clerke and -Elesabeth Stevenson,[1] being banishit this burgh for their demerits, -pykerie, and reset, and grite sumptuous spending by nicht, has -contemptuously come to the town, contrair to the statutes; whairfore -they are adjudgit—Sande to be nailit to the tron by the ear, and -Elesabeth brunt upon the check, and they be again banishit for all the -days of their life. And gif ever they be fund within this burgh, or ony -of them, to be put to deith.” - -Footnote 1: - - As a rule—and indeed the custom has not yet entirely ceased in the - country districts of Scotland—wives retained their full maiden names - after marriage, and in both sexes the christian or given name was held - to be—as doubtless it virtually is—the proper designation of a - person,—the surname indicating the family or clan to which he or she - belonged. On Scottish tombstones to this day, the inscription for the - loss of a child by a married couple will read as “Son of John Smith - and Barbara Allen.” - -Nice distinctions were made in the comparative guilt of accomplices: -Watte Firsell and Duncan Robertson are found guilty of “common pickery -of ane puir woman within silence of the nicht,” and the sentence is,— -“That Duncan sall scurge Watte round about within the bounds of this -burgh, as use is; and gif he fails in the extreme punishment of Watte, -then Climas sall scurge them baith, in his maist extreme manner. And -thereafter Watte to be had to the Cross, and, by open proclamation, -banishit this burgh for seven years.” Climas was probably the burgh -hangman, for the Court assumed powers of life and death. John Wilson -has, for diverse reasons, been “warded” within the burgh: “Gif he beis -funden passing out of this town, without licence of the Provost or -Bailies, to be put to deith without forder proof.” In another case the -manner of threatened death is specified: “The assize hes convict Agnes -Robertson for theftuously committing of pykrie—whilk she could nocht -deny, being apprehendit with her—and siclyke, hes convict Jonett Moreis -for reset thereof. And thairfore the Bailies ordain Agnes to be banishit -this burgh for all the days of her life, and never to be apprehendit -within the same, under the pain of drowning. And siclyke Jonett to be -banishit for year and day, and gif she be apprehendit within the burgh -before the said day, to suffer deith as said is.” - -Generally in cases of theft, and where there were no aggravating -circumstances, justice was satisfied by simple restitution or -compensation. - -John Cathro is relieved from the charge of carrying away the iron band -of Will Cathro’s door by his offer to make a new band “as gude as it was -at first.” John shortly after comes up again “for the wrangous taking of -five lilies out of John Gagy’s harth, and is ordainit to put in five -fresh lillies again.” A gleaner who has been helping herself to corn -from a farmer’s stooks, only has the blanket seized in which she carried -it. When there were aggravating circumstances theft was punished by -flogging. - -“Vehement suspicion,” without direct proof, was sometimes held to -justify punishment. “James Richardson, tailzour, being accusit of -pickrie, is adjudgit to be punishit with twelve straiks with ane double -belt, because there could be nae sufficient proof gotten, but vehement -suspicion, and syne to be banishit this burgh for year and day.” Another -tailor is, however, able to prove his honesty. Sande Loke is accused by -Jonet Sands, of keeping back some of the cloth that should have gone -into her kirtle. The kirtle was produced, and Sande ripped open the -seams, and laid it upon “ten quarters of new claith of like breid, and -it was found to be nocht minished by the craftsman.” - -The habit of wearing swords, or “whingers,” as they are called, was a -fertile cause of quarrelling and personal injury. Sometimes offenders -were degraded by being for a time prohibited from wearing swords: thus, -William Fyf and James Richardson are, after an encounter, “convict for -troublance of this burgh by invading ilk other with wapins; William is -discernit to pay the barbour whilk heals James’ arm, stricken by him -with ane whinger; and baith are forbidden to wear whingers for the space -of ane year, or to invade other by word or deed in time coming, under -the pain of banishing the party whilk sall be found culpable.” - -John Anderson “is decernit to pay to the common gude, the soum of five -pounds for his unlaw in breaking of the acts, by drawing of ane whinger -and invading of Archibald Kyd for his bodily harm, publicly in open -mercat; and he sall pass to the place where he offendit Archibald, and, -upon his knees, desire of him forgiveness. And his whinger is to be -taken from him, and put in the cuck-stule.” Jonkyn Davidson “hurt and -woundit John Jack in his body, with ane whinger, to the effusion of his -blude in grite quantitie.” The Bailies for amends “decernit that, upon -Saturday next Jonkyn sall come to the Mercat Cross in his sark alane, -his head discoverit, and, upon his knees, take his whinger by the point -and deliver the same to John; and thereafter the officer sall affix it -in the place whair the whingers of those are affixit that commit tulzie -within the burgh. And Jonkyn sall ask mercy and forgiveness at John, for -God’s sake, for his crime; and then sall act himself to be true friend -to John, and sall never hear nor see his hurt nor skaith, but will tak -part with him in all lawful things; and sal never draw a whinger -hereafter, on ony inhabitant, under the pain of banishing this burgh for -ever.” Furthermore he becomes bound to pay John by instalments the sum -of one hundred pounds. On the day named, Jonkyn, at the Market Cross, -made the prescribed atonement, “and then John receivit him in favour, -embracit him in his arms, and forgave him the crime.” - - - PENALTIES FOR IMMORALITY. - -It was not only overt crimes which came under the jurisdiction of the -magistrates; they also took cognizance of conduct and habits which were -considered indecent, or which might lead to breaches of the public -peace. Thus the ringing of the ten o’clock bell was the call to a -general clearance of the streets and alehouses, a notification that the -burgh was entering into “the silence of nicht.” It was enacted that “Nae -person be fund walking in the nicht season, prevatlie or openlie in the -streets or gaits of the burgh, or drinking in ony ale or wine tavern -efter ten hours of the nicht, under the pain of forty shillings[2] for -the first fault, and for the next fault to be banishit; and that nane -sell ale or wine to sic persons, under the pain of banishing.” - -Footnote 2: - - The comparatively low value of Scots money is always to be taken into - account. - -It was also enacted, “Forsameikle as we know it to be the command of God -that there sall nocht be ony drunkards among his people, we therefore -ordain that gif ony man be apprehended in drunkenness, he sall pay for -the first fault five merks unforgiven, for the second ten merks, and for -the third ten pounds, to be taken up by the deacons and distribute to -the puir. And gif he will nocht mend, but continue, then the Bailies -sall give him ane sys [assize] of neighbours, and gif he beis convictit, -he sall be banishit for year and day, and sall nocht be receivit without -his open repentance.” Provision is made for inability to pay fines; this -is commuted for so many days in “thiefs hol,” and the same act to -proceed upon drunken women. - -[Illustration: REPENTANCE-STOOL, FROM OLD GREYFRIARS’ CHURCH.] - -And again, “That gif ony men or women be notit as common blasphemers of -the holy name of God, the Bailies sall give them ane sys of neighbours; -and gif they be convicted of it, they sall be usit samen as drunkards, -quhidder they be rich or puir.” But a more summary system than that of -assize was also adopted. “Quhasover is apprehendit banning, execrating, -swearing, or blaspheming openly, sall be taen incontinent and put an -hour in the choks.” This instrument of punishment was furnished with a -gag which entered the mouth; and besides the one for public offenders, -the citizens were “ordainit” to keep in readiness their own “choks for -correcting of the banners and swearers in their awn domestic houses.” - -[Illustration: THE JOUGS, AT DUDDINGSTON, NEAR EDINBURGH.] - -It is ordered that keepers of houses of ill-fame, “sall dispatch -themselves off the town, or else amend, and leave sic vicious manner of -leiving; for gif they be apprehendit therewith in time coming, they sall -be openly banishit at the Mercat Croce.” Unchaste conduct met with -severe reprobation. Men and women were “for the first fault to be -admonishit by the preachers to forbear, and to shaw their open -repentance publicly in presence of the haill congregation, and so -forbear in time coming. But gif he and she be again apprehendit in the -same fault, they sall stand three hours in the gyves, and be thrice -doukit in the sea, and gif that punishment serves nocht for amendment, -they sall be banishit for ever.” But the life of a coming child was not -to be endangered in punishing an unchaste woman; it was enacted that, -under such circumstances, “the woman, of what estate so ever she be, -sall be brocht to the Mercat Croce openly, and there her hair sall be -cuttit of, and the same nailit upon the cuck-stool, and she make her -public repentance in the Kirk.” - -Exposing offenders to popular derision was a common mode of punishment -in Scotland. The stocks and the cuck-stool in the market-place, and the -stool-of-repentance in the church, were all used on the supposition that -the evildoer had still shame and a wholesome dread of the finger of -scorn lingering in the heart. The _jougs_—a hinged iron band for the -neck, attached by a chain to the market cross, the gate-post of the -parish church, or the tolbooth, a tree, or other wise—were a common -institution. The offence of the culprit would be placarded in bold -characters and very plain terms on his or her breast, or overhead. - - - ADMINISTRATION OF THE EFFECTS OF PERSONS DYING. DRESS REGULATIONS. - -Still drawing upon Mr. Alex. Maxwell’s researches amongst the municipal -records of Dundee in the middle years of the sixteenth century, we learn -that the Town Council, finding that much confusion arose from the -improvidence of many of the citizens in not making testamentary -dispositions of their effects, it was ordained: “that there sall be twa -honest men—responsal, famous and godlie—chosen by the general consent of -the haill estates of the town, and power given to them to pass—quhidder -they be requyrit or nocht—to visit man or woman in peril of death; and -they sall enquire at the sick gif they will mak ane testament, and gif -they consent, then the visitors sall despatch and put out of the house -all manner of man, and woman, and bairn, except such honest and sober -persons as the sick sall desire to be present as witnesses; and the -devyse and legacy then made by the sick person to be registrat -authentically in the buiks of the visitors, who after the decease of the -person testit as said is, sall see the dead’s will fulfillit.” - -The dress worn by burgesses and others was required by law to be suited -to the degree of the wearer. In the fifteenth century, Parliament -ordained “anent the commons, that nae lauborars nor husbandmen wear on -the week day any clothes but gray and quhite, and on haliday licht blue, -and green or red; and their wifis corresponding, with curches of their -awn making, the stuff nocht to exceed the price of forty pennies the -ell. And that nae men within burgh that live by merchandise, unless they -be in dignity as Bailie, or gude worthy man of the Council, shall wear -claiths of silks, nor costly scarlett gowns, nor furrings; and that they -make their wifis and dochters in like manner to dress becomingly, and -corresponding to their estate; on their heids short curches, with little -hudis, as are usit in England; and as to their gowns, that nae woman -wear costly furs, nor have tails of unsuiting length, but on the -haliday: and that no woman come to the kirk or market with her face -coverit, that she may not be kend.” By another act, in 1567, it was -ordered “that nae women wear dress abone their estait, except——.” The -word we omit is spelled in the original the same as that which -designates the nymphs in the Mahometan paradise. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - Old Aberdeen. - - -The following extracts from the Burgh records are interesting, as -illustrating the history and the manners of the 15th and 16th centuries. - -21st April, 1452.—“The maist parte of the hale communitie of the burgh, -consentit that because of perile, the toune sal be stregnthinit with -walles, and fortifitt in a gudely manner.” - -1st February, 1484.—“It is ordainit that the talyeours, and al other -craftsmen, sal beyr their taykins of their craft upon their brestis, and -their best array on Candilmas Day.” - -4th July, 1497.—Henry VII. was at this time retaliating on Scotland for -the invasion of Northumberland by James IV., and for his assisting the -imposter, Perkin Warbeck, in his claims upon the English throne:—“It is -ordanit that a watch be set nichtly, for the sayfty of the town against -the Inglish, and gif they propose to lande on the northt partis of the -havyne, that all mannere of men, with their carts of weir, with horses, -gunrye, artailzerie, and all other defensebile wapinnis, be redy, and -pass to resist thame, for the saiftie of our Cathedral Kirk, my lord of -Aberdenis Palace, our maisteris the chanonis, and ther familiaris and -habitaciones.” - -30th January, 1510.—“It is ordanit that on Candlemas Day, as is the -yerlie ryt and custom of the burgh, in the honor of God and the Blissit -Virgin Mary, there shall be the processioun of craftsmen, tua and tua -togidr, socialie, als honourabily as they can. And in the Offering of -the Play, the craftsmen sal furnyss the Pageants; the cordinaris the -Messing; wobstaris and walcaris, Symeon; goldsmithis, the thrie Kingis -of Cullane; the litstaris, the Emperor; the masons, the thrie Knichtis; -the tailyours, Our Lady Sanct Brid, and Sanct Elene; and the skynners -the Tua Bischopis; and tua of ilke craft to pass with the pageant that -thai furnyss to keip their gear.” - -4th May, 1511.—Respecting the reception of Margaret, the Queen of James -IV., it is ordered that this be “als honorablie as in ony burgh of -Scotland, except Edinburgh allanarlie.” The poet Dunbar appears to have -been present at the reception, and has left a graphic description of the -pageant. In the welcoming procession, giving “honorabill salutation,” -came first the “sweitt Virgin,” then the three orient Kings, with their -offerings to Christ; and then the “Angill” with flaming sword, driving, -for their disobedience, Adam and Eve out of Paradise:— - - “And syne the Bruce—that evir was bold in stour - Thow gart as Roy cum rydand under croun, - Richt awfull, strang, and large of portratour, - As nobill, dreidfull, michtie campion: - The noble Stuarts syne, of great renoun, - Thow gart upspring, with branches new and greine, - Sae gloriouslie,—quhilk glaided all the toun:— - Be blyth and blissfull, burgh of Aberdein. - - “Syne come thair four and twentie madinis ying, - All claid in greine of marvelous bewtie, - With hair detressit, as threidis of gold did hing, - With quhit hattis all browderit rycht bravelie - Playand on timberallis, and syngand rycht sweitlie; - That seunile sort, in ordour weill besein, - Did meet the Queen,—her saluand reverentlie; - Be blyth and blissful, burgh of Aberdein.” - -26th February, 1512.—“Philip Clerk, bellman,” was brought up for passing -with his bell through the town, and, on his own notion, announcing that -oysters just landed would be sold ten for fourpence, when the boatmen’s -price was ten for sixpence. “It was ordainit the said belman suld syt -dune on his knees, and ask the ownaris of the said oysteris forgiwness: -and his crag [neck] be put in the goyf at their wyte.” - -12th May, 1514.—This was a few months after Flodden, when there was -still “a moanin in ilka green loanin,” for the flowers of the land “a’ -wede away” upon that fatal field. “Ordanit be the prouest, consail, and -communitee of this burgh, that for resisting of our auld inemeis of -Ingland, thar be warnyt nychtly aucht able men, furnyst with wapins, to -waicht and keip the town and the cost syde; and that thai haue redy with -them fyr and stuf to mak blaise, to warne thar marow’s gif thai sal -hopin to se ony salis on the cost, likane to wither.” - -14th August, 1525.—A copy is put in the records of an Act of Parliament -just then passed:—“that forasmekle as the dampnable opinzeons of herecy -are spred in diuerse contreis be the heretik Luther, and his disciples, -it is ordanit that no manner of persone, strengear, nor other that -hapyns to arrife with their schippys within ony port of this realme, -bring with thame ony bukys or verkys of the said Lutheris, his -disciplis, or seruandis, disput or rehers his hereseys or opunzeounes, -but gyfe it be to the confusione thairof, vnder the paine of escheting -of thair schippis and gudis, and putting of thair personnys in presone.” - -6th January, 1561.—The Reformation had now made such progress that the -churches were being stripped of their old vessels and ornaments. “The -said day the town beand lauchtfully warnit to heir and se the silver -wark, brasin wark, keippis and ornaments of thair parroche Kirk ropit -[_i.e._, sold by auction], and the same to be sauld and disponit to -thame that vill offer maist for the same, and the money gottin for the -samyn to be applawdit to the commond weill and necessar advis of this -guid toun. And the grytest soome offerit for the same was ane hundredth, -fourtie tua pound be Patrik Menzeis for the Keippis,—XXIs. for ilk vnce -of silver,—XVIs. for ilk stane of brass, extending in the haill to the -soome of fyw hundredth XIlib. money of Scotland.” And the articles so -sold were delivered to the said Patrik; but not without protest, for, -“the said day Gilbert Menzes and Gilbert Collysone dissentit to the said -roiping, selling, and disposicioun, for thame selffis and their -adherans, lik as thai had discentit and protestit in sic caicis obefoir, -as thai alleigit, and tuk act of court tharwpoun.” - -9th October, 1601.—“The prouest, bailleis, and counsall ordanis the -sowme of threttie tua merkis to be gevin to the Kingis servandis -presentlie in this burght, quha playes comedies and staige playes, be -reasoun thay are recommendit be his majesties speciall letter, and hes -played sum of theair comedies in this burght.” It has been suggested -that Shakespeare was one in this company of London players. - -10th March, 1606.—Although Presbyterianism was now the general religious -faith in Scotland, certain customs connected with the Old Church appear -to have still lingered on. “Intimationne was this day made by the belman -throw the haill toune, at command of the prouest and baillies thereof, -that no inhabitant eat onie flesche during the time of Lent, nather yet -on Wedenisday, Fryday, nor Seterday theirafter, in na time coming; and -that na fleschar nor bucheour within this burght presume to sell onie -flesche during the tyme of Lent; and that na tavernar nor hostillar -within the samen mak onie flesche reddie during the said time of -Lentrone; under the panes contenit in his Majestie’s actis and -proclamationnes maid thiaranent.” - -26th December, 1606.—Forbes Mackenzie had his forerunners in these days, -and their edicts were of even more stringent application. “Ordaneit, -with consent of the haill toune this day convenit, that it sall not be -lesum to onie hostilar, tavernar, or vinter of wyne, aill, or beir, to -sell or vent onie wyne, aill, or beir, fra ten houris at nicht furth, at -the quhilk hour nichtlie the colledge bell sall ring; efter the ringing -quhairof, no persone, man or woman, except sic as have necessarie -errandis to be fand gangard vpon the streitis or caisayes of the burght; -under penaltie efter conviction in ane vnlaw of fyve pundis.” - -28th November, 1606.—The compulsory enforcement of what were held to be -religious obligations was not the outcome of particular forms of faith, -or of special times. The Aberdeen magistrates ordain:—“That the haill -inhabitants shall repair to the preaching in St. Machars Kirk, on Sunday -and Wednesday, under the pains following—viz., the goodman and goodwife -of the house contravening, 6s. 8d.; and ilk servant, 2s., Scots.” - -In the records of the Kirk-Session of Aberdeen, we read:— - -“It is thocht expedient that ane baillie with two of the sessioun pass -thro the toun every Sabbath-day, and nott sic as they find absent from -the sermones; that for that effect they serche sic houses as they think -maist meit; and chiefly that now, during the symmer seasoun, they -attend, or caus ane to attend, at the ferrie boat, and nott the names of -such as gang to Downie; that they may be punishit, conform to the Act, -against brackaris of the Sabbath.” - -The tendency of the following order would be towards good digestion:— - -“It is ordanit that na disputation nir reasonying of the Scriptures be -at dennar or supper or oppin table, quhair throw arises gryte -contentioun and debate; and that na flyting nor chiding be at time of -meit; under the payne of tua s. to the puyr.” - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - Witchcraft in Scotland. - - -Common-sense and everyday experience are at constant war with -superstition. But superstition dies hard; like a noxious weed which has -spread in a fair garden, if plucked up in one place it will appear -unexpectedly in another. The Reformers rejected the alleged daily -miracle of the Romish mass; in spite of the prayers, the genuflections, -and the _Hoc est Corpus_ of the priest, the bread and wine still -remained bread and wine. They rejected other alleged miracles of the -Catholic Church—the healings and other benefits from relics, and -pilgrimages, and holy wells. But an influx of belief in witchcraft set -in on the ebb-tide of the old faith. Men and women—especially women—were -supposed to have entered into league with the spirit of evil; by selling -their souls to him, they had conferred upon them in return certain -supernatural powers,—generally to the injury of their fellows. - -In the latter portion of the sixteenth, and throughout the seventeenth -century, a belief in witchcraft was very general in Scotland; and -prosecutions for the alleged crime very frequent. That royal pedant, -James VI., wrote a treatise against witchcraft. He had himself been the -object of witchly machinations. Witches conspired with Satan to raise a -tempest and wreck the ship in which, in 1590, he was bringing home his -bride, Anne of Denmark. In May, 1591, a Convention sat in Edinburgh, -“anent order to be tane with sorcerers and certain practisers against -his Majesty’s person.” An assize was then sitting upon witches, in the -business of which the King took an active part. Under torture the -wretched creatures made extraordinary confessions,—one was of a meeting -which they had with the Devil in North Berwick Church, when, after -casting sundry spells upon the King and Queen, they concluded their -revels with a dance, the music for which was played by one of the women -on a jew’s-harp,—and this she repeated at the trial, upon his Majesty’s -request, for his particular delectation! - -As to the punishment on conviction,—about this there could be no -dispute. Had not Moses, more than two thousand years previously, written -in his law:—“Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live?” No use saying that -this law had only reference to circumstances in old Hebrew history, or -that the newer teaching was the more enlightened, the more humane, the -more generally applicable gospel of Christ. What were now called witches -had to die. - -Most of those who were thus put to death as witches were poor old -women,—often soured and peevish in temper, ready to resent any slight, -and to croak out evil wishes and forebodings. And when evils did occur, -when sickness came into a house, or blight into its orchard, or the -cows’ yield of milk was scanty, or the butter would not form in the -churn, then the cause was assigned to the spells and cantrips of the -“ill-wisher.” Often, to raise their own importance, and make themselves -feared, these women would pretend to the possession of occult powers,—to -the knowledge of potions and charms,—both for the infliction and the -recovery of disease; as also of philters to induce love. And they would -themselves come to believe in their possession of such powers. And hence -on trial, under torture, or after sentence, they would make confession -of witchcraft, with strange disordered narratives of Satanic leagues and -unholy revellings. A woman was called a white witch whose specialty was -the cure of disease, or the recovery of lost or stolen property; but -none the less was she liable—like Rebecca in “Ivanhoe”—to be tried as a -sorceress, and suffer the penalty thereof. - -It was not alone the old or the poor who were accused of witchcraft. At -times young women, and even young men,—and persons in a good social -position were so accused. And as an outcome of the crusade against -witchcraft, there arose a tribe of “witch-finders.” Pretenders to a -knowledge of indicative marks and moles and other signs, were permitted -to torture the suspects—to extort confession—being then paid their -professional fees. - -A witch was supposed to have as an accomplice, a familiar spirit,—often -in the shape of a black cat,—an incarnation of the Evil one, or of one -of his imps. Sometimes the master-fiend held provincial Walpurgis -nights, when he assembled all his subjects in a neighbourhood to a high- -jinks festival—a scene of wild riot, of blasphemy, and of conspiracy to -do evil. - -It is to one of these orgies in Auld Alloway Kirk that Burns introduces -his bemuddled hero, Tam o’ Shanter. But this poetical phantasy hardly -surpasses in absurdity the plain prose of the following indictment -against Thomas Leyis, of Aberdeen:— - -“Imprimis, upon Hallowein last by past (1596) at twelff houris of even -or thairby, thou the said Thomas Leyis, accompaneit with Janett -Wischert, Isobel Coker, Isobell Monteithe, and Kathren Mitchell, -sorceroris and witches, with ane gryt number of ither witches, cam to -the mercat and fish cross of Aberdene, under the conduct and gyding of -the dewill—present with you all in company, playing before you on his -kynd of instruments. Ye all dansit about baythe the said crosse and the -meill mercate ane lang space of tym; in the quhilk dewill’s dans, thou, -the said Thomas, was foremost and led the ring, and dang [struck] the -said Kathren Mitchell, because she spoilt your dans, and ran nocht so -fast about as the rest. Testifeit be the said Kathren Mitchell, wha was -present at the time aforesaid, dansin with the dewill.” - -The items of expenses in the burning of Thomas Leyis, Janet Wischert, -and Isobel Coker, viz.: for peats, tar barrels, coals, and tow,—and to -Jon Justice for their execution, as they are to-day found in the Town’s -Accounts, are a fearful indictment against the enlightenment and -humanity of three hundred years ago. But perhaps the last item in the -costs of that veritable devil’s festival is the most gruesome and -repulsive:— - -“For trailing Isobell Monteithe through the streets of the town in ane -cart, quha hangit herself in prison, and burying of her, 10s.” - -In that year, 1597, twenty-three women and one man were burned in the -university city of Aberdeen for witchcraft. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - Holy Wells in Scotland. - - -A spring of water issuing from the hillside, or from clefts in the -rocks—leaping and sparkling, as if in joyance at having from the dark -womb of the earth come into the light and freedom of open day—has often -been the parent of mystery, of myth, and tradition. The knowledge, -common in older times, did not enable the people to see that the spring -was merely the outflow by natural gravitation of the rainfall on the -more or less distant uplands. The licking up of portions of all the -strata through which the water had percolated, and which portions, -unseen by the eye, but present in the taste, it now held in solution, -was thought to be a natural quality of the particular water. And as -ordinary medicines are always associated with unpleasantness of taste, -so in waters impregnated with mineral ingredients, the harsher the -taste, the greater medicinal properties were attached to them. And the -higher temperature of many mineral springs was also considered to be an -innate property of the mystical, almost miraculous, particular waters. -We now know that this is caused by the waters, in following rifts and -fissures in the strata, in their passage to their outlet, having had to -descend to lower depths, and being thus warmed by the internal heat of -the globe: acquiring one additional degree of temperature for about -every seventy feet of descent. - -As the old Greeks had in their pantheon of the powers of Nature, Naiads— -nymphs of the fountain—so in our older folk-lore the streams had their -Kelpies or other guardian spirits. When the Christian Church became -paramount, the Catholic Canon of saints and angels took the places of -the Teutonic and Scandinavian sprites: each spring was dedicated to, or -became the property of, a particular saint; and it was he or she who -gave the waters their special qualities. - -At some of these holy springs or wells it was customary for ailing -persons to go, for the cure of their diseases, on the first Sunday in -May; they washed in the streams, and left presents to the tutelar -saints; pieces of money were put in the waters, or poor people would -place needles and pins, or other small articles, therein. On a hill near -Stirling was the well of St. Corbet, to which pilgrimages were thus -made. To drink its waters was a safe and easy insurance of life -throughout the twelve months ensuing. Up to a hundred years ago crowds -of persons—including a large proportion of lads and lasses—came to the -blessed well, drinking copious draughts of its waters, but too often -mixing these with the strong waters of Kilbagie, of Glenlivat, or other -such brand. The wise saint evidently did not approve of this -adulteration, for with the practice his well lost its life-preserving -reputation. - -The waters of the well of St. Fillan, in Strathfillan were supposed to -be curative of insanity. The patient was roughly thrown into the pool; -he was then taken to the adjoining chapel, and left bound therein during -the night; if likely to recover he would be found loose in the morning. -Mothers brought their weak and ailing children, bathed them in the well, -and as a propitiatory fee to the saint, hung a bit of ribbon, or a scrap -of coloured cloth, on the witch-elm which shaded his spring. - -At Musselburgh was a well celebrated for its healing virtues, and its -powers of insuring good luck. Expectant mothers sent their child-bed -linen to be sprinkled by the water, and consecrated by the priest of the -adjoining chapel, which was dedicated to our Lady of Loretto. Four -hundred years ago it was esteemed the most miraculously gifted shrine in -Scotland. King James V. is said to have made a pilgrimage to it from -Stirling before he went to France to woo his future queen. If the -pilgrimage helped to bring Mary of Guise to Scotland—Scotland had little -cause for gratitude therefore! - -A well at Muthill, near Crieff, was thought to be a cure for whooping- -cough; the waters had to be drank before sunrise, or after sunset, -through a cow’s horn. Another well near by had a reputation as curative -of madness. A third well was dedicated to St. Patrick; how it came to be -so is not easily understood; for the British Priest who became the -apostle and tutelary saint of Ireland, had no connection with the -district; and yet his day in the calendar was formerly observed there as -a holiday. - -In Strathnaven is a small loch of supposed healing waters. There was a -rigid rule as to the mode of bathing. Persons must walk backwards into -the loch; when at sufficient depth they are to immerse themselves—leave -a coin—then, without looking round, walk ashore, and so away. - -The well of Spa, near Aberdeen, had a high reputation for its medicinal -virtues. Its waters were conveyed from the spring by a long white stone, -with the images of six apostles carved upon either side thereof. In -1615, Dr. Wm. Barclay, an eminent physician, published a book on the -virtues of this well: giving some extraordinary instances of cures from -what seemed mortal ailments, by drinking its waters. - -The Reformation brought loss of prestige to the old Romish Saints, and -the Scottish Kirk is found testifying against pilgrimages to reputed -holy wells. The following is an extract from the Presbytery Book of -Strathbogie:—“September 14, 1636. Peter Wat summond to this day for -going in pilgrimage to the chapell beyond the water of Spey, compeared -and confessed his fault. Ordained to make his repentance, and to paye -four markes penaltye. Agnes Jack summoned to this daye for going in -pilgrimage to the same chapell, compeared, and confessed that she went -to the same chapell with ane deseased woman, but gave her great oath -that she used no kynd of superstituous worship. She is ordained to make -her publike repentance, and to abstaine from the lyke in time coming.” - -“Margrat Davidson was adjudget to an unlaw of fyve pounds, for directing -her nurs with her bairne to St. Fithak’s well, and washin the bairne -thairin for the recovery of her health, and for leaving an offering in -the well.” - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - Scottish Marriage Customs. - - -January and May were considered unlucky months to marry in. In some -localities there was a proverb—“A bride in May, is thriftless aye.” The -day of the week on which the 14th of May fell, was held to be an unlucky -wedding day throughout the remainder of the year. Highland marriages -took place as a rule in the churches; in the Lowlands the ceremony was -generally performed at the residence of the bride’s father; but often in -later years at the minister’s manse. When two marriages were to take -place at a church upon the same day, arrangements had to be made that -one party should not meet the other going to or returning from church. -During a marriage ceremony, great care had to be taken that no dogs -passed between bride and bridegroom; and the bridegroom’s left shoe had -been untied or unbuckled by his best man, to prevent witches casting -uncanny spells over the young couple. - -The wedding feast was held in the evening, generally at the house of the -bride’s father. After supper, dancing began, the bridal pair being in -the first reel; from their supposed bashfulness, it was called the -_shemit_,—that is, shame-faced reel. Dancing and mirth were kept up -until the small hours; but before then the young couple—usually escorted -by some of the young folks—had slipped away to their own domicile; the -best man and bridesmaid having preceded them, the latter with a cake of -short-bread, ready to break over the bride’s head on her entering the -doorway. The bride was not expected to be seen out about until the -couple were “kirkit” on the following Sunday. A newly-made mother’s -first public appearance was also in church going. - -“Penny-weddings,” were large gatherings of self-invited guests, each of -whom was expected to contribute towards the cost of the festivities; any -balance which might be over, to go to help in the new house-keeping. - -Prior to the Reformation, a loose practice in the relationship of the -sexes, called _hand-fasting_, existed in Scotland. At the statutory -fairs, young men and women made mutual selection as partners for a year; -at the end of the year, they were free to marry, to live singly, or to -enter into other partnerships! It was the duty of the itinerant friars -to persuade the handfasts to marry, and by the end of the sixteenth -century the Reformers had effectually rooted out the custom. At the -Dundee Burgh Court on May 21st 1560, “Compearit John Ray, and oblist him -to marry his wife on Sunday next. At the same time James Rollock has -become surety that Robert Man sall complete the band of matrimony with -Jonet Myln, or else incur the danger conteinit in the acts.” - -Ceasing to be considered a sacrament, marriage in Scotland came to be -looked upon as little other than a civil contract, hardly requiring -clerical agency, or religious formalities. A man and woman going before -a bailie or sheriff, and declaring themselves husband and wife, -constituted a legal although an irregular marriage. And the celebrant—if -so he could be called, who was really only a witness to the parties -having _married themselves_—need not even be a civil official. Gretna -Green had no special privilege in lay-marrying over any other portion of -Scotland. - -It appears from Burgh records that in the sixteenth century, a women -holding property under a trusteeship, was not at any age free in her -choice of a husband. Marrying without the consent of her procurators -entailed the forfeiture of her property. A mother would retain her -daughter’s tocher unless she married with the mother’s approval. - -And apprentices were not allowed to marry without the official -permission of their craft. We find from the Dundee Burgh records, that -in 1534, David Ogilvy, an apprentice baker, did so marry, and he was -expelled from his craft, and “tynt his freedom.” But David took the -decree fighting! He appealed to the King, James the Fifth, for -reinstatement, and the King gave an order, confirmed by the Lords of -Council, charging the Provost and Bailies of Dundee to re-admit him to -his freedom, and “cause the baxters receive him to their fellowship, -notwithstanding that he be marryit within his prenticeship,” and -decerning that he will suffer sufficient punishment if his term of -apprenticeship be prolonged for the space of one month. - -A bride was expected—even in such circumstances of life as made her a -“tocherless lass”—to have ready against her marriage many articles of -domestic economy. In his song “Woo’d and Married and a’,”—written a -century and a half ago—Alexander Ross gives a graphic description of a -family conference over the ways and means of an “ill-provided” bride:— - - “The bride cam’ out o’ the byre, - And O as she dichted her cheeks! - Sirs, I’m to be married the night, - An’ have neither blankets nor sheets; - Have neither blankets nor sheets, - Nor scarce a coverlet too; - The bride that has a’ thing to borrow, - Has e’en richt mickle ado. - - Woo’d and married and a’, - Kissed and carried awa’! - And was nae she very well off - That was woo’d and married and a’? - - Out spake the bride’s father - As he cam’ in frae the pleugh; - O haud your tongue, my dochter, - And ye’se get gear eneugh; - The stirk that stands i’ th’ tether, - And our braw bawsint yade, - Will carry ye hame your corn— - What would ye be at, ye jade? - - Out spake the bride’s mither, - What deil needs a’ this pride? - I had nae a plack in my pouch - That night I was a bride; - - My gown was linsey woolsey, - And ne’er a sark ava; - And ye hae ribbons and buskins - Mae than ane or twa. - - Out spake the bride’s brither, - As he cam’ in wi’ the kye; - Poor Willie wad ne’er hae ta’en ye - Had he kent ye as weel as I; - For ye’r baith proud and saucy, - And no for a poor man’s wife; - Gin I canna get a better - I’se ne’er tak ane i’ my life. - - Out spake the bride’s sister, - As she came in frae the byre; - O gin I were but married, - It’s a’ that I desire; - But we poor fouk maun live single, - And do the best we can: - I dinna care what I should want; - If I could get a man. - - Woo’d and married and a’,” etc. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - Scotland under Charles the First. - - -James died in March, 1625, and a few days thereafter his son Charles was -proclaimed at the Edinburgh Cross, King of Scotland; but it was eight -years later before he visited the land of his fathers, and was crowned -as its King in Holyrood. The then finest poet in Scotland was William -Drummond of Hawthornden, and to him was confided the address of welcome -to Charles. The address was not in verse, but only in prose—run mad! “If -nature,” it began, “could suffer rocks to move and abandon their natural -places, this town—founded on the strength of rocks—had, with her castle, -temples, and houses, moved towards you, and besought you to acknowledge -her yours; her indwellers, your most humble and affectionate subjects; -and to believe how many souls are within her circuits, so many lives are -devoted to your sacred person and crown;” and so on. When the subjects’ -flattery was so obsequious, we can hardly wonder at the amount of royal -arrogance and assumption. - -The people were a good deal disturbed about the ceremonial of Charles’s -coronation; an altar was introduced, and some of the rites seemed to -savour of popery. He had Laud and some other English bishops in his -retinue, and the King soon gave evidence of his intention to carry out -the later attempts of his father, to introduce prelacy, with its -subordination to the crown, into Scotland. Now the old bishoprics of the -Catholic Church had never been formally abolished, but the titles had -been held by laymen of mean rank,—whilst the bulk of the emoluments had -gone to certain of the nobles. The nominal bishops were nicknamed -_Tulchans_; a tulchan being a calf-skin stuffed with straw, which was -set up alongside of the mother-cow, to induce her to yield her milk more -freely. The bishop had the title, but my lord had the milk. There was -thus a framework of episcopacy in Scotland, and James had in the last -year of his reign, ordered its re-establishment in full authority; -archbishops and bishops to have under himself the headship of the -Scottish Church. - -Charles now confirmed the division of Scotland into dioceses, that of -Edinburgh to include all the country south of the Forth; St. Giles to be -the Cathedral church,—a wall which had been built to partition off the -church into two separate places of worship, to be removed. Four years -later, in 1637, the Kings projects had so far advanced, that a liturgy, -moulded on that of the English church—but where it differed, with a -stronger flavour of Rome—was ordered to be used in St. Giles’s. On the -first Sunday of the innovation, the church was crowded; two archbishops, -several bishops, lords of the privy council, the judges and city -magistrates, being in the congregation. When the dean, in his surplice, -began the service, an old woman—Jenny Geddes,—started up and exclaimed,— -“You false loon, will you rout your black mass in my lugg?” and threw -her stool at the dean’s head. This was a signal for a general uproar, in -the midst of which the dean had his surplice torn off by excited women. -Stones and other missiles were thrown at the bishops: the magistrates -called in the Town Guard to drive the malcontents out of the church; but -these by breaking the windows, battering at the doors, and wild clamour, -drowned the dean’s voice, as he again ventured on his ungracious task. -In the Greyfriars’ church the new liturgy was stopped by popular -clamour. - -With the obstinancy of his race, Charles persisted in his designs. He -issued proclamations denouncing as rebellion all obstruction to his -remodelled church, and transferred the seat of government and the courts -of law to Linlithgow. These proclamations were replied to by strong -protests from nearly every Corporation in the Kingdom, and the _Solemn -League and Covenant_, which had in the previous reign been instituted -against popery, was enthusiastically renewed, and subscribed by men and -women in all grades of society. - -[Illustration: - - JENNY GEDDES’ STOOL. - (_From the Scottish Antiquarian Museum._) -] - -Charles sent down the Marquis of Hamilton as his High Commissioner, -empowered to treat with the Covenanters. Hamilton took with him to -Edinburgh a retinue of nobility and gentry, who were supposed to be -friendly to the royal cause. He was met by a great concourse of people, -amongst whom were six thousand ministers in their black Geneva gowns. He -opened his commission, but the presbyterian leaders would hear of no -terms being made, as they said, with Antichrist. So Hamilton went back -to London, and reported his non-success to his master. Again he came to -Edinburgh, this time with some concessions, the king offering to -subscribe to the original form of the Covenant, which contained no -mention of prelacy. - -Under the Kings sanction, a General Assembly met in Glasgow, in November -1638. The royal commissioner protested against certain proceedings, and -he formally dissolved and retired from the Assembly: but under its -moderator it continued its sittings, condemning the king’s liturgy and -the imposition of an episcopacy. The reply of Charles was the pouring of -two armies into Scotland, one being under his own command. The -Covenanters, with whose cause Parliament had identified itself, were not -slack in taking up the challenge. They appointed General Leslie, a -veteran from the wars of Gustavus Adolphus, to the command of a hastily -raised army. He seized on all the fortified places; and he fortified -Leith, to defend Edinburgh from the king’s fleet. In view of these -warlike preparations, Charles temporized, and a vague kind of treaty was -negotiated. Another General Assembly met next year in Edinburgh; and -here the Royal Commissioner gave formal sanction to the decisions of the -Glasgow Assembly. This sanction was received with an outburst of -enthusiastic gratitude; and loyalty—never far from a Scotchman’s heart— -was again in the ascendant. But it was a delusion and a snare. The king -repudiated the concessions of his own commissioner, prorogued the -Parliament which met to sanction the proceedings of the assembly, and -prepared for a fresh invasion of Scotland. The Scots anticipated his -purpose by sending their army into England—where many were friendly to -their cause. There was a battle at Newburn, on the Tyne, in which the -royal troops were defeated. The Scots occupied Newcastle—and -negotiations were again opened for peace. - -And Charles had by this time embroiled himself with his English -subjects. He had tried to raise money by other means than through -Parliament. A Parliament sitting in 1628, had refused him supplies for -carrying on a war with Spain; it had also challenged his assumed right -to imprison his subjects on his own warrant; and they presented to him -what was called a _Petition of Right_, claiming exemption from arbitrary -taxation and imprisonment. Charles found it expedient for the moment to -sanction this Bill; but soon thereafter he dissolved Parliament, and -obstinately refused to call another. For eleven years, under the -influence and with the aid of Archbishop Laud, and Wentworth, Earl of -Stratford, he played at the dangerous game of _Thorough_. He governed as -an irresponsible autocrat, arbitrarily levying taxes, and imprisoning -obnoxious opponents, in defiance of the Petition of Right. The -_Puritans_, or church reformers, suffered severely. Many were dragged -before a court, unknown to the constitution or common law, called the -Star Chamber, which professed to take cognisance of offences against -religion and the royal prerogative. Men of piety, of learning and worth, -were imprisoned, were scourged through the streets, had their noses -slit, or their ears cropped, for expressing differences of opinion on -even minor matters in the policy of the church or the state. - -Who were the Puritans? For answer we must go back to the English reign -of James. There had been considerable intercourse between the Reformers -of the two kingdoms, and the more democratic and anti-Romish -constitution of the Scottish Church, had had many sympathisers in -England. From these a party was formed, which came to be called -Puritans; they were not dissenters,—none such being then recognised in -the country; but were chiefly English clergymen. A petition, signed by -nearly a thousand clergymen, was presented to the King, praying for a -revision of the Book of Common Prayer,—the disuse of the surplice in -reading, of the sign of the cross in baptism, and of bowing at the name -of Jesus; also for a reform in the distribution of patronage, and the -abolition of pluralities. James, in full court, and with a number of -church dignitaries present, received the four professors of divinity in -the universities, who represented the petitioners. The King prided -himself on his polemical powers; he argued dogmatically, browbeat the -professors—asserting his superior knowledge of divinity, and declared -that uniformity should be enforced under severe pains and penalties. And -the lay and ecclesiastical dignitaries present vied with each other in -fulsome adulation. One bishop went on his knees, and thanked God for -having given them a king with such divine inspiration as the world had -not witnessed since Christ! The discomfited Puritans withdrew amidst the -jeers and laughter of the servile court. - -But through the later years of James’s reign, and throughout the whole -of his son’s reign, puritanism grew, and threatened to either modify or -to disintegrate the English Church. A calvinistic divine, George Abbot, -was even appointed Archbishop of Canterbury;[3] and many holding church -livings were virtually nonconformists. A system of doctrines, which -denied the divine right of kings to govern as above the law, was hateful -to Charles Stuart. And the Queen, Henrietta Maria of France, was a rigid -Catholic; she detested the Puritans, and had inherited from her father -high notions of absolute rule; and all through Charles’s life she goaded -him on in the dangerous path which issued in his destruction. And Laud, -almost a Catholic in opinion, and as intolerant as any Spanish -inquisitor, directed the affairs of the Church; whilst Strafford was -scheming for royal despotism, and to undermine the privileges of -Parliament. Clergymen preaching absolute obedience were sure of -preferment; the more zealous advocates of _Thorough_ were made bishops. - -Footnote 3: - - Refusing to licence the publication of some especially slavish - sermons, on the royal prerogatives, Abbot was suspended from office, - and confined to his country-house. - -An old levy on the maritime towns and counties, to equip vessels for the -protection of the coasts in time of war, was, in time of peace, and on -the Kings sole authority, extended under the name of ship-money to -inland counties, and applied—not to the equipment of a fleet, but to the -support of a standing army; and, before this army, all constitutional -privileges were to be swept away. In 1637, a Buckinghamshire gentleman, -John Hampden, refused to pay the guinea-and-a-half levied on his estate; -but the Court of Exchequer upheld the tax. - -And, hunted and persecuted, dragged before Laud’s High Commission on the -most paltry charges, and by it subjected to fines, to personal injuries -and imprisonment, many Puritans emigrated; some went to Holland, but the -greater number to America: and these became a considerable factor in -shaping the social, political, and religious history of the Greater -Britain beyond the Atlantic. Three men who came to be of special note in -our home history—John Hampden, John Pym, and Oliver Cromwell, were on -board, bound for New England, when a government order came to stop the -sailing of the vessel. - -When the Scots were threatening Northumberland, the King was at his -wit’s end to raise money to pay his troops, and, as a last resource, he -summoned a parliament. The objects were declared in the opening speech -to be, to put down the Scots by the sword, and to raise money to pay the -costs which had already been incurred in the war. To rouse their -patriotism, the King read an intercepted letter from the Lords of the -Covenant to the French King, asking for assistance, in the name of the -old alliance between the two countries. But the appeal fell flat, the -English Commons looked upon the Scottish insurgents more as allies than -as enemies, and with kindred grievances to be redressed. So they would -grant the King no money until they had settled other matters with him; -and after eighteen days spent in wrangling, he called them to the bar of -the House of Lords, and haughtily dismissed them. - -[Illustration: COVENANTERS’ FLAG.] - -Meanwhile, the Scots holding Newcastle, commanded the coal supply of -London; and they took possession of Durham, Darlington, and -Northallerton. Every town in which the Blue Bonnets appeared, received -them kindly, and they kept strict discipline, occupying a good deal of -their time in psalm singing and hearing sermons. They professed loyalty -to the king, declaring that they had come only as humble petitioners to -be allowed to retain their Presbyterian Kirk. Against such meek and -harmless invaders, Charles could not raise an effective war-cry; he -found that his troops were lukewarm in his cause; he was strongly urged -to come to terms with them, and he appointed commissioners to arrange a -treaty. The Scots were meantime, from a loan raised by the citizens of -London, to have £40,000 a month for their maintenance. - -And for the second time in this year (1640) Charles was obliged to call -a Parliament. It met in November, and—existing for nineteen years—is -known in history as the Long Parliament. Its first session was marked by -the imprisonment of Laud, and the impeachment of Strafford for treason -against the liberties of the people. Strafford defended himself with -great ability, and Pym, who conducted the impeachment, fearing his prey -would escape him, got the Commons to pass a Bill of Attainder—a measure -for the destruction of those for whose real or imputed offences the law -had provided no penalties. Under clamour and tumult the Bill was also -passed by the peers, and waited only confirmation by the king. Charles -hesitated—what conscience he had was pricked at the thought of -sacrificing one whose chief fault had been over-zealous loyalty to -himself, and helping him in his designs. But a letter from Strafford, -asking the king to leave him to his fate, was enough for Charles; he -signed the warrant, and Strafford was, in May 1641, beheaded on Tower -Hill. Laud was for four years detained in prison, and was then executed. - - - THE CIVIL WAR. - -In the early part of 1642, matters between the king and Parliament had -become so strained, that both sides began to make preparations for war. -On January 4th, Charles had in person obtruded into the House of -Commons, and made an abortive attempt to arrest six members, who were -especially obnoxious to him. This overt act of the kings roused the cry -of “privilege,” and in Parliamentary circles excited general alarm and -resentment. Upon a demand made by Parliament for the command of the -army, the king broke off all amicable intercourse, and leaving the -capital, raised his standard at Nottingham, having under him an army of -ten thousand men. - -The Parliament raised a larger, but a less disciplined and less ably -officered, army. On October 23rd, at Edgehill, in Warwickshire, for the -first time since the overthrow, by Henry of Lancaster, of Richard the -Third at Bosworth, in 1485, a battle was fought between Englishmen. The -advantage was with the King; and so, generally, was the campaign of the -following year, 1643. He defeated a Parliamentary army at Newbury in -Berkshire, and his dashing nephew, Prince Rupert, took Bristol by -assault; but he failed to take Gloucester, and lost a second battle at -Newbury. Meantime, Cromwell was beginning to take a foremost place as a -military disciplinarian and strategist—holding the rank of general of -cavalry; his will and purpose came to dominate the entire Parliamentary -army. - -Charles came to Scotland to try to win over the Covenanters to help him -against his Parliament. He would almost go the length of renouncing -episcopacy, and he ratified the deeds of the Glasgow Assembly. But the -Scots were on good terms with the English Parliament, and were even -sanguine of extending the presbyterian covenant into England, where an -anti-prelatical spirit was, under the now assertive puritanism, rapidly -rising. - -On the 1st of July, 1643, an assembly of divines from both countries, -convoked by Parliament, met in Westminster Abbey. It was composed of men -of learning, of zealous piety and strong purpose; but they were also men -of their own time, sharing in its prejudices, its intolerance, and its -admixture of dogmatic theology with the politics and the partizanship of -the day. The grand truths, that God alone is Lord of the conscience, and -that it is as vain to try to fix and arrest opinions as it is to fix the -direction of the winds, or to arrest the tides, had not then come to be -rooted in the minds of men. For four years the Assembly sat, arguing and -discussing all the points in orthodox theology, and the various forms of -church government. The fruits of the “great consult,” are in the form of -documents which are still the recognised standards of presbyterian faith -and worship throughout the world. In August, 1647, the Scottish -commissioners reported the results to the Edinburgh General Assembly, -and these results were received as the basis of uniformity in faith, to -be established throughout the three kingdoms. - -In England, the principle of Presbyterian church government was endorsed -by Parliament, and a General Assembly and provincial synods were -nominally appointed. But, on the one hand, the Anglican Church had many -influential supporters; it had now been established for over a century, -and had struck its roots deeply in the land; its supporters were by -their opponents called _Erastians_, from a German doctor Erastus, who -had advocated the subjection of the church to the state. On the other -hand were the Independents, who stood out against enforced uniformity, -and against any established creed or ritual. To allow of unrestrained -latitudinarianism in religious opinions, seemed to the rigid -presbyterians disloyalty to the faith,—servility to antichrist. Loudly -and rancorously did this controversy rage; the more that the principle -of uniformity was pressed, the more did independency branch out into -protests against this principle, in new sects—each one more self- -assertive than its neighbours. The political destinies of England were -now under the arbitrament of the sword, and religious dominancy would be -with supremacy in arms. - -In Scotland in 1644-5, blazed like a terrific meteor, the course of -James Graham, Marquis of Montrose. He had been a Covenanter—vehement, as -his nature ever was—but through jealousy of Argyle and other nobles, he -took the King’s side. He raised an army of Irishmen and Highlanders, and -at Perth, Aberdeen, and Inverlochy in Argyleshire, he defeated troops -superior in numbers and discipline, by the fierceness of his onsets, and -rapid strokes of strategy. Pursued by superior forces, he doubled like a -hare, meeting and defeating his enemies in detachments, in Nairnshire, -at Aldearn in Aberdeenshire, and at Kilsyth near Glasgow, thus achieving -six successive victories. At Philiphaugh, near Stirling, he was -surprised and defeated by General Leslie. He fled from Scotland, but -returning in 1650, he was made prisoner, taken to Edinburgh and hanged. -He was able and energetic,—with the genius of a Napoleon for war,— -idolised by his men, but cruel and vindictive to his enemies. - -Before Philiphaugh, Charles had been defeated at Naseby, and his cause -on the field was irretrievably lost. After holding Oxford for a time, he -placed himself under the protection of the Scottish Army, which—in the -pay of the English Parliament—was at Newark. He was received with -respect—and attempts were again made to induce him to subscribe to the -Covenant. What the Scots chiefly cared for was the security of their -national church; but Charles was wedded to episcopacy, as that form of -church government which best accorded with his notions of royal -authority; so he diverged from the presbyterians on a point which they -considered of vital importance. The English parliament demanded the -surrender of Charles, promising his safety and respectful treatment,— -expressing indignation at any suspicion of evil designs against him. - -And we now come to an event which Scottish historians must ever approach -with hesitation and misgivings. The Scots gave up the King, it is said -by his own desire; and this just as, after long delays, they were being -paid £400,000, the arrears then due of their maintenance money. This has -generally been looked upon as an actual sale of the King to his enemies; -certainly it was a suspicious circumstance, the simultaneous occurrence -of the two transactions. But the one was not made an express condition -for the other; the money was due under agreement; and the Scots were -tired of the King’s presence amongst them; he was rather an unmanageable -guest—obstinate, unreliable, and bringing them into conflict with the -English parliament, and its formidable and now masterful army. - -The King was placed in Holdenby Castle, and parliament, in carrying out -their promises to the Scots, opened negotiations for restoring his -authority, under certain restrictions; and having sent the Scottish army -home, they tried to disband the English army. But that army was now -master of the situation—it had Cromwell at its head, and retorted upon -the parliament with a demand for the dismissal of the presbyterian -leaders—and claimed for itself the right of remodelling the government. -Powerless for resistance, the House of Commons had to yield, and the -government of England became a military despotism. A Captain Joyce, with -a troop of horse, acting under secret orders from Cromwell, seized the -King’s person, and took him to Hampton Court. From there, on 11th -November, 1647, he made his escape; he reached the Isle of Wight, in -hopes of being able to cross the Channel; but was obliged to take refuge -in Carisbrook Castle; he was not kept a close prisoner, but was allowed -to ride and walk about the island. - -At the neighbouring town of Newport, the Royalists negotiated a treaty -with the Scots, engaging for the King to confirm presbyterianism in -Scotland; the Scots to send an army into England to co-operate with the -Royalists. In the summer of 1648, a Scottish army under Hamilton entered -England, but were defeated by Cromwell at Preston. A strong party in -Scotland had repudiated the Newport treaty; the meeting of the Estates -had removed from office all who had accepted its engagements. At this -time the King and the English Parliament, both confronted by the army, -were approaching each other, and Parliament was about to vote that the -King’s concessions were satisfactory. But Cromwell sent Colonel Pride -with his troopers to surround the House of Commons, and prevent the -entrance of the Presbyterian members. Some two hundred were thus -excluded, and the independent members voted thanks to Cromwell, and gave -his after-proceedings the colour of legality. Within eight weeks -thereafter, the headsman’s axe put an end to Charles’s troubles. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - Scotland under Cromwell. - - -A Scottish deputation visited the younger Charles at the Hague. After a -good deal of finessing it was agreed that Charles would be accepted as -King of Scotland, conditionally,—on the side of the deputation, that he -subscribed the Covenant; and on his side, that the Scots should furnish -an army to help him in the assertion of his English rights. He signed -the Covenant before landing at the mouth of the Spey, in June, 1650. -Cromwell again proved himself the man of the hour. He had just stamped -out with an iron heel a rebellion in Ireland; and, within a month from -the landing of Charles, he and his Irish army had crossed the Tweed, and -were marching on Edinburgh. - -He had as his opponent the cautious old veteran, General Leslie. Leslie -caused the country in the line of Cromwell’s march to be laid waste. The -Ironsides had to contend with an enemy against which their indomitable -charges in the field were of no avail,—famine. Leslie’s tactics were to -avoid a battle; but he hovered menacingly round Cromwell, maintaining -the more favourable positions. The Lord-General saw no way out of his -difficulty, but either surrender or a fool-hardy attack on the strong, -well-posted Scottish army. Hemmed in on the shore near Dunbar, but in -communication with his ships, he was arranging to send off his camp -baggage by sea, and then, by a sudden attack with his horse, to cut his -way through the Scottish army, when the mis-timed zeal of the -Presbyterian preachers solved the difficulty for him. “Go down and smite -your enemies,” these preachers shouted, and Leslie’s safer generalship -was borne down by the clamour. On a stormy morning—the 3rd of September, -1650—the Scots descended to the open plains. Cromwell at the sight -exclaimed, “The Lord hath delivered them into our hands.” The wet and -weary Scots, not allowed time to form in proper order of battle, were -totally routed; thousands falling in the battle and the flight. - -When the news of the defeat reached Edinburgh, the magistrates fled to -the headquarters of the Scottish army at Stirling. Four days after the -battle, Cromwell took possession of the city, but it was not till the -end of December that the castle surrendered. Other fortresses, Glasgow, -and all Scotland south of the Forth, submitted to Cromwell. But the -Scottish army was so strongly posted at Stirling that he did not attempt -to dislodge it. In the western shires, a party calling themselves -Remonstrators, opposed to Charles, and also to Cromwell and his army of -Independents, raised an army of about four thousand men, and attacked a -body of English troops at Hamilton. They were at first successful, but -through their very success they got into disorder, and were ultimately -defeated. - -The Scottish Parliament, having retired beyond the Forth, now ordered -that Charles should be crowned at Scone. He was residing in Perth, and -had been so preached at, prayed for, and pelted with good advice, that -his patience became exhausted, and one day he made a bolt for the -highlands. He reached Clova, a village amongst the Grampians, expecting -to find there a large concourse of Royalists, pure and simple. But very -few such met him, and he returned to Perth with a small party which had -been sent after him. - -On 1st January, 1651, the coronation took place. A sermon was preached, -in which the insincerity of the Stuart family was a leading topic. Then -Charles swore to the Covenants, and to the maintenance of the -Presbyterian Kirk, and he was duly crowned and annointed King of -Scotland. Thereafter, not being lacking in personal courage, he took a -more prominent place in the field. He was sadly in want of money. The -Edinburgh mint was in the hands of the English; a mint was established -in Dundee—then well fortified—but there was a scanty supply for coinage -of the precious metals. - -The records of the Dundee Town Council give a letter from the king dated -from Dunfermline, May 12th, 1651, asking the town to advance by way of a -royal loan, one thousand pounds sterling; but the King’s personal -security was then of doubtful value, and the Estates having passed an -Act ordering all the lieges to contribute voluntarily for the -necessities of the army, the cautious Dundonians at once entered into -such a contribution. - -Meanwhile, the northern passes being strictly guarded, Cromwell sent -gunboats up the Forth. These were beaten off at Burntisland; but at -Queensferry they effected a landing of Commonwealth troops, and Cromwell -made his way through Fife, and took Perth. He thus gained a commanding -position in the rear of the Scottish army. But his northerly movement -left for the Royalists a clear way into England; and Charles expected to -find many friends there. So with the Scottish army he entered England by -Carlisle; and, by rapid marches, in three weeks from leaving Stirling he -reached Worcester. In hot pursuit, to give no time for raising a -Royalist army, Cromwell followed the king. He left General Monk with a -small army to complete the subjugation of Scotland. - -Six days after Charles arrived at Worcester, Cromwell was there, at the -head of thirty thousand men. On the 3rd of September—being the -anniversary of the battle of Dunbar—a desperate battle was fought on the -banks of the Severn, and the inferior Scottish army—for comparatively -few English Royalists had joined on the march—was utterly routed. Three -thousand Scots were slain in the battle, and ten thousand were made -prisoners; the majority of these were barbarously shipped off to the -plantations, and sold into slavery. After many adventures and narrow -escapes, Charles contrived to reach France. For eight years he was a -hanger-on at various continental courts, and looked upon as a hopeless -claimant to thrones which had vanished from the earth. - -When Cromwell left Scotland, Dundee was almost the only fortified town -which held for the king. Many Royalists, with their valuables, had taken -refuge therein. In anticipation of an attack by the English gunboats, -heavy guns were placed on the river frontage, and other means of defence -were hurriedly adopted. A committee of the Estates sat in the town; and -when, in the middle of August, General Monk, with four thousand horse -and foot, appeared before it and demanded its surrender, this committee -issued a defiant proclamation, and then decamped to Alyth, a little town -about eighteen miles to the north of Dundee, carrying with them a -considerable amount of public money. Monk, by a sudden swoop, captured -the committee; some, and amongst them the veteran General Leslie, were -killed; the others were sent to the Tower of London, and the troopers -enriched themselves by their plunder. - -[Illustration: - - THE PROTECTOR OLIVER CROMWELL. - (_From a painting by Vandyke._) -] - -On 1st September, after a fortnight’s bombardment, Dundee was taken by -assault. Monk had had a training in military savagery under Cromwell in -Ireland, and he now beat the record of his master. Not only was the -brave governor Lumsden—after quarter had been given him—with eight -hundred of the garrison, put to death in cold blood, but it is said that -two hundred women and children shared the same fate. Carlyle, without -any note of disapproval, says: “Governor Lumsden would not yield on -summons; General Monk stormed him; the town took fire in the business; -there was once more a grim scene, of flame and blood, and rage and -despair, transacted on this earth.” It is said that the plunder of the -town exceeded two-and-a-half million pounds, Scots (£125,000 sterling.) -There were sixty vessels in the harbour. After the fall of Dundee, -Montrose, Aberdeen, and St. Andrews surrendered, and Monk was, for -Cromwell, master of Scotland. - -And Cromwell was now virtually sovereign of England and Ireland also. -After disbanding, with taunts and insults, the Long Parliament,—as a -servant of which he had risen to power,—and playing for a little while -with a mock parliament, composed of his own adherents, he found himself -strong enough to govern without a parliament. At an assembly of -notables—1653—General Lambert, in the name of the army and the three -kingdoms, asked him to accept the office of Lord Protector of the -Commonwealth. With real or assumed reluctance he gave his consent; he -took the oath of office, put on his hat, sat down in a chair of state, -and Lambert, on his knees, presented to him the great seal. With more -ample authority than had ever been possessed by their legitimate -monarchs, he governed these islands till his death. This event occurred -in 1658, on the 3rd of September, the anniversary of his Dunbar and -Worcester victories. - -And so this great personality departed. He was only in his sixtieth -year, and up to his last year he had appeared strong and healthy. But as -Carlyle says,—“Incessant toil, inconceivable labour of head, and heart, -and hand; toil, peril, and sorrow manifold, continued for near twenty -years now, had done their part; those robust life-energies had been -gradually eaten out. Like a tower strong to the eye, but with its -foundations undermined, the fall of which on any shock may be sudden.” -We might add to the above causes for what seemed premature decline, his -knowledge that he had a host of bitter and deadly enemies, ever plotting -against his life. To live in constant dread of assassination, will eat -as a canker into the bravest of hearts. - -His character has been diversely estimated, according to the standpoint -of the critic. To a strong believer in force of will and energy of -purpose, like the writer quoted above, he is England’s greatest soldier, -statesman, and ruler. Others have called him hypocrite,—dogmatic, -vindictive, cruel to ferocity. Of his administrative abilities, his -unswerving resolution, and his military genius, there can hardly be two -opinions. Under his government there was peace and order, social -progress, and comparative freedom at home; abroad, the Commonwealth -achieved high honour and respect. As a victorious soldier, Cromwell -shewed little magnanimity towards the vanquished. Retaliation and -revenge were common faults of the times—say his apologists; yes, but a -truly noble character will rise above the sins and shortcomings of his -times; he will be the prophet and pioneer of better times. - -As to Cromwell’s religious professions, they were doubtless sincere, but -men make their gods after their own hearts, and his god was the Jehovah -of the old Hebrews; a god of war and of vengeance, rather than the All- -Merciful Father of the Sermon on the Mount. Macaulay has said of the -theologically-flavoured political writings of the Puritans, that one -might think their authors had never read the New Testament at all, so -full were they of “smiting the Amalekites,” of “hewing Agag to pieces,” -and of the hard and bitter spirit of the older times. Can we wonder that -the mind of the Prince of the Puritans had, unconsciously perhaps, run -in the same narrow groove? - -Of the Scottish rule of “His Highness, the Lord Protector,” it may be -said that after a long period of conflict and general unsettledness, it -was a time of peace. The laws were administered, even amongst highland -hills and border wastelands. Monk, with a small army, and a few forts -garrisoned by English troops, managed, after their several defeats, to -keep a brave, and naturally a patriotic and freedom-loving people, in -thorough subjection. They did not love the man; but, although he would -not allow the General Assembly to sit, their church had that freedom of -worship which under a Covenanted king they had failed to accomplish. -There were two leading Presbyterian parties, the _Resolutionists_, who -had placed the Scottish crown on the head of Charles, and still called -themselves king’s men, praying for him in the public devotions; and the -_Remonstrators_, who had never, in spite of all his oaths and promises, -adopted or believed in Charles, and studiously kept him out of their -prayers. (One might have thought that the worse a man he was, the more -he needed praying for). Cromwell favoured the latter party, making a -certificate from three or four of its ministers the condition of a -minister, although he might be called to a church, being paid his -stipend. Cromwell taxed the Scots very heavily, but perhaps, all -considered, they got fair value for their money. On the whole, so far as -Scotland was concerned, we may indorse what, in his _History of his own -Time_, Bishop Burnet says of the Protectorate generally:—“There was good -justice done, and vice was suppressed and punished. So that we always -reckon those eight years of Usurpation a time of great peace and -prosperity.” - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - Scotland under Charles the Second. - - -At the death of Cromwell there was not, in the general aspect of -political matters, any definite forecast of what twelve months after -would be the form of government; certainly an easy and unopposed -restoration of the Stuart monarchy was about the last idea, warranted by -the history of the previous fifteen years. But one man, the still- -tongued, close-minded General Monk, solved the question. By his -influence as head of the army, and his tact and sagacity in party wire- -pulling, he so managed that within eight months of the Protector’s -death, Charles II. was quietly proclaimed King of Great Britain and -Ireland. It was a twenty-seven years of as mean rule, as has ever -darkened the pages of British history. Retaliations and persecutions—one -long attempt to turn back the stream of progress—a corrupt court, -leavening the national life with foulness and frivolity, such might be -the general headings of the chapters chronicling the reign of the “Merry -Monarch.” - -The restoration was in England baptized in blood. Ten “regicides” were -hanged at Charing Cross. This was harsh—revengeful; but not despicable -or unprecedented. But it is with disgust, with shame for our common -humanity, that we learn that the bodies of Cromwell, Ireton, and -Bradshaw were taken from their graves in Westminster Abbey, and on the -death anniversary (30th January) of “King Charles the Martyr,” drawn on -hurdles to Tyburn, and there hung on the gallows; then the heads cut off -and fixed on Westminster Hall. - -And Scotland must not be left without examples of severity. The Marquis -of Argyle was the first victim. At the coronation of Charles at Scone, -he was the noble who placed the crown on the king’s head. But Charles -hated him as a leader of the presbyterians, who then held him in irksome -tutelage. After a most unfair trial, nothing tangible being found -against him except some private letters to General Monk, in which he -expressed himself favourable to Cromwell, he was found guilty, and -condemned to death. He met his fate with great firmness, saying that if -he could not brave death like a Roman, he could submit to it like a -Christian. - -Other victims followed. Swinburne has said of Mary of Scotland, “A -kinder or more faithful friend, a deadlier or more dangerous enemy, it -would be impossible to dread or to desire.” Mary’s descendants were -noways remarkable for fidelity in friendship, but they were implacable -in their hatreds. When he was in the over-careful hands of the -Covenanters, Charles had treasured up against a day of vengeance, many -affronts, brow-beatings, and intimidations, and now he meant, in his -stubborn way, to demand payment, with heavy interest, of the old debts. - -And so Charles, the Covenanted King of Scotland, and in whose cause its -best blood had been shed, had nothing but hatred for the land of his -fathers, and for its presbyterian faith. A packed and subservient -Scottish Parliament proceeded to pass, first a Rescissory Act, -rescinding all statutes, good and bad, which had been passed since the -commencement of the civil wars; and next, an Act of Supremacy, making -the king supreme judge in all matters, both civil and ecclesiastical. -Charles soon made it evident that he meant to establish episcopacy. -James Sharpe, minister of the little Fifeshire town of Crail, was sent -to London to look after presbyterian interests; he was got at on the -selfish side, and made archbishop of St. Andrews. Nine other pliant -Scottish ministers received episcopal ordination in Westminster Abbey. - -On the third anniversary of the Restoration, 29th May, 1662, copies of -the Covenants were in Edinburgh publicly torn to pieces by the common -hangman. The ministers were ordered to attend diocesan meetings, and to -acknowledge the authority of their bishops. The majority acquiesced; but -it is pleasing to learn that nearly four hundred resigned their livings, -rather than submit to the prelatic yoke. To take the places of the -_recusants_, a hosts of _curates_, often persons of mean character and -culture, were ordained. The people did not like the men thus thrust upon -them as ministers, and they still sought the services of their old -pastors; hence originated the “conventicles,” a contemptuous title for a -meeting-place of dissenters. - -And now began, chiefly in the west and south of Scotland, those field -meetings which afterwards became so notable. At first they were simply -assemblies for worship, no arms were worn; after service a quiet -dispersal. But, as signifying nonconformity to prescribed forms, they -gave great offence. A new Act forbade, under punishment for sedition, -any preaching without the sanction of the bishops; and inflicting pains -and penalties on all persons absenting themselves from their parish -churches. If fines were not paid, soldiers were quartered on the -recusants, and their cattle, furniture, and very clothing were sold. It -was even accounted seditious to give sustenance to the ejected -ministers. - -It can be easily asked, why did this Scottish people, with the memory of -their past, submit to these things? There was, as in England, a reaction -to an extreme of loyalty; there was the satisfaction of finding -themselves freed from English domination in its tangible form of -Cromwell’s troops and garrisons; there was the pleasure of once more -seeing a Parliament in Edinburgh, even though it merely registered and -gave legal form to the king’s decrees. They were told that the advantage -of being governed by their own native prince implied as its price the -establishment of that prince’s form of religious faith. Their own nobles -and many of their ministers had conformed; and thus bereft of their -natural leaders, there was weakness and division. Despite of all these -discouragements, they were often goaded into insurrections; which were -cruelly suppressed, and made the excuses for further intolerance, and -still harsher persecutions. - -The field conventicles continued. In the solitudes of nature, in lonely -glens, or on pine-shaded hillsides, with sentinels posted on the -heights, arose the solemn psalm, and the preachers prayer and -exhortation. And men now came armed to these gatherings, the women had -to be defended, force was to be met by force. To suppress such meetings, -troops were sent into the insubordinate districts, under a wild -fanatical Royalist, General Dalziel, and had free quarters on the -inhabitants. By 1666, a reign of terror was fully inaugurated; Dalziel -flared like a baleful meteor over the West of Scotland. In November of -this year, without concert or premeditation, an open insurrection broke -out. At Dalry, in Ayrshire, four soldiers were grossly maltreating an -aged man, and common humanity could not stand by and look on with -indifference or mere sympathy. The people rescued the old man, disarmed -the soldiers, and took their officer prisoner to Dumfries. A resolution -was suddenly taken to march on Edinburgh. They gathered in a fortnight’s -march to barely 2000 men, and wearied and worn out, encamped on a -plateau, called Rullion Green, on the Pentland hills, a few miles south -of Edinburgh. Here they were attacked by double their numbers under -Dalziel, and, after a gallant resistance, considering their inferior -arms and discipline, were put to flight. Some fifty were killed on the -field, one hundred and thirty were taken prisoners, thirty-four of whom -were, chiefly at the instigation of Archbishop Sharpe, hanged as rebels, -and the rest banished. - -[Illustration: - - THUMBIKINS. - (_From the Scottish Antiquarian Museum._) -] - -And tortures—such as have had no place in modern history since the palmy -days of the Spanish Inquisition were inflicted to extort confessions of -complicity in a rising, which was really the offspring of momentary -excitement. _Thumbikins_ squeezed the fingers by iron screws. These -tortures were generally borne with heroic patience and resolution. One -young minister, Hugh McKail, comely in person, well educated, an -enthusiast in his covenanting faith, was subjected to the torture of the -_boot_. His leg was crushed, but he uttered no cry, only moving his lips -in silent prayer. He had taken very little part in the insurrection, but -was condemned to death. On the gallows-ladder his last words were:— -“Farewell father, mother, and all my friends in life, farewell earth and -all its delights, farewell sun, moon, and stars, welcome death, glory, -and eternal life.” Seeing what impressions such words made on the -listeners, in after executions drums were beaten to drown the voices of -the sufferers. - -A weary ten years ensued of alternate “indulgence,” and renewed -intolerance. In 1667, the Duke of Lauderdale was placed at the head of -Scottish affairs. He had subscribed to the covenant, and had been a -Presbyterian representative at the Westminster Assembly. He was now a -subservient courtier, but did not at first assume the role of a -persecutor. He disbanded the army, and proclaimed an indemnity to those -who had fought at Rullion Green, on their signing a bond of peace. The -ministers ousted from their parishes were permitted to return, but on -conditions which the strict consciences of many could not accept; and -those who did accept were placed under close surveillance, and under -severe penalties forbidden to take part in any field meetings. Some of -the bishops were good men, striving earnestly to make peace within the -church. One of these, Leighton, Bishop of Dunblane, made an attempt to -reconcile Presbyterianism with a modified episcopacy. The bishops were -merely to sit as chairmen, or moderators, in the diocesan convocations, -and to have no veto on the proceedings, but the Covenanters thought this -a snare for entrapping them into an acknowledgment of prelacy, and the -idea was abandoned. - -And Lauderdale who had begun his rule leniently, now afraid of being -represented to the King as lukewarm in his service, blossomed out into a -cruel persecutor, forcibly suppressing field meetings, and enforcing -extreme penalties on nonconformists. It has been estimated that up to -this date seventeen thousand persons had suffered in fine, imprisonment, -and death. It was said that fines extorted for non-attendance at the -parish churches, were applied to supply the extravagance of Lady -Lauderdale,—a rapacious, bad, clever woman. Landowners were required -under penalties to become bound for their tenants, that they would -attend their parish churches, take no part in conventicles, and not -relieve outlawed persons. - -The gentry generally refused to enter into such bonds; and Lauderdale -wrote to the King that the country was in a state of incipient -rebellion, and required reduction by force of arms. He treated the whole -of the west country as if in open revolt. Not only did he send ordinary -troops with field artillery into the devoted districts, but he brought -down from the hills a Highland host of 9000 men to live upon, and with -every encouragement to plunder and oppress, the poor people. Speaking an -unknown tongue, strange in manners and attire, they were to the -lowlanders a veritable plague of human locusts. When, after a few months -of free quarterage, they went back to their hills, themselves and a -number of horses were loaded with booty, as if from the sack of a rich -town. But so far as we can learn they were not guilty of personal -violence upon those they were sent to despoil; perhaps in this respect -hardly coming up to the wishes and expectations of their employers. - -In May, 1679, occurred a deed of blood which widened the gulf between -the Covenanters and the government, and gave legal colouring to -harshness and persecution. In Fifeshire, one Carmichael had become -especially obnoxious as a cruel persecutor, and an active commissioner -for receiving the fines laid upon the malcontents. On 3rd May, a party -of twelve men, chiefly small farmers in the district, with David -Hackston of Rathillet and John Balfour of Burley as the leaders, lay in -wait for Carmichael, with full purpose to slay him. It appears he had -received some warning, and kept out of the way. After waiting long, the -band were, in sullen disappointment, preparing to separate, when the -carriage of Sharpe, the Archbishop, appeared unexpectedly, conveying him -and his daughter home to St. Andrews. To these superstitious men, nursed -under persecution by old biblical texts into religious fanaticism, it -appeared as if an act of necessary vengeance was here thrust upon them, -that instead of an inferior agent, a foremost persecutor, who had -hounded to the death many of their brethren, was now delivered into -their hands. They took him from his carriage, and there on Magus Muir— -suing upon his knees for mercy, his grey hairs, and his daughter’s -anguished cries, also pleading for his life—they slew him with many -sword thrusts. - -A general cry of horror and repudiation rang through the land. It was a -savage murder; but so had been the deaths of hundreds of persons more -innocent than he of offences against justice and common right. More -severe measures of repression were taken; new troops were raised, and -the officers instructed to act with the utmost rigour. And the -Covenanters grew desperate; they assembled in greater numbers, were more -fully armed, and more defiant in their language. On 29th May, the -anniversary of the Restoration, a mounted party entered the village of -Rutherglen, about two miles from Glasgow. They extinguished the festive -bonfire, held a service of denunciatory psalms, prayers, and -exhortations in the market place, and burned the Acts which had been -issued against the Covenant. In quest of the insurgents, and to avenge -the affront on the government, a body of cavalry rode out of Glasgow -barracks, on the 1st of June. Their leader was a distinguished soldier—a -man of courage and gallant bearing, John Graham of Claverhouse— -afterwards, for his services in the royal cause, created Viscount -Dundee. - -In the annals of Scotland there is no name amongst the unworthiest of -her sons,—Monteith the betrayer of Wallace, Cardinal Beaton, the -ruthless persecutor, Dalziel, with a monomania for murder and -oppression,—so utterly detestable as that of the dashing cavalier, -Claverhouse. His portrait is that of a haughty, self-centred man; one -would think too proud for the meanly savage work he was set to do, but -which, with fell intensity, he seemed to revel in doing. In the -conflict, he appeared to have a charmed life, and in these superstitious -times he was believed to have made a paction with Satan:—for doing the -fiend’s work he was to have so many years immunity from death: neither -lead nor steel could harm him. It was said that his mortal wound, -received in the moment of victory at Killiecrankie, was from being shot -by a silver bullet. - -Claverhouse, in quest of the demonstrators at Rutherglen, came, at -Drumclog, about twenty miles south of Glasgow, on the body of -insurgents; about fifty horsemen fairly well appointed, as many infantry -with fire-arms, and a number armed with pikes, scythes, and pitch-forks. -The Covenanters had skilfully posted themselves; a morass and broad -ditch in front, the infantry in the centre, a troop of horse on each -flank. Claverhouse’s call to surrender was answered by the singing of a -verse of a warlike psalm. The troops gave a loud cheer, and rode into -the morass; they found it impassable and themselves under a steady fire -from the Covenanters. Claverhouse sent flanking parties to right and -left. These were boldly met before they had time to form after crossing -the ditch, and nearly cut to pieces. And then the Covenanters made a -sudden rush, and after a desperate defence by Claverhouse, they utterly -routed him,—the only battle he ever lost. - -This victory of the Covenanters over regular troops, ably commanded, was -a general surprise, and it found the victors ill-prepared to follow it -up to advantage. They next day occupied Hamilton, and, reinforced by -numbers, proceeded to attack Glasgow. They were at first beaten back by -Claverhouse, but he thought it advisable to retreat to Edinburgh; and -then the insurgents occupied Glasgow. The King meanwhile had sent the -Duke of Monmouth—a courteous and courageous gentleman,—albeit the bar -sinister ran through his escutcheon—to collect an army to quell the -rebellion. On 21st June the Covenanters—who had now their headquarters -near Hamilton, on the south-western bank of the Clyde, learned that the -Duke, at the head of a powerful army, was advancing towards Bothwell -Bridge—crossing which he would be upon them. - -In the face of the common enemy, polemical disputes between the -different presbyterian parties brought confusion into their councils. -The moderate party drew up a supplication to the Duke, describing their -many grievances, and asking that they be submitted to a free parliament. -The Duke sent a courteous reply, expressing sympathy, and offering to -intercede for them with the King,—but they must first lay down their -arms. This condition the extreme party would not listen to, and at this -most unsuitable moment, they nominated fresh officers—men indisposed to -acknowledge any allegiance to the King, or, in matters appertaining to -religion, to submit to the civil power. Under Rathillet, Burley and -other irreconcilables, 300 men were posted to hold the bridge; they made -a stout defence; but it was forced at the point of the bayonet. Bishop -Burnet says,—“The main body of the insurgents had not the grace to -submit, the courage to fight, nor the sense to run away.” But when the -cannon began to make havoc in their ranks, and they saw the deadly array -of horsemen, and the serried ranks of disciplined infantry preparing to -charge—they threw down their arms, and became a mob of fugitives. - -And now Claverhouse had to avenge Drumclog. His war-cry on that day had -been “No Quarter,” and this was his intention at Bothwell Bridge. Four -hundred were killed on the field and in the flight, but the strict -orders of the Duke were “Give quarter to all who surrender—make -prisoners, but spare life;” and thus the relentless swords of -Claverhouse and Dalziel were stayed. With the indignation of a true -soldier, Monmouth rejected a proposal to burn Hamilton and to devastate -the surrounding country; and he issued a proclamation promising pardon -to all who made their submission by a certain day. - -But the milder spirit of Monmouth found no place in the treatment of the -prisoners taken at Bothwell. They were marched to Edinburgh, suffering -much on the way; there, 1200 men were huddled together without shelter -in the Greyfriars churchyard—sleeping amongst the tombs upon the bare -ground. Several supposed leaders were executed, some escaped further -misery by death from exposure, others were set free on signing a -declaration never to take arms against the King, and 257 were sent as -slaves to Barbadoes. - -And meantime Claverhouse was passing as a destroying angel through the -western shires. Making little distinction between those who had, and -those who had not, taken part in the late insurrection—he seized the -property, and imprisoned or put to death, all against whom any charge of -contumacy could be laid. The hunted Covenanters were driven into wilder -seclusions, and their barbarous treatment naturally made them more -aggressive and extravagant in their language. Useless to talk to men -frenzied to despair of loyalty to a King, who, in his life of unhallowed -pleasure in distant London, heard not, or cared not, for the bitter cry -of the people whose rights he had sworn to protect. When they met at -midnight in lonely glen or trackless moor, the leaders, Cameron, -Cargill, Renwick, and others, would, like the Hebrew Prophets of old, -mingle prophecy with denunciation; their high-strung enthusiasm bordered -on insanity. - -Cameron and Cargill published a declaration denouncing Charles, calling -on all true sons of the Covenant to throw off their allegiance, and take -up arms against him. And government had now a pretext for putting -Scotland under what was really martial law. The common soldiers were -authorised to put to death, without any pretence of trial, all who -refused to take the prescribed oath, or to answer all interrogations. It -was a capital crime to have any intercourse with prescribed persons; and -torture was inflicted, even on women, to extort the whereabouts of these -persons. At Wigtown, Margaret McLauchlan, a widow of sixty-three years, -and Margaret Wilson, a girl of eighteen, were drowned by being bound to -stakes within flood-mark. - -Amongst many murders perpetrated at this time, that of John Brown, the -Ayrshire carrier, stands out conspicuous in horror. He was a quiet, -sedate man, leading a blameless life; his only offence was that he did -not on Sundays attend the parish church, but either read his bible at -home, or, with a few like-minded, met in a quiet place for a little -service of praise and prayer. One morning, whilst digging peats for the -house fire, he was surrounded by Claverhouse’s dragoons, and brought to -his own door. Here, his wife and children being by—a baby in its -mother’s arms—Claverhouse asked him why he did not attend on the King’s -curate; and John, answering that he had to obey his conscience rather -than the King, Claverhouse told him to prepare for death. He said he had -long been so prepared. He prayed with fervour, until interrupted by -Claverhouse, who saw his wild dragoons beginning to shew tokens of -sympathy; Brown kissed his wife and little ones, and he was then shot -dead. “What do you think of your bonnie man now?” the devil-hearted -slayer asked of the newly-made widow. “I aye thocht muckle o’ him, but -never sae muckle as I do this day.” She laid her infant on the ground, -tied up the poor shattered head in her kerchief, composed the limbs, -covered the body with a plaid, and then she sat down beside it, and, in -heart-rending sobs and tears, gave full course to natural sorrow. The -tragedy enacted on Magus Moor was a cruel murder, but if there are -degrees of guilt in such an awful crime, that committed at the cottage -door in Ayrshire was surely the more heinous and atrocious of the two. - -Monmouth remained only a short time in Scotland; Lauderdale was still -nominally at the head of affairs. But in November, 1679, the King sent -his brother James to Edinburgh, partly to keep him out of sight from the -people of England. As a rigid Roman Catholic, standing next in -succession to the throne, he was very unpopular. A cry of popish plots -had been got up, and an Exclusion Bill would have been carried in -Parliament,[4] but Charles dissolved it, and he never called another; -for the last four years of his life he reigned as an absolute monarch. - -Footnote 4: - - A concession which was proposed on the King’s authority now sounds - very strange. It was that at his death James should be King, but for - ever banished five hundred miles from his dominions; his daughter, - Princess of Orange, to reign as Regent. Parliament would not listen to - this rather impracticable project. - -James, a royal Stuart, residing in long untenanted Holyrood, was made -much of by the Scottish nobility and gentry, and to conciliate them he -so far unbent his generally sombre and unamiable demeanour. He paid -particular attention to the Highland chieftains, and thus laid a -foundation for that loyalty to himself and his descendants, so costly to -the clansmen. But his presence and his influence in public affairs did -no good to the poor Covenanters. Against nonconformity of every shade -his only remedies were persecution and suppression. The poor wanderers -of the Covenant were hunted as wild beasts. Richard Cameron was slain at -Aire Moss. Hackston and Cargill were hanged. It is said that James often -amused his leisure hours by witnessing the tortures of the boot and the -thumb-screw. - -And not the common people only were thus vexed and harassed. Strangely- -worded oaths, acknowledging the laws and statutes, and also the King’s -supremacy, were administered to all holding official positions. When, as -a privy counsellor, the oath was tendered to the Earl of Argyle—son of -the Marquis who was beheaded at the commencement of the reign—he -declared he took it so far as it was consistent with itself, and with -the Protestant religion. For adding this qualification, he was tried -for, and found guilty of, high treason. He contrived to escape from -Edinburgh Castle in the disguise of a page holding up his step- -daughter’s train. He reached Holland, a sentence of death hanging over -him. - -And in England, after dismissing the Oxford parliament, the King was -despotic. If he had any religious faith at all, it was towards -Catholicism, and thus he took up his brother’s quarrel. In the -administration of justice, juries were packed, and judges were venal. -London was adjudged to have illegally extended its political powers, was -fined heavily, and condemned to lose its charters. Breaches of their -charters by provincial towns were looked for, and something was -generally found sufficient to raise prosecutions upon, the award being -always given for the Crown. Fines were levied for the King’s private -advantage, and by his veto in the election of magistrates he held in his -hand Parliamentary elections. The university of Oxford issued a solemn -decree, affirming unlimited submission to the Royal authority; and the -most detestable of the very few judges whose names are a stain upon the -history of English jurisprudence—Jeffreys—was the very incarnation of -venality and injustice; he was a vulgar bully, ever finding a demoniacal -pleasure in cruelty and wrong-doing. - -The country had been sickened of civil war, and public spirit seemed to -have deserted the land. Still the Whig leaders of the late majority in -Parliament made some attempts at organizing resistance. Shaftesbury was -for immediate rebellion; but Lords Essex, Howard, and William Russell, -and Algernon Sidney, more cautiously resolved to wait the course of -events, and act when an opportunity arose. They certainly meant an -insurrection in London, to be supported by a rising in the West of -England, and another in Scotland under the Earl of Argyle. - -But a conspiracy in a lower stratum of political influence, called the -Ryehouse Plot, which proposed the deaths of the King and his brother, -having been divulged to the Government, and certain arrests made, the -prisoners, to save themselves, declared that Lords Howard and Russell, -and Sidney, Hampden (a grandson of the John Hampden of ship-money fame), -and others were implicated. Howard—recreant to the traditions of his -name—turned approver. Lord William Russell was tried for treason—nobly -supported by his wife—and although the evidence against him was weak, a -packed jury convicted him, and he was beheaded at Lincoln’s Inn Fields. -Sidney was tried by Judge Jeffreys. Howard was the only witness against -him, and for a conviction of treason the law required at least two -witnesses; but a manuscript treatise on Government had been found -amongst Sidney’s papers; certain passages on political liberty would -nowadays be considered as mere truisms, but Jeffreys ruled that they -were equal to two-and-twenty adverse witnesses. He also was found -guilty, and was beheaded on Tower Hill. Shaftesbury fled to Holland. -Lord Essex—a true nobleman—blaming himself for having put it into -Howard’s power to injure Lord Russell, committed suicide. - -And some Scottish gentlemen were also implicated in the Whig plot. -Bailie, of Jerviswood, had been in correspondence with Lord Russell, and -was asked to give evidence against him. On his refusal, he was himself -tried for treason,—condemned and executed. Many were fined and -imprisoned; many left the country, or otherwise could not be found, but -were tried in their absence—outlawed, and their estates forfeited. - -James returned to London: he feared the influence of the Duke of -Monmouth, who, trading on his father’s favour and his own handsome face -and genial manners, posed as an ultra-Protestant, and, in spite of his -illegitimate birth, aspired to the succession. James had Monmouth sent -to Holland—then, under the Prince of Orange, the refuge for English and -Scottish exiles. - -But for Charles the world of time was now at its vanishing point. He was -only in his fifty-fifth year when, in the midst of his sensuous -pleasures, apoplexy seized him, and Bishop Ken had to tell him his hours -were numbered. Certain religious exercises were gone through, and the -sacramental elements being brought in, the bishop proposed their -administration. The King put this off, and the bishop retired. And now -James looked up a Catholic priest, and had him smuggled in by a private -door to the King’s chamber. The King made confession, and had the last -rites of the Church administered. Thus made safe by a Romish passport -into heaven—the dying King no doubt enjoyed as a good joke the prayers -and admonitions of the Protestant prelates, who, with the lords-in- -waiting, were afterwards ushered into his chamber. He died February 6th, -1684-5. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - Scotland under James the Second. - - -Within half-an-hour of his brother’s death, James was seated as the King -in Council. He declared that he would govern by the laws, and maintain -the established church. Loyal addresses from all parts of his dominions -were poured in upon him; and the commencement of his reign gave promise -of stability and popularity. In a lesser degree he had his brothers -vices; but he had shewn considerable aptitude for public business, and -was not deficient in personal courage. In 1665, he had, in a war with -Holland, taken the command of the Channel fleet. On the 3rd of June a -great battle was fought off the Norfolk coast, within sight of -Lowestoft. When the fight was at its hottest, the Dutch admiral’s ship -blew up, and a Dutch fire-ship grappled with and destroyed an English -ship. James had twice to shift his flag, as his ships were successively -disabled. After an obstinate contest the Dutch ships sailed for the -Texel; James pursued for a time,—eighteen of the enemy’s ships being -taken or destroyed. - -But his accession to the throne was not to be unchallenged. The Duke of -Monmouth and the Earl of Argyle met in Holland, and concerted -simultaneous insurrections in England and Scotland. - -Monmouth landed at Lyme, in Dorsetshire, on 11th June, and marched to -Taunton, in Somersetshire, at the head of 5,000 irregularly armed -troops. He had married the heiress of Buccleuch, and in other ways -became associated with the nobility; stories had been set afloat of a -marriage between his father and his Welsh mother, Lucy Walters, and he -was looked on by many as the true heir to the throne. At Taunton he was -received with acclamations; twenty young ladies presented him with a -pocket-bible, a flag, and a naked sword. He had himself proclaimed King. -After a good deal of tentative marching through the western counties, he -fell back on Bridgewater, and three miles from this town, at Sedgemoor, -a battle was fought, in which he was utterly defeated. He himself fled -before the close of the fight; and was afterwards captured hiding in a -bean-field. - -He was taken to London, and at his own solicitation had an interview -with the King. A larger-minded man than James would have been moved to -generosity, at the sight of his brother’s son grovelling on his knees -before him, and humbly suing for mercy; but generosity towards fallen -enemies was not a distinguishing trait in the Stuart character. And this -young man had long been a thorn in James’s path; so now no mercy for -him—his doom was immediate execution. - -And terrible was the vengeance of the King on not only the leaders of -the insurrection, but on inferior participants, and on all who had given -aid or countenance thereto. There were a number of military executions; -and then Jeffreys was let loose upon the western counties. His “bloody -assize” was a very devil’s carnival of barbarity and death. The campaign -was opened at Winchester with the trial of Alice Lisle, the aged widow -of one of Cromwell’s lieutenants, for affording food and shelter to two -of the fugitive insurgents. Jeffreys bullied the jury into a verdict of -guilty, and then he sentenced her to be burned alive that same -afternoon. Horror-stricken, the clergy of the cathedral obtained a -respite for three days. Noble ladies, whom she had befriended in the -time of the Commonwealth, solicited her pardon from the King. Her son in -the army had served against Monmouth. And James was actually moved to -change her sentence from burning alive to beheading! And so it was -executed. In this judicial massacre, more than three hundred persons -were put to death, and very many who escaped death, suffered mutilation, -imprisonment, or exile. Hundreds of the prisoners were presented to the -courtiers,—to be sold for ten years as slaves in the West Indies. The -twenty young ladies of Taunton, who had figured in the ovation to -Monmouth, were assigned to the Queen’s maids-of-honour, and they sold -pardons to the girls at the rate of a hundred pounds a head! - -The accession of James brought no relaxation in the oppressive laws -bearing upon Scottish presbyterianism. It was still in the power of the -military to apprehend and interrogate, to torture, to confiscate the -goods, and even to take the lives of those suspected of nonconformity, -or of assisting outlawed persons. It was therefore to be expected that -any attempt to throw off the galling yoke would have general sympathy -and support. Argyle had himself been the victim of unjust persecution; -and yet his invasion of Scotland was as futile and disastrous as that of -Monmouth was of England. - -Argyle was a Highland chief, influenced by his old family feuds; and his -foremost idea was to fight the clans which were the hereditary enemies -of his house, and also loyal Jacobites. So with about three hundred men -he landed on the western peninsula of Cantyre, and was joined by about a -thousand of his Campbell clansmen. He proposed marching to Inverary; but -the other leaders were afraid of their little army being shut up in the -highlands, and thought that the western shires—in which the covenanters -were numerically strong, and where they had already boldly faced the -government troops—would be a better field for operations. There was as -usual in such differences, much wordy recrimination; time was lost; and -when at length a movement was made into Lanarkshire, long, weary -marches, with mistakes in the route, disheartened and demoralized the -insurgents. The royal troops, in superior numbers, were fast closing in -on Argyle, and, without a battle, his following fell to pieces, and -himself was made prisoner. He was taken with disgraceful indignities to -Edinburgh, and his old, most iniquitous sentence was carried out. Like -his father, he met his fate with firmness; he said the grim instrument -of death was “a sweet Maiden, whose embrace would waft his soul into -heaven.” Upwards of twenty of the more considerable of his followers -also suffered death. - -[Illustration: EXECUTION OF THE EARL OF ARGYLE.] - -As shewing the mean and cruel spirit of James, we may mention that on -medals which he had struck, commemorative of his triumphs over Monmouth -and Argyle, one side bore two severed heads, and the reverse two -headless trunks. - -And now in his plenitude of power, James began to shew openly what was -his great intention, namely, the subversion of the Protestant faith, and -the restitution of papal sway in Britain. His brother had so far paved -the way for such a change, that he had taken advantage of the reaction -of loyalty at the Restoration, of the general disgust at that detestable -imposture, the Titus Oates’ “popish plot,” and of the discovery of the -atrocious Rye House plot, to make his government despotic. He had, by -his foul example, sown the seeds of immorality and corruption broadcast -through the national life. Religious fervour and high political -principle seemed to have vanished from the land,—servile submission to -kingly authority was preached by divines, sung by poets, and practised -by statesmen,—as the only safeguard against sombre puritanism, political -strife, and the misrule of the mob. - -And now here was a zealot,—seeing sycophants all around him; men of -position hasting to gain his favour through the Romish confessional; a -servile parliament granting him bountiful supplies; and a powerful -French king sending him subsidies,—with the property, the liberties, the -very lives of his subjects at his disposal,—can we wonder that he -thought that his authority could be stretched to lording it also over -their consciences? - -A century and a half previously, Henry VIII. had abrogated the authority -of the Pope in England, and James may have believed that what one -despotic king could do, another could undo. Of three things we hardly -know which most to wonder at:—the daring of the attempt—or, how nearly -he succeeded in his designs—or, that amidst so much apathy, servility, -and corruption, he did not, for a time at least, accomplish his ends. -But the Reformation was, on the face of it, a natural outcome of a new -dawn, after the long night of the dark ages in Europe. It was, with the -revival of letters, the new geographical and scientific discoveries, and -the general spirit of adventure and research, a stepping-stone towards -progress and enlarged political and intellectual freedom; whilst the -proposed retrocession to Rome meant going backwards, and a wilful -surrender to the old bondage and authority. - -James publicly attended the rites of his church; he surrounded himself -by Catholic priests, a leading Jesuit, Father Petre, being his political -confidant; he entertained at his court—for the first time in England -since the days of Queen Mary—a papal nuncio. He placed the Church under -the control of a High Commission of seven members, Jeffreys, now Lord -Chancellor, at the head. In chartered towns, Catholics were to be -eligible to serve as mayors and aldermen. He began the formation of a -large standing army, and, in defiance of the Test Act, and in assertion -of his dispensing power, he largely officered this army by Catholics. -The university of Oxford had, in the previous reign, declared that in no -case was resistance to the royal authority justifiable, and it had now -to reap the bitter fruits of its servile declaration. The King appointed -a Roman Catholic to the deanery of Christ Church; another to the -presidency of Magdalen College, and twelve Catholic fellows were -appointed in one day. Oxford now began to see that passive obedience -might well stop short of a surrender of religious principles; it -resisted the royal mandates; and it would not submit, although twenty- -five of its fellows were expelled. - -And a contagion of conversion broke out in the higher social ranks. -Noble lords and ladies of fashion went to mass and confession; -processions of Catholic priests were daily met in the streets of London; -Catholic chapels and monasteries were becoming numerous, their service -bells ringing perpetually. - -In Scotland, the Chancellorship was bestowed on one of the King’s time- -serving converts, Drummond, Earl of Perth. He co-operated with the Earl -of Sunderland in England, in driving on James to the most extravagant -reactionary measures. By a new court order all persons holding civil -offices in Scotland were ordered to resign, and to resume their offices -without taking the test oath, ordered in 1681, they taking, for thus -breaking the law, a remission of penalties from the Crown; all not -obtaining such remission to be subjected to the said penalties. That -is,—all officials were ordered to break the law, and were to be subject -to penalties for such infringement,—unless by getting the King’s pardon -they acknowledged his power to abrogate the law! And this test oath had -been the contrivance of James himself when in Scotland,—forced upon -Presbyterians at the sword’s point, and held so sacred that Argyle had -been condemned to death for taking it with a slight qualification. - -The short reign of James was one of the saddest periods in Scottish -history. He had refused to take the usual coronation oath, which -included the maintenance of the established church. In spite of this -refusal—which impaired the validity of his right to rule—a weakly -compliant parliament expressed the loyalty of absolute submission. The -law against conventicles was extended to the presence of five persons, -besides the family attending domestic worship. If the meeting was held -outside the house—even on the door-step—it was to be considered a field- -conventicle punishable by death. But on the question of repealing the -penal acts against Catholics, Parliament proved refractory, and it was -forthwith dissolved. - -The King issued a proclamation depriving the burghs of the right of -electing their own magistrates. When, to favour Roman Catholicism, he -issued his Declaration of Indulgence, by which there was to be general -liberty of worship; yet—strange anomaly—the laws against field-preaching -continued in full force. Under these laws, James Renwick, a delicate, -but enthusiastic field-preacher, was executed in Edinburgh in February, -1688. He was the last in the fearfully long roll of covenanting martyrs. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - -[Illustration: THE COVENANTERS’ MONUMENT IN THE GREYFRIARS’ CHURCHYARD, -EDINBURGH] - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - -The Declaration of Indulgence, permitting all professions of religion to -worship in their own ways, was published by James—solely on his own -authority—in April, 1687. At the first blush we may be inclined to call -this general indulgence a step in the right direction,—even although we -know that under the cloak of toleration to all forms of faith, the -King’s main object was to legalise Catholic worship and ritual. We now -say, from the more liberal stand-point of the nineteenth century, that -the penal laws against the exercise of Catholic rites were tyrannical -and unjust. But we have to consider the times in which these laws were -introduced, when after a long and bitter struggle the papal yoke had -been thrown off,—when the severities of Rome against those she termed -heretics were fresh in the memory,—and that she never abates one jot of -her assumption to be the one authoritative church—claiming the entire -submission of Christendom. And Dissenters knew that the King was here -bidding for their support against the established church. They saw that -Tyrconnel, the King’s Viceroy in Ireland—a country where James did not -require to keep up appearances—was fast arming the Catholics, -preparatory to a total subversion of Protestantism; and thus the -Presbyterian and other dissenters saw in the Episcopal Church the -rallying point of religious freedom; they overlooked its past -subserviency to power and its harshness to themselves, in consideration -of its present danger, and the stand it was now preparing to make in the -common cause. - -In April, 1688, the king ordered his Declaration to be read in all the -churches. The London clergy met and signed a refusal to comply with the -order, and the primate, Sancroft, and six other bishops, presented a -petition to the king against being compelled to read a document which -assumed the legality of the dispensing power. Only in seven of the -London churches, and a few in the country, was the Declaration read. The -king was furious, and summoned the bishops before the privy council; on -their acknowledging their signatures to the petition, they were -committed to the Tower. Their passage down the Thames was a public -ovation; from crowded quays, bridges, and barges arose enthusiastic -shouts of encouragement; the very officers of the Tower went on their -knees for the episcopal blessing. In their imprisonment, the bishops -were visited daily by nobles and leading men; and—which irritated James -most of all—a deputation of dissenting ministers went and thanked them -in the name of their common Protestantism. - -And just at this time an event occurred which had a remarkable bearing -on the history of the period. On June 10th, 1688, James’s queen gave -birth to a son. The news had been circulated that a child was expected; -the faithful ventured to prophesy a prince; a blessing vouchsafed by the -intervention of the Virgin Mary, in response to prayers and pilgrimages. -But Protestant England had both feared and doubted. The Court and its -household were, almost exclusively, composed of Catholics, and when the -birth of a prince was announced, it was generally believed that a -strange child had been smuggled into the palace, and was then being -passed off as the king’s son. There now seems little doubt but that the -infant was really the offspring of the king and queen. Thus, to his -father’s joy, and to Catholic anticipations of the throne being after -him still occupied by a king of the old faith—but with general doubts -and misgivings—with repudiation instead of welcome, came into the world -the ill-fated prince, known in our history as James the Pretender. - -On June 20th, the trial of the bishops took place before the Court of -King’s Bench. They were charged with having “published a false, -malicious, and seditious libel.” Of the four judges, two were for the -petition being a libel, and two were against. The jury had to decide the -question, and were locked up during the night. At ten o’clock next -morning, when the Court again met, there was a silence of deep suspense -before the verdict was pronounced. When the words “not guilty” fell from -the foreman’s lips, a great cheer arose, which penetrated into the -crowded street, and was speedily wafted over London, extending even to -the troops on parade at Blackheath. It was a day of general -congratulation and rejoicing; and bonfires and illuminations went far -into the summer night. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - The Revolution of 1688. - - -Before the birth of the prince, the general idea had been that the -country should tide over James’s misgovernment as best it could, and -wait patiently for the succession to the throne in natural course of -Mary, Princess of Orange, the elder daughter of the king by his first -marriage. But the situation was now altogether changed; and on the very -day of the acquittal of the bishops, there was sent—signed by the bishop -of London, several noblemen, and others—an invitation to William to come -over with an army to the relief of the country: and the prince at once -commenced his preparations. - -And meantime, James, his purposes and hopes of success strengthened by -the birth of a son, was indignant at his defeat in the trial of the -bishops, and, goaded on by the French minister and his inner circle of -advisers, he resolved to crush the spirit of the nation by force of -arms. He brought over several regiments of Tyrconnel’s Irish troops, and -their menacing presence, as strangers and Catholics, was hateful to the -English people. A derisive doggrel ballad, called from its burden -_Lilliburelo_, was sung and whistled all over the land. - -And now the king was told that his Dutch son-in-law was making great -preparations for invasion. He knew that he had lost the best safeguard -of his throne—the confidence and affection of his subjects—and whilst -adopting means for defence, he hastened to retract all the measures -which had made him unpopular. He threw himself in feigned repentance on -the advice of the bishops, and they, in plain words, like the prophets -of old, told him of his injustice and oppression, and advised him at -once to call a Parliament. He dismissed his priestly adviser Father -Petre, and the renegade Lord Sunderland. He restored its fellows to -Oxford, and their franchises to the corporations. But the precipitation -of fear was so evident in his concessions, that there was no reaction of -confidence. The people were watching the weathercocks, and praying for a -north-east, or, as it was called “a Protestant” wind. - -After waiting some weeks for a favourable wind, and with an after-delay -from storms, by the end of October, William was fairly at sea. He first -sailed up the North Sea, as if he intended a landing on the Yorkshire -coast; but changed his course for the Channel. The wind and tide -prevented the royal fleet from attacking him in the Straits of Dover. -From the opposite coasts his fleet presented a magnificent sight. There -were sixty men-of-war and seven hundred transports, extending twenty -miles in length. - -It was just a hundred years since such another magnificent spectacle had -been seen in the Channel—the Spanish Armada—also bent upon the invasion -of England. _Then_, the great fleet meant papal aggression, and priestly -domination; _now_, it meant deliverance from this aggression, and -freedom of the conscience; _then_, beacon fires on mount and headland -flashed danger to the lives and liberties of Englishmen; _now_ the -tidings that a foreign fleet was skirting the coast were of glad and -hopeful assurance. - -On the 5th of November—the anniversary of the Gunpowder Plot—the fleet -anchored at Torbay, in Devonshire. With his army of fifteen thousand -men, William marched to Exeter, where he was enthusiastically received. -But the memory of Jeffreys’ “bloody assize” was still fresh in the -western shires, and for several days there were few signs of -encouragement; it is said that he even meditated returning to Holland. -But bye-and-bye one nobleman after another, and several officers of -James’s army, entered the camp. The north of England began to stir in -raising and disciplining revolutionary troops, and the Earl of Bath put -Plymouth into William’s hands. - -The King hastened down to Salisbury, resolved to stake his kingdom on -the issue of a battle; but William, although a thorough captain in war, -wished to avoid bloodshed; he trusted to the increasing stream of -desertion from the king rendering a great battle unnecessary. And so it -turned out. The sagacious lieutenant-general of the king’s army, Lord -Churchill, the Dukes of Grafton and Ormond, even the king’s younger -daughter Anne, with her husband, Prince George of Denmark, and many -other persons of note, joined the Prince of Orange. - -James went back to London, and sent away the queen and her five-months’ -old child to France. When he knew of their safety he left London at -night, by the river. He threw the great seal into the Thames, and -proceeded to Sheerness, where a small vessel was waiting for him. -Boarding the vessel he attracted the attention of some Kentish -fishermen, who, in hopes of reward, made him prisoner. Released, by an -order of the Lords, he returned to London, and passed thence to -Rochester. William wanted him out of the country; so facilities were -made for his escape, and he was soon at St. Germains, where Louis gave -him a friendly reception; and at St. Germains he made his home. Assisted -by Louis, he made, next year, an attempt for the recovery of Ireland. In -that essentially Catholic country, it seemed at first that he would -there be able to retain one of the three kingdoms, but his defeat by -William, at the Boyne, compelled his return to France. He died September -16th, 1701, aged 68 years. - -The King, having fled, and no parliament sitting, William was advised to -claim the kingdom by right of conquest. But both from principle and -sound policy he held that this would be a less secure right of -possession than would be the choice—as formal as under the circumstances -it could be made—of the English people. So he summoned a Convention of -the States of the Realm,—irregularly convoked in the emergency, but -elected in the usual manner. The Convention met on 22nd February—six -weeks after the King’s flight. - -The debates were long and stormy; the two Houses disagreed,—the Lords -could hardly bring themselves to declare for the deposition of the King; -but the Commons were firm, and at length this resolution was passed in -both houses: “That James, having violated the fundamental laws, and -withdrawn himself from the kingdom, has broken the original contract -between king and people, has abdicated the government, and therefore the -throne has become vacant.” - -And then came the questions,—Who was to reign? and what was to be the -order of succession? Here there was a division of opinion. Was James’s -infant son to be acknowledged as King—with William as Regent? or, Should -the crown be conferred on Mary in her own right? William was not a man -of many words, but he now got together a few of the leading men, and to -them he spoke very plainly: he would not interfere with the right of the -Convention to settle its own affairs as it thought best; but for himself -he would not accept any regency, nor—much as he loved his wife—would he -remain in England as her gentleman-usher. In a few hours his words were -all over London, and it was known that he would be King. - -So the Convention passed a number of resolutions, embodied in what was -termed a Declaration of Rights,—defining the royal prerogative, and the -powers of parliament; and the Prince and Princess, having signified -their adhesion thereto, it was resolved that William and Mary be jointly -King and Queen of England, Ireland, and the dominions belonging thereto; -the administration to rest in William. The crown was settled,—first on -the survivor of the royal pair,—then on the children of Mary, then on -those of her sister Anne, and next on the children of William by any -other wife. The son of James and his posterity were thus shut out -entirely from the succession. - -The Scottish Convention of Estates passed resolutions nearly similar to -those in the English Declaration of Rights, closing with a declaration -against Prelacy, asserting that there was no higher office in the Church -than presbyter. - -On the leading question then before the country, their resolution had a -more decided tone than that of the English Convention. They declared -that James had assumed the throne without taking the oaths prescribed by -law, that he had proceeded to subvert the constitution of the country -from a limited monarchy to an absolute despotism; that he had employed -the powers thus usurped for violating the laws and liberties, and -altering the religion of Scotland; for doing these things he had -_forfeited_ his right to the crown, and the throne had thereby become -vacant. The Scottish royalty was conferred on William and Mary, in like -terms as that of the English Convention. - - - BATTLE OF KILLIECRANKIE. - -In the crisis of his affairs, James had summoned his Scottish troops to -England. Their commander, Lord Douglas, went over to William; but the -second in command, John Graham of Claverhouse—now Viscount Dundee—had an -interview with the King—assured him of the loyalty of his troops, about -6,500 well disciplined men, advised the King either to hazard a battle, -or to fall back with these troops into Scotland. On the King declining -both propositions, Lord Dundee took up a position at Watford, about -eighteen miles north-west of London, expecting an attack by William. But -Dundee had served his early campaigns under the Prince, having in one -engagement rescued him from imminent danger. So the Prince now sent him -a message that he had no quarrel with him. Then came James’s flight, and -the Prince’s entry into London; and Dundee seeing he could do nothing -more to help James in England, rode back with about twenty-five of his -dragoons into Scotland. The Scottish army was placed under General -Mackay, one of William’s adherents, and he was shortly after sent as -commander of the royal forces into Scotland. - -Lord Dundee came to Edinburgh, for some time hovering like a hawk over -the then sitting Convention. The Duke of Gordon still held the Castle -for King James; Dundee had an interview with the Duke and advised “no -surrender,” he then, with a few horsemen, left the city. (We all know -the ringing song in which Sir Walter Scott narrates his departure.) Like -a fiery-cross he went through the highlands, rousing the clansman to -battle for the fallen Stuart King. The man must have had a dominating -personality; in a short time he had assembled an army, feeble in -discipline and cohesion no doubt; but, as it proved, good for the kind -of work it befell them to do. - -The highlanders were posted on an open slope at the head of the pass of -Killiecrankie in the north Perthshire hills. To give them battle, -Mackay, on 17th June, 1689, advanced up the pass. When the royal troops -entered the defile, no enemy was to be seen,—only the pines towering -high upon the cliffs on either hand, and the river Garry rushing swiftly -by the narrow pathway through the pass. To the Lowland and Dutch -soldiers, who composed the royal army, it was a scene novel and -magnificent, but bewildering, awe-inspiring. - -Dundee allowed the whole of Mackay’s army to emerge from the pass, and -even to form in order of battle, before he began the attack. It was an -hour before sunset that the highlanders advanced. They fired their -muskets only once, and throwing them away, with fierce shouts they -rushed down with broadsword and target. Mackay’s line was broken by the -onset. When it came to disordered ranks, and the clash of hand to hand -combats, the superior discipline of the royal troops was of no account. -Agility, hardihood, and the confidence of assured victory were on the -side of the clansmen. It was soon a rout; but with such a narrow gorge -for retreat it became a massacre. Two thousand of Mackay’s troops were -slain. The highlanders’ loss was eight hundred; but amongst these was -their gallant leader. Near the end of the battle, Dundee, on horseback, -was extending his right arm to the clan Macdonald, as directing their -movements, when he was struck by a bullet under the arm-pit, where he -was unprotected by his cuirass. With him perished the cause of King -James in Scotland. After his death his army melted away, and both -highlands and lowlands submitted to the Government of William. - -General lenity and toleration were the watchwords of William’s policy. -The episcopal church was to be maintained in England, and the -presbyterian in Scotland; but neither were to ride rough-shod over -dissenters. In Scotland, much against the desires of the more rigid, as -the Cameronians, there were to be no reprisals for former persecution -and oppression. Even obnoxious officials were maintained in their old -places. When the Jacobite rising in Ireland was quelled by the surrender -of Limerick, a treaty was there made by which Catholics were to be -allowed the free exercise of their religion. William endeavoured to get -parliament to ratify this treaty, but two months after it had been -entered into, the English Parliament imposed a declaration against -Transubstantiation on members of the Irish parliament, and this -parliament, entirely composed of Protestants, whilst giving nominal -confirmation, really put the Catholics in a worse condition than they -were before. The Irish Catholics have since then called Limerick, “the -town of the broken treaty.” - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - The Massacre of Glencoe. - - -To counteract the spirit of disloyalty which was still lurking amongst -the Highland clans, the Earl of Breadalbane, cousin to the Duke of -Argyle, was entrusted with £16,000, to be distributed among the various -chieftains, conditionally on their making submission to William and -Mary. The Earl did not make an impartial distribution of the money; the -leading chiefs were bought off, the lesser were intimidated by threats. -A branch of the clan MacDonald were settled in a wild valley, Glencoe, -in north Argyleshire; a small river, the Coe (the Cona of Ossian—a name -which sounds musically sweet—calling up thoughts of serenity and peace,) -runs through the valley towards Lochleven—the arm of the sea which -separates Argyleshire from Inverness-shire. The valley spreads flatwise -to the bases of the surrounding hills, which seem to stand as fortressed -walls to guard it from all danger. But in this secluded spot—shut off as -it seemed from the outer world—was enacted the basest of all the acts of -treachery and barbarity which disgrace this seventeenth century. - -MacIan, the chief of the MacDonalds of Glencoe, was an old man, stately, -venerable, sagacious. He now charged Breadalbane with having defrauded -him of his share of the government money; the earl retorted that MacIan -and his tribe had been persistent marauders over his Campbell clansmen’s -lands round Glencoe, which was probably true enough, as there had been a -feud of long standing between the clans. A proclamation had been issued -that—under severe penalties for non-compliance—submission had to be made -before the 1st of January, 1692; MacIan, out of a spirit of -contrariness, put off taking the oath, and the Secretary of State for -Scotland, the Master of Stair, a friend of Breadalbane’s, reported -officially to the government that the MacDonalds were not making -submission, and that they were an incorrigibly lawless tribe of thieves -and murderers. - -On the 31st of December, MacIan and several of his leading clansmen went -to Fort-William, and proffered to take the oath of allegiance before -Colonel Hill, the commanding officer. Not being a civil official, the -Colonel was not empowered to administer the oath, but, moved by the -distress of the old man, who saw the danger to which his obstinacy had -exposed his people, he gave him a letter to Sir Colin Campbell, the -Sheriff of Argyleshire, requesting him to receive, although after the -official date, the submission of the chief. With this letter MacIan -hastened on, through snowstorms, by swollen streams, and rugged mountain -paths, to Inverary. The road passed near his own home, but he was now in -such haste that he went right on; but it was the 6th of January, before -he had accomplished the weary fifty miles, and presented himself before -the sheriff. The sheriff, considering all the circumstances, -administered the oath; he gave MacIan a certificate, and wrote to the -Privy Council, detailing the facts, and giving explanatory reasons for -his own conduct in the matter. - -But the secretary had hoped to have had MacIan in his power, and was -chagrined by the submission; so the sheriff’s letter was suppressed, and -the submission deleted from the records of the council. On the 16th of -January, the secretary obtained the king’s signature to the following -order, addressed to the commander of the forces in Scotland:—“As for -MacIan of Glencoe, and that tribe, if they can be well distinguished -from the rest of the Highlanders, it will be proper for the vindication -of public justice to extirpate that set of thieves.” Burnet says that -William did not read the order, but signed it, thinking it was only a -detail in ordinary business. Another explanation is, that the fact of -MacIan’s submission being treacherously withheld from William, he -thought that the extirpation meant by the order was, that _as_ a “set of -thieves” they were to be broken up, and brought under ordinary law. -William could not have meant to order or to sanction the horrible event -which followed; but still the name of Glencoe ever sounds as a blast of -judgment against the fair fame of the Deliverer. - -And now, as under the royal order, the secretary gave explicit -instructions for the indiscriminate butchery of the whole “damnable -race.” The passes were to be guarded to prevent any escape. “In the -winter,” he wrote, “they cannot carry their wives, children, and cattle -to the mountains. This is the proper season to maul them, in the long -dark nights.” A detachment of troops, belonging Argyle’s regiment, under -Campbell of Glenlyon, were sent into the glen. They were hospitably -received, and were quartered amongst the inhabitants. A niece of -Glenlyon’s was married to a son of MacIan’s, and for twelve days there -was hunting by day, and feasting, card-playing, and healths-drinking in -the long evenings. Glenlyon and a party accepted an invitation to dine -with MacIan on the 13th of February, but, as had been previously -arranged, at four o’clock of the morning of that day, the work of blood -began. The old chief was shot in his bed; his wife was stripped naked, -and died next day from terror and exposure. The two sons of MacIan were -aroused by the musket shots, the shouts of the murderers, and the -screams of the victims; they, with many others, men, women, and -children, fled, half-naked, in darkness, snow, and storm, into the less -savage wilderness. The falling snow proved fatal to several of the -fugitives, but it was the salvation of the others, for it prevented the -troops, who were to have guarded the passes, from arriving at the time -appointed, to intercept and slay all who had escaped from death in the -glen. It was mid-day when these troops, by the several passes entered -the glen, and they found no MacDonald alive but an old man of eighty, -and him they slew. Every hut was burned, the cattle and horses of the -tribe were collected, and driven to the garrison of Fort-William. - -Thirty-eight victims: Was Secretary Stair satisfied? Not he; he was -mortified that his plans for total destruction had failed. “I regret,” -he wrote, “that any got away.” It is said that two men—one engaged in -the contrivance of the massacre, and the other in its execution— -Breadalbane and Glenlyon—did feel the stings of conscience, the heart- -gnawings of remorse, and were never the same men afterwards. - -It was long before the hideous story of Glencoe came to be generally -known. On the facts being published, there rose a popular clamour for an -inquiry. On the eve of the meeting of the Scottish Parliament, in 1695, -it was known to ministers that the war-cry would be “Glencoe.” So in -haste they got the King to appoint a Commission. After a searching -enquiry, the Commission reported that the slaughter at Glencoe was -murder; and that of this murder the letters of the Master of Stair were -the sole warrant and cause. As a punishment for his great crime, Stair -was _dismissed from office_! - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - The Union of Scotland and England. - - -Just at the time when the full realization of the horrors of Glencoe was -agitating the public mind, the disastrous Darien scheme was floated. -This, the first great national adventure in foreign commerce, was a wild -speculation, based upon the fanciful assumptions of one man, William -Paterson. His scheme was to establish a trading colony on the narrow -isthmus joining North and South America, as a convenient stage between -India and Europe. His eloquent tongue, and even more eloquent -reservations, produced glowing visions of national and individual -wealth. There was a rush for shares in the “Company of Scotland;” for -their purchase landowners mortgaged their estates, farmers sold their -cattle, widows pledged their jointures. Nearly half-a-million sterling -was subscribed. Ships and stores were purchased, and in July, 1698, a -colonizing expedition of 1200 men left Leith, amidst the wildest popular -enthusiasm. It reached its destination, and under the ninth parallel of -north latitude a New Edinburgh was founded. - -The enterprise was an utter failure; the climate was found to be a -deadly one, and famine was imminent; many died, and there was general -sickness and debility. Under instructions from the home government, the -governors of English West India settlements issued proclamations, -denouncing the Scottish colonists as pirates, and interdicting supplies -and communications. The Spaniards, claiming the land as theirs, were -fitting out hostile armaments. Finding that to remain meant nothing -short of extermination, all who were left took to their ships; drifting -almost at the mercy of winds and waves, they arrived at the Hudson -river. A second expedition of 1300 men landed to find ruins and a -solitude, and to meet a similar fate. - -Glencoe had largely weakened the popularity of William in Scotland, and -his hostile action towards the Darien scheme excited hatred and -disloyalty. Jacobitism, instead of wearing itself out, became more -deeply rooted and more formidable. The golden link of the crown, which -during the seventeenth century had been the only official tie between -the two nations, seemed a fragile one; and the King saw, with the -prescience of a statesman, that there must either be closer union, or -entire separation. He could see that—comparatively weak as Scotland was— -its influence might, under a foreign complication, have to be deducted -from the strength of England. - -In February, 1702, William met with the accident—a fall from his horse— -which resulted in his death. When he knew that his end was approaching -he sent his last message under his sign-manual to Parliament, -recommending the union of the kingdoms; it would be a comfort to him if -Parliament would favourably consider the matter. The Commons agreed to -consider the King’s message on the 7th of March—on that day he was in -_extremis_—dying in the night. - -Then Anne, William’s sister-in-law, reigned. The Scots were still -irritable over the English treatment of the Darien scheme, and their -Parliament passed what was called _The Act of Security_. By this act it -was ordained that the English successor to the then reigning sovereign, -would not be adopted by Scotland, unless there was free trade between -the two countries, and the internal affairs of Scotland thoroughly -secured from English influence. The Queen’s High Commissioner refused -the royal assent to this defiant measure, and the English House of Peers -passed a resolution, that a dangerous plot existed in Scotland for the -overthrow of the Protestant succession in that nation. The Scots highly -resented this resolution, declaring it to be an unauthorised -interference with the concerns of an independent kingdom. The Estates -refused to grant supplies, and ordered the disciplining, by monthly -drills, of all men capable of bearing arms. The reply of the English -Parliament was, by the enactment of fresh restrictions upon Scottish -trade with England and its colonies, and by ordering the border towns of -Newcastle, Berwick, and Carlisle to be fortified and garrisoned. - -But the queen had in her minister, Earl Godolphin, a wise and sagacious -statesman; by his advice she gave in 1704, her assent to the Act of -Security. And the English Parliament empowered the queen to nominate -commissioners to discuss with commissioners appointed by the Scottish -estates terms of a treaty of union between the two nations. Thirty -commissioners were thus appointed on each side; ostensibly they -represented all parties; but Godolphin’s powerful influence was so -exerted in the selection, that not only was there a majority on both -sides in favour of union, but also for that union being favourable to -England. There is more than mere suspicion that English money was freely -given, and English promises of personal advancement were largely made, -to induce the Scottish Commissioners to agree to terms which were -certainly unjust to Scotland. - -The numerical proportion of its population, entitled Scotland to send -sixty-six members to a united House of Commons; but the number was -restricted to forty-five. Of the Scottish nobility, not one was to be -entitled by right of title or of possessions, to sit in the House of -Lords; but there were to be sixteen representative peers. For the -English bishops holding seats in the upper house, there was to be no -Scottish counterpart. The Scottish nobles on the Commission were tempted -to agree to the ignominious position their order was to be placed in by -the promise that themselves would be created _British peers_, with -hereditary seats in the Lords. Scotland was to pay a fair proportion of -the general taxation. She was to retain her Presbyterian Church, and her -own civil and municipal laws and institutions. - -When the articles of the proposed treaty as arranged by the joint -Commission were published, there was in Scotland a general outburst of -rage and mortification. It seemed as if they were to make a voluntary -surrender of their dearly bought independence,—a descent from their -position as a free nation, into that of a mere province. When the -Scottish Parliament met in October, 1706, the whole country was in a -state of dangerous excitement. Addresses against the proposed terms of -union were sent from every county and town, from almost every parish in -the kingdom. In some towns, copies of the Articles of Union were -publicly burned. Edinburgh was in a state of wild tumult; the High -Commissioner was hooted; the Provost, who was known to favour the -obnoxious treaty, had his house wrecked. In the House of Parliament -there were fierce debates, “resembling,” said an eye witness, “not a -mere strife of tongues, but the clash of arms.” The opposition, headed -by the Duke of Hamilton, did all they could to hinder the measure; -finding their resistance ineffectual, they retired from the parliament -house, and, clause by clause, the articles of treaty were formally -passed by the compliant majority. - -In March, 1707, the English parliament ratified the Treaty of Union, and -on the 1st of May ensuing, it came into operation. It had been carried -through the Scottish Parliament by transparent venality, and under -popular disfavour. It was inaugurated in Scotland with sullen -discontent, and for six years it was there the ruling passion to -discredit and decry it. And so far its results had not contradicted evil -forebodings. As had been feared, the very slender representation of -Scotland in the Imperial Parliament, gave it only a weak voice in -legislature. The English treason laws, and malt-tax were extended to -Scotland. The Scottish representatives in the Commons complained that -they were not treated as equals by their fellow-members—not as -representing a free nation, the equal of England in its rights and -privileges, but a subjugated and dependent province. Sneers at their -country, and sarcasms on their own accent, manners, and appearance, were -daily met with by men who were proud of their native land, and in that -land had been accorded the respect due to gentlemen of birth, breeding, -and education. And Scottish noblemen, who had not been elected on the -representative sixteen, but had been created _British Peers_ by the -sovereign, were, by a resolution of the House of Lords, refused seats in -that House. - -In 1713, the Scottish members in both Houses,—and who included within -their ranks men of all political parties—Revolution Whigs, and Tory -advocates of kingly prerogative, Jacobites and adherents of the House of -Hanover,—unanimously resolved to move in parliament the repeal of the -Act of Union, on the grounds that it had failed in the good results -which had been anticipated from it. And in the then state of parties in -England, there seemed a fair chance of carrying the proposed abrogation. -For the Whigs, who had been the dominant party, from the Revolution to -1710, when they were ousted from office, were now—although they had been -the active promoters of the Union—prepared to do anything to cripple the -government. The defence of the Union now rested with the Tories, who had -strenuously opposed it, and obstructed it at every stage. - -On the 1st of June, the motion for repeal was brought up in the House of -Lords, and after a warm debate was rejected by a majority of only four -votes. So, happily for both countries, the Union had farther trial; and -as in the generality of prognostications of evil, as the resultant of -political or social change, time has proved their falsity. Under the -Union, Scotland advanced in material prosperity, and as a nation she has -fully maintained her national prestige. Scotsmen have ever taken an -active part—at times a leading part—in imperial affairs. In diplomacy -and in war, in science and invention, in literature and art, in -philosophy and trading enterprise, Scotsmen have been well in line with -men of the other nationalities which together constitute the United -Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - The Jacobite Risings of 1715. - - -Queen Anne was not a woman of strong intellect, but simple and homely in -her tastes; weakly obstinate, like the Stuart race. In the earlier years -of her reign, with the Whigs in power, she was under the stronger will -of Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough; in the later years, when the Tories -held office, she was largely ruled by a Mrs. Masham. Her domestic story -was a painful one. She passed through a motherhood of nineteen children, -nearly all of whom died in infancy, only one son reaching the age of -eleven years. Her husband, Prince George of Denmark, was the very -embodiment of dulness and stupidity. King James, his father-in-law, said -of him, “I have tried George drunk, and I have tried him sober; drunk or -sober there is nothing in him.” He took no part in public affairs. He -died in 1708, and Anne, widowed, childless, and in broken health, was as -lonely a woman as any within the three kingdoms which acknowledged her -sovereignty. - -There is no doubt that after she had lost all her own children, her -sympathies were with her father’s son, generally known as _The -Pretender_. She felt more and more as her life was ebbing to its end, -that she had not been a dutiful daughter. In her own loneliness she must -have had abiding thoughts of her young brother, expatriated from his -father-land. Whilst she was living in royal estate, he, the legitimate -heir of that estate, was a homeless waif,—ever tantalized by fruitless -hopes and longings. What to her was this second cousin in Hanover,—a -foreigner by birth and in all his interests? She was horror-stricken at, -and absolutely refused to sanction, a Whig proposal, that Elector George -should be invited to visit Britain, and make some acquaintance with the -country which he was one day to rule over. - -Anne’s two leading ministers—Oxford and Bolingbroke, at one in their -Jacobite proclivities, were yet at personal variance. At a council -meeting, on 27th July, 1714, at which the queen was present, they had a -fierce quarrel, and, under the joint influence of Bolingbroke and Mrs. -Masham, the Queen dismissed Oxford from office. But the triumph of -Bolingbroke was short-lived, for the stormy council meeting so acted on -the queen, that she next day fell into a lethargy, from which—with brief -intervals of semi-consciousness—she never rallied. - -On the 30th of July, when it was known that the queen was sinking, two -Whig lords, the Dukes of Somerset and Argyle, took upon themselves, in -virtue of their position as privy-councillors, to attend unsummoned the -council board. They found the ministers in a state of utter perplexity -and alarm; humble enough to agree to a proposal that in the present -grave crisis, the queen should be asked to confer the premiership upon -the Duke of Shrewsbury. He had taken a leading part in the revolution, -been one of William’s chief secretaries of state, and was much respected -by both parties. The dying queen gave, by a sign, her consent to his -receiving the staff of office. That feeble sign was the last public -action of the Stuart dynasty. Anne died on the 1st of August, and next -day the Elector of Hanover,—through his mother and grandmother, a great -grandson of James I.,—was, as George the First, proclaimed king in -London. - -The new king, knowing that the Whigs were his best friends, formed his -ministry from their ranks. Three of Anne’s ministers, Oxford, -Bolingbroke, and the Duke of Ormond, were impeached for high treason; -Oxford was sent to the Tower; Bolingbroke and Ormond escaped to the -Continent, where they joined the councils of the Pretender. The Tory -party, although out of official power, comprised the bulk of the -landowners, the clergy, and the learning of England; and the popular -mind—as shewn in tumultuous crowds, cheering Jacobite speeches, and -burning effigies of King William—was largely reactionary. - -As tidings of British agitation and discontent were wafted across the -Channel, so rose the hopes of the Pretender and his little court of -adherents at St. Germains. Vessels were equipped at Havre and Dieppe, -with arms and ammunition. The Pretender’s plan of operations turned upon -the Duke of Ormond making a landing in England, and the Duke of Berwick -in Scotland. The latter, a natural son of James II., by a sister of the -Duke of Marlborough, had a high military reputation, and if he had had -the general direction of the movement, the results might have been -different. But on the 6th of September, 1715, the Earl of Mar, without -any commission from the Pretender, set up his standard at Braemar, and -proclaimed him King of Scotland. - -Mar had got up Highland games and hunting expeditions, and being an -eloquent speaker, he inflamed the minds of the chieftains with sanguine -hopes of a successful issue to a general rising. Ten thousand men -rallied round the flag of rebellion. And in Northumberland, under the -Earl of Derwentwater, and Mr. Foster, a county member of Parliament, -there was a simultaneous rising. Mar sent a thousand Highlandmen in aid; -on their way they were joined by several noblemen and gentlemen of the -south of Scotland. The little Northumbrian army marched into Lancashire, -and occupied Preston; attacked there by royal troops, they, after an -obstinate defence, surrendered. - -Meanwhile, Mar, after occupying Perth, marched to join the English -insurgents. At Sheriffmuir, near Dunblane, he was met by a royalist -force under the Duke of Argyle, and on the same day as the surrender at -Preston, a battle was fought. The left wing of both armies defeated its -opponents; so it was technically a drawn battle. But it was tantamount -to a rebel defeat; next morning Argyle occupied the field of action; Mar -had retired to Perth. On December 22nd, the Pretender arrived in a small -vessel at Peterhead. He made a quasi-royal progress to Perth, having -himself proclaimed as James the Eighth in all the towns he passed -through. Of a handsome person, he could be courteous in his manners; but -he lacked animation; his general expression was sombre and uninviting, -not one to raise enthusiasm in men engaged in a desperate enterprise. He -entered Perth on 9th January, 1716, taking up his quarters at Scone, and -giving instructions for his coronation. - -But the dream of the crown, which had tantalized the prince from -boyhood, vanished into thin air before the stern realities around him. -Mar’s army was dispirited by inaction, and melting away by desertions. -Argyle had been reinforced by English troops and Dutch auxiliaries, and -had had a field-train from Berwick. On January 30th, he was in sight of -Perth. The prospect of a battle raised the spirits of the clansmen, but -the leaders had seen for weeks that their enterprise was hopeless, and -Mar ordered a retreat. It had been an especially cold winter, the Tay, -instead of being a strongly flowing river, was then a frozen highway, -and in sullen discontent, the clans crossed over and began their -retreat. They marched in good order, unmolested by Argyle. In four days -they had reached Montrose, _en route_ for Aberdeen; there, it was -promised them they would meet a large body of French troops, and again, -with bright hopes of success, march southwards. - -[Illustration: JAMES FRANCIS, THE OLD PRETENDER.] - -On February 4th, the retreat was to be continued; the carriage and -mounted guards of the prince were waiting before the gateway of his -lodgings, but no prince appeared. He had slunk off by a back-way and, -with the Earl of Mar, Lord Drummond, and the _gentlemen_ of his suite, -gone on board a small vessel in the harbour, lying ready for their -reception. It was, perhaps, the meanest desertion by the leaders of a -warlike enterprise in all history. The prince left a sealed letter, to -be opened in Aberdeen. Its contents were found to be formal thanks for -faithful services, _permission_ to choose between dispersion, and as a -body coming to terms with the enemy; and apprizing the men that their -pay had now ceased. There was an outburst of rage and mortification, and -then the clans, under great privations, sought their native glens and -villages; the leaders tried to make their escape to the continent from -the northern sea-ports. - -During the twelve years of Anne’s reign there was not a single execution -for treason, but now the headsman and hangman were again at work. Of -those who took part in the English insurrection, the Earl of -Derwentwater, Lord Kenmore, and about twenty other persons were -executed. Foster and several others made rather marvellous escapes from -prison. In Scotland about forty families of note lost their estates. But -a trick of the government, in ordering that the commission for the trial -of the Scottish rebels should sit in Carlisle, raised such a cry of -injustice, and of being an infringement of the Articles of Union, that -the accused were given to understand that if they did not challenge the -authority of the Court, they would be mercifully dealt with. The result -was, that although twenty-four were condemned, not one of them was -executed. - -After the native efforts of Jacobitism in 1715 had resulted in utter -failure, it had certain glimmerings of success through foreign -complications. King George never became in heart, in habits, or in -policy, an Englishman. In his Hanoverian policy he embroiled Britain -with Sweden and Spain. He purchased from the King of Denmark the duchies -of Bremen and Verden, which duchies the King of Sweden—the redoubtable -Charles XII.—claimed as his own. Charles now proposed to place himself -at the head of a confederacy, to dethrone King George, and put the -Pretender in his place. His idea was, to land with 10,000 men in the -north of Scotland, to call upon the highland clans to again rally round -a Jacobite standard, and, with the co-operation of a Spanish fleet, to -march into England. It is one of the might-have-beens with which history -abounds. But a cannon shot at the siege of Frederickshall, in 1718, -ended the erratic course of Charles. - -Next year the Pretender was received with royal honours at Madrid, and -an expedition of ten ships of war, with 6,000 troops and much warlike -stores on board, was placed under the command of the Duke of Ormond, and -sailed for Scotland. A violent storm off Cape Finisterre scattered the -expedition. Two frigates landed 300 men at Lewis; these surrendered to -the royal troops sent against them. This same year the Pretender married -a Polish princess; by her he had two sons,—Charles Edward, and Henry -Benedict. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - The Rebellion of 1745. - - -In 1724, the government sent Marshal Wade into the Highlands to take -measures to enforce law and order, and to facilitate military -communication. Wade was a man of good common sense, and he did his work -with tact and judgment. The clansmen were disarmed; but commissions were -given to loyal chieftains to raise militia companies, to be disciplined -and trained in the use of arms. Some of these companies, as the -celebrated _Black Watch_, which became the 42nd regiment, were composed -of men in good social positions, as farmers, tacksmen, and sons of -highland gentlemen. And Wade employed his soldiers to construct, under -skilful supervision, well-formed roads, connected together, and more -direct. A memorable distich was posted up near Fort-William:— - - “Had you seen those roads before they were made, - You would hold up your hands and bless General Wade.” - -On the surface the Highlands were quiet, and were being brought more and -more within the pale of British citizenship. Sheriffs held their courts -in all the northern shires; schools were established in every parish; -farmers and breeders had better access to fairs and markets, and -hillside cottars to their Kirks. But the embers of Jacobitism still -smouldered; the chiefs had no liking for these German Georges, and the -clansmen would still follow their chieftain’s leadership. - -But there was no special agitation or disquietude in the Highlands when, -on the 25th of July, 1745, Prince Charles Edward landed on the south- -west coast of Inverness-shire, and asked the neighbouring chiefs to join -him in a new rebellion. He came, personally a stranger in the land, with -a suite of seven gentlemen, to conquer a throne from which, fifty-seven -years previously, his grandfather had been driven with ignominy and -disgrace. There must have been a charm of person and manners in the -prince—now in his twenty-fifth year—by which he won the hearts, and, -even against their judgments, the enthusiastic support of the chiefs, -who met him with the intention of persuading him to return to France. He -lives in Scottish song and story as “Bonnie Prince Charlie”—the idol of -the clansmen. - -[Illustration: CHARLES EDWARD, THE YOUNG PRETENDER.] - -Some leading chiefs as MacDonald of Sleat and MacLeod of MacLeod, -declined to join the enterprise; but one man of foremost note—Cameron of -Lochiel—declared for the prince, and sent out a gathering summons to -arms. About two thousand men saluted the standard when, on August 19th, -it was set up at Glenfinnan. On the 3rd of September, the prince entered -Perth; a fortnight later he was in Edinburgh. The magistrates had tried -to organize a volunteer defence of the city; but when the words passed -round, “the Highlanders are in sight,” the gates were opened. But the -castle held out for King George. - -Sir John Cope, the Commander of the royal forces in Scotland had, at the -news of the rebellion, gone with 1500 men into the Highlands; but, -evading the prince’s forces, he took shipping at Aberdeen, landed at -Dunbar, and with reinforcements, marched on Edinburgh. The prince met -him at Prestonpans, eight miles east of Edinburgh, and a battle was -there fought on the morning of 21st September. The rush of the -highlanders, with broadsword and target, here, as at Killiecrankie, -carried the day. The royal troops were completely routed, and their -artillery, baggage, and military chest fell to the victors. - -The prince returned to Edinburgh amidst popular acclamations. His -adventure had now assumed a more serious aspect. For a time it seemed as -if the whole of Scotland,—except the castles of Edinburgh and Stirling, -and the highland garrisons—was at his feet. Dundee and Perth were held -by highland contingents; Glasgow was subjected to a payment of £5,000. -But it was six weeks before, from other highland clans coming in, and -from lowland enlistments, his army mustered 5,500 men. At Holyrood balls -and festivities, he courteously enacted the royal host. On October 31st, -he began his march southwards, entering England by the western border. -He took Carlisle, passed through Preston, Wigan, and Manchester, -arriving at Derby on 4th December. The march was in two divisions; the -front division was commanded by Lord George Murray, a thorough soldier -in courage and ability. The rear division was led by the prince -himself,—generally in highland garb, his target on his shoulder. - -At Derby the prince might have said with Henry of Lancaster:— - - “Thus far into the bowels of the land, - Have we marched on without impediment.” - -But what next—and next? A larger and better appointed army than his own, -commanded by the Duke of Cumberland, was at Lichfield, only twenty-five -miles to the south-west; another army, equal in numbers to his own, -under Marshal Wade, was marching down on his rear through Yorkshire. The -general opinion of a Council of War was for retreat. The prince at first -refused his assent; he sulked over it for a day, and then gave in with a -bad grace, saying he would call no more Councils of War, but act -entirely on his own judgment. Early next morning—the 6th of December—the -cheerless retreat began. - -The very audacity of the irruption into England fostered an idea in the -minds of both friends and enemies that the prince had some secret but -well-founded assurance of powerful support, which in due time would -reveal itself. But the idea was seen to be baseless when the highland -brogues began to retrace the northern roads. In passing through -Manchester on the march, there had been bonfires, acclamations, hand- -kissing, and a display of white cockades. Ten days later, in the -retreat, there was in Manchester a mob-demonstration against the -highlanders; when they left the town, their rear guard was hooted and -fired upon. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - -[Illustration: - - LORD LOVAT. - _From a drawing made by Hogarth the morning before his Lordship’s - execution._ -] - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - -When the Duke of Cumberland learned of the retreat of the rebels, he -hastened against them with all his cavalry; but their rear-guard, under -Lord George Murray, gallantly repelled all attacks; and on 20th -December, the prince’s army was again on Scottish ground. After levying -contributions on Glasgow and Dumfries, he proceeded towards Stirling, -making the historical village of Bannockburn his headquarters. Here he -was joined by considerable reinforcements, including the clans Frazer, -Farquharson, MacKenzie, and Macintosh. Simon, Lord Lovat, the aged chief -of the Frazers, had been playing fast and loose, negotiating with the -Prince for a dukedom as the price of his support; at the same time -assuring the government of his loyalty, and asking for arms to enable -his clan to act against the rebels. In the end, he sent his son with 750 -Frazers to join the princes standard; the crafty old fox himself -remaining at home in pretended neutrality. By the middle of January the -prince’s muster-roll reached its maximum—about 8,500 men. - -The prince had opened trenches for a regular siege of Stirling Castle, -when he learned that General Hawley with 8,000 men, most of them -veterans from the French wars, was marching against him. Lord George -Murray—knowing that with such an army as that of the rebels, the chances -of success lay more in attack than defence—made a rapid march on Hawley. -On the afternoon of January 17th, a battle was fought on Falkirk Moor. -It was a wild fight, in a blinding storm of wind and rain. The darkening -mists prevented combined operations on both sides. Divisions of each -army drove back their immediate opponents, but themselves got into -disorder in pursuit. Hawley in belief of defeat, fired his tents, fell -back on Linlithgow, and next morning took his army to Edinburgh. - -After the battle of Falkirk, the prince was for continuing the siege, -but such plodding work did not suit the Highlanders, and the chiefs -addressed a memorandum to him, advising retreat. He fumed and protested, -but had again to yield. On February 4th, the Forth was forded, and the -retreat began; it was a leisurely one, no royalist force of any -magnitude being in the Highlands. Inverness was occupied by the prince -on February 18th. Forts George and Augustus surrendered; Lord Loudon -took what royalist troops he could collect into Ross-shire, where they -were joined by the Whig MacDonalds. - -The Duke of Cumberland came to Edinburgh, and organized an army. In -addition to his British troops, 6,000 Hessians were landed at Leith. The -army marched by Perth to Aberdeen. On the 8th of April, the Duke left -Aberdeen; on the 14th, he was at Nairn, 16 miles north of Inverness. His -troops numbered 9,000 men,—a compact, well-fed, well-disciplined army, -with full confidence in their leader, as a man of courage and large -military experience. - -The prince had not expected that the duke would leave Aberdeen before -May, and his troops were scattered about. They had been for weeks in a -state of semi-starvation, and had to roam the country to find food for a -bare subsistence. The men were discontented for lack of pay; the leaders -were jealous and suspicious of each other; some of the clans claimed -special rights and precedences. It was a divided, a disheartened, almost -a demoralized army of 7,000 men which, on April 15th, stood, with barely -one ration for each man in the commissariat, upon Culloden Moor, about -four miles north-east of Inverness. - -Unequally matched as the two armies would have been if they had met on -the 15th, they were much more so on the next day, when the battle -joined. For in the intervening night, a strategical misadventure -prostrated the spirit and weakened the efficiency of the prince’s army. -There was an abortive attempt at a night attack on the royalist camp. -After a long weary march, the rebel army failed to concentrate in time -for a night surprise; and, disheartened and fatigued, it marched back to -Culloden Moor. Here, many at once lay down to sleep, others scattered in -search of food. At noon of the 16th, the two armies confronted each -other. - -Lord George Murray was watching for the proper moment to attack, but, -without waiting for orders, the clans in the centre and right wings -rushed down with their broadswords, and in spite of a galling fire broke -through the front line of the enemy. But the second line had been -trained to resist a Highland onset; they reserved their fire until the -clansmen had almost reached the points of the bayonets, and then it told -with deadly effect. The broadswords could not penetrate the steady line -of bayonets; for the assailants it was either flight or death. - -The three MacDonald regiments had been placed in the left wing of the -rebel army. They claimed the right wing, and even in the supreme moment -of battle, Highland pride predominated over military duty. They did not -respond to the order to advance, and retired upon the second line. And -now, a boundary wall on the prince’s right had been thrown down by the -Argyleshire Campbells, and a way made for the duke’s cavalry to operate -on the flank and rear. His main army advanced in compact order, and it -became a panic, and “save himself who can,” with the clansmen. The -MacDonalds and a portion of the second line retired in fair order; but -the duke’s cavalry cut off all stragglers; and all the wounded rebels on -the battlefield, even those who were next morning found alive, were—by -the duke’s orders it is said—savagely put to death. - -And not with the fever-madness of battle did the savageries terminate. -Cumberland had at Carlisle, where the prince had unwisely left a small -garrison, begun a course of atrocity; and he now went over the -Highlands, a very demon of cruelty and destruction. This prince of the -blood-royal of England gave his soldiery licence to shoot in cold blood -the male inhabitants, to plunder the houses of the chieftains, to drive -off the cattle and burn the huts of the peasants; to outrage the women. -His ducal title ought to have died with him; for what man of honour or -common humanity but would feel it a disgrace to bear an appellation made -for ever infamous by the _Butcher of Culloden_? - -[Illustration: THE BLOCK, ETC., TOWER OF LONDON.] - -And the penalties of law supplemented the work of the sword. Lords -Kilmarnock, Balmerino and Lovat, were beheaded on Tower Hill,—the last -deaths by decapitation in Britain. About a hundred persons were hanged -in Scotland, and fifty in England; hundreds were sent to the -plantations. Of course it had been rebellion, but so far as the rebels -were concerned, it had been a fair, stand-up fight; they had lost all -but honour. They had not been robbers, or guilty of violence towards -civilians; they had not maltreated their prisoners, but set them free on -parole, which was often broken. Humanity and sound policy might well -have spoken for mercy. - -When the prince saw the enemy closing in upon his broken host, he may -have hesitated whether he should not stand and meet death, sword in -hand; but his friends took hold of his horse’s bridle and turned it from -the field. With few attendants he rode to Castle Downie, the residence -of Lord Lovat. On seeing the prince a fugitive, the crafty old man felt -the ground trembling under his own feet; so the prince had only a hasty -meal, and again rode on. He passed by Invergarry into the West -Highlands; there, and in the Western Isles, he was for over five months -a hunted outlaw. Government offered a reward of £30,000 for his capture; -yet, although one time and another hundreds knew of his whereabouts, not -one of these grasped at this, to them, fabulous amount, through -treachery. But the soldiery and unfriendly clansmen were vigilantly on -the outlook. - -The prince had, in his wanderings, gone to the outer Hebrides, and was -lodged in a forester’s hut, in a cleft of the hills. General Campbell -landed at South Uist to make a minute search of the islands. The -MacDonalds of Skye were also there, engaged in the same task,—a hunt- -party of two thousand men. We can imagine the avidity of the search—the -warrant for a huge fortune might be found under any bracken bush on the -hillside,—within any clump of trees, or beneath any overhanging cliff. -When escape seemed impossible, a woman’s compassion and a woman’s wit -came to the rescue. - -[Illustration: - - FLORA MACDONALD. - _From a painting by Ramsay._ -] - -No feminine name is in Scotland more honoured or awakens higher thoughts -of courage and devotion than that of Flora MacDonald. She belonged to -the MacDonalds who were inimical to the prince, and was—when she came to -know of his straits—on a visit to the house of Sir Alexander MacDonald. -But she boldly asked the chief for a passport for herself, a man- -servant, and a maid-servant, to enable her to visit relatives in a -neighbouring island. The prince, dressed up as maid “Bridget,” shewed -awkward enough, but without detection the party reached the house of -MacDonald of Kingsburgh, to whom Flora was afterwards married. From -there the prince again reached the mainland. - -Here he had, in a closely-watched district, several hair-breadth -escapes, and found that misery _does_ acquaint a man with strange -bedfellows! One refuge was a robber’s cave, the other occupants being -outlawed cattle-stealers. They knew the prince, and treated him with the -same loyal respect as, ten months previously, had been shewn him in the -halls of Holyrood. He was at length able to join Lochiel and other -outlawed adherents. Friends along the coast were watching for a French -vessel. One appearing on September 20th, nearly a hundred persons were -safely embarked. The prince is described as looking like the spectre of -his former self,—pale, haggard, and ragged. But his companions received -him with bonnets doffed and loyal salutations. Although chased by an -English cruiser, the vessel got safely to Marlaix, in Brittany. - - -[Illustration: _Ye Ende_] - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - Index. - - - Aberdeen, Old, 152; - Candlemas procession in, 153; - reception of James IV. in, 153; - church utensils, public sale of, 156; - English players in, 157; - early closing of taverns at, 158; - fines for non-attendance at church, 158; - trials for witchcraft in, 164 - - _Act of Security_, The, 272 - - Administration of effects, Provisions for the, 149 - - Agricola in Britain, 4 - - Alaric takes Rome, 10 - - Alexander III., King, 41 - - Alfred, King, Danish conflicts of, 39 - - Angles give their name to South Britain, 19 - - Anglican Church, Origin of the, 88 - - Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy, The, 21 - - Anne, Queen, reign of, 272; - her domestic history, 279; - favours the Pretender, 280; - her death, 281 - - Argyle, Earl of, sentenced to death, 231; - his insurrection, 240; - execution of, 241 - - Argyle, Marquis of, his execution, 212 - - Arminius defeats the Romans, 10 - - Assembly, General, in Glasgow, 182 - - Assembly of Divines in Westminster, 192 - - Athelstane, King, 41 - - Augustine, Mission of, 22 - - - Baliol nominated King by Edward I., 65 - - Barons’ sons, The education of, 114 - - Battle of Bannockburn, 71 - - ” Brunanberg, 41 - - ” Culloden, 299 - - ” Drumclog, 223 - - ” Dunbar, 200 - - ” Falkirk, 297 - - ” Hastings, 53 - - ” Killiecrankie, 261 - - ” Prestonpans, 292 - - ” Sedgemoor, 237 - - ” Sheriff-muir, 283 - - ” Stamford Bridge, 53 - - ” The Standard, 58 - - ” Worcester, 203 - - Beaton, Cardinal, Murder of, 90 - - Berwick, The Duke of, 282 - - Bishops, Seven, Arrest and Trial of, 250 - - Bishops, _Tulchan_, in Scotland, 179 - - “Black Watch,” Composition of the, 289 - - “Bloody Assize,” The, 238 - - Boadicea, Queen, defeated by the Romans, 4 - - Boot, Torture of the, 218 - - Borders, The, long disorderly, 77 - - Bothwell Bridge, Battle of, 225; - cruel treatment of prisoners taken at, 227 - - _Bretwalda_, an Anglo-Saxon dignity, 21 - - Britain, Invasion of, by Julius Cæsar, 1; - the second invasion and conquest, 3; - as a Roman province, 12; - the Roman evacuation, 16; - barbarian raids on, 17; - the Anglo-Saxons in, 19; - Danish invasions of, 38 - - British Churches, Ancient, differences between, 24 - - Brown, John, Cruel murder of, 228 - - Bruce, Robert, his contest for the crown, 68; - his army before Stirling, 69; - his victory at Bannockburn, 72 - - Burgh Court of Dundee, old records of, 134; - justice done in the, 135; - assumed powers of life and death, 141 - - - Cæsar, Julius, Invasion of Britain by, 2 - - Caledonians, The, 5 - - Candlemas procession in Aberdeen, 153 - - Canongate, The, its old memories, 124 - - Canute, The Danish King, 46 - - Caractacus defeated by the Romans, 4 - - Catholic church utensils, Sale of, 156 - - Catholic conversions under James II., 245 - - Catholic worship, Stringent laws against, 116 - - Celtic Language, The, 9 - - Celts, Origin of the, 27 - - Channel, Revolution expedition in the, 254 - - Charles I., Scotland under, 178; - endeavours to subvert Presbyterianism, 179; - his game of _Thorough_, 184; - at war with Parliament, 191; - joins the Scottish army, 195; - given up to Parliamentary army, 196; - at Carisbrook Castle, 197 - - Charles II. signs the Covenant, 199; - is crowned at Scone, 201; - defeated at Worcester, 203; - the Restoration, 211; - Scotland under, 213; - establishes Episcopacy, 214; - his death, 235 - - Charles Edward, Prince, lands in Scotland, 290; - in Edinburgh, 291; - in Derby, 293; - at Culloden, 298; - wanderings and escape, 302 - - Charles XII. of Sweden designs invading Britain, 287 - - Churches, Ancient British, 24 - - Civilization, Modern turning point in, 85 - - Civil War, The, 191 - - Claverhouse, Graham of, 223; - defeated at Drumclog, 224; - his cruel revenge, 226; - raises Highland clans in Jacobite cause, 260; - his death at Killiecrankie, 262 - - Columba settles in Iona, 32 - - Commission to discuss terms of Union, 273 - - Constantius, The Emperor, 7 - - Constantine, The Emperor, 8 - - Conversion of the Anglo-Saxons, 22 - - Conversion of the Picts, 33 - - Cope, Sir John, defeated at Prestonpans, 292 - - “Covenant,” Origin of the, 91 - - Covenanters at Rullion Green, 217; - at Drumclog, 223; - at Bothwell Bridge, 225; - persecutions of, 227; - martyrs’ monument in Greyfriars’ churchyard, 247 - - Cromwell in Scotland, 199; - wins battle of Dunbar, 200; - Scotland under, 206; - his latter days, 207; - his character, 207 - - Culdees, The, 33 - - Culloden, The Rebel army at, 298; - the battle, 299; - atrocities after the battle, 300 - - Cumberland, Duke of, follows retreat of Rebel army from Derby, 294; - marches against the Rebels, 297; - wins battle of Culloden, 299; - his savagery, 300 - - Cures from holy wells, 167 - - - Dalrida, Scoto, Kingdom of, 31 - - Dalziel persecutes the Covenanters, 216 - - Danish invasions of Britain, The, 38 - - Darien Scheme, The, 270; - ends in disaster, 271 - - Darnley, Lord, marries Queen Mary, 107; - his murder, 108 - - David I., King, 58 - - Declaration of Indulgence, The, 248 - - Declaration of Rights, The, 258 - - “Defender of the Faith,” Title of, 87 - - Derby, March of Rebels to, 293; - retreat from, 294 - - Derwentwater, Earl of, raises a rebellion, 283 - - Dress regulations in Sixteenth Century, 150 - - Druidism in Britain, 13 - - Drumclog, Battle of, 223 - - Drummond, Sir William, 83; - his welcome of Charles I. to Edinburgh, 178 - - Drunkenness, Punishments for, 145 - - Dunbar, Battle of, 200 - - Dunbar’s description of pageant in Aberdeen, 153 - - Duncan, King, 55 - - Dundee, History of Old, 134; - Burgh Court records, 135; - offences and punishments, 136; - stormed by General Monk, 204 - - Dunottar Castle, Siege of, 128 - - - Edgar the Peaceable, 42 - - Edinburgh, Old, 111; - a picturesque city, 112; - early history of, 112; - provisions against fire, 113; - early schools, 114; - after Flodden, 114; - Mary’s entrance into, 117; - quarrel of James VI. with, 120; - James revisits, 122; - resistance to episcopacy in, 182; - occupied by Prince Charles Edward, 292 - - Edinburgh Castle, 126; - an ancient royal residence, 127; - the regalia in, 127 - - Edward, King, the elder, 40 - - Edward the Confessor, 48 - - Edward I., arbitrator on claims to Scottish crown, 64; - decides for Baliol, 65; - conquers Scotland, 66; - his death, 68 - - Edward II. invades Scotland, 69; - is defeated at Bannockburn, 71 - - Effects, Administration of, 149 - - Elizabeth becomes Queen of England, 105; - her hatred of Mary, 106; - causes Mary’s execution, 109; - comparison of the two queens, 109 - - Ella, Landing of, 19 - - Emma, Queen, 46 - - England and Scotland, Strained relations between, 273; - Union of, 276 - - English, Preparation against attacks by the, 155 - - English Reformation, Causes of the, 86 - - English and Scottish Churches, Difference between, 90 - - English and Scottish Parliaments, Different constitution of, 74 - - Episcopacy introduced into Scotland by Charles I., 179 - - Ethelbert, Conversion of, 22 - - Ethelred the Unready, 44 - - - Falkirk, Battle of, 299 - - Feudalism in Britain, 73 - - Field-preaching in Scotland, 214 - - Folk-speech, Scottish, 84 - - Foster, Mr., heads a Jacobite rising, 283 - - - Gaelic language, The, 29 - - Geddes, Jenny, throws her stool, 180 - - George I., Accession of, 281 - - Glasgow, General assembly in, 182; - fined by Prince Charles Edward, 296 - - Glencoe, Massacre of, 264; - resolution on by the Scottish estates, 269 - - Godwin, Earl, 48; - his banishment, 49; - his return, 50 - - Graham of Claverhouse, 223 - - Grampians, Battle of the, 5 - - - Halley, General, defeated at Falkirk, 297 - - “Hand-fasting” in Scotland, 173 - - Hardicanute, King, 47 - - Harold, Earl, maltreated by William of Normandy, 50; - his high character, 51; - chosen king, 52; - defeats the Norsemen at Stamford Bridge, 53; - defeated and slain at Hastings, 54 - - Hastings, Battle of, 54 - - Henry VIII., his domestic history, 86; - his evil character, 87; - effects the English Reformation, 88; - demands Mary for his son’s wife, 102 - - Heptarchy, The Anglo-Saxon, 21 - - Heresy (Lutheran), Act of Parliament against, 155 - - Highlanders mode of fighting, 261; - advance into England, 293; - in retreat, 294 - - “Highland Host, The,” 220 - - Highlands long disorderly, 76; - under General Wade, 289 - - Holyrood, History of, 129; - Queen Mary’s apartments in, 130; - gallery of ancient kings in, 35; - the church, 132 - - Holy Wells in Scotland, 166; - associated with certain saints, 167; - pilgrimages to, 167; - at St. Fillans, 168; - at Musselburgh, 168; - at Muthill near Crieff, 169; - at Strathnaven, 169; - at Spa near Aberdeen, 170; - pilgrimages to denounced by the Strathbogie Presbytery, 170 - - - Ill-fame, Houses of, forbidden, 148 - - Images in churches, Demolition of, 99 - - Immorality, Penalties for, 145 - - Indulgence, Declaration of, 248 - - Inverness occupied by the rebels, 297 - - Iona, Historical importance of, 33 - - Ireland, The old races in, 30; - Patrick’s mission in, 32 - - Irish troops in London, 252 - - - Jacobite risings in 1715, 279 - - James I., his high character, 78; - a poet, 82; - his wise laws, 113 - - James III. patronises poets, 129 - - James IV. and Sir David Lindsay, 130; - his entry with his queen into Edinburgh, 114; - into Aberdeen, 153 - - James V. dying at Mary’s birth, 102 - - James VI., proclaimed king, 118; - supposed to be under witchcraft, 161; - quarrels with Edinburgh, 120; - becomes James I. of England, 122; - revisits Edinburgh, 123; - his method of arguing with the Puritans, 185 - - James, Duke of York, fights the Dutch at sea, 236; - in Scotland, 230; - as king attempts to re-establish popery, 242; - issues the declaration of indulgence, 248; - sends seven bishops to the Tower, 249; - has a son born, 250; - retracts unpopular measures, 253; - his flight, 255; - his throne declared vacant, 257; - Scotland under, 246 - - James the Pretender joins the rising of 1715, 284; - makes arrangements for his coronation, 284; - deserts his adherents, 286 - - Jeffreys, the infamous Judge, 232, 238 - - Jougs, The, 149 - - Justice, Good, done in Burgh Courts, 135 - - Jutes first landing in Britain, 17 - - - Kenneth Macalpine, King of Scots, 36 - - Killiecrankie, Battle of, 261 - - “Kings’ Quhair, The,” 81 - - Knox, John, his early life, 91; - preaching at Perth, 92; - admonishes Queen Mary, 96; - his strong character, 98 - - - Landowners bound for their tenants attending church, 220 - - Latin a spoken language in Britain, 8 - - Lauderdale, Persecutions of Lord, 219 - - Lent observances after the Reformation, 157 - - Leslie, General, at Dunbar, 200 - - Lindsay, Sir David, 130 - - Lisle, Alice, Execution of, 238 - - Literature, The older Scottish, 80 - - Lochiel, Adherence of to Prince Charles, 291 - - Logarithms, Invention of, by Napier, 123 - - Long Parliament, The, 190 - - Lothians, People of the, 80 - - Lovat, Lord, his double dealing, 296; - his execution, 301 - - Lowland folk-speech, 84 - - Luther’s heresies, An act against, 155 - - - Macbeth, King, 55 - - Macdonald, Flora, aids the escape of Prince Charles, 304 - - Macdonalds of Glencoe, Order to extirpate the, 267; - treacherous murders of, 268 - - Macdonalds, The, at Culloden, 299 - - MacIan of Glencoe, 265; - takes the oath of allegiance, 266; - his murder, 268 - - Mackay, General, defeated at Killiecrankie, 261 - - Magus Muir, Tragedy of, 222 - - Maid of Norway, The, 64 - - “Maiden,” The, 119 - - Malcolm II., King, 54 - - Malcolm, III., _Canmore_, 56; - marries Margaret, sister of Edgar Atheling, 57 - - Malcolm IV., _The Maiden_, 59 - - Mar, Earl of, raises a rebellion in 1715, 282; - is checked at Sheriffmuir, 283; - deserts his army at Montrose, 286 - - Margaret, queen of Malcolm Canmore, 57 - - Marriage, Scottish customs, 172; - lax notions on, 174; - restrictions on, 175; - unlucky months for, 172; - a woman’s outfit, 175 - - Mary of Guise, regent of Scotland, 90 - - Mary, Queen of England, 104 - - Mary, Queen of Scots, Childhood of, 102; - sent to France, and marries the Dauphin, 103; - returns to Scotland, 116; - her entry into Edinburgh, 117; - marries Lord Darnley, 106; - her sad after-history, 109; - compared with Elizabeth, 110; - her apartments in Holyrood, 130 - - Masham, Mrs., Influence of over Queen Anne, 279 - - Massacre of Glencoe, The, 264 - - McKail, Hugh, Execution of, 218 - - Monmouth, Duke of, defeats the Covenanters at Bothwell Bridge, 225; - his Moderation, 226; - his own Rebellion, 237 - - Monk, General, storms Dundee, 204; - completes Cromwell’s subjugation of Scotland, 206; - restores the Stuarts, 211 - - “Mons Meg” at Edinburgh Castle, 126 - - Montrose, the Marquis of, 194 - - Morton, Regent of Scotland, 118; - accused of being accessory to Darnley’s murder, 118; - his execution by the _Maiden_, 119 - - Murray, Lord George, leads the rebel march to Derby in 1745, 293 - - Musselburgh, Holy-well at, 168 - - - Napier of Merchiston invents logarithms, 123 - - Nationalism, English and Scottish, 81 - - Newcastle held by the Scots, 183 - - Night offences specially punished, 139 - - Normandy a Danish Conquest, 44 - - Norsemen hold North of Scotland, 54 - - Northumbria the chief power, 23 - - - Offences and their punishments in the sixteenth century, 134 - - Oswald, King of Northumbria, becomes _Bretwalda_, 23; - his conversion, 23 - - Oxford declares for the royal supremacy, 244; - is “hoist by its own petard,” 244 - - Oysters, penalty for giving false price to, 154 - - - Parliament, The Long, 190 - - Parliament declares James’s throne vacant, 257; - agrees to William and Mary’s joint sovereignty, 258 - - Parliaments in England and Scotland, 74 - - Paterson, William, floats the Darien scheme, 270; - the total failure, 271 - - Patrick, the Saint of Ireland, 32 - - Penny Weddings, 173 - - Perth in Jacobite occupation in 1715, 283; - the retreat from, 284 - - “Petition of Right,” The, 184 - - Picts, first mention of the, 6; - origin of the, 28; - conversion of, 33; - coalesce with the Scots, 36 - - Players, Reception of in Aberdeen, 157. - - Poetry, The older Scottish, 81 - - Pope, Henry VIII. quarrels with the, 88 - - Popery, Protestant intolerance towards, 116 - - Presbyterian Church of Scotland, distinctive features of, 94; - its influence on Scottish character, 95; - bareness of its forms of worship, 100; - its fight against episcopacy, 181 - - Presbyterianism in England, 193 - - Prestonpans, Battle of, 292 - - Pretender, Birth of the, 250; - in the rebellion of 1715, 284; - birth of his two sons, 288 - - Protestantism established in England, 88; - in Scotland, 92 - - “Protestant wind,” A, watched for, 253 - - Psalms and paraphrases in the Kirk, 100 - - Punishments in the sixteenth century, 135; - for speaking, falsely of burgh officers, 136; - for slander, 136; - for “flyting,” 137; - of having to pay for healing hurts, 138; - of banishment from the town, 140; - of scourging through the town, 141; - of death under burgh laws, 141; - of restitution, 142; - when there was “vehement suspicion,” 142; - of forfeiting the right to wear swords, 143; - for drunkenness, 145; - for immorality, 148 - - Puritans, the English, 184; - browbeaten by James I., 185; - their Old Testament leanings, 208 - - - Queen of Charles I., evil influence of, 186 - - Queens, The rival, Mary and Elizabeth, 102; - their relationship, 105 - - - Rebellion, Jacobite, of 1715, 283; - Executions following the, 286 - - Rebellion of 1745, 289; - atrocities and executions following, 300 - - Reformation, The, in England and Scotland, 85; - in danger from James II., 242 - - Regalia, the ancient Scottish, 127; - the present, 127; - its adventures, 128; - after the Union to remain in Edinburgh, 128; - supposed loss, search for, and recovery, 128 - - Regencies disastrous to Scotland, 75 - - Regicides, Execution of the, 212 - - Religion in Scotland under Charles I., 181; - under Cromwell, 209; - under Charles II., 214 - - Renwick, the last covenanting martyr, 248 - - Revolution, The, of 1688, 252 - - Rizzio, David, Murder of, 108 - - Roman invasion of Britain, 3; - rule in Britain, 12; - Empire divided, 9; - fall of the Western Empire, 11; - Evacuation, 16 - - Rome taken by Alaric, 10 - - Rullion Green, Fight at, 217 - - Russell, Sir William, Execution of, 233 - - Ryehouse Plot, The, 233 - - - Sabbath-breaking, Penalties for, 158 - - Saints associated with Holy-wells, 167 - - “Saxon shore,” The, 15 - - _Scotia_, an old name of Ireland, 29 - - Scotland, how it became a free nation, 63; - under Charles I., 178; - under Cromwell, 199; - under Charles II., 211; - under James II., 236; - “Company of,” 270; - union with England, 270 - - Scottish Kings:—The Mythical, 35; - Fergus, 35; - Kenneth Macalpine, 36; - Malcolm II., 54; - Duncan, 55; - Macbeth, 55; - Malcolm III., 56; - David I., 58; - Malcolm IV., 59; - William, 59; - Alexander III., 61; - Baliol, 65; - Robert Bruce, 72; - James I., 78, 81; - James III., 129; - James IV., 130; - James VI., 116 - - Scottish Nation, Rise of the, 26; - Parliament a single chamber, 74; - Nobles, quarrels amongst, 75; - Nationalism pronounced, 81; - Reformation, a struggle with authority, 90; - Convention declare James’s throne vacant, 259 - - Scoto-Irish piracies, 15 - - Scots first found in Ireland, 29; - lesser number of than of Picts, 36; - “King of,” the title of the sovereign, 72 - - “Security, Act of,” 272 - - Sedgemoor, Battle of, 237 - - Sharp, Archbishop, Murder of, 221 - - Sheriff-Muir, Battle of, 283 - - Sheriffs in Scotland, Education of, 114 - - Shipmoney, Levy of, 187 - - Springs of mineral waters become holy wells, 167 - - St. Fillans, Well of, 168 - - St. Giles, The saint’s statue in, removed, 115; - farewell speech of James VI. in, 122; - commotion in over new liturgy, 180 - - St. Mary’s altar, Fines of lights for, 138 - - Stair, Master of, author of Glencoe massacre, 265; - punished by dismissal from office, 269 - - Stamford Bridge, Battle of, 53 - - Standard, Battle of the, 58 - - Star-Chamber, The, 184 - - Stocks, Punishment of the, 138 - - Strafford, Execution of, 191 - - Strathbogie Presbytery denounce pilgrimages to holy wells, 170 - - Strathclyde, Kingdom of, 21 - - Strathnaven, Holy well at, 169 - - Stuarts, Family traits of the, 213; - their claims to the English throne, 105; - the last act of the dynasty, 281 - - Superstition, Hard death of, 160 - - Swearing, Penalties for, 147 - - Sweden, Charles XII. of, 287 - - Sweyn, The Danish King, 45 - - Swords, Wearing of, led to crime, 143; - disallowed after misuse, 144 - - - Test Oaths in Scotland, Evasion of, 245 - - Teutonic rule, Spread of the, 18 - - “Thorough,” The game of, 184 - - Tory ministry of Queen Anne, 281 - - Treason, English laws of, applied to Scotland, 276 - - _Tulchan_ bishops in Scotland, 179 - - - Union of England and Scotland, William’s dying message in favour of, - 272; - its terms, 274; - opposition to in Scotland, 275; - its accomplishment, 276; - early years of the, 276; - attempts to repeal the, 277; - its good results, 278 - - - Wade, General, in the Highlands, 289 - - Wallace, Sir William, 67 - - War, The Civil, 191 - - Wedding Feasts in Scotland, 172 - - Westminster Assembly of Divines, The, 192 - - William the Conqueror, 52 - - William, Prince of Orange, invitation to, 252; - his fleet in the Channel, 254; - his landing and progress, 254; - refuses the regency, 257; - elected King and his wife Queen, 258; - his tolerant policy, 262; - signs order against the Macdonalds of Glencoe, 266; - opposes the Darien Scheme, 271; - his last message to Parliament, 272 - - Witchcraft in Scotland, 160; - in Aberdeen, 164 - - Witches, An assize on in Edinburgh, 161 - - Witchfinders, 163 - - “Woo’d and married and a’” 176 - - - York, Early importance of, 7 - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - PUBLICATIONS - - OF - - WILLIAM ANDREWS & CO., - - THE HULL PRESS, - - HULL. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - +_SECOND EDITION. Bound in cloth gilt, demy 8vo. 6s._+ - - Curiosities of the Church: - - Studies of Curious Customs, Services, and Records, - - By WILLIAM ANDREWS, F.R.H.S., - - AUTHOR OF “HISTORIC ROMANCE,” “FAMOUS FROSTS AND - FROST FAIRS,” “HISTORIC YORKSHIRE,” ETC. - - - CONTENTS: - -Early Religious Plays: being the Story of the English Stage in its - Church Cradle Days—The Caistor Gad-Whip Manorial Service—Strange - Serpent Stories—Church Ales—Rush-Bearing—Fish in Lent—Concerning - Doles—Church Scrambling Charities—Briefs—Bells and Beacons for - Travellers by Night—Hour Glasses in Churches—Chained Books in - Churches—Funeral Effigies—Torchlight Burials—Simple Memorials of the - Early Dead—The Romance of Parish Registers—Dog Whippers and Sluggard - Wakers—Odd Items from Old Accounts—A carefully compiled Index. - - ILLUSTRATED. - - - Press Opinions. - -“A volume both entertaining and instructive, throwing much light on the -manners and customs of bygone generations of Churchmen, and will be read -to-day with much interest.”—_Newbery House Magazine._ - -“An extremely interesting volume.”—_North British Daily Mail._ - -“A work of lasting interest.”—_Hull Examiner._ - -“The reader will find much in this book to interest, instruct, and -amuse.”—_Home Chimes._ - -“We feel sure that many will feel grateful to Mr. Andrews for having -produced such an interesting book.”—_The Antiquary._ - -“A volume of great research and striking interest.”—_The Bookbuyer (New -York)._ - -“A valuable book.”—_Literary World (Boston, U.S.A.)._ - -“An admirable book.”—_Sheffield Independent._ - -“An interesting, handsomely got up volume.... Mr. Andrews is always -chatty and expert in making a paper on a dry subject exceedingly -readable.”—_Newcastle Courant._ - -“Mr. William Andrews’ new book, ‘Curiosities of the Church,’ adds -another to the series by which he has done so much to popularise -antiquarian studies.... The book, it should be added, has some quaint -illustrations, and its rich matter is made available for reference by a -full and carefully compiled index.”—_Scotsman._ - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - +_Elegantly bound in cloth gilt, demy 8vo., price 6s._+ - - Old Church Lore. - - By WILLIAM ANDREWS, F.R.H.S., - - _Author of “Curiosities of the Church,” “Old-Time Punishments,” - “Historic Romance,” etc._ - - - CONTENTS. - -The Right of Sanctuary—The Romance of Trial—A Fight between the Mayor of - Hull and the Archbishop of York—Chapels on Bridges—Charter Horns—The - Old English Sunday—The Easter Sepulchre—St. Paul’s Cross—Cheapside - Cross—The Biddenden Maids Charity—Plagues and Pestilences—A King - Curing an Abbot of Indigestion—The Services and Customs of Royal Oak - Day—Marrying in a White Sheet—Marrying under the Gallows—Kissing the - Bride—Hot Ale at Weddings—Marrying Children—The Passing Bell— - Concerning Coffins—The Curfew Bell—Curious Symbols of the Saints— - Acrobats on Steeples—A carefully-prepared Index. - - ILLUSTRATED - - - PRESS OPINIONS. - -“A worthy work on a deeply interesting subject.... We commend this book -strongly.”—_European Mail._ - -“An interesting volume.”—_The Scotsman._ - -“Contains much that will interest and instruct.”—_Glasgow Herald._ - -“The author has produced a book which is at once entertaining and -valuable, and which is also entitled to unstinted praise on the ground -of its admirable printing and binding.”—_Shields Daily Gazette._ - -“Mr. Andrews’ book does not contain a dull page.... Deserves to meet -with a very warm welcome.”—_Yorkshire Post._ - -“Mr. Andrews, in ‘Old Church Lore,’ makes the musty parchments and -records he has consulted redolent with life and actuality, and has added -to his works a most interesting volume, which, written in a light and -easy narrative style, is anything but of the ‘dry-as-dust’ order. The -book is handsomely got up, being both bound and printed in an artistic -fashion.”—_Northern Daily News._ - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - +_Elegantly bound in cloth gilt, crown quarto, price 10s. 6d._+ - - Old-Time Punishments. - - By WILLIAM ANDREWS, F.R.H.S., - - AUTHOR OF “CURIOSITIES OF THE CHURCH,” “HISTORIC ROMANCE,” - “FAMOUS FROSTS AND FROST FAIRS,” “HISTORIC - YORKSHIRE,” ETC. - - - CONTENTS. - - Carefully prepared papers, profusely illustrated, appear - on the following subjects:— - -_The Ducking Stool—The Brank, or Scold’s Bridle—The Pillory—Punishing - Authors and burning books—Finger-Pillory—The Jougs—The Stocks—The - Drunkard’s Cloak—Whipping—Public Penance in White Sheets—The - Repentance-Stool—Riding the Stang—Gibbet Lore—Drowning—Burning to - Death—Boiling to Death—Beheading—Hanging, Drawing, and Quartering— - Pressing to Death—Hanging—Hanging in Chains—The Halifax Gibbet—The - Scottish Maiden, etc.—An Index of five closely-printed pages._ - - MANY CURIOUS ILLUSTRATIONS. - - - PRESS OPINIONS. - -“This is an entertaining book ... well chosen illustrations and a -serviceable index.—_Athenæum._ - -“A hearty reception may be bespoken for it.”—_Globe._ - -“A work which will be eagerly read by all who take it up.”—_Scotsman._ - -“It is entertaining.”—_Manchester Guardian._ - -“A vast amount of curious and entertaining matter.”—_Sheffield -Independent._ - -“We can honestly recommend a perusal of this book.”—_Yorkshire Post._ - -“Interesting and handsomely printed.”—_Newcastle Chronicle._ - -“A very readable history.”—_Birmingham Daily Gazette._ - -“Mr. Andrews’ book is well worthy of careful study, and is a perfect -mine of wealth on the subject of which it treats.”—_Herts Advertiser._ - -“It is sure of a warm welcome on both sides of the Atlantic.”—_Christian -Leader._ - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - -+_Elegantly bound in cloth gilt, demy 8vo., price 6s._+ - - Bygone England: - - _Social Studies in its Historic Byways and Highways._ - - By WILLIAM ANDREWS, F.R.H.S., - - _Author of “Old Church Lore,” “Curiosities of the - Church,” “Old Time Punishments,” etc._ - - - Contents: - - Under Watch and Ward. - Under Lock and Key. - The Practice of Pledging. - - The Minstrel in the Olden Time. - Curious Landholding Customs. - Curiosities of Slavery in England. - - Buying and Selling in the Olden Time. - Curious Fair Customs. - Old Prejudices against Coal. - - The Sedan Chair. - Running Footmen. - The Early Days of the Umbrella. - - A Talk about Tea. - Concerning Coffee. - The Horn Book. - - Fighting Cocks in Schools. - Bull-Baiting. - The Badge of Poverty. - - Patents to wear Nightcaps. - A Foolish Fashion. - Wedding Notices in the Last Century. - - Selling Wives. - The Story of the Tinder Box. - The Invention of Friction Matches. - - Body Snatching. - Christmas under the Commonwealth. - Under the Mistletoe Bough. - - A carefully prepared Index. - - NUMEROUS ILLUSTRATIONS. - - - Opinions of the Press. - -_The following are a few extracts from a large number of favourable -reviews of “Bygone England”_:— - -“We welcome ‘Bygone England.’ It is another of Mr. Andrews’ meritorious -achievements in the path of popularising archæological and old-time -information without in any way writing down to an ignoble level.”—_The -Antiquary._ - -“This is a book which will give instruction as well as entertainment to -all who read it, and it will serve to awaken interest in the old and -quaint customs of our native land.”—_Sala’s Journal._ - -“The volume is admirably got up, and its contents are at once -entertaining and instructive. Mr. Andrews is quite a master of curious -and out-of-the-way knowledge.”—_Scottish Leader._ - -“‘A delightful book,’ is the verdict that the reader will give after a -perusal of its pages. Mr. Andrews has presented to us in very pleasing -form some phases of the social life of England in the olden time.”— -_Publishers’ Circular._ - -“Some of the chapters are very interesting, and are most useful for -those who desire to know the origin and history of some of our daily -practices and amusements.”—_The World._ - -“In recommending this book to the general public, we do so, feeling -confident that within its pages they will find much that is worth -knowing, that they will never find their interest flag, nor their -curiosity ungratified.”—_Hull Daily News._ - -“A volume which may be cordially recommended to all who love to stray in -historical byways.”—_Shields Daily Gazette._ - -“A very readable and instructive volume.”—_The Globe._ - -“Many are the subjects of interest introduced in this chatty volume.”— -_Saturday Review._ - -“A delightful volume for all who love to dive into the origin of social -habits and customs, and to penetrate into the byways of history.”— -_Liverpool Daily Post._ - -“There is a large mass of information in this capital volume, and it is -so pleasantly put that many will be tempted to study it. Mr. Andrews has -done his work with great skill.”—_London Quarterly Review._ - -“It is impossible to read this book without a feeling of gratitude to -Mr. Andrews for his labours. The subjects have been so well selected, -and are treated in so attractive a manner, that the reader may open the -volume at any page and find something which will rivet his attention.... -A good index is provided, and the book is well printed and got up.”— -_Manchester Examiner._ - -“This informing and readable book will be welcome in any household.”— -_Yorkshire Post._ - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - AN IMPORTANT BOOK FOR REFERENCE. - - Fcap. 4to. Bevelled boards, gilt tops. Price 4s. - - FAMOUS FROSTS AND FROST FAIRS - - IN GREAT BRITAIN. - - Chronicled from the Earliest to the Present Time. - - By WILLIAM ANDREWS, F.R.H.S., - - Author of “BYGONE ENGLAND,” “CURIOSITIES OF THE CHURCH,” - “OLD-TIME PUNISHMENTS,” ETC. - - Only 400 copies printed, each copy numbered, and only 20 remain - on sale. Three curious full-page illustrations. - -This work furnishes a carefully prepared account of all the great Frosts -occurring in this country from A.D. 134 to 1887. The numerous Frost -Fairs on the Thames are fully described, and illustrated with quaint -woodcuts, and several old ballads relating to the subject are -reproduced. It is tastefully printed and elegantly bound. - - - _The following are a few of the many favourable reviews of - “Famous Frosts and Frost Fairs”_:— - -“The work is thoroughly well written, it is careful in its facts, and -may be pronounced exhaustive on the subject. Illustrations are given of -several frost fairs on the Thames, and as a trustworthy record this -volume should be in every good library. The usefulness of the work is -much enhanced by a good index.”—_Public Opinion._ - -“The book is beautifully got up.”—_Barnsley Independent._ - -“A very interesting volume.”—_Northern Daily Telegraph._ - -“A great deal of curious and valuable information is contained in these -pages.... A comely volume.”—_Literary World._ - -“The work from first to last is a most attractive one, and the arts -alike of printer and binder have been brought into one to give it a -pleasing form.”—_Wakefield Free Press._ - -“An interesting and valuable work.”—_West Middlesex Times._ - -“Not likely to fail in interest.”—_Manchester Guardian._ - -“This chronology has been a task demanding extensive research and -considerable labour and patience, and Mr. Andrews is to be heartily -congratulated on the result.”—_Derby Daily Gazette._ - -“A volume of much interest and great importance.”—_Rotherham -Advertiser._ - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - -+_Elegantly bound in cloth gilt, demy 8vo, price 7s. 6d._+ - - _Only 500 copies printed, and each copy numbered. Only 30 copies - remain on sale._ - - BYGONE NORTHAMPTONSHIRE: - - Its History, Folk-Lore, and Memorable Men and Women. - - _Edited by WILLIAM ANDREWS, F.R.H.S._, - - Author of “BYGONE ENGLAND,” “OLD-TIME PUNISHMENTS,” “CURIOSITIES - OF THE CHURCH,” “OLD CHURCH LORE.” - -_Contents_:—Historic Northamptonshire, by Thomas Frost—The Eleanor -Crosses, by the Rev. Geo. S. Tyack, B.A.—Fotheringhay: Past and Present, -by Mrs. Dempsey—The Battle of Naseby, by Edward Lamplough—The Cottage -Countess—The Charnel House at Rothwell, by Edward Chamberlain—The -Gunpowder Plot, by John T. Page—Earls Barton Church, by T. Tindall -Wildridge—Old Fairs, by William Sharman—Witches and Witchcraft, by -Eugene Teesdale—The City of Peterborough, by Frederick Ross, F.R.H.S.— -The English Founders of the Washington Family of America, by Thomas -Frost—Ann Bradstreet, the Earliest American Poetess—Liber Custumarum, -Villæ Northamptoniæ, by Christopher A. Markham, F.S.A.—Thomas Britton, -the Musical Small-Coal Man, by E. E. Cohen—Old Scarlett, the -Peterborough Sexton—Accounts of Towcester Constables, by John Nicholson— -Miserere Shoemaker of Wellingborough, by T. Tindall Wildridge—Sir Thomas -Tresham and his Buildings, by John T. Page—Northamptonshire Folk-Lore, -by John Nicholson—Northamptonshire Proverbs—An Ancient Hospital, by the -Rev. I. Wodhams, M.A.—A carefully prepared Index—_Numerous -Illustrations_. - - PRESS OPINIONS. - -“The volume is very interesting, and for those who dwell in the county, -or whose tastes lead them to explore its history, it will have especial -attraction.”—_Publishers’ Circular._ - -“A welcome contribution to the literature of the county.”—_Northampton -Herald._ - -“The book is published in a form that is well worthy of the high -standard that the Hull Press has achieved, and we can congratulate Mr. -Andrews on adding one more stone to the fabric of the bygone history of -the Midlands.”—_Hull Daily News._ - -“An interesting volume, as well as being got up in exceptionally good -style. The matter is well chosen and well rendered, so that the book is -not only a thing of beauty, but also a veritable treasure-house of -reliable and entertaining articles.”—_Beverley Independent._ - -“A welcome addition to the shelves of anyone interested in the -antiquities of Northamptonshire, while even those who are not, will be -able to pleasantly while away many odd half-hours by perusing its -pages.”—_Kettering Leader._ - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - -+_Elegantly bound in cloth gilt, demy 8vo, price 7s. 6d._+ - -Only 750 copies printed, and each copy numbered. - - Bygone Essex: - - _Its History, Folk-Lore, and Memorable Men and - Women._ - - EDITED BY WILLIAM ANDREWS, F.R.H.S., - - Author of “Bygone England,” “Old-Time Punishments,” “Curiosities of - the Church,” “Old Church Lore.” - - - CONTENTS. - -Historic Essex, by Thomas Frost—Epping Forest: Its History, Customs, and -Laws, by Jesse Quail—Greenstead Church, by Edward Lamplough—The Burial -of Harold at Waltham, by William Winters, F.R.H.S.—St. Osyth’s Priory, -by John T. Page—Colchester in Olden Times, by Joseph W. Spurgeon—The -Siege of Colchester, by Joseph W. Spurgeon—Colchester: Its Historic -Buildings and Famous Men, by Joseph W. Spurgeon—Essex Tokens, by Thomas -Forster—Queen Elizabeth at Tilbury: A Glance at Armada Days, by Edward -Lamplough—The Lawless Court, by the Rev. Geo. S. Tyack, B.A.—The Dunmow -Flitch—A Deserted Primitive Village, by G. Fredk. Beaumont—William -Hunter: The Young Martyr of Brentwood, by John W. Odling—Fairlop Fair, -by John W. Odling—Thomas Tusser, and his “Five Hundred Points of Good -Husbandry,” by W. H. Thompson—John Ray, Naturalist, by W. H. Thompson— -Wanstead House, by John T. Page—Hopkins, the Witchfinder, by Frederick -Ross, F.R.H.S.—An Essex Poet, by the Rev. Geo. S. Tyack, B.A.—Historic -Harwich—Old Bow Bridge, by John T. Page—Index. - - - PRESS OPINIONS. - -“Readable as well as instructive, and it has an interest for many more -than Essex people.”—_The Globe._ - -“Good paper, good type, and good illustrations all help to make ‘Bygone -Essex’ an exceedingly pleasant and agreeable book.”—_Sala’s Journal._ - -“This work will be welcomed by all intelligent explorers of their own -country, who cannot fail to regard its ancient monuments and historic -localities with renewed interest after perusing it.”—_The Gentlewoman._ - - - _HULL: WILLIAM ANDREWS & CO., THE HULL PRESS._ - _Colchester: T. Forster._ - _London: Hutchinson & Co._ - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - -+_Elegantly bound in cloth gilt, demy 8vo., 7s. 6d._+ - -Only 750 copies printed, and each copy numbered. - - Bygone Lancashire. - - Edited by ERNEST AXON. - -_Contents_:—Historic Lancashire, by Ernest Axon—The Religious Life of -Lancashire during the Commonwealth, by W. A. Shaw, M.A.—Kersal Moor, by -Janet Armytage—A Lancaster Worthy (Thomas Covell), by William Hewitson— -Some Early Manchester Grammar School Boys, by Ernest Axon—The Sworn Men -of Amounderness, by Lieut.-Col. Henry Fishwick, F.S.A.—Lancashire -Sundials, by William E. A. Axon, M.R.S.L.—The Plague in Liverpool, by J. -Cooper Morley—The Old Dated Bell at Claughton, by Robert Langton, -F.R.H.S.—The Children of Tim Bobbin, by Ernest Axon—The “Black Art” at -Bolton—An Infant Prodigy in 1679, by Arthur W. Croxton—Wife Desertion in -the Olden Times—The Colquitt Family of Liverpool—Some Old Lancashire -Punishments—Bury Simnels—Eccles Wakes, by H. Cottam—Furness Abbey— -Colonel Rosworm and the Siege of Manchester, by George C. Yates, F.S.A.— -Poems of Lancashire Places, by William E. A. Axon, M.R.S.L.—Father -Arrowsmith’s Hand, by Rushworth Armytage—Index—_Illustrated_. - - - PRESS OPINIONS. - -“A work of considerable historical and archæological interest.”— -_Liverpool Daily Post._ - -“The book is handsomely got up.”—_Manchester Guardian._ - -“In the collection of papers forming this highly interesting volume, -many antiquarian and historical matters connected with the County -Palatine are dealt with, and at least a dozen authors have contributed -essays rich in curious facts.... All the articles are good, and should -make this volume a favourite among the historical students of the County -Palatine.”—_Liverpool Mercury._ - -“The book is excellently printed and bound.”—_Library Review._ - -“‘Bygone Lancashire’ is a welcome addition to the literature of the -county, and we may echo the hope expressed by the editor that its -appearance ‘may encourage the local patriotism which is such a striking -characteristic of the Lancashire Lad.’ It may be added that the work, -which contains a few illustrations, is well got up, and does credit to -the publishers.”—_Manchester Courier._ - -“This is another of those clearly-printed, well-covered, readable, -accurate, and entertaining ‘Bygone’ volumes that come forth with -pleasant frequency from the Andrews’ press, Hull.... The volume is sure -of a ready sale among the more intelligent of the ‘Lancashire Lads.’”— -_Antiquary._ - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - -+_Elegantly bound in cloth gilt, demy 8vo., price 7s. 6d._+ - - Bygone London. - - By FREDERICK ROSS, F.R.H.S., - - _Author of “Yorkshire Family Romance,” “Legendary - Yorkshire,” etc._ - - - CONTENTS. - -The Walls and Gates—Episodes in the Annals of Cheapside—Bishopsgate -Street Within and Without—Aldersgate Street and St. Martin’s-le-Grand— -Old Broad Street—Chaucer and the Tabard—The Priory of the Holy Trinity, -Aldgate—Convent of the Sisters Minoresses of the Order of St. Clare, -Aldgate—The Abbey of St. Mary of Graces, or East Minster—The Barons -Fitzwalter, of Baynard’s Castle—Sir Nicholas Brember, Knight, Lord Mayor -of London—An Olden Time Bishop of London: Robert de Braybrooke—A Brave -Old London Bishop: Fulco Basset—An Old London Diarist—Index. - - - PRESS OPINIONS. - -“Mr. Ross deals with the chief episodes in the history of London -architecture, and with existing London antiquities, in a garrulous, -genial spirit, which renders his book generally attractive.”—_The -Times._ - -“Beyond all doubt a more interesting and withal informing volume than -‘Bygone London’ it has not been our good fortune to come across for many -a long day.”—_The City Press._ - - ------------------------------------ - - -PRICE ONE SHILLING. - - In the Temple. - - - CONTENTS. - -In the Temple—The Knight Templars—The Devil’s Own—Christmas in the -Temple—How to become a Templar—On Keeping Terms—Call Parties. - - -“Amusing and interesting sketches.”—_Law Times._ - -“Pleasant gossip about the barristers’ quarter.”—_Gentlewoman._ - -“A very pleasant little volume.”—_Globe._ - -“An entertaining little book.”—_Manchester Examiner._ - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - -+_Elegantly bound in cloth gilt, demy 8vo., price 7s. 6d._+ - - Bygone Derbyshire: - - Its History, Romance, Folk-Lore, Curious - Customs, etc. - - EDITED BY WILLIAM ANDREWS, F.R.H.S. - - -Derbyshire is rich in historical associations of an out-of-the-way -character. In the pages of “Bygone Derbyshire” are presented in a -readable, and at the same time in a scholar-like style, papers, -profusely illustrated, bearing on such subjects as the history of the -county, ancient castles, monumental brasses, gleanings from parochial -records, old church lore, family romance, traditions, curious customs, -witchcraft, well-dressing, old-time sports, etc., etc. - - -_Contents_:—Historic Derbyshire, by Thomas Frost—On an Early Christian -Tomb at Wirksworth, by Rev. J. Charles Cox, LL.D., F.S.A.—Curious -Derbyshire Lead-Mining Customs, by William Andrews, F.R.H.S.—The Place- -Name Derby, by Frederick Davis, F.S.A.—Duffield Castle, by Jno. Ward— -Haddon Hall—The Romance of Haddon Hall—The Ordeal of Touch—The -Monumental Brasses at Tideswell, by James L. Thornely—Bolsover Castle, -by Enid A. M. Cox—The Lamp of St. Helen, by T. Tindall Wildridge—Peveril -Castle, by James L. Thornely—Samuel Slater, the Father of the American -Cotton Manufacture, by William E. A. Axon—The Bakewell Witches, by T. -Tindall Wildridge—Mary Queen of Scots in Derbyshire—The Babington -Conspiracy—Eyam and its Sad Memories, by W. G. Fretton, F.S.A.—Well- -Dressing, by Rev. Geo. S. Tyack, B.A.—Old-Time Football, by Theo. -Arthur—After Thirty Years: An Incident of the Civil War, by Edward -Lamplough—Derbyshire and the ’45, by Rev. Geo. S. Tyack, B.A.—Bess of -Hardwick, by Frederick Ross, F.R.H.S.—Shadows of Romance—Index. - - - PRESS OPINIONS. - -“‘Bygone Derbyshire’ is a valuable and interesting contribution to local -history and archæology.”—_The Times._ - -“The volume is pleasant reading of a most attractive county.”—_Daily -Telegraph._ - -“A very interesting and welcome addition to the literature of -Derbyshire.—_Derbyshire Courier._ - -“Mr. Andrews is to be warmly complimented on the all-round excellence of -his work, which forms a valuable addition to Derbyshire literature.”— -_Alfreton Journal._ - -“A valuable addition to any library.”—_Derbyshire Times._ - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - -+_Elegantly bound in cloth gilt, demy 8vo., 7s. 6d._+ - - BYGONE LEICESTERSHIRE. - - Edited by WILLIAM ANDREWS, F.R.H.S., - - _Author of “Old Church Lore,” “Curiosities of the Church,” - “Old-Time Punishments,” etc._ - - - Contents: - -Historic Leicestershire. By Thomas Frost.—John Wiclif and Lutterworth. -By John T. Page.—The Last Days of a Dynasty: An introduction to Redmore -Fight.—The Battle of Bosworth. By Edward Lamplough.—Scenes at Bosworth: -The Blue Boar at Leicester.—Bradgate and Lady Jane Grey. By John T. -Page.—Leicester Castle. By I. W. Dickinson, B.A.—Death of Cardinal -Wolsey at Leicester Abbey. By I. W. Dickinson, B.A.—Belvoir Castle.— -Robert, Earl of Leicester: A Chapter of Mediæval History.—Local Proverbs -and Folk Phrases. By T. Broadbent Trowsdale.—Festival Customs in -Leicestershire. By Henrietta Ellis.—Witchcraft in Leicestershire. By J. -Potter Briscoe, F.R.H.S.—William Lilly, The Astrologer. By W. H. -Thompson.—Gleanings from Early Leicestershire Wills. By the Rev. W. G. -D. Fletcher, M.A., F.S.A.—Punishments of the Past.—Laurence Ferrers, the -Murderer-Earl. By T. Broadbent Trowsdale.—The Last Gibbet. By Thomas -Frost.—The Ancient Water-Mills at Loughborough. By the Rev. W. G. D. -Fletcher, M.A., F.S.A.—Ashby-de-la-Zouch Castle and its Associations; -Ashby-de-la-Zouch and the French Prisoners. By Canon Denton, M.A.—Miss -Mary Linwood: An Artist with the Needle. By William Andrews, F.R.H.S.— -Street Cries. By F. T. Mott, F.R.G.S.—Minstrelsy in Leicester. By the -Rev. Geo. S. Tyack, B.A.—Index. - - - PRESS OPINION. - -“The subjects are dealt with in a popular manner, and the utmost -accuracy has been observed in setting forth the more interesting phases -of local history, biography, and folk-lore of Leicestershire. The book -is interspersed with some capital illustrations; the whole is nicely -printed, and forms an acceptable gift to any one who takes an interest -in the doings of bygone days, or in the history of this especial -county.”—_Hull News._ - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - -+_Only 750 copies printed, and each copy numbered._+ - - Price 7s. 6d., demy 8vo. - - Bygone Kent: - - _Its History, Romance, Folk Lore, etc., etc._ - - Edited by RICHARD STEAD, B.A., F.R.H.S. - - (_Head Master of the Folkestone Grammar School._) - - -_Contents_:—Historic Kent, by Thomas Frost—Kentish Place-Names, by R. -Stead, B.A., F.R.H.S.—St. Augustine and his Mission, by the Rev. Geo. S. -Tyack, B.A.—The Ruined Chapels and Chantries of Kent, by Geo. M. Arnold, -J.P., D.L., F.S.A.—A Sketch of the History of the Church or Basilica of -Lyminge, by the Rev. Canon R. C. Jenkins, M.A.—Canterbury Pilgrims and -their Sojourn in the City, by the Rev. W. F. Foxell, B.A.—William -Lambarde, the Kentish Antiquary, by Frederick Ross, F.R.H.S.—The Revolt -of the Villeins in the Days of King Richard the Second, by Edward -Lamplough—Royal Eltham, by Joseph W. Spurgeon—Greenwich Fair, by Thomas -Frost—The Martyred Cardinal, by Frederick Ross, F.R.H.S.—The Kentish -Dialects, and Pegge and Lewis, the Old County Glossarists, by R. Stead, -B.A.—The King’s School, Canterbury, by the Rev. J. S. Sidebotham, M.A.— -Smuggling in Kent—Huguenot Homes in Kent, by S. W. Kershaw, F.S.A.—Dover -Castle, by E. Wollaston Knocker—Index. - - - OPINIONS OF THE PRESS. - -The following are selected from a large number of favourable reviews:— - -“A tasteful volume.... The purpose of the book, ‘to give a fairly -representative series of pictures of Kent and Kentish life in olden -times’ is, beyond doubt, amply fulfilled.”—_The Antiquary._ - -“Nicely printed.”—_Folkestone Express._ - -“The work teems with interesting details of the lives and manners of our -Kentish forefathers, and should be found in every library of every -Kentish man.”—_Tunbridge Wells Advertiser._ - -“Mr. Stead and his contributors have succeeded in producing a -fascinating volume that will form pleasant reading to any one with a -taste for things historical or antiquarian; while the printing and -illustrations are fully equal to the high standard of previous -publications from the Hull Press.”—_Hull Daily News._ - - HULL: WILLIAM ANDREWS & CO., THE HULL PRESS. - Canterbury: H. J. Goulden. - London: Hutchinson and Co. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - -+_Elegantly bound in cloth gilt, price 7s. 6d._+ - - BYGONE NOTTINGHAMSHIRE: - - Its History, Romance, Folk Lore, etc., etc. - - BY WILLIAM STEVENSON. - - - CONTENTS. - -The Wapentakes—The Origin of the County—The Origin of the Town—The -Earliest Recorded Visitors to the County—The Suppression of the Knights -Templars—Old Sanctuary Days—Notable Instances of Sanctuary—A Note on the -Beverley Sanctuary—The King’s Gallows of the County—The Reign of Terror -in Notts—Public Executions—Old Family Feuds—Visitations of the Plague— -Visitations in the Town—Visitations in the County—Nottingham Goose Fair— -The Great Priory Fair at Lenton—The Pilgrimage of Grace—The Pilgrim -Fathers; or, The Founders of New England—The Descendants of the Pilgrim -Fathers—Archiepiscopal Palaces—The Ancient Inns and Taverns of -Nottingham—Index. - - - PRESS OPINIONS. - -“Mr. Wm. Stevenson, of several of whose previous works Nottingham and -the shire have formed the bases, adds to the list an exceedingly -interesting and useful book on the county, under the title of ‘Bygone -Nottinghamshire,’ illustrated by a large number of engravings from -photographs, old prints, and other sources. The writer’s aim has been to -incorporate much information beyond the reach of ordinary students on -the past history of the county, and thereby to prove the shire is, as he -believes, rich beyond comparison in ancient lore.... A most pleasant -addition to local history.”—_Nottingham Daily Guardian._ - -“We welcome Mr. Stevenson’s book as a useful addition to the literature -of the county.”—_Newark Advertiser._ - -“This recent volume of Messrs. Andrews and Company’s series of ‘Bygones’ -is a treasure to _bona-fide_ students of Nottinghamshire history. The -compilation of the whole book is solely the work of Mr. W. Stevenson, an -ardent and original student of local history as now accepted. The book -is well illustrated, the maps and plans being most valuable.... We have -not space to do full justice to ‘Bygone Nottinghamshire,’ but in -heartily commending it to all readers, we may say that if judged by the -mean standard of quantity alone it is good value for money; but it is -more than that, for besides being a popular work, it is also an original -one—an exceedingly unusual combination.”—_Notts and Derbyshire Notes and -Queries._ - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - -+_Bound in cloth gilt, demy 8vo., price 7s. 6d._+ - - Only 500 copies printed, and each copy numbered. - - THE MONUMENTAL BRASSES OF - LANCASHIRE AND CHESHIRE. - - With some Account of the Persons Represented. - - _ILLUSTRATED WITH ENGRAVINGS FROM DRAWINGS - BY THE AUTHOR._ - - By JAMES L. THORNELY. - - - PRESS OPINIONS. - -“Mr. Thornely’s book will be eagerly sought by all lovers of monumental -brasses.”—_London Quarterly Review._ - -“Local archæologists will give a hearty welcome to this book.”— -_Manchester Guardian._ - -“Mr. Thornely has produced a very interesting volume, as he has not only -figured nearly every monumental brass within the two counties to which -he has confined his researches, but in every case he has given a -description also, and in some instances the genealogical information is -of a high order of value.”—_The Tablet._ - -“A well got-up and profusely-illustrated volume.”—_Manchester Examiner -and Times._ - -“This book is wonderfully readable for its kind, and is evidently the -result of careful and painstaking labour. The chapters are well -condensed, nowhere burdened with verbiage, yet sufficiently full to -serve the purpose in view. The illustrations of the various brasses are -exceedingly well done, and add much value and interest to the work, -which should become popular in Lancashire and Cheshire.”—_Warrington -Guardian._ - -“‘The Monumental Brasses of Lancashire and Cheshire,’ with some account -of the persons represented, by James L. Thornely, is a volume of great -antiquarian interest to residents in the two counties. It has been a -labour of love, and embodies the results, as the author remarks in his -preface, of many pleasant hours during a series of pilgrimages to -ancient churches and sweet communings with a stately past. The plates in -the volume are reproductions of pen and ink drawings made from -‘rubbings,’ most of which were taken by the author, and the descriptive -letterpress relates to the ancestry of many old Lancashire and Cheshire -families, and is full of antiquarian and historical interest.”— -_Liverpool Daily Post._ - -“The volume is excellently printed and finished, and its production -reflects great credit on its publishers—the Hull Press.”—_Hull Daily -News._ - -“The author’s artistic drawings of the brasses he describes, as may be -imagined, embrace numbers of curious outlines, from the rudest to many -of elegant design. Each is accompanied by as copious a description as it -seems possible to obtain, the work on the whole covering over three -hundred pages of well-executed letterpress. Only five hundred copies -have been printed, and these have been nearly all taken up by -subscribers.”—_Chester Courant._ - -“Messrs. William Andrews & Co., of Hull” (“Logroller” writes in the -_Star_), “seem to be producing some handsome antiquarian books. The -latest that has come to me is an account of ‘The Monumental Brasses of -Lancashire and Cheshire,’ by Mr. James L. Thornely. Brass-rubbing is a -most fascinating enthusiasm. ‘Wouldst thou know the beauty of holiness?’ -asks Lamb. ‘Go alone on some week-day, borrowing the keys of good Master -Sexton, traverse the cool aisles of some country church.’ Those cool -aisles are the workshop of the brass-rubber. While he kneels over his -spread sheet of paper, and diligently plies his ‘heel-ball,’ the -afternoon lights dapple the old stones, and country sounds and scents -steal in to keep him company at his solitary task. You see I also have -been in Arcady. Mr. Thornely is not only interested in his subject -himself, but he has the gift of imparting his interest to others. His -accounts of his various brasses and the personages they commemorate are -simple and clear, and marked by a literary touch too rare in the -treatment of such themes.” - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - +_Elegantly bound in cloth gilt, demy 8vo., 6s._+ - - Legendary Yorkshire. - - _By FREDERICK ROSS, F.R.H.S._ - - -_Contents_: The Enchanted Cave—The Doomed City—The Worm of Nunnington— -The Devil’s Arrows—The Giant Road Maker of Mulgrave—The Virgin’s Head of -Halifax—The Dead Arm of St. Oswald the King—The Translation of St. -Hilda—A Miracle of St. John—The Beatifed Sisters—The Dragon of Wantley— -The Miracles and Ghost of Watton—The Murdered Hermit of Eskdale—The -Calverley Ghost—The Bewitched House of Wakefield. - - - PRESS OPINIONS. - -_Beverley Recorder_ says—“It is a work of lasting interest, and cannot -fail to delight the reader.” - -_Driffield Observer_ says—“The history and the literature of our county -are now receiving marked attention, and Mr. Andrews merits the support -of the public for the production of this and the other interesting -volumes he has issued. We cannot speak too highly of this volume, the -printing, the paper, and the binding being faultless.” - - ------------------------------------ - - - +_Elegantly bound in cloth gilt, demy 8vo., 6s._+ - - Yorkshire Family Romance. - - _By FREDERICK ROSS, F.R.H.S._ - - -_Contents_:—The Synod of Streoneshalh—The Doomed Heir of Osmotherley—St. -Eadwine, the Royal Martyr—The Viceroy Siward—Phases in the Life of a -Political Martyr—The Murderer’s Bride—The Earldom of Wiltes—Black-faced -Clifford—The Shepherd Lord—The Felons of Ilkley—The Ingilby Boar’s Head— -The Eland Tragedy—The Plumpton Marriage—The Topcliffe Insurrection— -Burning of Cottingham Castle—The Alum Workers—The Maiden of Marblehead— -Rise of the House of Phipps—The Traitor Governor of Hull. - - - PRESS OPINIONS. - -“The grasp and thoroughness of the writer is evident in every page, and -the book forms a valuable addition to the literature of the North -Country.”—_Gentlewoman._ - -“Many will welcome this work.”—_Yorkshire Post._ - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - +_Paper Cover, 1s. Cloth, 2s._+ - - My Christ: and other Poems. - - BY H. ELVET LEWIS. - - (ELFED.) - - -“The fifty pages, by no means overcrowded, which Mr. Elvet Lewis has -given us, go far to justify the hope that a new poet of genuine power -has arisen among us. The thought is often singularly beautiful. The -expression is so simple and so natural that it conceals the art. The -delicacy of the workmanship may easily blind us to the strength. Mr. -Lewis is essentially original, though his affinities are closest, -perhaps, to Whittier and Lynch: but there is not a trace of imitation to -be found in the book from one end to the other.”—_Literary World._ - -“This little volume possesses a rare charm for the lovers of really good -verse. The writer is evidently of the number of those whose spirituality -is intense, and whose faith in, and hold of, the things “not seen and -eternal” are vivid and strong. The opening poem, which gives the work -its title—‘My Christ’ is singularly beautiful for the spirit of love, -loyalty, and devotion which it breathes in every line. Altogether, the -poems are of a high order, and quite worthy of ranking alongside such -works as ‘The Lyra Innocentium’ and ‘The Christian Year.’”—_Hull Times._ - -“The verses are worthy of Mr. Lewis’ poetic genius, and breathe a spirit -of devotion which will certainly have an uplifting influence upon those -who peruse the verses. Mr. Lewis has a pure style, and in the poems -before us there are a few gems of thought which shew their originator to -be an author of great ability.”—_Llanelly Guardian._ - -“Sacred poems of great merit and beauty.”—_Newcastle Daily Chronicle._ - - ------------------------------------ - - - +_Fancy Cover, 1s._+ - - Wanted—An Heiress: A Novel. - - BY EVAN MAY. - - -“It is an entrancing story, and perfectly wholesome reading. In this -work, the author of ‘The Greatest of These’ is at her best; and ‘Wanted, -an Heiress’ may be pronounced a leading tale of the season.”—_South -Yorkshire Free Press._ - -“The story is well told.”—_Northern Echo._ - -“It is a bright book for holiday reading.”—_Carlisle Express._ - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - -+Price 6s. Demy 8vo. Elegantly bound in cloth gilt.+ - - A Month in a Dandi: - - A Woman’s Wanderings in Northern India. - - BY CHRISTINA S. BREMNER. - - -_Contents._—The Ascent from the Plains to the Hills—Kasauli and its -Amusements—Theories on Heat—Simla, the Queen of the Hill Stations— -Starting Alone for the Interior—In Bussahir State—The Religious Festival -at Pangay—On Congress—On the Growing Poverty of India. - - - PRESS OPINIONS. - -“The author of a ‘Month in a Dandi’ has a facile pen, and is evidently a -shrewd observer. Her book differs from many belonging to the same class -by reason of its freshness, its spontaneity, and its abundance of -interesting detail. Moreover, the book is written with a purpose. ‘If by -perusing these pages the reader obtains a clearer view of England’s -attitude to her great dependency, if his prepossessions against ‘black -men’ and the ‘poor heathen’ should melt away in any degree, if the -assumption that what is good for England must necessarily be so for -India receives a slight shake, the writer will feel rewarded.’ To these -conclusions one is almost certain to come when the experiences of Miss -Bremner’s ‘Month in a Dandi’ are recalled. There would be no end to our -quotations were we to reproduce all the passages we have marked as being -interesting. Miss Bremner is always in good spirits, and writes with -ease, and evidently _con amore_.”—_Birmingham Daily Gazette._ - -“Miss Bremner’s book describes a woman’s wanderings in Northern India, -and it is written from adequate knowledge, with shrewd discernment, and -a pleasing amount of vivacity.—_Speaker._ - -“‘A Month in a Dandi’ is full of instruction. It shows a great deal of -ability and determination to express truths, even if they be -unpalatable. The chapters on the vexed questions of Baboo culture and -Indian Congress are well worth reading.”—_Manchester Guardian._ - -“Miss Bremner’s style is chastened for the most part, humorous, faithful -to detail, and oftentimes polished to literary excellence. The earlier -chapters are full of raciness and agreeable personality.”—_Hull Daily -Mail._ - -“‘A Month in a Dandi’ describes the writer’s wanderings in Northern -India, following upon a shrewdly observant account of the seamy side of -Anglo-Indian Society. The subject throughout is approached from a -political economist’s point of view. The chapter on the growing poverty -of India sounds a warning note.”—_Gentlewoman._ - -“The author of a ‘Month in a Dandi’ is evidently a keen observer of men -and things, and we know that her opinion is shared by many of our -countrymen who have had a much larger experience of India and Indian -affairs than herself. The book is full of the most exquisite word -pictures, pictures that are full of light, beauty, and grace, but, -unfortunately, some of them have more shade than we care to see; but, -doubtless, Miss Bremner’s treatment is correct and life-like.”—_Hull -Daily News._ - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - “Quite up to Date.”—Hull Daily Mail. - - Crown 8vo., 140 pp.; fancy cover, 1s.; cloth bound, 2s. - - STEPPING-STONES TO SOCIALISM. - - BY DAVID MAXWELL, C.E. - - - CONTENTS - -In a reasonable and able manner Mr. Maxwell deals with the following -topics:—The Popular Meaning of the Term Socialism—Lord Salisbury on -Socialism—Why There is in Many Minds an Antipathy to Socialism—On Some -Socialistic Views of Marriage—The Question of Private Property—The Old -Political Economy is not the Way of Salvation—Who is My Neighbour?— -Progress, and the Condition of the Labourer—Good and Bad Trade: -Precarious Employment—All Popular Movements are Helping on Socialism— -Modern Literature in Relation to Social Progress—Pruning the Old -Theological Tree—The Churches,—Their Socialistic Tendencies—The Future -of the Earth in Relation to Human Life—Socialism is Based on Natural -Laws of Life—Humanity in the Future—Preludes to Socialism—Forecasts of -the Ultimate Form of Society—A Pisgah-top View of the Promised Land. - - - PRESS OPINIONS. - -The following are selected from a large number of favourable notices:— - -“The author has evidently reflected deeply on the subject of Socialism, -and his views are broad, equitable, and quite up to date. In a score or -so of chapters he discusses Socialism from manifold points of view, and -in its manifold aspects. Mr. Maxwell is not a fanatic; his book is not -dull, and his style is not amateurish.”—_Hull Daily Mail._ - -“There is a good deal of charm about Mr. Maxwell’s style.”—_Northern -Daily News._ - -“The book is well worthy of perusal.”—_Hull News._ - -“The reader who desires more intimate acquaintance with a subject that -is often under discussion at the present day, will derive much interest -from a perusal of this little work. Whether it exactly expresses the -views of the various socialists themselves is another matter, but -inasmuch as these can seldom agree even among themselves, the objection -is scarcely so serious as might otherwise be thought.”—_Publisher’s -Circular._ - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - -+Elegantly bound in cloth gilt, crown 8vo., 340 pp., 4/4 nett.+ - - ANDREWS’ LIBRARY OF POPULAR FICTION. - - No. 1.—Children of Chance. - - BY HERBERT LLOYD. - - - PRESS OPINIONS. - -“Mr. Lloyd has redeemed his story by sprightly incident and some -admirable character sketches. Madge, whom the hero eventually marries, -is a charming creation, and yet ‘not too light and good for human -nature’s daily food.’ Her sister and her husband, Tom Coltman, are also -a fine couple, and Mr. Lloyd introduces us to some very clever scenes at -the theatre at which they perform. The hero’s sister, Gladys, is another -favourite, and the family to which she is introduced consists of many -persons in whom the reader is bound to take an interest. Mr. Lloyd works -up the climax in a truly masterly manner, and the discovery of the -father of the ‘children of chance,’ is ingenious and clever. In short we -have little but praise for this book.... The reader’s interest is -aroused from the first and is sustained to the end. There is pathos in -the story and there is humour, and Mr. Lloyd writes very gracefully and -tenderly where grace and tenderness are needed.”—_Birmingham Daily -Gazette._ - -“The story ... is full of action and movement, and is never dull.”—_The -Scotsman._ - -“Messrs. William Andrews & Co., of Hull, have opened their ‘Library of -Popular Fiction’ with a brightly-written novel by Herbert Lloyd, -entitled ‘Children of Chance.’ The treatment of the story is distinctly -above the average.... The character of Richard Framley, though a minor -one, is very cleverly limned, and a forcible piece of writing in the -last chapter but one, will leave a vivid impression even to the reader -who merely skims the book. Altogether the ‘Library’ has reached a high -standard with its initial volume.”—_Eastbourne Observer._ - -“Those who can appreciate a good story told in plain and simple language -will probably find a good deal of pleasure in perusing ‘Children of -Chance,’ by Herbert Lloyd. It is altogether devoid of sensationalism. At -the same time one feels an interest in the various couples who are -introduced, and whose love-making is recorded in a very agreeable -manner.... Mr. Lloyd succeeds in depicting an effective scene at the -final denouement, the period before it being attractively filled in. It -is artistically worked out.”—_Sala’s Journal._ - -“The story is strengthened by the interest attaching to its women, and -by a certain lightness of touch and naturalness in the portrayal of the -life of an artistic family. Some of the characters are both well drawn -and likeable, and one or two strong incidents redeem the general tone of -the plot.”—_Glasgow Herald._ - -“This is decidedly a good novel, and the plot is sufficiently exciting -to attract a reader and hold him to the end.”—_The Publishers’ -Circular._ - -“The author of ‘Children of Chance,’ grasps one of the first essentials -of fiction, dramatic effect.... There is no lack of new ideas, and the -story is not uninteresting.”—_The Literary World._ - -“The plot of ‘Children of Chance,’ by Herbert Lloyd, is in many ways a -powerful one.... There are several strong situations, and the book is -well worth reading.”—_The Yorkshire Post._ - -“‘Children of Chance,’ which inaugurates Andrews’ ‘Library of Popular -Fiction,’ enforces the lesson of evil consequences that may be expected -to follow upon foul deeds deliberately wrought.... The interest in the -career of Cecil Studholme and his children is kept well alive.”—_The -Academy._ - -“This is a well-balanced and cleverly written novel. Some fine realistic -work is displayed in the delineation of several characters, a trait -which shows that the author has kept a high ideal before him in his -constructive processes.... Love episodes come in, and the conversation -is exceedingly healthy and natural. The volume is beautifully got-up.”— -_The Perthshire Advertiser._ - -“There is plenty of love-making in the story, several of the characters -are well drawn, and the plot is an ingenious one.”—_Northern Evening -Mail._ - -“Much of Mr. Lloyd’s book is bright, fresh, and ingenious.... The plot -is cleverly conceived, and shows careful treatment from beginning to -end.... There are in ‘Children of Chance’ notable instances where a deep -insight into human nature is perceptible; many scenes, such as that -which closes on the life of the deserted wife, show a touch of pathos of -which many a more noted author might feel justly proud; while at times -the dialogue is far from indifferent.”—_Hull News._ - -“‘Children of Chance’ is the pioneer volume of Andrews’ ‘Library of -Fiction.’ It ought to win its way to popular favour. Its attractive -binding and excellent printing are commendable features, while the story -itself displays high literary merit. Mr. Lloyd does not lack the modern -fiction writer’s capacity for the creation of sensational incidents; but -he manages his plots with ingenuity and success, and his morality is -thoroughly sound.”—_North Eastern Daily Gazette._ - - - HULL: WILLIAM ANDREWS & CO., THE HULL PRESS. - LONDON: HUTCHINSON & CO. - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Bygone Scotland, by David Maxwell - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BYGONE SCOTLAND *** - -***** This file should be named 54245-0.txt or 54245-0.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/4/2/4/54245/ - -Produced by ellinora and the Online Distributed Proofreading -Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from -images generously made available by The Internet Archive) - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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