armies has, on every occasion, been insupportable to
strangers, and has always exposed them to hatred, and
often to destruction. In that age, they overran Italy
four several times by their valour, and lost it as often
by their insolence. The Scots, naturally an irascible
and high-spirited people, and who, of all nations, can
least bear the most distant insinuation of contempt, were
not of a temper to admit all the pretensions of such as-
suming guests. The symptoms of alienation were soon
visible ; they seconded the military operations of the
French troops with the utmost coldness ; their disgust
grew insensibly to a degree of indignation that could
hardly be restrained ; and, on occasion of a very slight
accident, broke out with fatal violence. A private
French soldier engaging in an idle quarrel with a citi-
zen of Edinburgh, both nations took arms, with equal
rage, in defence of then' countrymen. The provost of
Edinburgh, his son, and several citizens of distinction,
were killed in the fray ; and the French were obliged to
avoid the fury of the inhabitants, by retiring out of the
city. Notwithstanding the ancient alliance of France
and Scotland, and the long intercourse of good offices
between the two nations, an aversion for the French
took its rise, at this time, among the Scots, the effects
whereof were deeply felt, and operated powerfully
through the subsequent period.

Progress of From the death of cardinal Beatoun, nothing has

lion? ( a been sa id f the state of religion. While the war with

England continued, the clergy had no leisure to molest

the protestants; and they were not yet considerable



BOOK ii. OF SCOTLAND. . 107

enough to expect any thing more than connivance and
impunity. The new doctrines were still in their infancy ;
but, during this short interval of tranquillity, they ac-
quired strength, and advanced, by large and firm steps,
towards a full establishment in the kingdom. The first
preachers against popery in Scotland, of whom several
had appeared during the reign of James the fifth, were
more eminent for zeal and piety, than for learning.
Their acquaintance with the principles of the reforma-
tion was partial, and at second hand ; some of them had
been educated in England ; all of them had borrowed
their notions from the books published there ; and, in
the first dawn of the new light, they did not venture far
before their leaders. But, in a short time, the doctrines
and writings of the foreign reformers became generally
known ; the inquisitive genius of the age pressed for-
ward in quest of truth; the discovery of one errour open-
ed the way to others ; the downfal of one impostor drew
many after it; the whole fabric, which ignorance and
superstition had erected in times' of darkness, began to
totter ; and nothing was wanting to complete its ruin,
but a daring and active leader to direct the attack.
Such was the famous John Knox, who, with better qua-
lifications of learning, and more extensive views, than
any of his predecessors in Scotland, possessed a natural
intrepidity of mind, which set him above fear. He
began his public ministry at St. Andrew's, in the year
one thousand five hundred and forty-seven, with that
success which always accompanies a bold and popular
eloquence. Instead of amusing himself with lopping
the branches, he struck directly at the root of popery,
and attacked both the doctrine and discipline of the
established church, with a vehemence peculiar to him-
self," but admirably suited to the temper and wishes of
the age.

An adversary, so formidable as Knox, would not have
easily escaped the rage of the clergy, who observed the
tendency and progress of his opinions with the utmost



108 THE HISTORY BOOK n.

concern. But, at first, he retired for safety into the
castle of St. Andrew's, and, while the conspirators kept
possession of it, preached publicly under their protec-
tion. The great revolution in England, which followed
upon the death of Henry the eighth, contributed no
less than the zeal of Knox towards demolishing the
popish church in Scotland. Henry had loosened the
chains, and lightened the yoke of popery. The minis-
ters of his son, Edward the sixth, cast them off alto-
gether, and established the protestant religion upon
almost the same footing whereon it now stands in that
kingdom. The influence of this example reached Scot-
land, and the happy effects of ecclesiastical liberty in
one nation, inspired the other with an equal desire of
recovering it. The reformers had, hitherto, been ob-
liged to conduct themselves with the utmost caution,
and seldom ventured to preach, but in private houses,
and at a distance from court; they gained credit, as
happens on the first publication of every new religion,
chiefly among persons in the lower and middle rank of
life. But several noblemen, of the greatest distinction,
having, about this time, openly espoused their princi-
ples, they were no longer under the necessity of acting
with the same reserve; and, with more security and
encouragement, they had likewise greater success. The
means of acquiring and spreading knowledge became
more common, and the spirit of innovation, peculiar to
that period, grew every day bolder and more universal.
Happily for the reformation, this spirit was still un-
der some restraint. It had not yet attained firmness
and vigour sufficient to overturn a system founded on
the deepest policy, and supported by the most formid-
able power. Under the present circumstances, any
attempt towards action must have been fatal to the
protestant doctrines ; and it is no small proof of the
authority, as well as penetration, of the heads of the
party, that they were able to restrain the zeal of a fiery
and impetuous people, until that critical and mature



BOOK ii. OF SCOTLAND. 109

juncture, when every step they took was decisive and
successful.

Meanwhile, their cause received reinforcement from
two different quarters, whence they never could have
expected it. The ambition of the house of Guise, and
the bigotry of Mary of England, hastened the subver-
sion of the papal throne in Scotland ; and, by a singu-
lar disposition of providence, the persons who opposed
the reformation, in every other part of Europe, with
the fiercest zeal, were made instruments for advancing
it in that kingdom.

Mary of Guise possessed the same bold and aspiring The queen
spirit which distinguished her family. But in her it was dovf .^S KT

r J aspires to

softened by the female character, and accompanied with the office
great temper and address. Her brothers, in order to ofreg _ ent '
attain the high objects at which they aimed, ventured
upon such daring measures as suited their great cou-
rage. Her designs upon the supreme power were con-
cealed with the utmost care, and advanced by address
and refinements more natural to her sex. By a dex-
terous application of those talents, she had acquired a
considerable influence on the councils of a nation, hi-
therto unacquainted with the government of women ;
and, without the smallest right to any share in the ad-
ministration of affairs, had engrossed the chief direc-
tion of them into her own hands. But she did not long
rest satisfied with the enjoyment of this precarious
power, which the fickleness of the regent, or the am-
bition of those who governed him, might so easily dis-
turb ; and she began to set on foot new intrigues, with
a design of undermining him, and of opening to herself
a way to succeed him in that high dignity. Her bro-
thers entered warmly into this scheme, and supported
it, with all their credit, at the court of France. The
French king willingly concurred in a measure, by which
he hoped to bring Scotland entirely under manage-
ment, and, in any future broil with England, to turn its
whole force against that kingdom.



110 THE HISTORY BOOK ir.

In order to arrive at the desired elevation, the queen
dowager had only one of two ways to choose ; either
violently to wrest the power out of the hands of the
regent, or to obtain it by his consent. Under a mino-
rity, and among a warlike and factious people, the for-
mer was a very uncertain and dangerous experiment.
The latter appeared to be no less impracticable. To
persuade a man voluntarily to abdicate the supreme
power; to descend to a level with those, above whom
he was raised ; and to be content with the second place,
where he hath held the first, may well pass for a wild
and chimerical project. This, however, the queen at-
tempted ; and the prudence of the attempt was suffi-
ciently justified by its success.

The regent's inconstancy and irresolution, together
with the calamities which had befallen the kingdom,
under his administration, raised the prejudices both of
the nobles and of the people against him, to a great
height; and the queen secretly fomented these with
much industry. All who wished for a change met with
a gracious reception in her court, and their spirit of
disaffection was nourished by such hopes and promises,
as in every age impose on the credulity of the factious.
Courts the The favourers of the reformation being the most nu-
reformers. merous an( l spreading body of the regent's enemies,
she applied to them with a particular attention ; and
the gentleness of her disposition, and seeming indiffer-
ence to the religious points in dispute, made all her
promises of protection and indulgence pass upon them
for sincere. Finding so great a part of the nation wil-
Oct. 1550. ling to fall in with her measures, the queen set out for
France, under pretence of visiting her daughter, and
took along with her those noblemen who possessed the
greatest power and credit among their countrymen.
Softened by the pleasures of an elegant court, flattered
by the civilities of the French king, and the caresses of
the house of Guise, and influenced by the seasonable
distribution of a few favours, and the liberal promise of



BOOK ii. OF SCOTLAND. Ill

many more, they were brought to approve of all the
queen's pretensions.

While she advanced, by these slow, but sure, steps,
the regent either did not foresee the danger which
threatened him, or neglected to provide against it.
The first discovery of the train which was laid, came
from two of his own confidents, Carnegie of Kinnaird,
and Panter, bishop of Ross, whom the queen had gained
over to her interest, and then employed, as the most
proper instruments for obtaining his consent. The
overture was made to him, in the name of the French
king, enforced by proper threatenings, in order to work
upon his natural timidity, and sweetened by every pro-
mise that could reconcile him to a proposal so dis-
agreeable. On the one hand, the confirmation of his
French title, together with a considerable pension, the
parliamentary acknowledgment of his right of succes-
sion to the crown, and a public ratification of his con-
duct, during his regency, were offered him. On the
other, hand, the displeasure of the French king, the
power and popularity of the queen dowager, the dis-
affection of the nobles, with the danger of an after-
reckoning, were represented in the strongest colours.

It was not possible to agree to a proposal so extra-
ordinary and unexpected, without some previous strug-
gle; and, had the archbishop of St. Andrew's been
present to fortify the irresolute and passive spirit of the
regent, he, in all probability, would have rejected it
with disdain. Happily for the queen, the sagacity and
ambition of that prelate could, at this time, be no ob-
struction to her views. He was lying at the point of
death, and, in his absence, the influence of the queen's
agents on a flexible temper, counterbalanced several of
the strongest passions of the human mind, and obtained
his consent to a voluntary surrender of the supreme
power.

After gaining a point of such difficulty, with so much Dec. 1551.
ease, the queen returned into Scotland, in full expect-



112 THE HISTORY BOOK n.

ation of taking immediate possession of her new dignity.
But, by this time, the archbishop of St. Andrew's had
recovered of that distemper, which the ignorance of the
Scottish physicians had pronounced to be incurable.
This he owed to the assistance of the famous Cardan,
one of those irregular adventurers in philosophy, of
whom Italy produced so many, about this period. A
bold genius led him to some useful discoveries, which
merit the esteem of a more discerning age; a wild
imagination engaged him in those chimerical sciences,
which drew the admiration of his contemporaries. As
a pretender to astrology and magic, he was revered
and consulted by all Europe ; as a proficient in natural
philosophy, he was but little known. The archbishop,
it is probable, considered him as a powerful magician,
when he applied to him for relief; but it was his know-
ledge as a philosopher, which enabled him to cure his
disease *.

Together with his health, the archbishop recovered
the entire government of the regent, and quickly per-
suaded him to recall that dishonourable promise, which
he had been seduced by the artifices of the queen to
grant. However great her surprise and indignation
were, at this fresh instance of his inconstancy, she was
obliged to dissemble, that she might have leisure to re-
new her intrigues with all parties ; with the protestants,
whom she favoured and courted more than ever ; with
the nobles, to whom she rendered herself agreeable by
various arts ; and with the regent himself, in order to
gain whom, she employed every argument. But, what-
ever impressions her emissaries might have made on
the regent, it was no easy matter to overreach or to

* Cardan himself was more desirous of being considered as an astrologer
than a philosopher ; in his book, De Genituris, we find a calculation of the
archbishop's nativity, from which he pretends both to have predicted his
disease, and to have effected his cure. He received from the archbishop a
reward of eighteen hundred crowns, a great sum in that age. De Vita sua,
p. 32.



BOOK ii. OF SCOTLAND. IIS

intimidate the archbishop. Under his management,
the negotiations were spun out to a great length, and
his brother maintained his station with that address
and firmness, which its importance so well merited.
The universal defection of the nobility, the growing
power of the protestants, who all adhered to the queen
dowager, the reiterated solicitations of the French king,
and, above all, the interposition of the young queen,
M r ho was now entering the twelfth year of her age, and
claimed a right of nominating whom she pleased to be
regent", obliged him, at last, to resign that high office, Prevails on
which he had held many years. He obtained, however, to^^n" 1
the same advantageous terms for himself, which had his office,
been formerly stipulated.

It was in the parliament which met on the tenth of She obtains
April, one thousand five hundred and fifty-four, that theregency '
the earl of Arran executed this extraordinary resigna-
tion ; and, at the same time, Mary of Guise was raised
to that dignity, which had been so long the object of
her wishes. Thus, with their own approbation, a wo-
man and a stranger was advanced to the supreme au-
thority over a fierce and turbulent people, who seldom
submitted, without reluctance, to the legal and ancient
government of their native monarchs.

While the queen dowager of Scotland contributed Reforma-
so much towards the progress of the reformation, by J-nuesTo
the protection which she afforded it, from motives of make great
ambition, the English queen, by her indiscreet zeal, pr
filled the kingdom with persons active in promoting the
same cause. Mary ascended the throne of England July 6,
on the death of her brother, Edward, and soon after 1553>
married Philip the second of Spain. To the perse-
cuting spirit of the Romish superstition, and the fierce-
ness of that age, she added the private resentment of
her own and of her mother's sufferings, with which she
loaded the reformed religion ; and the peevishness and

u Lesley, de Reb. Gest. Scot. ap. Jebb. i.-187.
VOL. I. I



114 THE HISTORY BOOK 11.

severity of her natural temper carried the acrimony of
all these passions to the utmost extreme. The cruelty
of her persecution equalled the deeds of those tyrants
who have been the greatest reproach to human nature.
The bigotry of her clergy could scarce keep pace with
the impetuosity of her zeal. Even the unrelenting
Philip was obliged, on some occasions, to mitigate the
rigour of her proceedings. Many among the most emi-
nent reformers suffered for the doctrines which they
had taught ; others fled from the storm. To the greater
part of these, Switzerland and Germany opened a se-
cure asylum ; and not a few, out of choice or necessity,
fled into Scotland. What they had seen and felt in
England, did not abate the warmth and zeal of their
indignation against popery. Their attacks were bolder
and more successful than ever; and their doctrines
made a rapid progress among all ranks of men.

These doctrines, calculated to rectify the opinions,
and to reform the manners of mankind, had hitherto
produced no other effects ; but they soon began to
operate with greater violence, and proved the occasion,
not only of subverting the established religion, but of
A view of shaking the throne and endangering the kingdom. The

the political causes w hieh facilitated the introduction of these new

causes

which con- opinions into Scotland, and which disseminated them

warcUthat" so ^ ast through the nation, merit, on that account, a
particular and careful inquiry. The reformation is one
of the greatest events in the history of mankind, and,
in whatever point of light we view it, is instructive and
interesting.

The revival of learning in the fifteenth and sixteenth
centuries roused the world from that lethargy, in which
it had been sunk for many ages. The human mind felt
its own strength, broke the fetters of authority, by
which it had been so long restrained, and, venturing to
move in a larger sphere, pushed its inquiries into every
subject, with great boldness and surprising success.

No sooner did mankind recover the capacity of exer-



BOOK ii. OF SCOTLAND. 115

cising their reason, than religion was one of the first
objects which drew their attention. Long before Lu-
ther published his famous Theses, which shook the
papal throne, science and philosophy had laid open, to
many of the Italians, the imposture and absurdity of
the established superstition. That subtile and refined
people, satisfied with enjoying those discoveries in se-
cret, were little disposed to assume the dangerous cha-
racter of reformers, and concluded the knowledge of
truth to be the prerogative of the wise, while vulgar
minds must be overawed and governed by popular er-
rours. But, animated with a more noble and disinter-
ested ze'al, the German theologian boldly erected the
standard of truth, and upheld it with an unconquerable
intrepidity, which merits the admiration and gratitude
of all succeeding ages.

The occasion of Luther's being first disgusted with
the tenets of the Romish church, and how, from a small
rupture, the quarrel widened into an irreparable breach,
is known to every one who has been the least conver-
sant in history. From the heart of Germany his opi-
nions spread, with astonishing rapidity, all over Europe ;
and, wherever they came, endangered or overturned the
ancient, but ill-founded system. The vigilance and ad-
dress of the court of Rome, cooperating with the power
and bigotry of the Austrian family, suppressed these
notions, on their first appearance, in tlje southern king-
doms of Europe. But the fierce spirit of the north,
irritated by multiplied impositions, could neither be
mollified by the same arts, nor subdued by the same
force; and, encouraged by some princes from piety,
and by others out of avarice, it easily bore down the
feeble opposition of an illiterate and immoral clergy.

The superstition of popery seems to have grown to
the most extravagant height in those countries which
are situated towards the different extremities of Europe.
The vigour of imagination, and sensibility of frame, pe-
culiar to the inhabitants of southern climates, rendered



116 THE HISTORY BOOK n.

them susceptible of the deepest impressions of supersti-
tious terrour and credulity. Ignorance and barbarity
were no less favourable to the progress of the same
spirit among the northern nations. They knew little,
and were disposed to believe every thing. The most
glaring absurdities did not shock their gross under-
standings, and the most improbable fictions were re-
ceived with implicit assent and admiration.

Accordingly, that form of popery which prevailed in
Scotland was of the most bigoted and illiberal kind.
Those doctrines which are most apt to shock the human
understanding, and those legends which farthest exceed
belief, were proposed to the people, without any attempt
to palliate or disguise them ; nor did they ever call in
question the reasonableness of the one, or the truth of
the other.

The power and wealth of the church kept pace with
the progress of superstition ; for it is the nature of that
spirit to observe no bounds in its respect and liberality
towards those whose character it esteems sacred. The
Scottish kings early demonstrated how much they were
under its influence, by their vast additions to the immu-
nities and riches of the clergy. The profuse piety of
David the first, who acquired on that account the name
of saint, transferred almost the whole crown lands,
which were, at that time, of great extent, into the hands
of ecclesiastics. The example of that virtuous prince
was imitated by his successors. The spirit spread
among all orders of men, who daily loaded the priest-
hood with new possessions. The riches of the church
all over Europe were exorbitant ; but Scotland was one
of those countries, wherein they had farthest exceeded
the just proportion. The Scottish clergy paid one half
of every tax imposed on land ; and, as there is no rea-
son to think that, in that age, they would be loaded
with any unequal share of the burthen, we may conclude
that, by the time of the reformation, little less than one
half of the national property had fallen into the hands



BOOK ii. OF SCOTLAND. 117

of a society, which is always acquiring, and can never
lose.

The nature, too, of a considerable part of their pro-
perty extended the influence of the clergy. Many es-
tates, throughout the kingdom, held of the church ;
church lands were let in lease at an easy rent, and were
possessed by the younger sons and descendants of the
best families *. The connexion between superior and
vassal, between landlord and tenant, created dependen-
cies, and gave rise to an union of great advantage to the
church ; and, in estimating the influence of the popish
ecclesiastics over the nation, these, as well as the real
amount of their revenues, must be attended to, and
taken into the account.

This extraordinary share in the national property
was accompanied with proportionable weight in the
supreme council of the kingdom. At a time when the
number of the temporal peers was extremely small, and
when the lesser barons and representatives of boroughs
seldom attended parliaments, the ecclesiastics formed a
considerable body there. It appears from the ancient
rolls of parliament, and from the manner of choosing
the lords of articles, that the proceedings of that high
court must have been, in a great measure, under their
direction y .

The reverence due to their sacred character, which
was often carried incredibly far, contributed not a little
towards the growth of their power. The dignity, the
titles, and precedence of the popish clergy, are remark-
able, both as causes and effects of that dominion which
they had acquired over the rest of mankind. They
were regarded by the credulous laity, as beings of a
superior species ; they were neither subject to the same
laws, nor tried by the same judges 2 . Every guard, that

* Keith, 521. Note (b).
y Spots. Hist, of the Church of Scotland, 449.

z How far this claim of the clergy to exemption from lay jurisdiction ex-
tended, appears from a remarkable transaction in the parliament held in



118 THE HISTORY BOOK n.

religion could supply, was placed around their power,
their possessions, and their persons ; and endeavours
were used, not without success, to represent them all
as equally sacred.

The reputation for learning, which, however incon-
siderable, was wholly engrossed by the clergy, added to