Custody of James Hammilton Earl of Aran engaging the Earl under pain of Treason for his Security Hume glad of so favourable a Keeper perswades Hammilton to withdraw with him and to take upon himself the Supreme Government as being equal in Propinquity of Blood to the King though by a Sister with the Vice-Roy himself Hammilton hearkneth to him the Earl of Lennox Hammilton his Nephew joyneth with them after a few Stirs they return next Spring to Court are pardoned and reconciled The Vice-Roy retireth to Faulkland and after some Months returneth to Edenburgh and thither inviteth Hume and his Brother who contrary to the advice of all his Friends obeyeth A Convention of his Peers is called Hume and his Brother without objection of any Crime not formerly pardoned are Condemned and Beheaded at Edenburgh their Heads likewise set up in the two most publick places of the City The Vice-Roy next Winter passeth over into France leaving his Charge in the hands of Angus Aran and Arguile the Arch-Bishops of St. Andrews and Glascow to whom he adjoyned Darsie Governour of Dunbar a Frenchman assigning to each of them his Province soon after Darsie is killed by the Humes having as they conceived a chief influence in the Death of the late Earl this Murther much troubled the rest intrusted with the publick Affairs a Messenger is dispatched to the Vice-Roy to desire his return After five Years absence and much Confusion all the Kingdom over by the Feuds especially of Dowglas and Hammilton the Vice-Roy returneth October 28th 1521 Dowglas is Banished to France an Army is raised to divert the English then Warring in France and marcheth towards the Borders of England the Nobility refuse to March out of Scotland the Vice-Roy much perplexed sendeth to the Lord Dacres Governour of the English Borders and desireth a Conference with him Dacres the publick Faith being ingaged for his Safety cometh into the Scots Camp and after some Debate a Truce for some Years is concluded The Vice-Roy goeth again to France King Henry notwithstanding of the Lord Dacres his Truce sendeth an Army into Scotland under the Conduct of Thomas Howard Earl of Surrey after some waste done in Merse and Tividale the Earl retreats for revenge whereof the Scotch Borderers make Inroads into England which provoketh the Earl to return into Scotland to set on Fire the Town of Jedburgh which done he retreats the second time without sight of an Enemy The Queen Mother now returned from England endeavours a Peace between the two Nations King Henry with a design to break off the Ancient League between the Scots and the French tendereth a fair proposition of Marriage of his Daughter Mary to James the King of Scots Some heartily embrace his Motion pleading for a solemn League and Covenant with England declaring the great Benefits which should redound from such an Union to both Nations some again strangely oppose it pretending that the League with France of the benefits whereof they have had so long experience could neither in Policy nor Honesty be Violated as for a Covenant with England though it be possible that some good may come of it Yet knowing that as Covenants ratified by solemn Oaths with hands lifted up to God are amongst good Men the strongest of all Obligations so by some others they are only made use on as Snares to entrap and Engines to catch the Credulous to their destruction which done then are Covenants laid aside as Almanacks out of date Therefore said they Let us not be so fond as to relinquish our experienced God for that which is in Hope only and may possibly ay and probably too deceive us By this time the Vice-Roy landeth in the West with Three thousand Foot and an Hundred Curasiers at Glascow divers new levied Forces Rendezvouz with them the Vice-Roy cometh himself to Edenburgh calleth a Council of the Nobility commendeth their Fidelity and Stability to the French assureth them of the reciprocal affection and constancy of the French to them and their Nation and in fine with all earnestness he inciteth them to an Expedition against England This last motion takes not well the Nobility attending him only to the English Borders protest against an Invasion the Vice-Roy is forced to abate of his vigour against England yet the French must be sent to try their valour against Wark Castle where being soundly banged they return with hast enough to the Scotch quarters King Henry vigilant enough towards his affairs raiseth an Army of Forty Thousand Horse and Foot marcheth towards Scotland the Scots retreat to Lawder a bitter Winter comes on huge storms of Snow fall all action intercepted and both Armies Disbanded Next Spring the Vice-Roy passeth again over into France the Queen the Earls of Aran Lennox Crafurd and some others take the opportunity of his absence and accompany the young King not yet come to Age to Holyrude House where a Council of the Peers being called by their advice the King takes the Government upon him the Nobility swear Fealty to him and all Officers of State receive new Commissions from him The Earl of Angus hearing of this Mutation returneth from France Lennox and Arguile neglected in the publick Administration receive him with much joy in hope of some Mutation of Affairs to the Queen now estranged from him in her affection his return is no way pleasing much less to Hammilton who then ruled all his deadly enemy the Devil of Division begins now to Reign the Queen and Hammilton abide at Edenburgh Castle as a place of greatest Safety the Discontented Faction assembleth at Glasow advanceth towards Edenburgh the Castle unprovided of all things needful for a Siege yieldeth it self they within have liberty to march whither they please the King only reserved and committed to the tuition of Angus Arguile and Lennox who were by course to attend him every man his four Months Angus Monopolizeth all Power into his own hands this produceth Envy and Emulation Arguile withdraweth refusing to meddle Lennox continueth at Court but medleth not neither both shew their dislike of Angus his Usurpation A design is forthwith set on foot by the King 's own desire to Rescue him out of the hands of the Dowglasses The Scots a powerful Family in the South attempt it to that end they appear at Melrose with some Forces a bitter Conflict falls out between them and Dowglas the King himself and Lennox Spectators of the Fight Dowglas had the Day the chief and most of the Scots killed on the place July 20. 1526. Dowglas perceiving now plainly that Lennox was his enemy by his indifferency in this Conflict thought it high time to reconcile himself to the Hammiltons the Agreement is made Hammilton shares with him in the Government Lennox repaireth to Sterlin sends to divers of the Nobility consulteth with them touching the Rescue of the King all resolve and unanimously Assistance is promised accordingly against a day appointed before the day comes Lennox thought it
whatever Spoils were taken from the Enemy to be converted to the Queen's use the Scots to receive and exercise the same Religion professed and used in the Church of England and to send Pledges into England to remain there as Hostages during the Marriage of the French King and the Scots Queen and one Year after All Sealed and Ratified at Barwick the 27th of February 1560. Six thousand Foot and Two thousand Horse Auxiliaries are sent down under the Command of the Lord Grey unto whom the Lords of the Congregation joyn their Army at Hadington and in this conjunction they march towards Leith lay Siege to it both by Sea and Land an English Navy lying then in the Road many bloody Skirmishes there were on both sides The French Bishop cometh into the Scots Camp and from thence he went to the Castle at Edenburgh to speak with the Queen Regent retired thither for her safety and protection and earnestly endeavours a Peace but all in vain the Scots not hearkning to any unless the French were all in the first place sent home which could not be yielded to at this time a great Fire happened in Lieth which put the Besieged into a great Consternation the English likewise fired the two Mills belonging to the Garrison and assault the Town by Storm but are repulsed with loss the French quickly repairing the Breaches the English made who at length begin to think the work tedious and full of trouble they send to Queen Elizabeth to know her pleasure the Duke of Norfolk encourageth them much by sending them new Supplies no less than Two thousand well appointed men Assuring them that neither Men nor Money should be wanting so long as it was in his power to supply them promising if need were his own presence in the mean time he sendeth his Tent and adviseth them to set it up in the view of the Town This gives Life to the business again the Siege is renewed and the Queen of England sends Sir William Cecil one of the Privy Counsellors and Secretary of State and Doctor Wootton Dean of York one also of the Council to treat with the French in order to a Peace a meeting is appointed in July following but in the interim the Queen Regent wasted with care and grief dyeth at Edenburgh Castle a Woman of singular wisdom and vertue honoured by most of the worst of her enemies and her Death much lamented by all after her death Commissioners are appointed and meet to treat of an Accommodation which had then been agreed upon but that the French insisted upon a freedom to carry home whatsoever Booty Bag or Paggage they had got whereof they had store by their Winters plundering of Fife which would not be granted by the Scots and therefore Acts of Hostility Sallies and Onsets are made with various fortune and success At last both Parties sufficiently weary and straitned in Provisions the Treaty is renewed and Articles agreed on viz. That neither the French King nor his Queen of Scotland should thenceforth use the Arms or Titles of England and all Letters Sealed with those Arms should be called in within six Months space that the French transport themselves with their Booties Bag and Baggage within twenty days and that the English supply them with such Ships as they should want they leaving Pledges with the English until the safe return of their Ships That Leith be delivered up to the Scots and Dismantled That the Forts built by the French at Dunbar be demolished That the English immediately after the performance of Articles do return into England That the French should still keep a Garrison at Inch-Keeth and Dunbar Castle That an Act of Oblivion first past by the Queen and the French King her Husband be afterwards Confirmed by their Authority in the ensuing Parliament to be held in August On these Terms Peace was Proclaimed Soon after the French King Francis dyeth the Queen heavily afflicted with grief for the death of her Husband and much perplexed by the turbulent condition of the state of France resolveth to return into Scotland and fearing the English Navy by reason of an Offence given to Queen Elizabeth by placing the English Arms in the Scots Coat she privately goes aboard a small Vessel which none would suspect to be Fraught with so rich a Cargo and safely arriveth in Scotland immediately before her arrival her base Brother James procured a Commission from her to hold a Parliament which was accordingly done The French Ambassador moveth That the French League may be renewed and that which the English lately made may be broke off and that the Revenues of Ecclesiastick Persons may be restored to them But the Scots Parliament now wholly constituted of such as pretend to the Reformation of Religion answered That the French League should be continued but that with the English could not be broken without the greatest Dishonour and Ingratitude in the world The Restauration of the Revenue of the Ecclesiasticks was wholly rejected and an Act passed for the demolishing all the Abbies and Priories in the Kingdom which was immediately put in execution The sorrowful Queen being arrived had no better remedy than Silence and Convenience and was forced to condescend That the state of Religion as it was lately renewed and established by the Lords of the Congregation should not by her nor her Authority suffer any Change or Alteration no Mass to be said publiquely any where except in her Majesty's Chappel which was all the indulgence the Lords would afford her The Ministers moved both by their own Zeal and the Instigation of the Earl of Arran Cry out and Thunder in their Pulpits against this Permission and Admonish the Lords of their Duty to reduce her to order a submission to and a susception of the Directory for publick Worshin The Nobility notwithstanding all these over-loud Clamours encroach not upon the Queen's privilege for which the Ministers turn the edge of their Tongues as sharp as Swords against them crying out of their Apostacy and lukewarmness in the Cause of God William Mettelane is sent Ambassadour to England to tender to Queen Elizabeth the great Respects of the Scottish Queen towards her and with this Message the Lords sent also their Letters to the Queen humbly thanking her for her late Seasonable Assistance and requesting her to continue her Princely Favour towards their Queen and a firmer establishment of Union between both Kingdoms as an Expedient thereunto they propound to her Majesty That she would be pleased to pass an Act of Parliament Declaring That in case her self should dye without Issue the Queen of Scots to be her rightful Heir and lawful Successor to her Crown This last motion highly displeased Queen Elizabeth saying That it was most unreasonable to require her to Sew her Winding-Sheet with her own hands and to expose it every day to her own view After much Debate it was at last agreed upon First That the Scots Queen should forbear
partake with many ghastly wounds the honour of the day the vanquished are killed on the place all to one who perceiving himself left alone and being without wounds he skippeth into the River by which means none of the surviving Victors being able to follow him by reason of their wounds he maketh a fair Escape with his Life thus the Heads and most turbulent of both Clans cut off their retainers are soon perswaded to Peace and for many Years after live quiet enough this Fight hapned in the Year 1396. In the Year 1398. King Robert Created his Son David at the Eighteenth Year of his Age Duke of Rothesay and his Brother Robert Duke of Albany the first Honour of this kind bestowed in that Kingdom The same Year he established his Son Robert Governour of the whole Kingdom preferring the quiet of a private Life to the daily Troubles which attend a publick Employment tho' sweetned with many honours and outward respects The Year following being the First Year of the Reign of Henry the Fourth of England some unhappy seeds of Jarrs between the two Kingdoms were scattered by George Dunbar Earl of Merse the Daughter of the said Earl being espoused to the Duke of Rothesay and a great part of her Dowry payed Archibald Earl of Dowglass Excepteth in Parliament against the Espousals as done without Consent of the Three Estates and propounded in Parliament the Marriage of his own Daughter and with her a greater Dowry the Parliament approveth well of the Match and Robert Duke of Albany prevaileth with the King to make void the first Espousal and to accept the tender made by the Earl of Dowglass both which being accordingly done the Marriage of the Earl Dowglass his Daughter to the Young Duke is Solemnised by consent of Parliament The Earl George resenteth this as a wrong done to his Family expostulateth the matter with the King and remanded his Daughters Dowry whereunto present Satisfaction not being made the Earl withdraweth from Court breathing out Revenge and immediately flyeth into England where he entereth into league with Earl Percy Dowglass his sworn Enemy and with some Force obtained from him he returneth into Scotland and spoileth all the Lands in the Meuse belonging to Earl Dowglass King Robert provoked with Indignation proclaimeth him Traitor and dispatcheth an Herald to King Henry the 4th of England to require the delivery up of the fugitive Earl to Justice King Henry pretendeth faith given to the Earl for Protection and upon that account refuseth King Robert his demand King Robert resenteth this as a breach of the Peace concluded for seven years in the days of King Richard not yet expired and accordingly his Council declareth it and for this and many outrages and detestations committed by Henry Percy the younger and by the fugitive Earl proclaimeth War against King Henry King Henry thinks it his wisest course to prevent him and forthwith marcheth into Scotland with a very potent Army of Horse and Foot entereth the City of Edenburgh and layeth Siege to the Castle Duke Robert then Governor of Scotland prepareth for its relief but so slowly that every man suspected him to have some sinister design in it King Henry finding the Castle impregnable being garrisoned with men of honour and integrity to whom the Macedonian Ass could have no access though some not long since could receive his leading raised his Siege and returned to England Henry Percy and the fugitive Earl continue their plundering incursions for repressing of whom several small Parties were sent to small purpose at last by the command of the Governor Archibald Earl of Dowglass Son to the late Earl of the same Name so much renowned marcheth in person against them accompanied with divers of the Nobility and advanceth with his Army to the very Gates of New-Castle Percy the younger and the fugitive Earl draw up their Army against him and give him battel nigh Hemeldon the Earl Dowglass after a most furious conflict is at last overthrown divers of the Scottish Nobility are slain many taken Prisoners and with them the Earl himself with the loss of one of his Eyes Percy persueth his Victory entereth Scotland and having done some spoyl in Tiviodale returneth to England and prepareth for a Rebellion against King Henry the Earl Dowglass is earnestly sollicited by him to joyn with him in his design with promise of freedom Dowglass embraceth the motion and with some others of the Scottish Prisoners performeth most gallant service at Shrewsbury battel contemning all others he bendeth himself against the person of the King only he dismounteth first one then another then a third and all in the habit of the King King Henry having clothed some gallant men in his own habit of purpose to encourage his Soldiers at the sight of their brave deportment Dowglass admiring from whence so many Kings should come rusheth himself into the midst of his enemies behaving himself with incredible bravery but at last the victory falling to the King Dowglass grievously wounded is taken Prisoner the King very nobly taketh care of him causeth his wounds to be cured by the best of his Chirurgions admitteth him to his presence highly commendeth his valour accepteth of his ransom and granteth him liberty to return to his Country where he was received with no small Joy This storm over Duke Robert wholly bends himself to make away the whole off-spring of his Brother the King of purpose to make way for his own to come to the Crown a fair opportunity offering it self to begin his work David the elder of the King's Sons giveth up himelfs wholly to his lusts ravishing both Virgins and others contemning all admonitions of his good Father would not be reclaimed The good King much afflicted by the dissolute life of his Son committeth him to the counsel and care of Duke Robert the Governor who very glad of the opportunity to commence his Traiterous design chearfully snatcheth his prey into his Clutches and resolving to take a short course to reform his manners by the ruine of the man carrieth him along with himself to St. Andrews from thence to Faulkland where he coops him up in a loathsom Dungeon with a design to destroy him by the cruel pinches of hunger which had been speedily done but that his miserable Life Was preserved for a Season by the compassion of two tender-hearted Women the one a Virgin Daughter to the Governor of the Castle who as she came into the Garden privately conveyed under the covert of her Apron some thin Oaten Cakes which she gave him through a Cranny the only conveyance of light into the Dungeon The other a poor neighbouring Woman who gave Suck and by her Breast-milk milked into his mouth refreshed him a little The Duke his merciless Uncle admiring that he heard no tidings of his death appointed a secret Watch about him the good Women are discovered apprehended and punished the poor Prince now left without all manner of relief or hope of
done a Promise is made to assure him of Pardon Earl Dowglas passeth over into England craveth Assistance of Henry Earl of Northumberland which was no sooner asked than obtained Forces are raised and under the Conduct of the two Earls they make an Incursion into the Meuse in Scotland wasting and pillaging all the Earl of Angus is sent to give some Check to the violent Current which was done to good purpose being soundly beaten they are forced to retreat leaving their Spoil behind them King James not satisfied with this Victory resolveth to revenge the manifold Incursions made into Scotland by an Expedition into England provoked the more by the Entertainment and Assistance given to the Earl Dowglas a Proclaimed Traitor In the mean while Agents are sent to him by some of the English Nobility the Duke of York the Earls of Salisbury and Warwick and others then in Arms against King Henry to crave some Auxiliary Forces from his Majesty in recompence whereof they promise in case of Success the Rendition of all the Scottish Towns Forts and Castles in the English Possession King James though unwilling to meddle in this Quarrel yet being glad of an Opportunity to regain his Towns and having formerly concluded a War for reparation of Wrongs done declareth to the English Commissioners that he would hasten his Expedition into England which he doubted not would be much to the advantage of the Lords in Arms and therefore expected that in case of Success the Proposition now made touching his Towns should then be performed The English Commissioners return satisfied the Scottish Army forthwith advanceth which had not marched many Miles when behold an Impostor and with him a Cozening Monk presenteth himself to the King pretending himself to be the Pope's Legate but sent indeed by King Henry of England This Jugler informeth his Majesty that his Holiness intended to settle if possible a general Peace in Christendom in order to a War against the Turk the Enemy of Christians and therefore in his Holiness his Name he requireth his Majesty to retreat assuring him that in case of Disobedience he had Command given to him to denounce the Pope's Curse against him which in those days was so Dreadful that no Man durst be so desperate as to incur the danger thereof King James therefore obeycth retreateth and Disbandeth his Army This Cheat is soon discovered the King enraged recalleth his Army and forthwith advanceth and in his way Stormeth the Town of Roxburgh then Garrison'd by the English the Castle refusing to yield is closely Besieged in the interim Messengers come from the English Lords to give notice to his Majesty of King Henry his Overthrow and return him thanks for his Royal care of their Safety intreating him to desist from the Siege lest the English being provoked thereby send down an Army contrary to their minds against him King James much moved at this last Passage demandeth of the Messengers what Instructions they had from their Lords concerning the Promise of Surrendering into his hands all his Towns Forts and Castles in the English power they acknowledge none The King bids them tell their Lords That not their Words but their Swords must raise him from the Siege The Siege continueth and is reinforced by additional Forces under Earl Hantkey and Donald Lord of the Isles who to ingratiate himself the more to his Majesty tendereth himself and his Forces as a Forlorn Hope in what Design or Service soever it shall please his Majesty to command him In the midst of all this Preparation behold the Fatal hour approacheth the King being himself very skilful in discharging of great Ordnance draweth nigh to see the Cannoneer discharge a great Cannon called the Lion newly sent to him from beyond Sea the Cannon discharged flyeth in pieces a Wedge whereof pierceth the King's body and immediately he dyeth Such of his Courtiers and Commanders as were by though astonished at this sad Spectacle yet are so present in mind as to cover his Body from the view of the Souldiers lest all should turn to Confusion The Queen who that very morning came into the Camp with a chearful Countenance wisely consealing the great grief of her heart exhorteth the Nobility to go on with Resolution notwithstanding that sad disaster and for their further encouragement produceth her young Son the Prince a Child of seven Years old they salute him King and being much animated by this couragious Deportment of the Queen the Siege goeth on more furiously than before The English within spent with much labout and continual watchings Sound a Parley obtain Articles of Surrender march out honourably with freedom to Transport into England whatsoever belonged to the Garrison the Castle Surrendered is forthwith Demolished Thus Dyed James the Second about the 11th of September 1460 in the 22th Year of his Reign and the 29th of his Age he lived in a most desperate time and Rebellious Age but disposed with such a well composed Mind that Prosperity and Adversity were equally entertained by him the Death of Earl Dowglas the only instance of his Impotency a Man of singular Courage and no less Clemency munificent to his Friend and merciful to his Foe In a sad time he fell leaving Sorrow enough behind him and a sad People for so great a loss THE LIFE OF JAMES III. JAMES the Third entereth his Reign at Kelso the 7th Year of his Age Anno 1460. The Peers having done the Homage the King repaireth to Edenburgh-Castle to remain there under the Tuition of the Queen until a Parliament could conveniently be called for setling the Affairs of the King and Kingdom In the mean while King Henry the Sixth of England after various Fortune of War is at last after the fatal Blow he received at Towton nigh Ferrybridges where died 35091 English forced to fly with the Queen and Prince into Scotland for Relief where he is Honourably received and entertained the Scottish King's Sister Margaret is given in Marriage to his Son Prince Edward Some considerable Forces are raised for his Assistance to recover his Crown having delivered Berwick to King James as part or his Antient Inheritance before the days of King Edward the First King Henry marcheth with his Army into England and is overthrown in Battel by Edward the 4th nigh Hexham escapeth to Berwick Edward returneth to London Queen Margaret procures some Forces from France all Cast away in the Holy Island by distress of Weather such as escaped the Sea are either Slain or Imprisoned King Henry now desperate of Relief resolveth to try the Affections of his Friends in England and to that end putteth himself into a Disguise and coming Southward is discovered apprehended carried to London and laid up in the Tower By this time the Scots are at leisure to meet in Parliament great Contention there was into whose hands the Government should be committed during the King's Minority the Queen claimeth it Kennedie Arch-bishop of St. Andrews and George
Family of the Guise Widdow of the late Duke of Longoville in Marriage to King James the Marriage is agreed to the Year following she arriveth in Scotland and the Marriage solemnized at St. Andrews 1538. This Year exemplary Justice was done upon divers Persons of Quality conspiring the Death of the King some the Year following were Burnt some Banished for embracing the Protestant Doctrine Preached in Germany by Luther and others James Hammilton the Bastard accused of High-Treason is sentenced to Death his Head and Quarters affixed to publick places in Edenburgh the King soon after thought in his Dream that Hammilton cut off first his right and then his left Arm threatning withal to appear again to take his own Life the King awaking is very much troubled with thoughts of this Dream and revolving with himself what might be the meaning of it a Messenger comes to him with the sad News of the Death of both his Sons at the same time the one at Sterlin the other at St. Andrews King Henry of England sendeth the second time to invite King James to a Conference at York the Scotch Clergy still oppose it and the Conference again refused King Henry in great Indignation against his Nephew for refusal of Conference with him resolveth to talk with him in harder Terms and to that end he raiseth an Army and sendeth it into Scotland and under the Command of the Duke of Norfolk The Scottish Ambassadors in vain intreating a Cessation King James prepares a considerable Army for defence the English enter into Scotland and after some mischief done at the approach of the Scotch Army they retreat the Lord Gordon marcheth before the main body with Ten thousand Men doing much hurt and annoyance to the Rear of the English Army King James with all earnestness presseth an Engagement with the English the Nobility peremptorily oppose him in it the King enraged upbraideth them with Cowardise unworthy to be owned as Sons of their Noble Ancestors vowing that though they should all desert him himself and his own Family alone should give the Enemy Battel The Lord Maxwell to pacify the King tendereth his Service to lead into Cumberland Ten thousand Men thereby to divert the Enemy The King accepteth his Service but being enraged against the whole Nobility he resolves that none of them should have the Honour of any thing done in that Expedition and for the cause giveth a Dormant Commission to Oliver Sinclare Brother to the Lord Roslin Having entred Cumberland and now in view of Five hundred English Horse Sinclare produceth his Commission it is read at the head of the Army Maxwell is thereby inraged the whole Army falleth in Mutiny and in such a confusion that they become a Prey to the Five hundred English Horse divers of the Nobility and the new General Sinclare are sent Prisoners to the Tower of London this dishonourable Disaster which hapned at Solway strikes the Valorous King with such grief and sorrow that he never after joyed but soon after departed this Life having first made Peace with King Henry at whose request he recalled Archibald Earl of Angus Thus dyed King James the Fifth a Prince of singular Endowments most patient of Cold Hunger and Travel sometimes setting on Horseback Twenty Four hours when the necessity of his affairs required it a great Justitiary and a person of singular Foresight and Wisdom THE LIFE OF QUEEN MARY QUeen Mary was the only Child James the Fifth her Father left to Inherit the Crown born to him not above eight days before his death James Hammilton Earl of Aran is therefore chosen Vice-Roy to whom King Henry of England sent his Ambassador Sir Radolph Sadler to procure Peace between the two Kingdoms and to demand Mary in Marriage to his Son by the influence of the late Prisoners in England especially the Exiled Dowglasses whom King Henry had wrought much to his Service by his Royal Favours whose Counsels were now very prevalent in the management of publick affairs both were assented the Contract of Marriage Signed and Pledges promised for better performance of all Conditions agreed upon notwithstanding of the Opposition of the Queen and Cardinal who fearing the Subversion of Popery still established in that Kingdom by this agreement endeavour what they can to cross all Tumults are stirred against the English Ambassador and daily Affronts put upon his Attendants in the Streets the Ambassador complaineth and demandeth the Pledges promised for confirmation of the Agreement lately made exemplary Justice is executed upon the chief movers in the Tumults in answer to this Complaint but the Cardinal by the influence of his power had so obstructed the matter of his demand that not one of the Nobility would yield up himself voluntarily a Pledge to the English and to such a business none could be compelled King Henry hereby provoked seiseth all the Scottish Ships in the English Havens and Harbours and proclaimeth War against the Scots in the mean while the Queen Mother sendeth to France to entreat the French King to send home Matthew Earl of Lennox to strengthen her against the English Faction otherwise Religion and the French League were like to come to nothing Lennox is sent home and forthwith levieth Four Thousand men and with this strong guard cometh to the Queen the Vice-Roy inferior in Power sends Commissions to treat for Peace by agreement the young Queen is committed to the Education of Four Indifferent Noble Men ingaged in neither Faction viz. the Lords Graham Areskin Lindsay and Leviston and accordingly they take charge of her at Sterlin where all the Nobility do Homage to her The Vice-Roy joyneth himself wholly to the Cardinal which Conjunction so inrageth Lennox that immediately he flyeth to Arms raiseth an Army marcheth to Leith and provoketh the Cardinal to Fight the Cardinal keeps himself close in Edenburgh Castle Lennox through want of Provisions is forced to withdraw and to put himself in a posture of Defence in and about Glascow King Henry hearing of these Stirs sends into Scotland to demand the custody of the young Queen until she came to years fit for Marriage The French Faction now prevailing his Demands are refused An Army is therefore forthwith sent into Scotland under the Conduct of the Earl of Hereford and a great Navy of Two hundred Sail under the Command of Viscount Lisle as Admiral The English enter the City of Edenburgh without resistance first they Pillage and then they Fire it and divers other Towns and Villages about it the like fate befel the Town of Leith and forthwith they return to England laden with Spoil The Queen Mother writeth to the French King and layeth all these mischiefs at Lennox his door as the only enemy of their Peace and Union by reason of his private Feud against the Vice-Roy for the death of his Father At her Request Lennox is recalled to France but finding the French King provoked against him he still keeps to his posture of Defence
much discontented which the French Ambassador Lamote layeth hold on as the fittest opportunity to work him into a War against the English his pernitious perswasions seconded with the daily solicitations of the Scottish Clergy especially Foreman Bishop of Murray his Ambassador then in France prevail too much and overcome him at last to denounce by his Herald War against King Henry then in France who answered the Herald with expressions of the greatest disdain that could be Arms are raised on both sides the Scots under the Command of their King the English under the Conduct of the Earl of Surrey Both Armies advance and at last joyn Battel at Flodden in Northumberland the Battel is exceedingly furious and continueth some hours within Night the darkness whereof commandeth at last a Cessation of Arms No man knowing on whose side the Victory lay each Army thinking it self worsted The Earl of Hume who traiterously refused to joyn in Battel with his Brigade enricheth himself with the Spoil of the Field and departeth by break of day at which instant the Lord Dacres came into Field and finding the Scotch Carriages without Guard and the Camp not wholly Pillaged dispatcheth a Messenger to the Earl of Surrey forthwith to Rally and to return which was with marvellous Expedition performed no Enemy appearing and now the Day being up the English Celebrate the Victory with great Joy This Overthrow is reckoned by the Scots the greatest that ever befel them not so much for the Number as the Quality of the Slain many of the Nobility and Gentry besides Five thousand common Souldiers were killed on the place King James himself never after appeared what to determine of him I know not the English contend that he was killed in the Battel his Body found and exposed to publick View the Scots assert that the Corps so exposed were the Relicts of Sir Alexander Elphinston in Habit Stature and Figure resembling their King as some others did that day the better to encourage the Army Some contend that he escaped into Scotland after the Battel and was traiterously Murdered by the Retainers of the Earl of Hume nigh Kelso to avoid his wrath for their Treachery on the day of Battel and some there are who are bold enough to assert that the King perceiving the huge Slaughter of the Nobility and Gentry privately withdrew himself and in an obscure habit travelled as a Pilgrim to Jerusalem to make good his former Vow where he spent the remnant of his days in Sorrow however it was certain it is That after the Battel he never appeared to the World A Prince of a most comely Person and of that moderation and temper that no provocation could force from him any the least intemperate word and yet a man of an undaunted and indeed too resolute a Spirit very much inclined to Mercy never executing Penal Justice without grief and sorrow of Heart I leave him with that Epitaph he had bestowed upon him for his wanting of a Tomb. Fama orbem replet mortem sors occulit at tu Desine scrutari quod tegit ossa solum Si mihi dent animo non impar fata sepulchrum Augusta est tumulo terra Britanna meo THE LIFE OF JAMES V. JAMES the Fourth thus lost his Son James a Child of two years of Age is Proclaimed King the Queen his Mother conformable to the last Will of the King published before his last Expedition towards England in which it was provided that the Queen should have the Supreme Power during the time of her Widowhood and the King his Minority hath the Supreme Government committed to her and as a tender Mother writeth with all earnestness to her Brother King Henry the Eighth of England imploring his Royal and Fraternal favour particularly that he would be pleased out of his tender regard to her and her young Son to abstain from War against the Scots King Henry very nobly returneth Answer that the Scots should be choosers of War or Peace this gladded the heart of the Scottish Queen who assuredly by her discreet Government had proved a Nursing Mother to that Nation but that within one year she was pleased to Marry herself to Archibald Dowglas Earl of Angus by which Marriage her Government determined and immediately Divisions break out amongst the Nobility touching the choice of a Vice-Roy The Dowglasses wholly for the Queen the Earl of Hume a Person then of great Power and Authority opposeth her contending for a free Choice to be made of one of the Nobility after much Debate it was at last concluded that the Duke of Albany John Son to Robert Brother to James the Third should be declared Vice-Roy which being done Letters are dispatched to him then an Exile in France The Duke accepteth the Honour and Charge and arriveth at Dunbarton about the 8th of May 1515 forthwith in Parliament is the Duke restored to his Patrimony and declared Vice-Roy The Vice-Roy beginneth his Government in a Progress all the Kingdom over endeavouring to establish Peace among all The Earl of Hume the great Instrument of the Vice-Roy his advancement finding himself much neglected repenteth him of his Service done to him and tenders the same to the Queen whom he formerly opposed suggesting to her the danger of the young King now in the hands of such a Vice-Roy whose Father for his traiterous Conspiring against the King and his ambitious aspiring the Crown was Exiled to his dying day the present Vice-Roy his Son born and brought up likewise in Exile appearing a man of no less Ambition than his Father the young King the only Rub in his way to the Crown must needs therefore be in great danger if some extraordinary Expedient be not found out for his Safety and in order hereunto he adviseth her to withdraw herself and her Son into England under the Protection of her Brother who so largely the other day declared his Royal affection and favour towards her All is soon and secretly bewrayed to the Vice-Roy who immediately surpriseth the King and his Mother the Queen in the Castle of Sterlin The Queen and all Dowglas his Faction are removed from the King the Tuition of whom he commits to the care of three Noble Men besides the Lord Areskin Governour of the Castle The Lord Hume and his Brother withdrew to England the Queen and the Earl of Angus her Husband soon follow after the Vice-Roy sendeth his Agents after them and complaineth of their Causeless departure All of them are by their Friends perswaded to return the Queen only being heavy with Child is advised to stay where soon after she was brought to Bed of a Daughter Named Margaret The Earl of Hume Summoned to appear before the Vice-Roy in a publick Convention is Condemned and his Estate confiscate because of non-appearance Ten thousand Horse and Foot are raised to reduce him which the Earl perceiving he casteth himself upon the Faith and Favour of the Vice-Roy by whose command Hume is committed to the
Subscribed the King and Queen promising the Restipulation of their Protection which was accordingly done Murray only refuses to Subscribe the Bond and gets leave to go into France having first set some on work again to Embroyl the State and to Blow up the Coals of Rebellion the chief of them were the Earls of Arguile Morton Marre Athol Glencarne and the Lords Lindsey and Boyd but Arguile Repents him of the Confederacy returns to his Obedience and discovers the whole Design to the Queen The others adjoyning to themselves the Lord Hume and others of the South on the sudden they raise an Army of Two Thousand Horse and closely Besieged the Castle of Borthwick wherein the King and Queen lay who next day happily Escaped the Queen putting her self under the disguise of mans habit came to Dunbar where they Secured themselves in the Castle and thither resorted divers of the Loyal Nobility Gentry and Commonalty for the Safety of the Queen who resolves to Advance with her Forces towards Leith to disturb her Enemies then ranting at Edenburgh They hearing of the Queens measures forthwith March and nigh Musselburgh came in sight of the Queens Forces The Armies lying in View of each other and ready to joyn in Battel the French Ambassadour interposeth himself and endeavours a Pacification assuring the Lords of the Queens Gracious Inclinations to them and that she was ready to Pardon and Pass an Act of Oblivion for all that was past They Insolently Replyed That they came not to Crave her Favour Nor said Glencarn to Ask Pardon but rather to give it The French Ambassador seeing no hopes of an Accommodation retires to Edenburgh the Queens Army begins to Divide and grow Mutinous the Queen sends a Messenger to the Conspirators desiring them to send William Kircady the Laird of Grange to whom she purposed to make some Overtures of Peace and in the mean while no Acts of Hostility were to be offer'd Kircady is sent and the Cessation Agreed to Bothwell returns to Dunbar and the Queen offers to come into the Adverse Army assurance being given her That her Army should March off and Return without Molestation to their several Homes or respective Habitations They Accord to this and the deserted Queen very debasingly Attir'd comes into the Rebels Quarter where she was entertained with such Scorn and Contempt with such Vile and Opprobrious Language from the Soldiers as is neither Tolerable not Fit to be mentioned One Banner they had Contrived with the Picture of the Dead King and the Infant King James by him with this Inscription Judge and Revenge my Cause O Lord This they carried upon Two Spears before her wherever she went until at last her Spirits over-burdened with Grief sank under it and she dyed away and being revived and refreshed they renewed their Insolencies towards her and in Triumph carried her into Edenburgh all bespattered with Gore and Reproach and her Face so bedaubed with Dust and her own Tears which she had plentifully shed that she was indeed a most rueful and deplorable Spectacle to behold and all who had any sparks of Loyalty or Sense of Duty in them are much Afflicted at the Sight that Night she was sent to Craigmillars Lodgings who was then Provost of the Town the next day she is Conveyed by Ruthen and Lindsey to Lochlevix Castle a Place Encompassed with waters on every side for nigh well a Mile Bothwell during the time of the Queens Discourse with Kircady makes his Escape first into Orkney and from thence into Scotland The Conspirators send to the Imprisoned Queen and require her to Resign the Crown in Favour of her Son and to name Guardians for him during his Minority the distressed Queen is forced to yield to all that they had Confidence to Demand She was through Fear and Flattery induced to a Resignation of the Crown under her Hand subscribing the Writ with Tears flowing from her Eyes the Tuition of her Young Son is Committed to James Earl of Murray John Duke of Castle-Roy to the Earls of Lennox Arguile Athol Morton Glencarn and Marre James Earl of Murray is by this time returned from his Retirement in France and by these Lords he is Chosen Vice-Roy and the Young King now Two Years of Age is Crowned at Sterlin Murray is Confirmed in his Government as Vice-Roy in a Parliament Assembled August 25. and the first Essay of his Power is against Bothwell who now lay lurking with some few Ships about Orkney Kircady is sent against him who upon Intelligence fled into Denmark and there miserably ended his Days but with his last Breath Cleared the Queen of all Consent Privity or Knowledge of the King's Death as did also Hephorn Paris Daglish and other Servants of Bothwell that were put to Death by Murray for the Murder who upon the Gallows charged it upon Murray and Morton as the Conspirators with Bothwell Some Ambassadors arrive in Scotland from England and France and desire Admittance to the Queen but are peremptorily denyed it by the Vice-Roy the hard Usage of the Queen and the Insolence of that Ill Woman the Mother of the Vice-Roy was such that many even of her Enemies who knew the Truth of it were bowed into a Compassion towards her and began to contrive some Expedient for her Liberty which the Queen her self not long after by her own Wisdom and Prudence brought to pass Guarded and Watched she was by the Vice-Roy's nearest Allies and trustiest Servants his Mother and Three Brothers which were of another Father had the Charge of her in a Place impregnable and out of which an Escape had been impossible considering the breadth of the Lake that encompassed it had not God turned the hearts of some of her Enemies towards her such was her Deportment in that grievous Restraint and her Meek and Chearful entertainment of all Affronts put upon her by the Vice-Roy's Mother That one of the Sons Half-Brother to the Vice-Roy endued with some Principles of Ingenuity and in whom were some Remains of Loyalty out of a sense of Duty towards the Queen begs her Pardon for all past and her Favour for the future promising his Service in order to her Freedom A Boat is forthwith prepared and with a few that were made privy to the Honest Design the Queen escapeth April 5. 1568. the Guard in vain endeavour to pursue after her all other Boats about the Castle being by the Contrivers of the Escape made unserviceable the Queen safely Arrives on the Shore where Lord Seaton with some few Horse were ready to receive her the first Night she is Lodged privately at Nudrie in West-Lothian and from thence the next day she goes to Hamilton where a considerable Number of the Nobility and Gentry meets her in Arms and a great many of her Enemies Revolt from the Vice-Roy and return to their Obedience The Vice-Roy forth with Advanceth with an Army against her and in a Battel at Landside near Glascow the Queens Forces are
Scepter neither would it have been denyed her by any Christian Prince That the Crime committed was done by her Secretaries and not by her and therefore Injustice not to be Charged upon her but them That if this Sentence were Executed all Christian Kings would believe all their Honours and Rights wounded in that blow and would accordingly resent it and Avenge it That her only Son King James could never in Honour or Duty set down quiet under such an Affront And in fine That Heaven it self must needs Arm against so Bloody a Design and therefore they adjure her by all the Love she bears unto her self by all the Respects she bears to her own People the Nation of England that she forbear the Execution And if she feared any Evil by her Life to preserve her under the Power of strong Guards of which she could not want plenty in England if she would not accept of their Security for her Peaceable behaviour But as an over-pressing Argument to all these the Enemies of Queen Mary that were continually present with Queen Elizabeth beat it into her Ears that the Lives of Elizabeth and Mary were things incompatible and for the Safety of one it was necessary to take away the other which otherwise would be a perpetual Sting to her Sed mortua non mordet the Grave was the securest Prison she could be committed unto Queen Elizabeth at last Signs the Warrant for Execution which being past the Broad-Seal She next day sends Killigrew to Davison to forbid the Command of Execution telling him she would go another way to work but the Lords of the Council being Acquainted with it they without the Consent of the Queen wrested it from Davison and sent Beale their Clark with the Mandate and Letters to the Earls of Shrewsbury Kent Derby and Cumberland to see the same performed which was the only thing that Queen Elizabeth had to offer in her own Excuse to King James Protesting that it was done without her Knowledge and quite contrary to her Intent having as she said told Davison her Secretary her Resolution of taking New Measures and that the Warrant was to have remained in his hand without Execution unless a Foreign Invasion or Domestick broyls which Queen Mary's Enemies always suggested were daily designed should render it necessary Davison for his Disobedience was Committed and cast out of Favour * Vpon the News of Signing the Warrant for Execution King James Commanded the Ministers to remember the Queen Mother in their Prayers which they generally refused to do tho' the Form prescribed them was Pious and Christian being after this manner That it may please God to illuminate Her with the Light of his Truth and to Save her from the apparent danger wherein she was cast No sooner came the Order to the hands of the Noblemen than they repaired to Fotheringham Castle the Prison where the Queen lay and raising her out of her Bed in the Morning they read their Commission to her Advertising her That next day Morning she was to Dye which Order she receiv'd without any discomposure of Mind or change of Countenance saying She did not think that her Sister Queen Elizabeth would have brought her to that Extremity but seeing it was her pleasure she was willing to submit Appealing to Heaven and Earth to witness her Innocence adding that it was her Comfort that she dyed for and in the Religion of her Fore-fathers beseeching God to increase her Constancy and Courage to the Measure of her Afflictions After these words she besought the Commissioners that she might be permitted to Confer with her Confessor which was denied her tendring unto her in his stead the Bishop or Dean of Peterborough whom she refused saying God shall be my Comforter One of the Commissioners the Earl of Kent told her your life will be the death and your death the life of our Religion I thank you said she that I am thought worthy to dye for my Religion After that the Commissioners were rerired she commanded her servants that Supper should be dispatched and according to her usual custom she Supped soberly and discoursed to such as were about her with a marvellous calmness and tranquillity of mind at the end of Supper she drank to all her servants with a grave and modest chearfulness at which they all fell upon their knees mingling floods of Tears with their Wine so soon as they were able to speak having a little digested their sorrow they craved her pardon for their remissness in those duties and services her Majesty had deserved at their hands and she desired them likewise to forget all her defects and failings towards them comforting them with an invincible courage and commanded them to wipe away their Tears and to rejoyce with her for that she was now to be delivered from an abyss of misery After Supper she wrote three Letters one to the King of France another to the Duke of Guise and a third to her Confessor this done she took a review of her Last Will which she had before committed to writing and caused an Inventory of her Goods to be Read and wrote down the names of those to whom she had bestowed her Wardrobe she also distributed mony to some with her own hand afterwards she retired herself and being refreshed with a little sleep she spent the rest of the night in Watching and Prayer The next morning being the eighth of February she drest and adorned herself with such of Apparel and Ornaments as she usually wore on Festival days and having again assembled her servants she caused her Will again to be Read to them desiring them to take in good part those poor Legacies she had bequeathed to them the condition of her Estate not permitting her to give them any greater She took her last farewel of them to fear God to love one another and to be stedfast in the Faith and to Pray for her Soul she kissed the women and permitted the men to kiss her hand and then returned to her Oratory where she continued to Prayer until Thomas Andrews the Lieutenant of the County signified unto her that her hour was come and it was time to come forth which she soon obeyed and in a posture full of Majesty and a Countenance very joyful the Commissioners received her in a Gallery where they did attend her there likewise Melvin her Steward did present himself before her and weeping fell on his knees to receive her last commands Melvin said she weep not but rather rejoyce for this day you shall see Mary Stuart delivered from all her sorrows and I adjure you to tell my Son that I have always lived and now I dye a Catholick and that I exhort him to preserve the Faith of his Ancestors to love Justice and to maintain his people in Peace and to Enterprize nothing against the Queen of England I have committed nothing against the Kingdom of Scotland and I always loved France God forgive
Arch-Bishop scarce escaping to Faulkland where the Queen Regents Army lay but the Queen understanding their approach sendeth from Faulkland where her self lay and requireth Hammilton Duke of Casteaulroy the Commander in chief to send Commission to Treat Three of the most Popular Nobility are sent yet could not prevail for any terms of Peace all that would be granted was the agreement to a Truce for eight Days Provided that the Queens Army remove into Louthian Whilst another Treaty may be had at St. Andrews which accordingly her Army did and immediately Hammilton and James Stuart advance to St. Johnston lay Siege to the Town which in few days yielded to them They proceed to Scone which they consume with Fire and from thence to Sterlin where all the Religious houses are pillaged and laid level to the ground then advancing to Lithquo the like is done there then entring Edenburgh they find business enough there to stay them for some days to demolish Religious houses to purge the Churches from Images and beautiful Sculptures and to establish Zealous Preachers of the Reformation in them The Queen having retreated to Dunbar returned towards Edenburgh when the Armies were ready to engage by the Negotiation of the Duke of Casteaulroy and the Earl of Morton a Cessation of Arms was at last agreed on from July the 24th to January the 10th next following In the mean time there was an universal toleration of Religion and no Man compelled to the use of any Rites or Ceremonies therein there was no Garrison to be placed at Edenburgh the Priests were peaceably to enjoy the Tithes of the Church for that Year no more Religious Houses were to be demolished or alienated the Pallace-Royal at Holyrude House with all there belonging to the Crown were to be restored to the Regent This Truce was firmly enough observed on both sides But about this time Henry the Second of France being forewarn'd of the Danger of that Day was strangely killed in a Tilt by the Earl of Montgomerry the now French King and the Queen of Scots advertised of the design of James Stuart Prior of St. Andrews to aspire to the Crown writ Letters to him adjuring him not only by common Duty but likewise by the special Favours received to return to his Obedience by deserting the Faction in which he had engaged himself whereunto James Stuart returned his Protestations of all due respects to the King and Queen but withal peremptorily declaring to adhere to those of the Congregation in despite of all Opposition This Answer is highly resented and a Garison of French is forthwith sent into Leith the Earl of Aran Son to Hammilton privately withdraweth from the French Court and comes into Scotland where he joyns with those of the Congregation with whom he likewise persuades his Father the Duke forthwith to joyn and they immediately attempt the Besiege of Leith which the French reinforce with Two Thousand Men sent over under Monsieur de la Broche with whom came the Bishop of Ameans and three Doctors of Sorbon to dispute if Occasion offered the Points of Religion then in controversie De la Broche in capacity of an Ambassador designed a Conference with the Lords of the Congregation which they refused requiring the return of the French into France and the dismantling of Leith otherwise no Treaty could be admitted The Queen Regent sendeth Forman the King at Arms to them adjuring them to return to their former Obedience to their King and Queen and to the known Laws of the Land assuring them that if they will promise to Disband their Army then at Edenburgh her Forces at Leith who had never been sent over but that their repeated Insurrections necessitated their Majesties to do it should soon be returned notwithstanding the great Contempt offered to the French Ambassadors to whom they would not so much as vouchsafe a Conference Protesting withal that nothing should be wanting in her to condescend to any thing not inconsistent with Piety towards God and Loyalty towards their Majesties In fine She requires the Duke his Son and all others of the Nobility and Gentry forthwith to withdraw from all such as were resolved still to disturb the Peace under the pain of High Treason The Lords receiving this Message are enraged and in answered thereunto return her a Suspension from her Government and in the King and Queens Name require her to forbear all exercise of Power under the pretence of any Title of Regent assuring her that against all Hazards they resolved to regain the Town of Leith out of the hands of the French and therefore out of the respect they had to her as their Queens Mother they requested her to withdraw out of the Town during the time of the Siege the like request they sent to the French Ambassadors and all their Souldiers out of the respect they bare to the French the day following they send their Commands requiring all Scotch Men then in Leith to forsake the Town then the Besiege or rather Blocking up of the Town began some Skirmishes there were in which the Besiegers had still the worst of it and in all Attempts were repulsed with loss and what added to their Calamity they begin to be jealous one of another the common Souldiers began to Mutiny for want of Pay whereupon they intended to mint their Plate but wanted Tools to do it in their streights they address to the English to whom John Cockhurne is dispatched to Sir Ralph Sadler and Sir James Crofts Governors of Barwick and the places adjacent to supply their present necessity with relief some Money is granted but Cockburne in his return is surprised by the Earl of Bothwell and sent Prisoner to the Queen The Besieged frequently make their Sallies out of the Town to the great prejudice of the Besiegers in so much that at last they are forced to retire to Sterlin where a Council was called to consider what was to be done in this Exigency John Knox Preached before the Council and persuading to a further action and a constant prosecution of the work begun be assures them of Success The result of the Meeting was to send a Message to Queen Elizabeth and crave her Assistance William Mettelane is dispatched and finds Friendly entertainment in the English Court He solicites her Majesty's aid in the common cause of Religion and Liberty Many of the Queen's Council dislike the Proposal and declare That help in this cause of Subjects against Sovereign Authority would be a President of most pernicious and dangerous consequence others of her Council think and speak more favourably of it At length the Queen's Zeal for Religion and Enmity against the French prevail with her and hopes of Assistance is given at Barwick Commissioners meet to sign Articles of Agreement which was That in case any Foreigner should Invade either Kingdoms mutual assistance is promised the Queen to pay the English Auxiliaries in Scotland and the Scottish Auxiliaries in England and