setting forth That since the Marriage of their Queen to the Dauphine of France the Government of Scotland had been chaâ—â—ed the French Soldiers laid all waste The principal Employments were given to Frenchmen their Forts and Castles put into their Hands and their Money adulterated to their Advantage That the Design was apparently to possess themselves of Scotland if the Queen should happen to die without Issue Cecil who was the Queens Prime Minister imployed Henry Percy Earl of Northumberland to find out what the Lords of the Articles designed and what Means they had to attain their Ends and upon what Terms they expected Succours from England They said They desired nothing but the Glory of Jesus Christ the sincere Preaching of the Word of God the extirpation of Superstition and Idolatry the Restraint of the Fury of Persecution and the Preservation of their ancient Liberties That they knew not for the present how to effect this but they hoped the Divine Goodness which had begun the Work would bring it to its desired End with the Confusion of their Enemies That they earnestly desired to enter into a Friendship with the Queen of England to the Preservation of which they would Sacrifice their Lives and Fortunes The Consideration of these things was not warmly entertained in England be cause the Scots had little Money and were not over-well cemented among themselves so they were only advised Not to enter rashly into a War. But as soon as the English knew that the Marquess of Elboeuf the Queen of Scots Unkle was listing Men in Germany by the Rhinegrave for a War in Scotland That Cannons were sent to the Ports and Preparations amde to conquer that Kingdom and that in greater Quantities than seemed necessary to reduce a few unarmed Scots That the French to draw the Danes into this War had proffered That the Duke of Lorrain should renounce his Right to Denmark And that they were renewing their Solicitations with the Pope To give a declaratory Sentence for the Queen of Scot against the Queen of England Thereupon Sir Ralph Sadler a wise Man was sent to the Earl of Northumberland and Governour of the middle Marches on the Borders of Scotland to assist him and Sir James Croft Governour of Berwick The English Council could not see whither all this tended unless the French designed to invade the Kingdom of England as well as assume the Title and Arms of it Upon this the Council of England began to consider in good earnest and with great Application of the Scotch Affairs it was thought a thing of very ill and dangerous Example that one Prince should undertake the Protection of the Subjects of another Prince who were in Rebellion But then it was thought impious not to assist those of the same Religion when persecuted for it And it was certainly a great Folly to suffer the French the sworn Enemies of England when they challenged the Kingdom of England too and were at Peace with all the rest of the World to continue armed in Scotland which lay so near and convenient for the Invasion of England on that side which had the greatest number of Roman Catholicks both of the Nobility and Commons This was thought a betraying the Safety and Quiet of the whole Nation in a very cowardly manner And therefore it was concluded It was no Time now for lazy Counsels but that it was best to take up their Arms and as the English Custom was To prevent their Enemies and not stay till they should begin with us It was always as lawful to Prevent an Enemy as to repel him and to defend our selves the same way that others Attack us That England could never be Safe but when it was Armed and Potent and that nothing could contribute more to this End than the securing it against Scotland That in order to this the Protestants of Scotland were to be protected and the French Forces driven out of it and this was not to be done by Consultations but by Arms. That the neglect of these Methods had not long since lost Calais to our great Hindrance and Shame That a little before whilst the French pretended to preserve the Peace with great Fidelity they had surprized the Fort of Ambleteul and some other Places near Bologne and by that means forced the English to surrender that important Place That we must expect the same Fate would attend Berwick and the other Fronteer Garrisons if they did not forthwith take Arms and not rely any longer on the French Pretences of maintaining the Peace which were never to be believed their Counsels being secret their Ambition boundless and their Revenues immense so that it was then a Proverb in England France can neither be Poor nor Quiet three Years together And Queen Elizabeth was used to say that Expression of Valentinean the Emperour was good Francum amicum habe at non vicinum Let a Frank be thy Friend but not thy Neighbour So that upon the whole it was concluded That it was Just Honest Necessary and our Interest to drive the French as soon as was possible out of Scotland Hereupon William Winter Master-Gunner in the Fleet was sent with a Fleet to Edinburgh Frith who to the great terror of the French fell upon their Ships of War on that Coast and their Garrison in the Isle of Inchkeith The Duke of Norfolk then Lieutenant of the North was also sent towards Scotland William Lord Grey who had well defended Guines against the French tho' unsuccessfully was made Governour of the Eastern and Middle Marches and Thomas Earl of Sussex who had been Lieutenant of Ireland in the Reign of Queen Mary was sent thither again with the same Character and commanded to have a particular care the French did not excite the barbarous and superstitious Irish to a Rebellion under the Pretence of Religion The French in the interim were not idle but the Regent reproach'd the Lords of the Congregation so the Protestants were call'd in a Proclamation that they had brought Englishmen frequently into their Houses that came with Messages unto them and returned Answers back to England though they made no Answer to them because they did not think it convenient either to deny it or openly to Avow it for the present and the King of France and Queen Mary wrote each a distinct Letter to the Lord James Stewart threatning him with Punishment as his wickedness deserved and by Word of Mouth let him know That he would rather lose the Crown of France than not be revenged on the Seditious Tumults raised in Scotland And one Octavian a French Captain landed soon after with a French Regiment great Sums of Mony and Ammunition of War and was forthwith sent back by the Regent for one hundred Horse and four Ships of War and in the mean time she fell to Fortifie Isith or Leith expelling all the former Inhabitants and making it a Colony of French only it being a Sea-Port-Town
being brought of the taking of Ausburg by surrender they fly for it Crescentio the Legate being frightened by an Apparition fell sick and despaired of Life what ever his Servants and Physicians could do or say to comfort him IN order to a pacification Duke Maurice held a Convention of his own States about the end of September at Wittemberg whither as it had been agreed upon the City of Magdeburg sent their Deputies who ten days after returned home under the safe Conduct of Marquess Albert of Brandeburg We told you before how Duke Maurice had by Letters interceded with the Emperour that his Divines might have a safe Conduct from the Council the Emperour therefore sent Orders to his Ambassadors to prefer the Matter to the Fathers and bring it to pass A Session was then held on the eleventh of October wherein was read first a Decree explaining the Doctrine of the Corporal Presence of Christ in the Sacrament of the Eucharist of the manner of its Institution of Transubstantiation as they call it of the Worship and Adoration of this Sacrament of keeping of the Host and of carrying it about to the Sick and of the Preparation that is required for the worthy Receiving thereof And then all Christians are forbidden to believe or teach otherwise than according to the Doctrine of that Decree Then were the Canons read over and in them were all the Points condemned which as we said before had been drawn out of the Books of Luther and others nevertheless to comply with the Emperour they left four of them undecided â—o wit Whether or not it be necessary to Salvation and commanded by the Law of God that all receive the Sacrament in both kinds whether he who receives it only in one kind receives less than he who takes it in both whether the Church erred when she appointed that the Priests only should receive in both kinds and the rest under one whether the Sacrament be to be given also to young Children The Protestants they said desired to be heard as to these Points before the Council determined any thing in them and to have a safe Conduct to come Since therefore they had hitherto earnestly lookt for their coming and were in good hopes that they might return to the ancient Unity and Concord of the Church they granted them a safe conduct to come and return home and did defer the decision of these Points 'till the twenty fifth day of January that by that day they might be present and alledge what they had to say That then also because of the Affinity that was betwixt the two the Sacrifice of the Mass should be handled These things then were publickly read by them as if their Adversaries had desired only to be heard concerning those matters whereas no such thing had ever entered into their Thoughts Besides Duke Maurice no body had made address to the Emperour and he also did it in the manner we mentioned before there being far greater matters to be propounded than those were But what the design was in giving out that Sham one may guess it though nothing can be positively affirmed though one of two it must needs be for either they had had a lame and sinistrous account of Duke Maurice's demand or they themselves cunningly misunderstood it which is the more likely of the two because of the safe Conduct which they gave for when Duke Maurice desired a safe Conduct for his People in the same form and manner as the Bohemians of old obtained one They in a few words and very superficially drew up a draught without the usual formalities to wit that all Germans indifferently might come to the Council and freely debate confer and treat about the Matters there to be handled either in full Council or with some Commissioners appointed and that either by Word or Writing as they pleased without contumelious and reproachful Language or Reflections and when they should think fit to depart and return home that the Council as to that granted them safe Conduct so far as was in their power And that they might also for the Crimes committed or to be committed though they were most grievous and savoured of Heresie choose to themselves Judges at their own discretion The same day the eleventh of October they made some Canons touching Reformation which related to their own Jurisdiction And then the twenty fifth of November was appointed to be the day of the next Session when Penance and Extream Unction should be handled Joachim Elector of Brandeburg sent also his Ambassador Christopher Strassen a Lawyer to offer his Duty and Obeisance and the Ambassador made a long Harangue indeed concerning the good Intentions of his Master They make answer That with great pleasure they had heard all his Speech especially that part of it wherein the Prince submits himself wholly to the Council and promises to observe the Decrees thereof that they were in hopes that what had been now said by him would be effectually performed by the Prince his Master Upon the death of John Albert who had enjoyed the spacious and rich Archbishoprick of Magdeburg as we said Frederick the Elector of Brandeburg's Son was by the Chapter chosen Archbishop But the Matter stuck at Rome and could not be dispatched it being a great Obstacle in the way that as it was publickly known the Elector Joachim had before been of the Protestant Religion To remove that suspicion therefore was the Ambassador whom I named sent who used his utmost diligence by sawning and cajoling to work upon the Prelates Peace was concluded at Wittemberg and though the Siege was not presently raised yet October the twelfth they began to have friendly Meetings together At the same time Duke Maurice made those of Catzenelbogen a People of the Dominion of Hess who three years before had by the Emperour's Sentence been taken from the Landgrave then Prisoner as we said before to swear Allegiance to him with the consent of the Landgrave's Sons and that because of an Hereditary League as he said betwixt the Houses of Hess and Saxony whereby for want of Heirs Male the one is to succeed to the other No Man doubted but that this was an injury done to the Emperour who had pronounced the Sentence and that it tended to some new commotion and all wondred what would come on 't yet hardly any notice was taken of it in the Emperour's Court but all was seemingly connived at About this time the Duke of Somerset Uncle to the King of England was a second time apprehended and with him the Lord Paget the Lord Gray and some others John Duke of Northumberland had then the chief Government and the reason of his apprehension was said to be That he had conspired the death of Northumberland as he himself alledged for that by a late Law was made Felony amongst them About the fifteenth of October the Pope made George Martinhausen
scarce have been possible to have reduced you to Concord And when so many other Princes have made a defection from the Church and that Enemy of Mankind has invented such variety of Stratagems against you yet God in his divine Goodness has look'd upon you and defeated the devices and attempts of the Devil By which he has given us a certain Token not only of his Goodness and Clemency towards you but also of his Intentions to use your Services and to unite you two to his Vicar on Earth for the taking away these destructive Contentions and restoring a general Peace both as to Church and State. These and many other such Arguments did that Cardinal offer to the Consideration of these Princes threatning them also with the Wrath and Vengeance of God if they did not desist and suffer their People which was grievously Harrassed and impoverished to recover Now though these Arguments did not prevail then yet when he went into England he went on with his design of reconciling them and at last he prevailed so far as to dispose both the Emperor and King of France to send their Ambassadors to treat of a Peace The Queen of England who was the Mediator in this Treaty appointed a place betwen Calais Ardee and Graveling three Towns belonging to these three Princes in the Center of which she chose out a dry and convenient place in the middle of a Plain and having moted the same she caused four houses to be built which though not intended for any long duration were yet made very convenient and Beautiful In this place the Ambassadors met the twenty third of May. There met for the Emperor amongst others the Bishop of Arras for the King of France the Cardinal of Lorrain and the Constable and for the English as Mediators were present Cardinal Pool the Earl of Arundel and the Lord Paget A Rumour spread it self throughout Christendom which caused great Expectations and various Judgments in the Minds of Men and especially in those who were best acquainted with the Controversies of these Times for that in this Treaty the Dukedoms of Milan and Burgundy Savoy Piedmont Corsica Navarr Lorrain and Luxemburg and the Cities of Toul Verdun and Metz were to be contended for and setled The Affair being much and long debated and the Mediating English insisting to have some of these things referred to the determination of a Council nothing at last was done but the Treaty was broke up The tenth of June Ferdinand and the States of Germany wrote a Letter to the Emperor wherein they desired him that in this Treaty he would particularly concern himself for the restitution of those Places which the King of France had taken from the Empire When therefore the Meeting was ended without any Effect the Emperor the twenty fifth of June wrote to the Diet to this Purpose It is very grateful to me to see you thus affected with the Calamities of those who have been so much afflicted by the publick Enemy of the Empire and of me and truely their Cause was most dear to me and I accordingly before I received your Letter had commanded my principal Ambassadors who were to attend this Treaty that they should persist in the restitution of these places to their former State with the utmost diligence and they should not remit any thing as to that Article And although I for my part having opened all the ways I could to a Peace thought that the King of France would for the sake of Peace not have been stubborn and refractory yet after all the Congress is for the present broke up without any good Effect Yet however that I may consult the good of Christendom I will not refuse to make a Peace if any tollerable Conditions are offered and when time serves I will do my endeavour to have those places restored to the Empire and to put them for the future into a better Condition than they were before The Emperor had a little before sent the Duke de Alva into Milan that he might take care of the War there as his General Ferdinand Gonzaga having obtained a release from that Post and being about this time gone from Flanders to live privately at Home There was also a strong Report which prevailed much about this time that Mary Queen of England was with Child About this time also the Persecution in England grew sharper Bradford who was condemned to be burnt in the manner I have set down in the end of my twenty fifth Book and was afterwards respited and kept in Prison was burnt in July Frederick the eldest Son of John Frederick Duke and Elector of Saxony Married Agnes the Daughter of the Landgrave of Hesse and which had been the Wife of Maurice the last Elector of Saxony Many of the neighbouring Princes met on the occasion of this Marriage and appointed a second Meeting at Naumburg to consult of their affairs About the same time Joan the Mother of the Emperor died and Ferdinand her second Son celebrated her Obsequies at Ausburg About the same time there was a tumult raised at Geneva in the night time by some of the Senators of that City who designed by this means to make themselves and their Party Masters of that Commonwealth these Men had also a great aversion for John Calvin who had fled thither on the account of the Persecâ—tions in France and now the driving him out of this City was one of the principal Motives of this Insurrection In the night time there was a sudden Commotion made in several parts of the City and the Cry was The French are in Arms and the City is betrayed The French in the mean time keeping within their Houses and so the design miscarried and many of them who were in this leud Conspiracy were Executed and some others were forced to fly for the safety of their Lives The reason why they would have had the French Banished out of the City was because many of the French Fugitives and Sojourners in the City had been lately taken into the number of the Citizens by which they believed their Party was weakned and the other encreased The Turkish Fleet came this Year into the Tyrrhenian Sea as it had done several years before and much terrified Tuscany That therefore there might be the less dammage done by this Navy the Marquess di Marignano General of the Emperors Forces about the thirteenth of June suddenly set upon Porto Ercole which was then in the Hands of the French and by the Valour of his Soldiers took the Castle and slew all the French that were there in Garrison after this the Turks too besieged Piombino but receiving great Losses in their Attacks and not being likely ever to take it they left that place and attempted the Island of Elba belonging to the Duke of Florence but to no purpose neither About this time there were some Civil Laws published by the King of France at
served only to render that sinking Ship more despicable and hated for Queen Elizabeth when she heard of it was nothing concerned at it but immediately she recalled Karn's Powers and commanded him to come home And Popery from hence forward fared very ill in England but then our Affairs have been so exactly described by others and are so well known to English Men That I shall here dismiss them and apply my self wholly to the Foreign Affairs Thuanus observes That this Year there was rather no War than a Peace in Scotland for that the whole Kingdom was imbroiled with Rapines and the burning of Towns two of the principal Nobility of Scotland being carried away captive by the English William Keth Son of the Earl Marshal and Patrick Gray An English Fleet also under the Command of Sir John Clare infested the Scotch Shoars and burnt a Place by my Author called Cracoviaca Kirk-wall Main-Land the principal of the Isles of Orkney which he saith was the Seat of the Bishop and the principal or rather only Town in those Islands which he supposeth was severely chastized by Heaven by a Tempest which soon after dispersed the Fleet leaving a part of the English on the Island who were all slain by the Islanders and Natives This Year also the Reformation of Religion was much agitated tho not effected in Scotland Alexander Somervill Archbishop of S. Andrews with the assistance of the rest of the Churchmen condemned one Walter Mills an old Priest to be burnt for Heresie and banished one Paul Mefan hoping thereby to restore their lost Authority and curb the People but it had a quite contrary effect the patient and chearful Martyrdom of Mills incensing the People to that height that they spoke very freely or as my Author has it Licentiously and Seditiously of the Church-men and a Solemn Procession being made on the first day of September in memory of S. Eugenius or S. Gile's at Edenburgh of which he was Patron whose Image was then carried about with great Pomp the People tore it out of the Hands of those that bore it and threw it into the common Drought having first broke off the Head Hands and Feet of this Wooden Saint the Monks and the rest of his Friends fleeing and leaving him to shift for himself The Clergy seeing their Authority thus sinking assembled in a Synod the ninth of November to try if the seting a good Face and pretending great Confidence would retrieve their sinking Cause But they of the Reformed Party on the contrary of all Degrees exhorted one another to persevere in the Truth and not to suffer themselves to be oppressed by a small and weak number of Men For if say they these Men proceed by Legal Courses we shall be too hard for them if they make use of Force we are a Match for them They drew up an Address also to the Queen Regent which they sent unto her by one James Sandelands an Honourable Baron and of great account in it desiring That the Publick Prayers and Administration of the Sacraments might be in the Vulgar Tongue and that the Ministers might be elected by the People The Regent tho' a zealous Catholick yet fearing a Tumult commanded the Priests to say the Prayers in the Scotch Language The same Demands were made by the Nobility of the Synod then assembled at Edinburgh Who replyed That they must abide by the Orders of the Canon-Law and the Decrees of the Council of Trent The Nobility perceiving them thus averse to a Reformation sent one John Aresken of Dundee a learned Man to appease them who with great respect besought them At least to grant the People the use of the publick Prayers in their Mother Tongue The Clergy would nevertheless abate nothing of their former Severity and the Queen regent by their Persuasion soon recalled what had been extorted from her But the Death of Queen Mary of England and the Succession of Queen Elizabeth which happened this Month soon turned the Scales and gave her Cause to repent her too great obstinacy The Learned Spotiswood observes That this Mills was the last Martyr that dyed in Scotland for Religion That Patrick Lermoth Bailiff of the Regality absolutely refused to pass Sentence of Death as a Judge upon him after the Bishop had delivered him up to the Secular Power that in the whole City of S. Andrews a Cord was not to be had for Money so that they were forced to take one of the Cords of the Archbishop's Pavilion to tie him to the Stake It had been good Prudence to have desisted when they saw the whole Body of the People thus bent against them but they were hurried on to their Ruine by a blind Rage The People of Scotland were no less incensed on the other Side and resolved openly to profess the Reformed Religion binding themselves by Promise and Subscription to an Oath That if any should be called in question for matters of Religion at any time hereafter they would take Arms and joyn in defence of their Religion and Brethren against the Tyranny and Persecution of the Bishops The principal Men who joyned in this Bond were Archibald Earl of Argile Alexander Earl of Glencarne James Earl of Morton Archibald Lord of Lorne Sir James Sandelands of Calder John Erskin of Dun and William Maitland of Lethington To this Bond vast numbers throughout the Kingdom subscribed so that they found their numbers were at least equal to those that opposed them A CONTINUATION OF THE HISTORY OF THE REFORMATION BOOK II. The CONTENTS The Deaths and Characters of Frederick I and Christian II Kings of Denmark Frederick II conquereth Dietmarsh The Affairs of Italy New Bishopricks erected in the Low-Countries King Philip desirous of a Peace with France that he might be at leisure to extirpate Heresie That Design discovered to the Prince of Orange The Diet of Germany Conditions proposed in it by the Protestants for a Council The Emperor confirms the Peace of Passaw The French Ambassadors come to the Dyet The Life and Death of David George a famous Impostor The Treaty of Cambray produces a Peace at last The Peace occasioneth a Persecution in France The King goes to the Parliament of Paris to awe it into a Compliance Yet some retain their Freedom at the Price of their Lives The King's Answer A French Synod held by the Protestant Ministers The Protestant Princes of Germany write to the King of France in the behalf of the Persecuted A Commission issued to Try the suspected Members of Parliament Du Bourg first Tried The sad condition of France during the Persecution Henry II slain The various Characters of that Prince Francis II succeeds him a Lad of Sixteen Years of age The Persecution goes on Slanders against the Protestants Du Bourg Condemn'd Minart a Persecutor Assassinated Du Bourg Executed His Character The rest of the Members of Parliament restored King Philip prepares for Spain He takes Ship at Flushing Arrives in Spain Raiseth
the Protestant Religion was already received in all Parts of Scotland especially in the Towns and Families of the Nobility and Gentry tho' in secret but Queen Elizabeth having entertained the Reformed Religion and setled it in England they thence presumed she would be a sure Friend to those of that Persuasion in Scotland And a Parliament being called to open May 10. 1559. at Sterling Alexander Cunigham Earl of Glencarn and Sir Hugh Cambel an eminent Knight and Sheriff of Aire appeared there in the behalf of the Ministers of the Reformed Religion who had been summoned to appear there by the Regent who was now resolved to dissemble no longer but to excert her Authority and shew her Zeal in their Ruine accordingly she threatned them severely and said She would banish all their Preachers who under pretence of Religion promoted a Rebellion The Deputies amazed with her great Words opposed Supplications remembring her of her Promises to which she samrtly replyed That the Promises of Princes were not to be expected to be fulfilled further than agreed with their Convenience A Mystery which she ought not to have revealed however if her Anger had not broken open the Recesses of her Heart At this the two Deputies replyed by Glencarne That if she would keep no Promise they would acknowledge her no more but renounce their Obedience to her the Mischief of which she ought seriously to consider The Boldness and Briskness of this Answer abated the Regents Anger and Courage and she seemed much calm'd and replyed I will consider of it The news of this being carried that Night to S. John's-Town the Inhabitants of it met that Night openly in their Churches and had Sermons The Queen Regent thereupon ordered all the Ministers who were come as far as that City but attended by vast Numbers of the Nobility Gentry and Commons in order to their appearing in the Parliament to return Home saying She would not proceed in the Citation yet afterward she declared them Rebels for not appearing This made many leave her and go over to the Protestants Whereupon she commanded one James Halyburton Mayor of Dundee to apprehend one Mefan a Preacher who thought to have lien hid in that Place and ordered the People to celebrate Easter-Sunday after the ancient manner When in this no body would obey her one Areskin of Dundee went over to them and assured them The Regent was so exasperated that there was nothing but Ruine to be hoped for at her Hands and that she had no regard to her Promise Thereupon they all resolved to dissembled no longer with her but to use Force against Force One John Knox a bold and violent Preacher further inflamed their over-heated Minds by a Seditious Sermon The Nobility going to Dinner from the Sermon a Quarrel arose in the Church and the Priest that interposed being severely treated the Rabble fell upon the Statues and Altars and destroy'd them in a moment after this they fell upon the Franciscan and Dominican Abbeys where they also destroy'd the Images and Altars The next that suffered was the Carthusian Abbey which they demolish'd so intirely in two days though very great that the Foot-steps of its Foundations were not easily to be discovered The Regent was by this time as much incensed as they and swore She would revenge this Villany with the Blood of the Inhabitants and the Ruin of the Town But in the interim the Example spread and the same things were reacted at Cupre in Fife The Regent having assembled some Forces under Hamilton Earl of Argile and the Earl of Athole marched easily towards St. John's-Town that the Can non might overtake them But the Inhabitants of that Place writing to their Friends what was doing he Earl of Glencarne came presently to their Assistance with Two thousand five hundred Horse and Foot. And shortly after they had Seven thousand Men in Arms against her so that she now saw that Force would not do upon which she sent the Lord James Steward Prior of St. Andrews and one Cambell who tho' Protestants continued in their Obedience to her to treat with the Earl of Glencarne and Areskin who agreed May 29 That all Forces being discharged the Town should be set open to the Regent that she might refresh her self a few days in it That no French should yet enter into it nor come near it by three Miles That all other Controversies should be determined in the next Parliament Whereupon she entred the Town and was honourably received But one of the Inhabitants being slain by an insolent Soldier and the Regent expressing not any Concern for it They from thence concluded the Treaty would not be long observed and accordingly about three days after she ordered the Town to be sack'd chang'd the Magistrates and restoring the mercenary Scots sworn to and paid by the French. Being hereupon urged with her Promise she answer'd That Promise was not to be kept with Hereticks and if she could make an honest Excuse after the Fact committed she would take upon her Conscience to kill and undo all that Sect concluding That Princes ought not to have their Promises so strictly urged upon them and then went back to Sterling The Convenience and Strength of the Place made her think it worth the breach of her Faith to them but the Lord James Steward the Prior of St. Andrew and the Earl of Argile were so offended with this Procedure that they left her and went over to the Protestants and gave them notice that she intended to Garrison Cupre and St. Andrews in Fife with Frenchmen Whereupon they destroyed the Franciscan and Dominican Abbies of the last City under the Archbishop's Eyes yet he durst not shew the least discontent at it but fled into Faulkland The Regent assembled all the French she had in the Kingdom which were two thousand and one thousand Scots and marchd for Cupre the Thirteenth of June The Earl of Argile on the other side brought in one thousand Protestants to the Relief of St. Andrews and Patrick Lermoth Bailiff of the Regality their Chief Officer levied five hundred more of the Inhabitants of St. Andrews and before Ten of the Clock the next Morning there were above three thousand Horse and Foot which being drawn up to the best Advantage upon the Banks of a small River by Mr. James Halleburton Provost of Dundee a Man of good Experience and Valour and therefore made General that day made so formidable an Appearance that the Regent durst not hazard a Battel against them By this time she saw to her Cost how necessary it was for Princes not to break their Faith. For when she would have gladly come to Peace there could no reliance be made upon her Promise and she had nothing else to engage And when they demanded the French might be sent away she said that she could not do it without order from the King of France So she was desired to withdraw the Garrison out of St. John's Town
fit to receive Supplies and a Place that might serve the French Companies for a Refuge if they should happen to be reduced to any great streight This was done about September as appears by a Letter of the Nobility about it in that Month. The Regent's Reputation was by this time at so low an Ebb that nothing she said was believed and all she offered suspected About this time M. Pelleuce Bishop of Amiens afterwards Bishop of Sens arrived at Leith attended by three Doctors of the Sorbon Furmer Brochet and Feretier he pretended he came to dispute with the Preachers of the Congregation and he sent to some of the Nobility residing then at Edinburg desiring a Hearing But for fear their Arguments might not prove so effectual as was expected Le Broche a French Knight came over at the same time with two thousand Foot to reinforce their Sylogisms The Congregation-Nobility reject however their armed Logick and would have nothing to do with them The Eighteenth of October the Lords assembled their Forces at Edinburg and the Regent with the Bishop of St. Andrews Glasgow Dunkeld and the Lord Seaton the same day entred Leith And some Messages having pass'd betwixt them they proceeded so far at last as to suspend the Queen-Regent's Commission discharging her of all Authority till the next Parliament prohibiting the Officers to serve under her or by colour of her Authority to exercise their Offices from thenceforth This Decree bears Date the Twenty third of October The Twenty fifth they summoned the Town of Leith commanding all Scots and Frenchmen to depart within twelve hours But failing in this Attempt the Regent took Edinburg and restored the Mass there and all those of the contrary Religion were forced to flee into England or where they could find shelter Hereupon the Queen sent for more Forces and the Marquis d' Elboeuf was sent from Diep with eighteen Ensigns of Horse which were dispersed at Sea by Tempest so that he arrived not at Leith before the Spring of the next year The Lords retired first to Sterling and then to Glasgow where they reform'd all things after their usual manner and in the mean time they sent William Maitland and Robert Melvil to Queen Elizabeth where at last they obtained what they designed in the manner I have express'd The French hearing this resolved to suppress the Lords before the English should come up to their Assistance and thereupon began to waste and spoil the Country to Sterling but though they met with little Resistance yet they could not attain their End. In February an Agreement was made between the English and the Scotch Commissioners sent by the Lords for the Preservation of the Scotch Liberties and Freedoms from a French Conquest and for the Expulsion of the French Forces out of Scotland the Articles of which were Sign'd the Twenty seventh of that Month. About this time the English Fleet under Captain Winter came up and took all the French Ships in the Fyrth of Edinburg which much amazed the French who were then marching for St. Andrews by the Sea-side whereupon they returned to Leith About the same time the Lords of the Congregation reformed Aberdene but the Earl of Huntley coming up in good time saved the Bishop's Palace which had else been reformed to the Ground The English Land-Forces to the number of two thousand Horse and six thousand Foot entred Scotland under the Command of the Lord Gray in the beginning of April The English at first beat the French into Leith and battered the Town very diligently but remitting in their Care and Industry the French made a Sally out of Leith and cut off a great number of the English which made them more vigilant The last of April a Fire happened in the Town which burnt the greatest part of it with much of the Soldiers Provisions The Seventh of May the Town was Storm'd but the Ladders proving too short an hundred and sixty of the English were slain and nothing was gain'd Soon after there came up two thousand English more In the mean time the French King sent to Queen Elizabeth that if she would withdraw her Army out of Scotland he would restore Calais to her To which she replied She did not value that Fisher-Town so much as to hazard for it the State of Britain Thereupon the French perceving no Peace could be had without the French were recall'd out of Scotland and disdaining to treat with the Scots who were their Subjects they began a Treaty with the Queen of England In the mean time Mary of Lorain Queen Regent of Scotland died in the Castle of Edinburg the Tenth of June partly of Sickness and partly of Displeasure Before her Death she sent for the Duke of Wastellerand the Earl of Argile Glencarne Marshall and the Lord James and bewailing the Calamities of Scotland prayed them to continue in Obedience to the Queen their Soverign and to send both the French and English out of the Kingdom so asking their Pardon and granting them hers she took her leave with many Tears kissing the Nobility one by one and giving the rest her Hand to kiss She was a Wife Good Religious Princess full of Clemency and Charity and would doubtless have prevented the Calamities of Scotland which befel there in the end of her days if she had been left to her own Measures but being governed by the Orders of France she was forced to do and say what she did to her great dishonour and disquiet which too at last ended in the Ruine of those she most desired to Promote as it always happens in Breach of Faith. She would often say That if her own Counsel might take Place she doubted not but to compose all the Dissention within that Kingdom and to settle the same in a perfect Peace upon good Conditions Soon after her Death or as Thuanus saith a little before it Embassadors from France and England came to Edinburg who sending for the Scoth Nobility began to treat about the sending the French out of Scotland which was at last agreed and the Sixteenth of July the French embark'd on the English Fleet for France and the English Army the same day began their march by Land for Berwick and the Fortifications of Leith and Dunbar were dismantled but sixty Frenchmen were left to keep the Castle of Dunbar and the same number the Isle of Inchkeeth until the States should find means to maintain the said Forts upon their own Charges from all Peril of Foreign Invasion In August the Parliament met which established a Confession of Faith contrary to the Roman Religion and pass'd three other Acts one for Abolishing the Pope's of Jurisdiction and Authority another for Repealing the Laws formerly made in favour of Idolatry and a third for the Punishing the Hearers and Sayers of Mass and with these Acts Sir James Sandelands was sent into France for the Royal Assent of the King
Though the Edict of July had forbidden all Meetings of the Protestants yet their Number daily increasing and with it their Confidence not only Sermons were openly made but the Priests were in many places forcibly expell'd and the Churches seized for the use of the Ministers which gave being to the Edict of the 3d of November for the Restitution of those Churches upon pain of Death which by the Perswasion of the Ministers themselves was obeyed throughout the Kingdom But when notwithstanding Men seem'd rather enraged than appeased by the Edict of July and the Conference of Poissy was broken up without any effect there being every day news brought of new Commotions they began to think of some more effectual Remedy which that it might meet with the greater approbation and by consequence be the more universally executed the Presidents and some chosen Members of all the Parliaments of France were summon'd before the King to St. Germain by whose Advice it was to be drawn and Moddel'd Upon which the Cardinal of Lorrain and the Duke of Guise left the Court conceiving the thing would do it self now Montmorancy and the King of Navar had espoused that Interest About the same time there was a dreadful Tumult at Dijon whil'st the Protestants were assembled at their Sermon the Rabble thought fit to make themselves the Executioners of the Edict of July and having procured a Drum to beat before them they marched against the Huguenots but the Meeters made use of their Weapons and repell'd Force with Force The Rabble thereupon turn'd their fury against the Private Families and plundered several Houses There were also some Tumults at Paris on the same score and towards the end of the year all things tended to a general Revolution Having thus represented the State of Religion in all the rest of Christendom as shortly and as well as I can I return now to Scotland The Messengers they had sent into France to procure the Royal Consent to the Acts they had made in their last Parliament were no sooner return'd with a positive denial and a dreadful Reprimand which frighted and exasperated the Nation both at once but they had the Joyful News of the Death of King Francis II. to their great satisfaction and the no less affliction of the French Faction in that Kingdom On the other side the Nobility who had lent their Assistance to the Expulsion of the French immediately met at Edinburg and after a Consultation sent the Lord James to their Queen to perswade her to return into Scotland Lesley however prevented them and got to her some days before the Lord James She was then at Vitrie in Campaigne whither she was retired to lament her Loss His business was to bespeak her favour to the Catholick Party and return into Scotland The first she readily promised and as for the other she ordered him to Attend till she had resolved what to do It was soon after resolved that she should leave France so that the Lord James found her fixed to return when he came into France yet his Assuring her of the great desires the Nobility of Scotland had to see her there again much confirm'd her So she sent him back with Orders to see that nothing should be attempted contrary to the Treaty of Leith in her absence In March following M. Giles Noailles a Senator of Bourdeaux arrived at Leith with three Demands from the new King of France 1. That the old League between France and Scotland should be renewed 2. That the late Confederacy with England should be dissâ—lved 3. That the Church-men should be restored to all they had been deprived of But the Council replied That it did not befit them to treat of things of that Consequence before the Assembly of the States which was to be held the 21st of May when the Lord James made answer That the French and not the Scots had broke the old League by endeavouring to enslave them 2. That they could not violate the Treaty made with England and as to the third That they did not acknowledge those he interceded for to be Church men and that Scotland having renounced the Pope would no longer maintain his Priests and Vassals About the same time the Earls of Morton and Glencarn returned from England whither they had been sent with Assurances That the Queen would assist them in the Defence of the Liberties of the Kingdom if at any time they stood in need of her Help which was heard with much Joy. As the Lord James returned into Scotland he waited upon Queen Elizabeth and advised her to stop Queen Mary if she came by England as he expected she would 'till he had secured the State of Religion in Scotland for tho' she had promised She would continue all things in the State she found them ye he would not intirely rely upon her Promise having so often heard the old Maxim from the late Regent To make sure work therefore he procured an Act to be passed in this Convention for the Demolishing all the Cloysters and Abby Churches which were yet left standing in that Kingdom the Execution whereof as to the Western Parts was committed to the Earls of Arran Argile and Glencarn as to the North to the Lord James and as to the Inland Counties to some Barons that were thought the most Zealous Whereupon ensued a most deplorable Devastation of Churches and Church-buildings saith Spotiswood throughout all the Kingdom for every one made bold to put to their Hands the meaner sort imitating the Example of the greater and those who were in Authority No difference was made but all the Churches were either defaced or pulled down to the ground The Church Place and what ever Men could make Money of as Timber Lead and Bells were put to sale and the Monuments of the Dead the Registers of the Churches and Libraries were burn'd or destroyed and what escaped the Fury of the first Tumults now perished in a common Shipwrack and that under the colour of publick Authority John Knox is said to have very much promoted this Calamity by a Maxim he published That the sure way tâ— drive away the Rooks was to pull down their Nests which in probability he meant only of the Monks but now their Hands were in was extended to all the Church Buildings Noailles was then in Scotland and carried the News of this dreadful Reformation to the Queen into France She was much enraged at it and said to some of her Confidents that she would imitate Mary Queen of England but however she had wit enough to dissemble her Resentment for the present In order to her return she left Vitri and went to Paris and having waited upon the King and Queen-Regent to take her leave of them she took her Journy towards Calais Queen Elizabeth had sent the Earl of Bedford to condole the Death of Francis her late Husband and to desire her Ratification of the Treaty of
Leith but this she said she could not do 'till she had consulted with the Nobility of Scotland and when the Ambassador replied They could not but approve of what they had made she replied They did but not all and when I come amongst them it will appear what mind they are of The Duke of Guise and the rest of the great Men of that Family attended her to Calais and the Marquess of Elboeuf and Francis Grand Prior of France went with her She took Ship the 14th of August and arrived at Leith in Scotland the 20th She was much concerned for fear Queen Elizabeth might intercept her in her way home and therefore sent again for the English Ambassador but when he still insisted to have the Treaty of Leith ratisied she delayed it Her Uncle the Cardinal of Lorrain advised her to leave her Jewels and Treasures in France 'till she were safe in Scotland but she said It was folly to be more concerned for her Jewels than for her Person which she must hazard The truth is her Fear was well grounded for Queen Elizabeth sent a Fleet to way-lay her but the two Navies passed by one another in a dark foggy day unperceived and she safely arrived at Leith the 21th of August The beginning of her Government was very gracious and she condescended to grant That no Change or Alteration should be made in the present State of Religion only she said she would use her own Religion apart and have a Mass in private which was and by many was thought very reasonable she having been Educated in the Roman Church and being a Sovereign Princess Yet the Preachers in their Sermons publickly condemned that Toleration of their Queen as unlawful and the Earl of Arran being exasperated by his Imprisonment on the account of Religion in France by the Order of the Guises from whence he made his Escape replied That he did neither agree to Publick nor Private Mass which highly displeased the Queen And Archimbald Douglas Provost of Edinburg put out an Order commanding all Papists to be gone for which the Queen committed him to the Castle of Edinburg And one of the common sort of Men broke the Tapers in the Court which were prepared for her Chapel and a Tumult had ensued to the Ruine of the other Preparatives for her Chapel if some wiser Men had not interposed amongst whom the Lord James was one of the greatest and forwardest to suppress this insolent Disorder On the other side the Marquess of Elboeuf was much offended to see the Protestant Religion exercised openly in Scotland and the Earl of Huntley a vain Man proffer'd the Queen his Service to reduce all the North Parts of Scotland to the Popish Religion which was wisely rejected In the middle of September the Duke of Aumarl and the rest of the French which had come home with the Queen went back to France but the Marquess of Elboeuf who stayed with her all the Winter She sent William Lord Maitland to Queen Elizabeth with Letters full of kind and friendly Expressions and desiring the like Returns from her And amongst other things that she would declare her the lawful Heir to the Crown of England in case she Queen Elizabeth should dye without Issue which Queen Elizabeth denied but said She would never wrong her nor her Cause if it be just in the least point and that she knew not any whom she would prefer before her or who if the Title should fall to be controverted might exclude her The Queen of Scots caused a new Provost of Edinburg to be Elected changed the Common Council and put out a Proclamation That all her good and faithful Subjects should repair to and remain within the Birgh at their pleasure for doing their lawful Business which was in opposition to the Provost's Order She kept her Masses too more publickly and with greater pomp of all which the Ministers complain'd in vain in their Sermons The Nobility had divided the Church Lands amongst them and had now another Game to persue and were striving who should be most in the Queen's Favour The Queen's Expences being soon found too great for the poor Revenues of the Crown of Scotland to maintain The Remainder of the Church Lands was divided into three parts one was assigned to the Queen one to the Ministers and the third was left to the Bishops and Parsons of the Romish Communion which they were forced to yield to to prevent the loss of all they now subsisting merely by the Queen's Favour The Earl of Huntley to be made Lord Chancellor turned Roman Catholick again which encouraged one Winyet a Priest to write a Book against the Reformation for which he was censured and forced to leave Scotland Not long after which she created the Lord James her Brother first Earl of Marr and then of Murray the Lord Ereskin claiming and at last obtaining the Earldom of Marr which much offended Huntley which had enjoyed both these Titles ever since the death of James the Fifth This made Huntley enter into many base and unworthy Designs to murder Murray which were all by one means or other discovered and at last ended in the Death of Huntley and the Executiou of John Gordon his eldest Son a hopeful young Gentleman in the Year following The beginning of the Year 1562 was very unquiet in France The King had called an Assembly of the Delegates of all the Parliaments of France in the end of the last year which was to meet at St. Germain the 17th of January of this year to consider of the means of appeasing these Broils and preserving the Peace of France The King opened this Assembly with a short Speech which was seconded by a larger made by the Chancellor who having given a short account of the several Edicts that had been made before in the business of Religion and shewn how they had all by one means or other been defeated He added That Laws were of no use if they were not Religiously observed But then said he if the Question is put Why are not the Laws executed Must not you that are the Judges bear the blame For if they excuse themselves and say That it was not in their power to execute them I will accept the Answer upon condition they will ingenuously confess That neither was it in the King's power And that this Affair of Religion by a secret Judgment of God for the Castisement of our Luxury Indevotion and Neglect of his Glory is so disposed that we may by the severity of the Punishment be brought to Repentance In the year 1518 when these Commotions first began there is no Man but knows how corrupt the Manners and how loose or rather profligate the Discipline of the Church was throughout the World For to omit the Court of Rome in which there was nothing right and sound we had here in France a young King brought up in Pleasures tho' he afterwards was