SCOTLAND. 



fliitory. structed to insinuate a marriage between the dauphin 



^s^y^*' ami their young queen, provided Henry would send 

 them a military ; uablc them to defend their 



ci.untry from the English. Henry immediately lent 

 60(X) men, who besieged I laddington and borne other 

 fortresses, which were evacuated by tin l.n-li>!i. The 

 queen dowager called a parliament, that the articles 

 of the marriage-treaty might be settled. The young 

 queen was conveyed to France, and betrothed to the 



A.D. 1.J4&. dauphin. Somerset proposed a truce, which wa re- 

 jected, and Lord Seymour made a descent in 1 



A D. l.i.jO. but a truce being concluded between France, England, 

 and Scotland, the French troops returned to their own 

 country. 



A.D. la.yi. Ja the parliament which met on the 10th of April, 

 the earl of Arran executed hi* resignation; and Mary 

 of Guise was raited to that dignity which had been 

 the object of her wishes. As the French monarch wu 

 desirous to celebrate ttie marriage of the dauphin and 

 the young queen, the parliament appointed a deputa- 

 tion to settle the terms, and to assist at the ceremony. 

 It had been agreed that the dauphin should as- 

 sume the title of king of Scotland ; but the French 

 insisted that his title should be recognised publicly ; 

 that the crown matrimonial should be conferred upon 

 him, and that all the rights pertaining to the husband 

 of a queen should be vested in his person ; and not- 

 withstanding the zealous opposition of the house of 

 Hamilton, the queen regent procured an act to that 

 effect 



In negotiating the marriage-treaty, the duke of 

 Guise engaged the young queen to subscribe three 

 deeds, by which, in failure of heirs, she conferred the 

 kingdom of Scotland upon the crown of France ; and 

 no sooner were the Guises informed of the death of 

 Queen Mary, than they formed a project to acquire 

 for France the kingdom of England. They solicited 

 and obtained at Home a bull declaring Queen Eliza- 

 beth illegitimate ; and as the queen of Scots was next 

 heir, persuaded her and her husband to assume the 

 title and arms of England. 



Elizabeth complained, but could obtain only an 

 evasive reply. No sooner were the princes of Lor rain 

 in full possession of the administration under Francis, 

 than they determined to support the claim of the queen 

 of Scots, and sent orders to their sister the regent, to 

 take measures for humbling the partisans of England, 

 and suppressing the protestant opinions in Scotland. 

 The reformation was rapidly advancing in that king- 

 dom, and the queen regent connived at doctrines which 

 she had not the power to suppress. Argyll, Morton, 

 Glencairn, Lord Lome, Erskine of DUJ, with other 

 protestant gentlemen, subscribed a bond for their mu- 

 tual protection ; and called themselves the Congrega- 

 tion of the Lord. 



Before the league was known, the clergy attempted 

 to recover their lost authority, the primate seized Wal- 

 ter Mills, and having tried him at St. Andrews, con. 

 demned him to the flames. This was the last act of 

 barbarity that the catholics had the power of executing 

 under the sanction of the laws. 



The congregation now openly solicited subscriptions 

 to the league, presented a petition to the regent, crav- 

 ing a reformation of the church, and to the convoca- 

 tion then sitting, a petition, which they called the pre- 

 liminary articles of the Reformation, desiring " that 

 public prayers be conceived, and the sacrament ad- 

 ministered in the vulgar tongue ; that bishops be ad- 

 mitted with the assent of the barons of the diocese, 



and pariah priests with the ascent of the 

 that they who are unfit for the pastoral charge, be re- 

 moved from their benefices, and *uch others placed 

 in their room as are able and willing to instru 

 people by constant preaching; that in future, iu- 

 inoi d and ignorant persons be excluded from the ad- 

 ministration of the sacraments, and the other ecclesi- 

 astical function*." 



The convocation evaded or rejected their demands, 

 and the queen regent publicly expressed her approba- 

 tion .it' the d -t.TreM.by which their principles were con- 

 demned, and summoned the most eminent protestant 

 preachers to appear before her council at Stirling. 



The member^ of the congregation assembled in great 

 numbers to attend their pastors to the place of trial. 

 Dreading so formidable a party, the regent deputed 

 Erskine to assure them that she would put a stop to 

 the present proceedings, if they would advance no 

 further. But she forfeited her word, and sentence of 

 outlawry was. pawed against them for not appearing. 

 At that crisis John Knox arrived, and lost ou time 10 

 confirming the resolution of the wavering, and stimu- 

 lating their indignation against popery. lie declaimed 

 with great vehemence against the idolatry of the maas 

 and image worship. The congregation then quietly 

 dismissed ; but a petty affray having occurred, in the 

 course of a few minutes, the images, the altar, and 

 the ornaments of the church, were demolished, and 

 trampled under foot. The assailants then proceeded to 

 the monasteries of the Grey and the Black Friars, which 

 they pillaged and laid in ruins. With that, the queen 

 regent assembled an army, and advanced towards 

 Perth to chastise the insurgents. The latter prepared 

 to defend themselves, being joined by the earl of 

 Glencairn ; and a treaty was concluded, in which it 

 was stipulated that an indemnity should be granted, 

 and that the parliament should be convoked to com- 

 pose religious differences. These stipulations were 

 violated by the regent, and she left a garrison order to 

 allow the exercise of any religion except the Roman 

 catholic. 



The reformers now renewed the league, and collected 

 their followers for defensive operations. The queen 

 took shelter in D unbar, which she fortified, and the 

 dispute between the regent and the congregation now 

 assumed a more complex character. Being joined by 

 Argyll and the prior of St. Andrews, the reformers 

 aimed at the redress of civil as well as religious griev- 

 ances ; and required as a preliminary towards settling 

 the peace of the kingdom, the immediate dismissal of 

 the French forces from Scotland. The queen amused 

 them with promises, which were finally terminated by 

 the arrival of 1000 men from France, and she imme- 

 diately broke off all negotiations with her opponents. 

 On this the associated lords assembled all the , 

 barons, and representatives of barons that adhered to 

 them, and unanimously gave their suffrages for de- 

 priving Mary of Guise of the office and authority of 

 regent. 



The queen had retired into Leith, which was imme- 

 diately invested by the forces of the Congregation, but 

 the French refused to surrender, and their besu 

 were not possessed of the artillery and magazines ne- 

 cessary for the purpose of a siege. Accustomed also 

 to decide every quarrel by immediate action, the as- 

 sailants became impatient of severe aud constant duty. 

 The garrison, apprised of their discontent, made a sally, 

 which so dispirited the remainder, that they abandoned 

 the siege, and retreated to Stirling. 



