BIRDS' NESTING SEASON 159 



The union of Robert Stuart's father and mother 

 the latter a young lady of high degree, who afterwards 

 married a Bruce had not been blessed by clergy ; and 

 perhaps on this account the new bishop seems to have 

 considered himself absolved from any oppressive obliga- 

 tions to the Church. He persuaded the king to make 

 the bishopric an earldom, and at once set to work in 

 his own fashion to increase his estates in Orkney and 

 Shetland. If Church matters were managed now in 

 Scotland as they were then, the opponents of State 

 churches might be pretty sure of a majority when next 

 they raise the question of Disestablishment. 



Robert, the father, had chastised with whips : Patrick, 

 the son, was to chastise with scorpions. In the Council 

 Registers of the last few years of the sixteenth, and 

 first few years of the seventeenth centuries are entered 

 constant complaints from poor Orkney men and Zet- 

 landers of oppression, such as had never before been 

 'hard of in ony reformed cuntrey subject to ane 

 christiane prince.' 



Earl Patrick steals Sir Andrew Balfour's sheep, cows, 

 butter, and seed corn, and ' refts from him and his 

 puir tennentes, twenty-nine whales, which, at grite 

 charges and expenses,' they had driven on shore on 

 Sir Andrew's own land. He besieges and takes away 

 Sir Patrick Bellenden '(he being 72, in a wand bed), 

 and delivers his hous to Keipers, and all because he 

 would not despone his londs to him,' and so on until 

 'no man of rent or purse might enjoy his property 

 without his speciale favour, and that same dear bought, 



