NORTH SHORE BREEZE II 
ities, into Ireland and from thence into Scotland, where 
it became of great notoriety in Argyleshire some time 
before the reign of King Kenneth in 834. The little 
kingdom of the Scoti mentioned above had slumbered in 
obscurity till the marriage of Aycha, King of the Scots, 
to Nugaria, sister of the Pictish King prepared the way 
for the union of both under their grandson Kenneth 
McAlpin. Kenneth defeated Drusken, the Pictish King, 
in a fierce battle upon ‘Tay and took possession of Scone, 
the ancient seat of that people. He had the stone brought 
from Dunstaffuage and deposited in Scone Abbey and 
upon it he was crowned in 838, the first Scotchman to be 
crowned in that historic place, and where all the kings of 
Scotland were crowned until the time of Robert Bruce. 
Bellenden, in his old Scotch Chronicle says: “when 
Kenneth had destroyed the Picts and conquered their 
realms, he brought the fatal chair of Merbill out of 
Argyle to Gowry, and because this last victory over the 
Picts happened not far from Scone, he ordained the said 
chair to remain perpetually in the said Abbey, and all 
Scotch kings to resume their diadems in the same.” (We 
have adopted the modern spelling.) 
The first Abbey was destroyed after Kenneth’s time, 
and a new one built by Alexander I, in 1117. Here, 
firmly fixed in the marble chair of Merbill, the stone re- 
mained long after Scone had ceased to be the royal resi- 
dence. Hither the Kings of Scotland—the Donalds, 
Malcolms, Davids and Alexanders—came in royal state 
tc be crowned by a McDuff. Hardyng speaks of the 
stone as the “regall of Scotland, on which the Scottish 
Kynges wer brechless set at their coronement.” Not a 
very hard task for a Scotch king surely. After the mem- 
orable revolution in which Macbeth was dethroned, and 
Malcolm Canmore was placed on the throne, the new 
monarch was crowned on the regal stone St. Mark’s Day, 
1057, and among the boons granted to requite the ser- 
vices of McDuff, thane of Fife, that chief and his, des- 
cendents obtained the privilege of conducting the King 
to the royal seat on the day of coronation and placing the 
crown upon his head. This right continued long after 
the coronation stone, itself, had been carried away and 
the Abbey razed to the ground, by a fanatical mob. 
Isabella, Countess of Buchan and wife of the Earl 
cf Fife, represented McDuff at the double coronation of 
Robert Bruce at Scone, March 29, 1306, and incurred 
the enmity of the English King, who exposed her in 
a cage on one of the towers of Berwick for her trouble. 
One can search history and find but little concerning 
the crowning of Scotch Kings. Alexander II, died in 
1249, while on his way to chastise the Lord of Argyle 
for refusing him homage and his son, Alexander III, 
then a boy of eight years was crowned in his stead. ‘The 
child was seated on the royal stone, the crown placed upon 
liis head, and the scepter in his hand. Agreeably to an- 
cient practise a Gelic bard recited from memory the 
genealogy of all the Scotch Kings, deducing the descent of 
the youthful monarch from Gathelus the fabulous founder 
of the nation. The weak John Baliol was crowned on the 
stone November 30, 1292, the last Scotch king to be so 
crowned. During his time the coronation stone was 
carried away by Edward I, and Baliol, himself, became 
a prisoner of the English king. 
why the stone was carried away from Scone it will be 
necessary to state a few historical facts. After the 
dcath of Alexander III, March 109, 1286, the Scotch 
crown passed to Margaret, the infant daughter of Eric 
of Norway. 
Edward I, of England, who claimed the overlord- 
ship of Scotland, had craftily betrothed his little son to 
the Maid of Norway, and sent a ship from Portsmouth 
To understand, clearly, 
laden with great store of provisions for the voyage to 
scotland—not forgetting a stock of gingerbread, tarts, 
raisins, etc., for the baby queen. 
The proud Eric would not trust Margaret to the 
keeping of the English and had her conveyed on one of 
his own ships. The little queen died (1290) on her way 
tc the Orkneys, and at this juncture thirteen claimants 
for the crown appeared. ‘The Earls and Barons of Scot- 
lend appealed to Edward, and in the castle-hall at 
Berwick, Nov. 17, 1292, he awarded it to John Baliol, 
Lerd of Galloway, on condition of his swearing fealty to 
him. The following year Baliol was driven by. the 
clans to resist, and he procured the Pope’s absolution 
from his oath of vassalage. Edward tried in vain to 
have him attend his parliament at Newcastle, but the 
Scot sent ambassadors instead, renouncing his homage. 
The English king in reply to them said, “since we 
perceive your king will not come to us tell him we 
intend shortly to visit him.” Edward soon crossed the 
border with a great army of horse and foot, and broke 
the power of the Scots at Berwick with merciless 
slaughter. After the hot encounter at Dunbar castle, 
April 27, 1296, Baliol was forced to yield his kingdom to 
Fdward. We read in the Prior of Iochlevins Chronicle: 
“This John the Baliol on purpose, he took and brought 
him till Munross, and in the castle of that town this John 
of Baliol dispoiled he of all his robes of royalty.” 
As a matter of historical accuracy, the Scotch king, 
bearing a white rod and divested of all royal insignia, 
met his conqueror in the church-yard of Strathcatho, 
July 7, 1296, and became a prisoner. He was sent to 
London and lodged in the Tower, where he remained six 
months and was then given up to the Papal Nemcio on 
condition that he should retire to his French estates. 
Edward and his queen reached Scone in August and took 
up their residence in its ancient castle. Every charter 
and relic that had inspired the Scots with a spirit of 
National pride was now hunted out and sent away. ‘Three 
ceffers containing plate and jewelled vessels were carried 
to Westminster. The royal crown and sceptor, and the 
Holy-Rood, which had comforted the dying hours of St. 
Margaret and St. David, were part of the spoils. In 
the adjoining abbey Edward found the royal coronation 
stone, which he determined to carry away and keep. Some 
ef the royal trinkets were later on to be returned, but the 
stone of fate, never, Edward knew its value and the 
popular superstitions concerning it. It was sent to the 
Chapel of the Kings, in Westminster Abbey, a place 
made sacred to Edward by the presence of his own house- 
beld gods. Here lay the remains of his father, and his 
own beloved wife Eleanor of Castile. Edward, himself, 
was soon to lay here with a crown of tin-gilt upon his 
head, and a sceptor of copper-gilt in his right hand. 
When the stone was brought from Scone it formed the 
seat of the Scotch coronation chair, but Edward deter- 
n.ined to enclose it in a new shrine which should become 
henceforth the coronation seat of England’s kings, and 
gave orders that it should remain perpetually in the Abbey 
as a memorial of his victory over the Scotch. His in- 
tention was to make a great chair of Bronze, and some 
of the castings for it had already been made, when he 
changed his mind and had one made in black oak, which 
was painted and decorated with false jewels by Master 
Walter the King’s workman. 
It is in the Gothic style, six feet nine inches high. 
breadth of seat one foot six inches, and is covered with 
carved inscriptions. ‘The whole chair was originally coy- 
e-ed with carved gildings and ornamental work, some of 
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