willingly free themselves from the yoke of the heretics -which they have attempted to do once and again— they would find it difficult to do so unless they were aided by troops from abroad. This arises from the fact that not only are they kept down by the King of Scotland and his heretical subjects, but also by the Queen of England. It might indeed be otherwise if the English would unite in attacking their queen; in which case it is very probable that the Catholics in Scotland would in a short time gain the upper hand. At present the Queen of England gives the worst possible advice to the King of Scotland in regard to the Catholics; for she can easily understand that considerable danger may come to her from Scotland if they should unite their forces to attack her, especially if they were joined by foreign troops. Hence it is that she keeps upon the most intimate terms with all the Calvinistic ministers, whose safety is chiefly endangered, and that she bribes every one of the Scottish king's friends whom she can reach with her money, in order to prevent him from joining the Catholic party.

When the Catholics observed this, they sent a messenger to the King of Spain in the month of December 1593, by whom they promised that they would give him all the help in their power if he would make an attempt upon the Queen of England of some kind or other. If he would not do this, they undertook to make war upon her themselves with their own forces, provided he would send them some little assistance. It happened, most unfortunately, that Lord George Kar,' who was the bearer of these letters, was seized; and although nearly everything had been intrusted to his fidelity, yet, under the

1 These incidents are told at some length by Tytler in his History, iv. 187.

fear of torture, he made large revelations, and thus placed many of the leading nobles of the realm in the greatest danger. The Earl of Angus and the Baron of Fintry were immediately apprehended and sentence of capital punishment was pronounced upon both of them. The Earl of Angus escaped from Edinburgh Castle by bribing his guards, but the Baron of Fintry was executed. He was held in the highest esteem through the whole of that realm on account of the purity of his life and his wonderful prudence and learning. He might have saved his head if he had accepted the proposal which was made to him of embracing Calvin's heresy. But he answered very resolutely that it would be a bad bargain for him if he were to prefer earth to heaven. The Earls of Errol, Huntley, and many others, who also had been discovered, all ran the same danger; but because their power was considerable, they still remain in safety within the limits of that kingdom, although sentence of outlawry has been pronounced against them. Nor (in my opinion) would they easily be induced to leave it, since the welfare and safety of all the Catholics seems chiefly to depend upon their presence. In the meantime, however, their cause is somewhat bettered by the fact that the whole of Scotland is divided into two parties, not so much on religious grounds as political, which proceeded from the following considerations.

The King of Scotland had married a daughter of the King of Denmark some few years previously, by whom (according to the opinion of certain medical men) it was improbable that he would have any issue.1 Hence there arose a feud about the succession to the kingdom. Lord Hamilton, son of the Earl of Arran, affirmed that it

1 This must have been written before the birth of Prince Henry,

belonged to him. In consequence, however, of the civil broils which had taken place some months before, several thousand men had been brought together, and the two parties were nearly coming to blows. Not only had the party of the Hamiltons the better title, but they were the stronger, although the king favoured that of Lennox. It was exceedingly doubtful, however, which side would be successful, for it seems probable that the Queen of England supported both the one and the other, for she was apprehensive that if either of them were crushed the whole power of Scotland would become united, an event which, as her long experience told her, would not be for her own advantage. However, there is great ground for hope that as long as this struggle for the succession to the kingdom shall continue, the savage persecution which has been raised against the Catholics may be somewhat modified. The priests who are at work in Scotland are most anxious that they may be reinforced by other labourers.

There is one matter more which ought to excite our especial commiseration. Although every field is white for the harvest, yet from the time when the revenues of Pont-à-Mousson were withdrawn from Pope Sixtus the Fifth, there has been a failure in the number of reapers necessary for the labour. for the labour. We betake ourselves therefore to the feet of your Holiness, not as the Britons formerly appealed to Aetius1 the Consul, not as the Irish formerly appealed to Saint Patrick (who used to hear their entreaties even in his sleep), and to whom he was sent by Pope Celestine, not as that Macedonian, who is men

3

1 See the Epistle of Gildas in Petrie's Monumenta, p. 11.

2 Patricii Confessio, cap. iii., in the Acta Sanctorum, 17 March, p. 531.

8 See the volume last quoted, p. 542.

2

tioned in the Acts of the Apostles,1 appealed to Saint Paul, but as to him whom we acknowledge to be the Vicar of Christ. Hungry and thirsty we appeal to you; hungering not for bread, as says the prophet Amos, not thirsting after water, but hungering and thirsting with the desire of supplying them with that spiritual food which shall sustain them in their heavenward journey. We entreat that the fatherly affection which embraces the world may be extended also to Scotland, which for thirteen centuries has been constant in its obedience to the Holy See. The danger for Scotland is not now from the barbarians, as it was formerly. What is to be dreaded at the present is this, that they should perish from want of the Word of God, and so be exposed to external misery; which may God avert! These, Holy Father, are the cries which Scotland in her affliction addresses to your mercy.

APPENDIX II.

1568.

"As to the state of affairs in Scotland, we have received the following information, partly from letters sent to the Bishop of Glasgow, partly from the report of a certain nobleman named William Lesley, brother to the wife of the Laird of Lochleven, in whose castle the queen is imprisoned."1

THE queen is still kept in as strict ward as ever she was. During the last quarter of a year a remarkable change has been observed in her conduct. In addition to the prayers in which she is often engaged in her bedchamber, when she is in the garden (into which she goes for the sake of exercise) she often breaks in upon that period of relaxation by throwing herself upon her knees, and raising her eyes and hands to God. Those who have had the opportunity of observing her have noticed the warmth and earnestness of her devotion. They report also, that when she rises from her knees she is always in much better spirits.

She has gained such an influence over the baron in whose castle she is imprisoned, that although he and the Earl of Moray are children of the same mother, her keeper became so moved by her misfortunes as to promise that he would procure her freedom, which he actually would have done, had he not been betrayed by

1 Transcribed from the original Report in the Secret Archives of the Society of Jesus.