on the Fair Isle; and, after escaping the merciless waves and rocks, and enduring great hardships from hunger and cold, he, and such of his men as were preserved, had made their way, in their only remaining bark, to this place; intending to seek assistance from their good friends and confederates, the Scots, and to kiss his Majesty's hand, (making another profound bow,) from whom he expected relief and comfort to himself, his officers, and poor men, whose condition was most pitiable." When James Melville was about to reply in Latin, a young man, who acted as interpreter, repeated his master's speech in English. The minister then addressed the Admiral. On the score of friendship, or of the cause in which they were embarked, the Spaniards (he said) had no claims on them; the King of Spain was a sworn vassal to the Bishop of Rome, and on that ground they and their King defied him; and with respect to England the Scots were indissolubly leagued with that kingdom, and regarded an attack upon it as the same with an attack on themselves: but although this was the case, they looked upon them, in their present situation, as men and fellow creatures labouring under privations and sufferings to which they themselves were liable, and they rejoiced at an oppor tunity of testifying how superior their religion was to that of their enemies." After this, the admiral and his officers were conveyed to lodgings, which had been provided for them, and were hospitably entertained by the magistrates and neighbouring gentlemen, until they obtained a licence and protection from his Majesty to return home. Before their departure, James Melville received a printed account of the complete destruction of the Armada, with the names of the principal persons who had perished in the wreck of the galleots on the coasts of Wales, Ireland, and Scotland. On this being imparted to Jan Gomes, the tears flowed down the furrowed cheeks of the hardy veteran.

The sequel of the story must not be suppressed. Some time after this, a vessel belonging to Anstruther was arrested in a Spanish port. Don Jan Gomes was no sooner informed of this, than he posted to court, and obtained her release from the king, to whom he spoke in the highest terms of the humanity and hospitality of the Scots. He invited the ship's company to his house, enquired kindly after his acquaintances in the good town of Anstruther, and sent his warmest commendations to their minister and other individuals to whom he considered himself as most particularly indebted.'

In 1590, Melville was elected Rector of his University, but his elevation served only to make him a more conspicuous mark for the aim of the designing men who were bent on the extension of the royal prerogative, by converting the Kirk into a mere instrument of patronage and interest. James, whose abilities seem to have been peculiarly suited to this kind of work, was indefatigable in wrangling and intriguing. His disgusting perfidy was in active and shameless exercise on all occasions; and the most solemn pledges were treated by him with superlative contempt. He it was who originated the strange policy of favouring

a foreign faction addicted to popery and arbitrary power; while the best friends of the Reformation, who were at the same time the natural and surest friends of a Protestant government, became the objects of his jealousy and aversion. This absurd and criminal course, he pursued throughout his reign, in spite of all the admonitions which he received, and it was persisted in with hereditary fatuity by his successors, who carried on a secret and illicit intercourse with the Church of Rome, which issued at length in their laying their triple crown ingloriously and irrecoverably at her feet. An example to all British sovereigns who may be tempted to form such an unnatural and unhallowed attachment.'

In the different interviews between Melville and the monarch, which took place during the unhappy transactions of this period, the former maintained the spirit and energy of his character without abatement or concession. The petulance and overweening vanity of James were no match for the well-grounded confidence in his own powers, the rich mental endowments, and the exclusive regard to the dictates of conscience, which awakened the ardent eloquence of the fearless advocate of the Kirk. On one of these occasions, Melville, who seems to have been rather given to seizing his opponent by the button, grasped James by the sleeve, and, addressing him as God's silly vassal,' went on, in a most intrepid style of reprehension, to give his sentiments on the conduct of the King.

A slight tumult which took place in the capital, in December 1596, was made by the Court a pretext for the severest measures, and became the signal for the renewal of persecution against those Presbyterian ministers who had been distinguished for their firmness in the defence of their immunities. At the time of the disturbance, Melville was not in Edinburgh, and consequently, there could be no plea for including him in the proscription which ensued; but the fear of his determined opposition to the impending visitation, induced a series of vexatious interferences, the object of which was not to be mistaken. In the midst of all this bustle, James was most egregiously in his element, and during the complicated intrigues by which it was attempted to secure the subserviency of the Church, he fidgetted and lectured vastly to his own satisfaction.

In the public deliberations and debates, he directed and decided every thing in his double capacity of disputant and umpire. Those who wish to perceive the glory of James's reign, must carefully attend to this part of its history. It was at this time that he found a stage on which he could exert his distinguishing talent, and stick the doctor's chair into the throne.' It was at this time that he acquired that skill in points of divinity, and in the management of ecclesiastical meetings, which afterwards filled the English bishops with both "admiration and shame," and made them cry out that they verily thought he was "inspired." Never did this wise monarch appear to such great advantage

as when, surrounded with "his own northern men," he canvassed for votes with all the ardour and address of a candidate for a borough or when, presiding in the debates of the General Assembly, he kept the members to the question, regaled them with royal wit, calling one "a seditious knave," and another "a liar," saying to one speaker "that's witch-like," and to another "that's anabaptistical," instructed the clerk in the true geographical mode of calling the roll, or taking him home to his closet, helped him to correct the minutes.'

At length, James ascended the throne of England, and the Hampton Court Conference gave to the friends of religion in this country, a specimen of the treatment which they were to expect from their new monarch. During the contest for maintaining the General Assembly against the efforts made by James and his ministers to supersede or neutralize that great bulwark of the liberties of the Church of Scotland,' Melville was vigilant and active. In May 1606, he was summoned, with seven other ministers, to London, ostensibly for the purpose of conferring on ecclesiastical matters, but in reality with the view of removing from the scene of action the most resolute opponents of arbitrary power. In August, they reached their destination, and were soon admitted to a public audience, in which Melville let loose: his fiery eloquence, and, much to the astonishment and admiration of the French Ambassador, who was present, gave the Lord Advocate a smart trimming, and left him and the King sans replique. The ministers, who were now, in fact, pri soners at large, among other petty vexations, were compelled to attend a series of sermons, preached in the Royal Chape, on the leading points of variance between the Presbyterians and the Episcopalians. This curious mode of conducting controversy, calls forth the following pithy comment from Dr M'Crie.

If ever the Church of England had her days of chivalry, they had then passed by; else her champions would have deemed it foul disgrace to attack antagonists who were not at liberty to defend themselves, or to return the blows which they received; and day after day to crow like cravens over men who sat bound and shackled before them.'

A highly imprudent, though certainly a very innocent act of Melville's, afforded his enemies an advantage over him, which they were careful not to let pass. He had been required to be present in the Chapel Royal on the feast day of St. Michael, • one of the Dii minorum gentium of the English;' and on that occasion, disgusted with the unmeaning affectation of the cere móny, had expressed his feelings in a Latin epigram, which was communicated to the King by some of the spies who were in attendance on the Scottish ministers. For this enormous offence, he was brought before the privy council.

The Archbishop of Canterbury (Bancroft); addressing him,

began to aggravate the offence, arguing that such a libel on the worship of the Church of England, was a high misdemeanour, and even brought the offender within the laws of treason. This was too much for Melville to bear from a man of whom he had so unfavourable an opinion as Bancroft. He interrupted the Primate. "My Lords," exclaimed he, " Andrew Melville was never a traitor. But, my Lords, there was one Richard Bancroft (let him be sought for) who daring the life of the late Queen, wrote a treatise against his Majesty's title to the crown of England; and here (pulling the "corpus delictie from his pocket) is the book, which was answered by my brother John Davidson." Bancroft was thrown into the utmost confusion by this bold and unexpected attack. In the mean time, Melville went on to charge the archbishop with his delinquencies. He accused him of profaning the Sabbath, maintaining an antichristian Hierarchy, and vain, foppish, superstitious ceremonies, and silencing and imprisoning the true preachers of the gospel for scrupling to conform to these. Advancing gradually, as he spoke, to the head of the table where Bancroft sat, he took hold of the lawn sleeves of the primate, and shaking them, and calling them Romish rags, he said,

If you are the author of the book called "English Scottizing for Geneva discipline," then I regard you as the capital enemy of all the Reformed Churches in Europe, and as such, I will profess myself an enemy to you and to your proceedings, to the effusion of the last drop of my blood: and it grieves me that such a man should have his Majesty's ear, and sit so high in this honourable council." It was a considerable time before any of the council recovered from their astonishment so far as to think of interposing between the poor primate and his incensed accuser. Bishop Barlow at last stepped in; but he was handled in the same unceremonious way. Melville attacked his narrative of the Hampton Court Conference, and accused him of representing the King as of no religion, by making him say that, "Though he was in the Church of Scotland, he was not of it." He then proceeded to make strictures on the sermon which he had heard Barlow preach in the Royal Chapel. "Remember where you are, and to whom you are speaking," said one of the Scottish noblemen. "I remember it very well, my Lord, (replied Melville,) and am sorry that your Lordship, by sitting here and countenancing such proceedings against me, should furnish a precedent which may yet be used against yourself or your posterity."

the

The result of this and of subsequent proceedings was, Mel ville's committal to the Tower, while his nephew was ordered to fix his residence at Newcastle upon Tyne, and not to pass.. limit of ten miles round the town. The other ministers were permitted, on harsh conditions, to return home. Previously to their departure, some nonconformists had collected for them a sum of money, which, from the most honourable motives, they gratefully declined. Melville's durance lasted four years; nor was be at last liberated, but for the further punishment of exile. The Duke de Bouillon had made application to James, that the prisoner might be allowed to reside in Sedan as professor in the VOL. XVI. N. S. 2 X

Protestant university there, and an ungracious assent having been given, Melville embarked for France in April 1611. The remainder of his life was honourably and piously spent; but, as it contained no marking event, we shall merely state in addition to the preceding particulars, that he died in 1622, at Sedan, having reached the advanced age of seventy-seven years.

In our notice of this rich and important work, we have, of necessity, restricted ourselves to the leading circumstances of the life of Melville. We must not, however, omit to say, that these volumes contain a large mass of various and most interesting matter illustrative of the ecclesiastical history of Scotland during the period under investigation. Of these valuable and mukifarious elucidations, it would not have been practicable to give a satisfactory abstract without an inconvenient extension of the present article. Dr. M'Crie has been able to include his materials within their actual limits, only by the most rigorous compression; and though we believe that, on the whole, he has done wisely to study brevity, yet, for our own part, we should have felt highly gratified by an additional volume.

It is quite unnecessary for us to be diffuse in praise of Dr. M'Crie. It will be quite sufficient to say, that, in learning, in spirited composition, in attachment to the great principles of religious liberty, he has fully maintained throughout the present volumes, the high level which he had attained by his life of Knox.

Art. VI. An Examination of the Charges made against Unitarians and Unitarianism, and the Improved Version, by the Right Rev. Dr. Magee, Bishop of Raphoe, in his "Discourses and Dissertations "on Atonement and Sacrifice :" with some Strictures on the Statements of the Bishop of St. David's, Dr. Hales, Dean Graves, Dr. Nares, Dr. Pye Smith, and Mr. Rennel, &c. and on the System pursued by some recent Editors of the Greek Testament. By Lant Carpenter, LL.D. 8vo. pp. lxii, 437. Price 14s. London. 1820.

NEITHER the representations of Unitarian doctrines which

are introduced into this work, nor the eulogies which the respectable Author has pronounced upon them, have rendered them at all attractive in our view, or reconciled to either our reason or our feelings the cold and cheerless system which he would substitute for Apostolic Christianity. In other respects, however, we frankly admit the force of many of the statements in Dr. Carpenter's present appeal. It is impossible, we think, that a perusal of this volume should leave on the mind of a candid reader, any other than an impression greatly to the disadvantage of some of the opponents of Unitarians. This report of the work, we are bound to make, less in justice towards the