have met with a cold reception. After several conversations with Queen Mary, she told him, that she intended to return home. During his stay at Paris, he met with many insults on account of his known attachment to the reformed religion. A box containing some valuable things was stole from him; several persons were likewise hired to assassinate him in the street: he was apprised of his danger by an old friend of his own, but not before he was almost involved in it, being instantly surrounded by a rabble, calling out, Hugenot, Hugenot, and throwing stones: he made his way through them on horseback. Soon after this he left Paris, and returned home in May 1561, with a commission from the Queen, appointing him Regent until her return, which was in August following; when, as Knox expresses it," Dolour and darkness came along with her;" for though justice and equity were yet administered, and crimes were punished, because the administration of civil affairs was yet in the hands of Lord James, who for his management of public concerns was beloved by all, yet upon the Queen's arrival, French levity and dissipation soon corrupted the court to a very high degree.

Some

About this time a banditti, called the moss-troopers, broke in upon the borders of Scotland, committing very alarming depredations, by robbing and murdering all that came in their way. The Queen sent Lord James with a small force to oppose them, not with the intention that he might have the opportunity of acquiring military reputation, but to expose him to danger, that, if possible, she might get rid of him, for his popularity made her very uneasy; and his fidelity and boldness in reproving her faults, and withstanding her tyrannical measures, made him still more the object of her hatred and disgust. But, contrary to the expectations of many, God so prospered him in this expedition, that in a short time he brought twenty-eight ringleaders of this band to public execution, and obliged the rest to give hostages for their better behaviour in time coming. Thus he returned crowned with laurels, and was immediately created Earl of Marr; and in the February following he was made Earl of Moray, with the universal approbation of all good men. thought this act of the Queen was intended by her to conciliate his affections, and make him of her party. About this time he married a daughter of the Earl of Marischal, according to Knox; (Buchanan says, the Earl of March.) The marriage was made publicly in the church of Edinburgh; after the ceremony was over, the preacher (probably Mr. Knox) said to him, "Sir, The church of God hath received comfort by you, and by your labours unto this day; if you prove more faint therein afterward, it will be said that your wife hath changed your nature," &c. It may be observed, that hitherto the nobility appeared very much united in their measures for promoting the interest of religion; this was soon at an end, for the noblemen at court broke out into factions: among whom the Earl of Bothwell, envying the prosperity of Moray, stirred up some feuds between him and the Hamiltons, which increased to that heighth, that they laid a plot for his life, which Bothwell took in hand to execute, while he was with the Queen, his sister, at Falkland; but the Earl of Arran, detesting such an action, sent a letter privately to the Earl of Moray, discovering the whole conspiracy, by which he escaped that danger. Bothwell fled from justice into France; but his emissaries were not less active in his absence, than they had been while he headed them in person; for another design was formed against his life, by one Gordon, while he was with the Queen at Dumbarton. But this proved effectual also.

in

Soon after, the Queen received letters from the Pope, and her uncle the Guises of France, requesting her to put the Earl of Moray out of the way, because, they found by experience, that their interest in Scotland could not prosper while he was alive. Upon this the faction against him became more insolent, and appeared in arms. They were at first sup pressed, but soon assembled again, to the number of eight hundred men This body he was obliged to fight, with little more strength, in which he could confide, than an hundred horse; notwithstanding this disparity, by the divine blessing, he obtained a complete victory, killing of them a hundred and twenty, and taking a hundred prisoners, among whom were Huntly himself and his two sons: it is said he did not lose a single man. He returned to Aberdeen with the prisoners, late in the night, where he had appointed a minister of the gospel to meet him, with whom he re turned thanks to God for such a deliverance, exceeding the expectation of all men.

The Earl of Bothwell was soon after this recalled by the Queen from France: upon his arrival, Moray accused him for his former treasonable practices, and commenced a process at law against him. Bothwell knew he could not stand an open scrutiny, but relied upon the Queen's favour, which he knew he possessed in a very high degree, and which increased so much the more as her enmity to Moray, on account of his popularity was augmented. This led her to join more warmly in the conspiracy with Bothwell against his life; a new plot was the result of their joint deliberations, which was to be executed in the following manner: Moray was to be sent for, with only a few attendants, to speak with the Queen at Perth, where the Lord Darnly (then in suit to her for marriage) was. They knew that Moray would speak his mind freely, upon which they were to quarrel with him, in the heat of which David Rizzio was to strike the first blow, and all the rest were to follow. But of this design also he got previous intelligence by a friend at the court; nevertheless he resolved to go, until advised by one Patrick Ruthven, he turned aside to his mother's house, and there staid till this storm was over also.

The Earl of Moray, foreseeing what would be the consequence of the Queen's marriage with Lord Darnly, set himself to oppose it; but find. ing little attention paid to any thing he said on that subject in the con vention of estates, he chose rather to absent himself for some time; and accordingly retired to the border, where he staid until the Queen's mar riage with Darnly was over.

The remarkable tragical events which succeeded, disgusted Moray more and more at the court. With these the public are well acquaint ed. The murder of Darnly, and Mary's after marriage with the assas sin of her husband, has occasioned too much speculation, of late years, not to be known to every one in the least acquainted with the Scottish history. Moray now found it impossible to live at a court where his im placable enemy was so highly honoured. Bothwell insulted him openly. Whereupon he asked leave of the Queen to travel abroad; and she, being willing to get red of him at all events, granted his desire, upon promise not to make any stay in England. He went over to France,

his

• The Queen and Darnly became so irreconcilable, that, as he never rested until he had caused the Italian Rizzio to be murdered, the Queen never rested till she caused her husband to be murdered; and divine justice, after all, never rested till it had caused her to be murdered: so that blood followed blood, till the whole knot was destroyed.

DE FOE's Memoirs, p. 59.

where he remained until he heard that the Queen was in custody in Lochleven, and that Bothwell had fled to Denmark; and then returned home. Upon his arival he was made Regent, by the joint consent of the Queen and nobles, anno 1567, during the young King's minority.

He entered on the exercise of his office as Regent, in the spring following, and resolved with himself to make a tour through the whole kingdom, to settle the courts of justice, to repair what was wrong, &c. But his adversaries, the Hamiltons, perceiving that, by the prudence and diligence of this worthy nobleman, the interest of religion would be revived, than which nothing could be more disagreeable to them, who were dissipated and licentious in an extreme degree. They could not endure to be regulated by law, and never ceased crying out against his administration. They fixed up libels in different places, full of dark insinuations, by which it was understood that his destruction was meditating.* Some astrologers told him, that he would not live beyond such a day; by which it appeared, they were not ignorant of the designs formed against him. All this had no effect upon his resolution; his common reply was, "That he knew well enough he must die one time or other, and that he could not part with his life more nobly, than by procuring the public tranquillity of his native country." He caused summon a Convention of Estates to meet at Glasgow, for the redress of some grievances, which that part of the country particularly laboured under.

But while he was thus engaged, he received intelligence that the Queen had escaped from Lochleven castle, and was come to Hamilton, where those of her faction were assembling with the utmost haste: whereupon a hot dispute arose in council, whether the Regent and his attendants should repair to the young King at Stirling, or stay and observe the motions of the Queen and her party. But, in the very time of these deliberations, a hundred chosen men arrived in town from Lothian, and many more from the adjacent country were approaching. This made them resolve to stay where they were, and refresh themselves for one day; after which they determined to march out and face the enemy. But the Queen's army, being 6500 strong, resolved to make their way by Glasgow, to lodge the Queen in Dumbarton castle, and afterwards either to fight the Regent, or protract the war at pleasure.

The Regent being let into this design of the enemy, drew his army out of the town, to observe which way they intended to pass: he had not above 4000 men. They discovered the Queen's army passing along the south side of the river Clyde. Moray commanded the foot to pass the bridge, and the horse to ford the river, and marched out to a small village, called Langside, upon the river Cart. They took possession of a rising ground, before the enemy could well discover their intention, and drew up in order of battle. The Earls of Morton, Semple, Hume,

Sir James Melvill of Halhill, in his Memoris, from page 173 to page 178, seems to insinuate, that although the Earl of Moray was at first of a gentle nature, religiously educated, well-inclined, good, wise, &c. ; yet, when he was advanced to the helm of government, through the means of flatterers, he became more proud and rough in his proceedings; which, together with his too remiss conduct anent his own preservation, after so many warnings, was the cause of his own ruin.-And says further, that he was compelled some times to receive and apply divers sentences of Solomon concerning chancellors and rulers to this good Regent, which he ordered him to commit to writing, that he might carry them in his pocket. But before he was slain, this different gloss on the life and character of Moray is contradicted, in substance, by the historians Knox and

Buchanan.

and Patrick Lindsay on the right; and the Earls of Marr, Glencairn, Monteith, with the citizens of Glasgow, were on the left; and the mus queteers were placed in the valley below. The Queen's army approaching, a very brisk but short engagement ensued: the Earl of Argyle, who was commander in chief of the Queen's troops, falling from his horse, they gave way, so that the Regent obtained a complete victory; but, by his clement conduct, there was very little blood spilt in the pursuit. The Queen, who all the while remained with some horse, at about the dis tance of a mile from the place of action, seeing the rout, escaped and fled into England; and the Regent returned to Glasgow, where they returned thanks to God for their deliverance from Popery and Papists, who threatened to overturn the work of God among them. This battle was fought upon the 13th of May 1568.

After this the Regent summoned a parliament to meet at Edinburgh; which the Queen's party laboured to hinder with all their power. In the mean time, letters were received from the Queen of England, requiring them to put off the meeting of parliament, until she was made acquainted with the whole matter; for she said, she could not bear with the affront which her kinswoman said she had received from her subjects.-The parliament however assembled; and, after much reasoning, it was resolved to send commissioners to England, to vindicate their conduct. But none consenting to undertake this business, the Regent resolved upon going himself; and accordingly chose three gentlemen, two ministers, two law. yers, and Mr. George Buchanan, to accompany him; and, with a guard of a hundred horse, they set out, and arrived at York, the appointed place of conference, on the 4th of October. After several meetings with the English commissioners to little purpose, the Queen called the Regent up to London, that she might be better satisfied, by personal conversation with him, about the state of these affairs. But the same difficulties stood in his way here as at York: he refused to enter upon the accusation of his sister, the Queen of Scots, unless Elisabeth would engage to protect the King's party, provided the Queen was found guilty.

But while matters were thus remaining in suspense at London, Mary had stirred up a new commotion in Scotland, by means of one James Balfour; so that the Regent found himself exceedingly embarrassed, and therefore resolved to bring the matter to a conclusion as soon as possible. After several interviews with the Queen and council, in which the Regent and his party supported the ancient rights of their country, and wiped off the aspersions many had thrown on themselves, which Buchanan narrates at large, book xix. A decision was given in their favours; and the Regent returned home loaded with honours by Elisabeth, and attended by the most illustrious of the English court, escorted by a strong guard to Berwick, and arrived at Edinburgh on the 2d of February, where he was received with acclamations of joy, particularly by the friends of the true religion.

During his administration, many salutary laws, in favour of civil and religious liberty, were made, which rendered him more and more the object of Popish malice. At last they resolved at all events to take his life: the many unsuccesful attempts formerly made, only served to render them more bold and daring. Though the Queen was now at a distance, yet she found means to encourage her party; and perhaps the hope of delivering her at length, gave strengh to their resolution. One James Hamilton of Bothwell-haugh, nephew to the Archbishop of St.

Andrews incited by his uncle and others, undertakes to make away with the Regent, when a convenient opportunity offered itself. He first lay in wait for him at Glasgow, and then at Stirling; but both failed him: after which he thought Linlithgow the most proper place for perpetrating that execrable deed. His uncle had a house near the Regent's, in which he concealed himself, that he might be in readiness for the assassination. Of this design the Regent got intelligence likewise, but paid not that re gard to the danger he was exposed to, which he should, and would go no other way than that in which it was suspected the ambush was laid: he trusted to the fleetness of his horse in riding swiftly by the suspected place; but the great concourse of people, who crowded together to see him, stopped up the way. Accordingly he was shot from a wooden balcony; the bullet entering a little below the navel, came out at the reins, and killed the horse of George Douglas behind him: the assassin escaped by a back-door. The Regent told his attendants that he was wounded, and returned to his lodgings. It was at first thought the wound was not mortal; but his pain increasing, he began to think of death. Some about him told him, that this was the fruit of his lenity, in sparing so many notorious offenders, and, among the rest, his own murderer: but he replied," your importunity shall not make me repent my clemency." Having settled his private affairs, he committed the care of the young King to the nobles there present; and, without speaking a reproachful word of any, he departed this life on the 24th of January 1570; according to Buchanan, 1571; but according to Spottiswood, 1569.

Thus fell the Earl of Moray, (whom historians ordinarily call, The good Regent,) after he had escaped so many dangers. Both Buchanan and Spottiswood give him the following character. "His death was lamented by all good men, who loved him as the public father of his country: even his enemies confessed his merit when dead; they admired his valour in war, his ready disposition for peace, his activity in business, in which he was commonly very successful; the divine favour seemed to shine on all his actions; he was very merciful to offenders, and equitable in all his decisions. When the field did not call for his presence, he was busied in the administration of justice; by which means the poor were not oppressed, and the terms of law-suits were shortened. His house was like a holy temple: after meals he caused a chapter of the Bible to be read, and asked the opinions of such learned men as were present, upon it; not out of a vain curiosity, but from a desire to learn, and reduce to practice, what it contained."* In a word, he was, both in his public and private life, a pattern worthy of imitation; and happy would it be for us, that our nobles were more disposed to walk in the paths which he trode ;-for, "above all his virtues, which were not a few, he shined in piety towards God, ordering himself and his family in such a sort, as did more resemble a church than a court; for therein, besides the exercise of devotion, which he never omitted, there was no wickedness to be seen, nay, not an unseemly or wanton word to be heard. A man truly good, and worthy to be ranked among the best governors that this kingdom hath enjoyed, and therefore to this day honoured with the title of The good Regent."+

Buchanan's History, Vol. ii. p. 392.

↑ Spottiswood's History, p. 23