Chapter VII: The Union of the Crowns (1)

_James VI.; results of the Union_ (1)--_restoration
of Episcopacy_ (2)--_planting of the Highlands_
(3)--_Articles of Perth_ (4)--_founding of Nova Scotia_
(5)--_the King's death_ (6)--_Charles I._; _resumption
of benefices_ (7)--_King's visit and coronation_
(8)--_Book of Canons_ (9)--_Liturgy tumults_ (10)--_the
Tables_ (11)--_renewal of the Covenant_ (12)--_Hamilton
Commissioner_ (13)--_Glasgow Assembly_ (14)--_war in the
north_ (15)--_pacification of Berwick_ (16)--_Assembly and
Parliament_ (17)--_invasion of England_ (18)--_Treaty of
Ripon_ (19)--_war breaks out_ (20)--_Montrose's campaign_
(21)--_dealings with the king_ (22)--_the Engagement_;
_Whiggamores' raid_ (23)--_Directory_; _confession of
faith_ (24)--_the king's death_ (25)--_Charles II._;
_fate of Hamilton and Huntly_ (26)--_Montrose's rising_
(27)--_arrival of Charles_ (28)--_Cromwell's conquest_
(29)--_the coronation_ (30)--_battle of Worcester_
(31)--_union with England_ (32)--_Glencairn's expedition_
(33)--_the Restoration_ (34)--_episcopacy re-established_
(35)--_fate of Guthrie and Argyle_ (36)--_the Ejection_
(37)--_western rising_ (38)--_the Persecution_ (39)--_the
Indulgence_ (40)--_murder of Sharp_ (41)--_Sanquhar
Declaration_ (42)--_Drumclog_ (43)--_Bothwell Bridge_
(44)--_Test Act_ (45)--_Argyle's opposition_ (46)--_James
VII._; _the Killing Time_ (47)--_Argyle's rising_
(48)--_the Indulgence_ (49)--_deposition of James_
(50)--_William and Mary_; _the Convention_ (51)--_the
Rabbling_ (52)--_Dundee's revolt_ (53)--_battle of
Killiecrankie_ (54)--_attack of Dunkeld_; _Buchan's
attempt_ (55)--_dealings with the chiefs_ (56)--_Massacre
of Glencoe_ (57)--_Darien Scheme_ (58)--_William's death_
(59)--_Education Act_ (60)--_Anne_; _Act of Security_
(61)--_trial and death of Captain Green_ (62)--_the Union_
(63)--_literature and art_ (64)--_summary_ (65).

=1. James VI., 1603-1625. Results of the Union.=--Immediately after the Union of the Crowns, the _Border laws_ on each side were repealed, and it was settled that subjects of either country born after the Union should no longer be looked on as aliens in the other, but should have the undisputed right of inheriting property in either. A _Lord High Commissioner_ was appointed to represent the King in Scotland, and there was some talk of an union of the parliaments, but it was not carried out.

=2. Restoration of Episcopacy.=--The great desire of the King was to bring the Church of Scotland into conformity with the Church of England. To bring this about, he summoned some of the ministers to England, in the hope that he should be able to persuade them to agree with him. _Melville_, their leader, spoke out so plainly against episcopacy before the bishops in the Privy Council that he was sent to the Tower and finally banished. But the King carried his point, and in 1606 the Estates passed an act for the restoration of the bishops. No acts of church government were in future to be lawful without their consent, and though the General Assembly was still to go on, its power was to be very much lessened. As the old line of Scottish bishops had died out, John Spottiswood, Andrew Lamb, and Gavin Hamilton were consecrated by English bishops at London House to the bishoprics of Glasgow, Brechin, and Galloway. To avoid all dispute about the old claim of supremacy, neither of the English archbishops was present. But these bishops had a very hard time of it, for they did not get the lands of their sees restored to them as had been promised, and many of them had hard work to get a living at all. In 1610, two _Courts of High Commission_ were set up. These courts were afterwards united into one, but, as this court was under the control of the Court of Session, it could never be so tyrannical as the Court of High Commission in England.

=3. Planting of the Highlands.=--In the early part of his reign James had tried to do something to improve the state of the _Highlands_. To this end three new burghs were founded, and the lands of all chiefs who could not show written titles were declared forfeited. These lands were given to _Lowland_ colonists, who were however soon glad to give up any attempt at settling among their lawless neighbours. The _MacGregors_, whose district lay close on the Lowland border, had shown themselves the most savage and lawless of all the Highland clans. _Argyle_ was commissioned to hunt them down, but they beat the Lowlanders with great slaughter in a battle at _Glen Fruin_ in 1604. Their chief was afterwards taken and hanged, and the name proscribed, but that was only breaking the power of one clan, whilst the others remained as formidable as ever. To prevent such outbreaks in future, _Argyle_ and _Huntly_ were entrusted with full powers to carry on the planting of the Highlands. Three conditions were required of those chiefs who were suffered to stay in possession of their lands. That they should give sureties for the good order of their clans; promise to let their land for a fixed rent in money instead of all other exactions, and agree to send their children to school in the Lowlands. These changes not only strengthened the Government, but made united action on the part of the clans more difficult.

=4. Articles of Perth.=--The King only paid one visit to Scotland after his accession to the throne of England. He then gave great offence by introducing ceremonial vestments at the service in his own chapel. These vestments and other ornaments which were customary in England were hateful to the presbyterians. The passing of the "_Five Articles_" by a General Assembly held at _Perth_ completed their dismay, and plainly showed the King's intention to impose upon them the ceremonies which they so much disliked. By those Articles the private administration of the sacraments was allowed, all persons were enjoined to kneel at the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper, to bring their children to the Bishops for confirmation, and to observe the five great festivals of the Christian Church as holidays.

=5. Founding of Nova Scotia.=--The poverty of their country and the love of adventure had made the Scots from the earliest times ever ready to seek their fortunes abroad. They had won themselves renown as soldiers or traders in nearly all the countries of the Old world, but they had not as yet any colony of their own in the New one. Hitherto these emigrants, though they were called Scots, had been chiefly _Saxons_ from the Lowlands, but in the beginning of this reign bodies of _Celts_ had gone back to the original _Scotia_, and in _Ulster_, their old home, they won back settlements from the kindred Celtic race who now looked on them as intruders. But while some of the wanderers thus went back to the old country, others were founding a _New Scotland_ beyond the sea. This, the third land to which the wandering people gave its name, was called by the _Latin_ form of the name, _Nova Scotia_. It was granted by a Royal Charter to _Sir William Alexander_, afterwards _Earl of Stirling_, the projector of this scheme of emigration in 1621. This new settlement was divided into 1,000 parts, and every adventurer who was willing to brave the hardships of an uncleared country, and resist the encroachments of the neighbouring settlers, was rewarded with the rank and title of baronet. About the same time too the Lowlanders were encouraged to go over to the _North of Ireland_, and to take up the lands from which the Irish chiefs had been driven. As the soil there was much better than that which they had left, they gladly agreed to the change, and passed over in great numbers, more than ten thousand going in two years.

=6. The King's Death.=--On the twenty-seventh of March, 1625, the King died. He had governed Scotland during his twenty-two years of absence with a much firmer hand than in the troubled time of his personal rule. He had then been quite at the mercy of his ministers and of the nobles. The wealth and power of his larger kingdom made him now able to deal with the smaller one pretty much as he liked, and the nobles were too eagerly seeking favour and place at the richer court to be willing to risk the loss of them by opposing his will. James was quite unlike all his forefathers. He had good abilities and an unusual amount of learning, besides a good deal of common sense and shrewdness, which he sometimes made use of, but his repulsive appearance and manners, and his want of self-reliance, exposed him to ridicule and contempt. He had none of the courage, high spirit, graceful tastes and ready wit that spread a veil over the faults and vices of his ancestors. Yet he alone escaped the tragic fate that seemed the doom of all the _Stewart_ line, and was singled out from among them for an almost fairy-like change and advance of fortune.

=7. Charles I., 1625-1649. Resumption of Benefices.=--_Charles_, who succeeded James as King of the two kingdoms, had even more exalted ideas than his father of the power of the prerogative. It fell to the lot of the Scots to take the lead and set an example to the English in resisting his arbitrary measures. Before he had been a year on the throne, it was clear that he meant to carry out his father's plan of making the _Scotch Church_ as like the _English Church_ as possible. He issued a proclamation recalling all the church lands which were in the hands of laymen, whether they had been granted by the crown or not. The holders protested against this injustice, and at last a compromise was made by which they agreed to give up part of the lands they held on condition of having their claim to the rest made good.

=8. King's Visit and Coronation.=--In 1633 Charles came to Scotland, and was crowned with great pomp in the Abbey church of Holyrood. The vestments that were worn on this occasion by the clergy gave great offence to the people. Their discontent was increased by an order from the King enjoining their own ministers to wear surplices, and the bishops to wear rochets and sleeves, instead of the Geneva cloak as heretofore. While Charles was in Scotland, a meeting of the Estates was held, in which he met with no opposition, owing to a new arrangement in choosing the _Lords of the Articles_. Formerly this committee had consisted of eight members from each _Estate_ chosen by their own peers; but now the bishops were first chosen, they again chose the barons, and barons and bishops together chose the commons, so that all those chosen were really the allies of the bishops. A supplication was drawn up to remonstrate with the King about this interference, but, instead of taking it in good part, Charles was very angry, treated their remonstrance as a political offence, and put the lord _Balmerinoch_, who had revised the supplication which was presented to him, in prison. He was afterwards pardoned, but this did not make the King any more popular, as it was thought that he had only liberated Balmerinoch from fear and not from goodwill. While in Scotland he founded a new bishopric at _Edinburgh_, which had formerly formed part of the diocese of _St. Andrews_.

=9. Book of Canons.=--The discontent and distrust of the people which had been roused by the introduction of vestments, by the increase in the number of the bishops, and by the appointment of the primate as chancellor were now brought to a head by the appearance of a _Book of Canons_, or rules for the government of the Church. This book they were called on to accept in place of the Book of Discipline, on the authority of the King alone, unconfirmed by the _Estates_, and not long after the King attempted to change their form of worship as well. Through the influence of _Laud, Archbishop of Canterbury_, a Liturgy was drawn up on the plan of the first book of _Edward the Sixth_. From this Liturgy the Scotch clergy were commanded by the King to read prayers in the churches, instead of from the book of _Common Order_ which was still in general use.

=10. Liturgy Tumults.=--The imposition of this book roused the old national jealousy. The people thought that to have an English service book forced upon them would be a mark of subjection; and on the day named by the King for bringing it into use, July 16, 1637, when the _Dean of Edinburgh_ tried to read the prayers from it in _St. Giles' Church_, a riot broke out. Stools and books were thrown at the _Dean_, the _Archbishop_, and the _Bishop of Edinburgh_, who had great difficulty in escaping out of the hands of the mob. And this tumult was but a sign of the common feeling throughout the country. The King was highly incensed and ordered the offenders to be brought to punishment, and the use of the liturgy to be enforced. Numberless petitions against it from all ranks of the people poured in on the _Privy Council_, or were sent up to _London_ to the King, while _Edinburgh_ was thronged with the petitioners from all parts of the country waiting for the answer which they hoped would be favourable. No answer was given to them, but the King issued a proclamation ordering them all to return to their homes, and threatening to remove the courts from Edinburgh to _Linlithgow_ if the disturbance continued, as had been done in the late reign. But this had no effect. The bishops and the other members of the Council were mobbed, and the supplicants joined in a common petition to the King, called the _Great Supplication_.

=11. The Tables.=--The Council finding it impossible to treat with a turbulent mob which increased instead of diminishing, persuaded the malcontents to choose representatives to act in their names, four from each class, _nobles_, _lesser barons_, _clergy_, and _burgesses_. The rest were to return peaceably to their several homes. But this committee, known as _The_ _Tables_, gave the Council more trouble than the unruly mob had done, for they made their way into the Council chamber, insisted on debating there, and demanded that the bishops should be turned out.

=12. Renewal of the Covenant, 1638.=--Still the King would not give in, and he met a less submissive protest on the part of his subjects by another threatening proclamation. On this the _Tables_ renewed the _Covenant_, with a clause added to it aimed at the bishops. At the last renewal of the _Covenant_, only notable persons had put their names to it, but this time it was signed by every one throughout the land, rich and poor alike. There was the greatest excitement and enthusiasm about it all over the country, and from this time the popular party became known as the _Covenanters_.

=13. Hamilton Commissioner.=--A few months later the _Marquess of Hamilton_ came to _Scotland_ as _Commissioner_ with full power, it was said, to settle everything. The demands of the _Covenanters_ were that the _Court of High Commission_, the _Canons_ and the _Liturgy_ should all be done away, and that a free Assembly and a free Parliament should be summoned. But Hamilton, acting on the orders given him, kept putting them off with promises till the King should be ready to put them down by force, when suddenly the King turned about, promised all they asked, and agreed that the Assembly should be called, and that the bishops should be tried by it.

=14. Glasgow Assembly.=--The Assembly met in the Cathedral Church at _Glasgow_, November 21, 1638. Hamilton opened it as the Royal _Commissioner_. But after a few days, when the attack on the bishops began, he withdrew and ordered the members to disperse. They paid no heed to this order, but went on with the trial of the bishops, who were all deposed, and eight of them excommunicated. The _Canons_ and the _Liturgy_ were then rejected, and all acts of the _Assemblies_ held since 1606 were annulled.

=15. War in the North.=--In the _North_, where _Huntly_ was the _King's Lieutenant_, the Covenant had not been received, and the Tables resolved to enforce it with the sword. Scotland was now full of trained soldiers just come back from _Germany_, where they had learnt to fight in the _Thirty Years war_, and as plenty of money had been collected among the Covenanters, an army was easily raised. Their banner bore the motto, _For Religion, the Covenant, and the Country_, and their leader was _James Graham, Earl of Montrose_, one of the most zealous among the champions of the cause. _Aberdeen_, Huntly's capital, dared make no resistance, for the soldiers occupied the town and the ministers the pulpits, and Montrose brought Huntly himself back to _Edinburgh_ in his train. But in the first brush of actual war the _King's party_, the _Cavaliers_, or _Malignants_ as their opponents called them, had the advantage, for they surprised and scattered the _Covenanters_ of the _North_ at the little village of _Turriff_, which they had made their trysting place. In this action, called the _Trot of Turriff_, the first blood was shed in the great Civil War. The Cavaliers were the first to draw the sword. Though Huntly had been taken out of the way by his removal to Edinburgh, his two sons, the _Lord Aboyne_ and _Lewis Gordon_, supplied his place and called out the Highlanders. _Aberdeen_ changed hands, and again _Montrose_ was sent to subdue the _North_ before the expected struggle with England should begin. At the _Bridge of Dee_ he defeated the Malignants, and once more entered Aberdeen in triumph. Just after this entry the news was brought that peace had been made between the King and the other army of the Covenant on the Border. June 1639.

=16. Pacification of Berwick.=--While Montrose had been thus busy for the Covenant in the North, the King had been making ready to put down his rebellious Scottish subjects with the sword. Early in _May_ a fleet entered the _Forth_ under the command of _Hamilton_. But the Tables took possession of the strongholds, and seized the ammunition which had been laid in for the King. They then raised another army of twenty-two thousand foot and one thousand two hundred horse, and placed at its head _Alexander Leslie_, a veteran, trained in the _German_ war. Their army they sent southwards to meet the English host which the King was bringing to reduce Scotland. The two armies faced each other on opposite banks of the Tweed. The Scots were skilfully posted on _Dunse Law_, a hill commanding the _Northern road_. To pass them without fighting was impossible, and to fight would have been almost certain defeat. The King seeing this agreed to treat. By a treaty called the "_Pacification of Berwick_," it was settled that the questions at issue between the King and the Covenanters should be put to a free Assembly, that both armies should be disbanded, and that the strongholds should be restored to the King. June 9, 1639.

=17. Assembly and Parliament.=--The Assembly which met at Edinburgh repeated and approved all that had been done at _Glasgow_. When the Estates met for the first time in the New Parliament-house, June 2, 1640, they went still further, for they not only confirmed the Acts of the Assemblies, but ordered everyone to sign the Covenant under pain of civil penalties. Now for the first time they acted in open defiance of the King, to whom hitherto they had professed the greatest loyalty and submission. Three times had they been adjourned by the King, who had also refused to see the Commissioners whom they sent up to London. Now they met in spite of him, and, as in former times of troubles and difficulties, they appealed to _France_ for help. When this intrigue with the French was found out, the _Lord Loudon_, one of their Commissioners, was sent to the _Tower_, and the English parliament was summoned to vote supplies for putting down the Scots by force of arms. But by this time the English were beginning to see that the cause of the Scots was the cause of freedom. There was much difficulty in raising an army to march against them, and when raised it was discontented and mutinous.

=18. Invasion of England.=--As for the Scots they mustered stronger than before, and, on August 20, 1640, they crossed the _Tweed_, and entered _England_. At _Newburn_ they defeated a body of English, and crossing the _Tyne_, marched on to _Newcastle_, which yielded to them without offering resistance. They then took _Durham_, _Tynemouth_, and _Shields_ without a struggle. Meanwhile news came from Scotland that the two great strongholds of the East and of the West, _Edinburgh_ and _Dunbarton_, had again fallen into their hands.

=19. Treaty of Ripon.=--Once more they sent to the King, who was then at _York_, a supplication in which they declared that all they wanted was satisfaction to their just demands. The King laid the matter before a great council of peers which he had called at York. By their advice it was decided to treat with the Scots. Eight Commissioners from their army came to _Ripon_, and the treaty which was begun there was not ended until nearly a year afterwards at _London_. All that they asked was granted, and they were promised three hundred thousand pounds to defray the expenses of this war, into which they said they had been driven. The armies were then disbanded, and peace seemed to be restored. The King came to Scotland once more, and a meeting of the Estates was held in which he let the members have their own way in everything. He also confirmed the right of the Estates to meet once every three years, and fixed the next meeting for June, 1644.

=20. Breaking out of the War.=--This seeming peace was but the lull before the storm, and, before one year had passed, the English had followed the example set them by the Scots in resisting the unlawful exactions of the King; the _Long Parliament_ had brought his minister _Strafford_, the chief agent of his despotism, to the scaffold, and had called on the people to arm in defence of their rights and liberties. When the great _Civil War_ began in earnest, each side was eager to secure the help of the fine army which the _Scots_ had at their command. Religious opinion decided the matter. The Parliament, which was as much opposed to episcopacy as the Scots were, adopted the solemn _League_ and _Covenant_, and ordered every one to sign it, and by so doing induced the Scots to join them. The army was raised again, and put under the command of the two _Leslies_, _Alexander_, now _Earl of Leven_, and his nephew _David_, who soon proved the better soldier of the two. A second time they entered England, January 19, 1644, and leaving a part of their force to besiege _Newcastle_ marched on into _Yorkshire_, and joined the troops of the Parliament in time to share their victory at _Marston Moor_. _Newcastle_ was taken by storm, October 19.

=21. Montrose's Campaign.=--Meanwhile Montrose, whose zeal for the Covenant had now changed into zeal for the King, was taking advantage of the absence of the Covenanting force in England to win back the North for Charles with an army of Celts alone. It was the first time that the Highlanders had been turned to account in regular war. Hitherto they had been thought only capable of preying upon one another, but now, under a General who knew how to handle them, they did wonders. The Lowlanders who had hastily mustered to oppose them were beaten at _Tippermuir_. _Montrose_ then took _Perth_, marched northward, again defeated the _Covenanters_, took _Aberdeen_ once more, and held for the King this town which twice before he had held for the Covenant. He then turned to the West, wasted the country of his great enemy _Argyle_, pounced down upon and scattered the force gathered to oppose his own on the shore of Loch Linnhe; kept his army in the Highlands during the winter, and early in the spring took _Dundee_. He twice defeated the Covenanters in the country north of the _Forth_, and once south of it at _Kilsyth_. Thus in a wonderfully short time he won back nearly the whole country for the King. But the secret of his success had lain in the rapid marches and sudden attacks that kept his men busy. When the fighting was over, the Highlanders, as was their wont, went off in large numbers to take home their spoil. In this way his army was diminished. _David Leslie_, who had been summoned home to oppose him, brought some cavalry from the southern army against his weakened force, and won a complete victory at _Philiphaugh_, near _Selkirk_, September 12th, 1645. Montrose retreated with the small remnant that was left to him, but he found it impossible to reassemble his scattered force. His campaign had lasted little more than a year, and a few months later the King, who had thrown himself on the protection of the Scots army at Newark, ordered him to lay down his arms. Montrose obeyed and left the country.

=22. Dealings with the King.=--While the Scots army was lying before _Newark_, Charles, whose cause was now nearly hopeless, secretly left _Oxford_, where he was besieged by the army of the Parliament, and sought protection in the camp of the Scots. A few days afterwards _Newark_ surrendered, and they returned with the King to _Newcastle_. He stayed in their hands eight months. During this time, though they behaved towards him with respect and courtesy, he was really their prisoner, and they were busy treating with the Parliament for the terms of his surrender. If he had turned Presbyterian and signed the Covenant, no doubt they would have protected him, but after many arguments with _Henderson_, a noted divine of their party, he still remained unconvinced. In the end they agreed to leave England on payment of 400,000 pounds arrears of pay that were due to them. When they returned to their own country, they left the King to the mercy of the English Parliament.

=23. The Engagement.=--A few months later, when Charles was a prisoner at _Carisbrooke_, he made a secret treaty with the moderate party in _Scotland_, to the effect that, if they would help him to win back his power, he would confirm the Covenant and would make a trial of the presbyterian Church in England. On this the _Committee of Estates_, in whose hands the government was, raised an army and sent it into _England_, with _Hamilton_, who had been created a Duke, at its head. They were defeated at _Preston_ by _Oliver Cromwell_, lieutenant-general of the parliamentary army. The Duke marched on to _Uttoxeter_. There he and his army laid down their arms, and yielded themselves prisoners, August 25, 1648. But the extreme party in Scotland were very wroth against the _Engagers_, as they called those who had made this "engagement" with the King. They thought that the taking of the _Covenant_ by the King was a mere pretence, and that Hamilton's expedition was a sinful helping of the _Malignants_. A change in the government was the result. Argyle, the head of the extreme Covenanters, raised his followers, while from the _Western Lowlands_, which were just waking to zeal for the Covenant, a body of men, with _Lord Eglinton_ at their head, marched on Edinburgh. This was called the _Whiggamores' Raid_, from Whig, a word used in the Westland for urging on horses. This was the origin of the word _Whig_, which gradually became the nickname of a political party. Argyle and his party came to terms with Cromwell, and formed a new Committee of Estates. Cromwell then marched to Edinburgh, and made them give him an assurance that none of the Engagers should be allowed to take any part in the government. By the _Act of Classes_ which was then passed, all profane persons and enemies of the Covenant were likewise shut out from holding office.

=24. The Directory and Confession of Faith.=--The Scots now hoped to see their Church and their Covenant adopted over all three kingdoms. In this hope they were disappointed, for the most of the parliamentary party were Independents, who had no idea of exchanging the tyranny of bishops for that of presbyters. An _Assembly of Divines_ met at _Westminster_, June 12, 1643, to settle religious matters. They adopted the Covenant, and the Scots in return accepted their directory of public worship, and the _Confession of Faith_ drawn up by them in place of their own _Books of Discipline_ and _Common Order_. But though the Covenant was thus nominally accepted in England, the different English sects were allowed far more liberty than the strict Covenanters thought right.

=25. The King's Death.=--On the thirtieth of January, 1649, the King was beheaded at Whitehall. With the court of justice which professed to try him, with the sentence which it passed, and with the execution of that sentence, the Scots had nothing whatever to do. As they had no idea of the existence of their kingdom without a king, nor of having any other king than the hereditary one, no sooner was the news of the King's death known in _Edinburgh_, than _Charles_ his son was proclaimed _King of Great Britain, France, and Ireland_.

=26. Charles II., 1649-1685. Fate of Hamilton and Huntly.=--_Hamilton_, who was a prisoner in England, was brought to trial as an English subject by his English title of _Earl of Cambridge_; he was found guilty of treason in invading the country, and was beheaded. _Huntly_ met with a like fate in Scotland. He was also charged with treason in having made war for the King against the Covenanters.

=27. Montrose's Rising.=--Meanwhile in the north _Montrose_ made one more effort for the king. With a small army of foreigners which he had gathered on the _Continent_ he landed in _Orkney_, and from thence passed over to Scotland early in 1650. But his followers were dispersed by a detachment from the Covenanting army. He himself wandered for a while in the Highlands, but was at last taken prisoner, brought to _Edinburgh_, and hanged there without a trial. He was lying under sentence of death for treason, which had been passed against him five years before, when he first took up arms for the King.

=28. Arrival of Charles.=--But while the Estates were thus dealing with the leaders of the Malignants, they were busy on their own account treating for the return of Charles. They looked on him as their lawful King, and they were ready to be faithful to him if he would sign the Covenant and promise to submit to the dictates of the Assembly. These promises he made, and, before he landed, he signed the Covenant, in July, 1650, while the courtiers whom he had brought with him were nearly all sent away as being either Malignants or Engagers.

=29. Cromwell's Conquest.=--No sooner did the news of these doings reach London than _Cromwell_ was sent northward with a large army to put a stop to them. The old hatred of _England_ was rekindled by this invasion, and numbers of recruits flocked round the banner of the Covenant. The army thus brought together was made up of good soldiers who made no pretences to piety, and of would-be saints who knew nothing of fighting. But the saints drove from their ranks all whom they suspected of lukewarmness in the cause and therefore looked on as sinners, and thus weeded out their best soldiers. Those who were left were put under the command of _Leslie_, and the King was not suffered to go out with the host. They took up a strong position on the hills south of the _Firth of Forth_, and for some time Cromwell tried in vain to bring them to a battle, but at last Leslie was persuaded against his better judgment to go down into the plain and meet the enemy. A battle was fought near _Dunbar_, September 3, in which the Scots were thoroughly beaten.

=30. The Coronation.= --Meanwhile Charles was in _Dunfermline_, in old times the royal city, under care so strict and watchful that it was very much like imprisonment. The life which he led there was so distasteful to him that he made his escape, in hopes of joining the northern chiefs. But their plans were badly laid. He found no one to meet him as he had expected, and he was pursued and brought back by his former guardians. According to the ancient custom, _Charles_ was crowned at _Scone_ by the hands of the _Marquess of Argyle_.

=31. Battle of Worcester.=--While _Cromwell_ was busy in _Scotland_ the Scots army marched into _England_. This time they took the _King_ with them. But Cromwell hastened after them, came up with them at _Worcester_, and defeated them there, September 3, 1651, exactly a year after his victory at Dunbar. This was the last battle fought in the Civil War. The Scots had been the first to take up the sword, and they were the last to lay it down. Charles, after wandering about for some time in danger, and in want, escaped to the Continent. Meanwhile _General Monk_, who had been left in Scotland with an army of five thousand men, was reducing the country to subjection. The public records deposited in Stirling Castle were sent to the Tower of London. The Regalia, the Honours of Scotland as they were called, the Crown, the Sword, and the Sceptre, had been taken to Dunnottar, one of the strong fortresses in Scotland, which stood on a ledge of rock overhanging the sea. The Castle made a gallant resistance, but was at last obliged to yield, but the Honours were not found in it. They had been taken secretly from the Castle by _Mrs. Granger_, the wife of the minister of the parish. She rode through the camp with the Crown on her lap hidden in a bundle of lint, and the sceptre in her hand in the guise of a distaff, with the flax she was spinning wound round it. She and her husband buried the Honours under the floor of the church, and they kept their secret so well that no one knew what had become of them.

=32. Union with England.=--Cromwell, now _Lord Protector_ of England, Scotland, and Ireland, set to work to carry out Edward the First's idea of a legislative union of England and Scotland. This _Union_ was ratified by the Council, in 1654. It was then settled that Scotland should be represented by thirty members in the English Parliament. Free-trade was established between the two countries. Great changes were also made in the Church Government. The Assembly was closed, and the power of the Church-courts was done away with. The country was divided into five districts, and the care of providing ministers to the different parishes was laid upon a certain number of ministers to be chosen from these districts. In order to improve the state of the people, all feudal dues were taken away. A fixed rent in money was substituted for all the services and restrictions to which the land had hitherto been liable. The Highlands were kept in order by the founding of garrisoned Forts.

=33. Glencairn's Expedition.=--Once only was the peace and order thus well established broken in favour of the Stewarts. A rising was made in the Highlands by _William Cunningham, Lord Glencairn_, who acted under a commission from Charles. More than five thousand men gathered round him. They were dispersed by a detachment of Monk's troops under _General Morgan_ at _Loch Garry_ before they had come down from the Highlands.

=34. The Restoration.=--The _Protector_, whose conquest had made Scotland prosperous, died September 3, 1658. His son _Richard_ succeeded him in office, but he was not strong enough to keep order, as his father had done. A time of great confusion followed, which ended in the recall and Restoration of Charles. This was chiefly the work of General Monk. He was Commander of the Army in Scotland, during the Protectorate. Some time after Cromwell's death he called together a Convention of the Representatives of the Counties. Whether they knew of his intention of restoring Charles or not is not certain. But they aided him with a large sum of money. In November, 1659, he set out with the army for London, and in about six months' time Charles returned in triumph to England. In Scotland, where Charles had been already crowned, his return was celebrated with great rejoicings by the people, who hoped that he would uphold the Covenant which he had signed. Before long, they found out how much they had been mistaken. In the very first English Parliament, an Act was passed which took from Scotland the privilege of free-trade with England, which she had enjoyed under Cromwell. This was the _Navigation Act_, by which the exporting and importing of merchandise into England, or any of her colonies, was forbidden to any but English vessels.

=35. Episcopacy Re-established.=--_John Middleton_, a soldier of fortune, who had been taken prisoner at _Worcester_, and who had afterwards taken an active part in Glencairn's expedition, was now made _Earl of Middleton_, and was sent to Scotland as _Commissioner_. When the Estates met, an Act called the _Act Rescissory_ was passed. By this Act, all the Acts passed since 1633 were cut out of the Statutes; nearly all the concessions wrung from Charles the First were recalled. The causes of dispute between the King and the people were thus restored to the state in which they had been before the great struggle began. In this same year Episcopacy was re-established by the Estates, and the Covenant was publicly burned by the hangman. As there was but one of the old bishops still alive, three new ones were consecrated in England. _James Sharp_ was the Primate. He had gone up to London to plead the cause of the Covenant and of Presbyters; he came back an Archbishop, and was thenceforward foremost in persecuting the cause he had deserted.

=36. Fate of Argyle and of Guthrie.=--The government of Scotland was entrusted to a Privy Council. Its authority was supported by a standing lifeguard, the troop that former kings had often asked for in vain. To this Council were entrusted the supreme powers of the Estates during the intervals between the Sessions. An _Act of Indemnity_ was promised, but before it was passed several persons suffered death. Two of those who thus fell were specially distinguished. The one was _Argyle_, whose great power made him a dangerous rival to the King. He was treacherously seized in London, whither he had gone to pay his court to Charles. He was sent down to _Edinburgh_, where he was tried for treason, found guilty, and beheaded, May 27, 1661. But the victim who was most regretted and whose fate called forth the most pity was _James Guthrie_, a noted divine, the leader of the extreme party among the Covenanters. This party, who were called the _Remonstrants_, had prepared a _Remonstrance_ to be presented to the King directly after his return, praying that no form of worship but their own might be suffered within the realm. This remonstrance was drawn up by Guthrie. It was never presented, and those who had projected it were put in prison. Guthrie was now brought to trial on a charge of spreading abroad sedition and treason against the Government. He refused any legal defence, and avowed and justified all that he had done. He was found guilty and beheaded. He was looked on by the Covenanters as a martyr for his faith, and his last words were treasured up with special veneration.

=37. The Ejection.=--The promised Act of Indemnity was not passed till 1662, and it was not a free pardon, as had been looked for. Between seven and eight hundred persons were heavily fined. In this same year an Act was passed requiring all persons holding any public office to sign a _Declaration_ that the Covenant was an unlawful oath; and lastly a law was passed that all ministers presented to livings since 1639 should be turned out, unless they would agree to be collated or instituted by the new bishops. The ministers who refused to consent to episcopal collation were required to remove with their families out of their parishes within a month from the date of the passing of this Act. The meeting of the Council in which it was passed was called the _Drunken Parliament_, from the condition of the members present. Sooner than submit to this, three hundred and fifty ministers resigned. Most of their parishioners followed them, and the churches were left empty, while the people flocked to the open-air services of their former pastors. To prevent this an Act was passed for levying fines on all persons who did not go to their parish church on the Lord's Day. Another Act, called the _Mile Act_, was also passed, which forbade the recusant or refusing ministers to come within twenty miles of their former parishes, or within three miles of any royal burgh. The _Court of High Commission_ was revived, and empowered to proceed against all dissenters from the Episcopal (now the Established) Church, whether they were Romanists or Presbyterians. But this tyranny drove the people to revolt, and a third _Religious War_ began. In the first the people had taken up arms for a question of doctrine; the second arose from disputes about a form of prayer; this, the third, was caused by enforcing a form of Church-government specially disliked by the nation. In the conduct of public prayer no change was made. As there had been in James's reign a _Presbyterian Church_ with a _Liturgy_, so now there was an _Episcopal Church_ without one. But, though the cause of dispute seemed this time of less importance than in the two former wars, the zeal on the one side and the persecution on the other were greater than they had been in the former struggles. Then Edinburgh and the Eastern Lowlands had borne the brunt of the battle; now it was in the West, where it was latest kindled, that religious zeal flamed fiercest and lasted longest.

=38. Western Rising.=--In spite of fines and penalties the churches still remained empty, while the people went long distances to gather round their "outed" ministers. On the hill-sides, wherever in short they were least likely to be dispersed by the dragoons, they met to hear the sermons of their favourite preachers. But so great was the danger incurred by thus worshipping God according to their consciences that sentries were stationed on the hill-tops round to give warning of the approach of danger, and the men stacked their muskets so that they could seize and use them on a moment's notice. Such meetings were called _Conventicles_, and to hunt them down bands of soldiers scoured the country in all directions. In the south-west the troops were under the command of _Sir James Turner_, and it was his severity that drove the people to actual revolt. The immediate cause of the outbreak was the rescue of an old man from the clutches of a group of soldiers who were ill-using him. In the scuffle one of the soldiers was wounded. This affair happened at _Dalry_, in _Ayrshire_. A large body of peasants soon gathered to protect their conventicles. They seized Turner at _Dumfries_, and, when their numbers had increased to nearly three thousand, they set out for _Edinburgh_, expecting the people of the Eastern Counties to show their former spirit by rising to join them. _General Thomas Dalziel_, who had made himself a reputation by fighting for the Czar of Russia against Turks and Tartars, was sent to bar their way. But they avoided and passed him. He had to come back after them as far as the _Pentland Hills_, where they were so well posted that the troops could only break and disperse them by repeated attacks. But the feeling of this district had changed so much that the peasantry now turned against these wild Whigs of the Westland, and treated them nearly as badly as the troopers had done.

=39. The Persecution.=--This rising did no real good, for after the defeat at _Pentland_ in 1666 the tyranny became even more cruel than before. The trials which followed were infamous, from the shameful and constant use of torture. The instruments used for this purpose were the _thumbkin_, a screw applied to the thumb-joint, and the _boot_, a cylinder in which the leg of the victim was crushed by hammering in wedges. Both inflicted the most fearful pain without destroying life. Twenty men were hanged in different places. The fines and forfeitures inflicted were given as rewards to soldiers and lawyers who might get them out of the offenders as they best could. At this time certain bonds called _law-burrows_ were originated. These were bonds by which all the principal men in a district pledged themselves to prevent those beneath them in rank from breaking the peace.

=40. The Indulgence.=--But these measures only increased the disorders they were intended to quiet, and the Government tried a new system of greater toleration. An _Indulgence_ was issued, by which those of the outed ministers who could prove that they had lived peaceably and had not held conventicles since they had been turned out of their livings, were allowed to go back to their parishes, provided no one else had been put in their place. Some few took advantage of it; but the greater number would not, and looked on their indulged brethren as nearly as bad as the prelatists. But this semblance of yielding was more than balanced by new exactions. _Intercommuning_--that is, having anything to do with any persons who had in any way broken any of the many laws against conventicles--was denounced as a criminal offence. _Lauderdale_, who succeeded _Middleton_ as Commissioner in 1669, brought an army of Celts down on the Lowlands, which they pillaged at pleasure, carrying back rich spoils to their native mountains.

=41. Murder of Sharp.=--_Sharp_, the Primate, who was looked on as the originator of all the persecutions, was bitterly hated. He was shot at in Edinburgh while getting into his carriage, but was not hurt. Some time after he recognized the man who had thus tried to take his life. _Mitchell_ the assassin was tried, and being bribed by a promise of pardon, freely confessed that he had fired the shot. Instead of receiving the promised pardon, Mitchell was sent to prison, tortured, and finally put to death in 1678. But the very next year Mitchell's attempt was repeated with better success. As Sharp was driving with his daughter across _Magus Moor_, near St. Andrews, he fell into the hands of a party of men who were lying in wait there for one _Carmichael_, the Sheriff-substitute, a wretch who had made himself specially hated. When they heard that the Archbishop's coach was coming that way, they looked on it as a special act of Providence by which the Lord delivered him into their hands. They fired into the coach, but did not hit him. He sheltered himself behind his daughter, but they dragged him out, and hacked him to death on the heath in a very barbarous way, May 3, 1679. It had long been believed that Sharp was in league with the Devil. To find proof of this they had no sooner slain him than they began to search everything he had with him. At last they opened his snuff-box, when a bee flew out. This they agreed must have been his familiar spirit. Every effort was made to track the murderers, among whom were _Hackston of Rathillet_ and _Balfour of Burley_, but they escaped to the West.

=42. Sanquhar Declaration.=--The straitest sect of the Covenanters now put forth a protest called the _Sanquhar Declaration_. Their leaders were _Donald Cargill_ and _Richard Cameron_, after whom they were called _Cameronians_. Their openly avowed intention was to free the country from the tyranny under which it was groaning. They held that _Charles_ had by his perjury forfeited the crown. They excommunicated both him and his brother _James, Duke of York_, who was the Commissioner, and surpassed both Middleton and Lauderdale in cruelty. To kill either the King or his brother, or both of them, the _Sanquhar_ men declared would be perfectly justifiable. They joined themselves together by one of the old bonds for mutual defence and support. _Hackston of Rathillet_, who had been present at the death of Sharp, was a chief man among them. With him as their leader they sought a refuge from the troopers who were out after them in _Airds Moss_, in Ayrshire. There they were attacked, and, though they fought bravely, were overcome by the soldiers.

=43. Drumclog.=--The hill-country between _Lanark_ and _Ayr_ was the favourite haunt of the _Covenanters_. Here they held great conventicles, to which the men came armed. One of the largest of these meetings was gathered at _Drumclog_, near Loudon Hill, when they were attacked by a body of dragoons under _John Graham_, of _Claverhouse_. But Claverhouse was unaccustomed to this irregular way of fighting, and he was defeated. The Covenanters, wild with joy, thought that they saw the special hand of Providence in this success. They gathered in great numbers, and marched on Glasgow. But they did no harm to either the city or the citizens; they only took down from the gates the heads and limbs of their friends who had suffered for their faith, and buried them.

=44. Bothwell Bridge.=--To put down this revolt, Charles sent his illegitimate son, _James_, Duke of _Buccleuch_ and _Monmouth_, with an army of fifteen thousand men. The zeal of the Covenanters was great, but their resources were few, and their leaders unskilful. It was therefore an easy matter for a well-trained army to defeat them, and at the _Bridge_ over the _Clyde_ at _Bothwell_ they were beaten with great slaughter. Twelve hundred fell into the hands of the victors. Seven of these were put to death, some were released on giving sureties for their future good conduct, and the rest were shipped off to the plantations. _Cameron_ fell in this fray. _Hackston_ and _Cargill_ were taken, and brought to trial at Edinburgh, found guilty, and put to death afterwards.

=45. Test Act.=--While the Duke of York was Commissioner, an Act was passed to the effect that all persons taking office, whether under Government or from the Corporation of Burghs, should take the Test, an oath for the maintenance of the Protestant Faith as it had been established in the first Parliament of _James the Sixth_. At the same time the King was declared supreme in Church and State, and the hereditary succession was declared to be unchangeable. Now, as it was well known that James, the King's brother and the heir to the throne, was a Romanist, it was clear that the Test gave no security to the Protestant Faith, if James, when King, could make what changes he pleased in the Church.

=46. Argyle's Opposition.=--_Archibald_, Earl of Argyle, who had been restored to his father's earldom, was the most powerful chief in the kingdom. His father had lost his life for his attachment to the Covenant, but he himself had hitherto upheld the Government, and had even offered to bring his Highlanders to its support. Now, however, he showed signs of opposition, for he would only take the Test with the protest that he did so only in so far as it was consistent with itself and with the safety of the _Protestant_ Faith. For this reservation he was accused of _leasing-making_, that is, of making mischief between the King and his people. This offence had, by a most unjust law passed in the reign of James the Sixth, been made treason. By this law Argyle was condemned to death. He escaped and fled to _Holland_, where he became the centre of a party of his fellow-countrymen who had also left their country because of their political opinions. After this unjust attack on Argyle no one could be sure of his liberty, and a scheme was got up for emigration to _Carolina_. One _Robert Ferguson_ was connected with this scheme. As this man was concerned in an _English_ plot against the life of the _King_, called the _Rye House Plot_, all who had any dealings with him were suspected of being art and part in that too, and were called to account before the Council. Baillie of Jerviswood, a man much beloved and respected, was tried on an accusation of conspiracy, was found guilty, and put to death. His death greatly increased the popular discontent.

=47. James VII. 1685-1688. The Killing Time.=--The death of _Charles_ and the accession of _James_ rather made matters worse than better for the people. Another defiance from the _Cameronians_, called the _Apologetical Declaration_, was met by an Act which gave the soldiers power at once to put to death anyone who would not take the _Abjuration Oath_; that is, swear that they abhorred and renounced this treasonable _Declaration_. A time of cruel slaughter followed, in which Claverhouse was the chief persecutor. Many heartrending tales are told of the sufferings of the poor creatures whose fanaticism led them to persist in refusing to take this oath. There is a story told that one _John Brown_, known as the "Christian Carrier," a man of great repute among them, was shot dead by Claverhouse himself, almost without warning, before the eyes of his wife. At another time two women, _Margaret Maclauchlan_ and _Margaret Wilson_--one old, the other young--were, it is said, tied to stakes on the _Solway shore_, that they might be drowned by inches by the flowing tide. These tales and others of a like sort, bear witness to the brutality of the one side and to the constancy of the other. Early in James's reign an Act was passed by which attending a _Conventicle_ became a capital crime.