by John Galt
CHAPTER XVI
By such devices and missions, as my grandfather was engaged in for theEarl Glencairn with the Lord Boyd, a thorough understanding wasconcerted among the Reformed throughout the kingdom; and encouraged bytheir great strength and numbers, which far exceeded what was expected,the Lords of the Congregation set themselves roundly to work, and theprotestant preachers openly published their doctrines.
Soon after my grandfather had returned from the shire of Ayr, there wasa weighty consultation held at the Earl his patron's lodging inEdinburgh, whereat, among others present, was that pious youth,afterwards the good Regent Murray. He was, by office and appointment,then the head and lord of the priory of St Andrews; but his soulcleaving to the Reformation and the Gospel, he laid down the use of thattitle, and about this time began to be called the Lord James Stuart.
The Lords of the Congregation, feeling themselves strong in the goodnessof their cause and the number of their adherents, resolved at thiscouncil, that they should proceed firmly but considerately to work, andseek redress as became true lieges, by representation and supplication.Accordingly a paper was drawn up, wherein they set forth how, forconscience sake, the Reformed had been long afflicted with banishment,confiscation of goods, and death in its cruellest forms. That continualfears darkened their lives till, being no longer able to endure suchcalamities, they were compelled to beg a remedy against the oppressionsand tyranny of the Estate Ecclesiastical, which had usurped an unlimiteddomination over the minds of men,--the faggot and the sword being theweapons which the prelates employed to enforce their mandates,--plaintruths that were thus openly stated in order to show that the suppliantswere sincere; and they concluded with a demand, that the original purityof the Christian religion should be restored, and the government soimproved as to afford them security in their persons, opinions, andproperty.
Sir James Calder of Sandilands was the person chosen to present thismemorial to the Queen Regent; and never, said my grandfather, was anagent more fitly chosen to uphold the dignity of his trust, or topreserve the respect which, as good subjects, the Reformed desired tomaintain and manifest towards the authority regal. He was a man faradvanced in life; but there was none of the infirmities of age under thevenerable exterior with which time had clothed his appearance. Of greathonour and a pure life, he was reverenced by all parties, and hadacquired both renown and affection, through his services to the realmand his manifold virtues.
On a day appointed by the Queen Regent, the Lords and leaders of theCongregation attended Sandilands, each with a stately retinue, toHolyrood House; my grandfather having leave from the Earl, his master,to wait on his person on that occasion.
It was a solemn day to the worshippers of the true God, who came ingreat multitudes to the town, many from distant parts, to be present,and to hear the issue of a conference that was to give liberty to theconsciences of all devout Scotchmen. From the house in the Lawnmarket,where the Lords assembled, down to the very yetts of the palace, thesight was as if the street had been paved with faces, and windows overwindows, roofs and lum-heads, were clustered with women and children.All temporal cares and businesses were that day suspended: in theaccents and voices of men there was an awful sobriety, few speaking, andwhat was said, sounded as if every one was affected with the sense ofsome high and everlasting interest at stake.
When the Lords went down into the street, there was, for a briefinterval, a stir and a murmur in the multitude, which opened to theright and left as when the waves of the Red Sea were opened, and throughthe midst thereof prepared a miraculous road for the children of Israel.A deep silence succeeded, and Sandilands, with his hoary head uncovered,bearing in his hand the supplication and remonstrance, walked forward;and the Lords went after also all bareheaded, and every one with themfollowed in like manner as reverentially as their masters. The people,as they passed along, slowly and devoutly, took off their caps andbonnets, and bowed their heads as when the ark of the covenant of theLord was of old brought back from the Philistines; and many wept, andothers prayed aloud, and there was wonder, and awe, and dread, mingledwith thoughts of unspeakable confidence and glory.
When Sandilands and those with him were conducted into the presence ofthe Queen Dowager, she was standing under a canopy of state, surroundedby many of the nobles and prelates, and by her maidens of honour. Mygrandfather had not seen her before, and having often heard hersuspected of double-dealing, and of a superstitious zeal and affectionfor the papal abominations and cruelties, he had pictured to himself alean and haggard woman, with a pale and fierce countenance, and wastherefore greatly amazed when he beheld a lady of a most sweet andgracious aspect, with mild dark eyes beaming with a chaste dignity, anda high and fair forehead, bright and unwrinkled with any care, and lipsformed to speak soft and gentle sentences. In her apparel she was lessgay than her ladies, but nevertheless she was more queenly. Her dressand mantle were of the richest purple Genoese unadorned with embroidery,and round her neck she wore a ruff of fine ermine and a string ofprincely pearls. A small golden cross of curious graven gold dangled toher waist from a loup in the vale of her bosom.
Sandilands advanced several paces before the Lords by whom he wasattended, and falling on his knees, read with a loud and firm voice thememorial of the Reformed; and when he had done so and was risen, theQueen received a paper that was given to her by her secretary, who stoodbehind her right shoulder, and also read an answer which had beenprepared, and in which she was made to deliver many comfortableassurances, that at the time were received as a great boon with muchthankfulness by all the Reformed, who had too soon reason to prove theinsincerity of those courtly flatteries. For no steps were afterwardstaken to give those indulgences by law that were promised; but thepapists stirring themselves with great activity, and foreign matters andconcerns coming in aid of their stratagems, long before a year passedthe mind of the Queen and government was fomented into hostility againstthe protestants. She called into her favour and councils the Archbishopof St Andrews, with whom she had been at variance; and the devout said,when they heard thereof, that when our Saviour was condemned, on thesame day Herod and Pilate were made friends, applying the text to thisreconcilation; and boding therefrom woe to the true church. Moved by thehatred which his Grace bore to the Reformers, the Queen cited theprotestant preachers to appear at Stirling to answer to the chargeswhich might there be preferred against them.
My grandfather, when this perfidy came to a head, was atFinlayston-house, in the shire of Renfrew, with the Earl, his master,who, when he heard of such a breach of faith, smote the table, as he wasthen sitting at dinner, with his right hand, and said, "Since the falsewoman has done this, there is nothing for us but the banner and theblade;" and starting from his seat he forthwith ordered horses, and,attended by my grandfather and ten armed servants, rode to Glasgow,where Sir Hugh Campbell of Loudon, then sheriff of Ayr, and otherworthies of the time, were assembled on business before the Lords ofJusticiary; and it was instanter agreed, that they should forthwithproceed to Stirling where the court was, and remonstrate with the Queen.So, leaving all temporal concerns, Sir Hugh took horse, and they arrivedat Stirling about the time her Highness supped, and going straight tothe castle, they stood in the ante-chamber to speak, if possible, withher as she passed.
On entering the room to pass to her table she saw them, and lookedsomewhat surprised and displeased; but without saying anythingparticular she desired the Earl to follow her, and Sir Hugh, unbidden,went also into the banquet-room. It was seldom that she used state inher household, and on this occasion, it being a popish fast, her tablewas frugally spread, and only herself sat at the board.
"Well, Glencairn," said she, "what has brought you hither from the westat this time? Is the realm to be forever tossed like the sea by thistempest of heresies? The royal authority is not always to be insultedwith impunity, and in spite of all their friends the protestantpreachers shall be banished from Scotland, aye, though their doctrineswere as sound as St Paul's."
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sp; The Earl, as my grandfather heard him afterwards relate, replied, "YourMajesty gave your royal promise that the Reformed should be protected,and they have done nothing since to cause the forfeiture of so graciousa boon: I implore your Majesty to call that sacred pledge to mind."
"You lack reason, my Lord," she cried, sharply; "it becomes not subjectsto burden their princes with promises which it may be inconvenient tokeep."
"If these, madam, are your sentiments," replied the Earl, proudly, "theCongregation can no longer acknowledge your authority, and must renouncetheir allegiance to your government."
She had, at the moment, lifted the salt-cellar to sprinkle hersalad,--but she was so astonished at the boldness of this speech, thatshe dropped it from her hand, and the salt was spilt on the floor,--anevil omen which all present noted.
"My Lord Glencairn," said she, thoughtfully, "I would execute my greatduties honestly, but your preachers trouble the waters, and I know notwhere the ford lies that I may safest ride. Go ye away and try to keepyour friends quiet, and I will consider calmly what is best to be donefor the weal of all."
At these words the Earl and Sir Hugh Campbell bowed, and, retiring, wentto the lodging of the Earl of Monteith, where they were minded to passthe night, but when they had consulted with that nobleman, mygrandfather was ordered to provide himself with a fresh horse fromMonteith's stable, and to set out for Edinburgh with letters for theLord James Stuart.
"Gilhaize," said his master, as he delivered them, "I foresee we mustbuckle on our armour; but the cause of the Truth does not require thatthe first blow should come from our side. By this time John Knox, whohas been long expected, may be hourly looked for; and as no man standshigher in the aversion of the papists than that brave, honest man, weshall know by the reception he meets with what we ought to do."
So my grandfather, putting the letters in his bosom, retired from thepresence of the Earl, and by break of day reached the West-port and wentstraight on to the Lord James Stuart's lodging in the Canongate. But,though the household were astir, it was some time before he gotadmittance, for their master was a young man of great method in allthings, and his chaplain was at the time reading the first prayers ofthe morning, during which the doors were shut, and no one, howeverurgent his business, could gain admission into that house while theinmates were doing their homage to the King of kings.