II. BOOK should be left in Perth, and no French soldier should approach within three miles of that place; and that a parliament should immediately be held, in order to compose whatever difference might til 1 remain k. 1559. May 29. Broken by the The leaders of the Congregation, distrustful of the Queen's sincerity, and sensible that concessions, flowing not from inclination, but extorted by the necessity of her affairs, could not long remain in force, entered into a new association, by which they bound themselves, on the first infringement of the present treaty, or on the least appearance of danger to their religion, to re-assemble their followers, and to take arms in defence of what they deemed the cause of God and of their country1. The Queen, by her conduct, demonstrated these Regent. precautions to be the result of no groundless or unnecessary fear. No sooner were the Protestant forces dismissed, than she broke every article in the treaty. She introduced French troops into Perth, fined some of the inhabitants, banished others, removed the magistrates out of office; and on her retiring to Stirling, she left behind her a garrison of six hundred men, with orders to allow the exercise of no other religion than the Roman Catholic. The situation of Perth, a place at that time of some strength, and a town among the most proper of any in the kingdom for the station of a garrison, seems to have allured the Queen to this unjustifiable and ill-judged breach of public faith; which she endea II. voured to colour by alleging that the body of men B OOK left at Perth was entirely composed of native Scots, though kept in pay by the King of France. The Queen's scheme began gradually to unfold; it was now apparent, that not only the religion but the liberties of the kingdom were threatened; and that the French troops were to be employed as instruments for subduing the Scots, and wreathing the yoke about their necks. Martial as the genius of the Scots then was, the poverty of their country made it impossible to keep their armies long assembled; and even a very small body of regular troops might have proved formidable to the nation, though consisting wholly of soldiers. But what number of French forces were then in Scotland, at what times and under what pretext they returned, after having left the kingdom in one thousand five hundred and fifty, we cannot with any certainty determine. Contemporary historians often select with little judgment the circumstances which they transmit to posterity; and with respect to matters of the greatest curiosity and importance, leave succeeding ages altogether in the dark. We may conjecture, however, from some passages in Buchanan, that the French and Scots in French pay amounted at least to three thousand men, under the command of Monsieur D'Oysel, a creature of the House of Guise; and they were soon augmented to a much more formidable number. The Queen, encouraged by having so considerable a body of well-disciplined troops at her command, and instigated by the violent counsels of D'Oysel, had ventured, as we have observed, to violate the 1559. 1559. testants arms. BOO K treaty of Perth, and, by that rash action, once more II. threw the nation into the most dangerous convulsions. The Earl of Argyll and the Prior of St. AnThe Pro- drew's instantly deserted a court where faith and again take honour seemed to them to be no longer regarded; and joined the leaders of the Congregation, who had retreated to the eastern part of Fife. The barons from the neighbouring counties repaired to them, the preachers roused the people to arms, and whereever they came, the same violent operations which accident had occasioned at Perth, were now encouraged out of policy. The enraged multitude was let loose, and churches and monasteries, the monuments of ecclesiastic pride and luxury, were sacrificed to their zeal. In order to check their career, the Queen, without losing a moment, put her troops in motion; but the zeal of the Congregation got the start once more of her vigilance and activity. In that warlike age, when all men were accustomed to arms, and on the least prospect of danger were ready to run to them, the leaders of the Protestants found no difficulty to raise an army. Though they set out from St. Andrew's with a slender train of an hundred horse, crowds flocked to their standards from every corner of the country through which they marched ; and before they reached Falkland, a village only ten miles distant, they were able to meet the Queen with superior forcem The Queen, surprised at the approach of so formidable a body, which was drawn up by its leaders m Knox, 141. II. 1559. at redress religious in such a manner as added greatly in appearance в O O K to its numbers, had again recourse to negotiation. She found, however, that the preservation of the Protestant religion, their zeal for which had at first roused the leaders of the Congregation to take arms, was not the only object they had now in view. They were animated with the warmest love of civil liberty, which they conceived to be in imminent danger from the attempts of the French forces: and these two passions mingling, added reciprocally to each other's strength. Together with more enlarged no- They aim tions in religion, the Reformation filled the human ing civil as mind with more liberal and generous sentiments well as concerning civil government. The genius of Po- grievances. pery is extremely favourable to the power of Princes. The implicit submission to all her decrees, which is exacted by the Romish church, prepares and breaks the mind for political servitude; and the doctrines of the Reformers, by overturning the established system of superstition, weakened the firmest foundations of civil tyranny. That bold spirit of inquiry, which led men to reject theological errors, accompanied them in other sciences, and discovered every where the same manly zeal for truth. A new study, introduced at the same time, added greater force to the spirit of liberty. Men became more acquainted with the Greek and Roman authors, who described exquisite models of free government, far superior to the inaccurate and oppressive system established by the feudal law; and produced such illustrious examples of public virtue, as wonderfully suited both the circumstances and spirit of that age. Many among the most eminent Reformers were themselves con II. 1559. BO O K siderable masters in ancient learning; and all of them eagerly adopted the maxims and spirit of the ancients, with regard to government". The most ardent love of liberty accompanied the Protestant religion throughout all its progress; and wherever it was embraced, it roused an independent spirit, which rendered men attentive to their privileges as subjects, and jealous of the encroachments of their sovereigns. Knox and the other preachers of the Reformation infused generous sentiments concerning government into the minds of their hearers; and the Scottish barons, naturally free and bold, were prompted to assert their rights with more freedom and boldness than ever. Instead of obeying the Queen Regent, who had enjoined them to lay down their arms, they demanded not only the redress of their religious grievances, but, as a preliminary toward settling the nation, and securing its liberties, required the immediate expulsion of the French troops out of Scotland. It was not in the Queen's power to make so important a concession without the concurrence of the French Monarch; and as some time was requisite in order to obtain that, she n The excessive admiration of ancient policy was the occasion of Knox's famous book concerning the Government of Women, wherein, conformable to the maxims of the ancient legislators, which modern experience has proved to be ill-founded, he pronounces the elevation of women to the supreme authority, to be utterly destructive of good government. His principles, authorities, and examples, were all drawn from ancient writers. The same observation may be made with regard to Buchanan's Dialogue, De Jure Regni apud Scotos. It is founded, not on the maxims of feudal, but of ancient republican government. |
