the Popish lords should have any trial, till they should be first warded until the nobles should convene to try them. The King refused to ward them until they were found guilty; knowing, by this time, their innocence; for George Carr had refused what he had before, through fear, confessed against the lords, touching the Spanish blanks. His Majesty was earnest with the ministers that no ex-communication should pass against the lords before their trial; which was refused: whereupon there was a convention of the estates holden by his Majesty at St. Johnstoun, the year 1593, to curb the power of the presbyterial ministers. There it was resolved (to suppress their liberty) the estate of bishops should be erected and restored. Within a few days after, the King went from St. Johnstoun to the abbey of Holyrood house; whither also came secretly the Earls of Huntly, Angus, and Erroll. The next day, the King riding at Lauder to visit Chancellor Maitland (who was then sick) these three earls came to his Majesty on the highway; and there humbling themselves, in few words demanded licence to be tried, which his Majesty granted. But the King thereafter, in respect that he had promised both to the Ambassador of England, and to the ministers at Edinburgh, that he should neither receive them, nor admit them to his presence and favour, till they were tried; he directed the master of Glammis and the lord Lindores unto the ambassador and the ministers, to certify them of their coming to his Majesty on the highway, at such time and place as he looked not for; and, although he had used but some few words unto them, yet he would proceed no further, nor show them any other favour, but according to justice and reason. Then the ministry assembled themselves, by their commissioners at Edinburgh, together with certain barons and bailies of burghs (the King being then at Jedburgh for some affairs of the commonwealth.) They concluded, all in one voice, some articles to be presently demanded of his Majesty; which I omit to relate, as fitting to be supprest.

Whereupon the affairs of the King and of the Church were directly opposite and repugnant to another, the King caused proclamations to be made, commanding all his lieges and subjects to reset and receive the Earls of Angus, Huntly, and Erroll, which should not be imputed unto them as a crime at any time

thereafter; whereby also licence was granted unto them to pass and repass freely in any parts of the country publicly, as best should please them. The ministers, upon the contrary, offered their proclamation in the churches to their parishioners, commanding the people to abhor them, and to refuse their companies in any kind of way, and exhorting all men to be upon their defence, and to arm themselves for expelling of these Earls and their adherents: moreover, the ministry by their solicitations had drawn a great number of people into Edinburgh. Whereupon His Majesty did call a convention of the estates, and caused a proclamation to be made, and published in divers capital towns of the realm, charging all and sundry His Majesty's subjects, of what estate, quality, or degree soever, that none of them should resort or repair to the burgh of Edinburgh, or place of His Majesty's residence, upon whatsoever colour or pretence, during the handling and ordering of these matters in question, except such persons as were appointed and specially written for, or that did crave and obtain His Majesty's licence for their coming. In this commission, which was appointed at Edinburgh for decision of all controversies, there were nominated six earls, six lords, six barons, six burgesses, and six ministers, elected and chosen by His Majesty and his Council; and although the six ministers were well qualified men, and such as the rest of the brethren could justly find no fault withal, yet, because they were not nominated by themselves in general voices, they were afraid to be prejudged in their authority and estate; and, therefore, not only opposed against them, but also subnamed them which were chosen by the King and the Council: therefore the King, with advice of his Council, commanded their names to be blotted out, that no minister thereafter should be nominated in commission, but that they all, or some certain number, by command of the rest, should only be supplicants, if they had anything to crave, and no otherwise; and thus were the ministers themselves the cause that their authority was diminished.

The Commissioners did assemble at Edinburgh, as was appointed, and after some few days' disputation and reasoning, amongst divers other things, they decerned that the three Popish Earls and Achindoun should not from thenceforth be accused

for the crime they were summoned for, founded upon the blanks; but the same to remain abolished and in oblivion, and to be null thereafter; which was proclaimed by edict, at the Market Cross of Edinburgh.

The advertisement of this edict being sent from Edinburgh to the Queen of England by her Ambassador, she sent the Lord South into Scotland, willing the King to remit his lenity towards the Catholic lords, and deal plainly with rigorous justice, as the cause and good reason required. The two Ambassadors of England followed the King from Edinburgh to Stirling, by whose diligence and procurement letters were directed, charging the Roman Catholic Earls to enter their persons in prison, under the pain of treason. There was also a Parliament proclaimed, to be holden the 15th of April next ensuing. In the meantime, great instance was made by the ministers of Scotland and by the Ambassadors of England, that the Roman Catholic lords should be summoned to hear and see the process of forfaulture led against them. In end they do prevail; and direction was given for the same against the Parliament, which was appointed to be in April, 1594. Nevertheless, the Ambassadors of England, and the ministers of Scotland, thinking that the King and his counsellors were more negligent in prosecuting of the Popish lords than was promised or expected; it was secretly devised that the Earl of Bothwell, being an outlaw, should invade Scotland, by the assistance of England, upon two pretences: the first was, that, by the help of the ministers he might banish the Popish lords out of the realm of Scotland, and that the Queen of England should support him with money; which, being known and revealed, did so incense the King against her Ambassador, that a special gentleman of the Lord South's was committed to prison in the Castle of Edinburgh, who confessed that, by the command of the Ambassador, he had spoken with the Earl of Bothwell and with Mr. John Colvill (Bothwell's chief counsellor.) The second pretence was to revenge the Earl of Murray's death against Huntly and his partakers; and to fortify his purpose, the Earls of Argyle and Athole should be ready in arms, attending Bothwell's coming, to join with him against Huntly.

The King, hearing of these two pretences, thought it expedient

with advice of his council, to make a general proclamation that no manner of persons should convocate his lieges in arms, for whatsoever occasion, without his Majesty's licence, under the pain of death. Whereupon Bothwell came to Kelso, and from thence to Leith, the 2nd of April, 1594. The King being advertised of his coming, went to sermon that morning in the High Church of Edinburgh, and there, sermon being ended, he made great instance to the people, that they would assist him to suppress their common enemy Bothwell, and, to animate the Ministry and the people, he promised, in their presence, that he should never lay down arms, till he either suppressed or banished the Popish lords and their adherents; so the King led the people out of Edinburgh towards Leith; and, betwixt Leith and Edinburgh, there was a company selected out of the army, which, under the conduct of the lord Hume and Wemyss Colvill, should invade Bothwell; who, perceiving the King marching out of Edinburgh, with his army, towards Leith; and seeing that the earls of Argyle and Athole had failed him, he retires from Leith, with his company, and takes the way to Musselburgh, and so return into England; but the lord Hume, with his train, overtakes Bothwell beside Duddistone, where, after a little skirmish, the lord Hume was overthrown, and all his people beaten and chased back again to Edinburgh. Bothwell, perceiving that the King was sending more forces against him, retires towards the south borders, and so into England.

The Earl of Bothwell being thus gone, the King returns to Edinburgh, and seeing no other means to satisfy the ministers, and all utterly to suppress Bothwell's rebellion, he condescended to the forfaulture of the Popish lords, being forced to yield to present necessity. A Parliament was holden at Edinburgh the penult day of May, 1594; all and whatsoever petitions then craved by the ministers were assented to by this Parliament, where there were present but only three earls and six lords; by reason whereof things were violently carried by the ministers. The criminal cause of the Popish lords being read and considered by the few number of nobles there present, they would gladly have delayed the determination thereof until a fuller convention of the nobility were assembled; but the ministers and com

missioners of burghs, being the greater number, prevailed; and found the hand-writs by witnesses cognosced; the rest was past over, as proven by presumption; the nobles suspended their voices, because the Popish lords' intentions were not proven judicially; always they were forfaulted and made proscript by plurality of such voices as were there present, and their arms were riven in the justice place, in presence of the Parliament.

These noblemen, being thus forfaulted, the King was also moved to make the Earl of Argyle, his Majesty's lieutenantgeneral in the north of Scotland, to invade the Earls of Huntly and Erroll; whereupon followed the battle of Glenlivat in October, 1594; which happened as I have declared already; and were afterward restored the year of God, 1597.

FINIS.

THE HORIZONTAL MILL AT KIRTOMY, FARR, SUTHERLANDSHIRE.

"DAR ruigeas tu Suardli, cha'n fhada uat Ciurtami”—When you reach Swordly, you are within a short distance of Kirtomy, was an old and common saying in that part of the country, and though I first saw the light in the former, a good deal of my boyish days were passed in the latter, having near relatives therein. Besides, it had attractions for me that my native hamlet was devoid of. It had at that time a large herring-fishing industry, it had also its school and a mill, the former it is fortunate in having retained, but the latter-the last of its kind, probably, on the Mainland of Scotland-has been a ruin now nearly twenty years. True, Swordly also had its mill in remote times, but the "Fuathan" (Furies), having taken umbrage at its miller, razed it to the ground, and it was not rebuilt.* At the time referred to, and for many subsequent years, Kirtomy supplied the most of the millstones used in the North, for the Cairnich, at its east side, produced the best grit I have seen anywhere, but the difficulty in transportation was such that for some time past the demand has

* See Celtic Magazine, Vol. 9, page 207.