ter. His widow married, secondly, Alexander Dunbar of Westfield, Sheriff of Murray, while still a minor, and he died in 1646, leaving her again a widow. Brodie occasionally mentions his aged mother, who survived till about 1664.

Joseph Brodie of Aslisk, was the second son of the second David, Laird of Brodie. He settled in Edinburgh, and survived till the close of the year 1681. His family are recorded in the pages of Burke.

David Brodie, the third son, remained unmarried. He was not regular in his mode of life, and latterly became insane. Burke, by mistake, calls him William.

Elizabeth Brodie, the only daughter, was married on the 6th of June, 1634, to Colin Campbell of Arderseer and Calcantrie, second son of Sir John Campbell of Calder. He died in 1642, but left two sons, the eldest of whom, Hugh, on the death of his uncle, in 1654, succeeded to the title and estates, was knighted in 1660, and became the progenitor of the Earls Cawdor.

ALEXANDER BRODIE OF BRODIE, the Author of this Diary, was born the 25th of July, 1617. "I was sent," he says, "into England, in Anno 1628, being little more than ten years old, and returned in Anno 1632, in which my Father of precious memory deceased." Of his early history we have no other particulars, excepting that in the years 1632 and 1633, he was enrolled as a Student in King's College, Aberdeen, but did not take his degree of Master of Arts. On being of age, he was served heir of his father, 19th May, 1636, by dispensation of the Lords of Council; but on the 28th of October, the previous year, he had formed a matrimonial alliance with the relict of John Urquhart of Craigston, tutor of Cromarty, who died 30th March, 1634. This lady to whom he was most devotedly

▸ Cawdor Papers, Spalding Club volume, pp. 285, 300.

attached, was Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Robert Innes of Innes, Bart., by Lady Grizzel Stewart, daughter of James, second Earl of Murray.

The young Laird of Brodie, when twenty-three years of age, had to bewail the loss of his wife, who died 12th of August, 1640, leaving one son and one daughter. Considering his love of domestic society and his natural disposition, as occasionally exhibited in passages of his Diary, it is somewhat singular that he should never have contracted a second marriage. When the great National excitement took place in favour of Presbytery, and the renewal of the National Covenant, in 1638, his youth, and retired habits, probably restrained him from any marked zeal on the occasion. It was not, at least, until after his sad bereavement, perhaps in consequence of it, that he began to take any share in public matters. One of his earliest acts bears testimony to his religious enthusiasm against what he deemed to be superstition. As antiquaries we cannot but regret such proceedings. On Thursday, the 28th of December, 1640, a party consisting of Brodie, his brother-in-law the young Laird of Innes, and others, along with the Minister of Elgin, came to the grand old cathedral of Elgin, and demolished two oil paintings of the Crucifixion and Day of Judgment, and also the fine carved work inside of the church, as unsuitable for a place of worship.

Spalding in his History of the Troubles, waxes eloquent in his denunciation of this act of barbarity, and the passage may be quoted:

1640.

MONONDAY, 28th December, Mr. Gilbert Ross, minister at Elgyne, accomThe parti- paneit with the young laird Innes, the laird Broddy, and sum vtheris, and tioun tymber but auchtoritie brak doun the tymber partitioun wall divyding the kirk of College kirk Elgin fra the queir, quhilk had stand sen the Reformatioun, nar sevin scoir of Elgin dung doun. yeires or aboue. On the wast syde wes painted in excellent cullouris,

wall of the

illuminat with starris of bright gold, the crucefixing of our blessed A excellent Saviour Jesus Christ. This peice wes so excellentlie done, that the culpeice, inlouris nor starris never faidit nor evanishit, bot keipit haill and sound, as duirit long thay were at the begining, notwithstanding this Colledge or channonrie kirk wantit the rooff sen the Reformation, and no haill wyndo thairintill to saif the same from storme, snaw, sleit, or weit, quhilk myself saw, and merb

tyme.

The Minister

tymber. The

vallous to consider.

On the vther syde of this wall, towardis the eist, wes

drawn the day of judjment. Alwayes all is throwne doun to the ground. It was said this minister causit bring hame to his hous the tymber burnis the thairof, and burne for serving his keching and vther uses; bot ilk nicht the fyre gois out fyre went out that it wes brunt, and could not be haldin in to kyndle the on the night. morning fyre as vse is; whairat the servandis and vtheris mervallit, and He forbearis thairvpone the Minister left of and forboor to bring in or burne ony more to byrn ony of that tymber in his hous. This wes markit, spred throwe Elgyne, ness without and crediblie reportit to myself. A boldness, but warrand of the King, auchtoritie to to distroy churches; yet is done at command of the Assemblie, as wes demolish kirkis. said.a

moir. A bold

A few years later, Brodie and his friends suffered retaliation for this sacrilege, during the depredations of Montrose's followers; when, as Spalding words it, Montrose in his return from Inverness, in February, 1645, comes down throu Morray, chargis his rebell subjects, with fire and sword, while utheris were plunderit, and their housis brynt." Among the houses and lands which suffered in these depredations, he goes on to say:

66

The place of Grangehill, pertening to Niniane Dunbar; the place of Broddie, pertening to the Laird of Broddy; the place of Cowbin, pertening to Kynaird ; the place of Innes, pertening to the Laird of Innes, and Reidhall, all brunt and plunderit. The landis of Burgie, Lethein, Duffus, plunderit bot not brunt, Garmoche plunderit bot not fyrit. Thair salmound cobillis and nettis cuttit and hewin doun, quhairby the water of Spey culd not be well fishit. Thus, as Montroiss merchit, he sent out pairteis throw the countrie with fyre and plundering.

According to Shaw, it was on this occasion that the old family papers in Brodie House were destroyed, or carried of.

Among the Brodie manuscripts, as already noticed, there are four volumes of Short-hand notes of Sermons. The dates appear to be between the years 1642 and 1654. A list of the ministers who preached may not be without interest to some readers. In looking over this list, we could have wished, as specimens of the style of discourses of such men, that some of the Sermons had been written in a legible form; but Brodie's

Spalding Club edit., vol. i. p. 376.

Hist. of Moray, p. 105.

b

Spalding Club edit. vol. ii. p. 447.

notes, for want of decyphering, are not available for any useful purpose. This practice of writing the heads of Sermons was very common, and Brodie, having acquired a facility in this short-hand mode of writing, he was enabled to carry on his Diary in subsequent years with the greater ease, but rendering his note-books so perplexing to a transcriber at the present day.

The first volume of these short-hand notes of Sermons was apparently written in 1642 or 1643, or in both these years. It has prefixed to the first sermon "25 June," the year not given, but perhaps 1642. In this volume the month is rarely prefixed to the sermons, and only in one instance the year, namely, to the 75th, a sermon preached by Mr. William Falconer, which has the date 3rd September, 1643. The sermons or lectures in this volume, according to a list on the last page, were delivered by the following ministers, but the earlier part of the volume is not preserved:

Another of these volumes begins with notes of a sermon by Mr. John

Brodie, preached 25th May, 1645, and extends over the years 1646 and

1647, ending with notes of a sermon preached 30th January, 1648. This volume consists of notes of sermons preached chiefly by Mr. John Brodie, Mr. Joseph Brodie, Mr. J. Annand, and Mr. William Falconer.

A third volume begins with a lecture delivered by Mr. David Dickson, 15th November, 1646; and it extends over the following year. It consists of notes of sermons, as in the index, preached by the following ministers: —

An additional volume consists of short-hand notes of Sermons which he heard in Holland in 1650, and in Edinburgh that year, before he went the second time to Holland, and after his return. It also embraces notes of Sermons which he heard in the years 1652, 1653, and 1654. The Sermons he heard in Holland were preached by Messrs. John Livingston, James Wood, and George Hutcheson, his fellow-commissioners. One of them is dated Camphyr, March 1 1650; another, Breda, April 1650. Other

Sermons in the volume were preached by Mr. Robert Laurie, Hugh M'Kail, Alexander Law, Mr. Annand, Mr. Adair, Mr. Rue [Row], and Mr. Robert Douglas.

There are some other volumes containing notes of Sermons in long-hand,