cution, formed a conspiracy against the cardinal; and having associated to them Norman Lesly, who was disgusted on account of some private quarrel, they found means to enter his palace, which had been strongly fortified, and having excluded his servants and dependants, they shut the gates. The cardinal had been alarmed with the noise which he heard in the castle, and had barricadoed the door of his chamber; but finding that they had brought fire in order to force their way, and having obtained, as is believed, a promise of life, he opened the door. Two of the assassins rushed upon him with drawn swords; but a third, James Melvil, more calm and more considerate in villainy, stopped their career, and bade them reflect that this work was the work and judgment of God, and ought to be executed with becoming deliberation and gravity. Then turning the point of his sword toward Beaton, he called to him, "Repent thee, thou wicked cardinal, of all thy sins and iniquities, especially of the murder of Wishart, that instrument of God for the conversion of these lands; it is his death which now cries vengeance upon thee: we are sent by God to inflict the deserved punishment. For here, before the Almighty, I protest, that it is neither hatred of thy person, nor love of thy riches, nor fear of thy power, which moves me to seek thy death; but only because thou hast been, and still remainest, an obstinate enemy to Christ Jesus, and his holy gospel." Having spoken these words, without giving Beaton time to reply, he thrust him through the body; and the cardinal fell dead at his feet. The assassins, being reinforced by their friends, to the number of one hundred and forty persons, prepared themselves the defence of the castle, and sent a messenger to London, craving assistance from Henry, who was then alive. That prince, though Scotland was comprehended in his peace with France, would not forego the opportunity of disturbing the government of a rival kingdom; and he promised to take them under his protection.

To fulfil this promise, and to execute the project which the late king had recommended with his dying breath, the protector invaded Scotland with an army of eighteen thousand men. He passed the borders at Berwick, and advanced towards Edinburgh; where about four miles from that city, on the banks of the Eske, he beheld the Scots, amounting to double the num ber of his own army, advantageously posted. Having reconnoitered their camp, he found it difficult to make an attempt upon it with any probability of success; he wrote therefore to Arran, and offered to evacuate the kingdom, provided the Scots would stipulate not to contract the queen to any foreign prince, but to detain her at home till she reached the age of choosing a husband for herself. This demand was rejected by the Scots, who, inflamed by their priests, quitted their camp, passed the river, and advanced into the plain, in hopes of cutting off the retreat of the English.

Somerset, pleased to behold.this movement of the Scottish army, immediately formed his own in order of battle. The Scots were broken on every side, and pursued to Edinburgh, with the loss of about ten thousand slain, and fifteen hundred prisoners; while on the side of the English, not more than two hundred fell. This action was called the battle of Pinkey, from a nobleman's seat of that name in the neighbourhood.

The queen-dowager and Arran fled to Stirling, and were scarcely able to collect such a body of forces as could check the incursions of small parties of the English. About the same time the earl of Lenox and lord Wharton entered the west marches, at the head of five thousand men, and after taking and plundering Annan, they spread devastation over all the neighbouring counties. Had Somerset prosecuted his advantages, he might have imposed what terms he pleased on the Scottish nation; but he was impatient to return to England, where he heard some counsellors, and even his own brother the admiral, were carrying on cabals against his authority. Arran now desired leave to send commissioners in order to treat of a peace; and Somerset, having appointed Berwick for the place of conference, left Warwick with full powers to negociate. But no commissioners from Scotland ever appeared; and it was evident that the overture of the Seots was an artifice to gain time, till succours should arrive from France.

The protector on his arrival in England summoned a parliament, in which all laws were reA. D. pealed which extended the crime of 1548. treason beyond the statute of the twenty

fifth of Edward III. all laws enacted during the late reign extending the crime of felony; and all the former laws against Lollardy or heresy, together with the statute of the six articles. By these and other repeals of little less consequence, some dawn, both of civil and religious liberty, began to appear to the people. Heresy, however, was still a capital crime by the common law, and was subjected to the penalty of burning. Only there remained no precise standard by which that crime could be defined or determined: a circumstance which might either be advantageous or hurtful to public security, according to the disposition of the judges.

The convocation met at the same time with the parliament; and the lower house applied to have the liberty of sitting with the commons. This demand was however rejected: and the protector, though he had assented to the repeal of that law, which gave to the king's proclamations the authority of statutes, did not hesitate to issue proclamations in some particulars which were considered as momentous. An order of council was promulgated for the removal of images from the churches; and, as private masses were abolished by law, it became necessary to compose a new communion-service, which was accordingly produced, and sanctioned by authority.

The greater the progress that was made towards a reformation in England, the farther did the protector find himself from all prospect of completing the union with Scotland; and the queen-dowager, as well as the clergy, became the more averse to all alliance with a nation, which had so far departed from ancient principles. Somerset, having taken the town of Haddington, had ordered it to be strongly garrisoned and fortified by lord Grey; he also erected some fortifications at Lauder: and he hoped that these two places, together with Broughty, which were in the hands of the English, would serve as a curb on Scotland, and give him access into the heart of the country.

Arran being disappointed in some attempts on Broughty, relied chiefly on the succours expected from France for the recovery of these places; and these at last arrived in the Frith to the number of six thousand men, commanded by Dessé. The Scots were at that time so sunk by their misfortunes, that five hundred English horse were able to ravage the whole country without resistance; but on the appearance of the French succours, they assumed more courage; and having joined Dessé with a considerable reinforcement, they laid siege to Haddington. After some vain attempts to take the place by a regular siege, the blockade was formed; but at last they were compelled to retire from before the place.

The hostile attempts which the late king and the protector had made against Scotland, had inspired the nation with the utmost aversion to an union. The queen-dowager finding these sentiments prevail, had proposed that the young queen should be sent to France; the earl of Arran was persuaded to second her intentions by the title of duke of Chatelrault, and a pension of twelve thousand livres; and Mary embarking on board some French vessels, arrived at Brest, whence she was conducted to Paris, and betrothed to the dauphin.

After the relief of Haddington, Shrewsbury, the English commander, returned; and the mortification which Somerset felt from the affairs of Scotland, was increased by the intrigues of his own family. His brother, lord Seymour, a man of insatiable ambition, by his flattery and