was prompted merely by caprice, and the restlessness of his nature, to join in the traitorous correspondence set on foot by Crawford, Errol, and others of the popish lords, with the Spanish court, during the reign of James VI. Upon the discovery of this conspiracy, a short confinement was all that was inflicted on these associates. Immediately upon regaining their liberty, however, they relapsed into rebellion, but, unsupported by their countrymen, with whom James and his ministers were by no means unpopular, they were obliged to disperse, to surrender to the king, and throw themselves on his mercy. They were brought to public trial., Repeated acts of treason were easily proved against them. The king, however, did not permit any sentence to be pronounced; and, after keeping them a few months in confinement, he took occasion, amidst the public festivity and rejoicings at the approach of his marriage, to set them at liberty.

The excessive clemency of James VI. is well known. All the defects in the feudal aristocracy were felt more sensibly during his reign than at any other period in the history of Scotland; and universal license and anarchy prevailed, to a degree scarce consistent with the preservation of society. But, though James connived at real crimes, witchcraft, which is commonly an imaginary one, engrossed his attention, and those suspected of it felt the whole weight of his authority. Many persons, neither extremely old, nor wretchedly poor, which were usually held to be certain indications of this crime, but masters of families, and matrons of a decent rank, and in the middle age of life, were seized and tortured; and though their confessions contained the most absurd and incredible circumstances, the king's prejudices, those of the clergy, and of the people, conspired in believing their extravagancies without hesitation, and in punishing their per

sons without mercy. Some of these unhappy sufferers accused Bothwell of having consulted them, in order to know the time of the king's death, and of having employed their art to raise the storms which had endangered the queen's life, and had detained James so long in Denmark. Upon this evidence that nobleman was committed to prison. His turbulent and haughty spirit could neither submit to the restraint, nor brook such an indignity. Having gained his keepers he made his escape, and imputing the accusation to the artifices of his enemy, the chancellor, assembled his followers, under pretence of driving him from the king's councils. Being favoured by some of the king's attendants, he was admitted by a secret passage, under cloud of night, into the court of the palace of Holyroodhouse. He advanced directly towards the royal apartment, but happily, before he entered, the alarm was taken and the doors shut. While he attempted to burst open some of them, and to set fire to others, the citizens of Edinburgh had time to run to their arms, and he escaped with the utmost difficulty; owing his safety to the darkness of the night, and the precipitancy with which he fled. He retired towards the north, and the king gave a commission to the earl of Huntly to pursue him and his followers with fire and sword; a commission, however, which failed in its effect against Bothwell, being shamefully perverted to the gratification of Huntly's private revenge against another family.

In the parliament of 1593, Bothwell and his adherents were attainted. But he soon made a new attempt to seize the king at Falkland; and James, betrayed by some of his courtiers, and feebly defended by others, who wished well to Bothwell, as the chancellor's avowed enemy, owed his safety to the fidelity and vigilance of Sir Robert Melvil, and to the irresolution of Bothwell's associates.

Queen Elizabeth, with her usual policy in nour, ishing a factious spirit among the Scottish nobles, took Bothwell under her protection, and endeavoured to intercede for him with the king. Buť James absolutely refused to listen to any intercession in favour of one who had so often, and with so much outrage, insulted both his government and his person.

While the terror excited by the popish conspiracy possessed the nation, the court had been divided by two rival factions, which contended for the chief direction of affairs. At the head of one was the chancellor, in whom the king reposed entire confidence. For that vey reason, perhaps, he had fallen early under the queen's displeasure. The duke of Lennox, the earl of Athol, lord Ochiltree, and all the name of Stewart espoused her quarrel, and widened the breach. And James, fond no less of domestic tranquillity than of public peace, advised his favourite to retire for some time, in hopes that the queen's resentment would subside. But as he stood in need, in the present juncture, of the assistance of so able a minister, he had recalled him to court. In order to prevent him from recovering his former power, the Stewarts had recourse to an expedient no less illegal than desperate. Having combined with Bothwell, who was of the same surname, they brought him back secretly into Scotland; and seizing the gates of the palace, introduced him into the royal apartment with a numerous train of armed followers. James, though deserted by all his courtiers, and incapable of resistance, discovered more indignation than fear, and reproaching them for their treachery, called on the earl to finish his treasons, by piercing his sovereign to the heart. But Bothwell fell on his knees, and implored parThe king was not in a condition to refuse his demands. And a few days after he signed a capi

don.

tulation with this successful traitor, to whom he was really a prisoner, whereby he bound himself to grant him a remission for all past offences, and to procure the ratification of it in parliament; and in the mean time, to dismiss the chancellor, the master of Glamis, lord Home, and sir George Home, from his councils and presence. Bothwell, on his part, consented to remove from court, though he left there as many of his associates as he thought sufficient to prevent the return of the adverse faction.

But it was now no easy matter to keep the king under the same kind of bondage to which he had been so often subject during his minority. He discovered so much impatience to shake off his fetters, that those who imposed durst not continue the restraint. They permitted him to call a convention of the nobles at Stirling, and to repair thither himself. All Bothwell's enemies, and all who were desirous of gaining the king's favour by appearing to be so, obeyed the summons. They pronounced the insult offered to the king's person and authority to be high treason, and declared him absolved from any obligation to observe conditions extorted by force, and which violated so essentially his royal prerogative. James, however, still proffered him a pardon, provided he would sue for it as an act of mercy, and promise to retire out of the kingdom. These conditions Bothwell rejected with disdain, and betaking himself once more to arms, attempted to surprise the king, but finding him on his guard, fled to the borders.

Lord Zouche, forgetful of his character as ambassador from queen Elizabeth to the Scottish court, entered into private negotiations with such of the Scottish nobles as disapproved of the king's measures, and held almost an open correspondence with Bothwell, who, according to the usual artifice

of malecontents,' pretended much solicitude for reforming the disorders of the commonwealth; and covered his own ambition with the specious veil of zeal against those counsellors who restrained the king from pursuing the avowed enemies of the protestant faith. Zouche encouraged him, in the name of his mistress, to take arms against his sovereign.

Meanwhile, the king and the clergy were filled with mutual distrust of each other. They were jealous, perhaps to excess, that his affections leaned too much towards the popish faction; he suspected them, without good reason, of prompting Bothwell to rebellion, and even of supplying him with money for that purpose. Little instigation, indeed, was wanting to rouse such a turbulent spirit as Bothwell's to any daring enterprise. He appeared suddenly within a mile of Edinburgh at the head of four hundred horse. The pretences by which he endeavoured to justify this insurrection were extremely popular; zeal for religion, enmity to popery, concern for the king's honour, and for the liberties of the nation. James was totally unprovided for his own defence; he had no infantry, and was accompanied only with a few horsemen of lord Home's train. In this extremity he implored the aid of the citizens of Edinburgh, and, in order to encourage them to act with zeal, he promised to proceed against the popish lords with the utmost rigour of law. Animated by their ministers, they ran cheerfully to their arms, and advanced with the king at their head against Bothwell; but he, notwithstanding his success in putting to flight lord Home, who had rashly charged him with a far inferior number of cavalry, retired to Dalkeith without daring to attack the king. His followers abandoned him soon after, and discouraged by so many successive disappointments, could never afterwards