instead of the numberless ruinous wars which had hitherto taken place. Henry desisted from his demand that Mary should be educated in England till she became of age, and was satisfied that hostages should be given for the conclusion of the marriage. Accordingly on the 25th of August, 1543, a treaty was concluded, in which the rights and wishes of Scotland were properly secured, and the execution of which would probably have given a very different turn to the fate of the Sovereigns and of their people. But Beatoun, in concert with all the adherents of France, and of the Catholic religion, declared against it, stirred up the old aversion of the Scotch to England, and represented the actual tyranny of Henry, and the future inevitable slavery of Scotland, in such frightful colours, that the fickle Earl of Arran, eight days after the signing of the treaty, renounced it, declared for France, and sacrificed the Protestants. To revenge this breach of faith, an English army, under the command of the Earl of Hertford, entered Scotland, in May, 1544, and advanced to Edinburgh; but the horrible ravages which it committed only increased the hatred of the Scotch, and, through the mediation of France, a peace was concluded, by which England did not gain any important advantages.

All these circumstances diminished the authority and influence of the Earl of Arran, whereas Beatoun boasted of his pretended services to the State

and Church, and cruelly persecuted the reformers. On the 1st of March, 1546, chiefly through his influence, one of the most popular of the reformed Clergy, of the name of Wishart, was barbarously burnt; (8) a measure which appears as unwise as it was unjust, because all law was trampled under foot in his trial, and if this worthy and mildtempered man had lived longer, the Scotch reformation would probably not have assumed such a harsh and gloomy character. While over-zealous Catholics highly extolled the courage and conduct of Beatoun, some individuals conspired against him, partly out of personal enmity, and partly because they looked upon him as an obstinate enemy of Christ and his word. On the 29th of May, 1546, he was murdered by them in the castle of St. Andrew's. This event increased the influence of the Queen, and though the Duke of Somerset, who, since the death of Henry VIII. had governed England for his nephew, Edward VI., totally defeated the Scotch, at Pinkey, on the 10th of September, 1547, he was prevented by disturbances at home from prosecuting his victory, and · the French influence increased so much in Scotland, that, in August, 1548, the Queen sent her daughter, then six years of age, to France, to be educated in a Convent; the Scotch Parliament having decided, on the 7th of July preceding, that Mary should marry Francis, the Dauphin.

By the mediation of Henry II. of France, a new treaty was concluded with England on the 24th of May, 1550; and, on the 12th of April, 1554, the Earl of Arran gave up the Regency to the Queen Mother, partly induced by his natural love of ease, and fear of a future reckoning; partly because the Duchy of Chatellerault, and an annual revenue of 12,000 livres were secured to him. Thus a woman and a foreigner, was now at the head of a nation which had hardly ever obeyed its own Kings. Mary Guise, however, possessed qualities which, in ordinary times, might ensure a happy government. She was temperate, sensible, fond of justice, without austerity, and religious without false zeal. Difficulties of various kinds at home, and above all the influence of her brothers, Duke Francis and the Cardinal of Lorraine, which had very fatal consequences in Scotland as well as in France, soon troubled the happy prospects which had been excited by the peace, and the new consolidation of the Regency. The Protestants had assisted the Queen Dowager in attaining the latter, in the hope that she would grant them greater favours; but she had scarcely gained her object, when she endeavoured to effect a reconciliation with the Catholic Clergy, her old friends, and, for the moment, her adversaries. But when this plan, which was in itself judicious, had succeeded, instead of impartially governing all, she gave

several great offices of state to Frenchmen, and in 1556 proposed the introduction of a general tax, for the purpose of maintaining a standing army, and of making war upon England, which was at that time at enmity with France. She received a unanimous answer, "That mercenaries never shewed true fidelity and attachment, that perpetual taxes and standing armies were only instruments of tyranny, and that they were resolved to maintain the institutions of their ancestors."

This rejection of so important a proposal was the first blow to the authority of Mary, and the Protestants, who were now again oppressed, concluded on the 3d of December, 1557, a covenant, by which they engaged to employ all their efforts and resources, even with the sacrifice of their lives, in order to promote the true word of God, and to extirpate the satanical idolatry of the Papists. The latter considered this covenant, and every demand of their adversaries, as absolutely illegal and impious; and, in fact, after such a declaration of war, it was not easy to negociate, and concessions must increase their zeal and pretensions, as much as the persecutions and executions which now took place, at the instigation of the Guises and the Archbishop of St. Andrew's. In the year 1558 the Protestants presented to the Queen a detailed memorial, demanding the performance of divine service in the language of the country; permission to read the

Bible; the Communion in both kinds; the correction or deposition of unworthy priests; elections by the congregations; tribunals for the trial of heretics, solely according to the directions of the Bible, and filled with temporal judges, &c. The Queen gave the Petitioners hopes of a satisfactory answer, but first of all, which was not unreasonable, submitted their petition to the Clergy, to examine and give their opinion on it. (9) The latter observed, in the first place, "That in the years 1549 and 1550, very salutary resolutions had been adopted in several general assemblies of the Scotch Church, which, however, had not satisfied the Protestants in themselves, and also because those who were the cause of the evils, were the persons appointed to execute the resolutions." Instead of granting any thing new, the Clergy rejected all these demands, and no religious conference took place, because the Roman Catholics wanted to decide everything according to the Canon law, and the decisions of the General Councils. The Protestants now resolved to apply to Parliament, but foreseeing that the Queen would not confirm any thing favourable to them, their memorial contained rather general complaints than special proposals. However, a declaration was annexed to it, that as all their endeavours to obtain some equitable concessions from the government had been in vain, they must obey their conscience, and did not consider