love of liberty and of truth-and hence the earnestness with which they struggled for a pure church, and a free constitution.

Far be it from us to estimate the religious life of a people by their position in the arena of conflict. Men may burn with zeal in maintaining a certain creed, or in contending for some definite form of ecclesiastical polity, who are utterly destitute of the truth of God. In such controversies there is as little of the essence or life of religion, as in the subtleties of the schoolmen when they attempted to resolve how many angels could dance on the point of a needle. We look for an inward life and power, and in the absence of such life and power, neither the clergy nor the laity could have carried on such a manly resistance to the superstitions and encroachments of the Roman See, nor to the later attempts of James to substitute episcopal rites and ceremonies for the simpler and more spiritual worship of the presbyterian church. genius of Christianity is the genius of freedom, and in the degree in which its doctrines obtain among men, or diffuse themselves over the face of humanity, must liberty insure a wider and a mightier triumph, and every institution—whether civil or ecclesiastical-take on a higher and a purer vitality.

The

But what was the influence of this Christianity on the individual character? To say that the Scots were a nation of believers, would be absurd. Though the reformation raised religion from the tomb of decay, and brought it forth with renovated life and spirit, and though its claims were pressed home with an earnestness and a warmth corresponding to their magnitude and their importance, it was far from being universally felt and realised. The people, as a body, were ignorant of an interior spiritual life. This was the blessedness of the few; but those few acted like so much leaven on the mass, and the great process of regeneration was discernible in that new and higher vitality which began to manifest itself among all classes. In thousands of hearts, religion was not a thing believed simply, but a thing felt. It acted with all the energy of a spiritual force, and that force was such as to qualify its possessor for deeds of daring and of glory. Christianity is the religion of heroism. It teaches men to add to their faith, fortitude. And there are periods of conflict which challenge all the fortitude and all the heroism that we can exhibit. Scotland became the battle-field of severe ecclesiastical contest; and it was well that her people had been prepared for the strife by the teachings of a reformed ministry, and the example of those illustrious men who had preceded them-martyrs, confessors, and saints-who had poured out their souls unto death, The hour of contest came; and, bracing up their souls for action, they nobly stood, and nobly struggled, and nobly triumphed. The note of victory was echoed throughout Christendom, and Christendom became more free with Scotland's freedom.

SECTION IIJ.-ATTEMPT AT ECCLESIASTICAL CONFORMITY.

Not only did every political party, out of regard to its own particular interests, hail the accession of James to the throne of England, but every religious body cherished its own expectations. "The puritans, who had experienced his friendly intercession with Elizabeth, anticipated a reformation in the church, if not the downfal and destruction of the hierarchy, from a prince whose professed religion was congenial to their own. The established clergy had examined his character with more anxious attention, and discovered, both in his conduct and in his controversial discourses, a strong predilection for the episcopal order. The catholics, then a numerous and powerful party, expected greater indulgence in their religion, and entertained a persuasion that its doctrines and its votaries were secretly not indifferent to a monarch the pretensions of whose family they had first supported, and whose mother they regarded as a martyr to their cause." To the protestant episcopal church of England, which Elizabeth left as the church established by law, James at once gave in his adhesion. He began to preach the divine right of kings; and, instead of the rude attacks of the Scottish presbyters, he was lauded by the prelates as a man who spoke by the inspiration of God, and was recognised as head of the church not less than head of the state. This gratified his vanity, and he was prepared to stretch the power thus conceded to him to its utmost limit. Henry the Eighth had transferred the authority and the patronage enjoyed by the pope to himself; nor was James disposed to give back either the one or the other. He loved power; but the presbyterian church, being formed on the model of the purest republican simplicity, with a ministry among whose ranks there was no superiority but what arose out of superior talents, or higher moral worth, over a body so constituted he could have but little influence. "It cannot be denied that the leaders of the presbyterian clergy, showed the utmost skill and courage in the defence of the immunities of their church. They were endeared to the people by the purity of their lives, by the depth of learning possessed by some, and the powerful talents exhibited by others; above all, perhaps, by the willingness with which they submitted to deprivation of office, accompanied by poverty, penalties, and banishment, rather than betray the cause which they considered as sacred." But his majesty deemed the spirit of presbyterianism as inimical to a monarchical government, and he was resolved that the crown should possess some preponderating influence in the councils and determinations of the presbyterian establishment.

James having claimed the exclusive right of convoking the general assembly, three years elapsed without its being called together. This awakened the suspicions and the fears of the clergy, and despite a prohibition from the privy council, delegates from nine presbyteries met in the city of Aberdeen, and summoned an assembly for that same year. Such a convocation was, by proclamation, declared unlawful, and the opportunity was taken to punish these refractory proceedings. Two of the most popular preachers were tried for

[A.D. 1603-1625. treason, and convicted, and after a protracted imprisonment, were condemned to a perpetual exile. Others shared the same fate. Even the famous Andrew Melville was committed to the old dark Tower of London, and afterwards died an exile at Sedan. Intercession was made on behalf of these banished and afflicted ones, by their brethren in the ministry, but in vain. Nor could the most emphatic expression of popular feeling effect any change in these arbitrary proceedings. An ecclesiastical convocation was held at Linlithgow, the members of which were nominated by the bishops, as favourable to the new scheme. This assembly had the sanction of his majesty, and aimed in their proceedings, to forward his views. The equality of the clergy was repudiated, the episcopal office was declared to be a divine institution, and the bishops were appointed the moderators of the respective presbyteries within whose bounds they resided, as well as permanent moderators of the provincial synods. Bribes were employed to silence the more clamorous, and a conference proposed to meet the scruples of the more conscientious. The conference resolved itself into angry altercation, and ended in punishing the dissentients with imprisonment and exile. James was resolved to carry his point. Not only did he labour for the introduction of episcopacy, but united, in the person of the archbishop of Glasgow, the clerical and judicial functions, by creating him a lord of the session in extraordinary. Two courts of high commission were instituted— one at St. Andrew's, and the other at Glasgow, and were invested with such irresponsible powers and prerogatives, that all schools and colleges were subject to their visitation, all orders of the people under their control, and from their sentence there was no appeal. Their influence over the clergy was unlimited and irresistible. They blended the highest spiritual authority with the first temporal dignity. One thing only was wanting to complete the supremacy of the prelates, and that was-CONSECRATION. For this purpose, three of their number were summoned to London, to be inaugurated into their office by the episcopal bench of England, and thus be qualified to transmit the virtue by which alone the orders of the clergy could be regarded as valid, or their ministrations as either legitimate or efficacious. The figment of apostolical succession was thus made a sine qua non to ministerial status, and hence the presbyterian brethren were virtually declared to occupy no higher ground than that of simple laymen, and their church pronounced to be without priest or sacrament-without life or being. After fourteen years' absence from Scotland, through indifference or poverty, James now prepared to visit his native country, to whose interests he continued sincerely attached. His chief object was, if possible, to introduce those changes in the ecclesiastical system which would bring the Scottish church into a closer correspondence with the English. There was nothing on which he was more intent than the establishment of episcopacy in Scotland. On his arrival, "he was received with every appearance of affection by his Scottish subjects; and the only occasion of suspicion, doubt or quarrel, betwixt the king and them, arose from the partiality evinced to the form and ritual of the Church of England. The true presbyterians groaned heavily at seeing cho

risters and singing-boys arrayed in white surplices, and at hearing them chant the service of the church of England; and they were in despair when they saw his majesty's private chapel adorned with pictures representing scriptural subjects." To the graver presbyterian, instrumental music in the worship of the sanctuary was grating to the ear; sculpture and painting, which were employed to adorn the churches, were instruments of idolatry; the surplice was a rag of popery; and every motion or gesture prescribed by the liturgy was a step towards that mystic Babylon which is doomed of Heaven. Though James found it impossible to establish a conformity of worship and discipline, between the churches of England and Scotland, yet with the consent of parliament, he named thirteen bishops, and in an assembly of that body held at Perth in 1618, it was ordained that the communion should be received in a kneeling posture; that in extreme cases, the communion and baptism might be administered in private; that all the youth should be confirmed; and that Christmas, Good Friday, Easter, and Pentecost, should be carefully observed. But vain was his endeavour to lift the civil above the ecclesiastical or spiritual jurisdiction. Disavowing his supremacy, some of the clergy were thrown into prison; others were condemned for high treason, and though their lives were spared, they were banished the kingdom. Having, in his progress to Scotland, observed that a judaical observance of the Sabbath was every day gaining ground throughout the kingdom, he issued a proclamation, allowing after divine service, all kinds of lawful games and exercises from his "Book of Sports," which he directed the bishops to have read in their churches, and the reading of which so shocked the popular feeling as to produce the most violent revulsion. The people looked upon all this as a return to popery, and entered their most solemn protest. A few of the clergy yielded, but the majority withstood. It brought James into disfavour, but his son Charles proceeding in the same direction, lost both his throne and his life.

SECTION IV.-OBSTRUCTIVE AND COUNTERACTING AGENCIES.

Though James was welcomed to his new possessions with every outward demonstration of joy, there was but little love between the Anglican and the Scot. To the English his majesty was a foreigner, and among them his mother had suffered an ignominious death. Nor can we doubt that "his peaceful and undisturbed accession must be ascribed to the absence of every competitor, by whom his title could be contested, or the affections of the people preoccupied or divided.” From comparative poverty, he came to almost unbounded wealth. In the midst of magnificence and luxury, he grew prodigal, listless, indolent, and gave himself up to idle and childish amusements. He drew around him unworthy favourites, and yielding to their influence, was often hurried into measures which proved fatal to his interest and his family. The Scots, delighted with the elevation of their prince, resorted in numbers to the English capital, in the hope of sharing in his favour and patronage. With this, James himself

was offended, and it gave still greater offence to the English. National animosity betrayed itself in every scene and circle of life. The slightest injury was converted into a ground of quarrel. So high did the feeling run, that when a Scottish gentleman of the name of Ramsay, and one of the court, happened at a public horse-race, and in the strife of a mutual quarrel, to strike an Englishman of high birth with his cane or whip, it was seriously proposed that the English should avenge the deed on the spot, by an immediate attack upon the Scots, and having made a breakfast of those, they should dine on the rest in London. Numerous little incidents of this kind, threatened the destruction of all the Scots at the court of James, and tended not only to keep the two nations apart, but fearfully to widen the chasm which had for so many centuries kept them separate.

The removal of the court from Edinburgh to London, was most injurious to the interests of Scotland. While the tide of population was flowing in with increasing force and rapidity, the internal resources of the country were diminished and circumscribed. The consequence was, that thousands of her brave children enlisted in foreign military service. They were dispersed as soldiers through all Europe, and according to the power under which they served, were often found in the unseemly attitude of lifting arms against each other. Beside the thousands who chose the game of war, there were thousands more who took up the toilsome and precarious employment of travelling merchants, and who in conducting their petty commerce, supplied the north of Europe with almost every article of domestic convenience. With the spirit of enterprise abroad, came the returning flow of prosperity at home. Industry was promoted, and peace sat enthroned. Nor would the reign of peace have been otherwise than happy, had not James, by forcing on measures for which the Scots were not prepared, disturbed the growing tranquillity of his northern dominions. We blame him not for his more rigid administration of the law-for his severer punishment of refractory lords and men of rank-for his sterner distribution of justice among the borderers and mountaineers, but for his attempt to subjugate every power and every influence to his own supreme authority. Because he found the English nobles, and even the commons' house of parliament, as submissive as slaves, he dreamed that he could bring into the same subjection, the feudal nobility of Scotland, who up to that moment, had retained their territorial jurisdiction, and their seignorial privileges, and were men enough to resist the arbitrary will of any prince. Having by his accession to the English throne put a happy end to those hostilities and wars which had hitherto disfigured the annals of both nations; and having reduced the whole island under one government, he now hoped that there might be a complete union of laws and institutions. A commission of eighty-thirty-six of whom were nominated by the Scottish parliament, and forty-four by the English-was appointed to deliberate concerning the terms of union. The English commons demanded as a preliminary step, that the whole system of English law should be at once extended to Scotland—a proposal which the Scots rejected with disdain, silently avowing that nothing but the force of arms