"He resisted the ambition of Henry VIII., carrying on the policy of Bishop Kennedy, and of Lamber

"Grete quantite of insight brought awaye, over and besydes a grete quantite of corne and insight and a greate nombre of all sortes of catail burned in the townes and howss, and is not numbred in the lettres, and menye menne also hurt.”

was

The last phases of this warfare were the most horrible. The atrocities alleged against Wallace at Hexham, and the butchery with which Edward I. signalised the sack of Berwick, stand out distinct from the general character of the war of independence, which generally conducted on fair lines, often modified by quixotic chivalry. But, as we approach the close of the long strife between the nations, a new and sinister glare floods the scene, shed from the balefires of religious controversy. It is difficult to treat dispassionately, even at this day, of the behaviour of Catholics and Protestants to each other; and one becomes conscious of more gall in Mr Lang's ink as he writes the last chapter of the volume-The Tragedy of the Cardinal. His sympathies are manifestly with the old faith; those of most of his Scottish readers will be with the new it is here, therefore, that offence, if offence there be, is most likely to be found. The author would have carried more persons with him had Cardinal Beaton presented a worthier

who backed Wallace and Bruce in the War of Independence. His motives, of course, were no more purely sentimental than those of Bishop Kennedy or other politicians. Beaton was a great ecclesiastic of the Renaissance : he may have been as sceptical as many of his peers. In fighting for the Church and against England he was fighting for his own hand, for wealth and power-his own and that of the clergy. . . . Against him were Henry; the wealth and arms of Engthe utterly unscrupulous ambition of land; the hired partisans of England among the nobles, and the rapid spread of the new ideas. In resisting all these he displayed unrivalled tenacity, great political courage (though his personal bravery has been impeached), with much craft and subtlety, it is to be feared with entire ruthlessness, and with unwearying resolution. Beaton was no saint; he lived in open relations with Marioun or Mariot Ogilvy (a lady of the House of Airlie), by whom he had a family. His wealth was unapostolic. He rarely appears as learning the times were too confused. He put into force the laws of the land against heresy, just as More did, and as Henry himself was doing, though in some respects with less ecclesiastical statesman of the time, cruelty. In brief, he was a great but to call him (as some do) ‘the infamous Beaton' is to show a lack of the historical sense, and blindness to historical perspective."

a patron of

We remain unconvinced. Laying aside his conventional attributes as a "great ecclesiastical statesman," what epithet more precisely fits that dignitary of the Church who, living in cynically flagrant sin himself, burnt humble heretics wholesale (he hired fifty-four cart-horses in one day to con

AT the time of the outbreak of the Indian Mutiny my brother and I were engaged in business as indigo-planters and merchants in Fatehgarh. We occupied a bungalow together in the civil station on the banks of the river Ganges, where we led a happy life amid a wide circle of friends residing in Fatehgarh and the surrounding district. Indigo in those days was a prosperous manufacture, and the life of the merchant lay in pleasant places. The Germans had not then invented aniline to supplant it and wipe the "true blue" out of existence. The old race of planters, whose prestige stood high with the natives, and whose verbal promise was as good as a bond, is fast disappearing, and the link that held them in touch with the rulers and the people will soon be a matter of tradition. To return, however, to the past. Whilst living in profound peace, happy in our Indian home, strange rumours reached our ears, disquieting, yet discredited. Presently we were startled by news of mutinous regiments, and before we could realise what that meant reports of outbreaks poured in in quick succession, together with alarming accounts of murders and massacres. The whole country seemed perturbed, and

garrisoned the station and fort. Evidence confirmatory of these rumours accumulated daily, spreading consternation and dismay among the residents; and meetings were held hurriedly to concert measures for the protection of the ladies and children, and to take steps for the defence of the station.

The awkwardness of the situation, however, however, rendered unanimity impossible, and paralysed the counsels of the authorities. The military officers, in spite of evidence and the trend of passing events, refused to believe that their sepoys were disloyal, and declined to do anything that might savour of distrust. Under the circumstances, the civil authorities were unable to take the initiative, and they refused to abandon the station as long as the sepoys were held together. It was their plain duty to stick to their posts, though convinced of the insecurity of their position. It was a most painful dilemma, and the lives of something like 300 Europeans hung upon prompt action. The roads to Cawnpore and Agra were still open, and escape was still possible for the majority if measures were instantly adopted for their removal. The unofficial residents, fully alive to the emergency, resolved upon taking the matter into their own hands. They decided to secure boats for themselves and their families,

2 s

and to hold them in readiness to quit the station at a moment's notice and to pull down to Cawnpore, which, equipped as it was with a strong European garrison and easy of access under any circumstances, we never doubted for an instant would be safe. The civil authorities and others unconnected with the regiment joined in the scheme, and the great body of planters, merchants, and missionaries lost no time in providing the boats, which, it was arranged, should be moored under the magistrate's bungalow, ready to cast off at a given signal. We all slept either on the boats or in the houses of friends in their vicinity. Our lives during the period of suspense and waiting were anything but enviable. The heat was awful, and every hour was rendered terrible by alarms by day, while by night the bazaarmen shouted and discharged firearms to keep off marauders, and the dogs howled in sympathy, making night hideous and chasing away rest. We were painfully distracted, and in every mind the wish was uppermost that the crisis might come and relieve us of the intolerable tension of inaction and suspense.

I think it was on the 3rd of June that the news arrived of the mutiny of the 9th Native Infantry at Aligarh, a neigh

It was re

bouring station. ported that the mutineers were marching on Fatehgarh, from which they were then a day's march distant. The effect of this rumour was electrical. The residents hurried to the boats, there to await eventualities and the signal that was to sever them from their cherished homes. The conduct of the 10th on that occasion was as exemplary as it was unexpected. They obeyed the orders of their commandant cheerfully, and showed no indication of a disposition to fraternise with the 9th. The spy with letters from the mutineers was given up to the colonel, whose orders to barricade and defend the roads. were carried out with alacrity. Every preparation was made to give the invaders a warm reception; but whether the station would have stood the test of actual attack is problematical. The immediate effect, however, was satisfactory, as the wouldbe invaders, getting wind of the doings at Fatehgarh, prudently turned their faces in the direction of Delhi. I may here mention that the 10th, having served in Burmah, whither they were conveyed in ships, and having thus crossed the "black waters,' were looked upon as outcasts, and regarded with suspicion and distrust. This fact no doubt influenced the course of action taken by the 9th.

It is almost certain that had matters ended there that night the whole trouble would have

passed over quietly and events have taken a different turn. Unhappily the colonel found it