Embracing the opportunity of
a festival night, when the garrison were intoxicated, they bound every man
in the castle, locked the doors, and departed, having it is said, strictly
adhered to the humane recommendation of Knox. The two Leslies came to
Rohan, and speedily escaped; but Kirkaldy and Peter Carmichael, disguised as
beggars, wandered through the country for upwards of a quarter of a year; at
the termination of which period they got on board a French ship, which
landed them in the west of Scotland, whence they found their way into
England.
Kirkaldy appears to have
spent a considerable portion of the ensuing period of his life in France,
where he entered the army, and was distinguished as a brave and skilful
soldier in the wars between the French king and the emperor Charles V. Sir
James Melville informs us, that in these wars he commanded a hundred light
horsemen; and for his useful services, received the commendation of the duke
of Vendome, the prince of Condé, and the duke of Aumale. Henry II., he adds,
used to point him out and say, "Yonder is one of the most valiant men of our
age." Henry indeed seems to have used him with the most endearing
familiarity, and in all the pastimes which he attended, is said to have
chosen Grange as a supporter of his own side, in their mimic battles; while,
according to the same writer, who is always circumstantial in recording the
honours paid to a Scotsman, the great constable of France would never speak
to him uncovered. We are not aware of the exact date of his return to
Scotland, but we find him in that country in the year 1559.
During the border wars of
this period, an incident occurred peculiarly characteristic of the
chivalrous temper of Kirkaldy, which is otherwise remarkable as being the
latest "passage of arms" which has been handed down to us, described with
all the minute "pomp and circumstance" of Froissart. Lindsay of Pitscottie,
who describes the circumstance, tells us, that lord Evers’s brother desired
to fight with Kirkaldy "ane singular combatt upone horseback with speares."
Sir William was "very weill content" with such a species of amusement, and
consented to meet the challenger on any spot he might prefer. The lord
Evers’s brother was attended by the governor of Berwick and his whole
garrison, while Kirkaldy was waited on by "Monseor Doswell (Mons. d’ Oswell?),
the king of France lieftennent," with the garrison of Heymouth, and other
Scottish gentlemen. In bringing the opposing armies so near each other, and
within view of example so seducing, it was necessary to "decerne under paine
of treasoun, that no man should come near the championes, be the space of
ane flight shot." Each of the champions had a squire to bear his spear,
there were two trumpeters to sound the charge, and after the most approved
method, two lords were appointed as judges of the field, "to sie the matter
finished." "And when all things war put to ordour, and the championes
horsed, and their speirs in their hands, then the trumpeters sounded, and
the heralds cryed, and the judges let them go, and they ran together very
furiously on both sides, bot the laird of Grange ran his adversar, the
Inglisman, throw his shoulder blaid, and aff his hors, and was woundit
deadlie, and in perill of his lyff; but quhidder he died or lived I cannot
tell, [Lindsay of Pitscottie, ii. 524.] bot the laird of Grange
wan the victorie that day."
Kirkaldy became after this
incident actively engaged in the cause of the Reformation. When the French
troops arrived to subdue Scotland, and by means of the popish faction reduce
it to a province of France, no man stood firmer to the interests of his
country, and in the first encounter he is said to have slain the first man
with his own hand. To the French, who were aware of his bravery and military
skill, he was particularly obnoxious, and in one of their inroads through
Fife they razed his house of Grange to the foundation. Naturally exasperated
at such an act, Kirkaldy sent a defiance to the French commander; reproached
him for his barbarity, and reminded him of the many Frenchmen whom he had
saved when engaged in quarrels not his own. The commander, less chivalrous
than Grange, paid no regard to the communication; and the latter took
vengeance by waylaying a party of marauders, and cutting them off to a man.
During this invasion of Fife by the French, he had a mere handful of men,
and these were but poorly provided, yet he retarded the powerful and
well-appointed troops of France at every village and at every field,
disputing as it were, every inch of ground, and making them purchase at a
ruinous price every advantage.
In common with all the wise
and good among his countrymen, Kirkaldy was convinced of the danger of the
French alliance, and of the far superior advantages which might be derived
from a connexion with England, which by a barbarous and ignorant policy had
been always overlooked or despised, and he contributed materially to the
formation of that friendship which subsisted between the ministers of
Elizabeth and the Scottish reformers, without which, it may be doubted if
the reformation of that country could have been effected. In the contests
that arose between Mary and her subjects, while it must be admitted that his
correspondence with the English was clandestine, contrary to the law, and
not perhaps dictated by motives quite purely patriotic, he steadily adhered
to the popular cause. Kirkaldy was among the number of the adherents of
Moray, who on the temporary success of the queen, were compelled in 1565, to
take refuge or " banish themselves" in England, and the criminal record
shows us some instances of barbarous punishment denounced on those who had
intercourse with them, as " intercommuning with rebels." [Pitcairn’s Crim.
Trials, i. (p. i.) 466, 478.]
When after her unhappy
marriage and flight to Dunbar, she returned with an army to meet the lords
who had entered into a confederation for the preservation of the prince,
Grange was one of the most active and influential among them, having the
command of two hundred horse, with which he intended at Carberry hill, by a
stratagem, to have seized upon the earl of Bothwell, which he hoped would
have been the means of putting an end to the contest between the queen and
her subjects. The queen, however, who highly respected him, perceiving the
approach of the troop, and understanding that he was their leader, requested
to speak with him, which prevented the attempt being made. While he was in
this conference with the queen, Bothwell called forth a soldier to shoot
him, who was in the very act of taking aim, when the queen perceiving him,
gave a sudden scream, and exclaimed to Bothwell, that he surely would not
disgrace her so far as to murder a man who stood under her protection. With
that frank honesty which was natural to him, Kirkaldy told her that it was
of absolute necessity, if she ever expected to enjoy the services and the
confidence of her subjects, that she should abandon Bothwell, who was the
murderer of her husband, and who could never be a husband to her, having
been so lately married to the sister of the earl of Huntly. Bothwell, who
stood near enough to overhear part of this colloquy, offered to vindicate
himself by single combat, from the charge of any one who should accuse him
of murdering the king. Grange told him he should have a speedy answer; and
returning to the lords, found little difficulty in persuading them of the
propriety of his accepting the challenge, which he did without hesitation.
Bothwell, however, thought it prudent to decline, on the plea that Kirkaldy
being only a baron, was not his equal. To the laird of Tullibardine he
objected on the same ground. The lord Lindsay then came forward, whom he
could not refuse on the score of inequality; but he finally declined to
engage. The queen then sent again for Grange, and proposed surrendering
herself to the lords. Bothwell, in the mean time, made his escape. The queen
holding out her hand, Kirkaldy kissed it, and taking her horse by the bridle
turned him about, and led her down the bill. This was almost the full
measure of Mary’s humiliation, which was accomplished by her entry into
Edinburgh amidst the execrations of the rabble. The lords, (particularly
Kirkaldy) were still willing to treat her with kindness, if she could have
been prevailed on to abandon Bothwell. The same night, however, she wrote a
letter to him, calling him "her dear heart, whom she should never forget nor
abandon, though she was under the necessity of being absent from him for a
time;" adding, that she had sent him away only for his own safety, and
willing him to be comforted, and to be watchful and take care of himself.
This letter falling into the hands of the lords, convinced them that her
passion for Bothwell was incurable; and they determined to secure her in
Lochleven. Grange alone wished to excuse her, and hoped that gentle usage
might yet reclaim her; but they showed him her letter to Bothwell which had
fallen into their hands, which left him no room to speak more on her behalf.
The queen, in the mean time, sent him a letter, lamenting her hard usage,
and complaining of broken promises. He wrote to her in return, stating what
he had already attempted in her behalf, and how his mouth had been stopped
by her letter to Bothwell; "marvelling that her majesty considered not that
the said earl could never be her lawful husband, being so lately before
married to another, whom he had deserted without any just ground, even
though he had not been so hated for the murder of the king her husband. He
therefore requested her to dismiss him entirely from her mind, seeing
otherwise that she could never obtain the love or respect of her subjects,
nor have that obedience paid her which otherwise she might expect."
His letter contained many
other loving and humble admonitions which made her bitterly to weep. Eager
to free the queen and the nation of Bothwell, Grange most willingly accepted
the command of two small vessels that had been fitted up from Morton’s
private purse (for Bothwell had not left a sufficient sum for the purpose in
the Scottish treasury), with which he set sail towards Orkney, whither it
was reported Bothwell had fled. He was accompanied by the laird of
Tullibardine and Adam Bothwell, bishop of Orkney. Bothwell having made his
escape from Orkney, was pursued by Grange to the coast of Norway, where, at
the moment when they had almost overtaken the fugitive, the impetuosity of
Kirkaldy, who called on the mariners to hoist more sail than the vessel was
able to carry, lost them their prize, and they were wrecked on a sand bank.
Bothwell escaped in a small boat to the shore, leaving his ship and his
servants a prey to Kirkaldy. This unhappy man fled to Denmark, and the
method of his end is too well known to be repeated.
The regent Moray was in the
mean time establishing order and tranquillity generally through the country.
The king, an infant, had been crowned at Stirling, and his authority in the
person of the regent very generally acknowledged, when the queen, making her
escape from Lochleven, and putting herself into the hands of the Hamiltons,
created new and serious calamities. The regent being at that time in
Glasgow, holding his justice-eyre, was just at hand, and meeting with the
queen and her followers at Langside, on the way for Dumbarton castle, gave
them, though they were far more in number than all the king’s friends that
he could muster, an entire overthrow. The regent led the battle himself,
assisted by Grange, who being an experienced soldier, was appointed to
oversee the whole battle; to ride to every wing, and to encourage and make
help wherever it was most required. The dispositions of the regent were
excellent, and his followers behaved with great courage; so that the victory
was soon won, and there being few horsemen to pursue, and the regent calling
out to save and not to kill, there were not many taken or killed; the
greatest slaughter, according to Sir James Melville, being at the first
rencounter by the shot of some troops that were planted behind the dykes at
the head of the lane leading up to the village.
Having taken the command of
the castle of Edinburgh from Sir James Balfour, the regent bestowed it upon
Grange, who appears to have had the principal direction of affairs during
the time that Moray through the intrigues of the queen’s faction was called
up to the conferences at York. Lethington, subtile, restless, and
changeable, had by this time changed to the queen’s side, whom he almost
openly owned during the time of these conferences, and he had imposed upon
the unsuspecting disposition of Grange, enticing him into a kind of doubtful
neutrality, which had an unhappy influence upon the public cause, and ended
fatally for Grange himself. Lethington and Sir James Balfour having been
both at last arrested under an accusation of having been concerned in the
king’s murder, Grange took them into his own hands, and protected them in
the castle, which he refused to deliver up to the regent. On the murder of
the regent Moray in 1570, it did not immediately appear what party Grange
would embrace. It was evident, however, that for some time previous to this
event he had leaned to the side of the queen, and the castle of Edinburgh in
a short time became the resort and general rendezvous of all who opposed the
party of the prince.
The earl of Lennox succeeding
to the regency was supported by Elizabeth, who sent an army into Scotland
for that purpose, and to retaliate upon some of the border chieftains, who
had made inroads into the English territories, particularly Buccleugh and
Fernihurst. Grange, in the mean time, by the orders of the queen’s faction,
who now assembled parliaments of their own, liberated all those who had been
formerly given him in charge as prisoners, for their opposition to the king
in the person of the regent. These, dispersing themselves over the country,
some pretending to be employed in a civil, and others in a military
capacity, carried dissension and rebellion along with them, to the entire
ruin of the miserable inhabitants. Lord Seaton, to intimidate the citizens
of Edinburgh, who in general leaned to the side of the king, assembled his
vassals at Holyrood house, while the Hamiltons, with the whole strength of
their faction, assembled at Linlithgow, when they made a sudden and
unexpected attack upon the castle of Glasgow, the residence of Lennox the
regent. Coming upon the place by surprise, they gained the court, and set
fire to the great hall; but they were soon repulsed, and the approach of the
king’s army, a principal part of which was English, compelled them to raise
the siege. The Hamiltons suffered most severely on this occasion, their
lands in Clydesdale being ravaged, Cadzow plundered, and the town of
Hamilton, with the seat of the Hamiltons, burned to the ground. Nor did this
suffice; they also burned the house of the duke of Chatelherault in
Linlithgow, the palace of Kinnoul, the house of Pardovan, and Bynie,
Kincavil, and the chapel of Livingston.
Grange, meanwhile, acting
somewhat dubiously, and not supporting the extreme measures of either of the
parties, was confounded to see a foreign foe in the heart of the kingdom,
and Mary’s friends used with such extreme rigour; and afraid of being
entrapped himself, began to fortify the castle with all haste, and lay in
every thing necessary for a siege. Lennox, in the mean time, summoned an
army in the king’s name to attend him, with twenty days’ provision, and to
complete his equipments, he applied to Grange for some field-pieces. The
request was, however, refused, under a pretence that he would not be
accessory to the shedding of blood. The purpose of this armament was to
interfere with a parliament which the queen’s party intended to have held at
Linlithgow, which it effectually accomplished; and on the following month
(October) Lennox held one for the king in Edinburgh. The insignia of royalty
being supposed necessary to the legality of parliaments, they were demanded
from Grange, who flatly refused them, and from that time forth he was
regarded as determinedly hostile to that cause for which he had done and
suffered so much. Through the mediation of Elizabeth, however, who was at
the time amusing Mary and her friends with proposals for restoring her to
some part of her authority, a cessation of hostilities was agreed upon for
two months, which being renewed, was continued till the succeeding April,
1571.
The truce, however, was not
strictly observed by either of the parties. Fortresses were taken and
retaken on both sides oftener than once, and in the month of April,
Dumbarton castle, reckoned impregnable, was taken by surprise by the friends
of the regent, who, on a sentence of forfaulture in absence, hanged
Hamilton, archbishop of St Andrews, who had taken refuge in the place.
Alarmed at the fate of Dumbarton, Grange repaired the walls of the castle,
cut away all the prominences on the rock, and smoothed the banks to prevent
the possibility of an escalade. He also prepared the steeple of St Giles for
receiving a battery, and carried away the ordnance belonging to the town.
His brother James at the same time arrived from France with "ten thousand
crowns of gold. some murrions, corslets, hagbuts, and wine, whilk was
saiflie convoyit from Leyth be the horsemen and soldiers of the town." All
men who favoured not the queen were now commanded to leave the town, and
even his old tried friend and fellow sufferer, John Knox, was obliged to
quit his place, which was supplied by Alexander, bishop of Galloway. The
regent’s soldiers, however, took possession of some ruinous houses close to
the walls, whence they annoyed the town. There was now an end to all
business; public worship ceased, and there was nothing to be heard but the
thundering of artillery. The queen’s party had now, however, the pride of
also holding a parliament in Edinburgh, which declared the demission of Mary
null; forbade any innovation to be made in the presbyterian religion; and
after two or three hours deliberation, rode in procession from the Canongate
to the castle, having the regalia borne before it. Prayers for the queen
were ordered by this meeting, and all who omitted them were forbidden to
preach. During these proceedings, there were daily skirmishes on the
streets, and the regent still kept possession of Holyrood house. In the
month of August in this year, an envoy arrived from the king of France, with
money, arms, and ammunition for Grange; but the money fell into the hands of
the regent. In the ensuing month, Grange laid a plan for seizing the regent
at Stirling, and bringing him safe to the castle, which failed of success
only through the imprudence of those who conducted it. The regent was
actually made a prisoner, and on the road for Edinburgh, when, principally
through the valour of Morton, he was rescued, but shot by one of the party,
when they saw they could not carry him away. David Spens of Wormiston, who
had him in charge, and used every endeavour to save him, was also shot in
revenge, though the wounded regent attempted to protect him. This was
unfortunate for Grange. Mar was immediately elected regent; a man of far
higher merit, and much more respected than Lennox, and in still
greater favour with the ministers of Elizabeth; and he in the end proved too
strong for the misled, though patriotic Grange. The war now assumed the most
ferocious character. Morton destroyed the whole of Grange’s property in
Fife. Grange, on the same day retaliated by burning Dalkeith; and for
upwards of two months they reciprocally hanged their prisoners.
The distress of the town and
the surrounding districts now became extreme; the poor were turned without
the gates, and the empty houses pulled down and sold for fuel; a stone
weight being sold for what would purchase a peck of meal. Through the
mediation of the English and French ambassadors, an armistice was at last
agreed to, and all the differences between Morton and Grange nearly made up.
Through the intrigues of Maitland, however, who had gained an extraordinary
influence over him, Grange rose in his demands, and nothing was accomplished
further than a renewal of the truce. In the meantime Mar, who was a sincere,
good man, and truly devoted to the public interests, died, and was succeeded
by Morton, a man of great address, and the mortal enemy of Maitland. He too,
however, professed to desire peace, and offered the same terms as Mar.
Grange was to deliver up the castle in six months, and a convention was
called to consider the means of effecting double peace. Both parties were at
the same time attempting to over-reach each other. Morton thirsted for the
wealthy estates of some of the queen’s adherents and the queen’s adherents
wanted to gain time, in the hope of procuring effective aid from France. The
Hamiltons, Huntly, Argyle, and their followers, were now weary of the war;
and in a meeting at Perth accepted of the terms offered by Morton, and,
according to Sir James Melville, abandoned Grange, who would willingly have
accepted the same terms; but from that time forth Morton would not permit
the offers to be mentioned to him. The day of the truce had no sooner
expired than a furious cannonade was commenced by Grange on the town from
the castle. He also shortly after, on a stormy night, set fire to the town,
and kept firing upon it to prevent any person coming forth to extinguish the
flames; a piece of wanton mischief, which procured him nothing but a
additional share of odium. Being invested by the marshal of Berwick, Sir
William Drury, with an English army, the garrison was soon reduced to great
straits. Their water was scanty at best, and the falling of one of the chief
towers choked up their only well. The Spur, a building of great strength,
but imperfectly manned, was taken by storm, with the loss of eight killed,
and twenty-three wounded. Sir Robert Melville, along with Grange, were,
after beating a parley, let over the walls by ropes, for the gate was choked
up with rubbish. They demanded security for their lives and fortunes, and
that Maitland and lord Hume might go to England, Grange being permitted to
go or stay as he might deem best. These conditions not being granted, they
returned to the garrison, but their soldiers refused to stand a new assault,
and threatened in case of another that they would hang Lethington, whom they
regarded as the cause of their protracted defence, over the wall. Nothing
remained, therefore, but an unconditional surrender; and so odious were the
garrison to the citizens, that an escort of English soldiers was necessary
to protect them from the rabble. After three days they were all made
prisoners. Lethington died suddenly, through means, it has been supposed, of
poison, which he had taken of his own accord. Grange, Sir James Kirkaldy,
(his brother,) James Mossman and James Leckie, goldsmiths, were hanged on
the third of August, 1573, and their heads afterwards set up on the most
prominent places of the castle wall.
Thus ignominously died one of
the bravest warriors [In the case of Kirkaldy there appears to have been
considerable debate on the relevancy of the indictment on which he was
tried, too technical to be interesting to the general reader.—Pitcairn’s
Crim. Trials, ii. 3.] of his age; the dupe a volatile and
crafty statesman, and of his own vanity to be head of a party. He had been
one of the earliest friends, and, during its first days of peril, one of the
most intrepid defenders of the Reformation. Knox, who knew and loved him
well, lamented his apostasy, and with that sagacity which was peculiar to
his character, admonished him of the issue. "That man’s soul is dear to me,"
said Knox, "and I would not willingly see it perish; go and tell him from
me, that, if he persists in his folly, neither that crag in which he
miserably confides, nor the carnal wit of that man whom he counts a demi-god,
shall save him; but he shall be dragged forth, and hanged in the face of the
sun." He returned a contemptuous answer dictated by Maitland; but he
remembered the warning when on the scaffold with tears, and listened with
eagerness when he was told the hope that Knox always expressed, that, though
the work of grace upon his heart was sadly obscured, it was still real, and
would approve itself so at last; of which he expressed with great humility
his own sincere conviction.