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Preface
I Deliver this book to the world with all the
diffidence and anxiety natural to an author on publishing his first
performance. The time I have employed, and the pains I have taken, in order
to render it worthy of the public approbation, it is, perhaps, prudent to
conceal, till it be known whether that approbation shall ever be bestowed
upon it.
But as I have departed in many instances, from former historians, as I have
placed facts in a different light, and have drawn characters with new
colours, 1 ought to account for this conduct to my readers and to produce
the evidence on which, at the distance of two centuries^ I presume to
contradict the testimony of cotemporary or of less remote historians.
The transactions in Mary's reign gave rise to two parties which were
animated against each other with the fiercest political hatred, embittered
by religious zeal. Each of these produced historians of considerable merit,
who adopted all their sentiments, and defended all their actions. Truth,
however, was not the sole object of these authors. Blinded by prejudices,
and heated by the part which they themselves had acted in the scenes they
describe, they wrote an apology for a faction rather than the history of
their country. Succeeding historians have followed these guides almost
implicitly and have repeated their errors and misrepresentations. But as the
same passions which inflamed parties in that age have descended to their
posterity; as almost every event in Mary's reign has become the object of
doubt or of dispute; the eager spirit of controversy soon discovered, that
without some evidence more authentic and more impartial than that of
historians by none of the points in question could be decided with
certainty. Records have therefore been searched, original papers have been
produced, and public archives, as well as the repositories of private men,
have been ransacted by the zeal and curiosity of writers of different
parties. The attention of Cecil to collect whatever related to that period,
in which he acted so conspicuous a part, hath provided such an immense store
of original papers for illus-prating this part of the English and Scottish
history, as are almost sufficient to satisfy the utmost avidity of an
antiquarian. Sir Robert Cotton (whose library is now the property of the
public) made great and valuable additions to Cecil's collection; and from
this magazine Digges, compilers of the Cabbala, Anderson, Keith, Haynes,
Forbes, have drawn most of the papers which they have printed. No history of
Scotland, that merits any degree of attention, has appeared since these
collections were published. By consulting them I have been enabled, in many
instances, to correct the inaccuracies, of former historians, to avoid their
mistakes, and to detect their misrepresentations.
But many important papers have escaped the notice of those industrious
collectors, and after all they have produced to light, much still remained
in darkness, unobserved or unpublished. It was my duty to search for these,
and I found this unpleasant task attended with considerable utility.
The library of the honourable faculty of advocates at Edinburgh contains not
only a large collection of original papers relating to the affairs of
Scotland, but copies of others no less curious which have keen preserved by
Sir Robert Cotton or are extant in the public offices in England. Of all
these the curators of that library were pleased to allow me the perusal.
Though the British museum be not yet open to the public, Dr, Birch, whose
obliging disposition is well known, procured me access to that noble
collection, which is worthy the magnificence of a great and polished
nation.That vast and curious collection of papers relating to the reign of
Elizabeth which was made by Dr, Forbes, and of which he published only two
volumes, having been purchased since his death, by the Lord Viscount
Royston, his Lordship was so good as to allow me the use of fourteen volumes
in quarto, containing that part of them which is connected with my subject.
Sir Alexander Dick communicated to me a very valuable collection of original
papers in two large volumes. They relate chiefly to the reign of James. Many
of them are marked with Archbishop Spotswood's hand and it appears from
several passages in his history that he had perused them with great
attention.
Mr. Calderwood, an eminent presbyterian clergyman, of the last century,
compiled an history of Scotland from the beginning of the reign of James V.
to the death of James VL in six large volumes; wherein he has inserted many
papers of consequence which are no where else to be found. A copy of this
history, which still remains in manuscript, in the possession of the church
of Scotland, was put into my hands by my worthy friend, the reverend Mr.
George Wishart, principal clerk of the church.
Sir David Dalrymple not only communicated to me the papers which he has
collected relating to Gowrie's conspiracy; but by explaining to me his
sentiments with regard to that problematical passage tn the Scottish
history, has enabled me to place that transaction tn a light which dispels
much of the darkness and confusion in which it has been hitherto involved.
Mr. Goodall, though he knew my sentiments with regard to the conduct and
character of Queen Mary to be extremely different from his own, communicated
to me a volume of manuscripts in bis possession which contains a great
number of valuable papers copied from the originals in the Cottonian Library
and paper office, by the late reverend Mr. Crawford, regius professor of
church history in the university of Edinburgh; likewise received from him
the original register of letters kept by the Regent Lennox during his
administration.
I have consulted all these papers as far as I thought they could be of any
use towards illustrating that period of which I write the history. With what
success I have employed them to confirm what was already known, to ascertain
what was dubious or to determine what was controverted, the public must
judge.
1 might easily have drawn from the different repositories to which I had
access as many papers as would have rendered my appendix equal in size to
the most bulky collection of any predecessors. But 1 have satisfied myself
with publishing a few of the most curious among them, to which I found it
necessary to appeal as vouchers for my own veracity. None of these, as far
as lean recollect^ ever appeared in any former collection. I have added to
the appendix a Critical Dissertation concerning the murder of King Henry,
and the genuineness of the Queen’s letter to Bothwell. The facts and
observations which relate to Mary's letters, I owe to my friend Mr. John
Davidson, one of the clerks to the signet, who hath examined this point with
his usual acuteness and industry.
Volume 1
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2 | Volume 3
Preface to the Eleventh Edition
It is now twenty-eight years since I published
the History of Scotland. During that time I have been favoured by my friends
with several remarks upon it; and various strictures have been made by
persons who entertained sentiments different from mine, with respect to the
transactions in the reign of Queen Mary. From whatever quarter information
came, in whatever mode it has been communicated, I have considered it calmly
and with attention. Wherever I perceived that I had erred, either in
relating events, or in delineating characters, I have, without hesitation,
corrected those errors. Wherever I am satisfied that my original ideas were
just and well founded, I adhered to them; and resting upon their conformity
to evidence already produced, I enter into no discussion or controversy in
order to support them. Wherever the opportunity of consulting original
papers, either in print or in manuscript, to which I had not formerly
access, has enabled me to throw new light upon any part of the History, I
have made alterations and additions, which, I flatter myself, will be found
to be of some importance.
COLLEGE OF EDINBURGH,
March 5, 1787
Eleventh
Edition in one volume |
