a country, it was truly said, which was always endeavouring to assert a superiority repugnant to every feeling of Scottish patriotism, whilst France desired nothing but the friendship of Scotland, and had on many occasions assisted it in its utmost need, to maintain its liberty and independence. The offer of Francis was accepted with enthusiasm, a select council was appointed to renew the treaty with France; Secretary Panter and Campbell of Lundy proceeded to the French Court; an envoy was dispatched to solicit the co-operation of Denmark, and others to the emperor and Duke of Bavaria, announcing the war with England, and requesting that on this ground, all molestation of the Scottish commerce should be abstained from. Hamilton, the abbot of Paisley, was appointed treasurer, in the place of Sir William Kirkaldy, of Grange, a partisan of England; and the cardinal was made chancellor of the kingdom, instead of the Archbishop of Glasgow.
Well would it have been for the fame and fortunes of the cardinal if these energetic measures had been the only ones; but, elated with the success of his plans, he gave a loose to his persecuting disposition, and lost his popularity with a large body of the people. It was now sixteen years since the burning of Hamilton, but since then Russell and Kennedy had suffered at the stake, and the memory of these things had made a deep impression on the public mind. Protestantism had grown and flourished on the ground fertilised by the ashes of martyrdom, and Beaton having now the power in his hands, and the opposition of Arran being removed by his conversion, the cardinal made a progress to Perth, to strike terror into the heretics. Four men, Lamb, Anderson, Ranald, and Hunter, were accused of heresy, one of them having interrupted a friar in his sermon, and others of having broken and ridiculed an image of St. Francis. They were hanged, Lamb at the gallows denouncing in strong terms not only the errors of Popery, but the well-known profligate life of the cardinal. But the fate of a poor woman, the wife of one of these martyrs, excited the deepest commiseration. She was charged with the heinous offence of refusing to pray to the Virgin during her confinement, declaring that she should direct her prayers to God alone. For this she was refused the poor satisfaction of hanging with her husband, but was drowned—the death of a witch. Taking the infant undauntedly from her breast, she cried out to her husband, "It matters not, dear partner; we have lived together many happy days, but this ought to be the most joyful of all, when we are about to have joy for ever. Therefore, I will not bid you good night, for ere the night shall close, we shall be united in the kingdom of heaven."
The year 1544 found Henry bent on war both with Scotland and France. Francis had deeply offended Henry by disapproving of his divorce and murder of Anne Boleyn, and by his refusal to follow his advice in repudiating his allegiance to the Pope. Francis had declared that he was Henry's friend, but only as far as the altar. Charles V., aggravated as had been the conduct of Henry towards him, by his divorce of his aunt Catherine, and the stigma of illegitimacy which he had cast on her daughter, the Princess Mary, was yet by no means displeased to observe the growing differences betwixt Henry and his rival Francis. He therefore, like a genuine politician, dropped his resentment on account of Catherine, and professed to believe that it was time to bury these remembrances in oblivion. The only obstacle to peace betwixt them was the declared illegitimacy and exclusion from the succession of Mary. Henry lost no time in getting over this point. He had no need to confess himself wrong; he had a stanch Parliament who would do anything he required. Parliament, therefore, passed an Act restoring both Mary and Elizabeth to their political rights. Nothing was said of their illegitimacy, but they were restored to their place in the succession. Thus the Parliament had gone backward and forward at Henry's bidding, to such an extent, that now it was treason to assert the legitimacy of the princesses, and it was treason to deny it; for if they were illegitimate they could not claim the throne. It was treason to be silent, according to the former Act on this head, and it was now treason to refuse to take an oath on it when required. To such infamy did honourable members of Parliament stoop under this extraordinary despot.
This sorry "amende" being made, and accepted by the necessities rather than the will of the emperor, Henry and he now made a treaty on these terms: 1st. That they should jointly require the French king to renounce his alliance with the Turks, and to make reparation to the Christians for all the losses which they had sustained in consequence of that alliance. 2nd. That Francis should be compelled to pay up to the King of England the arrears of his pension, and give security for a more punctual payment in future. 3rd. That if Francis did not comply with those terms within forty days, the emperor should seize the duchy of Burgundy, Henry all the territories of France that had belonged to his ancestors, and that both monarchs should be ready to enforce these claims at the head of a competent army.
As Francis refused to listen to these terms, and would not even permit the messengers of the newly allied sovereigns to cross his frontiers, the emperor, who was now desirous of recovering the towns which he had lost in Flanders, obtained from Henry a reinforcement of 6,000 men under Sir John Wallop, who laid siege to Landreci; whilst Charles himself, with a still greater force, overran the duchy of Cleves, and compelled the duke, the devoted partisan of France, to acknowledge the imperial allegiance. Charles then marched to the siege of Landreci, and Francis approached at the head of a large army. A great battle now appeared inevitable: but Francis, manœuvring as for a fight, contrived to throw provisions into the town and withdrew. Imperialists and English pursued the retiring army; and the English, by too much impetuosity, suffered considerable loss. Henry promised himself more decided advantage in the next campaign, which he intended to conduct in person. This he had not been able to make illustrious by his presence; for he had been busily engaged with his approaching marriage to a sixth wife.
The lady who had this time been elevated to this perilous eminence was the Lady Catherine Latimer, the widow of Lord Latimer, already mentioned for his concern in the Pilgrimage of Grace. She was born Catherine Parr, a daughter of Sir Thomas Parr, who claimed a long and honourable descent from Ivo de Tallebois, the Norman, of the time of the Conquest; and still more so from the
