by a protest that he never harmed her, and that he was ready to submit their matrimonial disputes to the spiritual lords. Arran came to this parliament, and a curious device was tried to share the power between the competitors. The king was to be placed under the guardianship of Angus and the Archbishop of Glasgow till 1 Nov., of Arran and the Bishop of Aberdeen till 2 Feb., of Argyll and Beaton, the chancellor, till 1 May, and of Lennox and the Bishop of Dunblane till 1 Aug. But Angus got the first turn, and when the turn came for Arran, declined to part with the custody of the king. A formidable force assembled to compel him, under Arran, Eglinton, Cassilis, and other nobles, at Linlithgow, where they were joined by the queen, the Earl of Moray, and the Bishop of Ross. Angus advanced with the king in his train to Linlithgow, and his opponents dreading a charge of treason declined to fight. Arran with the queen fled to Hamilton. The Earl of Moray and the northern contingent made terms, and returned with Angus to Edinburgh. On 12 June another parliament met, in which Angus, in the absence of his opponents, had his own way. The king had now reached his fourteenth year, and advantage was taken of this to declare null all offices granted in his name, and to assert that he was of age to exercise the royal authority. This put an end to the existing privy council, and a new one was nominated of Angus and his confederates, Argyll, Morton, Lennox, and Lord Maxwell, with the Archbishop of Glasgow and the bishops of Aberdeen and Galloway. Angus and the archbishop still retained the guardianship, and while, with a prudent policy, Arran, Lord Hume, and the Kers were gained by the abandonment of processes of treason, the chief offices of state were filled by the Douglases and their friends. Archibald of Kilspindie was made treasurer, Crichton, abbot of Holyrood, privy seal, Erskine of Halton secretary. Beaton was ordered to deliver up the great seal, and Angus became either in this or the next year chancellor in his room. Though these changes were carried through in the king's name, they were really against his will. He was guarded with great strictness, but succeeded in making a secret bond with Lennox, his favourite among the nobles, who from this time separated from Angus, to do nothing without his advice. The king was taken by Angus to the south to suppress the border thieves, but when at Melrose, Scott of Branxton appeared with two thousand men, and, asserting that he knew the king's mind better than Angus, made a daring attempt to carry him off. But Angus, supported by the Kers and Lord Hume, defeated him on 18 July. Lennox, who was with the king, sat still on his horse, it is related, as an indifferent spectator. He had probably been privy to the attempt, and he now withdrew from court and joined the queen and Beaton at Dunfermline, where further measures were concerted with the same object. In pursuance of these Lennox, with a small band of horse, came to the borough muir of Edinburgh in August, and sent eight horsemen with eight spare horses to the town for the king, but the arrival of the master of Kilmorris, who was sent with the news, was discovered. The king contrived Kilmorris's escape through the coining-house, but was unable to accompany him. James was now placed in stricter ward, under a guard headed by George Douglas of Pittendreoch and the abbot of Holyrood. Lennox, whose party was on the increase, assembled a force of upwards of ten thousand men, and advanced by Linlithgow towards Edinburgh. He was met at the ford of Manuel by Arran, who almost alone of the great nobles now sided with Angus, and before the engagement ended Angus himself came up. Though their numbers were little more than half those of their opponents, they won a complete victory. Lennox himself fell, lamented by the king, and even, it is said, by Arran his uncle. The king, who was in the rear, under the charge of George Douglas, showed signs of favouring the party of Lennox, when Douglas said to him, ‘Bide where you are, sir; for if they get hold of you, be it by one of your arms, we will seize hold of you and pull you in pieces rather than part with you.’ Angus at once advanced on Stirling, which surrendered. Beaton fled in the dress of a shepherd, and the queen was forced to submit to part with her favourite, Henry Stuart, as a condition of being allowed to remain at Stirling. On 20 Nov. she came to the opening of a new parliament. Angus and the king met her at Corstorphine, and conducted her to Holyrood, where she remained over the new year.
At this time Beaton, a subtle diplomatist, feeling he could not oppose Angus with success, made terms. This pacification was against the advice of some of his own kin and his English allies, who distrusted Beaton. Magnus, after relating it to Wolsey, reports his opinion of Angus, ‘He is gentill and hardy, but wanteth skill in conveyance of grete causes, unless the same be done by some other than by himself.’ The queen having insisted that Henry Stuart should be allowed to return to court, which was refused, went back to Stirling, and Beaton followed her.
