of Ayr, p. 144. where "sextene scoir of the maist now were hanged "tua and tua ouer billis of the cuntre Considder of romanis in all yare tyme bywent, Baith wikkit fortune and prosperiteis; In divyne seruice bot trubil and distres; Ze may als se how goddis did invade The Romane pepil with derth and pestilence, Throw quhilk apperis ane notabil doctryne To mak us feruent in ye law divyne, To schaw all proffittis I wil not pretend, Quhilk ye first decade of yis werk dois bere ; Thare suld zit rest ane largeare feild til ere, Richt proffittabill till vndermynde zoure fais, And for to lere ye arte of chevelrie; ane Abone ane balk;" a fact which rests on the authority of Henry the Minstrel, and the relations of Arnald Blair, Abone all pepill in riches, honeste, Relligioun, manhede, witt and equite; Be jeopardies abone ingyne of man. And war sa strang yat na thing myt doun cast For I intend of yis difficill werk To mak ane end, or I my lauboure stynt : Note. In a later hand, the following verses are annexed:、 Ffyve buikes ar here by Ballantyne translated, That peerles prince for feattis historicall. A. Home, St Leonardes. and From these verses, it may be inferred, that only the translation of the first five books of Livy was completed by Ballantyne. and which is supposed to have been mentioned in the chapters of XI. book of the Scotichronicon, amissing in the Scotish Mss. Similar to this, is the account (p. 149.) of the statutes of Edward II. made on the field of Bannockburn. But the most curious piece of historical information which we receive from the Complaynt, is, the singular circumstance, that the foundations of the English edifices erected by Edward I. still remained visible in all the boroughs of Scotland when this work was composed. The historical allusions of a later date, evince the imperfect subjugation of Ireland before the reign of Elizabeth; and demonstrate, that certain Irish chieftains" in the vyild forestis and hillis, and on the strait montanis, " (p. 148.), had never owned allegiance to the English sovereign. These independent Irish lords are denominated, in an act of James I. of Scotland, "the gude auld freindis of Erischerie of IreIndeed, so little was the paramount authority of England over the kingdom of Ireland acknowledged by the Scotish nation, that the assumption of the title of King of Ireland by Henry VIII. highly irritated the Scotish Monarch. The words of Lesley are, "Nam regis nostri autoritas, aliquantulum videbatur imminui, quod Anglus totius Hiberniæ, se regem renunciari jussit, cujus aliqua pars Scoti regis ditione, a multis seculis tenebatur." 2 But the causes of bitterness and animosity between the rival nations, which had been gradually accumulating during the reign of James V, being artfully fomented by the French Cabinet, burst into a violent explosion in the minority of Mary. The prospect of an union of the land. " I 2 b Actis of the Scotish Parliament, 1566, fol. 1I. 2 Lesiæus, De Rebus Gestis Scotor. p. 453. two two crowns, instead of moderating their ancient rancour, seems only, by concentrating its force, to have caused it to blaze forth with redoubled fury; and the series of bloody and destructive inroads of the English arms into Scotland, excited a degree of exasperation, which, in the lapse of more than two centuries, has hardly subsided. The preponderance of the French interest, though it precipitated hostilities, failed to unite the Scotish nation in repelling the common danger; while the fatal discord of parties palsied every effort, and tarnished the ancient glory of their arms. The author of the Complaynt vehemently exhorts the neutral Scotish men (p. 283.) who had declined to take "ane plane part with Ingland nor with Scotland," to defend their country to the last extremity. This neutral party consisted of those who supported the contract between the Prince of England and the Princess of Scotland. Against a second party (p. 169.) who betrayed the Scotish counsels to the English court, he inveighs still more bitterly, and denounces them, as traitors, to perpetual infamy. Of the crime of treason, the Scotish Borderers, whose local situation produced frequent intercourse with their English neighbours, are particularly accused; though their intercourse with the English seems to have been more frequently that of foes than of friends, and though their friendship was never more cordial than that of banditti or robbers. The Borderers, divided into a variety of septs, clans, or surnames, connected with each other by their habits of mutual rapacity, and inhabiting an intermediate territory, to which both nations had occasionally asserted their claims; having no common interest with either country, had early organized, for themselves, a system of rapacity, which both Scotland I Scotland and England found it difficult to repress. They commonly adhered to Scotland; but if, as frequently happened, they were exposed, without assistance, to the attacks of a superior English force, they were seldom averse to receive assurance of that nation. In many instances, too, uniting their arms with those of the enemies of Scotland, they carried their ravages into those cultivated districts of the interior, which were sometimes, during peace, the scene of their depredations. In 1547, the Borderers of the West Marches, to the number of 7008 men, took assurance of Lord Wharton, the English Warden, and bound themselves, by oath and pledges, to serve the King's Majesty of England. From various instruments of vindication, however, stil extant, there appears to have been some foundation for the assertion, (p. 211.) that the assured men, if vigorously supported, would "preif as gude Scottis men, eftir there qualite, as ony Scottis man of Scotland that vas neuer assured." In a renunciation of assurance by Robert Lord Maxwell, dated Drumfreis, Nov' 28. 1545, the following strong expressions occur: "Dominus Maxwell -revocat et renunciat quod nullius deinde sint roboris vel effectus-quicquid per dictum Cartum dicti Regis Angliæ intra regnum suum Majestatis compulsum ob metum et periculum sue vite," &c. * On April 28th 1548, was issued a "proclamatioun, commanding the inhabitantis of Lowthian, Mers, Tiviotdaill, Lawderdaill, and Forest of Ettrick, quho war assurit with Ingland, to cum to the Governour upon the Monan2 bij day ▾ Nicholson and Burn's History of Westmoreland and Cumberland, vol. I. Introd. p. 6. 2 Haddington's Collections of Charters. Ms. |