ing any of the foul practices under which the unfortunate Mary fell. For Davidson, who, at last fell into his own snare, and committing himself more than his crafty compeers, thus incurred alone that disgrace and punishment which all deserved, we feel neither regard nor compassion.

After his release from the Tower, Davidson lived in privacy at Stepney, where he died at an advanced age in December, 1608, and was buried without a memorial.

EXTRACTS FROM CHRONOLOGICAL NOTES OF SCOTTISH

AFFAIRS FROM 1680 тO 1701, TAKEN FROM THE
DIARY OF LORD FOUNTAINHALL *.

"THE duke of York took leave of his brother, king Charles II. the 20th of October, 1680, at Woolwich on the Thames, and after a great storm, landed at Kirkaldie the 26th ditto, with his dutch

*This work was published in the limited edition only of an hundred and twenty copies. It is not, however, a work that called. for a large impression, as it consists merely of memoranda which might serve for notes to the history of a period as well known as any in the annals of Britain, or for help to an author describing the manners of the age, by furnishing him with characteristic facts and data.

The original MS. of the volume is preserved in the Advocates' Library at Edinburgh. It is from the pen of Sir John Lauder, a distinguished judge of the court of session, called, in courtesy to that station, Lord Fountainhall, of whom, says the Introduction, "it is only necessary to observe, that he was a constant, close, and singularly impartial observer of the remarkable events of his time; and, while his rank and character gave him access to the best information, he displayed much shrewdness in digesting it, and appears

ess.

There after he went to Leslie till the 29th ditto, frae thence to Holyrood house, thence went and saw Edinburgh Castle, where the great cannon called Monns Megg being charged, burst in her off-going, which was taken as a bad omen.

A Mr. William Wishart, minister at Wells in Annan, turned popish.

"It is observed in England, that in the space of twenty years, the English changed oftener their. religion, than all Chistendom had for 1500 years ; for they made four mutations from 1540 to 1560. King Henry VIII. abolished the Pope's supremacy, suppressed abbeys, but retains the bulk of the popish religion; his son, king Edward, brings in the protestant religion; queen Mary throws it out : but queen Elizabeth brings it in again.

Anecdote of Paterson, Bishop of Edinburgh. "The presbyterian lampoons upbraid him as a profligate and loose liver. See the answer to presbyterian eloquence, where there is much ribaldry on this subject. He is said to have kissed the band strings in the pulpit, in the midst of an eloquent discourse, which was the signal agreed upon betwixt him and a lady to whom he was a suitor, to shew he could think upon her charms even whilst to have had the habit of committing most remarkable particulars to writing."

"It is a subject of regret, that the diary, after the death of its writer, fell into the hands of a Mr. Milne, as sturdy a jacobite as Lord F. was a steady friend to the Revolution; and this gentleman corrupted it by interpretations and erasures so that some difficulty occurs in distinguishing the title from the glosses."-Lit. Gazette.

engaged in the most solemn duties of his profession. Hence he was nick-named bishop band-strings." The death of King Charles is described in the following concise but simple and affecting manner.

King Charles II. dyed peaciblie on fryday, at twelve o'clock of the day, 6th of February 1685, haveing taken the sacrament before from Dr. Kenn, bishop of Bath and Wells. On the second of February he had a strong fit of convulsion, but afterward, being recovered a little, he called his brother and craved him pardon, if ever he had offended him, and recommended him the care of his queen and children, and delyvered him some papers, and entreated him to maintain the protestant religion. The queen being unwell, was not able to attend him, but sent to ask his pardon wherein she had ever offended him: he said, ah, poor Kat, many a time have I wronged her, but she never did me any. He dyed most composedlie, regrating the trouble his friends had been at in attending him. He was certainly a prince (whose only weak side was to be carried away with women, which had wasted his body, being only fifty-five years old when he dyed) endued with many royal qualities, of whom the Divine providence had taken speciale care; witness his miraculous escape at Worcester battle; his treatment in the royal oak, when thousands were rummaging the fields in quest of him; his restauration being without one drop of blood-shed, so that the Turkish emperor said, that if he were to change his religion, he would only do it for that of

the king of Great Britain's God, who had done such wonderful things for him. His clemencie was ad mirable; witness his sparing two of Cromwell's sons, one of whom had usurped his throne. His firmness in religion was evident, for in his banishment, great offers were made to restore him, if he would turn Papist, which he altogether slighted. A star appeared at noon on his birth-day. He was a great mathematician, chemist, and mechanick, and wrought often in the laboratorie himself; and he had ane natural mildness and command over his anger, which never transported him beyond ane innocent puff and spitting, and was soon over, and yet commanded more deference from his people than if he had exprest it more severely, so great He was buried the

་

respect had all persons to him. 14th September 1685, privatilie in king Henry the seventh, his chapell, Westminster, the prince of Denmark being chief mourner, having desired to be buried privatelie.

Royal Injunction.

"King James ordered the dutches of Portsmouth [not] to leave England till she paid all her debts, because she was transporting 50,000. sterling in gold and jewels, which was seized by the collectors of the customes."

Costly Coronation of Queen Mary.

"Queen Mary, wife of king James the seventh, was not crowned with the imperial crown of England, but there was a new one of gold made on purpose for her, worth 300,000l. sterling, and the

jewels she had on her were reckoned to a million, which made her shine like ane angel; and all the peeresses were richly attired, with their coronets on their heads. The king and she both were crowned 23d April, 1685, being St. George's day.

Nota.-The crown of Scotland is not the ancient one, but was casten of new by king James the fifth. There was a poem made on the coronation by Elkena Setle, formerly the poet of the whigs, wherein he mentions Gibby Burnett's reforming pupills, as Shafts berre, Essex, and Russell, to be gnashing their teeth in hell, at the news of king James's coronation."

Political State of Scotland.

"The state of parties in Scotland, the clashing of personal and political interests; the barbarous tortures and their executions of their opponents as the different sides prevailed; the ramifications of the Ryehouse plot into this country; the conflicts of episcopacy, presbyterianism, and popery; besides private concerns, form many of the illustrative paragraphs of our miscellaneous record. For example, in 1684."

A Drunken Parson fined.

"Mr. Hunter, second minister of Stirling, staged for drunkenness, in spewing after he had tane the sacrement. Kennedy, provost of Stirling, and Mr. Munro, the first minister, wer his accusers, 9th of April 1684. He efter turned a buckle-beggars *;

* A bucke-beggars is one who marries without license or enquiry whatsoever couple present themselves.