More angry than ever, she again summoned all the preachers to appear at Stirling, on the tenth day of May 1559. With all humble obedience, we sought means to appease her, and save our preachers from being molested. When it was seen that we could not prevail, the whole brethren agreed that the gentlemen of every county should accompany their preachers on the day appointed. All men were most willing; and for that purpose the town of Dundee, and the gentlemen of Angus and Mearns, proceeded with their preachers to Perth, without armour, as peaceable men, desiring only to give confession with their preachers. Lest such a multitude should raise the apprehensions of the Queen Regent, the Laird of Dun, a zealous, prudent, and godly man, went before to the Queen, who was then in Stirling. To her he declared that the cause of their convocation was only to give confession with their preachers, and to assist them in their just defence. She, understanding the fervency of the people, began to craft with him, soliciting him to stay the multitude, and also the preachers, promising that she would make some better arrangements. He, a man most gentle of nature, and most willing to please her in all things not repugnant to God, wrote requesting those that then were assembled at Perth to stay, and not to come forward, and informed them of the Queen's promise and the hope he had of her favour.... So did the whole multitude tarry at Perth with their preachers.
John Knox returns from France, and joins the Protestants at Perth.
In the meantime, on the second of May 1559, John Knox arrived from France. Lodging two nights only in Edinburgh, and hearing the day appointed to his brethren, he repaired to Dundee. There he earnestly required that he might be permitted to assist his brethren, and to give confession of his faith with them. This granted to him, he departed to Perth with them; and there he began to exhort, according to the grace of God granted to him. The Queen, perceiving that the preachers did not obey her summons, began to utter her malice; and, notwithstanding any request made to the contrary, gave commandment to put them to the horn,[132] inhibiting all men under pain of rebellion to assist, comfort, receive or maintain them in any way. When this extremity was perceived by the Laird of Dun, he prudently withdrew himself; for otherwise, by all appearance, he would not have escaped imprisonment. In this belief he was justified by the fact that the Master of Maxwell, a man zealous and stout in God's cause, as it then appeared, was, under the cloak of another small crime, that same day put under arrest, because he did boldly affirm that, to the uttermost of his power, he would assist the preachers and the congregation, notwithstanding any sentence which was, or should be, unjustly pronounced against them. The Laird of Dun, coming to Perth, expounded the case, and concealed nothing of the Queen's craft and falsehood.
The Mob wreck the Churches and destroy the Monasteries in Perth.
The multitude, when they understood the Queen's treachery, were so inflamed that neither could the exhortation of the preachers nor the commandment of the magistrate stay them from destroying the places of idolatry. What happened was as follows. The preachers had declared how odious was idolatry in God's presence; what commandment He had given for the destruction of the monuments thereof; and what idolatry and what abomination was in the Mass. It chanced that the next day, the eleventh of May, after the sermon which had been vehement against idolatry, a priest in contempt insisted upon going to the Mass; and, to declare his malapert presumption, he opened up a glorious tabernacle which stood upon the high altar. Certain godly men were present, and amongst others a young boy, who cried with a loud voice, "It is intolerable that, when God by His Word hath plainly damned idolatry, we shall stand and see it used in despite." The priest, offended, gave the child a great blow; who in anger took up a stone, and casting it at the priest, did hit the tabernacle and broke down an image.
Immediately the whole multitude cast stones, and laid hands on the said tabernacle, and on all other monuments of idolatry. These they dispatched before the tenth part of the town's people were made aware, for the most part were gone to dinner. These deeds noised abroad, the whole multitude came together, not the gentlemen or those that were earnest professors, but the rascal multitude. Finding nothing to do in that church, these ran without deliberation to the Grey and Black Friars, and, notwithstanding that these monasteries had within them very strong guards for their defence, their gates were forthwith burst open. Idolatry was the occasion of the first outburst, but thereafter the common people began to look for spoil. In very deed, the Grey Friars was so well provided that unless honest men had seen it, we would have feared to report what provision they had. Their sheets, blankets, beds, and coverlets were such that no Earl in Scotland had better; their napery was fine. There were but eight persons in the convent, and yet there were found eight puncheons of salt beef (consider the time of the year, the eleventh day of May), wine, beer, and ale, besides store of victuals of the same sort. A like abundance was not found in the monastery of the Black Friars; and yet there was more than became men professing poverty. The poor were permitted to take the spoil; but no honest man was enriched by the value of a groat. For the preachers had before threatened all men, that for covetousness' sake none should put their hand to such a Reformation.
The conscience of the spoilers did so move them, that they suffered those hypocrites to take away what they could. The Prior of Charter-house was permitted to take away with him as much gold and silver as he was well able to carry. So had men's consciences before been beaten with the Word, that they had no respect to their own particular profit, but only to abolish idolatry, and the places and monuments thereof. In this they were so busy and so laborious that, within two days, these three great places, monuments of idolatry, to wit, the monasteries of the Grey and Black thieves and that of the Charter-house monks (a building of a wondrous cost and greatness) were so destroyed that only the walls remained.
When the Queen heard what had happened, she was so enraged that she vowed utterly to destroy Perth, man, woman, and child, to consume the place by fire, and thereafter to salt it, in sign of a perpetual desolation. Suspecting nothing of such beastly cruelty, but thinking that such words might escape her in choler without forethought, because she was a woman set afire by the complaints of those hypocrites who flocked unto her as ravens to carrion, we returned to our own houses, leaving John Knox in Perth to instruct the people, because they were young and rude in Christ. But she continued in her rage, set afire partly by her own malice, partly by commandment of her friends in France, and not a little by the bribes which she and Monsieur D'Oysel received from the bishops and the priests here at home.
The Queen rages and stirs up the Nobility.
The Queen first sent for all the Nobility, and to them she complained that we meant nothing but a rebellion. She did grievously aggreage[133] the destruction of the Charter-house, because it was a King's foundation, and contained the tomb of King James the First. By these and other persuasions, she made the majority of them consent to attack us. And then in haste she sent for her Frenchmen; for it was ever her joy to see Scotsmen dipped in one another's blood. No man was at that time more frack against us than was the Duke, led on by that cruel beast, the Archbishop of St. Andrews, and by those that yet abuse him, the Abbot of Kilwinning and Matthew Hamilton of Millburn, two chief enemies to Christ Jesus; yea, enemies to the Duke himself and to his whole house, in so far as at least they may procure their own particular profit. These and such other pestilent papists ceased not to cast faggots on the fire, continually crying, "Forward upon these heretics; we shall for once and all rid this realm of them."