"Pleas your Grace, be advertist, it is cum to our knowlcge, that yourTHE THRID LETTER TO THE QUENE REGENT. Grace hath sett furth, be your letteris openelie proclamed that we, called by name The Congregatioun, under pretence and colour of religioun, convene togidder to na uther purpose bot to usurpe our Soveraneis authoritie, and to invaid your persone representand thairis at this present: Quhilkis thingis appeiris to have proceidit of sinister informatioun, maid to your Grace be our ennemeis, considdering that we never mynded sic thing, bot onelie our mynd and purpose was and is to promote and sett furth the glorie of God, maynteane and defend the trew preacharis of his word; and according to the same, abolish and put away idolatrie and false abuses, whiche may nocht stand with the said word of God: Beseaking your Grace to bear patientlie thairwith, and interpone your authoritie to the furtherance of the same, as is the dewetie of everie Christiane Prince and good magistrat. For as to the obedience of our Soveraneis authoritie in all civile and politick matteris, we ar and shalbe als obedient as ony uther your Gracis subjectis within the realme; and that our Conventioun is for na uther purpose bot to save our preacheouris and thair auditouris fra the injurie and violence of our enymeis, quhilk should be mair amplie declaired be some of us in your Gracis presence, yf yow war nocht accumpanyed with such as hes persewit our lyves and sought our bloode. Thus, we pray Almyghtie God to have your Hienes in his eternall tuitioun.
"At Edinburght, the secund of Julij 1559."
And for farther purgatioun heirof, it was thocht necessar that we should sempillie expone, alsweill to hir Grace as to the hole people, what war our requeastis and just petitionis. And for that purpoise, after that salf conduct was purchessed and granted, we directed unto hir two grave men of our counsale, to witt, the Lardis of Pittarrow and Cuninghamheid,[855] to whame we gaif commissioun and power, First, To expone our hole purpose and intent, whiche was none other than befoir at all tymes we had required, to witt, That we mycht injoy the libertie of conscience. Secundlie, [That] Christ Jesus mycht be trewlie preached, and his holie Sacramentis rychtlie ministrat unto us. [Thirdly,] That unable ministeris micht be removed from ecclesiasticall administratioun; and that our preacheouris mycht be relaxit from the horne, and permitted to execut thair chargis without molestatioun, unto such tyme as ather by a Generall Counsale, lauchfullie convened, or by a Parliament within the realme, the contraverseis in religioun wer decided. And, for declaratioun that hir Grace was heirto willing, that the bandis[856] of Frenche men, who than war a burthein untollerable to the cuntrey, and to us so fearfull, that we durst nocht in peaciable and quiet maner hant the places whare thay did lye, should be send to France, thair native cuntrey: Whiche thing is granted, hir Grace should have experience of our accustomed obedience.
THE CRAFTYNES OF THE QUENE REGENT MAY YIT BE ESPYED.
To these headis sche did answer at the first so plesandlie, that sche put boith our Commissioneris in full esperance that all should be granted; and for that purpose, sche desyred to speak with sum of greatter authoritie, promesing, that yf thay wald assure hir of thair detfull[857] obedience, that sche wald deny nothing of that whiche was required. For satisfactioun of hir mynd, we send agane the Erle of Glencarne, the Lord Ruthven, the Lord Uchiltrie, and the said Lard of Pittarrow, with the same commissioun as of befoir. Bot than sche began to handill the matter more craftelie, compleaning that sche was nocht sought in a gentill maner; and that thay in whome sche had put maist singular confidence, had left hir in hir greattest neid; and suche uther thingis, perteaning nothing to thair commissioun, proponed sche, to spend and dryve the tyme. Thai answered, "That, by injust tyranny devised aganis thame and thair bretherin, (as hir Grace did weill know,) thay war compelled to seak the extreme remedie; and thairfoir, that hir Grace aucht nocht to wonder thocht godlie men left the cumpany whare thai nether fand fidelitie nor treuth." In the end of this communing, whiche was the xij day of Julij 1559, sche desyred to have talked privelie with the Erle of Ergyle, and Lord James, Priour of Sanctandrois, "For ellis, (as sche alledged,) sche culd nocht bot suspect that thai pretendit to some uther hiear purpose nor religioun." ACCUSATIONIS Sche and hir craftie Counsale had abuesd the Duke, perswaiding unto him, and unto his freindis, that the saidis Erle and Priour had conspyred, first to deprive our Soverane hir dochter of hir authoritie, and thairefter the Duke and his successioun of thair titill to the Crown of Scotland. By these invented lyes, sche inflambed the hartis of many against us, in so muche that some of our awin number began to murmur; whiche perceaved, alsweall the preacheouris, in thair publict sermonis, as we our selffis, by our publict proclamationis, gave purgatioun and satisfactioun to the people, planelie and simplie declairing what was our purpose, tacking God to witnes, that no suche crymes ever entered in our hartis as most injustlie was layed to our charge. The Counsale, efter consultatioun, thocht nocht expedient that the saidis Erle and Priour should talk with the Quene in ony sort; for hir former practises put all men in suspitioun, that some deceat lurked under suche colorat commoning. Sche had befoir said, That yf sche culd by any meane sunder those two from the rest, sche was assured schortlie to cum by hir hole purpose; and one of hir cheaf Counsale in those dayis, (and we fear bot over inward with hir yit,) said, "That or Michelmess day, thay two should leaf thair headis;" and thairfoir all men feared to committ two suche young plantis to hir mercie and fidelitie. It was, thairfoir, finallie denyed that thai should talk [with] the Quene, or ony to hir apperteaning, bot in places void of all suspitioun, whare thay should be equall in nomber with those that should talk [with] thame.
THE COMMUNING AT PRESTON.
The Quene perceaving that hir craft culd nocht prevaill, was content that the Duke's Grace and the Erle of Huntlie, with utheris by hir appointed, should convene at Prestoun, to commone [with] the saidis Erle and Priour, and suche utheris as the Lordis of the Congregatioun wald appoint, to the nomber of ane hundreth on the syde, of the whiche nomber aucht personis onelie should meit for conference. The principallis for thair partie war, the Duke, the Erle Huntlie, the Lordis Erskin and Somervell, Maister Gavine Hammiltoun, and the Justice Clerk.[858] From us war directed the Erlis of Ergyle and Glencarne, the Lordis Ruthven, Lord James, Boyd, and Uchiltrie, the Lairdis Dun and Pittarrow, who, conveaning at Prestoun, spak the hole day without any certane conclusioun: For this was the practise of the Quene, and of hir factioun, by dryft of tyme to weary our cumpany, who, for the most parte, had bein upoun the feildis from the tent day of Maij, that we being dispersed, sche mycht cum to hir purpose. In whiche sche was nocht altogidder deceaved; for our commonis war compelled to skaill for lack of expenssis, and our gentilmen, partelie constraned be lack of furnessing, and partlie houping sum small appointment, after so many communingis, returned for the most parte to thair duelling places, for reposing of thame selffis.
THE DEMAND OF QUENE REGENT, AND ANSWER OF THE PROTESTANTIS.
The Quene, in all these conventionis, seamed that sche wald geve libertie to religioun, provided, "That wharesoever sche was, our Preacheouris sould cease, and the Masse sould be maynteaned." We perceaving hir malitious craft, ansuered, "That as we wald compell hir Grace to no religioun, so could we nocht of conscience, for the pleasur of any earthlie creature, put silence to Godis trew messingeris; nather culd we suffer that the rycht administratioun of Christis trew sacramentis should gif place to manifest idolatrie; for in so doing, we should declair ourselffis ennemeis to God, to Christ Jesus his Sone, to his eternall veritie, and to the libertie and establishment of his Churche within this realme; for your requeist being granted, there can no Kirk within the same be so estableshit but at your pleasour, and by your residence and remaning thare ye myeht overthrow the samin." THE LAST OFFERIS OF THE PROTESTANTIS TO THE QUENE REGENT This our last answer we send unto hir with the Lord Ruthven and Laird of Pittarrow; requiring of hir Grace, in plane wordis, to signifie unto us what houpe we myeht have of hir favouris toward the outsetting of religioun. We also required that sche wald remove hir Frenchemen, who war a fear to us, and a burthein most grevouse to our cuntrey: And that sche wald promess to us, in the word of a Prince, that sche wald procure no mo to be send in; and than should we nocht onelie support, to the uttermost of our poweris, to furnish schippis and victuallis for thair transporting, bot also, upoun our honouris, should we tak hir body in our protectioun; and should promess, in the presence of God and the hole realme, to serve our Soverane hir Dochter, and hir Grace Regent, als faithfullie and als obedientlie as ever we did Kingis within Scotland: That, moreover, we should caus our Preacheouris geve reasone of thair doctrin in hir audience, till any that pleased till impugne any thing that thay did or taught: Finallie, that we should submit our selflis to a lauchtfull Parliament, provided that the Bischoppis, as the party accused, and our plane ennemeis, should be removed from judgement.
THE SCOFFING OF THE QUENE REGENT.