and a queen are buried; but no monument is to be The battle was fought on the 11th of June, 1488, and was called the field of Stirling.

seen.

upon

The confederate lords endeavoured to atone for their treatment of their late sovereign, by their loyalty and duty towards the son, whom they placed instantly the throne, and the whole kingdom soon united in acknowledging his authority. As a penance, for the unnatural part he had acted towards his father, the monarch, according to the superstitious notions of those times ever after wore an iron girdle upon his body, to which a link was added every year, till it became very ponderous.

The party who had taken arms against their late sovereign deemed it also requisite, for their future security, to have a parliamentary indemnity for these proceedings. Accordingly in a parliament that met soon after, they obtained a vote, by which all that had been done in the field of Stirling was justified and declared to have been lawful, on account of the necessity they lay under of employing force against the king's evil counsellors, the enemies of the kingdom. This vote, in law books, is called the proposition of the debate of the field of Stirling.

NOTES OF SCOTTISH AFFAIRS, FROM THE YEAR 1680 TO 1701.

The following memoranda, which tend to connect our subjects, may serve for notes to the history of a period as well known as any in the annals of Britainor as characteristic facts of the manners of the age, are extracted from Lord Fountainhall's diary, a very limited edition (120 copies) of which was only printed. The original manuscript of the volume is preserved in the Advocate's Library at Edinburgh. It is merely necessary to observe, that the author (Sir John Lander, a distinguished judge in the court of session, called in courtesy to that station Lord Fountainhall) 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 "to have had the habit of committing most remarkable particulars to writing.

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

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

"It is observed in England, that in the space of twenty years, the English changed oftener their religion than all Christendom had for 150 years; for they made four mutations from 1540 to 1560. King Henry the Eighth abolished the Pope's supremacy, suppressed abbeys, but retained 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."

Paterson, Bishop of Edinburgh." The presbyterian lampoons upbraided 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 engaged in the most solemn duties of his profession. Hence he was nick-named Bishop Bandstrings."

The death of King Charles is described in the following concise but simple and affecting manner :

"King Charles II died peaceable on Friday, at twelve o'clock of the day, 6th of February 1685, having taken the sacrament before from Dr. Kenn, Bishop of Bath and Wells. On the second of February he had a strong fit of convulsions, but afterwards, 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 unable to attend him ; but sent to ask his pardon wherein she had ever offended him; he said, Ah! poor Kate, many a time have I wronged her, but she never did me any. He dyed most composedlie, regretting 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 bodie, being only fifty-five years old when he dyed) endued with many royal qualities, of whom the divine providence had taken especial care; witness his miraculous escape at Worcester battle; his treatment in royal oak, when thousands were rummaging the fields in quest of him; his restoration being without one drop of blood, so that the Turkish Emperor said, 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 admirable; 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 one natural mildness and command over his anger, which never transported him beyond one innocent puff and spitting, and was soon over, and

yet commanded more deference from his people than if he had expressed it more severely, so great respect had all persons to him. He was buried the 14th September 1685, privately 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 Dutchess 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 customs.

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 £300,000 sterling, and the jewels she had on her were reckoned to a million, which made her shine like an angel; and all the peeresses were richly attired with their coronets on their heads. The King and she were crowned 23rd 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 Settle, formerly the poet of the whigs, wherein he mentions Gibby Burnett's reforming pupils, as Shaftsberre, Essex, and Russell, to be gnashing their teeth to hell at the news of King James's coronation.