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"On reading the actual narrative of the business," writes Carlyle-" what Knox said and what Knox meant I must say one's tragic feeling is a little disappointed. They are not coarse, these speeches; they seem to me about as fine as the circumstances would permit. Knox was not there to do the courtier; he came on another errand. Whoever, reading these colloquies of his with the queen, thinks they are vulgar insolence of a plebeian priest to a delicate, high lady mistakes the purport and essence of them altogether. It was unfortunately not possible to be polite with the Queen of Scotland, unless one proved untrue to the nation and cause of Scotland. A man who did not wish to see the land of his birth made a hunting-field for intriguing, ambitious Guises, and the cause of God trampled under foot of falsehood's formulas and the devil's cause, had no method of making himself agreeable. 'Better that women weep,' said Morton, 'than bearded men be forced to weep.' Knox was the constitutional opposition party of Scotland-the nobles of the country, called by their station to take that post, were not found in it; Knox had to go, or no one. The hapless queen, but the still more hapless country, if she were made happy!

"I am not prepared to say Knox had a soft temper, nor do I know he had what we call an ill temper. An ill nature he decidedly had not— kind, honest affections dwelt in the much-enduring, hard-worn, ever-battling man. That he could rebuke queens, and had such weight among those proud, turbulent nobles-proud enough, whatever else they were-and could maintain to the end a kind of virtual presidency and sovereignty in that wild realm—he who was only a subject born within the same this of itself will prove to us that he was found close at hand to be no mean, acrid man, but at heart a healthful, strong, sagacious man."

After the close of his first interview with the queen, Knox said, "If there be not in her a proud mind and a crafty wit, and an indurate heart against God and his truth, my judgment faileth me."

"He made her weep," said Randolph to Cecil, (6 as well you know there be of that sex that will do that for anger as well as grief. You exhort us to stoutness. The voice of that one man is able to put more life in us in one hour than five hundred trumpets blustering in our ears."

When advised to more gentleness of manner, Knox answered: "Men deliting to swym betwixt

two waters have often compleaned of my severitie. I do fear that that which men term levitie and dulceness do bring upon themselves and others more fearful destruction than yit hath enseued the vehemency of any preacher within this realme."

KNOX ON TRIAL.

In December, 1561, the General Assembly met, at which some of the secular members, who, willing to see popery in its grave could they but be the heirs of its revenues, and not unwilling to be free from its penances could they but enjoy instead the liberty to live in profligacy, and who dreaded the restraints of church discipline, which the assembly was aiming to enforce, questioned the propriety of such meetings without the queen's consent. King Jesus must kneel down and wipe the dust from the sandals of King Cæsar. To this suggestion Knox exclaimed: "Take from us the liberty of assemblies and take from us the gospel! If the liberty of the Church must depend upon her allowance or disallowance, we shall want not only assemblies but the preaching of the gospel." And when the proposition was made to ask the queen to ratify the Book of Discipline, a courtier answered: "Stand content-that book will not be ob

tained." "Then," said Knox, "let God require the injury which the commonwealth shall sustain at the hands of those who hinder it."

Upon the question of those Church revenues that had so long fattened the Romish beast, the privy council at length came to the sage determination to give two-thirds to the ejected priests during their lives, and to divide the remaining third between the court and the Protestant ministry. "Two parts," exclaimed Knox, "given to the devil, and the third divided between God and the devil. To those dumb dogs, the bishops, ten thousand was not enough, but to the servants of Christ, who principally preach the gospel, an hundred marks must suffice. How can that be sustained?" But the covetous lords cared little for either Popery or Protestantism; but they cared much for gold, and they looked to see their purses replenished with a rich portion of that two-thirds, as one by one the displaced ecclesiastics disappeared beneath the sod. Poor human nature!

The General Assembly met twice in 1562, once in June and again in December. The decrees of the Assembly now went forth as the act of the whole Church. "The haill Kirk appoints and decerns." And they provided by solemn act that

Church discipline should reach to all alike. The "magistrate subject to the rule of Christ" was not to be "exeemed from the same punishment" as the rest, "being found guilty and inobedient."

The work of Church construction went on at a steady pace, and as many priests and persons "called bishops" were still acting as ministers, it was determined that they be subject to examination under the eye of the superintendents. Synods were also elected to meet twice a year, with power to appoint and translate ministers, and a committee was nominated to adjust questions of jurisdiction with the privy council.

Encouraged by the papacy on the throne, the papacy in the land, in spite of the act of parliament to the contrary, ventured here and there to celebrate the mass; but such was the storm of public indignation that the cunning queen bent before it and put certain of the offenders in not very uncomfortable ward. She then convoked the parliament, and so effectually did she ply the lords with her wiles that not only was nothing done in favour of, but much to the prejudice of, the Reformation. Knox, of course, thundered out his reprehensions of their conduct, and from his pulpit, in the presence of many of them, he said, "I have been with

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