bring him to trial. Thus provided, on the afternoon of the 8th of February, Huntly rode with a large party of horse, from the house of the Provost of Edinburgh, where the King then lodged for security; and, giving out that he was to attend a horse-race at Leith, directed his journey across the Queensferry to Dunnibrissle house in Fife, where he understood the Earl of Moray was then residing with his mother. Thus, it will be remarked, he made but one stage betwixt the presence-chamber of his sovereign, and the scene of that cruel tragedy which he was about to perform. Arriving at Dunnibrissle about midnight, he beset the house, and called to the young Earl to come forth and surrender himself. Possibly, if Moray had at once paid obedience to the royal commis sion which Huntly bore, the terms of that commission might not have been transgressed; for we can scarcely conceive that a nobleman of Huntly's known good character would have murdered an enemy in cold blood. But Moray had too good reason to dread the resentment of a man whom he had so deeply injured; and he resolved to defend himself to the last extremity. Huntly then applied fire to the gates, for the purpose of forcing an entrance. Moray, despairing of his situation, held counsel with his friend Dunbar, the Sheriff of Moray, as to the possibility of escape. Dun bar conceived the idea of rushing out through the assailants, so that, while they were busied in despatching, or at least in pursuing him, the Earl might have an opportunity of escaping comparatively unobserved. He accordingly threw himself amongst them, and was instantly killed. Moray followed, and had the good fortune, as his gener

ous friend anticipated, to escape through the Gor dons, and make his way down to a rugged part of the beach near the house. The velvet edge of his helmet, however, had caught fire as he rushed through the flames, and while he was there endea vouring to ensconce himself among the rocks, its light attracted the attention and pursuit of the ene my, who immediately fell upon him, and dispatch. ed him by repeated wounds. It is but justice to Huntly to say, that the chief perpetrator of this deed was a headstrong and vindictive cadet of the family Gordon of Buckie-who, inflicting a gash on Moray's face the expiring youth, mindful even at that moment of his distinguished beauty, mar. mured forth," You have spoilt a better face than your own." Huntly is said to have approached af ter his younger kinsman had despatched their victim; but Buckie, swearing an oath that the Earl should be "as deep in" as himself, compelled him to alight from his horse, and inflict a few wounds on the insensate corpse. They then hurried from the scene, leaving the body stretched on the beach, the house burning, and even a relation of their own wounded on the ground. Yet they do not appear to have entertained any great apprehensions regarding the consequences of their misdeed. At that time, it was judged equally honourable, in Seotland, to inflict vengeance on and enemy, and to afford succour to a friend. The Earl of Huntly reu tired to an inn at the neighbouring village of Inverkeithing, where he rested for the night. Nay, he even had the coolness to send his friend Buckie immediately back to Edinburgh, to inform the King of what he had done. 7.

apt to be taken ill, and decamped from Edinburgh in the morning, just in time to escape seizure. In all probability, he never reached the King; for it is known that James was that morning abroad very early at the hunting, to all appearance unconscious of the event, although, from the grounds where he pursued his amusement (those of Inverleith and Wardie), he could see the expiring flames.of Dunnibrissle House across the waters of the Firth, of Forth. On his return to town, he found the streets full of lamentation for the murder of Moray, and strong suspicions universally entertained that he himself was accessary to it. Huntly had left the royal lodgings immediately before the action; a messenger had come to apprise the King of its accomplishment; and he had gone to hunt on a place where he could solace himself with the speediest intelligence of the event, by beholding the conflagration of the house. All these circumstances, besides the sus picion of his leaning to the Catholic, against the Puritan party, and a still vaguer, conjecture that he had been jealous of Moray's intimacy with the Queen, were strongly insisted upon against him. i

The 9th of February was thus a day of exces sive distress to James is Finding himself suspect ed, and knowing no better method of clearing himself, he sent for a few ministers, whom he en treated that they would address the public in his favour from their pulpits. These gentlemen, how ever, knew better how to benefit themselves by what had taken place.It had all along been their tactics to work power to themselves out of the hands of the King, by aggravating the distresses of his government and seeing that the popular clas

mour against him for Moray's death might be the means of humiliating him still further, they utterly refused to do what he desired-leaving him with a hint that his best course to clear himself would be to pursue the murderers-which they knew he could not do—or which, were it possible, would still be in their favour, as calculated to destroy a Catholic. James's only resource was to publish a procla mation, in which he declared, upon his royal word, that his concern in the slaughter was no greater than that of David, when Abner was killed by Joab.

But the greatest distress of the day remained yet to take place. Lady Downe, mother of the deceased Earl, arrived at Leith in a boat, carrying with her the bodies of her son and his friend the sheriff, which she wished to present to the gaze of the people, in order to stimulate the vengeance of the laws against their murderers. To prevent so indecent a spectacle, and one so apt to inflame the public mind, already too much excited, James was obliged to forbid the bodies to be brought to Edinburgh. Lady Downe, having then caused a picture to be drawn of her son's mangled body, brought it to the King, enclosed in a piece of fine lawn cloth, and, exhibiting it before his eyes, with vehement lamentations, earnestly demanded jus tice. James could only join her in mourning the death of her son. She then took out three bullets which had been found in Moray's body, and, pres senting one to the King, and another to a courtier who stood by, said she would reserve the third to herself, to be bestowed upon him that should hinder justice. All that James could do for her gras

tification, was to order for execution the young man who had been left wounded by the Gordons, and whom she had brought over. He died, strongly protesting that he had no hand in Moray's slaughter, although acknowledging that he deserved death for other offences.* Another person, a footman of the Earl of Huntly, was executed at the same time, perhaps equally innocent.

This was in reality the whole extent of the jus◄ tice which it was in James's power to execute. The Earl of Huntly had retired to his country in the North, where he was a far more powerful man than the King. Even if he could have been apprehended, was it possible for James to procure his punishment? Or was punishment strictly due, when the provocation, the morality of the age, and his not having himself been the actual murderer, were considered?

To escape, in some measure, the infamy which accrued to him on this account, the King made a progress to the West against Bothwell, and fixed his court for some time at Glasgow. The clergy still cried out most furiously against Huntly, whom they endeavoured to get excommunicated. James, who justly complained that they would never gra tify him by excommunicating his enemy, Bothwell, was much incensed when he heard of their proceedings against Huntly, whose crime, in his estimation, was not so great, as not having been directed against the person of the sovereign. He said, in his anger, that "it would never be weill

As this person appears from Spottiswoode to have been a cousin of the Earl, it cannot well be said that the murder of the Earl of Moray was altogether unavenged.