on the 28th of August 1571, the baby King was conducted thither on horseback, in royal robes, to preside over the assembly. It was in the townhouse of Stirling that this parliament was held; and the accommodations of the place had proba→ bly been better before the commencement of these ruinous troubles. The regalia carried before James on this occasion, and placed on the table at which he sat, were of brass over-gilt, because the real symbols of royalty were kept in Edinburgh Castle, which was in the hands of his mother's party. The house, however, was in a condition still less honourable to the character of a Scottish parliament, there being a large hole in its roof. James, who was now five years of age, was struck at once by the multitude of the assemblage around him, and by the breach which he observed over his head; and he asked his governor, what matter it was which he was now engaged in ? Being informed that it was the parliament, he remarked, with infantine simplicity, "I think there be ane hole in the parliament." *

There was nothing but infantine simplicity in the expression used by the young monarch. Yet the events of the subsequent week were such as to elevate it, in the estimation of the country, into something like a prophecy. Before that brief space had elapsed, a real and very grievous breach was made in the public body over which the King had presided. It was in manner as follows :—

* By another version of the story, the hole was not in the roof of the hall, but in the cloth of estate' which covered the table; and James made the remark, as he reached forth his hand to manipulate the edges of the torn drapery.

Kirkaldy, the governor of Edinburgh Castle, being informed that the King's friends at Stirling lay in such security as not even to keep a watch, projected an enterprise, by which he hoped to give them a complete surprise. On the evening of the 2nd of September, having seized all the horses which appeared that day in the Edinburgh market, be mounted two hundred of his best soldiers; to which number adding three hundred of his best foot, he placed the whole under the direction of Captain George Bell, a native of Stirling, who undertook, from his local knowledge, to lead them to their prey. The men were chiefly Borderers,

under the command of the Laird of Buccleuch ; and, to preserve the secret, it was given out that the enterprise was destined for Jedburgh, to compose some differences which had lately sprung up betwixt the citizens of that town and their powerful neighbour, the Laird of Ferniehirst. They left Edinburgh at night-fall, by the way towards Jedburgh; but as soon as they got to a little distance, they turned abruptly to the west, and marched with the utmost haste to Stirling. The foot were mounted behind the cavalry for the greater expedition; while such as could not be thus accommodated, seized horses for themselves from the country people as they marched along. Bell led them into the silent streets of Stirling, a little after midnight, not so much as a dog barking at them as they passed. He immediately proceeded to denote to his followers the houses occupied by individuals of distinction; and, a guard being placed upon each, the whole were simultaneously attacked. They had previously agitated among themselves the propriety of killing all the men of rank with

but exception; but although Lord Claud Hamilton, brother to the late Archbishop of St Andrews, advocated this unsparing measure, as a proper tribute to the manes of his kinsman, it was finally settled, that as many as possible should be taken prisoners, and brought away alive. The attack took place to the cry of, "Think on the Archbishop of St Andrews; and in a few mi ́nutes, almost every man of name in the town was seized, brought out, mounted behind a trooper, and made ready to march to Edinburgh. Lennox attempted to defend himself; but, the assailants pretending that they had placed some barrels of gunpowder beneath his lodging, which they threatened to blow up, he was persuaded to yield, on a promise of his life. Morton alone stood out; and his obstinacy became the salvation of his party. The assailants were now only waiting for his surrender, before they should leave the town. Every other enemy was in custody; every horse was brought out of the stables by the Borderers: these redoubted heroes had even got a considerable quantity of valuable moveables out of the merchants' shops, which they were determined to carry away, as their own most natural share of the profits of the enterprise; when a little accident proved the ruin of the whole raid,' hitherto so well conducted, and so completely successful. There was a large house, belonging to the Earl of Mar, which commanded the whole length of the principal street, and upon which they had neglected to place a guard, for the simple reason that it was uninhabited, and indeed only in the process of building. Into this edifice Mar led a party of sixteen of his own soldiers, whom he had brought down from

the castle, on learning what was going on in the town. They having fired one effective volley from their harquebusses of found, the invading party was completely counter-surprised, and at once thrown into the utmost confusion. Without waiting a moment to ascertain the strength of the rescuing party, they thronged pell-mell out at the narrow passage which leads from the principal street, where many were overwhelmed in the press, and trodden to death under foot. Mar's party, pouring one by one from a narrow door-way of the unfinished building, now attacked them in rear, and were soon joined by others, who escaped from their captors. A considerable number of the leading men among the Queen's party surrendered at discretion to the very persons who had been committed to their charge, and mounted behind them as prisoners, but a few minutes before. In the midst of the confusion, a wretch of the name of Calder deliberately shot the Regent with his pistol, from a wish to make the enterprise not altogether ineffectual; and David Speus of Ormiston, who had the custody of this important personage, was at the same time struck down by one of his own party, for attempting to defend his charge. The Queen's faction at last evacuated the town, with the loss of thirty-eight men; but it is calculated that they would have suffered much more, if the Borderers had left any horses to the enemy, on which to continue the pursuit.

The unfortunate Regent was carried to Stirling Castle in a dying state, remarking, as he went, that "all was well, if the babe was well;" by which he meant the King. He made a pious end next day, recommending the young sovereign to

Almighty protection, and desiring those who were about him to bear his love" to his wife Meg; for by that familiar name he always designated the grand-daughter of Henry VII., and grandmother of King James VI.

This singular enterprise caused the common people to designate the parliament during which it took place, "the Black Parliament; as also to interpret the childish observation of the King regarding the ceiling of the Parliament house, into a prophecy.