The Wisest Fool mog-4

by Nigel Tranter

  Balmerino was duly found guilty of high treason and condemned to death, his body to be drawn and quartered. Sentence was, however, to await the King's pleasure-and in fact was never carried out. The former Chief Secretary and Lord President of the Court of Session retired in disgrace and restricted freedom, to private life.

  From four hundred miles distance it was not entirely clear what was gained by all this-with Dunbar now apparently supreme in the governance of Scotland, and with the new title of Great Commissioner. Lennox conceived it all to the King's advantage, with the Master of Gray losing heavily, but Heriot was not so sure.

  Two further items tended to support his doubts. The Earl of Orkney had suddenly made a strange, secret and unexplained visit to mainland Scotland, was captured and flung into ward in Edinburgh Castle. This seemed to be so unlikely a happening for that tough and savage island despot that it could be explained only by some major betrayal-and his brother-in-law, the Master, was the prime suspect And very shortly afterwards the old Lord Gray died, at last-and Patrick became sixth Lord and immediately applied for his father's long unoccupied seat on the Privy Council, which the Chancellor promptly granted. Accordingly, to George Heriot, while King James might seem to have swept away Balmerino and largely neutralised Dunfermline, the two Catholic leaders, replacing them with his Protestant minion Dunbar, Patrick Gray was now in a position to sway, if not dominate the Scots Privy Council, with Dunfermline's hands tied, and Dunbar no match for him in wits. He had all Catholic Scotland more or less mobilised and at odds with the King. And he had the King's awkward and dangerous cousin Orkney, with all his menacing potentialities, safely under lock-and-key, to use as he would. The fact that all was done in the King's name was neither here nor there. As a man used to summing up debits and credits, Heriot was not prepared to suggest that James was winning.

  Moreover, the King had other matters than Scotland to take up his attention. A distinct and growing lack of popularity with his ordinary English subjects was not a matter to worry James, for whom the popularity or otherwise of God's Anointed held little relevance; but parliament did in some measure tend to reflect popular sentiment, and parliament's grip on the royal purse-strings was as strong as it was infuriating. Young Carr was always on about a suitably dignified landed estate and mansion where he might entertain his beloved liege lord in a fitting fashion, with a park large enough for hunting, of course; and James, on Salisbury's advice, gave the youth Sir Walter Raleigh's estate of Sherborne. Raleigh was still a denizen of the Tower of London -where, however, he was not uncomfortable, had a good suite of rooms and entertained quite lavishly; indeed the Queen on occasion visited him there, and young Prince Henry, who hero-worshipped him, was a frequent caller. Unfortunately Henry was not the only hero-worshipper of Raleigh, and though the man himself had never had any use for parliament or the common folk, both now were loud in their protests at ill done to one of the most distinguished Englishmen alive. Salisbury hated both Raleigh and Carr and it was suggested that he had advised the.King to this course in order to infuriate both, having found a legal slip in Raleigh's charter of the estate which enabled it to be confiscated by the Crown. Cecil was ill, and ageing, but not done yet James was highly indignant when he was booed in London streets.

  Then a larger matter loomed. Rebellion broke out in the North of Ireland. This had been a normal occurrence in Elizabeth's reign, and Henry's before her; and both had always put down such revolts with a heavy hand and a sharp sword. But that was not James's way; and by compromise, patience and playing off one faction against another, Protestant against Catholic, he had been able to preserve approximate peace there, under the joint oversight of the Catholic, Irish Earl of Tyrone and the Protestant English Earl of Devonshire-formerly Mountjoy. Now this happy state of affairs was shattered and James was much hurt The more so when he heard that Devonshire was putting down revolt in the time-honoured fashion, with vehement fire and sword. He sent immediate commands for the killing and burning to cease- and set himself furiously to think. It took some time for the fruits of the royal cognition to become evident, in Ireland as nearer at hand. When George Heriot heard the details of the new statecraft, the King's policy of mercy and wisdom, he was lost in a species of wonder, to put it mildly. It was all so very reasonable, so typically James Stewart The trouble in Ireland was basically both religious and ethnic. A vast Catholic majority had had superimposed on it an English Protestant aristocracy, with nothing in common, in blood, language or faith, between the two. This had been the Tudor policy; but James decided that it would never work. He was worried, too, that the religious infection might spread to Scotland-for the two Celtic countries had always had close links, the Ulster and Scots coasts being in places little more than a dozen miles apart. Moreover, warfare within his kingdoms damaged his pacific image. So he devised a mighty and noble scheme. The Irish Catholics of the northern counties, particularly the land-owner class, as far as possible were to be moved out therefrom, to the South, and their lands planted with new Protestant colonists, mainly from Scotland and northern England. The deportees would be given land in the southern counties confiscated from rebellious chiefs and earls now in revolt -there was never any lack of empty land in Ireland, however much of it bog, as a result of endless wars, massacres, famines and the like. There, all would be allowed to practise their Catholic religion in peace, government adjusted thereto. The Catholic South. But the fertile North was to be firmly Protestant-no question of that A Judgement of Solomon.

  That was the new policy. But it was the details of implementation which left Heriot, and others, gasping. Somehow Protestant Scots and English must be persuaded to go to Ireland, and to stay there. Only one thing would serve for that-the elementary hunger for land, status, position. The northern counties therefore would be parcelled out into large estates of, say, one or two thousand acres each. Hah-a-million acres would be set aside, in the first instance, to start the scheme. These would be sold at very attractive terms, by the Crown, to all Protestant comers. But a more potent inducement the hereditary knighthoods scheme, would be put into operation. James had found a name for these, since they could by no means be termed knights, and borrowed from English Edward the Third-baronets, or little barons. For a payment of three thousand, two hundred and forty pounds Sterling to the Crown, ostensibly towards the maintenance of the army in Ireland but actually into the royal pocket, the buyers of these Irish estates would receive the title of Baronet of Ulster, would call themselves Sir and their wives Lady, their eldest sons to succeed thereto, and they would bear the Red Hand of Ulster in a badge of augmentation on their arms. They would be responsible for planting the lands gained with Protestant settlers. Ulster would thereafter blossom like the rose, religious warfare would be a thing of the past-and the money would roll in. This was something which parliament could not interfere with, for it had no jurisdiction in Ireland. How much did five hundred times three thousand, two hundred and forty pounds amount to, for a start…?

  James Stewart by no means neglected his ancient kingdom of Scotland in his calculations, that year of 1609; but he was scarcely to be blamed if his so active mind tended to be otherwise preoccupied.

  22

  AT LEAST IT did not stink so badly as on the last occasion. Nor, of course, was the King present in person. But the full panoply of the law was invoked again, and the Parliament Hall in Edinburgh was almost as crowded. George Heriot sat beside his father-in-law to be, no more than an interested spectator.

  As on the earlier occasion, nine years earlier, no less, Heriot's bulky and coarsely genial cousin, Sir Thomas Hamilton, Lord Advocate, was the principal actor in the drama, if not exactly the centre of attention. That role was filled, not by the illustrious bench of the King's Lords of Sessions, as judges, nor yet by the Earl of Dunbar, Great Commissioner, strangely enough clad in the magnificent robes of an English Knight of the Garter, in the throne-like chair, as representing the monarch himself; undoubtedly the focus for all eyes, most of the time, wa
s the accused himself, propped up before the Bar, Robert Logan of Restalrig. The fact that he had been dead now for three years inevitably added a piquancy to the entire proceedings.

  The remains, unfortunately, were neither one thing nor another, neither a body nor yet a skeleton. Three years interment is an awkward period, insufficient for all fleshy matter to have disappeared from the bone structure but too long for the least semblance of humanity to have survived. The remaining tissue was in a sort of jellified state, and had come away in places to reveal white bone. Grave clothing was patchy also, and a new shroud had been wrapped loosely round much of the relic, more to keep all together than for purposes of decency. What was so consistently fascinating however, was the fine head of hah, greying but plentiful, which topped all-except for one patch over the right ear which had come off; that and the wide, gap-toothed grin which the accused maintained. Logan had always been a fleeringly cheerful scoundrel. As has been said, the smell was not nearly so bad as when the Ruthven brothers, Earl and Master of Gowrie, had been tried in the same Court of Parliament in 1600 -but then, they had been dead only six weeks, at that time.

  As then, Tam o' the Coogate-who had survived a phenomenally lengthy spell as Lord Advocate, indicative of considerable agility of mind and conscience, despite his looks-was concerned largely with the same charges, involvement in the hateful and treasonable attempt on their liege lord his life and person, the Gowrie Conspiracy in St John's Town of Perth, in 1600. Much new evidence had come to light since then, and since the accused's death by God's just hand, indubitably and undeniably indicting him as in fact one of the prime movers in that shameful stratagem. It was necessary, therefore, that his guilt should be established and made plain to all, conviction of high treason duly pronounced upon him, his estates, lands, properties and goods declared forfeit, his name proclaimed infamous, and all legal rights whatsoever denied to his heirs and assigns. In the name of the King's Majesty and of the Estates of the Realm of Scotland. There was no counsel for the defence.

  Hamilton, sole performer-for Dunbar had played his part, in leaving the judges in no doubts as to their duty beforehand-put on a virtuoso act, with a mixture of righteous indignation, legal nicety and earthy humour. He relied for his case mainly on the signed confessions of the late George Sprott, notary, who, by the implicit faith put in his testimony might have been one of the authors of Holy Writ, no mention being made that one of the charges he had hanged for was forgery. Sundry other letters were produced, sworn to by witnesses as in Logan's own writing. All led to the inescapable conclusion that the former Laird of Restalrig, along with the unnameable Gowries, had been a major instigator in the horrid plot to abduct their gracious sovereign from Gowrie House, at St. John's Town, and to convey his royal person by boat across the cruel seas to Restalrig's hold of Fast Castle on the Berwick coast, there to constrain him to the plotters' evil wills and purposes, or to His Grace's possible death. Heriot recollected that the dead Gowrie brothers had been convicted of conspiring to kill the King at Gowrie House itself; but this slight discrepancy seemed to occur to neither prosecutor or judges.

  There being no defence, no questions and no need for a summing up, when Hamilton had finished, and demanded the sentence as detailed earlier, there was something of a hiatus, not to say anticlimax. The Lords of Session fidgeted and looked uncomfortable, the Earl of Dunbar considered the hammer-beam ceiling and spectators eyed each other or the accused.

  The successor of Balmerino as Lord President, Sir John Preston of Fentonbarns and Penicuik, did not trouble to consult his fellow Senators. He declared that all was most indubitably proven as libelled, to the satisfaction of the court, and that the accused Robert Logan was indeed hereby pronounced guilty on all charges, condemned to be hanged, drawn and quartered insofar as this was possible, and his severed members exhibited above the gates of the cities of Edinburgh, Dundee, Aberdeen, Glasgow and St. John's Town of Perth, his name declared infamous, his heirs deprived, and his property forfeit to the Crown. This for doom. God save the King!

  The judges rose, and bowed to the King's representative, who nodded back, stood up-as did all others-and strolled from the chamber; at least thirty-three thousand merks the richer. The accused grinned on. Heriot caught a glimpse of Patrick, Lord Gray of Fowlis, in an inconspicuous position at the back of the hall, as he queued to get out As one of Logan's heirs general, was this then a defeat for him? He certainly did not look defeated. Probably he had obtained all he could out of his cousin's estate long before this-he had had three years, after all. Who, then, was this elaborate charade aimed at? James Stewart would know-and perhaps only he.

  ***

  The High Kirk of St Giles, since the Reformation, had been divided into three parish churches for the city of Edinburgh-within-the-Walls-the High Kirk to the east, the largest, the Tolbooth Kirk to the south-west and the Little Kirk to the northwest. This latter was packed full at noontide of the 24th of August 1609 for the wedding of George Heriot, burgess of Edinburgh and Master Goldsmith to the King, to Alison, daughter of James Primrose, Secretary to the Privy Council of Scotland, former Maid-in-Waiting to Her Majesty. This happened to be the parish church of both families. Moreover, Heriot had a personal interest in it, for exactly ten years before he had petitioned the King to have it enlarged and had partly paid for the improvements out of his own pocket Even so, it was scarcely large enough for this ceremony, despite the use of its flanking side-chapel of St. Eloi, a Popish relic which had been allowed to survive because it was the chapel of the Incorporation of Hammermen of which Heriot was Past-Master. Both families had wide ramifications and all must be invited-however much the principals would have preferred a quiet country wedding over at Culross. Moreover, practically everybody who claimed to be anybody, in Edinburgh, appeared to have made a point of being present-not all, presumably, out of love and admiration Many of the nobility and gentry also found it expedient to attend, in view of the royal and Privy Council connections, or merely due to the universal pull of great wealth. Some, no doubt came out of pure goodwill- the Lady Marie Gray, for instance. Although what brought her gallant and splendidly-dressed husband, the bridegroom for one did not care to hazard a guess, as he waited up near the former altar-steps, for his bride. He noted, too, that the Chancellor, the Earl of Dunfermline, was present, with Heriot's cousin, the Lord Advocate. Moreover, Hamilton's father, also Sir Thomas, and brother, Sir Andrew, both Lords of Session under the titles of Lords Priestfield and Redhouse respectively, graced the occasion, though seldom indeed had they had any dealings with their tradesman kinsman. The Primrose family were duly impressed.

  Mary Gray was there, with her son John Stewart of Methven, now a boy of almost fifteen, representing the Duke of Lennox, who was on an official embassage to France.

  When Alison arrived on her father's arm, Heriot thought that he had never seen her looking lovelier, more piquantly, excitingly alive-nor younger. Her youthfulness once again hit the man as with a physical blow and made him suddenly and heavily aware again of his own years. All in that crowded church must note it Not that he felt old, or normally ever thought about his age. All that he could say was that his younger half-brother James Heriot acting groomsman, looked assuredly older than he did-which was a very doubtful consolation.

  Alison, dressed in cloth-of-silver, trimmed with white fur, with a falling ruff seeded with tiny pearls-this the gift of her bridegroom-and a long shoulder-train, whatever her age, seemed fully in command of herself and her situation, radiating happiness. When she reached Heriot's side, his doubts and concerns faded wholly in the sheer emanation of her vivid joy and so obvious affection. Her own happiness prevailed. They had waited long for this.

  They had to wait a little longer, for the minister. There had been a little difficulty over the celebrant The true incumbent of the Little Kirk was the renowned Master Robert Bruce, a man of towering stature, a former Moderator of the General Assembly and long a friend of Heriot's family. But he had fallen out with King James
when he had refused to offer up public thanks from this pulpit on the occasion of the King's notable deliverance from the evils of the Gowrie Conspiracy in 1600, claiming all to have been a fraud. He had been banished, first to Dieppe and then allowed to return to Scotland, but not to venture south of Inverness by stringent royal command. His kirk-session and congregation had refused to accept this fiat, as had the General Assembly, and he was still officially the minister of the Little Kirk of St Giles. An assistant, Master James Balfour, had been appointed- and Heriot and his bride would have been well content for him to have married them. But this would not do for the King, who considered it proper to take an active interest in the matter. His Geordie was not to be married by any jumped-up assistant, and since Heriot was resolute that he was not going to have one of the monarch's bishops perform the ceremony as James would have preferred, and all but insisted on, they compromised on Master Patrick Galloway. Galloway, now an elderly man and former minister of Perth, was now for long incumbent of the High Kirk of St. Giles and Chaplain to the King, a Presbyterian but a king's-man-who, unlike Bruce had preached enthusiastically and at great length at the Cross of Edinburgh on the wonderful delivery of their liege lord after the Gowrie business. Heriot found him little to his taste, an Old Testament prophet type of divine, who nevertheless was notably well aware on which side his bread was buttered; but he could scarcely resist again.