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In his coming to London he displayed something of his arbitrary disposition, by ordering (a) a cutpurse to be hanged without W Coke's any legal process; as quickly afterwards he v°i. 1. P'. did his revenge on one (x) Valentine Thomas, \^.\^


manner, as I shall hereafter"shew. Whereas had he been tied up, whatever had been his weakness, whatever his depravity of heart, he could have done but little mischief; and the miseries brought on the people bv his successors, might have been prevented. This Sir Walter Raleigh, Lord Cobham, Sir John Fortefcue, Sec. were sensible of, and therefore desired he might be obliged to articles; but Cecil, Northumberland, and others over-ruled them, and permitted, him to enter uncontrouled (g).' (g) oftom,

To these men then, the nation in a good part owed P'47°' the calamities it suffered from the Stuart race. They might easily have prevented them, but they would not attempt it; doubtless hoping hereby to make their court to James, and enjoy his favour, from whence what they wished for must flow. Wretched meanness of spirit 'this ! inexcufable disregard for the public ! 'Tis allowable for ministers to avail themselves of their own services, and their prince's favour; but the man who facrisices the interest of his country, or neglects taking those steps which are necessary to establish its happiness, when he has it in his power, deserves to be treated with hatred and contempt, let his abilities be ever so great. The good of the people is the supream law. By this the actions of all ministers are to be tried, and he, who, to please a prince or obtain wealth and honour for himself, shall act inconsistent therewith, merits the highest punishments; for he-must be lost to liberty, virtue, and his country.

(x) Valentine Thomas, &c] "In the year 1 598, *l this man being in custody for theft, charged the Scots K 2 "king

who had many years'before accused him of having ill designs against Elizabeth; hereby making good the observation that cowards never forgive.


king with ill designs against the queen. But her ma*' jesty (fays secretary Cecil, in a letter to Mr. Ed~ "mondes) deferred his arraignment, and fuppresteth the matter, to avoid offence to the king of Scots, *' who hath very vehemently denied it with detestation. "The king of Scots had wrote to the queen on the "30 th of July 1598, upon this affair, in these terms: "my suit only is, that, while ye hear further from "me (which shall be with all diligence) ye would fa"vour me so far as to delay the fellow's execution, if *' he be yet alive, to the effect, that by some honour"able means, wherein I am to deal with you, my un<' deserved slander may be removed from the minds of • " men." The queen, on the other hand, sent in"structions to Sir William Bowes, her embassador at "Edinburgh, to assure king James, that she had stayed '* Thomas's arraignment, and would do so as long as

"the king should give no Cause to the contrary.

"But that king kept a severe memory of the accusa"tion cast upon him by Valentine Thomas; and upon "his accession to the crown of England, and within 3 ** month after his arrival in London, in the beginning "of June 1603, ordered him to be brought to his fa) Birch's " frial and executed." («) This everyone will easily

between'°"8 ^ee was revenge> an<^ a vel7 mean revenge too. After England, ^ve years to take away a fellow's life for an accufa- * France, and tion against himself, (for that 'tis easily seen was the Bruslels, p. caufe? though the former theft was the pretence) could 177 179" proceed from nothing but so cowardly a principle. I fay cowardly; for James himself tells us, *.* rancor "and revenge proceeds from baseness and want of cou"rage in men, and even amongst beasts and creeping ** things, it proceeds of a defect and want of courage

". in

He was attended by great numbers of Scots in his coming into England, who were advanced to great honours (y), and shared


"in them. And it is a known and undeniable

"truth, that cowards are much more cruel and vindic

*' tive than men of courage are: for a coward can

*' never enough secure himself of his enemy; insomuch

'' as when he is lying dead at his seet, he is yet afraid." > w

(b) Never was the truth of this doctrine better exem- (^)King

plified than in the execution of Thomas; and there- Jam" a

works Da

-fore I had reason to fay, that James thereby made good,-g7<

the observation, that cowards never forgive. How

much more amiable is the character of those princes who have forgot, on their accession to the throne, personal injuries? how deservedly famous is the faying of Lewis XII. of France, in answer to those who would have persuaded him to shew severity to La Tremouille: *' God forbid that Lewis XII. should revenge thequar"reis ofthe duke of Orleans." (c) This was truly greats) See Boand magnanimous. But James's conduct was wholly ,lln8brokef

»i »i_ r e i • r 1 'letters on the

mean, and betrayed the poornels of his lout. spirit of pa.

triotisin, p.

Quippeminuti j^d8,0' .

Semper & insirmi est animiexiguique voluptas (</) luven*),*

Uhio (</).—— Sat- •3.T'


—— Revenge, which still we find

The weakest frailty ofa seeble mind. Creech.

(y) He was attended by a large number of Scots, who were advanced to great honours.] "The persons "who attended him were the duke of Lennox, the earls *' of Marr, Murray, and Argile, the Lord Hume, Sir' "George Hume, Mr. James Elphinjion, Sir David "Murray, Sir Robert Ker, with the ordinary gentle"men of the chamber, besides several of the clergy." (a) But besides these, there were a great multitude (a) Sporfr who came in with him, and reaped the benefit of his wood^?*. E 3 favour*

largely in his bounty, at the expence and much to the regret of the English nation,


favour. Lennox, Mart; Hume, and ElphinJIon were

made privy counsellors of England, and many of the

Scots became afterwards adorned with some of the

£t^w j1" highest English titles. Sir Robert Ker (b) was advanced

wayswritttnto the earldom of Somerset, Lennox was made duke of

by the Scot- Richmond, Esme Stuart, his younger brother was ere

andnotCur ate^ ear^ °^ March, the marquis of Hamilton earl of

as by the Cambridge, Sir John Ramsey viscount Haddington of

English. ^ Scotland, earl of Holderness, and -James Hay earl of

chronic" p. Carlisle (r). Nor were they bare honours which the

44S. Lond. Scots got, for ^hey had also large lucrative posts, and

16S4. Fol. uncommon donations, as will appear bye and bye. So

that there seems some reason for the following lines ot a

fatyrical writer, though they are much too severe.

(d) King 't The (d) royal branch from Pictland did succeed,

james, it With ttoopsxjf Scotsand scabs from north by Tweed,

"The seven first years of his pacific reign, "Made him and half his nation Englishmen. "Scots from the northern frozen banks of Tay, "With packs and plods came whigging all away. "Thick as the locusts which in Egypt swarm'd, "With pride and hungry hopes compleatly arm'd: "With native truth, diseases, and no money, "Plunder'd our Canaan of the milk and honey. "Here they grew quickly lords and gentlemen, (c) State *' And all their race are true-born Englishmen." (e)

puems, Vol. 1 .

Lond. 1703. Had there been then an union of the two kingdoms, 8vo. this had doubtless been good policy; but as there was

not, these promotions could serve no other end, but to create jealousies among the English, and excite complaints. For why should men of another country have the power of legislation? why should they whose property lay elsewhere, and whose connexions were at a . •'.•••' . distance,

(z), to whom it is, with some good degree


distance, have a power of enacting laws which they themselves might easily get out of the reach of, and their families be wholly free from? But such was the will of James, who, though he seldom considered himself, cared not to be counselled, and therefore generally acted unwisely.

(z) Shared largely in his bounty at the expence, and much to the regret of the English.] Osborn observes, that the " exactions rose on the English were spent "upon the Scots, by whom nothing was unasked, and "to whom nothing was denied; who for want of ho"nest traffic did extract gold out of the faults of the •' English, whose pardons they begged, and fold at in"tolerable rates, murther itself not being excepted (a)." W °<I>o»»'' The fame writer tells us, " that the earl of Dunbar *°' 3'p* *' swallowed at one gulp, together with the chancellor"ship of the exchequer, all the standing wardrobe, "wherein were more jewels, pearl, rich-robes, and "princely apparel, than ever any king of Scotland (if all "of them put together) could call his own before; all "which I have since heard rated by the officers at an "incredible sum, whose servants did use to shew them "for money, it appearing none of the least rarities in "London before this great dissolution." (b) LordlyClarendon assures us, "that James Hay, earl of Car- 516. "lijle, spent in a very jovial lise, above four hundred "thoufand pounds, which, upon a strict calculation,

"he received from the crown." (c) Robert Ker, (0 CUren

earl of Somerset, had such vast favours bestowed upon fsl^s* him, that even at the time of his fall, his estate was bellion, v0l. rated to the crown at three hundred thoufand pounds i.p6z.8vo. (d). And Sir John Ramsey, when made a viscount, *°r' had a thoufand pounds land given him to support the title (d)OShum, (e). Again, fays Osborn, " the Scots hung on Jamei t- 5l7'' like horse-leeches, till they could get no more, sal- ^°0<j>^e. *' ling then off by retiring into their own country, morial, Vol. E 4 "or11*?-2^*

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