JAMES MELVILLE [The Autobiography of James Melville (born 1556, died 1614), minister of Kilrenny in Fife, contains a great deal of the history of Scotland and the Scottish Church, told with great liveliness, many illustrations of the progress of learning in the time of the religious revolution, and a singularly interesting record of the author's life and character. James Melville was the nephew of Andrew Melville the scholar, and his fortunes were closely involved throughout with those of his uncle. He was educated at St. Leonard's College in the University of St. Andrews: in 1574 he went with his uncle to Glasgow, and lectured in Greek, Latin, Logic, Rhetoric, Mathematics, and Moral Philosophy as Regent there : in 1580, when Andrew Melville became Principal of St. Andrews University, James Melville returned also, and professed Hebrew and Oriental languages. In 1586 he was made minister of Anstruther-Wester and three neighbouring parishes, Pittenweem, Abercrombie, and Kilrenny; he exerted himself to be relieved of his pluralities, and in the end retained the charge of the parish of Kilrenny alone. He took considerable part in the debate concerning Church government which made up the sum of Scottish politics at that time, speaking no less boldly than Andrew Melville, but with a gentler manner. In 1606 he was, along with his uncle, one of the eight ministers summoned to a Conference with the King at Hampton Court, in respect of the crisis brought about by the trial for high treason of the six ministers who had denied the authority of the Council to interfere with the General Assembly. The Melvilles and their companions were detained in England; James Melville was sent first to Newcastle, then to Berwick-on-Tweed, where he died on the 19th of January 1614. The history of his life comes down to the year 1601; it is supplemented by his True Narration of the Declining Age of the Kirk of Scotland from MDXCVI. to MDCX.] JAMES MELVILLE'S character, ingenuous and absolutely free from anything morose, gives at first a misleading impression to the reader, as apparently it sometimes did to his contemporaries, who mistook his quietness for softness, and undervalued his fortitude. He has the simplicity and the appreciation of small things which are among the qualifications of a writer of memoirs; his nature was not inclined to despise or renounce the lively and pleasant world; his education gave him an entrance to "the humanities," and included along with them a variety of pastimes, “the bow for archerie, the glub for goff, the batons for fencing, also to rin, to loope, to swoom, to warsell”; it was made easy for him to be an accomplished gentleman. That he was something more than a student, or a collector of reminiscences; that his life was more serious than that of the humorous commentator on the passing hour, is what one is compelled to recognise in reading his diary; and this brings with it an estimate of him which gives him a memorable place among the personages of that time. He was not a great writer, nor a great scholar, nor a statesman; but he is representative of the highest ideals of the time, the energy in learning and teaching, the devotion to high aims, the interest in all things human, the self-respect and self-sacrifice: the greater men of that age are in many ways less representative. James Melville was tested on one occasion—in the encounter with Juan de Medina and the Spanish captains at Anstruther in 1588—when any weakness in his temper or breeding would have been brought out at once by contact with the Spanish dignity. This meeting shows the Scottish minister hardly surpassed in grace of bearing by the Spanish general: the record of it in a few pages contains what is missed in the other contemporary documents about the Armada, perfect justice to both sides, and what is rare in any contemporary history, an adequate rendering of the best qualities of both sides. It is a passage that may be dwelt on; it clears away the turbulent accidents of history, and leaves the characters by themselves, understanding one another as honourable men, in spite even of their religions, and with no unworthy condescension on either side. There is a great deal of adventure in the history of James Melville's life, and the reader is carried into a number of exciting and interesting scenes, some of them tragic—like that in which the prophecy of John Knox is fulfilled, of the taking of Edinburgh Castle-some of them enlivened with comic humours. Andrew Melville is one of the most interesting personages in the memoirs from his early days as a wandering Master of Arts in France, to his later irreverent resistance of the King and the Scottish and English Bishops. James Melville's own life, though less varied than his uncle's, had many trials in it, with which he dealt stoutly enough, for all the gentleness and quietness of his manner. His style has many excellences. In narrative, as is shown in the year 1588, he is admirably clear and strong, and his vocabulary is unfailing. Scottish literature had always been rich in words, and peculiarly attracted by the pleasure of using them; adding the " aureate terms," derived from the learned languages, to its large vernacular stores. James Melville has no dislike to rhetorical figures, but the best part of his rhetoric is the liberality and eloquence of his phrasing. He describes the trail of a meteor, for instance; "most lyk ane serpent in mony faulds and linkit wimples." His descriptive style is different from that used in his controversial papers and sermons. In these he uses all the licenses of florid rhetoric, and squanders his classical illustrations with great power of invective. In the sermon preached by him before the Assembly of 1590 he introduces "a poisonable and vennemus Psyllus, a warlow, I warrand yow, sa empoisoned be the vennome of that auld serpent, and sa altered in his substance and naturall, that the deadlie poisone of the vipere is his familiar fuid and nuriture, to wit, his falshode, malice, and knaverie, wha hes bein lurking a lang time hatching a cocatrice eagg, and sa fynlie instructed to handle the whissall of that auld inchantar, that na Psyllus, Circe, Medea, or Pharmaceutrie, could ever haiff done betere. This is Patrick Adamsone, fals Bishope of St. Androis," etc. Melville's official and controversial style has its points of analogy with the style of his ordinary narrative, and at any rate it is not tame; but the narrative is better. W. P. KER. SHIPWRECKED CAPTAINS OF THE ARMADA 1 MDLXXXVIII THAT winter the King was occupied in commenting of the Apocalypse, and in setting out of sermons thereupon against the Papists and Spaniards. And yet, by a piece of great oversight, the Papists practised never mair busily in this land, and made greater preparation for receiving of the Spaniards, nor that year. For a long time the news of a Spanish navy and army had been blasit abroad; and about the Lammas tide of the 1588, this Island had found a fearful effect thereof, to the utter subversion both of Kirk and Policy, if God had not wonderfully watched over the same, and mightily foughten and defeat that army by his soldiers, the elements, quhilk he made all four maist fiercely to afflict them till almost utter consumption. Terrible was the fear, piercing were the preachings, earnest, zealous, and fervent were the prayers, sounding were the sighs and sobs, and abounding were the tears at that Fast and General Assembly keipit at Edinburgh, when the news was credibly tauld, sometimes of their landing at Dunbar, sometimes at St. Andrews, and in Tay, and now and then at Aberdeen and Cromarty Firth. And in very deed, as we knew certainly soon after, the Lord of Armies, who rides upon the wings of the winds, the Keeper of his awin Israel, was in the mean time convoying that monstrous 1 Juan Gomez de Medina sailed in the Gran Grifon, “Capitana de las urcas." He had 23 "urcas" or hulks when the Armada left Lisbon, and 19 after the first storm, when the fleet was reviewed at Corunna, July 13th. Patricio Antolinez and Esteban de Legorreta, captains of the tercio of Nicolas de Isla, sailed along with him in the "Captain of the Hulks." There is an anonymous narrative MS., Madrid, describing the voyage of the Armada, and the loss of the narrator's ship, a large "urca," on the " Faril," September 27th. Of 300 men disembarked there, 50 had died by November 14th. At this date the writer was waiting for the return of messengers sent to another island (Orkney?) to procure help.—Duro, La Armada Invencible, i. 279. navy about our coasts, and directing their hulks and galiates to the islands, rocks, and sands, whereupon he had destined their wreck and destruction. For within twa or three month thereafter, early in the morning, by break of day, ane of our bailyies cam to my bedside, saying (but not with fear), "I have to tell you news, Sir. There is arrived within our harbour this morning a ship full of Spaniards, but not to give mercy but to ask!" And shows me that the Commanders had landit, and he had commandit them to their ship again till the Magistrates of the town had advised, and the Spaniards had humbly obeyit: therefor desired me to rise and hear their petition with them. Up I got with diligence, and assembling the honest men of the town, came to the Tolbuthe; and after consultation taken to hear them and what answer to make, there presents us a very reverend man of big stature, and grave and stout countenance, grey-haired, and very humble like, wha, after mickle and very low courtesy, bowing down with his face near the ground, and touching my shoe with his hand, began his harangue in the Spanish tongue, whereof I understood the substance; and being about to answer in Latin, he, having only a young man with him to be his interpreter, began and tauld over again to us in good English. The sum was, that King Philip, his master, had rigged out a navy and army to land in England, for just causes to be avengit of many intolerable wrongs quhilk he had receivit of that nation; but God for their sins had been against them, and by storm of weather had driven the navy by the coast of England, and him with a certain of Captains, being the General of twenty hulks, upon an isle of Scotland, called the Fair Isle, where they made shipwreck, and where sae many as had escapit the merciless seas and rocks, had mair nor sax or seven weeks suffered great hunger and cauld, till conducing that bark out of Orkney, they were come hither as to their special friends and confederates to kiss the King's Majestie's hands of Scotland (and therewith bekkit even to the earth), and to find relief and comfort thereby to him self, these gentlemen Captains, and the poor soldiers, whose condition was for the present most miserable and pitifull. I answered this mickle, in sum: That howbeit neither our friendship, quhilk could not be great, seeing their King and they were friends to the greatest enemy of Christ, the Pope of Rome, and our King and we defied him, nor yet their cause against our neighbours and special friends of England could procure any |