It is an old observation, that no persons need reformation so much as reformers: probably because, in their zeal for the correction of others, they are apt to overlook themselves; they see the mote in their brother's eye, but cannot discern the beam in their own. This was eminently the case with Andrew Melville. His whole attention, at this time, was occupied in moulding the church into a presbyterian or republican form, which, in his eyes, was no doubt a reformation; and yet, in his own office, as principal of St. Mary's college, and rector of the university, he had allowed the worst abuses to prevail. In a visitation of the university in the year 1588, it is recorded, "Mr. Andrew Melville found by voting, that he has not performed the office of a rector in the administration thereof, to the ruling and ordering of the university; that, neither in the government of the college, nor in teaching, nor in the administration of their rents has conformed him to the reformed foundation and act of parliament." " In another visitation a few years later, still graver charges were brought against him: "In the new college (says Spottiswood) whereof the said Mr. Andrew had the charge, all things were found out of order; 2 1 Dr. M'Crie, in his defence of Melville's presbyterianism, quotes him with approbation, as saying, in his speech before the general assembly, first, that "the word bishop and presbyter are interchangeably used in the New Testament;" and, secondly, that "it was the opinion of Jerome and other Christian fathers, that all ministers of the Gospel were at first equal." In these assertions there is some truth, mixed up with much disingenuousness. In regard to the first, undoubtedly, "the words bishop and presbyter are interchangeably used in the New Testament;" but then, Timothy and Titus were placed by St. Paul over the said bishops or presbyters, and much more, therefore, over the deacons, inasmuch as they were commanded to ordain them (Tit. i. 5, 1 Tim. v. 22), and to govern them (1 Tim. v. 19.) In other words, Timothy and Titus were bishops, in the modern sense of the word, and that, by apostolical appointment. With regard to the second position, as to "Jerome and the other Christian fathers," the case is simply this; Jerome is the only one of the fathers who asserts, or seems to assert, the original equality of ministers, and this he does in only one passage of his writings, which has been eagerly laid hold of by presbyterians; whereas, in various other passages he distinctly asserts the superiority of bishops to priests and deacons. See Sinclair's Vindication of Episcopacy, p. 62. 2 Printed volume of "Evidence" relative to the university, p. 197. VOL. II. 3 N the rents ill-husbanded, and the professions neglected; and, in place of divinity lectures, political questions were often agitated; as, whether the election or succession of kings were the better form of government? How far the royal power extended? and if kings might be censured for abusing the same, and deposed by the estates of the kingdom?" James very properly interfered to put a stop to these abuses, and constrained the professors to confine themselves to their proper business. Towards the close of his life, Archbishop Adamson fell into various misfortunes. He began to sink under an incurable distemper, and he was iniquitously deprived of the trifling pension which the Duke of Lennox had promised him out of the revenues of the archbishopric. When in this unhappy condition, he published the lamentations of Jeremiah in Latin verse, and dedicated the work to the king, in the hope of attracting his attention and sympathy; but it procured him no favour. To heighten his troubles, his religious antagonists now began to insult over him. One Sempell published a "legend of his life," which, even a modern presbyterian writer' calls "a most gross and illiberal attack upon the character of Dr. P. Adamson, a prelate of ingenuity and erudition who has often been scandalously traduced." And, lastly, his old opponent, Melville, told him that all these evils were a just judgment of heaven upon him for his acceptance of the episcopal office; and, when he was on his death bed, prevailed on him to put his signature to a recantation of his former opinions, which he took care to publish to the world, though it was known the old man was too ill to understand the nature of the document he had signed. And, to complete his humiliation, he was under the necessity of asking and accepting charitable aid from the very individual who had been the chief means of reducing him to his present deplorable condition. He died soon after, in the beginning of the year 1592, abandoned both by the king and the presbyterians; having witnessed his Church completely superseded by the Genevan system which Melville had been long labouring to establish, and had at length succeeded in affecting. Still, however, such of the titular bishops as remained were allowed by the king to retain their seats in parliament as one of the three ancient estates of the realm. But, though Melville succeeded in his endeavours, it was far from being with the concurrence of such of the original reformers as were yet alive. Erskine, of Dun, opposed the introduction of the new system into his district of Angus; and, Spottiswood, the superintendent of Lothian, declared that, though he had nothing to object to the doctrine of the Reformation, yet he believed the government of the ancient Church preferable to that now introduced. These and other 1 Dr. Irving in his Life of Buchanan. 2 It is curious to observe how a Roman Catholic writer, Dempster, speaks of Adamson; "He was one of those heretics (he says) who, under the name of archbishop, deformed the Church of St. Andrew's; yet, a most learned man, and an admirable Greek and Latin scholar. He died in poverty, I hear, because he was thought by the minis ters of Satan to be more inclined to the Catholic faith than was becoming." men of the same school made a vigorous stand against the system of parity, and withdrew not their opposition till they were hooted by the mob, and compelled to leave the assembly. What a lesson! The very men who, thirty years before, had led the people of Scotland along with them in the cause of Reformation, were now insulted by them, and driven from the assembly which they had themselves created! It is a fact not very favourable to the doctrine that "the people" are the source of all legitimate power, that they never continue long of the same opinions. It is a doctrine on the results of which we never can be certain, on which account alone, independent of more weighty considerations, it cannot be a safe principle of action. Dr. M'Crie's way of accounting for Erskine's opposition to the Melvillian system is ingenious; "if at a later period he suffered himself to be entangled by the politics of the court, and lent the influence of his name to measures injurious to the Church, his advanced age, and the difficulty of the times, may be pleaded as an extenuation of his fault." The plain truth is, that Erskine had remained true to his original reform principles, such as they were, and Melville had departed from them. The new ecclesiastical establishment, determined to depart as widely as possible from the practice of the Christian Church for the preceding 1500 years, appointed four classes of ministers for its government; first, the pastor, whose business it was to preach and dispense the sacraments, marry, and superintend the congregation generally; second, the doctor, who was to explain the texts of scripture, but not to apply it; third, the presbyter or elder was to assist pastors in their ministerial duties; and fourth, the deacon, who was to have the charge of the pecuniary affairs of the congregation. The imposition of hands in ordaining was now also admitted for the first time since the Reformation; but, it is easy to conceive that they who had never received any ordination could not be in a very fit state to impart it. Indeed it is surprising that they consented even to adopt the empty form, considering their well known sentiments on the subject: for J. Melville, who was the echo of all his uncle Andrew's opinions, and who was himself minister of Anstruther and Kilrenny, expressly calls the distinction between the clergy and laity, "the pride of papistry and arrogancy of the shavelings." With respect to the headship of the new Church, though it is difficult to imagine any visible body without a visible head, yet, as the favourite principle of parity naturally rendered all personal control unpalatable, the ministers resolved to yield subjection to none but an invisible head. To make up for this, however, the civil magistrate was armed with extensive powers, being bound to "make laws and constitutions for the advancement of the kirk according to God's word;" and, when he was in any doubt, he was " to hear and obey the voice of the ministers, and reverence the Son of God by them speaking!" The plain meaning of this was, that whatever party got the ascendency in the "2 1 Bishop Russell's Hist. of the Church in Scotland, 11.4. general assembly, was to oblige the executive government to act according to its dictates, and thus to tyrannize at pleasure over the civil and religious liberties of the people. This was no great step gained after thirty-two years of reformation! The period which witnessed the triumph of the Melvillian system was one of so much turbulence and disorder, that it speedily worked out its own destruction. I will here put down chronologically those events connected with St. Andrews, which occurred during the period in question, 1592. The following is an extract from Mr. J. Melville's diary," p. 206, the narrative, however, being somewhat abbreviated and the spelling modernized. "In that summer the devil stirred up a most dangerous tumult of the people of St. Andrews, against my uncle (A. Melville) to the extreme peril of his life, if God had not been his protection. The wicked malicious rulers of the town hated Mr. Andrew, because he could not bear with their ungodly and unjust dealing; and they incensed the rascally mob by false information against him and his college (St. Mary's), making them believe that he and the college sought the trouble of the town. They being thus prepared, the devil furnishes them with an opportunity of falling to work. There were some students of theology, who, wearying to go out of the college to their exercise, erected a large pair of butts in the college garden adjoining to a wynd of the town. At this they were shooting one afternoon, when one of them (Mr. John Caldcleuche, a master of theology, but scarcely a scholar in archery), missing the butt, and some thatched houses beyond, shot his arrow down the wynd, and hit an old honest matman of the town, and hurt him on the neck. This coming to the ears of the foresaid malicious rulers, they rung the common bell, and stirred up the mob, who attacked the college, broke open the gate, and, with great violence tried to force an entrance into the hall, crying for fire to burn it. But the Lord assisting his servant with wisdom and courage, enabled him to deal mildly with some of them, whom he knew to be misled, and sharply with others whom he knew to be deceivers of the people. By the exertions of Mr. David Black, and Mr. Robert Wilkie, principal of St. Leonard's, with other masters and scholars of the university, after long vexation and much ado, the uproar was quelled." p. 206. It is scarcely necessary to remind the reader that both the Melvilles were keen party men, and that they made no scruple of ascribing to the devil whatever was contrary to their own pre-conceived notions of propriety. 1593. To do Melville justice, he was not wanting in presence of mind, or personal courage, of which he gave an example this year. I am again indebted to his nephew's "diary." "On Michaelmas day this year, the crafts and burgesses of St. Andrews changing their provost, chose Captain W. Murray, instead of Learmont laird of Dairsy, which made the latter and his friends so enraged, that one of their number, Balfour, of Burley, came into the town by night, with a few of his servants, and committed personal violence on some of the inhabitants. Learmont himself assembled all his adherents, intending to revenge himself on those who had opposed his election; which, when it was announced to my uncle, being then rector of the uni versity, and so a civil magistrate, he convoked the whole of the university; and, supported by Lord Lindsay, Sir George Douglas, the towns people and others, made the invaders glad to keep their distance. He marched a great part of the day with a white spear in his hand." 1596. Two events occurred this year which afforded such an exhibition of democratic insolence, on the part of Melville and his associates, that it determined James and his council to use their utmost endeavours to get rid of a religious system, which under the specious plea of defending ecclesiastical rights gave birth to great tyranny and intolerance. Melville and a party of his friends, including his nephew James, who was somewhat more mannerly than his uncle in expressing his sentiments, took occasion to wait on the king to remonstrate with him on a matter which they conceived to be an infringement on their spiritual independence. It had been previously settled that James should be the spokesman, and, accordingly he began in a becoming style; but, he had not proceeded far before Andrew, unable to restrain himself, rudely seized the sleeve of the king's robes, and, calling him "God's silly vassal," thus addressed him, "I tell you again, as I have told you before divers times, that there are two kings and two kingdoms in Scotland. There is King James the head of the commonwealth, and there is King Jesus the head of the Church, whose subject King James is, and of whose kingdom he is not a king nor a head, but a member. Sir, those whom Christ has called, and commanded to watch over his Church (meaning himself and his party) have power and authority from him to govern his spiritual kingdom both jointly and severally." This was precisely the language and behaviour of Popes Innocent III., and Gregory VII., to the sovereigns of their time; only that they expressed themselves in more dignified language; and their pretensions came with better grace from the successors of St. Peter, and the heads of the western Church, than from a presbyterian minister, who, nevertheless, seems to have been as proud of his parity as the pontiffs were of their servus servorum Dei. "Of all men (says Spottiswood) none could worse endure parity and loved more to command, than they who had introduced it into the Church." In fact, it is the desire of commanding others which makes some men impatient of being themselves commanded. In order to escape from the control of their superiors, their first step is to introduce parity among all the members of the community; and, when they have accomplished that object, they next endeavour, by party spirit and ambition, to acquire a real, when they cannot obtain a nominal, authority over their equals. The next religious outrage which was committed this year was at St. Andrews, by a presbyterian divine of the name of Black. This person entertained his audience from the pulpit, by telling them that King James, in permitting the popish lords Huntly, Angus, and Errol, to return from exile, whither they had been banished for their religion, had "discovered the treachery of his heart;" that "all kings were the devil's bairns;" that Satan had now the direction of the court; that the queen of England was an atheist; that the judges of the land were miscreants, and accepted bribes; that the nobility |