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lords and gentlemen, to witness that I do so.” Even his de- chap.

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tractors have generally admitted that on this great occasion he 683 'acted with uprightness, dignity, and wisdom.*

As King of Scotland, he soon found himself embarrassed at niscon-every step by all the difficulties which had embarrassed him as the Co-King of England, and by other difficulties w'hich in England ters.were happily unknowm. In the north of the island, no classwas more dissatisfied with the Revolution than the class w r hichowed most to the Revolution. The manner in which the Con-vention had decided the question of ecclesiastical polity had notbeen more offensive to the Bishops themselves than to thosefiery Covenanters who had long, in defiance of sword andcarbine, boot and gibbet, worshipped their Maker after theirowm fashion in caverns and on mountain tops. Was there ever,these zealots exclaimed, such a halting between two opinions,such a compromise between the Lord and Baal? The Estatesought to have said that episcopacy was an abomination in God’ssight, and that, in obedience to his word, and from fear of hisrighteous judgment, they were determined to deal with thisgreat national sin and scandal after the fashion of those saintlyrulers who of old cut down the groves and demolished the altarsof Chemosh and Astarte. Unhappily, Scotland was ruled, notby pious Josiahs, but by careless Gallios. The antichristianhierarchy w'as to be abolished, not because itw r as an insult toheaven, but because it was felt as a burden on earth; not be-cause it was hateful to the great Head of the Church, but be-cause it W'as hateful to the people. Was public opinion, then,the test of right and wrong in religion? Was not the orderwhich Christ had established in his own house to be heldequally sacred in all countries and through all ages? And was

* History of the lute Revolution in Scotland; London Gazette, May16. 1089. The official account of what passed was evidently drawn up withgreat care. See also the Royal Diary, 1702. Tho writer of this work pro-fesses to havo derived his information from a divine who was present.

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