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HISTORY OF ENGLAND.

chap. But, strong as was the claim of Argyle to the confidence■ igb 5i of the exiled Scots, there was a faction among them whichSir pa- regarded him with no friendly feeling, and which wished toHume, make use of his name and influence, without entrusting to himany real power. The chief of this faction was a lowland gen-tleman, who had been implicated in the Whig plot, and hadwith difficulty eluded the vengeance of the court, Sir PatrickHume, ofPolwarth, in Berwickshire. Great doubt has beenthrown on his integrity, but without sufficient reason. Itmust, however, be admitted that he injured his cause by per-verseness as much as he could have done by treachery. Hewas a man incapable alike of leading and of following, con-ceited, captious, and wrong-headed, an endless talker, asluggard in action against the enemy, and active only againstsir Joim his own allies. With Hume was closely connected another' Scottish exile of great note, who had many of the same faults,though not in the same degree, Sir John Cochrane, secondson of the Earl of Dundonald.

Fincher A far higher character belonged to Andrew Fletcher oftoun. Saltoun, a man distinguished by learning and eloquence,distinguished also by courage, disinterestedness, and publicspirit, but of an irritable and impracticable temper. Likemany of his most illustrious contemporaries, Milton, forex-ample, Harrington, Marvel, and Sidney, Fletcher had, fromthe misgovernment of several successive princes, conceived astrong aversion to hereditary monarchy. Yet he was no de-mocrat. He was the head of an ancient Norman house, andwas proud of his descent. He was a fine speaker and a finewriter, and was proud of his intellectual superiority. Bothin his character of gentleman, and in his character of scholar,he looked down with disdain on the common people, and wasso little disposed to entrust them with political power that hethought them unfit even to enjoy personal freedom. It is acurious circumstance that this man, the most honest, fearless,