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AMES could never forgive Henry for the lofs of his Jabres could. Iver forgive demand fatisfaction; but all the answer he received was, that Barton and his crews were lawless pirates, and that what had been done against them ought never to have been refented amongst fovereign princes. James afferted, that Barton was no pirate, because he bore his commiffion; and that he ought to have been convicted of piratical acts before he was treated as being guilty of them. Henry intimated to James, that he was willing to accommodate the affair by way of negociation; but James thought himfelf affronted by the propofal.

360 Various negociations took place concerning this and James refolves to in-other affairs till the year 1513; when James, though vade Eng- he had for fome time before been fully refolved upon a land. war with England, thought it highly neceffary that it fhould have the fanétion of his parliament, which he affembled for that purpofe. The young nobility were not only infpired with the fentiments of James, but had been won over by the French; and the majority of them, as well as of the clergy (which was fomewhat extraordinary, as James was, in effect, to fight against the pope and his allies), were keen for a war with England. The old counsellora, on the other hand, who faw the flourishing flate of Scotland, arifing from a long peace and their commerce, which was protected by a fleet, dreaded the ruinous confequences of the war. The queen naturally headed this party; and he was joined by the earl of Angus and the wifeft part of the nobility. Their arguments made no impreffion upon James, who had received a prefent from Louis of four fhips laden with wine and flour, and two fhips of war completely equipped, one of them carrying 34 pieces of brafs ordnance, He promifed to the French queen, upon his honour, that he would take the field against the English; and the had fent him a fresh letter, gently reproaching him for want of gallantry, and for not being fo good as his word. In short, the reafonings of the wifeft and beft part of the nobility were over ruled, and the expedition against England was refolved on.

360

The Scots

The earl of Hume, who was chamberlain of Scot. defeated. land, was, at this juncture, at the head of 7000 or 8000 men, with whom he committed prodigious deVOL. XVII. Part I.

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vaftations on the English borders. Henry's queen, Scotlande Catharine of Spain, whom he had left regent of his dominions, iffued a commiffion of array, directed to Sir Thomas Lovel, knight of the garter, for affembling the militia of the counties of Nottingham, Derby, Warwick, Leicester, Stafford, Rutland, Northamp ton, and Lincoln. The management of the war, how ever, was chiefly committed to the earl of Surry, who affembled the militia of Chefter, Lancaster, Northum berland, Weftmoreland, Cumberland, and the bishopric of Durham. The earl of Hume had by this time laid great part of Northumberland waste; and his men were returning home laden with booty. The earl of Surry, refolving to intercept them, ordered Sir William Bul. mer to form an ambush with 1000 archers, at a place called Broomhouse, which was extremely convenient for that purpose, as the Scots were obliged to pafs that way. As the latter expected nothing of that kind, Bulmer executed his orders with great fuccefs. The archers affaulted the Scots all at once, and made so good use of their arrows, that their main body was put to flight, 500 were killed, and 400 taken, with the Lord Hume's ftandard, which he left on the field of battle; the greatest part of the plunder being recovered at the fame time. The commonalty of Scotland termed this expedition of the Lord Hume's the Ill road.

362 The queen

James was more exasperated than ever by this de feat, and continued his preparations for invading Eng- endeavours land with additional vigour. His queen did all that to diffua le became a wife and prudent wife to divert him from his James from fatal purpose. She endeavoured to work upon his fu has defigu. perftition, by recounting to him her ominous dreams and boding apprehenfions. James treating thefe as mere illufions and fictions of the brain, the had recourfe to other arts. While James was waiting at Linlithgow for the arrival of his army from the north and the Highlands, he affifted one afternoon at the vefpers in the church of St Michael. Being placed in one of the canon's feats, a venerable, comely man of about 52 A phayears of age, entered, dreffed in a long garment of an tom appeare arure colour, and girded round with a towel or roll to him. of linen, his forehead bald, and his yellow locks hang. ing down his thoulders; in fhort, he was dreffed and

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Scotland. formed to appear like St Andrew, the apostle of Scotland, as he is reprefented in painting and fculpture. The church being crowded, this perfonage, with fome difficulty, made his way to the king's feat; and leaning over it, he spoke to the following purpose: "Sir (faid he), I am fent hither to intreat you for this time to delay your expedition, and to proceed no farther in your intended journey: for if you do, you fhall not profper in your enterprise, nor any of your followers. I am further charged to warn you, if ye be fo refractory as to go forward, not to use the acquaintance, company, or counfel of women, as ye ten der your honour, life, and estate." After delivering those words, he retired through the crowd, and was no more feen, though, when the service was ended, James earneftly inquired after him.

364

That this fcene was acted, feems to be paft difpute; for Sir David Lindfay, who was then a young man, and prefent in the church, reported it both to Buchanan and Lindsay the hiftorian. It is, however, equally certain, that the whole was a contrivance of the queen, to whose other afflictions the ftings of jealoufy were James de- now added. In one of the Scotch inroads into EngTuded by land, one Heron, the proprietor of the caftle of Ford, his miftrefs. had been taken prifoner, and fent to Scotland; where he was detained on a charge of murder, of which he feems to have been innocent. The English hiftorians mention this as having passed after James entered England: but from the latter part of the fuppofed phan tom's fpeech, it is probable that it happened before; and that Heron's wife and beautiful daughter had been for fome time foliciting James for his deliverance. Be that as it may, it is too probable that James was fmitten with the charms of the daughter; and that her mother, who was a most artful woman, knew how to avail herfelf of the conqueft. Pretending that he had intereft enough to procure the release of the lord Johnfton and Alexander Home, who were prifoners in England, fhe was permitted by James to keep a conftant correfpondence with the earl of Surry, to whom she is faid to have betrayed all James's fecrets and measures. The rendezvous of James's army was at the Burrow-moor, to which James repaired; and having given orders for the march of his artillery, he lodged at the abbey of Holyroodhouse. While he was there, another attempt was made to divert him from his purpose of invading England: but James, deaf to all the folicita tions and inventions of his queen, mustered his army; and on the 22d of Auguft he paffed the Tweed, encamping that night near the banks of the Twiffel. On his arrival at Twiffelhaugh on the 14th, he called an aflembly of his lords together, and made a declaration, that the heirs of all fuch as should die in the army, or. be killed by the enemy during his ftay in England, fhould have their wards, relief, and marriages of the king; who, upon that account, difpenfed with their age. This is faid to have been the crisis of that prince's fate. Abandoned to his paffion for his English miftrefs, fhe prevailed with him, at her mother's inftiga tion, to trifle away his time for fome days; during which interval, the junction of the English army was formed. The earl of Surry, the English general, was then at Pomfret: bat ordered the landholders of the neighbouring counties to certify to him in writing what number of men each could furnish, charging them to

be ready at an hour's warning; and he laid his plan fo, Scotland. as not to bring his army into the field till James hadadvanced fo far into England as to render it very dif ficult for him to retire without a general battle. This precaution affifted the lady Ford (as she is called) in perfuading James that there was no danger in the delay, because the English had not the face of an army in the field.

365

Etal, and

In the mean time, the earl of Surry ordered the governors of Berwick and Norham, the two strongest places on the frontiers of England, to prepare for a vigorous refiftance in cafe they were attacked; and directed them to certify how long they could hold out, in hopes, that if they made a refolute defence, James would march on, and leave them in his rear. The governor of Norham's answer was, that his caftle was fo well provided, as to leave him no doubt, in case of a fiege, to be able to defend it till king Henry should return from abroad, and relieve it in perfon. James, The Scote however, befieged it on the 25th of Auguft, and bat-take the tered it fo furiously, that he took it by capitulation the castles of fixth day after. James then proceeded to the castle of Norham, Etal belonging to the family of Manners (now duke Wark. of Rutland); which he took and demolished likewise, as he alfo did Wark, and arrived before the caftle of Ford. The Scotch army is generally allowed to have confisted of at least 50,000 men when it paffed the Tweed. At this time it was encamped on the heights of Cheviot, in the heart of a country naturally barren, and now defo. laté through the precautions taken by the English general. Being obliged to extend their quarters for the benefit of fubfiftence, the mercenary part of them had acquired a confiderable plunder, with which, as usual, they retired to their own country, as many more did for want of subsistence. The earl of Surry knew their fituation, and ordered the rendezvous of his army, first. at Newcastle, and then near Norham, having certain intelligence of the vast desertions daily happening in the Scotch army, which had reduced it greatly. The wetnefs of the feafon rendered his march, especially that of the artillery, extremely difficult; but being joined by feveral perfons of diftinction, he marched on the 3d of September to Alnwic, where he was reinforced by 5000 hardy veteran troops, fent from the English: army on the continent, under the command of his fon the lord-admiral of England; fo that the English authors admit his army to have confifted of 26,000 men, all completely armed and provided for the field. James having, in the manifefto which he difperfed on his entering England, given the death of Barton as one of the caufes of his invafion, the lord-admiral had pre-vailed with Henry to fend him upon this fervice; and he informed James by a letter, that he intended to justify the death of that pirate in the front of the English army.

366

By this time the army of James was, by defertion James dif. and other caufes, reduced to lefs than half its numbers; gufts feve but the chief misfortune attending it was his own con, ral of his duct. His indolence and inactivity, joined to the fean.nobility. dalous examples of his amours, at fuch a feafon, had dif gufted feveral of his greatest men and beft friends; and fome of them more than fufpected a correfpondence be tween the English lady and the earl of Surry. James was deaf to all their remonftrances; and the earl of Angus declared, that he was refolved to return home, as he forefaw that the ruin of the army was inevitable.

through

Scotland, through the obftinacy of James. He accordingly with drew to Scotland, but left behind him his two fons. The lord Hume and the earl of Huntley were likewife difcontented. The former had brought his men into the field; but, according to fome Scotch hiftorians, with a defign rather to betray than to ferve James: but Huntley, though he difliked his mafter's conduct, remained firmly attached to his perfon.

367 Encamps in an ad

The defection or backwardness of thofe great men feemed to make no impreffion upon James. He had chofen a strong camp in the neighbourhood of Ford, on the fide of a mountain called Floddon-hill; and he was feparated from the English army by the river Till. This advantageous fituation put the earl of Surry unvantageous der great difficulties; for it rendered the Scotch army fituation. inacceffible, as it was fortified by artillery, and was now well fapplied with provifions by the change of its fituation. The earl drew up a manifefto, with which he charged Rouge Croix herald, who was attended by a trumpet. It contained fome propofals for an exchange of prifoners, which feems to have been calculated to give the lady Ford the more credit with James; but concluded with reproaches for his perfidious invafion of England, and a defiance to James to fight him in a general battle. The herald was farther charged with a verbal commiffion to acquaint James, that the earl of Surry had iffued orders that no quarter fhould be given to any of the Scotch army but the king himfelf.

368 Refolves to fight, contrary to

his officers.

A council of war was called on this occafion; in which the earl of Huntley and others made ftrong remonftrances againft a general engagement. They fhew ed how fatal it must be to Scotland, fhould it prove unfuccefsful; and that the wifeft courfe James could follow was to return home, where, if he was purfued by the enemy, he could fight to great advantage. The earl of Huntley, however, added, that his opinion fhould be determined by that of the king and council; and that he was equally ready to fhare in his majesty's danger as his glory.

Huntley and the other noblemen were oppofed by the French ambaffador, who reprefented a retreat as difgraceful to the nobility of Scotland and the arms of James; and used many romantic arguments of the fame kind, which but too well fuited with the king's difpothe opi- fition. According to Drummond, the council were of nion of all opinion, that the king fhould immediately befiege Berwick; but be that as it will, the majority of them were certainly of opinion, that it was beneath the dignity of James to fight the earl of Surry at that nobleman's requifition, and that James could lofe no honour by returning home. Patrick lord Lindsay of Byres, mentioned on a former occafion, and who was prefident of the council, expreffed himself fo ftrongly on that head, that James, in a paffion, is faid by the hiftorian Lindfay to have fworn, that if ever he lived to return to Scotland, he would hang that nobleman at his own gate. He ordered Rouge Croix to be called in; and after treating him with great politeness, he fent a meffage to the earl of Surry by one of his own heralds (ay), importing, that he would give the English battle on the Friday following; and that had he received fuch a meffage from the earl even in his own caftle of Edinburgh, he would have left that, and all other business, to have fought him. With this meffage,

a fmall manifefto, in vindication of James's conduct, was fent by the fame herald.

The earl of Surry, who was then fo infirm that he was carried about in a fedan or chariot, had foreseen that James would return an answer by one of his own heralds; but, unwilling that he fhould obtain any knowledge of the fituation of the English camp, he ordered proper perfons to receive him at two miles di ftance, where foon after he attended himself in perfon. Inlay executed his commiffion without paying much refpect to the perfon of the English general; who dismiffed him, after beftowing great compliments upon the honour and courage of James. The earl then ordered his army to march in the line of battle towards Wollerhaugh. There he was joined by Rouge Croix, herald, who gave him an account of the ftrong fituation of the Scotttish camp; but the advanced pafts of the English army were then within three miles of their enemies, and the earl of Surry found his difficulties daily increafing. The roads were broken up, the fwell. ing of the rivers cut him off from the neceffary com munications for supplying his army, and nothing but a battle could fave him either from being difbanded or deftroyed.

James feems to have fo far regarded the advice of his wifeft counsellors, as not to abandon his ftrong fituation. They endeavoured to perfuade him, that it was a fufficient guard to his honour, if he did not decline the battle on the day appointed; and that his engagement did not bind him to fight upon disadvantageous ground. The Scots, at the fame time, knew of their enemy's diftreffes; and, as Drummond elegantly expreffes it, they remonftrated to their king, that he 369 lacked nothing but patience to be victorious. The His im, ru Scots thus lying on the defenfive, the earl of Surry dent con duct. again fent Rouge Croix to inform James that he was ready to give him battle. James was fenfibly nettled at this tacit imputation upon his honour, and perhaps was inwardly vexed for having followed the wife advice of his noblemen. It is certain, from the beft authorities, that he neglected the neceffary precautions for guarding the paffages of the Till, which the English croffed, partly at a place where it was fordable, and partly at a bridge. We are told, not without a great appearance of probability, that while the English were paffing the bridge, Borthwick, mafter of the Scotch artillery, fell upon his knees, and begged permiffion from James to point his cannon against the bridge; but that James answered him in a paffion, that it must be at the peril of his (Borthwick's) head, and that he was refolved to fee all his enemies that day on the plain before him in a body. The earl of Surry, after paffing the Till, took poffeffion of Braxton, which lay to the right of the Scotch camp; and by that situation he cut off the communication of his enemies with the Tweed, and commanded the Till below Eton-caftle. The Scotch generals faw themselves now in danger of being reduced to the same ftraits in which their enemies had been involved two days before, and their country open to an invafion of the English army. James had fecret intelligence that this was far from being the intention of the English general; and imagining that the latter's intention was to take poffeffion of a strong camp upon a hill between him and the Tweed, which would give the English a farther command of the country, he refolved to be be

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fore.