The Earl of Montrose went about in the north country with a large armed
band, forcing the Covenant upon those who were disinclined to sign it,
and raising funds for the use of the Covenanting party. As it never
once occurred to the ‘Tables’ that anybody could have a conscientious
scruple on the subject, much less that any scruple called for respect
and forbearance, force seemed quite fair as a means of attaining to
uniformity. The city of Aberdeen, looking with apprehension to this
kind of mission, ‘began to choose out captains, ensigns, sergeants,
and other officers for drilling their men in the Links, and learning
them to handle their arms;’ also ‘to big up their back yetts, close
their ports, have their catbands in readiness, their cannons clear,
and had ane strict watch day and night keepit.’--_Spal._ All this to
battle off an Idea. Still they feared it might not be sufficient. So,
looking to the victual they had against a siege, they began to cast
ditches, and towards the south raised up timber sconces, clad with
deals. They had eleven pieces of ordnance, each provided with a sconce,
planted commodiously on the streets. In short, it was a town pretty
well fortified, as such things were in those days, and no doubt the
worthy citizens were in good hopes of resisting the storm of Christian
reformation which was mustering against them. Alas!
[Sidenote: 1639.]
It soon became evident to the poor Aberdonians that, however well
their doctors might argue, the Covenant was not to be resisted.
Dismayed at the accounts they got of large forces mustering against
them, they abandoned all design of defence. All that the more notable
friends of the king and church could do was to fly.
Spalding’s account of the entry of the Covenanting militia under
Montrose and Leslie into Aberdeen is highly picturesque.
[Sidenote: MAR. 30.]
[Sidenote: 1839.]
‘... they came in order of battle, weel armed both on horse and foot,
ilk horseman having five shot at the least, ... ane carabine on his
hand, two pistols by his sides, and two at his saddle-tore. The pikemen
in their ranks [with] pike and sword; the musketeers in their ranks
with musket, musket-staff, bandelier, sword, powder, ball, and match.
Ilk company both on horse and foot had their captains, lieutenants,
ensigns, sergeants, and other officers and commanders, all for the
most part in buff coats and goodly order. They had five colours or
ensigns.... They had trumpeters to ilk company of horsemen, and
drummers to ilk company of footmen. They had their meat, drink, and
other provision, bag and baggage, carried with them, done all by advice
of his Excellency Field-marshal Leslie.... Few of this army wanted ane
blue ribbon hung about his craig [neck] down under his left arm, whilk
they called the _Covenanter’s Ribbon_.... [Having passed to the Links],
muster being made, all men was commanded to go to breakfast, either in
the Links or in the town. The general himself, the nobles, captains,
commanders, for the most part, and soldiers, sat down, and of their
awn provision, upon ane serviet on their knee, took their breakfast.’
Here was a sight for a poor town of Episcopalian prepossessions--eleven
thousand men come to convert them to proper views! This was on
Saturday: on the Tuesday, all persons of any note, and all persons
in any authority in the city, were glad to come before the marching
committee and subscribe and swear the Covenant, ‘albeit they had sworn
the king’s covenant before.’ A week later, a solemn fast was kept;
and after sermon by one of the marching clergy, the Covenant was read
out, and he ‘causit the haill town’s people convened, who had not yet
subscribed, to stand up before him in the kirk, both men and women, and
the men subscribed this Covenant. Thereafter, both men and women was
urged to swear by their uplifted hands to God, that they did subscribe
and swear this Covenant _willingly, freely, and from their hearts_,
and not from any fear or dread that could happen. Syne the kirk sealed
and dissolved. But the Lord knows that thir town’s people were brought
under perjury for plain fear, and not from a willing mind, by tyranny
and oppression of thir Covenanters, who compelled them to swear and
subscribe, suppose they knew it was against their hearts.’--_Spal._
As a pleasant finale, to compensate in some degree for the trouble they
had given, the citizens were laid under a contribution of ten thousand
merks, besides being forced to promise their taking share in all
expenses that might thereafter be necessary for promotion of the good
cause.
* * * * *
[Sidenote: MAY 25.]
Aberdeen had not kept steady in the Covenanting faith--since so
solemnly and sincerely signing the bond in April, it had maintained
a loyal correspondence with the king. The Covenanters, now on the
eve of their expedition to Dunse Law, had to take order with it; and
as the movement at such a moment was inconvenient, they were in no
good-humour. What happened, as described in the simple notes of the
town-clerk Spalding, gives such a picture of civil war as it may be
salutary to keep in mind.
‘They were estimate to 4000 men, foot and horse, by [besides]
baggage-horse 300, having and carrying their provision, with thirteen
field-pieces. They enterit the town at the over Kirkgate in order of
battle, with sounding of trumpets, touting of drams, and displayed
banners; went down through the Braid-gate, through the Castle-gate, and
to the Queen’s Links march they.... Now Aberdeen began to groan and
make sore lamentation at the incoming of this huge army, whom they were
unable to sustein, or get meat to buy.
[Sidenote: 1639.]
‘Upon the 26th, being Sunday, the Earl of Montrose, with the rest of
the nobles, heard devotion; but the renegate soldiers, in time of both
preachings, is abusing and plundering New Aberdeen pitifully, without
regard to God or man. And in the meantime, garse and corn eaten and
destroyed about both Aberdeens, without fear of the maledictions of the
poor labourers of the ground.... The bishop’s servants saved his books,
and other insight and plenishing, and hid them in neighbours’ houses
of the town, from the violence of the soldiers, who brake down and
demolishit all they could get within the bishop’s house, without making
any great benefit to themselves.... Richt sae, the corns were eaten and
destroyed by the horse of this great army, both night and day, during
their abode. The salmon-fishers, both of Dee and Don, masterfully
oppressed, and their salmon taken from them.... The country round about
was pitifully plundered, meal girnels broken up, eaten, and consumed;
no fowl, cock or hen, left unkilled. The haill house-dogs, messans,
and whelps within Aberdeen, fellit and slain upon the gate, so that
neither hound nor messan nor other dog was left that they could see.
The reason was, when the first army came here, ilk captain, commander,
servant, and soldier had ane blue ribbon about his craig [neck]; in
despite and derision whereof, when they removed frae Aberdeen, some
women, as was alleged, knit blue ribbons about their messans’ craigs,
whereat their soldiers took offence, and killit all the dogs for this
cause.
‘They took frae Aberdeen ten thousand merks to save it from plundering,
and took twelve pieces of ordnance also from them.... The town, seeing
themselves sore oppressed by the feeding and susteining of thir armies
without payment, besides other slaveries, began heavily to regret their
miseries to the general and rest of the nobles and commanders, saying
they had subscribed the Covenant.... There was no compassion had to
their complaints.... So the country anti-Covenanters was pitifully
plagued and plundered in their victuals, fleshes, fowls, and other
commodities, whilk bred great scarcity in this land....’
This was but a beginning of the troubles and damages of Aberdeen from
civil war. In the very next month, in consequence of the town being
taken possession of by a royalist band under the Earl of Aboyne, a
Covenanting army came against it, and forcing its way in, subjected it
to further fining and spoiling. Altogether, the Aberdonians considered
themselves as having been injured to the extent of £12,000 sterling in
the first half of this year, besides thirty-two of the citizens being
fined specially in 42,000 merks. It would be tedious to enumerate the
losses of the city during the few subsequent years.
* * * * *
[Sidenote: MAY.]
[Sidenote: 1639.]
Gordon of Rothiemay notes a _quasi_ prodigy as happening at Dunse
Law while the Scottish army lay there. It has a whimsical character,
as connecting the Covenanting war with a geological fact. The matter
consisted of ‘the falling of a part of a bank upon the steep side
of a hill near by to the Scottish camp, which of its own accord had
shuffled downward, and by its fall discovered innumerable stones,
round, for the most part, in shape, and perfectly spherical, some
of them oval-shapen. They were of a dark gray colour, some of them
yellowish, and for quantity they looked like ball of all sizes, from a
pistol to field-pieces, such as sakers or robenets, or battering-pieces
upwards. Smooth they were, and polished without, but lighter than lead
by many degrees, so that they were only for show, but not for use.
Many of them were carried about in men’s pockets, to be seen for the
rarity. Nor wanted there a few who interpreted this stone magazine at
Dunse Hill as a miracle, as if God had sent this by ane hid providence
for the use of the Covenanters; for at this time all things were
interpreted for the advantage of the Covenant. Others looked upon these
pebble-stones as prodigious, and the wiser sort took no notice of them
at all. I suppose that at this present the quarry is extant, where
they are yet to be seen, no more a miracle; but whether the event has
determined them to be a prodigy or not, I shall not take it upon me to
define _pro_ or _con_.’
A modern writer may feel little difficulty in defining this magazine
of pebbles as merely part of an ancient alluvial terrace, such as
are found in most mountain valleys in Scotland, being, in geological
theory, the relics of gravel-beds deposited in these situations by
the streams, when, from a lower relative position of the land, the
sea partially occupied these glens in the form of estuaries. On the
banks of the Whitadder, close to Dunse Law, we still see such banks
of pebbles, the water-rolled spoils of the Lammermuirs, and chiefly
of the transition or Silurian rocks. It gives a lively impression of
the excited state of men’s minds in the time and place, to find them
accepting, or disposed to accept, so simple a natural phenomenon as
something significant of the attention of Providence to the strife
which they were unhappily waging.
* * * * *
[Sidenote: JULY.]
At this time we hear of some strangers from England and Ireland who
had crept in and drawn the people to certain religious practices,
accordant with the general strain of the period, but not exactly
with the specific regulations prescribed by the Presbyterian Kirk.
At their own hands, without the allowance of minister or elders, the
people had begun to convene themselves confusedly about bedtime in
private houses, where, for the greater part of the night, they would
expound Scripture, pray, and sing psalms, besides ‘discussing questions
of divinity, whereof some sae curious that they do not understand,
and some so ridiculous that they cannot be edified by them.’ The
consequence was, that they began to ‘lichtly and set at naught the
public worship of God.’ Seeing in this a movement towards Brownism, the
kirk-session of Stirling called on the presbytery to take the matter
into consideration, and meanwhile discharged the congregation from
giving any favour to such practices.[86]
[Sidenote: 1639.