THE HISTORY OF SCOTLAND, FROM THE UNION OF THE CROWNS ON THE ACCESSION TO THE UNION OF THE KINGDOMS IN THE REIGN WITH TWO DISSERTATIONS, HISTORICAL AND CRITICAL, ON THE SUPPOSED AUTHENTICITY OF OSSIAN'S POEMS. IN TWO VOLUMES. VOL. I. LONDON: Printed by A. Strahan, Printers Street, FOR T. CADELL JUN. AND W. DAVIES, IN THE STRAND; AND 1800. PREFACE. THE following work was chiefly undertaken, as a History of Scotland, from the Union of the Crowns to the Union of the Kingdoms, feemed to be still wanting to render its annals complete. The early history of Scotland is in other hands : the most important period has been executed by Dr. Robertson, with a fidelity equal at least to the elegance and the fuccefs of his work; but the domeftic transactions of Scotland, from the Acceffion to the Union, have hitherto remained concealed in manuscripts, or buried in the obfcure volumes of ecclefiastical difputation. The most prominent events alone are occafionally recorded in English hiftorians; but the caufes, confequences, and the whole train of fubordinate incidents, are imperfectly known. becomes not me to determine, hardly indeed to conjecture, how far, or whether I have fucceeded in my defign, to give a juft and impartial continuation of the Hiftory of Scotland down to the period when its History expires. It During the whole of the civil wars, it is impoffible to separate the history of the two kingdoms. Without departing therefore from my profeffed defign, A 2 defign, I have entered largely into the relative affairs of England, and omitted no opportunity to illuftrate, concisely, the most disputed paffages concerning the origin and continuance of the civil wars, the character and motives of Charles I. and the cause of his death. It is here, where the judgment is pre-occupied with fome hiftorical theory or political system, that I anticipate the principal objections to my work; but if I deviate from our recent historians, I approach the nearer to those original authorities which I have been the more careful to quote, and which they who difpute my conclufions are requested to confult. The manufcript materials employed in this hiftory are chiefly derived from the library of the Faculty of Advocates at Edinburgh, to which I enjoy a profeffional accefs. Calderwood's MS. cited wherever the printed abftract is defective, Matthew Crawford's, and fome other manufcript hiftories, were procured from the records of the church of Scotland. The records of the jufticiary court, and of the privy council, have been frequent examined; but I am indebted for many valuable materials, to the private repofitories of gentlemen, whose friendship I am proud to acknowledge. Mr. Erfkine of Mar communicated to me the correspondence of his ancestors, the car of Mar and his brother lord Grange, without folicitation and without referve. Through the friendship of Mr. Clerk of Elden, whofe Naval Tactics have contributed to our naval victories, I obtained full accefs to the hiftorical writings of his father, Sir John Clerk of Pennycuick, a commiffioner at the Union; and from the honourable Mr. Maule 1 procured the transcripts of Fountainhall's Memoirs, and of other MSS. preferved by his ancestor, Mr. Henry Maule. Instead of extracting from these materials a collection of original papers, in which it would be difficult to separate historical facts from the fanaticism of the age, I have subjoined fuch Notes and Illuftrations as were neceffary to explain at length, and to confirm the most doubtful, or difputed paffages in each volume. On two occafions only I have departed from this plan. The forgery detected in Logan of Reftalrig's fuppofed letters, might appear to difcredit the whole Gowrie Confpiracy, which belongs to the preceding period of history; but I have annexed, without fcruple, to the first volume, an Hiftorical Differtation for which I am indebted to the friendship of Mr. Pinkerton, who, in my apprehenfion, has placed that obfcure transaction in its genuine light. The other inftance, in which I have deferted my accustomed mode of illustration, is the Differtation annexed to the fecond volume, on the supposed Authenticity of Offian's Poems. The prevailing belief of their authenticity, at home and abroad, will render it the lefs furprifing, that, in a queftion concerning our literature and early history, I was defirous to vindicate to my countrymen that incredulity which I have freely and repeatedly ex, preffed. As a fhort note was found infufficient. I have entered, as concifely as poffible, into a 6 copious |