The escape of the King from the Ruthven lords, and the consequent return of Arran to power, produced an immediate change in Morton's relations to the Court. The nobles who had taken part in the Raid mustered their forces and took possession of Stirling Castle. On the other hand James, with the assistance of Morton, assembled an army of twelve thousand men to vindicate his authority, and on his approach to Stirling the insurgents disbanded their forces and fled into England. But the friendly feeling between the royal favourite and the Earl of Morton was not of long continuance. Arran had obtained a grant of the barony of Kinneil through the forfeiture of the Hamiltons, and he endeavoured to prevail upon Morton to accept this estate in exchange for his barony of Mearns and the lands of Maxwellheugh. Morton naturally refused to barter the ancient inheritance of his family for lands which a revolution at Court would almost certainly restore to their rightful owners. The worthless favourite was greatly incensed at this refusal, and speedily made Morton feel the weight of his resentment. He set himself to revive the old feud between the Maxwells and the Johnstones. The Earl was denounced as a rebel by the Council, on the plea that he had failed to present before their lordships two persons of the name of Armstrong, whom it was alleged he had protected in their depredations. He was ordered to enter his person within six days in ward in the castle of Blackness, and to deliver up the castles of Carlaverock and Thrieve, and his other strongholds within twenty four hours, under the penalty of treason. It was also ordered that the Earl's friends on the West Borders should appear personally before the Laird of Johnstone, who was now again Warden of the West Marches, upon a certain day, to give security for their due obedience to the King, under the pain of rebellion. To crown all, a commission was given to the Warden to pursue and seize Morton; and two companies of hired soldiers were dispatched by Arran to assist Johnstone in executing these decrees.

Morton, thus forced to the wall, adopted prompt and vigorous measures for his defence. The defeat of the mercenaries on Crawford Moor by Robert Maxwell-a natural brother of the Earl-the destruction of the house of Lochwood, and the capture of Johnstone himself, when he was lying in ambush to attack Robert Maxwell, speedily followed. On the other hand, the King, with advice of his Council, revoked and annulled the grant which he had made to Lord Maxwell of the lands and earldom of Morton. So formidable did the Earl appear to the Government, that £20,000 was granted by the Convention of the Estates to levy soldiers for the suppression of his rebellion, and all the men on the south of the Forth capable of bearing arms were commanded to be in readiness to attend the King in an expedition against the powerful and refractory baron, of whom it was justly said that 'few noblemen in Scotland could surpass him in military power and experience.' But the projected raid into Dumfries-shire was deferred for some months, and ultimately abandoned. Even Arran himself was so much impressed by the indomitable energy and power of resistance which Morton had displayed, that he made an unsuccessful attempt to be reconciled to him. The downfall of the profligate and unprincipled favourite was, however, at hand. The banished lords entered Scotland in October, 1585, at the head of a small body of troops, and were joined by Bothwell, Home, Yester, Cessford, Drumlanrig, and other powerful barons. Maxwell brought to their aid 1,300 foot and 700 horse, while the forces of all the other lords scarcely equalled that number. The insurgents marched to Stirling, where the King and his worthless favourite lay, and without difficulty obtained possession both of the town and the castle. Hume of Godscroft mentions, with great indignation, the conduct of the Annandale Borderers under Maxwell. True to their predatory character, they carried off the gentlemen's horses, which had been committed to the care of their valets, respecting neither friend nor foe; and what was worse, they robbed the sick in the pest-lodges that were in the fields about Stirling, and carried away the clothes of the infected. Arran fled for his life, accompanied only by a single attendant; the banished lords, along with Morton, were pardoned and received into favour, their estates were restored, and an indemnity was shortly after granted to them by Parliament for all their unlawful doings within the kingdom.

Emboldened by his victory over Arran, Morton, who was a zealous Roman Catholic, assembled a number of his retainers and supporters of the old Church at Dumfries, and marched in procession at their head to the Collegiate Church of Lincluden, in which he caused mass to be openly celebrated. As stringent laws had been enacted by the Estates against the celebration of mass, this conduct excited general indignation. Morton was summoned to appear before the Privy Council, and was imprisoned by order of the King in the castle of Edinburgh. Shortly after, the forfeiture of Regent Morton was rescinded, and it was declared that Archibald, Earl of Angus, as his nearest heir of line, should succeed to the lands and dignities of the earldom. Lord Maxwell, however, was not deprived of the title of Earl of Morton, which was subsequently given to him in royal charters and commissions, and which he continued to use till his death.

Maxwell's imprisonment was first of all relaxed on his giving security that he would not go beyond the city of Edinburgh and a certain prescribed limit in its vicinity, and he was set at liberty in the summer of 1586. In common with the other Popish lords, he made no secret of his sympathy with the projected invasion of England by Philip II. of Spain. In April, 1587, he received licence from the King to visit the Continent, on his giving a bond with cautioners that 'whilst he remained in foreign parts he should neither privately, directly nor indirectly, practise anything prejudicial to the true religion presently professed within this realm,' and that he should not return to Scotland without his Majesty's special licence.' It is scarcely necessary to say that the Earl deliberately violated his pledge, and during his residence in Spain he was in active communication with the Spanish Court, and not only witnessed the preparations that were making for the invasion of England, but promised his assistance in the enterprise. Contrary to the assurance which he had given, he returned to Scotland without the King's permission, and landed at Kirkcudbright, in April, 1588. A proclamation was therefore issued forbidding all his Majesty's subjects to hold intercourse with him. It soon appeared that this step was fully warranted by Morton's treasonable intentions and intrigues. He and the other Popish lords had earnestly recommended the Spanish king to invade England through Scotland, and that, for this purpose, a Spanish army should be landed on the west coast, promising that as soon as this was done they would join the invaders with a numerous body of their retainers. Morton at once set about organising an armed force in Dumfries, there to be in readiness for this expected result. Lord Herries, who had been appointed Warden in the room of his relative, finding himself unable to suppress this rising, which was every day gathering fresh strength, warned the King of the danger which threatened the peace and security of the country, and Morton was immediately summoned to appear before the Council. He not only disregarded the summons, but, in defiance of the royal authority, set about fortifying the Border fortresses of which he held possession. James, indignant at this contumacy, and now fully alive to the danger which threatened the kingdom, promptly collected a body of troops and marched to Dumfries, where Morton, unprepared for this sudden movement, narrowly escaped being made prisoner. He rode with the utmost expedition to Kirkcudbright, and there procured a ship, in which he put to sea.

Next day the King summoned the castles of Lochmaben, Langholm, Thrieve, and Carlaverock, to surrender. They all obeyed except Lochmaben, which was commanded by David Maxwell, brother to the Laird of Cowhill, who imagined that he would be able to hold the castle against the royal forces in consequence of their want of artillery. The King himself accompanied his troops to Lochmaben, and having 'borrowed a sieging train from the English Warden at Carlisle,' battered the fortress so effectually that the garrison were constrained to capitulate. They surrendered to Sir William Stewart, brother of Arran, on the written assurance that their lives should be spared. This pledge, however, was shamefully violated by the King, who ordered the captain and four of the chief men of the garrison to be hanged before the castle gate, on the ground that they had refused to surrender when first summoned.

It was of great importance that the person of the leader of the rebellion should be secured, and Sir William Stewart was promptly despatched in pursuit of Morton. Finding himself closely followed, the Earl quitted his ship, and taking to the boat, made for land. Stewart having discovered, on seizing the ship, that Maxwell had left it, followed him to land, and succeeded in apprehending him. He was at first conveyed to Dumfries, but was afterwards removed to the castle of Edinburgh. He contrived, even when in confinement, to take part in a new intrigue for a renewed attempt at invasion after the destruction of the Armada, and along with the Earl of Huntly and Lord Claude Hamilton he signed a letter to Philip, King of Spain, giving him counsel as to the mode in which another effort might be successfully made.

Maxwell was released from prison, along with the other Popish nobles, on the 12th of September, 1589, to attend James's queen on her arrival from Denmark. On his liberation he became bound under a penalty of a hundred thousand pounds Scots to conduct himself as a loyal subject, and neither directly nor indirectly to do anything tending to the 'trouble and alteration of the state of religion presently professed, and by law established within the realm.' It appears that Lord Maxwell, about the beginning of the year 1592, had professed to have become a convert to the Protestant religion, and on January 26th he subscribed the Confession of Faith before the Presbytery of Edinburgh. The sincerity of this profession may be doubted, and it soon became evident that it had exercised no improvement in his turbulent character, for, on the 2nd of February following, he had a violent struggle for precedency in the Kirk of Edinburgh with Archibald, Earl of Angus, the new Earl of Morton. They were separated by the Provost before they had time to draw their swords, and were conveyed under a guard to their lodgings.

Repeated efforts had been made to heal the long-continued and deadly feud between the Maxwells and the Johnstones, and early in the year 1592 it seemed as if a permanent reconciliation had been at length effected. On the 1st of April of that year the rival chiefs entered into a full and minute agreement by which they 'freely remitted and forgave all rancour of mind, grudge, malice, and feuds that had passed, or fallen forth, betwixt them or any of their forbears in any time bygone,' and became bound that 'they themselves, their kin, friends, &c., should in all time coming live together in sure peace and amity.' Any controversy or questions that might hereafter arise between them were to be referred to eight arbitrators, four chosen by each party, with the King as oversman or umpire. But in the following year the two families came again into collision, and the feud was revived more fiercely than ever.

William Johnstone, of Wamphray, called the Galliard, [The name seems to have been derived from a dance called the galliard. The word is still employed in Scotland for an active, gay, dissipated character.] a noted freebooter, made a foray on the lands of the Crichtons of Sanquhar, the Douglases of Drumlanrig and some other Nithsdale barons. The Galliard was taken prisoner in the fray and hanged by the Crichtons. The Johnstones, under the leadership of the Galliard's nephew, and in greater force, made a second inroad into Nithsdale, killing a good many of the tenantry, and carrying off a great number of their cattle. The freebooters were pursued by the Crichtons, who overtook them at a pass called Well Path Head, by which they were retreating to their fastnesses in Annandale. The Johnstones stood at bay and fought with such desperate courage that their pursuers were defeated and most of them killed. [This skirmish forms the subject of the old Border ballad, entitled The Lads a' Wamphray.] The Biddesburn, where the encounter took place, is said to have run three days with blood.

A remarkable scene which followed this sanguinary fray is thus described by a contemporary writer. 'There came certain poor women out of the south country, with fifteen bloody shirts, to compleane to the King that their husbands, sons, and servants were cruelly murdered by the Laird of Johnstone, themselves spoiled, and nothing left them. The poor women, seeing they could get no satisfaction, caused the bloody shirts to be carried by pioneers through the town of Edinburgh, upon Monday, the 23rd of July. The people were much moved, and cried out for vengeance upon the King and Council. The King was nothing moved, but against the town of Edinburgh and the ministers.' The Court alleged they had procured that spectacle in contempt of the King. The feeling thus excited, however, was so strong that the Government was in the end constrained to take proceedings against the depredators. The injured and despoiled Nithsdale barons complained of this sanguinary foray of the Johnstones to Lord Maxwell, who had been reinstated in his office of Warden of the Western Marches. But his recent pacification and alliance with Sir James Johnstone, of Dunskellie, the chief of the clan, made him unwilling to move in the affair. The King, however, issued orders to the Warden to apprehend Johnstone and to execute justice on the 'lads of Wamphray' for the depredations and slaughters which they had committed. At the same time Douglas of Drumlanrig and Kirkpatrick of Closeburn entered into a bond, in conjunction with the Warden's brother, binding themselves to stand firmly by Lord Maxwell in executing the royal commands, and to defend each other, and to support him in his quarrels with his hereditary foes.

This secret alliance was speedily made known to the chief of the Johnstones, and he immediately applied for help in this hour of need to the friends on whom he could rely. The Scotts of Buccleuch, though their chief, a near relation of Johnstone, was then on the Continent, mustered five hundred strong, 'the most renowned freebooters,' says an old historian, 'and the bravest warriors among the Border tribes.' With them came the Elliots, Armstrongs, and Grahams, valiant and hardy, actuated both by love of plunder, and by hostility to the Maxwells. On the other hand the Warden, armed with the royal authority, assembled his new allies, the barons of Nithsdale, and displaying his banner as the King's lieutenant, invaded Annandale at the head of fifteen hundred men, with the purpose of crushing the ancient rival and enemy of his house. It is said that some days previously, Maxwell caused it to be proclaimed among his followers that he would give 'a ten-pound land '-that is, land rated in the cess-books at that yearly amount-to any man who would bring him the head or hand of the Laird of Johnstone. When this was repeated to Johnstone, he said he had no ten-pound lands to offer, but he would bestow 'a five-merk land' upon the man who should bring him the head or the hand of Lord Maxwell.

On the 6th of December, 1593, the Warden crossed the river Annan and advanced to attack the Johnstones, who had skilfully taken up their position on an elevated piece of ground at the Dryfe Sands, near Lockerbie, where Lord Maxwell could not bring his whole force into action against them at the same time. A detachment sent out by the Warden was suddenly surrounded by a stronger body of the enemy and driven back on the main force, which it threw into confusion. A desperate conflict then ensued, in which the Johnstones and their allies, though inferior in numbers, gained a complete victory. The Maxwells suffered considerable loss in the battle and the retreat, and many of them were slashed in the face by the pursuers in the streets of Lockerbie-a kind of blow which to this day is called in the district 'A Lockerbie lick.' Lord Maxwell himself, who, says Spottiswood, was 'a tall man and heavy in armour, was in the chase overtaken and stricken from his horse,' and slain under two large thorn-trees which were long called 'Maxwell's Thorns,' but were swept away about fifty years ago by an inundation of the Dryfe. According to tradition, it was William Johnstone of the Kirkhill, the nephew of the Galliard, who overtook Lord Maxwell in his flight, and obtained the reward offered by Sir James Johnstone, by striking down the chief of the Maxwells and cutting off his right hand. The lairds of Drumlanrig, Closeburn, and Lag escaped by the fleetness of their horses. 'Never ane of his awn folks,' says an ancient chronicler, 'remained with him [Maxwell] (only twenty of his awn household), but all fled through the water; five of the said lord's company slain; and his head and right hand were ta'en with them to the Lochwood and affixed on the wall thereof. The bruit ran that the said Lord Maxwell was treacherously deserted by his awn company.' [Johnstone's Histories, p. 182. Sir Walter Scott mentions a tradition of the district, that the wife of the Laird of Lockerbie sallied out from her tower, which she carefully locked, to see how the battle had gone, and saw Lord Maxwell lying beneath a thorn-tree, bareheaded and bleeding to death from the loss of his right hand, and that she dashed out his brains with the ponderous key which she carried. But the story is in itself exceedingly improbable. and is at variance with the contemporary histories.]

The flight of the Nithsdale barons is thus noticed in the beautiful ballad of 'Lord Maxwell's Good-Night.'

'Adieu! Drumlanrig, false wert aye,
And Closeburn in a band,
The Laird of Lag, frae my father that fled.When the Johnstones struck aff his hand,
They were three brethren in a band;
Joy may they never see!,br> Their treacherous art and cowardly heart,
Has twined my love and me.'

JOHN, ninth Lord Maxwell, the eldest son of the nobleman who fell at Dryfe Sands, was only eight years of age at the time of his accession to his father's title and estates, in the year 1593. He, unfortunately, was heir not only to his paternal property and honours, but also to the long-breathed feud between the Maxwells and the Johnstones.

King James expressed great indignation at the defeat and death of his Lieutenant of the Western Marches, and Sir James Johnstone and his accomplices were immediately put to the horn, and declared to be rebels. This act was followed up by a commission appointed by the King, 22nd December, 1593, for establishing good order upon the Western Marches. Johnstone and his accomplices are charged with 'murdering the trew men indwellars in the Sanquhar, in the defens and saulftie of their awne guidis;' burning the parish kirk of Lochmaben, and the slaughter of some of his Majesty's subjects sent thither by John, Lord Maxwell, the King's Warden and Justice; for having appeared in arms against the Warden, 'umbesett, invadit, persewit, and maist cruellie and outrageouslie slew him and sundrie gentilmen of his name, and others his Majestie's obedient subjects; drownit, hurte, lamyt, dememberit, and tuke a grit nowmer of prisonaris; reft and spuilzeit thair horses, armour, pursis, money, and uther guidis.' The King's anger, however, was not of long duration, for in the course of a few weeks a warrant was obtained by Sir James Johnstone under the King's sign manual ordaining a respite to be made under the Privy Seal in favour of Sir James, 'for the treasonable slauchter of Lord Maxwell.' The respite, which passed the Privy Seal 24th December, 1594, mentioned no fewer than 'a hundred and sixty of the Johnstones, and included not only the slaughter of the Warden and of those who fell with him, but also the raising and burning of the kirk of Lochmaben, and the slaughter of Captain Oliphant and others, which took place before the battle of Dryfe Sands.

The Laird of Johnstone does not appear to have been grateful for the respite thus granted him. He lost no opportunity of annoying and spoiling his hereditary foes, attacking them whenever it was in his power to do so with effect. Retaliating forays on each side were of frequent occurrence, and the attempts of the Government to allay these feuds, so destructive of the peace of the kingdom, were entirely without effect. The appointment of Sir James Johnstone in April, 1596, to the office of Warden of the Western Marches in the room of Lord Herries, served, as might have been expected, to increase the disturbances in the district; and it speedily became necessary to replace the chief of the Johnstone clan by Lord Stewart of Ochiltree. So great was the annoyance which Johnstone's outrageous and illegal conduct caused to the Government that on the 27th of May, 1598, he was declared rebel, and his portrait hung at the Cross of Edinburgh with his head downwards. He was in consequence intercommuned and committed to prison in July, 1599, where he seems to have been kept for a year. But his imprisonment does not appear to have taught him either prudence or forbearance.

The young Lord Maxwell, on his part, was neither wiser nor more forbearing than his rival. Like his father, he was a steadfast adherent of the Roman Catholic religion, and was declared rebel and put to the horn, in consequence of his presence at the mass celebrated at Dumfries by seminary priests. He was imprisoned in the castle of Edinburgh, in March, 1601, for 'favouring Popery,' but made his escape in January, 1602, and was proclaimed a traitor. His enmity to the Johnstones was irremovable, and in February of that year he made a sanguinary attack on his hereditary foes, two of whom were put to death by his vassals with great cruelty. In 1605, a professed reconciliation took place between these two potent rivals, but it was not of long continuance.

Lord Maxwell, with the combative disposition of his family, was now involved in a dispute with William Douglas of Lochleven, who, on the death of the Earl of Angus, was reinstated in the earldom and title of Morton. He challenged Douglas to single combat, and was in consequence of this, and numerous other turbulent acts, imprisoned in the castle of Edinburgh, 11th August, 1607. After eight weeks' confinement, he made his escape in a manner which strikingly displayed both his daring and his energy. He had for his fellow-prisoner a great chieftain of the Isles, Sir James M'Connell, or Macdonald. 'Seeing not how he was to be relieved, he devises with Sir James M'Connell and Robert Maxwell of Dinwoodie, what way he and they might escape. Sir James, hesitating, urged the need of deliberation. "Tush, man !" replied Maxwell, "sic enterpryses are nocht effectuate with deliberations and advisments, but with suddane resolutionis."' He then called in two soldiers who had charge of the prisoners, and giving them a liberal supply of wine, 'drinks them fou.' Suddenly turning upon the soldiers, Maxwell compelled them to give up their swords, and giving one to Sir James M'Connell, another to Robert Maxwell, and keeping a third for himself, he called out, 'All gude fellows that luiffes me, follow me, for I sall either be furth of the Castle this nycht, or elles I sall loose my lyiff.' He then passed out of the room with his companions, locking the door behind him. One of the soldiers gave the alarm by crying out at the south window, towards the West Port, 'Treason! treason!' The three passed to the inner gate, where the master porter, an old man, tried to make resistance. 'False knave,' exclaimed Lord Maxwell, 'open the gate, or I shall hew thee in blads' [pieces]. He did strike the man on the arm with his sword, but the keys were then given up, and the gate was opened. They had next an encounter at the second gate with the under porter. Lord Maxwell and Sir James M'Connell wounded him and forced their way through, but Robert Maxwell was kept back by the porter. He, however, made his escape by leaping over 'the west castle wall, that goes to the West Port.' Lord Maxwell and Sir James passed to the same wall, and climbing over it leaped down and disappeared amongst the suburbs. Lord Maxwell made his escape upon a horse which had been kept in readiness for him; but Sir James M'Connell, who had irons upon him, twisted his ankle in leaping. He was discovered lying upon a dunghill to which he had crept and was brought back to the Castle. 'The King was very far offended and made proclamation that nane should visit him under the pain of death.' He issued orders also that special search should be made for the fugitive, and to omit nothing that 'might hasten the infliction of exemplary punishment upon him.' His Majesty complained in a letter to the Privy Council that Maxwell openly travelled through the country accompanied by not fewer than twenty horse in open defiance of the royal authority, and renewed his injunctions that diligent search should be made for him in order that he might either be apprehended, or put out of the bounds. The Privy Council in reply stated that they had used all diligence in searching for Lord Maxwell and punishing his resetters; and informed the King that one of his hiding-places was a certain cave in Clawbelly Hill, in the parish of Kirkgunzeon, which still bears the name of 'Lord Maxwell's Cave.'

Lord Maxwell evidently felt that the life which he was leading was dangerous as well as uncomfortable, and with a view to gain the favour of the King, he seems to have been really desirous at this juncture to become reconciled to the Laird of Johnstone, who on his part had expressed a similar wish to Sir Robert Maxwell of Orchardtoun, Lord Maxwell's cousin, and his own brother-in-law. Sir Robert undertook the office of mediator between the two chiefs with some reluctance, for, as he remarked, 'it was dangerous to meddle with such a man.' On paying a visit to Lord Maxwell at his request in March, 1608, he found that his lordship was not unwilling to be reconciled to his hereditary enemy. 'Cosine,' he said to Sir Robert, 'it was for this caus I send for zou. Ye see my estait and dangour I stand in; and I wald crave zour Counsell and avise as ane man that tenders my weill.' Sir Robert judiciously recommended the turbulent noble to keep himself quiet, and to avoid giving any additional offence to the King. He also expressed his willingness to mediate between him and Johnstone, if he was willing that their differences should be amicably settled. Lord Maxwell declared that he was willing to overlook the past, should Johnstone show any corresponding inclination, and would be ready to meet him with a view to their reconciliation.

A meeting was accordingly arranged, Sir Robert having previously exacted from Lord Maxwell a promise and solemn oath, that neither he nor the person who should accompany him would use any violence, whether they came to an accommodation or not. A similar obligation was given by Sir James Johnstone. They met on the 6th of April, 1608. Lord Maxwell was accompanied by Charles Maxwell, brother of William Maxwell of Kirkhouse, who seems to have borne the reputation of a passionate and quarrelsome person. Sir James Johnstone brought with him William Johnstone of Lockerbie. Sir Robert Maxwell was also present as mediator, and seems to have had his misgivings as to the result of the meeting, when he saw that Charles Maxwell was Lord Maxwell's attendant, for he required that his Lordship should renew his oath and promise of strict fidelity for himself and his man, which was readily done, and a similar pledge was exacted from Johnstone. The rival chiefs met on horseback, and after mutual salutations, they rode on to confer together, Sir Robert being between them. While they were thus engaged, Charles Maxwell quitted the place where he had been ordered to remain, and going towards Johnstone's attendant, commenced an altercation with him. The other attempted to soothe him with calm and peaceful words, but without effect, and after some bitter and angry expressions, Maxwell fired a pistol at William Johnstone, which, however, only pierced his cloak. Johnstone attempted to retaliate, but his pistol missed fire, and he cried out, 'Treason!' Sir James, on hearing this noise, turned away from Lord Maxwell and Sir Robert, and rode towards the attendants. Sir Robert caught hold of his lordship's cloak and exclaimed, 'Fy! my lord: make not yourself a traitor and me baith.' But Maxwell, bursting from his grasp, fired a pistol at the Laird of Johnstone, and mortally wounded him in the back. Johnstone's palfrey becoming restive, the girths broke and the laird fell to the ground. While his attendant was standing beside him, Charles Maxwell again fired at them. Looking up to heaven Sir James exclaimed, 'Lord, have mercy on me! Christ, have mercy on me! I am deceived,' and soon after expired. The murderer and his attendant then coolly rode away. That foul deed was 'detested by all men,' says Spottiswood, 'and the gentleman's misfortune sincerely lamented; for he was a man full of wisdom and courage, and every way well inclined.' Proclamation was made by sound of trumpet at the Cross of Edinburgh, that none, unless under pain of death, should transport or carry away the Lord Maxwell out of the country, in ship or craer, seeing the King and Council were to take order with him for the traitorous murdering of the Laird of Johnstone and his other offences. He was tried in absence before the Estates on the 24th of June, 1609, for treason, and was found guilty. He was condemned to suffer the pains of law for his crime, and his estates were forfeited and bestowed upon Sir Gideon Murray, Lord Cranstoun, and other favourites of the Court.

Lord Maxwell succeeded in eluding his pursuers and made his escape to France, where he remained for several years. His flight, after his perpetration of the murder of Sir James Johnstone, is commemorated in the pathetic ballad entitled 'Lord Maxwell's Good Night,' in which he is represented as bidding farewell to his mother, sisters, and wife, and to his hereditary fortresses and estates. The unknown author is, however, mistaken in supposing that the fugitive lord felt regret at parting from his wife, against whom, it is not clear on what grounds, he had raised a process of divorce, during the dependence of which she died. This lady was the only sister of James, second Marquis of Hamilton, who was deeply offended at his brother-in-law's procedure, and became in consequence his bitter enemy.

The ballad must have been written before Lord Maxwell's execution in 1613, as it makes no mention of that event. It was first published in Sir Walter Scott's 'Border Minstrelsy,' from a copy in Glenriddel's MSS. Lord Byron refers to this ballad as having suggested the 'Good Night' in the first canto of' Childe Harold.' It is as follows :-

'Adieu! madame, my mother dear,
But and my sisters three;
Adieu! fair Robert of Orchardstone,
My heart is wae for thee.
Adieu! the Iilye and the rose,
The primrose fair to see;
Adieu! my Iadye, and only joy,
For I may not stay with thee.

'Though I hae slain Lord Johnston;
What care I for their feid?
My noble mind their wrath disdains,
He was my father's deid.
Both night and day I labour'd oft
Of him avenged to be
But now I've got what lang I sought.
And I may not stay with thee.

'Adieu! Dumfries, my proper place,
But and Carlaverock fair;
Adieu! my castle of the Thrieve,
Wi' a' my buildings there;
Adieu! Lochmaben's gates sac fair,
The Langholm-holm where birks there be;
Adieu! my ladye, and only joy,
For, trust me, I must not stay wi' thee.

'Adieu! fair Eskdale up and down,
Where my puir friends do dwell;
The bangisters will ding them down,
And will them sair compell.
But I'll avenge their feid mysel',
When I come o'er the sea;
Adieu! my ladye, and only joy,
For I may not stay wi' thee.'

'Lord of the land,' that lady said,
'O wad ye go wi' me.Unto my brother's stately tower,
Where safest ye may be?
There Hamiltons and Douglas baith
Shall rise to succour thee.'
'Thanks for thy kindness, fair my dame,
But I may not stay wi' thee.'

Then he took all a gay gold ring,
Thereat hang signets three:
'Hae, tak' thee that, mine am dear thing,
And still hae mind o' me;
But, if thou take another lord,
Ere I come ower the sea,-
His life is but a three days' lease,
Tho' I may not stay wi' thee.'

The wind was fair, the ship was clear,
That good lord went away;
And most part of his friends were there
To give him a fair convey.
They drank the wine, they didna spar't,
Even in that gude lord's sight.
Sac now he's o'er the floods sac gray,
And Lord Maxwell has ta'en his Good night.

Lord Maxwell, weary of exile, and probably hoping that the lapse of time had mollified the resentment of the Johnstones, ventured to return to Scotland in 1612; but he soon discovered that his enemies were as eager as ever for vengeance, and made such keen pursuit after him on the Borders, that he resolved to take refuge in Sweden. His relative, George Sinclair, fifth Earl of Caithness, however, persuaded him to delay taking this step, and offered to give him, in the meantime, shelter on his estates in the north. Maxwell accepted this offer, and proceeded to Caithness, in reliance on his kinsman's promise and honour; but the Earl, in order to obtain the favour of the Government, basely betrayed him, and caused him to be arrested and carried a prisoner to Castle Sinclair. He was brought to Edinburgh 19th September, 1612, by orders of the Privy Council, and warded in the Tolbooth there.

Sir James Johnstone, the son of the murdered chief, and his mother, and even his grandmother, who was labouring under some sickness, lost no time in petitioning the King that justice should be executed on Lord Maxwell, and travelled to Edinburgh for the express purpose of pressing their demand. An earnest effort was made by Maxwell's friends to effect a reconciliation between him and the relatives of the deceased Laird of Johnstone. He first of all humbly confessed and craved mercy for his offence against God, the King, and the surviving relatives of Sir James Johnstone; and testified, by his solemn oath, that the unhappy slaughter was not committed by him upon forethought, or set purpose, but upon mere accident. Secondly, he was willing, not only for himself, but for his whole kin and friends, to forgive the slaughter of his father by the Laird of Johnstone and his accomplices. Thirdly, in order to establish friendship between the houses of Maxwell and Johnstone, he was willing to marry the daughter of the deceased Sir James without any tocher. Fourthly, he proposed that the young Laird of Johnstone should marry his sister's daughter, and offered to give with her a dowry of 20,000 merks Scots, and whatever additional sum should be thought expedient by the advice of friends. Lastly, he was content to be banished the kingdom for seven years, or longer, at the wish and pleasure of the Laird of Johnstone. These offers were to be augmented at the discretion of common friends to be chosen for that purpose.

It is not known whether these proposals were submitted by the Privy Council to the relations of the deceased Laird of Johnstone; the Government, however, were determined-no doubt with the full approval of the King-to carry into effect the sentence which had been pronounced upon Lord Maxwell in his absence. But, as Sir Walter Scott remarks, 'in the best actions of that monarch, there seems to have been an unfortunate tincture of that meanness so visible on the present occasion. Lord Maxwell was indicted for the murder of Johnstone; but this was combined with a charge of fire-raising, which, according to the ancient Scottish law, if perpetrated by a landed man, constituted a species of treason, and inferred forfeiture. Thus the noble purpose of public justice was sullied by being united with that of enriching some needy favourite.'

Lord Maxwell was beheaded at the Cross of Edinburgh on the 21st of May, 1613. 'He refused to receive any religious instruction, or consolation from the ministers, declaring that he was a Catholic man, and not of their religion.' He acknowledged, on the scaffold, the justice of his sentence, asking mercy from God and forgiveness from the son, widow, mother, and friends of the deceased Laird of Johnstone.

'The execution of Lord Maxwell,' says Sir Walter Scott, 'put a final end to the foul debate between the Maxwells and the Johnstones, in the course of which each family lost two chieftains; one dying of a broken heart, one in the field of battle, one by assassination, and one by the sword of the executioner.'

On the death of John, ninth Lord Maxwell, on the scaffold, the representation of the house of Maxwell devolved on his younger brother ROBERT; but the titles and extensive estates of the family were forfeited to the Crown in 1609, and considerable portions of the land had been granted to influential persons, who were not willing to give them up. A number of years, therefore, elapsed before Robert, tenth Lord Maxwell, was fully reinstated in the possession of the lands and dignities of his ancestors. King James, commiserating his pecuniary difficulties, ordered £2,000 sterling to be given him out of the Royal Exchequer of Scotland in October, 1616, and he obtained large loans from Sir William Graham of Braco and other friends, to assist him in his efforts to recover the Maxwell estates, which an Act of Parliament passed 28th June, 1617, declared him capable of possessing. In December of that year, Lord Cranstoun resigned to him the barony of Cranstoun; and finally, the King, by three letters patent, dated 5th October, 1618, 13th March, 1619, and 29th August, 1620, restored to him 'the lands, rents, living, teinds, offices, and dignities' that belonged to his predecessors. This last-mentioned patent set forth that, 'calling to remembrance the constant hatred between the families of Morton and Maxwell, and also its being unusual for two earls to wear the same title, his Majesty, by his sole authority, changed the title of Earl of Morton, which he had conferred on the deceased Lord Maxwell, into that of EARL OF NITHSDALE, which he now conferred on Lord Maxwell, his son, whose designation would be Lord Maxwell, Lord Eskdale, and Earl of Nithsdale.' But it was expressly declared that this change was without prejudice to the antiquity of the former titles.

The title of NITHSDALE, as Mr. Fraser remarks, was more appropriate as a family title of honour than that of Morton, for which it was exchanged. Morton had not been previously in the family as a territorial possession, and they acquired only a quasi right through the marriage of a co-heiress. On the other hand, the rich and beautiful vale of the Nith, in Dumfriesshire, through which the river Nith flows, was historically associated with the Maxwells. From a very early period they owned the castle of Carlaverock, which was the key to the whole of that district. The family also, through its heads and branches, had long possessed large territories on both banks of the Nith, from its mouth where it falls into the Solway Firth, to nearly the source of that river in the parish of Dalmellington, in Ayrshire.

Unlike his brother and his predecessors, the Earl of Nithsdale was a man of peace, and he strove to staunch the feuds which had so long existed between the Maxwells and the Murrays of Cockpool, and the Johnstones. On the 17th of June, 1623, the Earl and James Johnstone of Westraw appeared before the Privy Council, and in testimony of their reconciliation 'choppit hands.' In his pecuniary difficulties, as well as in his disputes with the other nobles respecting precedence and privileges, the Earl of Nithsdale was powerfully aided by the Lord Chancellor, the celebrated 'Tam o' the Cowgate,' who held him in personal esteem, and with his characteristic shrewdness had an eye to the favour of the powerful Duke of Buckingham, whose niece Lord Nithsdale had married. As both the Earl and his cautioners were hard pressed by his creditors, the King was induced to interfere for his protection, and to arrest the proceedings against him; an act of gracious interference which had to be repeated more than once. As might have been expected, Lord Nithsdale was a strenuous supporter of Charles I. in his arbitrary policy, and in 1625 he was sent down as Royal Commissioner to hold a convention of the Estates, for the purpose of obtaining the surrender of all the tithes and other ecclesiastical property which had been forfeited to the Crown at the time of the Reformation, and had been granted by James to the nobility and royal favourites. But this demand the nobles, most of whom had shared in the plunder of the Church, were determined to resist to the last extremity. Bishop Burnet states that a number of them conspired, and resolved that if the Commissioner persisted in requiring an unconditional surrender of the teinds, 'they would fall upon him and all his party in the old Scottish manner, and knock him on the head.' Lord Belhaven, one of the conspirators, though old and blind, resolved to make sure of at least one victim, and being seated beside the Earl of Dumfries, seized upon the Earl of Nithsdale with one hand, and was prepared, should any disturbance arise, to plunge a dagger into his heart. Perceiving this determined opposition, Nithsdale disguised his instructions, and returned to London without accomplishing the object of his mission.

The encouragement and support which the Earl afforded to the Roman Catholics in Dumfries and its vicinity gave great offence to the Presbyterians, and the ministers of that town complained to the Privy Council in strong terms of 'the insolent behaviour of the Papists' in those parts, imputing the blame to the Earl of Nithsdale and Lord Herries. 'It is a pity,' wrote Archbishop Spottiswood to the Earl, that 'your Lordship will not be movit to leave that unhappie course which shall undoe your Lordship, and make us all sorry that love you; and how much prejudice the meanwhile this will bring to his Majestie's service, I cannot express.' The Archbishop exhorts him as he loves his Majesty, the standing of his house, ay, and the safety of his soul, to take another course, and resolve at least to be a hearer of the Word, 'for your Lordship not resorting to the Church, when you were last at Edinburgh, hath given your adversaries greater advantage than anything else.'

Part Three

Note: These articles are supplied by Electric Scotland. Burke's Peerage & Gentry are not responsible for the views and/or facts contained within.