and preached to them. Presently after this, he accompanied one of them, the laird of Dun, to his feat in the north; where he refided a month, teaching and preaching daily to confiderable numbers who reforted thither; among whom were the chief gentlemen in that country. From thence returning to Lothian, he lived, for the moft part, in the houfe of Calder, with James Sandilands, where he met with many perfons of the first rank, with whom he converfed familiarly, and confirmed them in the truth of the Protestant doctrine.

He afterwards preached for a confiderable time at Edinburgh; and in 1556, he went to the weft of Scotland, at the defire of fome Proteftant gentlemen, and preached in many places in Kyle. In fome, he also celebrated the Eucharift after the manner of the reformed churches. He likewife vifited the earl of Glencairn, at his houfe of Fynlaiston in the county of Renfrew, and administered the facrament to his lordship's family.

From thefe western parts he returned to the east, and refided fome time at Calder, where many reforted to him both for doctrine and the benefit of the facraments. From thence, he went a fecond time to the laird of Dun's houfe, in the county of Mearns, where he preached more publickly than before, and adminiftered the facraments to many perfons of note at their defire.

The Popish clergy being greatly alarmed at this fuccefs of Mr. Knox, in protecting the Proteftant cause, fummoned him to appear before them in the church of the Black-Friars in Edinburgh, on the 15th of May, 1556; and several gentlemen of diftinction, among whom was the laird of Dun, refolving to ftand by him, he determined to obey the fummons. But the profecution was dropped when the bishops perceived fuch a conferable VOL. II.

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party in his favour. However, he went to Edinburgh on the day on which he was cited; where he preached to a greater audience than ever he had done before; and in the bifhop of Dunkeld's houfe he inftructed great numbers of people, who were defirous of embracing the Proteftant religion, twice a day, for ten days fucceffively.

At this time the earl of Glencairn prevailed with the earl marshal, and his trustee, Henry Drummond, to hear one of Mr. Knox's fermons. They were extremely well fatisfied with his dif courfe, and proposed to him to write to the queenregent an earneft letter, to perfuade her, if poffible, to hear the Proteftant doctrine. He complied with their defire, and wrote to her the latter end of May, 1556. The letter was delivered by the earl of Glencairn. The queen read it, and gave it to James Beaton, archbishop of Glasgow (nephew of the cardinal who was affaffinated) with this farcaftic expreffion, "Please you, my lord, to "read a pafquil " This gave occafion to Mr. Knox to make fome additions to his letter, which he printed at Geneva in 1558.

While our reformer was thus occupied in Scotland, he received letters from the English congregation at Geneva, earnestly entreating him to come thither; and, having feriously confidered this invitation, he determined to comply with it. Accordingly, in July, 1556, he left Scotland, went firft to Dieppe, in France, and from thence to Geneva.

He had no fooner turned his back, than the bithops fummoned him before them; and, upon his non-appearance, they paffed fentence against him for herefy, and burned him in effigy at the crofs of Edinburgh. Againft this procefs he afterwards printed, at Geneva, in 1558,his famous" Appeliat. n from the cruel and most unjuft fentence pronounced

pronounced against him by the falfe bishops and clergy of Scotland, with his fupplication to the nobility, eftates, and commonalty of the faid realm;" a master-piece of its kind, not only for the noble defence of religious independency contained in it, but for the elegance and purity of the style.

In March, 1557, feveral noblemen, the chief promoters of the Reformation at that time in Scotland, judging their affairs to be in a pretty good pofture, and being fenfible of the ufefulness of Mr. Knox for this purpose, fent him an exprefs, earnestly defiring him to return home. This letter coming to his hands in May 1557, he immediately communicated it to his congregation, who were very unwilling to part with him; but, having confulted with Calvin and other minifters, they gave it as their opinion, that he could not refuse fuch a plain call, unless he would declare himself rebellious to God, and unmerciful to his country. The congregation, upon this, yielded to his departure; and he wrote back by the meffengers who brought the letter, that he would return to Scotland with all reasonable expedition.

Accordingly, having provided for his flock at Geneva, he left them about the end of September, and came to Dieppe, in his way to Scotland, in October. But there he unexpectedly met with letters from thence, contrary to the former, informing him, that new confultations were entered into, and advising him to stay at Dieppe till the conclufion of them. This was alfo farther explained in another letter, directed to a friend of Mr. Knox, wherein he was told, that many of thofe who had before joined in the invitation, were becoming inconftant, and began to draw back.

Upon the receipt of thefe advices, Mr. Knox wrote an expoftulatory letter to the lords who had invited him, concerning their rafhnefs; wherein he denounced judgments against such as should be inconftant in the religion they now profeffed. Befides which, he wrote feveral other letters from Dieppe, both to the nobility and to the profeffors of the reformed religion of an inferior degree;"exhorting them to conftancy in that doctrine, and giving fome useful cautions against the errors of fectaries, which grew up about this time, both in Germany and in England. In thefe letters he alfo enjoined them to give due obedience to autho Tity in all lawful things: and they had fuch an effect on those who received them, that they, one and all, entered into an agreement to commit themselves, and whatfoever God had given them, into his hands, rather than fuffer idolatry to reign; or the fubjects to be defrauded of their religious liberties; and to fecure each other's fidelity to the Proteftant caufe, a common bond, or covenant, was made and entered into by them, dated at Edinburgh, on the third of December, 1557; and from this period, they were known by the title of the CONGREGATION.

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Mr. Knox returned to Geneva in the beginning of 1558, and the fame year he printed there his treatise, intituled, "The First Blast of the trumpet against the monstrous regimen of women." He defigned to have written a fubfequent piece, which was to have been called, "The Second "Blaft:" But queen Mary dying foon after the Firft was publifhed; and having a great efteem for queen Elizabeth, whom he looked upon as an inftrument raised up, by the providence of God, for the good of the Proteftants, he went no farther.

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In 1559, he determined to return to his native country; and, having a strong defire, in his way thither, to vifit thofe in England, to whom he had formerly preached the Gofpel, he applied to Sir William Cecil, his old acquaintance, now fecretary of ftate, to procure leave for that purpofe. But this petition was fo far from being granted, that the meffenger, whom he fent to folicit that favour, very narrowly efcaped imprisonment. For it appears, that Knox's doctrine, contained in his "Firft Blaft," needed no fequel, and had given great difguft to Elizabeth; for he maintained in it, "that it is unnatural, abfurd, and impious, for women in any country to be "intrufted with the government of ftates and "kingdoms."

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Hereupon, he made the best of his way to Scotland, where he arrived in May, and was very active in promoting the Reformation there, as appears from the fecond book of his hiftory, which contains a full account of his conduct till the Proteftants were obliged to apply to England. For carrying on which tranfaction, in July of the fame year, he was pitched upon to meet Sir William Cecil, incognito, at Stamford; but his journey being retarded by the danger of paffing near the French, who lay at Dunbar, he was afterwards fent, in company with Mr. Robert Hamilton, another Proteftant minister, to negotiate these affairs between the Proteftants in Scotland and queen Elizabeth.

When they came to Berwick, they remained fome days with Sir James Crofts, the governor, who undertook to manage their business for them, and advised them to return home, which they did. Secretary Cecil fent alfo an answer to the Proteftant nobility and gentry, concerning their propofals to queen Elizabeth; which was fo cool, that

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