John Knox. Engraved by B. Holl, from a Picture in the Posession of Lord Somerville.

JOHN KNOX.

BY

WM. M. TAYLOR, D.D., LL.D.,

Author of "Limitations of Life," etc.

WITH STEEL PORTRAIT ENGRAVED BY B. HOLL, FROM
A PAINTING IN THE POSSESSION OF
LORD SOMERVILLE.

NEW YORK:
A. C. ARMSTRONG & SON,
714 BROADWAY.
1885

COPYRIGHT, 1885,
BY A. C. ARMSTRONG & SON.

PREFACE.

The sources from which the following narrative has been derived are (1) the splendidly edited and complete edition of Knox's Works in six volumes, by Dr. David Laing; (2) the Memoir of the Reformer, by Dr. Thomas McCrie, forming the first volume of the collected works of that eminent theologian; (3) the monograph by the late Professor Lorimer, D.D., entitled "John Knox and the Church of England"; and (4) the Histories of the Period, more especially that of Scotland, by John Hill Burton, vols. iii. and iv., and that of England, by J. A. Froude, vols. v. and vi. Some assistance also has been derived from "The Scottish Reformation," by Professor Lorimer; and the two sketches by Carlyle, the one in his "Heroes and Hero Worship," and the other in his essay on the Portraits of John Knox, have been both helpful and suggestive. Quotations have been generally indicated, but this acknowledgment must cover any accidental omission to give to each author his due; and for the rest the reader may be assured that while no material fact has been omitted, nothing has been recorded for which ample authority could not be given. The figure has been felt to be too large for the canvas to which we have been restricted, but we have sought to reproduce, as faithfully as possible the man as he was, and if we may succeed in removing any of the unreasonable prejudice, with which many still regard the Scottish Reformer, the story of his life will not be retold by us in vain.

W. M. T.
    NEW YORK.

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER I.

EARLY LIFE AND CALL TO THE MINISTRY, 1505-1547.

On the sixteenth day of January, 1546, George Wishart delivered a remarkable sermon in the church of Haddington. Two things had combined to produce special depression in his heart. Shortly before he entered the pulpit a boy had put into his hands a letter informing him that his friends in Kyle would not be able to keep an appointment which they had made to meet him in Edinburgh. This news so saddened him that he expressed himself as "weary of the world," because he perceived that "men began to be weary of God." Nor was his despondency removed when he rose to preach, for instead of the crowds that used to assemble to hear him in that church, there were not more than a hundred persons present. It was thus made apparent to him that the efforts of his enemies for his overthrow were now to be successful, and so instead of treating the second table of the law as he had been expected to do, he poured forth a torrent of warning and denunciation, not unlike some of the fervid utterances of the old Hebrew prophets. The effect produced was all the more solemn, because he evidently felt that he was bearing his last public testimony against the evils of his times.

When he had concluded he bade his friends farewell, and to John Knox, who throughout his sojourn in Lothian had attended him, armed with a two-handed sword, as a protection against the assassination with which he had twice been