hose with whom he
had to deal. The gatherings held in various parts of Scotland to express
discontent with the king's proceedings did, indeed, alarm him a little,
but not even some strange scenes that took place in 1637 taught him how
serious the matter really was. The Scottish Church then used no
prayer-book, but, by the royal commands, the bishop and dean of
Edinburgh were reading certain new prayers in the church of St. Giles'
on Sunday, July 23, when 'the serving-maids began such a tumult as was
never heard of since the Reformation.' This 'tumult' was no sudden burst
of feeling, but 'the result of a consultation in the Cowgate of
Edinburgh, when several gentlemen recommended to various matrons that
they should give their first affront to the [prayer] book, assuring them
that the men should afterwards take the business out of their hands.'

We are not told why 'the men' did not do 'the business' to begin with,
but the matrons and serving-maids seemed to have enjoyed themselves so
much on this occasion that they were quite ready for a second effort
a month later.

On August 28 Mr. William Annan preached in St. Giles', defending the
Litany, and when the news was spread about what the subject of his
sermon was to be there arose, says the chronicler, in the town and among
the women a great din.

[Illustration: About thirty or forty of our honestest women did fall a
railing on Mr. William Annan.]

'At the outgoing of the church, about thirty or forty of our honestest
women in one voice before the bishop and magistrates did fall a railing,
cursing, and scolding, with clamours on Mr. William Annan. Some two of
the meanest were taken to the Tolbooth,' or city prison, where Montrose
in after years was himself to lie.

Mr. Annan got safely to his own house, but being troubled over these
events in his mind resolved to ask counsel of his bishop. So that
evening, 'at nine on a mirk night,' he set out in company of three or
four ministers to the bishop's dwelling, but no sooner had the little
party stepped into the street than they were surrounded by 'hundreds of
enraged women with fists and staves and peats, but no stones. They beat
him sore; his cloak, ruff, hat were rent. He escaped all bloody wounds,
yet he was in great danger even of killing.'

* * * * *

This was the beginning of the struggle which was to rend Scotland for so
many years. A bond or covenant was drawn up, part of which wa