cult to agree, and it was
not till August, 1641, that the Scots recrossed the Tweed. Charles, who
hoped to enlist the sympathy of the Scots in his struggle with the
English Parliament, paid a second visit to Edinburgh, where he gave his
assent to the abolition of Episcopacy, and to the repeal of the Acts
which had given rise to the dispute. But it became evident that the
Parliament, and not the king, was to bear rule in Scotland. The king's
stay in Edinburgh was marked by what is known as "The Incident", a
mysterious plot to capture Argyll and Hamilton, who was now the ally of
Argyll. It was supposed that the king was cognizant of the plan; he had
to defend himself from the accusation, and was declared guiltless in the
matter. At the time of the Incident, Argyll fled, but soon returned, and
Charles had to yield to him in all things. Parliament, under Argyll,
appointed all officials. Argyll himself was made a marquis, and Leslie
became Earl of Leven. There was a general amnesty, and among those who
obtained their liberty was the Earl of Montrose, who had been imprisoned
in May for making terms with the king. In November, 1641, Charles left
Scotland for London, to face the English Parliament. He can scarcely
have hoped for Scottish aid, and when, a few months later, he was on the
verge of hostilities and made a request for assistance, it was twice
refused.

With the general course of the Great Rebellion we are not here
concerned. It is important for our purpose to notice that it affected
Scotland in two ways. The course of events converted, on the one hand,
the Episcopalian party into a Royalist party, and placed at its head the
Covenanter, Montrose. On the other hand, the National Covenant was
transformed into the Solemn League and Covenant, which had for its aim
the establishment of Presbytery in England as well as in Scotland. This
"will o' the wisp" of covenanted uniformity led the Scottish Church into
somewhat strange places. As early as January, 1643, Montrose had offered
to strike a blow for the king in Scotland, but Charles would not take
the responsibility of beginning the strife. In August negotiations began
for the extension of the covenant to England. The Solemn League and
Covenant, which provided for the abolition of Episcopacy in England, was
adopted by the Convention of Estates at Edinburgh on August 17th, and in
the following month it passed both Houses of Parliament in England, and
was taken both by the H