some disorders in searching for the damsel. It happened that the
assembly of the church was sitting at that time, and they immediately
took the matter under their cognizance. In conjunction with several
of the nobility, they presented an address to the queen, which was
introduced with this awful prelude: "To the queen's majesty, and to her
secret and great council, her grace's faithful and obedient subjects,
the professors of Christ Jesus's holy evangil, wish the spirit of
righteous judgment." The tenor of the petition was that the fear of
God, the duty which they owed her grace, and the terrible threatenings
denounced by God against every city or country where horrible crimes
were openly committed, compelled them to demand the severe punishment of
such as had done what in them lay to kindle the wrath of God against the
whole realm; that the iniquity of which they complained was so heinous
and so horrible that they should esteem themselves accomplices in it, if
they had been engaged by worldly fear, or servile complaisance, to pass
it over in silence, or bury it in oblivion: that as they owed her grace
obedience, in the administration of justice, so were they entitled to
require of her, in return, the sharp and condign punishment of this
enormity, which, they repeated it, might draw down the vengeance of God
on the whole kingdom: and that they maintained it to be her duty to lay
aside all private affections towards the actors in so heinous a crime,
and so enormous a villany, and without delay bring them to a trial,
and inflict the severest penalty upon them. The queen gave a gracious
reception to his peremptory address, but because she probably thought
that breaking the windows of a brothel merited not such severe
reprehension, she only replied, that her uncle was a stranger, and that
he was attended by a young company; but she would put such order to him
and to all others that her subjects should henceforth have no reason to
complain. Her passing over this incident so slightly was the source of
great discontent, and was regarded as a proof of the most profligate
manners.[*]

* Knox, p. 302, 303, 304. Keith, p. 509.

It is not to be omitted, that Alison Craig, the cause of all the uproar
was known to entertain a commerce with the earl of Arran, who, on
account of his great zeal for the reformation, was, without scruple,
indulged in that enormity.[*]

Some of the populace of Edinburgh broke into the queen's chap