the government of the commonwealth in hand."
They chose two men for this office, neither of whom was taken from a
very great family, or had, so far as can be known, any special
importance--Sir Alexander Livingstone, described as Knight of Callender,
and Sir William Crichton, Chancellor of Scotland. Perhaps it was one of
the compromises which are so common when parties are nearly equal in
power which thus placed two personages of secondary importance at the
head of affairs: but any advantage which might have been secured by this
selection was neutralised by the division of power, which added to all
the evils of an interregnum the perplexity of two centres of government,
so that "no man knew," as says Pitscottie, "whom he should obey." One of
the Regents reigned in Edinburgh, the other in Stirling--one had the
advantage of holding possession of the King, the other had the doubtful
good of the support of the Queen. It may be imagined what an
extraordinary contrast this was to the firm and vigilant sway of a
monarch in the fulness of manhood, with all the prestige of his many
gifts and accomplishments, his vigorous and manful character and his
unquestioned right to the government and obedience of the country. It
had been hard work enough for James I., with all these advantages, to
keep his kingdom well in hand: and it would not be easy to exaggerate
the difficulties now, with two rival and feeble powers, neither great
enough to overawe nor united enough to hold in check the independent
power of the great houses which vied with each other in the display of
dominion and wealth. In a very brief time all the ground gained by King
James was lost again. Every element of anarchy arose in new force, and
if it had been hard to secure the execution of the laws which would have
been so good had they been kept in the time when their chief
administrator was the King himself, it may be supposed what was the
difficulty now, when, save in a little circuit round each seat of
authority, there was virtually no power at all. Pitscottie gives a
curious and vivid picture of the state of affairs in this lamentable
interval.

"In the mean time many great dissensions rose amongst us, but it was
uncertain who were the movers, or by what occasion the chancellor
exercised such office, further than became him. He keeped both the
Castle of Edinburgh and also our young King thereintill, who was
committed to his keeping by the haill no