eir stewardry with a unity of purpose and a steadfastness of
aim which, when we take into account the continually recurring lapses of
long minorities, is one of the wonders of the time. Edinburgh grew under
their sway from an angry village, lying between a fierce castle and a
rich monastery, little distinguished above its peers, less favoured than
Stirling, less wealthy than the town of St. John, to one of the most
noted of cities, picturesque and splendid, full of noble houses, the
centre of national life and government. And it is curious to record that
no one of the monarchs who brought it such nobility and fame left any
sadness of death to the associations of Edinburgh. They lived and were
wedded and filled with the brightness of their happier moments the town
which afforded so beautiful a scene for all rejoicings: they died on the
field of battle or in other places in conflict or violence or despair.
But Edinburgh only retains the brighter memories, the triumphal
processions, the bridal finery, the jousts and the feasts, the
Parliaments and proclamations of laws and high alliances. The reigns of
the Jameses contain the history of her rise, her splendour, her climax
of beauty and stateliness, without any association of downfall or decay.

PART III

THE TIME OF THE PROPHETS

CHAPTER I

UNDER THE QUEEN REGENT

There is perhaps among the many historical personages attached by close
association to Edinburgh no one so living, so vigorous, so present, as
the great figure of the Reformer and Prophet, who once filled the air
with echoes of his vehement and impassioned oratory, who led both Lords
and Commons, and mated with princes on more than equal terms, the
headstrong, powerful, passionate Preacher, who was at once the leading
spirit of his time and its most vigorous chronicler. To fill the circle
of association, he alone, of all the animated groups who withstood or
who followed him, has left us not only a number of books which disclose
his mind with all its powers and imperfections, but the very dwelling in
which he passed at least the latter part of his life, intact and
authentic, a memorial more striking and attractive than any "storied urn
or animated bust." Nor are even the associations of burial wanting; for
though it is no longer within the solemn enclosure of a churchyard, and
there is no certainty that the stone which is supposed to mark the
position of the Reformer's grave is historically