hold the
Convention as a meeting of the Assembly. Thereafter the King's questions
were entered upon, and so far discussed, when the business was adjourned
to another meeting to be held in Dundee. In agreeing to recognise the
Convention as an Assembly, and to open up the subject of its own
constitution, the Church came down from its only safe position, and
virtually delivered itself into the King's hands, thereby inflicting a
wound on its own liberties, from which it took a whole century to
recover. That surrender was the letting in of waters, and henceforth the
Assemblies were the organ of the Crown rather than of the Church--'Whar
Chryst gydit befor, the Court began then to govern all; whar pretching
befor prevalit, then polecie tuk the place; and, finalie, whar devotioun
and halie behaviour honoured the Minister, then began pranking at the
chare, and prattling in the ear of the Prince, to mak the Minister to
think him selff a man of estimatioun!... The end of the Assemblies of
auld was, whow Chryst's Kingdome might stand in halines and friedome:
now, it is whow Kirk and Relligioun may be framed to the polytic esteat
of a frie Monarchie, and to advance and promot the grandour of man, and
supream absolut authoritie in all causes, and over all persones,
alsweill Ecclesiasticall as Civill.'

The Dundee Assembly met in May; again the northern ministers were
present in force; and again every means the Court could contrive was
used to win over the members, and especially those of mark among them.
Melville came to attend the Assembly; and one evening before it met, Sir
Patrick Murray sent for the younger Melville, and urged him to advise
his uncle to go home, as, if he did not, the King would order him to be
removed. On receiving the answer that it would be useless to give
Melville such advice, since the threat of death would not turn him from
his duty, Sir Patrick rejoined, 'Surely I fear he suffer the dint of the
King's wrath.' James Melville told his uncle of the interview with the
King's 'Whip.' What his uncle's answer was, 'I need not wraite,' he
says. On the morning of the Assembly the Melvilles were summoned by the
King. The interview went on smoothly till they entered on the business
for which the Assembly was called, when 'Mr. Andro brak out with his
wounted humor of fredome and zeall and ther they heeled on, till all the
hous, and clos bathe, hard mikle of a large houre.' Melville was much
too stormy a courtier for