e north,
two or three of their acquaintances in London visited them; and one of
these, a Mr. Corsbie, 'a guid brother, apothecarie of calling,' brought
with him 'a great bag of monie alse meikle as he could weill carie in
his oxter.' The money had been raised by friends in the city who had
been touched by the noble bearing of the ministers before the King and
Council, to defray the expenses of their journey as well as the outlay
incurred during their residence in London, which the King, with
unspeakable meanness, had failed to discharge. This gift the two
brethren courteously and gratefully declined. Since James's accession to
the English Throne there had been a great outcry against the Scots on
account of the beggarly rabble who crossed the Tweed and came to Court
to importune the King for 'auld debts' due to them by his Majesty; and
Melville and his colleague were resolved that they would furnish the
English people with another and a truer version of the character of
their countrymen by leaving London poorer than when they came to it.
Besides, there were many among the Puritan clergy in the English Church
who had been cast out of their livings, and had more need of the money:
instead of taking the help offered, the two brethren would rather
endeavour to raise money in their own country, poor as it was, to
relieve the necessities of these ministers. Their friends gave warm
expression to their sense of the honourable motives which led Melville
and Scott to decline the gift; and accompanying them to the Tower steps,
where the boat was lying that was to convey them to their ship, they
bade them affectionate farewell. As the two were rowed down the Thames,
they cast many a wistful look back to the prison where they were leaving
their beloved friend and Chief at the mercy of a graceless tyrant. And
so ended one of the most picturesque and honourable passages in the
history of the Scottish Church.

CHAPTER X

THE KING'S ASSEMBLIES

'Gold? . . . . . .
. . . . . . .
Ha, you gods! . . . Why, this
Will lug your priests and servants from your sides.'

_Timon of Athens._

Before we go on to the closing chapter of Melville's personal history,
we must glance at the course of events in Scotland from the time he and
his brethren were called to London, up to the Glasgow Assembly in 1610,
when the