King's claim
to spiritual authority as a 'bludie gullie' thrust into the
Commonwealth--a description which the later history of Scotland has
sufficiently verified. The House, at one with the Moderator, drew up a
statement of the Church's recent grievances, and appointed Melville and
some other members to present it to the King at Perth, where he was
residing at the time. To Perth accordingly they went. This was a daring
step in the circumstances, when there was such exasperation in the
Court, and when its councils were led by two such men as Lennox and
Arran. 'News was sparpelet athort[7] the cuntry that the ministers war
all to be thair massacred.' Melville was warned by a friendly courtier,
his namesake Sir James Melville of Halhill, of the risk he ran in
carrying out the Assembly's commission. 'I thank God,' he answered, 'I
am nocht fleyed nor feible-spirited in the cause and message of Christ.
Come what God please to send, our commission sal be dischargit.' When he
and the other members of the deputation appeared before the King in
Council and read their remonstrance, Arran interfered, when there
occurred another of those historic scenes associated with Melville's
name, in which he displayed such splendid courage in the resistance of
tyranny. An arrogant assailant, like steel striking against flint,
always elicited a flash of his noblest manhood. 'Arran began to threttin
with thrawin[8] brow and bosting langage. "What," says he, "wha dar
subscryve thir treasanable Articles?" "We dar, and will subscryve
them,"' answered Melville, taking, as he spoke, the pen from the clerk
and putting his name to the document; and then, beckoning to his
fellow-deputies, he bade them follow his example, which they all did.
The boldness of the deed cowed even Lennox and Arran. They saw that day
that 'the Kirk had a bak,' and were glad to dismiss the deputies without
further debate.

[Footnote 7: Spread athwart.]

[Footnote 8: Frowning.]

The firmness with which the two Court favourites were handled by the
ministers inspirited the nobles to execute a plot that had been laid to
get the King out of their hands and end their intolerable supremacy. As
soon as the King's person had been secured by the Raid of Ruthven,
Lennox was banished from the realm, and Arran enjoined to confine
himself to his own estate.

For a while the Church had rest and breathed freely after the strain
that had been put upon it. A few days after the Raid of Ru