History of the house and race of Douglas and Angus

2S8 HISTORY OF THE
Of James the Ninth and last Earl of Douglas, the
Eighteenth Lord, sixth Duke of Touraine and
Fourth James, who died in Linjdoees.
W ILLIAM being thus slain by the instigation of these
courtiers, his enemies, to the end that the King, as they would
have it thought, might be established in his crown, by the
making away of him whom they made the King to think so
great an enemy to him: it was so far from producing that effect,
that by the contrary there was nothing nearer, than that it
should have been the very occasion of spoiling him thereof;
for the Earl Douglas's friends, who before took Crichton and
his faction only for their enemies, now they take the King for
their enemy; they, who before thought not that what they
had suffered proceeded from the King, or that it was his
doing, now they impute it to him; they who before were only
malcontents, and within the bounds of obedience, and had a
good opinion of the King, now they become enemies, with an
ill opinion of him, as a wicked man: they who before con-
tained themselves in civil terms, now become openly rebellious;
and whereas they had good hope, and looked for reconcile-
ment, now cast off all hope thereof; and matters becoming
irreconcileable, ah love and regard, all reverence, their hearts
being laden with the injury, with the dishonesty, with the
horror of it, they burst forth into all outragious words and
deeds: things coming to that point, that they could not be
ended but by the destruction of one of the parties. Either
they behoved to ruin the King, or behoved to be ruined by
him. And here the hardest lot at the first wjs the King's
by all appearance; the power of the other party being so great,
their minds so inflamed, their anger so incensed against him :
neither the party only, but the people in general detested the
fact, and the horribleness of it, in such sort, that he was put
to all his shifts, and driven to such a point of despair, as to
think of leaving the country, and going by sea to France.