Scotland/Scots > Life of John Knox ; and, The life of Alexander Henderson

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LIFE OF JOHN KNOX.
ed and displeased; and it was with some difficulty that
our Reformer obtained permission from them to write
again to London in his own name. The representation
which he gave of the urgency of the case, and the dan¬
ger of further hesitation or delay, produced a speedy re¬
ply, desiring them to send a confidential messenger to
Berwick, who would receive a sum of money, to assist
them in carrying on the war. About the same time, Sir
Ralph Saddler was sent down to Berwick, to act as an
accredited, but secret agent; and the correspondence be¬
tween the court of London and the lords of the Congre¬
gation continued afterwards to be carried on through
him and Sir James Croft, until the English auxiliary
army entered Scotland.
If we reflect upon the connection which the religious
and civil liberties of the nation had with the contest in
which the protestants were engaged, and upon our Refor¬
mer’s zeal in that cause, we will not be greatly sur¬
prised to find him at this time acting in the character of
a politician. Extraordinary cases cannot be measured
by ordinary rules. In a great emergency, like that un¬
der consideration, when all that is valuable and dear tc
a people is at stake, it becomes the duty of every individual
to step forward, and exert the talents with which he is en¬
dowed for the public good. Learning was at this time rare
among the nobility; and though there were men of dis¬
tinguished abilities among the protestant leaders, few of
them had been accustomed to transact public business.
Accordingly, the management of the correspondence with
England was for a time devolved chiefly on Balnaves
and our Reformer. But he submitted to this merely
from a sense of duty and regard to the common cause;
and, when the younger Maitland acceded to their party,
he expressed the greatest satisfaction at the prospect
which this gave him of being relieved from the burden.
It was not without reason that he longed for this de¬
liverance. He now felt that it was almost as difficult to
preserve Christian integrity and simplicity amidst the