Religion & morality > Chronicles of the kirk, or, Scenes and stories from the history of the Church of Scotland

HISTORY OF THE CHURCH OF SCOTLAND. 159
parting without having come to any definite resolu¬
tion, they came up to where the idolatrous proces¬
sion was dragging itself along. By this time the
Queen Dowager had retired. This was so far fa¬
vourable to the Protestants, some of whom, under
pretence of assisting the hearers, caught hold of the
harrow, others cried out, “ Down with the idol—
down with it,” and almost instantly it was brought
to the ground. The barrow was broken in pieces,
and one of the crowd taking hold of the image by
the heels, and dashing it against the causeway, Da-
gon was left without head or hands. “ Now,” says
Knox, “ when they saw this priests and friars fled
faster than they did at Pinkey-cleuch, off went the
crosses, off went with the surplices, round caps and
cornets with the crowns. The grey friars gaped,
the black friars blew, the priests panted and fled, and
happy was he that first got the house, for such a
sudden fray came never among the generation of
Antichrist within this realm before.” “ It chanced,”
continues Knox, “ that while this was going on,
there lay upon a stair a merry Englishman, who
seeing the discomfiture to be without blood, thought
he might add to the merriment of the occasion, so
he called out “Fie upon you—why have you broken
order—cowards! why do ye fly in this manner ?
Turn and strike every man for the honour of his