Ayrshire > Volume 1

124 HISTORY OF AYRSHIRE
been in early life a pupil of the famous George Buchanan,
who held him in high esteem, and with whom for some
3^ears he travelled on the Continent of Europe ; and,
during his imprisonment in England, he had been
committed to the care of Archbishop Cranmer, who is
said to have been the means of converting him to
Protestantism. He obtained his release under a bond to
advance the cause of the King of England in Scotland,
and to join with others in obtaining possession of the
person of the young Queen. Glencairn's whole life,
according to Chalmers, in the " Caledonia." " consisted
of acts of treason ;" which probably means no more
than that he had associated himself with the English
party in Scotland, whose Protestant sympathies were so
pronounced that the}' were ready to play any part in
their promotion, even to the extent of sacrificing the
independence of the nation, in order to achieve their
purpose. With them, too, were Lord Boyd and Lord
Ochiltree, the former of whom eventually proved himself
a tried friend to the Queen, to whom he faithfully
adhered until the total suppression of her interest. The
head of the essential^ national party, who would have
none of the wiles of the English Sovereign, was Cardinal
Beaton, a Roman Catholic Prelate of great power and
ability, and of corresponding ambition ; and he prevailed
so successfully with the Scots nobles as a body, that
Cassillis seems to have fallen in with a project, mooted
by the friends of England, for his assassination ;
a project which Henry VIII. " did not mislike."
Ultimately, the Cardinal did fall a victim to assassination,
but before that the ardour of Cassillis in that direction
had abated, and he was in no way concerned in the
murder of Beaton in the Castle of St. Andrews in 1646.
The fact seems to be that the Earl, after the manner of
the time, felt himself, as many another Scottish noble
had to do over a long succession of years, compelled to
adapt his line of conduct in public affairs to suit his own
interests, and not to endanger these in such a fashion as
to imperil his estates.