Genealogical account of the family of Edmonstone of Duntreath

THE FAMILY OF EDMONSTONE. 41
of Mains, and John Cunningham of Drumwhassill, for having conspired to
intercept the King in hunting, and detain him in some stronghold till the
Lords might come and receive him. A mere forgery, yet gladly hearkened
unto by those that desired to be rid of them, for they were both gentlemen
of good respect, and mistrusted of the Court ; Mains especially, because of
his valour and manhood. To make out the accusation, it was devised that
Sir James Edmonstone of Duntreath, who had lived in great familiarity
with them, should be charged with the same crime, and, upon his confession,
to be pardoned, which, by the policy of the accuser, to his own perpetual
discredit, he was menaced to yield unto.' Sir James's deposition is given
at length by Calderwood. He declares that he is led to make confession
of a threefold conspiracy of the exiled Lords against the King, of which he
has been informed by Black John Hume of the Law, who came twice to
him, each time with a letter of credit of the Earl of Marr, the knowledge of
which now preyed on his conscience. The first plot was, that a force of a
thousand or twelve hundred men was to have been raised, with which the
King was to have been surrounded at Holyrood House and retained
prisoner. The second was, that owing to the difficulty of procuring so
large a number, thirty or forty able men were to have been hired ' to await
upon His Majesty in the fields, when his horse was souped (wearied), and to
carry him off, either to the house of Douglas, or to Cumleye, or to an
island in Lochlomond. The third plot was, that since so many men could
not be collected as even thirty or forty, without being suspected, every one
of the principal conspirators, the Abbot of Aberbrothick, the Earls of
Angus and Marr, and the Master of Glammis, should each select two or
three of their own men, who should secretly repair to wherever the King
was residing, and disguised themselves, and with their horses tails, manes,
and ears cut off, should pass over and kill the King, by shot or other
weapon.' A ridiculous tale, as Hume 1 of Godscroft justly calls it, but
nevertheless, full in accordance with the spirit of the times.
' Matters thus dressed,' continues Spottiswoode, ' Colonel William
Stewart was sent to apprehend Mains and Drumwhassill, who, finding them
in their own houses, did, without resistance, bring them prisoners to
Edinburgh. The 9th of February they were presented before the Justice,
1 Hume of Godscroft, History of the Douglases, folio, p. 391.
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