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1714.] CHARACTER OF LORD LAUDERDALE. evii
ready compliance with everything that he thought would please the King,
and his bold offering at the most desperate counsels, gained him such an
interest in the King, that no attempt against him nor complaint of him could
ever shake it, till a decay of strength and understanding forced him to let go
his hold. He was in his principles much against Popery and arbitrary
government ; and yet, by a fatal train of passions and interests, he made
way for the former, and had almost established the latter. And, whereas
some, by a smooth deportment, made the first beginnings of tyranny less
discernible and unacceptable, he, by the fury of his behaviour, heightened the
severity of his ministry, which was liker the cruelty of an inquisition than
the legality of justice. With all this he was a Presbyterian, and retained his
aversion to King Charles I. and his party to his death." 1
Bishop Burnet admits that he was a sufferer at the hands of Lauderdale,
and in return the hand of the Bishop was laid heavily on his persecutor in
portraying his character.
Lord Macaulay, in his History, follows suit with the Bishop in his descrip-
tion of Lauderdale, who, " loud and coarse both in mirth and anger, was
perhaps, under the outward show of boisterous frankness, the most dishonest
man in the whole cabal. He had been conspicuous among the Scotch insur-
gents of 1638, and zealous for the Covenant. He was accused of having
been deeply concerned in the sale of Charles the First to the English Parlia-
ment, and was, therefore, in the estimation of good Cavaliers, a traitor, if
possible, of a worse description than those who had sate in the High Court
of Justice. He often talked with noisy jocularity of the days when he was a
canter and a rebel. He was now the chief instrument employed by the Court
in the work of forcing Episcopacy on his reluctant countrymen, nor did he in
that cause shrink from the unsparing use of the sword, the halter, and the
1 Bishop Burnet's History of his Own Time. Vol. i. pp. 101, 102. Ed. 1724.
ready compliance with everything that he thought would please the King,
and his bold offering at the most desperate counsels, gained him such an
interest in the King, that no attempt against him nor complaint of him could
ever shake it, till a decay of strength and understanding forced him to let go
his hold. He was in his principles much against Popery and arbitrary
government ; and yet, by a fatal train of passions and interests, he made
way for the former, and had almost established the latter. And, whereas
some, by a smooth deportment, made the first beginnings of tyranny less
discernible and unacceptable, he, by the fury of his behaviour, heightened the
severity of his ministry, which was liker the cruelty of an inquisition than
the legality of justice. With all this he was a Presbyterian, and retained his
aversion to King Charles I. and his party to his death." 1
Bishop Burnet admits that he was a sufferer at the hands of Lauderdale,
and in return the hand of the Bishop was laid heavily on his persecutor in
portraying his character.
Lord Macaulay, in his History, follows suit with the Bishop in his descrip-
tion of Lauderdale, who, " loud and coarse both in mirth and anger, was
perhaps, under the outward show of boisterous frankness, the most dishonest
man in the whole cabal. He had been conspicuous among the Scotch insur-
gents of 1638, and zealous for the Covenant. He was accused of having
been deeply concerned in the sale of Charles the First to the English Parlia-
ment, and was, therefore, in the estimation of good Cavaliers, a traitor, if
possible, of a worse description than those who had sate in the High Court
of Justice. He often talked with noisy jocularity of the days when he was a
canter and a rebel. He was now the chief instrument employed by the Court
in the work of forcing Episcopacy on his reluctant countrymen, nor did he in
that cause shrink from the unsparing use of the sword, the halter, and the
1 Bishop Burnet's History of his Own Time. Vol. i. pp. 101, 102. Ed. 1724.
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| Histories of Scottish families > Earls of Cromartie > [NSLBLANK] > (153) |
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| Permanent URL | https://digital.nls.uk/96759128 |
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| Description | Their kindred, country, and correspondence. By William Fraser. Edinburgh: Printed by Thomas and Archibald Constable, 1876. With plates, including portraits and facsimiles, and genealogical tables. 2 volumes: I. History of the earls of Cromartie. Cromartie correspondence, 1662-1705.--II. Cromartie correspondence, 1706-1774. The Cromartie charters, 1257-1499. The Cromartie patents of honour, etc., 1685-1861. Narrative by John, lord Macleod ... Of the insurrection in Scotland in the years 1745-6 ... Narrative by John, lord Macleod of his campaign in the seven years' war in Germany, 1757.--The Grandvale and Cromartie branch. The Royston branch. Baronies and castles inherited and acquired by George, first earl of Cromartie, 1654-1714. History of the family of Mackenzie, by Sir George Mackenzie, first earl of Cromartie. |
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| Shelfmark | Gen.8.Macke |
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| Description | A selection of almost 400 printed items relating to the history of Scottish families, mostly dating from the 19th and early 20th centuries. Includes memoirs, genealogies and clan histories, with a few produced by emigrant families. The earliest family history goes back to AD 916. |
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