Page:A biographical dictionary of eminent Scotsmen, vol 1.djvu/211

 arrogance, they were regarded as the restorers of their country's liberties, and many did not hesitate to hazard their lives and fortunes along with them. Whatever opinion may be formed regarding the manner of his death, there can be only one regarding its effects; the Protestant faith, which had quailed before his persecuting arm, from this moment began to prosper in the land. It is probable, as his enemies alone have been his historians, that the traits of his character, and even the tone and bearing of many of his actions, have been to some degree exaggerated; yet there seems abundant proof of his sensuality, his cruelty, and his total disregard of principle in his exertions for the preservation of the Romish faith. Nothing, on the other hand, but that barbarism of the times, which characterizes all Beaton's policy, as well as his actions, could extenuate the foul deed by which he was removed from the world, or the unseemly sympathy which the reforming party in general manifested towards its perpetrators. As a favourable view of his character, and at the same time a fine specimen of old English composition, we extract the following from the supplement to Dempster:—

"It frequently happens that the same great qualities of mind which enable a man to distinguish himself by the splendour of his virtues, are so overstrained or corrupted as to render him no less notorious for his vices. Of this we have many instances in ancient writers, but none by which it is more clearly displayed than in the character of the Cardinal Archbishop of St Andrews, David Beaton, who, from his very childhood, was extremely remarkable, and whose violent death had this in it singular, that his enemies knew no way to remove him from his absolute authority but that [of assassination]. When he was but ten years of age, he spoke with so much ease and gravity, with so much good sense, and freedom from affectation, as surprised all who heard him. When he was little more than twenty, he became known to the Duke of Albany, and to the court of France, where he transacted affairs of the greatest importance, at an age when others begin to become acquainted with them only in books. Before he was thirty, he had merited the confidence of the Regent, the attention of the French King, and the favour of his master, so that they were all suitors to the court of Rome in his behalf. He was soon after made Lord Privy-Seal, and appointed by act of parliament to attend the young king, at his majesty's own desire. Before he attained the forty-fifth year of his age, he was Bishop of Mirepoix in France, Cardinal of the Roman Church, Archbishop of St Andrews, and Primate of Scotland, to which high dignities he added, before he was fifty, those of Lord High Chancellor, and legate à latere. His behaviour was so taking, that he never addicted himself to the service of any prince or person, but he absolutely obtained their confidence, and this power he had over the minds of others, he managed with so much discretion, that his interest never weakened or decayed. He was the favourite of the Regent, Duke of Albany, and of his pupil James V. as long as they lived; and the French king and the governor of Scotland equally regretted his loss. He was indefatigable in business, and yet managed it with great ease. He understood the interests of the courts of Rome, France, and Scotland, better than any man of his time, and he was perfectly acquainted with the temper, influence, and weight of all the nobility in his own country. In time of danger, he showed great prudence and steadiness of mind, and in his highest prosperity, discovered nothing of vanity or giddiness. He was a zealous churchman, and thought severity the only weapon that could combat heresy. He loved to live magnificently, though not profusely, for at the time of his death he was rich, and yet had provided plentifully for his family. But his vices were many, and his vices scandalous. He quarrelled with the old Archbishop of Glasgow in his own city, and pushed this quarrel so far that their men fought in the very church. His ambition was