Page:A biographical dictionary of eminent Scotsmen, vol 5.djvu/248

308 his own authority insufficient to enable him to accomplish all the good which he was desirous of doing, in reforming the abuses which had crept into the church, he went over to Florence to procure additional powers for this purpose from the pope, Eugenius IV. On this occasion his holiness, as a mark of his esteem for the worthy prelate, bestowed upon him the commendam of the abbacy of Leone.

On the death of Wardlaw, bishop of St Andrews, an event which happened on 6th April, 1440, Kennedy was chosen as his successor in that see; and to this new and more important charge, he brought all that activity and anxiety to do good which had distinguished him while he filled the bishopric of Dunkeld. He continued his efforts to reform the manners and practice of the clergy, and in 1446, set out on a second journey to Italy,' to consult with and obtain the co-operation of the pope in his work of reformation. On this occasion he was accompanied by a train of thirty persons; for though moderate and temperate in all his pursuits and enjoyments, he was yet of an exceedingly liberal and generous disposition, and a scrupulous maintainer of the dignity of the sacred office which he held, and he had sufficient penetration to discover how much of this, as of all human dignities, depends upon extrinsic aids. His dislike of turbulence and anarchy, and his constant efforts to reconcile differences where they existed, and to discountenance oppression, and to restrain illegal power, rendered him peculiarly obnoxious to the house of Douglas, which, during the minority of James II., had nearly accomplished the total overthrow of the hereditary royalty of Scotland. In revenge of the part he took in restraining the power of that ambitious family, his lands were plundered by the earl of Crawford and Alexander Ogilvie of Inveraritie, at the instigation of the earl of Douglas, who had farther instructed them to seize, if possible, the person of the bishrp, and to put him in irons. This fate he avoided by confining himself to his castle, the only mode of resistance which he thought consistent with his sacred character as a minister of religion. He was, however, eventually the means of reducing the power of the Douglases within limits more consistent with the peace and safety of the kingdom. James II., almost driven from his throne by the increasing insolence and influence of the chief of that house, went in despair to St Andrews, to seek the counsel and advice of its able and amiable bishop. On the prince and prelate meeting, the former laid before him the desperate situation to which the growing power and daring effrontery of the earl of Douglas had reduced him. He informed him that he had learned that Douglas was mustering a large army either to dethrone him or drive him from the country ; that he knew no means of resisting him, and was utterly at a loss what steps to take in this emergency. "Sir," replied the bishop, perceiving that the disconsolate king was exhausted with fatigue as well as depressed in spirits, "I entreat your grace to partake, in the mean time, of some refreshment, and while ye do so, I will pass into my chamber and pray to God for you and the commonwealth of this realm."

On retiring, as he had proposed, the good bishop fervently implored the interference of the Almighty in behalf of the unhappy prince, who, friendless and distracted, had sought his counsel and advice; and when the king had finished his repast, he came forth, and taking him by the hand, led him into the apartment in which he himself had been praying, and there they both knelt down and besought the guidance and assistance of Him who directs all things, a scene than which it would not probably be easy to conceive anything more striking or interesting.

When they had concluded their devotions, the bishop proceeded to point out to the king such a mode of procedure as he deemed the most suitable to the circumstances. He advised the monarch immediately to issue proclamations, calling upon his subjects in the north to muster around his standard, which he afterwards