Page:A biographical dictionary of eminent Scotsmen, vol 8.djvu/233

Rh of his unwarlike habits, and devotedness to mean favourites, the Scottish nobles preferred his brother, the Duke of Albany, whose stirring spirit and martial disposition were more to their taste; and when the latter intrigued with the king of England to supplant his royal brother, and reign in his stead, a powerful band of the Scottish nobility were ready to support him, although the price of English aid was to be nothing less than the independence of Scotland. Albany was to be king; but he was to reign as vassal of Edward IV., and do homage to the latter for his crown. In this infamous coalition, we regret to find the Earl of Angus a leading member; and from his possessing the wardenship of the eastern marches, by which the keys of Scotland were at his belt, he seems to have been the firmest dependence of the unscrupulous Albany. On one occasion, however, in the midst of these intrigues, we find Angus acting with a more patriotic spirit. After a peaceful season of unwonted duration between the two countries, James III., at the instigation of France, resolved in 1480 to make war on England; upon which Edward IV. prepared for resistance, by appointing his brother, the Duke of Gloucester, afterwards Richard III., lieutenant-general of the north, to conduct an invasion into Scotland. But before this able leader could assemble his forces, the Earl of Angus, at the head of a small army, made a furious irruption across the marches into England, and for three days ravaged the rich districts of Northumberland, and then retired unmolested, laden with plunder. After this bold deed, however, he retired again to his intrigues; and when Albany consented to hold the Scottish crown from Edward IV. as his vassal, Angus was one of the commissioners appointed by the duke to draw up the articles of negotiation, and complete the treaty.

In the meantime, the conduct of the weak infatuated king of Scotland seemed too much to justify these treasonable proceedings. In addition to the few scholars and lovers of the fine arts whom he had taken into his confidence, his chief associates were astrologers, quacks, and low mechanics, whose society he preferred to that of his high-born nobles and experienced statesmen. It was not wonderful, therefore, that not only the aristocracy, but also the commons preferred, to such a sovereign, the stately bearing, popular demeanour, and chivalrous accomplishments of his brother, Albany. But of all the favourites of James, the most valued, and consequently the most obnoxious, was Cochrane, a man of low birth, and an architect by profession, but indignantly termed in our old chronicles a stone-mason, whom the king had raised to the earldom of Mar. Such a man was well fitted, as a royal favourite, for the ruin of a weak, confiding master; for he not only outshone the nobles by the splendour of his style of living, but even excelled most of them in personal comeliness, strength, and dexterity in warlike exercises, so that he could confront the frowning courtiers with a fearlessness equal to their own. But his crowning offence, and one for which he merited full punishment, was the advice which he gave to his sovereign during a season of great dearth, to debase the current coin, by which, while he increased his own wealth, and enriched the royal treasury, the price of provisions was raised, and the bitterness of famine aggravated. It seemed to the nobles a convenient season to wreak their resentment, by sweeping the royal favourites from their path. It is also alleged, that in this crisis the Earl of Angus and his associates entertained the further design of dethroning James, and exalting Albany in his room.

All being in readiness for the accomplishment of their purposes, the Duke of Gloucester, who was privy to their design, put his forces in motion, and laid