Page:Merry humours, wise sayings, and curious adventures of George Buchanan.pdf/9

 ion, saying, it was an answer more valiant and daring than he expected. So the enmity he intended, was extinguished, and turned into love.

It happened once that a malignant party in Scotland sent up a great spokesman to the king and parliament, for the reducing of the church; George hearing of his coming, went away and met him on the bridge, and the salutation that he gave him was the cutting off his head, and throwing it over the bridge. He then ran to the king with all his might, and fell down before him, pleading most heartly for a pardon, or without it he was a dead man. The king most seriously asked him what he had done now? To which he answered, he had only thrown the Scots Bishop's hat over the bridge, which made the king to laugh, to hear him ask pardon for such a small fault; but he had no sooner got the pardon sealed by the king's hand, than he said, indeed my sovereign, I threw his hat over the bridge, but his head was in it. O Geordie, Geordie, says the king, thou wilt never give over till thou be hanged.

A nobleman in England agreed with the king how to put a trick upon George, to try his manly courage, in sending him to a certain place for a bag of money. On his way home through St. James' park, they caused a sturdy fellow to go and set upon him by the way, and take the money from him. The fellow being armed with sword and pistol, came up quickly and attacked George with these words, "You, sir, deliver what money you have, or you are a dead man." To which George answered, “Sir, I have some indeed, but 'tis not my own, and therefore do not like to part with it; nevertheless, since being determined as you are, to exchange blows for it, pray do me the favour to fire your pistol through the flap of my cloak, that the owners may see that I have been in great danger of