Page:Witty and entertaining exploits of George Buchanan (15).pdf/6

 6    T H E  W I T T Y  E X P L O I T S

After this he was admitted to the Queen's favour and preſence, attending the court as formerly. About this time the French King not knowing how to pick a quarrel with Great Britain, ſent a letter to the King, deſiring it to be read before the Parliament, and the writing was as follows: 'Will I come? Will I come? Will I come? This letter being read before the King and his courtiers, they all concluded that the French King deſigned to invade England: therefore they wrote a letter on purpoſe, to ſend to him again, upbraiding him with the breach of peace, and putting him in mind of their laſt treaty: This letter being read over before the King and his nobles, they all condeſcended that it ſhould be ſent as an anſwer; but, George ſmiling and ſhaking his head, cried out, Many men, many minds; Who knows what he deſigns? They then aſked George, what he thought the French King meant by ſuch a letter; to which he anſwered, I ſuppoſe he wants an invitation to come over to dine, and then go back in a friendly manner; but you are going to charge him with a breach of peace, before he has given any ſigns of offence or war; his letter is indeed dark and myſtical, but ſend him an anſwer according to his queſtion. Now George being ordered to write the anſwer, it was 'And ye come, And ye come, And ye come.' This being ſent to the French King, he admired it beyond expreſſion, ſaying it was an anſwer more valiant and daring than he expected; ſo the enmity he intended waſ extinguiſhed thereby and turned into love. About this time, it happened, that a malignant party in Scotland, ſent up a great ſpokeſman to the King and Parliament for the ſeducing 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 of his head, and throwing it over the bridge; he then ran to the King with all his might, falling down before him pleading moſt heartily for a pardon, or without it he was a dead man: the King moſt furiouſly aſked him what he had done now? To which he anſwered, He had only thrown the Scotch Biſhop's hat over the bridge, which made the King to laugh, to hear him aſk a pardon for ſuch a ſmall fauit; but he had no ſooner gotten the pardon