Having obtained this new dignity, he lost no time in using it for the interest of the Romish see: he com menced a severe prosecution against the reformers ; and he had the address to prevail upon so many per ' sons, of the highest rank in the kingdom, to sit in judgment with him, that the condemnation of these innocent men had more the appearance of being their act than his. Following out the same arbitrary pro ceedings, he summoned, in 1546, an assembly of the clergy at Edinburgh, and hearing, that the celebra led protestant preacher, Mr George Wishart, was then officiating in that neighbourhood, he procured an order from the governor to have him apprehended, and sent first to the castle of Edinburgh, and after wards to the castle of St Andrews. Having got him in his power, he found no difficulty in procuring a sentence of an assembly of prelates to condemn him to the flames. On the 2d •day of March 1547,° he suffered the execution of the sentence, with a faith and fortitude worthy of a Christian martyr ; while hii" barbarous persecutor, from a window in the cas tle of St Andrews, feasted his eyes With the shock ing spectacle. Buchanan relates, that Wishart, while wrapt in the scorching flame, foretold the death of Beaton in these remarkable words, " He who looks down upon me froMyonder lofty place," pointing to the cardinal, " shall ere long be as ignominiously thrown down, as now he proudly bens at his ease." But Knox, in his History, assigns several good reasons for not giving-credit to that prediction. Admitting the fact, it may be viewed not as a prophecy, pro perly so called, but as a denimciation of the divine vengeance on 'the cardinal for his iniquities. Wishart could not be ignorant of the general odium in which Beaton was held, and might very naturally believe, that he would soon fall a victim to his own arrogance and cruelty: Relying, however, on the power of the nobles, and the attachment of the Romish• cler gy, Beaton appeared perfectly indifferent to the sen timents of the great body of enemies, whom that in human deed had raised against him.
Not long after, he went to Finhaven, the seat of the Earl of Crawfurd, where lie solemnized, with 'great pomp, a marriage betwixt the eldest son of that nobleman and his own natural daughter: a proof of the high reputation in which he was at that time held among the nobility of Scotland. The marriage-contract, subscribed with his own hand, .is still extant ; and the fortune lie gave her amounted to £666 : 13 : 4 Sterling, a very considerable sum in those days. Having received intelligence, that an 'invasion was threatened by an English squadron, which was seen upon the coast, he hastened back to St Andrews, fortified his castle. While thus employed, Norman Lesley, eldest son of the Earl of Rothcs, was treated by him with great injustice and contempt. His uncle, Mr John Lesley, a violent enemy of the cardinal, eagerly seized this opportu nity of inflaming his nephew • and having conferred with some others, to whom he was equally obnoxi ous, it was resolved, that he should be cut off. Ha
ving met by appointment at St Andrews, early on the morning of the 29th May 1546, they seized the porter, and secured the gates of the castle ; and, al though they did not exceed sixteen, they turned out all the workmen and servants, to the number it is said of 150, with so little noise, that the cardinal was not awaked till they approached the door of his chamber, which he immediately secured. Being pre vailed upon to open it, by a promise, that no violence should be offered to his person, they rushed in with drawn swords, and put him to death. His body, it is said, was shown to the ,populace at that window from which he had lately, with a barbarous joy, be held the death of the innocent Wishart.
. Thus fell this eminent prelate, who was not more distinguished by his rank, than odious by his vices. Endowed with great abilities, he raised himself to the highest station; but his ambition was unbounded, and his pride insupportable. He was the favourite of the regent, Duke of Albany, and of James V. ; and so entirely did he gain the confidence of every person whom he served, and so artfully did he ma nage his ascendancy over them, that his own influ ence was never diminished. Bred to business, he was but little acquainted with the learning and con troversial writings of the age ; but he had studied politics at the court of France, and was well ac quainted with the temper and influence of all the no bility of his own country. He took into his own hands the management of the affairs of the kingdom, both civil and ecclesiastical; and he often treated the ambassadors of foreign states with all the supercilious demeanour of an arbitrary monarch. Bent upon the execution of all his schemes, he scrupled not by what means he gained his end ; and he frequently sowed the seeds of discord among his enemies, that he might reap security from their dissensions. Devoted to the church of Rome, he promoted her cause by the most cruel and sarguinary measures; and though the manner of his death cannot be justified, it spread an universal joy among all the friends of the reforma tion. He amassed great wealth, which he be queathed to his natural children. To each of his three sons he left a valuable estate, and his three daughters obtained marriages in three families of distinction in Scotland. Had his virtues been equal to his abilities, and his life suitable to his high rank, he would not have fallen by the hand of an assassin, nor would.his character have stained the page of his tory. He is an eminent instance of the union of great talents with great vices ; and his life, as well as his death, may teach a valuable lesson to mankind. See Buchanani Hist. lib. xiv, xv. Robertson's Hist. vol. p. 96. Biograph.Britannica, vol. ii. p. 37. (A. F.)