Expectations were rife that an answer from the King would shortly be communicated to the people; but at the same time fears were entertained lest an attempt should be made to introduce the Liturgy in Edinburgh by force on the arrival of the Earl of Lennox, who was on his way from his ancestral castle to the English court. At this juncture some of the more eminent among the great nobles, such as the Earls of Sutherland, Rothes, and Dalhousie, a great portion of the gentry, especially from the neighbouring counties, such as Fife, where hardly any remained at home, some deputies from the boroughs, and about a hundred ministers, assembled in Edinburgh in order to prevent the enforcement of any obnoxious measures, and to defend the ministers informed against by giving them free support in the Scottish fashion. When the reasons urged by these ministers had been stated, the assembled body declared that the introduction of the Liturgy would disturb the peace of men’s consciences and the harmony of the country. They called upon the Privy Council to represent to the King the importance of the matter, which they said he ought not to regard as an ordinary tumult, and to prevail upon him not to tamper with the religion they professed. The Privy Council accepted the petition, which had the assent of its lay members; Lord Traquair had himself looked through the petition, and had softened some harsh expressions in it. The Earl of Lennox promised to do everything at court to put the King into a frame of mind favourable to it. Thus the King’s designs were met by a demonstration on the part of the most distinguished Scots, and indeed of almost the whole country itself; and it is clear into what embarrassment he must have been thrown by it, between the desire to give effect to his will, and the wish to continue at peace with the land of his birth. But from the first moment the opposition between them was too strong to be controlled by such considerations as these. FOOTNOTES: [80] We know that the boar’s head, which was eaten, conveyed an allusion to Gullinbursti, the bristly boar who signified the sun. Bede derives Easter from a German goddess Eostra. [81] According to a notice by Spottiswood 1627. Aiton, Life of Henderson 118. [82] Calderwood, the author of the history, put this distinction before the King himself, according to his account, vii. 263: ‘We will rather suffer than practice. To suffer is also obedience.’ [83] Grivances and petitions--presented by me, Mr. Thomas Hogge, minister of the evangell, in my aven name, and in name of others of the ministry. Balfour Annales, ii. 207. Among their complaints was one relating to the name Puritans. ‘Pastors and people adhearing to the former professione and practisse are nick-named puritans.’ [84] The Memoirs of Bishop Guthry 9. [85] From the report of the King-at-arms. Aiton, Life of Henderson, 129, 137.