The local authorities, it is recorded, desired to maintain order, and on
the Monday the local magistrates repaired to a meeting of the Privy
Council, and expressed their great regret at the outrage, and promised to
discover the ringleaders and have them punished.
On one of the piers of St. Giles' Cathedral, Edinburgh, is a memorial
brass bearing the following inscription:--
TO
JAMES HANNAY, D.D.,
DEAN OF THIS CATHEDRAL,
1634-1639.
_He was the first and last who read
the service-book in this church._
THIS MEMORIAL IS ERECTED IN HAPPIER TIMES
BY HIS DESCENDANT.
In the Moray or south-west aisle is a memorial of gun-metal to Jenny
Geddes, with an inscription written by the late Lord President Inglis,
which reads as follows:--
CONSTANT ORAL TRADITION
AFFIRMS THAT NEAR THIS SPOT
A BRAVE SCOTCH WOMAN, JANET GEDDES,
ON THE 23 JULY 1637,
STRUCK THE FIRST BLOW IN THE GREAT STRUGGLE
FOR FREEDOM OF CONSCIENCE,
WHICH AFTER A CONFLICT OF HALF-A-CENTURY
ENDED IN THE ESTABLISHMENT
OF CIVIL AND RELIGIOUS LIBERTY.
The Martyrs' Monument, Edinburgh.
In the capital of Scotland are more imposing monuments than the
Covenanters' Memorial in Greyfriars' Churchyard, but not one more
historically interesting. It attracts the attention of visitors from all
parts of the world, and to the inhabitants of the city it must be a matter
of pride to have this memorial to the memory of the men who fought for
religious freedom.
The early Scottish reformers were in earnest respecting their faith; a
bond was prepared, setting forth that they would stand unflinchingly by
the Calvinistic faith, and if necessary would fight in its defence.
This was signed on December 3rd, 1557, by the Earls of Glencairn, Argyll,
and Morton, Lord Lorn, Erskine of Dun and many more, who assumed the title
of "Lords of the Congregation."
A man in Scotland might do many indiscreet things and even be guilty of
crime, and be pardoned; but to flinch or fall from the Covenant was to
commit a sin that his countrymen could not forgive.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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