=28. English War.=--Though the need of a reform in the Church was felt and openly discussed in parliament, and the shortcomings of the clergy were unsparingly ridiculed by the popular poets, still neither the King nor the people were inclined to break off from Rome, as Henry the Eighth had done. But Henry was most anxious that his nephew should follow his example, and a meeting between them at York was agreed on. But James, doubtful of Henry's good faith, did not keep tryst. Henry was furious; he brought up again the old claim of supremacy over Scotland, and to enforce the claim he sent an army to invade Scotland. James prepared to avenge this attack; but when his army got as far as the Border, the nobles refused to go further, and a body of ten thousand men who had passed the Esk were surprised and scattered by _Dacre_, while they were contending about the chief command. =29. Death and Character of James.=--The King meanwhile was waiting in _Caerlaverock Castle_. At the same time that he heard of the shameful defeat of his army at _Solway_ _Moss_, the news was brought that a daughter was born to him. This child was heir to the throne, for his two sons had died in infancy. James thought that the birth of a girl at this time was an ill omen for Scotland. He murmured, "It came wi' a lass, and it'll gang wi' a lass." By this he meant that, as it was by Marjory Bruce that the crown had first passed into the Stewart family, so with this infant it would pass from it. Eight days later he died of grief and disappointment, December 14, 1542. James is the first King of Scots of whom we have a portrait. He was handsome, but had red hair, which won him the nickname of the "_Red Tod_," or red fox. He was not liked by the nobles, but the commons loved him well. His habit of going about in disguise familiarly among the people, endeared him to them, and led him into many amusing adventures. James was twice married, first to _Magdalen_, daughter of _Francis the First, King of France_; secondly, to _Mary_, daughter of the _Duke of Guise_, widow of the _Duke of Longueville_. In character and policy James was something like James the First. Like him, he strove to curb the power of the nobles, and to win for the Crown something more than mere nominal power, by making reforms which were much needed in the administration of justice. He worked out his ancestor's idea of a supreme court of justice by founding the _Court of Session_, or _College of Justice_. This court consisted first of thirteen, afterwards of fifteen, members, half of whom were clerks, and who acted both as judge and jury. As the members of this court were chosen from the parliament, it had the power of parliament, and was supreme in all civil cases, there being no appeal beyond it. James was not only a patron of letters, but himself a poet, one of the few royal poets whose writings will bear comparison with those of meaner birth. "Christ's Kirk on the Green," and the