forewarned them would be the case, "their walls were no better than
eggshells." From the steeple of St. Salvador's College and the towers
of the Abbey, as well as from the galleys in {22} the bay, the cannon
of their assailants poured shot in upon them, while within the walls
the plague broke out with virulence. So in the end of July Kirkcaldy
of Grange went forth with a flag of truce to make the best possible
terms with the victors. The conditions obtained were that the lives of
all within the castle, whether English or Scotch, should be spared;
that they should be safely transported to France; and that in case,
upon conditions that by the king of France should be offered unto them,
they could not be content to remain in service and freedom there, they
should, at the expense of the king of France, be safely conveyed to
what country they would require, other than Scotland. These promises,
however, were shamefully broken, for the vanquished were taken on board
the vessels which had been plentifully loaded with the spoils of the
castle, and carried to France, where they were held in bondage for many
months. One detachment of them was taken to Cherbourg, and another to
Mount St. Michael. Knox himself was reduced to the condition of a
galley-slave.
We have no connected account of his experiences in this time of trial,
but here and there in his works he has dropped incidental hints which
give us glimpses of his sufferings, and of the manner in which they
were endured by him. In his history of the Reformation, in connection
with the account of an effort made by some of his friends to dissuade
him in the year 1559 from preaching in St. Andrews, we have a report of
the answer which he gave to them, and in that occurs the following
passage: {23} "In this town and church began God first to call me to
the dignity of a preacher, from, the which I was reft by the tyranny of
France by procurement of the bishops as ye all well enough know. How
long I continued prisoner, _what torment I sustained in the galleys,
and what were the sobs of my heart_, is now no time to consider." An
equally pathetic reference to his misery during this season of bondage,
and to his solace under it, is to be found in his treatise on the true
nature and object of prayer, in which after having referred to the
words, (Ps. vii. 16, 17) "His mischief shall return upon his own head,
and his violent dealings shall come down upon his own pate. I will
praise the Lord according to His righteousness, and will sing praise to
the name of the Lord most high," he goes on to say, "This is not
written for David only, but for all such as shall suffer tribulation to
the end of the world. For I, the writer hereof (let this be said to
the laud and praise of God alone), in _anguish of mind and vehement
tribulation and affliction_, called to the Lord, when not only the
ungodly, but even my faithful brethren, yea and mine own self, that is
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