roused, he succeeded in forcing his way into the courtyard. The death of L’Abast, who, though borne down by the impetuous inrush, refused to ask for quarter, threw the French into confusion. Few of those outside the house escaped the fierce slaughter that followed; whilst those within it were glad to surrender at discretion. From that day, as the chronicler drily remarks, ‘the French were more circumspect in straying abroad.’ At Tullybodie, too, there was some sharp fighting for the possession of the bridge. But, though Kirkcaldy succeeded in cutting it down, the check to the advance of the French was only temporary. They retired to Doune, where they crossed the river by means of a bridge, which they built of timber torn from the roof of the parish church. Kirkcaldy and Sinclair did not carry on this harassing mode of warfare without considerable danger to themselves. On one occasion the Master had his horse slain under him, and barely got off with his life. On another, Grange was nearly captured in his own house at Halyards. Referring to these narrow escapes, Maitland of Lethington bears testimony to the estimation in which the two dashing leaders were held, and to the value set on their services by the Lords of the Congregation. ‘If at this time they should have lost the said two men,’ he wrote, ‘it would have been to them more hurt than to the Frenchmen to have lost a thousand soldiers; it would have been more skaith than to have had all the Frenchmen in Scotland slain.’ John Knox, in a letter to Mrs Anna Locke, also makes admiring and grateful mention of Kirkcaldy’s achievements. ‘God will recompense him I doubt not,’ he says; ‘for in this cause and since the beginning of this last trouble specially, he hath behaved himself so boldly, as never man of our nation hath deserved more praise. He hath been in many dangers, and yet God hath delivered him above man’s expectation. He was shot at Lundie, right under the left pap, through the jack, doublet, and sark, and the bullet did sticke in one of his ribs. Mr Whitelaw hath gotten a fall, by the which he is unable to bear armour. But, God be praised, both their lives be saved.’ Whether Kirkcaldy was actually wounded, however, seems rather doubtful. That, if he was, his hurt cannot have been serious, may be gathered, not only from the fact that no interruption of his activity at this time is recorded, but also from the following passage, which occurs in one of Sadler’s letters to Crofts: ‘Kirkcaldy hath no such hurt as we wrote of, which arose of another Scottishman that was indeed hurt in the same sort as we did write; and before that Kirkcaldy slew a Frenchman, whereby the Protestants had the first blood, which they do take for good luck.’