By the mediation of mutual friends, the two earls agreed to a temporary truce on the 9th of March, 1587, and thus the effusion of human blood was stopped for a short time. As Mackay was the vassal of the Earl of Sutherland, the latter refused to comprehend him in the truce, and insisted upon an unconditional submission, but Mackay obstinately refused to do so, and returned home to his own country, highly chagrined that the Earl of Caithness, for whom he had put his life and estate in jeopardy, should have acceded to the Earl of Sutherland’s request to exclude him from the benefit of the truce. Before the two earls separated they came to a mutual understanding to reduce Mackay to obedience; and that he might not suspect their design, they agreed to meet at Edinburgh for the purpose of concerting the necessary measures together. Accordingly, they held a meeting at the appointed place in the year 1588, and came to the resolution to attack Mackay; and to prevent Mackay from receiving any intelligence of their design, both parties swore to keep the same secret; but the Earl of Caithness, regardless of his oath, immediately sent notice to Mackay of the intended attack, for the purpose of enabling him to meet it. Instead, however, of following the Earl of Caithness’s advice, Mackay, justly dreading his hollow friendship, made haste, by the advice of Macintosh and the Laird of Foulis, to reconcile himself to the Earl of Sutherland, his superior, by an immediate submission. For this purpose he and the earl first met at Inverness, and after conferring together they made another appointment to meet at Elgin, where a perfect and final reconciliation took place in the month of November, 1588. FOOTNOTES: [164] Sir Robert Gordon, p. 90. [165] Sir R. Gordon, p. 92. [166] Sir R. Gordon, p. 93. [167] Sir R. Gordon, pp. 96, 97. [168] Sir R. Gordon, p. 97. [169] It was this excellent Bishop who built, at his own expense, the beautiful bridge of seven arches on the Dee, near Aberdeen. The Episcopal arms cut on some of the stones are almost as entire as when chiselled by the hands of the sculptor. [170] _Hist. of Scotland_, p. 137. [171] P. 99. [172] This is the number given by Bishop Lesley, whose account must be preferred to that of Sir R. Gordon, who states it at upwards of 200, as the Bishop lived about a century before Sir Robert. [173] Sir R. Gordon, p. 100. [174] _Hist._, p. 138. [175] Lesley, p. 184.--Sir R. Gordon, pp. 109, 110.--Shaw’s _Moray_, pp. 265, 266. [176] Sir R. Gordon, p. 133. [177] Lesley, p. 251. [178] Sir R. Gordon, p. 136. [179] Sir R. Gordon, p. 147. [180] Sir R. Gordon, p. 154. [181] Sir R. Gordon, p. 155. [182] Sir R. Gordon, p. 156. [183] Sir R. Gordon, p. 173. [184] _History_, p. 174. [185] See Spalding Club _Miscellany_, vol. ii. p. 83. [186] Sir R. Gordon, p. 185. [187] _History_, p. 192. CHAPTER VIII. A.D. 1588-1601. KING OF SCOTLAND:--James VI., 1567-1603.