On the disgrace of Margaret Logie, the Stewart and his three sons were released from their prison, and reinstated in the favour of the King.18

David II. died (22d February 1370-1, in the castle of Edinburgh), in the 47th year of his age, and the 42d of his reign." He was buried in the church of the abbey of Holyrood, before the great altar.

He was succeeded by his nephew ROBERT, the Stewart of Scotland.

When we acknowledge David II. to have been courteous and affable, and possessed of personal intrepidity, we complete the catalogue of his praise

hir, and all otheris that gave him counsall thairto, out of his realme. At last this lady past, with an certane hir freindis, to Avinion, quhaire the Paip held his seit for the tyme, and wes so favorit, that scho gat finalie an sentence aganis King David, to annexe to hir as his lawchfull lady and wyffe. Thus suld the realme have cumyn under interdiction and gret truble, wer nocht scho deceissit be the way returnand hame."

Much of this ill-told and confused story may be confuted from record. Margaret Logie was living with the King of Scots, and acknowledged as his wife, from 12th January 1365-6, to 4th January 1368-9; Foedera, T. vi. p. 484. 497.582. So that instead of banishing her in three months, he lived with her three years, and, probably, for a longer space. The time of her death is uncertain; but we know that she survived her husband. She was at Avignon on the 23d June 1372. She is then styled " egregia Domina, Domina Margareta, Regina Scotiae, uxor quondam Domini Davidis Regis Scotiae illustris, jam defuncti;" Foedera, T. vi. p. 727. She obtained a passport from Edward III. 24th March 1373-4; Foedera, T. vii. p. 35. Hence we may certainly conclude, that it was not her death which relieved Scotland from the apprehension of a Papal interdict. Fordun, it is true, says something like this; " si supervixisset." But, to reconcile his expression with the truth of history, we must suppose that Rex, or Papa, is to be understood; that is, David Bruce, or Pope Urban V.

worthy qualities.* But the defects in his character were many, and all of them were prejudicial to the public; he was weak and capricious, violent in his resentments, and habitually under the domi nion of women.

The Scottish nation had an amiable partiality for the only son of their great deliverer, and his misfortunes excited universal pity. Hence it is, that

A worthy friend of mine, while at Rome in 1776, took the trouble of inquiring whether the proceedings on the appeal of David II. were to be found in the Papal archives. The Abbate Cocquelini, the learned and industrious editor of the Magnum Bullarium Romanum, engaged in this search. It was laborious, and proved unsuccessful. I cannot express this so well as in his own words. After having mentioned his searches in the Vatican library, and elsewhere, he says, "Confugiendum fuit ad secretius archivium Vaticanum, in quo regesta integra bullarum, brevium, ac literarum Pontificum Avenionensium asservari exploratum est, Romam a Cardinali Ursinio duobus abhinc seculis adsportata. Elias Baldius, Graecae Latinaeque linguae scriptor in laudata bibliotheca, et Johannes Marinius secretioris Vaticani scrinii pro-custos, pro sui fide asseverant, codices se singulos bibliothecae et archivii non regesta modò, sed schedas quoque quàm diligentissimè, nec sine magno dierum quinque impendio, perlustrasse, nullamque actae a Davide Rege, causae aut interpositae appellationis schedam vel indicium adinvenisse." If, by any accident, this work should fall within the knowledge of the Abbate Cocquelini, and his associates, they are requested to accept of my sincere thanks. I lament that, when I wished to have the inquiry made, the precise date of the proceedings was not known to me. That would have greatly abridged the trouble of such a search. The proceedings must have been in 1370, or in the beginning of 1371, about the latter end of the Pontificate of Urban V.

* Fordun, L. xiv. c. 34. says, that David II. by his policy, suppressed the robbers in the mountainous country of Scotland, and in the isles: That he set them against each other, rewarded those who destroyed their adversaries, and thus, insensibly, extirpated the disturbers of the public peace. It was a cruel policy, if indeed used. But it is probable, that, in this account, there is much exaggeration. For the remote parts of Scotland remained as uncivilized and disorderly after the reign of David II. as in elder times.

the historians of our country are studious to draw a veil over the faults of David II.*

Nevertheless, while we pity the early exile, and unfortunate valour, and tedious captivity of the only son of Robert Bruce, we ought not to forget, that he degenerated from the magnanimity of his father, and that, through the allurements of present ease, or through motives of base jealousy, he was willing to surrender the honour, security, and independence of that people whom God and the laws had intrusted to his protection.

* It must, however, be admitted, that our historians were ignorant of the conferences at Westminster in November 1363. Fordun imagined, that the proposal made by the King to his parliament in the beginning of that year, was in consequence of a promise extorted from him during his captivity, L. xiv. c. 24. This good-natured hypothesis, founded on an imperfect knowledge of facts, has been adopted by later historians, who had opportunities of being better informed.

MISCELLANEOUS OCCURRENCES.

1306.

WILLIAM of Lambyrton Bishop of St Andrews, while a prisoner in England, had a daily allowance for himself of six pence, of three pence for his serving man, of three half-pence for his footboy, and of three half-pence for his chaplain.'

2

Elisabeth, the consort of Robert Bruce, while a prisoner in England, had servants appointed to attend her, and particularly, a footboy for her chamber, sober, and not riotous, to make her bed."*

1308.

John Duns Scotus,† called doctor subtilis, died, a person excessively admired by his contemporaries.

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* " Eit ele un garzon a pée, por demorer en sa chambre, tiel qui soit sobre, et ne un riotous, por son lit faire." + Descended from the family ly of The Dunses in the Merse;" MKenzie, Lives of Scots Writers, vol. i. p. 215. But Camden, Britannia, p. 861. says, that he was a native of Northumberland; because a note subjoined to a manuscript copy of the works of John Duns, in the library of Merton College, Oxford, has these words: "Explicit lectura subtilis doctoris in universitate Oxoniensi, super libros sententiarum, Doctoris Johannis Duns, nati in villa de Emilden vocata Dunstan, contracta Duns, in comitatu Northumbriae, pertinens ad domum scholasticorum de Merton

He taught what, in those days, was called philosophy and theogy, at Oxford, Paris, and Cologne. It is reported, that, at Oxford, thirty thousand pupils attended his lectures.*

hall in Oxonio, et quondam dictae domûs socii." This testimony is not sufficient to confute the received opinion: For, in its utmost latitude, it only implies, that an unknown and illiterate transcriber of the works of John Duns, chose to make him a native of Emilden in Northumberland, called Dunstan, and, by a fanciful abbreviation, Duns. There was a more ancient Johannes Scotus, distinguished by the appellation of Erigena, who flourished in the days of the Emperor Charlemagne. The Scots have laid claim to him also as their countryman; but upon less probable grounds. They translate Erigena, " a native of the town of Ayr;" but, in order to justify this translation, they must suppose that the town of Ayr existed in the days of Charlemagne! The obvious translation of Erigena is, " a native of Ireland."

* Anthony à Wood, Antiquitates Universitatis Oxoniensis, p. 147. ad. an. 1303, says, "Hac denuo tempestate exundare coepit scholarium frequentia-Oppidanis Brevi regio Sept. xix. dato, strictè praecipitur ut hospitiorum scholasticorum possessione properè excederent, maximè cum academici lecturas jam essent resumpturi. Quod regem verò induxit, ut mandatis suis exequendis sedulò magis attenderet, erat Scotorum frequentia, quos Oxonii commorari jusserat: Malè enim metuens, ne gentis illius optimates, et ingenua pubes, si alibi educarentur, rebus novis maximè studerent; post Scoticas suas expeditiones, captivorum quemque eruditioni deditum Oxonium deduxit." This inundation of Scottish students was, in all likelihood, the inundation of the pupils of John Duns Scotus, called Scoti, from their master, or from the sect to which they belonged. That they were Scotsmen of fashion, (optimates et ingenua pubes), is exceedingly improbable.

Janus Vitalis says of John Duns,

" omnibus sophistis

Argutus magis, atque captiosus."

Which may be thus translated: "The chief of quibblers."
Jacobus Latomus, in one of his epigrams, says,

“Quaecunque humani fuerant jurisque sacrati
In dubium veniunt cuncta, vocante Scoto."

That is, "All laws to canvass, human or divine,

Of all to doubt, great Scottish Duns, was thine!" I have only to add, concerning this singular personage, that Lucas Wading published a part of the works of John Duns in