The History of the Reformation of the Church of Scotland

and seeing such abomination so manifestly maintained, were decreed to be revenged. They were divided in several companies, whereof not one knew of another. There were some temporizers that day (amongst whom David Forrest, called the General, was one) who fearing the chance to be done, as it fell, laboured to stay the brethren; but that could not be: For immediately after that the Queen was entered in the lodging, some of those that were of the enterprise drew nigh to the Idol, as willing to help to bear him; and getting the Fertor upon their shoulders, began to shoulder, thinking that thereby the Idol would have fallen, but that was provided and prevented by the Iron nails, as we have said. And so began one to cry,¹ Down with the Idol, down with it: And then without delay it was pulled down. Some brag made the Priests Patrones at the first; but when they saw the feebleness of their god (for one took him by the heels, and dading his head to the street, left Dagon without a head or hands, and said, Fie upon thee, thou young Saint Guile, thy father would have tarried for such.) This considered (we say) the Priests and Friars fled faster then they did at Pinkie Clewch. There might have been so sudden a fray as seldom hath been amongst that sort of men within this Realm; for down goeth the Crosses, off goeth the Surplices, round Caps, Cornets with the Crowns. The grey Friars gaped, the black Friars blew, the Priests panted and fled, and happy was he that first gat the house; for such a sudden fray came never amongst the generation of Antichrist within this Realm before. By chance there lay upon a stair a merry English-man;² and seeing the discomfiture to be without blood, ⟨p. 105⟩thought he would add some merriness to the matter: and so cried he over the stair, and said, Fie upon you whoresons, why have you broken order, down the street they passed in array, and with great mirth: why flee the villains now without order? turn and strike every man a stroke for the honour of his God; fie cowards fie, ye shall never be judged worthy of your wages again. But exhortations were then unprofitable: For after that Bell had broken his neck,³ there was no comfort to his confused Army. The Queen Regent laid up this amongst her other inventions, till that she might have seen the time proper to have revenged it.