The History of the Reformation of the Church of Scotland

The people of Scotland so much abhorred the tyranny of the French, that they would have given the substance that they had, to have been rid of that chargeable burden, which our sins had provoked God to lay upon us, in delivering and giving into the hands of a woman, whom our Nobility in their foolishness sold unto strangers, and with her the Liberty of this Realm. God for his great mercy sake preserve us yet from further Bondage, in which we are like to fall, if he provide not remedy; ¹for our Nobility will yet remain blind still, and will follow their affection, come after what so may. But to return to our History. The Camp abounding in all necessary Provision, order was taken for continuation of the Siege; and so the Trenches were drawn as near the Town as possibly they might. The great Camp removed from Lestarrig, to the West side of the water of Leith; and so were the Cannons planted for the Battery, and did shoot at the Southwest wall: But by reason all was earth, the Breach was not made so great upon the day, but that it was sufficiently repaired upon the night: whereof the English-men beginning to be weary, determined to give the Breach an Assault, as that they did upon the seventh day of May, beginning before the day light, and continued till it was nigh seven a clock. And albeit that the English and Scottish with great slaughter of the Soldiers of both were repulsed, yet was there never a sharper assault given by so few hands; for they exceeded not a thousand men, that assaulted the whole two quarters of the Town, and yet they damned the whole Block-house, yea, they once put the French clean off their Walls, and were upon both the East and West Block-house, but they lacked backing, for their Scales lacked six quarters of the just height; And so while the former were compelled to fight upon the top of the wall, their fellows could not join to support them, and so were they by multitude driven back again, when it was once thought that the Town was won. Sir James Crofts was blamed of many for not doing his duty that day, for he was appointed with a sufficient number of the most able men, to have assaulted the Northwest quarter upon the Sea side, where at a low water (as at the time of the assault it was) the passage was easy.² But neither he nor his approached to their quarter appointed.

The people of Scotland so much abhorred the tyranny of the French, that they would have given the substance that they had, to have been rid of that chargeable burthen, which our sinnes had provoked God to lay upon us, in delivering and giving into the hands of a woman, whom our Nobility in their foolishnesse sold unto strangers, and with her the Liberty of this Realme. God for his great mercy sake preserve us yet from further Bondage, in which we are like to fall, if he provide not remedy;