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Concerning the supplication presented to the king's majesty and three estates in this present parliament by James, earl of Morton, lord of Dalkeith, admiral of this realm, and John, earl of Mar, lord Erskine, Annabella [Murray], countess of Mar, his mother, and his kinsmen and friends lately attending on his highness's service within his castle of Stirling, of the which the tenor follows:
The Earl of Morton's supplication
Sovereign lord, to your majesty most humbly means and shows I, your servant, James, earl of Morton, lord of Dalkeith, admiral of your realm, that where I trust it be not unknown that I have at all times past, after my ability and power, served your highness and your predecessors and in your said service have spent a great part of my age, not only in that service which to your other lieges upon their duty is common, but in special attendance and charge in the maintenance and defence of your highness's authority, [in] opposition to them who in your highness's infancy rebelled against the same; for the setting forth whereof, it is well known that I did neither fear the hazard of my life nor spare my substance nor the blood of my friends. I was also, in the most difficult time, forced to take upon me the government and charge of your realm and that by the advice of your nobility and estates in parliament the same, in that your highness's tender age, being in the midst of the troubles destitute of a governor, which charge, for your majesty's welfare and good of your realm, I then accepted and travailed therein, until it pleased your highness to receive the regiment in your own hand; whereof, as I was glad to be unburdened, so esteemed I my service and travail well bestowed, for that all things done in the time that I bore charge were after trial first of the whole nobility assembled in general council and then by the estates of parliament found and declared to have been done for your highness's honour and security, the good of your realm and subjects, through which I had, and have, just occasion by your grace's favour to esteem my service past well considered and recompensed. Since then, I have continued in your grace's service as it pleased your highness to command me, and therein I take God to record that I have behaved myself conveniently in all things wherein my judgement might be profitable to your grace and your realm, understanding also that during the said space my service and good affection has been well liked of by your grace. Nevertheless, some malicious and seditious persons labouring, if it were possible, to alienate from me your grace's favour and to breed sedition and trouble within your realm now in your highness's tender age, and your country being even of late at some repose from the former trouble, have sought many occasions to disturb the present quietness, and amongst other wicked inventions have forged and feigned a slanderous report and infamous rumour against me that I was art and part of the poison rumoured to be lately given to the late John [Stewart], earl of Atholl, lord of Balvenie, your highness's chancellor, whereof it is alleged he departed this life. The chief authors of that rumour are not known to me by any certainty, and yet not only is there a slanderous rumour but seditious rhymes and infamous libels openly published, albeit I doubt not but God, who is the author of all truth, my own conscience and all honourable persons will bear witness that I am innocent of all art and part of any such abominable deeds and facts as whereof I am most unjustly slandered. But yet seeing the said slanderous, seditious and false rumour altogether ceases not in such as malign against the truth, I cannot now, when your majesty has your nobility and estates of parliament convened in so full number, abstain from my complaint, the said slander tending not only to the hurt of my honour and fame if the same may be wounded by such false inventions and manifest lies, but to the great slander of your highness's realm either if your counsellors and nobility being rumoured with so shameful a deed shall not be tried and punished according to their deserving, or if they be innocent to sustain such false reports to be made of them within and without the realm, to the manifest reproach of the whole estate and nation, and to the prejudice of the persons so rumoured. Wherefore I beseech your majesty, with good advice of your estates present, to have respect to my earnest affection to your highness's service, which God willing shall continue to my life's end, and to consider how heavy a burden it is to an honourable person to sustain such a calumny. And also seeing the kin and friends of the said late John, earl of Atholl have compeared at this present parliament, that such order may be taken as pertains touching the trial of the raisers of the aforesaid slanderous rumours and that their said false report may be punished as appropriate, to the effect that all nations may know and understand that neither shall such abominable offences remain unpunished within your realm if they can be tried, nor shall such false reporters have liberty of speech to the hurt of whatsoever honourable persons, being innocent as said is, without suitable punishment. And your gracious answer most humbly I beseech.
The Earl of Mar's bill
Sovereign lord, to your majesty and your estates convened in this present parliament humbly means and shows your faithful servant John, earl of Mar, lord Erskine, Annabella, countess of Mar, my mother, and my kinsmen and friends lately attending on your highness's service within your castle of Stirling, that where it is not unknown to your highness how the late John, earl of Mar, sometime regent, and we have truly served your highness from the hour of your birth to this time, and have bestowed our whole engines, care and travails in your highness's nurture and attendance upon your person in your young age, in hope of the comfort that now as well we as the remainder of your faithful subjects find of your majesty, being of God's grace and favour now come to this estate and age. Nevertheless, as is also well known to your highness and lords, we have been heavily slandered, injured and misreported of to your highness's self as the authors and instruments of the poisoning of the last Earl of Atholl, now resting with God, for which as we worthily deserve most severe punishment if we were guilty, so being innocent, as God knows we are, we sustain a heavy slander while being guiltless; and there is great injury done to your highness's self to put you in suspicion and wrong conceit of them that have ever faithfully served your progenitors and yourself as we and our forebears have done, through which we are constrained now, as of before, at Stirling, to beseech your majesty and lords for God's sake and for a recompense of our long and diligent service done to your highness, to which, God willing, we shall continue to our lives' end, to consider how heavy a burden it is to persons of honour and long continued credit to sustain such a calumny. And also seeing the kin and friends of the said late Earl of Atholl have compeared in this present parliament, that such order may be taken therein as appertains touching the trial of the raisers of the aforesaid slanderous rumours and that their said untrue reports may be punished as appropriate, to the effect that all nations and your highness's own subjects may know and understand that neither such abominable offences remain unpunished within your realm if they may be tried, nor shall such untrue reporters have such liberty of speech to the hurt of whatsoever honourable persons, your own faithful servants, being innocent as said is, without suitable punishment. And your gracious answer most humbly we beseech.
Which supplications being read and considered by his highness and his said estates, the effect thereof was communicated and declared by his highness's commandment and direction to John [Murray], now earl of Atholl, lord of Balvenie, and Margaret, countess of Atholl, his mother, who compearing personally in presence of his highness and his said estates, the said Countess of Atholl presented likewise a supplication, whereof the tenor follows:
It will please your majesty of your goodness and clemency to hear my cause and do my son and me justice in this that after follows, which is, your highness will call to your remembrance how your majesty's most humble, faithful and true servant, my lord and good husband, was suddenly cut off, to the great hurt of your highness's surety and service and commonwealth of your realm, me and my bairns, by what means I doubt not your majesty remembers to have heard declared before you and your council by the depositions of the doctors and surgeons being convened in Stirling on [...] June 1579, at your highness's command; as I also for my interest, where I offered to your majesty before your council to declare further of my said lord and husband's conscience, and a part of that which he spoke to me, openly or privately, as should best please your highness, whereof as yet I have not been required. And now seeing the time convenient to let your majesty and council understand the same, I have taken the courage to give in this bill, which upon my true faith to God and your highness, and that I never be one of those that Christ suffered for if I shall say otherwise than the self same words my lord and husband spoke to me, saying in these terms: 'Alas, wife, I have gotten wrong done to me'. 'My lord', said I, 'credit not that: God would not suffer so should by seeing you have not deserved such punishment at his hand nor at man's. And if so were, take a good heart and put your confidence in him; he is a mighty God who will relieve you of it and send you your health as he did [James Stewart], earl of Moray, who was rumoured to have gotten the like wrong in France. But I cannot believe any of those living would do that deed to you'. 'Well', said he, 'you will not let me say the truth. But when God calls upon me to his mercy, you and your bairns will find it to be over true'. Said I, 'If such things be, where think you wrong was done to you?'. 'In the castle of Stirling', said he, 'being at my dinner, where immediately thereafter I felt myself evil at ease. And before I came out of the castle I showed [Agnes Graham], lady Tullibardine my disease and that I suspected there was wrong done to me'. 'Which', said he, 'I know she will not deny, for I esteem her to be true and honest. And on the morning after I got the wrong done to me, being at my supper in my lord [Colin Campbell, earl of] Argyll's house, I said in Irish to him, putting my hand to my breast, the wrong I have gotten is in this part'. He said often enough to your majesty's minister John Duncanson and to another minister called Master John Hamill and to George Boswell, surgeon, that he had gotten wrong done to him, bidding God reward the doers as they can testify. But, sir, to say who was the giver of it, I cannot well declare at this present, but hope in the Lord that by his grace and your highness's help the same shall come to light and true trial; beseeching most humbly your majesty in the meantime not to forget the cutting away of your own blood, but to keep the same in memory and to hold hand to the trial of the same and punishment thereof, according to their demerits, committers of the crime, and to then that it may please your majesty, my son, I and our friends suffer no wrong. As also your highness not to be hasty in according to any act of parliament for punishment of those that murmur and lament the case, for that wicked deed will be spoken of to the world's end in special by those that find themselves interested thereby. It will please your highness to leave my son and me here to protest before your highness and your council that nothing done in this parliament that may cause the extinguishing of my lord, my husband's murder, or otherwise proceeded against us in that action be prejudicial to the cause or impediment to my son, me and our friends to follow forth the trial and punishment thereof, but that we may have place to the same as time shall serve. This we most humbly crave of your majesty and that we may have act of parliament hereupon.
And the said supplication presented by the said countess of Atholl being likewise heard and considered, the king's majesty and his three estates find and declare the desires, as well of the said Earl of Morton, the Earl and Countess of Mar, his mother, and his kinsmen and friends aforesaid, and also of the said Countess of Atholl in their said supplications respectively, to be honourable and reasonable, that is to say, the said earls of Morton and Mar, the Countess of Mar, his mother, and his kinsmen and friends in seeking the trial of the raisers of the aforesaid slanderous rumours, and in offering themselves now, as of before, to be tried as they offer themselves always to be ready to underlie the same trial whenever any shall directly accuse them. And the said Countess of Atholl, seeing she cannot declare at this present as she affirms who were the doers of the wrong to her husband in her protestation, that nothing done in this present parliament be prejudicial to the cause or impediment to her son, her and their friends to follow forth the trial and punishment thereof, but that they may have place to the same as time shall serve always, our said sovereign lord, with advice of his said estates, statutes and ordains that none of his highness's subjects presume or take upon hand to slander, backbite, reproach or injure the said earls of Morton, Mar, the said Countess of Mar and his kinsmen and friends above-written as art and part of the alleged poisoning of the said late Earl of Atholl, without it being in direct accusation and pursued by order of justice according to the laws which they have offered and still offer themselves ready to underlie whenever they shall be lawfully accused; certifying all persons that do in the contrary they shall be esteemed and pursued as liars and tellers of lies to engender discord between his highness and his nobility, according to the acts of parliament made thereat and according to the pains contained therein; and that letters be directed for publication hereof in due form as is appropriate.