in the light of recent conflicts, that Sir the jury which raised John Erskine to Mar. When Queen Mary was in captivi of Elizabeth took the utmost precautions of the Queen from her Scottish friends, willingly have raised her again to the th close watch on all persons passing betwe Scotland, the bearer of a letter from Sir ston was arrested. The contents of the compromising character, and Walsing secretary, was greatly enraged, believing Sir William was acting towards him a do not clear that his attempt to establish with Mary was the cause, but, neverthe Sir William was banished several years When he is next heard of, in 1574, he is Regent on account of "his great repenta repaid Walsingham a considerable 1 minister had never expected to receive, in favour with the English authorities October, 1580, Sir William was appoint the Bedchamber to James the VI., a following year, Morton, the late Reger high treason on account of his supposed murder of Darnley, Sir William Living the jury of sixteen appointed from amon gentry of the land who brought in a The result of the finding was the exec

After the Raid of Ruthven, the Earl of Lennox was arrested and sent to London. Sir William stood by his friend and neighbour in his adversity. He accompanied him to London, and, at an interview with Elizabeth, so softened the Queen's heart that Lennox was allowed to depart peaceably to France. But for Kilsyth's intervention there can be no doubt the most severe judgment would have been meted out. Sir William bore northward the letter to James, which said that it was for his sake Lennox had been treated "otherwise than he deserved." This was the last affair of importance in which Sir William was engaged. His wife, Lady Christian Graham of Menteith, whom he had infeft in the lands of Inchterff, divorced him towards the close of his life. The particulars of the charge do not appear. He died near the end of the century.

The Second Baronet :-The first baronet left one son, Sir William, and two daughters. Sir William Livingston succeeded his father in the estates. He was a man of much learning, solid parts, and great aptitude for business. On the 2nd July 1601 he was admitted a Privy Councillor. As a minor baron he attended on five separate occasions, between 1599 and 1609, the meetings of the Estates, and in the course of the latter year he was appointed one of the Lords of Session. The people of the Western Isles having committed great depredations on the peaceable inhabitants of the mainland, the Baronet of Kilsyth, along with the "Captain of the West Seas," was ordered to arm two ships of sixteen and twenty guns for the destruction of these petty marauders and buccaneers. He was not only a man of talent but also of large means. Besides the barony of Kilsyth, he acquired the estate of Herbertshire, near Denny, the lands of Kincaid and Birdston in Campsie; the superiority of the lands of

to be entirely wasted and his line termin twice married. First to Antonia de Bord, Secondly, to Margaret, daughter of Sir Jo that Ilk. He died 1627. He was suc grandson, who was, however, only in posse The third baronet left a son and three d son succeeded his father, but dying in hi unmarried, he was succeeded by his g James Livingston, the son of the Lord of second marriage.

The First Lord Kilsyth :-A study of James Livingston, who became the first clears up various matters of interest, but r prevalent views are hazy in the extren Livingston was served heir to the Kilsyth 23rd April, 1647. He immediately on possession of his inheritance became a War Committee for the Sheriffdom o Being a staunch Royalist, when Cromwell land he at once offered to defend his c against the English. King Charles II. gra his offer and returned him his best thanks. his castle, situated some distance bene farm, he was by no means able to withsta of the Protector's Ironsides. Cromwell's the castle, then quartered themselves on the estate, and finally burnt the castle The garrison tyrannised and plundered in

and the parishioners were reduced to great extremities. The people having gathered into the castle for safety all their stores, clothes, linen, and valuables, when the building was fired the soldiers behaved in the most cruel and heartless manner. Having formed an armed circle round the castle, they refused to allow them to secure any portion of their effects from the flames. When the garrison departed, the parish was in the depths of penury and want. On the 6th June, 1651, "The Supplication of the Tennents of the Lands of Kilsyth " (See Appendix I.) was placed before the King and remitted to the Committee of Estates, with an earnest recommendation that the prayers of the sufferers should be granted. The matter of the petition was prospering when the Scottish army, meeting with a severe defeat at Worcester, the claims of the Kilsyth people were lost sight of in the press of still graver concerns.

When Cromwell's "Act of Pardon and Grace to the People of Scotland" was proclaimed at Edinburgh on the 1st May, 1654, Sir James Livingston, on account of his Royalist proclivities, was expressly excepted from the operation of its clemency, and he was arrested and imprisoned in Edinburgh Castle. While he lay in prison, his second mansion, in the garden of which the parish church is now built, was garrisoned by a party of Royal Highlanders. Fearing it might be used for a depot of the southern army, when they took their departure, rather than run the risk of letting it fall into Cromwell's power, they burned it with their own hands. No wonder Sir James felt bitterly when, in prison, the news came to him of this foolish action. He had the exceeding misfortune at this crisis of having his property wasted at the hands of both friend and foe alike. It has to be said in this connection that the original house at Colzium

consisted of both a tower and fortalice, and was the modest residence attached to the eastern barony which extended from the Garrel to the boundaries of Denny. This tower-house shared the same fate as the other two mansions, and was burnt and wasted about the same time as the Allanfauld Castle. There is no clue to the date of the erection of these three mansions, and with the exception of a small part of the house of Colzium, there remain no traces of their existence.

On the 10th October, 1650, Oliver Cromwell addressed from Kilsyth a letter from Kilsyth Castle to the Provost of Glasgow, informing him that he would not harm the inhabitants of that town if they kept to their houses. After his release from prison Sir James enjoyed a few years of tranquillity, and after the restoration of Charles II. he sat in the Scottish Parliament as a representative of the shire of Stirling. The time was opportune, and in July, 1661, he brought before Parliament his claims for the losses sustained by him in the troubles of the time. These claims covered a period from 1645, when his lands were overrun by the followers of Montrose, to the burning of his mansion-house in 1654. In the petition the claims of the tenantry were also embodied. A committee of enquiry was appointed, and after the fullest investigation the damages were valued at over 200,000 pounds Scots. After the committee had given in their report, Charles II. by patent under his hand raised Sir James to the peerage under the style and titles of Viscount of Kilsyth and Lord Campsie. The patent is dated 17th August, 1661. The title was all the restitution ever made either to Lord Kilsyth or the people of the parish for the great losses sustained through the plunderings, quarterings, burnings, and rapacities of Cromwell. The honour would no doubt be appreciated