The chronicle of Perth - 1831 Author:John Mercer Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: AN EXAMINATION OF THE ALLEGED DESCENT OF JOHN EARL OF GOWRIE FROM MARGARET QUEEN OF SCOTLAND, WIDOW OF JAMES THE FOURTH. There are probably few... more » points in Scottilh hiftory involved in greater obfcurity, than that myfterious event commonly denominated the Gowrie Confpiracy. Indebted as the public is to Mr Pitcairn, for his induftry and refearch in collecting together all the particulars connected with that dreadful tragedy, I am by no means difpofed to admit his afiumption, that the refult of his inveftigations has for ever put the queftion to rest. On the contrary, there are fo many oppofite ftatements to reconcile, fo many improbabilities to remove, and fo many apparent inconfiftencies to explain, that whether the king or the fubje6l was the confpirator, is, in my humble opinion, by no means clear. It is not my intention to enter upon the merits of the controverfy ; and the prefent enquiry has merely reference to an hiflorical ftatement of Bifhop Burnet, which has been recently adopted by the Rev. James Scott, as the foundation of a very ingenious theory, introduced by him in his valuable, though far from accurate account of the Gowrie family. Edinburgh, 1818, royal 8vo. Margaret Tudor, eldeft daughter of Henry VII. born in the year 1489, was married firft, 1503, to James IV. by whom fhe had James V. and next to Archibald the great Earl of Angus, by whom fhe had Lady Margaret Douglas, Countefs of Lennox, and mother, of Lord Darnley. Having divorced him, fhe afterwards married Henry Stewart, (fecond fon of Lord Evandale,) the firft Lord Methven. She died in 1541. The prefent enquiry relates to the alleged iflue of the third marriage. Bifhop Burnet, from the general value of whofe works I by no means wifh to detract, in confequence of the few inacc...« less