siege to the town of Berwick. A muster of the Scottish troops was the consequence; and an army of fifty thousand, that was assembled at the Boroughmuir, marched first to Soutra, and then to Lauder, having the king at their head, accompanied by his unworthy minions. Most conspicuous among these was Cochrane, to whom the command of the artillery was intrusted, and who, on this occasion, appeared with a splendour which few Scottish kings had hitherto equalled. His pavilion was of silken drapery, the fastening chains of which were richly gilt; his camp-furniture shone with gold and silver; and his body-guard consisted of three hundred tall retainers, dressed in rich liveries, and armed with battle-axes. It was the last glitter of a falling star before it disappeared for ever! On encamping at Lauder, the nobles assembled in the church, and proceeded to deliberate upon the best means of removing the favourites from the royal person. Cochrane, as the most obnoxious, was the chief object at which their discussion pointed; but to punish him was a task of danger, not only on account of his master's protection, but his own courage, and the military retainers by whom he was surrounded. All this was expressed by Lord Gray, who repeated on the occasion a homely apologue. "The mice," he said, "having been continually annoyed by the inroads of the cat, met in council to devise the best mode of delivering themselves from her tyranny. At length, after various measures had been proposed, it was agreed that the best plan was M hang a bell round her neck, that thus they might receive due notice of the destroyer's approach. This pleased the whole meeting; but just when they were about to break up, the question occurred, 'What mouse will adventure to hang the bell about the cat's neck?'" Here the speaker paused; upon which Angus, raising his stalwart form in the midst of the council, briefly and boldly exclaimed, "I will bell the cat!" From this answer he derived the singular cognomen by which he is known in Scottish history.
No sooner had this decision been announced than a knocking was heard at the church door; upon which Douglas of Lochleven, who kept guard there, demanded to know who it was that sought admittance. "It is I, the Earl of Mar," cried the person without. He thought that a council of war had been assembled, and was desirous to be present at their deliberations. The door was gladly opened to the victim, who entered, unsuspicious of danger. "It does not become thee to wear this collar," cried Angus, stepping up to him, and rudely snatching from his neck the gold chain which he wore; "a rope would suit thee better." "Nor yet this horn," said Douglas of Lochleven, plucking away the jewelled hunting-horn that dangled by his side; "thou hast already hunted after mischief too long!" Cochrane, as fearless as any man present, imagined that nothing more than some rude pleasantry was intended, and asked, "My lords, is this jest or earnest?" The only answer given was his instant seizure; his hands wore pinioned, and a guard was placed over him. Having thus secured the principal culprit, the conspirators strode onward to the royal tent; and, before an alarm could be raised in the king's behalf, not only his favourites, but himself also were prisoners in their hands. No trial followed of the men who were already prejudged and doomed. They were dragged to Lauder bridge; and there Torphichen the dancing-master, Hummil the tailor, Rogers the musician, Leonard, Preston, and the other royal favourites, were hanged over the parapet. Cochrane, who felt his "ruling passion strong in death," only requested to be hanged with one of the silken cords from his tent, and not strangled with a hempen rope, like a sorry cur; but, instead of
