Part 2
It was not, however, his architectural skill alone which gave him a place in his sovereign’s estimation, but his good broadsword and powerful arm, the efficacy of which having been displayed in a combat in the king’s presence[7] attracted his Majesty’s attention; so much so, that the king, finding him to be of good family, and possessed of great talent, placed him near his person; the result being that in a brief space of time he became his chief adviser, and the great opponent of the Scottish nobility, who sought to hold the king in their power.
In short, Robert Cochran appears to have become to James something like what Wolsey subsequently was to Henry VIII. not in power only, but also in ostentation. In the latter respect, Lindsay says of him, that “even his pavilions were of silk, and the fastening chains thereof richly gilt.” Pinkerton says he “became the fountain of royal favour, and was elevated to a giddy and invidious height of power—this being the earldom of Mar.”[8]
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Footnote 7:
“He came to be known to the king by a duel which he fought with another; and presently from an architect came to be made a courtier, and was put in a fair way of rising to some greater advancement; for, having performed some lighter matters, intrusted to him, with diligence, and also accommodating himself to the king’s humour, he was soon admitted to advise concerning the grand affairs of the kingdom; insomuch that Preston chose him to be his son-in-law.”—_Buchanan_, vol. ii. p. 301. “But that which made Cochran most envied was his earldom of March; which country the king had either given to him, or at least committed to his trust, upon the death of the king’s younger brother.”—_Buchanan_, vol. ii. p. 309.
Footnote 8:
The following extract from Crawfurd shows that the title and revenues of the earldom of Mar were in the hands of James at this time:—
“ERSKINE EARL OF MAR.
“Which Thomas [Erskine Earl of Mar,] did prosecute his father’s claim to the earldom of Mar with all the vigour imaginable, but having a powerful party, the king, to deal with, at length a final sentence was given against him in parliament, on the 5th November 1457, which he was obliged to acquiesce in; but notwithstanding the hard measure he had undergone from the king, and which might have been thought would have made him ready to have taken all occasions of being severe of it, yet he was a person of so much honour and virtue that in the succeeding reign of James III., when he had a very fair opportunity to be revenged, yet he no sooner saw the ways of duty towards the king decline, and his power _envied by a strong party of the nobility_, than out of pure conscience to serve his Majesty when he was in distress he fairly engaged in his quarrel, and when the war broke out accepted a command in the army, in which he continued till the very end that the king was miserably killed in the field of Stirling on the 11th of June 1488.”
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This advancement to the earldom of Mar, says Buchanan, “was the chief source of the hatred of the nobility, who were disgusted with James, partly by reason of his familiarity with that rascally sort of people, but chiefly because _he slighted the nobility_, and chose mean persons to be his counsellors and advisers, the chief of these being Thomas Preston, one of a good family, and Robert Cochran, a man endued with great strength of body and equal audacity of mind.”
In classing Thomas Preston and Robert Cochran amongst “that rascally sort of people,” Buchanan contradicts himself, for he admits that Preston was of good family, and he must have known that Cochran’s family was still more ancient, so that the historian only gives evidence of his own tufthunting tendencies. What were the feelings of the nobility towards Robert Cochran, may be gathered from the titles to the chapters of a scurrilous book subsequently written in their interest for the purpose of denouncing his memory.
1. “This minister’s (Robert Cochran) raising himself, first by his impudence, and next by his alliance with a noble lord, whom he wormed out of power.”
2. “His poor condition when he first came to court.”
5. “His buildings and passion for hunting.”
7. “_His working the disgrace of all the great men_,” &c.
This last head, “_working the disgrace of all the great men_,” appears to form the key to their whole hatred, but it implies patriotism towards a monarch and a country whom the “great men” had previously oppressed. I am quite content to rest the reputation of my ancestor upon the libellous evidence of his adversaries, or the showing of the Scottish historians, that he attempted to abridge the power of the nobles, _and succeeded_ to such an extent as to secure his own murder. To enter at length into such matters would, however, be to substitute my ancestor’s biography for my own, and therefore it will only be necessary to abridge from Pinkerton a few interesting extracts relative to this romance of Scottish history.
“The new Earl of Mar, unconscious that his extreme elevation was an infallible step to the deepest ruin, continued to abuse his power, and that of his sovereign. The nobles beheld the places, _formerly given to their sons_, now sold (?) to Mar’s followers. The prelates and other dignitaries of the church _sighed at the increase of simony_! &c. &c. In short, the whole honour and welfare of the king and kingdom were sacrificed on the domestic altar of this base and covetous minion!
“Some of the peers assembled, and consulted upon the means of delivering the realm from the disgrace and destruction inflicted by Cochran and the other royal favourites. A noble deputation had even been sent to the king, requesting that he would dismiss these pernicious councillors, and restore the confidence placed by his ancestors _in the loyalty of the nobility_. The answer of James was far from satisfactory, but the peers assented to delay, and dissembled till some decisive occasion should arise.
“The Scottish array, amounting to about fifty thousand, had crowded to the royal banner at Burrough-muir, near Edinburgh, whence they marched to Sontray and to Lauder, at which place they encamped between the church and the village. Cochran, Earl of Mar, conducted the artillery, and his presence and pomp were additional insults. On the morning after their arrival at Lauder, the peers assembled in a secret council, in the church, and deliberated upon their designs of revenge. The Earls of Angus, Argyle, Huntley, Orkney or Caithness, Crawford, the Lords Home, Fleming, Gray, Drummond, Hales, and Seton, are chiefly mentioned upon this occasion; and the discontent must have spread far when we find Evandale the chancellor, and some bishops united to the above names.
“In the course of the debate Gray took occasion to introduce an apologue: ‘The mice consulted upon the means of deliverance from their tyrannic enemy the cat, and agreed that a bell should be suspended about her neck, to notify her approach and their danger; but what mouse has courage sufficient to fasten the bell?’ ‘I shall bell the cat,’ exclaimed the impatience of Angus, in whom a current of the blood of Douglas flowed; and the homely times conferred upon him the appellation of Archibald Bell the Cat. It was concluded that the king _should be put in a gentle imprisonment_ in the castle of Edinburgh, and that all his favourites should be instantly hanged over the bridge of Lauder.
“Cochran, ignorant of their designs, at length left the royal presence to proceed to the council. The earl was attended by three hundred men, armed with light battle-axes, and distinguished by his livery of white with black fillets. He was clothed in a riding cloak of black velvet, and wore a large chain of gold around his neck; his horn of the chase, or of battle, was adorned with gold and precious stones; and his helmet, overlaid with the same valuable metal, was borne before him. Approaching the door of the church, he commanded an attendant to knock with authority; and Sir Robert Douglas of Lochleven, who guarded the passage, inquiring the name, was answered, ‘’Tis I, the Earl of Mar.’ Cochran and some of his friends were admitted. Angus advanced to him, and pulling the golden chain from his neck, said, ‘A rope will become thee better;’ while Douglas of Lochleven seized his hunting-horn, declaring that he had been too long a hunter of mischief. Rather astonished than alarmed, Cochran said: ‘My lords, is it jest or earnest?’ To which it was replied, ‘It is good earnest, and so thou shalt find it, for thou and thy accomplices have too long abused our prince’s favour; but no longer expect such advantage, for thou and thy followers shall now reap the deserved reward.’
“Having secured Mar, the lords dispatched some men-at-arms to the king’s pavilion, conducted by two or three moderate leaders, who amused James while their followers seized the favourites. Sir William Roger, the English musician; Preston, a gentleman, Hommil, Torphichan, Leonard, and others, were instantly hanged over the bridge at Lauder. John Ramsay of Balmain having clasped the king’s person, was alone spared. Cochran was now brought out, his hands bound with a rope, and thus conducted to the bridge, and hanged above his companions.”
Even the privilege of being hanged with one of the silken cords of his pavilion was denied him; and his making such a request Pinkerton attributes to “weak pride,” though it certainly looked more like “cool pride,” which would not condescend to beg life, and only asked to die like a gentleman.
Much in the same spirit, but showing the abilities of the man, are the following extracts from “A Detection of the Falsehood, Abuse, and Misrepresentations in a late Libel, entitled, The Life of Sir Robert Cochrane, Prime Minister in Scotland to James the Third.”
“This COCHRAN, [Sir Robert] according to the greatest of the Scottish Writers, lived at a Time when a Faction in England made War on their lawful Sovereign, and imposed it on the King by Force of Arms, that he should bear the Name and Ensigns, or Badges of a King, but the Power of the Government should be in the heads of their Faction, against which Violence and Tyranny the Queen drew the Sword for her Husband’s (Henry the 6th) Deliverance with such Vigour and Success, as rescued him from his Enemies, slew their Chiefs in Battle, destroyed two Armies, gaining two compleat Victories; and even when Fortune deserted this masculine Princess, in her final Overthrow Six and thirty thousand men were slain before she lost the Field.
“These were the Times when Cochran became the Minion of the King of Scotland, who departing from the Counsels of his ancient Servants, and withdrawing Himself from the Nobility, chose mean and infamous Persons to be the Companions of his Pleasures, and the Advisers of his Reign.
“Of these one _Preston_ was Chief, though born of a better Family than any of his Comrades, who abandoned himself to indulge the King’s Humour in all Things. And COCHRAN came next, who, of a Builder was instantly made Courtier! History describes Him as a Man of great Bodily Strength, and of equal Impudence! who, making Himself known to the King by a Duel which He fought, was admitted at Court with great Expectations of Advancement. Having been employ’d in Matters of small Concern, which He performed with great Application, and insinuating Himself into the King’s Favour by constant Assiduity, He became immediately advised with in the most important and the most intimate Councils of the Kingdom. Preston upon this made Him his Son, by giving him his Daughter in Marriage[9]....”
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Footnote 9:
Buchanan speaks of Preston’s alliance with Cochran as “one solicited to strengthen himself, which was not the cause but the effect of Cochran’s power at Court.... Again, the immediate Acquisition of Crown Lands which rendered Cochran most odious, is highly spoken of, notwithstanding that he obtained a Grant of the Lands belonging to a Prince of the Blood, even the Revenue of an Earl! and by such Grants _outvied the Splendour of the ancient Nobility_! who beheld Persons of the meanest extraction eclipse them in Lustre!”
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To return to the descendants of the murdered minister:—
“This Allan (son of the murdered Robert), in 1452, is witness to the mortification which Robert Lord Lyle made to the abbot and conventual brethren of the monastery of Paisley, of the fishing on the river of Clyde, at the place called Crokatshot, for the help of their prayers to advance his spiritual estate, in which deed he is designated Allanus Cochran, Armiger, his father being then alive, and to whom he succeeded before the 1480. He married ..., daughter of ..., by whom he had Robert, a son, who was father of John Cochran of that Ilk, who immediately succeeded his grandfather upon his death.
“Which John, for some consideration I know not, obtained a licence from his sovereign Lord King James IV. under the Great Seal, impouring him to dispose of either his lands of Easter Cochran in Renfrewshire, or his lands of Pitfour in Perthshire. Accordingly, he alienated a part of his lands of Cochran to James Archbishop of Glasgow, Anno 1519; to which deed he appends his seal, the impression bearing _three Boars’ Heads eraz’d_, and circumscribed _Sigillum Johannis de Cochran_. His wife was Elizabeth, daughter of John Simple of Fullwood, who bore him a son, John, who was served and retourned heir to his father on the 12th of May, 1539; he, dying in the 1557, left issue by Mary, his wife, daughter of Lindsay of Dunrod, _in Vicecomitatu de Renfrew_, a son,
“William, who succeeded him. In 1593, he erected from the foundation at Cochran, the ancient seat of his family, a very high tower of free-stone, and adorned it with large plantations; he marrying Margaret, daughter of Robert Montgomery of Skelmurly, _in Vicecomitatu de Air_, by Mary, his wife, daughter of Robert, Lord Semple, had a daughter Elizabeth, his sole heir.
“He wisely considering the proper way of supporting his family was to settle his daughter in his own time, and declining to marry her into a richer family than his son, he made a prudent and discreet match for her with Alexander Blair, a younger son of an ancient and genteel family in Airshire, whose ancestors had been seated in the country aforesaid for many ages before, so that beside a noble alliance, and a competent patrimony, he yielded to change his name to Cochran, which was almost the only condition the old gentleman required. This Alexander, so taking upon him the surname of Cochran, was a virtuous and frugal man, and studied as much the good of the family as if he himself had been born the heir thereof. In 1622, he acquired the lands of Cowdoun with an intention to unite them to the ancient patrimonial inheritance of Cochran; but he afterwards sold them to Sir William, his second son, as a fund to provide his younger children; for, besides Sir John, his eldest son, he had six other sons, and two daughters:
“Sir William Cochran of Cowdoun.
“Alexander, a colonel in the king’s service, in the wars of Ireland, which commenced in 1641, with the murder of upwards of fifty thousand Scots and English by the native Irish.
“Hugh, author of the branch of Fergusly; he was a colonel, first under the renoun’d Gustavus Adolphus King of Sweden, and afterward to King Charles I. in the time of the Civil War in Ireland.
“Bryse, a colonel in the time of the Civil War, who lost his life in the king’s service, Anno 1650.
“Captain Ochter Cochran.
“Gavin Cochran of Craigmure, was the seventh and youngest son.
“Elizabeth, married to John Lennox of Woodhead in Stirlingshire.
“Grisel, to Thomas Dunlop of Housle.
“Which Sir John, in the time of the unhappy Civil War in Britain, firmly adhered to the interest of King Charles I. and had a colonel’s commission in the army. In the year 1644, he was sent ambassador to several princes to solicit their assistance in his Majesty’s behalf, which he performed with such diligence and conduct, that in the treaty of peace which was set on foot betwixt the king and the Parliament of England and the Estates of Scotland, Anno 1646, he was, together with the Marquis of Huntly and Montrose, the Earls of Nithsdale, Crawfurd, Traquair, &c. proposed to be excepted from the king’s pardon, which his Majesty generously refused. Upon the murder of the king, he attended King Charles II. into foreign parts, and in the 1650 was sent into Poland to crave aid of the Scots merchants there; but before his return the king and the Scots army were defeated at Worcester; he continuing with the king during his exile, dyed about the time of the Restoration, without issue; so that his next brother, Sir William, became his heir.
“Which Sir William was very carefully educated in grammar learning in his youth, whence he was removed to the university; where having applied himself indefatigably to his studies, and highly improved his natural endowments with academical learning, he removed from thence after he had taken the degree of Master of Arts, and studied our laws; in which profession he attained to an uncommon perfection. Soon after his entering on the stage of business, he became much famed for his prudent management and conduct, by which he acquired a fair estate, both in the shires of Renfrew and Air, for the last of which he had the honour to serve as a member in the Parliament, 1647, wherein his abilities were soon discovered by the great and leading men of the House, and he showed himself, thro' the course of the sitting of that Parliament, a good and even patriot, wholly intent upon the honour and safety of the king, whose interest he did visibly advance, and the welfare and tranquillity of the nation then in no small ferment.”
On the visit of Charles I. to his Scottish dominions in 1641, for the purpose of allaying the hostile feelings which his arbitrary acts had there excited, Sir William Cochrane of Cowden had sufficient influence to be instrumental in reconciling the monarch and his angry subjects; together with sufficient substance and loyalty to minister to the necessities of his sovereign. For these and other services Sir William was at this time elevated to the peerage under the title of Lord Cochrane of Cowden; the gratitude of Charles, however, not being openly manifested until some years afterwards a prisoner in Carisbrook Castle.[10]
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Footnote 10:
That the peerage was considered to have been conferred in 1641, appears from a subsequent order of Charles II. for the elevation of Lord Cochrane to the Earldom of Dundonald (see p. 22); but for some cause or other the making out of the patent had been neglected or omitted till 1647. It would almost seem that Charles, whilst a prisoner at Carisbrook had some presentiment of his approaching fate, and had hastened to remedy the neglect before it was too late.
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As this circumstance is, to the best of my knowledge, unique, and is at variance with the statements of some Scottish genealogists, who give the date of the letters-patent as at Scarborough, Dec. 27, 1647, an extract from the “Acts” of the Privy Council in Edinburgh, confirming the original patent, may be gratifying to the historian.
“_At Edinburgh, the 1st day of April, 1648._
“The which day and year of our Lord, at his Majesty’s Privy Council, John Earl of Crafurd and Lindsay produced a patent under his Majesty’s Great Seal, dated at Carisbrook, the 26th day of December, 1647—by which his Majesty, considering the faithfulness and good affection of Sir William Cochran of Cowden towards his Majesty’s service—and his Majesty being willing, for his further encouragement to continue therein, to bestow some token of his royal favor on him, hath given and granted to the said Sir William Cochrane and his heirs male lawfully begotten, the title and dignity of a Lord of Parliament within this kingdom, to be called in all time coming Lord Cochrane of Dundonald, and to have exercise, and enjoy all the privileges, liberties, and pre-eminences belonging thereto, &c. &c. In token whereof, Archibald Marquis of Argyll, President of the Council at this time deliberate—in the name of Lord Cochrane—received the same on his knees,” &c. &c.—_Extractum de Libris Actorum._
It is not my intention to dilate upon the course pursued by Lord Cochrane, in promoting the reconciliation of Charles and his hereditary liegemen. Suffice it to say that, whilst his lordship’s predilections and services were in favour of the constitutional power of the king, he made a firm stand against his despotic tendencies, especially when meditating the subversion of the Scottish Church, under the guise of ecclesiastical reform.[11]
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Footnote 11:
“Charles and Laud determined to force on the Scots the English Liturgy—or rather a liturgy which, whenever it differed from that of England, differed, in the judgment of all rigid Protestants, for the worse.”—_Lord Macaulay._
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In the national struggle which ensued after the death of Charles I. Lord Cochrane was amongst the most active in raising troops to assert the right of Charles II. to the throne. The subjoined letter from that monarch, divested of its antique orthography, will show the nature of the services rendered.
CHARLES R.
“Right trusty and well-beloved—we greet you well. We have seen your letter to the Duke of Hamilton, whom you give no encouragement; so hope that sometime you, with the horse raised upon the baronies of Ayr and Renfrew, shall soon be in arms.
“Having been engaged to give to General-Major Vandrosk the first regiment of horse raised within our kingdom of Scotland, we could not possibly break our promise to so deserving a person. But seeing your brother was appointed to have the command of one of the regiments of foot before they were converted into horse, he will now be disappointed, as likewise will Col. Cunninghame, of their expectations. We have, therefore, thought fit to desire you to shift your brother up to the army to us, and we do oblige ourselves to take him into our particular favor, and to give him the command of a regiment either of horse or foot.
“We likewise find you desire the removing of the garrison from Newark, but having advised twice with our Committee of Estate, we find it is not for the good of the service to remove the said garrison; but we are content that the strength be reduced to the number of threttie soldiers only.
“We shall desire that you would be assisted in hasting these levies, and continue in your barony all public despatch, so as you may be in continual receipt of our respects to you.
“So we bid you now heartily farewell, from our Camp Royal at Woodhend, the fifth of August, 1651.
“To our right trusty and well-beloved, the Lord Cocorane.”
The preceding letter marks the dawn of that ingratitude towards his tried adherents of which Charles has been, not without reason, accused. Lord Cochrane’s reward for raising “the first regiment of horse in Scotland” was the displacement of his brother from the command, in favour of a Dutchman; notwithstanding that the whole expenditure had been borne by his lordship, whose fate it subsequently was that the Stuarts should draw largely upon resources which, to the injury of his descendants, his loyalty ungrudgingly supplied.