John Spottiswoode

“ Sir John Spottiswoode sat, determined to be silent.
"Lord Farnborough," continued Lady Wetheral, "tells me he intends wandering round Lochleven some weeks longer."
"At Clanmoray?" asked Christobelle.
"No, my love, he thinks of building at Kinross." Christobelle sank back into her former position, quite indifferent to the whereabout of Lord Farnborough. Her ladyship resumed:—"Sir John, what a lovely creature is Fanny Ponsonby! I think I never beheld more beautiful eyes!"
"Miss Ponsonby is a beautiful woman!" replied Sir John Spottiswoode. ”

“ Christobelle felt uncomfortable at Sir John Spottiswoode's information. It is always painful to hear depreciating accounts of those we admire, or from whom we have received kindness. She knew nothing of Lord Farnborough—his lordship was nothing to her; but she regretted so agreeable a person should prove [39] otherwise than estimable. Could Mr. Beverly's testimony be depended upon? Character should not be lightly treated: if Lord Farnborough's character was at the mercy of Mr. Beverly, it was but fair to ascertain Mr. Beverly's claims to belief. ”

“ How true this proved was afterwards too well known, when Spotswood was made arch-bishop of St Andrews, and Law of Glasgow. Being at dinner one time with Mr Bruce, who was then in great favour with the king, he told him, he should soon be in as great discredit; which was likewise accomplished. At another time, when dining in the house of one of the magistrates of Edinburgh with Mr Bruce, in giving thanks, he brake forth in these words, "Lord, this good man hath respect, for thy sake, to thy servants, but he little knoweth, that in a short time, he shall carry us both to prison;" ”

“ You'll not get that out of me, Wedgwood, for anything!"
"But why not? Between ourselves!"
"No, not between ourselves. I'm not going to drag innocent people into trouble. If I told you who this man was you'd be after him at once, and I know, of course, that it would be just a bit of talk that he'd be having with John." ”

“ According to Spotiswood, so deeply did Sir John Skene take the disappointment to heart that, although the king did his best to satisfy him, and succeeded in reconciling him and his son, ‘so exceeding was the old man's discontent, as within a few days he deceased’ (History in the Spottiswood Society, iii. 215) . The latter statement is, however, quite incorrect, for Skene survived the disappointment for several years. He did not retire from the privy council until 18 June 1616, when his son was admitted in his room (Reg. P. C. Scotl. x. 540) . ”

“ All of this was very curious, and tensely interesting to Colonel Spottiswoode. They sat their horses together, watching the half-orderly mob which pressed onward with the sun shining in their faces.
"I say, Spottiswoode"—Cameron spoke out suddenly, and earnestly—"can you imagine what it means to spend twenty-two years in that solitude, brooding on religion? A man goes daft with a fanatical, murderous madness. Can't you see how old Tabira might fancy himself inspired to run amuck with his tribe, and send a few Christians ahead of him to Paradise?" ”

“ FORTESCUE, SIR JOHN (c. 1531–1607) , English statesman, was the eldest son of Sir Adrian Fortescue (executed in 1539) , and of his second wife, Anne, daughter of Sir William Reade or Rede of Borstall in Buckinghamshire. The exact date of his birth is unrecorded. [1] He was restored in blood and to his estate at Shirburn in Oxfordshire in 1551. Through his father’s mother, Alice, daughter of Sir Geoffrey Boleyn, he was a second cousin once removed from Queen Elizabeth. ”

“ She forced herself to be very matter-of-fact. "I think you will be very silly to smash anything. It's so wasteful. I think socialism and all that very silly. So does my husband."
For the life of her, Mary could not think why she had dragged John into it.
"I read a book," she continued, "about a month ago. A very silly book called The Salvation of Society by David Rossitur. He thought he was so clever and modern because he prophesied that England was going to the dogs. My sister-in-law, Sarah, came to exactly the same conclusion long ago, though she hasn't been to college." ”

“ I do not know what I have done to deserve this."
"It is the most natural thing in the world, Sir John," said the earl, shaking him warmly by the hand: "when perverse, rash, and rebellious men know that they have to deal with a gentleman of honour, who, however much he may be attached to liberty, is well disposed towards his sovereign, they naturally suspect and spy upon him."
"You judge me rightly, my lord; you judge me rightly," replied Sir John Hotham. "I have always been a friend equally to my country and my king ”

“ By our most labour'd lines, can make thee live
Like to thine owne.
In the commendatory poems, his friend, Thomas Nevill, [115] praises his goodness, his knowledge and his art. Sir Thomas Hawkins of Nash Court, Kent,—connected through Hugh Holland and Edmund Bolton with the circle of Sir John's acquaintances,—emphasizes the modesty, regularity, moral and religious devotion no less of his life than of his poetry. His sons rejoice that "His draughts no sensuall [186] waters ever stain'd." His brother-in-law, George Fortescue of Leicestershire, and others swell the chorus of affection. ”

“ His brothers are George Spottiswoode, of Gladswood, County Berwick, lieutenant-colonel in the army, and Andrew Spottiswoode, of Broom Hall, County Surrey. The representative of the family resides during the greater portion of the year at Spottiswoode, on his extensive hereditary estate, the modern mansion being one of the finest in Southern Scotland. The old mansion still remains. Thirty miles of underground drains have been made on this estate, reclaiming hundreds of acres of land lying between the Blackadder and the Leader. ”

“ How are you, John? I'm perfectly fit, thanks."
"Where's Mary?"
"She's gone off up the village somewhere. I say, John, you ought to keep an eye on that wife of yours. She works much too hard."
John tugged at his beard and smiled lazily down at Ursula.
"Oh, I can't stop her. If she wants to do anything she will. What's she up to now?"
"She's off to tell the schoolmaster some home-truths about a lad or something. She says you want him on the farm and he's under age."
"Jack Greenwood? I don't want him. That's her idea. How long has she been gone?" ”

“ How the Civic League struggled and the three good little men dreamed and planned. How Fanny Foster came to pay the great price for Green Valley's salvation. How in death gentle Mary Hoskins paid too. He explained why Seth Curtis was a gentler man and why John Foster hurried home each day to laugh and talk with his crippled wife. He told her of that awful day that had crushed George Hoskins so that he went about a broken, shrunken man, praying and searching for peace through service. It was George who bought the beautiful new piano for the Community House, who was paying for little Jim's cure. ”

“ Torreale spread his second best hand and failed to appreciate the joke. Three times the Colonel held two pair against pat hands when Wright was dealing; thrice the Colonel drew one card and filled—unaccountable luck.
"Captain Wright," Spottiswoode remarked, "I've a hunch that you are my mascot."
Meanwhile Colonel Spottiswoode picked young Shields for a fine average American, and liked Reifenstein better than the other foreigners. The Italians seemed too eager to win; their eyes a gold piece so lustfully; they counted each pot as they stacked it, and were contentious about trifles. ”

“ Here it was, from the roof of the mansion, then occupied by the Earl of Peterborough, that Archbishop Ussher had swooned at the sight of Charles' execution; and here Fleetwood, who from his connection with the Cromwells on the one side, and with the Army on the other, now possessed more power than any other person, gathered together his brother officers for conference. Fleetwood was a pious and respectable Independent, [22] a sincere patriot, a Republican only in a qualified sense, willing to concede to a [26] Protector large administrative authority. ”

“ He married Mary, daughter of Sir Richard Blake, who survived him, dying in 1728, and had one son, Fleetwood, who died 21 June 1726, aged 30, to his father's inconsolable grief, and four daughters, of whom one married Lord Fortescue of Credan, and another John Parkhurst of Catesby, Northamptonshire. ”

“ Only one man could be his successor. On the self-same 26th of June Cromwell received his commission as captain-general and commander-in-chief; and two days later he started on his journey to the north. Charles Fleetwood was his lieutenant-general, John Lambert, an excellent soldier, his major-general; and joined to his staff was another officer whom we saw fighting in the Low Countries many years ago, Colonel George Monk. He had served in the Civil War first with the Royalists, and had been taken prisoner by Fairfax at Nantwich in January 1645 ”

“ All the accused were convicted and condemned to death, but their lives were spared by the queen, and their sentences commuted to imprisonment in the Tower. There, between 1565 and 1578, both the Poles died, while Fortescue, at what date is unknown, was released or allowed to escape. He probably owed his freedom to the influence of his brother Sir John, who was highly esteemed by Elizabeth. Of the remainder of his career nothing is known; he is spoken of as living, probably abroad, in his brother Thomas Fortescue's will, dated May 1608.
Sir Anthony left three sons, Anthony, John, and George ”

“ Thomas Fleetwood married Barbara, the cousin and heiress of Andrew Frances, of London, and had issue five sons, the second and third of whom were knighted later in life, whilst the eldest, Edmund, came into possession of Rossall Hall and estate in 1583, after the demise of Richard Allen, whose widow and daughters were ejected. Thus Edmund Fleetwood was the first of the name to reside at Rossall, where he died about forty years later. This gentleman married Elizabeth, the daughter of John Cheney, of Chesham Boys, in Buckinghamshire, and had issue several sons and daughters. ”

“ He lifted his work willingly and cheerfully, for work is the oldest gospel God gave to man. It is good tidings that never fail. It is the surest earthly balm for every grief and whatever John Hatton was in his home life and in his secret hours, he was diligent in business, serving God with a fervent, cheerful spirit. In the mill he never named his loss but once, and that was on the morning of his return to business. Greenwood then made some remark about the dead child, and John answered,
"I am very lonely, Greenwood. This world seems empty without her. ”

“ From that marriage there sprang one son, William Fleetwood, who subsequently espoused Ellyn, the daughter of Robert Standish, and had issue John, Thomas, and Robert Fleetwood. Of these three sons, Thomas, the second, resided at Vach in the county of Buckingham, and at the dissolution of the monasteries by Henry VIII., about 1536, purchased from that monarch the reversion of the lease of Rossall Grange, then held by the Allens from the Abbot and convent of Deulacres, in Staffordshire. ”

“ Stanihurst did not record the date of Flattisbury's death, but mentioned that it took place ‘at his town styled Johnstown,’ near Naas, in Kildare, and observes that he was a ‘worthy gentleman and a diligent antiquary.’ The original annals, from which Flattisbury transcribed, were printed for the first time in 1607 by Camden, in his ‘Britannia,’ from a manuscript lent to him by Lord Howard of Naworth, and subsequently presented by Archbishop Laud to the Bodleian Library, where it is now preserved. ”

“ Fosdick and Stephens glanced at each other and then at Viner, who sat a little in Mr. Pawle's rear.
"Partner of yours?" asked Fosdick.
"Not at all! This gentleman," replied Mr. Pawle, "is Mr. Viner. It was he who found Ashton's dead body. They were neighbours."
"Well, you found the body of a very worthy man, sir," remarked Fosdick gravely. "And we'd like to do something toward finding the man who killed him. For we don't think it was this young fellow who's charged with it, nor that robbery was the motive. We think John Ashton was—removed. Put out of the way!" ”

“ It was just then that John came in. He was in a hearty mood.
"Going, Rossitur? Now why ever?"
Preaching socialism was a fool's job. He'd far better give it up and take on with something else. Of course if he felt he had to do it, there was an end on't, but he wouldn't get much change out of Anderby. He'd a deal better stay there and amuse Mary, who must be dull sometimes. She was looking better already since he had come.
But David went.
Mary, drawing the curtains that night, thought of David and wondered if they had aired his sheets at the Flying Fox. His cold wasn't nearly well. ”

“ None were more active than Spottiswoode, archbishop of St Andrews, and Forbes, bishop of Aberdeen. It was no blank fusillade for mere terror. A great number of the gentlemen and ladies aimed at in the fulminations of the Council were really struck in their persons and estates. We hear of many being thrown into prison, and kept there till they either professed conformity or gave caution that they would depart from the country. Their property was at the same time held as escheat to the crown. ”

“ Very full notices of Spottiswood are given in Wishart's Deeds of Montrose, ed. Murdoch and Simpson, 1893. There is also much personal information in vol. i. of the Spottiswoode Miscellany, 1844. References to Sir Robert will be found in Scot's Staggering State of Scots Statesmen, 1754, pp. 23, 74; Masson's Register of the Privy Council, Scotland, vol. xiii. passim; Tytler's Life of Sir Thomas Craig, p. 21; Lyon's Hist. of St. Andrews, ii. 36; General Assembly Commission Records, 1646–7 (Scot. Hist. Soc.) ”