JAMES III. (1452-1488), king of Scotland, son of James II., was born 1st June 1452, and shortly after the death of his father was crowned king at Kelso. The custody of the young prince was entrusted to Bishop Kennedy of St Andrews, but in 1466 he was seized at Linlithgow by Lord Boyd, who in this way succeeded in obtaining the governorship of the royal fortresses, and also won the apparent friendship of the king. James was, however, as fickle and faithless as he was weak and pliant, and while Lord Boyd’s eldest son, who had been created earl of Arran, and had married the king’s sister, was absent in the summer of 1469 on an embassy to bring home the king’s bride, Margaret of Denmark, the enemies of the Boyds set agencies in motion for having them tried for their seizure of the king. The earl of Arran, obtaining news of their machinations before landing, returned to Denmark; Lord Boyd fled to England; but Sir Alexander, brother of Lord Boyd, suffered execution, and the estates of the family were forfeited. James, whether the fault was his own or not, was sadly unfortunate in his connexion with his near relations. While his brother-in-law was a fugitive from his vengeance, his two brothers were also, whether justly or not, the objects of his animosity and dread. The earl of Mar, the younger brother, died at Craigmillar castle in circumstances so suspicious that he was generally believed to have been murdered; and the duke of Albany the elder, making his escape from Edinburgh castle to France, afterwards in 1482 came to an agreement with Edward IV. to hold the kingdom as his vassal. The rivalry of Albany was the more formidable because James by the preference which he showed for artists and musicians and by his retired and reserved manners had alienated the majority ...