In 1490, Scotland, which, owing to the unworthy machinations

of Henry VII. th the object of seizing the person of the young king, James IV., had no cause to spare England, dealt her two small but stinng blows at sea, and at the same time discovered that she possessed at least one exceptionally able naval officer. This was Sir Andrew hVood, of Largs. Upon the ram'der of James III. he had declared, against the Council, for that monarch's son, James IV., and he served the new king bravely; for not only did he, with two ships, captm'e five English vessels, but also, ;vhen three more were sent against him under the command of Stephen Bull, he took them likewise. The only capture from the Scots during these operations seems to have been the Margaret, which was added to the navy. James IV. established the first efficient navy ever possessed by Scotland. Towards the end of his reign h6 had thirteen men-of-war, the largest of which, the _lIicbacl, was, in her day, a marvel of size. And in Sir Andrew Wood, and the equally famous Andrew Barton, he had commanders who, in a very short period, gave the young Scots navy all the prestige it needed. Both hVood, and Barton whose exploits will be noted later, were somewhat piratical iu their methods, although they acted under letters of marque; but piracy especially on land, and where cattle w'm concerned-was a recognised and characteristic Scots institution until a much later day. It must also be remembered that the Scots of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries were, in most respects, less civilised than their southern neighbouts.

The marriage of Anne with Charles VIII. gave Brittany to ]?rance, and was undoubtedly a great blow at English prestige. the more so seeing that she had been previously supposed to be about to marry the Archduke Maximilian, the ally of Hem:v. These and other considerations determined Henry to appear to fall in with the obvious desires of his people for a ;w;r with France; and m 1491 and 14t.12 great preparations were made in consequence. But, privately, the king had no wish for hostilities. The acts of Woodville had forced his hand in 14,; the excitement of his people ,night force his hand again. The king, however, made up his mind that he ;vould not be driven so long as he could stand still; and that if he should be drive,l, he would do his utmost to bring the war to a speedy conclusion. In the meantime, the patriotism of Parliament and the enthusiasm of his subjects

Apparently hirc, l craft.