J  586

the  other  lords  of  the  English  faction  to  expel  them  from  the
country.  They  therefore  feared  that  they  would  be  forced  to
appeal  to  arms  before  they  received  your  Majesty's  reply,  which
they  were  expecting  most  anxiously,  because  although  they  were
strong  enough  to  deal  with  the  Scots  themselves,  they  were  afraid
of  the  aid  that  the  queen  of  England  would  afford  their  enemies,
and  they  could  hardly  hope  to  withstand  her  also.  I  told  Robert
Bruce  to  answer  them  encouraging  them  in  their  good  resolution,
and  to  point  out  to  them  the  reasons  which  should  lead  them  to
avoid  taking  up  arms  prematurely,  and  the  causes  which  render  it
unadvisable  to  send  back  the  gentleman  with  the  reply  so  quickly
as  they  wished.
They  also  inform  Bruce  that  three  of  the  greatest  lords  in
Scotland  have  been  again  reconciled  to  the  church  by  the
members  of  the  Society  of  Jesus,  who  have  already  converted
more  than  20,000  souls,  a  large  proportion  of  them  being  gentle-
men. They  say  the  conversion  of  these  three  earls  is  of  the
greatest  importance  for  the  reduction  of  the  whole  country  to  the
faith  by  force  of  arms,  in  consequence  of  the  great  following  they
possess.
