Compare 1587 edition: 1 Theſe lawes and ordinances being once pub|liſhed and confirmed King Kenneth ſuppoſed the kingdome to bee fully aſſured vnto him and hys poſteritie,King Kenneth miniſtered iu|ſtice truly. and there vpon endeuoured himſelfe to winne the heartes of the people with vpright ad|miniſtration of iuſtice:The good will of the nobility he bought with giftes. and the fauour of the no|bles, he ſought to purchaſe with great gifts which he beſtowed amongſt them, aſwell in landes be|longing to the crowne, as in other things, great|ly to their contentation. Thus might he ſeeme happie vnto all men, hauing the loue both of his Lordes and commons:The king had a guiltie con|ſcience. but yet to himſelf he ſee|med moſt vnhappie, as he that coulde not but ſtill liue in continuall feare, leaſt his wicked practiſe concerning the death of Malcolme Duffe ſhould come to light and knowledge of the worlde. For ſo commeth it to paſſe, that ſuch as are pricked in conſcience for any ſecrete offence committed, haue euer an vnquiet minde. And as the fame goeth, it chaunced that a voyce was hearde as he was in bed in the night time to take his reſt,A voyce heard by the king. vttering vn|to him theſe or the like wordes in effecte: Thinke not Kenneth that the wicked ſlaughter of Mal|colme Duffe by thee contriued, is kept ſecret from the knowledge of the eternall God: Thou art he that didſt conſpire the innocents death, enterpry|ſing by trayterous meanes to doe y^t to thy neigh|bour which thou wouldeſt haue reuenged by cru|ell puniſhment in any of thy ſubiects, if it had bene offred to thy ſelfe: It ſhal therefore come to paſſe, that both thou thyſelfe, and thy iſſue, through the iuſt vngeance of almightie God, ſhall ſuffer wor|thie puniſhment, to the infamie of thy houſe and family for euermore. For euen at this preſent are there in hande ſecrete practiſes to diſpatche both thee and thy iſſue out of the way, that other may enioy this kingdome which thou doſt endeuor to aſſure vnto thine iſſue.

Compare 1587 edition: 1 The king with this voyce being ſtryken into great dread and terror,The king con|feſſeth his ſinnes. paſſed that night without any ſleepe comming in his eyes. Wherefore in the morning he got him vnto Biſhop Mouean, a man of great holyneſſe of life, vnto whom he con|feſſed his heynous and moſt wicked offence, beſee|ching him of counſell, which way hee might ob|taine pardon and forgiueneſſe at Gods handes by worthie penance. Mouean hearing how the king bemoaned his offence committed, he willed hym to bee of good comfort. For as the wrath of al|mightie God was prouoked by ſinne and wicked offences, ſo was the ſame pacified againe by re|pentance,The king ta|keth great re|pentance. if ſo be we continue penitent and wil|ling to amend. King Kenneth being confirmed in hope of forgiueneſſe by theſe and ſundrie other EEBO page image 221 the like comfortable wordes of the Biſhop, ſtudi|ed vnfeynedly to doe worthie penaunce, leauing nothing vndone which hee thought might ſerue for a witneſſe of his penitent heart, thereby to a|uoyde the vengeance which he ſtoode in feare of to be prepared for him, by reaſon of his heynous and wicked cryme.

Compare 1587 edition: 1 2 3 4 5 The king wẽt to Fordune a pilgrimage.It chaunced hereupon, that within a ſhort time after hee had beene at Fordune a Towne in Mernes, to viſite the Relikes of Paladius which remaine there, he turned a little out of the way to lodge at the Caſtel of Fethircarne,A Parke with wilde beaſtes at the caſtel of Fethircarne. where as then there was a Forreſt ful of al maner of wild beaſts that were to be had in any part of Albion. Here was hee receyued by Fenella Ladie of the houſe, whoſe ſonne as ye haue heard he cauſed to be put to death, for the commotion made betwixt them of Mernes and Angus.Fenella was a kin [...]ce vnto Malcolme. She was alſo a kyn vnto Malcolme Duffe whome the king had made a|way: and in like maner vnto Conſtantine and Gryme, defrauded of their right to the crowne, by the craftie deuiſe of the king, as before is partly mencioned. This woman therefore beeing of a ſtoute ſtomacke, long time before hauing concey|ued an immortall grudge towardes the king, vp|on the occaſions before rehearſed, (namely aſwell for the death of hir ſonne Cruthlynt, as hauing ſome ynckling alſo of the empoyſoning of Mal|colme Duffe,She was deſi|rous for to reuenge. though no full certaintie thereof was knowne) imagined night and day how to be reuenged. She vnderſtoode that the king delyted aboue meaſure in goodly buyldings, and therefore to the ende to cõpaſſe hir malicious intent,Fenella his ma|li [...]ious intent. ſhe had cauſed a tower to be made ioyning vnto hir owne lodging within the foreſayd caſtell of Fethircarn. The which tower was couered ouer with copper finely engrauen with diuerſe flowers and Ima|ges. Hereto was it hung within with riche clo|thes of Arras wrought with golde and ſilke, very fayre and coſtly.Croſſebowes readie bent, hidden. Behinde the ſame were there Croſſebowes ſet readie bent with ſharpe quarrels in them. In the middeſt of the houſe there was a goodly braſen Image alſo, reſembling the figure of king Kenneth, holding in the one hande a faire golden Apple ſet full of precious ſtones, deuiſed with ſuch arte and cunning, that ſo ſoone as any man ſhould drawe the ſame vnto him or remoue it neuer ſo little any way forth, the Croſſebowes would immediately diſcharge theyr quarrels vp|pon him with great force and violence.Fenella had the king into the inner chamber. Fenella therefore being thus prouided aforehande, at after meate, deſired the king to go with hir into that in|ner chamber: into the which being entred, he could not be ſatiſfied of long with the beholding of the goodly furniture, aſwell of the hangings as of di|uerſe other things. At the laſt hauing viewed the Image which ſtoode (as is ſayde) in the middeſt of the chamber, he demaunded what the ſame did ſignifie. Fenella anſwered, how that Image did repreſent his perſon, and the golden Apple ſet ſo richly with Smaragds, Iacincts, Saphires, To|paſes, Rubie [...], Turkaſſes, and ſuch like precious ſtones, ſhee had prouided as a gyft for him, and therfore requyred him to take the ſame, beſeeching him to accept it in good part, though it were not in value worthie to bee offred vnto his Princely honor and high dignitie. And herewith ſhe hir|ſelfe withdrew aſide, as though ſhe woulde haue taken ſomething forth of a Cheſt or Coffer, ther|by to auoyde the daunger. But the king delyted in beholding the gemmes and orient ſtones,The king was ſlaine with the Croſſebowes. at length remouing the Apple the better to aduiſe it, incontinently the Croſſebowes diſcharged their quarrels ſo directly vpon him, that ſtryking hym through in ſundrie places, hee fell downe ſtarke deade, and lay flat on the ground.Fenella eſca|ped from them all. Fenella as ſoone as ſhe behelde him fall to the ground readie to die, ſhe got forth by a backe doore into the next woods, where ſhe had appoynted horſes to tary for hir, by meane whereof ſhe eſcaped out of all daunger of thẽ that purſued hir,His ſeruants looked for their king. ere the death of the king were openly knowne vnto them. His ſeruãts ſtil way|ting for his comming forth in the vtter chamber, at length when they ſawe he came not at all, firſt they knocked at the doore ſoftly, then they rapped hard thereat: laſtly doubting that which had hap|pened,The doores broken open they finde him dead. they break open doore after doore, til at lẽgth they came into the chamber where the king laye colde deade vpon the floore. The clamor and crie herevpon was rayſed by his ſeruants,Fenella could not be found. and Fenel|la curſed and ſought for in euery place that had committed ſo haynous and wicked a deede: but the vngracious woman was conueyed ſo ſecretly out of the way, that no where coulde ſhe be heard of.Fenella got hir ſelfe into Ireland by the helpe of Con|ſtantine. Some ſuppoſed that ſhe fled firſt vnto Con|ſtantine, by whoſe helpe ſhee got ouer into Ire|lande. The ambitious deſire whiche the ſame Cõ|ſtantine ſhewed hee had to ſucceede in gouern|ment of the kingdome after Kennethes deceaſſe, encreaſed that ſuſpition greatly.Conſtantine aſpired vnto the crowne. For immedi|ately after it was knowne that Kenneth was dead, he got his friendes togither, and went vn|to diuerſe places requyring the Lordes to aſſiſt him in atteyning to the crowne, which by the old ordinance and law of the realme (inſtituted in the begynning, and obſerued till nowe of late, that Kenneth by his priuate authoritie had gone a|boute to abrogate the ſame) ought to diſcende vnto hym,Conſtantine procured friendes. as all the worlde right well vnder|ſtoode.