But
being carried to his bedchamber, he abstained from all food, and
in three days died of hunger and grief at Rothesay."*
* Buchanan.
James was detained in captivity above eighteen years; but, though
deprived of personal liberty, he was treated with the respect due
to his rank. Care was taken to instruct him in all the branches
of useful knowledge cultivated at that period, and to give him
those mental and personal accomplishments deemed proper for a
prince. Perhaps in this respect his imprisonment was an
advantage, as it enabled him to apply himself the more
exclusively to his improvement, and quietly to imbibe that rich
fund of knowledge and to cherish those elegant tastes which have
given such a lustre to his memory. The picture drawn of him in
early life by the Scottish historians is highly captivating, and
seems rather the description of a hero of romance than of a
character in real history. He was well learnt, we are told, "to
fight with the sword, to joust, to tourney, to wrestle, to sing
and dance; he was an expert mediciner, right crafty in playing
both of lute and harp, and sundry other instruments of music, and
was expert in grammar, oratory, and poetry."*
* Ballenden's translation of Hector Boyce.
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