A remarkable and much disputed episode in the reign of James VI. of Scotland; the story goes that Alexander Ruthven and his brother, the Earl of Gowrie, enticed the king to come to Gowrie House in Perth on the 5th August 1600 for the purpose of murdering or kidnapping him, and that in the scuffle Ruthven and Gowrie perished. Historians have failed to trace any motive incriminating the brothers, while several good reasons have been brought to light why the king might have wished to get rid of them.