beth did not choose to bring too prominently before her subjects. She had a strong dislike even to hear of this question of the succession; and said that Maitland, the Scottish minister, was always, like a death-watch, ringing her knell in her ears. The eagerness of Mary for the recognition of her succession to the English throne, and the reluctance of Elizabeth to grant it, may each be explained by the fact that Mary was the instrument of those who had determined to eradicate the Reformed religion, and that Elizabeth was equally resolved to support it. The negotiations for the marriage with Leicester gradually faded away. There was another candidate for Mary's hand, ready at an opportune moment. Henry Stuart, lord Darnley, was the son of the earl of Lennox, by the daughter of Margaret Tudor, queen of Scots, who had married the earl of Angus after the death of her royal husband. The countess of Lennox was the next to Mary in hereditary succession to the English crown. The earl of Lennox had long resided in England as an exile, and in 1564, having returned to Scotland with letters from Elizabeth urging the reversal of his attainder, he was finally restored. Then came his countess and their son to the Scottish court. Darnley arrived on the 13th of February, 1565. Within two months an envoy was sent by Mary to desire Elizabeth's approval of her marriage with her cousin. That assent was refused by the Council on the ground that the marriage would be dangerous to the Protestant religion;-Darnley having manifested a decided preference for the Romish party;—that it would strengthen the league of Catholic princes which was now organizing; and that Mary not yet having renounced her claim to the crown of England, this marriage would more imperil Elizabeth's title. Darnley was a handsome stripling of nineteen; Mary was in her twenty-third year. They were married on the 29th of July, and Darnley was proclaimed king the same day. Cecil, in August, 1565, wrote thus to the English ambassador in France :-"The duke [Chatelherault], the earls of Argyle, Murray, and Rothes, with sundry barons, are joined together, not to allow of the marriage otherwise than to have the religion established by law; but the queen refuseth in this sort--she will not suffer it to have the force of law, but of permission to every man to live according to his conscience." The great minister adds, "And herewith she hath retained a great number of Protestants from associating openly with the other." The Reformers would not accept this toleration, and they rose in arms. Murray was proclaimed a rebel. Elizabeth sent an envoy to Mary, to endeavour to promote her reconciliation with her brother. Mary engaged for herself and her husband that they would attempt nothing to the prejudice of the queen of England; but she required that the English crown should be settled by Act of parliament upon herself and Darnley; and that Elizabeth should afford no countenance to Scottish rebels. Mary showed her vigour of character at this crisis. She took the field with her forces; and headed her troops with pistols at her saddle-bow. The revolt was crushed without any decisive contest. The Roman see had sent money to Mary; and Philip II. had placed twenty thousand crowns in the hands of his ambassador at London, to be employed "with secrecy and address, in the support of the Scottish queen and her husband." It was held that Murray was countenanced and assisted by Elizabeth, though to a very limited extent. But

A.D. 1565.

ASSASSINATION OF RICCIO IN HOLYROOD.

251

Murray having escaped to the English court, the queen spoke very roundly to him before the ambassadors, that whatsoever the world said or reported of her, she would by her actions let it appear, that she would not, for the price of a world, maintain any subject in any disobedience against a prince.

In the declaration of the banished lords to the English government, they complained that two crafty Italians, David Riccio and Francisco, with other unworthy persons, had dispossessed the ancient nobility of their place in the queen's council. Riccio, a Milanese, had been a singer in Mary's service, and was afterwards promoted to the office of her private secretary. He had soon acquired considerable influence; had been assiduous in promoting Darnley's marriage; and when Mary's first passionate love for that weak young man had given way to contempt for his follies and vices, Riccio became her chief adviser in place of the husband she had chosen. Riccio "was on good grounds suspected to be a pensioner of Rome," and he helped to induce Mary to sign the "Bond" which had been concluded, under the auspices of Catherine de Medici and the duke of Alva, for the extermination of the Protestants in Europe. The common desire for revenge associated Darnley with some of the fierce Scottish nobles, such as Morton and Ruthven, in a conspiracy against the life of the obnoxious secretary. The king was engaged with the superior Protestant leaders, in a separate bond for the restoration of the banished lords, upon their promise to support him and to give him the crown-matrimonial. They were to maintain the Protestant religion as one of the conditions of this alliance. Information of these contracts was written to Cecil from Berwick, on the 6th of March, by Bedford and Randolph. They added, that "persuasions" would be tried with the queen; but if they did no good, "they propose to proceed we know not in what sort." This political revolution against the Roman Catholic ascendancy was to be accomplished before the meeting of the Scottish Parliament, in which the Romanist interests would have succeeded in confiscating the estates of Murray, Rothes, Grange, and the other lords, who had fled to England; and probably would have attempted the re-establishment of the ancient religion. About an hour after sunset on Saturday, the 9th of March, the court of Holyrood Palace was suddenly filled with armed men, to the number of a hundred and fifty, led by the earls of Morton and Lindsay. The king and lord Ruthven entered the queen's cabinet, where Mary, lady Argyle, and Riccio were sitting at supper. "David took the queen by the plaits of her gown and put himself behind the queen, who would gladly have saved him; but the king having loosed his hands, and holding her in his arms, David was thrust out of the cabinet through the bed-chamber into the Chamber of Presence," where he was murdered. "It is told for certain that the king's own dagger was left sticking in him. Whether he stroke him or not we cannot tell for certain." Queen Mary, in a letter to her ambassador in Paris, says, that

* Memorandum of Cecil, in Raumur, p. 70.

Tytler's Scotland, vol. vii., p. 19.

Letter from Bedford and Randolph to the English Council.-Ellis, first scrics, vol. ii., p. 209.

against certain of her nobility, maintainers of her authority, who were in the palace at the time, "the enterprise was conspired as well as for David." These were Huntley and Bothwell, who escaped by ropes out of a back window; Athol, Fleming, Livingston, Balfour, and Melvil, who also escaped. The next day Murray arrived in Edinburgh. At his first interview with Mary he is said to have expressed great solicitude for her welfare, and she to have manifested a confidence in his affection. This reconcilement was very transient. At a meeting of the conspirators against Riccio with the lords who had returned to Scotland, strong measures were determined on as regarded the queen. But in a few days Mary, who had subdued her weak husband to her will, persuaded him to fly with her at midnight to Dunbar. She soon gathered a large force around her; and marching upon Edinburgh, issued writs of treason against Morton, Ruthven, and others, who fled to England. Murray denied all complicity in the murder of Riccio; and Darnley took refuge in denouncing, as traitors and murderers, those with whom he had been associated.

On the 19th of June, 1566, Mary gave birth to the son who was afterwards king of Scotland and of England. The differences between the various factions now began to be composed. Amicable relations with England were established. Elizabeth agreed to be godmother to the heir of the Scottish throne, and sent a golden font for his baptism. In November, Mary renewed her claim to have a parliamentary recognition of her right of succession to the English crown. The parliament which had met at the beginning of November, had begun to debate about this question. Elizabeth was angry at the discussion of the matter; but in her instructions to Bedford, who was to be present at the baptism of James, she had, immediately previous to receiving Mary's letter, authorised him to declare that she would never suffer anything to be done prejudicial to Mary's right; but required that she should confirm so much of the treaty of Edinburgh as regarded Elizabeth's rights. Nothing was done to complete such an engagement.

On the 17th of December the baptism of the infant prince took place at Stirling, according to the Roman Catholic ritual. Darnley, although living in the palace, refused to attend the ceremony. Between himself and the queen there was not only coldness but manifest dislike. A remarkable man, James Hepburn, earl of Bothwell, had now become Mary's most intimate counseller. A divorce was proposed to her by Bothwell, Murray, and others; and it has been affirmed upon the confession of Ormiston, a confederate, that a bond for the murder of the king was executed at the same time by several of these persons. At the end of 1566 Mary had consented to pardon Morton, Lindsay, and others, with two exceptions, who had been concerned in the murder of Riccio. Darnley dreaded the return of the fellow-conspirators with whom he had broken faith; and he abruptly left the court, and went to his father, the earl of Lennox, at Glasgow. Morton, one of the pardoned nobles, returned to Scotland early in January, 1567. Darnley had fallen sick of a disease which was said to be the smallpox; and on the 22nd of January, Mary proceeded to Glasgow to visit him. Some explanation took place between them, and Darnley agreed to attend the

A.D. 1567.

MURDER OF DARNLEY.

253

queen to Craigmillar, by slow journeys, she having brought a litter for his conveyance. The plan of going to Craigmillar was changed, and Darnley was carried to Edinburgh, where he arrived on the 31st of January. Holyrood was declared to be unhealthy, from its low situation; and the king was taken to a suburb called the Kirk of Field, where the duke of Chatelherault had a residence. The attendants were about to convey Darnley to the duke's mansion, when Mary said his apartments were to be in an adjoining house, to which she conducted him. It was a mean building belonging to Robert Balfour, one of Bothwell's dependants. The queen daily attended upon Darnley. Below the chamber where he slept she had one prepared for herself. On Sunday, the 9th of February, Mary passed much of the day with her husband. In the evening she went to Holyrood to celebrate a wedding in her household. Bothwell was present at the festivities of the palace, but he left about midnight. Darnley had gone to rest, after repeating the 55th Psalm, his page being in his bedroom. At two o'clock in the morning of the 10th, a loud explosion roused the inhabitants of Edinburgh, and the terrified citizens soon learnt that the Kirk of Field had been blown up and that the king was dead. The house was completely destroyed; but the body of the king was not among the ruins. It was found lying under a tree in an orchard, about eighty yards from the house; and the body of his page was lying beside him. It appears probable that Darnley was strangled in the orchard, as he hurriedly attempted to escape, and that his page shared his fate. The bodies of four of his servants were found in the ruins. Mary was made acquainted with the event by Bothwell and Huntley, two of the conspirators, and she shut herself up in her chamber, as one lost in grief. Two days elapsed before any public steps were taken to discover the perpetrators of this deed. Then a proclamation was issued offering a large reward. Placards were soon displayed in the city denouncing Bothwell, James Balfour, and others, as the murderers. Mary removed to the seat of lord Seaton. Darnley was buried with great privacy; and his father made ineffectual solicitations to the queen that she should take steps for the immediate apprehension of those named in the placards. Bothwell continued about the queen, having the chief management of public affairs; and the Court at Seaton was occupied with somewhat ill-timed amusements. The chief nobles, including Murray, absented themselves from Court, as if in disgust. Mary received from Elizabeth a message of condolence and advice; and she promised the queen of England's envoy that Bothwell should be brought to an open trial. But she immediately admitted the guilty man to greater favour than ever; bestowed upon him new marks of her confidence, such as the custody of Edinburgh castle; and enabled him so to strengthen himself, that the promised trial was a mockery and an imposture. No one dared to accuse the man who commanded all the military power of the state. The trial took place on the 12th of April. Edinburgh was wholly in the power of Bothwell. Lennox was commanded to enter the city with no more than six attendants, and he naturally shrank from the danger that seemed imminent, and declined to appear in person. A gentleman, on his part, boldly reiterated the charge against Bothwell, but requested delay. There was no accuser and no evidence, and a verdict of acquittal

was pronounced. The parliament confirmed the acquittal. Murray had returned to France. Bothwell received new marks of the queen's favour; and his ultimate elevation was anticipated by the signatures of many nobles to a bond, in which they recommended him as a suitable husband for the queen. The indignation of the people was soon completed by a most extraordinary proceeding. The queen had been on the 21st of April to Stirling, to see her child. As she was returning to Edinburgh, on the 24th, she was surrounded by a great band of Bothwell's followers to the number of eight hundred, led by him; and was conducted, as if by force, to his castle of Dunbar. Proceedings for a collusive divorce between Bothwell and his wife, the lady Jane Gordon, were hurried through the courts. On the 12th of May the queen came to Edinburgh, and created Bothwell duke of Orkney and Shetland. On the 15th they were married. It is related that Mary was treated with indignity by the man for whom she had sacrificed her peace of mind and her reputation; and that on one occasion when she had been subjected to his insults, she called aloud for a knife to stab herself.

A confederacy of nobles was soon formed, with the declared intention of putting down the power of Bothwell. He and the queen were at Borthwick castle, about ten miles from Edinburgh, when the place was surrounded by an armed force. Bothwell escaped by a postern, and reached his own castle of Dunbar. Mary fled, disguised as a man, and joined her new husband in his fortress. The confederates secured the capital. The queen called her followers round the royal banner at Dunbar; and on the 14th of June advanced with a considerable force towards Edinburgh. She entrenched herself on Carberry Hill. On Sunday the 15th the confederates marched out of Edinburgh; and the two armies were soon in presence of each other. Bothwell sent by a herald his personal defiance of any one who accused him of Darnley's murder. The challenge was accepted by Lindsay; but Mary forbad the encounter. Her own army began to desert her, and a general panic soon ensued. The queen demanded a parley. Grange came to meet her, and tendered the obedience of the lords n arms if Bothwell were dismissed. She did dismiss him. There was a brief farewell; and they met no more. He became a pirate and an outcast. Riding between Athol and Morton, Mary was conducted into Edinburgh amidst the execrations of an infuriated populace. The next day she was carried as a prisoner to Lochleven. Elizabeth charged her ambassador to insist that subjects were not to be judges of a sovereign ;-it was "contrary to Scripture and unreasonable, that the head should be subject to the foot." Knox, Buchanan, Craig, and other preachers boldly maintained, and it was "a public speech amongst the people," that "their queen hath no more liberty nor privilege to commit murder nor adultery than any other private person, neither by God's laws nor by the laws of the realm." The people were inflamed to the highest fury. Mary's life appeared in danger, and she talked of seeking refuge in a French nunnery. The General Assembly of the Church united with the lords of the Secret Council-as the Confederacy against Mary and Bothwell was called-in desiring the queen to be brought to trial, and, if found guilty, to be put to death; "and there seemed every probability that this dreadful result was about to take place, had it