the case, opportunities of obtaining the hand of Elizabeth cannot have been offered him; and indeed, notwithstanding he was so high in her favour, she always kept him at a due distance, and repeatedly said in private to her most confidential minister Cecil, "That she would never give her hand to a subject." (57) But, as Leicester was in many respects inferior to other men whom Elizabeth had elevated, many persons believed, (when meaner motives, and thoughts of marriage were rejected,) in the influence of the stars, and others, in their anger at the favour shewn to Leicester, accused him of being a hypocrite, arrogant, selfish, immoral, indifferent to the choice of means to attain his ends, nay, they affirmed, that in the hope to obtain the hand of Elizabeth he had caused the death of his own wife, and perhaps of many other persons. (58) This censure of the envied favorite, (like praise in similar cases,) is doubtless exaggerated, and it is difficult to find the just medium. Leicester, certainly, never understood how to gain public opinion; though he had much penetration and ability in some points, he wanted the simple dignity of his opponent Sussex; and, still more, the superior understanding of Cecil; his way of life did not entirely coincide with the strict puritanical principles which he professed: but shall Elizabeth be so severely blamed for desiring, besides the great statesmen whom she honoured, to have an

amiable and accomplished courtier about her. The opinion which she expressed to the French ambassador Castelnau, (59) "That Leicester was the most virtuous and perfect man that she knew," may be founded in error, but she added, in the consciousness of her dignity, "Yet she would never marry him ;" and if her predilection for Leicester led her to any apparent indiscretions, (60) they were far more trifling than in the case of her rival in Scotland."

We will not impute any blame to Mary that a Monsieur de Chastelar concealed himself under her bed, (though there are accounts which say that Mary's behaviour had tempted him to such an audacious proceeding,) but we cannot help lamenting that he, a grandson of Bayard, had at length to perish on the scaffold for this repeated folly. If Elizabeth was of opinion, that by a marriage she would lose both power and security, Mary, on the contrary, wished thereby to confirm her power. But her plans of marriage were objected to, sometimes by France, sometimes by Elizabeth; nay, the latter positively declared, "That unless Mary married with her approbation, she could not hope for any favorable measures, with respect to the succession to the English throne." After many plans had failed, or been rejected, Elizabeth proposed to Mary her own favorite Leicester, as a husband, which the latter at first proudly declined,

and, in the sequel, when she appeared disposed to agree to it, Elizabeth let the matter drop. Under these circumstances Leicester was in a very precarious situation; he would very willingly have married one of the Queens, and Elizabeth rather than Mary, but he had reason to fear that any sign of greater inclination to one of them would be considered as an offence by the other, and that both plans would fail. Hence an opinion, which is not very credible, has arisen, that the whole scheme was contrived by his adversary Cecil, in order to ruin him. It certainly originated with Elizabeth herself, but it is difficult to say what her real object was. Did she wish to put Leicester's fidelity to a severe trial? After Mary's consent had raised his worth, did she desire to manage the matter in such a manner, that he would rather remain her first subject, than become the husband of her rival? Or did she believe that Mary would be lowered by such a marriage, and the influence of England in Scotland increased? Her conduct was certainly influenced on the one hand by female vanity and jealousy, (though the accounts of the Scotch ambassador Melvil, to his sovereign, on the weakness of Elizabeth, may be exaggerated,) on the other hand, by the opinion that it was politically adviseable to prevent Mary from marrying at all.

Under these circumstances it was proposed, that Mary should marry her cousin Darnley, the son of

her aunt Margaret, and of the Earl of Lennox, (61) and the rather because he might perhaps contract some important marriage in England, and bring forward claims to England and Scotland. Catharine de Medicis, who equally hated Mary and Elizabeth, wished, in order to lower both, and to exclude powerful competitors, that the former should marry Darnley and the latter Leicester. But, while Elizabeth never gave the latter any power over her, Mary fell in love with her cousin, a young man of nineteen, who hastened to Scotland; for he was extremely handsome, danced well, played the lute, and possessed all those outward perfections which most easily dazzle the female mind, and prevent it from calmly weighing the more essential qualities. At first Elizabeth thought (probably judging of Mary by herself,) that nothing would come of this plan, but scarcely did the contrary appear to be the case, when she, with the English Privy Council, conceived the notion, that Mary wished to double her claims upon England, by a marriage with her cousin, the grandson of Margaret Tudor, who was disposed to the Roman Catholic religion. (62) She, therefore, declared against the marriage, caused Darnley's mother and brother, in England, to be arrested, and required that he and his father should return from Scotland, because no feudal baron was allowed to leave the country, and marry without the royal permission. Both sent polite apologies for

staying away, but Mary declared that Darnley was no insolent stranger, but her near relation, and welcome to most of the Scotch; that she had willingly attended to important objections on the part of Elizabeth, but on this occasion, when there were none whatever, she was resolved to abide by her own free choice, a right possessed by every woman, much more a Queen. (63)

A dispensation having been received from Rome, Mary was married on the 29th of July, 1565, to her cousin, according to the rites of the Roman Catholic Church; and without waiting for an Act of Parliament, declared him, by her own authority, King and co-regent. This increased the dissatisfaction of many, who affirmed that the consent of the States was necessary, not only for this, but even for the choice of a husband; that the Protestant religion was threatened with new dangers by a Catholic King, and the connection with Rome, and it was their right and duty to demand stronger securities for civil liberty. Mary's half-brother, Murray, not only participated in these views, but likewise felt himself offended by various instances of neglect, nay, the differences between him and Darnley rose so high, that he is said to have believed, that Darnley intended to have him murdered, while the latter thought that there had been a plan to seize and carry him to England. However, when an open rupture took place, Mary behaved