226

to de Silva.

VENGEANCE OVERTAKES MURRAY.

He reports that Murray promised "to do his best for his sister. I am more inclined to believe that he will do it for himself, as he is a Scot and a heretic." 47 That was the very high opinion of Murray's character which de Silva conceived, and it was proved correct.

The sentimental defenders of Mary speak of Murray as a bastard, un grédin, a lickspittle, a hypocrite, and a "beaten hound." He was a Calvinistic opportunist. Believing in union with England, and in Protestantism, he steadily did his best for these causes. He had a pension from Elizabeth, and took a rich present from France. He was undeniably grasping: Kirk land's or maiden's lands came alike welcome to him. He was ambitious, but it is vainly asserted that he schemed to win the crown. An opportunist of that age had to "look through his fingers" at crime. He had a guilty foreknowledge of Riccio's murder, with the danger involved in it to Mary and her unborn heir. He was involved in a band between Bothwell, Morton, and other nobles against Darnley; but this band was probably not of a homicidal character. He left Edinburgh on the day of Darnley's murder. He entertained the murderers at a little dinner. To accuse his sister of the assassination he employed her accomplices,-if she was guilty. He backed, by his oath, Morton's oath that the casket papers had been in no respect tampered with. In Mr Froude's opinion they had been tampered with, the band for Darnley's murder had been removed. "If it was done with Murray's fullest consent, his conduct might well be defended." Perjury is not easily defended, and Murray cannot have been ignorant that Hepburn of Bowton's confession, which he put in against his sister, had been mutilated to shield his associates.48

An opportunist, in an age of public crime, has an uneasy course to steer. But Murray was brave; in private life without reproach; sagacious; honourable in his tutelage of his ward, the little king; and he would have made an excellent ruler, had he not been debarred by the accident of his birth. His murder, over which Mary rejoiced, pensioning the criminal, was a blunder. Nothing but discredit was gained by herself or her fickle false partisans. Their first act was one natural to the Border clans, and highly injurious in its results to Mary's interest. The day after the murder of Murray, Buccleuch, Ferniehirst, and the English exiles swept across the Marches with 2000 horse, took a large booty,

MURRAY'S FUNERAL.

227

burned, and ravaged. This, later, gave Elizabeth an excuse to invade Scotland, and wreck the country as far as Lanarkshire, under the pretext of punishing her rebels and their allies — a terrible blow to Mary's cause. 49 Elizabeth's obvious policy was now the old Tudor policy, so well conducted by Dacre, under Henry VIII. She must keep Scotland distracted, and to that end sent Randolph to Edinburgh. On the first news of the Regent's death, and before Randolph arrived, the horror of the cold-blooded crime had gone near to reconciling Scottish parties in opposition to the Hamilton assassins. Hunsdon, from Berwick, reported that Kirkcaldy and Lethington were reconciled to Morton: the reconciliation, as far as Lethington and Morton were concerned, was mere appearance. Between these old allies was now an inveterate hatred. Morton was asking Elizabeth to send down Lennox, who could at least be relied on not to spare the slayers of his son. He and his impetuous wife (afterwards so strangely reconciled to Mary) were even asking Elizabeth to secure the person of their grandson, the child James VI.51

50

On February 14, Grange bore the banner in front of the funeral procession of Murray, whose body was laid to rest where Argyll (Gillespie Gruamach) and the limbs of Montrose are lying, in St Giles's Church. Knox preached the sermon: a prayer of his preserves its spirit. Murray had no fault but clemency: he had not put to death Mary and her accomplices. "Oppose thy power, O Lord, to the pride of that cruel murderess of her own husband; confound her faction and their subtle enterprises, of what estate and condition soever they be." 52 The Hamiltons and Argyll, meanwhile, held a counter-meeting at Glasgow, and Drury advised Randolph to "bait with a golden hook," which he did when he arrived in Edinburgh, distributing bribes. Buchanan published his 'Admonition to the True Lords,' raking up all that could be said, truly or falsely, against the Hamiltons, since the time of the ruffian Sir James Hamilton of Finnart. 53 Randolph's instructions contained a hint that Elizabeth wished to secure James's person, 54 which neither party was likely to grant. The lords heard Lethington, who in "ane perfite orratione" cleared himself of any share in Murray's death, and was readmitted to the Council-not, we may presume, to the pleasure of Knox.55 The lords who had gathered to Murray's funeral withdrew, being of different minds, and fixed a new convention for March 24. Elizabeth bade Randolph give

228

RANDOLPH WORKS FOR CIVIL WAR.

assurances that she would never restore Mary, but no one trusted Elizabeth.

On February 25 the two parties tried to reach an understanding. Argyll and Boyd met Lethington and Morton at Dalkeith "anent the hame-bringing of the queen." But Randolph heard of the conclave, apparently from Archibald Douglas, Morton's agent, one of Darnley's murderers, and hurried to Dalkeith. The conclave then broke up: Randolph succeeded in making civil war inevitable.56 He himself was in high spirits, as always when mischief was in hand. He reported that Lethington was very ill, "his legs clean gone," and was dreading the cloud from the south, "which, if it falleth in this country, wrecketh both him and all his family." The cloud was Lennox, who had a blood-feud with Lethington, to avenge Darnley (March 1).57 Randolph was taunted with the approach of aid from France: the despatches of La Mothe Fénelon prove that this was contemplated. But it was the old story of Stuart hopes from France. Still, the hopes, and the arrival of Verac from Charles IX., had their effect. By March 17 the two factions of lords at Edinburgh broke up: the queen's men used to meet at "the school," Lethington's rooms; the king's men at Morton's house. Elizabeth announced (March 18) that Sussex was about to invade Scotland, to punish Buccleuch and Ferniehirst and the abettors of her rebels. Her promises on one hand, those of France on the other, helped the intrigues of Randolph. Both parties went to muster their forces: the queen's lords decided to meet at Linlithgow in April. Lethington (March 29) warned Leicester that Elizabeth's action would drive his party into the arms of France. On April 5 Randolph withdrew to Berwick "for safety": he had succeeded; Scotland was in two hostile camps, and the great devastations by Sussex, with the horrors of "the Douglas wars,” were soon to begin.

By mid-April Sussex was about to devastate the land, and a remonstrance from Mary's party in Edinburgh was of no avail. Lennox offered his services to Elizabeth: they were presently accepted. By April 21 Sussex was destroying Branxholme, or so much of it as Buccleuch had left unburned. These ferocities-he laid all the Border waste-appear to have determined Kirkcaldy : he set Lord Herries free, and now, as Sussex writes, became "vehemently suspected of his fellows," the king's party, with whom he had not yet absolutely broken." Elizabeth could not make up

58

" THE DOUGLAS WARS."

"1 59

229

her mind to acknowledge James VI. as King of Scotland, and the ravages of Sussex, with Elizabeth's fickleness, were deemed not unlikely to unite the Scots. Morton now intended to have advanced from Dalkeith to Edinburgh in James's name, and as the ally of Sussex. But he was deterred by a threat from Kirkcaldy, who in the end of April "was clean revolted" from James's party, "without any further hope." This was a great accession to Mary's side, for Kirkcaldy was highly esteemed as a commander: he had previously been Mary's inveterate opponent, and he was more respected for honesty than perhaps he deserved. Morton declared that Mary bought him by the gift of the revenues of St Andrews, vacant by the death of Murray,-"a device of Lethington, for Judas non dormit." 60 Kirkcaldy denied the report to Randolph, who had bantered him on being a prior. He still professed loyalty to James.

Meanwhile Scrope harried Herries's western estates. Home Castle was taken, and by April 27 Lennox was at Berwick with forces to wreak his feudal vengeance on the Hamiltons.

Elizabeth (April 30) began to fear the intervention of France and Spain, and told Sussex to comfort and encourage her party in Scotland. But not even now would she promise to Morton that she would acknowledge the child king.61 The laird of Drumquhassel was sent to Sussex to urge firmer resolutions on Elizabeth. The Lennox MSS. also prove that he had a private mission. He was to endeavour to obtain the signature of Lethington to the band for Darnley's murder, which Mary was known or believed to possess.

On May 14 "the cloud from the south" appeared: Lennox rode from Berwick to Edinburgh with 1600 Englishmen, led by Drury. They marched to Glasgow and parleyed with Dumbarton Castle. Meanwhile Lethington, as Sussex heard, was threatening to make Elizabeth "sit up,"-" sytt on her tayle and whyne." He believed in French intervention. He also denied to Leicester that he had spoken unseemly words, and affirmed that the strength of the nobles was united to aid Mary (May 17). But Lennox and his English drove Châtelherault from the Castle of Glasgow, where Mary had nursed Darnley, and now Lennox proposed to take Dumbarton. He devastated the whole Hamilton country, and sacked and burned Hamilton Palace and Kinneil. The lands of Fleming and Livingstone, Mary's personal friends, were also destroyed, Lennox suspecting Livingstone of a share in the murder of Darnley. Dumbarton, however, was not to be sieged. On May 21 La Mothe Fénelon, in

230

SUSSEX AND LETHINGTON.

62

his king's name, bade Elizabeth withdraw her troops from Scotland. She wrote to Sussex next day, telling him to leave Dumbarton alone, and Drury retired to Berwick. By the last of May, Elizabeth, in fear of France, again desired to arrange some compromise in Mary's interest. In a week she had begun to change her mind. Morton dealt with her (June 16) for the appointment of Lennox as Regent, adding a hint that, if Elizabeth again failed his party, they would turn to Mary or to France. 63 Meanwhile they appointed Lennox Lieutenant of the Kingdom (June 28): Elizabeth had replied that she could not nominate a regent, but would welcome the election of Lennox. On July 17 Lennox was appointed Regent, and this meant war to the knife. He was the implacable feudal foe of the Hamiltons, and pined to avenge Darnley on Lethington.

A correspondence, to which we have already alluded, now passed between Randolph and Kirkcaldy and Lethington. Randolph plainly told the chiefs in the castle that they had been the cause of all Mary's misfortunes, as she herself averred. They had taken her at Carberry, caused her imprisonment and abdication, and counselled her execution. Something more and worse they had done against her, which Randolph, as we have already seen, hinted at darkly 64 (p. 222 supra).

He may mean the handling or mishandling of the casket letters. And why, he asked, were they now Mary's chief supporters? Probably Randolph knew the reason: Lethington was in Mary's power. To anticipate events, Sussex on July 29 addressed Lethington in a similar strain. Lethington at York had privately accused Mary of murder, had privately shown her letters to Sussex himself. "I would be glad to admit your excuse that you were not of the number that sought rigour to your queen, although you were with the number, if I could do it with a safe conscience. But I will say, it is not mine to accuse, and therefore I will not enter into these particularities.” Lethington, we remember, used the casket letters, unofficially, to force on a compromise. He resisted their public disclosure, as then his bolt was shot, while Mary still could discharge her own against him. But, Sussex added, had Mary's accusers, of whom Lethington was one, obtained their desire from Elizabeth, "there had been worse done to your queen than either her majesty or any subject of England that I know . . . could be induced to think meet to be done." To do the worst to Mary, at the time to which Sussex refers, would have suited Lethington well. When the worst was not