I 
 
 ft. 
 
 p 
 
 
 
 ** 
 
 m 

 
 THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES


 
 it fy /.'.'
 
 THE 
 
 LIFE 
 
 OF 
 
 MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS, 
 
 DRAWN FROM THE STATE PAPERS. 
 
 WITH 
 
 SUBSIDIARY MEMOIRS. 
 
 ILLUSTRATED WITH 
 
 PLATES OF MEDALS, PORTRAITS, AND PROSPECTS, 
 
 BY GEORGE CHALMERS, F. R S. S. A. 
 
 THE SECOND EDITION, CORRECTED AND ENLARGED. 
 IN THREE VOLUMES. 
 
 JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET 
 1822
 
 An unparalleled act of blood upon the Life of a crowned 
 neighbour Queen and Ally." 
 
 LORD CLAKENDON. 
 
 Printed bjr W. Nicol, Successor to W. Bulowr & Co. 
 Cleveland- row, St. James's.
 
 saa 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 MEMOIRS. 
 
 IV. Memoir of James Earl Bothwell - 
 
 V. Memoir of the Regent Murray - 119 
 
 VI. Memoir of the Regent Morton - 404 
 
 VII. Memoir of Secretary Maitland 63O 
 
 VIII. Secretary Davison's Apology - 616

 
 THE 
 
 LI FE 
 
 OF 
 
 , <&ueen of 
 
 MEMOIR IV. 
 
 Memoir of James, Earl Bothwell. 
 
 1 H E life of a noble, who acted so memorable 
 a part, in tbe sad tragedy of Mary's reign, 
 merits here a more particular investigation, 
 than has hitherto been derived, from calum- 
 nious anecdote, and doubtful history. 
 
 In both those sources of dubious information, 
 he has been confounded with his father, Earl 
 Patrick, who was one of the most profligate 
 men of a most corrupt age. Earl Patrick was, 
 probably, born, in 151*2; as his father, and 
 mother, were married, as we may infer, from 
 the Great Seal Record, soon after August 1511 : 
 And, his father fell on Flodden Field, upon the 
 13th of August 1513. k When scarcely five years 
 
 k On the 23d of May 1517, the Privy Council, for certain 
 considerations moving them, ordered the Earl of Bothwell 
 VOL. III. B
 
 2 THE LIFE OF [MEM. IV. Memoir of 
 
 old, he thus appears to have been taken out of 
 his mother's custody ; and carried to France, 
 in September 1517. He was, probably, rede- 
 livered to his mother, by the Regent's order, 
 who governed, in the absence of Albany. In 
 such circumstances, we may easily suppose, 
 that his education could not have been much, 
 or very regular : Before he was three and 
 twenty, he was a prisoner, in Edinburgh-castle, 
 for whatever offences : And on the 4th of April 
 1535, he gave his bond ; obliging himself to 
 remove from Scotland, for twenty years. 1 Yet, 
 
 to be put into the Lord Governor's keeping j and the Coun- 
 tess his mother was directed to deliver him to the order of 
 Albany. [Minutes of Council.] On the 21st of Nov. 1517> 
 there is a petition of Agnes, Countess of Bothwell, to the 
 Regents in Council, stating that, she was, by dread, com- 
 pelled, to deliver her son, the Earl of Both well, to the Go- 
 vernor, who gave him in keeping to my lord le Bastie ; and 
 after his death [llMh Sept. 1517] his widow, at her own 
 hand, without the consent of the said Earl's mother, or any 
 of his friends, has lately carried him to parts beyond sea : 
 Wherefore, she prays remeid j as she is heavily injured, by 
 the taking away of her son, who is now in his tender, and 
 less age ; and desires, that the Governor may be written to, 
 for to send her son home, to be kept by her till he be xvii 
 years complete, according to law, equity, and justice ; con- 
 sidering that she has no more but him to do her, and her 
 friends, comfort, and consolation. [Minute of Council.'] This 
 was Earl Patrick, who was then an infant. 
 1 Sir Lewis Stewart's MS. Collections.
 
 J. Earl Bothwell'] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 3 
 
 he appears to have soon returned : For, he was 
 required to enter into a second bond, at Inver- 
 ness, on the 1st of August 1539, to banish him- 
 self, from Scotland, England, and France, during 
 the king's pleasure, and not to acquire, by any 
 means, his restoration. During the subse- 
 quent warfare with England, he appears to have 
 joined that hostile country against his own :" 
 In September 1549, he obtained, from the Eng- 
 lish Government, an annual pension of 3000 
 crowns, and an assurance of idemnity, for his 
 estates, which lay on the disputatious borders. 
 He was induced, however, by the intrigues of 
 the dowager queen, to return to Scotland, in 
 1553 : p And, she gave him a remission, for all 
 
 m Id. He was obliged to give, at the same time, a power 
 to James Hepburn, the Dean of Dunkeld ; obliging himself 
 to resign into the king's hands the lordship of Liddisdale. 
 
 n Privy Council Register of the 28th Feb. 1547-8. 
 
 Rym. Feed. xv. 190. 
 
 p There remains in the Register-house, at Edinburgh, an 
 original letter of Earl Patrick to the Queen Regent, which 
 is curious in itself, and marks the epoch of his return : 
 
 " It may pleiss your gude grace yat efter gret stonne off 
 wedder and bevy laboris be ye see I arrivit heir in lawdiane 
 quhair I remane as yit willing w l trew hart to offer & to do 
 yo r grace my detfull dewite of service. And because I am 
 by violent tempest and storme on ye see sumpart crasit and 
 alterit in my persoun. And nocht sa habill at yis present to
 
 4 THE LIFE OF [MuM. IV. Memoir of 
 
 his treasons, on the 26th of March 1554 ; as 
 we know from the Privy Seal Record. He soon 
 after joined the queen, at Stirling-, with other 
 nobles, who resolved, that she should have the 
 regency, in the place of the Duke of Chattel- 
 herault : q Earl Patrick appeared, in the Parlia- 
 ment, which assembled, at Edinburgh, on the 
 10th of April 1554: And, two days after, he 
 subscribed the Parliamentary Declaration,which 
 was given to the same duke, as an idemnity, for 
 his feeble, and corrupt administration. 1 The 
 
 do sic service as my will commadis & steris me to // Sua to 
 excuss my unhabilness unto your grace / And to haue yo r 
 grace directioun quhat I sail do presentlie & quhare I sail 
 address me to cum to yo r grace presens I haue send yis berar 
 my cousing of Trakwair to haue yo r grace mynd & comand 
 towart me heirintlll : And sen I will no 1 impesche your grace 
 w' reding off lang lett this berar will schaw your grace at 
 mair lentht likas 1 haue giffin to him in charge / sua it will 
 pleiss yo T grace gyff him credens. And thus prays ye Al- 
 michte god to haue your grace in keping. Off Crechtoun 
 yexii day of November 1553." 
 
 your grace huinill and obedient servitour at power 
 To the Quenis Grace. EHLB BOTHUILI,. 
 
 i Lodge's Illustrations, i. 295 : He supposes, mistakingly, 
 that proceeding to have taken place, in 1558. 
 
 ' Ada Parl., ii. 597. The regent queen granted to Earl 
 Patrick, on the 5th of August 1554, the ward and marriage 
 of Walter Scot, the son, and heir, of the late Sir William
 
 J. Earl Bothwell.] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 5 
 
 epoch of the queen mother's regency, under the 
 authority of the Estates, is the 12th of April 
 1554. She now employed Earl Patrick, as her 
 Lieutenant on the Borders.' He died, at Dum- 
 fries, about the end of September 1556, aged 
 forty-four.' Earl Patrick married Agnes Sin- 
 clair, the daughter of Henry, Lord Sinclair ; 
 by whom he had one son, James, who succeeded 
 him, and a daughter Jane, who married, in Ja- 
 nuary 1561-2, John, Commendator of Coldin- 
 ham, who was one of the many bastards of 
 James V. ; and who died, in 1563 : By him, she 
 
 Scot of Kirkurd, and grandson, and heir, of the late Sir 
 Walter Scot of Branxholm. [Privy Seal Reg. xxvii. fol. 75-j 
 s Earl Patrick met the English Commissioners, atRyding- 
 burn, for redressing mutual injuries, on the middle Marches, 
 upon the 12th of May 1556. [Lodge's Illust. i. 214.] In 
 August 1556, Earl Patrick resided, at Dumfries, as the 
 queen's lieutenant, on the west borders. There are, in the 
 month of August 1556, various charges, in the Treasurer's 
 accounts, for expresses, sent to Earl Patrick, in Dumfries. 
 On the 31st of August 1556, there was a payment to P. 
 Thomson, the 1 Hay herald ; going from Edinburgh to Dum- 
 fries, and Annan, with a commission of Wardenrie, to Earl 
 Patrick, and a charge to deliver the Castle of Lochmaban to 
 the same Earl. [ Id.] 
 
 1 The place of his death is specified, in the process, for 
 proving the consanguinity of Earl James with Lady Jane 
 Gordon : And the time of his death is ascertained, by the 
 service post mortem of his son, on the 2d of November 1556..
 
 6 THE LIFE OF [Mew. IV. Memoir of 
 
 had an only son, Francis, who was created Earl 
 Bothwell, by James VI. ; and, by his practices, 
 did not disparage the deeds of his uncle, and 
 grandfather. The widowed Jane married, se- 
 condly, in 1566, John, Master of Cathness, who 
 died, in 1577 ; and she married, thirdly, the 
 notorious Archibald Douglas, the Parson of 
 Glasgow, and one of the Lords of Session. 
 Earl Patrick was divorced, from Agnes Sinclair, 
 at some time before his remission, and restora- 
 tion, in March 1554 ; as she obtained, on the 
 13th of March 1553-4, a charter of confirma- 
 tion of three charters granted, by Patrick Earl 
 Bothwell, to Agnes Sinclair, formerly, his 
 spouse." She long outlived Earl Patrick ; and 
 held, under those charters, till her death, in 
 1573, the barony of Moreham, which the Re- 
 gent Morton, then seized, as belonging to the 
 king, by the forfeiture of her son, and heir, 
 James, Earl Bothwell.* 
 
 Earl James thus succeeded his father, in his 
 
 u Privy Seal Reg. xxvii. fol. 14. James, Earl Bothwell, 
 at the Craigrnillar conference, speaks of the divorce of his 
 father, and mother, as not having injured his title, or estate. 
 
 * On the 8th of October 1573, the regent granted a lease 
 of the barony of Moreham, for a year, from the death of 
 the same dame Agnes Sinclair, to her daughter, dame Jane 
 Hepburn, the Mistress of Cathness. [Regist. of Signatures^ 
 B. ii.)
 
 J. Earl Bothwell.'] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 7 
 
 titles, estates, and offices, in September 1556, 
 when he was about five, or six and twenty' 
 years of age : y And, he now enjoyed, from the 
 third Earl, not only large estates, but the he- 
 reditary offices of Lord High Admiral of Scot- 
 land, Sheriff of Berwick, Hadington, and Edin- 
 burgh, as well as Baillie of Lauderdale, with the 
 Castles of Hales, and Crichton, for his fort- 
 lets : Earl James became thus, by descent, 
 from his father, grandfather, and great grand- 
 father, the most powerful noble, if we except 
 the Duke of Chattelherault, in Southern Scot- 
 land. If we might believe Buchanan, young 
 Bothwell was educated, in the corrupt house 
 of his great uncle, the bishop of Murray, dur- 
 ing an unprincipled, and turbulent age, when 
 
 f James could not have been born before the year 1530 j 
 supposing his father to have married, at the age of 17. 
 Earl James was neither so young, as the late Lord Hailes 
 supposed, nor so old, as the late Lord Elibank contended j 
 as Earl Patrick was only born, in 1512. See the controversy, 
 between the Lords Hailes, and Elibank. It was reported, 
 in 1 543, that Matthew, Earl of Lennox, and the Earl of 
 Bothwell, were rival suitors, to the Queen dowager, who 
 was not pleased with such a report. Sadler's Letters 333. 
 Buchanan, with his accustomed falsehood, attributes that 
 rivality to James, Earl Bothwell, and not his father. If 
 James, Earl Bothwell was born, in 1531, he was 25, in 
 1556 j 35, in 1566 ; and 36, in 1567, when he ravished 
 the Scotish Queen.
 
 8 THE LIFE OF [MEM. IV. Memoir of 
 
 Buchanan himself acquired his tergiversation, 
 his ingratitude, and his baseness/ 
 
 James, Earl Bothwell, was, early, noticed, 
 in publick life.* On the 14th of December 1557, 
 the Earl of Bothwell was one of the nobles, 
 who signed the Commission, for effectuating 
 the Queen's marriage with the Dauphin. b He 
 became the Queen's Lieutenant, on the Bor- 
 ders, and Keeper of Hermitage-castle, in the 
 
 z See Buchanan's Detection, one of the corruptest of 
 books ; and Lord Hailes's Remarks, one of the slighest. 
 
 * In the Treasurer's accounts, there is a payment of 22/6 
 to Alexander Cuming, in January 1548-9 j to execute a 
 charge upon the Lord Borthwick, and the master of Hales ; 
 Earl Patrick being then alive. The following entry in the 
 Privy Council Register, of date the 28th of February 1548- 
 9, will explain the obscurity of that charge : " In presence 
 of the Council, John Lord Borthwick took upon him the 
 keeping of thefortalice of Hales ; and obliged himself to keep 
 the same, surely, from our auld enemies of England, and all 
 others -, and should not deliver the same to Patrick, Earl of 
 Bothwell, or any, in his name, under the pain of \O,OOOl." 
 The dowager- queen had, also, obtained a grant of Earl 
 Patrick's property, then pertaining to the Queen, by his 
 treason. Privy Seal Reg. 26th Jan. 1547-8. On the 14th 
 of March 1556-7, he obtained a royal grant of his grand- 
 mother's property. Id. On the 5th of January 1557-8, he 
 was, by the Regent- Queen, constituted the Queen's Baillie, 
 of the Lordship of Liddisdale, for a year, and during the 
 Queen's pleasure. [/<*.] 
 
 b Ada Parl. of that date.
 
 J. Earl Bothwell.-] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 9 
 
 ubsequent year. c On the 29th of November 
 
 1558, as Sheriff of Edinburghshire, the Earl of 
 Bothwell attended the Marshal, and Constable, 
 in opening the Parliament ; wherein he sat ; as 
 we may learn, from the Parliamentary Record. 
 His first military exploit was a successful in- 
 road into England, as the Lieutenant, in 1558, 
 during the war, which was ended, by the 
 peace of Cambray. d James, Earl Bothwell, 
 thus set out, in early life, as an enemy of the 
 English government, and as an antagonist of 
 the English faction, in Scotland, after the ac- 
 cession of Elizabeth, in 1558. As Lieutenant 
 of the Regent-Queen, at the epoch of the peace 
 of Cambray, in April 1559, he met the Earl of 
 Northumberland, to settle the mutual differ- 
 ences, of the conterminous nations. 6 In August 
 
 1559, the Earl of Bothwell with Sir Richard 
 Maitland, and Sir Walter Ker, were appointed 
 Commissioners, for settling the differences on 
 the southern borders with the English War- 
 dens/ But, neither the treaty of Cambray, 
 nor any other treaty, brought peace to Scot- 
 land, while Elizabeth reigned, in England : 
 
 c He was paid 23 1. a month, as keeper of that castle. 
 Treasurer's Accounts. 
 
 d Holinshed, i. 363. Keith's 'App, 89. 
 
 f Sadler's St. Pap. i. 407-8.
 
 10 THE IIFE OF [MEM. IV. Memoir of 
 
 She encouraged a faction to resist the govern- 
 ment, and to establish pretensions, which were 
 inconsistent with the quiet of the country, and 
 with the sovereignty of Scotland. In resisting 
 that faction, the Regent-Queen, employed the 
 Earl of Bothwell : As Sheriff of the county, 
 Bothwell, in October 1559, arrested John 
 Cockburn of Ormiston, who was conveying 
 4000 crowns, for the faction, from Elizabeth, 
 as her fuel, for inflaming the contentions of her 
 neighbour-kingdom : g The insurgent chiefs, 
 severely, felt that timeful blow, which they 
 never forgot, nor forgave. The Earl of Arran, 
 and the. Lord James Steuart, immediately, at- 
 tacked Bothwell's Castle of Crichton, which 
 they easily took ; as he had retired, with the 
 money, which was, at that moment, of great 
 importance to all parties. 11 The success of 
 Bothwell induced the Regent-Queen, in De- 
 cember 1559, to intrust him with the com- 
 mand, of 800 French, and Scotish troops, who 
 were then sent, from Edinburgh, to Stirling.' 
 In May 1560, while two armies were contend- 
 ing with the usual rage of civil war, Bothwell 
 was sent, by the Regent-Queen, to solicit aid, 
 
 Keith's App. 43. 
 
 h Keith, 43, and the State Papers. 
 
 1 Sadler's St. Pap. i. 667.
 
 J. Earl Bothwell] THE SCOT4SH QUEEN. 11 
 
 from France. k But, she lived not to receive 
 either assistance, or consolation, in consequence 
 of his representations ; as she died, on the 10th 
 of June 1560, after a long indisposition, amidst 
 the distractions, arising from persons, and cir- 
 cumstances, which she could neither counter- 
 
 k There still remains, in the Register Office, at Edinburgh, 
 an original letter, from Earl James, to the Queen-Regent, 
 which, as a curious remain of such a man, is here sub- 
 joined : 
 
 " Pleisit your nines be remebrit I vrait onto your Grace 
 of bifoir conserning my deperting towirt our soverans in 
 Frans quhilk your G. thocht gud \\ quhairfor I haue sensyn 
 preparit me for y e samin and hes bein in redines yir four or 
 fyf dais paist lyk as I am yit auatant on your G. depech 
 alennerlie for I haue mead ye griter haist to ye effec I may 
 return agane vith ye arme and haue su charg yairintill be 
 your G. vrytings sic as our said soverans and your hines 
 thinkis me maist abill for // yat I may be at all tymis in ye 
 roum quhair service occurris // sen I haue nocht the como- 
 dite yairto at yis present nor haste apirans yairof vithout ye 
 samin // desyrand your G. maist humilie yairfor to forthir ye 
 said vrytings for ye causs forsaid // and gyif yair be ony uthir 
 thing it vill pleis your G. to comand I sail do my deligens 
 to parfurm ye samyn my maist humill comedatiouns of ser- 
 vice being maid onto your hinis comittis your G. in ye keip- 
 ing of Almichti Gode. At Crichtun ye xv day of May 
 1560. 
 
 " your G. maist humill and obedient servitour 
 " To the Quenis Grace." " BOITHUILL."
 
 12 THE LIFE OF [MEM. IV. Memoir of 
 
 act, nor controul. 1 On her decease, the go- 
 vernment of Scotland was assumed, though 
 without authority, by the Duke of Chattelhe- 
 rault 3 who was prompted, and supported, by 
 Elizabeth. Bothwell was well received, by the 
 French Court, and closely watched, by the 
 English Ambassador. 1 " He set out, from Paris, 
 rather unexpectedly, in November 1560, by the 
 way of Flanders, for Scotland." His speedy 
 
 1 In the Treasurer's Accounts of 1560, there are the fol- 
 lowing charges : 
 
 Paid to John Weir, pewtherer, for a wobe (webb) of leid, 
 to be an sepulture to inclose the Queen's grace in 4 15 
 To the said John, for sowdene of the said weobe 
 
 of leid - 1 12 
 
 For 2 hundred dur nalis to the Queen's grace's se- 
 pulture 030 
 For xxi elns and an half of black gray, to hing 
 the Chapel of the Castle of Edinburgh, the 
 Queen's grace's body lyand therein 624 
 The Queen -regent, after awhile, was carried to France, 
 where she was buried among her ancestors. 
 
 m Hardwick's St. Papers, i. 143: Bothwell, had a pre- 
 icnt of six hundred crowns ; and was made gentleman of 
 the King's bedchamber, with the fee belonging thereto. 
 Id. 
 
 n 16. 149 : Throckmorton, Elizabeth's representative, at 
 Paris, described Bothwell, in November 1560, " as a vain- 
 " glorious, rash, and hazardous young man ; and therefore, 
 " it were meet," he added, " for his adversaries to have an 
 " eye to him, and also to keep him short." Id. There has
 
 J. Earl Bothwell.'] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 13 
 
 departure was owing to a cause, which escaped 
 the eagle eyes of Throckrnorton, then, and the 
 heedless observation, of the Scotish historians, 
 since : Mary, on that occasion, sent four Com- 
 missioners to Edinburgh with two Commis- 
 sions ; in order to establish a sort of provisional 
 government, in the room of her mother's re- 
 gency. One of those commissions empowered 
 the Duke, the Earl of Argyle, the Earl of Hunt- 
 ley, the Earl of Both well, the Earl of Athol, 
 the Lord James, the Archbishop of St. Andrews, 
 or any three of them, to assemble the Estates, 
 and hold a Parliament. It may easily be per- 
 
 been some debate, about the age of James, Earl Bothwell. 
 " When we say a man is young, we mean, according to 
 " Locke, that his age is yet a small part of that, which 
 " men, usually, attain to." The pranks which he played, 
 a twelvemonth after, with the French princes, in the dis- 
 orderly houses of Edinburgh, to the scandal of the Puritans, 
 imply that, he was yet young. He was about ten years 
 older than Queen Mary, and of the same age, as her bas- 
 tard brother, the Lord James, who was born, in March 
 1 530- 1 . If Bothwell, then, was born, in 1 53 1 , he was 29, 
 at the epoch of that letter, from Throckmorton, in Novem- 
 ber 1560. 
 
 The four Commissioners, who were sent over, by Mary, 
 to manage her affairs, in the meantime, were the Laird of 
 Craigmillar, Ogilvie of Findlater, who afterwards acted as 
 the Comptroller of her household, Robert Leslie, and John 
 Lumisden. But, none of those measures took effect ; as 
 VOL. III. C
 
 14 THE LIFE OF [MEM. IV. Memoir of 
 
 ceived, that such discordant characters, or any 
 three of them, could not act, amicably, to- 
 gether. When the notorious Randolph, Eli- 
 zabeth's agent, who, for some time, had lurked 
 about the petty court of the Duke, at Hamil- 
 ton, gave an account to Secretary Cecil, of 
 Bothwell's arrival, at Edinburgh, he said, he 
 could not foresee, how Bothwell, and Arran, 
 would settle their accounts, with an allusion 
 to the interception of Cockburn, with the 
 crowns of Elizabeth.' 
 
 they were not approved, by the Duke, Lord James, and the 
 other popular leaders. They arrived, at Edinburgh, before 
 the first week of February lf>60-l, when Secretary Mait- 
 land wormed himself into their confidence; learned from 
 them their objects j obtained a copy of their instructions : 
 and sent them, with the Estate of Scotland, to Mr. Secre- 
 tary Cecil. The whole of those documents are in the Paper 
 Office: No. 11 of the New series of Bundles. Thus early 
 did Secretary Maitland begin to betray his Queen, and 
 country to Elizabeth. 
 
 * Hardwick's St. Papers. The Earl of Arran, the duke's 
 eldest son, had been brought from France, and smuggled, 
 into Scotland, through the impervious borders into Lanark- 
 shire during the preceding year, by Cecil, who supplied 
 him, with money, and, what was of more importance to 
 Arran, with recommendations. A very long letter, from 
 Randolph, and a dispatch, from Secretary Maitland, early in 
 February 1560-1, gave the English Secretary a complete 
 view of Mary's affairs, in Scotland, at that distracted period. 
 [Paper Office.'] Cecil was thus induced to write the memo-
 
 J. Earl Bothwell.'] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 15 
 
 While the men of Scotland remained, in a 
 state of uncertainty, as to the course, which 
 the widowed Queen would pursue, Bothwell, 
 and Arran, probably, kept out of one another's 
 way. Bothwell, easily, perceived, that he could 
 not serve the Queen, under existing circum- 
 stances, and that he could not remain, safely, 
 in Scotland : Thus was he induced to retire to 
 France, where he acted, in the Queen's service, 
 till her return, in August 1561, to her native 
 kingdom, which was then governed, by the 
 usurped authority of the duke, and the prior* 
 
 The Queen, on her arrival, appointed her 
 bastard brother, the Lord James, for her Mi- 
 nister, though he had been the chief usurper. 
 His followers were of course the Officers of 
 State. Yet, when she settled her Privy Council, 
 
 rial of the 20th of March 1560-1, for Randolph's instruc- 
 tion, which Keith copied into his History, p. 158-9. The 
 historian^ mistakingly, supposed, that Randolph was then 
 dispatched into Scotland : But, Sadler's letters evince, that 
 under various names, Randolph had long lurked, in that 
 distracted nation, as Elizabeth's corrupt agent, and resided, 
 chiefly, at Hamilton, near the duke's court. 
 
 ' Keith, 388 : The name of Bothwell does not, as we 
 might easily suppose, appear among those nobles, to whom 
 the ruling junto sent letters to appear, at Edinburgh, on the 
 31st of August, to receive the Queen. Treasurer's Books, 
 7-8 August 1561.
 
 16 THE LIFE OF [MEM. IV. Memoir of 
 
 on the 6th of September, Bothwell was appoint- 
 ed a member, though he was not then present/ 
 On the llth of November 1561, measures were 
 adopted, for preserving the quiet of the country : 
 Bothwell was, by the Queen, induced to en- 
 gage not to injure Lord Seaton, and Lord 
 Seaton promised not to injure Earl Bothwell : 
 James, the Commendator of St. Andrews and 
 Pittenweem, and Cockburn of Ormiston, were 
 obliged to engage to keep the peace towards 
 Earl Bothwell, and he was equally obliged to 
 promise not to injure them :' Yet, was the 
 enmity, of the Commendator to the Earl im- 
 placable, though the appearance of reconcile- 
 ment was sometimes affected. 
 
 The new year opened with some softer scenes. 
 On Sunday, the llth of January 1561-2, the 
 Lord John, another bastard brother of the 
 Queen, the Commendator of Coldingham, mar- 
 ried Jane, the sister of Bothwell, at Crichton- 
 
 r Privy Council Reg. He was present, however, on the 13th 
 of October. Id. 
 
 Id. Yet, in March 1562, Bothwell beset Cockburn of 
 Ormiston, his wife and son, while hunting : and having 
 carried the boy towards Crichton-castle, the country people 
 rescued him. This, said Randolph to Cecil, gave great 
 offence to the Queen, and her council : It is but a small mi- 
 tigation of this outrage, that the period, for which Bothwell 
 was to keep the peace, had expired.
 
 J. Earl Bothwell.] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 17 
 
 castle, the Queen being present; and much 
 good sport, and many pastimes, there were, 
 said Randolph to Cecil. Yet, such was the 
 turbulence of late times, that the Queen was 
 induced, to use every proper art, to pre- 
 serve the peace : On the 20th of February 
 1561-2, she obliged Both well, and Arran, to 
 enter into engagements to keep the peace, though 
 Arran acted, with a very ill grace/ Arran 
 indulged his habitual passions, till turbulence 
 ended in insanity. At the end of March 1562, 
 he accused Bothwell of conspiring with himself, 
 and his relation Gawin Hamilton, the Com- 
 mendator of Kilwinning, to carry off the 
 Queen to Dumbarton-castle, and to kill her 
 chief ministers. On this frantick charge, Both- 
 well, and Hamilton, were imprisoned. Exami- 
 nations before the Queen, and her council, 
 immediately took place, at St. Andrews : And 
 the insanity of Arran soon appeared to all 
 dispassionate persons, from his affirming, and 
 disavowing, from his prevarication, and raving." 
 
 1 Id. Randolph, on that occasion, wrote to Cecil, " that 
 " there was much ado to agree Arran, and Bothwell j and 
 " that Arran showed a refractory spirit, and obstinately re- 
 " sisted the endeavours of the Queen, and council, to 
 " produce peace." Dispatches in the Paper Office, 28th Feb. 
 to 31st March 1561-2. 
 
 u Randolph stated to Cecil, " that there appeared little of
 
 18 THE LIFE OF [MEM. IV. Memoir of 
 
 Yet, did the Queen's minister, who had been 
 created Earl of Mar, and ceased to be Com- 
 mendator, pursue this affair, with great eager- 
 ness, from his enmity to Both well, who was 
 continued in prison, by the guilty influence of 
 Mar, though Bothwell demanded a trial. After 
 remaining six weeks a prisoner, in the castle 
 of St. Andrews, Bothwell was removed to 
 the castle of Edinburgh ; whence, he escap- 
 ed, on the 28th of August 1562. Bothwell now 
 retired to the castle of Hermitage, in Liddis- 
 dale, where he remained, till the ruin of Hunt- 
 ley gave him intimations, that he was no 
 longer safe, in Scotland : He now took ship- 
 ping from North Berwick ; but the vessel being 
 driven into Holy Island, he was arrested, by 
 Elizabeth's officers." If it were asked, by what 
 
 " such an attempt ; that there was not sufficient evidence, 
 " to criminate Bothwell ; and that Arran did not abide, by 
 " his accusation, but rather denied the whole, to the great 
 " misliking of all men, who see his manner of dealing." 
 Dispatches in the Paper Office, from the 9th to the 35th of 
 April, 1562. 
 
 * Randolph wrote to Cecil from Edinburgh, on the 22d 
 of January 1562-3 : " As soon as I learned, that the ship, in 
 " which Bothwell had departed, was arrived at Holy Island, 
 " I, by the advice of Murray, and Maitland, wrote the 
 " Queen's officers, at Berwick to have him seized, which 
 " was done : I have intimated this to the Scotish Queen,
 
 J. Earl Boihwell.'] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 19 
 
 authority a Peer, and Privy Counsellor of Scot- 
 land, who was driven, by stress of weather into 
 Holy Island, was detained, in the time of 
 peace, and sent prisoner to London ; the an- 
 swer must be, the spleen of Elizabeth, the 
 enmity of Randolph, and the hatred of Mar. 
 In London, was he detained, by those guilty 
 passions, for more than a twelvemonth. At 
 length, Mary, in January 1563-4, at the urgent 
 solicitation of Bothwell's mother, and his other 
 relations, requested her good sister of England, 
 that he might be permitted to go into foreign 
 parts : This request was now complied with ; 
 as his detention could not be justified, by any 
 allowed principle of any law. 
 
 Meantime, as soon as it was known, that 
 Bothwell had fled, from Hermitage-castle, a 
 herald was sent, to demand the possession of 
 this strong hold, for the Queen's service. It 
 was delivered to the charge of Robert Elliot, as 
 
 " who desired to have him sent to Scotland." Randolph 
 added, ff that Murray, Argyle, Maitland, and others, in- 
 " trigued with him, to have Bothwell detained, in England, 
 " of which he was a determined enemy." [Dispatches in the 
 Paper Office.'] In the same Office, there is a formal warrant 
 of Queen Elizabeth, dated the 18th of March 1562-3 j re- 
 quiring her officers to bring Bothwell to London. 
 
 y Randolph's letter to Cecil, of the 20th of December 
 1562.
 
 20 THE LIFE OF [MEM. IV. Memoir of 
 
 Deputy Keeper of Liddisdale, for the Queen, at 
 a salary of 100 marks, with possession of the 
 domains. 1 This castle seems to have been the 
 Queen's, whereof Bothwell was only the keeper. 
 But, so restless a man, could not be quiet, in 
 France ; where, he threw out menaces both 
 against Elizabeth, and Mary, and their several 
 ministers : At length, he requested either li- 
 berty to return home, or to have means to live 
 abroad.' Bothwell returned to Scotland, in 
 March 1564-5. He, naturally, visited his mo- 
 ther ; he appeared in various places : But, he 
 could find safety nowhere. He was watched, 
 by the English Wardens, on the borders ; and 
 he was eagerly pursued, by Murray, whom he 
 
 * Privy Council Reg. of date the 18th of June 1563. 
 William Douglas of Cavers became security, that Elliot 
 would act, honestly, and redeliver the Castle, when so re- 
 quired. 
 
 a Randolph wrote to Cecil on the 4th of March 1564-5 : 
 " They (the Scots ministers of State) think him worthy of 
 " no favour that conspired to kill the Queen, and those in 
 " credit about her." This intimation plainly alluded to the 
 groundless accusation of the frantick Arran. Randolph again 
 wrote to Cecil, on the 15th of March : " The Queen [Mary] 
 " misliketh Bothwell's coming home ; and hath summoned 
 " him to undergo the law, or be proclaimed a rebel : He is 
 " charged to have spoken dishonourably of the Queen, and 
 " threatened to kill Murray, and Maitland : David Pi ingle, 
 " one of Bothwell's servants, will verify it." Keith, 279.
 
 J. Earl Bothwell. ] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 21 
 
 had grievously offended, by opprobrious words, 
 which he was said to have spoken, in France. b 
 Bothwell still remained, in Hermitage-castle, 
 at the end of March 1565, where he had a great 
 following of Liddisdale men. But, by the 
 Queen's direction, he was obliged to engage, 
 that he would appear before the Justice-court, 
 on the 4th of May, then next. Argyle, the 
 Justiciary, and Murray, the Minister, came 
 
 b Bedford's MS. correspondence with Cecil, in the Paper 
 Office. On the 23d of March 1564-5, Bedford, the Go- 
 vernor of Berwick, asked Cecil, to tell him the Queen's 
 pleasure, touching Bothwell, if he should come within his 
 charge ; for except, he were otherwise commanded, he 
 meant to stay him, being so required to do by the Court of 
 Scotland. [Id.] Bedford even supposed Bothwell to be 
 comforted, by the Scotish Queen, as he informed Cecil, [/d.] 
 And, yet, on the 30th of the same month of March, Ran- 
 dolph wrote to Cecil, that Bothwell hath grievously offended 
 the Queen of Scots, by words spoken against the English 
 Queen, and also against herself ; calling her the Cardinal's 
 hoore , and she hath sworn to me upon her honour, that he 
 shall never receive favour at her hands," [/d-] Cardinal Bea- 
 ton, we may remember, was assassinated, on the 29th of 
 May 1546, when Mary was, scarcely, four years old. In 
 the scandalous Chronicle of the pious Knox, the Queen, as 
 we may recollect, was said to be the Cardinal's child ; and 
 Randolph must have misunderstood the scurrility of Both- 
 well's tongue: We may perceive, however, how gross 
 were the manners of that reformed age, among a coarse 
 people, and unmannered nobles
 
 22 THE LIFE OF [MEM. IV. Memoir of 
 
 into Edinburgh, about the 1st of May 1565, at 
 the head of five thousand men, to hold the 
 Justice-court, where Bothwell was to be tried, 
 for his misdemeanors. Bothwell, however, 
 declined to meet such foes, and such a force." 
 As he now saw, that he had few friends, many 
 enemies, with two governments, to pursue him, 
 Bothwell embarked at North Berwick, for 
 foreign parts, at the end of April 1565 . d As 
 Bedford, and Randolph, had thus obtained 
 their several ends, by the expulsion of Both- 
 well, their pens, for some months, do not 
 
 'Randolph's correspondence with Cecil, in the Paper 
 Office. According to Randolph's representation, there 
 would have been a larger army, in Edinburgh, on that law- 
 day, if the Queen had not objected to the bringing of so 
 many undisciplined men into her presence, and Bothwell's 
 forfeiture, would have been greater, if the Queen had not 
 interposed. [Id.] Argyle, and Murray, had an interest, in 
 pursuing Bothwell, to a complete forfeiture ; as they would 
 have divided his estates, and offices, between them : But, 
 the Queen had no such interest, and felt no such enmity, 
 whatever she may have sworn upon her honour to Randolph: 
 Argyle had married the bastard sister of Murray ; and she 
 received from Mary a pension, as her bastard sister, as we 
 learn from the Treasurer's books. It was plainly the object 
 of Murray, to ruin every noble, who obstructed his views, 
 as he had ruined Huntley, and Sutherland. 
 
 d Randolph's correspondence \vith Cecil, in the Paper 
 Office.
 
 J. Earl Bothwell.] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 23 
 
 mention the man, whom they hated, and ma- 
 ligned. 6 
 
 A new scene of trouble was now ready to 
 open. The Queen, according to her duty, had 
 resolved to marry. Her purpose was opposed 
 by the Duke of Chattelherault, her presumptive 
 heir, and by Murray, her bastard brother, who 
 had long had his head, and hand, and heart, 
 upon her sceptre ; and by all, who were con- 
 nected with them, in interest, or in faction. 
 They carried their opposition, under the en- 
 couragement of Elizabeth, the full length of 
 rebellion. And yet, the Queen married her 
 cousin, Darnley, to whom there could be no 
 political objection, on the 29th of July 1565. 
 The Queen now found it necessary, as her mo- 
 ther had equally done, to conciliate many 
 friends, for her support against Elizabeth, and 
 Cecil, Chattelherault, and Murray, while Mor- 
 ton, and Maitland, remained, in her councils, 
 
 e Randolph, indeed, wrote to Cecil, on the 4th of July 
 1565 ; " It is said, that the Earl of Bothwell, and Lord 
 Seton, are sent for, which hath the appearance of truth ; ^as 
 they are fit men, to serve, in this world : It is wished, if 
 they do arrive, in England, that they may be put in good 
 surety, fora time." Keith, 295. But, Murray had now left 
 the court j and was preparing, for rebellion, under Eliza- 
 beth's incitements, against Mary's marriage. 
 
 ' Birrel's Diary
 
 24 THE LIFE OF [MEM. IV. Memoir of 
 
 to betray her.* The popularity, which attended 
 the Queen's marriage, seems to have crushed 
 the rebellion, and to have expelled the rebellious 
 chiefs. h If we might credit a corrupt agent, 
 we ought to believe, that jars soon arose, be- 
 tween the Queen, and Darnley. 1 Bothwell, in 
 
 s On the 5th of August 1565, the Earls of Bothwell, and 
 Sutherland, were allowed to return home. Keith, 310: On 
 the 5th, a remission was granted to Bothwell, " for his 
 breaking ward out of the Castle of Edinburgh, without li- 
 cence." \JPrwy Seal Reg.~] On the 6th of August, the Earl 
 Murray was denounced a rebel, and driven into England. 
 
 h Randolph wrote to Cecil, on the 8th of October 1565 : 
 This day, the Queen hath marched to Dumfries : Huntley, 
 and Bothwell, are the new counsellors. [Keith, App. 165.] 
 On the 10th of the same month, Bothwell was present in 
 Council, at Castle-hill, on the road to Dumfries : And, he 
 was one of the leaders of the army, under Darnley, the 
 King; the Queen being present. [16.115.] 
 
 ' On the I Oth of the same October, Randolph wrote to 
 Cecil, that, " Jars have already risen, between the Queen 
 and Darnley j she to have her will one way ; and he ano- 
 ther : He to have his father, for Lieutenant General; and 
 she to have Bothwell" [MS. Correspondence in the Paper 
 Office.] The fact is, that they were both Lieutenant Ge- 
 nerals j Lennox, in the West ; and Bothwell, in the South, 
 where his estates, and interests, lay. On the 22d of 
 the same month, at Edinburgh, the King, and Queen, 
 issued a charge to the Wardens of the Marches, to pre- 
 vent the emissaries of the rebels, who had fled into Eng- 
 land, from disturbing the borders : And, they commanded
 
 J. Earl Bothwell.] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 25 
 
 proportion to his natural power, from his pos- 
 sessions, and offices, which he held, from de- 
 scent, hereditarily, and to his recent services, 
 when so many of the nobles were in a state of 
 revolt, acquired some credit with the Queen, 
 and Darnley. He attended the publick councils, 
 wherein were so many counsellors, to betray 
 them ; and he was employed, as a Commis- 
 sioner, on the Borders, to settle never-ending- 
 disputes, among rugged men, being Lieutenant 
 of the Marches, with England. As early as 
 October 1565, Randolph wrote to Cecil, in his 
 usual style, of insidious sarcasm, " My Lord 
 Bothwell, for his great virtue, doth now all, 
 next to the Earl of Athole." The English agent 
 ought to have excepted, also the Earl of Mor- 
 ton, and Secretary Maitland, who virtuously, 
 remained, as he had lately said to Cecil, with 
 the Queen, watching every occasion, to betray 
 her into the rebels' fangs, and Elizabeth's 
 prison j 
 
 the Earl of Bothwell, Lieutenant General of all the Marches, 
 to see their orders fulfilled. [Keith's App. 116.] Bothwell 
 then lay, with a force, on the West Borders. Meantime, 
 the English Wardens seem to have gained the Liddisdale men. 
 [16. 165, Correspondence in the Paper Office.] 
 
 j On the 29th of January 1565-6, Randolph wrote to 
 Cecil : " The Scotish Queen hath appointed the Earl of 
 Bothwell, and the Laird of Cessford (the Warden of the
 
 26 THE LIFE OF [MEM. IV. Memoir of 
 
 The reprobated Bothwell, meantime, sought 
 some solace, from softer scenes : At the pru- 
 dent age of thirty five, he married the Lady 
 Jane Gordon, the excellent sister of the Earl of 
 Huntley, and the fourth cousin of Bothwell 
 himself, in the chapel of Holyrood-house, on the 
 22d of February 1565-6 ; but, refusing, as we 
 are told, the Queen's request, to be married, in 
 the Romnn Catholick manner, though the lady 
 was of that persuasion. The King, and Queen, 
 made the banquet, the first day ; and the feast- 
 ing continued five days, with justing, and tour- 
 
 Middle Marches) to meet the Earl of Bedford, and Sir John 
 Forster, to settle the matters in debate, between the two 
 realms : I told the Scotish Queen, that Bothwell was a per- 
 son hated by the English Queen; and known not to incline to 
 peace ; so that if bad consequences followed, she had her- 
 self only to blame : She answered, that she could also make 
 exceptions against Bedford j and so would not name ano- 
 ther person, in the place of Bothwell." [Keith's App. 166.] 
 Bothwell, and Ker, could not be more corrupt, and insi- 
 dious, than Bedford, and Forster ; as their correspondence 
 with Cecil evinces } and their actions on the Borders demon- 
 strate. On the 8th of February following, Bedford wrote 
 to Cecil that; " he despairs of Justice on the Borders, while 
 Bothwell is Warden, [Lieutenant] who neither fears God, 
 nor loves justice." On the 6th of April 1565, Bedford had 
 already written to Cecil : " I assure you, Bothwell is as 
 naughty a man, as liveth, and much given to the most detest- 
 able vices." [Correspondence in the Paper Office.]
 
 J. Earl Bothwell."] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 27 
 
 naments, at which were made six knights of 
 of Fife. k This marriage, though the nuptial 
 benediction had been given, by the lady's uncle, 
 Gordon, the bishop of Galloway, who had re- 
 nounced the ancient faith, was neither fruitful, 
 nor fortunate. 
 
 We are now arrived at the epoch of one of 
 the most extraordinary deeds, which is not 
 outdone in atrocity, by any event, in the his- 
 tory of man, during the corruptest ages. It 
 was the assassination of Rizzio, the Queen's 
 private Secretary, in her own presence, on the 
 9th of March 1565-6. As this atrocious deed 
 was perpetrated by a conspiracy of her own 
 ministers, in concert with Elizabeth, the Scot- 
 ish Queen was completely surprised. The 
 Lord Chancellor, Morton, with an armed force, 
 attacked the Queen's palace, at Edinburgh, 
 she being then within it, and far advanced, in 
 a pregnant state ; her husband, with the crown 
 matrimonial, on his head, conducted the assas- 
 sins, by private passages, into the Queen's clo- 
 set, who was sitting at supper, with her sister, 
 the Countess of Argyle. Huntley, Bothwell, 
 Sutherland, and others, attempted, resolutely, 
 
 k Pitscottie, 217. The marriage contract, which was 
 dated on the 9th of February 1565-6, is recorded in the 
 Privy Seal Reg. xxx. fol. 8.
 
 28 THE LIFE OF [MEM. IV. Memoir of 
 
 to resist Morton ; but, they were overpowered, 
 and obliged to save themselves by flight. The 
 Secretary of State, the able, but insidious 
 Maitland, entertained below, the Earl of Athole ; 
 forgetting to reveal to the Queen what he knew 
 of that odious deed. This great conspiracy had 
 for its treasonous objects the prorogation of 
 Parliament, which would have attainted the 
 late rebels, and prevented the pardon of Murray, 
 with his traitorous friends, who were then har- 
 boured, by Elizabeth, the Queen's virtuous cou- 
 sin of England : And it completely answered 
 both those ends, though by the commission of 
 such mighty crimes, it appeared, that there 
 were other naughty men, in Scotland, besides 
 the naughty Both well. The Queen, by great 
 efforts of address, and resolution, persuaded 
 her guilty hnsband, to flee with her, from so 
 terrible a scene, to Dunbar-castle, where she 
 was safe, from Morton's violence, Maitland's 
 perfidy, and Ruthven's venom. Athole and 
 Fleming, Livingston, and others, who were 
 then present in Holyrood-house, unconscious 
 of the approach of such a storm, hardly es- 
 caped, from the spears of the conspirators. 
 Huntley, and Bothwell, who assisted the 
 Queen's escape, accompanied her to the same 
 fortlet ; where she was joined, by so many con- 
 siderable men, with their forces, that she mar-
 
 /. Earl Bothwell.'] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 29 
 
 ched back to Edinburgh, on the 18th of March, 
 in triumphant array. The friends of the con- 
 spirators now fled, in their turn, from that tur- 
 bulent city, which, under the Provost's influence, 
 had aided the conspirators. 1 Morton, Ruthven, 
 and other traitors, found their safest shelter 
 under Elizabeth's wings. Bothwell,on that emer- 
 gency, had acted so faithfully, when the officers 
 of State had acted so knavishly, that Preston, 
 the Provost of Edinburgh, and Keeper of Dun- 
 bar-castle, was deprived : And Bothwell, who 
 had merited reward, was on the 24th of March 
 1565-6, appointed Governor, in his room. As 
 Dunbar-castle lay contiguous to his estates, and 
 those of his friends, with the lands appropriated 
 for its support ; m these grants were of great im- 
 portance to Bothwell. 
 
 1 Simon Preston, the Laird of Craigmillar, who had mar- 
 ried the daughter of Monteith of Kers, and the sister of the 
 Secretary's wife. [Haynes, 359.] The Provost acted under 
 the Secretary's influence, who was the contriver of the con- 
 spiracy. 
 
 m Privy Seal Reg. xxxv. fol. 4. This charge, and lands, 
 had been held, by Bothwell's brother-in-law, the Lord John, 
 who died at the end of 1563 : the trust of keeping this 
 castle was thereupon given to Simon Preston, the faithless 
 brother of the Secretary, who held it, at the epoch of Mur- 
 ray's rebellion ; when he represented the insufficient equip- 
 ment of that important strong hold. [Privy Council Reg. 
 24th of August 1565.] 
 
 VOL. III. D
 
 SO THE LIFE OF [MEM. IV. Memoir of 
 
 Considering the advanced condition of Mary's 
 pregnancy, she followed the advice, which was 
 insidiously given her, of retiring into Edin- 
 burgh-castle, as the safest place, for a pregnant 
 Queen, during such a state of treacherous so- 
 ciety. And, wishing for a few moments of 
 quiet, after such a shock, she endeavoured to 
 promote general amity." She again took Darn- 
 ley to her bosom, who avowed his penitence. 
 She sent for Argyle, and Murray, whom she 
 tried to reconcile to Huntley, and Bothwell. 
 Her two brothers, Argyle, and Murray, soon 
 acquired their wonted sway over her spirit, and 
 with it the governance of the castle. Hunt- 
 ley, and Bothwell, applied for permission to 
 lodge, in the castle; but were positively re- 
 fused : p And Bothwell was soon after sent to the 
 
 " The above advice had proceeded from the joint artifices 
 of Cecil, and Murray, who supposed, that it was more than 
 probable, that Mary would never rise from her child-bed j 
 considering recent events. 
 
 Argyle married Mary's bastard sister, and Murray was 
 her bastard brother. 
 
 * There remains, in the Paper Office, a long letter from 
 Kandolph to Cecil, of the 7th of June 1566, only a dozen 
 days before the accouchement of Mary, which contains many 
 curious particulars : Argyle still solicited for the Earl of 
 Morton, and his friends, without success : Lethington was 
 ordered to ward himself, in Caithness : The Clerk Register
 
 /. Earl Bothwell.] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 81 
 
 Borders, as Lieutenant, to preserve order, and 
 to watch the motions of Morton. Had any ac- 
 cident happened to Mary, during her accouche- 
 ment, as had been looked for, with willing eyes, 
 Murray, in the absence of the legal heir, would 
 have retained the castle, and with it the sove- 
 reignty of the kingdom : With a view to such 
 an event, Huntley, and Bothwell, were kept out 
 of the castle, as lodgers. 
 
 Yet, was it about that time, or rather earlier, 
 that Robertson assures us, a new favourite 
 grew into great credit with the Queen, and 
 
 was charged to remain beyond the Tay : The fate of others 
 of Murray's friends was postponed, " till it be known what 
 shall become of the Queen, in the time of her travel /' and 
 Randolph remained, by order, at Berwick, till that event 
 took place. The Queen made her will. The Queen's hus- 
 band is recovered ; and these two are reconciled : The Earls 
 of Argle, and Murray, lodge in the Castle, and keep house 
 together. The Earls of Huntley, and Bothwell, wished, also, 
 to have lodged there : but were refused. The Bishop of Ross 
 hath now the chief management of affairs : The parson of 
 Fleisk (Sir J. Balfour) is not so far in credit, as he hath 
 been. At such a moment, the foregoing particulars are very 
 curious, and important. Randolph added : " The Earl of 
 Bothwell hath the whole inheritance of Dunbar, given unto 
 him j but, the castle is reserved to the Queen." Yet, we 
 have just seen, from the Privy Seal Record, that he was only 
 made keeper of the castle, with the use of the castle lands : 
 We may thus see how calumny was then propagated.
 
 32 THE LIFE OF [MEM. IV. Memoir of 
 
 soon gained an ascendant over her heart, which 
 encouraged his enterprising genius, to form de- 
 signs, which proved fatal to himself, and the 
 occasion of all Mary's subsequent misfortunes : 
 This was James Earl of Bothwell, continues 
 the historian, whom her gratitude loaded with 
 marks of her bounty ; she raised him to offices 
 of profit, and of trust, and transacted no mat- 
 ter of importance, without his advice. q Thus 
 ignorant was Robertson of the historical cir- 
 cumstances of that period, and even of the 
 various influences of Murray, and of Bothwell, 
 who enjoyed those offices, hereditarily. 
 
 Whatever forebodings there may have been 
 of Mary's miscarriage, or other misfortune, she 
 was safely delivered of a son, on the 19th of 
 June 1566. The month of her confinement 
 
 1 Hist. Scot. i. 382 : For that absurd narrative, he quotes 
 those interpolated books, MelvilTs Mem. 133 ; and Knox, 
 396. While the historian makes Bothwell gain an ascen- 
 dency over the heart of Mary, Bothwell had been married to 
 Lady Jane Gordon only two months before, that is, on the 
 22d of February 1 665-6 > and the Queen was now pregnant 
 of a child six or seven months old. We have seen above, 
 from Randolph's information to Cecil, that Murray had, at 
 that time, the chief influence over the Queen, with the pos- 
 session of the castle of Edinburgh, of which his uncle, the 
 Earl of Mar, was then Governor ; and that Bothwell was 
 even sent out of the way to the Borders, where he was 
 lieutenant.
 
 J. Earl BothwelL] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 33 
 
 expired, on the 19th of the subsequent July : 
 and, it was imagined, perhaps by her physician, 
 that a change of air would contribute greatly 
 to re-establish her usual strength. As she 
 could not ride, and had no wheel carriage, she 
 went to Alloa-house, in a ship, along the Forth, 
 accompanied, by Murray, by Mar, the lord of 
 the mansion, by Bothwell, the Lord High Ad- 
 miral, and by other courtiers ; Darnley follow- 
 ing, by land/ It was here, that she received 
 into her presence, her Secretary Maitland, who 
 was only another name, for talents, and trea- 
 
 r Keith,, 345. On the 29th of July 1566, there is, in the 
 Treasurer's Accounts, a charge of ten shillings paid a boy, 
 for carrying close writings to the Queen, at Alloa. This 
 shows, that she went earlier to Alloa, than Keith, and others, 
 supposed. Buchanan, in his usual strain of deliberate fal- 
 sification, says, the Queen went thither, with pirates, that 
 is, with the Lord Admiral and his men : And, she rejected 
 Darnley : But, we have seen, in Randolph's dispatch, to 
 Cecil, that the Queen and Darnley, were reconciled, in the 
 castle. The fact is, which ought never to be lost sight of, 
 that Darnley, after the shocking scrape into which he had 
 been led, by Murray, Morton, Maitland, and others, could 
 not look into their treacherous faces ; and of course he could 
 not go into a ship, with them, nor remain in a house, with 
 them : He had not learned, to smile, and smile, and be a vil- 
 lain. These intimations explain much of poor Darnley's 
 conduct, who was still very youug, and still very inex- 
 perienced : And, the Queen could not, easily, govern, with- 
 out the aid of those odious men.
 
 34 THE LIFE OF [MEM. IV. Memoir of 
 
 chery : And, he was the first of Rizzio's assas- 
 sins, whom she forgave, at the instance of 
 Athole, and Murray, though much against the 
 opposition of Bothwell, and the inclination of 
 Darnley.* 
 
 The Queen did not remain long at the hos- 
 pitable seat of Alloa : The King departed, for 
 Tweedale, to hunt, accompanied, by Huntley, 
 Bothwell, Murray, and other courtiers. But, 
 Darnley could not forget the share, which he 
 had, in the assassination of Rizzio ; and the 
 publick contempt, constantly, remembered him 
 of his shame ; while the chief conspirators felt 
 no compunction. From the amusements of 
 Tweedale they all soon returned to publick busi- 
 ness, at Edinburgh. 
 
 As early, if not earlier, than the beginning of 
 August, the Queen, and her government, had 
 determined, on holding Justice-ayres upon the 
 
 On the 2d of August 1566, Bedford wrote, from Ber- 
 wick, to Cecil : Lethipgton, (Maitland's) peace is made 
 with his sovereign : The Lords Maxwell, and Bothwell, are 
 now enemies : Bothwell is, generally, hated ; and is more 
 insolent than even Rizzio was. We thus see the prejudice 
 of Bedford. On the 9th of August Bedford again wrote to 
 Cecil, " that Bothwell is still in favour, and has a great 
 " hand in the management of affairs." Keith App. 169. 
 But, we have seen above, that Athole, and Murray, had 
 much more influence, than Bothwell. What prejudice !
 
 J. Earl Bothwell.] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 35 
 
 English Borders, at Jedburgh :* But, other 
 avocations had prevented her, from going at 
 that period, when the harvest approached. 
 Such were the considerations, which prevented 
 that juridical excursion, till the first week of 
 October, 1566. 
 
 Meantime, the wayward conduct of Darnley, 
 not only gave great vexation to the Queen, but 
 still more offended the nobles. He even adopted 
 the absurd purpose of emigration, without 
 knowing whither to emigrate. And, coming 
 to Edinburgh, at Michaelmass 1566, he was 
 not easily persuaded, by the Queen, to enter 
 the palace ; because the leading characters of 
 the state were then within it. Murray, with the 
 suggestions of Maitland, came to the resolution 
 of taking off the object of their hatred. Mur- 
 ray, who knew perfectly the best mode of 
 drawing men into his views, on that occasion, 
 
 * On the 3d of August, indeed, Bedford gave notice to 
 Cecil, from Berwick, that Queen Mary meaneth, shortly, to 
 go against Cessford, &c. and keep a Justice-court, at Jed- 
 burgh : Bothwell [the Lieutenant] shall come in, with 
 forces. [Keith's App. 169.] 
 
 11 On the 17th of September 1566, Bothwell was present 
 in Council at Edinburgh. [16.351.] He was there, also, 
 present, in the Convention of Nobles, which gave a supply 
 of 12,OOOZ. money of Scotland, for defraying the expense of 
 the prince's baptism [16. 359-]
 
 36 THE LIFE OF [MEM. IV. Memoir of 
 
 gained over Bothwell, who had his offences to 
 avenge, into Murray's concert against the life 
 of Darnley, who little knew his danger, when 
 he was treading on a precipice." The conspi- 
 rators never lost sight of their murderous ob- 
 ject, till its final accomplishment. The best 
 commentary on this odious plot is the events, 
 as they were produced, by the able manage- 
 ment of great talents, when directed to the 
 fulfilment of their designs. 
 
 Bothwell, who was now destined to act in 
 concert with Murray, after all their enmities, 
 taking his departure, for Liddisdale, on the 
 7th of October 1566, was wounded on the 
 subsequent day, in a scuffle, with Elliot of 
 Park. y The Queen, and her court, set out, on 
 
 x Goodall, ii. 321. 
 
 y The following dates are quite sufficient to show the 
 falsehood of Buchanan, when he relates the wounding of 
 Bothwell, and the Queen's flight from Borthwick to Her- 
 mitage, to visit him : On the 6th of October 1566, Both- 
 well was present, in Council, at Edinburgh. [Privy Council 
 Reg.} On the next day, he went to the Borders. On the 
 8th of October, he was wounded, said Birrel, by John Elliot, 
 alias John of the Park, whose head was sent into Edinburgh, 
 thereafter. On the 16th of October, eight days after the 
 Queen had arrived, at Jedburgh, she went to Hermitage- 
 castle, distant twenty statute miles, and returned the same 
 evening. [Privy Seal Reg. xxxv. 77.] On the 17th of 
 October 1566, the Queen uas taken ill; and remained in
 
 J. Earl Bothwell.'] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 37 
 
 the 8th of October, for Jedburgh. All but 
 Darnley went on that necessary excursion to 
 the south ; but, he went to Glasgow, on a visit 
 to his father. Both well, as the Queen's lieu- 
 tenant, had been sent forward to make prepa- 
 rations for the ensuing Ayres. But, the unruly 
 clans of Liddisdale had been gained, by For- 
 ster, the English Warden : The Lieutenant of 
 Mary was defied ; and being fiercely attacked, 
 was, severely, wounded in the hand. The 
 Queen, who, meantime, arrived at Jedburgh, 
 and was occupied in superintending the Jus- 
 tice-court ; when hearing of that outrage, rode 
 to Hermitage-castle, on the the 16th of Octo- 
 ber : to know the truth of what she heard, both 
 of that attack, and those threats on Bothwell's 
 life : And, returning the same evening, she was 
 
 great danger, during several days. On the 24th of October, 
 Bothwell removed, from Hermitage-castle, to Jedburgh. 
 There were several intimations, throughout the previous 
 months, of a purpose to assassinate Bothwell. It was stated, 
 in a letter, from Alnwick, on the 3d of April, 1566, that one 
 of Bothwell's servants confessed the purpose of himself, and 
 four more of Bothwell's servants, to murder their master j 
 and that Secretary Maitland had engaged them in that fell 
 design : The other servants being examined, also, confessed 
 the same purpose. [Keith's App. 167-] Of all these ma- 
 chinations the Queen, no doubt, had intimations, and wished 
 to know the truth.
 
 38 THE LIFE OF [MEM. IV. Memoir of 
 
 taken ill, on the subsequent day, with a fever, 
 which endangered her life : Yet ; was she all 
 unconscious, that Bothwell was now gained, 
 by Murray, to his conspiracy, which was de- 
 stined to involve her in ruin. The Queen's 
 youth, and constitution saved her, while her 
 physician, Nawe, was praised, for his skill, and 
 his assiduity. 
 
 The Queen, and her court, and her judges, 
 remained, at Jedburgh from the 9th of October, 
 to the 8th of November. They remained, per- 
 forming the same duties, at Kelso, during the 
 9th, and 10th of the same month ; they de- 
 parted, on the llth of November, on a tour 
 along the Tweed, attended by Bothwell, 1 the 
 High Sheriff of the Southern Shires : After 
 seeing Werk-castle, and Berwick-upon-Tweed, 
 the Queen, and her court, did not arrive at Dum- 
 bar-castle, of which Bothwell was keeper, till 
 the 17th of the same month : Here, the Queen, 
 and her ministers, remained till the 23d of 
 November, when they removed to Craigmillar- 
 castle ; all but Secretary Maitland, who went 
 
 1 On the 27th of October 1566, the Bishop of Ross wrote 
 from Jedburgh to the Queen's Ambassador, at Paris : " My 
 " Lord Bothwell is here, who convalesces well of his 
 " wounds." [Keith's App. 136.] He, probably, arrived at 
 Jedburgh, on the 24th of October, as he was, certainly, 
 present, in Council, on the subsequent day. [Keith, 352.]
 
 J. Earl Bothwell.] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 39 
 
 to Whittingham, which will be remembered, as 
 the scene of guilty intrigues. 
 
 It was, in Craigmillar-castle, early in De- 
 cember 1566, before the baptism of the Queen's 
 son, that Maitland, and Murray, proposed to 
 the Queen a divorce, from her husband : It 
 was, on that occasion, that Bothwell seconded 
 that proposal ; and thereby showed, that he 
 was now acting, with Murray, and Maitland, 
 as a conspiratoragainst Darnley, and the Queen, 
 dazzled, no doubt, by their plausible plot, how 
 easy it would be to obtain, with their guilty 
 assistance, the Queen's marriage, with her au- 
 thority, in the state. It is, from this period, 
 then, when this conspiracy was detailed, and 
 matured, that we must trace the life of Both- 
 well, as a conspirator ; acting with Maitland, 
 and Murray, and Morton, with a constant view 
 to those abominable objects.' 
 
 It may be proper, to state, for the information of those, 
 who may not be completely acquainted with this interesting 
 subject : (1) The Protestation of Huntley, and Argyle, gives 
 a clear, and full detail of that conspiracy. [Goodall, ii. 3 17-] 
 Doctor Robertson tries, in vain, to enfeeble the force, and 
 the inferences of that detail. But, Cecil considered the 
 Protestation of Huntley, and Argyle, as a genuine document. 
 And the laxity of Murray's answer, only, establishes the 
 truth of the facts. (2) The same detail was given, and the 
 same inferences drawn, by the instructions, from the mime-
 
 40 THE LIFE OF [MEM. IV. Memoir of 
 
 Soon after the Queen's rejection of the pro- 
 posed divorce, and the formation of the con- 
 spiracy, she departed, from that guilty castle, 
 for Stirling, in order to make preparations for 
 her son's baptism, on the 15th of December 
 1566. She was too much occupied with other 
 thoughts, to trouble herself, according to Bu- 
 chanan's falsehood, to prevent Darnley from 
 having clothes, or to contribute finery to Both- 
 
 rous convention of earls, lords, bishops, and abbots, which 
 was held, at Dunbarton, in September 1568. [16. 359.] 
 (3) Archibald Douglas was sent, by the conspirators, to in- 
 form Morton, who then lay at Newcastle, of the conspiracy, 
 and to ask his assent, and aid. (4) The interposition of 
 Bothwell, at Craigmillar, when the Queen refused Mait- 
 land's proposal of a divorce ; by saying that he had suc- 
 ceeded to his father, though his mother had been divorced 
 from him ; evinces his guilty concernment, in that conspi- 
 racy. (5) Bothwell, also, interposed his influence, what- 
 ever it were, to induce the Queen, to pardon Morton, at 
 Christmas 1566. (6) The journey of Maitland, and Both- 
 well, to meet Morton, at Whittingham, to obtain his decided 
 concurrence with the conspirators, is a clear proof of the 
 conspiracy. (7) The conviction, and confession, of Morton, 
 and Maitland, of their knowledge of the objects of the con- 
 spiracy, and the death of Darnley, are the records of their 
 guilt. (Lastly.) It is impossible to deny, or doubt, those 
 facts, and circumstances, which evince the existence of such 
 a conspiracy, with such objects ; and that Bothwell did not 
 act, by himself, but in concert, for Murray's interest, more 
 than his own.
 
 J. Earl Bothwell.'] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 41 
 
 well. If Bothwell went to the baptism, his 
 mind was too much occupied, with the pardon 
 of Morton, and the murder of Darnley, to think 
 o^Jinery, which, with such a man, on such an 
 occasion, was not an object. It is not true, as 
 Robertson suggests, that Bothwell obtained, by 
 his influence, from the Queen's disinclination, 
 the pardon of Morton : For, it required the 
 concurrence of Elizabeth, Cecil, Bedford; Mur- 
 ray, Athol, Bothwell, Maitland, and of others, 
 to obtain the remission of Morton, and his 
 friends ; as we know from Bedford's dispatch 
 to Cecil. The pardon of Morton had the effect, 
 probably, of inducing Darnley, in his state of 
 mind, to seek repose with his father, at Glasgow, 
 where he was, immediately, taken with the 
 small-pox, which there prevailed. Mary tried 
 to refresh her exhausted spirits, by visiting the 
 nobles, around Stirling. Murray carried Bed- 
 ford to St. Andrews, where he feasted him, for 
 some days, in rejoicing for Morton's re-esta- 
 blishment, in Scotland. 11 Bothwell, and Mait- 
 
 h Morton was still, in England, on the 10th of January 
 1566-7 j whence, he wrote a letter of warm thanks to Cecil, 
 for his protection ; and offered his best services, in Scot- 
 land, to the English Secretary. Morton soon after went to 
 Whittingham. Thirteen days after, on the 23d, Drury 
 wrote to Cecil, from Berwick, " that the Earl of Morton,
 
 43 THE LIFE OF [MKM. VI. Memoir of 
 
 land, employed themselves, in intriguing with 
 Morton, and perhaps in gaining others to their 
 views, and objects. The meeting of Bothwell, 
 and Maitland, with Morton, at Whittingham, 
 about the 20th of January 1566-7, is decisive 
 proof of a conspiracy, to murder Darnley: 
 Their subsequent convictions, for the fact, is 
 the record of their guilt. This concert, at 
 Whittingham, proves, also, another point of 
 great importance, that Bothwell had not any of 
 the Queen's writings, expressive of her assent, 
 either to Darnley's death, or of her attachment 
 to Bothwell. 
 
 We may perceive, at once, the depth of Mor- 
 ton's mind, and the shallowness of Bothwell's, 
 in the ardour, with which Morton desired, to see 
 some writing of the Queen, expressive of her de- 
 sire, to have Darnley taken off, which Bothwell 
 asserted : But, when we perceive, even within 
 a few days of Darnley's death, that Bothwell, 
 could not show to Morton any writing, or any 
 word, of the Queen, to that effect, we thereby 
 discern her innocence, and his guilt. Morton 
 
 " lieth at the laird of Whittingham's, where Lord Bothwell, 
 " and Liddington, (Secretary Maitland) came of late to visit 
 " Morton" We know the guilty object of that visit, from 
 the confession of Morton ; and from Archibald Douglas's 
 letter. [Robertson, ii. 631.]
 
 J. Earl Bothwell.'] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 43 
 
 now made answer, according to his own con- 
 fession : " Seeing I had not obtained the 
 " Queen's assent, in writing, as Bothwell had 
 " promised, he would not meddle further with 
 " the plot." 6 Is it not apparent, from such circum- 
 stances, that Bothwell had not any love-letters, 
 sonnets, or promises of marriage, in the Queen's 
 writing? Is it not equally apparent, that 
 Morton was aware, that Bothwell, a few days 
 before the murder, had no such love-letters, 
 sonnets, or promises of marriage, to show him ? 
 And from the same facts, may we not infer, 
 that Morton, when he pretended, in June 
 following, to have intercepted a boxful of love- 
 letters, from the Queen to Bothwell, knew that, 
 his pretence was unfounded, and his oath, to 
 the same effect, was untrue ? 
 
 During " the anxious moments, which pass, 
 " between the birth of plots, and their fatal 
 " periods," Bothwell was not occupied with 
 the Queen, from whom he had no expectation ; 
 but, he was busy, in animating the hearts, and 
 strengthening the hands, of those dependents, 
 who were to aid him, in his villainous purpose. 
 The Privy Council Register evinces, that he 
 was seldom at court, whatever Buchanan may 
 feign. He was, meantime, in Liddisdale, pre- 
 
 c The confession, in Ballantyne's Journal, 495-6.
 
 44 THE LIFE OF [MEM. IV. Memoir of 
 
 paring his people ; he was at Dumbar-castle, 
 putting- in order the gunpowder, which was to 
 effect an essential part of the fell design/ Far 
 otherwise was the Queen occupied. She brought 
 .her son, from Stirling to Edinburgh, on the 
 13th of January 1566-7. e From her physician, 
 she, no doubt, often heard of the true state of 
 her husband's person, and spirit : And, learn- 
 ing, incidentally, that he had given up his 
 project of leaving Scotland ; that he was sen- 
 sible of her affection ; he avowed, that he was 
 willing to live with her, like a husband ; and 
 they became reconciled to each other : In pur- 
 suance of his wish, she went to Glasgow, to 
 bring him, with her, to Edinburgh. In this 
 spirit, she set out from Edinburgh, on the 
 afternoon of the 24th of January 1566-7, pro- 
 bably, for Glasgow ; f and in the same spirit of 
 reconcilement, she brought Darnley with her 
 to Edinburgh, on the 31st of the same month. 8 
 
 d See the confessions in Arnot's Crim. Trials, 333 : An- 
 derson's Col. ii. 177-8. e Birrel's Diary. 
 
 { The Privy Seal Record ; and the Register of Signatures, 
 both contain documents, which evince, that the Queen still 
 remained, at Edinburgh, on the 24th of January 1566-7 : 
 And two such records are decisive evidence of the fact, 
 whatever Robertson may say to the contrary. She may 
 have left Edinburgh, in the afternoon of that day. 
 
 * Birrel's Diary.
 
 J. Earl Bothwell.] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 45 
 
 He was now placed in the house of Kirk-a-field, 
 in the southern suburbs of Edinburgh, for the 
 benefit of air, at a distance from the prince, 
 his son. The frequent visits, which Mary made 
 to Darnley, in this residence, during his conva- 
 lescence, are the best proofs of her reconcile- 
 ment, and of her kindness. And yet, Morton, 
 and Murray, produced, in evidence, a boxful of 
 letters, which, as they said, had been then writ- 
 ten, from Glasgow, by the queen to Bothwell, 
 and which contradict those facts, and contra- 
 vene those records. 
 
 The conspirators, with the advice of Mait- 
 land, and the agency of Bothwell, their cat's- 
 paw, began to make preparations, for effecting 
 their nefarious plot, from the moment, that the 
 house was known, wherein Darnley was to lodge : 
 Nor, were the conspirators, and Bothwell, at 
 any loss to know the facts, from Secretary 
 Maitland, the ablest, and the most artful, of all 
 the plotters. It was, from him, that the queen's 
 movements were known ; and indeed, the whole 
 conspirators were Privy Counsellors, who were 
 perfectly acquainted with every event, foreign, 
 and domestick. 
 
 The whole preparations being now made, with 
 the advice of Maitland, Bothwell, the instru- 
 ment according to the detail of the plot ; which 
 required his activity, and forwardness, on the 
 
 VOL. III. E
 
 46 THE LIFE OF [MEM. IV. Memoir of 
 
 10th of February, about two, in the morning, 
 with his associate com plotters, and his servants, 
 effected their odious design, by strangling the 
 king, and his servant, Taylor, who slept, in his 
 apartment ; and, by carrying their bodies into 
 the adjacent garden ; when they fired the gun- 
 powder, which blew up the infirmary, where 
 they reposed. 
 
 Whether Elizabeth, and Cecil, knew the mur- 
 derous part of the plot is uncertain : Yet, is it 
 obvious, that Maitland was the contriver of it ; 
 that Murray approved of it, though he showed 
 his consciousness, by his going out of the way, 
 at the catastrophe ; and that Morton, what- 
 ever he might, at first, pretend, was present, at 
 the deed, by Archibald Douglas, his agent, and 
 was the most vigorous of all the actors, in 
 bringing the conspiracy to its appropriate end ; 
 whereof Both well was, " such an Herculean 
 actor in the scene." h 
 
 It was soon whispered, by those, who knew 
 the secret, that Bothwell was the chief mur- 
 derer of Darnley, though some persons were 
 
 b See the examinations of Powrie, Dalgleish, Hay, Hep- 
 burn, who were all executed as murderers, for the part, that 
 was acted by Bothwell. [See Anderson's Col. ii. 165-171, 
 173-177-183 > and Arnofs CYtro. Trials, 383, for Onniston's 
 confession.]
 
 J.EarlBothwett.] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 47 
 
 joined with him, in that charge, who were in- 
 noxious ; for the purpose of delusion.' Both- 
 well was ere long charged, by publick advertise- 
 ment ; and, more privately, by Lennox, Darn- 
 ley's father ; with being the chief assassin of 
 the king ;J and it was even hinted, by secret 
 emissaries, that the queen was not altogether 
 unacquainted with the odious purpose of her 
 husband's death ; in order, that she might be 
 first disgraced, by calumny, and, finally, de- 
 throned ; as one of the principal ends of the 
 whole conspiracy. Yet, was there no distur- 
 bance ; as the leading men were all engaged, 
 in the plot. " Lennox desired the queen," said 
 Kyllygrew to Cecil/ " that such persons, as 
 
 ! Keith, 368-9-S70- 1-2-3-4. 
 
 J On the 12th of February, two days after the murder, a 
 proclamation was issued, from the Privy Council, offering a 
 reward of 2 ,QOOJ. to any one, that would discover the murderer. 
 [16. 368.] On the 16th of February, a placard was affixed to 
 the Tolbooth door ; accusing Bothwell, Sir James Balfour, 
 David Chalmer, and John Spens, with being the murderers. 
 
 im 
 
 k Sir Henry Kyllygrew, who had been sent, by Elizabeth, 
 at the end of February, to condole with Mary, on the death 
 of Darnley, wrote Cecil on the 8th of March : ' ' That he 
 had had no audience before this day, after dinner, with my 
 Lord of Murray, who was accompanied [at dinner] with my 
 Lord Chancellor [Huntley], the Earl of Argyle, my Lord 
 Bothwell, and the Laird of Lidington [Secretary Maitland] ."
 
 48 THE LIFE OF [MEM. IV. Memoir of 
 
 were named, in the placard should be taken : 
 Answer was made to him, that if he, or any 
 will stand to the accusation of any of them, it 
 shall be done ; but, not, by virtue of the bill, 
 [placard] or his request." Lennox, however, 
 persevered, in his accusations of Bothwell, till 
 the Privy Council found it necessary, on the 
 28th of March, to appoint the 12th of April, 
 for his trial, by the Justice-court. 1 Lennox 
 soon discovered, that it was more easy to charge 
 such a crime, on such a person, than to convict 
 him : And after all his zeal of prosecution, he 
 thought himself obliged, to apply to Elizabeth, 
 for her influence, to obtain an adjournment 
 of this long expected trial. Elizabeth, who 
 delighted to embarras the Scotish queen, sent 
 an express messenger to Edinburgh, for the 
 several objects, of gratifying Lennox, and dis- 
 tressing Mary : But, such an interposition of 
 a foreign sovereign, to obstruct a court of jus- 
 tice, could not be admitted." 1 The judges, ac- 
 
 This important passage shows Bothwell at Murray's table, 
 twenty days after Bothwell had ben charged, publickly, with 
 the murder of Darnley : Nor can there be any doubt, but 
 Murray knew his guilt : as he was himself one of the con- 
 spirators. [Unpublished letter of Kyllygrew in the Paper 
 Office.] 
 
 1 Keith, 369-375, has printed the letters of Lennox with 
 the queen. 
 
 m From that interposition of Elizabeth, and other cir-
 
 J. Earl BothwellJ THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 49 
 
 cordingly, assembled ; the jury was sworn ; and 
 Bolhwell came into court, with Morton, on 
 one hand, and Maitland, on the other, of the 
 culprit : Nor, could he have had more able co- 
 adjutors, than two statesmen, the ablest, the 
 artfullest, and the most audacious, in Scotland." 
 Lennox, being either gained, or terrified, re- 
 mained at Stirling, but sent two agents, Craw- 
 ford, and Cuningham, to support his feeble ac- 
 cusation, who produced some documents to 
 
 cumstances, in her conduct, and Cecil's intrigue, it appears, 
 that they were not let into the real secret of the conspira- 
 tors, as they could not avow such a murder. Elizabeth, and 
 Cecil were led, by such ignorant spies, in Scotland, as 
 Grange, to suppose, that Bothwell was protected, and en- 
 couraged, by the queen j while it was her ministers, and 
 nobles, Maitland., and Murray, and Morton, who contrived, 
 and conducted the plan of the conspiracy, for acquitting 
 Bothwell, and marrying him to the queen, with design to 
 ruin both. When Elizabeth, and Cecil, traversed their mea- 
 sures, for those monstrous ends, they only showed, that they 
 were not in the true secret of the statesmen, who were 
 deeper, than themselves : We ought not to be surprised, 
 then, that Mary was betrayed, and deluded, by those mis- 
 creants, to her ruin. 
 
 n Camden's Hist. Transl. 93-4. Belforest, the author of 
 " Innocence de Marie," concurs with Camden. And the 
 letter, from Drury to Cecil, of the 15th of April 1567j 
 giving him the result of Elizabeth's endeavours, to delay the 
 trial of Bothwell. [See this interesting letter in the AW* 
 No. I. to this Memoir."]
 
 50 THE LIFE OF [MM. IV. Memoir of 
 
 prove BothwelFs guilt, and desired forty days 
 delay, to give in additional proofs. And there 
 being no proper prosecutor, nor any adequate 
 proof, he was, necessarily, acquitted, by the 
 court, and jury, according to the previous con- 
 cert of the conspirators. Thus, successful was 
 Bothwell, under such protection. 
 
 But, he was still more successful, under the 
 same influences, at the subsequent Parliament, 
 which met two days after the trial. It ratified 
 all Bothwell's titles ; but not the acquittal of 
 Bothwell, by the Justice Court. The Parlia- 
 ment of April 1567 may be fitly called the 
 healing Parliament ; considering how many 
 confirmations, and ratifications, were passed by 
 it, under a convenient compromise of all parties, 
 and a proper attention to all interests. 1 * 
 
 Thus supported by Morton, and Maitland, 
 and by Murray's faction, Bothwell went on 
 
 That ratification is asserted by every one, who wrote 
 privately about it, and who considered it as a fact, universally, 
 known. It was expressly asserted, by the convention, at 
 Dunbarton, of seven earls, twelve lords, eight bishops, and 
 eight abbots, who sat, in that Parliament, and must have 
 known the fact. [Goodall, ii. 361.] The Act of ratification 
 does appear in the Ada Par I. ii. 550. 
 
 ' See a list of the Acts of this Session, in Keith, 1 78-9- 
 80 3 and the Parliamentary Record, 752 : Yet, if we might 
 believe common history, it was called, merely, to restore 
 Huntley, and confirm the titles of Bothwell.
 
 J. Earl Bothwell.] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 61 
 
 prosperously towards the great object of his 
 guilty career. The Parliament had, scarcely, 
 risen, when a bond was signed, by eight bishops, 
 with the Archbishop of St. Andrews, at their 
 head, by nine earls, by Maitland and Morton, 
 in their front, and by seven lords, on the 20th 
 of April 1567, approving of Bothwell's acquit- 
 tal ; recommending him, as the properest per 
 son, for the queen's husband ; and pledging 
 themselves to defend such a marriage, with 
 their lives, and fortunes. 11 Thus fortified, Both- 
 
 i See that notorious document, in Keith, 380. Among 
 the earls, was conspicuous Morton, who now possessed the 
 great secret of the conspiracy, under which that abominable 
 business was transacted j and managed the whole, for Mur- 
 ray's interest ; and Argyle, Rothes, and Lord Boyd, who 
 had all leagued, with Murray, in his interested rebellion 
 against the queen's marriage with Darnley. What was this 
 disgraceful measure, but the surrender of the queen's person, 
 into the hands of a ruffian, and a murderer ! Morton, when 
 he was about to lay his guilty neck upon the block, said, 
 that he signed the abovementioned bond, under the influence 
 of a precept, from the queen ; but, if ever such a precept 
 appeared, it was an obvious forgery, for a particular moment: 
 And, Morton, died on the scaffold, with a dozen lies in his 
 falsifying throat. Yet, I do not concur with Mr. Tytler, 
 in thinking, that the abominable bond had any weight with 
 the queen, in persuading her to marry Bothwell : It only 
 emboldened an audacious man, to do that, which induced 
 her to think it necessary to give him her sullied hand. From 
 Melvil (Mem. 80.) we learn, ' ' that in Dunbar-castle, Both-
 
 58 THE LIFE OF [MEM. IV. Memoir of 
 
 well thought himself double sure of the objects, 
 which had been held up to his ambitious eyes, 
 by his coadjutors in villainy. Four days after 
 the date of that bond of assurance, he marched 
 out at the head of a thousand horsemen ; and 
 seizing the queen's person, at the Foulbrigs, 
 near Edinburgh, on her return from Stirling ; 
 he carried her, forcibly, with her principal at- 
 tendants, to the castle of Dunbar. The queen 
 was thus, plainly, delivered into the hands of 
 a ruffian, by the nobility, and bishops, who 
 signed that bond, and were accessories to his 
 villainy, though some of them meant well.* As 
 
 well boasted^ he would marry the queen, who would, or who 
 would not ; yea, whether she would herself, or not 5" and 
 then Melvil, who was a prisoner, with the queen, in Dun- 
 bar-castle, adds, " the queen could not but marry him ; 
 seeing he had done that, which obliged her to give her con- 
 sent." This, then, being the fact, the enquiry is reduced to 
 a question of female delicacy. Elizabeth would have chosen 
 his head : Mary, who was less masculine, chose to accept 
 his odious hand. The Bishop of Ross, who was a civilian, 
 and a casuist, says, in his Defence of the Queen's Innocence, 
 " Mary, nothing suspecting the guilt of the Earl, after his 
 acquittal, yielded to that, to the which those crafty, and se- 
 ditious heads, and the very necessity of the time (as it then 
 to her seemed) did, in a manner, enforce her." Now, the 
 necessity, which enforces, must justify : Necessitas quod cogit 
 defendit. 
 
 ' On the 20th of December 1567, at the Parliament the n
 
 J. Earl Bothwell.'] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 53 
 
 those several charges against Bothwell were 
 found, by Parliament, to be true, we are obliged 
 to believe, that the facts charged were real. What- 
 ever glosses may have been put upon them, by 
 ignorance, or the partiality of historians ; as the 
 highest authority thus adjudged Both well to be 
 guilty of those several points of treason, we 
 are equally bound, to regard him, as guilty, and 
 the queen, as innocent ; considering that, she 
 had been coerced, by the power of a ruffian, 
 whom she could not resist. 
 
 But, Bothwell, after all those traitorous pro- 
 ceedings, against the Queen, had still a wife, 
 whose marriage contract was to be dissolved ; 
 and her connection to be, legally, discharged, 
 
 held by the Earl of Murray, James Earl of Bothwell, and 
 six assistants, were impeached, and convicted of the follow- 
 ing crimes: 1. for the murder of the king's father ; 2. for 
 ravishing of the queen's person, at the Foulbrigs ; 3 for 
 imprisoning of her person in the castle of Dunbar ; 4. for 
 compelling her to complete a marriage with him j 5. for 
 stuffing, and holding of the said castle. [Sir Lewis Steuart's 
 MS. Co/.] The genuine record of those proceedings has been 
 lately printed, in the Acta Parliamentorum, under the au- 
 thority of the Record Commissioners. A copy of the same 
 record had been sent to Cecil, at the time, and now remains, 
 in the Paper Office : But, a collation with the genuine re- 
 cord evinces, that the copy was vitiated, in disfavour of the 
 Queen, by the very miscreants, who were her own servants, 
 but leagued with Murray Maitland, and Morton.
 
 54 THE LIFE OF [MEM. IV. Memoir of 
 
 before he could proceed the full length of his 
 ambitious aims.* And, he commenced a pro- 
 cess, in the Archbishop's Consistory Court, 
 for a divorce on the pretence of consangui- 
 nity. 1 And his wife sued her husband be- 
 fore the Consistorial Court of Edinburgh, for 
 a divorce, on a charge of adultery : The sen- 
 tence of divorce, on her suit, was pronounced 
 on the 3d of May 1567 ; and on his suit, the 
 marriage was declared null, on the 7th of May 
 1567 : Whether the parties to those proceed- 
 ings could marry again ; he to some other 
 woman ; and she, to some other man ; was 
 then doubted by the gravest lawyers : They 
 both did, in fact, marry again. The Queen 
 herself had not completely made up her opinion 
 on the effect of a divorce ; but, she was over- 
 powered, by a necessity, which enforced her 
 acquiescence, though with many a sigh." 
 
 In this manner, then, did the conspirators, 
 and Bothwell, accomplish their insidious pur- 
 pose, for effecting the Queen's marriage with 
 Bothwell, in pursuance of the plot. 
 
 Before the divorce, Bothwell granted to his wife, for 
 life, the lands, and town, of Nether Hales, iu Hadington- 
 shire ; which grant was confirmed, by a charter, under the 
 Great Seal, on the 10th of June 1567. [Privy Seal Reg. 
 xxxvi. fol. 115.] 
 
 1 They were/ourf/t coutint. 
 
 u Keith 389-94.
 
 J. Earl Bothwell.] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 55 
 
 At the end of a dozen days imprisonment, 
 Bothweil brought the Queen, under the es- 
 cort of his horsemen, to Edinburgh-castle, 
 preparatory to his marriage with her, the con- 
 summation of all his wishes, and the reward 
 of all his crimes ; though he did not reflect, 
 amidst his reveries of enjoyment, that the 
 moment of his marriage with her, was, also, 
 the fulfilment of the compact, with his coad- 
 jutors in crime : On his part, he had murdered 
 Darnley; on their parts, they had obtained 
 his acquittal, for the crime, and had enabled 
 him to marry the Queen : From the moment 
 of this marriage, their amity with Bothwell 
 ceased ; and their enmity began, if it were not 
 already begun.* 
 
 x It has been already seen, that Elizabeth., and Cecil, 
 were not informed of the whole extent of the conspiracy : 
 They began to perceive, however, from the turn, which the 
 whole affair was taking, by the charge against Bothwell, and 
 the probability of the Queen's marriage with him ; that the 
 whole would end in her ruin : When Elizabeth, and Cecil, 
 attempted to prevent the acquittal of Bothwell, they acted 
 without knowledge of the whole conspiracy: But, when 
 Murray passed through London, about the 14th of April 
 1567, he, probably hinted enough to Cecil, to show him, 
 that a storm was approacing, which would lay the fortunes 
 of the Queen, and Bothwell, in ruins. In the Paper Office, 
 there is a letter from Bedford, Elizabeth's chief officer at 
 Berwick (then being in the south,) dated the 1 1th of May
 
 56 THE LIFE OF [MEM. IV. Memoir of 
 
 The Queen now thought herself obliged to 
 make a declaration before the Court of Session., 
 who had ceased to sit, when the judges heard 
 of her imprisonment ; allowing of their conduct ; 
 acknowledging her forgiveness of Bothwell ; 
 and avowing her liberty ; though she felt, that 
 she acted, by a constraint on her will. 7 The 
 banns of marriage were published in a church 
 of Edinburgh, though not without opposition. 
 She created Bothwell, Duke of Orkney. And 
 she was publickly married to him, in the Chapel 
 of Holyrood-house, by Adam, the Bishop of 
 Orkney, on the 15th of May 1567.' The news 
 
 ] 567 to Cecil : " I understand by your last letters, that her 
 majesty's meaning is, to have me make haste Northward, to 
 comfort those Lords of Scotland, that are joined together 
 to withstand Bothwell's attempt. I mean to be at Berwick 
 as soon as may be." The Queen was only married to Both, 
 well four days after We now perceive, that Cecil, even be- 
 fore the llth of May, was master of what was to happen. 
 But, who informed him ? The answer must be, Murray : 
 and Murray was completely acquainted with the detail of the 
 plot ; and acquainted Cecil with the results ; that Morton, 
 and his associates, would draw their swords against the 
 Queen and Bothwell, the moment after their marriage. 
 Cecil's letters, in the Cabala, correspond, exactly, with the 
 reasoning, from Bedford 's letter to Cecil. 
 
 T Keith, 385. 
 
 1 There are three contracts of marriage, between the 
 Queen and Bothwell, in Goodall's App. ii. 54-61 : The two
 
 J. Earl Bothwell"] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 57 
 
 of this marriage, with the supposed murderer 
 of her husband, was speedily spread over Eu- 
 rope ; and was received, with indignation, 
 by all those, who did not know the circum- 
 stances, which compelled the Queen to act ; 
 and who did not advert, that whoever obeys a 
 power that cannot be resisted, acts, innocently, 
 in a moral sense. 
 
 From henceforward, we must consider Both- 
 well, as no longer supported, by Murray, 
 Morton, Maitland, and the other conspirators. 
 Morton, and his associates, now began to band 
 together, secretly, at first, but, more openly, 
 afterwards, when they drew their swords, on the 
 10th of June 1567. a The Queen, and Both- 
 
 first are obvious forgeries. The third is the real contract, in 
 57-61 : It was witnessed, by the Archbishop of St. Andrew's, 
 two other bishops, by Huntley, the Chancellor, Maitland, 
 the Secretary of State, by the Justice-clerk, and her advo- 
 cate, by the Earls of Crawford, and Rothes, Lord Lindsey, 
 Lord Herries, Lesley the Bishop of Ross, who signed this 
 contract, cries out shame upon the subsequent conduct of 
 the Bishop of Orkney. 
 
 * There remains, in the Paper Office, a letter from Kirk- 
 aldy of Grange to the Earl of Bedford, whose spy he was, 
 dated the 26th of April 1567 : He desired to know what 
 part Queen Elizabeth will take : There are men enow would 
 revenge the murder, but are afraid of Elizabeth. The Queen 
 did, soon after, take her part against the Scotish Queen, and
 
 58 THE LIFE OF [MEM. IV. Memoir of 
 
 well, knew so little of the intrigues, which we re 
 carrying on against them, even before the epoch 
 of their marriage, that they were in danger of 
 a surprise, when they fled hastily, to Borth- 
 wick-castle, on the 6th of June 1567 ; leaving 
 Edinburgh-castle in the doubtfull hands of 
 Sir James Balfour. b Morton, and his associates, 
 entered Edinburgh, four days after, with the 
 good will of the Provost, and citizens ; and the 
 insurgent nobles, at once, assumed the govern- 
 ment of the whole nation, as if an abdication 
 had already taken place. The avowed prin- 
 ciple of their insurrection, was, for freeing the 
 Queen, from captivity, for preserving the prince, 
 and for punishing the murderers of her late 
 husband. 6 Morton, who was the chief of the 
 
 Both well j and, as we have seen, she ordered Bedford, to 
 repair to Berwick ; to comfort the lords, who were leagued 
 together to withstand Both well. Morton, who had urged on 
 Bothwell to his fate, put himself in arms against Bothwell, 
 on the 10th of June. Kirkaldy, we thus see, was quite out 
 of the real secret. 
 
 b Lesley's Defence, 20 ; Keith, 398. 
 
 c Keith, 399 ; Anderson's Col. i. 128 : Goodall, i. 366-7 : 
 The proclamations of the insurgents were, undoubtedly, 
 very artful, and threw the Queen into a complete snare. The 
 audacity of impudence, in Morton, by acting thus, would be 
 very wonderful, in any other character, than in such a mis- 
 creant : He was the leading member of the conspiracy : He
 
 J. Earl BothwelL] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 59 
 
 insurgents, was also one of the chief murderers 
 of Darnley. 
 
 Morton was now the very soul of this new 
 insurrection ; having the secret of Murray, with 
 the confidence of Cecil: And, he drew his 
 sword, and went into insurrection, which was 
 wholly founded upon an audacious assump- 
 tion of what did not exist, except in gross pre- 
 tence : The Queen was, no longer, in captivity ; 
 the Prince was safe, within Stirling-castle, in 
 the care of Mar, one of the insurgents ; and 
 Morton himself, Maitland, the Secretary, and 
 James Earl Bothwell, were the three principal 
 assassins/ Morton had already conducted the 
 conspiracy of Craigmillar with complete success 
 
 it was, who encouraged Bothwell to commit the murder ; he 
 was himself guilty of the same crime ; and was afterwards 
 convicted, and executed for the treason : Morton stood, by 
 Bothwell, in the Justice-court, and obtained his acquittal : 
 And, he was, afterwards, the leader in the bond, for de- 
 fending Bothwell's innocence, and his marriage, with the 
 Queen. The duplicity of this principal villain is the strong- 
 est evidence of the plot, and of the depravity of the con- 
 spiracy. 
 
 d Morton, and Maitland, were both convicted, and died 
 for this very offence, which they now so much deplored ; 
 and for punishing whereof they now took arms : The Queen 
 afterwards, complained, that no one drew his sword, for her 
 relief, before her marriage with Bothwell !
 
 60 THE LIFE OF [MEM. IV. Memoir of 
 
 to the very last object of that nefarious plot, 
 namely, the dethronement of the Queen : And 
 he now took arms, to free her from captivity. 
 Four days, after, those purposes of insurrection 
 were avowed, by proclamation, the Queen left 
 Bothwell, at Carberry-hill, who was desired, 
 to retire, quietly, and no one should follow him ; 
 and on the 15th of June 1567, she joined the 
 insurgents ; taking merely, a verbal engage- 
 ment, that they would receive her, as their 
 Queen, and obey her, as their sovereign, ac- 
 cording to their avowed principles. They im- 
 mediately, violated all their engagements, whe- 
 ther by proclamation, or by verbal agreement : 
 They carried the deluded Queen, as a captive, to 
 Edinburgh ; and in the subsequent night, sent 
 her a prisoner to Lochleven-castle, on such mo- 
 tives, as would not justify the detention of a 
 prostitute, for a night . e As the Queen was now 
 
 * The warrant, for committing the Queen to prison, and 
 dethroning her, may be seen, in Laing's Appendix. [Keith, 
 402-3.] Of those events the following is Cecil's delusive 
 account toNorris, the English Ambassador, at Paris : "The 
 best part the nobility hath confederated themselves, to follow, 
 by way of justice, the condemnation of Bothwell, and his 
 complices, for the murder of the King : Bothwell defends 
 himself, by the Queen's maintenance, and the Hamiltons ; 
 so as he hath some party, though it be not great : The 15th 
 of this month, he brought the Queen into the field j with
 
 J. Earl Bothwell.'] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 61 
 
 dethroned, here was the denouement of the tra- 
 gical plot of Craigmillar-castle. 
 
 When the Queen left Bothwell, at Carberry- 
 hill, on assurances, that were never fulfilled, 
 Kirkaldy, the agent, for the insurgents, took 
 him, by the hand, and desired him to withdraw, 
 while he would ensure his safety. Deserted 
 thus by the Queen, on the 1 5th of June, a little 
 month, after their marriage, and opposed, by 
 those, who had engaged to defend his inno- 
 cence, and his marriage, Bothwell retired, from 
 the tented field to Dunbar-castle, 
 
 " With shame, and sorrow, fill'd : 
 
 Shame for his folly ; sorrow out of time, 
 For plotting an unprofitable crime." 
 
 But, according to Cecil's misrepresentation, 
 the insurgents only restrained the Queen, until 
 they came to the end of their pursuit against 
 Bothwell, who had been already acquitted, and 
 secondly declared innocent, by the chiefs of the 
 insurgents themselves : Yet, the conspirators 
 
 her power, which was so small, as he escaped himself, with- 
 out fighting, and left the Queen, in the field ; and she yield- 
 ing herself to the lords, flatly denied, to grant justice against 
 Both well; so as they have restrained her, in Lochleven, 
 until they may come to the end of their pursuit against 
 Bothwell." Such, then, is the deliberate falsehood of Secre- 
 tary Cecil ! And, the Cabala is the record of his guilt. This 
 story, however, was sufficient to delude the court of France. 
 VOL. III. F
 
 62 THE LIFE OF [MEM. IV. Memoir of 
 
 having obtained the great prize of the Queen's 
 person, plainly permitted Both well to retire, 
 without pursuit, to Dunbar-castle. f 
 
 On the 16th of June, the insurgent nobles 
 entered into a bond of association, " for prose- 
 cuting the Earl of Bothwell." And, in this 
 association was included Sir James Balfour, 
 the keeper of Edinburgh-castle, who had been 
 gained, by Secretary Maitland. On the 20th 
 of June, Bothwell is said to have sent his ser- 
 vant, Dalgleish, to the castle, to bring, from 
 Balfour, a boxful of letters, which Morton as- 
 
 f Camden, the fairest, and best historian of those terrible 
 times, is positive upon the point, that Bothwell was allowed 
 to escape j as his detention was dangerous to the insurgents 
 themselves j and as their real intention was the dethrone- 
 ment of the Queen : They now had her in Lochleven, and 
 had only to say, that she was no longer Queen, and to pro- 
 claim her son, with Murray for his regent. " Scarcely had 
 Murray left England," says Camden, " when those, who had 
 acquitted Bothwell, from the guilt of the murder, and had 
 given him their consent under their hands (by the bond) to 
 the marriage, took arms against him, as if they would appre- 
 hend him ; whereas, indeed, they gave him secret notice, to 
 provide, for himself, by flight } and this, to no other pur- 
 pose, but lest he, being apprehended, should reveal the 
 whole plot j and that they might allege his flight, as an 
 argument to accuse the Queen of the murder of the King." 
 [Life ofEliz. Transl. 94.] The whole State Papers confirm 
 this representation of Camden, who had his accurate in- 
 formation, from the Cottonian Library.
 
 J. Earl Bothwell.] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 63 
 
 serted he had intercepted : But, what is impro- 
 bable is not easily believed ! On the 26th of 
 June, Dalgleish was examined, by Morton and 
 other Privy Counsellors, concerning the King's 
 murder ; but, they did not ask him a question, 
 about the interception of the box. On the same 
 26th of June, there was issued an Act of the 
 Privy Council, " for apprehending Bothwell :" 
 He is now charged, with being the principal 
 actor in the murder ; with ravishing the Queen's 
 person, with enforcing her to marry him : Con- 
 sidering her as an oppressed, and innocent 
 woman, under his bondage and thraldom : And, 
 the insurgents offered a reward of a thousand 
 crowns, for bringing him to Edinburgh ; in 
 order that justice may be done upon him. This 
 proceeding, ten days after the Queen had been 
 imprisoned in Lochleven, is a mockery to her ; 
 while they gave notice to the wrong-doer, to 
 withdraw from a country, that could no longer 
 tolerate him. Ten days after, he did retire, 
 from Dunbar, by water, into Murray-shire, 
 where he was entertained, by his grand-uncle, 
 the bishop, in the same house of Spynie, where 
 he had been bred. He was not long after 
 obliged to seek for shelter, in his Dukedom 
 of Orkney, where he was refused access into 
 the castle, by Gilbert Balfour, his own keeper 
 of it. As he was now pursued, by a small
 
 64 THE LIFE OF [MEM. IV. Memoir of 
 
 fleet, which had been sent, from Leith, in 
 quest of him, he fled to the coast of Norway, 
 where he was arrested, by the Danish govern- 
 ment. It is quite apparent, that the chief con- 
 spirators, Murray, Morton, aud Maitland, had 
 a stronger interest, in driving Bothwell, from 
 Dunbar, after three weeks respite, than in 
 bringing him, for trial, to Edinburgh ; g as he 
 had their engagements, in writing, to save him 
 harmless ; and might easily have disclosed the 
 detail of the whole conspiracy. 
 
 Bothwell, after a long respite, was at length 
 driven away from Scotland. He could not 
 now reveal secrets; he could not state the 
 names, and the conduct of all those, who had 
 prompted, and aided him, to make his trea- 
 sonous attack on the Queen's person, and to 
 force her to marry him. He remained many a 
 year, in the prisons of Denmark, while the Da- 
 nish King, understanding the true state of the 
 singular facts, refused to deliver him, either to 
 Elizabeth's desire, or the regent's entreaty. 11 
 
 * On the last of September, the castle of Dunbar, which 
 had been held, for Bothwell, hitherto, was surrendered to 
 the Regent Murray, who ordered it to be demolished. Bir- 
 rel, 14. 
 
 h Elizabeth, on the 29th of March 1 568, wrote to the 
 Danish King a letter, on the same subject ; urging him to 
 cause Bothwell to be delivered to the Scotish government.
 
 J. Earl Bothwell.'] THE SCOTTISH QUEEN. 65 
 
 Both well , however, some years after, signified 
 his consent to be divorced, from the Queen, 
 who could no longer be of any benefit to him. 
 
 On the 20th of December 1567, the last day 
 of Murray's Parliament, Bothwell was forfeited, 
 for various points of treason, concerning the 
 Queen's personal arrestment, and enforced 
 marriage, which form the most decisive proofs, 
 of the Queen's innocence, who could not be 
 guilty, while she acted under the constraint, 
 that she could not resist. 1 The regent's go- 
 vernment, consisting, chiefly, of the conspi- 
 rators against the Queen, carried their zeal, for 
 the punishments of Bothwell, and his agents, 
 to a great height, as it freed themselves from 
 suspicion. 
 
 The regent Murray sent Stewart, the Lion 
 King, to Denmark, not only to announce his 
 elevation, but to solicit the delivery of Bothwell, 
 
 [See her violent letter, in Hearne's Robert of Gloucester, ii. 
 671-3.] 
 
 1 Birrel, 14. Sir Lewis Stewart's MS. Collections; and the 
 Acta Parl. iii. 5-8. It is at the same time remarkable, that 
 the Privy Council, with Morton, at the head of it, in an Act 
 of the 31st of July, charged Bothwell, with treasonably 
 seizing the Queen's person ; with leading her captive to 
 Dunbar ; with constraining her, being in his bondage, and 
 thraldom, to contract a marriage with him. [Anderson's 
 Coll. i. 142.] These were three of the very treasons, for 
 which the Parliament of December 1567, attainted Bothwell.
 
 66 THE LIFE OF [MEM. IV. Memoir of 
 
 which was not conceded to those, who were 
 not supposed to be quite innocent themselves. 
 The regent Lennox sent Morton, Pitcairne, and 
 M*Gill, to solicit Elizabeth, for the delivery of 
 Mary to him ; and he dispatched Thomas Bu- 
 chanan, to Copenhagen; in order to obtain 
 the guilty person of Bothwell : But, as the ob- 
 jects of those solicitations were known, and 
 detested, neither the Queen, nor Bothwell, was 
 delivered into such treacherous hands. k 
 
 In the meantime, the friends of Mary were 
 more successful, when they applied to Bothwell, 
 for a written assent, to his divorce from the 
 Queen : In 1569, he gave a letter, or rather a 
 mandate to Lord Boyd, signifying his assent 
 
 k Morton, and his two associates, received, while they 
 were at the court of Elizabeth, a letter from Thomas Bu- 
 chanan, Lennox's agent, in Denmark, dated on the 20th of 
 January 1570-1 . They detained this letter, for some time, 
 from the Regent Lennox : For that we had no will, said 
 they, the contents of the same should be known ; fearing 
 that some words, or matters, mentioned in the same, being 
 dispersed here, as such news should rather have hindered, 
 than furthered our cause : Being asked, by Secretary Cecil, 
 to see this letter, from Thomas Buchanan, they gave him a 
 copy 5 omitting such things, as they thought not meet to 
 be shown. [Goodall, ii. 332.] Knaves will always act as 
 knaves : We thus see, Morton, the Chancellor of Scotland, 
 the Secretary of State, and M'Gill, the Clerk Register, im- 
 posing upon the English government, by a falsification !
 
 J. Earl Bothwell.'] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 67 
 
 to such a divorce. 1 But, when Lord Boyd 
 repaired to the Convention of Perth, in Fe- 
 bruary 1572-3, the ruling powers refused their 
 assent, though one of the principles of their in- 
 surrection had been, to separate the Queen, 
 from her enforced marriage : But, they acted, 
 merely, as they were required, by Elizabeth, 
 who did not approve of such a divorce, as it 
 might have gratified Mary. 
 
 Bothwell appears, thenceforth, to have been 
 little noticed by any of the parties, either in 
 England, or in Scotland. And, he died in the 
 Danish castle of Malmay, towards the end of 
 1576; declaring with his last breath, that 
 the Scotish Queen was quite unconscious of 
 the death of Darnley, which had been pro- 
 cured, by the advice, and actions of Murray, 
 and Maitland, and Morton. m It is unneces- 
 
 1 The above letter, or mandate, remained among the 
 family papers of Lord Boyd's descendants, even below the 
 year 1746 ; and is a new intimation, for the Scotish histo- 
 rians. 
 
 m Camden's Life of Elizabeth, 137. In Sinclair's MS. His- 
 tory of Scotland, which was written, at the time, and re- 
 mained, in the Scots College, at Paris, till recent times, 
 p. 796-7, there was the following passage : " Bothwell, at 
 " his death, and several times before, declared on his oath, 
 " that he himself committed the murder, by the counsells 
 "of Murray, and Morton; and that the Queen was alto- 
 " gether innocent, and knew nothing of the murder." To
 
 68 THE LIFE OF [MEM. IV. Memoir of 
 
 sary to elaborate such points : Every fact, and 
 circumstance ; every authentick document, and 
 subsequent discovery ; concur to evince the 
 Queen's unconsciousness of her husband's mur- 
 der, which was clearly effected, by the over- 
 powering conspiracy of Murray's faction, with 
 Bothwell, for the conspirators' instrument and 
 victim, on that occasion. 
 
 this, Sinclair added, ' ' that the King of Denmark sent au- 
 ' ' thentick copies of Bothwell's declaration to the Queen of 
 " England, and other princes." In a letter, from Mary, to 
 the Archbishop of Glasgow, her Ambassador, at Paris, dated 
 the 6th of January 1577* in the Scots College, Paris, Mem. 
 Scot. torn. ix. fol. 8, she says, that the King of Denmark 
 had sent to Queen Elizabeth the testament [declaration] of 
 the late Earl of Bothwell ; but, that she had secretly sup- 
 pressed it. Before the Bishop of Sconen, and four of the 
 Danish lords, the Earl of Bothwell solemnly declared what 
 he knew of the late King's death, after apologizing for his 
 weakness, which prevented him, from speaking much, that 
 the Queen was innocent of the King's death j and that he 
 himself, his friends, and certain of the nobility, were the 
 only authors of it. [Mem. Scot. torn. ix. 145.] From Sir 
 John Forster's letter to Secretary Walsingham, we learn, 
 that Bothwell's Testament was given in evidence against 
 Morton on his trial for the King's murder.
 
 J. Earl Bothwell.'] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 69 
 
 SUBSIDIARY DOCUMENTS. 
 
 No. I. Of the Trial of Bothwell, for the Murder of 
 Henry, late King of Scots : Drury's Letter to Cecil, 
 on this subject. 
 
 THAT the trial of Bothwell, on the 12th of April 1567, 
 was collusive is quite apparent : It was an essential part 
 of the conspiracy of Murray's faction, for the King's 
 death, that Bothwell their cat's-paw, should be saved 
 harmless. Morton, and Maitland, acting for that fac- 
 tion, did protect him on his trial ; and did obtain his 
 acquittal. Keith, p. 373-378, has collected the princi- 
 pal circumstances of this notorious adjudication. Sir 
 Lewis Stewart has gathered into his MS. Collections, 
 merely the assize, or list of the Jurors. He concurs with 
 the Documents, in Keith, that the fact of the murder 
 was charged, as committed, on the 9th of February 
 1567, when it ought to have been, on the 10th of the 
 same month. On this head, little more need be said, as 
 indeed little additional is to be attained. But, as Queen 
 Elizabeth interposed, with Mary, to delay the proceed- 
 ings ; sending a letter to that effect, which was conveyed, 
 by the Provost Marshall of Berwick to Holyrood-house ; 
 it may gratify a reasonable curiosity, to see how he was 
 received there, on the morning of the trial of Bothwell ; 
 who appeared to protect him ; and what were the opi- 
 nions of Edinburgh, on that occasion. The letter of 
 Sir Wm. Drury to Secretary Cecil, on those subjects, is
 
 70 THE LIFE OF [MEM. IV. Memoir of 
 
 preserved, in the Paper Office, Vol. 18, No. 20 ; and is 
 hereunto subjoined: 
 
 (2) Right Honorable The Queene's Ma te letter di- 
 rected to the Quene of Scotts I receved the xi hereof, at 
 x of the clock, which forth th I depeached by the Pro- 
 vost Marshall here, who in myne opinion was not the 
 unmeetest I could choose for the purpose. He arrived 
 at the Court the xn th at vi in the moreninge, and then 
 used his diligence ymediatly to deliver his letter, which 
 he hadd in chardge to the Quene, attending some good 
 space in Court, procuring all that he might by the 
 meanes of such as were nere her person, who told him it 
 was earlie, and that her ma ty was asleepe, and therefore 
 advised him to tary some tyme thereabouts till she arose, 
 w ch he did, going owt of the Court in to the towne, and 
 shortely after returned, she being not yet rysen, and 
 therfore walked abowt till ix, or almost tene of the 
 clock, when as all the lords and gentlemen were assembled 
 taking their horsse, and then thinking his opertunitie 
 aptest, going into the Court as a little before he did (the 
 contents of the letter he brought being conjectured and 
 bruted to be for stay of the Assiss) was denyed passage 
 into the court in very uncourtouse maner, not w th out some 
 violence offred, which seing he could not be permitted 
 to have recoursse into the court, as all other persones 
 whatsoever they were ; he requested that some gentel- 
 man of credite would undertake faythefully to deliver his 
 letter from the Queenes iria tie of England to the Quene 
 their sovcreignc, w ch none would seeme to undertake. 
 Uppon this came unto him the Parson of Oldehame- 
 stock, surnamed Heyborne, who told him that th' Erie 
 Bodwell hadd sent him w th this message, that th' Erie
 
 J. Earl Bothwell.-] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 71 
 
 understanding he hadd letters for the Quene, would ad- 
 vise him to retyre him to his ease or abowt some other 
 his buseness, for the Quene was so molested and dis- 
 quieted w th the business of that day, that he saw no like- 
 lehood of anie meete tyme to serve his turne till after the 
 Assiss. Then came the Lorde of Skyrling, who asked 
 him if his letters were ether from the counsell or the 
 Queenes ma tie , he told him from the Queenes ma tie only 
 then sayd he, ye shall be soone dispached, and so re- 
 turning into the Court, desired the said Parson to keepe 
 him company at the gate, w b he did, and therew th es- 
 pieing a Scottisheman whome he hadd for a guide, tooke 
 occasion to reprehend and threaten him of hanging for 
 bringing such Inglishe vilaynes as sought and procured 
 the stay of the Assiss, w th woords of more reproche. 
 In this instant Lidington was coming owt, and Bodwell 
 w th him, at the w ch all the lordes and gentlemen mounted 
 on horssebak, till that Lidington came to him, demaund- 
 ing him the letter, w ch he delivered, th' Erie Bodwell 
 and he returned to the Quene, and stayed theare w th in, 
 halfe an hower. The hole trope of lords and gentelmen 
 still on horsebak attending for his coming. Lidington 
 seemed willing to have passed by the Provost w^out any 
 speach, but he pressed towards him, and asked him yf 
 the Queenes ma tie hadd perused the letter, and what ser- 
 vice it would please her ma tie to comaunde him back 
 agayne. He answered that as yet the Quene was sleep- 
 ing, and therefore hadd not delivered the letter, and 
 thought there would not be anie meete tyme for it till 
 after the Assiss, wherefor he willed him to attende. So 
 giving place to the thronge of people that passed, w eh 
 was greate, and by the estimaCon of men of good judge-
 
 72 THE LIFE OF [MEM. IV. Memoir of 
 
 ments above IIII M - gentlemen besids other Th' Erie 
 Bodwell passed w th a mery and lustie chere, attended on 
 w* all the souldiers being CC all harkebuzers to the 
 Tolbowth, and there kepte the doore, that none might 
 enter but such as were more for the behofe of the one 
 side then the tother. The Assiss began betwene ten and 
 aleven and ended vn in the after none. 
 
 The' Erie of Arguile and Hunteley, cheefe judges. 
 What perticulerly was done or sayde theare I canne not 
 yet lerne, more then that there were two advocats, called 
 Crayforde and Cuningham, for th' Erie of Lenox, who 
 accused th 1 Erie Bodwell for the murder of the King, 
 alleadging certeine documents for the same, and desiring 
 fortie dayes terme lenger, for the more perfitte and 
 readier collection of his proofes, and the said Erie of 
 Lenox woulde be bounde to prove uppon Bodwelle, that 
 it was his act in woorde and deed, arid therfore yf they 
 clered him in that Assiss they protested for wilfull 
 error. 
 
 Sixe of them w ch sett uppon him, neither quited him 
 nor clered, but were silent : who they be I canne not 
 yet tell. 
 
 Th' Erie Morton refused to be of the Assiss, sayeing 
 that to serve her ma tie he would be gladd, howbeitin this 
 cawse thoughe the King hadd forgotten his part in res- 
 pect of nature towards him, yet for that he was his 
 kinseman, he would rather pay the forfecte, which was 
 C ' Scottish. 
 
 Th' Erie Creyford would gladly have been of the As- 
 siss, but could not be admitted. 
 
 Th' Erie Castells because he refused to be of the As- 
 siss, the Quene comaunded him upon payne of treason,
 
 J. Earl Bothwell.] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 73 
 
 eather to goe to ward to Dunbarre, or ells to accepte the 
 other her pleasure. 
 
 It is affirmed that at this Assiss none were sworen. 
 Th' Erie Bodwell hath satt up a cartell ^mediately 
 w th the ending of the Assiss, declaring him selfe quite 
 and clere of this murder, offering him selfe to defende 
 any challenge therof w lh his bodie by anie Scott, Inglish- 
 mann, or Frenshe, or anie other what soever he be, so he 
 be not a person infamed. I have not yet the copie of it, 
 but I looke for it, and your hono' shall have it. 
 
 James Bawfoure mynded w tb full determination to 
 have hadd an Assiss for him in like maner, but nowe 
 uppon I wote not what dowbte, is gladd to take better 
 advisemet. 
 
 Th 1 Erie of Lennox, as one of his owne men sayeth, 
 was on the way coming to the Assiss, till he mett w tb a 
 message from the Quene, that he shuld not come to the 
 Court w th above vi in nomber, whereuppon he returned. 
 Yesterday beganne the Parliamet, in the w ch it is 
 thought shall be little matter more treated then the re- 
 storing Hunteley, and Sutherland, and the advaunce- 
 met of Bodwell to the dukedom of Rossay. Tomorrowe 
 or uppon Fryday it is thought the Quene goeth in per- 
 son to the Parliament. 
 
 Touching Ireland I can yet lerne nothing more then 
 that there are certeine of Aneales men, three or mi or 
 thereabowts, w ch nowe lie at Kingcorne in Scotland, in- 
 tending to embarke for Flaunders, pretending some 
 matter w th King of Spayne nowe at his coming thither. 
 Oconer in Scotland hath sent me a cople of letters w ch 
 Aneale wrote unto the French King, and Cardinall of 
 Loreine, and I send them herew th .
 
 74 THE LIFE OF [MeM. IV. Memoir of 
 
 Touching the aunswere of the Scottishe Quene I send 
 her letter herew th , w ch was the cause of my silence. The 
 messenger could not have his dispach sooner then yes- 
 terday at ii of the clocke, and to importune it other then 
 like a beggar at the gate was not tollerable, for furder 
 recourse he could not have in to the Court, then to 
 the gate, w ch was moore woondred at of all sortes both 
 noble and gentlemen, then he therew th was greved. Le 
 Crocque sayd he would tell the Quene thereof, and 
 Ledington desired him to take it in good part, it was 
 not in him to remedy. 
 
 All the Court nowe weareth the dole, w ch they did 
 not before Le Crocq came. 
 
 The Lord of Skirling, or Trebrown, shall have the 
 office of comptroller of the Queenes howse. 
 
 Th' Erie of Lenox being at Starling of late, sawe the 
 prince, in the presence of the Erie of Marre, whome he 
 requested, as he hadd allwayes been faythfull to the 
 Crowne, so he would, in this chardge, have most earnest 
 regard thereunto. 
 
 Thus having nothing furder to troble your hono"* I 
 humblely take my leave. From Berwick this xv th of 
 Aprill 1567. 
 
 WM. DBURY.
 
 J. Earl Bothwell.] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 75 
 
 No. II. Of the several Grants, which were said to be 
 made, by the Scotish Queen, to James, Earl Both- 
 well. 
 
 THE calumniators of the Queen of Scots talk largely of 
 her loading Bothwell with marks of her bounty, by con- 
 ferring on him extensive estates, and important offices. 3 
 Robertson says, that in the Parliament of April 1567, 
 the Queen granted Bothwell a ratification of all the vast 
 possessions, and honours, which she had conferred upon 
 him. b It ought to have been said, that the Parliament 
 granted a ratification of his estates, and honours, which 
 had descended to him, from his father, and grandfather, 
 except the office of Keeper of the castle of Dunbar, and 
 the castlewards to the same belonging. The ratifica- 
 
 a Robertson's Hist, i. 382; Laing* s Dissertation, i. 12- 
 18, &c. 
 
 b Dissertation, 173, and Hist. i. 248 ; and Laing makes 
 the same assertion, in rather stronger terms, in his Dissert. 
 73 ; and in p. 13, that the Queen had given to Bothwell 
 the office of Lord High Admiral. As a lawyer, Laing might 
 have seen, in Sir James Stuart's Answer to Dirleton's Doubts, 
 that this office had been granted hereditarily, to Earl Adam, 
 in 1511 : I will not charge those writers with stating deli- 
 berate falsehood ; but, I will say, that they had done well, 
 to have learned, distinctly, what they asserted ; when they 
 were to calumniate a woman, and criminate a Queen. 
 
 c Acta Parl. ii. 550-1. Privy Seal Reg. xxxv. fol. 14. 
 On the 1st of March 1566-7, Bothwell had a grant, for the 
 good services done to the Queen-mother, and to the Queen, 
 of all the casualties of ward, &c. due by his father, and him- 
 self, whereof no account had been made, by them, or their
 
 76 THE LIFE OF [MEM. IV. Memoir of 
 
 tion, which was granted to Bothwell, by this healing 
 Parliament, in April 1567, was only one, among a hun- 
 dred others, particularly to Murray, and Morton, and to 
 their friends. But, such were the prejudices of Robert- 
 son, and Laing, that they did not comprehend what was 
 done, at that memorable Parliament/ 
 
 2. The second head of calumniation arises, from the 
 willing falsehood of Knox, concerning the Lieutenancy of 
 the Borders : He tells us, e " that on BothwelPs return 
 to Scotland, in 1565, during Murray's rebellion, Bothwell 
 was placed on the Council, and appointed Lieutenant of 
 the Middle and West Marches/ Upon the falsehood of 
 Knox, Robertson and Laing built their own fabricks : 
 Robertson tell us, " Bothwell was, in 1566, Lieutenant 
 or Warden, of all the Marches, an office among the most 
 important, in the kingdom ; and though, usually, divided 
 into three distinct governments, bestowed, by the Queen's 
 
 deputies, in the Queen's checker. [Privy Seal Reg. xxxvi. 
 fol. 24.] Robertson, and Laing, who did not search the re- 
 cords for facts, seem not to have known of this grant of 
 casualties to Bothwell. 
 
 d See a list of the Acts of Parliament, which were then 
 passed, in Keith 879-80, and the printed Parl. Record. 
 752. e Hist. 385. 
 
 f Keith, 187> has transcribed, from the Privy Council 
 Register, of the 6th of September 1561, the appointment of 
 Bothwell, as a Privy Counsellor, on the Queen's arrival 
 from France, when her bastard brother, the Lord James, was 
 appointed chief minister; and when James Earl of Both- 
 well was placed the fourth, on the list of Privy Counsellors, 
 under the ministry of the Lord James, as Mar, or Murray.
 
 J. Earl Bothwell.] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 7? 
 
 favour, upon him alone :& So, Laing says, that in addi- 
 tion to the Wardenship of the three Marches, till then 
 conferred upon separate persons, he was rewarded, with 
 the office of Lieutenant. h It is not true, that Bothwell 
 was ever made Warden of the Marches ; at that time, 
 Lord Hume was Warden of the East Marches ; Kerr 
 of Cessford of the Middle Marche ; and Sir John Max- 
 well of the West : The office, which Bothwell held, was 
 Lieutenant of the Marches, an office, that had never 
 been held, by three persons : To this office, James Earl 
 Bothwell was first appointed, in 1559, when the queen- 
 mother was almost overpowered, by the insurgents : And, 
 he was again appointed, when the Queen was occupied, 
 with the rebellion of Murray, her minion, and when 
 Bothwell's services were wanted, and several other Lieu- 
 tenants were appointed, in different districts : It was at 
 the time, when Morton led her army, Northward, when 
 he ought to have pursued to the Southward ; and when 
 Secretary Maitland remained about her person, to betray 
 her counsels ; as we know, from Randolph. 
 
 3. The third head of Calumniation is the grant of the 
 Abbeys to Bothwell : Knox, or his continuator, assures 
 us that, (after the death of Rizzio) the Queen gave Both- 
 well the Abbeys of Melros, Hadington, and Newbottle, 
 and also the castle of Dunbar, with the principal lands of 
 the Earldom of March, which were the patrimony of the 
 Crown. 1 This mass of misrepresentation, Laing amplifies 
 in the following manner : k "On the assassination of 
 
 * Hist. i. 228. h Divert, i. 13. 
 
 1 Hist of the Eef. 296. 
 
 k Dissert. 13 : The authorities quoted by him are, Knox, 
 VOL. III. G
 
 78 THE LIFE OF [MEM. IV. Memoir of 
 
 Rizzio, Bothwell acquired, by his successful services, the 
 most unbounded influence over the mind of the Queen : 
 In addition to the Wardenship of the Three Marches, 
 till then conferred upon separate persons, he was reward- 
 ed with the office of Lord High Admiral, the Abbeys of 
 Melros, and Hadington, and the Castle and Lordship 
 of Dunbar, together with an extensive grant of the 
 Crown demesnes." What egregious misrepresentation ! 
 The continuator of Knox, merely, states the grant of the 
 three Abbeys of Melros, Hadington, and Newbottle. 
 Now ; of Melros, first : Bothwell never obtained this 
 Abbey, from the Queen ; and could not obtain it ; as it 
 was held for life, by Michael Balfour, the Commendator, 
 who held it till his death, in 1 56Q. The administration 
 had rather been taken from Bothwell, by the Queen's mi 
 nion, soon after her return, in August 1561. Bothwell, 
 when acting, strenuously, on the Borders, as Lieutenant, 
 for the regent Queen, appears to have obtained, from 
 her, the administration of the vacant Abbey, which he 
 held till the Queen's return : It was then taken from him, 
 and given to his rival, Arran, by his enemy, the Queen's 
 minion. 1 When Arran lost his senses, in 1562, th e 
 
 296 j Anderson, i. 96 ; Melvil, 69 : But, in Melvil, there is 
 not a word of these grants : In Anderson, there is not a 
 syllable of these grants, but he says, that he had his great 
 offices hereditarily : Even in Knox's Continuation, which 
 Laing quotes, and stigmatizes, by turns, there is not a word 
 of the grant of the office of Lord High Admiral, nor of the 
 grant of the demesnes of the Crown. Much of Laing's 
 misrepresentation is copied into the last Peerage, article, 
 Bothwell. Thns is calumny propagated! 
 
 1 Keith, 196-202, and Randolph's letter to Cecil, llth 
 November 1561.
 
 J, Earl Bothwell.] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 79 
 
 Abbey of Metros was granted for life to Michael Balfour, 
 who probably obtained this Commendatorship, by the 
 influence of Maitland, who partook of the profits." 1 We 
 thus see, how the records, which contain the facts, over- 
 throw the misstatements of the historians, and at the 
 same time, expose the avaricious villainy of the reformed 
 nobles. 
 
 2. The second Abbey laid to the charge of Bothwell 
 was that of Hadington, which, with its lands, lay in the 
 midst of his domains : His progenitors had, by establish- 
 ed usage, enjoyed the right of presenting a Prioress, 
 when death made a vacancy. According to the establish- 
 ed custom, Earl Patrick presented to this Abbey his 
 kinswoman, Elizabeth Hepburn, who was Prioress, at 
 the epoch of the Reformation. In 1560, and in 1561, 
 Earl James applied to Mary, both in France, and in 
 Scotland, after her return ; stating the rights of his pro- 
 
 m Privy Seal Reg. xxxii. fol. 56 j Ib. xxxiii. 73. And 
 Balfour was, moreover, saddled with a yearly pension of 50O 
 marks, out of the revenues of Melros, to the Earl of Glen- 
 cairn, who was called the good earl, for his zeal in destroying 
 churches : the good earl having followed the good Earl of 
 Murray into rebellion, was denounced a rebel j and Bothwell 
 for his services in crushing the traitorous crimes of the good 
 earls, obtained, in December 1565, a grant of the escheat of 
 Glencairn's pension. Ib. xxxiv. fol. 24. This grant was, 
 however, rendered nugatory, by the pardon of Glencairns, by 
 Murray's influence, 19th March 1565-6. When Balfour 
 died, in 1569, the Regent Murray granted this Abbey to his 
 nephew, James Douglas, the second son, who was then a 
 boy, of William Douglas of Lochleven. Privy Seal Reg. 
 xxxviii. fol. 77-
 
 80 THE LIFE OF [MEM. IV. Memoir of 
 
 genitors, and claiming the disposition of this Abbey, 
 when it should become vacant ; as being " the native 
 room, and kindly possession of his family :" And to this 
 pretension, the Queen assented. But, in 1563, when 
 Bothwell was in distress, Secretary Maitland obtained a 
 grant ofjeejirm, from Elizabeth, the Prioress, of all the 
 lands, belonging to her Abbey : And this grant was 
 confirmed to him, by a charter, under the Great Seal, in 
 December 1564." After the death of the Prioress, the 
 Queen, in December 1563, gave her Secretary a grant of 
 the profits of this Abbey, of which his father, Sir Ri- 
 chard, and his brother, John, were appointed the Stew- 
 ards, until the appointment of a Prioress." Under this 
 grant, Secretary Maitland enjoyed the profits, until March 
 1565-6, when he engaged in the conspiracy against Riz- 
 zio; and was thereupon obliged to abscond. Bothwell 
 now seized so favourable an occasion, to renew the claims 
 of his family to the patronage of this Abbey, whereof he 
 had been deprived, by the artifices of Secretary Maitland, 
 even in opposition to the Queen's engagement : And, 
 upon this representation, the King, and Queen, on the 
 Qth of March 1565-6, appointed Dame Isabel Hepburn 
 the Prioress of Hadington Abbey, during her life.P But, 
 the Abbey, which was despoiled of its lands, was of little 
 value ; and the new Prioress, only, enjoyed some annui- 
 ties, and tithes. The lands of this Abbey were held, by 
 Secretary Maitland, till his forfeiture, in 1571, when they 
 were given, by the regent Lennox, to Lord Lindsay, and 
 other partizans. The foregoing representations exhibit 
 a genuine picture of what occurred, in almost every dis- 
 
 " Privy Seal Reg. xxxii. fol. 128. Ib. 18. 
 
 P Ib. xxxiv. 55.
 
 .7. Earl Bothwell.] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 81 
 
 trict of a distracted country : There were two, or more 
 pretenders to every casualty of the Crown, which, on 
 every occasion, was by them solicited ; and when the 
 Queen determined the matter, in favour of one of the 
 claimants, the one became ungrateful, and the other dis- 
 contented. 
 
 3. The third charge against Bothwell for monopolizing 
 Abbeys, was that of Newbottle : But, the charge, in this 
 case, was more groundless, than the other two : In 1546, 
 Mark Kerr the second son of Andrew Kerr of Cessford, 
 was appointed Commendator of Newbottle, during life: 
 He enjoyed it till his death, in 1584, when it went to his 
 eldest son, Mark, under a grant of the Queen, in 1567, 
 to succeed his father, as Commendator. This charge 
 then, as Bothwell never had, or pretended to have, any 
 interest, shows a strange passion, for calumny, in those, 
 who make, or repeat such groundless charges. 
 
 But, what were the calumnies of Buchanan and Knox, 
 of Robertson and Laing, to the incessant endeavours of 
 Secretary Cecil, to disgrace, and degrade the Scotish 
 Queen, by the basest calumniations ! In November 1573, 
 he sent a series of questions to be answered, by Morton :"* 
 The last series of questions was the value of the grants, 
 by the Scotish Queen to the Earl of Bothwell : To which 
 Morton made the following answers : 
 
 J. Bothwell having spent his whole estate, at his re- 
 turn, from France, in 1565, was first made Lieutenant- 
 general over all the Borders. 
 
 * Calig. C. 10. fol. 114} M. Crawford's Col. in the Adv- 
 Lib. Edin. iv. w. 2. 9,3.
 
 82 THE LIFE OF [MEM. IV. Memoir of 
 
 2. He had the Abbey of Melros, which was better 
 than 50001. Scots, before his intromission therewith. 
 
 3. He had the Abbey of Hadington, worth 1000Z. 
 Scots. 
 
 4. He had the Castle, and Lordship of Dunbar, worth 
 2000 marks a year. 
 
 5. He was made Captain of Edinburgh-castle, with a 
 yearly allowance of 10001. Scots. 
 
 6. He was made Duke of Orkney, and Lord of Shet- 
 land, being the property of the Crown, worth 10,000 
 marks. 
 
 7. He should have had the superiority of Leith, and 
 feu of the Canongate, beside, Edinburgh ; to be more 
 
 able to make a party, in the town of Edinburgh. 
 
 8. He had delivered to him of the Queen's jewels to 
 the value of 20, or 30,000 crowns," 
 
 It may be observed, as a general remark on the fore- 
 going statement, that the assertion, or the affidavit, of 
 such a miscreant, as the Earl of Morton, who was devoid 
 of principle, and faithless by habit, was unworthy of 
 any credit. It is not true, that Bothwell had spent his 
 estates, before his return from France, in 1565; as we 
 see him in possession of his Castles, and Estates, till his 
 expulsion from Scotland. ( I ) The Lieutenancy of the 
 Borders was not granted to him, either at the time, or on 
 the occasion, that Morton asserts. (2) We have already 
 seen, that Bothwell did not obtain the Abbey of Melros, 
 after his return to Scotland. (3) Of the Abbey of Had- 
 ington ; how little he obtained, compared with the acqui- 
 sition of Secretary Malt land, we have already seen. (4) 
 Of the Castle of Dunbar, he was, merely, appointed
 
 J. Earl BothwelL] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 83 
 
 Keeper, with the benefit of the Castlewards, or lands, 
 which were appropriated for its support. (5) Whether 
 Bothwell ever was madeCaptain of Edinburgh castle may 
 well be doubted, as an assertion, without proof, and con- 
 trary to proof. On the IQth of March 1566-7, the Earl 
 of Mar obtained, from the Queen, and Council, a dis- 
 charge of his trust, in keeping the Castle of Edinburgh, 
 which had been in the possession of him, and his father, 
 John, Lord Erskine, since April 1 554 ; and that dis- 
 charge was ratified, by the Parliament of April 1567/ 
 On the 21st of March, the Castle of Edinburgh was 
 rendered to Cockburn of Skirling, at the Queen's com- 
 mand ; as we learn, from Birrel's Diary. It is in vain 
 for writers to assert, that Bothwell was appointed the 
 Captain of Edinburgh-castle, when nothing can be found, 
 either in the Privy Seal, or Privy Council, Registers, as 
 to such an appointment : The presumption is, that no 
 such appointment ever took place ; since there is nothing, 
 on the subject, in the Records : And, the fact seems to 
 have been, that Cockburn of Skirling retained possession 
 of his charge till the 1st of June 1567, when he was ap- 
 pointed Comptroller, in the room of Murray of Tullybar- 
 din, who was dismissed. 5 And Sir James Balfour was 
 
 1 Acta Part. 547- Robertson says, that the Queen bestow- 
 ed the government of the Castle of Edinburgh on Bothwell, 
 the 19th of March. Hist. i. 244. He quotes Anderson, i. 40, 
 and Pref. 64 ; Keith, 379 : But, the authorities have no 
 proof of \vhat they say : They are authorities, without au- 
 thority. Knox's Continuator assigns some day, before the 
 12th of April, as the time of his appointment. Hist. Ref 
 4O5 : But, he has no authority, for what he says. 
 1 See the Treasurer's Accounts, for the fact, and the date.
 
 84 . THE LIFE OF [MEM. IV. Memoir of 
 
 hastily sent, to take charge of the Castle, at that critical 
 moment : as there is nothing in the Records of his ap- 
 pointment to such a trust. 1 It is an important, and cu- 
 rious fact, that there does not appear, in the Treasurer's 
 
 See the Wardrobe Accounts of Queen Mary, printed under 
 the direction of the King's Record Commissioners, which 
 are decisive on this head : (1) The Queen's discharge to 
 Lord Erskine, when he resigned the command of the Castle ; 
 (2) Sir James Cockburn's receipt, for receiving the Castle, 
 from Lord Erskine's Commissioners, by command of the 
 Queen, on the 21st of March 1566-7.* which corresponds, 
 exactly, with what Birrel said : On the 21st of March 
 1666-7, the Castle of Edinburgh was rendered to Cockburn 
 of Skirling, at the Queen's command. [Diary, 7.] When 
 the Earl of Morton stated to Secretary Cecil, that Bothwell 
 was made Captain of Edinburgh-castle, with a yearly salary 
 of lOOOZ. Scots, he only stated a deliberate falsehood. 
 
 1 Goodall, in his Account of Balfour, p. Hi. says j " In the 
 beginning of the year 1567> he was made Governor, or De- 
 puty Governor, under James E. Bothwell :" But, for this 
 loose assertion, he has no proof. It could not be before the 
 19th of March 5 as it was, only, on that day, that the Earl 
 of Mar resigned the same charge: And on the 21st of the 
 same March, the Castle was resigned to Cockburn of Skir- 
 ling, by the Queen's command. Birrel. Spottiswoode, 201, 
 says, Bothwell and Balfour, obtained the Castle on the re- 
 signation of Mar : But, Birrel's Notice, and the Record, 
 over-rule both. The same Record evinces, indeed, that Sir 
 James Balfour, by the Queen's command, was appointed to 
 receive, from Lord Erskine's Commissioners, the Ordnance 
 stores, within the Castle, according to the inventory thereof; 
 which he did, on the 20th of March 1566-7, the day before 
 Cockburn took possession. Rec. 165.
 
 J. Earl Bothwell.] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 85 
 
 Accounts, any charge of materials furnished, or one 
 penny of money paid, or jewels delivered, to Bothwell, 
 either before, or after his marriage, with the Queen: 
 This fact evinces, that the assertion of Morton, like his 
 interception of the boxful of love-letters, of 30,000 
 crownsworth of the crown jewels being delivered to Both- 
 well, was a deliberate falsehood, for the obvious purpose 
 of calumnious deception, by a miscreant, who was very 
 capable of asserting any lie, or committing any villainy." 
 
 In arguing such questions, concerning Bothwell, we 
 must always distinguish, between the period of his inde- 
 pendence, before he was drawn into Murray's conspiracy ; 
 and the period after he became a conspirator with Mur- 
 ray, Morton, and Maitland, for the death of Darnley. 
 
 During the first period, Bothwell acquired, by descent 
 from his father, and grandfather, the offices of Lord High 
 Admiral of Scotland, of High Sheriff of the shires of 
 Berwick, Hadington, and Edinburgh, and Baillie of 
 Lauderdale. He was appointed, by the two Queens, 
 in succession, their Lieutenant of the Borders. He was 
 appointed, by Queen Mary, Keeper of Dunbar-castle, 
 with the benefit of the Castle-wards ; but, not of Edin- 
 burgh-castle. How little he acquired, from the three 
 _ 
 
 u The Queen's jewels fell into the hands of those, who de- 
 throned her, and usurped her government. And, the sub- 
 sequent disposal of them presses hard upon the memory of 
 Morton, and of Murray, who both had an interest, in as- 
 serting the falsehood of so large a portion of them having 
 been delivered to Bothwell. On the 2d of October 1568, 
 Queen Elizabeth wrote to Murray, forbidding him to sell 
 any of the Queen of Scots' jewels. [Cecil's Diary, Murdin, 
 765.]
 
 86 THE LIFE OF [MEM. IV. Memoir of 
 
 Abbeys of Melros, Hadington, and Newbottle, we have 
 just seen. 
 
 (2) What did he obtain, during the second period ? 
 The superiority of Leith,on the 15th of February, about 
 which Robertson declaims. [Hist. ii. 334-5.] The 
 chief conspirators did not contest with him, this grant ; 
 because they knew how soon his fate would annihilate 
 his fortunes. The Queen, says Robertson, gave Both- 
 well the honour of carrying the sword before her, at the 
 opening the parliament. But, may not Morton, and 
 Maitland, have put the sword into his hand ? She 
 made him Duke of Orkney, in prospect of her enforced 
 marriage. She still retained her affection, for Both well, 
 after she had lost him. But, it may be asked, if ever 
 she had any affection for him. Force, and affection, stand 
 opposed to each other. Murray's Parliament of Decem- 
 ber 1567, decided, that she had been coerced to marry 
 Bothwell ; and for this treason, the Parliament attainted 
 him, which is a higher authority than Buchanan and 
 Knox, Robertson and Laing ! After Bothwell had 
 become a conspirator, at Michaelmas 1566, he was al- 
 lowed, by Murray, and the other conspirators, to assume 
 great state, and considerable rule: But, the moment, 
 they withdrew their support, his power, though married 
 to the Queen, shrunk up into nothing. This circumstance 
 demonstrates, that Bothwell's influence over the Queen, 
 when compared with the predominance of Murray, and 
 his faction, was a mere quintessence even from nothing- 
 ness. He thus obtained the baronies of Hailes, and 
 Crichton, &c.
 
 J. Earl Bothwell.] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 87 
 
 No. III. Of the Ascendency of Earl Bothwell over the 
 Scotish Queen, with a view to Tier Marriage of him. 
 
 1. Mary became a widow, on the 10th of February 
 1566-7, when her husband, Darnley, was assassinated, 
 by a conspiracy of nobles : The State Papers prove, that 
 such a conspiracy existed ; the Statute Book of Scotland 
 contains the convictions of Morton, Bothwell, and Mait- 
 land, the conspirators, who executed that odious murder. 
 The epoch of that conspiracy was the 1st of October 
 1 566 : But, such a conspiracy could not have existed, 
 without the knowledge, and concurrence of Murray, 
 who was all-powerful, not more, for his personal influence 
 over the Queen's spirit, as for the number, and weight, 
 of his partizans : He acknowledges, in his answer to 
 Huntley, and Argyle, that he had then become recon- 
 ciled to Bothwell : From that time, Bothwell acted 
 more with Murray, than with Mary. Morton was, at 
 the same time, let into the secret, by Maitland, who 
 durst not have corresponded with Morton, who was then 
 expatriated, in England, on such a subject, without the 
 knowledge of Murray. Morton, thus previously informed 
 of the plot against Darnley, had scarcely arrived from 
 England, at Whittingham, when he was met, there, by 
 Bothwell, and Maitland, about the 20th of January 
 1566-7, f r concerting, with that notorious plotter, the 
 death of Darnley, whom they all abhorred : The State 
 Papers evince both the meeting of the conspirators, and 
 the guilty object of their barbarous purpose. When the 
 murder was to be committed, Murray retired, from 
 Edinburgh, the criminal scene, into Fife, the fosterdam 
 of so many plots. From all those proofs, it is quite ap-
 
 88 THE LIFE OF [MEM. IV. Memoir of 
 
 parent, that Both well acted, merely, as one of a con- 
 spiracy. 
 
 2dly. Yet, rumour included Murray, as one of the 
 deed-doers, with Bothwell, and others. Murray again 
 retired, from Edinburgh, to London, and Paris, three 
 days before the trial of Both well, for that deed of villainy. 
 On the 12th of April 1567, was he tried, and acquitted, 
 by a court, composed, chiefly, of Murray's partizans ; 
 Morton, and Maitland, the agents of Murray, standing, 
 by him, on either side, and directing his defence. Mor- 
 ton, and Maitland, went some steps further, in execution 
 of their concert with Murray, as two fundamental points 
 of the conspiracy still remained to be done, by Both- 
 welFs agency ; the marriage of the Queen, and her con- 
 sequent dethronement. They obtained a written decla- 
 ration, from many peers, and prelates, asserting the 
 innocence of Bothwell, and his fitness, for a husband to 
 the widowed Queen, though Bothwell was already mar- 
 ried. This document remains, the disgrace of those, 
 who signed it, with Morton's signature, who dared do 
 more than man, in acquitting Bothwell, to day, and 
 impeaching him, on the morrow. 
 
 3dly. Emboldened by this declaration, Bothwell 
 marched out of Edinburgh, at the head of a thousand 
 horsemen ; and arrested the Queen's person ; carried 
 her, forcibly, on the same day, to his Castle of Dunbar ; 
 and therein coerced her, to agree to marry him. Mait- 
 land, acting as Murray's agent, went with them to Dun- 
 bar-castlc, not to give good, so much as bad advice to the 
 
 imprisoned Queen." 
 
 i >; ;'. ;>!. umr 
 
 * The Privy Council, at the head of which was Morton,
 
 /. Earl Bothwell.'] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 89 
 
 After seeing the facts, which were stated by the Privy 
 Council, in July 1567, and the Act of Forfeiture, in 
 December 1567, can it be made a question, among rea- 
 sonable men, or considerate women, what motive induced 
 the Queen to marry Bothwell, whether the love, or the 
 violence, of Bothwell ? As those facts must be true, 
 which are proved by the Act of Privy Council, and the 
 Statute of Forfeiture, it must be equally certain, that 
 neither love, nor ascendency, produced that fatal event, 
 but artifices, and force. In after-times, the unfortunate 
 Queen complained, with tears in her eyes, that while she 
 
 acting for the absent Murray, on the 21st of July 1567, 
 declared that " Bothwell ravished the Queen's person, led 
 " her captive to Dunbar, and constrained her, being in his 
 " bondage and thraldom, to contract such an ungodly, and 
 " pretended, marriage with him, such as neither God's law, 
 " nor man's law, could permit." [Anderson's Col. i. 142.] 
 The Act of Parliament, forfeiting Bothwell, states the same 
 facts, as the grounds of his attainder : ] . That he had, 
 treasonably, arrested the Queen's person ; 2. that he had 
 carried her, forcibly, to Dunbar-castle ; 3. that he had there- 
 in constrained the Queen, to consent to marry him. [Acta 
 Parl. iil. 5-10.] A copy of this Act was carried up to Eng- 
 land, by Murray, to prove the guilt of Mary j yet, by col- 
 lation with the genuine Act, we see, that it was vitiated, on 
 that occasion, by M c Gill, the Clerk Register, who acted, 
 corruptly, with Murray. This Act, owing to whatever 
 knavery, was not published, by the same M c Gill, among the 
 Acts of that Session, which were printed by Lekpreuik, on 
 the 6th of April 1568. When Skene, in 1597, published 
 his edition of the Scotish Statutes, he appears, plainly, not 
 to have known, that such an Act of Forfeiture ever existed !
 
 90 THE LIFE OF [MEM. IV. Memoir of 
 
 was suffering under the bondage, and coercion, of Both- 
 well, not a sword was drawn, for her relief ; but, the 
 moment that she had submitted to necessity, ten thou- 
 sand swords leaped from their scabbards, to undo what 
 could not be undone./ Such, then, were the avowed 
 motives of the insurgents, with Morton at their head. 
 Three days after, the Queen being with her army, on 
 Carberry-hill, voluntarily surrendered herself to Grange, 
 the officer, who was sent by the insurgents, saying, 
 " I surrender myself to you, upon the conditions, you 
 " have rehearsed to me, in the name of the Lords." She 
 then went over to the Lords ; leaving Bothwell on the 
 field, who was allowed, by the insurgents, to depart 
 quietly, and without pursuit. On the 16th of June, the 
 Queen was committed to Lochleven-castle. This, then, 
 was the last scene of the tragedy ; wherein the King 
 lost his life, and the Queen her diadem : But, it is quite 
 apparent, that there was only one conspiracy, consisting 
 
 y The first proclamation of the insurgents of the 1 1th of 
 June 1567, recites, that the Queen being detained in capti- 
 vity, by Bothwell, and thereby being unable to govern, or 
 to try the murderers of the late King : They had taken arms, 
 for delivering the Queen, for preserving the prince, and for 
 trying the King's murderers. The insurgents, when they 
 entered Edinburgh, on the 12th of June, issued a second 
 proclamation ; avowing as their motives, that Bothwell had 
 laid violent hands on the Queen's person, and shut her up, 
 in Dunbar- castle, and compelled her to a dishonest mar- 
 riage : They, therefore, took up arms, for delivering the 
 Queen's person, for taking revenge on Bothwell, as he had 
 ravished, and detained, the Queen.
 
 J. Earl Bothwell.] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 91 
 
 of several acts, or parts; whereof Morton, from his 
 return to Whittingham, was the constant leader, though 
 Murray was the chief, and Bothwell the cat's-paw. As 
 Morton was the leader, who protected Bothwell, at his 
 acquittal ; and obtained for him the declaration of the 
 peers, and prelates ; so was Morton the leader of the 
 same faction, who murdered the King, who enabled, and 
 encouraged Bothwell, to arrest the Queen, and to con- 
 strain her to marry Bothwell, on the 15th of May; so 
 was Morton the leader of the same insurgents, who, on 
 the 1 1 th and 12th of June, by two proclamations, avowed 
 the causes of their arming, and rising, to be, that Both- 
 well detained the Queen's person, and made a dishonest 
 marriage with her ; and that they intended to deliver 
 her, from Bothwell, whom they meant to punish : Yet, 
 on the 15th of June, the same insurgents, with Morton 
 at then* head, allowed Bothwell to depart quietly j made 
 the Queen a captive, who surrendered herself, on their 
 own conditions ; and, contrary to their own conditions, 
 committed her to Lochleven -castle. In all this, there is 
 abundant evidence of the artifice, and insidiousness of 
 Morton, and his insurgents ; but, what proof is there of 
 the ascendency of Bothwell over the Queen ? There is 
 none : Yet, was she, by matchless villainy, involved in 
 BothwelPs baseness, without a crime, and deprived of 
 her crown, and liberty, by Morton's profligacy, for M ur- 
 ray's benefit. 
 
 The whole of the foregoing proofs evince a very dif- 
 ferent proposition, from positive evidence, of Both well's 
 ascendency. The Queen knew him, his history, and his 
 character ; and, if we may believe Randolph's corres- 
 pondence, in 1565, she had special cause given her of
 
 92 THE LIFE OF [MEM. IV. Memoir of 
 
 dislike. She knew, also, that he had married the Lady 
 Jane Gordon, only, on the 22d of February 1565-6. 
 
 The epoch of Bothwell's ascendency over the Scotish 
 Queen, is fixed, by Dr. Robertson, at the 5th of April, 
 1566, when the Privy Council advised her, after such a 
 scene, as Rizzio's murder, in her closet, to retire into the 
 Castle of Edinburgh, to wait, in safety, and quiet, the 
 time of her accouchement. 1 Now ; the only three men, 
 of any consequence, who were allowed to remain with her 
 in the castle, were Darnley, her husband, and Argyle, 
 and Murray, her two brothers-in-law, as we learn from 
 Randolph's dispatches to Cecil. Huntley, the Chancel- 
 lor, and Bothwell, the Admiral, desired leave, to lodge, 
 also, in the castle, but, were, peremptorily, refused ; as we 
 know from the same Dispatches. But, by whose ad- 
 vice, and ascendency, was this refusal given ? By Mur- 
 ray's ; as we know, moreover, from Randolph : It would 
 have been quite inconsistent with Murray's corrupt views 
 to have admitted Huntley, and Bothwell, to lodge, in 
 that stronghold ; as it would have disappointed his 
 designs on the possession of it, in case of her expected 
 demise. And, Bothwell was, by the same influence, soon 
 after, sent to the English Borders, on the pretence of 
 watching Morton, but with the real design of sending 
 him out of the way. Where, then, was Bothwell's ascen- 
 dency over the Queen, at that epoch of its origin ? The 
 answer must be, that it did not exist. 
 
 But, to obtain a complete view of those topicks of charge 
 against the Scotish Queen ; and of Bothwell's conduct, 
 from that epoch of crimination; we must enquire: 1. 
 
 * Keith, 335 ; Robertson, i. 380.
 
 J.Earl Bothwell.'] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 93 
 
 How Bothwell acted, before he became a conspirator with 
 Murray's faction; 2 How Bothwell acted, as a con- 
 spirator with Murray. 3. How he acted, as a paramour 
 with Mary. 
 
 1. As to the first point : Bothwell was all his life op- 
 posed, and maligned, by the English faction, in Scot- 
 land, which as it regarded him, was the same as Mur- 
 ray's faction : Bothwell, and Maitland, were, always, 
 personal enemies; having a constant competition, for 
 the same object, in the casualties of the Crown, within the 
 Southern shires, where their several interests lay. Both- 
 well returned, from France, to Scotland, in 1 565, during 
 Murray's rebellion ; and he joined the Queen, who 
 obliged Murray to seek refuge, in England. When 
 Rizzio was murdered, for Murray's restoration, at the 
 Queen's personal risque, Bothwell, with other nobles, 
 joined her, at Dunbar ; and aided her, in returning to 
 Edinburgh. The only promotion, which Bolhwell re- 
 ceived, in the nature of reward, on those occasions, 
 was the appointment of Keeper of Dunbar-castle, with 
 a grant of the Castlewards, on the 24th of March 1565-6 :* 
 After the Queen's restoration, upon the flight of Mor- 
 ton, and his coadjutors, in assassination, Bothwell con- 
 tinued to act, in opposition to Murray ; and Murray, in 
 opposition to Bothwell. But, Murray had the Queen's 
 ear ; and excluded Bothwell, from the Castle of Edin- 
 burgh ; as we have seen. Murray, then, and not Both- 
 well, had the ascendency over the Queen, in the months 
 of April and May, June, and July, 1566, whatever Ro- 
 bertson may, from system, assert. At the beginning of 
 
 a Privy Seal Reg. xxxv. 14. 
 VOL. III. H
 
 94 THE LIFE OF [MEM. IV. Memoir of 
 
 the subsequent month, when the Queen had retired to 
 Alloa, Murray solicited the restoration of Secretary 
 Maitland, which was opposed, by Bothwell, who hated 
 the Secretary ; and an altercation ensued, in the Queen's 
 presence : Yet, Murray's influence prevailed ; as the 
 influence of Bothwell was infinitely inferior to Murray's ; 
 whatever Robertson may suppose. 1 * 
 
 2. But, a great change was at hand. When the nobles 
 could no longer endure the absurd conduct of Darnley, 
 whom they proscribed, as intolerable, Murray conciliated 
 Bothwell, who hated Darnley, and was hated, by him. c 
 This then, is the true epoch of the conspiracy against 
 Darnley, who was then condemned to the bowstring ; 
 and when every body was to be conciliated, in order to 
 form a wider concert against the King's safety. During 
 the following months of October and November, Mur- 
 ray completely gained Bothwell to his faction, and views, 
 while Robertson supposes Bothwell to have gained an 
 ascendency over the Queen. From the moment, that 
 Bothwell, became attached to Murray's faction, he as- 
 sumed what he was allowed, by that faction, a higher 
 port in life, and a greater ascendency, in the state : And 
 this assumption of arrogance, which was tolerated, by 
 Murray, imposed upon the world, as if Bothwell had 
 
 b Robertson's Hist. App. 435-6. 
 
 Murray himself says, in his answer to the Protestation 
 of Argyle, and Huntley, " that at the beginning of Octo- 
 ber 1 566, he had subscribed a bond, with Huntley, Argyle, 
 and Bothwell, which was devised, in sign of reconciliation, 
 in respect of former grudges, and displeasures, that had been 
 among us." Goodall, ii. 332.
 
 J. Earl Bothwell.'] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 95 
 
 acquired an ascendency over the Queen, when he had 
 only obtained the stately port of a conspirator with the 
 ambitious Murray. 
 
 It was during this period, when the Justice Ayres were 
 held, at Jedburgh, that Bothwell was wounded, by 
 Elliot, in Hermitage-castle ; that the Queen visited her 
 lieutenant, at the same castle ; that she was taken ill of 
 a dangerous sickness ; that she made a progress, when 
 those courts had ceased, along the Tweed to Berwick ; 
 thence along the Forth to Dunbar-castle ; and thence, 
 after a few days of rest, and of business, removed to 
 Craigmillar-castle, with her court, and ministers, and 
 with Bothwell, the High Sheriff of the shires, through 
 which she had passed : The State Papers evince, that 
 in the same period, Murray conciliated Bothwell, for his 
 own interest; and that Bothwell enjoyed the facilities 
 and importance, arising from the favour of Murray, who 
 was by far the most powerful person, then in Scotland, 
 not even excepting the Queen's majesty. But BothwelFs 
 concert with Murray was, equally, a conspiracy against 
 the Queen, whose fate was involved, in that of her hus- 
 band. It was, in Craigmillar-castle, after the Queen's 
 return, from that progress, at the end of November 1566, 
 that Maitland, in the presence of Murray, of Huntley, 
 Argyle, and Bothwell, opened to the Queen the project, 
 for separating her from Darnley, by a divorce if she 
 would pardon Morton, and his friends. The Queen, at 
 first, hesitated ; but, finally, refused to be divorced from 
 her husband. On that occasion, Bothwell answered the 
 Queen's objections, by saying, " that he doubted not, but 
 the divorcement might be made, without prejudice, in 
 any wise, to my lord the prince ; alleging the example 
 of himself, that he succeeded to his father's heritage,
 
 96 THE LIFE OF [MEM. IV. Memoir of 
 
 age, without any difficulty, although there had been a 
 divorce, between him, and his mother ." d This interpo- 
 sition of Bothwell, and his obvious zeal, for the divorce 
 of the Queen from Darnley, evince, that Bothwell had 
 been now completely gained over to Murray's faction ; 
 and entered, with intelligence, and energy, into Murray's 
 various views of murdering Darnley, and giving the 
 widowed Queen to Bothwell. When the Earls of Bedford, 
 and Murray, and othernobles, solicited the Queen, for the 
 pardon of Morton, and his associates, Bothwell, heartily, 
 concurred, in favour of Morton.' As there never had 
 been any friendship, between Morton, and Bothwell, 
 this concurrence of Bothwell proves, that he was acting 
 on that occasion, in concert with Murray against the 
 King, and Queen, upon a settled plan. About the 30th 
 of January 1566-7, Bothwell with Secretary Maitland, 
 visited Morton, at Whittingham, soon after his return 
 from England, in consequence of his pardon : f From 
 Douglas's letter, and Morton's confession, we clearly 
 know the object of that visit, to have been the solicitation 
 of Morton's concurrence, in the project, which since the 
 
 d Goodall, ii. 319. 
 
 We know that fact, from the information of Bedford to 
 Cecil : Robertson, mistakingly, says, that BothwelVs in- 
 fluence alone obtained Morton's pardon : But, Elizabeth, on 
 that occasion, was herself a host. 
 
 f This very important fact, of which Robertson seems not 
 to have been aware, is proved, by Drury's information to 
 Cecil ; by Douglas's letter, in Robertson's App. ii. 528. 
 No. xiv. j and by Morton's Confession, in Bannatyne's 
 Journal . This fact demonstrates a conspiracy of three per- 
 sons, for committing a treason.
 
 J. Earl Bothwell.] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 97 
 
 1st of the preceding October, as Morton knew, had been, 
 in the contemplation of Murray's faction, to take off 
 Darnley : These three complotters, Bothwell, Maitland, 
 and Morton, were all convicted of the Murder of Darn- 
 ley. 8 Bothwell agreed to be the active person, in taking 
 the life of Darnley; Murray's faction giving him assur- 
 ances, in writing, that they would protect him ; that he 
 should have the widowed Queen, in reward ; and that 
 they would defend his innocence, and his marriage. 1 ' 
 Bothwell, with others, did murder Darnley ; he was ac- 
 cused by Lennox; he was ordered to be tried, on the 
 12th of April 1567; he was tried, and acquitted, by 
 judges, and jurors, consisting of Murray's faction ; and 
 Morton, and Maitland, stood by him, in court, and ar- 
 ranged his defence. 1 A few days after, the same Morton, 
 and Maitland, influenced a number of peers, and pre- 
 
 8 The records of their convictions evince the fact ; and 
 the convictions demonstrate a conspiracy. Acta Parl. Hi. 
 5-10-58, 137, 227. Sir Lewis Stewart's MS. Collections. 
 The previous conspiracy, and the subsequent convictions, 
 prove the Queen's innocence of any foreknowledge of Darn- 
 ley's death. 
 
 h Bishop Lesley's Defence, 1569, p. 43-44-45 ; Keith, 
 ch. xi. for the documents, and circumstances, which prove 
 those facts ; and Jebb, i. 460-62-68-72-528, to the same 
 points : The result of what they did, in fact, is the best 
 proof of what they engaged to do. 
 
 ' Camden asserts those facts ; JBelleforest, the author of 
 " Innocence de Marie Reine tfEscosse," concurs in the same 
 facts ; and Drury's letter to Cecil, from Berwick, on the 
 15th April 1567, three days after the trial, corresponds with 
 both.
 
 98 THE LIFE OF [MEM. IV. Memoir of 
 
 lates, to declare Bothwell innocent ; to recommend him, 
 by a writing under their subscriptions, to the Queen, as 
 the fittest husband ; and engaged, by the same writing, 
 to defend his innocence, and his marriage. j Thus 
 strengthened, and encouraged, Bothwell on the 24th of 
 April, four days after the true date of that recommenda- 
 tory writing, marched out of Edinburgh, at the head of 
 a thousand horsemen ; arrested the Queen, at the Foul- 
 brigs ; forcibly carried her to Dunbar-castle ; and there, 
 by violence, enforced her assent to marry him. The 
 Parliament of December 1567, found, and adjudged 
 Bothwell, not only to be guilty of the treasonable mur- 
 der of Darnley, but of the forcible arresting of the Queen, 
 and carrying her to Dunbar-castle ; and there, compel- 
 ling her, by violence, to assent to marry him : k After 
 
 J See that infamous writing, in Keith, 381-2. Such was 
 the temper of those times, that nothing could happen, without 
 some falsehood, or forgery, being annexed to it : On that 
 occasion, there was a writing forged, with the usual facility 
 of Maitland, signifying the Queen's consent ; that the 
 lords should subscribe the recommendation of Bothwell ; 
 but, the absurdity of this paper evinces its forgery. [ Whit- 
 aker's Vind. ii. 370-1.] Morton signed the recommendation ; 
 and nothing could have induced such an audacious man to 
 do so, but his engagement to Murray, to execute the whole 
 plan of the conspiracy, which required, as an essential 
 point, that the Queen should marry Bothwell, without which 
 they could not accomplish her dethronement. The Queen's 
 own account of that transaction proves the forgery of what 
 may be called the Queen's defeasance to the nobles, for sign- 
 ing the recommendation. 
 
 k Ada Parliament, iii, 5-1O.
 
 J. Earl Bothwell.] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 99 
 
 that consent thus obtained, Bothwell brought the Queen 
 to Edinburgh, who, like other Kings, and Queens, that 
 are obliged to perform what they cannot refuse, submitted 
 with the best grace, to what was thus forced upon her. 
 Bothwell, by two several courts, the Papist, and the 
 Protestant, was divorced, on the 5th of May, from his 
 legitimate wife. The Queen avowed her purpose to 
 marry him ; the banns were proclaimed ; ! a formal con- 
 tract, for that end was entered into;" 1 and on the 15th 
 of May, 1567 the Queen, and Bothwell, were publickly 
 married, in the hall of the palace, after sermon, by the 
 Bishop of Orkney ; n and again in the chapel of Holy- 
 rood, according to the Popish ritual. The marriage was 
 thus legal, and obviously voluntary, though her assent 
 arose out of secret coercion, and imprisoned violence. 
 Thus much, then, with regard to Both well's conduct to- 
 wards the Queen, as a conspirator, and one of Murray's 
 faction ! 
 
 3. Let us now inquire, how Bothwell acted towards 
 the Queen, as a paramour, with a view to her heart, and 
 hand. 
 
 (1) If the facts, which have been just stated, under 
 several distinct heads, and ascertained, as so many truths, 
 be just; then, Bothwell never acted, as a paramour, at 
 all ; and obtained, by the aid of Murray's faction, her 
 hand, at least, by circumvention, and force : And so did 
 
 1 Keith's App. 192. 
 
 m See it in Goodall, ii. 61, with a dozen witnesses, con- 
 sisting of prelates, nobles, and officers of state : It was re- 
 corded on the 14th of May, the day of its signature. 
 
 n Keith, 38C.
 
 100 THE LIFE OF [MEM. IV. Memoir of 
 
 the first Parliament of K. James, which was called by 
 Murray, the Regent, and managed, by Morton, the 
 Chancellor, find, and adjudge, upon solemn trial." (2dly) 
 In a question of this gallant sort, it is important, to as- 
 certain, when Earl Bothwell ceased to be a single man, 
 which was on the 22d of February 1565-6. (3dly) It 
 is of equal importance, to ascertain when. Bothwell was 
 supposed to acquire considerable influence with the 
 Queen ? It was the same epoch, as that of her retirement 
 into Edinburgh-castle, by the avowed advice of the 
 Privy Council, though by the secret suggestions of Mur- 
 ray. The only nobles, who were now allowed to lodge 
 with her in the Castle, were her two brothers, Argyle, 
 and Murray : Huntley, the Chancellor, and Bothwell, 
 the hereditary Admiral, were refused to be admitted to 
 the same privilege, though they asked for that accom- 
 modation. P But, neither Keith, nor Robertson, had the 
 least perception of the deep projects, which Cecil, and 
 Randolph, on the one side, and Murray, and Morton, 
 on the other, had formed, in contemplation of the Queen's 
 miscarriage, perhaps, death from the accidents, that are 
 incident to child-bed : Murray, by having the command 
 of Edinburgh-castle, would have seized the crown, or the 
 regency, according as the accident might have been ; and 
 
 Ada Parliament, iii. 5-10. 
 
 P Randolph wrote Cecil, on the 7th of June 1566, " The 
 " Earls of Argyle and Moray lodge iu the Castle, and keep 
 house together : The Earls of Huntley, and Bothwell, 
 wished, also, to have lodged there, but were refused." Now ; 
 does not this fact prove, how much more influence Moray, 
 and Argyle, had, than Huntley, and Bothwell ?
 
 J. Earl Bothwell.'] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 101 
 
 Randolph was ordered to remain at Berwick, ready to 
 repair to Edinburgh, for supporting Murray's interest, 
 with Elizabeth's money, and Cecil's intrigue. But, 
 Robertson was so blinded, by his conceits of love, and 
 gallantry, that he had not the least conception of the 
 deep speculation of those artful men. And, Bothwell 
 had so little ascendency, that he was soon after sent 
 away to the Borders, as Lieutenant, on pretence of 
 watching Morton, but, with the real design of having 
 him out of the way, when such important events might 
 happen. Thus idle was Robertson's system ! 
 
 But, he is still more idle, when he adds, in his best 
 manner : " Her gratitude loaded him with marks of her 
 bounty ; she raised him to offices of profit, and of trust ; 
 and transacted no matter of importance, without his 
 ad vice." q As Mr. Laing asserts all those points, with 
 
 i Hist. i. 382 ; and he quotes Melvill's Mem. a very inter- 
 polated book, and Knox, a work still more interpolated, and 
 false : In flat contradiction to Knox, Melvill, and Robert- 
 son, I assert, that there is not one word of truth in what is 
 said above. The Queen never loaded Bothwell with marks 
 of her bounty ; she never raised him to offices of honour, 
 and of trust ; and Bothwell never was her minion, like Mur- 
 ray, who was the person, who was consulted, by her, even 
 till his retirement to France. The fact is, that Bothwell 
 enjoyed, by descent, from his father, the several offices of 
 Lord High Admiral of Scotland, Sheriff principal of the 
 three several shires of Berwick, Hadington, and Edinburgh, 
 and Baillie of Lauderdale. To the Lieutenancy of the Bor- 
 ders, not the Wardenship, Bothwell was appointed, by the 
 Regent-Queen, in 1559, when her government was nearly
 
 102 THE LIFE OF [MEM. IV. Memoir of 
 
 amplifications, he is included with Robertson, in this clear 
 refutation of the most absurd calumnies. If this advo- 
 cate would have read Sir James Stewart's Answer to 
 Dirlton's Doubts, he had learnt, that the admiralty of 
 the whole kingdom had been granted, in 15 1 1, by James 
 IV. to Adam, Earl of Bothwell, the grandfather of the 
 notorious James, Earl Both well. King James was born, 
 on the 19th of June 1567 ; the Queen's month was up, 
 on the 19th of July, when she was advised, as she had 
 no wheel-carriage, to take a jaunt by water, to Alloa- 
 
 overpowered by Lord James Steuart, and his insurgents j 
 and Bothwell was restored to the same lieutenancy, during 
 Murray's rebellion, in 1565; and it was on the 24th of 
 March 1565-6, on Rizzio's assassination, for Murray's resto- 
 ration, that Bothwell was appointed Keeper of the Castle of 
 Dunbar, and had a grant of the Castle- wards to the same be- 
 longing ; as we know from the Privy Seal Record, xxxv. 
 Bothwell never was appointed Captain of the Castle of Edin- 
 burgh, as we may infer, from the silence of the records ; and 
 Cockburn of Skirling succeeded Lord Erskine, in March 
 1566-7 ') Q s we may learn from Birrel ; and from a receipt 
 in the Wardrobe accounts : Sir James Balfour succeeded 
 Cockburn, when he was appointed comptroller, in June 
 1567; so that there was no room, for Both well's appoint- 
 ment. Bothwell was, indeed, appointed of the Privy Coun- 
 cil, on the 6th of September J561, under the ministry of 
 Murray. Keith, 187- The Queen, no doubt, consulted Both- 
 well, when she refused to let him lodge in the castle ; and 
 when she sent him out of the way to the borders, to watch 
 Morton. The late peerage writer, in the article Bothwell, 
 repeats the whole fictions, and impertinences, of Robertson, 
 and Lajng.
 
 J. Earl Bothwell.'] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 103 
 
 house, the hospitable seat of Lord Erskine ; attended, 
 by his lordship, by Murray, her minion, by Bothwell, 
 her hereditary admiral, and by other courtiers, and 
 ladies. Darnley, in his usual style of folly, would go by 
 land/ Speaking of this period, Robertson says, the 
 Queen continued to treat Darnley, with indifference and 
 neglect : The historian was so absurd, as to make Cas- 
 telnau, the French Ambassador, " prevail on the King 
 " and Queen, to pass two nights together :" And, in 
 this strain, he makes " Bothwell, all this while, the 
 Queen's prime confident, without whose participation no 
 business was concluded, and no favour bestowed." Mur- 
 ray never lost his influence over the Queen, when he was 
 with her ; and Bothwell never had much, when he was 
 present, or absent. It was, at Alloa, that Secretary 
 Maitland, was first admitted into the Queen's presence, 
 since his participation, in Rizzio's murder, on the solici^ 
 
 r " On the 20th July, or thereby, Q. Mary fled the King's 
 company, and passed, by boat, with the pirates, to Alloa, 
 where the King coming was repulsed." Anderson's Col. ii. 
 269. This is Buchanan, and Murray' s forged journal. The 
 King, and Queen, remained, as we know, from record, at 
 Edinburgh, on the 24th, 25th, 26th, and to the 27th of July, 
 which was the day of her voyage to Alloa. There was a 
 Privy Council held, at Alloa, on the 28th. And the King, 
 Queen, and her court, returned to Edinburgh j as we also 
 know, from record. They remained at Holyrood-house, on 
 the 31st of July. And on the 1st of August they returned 
 to Alloa, where they remained two, or three nights : And, 
 they finally came back to Edinburgh, on the 4th of August 
 1566.
 
 104 THE LIFE OF [MEM. IV. Memoir of 
 
 tation of Murray ; and first received a pardon from the 
 Queen's beneficence, " by means of the Earl of Athol," 
 says Keith, " though much against the inclination of 
 the Earl of Bothwell." 11 After aft those facts, and circum- 
 stances, we may now ask Robertson, What ascendency over 
 the Queen's counsels could Bothwell have, at that particu- 
 lar period ? l The answer, according to the fact, must be, 
 none. This sway, or rather no sway at all, of a married man, 
 over a married woman, of an Earl of no fair fame, over a 
 Queen, the historian endeavours to prove, by argument, 
 rather than, by testimony. Even after four months ex- 
 asperation, we may see the Queen, at the Craigmillar con- 
 ference, firmly refuse to be divorced from her husband, 
 and decidedly dissent from any measure of that nature, 
 
 Keith, 334. 
 
 * My Lord of Murray, and Bothwell, said the Earl of 
 Bedford, have been at evil words, for the Laird of Lething- 
 ton, [at Alloa] before the Queen j for he, and Sir James 
 Balfour, had now come from Lethington, with his answer 
 upon such heads, or articles, as Bothwell, and he, should 
 agree upon ; which being reported to the said Earl, [Both- 
 well] " in the Queen's presence, made answer, that ere he 
 " parted with such lands, he should part with his life." My 
 Lord of Moray said, stoutly, to him, " that twenty as honest 
 " men, as he, should lose their lives, ere he reafte Lething- 
 " ton. The Queen spake nothing, but heard both j in these 
 " terms they parted ; and since, that I hear of, have not 
 " met." Robertson's App. 435-6. She communicated to 
 my lord of Murray that money had come from the Pope, 
 though it appeareth not by whom, or how much. Id. Even 
 this last intimation would prove, that it was Murray, and 
 not Bothwell, who enjoyed the Queen's confidence.
 
 J. Earl Bothwell.] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 105 
 
 that would either stain her honour, or blot her conscience, 
 whatever influence, Bothwell, with all his ascendency, 
 could exert, or persuasion, that Maitland could use. u 
 We now perceive strong facts stand opposed to very weak 
 argumentation. After the altercation before the Queen, 
 between Murray and Bothwell, on the 2d of Agust, at 
 Alloa, when Bothwell sunk under the influence of Mur- 
 ray, we hear little of Bothwell, and still less of his gal- 
 lantries with the Queen. The fact is, that he continued 
 the two subsequent months, at daggers-draw, both with 
 Murray, and Maitland, whose pardon both Bothwell, 
 and Darnley had opposed. The first of October 1566, 
 then, must be considered as the epoch of a great change, 
 in Bothwell's connections, and destiny : He now became 
 one of Murray's faction ; and looked forward to the 
 murder of Darnley, and the marriage of the Queen, by 
 Murray's means; while he was hated, by Murray, 
 Maitland and Morton, who after using him, as a 
 cats-paw, made him a scape-goat. If there be a pe- 
 nury of love, in the article just stated, we shall, per- 
 haps, find an abundance in the next. The Queen's 
 purpose had been early given out, by proclamation, 
 to hold Justice-courts, at Jedburgh, where she arrived 
 on the 9th. It was soon known, that Bothwell, the 
 Lieutenant, had been wounded, on the 8th. On the 
 16th she rode to Hermitage, to visit him; and re- 
 turned, the same day, to Jedburgh. On the 17th she 
 sent a mass of papers to Bothwell ; and was taken, 
 dangerously, ill, on the same day. It has, generally, 
 been supposed, that fatigue, from such a ride, anxiety 
 
 u Goodall, ii. 319-20.
 
 106 THE LIFE OF [MEM. IV. Memoir of 
 
 for Both well, whose hand was sore hurt, was the occa- 
 sion of her distemper. The same persons, who make 
 those suppositions, may, also, suppose, that the mass of 
 writings, for carrying which the treasurer paid six shil- 
 lings, consisted of love-letters, amorous sonnets, and 
 marriage promises : On the contrary, it may, reasonably, 
 be supposed, that the mass of papers contained proofs 
 of the intrigue of the borders, not only against the 
 Lieutenant, but of Morton, among the border tribes, 
 against the Queen's authority : And a dish of vexation, 
 as we know, always gave the Queen a fit of illness. But, 
 Mr. Laing will at length show us Bothwell, in a situa- 
 tion of gallantry, rather than of conspiracy : " The pre- 
 " parations, for the ceremony of the baptism," says he, 
 " and the reception of the foreign ambassadors, were 
 '* consigned to Bothwell."* This then is asserted, with- 
 
 * Dissert, i. 20. For that groundless assumption, Mr. 
 Laing quotes Keith's Preface, vii. which says nothing to the 
 purpose j Robertson, ii. 435, which tells, how Murray put 
 Bothwell down, in the Queen's presence ; and Melvill's 
 Mem. 77, which says, in interpolated language : " In the 
 " meantime, the Earl of Bothwell ruled all at court ; having 
 " brought home the banished lords, and packed up a quiet 
 " friendship with the Earl of Morton." Bothwell ruled all 
 at court, when Murray was not present ! It is not true, 
 that Bothwell brought home the banished lords ; as we 
 know from Bedford's information to Cecil. The passage 
 contains nothing about what it was quoted, to prove : So 
 that Mr. Laing's assertion is mere assumption. It is not 
 quite certain, that Bothwell was at the baptism : But, what 
 he may have taken upon him was owing to the connivance 
 of Murray, and his agents, whose tool he was.
 
 /. Earl Bothwell.] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 107 
 
 out any authority, and feigned, contray to the fact. 
 What I have said of Dr. Robertson, may, with still 
 more truth, be asserted of Mr. Laing ; let him have his 
 insinuation, his falsehood, and his forgery, and he will 
 easily prove any woman guilty of any crime. Bucha- 
 nan took a yet higher flight into the regions of fiction 
 than even Mr. Laing : He makes the Queen busy her- 
 self, in bestowing both money, and labour, in making 
 Bothwell appear the most magnificent among all her 
 nobles, and princely guests, at her son's baptism :/ But, 
 we know from record, that Bothwell was not present at 
 the ceremony of the baptism, which, as a gallant man, 
 he ought to have attended, with Athol, and four other 
 nobles : z Yet, Bothwell may have been present with 
 Murray, and others, at the entertainments : He, cer- 
 tainly, concurred with Bedford, Murray, and other 
 nobles, in soliciting Morton's pardon. A few days after 
 the baptism of the prince, says Robertson., Morton, and 
 all the other conspirators against Rizzio, obtained their 
 pardons, and had leave to return to Scotland : Mary, 
 who had hitherto continued inexorable to every other 
 entreaty, yielded, at last, to the solicitations of Bothwell* 
 
 y The accounts of the Treasurer contain no charges, for 
 money, or furnishings, to Bothwell, on that, or, indeed, any 
 other occasion. This record, then, is decisive of Buchanan's 
 falsehood. 
 
 z Goodall, i. 319-20. 
 
 a Hist. i. 402. But, Robertson is contradicted, by a 
 letter from Bedford to Cecil of the 30th of December 1566, 
 from Hallyards, in Fife ; giving him notice of Morton's 
 pardon ; and informing him, that he had exerted himself, 
 as he had been instructed, with Murray, Athol, and all other
 
 108 THE LIFE OF [MEM. VI. Memoir of 
 
 Why ; Robertson, if his eyes had not been shut by pre- 
 judice, might have perceived Queen Elizabeth's claim to 
 the sole honour of obtaining Morton's pardon. b And if 
 his understanding had not been clouded, by ignorance 
 of fact, Robertson would not have attributed to the same 
 motive the Queen's proclamation, for revoking the 
 Archbishop of St. Andrew his restoration of his ancient 
 jurisdiction : The motive, says the historian, which 
 prompted Bothwell, to whose influence over the Queen 
 this action must be chiefly imputed, was still more crimi- 
 nal. Now, let us hear what the Earl of Bedford wrote 
 to Cecil, on the 9th of January 156G-7, after his return, 
 from Edinburgh, to Berwick: The Bishop of St. Andrews 
 had of late obtained, under the Queen's hand, authority 
 to use a certain jurisdiction, in divers cases, according to 
 the canon laws ; and meant, therefore, to have erected 
 " his court, at Edinburgh, which, because it was found 
 
 the lords, with the Earl of Bothwell, in Morton's favour 
 We thus see, that Bothwell only concurred, with others : 
 But, why did he concur ? Because Bothwell was now acting 
 in a concert of conspirators, for the death of Darnley, and 
 expected the aid of Morton ; in which he was not disap- 
 pointed. 
 
 b See her letter to Throkmorton, her agent at Edinburgh, 
 dated the 27th of July 1567= " The Earl of Morton/' says 
 she, " had refuge in our realm, whence we might have deli- 
 " vered him to death j and he himself was restored to his 
 " pardon, for gratifying us, upon instance made, by our 
 " order, at the Earl of Bedford being with the Queen of 
 " Scots." Keith, 429. 
 
 c Hist. i. 4O4 ; where Knox is quoted for his authority : 
 But, no authority can justify falsehood.
 
 J. Earl BotkwelL} THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 109 
 
 <( to be contrary to the religion, and therefore not liked 
 " of, by the townsmen, at the suit of my Lord of Murray, 
 *' the Queen was pleased to revoke that, which she had 
 " before granted to the said bishop." J We thus see, 
 that Bedford, who, no doubt, had his information, from 
 Murray, contradicts both Robertson and Knox, in at- 
 tributing that measure to the influence of Bothwell, who 
 had nothing to do with it ; and could not have produced 
 it, if he had wished it. Robertson follows the delusion 
 of Buchanan, in sending Darnley to Glasgow, after the 
 pardon of Morton, which he had opposed, where he 
 was taken with a dangerous distemper, even before he 
 could reach Glasgow, from which his life was in the ut- 
 most danger, when her neglect was quite equal to his, 
 when she lay so ill, at Jedburgh. 6 Now, mark, how a 
 plain tale shall convict Buchanan of falsehood, and Ro- 
 bertson of ignorance. The Earl of Bedford, who left 
 Edinburgh, on the 6th of January 1566-7, on his return 
 to Berwick, wrote to Cecil, on the 9th, " that Darnley 
 " lay sick of the small-pox, at Glasgow, and that the 
 " Queen had sent her own physician, to attend upon 
 " upon him." f But, Robertson goes on, to talk of Mary's 
 
 d That unpublished letter of Bedford is in the Paper 
 Office. e Hist. i. 405-6. 
 
 f Bedford's unpublished letter is in the Paper Office. 
 Drury, the Marshal of Berwick, on the 23d wrote to Cecil, 
 " that the small-pox beginneth to spread, from Glasgow, 
 " and that he heard the Queen intended to bring Darnley 
 " to Edinburgh, as soon as he should be able to stand the cold 
 " air." Birrel says, in his Diary of the 13th of January, 
 VOL. III. I
 
 110 THE LIFE OF [MEM. IV. Memoir of 
 
 dissimulation, which he proves, by what he presumes to 
 call two of her famous letters to Bothwell, which were 
 written to him, during her stay at Glasgow, and lay open 
 this scene of iniquity, when Bothwell had so far suc- 
 ceeded, in his ambitious design, of gaining an absolute 
 ascendant over the Queen. s Thus does the historian 
 romance, in the face of two publick records, which prove, 
 that the Queen still remained, at Edinburgh, while he 
 makes her write two pretty long letters, from Glasgow. 1 * 
 " The two first of her letters to Bothwell," says Laing, 
 " were written at Glasgow, on Friday night, and Satur- 
 " day morning : w [Friday was the 24th and Saturday 
 the 25th of January, when the Queen was, at Edin- 
 burgh, or on the road to Glasgow.] From the date of 
 Morton's pardon, on Christmas eve, says Laing, Both- 
 well, and Maitland had attended the Queen, till her 
 return to Edinburgh, on January 14th. k It is not proved, 
 that Bothwell was at Stirling, during the festivities of 
 the baptism, though the fact may be inferred, from 
 Bedford's letter of the 30th of December, which speaks 
 of Bothwell's assisting, in the solicitation of that pardon : 
 
 " K. Henry was lying sick, in Glasgow, of the small-pox ; 
 " but, some said, he had gotten poison." This, then, is the 
 historical fact : He had the small-pox ; but, Murray's fac- 
 tion said he was poisoned. & />. 408. 
 
 h The Privy Seal Register, and the Register of Signatures, 
 both prove, that the Queen remained, at Edinburgh, on the 
 24th of January, while letters were forged, at Glasgow, for 
 her, on the 22d, 23d, 24th, and 25th, of the same month. 
 ^Here, is an alibi, then, which falsifies Robertson's assertion. 
 
 1 Dissert, i. 27. k /d.
 
 J. Earl Bothwell.^ THE SCOTISH QUEEN. lit 
 
 But, when Laing says, that Bothwell was with the 
 Queen, at Stirling, on the 2d of January, and in conti- 
 nuation, till the 14th of January, he not only asserts, 
 without proof, but writes contrary to proof: The Privy 
 Council Register evinces, that Bothwell was not, at 
 Stirling, on the 2d of January 15G6-7; that Bothwell 
 was not there, on the 10th of January, when an act 
 was passed, for the support of the new ministers, in 
 towns. 1 We thus may perceive, that if Robertson may 
 feign, and Laing may falsify, they can prove any crime, 
 on any person. Thus are we assured, by Murray's 
 journal, " that the Queen took her journey towards 
 Glasgow, on the 21st of January 1566-7; and was ac- 
 companied with the Earls of Huntley, and Bothwell, to 
 the Kalendar, Lord Livingston's place. On the 23d the 
 Queen came to Glasgow ; the Earls of Huntley, and 
 Bothwell, returned, the same night, to Edinburgh.""" 1 
 Now, let us trace Both well's movements, at that critical 
 period ; in order to see, how far, he could have been 
 present, in his attendance upon the Queen. He was not 
 with her, at Stirling, on the 2d or 10th of January ; 
 as we have just seen. And the probability is, that 
 he was not with the Queen, on the 21st of January, 
 
 1 See the Act of Privy Council, in Keith, 570 j Murray, 
 and Maitland, were present, but not Bothwell, who had 
 other objects to attend to. He met Morton, at Whittingham, 
 about the 20th of January, 15CJ6-7* to concert the King's 
 murder. 
 
 m See the Journal in Anderson's Col. ii. 271. Which 
 journal, with a lie, in every line, Mr. Laing undertakes to 
 authenticate. See his App. ii. 85.
 
 112 THE LIFE OF [MEM. IV. Memoir of 
 
 1566-7." We have thus seen, that Bothwell was 
 then, in attendance upon Morton, and not upon Mary. 
 Such, then, was the weakness of the proofs of his being 
 a paramour : such the strength of the proofs of his being 
 a conspirator in crimes, which involved the Queen's ruin ; 
 and such the absurdity, of supposing a woman, and a 
 Queen, would write love-letters, and love-sonnets, to a 
 conspirator, who did not woo her to wed ; as a powerful 
 
 n In the beginning of January 1566-7, says Birre!, " the 
 " Earl of Morton, and his accomplices, were relaxed from 
 the horn [were pardoned], for the slaughter of David Ri- 
 zius :" They then obtained their pardon, and release j but, 
 they did not immediately quit Berwick. Drury informed 
 Cecil, that they still remained there, on the 10th of January 
 1566-7. On the 23d of the same month Drury again in- 
 formed Cecil, ' ' the Lord Morton lieth, at the Laird of Whit- 
 tiugham'sj where the Lord Bothwell, and Ledington, 
 [Maitland] of late came to visit him." Arch. Douglas's letter 
 in Robertson's App. ii. 531, shows, why they visited Morton 
 at that time. The confession of Morton, in Bannatyne's 
 Journal, avows the same criminal object of their guilty visit, 
 namely, to engage Morton in the conspiracy, for the murder 
 of Darnley. Those three complotters were all convicted of the 
 murder of Darnley, and punished : The very conviction of the 
 three evinces a conspiracy ; and being thus concerned, in a 
 treasonous conspiracy, the complotters were all equally guilty. 
 The reader now sees, that Bothwell, in the month of Janu- 
 ary 1566-7, was very differently employed, than in attending 
 upon the Queen to Kalendar, or any where else. " The 
 date of that interview must be fixed," says Laing, " at the 
 period of her absence at Glasgow." Bothwell being thus 
 engaged in such a conspiracy could not have acted as a pa- 
 ramour, at the same time, in daily attendance on the Queen.
 
 J. Earl Bothwell.-] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 113 
 
 faction had engaged to give him the queen, in reward for 
 murdering her husband, whether she herself would or 
 would not. The date of that interview must be fixed, 
 says Mr. Laing, at the period of her absence, in Glasgow, 
 when Bothwell was employed to provide a house for her 
 husband's reception." The date of that treasonable in- 
 terview was, obviously, between the 10th and 23d of 
 January 1566-7 ; as we may learn from Drury's infor- 
 mation to Cecil. But, he gives no proof of his asser- 
 tion, that Bothwell was employed to provide a house, for 
 Darnley's reception. This assertion is an additional 
 proof of what has been already intimated ; if Laing be 
 allowed his falsifications, he can easily prove any woman 
 guilty of any crime. He asserts, that Bothwell was em- 
 ployed, when the Queen was absent, in Glasgow, to 
 provide a house, for her husband's reception. The em- 
 ployment of Bothwell, on such a business, is asserted, 
 without any authority ; and it is asserted falsely : Both- 
 well knew what house the king would lodge in, without 
 being employed in providing it ; as he knew all the 
 Queen's movements, from his intimate complotter, Mr. 
 Secretary Maitland. The house, which was probably 
 pointed out, by the Queen's physician, as the fittest, for 
 an infirmary, was the lodging of the Provost of the col- 
 legiate church of Kirk-a-field, which came into possession 
 of Robert Balfour, as Provost, in the room of William 
 Pennycuick, only two months before.* It is a fact in- 
 controvertibly certain, whatever Robertson, and Laing, 
 may say to the contrary, that the Queen, and her hus- 
 
 Dissert, i. 29. 
 
 * Privy Seal Reg. xxxv. 95.
 
 114 THE LIFE OF [MEM. IV. Memoir of 
 
 band, were reconciled, when she went to bring him to 
 Edinburgh ; and Darnley did not want any persuasion 
 to accompany her to Edinburgh; as we know from 
 Drury's information to Cecil. q The Queen brought him 
 to Edinburgh, on the 31st of January 1566-7 ; as we 
 know from Birrel's Diary, a better authority, than Bu- 
 chanan's Diary, for Murray's guilty purpose. Yet, on 
 the base authority of this obvious forgery, does Mr. 
 Laing assert, that the conspirator, Bothwell, whom she 
 met on the road, from Kalendar to Edinburgh, escorted 
 her and Darnley, to Edinburgh/ The house, says Mr. 
 Laing, was blown up in the air ; the dead bodies of the 
 king, and his domestick, were found, at some distance, 
 untouched, by the powder : And he was murdered, by 
 Bothwell, on the 10th of February 1566-7 :' And, he 
 
 i See the App. No. vi. to Darnley's Mem. for the proofs of 
 the reconcilement of the king, and queen, during his illness. 
 
 r Dissert, i. 29. The dissertator again asserts, that as the 
 Provost's house must have been provided, under the Queen's 
 direction, during her absence, at Glasgow ; not by Murray, 
 or Morton j but by one, whom she durst not afterwards ac- 
 cuse of the murder ; and Bothwell alone stood in that situa- 
 tion : The malignity of this is obvious, but not the sense : 
 Would not a letter, from the Queen's physician, in her name, 
 to Robert Balfour, secure the house, as a temporary in- 
 firmary ? Would not a letter, from the same physician, to 
 the Queen's chamberlain, or housekeeper, induce them to 
 put some furniture and bathing-vats, into the house ? We 
 now see, that Mr. Laing's assertion, and argument, on this 
 subject of Bothwell's providing the Provost's house, are 
 equally groundless, and impertinent. 
 
 Dissert.^. 36.
 
 J. Earl Bothwell'} THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 115 
 
 might have added, with the concurrence of Morton, and 
 Maitland, and the approbation of Murray, But, at the 
 period, when Mr. Laing came before the publick with his 
 history, and preliminary dissertation, it was no longer an 
 object of inquiry, who murdered the wretched husband 
 of Queen Mary : The three chief conspirators, Morton, 
 Maitland, and Bothwell, their instrument, had been con- 
 victed of the murder: Their several convictions were 
 recorded in the archives of Scotland. And they had 
 even been confirmed by successive Parliaments. Yet, 
 those convictions remain all unknown to Dr. Robertson, 
 and Mr. Laing. At least, they inquire, think, and write, 
 as if they had never heard of such convictions, whatever 
 might be their importance : Of course, when Laing had 
 finished his Inquiry, he copies Robertson's Dissertation, 
 in deducing two conclusions opposite to each other : The 
 first is, that Murray, and his associates, planned the con- 
 spiracy, and instigated Bothwell, as a cat's-paw; the se- 
 cond, that it was perpetrated, by Bothwell alone, with the 
 Queen's consent : He very easily rejects the first ; and 
 comes, naturally, to the second, that the murder was 
 planned, and executed, by Bothwell, with the Queen's 
 approbation, which conclusion, he adds, is confirmed, by 
 every circumstance, in his preceding detail. This may 
 be true ; yet, the Queen may be perfectly innocent : For, 
 if his preceding detail consist merely of assertions, and 
 insinuations, of fictions and falsehoods, of forgeries and 
 frands, such a detail, only, involves the inquirer in dis- 
 grace ; but does not fasten guilt upon innocence. Why 
 were not the records of Scotland searched, for those three 
 convictions, of Morton, Maitland, and Bothwell ? The 
 answer must be ; Because the three recorded convictions 
 demonstrate a concert ; and the concert equally evinces
 
 116 THE LIFE OF [MEM. IV. Memoir of 
 
 a conspiracy of nobles ; and what conspiracy of nobles 
 was there, in Scotland, during Mary's reign, of which 
 Murray was not the chief ? Why was the important fact 
 of the visit, which was paid, by Bothwell, and Secretary 
 Maitland, to Morton at Whittingham, slurred over, by 
 this inquirer ? The answer must be, that Mr. Laing, 
 being an advocate, knew that the meeting of three such 
 men, for the avowed object, of agreeing on the plan of 
 taking off the king, was an act of high treason : and the 
 consultation, at Whittingham, establishes a concert, for 
 the commission of a treason, which involves Murray, and 
 his faction, in that guilty transaction, of which he knew 
 the beginning, approved the progress, and profited, from 
 the end of the whole conspiracy, from the Queen's de- 
 thronement, and his elevation to rule, in her room. Dr. 
 Robertson undertook to prove the Queen's guilt, by 
 showing the great ascendency of Bothwell over the 
 Queen's inflammable heart : Is not this very absurd ? It 
 has been proved, as a most important fact, that while the 
 Queen waited the period of her parturition, in Edinburgh- 
 castle, Bothwell was excluded from it, by Murray's in- 
 fluence over the Queen. It has been shown, as another 
 fact of great importance, that an altercation ensued, be- 
 tween Murray and Bothwell, at Alloa, on the 2d of Au- 
 gust, in the Queen's presence, on the subject of Secre- 
 tary Maitland's pardon, when Bothwell, again, sunk 
 under Murray's influence. We thus have seen, that Ro- 
 bertson's theory of Bothwell's ascendency over Mary 
 was visionary. The historian, indeed, endeavoured to 
 prove his point, by particular instances of his influence ; 
 but, I have shown, by incontrovertible documents, that 
 his several instances are as false, as his theory is foolish. 
 Yet Mr. Laing follows the doctor, throughout,
 
 J. Earl Bothwell.'] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 117 
 
 " The devious paths, where wanton fancy leads." 
 
 By insinuation and assertion, by the use of fictions and 
 forgeries, by supposing what he ought to prove, and 
 slurring what he cannot disprove, he endeavoured to 
 prove the constant devoirs of Bothwell to Mary; while 
 Bothwell was only continuous in his concert with Mait- 
 land, Morton, and Murray. I have followed Mr. Laing 
 throughout his various artifices ; and have shown the 
 truth of Dryden's remark, 
 
 " That little souls on little shifts rely." 
 
 I have proved, what all experience verifies, that the con- 
 spirator and the courtier are irreconcileable characters : I 
 have shown Bothwell very busy, as a conspirator, but 
 very inattentive, as a courtier. And when we see him 
 go out, at the head of a thousand horsemen, with the 
 written engagement of the prelates, and nobles, in his 
 pocket, to seize the Queen, on the high road ; to carry 
 her forcibly to Dunbar-castle ; to compel her assent to 
 marry him ; in what character are we bound to consider 
 him, as a conspirator, or a courtier ? The Parliament of 
 December 156? answered that question: They found, 
 and adjudged Bothwell guilty, as a traitor, for having 
 committed on the Queen's noble person the facts, just 
 mentioned. 1 And that adjudication of Murray's Parlia- 
 ment, upon those several points, precludes the idle theo- 
 ries, of Dr. Robertson, and Mr. Laing, their absurd 
 deductions, and nefarious crimination of an innocent 
 woman : Indeed, when it was once settled, that Mur- 
 ray's faction were the real murderers of Darnley, with 
 
 1 Acta Par/. Hi. p. 5-10.
 
 118 THE LIFE OF [MEM. IV. Memoir of 
 
 Bothwell for their guilty tool ; when it was once establish- 
 ed, that Bothwell obtained the Queen in marriage, from 
 the artifices, and violences, of Murray's faction, the whole 
 question, with regard to the ascendency of Bothwell 
 over Mary, mounts into the moon.
 
 the Regent Murray.'] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 119 
 
 MEMOIR V. 
 
 Memoir of the Regent Murray. 
 
 WHEN James V. was wallowing in the enjoy- 
 ments of illicit love, little did he reflect, in how 
 many difficulties he would involve his crown, 
 and people, and family, by his guilty conduct. 
 Flis grandson James VI. lived to see those 
 effects distinctly : And, in his Basilicon Do?*on, 
 he held up, in a striking light, to the intelligent 
 eyes of his son. Henry, how much the royal 
 family had suffered, and the legitimate govern- 
 ment had been disgraced, by the ill choice of 
 his great-grandfather, when he followed the pur- 
 suits of passion, rather than submit to the dic- 
 tates of policy. 
 
 The most enterprising of the many illegiti- 
 mate children of James V. was his son, James, 
 by Margaret, the frail daughter of John, Lord 
 Erskine : And this bastard boy was born, in the 
 beginning of the year 1530-1 ; as we learn from 
 the King's epistle to Paul III.' The first pro- 
 
 u It was dated, at Falkland, on the Kalends of March 
 1537-8, when his son, James, was said, by him, to be then 
 going in the seventh year of his age.
 
 120 THE LIFE OF [MEM. V. Memoir of 
 
 vision, which his imprudent father made, for 
 this spurious son, was, by a grant of the Barony 
 and Castle of Tamtallon, that had been already 
 settled on an elder bastard of the same name, 
 from whom it was now taken, as he was better 
 provided for, by the gift of the two several 
 Abbeys of Kelso, and Melrose. It is unneces- 
 sary to state how much James V. disgraced 
 himself, and degraded his government, by plac- 
 ing so many bastard boys, at the head of such 
 religious establishments. Yet, in pursuance of 
 that fatal policy, in 1538, he conferred on his 
 son, by Margaret Erskine, the rich Priory of 
 St. Andrews, while he was not yet seven years of 
 age. x This infant Prior, or Commendator, was 
 educated at the University of St. Andrews, 
 where he resided, as a student, at the prema- 
 ture demise of his father, in December 1542. T 
 
 * The King, at the same time, appointed Alexander 
 Miln, the Abbot of Cambuskenneth, and President of the 
 Court of Session, to administer the spiritual, and temporal 
 concerns of the Priory of St. Andrews, during the non-age of 
 this favourite eon. [Epist. Reg. Scot. ii. 72. James V. letter 
 to Paul III. dated the 6th June 1540. 
 
 * This boy is described, in the College Register, under the 
 year 1544, as " Dominus Jacobus Stuart, junior, Jilius quon- 
 dam illustrissimi Jacobi quinti Scotorum Regis, Cccnobite Divi 
 Andrea, Commendatoriu$," as a student of three years stand- 
 ing, who had a right to vote : He took no degree at the
 
 the Regent Murray."] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 121 
 
 We hear nothing of his learning : And we may 
 presume, that he was born with a stronger pro- 
 pensity for action, than for study. On the de- 
 mise of his father, the young Prior would re- 
 treat to his mother's residence, in Lochleven ; 
 and she might wish to detain him, from his 
 useful studies, at St. Andrews." 
 
 university ; at least, there is no notice, in the register, of such 
 academick honours, when he was thirteen, or fourteen years 
 of age. In the Treasurer's Accounts of September 1538, 
 there is a charge, " for expences disbursed on Lord James, 
 now Prior of St. Andrews, for a black velvet coat, for black 
 browderit velvot to begary it j in all worth ^"25." These 
 articles were sent to St. Andrews. In January 1538-9, there 
 were charged, in the same accounts, for clothes, sarkes, and 
 sheets, to the Lord James, at St. Andrews. In March, and 
 May, there were other furnishings, to the two Lord Jameses, 
 at St. Andrews. In April, and May 1540, there were, then, 
 at St. Andrews, four of the King's bastard sons : And there 
 were then sent them to that seat of learning, eight pair of 
 hose, and four black bonnets. In June, there were other 
 articles sent to those boys : There were, moreover, clothes 
 furnished to Thomas Dury, cuke to the Lord James, the 
 Prior of St. Andrews. [Treasurer's Accounts.'] 
 
 * In the Treasurer's Accounts of the llth of June 1543, 
 there appears a payment to Robert Heriot, messenger, 
 passing with letters, to charge the Laird of Lochleven, the 
 husband of the boy's mother, to deliver the Commendator 
 of St. Andrews. As the law knew nothing of this bastard, 
 it was not easy to discover, by what authority, if not by that 
 of Abbot Miln, the Governor issued that charge to deliver 
 him.
 
 122 THE LIFE OF [MTEM. V. Memoir of 
 
 Meantime, the seeds of ambition, which na- 
 ture had scattered in his mind, began to sprout ; 
 and he was thus induced, by his propensities, to 
 cultivate useful connections, by engaging some 
 of the ablest, and busiest men, in Scotland, for 
 his particular service : He, also, wished to tra- 
 vel ; that he might enlarge his views of the 
 world. The Parliament of Hadington, which 
 met, in July 1548, having determined to send 
 the Queen to France, for the security of her 
 person, from open violence, and secret machi- 
 nations, induced the Commendator, to think 
 this a good opportunity, to pass into France, 
 with his accustomed retinue of political asso- 
 ciates: 1 Andrew Wood of Largo, who with 
 his son, John, continued through life, a de- 
 voted adherent of the Prior, was, in 1562, ap- 
 pointed the Collector of the Queen's Thirds of 
 Benefices, in Fife, by his present protector, who 
 
 His license was granted, on the 9th of July 1548, to 
 pass to France, to " the Sculis, and study, and to do other 
 his lawful business." Pitscottie says, that James, the Prior 
 of St. Andrews, went to France with the young Queen, in 
 1548. As perpetual Commendator of the Priory of St. 
 Andrews, he issued a summons, on the 15th of March 
 1549-50, against Mr. John Rowl, the Prior of Pittenweem, 
 which was a cell, or dependency of the Priory of St. Andrews. 
 [MS. extracts from the Register of St. Andrews.]
 
 the Regent Murray '.] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 123 
 
 had at length become the Queen's minister ; k 
 (2) Robert Colville of Cleishe, who was a bas- 
 tard son of Sir James Colville of Easter Wemyss, 
 and had obtained, from his father, the lands of 
 Cleishe : He again went to France, with the 
 Prior, in 1550 ; and being a zealous innovator, 
 became the Master of the Household to the 
 Prior : and following him into the field, he was 
 slain, at the siege of Leith, on the 7th of May 
 1560 : c (3) Patrick Myrton, the Archdeacon 
 of Aberdeen : (4) Patrick Cockburn, parson of 
 Petcoks, in East Lothian, who was an author 
 by profession ; and he again went to France 
 with the Prior, in 1550 : d (5) John Wood, the 
 vicar of Largo, soon after became the Prior's 
 secretary, in which station, he became noto- 
 rious, for his attachment to the Prior, and for 
 his enmity to the Queen ; he was appointed, by 
 
 b Collector's Accounts, in the Register-house, at Edin- 
 burgh. 
 
 Robert Colville, who thus sacrificed his life to his zeal 
 of innovation, or his attachment of interest, was the proge- 
 nitor of the Lord Colville of Ochiltree. 
 
 d He dedicated his book, " De Vulgari Sacra Scriptures 
 Phrasi," to the Prior, in May 1552. Cockburn published 
 some other religious works. But, they were all prohibited by 
 the Pope : Cockburn became the first Protestant minister of 
 Hadington : But, in 1564, and 1565, he was complained of, 
 for not attending the general assemblies of the church. 
 Keith, 535, 540. He was not a thorough-paced reformer.
 
 124 THE LIFE OF [MEM. V. Memoir of 
 
 his master's influence, when Minister of Scot- 
 land, one of the Senators of the College of Jus- 
 tice; he was concerned, as we have seen, with 
 Buchanan, in fabricating a declaration, for the 
 attainted Paris, which is disgraceful, for its con- 
 tradictions, and odious for its falsehoods ; Wood 
 died by the vengeful hand of the Laird of 
 Reres : (6) Patrick, the Master of Lindsey : 
 He was, however, on the subsequent day, di- 
 rected, by the Governor, not to depart the 
 kingdom : this person married the sister ute- 
 rine of the Prior ; and succeeding his father 
 John, Lord Lindsey, in 1563, became notorious 
 for his zeal of innovation, and violence of mea- 
 sures : He was one of the principal assassins 
 of Rizzio, and one of the conspirators, who 
 compelled the Queen to resign her crown ; 
 and afterwards swore, that she had resigned it 
 voluntarily. 
 
 Such then, were the political associates of this* 
 youthful Prior, who, according to Robertson, 
 soon became disgusted with the indolent retire- 
 ment of a monastick life, as if he had ever been 
 confined to a monastick life. 
 
 Among the respectable persons, who at- 
 tended the infant Queen to France, were the 
 Commendator's grandfather, John Lord Ers- 
 kine, and his uncle, John Erskine, the Prior of 
 Inchmahom, who became Lord Erskine, Earl
 
 the Regent Murray.] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 125 
 
 of Mar, and in 1571, Regent of Scotland. 6 
 We may from those circumstances infer, that 
 the youthful Commendator went, on that oc- 
 casion, to Paris, on a jaunt of pleasure, more 
 than, for the instruction of the sculis. 
 
 Those early notices of so distinguished a 
 person are, certainly, instructive ; particularly, 
 as he is sometimes confounded, with another 
 bastard brother of the same name, who was 
 Prior of Kelso, and Melrose: as we have 
 seen/ 
 
 The Prior, however, seems not to have re- 
 mained long, at the sculis of France. He was, 
 certainly, present, in the Council of the Scoti- 
 can Church, which was assembled, at Edin- 
 burgh, for reformation, in 1549, when he was 
 scarcely eighteen. 8 
 
 The Comraendator very early felt the 
 movements of love, as well as the incitements 
 of ambition. On the infant daughter of John, 
 
 e Privy Seal Reg. xxii. fol. 16-17. 
 
 f See Lodge's Illustrations, whose mistakes have been 
 copied into other works of a similar kind. This James 
 Stewart died, in September, or October 1557. [Privy Seal 
 Reg. xxix. 7 ] 
 
 8 Wilkins's Cone. i. p. 28 : and Sir David Dalrymple's 
 Councils. Among the abbots, and priors, who sat, in that as- 
 sembly, was " Jacobus Prioratus Ecclesialis Primatialis Sti. 
 Andrea, Commendatorius." 
 
 VOL. III. K
 
 126 THE LI? OF [MEM. V. Memoir of 
 
 the master of Buchan, the Commendator cast 
 his prudent eyes, as a convenient match : And, 
 upon the 16th of January, 1549-50, he en- 
 tered into a contract of marriage, with James 
 Steuart, the lady's uncle, though her grand- 
 father, the Earl of Buchan, was still alive : This 
 contract was never fulfilled, by the Commen- 
 dator ; but, under its cover, he contrived to 
 deprive the heiress of her inheritance ; as we 
 know from the records. 
 
 Having assisted, at the Ecclesiastical Coun- 
 cil of 1549, in passing some Acts of Reforma- 
 tion ; and entered into that contract, he again 
 went to France, in September 1550, when not 
 yet nineteen, " for dressing some affairs of the 
 Queen," and her realm. h He was, again, ac- 
 companied, by various dependents, who could 
 each support him, by their advice, or arms, by 
 their words, or writings. They were : John 
 Rowll, the Prior of Pittenweem ; William Law- 
 der of Hatton ; l Dean John Winram, the Vicar 
 
 h For that effect, there was a license granted to him, his 
 servants, and friends, on the 6th of September 1 55O. 
 
 1 Lawder was a zealous innovator, and a constant adhe- 
 rent of our Prior, through his various conspiracies, and adven- 
 tures. He engaged in the assassination of Rizzio, and the 
 imprisonment of the Queen, for Murray's behoof ; and was 
 pardoned, for those treasons, by Murray's influence. [Privy 
 Seal Reg. 7th July 1566.]
 
 the Regent Murray.'] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 127 
 
 of Don; k Mr. John Douglas, the Parson of 
 Newlands, who, under the corrupt regency of 
 Morton, rose, by his arts, to be Archbishop of 
 St. Andrews ;' Patrick Cockburn, the Parson of 
 Petcokis ; David Henryson, the Vicar of Rossie : 
 Henry Douglas the younger, of Drumgarland ; 
 Alexander Erskine, the son of John, Lord Ers- 
 kine, and uncle of the Prior ; Robert Colville of 
 Cleishe, before mentioned ; John Forret ; Ro- 
 bert Wynram, in Ratho ; James Somerville, in 
 Humby ; m David Orme ; and Bartholomew 
 Livingston. Such then, were the characters, 
 who accompanied our ambitious Commendator 
 to France, on the Queen's affairs." 
 
 What business the Prior dressed, or undress- 
 ed, for his sister, and Queen, in France, it is 
 not easy to discover. He, no doubt, acted 
 more for himself than the Queen, his sister ; as 
 we may infer, from the list of his attendants. 
 
 k Winram was an early innovator, while Subprior of St. 
 Andrews ; and filled that seat of learning, with his prin- 
 ciples. 
 
 1 He was a bastard of Robert Douglas of Langnewton ; 
 was originally a Carmelite friar ; then Parson of Newlands ; 
 Chaplain to the Earl of Argyle j an innovator by habit j and 
 he thus became Rector of the University of St. Andrews, 
 and Archbishop : he died in 1575. 
 
 m James Somerville, and his two brothers, were engaged 
 in the assassination of Rizzio, for the relief of Murray. 
 
 Privy Seal Reg. xxiv. fol. 18.
 
 128 THE LIFE OF [MEM. V. Memoir of 
 
 He, probably, returned, early, in the subse- 
 quent year ; as he obtained legitimation, on the 
 7th of February 1550-1. He was again legi- 
 timated, owing to whatever cause, in subse- 
 quent times, as his prospects opened upon him, 
 when he was incited, by the ambition of others, 
 as well as his own, to grasp at the sceptre.* 
 
 Early in the subsequent year, 1552, he seems 
 to have begun his political connection with 
 England, while he continued his intrigues, in 
 France, for what he could obtain, when he was, 
 scarcely, arrived at that period of life, when 
 young men are allowed by law to act for them- 
 selves.* 1 He certainly went to France in July 
 1552, by the route of London, and returned the 
 same way, in the following December.' There 
 
 Privy Seal Reg. xxiv. p. 52. ' Id. 
 
 i Goodall mentions a treasonable correspondence with 
 England, in 1552, on the authority of the Cot. Lib. Col. B. 
 vii. 455, which seems to be mistaken in the reference. 
 [Dalzell's Setch of Murray's Life, 147 ] The fact is, how- 
 ever, that there is recorded on the books of the English 
 Privy Council, a warrant, dated the 27th of July 1552, for 
 paying to James Steuart, a hundred marks. On the 5th of 
 the subsequent December, there is recorded another warrant, 
 in the same books, for paying to James Steuart, in the 
 way of imprest, another hundred marks. 
 
 r On the 13th of September 1552 he witnessed a com- 
 mission, which was granted, at Paris, by W. Gordon, the 
 Bishop of Aberdeen, under the name of James Steuart,
 
 the Regent Murray.] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 129 
 
 is reason to believe, from the jealousies enter- 
 tained, by the English Court, of that of France, 
 during a year of peace, that the ministers of 
 Edward VI. made use of the youthful Prior, as 
 an unsuspected spy, during his residence at 
 Paris. Considering the Prior's revenue, we 
 might suppose, that he was under no necessity, 
 to receive the wages of corruption ; if it were 
 not, that he had many followers, whose needs 
 made constant demands on his accustomed in- 
 come. 
 
 Of such a character, as our Commendator, 
 it is curious to remark, that while he thus re- 
 ceived money of England, he began to act as 
 the Reformer of Scotland, at the early age of 
 one-and- twenty, when most youths, some to 
 business, some to pleasure take.' But, the 
 ruling passion of the Prior, was ambition, which 
 can stoop to the lowest baseness. It is out of 
 nature, for a young man of twenty-one to com- 
 mence the Reformer of that Church, from 
 
 Prior of St. Andrews. This fact proves, that he was, cer- 
 tainly, at Paris, on the day specified. 
 
 s Burnet represents, under the year 1552, the state of 
 Scotland to have been divided into two factions : At the 
 head of the one, was Archbishop Hamilton : The other fac- 
 tion, who hated him, and inclined to the Reformation, put 
 the Prior of St. Andrews, at their head. [Hist. Reform, ii. 
 209.]
 
 130 THE LIFE OF [MEM. V. Memoir of 
 
 whose establishment, he derived so large an 
 income, and such considerable patronage. 
 
 We are thus led to investigate, more dis- 
 tinctly, the Prior's real views, either of interest, 
 or ambition. We have seen him going to 
 France, in 1548, when he was, scarcely, seven- 
 teen, with a great following of writers, warriors, 
 and politicians ; being already ambitious, 
 " with endless rule to dwell." He now went 
 to France, with his sister, and sovereign : In 
 1550, he again went to France, in the train of 
 the dowager-queen ; on pretence of promoting 
 the Queen's affairs, with a similar accompani- 
 ment of various characters, whom he had at- 
 tracted, by his gratuities. In 1552, we have 
 detected the Prior, at the age of one-and- 
 twenty, employed, by the ministers of Edward 
 VI., in their secret intrigues, and receiving their 
 money, for his management. We have per- 
 ceived him, during the same year, already at the 
 head of the Scotish reformers, in opposition to 
 the Archbishop of St. Andrews : And, it is rea- 
 sonable to ask, whether he placed himself, at 
 the head of such innovators, upon a religious, 
 or an ambitious motive ? While he was young, 
 We shall see him busy, both in the Scotican 
 Councils, and in the Scotish Parliament; while 
 he was induced, by love, to court the Countess of 
 Buchan, and by avarice, to swindle her out of
 
 the Regent Murray.'] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 131 
 
 her estate. We shall observe him joining with a 
 very few nobles, who were as busy as himself, 
 in the recal of John Knox, one of the most tur- 
 bulent men of an innovating age, that he might 
 act with them, both as priest, and prophet. 
 When the Reformers, in 1558, assumed a sort 
 of political system, we shall still find the Prior, 
 at the head of them. In the year 1559 when 
 they had made some progress, under Cecil's 
 management, we still see the Prior an active 
 leader, following his ruling passions of interest, 
 and ambition. What his motives were, we 
 may, distinctly, perceive, in Throgmorton's in- 
 formation to Cecil, before mentioned: I am 
 " secretly informed," said that discerning am- 
 bassador, to the Secretary, in July 1559, " that 
 " there is a party, in Scotland, for placing the 
 " Prior of St. Andrews, in the state of Scotland; 
 ' c and that the Prior himself, by all the secret 
 
 1 Forbes's State Papers, I. 8O. Holinshed, i. 367-9, has 
 transcribed, out of Lesley, two letters, from Francis, and 
 Mary, dated, in August 1559, reprehending the Ix>rd James, 
 for his attempts to deprive them of their whole authority, in 
 Scotland. It is apparent, from the above review of his con- 
 duct, from his early youth, that he was guilty. In 1559, 
 he had a greater influence, in Scotland, than the Queen her- 
 self ; as he had long dedicated his whole revenues to ob- 
 tain followers From the moment, that he placed himself 
 at the head of the innovators, he became dangerous to the 
 Queen's legal authority.
 
 132 , THE LIFE OF [MEM. V. Memoir of 
 
 " means he can, aspires thereto."' Cecil's in- 
 structions to Sadler, naturally, followed that 
 information of Throgmorton. Secretary Cecil 
 went, in the subsequent year, to Scotland, to 
 negotiate the treaty of Edinburgh. In writing 
 to Elizabeth, from that city, on the 19th of 
 June 1560, Cecil says ; " Next to Lethington 
 [Maitland] is the Lord James, who, surely, is 
 " not unlike either in person, or qualities, to 
 " be a King, soon."" The whole State Papers 
 of that age evince, that Secretary Cecil always 
 meant more, than he expressed. During the 
 same year 1559, as we are assured by Robert- 
 son, the Regent-Queen, publickly, insinuated 
 " that the ambition of the Prior aspired beyond 
 " the condition of a subject ; and aimed at 
 " nothing less than the crown itself ; x an accu- 
 " sation, so improbable," continues he, " gained 
 " but little credit :" And thus, the historian 
 was induced, by a very illegitimate logick, to 
 
 n It was in vain, for Elizabeth, seven years afterwards, to 
 talk, that there was an intent discovered to us, before the 
 making of the treaty of Edinburgh, even by Lethington him- 
 self, to deprive the Scotish Queen of her crown, which mo- 
 tion we utterly rejected. Cot. Lib. Col. C. 9. 50. That 
 there was a purpose, which was countenanced, by the 
 English government, to deprive the Scotish Queen of her 
 crown, is true : but, it is not true, that Elizabeth checked 
 that purpose, as she rather promoted it. 
 
 * Hist. Scot. i. 202-3.
 
 the Regent Murray."] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 133 
 
 object to the notice in Forbes, and to a whole 
 chapter, in Goodall, T as well as to the fact. 
 Secretary Cecil, who wrote from what he saw, 
 and understood, thought differently from Dr. 
 Robertson, that the Lord James was likely to 
 be soon a King. From that epoch, the Lord 
 James became the instrument of Elizabeth, and 
 Cecil, for ruining the Scotish Queen. If we 
 carry on our inquiries, on this head, one step 
 further, we shall see, whether Robertson, or 
 Cecil, reasoned most accurately, about the 
 probabilities of the Prior's Kingship : The at- 
 tempt of Elizabeth to intercept the Scotish 
 Queen's passage to Scotland, after denying her 
 a safe conduct, evinces the purpose of Cecil, 
 and Lord James, to imprison the Scotish Queen, 
 that her bastard brother might reign, as a de- 
 pendent prince. It is morever an interesting 
 fact, that from the treaty of Edinburgh, on the 
 5th of July 1560, to the 19th of August 1561, 
 when the Queen arrived, the Lord James, the 
 bastard of Scotland, was the virtual sovereign 
 of Scotland, under the corrupt management of 
 Secretary Cecil ; having declined to act, under 
 the commission, which the Queen had trans- 
 mitted to Scotland, for establishing a legitimate 
 government. 
 
 y Forbes, i. 80 ; Goodall, i. ch. iii.
 
 134 THE LIFE OF [MEM. V. Memoir of 
 
 It is now necessary to trace some other 
 points of the Prior's progress to his elevation, 
 as sovereign, by a brief retrospection, from the 
 year 1552, when he appeared at the head of the 
 innovators. We see him active, in the Par- 
 liament of 1554, as the chief of the reformers ; 
 supporting the Queens-regent's pretensions/ 
 This party, and the Queen-regent, seem to 
 have understood each other : She procured the 
 return of the assassins of Cardinal Beaton, and 
 favoured their present views ; and they flattered 
 her passions, and supported her government. 
 After the death of John Rowll, in 1555, the 
 Lord James obtained the Priory of Pittenweem.' 
 He acquired, during the same year, the rich 
 priory of Mascou, in France : b He appears, 
 afterwards, to have obtained a bishoprick, in 
 the same kingdom, as he seemed to be sincere, 
 in promoting the measures of France. 6 It is 
 
 z Ada Par/. 597- 
 
 3 Privy Seal Reg. 14th April 1555. b Goodall,i. 153. 
 
 e Hanlwicke's State Pap. i. 158: Throgmorton the Eng- 
 lish Ambassador, at Paris, wrote to Elizabeth, on the 29th 
 November 1560 : " Whereas, the Lord James, Bastard of 
 Scotland, had, out of a bishoprick, and abbey, of this coun- 
 try, a yearly pension of 2,500 crowns j he hath made suit 
 to this King, and Queen, to have not only the arrearages 
 of the same, since it hath been staid ; but also the conti- 
 nuation thereof. The Queen (Mary) hath made him this
 
 the Regent Murray.] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 135 
 
 obvious, that the Prior was thus studious, to ob- 
 tain those ecclesiastical promotions, in France, 
 under the authority of the Pope, while the Prior 
 was active, in undermining the Papal authority 
 in Scotland/ 
 
 The duplicity, which was so fashionable, in 
 that religious age, and of which the Prior was 
 so great an adept, may be illustrated, from a 
 very different transaction ; His contract of 
 marriage with the Countess of Buchan, as we 
 have seen, was never fulfilled : But, from that 
 vantage-ground, the Commendator saw, dis- 
 tinctly, the condition, both of the lady, who 
 was then an infant, and of the earldom of 
 Buchan, which was burdened with the debts 
 of an old, and improvident Earl. As early as 
 1556, the Commendator adopted the purpose of 
 acquiring this earldom, without marrying the 
 heiress, to whom he was engaged : His mode of 
 making this acquisition, was, by buying up the 
 
 answer, that like as this his falling, from his duty, hath been 
 the cause of the stay thereof, and deserveth his exemption, 
 from the same j so his merits again, towards her, is the only 
 way to purchase her favour, and the said pension ; which, if 
 he accomplish, according to the trust she hath of him, he 
 shall not only be^sure of his satisfaction, but also of all the 
 good favour, that may be showed him, besides his pension, 
 whether he dispose himself, to be ecclesiastical, or temporal." 
 d Ib. under 1559-60.
 
 136 THE LIFE OF [MEM. V. Memoir of 
 
 mortgages, or other securities, on this encum- 
 bered property. In 1556, he acquired, from 
 the heiress, and her tutor, Ogilvie of Boyne, 
 assignations of the rights of redeeming those 
 securities ; and upon those assignations, he ob- 
 tained confirmatory grants of the crown, which 
 gave him a complete right to the assigned pro- 
 perty. 6 On the death of the old Earl, in 1562, 
 his grand-daughter, Christian, succeeded to the 
 earldom of Buchan, without the estate, which 
 the Prior had secured, for himself: And she 
 was married, in 1563, to the uterine brother of 
 the Prior, Robert, the second son of Robert 
 Douglas of Lochleven, who had married Mar- 
 garet, the Prior's mother, by James V. That 
 the heiress of Buchan had been swindled out of 
 her marriage, and her estates, by the Commen- 
 dator, is now quite evident, from the publick 
 records/ 
 
 Amidst the various, and continued pretences 
 of the reformers, during the years 1558, 1559, 
 1560, the Prior had frequent occasions, to dis- 
 play his perseverance, and his artifices. But, 
 the first attempt, which appears, of the Lord 
 James, by the help of Knox, to impose a for- 
 gery on the credulous world, was, in October 
 1559." We may thus see, that the Reformer, 
 
 See the Apj>. No. v. f Id. 
 
 Elizabeth's notorious agent, Randolph, under; the feigned
 
 the Regent Murray.} THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 137 
 
 and the Prior were fully aware of the conve- 
 nient policy of making a letter, or a lie, serve 
 the appropriate purpose of the fraudful day, 
 which, 
 
 ft the well-invented tale, for truth imparts." 
 
 But, what was the imposition of such a letter, 
 which was thus easily detected, to the fraud of 
 the treaty of Edinburgh, 6th July 1560, " by 
 " which, according to Robertson, the sovereign 
 " authority was almost tranferred into the 
 " hands of the congregation ?" h Yet, the his- 
 torian does not stop, to inquire, whether a 
 transfer, so, extraordinary, was ever made, or 
 if powers to make such a treaty, were ever 
 given. There was, indeed, a treaty, of that 
 date made, at Edinburgh, between Elizabeth, 
 on the one part, and Francis and Mary, on the 
 other :' But, that such a treaty was never made 
 with the Scotish insurgents, is quite clear : 
 
 name of Barnaby, wrote, from Hamilton, on the 12th of 
 October 1559, to Sadler, and Croft, at Berwick : as we 
 learn, from Sadler's State Papers, i. 497-9 : " The Prior of 
 " St. Andrews sent a letter to the Earl of Arran, that he re- 
 " ceived out of France : containing many news of the pre- 
 " parations against Scotland, with advice to seek aid of 
 " England : which, I guess, to savour too much of Knox's 
 " style, to come from France, though it will serve to good 
 "purpose." h His*, i. 241. 
 
 ' See it in Rymer, xv. and in Leonard, ii.
 
 138 THE LIFE OF [MEM. V. Memoir of 
 
 The treaty, which was intimated, by Robert- 
 son, as we have seen above, is a gross forgery ; 
 as plainly appears, after every research, that 
 can be made, on this important subject : k The 
 French Ambassadors had no authority to make 
 any treaty with the Scotch insurgents :' They 
 refused, at Edinburgh, the place of negotiation, 
 to make any treaty : And yet a treaty is pro- 
 duced, at last, accompanied with every mark, 
 that can denote a forgery. 1 " The Lord James, 
 with Secretary Maitland, were the instruments, 
 who imposed this fraud on a believing people, 
 in concurrence with Secretary Cecil ; who were 
 all very capable of any baseness, for a political 
 purpose : While Cecil continued, in Scotland, 
 he regarded Maitland, the Secretary, to be the 
 only statesman, who was capable of providing, 
 for the burden of foresight. 
 
 The Lord James continued his activity of 
 design, to promote his own interests, through- 
 out the busy year 1560. The several points, 
 
 k See Whitaker's Vindication of Mary's Innocence, iii. 
 40-3 j 463-93-515 ; and the App. to this Memoir, No. iii. 
 
 1 See their full powers, in Rym. Feed. xv. p. 581 : It was 
 dated the <2d of July 1560. 
 
 m See the App. to this Memoir, No. iii. 
 
 n When the English troops, which were atLeith, marched 
 off, in pursuance of the Treaty of Edinburgh, the Lord 
 James accompanied them to Berwick. Keith, 445.
 
 the Regent Murray.] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 139 
 
 which the feigned treaty contained, were car- 
 ried into effect, without ratification : And above 
 all, a Parliament was called, by the Lord 
 James's influences, without the Queen's know- 
 ledge, and sat, without her authority: But, 
 the managing persons insisted, that the treaty 
 justified such constitutional irregularities, and 
 necessity confirmed the convention, though 
 the Queen had not ratified the treaty, and, 
 without ratification, no treaty is valid. A great 
 variety of laws were now passed, which a heated 
 people demanded, and an assembly of zealots 
 enacted : Sir James Sandilands was sent with 
 the proceedings of such a convention to France ; 
 to ask for the Queen's ratification of measures, 
 whereof she had no previous knowledge ; p the 
 Queen refused to ratify such proceedings, and 
 regarded the messenger with great jealousy, 
 while she knew, that a splendid embassage 
 had been sent, by the same convention, to Eli- 
 zabeth. Robertson thought it too late, now, 
 to call in question the legality of the conven- 
 tion of August 1560 ; as if it were ever too late 
 
 See a list of them in Keith, 161 ; and they have been 
 recently printed, among the Ada Parliamentorum ; not that 
 such laws had any force in themselves, but were legalized, 
 by a subsequent Parliament. 
 
 P See his instructions, II. App. 91, and the Hardwicke 
 State Papers.
 
 140 THE LIFE OF [MEM. V. Memoir of 
 
 to rectify error, and to ascertain truth. The Lord 
 James continued, from his temperament, to be 
 one of the most active of those lords, who as- 
 sumed the government of Scotland, during that 
 anarchical period. The state of this country, 
 and people, justifies the observation of Eliza- 
 beth, who had contributed to bring it into such 
 a state, that " the Scots were populus sine ca- 
 " pite."* Elizabeth, on that occasion, refused, 
 to accept, as her husband, Lord Arran, who 
 was offered to her choice, by that convention ; 
 and who, as early as 1554, had been destined, 
 by his father, to be the husband of the infant 
 Queen. Amidst the intrigues, which were in 
 agitation, both at London, and Paris, died on 
 the 5th of December 1560, Francis II. the 
 Queen's husband, and matrimonial King of 
 Scots, one of the gentlest of sovereigns. 
 
 The Lords, who ruled Scotland, without au- 
 thority, with the Lord James, at their head, 
 called together a convention of such barons, 
 as were nearest at hand, on the 15th of Ja- 
 
 i Hardwicke's State Pap. i. 165 : In the same letter, it is 
 said, " As far as I can learn among the Scotish men, [at 
 " London] if their alliance be not more established, than 
 " some here would ; they shall be constrained, to save 
 " their necks, and to win the French favour again, to turn 
 " their coats, which doth not a little grieve them." 16. 169.
 
 the Regent Murray.-] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 141 
 
 imary 1560-1 ; to consider of the effects of that 
 event/ The convention is said to have ap- 
 pointed the Lord James, to repair to the Queen, 
 in order to persuade her, to return to Scotland.' 
 From the State papers we thus see, that the 
 Lord James had no such authority, as Knox 
 supposed, and said : And, from those State 
 papers, we also perceive, that the chiefs of the 
 nobility were, equally, willing, to receive Eli- 
 zabeth, as Mary, or any potentate, that would 
 gratify best their ambition, or their avarice. 
 The Lord James, as we are informed, by Ran- 
 dolph, was in no hurry to depart, " till he see 
 " what will be done, at the ensuing Parlia- 
 " ment."' Amidst the intrigues of that busy 
 
 1 Keith, 157- 
 
 8 Knox, 283 : There remains, in the Paper Office, a letter 
 from the Lord James to Cecil, dated the 7th of February 
 1560-1} desiring a passport : "being ordered by the no- 
 " bility, and council, to our sovereign, for declaration of our 
 " duty, and devotion, to her highness." Such, then, were 
 his powers, which he could shape into any form. There is 
 also a letter, on that occasion, from Argyle j offering -his 
 services to Queen Elizabeth. There is a similar letter, from 
 the Duke of Chattelherauld, in favour of Lord James ; and 
 offering his services to Queen Elizabeth. There was a 
 similar letter, from Morton to Cecil, in favour of Lord 
 James, with an offer of his services. What traitors ! 
 
 * The convention was appointed, by the ruling powers, to 
 meet the 21st of May, next. Keith, 157- 
 
 VOL. III. L
 
 142 THE LIFE OF [MEM. V. Memoir of 
 
 agent, to secure an English interest, in Scot- 
 land, arrived various persons, from Mary. 
 Bothwell, also, arrived from Paris, " to work," 
 according to Randolph, " what mischief he 
 " can," to Randolph's designs of serving Eli- 
 zabeth against Mary : There came from Mary, 
 at the same time, a commission to seven per- 
 sonages, or any three of them, to convene, and 
 hold a Parliament, in her name." But, owing 
 to the uncertainty, and intrigues of the mo- 
 ment, this royal commission appears not to 
 have been adopted, by the heterogeneous com- 
 missioners. In the meantime, Maitland, who 
 was then the ablest statesman, in Scotland, 
 acted, in some sort, as Elizabeth's Secretary, in 
 Scotland ; and basely informed Cecil of every 
 measure, both at Edinburgh, and Paris. 31 
 
 There was another party, consisting of pre- 
 lates, and nobles, of great consequence, who 
 seem to have stood aloof, from those, who 
 acted more, for Elizabeth, than Mary, and who 
 sent Lesley, the Bishop elect of Ross, to offer 
 
 u The royal commissioners were : The Duke, the Earl 
 of Argyle, the Earl of Huntley, the Earl of Bothwell, 
 the Lord James, the Earl of Athole, and the Bishop of St. 
 Andrews. 
 
 x Hfs correspondence with Cecil, which remains, in the 
 Paper Office, is the record of his guilt.
 
 t\e Regent Murray.] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 143 
 
 their duties, and advice, to their sovereign. 7 
 The zeal of Lesley seems to have outrun the 
 policy of Lord James : Lesley arrived a day 
 before his arrival, at Vitrie, where he was well 
 received by the Queen ; where he communi- 
 cated to her the state of her kingdom ; and 
 offered her the duties of those, who had 
 sent him. The Lord James arrived the follow- 
 ing day, who told her, with his usual duplicity, 
 " that he came only to pay his duty to her, as 
 " his sovereign lady, without any commission 
 " whatsoever, relating to any thing else." 1 He 
 asked for himself, however, the Earldom of 
 Murray, which the Queen declined to give, till 
 her return. He appears to have then gained 
 an ascendency over his sovereign, under which 
 she seems to have acted, during all his treasons. 
 He forgot to inform her of what, he had an 
 interest to conceal, that Maitland, who had 
 betrayed her mother, when regent, was now 
 acting, with Cecil, as Secretary, in Scotland ; 
 that the duke, and other nobles, had offered 
 their services to Elizabeth ; that the party, 
 
 y The persons, who are named, by Keith, 1 57* were : The 
 Archbishop of St. Andrews, the Bishops of Aberdeen, and 
 Murray, Ross, and the Earls of Huntley, Crawford,, Athole, 
 and Sutherland. 
 
 1 See the Queen's letter, in Keith, 163, from Nancy, the 
 <2<2d of April 1561.
 
 144 THE LIFE OF [MiM. V. Memoir of 
 
 with which he had long acted, was much more 
 attached to Elizabeth, than affectionate to her, 
 their sovereign.* Lord James departed, from 
 Paris, on the 4th of May 1561, on his return, 
 through London, to Edinburgh.* The expectant 
 Earl, as he passed through London, gave Cecil, 
 and Elizabeth, notice of the Queen's purpose, 
 to return to her own kingdom, by sea, and 
 advised them, to intercept her voyage. The 
 Queen had before applied to Elizabeth for 
 passports, which were, expressly, refused, before 
 her whole court ; in order to show her purpose 
 to the world : And she sent out her ships, on 
 the pretence of " cleansing the seas of pirates ;" 
 but with the real design of intercepting the 
 Scotish Queen ; d in which purpose, as it applied 
 
 * The State Papers of 1560-1 evince those truths; and 
 see Keith, 1566-7. 
 
 b Ib. 164. But, he brought no commission, from Mary, to 
 govern for her, as Buchanan, falsely, asserts : And, the con- 
 vention of May 1561 sat, audaciously, under his influence, 
 without any authority, from their legitimate sovereign. 
 
 Camden, 53 : For, James, the bastard, returning, very 
 lately, through England, had given secret warning to inter- 
 cept her : Camden adds, Lethington gave the same advice ; 
 at he wrote : What he wrote still remains, in the Cotton 
 Library, and the Paper Office ; and his letters to Cecil are 
 the proofs of his criminality. 
 
 d The refusal of the passports, both to D'Oysel, and to 
 the Queen, is, universally, acknowledged, and is admitted,
 
 ike Regent Murray.'] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 145 
 
 to the Lord James, Secretary Maitland, and 
 the Earl of Morton, was a treacherous act of 
 high treason. 
 
 The Queen, as she arrived safe, was well 
 received ; and as she escaped the English ships, 
 was congratulated, by Elizabeth, who, with 
 appropriate duplicity, assured the Scotish 
 Queen, " that she had not, in the least, at- 
 " tempted to intercept her passing into her own 
 " kingdom."' There were publick rejoicings, at 
 Edinburgh, for her arrival: Buchanan, with 
 lucky malice, praised her much, saith worthy 
 Keith, that he might dispraise her much more. 
 But, these did not conceal from her what she 
 had lost, for ever, and what remained to her, at 
 present. She found herself obliged, as well, by 
 the advice, she had received, from her uncles, 
 as by her own reflections, to throw herself into 
 the arms of those treacherous men, who would 
 willingly have consigned, her, for life, to the 
 safe custody of her good, but guilty cousin. 
 The Lord James was appointed her avowed 
 minion ; her Privy Counsellors were somewhat 
 mixed ; but, the whole officers of state, or men 
 
 by Cecil. Hardwicke's State Papers, i. 172. Keith, 169- 
 70-71. See the App.to this Mem. No. iii. for additional 
 proofs of that nefarious transaction, in opposition to Ro- 
 bertson's apology, for Cecil's artifices, and Elizabeth's en- 
 mity. Keith, 181.
 
 146 THE LIFE OF [MEM. V. Memoir of 
 
 of business, except the Earl of Huntley, the 
 Chancellor, were the mere creatures of the 
 avowed minion/ "Under this new government," 
 as Bishop Lesley observes, " the Queen's bro- 
 " ther, the Lord James, was the sole favourite, 
 " and disposer of every thing : It was even con- 
 " jectured, he adds, by several people, that he 
 " had favoured a design, to possess himself of 
 " the crown." 8 The Queen now made a short 
 
 { See the list of the Privy Council, in Keith, 187- In that 
 list, were the Treasurer, the Secretary, the Clerk of Regis- 
 ter, and the Justice-elerk, who were all the mere minions of 
 the minion. But, what proof is there of this circumstance ? 
 This Privy Council was settled, on the 6th of September, 
 1561 5 On the 9th of March 1565-6, all those minions of the 
 minion, who were then expatriated, for his rebellion, with 
 the Earl of Morton, who had been appointed Chancellor, in 
 the room of the murdered Huntley, at their head, attacked 
 the Queen's palace, with force, and arms; assassinated 
 Rizzio, her private secretary, in her presence j and arrested 
 her person, for the relief of the minion: Than this, can there 
 be a more glaring proof of their being the basest minions 
 of a minion ? 
 
 g Keith, 188. And this thing, said Keith, is not only 
 related by that author, who may however be looked upon, as 
 too much prejudiced against the Prior j but, the same thing 
 ie likewise taken notice of, by the English Resident, Mr. 
 Randolph. The Prior, Lord James, was now thirty : and 
 his whole life had been a proof of his ambitious purposes. 
 His nature, and education, prompted his ambitious spirit : 
 As early as 1552, he, who had no religion, put himself at
 
 the Regent Murray. ] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 147 
 
 progress, through Stirlingshire, and Fife, to 
 Perth, attended, by the Lord James, who chose 
 not, perhaps, to interpose his influence, in pro- 
 tecting her, from the insult, and adulation, 
 which were offered to her, by people, who had 
 much religion, without manners, or morals. h 
 
 As early, as October 1561, measures were 
 thought of, for punishing, or restraining the 
 thieves, and robbers, on the borders : For this 
 important end, a solemn court of justice was 
 ordered, to be held, at Jedburgh, for trying 
 those delinquents : And the Lord James was 
 appointed, no doubt, by his own suggestion, to 
 be the Lord Justice ; ! he was, in fact, as we see 
 in the Privy Council Register, appointed the 
 Queen's Lieutenant, on the Borders, with more 
 
 the head of the religion; In 1558, 1559, and 1560,, he was, 
 in fact, king, under the management of Cecil, and Eliza- 
 beth : and, as minion, he now, in September 1561, acted, 
 without control. 
 
 h Keith, 189-90-1-93: The Lord James was, at that 
 period, when he was only thirty, described by Randolph, in 
 this manner : " The Lord James dealeth, according to his 
 " nature, rudely, homely, and bluntly." 16. 196. 
 
 ' Ib. 190-1-2 : Keith is studious, on that occasion, to pub- 
 lish records, in order to show, how grossly Buchanan, and 
 Knox, two established liars, have deborded from the truth ; 
 have departed from the fact : Buchanan, and Knox, had 
 no purpose to tell the truth ; the object of both being to de- 
 grade the Queen, by calumniation.
 
 148 THE LIFE OF [MEM. V. Memoir of 
 
 than royal power. Attended, by the Judges, 
 he proceeded, with the whole power of the 
 southern shires, to hold the Justice-court, at 
 Jedburgh, on the 13th of November 1561. We 
 are informed of the result, by Randolph's letter 
 to Cecil, dated the 3d of December : " Of the 
 Lord James's doings, at Jedburgh, and of the 
 meeting at Kelso, with the Lord Gray, and Sir 
 John Forster, I doubt not but your honour hath 
 been advertised : He burnt many houses ; he 
 hanged twenty-two, or twenty-three ; and he 
 brought to this town forty, or fifty, of which 
 there are twenty-three in the castle of Edin- 
 burgh : The chiefest of all the clans, on the 
 borders, are come in to take what order, it plea- 
 seth the Queen, to appoint ; to stay theft, in 
 time to come." k But, these were not the whole 
 doings of the Lord James, as Lieutenant on the 
 borders ; as we know, moreover, from Ran- 
 dolph : The Lieutenant made an inroad to 
 Ilawick, where he performed judicial exploits, 
 which rivalled the above in severity ; and would 
 
 k This long dispatch is in Keith, 203-8 : At the close 
 is added, what may be deemed very significant of the 
 Lord James's feelings of ambition : " The Lord James de- 
 sireth me to present unto your honour his hearty commen- 
 dations, under these words ; That he is not yet grown so 
 great, as he should misken you /' forget what he owes to 
 you. Ib.
 
 the Regent Murray} THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 149 
 
 not disparage Jeffreys 's campaign, in the West, 
 during the subsequent times of rigour, in 
 England. 1 
 
 The Lord James, who was thus superior to 
 the Queen, in influence, had now displayed his 
 power ; who, as Queen's Lieutenant, had quieted 
 the border turbulence, with an iron rod ; who, 
 as reformer, had courted the new clergy, at the 
 expense of the old ; now thought fit, to secure 
 something still more beneficial, for himself. He 
 had, for some years, cast his eager eyes on the 
 Earldom of Murray : When he went into the 
 northern shires, to reform the churches, in Au- 
 gust 1560, he had seen how much could be 
 obtained, by a person of his pretensions : Yet, 
 he did not, perhaps, very accurately know, that 
 the object of his cupidity belonged to others ; 
 though he saw, and envied, the extensive ju- 
 risdiction, and personal influence, of the Earl 
 of Huntley. 
 
 This great noble was born, in 1510, the son 
 of John, the apparent heir of Alexander, the 
 fourth earl, by Jane, the natural daughter of 
 
 1 See the Appendix to this Memoir, No. vi. Randolph 
 wrote to Cecil, from Edinburgh, on the llth of November 
 1561 : The Lord James is now Lieutenant on the borders, 
 sole minion of the Queen, likely soon to be Earl of Murray, 
 and Treasurer of Scotland." Keith, 202.
 
 150 THE LIFE OF [MEM. V. Memoir of 
 
 James IV. He was bred with James V. ; and 
 succeeded his grandfather, in 1524 : He sat in 
 the Parliaments of 1531, and of 1532, while he 
 was yet under age; and at two-and-twenty, 
 he was called into the Privy Council, during 
 the year 1535. When James V. went abroad 
 to marry Magdalen of France, in 1537, Hunt- 
 ley was one of the Commissioners, with the 
 two archbishops, who were left to govern 
 Scotland. He now ranked, in the Parliament, 
 as the premier Earl of Scotland. In 1542, 
 Huntley, the King's sister's son, commanded 
 on the borders. In March 1542-3, Huntley 
 again appeared, in Parliament, at the head of 
 the Earls, when James Hamilton, the Earl of 
 Arran, was declared to be the second person, 
 in the kingdom ; and, he was appointed one of 
 the Council, for assisting the regent Arran. 
 After the assassination of Cardinal Beaton, by 
 the abominable plot, which was managed in 
 England, by the Reformer Wishart, Huntley 
 was appointed Chancellor, by the Act of Privy 
 Council, in June 1546. At the fatal battle 
 of Pinkie, on the 10th of September 1547, he 
 commanded the reserve of the Scotish army ; 
 and fighting bravely, was taken prisoner, and 
 carried into England. I3eing now solicited, to 
 promote the marriage of his Queen to Edward 
 VI., he said : " He did not so much mislikc the
 
 the Regent Murray.'] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 151 
 
 match, as the way of wooing." Having made 
 his escape, from England, in 1548, he again 
 acted, as Chancellor. As a reward, for all his 
 services, and sufferings, Huntley, who was al- 
 ready Lord-lieutenant of the northern parts, 
 obtained a grant, on the 13th of February 
 1548-9, of the earldom of Murray, and lordship 
 of Abernethy. m He accompanied the Queen- 
 dowager into France, in 1550, where he ob- 
 tained the order of St. Michael ; and in April 
 1554, he, effectually, served her, when she 
 sought the regency, from the feeble hands of 
 Arran, the governor. Yet, in the same year, did 
 she, by the advice of her French servants, call 
 Huntley in question, for not performing im- 
 possibilities, in subduing some of the Highland 
 clans : On that occasion, he probably resigned 
 his charter of Murray." By disgusting such a 
 noble, she did not know how much she lost. 
 
 m Crawford's Officers of State, 85, which quotes the 
 charter, in the public archives. Gordon, in his History of 
 the Gordons, 1726, printed this charter, in his App. No. xx. 
 which has nevertheless remained quite unknown to the Scot- 
 ish historians ; and therein Robertson might have read it, if 
 he had been an historian of much reading. What more was 
 wanting to give Huntley a complete title to the earldom of 
 Murray, but the Queen's confirmation, when she came of 
 age ? He assumed the title of Earl of Murray. 
 
 n Sec the Appendix to this Mem. No. vii.
 
 152 THE LIFE OF [MEM. V. Memoir of 
 
 He continued Chancellor, however, and served 
 her throughout the difficult times, which en- 
 sued ; owing partly to the Lord James, who 
 promoted disturbance ; in order that, he might 
 guide the storm. On her death bed, in June 
 1560, she is said, by those, who wrote deliber- 
 ate falsehood, to have blamed Huntley, for his 
 advices ; but, she ought to have confessed her 
 own misconduct : she began her corrupt career 
 by procuring pardons, for the assassins of Car- 
 dinal Beaton, an offence so great, as to admit of 
 no pardon ; she proceeded, to court the inno- 
 vators, with the Lord James, at their head, 
 who only supported her measures, to betray 
 her, by carrying special points : On the con- 
 trary, her duty required, that she should sup- 
 port the laws of the land, with the constitu- 
 tional aid of the principal nobles : Argyle, 
 Lord James, and Secretary Maitland, only re- 
 mained, with her, long enough, to betray her ; 
 and then pretended to remove her, from the re- 
 gency, which she had derived, from the three 
 estates, a power, irreversible, by faction. 
 
 She took the great seal, from Huntley, and gave the 
 keeping of it to Rubie, a French advocate, while he conti- 
 nued Chancellor. Huntley is said to have entered into an 
 association with the Duke of Chattclherauld, to drive out 
 such foreigners. [Officers of State, 85.] The Queen-regent 
 did not, sufficiently, advert, that the safety of her govern-
 
 the Regent Murray."] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 153 
 
 When the death of Francis II. became known, 
 in Scotland, however, Cecil endeavoured to con- 
 ceal it, Huntley, and other nobles, sent Lesley, 
 to offer the homage of their services. When 
 the Queen returned, she appointed Huntley of 
 her Privy Council, and returned to his faithful 
 custody the great seal ; p thus trying, perhaps, 
 to act upon that balance of parties, which is 
 so salutary, when discreetly effected, yet so 
 dangerous, when unfitly used. 
 
 We are now arrived, at that epoch, in the 
 life of Huntley, when the all-grasping minion, 
 privately, obtained, from the easy faith of the 
 Queen, the earldom of Murray, and lordship of 
 Abernethy, with their valuable accompaniments 
 of men, and revenue.' The minion seems him- 
 
 nicnt, and the protection of her person, depended on the 
 attachment, and aid, of the great nobles, who were the 
 strong pillars of a falling state. On the arrival of Mary, 
 though she put her sceptre into the hands, which were 
 stretched out to seize it, she intrusted the great seal to Hunt- 
 ley, who had held it so long, in the difficult times of her 
 lengthened minority. 
 
 f Keith, 187; Crawf. Officers of State, 85. 
 
 i Privy Seal Reg. xxxi. 45-6 j This grant was made, 
 under the privy seal, because the Earl of Huntley held the 
 great seal : and the grant was meant to be concealed ; as, 
 indeed, it was, even, from Randolph, the Prior's friend. Five 
 days after, the Queen granted him letters of legitimation, 
 though he had been legitimated eleven years before, as we
 
 154 THE LIFE OF [MEM. V. Memoir of 
 
 self to have been aware, that the Queen's grant, 
 under the privy seal, did not make a perfect 
 title. He had, probably, not yet formed his 
 plan, for taking possession of the earldom of 
 Murray : And he, therefore, solicited, and, as 
 minion, easily, obtained, from the Queen's fa- 
 cility, on the 10th of February 1561-2, a grant 
 under the privy seal, of the earldom of Mar, 
 which was claimed, from ancient times, and 
 titles, by his relation, Lord Erskine : But, in- 
 tending to seize difficulty, by the forelock, he 
 openly assumed the title of Earl of Mar, 
 though his grant, under the privy seal, was but 
 an insufficient warrant/ He, perhaps, only 
 meant, by this conduct, to conceal his real de- 
 sign on the earldom of Murray. 
 
 We are thus conducted to the question, whe- 
 ther, at the epoch of those grants, in January 
 1561-2, there existed a plot, by Huntley, against 
 Lord James ; or whether Lord James had not 
 formed a plot against the Earl of Huntley. 
 Here, then, is one of those problematical points, 
 which so disfigure the history of Scotland, in 
 that factious, and fanatical age. The contempo- 
 raneoushistorians, indeed, Buchanan, and Knox, 
 
 have already seen. 16. 2 j Ib. xxiv. 52. Like other impos- 
 tors, the Lord James seems to have had a strong passion, for 
 making surety double sure. 
 r Privy Seal Reg. xxxi. 1.
 
 the Regent Murray.] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 155 
 
 are so positive, that there was a plot, by Huntley, 
 against the Lord James, that Mad. de Keralio, 
 with all her research, and readiness of observa- 
 tion, speaks, familiarly, of Huntley' s plot. The 
 historian of Mary, with his usual prejudice, has 
 raised a vast fabrick of charges against Hunt- 
 ley, without the slightest foundation. 1 The re- 
 cords, and state papers, evince a conspiracy, by 
 the Queen's minion, against an innocent noble ; 
 but, there is no evidence of a conspiracy, by 
 Huntley, the Chancellor, against her corrupt 
 minister. 
 
 s Robertson's Hist. Scot. Edit. 1?87, i. 292-3. The his- 
 torian was so ignorant as not to know, of the grant to 
 Huntley, in February 1548-9, which has been already men- 
 tioned 5 he was so idle, as not to have examined the state- 
 ment of the several grants of the earldom Murray to the 
 Lord James, which were stated, in the Additional Suther- 
 land Case, 177O, by the late Lord Hailes. Dr. Robertson 
 states, " that Buchanan's account of this whole transaction 
 appears to be so void of truth, and even of probability, as to 
 deserve no serious examination." Yet, has the doctor taken 
 the greatest part of his story of this transaction, from Bu- 
 chanan's account, which he thus stigmatizes as void of 
 truth 5 while he avoids quoting Buchanan, for his autho- 
 rity : The whole account of the Queen, and her minion's 
 expedition into the north, for ruining Huntley, which was 
 given, by the Doctor, is chiefly taken from Buchanan, and 
 Knox, two of Huntley' s bitterest enemies, and two of the 
 
 greatest liars, that ever disgraced history 5 and is a tissue of
 
 156 THE LIFE OF [MEM. V. Memoir of 
 
 At the epoch of the Queen's return, in Au- 
 gust 1561, Huntley, no doubt, stood at the 
 head of the loyal party, who opposed the am- 
 bitious, and corrupt purposes of the Commen- 
 dator, who had long practised fraud, and now 
 aimed at violence ; and it was the duty of the 
 Chancellor, to warn the Queen of her own inse- 
 curity, and the danger of the state.* Yes ; said 
 Randolph to Cecil ; I hear, that the Earl of 
 Huntley tickleth her [the Queen] in the ear, 
 with some untruths ;" u and Buchanan calls the 
 warnings of Huntley calumnies, after events 
 had verified the intimations of truth. That ho- 
 nourable conduct of Huntley drew upon him 
 the enmity of the Commendator, who never 
 
 falsehood, and misrepresentation, that is woven with an 
 affectation of apparent impartiality. But, the records, and 
 state papers, shall decide, between the Doctor's statements, 
 and the real truth. See the Appendix to this Memoir, No. 
 VII. 
 
 * Randolph wrote to Cecil, on the 24th of September 
 1561 : " It is said, that the Earl of Huntley, and the Lord 
 James greatly discord 3" and in the same letter, Randolph 
 adds : " It is suspected, that the Lord James seeketh too 
 much his own advancement, which hitherto little appearetb, 
 for any thing that ever he received, worth a groat." Keith, 
 191. He had pretty early received the rich priory of St. 
 Andrews, and the priory of Pittenweem, in Scotland, with 
 two benefices in France of great value. 
 
 Letter of the 24th of October 1561. [Keith, 195.]
 
 the Regent Murray.] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 157 
 
 ceased to pursue whosoever dared to oppose his 
 practices, till that ambitious man had obtained 
 their ruin." 
 
 The Earl of Mar was too much practised in 
 affairs not to know the value of secrecy: He care- 
 fully concealed, that he had obtained a grant 
 of the earldom of Murray, as early as the 30th 
 of January 1561-2. He, studiously, watched, 
 for an opportunity of taking possession of the 
 
 x The following is a genuine picture of Lord James's 
 conduct, which was drawn, by the convention of Nobles, 
 and Prelates, which sat, at Dumbarton, in September 1568 : 
 " Shortly after our sovereign's homecoming from the 
 realm of France into Scotland, the Earl of Murray having 
 respect then, and as appears yet, by his proceedings, to place 
 himself in the government of this realm, and to usurp this 
 kingdom, by his counsel, caused the Queen's majesty become 
 so subject unto him, as her grace had been a pupil ; in such 
 sort, that her highness's subjects had not access unto her 
 grace, to propone their own causes, or to receive answer 
 thereof, but by him, alone ; so that he was recognised, as 
 prince only, and her majesty but a shadow. And, whoever 
 presumed to find fault with his abuses, he did pursue them, 
 with such cruelty, that some of the principal men he caused 
 to be put to death j destroying their children, houses, and 
 memory j and caused others to be banished the realm, and 
 put other noblemen in prison, and detained them there." 
 Such, then, is the genuine picture of the Commendator's 
 tyranny, as drawn by seven earls, twelve lords of parlia- 
 ment, eight bishops, and eighteen abbots. Goodall, ii. 
 352-57-8. 
 
 VOL. III. M
 
 158 THE LIFE OF [MEM. V. Memoir of 
 
 country, and of over-reaching Huntley, in the 
 details of law, and the practice of affairs. An 
 event happened, on the 17th of June 1562, 
 which completely answered his insidious pur- 
 pose. Sir John Gordon, Huntley's third son, 
 and James Ogilvie quarrelled, and fought, in the 
 street of Edinburgh, about their private pro- 
 perty, when Ogilvie was wounded in the arm, 
 and several of Gordon's servants, were, also, 
 wounded, in this hasty scuffle of spirited men. y 
 The magistrates promptly interposed ; impri- 
 soned the parties ; and sent notice to the Queen, 
 at Stirling. Murray heard, with great satis- 
 faction, of this event. He saw Huntley's son, 
 in his power, and he resolved, that both should 
 feel his vengeance. He easily obtained the 
 Queen's authority, to repair to Edinburgh ; in 
 order to direct what should be done in this 
 weighty affair. 1 By his direction, Ogilvie and 
 his associates were set at liberty : But, Sir John 
 Gordon was committed to the common gaol ; 
 wherein, he remained a month ; and then made 
 his escape, from the rigours of Mar, his father, 
 Huntley, being confined to his house, in the 
 
 y Doctor Robertson calls Ogilvie, Lord Ogilvie j but, this 
 person was only James Ogilvie of Cardel, a son of the late 
 Alexander Ogilvie of Findlater. 
 
 1 See the Queen's letter to the magistrates of Edinburgh, 
 dated the 28th of June 156-2, in Keith, 228. 
 
 *
 
 the Regent Murray.} THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 159 
 
 north, with some bodily infirmity.* The Earl 
 of Mar made his own use of this incident. Sir 
 John was summoned to appear in the Justice- 
 court,, at Aberdeen, on the 31st of August, then 
 next, to answer for his contempt. And, the 
 Queen was, artfully, induced, to make a jour- 
 ney into the north, on the pretence of distri- 
 buting justice, but with the real, though con- 
 cealed, object, of putting the Earl of Mar in 
 possession of the earldom of Murray, and of 
 crushing Huntley, and his power. Robertson 
 consider&Sir John Gordon's breach of the peace, 
 as the greatest insult, which had been offered 
 to government, since the Queen's return : but, 
 he might have excepted the tumult, which was 
 raised, in the Queen's palace, on the first Sun- 
 day, after her arrival, when she went into the 
 chapel-royal, to worship God, in her own form: 
 The Doctor declares, that a great example was 
 necessary to be made : But, he forgot, that the 
 Comrnendator, when the Queen's Lieutenant on 
 the borders, made two such examples, at Jed- 
 burgh, and at Hawick, as would not disparage 
 the worst administration, in the worst age. b 
 
 * Randolph's letter to Cecil of the 1st of August, in the 
 Paper Office. 
 
 b Doctor Robertson, as he knew not of the private grant 
 of the earldom of Murray to the Commendator of St. An- 
 drews, as well as the right of Huntley, and his wife,, to
 
 160 THE LIFE OF [MEM. V. Memoir of 
 
 The journey of Mary into the north was 
 suddenly resolved on, soon after Sir John Gor- 
 don's escape ; as we see nothing hinted of sucn 
 an excursion, in Randolph's letters to Cecil of 
 the 1st and 4th of August, when the Queen 
 seemed, wholly, bent on the very different jour- 
 ney of a meeting with her good cousin, the 
 English Queen. Yet, was the resolution taken 
 of the northern journey, before the 10th of 
 August; as we may learn, from Randolph's 
 correspondence. From the nature of such a 
 
 the same earldom, which was, plainly, violated, by that 
 grant, founds his vindication of the Commendator, Earl of 
 Mar, on the supposition, that he had no object in carrying 
 the Queen to the north, and no business himself, so far 
 north, as Tarnway, and Inverness : And, the Doctor, being 
 unable to assign any reasonable cause, for her expedition, says, 
 the Queen happened to set out on a progress into the northern 
 parts ; and took the occasion to hold a Justice-court, at 
 Aberdeen. Thus it is, to write history, without a knowledge 
 of facts ; and to rely, on the lies of Buchanan, and the 
 fictions of Knox ! The historian is so absurd, as to quote 
 letters, from the ambassador Randolph, and Secretary Mail- 
 land, which were written after the death of Huntley, as 
 proofs of a prior conspiracy of Huntley against the Lord 
 James, before that corrupt minion brought the Queen into 
 the north, for putting him in possession of his earldom, 
 under an unfit grant, and before the artifices of that minion 
 had forced Huntley into an unwilling resistance to his illegal 
 measures. 
 On that day, Randolph informed Cecil : " From Stirling,
 
 the Regent Murray.] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 161 
 
 country, we now know, that she did not happen 
 to think of such a progress ; and from Ran- 
 'dolph, we learn, that it was premeditated, 
 though not by herself : Her ministers told her, 
 as other princes are told, by their servants, that 
 those northern parts of her kingdom were 
 greatly disturbed, and could not be settled, 
 without her own presence. And, she would, 
 naturally, say, in return, if that were so, she 
 would make such a journey, for such an end, 
 though she was perplexed, with more interest- 
 ing matters. 
 
 While those preparations were made, for that 
 odious journey of 250 miles, through a rugged 
 country, and wretched roads, the Queen re- 
 mained, at Edinburgh, from the first, to the 
 eleventh, of August ; She now set out, for Stir- 
 
 the Queen taketh her journey, as far north, as Inverness, the 
 farthest part of Moray, a terrible journey, both for horse 
 and man, the countries so poor, and the victuals so scarce. 
 It is her will, that I shall attend upon her thither. It is 
 thought, that it will be a voyage, of two months, or more. 
 It is rather devised by herself, than greatly approved by her 
 Council.'' Thus far Randolph's letter to Cecil, of the 10th 
 of August, in the Paper Office. But, who told Randolph all 
 this ? The minion, Earl of Mar, and Secretary Maitland, who 
 meant to impose upon him, and, through Randolph, upon 
 the English court. The secret was carefully kept, from 
 Randolph, as well as the object of the journey j as the grant 
 of the earldom of Murray, in January 1561-2.
 
 162 THE LIFE OF [MEM. V. Memoir of 
 
 ling, where she remained, till the 18th of Au- 
 gust. 11 To Stirling was she accompanied, by 
 Randolph, as a spy ; and to Stirling was she 
 followed, by Knox, as her evil genius : Here, 
 she learned, that Elizabeth was preparing forces 
 against her relations, in France ; that many of 
 her own subjects were ready to join the English 
 army, for the wages of corruption : And, here, 
 had she cause to suspect, that Knox had been 
 prompted to follow her, with his usual perse- 
 verence of religious zeal. e 
 
 After all those mortifications, she set out, on 
 the 18th of August, for Inverness, not on a 
 private progress, but accompanied, with her 
 ministers, her officers of law, and, above all, by 
 the Earl of Mar, who was now expectant Earl 
 of Moray, with his trusty myrmidons : But, 
 she did not arrive, at Aberdeen, till the 27th of 
 the same month/ Here, the Queen remained, 
 
 d From a MS. Diary of the Queen's journey. 
 
 e Randolph's unpublished letter to Cecil of the 16th of 
 August, from Stirling, in the Paper Office. 
 
 f From Old Aberdeen Randolph wrote to Cecil, on the 
 31st of August: "The Queen, in her progress, is now 
 come, as far, as Old Aberdeen : The most part of her noble- 
 men are presently with her, the Duke excepted, with whom 
 she is now well pleased, and the Earl of Mar, and he, recon- 
 ciled. Huntley is here, not well, in his prince's favour j and 
 how well that man doth deserve, your honour knoweth, by 
 his upright dealing with all men, that he hath to do with :
 
 the Regent ^Murray .] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 163 
 
 with her whole court, till the 1st of September : 
 And here, did the Earl and Countess of Hunt- 
 ley come, to offer the Queen the homage of their 
 respect ; and to invite her to Hun tley- castle, 
 where they had made great preparations, for 
 her entertainment ; but, the Queen refused such 
 an invitation, from such personages, by the 
 advice of her counsellors, as we may infer, 
 from Randolph's letter to Cecil : Here, they 
 had committed no crime, and given no offence ; 
 but, the Earl of Mar, with his usual artifice, 
 and falsehood, had induced the Queen to be- 
 lieve, that so great an officer, as the Chancel- 
 lor, was implicated in his son's guilt ; and had 
 
 The Queen will not yet grant that she will go into his 
 house, though it be within three miles of her way, and the 
 fairest, in this country : That purpose of hers, I know, will 
 be broken 5 for so, her Council findeth it expedient." This 
 letter is in the Paper Office. All this while, Huntley was the 
 Chancellor, and a Privy Counsellor. But, we hear nothing 
 of any plot, either against the Queen, or the Earl of Mar ; 
 though Mary must have had strange stories told her, to treat 
 such a man, as Huntley, the friend of her father, the sup- 
 porter of her youth, in such a manner j as we have learned, 
 from the wretched prejudice of Randolph. When the charges 
 against Huntley were put, by Murray, into legal form, 
 nothing was stated against him, previous to the 3 1 st of Au- 
 gust, current. [Act of Restoration of Huntley' s family.] 
 This proves, the non-existsnce of any plot, by him, before 
 that date.
 
 164 THE LIFE OF [MEM. V. Memoir of 
 
 even conceived a plot to seize the Queen's per- 
 son, and to marry her to one of his sons. But, 
 if the queen would believe this, of such a man, 
 her credulity must have been, without bounds. 
 Sir John Gordon appeared, in the Justice-court, 
 at Aberdeen, on the 31st of August, as required ; 
 surrendered himself to justice; and, on the 
 morrow, was ordered to enter himself a priso- 
 ner, in Stirling- castle. 8 But, as he was not 
 tried, where justice would have been done, and 
 Stirling was kept, by Lord Erskine, the Earl of 
 Mar's uncle, Sir John did not obey that rigo- 
 rous decision of his avowed enemies. 
 
 The Queen, who appears to be thus acting, 
 from improper advice, though contrary to her 
 accustomed courtesy, set out, from Aberdeen, 
 on the 1st of September ; and, in order to avoid 
 Huntley's residence, went, by Rothiemay, 
 Grange, Balvenie, and Elgin, to Tarnway, on 
 the 10th, without hearing of any disturbance, 
 where none existed. Here, on the 10th of Sep- 
 tember, was there another proceeding of the 
 Privy Council, against Sir John Gordon ; charg- 
 ing him to surrender into the Queen's hands, 
 his houses of Findlater, and Auchendown, on 
 pain of treason. 14 In that council, sat, for the 
 
 * Privy Council Reg. ; Keith, 225. 
 
 b Keith, 225. There had been, hitherto, no proceeding 
 against Huntley, though he was, no doubt, mortified, by this
 
 the Regent Murray.'] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 165 
 
 last time, the Commendatory Earl of Mar, who 
 now produced his privy patent, for the Earldom 
 of Moray, and then assumed the title of Earl 
 of Murray. If this title had been as legal, 
 as it was informal ; yet, Huntley having ad- 
 verse pretensions ; the Lord James, even with 
 the aid of the Queen's presence, could not law- 
 fully take possession of the Earldom, and man- 
 sion-house, without some legal proceeding: 
 The conduct of Lord Jarnes, thus burdened 
 with insufficient titles, was as violent, as it was 
 illegal; and the Queen contributing, by her 
 presence, to this violence 3 and to that illegality, 
 lessened her own dignity, and lost her many 
 friends. 
 
 On the llth of September, the Queen set 
 out, from Tarnway, for Inverness ; where, she 
 remained but a few days ; the only purpose of 
 her minister being, to wrest the castle, from 
 Huntley's heir, to whom the keeping of it be- 
 longed, hereditarily, as well as the Sheriff-ship 
 of Inverness-shire. 1 The castle was taken, from 
 
 persevering prosecution against his son, for a hasty scuffle, 
 in the streets of Edinburgh, aggravated, indeed, by his sub. 
 sequent conduct. 
 
 1 The Sheriffship of Inverness- shire, and the custody of 
 the castle, with several lands, appertaining to it, belonged, 
 hereditarily, to Huntley, without any connection with the 
 Earldom of Moray. In 1556, Huntley vested those here-
 
 166 THE LIFE OF [MEM. V. Memoir of 
 
 the Governor, promptly : He was neither al- 
 lowed time, for consideration, nor opportunity 
 for obtaining the consent of the Castellan, 
 for surrendering his trust : The castle was 
 taken, by force, and the Captain was, in- 
 stantly, hanged, under very questionable au- 
 thority. 11 If the Lord Gordon had a legal title ; 
 then the Queen herself could not dispossess 
 him, without some legal process : this grant 
 being made to Lord Gordon, while she was 
 under age ; yet, she could not recal it, when 
 she came to the proper age, for that effect ; 
 but in a legal mode : The demanding of pos- 
 
 ditary offices in his son, George> Lord Gordon, who obtained 
 a charter for them, from the Queen, upon his father's resig- 
 nation, on the ?th of August 1556. [Privy Council Reg. 
 xxviii. 35.] 
 
 k Dr. Robertson, who writes too much from supposition, 
 and too little from facts, states, that, Huntley' s disobedience, 
 in refusing to surrender the castle of Inverness, was the cause 
 of the Queen giving the Earldom of Moray to the Earl of Mar. 
 What ignorance ! Huntley did not hold the castle of Inver- 
 ness; as it was held, under a legal title, by Lord Gordon : 
 And, neither the one nor, the other, refused to surrender the 
 castle, as neither was present, and neither knew, that the sur- 
 render would be asked. As soon as Huntley heard, that the 
 castle was summoned, he sent, with all diligence to the 
 Governor ; desiring him to surrender it ; but, the Captain, or 
 Governor, Alexander Gordon, was hanged, before he could 
 receive this direction, from Huntley, on his son's behalf. 
 [Anderson's MS. Hist. Scot. iii. 37-]
 
 the Regent Murray.'] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 167 
 
 session, by an armed force, in time of peace, 
 was illegal, and unwarrantable, in the Queen 
 herself, much more in her minion, the Earl of 
 Murray, who commanded that force, and was 
 guilty of an outrageous murder, of the Gover- 
 nor, who had no proper notice of any legiti- 
 mate demand. 
 
 The Queen, who was praised, for her man- 
 hood, in this military exploit, immediately left 
 Inverness ; and slept, on the 15th of Septem- 
 ber, at Kilravock ; whence, on her return, she 
 proceeded, on the morrow, to Tarnway ; and, 
 on the 1 7th, she went to Spynie-castle, the seat 
 of the Bishop of Moray. From this episcopal 
 palace of ancient note, Randolph wrote, on the 
 18th, a dispatch to Cecil ; in which he says ; 
 " It may please your honour to know, that the 
 Queen hath given the Earldom of Moray to the 
 Earl of Mar ; it is both more honourable, and 
 greater in profit, than the other : He is, now, 
 no more Mar, but Murray" 1 It is evident, 
 
 1 The above dispatch is in the Paper Office. In a sub- 
 sequent letter, from Randolph to Cecil, of the 30th of Sep- 
 tember, he states the great loss, which Huntley sustained, 
 by the grant to Mar ; and the great power of men, and 
 money, which the Earl of Murray acquired by it : He added, 
 that the country is pleasant, but the place, called Tarnway, 
 was ruinous, saving the house, which is very fair and large, 
 built, like many, that 1 have seen, in England. Id. Though
 
 168 THE LIFE OF [MEM. V. Memoir of 
 
 from Randolph's mode of writing, that the 
 grant of the Earldom of Moray had been con- 
 cealed from him, and the world, till the avowal 
 of it, at Tarnway ; and even the date of it had 
 been so concealed, as to induce Randolph to 
 suppose, it had been then made. 
 
 The Queen, on her progress, of return, left 
 Spynie, on the 19th of September ; and going 
 by the way of Cullen, she arrived, at Aberdeen, 
 on the 22d, where she remained till the 5th of 
 November. If we compare the conduct of the 
 rival Earls, it will appear, that nothing illegal, 
 or unfit, had been done, by Huntley : When he 
 came, with his Countess, to offer their duty to 
 the Queen, and to invite her to their castle ; 
 the refusal of this courtesy to such eminent 
 persons was an outrage, for which the Queen's 
 minister was answerable : The entry into his 
 
 Murray relinquished the Earldom of Mar to his relations, 
 the Erskinesj yet, he contrived to strip that Earldom of 
 its principal estates: He obtained on the 22d December 
 1564, from the Queen, to him, and his heirs, in fee-firm, 
 the extensire lordships of Braemar, Cromar, and Strathdee, 
 which belonged to this Earldom of Mar. [Privy Seal Reg. 
 xxxii.] And this grant was ratified, in Parliament, on the 
 19th of April 1567- [Acta Parl. 555-?.] The Earldom of 
 Mar, after being thus plundered, by the Queen's minion, 
 was granted to his uncle, John, Lord Erskine, on the 22d of 
 June 1565. [Privy Seal Reg. xxxiii. p. 70.]
 
 the Regent Murray] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 169 
 
 messuage of Tarnway, without any notice to 
 him, though the Queen was present, was an il- 
 legal insult offered to Huntley : And the at- 
 tack on the castle of Inverness was an outrage 
 to Lord Gordon, while the hanging of his officer 
 was a murder, by the Queen's minion ; the law 
 not allowing any person to be put to death, 
 but by legal means : The whole conduct of the 
 Queen's minister, on that occasion, was outra- 
 geous, and illegal, while the conduct of Hunt- 
 ley, hitherto, was circumspect, as well as law- 
 ful. The Queen might now have returned to 
 her capital, having done every thing, that was 
 fit, and much, that was unfit : But, she was re- 
 tained, at Aberdeen, by her counsellors, during 
 six weeks ; to enable her violent minister, to 
 inflict his vengeance on Huntley; and she, 
 thereby, partook of his moral guilt. 
 
 But, there was no other means of imputing 
 criminality to Huntley, than by implicating 
 him in the guilt of his son : And his offence, 
 originally, was only a breach of the peace, which 
 was aggravated into a contempt of the Queen's 
 authority. For effecting Huntley's ruin, Mur- 
 
 m On the 30th of September Randolph wrote, from Aber- 
 deen, to Cecil : " It is determined, out of hand, if it be pos- 
 sible, that the Earl of Huntley shall either submit himself, 
 and deliver his disobedient son, John, in whose name all his
 
 170 THE LIFE OF [MEM. V. Memoir of 
 
 ray, and Maitland, studiously endeavoured, to 
 entrap him into some act of disobedience to the 
 Queen's commands, whether fit, or unfit : 
 Having learned, that Huntley had, at his castle, 
 a cannon, that had been given him, by the Re- 
 gent Arran, while he was Lieutenant in the 
 north, the minister sent Captain Hay to charge 
 Huntley, in the Queen's name, to deliver this 
 cannon, and to carry it four miles, from his 
 house : Though this cannon was dismounted, 
 and the time allowed was short, yet did he, 
 
 pageants have been wrought, or utterly to use all force against 
 him, for the subversion of his house, for ever : For this pur- 
 pose, the Queen remaineth, in this town, a good space; 
 being the most convenient : For this cause, she hath levied 
 120 harquebusiers, to use, as she findeth occasion ; and 
 hath, also, sent into Lothian, and Fife, for such as she in- 
 tendeth to employ 3 as the master of Lindsay, Grange, and 
 Ormiston " This letter is in the Paper Office. He after- 
 wards informed Cecil of the Queen's purpose to hold Justice 
 courts, in which great severity would be used against Hunt- 
 ley's friends : And, that more troops were to be raised, for 
 crushing Huntley. [/rf.] We here see sufficient evidence of 
 the design of Murray, and his faction, having the Queen, in 
 leading strings, to crush Huntley. Again : the Queen was 
 implicated, in the moral guilt, of a government so outra- 
 geously violent, and altogether tyrannous. If she was so 
 credulous as to believe what was told her by Murray, and 
 Maitland, against Huntley, her credulity, in such a case, was 
 her crime.
 
 the Regent Murray.] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 171 
 
 punctually, obey the Queen's order : And he 
 sent a dutiful message to the Queen, " that, not 
 " only that, which was her own, but, also, 
 " his body, and goods, were at her grace's com- 
 " mand ;" that he found it strange, however, 
 he should be so hardly dealt with, for his son's 
 offences, whereunto he was never privy, nor 
 they, i n his power to correct ; that for the tak- 
 ing of those houses which were held against 
 her grace, he would be the first, who would 
 hazard his body, if her grace would give him 
 such a charge. 
 
 The soothing messages of Huntley, and his 
 wife, who appears to have been a woman of 
 address, were sent in vain. The Queen's mi- 
 nion had devoted Huntley, and his friends, to 
 destruction. Additional soldiers were raised ; 
 and the adherents of Lord James, during the 
 revolutionary scenes of 1558, and 1559, were 
 summoned, to assist, in crushing the most emi- 
 nent earl of the land. As the plan for entrap- 
 ping Huntley into treason, had failed, owing to 
 Huntley's caution, another project was at- 
 tempted, on the 9th of October, for seizing his 
 castle, and himself ; which, also, failed, from 
 his own flight, and his wife's management : 
 She opened the doors of the castle to the be- 
 siegers, who could find nothing suspicious, 
 within the walls, nor discover any thing, that
 
 172 THE LIFE OF [MEM. V. Memoir of 
 
 could afford matter of proof." Huntley was 
 not only careful to avoid offence himself ; but 
 he also endeavoured to frustrate the minion's 
 malice, to implicate him in his son's disobe- 
 dience : As Sir John had been charged to sur- 
 render his castles of Findlater, and Auchen- 
 down, Huntley caused those castles to be eva- 
 cuated, and sent the keys of them, on the 8th 
 of October, to Aberdeen, by one Kear, a trusty 
 friend. The keys were now offered to Murray, 
 to Secretary Maitland, to the Queen, who all 
 refused them ; saying that other means had 
 been provided, for obtaining possession of the 
 castles. Murray even caused Kear, who brought 
 the keys, with his brother, to be commited to 
 prison, as suspected persons. We may now 
 
 n Randolph's letter to Cecil of the ISth of October 1562, 
 in the Paper Office. 
 
 Id. This refusal of the keys took place, on the same 
 morning, that the parties were sent to seize Huntley-castle. 
 In the same letter of the 12th of October, Randolph in- 
 formed Cecil of the purpose, to have Huntley openly denounc- 
 ed rebel, which would prevent him from having succour of 
 any of his adherents ; and that way they [the ministers] 
 think utterly to overthrow him. Randolph also stated, that 
 there were practices already in hand, for getting Huntley be- 
 trayed, by those in whom he trusted; and he concluded, that 
 in the Highlands, to which Huntley had retired, there were 
 no want of good fellows, to be instruments of any such pur- 
 pose. [Id.-]
 
 the Regent Murray.'] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 173 
 
 perceive, that nothing could save Huntley, from 
 ruin. As he had retired to Badenoch, to avoid 
 those snares, Murray cased an Ordinance of 
 Council to be passed, on the 15th of October, 
 that if George, Earl of Huntley, do not appear, 
 on the morrow, the 16th of October, to an- 
 swer such things, as shall be laid to his charge, 
 he shall be denounced rebel, for his contempt, 
 and his houses shall be seized. p He was 
 accordingly, denounced rebel, on the 17th of 
 October, for not doing what it was impossible 
 for him to do.' The Countess, hearing of such 
 measures, repaired towards Aberdeen, on the 
 20th of October ; in order to present herself to 
 the Queen, and to supplicate justice, for her 
 husband : But, when she had advanced, within 
 two miles of the city, she was stopped, by the 
 gentleman, whom she had sent forward, to re- 
 quest an audience ; and who informed her, that 
 the Queen would not see her : The Countess 
 now returned to her castle, loaded with sorrow/ 
 After this outrage to that dignified woman, the 
 
 P Keith, 226. 
 
 ^ Randolph's letter of the 23d of October, in which he 
 intimates, that Huntley was then, in Badenoch, two days 
 journey, from Aberdeen. 
 
 r Randolph's letter to Cecil of the 23d of October, in the 
 Paper Office. 
 
 VOL. III. N
 
 174 THE LIFE OF [MEM. V. Memoir of 
 
 Earl sent a message to the Court ; offering to 
 enter himself into ward, till his cause should be 
 tried, by the whole nobility : but, a proposi- 
 tion, so consistent with justice, was, also, re- 
 fused.' In all this we see the very definition of 
 tyranny, which was natural, in Murray, and 
 his faction, but, absurd in the Queen, who was 
 acting against her own interest and character. 
 As soon as Huntley had been thus denounced 
 a rebel, Murray, called out additional forces ; 
 and he let loose upon the devoted victim, the 
 clans of Forbes, Lesley, Grant, Mackintosh, 
 and other enemies of the Earl ; to pursue him, 
 and his adherents, with fire, and sword. 1 When 
 Huntley was informed of those events, de- 
 nouncing him a rebel, for not appearing at 
 Aberdeen, he returned to his Castle, and as- 
 sembling his friends, and adherents, he advanced 
 southward, on the 28th of October, and en- 
 camped on the hill of Fare, lying about fifteen 
 miles, from Aberdeen." Murray, hearing of 
 
 1 Anderson's MS. Hist. Scot. iii. 37. 
 
 1 Randolph's letter to Cecil, of the 23d of October, in 
 the Paper Office. 
 
 u Murray, and his faction, gave out, that Huntley's pur- 
 pose was, to march into Aberdeen, and seize the Queen's 
 person j but, so absurd a story cannot be true : For, she was 
 surrounded, by a large body of men, with some of the best 
 warriors, in Scotland ; while Htintley had not more than
 
 the Regent Murray.'] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 175 
 
 Hnntley's advance, marched out, as the Queen's 
 lieutenant, with 2000 well-appointed men ; and 
 surrounded the devoted Earl, with his adherents. 
 Huntley surrendered himself a prisoner; as 
 did his son, John, the author of all the mis- 
 chief, according to Randolph ; and also, a 
 younger son, Adam, a boy of seventeen. About 
 120 of Huntley's followers were slain;* and as 
 
 500 supporters, who had been hastily collected, to do him 
 honour, rather than to fight j as Randolph, who had two 
 servants on the field, expressly states, in his letter of the 2d 
 of November, in the Paper Office : In this, he corrected his 
 former letter of the 28th of October. Doctor Robertson, 
 who never saw those instructive letters, grossly misrepre- 
 sents the whole circumstances of that affair, at Corrichie : 
 He says, Huntley advanced with a considerable force towards 
 Aberdeen, and filled the Queen's small court, with the utmost 
 consternation ; and that Murray had only a handful of men, 
 in whom he could confide ; but, by his steady courage, and 
 prudent conduct, gained a miraculous victory : For the as- 
 sertion of Murray's having only a handful of men, he quotes 
 Keith, 320, in which, there is not one word of the force, at 
 Corrichie, on either side 5 the force, there spoken of, is what 
 the Queen had about her, two months before, on her first pro- 
 gress into the North, not on her return, at Aberdeen, after 
 new troops had been raised, and old ones summoned, to that 
 premeditated, and barbarous scene. 
 
 x Randolph states, that many of Huntley's men threw 
 away their spears, and endeavoured to escape ; but Murray 
 and his company intercepted them, drove them back, and 
 slew about 12O, and took, as many more j and he adds, that
 
 176 THE LIFE OF [MEM. V. Memoir of 
 
 many were taken prisoners, of whom many 
 were executed. The scene of this slaughter 
 was a hollow, which was called, in the ancient 
 language, Corrichie, in the hill of Fare. " The 
 Earl of Huntley," says Randolph, " after he 
 was taken without either blow, or stroke, being 
 set upon horseback, before him, that was his 
 taker, suddenly falleth, from his horse, stark 
 dead, without a word, that he ever spoke, after 
 he was upon horseback." 7 The earl's body was 
 thrown across panniers ; and so carried to 
 Aberdeen, where it was laid in the Tolbooth.* 
 
 Huntley 's two sons, Sir John, and Adam, 
 were carried prisoners into Aberdeen ; where, 
 a few days after, Sir John was tried, and con- 
 demned in a Justice court, on the 2d of No- 
 vember; and, immediately, beheaded. Adam 
 would have shared the same fate ; but the Queen 
 revolted at shedding the blood of a youth, whose 
 only offence was, in being with his father, with- 
 out knowing, perhaps, his purpose:* Adam 
 Gordon lived, to be one of the most gallant, 
 
 DTI Murray's side there was not one man slain, but several were 
 hurt. Letters to Cecil, in the Paper Office, 28th October, 
 and 2d November 1562. 
 
 T Letter to Cecil, 28th of October. * Knox, 320. 
 
 Keith, 228 j Pitscottie, 215 : This last writer adds, that 
 other five gentlemen of the name of Gordon, were hanged, 
 at Aberdeen, on the 30th of October.
 
 the Regent Murray.-] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 177 
 
 and successful commanders, who struggled, in 
 many a desperate field, to keep alive the last 
 spark of the Queen's authority, in Scotland. 
 Well might she revolt, when she saw her au- 
 thority, name, and person, employed, in carry- 
 ing on such illegal, and barbarous proceedings, 
 as Scotland had, scarcely, ever seen before ; as 
 such unprincipled miscreants had not till now 
 been admitted, to rule this unhappy land : In 
 the effluxion of five guilty years, the same rulers 
 offered similar outrages to the Queen herself, 
 by assassinating her Secretary Rizzio, in her 
 presence ; by murdering her husband, Darnley, 
 in her metropolis ; by dethroning, and expelling 
 herself, from her kingdom. The Earl of Su- 
 therland, who had attended the Queen, during 
 her progress, seeing the purpose of Murray, by 
 means of the Queen's acquiescence, in what 
 was told her, by ministers, who had an interest 
 to deceive her, to crush his relation, Huntley, 
 is supposed to have communicated some intel- 
 ligence of his danger : This conduct being dis- 
 covered, by finding, or forging, a letter of 
 Sutherland, he was forfeited, with Huntley, 
 on the 28th of May 1563 ; and he only saved 
 his life, by fleeing, from a country, which was 
 no longer safe, for honourable men. It is a 
 memorable fact, that Huntley, and Sutherland, 
 were two of those nobles, who had sent Bishop
 
 178 THE LIFE OF [MEM. V. Memoir of 
 
 Lesley to France, with offers of duty, and ser- 
 vices, to the Queen ; while Murray, Maitland, 
 and other considerable men, offered their duties, 
 and services, to Elizabeth. 
 
 From this great example, it is quite apparent, 
 that Murray might have easily ruined any other 
 family, in Scotland, by carrying, with him, the 
 Queen, and her government, with Secretary 
 Maitland, to propagate falsehoods, and to pen 
 forgeries, appropriate to the object. While these 
 proceedings were thus carrying on, at Aberdeen, 
 for ruining Huntley, and his family, and his 
 friends, his eldest son, Lord Gordon, who had 
 married the Duke of Chattelherault's daughter, 
 lived with his father-in-law, at Hamilton. 6 But, 
 in order to effect Murray's whole purpose of 
 " the utter subversion of Huntley's house, for 
 ever," it was essential, that his innocent heir 
 should be involved in his father's ruin ; and, un- 
 luckily, for Lord Gordon, he held, in his own 
 right, several heritable offices, and valuable 
 lands, which Murray coveted, and could only 
 obtain, by Lord Gordon's forfeiture.' Lord 
 
 b Randolph's letters. 
 
 After that guilty proceeding, the Earl of Murray ac- 
 quired, from the Queen, who could refuse him nothing, but 
 her sceptre, and Darnley, a grant of the heritable office of 
 Sheriff of Inverness-shire, with the custody of the Castle of 
 Inverness, and various lands, which were attached to the
 
 the Regent Murray.-] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 179 
 
 Gordou was, therefore, arrested, and committed 
 to prison, after the Queen's return to Edin- 
 burgh. Here, was he confined, during several 
 months ; and without summons, or any warn- 
 ing, was he produced, in a Justice-court, which 
 was held, by Argyle, the Justice-general, the 
 brother-in-law of Murray, on the 8th of Fe- 
 bruary 1562-3. In this court, was he refused 
 the aid of counsel, or a copy of his charge, or 
 communication with his friends, nor was he 
 allowed to make objections to the jury, or wit- 
 nesses : And he was of course found guilty of 
 concealing the treasons of his father, and bro- 
 ther, which they had never conceived ; he was 
 condemned, as in cases of treason, at the Queens 
 pleasure* As the Queen would not give her 
 authority, for his execution, on such a sentence, 
 he was confined, in Dunbar-castle, till Murray's 
 baneful influence, with the Queen, no longer 
 disgraced her government. 6 On that event, 
 
 Castle, on the 6th of May 1563. [Privy Seal Reg. xxxi. 
 94-5.] 
 
 d The Earl of Huntley, and the chiefs of the several fami- 
 lies of Gordon, were tried in Parliament, during the follow- 
 ing May : But, the injustice of Lord Gordon's trial was too 
 apparent, for the approbation of a Parliament, which was 
 wholly under Murray's influence. [Part. Record, 774.] 
 
 ' Gordon of Straloch states, that Lord Gordon, narrowly, 
 escaped an attempt of Murray to have him executed, in the
 
 180 THE LIFE OF [MEM. V. Memoir of 
 
 when the Queen wanted help, Lord Gordon 
 was liberated ; restored to the estates, and the 
 honours of his father ; his forfeiture was for- 
 mally rescinded, by a healing Parliament/ 
 
 Castle of Dunbar, by means of a forged warrant, under the 
 Queen's hand, for his execution : This relation was given 
 him, by his father, Gordon of Pitlurg, who lived, at the 
 time, and was the confident, and trustee of Lord Gordon. 
 Crawford's Chancellors, 91. A similar statement is given, 
 from an old MS. by Dr. Patrick Anderson, in his MS. History 
 of Scotland, iii. 38. This same story is told, at full length, 
 in Majory bank's dnnals of Scotland, 14-16. 
 
 f When the Queen was returning, from her disgraceful 
 progress, into the north, she was met, at Dundee, on the 
 12th of November, by the Duke of Chattelherauld, who 
 came to solicit her favour to Lord Gordon, his daughter's 
 husband : But, the solicitation of the Duke, the second 
 person, in Scotland, and the heir presumptive to the crown, 
 by the advice of the Queen's minion, was refused : He was 
 even ordered himself to arrest Lord Gordon, and deliver him 
 to prison. The Duke, fearing the consequences of disobey- 
 ing such an order, brought his son-in-law to Edinburgh, on 
 the 28th of November, when the prisoner was committed to 
 the Castle of Edinburgh. Keith, 229-31 j Randolph's Let- 
 ersj Pitscottie, 215 j Knox, 231. Anderson's MS. Hist, 
 of Scot. iii. 38. The policy of this order is pretty apparent : 
 Murray looked on the Duke, as second person, in the king- 
 dom, and heir presumptive of the crown, with an evil eye : 
 Though he had conciliated the Duke, when he set out to 
 ruin Huntley, who was connected, by marriage, with the 
 Duke, the minion never lost sight of his purpose to acquire 
 the crown. [Goodall, ii. 358.] Had the Duke failed in exe-
 
 the Regent Murray.'} THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 181 
 
 On the fall of Huntley, armed men were sent, 
 to take possession of his castles, and to rifle 
 his property. The plunder was collected at 
 Aberdeen ; and thence shipped to Leith : In 
 the Treasurer's accounts of November 1562, 
 there is a charge of 30/. 7*. for the freight of 
 that unhallowed cargo. The numerous friends, 
 and vassals, of Huntley, were prosecuted, and 
 fined to an enormous degree. A great many 
 escheats were granted to those, who had assist- 
 ed, in crushing that unfortunate noble: and 
 much other forfeited property was sold to the 
 friends of the accused persons, as we may learn, 
 from the Privy Seal record, which contains many 
 remissions, which were sold, for high prices. 
 When the Queen, and her chief advisers, left 
 Aberdeen, on the 5th of November 1562, Ri- 
 chardson, the Treasurer, M c Gill, the Clerk- 
 register, Spens, the Advocate, and Wishart, the 
 Comptroller, were left behind, to levy amerce- 
 ments, to settle escheats, and to compound, for 
 remissions. 8 The Queen, and her court, re- 
 
 cuting that malicious order, Murray had been supplied with 
 a cause of denouncing him a rebel, and pursuing him to his 
 ruin. 
 
 g Within a short period, there were levied on a wretched 
 people, for amercements, and escheats, 3,4091. 15*.; and for 
 the sale of remissions, 3,542J. 6*. 8d. ; and much more was 
 levied, after the period of this account, in the Treasurer's 
 books.
 
 18S THE LIFE OF [MEM. V. Memoir of 
 
 turned, by Dunottar, Arbroath, Dundee, where 
 the Duke met her, Perth, and to Stirling, on the 
 18th of November : She proceeded thence to 
 Linlitbgow, on the 2 1st ; and on the 22d, she 
 arrived, at Edinburgh : As the Queen had set 
 out, from Stirling, on the 18th of August, and 
 returned to it, on the 18th of November, she 
 had thus spent three guilty months, on her dis- 
 graceful progress. Randolph's dispatches, from 
 the 10th of August to the 18th of November, 
 indeed, evince, that Murray, and Maitland, de- 
 luded the Queen into such a progress ; and 
 deceived both her, and Randolph, as to Hunt- 
 ley's conduct, and intentions : They even de- 
 ceived Randolph, as to the Queen's conduct, 
 upon whom they artfully cast the odium of the 
 oppressive, and illegal measures, by which 
 Huntley was driven to his ruin. h But, Bucha- 
 nan, and Knox, who considered Huntley's over- 
 
 h It appears, that artifices were used, to throw upon the 
 Queen the disgrace, attending the cruel, and illegal treat- 
 ment of Lord Gordon. Knox, 321, says, " that the Earl 
 of Murray laboured, at the Queen's hand, for the safety of 
 Lord Gordon's life, which hardly was granted :" This re- 
 presentation is not only contrary to the fact j but is incon- 
 sistent with the real characters of the Queen, and her mi- 
 nister j as she was as much distinguished for her clemency, 
 as Murray was, for his cruelty, to all those, who stood in the 
 way of his ambition, or avarice.
 
 the Regent Murray.'] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 188 
 
 throw, as a praiseworthy achievement, gave the 
 credit of so great an action to the Earl of Mur- 
 ray, and, mention the Queen, as repining at his 
 success. 
 
 On the 1st of November 1562, four days after 
 Huntley's death, his bowels were taken out, and 
 his body was salted ; it was conveyed, by sea, 
 to Leith, and was kept in Holyrood-house, for 
 several months. On the 26th of May, the Par- 
 liament, which was to adjudge Huntley's body, 
 was opened, when Murray carried the sword. 1 
 On the 28th, the dead body of Huntley was 
 produced before the Parliament, and sentence 
 of forfeiture was pronounced against him. The 
 Countess, his widow, with the spirit of her rank, 
 appeared before the Parliament, desired to be 
 heard, by counsel, and protested against the 
 proceedings: But, her request, and her protest, 
 were equally disregarded. 11 On the same day 
 
 ' Keith, 239. The Countess of Huntley had come to Edin- 
 burgh, a month before, to solicit the Queen ; but, was de- 
 barred access to her: Randolph, on the 1st of May 1563, 
 wrote to Cecil : " The Lady Huntley can get neither access, 
 nor hope, in her suit." Ib. 239. 
 
 k The Act of Huntley's attainder was repealed, by the 
 Parliament of April 1 567. See the history of the trial, in 
 absence, and after death, in Hume's Crim. Law, ii. 455-59. 
 The English law of treason was extended to Scotland, by
 
 184 THE LIFE OF [MEM. V. Memoir of 
 
 sentence of forfeiture was pronounced against 
 John, Earl of Sutherland, and against eleven 
 barons, and gentlemen, of the surname of Gor- 
 don. The same Parliament, which, under the 
 influence of Murray, pronounced those for- 
 feitures, also repealed, under the same influence, 
 the forfeitures of four of the principal assassins 
 of Cardinal Beaton : William Kirkaldie of 
 Grange, Henry Balnavis, John Leslie, and 
 Alexander Whitlaw,were the guilty persons/who 
 were now saved harmless, from prosecution, for 
 one of the basest of crimes. 1 These assassins 
 were devoted adherents of Murray, and very 
 fit instruments, for his blackest designs. Kir- 
 kaldie was one of the most active agents of 
 Murray, in crushing Huntley ; and Murray in- 
 duced the Queen to reward him, with a pension 
 of 250/. a year : He afterwards engaged, in 
 Murray's conspiracy, for seizing the Queen and 
 Darnley, in July 1565 : He went into rebellion 
 with Murray, and was pardoned by the Queen, 
 and restored to his pension, by Murray's per- 
 suasion : He was one of the most enterprising 
 conspirators, for dethroning a beneficent Queen ; 
 and acted, at the same time, as the spy of the 
 
 the Act of Union, which, virtually, repealed those abomi- 
 nable proceedings 5 whereby any one might be made a trai- 
 tor against his will. ' Knox, 330.
 
 the Regent Murray.] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 185 
 
 Earl of Bedford, while Elizabeth's Lieutenant 
 on the Borders : m Grange died upon the gal- 
 lows. Henry Balnavis was, also, one of the 
 assassins of Beaton, and had a pension from 
 Henry, and Edward, in reward : He was, by 
 Murray's influence, made one of the Lords of 
 Session, in February 1562-3 ; and he continued 
 to serve Murray's purpose, throughout his 
 career of conspiracy, and crime ; He was one 
 of the assessors, who went into England, with 
 his guilty protector, to accuse the Queen ; for 
 which service, he was rewarded, by a gift of 
 300/. ; as we know, from the Treasurer's books. 
 John Leslie, who first gave the Cardinal a 
 deadly stab, was, also, rewarded, by Henry 
 VIII., with a pension of 125/. a year, for his 
 service ; and was now made secure, by statute. 
 Alexander Whitlaw appears not upon Henry's 
 pension-list ; though, as it should seem, he was 
 worthy of that honour ; as he was one of the 
 assassins of Rizzio. But, the most important 
 act of this Parliament, was the Act of Oblivion, 
 for all the offences done, from the 6th of 
 March 1558-9 to the 1st of September 1561, 
 
 m Kirkaldie's father, and himself, had both pensions, from 
 Henry VIII., and Edward VI., for their agency in Beaton's 
 assassination ; as we have already seen, from the English 
 Register of Privy Council.
 
 186 THE LIFE OF [MEM. V. Memoir of 
 
 which completely covered the treasonous pro- 
 ceedings of Murray, and his guilty faction, 
 during the rebellious years 1559, 1560, and 
 1561." 
 
 The contests, which ensued, for a time, 
 between Murray and Knox, concerning the 
 neglect of religion, and its professors, says 
 Robertson, is a strong proof of the attachment 
 of that statesman to the Queen : But, Murray's 
 attachment to Elizabeth was greater, and his 
 attachment to himself was still more. About 
 
 " See the Stat. Book. So jealous were the leaders of the 
 Parliament of 1563, on that head of oblivion, for the past, 
 that the Estates were induced to enact, that it should not 
 be lawful, for any future Parliament to derogate from this 
 Act of Oblivion. At the Parliament, of 1563, little was 
 done, for religion ; though penalties were enforced on 
 adultery, and witchcraft, sorcerie, and necromancie. 
 
 Randolph wrote to Cecil, on the 26th of June 1563, 
 " not to open suspected letters j but, to send them to the 
 " Lord of Murray, of whose service the Queen of England is 
 " sure: The Queen of Scots," he adds, " being desirous to 
 free " [from prison] the Archbishop of St. Andrews, could 
 not, " although she wept, to see her power resisted, and op- 
 posed." Keith, 241. On the 19th of May, preceding, Murray 
 caused the Queen to imprison the Archbishop, the Prior of 
 Whithern, and others, for saying mass, at the preceding 
 Easter. This, like much of Murray's administration, was a 
 mere act of tyranny j as there was no law to justify such an 
 outrage : The ancient religion still remained under the au- 
 thority of law j and the new religion was merely tolerated :
 
 the Regent Murray.'] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 187 
 
 that period, Murray is said to have made a 
 proposal to the Queen, which points very plainly 
 to his ultimate views : He advised her, at the 
 age of one-and-twenty to make a settlement 
 of the crown, on four families of the name of 
 Steuart, who should succeed, intimating him- 
 self, as one of them. But, the fact is, that the 
 crown had been already settled on the Duke of 
 Chattelherauld, failing the Queen, and her issue: 
 It was, however, an age of projects, which 
 did not weigh objections, in very nice scales : 
 And, nothing was too difficult, for the daring 
 of Murray, who was supported, as we have 
 seen, by Cecil, and favoured, by Elizabeths 
 
 The proceedings of the Parliament, in May 
 1563, did not, by any means, satisfy Knox, who 
 saw too little done, for the Kirkmen, and too 
 much for the nobles. q Knox certainly expected, 
 that the Queen's minister would have obtained 
 from her, and the Parliament, an Act, for esta- 
 blishing the religion, and abolishing every other 
 
 The Acts of the Convention of 1560 were not laws, till they 
 were confirmed, by the Parliament of December 156f. 
 
 P See the App. to this Memoir, No. viii. 
 
 * In that Parliament, which sat under the influence of 
 Murray, who obtained, from it, a confirmation of his earl- 
 dom, as well as the Act of Oblivion, [Knox, 330.] Knox 
 says, sarcastically, " that the Act of Oblivion was passed, 
 " as some lords had interest therein." Ib. 331.
 
 188 THE LIFE OF [MEM. V. Memoir of 
 
 worship: But, such an act would have sup- 
 pressed the Queen's own mode of worship, and 
 involved many interests, in great confusion. 
 Disappointed, in those objects, Knox vented 
 his rage, by railing bitterly against the Queen's 
 ministers, who had been the leaders of the 
 Congregation ; and accused them of apostasy, 
 servility, and selfishness. In consequence of 
 this intemperance, Murray, and Knox, did not 
 speak, familiarly, during eighteen months. In 
 this falling out of two men, who both courted 
 popularity, by different means, for different 
 ends, Doctor Robertson pretends to find a 
 strong proof of Murray's attachment to the 
 Queen, while his real affections were with Eli- 
 zabeth, on his own account ; as we may learn 
 from the intimations of Randolph/ During 
 this rupture, however, Murray, constantly pro- 
 tected Knox, and his followers ; as they were 
 useful to himself, how much soever their irre- 
 ligious conduct was offensive to a religious 
 Queen. The followers of Knox broke into the 
 Queen's chapel, at Holyrood-house, during 
 divine service : Two of the leaders, in this out- 
 rage, were summoned to answer for their mis- 
 conduct : And Knox, meantime, sent out cir- 
 cular letters, to summon his disciples, from all 
 
 r Knox, 331 j Keith, 241.
 
 the Regent Murray.-] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 189 
 
 parts, to Edinburgh, on the day, which was 
 appointed for their trial. This was deemed, 
 by the Privy Council, to be treason, in Knox, 
 who had taken upon him to convoke the Queen's 
 subjects, without authority : He was, for this 
 treasonable offence, ordered to be tried: But, as 
 Murray was then, in the north, the trial was post- 
 poned till his return. Every influence was used, 
 privately, to induce Knox to acknowledge his 
 offence, and to appeal to the Queen's clemency ; 
 but, every effort was used, in vain, to move 
 Knox's obstinacy. He even justified what he 
 had done, by the example of Murray, and the 
 chief congregationalists, during late times, 
 which the recent Act of Oblivion had covered, 
 with forgiveness. He was again summoned 
 before the Privy Council, consisting, chiefly, of 
 his own disciples, with Murray, at their head, 
 when he was acquitted of the imputed treason, 
 which he avowed before them.' This absurd 
 acquittal induced Doctor Robertson to remark, 
 that it showed " the low condition, to which 
 " the royal authority was then sunk ; and the 
 " impunity, with which subjects might invade 
 " those rights of the crown, that are now held 
 " sacred." The Doctor cannot be much praised, 
 for the constitutional doctrines, that obscure, 
 
 ' Knox, 338-43 ; Keith, 244-5. 
 VOL. III. O
 
 190 THE LIFE OF [MEM. V. Memoir of 
 
 rather than enlighten his history. There was, 
 plainly, no want of royal authority, when 
 Huntley, and his sons, were hunted down, by 
 every stretch of undue authority. The ac- 
 quittal of Knox, guilty, as he was, of treason, 
 on that occasion, and of sedition every day, 
 only evinces, that this fanatical anarch was 
 now protected, by Murray, as he had long been, 
 by Cecil ; being a constant thorn, in the Queen's 
 side. Randolph wrote Cecil, on the 27th of 
 February 1563-4, two months after that ac- 
 quittal, " that there was some unkind ness, 
 " between the Queen, and Murray, about Knox, 
 " whose part he taketh." 1 
 
 Meantime, Murray, with his two bastard 
 brothers," went into the north, during October 
 1563, to hold Justice-courts, within his earl- 
 dom ; to take possession of the estates, which, 
 
 1 When Secretary Maitland had exhausted his reasoning, 
 and his spirits, on this wayward prophet, he retired, in dis- 
 gust : But, the minion, Murray, remained, wishing to con- 
 verse with Knox, on the state of the court: And, the 
 preacher cut the statesman short j as Knox wished not to 
 be troubled with such a subject, from so selfish a personage. 
 [Knox, 339.] In this manner, then, do \ve see the tower- 
 ing ambition of Murray, who was ever double in his words, 
 and meaning, paulter in a double sense with the apostle, who 
 was equally ambitious, in his own pursuits, and equally 
 double, in his means. [Keith, 249.] 
 
 "John, Prior of Coldingham, died, at Inverness, in No- 
 vember 1563.
 
 the Regent Murray.'] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 191 
 
 we have seen, recently, granted to each of them, 
 from the spoils of the Gordons ; to display 
 their new power ; and to defy the ghost of the 
 blood-boltered Huntley. It is curious to remark, 
 that Murray, on that occasion, adjudged, on the 
 classick ground of Inverness, two of the weird- 
 sisters, who appeared to another ambitious mi- 
 nion, which also grasped at the stained sceptre 
 of the gracious Duncan." Murray had another 
 object of importance, in the north, which was 
 equally fraudful, the obtaining of additional 
 titles to the injured Countess of Buchan's estates. 
 The year 1564 was, chiefly, distinguished, 
 for the disingenuous negotiation, about Mary's 
 marriage, which was managed, on her side, by 
 two men, who wished not her marriage, Murray, 
 and Maitland. Much of what was said, and 
 done, on the part of Elizabeth, does honour to 
 her usual duplicity. Lady Lennox, and her 
 son, Lord Darnley, had been now before Mary's 
 eyes, ever since the demise of Francis II. The 
 
 x In the late Parliament, passed the Act, imposing the 
 punishment of deat h, on witchcraft, sorcery, and necromancy. 
 [Acta Part. 539.] The first victims to the absurd severity 
 of this act, were the two old women, who were burnt, by 
 Murray, at Inverness. It was on this Act, that Murray exe- 
 cuted Sir William Stewart, the Lion-king, in 1568, on the 
 absurd charge of attempting to procure Murray's death, by 
 witchcraft, and necromancy. [Birrel, I*'.]
 
 192 THE LIFE OF [MEM. V. Memoir of 
 
 Queen knew all the difficulties, and all the 
 facilities, of such a match. Lady Lennox, who 
 was, equally with herself, a descendant, from 
 Henry VII., might have stood, in competition, 
 with her, for the English crown, in case of Eli- 
 zabeth's demise, without lawful issue. Lady 
 Lennox had, also, pretensions to the earldom of 
 Angus, in contest, with the heir male. And 
 Mary saw that, by marrying the youthful Darn- 
 ley, it might be easy to give equivalents to Lady 
 Lennox. In prosecution of all those purposes, 
 the Earl of Lennox came to Scotland, in Sep- 
 tember 1 564, at the end of twenty years expa- 
 triation ; bringing with him a recommendatory 
 letter from Elizabeths His recommendations 
 insured him a welcome reception, at Edinburgh. 
 The Earl bestowed his jewels on men, who were 
 in the habit of receiving gifts : And Lady Len- 
 nox sent a diamond to Murray.* 
 
 A Parliament was, soon after, called, for the 
 purpose, chiefly, of reversing Lennox's attaind- 
 er, which would let in various claims upon 
 those, who enjoyed his forfeited estates. 8 The 
 
 r See the letter of the 1st of Sept. 1564, in Keith, 255. 
 Mary, says Randolph, imputed the coming of Lennox to 
 the Queen of England's request. [J6. 259.] 
 
 Melvill'sMero. 52. 
 
 The Duke, as chief of the Hamiltons, considered the
 
 the Regent Murray.] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 193 
 
 Parliament assembling in December 1564, the 
 Queen made an oration, in favour of Lennox, 
 which was enforced, by the eloquence of Secre- 
 tary Maitland : It was now shown, that the 
 principal reason of restoring Lennox was the 
 request of her good sister of England. b Mur- 
 ray had his earldom confirmed, which indeed 
 wanted confirmation ; and he had a consider- 
 able grant of lands, in Aberdeenshire ; of Strath- 
 dee, Braemar, and Cromar, some of the spoils 
 of the Earldom of Mar, e which Murray selfishly 
 retained. Some other estates were confirmed 
 to considerable men. And above all, to gra- 
 tify Knox, and his disciples, it was, at this Par- 
 liament, made penal to be present, at mass, 
 except in the Queen's chapel. d We may thus 
 see again the Queen's feelings outraged, by 
 her minion's factiousness, at the call of fana- 
 ticism. 
 
 The Queen, as well as Murray, by those 
 Parliamentary measures, seems to have obtain- 
 ed the various objects, which she had, imme- 
 diately, in view : Lennox was restored to his 
 titles, and estates ; and Lady Lennox confirmed 
 to the young Earl of Angus, the Earldom, to 
 
 recal of Lennox, as his overthrow, especially, if the Queen 
 should marry Darnley. Keith, 259. b Ib. 268. 
 
 e Murray obtained that grant on the 22d of December 
 1564. Privy Seal Register. d Keith, 268.
 
 194 THE LIFE OF [MEM. V. Memoir of 
 
 which she had pretensions, as heir-general. 6 It 
 was foreseen, that the restoration of Lennox 
 would, naturally, draw after him, his son, Lord 
 Darnley, who had never been once mentioned, 
 or alluded to, during 1 the late negotiation, about 
 the Queen's marriage. The Duke, and Mur- 
 ray, as well as Randolph, who acted, as the 
 instrument of Murray, endeavoured, by all 
 means, to prevent Darnley's journey into Scot- 
 land/ Early in February, Darnley not only 
 obtained leave to go into Scotland, on pretence 
 of visiting his father, but even carried with 
 him, recommendatory letters, from Elizabeth, to 
 
 e Randolph informed Cecil, on the2d of December 1564, 
 that Lady Lennox had confirmed that Earldom to the heir 
 male j and that, she taketh, to be better, than to be de- 
 clared illegitimate, which was laboured by some. [Keith, 
 268.] This confirmation was, probably, granted j in order 
 to secure the Earl of Morton, the Earl of Angus's uncle. 
 
 ' Id. Randolph again wrote to Cecil, on the same subject, 
 in his letter of the 13th : But, the efforts of the Duke, and 
 Murray, were attended, by a different effect, than what they 
 wished : Elizabeth had pressed Leicester, as a lover, upon 
 Mary, as far as agreeable to her own wishes : And, she now 
 started Darnley, as another puppet, which, she thought, she 
 could dandle, as she pleased : Even Leicester, who preferred 
 Elizabeth to Mary, promoted Darnley's journey to Scotland j 
 and Cecil concurred j trusting to his own artifices, to dis- 
 appoint him, when he pleased. [Randolph's letter to Cecil 
 of the 13th February 1564-5, in the Paper Office.]
 
 the Regent Murray.] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 195 
 
 Bedford, at Berwick, to Randolph, and to the 
 Queen of Scots. Mary seems to have expected 
 Darnley, for some time ; and went into Fife, 
 slenderly attended, upon a progress ; in order 
 to enjoy quiet, during so anxious a moment. 
 At the beginning of February, she even resided, 
 at a merchant's house, in St. Andrews, where 
 she was visited by Randolph, but not enter- 
 tained, by Murray, at the seat of his Priory. 
 The Queen made Elizabeth's envoy dine, and 
 sup, with her every day, while he remained ; 
 and he, in return, no doubt, rode out with her, 
 after dinner, which was her daily habit : She 
 laughed, and talked much, and toasted her 
 good sister, at dinner, with great praise ; but, 
 she would not intimate her predilection for any 
 lover ; though she acknowledged, that not to 
 marry could not be fit for her. When she 
 heard of Darn ley's arrival, in Scotland, she 
 came forward, from St. Andrews, where Ran- 
 dolph had left her, to Wemyss-castle, which 
 was then inhabited by Murray ; and in which 
 she probably meant to receive him : From 
 Edinburgh, where he remained three nights, he 
 crossed the Forth, to Fife, and paid her his 
 first visit, on the 16th, at Wemyss-castle, as we 
 have already seen. 
 
 The arrival of Darnley gave great offence to 
 Murray, and his faction ; as we know, from
 
 196 THE LIFE OF [MEM. V. Memoir of 
 
 Randolph's dispatches : But, as he came, with 
 Elizabeth's recommendations, Murray enter- 
 tained him hospitably ; carried him to hear 
 Knox's sermon ; and made him dance with the 
 Queen, at his house, on Sunday evening; as 
 we have perceived. Thus, prosperously, went 
 forward Darnley's voyage, while Elizabeth's 
 breath continued to fan his sails. From the 
 moment, that it was, distinctly, perceived, that 
 Mary would marry Darnley, the wind changed ; 
 and drove his frail bark among shoals, and 
 rocks. Randolph, as he was not let into the 
 real secret of his own court, continued to write, 
 from Edinburgh, even after the arrival of 
 Darnley there, of the offence, which Elizabeth 
 had given to the Duke, and to Murray, and 
 his faction, by sending Darnley to Scotland. 8 
 
 The whole of the English partisans, the 
 Duke, Morton, Glencairn, Argyle, and their 
 several followers, with Murray, at their head, 
 declared their decided opposition to Darnley's 
 marriage, before the middle of March ; h trust- 
 ing to Elizabeth's support : The Duke, Murray, 
 and Argyle, entered into a confederacy against 
 
 * Randolph's letters of the 12th of February, and 21st of 
 May, in the Paper Office: And see Keith, 269 ; and his 
 App. 158. 
 
 h Randolph's letter of the 20th of March to Cecil. [Keith, 
 272.]
 
 the Regent Murray.] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 197 
 
 all, except God, and their sovereign. On the 
 7th of April, Murray retired, from court, in 
 disgust ; and, consequently, abdicated his 
 place of prime minister, in deference to Eliza- 
 beth, or in hatred to Darnley. On the 15th of 
 April, it was plainly discovered, " that the 
 Queen would have the Lord Darnley/ Nor, was 
 the Queen wanting, in activity, and address, 
 for promoting her own purpose. She assembled 
 a numerous convention of her states, among 
 whom, were the associated nobles ; the Duke, 
 and Argyle, and Murray : k This convention 
 
 ' Cecil's Diary. On the 18th of April Secretary Maitland 
 arrived, in London j in order to explain, to Elizabeth, 
 Mary's purpose of marrying Darnley. On the 1st of May 
 1 565, the Privy Council of England came to a formal de- 
 termination, to oppose the marriage of the Scotish Queen 
 with Darnley, by argument, by arfrfice, by force. Keith, 
 274 j Murdin, 758. 
 
 k On the 5th of May 1565, Murray, being urged, by the 
 Queen, to sign a paper, consenting to her marriage, with 
 Darnley, positively refused. At that time, saith Randolph, 
 the Queen hateth the Duke, the Earls of Argyle, and Mur- 
 ray 5 alleging against him [Murray] that he goetk about to 
 set the crown upon his own head. [Murdin, 758.] On the 
 3d of May 1565, the Earls of Argyle, and Murray, came to 
 Edinburgh, at the head of 5000 men, to keep the lawday 
 against Bothwell : But, as they knew, that their opponent 
 would not appear, at Edinburgh, their object, in bringing 
 such an army, must have been to overawe the Queen. [Id.]
 
 198 THE LIFE OF [MEM. V. Memoir of 
 
 appears to have, unanimously, assented to the 
 Queen's proposed marriage, as being fit, in it- 
 self : Meantime, Elizabeth, by means of Throg- 
 morton, whom she sent, purposely, into Scot- 
 land, carried on against Mary, among her 
 nobles, the most dangerous intrigues, in oppo- 
 sition to her marriage. 1 The Duke, the Earls 
 of Argyle, Murray, and Glencairn, retired in 
 concert, to their own castles ; in order to 
 wait awhile Elizabeth's movements, and daily 
 events. 1 " 
 
 Opposition to the measures of government 
 were not, in those times, carried on, by sly in- 
 trigue, or manly debate ; but, by privy con- 
 spiracy, treasonous machinations, and avowed 
 revolt : In this insidious manner, then, did 
 Murray's cabal oppose the Queen ; and Darn- 
 ley, Argyle, and Glencairn, attended the as- 
 sembly of the Kirkmen, at Edinburgh, which 
 
 There had been more, said Randolph to Cecil, " if they had 
 not been stayed, by the Queen, who hath shown herself now 
 of late [3d May] to mislike my Lord of Murray." 
 
 1 Keith, 276-79. 
 
 m Id. Murray carried on, in the meantime, a traitorous 
 correspondence with Secretary Cecil, and the Earl of Bed- 
 ford. [16. 200.] On the 3d of June 1565, Randolph wrote 
 to Cecil : " The Queen of Scots's counsellors are now those, 
 whom before she liked worst : Murray lives, where he 
 listeth." [16.282.]
 
 the Regent Murray.-} THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 199 
 
 was hostile to Mary's marriage. Murray de- 
 clined to attend the convention, which was 
 called, by the Queen, at Perth, about the same 
 time ; giving out, as a reason, what could not 
 have imposed on any one, that Darnley had 
 formed a plot, to slay him. n This pretence was 
 raised, by an ambitious, and artful man, whose 
 life consisted of such falsehoods, and impos- 
 
 n It was the constant practice of those insidious times, 
 when there was a real plot, in contemplation, to feign a 
 counterfeit one. Darnley, who was incapable of any de- 
 tailed measures, by adopting such a design against Murray, 
 and his faction, would have dashed his fairest hopes. When 
 Murray was directed by the Queen, and Council, to detail 
 how, and by whom, he had heard of such a plot, he declin- 
 ed to give any explanation. He proposed to wait upon the 
 Queen : but, supposed his person to be in danger : The 
 most effectual assurances of personal safety were given him : 
 But, he declined to appear before the Council. [Reg. of the 
 Privy Council.'] This pretence of personal danger was the 
 mere fiction of an artful man. It is clear,then, that there was 
 no real foundation, for the supposed plot of Darnley against 
 Murray j while there was the most satisfactory proof of a 
 real plot, by Murray, against Darnley, and the Queen. [See 
 evidence of this, in Randolph's dispatch to Cecil of the 2d 
 of July 1565, which speaks of a concert, between the Duke, 
 Argyle, Murray, and Glencairn, " to coerce the Queen." 
 [Keith, 289.] The convention of nineteen nobles and six- 
 teen prelates, at Dumbarton, in September 1 568, are posi- 
 tive, as to this point, of the conspiracy, at the Kirk of Beith, 
 for that end. [Goodall, ii. 3 68- 9.]
 
 200 THE LIFE OF [MEM. V. Memoir of 
 
 tures. It is, indeed, certain, from the evidence 
 of records, that the Duke, Murray, and Argyle, 
 designed to seize Lennox, Darnley and the 
 Queen, as they passed from Perth, by Lochle- 
 leven-castle, to the Queen's-ferry, on the 1st of 
 July ; to send Lennox, and his son, prisoners, 
 to Berwick ; to imprison the Queen in Loch- 
 leven- castle, for ultimate dethronement. There 
 was, in fact, an insurrection at Edinburgh, in 
 concurrence with that conspiracy, under the in- 
 fluence of Knox. So well laid was this trea- 
 sonous enterprise, that Cecil conceived it to be 
 already achieved. But, their secret was not 
 well kept. And the Queen, hastily, collecting 
 300 horsemen, at Perth, galloped across the 
 country, by Lochleven, to the Queen's-ferry, 
 before the traitors had awakened, from their 
 guilty dreams. p When Murray found, that his 
 prey had escaped, he gave out, as he had a lie 
 always ready, that he was sick; as we know, 
 from Randolph, his criminal associate. 
 
 After such a disappointment, and detection, 
 Murray prepared to execute his designs, by his 
 
 o Keith, 293-73 Melvill's Mem. fol. p. 56. 
 
 P Murray lay, for the occasion, on the road side, at his 
 mother's house of Lochleven ; Argyle lay, on the other side, 
 at some distance, in Castle Campbel ; and Rothes brought 
 his followers to the Parrot Well.
 
 the Regent Murray.'] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 201 
 
 treasonous sword. With his guilty associates, 
 he held a convention, at Stirling ; pretending, 
 like other traitors, to reform both the Church, 
 and the State ; while their real object was civil 
 war, in objection to the Queen's marriage. They 
 sent a trusty messenger to Elizabeth, who lis- 
 tened, with willing ears, to such projects, from 
 every neighbouring partisan, to communicate 
 to her their odious designs, and to ask her 
 treacherous aid.* Queen Mary was aware both 
 of their designs, and her own danger. She 
 charged the traitors to desist, from their crimes; 
 she gave private notice to the Duke, to be- 
 ware of Murray's projects ; she assured her Pro- 
 testant subjects of her protection : And she 
 sum moned all her subjects, as by law they 
 were bound, to collect around her, in arms/ 
 She gave a pardon to Lord Gordon ; she re- 
 called the Earl of Sutherland ; she desired 
 Bothwell, to return, whom, during Murray's 
 rebellion, she appointed Captain of Dunbar- 
 
 i Keith, 299. It is curious to remark, that Murray, while 
 thus preparing, for civil war, in opposition to the Queen's 
 marriage, did not forget the Countess of Buchan : On the 
 3d of June 1565, he obtained a charter from the Queen, 
 under the great seal, of the whole estates of the deluded 
 Countess. [Privy Seal Reg. xxxiii. 53 ; and the Charter, in 
 the Great Seal .Record.] Such a swindler was Murray ! 
 
 T See Keith's App. No. ix.
 
 202 THE LIFE OF [MEM. V. Memoir of 
 
 castle : And she thus assumed the appearance 
 of vigour, without any real efficiency, as her 
 whole ministers were Murray's retainers. The 
 confederated nobles retired to their castles, 
 when they saw the people collecting around 
 their Queen ; to wait, meantime, the slow de- 
 cision of Elizabeth's doubtful aid,' On the 
 22d of July, Murray wrote, from St. Andrews, 
 to Bedford, Elizabeth's Lieutenant on the bor- 
 ders ; setting forth the peril, to which he was 
 reduced, on account of his earnest affection to 
 the true worship ; of his goodwill to his own 
 Commonwealth ; and of his passionate regard 
 for the mutual amity, between the two realms : 
 Begging protection, for such a cause ; and 
 hinting to Bedford, how serviceable it would be 
 to him, and his confederates, if the Lieutenant 
 would make an irruption into the Scotish bor- 
 ders, where dwelt some of their most powerful 
 opponents.' This whole letter, which is a 
 master-piece of hypocrisy, was admirably con- 
 ceived, to strike the feelings of the Puritan, 
 Bedford : But, Elizabeth's servants were too 
 well disciplined, to stir an inch, in a warlike 
 manner, without her positive orders." 
 
 Randolph's letter to Cecil of the 21st July 1565. 
 [Keith, 303.] * Keith, 306. 
 
 " Bedford was reprehended, by Cecil, for calling Murray,
 
 the Regent Murray.] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 203 
 
 We may see, indeed, in the whole proceed- 
 ings of the Privy Council of Scotland, during 
 Murray's rebellion, that the generality of the 
 Queen's servants consisted of Murray's mi- 
 nions. Morton, the Chancellor, Maitland, the 
 Secretary, are expressly said, by the well-in- 
 formed Randolph, to have been, as much con- 
 cerned, in Murray's practices, as if they had 
 been with him, in his convention, or his ca- 
 binet ; and only waited occasions, to betray 
 their mistress. What villains ! On the 28th of 
 July 1565, the very day before her marriage, 
 instead of ordering Murray, to be arrested, she 
 gave that artful traitor a safe conduct for him- 
 self, and fourscore followers, to come to Edin- 
 burgh, on the frivolous pretence of that dan- 
 gerous plotter being afraid of his life.* 
 
 The actual marriage of the Queen, and Darn- 
 ley, ought to have dissolved the unnatural con- 
 federacy, between the Duke, and Murray, who 
 had divers interests. The Duke was, by law, 
 the presumptive heir of the crown : The bas- 
 tard Murray, encouraged as he was, by Cecil, 
 
 and his rebellious coadjutors " the lords of the congregation ." 
 And Cecil spoke, doubtfully, of Elizabeth's aid to those 
 lords. 
 
 x Keith's App. 1 10. Elizabeth would have set a price 
 upon his guilty head, instead of allowing an enterprising 
 rebel to come to her court, with eighty followers.
 
 204 THE LIFE OF [MEM. V. Memoir of 
 
 was without any right whatever ; was conti- 
 nually grasping at the sceptre, as occasion 
 occurred : But. now, since the Queen, and 
 Darnley, could not be unmarried, unless it 
 were, by the traitorous means, that had once 
 failed, at the Kirk of Beith : to send Darnley out 
 of Scotland, by force, and to coerce the Queen. 
 But, they were unable to effect either, without 
 the avowed interposition of Elizabeth, in arms. 
 The confederated nobles, however, continued 
 their treasonous practices, throughout the 
 whole month of August 1565 ; expecting the 
 promised money, and men, from Elizabeth's 
 caution, or duplicity. The Queen, supported 
 as she was, by the genuine voice of the whole 
 people, who approved of her marriage, made 
 successful efforts to oppose Murray, and his 
 guilty coadjutors ; though he might have been, 
 immediately, expelled, if it had not been, for 
 the treachery of Maitland, who betrayed her 
 counsels, and Morton, her commander, who 
 directed her army to the north, when he ought 
 to have followed the rebels, to the southward. 
 On the 7th of August 1565, Murray was, for- 
 mally, denounced a rebel ; and the Duke, 
 Argyle, and others, were warned not to comfort 
 him, if they would avoid the pains of treason. y 
 
 r Keith, 310.
 
 the Regent Murray.] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 205 
 
 Elizabeth, privately, conveyed pecuniary aids to 
 Murray, and also sent Tamvvorth, to intrigue 
 for him, with the help of his avowed partisan, 
 Randolph. 1 The principal rebels were induced 
 by the Queen's superiority, and Elizabeth's pe- 
 nury, to flee into the impervious mountains 
 of Argyle. The Earl of Athol was now empow- 
 ered, to pursue the Earl of Argyle, with fire, and 
 sword, as a rebel.* After all those preparatory 
 steps, the Queen, and Darnley, marched, from 
 Edinburgh, at the end of August, towards Lin- 
 lithgow, in quest of the rebels : They pressed for- 
 ward to Stirling, and thence to Glasgow ; while 
 the hearts of her principal ministers were with 
 Murray. The rebels, meantime, passed, from 
 Hamilton, to Edinburgh, with no great force, 
 on the first of September ; but, as the castle 
 fired upon them, and the townsmen were un- 
 friendly, they soon found it necessary, to march 
 towards the south-west ; pointing at Dumfries. 
 Robertson remarks how well the Queen's ar- 
 mies were conducted, on that occasion, when 
 they were carried northward, while they ought 
 to have pressed forward, towards the south: If he 
 meant, how well her armies were conducted, for 
 
 z 16. 312 : During that rebellion, Tarn worth, and Ran- 
 dolph, were both restrained, as well they ought ; their 
 conduct being treasonous ; the first in Dunbar : the second^ 
 in Edinburgh. Lodge's Illust. i. 353. a Keith, 313-14- 
 
 VOL. III. P
 
 2CX5 THE LIFE OF [MEM.V. Memoir of 
 
 the safety of the rebels, his 'observation must be 
 allowed to savour of sense. As Murray retired 
 upon Dumfries, towards the English border ; so 
 Morton directed the royal army northward, into 
 Fife, which precluded all hope of pursuit. The 
 rebels, as they were not followed, remained up- 
 wards of a month, about Dumfries ; looking 
 for Elizabeth'aid ; and trusting to such ca- 
 sualties, as their friends, in the Queen's coun- 
 cils, might contrive. But, Mary, returning at 
 length, from Fife to Edinburgh, marched thence 
 on the 8th of October, to expel the fugitives, or 
 to force their submission." Murray, and the 
 guilty nobles, were, now, compelled to avow 
 their impotence, and malignity, by seeking 
 shelter, in England, where they hoped to be 
 received into the frigid arms of Elizabeth.' 
 
 b Randolph wrote to Cecil, from Edinburgh, on the 8th 
 of October 1565 : " This Queen sets forward towards Dum- 
 fries, with all the force, that she can make, with many in 
 her company, that will do her little service, when they come 
 there : She is now, at this point, that she knoweth not, 
 whom she may trust ; so much misliked is her doings [by 
 the English faction] : The whole of the north is come in to 
 her, of whom is the Lord Gordon, restored to the Earldom 
 of Huntley : In fine, the Earl of Athol, and Bo'thwell, are 
 her chief trusts." 
 
 * Keith, 816. Elizabeth had, in fact, commenced hosti- 
 tilities : But, hearing of the retreat of Murray, and his 
 rebels, she recurred to her usual practice of secret supplies 
 of money, as well as intrigues of policy.
 
 the Regent Murray.'] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 207 
 
 Her Lieutenant, and his Wardens, received 
 them, with great civility ; and they moved to 
 Newcastle, on the 15th of October ; in order to 
 wait, till Elizabeth had settled her conscience, 
 as to the mode of receiving Murray, and his 
 friends, who had risqued much in following his 
 ambition, and her artifices. They were well 
 received by the Earl of Bedford, Elizabeth's 
 Lieutenant, on the borders, who, as a Puritan, 
 entered into their views, and promoted their 
 prospects. 
 
 Murray, relying on the protection of Cecil, 
 set out, from Newcastle, for London, to solicit 
 the support of Elizabeth, who had urged him 
 into rebellion, by so many inducements. But, 
 he was stopped, as he advanced, towards Lon- 
 don, at Ware. d Cecil, meantime, chid Bedford, 
 
 d There is a letter, in the Paper Office, to the English 
 Privy Council, dated at Ware, the 21st of October 1565, 
 which shows the embarrassments of both parties : " Upon 
 my journey," says Murray, " very near this town of Ware, I 
 received your honours' letter, from a servant of Mr. Ran- 
 dolph's passing to Scotland ; and thereby understand the 
 Queen's majesty's resolution, plainly, to be, that it were not 
 meet for me, to come, at this time ; but, to forbear such 
 open dealings, with her majesty, until it may be further 
 considered what shall be meetest for me to do. I am sorry 
 to have been so late advised of her majesty's resolution, as 
 I am persuaded your honours knew not, that I were so far 
 upon my journey ; but so soon as I were certified, I stayed 
 here, at Ware, conform to your honours dasire."
 
 208 THE LIFE OF [Msac. V. Memoir of 
 
 for allowing Murray to come up to London ; 
 and Bedford could only excuse himself, by 
 saying, " that he could not prevent him, with- 
 out using violence." Murray soon after, by the 
 artifices of Cecil, obtained, however, an au- 
 dience of the Queen. 6 Of this interview, we 
 have a very curious account, from Sir James 
 Melville, the partisan of Murray : " At length," 
 says he, " the nobles were compelled to flee into 
 England, for refuge, to her, who, by her am- 
 bassadors, had promised to hazard her crown, 
 in their defence, in case they were driven to any 
 strait ; because of appearing against the said 
 marriage; though this was, expressly, denied 
 them, when coming to demand help : For, when 
 they sent up my Lord of Murray to that Queen, 
 the rest abiding at Newcastle, he could obtain 
 nothing but disdain, and scorn, till at length, 
 he, and the Abbot of Kil winning, his compa- 
 nion, in that message, were persuaded to come, 
 and confess unto the Queen, upon their knees, 
 in presence of the ambassadors of France, and 
 Spain, that her majesty had never moved them 
 
 e Bedford, nevertheless, on the 24th of October, wrote 
 Cecil, from Berwick : " 1 heartily pray you, to favour, and 
 further, the Earl of Murray, and the common cause, that he 
 cometh up for : how much he standeth thereupon, I need 
 not tell you." The original letter remains, in the Paper 
 Office.
 
 the Regent Murray.-] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 209 
 
 to that opposition, and resistance, against the 
 Queen's marriage : For this, she had desired 
 to satisfy the said ambassadors, who both al- 
 leged, in their master's names, that she had 
 been the cause of the said rebellion, and that 
 her only delight was, to stir up dissention 
 among her neighbours : Yet, by this cnnning, 
 she overcame them : For, she handled the 
 matter so subtilely, and the other two, so cow- 
 ardly, in granting her desire, contrary to what 
 was truth ; being put in hopes of relief, if they 
 would so far comply with what was judged her 
 interest, for the time, that she triumphed over 
 the said ambassadors, for their false allegations : 
 But, unto my Lord of Murray, and his neigh- 
 bour, she said ; Now, you have told the truth ; 
 for neither did I, nor any, in my name, stir you 
 up against your Queen : And your abominable 
 treason may serve, for an example, to my own 
 subjects, to rebel against me : Therefore, get 
 you out of my presence ; you are but unworthy 
 traitors."' Thus happy was Elizabeth, in her 
 hypocritical doings ! and thus low could the 
 ambition of Murray stoop : Yes ; to be a king, 
 he demeaned himself more than became a man : 
 Of the conduct of Elizabeth, there cannot be 
 two opinions : Like a fiend she tempted, and 
 
 f Melvill's Mem. fol. p. 57
 
 210 THE LIFE OF [MEM. V. Memoir of 
 
 betrayed: Like a fury, she reproached, and 
 tormented, the miscreants ; and like another 
 Hecate, she thrust them forward into rebellion ; 
 and then, deceived them, for the gratification 
 of her envy, and her hate.* In return, for such 
 
 * The whole State Papers demonstrate, that Elizabeth 
 incited Murray to rebel against his sister, and benefactress, 
 and Queen : Elizabeth gave him every possible assurance of 
 support j she contributed, secretly, some money j Randolph, 
 her agent, was Murray's constant prompter, throughout 
 several months. [See Elizabeth's letter to Randolph, of 
 the 10th of July 1565. Keith, 296. Seethe letter of the 
 Duke, Argyle, and Murray, of the 18th of July. Ib. 300. 
 See Randolph's letter to Elizabeth of the 19th of July, Id. ib. 
 303.] They all show the secret incitements of the English 
 Queen. There is a letter, in the Paper Office, from Mur- 
 ray to Leicester, dated, at Carlisle, the 14th of October 
 
 fe 
 
 1 665, saying : " I understand how favourable your honour 
 hath been, to the furthering of this our common action. By 
 your Queen's cold dealing herein is a great part of my friends 
 ruinate ; and I, and the rest of the nobility, here, put to this 
 extremity, to which we have been brought, by the good 
 affections, we have borne, to follow her majesty, and her 
 council's advice." Murray spoke still plainer to Cecil, by a 
 letter of the same date, in the Paper Office : " According 
 to your direction, I have comforted the rest of the nobility : 
 As for me, and the remainder here, I doubt not, but you un- 
 derstand, sufficiently, that neither they, nor I, enterprized 
 this action, without forfeit of our sovereign's indignation : 
 But, being moved thereto, by the Queen, your sovereign, 
 and council's hand writing, directed to us, thereupon, which
 
 the Regent Murray.'] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 211 
 
 perfidious conduct, all that they could obtain, 
 at present, were secret supplies, from Bedford, 
 by her directions ; as we know, from Camden, 
 and Strype, and still more, from the account, 
 rendered by Bedford, of the money paid to 
 them. Such, then, was the issue of this rebel- 
 lion ! Not a life was lost in the field : Not a 
 traitor was, prosecuted in the Justice-courts: 
 Not one iota of power, or influence did the 
 Queen gain, by its suppression ! 
 
 Murray, and his expatriated followers, now 
 lay along the northern borders of England, 
 unseen by Elizabeth, protected by Cecil, and 
 supported by Bedford ; having a good position, 
 for intriguing, in Scotland ; and of watching 
 occasions, in England, as well as in Scotland. 
 There is reason to believe, that Throgmorton 
 
 
 
 being followed, all those extremities succeeded, as were 
 sufficiently foreseen." There is a letter, from Murray to 
 Elizabeth, in the Paper Office, dated at Westminster, the 
 30th of October 1565 : Having received your majesty's last 
 answer, and deeply weighing the same, I have entered into 
 such deep considerations of my present estate, and others 
 who, through my occasion, are drawn into the like distress, 
 that little repose have I had in heart, since my departure, 
 from your highness. It were to me more easy, to bear, if 
 I knew, wherein I had offended, or deserved so hard hand- 
 ling of your majesty, whom I have studied, at my uttermost, 
 to serve, and gratify, with all my powers, whereof / take 
 God to witness."
 
 212 THE LIFE OF [MEM. V. Memoir of 
 
 was sent,, by Cecil, and Elizabeth, to solicit 
 their pardons, from Mary. h And Sir James 
 Melvill continued to whisper, in her offended 
 ear, the worst possible advice. At length, on 
 the 1st of December 1565, summonses were 
 executed against Murray, and the expatriated 
 nobles, to answer for their treasons, in the Par- 
 liament of February, then next, to charges of 
 treason. 1 The guilty nobles were thrown into 
 positive despair, by that vigorous measure. 
 Murray, with a meanness unworthy of his am- 
 bition, courted Rizzio, the Queen's Secretary, 
 for the French language ; sent him a diamond ; 
 and flattered him with many promises of 
 future friendship. 11 
 
 We have already seen, from the informations 
 of the intelligent Randolph, which of the 
 Queen's ministers remained, in her councils, 
 even during the late rebellion, with design to 
 betray her. There were other nobles, who re- 
 mained, at Court, and who were extremely 
 dangerous, from their unprincipled activity, 
 and were equally ready, to promote the inte- 
 
 h See Throgmorton's epistle to Mary, in Melvill's Mem. 6O. 
 
 5 See the Act in Keith, 320 ; The nobles, thus charged, 
 were the Earls of Murray, Argyle, Glencairn, and Rothes, 
 with the Lords Ucheltre, and Boyd, and others of less note. 
 The Duke, and the Hamiltons, had obtained their pardons, 
 on condition of living abroad. k Melvill's Mem. 63.
 
 the Regent Murray.'] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 213 
 
 rests of Murray. 1 The ministers, and the no- 
 bles, before mentioned, entered into the most 
 profligate cabals, with the avowed design of 
 proroguing the intended Parliament, and ob- 
 taining Murray's pardon. They debauched the 
 feeble mind of the Queen's husband : m And 
 Murray, and his followers, entered into written 
 agreements with the unworthy King, which 
 amounted, virtually, to the dethronement of 
 the Queen, perhaps to the depriving her of life : 
 Murray engaged, on his part, to obtain for 
 Darnley, the matrimonial crown, during his 
 life : And, the wretched King undertook, in 
 return, to prevent the meeting of Parliament ; 
 so as to obstruct the forfeiture of Murray, and 
 his noble associates, in treason ; so as to pro- 
 cure their pardons, from the Queen, at whatever 
 risk, of danger to her, or disgrace to himself. 
 Lennox, the King's father, also entered into 
 this traitorous project, after all, that she had 
 done for him, and his son. Those engagements, 
 which are the most profligate, that history has 
 recorded, went the full length of an agreement, 
 to assassinate, in the Queen's presence, Rizzio, 
 who was hated, by the King, and envied by 
 the nobles." Those guilty stipulations, however, 
 
 1 Ib. 64. m Ib. Goodall, i. -225-33. 
 
 "Keith's App. 12O-21; Goodall, i. 225-231-33: And 
 the declaration of the Convention, at Dumbarton, in Sep-
 
 214 THE LIFE OF [MBM. V. Memoir of 
 
 were carried into shocking effect, on the 9th of 
 March, then next, by the aggravated assassi- 
 nation of Rizzio, in the Queen's closet ; Eliza- 
 
 tember 1568. [Goodall, ii. 359.] There remains a sin- 
 gular letter, from the Earl of Morton, and Lord Ruthven, 
 the two chief assassins, to Sir N. Throgmorton, dated from 
 Berwick, the 2d of April 1566} wherein, they say, " that 
 " they had thought it meet to labour, for the relief of their 
 "'brethren, [Murray and his noble associates in crime] who 
 " were in trouble ; that since they themselves were now in 
 " the like trouble, for the relief of our brethren, and the reli- 
 " gion, we doubt not to find favour, as they had done " 
 [Goodall, i. 264.] We thus, clearly, see, that Rizzio was 
 assassinated, by assaulting the Queen's palace, and arresting 
 the Queen's person ; that is, murder, and treason, were 
 committed, for the dogmas of Calvin, and the return of Mur- 
 ray, with his associate rebels j and for such crimes, they 
 asked, and received, protection, from Elizabeth, till she 
 could procure their pardon. Murray, and his associates, 
 were certainly relieved, by the odious conduct of Darnley : 
 but, nothing was done, by them for him, in return. The 
 ultimate object of this shocking conspiracy, as we may learn, 
 from Randolph, obviously was, if the leaders had not dis- 
 agreed, and the Queen had not, by her address, freed her 
 husband, and herself, to have dethroned the Queen, and 
 placed her sceptre, in Darnley's hands ; and then to have 
 left him to sink under his own weakness, and the publick 
 indignation. The final end of the whole conspiracy was, 
 to place Murray on the throne : but, the conspirators were 
 disappointed, for a time : It was necessary to have another 
 conspiracy, and assassination, for that end, the great object 
 of Murray's ambition.
 
 the Regent Murray.'] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 215 
 
 beth, and Cecil, previously knowing- thereof: 
 In the midst of this cruel scene, Murray, and 
 his associates, returned to Edinburgh, under 
 Lord Home's care, by Darnley's order, and 
 were, soon after, pardoned; the Parliament 
 being discharged, from attendance, by the 
 King's single order. But, those odious pro- 
 ceedings ended, also, in Darnley's disgrace, 
 and perhaps, in his ultimate death : If the 
 Queen had died, issueless, during the dreadful 
 scene of her Secretary's murder, her husband 
 could not have been King : For the crown was 
 settled, by Act of Parliament, on the Duke of 
 Chattelherault, and his heirs : Nor, could 
 Murray, and his faction, make Darnley King, 
 in opposition to law, and the people : He would 
 have been left, by those, who had deluded him, 
 like a whale upon the strand. We have now 
 seen, that the ambition of Murray could stoop 
 to any villainy, or wickedness, for obtaining 
 his guilty ends.* 
 
 Melvill's Mem. 65. Murray soon repaired to the pro- 
 rogued Parliament ; to offer himself for trial : But, he found 
 neither prosecutor, nor Parliament ; and, in a few days, he 
 received, from the Queen, a formal pardon. 
 
 p It is curious to remark, that Murray, and Argyle, who 
 had obtained their pardons so lately, by Rizzio's murder, 
 appeared among the Privy Counsellors, on the 2d of May 
 1566, to whom it was referred, to settle, and advise the 
 mode of proceeding against the murderous rebels, who hjvd
 
 216 THE LIFE OF [MEM. V. Memoir of 
 
 When Murray was about to leave Newcastle, 
 for Edinburgh, he wrote to Cecil, that Eliza- 
 beth should always find him one of the most 
 attached men, in Europe. 1 The noble assassins 
 of Rizzio, with the Earl of Morton, the Chan- 
 cellor, at their head, now sought the same 
 shelter, in England, which the noble rebels 
 had just left, for a crime of a more odious cast, 
 than the rebellion of Murray. Elizabeth, from 
 fiend-like hatred of the Scotish Queen, gave 
 Morton, and his associate assassins, immediate 
 shelter, and procured them ultimate pardon/ 
 
 committed that terrible deed. [Keith's App. 131.] Of the 
 hundreds, who were denounced, for that crime, only two, 
 who were of little account, were convicted, and punished. 
 [Arnot's Crim. Trials.} 
 
 1 His letter, in the Paper Office, dated the 8th of March 
 1565-6. Elizabeth, on that occasion, ordered Bedford, her 
 Lieutenant, to pay Murray 3001. for his expenses, to Edin- 
 burgh. But, Bedford wrote the Queen, on the 16th of 
 March, that Murray was departed, before he had received 
 her pleasure, " for 3OOl. supposed to be, in his hands, in 
 part of the 30OOJ. sent to him, to be secretly paid to the Earl 
 " of Murray, towards his charges, while he remained, at 
 " Newcastle :" But, he added, that of the said 3000/. 
 there, only, remained ZOOl. in his hands : For, having paid 
 1OOOZ. to Lord Murray, while at Newcastle j and 180OJ. to 
 the officers at Berwick, nothing more than 200J. remained. 
 [The original in the Paper Office.] Here, then, is complete 
 evidence of the money, secretly, received, by Murray, from 
 Elizabeth, while he remained, in England. 
 
 ' Keith, 336'. Elizabeth, with her accustomed duplicity.
 
 the Regent Murray.] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 
 
 The Queen, after the murder of her private 
 Secretary, saved herself, and Darnley, by in- 
 ducing her guilty husband, to flee with her to 
 Dunbar-castle. Here, she found safety till her 
 loyal barons could assemble around her, with 
 their men in arms. She now returned, in a 
 sort of military triumph, to her capital, whence 
 the guilty fled, and where the penitent were 
 pardoned. She, now retired, by the advice of 
 her Privy Council, owing to the artifices of 
 Murray, and Cecil, into Edinburgh-castle, to 
 wait, in security, the time of her necessary con- 
 finement/ During this period, Mary employed 
 
 ordered Morton, Ruthven, and the other assassins, to de- 
 part, from her kingdom j yet, allowed them to lurk about 
 Alnwick, under Cecil's protection, till she obtained their 
 pardon j which enabled Morton to perform even grosser 
 deeds of wickedness, towards the Scotish Queen, by mur- 
 dering Darnley. 
 
 * Keith, 385 : She entered the castle, on the 5th of April 
 1566, and was delivered, on the 1 9th of June, of James VI. : 
 Yet, with all apparent fairness, and even attention to the 
 Queen's safety, this circumstance of her residence, in Edin- 
 burgh-castle, was, merely, the result of a fresh plot of 
 Murray, and Cecil, who, naturally, supposed, from the 
 assassination of Rizzio, in her presence, by a thousand stabs, 
 her child would, probably, be still-born, or be perhaps a 
 monster, and that she might never rise again, from child- 
 bed : Murray, and Argyle, the two pardoned rebels, the one 
 her bastard- brother, and the other her brother-in-law, with
 
 218 THE LIFE OF [MEM. V. Memoir of 
 
 herself, in reconciling her irascible nobles to 
 each other. She, who had received offence, and 
 injury, from so many, easily reconciled her 
 temper to her duty. It was very difficult to 
 reconcile Darnley to himself, though he lived 
 amicably, with his wife, in the quiet of the 
 castle ;*as she never mentioned to him, her 
 sense of his misconduct, and crime, or pursued 
 his father, for his treason. The nobles, easily, 
 assumed the appearance of reconciliation with 
 each other. But, Murray, after the disavowal 
 of Darnley, never could enjoy, with him, " the 
 " sweet intercourse of looks, and smiles," till 
 the bowstring closed the piteous life of the 
 wretched King. It is curious to remark, that 
 after the general reconcilement, of all the 
 nobles, none but Argyle, and Murray, who 
 were so lately pardoned, slept, within the castle. 
 
 Darnley, her husband, were the only persons of consequence, 
 which were allowed to remain, in the castle, with her : If 
 the Queen should die, as they supposed most likely, Murray, 
 and Argyle, would seize the castle, as a great step towards 
 the throne. Randolph was ordered, to remain in Berwick, 
 to wait the issue of those speculations, ready to dart upon 
 Edinburgh, for supporting Murray's pretensions to the 
 crown. Elizabeth was, in the secret of this plot ; and con- 
 fidently expected some fatal accident to the Scotish Queen : 
 Hence, her disappointment, and chagrin, when she heard of 
 Mary's safe delivery of a fine boy. [This plot is detailed, 
 in Randolph's dispatches to Cecil.]
 
 the Regent Murray.'] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 219 
 
 The chiefs of the Hamiltons, were in exile, 
 owing to the egregious folly of the duke. And 
 it is apparent, if any fatal accident had hap- 
 pened to the Queen, in child-bed, that Murray, 
 being in possession of Edinburgh-castle, would 
 have seized her sceptre, which Cecil would have 
 proved, to be legitimately his, and Elizabeth 
 would have recognised, as his genuine right, in 
 the teeth of the statute, entailing the crown on 
 Arran, and virtually denying the illicit preten- 
 sions of the bastard Murray, though twice 
 legitimated. 
 
 The Queen, however, was happily delivered 
 of her son, who was destined to be James VI. 
 This event, which was important in itself, de- 
 prived the duke of the second place, in the 
 kingdom ; and by interposing an heir to the 
 crown, obliged Murray, to change the whole 
 plan of his future steps, towards the first place, 
 in a distracted government. 4 Murray, though 
 no longer the Queen's minion, continued an 
 assiduous courtier, to watch, with the Secretary, 
 
 1 Melvill, in his Mem. 67, tells a story of Huntley, and 
 Lesley, the Bishop of Ross, soliciting the Queen to imprison 
 Murray, as her time approached ; but, that she refused, and 
 told the tale to Murray. The policy of the Queen, at this 
 period, as we have seen, was to conciliate, and not to irri- 
 tate. Sir James Melvill, or his editor, often misplaces 
 events, and misconceives purposes.
 
 520 THE LIFE OF [MEM. V. Memoir of 
 
 the passing scene. After the late tempestuous 
 season, Elizabeth seemed willing to make fair 
 weather, with the Scotish Queen. And Murray, 
 the spaniel of Elizabeth, constantly, crouched, 
 to lick the hand, that chastised him. All, but 
 Darnley, seemed to have been willing to be 
 quiet, during the remainder of the halcyon 
 year of James's birth. Now appeared a new 
 pretender to the crown ! It did not require the 
 penetration of Cecil, or of Murray, Maitland, 
 and Morton, how easy it would be, to proclaim 
 the baby James, as king; and thus create the 
 necessity of a regent. 
 
 When the Queen's period of confinement was 
 passed, she went along the Forth to Alloa-house, 
 attended by Murray, Mar, and other nobles ; 
 but Darnley chose to go by land ; as he liked 
 not to be in the same ship with Murray. It 
 was here, that Secretary Maitland was allowed 
 to wait upon the Queen ; having obtained his 
 pardon, for his participation, in Rizzio's mur- 
 der, by the influence of Athol, and Murray, in 
 opposition to the interest of Bothwell, and 
 Darnley." This is an important fact, for check- 
 ing the current of calumny, which had been so 
 much distributed, through the country, con- 
 cerning the influence of Bothwell, at that me- 
 
 u Keith, 345.
 
 ihe Regent Murray.] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 221 
 
 morable period, when he had obviously less im- 
 portance, in the Queen's mind, than Athol, much 
 less, than Murray. 
 
 After the court's return, from Alloa, a sort of 
 eclaircissement took place between Darnley, 
 and Murray, which, only, heightened the en- 
 mity, between two ambitious men, who aimed 
 at the same object.' At the same time, the old 
 
 grudges broke out, in the Queen's presence, be- 
 
 !/ 
 
 tween Murray, and Both well, on account ot 
 Secretary Maitland, who was protected by Mur- 
 ray. 1 The Queen soon after went into Peeble- 
 shire, for the amusement of hunting, accompa- 
 nied, by Darnley, by Huntley, by Murray, and 
 by other nobles. Soon after their return, the 
 Queen carried the infant prince to Stirling. 1 " 
 
 v See the News from Scotland, in Robertson's App. p. 435. 
 
 x See the same intimations of News from Scotland, which 
 are very important, when we have deducted the exaggera- 
 tions of faction ; as they show the renewment of enmities, 
 between Darnley and Murray, and Bothwell and Murray, in 
 August 1566 : " During the altercations, between Murray, 
 and Bothwell, the Queen spoke nothing, but, heard both." 
 16. 436. Let it be remembered, also, that Bothwell, and 
 Maitland, were constant enemies ; on account of their ha- 
 bitual competition, for the casualties of the crown, in the 
 southern districts. 
 
 y Id.; Keith, 345 : The Queen was, at Stirling, on the22d 
 of September 1566, with the prince, her son, " who is a very 
 fine child," said the aged Le Croc, " and thrives so well, 
 
 VOL. III. Q
 
 222 THE LIFE OF [MEM. V. Memoir of 
 
 Here, the Queen, and her court, remained till 
 the end of September, when she returned to 
 Edinburgh, on account of the publick business. 
 Soon after the arrival of the court, at Edin- 
 burgh, Darnley's purpose was declared, by his 
 father, of leaving his wife, and son, and depart- 
 ing the kingdom : The reality of his design, and 
 the causes of it, were examined by the Privy 
 Council ; when he could not charge the Queen 
 with any cause of offence ; but, intimated his 
 hatred of certain lords, including Murray, and 
 Maitland, as the real causes of his discontent, 
 which he was ashamed to avow.* The Queen 
 endeavoured, in vain, to conciliate so wayward 
 a husband, who was discontented with himself, 
 rather more than with others ; and who now, 
 by his discontent, and absence, from the Queen, 
 and court, brought on his own ruin ; from the 
 secret machinations of those, with Murray at 
 their head, who saw his enmity, which rankled, 
 in their hearts. On that occasion, Murray con- 
 ciliated Bothwell ; so as to draw him, from the 
 
 that against the time of his christening, the godfathers will 
 feel the weight of him, in their arms." Keith, 345. 
 
 * Keith, 350 : In the continued practice of calumny, it 
 is always said, that Darnley came to visit the Queen ; but, 
 was repulsed : It was the constant appearance of Murray, 
 and Maitland, about the Queen, which repulsed Darnley, 
 who could not look upon them.
 
 the Regent Murray.] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 223 
 
 duty, which he owed to the laws, to the guilty 
 concert of Murray, and his faction. 
 
 An attention to the border turbulence, had 
 for some time, determined the Queen, and her 
 court, to hold Justice-airs, at Jedburgh. On 
 the 8th of October 1566, the Queen, attended 
 by Murray, who seems never to have left her, 
 and her officers of state, and of law, set out, for 
 Jedburgh, on the constitutional object of hold- 
 ing Justice-courts. It was, on that occasion, 
 that Bothwell, the Queen's Lieutenant on the 
 borders, was wounded, by Elliot of Park, when 
 Bothwell attempted to enter Hermitage-castle, 
 to the possession of which, Elliot had some 
 claim. This happened on the 8th of October. 
 On the 16th of the same month, the Queen rode 
 from Jedburgh to that castle, and returned the 
 same evening ; being a journey of about forty 
 English miles. On the morrow, she was taken 
 ill of a dangerous fever, which had almost proved 
 fatal. On that emergency, the nobles, the pre- 
 lates, and officers of state, who were then pre- 
 sent, resolved to remain together, till they 
 should arrive at Edinburgh ; and there to hold 
 a convention, which might provide for the go- 
 vernment of the country. Had the Queen 
 demised, the administration of affairs, would 
 have fallen upon Murray, in the name of the 
 infant king ; the heir presumptive being, in
 
 224 THE LIFE OF [MEM. V. Memoir of 
 
 France ; and Darnley, and Lennox, having no 
 influence, in the state. But, from the 26th of 
 October, the Queen began to recover, gradually; 
 while the privy counsellors continued to per- 
 form their functions, at Jedburgh, from the 9th 
 of October to the 8th of November 1566, when 
 they adjourned to Kelso, in continuation of the 
 publick business. The nobles, the prelates, and 
 law-officers, who continued so long to admi- 
 nister publick justice, were : the Earls of Hunt- 
 ley, Murray, Bothwell, Athol, Rothes, and 
 Cathness ; the Bishops of Galloway, Cathness, 
 and Orkney ; Secretary Maitland, the Trea- 
 surer, the Clerk Register, and the Justice Clerk. 
 This specification supplies a satisfactory answer 
 to the calumnies, with regard to the Queen's 
 conduct, on that occasion, as if she had sacri- 
 ficed more to Both well's advantage, than to the 
 public service. After sitting two days, at Kelso, 
 the Queen set out, with her whole court, as 
 well as the country people, along the Tweed 
 towards Berwick : And, she proceeded thence 
 to Dunbar, on the 15th: and to Craigmillar- 
 castle, near Edinburgh, on the 20th of Novem- 
 ber 1566.* On that progress, Bothwell, as 
 
 In the Paper Office there is a letter to the Privy Council 
 of England, dated from Dunbar, on the 18th of November, 
 signed by Huntley, Bothwell, and Murray. Keith,, 354-5.
 
 he Regent Murray.] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 225 
 
 sheriff of the three shires, through which the 
 Queen, and her court, were to pass, attended 
 on both : But, it was Murray, and Maitland, 
 who chiefly conducted the publick business, 
 throughout the Queen's journey. 
 
 Soon after the Queen's return to Craigmillar- 
 castle, Secretary Maitland, and the Earl of 
 Murray, opened to the Queen the well-known 
 project of her divorce from Darnley. During 
 that profligate age, Murray, and Maitland, 
 grounded that project, which meant much more, 
 than it mentioned, on the absurd conduct of 
 Darnley, and Lennox, since the murder of 
 Rizzio, notwithstanding the Queen's endea- 
 
 App. 136. This shows, that the Queen, and Bothwell, were 
 not then alone, at Dunbar. In the same office, there is a 
 letter, from Secretary Maitland, to the Earl of Morton, 
 dated on the 19th of November, at Whittingham. Keith, 355. 
 There is an epistolary journal of Secretary Maitland, dated, 
 at Whittingham, on the 19th of November : giving an ac- 
 count of the Queen's progress, homewards ; and saying, that 
 she was accompanied, on that progress, with 800, or 1000 
 horse. Keith, 353-4. It was rather audacious, in Buchanan 
 to assert, in his feigned journal of the Queen's progress, 
 that she performed that tour with only Bothwell, in her com- 
 pany. And, it was still more audacious, in Murray, who, as 
 her chief adviser, accompanied the Queen on her whole 
 journey, from the 8th of October to the 20th of November, 
 and knew the facts, to give Buchanan's forged journal, in 
 evidence, to the Privy Council of England. Of this forged 
 journal, there is a copy, in Anderson's Col. ii.
 
 226 THE LIFE OF [MEM. V. Memoir of 
 
 vours, to reclaim her husband ; on Darnley's 
 avowed enmity to Murray, Maitland, and other 
 nobles ; on the desire of Murray, and Maitland, 
 by such extraordinary means, to obtain the 
 pardon, and recal, of the expatriated Morton, 
 and his guilty associates. This nefarious de- 
 sign, which seems to have been preceded, by a 
 rumour, however false, that the Queen had ap- 
 plied to the Pope, for a divorce, from her 
 husband, was proposed to the Queen, and com- 
 municated, by Murray, and Maitland, to the 
 Earls of Huntley, Argyle, and Both well, for 
 their assent : But, the Queen would, scarcely, 
 hear their proposal, as it might spot her ho- 
 nour ; and she forbade them to proceed in such 
 a measure, with more firmness, than they ex- 
 pected, in the circumstances, wherein she stood 
 with her husband : And Argyle, and Huntley, 
 at a future day, revealed, by a written declara- 
 tion, the whole detail of this conspiracy, by 
 Murray, Maitland, and Bothwell. b Huntley, 
 
 b See the declaration of Huntley, and Argyle, in Ander- 
 son's Col. iv. j in Keith's App. 136 j in Goodall's Examin. 
 ii. 306-22 ; and, also, the declaration of the 19 nobles and 
 16 prelates, which met in convention at Dunbarton. [Good- 
 all, ii. 361 : and Camden's Hist. Eliz. Transl. 92.] Murray 
 made a frivolous answer to that charge ; containing little 
 more than a general denial. Buchanan, with his usual dis- 
 regard of truth, says, in his forged journal, " they both [the
 
 the Regent Murray.] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 227 
 
 and Argyle, very justly inferred, as every con- 
 siderate person must ever conclude, that since 
 the project of a divorce was rejected, by the 
 Queen, the design of destroying Darnley, by 
 the flagitious hand of Bothwell, was then re- 
 solved on, by Murray, and Maitland : And, the 
 convention of nobles, and prelates, before 
 mentioned, also, drew the same conclusion, 
 from the whole circumstances of that singular 
 proposal, by Murray, and Maitland, who were 
 in the guilty habit of such dangerous conspi- 
 racies. Murray himself, from the feebleness 
 of his defence, against the charge of Huntley, 
 and Argyle, seems to admit the fitness of their 
 inference, that he was a mover, in the murder 
 of Darnley ; as he was, undoubtedly, the chief 
 gainer, by that odious deed. 6 
 
 Soon after that memorable transaction, at 
 Craigmillar-castle, which led to such mighty 
 consequences, Mary removed, with her court, 
 to Stirling, preparatory to the baptism of her 
 
 Queen, and Bothwell,] returned to Craigmillar ; and began 
 to reason upon the divorce, betwixt her, and her husband ." The 
 fact is, that Bothwell, as he was now a conspirator with 
 Murray, and Maitland, against Darnley, seconded Maitland, 
 when that proposal was made to the Queen, in the presence 
 of Murray. 
 
 c See the Subsidiary Documents to the first Memoir, in 
 the second volume.
 
 228 THE LIFE OF [MEM. V. Memoir of 
 
 son. The Earl of Bedford, who was to repre- 
 sent Elizabeth, at this ceremony, received his 
 passport, and entered Scotland, on the 8th of 
 December. 4 The prince was baptized, by the 
 name of James Charles, in the chapel of Stir- 
 ling-castle, by the Archbishop of St. Andrews, 
 according to the ritual of Rome, on the 17th 
 of the same month of December 1566.' The 
 Queen conducted herself, admirably, through- 
 out the whole ceremony ; while the king, who 
 did not attend the baptism of his own son, 
 behaved with his accustomed absurdity. 
 
 But, during the ceremony, Bedford, Murray, 
 and other reformed lords, would not, by enter- 
 ing the chapel, defile their puritanick eyes, with 
 witnessing what Bedford had been sent to wit- 
 ness. Meantime, Murray, and Bedford, and 
 other nobles, occupied themselves, about what 
 was, in their minds, of much more importance, 
 than christening the prince, who was destined, 
 
 d As to his behaviour, on that occasion, he was instructed, 
 to govern himself, so as should be meet for Elizabeth's ho- 
 nour, and Mary's pleasure ; yet, so as to avoid such things, 
 as be against your conscience, and contrary to the religion : 
 " 'Tis best to imitate the example of Murray, and the other 
 lords of the same religion, for which they have the permis- 
 sion of that queen." Keith, 356. 
 
 e See Le Croc's letter, from Stirling, of the 23d of Dec. 
 1566. [7rf.]
 
 the Regent Murray.'] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 229 
 
 by them, to circumvent his mother, by a strange 
 sequence of circumstances, and finally to be 
 the King of Great Britain : They laboured, suc- 
 cessfully, to obtain the pardon of Morton, and 
 the other murderers of Rizzio. At Christmas 
 1566, the forgiving Queen yielded to so general 
 a solicitation, in favour of those unworthy mis- 
 creants : And, all but George Douglas, who 
 stabbed Rizzio over the Queen's shoulder, and 
 Andrew Kerr, who presented a pistol to her 
 bosom, were now pardoned/ Cecil, and Eliza- 
 beth, had protected Morton, and the other 
 murderers of Rizzio : and they now, above all 
 others, contributed to obtain their pardons. 
 Next to Elizabeth, and Cecil, in efficacy of per- 
 suasion over the Queen of Scots, was Murray, 
 her brother, and adviser, who had still more 
 influence over her spirit, than any of the Scotish 
 nobles, beyond compare. Darnley seems to 
 have opposed this noted measure. Having thus 
 obtained so great an object, Bedford made a 
 progress, from Stirling, through the congenial 
 county of Fife, along with Murray, and his 
 friends, who repaid, now, what they had re- 
 
 f There is a letter, in the Paper Office, from Bedford to 
 Cecil, dated the 30th of December 1566, which shows, in 
 opposition to the calumnies of the Scotish historians, by 
 whom those pardons were obtained, which has been already 
 quoted.
 
 230 THE LIFE OF [MUM. V. Memoir of 
 
 ceived, formerly, from Bedford, during the sad 
 days of their long- expatriation. 8 Of his enter- 
 tainment, in Fife, Bedford informed Cecil, by 
 the same letter : " I have now been these six, 
 or eight days, at St. Andrews, and other places 
 of Fife, with my Lord of Murray, who hath, 
 by himself, or by his friends, used me, with 
 much honour, great cheer, and courteous enter- 
 tainment ; and so, must I now draw homeward, 
 as fast, as I can." 
 
 The Queen, meanwhile, made some short ex- 
 cursions, to Drymen, and Tullibarden, after the 
 fatigues of the baptism, and the vexation of 
 her husband's waywardness. Robertson, who 
 was ignorant of facts, reprehends the Queen, for 
 seeking amusement, abroad, while her husband 
 lay dangerously ill of whatever disease. Darnley, 
 who was as ignorant of policy, as of his own 
 interests, was one of the few, who opposed the 
 pardon of Morton, and his guilty associates in 
 crime : h And the Queen's pardon, after such 
 
 Id. 
 
 h Bedford wrote to Cecil, on the 9th of January 1566-7* 
 after his return to Berwick ; having left Edinburgh, on the 
 6th : " The Earl of Morton, having now obtained his par- 
 don, doth think himself much beholden unto you, for your 
 favour and good will therein. There were some, that sought, 
 to hinder the same, all that they could, [Darnley.] But, his 
 friends so stuck to it, on his behalf, as prevailed therein : In
 
 the Regent Murray.] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 231 
 
 solicitations, of the assassins of Rizzio, was 
 the signal for Darnley, to leave the court : He 
 only went to visit his father, at Glasgow, where 
 the small pox, unhappily, prevailed; and he 
 was "instantly taken with the infection." Mary, 
 as a wife, and a mother, who had her infant to 
 watch over, did better than repair to Glasgow, 
 knowing the nature of her husband's disease : 
 she sent her own physician, to take care of him. 1 
 So different are the certainties of fact, from the 
 intimations of falsehood ! 
 
 There is another transaction, of some conse- 
 quence, which the Scotish historians are, con- 
 tinually, misrepresenting: and which was thus 
 plainly stated, by Bedford to Cecil : k " The 
 Bishop of St. Andrews, had of late obtained, 
 of this Queen's hand, authority to use a certain 
 jurisdiction, in divers cases, according to the 
 Canon laws ; and meant, therefore, to have 
 erected his court, at Edinburgh, which, because 
 it was found, to be contrary to the religion } 
 
 the which, the Earl of Bothwell, like a true friend, joined 
 with my Lord of Murray ; so did Athol, and others." [In 
 the Paper Office.] See how differently Melvill, or his inter- 
 polator, speaks, in his Mem. 76-7- 
 
 ! Bedford's letter of the 9th of January 1566-7- Birrel's 
 Diary, 6. Drury's letter to Cecil from Berwick, soon after. 
 
 k In his above-mentioned letter of the 9th of January 
 1566-7-
 
 232 THE LIFE OF [MEM. V. Memoir of 
 
 and therefore, not liked of, by the townsmen ; 
 at the suit of my Lord of Murray, [not Both- 
 well] the Queen was pleased to revoke that, 
 which she had before granted, to the said 
 bishop." It was the ecclesiastical court of 
 ancient authority, which the Archbishop at- 
 tempted, about the time of the baptism, to 
 restore ; and which the Queen now suppressed, 
 on the solicitation of Murray, who thus appears 
 to have regained his former authority over the 
 Queen's councils. 1 
 
 It is unquestionably of great importance to 
 the interests of truth ; and to the satisfaction 
 of every reader, to rest a moment here, at the 
 conclusion of the year 1566, and the beginning 
 of the subsequent ; that it should be clearly as- 
 certained, who had the influence of the Queen, 
 and government, at that memorable epoch. 
 With regard to the Queen's family : she was 
 no doubt influenced by her women, and, still 
 more by her medical men. Darnley, at that 
 period, lay at his father's house, at Glasgow, 
 sick of the small-pox and in the care of the 
 Queen's physician. The government was chiefly 
 managed by Murray, and by Maitland, the 
 Secretary, one of the ablest, and basest men 
 
 1 If we were to believe the interpolated Memoirs of Mel- 
 vill, 76-7, " Bothwell now ruled all at court."
 
 the Regent Murray.-] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 233 
 
 of that age, while the offices of state were chiefly 
 filled by Murray's creatures. Huntley, indeed, 
 was Chancellor, though without much in- 
 fluence ; as he seems not to have had much 
 ability, or experience. The Justice-general was 
 Argyle, the brother-in-law of Murray, with 
 influence, in proportion to the number of men, 
 whom he could raise. m Bothwell, according to 
 Melvill, ruled all at court ; and Robertson, who 
 relies on this corrupt authority, without quot- 
 ing it, is quite indignant, that the Queen should 
 allow Bothwell, to have so much ascendency 
 over her : But, do we see him acting, with 
 any such ascendency ? Yes ; he threw in his 
 feeble voice, in favour of Morton's pardon, as 
 he expected aid, from him, in return, when his 
 countenance would be important. It was 
 Murray's influence, which chiefly obtained 
 Morton's return ; as we may learn from Bed- 
 ford, who saw what he relates. We perceive 
 Murray, soon after, put an end, by his influ- 
 ence, with the Queen, to the Archbishop's com- 
 mission. On the 28th of December 1566, we 
 may see the Queen in correspondence with 
 
 m Richardson, the Treasurer j Sir James Balfour, the 
 Clerk Register ; Sir John Bellenden, the Justice Clerk ; 
 Spens, the Queen's Advocate j and David Forest, the Gene- 
 ral of the mint, were, mostly, all creatures of Murray.
 
 234 THE LIFE OF [MEM. V. Memoir of 
 
 Murray, but not with Bothwell : n The fact, 
 then, confutes the calumny. On the 10th of 
 January 1566-7, we may observe Murray, sit- 
 ting in the Privy Council, which was then held, 
 at Stirling ; and which advised " provision, for 
 the sustentation of the ministers, in Burrows." 
 And, above all, we may perceive, a most im- 
 portant grant to Murray, from the King, and 
 Queen, on the 31st of January 1566-7, only ten 
 days, before Darnley's murder.* We may 
 from those circumstances, see, then, that Mur- 
 ray was the Queen's chief minister, at the open- 
 ing of the fatal year 1567. 
 
 The Queen remained, at Stirling, till the 
 ] 3th ; and came to Edinburgh, with the Prince, 
 on the 14th of January 1567, being perfectly 
 
 " In the Treasurer's books of the 28th of December, there 
 is a charge of 12s. paid to a boy, passing, from Stirling, 
 with close writings of our sovereign's to the Earl of Murray, 
 in St. Andrews. 
 
 Keith, 570. But, Both well was not present, with the 
 other Privy-counsellors : He was, about that time, on a 
 visit to the Earl of Morton, at Whittingham, to engage that 
 daring man, in the murder of Darnley. 
 
 f Privy Seal Reg. xxxvi. p. 1 . It was to enable Murray, 
 to raise money on his abbeys, and estates ; as his numerous 
 faction was a constant drain upon his income, great as it 
 was : He pretended, indeed, to have embarrassed his reve- 
 nue, by attending the court, on the Queen's affairs.
 
 the Regent Murray.] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 235 
 
 acquainted with the progress of Darnley's dis- 
 ease, from the information of her physician. 
 
 Meantime, many disquieting reports were 
 propagated, in Scotland, England, and in 
 France : It was said, at Glasgow, and at Edin- 
 burgh, that Darnley intended, to seize the 
 prince, to cause him to be crowned, and to go- 
 vern, in his name. But, Mary, though she 
 saw the purpose of this report, and caused 
 several persons to be examined, could not trace 
 it to its malignant source. Rumours of a still 
 more terrifick kind, importing somegreat explo- 
 sion, were propagated, at Paris. Secrets, 
 which are intrusted to several, can seldom be 
 kept. It had, indeed, been early foreseen, and 
 foretold, after the arrival of Darnley, in Scot- 
 land, that a prince, who showed his frowns, 
 oftener than his smiles, could not live long 
 among such a people. It appeared, plainly, to 
 those statesmen, on the continent, who obtain 
 political knowledge, from conjecturing what 
 must necessarily happen, by comparison of 
 circumstances, that Darnley, with such man- 
 ners, and vices, of character, could not exist 
 amidst nobles, who were irascible, and fierce ; 
 who were in the habit of plots, and in the prac- 
 tice of assassination ; who, with many pretences 
 of religion, possessed none of the principles of 
 morals : Those various reports had been spread,
 
 236 THE LIFE OF [MEM. V. Memoir of 
 
 by Murray's faction, to cover their real design. 
 Yet, whatever might have been the causes of 
 dissatisfaction, which the Queen may have had, 
 with the King, her husband, they did not prevent 
 her, from accepting his desire of reconcilement, 
 or from bringing him, from Glasgow, as soon 
 as he could bear, such a journey, at such a 
 season.' For that end, she set out, from Edin- 
 burgh, on the 24th of January 1566-7, in the 
 afternoon, and arrived, on the subsequent day, 
 at Glasgow. She left that city, with Darnley, 
 on the 27th of the same month ; arrived at 
 Linlithgow, on the 28th ; and they came to 
 Edinburgh, on the 31st, when he was carried 
 to a lodging, which had been provided for him, 
 in Kirk-a-field, within the southern suburbs/ 
 
 The King, and Queen's reconcilement, and 
 her desire of pleasing him, had been remarked, 
 
 i See her letter of the 20th January 1566-7 to her am- 
 bassador, in Paris, in Keith's Pref. viii.: The proofs of her 
 reconcilement, at that period, with her husband, are quite 
 satisfactory. What more could a reconcilement be with 
 such a prince, than a promise to live with her, as became a 
 husband of his rank ? " God knows (said she, in her letter 
 of the 20th of January 1566-7) our part always towards 
 him ; and his behaviour, and thankfulness, towards us, are 
 equally well known to God, and the world." 
 
 T The records ascertain those dates, which cannot admit 
 of any reasonable doubt.
 
 the Regent Murray.'] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 237 
 
 at Glasgow, and still more, in Kirk-a-field : 
 And the Queen, who had refused to be divorced 
 from him, in the preceding December, now ex- 
 pected, probably, some years repose, with her 
 wayward husband : But, what expectations 
 could she entertain, among a credulous people, 
 and amidst statesmen of unbounded profligacy! 
 The conspiracy against Darnley's life, which 
 had been first thought on, by Maitland, and 
 Murray, at Michaelmas preceding ; resolved 
 on, during the Justice-airs, at Jedburgh ; and 
 matured, about the beginning of December ; 
 was carried into full effect, in the night between 
 the 9th and 10th of February 1566-7. Murray, 
 who had the greatest interest, in the effect 
 of this plot, was the chief of the conspirators ; 
 Maitland, the Secretary, was the contriver 
 of the plan, which went the full length of dis- 
 patching Darnley, and dethroning the Queen ; 
 Morton, the most audacious, and wicked of 
 mankind, engaged to support them, in destroy- 
 ing an enemy ; and the execution of so base a 
 deed was assigned to Bothwell, who was hated 
 by them, and who was to be rewarded with the 
 Queen's marriage ; so that this well-conceived 
 conspiracy was intended to ruin both, Both- 
 well, who was to be made the scape - goat, 
 and the Queen, who was to be dethroned. By 
 matchless artifice, this detail of villainy was, 
 
 VOL. III. R
 
 238 THE LIFE OF [MEM. V. Memoir of 
 
 completely, executed. The death of Darnley, 
 which was superintended, by Bothwell, was 
 involved in mystery, by strangling the devoted 
 object, with the servant, who slept in the same 
 apartment, and by blowing up the house with 
 gunpowder. Murray, whose sanctity of man- 
 ners, required many observances, went, from 
 Edinburgh, into Fife, on a visit to his wife, on 
 the day, before that shocking event; and he 
 had made some preparations for war.' Mor- 
 ton, the Earls of Bothwell, and Murray, were 
 immediately said, to have .been the perpetra- 
 tors of that odious crime. 1 Yet, at so critical 
 a moment, Murray did not remain long ab- 
 sent, from Edinburgh. He continued to act, 
 as the Queen's principal adviser, throughout 
 the two subsequent months, [9th Feb. to 9th 
 April] of suspicion, and recrimination, of pri- 
 vate informations, and publick charges." 
 
 ' Lesley's Defence, 1569, p. 44 ; Keith, 365. He had 
 already written to Secretary Cecil, for bows, arrows, and 
 quivers, which were sent, under Elizabeth's warrant, dated 
 the 13th of February 1566-7, which was founded on the 
 suit of the Earl of Murray." Harl. MSS. 289. f. 95. 
 
 1 Keith, 365. 
 
 The publick business of the Scotish government was 
 then conducted, by Secretary Maitland, under the general 
 superintendance of Murray. On the 8th of March 1567, 
 when Murray was to give a dinner to Kyllegrew, who was
 
 the Regent Murray.] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 239 
 
 But, the time was at hand, when Murray, 
 according to his practice, was to absent him- 
 self, from Scotland, as he knew, that scenes 
 were to be acted, in which he could not parti- 
 cipate, without loss of character. He easily 
 obtained the Queen's license for travelling into 
 England, and into France. He left his affairs, 
 in the hands of Morton, and Maitland : He 
 endeavoured to conciliate Huntley ; and on the 
 9th of April 1567, he set out, from Edinburgh, 
 for London, and Paris. In his conference, 
 with Secretary Cecil, he appears to have corn- 
 
 sent by Elizabeth, to condole with Mary, he invited Hunt- 
 ley, the Chancellor, the Earl of Argyle, the Earl of Both- 
 well, and Secretary Maitland : Morton was absent in Fife. 
 Bothwell, we thus see, was invited to Murray's table, three 
 weeks after Bothwell had been placarded, and charged, as 
 the murderer of Darnley ; and yet, Murray, and Bothwell, 
 till the epoch of this conspiracy, had never been friends : 
 This fact proves, that Murray countenanced Bothwell, after 
 he had been publickly accused, as the murderer of the King. 
 Murray was present, in the Privy Council, on the 14th of 
 March 1566-7, when a prosecution was ordered against one 
 Murray, who had placarded Bothwell, and others, for the 
 King's murder. [Anderson's Col. i. 38 ] Murray was pre- 
 sent in the Privy Council, on the 19th of the same month, 
 when the Queen gave a discharge to the Earl of Mar, for 
 keeping Edinburgh-castle. [Par/. Rec. 751.] But, Murray 
 was not present, on the 28th of March, when the Privy 
 Council ordered, that on the 12th of April 1567 Bothwell 
 should be prosecuted, for the King's murder.
 
 240 THE LIFE OF [MEM. V. Memoir of 
 
 municated to him the whole detail of what was 
 designed, in Scotland ; and Cecil took Eliza- 
 beth's orders, in consequence, for giving suc- 
 cessful effect to the intended measures, by or- 
 dering Bedford to his post, at Berwick ; in 
 order, to countenance the lords, when they 
 should draw their swords against the Queen, 
 and Bothwell. The insurgents, in Scotland, 
 corresponded, constantly with Murray, in 
 France, by means of Cecil. The Cabala is the 
 record of their guilty measures. Cecil not only 
 transmitted their letters to Murray ; but, he 
 obtained him credit, for money, to enable him 
 to return, when the imprisonment of the Queen, 
 and her dethronement, made his presence ne- 
 cessary: The French government caressed 
 Murray, when they should have imprisoned 
 him. If he had not privately retired from 
 France, he would have been arrested, as a hos- 
 tage for Mary's safety. In the meantime, Mor- 
 ton, with his associates, raised an insurrection 
 against Mary, and Bothwell, which ended, by 
 expelling him, and .dethroning her. Murray, 
 with the aid of Cecil, returned to Edinburgh, 
 on the 9th of August, where, he had been 
 chosen regent, by his own partisans, rather 
 than by the Queen's destination, who had been 
 imprisoned by them. His entertainment of 
 Bothwell, after he had been denounced, as the
 
 the Regent Murray] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 241 
 
 murderer of Darnley, and a few days, before he 
 set out for France, forms a strong proof of the 
 guilty conduct of this distinguished hypocrite. 1 
 
 * The following letter, from Murray to Throckmorton, 
 dated 13th of March 1567, only five days after Murray had 
 entertained Bothwell, at dinner, which has been transcribed, 
 from the MS. Col. of Mat. Crawfurd, Professor of Church 
 History, will show, to every discerning eye, a striking pic- 
 ture of a guilty mind : " Triest friend : After my maist 
 hearty commendations ; gif after sic accidents, as lately hath 
 fallen out, in thes parts [the murder of Darnley] another 
 messenger had been sent towards the Queen, your sove- 
 reigne, nor the present bearer, [Robert Melvill] I would 
 have been earnest, to let you know more amply of my mind, 
 by write : But, in respect to the sufficiency of my said 
 friend, I will not be long : He hath hard, and seen, more 
 than 1 can write : I will desire you to give him credit upon 
 my behalf 3 and that accidents proceeding from the bottom of 
 wickedness [the murder of Darnley] alter not the gude wills 
 of sic [such], as upon maist just reasons, and considerations, 
 has delivered [determined] to follow further godlye and 
 gude purposes : And thus I end ; committing you heartily 
 to God : From your maist assured James Steward." Such 
 is the guilty scribble of Murray. Throckmorton was, pro- 
 bably, disappointed, as Cecil was, by the uninstructive ina- 
 nity of Robert Melvill's story. The truth is, that this agent 
 of Murray was not intrusted with the secret : Nor, did Se- 
 cretary Maitland choose to reveal it to Cecil : Murray, Mor- 
 ton, and Maitland, could not avow to Cecil, that they had 
 committed such a murder, by such means. See the Cabala, 
 125 : " Master Melvin is come hither, from Scotland, by 
 whom we looked, that we should have heard many circum-
 
 242 THE LIFE OF [MEM. V. Memoir of 
 
 It is more than probable, that Elizabeth, and 
 Cecil, did not know the whole extent of the 
 Craigmillar conspiracy : Their spies could, only, 
 reveal to them what they heard, in the country, 
 and what would please at court : The con- 
 spirators, in habits of confidence, as they were 
 with Cecil, were too circumspect, to reveal to 
 such a minister, either the purpose of their plot, 
 or the detail of its execution. It fell to the lot 
 of Secretary Maitland, as we shall see, to baffle 
 Elizabeth's messenger, who arrived early on 
 the day of Bothwell's trial. Cecil was either 
 ill-informed of Scotish matters, and men, or he 
 misrepresented what he knew, to the English 
 ambassador, at Paris. y . 
 
 stances of the murder j but, he cannot, or may not, tell us 
 any more than we knew before." 
 
 * In his dispatch to Sir Henry Norris early in March 
 15G6-7, Secretary Cecil says of Scots news: "There do 
 adhere together, with the Earl of Lennox, Argyle, Morton, 
 Athol, MURRAY, Cathness, and Glencairn, who mean to be 
 at Edinburgh, very shortly, as they pretend, to search out 
 the malefactor." [Cabala, 126.] But, Cecil knew, that the 
 nobles, mentioned by him, belonged to Murray's faction, 
 and not to Lennox, who had no faction : Cecil wished to 
 draw away the attention of Norris, and of those, with whom 
 he conversed, from Murray, as the chief of the greatest fac- 
 tion, in Scotland. Cecil, in his next dispatch, of the 21st of 
 March, says to Norris : " The common fame, in Scotland, 
 continucth upon the Earl of Bothuell to be the principal
 
 the Regent Murray.] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 243 
 
 The moment, that the Queen, by marrying 
 Bothwell, had fallen into the snare, that the 
 conspirators had laid for her, than they be- 
 
 murderer of the King ; and the Queen's name is not well 
 spoken of: God amend all that is amiss!" Bothwell was 
 tried on the 12th of April 1567 ; md, as had been concerted 
 by the conspirators, was easily acquitted ; as he was sup- 
 ported, by Morton, and Maitland, Murray's agents. After 
 the rising of the Parliament of April 1567, a writing was 
 signed, by Morton, and Maitland, and all, whom they 
 could influence^ declaring the innocence of Bothwell, avow- 
 ing his fitness, as a husband, for the widowed Queen ; and 
 engaging to defend both his innocence, and his marriage, 
 with the Queen. Murray is said to have also signed this in- 
 famous document : But, as he had left Edinburgh ten days 
 before, it would require strong evidence, to prove such a 
 fact, as the signing of" such a paper, which was so inconsis- 
 tent with his characteristick caution : Yet ; he had assented 
 to the conspiracy ; and one of its principal points was, to 
 marry the Queen to Bothwell ; to disgrace, and then, to de_ 
 throne, her. What passed between Murray and Cecil, when 
 they met, at London, is not certainly known : But, in Cecil's 
 letter to Norris of the 12th of May, he says ; (C The Queen 
 of Scots, I think, will be wooed to marry Bothwell [she 
 did marry Bothwell on the 15th of May.] the principal of 
 the nobility are against it; and are at Stirling with the 
 prince." [16. 126-7.] We here see, that Cecil foresaw the 
 marriage, and the conspiracy of nobles, who first came out, 
 on the 9th of June, to oppose Bothwell. He must have had 
 this foreknowledge, from Murray, who knew, when he left 
 Edinburgh, what was to happen ; as he had a strong in- 
 terest in the result.
 
 244 THE LIFE OF [MEM. V. Memoir of 
 
 came very communicative with Cecil. They 
 conveyed their letters, for Murray, through the 
 friendly hands of Cecil, who now saw his way 
 to the dethronement of the Queen, and the ele- 
 vation of Murray to the viceregal chair. Mur- 
 ray's faction took arms, to free the Queen, 
 from the domination of the guilty Bothwell ; 
 and the same nobles made her a prisoner, con- 
 trary to their own agreement, and sent her to 
 Lochleven-castle, 1 while they allowed him to 
 escape. It is quite apparent, from what has 
 been already intimated, that Murray was com- 
 pletely identified with the insurgents, in Scot- 
 land, and the transactions therein. He was, 
 in fact, their chief : Cecil, also, by his proceed- 
 
 1 We learn, from Cecil's dispatch of the 26th of June : 
 " The best part of the nobility have confederated, to follow 
 by the way of justice, the condemnation of Bothwell, for the 
 murder of the King : Bothwell defends himself by the 
 Queen's maintenance. The 15th of this month, he brought 
 her into the field, with power, which was so small, as he es- 
 caped himself, without fighting, and left the Queen in the 
 field, and she yielding herself to the lords, flatly denied to 
 grant justice against Bothwell : So, they have restrained her, 
 in Lochleven, until they come to the end of their pursuit 
 against Bothwell." Thus far Cecil ! But, his dispatch was 
 deceptive, and he intended to deceive. The best of the 
 nobles, which he speaks of, were only Murray's faction, 
 under a new shape, with Morton, the assassin of Rizzio, at 
 the head of it.
 
 the Regent Murray^ THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 245 
 
 ings, identified himself with the same insur- 
 gents ; by acting for them, with Murray, against 
 Mary/ 
 
 Whatever might be the anxiety, or artifices, 
 of Cecil, the objects of Murray, in France, and 
 his aims in Scotland, did not altogether elude 
 the vigilance of Mary's ambassador, at Paris. 
 It was here known, on the 25th of June 1566, 
 that the Scotish Queen had been taken, on the 
 15th, and, on the morrow, imprisoned in the 
 Castle of Lochleven. Murray was presently 
 sent for, and plied, said the ambassador, Norris, 
 with fair words, and great promises, if he would 
 use his influence, to get the Queen, and her 
 son, into France ; and the French King added, 
 that it should cost him dear, but that he would 
 
 a In his dispatch of the 26th of June, to Norris, at Paris : 
 " I, at this time, send unto you certain packets of letters, 
 left here by Mr. Melvin, who, lately, came hither, from the 
 Queen of Scots ; the sending of those to ray Lord Murray 
 requireth great haste, whereof you may not make the Scots 
 ambassador privy : His return into Scotland is much desired 
 of them [the insurgents], and for the weal both of England, 
 and Scotland, I wish he were here." [Cabala, 128.] Cecil 
 again wilfully supposes, that there were two factions, in 
 Scotland, the Hamiltons, and the Lennoxes; whereas, 
 there was only Murray's faction. [Ib. 129.] Cecil shows 
 his anxiety, for Murray's return, by saying ; " If my Lord 
 of Murray should lack credit, for money, my Lord Steward 
 would have his son give him such credit, as he hath ; for 
 my Lord alloweth well of his friendship." [16. 129 ]
 
 246 THE LIFE OF [MEBI. V. Memoir of 
 
 have them both safe within his kingdom. The 
 Cardinal of Bourbon, the Constable, and 
 D'Andelot, have been with the King, and his 
 mother; to urge them, to leave no means unat- 
 tempted, to effect this enterprise : And think- 
 ing to do it the sooner, by Murray's help, they 
 offered him the order, and also great gifts of 
 land, and living : To which end, I understand, 
 continues Norris, young Villeroy is gone into 
 Scotland, to offer them of the spirituality, spi- 
 ritual promotions, and honours, and to the tem- 
 poral lords, such temporal preferments, and 
 honours, as he thinketh may best win those, 
 that be now thechiefest,and in most authority. 15 
 We thus perceive the corrupt transaction, be- 
 tween the French court, and Murray: He 
 received large sums of money for doing certain 
 things, according to a promise, which he never 
 intended to perform : If he be a swindler, who 
 obtains property, on false pretences, what 
 must he be, who obtained money, and a pen- 
 
 b Norris's letter to Elizabeth, 2d July 1566, in the Brit. 
 Mus. from the original in the Pap. Office. It was afterwards 
 said, by Throckmorton to Elizabeth, in his letter of the 12th 
 of August from Edinburgh : " I am sure, your majesty is 
 advertised of the present the Lord of Murray had given him, 
 at his coming forth of France, which was valued at lifteen 
 hundred crowns of the sun, and of the pension, that Lyncrolc 
 [the French envoy] hath brought him of 4000 franks yearly." 
 [In the Brit. Museum.]
 
 the Regent Murray] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 247 
 
 sion, on promises, which Murray had no pur- 
 pose to perform ? 
 
 As soon as Murray understood, at Paris, that 
 his partisans, and agents, had successfully exe- 
 cuted the previous plot of dethroning the 
 Queen, than he began to think " to make his 
 repayre home :" But, he at the same time re- 
 solved to send his agent Elphinston, through 
 London, to Edinburgh.' As he was strongly 
 suspected, by Mary's ambassador, at Paris, of 
 sinister intentions, with regard to his sovereign, 
 an order was issued to arrest him. d The Eng- 
 lish ambassador, under the instructions of 
 Cecil, was too artful, and active, for the French 
 councils. He sent his Secretary, Jenye, to se- 
 cure a vessel, for Murray's safe conveyance, if 
 he should even go to England, for a proper 
 bark. 6 
 
 c Norris's letter to Elizabeth, 2d July 1566. 
 
 d Keith's Pref. ix. 16. p. 412. 
 
 The following letter, from Jenye to Cecil, dated, at 
 Rye, the 13th of July 1566, throws much light on Murray's 
 retreat from France : " It may please you (Right Hon. Sir) 
 that my Lord of Murray, finding himself, by his long delays 
 of the French King, as also in hazard of detaining, by force, 
 beside some peril of his person, by such as have grudged 
 much his affection towards England, required my lord, my 
 master [the English ambassador, Norris] to assist him, by 
 some policy, to escape secretly out of Fiance : Whereupon,
 
 248 THE LIFE OF [MEM. V. Memoir of 
 
 Meantime, Murray wrote a letter of credence 
 to Cecil, by his agent Elphinston, whom he 
 sent into England, for such causes, as he would 
 declare at length, and requests Cecil to credit 
 him. " Upon this respect (says Murray) I will 
 not write your lordship, at sic length, as I 
 would haif done utherways : I believe alwayes, 
 that your lordship will put to your helping 
 hand, when occasion offers, as ye haif done at 
 
 I was dispatched towards Deepe, to staye some English 
 barke, under some colour ; (for my Lord of Murray will 
 pass in no Frenchman) and if I found not an Englishman 
 there, to haste over hither, to Rye, to provide him with all 
 diligence ; where, I am arrived this afternoon, at four of 
 the clocke : and meanes, as soon as tide, and winde serves, 
 God willing ! to repair towards Deepe again, where a mes- 
 senger attends my arrival, to give knowledge to my Lord of 
 Murray, at the court, whereby, he may, under the assurance 
 of his vessel, determine, and adventure his purpose. 
 
 " The Prince of Condd his sudden departure - from the 
 court, both with much difficulty, and much miscontentment, 
 as also other emulation, in courte, and differences otherwhere 
 which promiseth some new garboyle, is one particular of the 
 mistrust, my Lord of Murray hath of himself ; besides other 
 cause, with the rest, which I have by word of mouth to ad- 
 vertise your honour of, at my arrival with you, which shall be, 
 God willing ! so soon as I have landed my Lord of Murray, 
 in what part of England soever it be. Thus, in haste, I hum- 
 bly take my leave of your honour, from Rye, this 13th July." 
 [Copy in the Brit. Museum, from the original in the Paper 
 Office.]
 
 the Regent Murray.] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 249 
 
 other tymes afoir." f This note is in the true 
 character of Murray, who, from his usual cau- 
 tion, would not commit his full purpose to 
 writing ; but referred to an agent, for an ex- 
 position, who was not himself intrusted, by his 
 employer. But, what was the mighty design, 
 for which the powerful hand of Cecil was thus 
 required ? It was, only, the dethronement of the 
 Scotish Queen ; the coronation of her infant 
 son : and his own appointment, as Regent, 
 during the King's minority. Whatever there 
 may be in this, we have now evidence, under 
 Murray's hand, that he was engaged in some 
 plot. 
 
 At length, on the 8th of July 1567, arrived 
 at London, Elphinston from Murray, at Paris. 
 He had an hour's conversation with Elizabeth. 
 He had brought letters, from Murray, to the 
 Queen of Scots, which he was charged not to 
 deliver to any hands, but her own ; and parti- 
 cularly, that the lords, who detained the Queen 
 in prison, should not see them ; as he was not 
 satisfied with their conduct, in proceeding so 
 violently against her ; and as he would be her 
 true servant, in all fortunes. 8 After imposing 
 
 f At Paris this 2d of July 1567. 
 
 g Heneage's letter, from the court, to Cecil, in London, 
 9th July 1567 ; conveying Elizabeth's orders to him. [In 
 the Brit. Mus. from the original in the Paper Office.]
 
 250 THE LIFE OF [M?M. V. Memoir of 
 
 upon the French court, Murray endeavoured, 
 thus, to delude Elizabeth, who in a melting 
 moment, disapproved of subjects dethroning 
 their sovereign. Murray, knowing this dispo- 
 sition of Elizabeth, gave in to her sentiments, 
 in order to delude her. h And she was, certainly, 
 persuaded, that there was not so honourable, 
 and true a servant as Murray, to the Queen in 
 Scotland. Thus is it, for such a personage, as 
 Elizabeth, to be deluded, by such a hypocrite I 
 Murray seems to have arrived, from France, 
 at London, towards the end of July, accompa- 
 nied with his usual propensity to imposition. 
 Cecil, and he, agreed perfectly together; as 
 they both, on that occasion, tried, to delude 
 Elizabeth, and to injure Mary. Murray re- 
 mained not long, at London considering the 
 critical state of affairs, at Edinburgh. He, 
 however, went out of his way, to visit Sir 
 
 h When Elphinston arrived at Edinburgh, from Murray, 
 the Lords, who had imprisoned the Queen of Scots, would 
 not allow him to have access to the Queen, nor to send 
 my Lord of Murrray's letter unto her. [Throckmorton's 
 letter to Elizabeth, from Edinburgh, 16th July 1566, in the 
 Brit. Mus.] He repeated this intimation, in his letter to 
 Cecil of the 18th of July ; and in that to Elizabeth of the 
 19th of July. [Id] The lords, who did this, were 
 Murray's agents, and coadjutors ; and they did this, in order 
 to show, hypocritically, that they were not influenced by 
 Murray, though they acted, for him.
 
 the Regent Murray.'] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 251 
 
 Francis Mild may, at Apthorpe, where he played 
 off his accustomed artifices. 1 
 
 Having Cecil's protection, Murray found the 
 road, through England, to Berwick, very easy 
 to him. He rested the night of the 10th of 
 August, at Whittingham, which was propitious 
 to crime ; and here was he met, by Secretary 
 Maitland, whose intrigues were here recollected. 
 Here were Murray's future movements agreed 
 upon, and detailed, with this able agent. On 
 the llth, Murray set out, for Edinburgh ; and 
 he was met by great numbers of gentlemen, 
 and others. Throckmorton,thinking to promote 
 Elizabeth's ends, met Murray on the road, 
 about three, or four miles distant, from the 
 capital. He found Murray very honourable, 
 
 ' Mildmay's letter to Cecil, 4th August 1567 ', from Ap- 
 thorpe. " If the government (said Mildmay) rest, only in 
 the Earl of Murray, it will be well, as I think, for stablishing 
 of religion, and continuance of amity here ; for otherwise, 
 as you know, amongst many are many affections : His 
 Lordship, passing homewards, was content to come so far 
 out of his way, as to lye with me, on Friday night last. I 
 found him very wise, and well affected to the maintenance 
 of good friendship, between these two realms ; remember- 
 ing to me, very thankfully, benefits received, especially that 
 of Lithe, which he said was able to wash out all particular 
 griefs. Doubtful, methought he was, to receive his prepared 
 authority." [In the Brit. Mus. a copy from the original in 
 the Paper Office.] , '. j .
 
 252 THE LIFE OF [MEM. V. Memoir of 
 
 sincere, and direct ; so I found him not resolved 
 what he will do, nor what he will consent unto : 
 Abhorring on the one side the murder of the 
 King, and the circumstances conjoined there- 
 with, which he can like in no wise should pass 
 with impunity : k So, on the other side, do I find 
 in him great commisseration towards the 
 Queen, his sister: And yet not fully determined, 
 whether he will accept the regency, or refuse 
 it ; though he be pressed thereto, by all those 
 lords, and gentlemen, which have dealt in this 
 action. What hypocrisy, in Murray ! What 
 delusion, in Throckmorton ! We have already 
 seen, that every event, which had taken place, 
 since the imprisonment of the Queen ; the coro- 
 nation of her son ; the appointment of Murray, 
 as regent ; had all been agreed upon, between 
 Murray and his partisans, before he had left 
 Edinburgh, for Paris. And Murray's whole 
 conduct, and conversation, from the moment, 
 that he learned, from his agent, of the Queen's 
 imprisonment, were assumed, and directed, by 
 the deepest dissimulation, for mere popular 
 effect. Acting thus, Murray was received 
 into the town of Edinburgh, with great joy of 
 all the people. 1 
 
 k The attentive reader will easily recollect, that Murray's 
 agents, and faction, were the murderers of the late King. 
 1 The whole of the above account was taken, from Throck-
 
 the Regent Murray,] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 253 
 
 After some days of intrigue, Murray was 
 declared Regent, in the following manner : At 
 a great assembly of lords, barons, gentlemen, 
 and others, in the Tolbooth of Edinburgh, the 
 Justice Clerk, publickly, read the Queen's 
 Commission of Regency, under her hand, and 
 privy seal : Whereupon, the Justice Clerk 
 willed the said earl, in the Queen, and King's 
 names, to accept the said charge, and to pro- 
 ceed to the taking of his oath. Thereupon, 
 the Earl made a long discourse, stating his 
 insufficiency for that charge : Notwithstand- 
 ing, being again pressed, by the Justice Clerk, 
 in the names of the Queen, and King, and 
 by the intercession of the other lords, and the 
 assistants, the earl did accept the office of 
 Regent: Whereupon, the Justice Clerk did 
 administer to the regent the same coronation 
 oath, which Morton had taken, when the in- 
 fant King was crowned : There were now 
 certain articles read unto the Lords, which were 
 proposed, by Murray, to be consented to, by 
 them. This done, the earl took his place, as 
 Regent ; and there was great joy made amongst 
 all sorts, said Throckmorton to Elizabeth." 1 This 
 
 morion's letter to Elizabeth, from Edinburgh, 12th August 
 1567, in the British Museum. 
 
 m In his letter, from Edinburgh, of the 23d of August 
 1567, in the Brit. Museum. See also Bin-el's Diary, ii. : 
 
 VOL. III. S
 
 254 THE LIFE OF [MEM. V. Memoir o 
 
 ceremonial was contrived, for stage effect : 
 But, as to the refusal of Murray to accept the 
 regency, which he had committed so many 
 crimes to obtain, this can only be regarded, as 
 another example of the profound dissimulation, 
 whereof he was so great an adept. 
 
 The articles, which were, on that occasion, 
 made between Murray, and his own agents, 
 and partisans, is another proof of the gross du- 
 plicity of all the parties." The entering into 
 
 On the 22d of August, James Earl of Murray was made, and 
 proclaimed regent, with great solemnity, by the heralds, at 
 the Cross, till the King should attain his age of seventeen. 
 
 n The following is a copy of the articles, which were sent 
 up to Elizabeth, by Throckmorton : and which remain in the 
 Brit. Museum : They begin with a recital of the Queen's 
 resignation, and appointment of Murray, as regent, his 
 fitness, reluctant acceptance, and the necessity of effectual 
 support, and concurrence of the council, nobility, and estates, 
 for which purpose, the following articles were agreed on. 
 2d. They shall concur with the Regent, in establishing the 
 true religion, &c. ; and for this effect, as well as for other 
 things, concerning the policy, and government of the realm, 
 a Parliament shall be held, as soon as it may goodly be. 
 3d. They shall concur with him, in setting forth justice 
 equally to the lieges, according to the laws. 4th. The 
 council, and nobility, shall accompany, and remain with the 
 Regent, in such places, as shall be thought expedient until 
 the King's authority be, universally, established, through 
 the whole realm. 5th. That upright, and proper persons 
 shall be placed in the publick offices ; and the others, who
 
 the Regent Murray.} THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 255 
 
 such articles was designed to delude the great 
 vulgar, and the small, to suppose, that similar 
 agreements were not made between Murray and 
 his agents, and partisans, before he went from 
 Scotland to France. The last article was so 
 contrived, as to enable the Regent, to set aside 
 the promises, which he had given, in France, 
 and perhaps, in England, for relieving the 
 Scotish Queen. 
 
 As Murray had departed, from Edinburgh, 
 on the 9th of April, and returned, on the llth 
 of August, he was absent five months : while 
 the most important events had been effected, 
 for the common benefit of Cecil, and Murray. 
 1st. Morton, and Maitland, with the aid of 
 Murray's partisans, tried, and acquitted Both- 
 well, for the murder of the King : Now ; Both- 
 
 now hold them, shall be removed therefrom. 6th. No respect, 
 or remission, shall be granted to any person, for any murder, 
 or other equivalent crime, which shall be committed, from 
 this date, during the time of his regency. 7th. At the Re- 
 gent's proceedings, for maintaining authority, executing 
 justice, &c. none of the council, or nobles, shall grudge, 
 but shall give him assistance. 8th. Item, on the other side, 
 my lord Regent faithfully promises, that in no time, during 
 his regency, he shall contract with any foreign princes, 
 toward peace, war, the estate of our sovereign lord the King, 
 his marriage, the liberty of the Queen his mother, nor shall 
 speak with her, send writing to her, or have intelligence of 
 any sort with her, without the advice of my lords of the 
 secret council present, or of the most part of them.
 
 256 THE LIFE OF [MEM. V. Memoir of 
 
 well could not be tried, a second time, for the 
 same offence: Could Morton, and Maitland, 
 again charge Bothwell with that offence, with- 
 out criminating themselves ? 2dly. Morton, and 
 Maitland, by artifices, and violence, enabled 
 Bothwell to marry the Queen, by means, which 
 were treason in him, but inferred no guilt in 
 her. 3dly. Against this marriage, thus con- 
 summated, by their guilty artifices, and by his 
 treasonous coercion, Morton and Maitland, two 
 of the King's murderers, and Murray's agents, 
 drew their swords, upon the avowed pretence, 
 of freeing the Queen from the bondage of Both- 
 well ; yet, when she left her army, and Both- 
 well, and joined Morton, and his insurgents, on 
 condition of their obeying her, as their Queen, 
 he made her a prisoner, and sent her to Loch- 
 leven-castle ; allowing Bothwell to depart, 
 without obstruction, from this treacherous 
 scene. 4thly. This consummation of one of 
 the great steps of their conspiracy, Morton, 
 Maitland, and the other conspirators, imme- 
 diately, communicated to Murray, by letters, 
 which they inclosed to Cecil, by Robert Mel- 
 vill, another instrument of Murray, who was 
 said, by Cecil, to have come, from the Scotish 
 Queen, and not from the insurgents : Thus 
 happy were all those statesmen, in the conve- 
 nient terms, wherein they concealed their arti-
 
 the Regent Murray."] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 257 
 
 fices, and their objects ! So much was Murray 
 deemed, by the insurgents, as the chief of their 
 conspiracy, that they refused, to treat any more 
 with Throckmorton, Elizabeth's agent, till Mur- 
 ray arrived among them. 5thly. On the 24th 
 of July, they compelled the imprisoned Queen, 
 by their usual artifice, and violences, to resign 
 her sceptre to her infant son, whom they, imme- 
 diately, crowned, and to appoint Murray, as 
 his regent, during his infancy. Gthly. If it be 
 asked, by what authority the Queen's son was 
 crowned, and Murray appointed regent, since 
 the Parliament did not meet till the subsequent 
 December ? the answer may be given, in the 
 audacious falsehood of Secretary Maitland, in 
 the voluntary hand writing of the Queen, com- 
 manding the coronation of her son : At the 
 coronation, this falsehood was sworn to be fact, 
 by the Lords Lindsay, and Ruthven, the two 
 wardens of the Queen, who compelled their 
 imprisoned sovereign, by threats, violences, and 
 terror, to sign the acts of resignation of her 
 sceptre, and the appointment of Murray, as 
 regent : The true answer must be, that the 
 coronation of the boy James, and the appoint- 
 ment of the conspirator Murray, as his regent, 
 
 Throckmorton's letter to Elizabeth, 5th August 1567, in 
 the Paper Office.
 
 258 THE LIFE OF [MEM. V. Memoir of 
 
 proceeded from the unhallowed direction of the 
 secret council, consisting of six, or eight, nobles, 
 with the murderer, Morton, at their head, and 
 the treacherous Maitland, as their secretary. 
 The result, then, is, that Murray was one of 
 the original conspirators against the late King, 
 and Queen ; that he knew, when he went to 
 France, the whole detail of what was to happen 
 to the Queen ; and what would be the conse- 
 quence to himself, in being placed, by a series 
 of villainies, and treasons, in the vice-regal 
 chair. The moment, that the dethronement of 
 the Queen was effected, by her imprisonment, 
 he resolved, with the aid of Cecil, and Norris, 
 to return to England, whose zeal, and whose 
 efforts, for that end, we have seen : He, mean- 
 time, by a duplicity, which was natural to him, 
 imposed upon the French court; deluded Eli- 
 zabeth ; and deceived the friends of the Scotish 
 Queen. In a letter to Cecil, Murray professes 
 his sincerity ; and at the same time, assures 
 his correspondent, that the regency was an 
 office neither welcome nor pleasing to him.* But, 
 
 f A copy in the Brit. Mus. from the original in the Paper 
 Office, dated, from Edinburgh, the 30th August 1567, 
 Murray always writes like a man, who wishes to conceal the 
 one half of what he has to say. He, however, tried to make 
 Cecil understand, that he was not one of his highncss's mortal
 
 the Regent Murray.'] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 259- 
 
 amidst so much profligacy, it is almost impos- 
 sible to hear the voice of sincerity, or to under- 
 stand the dictates of truth. Certain it is, how- 
 ever, that the appointment of Murray, as re- 
 gent, by his own agents, and fellow-conspirators, 
 is a decisive proof, that the revolt, which 
 produced it, under the management of Morton, 
 and Maitland, was made for his benefit, as we 
 must even infer, from the busy interference of 
 Cecil ; and was, moreover, the only genuine 
 denouement of the sad tragedy, that was written* 
 with blood, in Craigmillar-castle, when the 
 Queen refused, so decisively, to be divorced 
 from Darnley. It is a remark of L'Estrange, 
 which applies, very appositely, to the conspi- 
 racy of Craigmillar-castle : " If one were to 
 " launch into the history of human nature, we 
 " should find, the minions of princes, linked in 
 " conspiracies against their masters." The 
 whole reign of Mary is a continued proof of 
 this just intimation. It was a period of plots ; 
 owing to the treachery, and talents, of Secretary 
 Maitland, the active agent of the Earl of 
 Murray. 
 
 enemies, the murderers of the King his father. It cannot 
 be too often repeated, that the leading men, Morton, and 
 Maitland, Murray's agents, were two of the principal mur- 
 derers of the late King; and that Murray himself was the 
 chief conspirator.
 
 260 THE LIFE OF [MEM. V. Memoir of 
 
 The great efforts, that were made to relieve 
 the Scotish Queen, from her unmerited impri- 
 sonment, altogether failed. The French King, 
 Charles IX., was her sincere, and active friend : 
 But, the Queen-mother was her zealous, and 
 insidious, enemy : The agents, who came, from 
 Paris, to Edinburgh, were actuated, by such 
 contrarieties of conduct, which was of little 
 value to the unhappy Queen, and less credit to 
 themselves. Elizabeth, in a melting mood, 
 took part with Mary; as she was not much 
 pleased to see such nobles imprison their sove- 
 reign : But, Cecil traversed his Queen's good 
 purposes : And when Throckmorton arrived, at 
 Edinburgh, to solicit the cause of Mary, he 
 acted under publick instructions, from Eliza- 
 beth, and private instructions, from Cecil. 
 Morton, Maitland, and other nobles, who held 
 the Queen, in bondage, knew the opinions of 
 Cecil ; and whatever might be their conduct 
 to Mary, they foresaw would be protected 
 by that powerful minister. Murray, with all 
 his promises to Charles IX., and his blandish- 
 ments to Elizabeth, had always aimed at 
 the Queen's sceptre, which he now enjoyed, 
 and said, and unsaid, whatever suited his pur- 
 pose, with regard to the Scotish Queen, of 
 whose ruin he had been the principal plotter. 
 Those insurgents, with Morton, and Maitland,
 
 the Regent Murray.'] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 261 
 
 at their heads, who held their sovereign, in du- 
 rance, Murray could have commanded, as his 
 agents, and partisans ; But, his dissimulation- 
 induced him, to be over-ruled, by them, in what- 
 ever related to her relief. Soon after the coro- 
 nation of her son, she was taken with several 
 fits of an ague, and kept her bed :' She not 
 only kept her bed, but, notwithstanding her 
 son's coronation, she was guarded, in the same 
 place, as straitly, as she had ever been ; Lord 
 Lindsay being returned from Stirling to Loch- 
 leven : r They thus acted towards the unhappy 
 Queen, to evince, how voluntarily, she had re- 
 signed her sceptre, how willingly, she had com- 
 manded the chiefs of the insurgents, Morton, 
 and Maitland, to crown her son. 
 
 As soon as Murray became regent, he avow- 
 ed, that there should be no subject, nor place, 
 within the realm, exempted from the King's 
 authority, and that none should be exempted, 
 
 * Throckmorton to Elizabeth, from Edinburgh, the 26th 
 July 1567- 
 
 r Ib. 31st July, in the Brit. Mus. from the original in the 
 Paper Office. In his letter of the 2d of August to Elizabeth, 
 Throckmorton informed her : " The Queen of Scotland is 
 " straitlier kept, at Lochleven, than she was yet ; for now 
 " she is shut up in a tower, and can have none admitted to 
 " speak with her, but such as be shut up with her." [In 
 the Brit. Mus. from a copy in the Paper Office.]
 
 262 THE LIFE OF [MEM. V. Memoir of 
 
 from obeying him, as Regent ; otherwise he 
 would stake his life, in the matter.* This was 
 said, to overawe the many considerable persons, 
 and places, who either denied the legality of the 
 coronation, or resisted the King's proclamation. 
 With the same design, several persons of note 
 were summoned to answer the charge of being 
 guilty of the late King's murder. But, knowing 
 their own innocence, they did not hesitate to 
 appear ; offering to meet the charge. Consi- 
 dering that Murray, and his partisans, were the 
 real murderers of the King, they carried too 
 far this affectation of innocence, by a zeal for 
 punishing even the least suspected persons of 
 such a crime/ 
 
 The Regent soon acquired, by the corruptest 
 means, possession of Edinburgh- castle : He, 
 after a while, acquired D unbar- castle, by force, 
 and negotiation : Before the end of September 
 1567, by ardour, activity, and artifice, qualities 
 
 Throckmorton's letter to Elizabeth, from Edinburgh, 
 23d August. 
 
 1 Throckmorton's letter to Elizabeth, 23d August J 56? : On 
 the 23d of August, there ought to have appeared forty persons, 
 who were suspected j but, there only appeared three of them ; 
 Sir James Cockburn of Skyrling, Sir Patrick Hepburn of 
 Ryciirdton, and William Edmonstone, the son of the Parson 
 of Tallu : But, they were dismissed, to appear at a future 
 day.
 
 the Regent Murray.} THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 263 
 
 these, which cannot be denied him, the Regent 
 had compelled every place, and person, to yield 
 to his power. He trusted, however, for the 
 support of his authority, to the insurgent nobles, 
 who had conferred on him the regency, with 
 the spoils of the Queen ; to the reformed clergy, 
 who supposed themselves to owe nothing to 
 the Queen, who had protected them, and given 
 them bread ; and above all, Murray trusted to 
 the artifices, and protection, of Cecil, whom he 
 courted, by every mode of servility." 
 
 The insurgents, even in the height of their 
 success, owing to their artifices, bethought 
 themselves of proofs, which might justify their 
 recent conduct, that in every law amounted to 
 treason. The queen, under the influence of a 
 negotiation, voluntarily surrendered herself to 
 the insurgent nobles ; expecting to be treated, 
 as their sovereign. They imprisoned her ; they 
 dethroned her ; they crowned her son ; they 
 appointed Murray the boy's regent. Murray 
 now approved of their measures, for those ends ; 
 adopting their pretences, in the place of proofs. 
 
 The country, the clergy, the parliament, as it 
 approached, seemed to require some other 
 motives, and reasons, for the justification of 
 
 u Murray's letter to Cecil before quoted j and the Cabala, 
 everywhere.
 
 264 THE LIFE OF [MEM. V. Memoir of 
 
 their sovereign's imprisonment, than mere pre- 
 tences. The warrant, for her commitment to 
 prison, upon deliberate consideration, was re- 
 garded, as little more than pretence. They even 
 relinquished the several charges, which they 
 had avowed to Throckmorton, by the tongue, 
 and pen, of Maitland, as sufficient proofs of her 
 guilt, before Murray's arrival, from his decep- 
 tive journey to Paris, and London. At length, 
 after the best consideration of the ablest, the 
 artfullest, the basest men, Murray called a nu- 
 merous Privy Council of his adherents, with the 
 guilty Morton, and Maitland, as their advisers, 
 on the 4th of December 1567. They now dis- 
 cussed those essential points of justification, 
 for their treasonous conduct, as preparatory to 
 an Act of Parliament, for legalising their whole 
 conduct against their sovereign ; consisting of 
 treachery, and artifice, of violence, and wrong, 
 of imprisonment, and divestment of regality, 
 done, and performed, against an innocent 
 Queen, by half a dozen nobles, with the mur- 
 derous Morton, in their front : And, for so many 
 villainies, what was their justification, if they 
 admitted of any justification ? They laid it 
 down, as a maxim, that nothing can stand, 
 when accurately examined, but what is founded 
 on naked truth. Then what was their naked 
 truth ? It was the Queen's own default : For it
 
 the Regent Murray.'] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 265 
 
 appeared, by her private letters, written, and 
 subscribed, by her own hand, and sent by her, 
 to Earl Bothwell, who was the cat's-paw of 
 Murray, and his faction, in murdering the late 
 king ; who was tried for his foul offence, by 
 Murray's partisans, and acquitted, by the ma- 
 nagement of Morton, and Maitland, Murray's 
 agents. To demonstrate the default of the 
 Queen, they, no doubt, brought proofs of holy 
 writ. No. They brought the Queen's letters, 
 written, and subscribed, by the Queen's own 
 hand, into the Privy Council, to demonstrate 
 her de ault. No : They were not produced, in 
 evidence. Morton, only, said, that he had in- 
 tercepted a gilt box, full of the said letters, 
 written, and subscribed, by the Queen's own 
 hand, in the possession of Dalgleish, BothwelFs 
 servant, who was then, in their custody, who 
 had brought them, from Sir James Balfour, the 
 governor of the castle, who was then in the Privy 
 Council. Were Morton, Dalgleish, and Balfour, 
 examined, concerning this important transac 
 tion, which was to make out the naked truth of 
 the Queen's default ? No : There was no exami- 
 nation of any person, or of any thing : The 
 whole discovery of the box-full of letters rested, 
 then, upon the mere assertion of Morton, a 
 common liar, and habitual falsifier. It is not 
 true, therefore, that any such letters were pro-
 
 266 THE LIFE OF [MEM. V. Memoir of 
 
 duced, in the Privy Council : It is as little true, 
 that any such box with letters had been ever 
 intercepted." But, they went on to say, that 
 by an improvident marriage, soon after the 
 king's murder, of the Queen with Bothwell, it 
 is most certain, that she was privy to the murder 
 of her husband. They concealed, however, the 
 whole circumstances, attending the marriage, 
 which would have evinced her innocence. They 
 concealed, that Morton, and Maitland, Mur- 
 ray's agents, had obtained the acquittal of 
 Both well, when tried for the king's murder; and 
 that Morton, and Maitland, soon after obtained 
 a declaration from many peers, and prelates ; 
 declaring the innocence of Bothwell ; and re- 
 commending him, as the fittest husband, for the 
 
 * Like other inquirers, I once thought, that the said letters 
 must have been shown, in the Privy Council ; as so much 
 was to be built upon them : But, upon considering the Privy 
 Council Record, an original of which, I SSLW in *he Paper 
 Office, I did not perceive, that it recites the production of 
 the letters 3 it only says, that they existed .- And what the 
 record does not recite, we cannot supply, by any presump- 
 tion : As the record is silent, we must be, also, silent : 
 Neither does there appear to have been any question asked 
 of those, who were said to have seen that box-full of letters ; 
 Sir James Balfour,who had the keeping of them; Dalgleish, 
 who had the carrying of them ; Morton, who intercepted 
 them : And, what does not appear, we are bound, by every 
 rule of prudence, to presume does not exist.
 
 the Regent Murray] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 26? 
 
 Queen : They concealed, that Bothwell, with 
 such a declaration in his pocket, went out, at 
 the head of an armed force, and arrested the 
 Queen's person, carried her forcibly to the castle 
 of Dunbar, and therein coerced her to agree to 
 marry him ; Maitland, the Secretary, being 
 present, to delude the Queen, with false advice. 
 The treasonable conduct of Bothwell, in apply- 
 ing coercion to the Queen's person, was after- 
 wards made, by Murray's Parliament, the 
 grounds of attaining him of treason : So that 
 the inference drawn, in the Privy Council, that 
 the Queen knew of the murder of her husband, 
 because she married Bothwell, who had been 
 publickly declared innocent of the murder, is 
 futile, and/alse. And, thus did they fail, egre- 
 giously, in making out the default of the Queen, 
 as the best justification of the guilty persons, 
 who imprisoned her. It is said, also, as an addi- 
 tional ground of justification of the insurgents, 
 that a great part of t he nobility, fearing that the 
 Queen, and Bothwell, would murder them, as 
 the king had been murdered, took arms : It is 
 not true, that a great part of the nobility took 
 arms : Admit the fact, that the Queen had been 
 as guilty, as she was innocent, of her husband's 
 murder ; yet, half a dozen nobles, with Morton, 
 and Maitland, two of the king's murderers, at 
 their head, had no right to dethrone the Queen :
 
 268 THE LIFE OF [MEM. V. Memoir of 
 
 It ought to have been done, by a national act. 
 Murray, and his faction, thus egregiously failed, 
 in finding a justification, for the insurgents, and 
 in fixing any guilt upon the Queen. Murray 
 disgraced himself, on that occasion, by in- 
 volving himself, in the iniquities of his faction. 
 He disgraced himself, by speaking of those 
 supposititious letters,which he was afraid to pro- 
 duce in evidence, as genuine : He disgraced 
 himself, by concealing those circumstances of 
 fraud, and force, which attended the Queen's 
 marriage to ^Bothwell. But, Murray was, by 
 habit, a hypocrite ; and by acting on hypocri- 
 tical principles, through life, entailed upon him- 
 self eternal disgrace. 
 
 The scene of inquiry, and of justification, 
 was, in ten days, transferred, from the Privy 
 Council, where there had been so little inquiry, 
 or justification, to the first Parliament of 
 James VI., and of the Regent Murray. Little 
 more seems now to have been done, than to 
 transmit the minute of the Privy Council, which 
 is full of fiction, and falsehood, to the Com- 
 mittee of Articles, who formed it into an act of 
 parliament, for justification of those guilty in- 
 surgents. In this committee of parliament, 
 in which the murderer, Morton, presided, there 
 was as little examination of circumstances, or 
 of persons, or of papers, as there had been, in
 
 the Regent Murray."] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 269 
 
 the Privy Council ; y though an act was to be 
 grounded on the proceeding, in that council, for 
 justifying a thousand wrongs, for criminating 
 the Queen, by means of fiction, of forgery, and 
 of falsehood ; though a revolution in the govern- 
 ment was legalized, on no better grounds, than 
 the gross delusion, arising from those fictions, 
 forgeries, and falsehoods. 
 
 Murray's Parliament at length proceeded, 
 to try Bothwell, who had acted, as Murray's 
 cats-paw in the murder of the late king. He 
 was charged, though he had been acquitted, 
 with various points of treason : He was charged 
 with the king's murder ; he was charged with, 
 traitorously, intercepting of the Queen's noble 
 person, in her way from Stirling to Edinburgh; 
 with carrying her, by force, to Dunbar-castle ; 
 with therein compelling the Queen, by coercion, 
 
 y The supposititious letters, which had been attributed to 
 the Queen, in the Privy Council, were not produced in Par- 
 liament; as the act is silent on this important point: But, 
 there is a discrepancy between the Register of the Privy 
 Council, and the Act of Parliament, founded on it, which 
 has been deemed important : The register said, that the 
 Queen's letters were written, and subscribed by her own hand ; 
 the act stated, that they were wholly written, by the Queen's 
 hand, but not subscribed. There were other discrepancies, 
 which tend to prove forgeries, and fictions, without end. 
 Goodall, ii. 64 j Black Acts of that Parl. ch. 19. 
 VOL. III. T
 
 270 THE LIFE OF [MEM. V. Memoir of 
 
 and fear, while thus detained a prisoner, to agree 
 to marry him, though he had then a lawful wife. 
 Of all those treasons, Both well was found guilty, 
 and forfeited ; z though the facts, on which he 
 was forfeited, at the same time, acquitted the 
 Queen of any guilt : The great difference, be- 
 tween the act justifying the insurgents, by the 
 default of the Queen, and the act, thus attaint- 
 ing Bothwell, consists of these material circum- 
 stances, that the statements, in the first act, 
 are all false ; while the statements, in the last, 
 are all true : By the falsehoods of the first, the 
 Queen could not be criminated; by the truths 
 of the last, she was acquitted of any guilt. 
 Such then, were the treacherous grounds, upon 
 which Murray's Parliament of December 1567, 
 legalized Mary's dethronement, and Murray's 
 regency. If the proceedings of the Privy Coun- 
 cil, in the same month, disgraced him, the acts 
 of this Parliament, which were founded on 
 those proceedings, covered his dissimulation, 
 with ignominy. 
 
 The administration of Murray, which was 
 thus established, was altogether suitable to the 
 savage manners of a degenerate people, vigo- 
 rous and unfeeling. He punished some, who 
 were guilty of the King's murder, and some, 
 
 z Acta Part. iii. 6-7, 8-9.
 
 the Regent Murray."] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 271 
 
 who were innocent. Morton, the Chancellor, 
 and Maitland, the Secretary, were, with him- 
 self, the most guilty, as the most influential ; 
 yet, were they rewarded, and not punished. 
 The French ambassador Lygnerol, who had 
 acted, like the servant of two masters, at length 
 applied to the Regent, for the Queen's release ; 
 but, his requisition, which was plainly founded, 
 in an engagement, for a valuable consideration, 
 Murray easily evaded, by saying what was not 
 altogether true ; that she was not so much his 
 prisoner, as the Parliament's ; who had voted 
 
 B Acta Parl. iii. 28. This act legalizes the guilty conduct 
 of those, who imprisoned the Queen : But, it may be doubt- 
 ed, whether it, expressly, authorized the detaining of the 
 Queen, in future, though a very willing intellect may infer, 
 that her future imprisonment was, virtually, implied. In the 
 proclamation of the Regent, and the Privy Council, from 
 Glasgow, the 3d of May 1568, it is said : " Forasmuch as 
 my Lord Regent's grace, and the Lords of the Secret Coun- 
 cil being advertised, how that the Queen, mother to our sove- 
 reign lord, being put, and keepit, in the place of Lochleven, 
 by the advice, and consent, of the Estates in Parliament, is 
 now escapit." Keith's App. 155. This recital of Murray, 
 and his Privy Council, is untrue. The Queen was put into 
 Lochleven-castle, by the unauthorized warrant of Morton, 
 and six other persons ; but not by the Estates : Nor, was it 
 true, that the Queen was kept, in the same castle, by the 
 authority, or advice of the Estates. None of the acts of 
 Parliament of December 1567, provided, for detaining the
 
 272 THE LIFE OF [MEM. V. Memoir of 
 
 her to be faulty upon faulty proofs : Did ever 
 any other Parliament legalize a revolution 
 without inquiry 9 Did any Parliament everim- 
 .prison a Queen, their sovereign, before, without 
 a charge, and proofs? Her supposititious let- 
 ters were not produced in evidence, and her 
 marriage with Both well, was, by the act of his 
 attainder, declared to be a coerced, not a vo- 
 luntary marriage. Murray, by acting, as we 
 have seen, both in the Privy Council, and in 
 the Parliament, made the Queen the victim of 
 his ambition, by charging her with his own 
 crimes, without producing one iota of proof. 
 His Parliament, by legalizing all the violences, 
 and villainies of his faction against his sove- 
 reign, without calling for proofs, or examining 
 persons, disgraced themselves, rather than the 
 Queen. 
 
 In the midst of the Regent's security, the 
 Queen made her escape, from Lochleven-castle, 
 on the 2d of May 1568 ; owing to the assis- 
 
 Queen a prisoner, in future. On the said 3d of May, this 
 was a case unprovided for, by any positive law : And, there- 
 fore, the Regent Murray, unwarrantably, asserted to be 
 true what was untrue, both in fact, and law. The notion of 
 imprisoning the King's mother, by implication, was a part of 
 the guilty code of the Regent Murray, which came down to 
 him, from that very virtuous character, Lord Chancellor 
 Morton, the assassin of Rizzio, the murderer of the King.
 
 the Regent Murray.] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 273 
 
 tance of George, and William Douglas, the one, 
 a youth, the other, a boy : But, her triumph was 
 short. In attempting to find a safe retreat, in 
 Dunbarton-castle, her little army was defeated, 
 by the Regent's vigour, on the 13th of the 
 same month, at Langside. During her flight, 
 her fears induced her to suppose, from a recol- 
 lection of deceptive promises, that Elizabeth 
 would give her an asylum, and aid, who only 
 gave her a prison, and persecution. Cecil, her 
 greatest enemy, secretly, rejoiced, when he 
 heard of her arrival, at Carlisle ; as he had her 
 now in his power, for whom he had laid so 
 many snares. Mary, though she knew, that 
 she was hated, by the Queen-mother of France, 
 might have relied on the attachment, and pro- 
 tection, of Charles IX., who had a great friend- 
 ship for the Scotish Queen. 
 
 What Mary could expect, from her good 
 sister of England, advised as she was, by such 
 a minister, as Cecil, cannot easily be conceived. 
 The Scotish Queen, however, wrote from Car- 
 lisle several letters to Elizabeth, which are in- 
 structive, and eloquent ; and she solicited Eli- 
 zabeth's aid, for her restoration, by the personal 
 instances of Lord Herries, who served her with 
 spirit, and fidelity, though he had been ma- 
 ligned, by Knollys, the Queen's warden : But, 
 ner rival Queen would consent to little more,
 
 274 THE LIFE OF [MEM. V. Memoir of 
 
 than to hear the mutual pretensions of Mary, 
 and Murray ; and to prevent the Regent, from 
 ruining, by his violence, the friends, and ad- 
 herents, of the Scotish Queen. Notwithstand- 
 ing Elizabeth's application to Murray, he went 
 on, with his usual resentment, to cast down 
 the houses of some, to execute others, who were 
 forfeited, by the Parliament, which he, purpose- 
 ly called, for those ends of vengeance. 6 
 
 The Queen had been thus compelled, by a 
 faction of her nobles, with Murray, at their head, 
 to seek an asylum in England.' The unfortu- 
 nate Queen was, however, immediately placed 
 in ward, at Carlisle ; and so remained under 
 the custody of the vice-chamberlain, Knollys, 
 till she was ordered, to remove to Bolton- 
 castle. 
 
 Meantime, ensued a correspondence between 
 Elizabeth, and Murray, of matchless artifice ; 
 
 b Hist. K. James VI. 42-6-7. 
 
 c The convention of peers, and prelates, at Dunbarton, of 
 that measure assert : " And yet, they who have enterprised 
 the same are not in number the sixth part of the nobility, 
 nor of the people of the realm : And there are six or seven 
 Earls, who have vote in Parliament, before any of them, 
 who have usurped their place j because with such treason- 
 able, and deceitful means, they have obtained the strengths 
 of the country, by great presents, and rewards, given to the 
 traitors, who were the keepers thereof." [Goodall, ii. 
 354-5.]
 
 the Regent Murray.] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 275 
 
 by which the English Queen drew to herself 
 an examination of the complaints of Mary 
 against Murray; and, by the same means, 
 Murray tried, to induce Elizabeth to prejudge 
 the pretensions of both parties, without the 
 knowledge of Mary. d That correspondence 
 ended, at length, in the appointment of an in- 
 quiry, at York, before Elizabeth's commission- 
 ers, the Duke of Norfolk, the Earl of Shrews- 
 bury, and Sir Ralph Sadler, in the first week of 
 October 1568. It is important to remark, that 
 Murray, by his endeavours, to obtain Queen 
 Elizabeth's judgment, before hand, on the sa- 
 tisfactory qualities of his proofs, evinces his 
 own opinion of the box full of documents, as 
 
 d See Elizabeth's letter, in poodall, ii. 75 ; wherein she 
 scolds Murray, at a great rate ; and, at the same time, slily 
 accepts Murray's offer of " making declaration to her of his 
 whole doings" against the Scotish Queen. See what Mur- 
 ray, and his counsellors, said to Middlemore, Elizabeth's 
 agent, in Goodall, ii. 75 ; wherein Murray talks of having 
 the Scotish Queen's privy letters, which, in their opinions, 
 sufficiently proved her consent to the mifrder of her husband : 
 In this document of the 22d of June 1568, they first inti- 
 mate, that the Queen's supposititious letters, which were 
 written, in the vulgar language, when they were mentioned 
 in the Privy Council, and Parliament of Scotland, during 
 December 1567, had been translated, into our language, as 
 if the originals had been written, in some o*"er tongue.
 
 276 THE LIFE OF [Mm. V. Memoir of 
 
 extremely suspicious, from what he knew of 
 their history. 
 
 Understanding that this inquiry, which the 
 English Queen intended to have, at York, was 
 to be attended " with great ceremony, and so- 
 lemnities/' Murray made suitable preparations, 
 for the occasion : The Regent appointed him- 
 self, the Earl of Morton, and some other trusty 
 friends, as the King's commissioners, with Se- 
 cretary Maitland, and George Buchanan, two 
 of the ablest, and most unprincipled of man- 
 kind, with some others, of a similar sort, for 
 assistants. The Queen was not wanting on 
 her part. As her commissioners she appointed 
 Lesley, the Bishop of Ross, Lord Herries, and 
 some others of less note, for their skill, and 
 energy : And, to give greater authority, and 
 lustre, to their commission, they had also 
 powers, and instructions, from the loyal con- 
 vention of peers, and prelates, at Dunbarton, 
 in September 1568. 
 
 Murray, as Regent, now took upon him, the 
 whole burden of foresight. Owing to this cir- 
 cumstance, it was, that he gave to Morton a 
 formal receipt, for the said box, and letters.* 
 
 ' It ran in this manner: " At Edinburgh, the 16th of 
 September 1 568 : ' The which day, I James, Earl of Mur- 
 ray, confess to have received, from James, Earl of Morton,
 
 the Regent Murray.'] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 277 
 
 This formality of receipt, for a box-full of for- 
 geries, was thus given, by Murray, to Morton, 
 in order to bolster up those despicable counter- 
 feits, which were intended to prove the charge, 
 which they intended to make against the Queen, 
 for the murder of her husband, which had been 
 committed by themselves. But, who proved, 
 that such a box-full of letters had been ever 
 discovered, by Morton ? Morton, the falsifier, 
 said, that he had found them on Dalgleish, 
 as he was, in the act of carrying them, from 
 Sir James Balfour, the keeper of the castle. 
 Was Dalgleish, though they had him as a pri- 
 soner, ever examined, with regard to the box- 
 full of letters ? No. Was Balfour ever examin- 
 ed ? No. Was any one ever examined, in Scot- 
 land, to ascertain the truth ? No. The Queen, 
 
 a silver box overgilt with gold, with all privy letters, con- 
 tracts, or obligations for marriage, sonnets, or love-ballads, 
 and all other letters contained therein, sent, and passed, 
 betwixt the Queen, and James, sometime Earl Bothwell, 
 which box, with the whole writings therein, were taken, 
 and found, with the late George Dalgleish, the servant to 
 the said Bothwell, upon the 20th of June 1567,'" &c. &c. 
 [Goodall, ii. 90. From the Register of Murray's Privy 
 Council.] It is unnecessary to observe, that when Morton 
 entered Holyrood-house, on the Queen's flight, he obtained 
 possession of her jewels, and property, with this silver box, 
 overgilt with gold.
 
 278 THE LIFE OF [MEM. V. Memoir of 
 
 when she heard, that the conspirators pretended 
 to have found a boxfull of her letters, denied, 
 that she ever wrote such letters. The nega- 
 tion of the Queen is more persuasive, than the 
 affirmation of Morton ; as the denial of ho- 
 nesty is more probative, than the assertion of 
 knavery. 
 
 The period of the letters was, from the 20th 
 of January 1566-7 to the 10th of the sub- 
 sequent February. In this period, Morton 
 knew, that Bothwell had not any such do- 
 cuments, under the Queen's hand. In this 
 period, the Queen was completely reconciled to 
 her husband ; and went to Glasgow, to bring 
 him to Edinburgh. Some of those letters, 
 were dated, from Glasgow, before the 25th of 
 January in that year: But, the Queen was, 
 then, at Edinburgh. Some of those letters, 
 were plainly dated, from Stirling, with regard 
 to the Queen's interception, by Bothwell : 
 But, the act of Bothwell's forfeiture, ascertains 
 facts, which are inconsistent with the truth of 
 such letters. Now ; what is there opposed to 
 those invincible positions ? The answer must be, 
 the assertion of a falsifier, and the confirmation 
 of a liar. 
 
 With whom did Bothwell act, from the 
 epoch of the conspiracy against the King and
 
 the Regent Murray.] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 279 
 
 Queen ? With Murray, and his faction. Did 
 not Bothwell, and Maitland, meet Morton, at 
 Whittingham, to concert the murder of Darn- 
 ley ? Yes : Were not Morton, and Maitland, the 
 agents of Murray ? Yes. Bothwell, then, con- 
 tributed his aid to the murder of Darnley, in 
 concert with Maitland, Morton, and Murray ; 
 and not with the Queen. How, was Bothwell 
 employed, in the period of those supposititious 
 letters [from 20th of January to 10th of Fe- 
 bruary] ? The answer must be, In providing 
 men, and means, to murder Darnley. How 
 was the Queen employed in the same period ? 
 In taking care of her husband, with the aid of 
 her physician. 
 
 Did not Morton, and Maitland, as Murray's 
 agents, obtain the acquittal of Bothwell, when 
 he was tried for the murder of Darnley ? Yes. 
 Did not Morton, and Maitland, procure a de- 
 claration from certain peers, and prelates, of 
 the innocence of Bothwell, and of his fitness, 
 for the husband of the Queen r Yes. Did not 
 that declaration embolden Bothwell, to arrest 
 the Queen on the highway ; to carry her, by 
 force, to the castle of Dunbar ; to enforce the 
 Queen therein, to consent to marry him ? Yes. 
 Were not these the three treasonous facts, for 
 which Murray's Parliament of December 1567 
 forfeited Bothwell? Yes. These facts being
 
 280 THE LIFE OF [MEM. V. Memoir of 
 
 true, we may perceive, that her marriage was 
 enforced, and not voluntary. 
 
 Was it not fiction, and falsehood, with which 
 Murray charged the Queen, in his Privy Coun- 
 cil of the 4th of December 1567, and in his 
 Parliament of the 15th, as justifications, for the 
 Queen's dethronement? Yes. Did she write 
 such letters to Bothwell? No. Was she privy 
 to the murder of her husband ? No. Was she 
 not enforced to marry Bothwell, by the arti- 
 fices, and coercions, which Bothwell used, by 
 the means of Morton, and Maitland, as agents 
 of Murray ? Yes. Were not Morton, and Mait- 
 land, both convicted, by Parliament, and 
 punished, for the murder of Darnley? Yes. 
 Did not they act for Murray, in that conspi- 
 racy ? And did not Murray obtain, the great 
 object of all his aims, the government of Scot- 
 land, by the Queen's dethronement, under the 
 force of Morton, and Maitland ? Yes. He ob- 
 tained the government, from those, who de- 
 forced the imprisoned Queen ; and not from 
 the Queen herself, who never assented to the 
 papers, which, by fraud, and force, she was 
 compelled to sign. And, Murray was of course 
 appointed Regent, not by legitimate choice, 
 but by guilty violence. 
 
 Did not Murray receive that box-full of for- 
 geries, from Morton, knowing them to be
 
 tilt Regent Murray.-] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 281 
 
 obvious fabrications ? The formality of the 
 receipt, which he gave to that audacious mis- 
 creant, for that box-full of forgeries, is a full 
 proof of Murray's knowledge of their spurious- 
 ness, and of his baseness, in adopting spurious, 
 for real documents. He carried those forge- 
 ries into England, with the fell design, of charg- 
 ing the Queen, his sister, and benefactress, with 
 the murder of her husband, which he, and his 
 agents, had committed, with Bothwell, for their 
 instrument ; whom they contrived, to make 
 the victim of Murray's villainy. 
 
 Murray, having in his communications with 
 Elizabeth, felt his dangerous way; owing to 
 the difficulty of his design, of proving the guilt 
 of innocence, and of converting forgery into 
 genuineness ; he set out, from Edinburgh, to 
 York, on the 21st of September 1568. The 
 Regent was attended, on this disgraceful oc- 
 casion, by his associates, and assessors : But, 
 he was himself responsible, for the wickedness 
 of the design, and the baseness of the execu- 
 tion. As it was the object of Elizabeth, and 
 Cecil, to amuse France, and Spain, and to de- 
 lude the Scotish Queen ; the commissioners, 
 Norfolk, Sussex, and Sadler, took appropriate 
 oaths, that they would act sincerely and up- 
 rightly, without any sinister affection, and
 
 282 THE LIFE OF [MEM. V. Memoir of 
 
 should afore God, bear witness, to be honest, 
 godly, just, and true/ 
 
 Such, then, were the oaths, by which all par- 
 ties, were bound to act fairly, and impartially. 
 But, oaths, in that age, were not deemed of any 
 efficacy. After some preliminary proceedings, 
 the English commissioners, at the request of 
 Murray, who was still afraid of his proofs, and 
 continued, to act as a miscreant, admitted his 
 assistants, Maitland, MacGill, Buchanan, and 
 Balnavys, four of the ablest, and wickedest 
 men, in Scotland, to a secret conference, where- 
 in they showed the English commissioners, and 
 expounded, for their better instruction, all such 
 proofs, and circumstances, as to induce a ve- 
 hement presumption of the Scotish Queen's 
 guilt, and even to adjudge her guilty of her 
 husband's murder. But, did the English com- 
 missioners, by acting thus secretly, and par- 
 tially, act according to their oaths ? No. They 
 sent an abstract of the whole of what they had 
 learned, at this clandestine conference, secretly, 
 to Elizabeth, and supplied themselves with ab- 
 stracts. 8 They thus seem to have decided the 
 
 f See the above-mentioned oath, in GoodaU, ii. 12 j and 
 also the oaths of the King's and Queen's commissioners, to 
 act honestly. Ib. 122-3. 
 
 See their letter to Elizabeth, of the 9th of October
 
 the Regent, Murray.-] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 283 
 
 great object of the inquiry against the Scotish 
 Queen ; but contrary to what had been Eliza- 
 beth's avowed intentions, 11 though perhaps 
 agreeable to her private wishes. They did this, 
 however, by incurring the charge of perjury : 
 Murray seems to have obtained, at the outset 
 of this inquiry, by his knavery, the great object, 
 of showing his own innocence, and Mary's 
 guilt. Those clandestine proceedings were 
 probably made, by the secret instructions of 
 Cecil, to obtain a full view of Murray's proofs, 
 and, at the same time, to collect matter of 
 charge, and defamation, against the Scotish 
 Queen. Both those objects of Cecil seem to 
 have been very fully obtained ; while Eliza- 
 beth's passion, for slander of her hated cousin, 
 was abundantly gratified.' 
 
 1568, in Goodall, ii. 139-40 j and in Anderson's Col. i. 
 58. h Cabala, 139. 
 
 ' Sadler left behind him a Collection of State Papers, 
 which had passed, through his hands j and which were pub- 
 lished, in 1809 : In Vol. ii. 337, there are given " the spe- 
 cial words, in the Queen of Scots' letter, written with her 
 own hand, to Bothwell ; declaring the inordinate, and filthie 
 love, betwixt her, and him." We thus understand, from 
 Sadler, that the above are the very words of the original let- 
 ter of the Scotish Queen, written, with her own hand; and 
 those very words were written, in the vulgar language of a 
 vulgar people. Let us now collate Sadler's extracts with the 
 genuine forgery , in Goodall, ii. 1-2.
 
 284 THE LIFE OF [MEM. V. Memoir of 
 
 It was here important, to lay before the 
 reader, a specimen of those secret comnmnica- 
 
 SADLER'S FABRICATED FORGERY. [Letter i. from Glasgow.] 
 " First, That she being departed from the place where 
 she lefte her harte, it was easie to be judged what was her 
 countenaunce, seeing she was no more then a body without 
 a harte : [That if she had not had a profe of her husband's 
 herte of wax, and knowing her owne to be of a diamond 
 (whereunto no shotte coulde make breche but that which 
 cam out of Bothwell's hande), she wold have almost pitieof 
 him, bidding Both well not to feare, for that the place shoulde 
 holde unto the deth ; in recompense whereof, she prayeth 
 him, that he will not let his herte be woonneirom her by 
 that false race,* that will travail no lesse with him for the 
 same."] 
 
 * In the margin, " By this is meant, Bothwell's wif." 
 
 GOOUALL'S REAL FORGERY. [Letter i. From Glasgow.] 
 " Being departit from the place, quhair I left my hart, it 
 is esie to be judgeit quhat was my countenance, seeing that 
 I was even als meckle as ane body without ane hart 3 quhilk 
 was the occasion, that quhile dennertyme, I held purpose to 
 nabody j nor yit durst any present themselfis unto me, judg- 
 ing yat it was not gude so to do." 
 
 [There is nothing of Sadler's second paragraph " That 
 if she had not " to the end ; in the real forgery.] 
 
 N. B. The three distinct series of passages, which are 
 published, in Sadler's papers, ii. p. 237-8-9 ; were all taken 
 by him, from the letter No. i. in Goodall, and not from 
 several letters ; and by collation, it appears, to have been 
 greatly interpolated, not indeed, by Sadler, but by the for- 
 gers themselves, before they laid this letter No. i. before the 
 English commissioners.
 
 the Regent Murray.] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 285 
 
 tions ; in order to obtain an accurate view of 
 the villainy of one party, and the injustice, 
 which was, thereby, done to the other. If 
 Sadler's extracts be what he, expressly, says 
 they were, the very words, that were copied, 
 by him, from the letter, that was privately laid 
 before the English commissioners ; then, would 
 this fact prove, that Murray, and his assessors, 
 had in their box, the same forged letters, in 
 various editions, all written, by the Queen's 
 own hand, in different languages, to suit every 
 emergency : In this state of the subject, Sadler's 
 extracts, in the very words, are important ; as a 
 new proof of the general forgery, and as a fresh 
 evidence, that Murray, and his associates, had 
 some forgery, or some falsehood, always at 
 hand, for disgracing the Scotish Queen, by ca- 
 lumniation, and supporting their own designs, 
 by the basest means. Murray's associates, 
 during their clandestine conference, constantly, 
 affirmed, that those letters, and other docu- 
 ments, were written, by the Queen's own hand ; 
 and they offered to swear, and take their oaths 
 thereupon : k And yet were they not authenti- 
 cated, by any proof. Whatever Murray's asses- 
 sors might say, and offered to swear, the letter 
 . . __ > 
 
 k See the Commissioners' letter to Elizabeth, in Goodall 
 ii. 139-42. 
 
 VOL. III. U
 
 286 THE LIFE OF [MEM. V. Memoir of 
 
 produced, and sonnets, were undoubtedly forge- 
 ries. 1 The commissioners seem to have believed 
 every thing, which was said to them, by the men, 
 who had an interest, in falsehood, and wrote 
 
 1 The letter exhibited was No. i. in Goodall's series, which 
 is here called " a horrible and long letter, of her own hand, 
 " as they say." It was dated, from Glasgow, on the 
 24th of January 1566-7 : Now j the publick records of 
 Scotland evince, that the Queen still remained, at Edin- 
 burgh, on that day : And the Queen was then reconciled to 
 her husband ; while Bothwell, to whom they were said to 
 be addressed, was acting with those very men, as one of the 
 King's murderers. In Mary's instructions to her commis- 
 sioners, dated at Bolton, the 29th September 1568, she says : 
 " In case they allege to have any writing of mine, whence 
 they may infer presumption against me ; you shall desire 
 the originals of such writings may be delivered, for my 
 inspection : For, you shall affirm, in my name, I never 
 wrote any thing, concerning such a matter to any one : 
 And if any such writings be, they are false, and feigned, 
 forged, and invented, by themselves, only to my slander : And 
 there are divers in Scotland, both men, and women, that 
 can counterfeit my hand-writing, and write in like manner 
 of writing, which I use, as well as myself j and principally, 
 such as are in company with themselves." [Secretary Mait- 
 land.] [Goodall's App. No. 136.] But, as the [suppositi- 
 tious letters of the Queen were not openly avowed as proofs, 
 at York, though shown, privately, the above instruction was 
 not produced, by her commissioners : Hence, the injury to 
 the Scotish Queen, the villainy of Murray, and the baseness 
 of Elizabeth's commissioners.
 
 the Regent Murray.] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 287 
 
 every thing to Elizabeth, whether it were true, 
 or false : Nor did they perceive, that they were 
 acting contrary to their duty ; as their conduct 
 was in opposition to their oaths. 
 
 But, the present subservience of the Duke of 
 Norfolk did not protect him, from subsequent 
 prosecution, for his conduct, on that occasion. 
 Serjeant Barham, when arguing Elizabeth's 
 charge against the unfortunate Norfolk, insist- 
 ed, that he had perjured himself; for he had 
 taken a corporal oath, to deal indifferently, on 
 that inquiry. 10 It required not, indeed, the 
 decisive authority of the learned serjeant, to 
 prove, that commissioners, taking such an oath, 
 for the faithful performance of their trust ; yet, 
 acting knavishly, were perjured : But, what 
 shall we say of Elizabeth, who tempted, and 
 impeached, like the foul jiend ? What shall 
 we think of Murray, who was summoned to 
 answer his Queen's charges, yet, often applied 
 to his judges, for their opinions, if he had not 
 proved her guilty of the crime, which he had 
 himself committed ? The whole inquiry, at 
 York, was a gross scene of abomination, for its 
 partiality, and injustice ; n and ought to have 
 
 m See Barbara's speech, in Sadler's State Papers, ii. 341-2. 
 
 n It is an aggravation of that injustice, that some of the 
 
 commissioners, perhaps, the whole, saw through the cloud
 
 288 THE LIFE OF [MEM. V. Memoir of 
 
 been a warning voice to the Scotish Queen, to 
 close an inquiry, from which she could not 
 expect any good, but receive infinite injury. 
 
 From the representations of the Bishop of 
 Ross, and Lord Boyd, who went to her, from 
 York, to Bolton, she knew, " that Murray and 
 " his party, had privily uttered to Elizabeth's 
 commissioners, all that they were able to allege 
 against her." She knew much more of the 
 injurious, and disgraceful proceedings of the 
 York inquiry. Here, the Scotish Queen, if 
 she had been well advised ; had she been less 
 credulous, and less buoyed up, by delusive 
 hope, ought to have made her stand against 
 any further inquiry ; unless Elizabeth would, 
 fairly, communicate to her, every thing, and 
 every document, which Murray, and his asso- 
 ciates, had, secretly, communicated to the per- 
 jured, Norfolk, Sussex, and Sadler, contrary to 
 their duty, and character, in opposition to the 
 genuine principles of a liberal inquiry. The 
 Scotish Queen did not seem to see, that the 
 real object of Elizabeth, and Cecil, obviously 
 was, by advocating the proceedings, from York 
 
 of forgery, which was raised, by artifice, before their eyes, 
 that truth, and innocence, were with the Scotish Queen. See 
 Sussex's letter to Cecil, 22nd October 1568, in Lodge, ii. 1-2. 
 Knollys's letter to the Duke of Norfolk, 15th October 
 1568 Goodall, ii. 158.60.
 
 the Regent Murray.] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 289 
 
 to London ; to convert the inquiry into a crimi- 
 nal trial of Mary, for the murder of her husband, 
 with Murray, for the prosecutor, and Cecil, for 
 his assessor. Yet, did the unfortunate Queen, 
 who was conscious of her own innocence, and 
 deluded, by Elizabeth's dissimulation, rather 
 rejoice, than object to that insidious measure. 
 If, according to some of the Scotish historians, 
 the unskilfulness of Mary's conduct, during 
 this inquiry, be a proof of her guilt, she was, 
 plainly, guilty. The only mitigation of this 
 censure, seems to be, that she had to struggle 
 against the baseness of Murray, and the for- 
 geries of his partisan, the dissimulation of Eli- 
 zabeth, and the artifices of Cecil, which con- 
 verted every event, and every measure, to 
 Mary's wrong, and calumniation. She had no 
 other resource ; but to close an inquiry, which, 
 from the villainy, that conducted it, must 
 necessarily end in her disgrace : Her commis- 
 sioners, seeing what had occurred, at York, 
 ought to have declined to act, at Westminster, 
 or indeed, at any place, where Elizabeth's dis- 
 simulation, and Cecil's knavery, bore sway. 
 
 Elizabeth, in pursuance of her plan, in carry- 
 ing the inquiry, from York to Westminster, 
 appointed new commissioners, with similar 
 oaths ; in order, that France, and Spain, might 
 have new proofs, how honourably Elizabeth
 
 290 THE LIFE OF [MEM. V. Memoir of 
 
 acted, and how fairly the Scotish Queen was 
 treated. Cecil was one of the new commis- 
 sioners of inquiry, who took the oath of impar- 
 tiality, of fairness, of honesty : And, Cecil 
 prescribed the modes of proceeding, during this 
 renewed inquiry ; which consisted, in receiving 
 papers, and documents, and proofs, not in the 
 presence of the adverse party, but, in the ab- 
 sence of that party. Nothing has been more 
 reprobated, by the constitution of this country, 
 than ex parte proceedings, or proceedings in 
 the absence of the person, having an interest : 
 For, such partial proceedings are in themselves 
 unjust, and lead to every practice of wrong, 
 and every deduction of injury. The very mode 
 of inquiry inferred injustice, and iniquity. And, 
 Cecil, by laying down that partial mode of 
 proceeding, acted contrary to the oath of fair- 
 ness, and impartiality, which he had just sworn: 
 The clandestine proceedings, at York, were not 
 more partial, and unjust, more insidious, and 
 abominable, than the conduct of Cecil: If 
 Norfolk was guilty of perjury, Cecil was much 
 more guilty; as Norfolk acted under injunc- 
 tion ; but Cecil was the director, with design, 
 in his head, and malice, in his heart. 
 
 At length, on the 26th of October 1568, 
 Murray, and his associates, openly, charged the 
 Scotish Queen, before Elizabeth's com mis-
 
 the Regent Murray] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 291 
 
 sioners, with the murder of her husband. Cecil, 
 and his coadjutors, by receiving this charge, from 
 the very murderers themselves, against the 
 innocent Queen, in her absence, and in the ab- 
 sence of her commissioners, gave a practical 
 example of the partiality, and wrong, of the in- 
 justice, and abomination, of Cecil's guilty mode 
 of proceeding against the object of his hate, 
 and persecution : Had the Queen, or her agents, 
 been present, they must have objected to this 
 charge, as unfit, and extrajudicial ; because, 
 the whole inquiry being voluntary, and the 
 Scotish Queen having always protested against 
 being tried, criminally, by Elizabeth : So Eli- 
 zabeth could not empower her deputies to do 
 what she had no power to do herself. By acting 
 thus, without power, and of course having no 
 jurisdiction to hear, and determine, a charge 
 of murder against the Scotish Queen, they per- 
 jured themselves still more, than the York com- 
 missioners, by acting, without authority, and 
 without candour. Thus it was, and must be, 
 where servility, and dislike, wrong, and injus- 
 tice, and such guilty passions were carried, 
 beyond all bounds ; and were thus allowed 
 
 to partialize 
 
 The unstooping firmness of their upright souls." 
 
 Elizabeth, who had, meanwhile, one eye on
 
 292 THE LIFE OF [MEM. V. Memoir of 
 
 France, and Spain, and the other on Mary, 
 directed her Lord Keeper of the Great Seal, to 
 reprove Murray, and his associates, for making 
 that horrible charge ; p whereby, said the Lord 
 Keeper to Murray, " if you should prove it 
 " true, she should be infamous, to all princes 
 " in the world." q Murray might have told the 
 keeper of Elizabeth's conscience, that he had 
 been urged, by Cecil, the keeper of the same 
 Queen's secrets, to make this charge. Such 
 were the effects of Elizabeth's duplicity, which 
 admitted of no bounds. She wished to look 
 fair in the eyes of France, and Spain, while she 
 left to posterity a character of dissimulation 
 most foul : Of her duplicity, and hard hearted- 
 ness, of her jealous temper, and murderous 
 
 PGoodall, ii. 231-3. 
 
 * Goodall, ii. 228-9 : The reprimand of Murray was given, 
 on the 6th of December 1568. As early as the 20th of Oc- 
 tober preceding, Knollys, the warden of Mary, had written 
 to Cecil : " All things considered, I see not how her ma- 
 " jesty can, with honour, and safety, detain this Queen, 
 ' unless she shall be utterly disgraced to the world; and the 
 " contrary party be thoroughly maintained." Ib. 161. 
 Mildmay, and Leicester, concurred in this advice. And 
 Cecil acted upon it. Hence, the clandestine proceedings, at 
 York, against Mary : And, hence this charge against her, 
 at Westminster, which was plainly solicited by Cecil, to 
 ' make her infamous to all the princes in the world."
 
 the Regent Murray.] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 293 
 
 spirit, the state-papers of her reign are the pro- 
 per vouchers. On the same spirit of disgracing 
 the Scotish Queen, Murray, and his faction, 
 constantly acted, for obtaining the dethrone- 
 ment of their Queen, and giving her sceptre to 
 the conspirator, who had always his head, and 
 heart, and hand, upon it. 
 
 From the 15th of June 1568, when Murray 
 received a command, from Elizabeth, to come 
 into England, to explain, and defend, his own 
 proceedings, he employed his agents, Maitland, 
 and Buchanan, to collect forgeries, for defend- 
 ing himself, and charging her : By their dili- 
 gence, he was enabled, to bring to York, not 
 only a boxful of forgeries, but a cart-load of 
 vitiated documents, and records. He opened 
 his magazine of fraud, at York, though under 
 some concealments of his ultimate object, while 
 he was yet uncertain of Elizabeth's real designs. 
 When he had transferred his fraudulent maga- 
 zine to Westminster, he soon learned, from 
 Cecil, that Elizabeth's design concurred with 
 his own ; and Murray was thus induced to 
 prefer his charge against the Scotish Queen, 
 as the murderess of her husband/ Yet, when 
 
 1 Here is this famous charge : " It is certain ; and we have 
 always affirmed, that as James Earl of Bothwell, was the 
 chief executor of the unworthy murder perpetrated on the
 
 294 THE LIFE OF [MEM. V. Memoir of 
 
 the detail of this charge is considered, it will 
 appear, that never was there such a charge, so 
 illogically drawn ; so false, in its statements ; so 
 delusive, in its concealments of the truth. 
 
 Whatever those guilty men might say, or 
 might swear, the State Papers of England, and 
 the Statute Book of Scotland, demonstrate, 
 that the Queen's husband was murdered, by a 
 conspiracy of nobles, whereof Bothwell was the 
 instrument, and Murray, the chief: Bothwell 
 acted with Murray, and not with the Queen : 
 And Murray was the persuader of Bothwell to 
 act, with Morton, and Maitland, as his agents : 
 So, it does not follow, that she was of the fore- 
 knowledge of the crime, much less a persuader 
 to the execution of the same crime : For it is 
 an incontrovertible fact, that she was recon- 
 ciled to her husband, during several weeks, 
 before the crime was perpetrated, by Bothwell, 
 
 person of the late King, Henry, the Queen's husband : So, 
 was she of the foreknowledge, and persuader of the said 
 murder to be done j and the maintainer of the doers thereof, 
 by impeding the inquisition, and punishment, due for the 
 same, according to law ; and consequently, by her marriage 
 with the said James, Earl of Bothwell, after he was charged 
 as the chief doer of the murder." [Goodall, ii. 206r7] It 
 was signed by Murray, and by his associates, the Earl of 
 Morton, Lord Lindsay, the Bishop of Orkney, the Commen- 
 dator of Dumfermling.
 
 the Regent Murray.'] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 295 
 
 Morton, and Maitland : But, they, moreover, 
 charge the Queen with impeding the inquisi- 
 tion of the crime, and preventing the punish- 
 ment of the chief criminal, Bothwell. Yet, they 
 forgot, that Bothwell was actually tried, by the 
 Queen's order, on the 12th of April 1567, be- 
 fore Argyle, the Justice-general, with a court, 
 consisting of Murray's partisans ; that Morton, 
 supported him on one hand, and Maitland, on 
 the other ; so as to procure his acquittal ; while 
 Lennox was afraid, or ashamed, to appear as his 
 prosecutor: But, Morton, and Maitland, as the 
 agents of Murray, went some steps further, in 
 favour of Bothwell : They obtained, from se- 
 veral peers, and prelates, a declaration of Both- 
 well's innocence, and of his fitness, as a hus- 
 band, for the Queen : Their charge, then, is not 
 true, that the prosecution of Bothwell was im- 
 peded, by the Queen. And there is another 
 fact, which evinces, that Bothwell, before his 
 marriage with the Queen, was protected, by 
 Murray's faction : When the Queen surrendered 
 herself at Carberry-hill to that faction, with 
 Morton, at its head, they purposely allowed 
 Bothwell to depart, from the field, when he was 
 within their power. And she is charged with ob- 
 structing justice, by marrying Bothwell, though 
 he had been denounced, as the King's murderer. 
 Morton, and Maitland, as Murray's agents, by
 
 296 THE LIFE OF [MEM. V. Memoir of 
 
 obtaining the acquittal of Bothwell, and the 
 declaration of so many peers, and prelates, of 
 his innocence, and fitness, for the Queen's hus- 
 band, encouraged that audacious noble, to 
 march out, at the head of a thousand horse, 
 to arrest the Queen on the road to Edinburgh ; 
 to carry her, forcibly, to his castle of Dunbar, 
 and therein to coerce her, till she agreed to 
 marry him.' The facts being thus stated, by 
 Murray's Parliament, in which Morton pre- 
 sided, as Chancellor, what guilt did she incur, 
 or what could she know of the guilt of Both- 
 well, as the murderer of her husband, or what 
 obstruction could she give to the pursuits of 
 justice against a noble, who was protected, by 
 Murray's faction ? Such, then, is the answer, 
 which may be submitted, to Murray's charge 
 against Mary ; a charge, which can now be 
 considered, as a mere tissue of misrepresenta- 
 tion, and falsehood, of sophistry, and imperti- 
 nence. 
 
 Elizabeth's Commissioners thus acting, as we 
 have seen, without jurisdiction, now hurried on, 
 without regard to justice, or consideration of 
 
 ' The act of Murray's Parliament in December 1567, for- 
 feited Bothwell, not only for his murder of the King, but 
 for treasonously seizing the Queen, on the highway, forcibly 
 carrying her to Dunbar-castle j and forcibly obliging her to 
 consent to marry him. Ada Parl. iii 5-8.
 
 the Regent Murray.'] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 297 
 
 fitness : Before the Scotish Queen had declared, 
 whether she admitted, or denied, the charge of 
 Murray, the Commissioners went on to hear his 
 proofs :' But, what fairness, what equity, what 
 truth, could be obtained, by receiving proofs, in 
 the absence of the party, who was to be affected 
 by them ? In thus proceeding, what attention 
 was there to the oaths, which the Commissio- 
 ners had taken, that they would act fairly, and 
 honestly, and godly ? The answer must be, that 
 they brought themselves within the law, as laid 
 
 * On the 9th of December 1567, the Earl of Morton was 
 admitted to swear to a declaration, setting forth the manner 
 how he came to obtain the boxfull of letters, sonnets, and 
 other papers. [Goodall, ii. 23O.] This declaration seems not 
 to be preserved. But, there appears no cause shown, why 
 the person carrying this box, Dalgleish, was not examined, 
 about it. Neither was it shown, why Sir James Balfour, who 
 was said to have had the custody of this box, was not exa- 
 mined, to account how he came into the possession of such 
 a box. Murray, and his associates, now gave, in evi- 
 dence, French copies of those supposititious letters, which 
 those guilty men swore were the true original letters of the 
 Scotish Queen. The box was now emptied of its contents, 
 which were sworn, by those men, who were known falsifiers, 
 to be all perfectly genuine. [Goodall, ii. 235-6.] The re- 
 ceiving of such documents, illegitimate as they were, as 
 evidence, in the absence of the Scotish Queen, and her 
 Commissioners, is another exemplification of the partiality, 
 and injustice, of that unjust, sophistical, and abominable, 
 inquiry.
 
 298 THE LIFE OF [MEM. V. Memoir of 
 
 down by Serjeant Barham , that whoever takes 
 an oath, to act fairly, yet acts foully, is guilty 
 of perjury. The knavish conduct of Cecil 
 brought him within the reprobation of that 
 law : When Elizabeth made her Lord Keeper 
 reprehend Murray, for bringing such a charge 
 against his sovereign ; yet, allowed Secretary 
 Cecil, to carry it into effect, by illegal practices, 
 and illegitimate proofs, she only evinced, by her 
 contradictory conduct, that her dissimulation, 
 and envy, had absorbed every principle of rec- 
 titude, in her heart, as a woman, and annihi- 
 lated every maxim of justice, in her head, as a 
 Queen. 
 
 Murray, still suspecting, that his documents" 
 did not convict the Scotish Queen of her hus- 
 band's murder, though they effected Elizabeth's 
 design of calumniating, and disgracing, the 
 object of her malignity, had recourse to delibe- 
 rate falsehood : He asserted, " That the estates 
 of Scotland, finding her unworthy to reign, 
 decreed her demission of the crown." The Queen 
 was imprisoned, and dethroned, in June 1567, 
 by Murray's agent, Morton, with six other 
 
 u Whoever may wish, for critical and minute proofs of 
 Murray's documents being palpable forgeries, must consult 
 Goodall's Examination, 1754 ; Tytler's Inquiry, 1760-9O ; 
 Whitaker's Vindication, 1789-90.
 
 the Regent Murray.'] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 299 
 
 nobles, calling themselves the nobles. Murray's 
 Parliament did not assemble till the subsequent 
 December, who indemnified those nobles, for the 
 basest acts of treachery, and violence, and 
 legalized her demission of the crown, which, 
 by her imprisonment, was invalid, and by the 
 artifices, the tumult, and the terror of the 
 means, employed, was a nullity, in the very act. 
 When Murray had done all that forgery, and 
 falsehood, could effect, he failed, in throwing 
 the guilt of Darnley's murder, from himself, 
 and his agents, on the innocent Queen : The 
 consciousness of the guilt, continued in their 
 own minds, and in the conviction of their 
 countrymen, till that consciousness, and this 
 conviction, in the progress, and disclosures of 
 time, ended in the declared guilt, and publick 
 punishment, of his chief associates. Elizabeth 
 had meantime denuded herself of jurisdiction, 
 by departing, from her original purpose ; and 
 without authority, assuming the power, to hear 
 a charge of murder against the Scotish Queen, 
 by illegitimate means, she involved herself, in 
 the guilt of illegality, and the disgrace of defa- 
 mation. The injured Mary now desired to be 
 admitted, personally, to this inquiry, to defend 
 her own innocence, and to explain her own 
 motives : But, Elizabeth, publickly, avowed, 
 " that from the beginning the only reason, why
 
 300 THE LIFE OF [MEM. V. Memoir of 
 
 she was debarred from rny presence, was, merely, 
 through the rumour, and slander, that she had 
 been participant, in the murder of her husband.*" 
 The same rumour, and slander, applied to the 
 admittance of Murray, and Morton ; and some- 
 thing more than rumour, that they had been 
 guilty of murder, and assassination, of forgery, 
 and falsification : Yet, did Elizabeth take them 
 to her bosom ; as they were the instruments of 
 her guilty passion ; while Elizabeth rejected 
 the Scotish Queen, who as a woman was full as 
 innocent, and accomplished as she ; as a prin- 
 cess was as well born, and bred, as she ; and as 
 a Queen had more dignity, and true spirit, than 
 she: Whereupon, the Commissioners of the 
 Scotish Queen declared, " that they would no 
 ways proceed any further ; and protested, that 
 whatever were done, hereafter, should not pre- 
 judice their sovereign, in any sort : y " But, they 
 came too late with their protestation, after their 
 sovereign had been slandered, and disgraced, 
 by eveiy mode of falsehood, and practice of 
 perjury. The Scotish historians upon this pro- 
 ceeding have remarked, that Mary seemed to 
 shrink from the charge, as if conscious of guilt ; 
 
 * Goodall, ii. 221, at Hampton Court, on the 4th of De- 
 cember 1567, 
 y Goodall, ii. 223.
 
 the Regent Murray.] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 3OI 
 
 and to recriminate from revenge, more than 
 from ability, to prove the guilt of her adver- 
 saries : But, such historians found it more easy 
 to scribble, than to inquire : Their green eyes 
 did not allow them to perceive, that Elizabeth's 
 design, plainly was, to obtain materials of de- 
 famation ; and their idle ignorance did not 
 enable them to ascertain, that the State Papers 
 of England, and the Statute Book of Scotland, 
 contained demonstrations of Murray, and his 
 partisans, being the guilty characters, who 
 murdered the Scotish King, and merely endea- 
 voured, by the basest means, to cast the guilt, 
 and the disgrace, from themselves upon her ; 
 while Elizabeth, and Cecil, knowing the truth, 
 involved themselves in the criminality, and 
 ignominy, of those atrocious men, whom they 
 used, as the instruments, of their oppressive 
 wrongs. Those historians, only, exhibited their 
 own ignorance, which, invariably, infers some 
 blame. 
 
 Yet, Elizabeth continued her deceptive arti- 
 fices : And, Mary was induced, to depart from 
 her purpose of discontinuing the inquiry. Her 
 Commissioners, by her direction, returned to 
 
 1 Mary knew, before she was driven from Scotland, that 
 Morton, and Maitland were both guilty of that crime. 
 Ib. 71. 
 
 VOL. III. X
 
 302 THE LIFE OF [MEM. V. Memoir of 
 
 Hampton Court, on the 24th of December ; and 
 avowed their purpose, to charge Murray, and his 
 guilty associates, with the crime that was imput- 
 ed, by them, to their mistress ; to defend her in. 
 nocence ; and to repel the calumnies, which had 
 been cast upon her : For these ends, they de- 
 sired, to have the writings, which had been 
 given in evidence against her, or copies thereof, 
 to enable them to perform their serious pur- 
 pose. Elizabeth now thought, or pretended to 
 think, this request very reasonable, and rejoiced, 
 with envious regret, that her good sister would, 
 in that manner, defend her honour ; yet, her 
 apprehensions of detection did not allow her 
 to grant so reasonable a prayer, as the commu- 
 nication of the papers, which had been unjustly 
 admitted in proof against their mistress. The 
 Bishop of Ross, and Lord Herries, now exhi- 
 bited strong representations against Murray, 
 and his criminal associates. 1 But, an attempt 
 was, in consequence, made, by Elizabeth, and 
 her Commissioners, to browbeat the Bishop of 
 Ross, and Lord Herries, though in vain : b They 
 
 Goodall, ii. 283-93- 
 
 b 16. 307-8-9 : They were asked, if they, personally would 
 charge Murray, and his associates, with the murder of the 
 Scotish King > They answered, No : But, as the Scotish 
 Queen's Commissioners, they would persevere in their 
 charge.
 
 the Regent Murray.] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 303 
 
 adhered to their instructed purpose. They again 
 prayed for copies of their adversaries docu- 
 ments ; a request, which Elizabeth continued 
 to think very reasonable ; yet, was afraid, or 
 ashamed, to grant. 6 Elizabeth now, with her 
 usual subterfuges, wished rather to end this 
 inquiry, which had given her materials of slan- 
 der, by a compromise, which would protect her 
 criminal instruments. The Scotish Queen, 
 however, would not accept of any compromise ; 
 declaring that she would resign her diadem only 
 with her last breath. d And Elizabeth, seeing 
 that her dissimulation was used in vain, put an 
 end to this disgraceful proceeding. On the 
 12th of January 1568-9, Murray, with his as- 
 sociates, came to Elizabeth's presence, and 
 were allowed to depart into Scotland : The 
 Queen giving him, under the name of loan, 
 5000/. as a reward, for his many materials of 
 
 c Ib. 285-93-98. 
 
 d Ib. 300-3. On the 25th of December 1568, the Scotish 
 Queen's Commissioners declared, that she would answer 
 Murray's charge, if Elizabeth would direct only copies of 
 the proofs against their mistress. Ib. 281. The Queen's 
 Commissioners continued, without success, to press this re- 
 quest, till the 31st of January 1568-9. Ib. 333. Meanwhile, 
 Elizabeth's ministers intercepted the proofs, which she was 
 collecting against Murray : See Huntley, and Argyle's Pro- 
 testation against Murray, and his shuffling answer. Ib. 
 317 21.
 
 304 THE LIFE OF [MEM. V. Memoir of 
 
 scandal against the sister, whose bounty had 
 given him the Earldom of Murray, with a 
 thousand benefits. 6 Thus ended this ignomi- 
 nious inquiry ! At the end of January 1568-9, 
 the Scotish Queen was ordered to be carried, 
 from Bolton, to Tutburie, as a prisoner, who 
 was, in Elizabeth's estimation, entitled to little 
 favour : At the same time, Elizabeth never 
 doubted her right, however doubtful in itself, of 
 imprisoning the Scotish Queen, after she had 
 wronged her, by every artifice of her nature. 
 
 Murray now hastened, from Kingston, to 
 inform his partisans, in Scotland, of his final 
 success. " Yesternight," said he, " we had the 
 Queen's majesty's answer, by her Council ; al- 
 lowing our doings, with a promise to maintain 
 the King's authority, and our regiment [regen- 
 cy]." f Such were the sentiments, no doubt, of 
 Cecil, though perhaps not of Elizabeth : But, 
 such was the policy, which the Scotish Queen 
 might, from her reception, in England, have 
 expected from both, if she had not been in- 
 fluenced much more, by credulity, than by 
 experience. 
 
 In this manner, then, was brought to a con- 
 
 > " - ; 
 
 e Rym. Feed. xv. 677. 
 
 1 Goodall, ii. 306. Murray's letter to Craigmillar, llth of 
 Jan. 1568-9.
 
 the Regent Murray.] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 305 
 
 elusion this famous inquiry, which, whatever 
 might be its speciousness, was plainly intended, 
 by every mode of artifice, to disgrace the Scotish 
 Queen, in the eager eyes of the civilised world. 1 
 How much perjury was committed, at York, to 
 calumniate the Scotish Queen, needs not be 
 repeated. Similar scenes were acted, at West- 
 minster, and Hampton-court, where, without 
 jurisdiction, without the shadow of justice, or 
 impartiality, the same Queen was charged, and 
 convicted, without a hearing, of her husband's 
 murder. h And, last, though not least, Eliza- 
 beth, and Cecil, while they avowed to France, 
 and Spain, the fairest intentions, acted the 
 foulest practices, by soliciting Murray, and 
 Morton, and their coadjutors, to swear to the 
 genuineness of letters, and other papers, which 
 they all knew to be feigned, and forged ; while 
 of this abominable solicitation, we may say, of 
 Elizabeth, in Shakespeare's language : 
 
 " You set the crown 
 
 Upon the head of this forgetful man ; 
 And, for his sake, bear the detested blot, 
 Of murderous subornation -." 
 
 g See Cecil's correspondence in the Cabala, which is the 
 voucher of his criminal duplicity. 
 
 Goodall, ii., is the genuine record of the guilty proceed- 
 ings of Elizabeth's Commissioners, and of Murray, and his 
 associates', perjuries.
 
 306 THE LIFE OF [MEM. V. Memoir of 
 
 Murray, and his guilty associates, now hasten- 
 ed, homeward, with the alacrity of persons, 
 who had been tried for their lives, and were 
 acquitted. He arrived, at Berwick, on the 
 30th of January 1568-9 : And, as he owed 
 everything to Cecil's protection, he immediately 
 wrote him, that on his way, he had inquired into 
 the present disposition of the King's mother; 
 and found her, in her conceit, nothing dejected, 
 nor destitute of friends ; adding that, " there 
 never was greater occasion, to be careful of her 
 security : And, if the Lords Boyd, and Herries, 
 and the Bishop of Ross, could be stayed, for a 
 season, it would do great good." 1 Such were 
 Murray's malignity, and fears, even amidst his 
 triumphant arrival, on the Tweed, and his am- 
 bitious hopes of a quiet reign. 
 
 He arrived, at Edinburgh, on the 2d of Fe- 
 bruary 1568-9 ; having remained, in England, 
 since the 21st of September 1568. He found 
 Scotland far from tranquil, whatever he could 
 write, or Elizabeth proclaim. Rumour had 
 preceded him, that he had sacrificed the inde- 
 pence of his country to his own ambition : And, 
 it was reported, that he had solicited the conti- 
 nuance of the Queen's imprisonment, and had 
 agreed, to surrender the King to Elizabeth's 
 
 1 Ib. ii. 332.
 
 the Regent Murray.'} THE SCOTISH QUEEN. SO? 
 
 tuition, which' was only another name, for the 
 subjection of an ancient kingdom to an auld 
 enemy. Hearing of such disquieting reports, Eli- 
 zabeth issued a proclamation : assuring her good 
 neighbours of Scotland, with her happiest dis- 
 simulation, " that in the cause, betwixt the said 
 Queen and her son, [Murray,] there hath lacked 
 no good meaning, nor yet doth, to have the same 
 well ended, with quietness to the whole nation 
 of Scotland, and without any prejudice, to the 
 crown of Scotland, or the dignity thereof." 11 If 
 this were true, why imprison the Scotish Queen, 
 without right, and without pretence, other than 
 the personal hate of a guilty heart ? But, thus 
 it is to be in the habit of artifice, and in the 
 practice of knavery ! The wretched people of 
 this degraded nation were now preparing, for 
 civil war. Murray, however, a few days after 
 his arrival, repaired to Stirling, where he laid 
 his guilty proceedings, in England, before a 
 convention of his nobles, who ratified all, with 
 their usual servility. 
 
 The Duke of Chattelherault, who had been 
 long expatriated for his attachment to Murray, 
 returned to Scotland, on the 22d of February 
 1569 ; bringing with him a commission, from 
 
 k This insidious proclamation may be seen in Goodall, ii. 
 328.
 
 308 THE LIFE OF [MEM. V. Memoir of 
 
 the Queen, as Lord Deputy, which he caused to 
 be published, with a command to the Scotish 
 people, That they would obey no other au- 
 thority, than his legitimate power. But, Mur- 
 ray was not a statesman, that would be terrified, 
 by such appearances of opposition. Having 
 the sword of Viceroy in his hand, which he 
 knew how to wield, and the habits of villany, 
 that he was in the practice of using ; he com- 
 manded the King's people to meet him, in arms, 
 on the 1 Oth of March, at Glasgow. These pre- 
 parations, for warfare, were, however, put an 
 end to, by a sort of treaty, which stipulated, 
 for a meeting of certain nobles, at Edinburgh, 
 on the 10th of April 1569. 1 This meeting con- 
 cluded, as might have been foreseen, from the 
 character of Murray, by sending the Duke, and 
 Lord Herries, as prisoners, to Edinburgh-cas- 
 tle. Argyle, and Huntley, who had, also, 
 taken arms, for the Queen, were soon induced 
 to submit, with some loss of influence, which 
 could not be easily maintained, while there ex- 
 isted, on the one side, interestedness, and dis- 
 traction ; on the other, vigour, and subtilty. 
 Before the end of April 1569, the Regent saw 
 no one, in Scotland, to dispute his power, how- 
 
 1 Hist, of K. James, vi. 58. 
 m Hist, of K. James, 65 ; Spottiswoode, 218 9.
 
 the Regent Murray.'] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 309 
 
 soever obtained, by force, or maintained, by 
 fraudulence. 
 
 Meantime, the intrigue, which Maitland, and 
 Murray had begun with the Duke of Norfolk, 
 at York, for marrying the Scotish Queen, and 
 which he renewed, at Hampton-court, was 
 early suspected, by Cecil. Murray was re- 
 quired, by the English minister, to reveal what 
 he knew of this obscure transaction : Fearing 
 Elizabeth's hate, more than shame, Murray 
 basely betrayed the Duke to his offended so- 
 vereign ; delivered his letters into her hands ; 
 and endeavoured, by artifice, as well as threats, 
 to induce Maitland, to act with equal baseness, 
 and the same breach of trust, though without 
 success. The simultaneous intrigue, which was 
 opened, in Scotland, by Lord Boyd, in June 
 1569, for obtaining a dissolution of Mary's 
 marriage with Both well, and other objects, 
 could not be obtained, from the Regent's coun- 
 cils, while Elizabeth's duplicity was known, 
 and Cecil's arts were felt. Norfolk was im- 
 prisoned, for his imprudent passion. The Earls 
 of Northumberland, and Westmoreland, seem 
 to have been little influenced, by his fate : And 
 running out into rebellion, they were easily 
 driven into Scotland, wheie, falling into the 
 Regent's hands, they were not safe. Had the 
 rebels of Scotland, during this reign, the Mur-
 
 310 THE LIFE OF [MEM. V. Memoir of 
 
 rays, the Mortons, and their guilty associates, 
 been, equally, delivered to criminal justice, the 
 Scotish Queen had not been at that period a 
 captive, and the Scotish people had not felt, at 
 the same time, the direful effects of civil dis- 
 cord. 
 
 Elizabeth, exulting at her success, began to 
 consider the Scotish Queen, as the hidden cause 
 of all her disquiet : And, without suspecting 
 her own jealousy, or Cecil's management, to be 
 any of the real causes of her uneasiness, she 
 adopted the disgraceful purpose of surrender- 
 ing the captive Queen to the Regent Murray, 
 on such conditions, as had suited the malig- 
 nant designs of both. The vigilance of the 
 Bishop of Ross, having discovered this intrigue, 
 opposed it ; which the ambassadors of France, 
 and Spain, represented, as an action, infamous 
 in itself, and dangerous to her own safety i" 
 These representations interposed some delibe- 
 ration, which saved Elizabeth, as well as Mur- 
 ray, from an additional stigma, in delivering a 
 relation, and a Queen, into the polluted hands 
 of unprincipled ruffians. 
 
 The Regent Murray now found leisure, in 
 May 1569, to punish some priests, by pillory, 
 for saying mass, who had been condemned to 
 
 n Robertson's Hitt. i. 530 : Carte, iii. 49J.
 
 the Regent Murray.'] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 311 
 
 death ; and proceeding from Stirling to St. 
 Andrews, he burnt a sorceress, called Nicne- 
 ven ; and hanged Sir William Stewart, the lion- 
 King, for divers points of witchcraft, and ne- 
 cromancie ; but whose real crime consisted, in 
 thinking the Queen more innocent of the death 
 of Darnley, than Murray himself; and at the 
 same time, the Regent hanged French Paris, 
 for whatever crime, though not till the more 
 guilty Murray, by means of Buchanan, and 
 Wood, had forged, for him, two declarations ; 
 the one criminating Bothwell, and the other, 
 denouncing the Queen. Of a similar sort of 
 villany was the accusation, about that time, 
 against Secretary Maitland, for the King's 
 
 Hist. of. K. James VI. 65-6. The original declaration 
 of Paris against the Queen, which remains in the Paper 
 Office, demonstrates, that declaration to have been drawn 
 up, by Buchanan, and Wood, in Murray's castle, and to have 
 been transcribed, by Murray's secretary. In October 1569, 
 Murray transmitted to Cecil, that declaration, " if further 
 proof should be required." [Goodall, ii. 88.] This shows 
 what sort of documents Murray regarded, as proof: But 
 Cecil seeing, from the declaration itself, that the world 
 would consider Buchanan, and Wood, as the forgers of it, 
 under Murray's eye, desired Murray to send him a certified 
 copy of it. This certified copy was sent, in consequence of 
 that desire. And we now see Cecil, and Murray, concur- 
 ring, in this fraudulent act of manifest forgery, for the delu- 
 sion of a confiding world.
 
 312 THE LIFE OF [MEM. V. Memoir of 
 
 murder, by Crawfurd, a servant of Lennox, 
 though the charge was made, in concert with 
 Murray, and Morton, who both knew his guilt; 
 as they were themselves guilty : He was com- 
 mitted to Edinburgh-castle ; and a day was 
 avowedly appointed, for his formal trial : p But, 
 when the day of trial approached, saith Spottis- 
 woode, so many were preparing to keep the 
 day, that the Regent, disliking such convoca- 
 tions, and disdaining to have justice outbrag- 
 ged, prorogued the convention for four months.* 1 
 Murray, Morton, and Maitland, as we have 
 clearly seen, were all equally guilty of the 
 King's murder ; and to have tried, in a publick 
 court, the most able, the most artful, and the 
 most eloquent man, in Scotland, would have 
 disclosed such scenes of villany, and of trea- 
 son, as would have confounded Murray, and 
 Morton, and astonished a deluded people : The 
 object seems only to have been, as Maitland no 
 longer co-operated, with his guilty coadjutors, 
 to imprison, and disgrace him/ He was after- 
 
 P Hist. ofK. James VI. 69-70. > Hist. 23<2-3. 
 
 ' And even that object seems not to have been obtained : 
 For, in the draught of a letter dated in July 1570, in Ce- 
 cil's hand, from Elizabeth to Lennox, the Regent of Scot- 
 land, in the Paper Office, it is said : " And, Maitland, there- 
 by, appeareth to have gotten such credit among the adverse
 
 the Regent Murray.] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 313 
 
 wards, attainted, by Parliament, for the mur- 
 der of Darnley, as we have perceived, and died, 
 of poison, from whatever hand. 
 
 Soon after those hypocritical, and guilty 
 scenes, Murray dispatched the Commendator 
 of Dumfermlin to the English court, with in- 
 structions, which show, with strong conviction, 
 how coolly Murray could write falsehood, how 
 deliberately he could regard forgeries, as proofs, 
 how confidently he could trust, for his support, 
 to the duplicity of Elizabeth, and the villany 
 of Cecil/ But, the time was now at hand, 
 when such shifts could no longer support a 
 statesman, whose whole life was a tissue of 
 subtilties, and subterfuges, of falsehoods, and 
 forgeries, of rapacious ness, and corruption, of 
 ambitious aims, and rebellious efforts : The 
 Regent Murray was doomed to sustain a vio- 
 lent death, by an injured hand : As the Regent 
 rode through the streets of Linlithgow, he was 
 slain, by the vengeful shot of the injured Ha- 
 milton, on the 23d of January 1569-70.' 
 
 party, that he holdeth the bridle, in his hand, to stay, or 
 hasten them forward." 
 
 * See those instructions in Goodall, ii. 84-8. 
 
 * Cabala, 16O ; Murdin, 769 ; Spottiswoode, 234; Hist, of 
 K. James VI. 75. At the same time, were with the Regent, 
 says Cecil, Sir Henry Gates, and the Marshal of Berwick,
 
 314 THE LIFE OF [MEM. V. Memoir of 
 
 The deluded partisans of this unprincipled 
 statesman, declared, by a monumental inscrip- 
 tion, that he was the very best man of this 
 moral age, in the annals of Scotland. But, 
 
 " 'Tis phrase absurd, to call a villain good j 
 
 Who, wickedly is wise, or madly brave, 
 Is but the more a fool, the more a knave." 
 
 By his wife Agnes, Murray left two daugh- 
 ters, Margaret, and Mary : The first married 
 Sir James Steuart of Down, who enjoyed with 
 her the Earldom of Murray, under a defective 
 title: Mary married Francis Earl of Errol. 
 Murray's widow married Sir Colin Campbell, 
 who became Earl of Argyle, in 1574, on the 
 death of his elder brother, without issue ; and 
 carried with her many of the Queen's jewels, 
 which the Regent Morton compelled her to 
 restore." The widow, and children of Murray, 
 were left by him, in distressed circumstances, 
 owing to the vast debts, which he had contract- 
 ed both at home, and abroad, in pursuit of his 
 objects: He had acquired, as we have seen, 
 large estates ; but, his guilty expenditure upon 
 his numerous partisans, for supporting an over- 
 
 Drury, for demanding, in the Queen's name, the Earl of 
 Northumberland, and others. 
 
 Ada Parl. 86. But see flic Aj>]>. to this Memoir, No. 
 IX.
 
 the Regent Murray. -\ THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 315 
 
 powering faction, had exhausted his revenues. 
 He was relieved, as we know, from the records/ 
 by the King and Queen, not more than ten 
 days, before the death of Darn ley, while they 
 were both condemned, however, the one to the 
 bowstring, the other, to deprivation, and death. 
 The widow, and children, applied to the Par- 
 liament of 1574, forpublick relief: And, it was 
 referred to the Chancellor, to consider their 
 case ; as it was not fit, said his partisans, that 
 the widow, and children, of the late Regent 
 should be wrecked. 7 Such, then, was the 
 wretched end of the mighty ambition of Mur- 
 ray, which, like the ocean, 
 
 " Did swell, and rage, and foam, 
 
 To be exalted with the threat'ning clouds." 
 
 In that disputatious age, there was not any 
 statesman, whose character was drawn, with 
 such opposite colours, as that of Murray, says 
 Robertson: The best delineation of Murray 
 may be found, in an abstract of his life. From 
 his boyish days, Murray was surrounded, by 
 partisans ; as we know, from the records : And 
 he spent almost the whole of his revenues, 
 
 x On the 31st of January 1566-?. Privy Seal. Reg 
 xxvi. fol. 1. 
 
 ' Acta Part. Hi. 56 ; But, see the App. to this Memoir, 
 No. IX.
 
 316 THE LIFE OF [MEM. V. Memoir of 
 
 great as they were, in attaching to his person, 
 and fortunes, the ablest men, whether as scho- 
 lars, statesmen, or soldiers: He thus became 
 a patron of learning, and a man of liberality, 
 according to Robertson, while Murray was, 
 merely, drawing to him, by gratuities, a num- 
 ber of adherents, who formed the ladder, on 
 which, he early raised himself, to the head of 
 a numerous, and determined party. As soon 
 as 1552, when he was not yet one-and-twenty, 
 he had become the chief of all those, who were 
 given to change, during an age of innovation. 
 As he thus appeared to intelligent eyes, at the 
 head of many men, he became himself the ob- 
 ject of purchase, that he might influence others : 
 So that his revenues increased, as his partisans 
 became more numerous : And, he thus traffick- 
 ed with the Regent-queen : he promoted her 
 views, in Scotland, while she obtained for him 
 his objects, in France, a bishoprick, and an 
 abbey, till he became too large, for her hand- 
 ling: This is what Robertson calls a disinte- 
 rested passion, for the liberty of his country, in 
 opposing her pernicious system. During the 
 four years, ending with 1560, he was the chief 
 of those, who by artifices, and arms, overturned 
 the Scotish government, on the pretence of re- 
 forming the religious establishment, with a 
 constant eye on the sceptre, as the.emblem of
 
 the Regent Murray. .] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 317 
 
 power. The Queen heard of the aims of her 
 bastard brother, by all those means, at her 
 crown : Yet, she did not carry her measures of 
 prevention, beyond an epistle of reproof. Eli- 
 zabeth received the same notice of the bastard's 
 aims ; but, she heard this information, with 
 less emotion, than encouragement. What was 
 thought very likely, by the acutest men of that 
 age, was deemed, by Robertson, in this, to be 
 very improbable, while the bastard enjoyed the 
 thing, in fact, though not the name. It was to 
 continue this possession, that he advised the 
 English government, to intercept the Queen's 
 return into her own kingdom. 
 
 Another trait of character, which influenced 
 this personage, through life, began early to dis- 
 cover itself, and continued to influence him, 
 throughout his career. He adopted it, as a 
 practical maxim, to regard the end more than 
 the means. When he was scarcely nineteen, 
 he entered into a contract of spousals, with the 
 Countess of Buchan, whom he tricked out of 
 her estates, and her marriage." He began 
 early, with Knox's concurrence, to make po- 
 litical advantages of forged letters, rather than 
 true ; as we know from the State Papers.* He 
 acted, in concurrence, with Secretary Cecil, in 
 
 * See the App. No. 5. * Sadler. 
 
 VOL. III. Y
 
 318 THE LIFE OF [MEM. V. Memoir of 
 
 imposing upon three kingdoms the falsified 
 treaty of Edinburgh, instead of the genuine do- 
 cument : Upon this principle, also, he adopted 
 the monstrous imposture, of attributing to the 
 Queen, his sister, and sovereign, forged letters, 
 forged sonnets, forged contracts of marriage, 
 which Morton, and Maitland, had begun, for 
 criminating, for defaming, and dethroning her ; 
 in order to justify their own misdeeds : He 
 went one step further; he not only adopted 
 those forgeries, but he solemnly swore, that 
 they were genuine documents ; an aggravation 
 this, which was peculiar to Murray, and his 
 guilty associates : So openly did he practice 
 fraudulence, that we have taken him, in the 
 very act, of forging Paris' s Declarations : He, 
 indeed, made use of Buchanan, and Wood, as 
 his agents, on that occasion ; but, he sent those 
 fabrications to Secretary Cecil, as proof against 
 his sovereign ; and Cecil concurred with Mur- 
 ray, in imposing this gross fraud upon the con- 
 fiding world. 
 
 When the Queen returned to her kingdom, 
 and had resumed her government, she appointed 
 this personage her minion, with so much power, 
 as to leave her little but the name of Queen. 
 The whole officers of state were, merely, his 
 adherents, and not her servants. The manner, 
 in which he obtained the grant, and possession
 
 the Regent Murray.-] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 319 
 
 of the earldom of Murray, notwithstanding 
 Huntley's rights, was at once fraudulent, and 
 tyrannous ; and by carrying the Queen, with 
 him, into the north, to aid her minion, in that 
 transaction, he involved his sovereign, in the 
 disgrace of his own fraudulence, and illegali- 
 ties. Yet, did he oppose the Queen's marriage, 
 with Darnley, even to the extent of rebellion, 
 as he wished to sin with Elizabeth, rather than 
 to sacrifice to Mary. For his restoration to 
 his country, he entered into the most dange- 
 rous plot, with Darnley, and his father, Len- 
 nox, for the assassination of Rizzio, in the 
 Queen's presence, to the imminent risque of the 
 Queen's person ; thus committing by his agents, 
 Morton, and Maitland, a mingled act of mur- 
 der, and treason, of the most atrocious na- 
 ture. 
 
 Yet, historians inquire, whether Murray was 
 capable of entering into a conspiracy against 
 Darnley's life, and the Queen's sceptre ? While 
 Murray's whole life consisted of plots, of privy 
 conspiracy, and open rebellion, what evidence 
 does it require, to trace him into a concert, 
 which had two objects, for his gratification ; 
 Darnley's death, and the Queen's dethrone- 
 ment ? Yet, must it be remembered, that such 
 was the state of Scotland, in that period, and 
 such the overpowering strength of Murray's
 
 StO THE LIFE OF [MEM. V. Memoir of 
 
 faction, as it comprehended the officers of 
 state, that such a plot could not have existed, 
 without Murray's knowledge : Neither could 
 Secretary Maitland have engaged, in such a 
 conspiracy, without Murray's assent, who was 
 plainly Viceroy of Scotland, with more consi- 
 deration, than the Queen herself enjoyed. 
 Murray, and his faction, were at constant en- 
 mity with Bothwell, who was deemed, on the 
 formation of their multifarious plot, the pro- 
 perest person, to be pushed forward, in so ne- 
 farious a task, as Darnley's murder, both as 
 the cafs-paw, and the scape -goat. In the 
 meanwhile, Bothwell was regarded, by shallow 
 observers, as a courtier of consequence, while 
 he was, merely, a conspirator, with Murray, 
 who lent his instrument that unreal importance, 
 the while, which disappeared, the moment, 
 when he was cast off, though he was the Queen's 
 husband. The facts, as they arose, in the pro- 
 gress of the conspiracy, are the best proofs of 
 the several events, as they, successively, oc- 
 curred. 
 
 Darnley was murdered, on the 10th of Fe- 
 bruary 1566-7. And the question will always 
 recur, By whom was he assassinated r The 
 State Papers, and the Statute Book, are the 
 beet evidences of that fact : Of them we learn, 
 that Darnley was murdered, by a concert of
 
 the Regent Murray.'] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 391 
 
 nobles ; by Bothwell, and Morton, and Mait- 
 land, as Murray's agents : Murray was the chief 
 complotter, from its commencement ; and the 
 principal gainer, from its conclusion. 
 
 But, the circumspection of Murray's artifices 
 did not allow him to remain, in Scotland, to 
 see the denouement of this tragedy. He de- 
 parted, from Edinburgh, on the 9th of April 
 1567, three days before the trial of Both well, 
 for Paris, through London ; and he communi- 
 cated to Cecil the whole detail of the conspiracy, 
 which was yet to be executed ; namely, the 
 acquittal of Bothwell, when tried, for the mur- 
 der of Darnley ; the marrying of him to the 
 Queen ; in order to connect her with the mur- 
 der, however innocent ; the expulsion of Both- 
 well, and the dethronement of the Queen ; the 
 proclamation of the King, and the appointment 
 of Murray, as regent : And, Cecil thus learn- 
 ing all this, from Murray, took steps, for send- 
 ing Elizabeth's Lieutenant, Bedford, to Ber- 
 wick ; to countenance the lords ; as we know, 
 from Bedford's letter, in the Paper Office. It 
 is apparent, then, that Murray had concerted 
 the whole of that detail with Morton, and Mait- 
 land, before his departure from Edinburgh. 
 There are letters, in the Paper Office, from 
 Maitland to Cecil, asking for money, to support 
 this fresh insurrection. It is a known fact,
 
 322 THE LIFE OF [MEM. V. Memoir of 
 
 that Morton, and the insurgents, in Scotland, 
 corresponded with Murray, in France, and that 
 Cecil acted, as the agent, between thern. b 
 Every thing was transacted, in Scotland, ac- 
 cording to the detail, which had been agreed 
 upon, with Morton, and Maitland, in the pre- 
 vious concert, with Murray, and communicated, 
 by him, to Cecil. It is apparent, then, that 
 the Scotish Queen was dethroned, by the co- 
 operation of Elizabeth's government. 
 
 With the aid of Cecil's artifices, and money, 
 Murray was enabled to return to Edinburgh, in 
 August 1567. He found the Queen, in prison; 
 her infant son, on her throne ; and himself, the 
 declared Regent. Murray now gathered up 
 what of the conspiracy, and insurrection, yet 
 remained, to be executed. What had hitherto 
 been done was, by artifices, and violence : It 
 still remained, to justify the doers, and to le- 
 galize so many crimes, and so much illegality. 
 Murray, who had now received the govern- 
 ment, from his own agents, which had dethro- 
 ned the legitimate sovereign, called a Parlia- 
 mentary meeting, on the 15th of December 
 1567. 
 
 When the insurgents, who acted, under Mur- 
 
 * See the Cabala, which is the record of his guilty inter- 
 course.
 
 the Regent Murray.] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 323 
 
 ray's influence, and Morton's guide, imprisoned 
 the Queen, they had nothing to charge her 
 with. Yes ; she had married Both well, who 
 had, by their management, been declared inno- 
 cent of the King's murder ; who had been recom- 
 mended to her, by themselves, as the fittest 
 husband: And, Both well, encouraged, by those 
 measures, seized the Queen, carried her to his 
 castle, and, by coercion, made her consent to 
 marry him. But, such facts do not warrant the 
 conclusion, which Murray, and his insurgents, 
 drew from them, that she must have known, 
 previously, of Bothwell's intention, to murder 
 her husband; Those facts, as they are vouched, 
 by the act of parliament, forfeiting Bothwell, 
 establish her innocence : Though this marriage 
 answered the odious purpose of detraction ; 
 yet, the weakness of it was felt, when the facts 
 were, minutely, examined, even before Murray's 
 arrival from France. To strengthen that 
 weakness, forgery was called in : And then 
 appeared a box-full of the Queen's letters to 
 Bothwell, sonnets, and promises of marriage, 
 under the guilty assertion of the notorious Mor- 
 ton. Murray entered into this measure of cri- 
 mination, by forgery, with all the ease of long- 
 habit. He began, early, to practise fraudu- 
 lence ; and he closed his career of fraud, by 
 causing Paris's declaration to be forged, within
 
 324 THE LIFE OF [MEM. V. Memoir of 
 
 his own castle, by his own agents, and by send- 
 ing it to Cecil, as proof. Yet, the box of letters 
 was not opened, in Scotland, either before the 
 Privy Council, or in the Parliament ; in which 
 some eyes might have seen secrets ; and, 
 according to Robertson, France, and Spain, 
 might have been too much enlightened, by such 
 disclosures. 
 
 But, baser scenes were still to be acted, by 
 those great masters of the profoundest fraud. 
 With Murray at their head, Morton, on their 
 right, and Maitland, on their left, they were 
 to attribute to the Queen the King's murder, 
 which they had themselves committed: The 
 State Papers, and the Statute Book, demon- 
 strate, that Murray's faction murdered Darn- 
 ley: But, how do Murray, and his faction, 
 disprove that demonstration; and evince, that 
 the Queen knew any thing of that crime, before 
 it was committed ? She married, by artifice, 
 and coercion, Bothwell, one of the murderers, 
 as an agent of Murray : But, the act of Both- 
 well's forfeiture refutes Murray s inference. She 
 wrote letters, from Glasgow, to Bothwell, who 
 was then busy, in preparing, for Darnley's mur- 
 der : But, the Queen was then, at Edinburgh, 
 and she was then reconciled to her husband. 
 In the justification, which Murray thus sought, 
 for his friends, and in the charge, that he wished
 
 the Regent Murray.-] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 325 
 
 to establish against theQueen, he, equally, failed 
 in both ; because he had no proof, to repel the 
 improbability ; arising from the Queen's recon- 
 cilement with her husband ; and still less was 
 he able, by any evidence, to refute the impos- 
 sibility of the Queen's writing a long letter, 
 from Glasgow, while the publick records esta- 
 blish her alibi, at Edinburgh, where she then 
 was. 
 
 During the following inquiry, in England, 
 Murray was doomed to sustain a double mea- 
 sure of guilt ; as he attempted, to cast his own 
 guilt upon his sovereign, and sister, before a 
 foreign Queen, though he knew her to be inno- 
 cent. At York, before Elizabeth's commis- 
 sioners, Murray took an oath, to act fairly, and, 
 immediately, acted foully ; so that he here in- 
 curred the guilt of perjury. When this dis- 
 graceful inquiry was advocated, by Elizabeth, 
 to Westminster, Murray presented a formal ac- 
 cusation against his sister, and sovereign, for 
 the murder of her husband, though he knew 
 the charge to be unfounded. This charge, 
 which he had basely made, three times before, 
 was nothing more, as we have seen, than a coun- 
 terfeited tissue of misrepresentation, falsehood, 
 and impertinence. Such, then, was the accu- 
 sation of Murray against his sister, and sove- 
 reign: a conduct this, which Robertson de-
 
 326 THE LIFE OF [MEM. V. Memoir of 
 
 clared to be unbrotherly, and ungrateful; a 
 crimination, that, the historian might have said, 
 was as atrocious, as it was unfounded, since the 
 plotter, plainly, was himself obnoxious to the 
 same charge. 
 
 In addition to such -a collection of gross mis- 
 representations,, deliberate falsehoods, and in- 
 consequential reasonings, Murray gave in to 
 Elizabeth's commissioners various forgeries of 
 letters, sonnets, promises of marriage, and a 
 journal, with some records, which had been 
 vitiated, by abstraction, and addition. Murray 
 swore to the genuineness of the letters, which 
 he knew to be false ; thus adding to the crime 
 of forgery, the offence of perjury : Worthy 
 proofs these of such a charge, from such a man. 
 The calumniation of the Scotish Queen, which 
 was by those means very effectually performed, 
 for Elizabeth's policy, she purchased, by a 
 donation to Murray of five thousand pounds, 
 sterling money, under the pretence of loan. 
 She dismissed him, at length, with his asso- 
 ciates, to Scotland, assuring him of the safe 
 custody of the Scotish Queen, and of the sup- 
 port of his own government. This depend- 
 ence, under which he brought Scotland, was 
 disgraceful to the nation, says Robertson ; and, 
 he might have added, injurious, in a high de- 
 gree. Murray had, scarcely, returned to Scot-
 
 the Regent Murray.] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 327 
 
 land, when he was called upon, by Elizabeth, 
 to betray Norfolk, whom he had deceived, with 
 a baseness, says Robertson, unworthy of a man 
 of honour, if such a motive existed, in that age, 
 amongst a debased nobility. Personal bravery, 
 military skill, sagacity, and vigour in civil 
 affairs, are virtues, which Murray may be al- 
 lowed to have possessed, among a people, whom 
 he had let down, by the subserviency of his 
 own ambition : Yet, in the conduct of the 
 Queen's government, Murray was unfeeling, 
 and resentful, violent, and tyrannical ; as we 
 know, from his conduct on the borders, and 
 from the ruin of Huntley's family. It is to be 
 regretted, that he was taken off, prematurely, 
 by a stroke of private vengeance ; as it had 
 been an affair of great importance, had he re- 
 mained to have closed his guilty career, by the 
 sword of publick justice ; as he must be allow- 
 ed, to have been one, of the most consum- 
 mate criminals, during an age of miscreancy; 
 when it is recollected, that Murray, and his 
 faction, after murdering the King, endeavour- 
 ed, as much as in them lay, to cast the shocking 
 guilt of that terrible deed, from themselves, upon 
 the innocent Queen, their beneficent sovereign. 
 Bothwell, the instrument of Murray, in the 
 commission of that odious deed, as well as for 
 the treasonous violence, offered, by him, to the
 
 328 THE LIFE OF [MEM. V. Memoir of 
 
 Queen's person, was forfeited, by Murray's 
 Parliament, after being allowed to expatriate 
 himself, without molestation. Secretary Mait- 
 land, another of Murray's agents, whose whole 
 life was a continued act of treachery, and false- 
 hood, of fraudulence, and forgery, was, again, 
 and again, attainted by Parliament, for the 
 murder of Darnley, and died by poison. The 
 Earl of Morton, the most powerful of Murray's 
 agents, and the most guilty of his partisans, 
 died on the block of shame, the conviction of 
 his guilt being recognised, and, also, confirmed, 
 by Parliament. Such crimes had never been 
 committed, in Scotland, under Mary, if a sove- 
 reign had not then ruled a neighbouring king- 
 dom, who was as base, as criminal, and as guilty, 
 as her Scotish agents, undoubtedly., were.
 
 the Regent Murray.] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 329 
 
 SUBSIDIARY DOCUMENTS. 
 
 No. I. Of the Projects of the English Government, Jbr 
 the subduction of Scotland, under Henry VIII. , Ed- 
 ward VI., and Elizabeth. 
 
 1 H E duplicity, and overbearing of Henry VIII., in his 
 intercourse with his nephew, James V., need not be in- 
 sisted on ; as they are, sufficiently, apparent, in the State 
 Papers of both kingdoms. 
 
 At the memorable epochs of the demise of James V., 
 and the birth of Mary, in December 1542, the odious 
 designs of Henry VIII. become more avowed, though 
 not less profligate, and artful. His great object, plainly, 
 appeared to be the subjection of Scotland, by whatever 
 means : c To effect this, his first purpose, appears to have 
 been, to obtain possession of the infant Queen, Cardinal 
 Beaton, and Arran, the Governor : His second aim was 
 to acquire the principal fortalices of Scotland. Nor, did 
 
 c In 1 542, he published " A declaration, concerning the 
 just causes, and considerations of this present warre with the 
 Scottis : Wherein also appearth the true, and right title, 
 that the king's majesty hath to the sovereigntie of Scotland." 
 In the inquiry, at York, 1568, Elizabeth tried to induce the 
 Commissioners, and other Scotish statesmen, to acknowledge 
 the sovereignty of England over Scotland j but, without 
 success.
 
 330 THE LIFE OF [MEM. V. Memoir of 
 
 he want the means, if his management had been equal 
 to his artifice. He entered into the most unprincipled 
 engagements with those expatriated traitors, the Earl of 
 Angus, and his brother, Sir George Douglas, who re- 
 ceived regular pay, from Henry, for maintaining 200 men, 
 who were constantly about them, with design, to seize 
 the important person of Cardinal Beaton; but, they 
 were constantly foiled, by the management of that able 
 man. The prisoners, whom he had obtained, at the 
 disgraceful rout of Solway-moss, by the corruption of 
 his agents, more than by the valour of his troops, he 
 engaged, in his service, as if he had been already sove- 
 reign of Scotland : He even appointed the Earl of Glen- 
 cairn, one of the corruptest of mankind, to be Chancellor, 
 and James Drummond, the Secretary." 1 
 
 The next object of Henry's corruptions was the Queen- 
 mother. He gave instructions, to practise with the 
 Queen-dowager, for acquiring possession of the infant 
 Queen, her daughter : And, to gain, by any means, pos- 
 session of the Cardinal; " because," said Henry, " he 
 will work to his possible power, to overthrow all the 
 purposes of our friends." The king, " whose foul subor- 
 nation was predominant," intimated his displeasure, that 
 Arran should have been appointed regent ; and yet, art- 
 fully, endeavoured, to gain him to his corrupt purposes. 
 But, the person of the infant sovereign was the principal 
 object of all his aims, and artifices. The Bishop of 
 Durham, and his other agents, wrote to the Privy Council, 
 
 d The most authentick account of those abominable mea- 
 sures, during December 1542, and January, and February 
 1 542-3, are in the Hamilton State Papers, vol. ir.
 
 the Regent Murray. ,] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 331 
 
 about an offer, which was said to be made, by the Laird 
 of Buccleugh, for delivering the minor Queen into the 
 English power, " though it seemed to them an unlikely 
 matter ; and as they thought, a measure, not standing 
 with the king's honour, to practise it, in such sort ; yet 
 had they given order to Sir Thomas Wharton, to do the 
 best he could, in the same." There is another letter re- 
 maining, from the Duke of Suffolk to Sir Thomas 
 Wharton ; desiring him to confer with the Laird of Buc- 
 cleugh upon that subject ; " although the duke thought 
 him, to be a very mean man, to have the managing of 
 so great a matter ," e 
 
 The next object of this capricious sovereign was, to 
 acquire possession of the strengths of Scotland, by any 
 means. He prepared a force, to overawe the Cardinal, 
 and his party ; and he offered any assistance to Arran, 
 the Governor ; to whom, he directed, that it might be 
 intimated, that if they should take away the young 
 Queen, and should marry her against his consent, that 
 he would, by force of his title, and superiority, make the 
 Governor king of that part of Scotland, lying northward 
 of the Forth. The Governor, however, declined the aid 
 of an English army ; assigning, as a reason, what shows 
 how many enemies Henry's overbearing had produced, 
 " that if Arran, and his party, should bring in the 
 English, all their own followers, would go over to the 
 other ide :" And, he declined, also, the offer of being 
 made King of Scotland, beyond the Forth ; saying " that 
 all his lands, and livings, lay on this side the Frith, 
 
 e Id. in March, April, and May 1543, six months, after 
 Mary's birth.
 
 332 THE LIFE OF [MEM. V. Memoir of 
 
 which he wished not to exchange, for any thing beyond 
 it." In August 1543, Henry agreed, to send 8000J. to 
 the Governor, if he would deliver him the strengths on 
 the south of the Frith ; or put the young Queen into his 
 hands : But, this corrupt offer of an unprincipled prince 
 was not made to the Governor, by the English agent ; as 
 the Governor did not press for money ; as he could not 
 perform, the condition on his part ; the young Queen 
 being in such custody, as he could not acquire her person. 
 It appears, from a bond of manrent entered into, between 
 the Governor, and the Master of Eglinton, in 1545, 
 <{ that the young Queen, when she came of age, should 
 marry her near kinsman, the Earl of Arran, lest by 
 matching with England, the crown might pass to the auld 
 enemy"** In the midst of all those intrigues of ambitious 
 folly, Henry's vanity, as an author, induced him to ask, 
 how the Scots liked his books on religion ; and if the 
 Governor desired to have any more of them. To such 
 questions, Sadler, with all his subservience to so impa- 
 tient a master, made answer, " Surely, to signify the plain 
 truth, I see not thai the same is much liked, by any 
 party, in Scotland ; nor yet, that the Governor desireth 
 to have any more of them." f 
 
 In the meantime, the imprudence of Henry, in seizing 
 the Scotish ships, in the English harbours, contrary to the 
 late treaty, enraged the people of Scotland : The citizens 
 of Edinburgh were, particularly, provoked ; and threat- 
 ened to fire the lodging of the English Envoy ; and they 
 were incensed against the Governor, for consenting to 
 
 * Hamilton Papers. 
 
 f Hamilton Archives, vol. v. and vi. in June to August 
 1543.
 
 the Regent Murray.] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 333 
 
 such a treaty ; saying " that he had coloured a peace 
 with England, only, to undo them." 
 
 Yet, Henry seems, by his books, and his example, to 
 have converted the Regent, Arran, to his own principles, 
 and violent practice ; The English agent wrote, from 
 Scotland, on the 4th of September 1543, " that the work 
 of reformation had begun, at Dundee, by destroying the 
 houses of the Black, and Gray Friars ; and that after- 
 wards the Abbey of Lindores, had been sacked, by a 
 company of good Christians, who turned the monks out 
 of doors : And that afterwards, a similar attempt had 
 been made on the Black Friars, at Edinburgh, by the 
 Captains of foot soldiers, and their retinue, who were in 
 the pay of the Governor, while he was absent; but, that 
 the inhabitants, both men, and women, assembled in de- 
 fence of the Friars, and drove the captains, and their 
 soldiers, out of the town : And surely, my lords," adds 
 the English Agent, " I never saw people so wild, and in 
 such a fury, as they be here even now.*' We at length see, 
 that it was time the Governor, and Cardinal, should un- 
 derstand one another : They met, at Falkirk, on the 4th 
 of September ; and went together to Stirling, where they 
 were met by Lennox, Huntley, Argyle, and Bothwell, 
 [Earl Patrick ;] and had concluded, to crown the Queen 
 upon Sunday then next; and the Governor had declared 
 to them, what the English king required, touching the 
 suppression of divers Abbeys ; and he, moreover, acknow- 
 ledged, that the Friars of Dundee were sacked, by his 
 consent, for which, he had, on Saturday, done open 
 penance, in the Friar-house, at Stirling ; and having then 
 taken an oath to defend the monks, heard mass, and re- 
 
 VOL. in. z
 
 3S4 THE LIFE OF [M E M. V. Memoir of 
 
 ceived the Sacrament ; and he was thereupon absolved, by 
 the Cardinal, and Bishops. In the midst of those disgrace- 
 ful scenes, the Earl of Angus, Sir George Douglas, the 
 Earl of Glencairn, and other personages of their prin- 
 ciples, received the wages of corruption from Henry VIII . 
 without daring to attempt the performance of the trea- 
 sonous task, which, an unfeeling master had assigned 
 them. The Duke of Suffolk, and Tunstal, Bishop of 
 Durham, as Lords Justices of the North, wrote to the 
 Privy Council, as their firm opinion, that if Henry desired 
 no more, than a due performance of the Scotish treaty, 
 of peace, and marriage, the Scots might be brought to 
 agree to it, whereas, if he went further, few, or none, 
 would give their consents 
 
 The Cardinal had now gained the ascendency over 
 the feeble spirit of the Regent : And, in November 1543, 
 they went together to Perth, and to Dundee, where they 
 arrested the Earl of Rothes, Lord Gray, and Henry 
 Balnavis, whom they sent to prison, for reforming the 
 people, no doubt, under Henry's influence. 11 
 
 Henry VIII. now somewhat varied his profligate plan, 
 by making applications to particular persons, who might 
 
 * Hamilton Archives, vii. : In it, is the letter of the 13th 
 of September 1543, from Lord Wm. Parr, to the Duke of 
 Suffolk, which gives the above account of the Regent Arran's 
 Reformations, and Recantations. If the baby Queen, with 
 her nurses, had been allowed to govern, they would have 
 acted, with more spirit, and consistency. The citizens of 
 Edinburgh, we perceive above, were not yet, sufficiently, 
 reformed, in September 1543, to see illegal violence, within 
 their walls, without rising to resist it. 
 
 h Ib. viii.
 
 the Regent Murray.'] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 335 
 
 perform special acts of successful treason : In this spirit, 
 he applied, by his agents, to the Master of Morton, Sir 
 George Douglas's son, who, as early as April 1544, held 
 a traitorous correspondence, with his country's enemies : 
 The Master of Morton, and Alexander Jarden, the Cap- 
 tain of Tamtallon-castle, had agreed to surrender that 
 stronghold to the Earl of Hertford, when the English 
 army should arrive. 1 Henry, on the 26th of June 1544, 
 entered into a contract with the Earl of Lennox, " to 
 deliver to him the castle, and territory, of Dunbarton, 
 with the Isle of Bute. 1 ^ In pursuance of the same plan 
 of corruption, Henry, on the 13th July 1544, granted a 
 yearly pension of 250/. to William, Earl of Glencairn, 
 for what he had done, and intended to do, for the English 
 interests : And Henry, at the same time, granted a 
 pension of 100Z. to Glencairn's son, Alexander, the Master 
 of Kilmours. k We may herein see the origin of that 
 
 'Hamilton Archives, ix. the Earl of Hertford's letter to 
 Henry VIII. : The Master of Morton, whom we have seen 
 above, acting the traitor, became Earl of Morton, and Regent 
 of Scotland, who after a thousand acts of treachery, of fal- 
 sification, of murder, and treason, died on the disgraceful 
 block, for his concernment, in the murder of Lord Darnley. 
 There are two subsequent letters, in the same volume, from 
 the Earl of Hertford to Henry VIII. ; informing him, that 
 James Douglas, the Master of Morton, and his brother, David, 
 had renewed their engagement, to deliver Tamtallon to the 
 English General, when he arrived there, and all their friends 
 should be at Henry's command : and as an earnest of this, 
 they had seized, and secured the captain of Dunbar-castle. 
 j Rym. Feed. xv. 29 : Lennox was soon after legitimated, 
 in England. k Ib. 4#.
 
 336 THE LIFE OF [MEM. V. Memoir of 
 
 activity of patriotism, and reform, which distinguished 
 that corrupt family. 
 
 This disgraceful policy of Henry was further extended 
 to other persons, in Scotland, for performing monstrous 
 acts of treasonous mischief to their wretched country. 
 On the J7th of April 1544, the Earl of Hertford, with 
 the council of the north, wrote to Henry, from Newcastle: 
 " Please it your highness to understand, that this day, 
 arrived, here, with me, the Earl of Hertford, a Scotish 
 man, called, Wyshart^ [George Wishart of the Scotish 
 martyrology,] and brought me a letter, from the Laird 
 of Brumston, which I send your highness herewith ; and 
 according to his request, have taken order, for the repair 
 of the said Wyshart to your majesty, by post, both for 
 the delivery of such letters, as he hath to your majesty, 
 from the said Brumston, and also of the credence, which, 
 as 1 can perceive, consisteth of two points : One is, that 
 the laird of Grange, late Treasurer of Scotland, the master 
 of Rotlies [the notorious Norman Leslie] the Earl of 
 Rothes's eldest son, and John Charteris, would attempt, 
 either to apprehend the Cardinal, at some time, when 
 he shall pass through the Fifeland, as he does sundry 
 times to St. Andrews ; and in case they can so appre- 
 hend him, will deliver him to his majesty, which attempt, 
 he sayeth, they would enterprise, if they knew your ma- 
 jesty's pleasure therein, and what supportation, and 
 maintenance, your majesty would minister to them, after 
 the execution of the same, in case they should be pur- 
 sued, afterwards, by any of their enemies. Th e other is, 
 that in case your majesty should grant unto them a con- 
 venient entertainment, (o keep 1000, or 1500 men, in 
 wages, for a month, or two, they joining with the power
 
 the Regent Murray.'] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 337 
 
 of the Earl Marshal, the said heir of Rothes, the 
 laird of Calder, and others of the Lord Gray's friends, 
 will take upon them, at such time, as your majesty's 
 army shall be in Scotland, to destroy the abbey, and town 
 of Arbroath, being the Cardinal's, and all the other 
 bishops', and abbots' houses, and countries, on that side 
 the water, thereabouts, and to apprehend all those, which, 
 they say, be the principal impugnators of the amity, 
 between Scotland, and England : For the which, they 
 should have a good opportunity, as they say, when the 
 power of the said bishops, and abbots, shall resort towards 
 Edinburgh, to resist your majesty's army : and for the 
 execution of these things, the said Wyshart sayeth, that 
 the said Earl Marshal, and others, aforenamed, will capi- 
 tulate with your majesty, in writing, under their hands, 
 and seals, afore they shall desire any supply, or aid of 
 money, at your majesty's hands. This is the effect of 
 his credence, with other sundry advertisements of the 
 great contention, and division, that is, at this present, 
 within the realm of Scotland, which we doubt not, he 
 will declare unto your majesty, at good length/' 1 
 
 There is a minute of the Privy Council, in answer to 
 the above letter ; stating " that Wyshart had been with 
 his majesty ; and for his credence, declared even the 
 same matters, in substance, whereof your lordship hath 
 written." And, he received for answer, touching the 
 fact against the Cardinal, that if the lords, and gentlemen, 
 
 1 Hamilton Archives, vol. ix The letter above, though 
 written, in the name of the Earl of Hertford, was sub- 
 scribed, also, by Cuthbert, bishop of Durham, Robert, 
 bishop of Llandaff, and by Rafe Sadler.
 
 338 THE LIFE OF [MEM. V. Memoir of 
 
 named, shall enterprise the same, earnestly, and use the 
 utmost endeavours to bring the same to pass, and should 
 be obliged to fly into England, for refuge, " his high- 
 ness will be contented, to accept, and relieve them, as 
 shall apertain." As to their second proposal, for engag- 
 ing to burn, and destroy, the bishops', abbots', and other 
 kirkmen's houses, and lands, his majesty answered, that 
 his army would be returned out of Scotland, before he 
 could send down, to make the contract, and have it re- 
 turned ; and then transmit the required aid ; but, if 
 they will engage to burn, and destroy, as they have 
 offered, while his army is in Scotland, and will give his 
 lieutenant, Hertford, hostages, for their performance, he 
 authorizes Hertford to give them 1000/. sterling, for 
 their purpose. 1 " 
 
 This intrigue of Wyshart, and his employers, which 
 was as treasonous, as it was abominable, did not, proba- 
 bly, altogether escape the Cardinal's penetration. Hear- 
 ing that Wyshart, who had returned to Scotland, in 
 1544, lurked, at the house of Ormiston, he applied to 
 the Governor, to have him arrested. The high-sheriff of 
 the county, Patrick, Earl of Bothwell, was employed, for 
 that end: And, on the 19th of January 1545-6, there is 
 an order of the Privy Council, to deliver Wyshart to the 
 Governor, and to keep him surely, " under the hiest 
 pane.'* He was, accordingly, sent to the castle of 
 Edinburgh; and thence transferred to the Cardinal's 
 castle of St. Andrews. Here, was Wyshart condemned, 
 for heresy, and burnt, on the 1st of March 1545-6." 
 
 m Hamilton Archives, ix. See the above letter, dated 
 the 26th of April 1544, in Haynes, p. 32-3. 
 
 n Keith, 41 At the moment of his execution, Wyshart
 
 the Regent Murray.'] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 339 
 
 There still remains, in the same collection, a letter of 
 instruction, from the Privy Council of England, dated 
 the 10th of April J 544, to the Earl of Hertford, inform- 
 
 is said to have foretold the Cardinal's death, in the said 
 castle, within a few days. Dempster says, in his Historia 
 Eccksiastica, 598, that Wyshart, being in the plot to take the 
 Cardinal's life, might easily foretel his death. " Doctor 
 Mackenzie," says Bishop Keith, " has given us the scrape 
 of a letter, that seems, strongly, to support the truth of that 
 assertion : But, Keith, after all his researches, in the Law- 
 yers library, could not find the said letter, and is, therefore, 
 induced to publish the scrape," [Hist. 41-2.] I have now 
 published above, the letter, at large, with the answer to it 
 of the English Privy Council. And, the evidence of both, 
 certainly, proves, that Dempster was founded, in his fact : 
 Wyshart was, plainly, in a plot against the Cardinal's life $ 
 he was obviously guilty of treason, of the blackest kind ; 
 and if Wyshart had had twenty lives, he ought to have lost 
 them 5 but, not for heresy. The Cardinal was assassinated, 
 on the 29th of May 1546, within his own castle, at St. 
 Andrews, by Norman Lesley, Grange, and other conspira- 
 tors. It is a great aggravation of the barbarous crime of 
 Norman Lesley, that he had entered into a bond of manrent 
 to the Cardinal, on the 24th of April 1545, for a valuable 
 consideration. [Innes's MS. Collections."] Henry VIII. 
 lived long enough to approve so much of the conspirators 
 act, as to settle the following pensions on them, from Lady- 
 day 1546 : 
 
 To Norman Lesley, yearly - a250 
 
 To the laird of Grange "-' ' 200 
 
 To David Moneypenny - . 100
 
 840 THE LIFE OF [MEM. V. Memoir of 
 
 ing him, in the King's name, that the grand attempt on 
 Scotland was delayed, for a season ; and directing him, 
 in the meantime, to make an inroad into that kingdom ; 
 and " there to put all to fire and sword, to burn Edin- 
 burgh-town, and raze the castle ; putting man, woman, 
 and child, to fire and sword, where any resistance shall 
 be made against you : And this done, pass over to the 
 Fifeland, and extend like extremities, and destructions, 
 in all towns, and villages, whereunto you may reach, 
 conveniently ; not forgetting amongst all the rest, so to 
 spoil, and turn upside down, the Cardinal's town of St. 
 Andrews, as the upper stone may be the nether, and not 
 one stick stand by another ; sparing no creature alive, 
 within the same, specially such, as either in friendship, 
 or blood, be allied to the Cardinal." But, of this hor- 
 rible order enough ! How Hertford executed his corn- 
 
 To Henry Balnavys - 
 
 To John Lesley 125 
 
 To James Lesley, the parson of Aberdour 100 
 
 To William Kirkaldy, the younger, of Grange - 100 
 Such, then, were the assassins of Beaton, the Cardinal - t 
 and, the rewards granted, by Henry VIII., for the deed ! 
 [Privy Council Reg. Ed. VI. Sunday, 6th of February 1546- 
 7.] And Henry resolved, with his last breath, not only " to 
 give certain pensions to divers noblemen, and others, which 
 defend the castle of St. Andrews, for his majesty's service j" 
 and for the advancement of the marriage j but, also, upon 
 certain articles devised, for the benefit of both the realms, to 
 entertain, at his Grace's charges, 120 men, for the more 
 sure defence of the said castle, against the King's enemies, 
 in Scotland. [H.] 76. Vol. ix.
 
 the Regent Murray.'] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 341 
 
 mission oiftre and sword, on the Scotish people, history 
 must tell. p 
 
 EDWARD VI. 
 
 The successor of Henry adopted the same policy, with 
 respect to Scotland, the same corrupt means, the same 
 odious warfare; " as most necessary, for the honour, 
 and surety, of the King that now is/'^ From that 
 epoch, till the peace of Bulogne, in March 1549-50, 
 which comprehended Scotland, there was continued the 
 former system of establishing the English policy, by cor- 
 ruption/ 
 
 In every corrupt transaction with particular Scotsmen 
 of that age, there was a clause, that they should do their 
 
 * Keith, 46-7. Buchanan, with his usual falsehood, af- 
 arms, that Henry sent letters into Scotland, full of just com- 
 plaints, before he sent his fleet and army. Of such letters, 
 there is no trace : But, sefe the Regent's letter to Henry, 
 proposing terms of accommodation, in Keith's App. No. 
 VIII. 
 
 * Id. Balnavys, who negotiated that treasonous transaction, 
 was sent back to St. Andrews, with information of those re- 
 solutions of the two Kings j and Mr. Lesley was appointed 
 to remain, at London, to receive advertisements, from Scot- 
 land. 
 
 r The following are some of the pensions, exclusive of the 
 casual payments of money to individuals : 
 To Lord Bothwel (Patrick,) in part payment of his 
 
 pension ... s@376 
 
 To And. Gray, in part of his pension 12 1O 
 
 To John Steuart, the same - 25 O 
 
 To Sir John Borthwick, the same 75 O 
 
 To Oliver Sinclair, as his majesty's reward 50
 
 342 THE LIFE OF [MEM. V. Memoir of 
 
 best endeavours, for the delivery of the Scotish Queen to 
 the English King. 8 Of the wars, and waste, of that pe- 
 riod, history must tell. In 1551, William Thomas, a 
 well-known Clerk of the Privy Council, who had secret 
 communications with Edward VI., wrote, privately, to 
 the youthful King : " For Scotland ; since we cannot 
 now conquer it, I have no hope of good but one ;* that 
 the Governor, [the Earl of Arran] by our comforts, 
 may be enticed to take the crown upon him : If he be 
 thereunto persuaded, we shall not only establish a pre- 
 sent friend to ourselves, but, a perpetual enemy to 
 France." 11 Of the morality of that advice, and the sub- 
 To the Master of Ruthven, as the same s@39 
 The Master had another reward of .,,* 25 
 To H. Balnavys, remaining in France 60 O 
 
 There are many payments, to Ormiston, and Brumston. 
 [The Privy Council Reg. of Ed. VI.] 
 
 8 In Ayloffs Calendar, 322, there is preserved a notice of 
 an instrument, by Norman Lesley, the " Master of Rothes, 
 and others : promising to do their endeavours, for the de- 
 livery of the Scotish Queen to the English government." 
 See this treaty dated the 2d of March 1547, in Rym. Feed. 
 xv. 131-144. There was a similar treaty, for the same cor- 
 rupt purpose, made with Lord Gray, on the 1 1th of the 
 same month. [16. 143.] And there was afterwards settled 
 on Lord Gray, a pension of 100/. a year. [Ib. 200.] So, in 
 September 1549, there was a pension settled on Patrick, 
 Earl of Bothwell, of 3000 crowns. [Ib. 190.] 
 
 1 This was said, with an allusion to the amalgamation of 
 Scotland with France ; and the late peace of May 1550. [Ib. 
 255-6.] 
 
 u See Strype's Mem. ii. p. 72 : Thomas only recommend-
 
 the Regent Murray. 1 THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 343 
 
 sequent corruptions, little need be said; since the in- 
 sidious object is quite apparent ; and was certainly adopt- 
 ed, by Cecil, in the subsequent period : It was probably 
 not kept quite secret ; as means were found, to remove 
 Arran, the Governor, and to place the Queen-mother, in 
 his room.* 
 
 ELIZABETH. 
 
 The marriage of the Queen of Scots with the Dauphin 
 of France, in April 1558; and the accession of Queen 
 Elizabeth to the throne of England, in Novemberl558 ; 
 were influential events, in the Scotish history : By the 
 first event, Scotland was identified with France ; by the 
 second, England was induced, by the wisdom, or the 
 wickedness, of Sir William Cecil, to enter into the most 
 criminal intrigues, in both those kingdoms, wherein 
 Francis, and Mary, had such important interests. In 
 the subsequent year, the corrupt advice of William 
 Thomas was carried into full effect, in Scotland, by the 
 corrupter management of Secretary Cecil J Arran, the 
 
 ed to Edward VI. the corrupt policy, which had failed, 
 under the coarse practices of Henry VIII. Thomas was 
 hanged, in the subsequent reign, for his practices, during 
 the present. 
 
 * The 12th of April 1554 is the true date of that transfer 
 of the Scotish government, which is, specially stated, in the 
 Privy Seal Reg. xxvii. 
 
 f " If the Queen, and Dauphin (said Cecil, in August 
 1559,) will not grant certain points j then may the Estates 
 commit the government there to the next heir of the crown : 
 
 the Queen [Mary] will not comply ; then is it apparent, 
 God Almighty is pleased to tranfer, from her, the rule of the
 
 344 THE LIFE OF [MEM. V. Memoir of 
 
 heir-presumptive of the crown, under a parliamentary 
 settlement, and contrary to a more recent change of the 
 government by Parliament, in April 1554, when the 
 Queen-mother was appointed Regent, in his stead, was 
 induced, by Cecil, to come forward, as the rival sove- 
 reign, in contempt of the legal authority ; which had re- 
 cognised his presumptive rights. 1 Following up his 
 Jacobinical principles, Secretary Cecil, on the 1st of 
 August 1559, in the name of Elizabeth, gave the fol- 
 lowing instruction to Sir Ralph Sadler, who had been 
 the profligate agent of Henry VIII., and was now em- 
 ployed, by Elizabeth, in similar pursuits, in Scotland : 
 As to the real intentions of the bastard Prior, Sadler 
 was instructed : " You shall do well, to explore the very 
 truth, whether the Lord James, [the Prior,] do mean 
 any enterprise towards the crown of Scotland, for him- 
 self; and if he do, and the Duke [Chastelherauld] be 
 found very cold in his own cause, it shall not be amiss, 
 to let the Lord James follow his own desire therein, 
 without dissuading, or persuading him any thing there- 
 in."* What is this, but saying that, if the presumptive 
 
 kingdom, for the weal of it." All this was written, by a 
 foreign minister of a foreign power, who had no right to in- 
 terpose, contrary to treaties, and the established law ; as 
 settled, recently, by the Estates of Scotland : Jacobinism 
 could not go beyond the guilty reasoning of Cecil. 
 
 z See Haynes, 253 : Articles, between the Duke of Nor- 
 folk, Elizabeth's Lieutenant, in the North, and the Lord 
 James Steuart of Scotland, 27th Feb. 1559-60. 
 
 * Sir Ralph's instructions, which are in the Paper Office, 
 and indorsed, in Cecil's hand, " for the Queen's majesty." 
 [Bundle P. 20.] Cecil was induced to submit such instruc-
 
 the Regent Murray."] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 345 
 
 heir of the crown will not unlawfully seize the expectant 
 sceptre, in the legitimate hand of the actual possessor, a 
 bastard pretender must be incited to assume it ? It is 
 unnecessary to trace Cecil any further, in his usual 
 career of odious policy, as to the neighbour nations : 
 The whole life of the Scotish Queen supplies illustrations, 
 both of his profligacy, and practice, immoral as they 
 were. 
 
 Elizabeth hastened to make peace on the 2d April 
 1559, at Casteau-Cambresis, with France, and with 
 Scotland. On the 30th of May following, Elizabeth 
 made peace, at Norham, more particularly with Scotland. 
 The demise of Henry II. of France, on the 10th of 
 July 1559, with the succession of Francis, and Mary, 
 seem to have converted Elizabeth's desire of peace into 
 a passion for war. 6 In December 1559, Admiral Winter, 
 with an English fleet, was sent into the Forth, " to act 
 (C as from himself." The Duke of Norfolk was sent into 
 the north, as the Queen's Lieutenant-general, " to act 
 "as from himself." In January 1559-60, Secretary 
 Maitland te was at Westminster, to be conferred withall, 
 
 tions to the eyes of Elizabeth , partly, by his general policy 
 of inciting troubles, in every nation, but more by a dispatch, 
 from Throckmorton, Elizabeth's ambassador, at Paris, dated 
 the 26th of July 1559 ; informing Secretary Cecil, that the 
 Prior had such intentions. [See that dispatch, in Forbes' s 
 State Papers.] 
 
 b On the llth of July 1559 was held a consultation of 
 Elizabeth's ministers, for the French King's style and arms 
 of England, to be joined with France. [Cecil's Diary, 
 Murdin, 749 ]
 
 346 THE LIFE OF [MEM. V. Memoir of 
 
 " for Scotish matters:" On the 18th of February, this 
 Secretary returned into Scotland. On the 27th of Fe- 
 bruary " the accord was made, by the Duke of Norfolk, 
 " at Berwick, with the Lord James, Lord Ruthven, 
 " Laird of Pittarrow, and W. Maxwell." We thus 
 perceive Elizabeth descend, from her elevation, to make 
 " an accord," with the Lord James, the bastard pretender 
 of Scotland, according to Cecil's Diary. All this while, 
 however, Francis and Mary were King and Queen of 
 Scotland ; and the Queen-mother was regent of Scotland, 
 under the authority of the two sovereigns, and the Es- 
 tates of the realm. Upon what moral principle did Eli- 
 zabeth, and Cecil, act? Upon none: Their principle 
 was profligacy, in the extreme. If, however, we look 
 into the treaty, we shall see, that the name of the Duke 
 of Chastelherauld, the second person, in Scotland, was 
 used, though it appeareth not, whether he knew anything 
 of such an accord. But, " the Queen's majesty, having 
 " sufficiently understood, as well by information sent 
 " from the nobility of Scotland, as by the manifest pro- 
 " ceedings of the French, that they intended, to conquer 
 " the realm of Scotland, suppress the liberties thereof, 
 " and unite the same unto the crown of France, perpe- 
 " tually, contrary to the laws of the said realm, and to 
 " the pactes, oaths, and promises of France, the Queen's 
 " majesty thought fit to make this * accord.'' " d What 
 falsehood, and impertinence, have we, in that recital ! 
 Elizabeth, and Cecil, knew, that the Queen of Scots, in 
 1548, had been betrothed to the Dauphin of France, 
 with the free assent of the whole Estates of Scotland. 
 
 c 76. 750. d Rym. Feed. xv. 569.
 
 the Regent Murray.-] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 347 
 
 In 1558, Mary and Francis were formally married, 
 with the assent of the Estates, who sent deputies to 
 witness the ceremony, the Lord James being one of 
 the Envoys. By the assent of the Parliament, on that 
 occasion, Scotland, and France, were identified, for the 
 benefit of the people of both. In such a legitimate con- 
 nexion of Scotland, and France, how could the sovereigns 
 of both make a conquest of one of them ? The union of 
 the two kingdoms was legitimated, by the legislatures of 
 both. The liberties of the people of both were enlarged, 
 by the effects of that union. It was absurd, to talk of 
 a legitimate union being illegitimate, and contrary to 
 law. Neither was there any evidence of the breach of 
 any pacte, oath, or promise. This treaty, then, is the 
 record of the guilty conduct of the several parties to this 
 fraudful accord. The proceedings of Elizabeth, and 
 Cecil, on the one side, and of Lord James, and his coad- 
 jutors, on the other, were contrary to every principle of 
 law, human, or divine, to every treaty, existing between 
 the several nations; and contrary to the established 
 system of the Scotish monarchy : Yes ; the marriage of 
 the Scotish Queen to the Dauphin, under the authority 
 of the Estates, with the, several effects, resulting from a 
 legitimate measure, were inconvenient to England : But, 
 it was an inconvenience, without an injury ; because the 
 Estates of Scotland had a right to marry their Queen to 
 whatever potentate : And being an inconvenience, with- 
 out an injury, it furnished Elizabeth, with no motive of 
 warfare, and gave to the querulous mind of Cecil no cause 
 of enmity. 
 
 Yet, on the 25th of March 1559-60, Elizabeth issued 
 a proclamation ; declaring the Queen's purpose, to pre- 
 serve the peace, notwithstanding the King and Queen of
 
 348 THE LIFE OF [MEM. V. Metooir of 
 
 Scots' claims to be the King, and Queen, of England. 
 And two days after the English army entered Scotland, 
 with fire and sword ! e 
 
 Yes, says Cecil, when the Dauphin and Mary Stewart, 
 were married, in April 1558, the French King directed 
 them to assume the title, and arms, of England. But, 
 this imprudent act was not any insult to Elizabeth, who 
 was not then Queen. If that act of whatever importance, 
 had been resented, by the English Queen, who was then 
 at war with France, and Scotland/ the French King 
 might have asked, Elizabeth, By what title do you pre- 
 tend to be King of France ? Our law, which excluded the 
 pretensions of Edward III., who claimed from a, female 
 heir, equally precludes you. Cecil, however, when he 
 came into power, with Elizabeth, was studious to gratify 
 his mistress's jealousy, by collecting the various instances, 
 in which Francis and Mary had used that disputatious 
 title.R When Mary became a widow, and she was 
 
 Cecil's Diary, in Murditi. 
 
 f From the 7th of June J557, to the 2d of April 1559, the 
 epoch of the peace of Cateau-Cambresis. 
 
 * For example : On the 16th of July 1559, Ushers going 
 before the Queen of Scots (being now the French Queen) 
 to the Chapel, cry, " Place pour la reine d' Angleterre." The 
 arms of the Scotish Queen were set upon certain arches, at 
 solemnizing the marriage of the French King's daughter 
 with the King of Spain, with the arms of England, and these 
 verses, underwritten, in Scotish. 
 
 " The arms of Mary Queen Dolphin of France, 
 The noblest lady in earth for till avance, 
 Of Scotland Queen, and England too, 
 Of Ireland too, as God hath provided it so."
 
 the Regent Murray.] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 349 
 
 pressed, by Throgmorton, the English ambassador, to 
 ratify the treaty of Edinburgh, which disavowed that 
 assumption, in larger terms, than the imprudence of the 
 one Queen, or the malignity of the other, required : The 
 Scotish Queen said what could not be answered then, and 
 cannot be answered now : When that title was assumed, 
 I was a married woman, under the power of my husband, 
 and we both acted under the authority of the French 
 King : But, since I became a widow, and such influences 
 ceased I have not used such a title, and have no inten- 
 tion to use it, in future. That assumption, however 
 innoxious, in Mary, acting as she did, was never for- 
 given, and never forgotten : 
 
 " Forgiveness to the injured doth belong : 
 But, they ne'er pardon, who commit the wrong." 
 
 We have now traced the various projects of the Eng- 
 lish government, under Herjry, Edward, and Elizabeth, 
 during Mary's infancy, for the subduction of Scotland, 
 
 In November 1559, the Queen of Scots made her entry 
 into Chattleherault, where her style was published, as 
 Queen of England, where four verses were made, whereof 
 the two last were : 
 
 " Nunc Gallos totoque remotos orbe Britannos 
 
 Unum dos Marice cogit in imperium." 
 
 Francis, and Mary, as Dauphins, granted something to 
 Lord Fleming, as King and Queen of England. 
 
 There were justs, at Paris, the Dauphin's two Heralds were 
 apparelled with the arms of England, and Scotland. [Cecil's 
 Diary, in Murdin.] Whether those examples were not 
 stated, with malignant temper, and exaggerated, with unne- 
 cessary diligence, needs not be very elaborately ascertained. 
 
 VOL. in. A a
 
 350 THE LIFE OF [MEM. V. Memoir of 
 
 by that alien, and corrupt power. How far the Lord 
 James, the bastard pretender of Scotland, with his fac- 
 tion, contributed to that end, for depriving the Scotish 
 Queen of her rights, needs not be here very diligently 
 settled: The treaty of Berwick is the record of their 
 guilt. 
 
 No. II. Whether the Treaty of Edinburgh, 6th July 
 1560, in favour of the Scotish Nobles; whereby the 
 Sovereignty of Scotland was transferred, from Queen 
 Mary, to the Insurgent Faction, be true, or false. 
 
 It was an age of falsehood, and imposture, when the 
 people were credulous, as the effect of ignorance, and 
 their leaders were unprincipled : We might perceive, 
 from the document No. 1. in this Appendix, that Secre- 
 tary Cecil was very capable of any imposition, and the 
 Lord James [Murray,] and his associates, were in the 
 habit of every villany. It was, in the same age, that 
 the grand imposture was practised on the Scotish people, 
 by Murray's faction; when the black letter statute-book 
 of April 1566 was castrated, and a spurious volume of 
 black acts was palmed upon the country, in the black 
 letter statute-book of November 1566. Men practising 
 such impostures, were capable of any baseness. Hume, 
 the historian, detected the same men, in forging an 
 additional article to a treaty, with the Regent-queen. 11 The 
 men, who were capable of adding one article to a treaty, 
 were very capable of forging a whole treaty, when aided, 
 by so great an adept, as Cecil, in contriving the means, 
 for whatever measure. 
 
 h Hist. v.3l; and Note O, p. 495.
 
 the Regent Murray."] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 351 
 
 In addition to what Whitaker has, decisively, reason- 
 ed, on this subject, 1 I shall add a few distinct heads ; as 
 exhibiting what has occurred to me, in the progress of 
 my inquiries, on so interesting a subject, as detecting 
 forgery, and ascertaining truth. (1) No one has ever 
 seen the original of the copy of an accord in, the Cotton 
 Library ; k purporting to be the treaty of Edinburgh : 
 Neither the English Rymer, nor the French Leonard, 
 ever saw such a treaty : No such treaty any where exists, 
 in the records of Scotland; nor does any one among 
 the well-informed men, at Edinburgh, know of such, in 
 the original .-' What does not appear, must be supposed 
 not to exist, (2.) I have found, in the Paper Office, a 
 
 1 Vindication, iii. 40-43,463, 515. 
 
 k Calig. b. 9. fol. 126, the title of which, in English, is, 
 " Accord betwixt the French King and Queen of Scots, and 
 " the Nobilitie of Scotland j" and which was certified to be 
 a true copy, by the Lord James Steuart, and Lord Ruthven, 
 and is countersigned, at the bottom, by Secretary Maitland, 
 who appears, from the transcription, to have been the 
 writer of this copy : Maitland was perfectly capable of 
 making any supposititious treaty. 
 
 1 There is an abstract of such a treaty, dated the 8th of 
 July 1560, in the Adv. Lib. Edin. A. 3. 22 : But, from the 
 mistake of the date, and other circumstances, it is obvious, 
 that the writer of this abstract did not make it, from 
 an original, though it be a MS. of the reign of James VI, 
 Cecil, in his Diary, though he notices the accord, for the 
 demolition of the fortifications of Leith, dated the 5th of July 
 1560, and the treaty of Edinburgh, dated on the subse- 
 quent day, between the English and French ambassadors, 
 does not notice any accord between the French ambassadors, 
 and the Scotish nobles. Murdin/751.
 
 352 THE LIFE OF [MEM. V. Memoir o 
 
 copy of the Scotish accord of the 6th of July 1560, 
 which is, plainly, of that time ; as it was docqueted, or 
 indorsed, by Cecil's clerk, " Requests of Scotland to the 
 " French King ;" and to the foregoing words, are added, 
 in Cecil's own hand, " Accorded by the French ambas- 
 " sadors, in presence of the ambassadors of England :" 
 But, this docquet, or indorsement, was afterwards struck 
 out, by Cecil's own pen : For, he soon perceived, that by 
 such an indorsement, in his hand, the English ambas- 
 sadors, Cecil, and Wotlon, were committed, to avouch, 
 or testify, that such a treaty had been signed, in their 
 presence : And, Cecil, who was never at a loss, wrote to 
 his friends, at Edinburgh, to send him a certified copy 
 of the same treaty, which now remains, in the Cotton 
 Library, as above mentioned : Now ; this measure cast 
 the responsibility, from himself, upon Lord James, 
 Lord Ruthven, and Secretary Maitland, who were all 
 persons very capable of such an imposture; and of 
 avowing it, for truth, before a credulous world : This 
 management, with regard to the two copies, the one in 
 the Paper Office, and the more formal one, in the Cotton 
 Library, is satisfactory proof of the gross fraud, that had 
 been committed, by Lord James, and Secretary Mait- 
 land, in concert with Secretary Cecil; yet, could not be 
 avowed : m The pretended power of the 2d of June 
 1560, with the mistake in the year of Mary's reign; 
 
 m Cecil played off the same artifices, in respect to the de- 
 claration of French Paris, 10th of August 1569, which we now 
 know to have been the forgery of Buchanan, and Wood : 
 Cecil had the original j but he sent for a certified copy ; in 
 order to conceal the imposture.
 
 the Regent Murray.] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 353 
 
 empowering the French ambassadors, to make such a 
 treaty, as transferred the Queen's sovereignty to the 
 Scotish insurgents, is not, with the copy of the accord, in 
 the Paper Office. (3) We may learn from Holinshed," 
 what is probable in itself, " that when Montluc, and 
 " Randan, the French ambassadors, were introduced to 
 " Elizabeth, they declared they were sent to the Queen, 
 " and not to the subjects of Scotland : For, it was not 
 " meet, that the King should send to Ms own subjects, 
 " (as they were by this marriage of their Queen) to re- 
 " quire peace, or to condition with them, for agreement:" 
 Such a speech, from such men, evinces, sufficiently, that 
 they were conscious of their own inability, to transfer the 
 King, and Queen's sovereignty, to their own subjects : 
 But, it was impossible;, that ambassadors, who are praised, 
 by Robertson, for their talents, and address, could have 
 granted any terms of sovereignty to sucK subjects. 
 (4) When Throgmorton, Elizabeth's ambassador, at 
 Paris, solicited the ratification of the treaty of Edinburgh, 
 the King, the Queen, the Cardinal of Loraine, and their 
 other ministers, always speak of one treaty, and not of 
 two treaties, an English, and a Scotish one: We never 
 
 n Chronicle, i. 374-5: The terms of the accord to the 
 Scotish nobles, as set forth, by Holinshed, may be admitted 
 to have been made. Id. These terms ought regularly, to 
 have been annexed to the treaty with England, as a part 
 thereof ; and it was owing to design, that they were not ; 
 and, not to the ignorance of Cecil. 
 
 o Lord Hardwicke's State Papers, i. 123-37- If there 
 had been such an accord with the Scotish insurgents, there 
 ought to have been an original of it, in the archives of
 
 354 THE LIFE OF [MEM. V. Memoir of 
 
 hear of the Scotish nobles, soliciting the ratification of the 
 treaty, granting them such extraordinary terms; nor, 
 would the Queen even ratify the acts of Parliament, 
 which was held, without her knowledge, under the pre- 
 tence of some treaty. (5-) The precipitation, with which 
 the convention of August 1560 sat down, before it was 
 possible to obtain the Queen's ratification, (and no treaty 
 can be acted upon, without ratification) proves, that the 
 supposititious treaty, under which, the leaders pretended 
 to act, had been obtained, by some fraudulence. (6.) It 
 does not appear, throughout the negotiation, for the rati- 
 fication of the treaty of Edinburgh, that the French 
 court was aware of what the supposititious treaty contain- 
 ed ; but, the Cardinal Loraine saw very plainly, from 
 other documents, and from the conduct of the Lord 
 James, and his busy coadjutors, " that the King, and 
 " Queen's subjects of Scotland, sought to deprive the 
 " King, and Queen, of their right of pre-eminence over 
 " the realm of Scotland, and to reduce it to the form of 
 " a republic." 1 " (7.) As the concessions of oblivion, 
 which were, really, made, by the ambassadors of Francis, 
 
 France, from her ambassadors : But, the silence of Leo- 
 nard evinces, that no such accord exists among the records 
 of France. 
 
 P Lord Hardwicke's State Papers, i. 129. The Lord 
 James, and his coadjutors, had, in fact, established an in- 
 dependency on the sovereigns of Scotland, in 1559-60, and 
 61 j they arrogated the right of depriving the Regent-queen 
 of her authority, which she had derived from the Estates : 
 and when the sovereign Queen sent over a commission to 
 Certain persons, to govern in her name, the insurgent lords, 
 who were named, refused to act, under her authority.
 
 the Regent Murray.] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 355 
 
 and Mary, to the Scotish insurgents, formed a part of the 
 English treaty, and as Cecil, studiously, avoided to have 
 the specification under the French ambassadors signatures, 
 annexed to that treaty, this omission alone, with the circum- 
 stances of his conduct, above mentioned, when committed, 
 by such a diplomatist, as Cecil, shows, that some fraud 
 had been committed, which could not be avowed.i 
 (8.) Such, then, are the reasons, which satisfy me, that 
 the Scotish treaty, which was certified, by Lord James, 
 Lord Ruthven, and Secretary Maitland, was a gross im- 
 position ; such men being capable of any villany ; and 
 Maitland being in the habit of forgery. (9.) When Dr. 
 Wotton died, in 1566-7, Cecil was restless till he obtain- 
 ed possession of the papers of his coadjutor ; as we learn 
 from Strype ; r in order to see what account Dr. Wotton 
 had given of the supposititious accord, with the Scotish 
 nobles. (10.) The actors, in that guilty scene, did not 
 send any person to Paris, to solicit the Queen's ratifica- 
 tion of the supposed accord; because such an envoy 
 would have met Randan, and Montluc, the French ne- 
 gotiators, who would have disavowed the pretended 
 accord: But, without ratification, the treaty was of no 
 avail; though the forgers made haste to carry it into effect. 
 
 i Robertson, indeed, says, Hist. i. 239, that the treaty 
 with Scotland was inserted in the treaty with Elizabeth ; 
 but, he is mistaken : And, that it was not inserted, in the 
 English treaty, is a strong objection to the rectitude of the 
 whole transaction. There was a clause, in the nature of a 
 guarantee of the accorde between the French, and Scots, 
 [Haynes, 355,] which states the sum of the accorde of 
 Scotland : This ought, in the practice of diplomacy, to have 
 been annexed to the English treaty. r Annals, iii. 208.
 
 356 THE LIFE OF [Men. V. Memoir of 
 
 No. III. How far Queen Elizabeth endeavoured to in- 
 tercept Mary, Queen of Scots' Voyage to Scotland. 
 
 (1.) The refusal of passports, which is a fact acknow- 
 ledged, was a virtual declaration of hostilities against the 
 Scotish Queen. (2.) Both the Lord James, and Secre- 
 tary Maitland. urged Cecil to intercept their sovereign ; 
 as most beneficial to the religion, and most advantageous 
 to the amity with England, two cant expressions, which 
 meant much more than was mentioned ; and Secretary 
 Cecil corresponded with both, on this interesting subject. 
 On the 9th of August 1561, Randolph wrote from Edin- 
 burgh to Cecil : " I have received your honour's letters, 
 on the 1 st of this month, and also a letter to the Lord 
 James, from his kinsman, out of 'France. 8 I have shown 
 your honour's letters to the Lord James, Lord Morton, 
 Lord Lethington (Maitland) : They wish) as your ho- 
 nour doth) that she \Mary\ might be stayed, yet, for a 
 space : And, if it were not, for the obedience sake* some 
 
 * James Steuart, the Commendator of Inchcolm, who was 
 then in Queen Mary's employ, and confidence, in France. 
 He was afterwards much employed by her ; and, like others,, 
 betrayed her secrets to the Lord James, for whose relief, 
 James Steuart engaged in Rizzio's assassination. He ob- 
 tained a pardon of this treason, by Lord James [Murray's] 
 influence, on the 5th of June 1566. [/'nuy Seal Reg. xxxv. 
 30.] He married, on the 10th of January 1562-3, Mar- 
 garet, the sister of Archibald, Earl of Argyle, Murray's as- 
 sociate in rebellion. The eldest son of this marriage was 
 Sir James Steuart of Down, who married Murray's eldest 
 daughter, and, in her right, became the Earl of Murray.
 
 the Regent Murray.-] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 357 
 
 oftftem care not, though they never saw her face." The 
 Lord of Letliington leaveth nothing, at this time, un- 
 written, that he thinketh may be able, to satisfy your 
 desire, in knowledge of the present state of things here. 
 Whatsoever cometh of that, he findeth it ever best, tftat 
 she come not. 1 (3.) Contrary to all those concerts, Ce- 
 cil wrote to Throgmorton, at Paris, on the 26th of Au- 
 gust : " The nineteenth of this present, in the morning 
 early, the Queen of Scots arrived at Leith, with her two 
 gallies, her whole train not exceeding sixty persons of 
 meaner sort. The lords of Scotland were not nigh, 
 being warned only against the last of this month ; only 
 there was at Holyrood house, the Lord Robert, to 
 whose house she went, and there remained, and gave 
 orders, with speed, to assemble her lords. This was the 
 whole I could learn ; being so written in haste, at the 
 same instant. The Queen's majesty's ships, that were 
 upon the seas, to cleanse them from pirates, saw her, and 
 saluted her gallies ; and staying her ships, examined 
 them of pirates, and dismissed them gently : One Scotish 
 ship, they detained; as vehemently suspected of piracy." 
 But, this artful representation is contradicted, by Cam- 
 
 1 This instructive letter is in Robertson's App. v. from the 
 Cotton Library. Lethington's letter, which is referred to, 
 in Randolph's dispatch, was dated, from Edinburgh, the 
 10th of August 1561, and is in Keith's App. 92-3, wherein 
 the date is misprinted 1560, for 1561. This letter of Le- 
 thington was followed, by a more persuasive one to Cecil, 
 dated the 15th of August 1561, which still remains un- 
 published, in the Paper Office. 
 
 u See this dispatch of Cecil to Throgmorton, in Hard- 
 wicke's State Papers, i. 176, which is plainly written to en-
 
 358 THE LIFE OF [MEM. V. Memoir of 
 
 den's narrative, who was as well-informed, as Cecil, and 
 an honester man. x Cecil's representation is disproved, 
 by the testimony of as great a statesman as he : By the 
 lord keeper Bacon, who in delivering a speech in the 
 Privy Council, during the year 1562, against the pro- 
 jected interview, between the rival Queens, has these 
 apposite expressions : " Besides, think you, that the 
 Scotish Queen's suit made, in all friendly manner, to 
 come through England, at the time she left France, and 
 the denial thereof, except the treaty were ratified, is by 
 them forgotten ; or else, your sending of your ships to 
 sea, at the time of her passage ?"? (4.) When a charge 
 against Lady Lennox, for corresponding with her rela- 
 tion, the Queen of Scots, was carrying on by Cecil ; it 
 was given in evidence, by two several domestics of Lady 
 Lennox, that when she heard of the Scotish Queen's es- 
 cape, from the English ships, she fell down on her knees, 
 and thanked God, for his providential interposition : z 
 This implies, that it was distinctly understood, at Lon- 
 don, that the English ships were sent out, to bring in the 
 
 able the English ambassador to deceive the French court ; 
 as its statements were contrary to the fact. 
 
 x Camden, Transl. 53, who speaks of the Queen of Scots, 
 having gotten a fit opportunity, set sail, from Calais, and 
 arrived, in Scotland j " passing by the English ships, in 
 foggy weather." Lesley, and Brantome, who accompanied 
 the Queen, also speak of the great fog, which enabled her to 
 arrive safe. Holinshed concurs with Camden. 
 
 y Goodall, i. 175, from a MS. entitled, Placita Secreti 
 Concilii. I have, in my library, a MS. collection of the 
 Lord Keeper Bacon's speeches, which concurs with what 
 Goodall states as above. 
 
 * This examination is in the Paper Office.
 
 the Regent Murray.'] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 359 
 
 Scotish Queen. (5.) One of the Scotish ships, attending 
 the Queen, was carried in, as Cecil acknowledges, where- 
 in was the Earl of Eglinton : But, that this particular 
 ship carried the horses and mules of the Scotish Queen, 
 which were undoubtedly captured, appears untrue : It 
 certainly required a long negotiation, and considerable 
 expense, to recover them. a (6.) When Secretary Cecil 
 talked of cleansing the sea of pirates, he ought to have 
 blushed ; as the conduct of Elizabeth, and her secretary, 
 was clearly piratical, which was indefensible upon any 
 known principle, if they did not avow actual luostility, to 
 the Scotish Queen, with whom Elizabeth was then at 
 peace. (7-) Two Dutch vessels, which were employed 
 to transport, from France, the Scotish Queen's horses, 
 and mules, were carried into England by the English 
 fleet, which was sent out to bring in the Queen. The 
 Dutch transports were, after a while, released : But the 
 Queen's horses and mules were detained a month, before 
 they were allowed to proceed, by land, to Edinburgh. 
 The freight of the ships is charged in the Treasurer's books 
 of the 28th of October 1561 : And, there is a further 
 charge, on the 19th of the same month, by the Queen's 
 command, " To John Livingston, Master Stabler, for ex- 
 pences made by him, upon 29 horses, and mulattis, con- 
 veyed with 28 men from Morpeth to Alnwick, and Ber- 
 wick, holden in England, by the space of 31 days, and 
 from Berwick to Edinburgh, two days, 3437. Scots." 
 This, then, is a new fact, in the history of Mary's voy- 
 age to Scotland ; and is an additional proof of the en- 
 mity of Elizabeth, on that occasion. 
 
 * Keith, 195, and the Treasurer's accounts of the 28th of 
 October 1561.
 
 360 THE LIFE OF [M EM . V. Memoir of 
 
 No. IV. The following Dispatch, from Randolph to 
 Cecil, evinces with wJiat rigours, the Lieutenant acted 
 on the Borders. 
 
 In my last of the 7th present, I wrote your honour, 
 that the Earl of Marre was ridde to do some enterprise 
 upon the thieves, that resorted to common markets, near 
 unto the Borders. It came so well to pass, that upon 
 Thursday last, he arrived, at Hawick, about ten of the 
 clock, and having encompassed the town, with such as 
 were appointed to that office, he being himself in the 
 market-place, caused a proclamation to be made, that no 
 man, on pain of death, should receive a thief into his 
 house, or hinder any man, that was known, or suspected 
 of the like crime : Whereupon all those were taken, that 
 were found in the street, and divers others found, that 
 had hidden themselves, to the number of eighty-three, of 
 the which twenty were acquitted by the assize ; the rest 
 condemned ; of the which twenty-two were presently 
 drowned there, for lack of trees, and halters, six hanged 
 at Edinburgh, yesterday, being Monday ; four of the 
 number of Maxwell's own men sent unto him to be ex- 
 ecuted ; and the rest are presently, in the castle of Edin- 
 burgh, in the Queen's will. If your honour might hear 
 of many such journeys, I believe the quietness upon the 
 Borders should in short time be much greater than it is. 
 The example hereof is very good ; and the honour not 
 little unto those, that put it so happily in execution. 
 
 Besides, those thieves of Tividale, and Langdale, are 
 common enemies, to all virtue and policy : Those are 
 also the people, in whom the Earl of Bothwell doth most 
 trust in, if ever he gets his liberty ; and therefore, I be-
 
 the Regent Murray."] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 361 
 
 lieve there will be the fewer number of them left alive, 
 before that he come abroad. At Stirling, the 7th of 
 June 1562. 
 
 No. V. Of Murray's Courtship of the Countess of 
 Bud tan. 
 
 This intercourse, which has hitherto remained a mys- 
 tery, may now be made quite clear, from an investiga- 
 tion of the Scotish records. 
 
 John, the master of Buchan, the heir-apparent of 
 John, the Earl of Buchan, was slain, at the disastrous 
 battle of Pinkie, on the 10th of September 1547; leav- 
 ing an only child, Christian Steuart, who was then an 
 infant, and became by her father's death, the mistress of 
 Buchan, or the apparent heiress of the Earldom of Bu- 
 chan. On this lady, the Prior of St. Andrews, when he 
 was not yet nineteen, cast his wishful eyes. And, on 
 the 16th of January 1549 50, he entered into a contract 
 of marriage, with James Steuart, the lady's uncle, to 
 marry his youthful niece. b We thus see that the con- 
 tract was made with her uncle, and not with her grand- 
 father, the Earl, but with his youngest son. This con- 
 tract was never fulfilled, by the Commendator ; but, un- 
 der its cover, he contrived to deprive the heiress of her 
 inheritance. In 1556, when he was twenty-five, he be- 
 gan his artful operations, while she was still under the 
 
 b Sutherland, Add. Case, v. 62 : He was called Commen- 
 dator in the marriage contract : But, he then appeared, 
 sometimes as Prior, and other whiles, as Commendator, as 
 it suited his purpose.
 
 362 THE LIFE OF [MEM. V. Memoir of 
 
 marriageable age, and her grandfather was old, and un- 
 thrifty, to get the estate, within his grasp : As the Earl 
 owed several sums of money, on the mortgage of several 
 estates, with the right of reversion, the Commendator 
 obtained, from the heiress, and her tutor, Sir Walter 
 Ogilvie of Boyne, in 1556, assignations of the right of 
 redeeming those mortgaged estates ; and on those assig- 
 nations, he procured, from the Queen-mother, confirma- 
 tions of the right of redemption.' The Commendator 
 thus appears to have been a good lawyer, or to have had 
 a good adviser, in his train ; who thus enabled him to do 
 a fraudulent act, by legitimate means. 
 
 Encouraged, by this success, he now set his heart not 
 on the lady, but on the more considerable estates of the 
 earldom. The Earl of fiuchan, dying at the end of 
 1562, the Commendator, who had at length become the 
 Queen's chief minister, obtained a grant of the ward, 
 non-entries, and relief of the whole estates of the Earl- 
 dom of Buchan, and of all other lands, which pertained 
 either to the Earl of Buchan, or to John, Master of Bu- 
 chan, for all time past, or to come. d These grants, to 
 the chief minister, were as illegal, as they were unjust : 
 
 e Privy Seal Reg. xxviii. fol. 16, 34, 49, 75, &c. ; and 
 grants dated the '24th April, 4th August, 27th and 29th 
 December 1556, and 24th May 1557 : And he, subsequently, 
 obtained, on his own resignation, a charter, from the crown, 
 on the 9th June 1562. Privy Seal Reg. xxxi. 33. 
 
 d Privy Seal Reg. xxxi. 70 : The grant was dated the 
 31st January 1562-3 : And, to make surety double sure, he 
 obtained another grant, dated the 22d of September 1563. 
 Ib. xxxii. 7-
 
 the Regent Murray.] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 363 
 
 For, they contravened the Act of Parliament, which was 
 made, during the late war, in favour of the heirs of those 
 who might fall in battle, in the Queen's service ; and 
 which provided, that the heirs of those, who might die, 
 by the visitation of God, or the sword of the enemy, 
 " should have the ward, non-entries, and relief of their 
 estates, and also of their marriage, free in their own 
 hands, without the usual payments to the crown." 6 
 
 On the death of the Earl, his grand-daughter, Chris- 
 tian, succeeded to the Earldom of Buchan ; as the heir 
 of her father, John, the Master of Buchan, under the 
 above-mentioned charter of the 4th of August 1547 ; 
 and on which she obtained seisin, in 1551/ which legally 
 completed her title to the Earldom. And she was en- 
 titled, under the Act of 1547, in favour of the heirs of 
 those, who died, fighting for their country, to enjoy her 
 rights, without paying any feudal incidents to the crown. 
 The all-grasping minister of the Queen, knew both the 
 law, and the fact ; yet, did he, in contempt of law, and 
 defiance of justice, obtain a grant] of those feudal inci- 
 dents, as we have seen, which, by accumulations, since 
 the death of John, Master of Buchan, in 1547, amount- 
 ed to vast sums ; and for which he obtained judicial ap- 
 preciations, and thereupon charters from the crown : 
 
 " Privy Seal Reg. 1547. John, Master of Buchan, who 
 died on Pinkie field, had obtained, on the 4th of August 
 1547, a charter of the Earldom of Buchan, to him, and his 
 heirs ; reserving a life estate to his father, the Earl. Suther- 
 land Add. Case, v. 61 ; and the charter, which was printed, 
 in Sir Rob. Gordon's Add. Case; App. xx. No. 3. 
 
 f The Sutherland Add. Case, v. 61.
 
 364 THE LIFE OF [MEM. V. Memoir of 
 
 Thus, did the Queen's minion obtain titles to the Coun- 
 tess's estates, legal, indeed, in appearance, but unjust, in 
 their principle, and abominable, in the means.* 
 
 He did not stop here, in his career of illegality, and 
 injustice. In order to make such an acquisition more 
 sure, the minister of Mary had, previously, obtained 
 from James Steuart, the younger son of the late Earl, 
 and uncle of Christian, a release of all the claim, which 
 he could form to the Earldom of Buchan : In consider- 
 ation of this release, the minister engaged, to maintain 
 James Steuart in his house, till he should give him a 
 benefice, or other provision of 200 marks, yearly ; and 
 as soon, as the minion of Mary should obtain the estates 
 of the Earldom of Buchan, he engaged to augment that 
 provision to 300 marks for life. h Such, then, were the 
 
 E For the charters of appreciation, in 1563-4-5, see the 
 Privy Seal Reg. xxxiii. 44, 56, J 40 ; and the charters in the 
 Great Seal Reg. 
 
 h Privy Seal Reg. xxxiv. 49 : In which that agreement is 
 recited to have been made several years, before February 
 1565-6: It was afterwards ratified, on the 18th of April 
 1567 = And the provision of 300 marks was yearly paid out 
 of the revenues ef the Priory of Pittenweem. Ib. xxxvi. 48. 
 It is to be remarked, that James Steuart's right was worth 
 buying ; as he was the male heir of the earldom : and 
 would have inherited it, as it was limited to male heirs ; but 
 for the charter of the 4th of August 1547, vesting the earl- 
 dom in the master of Buchan, and his heirs general, whereby 
 the succession came to his female heir, Christian : Yet, as 
 that charter was granted, in the Queen's minority, it was 
 liable to revocation ; and her minister had the power of
 
 the 'Regent Murray.] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 365 
 
 sad effects of living under a tyranny, where wicked men 
 bore sway. 
 
 After all those grants to the Earl of Murray, by the 
 operation of which he obtained possession of the whole 
 property, belonging to the Earldom of Buchan, he was 
 still anxious, for a new one: On the 3d of June 1565, 
 he obtained a charter from the Queen, on his own resig- 
 nation, containing a new grant of the whole property to 
 himself, and his heirs, male, and female ; whom failing, 
 to Christian, the lawful daughter of the late John, master 
 of Buchan, and the lawful heirs of her body, whom fail- 
 ing, to James Steuart, lawful son of the late Earl of Buchan; 
 whom failing, to the lawful heirs of the Earl of Murray. 
 At the epoch of that grant, he was, in the height of his 
 
 doing this, in his own hands, if the helpless heiress had at- 
 tempted to quarrel his proceedings, in depriving her, by 
 chicanery, of her inheritance. 
 
 1 Privy Seal Reg. xxxiii. 53 ; and the charter in the Great 
 Seal Record. In the Treasurer's Accounts, there is, on the 
 26th of February 1565-6, a payment, by command of the 
 King, and Queen, to the Clerks of the Session, " for writ- 
 ing certain contracts, between James Earl of Murray, and the 
 Countess of Buchan." What the contracts were does not ap- 
 pear : Perhaps, he was obliged to make, some provision for 
 the Countess, whom he had swindled out of her estate : On 
 the 26th of February 1565-6, Murray was an exile, in Eng- 
 land, on account of his rebellion against the Queen ; and 
 did not return till after the assassination of Rizzio, on the 
 9th of March 1 565 -6 j when he came in by force ; expect- 
 ing the Queen to have been dethroned, as the result of 
 that conspiracy. 
 
 VOL. III. B b
 
 366 THE LIFE OF [MEM. V. Memoir of 
 
 rebellion against the Queen, whom he was preparing to 
 ruin, by similar arts. 
 
 The unfortunate Countess of Buchan was induced, 
 from poverty, to marry the second son of Douglas of 
 Lochleven, who assumed her title : And, she lived, ob- 
 scurely, with her husband, in the family of his elder bro- 
 ther, within the ill-fated castle of Lochleven. Several 
 years after the death of the Regent Murray, the Coun- 
 tess of Buchan, and her husband, endeavoured to recover 
 the estates, of which she had been cheated. On the 7th 
 of April 1574, the regent Morton, who was the relative 
 of the Douglasses of Lochleven, directed a charter, from 
 the King, to be granted to the Countess, and her hus- 
 band, of the estates, and heritable offices of the Earldom 
 of Buchan. k But, this charter appears to have been in- 
 effectual, at the time ; and the heirs of the Earl of Mur- 
 ray continued to enjoy the estates, belonging to the 
 Earldom of Buchan, though the descendants of the 
 Countess Christian, kept up their claim ; and seem to 
 have obtained a part, either by compromise, or com- 
 pulsion. 1 Such clashing services to the estates of the 
 
 k Great Seal Reg. xxxiv. No. 123 j the Sutherland Add. 
 Case, v. 63. 
 
 1 On the 7th of September 1615, Mary Douglas, the 
 Countess of Buchan, was served heir to her grandmother, 
 Christian, the Countess of Buchan, in the estates, and 
 offices, which appertained to the Earldom of Buchan. Rec. 
 Inquis. Specialis, On the 21st of April 1615, James, Earl 
 of Murray, was served heir to his grandfather James Earl 
 of Murray, in the estates, and offices, which appertained to 
 the Earldom of Buchan. Id.
 
 the Regent Murray.] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 367 
 
 Earldom of Buchan evince, that those estates, and offices, 
 were still subjects of contention, between the grand- 
 children of the Countess Christian, Murray's first love. 
 From this detail we may perceive, that nothing was too 
 low, or too high, for the swindling ambition of the good 
 Regent ; whether he bereaved a Countess of her marriage, 
 and patrimony, or a Queen of her sceptre, her character, 
 and her kingdom. 
 
 No. VI. Of the Marriage, and Family, of the Earl of 
 Murray. 
 
 The year 1562 was one of the happiest, in the life of 
 this extraordinary man. On the 30th of January 1561-2, 
 he obtained a grant of the Earldom of Murray. On the 
 4th of February, thereafter, he was legitimated, a second 
 time. On the 7th of this month, he acquired a grant of 
 the Earldom of Mar. And on the 8th of the same 
 month of February 1561-2, being Shrove-Sunday, Mur- 
 ray, who was then, in the 3 1 st year of his age, was mar- 
 ried to Agnes Keith, the eldest daughter of William, 
 Earl of Marischal, whom Sadler, in 1543, reported, to 
 be a goodly young gentleman, as bearing a singular good 
 affection to Henry VIII., and to the marriage of his 
 son to the young Queen : And this same young gentle- 
 man was, soon after, engaged in the treasonous conspi- 
 racy of Wishart, before mentioned, which ended in the 
 foul assassination of Cardinal Beaton." 1 Such was the 
 family into which Murray thought fit to match himself, 
 
 m See No. I. in this App.
 
 368 THE LIFE OF [MEM. V. Memoir of 
 
 after bilking the Countess of Buchan. The triumph and 
 feasting, continued several days, till the godly were all 
 scandalized." The marriage was celebrated in court ; 
 and the Queen gave a splendid entertainment, for several 
 days, which she graced, by knighting nine gentlemen of 
 Fife. The Queen, said Randolph to Cecil, liketh well 
 his wife, and his choice was preferable to that of any of 
 his brethren,* which went before him. 
 
 Of this marriage, so solemnised, and so praised, and so 
 blamed, there was issue: 1st. Elizabeth, in 1563, who, 
 in 1580, married James Steuart, the son of Sir James 
 Steuart of Down, in whose right, he became Earl of 
 Murray, with deficient titles. 2dly. Annabel!, in 1564, 
 who probably died, before March 1574-5. She is not 
 mentioned, by any of the Peerage writers : But, her fa- 
 ther, the Regent, on the 31st of May 1569, granted, in the 
 King's name, to his second daughter Annabell Steuart, the 
 
 n Knox says, " the greatness of the banquet, and '.he 
 vanity thereof, offended many godly} then began the mask- 
 ing, which has continued, from year to year since. The 
 marriage was solemnized in the Kirk of Edinburgh ; and 
 Knox gave them a serious admonition to behave themselves 
 moderately, in all things." Knox, 302. Buchanan adds, 
 that at this marriage there was such magnificent feasting, 
 and immoderate luxury, that his friends were very much 
 offended at it. Lord Dacre, the English Warden of the 
 Marches, sent the Earl of Mar [Murray] a couple of very 
 fat does, for his marriage j and by Mar's desire, Randolph 
 requested Cecil to convey Elizabeth's thanks to Lord Dacre, 
 for his attention. Randolph to Cecil, 21st Feb. 1561-2, in 
 the Paper Office. 
 
 Pitscottie. P Any other of the King's bastards.
 
 the Regent Murray."] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 369 
 
 ward, and non-entries, annual rents, and possessions, 
 which belonged to the late Edward Lord Crichton of 
 Sanquhar, since his death, and till the entry of his heir ; 
 and also, the marriage of Robert, his son, and heir ;^ 
 3dly. Margaret, in November 1565, who married Fran- 
 cis, Earl of Errol, for his second wife, and died without 
 issue. 1 4thly. Murray's wife is said to have miscarried, 
 on the 8th of February 1566-7, at the time of Darnley's 
 murder : One might suppose, from such a circumstance, 
 that she was, in the foreknowledge, as well as her hus- 
 band, of this atrocious assassination. 
 
 No. VII. Of the several Titles to the Earldom of 
 Murray ; of the various grants solicited, by the Lord 
 James, for this Earldom ; and of the Queen's Expe- 
 dition into the Northern Shires ; in order to put her 
 bastard brother in possession, notwithstanding 1 Hunt- 
 ley's right. 
 
 James, Earl of Murray, the natural son of James IV., 
 who obtained, from his father, in June 1501, the earldom 
 of Murray, in fee, died on the 29th of December 1544,* 
 without issue, though he had a child, Mary, who mar- 
 
 i Privy Seal Reg. xxxviii. 58. 
 
 r After Murray's expulsion, in October 1565, his wife was 
 conducted to Berwick, there to be delivered of child. Bed- 
 ford's letter to Cecil, from Hexham, 16th October 1565, in 
 the Paper Office. 
 
 1 Smith's Chron. Harl. MS. 2363; and not on the 12th of 
 June 1544, as the New Peerage has it.
 
 370 THE LIFE OF [MEM. V. Memoir of 
 
 ried John, the master of Buchan, and who died, without 
 children, before his father : Thus did the earldom of 
 Murray return to the crown, in December 1544, two 
 years after the demise of James V., and the birth of Mary, 
 his heiress. 
 
 Earl James left his widow, Elizabeth, the daughter of 
 Colin, Earl of Argyle ; and she held a part of the Earl- 
 dom, as her dower. Soon after her husband's death, she 
 obtained, on the 6th of February 1544-5, a lease for 
 eleven years, of the remaining part of the earldom, which 
 was not held by her, in dower, for which the Countess 
 stipulated^-to pay to the Queen, as had been paid, by the 
 late earl, according to his rental ; but, out of such pay- 
 ment, she was allowed to retain sglOO. a year, with va- 
 rious incidental perquisites, for keeping the Castle of 
 Tarneway, the chief mansion of the earldom. 1 On the 
 same day, Sir John Campbell of Calder, her uncle, ob- 
 tained a lease, for eleven years, of Strathern, Pettie, and 
 Brachlie, which were in the Queen's hands, by the death 
 of the late earl ; for which he was to pay what the late 
 lord had paid, according to the earl's charter of fee-farm." 
 And, the Countess Elizabeth, with her uncle Sir John, 
 soon after, obtained a grant of all the goods, which had 
 pertained to the late earl, and were then in the Queen's 
 hands, by escheat, or otherwise.* In this manner, then, 
 were disposed of the whole estates, real, and personal, of 
 James, late Earl of Murray. 
 
 In 1546, the Countess Elizabeth married John, Earl 
 of Sutherland: And on the 12th of June 1546, the 
 Countess, and her husband, obtained a lease, for eleven 
 
 * Privy Seal Reg. xviii. 114. " Ib. 1O9. * Id.
 
 the Regent Murray.] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 371 
 
 years, of the whole earldom, except what she held of it, 
 in dower, on the same terms, as the Countess's lease of 
 the 6th of February 1544-5.? Elizabeth, Countess of 
 Murray, and Sutherland, died, in the springtime of 
 1548 ; when that part of the earldom, which she held, 
 in dower, devolved to the crown. The Queen-mother 
 now interposed, in this profitable traffic ; and, on the 
 18th of May 1548, obtained a lease, for nine years, with- 
 out payment of rent, for that part of the earldom of 
 Murray, which the late Countess Elizabeth had held in 
 dower ; and the Queen-dowager, also, obtained a grant 
 of the rents, which John, Earl of Sutherland, then paid 
 on his lease of the remaining parts of the earldom of 
 Murray. 2 On the 12th of August 1548, John, Earl of 
 Sutherland, obtained a lease, for six years, from Whit- 
 Sunday, preceding, of all those lands of the earldom of 
 Murray, which the late Countess Elizabeth held in 
 dower, for which he agreed to pay such rents, as were con- 
 tained in the late Earl's rental. Such, then, was the com- 
 plicated state of the earldom of Murray, when it was 
 granted, as we have seen, to the Earl of Huntley, in 
 February 1548-9. The Earl of Sutherland had one 
 lease of a large part of the earldom, till Whitsunday 
 1557, and a lease of a smaller part, or the remainder, till 
 Whitsunday 1554: And, the Queen-mother, by her 
 grant of the 18th of May 1548, had a right to the 
 several rents, which were payable, by the Earl of Suther- 
 land, till Whitsunday 1557. 
 
 George, Earl of Huntley, and Chancellor of Scotland, 
 on the 13th of February 1548-9, for his great services, 
 
 i Privy Seal Reg. xx. 39. * Ib. xxii. 2.
 
 372 THE LIFE OF [MEM. V. Memoir of 
 
 in peace, and war, obtained, from the crown, a grant of 
 the whole earldom of Murray, with its appurtenances, 
 as well as the lands of Pettie, Brachlie, and Strathern,* 
 which had belonged to the late Earl of Murray : the 
 whole being united, and erected into an earldom, called 
 the Earldom of Murray, and the Castle of Tarneway to 
 be the principal messuage ; to be held of the crown, by 
 ward, and relief, and marriage. b After this grant, Hunt- 
 ley bore the titles of Earl of Huntley, and Earl of Mur- 
 ray ; and he certainly bore those titles, when the Queen- 
 mother obtained the regency, in April 1 554. It may be 
 of use to inquire here, briefly, what was the state of the 
 Lord James, the bastard, at that period. Born, in 1531, 
 a bastard, he entered the world a mere adventurer ; as 
 the law knew little of the rights of bastards. In 1 538, 
 he was appointed, by his father, Commendator of the 
 rich Priory of St. Andrews. In July 1548, when the 
 Queen was sent to France, for avoiding the violence, and 
 machinations of Henry VIII., the youthful Commenda- 
 tor went with her, " to the sculis, and study." He 
 seems not to have remained long, at the sculis of France ; 
 as in the Council of the Scotican Church, which sat, at 
 Edinburgh, in November, he appeared, and sat, as 
 
 * Those lands, as we have seen, were held, by Sir John 
 Campbell, by a lease, which would expire, in February 
 1555-6 : On the 8th of September 1552, Alexander, Lord 
 Gordon, Huntley's heir, obtained a grant of the same lands, 
 so held, by Sir John Campbell. Ib. xxv. 10. Lord Gordon 
 died, before August 1553, without issue ; and was succeeded 
 by his brother, George, Lord Gordon. 
 
 b Privy Seal Reg. xxii. 86 ; and see the charter, in Gor- 
 don's Hist, of the Gordons,
 
 the Regent Murray.] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 373 
 
 "' Jacobus Prioratus Ecclesice Primatialis, S. Andreas 
 Commcndatorius."* 
 
 He soon after employed, his usual enterprise, in a very 
 different affair. In January 1 549-50, he entered into a 
 contract of marriage with Christian, the heiress of the 
 earldom of Buchan : But, instead of fulfilling this con- 
 tract, he cheated the lady out of her marriage, and the 
 estates belonging to her dignity. This shows how early 
 the Commendator had formed designs, to acquire estates, 
 in the North, by whatever means. In 1550, he formed 
 his corrupt connexions with England; by receiving 
 money, from Edward the Sixth's ministers, as he then 
 went to France, and as he returned. The Commendator 
 soon after obtained, in France, owing to whatever interest, 
 the rich Priory of Mascou, in commendam. d We have 
 now seen how Huntley, and the Commendator, severally, 
 acted, during the disastrous times of Mary's minority. 
 
 Though Huntley had contributed, greatly, by his 
 influence, to obtain the regency, for the Queen-mother ; 
 
 c Sir David Dalrymple's Councils, p. 29 : As the Com- 
 mendator was born, in 1531, he was now scarcely 18 : For 
 reformation of an illiterate clergy, the Council passed Jifty- 
 seven canons : What part our Commendator acted, appears 
 not. 
 
 d Goodall, i. 153: Pope Paul's Dispensation, for this, 
 was dated the 7th of January 1555-6, which evinces, that 
 our Commendator had obtained it, some time before : He 
 owed this addition to his income, probably, to the recom- 
 mendation, and influence, of the Queen-mother, who had 
 for some time used the corrupt means, to obtain the regency 
 of Scotland, in the room of Arran, the Governor.
 
 374 THE LIFE OF [MEM. V. Memoir of 
 
 yet, did she treat him, severely, owing to whatever cause. c 
 In June 1554, an ordinance was passed by the Queen- 
 regent, in her Privy Council ; directing Huntley and 
 Argyle, severally, to raise an army, to carry fire and 
 sword into the country of Clanranald, of Donald Goram, 
 and of M c Leod of the Lewis. To destroy a whole 
 people, by fire, and sword, was not very agreeable, nor 
 an easy service, though such a process was not unusual 
 in Scotish policy. On the 10th of October 1554, Hunt- 
 ley came before the Regent, in council, to give an account 
 of his conduct : When, after probation, and reasoning, 
 it was declared, that he had failed ; and ought to be 
 punished, at the Queen's pleasure : f This punishment 
 was somewhat expiated, perhaps, by Huntley' s resigna- 
 tion of the earldom of Murray. 
 
 It is certain, however, that a Commission was granted, 
 on the 2d of July 1 555, to John, Earl of Sutherland ; 
 constituting him the Queen's Baillie of her earldom of 
 
 e Her enmity may have, arisen, from this circumstance : 
 She held a temporary grant of the rents of the Earldom of 
 Murray, at the time, when Huntley obtained a grant of the 
 whole Earldom, in fee. This circumstance was altogether 
 unknown to the Scotish historians. The historian of the 
 Gordons intimates, that Mons. D'Oysel insinuated to the 
 Queen-regent, that Huntley's power was too great, and 
 advised her, to diminish his authority. It is quite certain, 
 that she extorted, from Huntley, a resignation of the earl- 
 dom of Murray 5 as Gordon of Straloch intimates, in his 
 account of Murray, in Blaeu's Atlas, 126. Lesley, and 
 Buchanan, give very different accounts of the punishment 
 of Huntley, by the Regent-queen : But, neither of them is 
 quite accurate. f Keith, App. 70.
 
 the Regent Murray.] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 375 
 
 Murray, and lordship of Abernethy, during the three 
 following years :5 This Commission expired, in July 
 1558. But, the Regent-queen, by her imprudence, lost 
 the influence, and support, of Huntley, during the revo- 
 lutionary years 1557, and 1558: And thus, did the 
 Regent, and Huntley, lose authority, and consequence ; 
 while the Commendator gained both, by putting himself 
 at the head of the zealots, for change, both in religion, 
 and in power. 
 
 The Regent saw, perhaps, her error too late. On the 
 28th of June 1559, she constituted the Earl of Huntley, 
 Baillie of all the King, and Queen's lands of Braemar, 
 Cromar, and Strathdee, in Aberdeenshire, and of Pettie, 
 Brachlie, and Strathern, in Inverness-shire, during the 
 five subsequent years, with the usual power of jurisdic- 
 tion, and management ; the rents, and duties, to be 
 accounted for, to the King, and Queen . h The Regent- 
 queen, as she was pressed upon, by the Commendator, 
 and his reformers, endeavoured to regain Huntley : But, 
 the Queen, and Huntley, had now both lost authority ; 
 since a new power had arisen, in the state ; and, perhaps, 
 he had lost heart, and hope, from the mutability of her 
 conduct. Yet, is it certain, that a lease was granted to 
 Huntley, and his wife, Elizabeth Keith, and their heirs, 
 and assigns, on the 3 1st of July 1559, during Jive years, 
 from Whitsunday preceding, of the lands, fishings, reve- 
 nues of the earldom of Murray, and lordship of Aberne- 
 thy, with the appertenances, together with the keeping 
 of the Castle of Tarneway ; they paying yearly into the 
 Exchequer 2,500 marks Scots. 1 We may thus see what 
 
 8 Privy Seal Reg. xxvii. 119. h Ib. xxix. 79. 
 1 16. 86.
 
 376 THE LIFE OF [MEM. V. Memoir of 
 
 an interest Huntley, and his wife, had, in the earldom of 
 Murray, till Whitsunday 1564: And, we may remem- 
 ber, that the Commendator solicited, and obtained, from 
 the Queen, in January 1561-2, a grant of the earldom 
 of Murray, which clashed, extremely, with Huntley's 
 right. On this simple state of the facts, we may, easily, 
 perceive, that the Commendator commenced an attack 
 on the Earl ; and not the Earl on the Commendator. 
 
 But, let us examine this interesting subject a little 
 more minutely. The Commendator being one of the 
 Commissioners, who went to France, in February 1557-8, 
 to witness the Queen's marriage with the Dauphin, seized 
 that joyous occasion, to solicit his sovereign, for the earl- 
 dom of Murray : But, the Queen, being apprized, by 
 the Regent-mother, of his purpose, exhorted him to con- 
 tinue, in the sacred office, to which his father had destined 
 him ; and withall gave him hopes of church preferment, 
 both in Scotland, and in France. The Commendator, for 
 the present, submitted ; but, never forgave the Queen- 
 regent, for his disappointment : And he urged the refor- 
 mers, with more energy, to establish, by force, and fraud, 
 what they could not obtain, by solicitation, and favour : k 
 Hence, the tumults, and warfare, at home, and the asso- 
 ciation with Elizabeth, till they proceeded the full length 
 of displacing the Regent-queen, and of assuming the 
 whole authority, and powers, of the sovereign Queen. 
 The appointment of the Regent, as it had been settled, 
 by the Estates, was thus pushed aside, by domestick fac- 
 tion, and foreign intrigue : The Regent-queen died on 
 the 10th of June 1560, which left Francis, and Mary, 
 
 k Lesley's Hist. 533.
 
 the Regent Murray.'] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 377 
 
 without any government, in Scotland : And, what they 
 lost, in power, and influence, was readily found, by the 
 Lord James, and his faction. 
 
 The demise of Francis II. on the 5th of December 
 1560, was attended with the greatest effects, in Scotland. 
 All parties courted the Queen, after it was understood, 
 that she was about to return to her native kingdom. The 
 Lord James, with the apparent powers of a Conven- 
 tion, which had met at Edinburgh, again repaired to 
 France, to wait upon the Queen ; avowing to her, that he 
 had not any power, from any parties ; as he had come 
 merely to offer his duty, and services : He now, however, 
 solicited the restoration of his French pensions, which 
 had been sequestered, on account of his rebellious con- 
 duct : And, he again asked, for the earldom of Murray 
 which, she declined, for the present, rather, than denied 
 altogether; giving hopes of success, on her return to her 
 kingdom, and the re -establishment of her government. 1 
 The Queen, whatever obstructions were opposed to 
 her return, arrived, at Edinburgh, on the 19th of August 
 1561 : And whatever warnings she may have had, she 
 put herself, and her government, into the hands of the 
 Commendator, as her minion, and his associates, as her 
 
 1 lb. Every thing, on such an occasion, is important : The 
 Commendator departed on the 18th of March 1560-1, from 
 Edinburgh to France; taking his road, through England ; 
 he saw the Queen, at St. Dizier, on the 15th of April; and 
 he set out from Paris, on his return, on the 5th of May, 
 through London, when, and where, he gave it, as his opi- 
 nion, to Cecil, that the Queen's passage ought to be ob- 
 structed.
 
 378 THE LIFE OF [MEM. V. Memoir of 
 
 ministers ; though both the minion, and the Secretary, 
 had advised Elizabeth, and Cecil, to intercept her pas- 
 sage. She could not act otherwise, without embroiling 
 herself, with the Lord James, and his all-powerful faction, 
 and incurring the open enmity of Elizabeth. She gave up 
 her mind, so completely, to her minion, that she could 
 deny him nothing: And hence, the absurd grants, which 
 he asked, and she conceded : Such was the grant of the 
 earldom of Murray, to the Commendator, under the 
 Privy Seal, on the 30th of January 156l-2. m Suppo- 
 
 m Privy Seal Reg. xxxi. 45-6. This grant, under the Privy 
 Seal, was only an inchoate title ; to make a complete right 
 required a grant, under the Great Seal : But, Huntley then 
 had the custody of the Great Seal. There is an intricacy, 
 in the grants of the family of Murray, says Lord Hailes, 
 which will require some pains to unravel. On the 30th of 
 January 1561-2, there was a grant to the Lord James, under 
 the Privy Seal, as we have seen above. On the 7th of Fe- 
 bruary 1561-2, the Lord James obtained a grant, under the 
 Privy Seal, of the earldom of Mar, and to his heirs male. 
 Id. of that date. This grant he soon after resigned : retain- 
 ing, however, some of the lands belonging to the earldom of 
 Mar. On the 22d of January 1563, he obtained another 
 grant of the earldom of Murray, and to his heirs male. On 
 the 1st of June 1566, on his own resignation, he obtained 
 another grant of the earldom of Murray, to him and his 
 wife, and their issue. In April 1567* the Earl obtained a 
 ratification from the Parliament, of the grant of January 1563, 
 and to his heirs male ; which Act of Parliament took no 
 notice of the intermediate charter, 1566. \_Acta Parl.] Why 
 he should relinquish the charter 1566, is impossible to deter- 
 mine, says Lord Hailes, who did not advert, that the Earl
 
 the Regent Murray] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 379 
 
 sing the Commendator's title to have been, as complete, 
 as it was incomplete, what was the operation of law upon 
 it? T he Earl of Murray would have now stood, as to 
 Huntley, in the place of the crown ; and Huntley would 
 have been let down, to be the tenant to the Earl, and 
 would have owed his rent to him, instead of the Queen : 
 And nothing more would have remained, suppose the 
 change to have been, legally, effected, but to have given 
 notice to Huntley, that he must acknowledge the Earl, as 
 his lord, to whom he must, yearly, pay his stipulated 
 rent." In common life, such solicitations, both publickly, 
 
 had gone off to France, and left his political interests in the 
 care of Morton, and Maitland, who, perhaps, did not know 
 any thing of the charter 1 566, which certainly was larger, 
 than that ratified by the Parliament of April 156*, which 
 ratified so many titles. 
 
 n It is impossible to conceive, that the Queen was ac- 
 quainted with the complicated rights of Huntley, and his 
 wife, on the earldom of Murray, at the epoch of her grant 
 to the Commendator, on the 30th of January 1561-2 : But, 
 the Commendator was, perfectly, aware of Huntley's pre- 
 tensions : So secretly was that grant, under the Privy Seal, 
 kept, that Randolph, the English ambassador, and associate, 
 of the Earl of Murray, did not know any thing of it, till 
 the Commendator took possession of the mansion-house of 
 Tarneway, in September 1 562 ; and even then, the date of 
 the grant was concealed from him. This appears, from his 
 dispatch to Cecil, dated the 13th of September 1562, in the 
 Paper Office. But, the late Lord Hailes, when he wrote the 
 Countess of Sutherland's additional case, which was made 
 publick, in 1770, might have shown to Dr. Robertson the 
 several title-deeds of the Regent Murray, which were, accord-
 
 380 THE LIFE OF [MEM. V. Memoir of 
 
 and secretly, by one gentleman against the interests of 
 another, would be deemed a personal affront : In this 
 case, the conduct of the Commendator, is a proof of his 
 designs on Huntley 's rights, whatever they were. 
 
 Robertson, indeed, could not comprehend what ob- 
 ject the Lord James, and Commendator of St. Andrews, 
 could gain, by the ruin of Huntley, and his family : 
 The following detail would have instructed the historian, 
 both as to the minion's object, and his gains, by his 
 guilty expedition into the northern shires : I . Lord 
 James obtained possession of the earldom of Murray, 
 and lordship of Abernethy, with the sheriffship of the 
 county of Elgin, and Forres, and the Queen's firms, or 
 revenues of the boroughs of Elgin, and Forres; and 
 also the lands, and lordship, of Strathern, Pettie, and 
 Brachlie, &c. 
 
 2. He obtained the sheriffship of the extensive county 
 of Inverness, which then comprehended Inverness, Ross, 
 Sutherland, and Caithness ; with the custody of the castle 
 of Inverness, and the various lands attached to it ; all 
 which belonged, heretably, to Lord Gordon, Huntley's 
 heir. 
 
 3. He acquired the lands of Strathnairn, and Cardell, 
 which, by the Queen's mandate, were transferred to 
 Murray, by James Ogilvie, when he obtained the lands 
 of Finlater, and Deskford, on the forfeiture, and death, 
 of Sir John Gordon. 
 
 4. He acquired a lease of the extensive lordship of 
 Badenoch, on the forfeiture of Huntley. 
 
 ing to Lord Hailes, ambiguous, and intricate : But, ambiguity, 
 and intricacy, are sure marks of design, and fraudulence !
 
 the Regent Murray.] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 381 
 
 5. He obtained a grant of the wardship of the estate 
 of Culloden, which was held by Huntley. 
 
 6. He gained complete command of the north, which 
 had been long enjoyed by Huntley. 
 
 7- His three bastard brothers acquired the chief 
 estates of Huntley, in Banff, and Aberdeenshires, with 
 the whole earldom of Sutherland ; all which, except Su- 
 therland, were entailed on Murray; failing the lawful 
 
 heirs of the several grantees. 
 o 
 
 Add to all those specifications of benefits to Murray, 
 by the ruin of Huntley, what Randolph wrote to Cecil, 
 from Aberdeen, on the 24th of September 1562: " It 
 " may please your honour to know, that the Queen hath 
 " given the earldom of Murray, (which was once Earl 
 " Thomas Randolph's) to the Earl of Marre : It is both 
 u more honourable, and greater in profit, than the other : 
 " He is now no more Marre, but Murray." Randolph, 
 in his letter to Cecil of the 30th of September, subjoins : 
 " The Earl of Murray will do much good in this coun- 
 " try : His power of men is great, and the revenue es- 
 " teemed to a thousand marks, by the year. The 
 
 To the injustice of the Earl of Sutherland's forfeiture 
 was added, the insult of granting his earldom to his wife's 
 bastard son, [Robert Steuart, junT a bastard of James V., 
 by Eleanor, the sister of the Earl of Lennox,] while the 
 Earl had, by his wife, several legitimate children, who were 
 thus left destitute ; except the eldest, who was then under 
 fourteen years of age, to whom were given some lands, in 
 the barony of Aboyne, which his father had held of Huntley ; 
 and which did not belong to the earldom of Sutherland, 
 Privy Seal Reg. xxxii. 51. of the 6th of March 1563-4. 
 VOL. III. C C
 
 382 THE LIFE OF [MEM. V. Memoir of 
 
 " countrie is pleasant ; the place called Ternawage very 
 " ruinous, saving the house, very fair, and large, builded 
 " like many, that I have seen, in England. The last Earl 
 " was King James Vth's bastard brother, well beloved, 
 " and well spoken of, in those parts : Since that time, the 
 " whole countrie hath been under the government of 
 " the Earl of Huntley ; and now being given away, 
 " from him, hath lost great commodity, which maketh 
 " him the more offended." [The original letters of Ran- 
 dolph to Cecil are in the Paper Office.] 
 
 These grants, indeed, to Murray's bastard brothers, 
 and his own lease of Badenoch, fell upon the restoration 
 of the Earls of Huntley, and Sutherland, some years 
 after : But, Murray retained all the other estates, and 
 offices, except the wardship of Culloden, that was restor- 
 ed to Huntley's heir, when Murray went into rebellion. 
 
 That there was a plot of Murray against Huntley, 
 for his ruin, is now quite plain : Of any plot against 
 Murray, much less any disloyalty to the Queen, there is 
 not the least evidence. The letters of Randolph to Cecil 
 are filled with the lies, and misrepresentations, of Mait- 
 lancl, and Murray : But, Randolph, has this passage, 
 in his letter of the 18th of September J 5 62, from Spynie : 
 " At the Queen's coming northward, passing within four 
 " miles of Huntley's house, after that he [Huntley] could, 
 "by no entreatie, cause her Grace to come into his 
 " house, he desired her to give leave unto my Lord of 
 *' Argyle, to bring me thither, where we were two nights : 
 " His house is fair, and best furnished of any house, that 
 " I have seen in this country : His cheer is mervellous 
 " great: His mind, then, such as it appeared to us, as 
 " ought to be, in any subject to his sovereign."" [In the
 
 the Regent Murray."] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 383 
 
 Paper Office, unpublished.] It is a remarkable fact, that 
 in the attainder of George, Earl of Huntley, after his 
 death, it is not so much as pretended, that he had done, 
 or imagined, any treason, before the 28th of Augustl562, 
 when Murray, and his faction, forced him into rebellion 
 against his will : This implies, that they had no charge 
 against Huntley, or his friends, before the 28th of 
 August 1562. The rescinding act, 1567, is the best 
 proof of their innocence. 
 
 No. VIII. How far the Earl of Murray attempted to 
 obtain from the Queen an Entail of the Crown, in 
 favour of Certain Persons of the Name ofSteuart. 
 
 (1.) At the Parliament holden, on the 13th of March 
 1542-3, the three Estates, declared James, Earl of 
 Arran, the nearest to succeed to the crown, failing the 
 Queen, and her issue.i 
 
 (2.) After the ruin of Huntley, the forfeiture of Su- 
 therland, and the expulsion of Bothwell, the Earl of 
 Murray urged the Queen to entail the crown on the 
 name of Steuart, and to place himself the first in the en- 
 tail : But, she declined to violate the settlement, which 
 had been made, on the lawful heirs. q This fact, then, 
 seems to be incontrovertible. 
 
 * Epistolae Regum Scotorum, App, v-vi. ; Acta Parl. 
 
 i The convention of seven earls, twelve lords,eight bishops, 
 and eight abbots, which met, at Dunbarton, on the 12th of 
 September 1568, are express upon the point. [Goodall, ii. 
 358.] BishopLesley's Defence, of 1569, p. 36, is also positive, 
 that the Earl laboured to induce the Queen, " to entail the
 
 384 THE LIFE OF [MEM. V. Memoir of 
 
 (3.) It is said, that this entail was intended to be made 
 upon four persons of the Steuart name ; of whom the 
 Earl of Murray was to be the first : It is more than 
 probable, that the other three persons, who were in his 
 intention, were his three bastard brothers ; John, Lord 
 Darnley, and Commendator of Coldingham ; Robert, 
 Commendator of Holyrood ; and Robert Steuart, jun. 
 the son of James V., by Eleanor Steuart, the sister of 
 the Earl of Lennox, and the Countess of Errol, and 
 Sutherland. 
 
 (4.) It is remarkable, that in all the grants, which 
 were made to the Queen's bastard brothers, of the for- 
 feited estates of the Earl of Huntley, and his sons, those 
 estates were entailed on all the four brothers, in succes- 
 sion ; the Earl of Murray being the first person, in the 
 grants to himself, and the second person, next to the 
 grantee, in the grants to the other three brothers : 
 
 The grant, on the 6th of May 1563, of the sheriffship 
 of Inverness, and of the custody of the castle of Inver- 
 ness, with various lands thereto attached, was made to 
 the Earl of Murray ; whom failing, to his brothers John, 
 Robert, and Robert, in succession : 
 
 The grant of confirmation, on the 6th of May, of the 
 lands of Cardell, and Straithnairn, was made to the Earl 
 of Murray ; whom failing, to his three brothers, in suc- 
 cession : r 
 
 The grant of confirmation, of the 6th of May 1563, 
 
 " crown upon himself, though he were illegitimate, and in- 
 " capable thereof." [Goodall, i. 199. Dalyel's Introd. to the 
 Scot. Poems, 68-9.] He had been twice legitimated, by the 
 Queen. ' Privy Seal Reg. xxxi. 74-5.
 
 the Regent Murray.] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 385 
 
 which was made of Cardell, and Strathern, was, to the 
 Earl of Murray, and his heirs male ; whom failing, to 
 his three brothers, in succession. 
 
 The grant, on the 4th of June 1563, was made to 
 John Lord Darnley, and his heirs male, of the lordship 
 of Enzie, and forest of Boyne ; whom failing, to the 
 Earl of Murray, and his two other bastard brothers : s 
 
 The grant, on the 22d of June 1563, of various lands 
 in BanfFshire, was made to John, Lord Darnley, and his 
 heirs male ; whom failing, the property was entailed on 
 the Earl of Murray, &c. :* 
 
 The grant, on the 1 6th of June, was made to Robert, 
 Commendator of Holyrood-house, and his heirs male, 
 whom failing, it was entailed on the Earl of Murray, &c. : u 
 
 When John, Lord Darnley, died in autumn 1563, his 
 estates were granted to his son, and his heirs male, on 
 the 6th of March 1 563-4 ; whom failing, they were to 
 result to the Earl of Murray, &c. : x 
 
 When the lordship of Darnley was restored to the 
 Earl of Lennox, in December 1564, Huntley's lordship 
 of Badejioch was granted, in lieu of it ; and entailed, in 
 the same manner, on the Earl of Murray. y 
 
 From all those records, we may now perceive, that the 
 ambition of Murray was unbounded ; the crown was not 
 too high, nor those obscure lordships too low, for the 
 mighty grasp of his ambitious cupidity. 
 
 ' Ib. 105-6. l Ib. 130. u Ib. 117- 
 
 x Ib. xxx. 73. ' y Ib. 121.
 
 386 THE LIFE OF [MEM. V. Memoir of 
 
 No. IX. An Investigation of wliat the Earl of Mur- 
 ray had acquired, before he went into Rebellion, on 
 account of the Queen's Marriage, on the 29th of July 
 15G5. 
 
 As the King's bastard, he entered the world, without 
 property, or rights ; but with some pretensions : Born 
 in 1531, he had acquired, by fraud, and force, before he 
 was thirty-four years of age, the following preferments, 
 and estates : 1 . The priory of St. Andrews, the richest, 
 in Scotland, which had been given him, in commendam, 
 by his father, in 1538. 
 
 2. The priory of Pittenweem, which was conferred on 
 him, by the Queen-regent, in 1555. 
 
 3. The earldom of Murray, and lordship of Aber- 
 nethy, and also Strathern, Pettie, and Brachlie, of all 
 which he obtained a grant, from the Queen, on the 30th 
 of January 1561-2; and acquired possession thereof, in 
 September 1562, by his artifices, and crimes. 
 
 4. He held the castle of Inverness, with various 
 lands, which were attached to it ; and the sheriffship of 
 the extensive county of Inverness ; comprehending Ross, 
 Sutherland, and Cathness ; all which he obtained, from 
 the Queen, upon the illegal forfeiture of the Lord Gor- 
 don, who held the whole, heretably. 
 
 5. The lands of Strathern, and Cardel, which by the 
 Queen's mandate, were transferred to him, by James 
 Ogilvie, who obtained the lands of Findlater, and Desk- 
 ford, on the forfeiture of Sir John Gordon. 
 
 6. The estates, and jurisdictions, of the earldom of 
 Buchan, of which he deprived the heiress, by the un- 
 worthy means of illegal grants, which he obtained, by
 
 the Regent Murray.] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 387 
 
 charter, under the great seal, when he acted, as the 
 Queen's minion. 
 
 7- The extensive lordship of Braemar, Cromar, and 
 Strathdee, of which he obtained a grant, from the Queen, 
 in fee-firm, in December 1564; but, in disherison of the 
 family of Erskine. 
 
 8. He had also a lease of the lordship of Badenoch, 
 and the wardship of Culloden, which he lost, by his re- 
 bellion ; when all these were restored to Huntley. 
 
 Enjoying all those vast possessions, with remainder 
 entail of many others, the Earl of Murray was the 
 richest, and most powerful subject, in Scotland, by 
 means of the Queen's imprudent bounty, and his own 
 gross rapacity ; all which his ambition threw upon the 
 cast of his rebellion. 
 
 It does not appear, that Murray was deprived of that 
 vast property, by his rebellion ; and he was reinstated in 
 possession of the whole, by the Queen's pardon, on the 
 21st of March 1565-6: The assassination of Rizzio, 
 whereby, he was restored, in fact, happened, on the 9th 
 day of the same month of March. 
 
 Though he was thus restored to his vast possessions, 
 by the liberality of his sister, and Queen : Yet, owing 
 to the parsimonious supplies of Elizabeth, the protector 
 of his ambition, he was, by his rebellion, involved, in 
 pecuniary distresses, which hung upon him, who courted 
 the attachment of many dependants, during his life, not- 
 withstanding his great resources, from the priories of St. 
 Andrews, and Pittenweem. Privy Seal Reg. xxxv. 
 xxxvi . andxxxvii. 
 
 On the 31st of January 1566-7, only ten days before 
 the murder of Darnley, Murray obtained a fresh grant,
 
 388 THE LIFE OF [MEM. V. Memoir of 
 
 from the King, and Queen ; stating that Murray having. 
 in tfieir majesties' 1 service, super-expended his rents, and 
 patrimony, and incurred debts, was forced to set the 
 lands of the priories of St. Andrews, and Pittenweem, in 
 feu [ground-rent,] and the kirks, teinds, and teind- 
 sheaves thereof, in lease for nineteen years ; receiving 
 grassums [fines] for the same, which feus, and leases, 
 their majesties have already confirmed, or are to confirm : 
 They, therefore, ordain, that all feus, and leases, made, 
 or to be made, by him, as Commendator of the lands, 
 kirks, teinds, and teind-sh eaves, belonging to the said 
 abbeys, shall be as solid, and good, to the persons, re- 
 ceiving the same, as if they had been leased to the utter- 
 most avail of the rental. \Prvuy Seal Reg. xxxvi. 1 .] 
 The statement, in the preamble of this grant, that he 
 had incurred his debts, in their majesties' service, is very 
 remarkable; but, the real fact could not be openly 
 avowed, that he had incurred so many debts, by a rebel- 
 lion against their majesties. While Murray had the di- 
 rection of the Queen's affairs, he not only obtained grants 
 of vast possessions, for himself; but also provided, for 
 his numerous adherents, by offices, pensions, and grants 
 of the casualties to the crown belonging. After he went 
 into rebellion, he was obliged to reward his many de- 
 pendants, from the revenues, and lands, of his two 
 priories ; as hath been shown above. [See the Privy 
 Seal Reg. xxxv. and xxxvi.] 
 
 We have thus seen what vast estates he obtained, 
 while he was the Queen's minion. It is now proper to 
 inquire, what acquisitions he made, after he dethroned 
 the Queen, and became Regent, for her son. 
 
 The same faction, which dethroned the Queen, made
 
 the Regent Murray.'] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 389 
 
 an act of their council, on the 21st of July 1567 ; pro- 
 hibiting the payment of rents, duties, or other income to 
 Patrick Hepburn, the bishop of Murray, and abbot of 
 Scone ; as he had received into his house his relation, 
 the Earl of Both well . z The bishop, under such circum- 
 stances, was induced to grant to the Regent Murray, his 
 heirs, and assigns, the whole lands, ports, fishings, with 
 the pertinents, which belonged to the bishoprick of 
 Murray, to be held, in fee-firm : And this grant was con- 
 firmed, by a charter, on the 1st of October J569. a The 
 bishop made another grant to the Regent, and his heirs 
 male, of the office of baillie, and justiciary, of the rega- 
 lity, and lordship of Spynie, which belonged to his bishop- 
 rick, with the custody of the castle of Spynie, the lake, 
 and wood of Spynie, with ^he cunningares, gardens, or- 
 chards, and the pertinents, lying about the castle, and 
 also of 2007. annually, received out of the rents of the 
 regality of Spynie. This grant was also confirmed, by 
 a charter, on the 16th of December 1569. b The first of 
 those grants deprived the bishoprick of its lands, and 
 fishings ; and the second would have denuded it of the 
 castle, and its jurisdictions, and pertinents ; if the Re- 
 gent had not soon after died, without heirs male. 
 
 The abbey of Kelso had been conferred, by the Queen, 
 on her infant nephew, Francis Steuart, in lieu of the 
 priory of Coldingham, which his father had held. In 
 
 * Why ; the Earl of Murray, two days, only, before he 
 set out, for France, entertained Both well, to meet Eliza- 
 beth's envoy, Kyllygrew, at dinner, after he had been charged 
 with the King's murder. 
 
 a Privy Seal Reg. xxxviii. 86. b Ib. 106.
 
 390 THE LIFE OF [MEM. V. Memoir of 
 
 1569, the Regent Murray obtained, from this boy, his 
 nephew, and William Lumisden, the rector of Cleish, 
 his administrator, during his nonage, a grant to him, and 
 his heirs male, in fee-firm, of the whole estates of the 
 abbey of Kelso ; comprehending the town of Kelso, and 
 many lands, mills, fishings, and other property, in the 
 four shires of Roxburgh, and Berwick, Dumfries, and 
 Peebles : This grant was confirmed, by a charter under 
 the great seal, on the 10th of December 1569. c This 
 opulent grant was, also, disappointed, by his sudden 
 death, without male heirs. So endless, and exorbitant 
 are the desires of men, that they will grasp at all, and 
 can form no scheme of perfect happiness, with less : The 
 ambition of Murray was, unbounded ; his voraciousness 
 was insatiable ; and his success, both publick, and private, 
 went even beyond his hopes. We have said nothing of 
 the 5000/. sterling, which he received of Elizabeth, as 
 his wages, for calumniating his sister, and benefactress, 
 nor of the ecclesiastical revenues, which he enjoyed, in 
 France. 
 
 No. X. How far Sir William Steuart, the Lion-king- 
 at-arms, was guilty of imagining the Death of the 
 Regent Murray. 
 
 This seems to be a subject, at once interesting, and 
 obscure, which may be somewhat illustrated, but not al- 
 together cleared. He appears to have been an officer, 
 who was regularly bred, in the college of arms. As 
 Albany herald, he was sent, by the Regent, on the 29th 
 
 c Ib. 106.
 
 the Regent Murray. ~\ THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 391 
 
 of September 1567, on the King's affairs into Norway, 
 Denmark, and Flanders : d He was probably sent, to give 
 and receive, notices, in those countries, about Bothwell. 
 Whatever his business were, he seems to have given sa- 
 tisfaction ; as he was soon promoted. 
 
 On the 20th of February 1567-8, William Steuart, 
 Ross-herald, received a commission ; constituting him 
 lion-king-at-arms, in the room of Sir Robert Forman. e 
 On the 22d of the same month, he was inaugurated, in 
 the kirk, after sermon, in the forenoon, in presence of 
 the Regent, and nobility/ On the 2d of August 1568, 
 Sir William Steuart, the lion-king, was sent, from Edin- 
 burgh to Dunbarton-castle ; being suspected of a con- 
 piracy against the Regent's iife.g On the 19th of Au- 
 gust 1568, Sir William Steuart, wrote, from Dumbarton, 
 the following letter, 11 in justification of his own inno- 
 cence. Here he remained a twelvemonth, while Mur- 
 ray was in England ; but, he was removed to St. An- 
 drews, in August 1 569 ; where he was tried, and con- 
 victed, and executed, not for imagining the death of the 
 Regent, but for witchcraft, and necromancy. 1 
 
 d He received of the Treasurer, 140 crowns at 33s. a 
 piece, or 23 U., for his expenses; as appears by the publick 
 accounts. On the 9th of June 1568, Sir William Steuart 
 received, by the Regent's orders, for expenses, disbursed by 
 him, in the King's affairs, in Denmark, 94 1. [/d.] 
 
 e Privy Seal Reg. xxxvii. 45. f Birrel's Diary, 14. 
 
 s 16. 17- h Cot. Lib. Calig. B. ix. fol. 272. 
 
 * Hist, of K. James, 48-66. He was put to death, in 
 August 1569 : There is the note of a letter, to this effect, 
 from Lord Hunsdon to Secretary Cecil, dated, at Berwick, 
 on the 30th of August 1569; saying, " Paris was put to
 
 392 THE LIFE OF [MEM. V. Memoir of 
 
 On the 22d of August 1568, Sir David Lindsay, the 
 younger, was inaugurated, as Lion King, in the room of 
 Sir William Stewart, On the 13th of September 1569 
 however, a grant was issued to Dorothy Crunsie, the relict 
 of the late William Stewart, Lion King, of the escheat 
 of all his property, which fell to the King, by the said 
 William being convicted, and put to death, for witchcraft 
 and necromancy* He was put to death, then, without 
 being convicted of any offence. He had, however, Lord 
 Fleming, for his lord, and master, which was no doubt, 
 a crime, in the Regent's contemplation. Though he 
 never conspired, nor consented to the Earl of Murray's 
 death ; yet, he spoke of his faction, as monstrous, and 
 treasonous. It is upon the whole apparent, that he fell 
 under the axe of a tyranny, which put him to death, not 
 for what he had done, but for what he wished to do. 
 His widow was, probably, protected, by Secretary Mait- 
 land, who, perhaps, owed something to the husband, 
 which he now repaid to the widow. 
 
 death a fortnight since ; and so was Stewart, who was King 
 of Heralds, who had determined, to kill the Regent : but, 
 he was forgiven, for that, and was burnt, for conjuration, 
 and witchraft." Laing's Dissert. App. 269. In other words, 
 the prosecutors had no evidence against the Lion King ; and 
 therefore, they charged him with an imaginary crime, for 
 which he was burnt. 
 
 k Privy Seal Reg. vol. xxxviii. fol. 76.
 
 the Regent Murray] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 393 
 
 SIR WILLIAM STEWART'S LETTER, from the Cotton 
 Library, Col. B. ix. 272, follows : 
 
 My Lord, I dowt not bot the writing send be yow to 
 my gud lord and maister my Lord Flemyng was be the 
 instigation of sum wthir, for I can not think that ye can 
 be sa ingrait as to seik my innocent lyf and bluid consid- 
 dering that I have sa favorablye and sa oft foirwarned 
 yow of the gret miserie that ye ar lyk to fall in now for 
 not following my consell and admonitions maid oft and in 
 dew tyme. Desist I pray yow to seik farder my bluid, for 
 as I sell anser to the eternall God I newir conspyrit nor 
 consentit to the Erie of Mirrayes dethe. And giff ye 
 will persist remember of Isopes taill of the Lyoun and the 
 Mouse and turne it wpsyd doun. I feir yow not, nor 
 nane of that moristrus factioun, for as God is the de- 
 fender of innocentes, sa is he the just and seweir punisher 
 of cruell monsters and tressonable tiranes and wsurpers 
 quha spaires not to execuit al kynd of cruelte wnder the 
 pretext of religioun and justice: For, to accomplisse and 
 performe the wnnaturell ingrait and ambitiu disseints 
 [designs] I am innocentle persecutid accusit and de- 
 tractit : Bot, ther be sum of his awin secreit consell that 
 baith directle and indirectle have socht that bluidy wsur- 
 pars lyf quhom I sell name as occasioun sell serve. Be 
 therfoir I pray yow rather ane protectour than ane per- 
 secutour of my innocent lyf and advertise me giff it be 
 your gud plesir quhat ar the crymes quherof thai accuiss 
 me, and quhat may mowe thaim thus ernistlie to seek the 
 lyf of sa semple ane creatour quha never to this hour 
 offendit small nor gret, in honour lyf land nor gudes. I 
 pray yow be favourable to the persoun of Kenmore, and
 
 394 THE LIFE OF [MEM. V. Memoir of 
 
 with sic as have mellit with my apparel 1, bowes, and 
 buiks to keip all weill, till meeting quhilk will be sone 
 God willing, quhom I beseik to keip yow ewin as ye 
 wald I war preservit. From Dumbarten the 19 August 
 1568. 
 
 be your as occasoun sel be offred, 
 
 WILLIAM STEWART. 
 
 No. XI. 
 
 In Secretary Cecil's letter of the 26th of June 1567, 
 to the Ambassador Norris, at Paris, Mr. Robert Stewart 
 was, emphatically, mentioned, as a person who, might be 
 made privy to Murray's affairs. [Cabala, 128.] And a 
 question, naturally, arose, who, or what, was Mr. Ro- 
 bert Stewart, at Paris. 
 
 There is an original letter, in the Cotton Library, 
 Calig. C. i. f. 122, from Mr. James Gordon, at Paris, 
 7th July 1 568, to the Regent Murray, which explains this 
 point: He says, that Robert Stewart, the Regent's 
 " maist faithful cusing, and serviteur," sent, him a packet 
 of letters, from Noyerris [Norris, Q. Elizabeth's Ambas- 
 sador, in France] to be sent to the Regent, by a sure 
 bearer, and which, he has delivered to Captain Cog- 
 brun, whose fidelity and affection to the Regent's service 
 is sufficiently known. Being requested by Robert Stew- 
 art to send the Regent any intelligence, that he could 
 procure, he informs him that, " he learnt from a person 
 of credit, that Queen Mary's deliverance out of England 
 is bought, and sauld ; the means is sent out of France to 
 the Duke of Albe, who causes the Spanish Ambassador^ 
 in England, practise with the lords of England, who have
 
 the Regent Murray.'] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 395 
 
 taken in hand, to deliver her ; but, who those lords were 
 he did not learn." 
 
 This document throws some additional light upon the 
 Steuarts, who performed such infamous deeds, in France^ 
 during that age. This Robert, I am persuaded, though 
 Renault calls him James, was the same person who pis- 
 tolled the Constable Montmorency, at the battle of St. 
 Denys ; and who, being taken at the battle of Jarnac, in 
 March 1569, was put to death, says Renault, for the 
 murder of Montmorency. We hear no more of this 
 Robert Steuart : But, we have seen enough to perceive, 
 that Cecil, and Murray, kept such infamous men, at 
 Paris, for such villanous actions. 
 
 No. XII. 
 
 At the epoch of the Queen's escape from Lochleven- 
 castle, and repair to Hamilton, on the 4th of May 1567, 
 Doctor Mackenzie, in the Life of Mary, says: " Nei- 
 ther was the press idle ; many satires being published, by 
 both parties against one another ; but particularly, there 
 was one poem, that made a great noise, entitled, * The 
 double dealings of the Rebels in Scotland ;" wherein the 
 whole life, and villainies of Murray were laid open ; but 
 who the author was, could not be discovered." The sa- 
 tire itself, he adds, is to be found among Mr. Crawford's 
 collections [in the Advocate's Library, at Edinburgh] ; 
 but copied, by him, from a transcript, in the Cotton Li- 
 brary, Calig. C. i. f. 27 1 If it ever were printed, I 
 doubt : If it were, it should seem to me, to have escaped 
 the avidity of the collectors ; the then ruling powers hav- 
 ing destroyed every copy.
 
 396 THE LIFE OF [M EM . V. Memoir of 
 
 It is now laid before the publick, from the above men- 
 tioned copy, in the Cotton Library. It is full of histo- 
 rical, and useful truths ; and we ought not to be surprised 
 that it should have made a great impression, when it ap- 
 peared, whether in manuscript, or in print. 
 
 A RYME, in Defence of the Q of Scots, against the Earl of 
 Murray. [ixDecemb. 1568.] 
 
 Tom Trouih to the Envious. 
 
 If Momus children seke to knowe my name, and where I dwell ; 
 I am TOM TROUTH, and my abode I list not it to tell ; 
 For wise men loue not to enquire who, where, but what is said ; 
 Andholde themselues therewith content till further proufe be made. 
 
 The double Dealinge of the Rebells, in Scotland. 
 
 If tongue could tell, or pen could write, the craftie cloaked case, 
 
 Or yet the treasons to recyte of this newe Regents grace ;' 
 
 Then Tullie's stile, or Virgil's verse, of God sure would I craue, 
 
 His shameles acts here to rehearse, as he deser^ps to have ; 
 
 But that were farre aboue my reach, and more than well could be, 
 
 Sith he all others doeth excell in craft and crueltye : 
 
 Yet can I not with silence passe his vices strange and rare, 
 
 But that I must set furth the same, the truthe least I should spare. 
 
 And nowe since that it is my luck, unfittest though I be, 
 
 Tliis Caco's ofspring to advance, as semes to his decree ; 
 
 I pray you take it in good parte, whats'euer I shall saye, 
 
 In setting furth his shameles acts, whose shame shall not decaye ; 
 
 Yet can I not set furth the same, nor in suchwise expresse, 
 
 As fittest were for one past shame, and past all godliness. 
 
 This traytour tyrant of our tyme, this Sathan's seed, I meane, 
 
 This rebell Regent, that his prince to mate doeth not disdaine ; 
 
 This perfect patterne of deceipt, whose high and haughtye minde 
 
 Is pufte so full of pride, that hard it were, the like to finde : 
 
 This Miil'iill seed of lothsome life, this bastcrd past all grace, 
 
 At" Glocestcr, that traytour vile, a perfect paterne chase : 
 
 1 He received that high office, in August 1567. 
 m To crush. Shakspcare. " Of.
 
 the Regent Murray.] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 397 
 
 Who, to obteyne that kingly seate of this most worthy land, 
 His brothers sonnes, his nephewes dere, to guyde they toke in hand : 
 The lainbes, alas ! unto the wolfe, to guyde committed were ; 
 Who murdred them, to haue their place, as storyes well declare : 
 But, shall I say, this traytour nowe, at him did learne his lore ; 
 Who doeth surpasse his vvilie wit a thousand folde and more. 
 A scholler sure, of pregnant wit, and apt for such a place, 
 Who trayned up was in the schole of lyeing Sathan'j grace ; 
 Where he hath learnd a finer feate than Richard earst did see ; 
 To doe the deede, and laye the blame on them, that blameles be : 
 For he, and his companions eake, agreeing all in one, 
 Did kill the kinge, and laye the blame the sakelesse queene upon : 
 And that this deed, to each man's sight, might seme to be mostplaine; 
 They drewe her from her spouse that night, by craft and subtill trayne ; 
 And fegued that her sucking sonne was in great danger brought; 
 Wherefore, with speed, to visit him the messenger besought ; 
 Which subtill shift, so feately wrought, was cause men thought it trewe, 
 That she of purpose parted thence, and of the murder knewe : 
 For if that both at once had bene there murderd, at that tyme, 
 Then might each babe, with half an eye, have spyed who did the cryme ; 
 And this suspicion to increase, they found a newe devise, 
 That Dothwell, chiefest murderer, was tryed byassisej 
 And found not guilty, by his peres, of whome the chiefest be, 
 Such as the king's death did conspire, and knewe as well as he. 
 They cleared him eke, by parliamente, O traytour false and vile, 
 That they their good and vertuous queene might soner so beguyle : 
 And when that he was cleared both by sise, and parlament, 
 To marry then they went about to hauc her to consent : 
 They sayd that she, the realme, and they, should so most safest be, 
 From danger of all civill strife, and outward enemy. 
 Alack ! good Q., what hap hadst thou, so oft thy foes to trust, 
 Couldst thou not shun these biteing beasts who then had proved unjust? 
 But, who, I pray you, was the man, they willed her to take ? 
 Forsooth, the chiefest murderer, whom they most clere did make : 
 And that their purpose, once begun, might come unto an end ; 
 They caused traytour Ledington on her still to attend : 
 That this false Machevilian attempt her euery waye, 
 Whose poysoned words, so sugered were, that she could not say nay ; 
 But did consent to their request, suspecting nothing lesse, 
 Than they such false deceipt to meane, and use such doublenesse ; 
 But, when the wofull weding daye was finised and past, 
 VOL. III. D d
 
 398 THE LIFE OF [MEM. V. Memoir of 
 
 Their boyling malice, that laye hid, in rageing sort out brast : 
 
 For they that were of counsell both to murdering of the kinge, 
 
 And to the mariage, gan to spread howe Bothwell did the thinge ; 
 
 And howe he took away the Q. by force against her will ; 
 
 And sought himself to raigne as kinge, and eke the prince to spill. 
 
 But, (bastard,) nowe the truthe is knowne, how that thyself it was, 
 
 That sought to spill both prince and Q., and to possess their place. 
 
 But, when amongst the simple sort this rumour once was brought, 
 
 It ran abrode, from place to place, more swift than can be thought j 
 
 So they not priuy to the sleight did think it for most sure, 
 
 That she, to wed the murderer, the murder did procure. 
 
 And thus, this simple Q. each way was wrapt in wo and care, 
 
 For they that cannot skill of craft are sonest caught in snare. 
 
 And then the traytor Ledington, in treason neuer slack, 
 
 At hand for pickpurse still before began to start now back, 
 
 And fled unto her fruyteles foes, her secrets to bewraye : 
 
 Like will to like, the proverb saith, You know the old said sawe. 
 
 Then Murray that, of longe before, this murder did devise, 
 
 Did voyd the land, the rather so, to blinde the simples eyes : 
 
 And then his fellow-traytors all, the more their cause to clere, 
 
 Did rise in armes, against their Queen, as though she guilty were : 
 
 But she, to saue the saikles blood, not willing to offend, 
 
 Did leaue her power, and ofired them, all things amisse t'amend. 
 
 The traytors, not therewith content, did lead her thence away ; 
 
 And changed all her braue attyre into a. frock of grey: 
 
 That done, they lead her furth by night unto Lochleuen hold ; 
 
 And kept her there, in prison close, that no man see her could. 
 
 Then when they had thus brought to passe their traytorous false desire ; 
 
 They sent, with speed, to bastard James, and willed him to retyre : 
 
 Who, coming home, for loue he bare the prince, as he did saye, 
 
 Did take in hand to rule the realme, lest it fell in decay. 
 
 Howe well this traytor loues the child, committed to his guarde, 
 
 Is plaine in that the mother dere he kept in crewel warde ; 
 
 And caused her there, by forced fact, the present death to shunne, 
 
 Her royal crowne for to resigne unto her tender sonne j 
 
 And make this minyon Murray eake, chiefe Regent of the land, 
 
 Untill the prince of lawful age the same shall take in hand : 
 
 Which while he would, as Richard did, if he might haue his will, 
 
 His nephew younge, his sister's sonne, by secret meanes to spill : 
 
 To destroy.
 
 the Regent Murray.] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 399 
 
 And then he would usurpe the crowne, as next heire to the same ; 
 
 Which doeth appeare, in that he doeth his father so defame ; 
 
 And saith his mother precontract was, in most solemne wise, 
 
 Unto the kinge, before that he was maried to the Guise : 
 
 Althoughe that wisemen know the truth, this sorceress how she wrought, 
 
 By rings, and witchcraft, from the Q. the king's minde to have brought. 
 
 And thus this traytor doeth debase the Q. in all he can ; 
 
 That from her grace withdrawe he might the hearts of every man. 
 
 A cowle, a cowle, for such a Greke, were fitter for to weare, 
 
 Than this Apostat deacon should such princely rule to beare, 
 
 But where is now true discipline, dare no man take in hand, 
 
 To teach such false Apostate monks their faults to understand; 
 
 And make this base born deacon come home to his former state ; 
 
 From whence the Lither Lozell fled, least he should Hue too straight. 
 
 But sure no marvell though God's rod hath plagued this noble dame, 
 
 That gaue to monks, should serue in church, such place of worldly fame. 
 
 Yet he not all unmindful of this ladies grateful deed, 
 
 Did purpose, with a cruell death, to quit her for her nede : 
 
 But God Almightie, in whose hands the harts of princes be, 
 
 Preserue her from this false attempt, and vile captivitye. 
 
 And when this noble prey was past this brother's bloudy might, 
 
 He rages, like a Tiger fell, for sorrowe and for spite : 
 
 So seeing that he could not then this noble Q. to spill; 
 
 Upon her faithful subjects he began to work his will : 
 
 For some he cast in prison depe, no cause at all thereto ; 
 
 And some he thrust out of the realme, to work them greater woe ; 
 
 And some he put to cruell death, his rage for to fulfil : 
 
 No means he left there unattempt her subjects liues to spill: 
 
 Yet, not content, in this great rage, on men to play his part; 
 
 In spight of God, against his Church, he gan to shewe his art ; 
 
 And pulled thence both bells and lead, with Jewells many one ; 
 
 That he and his companions might more brauer therein gone. 
 
 For sure I am, that some of them, amongst this trayterous trayne, 
 
 Haue on their back more lead at once than couereth churches twayne. 
 
 So that no hardned hearte of brasse but would lament right sore ; 
 
 To see prophaneing of each place as serued God of yore. 
 
 And when he had this sacriledge comitted euery where, 
 
 On loftye towres, and castles stronge, his rage did then appere. 
 
 On Dunbarre first he spued his spite, a castle fayre and stronge, 
 
 And there he wrought both day and night till it was layde alonge : 
 
 Then justeth furth, and Lochinvar, so semely to the shewe, 
 
 He spoyled them first, and sackt them then, who could more cruell doe?
 
 400 THE LIFE OF [MEM. V. Memoir of 
 
 The Lard of Stirling's house, likewise, did fele the former chance, 
 
 Which trayterouslye he did deface, his glorie to advance. 
 
 Then Roslin Bower, of braue attyre, which Saintclere doth possesse, 
 
 Most shamefully he ransackt so, to work him more distresse. 
 
 Lord Hen-is lands, that baron bolde, who let p him of his will, 
 
 When he was gone, throughout the same, he did both rob, and spill. 
 
 But, what should I here longer staye eche place here to wryte, 
 
 Sith few there are but that his rage hath now defaced quite ? 
 
 When he had wrought his wilfull wit, and had his false intent, 
 
 To blinde the eyes of faithfull men, he called a Parliament ; 
 
 Where flockt his fellowe traytors all, both Morton and M c Gill, 
 
 With Lindsay, Marr, and Ledington, yea Balfour laye not still, 
 
 With other of this fruyteles flock, and falsely did invent, 
 
 That all things there concluded were by full and whole consent. 
 
 Thus sinfull Sathan workt his will, through these his children dere; 
 
 But, falsehood raignes instead of right, as here it doth appere. 
 
 Yet, have they not so slilye wrought, though Sathan was their guide, 
 
 But that their treason, every deale, at last is well espied : 
 
 For they, to seme more innocent of this most haynous deed, 
 
 Did catch four of the murderers, and put to death with speed : 
 
 Whereby they hope to make men think herein that they were chre, 
 
 Sith justice they did execute on some that guylty were ; 
 
 As Hepburne, Dagleish, Powry, too, John Hay made up the messe : 
 
 Which four, when they were put to death, the treason did confesse : 
 
 And said that Murray, Morton, too, with others of their rowte, 
 
 Were guyltie of the murder vile, though now they loke full stoute. 
 
 Yet some perchance do think that I speake for affection here; 
 
 Though I would so 3000 can herein true witnes beare ; 
 
 Who present were, as well as I, at th' execution tyme, 
 
 And heard how these, in conscience prickt, confessed who did the cryme, 
 
 Wherefore all princes take good heed, let this for warning stand, 
 
 And trye before you trust, I warnc, lest check be ncre at hand. 
 
 But though his check it semes so sure that mate is now at hand ; 
 
 Yet may his Q. such gward procure as shall his force withstand ? 
 
 And then she may, as he began, bid check mate ther menzie'' 
 
 And warne him, since his force is done, to yeld or els to flye. 
 
 To yeld, I meane, from false attempt, and flye such vaine request ; 
 
 And gward himself, with reasons rule, and set his heart at rest ; 
 
 Hindered. > Their followers.
 
 the Regent Murray.] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 401 
 
 And spend no more his tyme in vayne, such false attempts to tryc ; 
 
 Least if they use them ouer oft he'll clime I feare to highe. 
 
 And thus I cease, and make an end, and wish him to beware 
 
 No more such checks and tawnts to give, least he be caught in snare. 
 
 FINIS Q d TOM TROUTH. 
 
 The foregoing Poem gave rise to inquiries, even, at 
 London, which evince what impressions its truths had 
 made. In the Cotton Library, Callg. i. 296, may be 
 seen the examinations of Thomas Bishop, a profligate 
 dependent of Lennox, in March 1568-9, on this topic!< ; 
 he being then in the Tower of London. 
 
 <f These were, for examination of Thomas Bishop, in 
 March 1 568, touching a book wrighten against the 
 Earl of Murray, in defence of the Scotts Q., for which 
 he was committed to the Tower." 
 
 [The preceding head, which is written at the top, as a 
 kind of title, to the following examination, is in a different 
 hand-writing, from any part of the questions, which is a 
 draught, by Cecil, the greater part in his hand-writing.] 
 
 What is y e name of y e Bishop of Rosse's Secretary ? 
 
 At what place, and tyme, and how ofte, and by how 
 many, was report made to you of the y e offers made to 
 y e Q. of Scotts's Comissioners of ayde fro Spaync 
 and .... 
 
 How many, and what are y e names of them, y 1 wer to 
 your knolledge privie thereof; and who doe you sus- 
 pect, by conjecture, to be privie therto ? 
 
 What tyme was y e supper, at y e K. heade, in Flete 
 Strete, when xvj of y e Innes of Court made the L. 
 Herris a supper ?
 
 402 THE LIFE OF [MEM. V. Memoir of 
 
 How many doe you know of these xvj ; and what are 
 their names, and places of abode ? 
 
 [How] many copyes have you scene of y c booke ? 
 
 Who wer they y l made y e book ageynst y e Erie of 
 Murray ; or what part did yourself make, or minister, to 
 y e makers ? 
 
 How many doe you know to have seene y* book ; and 
 in whose hand. is y l book now remayning, to your knol- 
 ledge, or as you conjecture ? 
 
 do you not know y l Christofer Lassels r was 
 
 a medlar y< buke. 
 
 What yong lawyer was he y l was termed Fitzw"s of 
 Grays In ? 
 
 What he knoweth of any intelligence, or conference 
 by speche, writing, or message had, by the Quene of 
 Scots's Commissioners, or any of the Erie of Murray's 
 party, with any of the forayn ambassadors, or with any 
 other strangers, since their last coming into England ? 
 
 Who were the devisers, makers, wryters, and of coun- 
 sell with the booke written against the Erie of Murray ? 
 
 What conference had you with the Bishop of Rosse, 
 and Lord Boyd, or either of them, at Burton ? 
 
 What dealing had Bremycha of Irland w' the B. of 
 Roche, [Ross] or y e rest ? 
 
 How often did you resort to y e Bish. [Bishop] in Gra- 
 ciouss Streete before daylight ; and to what places went 
 the Bishop, in y e night tyme, to your knolledge ? 
 
 r A gentleman of Yorkshire, who went to Carlisle, in June 
 1568, to see the Scotish Queen ; but, was not admitted to 
 her presence, by Scroope and Knollys ; who ordered him to 
 be taken into custody, and turned out of the town.
 
 the Regent Murray.} THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 403 
 
 It did not require those questions, to evince how much 
 Mr. Secretary Cecil protected the Earl of Murray, and 
 indeed every enemy of the Scotish Queen. The topicks, 
 in the foregoing poem, as they are mostly all historically 
 true, lead to a very different conclusion, from the inquiry 
 of Cecil, and his coadj utors, as to the guilt of Mary, or of 
 Murray : The inferences of the poem are all true ; the 
 conclusions of Cecil are all false.
 
 404 THE LIFE OF [MEM. VI. Memoir of 
 
 MEMOIR VI. 
 
 Memoir of the Regent Morton. 
 
 MORTON was fourth, in the quick succession 
 of Regents, under the minority of James VI., 
 and was the highest, perhaps, in the scale of 
 depravity, among the immoral statesmen, who 
 produced, untimely, that minority, by the trai- 
 torous dethronement of the Scotish Queen. 
 Next to Murray, Morton, both in character, 
 and in crime, was the most important person- 
 age, during that reformed age. 
 
 Morton was the youngest son of Sir George 
 Douglas, the Earl of Angus's brother, by Eliza- 
 beth, the heiress of David Douglas, of Petten- 
 dreich, in Murrayshire. Morton's father was 
 forfeited, in the parliament of September 1528; 
 and lived, as an exile, in England, till the be- 
 ginning of the year 1543. This forfeiture com- 
 prehended the estates of the heiress, his wife : 
 For, James V., on the very day of the forfeiture, 
 granted those estates to Sir John Stirling, of 
 Keir, with other lands, which Sir George Dou- 
 glas had forfeited.* We may easily suppose his 
 
 a Regist. Mag. Sig. B. xxii. 148. From the same record 
 we know, however, that James V., liberally, granted to
 
 the Regent Morton.] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 405 
 
 son James lived, in Murray, with his mother, 
 who was thus provided for, under his proper 
 name, and not, according to the historian of the 
 Douglas's, as James Ennis, and as a bailif of a 
 country -gentleman, whence he was called, 
 popularly, James, the grieve* He was too 
 young, for such an office, which required more 
 knowledge of country-affairs, than he ever 
 possessed. Of that marriage of Sir George 
 Douglas, with the heiress of Pettendreich, there 
 were two sons, and two daughters : the eldest 
 son was David, who became the Earl of Angus, 
 in 1556, on the death of his uncle: the second 
 son was James, the subject of this Memoir, 
 who married Elizabeth, the youngest of the 
 three daughters of James, Earl of Morton, in 
 the beginning of 1543: In pursuance of this 
 marriage, and a settlement thereon, the hus- 
 band of Elizabeth, became Earl of Morton, on 
 the death of his father-in-law, in 1553. e 
 
 Elizabeth Douglas, and to James Douglas, her son, one-third 
 of Pettendreich, and other lands, in Elginshire. Ib. B. xxv. 
 C 256. The date of this grant was February 2, 1535-6, when 
 her son, James, was about fifteen, or sixteen years of age. 
 
 b Godscroft. 
 
 c Godscroft's Hist, of the Douglases, 2/9 ; speaking of 
 James Douglas [Morton], at the battle of Pinkie, in Sep- 
 tember 1 547, says, he was then about twenty-seven years of 
 age: James [Morton] was born, then, in 1520} and was of
 
 406 THE LIFE OF [MEM. VI. Memoir of 
 
 The untimely demise of James V., opened a 
 door, for the return of Sir George Douglas, and 
 his brother, Angus, under the government of 
 the Regent Arran ; when the parliament was 
 induced to reverse the attainders of both. J The 
 Earl of Angus, and his brother, Sir George, 
 were no sooner restored to their own country, 
 than they acted as formerly, the treasonous 
 part of agents to Henry VIII., from whom, 
 they received the wages of corruption. 
 
 The Regent Arran, having discovered the 
 treasonable correspondence of the Douglases, 
 with Henry VIHth's government, besieged Sir 
 George Douglas's house of Pinkie ; and on the 
 6th of November 1543, the Regent entered 
 Dalkeith-castle, by assault: but, as we learn, 
 from Sadler, Sir George Douglas's son, who is 
 heir to the Earl of Morton, being in the castle, 
 went into the Donjon, which he held against 
 Arran, till he received favourable conditions of 
 submission.' This is the first military exploit 
 of the master of Morton ; who, undoubtedly, 
 
 course, about five years older than Secretary Maitland ; ten 
 years older than Murray j and two-and-twenty years older 
 than the Scotish Queen. 
 
 d Parl. Rec. 650-3 [printed], George Douglas now acted 
 as a partizan, and spyc of Henry Mil, as we may sec in 
 the State Papers. 
 
 Sadler's Letters, 424, 420.
 
 the Regent Morton.'] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 407 
 
 acted, through life, as a vigorous character: 
 but, Crawford, the biographer, who is studious 
 to find some merit in the adopted heir of the 
 Earl of Morton, by a happy fiction, pretends, 
 that this exploit was an act of patriotism, in 
 holding out Dalkeith-castle against the Eng- 
 lish invaders, in May 1544. f The Earl of 
 Angus, and his brother, George, were summoned 
 to the parliament of November 1544, to answer 
 charges of treason. 8 Finding that the English 
 angels did not protect them, from the publick 
 scorn, the Douglases made their peace with the 
 Regent Arran, who, of course, relinquished the 
 prosecution. They now acted awhile, like 
 honest men. Sir George Douglas, and his son, 
 the master of Morton, both fought against the 
 English army, in the disastrous battle of Pinkie : 
 Sir George fell on the fatal field ; but, the master 
 of Morton fled to Dalkeith-castle, the same 
 night, whence he immediately retired ; giving 
 
 f Officers of State 95 : This writer conceals the treasons 
 of the Douglases, on that occasion, which Sadler, uncon- 
 sciously, records, in his letters. But, there is a letter from 
 the Earl of Hertford, to Henry VIII., in the Hamilton ar- 
 chives, dated the 8th of April 1544} signifying that the 
 master of Morton had promised to deliver Tamtallon, one of 
 the keys of Scotland, to the English army. This is one of 
 the first instances of the master of Morton's treachery. 
 
 8 Parl. Rcc. 677.
 
 408 THE LIFE OF [MEM. VI. Memoir of 
 
 orders to surrender the castle to the Protector, 
 Somerset, if he should demand it. h In riding 
 that way, to reconnoitre the country, he did 
 require this strength , and those who held 
 Dalkeith-castle, did give it up, with flattering 
 marks of profound respect, for Somerset, who 
 appeared to be all powerful to ignorant eyes. 
 
 The year 1553, at length, brought to a close 
 the life of the Earl of Morton, who had made 
 so many entails, in order, that a Douglas might 
 enjoy his estate, and title: this event opened 
 the passage, for James Douglas, the master of 
 Morton, to enter into both. Yet, might the 
 Queen, when she came of perfect age, have 
 recalled all those settlements. So he acted, in 
 the drama of state, with great caution, till the 
 parliament of April 1567, with the Queen's 
 assent, quieted all his fears. After he had 
 thus, in 1553, acquired the Earldom of Morton, 
 and immured his wife, in Tamtallon-castle, he 
 is said to have lived, privately, with a few do- 
 mesticks ; neither going to court, nor meddling 
 
 h Godscroft 273 ; Patten's account of the Protector's 
 Expedition, 79 ; but, he confounds the father, George, with 
 the son, James. Godscroft, and others, who follow him in 
 the path of tradition, relate, that the master of Morton was, 
 on that occasion, taken, in Dalkcith castle, and carried pri- 
 soner into England : But, Patten would have shown them 
 their mistakes.
 
 the Regent Morton.] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 409 
 
 with affairs, to avoid expenses : By his frugal 
 parsimony, adds Godscroft,' he disburdened 
 both the Earldoms of Morton, and Angus, of 
 their several debts. But, there was something 
 concealed, under this parsimony, and that retire- 
 ment, while his wife was confined in Tamtallon, 
 which his biographer did not choose to open ; 
 and what he did not choose to disclose, and 
 what he declined to tell, cannot now be told. 
 
 At length, the Earl of Morton did meddle 
 with affairs ; being one of the few lords, who 
 subscribed the Jirst covenant of the church 
 reformer, on the 3rd of December 1557. k 
 
 Meantime, Morton's elder brother, David, 
 succeeded, in August 1557, to Archibald, Earl 
 of Angus, who died, in 1556, in his earldom, 
 and estates, upon charters of entail, which had 
 been obtained, from the Regent Arran, in 
 favour of heirs male, but in exclusion of his 
 only daughter, the Lady Margaret, Countess 
 of Lennox, the mother of Darnley. 1 Those 
 
 1 Hist, of the Douglases, 279. 
 
 k Keith, 66, contains that bond of the associators ; Spot- 
 tiswoode exposes some of their resolutions. 
 
 1 Those charters, which show the desires of all the Doug- 
 lases, for heirs of their name, are preserved in the Parl. 
 Rec. 766-9. Morton, in his epistolary altercation with Se- 
 cretary Maitland, said, " I gave the Queen a thousand 
 crowns, in a purse, for the confirmation of Angus." Banna-
 
 410 THE LIFE OF [MEM. VI. Memoir of 
 
 charters, which were obtained, a few days be- 
 fore the battle of Pinkie, and were subject to 
 the Queen's revocation, sowed the seeds of many 
 dissensions, among the families of Lennox, An- 
 gus, and Morton. David, Earl of Angus, died, 
 however, in 1558 ; leaving his son, Archibald, 
 very young, in the tutelage of Morton, who is 
 said to have managed his nephew's Earldom, 
 with great economy, but with this sensation 
 upon his spirits, that the title was subject to 
 several challenges. He thus, however, ac- 
 quired much additional influence, in the south- 
 ern shires. With his usual policy, he now 
 courted the Regent Queen, and Mons. D'Oysel, 
 to whose daughter, he is said to have betroth- 
 ed Angus, his nephew, and ward. But, D'Oy- 
 sel, soon after removing, from the seat of his 
 power, gave Morton an intimation, to recede 
 from his contract. 
 
 This artful man was too much committed, 
 with the congregationalists, by signing their 
 first covenant, to be able to retract : And, when 
 they unsheathed their swords against the Re- 
 
 tyne's Journal, 480. The Queen, thus, had a pecuniary in- 
 terest, in such imperfect titles ; and when she gave her ne- 
 cessary confirmation, without a thousand crowns, in a purse, 
 she conferred a considerable favour. 
 m Godscroft, 279.
 
 the Regent Morton.] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 411 
 
 gent-queen, he did not join their bands, though 
 he secretly favoured their cause, according to 
 the usual duplicity of that immoral age. The 
 Earl, however, repaired to the Parliament of 
 November 1558, and was chosen one of the 
 Committee of Articles." He was one of those, 
 who received the report of the Parliamentary 
 Commissioners, who had witnessed, in France, 
 the Queen's marriage. Thus, at the end of 
 1558, Morton had risen, by the possession of 
 two earldoms, and constant attention to his 
 own interest, to be the most opulent, and one 
 of the most powerful nobles of North Britain. 
 The year 1559, from the progress of the re- 
 formers, and the purpose of Elizabeth, to aid 
 them, will always be deemed of great impor- 
 tance, in the Scotish annals. Morton, who 
 still adhered, openly, to the Regent Queen, 
 acted as one of the Commissioners, who made 
 the treaty of Upsetlington, in May 1559. p It 
 was on this treaty, that Sir Robert Cotton, 
 wrote with his own hand, " by this document, 
 Elizabeth agreed, not to assist the King and 
 Queen's subjects, in Scotland, yet secretly sup- 
 ported their revolt." She continued to agitate 
 the people of Scotland, by the most disinge- 
 
 " Part. Rec. 729-3O. Id. 
 
 P Rym. Feed. xv. 5*0.
 
 412 THE LIFE OF [MEM. VI. Memoir of 
 
 nuous artifices, throughout her whole life. At 
 the same epoch, the second covenant of the 
 Reformers was entered into, at Edinburgh ; 
 but, Morton still reflecting on the defects of 
 his titles, did not subscribe that document. 
 This double dealing statesman, throughout the 
 year 1559, continued to court the dowager 
 Queen, while he secretly supported her reformed 
 oppressors." 1 Neither Sadler, nor Cecil, Mur- 
 
 ' On the 12th of October 1559, Cecil wrote to Sadler 
 and Crofts, Elizabeth's two Commissioners in Scotland : In 
 France, it is said, the Earls of Huntley, and Morton, re- 
 main, from the protestants. Sadler's State Papers, i. 495. 
 On the 24th of October, Sadler, and Croft, intimated to Ce- 
 cil, " that they had heard the Earl of Morton was at Edin- 
 burgh, with the Protestants." Ib. 514, He had been, at 
 Edinburgh, to agree to a resolution to deprive the dowager 
 Queen of the Regency. Keith, 105. The English Com- 
 missioners again wrote to Cecil, on the 25th of October : 
 The Earl of Morton lyeth at Dalkeith, within five miles of 
 Edinburgh, and sometimes repaircth thither, cf whom the 
 protestants make a certain account. Sadler's St. Pap. i. 
 518. On the 31st of October, Cecil wrote to Sadler : The 
 Earl of Morton's absence is to be misliked. Ib. 532. On 
 the 3d of November, Cecil again wrote ; " I mislike, that 
 the Earl of Morton lyeth aloof: I fear practices will do the 
 protestants as much hurt, as force." Ib. 535. Randolph, 
 Elizabeth's secret agent, in Scotland, wrote from Edinburgh : 
 " No man thinketh well of the Earl of Morton, for that he 
 hath broken his promise with the Lords of the Congregation. 
 Jb. 537. Knox, at the same time, said, of Morton, that he
 
 the Regent Morton.'] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 413 
 
 ray, nor Maitland could dive into his double- 
 ness. Morton himself only knew, because he 
 felt where both shoes pinched him. He alone 
 could tell that the titles to the Earldoms of 
 Morton, and of Angus, with the estates depend- 
 ing on them, were full of flaws : And it was 
 late in December 1559, before he learned, that 
 
 promised to be ours j but, did never plainly join. Hist. 191. 
 On the llth of November, Randolph wrote from Stirling to 
 Sadler, and Crofts," that the protestants had been obliged 
 to leave Edinburgh, at midnight, between the 6th and 7th 
 of November ; as they had become weak and dispirited, and 
 were doubtful of the castle ; because the Earl of Morton, 
 and Lord Erskine had consulted together, to end the matter, 
 by composition : Wherefore, the protestant chiefs thought it 
 better to depart than to trust to their gentleness, and spe- 
 cially to the Earl of Morton, who being of the congregation, 
 and promising daily to come to them, stole secretly into 
 the castle, whither he came the day before we departed ; 
 and was there when we went away. The Earl of Morton 
 is returned to his house, and has not spoken with the Queen. 
 Lord Erskine is determined to keep the castle from her. 
 76. 564 j Keith's ^pp-34-5. Morton, probably, produced 
 this resolution of Lord Erskine, when he was in the castle 
 with him. See some other such motives of Morton, in Sad- 
 ler's St. Pap. i. 626, 649. On the 20th of December, Ro- 
 bert Melvill arrived with advice, from Secretary Maitland, 
 who was then at London, that Elizabeth had agreed to sup- 
 port them. On the 15th of January 1559-60, the English 
 fleet, under Admiral Winter, arrived, in the Forth, off Leith. 
 Keith, 115. 
 
 VOL. III. E C
 
 414 THE LIFE OF [MEM. VI. Memoir of 
 
 Elizabeth was resolved to support the Scotish 
 protestants, openly, with money, and men, with 
 her fleet, and her perfidy ; when Morton per- 
 ceived, distinctly, that the dowager Queen 
 would be overpowered, and the French ex- 
 pelled. 
 
 A new day dawned on the Scotish reformers, 
 when the year 1560 began. The avowed as- 
 sistance of Elizabeth, by so many modes in- 
 spired them, with every assurance of final suc- 
 cess. Morton was, at length, so thoroughly 
 convinced of that animating truth, that he 
 would no longer receive letters, from the dow- 
 ager Queen, who had egregiously misgoverned 
 her daughter's kingdom/ Norfolk, as Eli- 
 zabeth's Lieutenant, in the north, arrived at 
 Berwick, in February 1559-60, when he gave 
 notice to the reformed nobles, to send Com- 
 missioners, to treat, for her assistance.* The 
 treaty of Berwick was soon after made, by 
 Murray, and Maitland, on behalf of Hamilton, 
 the Earl of Arran, the second person of Scot- 
 
 r Randolph, on the 25th of January 1559-60, informed 
 Sadler, that when the Queen dowager wrote letters to many 
 country gentlemen, to be in readiness, they absented them- 
 selves : Among others was my Lord Morton, upon whose 
 doors those letters were fixed ; because none of his men 
 would receive them. Sadler's St. Pap. i. 696. 
 
 ' Keith, 116.
 
 tfie Regent Morton.] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 415 
 
 land, who thus assumed to be the first.* Mor- 
 ton was one of the reformed nobles, who rati- 
 fied the treaty of Berwick. During the siege 
 of Leith, which was more difficult than had 
 been foreseen, owing to the disciplined valour 
 of its defenders, Morton took an active share. 
 And on the 27th of April, he subscribed with 
 a willing pen the fourth covenant of the re- 
 formed faction." Seeing now every fair pros- 
 pect of final success, Morton wrote, on the 
 27th of May, an apologetical epistle to Secre- 
 tary Cecil, from the camp before Leith : stat- 
 ing his hopes, that Lethington, as one, who was 
 privy to his determination ; what mind he had 
 borne to the common cause, from the begin- 
 ning, and his motives, for declining to declare 
 himself, before the arrival of the English army.* 
 The Queen dowager's health soon after gave 
 way to disease, and disappointment: so that 
 Morton had nothing now to fear, or to hope, 
 
 1 On the 2d of April 156O, the English army entered 
 Scotland, in pursuance of the treaty just made, at Berwick. 
 On the 4th the protestant troops joined the English, at 
 Preston. On the 5th the reformed lords met at Morton's 
 castle of Dalkeith, whence they wrote to the dowager Queen , 
 desiring that the French troops might retire, and the English 
 would return : On the morrow, however, hostilities began. 
 Spottiswoode, 144. " Keith, 125: Preface x. 
 
 * Haynes, 305-16.
 
 416 THE LIFE OF [MEM. VI. Memoir of 
 
 for his defective titles, from her powers of mis- 
 chief, or practice of beneficence. The fictitious 
 treaty of Edinburgh, on the 6th of July 1560, 
 by the artifice, or ability of Cecil, virtually, 
 transferred the sovereignty of Scotland, from 
 the legitimate sovereign to the reformed chiefs. 
 In the Parliament, which was called by them, on 
 the 1st of August, contrary to their own treaty, 
 Morton was present. With Maitland, and 
 Glencairn, Morton was one of the Commis- 
 sioners, who went from that convention, to 
 thank Elizabeth, for her aid ; and to offer her 
 the Earl of Arran, the frantick son of the Duke 
 of Chattelherault, for her husband. 7 She was no 
 doubt, gratified, to have wrenched, by her army, 
 and artifice, a kingdom, from her rival Queen : 
 But, with affected civility, she declined to ac- 
 cept such a husband, from such hands. It is 
 pretended, that Morton procured, from his 
 cousin Lady Lennox, a renunciation of her 
 claims to the Earldom of Angus : r But, sub- 
 sequent proceedings evince, that he may have 
 soothed, with his usual artifices, but, did not 
 satisfy the family of Lennox ; that Lady Mar- 
 garet, the only child of the late Earl, was not 
 the legitimate heiress of his estates, and titles. 
 Early in the year 1561, Morton, with his 
 
 ' Keith, 155. z Godscroft, 28 1 .
 
 the Regent Morton.'] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 417 
 
 associates, returned to their distracted country; 
 and reported to the convention of May, Eli- 
 zabeth's engagements to support their preten- 
 sions ; and assist their arms, against their 
 Queen.* Whatever may have been the scoffe- 
 ries of some nobles, Morton subscribed Knox's 
 book of discipline, as he found a shelter, from 
 his subscription, for his immoral manners, and 
 habitual depravity. The unexpected arrival of 
 Mary on the 19th of August, whatever obstruc- 
 tions were opposed to her voyage, opened other 
 objects to the vigilant Morton's interested eyes. 
 When the Queen sat down, soon after, to settle 
 her Privy Council, Morton was sworn in, 
 among the other reformed nobles, to whom she 
 delivered her person, and her people. b Morton 
 was an assiduous counsellor ; attending almost 
 every council, from the contiguity of his castle, 
 during several years. From the epoch of the 
 Queen's return, " Morton." as we are assured, 
 by the historian of the Douglasses, "entered into 
 the strictest bonds of friendship with Murray, 
 which continued so long, as they lived to- 
 gether:" They had thenceforth the same 
 
 a Keith, 167. b Keith, 187- 
 
 c In his correspondence with Secretary Maitland, Morton 
 informed him, that he obtained " the chancellerie, and the 
 Earldom of Morton, with the help of Lord Murray's friend-
 
 418 THE LIFE OF [Maw. VI. Memoir of 
 
 friends, and the same enemies ; the same aims, 
 and ends ; the good of their country, and the 
 maintaining of religion. They run the same 
 hazards in all perils, and dangers, never sepa- 
 rating their counsels, nor failing to aid one 
 another. d 
 
 Morton, as one of the southern barons, ac- 
 companied Murray to the borders, in Novem- 
 ber 1561, when Murray went thither, as the 
 Queen's lieutenant, to restore good order on the 
 conterminous borders. Morton, also, accom- 
 panied Mary, and Murray, on their northern 
 expedition, for the double purpose of crushing 
 Huntley, and aggrandizing Murray. Soon after 
 the death of Huntley, at the skirmish of Cor- 
 richie, Morton was rewarded, for such a jour- 
 ney, and such hazards : On the 7th of January 
 1562-3, he was appointed chancellor, in the 
 place of Huntley. 6 When the parliament 
 passed an act of oblivion, for the violences, the 
 villainies, and the wrongs, during the last seven 
 years of uncommon perturbations, Morton was, 
 
 ship, and furtherance, though some part of his interposition 
 was in respect of his brother, the laird of Lochleven's inte- 
 rest, who was placed next in the entail of the Earldom. 
 Bannatyne's Journal, 480. 
 
 d Godscroft, 281. The above is a very important passage, 
 which ought ever to be kept in view. 
 
 Crawford Officers of State, 95.
 
 the Regent Morton.] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 419 
 
 naturally, appointed, with Murray, and Mait- 
 land, and other guilty chiefs, to carry it into 
 effect. As chancellor, Morton was now in a 
 situation, to ask, and obtain, a charter of con- 
 firmation of the earldom of Morton, from the 
 Scotish Queen, in October 1564, when she was 
 now twenty-one/ But, Morton did not con- 
 sider himself, as sufficiently secure ; as the 
 Queen, at the age of twenty- five, might still 
 have recalled her charter : And, we shall see 
 him, at the healing Parliament of April 1567, 
 obtain a complete ratification of all his rights. 8 
 Being now double sure, Morton, from thence- 
 forth, gave full scope to his habitual perfidy. 
 At that epoch, his wife was still alive, though 
 immured, in the castle of Tamtallon, under the 
 sad misfortune of a deranged intellect. 11 
 
 When the Queen married Darnley, on the 
 29th of July 1565, Morton acted, in the cere- 
 
 f Parl. Rec. 764. 
 
 2 Acta Parl. ii. 562, for the ratification to Morton, and 
 p. 565, for the ratification to the Earl of Angus. 
 
 h On the 3d of May 1565, Randolph wrote to Cecil ; 
 Morton is so misliked, that I hare not heard any man worse 
 spoken of: He is now in hope, that the Queen will give 
 over her right to Angus : But, Randolph seems to have 
 forgotten, that in December 1564, he had written to the 
 same minister, that the Queen had confirmed Angus to the 
 young Earl, Keith's App. 162.
 
 420 THE LIFE OF [MEM. VI. Memoir of 
 
 monial of the nuptial feast, as the Queen's car- 
 ver. After the Queen's marriage., nothing re- 
 mained for Murray, prompted as he was by 
 Elizabeth, but submission, or revolt: He chose 
 the last alternative : And he went out into in- 
 surrection, aided, by the numerous family of 
 the Hamiltons. Morton acted, on that occa- 
 sion, a very different part : He remained in the 
 Queen's councils, to betray them: He com- 
 manded the Queen's army, on purpose to mis- 
 lead it : And when Murray led his insurgents to 
 the south ; Morton conducted the loyalists to 
 the north. We thus perceive Morton acting upon 
 his usual principle, of making surety double 
 sure : It is apparent, then, that the two armies 
 could not meet, till they had traversed the globe. 
 At the end of the campaign of 1565, Mor- 
 ton, seeing that Murray, with his insurgents, 
 had arrived safe on the north-western borders 
 of England, left the Queen's army. 1 After the 
 Queen's return to Edinburgh, measures were 
 taken, for restoring general quiet, in which 
 Morton concurred ; because he knew, that his 
 insurgent friends were quite safe. k On the 
 
 On the llth of October, Randolph wrote to Cecil., 
 " That he knew for certain, the Earl of Morton, and Lord 
 Ruthven, were enemies to the Queen's government, and only 
 make fair weather, until it come to the pinch." [An unpub- 
 lished dispatch in the Paper Office.] k Keith's App 115-17.
 
 the Regent Morton.] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 42! 
 
 30th of October, the Queen rode to Dalkeith, to 
 pay a visit to Morton, for a few days. Of this 
 visit, Randolph said, sneeringly, " that it would 
 enrich Lord Morton, who would be as well 
 pleased, with her being there, as I am of my 
 abode, in Edinburgh." 1 The object of the 
 Queen's visit was, probably, more of business, 
 than of amusement, at such a season. She had it 
 in contemplation to take into her own hands 
 some of the strongest castles, in her kingdom. 
 He did not probably make any strong objection ; 
 as he was already meditating resentment, or 
 relief: And, in a few days, he followed the 
 Queen to Edinburgh, where a council was held, 
 wherein it was determined to arrest various 
 persons, and to seize some castles." 1 Morton 
 
 1 An unpublished dispatch to Cecil, in the Paper Office. 
 
 m On the 5th of November 1565, Morton, as chancellor, 
 attended the Privy Council, when bonds were ordered to be 
 taken of suspected persons, in Fife, and Lothian, for their 
 good behaviour j and directions were given, ' ' for delivering 
 up, when required, by the King, and Queen, the castles of 
 St. Andrews into the hands of Archbishop Hamilton, the 
 castle of Tamtallon, then in the hands of the Earl of Mor- 
 ton, by right of ward [of the Earl of Angus] and the castle 
 of Lochleven, pertaining to William Douglas (another of 
 Morton's near relations.) Keith, 318. Security was merely 
 given, to surrender those castles, on the 4th or 7th of 
 January. Ib. 226.
 
 422 THE LIFE OF [MEM. VI. Memoir of 
 
 was now plainly acting, according to his usual 
 policy, of espying the times, and making fair 
 weather., till the pinch should arrive. On the 
 1st of December 1565, Morton, as chancellor, 
 attended the Privy Council, which directed 
 summonses of treason to be issued against his 
 friends, Murray, Argyle, Glencairn, Rothes, and 
 other rebels, to appear in Parliament, on the 
 4th of February then next. Thus, did Mary 
 attempt, to strengthen her government, which 
 appeared triumphant, at the end of 1565. But, 
 nothing could be more hollow than such ap- 
 pearances. She had no regular army, and 
 scarcely a sufficient guard, for her palace : Her 
 government may be said to have consisted of 
 herself, Darnley, a silly youth, and Lennox, a 
 weak man : Her chancellor, Morton, was able, 
 artful, enterprizing, and perfidious, who, as we 
 have seen, was her enemy, and Murray 's friend. 
 Her Secretary, Maitland, was still more able, 
 artful, enterprizing, and perfidious, who was 
 more attached to Elizabeth than to her, was 
 more Murray's friend, than her servant. The 
 inferior officers of state, who were all utterly 
 unprincipled, were the mere dependants on 
 Murray, though they were appointed to prose- 
 cute him. And the expatriated nobles lurked 
 
 11 Keith, 118-20
 
 the Regent Morton.'] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 433 
 
 in Northumberland, where they were counte- 
 nanced, by the English administration ; and 
 whence they intrigued with the Scotish people. 
 In this state of things, Morton took the lead, 
 in forming a very wide conspiracy, which had, 
 for its end, two great objects ; the return, and 
 pardon, of the expatriated peers ; and the fur- 
 ther safety of the religion. The means, for 
 accomplishing those objects, were ; 1st. to 
 delude Darnley, with the hopes of being sole 
 king, for his life, to act against the Queen, his 
 wife, by seizing her, in her palace ; to assassi- 
 nate, in her presence, her private secretary, 
 Rizzio ; and in the midst of this explosion, to 
 dissolve the Parliament, which was to attaint 
 Murray, and his friends, who were to return, 
 in the midst of the intended tumult. In all 
 those objects and means, the clergy, with Knox, 
 at their head, zealously concurred. And, by 
 the duplicity of Morton, and the artifices of 
 Maitland, all suspicion of such a conspiracy 
 were kept from the Queen's knowledge. 
 
 In order to give time, for the complete for- 
 mation of this terrible plot, the Parliament, on 
 the 4th of February 1565-6, was adjourned to 
 
 Morton, and Ruthven, avowed these two objects, in their 
 well known letter to Throckmorton, of the 2d of April 1566, 
 in Goodall, i. 265.
 
 424 THE LIFE OF [MEM. VI. Memoir of 
 
 the 7th of March, and the summonses against 
 Murray, and his friends, were continued to the 
 12th of March.' The Parliament did, ac- 
 cordingly, assemble, on the 7th of March, the 
 day, to which it was adjourned ; the Queen 
 meeting it in state, and making it her speech ; 
 while Darnley, refusing to attend her, went to 
 Leith, for his amusement. 9 
 
 This great conspiracy, at length, burst upon 
 the Queen's palace, while she was at supper 
 with her usual attendants, on Saturday the 9th 
 of March 1565-6. Holyrood-house was sur- 
 rounded by 500 armed men, who were com- 
 manded, by Morton, the Chancellor, assisted by 
 the lords Ruthven, and Lindsay. The war-cry 
 which was raised, on that boisterous night, was 
 a Douglas ! a Douglas ! a Douglas ! And, 
 there were, indeed present, at this treasonous 
 attempt, a dozen Douglasses, with Morton, as 
 their chief. He commanded every where, and 
 placed guards, at every apartment, and in every 
 passage; so that the Queen was completely 
 made captive ; the courtiers making their es- 
 
 P Keith, 326. Melvill says, in his Mem. 8vo. edit. 128, 
 that Morrow, Ruthven, Lindsey, and other friends of the rebel 
 lords ; in order to prevent their forfeiture, consulted together 
 how to get the Parliament stayed, and to make a change at 
 court ; and he intimates that some had special reasons to 
 fear the sitting of Parliament. * Keith, 331.
 
 the Regent Morton.'] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 425 
 
 cape, by every means. Darnley led the way 
 to the Queen's closet ; followed by Lord Ruth- 
 ven, and George Douglas, his favourite ; And, 
 it was reserved for this cut-throat, with the 
 King's dagger, to strike Rizzio, the wretched 
 victim of their odious guilt, while clinging to 
 the Queen's garments/ On the morrow, being 
 Sunday, the 10th of March, Darnley issued a 
 proclamation, by his own authority, which was 
 too readily obeyed, to prorogue the parliament.' 
 In the evening of the same day, Murray, 
 Rothes,and their expatriated compeers, arrived, 
 at Holy rood-house, where Darnley received 
 them, as friends. The time, and circumstances, 
 of their arrival, evince, that they had been pre- 
 viously informed of this privy conspiracy. Mur- 
 ray, soon after, had an interview with the 
 Queen, who, in her captive state, received him, 
 with her usual grace. And Murray, afterward, 
 retired to rest in the friendly mansion of Mor- 
 ton, as his safest residence. 
 
 On the following day, Murray, Morton, and 
 other nobles, held a council, to determine on 
 ulterior measures :* In the spirit of their con- 
 
 1 Melvill's Mem. 129 : The Queen's interesting account 
 of that barbarous deed, is in Keith, 331. 
 s Ib. 332 ; App. 126. 
 1 Knox, 394, specifies, as present, at that treasonous
 
 426 THE LIFE OF [MEM. VI. Memoir of 
 
 spiracy, they now resolved, to imprison the 
 Queen, in Stirling castle, till she should approve, 
 in parliament, of their whole enterprizes, esta- 
 blish their religion, and give the King the 
 crown matrimonial, with the whole govern- 
 ment." The Queen then, was to be dethroned, 
 for the notable purposes of those conspirators, 
 with her husband at their head. In this manner, 
 were to be accomplished the objects of this con- 
 spiracy, by a captive Queen, and a dislocated 
 constitution ! 
 
 But this traitorous resolution was soon dis- 
 concerted, by a wondrous change of the fatal 
 scene. In the night of the same day, the Queen, 
 by great efforts of address, and resolution, in- 
 duced Darnley, to flee, with her, to Dunbar- 
 castle, where she was soon surrounded by her 
 affectionate nobles." In consequence of the 
 Queen's escape, on the morrow, the conspirators 
 held another council, in Mortons house, where 
 they now determined, with the usual assurance 
 of ultimate success, to send Lord Sempil to 
 Dunbar, with a request, that the Queen would 
 subscribe those Articles, which had been pre- 
 
 council, Lennox, Murray, Morton, Rothes, Ruthven, Lind- 
 say, Boyd, and Uchiltree. u Keith, 332. 
 
 * Ib. 333. Thither, the guilty Lennox repaired to her, 
 whose ingratitude had forgotten, while intriguing with 
 Morton, that he owed his all to the Queen's beneficence.
 
 the Regent Morton.'] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 427 
 
 sented to her, while she was a prisoner in Holy- 
 rood-house. Sempil was detained three days ; 
 and, in the end, was sent back with the Queen's 
 refusal. 7 From D unbar castle, she summoned 
 all her faithful lieges, to assemble in arms, to 
 meet her, on the 16th, the 17th, and the 18th of 
 March, at Hadington, and Musselburgh, as she 
 marched to Edinburgh. 8 It was now perceived, 
 by Morton, and his associates, in the late con- 
 spiracy, that the Queen had taken her measures. 
 And, on Sunday, the 17th of March, the Chan- 
 cellor, the Secretary, M'Gill, the Lord Clerk 
 Register, Ballentine, the Lord Justice Clerk, 
 Knox, the Reformer, with Lords Ruthven and 
 Lindsay, fled, by various ways, to the treacher- 
 ous borders of England. 3 On the 18th of 
 March, the Queen, and Darnley, entered Edin- 
 burgh, at the head of 8000 men ; when the 
 Queen entered the castle, as her safest abode. b 
 
 r Keith's App. 129. z Ib. 130. 
 
 a Keith, 333 ; Melvill, 132 } Knox, 395 : Among the 
 guilty fugitives were George Douglas, the bastard of Angus, 
 William Douglas of Whittingham, and his brother, Archi- 
 bald, the parson of Douglas, William Douglas, of Lochle- 
 ven, nine other Douglases, with other adherents of Morton. 
 Archibald Douglas was one of the murderers of Darnley, 
 and collusively acquitted. Arnot's Grim. Trials. See his 
 letter to the Queen, in Goodall, i. 281 . 
 
 b Knox, 395.
 
 428 THE LIFE OF [MEM. VI. Memoir of 
 
 On her way to Edinburgh, Mary pardoned 
 Murray, and his associates, for their rebellion, 
 at the same time, that Morton, and his adhe- 
 rents, were obliged to flee. The Earl of Hunt- 
 ley, on the 20th of March, was appointed 
 Chancellor, in the place of Morton, and on the 
 same day,Darnley, disavowed, by proclamation, 
 his concern, in the conspiracy, though he avow- 
 ed his desire, for the return of Murray, who 
 had opposed his marriage, by rebellion ; while 
 he murdered Rizzio, that had promoted it.' 
 
 The correspondence of Randolph with Cecil, 
 had prepared Elizabeth to hear of some great 
 event. Her ministers had previous information 
 of the late conspiracy, with the objects of it.* 
 Randolph, Elizabeth's agent, seems to have 
 retired, from Edinburgh, to Berwick, a few 
 days before the fatal explosion, on the 9th of 
 March. Morton, and Ruthven, followed him 
 thither, on the 17th. And, as early as the 2d 
 of April 1566, Elizabeth wrote to Bedford, her 
 
 c After that disavowal, so contrary to truth, says Knox, 
 Darnley lost his credit among all men. Hist. 395. 
 
 (l There is in Keith's App. 167, a letter from Bedford, and 
 Randolph, at Berwick, on the 7th, transcribed from the 
 Cotton Library : which proves the fact of their previous 
 knowledge ; that Morton, Ruthven, Lindsay, were the chief 
 promoters of the conspiracy ; and that Darnley was, merely, 
 their instrument of mischief.
 
 the Regent Morton.'] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 4-29 
 
 lieutenant iu the north, that " she is willing 
 Morton may stay, in England, till she give fur- 
 ther orders." 6 They, meanwhile, endeavoured, 
 to engage for their cause, if not for themselves, 
 many influential persons, in England ; pretend^- 
 ing their objects to have been, the relief of their 
 brethren, and the benefit of the religion.* While 
 Cecil favoured, and Elizabeth countenanced, 
 the conspirators, the most dangerous intrigues 
 were carried into effect, upon either side of the 
 conterminous borders. 8 Throughout the ensu 
 ing summer, the two Queens practised their 
 arts, on each other ; the one to remove, and the 
 
 e Keith's App. 167- On the same day, Mary wrote to Eliza- 
 beth, pressing her to remove Morton, and his associates, from 
 England : But, after giving fair promises, Elizabeth allowed 
 them to lurk about Alnwick, till their restoration, which 
 she promoted, at the end of the year. Keith, 336" j Melvill, 
 p. 136 ; Godscroft, 292. 
 
 f See their letter of the 2d of April 1566, to Sir Nicholas 
 Throckmorton, inGoodall, i. 264. 
 
 8 There were practices, which went to affect the life of 
 Bothwell. Keith's App. 167. Both well was the Queen's 
 Lieutenant on the borders ; was the chief lord of Lidisdale, 
 and was, therefore, hated by the borderers, who were in- 
 fluenced, by Morton. The Elliots, who hated Bothwell, sent 
 to the English warden, and to Bedford, " to allow them to 
 lie five or six days on the English borders :" This was 
 granted, by connivance, Goodall, i. 304, from the Cotton 
 Library, Calig. B. x. fol. 380. 
 
 VOL. III. F f
 
 430 THE LIFE OF [MEM. VI. Memoir of 
 
 other to retain the expatriated traitors ; while 
 Mary was persecuted, to pardon the conspira- 
 tors, who had defied her power, and endangered 
 her person. 
 
 In the meantime, the Privy Council, sitting 
 at Edinburgh, assisted by Murray, and Argyle, 
 thought fit to order justice to be done on all 
 those, who committed the murder of Rizzio, 
 or were suspected of that crime ; while others, 
 who were less guilty, and offered themselves 
 for trial, should be confined, banished, or fined. 11 
 Of the 500 persons, who were, actually, pre- 
 sent, at the murder of Rizzio, and participated 
 in the treason of restraining the Queen, 400 
 were slighted, 79 were pardoned, and two in- 
 significant men suffered the usual pains of high 
 treason. Buchanan, when he speaks of the 
 severity of the proceedings against those odious 
 criminals, talks like an historian, who was either 
 not well informed, or not well intentioned. 
 The chiefs of that conspiracy, particularly, 
 Morton, passed into Scotland, where they were 
 concealed, by their friends : the Privy Council, 
 on the 8th of June, directed proclamations to 
 be made against receiving, or supplying, those 
 conspirators, and particularly, the Earl of Mor- 
 ton, Lord Lindsay, and the master of Ruthven. 1 
 
 h Keith's App. 131. ' Keith's App. 131-2.
 
 the Regent Morton.] THE SCQTISH QUEEN. 431 
 
 On the 31st of May, Morton wrote to Randolph? 
 that Elizabeth will not allow him, and his 
 associates, to remain, in England ; and he 
 wished Randolph to grant them a safe conduct, 
 and to intercede with the Scotish Queen, for 
 their return home ; considering how much they 
 had done, formerly, for the Queen of England's 
 service* 
 
 As the time of the Queen's confinement ap- 
 proached, the Earls of Huntley, and Bothwell, 
 and the Bishop of Ross, advised her to impri- 
 son Murray, during so dangerous a period ; 
 saying that they were, assuredly, advertised 
 that he, and his dependants, were resolved to 
 bring in the banished lords, before she should 
 be restored to her health: Mary mentioned 
 this to Melvill, the partizan of Murray, whose 
 gratitude forgot what his resentment remem- 
 bered. 1 When Melvill communicated, to Eli- 
 zabeth, the unwelcome news of Mary's delivery, 
 he thanked her, in the name of his mistress, 
 for putting away those conspirators, though 
 there were reports, that some of them were 
 still entertained, secretly, in England : Eliza- 
 beth affirmed, with her usual effrontery, that 
 
 k Ib. 168, from the documents, in the Cotton Library. 
 Bedford wrote to Cecil, on the 3d of August. 
 1 Melvill's Mem. 67.
 
 432 THE LIFE OF [MEM. VI. Memoir of 
 
 they had been ordered out of her dominions ; 
 and if it should be discovered, that her direc- 
 tions had not been enforced, rigorous punish- 
 ment should follow. 111 Elizabeth, on her part, 
 complained of disorders on the borders : and 
 Mary required her agent, Melvill, to signify to 
 her good sister, her firm belief, " that it was 
 the principal officers, on both sides, who were 
 the special instruments of those disorders ; 
 taking occasion upon the late troubles ; when she 
 might not so well take order with them."" The 
 truth is, that the English wardens had encou- 
 raged those disorders, in order to conceal Mor- 
 ton's practices ; and the great clans of the 
 Scotish borders, with Lord Home, at their head, 
 had taken part, lately, with Murray, and now 
 adhered to Morton. 
 
 The Queen's principal ministers persevered 
 in their endeavours, to obtain the restoration 
 of those nobles, who, by the most horrible 
 
 m Mel. Mem. 70. The fact is, that Elizabeth ordered 
 Morton, and the other conspirators, to quit England : But, 
 they were protected by Cecil, and they only pretended to 
 .depart. Documents in ihe Paper Office. " Ib. 73. 
 
 Knox, 393 j Goodall i. 380, from the Cotton Library, 
 Calig. B. 10 : and " these clans," as Bedford intimated to 
 Cecil, on the 3d of August, were resolved to withstand 
 Bothwell, the Queen's Lieutenant, unless the Queen should 
 come in person." Id.
 
 the Regent Morion.] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 433 
 
 crimes, had obtained the return, and pardon, 
 of the ambitious Murray, and his guilty asso- 
 ciates. They successfully, attacked the Queen's 
 sensibilities at the baptism of James. 
 
 Morton, thus restored, went from England 
 to Whittingbam : and, here was he met, about 
 the 20th of January 1566-7, by Bothwell, and 
 Maitland, with a familiarity, which plainly im- 
 plied some previous communications, upon the 
 momentous business of the king's murder. This 
 is so important, that Morton ought to be allowed 
 to tell his own story, as he told it himself, on 
 the fatal scaffold, to the Edinburgh ministers^ 
 which, he said, was the truth, as he should 
 answer to God. " After my returning out of 
 England, when I was banished, for David's 
 slaughter, I came out of Wedderburn, to Whit- 
 tingham, where the Earl of Bothwell, and I, 
 met together ; and in the yard of Whitting- 
 ham, after long communing, the Earl of Both- 
 well proponed [proposed] to me the purpose of 
 the King's murder ; requiring what would be 
 my part therein ; seeing it was the Queen's 
 mind, that the King should be taken away ; 
 because, as she said, she blamed the King more 
 of David's slaughter than me : my answer to 
 the Earl of Bothwell, at that time, was this : 
 that I would not in any ways meddle with that 
 matter ; yet, for this cause, that I am but
 
 434 THE LIFE OF [M E M. VI. Memoir of 
 
 newly corne out of a great trouble, whereof I 
 am not ridd ; being prohibited to come near 
 the court, by several miles, and therefore I 
 cannot enter myself in such a new trouble 
 again. After this answer, Mr. Archibald Doug- 
 las entered into conference with me, on that 
 purpose : persuading me to agree to the Earl 
 of Bothwell. Last of all, the Earl of Bothwell, 
 yet being in Whittingham, earnestly proposed 
 the said matter to me again ; persuading me 
 thereto ; because, he knew, what was the 
 Queen's mind ; and she would have it to be 
 done. I desired the Earl of Bothwell to bring 
 the Queen's handwrit to me, for a warrant ; 
 [for women will both say, and gainsay ;] and 
 then, I should give him an answer, otherwise, 
 1 would not meddle therewith: The which 
 warrant he never reported unto me," 
 
 This confession, which is certainly very cu- 
 rious in itself, says not a word about the cas- 
 ket, and letters, which Morton, affirmed, and 
 swore, that he had found on Dalgleish ; and 
 which are so interesting, at present, from their 
 connection with the Queen's fame. The rea- 
 son why no written warrant was ever reported 
 to Morton was, that Bothwell had none, as 
 low down, as the epoch of that meeting, about 
 the 20th of January 1566-7. And the silence 
 of the confession, with respect to the casket,
 
 the Regent Morton.] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 435 
 
 and letters, demonstrates, that the story told, 
 and sworn, by Morton, about the finding of 
 them, was altogether fictitious. The ministers, 
 who took tat confession, at the death of 
 Morton, seem to have thought as much. It is 
 an important fact, however, that Maitland, 
 whom we have seen attainted by Parliament, 
 as guilty of the King's murder, was actually 
 present with Bothwell, and Morton, at Whit- 
 tingham, about the taking away of the Queen's 
 husband. 
 
 Bothwell, with a dozen retainers, and Archi- 
 bald Douglas, and Sir James Balfour, were un- 
 doubtedly, the guilty persons, who placed the 
 gunpowder in the lower apartments of Darn- 
 ley's lodging, and put the match to the train, 
 which blew up this never to be forgotten house. 
 Bothwell, by being present in person, at that 
 guilty scene ; by calling out so many depen- 
 dants, and servants, to assist, in that daring 
 deed ; seems to have little feared detection, and 
 to have thought punishment impossible, from 
 the power of his associates, who were bound 
 to defend that odious act. That murder was 
 attributed, by Holinshed, as plainly as he could 
 speak, to " his own, but unnatural, and rebel- 
 lious people." Camden, who seems to have 
 seen the guilty bond of the conspirators, attri-
 
 436 THE LIFE OF [MEM. VI. Memoir of 
 
 butes more specifically the act of Both well to 
 the management of Murray, and Morton. p 
 
 It was immediately whispered, in Edinburgh, 
 that Bothwell was not quite free from guilt, in 
 that terrible transaction. Rumour soon re- 
 peated, that Bothwell was the chief assassin. 
 Contrary rumours were purposely reported. 
 Placards were now affixed to the publick places 
 of that city, charging Bothwell with the crime 
 of murdering Darnley, and including others, 
 who were not guilty. 
 
 Such, then, was the consummation of one of 
 the principal points, arising out of that subtile, 
 and well conducted conspiracy, by the popular 
 chiefs, against Darnley, for the Queen's ruin, by 
 the villany of Bothwell, the management of 
 
 f Chron. of Scotland, 384. Hist. Eliz. Origin. HOj 
 Trans. 92-3 : Morton is said, indeed, by the historian of 
 the Douglases, to have kept at home [Dalkeith] on that 
 fatal day j " Seeing what a fearful tragedy was like to be 
 acted at court." Godscroft, 292 : It is said by Man, the 
 Editor of Buchanan, p. 527* that Morton, after visiting the 
 young Earl of Angus, at St. Andrews, went thence to 
 Abernethie, in Stratherne, an estate of Angus, " where he 
 was at the time of Darnley's murder." But, Godscroft is 
 the best authority. It might well answer the obvious pur- 
 pose of popular delusion, to go out of the way, on such oc- 
 casions, in that age of plots ; but, at present, such a cir- 
 cumstance is a proof of their concernment.
 
 the Regent Morton.] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 437 
 
 Morton, and by the countenance of Elizabeth, 
 and the artifices of Burghley. It was, also, an 
 essential part of that conspiracy to make Lennox, 
 the father of Darnley, an actor who had joined 
 his son in the murder of Rizzio, and, was, there- 
 by, involved in the treason against the Queen ; 
 who, by her, was pardoned, for both ; and who 
 now came forward, to cry out for justice against 
 the King's murderers, and after charging Both- 
 well, as one of the principal murderers, to re- 
 linquish the prosecution, when the trial ap- 
 proached. The 12th of April was the day, 
 which was appointed, for the trial of Bothwell ; 
 and due notice was given the injured Lennox, to 
 attend with the whole proofs of his weighty 
 charge. He came forward, from Glasgow, on 
 the llth, to Stirling ; when he resolved to pray 
 for a delay, and to request Elizabeth, for her 
 support of his prayer. The court was, how- 
 ever, held, on the appointed day, by the Earl 
 of Argyle, the Justice General, who had joined, 
 jn Murray's rebellion, against Mary's marriage, 
 with Darnley; and who was pardoned with 
 that treasonous chief. He was supported, by 
 four assessors, who had the same principles, 
 and connections. Lord Lindsay had been in- 
 volved in the guilt of Rizzio's assassination, and 
 the Queen's constraint ; and had been pardon- 
 ed with Morton for that murder, and treason :
 
 348 THE LIFE OF [M EM. VI. Memoir of 
 
 Balnavis was one of the assassins of Cardinal 
 Beaton, and had been pensioned, by the pro- 
 tector Somerset, for his crime : The other as- 
 sessors, the whole officers of state, and the 
 noble jurymen, were all partizans of Murray. 5 
 But, above all, Morton, who knew the guilt of 
 Bothwell, and was himself guilty, appeared in 
 court, by the side of Bothwell, to countenance 
 the criminal, and to prompt his defence. As 
 neither prosecutor, nor witness, appeared against 
 Bothwell, he was of course acquitted, by a jury 
 of Murray's friends, and by judges of his fra- 
 ternity. 
 
 The Parliament, which was called, in coinci 
 dence with that trial, assembled on the 14th of 
 the same month. Bothwell, as he was now 
 deemed innocent, by his acquittal, acted a con- 
 spicuous part : Morton, as one of the Lords of 
 Articles, bore great sway ; and as all parties 
 concurred in its proceedings, it may be called 
 a healing Parliament. As reformers, the mem- 
 bers renounced the jurisdiction of the Pope ; 
 and gave universal toleration. The Queen 
 being now five-and-twenty, openly assented to 
 many acts of confirmation, for defective titles, 
 and of restoration of outlawed persons, for for- 
 mer misdeeds. The Scotish writers suppose, 
 
 1 See Tytler's Enquiry, ch. iv.
 
 the Regent Morton.-] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 4S9 
 
 this Parliament to have been chiefly held to 
 promote the aims of Bothwell : But, the fact 
 is, that this Parliament, constitutional as it 
 was, in its meeting, and proceedings, was made, 
 by the conspirators, the very pivot, on which 
 much of their success was made to turn. Mur- 
 ray had his earldom, and the lands of Strath- 
 lee, confirmed to him. Morton had his earl- 
 dom confirmed ; as well as the earldom of 
 Angus ; about which the interested heart of 
 Morton had been so often, and anxiously, con- 
 cerned : Being thus secured, in their titles, the 
 conspirators could now wade through the em- 
 barrassments of their country, with more ease, 
 and effect the objects of their conspiracy, with 
 more success. The Earl of Rothes, the foreman 
 of the assize, which acquittedBothwell,had,also, 
 a confirmation of his title. Lord Cathness ano- 
 ther of that assize, had also his office of Justi- 
 ciary confirmed. Bothwell's estates, and offices, 
 which he had derived, hereditarily, from his 
 father, and grandfather, were confirmed, as 
 well as those, which he had himself acquired. 
 After the rising of this Parliament, all parties, 
 and persons, moved more easily, under the 
 security, which they derived, from its pro- 
 ceedings. 
 
 Several steps of the conspiracy of Maitland, 
 and Murray, and Bothwell, and Morton, had
 
 440 THE LIFE OF [MEM. VI. Memoir of 
 
 now been achieved : Darnley had been assassi- 
 nated ; Bothwell had been charged, tried, ac- 
 quitted ; and the Queen, in the contemplation 
 of the conspirators, and in their calumnies, had 
 been implicated in the disgrace of his acquittal, 
 which they had obtained. Another step of 
 still greater importance remained still to be 
 taken ; in order to obtain the grand cata- 
 strophe of the whole plot, by the Queen's mar- 
 riage with Bothwell. For this end, on the 
 evening of the prorogation of Parliament, the 
 temporal peers, with Morton, at their head, 
 subscribed a bond, which was signed by the 
 spiritual Peers, on the morrow, [the 19th and 
 20th of April] in favour of Bothwell, under the 
 same collusive management, that had acquitted 
 him. This abominable bond had four objects ; 
 (I) to declare their belief, in the innocence of 
 Bothwell : (2) to defend him, in case he should 
 be again calumniated ; (3) to recommend him, 
 as the fittest husband, for the Scotish Queen ; 
 (4) to fortify the Earl, if he should be gain- 
 sayed, in such a marriage ; and if the sub- 
 scribers should act contrary to this bond, they 
 agreed never to have any credit thereafter, but 
 to be accounted faithless traitors. Bothwell 
 had now two distinct bonds in his hands, one, 
 for the murder of Darnley ; and the other, for 
 the marriage of the Queen ; without any sus-
 
 the Regent Morton.'] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 441 
 
 picion, that he was made the mere dupe of the 
 designs of wickeder men than himself; and 
 without suspecting- that his ambitious aims 
 would end, in his own destruction, and the 
 Queen's ruin. Thus strengthened, and thus 
 urged, to his destiny, Bothwell on the 24th of 
 the same month, with an armed force, seized 
 the Queen, with Huntley her Chancellor, and 
 Maitland, her secretary, and Melvill, her cour- 
 tier, and others, at the Foul briggs, on her re- 
 turn from Stirling, to Edinburgh ; and car- 
 ried them, forcibly, captives to Dunbar-castle. 
 " There," says Melvill, who was present, "Both- 
 well boasted, he would marry the Queen, who 
 would, or would not ; yea whether she would 
 herself, or not. Afterwards," Melvill adds, 
 " the court came to Edinburgh : Arid then, the 
 Queen could not but marry him, seeing he had 
 ravished her ; and lain with her, against her 
 will." Bishop Lesley expressed the same sen- 
 timent, in less simple language, and of course 
 with less force : " The Queen, after Bothwell's 
 acquittal, not suspecting any thing of his guilt, 
 yielded to that, to which those crafty heads, 
 and the necessity of the time, as then to her 
 seemed, did, in a manner, enforce her."' 
 
 x Birrel's Diary ; Melvill's Mem. 79 ; Ada Parl. ii. p. 5- 
 6-7.
 
 442 THE LIFE OF [MEM, VI. Memoir of 
 
 The Queen, accordingly, married Bothwell, 
 on the 15th of May 1567. And now was con- 
 summated the conspiracy, which had been 
 formed, by the most artful, and wicked of men, 
 for BothwelPs destruction, and the Queen's 
 ruin. 
 
 The treasonous interception of Mary by Both- 
 well, was the signal for the associated nobles 
 to meet, at Stirling. They were the principal 
 nobility ; according to Cecil, as we have seen ; 
 the prime nobility, saith Knox : And, they sent 
 a message to the Queen, to know whether she 
 had been seized by force, and carried to Dun- 
 bar against her will : adding, if she were res- 
 trained, they would come, with an army, and 
 set her at liberty. Such a message from nobles, 
 who were acting under Morton's manage- 
 ment, was plainly captious : And she is said to 
 have answered, that she had been carried off 
 against her will ; but that she was courteously 
 used since her being at Dunbar. They ought 
 to have repaired to the Queen with their forces, 
 to relieve her. But, they merely sent a mes- 
 sage, from Stirling, which was certainly intend- 
 ed, as the insidious foundation of some ulte- 
 rior measures. 
 
 While Morton continued thus busy, in form- 
 ing a conspiracy, which was to overturn the 
 Queen's government, she made a new arrange-
 
 the Regent Morton] THE SCOTISH QUEEN, 443 
 
 ment of her Privy Council, which tended to 
 strengthen her authority, from the precedents 
 of the minority of her father, and from the 
 example of her own practice, in 1562. She 
 first filled up her Privy Council with new mem- 
 bers ; and she afterwards divided the whole 
 into separate committees, for their attendance, 
 during particular periods. Of these Privy 
 Counsellors, Morton was the chief; and was 
 at the head, and in the heart of the confedera- 
 tion, which was already formed, by him, in 
 concert with Murray, till his arrival from 
 France : next to Morton, in that association, 
 of traitors, were Argyle, and Athol, who were 
 soon after joined by Lord Boyd : and the other 
 chiefs of this conspiracy were Glencairn, and 
 Mar, Lindsay, Ruthven, Sempil, and Home. 
 Secretary Maitland, and the Justice Clerk, 
 Bellenden, remained about the Queen, to learn 
 her secrets, and to betray her counsels. On 
 the 23rd of the same month, of May, the Queen 
 issued a fresh proclamation, in favour of her 
 protestant subjects ; but, without gaining one 
 friend, or obtaining one grain of confidence. 
 
 In the meantime, while the Queen endea- 
 voured thus to strengthen her administration, 
 without any suspicion, that every step she took, 
 she trod upon a well charged mine of great 
 extent : The associated lords assembled in a
 
 444 THE LIFE OF [MEM. VI. Memoir of 
 
 secret convention, at Stirling, about the 23rd of 
 May 1567. Here, they resolved to dethrone 
 the Queen, and to crown her infant son : and 
 for these ends, they entered into a bond, ac- 
 cording to the usual practice of that atrocious 
 age, to tie the conspirators together. They 
 resolved, in pursuance of those purposes, to 
 bring their forces into the field. The first mo- 
 tive of their insurrection was to protect the 
 infant prince, who was injured by them, before 
 he was born ; and who was now safe, in the 
 custody of one of themselves, within Stirling- 
 castle. The next ground of insurrection was 
 to liberate the Queen, from the restraint of 
 Bothwell, when she was no longer restrained. 
 And, thus constantly varying, from the sugges- 
 tions of falsehood, they soon took a third 
 ground, in opposition to their own bond, to 
 bring Bothwell, and others to justice, for Darn- 
 ley's murder : while their own leaders were the 
 most guilty of the same offence ; Secretary 
 Maitland, in concerting it, and Morton, in 
 carrying it through ; who were both convicted, 
 afterwards, of that horrid crime. 
 
 While the professed objects of those perfi- 
 dious nobles were thus groundless, their real 
 objects, from the epoch of their conspiracy, 
 were the dethronement of their legitimate so- 
 vereign, and the coronation of her infant son,
 
 the Regent Morton.'] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 445 
 
 who had neither any title, nor any fitness ; ex- 
 cept, indeed, for evincing the necessity of a 
 Regent. We might see if they were obscure, both 
 those points established by the intrigues, and 
 declarations of their avowed agent, Sir James 
 Melvill. The noble confederates confided their 
 secret to their practised courtier, when they em- 
 ployed him, as a proper agent, to corrupt, and 
 gain Sir James Balfour, the Queen's Governor of 
 Edinburgh-castle. As the Queen's friend, Mel- 
 vill easily obtained entrance into the interior of 
 the castle, and utterance to the ear of the go- 
 vernor. This treasonous negotiation commenced, 
 almost as early, as the conspiracy itself; since 
 its success depended on gaining the Governor 
 of Edinburgh-castle. Melvill has detailed, 
 in his Memoirs, without reserve, and without 
 shame, the various arguments, by which he 
 corrupted the integrity of so corrupt an officer, 
 as Balfour. He began, by insinuating, that 
 Bothwell, having become suspicious of him, 
 intended to deprive him of his charge. Mel- 
 vill, therefore, conjured Balfour, to prevent, by 
 prompt resolution, a change, which would be 
 at once injurious, and disgraceful to so trusty 
 an officer ; to prevent both the injury, and the 
 disgrace, by " being the good instrument of, 
 at once, saving the Queen, and Prince, and of 
 assisting the nobility, who are about to crown 
 
 VOL. III. G g
 
 446 THE LIFE OF [MEM. VI. Memoir of 
 
 the Prince, and to pursue Both well, his enemy, 
 for Darnley's murder." Melvill now worked 
 upon the fears of Balfotir : " I told him," says 
 he, " that unless he took part with the asso- 
 ciated nobles, he would be holden, as guilty of 
 the King's murder, by reason of his long fami- 
 liarity with Bothwell." This argument had 
 decisive influence on the guilty mind of Bal- 
 four. " The Governor," continues Melvill, "gave 
 ear to my proposal ; and consented to join in 
 the pursuit of Bothwell; on condition, that 
 the laird of Grange would engage, to protect 
 him, in case the nobility should alter upon him" 
 Melvill now acquainted the Earl of Mar with 
 his success, and his agreement. The good will of 
 the Governor of Edinburgh-castle, being thus 
 gained, it was easy to thrust out all those, who 
 were attached to the Queen ; T and all those cir- 
 cumstances operated to assuage the popular 
 fury, till the nobles could convene, for pursuing 
 the murderers of Darnley ; and to crown the 
 Prince ; as they had already concluded, at a 
 secret meeting among themselves. We have 
 thus obtained full proof from Melvill, who was 
 a busy actor, in the guilty scene, of the secret 
 meetings, of their early purpose of crowning 
 the Prince, and dethroning the Queen, as a 
 
 r Buchanan, Lib. xviii.
 
 the Regent Morton.'] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 447 
 
 previous measure. Knox, Buchanan, and Spot- 
 tiswoode,all relate thepublick professions^ the 
 confederated lords, but say not a word of their 
 secret resolutions. 
 
 The rebels had appointed to assemble with 
 their forces at Liberton, in Mid Lothian, about 
 the 8th of June ; and to have thence begun 
 their rebellion, by surrounding Holyrood- 
 house ; seizing the Queen, and Bothwell, and 
 possessing themselves of her metropolis. But, 
 she had received, meantime, some intimations 
 of their designs ; and with her husband, she 
 withdrew to his castle of Borthwick, on the 
 6th of June ; as the gates of Edinburgh-castle 
 had been shut against her, by the profligate 
 Balfour, who had been deluded from his duty, 
 by intriguing Melvill. 
 
 On the day of rendezvous, Morton was the 
 first to appear with his forces, at Liberton, as 
 he was the head, and soul of the whole conspi- 
 rators ;* showing by his alacrity, that he was 
 worthy of his place, in such an insurrection. 
 He was soon joined, by Lord Home, and some 
 other chiefs, from the borders. And, their 
 united forces now amounted to about 2000 
 horse. The other conspirators, who assembled 
 their followers, at Stirling, did not arrive at the 
 
 * Godscroft, 294.
 
 448 THE LIFE OF [MEM. VI. Memoir of 
 
 general rendezvous, on the appointed day : 
 This delay was attributed to Athol, who was 
 either amazed, at the magnitude of the under- 
 taking, or detained the while, at Stirling, by 
 by his own sluggishness of temper. Morton, 
 and Home, resolved, however, not to remain 
 inactive. And Home, with 800 horsemen, on 
 the night, between the 9th and 10th of June, 
 beleaguered Bothwell, in Borthwick-castle : 
 But, the Queen made her escape to the castle 
 of Dunbar. Disappointed thus of such a prize, 
 Home, marched towards Edinburgh, where he 
 joined Morton, and the other rebels, who had at 
 length arrived from Stirling, and appeared, at 
 the gates of the city, with a force of 3000 men. 
 The Archbishop of St. Andrews, the Earl of 
 Huntley, the Bishop of Ross, and the Abbot of 
 Kilwinning, who had remained, in Edinburgh, 
 after the Queen's retreat to Borthwick, tried to 
 get the people to defend the city against the 
 insurgents : But, as they favoured the conspi- 
 racy, the magistrates could only order the gates 
 to be shut. The rebels entered, by St. Mary's 
 gate, into the Canongate ; whence, they issued, 
 on the same day, a proclamation, calling them- 
 selves the nobility, and council, and avowing 
 their purposes. After a recital of falsehoods, 
 they declared their objects, " To deliver the 
 Queen from her thraldom ; to try the mur-
 
 the Regent Morton. 1 ] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 449 
 
 derers of their late King; to preserve the 
 prince ; and to purge the nation of infamy : 
 They now commanded all courts, and ministers 
 of justice, to sit, and act, according to the laws 
 of the land, notwithstanding any tumult, or 
 rumour, on pain of being deemed murderers of 
 the late King, ravishers of the Queen, and in- 
 vaders of the prince's body." Such was the lan- 
 guage of the murderers themselves, the most 
 infamous of mankind. While nobles acted 
 thus, it was plainly impossible to free the land 
 from its infamy. On the same day, the city of 
 Edinburgh sent a deputation to the Queen ; 
 " to excuse the good town, for their part, in 
 " the entering, and remaining there of the lords 
 " Athol, Montrose, Morton, Mar, Glencairn, 
 " Home, Lindsay, Ruthven, Sanquhar, Sempil, 
 " and the lairds of Tullibardin, and Grange, 
 " who had continued in arms, for the punishing 
 " of the King's murder, and for putting our 
 " sovereign to liberty ; dissolving her marriage 
 " with the duke, and securing the Prince." 
 Such were the pretences of the conspirators, 
 and the delusions of the citizens ! These prin- 
 ciples, the city orator seems to have borrowed, 
 from the proclamation of the nobles, on the 
 same day, perfidious, and pretending, as it was. 
 On the morrow, the confederated nobles 
 entered Edinburgh, from the Canongate. They
 
 450 THE LIFE OF [MEM. VI. Memoir of 
 
 now issued another proclamation, calling them- 
 selves the secret council, and nobility ; and de- 
 nouncing Bothwell, for ravishing the Queen, 
 and warding her in Dunbar ; for carrying her 
 to Edinburgh with an armed force, and marry- 
 ing her, by an illegal contract ; for murdering 
 the late King, and for levying forces, to no other 
 effect, than to commit the same murder on his 
 son: Such were the actions, which had been 
 promoted by Morton, and supported by the 
 same nobles ! For these several causes, the 
 council, and nobles charged the whole liege sub- 
 jects of the Queen to join their standard, at 
 three days notice, to march forward, to deliver 
 the Queen's noble person from captivity ; to 
 bring Bothwell and his accomplices to justice, 
 for murdering the King, and ravishing the 
 Queen ; and to protect the Prince, from a si- 
 milar fate. Such were the three objects, which 
 the insurgent nobles avowed, as their objects, 
 on the 12th of June 1567. One of the most 
 obvious reflections, arising from both those 
 proclamations, as avowing their motives of ac- 
 tion ; that there is no guilt imputed to the 
 Queen : She is, in both, considered as an in- 
 jured woman, and a captive princess ; and in 
 both these characters, is she declared to be an 
 object of protection, and relief. Yet, when we 
 look back upon the past, and forward to the
 
 the Regent Morton.'] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 451 
 
 future, we must; turn away from those procla- 
 mations, with abhorrence, as sophistical in 
 their reasonings, and perfidious in their aims. 
 In aid of both, however, " Sundry libels were 
 " set up, both in rhime, and prose ; to move 
 '' the hearts of the whole subjects to take part, 
 " in so good a cause." The outcry, which we 
 may remember to have heard on Darnley's 
 murder, for involving the Queen, in general in- 
 dignation, was now redoubled, in every pro- 
 clamation, and from every pulpit : yet, the 
 people, notwithstanding those various efforts, 
 did not join the insurgent nobles, as was ex- 
 pected ; most of the lords being adversaries to 
 the object ; while others stood neuter. The 
 rebels were ill provided with arms, artillery, 
 and ammunition. From all those causes, they 
 began to see, that their cause hung in doubtful 
 scales ; and fearing for the success of their 
 enterprize, they were even beginning to think 
 of relinquishing their treasonous object, till a 
 fitter opportunity; and they would have retired 
 from the field of action, if the Queen had re- 
 mained a few days longer, at D unbar. 
 
 Meanwhile, the Queen was not inattentive to 
 her interest, and safety. From Dunbar, she 
 issued, on the 12th of June, proclamations, 
 calling out her lieges from the adjacent coun- 
 try ; and great numbers, from Lothian, and
 
 452 THE LIFE OF [MEM. VI. Memoir of 
 
 the Merse, soon assembled around her :* Ani- 
 mated by their presence, the Queen was so 
 imprudent, as to take the field ; without wait- 
 ing, for the junction of her many friends, or the 
 distraction of her insidious foes. 
 
 She set out, from Dunbar, the scene of so 
 many actions, on the 14th of June ; and marched 
 forward to Gladsmuir, the field of civil conflicts, 
 in other times : Here, was a proclamation read 
 at the head of her army; pointing out the false- 
 hood of the rebels, which was sufficiently ob- 
 vious, and detecting their professions, that were 
 unquestionably false. She lamented the neces- 
 sity, that had forced her to take arms, for 
 the safety of her life ; and she trusted to the 
 effectual aid of her subjects against rebels, 
 who had put themselves in arms against her, 
 and her laws, without any adequate cause. 
 It required not, indeed, the energies of elo- 
 quence, to expose the falsehood of rebellion, or 
 to detect the hollowness of the perfidy, with 
 which every proclamation of the rebels abound- 
 ed ; the genuine emanations of Morton's mind. 
 
 The Queen lay, on the night of the 14th, at 
 Seatoun. On the morrow, she led her army 
 forward to Carberry-hill. Meantime, about 
 midnight of the 14th, intelligence reached 
 
 a Bin-el's Diary, 10.
 
 the Regent Morton.] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 453 
 
 Edinburgh of the Queen's movements. The 
 insurgents, immediately, marched out, to meet 
 the royal army. When the rebels thus ap- 
 proached the Queen's forces, Le Croc, the 
 French Ambassador, who attended the Queen, 
 advanced to the insurgent chiefs, in order to 
 effect an accommodation : He assured them, 
 on the Queen's part, that she was desirous of 
 preventing bloodshed, among her people, and 
 wished for peace ; and for those ends, she offer- 
 ed to grant them particular pardon, and general 
 oblivion of what was past; and she solemnly 
 promised, that they should be all indemnified, 
 for taking arms against her. To this princely 
 offer, Morton, in the name of his associates, 
 made answer, that they had taken arms not 
 against the Queen, but against the murderer of 
 the King, whom if she would deliver to punish- 
 ment, or exclude him from her company, she 
 would satisfy all their desires ; and restore 
 to her the submission of her subjects ; but, if 
 she refused those conditions, no peace could be 
 made : And he added, with the assurance of 
 his nature, that they were not come to ask par- 
 don, but to give it. The ambassador perceiving, 
 from such language, that the insurgents had 
 other objects than reconcilement, withdrew, 
 from this guilty scene, to Edinburgh. 
 
 Bothwell now dispatched a herald to the 
 camp of the insurgents ; with offers, to prove
 
 454 THE LIFE OF [MEM. VI. Memoir of 
 
 his innocence, by single combat : Murray, of 
 Tullibardin, and his brother James, who had 
 placarded Bothwell, as the guilty person, both 
 proposed to fight him ; but, the challenger ob- 
 jected to these, as unequal to him in rank : b 
 whereupon, Bothwell challenged Morton, by 
 name, as the chief of the insurgents ; and he is 
 said, to have accepted the challenge, to have 
 appointed the conflict to be on foot, and the 
 weapons to be two-handed swords. Lord Lind- 
 say now interposed ; beseeching Morton to al- 
 low him the honour of proving Bothwell's 
 criminality ; and Morton is said to have grati- 
 fied his friend, by relinquishing to Lindsay such 
 an honour ; and gave him the two handed sword 
 of the Earl of Angus, who is known, in Scotish 
 history, as bell the cat ; a deadly weapon, which 
 Lindsay wore throughout his bloody life. The 
 Queen is said to have interposed. But, Morton 
 was the peculiar object of Bothwell's challenge ; 
 as he knew his guilt, and had experienced his 
 perfidy. 
 
 In the midst of such fashionable fooleries, the 
 Queen wished, for reconcilement, rather than 
 bloodshed : and, for this end, she dispatched a 
 herald to the insurgent chiefs, to request, that 
 the laird of Grange might be sent to her camp, 
 to confer with her, on the terms of peace. 
 
 b Knox, 400. Spottiswoodc, 207.
 
 the Regent Morton.'] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 455 
 
 Grange waited on her, with full powers, to treat of 
 amity. He began, by requesting, in their names, 
 that Bothwell, as a suspected person, might be 
 obliged to retire, from the field, till the crime of 
 the King's death might be inquiredinto ; and that 
 the Queen would join them, and accept the coun- 
 sel of her nobles, who would honour, serve, and 
 obey her, as their sovereign. To this proposal, the 
 Queen, readily assented, upon their promise of 
 obedience. WhereuponGrange took Bothwell by 
 the hand, and desired him to depart ; engaging 
 that no one should follow, or molest him : Both- 
 well nowdeparted,findinghe had but few friends. 
 The Queen was thus induced to join the insur- 
 gents ; and when she met Morton, the com- 
 mander-in-chief, he said to her, with apparent 
 reverence, Madam ! here is the place, your Grace 
 should be in ; and we will honour, serve, and 
 obey you, as ever the nobility of this realm did 
 any of your progenitors before : and, they im- 
 mediately ratified the treaty, which had just 
 been made, by Grange, with the Queen, in their 
 names, and by their authority. The great ob- 
 ject of the insurgents was now obtained, by 
 freeing their injured Queen, from thraldom. 
 
 In all their proclamations, as we have seen, 
 they declared the injury done, by the ravishment 
 of the Queen, and her freedom from captivity, 
 as the aim of their rising in arms. As the chief
 
 456 THE LIFE OF [MEM. VI. Memoir of 
 
 end of their insurrection had been now obtained, 
 nothing remained but to convey the Queen to 
 her palace, and to reinstate their sovereign, in 
 her authority ; considering that, in their con- 
 templation) the Queen was innocent of any 
 offence, at the epoch of her surrender, on the 
 15th of May 1567. As the Queen was not 
 herself perfidious, she did not suspect any per- 
 fidy, in nobles, who had so often acted perfi- 
 diously. The very first act of Morton, and his 
 associates, in contempt of their treaty, was to 
 conduct the unhappy Queen, all covered with 
 dust, and bathed in tears, by a shameful pro- 
 cession, with a flag before her, representing the 
 death of Darnley, along the crowded streets of 
 Edinburgh, to the Provost's house. On the 
 morrow, the insurgents displayed the same 
 banner before the windows of the house, in 
 which the captive Queen had been confined, 
 during the preceding night. This display evinced 
 to her astonished eyes what fate awaited her. 
 The tradesmen of Edinburgh felt for their fallen 
 sovereign. They cried out shame, and ven- 
 geance. They were about to unfurl their stand- 
 ard of insurrection, which the whole tradesmen 
 of Scotland were bound, by their several con- 
 stitutions, to join, and support. The quick eyes 
 of Morton saw his danger, from the pity of the 
 women, arid the spears of the men. A deputa-
 
 the Regent Morton.'] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 457 
 
 tion of the nobles proceeded to pacify the 
 tradesmen : they gave them assurances, " that 
 their intentions were no wise to thwart their 
 sovereign ; and that they meant, immediately, 
 to restore the Queen to her palace, and autho- 
 rity :" they accordingly removed her, from the 
 city, to Holyrood-house; while the citizens, sup- 
 posing them sincere, quietly dispersed. Mean- 
 while the unhappy Queen, seeing, at length, 
 the insincerity of the insurgent nobles, sent her 
 secretary, Mai tland, to his coadjutors to request, 
 that the whole estates of the realm might be 
 convened ; as she was willing to submit to their 
 judgment, for any thing, which might be laid 
 to her charge, she being present, and heard. 
 But, unprepared as they yet were, for such a 
 constitutional meeting,Morton,andhis abettors, 
 utterly refused this just request. During the 
 same night, the Queen was ordered to be im- 
 prisoned in Lochleven-castle, to which she was 
 conveyed, by the Lords Lindsay, and Ruthven, 
 two of the bloodiest nobles of a savage age, who 
 had been engaged in so many conspiracies, and 
 owed their guilty lives to the Queen's benefi- 
 cence. 
 
 The act of carrying the Queen a captive to 
 the Provost's house, on the evening of the 15th 
 of June, instead of conveying her to her palace, 
 was sufficiently outrageous, and contradictory
 
 458 THE LIFE OF [MEM. VI. Memoir of 
 
 to their own treaty, at Carberry-hill : but, to 
 commit the Queen, in the night of the 16th, 
 without a cause assigned, in the warrant of com- 
 mitment, was still more violent, contradictory 
 to Morton's engagement, and inconsistent with 
 the honour of Grange, who had negotiated her 
 defection from Bothwell, on the explicit pro- 
 mise of being received, as Queen, and obeyed 
 as their sovereign. They felt some compunc- 
 tious visitings of nature : and, they now found 
 it necessary, not only to deceive the people, 
 but to quiet the scruples of such associates, as 
 Athol, and Grange : Athol was a coadjutor of 
 gieat weight, who had shown considerable re- 
 pugnance ; and Grange was a soldier, who 
 would not tamely compromise his honour. A 
 letter was, on those motives, forged for the 
 Queen, on this occasion, by Maitland, and Mor- 
 ton, probably, which they pretended the Queen 
 had written to Bothwell, the night of her cap- 
 tivity, from the Provost's house ; avowing her 
 unalterable attachment to that unprincipled 
 man, whom, she is made to call her dear heart, 
 and whom she promises never to forget : and 
 Morton, and his abettor, went into an additional 
 circumstance of falsehood, by asserting, that 
 she had given a reward to one of her guards, 
 to convey her epistle to Dunbar, who honestly 
 brought it to the associated nobles. Though
 
 -the Regent Morton.'] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 459 
 
 this supposed letter was certainly shown to 
 Grange, who was not quite satisfied ; yet, the 
 supposed bearer of it, who might have been 
 crossed-questioned, was neither produced, nor 
 named. When the momentary purpose was 
 secured ; the letter seems to have been cancel- 
 led, by the same hand, that forged it : It was 
 never shown to Throckmorton, while he car- 
 ried on his discussions, with Morton, and his 
 associates, during the subsequent month. It 
 was never mentioned, during the tedious con- 
 ferences, in England : But, though the letter 
 was not produced, as a document, yet Murray, 
 with his Commissioners at York, reasserted the 
 same falsehood, with the same design of gain- 
 ing a temporary belief. This despicable for- 
 gery being thus abandoned to the fate of impos- 
 ture, was not, even by Buchanan, adopted into 
 his history. Hume, while he suspected the fa- 
 brication of the letter, adopted, and amplified 
 its falsehoods, by confounding Murray's asser- 
 tions, with the contents of the letter. Robert- 
 son embodied into his history the falsehoods of 
 the letter, without mentioning it, or insinuat- 
 ing^any suspicion of its spuriousness. 
 
 The fact is, after all those investigations, that 
 Morton, and his abettors, soon relinquished the 
 fabrication, but long retained the falsehood : 
 The prescient Cecil, on the 25th of June, ten
 
 460 THE LIFE OF [MEM. VI. Memoir of 
 
 days after those events, wrote to the Ambassa- 
 dor Norris, at Paris : " The 15th of this month, 
 Bothwell brought the Queen into the field, with 
 her power, which was so small, as he escaped 
 himself without fighting, and left the Queen in 
 the field ; and she yielding herself to the Lords, 
 flatly denied to grant justice against Bothwell ; 
 so as, they have restrained her, in Lochleven, un- 
 til they may come unto the end of their pursuit 
 against Bothwell." Cecil is not to be envied 
 for his history : But, it was absurd in him, to 
 talk of granting justice against Bothwell, who 
 had been already tried, and acquitted ; and it 
 was wicked, in Morton, who had procured 
 Bothwell's acquittal, by artful management : 
 to try Bothwell, a second time, for the same 
 offence, would have been an outrage at once 
 against justice, and a contempt of all law. The 
 most forlorn female, in Britain, would not have 
 been detained in prison, on such a warrant, 
 which did not express the cause of her com- 
 mitment. But, when we see a Sovereign, and 
 a Queen, imprisoned in a solitary castle, within 
 a lake, without a charge, or the rebels being 
 able to allege a crime against her, or even 
 without any pretence, except the frivolity of 
 pursuing Bothwell, who had been acquitted, by 
 Morton's means, and could not be again tried, 
 without outraging all law ; when we see all
 
 the Regent Morton.] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 461 
 
 this, what must our feelings be of such a mon- 
 ster, as Morton, but abhorrence, for a miscreant, 
 who meditated more mischief. The ulterior 
 measures, which were, obviously, in the contem- 
 plation of the chief conspirators, were, the 
 positive dethronement of the Queen, the coro- 
 nation of her son, and the appointment of Mur- 
 ray, as Regent, who, as we see above, " thereby 
 pretended to be King." 
 
 While the Queen was thus imprisoned, in 
 Lochleven- castle, without any cause, it may 
 gratify a reasonable curiosity to inquire, what 
 became of Bothwell. From Cecil, we know, 
 how " Bothwell defends himself, by the Queen's 
 maintenance." " The 15th of this month/' he 
 adds, " Bothwell brought the Queen into the 
 field, with her power, which was so small, as he 
 escaped himself, without fighting, and left the 
 Queen." We now see, distinctly, that Both- 
 well was allowed " by the Lords," to quit the 
 field, and the Queen for ever, without moles- 
 tation. By Camden, we are told, indeed, " that 
 those, who had quitted Bothwell, and gave 
 him their consent to the marriage, took arms 
 against him, as if they would apprehend him ; 
 whereas, they gave him secret notice to provide 
 for himself, by flight : and this to no other 
 purpose, but lest he being apprehended, should 
 reveal the whole plot." 
 
 VOL. III. H ll
 
 462 THE LIFE OF [MEM. VI. Memoir of 
 
 It is now time, to return to Mary, and to 
 Morton. Even after the Scotish Queen had 
 been confined in Lochleven-castle, the conspi- 
 rators were still at a loss what to charge upon 
 her, what to decide, and where to proceed. On 
 the 16th of June, the day of her commitment, 
 they entered into an association, which has 
 been falsely called the Jirst bond, though in 
 fact, the secret bond was the first, which they 
 made, at Stirling, when they, originally, con- 
 spired, " with devilish plots," the Queen's de- 
 thronement. The recital of this second bond, 
 like the preambles of their proclamations, was 
 full of contradiction, and falsehood : And yet 
 has those recitations been embodied, into his- 
 tory, as the most absolute verities. In what 
 they say of the trial of Bothwell, they add dis- 
 simulation to falsehood ; as Morton managed 
 the acquittal, and his coadjutors assisted him. 
 While they try to turn the publick indignation 
 on the unhappy head of Mary : Yet, do they not 
 impute any crime to her, whom they still con- 
 sider, as their sovereign ; and whom, they still 
 avow, as the object of their deliverance, from 
 BothwelFs thraldom, and her constrained mar- 
 riage : And all this the conspirators avow, with 
 very uncommon assurance, while their sove- 
 reign was their own prisoner ; and might have 
 been restored, by their command, to her palace.
 
 the Regent Morton.'] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 463 
 
 and her power. At the end, of sixteen days 
 intrigue, the provost, and magistrates of Edin- 
 burgh, adopted this confederacy : on the 2d of 
 July, the town council being convened, the 
 Earls of Morton, and Athol, presented " the 
 most honourable, and Godly band, lately made, 
 and subscribed, by the nobility of this realm ;" 
 which being read, they all approved, in one 
 voice. The same town, which had been dis- 
 posed, by pity, to rescue the unhappy Queen, 
 were induced by artifice, in less than three 
 little weeks, to confine the same Queen in pri- 
 son, on false pretences ; and to dethrone their 
 innocent sovereign, without any real cause : 
 While, the same miscreant, who had managed 
 the acquittal of Both well, now made use of the 
 same means, to deceive the metropolis into the 
 guilty aims of his deceptious measures. 
 
 Two days after the Queen's confinement, in 
 Lochleven-eastle, the conspirators, with Mor- 
 ton, at their head, seized her plate, jewels, and 
 moveables, within her palace of Holyrood. 
 
 We are now arrived at the 20th of June 
 1567, which will always be memorable, in the 
 memoirs of Morton, and of Mary ; as the epoch 
 of finding her silver casket, with the letters, son- 
 nets, and contracts, which Morton is said to 
 have intercepted ; and which have occasioned 
 so much controversy. The finding of those
 
 464 THE LIFE OF [MEM. VI. Memoir of 
 
 papers, or not, depends wholly on the asser- 
 tions of the most profligate of men. Yet, were 
 those papers of that importance, as to be made 
 the chief ground Of a revolution : Of imprison- 
 ing a Queen ; of depriving her of sovereignty ; 
 of transferring her crown to her infant : And, 
 yet, there were no collateral circumstances 
 collected, and ascertained, for satisfying man- 
 kind, that papers of such prodigious import had 
 been ever found. They were received upon 
 trust, from the story of Morton. When this 
 man came, in the progress of his villany, to 
 make his confession on the block of shame, he 
 said not a word of those papers ; at least nothing 
 was inserted about them, by the clergymen, 
 who drew, and certified his confession : Yet, in 
 this confession, are there facts, which cast much 
 light on this obscure subject : During the 
 anxious month, which preceded the murder of 
 Darnley, while Bothwell, continually, solicited 
 Morton, to countenance that odious deed, 
 Morton, constantly, asked Bothwell, for some 
 writing of the Queen, which would evince her 
 assent to her husband's murder : Yet, Both- 
 well never communicated to Morton any writ- 
 ing of the Queen, which would have been so 
 important to Bothwell, for gaining Morton, to 
 so fatal a measure. We must now infer, as 
 Morton understood the matter then, that Both-
 
 the Regent Morton] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 465 
 
 well really had not any writings of the Queen. 
 While she was a prisoner, in England, the 
 Queen heard, that her enemies, pretended to 
 possess some such papers : And, she instructed 
 her commissioners, at York, to assert, that 
 such papers she had never written ; and if such 
 were produced, to insist, that they must be for- 
 geries ; as several persons, in Scotland, could 
 imitate her writing, alluding, no doubt, to Se- 
 cretary Maitland. The question, then, is, whe- 
 ther we shall give most credit to the story of 
 Morton, or to the asseveration of Mary : Mor- 
 ton, as we have seen, was a man of utter wicked- 
 ness, of notorious perfidy, of such well known 
 villany, as to be capable of deliberate falsifi- 
 cation : Mary, as we have seen, was zealous of 
 her honour ; and when she came to the scaf- 
 fold of Elizabeth, we see none of the tremula- 
 tions of guilt, in Mary : She died under the axe 
 of Elizabeth, with the firmness of a martyr, the 
 faith of a Christian, and the magnanimity of a 
 Queen. Upon all those views of this interest- 
 ing subject, I will submit to the judgment of 
 every reader, whether Mary, or Morton, be the 
 most worthy of credit ; and whether the cas- 
 ket, audits contents, had any existence, on the 
 20th of June, or even on the 21st of July 1567. 
 The prescient Cecil knew nothing of the casket, 
 and its contents, when lie wrote his before
 
 466 THE LIFE OF [MEM. VI. Memoir of 
 
 mentioned letter of the 26th of June, or even, 
 when he sent off his subsequent dispatch of the 
 14th of July, when his epistles were occupied, 
 with no greater news, than this of Scotland. And, 
 yet, when the great object was to disgrace the 
 Scotish Queen ; and when it was so important a 
 point, to find some documents, to justify their 
 predetermined purpose of dethroning her ; the 
 discovery of such a casket, with such writings, 
 would have been the greatest of great news. 
 The first intimation, which Cecil, probably, re- 
 ceived of such a discovery was from the envoy 
 Throckmorton of the 25th of July 1567, from 
 Edinburgh. " The Lords," said he, " mean to 
 charge the Queen with the murder of her late 
 husband, whereof they have, as apparent proof 
 as might be ; as well by the testimony of her 
 own hand writing, which they have recovered, 
 as also by sufficient witnesses." Such, then, 
 were the assigned motives, of those nobles, for 
 taking up arms, immediately after Mar's con- 
 strained marriage ! But, Morton, their leader, 
 does not say, on the 21st of July, that he had 
 discovered, on the 20th of June preceding, such 
 a casket, containing writings of the Queen, 
 which would have rendered her unworthy of 
 their arms : No : Those nobles only considered 
 her as injured, and oppressed., and constrained, 
 but not as criminal, not as blameworthy : And,
 
 the Regent Morton.] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 467 
 
 they took arms, to free her from the bondage 
 of Bothwell: After all those avowals of the 
 chief conspirators, it may well be asked, had 
 those nobles before them, on the 21st of July, 
 the Queen's casket, with her letters, her son- 
 nets, her promises of marriage, which would 
 have shown her baseness, expressed her shame, 
 and proved her guilt. The answer must be 
 that, as they had not before them such impor- 
 tant documents, on the 21st of July, such let- 
 ters, sonnets, and other writings, did not then 
 any where exist. 
 
 The history of those writings is so singular 
 in itself, and they are so connected with the se- 
 veral characters of Mary, and of Morton, that 
 it may gratify a just curiosity to trace it a little 
 further. The story, which the conspirators, ob- 
 scurely,related of the discovery of the casket, and 
 its contents, was, that Dalgleish, one of Both- 
 welPs servants, was sent by him, to Sir James 
 Balfour, the commander of Edinburgh -castle, 
 for that casket of writings, soon after Both- 
 well's flight, and Mary's imprisonment; but, 
 that the faithless Balfour sent notice to Morton, 
 of his having delivered such a casket to Dal- 
 gleish. The first observation, arising out of 
 this story, is, that Balfour had been gained, by 
 Melvill, to the conspirators, as early as their 
 first meeting, at Stirling : but, he never men-
 
 468 THE LIFE OF [M EM . VI. Memoir of 
 
 tioned the casket, which was worth its weight 
 in gold to the conspirators : When Balfour was 
 laboured, for hours, by Sir James Melvill, 
 to join the conspirators, he said not a word of 
 the casket : The fair inference is, that Balfour 
 had no such casket, in his keeping. The 
 second observation must be, that Mary, and 
 Bothwell, knowing the defection of Balfour, 
 did not seek their safety, in Edinburgh-castle, 
 but in Borth wick -castle, at some distance. 
 After all was lost, on Carberry-hill, would Both- 
 well send a servant to so tainted a person, as 
 Balfour, for such a casket, containing such 
 writings, at such a moment ? c Birrel, who no- 
 tices in his Diary, the arresting of Captain 
 Blackadder, on the 17th of June, has not a 
 
 c Of Sir James Balfour, the brother was Gilbert Balfour. 
 He was denounced, in one of the placards, as a person, who 
 was in the knowledge of Darnley's murder. Cabala, Part 
 i, 126. In the spurious letter, from the Earl of Lennox to 
 Mary, (17th March 1567,) which was fabricated by Bucha- 
 nan, and published, in his Detection, Mr. James Balfour, 
 and Gilbert Balfour, his brother, are specified among the 
 persons, who were suspected of the murder. Anderson's 
 Col. ii. 3. The castle of Kirkwall was committed to the 
 charge of Gilbert Balfour, when Bothwell, as Duke, became 
 superior Lord of Orkney, in May 1567. When Bothwell 
 retired into Orkney, as we have seen, in August 1567, Gil- 
 bert Balfour denied him entrance into the castle of K irk wall, 
 the metropolis of Orkney. Spottiswoode, 213.
 
 the Regent Morton.'] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 469 
 
 word of the intercepting of Dalgleish, with such 
 a casket, on the 20th of June, or on any other 
 day. The contemporary history of King James, 
 however minute, though it mentions the arrest 
 of Blackadder, and Sebastian, on the 17th of 
 June; yet, says not a syllable of Dalgleish, 
 with so remarkable a casket. Sir James Mel- 
 vill, the confidential agent of the noble conspi- 
 rators, though he was a busy actor in that sin- 
 gular scene, says not a word of Dalgleish, and 
 the casket, in his minute memoirs. Dalgleish 
 was, undoubtedly, arrested about the 26th of 
 June 1567 ; as on that day he was examined upon 
 oath, by the Earls of Morton, and Athol, the pro- 
 vost of Dundee, and the laird of Grange : But, 
 though he was questioned, concerning his know- 
 ledge of Darnley's murder, and he gives a minute 
 account of that mysterious deed ; yet, he says 
 nothing of the casket, and its contents. 
 
 The first avowal, by publick authority, of 
 those notorious writings, was in a great coun- 
 cil, which was held on the 4th of December 
 1567, for deliberating on what should be said, 
 and done, in the ensuing Parliament, on the 
 Queen's imprisonment. Murray, the Regent, 
 and Morton, the Chancellor, were present. 
 They resolved to defend every act of the con- 
 spirators, from the epoch of Darnley's murder,
 
 470 THE LIFE OF [MEM. VI. Memoir of 
 
 by charging the Queen, after so many acquit- 
 tals, in the proclamations, and proceedings of 
 the conspirators, with whatever had been done 
 as the Queen's own fault ; which appeared, by 
 her privy letters, written, and subscribed, with 
 her own hand ; and sent, by her, to James Earl 
 Bothwell. But, it is not stated on whom, or 
 by whom, these writings were found. Morton's 
 merit, in discovering* such important papers, is 
 studiously concealed. Dalgleish, who was not 
 executed, till the 3d of January thereafter, was 
 not examined, on this head, when this information 
 would have been so important. Sir James Bal- 
 four, who sat, in that council, was not asked a 
 single question, about his receiving such a cas- 
 ket from Bothwell, and delivering 1 the same casket 
 to Dalgleish. It was avowed, that there was 
 no means other than those writings, to justify 
 the imprisonment, and the resignation of the 
 Queen, the coronation of her infant, and the 
 Regency of her brother ; yet is there no ex- 
 amination, or proof, or enquiry, how those 
 writings were found, or by whom : And Mor- 
 ton seems, from providential motives, to have 
 so long kept the casket behind the scene, during 
 so many obscure, and desperate acts. The first 
 avowal of the interception of Dalgleish, with 
 such a casket, containing such writings, was,
 
 the Regent Morton.-] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 471 
 
 in Murray's fabricated journal, during May 
 1568: d Yet, Morton is not mentioned in it, 
 as the lucky discoverer of those scandalous 
 writings. 
 
 Pressed upon equally by Elizabeth's applica- 
 tions, and his own apprehensions, Murray re- 
 solved to depart a little from his reserve, with 
 respect to those secret writings. And, early in 
 June 1568, he sent his Secretary Wood to the 
 English court with translated copies of the let- 
 ters, for the perusal of Elizabeth, and the con- 
 sideration of Cecil. They were translated, from 
 the French, into our language, the speech of Scot- 
 land, no doubt, in order to enable Elizabeth's 
 judges, to decide, whether they, [Murray, and 
 Morton] had proved their cause, [Mary's guilt,] 
 if the original letters reserved, should agree with 
 the copies sent. 6 Elizabeth, and Cecil, were 
 now put into possession of their proofs against 
 the Scotish Queen, provided the copies, which 
 were sent by Wood, should agree, upon colla- 
 
 d Anderson's Coll. ii. 277- The contents of the Journal 
 evinces, that it was fabricated, in May 1568, rather than in 
 November, or December preceding, as Whitaker insists ; 
 for the purpose of supporting the writings, and defaming 
 the Queen. It answered the delusive purpose of Robertson, 
 to quote that obvious fabrication, as if it had been a real 
 diary of events, as they daily passed. 
 
 e Goodall, ii, 76-6.
 
 472 THE LIFE OF [MKM. VI. Memoir of 
 
 tion, with the originals, that remained, in Mor- 
 ton's hands. And, Elizabeth, and Cecil, soon 
 resolved, that the collation would be best made, 
 by her Commissioners, in England. We now 
 see, amidst so many dark designs, upon the 
 open stage, originals, and copies of the privy 
 letters of the Scotish Queen. When those 
 privy letters were produced, in the Parliament 
 of December 1567, they appeared in the vulgar 
 language ; when they were afterward, in se- 
 cret manner, communicated to Elizabeth's Com- 
 missioners, at York, they appeared, certainly, in 
 the vulgar language ; and in the vulgar lan- 
 guage, extracts were made by them, and sent 
 to Elizabeth, who already had copies/ Itwasthe 
 great achievement of Goodall, to demonstrate, 
 that the originals of ihoseprivy letters were writ- 
 ten in the vulgar language of Scotland, and not 
 in French, or Latin. 8 The trick of translating into 
 
 { Goodall, ii. 139-153; Anderson's Col. iv. p. ii. 58: 
 The fact is, that those very extracts, which have been made, 
 by Sir Ralph Sadler, one of those Commissioners, have been 
 recently given to the publick, in the vulgar language, in 
 Sadler's State Papers. 
 
 * Those privy letters were very singular epistles, indeed : 
 For, as the bishop of Ross, in defence of Mary, in Decem- 
 ber 1568, informed Elizabeth " they are not subscribed by 
 the writer of them, nor sealed, nor signed, and contain no 
 date of year, month, or day, and are not directed to any 
 man." Goodall, ii. 389.
 
 the Regent Morton.'] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 473 
 
 the French language privy letters, which were 
 written, in the vulgar language, was only ano- 
 ther act of the drama of artifices, which Murray, 
 and Morton performed, in concurrence with 
 Cecil, and Elizabeth, during the last seven 
 years. But, Murray, and Morton, must conti- 
 nue to perform their several parts, in England, 
 when those copies were to be collated with the 
 singular epistles, which the Bishop described to 
 Elizabeth. And, for this end, Murray the 
 Regent, on the 16th of September 1568, received 
 the casket, and its contents, from Morton, the 
 Chancellor ; giving a formal receipt for both ; 
 and a solemn assurance, that both the casket, 
 and its contents, should be returned to Morton, 
 and his coadjutors, in villany. 
 
 h See the receipt, from the Privy Council Register, in 
 Goodall, ii. 9O. The object of this paper was to give a sort 
 of authenticity to the casket, and its contents, and not dig- 
 nity, as Dr. Stuart remarks : This paper describes minutely 
 the casket, and its contents, as taken from the late George 
 Dalgleish, on the 20th of June 1567} but, with a discreet 
 silence, it does not say, that Morton had intercepted such a 
 casket, with such contents : And yet, it plainly insinuates, 
 that Morton, and his noble abettors, had an interest in the 
 casket, and its contents, as the safest shield of their actions 
 in arms, and in artifice, from the epoch of their conspiracy j 
 as if they had not avowed, a thousand times, from that 
 epoch till the resignation of the Queen, that their objects 
 were the safety of the prince, and her relief from thraldom.
 
 474 THE LIFE OF [MEM. VI. Memoir of 
 
 Yet, may it gratify a just curiosity to enquire, 
 when, and where Morton did find that casket, 
 and its contents. The agents of Murray, and 
 Morton, did, in secret, offer to swear to the 
 genuineness of the privy letters, and other 
 written contents of the casket before Eliza- 
 beth's Commissioners, at York : But, of Morton's 
 finding the casket not a word was whispered. 
 On the 9th of December 1568, during the en- 
 quiry, at Westminster, Morton, attended by 
 his colleagues, came before the Privy Council, 
 and said that, " Whereas he had before de- 
 clared by speech, the manner how he came by 
 the coffer, with the letters, sonnets, contracts 
 of marriage, therein found, and theretofore exhi- 
 bited ; he had caused the same to be put in 
 writing, and subscribed, and desired to have it 
 read : And, this being done, he avowed upon 
 his honour, and the oath, that he had already 
 taken, the same declaration to be true; the 
 tenor whereof followeth :' Happy had it been, 
 
 ' Goodall, ii. 230, from the Scotish Queen's Register : 
 But, the tenour does not follow : Neither can that declaration 
 of Morton on oath, any where be found. Goodall, i. 48. 
 This declaration of Morton appears to have been read by the 
 Privy Council, at Hampton Court, on the 14th of the same 
 month. Goodall, ii. 256. It then disappeared ; and has 
 not since been seen. Suspicion is the never failing at- 
 tendant of obliquity, and guilt. At the end, however, of
 
 the Regent Morton.'] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 475 
 
 for the credit of Morton, if any credit he had, 
 after so many crimes, and so much perfidy, if 
 Sir James Balfour had been examined on oath 
 before the Privy Council, a twelvemonth before, 
 when the Queen's privy letters, written, and 
 
 Buchanan's Detection, in English, which was printed, at 
 London, in November 1571, there is the following memoran- 
 dum, which is supposed to be Morton's declaration : " that 
 in the castle of Edinburgh, there was left by the Earl of 
 Bothwell, before his fleeing away, and was sent for, by one 
 George Dalgleish, his servant, who was taken by the Earl of 
 Morton, a small gilt coffer, not fully a foot long, having 
 garnished in sundry places with the Roman letter F, under 
 a King's crown, wherein were certain letters and writings 
 well known, and by oaths to be affirmed, to have been 
 written with the Queen's own hand to the Earl Bothwell. 
 There was also a promise of marriage written by the Queen. 
 Avowing such to be their real motives, they had obtained 
 their objects, when the Queen, on the 15th of June, at Car. 
 berry-hill, put away Bothwell, and surrendered herself to 
 them, upon the legitimate terms, of being received, as their 
 Queen, and restored to her authority: Had they fulfilled 
 their own engagements, at Carberry-hill, what documents 
 could they want, for their defence ? What was the docu- 
 ments, for defending their breach of engagement to the 
 Queen, and degrading their sovereign, when they led her a 
 captive to her capital : The answer must be, a forgery ; the 
 fabrication of a letter, which could not exist. When Morton, 
 and his abettors, committed the Scotish Queen to Lochleven- 
 castle, without cause shown, or a cause to show, four days 
 before the casket was found, what documents had they to
 
 476 THE LIFE OF [MEM. VI. Memoir of 
 
 subscribed, with her own hand, but not the 
 casket, were first mentioned,, in any publick 
 council, whether he had delivered such letters, 
 or such a casket, to Bothwell's servant, to be 
 by him carried to his master. Happy, had the 
 same servant, Dalgleish, who was then, in Edin- 
 burgh, been examined, at the same time, whe- 
 ther he had received such a casket, and from 
 whom. Happy, if every person, who had the 
 least knowledge of the discovery of such a cas- 
 ket, had been brought to declare, on their several 
 oaths, their knowledge of such a discovery, in 
 secret, and so long kept a secret. Happy also 
 had it been for Morton's character, and the 
 authenticity of the casket, and its contents, 
 had he early disclosed before the Privy Council 
 the whole facts, relating to both, and delivered 
 the casket, and its contents, to the Lord 
 Clerk Register, for the publick benefit, rather 
 than consider, and conceal both, as his private 
 
 defend that detestable act ? The answer must be, in the 
 language of Shakspeare : 
 
 " Thieves, for their robbery, have authority, 
 
 " When judges steal themselves." 
 
 When a chancellor of Scotland could commit murder, 
 privy conspiracy, and rebellion, what could be expected, 
 from such a miscreant as Morton, but the despicable trick 
 of finding a casket, and its contents, when, and where, none 
 could be found.
 
 the Regent Morton.] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 477 
 
 property. Cecil was not a Secretary, who would 
 accept imperfect evidence, when better could be 
 had, concerning any fact, which he thought im- 
 portant. He required Murray, Morton, and their 
 colleagues, to give in a similar declaration to 
 Morton's, not indeed, disclosing how the casket 
 was found, but avowing the contents to be ori- 
 ginals, and authentick. k 
 
 k See this declaration, dated the 10th of December 1568, 
 in Goodall, ii. 92 : The Regent Murray, the chancellor Mor- 
 ton, and their three colleagues, declared, on their honours, 
 and consciences, that the missive letters, produced by them 
 [in the French language] sonnets, contracts of marriage, are 
 written, or subscribed by the Queen's hand, which were in- 
 tercepted, and came to their hands, as before declared ; and 
 that the said missive writings, sonnets, and contracts, were 
 undoubtedly, the said Queen's proper hand-writing. They 
 do not pretend to have seen the said Queen write those 
 papers ; yet, they positively testify, avow, and declare what 
 they did not certainly know. Such testimony is always 
 hazardous, and is generally false. As the originals of the 
 supposed letters were undoubtedly, in the vulgar language ; 
 as Murray's assistants, Maitland and M'Gill, Buchanan, 
 and Balnavis, when they communicated the Queen s privy let- 
 ters, in the vulgar language, affirmed, and offered to swear, 
 were in her own hand writing, indeed. Goodall, ii. 142. The 
 privy letters, which were declared, by Murray, Morton, aud 
 their colleagues, on the 10th of December, to be the real let- 
 ters, and in the hand writing of the Scotish Queen, were, in 
 the French language. Ib. 235-56'. The identity of the sup- 
 posed letters is proved, by the matter being the same, but in 
 
 VOL. III. I i
 
 478 THE LIFE OF [MEM. VI. Memoir of 
 
 Cecil having now obtained those solemn de- 
 clarations, both of the discovery, and the au- 
 thenticity of the sundry letters, written in 
 French, with other documents, caused them to 
 be read, with the French letters, before the 
 Privy Council of the 15th December, 1568, at 
 Hampton Court. Cecil, who played a zealous 
 
 different languages, But, truth is always the same : And 
 the contradiction, and absurdity, of declaring privy letters, 
 in different languages, to be the real hand writing of the 
 Scotish Queen, is one of the strongest proofs of their fabri- 
 cation, and of the cheat of those juggling fiends, that pal- 
 tered with us in a double sense ; that were in the habit of 
 deliberate falsehood } and were in the practice of the gros- 
 sest forgeries. A thousand facts, which have been already 
 ascertained, prove the contents of the casket, to be feigned, 
 and false. The Scotish Queen affirmed them to be forgeries. 
 The very refusal of Elizabeth, and Cecil, to show the 
 originals of those documents, or to communicate copies of 
 them to Mary's Commissioners, evinces the conviction of 
 Cecil, and Elizabeth, that they were feigned, and unfit to be 
 seen. The convention of five-and-thirty nobles, at Dumbarton, 
 in September 1568, had already declared, that the writings, 
 which had been produced in Parliament, as the Queen's 
 hand-writing, were not her hand-writing. Goodall, ii. 301 . 
 If the privy letters, which were produced, in the Parliament 
 of Scotland, be the same privy letters, that were produced 
 in the Privy Council of England ; then should we have the 
 affirmation of five-and-thirty prelates and nobles, in direct 
 contradiction to the solemn declaration of two prelates, and 
 three nobles, who could not boast much of their veracity.
 
 the Regent Morton.} THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 479 
 
 part in the tragedy of dethroning, and de- 
 faming the Scotish Queen, either thought these 
 French letters, and other documents too good, 
 or too bad, to be communicated to the Queen, 
 who had a right to see them, though he had 
 taken an oath of fair pleading, cannot be 
 allowed to have played well his part of impar- 
 tiality. 
 
 p 
 
 The same curiosity, which has traced the 
 casket and its contents, from Edinburgh to 
 London, may be desirous to follow the same 
 casket, and its contents, from Hampton Court 
 to Scotland. They were both returned into 
 the hands of Murray, who was allowed to 
 depart with both, and a loan of 5000/., on the 
 12th of January 1568-9. 1 The casket, and its 
 contents, remained with Murray, till he expiated 
 the revenge of Hamilton, in January 1569-70. 
 The Regent Lenox now regained the casket 
 and its contents, from Murray's servants. When 
 Morton was about to set out, as a new commis- 
 sioner, for Elizabeth's court, he could not de- 
 part, without the casket, and its contents, 
 which were now increased to one-and-twenty 
 pieces, as his " pondrous shield, hung on his 
 shoulders, like a moon." For this wonder- 
 working casket, he gave a formal receipt to the 
 
 1 Goodall, ii. 309.
 
 480 THE LIFE OF [MEM. VI. Memoir of 
 
 Regent Lennox ; with an obligation to return, 
 the same, and to deliver the said box, and its 
 epistolary contents : Yet, did they remain, in 
 Morton's gripe, till he was, in his turn, charged, 
 in January 1581, with the King's murder, when 
 this guilty man had expiated, on the scaffold, 
 his falsehoods, and his forgeries, his murders, 
 and his treasons, the casket, and its contents, 
 came into the possession of the Earl of Gowry, 
 another conspirator, whether from the bastards 
 of Morton, or the Earl of Angus, is uncertain. 
 When Elizabeth, on whatever motive, wished, 
 in 1582, to obtain the casket and its contents ; 
 they were traced to the Earl of Gowry, when 
 theScotish people seem to have forgotten them, 
 or rather to have never known them. m The am- 
 bassador, Bowes, appears to have tried his arts, 
 in vain, on Gowry, to induce his presentation of 
 the casket, and its contents, to Elizabeth : but, 
 she expected liberality when she would prac- 
 tise none. The Scotish Queen continued to 
 speak of the contents of the casket, " as the 
 counterfeits of her rebels ;" and Queen Eliza- 
 beth wished to countenance, and defend them* 
 
 m Robertson's Hist. ii. 37781 : " The coffer," said 
 Bowes, on the 8th of November 1582, from Edinburgh, 
 " had been delivered to sundry hands ; and thereby was, at 
 present, wanting, and unknown where it rested." Id. 
 
 Ib. 379 80.
 
 the Regent Morton.] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 481 
 
 We thus see some interesting traits of charac- 
 ter, in the rival Queens, who both knew the 
 contents of the casket to be forgeries : Mary, 
 from the magnanimity of her nature, despised 
 them, as spurious ; Elizabeth, from the baseness 
 of her habits, wished to nurse them, as legiti- 
 mate, in their birth, and useful in their lives. 
 Gowry, who was the son of Lord Ruthven, one 
 of the principal assassins of Rizzio ; and who, 
 amidst a thousand crimes, had himself, carried 
 the Scotish Queen to Lochleven-castle, had, very 
 different objects, and aims : after the long en- 
 treaty of Bowes, and some subterfuges of Gowry, 
 he very plainly told Elizabeth's envoy, that he 
 could not deliver the casket and its contents, 
 without the assent of the king, " and of the 
 associates in that action" of dethroning the 
 Queen. We thus see the casket and its contents, 
 considered as a sort of general pardon, for the 
 various crimes that had been committed, by 
 guilty Morton, and his nefarious colleagues, 
 from the epoch of their conspiracy. Robertson 
 insinuates that James may have destroyed the 
 contents of the casket, when he put Gowry to 
 death, in 1584. But, it had been a wiser act 
 of James, if he meant to protect his mother, to 
 have, by publication, put such absurd forgeries 
 
 o Hist. ii. 384.
 
 482 THE LIFE OF [MEM. VI. Memoir of 
 
 into every ones hands, for their detection, and 
 disdain. p 
 
 It may be an additional gratification to a 
 reasonable curiosity, to trace the fate of the 
 other jewels of the Scotish Queen. A few days 
 after Mary was committed, without a cause, 
 to Lochleven-castle, Morton, and his associates 
 in conspiracy, seized her jewels, plate, and 
 other valuable moveables, in Holyrood-house. q 
 The casket, and the jewels, thus came into the 
 hands of Morton, about the 18th of June : the 
 casket, he appropriated, as the proper coverture 
 
 P As Morton certainly never redelivered the casket, and its 
 contents to Lennox, they must have remained with Morton 
 till his death. As the Earl of Angus became his heir, the 
 casket and its contents must have come into his hands : thus 
 did they come into the possession of the Douglas family. 
 And an historian, who wrote about the era of the restora- 
 tion, affirms, that the casket, and its contents, were then in 
 the archives of the Marquis of Douglas. Goodall, i. 35-6. 
 The copies which remained with Cecil, in January 1569-70, 
 the copies, which were delivered to Lennox, in January 
 1581 j cannot any where be traced. Even the declaration 
 of Morton, as to the finding of the casket, and its contents, 
 has disappeared. From all those circumstances, we may 
 infer, as Elizabeth was ashamed, or afraid to communicate 
 the contents of that casket to the Scotish Queen, if the 
 casket and its contents had been sent to Elizabeth, when 
 Bowes pressed Gowry on the point, that they would have 
 been destroyed, as disgraceful to the forgers, and discredit- 
 able to herself. i Calderwood's MS.
 
 the Regent Morion] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 483 
 
 for the privy letters, that had neither subscrip- 
 tion, nor superscription, nor seal, nor address 
 to any man ; and the Queen's jewels, Morton 
 delivered over to Murray, when he became 
 Regent : and, Murray gave some of them to 
 Elizabeth, and her ministers ; some of them he 
 presented to his own wife ; r and the remainder 
 of those jewels, and plate, with some others of 
 those valuables, he appropriated, as his own, 
 and finally sold in Flanders, and in France. 1 
 When he died, his widow married Sir Colin 
 Campbell, of Boghan : but, the lady, and the 
 jewels, Sir Colin did not long enjoy quietly. 
 When Morton, the last of the four Regents, 
 obtained possession of this violent govern- 
 ment, amongst the variety of his rapines, he 
 reclaimed the jewels from Murray's widow, as 
 the property of the crown, before the Court of 
 Session. In vain did Sir Colin, assert, when 
 he came before the Privy Council, that the 
 jewels had been pledged to his wife, for their full 
 value. Morton obliged him to deliver them 
 into his rapacious hands.' 
 
 The imprisonment of the Queen, as it dis- 
 solved all commissions, put an end to all legi- 
 
 r Goodallii. 138 and 293 16. 338-4O. * Jebb, ii. 219- 
 1 Crawford's Officers of State, 101, who quotes the Privy 
 Council Record.
 
 484 THE LIFE OF [MEM. VI. Memoir of 
 
 timate government. The Lords of Session, with 
 their officers, and lawyers, fled before such 
 violence, from the seat of justice. Morton, and 
 the other usurpers, as the secret council, issued 
 a proclamation, directing the college of justice 
 to return, and sit, for the administration of 
 justice, on the penalty of being punished as 
 the authors of the King's murder* In this 
 spirit, the Secret Council directed the two 
 Blackadders, Edmonston, and Eraser, " to be 
 put in the irons, and torments, for discovering 
 the verity. x Whatever those persons said, when 
 under the rack, the Secret Council did not think 
 fit to publish. They seern, however, to have 
 been all put to death. y Amidst those guilty 
 scenes,Villeroy, the French ambassador, arrived, 
 
 u Keith, 406. Under the Regency of Morton, the mur- 
 derer, it became one of the usual, and artful penalties of 
 every denouncement, that the parties should be punished, 
 as accessories to the King's murder. Keith, throughout. 
 The Secret Council consisted of the Earls of Morton, Athol, 
 and Mar j the Lords Hume, Ruthven, Sempil, Sanquhar, 
 and Ochiltree. Such were the guilty usurpers of the Queen's 
 authority, and the people's rights. x Ib. 406-7- 
 
 y Calderwood's MS. In the depositions of Powrie, Dal- 
 gleish, Hay, and Hepburn, on the 23d and 26th of June, 
 3rd of July, 13th of September, and 8th of December, 
 there is not a word said of the concern of those four men, 
 or of Captain Blackadder, who was executed as a traitor, on 
 the 24th of June. Anderson's Col. ii. 165 87.
 
 the Regent Morton] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 485 
 
 at Edinburgh : and requesting to see, and speak 
 with the Queen was refused, in such terms, as 
 induced him to return home, without effecting 
 his object, whatever it were.* In this manner 
 did Morton constantly prosecute the course, 
 which he had begun with courage, says the 
 historian of the Douglases, overcoming all 
 difficulties, which were neither small, nor few 
 before Murray's return.' His associates, says 
 that writer, found those difficulties more than 
 they expected : they had promised themselves 
 the approbation of all men, and the aid of the 
 best affected : but, it fell out far otherwise ; for 
 popular envy being diminished, the confinement 
 of the Queen begat commiseration ; and duty 
 restrained some, and fear of the event kept 
 others in suspense. 1 * 
 
 The great body of the nobles were, mean- 
 while, astonished at the daring proceedings of 
 the Secret Council of four Earls, and five Lords ; 
 and felt indignant, that so few of their body 
 should presume to seize the capital, imprison 
 
 1 Birrel's Diary of the 26th of June 1567; contemporary 
 Hist, of K. James, 22. " Godscroft, 299. 
 
 b Godscroft, 299 ; Buchanan, b. xviii ; and Spottiswoode, 
 208, subjoins, " that the common people, also, who a little 
 before seemed most incensed, pitying the Queen's estate, did 
 heavily lament the calamity, into which she was fallen."
 
 486 THE LIFE OF [MEM. VI. Memoir of 
 
 the Queen, and rule the nation. A convention 
 of nobles, avowing such sentiments, assembled, 
 meantime, at Hamilton. They now professed 
 their indignation at the Lords of the Secret 
 Committee, whom they condemned, as guilty 
 of the higest crime. Under such circumstances, 
 the Secret Committee felt their situation to be 
 critical ; finding few to join them, and the 
 people generally hostile to them : the conspira- 
 tors had quite deserted their cause, if Morton 
 had not persuaded his colleagues " to remain 
 together, at Edinburgh, and to write concilia- 
 tory letters to the lords, that were assembled, 
 at Hamilton ;" desiring them to come to Edin- 
 burgh, in order to concert common measures, 
 for restoring the disordered government of 
 church and state. d But, the lords of the con- 
 vention would not even receive their messenger. 6 
 The murderer Morton, and is guilty colleagues, 
 were driven, by that repulse, to a fresh device : 
 they tried to get the church assembly, which 
 had convened, at Edinburgh, on the 25th of 
 June 1567, to interpose : and, as the pretext 
 assumed, was a deliberation for the benefit of 
 
 c Spottiswoode, 208. d Godscroft, 299 300. 
 
 e Id.; Knox, 41Oj Spottiswoode, 208; Buchanan, lib. 
 xviii. who adds, that the lords, who were assembled, at Ha- 
 milton, did not spare their reproaches.
 
 the Regent Morton.] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 48? 
 
 religion, and its ministers, the assembly, whereof 
 Buchanan was the moderator, readily entered 
 into the views of the conspirators : the assem- 
 bly, actuated by the same passions, and the 
 same ends, wrote to the lords at Hamilton, to 
 enter into the same views : the assembly ap- 
 pointed a committee to enforce their requests : 
 the assembly even denounced those nobles as 
 unworthy of the religion, if they should decline 
 to adopt their measures ; " considering 1 that 
 God, at this present, has offered some better 
 occasion [by the Queen's confinement] than in 
 times passed ; and has begun to tread down 
 Satan under foot ;" [has imprisoned their sove- 
 reign/] It is remarkable, that in all those guilty 
 proceedings, either of Morton, and his abettors, 
 or of the assembly, though there may be insi- 
 nuations hazarded, there is not any criminality 
 imputed to the unhappy Queen, while her ruin 
 was the object. And, in order to carry their 
 ultimate measure into effect, by popular delu- 
 sion, this criminal assembly appointed several 
 fast days, which were to be held, only, in Edin- 
 burgh, from Sunday the 13th to Sunday the 
 20th of July 1567. 8 Morton, and his abettors, 
 in order to give greater efficacy to all those in- 
 sidious measures, commanded, on the 7th of 
 
 f Spottiswoode, QOS-9 ; Keith, 574-5. & Keith, 5*6.
 
 488 THE LIFE OF [MEM. VI. Memoir of 
 
 July, the people not to pay any rents, or taxes, 
 to Cockburn, the Queen's receiver ; charging 
 him, at the same time, as one of the King's 
 murderers. h It is certainly very horrid, to see 
 Morton, who was afterwards convicted of the 
 King's murder, charging every one, who would 
 not support his traitorous measures, with that 
 odious crime. 1 
 
 Morton, and Athol, meantime completely 
 gained to their guilty cause, the magistrates of 
 Edinburgh. The metropolis now adopted the 
 association of the conspirators, who kept an 
 armed force, within the city. Fearing some 
 hostile attempt might be made on the capital, 
 the magistrates caused the citizens to arm. 
 They even entered into a sort of compact with 
 Sir James Balfour, the Governor of Edinburgh- 
 castle. 15 In the meantime, the church assembly, 
 by their various intrigues, gained other persons, 
 
 h Keith, 410-11. 
 
 1 It is not less horrid to see Secretary Cecil, writing on 
 the 14th of July, to the Ambassador Norris, at Paris : "If 
 Bothwell might be apprehended, I think the Queen there 
 shall be at liberty, for the nobility;" and, by the same dis- 
 patch, supplying means, for the return of Murray, who was 
 on the wing, for Scotland, to dethrone her. Cabala, 129. 
 
 k Keith 410 : Maitland's Hist. Edin. 29. The league 
 between the magistrates of the town, and Balfour, the Go- 
 vernor of the castle of Edinburgh, was ordered to be execut- 
 ed, on the 25th of July 1567. Id.
 
 the Regent Morton.] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 489 
 
 and towns, to aid Morton, and his abettors, 
 against the Queen. 
 
 During those events, in Scotland, Elizabeth 
 was not an inattentive spectator. She early 
 resolved to send thither the experienced Throck- 
 morton to observe events, and to take care of 
 her interests. 1 Throckmorton's departure was 
 delayed ; because when his instructions were 
 to be adjusted, the secretary found it impos- 
 sible to bring his mistress to think exactly with 
 him, with regard to the envoy's language, and 
 conduct. And there is but too much reason, 
 from the correspondence, and conduct of 
 Throckrnorton, in Scotland, to believe, that be- 
 sides his avowed instructions from Elizabeth, 
 he had private intimations from Cecil. m Throck- 
 
 1 Cecil, in his dispatch to Norris, of the 26th of June 
 1567, informed him, that " Sir Nicholas Throckmorton is 
 shortly to pass into Scotland, to negotiate there, for the pa- 
 cification of their troubles." In the same letter, Cecil di- 
 rected Norris to facilitate the return of Murray from France 
 to Scotland, as soon as might be. Cabala, 128. It is ap- 
 parent, that Cecil, and Elizabeth, thought differently on that 
 occasion about the Scotish Queen and her kingdom. Cecil 
 acted, decidedly, for the conspirators against Mary. 
 
 m Keith, 414-15 : In his dispatch of the 14th of July to 
 Norris, Cecil says : " Sir N. Throckmorton hath been some- 
 what long in going to Scotland ; and entered, by Berwick, 
 on Monday last : I think the two factions of the Hamiltons, 
 and the Lennoxes, shall better accord, than your neighbours,
 
 490 THE LIFE OF [MEM. VI. Memoir of 
 
 morton was met, on the llth of July, by Secre- 
 tary Maitland, Lord Hume, and Sir James 
 Melvill, who conveyed him under an escort of 
 four hundred horse, on the morrow. But, it 
 was by Maitland, that Throckmorton was best 
 instructed, and completely deceived." He was 
 instructed to endeavour to prevail on the nobles 
 to send the infant King into England : But, in 
 this he failed. He tried to see, and speak with 
 the imprisoned Queen : But, in this purpose, he 
 was frustrated, by Morton's artifices, who pro- 
 bably had private intimations from Cecil : 
 
 where you now live would." Cabala, 129. Cecil knew, 
 that Lennox had not any party, in Scotland, or indeed any 
 where. The faction, which had imprisoned the Queen, had 
 Morton for its head : but, he acted, merely, as the instru- 
 ment of Murray ; and fell back into the second place, as 
 soon as Murray arrived : By the same dispatch of the 1 5th 
 of July, Cecil, being in the secret, gave Murray a credit, 
 for money, to enable him to retire from France, and to re- 
 turn to Scotland. 
 
 " Keith 416 j Robertson's Hist. App. xxi-xxii. 
 
 Throckmorton wrote Elizabeth, on the 21st of July 
 1 567> that having pressed the Lords for an answer to such 
 matters as he had proposed to them, the Earl of Morton 
 answered me : " That shortly I should have answer from 
 them ; but, the day being destined to the communion, con- 
 tinued preaching, and common prayer, they could not be 
 absent, nor attend matters of this world ; as they must first 
 seek the matters of God ; and take counsel of him, who
 
 the Regent Morton.'] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 491 
 
 They deluded Throckmorton, by false infor- 
 mation, of the Queen's sentiments, and inten- 
 tions : They even made him believe, that their 
 own intentions, with regard to her resignation 
 of the crown, came wholly from herself. If so 
 experienced a minister, as Throckmorton, had 
 not been deluded by his own prejudices, and 
 Cecil's arts, it seems impossible, that he could 
 have been so misled, by the most artful misre- 
 presentations. Secretary Maitland was the in- 
 strument, who was employed by Morton, and 
 his secret council, to deceive Elizabeth's En- 
 voy. 11 There was a kind of general deception : 
 
 could best direct them." Keith's Pref. xi. What a wretch 
 was Morton ! To consult a God, infinitely just, to direct them 
 in the commission of the grossest crimes, and in the doing 
 of actions, enormously unjust ! 
 
 P See Throckmorton's letter, abovementioned. Keith's 
 Pref. xi. Maitland delivered to the English envoy a long 
 paper inscribed, as the answers of the Lords of secret 
 council. The topicks were such, that they felt it to be un- 
 safe to sign it. Throckmorton asking the meaning of the 
 words near the end of their paper the necessity of their cause, 
 Maitland, shaking his head, cried out: " You are a. very 
 fox." Maitland would not avow the meaning to be, that 
 necessity might induce them to put the Queen to death ; as 
 they had pretended a similar necessity, for sending her to 
 solitary confinement in Lochleven. After calling the church 
 assembly, contrary to Throckmorton's advice, and inflaming 
 the members with fanaticism, he avowed, that the Lords of
 
 492 THE LIFE OF [MEM. VI. Memoir of 
 
 The clergy deluded the people, while the prea- 
 chers deluded themselves, by their fanaticism. 
 The conspirators deceived each other. Mait- 
 land deceived Throckmorton : And in the 
 midst of all those delusions, Cecil deluded Eli- 
 zabeth, who had on that occasion some good 
 meaning, which was perverted, by her minis- 
 ter, who meant to dethrone Mary, and to in- 
 stal Murray, as Regent. 
 
 Amidst these delusions, the assembly of the 
 church, which had been appointed to meet, at 
 Edinburgh, convened on the 21st of July 1567 . q 
 Their endeavours to entice the nobles of Ha- 
 milton, toEdinburgh,withmany smaller barons, 
 and several towns, failed of the intended effect, 
 though some of them sent apologies/ Yet, the 
 zeal of the preachers, in various districts, in- 
 duced many persons of less note to attend. 
 This zealous assembly sat, at Edinburgh, on 
 
 secret council could not guide. He avows their purpose to 
 compel the Queen, by whatever means, to resign her crown ; 
 and to confer it on her son. He says, that Knox, cried out 
 for condign punishment on her : " For, they be very auda- 
 cious j" says Throckmorton, " and it appcareth their hearts 
 be marvellously hardened against their sovereign, which 
 God mollify." Id. And yet she had been committed to Loch- 
 leven-castle, where she still remained, without a charge ! 
 
 i Keith, 577, 1'ref. xii. 
 
 1 Knox, 4 10; Spottiswoode, 200 ; Keith 408-577-8-9.
 
 the Regent Morton.] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 493 
 
 the 21st of July 1567, and on the four follow- 
 ing days. 5 As the clergy lent themselves to 
 the conspirators ; so were the conspirators now 
 required to aid the clergy : And, they were 
 both equally interested, though the clergy must 
 be allowed, to have been most sincere. The 
 assembly followed the footsteps of their prede- 
 cessors, in 1560: And one of their fundamen- 
 tal measures was an engagement to maintain 
 the Parliamentary proceedings of 1560, for es- 
 tablishing the religion, and for the suppressing 
 of papistry. They followed up this measure, 
 by several resolves, for securing the patrimony 
 of the church to the preachers of the true re- 
 ligion, though to regain the appropriations of 
 the laity required many a struggle. Other 
 measures, they at length adopted, which were 
 of a more temporary sort ; and which being 
 the great objects of this convention, were sub- 
 scribed by every one of the assembly. 1 But, 
 
 s Keith, 577-81. 
 
 1 Keith, 581-3 : At the head of the subscribers were 
 Morton, and after him were the Earls of Glencairn, and 
 Mar, the Lords Hume, Ruthven, Sanquhar, Lindsay, Ochil- 
 tree, Sir James Balfour, and Secretary Maitland : The 6th 
 article was for the punishment of the King's murder ; Morton, 
 and Maitland, being two of the murderers : Art. 7 and 8, 
 were for defending the Prince, and for his godly education ; 
 he being then quite safe in the castle of Stirling, and in the 
 
 VOL. III. K k
 
 494 THE LIFE OF [MEM. VI. Memoir of 
 
 the whole practice of that wretched age evinces, 
 that subscriptions, and performance, were of 
 very different execution. Though Morton, 
 and his colleagues, had subscribed those various 
 articles, which the zeal of the assembly had 
 sedulously formed ; Yet, having obtained their 
 treasonous ends, they forgot their subscriptions, 
 and with their usual perfidy, violated their en- 
 gagements." 
 
 Morton, and his conspirators, had now gain- 
 ed the clergy, and the populace, the town and 
 the castle of Edinburgh, they had, in some 
 measure, deluded Throckmorton, if he were 
 not deluded by his intercourse with Cecil: 
 
 sure keeping of Mar : Art. 9> was, for obliging all future 
 Kings, " to league themselves with the true kirk; no other 
 church being true, but theirs : And Art. 10, was an en- 
 gagement of the nobles, barons, and other laity, to convene 
 with their forces, for rooting out, and destroying all monu- 
 ments of idolatry, throughout the realm, and to enforce their 
 reformation, without exception of place, or person ; forget- 
 ting the act of the Parliament of April 1567, which re- 
 nounced the papal authority, and gave universal toleration. 
 16. 583. Throckmorton wrote Elizabeth on the 24th of the 
 same July, " that they intended to proceed first with the 
 Archbishop of St. Andrews; and then against all other bi- 
 shops, and men of his faction." Keith, 426. They even 
 pointed at the death of the Queen, by demanding the punish- 
 ment of the King's murderer, according to the law ofnationt, 
 " without respect of any person." Keith, 426. 
 11 Knox, 410; Spottiswoode, 209.
 
 the Regent Morton.] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 495 
 
 And, they resolved, as they had overawed the 
 opposing nobles to execute their original design 
 of dethroning the Queen, by fair means, if pos- 
 sible, by forcible modes, if necessary.* With 
 these views, Lord Lindsay was sent, from Edin- 
 burgh to Lochleven, on the 24th of July 1567, 
 to obtain her signature to her resignation of 
 the crown, and her appointment of a regency. 
 He was selected, for such a business ; as being 
 the most ferocious in his manners, and most 
 zealous in the religion. 7 When the Scotish 
 Queen first heard this grievous proposal, she 
 said, " she would sooner part with her life, 
 
 x It is curious to remark on the informations of Throck- 
 morton's letter to Elizabeth of the 25th July 1567, that 
 Morton, and his colleagues, who had never charged the 
 Queen, with any offence, in their former proceedings, at 
 length intended, as they avowed to Throckmorton, to charge 
 her with three crimes : With tyranny, in disregarding laws, 
 to which she had never assented ; with incontinency, as well 
 with Bothwell, as others : with the murder of her husband, 
 which they assert they can prove, by the testimony of her 
 own hand writing, and also by sufficient witnesses. Keith, 426. 
 Their previous silence disproves their subsequent imputations. 
 That in such a country the conspirators, who made such 
 charges, could have found witnesses to prove any thing is 
 certain. That they fabricated what they could not find of 
 her hand-writing is sufficiently apparent. 
 
 i Robertson acknowledges that " Lord Lindsay executed 
 his commission with harshness, and brutality." Hist. i. 456.
 
 496 THE LIFE OF [MEM. VI. Memoir of 
 
 than her crown."* But, she was induced to 
 regard the matter more considerately, by a ver- 
 bal message, which Robert Melvill brought 
 her, from the Earl of Athol, and Secretary 
 Maitland, " as she loved her life, not to refuse 
 any thing, that they did require."' She was 
 probably full as much moved, by a letter, which 
 Throckmorton wrote her, informing her that 
 any resignation, which she might make, in 
 prison, and in fear, would not be considered 
 by the world, as valid. After a while, consi- 
 dering all circumstances, she subscribed Lind- 
 say's instruments of resignation, the tears run- 
 ning down in abundance from her eyes. b 
 
 On the morrow, Lord Lindsay returned to 
 
 z Spottiswoode, 211. 
 
 a Goodall, 166, ii. 344. In answer to the Queen's com- 
 plaint against Murray, and Morton, and their associates, at 
 York, they asserted, with their usual effrontery, and falsehood, 
 that her resignation had been voluntary. Ib. 146. 
 
 b Spottiswoode, 211. It is said, by a somewhat earlier 
 writer that " she neither could, nor durst refuse, for the mes- 
 senger was commanded, in case she had refused, to denounce 
 punishment, and death, unto her, for the murder of her lawful 
 husband." Contemporary Hist, of King James, 26. Buchanan 
 indeed says, " that they dealt with the Queen, to resign her 
 government, on pretence of sickness, or any other specious 
 allegation." All the instruments proceeded on a recital, 
 which is not very veracious, " of her being wearied of the 
 government." Keith, 430-2.
 
 the Regent Morton.] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 497 
 
 Edinburgh with the Queen's several deeds of 
 resignation, which were bedewed with her in- 
 voluntary tears. The deeds were immediately 
 approved, by Morton, and his colleagues. And 
 they now entered into a second bond of asso- 
 ciation ; engaging to crown the prince, and to 
 support him, as King.' This bond lay long for 
 subscription ; and it was made a signature of 
 faction to subscribe it. In order to carry its 
 purpose into immediate effect, Morton, and his 
 abettors, proceeded, from Edinburgh, on the 
 26th of July, 1567, to Stirling; carrying with 
 them the sword, the sceptre, and the other 
 ensigns of sovereign power/ They appointed 
 the coronation of the infant, being of the age of 
 one year and forty days, to be performed, on the 
 29th of July, at Stirling. And they, at the 
 same time, sent notice to the nobles associated 
 at Hamilton to attend that solemnity. 6 On 
 the appointed day, a Privy Council was held, in 
 the parish church, consisting of Morton, and 
 his colleagues, with other persons of inferior 
 rank : And here appeared Lord Lindsay, who 
 on behalf of the Scotish Queen, gave in her 
 resignation of her sceptre, and her rights to 
 her son, to the effect, that he might be crowned, 
 
 c Anderson's Col. ii. 240-2 ; Keith, 434-5. 
 
 d Birrel's Diary. e Melvill's Mem. 165-7.
 
 498 THE LIFE OF [MEM. VI. Memoir of 
 
 as King. They seem, in the mean time, to 
 have established a new formula, for this cere- 
 mony ; and a different coronation oath, from 
 the old : As far as this oath required the King 
 " to root out all religions, but their own," 
 and to persecute every person, holding a dif- 
 ferent opinion, from their creed, it was formed, 
 by incompetent authority, against the tolera- 
 tion act of Parliament, in April preceding : 
 This coronation oath, then, to say nothing of 
 its intolerance, was illegal. According to their 
 usual habits, they proceeded to interpolate the 
 Queen's resignation, by inserting words, and 
 ideas, which she did not use : She gave au- 
 thority to her procurators to make her resig- 
 nation to her son : They introduced expres- 
 sions, empowering her procurators to resign 
 her sceptre, and rights, to the Three Estates, 
 who were to transfer the same to her son/ 
 When all is violence, and perfidy, a few in- 
 stances of illegality, and falsehood, pass unno- 
 ticed by histoiy. According to the accustomed 
 forms of the Scotish law, Bellenden, the justice 
 clerk, Knox, the preacher, and others, entered 
 protests against all informal, and illegal acts, 
 which were then performed : And Arthur Ha- 
 milton protested, in support of the rights of the 
 
 f Keith, 437-9-
 
 the Regent Morton.] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 499 
 
 Duke of Chattelherault. After all those for- 
 malities, the infant prince was carried, from 
 the castle to the church, where he was crown- 
 ed, and anointed, by Adam, Bishop of Orkney, 
 the same prelate, who had married the Queen 
 to Bothwell, and who became one of the most 
 outrageous of her persecutors. 8 Morton him- 
 self took the coronation oath, for the infant 
 King ; " and the man dreamed, but what the 
 boy believed." After all those ceremonies, the 
 Earl of Mar carried back the infant King to 
 Stirling- castle ; the Earl of Athol bore the 
 crown ; the Earl of Morton, the sceptre ; and 
 the Earl of Glencairn the sword. h Throck- 
 morton, the English envoy, during the co- 
 ronation, was at Stirling, but not in the church; 
 his cousin, Middlemore, who was attached to 
 the commission, attended the ceremony. 1 Be- 
 
 * The anointing of the prince occasioned a sharp dispute ; 
 and the lamentations of K nox, and the preachers, at seeing 
 that Jewish ceremony adopted. Calderwood's MS. history. 
 Knox, however, made the sermon. 
 
 h The contemporary Hist. King James, 27- 
 1 Throckmorton had asked Elizabeth's direction, whether 
 he should attend the coronation, which he foresaw : And, 
 in her letter of the 27th of July, two days before the cere- 
 mony, she made answer : " We think, knowing our mind, 
 in all this action, as you do, that you will not, by any such 
 act, affirm their doings : And, for your better satisfaction, 
 we do prohibit you, to assent thereto, by any means." Keith,
 
 500 THE LIFE OF [MEM. VI. Memoir of 
 
 fore this violent transfer of the crown, Morton, 
 and his colleagues, calling themselves the secret 
 council, absurdly, governed, in the name of 
 the imprisoned Queen ; they now governed, in 
 the King's name, till Murray assumed the re- 
 gency : An infant King, and a governing regent, 
 were circumstances so frequent, and so grate- 
 ful, to the genius and the interests of the 
 Scotish nobles, that we may wonder they did 
 not establish it, as essential to their constitution, 
 that their King should always be an infant, and 
 their ruler a regent : The exchanging of such a 
 Queen, for such a King, as James, even in his 
 best days, only evinced the object of the con- 
 spirators to have been the inauguration of Mur- 
 ray, as Regent ; as the result of so much 
 roguery, and violence. 
 
 The nobles, who achieved this revolution, 
 have been variously called by different writers : 
 Buchanan emblazons them, as " the vindica- 
 tors of liberty." Knox calls them, with less 
 eloquence, " the lords, the honest lords/' Mel- 
 vill denominates them, the enterprizers ; " the 
 lords enterprizers." Robertson calls them the 
 
 Pref. xii. ; Ib.430. Throughout his whole mission, Throck- 
 morton acted contrary to his instructions ; as we may per- 
 ceive from his dispatches j as he was privately instructed, 
 by Burghley.
 
 the Regent Morton] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 501 
 
 confederates. His rival historian, Stuart, terms 
 them, the cabal. In the manuscript of Spottis- 
 woode's history, which Keith had seen, they 
 were denominated rebels, to which he added, 
 " for so they were styled till they prevailed :" 
 But, in the printed copy the truth was softened, 
 by calling them the lords. Goodall, Tytler, and 
 Whitaker speak of them, indignantly, as rebels, 
 as the rebel party. I have chosen to speak of 
 them, as conspirators, both as consistent with 
 the facts of history, and with an allusion to the 
 conspiracy, which by able, and artful manage- 
 ment, ended, as we have just seen, in the de- 
 thronement of the Queen, and coronation of 
 her child. 
 
 Thi s conspi racy began early in December 1 5 66, 
 at Craigmiller, and closed at the end of July 
 1567, at Stirling. It was founded on the 
 knowledge, that Darnley, by his guilty, and 
 perfidious conduct, at the murder of Rizzio, 
 had forfeited the Queen's affections, and his 
 own life. Secretary Maitland was the planner 
 of the whole conspiracy ; Morton was the con- 
 ductor ; and Murray was the gainer ; while 
 various persons, owing to their different con- 
 nections, acted subordinate parts, in that fatal 
 tragedy. The conspirators were foiled, in their 
 first step, by the Queen's firmness, who would 
 not even assent to the proposed divorce from
 
 502 THE LIFE OF [MiM. VI. Memoir of 
 
 Darnley ; and who knew, as well as other mar- 
 ried women, how wide the distance is, between 
 the miffs of marriage, and the murder of the 
 husband. Had the Queen been more com- 
 pliant, the conspirators would have proceeded, 
 as there is reason to believe, the full length 
 against Darnley, of a parliamentary attainder, 
 for his several treasons. But, as they were thus 
 disappointed, in both those measures, they en- 
 gaged in a plot, which was at once very deep, 
 very daring, and very dangerous to the life of 
 Darnley, the ruin of Bothwell, and the sove- 
 reignty of the Queen. They determined to 
 take the life of Darnley ; to make Bothwell the 
 instrument, as well of that odious deed, as of his 
 own ruin ; and to involve the Queen, not so much 
 in the guilt, as in the disgrace of such a deed. 
 They engaged in their cabal, several considerable 
 persons. Bothwell was easily induced, by his 
 ambition, to enter into a design, which had 
 Darnley's death, for its means, and the marriage 
 of such a Queen, for its end. Morton, while 
 an exile, at Newcastle, was easily gained, by 
 the hope of restoration, to enter into their 
 cabals : and, we have seen, in our progress, the 
 conspirators, and their friends, join, zealously, 
 in soliciting the pardon of Morton, which they 
 effected about Christmas 1566, at the baptism
 
 the Regent Morton.] THE SCOT1SH QUEEN. 503 
 
 of the Prince. k From the borders, Morton 
 soon after returned to his house of Whitting- 
 ham, where, we have seen Bothwell, and 
 Maitland, in the very act of concerting with 
 him Darnley's death; 1 in pursuance of their 
 written association, or bond. About the same 
 time, Darnley was taken with the small-pox, 
 at Glasgow, the seat of his father. Mary, as 
 we have seen, sent her own physician to attend 
 upon him ; visited him herself; brought him 
 with her to Edinburgh ; and endeavoured to 
 conciliate him, by every female attention, which 
 wives know how to use. It was here, in the 
 house of Kirk-a-field, that he soon after lost 
 his life ; in consequence of those cabals. From 
 all these views of the facts, can any one doubt, 
 whether Darnley lost his life, as the obvious 
 consequence of those cabals, by the ablest, art- 
 fullest, and wickedest, of mankind ? 
 
 h Bedford's letters before quoted. 
 
 1 Morton's confession ; and Archibald Douglas's letter ; 
 both before quoted. We may recollect here, that Morton, 
 when he was solicited, by Bothwell, to lend himself to 
 that murder, asked Bothwell, for some writing of the 
 Queen, to evince her assent to that deed, as he pretended ; 
 but, as low down as the 1st of February 1566-7 (the mur- 
 der being committed in the night between the 9th and 10th 
 of the same month) Bothwell, when pressed, could show 
 none of her writing, to that shocking effect.
 
 504 THE LIFE OF [MEM. VI. Memoir of 
 
 Bothwell was, immediately, charged with the 
 murder; the Queen was herself mentioned, 
 not long after, as an accessory to that crime : 
 and a vast outcry was raised, which no one 
 felt, but all feigned ; and which, by artifice, was 
 kept up, and spread all over Europe. Can any 
 one doubt, whether those occurrences were not 
 some other results of the same conspiracy ! One 
 great object of it, the death of Darnley had 
 been effected ; but the ruin of Bothwell, and 
 the disgrace of the Queen, still remained to be 
 accomplished, as the next objects of the cabal. 
 In pursuance of this outcry, and of that charge, 
 Bothwell was tried, and acquitted ; Lennox 
 being deluded, from the pursuit, by the same 
 cabal ; and the whole court, and jury, being 
 connected, directly, or indirectly, with the con- 
 spirators, with Morton at their head, who coun- 
 tenanced him at the bar,and managed his ac- 
 quittal : without the aid of so unscrupulous a 
 faction. Bothwell, from the number of per- 
 sons, who knew the secret, could not possibly 
 have been cleared of so obvious a charge. Mean- 
 time, Murray had slipped away to France, by 
 the way of London ; departing from Edinburgh, 
 three days before the trial of Bothwell, his per- 
 sonal enemy ; and leaving Morton at the head 
 of the conspirators. The Parliament, which 
 constitutionally sat, a few days after the trial,
 
 the Regent Morton.] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 505 
 
 by confirming the defective titles of the conspira- 
 tors, and their connections, gave them com- 
 plete security for their rights : they were all 
 now quite safe, from the resumptions of the 
 Queen. She had thus made them safe ; but herself 
 insecure. She was now to be disgraced, as she 
 had been already calumniated. The Parliament 
 had scarcely risen, when many nobles, with 
 Morton, the most powerful man in Scotland, 
 and several prelates, with the Archbishop of St. 
 Andrews, at their head, signed a bond of associa- 
 tion, approving of Bothwell's acquittal ; pro- 
 mising to defend him from similar prosecutions ; 
 and recommending him, as the properest hus- 
 band, for the Queen. Beyond this measure, 
 artifice, and villany, could not easily go : but, 
 artifice, and villany, did go beyond the base- 
 ness of that bond. Four days after obtaining 
 it, Bothwell, whose crest now brightened with 
 hope, seized the Queen, on the road from Stir- 
 ling ; and carried her to his castle of Dunbar ; 
 " where he boasted/' as we learn from Melvill, 
 " that he would marry the Queen, who would, 
 or who would not, yea, whether she would her- 
 self, or not." m 
 The Queen had been now ravished, according 
 
 m Mel. Mem. 80, who was present, and repeats what he 
 heard.
 
 506 THE LIFE OF [MEM. VI. Memoir of 
 
 to the expression of the conspirators, and she 
 was now held in thraldom, by Bothwell. 
 Whether in her circumstances, she would mar- 
 ry the ravisher, or not, was a difficult question 
 of female delicacy to settle : Elizabeth would 
 have had his head : Mary chose to have his 
 hand. On the 15th of May 1567, as Both- 
 well had obtained a divorce, the Queen pub- 
 lickly married him, after the publication of 
 banns : So that however improper, there was 
 no real objection to the validity of the marriage, 
 though Murray's secret council called it a 
 privy marriage, and Murray's Parliament, a 
 pretended marriage." Thus were all the great 
 
 n Had the Queen known the whole guilt of Bothwell ; 
 and that he was the actual murderer of her late husband, 
 her contract with Bothwell had been an odious marriage: 
 But, we must judge of her, and her conduct, from the cir- 
 cumstances, wherein she was constantly placed : She knew 
 not what we know, that the whole movements around her 
 were only parts of a grand conspiracy, whereof the murder 
 of Darnley, the acquittal of Bothwell, and her own marriage 
 to the murderer, were only particular parts : She knew, 
 that Darnley was murdered, but by whom she knew not ; 
 she perceived, that Bothwell was acquitted, by his peers, 
 with the aid, and approbation, of Morton, Lindsay, Sempil, 
 and other popular nobles } that he was afterwards received, 
 and confirmed in Parliament ; that he was immediately en- 
 couraged by many prelates and nobles, with Morton as their 
 chief, to solicit her in marriage, as a man most fit -, that he
 
 the Regent Morton."] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 50f 
 
 points of the conspiracy, leading unto the con- 
 summation, accomplished : Darnley was mur- 
 dered, by Bothwell, with the assent and en- 
 couragement of the chief conspirators ; Both- 
 well was acquitted, by a formal, but collusive 
 trial, by the management of the principal con- 
 spirators; the Queen, by their artifices, and 
 aid, was married to Bothwell, whom they hated, 
 and wished to ruin : Add to all these prepa- 
 ratives, for the denouement of the plot, that the 
 
 was thus encouraged, insidiously, to carry her off by force 
 to his castle, where she was aided by none, and where 
 " being ravished by him," according to Melvill, [Mem. 80.] 
 <f She could not but marry him," and " the necessity of the 
 time, as then to her seemed, did in a manner enforce her, 
 according to bishop Lesley. [Defence 28.] It was but a 
 sad consideration, that obliged the unfortunate Queen to 
 say, in the language of Shakspeare, though in her there was 
 nothing criminal : 
 
 " The art of our necessities is strange, 
 " That can make vile things precious." 
 It is curious to remark, that Secretary Maitland, the 
 contriver of this conspiracy, was present with the Queen, 
 when she was carried off, in consequence of measures, by 
 him suggested ; and was with her carried to Dunbar-castle, 
 where he saw her forced, by the necessity, which he had 
 brought on, and countenanced, and concealed, from the 
 mistress, whom he was bound to inform, and advise. Such 
 was his whole life, which he at length lost, by Parliamen- 
 tary attainder, for his knowledge, of Darnley' s death, and 
 his concernment, in this conspiracy.
 
 508 THE LIFE OF [MEM. VI. Memoir of 
 
 Parliament had just confirmed the estates, 
 titles, and offices of the chief conspirators. The 
 marriage was scarcely solemnized, when Mor- 
 ton, and his abettors, began to incite insurrec- 
 tion. The motive of their first movement, at 
 Stirling, was the safety of the Prince, who was 
 safe, in the keeping of the Earl of Mar, one of 
 themselves, within the impregnable castle of 
 Stirling : Yet, is it certain, however, that their 
 real design was from the epoch of their conspi- 
 racy, to dethrone the Queen, and crown the 
 Prince. They immediately changed their first 
 motive, when they perceived, that it was subject 
 to popular disapprobation, for its falsehood. 
 They now avowed, as their second motive, the 
 release of the Queen, from the thraldom of Both- 
 well, of the Queen, whom they regarded, as an 
 injured princess ; And they continued to repeat 
 this motive of insurrection, from the llth of 
 June, the date of their first proclamation, to 
 the 21st of July 1567, when they resolved to 
 demand her resignation. When she surrendered, 
 on Carberry-hill, to the insurgents upon spe- 
 cified terms, which they immediately set aside, 
 they were reduced to forgery, for a defence of 
 their perfidy : so little complaint had they 
 against the Queen, on the 15th of June, the 
 epoch of her surrender. There was a third 
 motive, which the insurgents superinduced
 
 the Regent Morton.'] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 509 
 
 upon the second, a zeal for bringing Bothwell to 
 justice,as the murderer of Darnley : This motive 
 was avowed a thousand times, by Morton, 
 Lindsay, Sempil, and other noble insurgents, 
 who had procured the acquittal of this same 
 Bothwell, who afterward engaged, to defend his 
 innocence, and at the same time, who had re- 
 commended him, as a husband, for the Queen. 
 In the same strain, Morton, and his colleagues, 
 continued, to consider the Queen, as an injured 
 woman, rather than a guilty princess, till the 
 moment, when they resolved to demand her 
 resignation ; though the clergy, and their fol- 
 lowers, charged her with crimes, and threaten- 
 e d her life. When Morton, and his complot- 
 ters committed her to Lochleven-castle, they 
 showed no cause, for such a commitment, and 
 had none to show ; as we have already seen : 
 When they resolved to demand her resignation, 
 the conspirators had as little cause to justify 
 so violent an act ; because they had none. q 
 
 P See Throckmorton's letters from Scotland, in Robert- 
 son's App. and Keith throughout. 
 
 i After they had inforced the Queen's resignation, in- 
 deed, the insurgent nobles, by the tongue of Maitland, the 
 treacherous secretary, avowed, that they meant to charge the 
 Queen, with tyranny, with incontinence, and the murder of her 
 husband; professing that, they could prove this last point, as 
 VOL. III. L 1
 
 510 THE LIFE OF [MEM. VI. Memoir of 
 
 From those just views of this interesting sub- 
 ject, we may now perceive, that Morton and 
 
 well by her own hand writing, as by witnesses. Throck- 
 morton's letter to Elizabeth of the 25th of July, in Keith, 
 425-6. When Murray, and Morton, sat down, in their 
 council, to decide, finally, on what charge against the Queen, 
 they would rest their justification, for dethroning her, they 
 relinquished the two first imputations, of tyranny and incon- 
 tinence : The Queen, who had pardoned so many traitors j 
 who had sought no man's life, or estate ; who had confirmed 
 so many defective titles ; who had granted oblivion for so 
 many crimes, and toleration to every religion ; could not, 
 with any fitness, be charged with tyranny : The imputation 
 of incontinence was relinquished to the calumnious tongues 
 of the clergy, and the historical falsehoods of Buchanan. 
 The Murrays, and the Mortons, relied, wholly, on the third 
 charge ; knowing how easily they could fabricate her hand 
 writing. When she complained of their breach of the 
 terms, on which she had surrendered to them, on Carberry- 
 hill, the conspirators forged a letter, from the Queen to Both- 
 well, after she had put him away, to justify their own per- 
 fidy. The letter was, immediately, suppressed, but the false- 
 hood was long retained : Upon this falsehood, they imprison- 
 ed their Sovereign ; and refused to liberate her ; constantly 
 affirming, that she would not put away Bothwell j and that 
 it would be impossible to punish Bothwell, if she were free. 
 But, Bothwell had been expelled from Scotland, by general 
 concurrence ; and was soon after committed to the prisons 
 of Denmark : The Queen's Commissioners expressly affirm- 
 ed, in reply to Murray's answer j at York, that she never 
 made offer to leave the realm, that she might possess the
 
 the Regent Morton.'] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 51 1 
 
 and his coadjutors in villany, were rebels till 
 the epoch of the Queen's surrender to them ; 
 and, from that epoch, till her resignation, they 
 were usurpers, who defended themselves, by the 
 unhallowed means of falsehood, and forgery, of 
 perfidy, and violence. 
 
 But, they did not act thus, for themselves 
 alone: Their crimes were merely means, for 
 the great end of substituting Murray, for Mary, 
 under the name of Regent. We have seen 
 how early Cecil had projected, and promoted 
 the same end ; in order that his mistress might 
 rule Scotland, by the instrumentality of Mur- 
 ray/ This artful anarch acted as one of the 
 
 Earl of Bothwell, as he alleged. Goodall, ii. 165. And 
 what is this, but a mere calumny of base conspirators ; to 
 cover their own misdeeds. 
 
 r In addition to what has been already said of Cecil's 
 project for establishing Murray, as Viceroy of Scotland, some 
 other notices may be subjoined. " The Earl of Murray," 
 says Strype, " under June the 12th 1 565, is succoured, by 
 the Earl of Bedford, as it were, without the Queen's privity, 
 to avoid the suspicion of the Scotish Queen." Annals, i. 475. 
 As to the Scotish matters, the Annalist adds, " thus the Se- 
 cretary wrote to his correspondent, March the 26th 1566; 
 I am in doubt, to which of the parties, I should wish victory, 
 as per case, in their hearts, they covet : And yet, 1 cannot 
 think evil of the Earl of Murray." Ib. 48O. We shall im- 
 mediately perceive, that Cecil continued, steadily, in his 
 original purpose, with regard to Murray's aims.
 
 513 THE LIFE OF [MEM. VI. Memoir of 
 
 original conspirators, at Craigmillar.' In pur- 
 suance of the concert, which was then agreed 
 upon, he zealously promoted the pardon of 
 Morton. Murray, undoubtedly, knew the 
 whole purpose of the conspirators, and every 
 step they took, for accomplishing their pre- 
 vious design. He, of course, was acquainted 
 with the very day, on which Darnley would be 
 despatched : And to avoid suspicion of his par- 
 ticipation, or knowledge of that odious deed, 
 he went to Fife, on pretence of visiting his 
 wife.' Murray continued about the court, in 
 
 The thirty-five prelates, and nobles, who assembled at 
 Dunbarton, in September 1568, expressly charge Murray 
 with his participation in the conspiracy at Craigmillar j and 
 with carrying his views, as well as the other conspirators, 
 the full length of depriving Darnley, " of his knighted life." 
 Goodall, ii. 359. 
 
 1 Keith, 365, who remarked, the common observation, 
 with regard to Murray's usual practice, to retire out of sight, 
 when any fatal accident was to happen, or crime to be com- 
 mitted. But, Cecil, who probably knew of the previous 
 purpose, in writing to the Queen's ambassador, at Paris, im- 
 mediately after the murder, in March 1566-7 informed him : 
 " There do adhere together, with the Earl of Lennox, the 
 Earls of Argyle, Morton, Athol, Murray, Catness, and 
 Glencairn, who mean to be, at Edinburgh, very shortly, as 
 they pretend, to search out the malefactors." Cabala, 126. 
 We thus perceive the prescient Cecil rank his favourite, 
 Murray, among the conspirators, and to be acquainted with
 
 the Regent Morton.] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 513 
 
 concert with Morton, and his colleagues, dur- 
 ing- the two anxious months, from the 10th of 
 February, when Darnley was assassinated, till 
 the 9th of April, when the day of Both well's 
 acquittal approached. Like other men, who 
 have committed daring deeds, Murray seems to 
 have felt some of the " compunctious visitings 
 of nature." 
 
 He appears to have conceived, that his con- 
 duct, with such associates, was liable to sus- 
 picion : And he was anxious to have his objects, 
 and his actions, explained, by a friend, to a 
 friend. On the 9th of April 1567, with the 
 Queen's consent, Murray set out, for France, 
 by the way of London, where, he no doubt, 
 visited Throckmorton, and Cecil." Morton 
 probably managed Murray's affairs, in the Par- 
 liament of April 1567, wherein his estates, and 
 titles, were confirmed : Morton, the chief of all 
 those conspirators, certainly corresponded with 
 Murray, in France, whither he went, as it 
 should seem, for popular effect." Cecil not only 
 
 the previous design of the conspiring nobles. Cecil wrote 
 what he knew to be untrue, that Lennox had any party, in 
 Scotland : It was Murray's party. 
 
 " Camden, the best informed historian of that age, as he 
 had perused the most State Papers, says, expressly, that 
 Murray retired into France, in order, that he might seem to 
 be clear of the conspiracy. Hist. Eliz. Trans. 94. 
 
 x Robertson, Hist. i. 461, admits, that the chiefs of the
 
 514 THE LIFE OF [MEM. VI. Memoir of 
 
 conveyed, secretly, and safely, the letters of 
 the conspirators to Murray : But, as we have 
 already perceived, the Secretary supplied money, 
 for enabling Murray, to return, from France, to 
 Scotland. 7 As soon as the conspirators heard 
 of the arrival of Murray, at London, they sent 
 forward Sir James Melvill to Berwick, in order 
 to inform him of the state of affairs, and of his 
 being appointed Regent, by the Queen. 1 After 
 considering all those details, facts, and circum- 
 stances, can any one doubt, whether Murray, 
 and Cecil, were not two of the conspirators, 
 who dethroned the Scotish Queen, as their 
 great end, while the murder of Darnley, and 
 the marriage of Mary, with Bothwell, were 
 only intermediate means ? a And yet, was Eli- 
 
 rebels held a constant correspondence with Mnrray, in 
 France j and that he returned, at their desire : But, we have 
 seen Secretary Cecil, in the very act of conveying to France, 
 " certain packets of letters, [from the associate nobles] to 
 " the Lord of Murray, which required great haste, and 
 " secrecy." See his dispatch to the ambassador Korris, 
 dated the 26th of June 1567 : And he adds, in the same 
 dispatch, " His return into Scotland is much desired of 
 " them," [the conspirators, who had, a few days before 
 imprisoned their sovereign.] Cabala, 128. 
 
 1 1b. 129. z Mel. Mem. l68-9. 
 
 * The Cabala is the record of Cecil's conviction : Of Mur- 
 ray, a contemporanious observer, remarked : " In the next 
 month [August 1567] James, Earl of Murray, a man of
 
 the Regent Morton."] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 515 
 
 zabeth, on that occasion, sincere, in her endea- 
 vours to relieve Mary, as she feared the ferocity 
 of the conspirators, and dreaded the example 
 of their success : But, she was circumvented 
 by Cecil, and misserved by Throckmorton, who 
 was himself misguided by Cecil's cunning, b and 
 influenced, by Murray's friendship. 
 
 On the 29th of July 1567, Mary's infant son 
 was crowned in the church of Stirling. On the 
 llth of August, thereafter, Murray arrived, 
 from France, at Edinburgh : And on the 22d 
 of the same month was he declared Regent, till 
 the King should become seventeen years of age. c 
 All those events were produced, by the vigour, 
 the valour, and villany of Morton, who was 
 amply rewarded, by Murray, for his guilt, " so 
 criminal, and so capital in nature." He was 
 now, criminal as he was, restored to his office 
 of Chancellor. And soon after, upon the for- 
 feiture of Both well, was Morton made admiral of 
 Scotland, and sheriff of Edinburghshire : 4 And 
 the laird of Whitelaw being forfeited, for the 
 
 " this faction [Morton's faction] returned from France into 
 " Scotland." The Contemporary Hist, of King James, 27. 
 
 b The letters of Elizabeth to Throckmorton, her envoy, 
 at Edinburgh, are written, with great vigour, in favour 
 of Mary : But, Cecil, who had many private agencies, 
 secretly instructed the conspirators to persevere, and Mur- 
 ray to act. See Robertson's Appendix j Keith, History and 
 App. and the Cabala, throughout. c Birrel's Diary, \\. 
 
 d Privy Seal Record.
 
 516 THE LIFE OF [MEM. VI. Memoir of 
 
 same crime, his escheat, was moreover, conferred 
 on Morton : e The reader must always recollect, 
 what never can be forgotten, that Morton him- 
 self was clearly convicted, fourteen years after- 
 wards, of the same treason, which produced so 
 many forfeitures ! 
 
 Murray, and Morton, as they were of conge- 
 nial principles, practices, and pursuits, were 
 quite inseparable. Morton commanded Mur- 
 ray's army at the battle of Langside, which 
 drove the unfortunate Queen into Elizabeth's 
 snare, in England. Morton was the lucky 
 discoverer of Mary's letters, which, in his cus- 
 tody, assumed all the colours of the rainbow ; 
 which were first written, and subscribed, by 
 the Queen's own hand ; which next were 
 wholly written by her own ; which were first 
 written in the Scotish language, then in the 
 Latin, and then in the French ; yet still conti- 
 nued, unchanged, the genuine letters of the 
 Scotish Queen, that she had sent to her en- 
 chanting lover, the Earl of Bothwell. Morton 
 now accompanied Murray into England, as 
 one of the commissioners, who were to explain 
 to the candid Elizabeth all those transforma- 
 tions of Mary epistles, and to charge their 
 sovereign with the murder of her husband, 
 which they themselves had committed. But, 
 
 Officers of State, 99, which quotes the same record.
 
 the Regent Morton.] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 517 
 
 the great exploit of Morton, on that disgrace- 
 ful commission, was to avow upon his honour, 
 and oath, that what he had said, and written, 
 of his finding the Queen's gilt box, containing 
 the said letters, sonnets, and contracts of mar- 
 riage, was true/ Yet, wilful perjury was so 
 common, in that reformed age, that Morton 
 was not deemed the worse magistrate, or the 
 worse man, for being thus forsworn. Eliza- 
 beth's commissioners, who were entrusted to 
 examine those forgeries, at York, were sworn 
 to act fairly ; yet immediately acted, falsely : 
 Elizabeth's counsellors, with Cecil at their 
 head, who were entrusted to make the same 
 enquiries, at Westminster, were sworn to act 
 honestly ; yet throughout the whole examina- 
 tion, acted knavishly : Elizabeth, as she urged 
 Murray, and Morton, and other Scots commis- 
 sioners, to swear to the genuineness of Mary's 
 epistles, which had already appeared before 
 Elizabeth, in every shape, and in every lan- 
 guage, was herself only guilty of subornation of 
 perjury. But, no guardian angel cried out, in 
 Shakspeare's speech 
 
 " Take heed j for he holds vengeance, in his hand ; 
 " To hurl, upon their heads, that break his law 
 
 " And that same vengeance doth hurl on thee, 
 
 " For false forswearing, and for murder too." 
 
 1 GoodalTs Examin. ii. 341.
 
 518 THE LIFE OF [MEM. VI. Memoir of 
 
 As the object of Elizabeth, in those disgrace- 
 ful doings, was to scandalize the Scotish Queen ; 
 and having, by such odious means, obtained 
 her abominable end, she dismissed Murray, 
 and Morton, with their boxful of forgeries, to 
 the " false North." But, mark how vengeance 
 was hurled on the heads of those guilty men, 
 with their coadjutors. The Regent Murray 
 was soon after shot, by Hamilton's vengeful 
 culverin, in the streets of Linlithgow. Lennox, 
 who succeeded Murray as Regent, under Eli- 
 zabeth's influence, was not long after, shot in a 
 skirmish, on Stirling street. Mar, who sue- 
 succeeded him, died, ere long of a broken heart. 
 Morton, the fourth Regent, after adding crime 
 to crime, was convicted of murdering Darnley, 
 and was executed, for his treason ; confessing 
 his guilt. And, Maitland of Lethington, Mary's 
 far-famed secretary, who is deemed the forger 
 of her said love letters, was adjudged, by Par- 
 liament, for the same murder, and died, by 
 poison ; criminating Morton, and Morton re- 
 criminating on Maitland, like the meanest mur- 
 derers. And, yet, the pious historians of Scot- 
 land are not convinced that, HE, who holds 
 vengeance, in his hand, did not hurl vengeance 
 on the heads of those mighty breakers of his 
 law ; for false forswearing, and, and for murder 
 too!!!
 
 the Regent Morton] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 519 
 
 Morton, the Chancellor, still continued in 
 great trust, and much employment ; as he had 
 a head to contrive, and a hand to execute, any 
 purpose. When Murray entertained the de- 
 sign of obtaining possession of the Queen's 
 person, he sent Morton, Pitcarne, the Secretary, 
 and M'Gill, the Clerk Register, to the English 
 court, to solicit that odious measure, at the begin- 
 ning of 1571. The Scotish envoys knew Eliza- 
 beth, and Elizabeth knew them; andbeingintro- 
 duced into the Queen's presence, she willed them, 
 as Camden relates, to express more plainly, their 
 causes, for deposing their Queen, and to prove 
 them to be just : They now exhibited to her alarge 
 discourse ; wherein, continues Camden, with in- 
 solent liberty, and sharpness of words, they en- 
 deavoured to prove, by an ancient privilege of 
 their nation, by outworn examples, and new 
 ones gathered from late books, that the Scotish 
 nobles are above their Kings ; yea, and by the 
 authority of Calvin, that popular magistrates 
 are ordained, eveiy where, to moderate the 
 lust of kings ; and so it is lawful for them to 
 restrain bad kings, and to depose them. g The 
 indignation of Elizabeth could be no longer re- 
 strained : Such speech, and such sentiments, 
 struck her princely ears, so strongly, as to de- 
 
 e Camden's Transl: Ed. 3. p. 122.
 
 520 THE LIFE- OF [MEM. VI. Memoir of 
 
 prive her of her moderation : She scarcely 
 could be induced to listen to their boastful 
 professions of their own lenity, towards their 
 imprisoned Queen, whom their lenity had al- 
 lowed to live till she had resigned her crown to 
 her son, and given him a Regent ; but, that it 
 was owing to their mercy, not to her innocence, 
 that she was allowed so long to live. h Such then, 
 was the language of the anarchs, who acting un- 
 der such maxims, and justifying their conduct, 
 by Calvin's name, committed every crime, which 
 society reprobates the most. But, we hear no 
 more of the boxful of letters, which Morton 
 still retained, as a supplementary justification 
 of his conspiracy, and his treasons. The ne- 
 gotiation, for the delivery of the Scotish Queen, 
 into the hands of assassins, could only be suc- 
 cessful, under the management of such men, 
 as Morton, M'Gill, and Pitcarne. The nego- 
 ciation was ended, rather abruptly, by the im- 
 patience of the two Queens. And both parties, 
 in Scotland, prepared their rude armour, for 
 civil war. 
 
 It was during the same negotiation, that the 
 Scotish envoys, receiving a letter from Thomas 
 Buchanan, the Regent's agent, in Denmark, 
 were required, by Cecil, to show this letter, they 
 
 "Id.
 
 the Regent Morton.'] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 521 
 
 delivered in a castrated copy, for the genuine 
 original. 1 We may thus see what adepts such 
 men were, in all the artifices of fraudulence, 
 and how unfit they were, for any trust, and how 
 unworthy of being witnesses, in any cause. 
 
 Meantime, on the 27th of January 1570-1, 
 the Earl of Lennox was proclaimed Regent, 
 and the Earl of Morton his lieutenant.* Dun- 
 barton-castle was taken by the Regent, on the 
 1st of April 1571. On the 14th of May, there 
 were two Parliaments holden at Edinburgh, and 
 
 ' See the letter of Morton, Pitcarne, and M'Gill, dated, 
 at London, the 24th of March 1570-1, to the Regent Len- 
 nox. Goodall's Examin. ii. 382. " The cause why it has 
 been so long in sending," say they, " was that v we thought 
 not best to commit it to the through-post, or a common mes- 
 senger : For, we had no will the contents of the same should 
 be known, fearing that some words, and matters, mentioned 
 in the same, being dispersed here, as news, should have 
 rather hindered, nor furthered our cause : And, therefore, 
 being desired at court to show the letter, we gave to un- 
 derstand, that we had sent the principal [original] away : 
 and delivered a copy, omitting such things, as we thought 
 not meet to be shown, as your grace may perceive, by the 
 like copy, which, also, we have sent you herewith ; which 
 ye may communicate to such as your Grace thinks not ex- 
 pedient to communicate the whole contents of the principal 
 letter unto." The great object of Thomas Buchanan's ne- 
 gotiation, at Copenhagen was the delivering of Bothwell, 
 that justice might be executed upon him. Id. 
 k Birrel's Diary, 18.
 
 222 THE LIFE OF [MEM. VI. Memoir of 
 
 its suburbs, the proper emblems of civil war; 
 one for the Queen, in the accustomed place ; 
 and the King's, in the Cannongate. And, there 
 were many persons forfeited, in both these Par- 
 liaments : Morton acted, as chancellor, for the 
 King, as well as his general, in the same turbu- 
 lent neighbourhood. 1 On the 3rd of Septem- 
 ber 1571, however, the Regent Lennox was 
 slain, when a prisoner, with the Queen's party, 
 who had surprised Stirling. 
 
 The Earl of Mar, was now chosen Regent, 
 while Morton enjoyed the secret of Cecil, for 
 the management of Scotland ; and wanted 
 nothing, says Crawford, but the name of Re- 
 gent, through all the three regencies, that went 
 before him. m The Regent Mar died, in October 
 1572 ; and on the 27th of November following, 
 the Earl of Morton was chosen Regent, by a 
 plurality of voices." By his artifice, or his 
 vigour, he erewhile induced the principal par- 
 tizans of the Queen, to submit to his authority, 
 all but the Castle of Edinburgh, which was 
 held, by the military conduct of Kirkaldy, who 
 was supported by the prompt suggestions of 
 Maitland. But, the English army, which Mor- 
 ton's influence brought, from Berwick, in May 
 
 1 Ib. m Officers of State, 10O. 
 
 n Rec. of the Privy Seal.
 
 the Regent Morton.'] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 5<23 
 
 1573, compelled the castle to submit, notwith- 
 standing the valour of Kirkaldy, and the wiles 
 of Maitland : the Governor was hanged, the 
 Secretary was poisoned. 
 
 The Regent now cultivated, for a while, the 
 arts of peace, and indulged, at all times, his 
 usual passion for money : in the administration 
 of justice, he oppressed by his rigour: in his 
 government of the church, his ruling passion 
 of avarice carried him to the excess of ruining 
 the clergy : he made penitents pay, for indulging 
 themselves, in Lent : nor left he, says Spottis- 
 woode, any means unessayed, that served to 
 bring money to his coffers, which drew upon 
 him much hatred, and constant envy. p In the 
 midst of this cupidity, he obliged, by legal pro- 
 cess, the widow of the Regent Murray, to de- 
 liver the Queen's jewels : and, while he perverted 
 justice to the oppressioa of individuals, for his 
 own profit, he appointed commissioners, for 
 revising the whole jurisprudence/ 1 
 
 At length the oppressions of this guilty Re- 
 gent could be no longer borne. The people's 
 outcries, and the nobles hatred, at the head of 
 whom, were Argyle, and Athol, induced the 
 Regent to resign his office. The king, who was 
 
 o Crawford's Officers of State, 100-1. 
 
 P Id. Spoiswoode's Hist. * Godscroft.
 
 524 THE LIFE OF [M EM . VI. Memoir of 
 
 still tinder twelve years of age, accepted his 
 resignation, on the 15th of September 1577 : T 
 and after various intrigues, the King was in- 
 duced, on the 8th of March, in the subsequent 
 year, to assume the sceptre into his infant 
 hands, with Argyle, Athol, Montrose, and other 
 nobles, for his ministers, 1 who were confirmed, 
 by the Parliament of the subsequent year. 
 
 Yet, Morton had been so long busy, that 
 he could not enjoy quiet. He still had his en- 
 mities, with Argyle, and Athol, which, as they 
 could not be easily settled, Athol was com- 
 manded to remain, in Edinburgh, and Morton, 
 at Dalkeith.* During the year 1578, Morton 
 seems to have got possession of the person, and 
 the dominion over the spirit of the King ; so as 
 to rule the nation, without the cares of the 
 regency : u but, he did not thus rule, without the 
 strenuous opposition of Argyle, Athol, and 
 other powerful nobles : and, towards the end 
 of the same year, by means of mutual media- 
 tors, their differences were apparently com- 
 
 r Crawford's Officers of State, 102 j 
 
 Moyses's Mem. 1-2-7= when the proclamation of the 
 King's accession was read, at the Cross of Edinburgh, Mor- 
 ton attended ; and promised obedience, and service^ while 
 he protested against any other Regent. Ib. 3. Crawf. Offi. 
 State, 103-4. Ib. 11. 
 
 v Moyses's Mem.
 
 the Regent Morton. 1 ] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 525 
 
 posed. It was the Parliament of March 1578-9, 
 which assembled, at Stirling, that gave more 
 efficiency to the reconcilement of the nobles, 
 and more efficacy to the government of the 
 King. On the 24th of April, in the same year, 
 died Athol, the Chancellor, of poison, and as 
 generally was supposed, by Morton's procure- 
 ment : of so unprincipled a man, who had com- 
 mitted so many crimes, any villany was to be 
 expected ; yet, this crime, though strong suspi- 
 cions settled on him, seems to have been never 
 proved. While Morton was thus involved, in 
 so much crimination, he had the satisfaction, 
 during the busy year 1578, of seeing the Ha- 
 miltons, whom he hated, almost wholly ruined, 
 and of contributing to their fall. On the 12th 
 of August 1579, the two poets, Turnbul, and 
 Scot, were hanged, at Stirling, for distributing 
 ballads, tending to sedition ; and as these exe- 
 cutions were unprecedented, in Scotland, where 
 poets had never been so punished before, Mor- 
 ton thereby incurred popular hatred, and was 
 libelled in prose, as well as in poetry/ Such 
 was the harshness of punishments, under the 
 influence of Morton ; and such the domination 
 of government, which is always severe, in pro- 
 portion to its weakness. The year 1579 is, also, 
 
 x Moyses's Mem. 37. 
 VOL. III. M 111
 
 526 THE LIFE OF [MEM. VI. Memoir of 
 
 memorable for the removal of the King, from 
 the Castle of Stirling, his nursery, to Edinburgh, 
 where he was treated, and acted, as a King ; 
 and is equally remarkable, for the arrival of the 
 Lord Aubigney, the King's cousin, from France ; 
 and for the ascendency of James Steuart, of 
 Ochiltree, over the King's spirit. 
 
 Morton was now hastening fast to his fall. 
 This was preceded, perhaps promoted, by the 
 renewment of his old enmity, with the Earl of 
 Argyle. He was not of a nature to fall, with- 
 out a struggle, worthy of his former vigour : 
 But, new times had arisen, and various different 
 men had advanced upon him. On the last day of 
 December 1580, the same Steuart of Ochiltree, 
 came into the King's council, the King being 
 present; and accused Morton of knowing of 
 the late King's murder, without revealing it ; 
 and affirming, in confirmation of the charge, 
 that Archibald Douglas, the earl's cousin, was, 
 actually, present, by Morton's commands Such 
 an accusation, by such a person, seems to imply, 
 that the treasonous guilt of that crimeful noble, 
 was become quite notorious, in the popular 
 belief. Elizabeth, and Cecil, now interposed 
 vigorously, in protection of Morton, who had 
 so long been their agent, and knew so many of 
 
 * Moyses's Mem. 46 j Bin-el's Diary, 22.
 
 the Regent Morton.] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 527 
 
 their secrets. 2 After Bowes had endeavoured, 
 in vain, to protect that odious noble, the noto- 
 rious Randolph was sent to Edinburgh, with the 
 same views : Elizabeth's envoy now used every 
 artifice, in favour of Morton ; and entered into 
 the most dangerous intrigues, which could not 
 be tolerated, even in an ambassador : but, find- 
 ing that his person, and his papers, were in 
 danger, he retired, secretly, from Edinburgh, to 
 Berwick." 
 
 * There is a vast collection of papers, in the British Mu- 
 seum, and Paper Office; which show the persevering efforts 
 of Elizabeth, and Cecil, for saving Morton's life : Randolph, 
 their agent, in Scotland, at length put the matter thus to 
 them : " if you march an army, from Berwick to Edinburgh, 
 the King will retire into Argyle ; and thence to France : this, 
 then, would not be advantageous to England : secondly, If 
 you send an army, to lay waste the Lothians ; you would 
 thereby destroy as many friends, as foes : this, then, is not 
 for the interest of England." It was thus shown to the 
 fruitful mind of Cecil, that it was beyond the power of 
 Elizabeth to save the guilty life of Morton, without extreme 
 disadvantage to England. 
 
 1 There is a letter from Randolph, on that occasion, to 
 the Lord Chancellor, which was transcribed by Strype, into 
 his Annals, ii. App. 138 : " I find no good success of my 
 travail to either of those purposes, for protecting Morton, 
 and wholly removing D'Aubiny : the Earl of Morton is 
 very rich ; he hath goodly houses, and well furnished : he 
 had great lands, and many friends, in his prosperity. The
 
 528 THE LIFE OF [MEM. VI. Memoir of 
 
 Every intrigue, in favour of Morton, was de- 
 tected, and every insurrection was dissipated, 
 by securing the principal insurgents. 1 * On the 
 1st of June 1581, the Earl of Morton was tried, 
 by an assize, for the treasonous murder of the 
 late King Henry ; was convicted, and adjudged, 
 as in cases of treason. The sentence was 
 
 doubt of his power, when he was at liberty, procured him 
 many enemies : his backwardness to give, that which he 
 hath, is thought, by many, quarrel sufficient. I find little 
 hope of his life, the rather, for that divers of his most assured 
 friends, and servants, are his accusers j some, say, that he was 
 guilty of the King's murther ; others, that he was consent- 
 ing to the poisoning of the Earl of Athole : some that of 
 late he intended to have taken the King, and to have killed 
 the Earl of Argyle, the Earl of Lennox, and Montrose : if 
 this be true, his fault is greater than can be borne with. If 
 he be innocent, yet is the malice so great, as he cannot 
 escape with his life. Nay, I cannot, myself wish him any 
 javour, if that be true, that is said of him, and confessed, 
 by those, in whom he had no small trust. This in time will 
 be tried : and her Majesty shall be truely informed, what his 
 doings have been. How I have dealt, from time to time, 
 with the King and Council j and what answer I have re- 
 ceived j as also of my hasty departure out of that country, 
 that both had libels set up against me, and harquebus shot in 
 at my chamber window, I trust your lordship knoweth, by 
 such letters, as are come to Secretary Walsingham's hands." 
 
 b Moyses' Mem. 51. 
 
 ' Ib. 53-4 : From the same book, it appears, that some 
 evidences subscribed with his own hand, were laid before the
 
 the Regent Morton.'] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 529 
 
 changed, by the King, to decollation, which 
 was executed, on the subsequent day ; Morton 
 having, previously, confessed his guilt, with 
 many of the transactions, which necessarily led 
 to that odious deed. d His head, says Robertson, 
 was placed on the publick gaol of Edinburgh ; 
 and his body, after lying till sunset, on the 
 scaffold, covered with a beggarly cloak, was 
 carried, by common porters, to the usual burial 
 place of criminals. 6 
 
 Assize 5 it was attested by the depositions of some persons, 
 says the same work, who were actors of that horrible fact : 
 And, therefore, continues Moyses, doom was pronounced, 
 that he should be hanged, beheaded, and quartered, as a 
 traitor. See what is called the Trial of the Earl of Morton, 
 for themurder of Darnley, in Arnot's Crim. Trials, p. 388-92. 
 
 d On the 2d day of June 1581, Morton was beheaded, at 
 the Cross of Edinburgh. Birrel's Diary, 22. There is a 
 very accurate copy of Morton's confession, in Ballantyne's 
 Journal, 493. Something of what he said to the clergy, 
 who attended him, seems to me, from the collation with 
 state papers, to have been disingenuous, or false. It is to 
 be regretted, however, that the clergymen did not cross ex- 
 amine him, about his finding the boxfull of letters, that we 
 might have aeard what he would avow, or deny, on that in- 
 teresting topick. Archibald Douglas's letter to Queen Mary, 
 in Robertson's History, ii. App. 428, confirms the greatest 
 part of Morton's confession, as to the participation of Mor- 
 ton, in that terrible crime. 
 
 e Hist. ii. 87.
 
 630 THE LIFE OF [MEM. VII. Memoir of 
 
 MEMOIR VII. 
 
 Memoir of' Secretary Maitland. 
 
 ASSOCIATED with the Regent Murray, in simi- 
 lar pursuits of ambition, or interest, upon the 
 same principles of regarding ends, more than 
 means, was the loud praised Secretary Maitland 
 of Lethington.' 
 
 Sir Richard Maitland of Lethington, by 
 Mary, the daughter of Thomas Cranston of 
 Crosby, had three sons, who are all celebrated 
 in Scotish history, and four daughters.* 
 
 His eldest son, William, was born about the 
 year 1525 ; and was, of course, about five years 
 older than the Regent Murray ; and was edu- 
 cated, also, at the University of St. Andrew's. 11 
 He travelled into foreign parts, where he stu- 
 died the civil law, according to the fashion, at 
 
 f He was oftener mentioned, in the State Papers of that 
 age, by the title of Lethington, than by the family surname 
 of Maitland. 
 
 8 One of Sir Richard's daughters, Mary, is still remem- 
 bered, as a writer, and collector of Poetry, and as her 
 father's amanuensis, after he had lost his eyesight. 
 
 h Mackenzie's Lives, in Art. : Yet, he is not mentioned, 
 in the University Record, which was not then very accu- 
 rately kept.
 
 Secretary Maitland.'] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 531 
 
 the epoch of the revival of letters : Neither the 
 worthy Sir Richard, nor any of his well-inform- 
 ed sons, appear among the officers of State, in 
 1550.' Engaged, as we have thus seen, by the 
 Regent-queen, Maitland was sent, in June 1555, 
 to negotiate her affairs, with the English War- 
 dens of the Eastern borders : And, he was paid 
 40/. for his expenses. 11 Heriot of Trebroun, who 
 married Maitland's sister, Isabel, was, at the 
 same time, sent to the Western Marches, for a 
 similar purpose of Border quiet. Secretary 
 Maitland is first seen, in the pages of history, 
 in October 1555, disputing about modes of faith, 
 with John Knox, who claims the honour of 
 having converted an abler man than himself. 1 
 If Knox converted Secretary Maitland, from 
 his father's honourable ways, to the odious 
 paths of perfidy, the reformer is not to be much 
 praised, for such a performance. 
 
 ' Crawford's MS. Notes, in my Library. The Regent- 
 queen, in 1554, granted to the eldest son, William, a pen- 
 sion of 150Z. a year. [Treasurer's Ace. of Sept. 1555.] 
 Secretary Maitland was, at that period, about 29 years old j 
 and a married man ; having espoused, in 1553, Janet, the 
 daughter of Monteith of Kerse. The Queen-regent appoint- 
 ed his father, Sir Richard, an extraordinary Lord of Session, 
 in Nov. 1554 : Nor, could she have appointed a more ho- 
 nourable, and intelligent man. 
 
 k Treasurer's Accounts of June 1555. 
 
 "Knox's Hist. 173*2, p. 91.
 
 532 THE LIFE OF [MEM. VII. Memoir of 
 
 Maitland, however, continued in the confi- 
 dence, and service, of the Regent-queen, and 
 betrayed her counsels to Elizabeth, and Cecil, 
 as well as to the innovators, and Murray. 111 
 He was, at length, on the 4th of December 
 1558, appointed Secretary of State, during his 
 life, in the room of Panter, the bishop of Ross, 
 who died on the 1st of October of the same 
 year. By this appointment, the Regent placed 
 a viper in her bosom. With such a Secretary, 
 she could not act, discreetly : With such a Se- 
 cretary, to betray her secrets, Murray, and his 
 reformers, easily, gained upon her, in every 
 transaction. They thus were enabled, to obtain 
 an ascendency over her power : And they pro- 
 
 m In February 1557-8, Maitland was sent by the queen- 
 regent on an embassage to London ; and received, for his 
 expenses, 60O crowns of the sun, which were equal to 7651. 
 [Treasurer's Ace. of the llth of February 1557-8.] He 
 enjoyed the most intimate confidence of the regent : On the 
 5th of February 1558-9, we may see the Treasurer giving 
 10/. to the Regent, to play at the Carts, with the' Earl of 
 Huntley, and young Lethington." \_Acc. of that date.] 
 Early in March 1558-9, the Secretary was sent to England, 
 and to France, in the Queen's affairs : He was paid 7651., 
 for his expenses. [Treasurer's Ace. of that date :] And see 
 Keith's App. 89. He was, certainly, in France, during 
 April 1 559 j and brought to Elizabeth, Francis and Mary's 
 ratilication of the treaty of Cambray. Calig. Cot. Lib. B x. 
 fol. 8.
 
 Secretary Maitland.] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 533 
 
 ceeded, in October 1559, to deprive her of the 
 regency, which she had acquired, from the 
 Estates, of Scotland, with the assent of the 
 sovereign. 11 It was, at this crisis, that Maitland, 
 the Secretary of State, deserted the Regent's 
 service : forgetting her many benefits ; and 
 accepted the same appointment, from the Prior, 
 and the insurgents, from whom, and their pro- 
 tectors, he expected greater honours. 1 * Such 
 treachery could not be endured, but among 
 reformed men, who sacrificed every principle to 
 their motive, during an immoral age. 
 
 In October 1559, Secretary Maitland seems 
 to have given the first specimen of his versa- 
 tility, by deserting the Queen-regent, and join- 
 ing the insurgents.* 1 With them, he continued 
 to act, equally, as Secretary of State. In 
 November 1559, the chiefs of the innova- 
 tors appointed Maitland, to repair to Lon- 
 
 n Keith, 105. 
 
 Knox, 192j Spottiswoode, 139 ; Keith's App. 42. 
 
 P In September 1559, Maitland offered his services to Eli- 
 zabeth ; when he said, he attended no longer on the Regent, 
 than till he had a good occasion, to revolt to the Protestants. 
 Sadler's State Letters, i. 450-1. Robertson, indeed, sup- 
 poses, that Maitland was afraid of his life, from the Regent, 
 and her French counsellors. Hist. i. 220. This is said, 
 from Knox, 192. 
 
 i Ib. 48 3 Knox, 1J)2 ; Spottiswoode, 129.
 
 534 THE LIFE OF [MsM VII. Memoir of 
 
 don ; in order to lay their distressed affairs be- 
 fore Elizabeth ; and to request her effectual 
 aid/ Elizabeth, and Cecil, did not hesitate 
 long 1 , in conveying effectual aid to the insur- 
 gents, 1 in shipping, in men, and money, and, 
 what was of full as much importance, the most 
 insidious advice. At that epoch, Maitland ap- 
 pears to have formed his connexions, with 
 Cecil, and Elizabeth, which induced him, to 
 turn his best services, from his own sovereign, 
 and native land, to an alien queen, and an 
 adverse kingdom.' 
 
 Returning from his successful negotiation, 
 Maitland now displayed the superiority of his 
 abilities, though not of his zeal, among the re- 
 
 r Keith, HO: Maitland's letter of credence remains, in 
 the Paper Office, from the Duke, Argyle, Glencairne, and 
 the Prior of St. Andrews. Lyddington, says Cecil, in his 
 Diary, [January 1559-60] was at Westminster, to be con- 
 ferred withall, for Scotish matters. 18th Feb. 1559-60, 
 Lyddington returned into Scotland. [Murdin, 750.] 
 
 1 There seems to have been a treaty on the point. Rym. 
 Fad. xv. 569. 
 
 1 Elizabeth said, in her instructions to Shrewsbury, in 
 April 1 583 : It is well known, that before the making of 
 the treaty of Edinburgh [June 1 560] there was an intent 
 discovered unto us, even by Lethington himself [Maitland.] 
 Whom afterwards she [Mary] specially favoured, to deprive 
 her of her crown ; which motion, we entirely rejected. 
 Calig. C. ix. Goodall, i. 170.
 
 Secretary Maitland.] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 535 
 
 formers. From Scotland, Cecil, who negotiated, 
 the treaty of Edinburgh, wrote Elizabeth: 
 " I find the Laird of Lethington disposed to 
 " work all the minds of the nobility to allow 
 " any thing, that your majesty shall determine : 
 " He is of most credit here, for his wit [wisdom], 
 " and almost sustaineth the whole burden of 
 "foresight"* Much of the villany, in making 
 the suspected treaty of Edinburgh, as far as it 
 relates to Scotland, must be attributed to him, 
 who thus sustained the whole burden of fore- 
 sight.* 
 
 The reformers, even in opposition to their 
 own treaty, of Edinburgh, convened a parlia- 
 ment, at Edinburgh, on the 1st of August 1560. 
 Huntley, the Chancellor, excused his non-at- 
 tendance, in that convention, by the convenient 
 infirmity of a sore leg. Maitland was now 
 chosen, in his place, as speaker. And, on that 
 occasion, he displayed his address, his knavery, 
 and his eloquence. 7 The convention, who 
 
 u Cecil's unpublished letter of the 19th of June 156O, in 
 the Paper Office. 
 
 x Besides Maitland' s corrupt communication with Secre- 
 tary Cecil, he constantly kept up a similar correspondence 
 with Lady Cecil. Haynes, 301, 359. 
 
 y Randolph's letter to Cecil of the 10th August 1560. 
 Robertson's Hist. 395-7. Maitland determined, like a man 
 of foresight, not t<> go to France, with the proceedings of
 
 536 THE LIFE OF [MEM. VII. Memoir of 
 
 expected much more from Elizabeth, than from 
 Mary, resolved to send Glencairn, Morton, 
 and Maitland, to negotiate with the English 
 Queen/ The Lord James, during 1560 and 
 1561, acted under Cecil's advice, as the chief 
 of this self-created government, without con- 
 trol, but with Maitland, for his secretary of 
 state/ As a crafty character, Mary knew 
 Maitland ; but did not put much trust, in such 
 a minister, who, as she was not to learn, had 
 attached himself more to Queen Elizabeth, and 
 Lady Cecil, than to her. b 
 
 Acting under all those influences of inde- 
 pendence on Mary, and subservience to the 
 English Queen, the Lord James concurred with 
 Cecil, and Maitland, and with all these, in 
 wishing, to prevent the Scotish Queen, from 
 returning to her native kingdom, though the 
 
 that pretended Parliament, which the Scotish Queen very 
 properly refused to ratify ; as it sat without her assent, and 
 established measures, which were inconsistent with the laws. 
 
 z Keith, 154. 
 
 a Throgmorton, Elizabeth's envoy, at Paris, wrote on the 
 1st of May 1561, "I understand the Queen of Scotland 
 hath hitherto no great devotion to Maitland, Grange, and 
 Balnavis ; whereof I am nothing sorry." Keith, 164. 
 
 b When the Queen, early in 1561, sent a commission, to 
 govern Scotland, Muitland gained the whole secret, and 
 conveyed it to Cecil.
 
 Secretary Maitland] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 537 
 
 Estates had invited her. c It is in vain, then, for 
 Robertson, to doubt, whether those profligate 
 statesmen did not, actually, concert measures, 
 for intercepting Mary's voyage to Scotland/ 
 This, then, is the^zr^plot, which was concerted, 
 
 c See Robertson's Hist. App. No. V. ; see Maitland's 
 Letter to Cecil of the 10th of August 1561 j Keith's App. 
 92-4 ; and his letter of the 15th of the same month, in the 
 Paper Office. 
 
 d Secretary Maitland, by his unpublished letter, in the 
 Paper Office, of the 15th of August 1561, to Secretary Cecil, 
 very fairly informed the English minister of the embar- 
 kation of the Scotish Queen, at Calais : " She doth com- 
 plain," he adds, "that the Queen's majesty not only hath 
 refused passage to Mons. Doysel, and the safe conduct, 
 which she did, courteously, require for herself ; but, also, 
 doth make open declaration, that she [Elizabeth] will not 
 suffer her to come home to her own kingdom : Yet, are her 
 affections such towards her own country, and so great her 
 desire, she hath to see us, that she meaneth not, for that 
 threatening, to stay; and so, to trust her person in our hands. 
 The bearer saith, that she will arrive, before the 26th day 
 of this instant : I marvel, [Maitland subjoins, perfidiously,) 
 that she will utter any thing to us, which she would have kept 
 close from you." After recommending, that a force should 
 be stationed, at Berwick, Maitland goes on, in the same 
 strain of perfidy, " I pray you send me your advice what is 
 best to be done, as well in the common cause, as in my parti- 
 cular, who am taken to be a chief meddler, and principal 
 negotiator of all the practiques with that realm ; though I 
 be not in greatest place, yet is not my danger least."
 
 538 THE LIFE OF [MEM. VII. Memoir of 
 
 by Elizabeth, and Cecil, against Mary, with 
 the Scotish Queen's ministers. Whatever we 
 may think of Maitland's talents, it must be al- 
 lowed, that much cannot be said, for his pro- 
 bity. Mary arrived safe, at Leith, notwith- 
 standing those machinations, while the two 
 Secretaries, Cecil, and Maitland, were plotting 
 her interception. She hath been much praised, 
 for putting her government into Protestant 
 hands ; but she might, as well, have placed her 
 affairs, in the management of Cecil, and Eli- 
 zabeth, who influenced her ministers, in all 
 things. Had Mary been intercepted, by the 
 English fleet, she had never returned to her 
 native subjects, who would have been governed 
 in her name, indeed, by her bastard brother, as 
 vice-king. 
 
 The cousin-queens, with such ministers, were 
 now to govern their several kingdoms, as well 
 as the duplicity of the one, and the good mean- 
 ing of the other, could agree. Maitland, who 
 had deserted her mother's service, and joined 
 the rebels against the government, was now 
 continued secretary, under his original appoint- 
 ment, by the deluded Queen. 6 As early after 
 
 e Maitland was, incidentally, Clerk of the Privy Council, 
 with John Johnstone, as his deputy, at a salary of 1501. a 
 year: On the 1st of March 1563-4, Maitland appointed
 
 Secretary Maitland.} THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 539 
 
 Mary's return, as the 1st of September 1561, 
 Maitland was sent to Elizabeth, with the un- 
 welcome notification, of the safe arrival of the 
 Scotish Queen/ In addition to his mistress's 
 instructions, he carried credentials, from the 
 chief nobles, the Duke, Lord James, and the 
 chosen few : They required him, though with- 
 out fitness, to ask Elizabeth, to declare Mary's 
 right of succession, a request, that they must 
 have known, to be of all others the most of- 
 fensive to the English Queen. He made that 
 requisition ; and Elizabeth could, scarcely, re- 
 strain her temper. A sort of altercation en- 
 sued ; and it required all the art, and volubi- 
 lity, of Maitland, to keep the indignant Eliza- 
 beth, within the usual rules of common civility : 
 She did appeal to the world, whether she, in 
 any of her actions, had ever attempted any 
 thing against Mary's safety, or tranquillity, or 
 security of her kingdom : And this appeal was 
 made, in the hearing of Maitland, who had in- 
 duced her, with the advice of Cecil, to send a 
 
 Alexander Hay, as his deputy-clerk of the Privy Council, to 
 whom the Queen assigned the same salary of 1501. Keith's 
 App. 174. Hay partook of the corruption of his master. 
 
 f Maitland received, from the Treasurer, 712/. 10s. to pay 
 the expenses of his journey to London. He returned before 
 the 24th of September 1561.
 
 540 THE LIFE OF [MEM. VII. Memoir of 
 
 fleet into the Forth, and an army into the 
 field, and money into the chest of the insur- 
 gents, for transferring Scotland, from the legi- 
 timate Queen, to her bastard brother. The 
 effrontery of Elizabeth must have proceeded, 
 from a high opinion of herself, or a low opinion 
 of Maitland. 8 
 
 He soon after returned to Edinburgh ; bring- 
 ing a letter, from Cecil to Knox, whom the 
 English Secretary used, as a bellows, for blow- 
 ing the expiring embers of discontent, in Scot- 
 land, as men, and matters, waxed cold, or hot. 
 His absence did not impair his credit. The 
 Queen's whole power now rested with the Lord 
 James, and Maitland: The first, said Randolph, 
 is suspected, to seek too much his own interest : 
 The other is too politick : And, take me those 
 two out of Scotland, he added, in his letter to 
 Cecil, and those, that love their country, shall 
 find the want of thern. h Maitland soon after 
 displayed his great abilities, as a statesman, by 
 writing two letters to Cecil ; defending Mary's 
 right of succession to the English crown, and 
 apologizing for her nou ratification of the treaty 
 of Edinburgh.' The English agent felt, and 
 
 Spottiswoode, 179-82. On the 6th of September 1561, 
 Maitland was made one of the Privy Council. Keith, 187. 
 h Keith, 191. l Haynes, 373-75.
 
 Secretary Maitland] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 541 
 
 confessed, his inferiority to Maitland. " He 
 was now borne in hand," he said, " by such as 
 were nearest about the Scotish Queen ; as the 
 Lord James, and the Lord Lethington, that 
 their Queen's good words were meant, as they 
 were spoken : I see above all others," continued 
 he, " in credit ; and I find in them no altera- 
 tion : The Lord James dealeth, according to his 
 nature, rudely, homely, and bluntly : The laird 
 of Lethington [Maitland] more delicately, and 
 finely ; yet in nothing swerveth from the other, 
 in mind, and effect."* 
 
 Secretary Maitland had, scarcely, returned, 
 from London, to Edinburgh, when he found 
 himself engaged in a contest with the clergy. 
 On Alhallowday, the Queen went to mass. The 
 preachers were shocked at her idolatry. Every 
 
 k So wrote Randolph to Cecil, on the 24th of October 
 1561. Keith, 196. About that time, Lethington was ac- 
 cused, by the Scots, of being ambitious, and too full of 
 polity : Yet, Randolph said, " Whensoever Lethington is 
 taken out of his place, they shall not find, among them- 
 selves, so fit a man to serve, in this realm." Keith, 2O<2. 
 Randolph soon after said to Cecil : " The bishops com- 
 plain, that the Lord James beareth too much rule ; and that 
 
 Lethington had a crafty head, and a fell tongue." Ib. 205. 
 
 Fell means, generally, cruel, barbarous, inhuman ; but, 
 
 it is here used, by Randolph, 1o signify able, eloquent, 
 
 artful, sly. 
 
 VOL. III. N n
 
 542 THE LIFE OF [MEM. VII. Memoir of 
 
 pulpit resounded with railing : The nobility 
 were admonished of their duty ; and strong in- 
 sinuations were given, that the Queen's worship 
 ought to be suppressed, by force ; without any 
 recollection of the precept, and practice, of the 
 Saviour of mankind, or any remembrance, that 
 the Queen had tolerated the worship of others. 
 The preachers, with Knox at their head, were 
 now called before the Privy Counsellors : Mait- 
 land took the lead, in showing the clergy the 
 unfitness of their conduct, and the right of the 
 Queen to her own worship, in her own chapel. 
 But, against conceited prejudice, he argued in 
 vain. Knox proposed, that the points in ques- 
 tion should be referred to the supreme decision 
 of the Genevan church ; and that he would 
 write, for such an unerring judgment: But, 
 Maitland overruled that folly, by engaging 
 himself to consult the oracle: And he after- 
 wards avowed, that he had never written, for 
 such an answer, when Knox attacked him, for 
 his perfidy. The sedition of the preachers was 
 countenanced, by the Lord James, and Cecil ; 
 as they hoped to gain what the Queen might 
 lose, by their seditious speeches. At the 
 church assembly of December 1561, Maitland 
 again opposed the pretensions of the preachers : 
 Like a true statesman, acting upon right prin- 
 ciples, he insisted, that conventions of the
 
 Secretary Maitland.-] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 543 
 
 church could only be held by the Queen's al- 
 lowance : On the contrary, the preachers, 
 whose principles led them to disregard ancient 
 law, and established authority, insisted, they 
 must have an independent right, to hold such 
 assemblies ; otherwise, they could not be a re- 
 formed church. Connived at, as they were, by 
 the Lord James, the Queen's minister, Mait- 
 land's opposition, merely showed his own prin- 
 ciples, and their pretensions. Maitland scoffed 
 at Knox's book of discipline, which had been 
 introduced into the assembly. The chief of 
 the reformers attacked Maitland, in his turn : 
 And this attack, and those scofferies, were car- 
 ried on, with great acrimony, and were long 
 continued. 1 We may thus learn, from Knox's 
 
 1 Knox's Hist. 293-5. Knox made a sort of an appeal 
 to Cecil : By his letter of the 7th of October, Knox wrote 
 among other complaints : " This I write with dolor of hart : 
 Some of no small estimation have said, with open mouth, 
 The Queen neither is, nor shall be, of our opinion ; and in 
 very deed, her whole proceedings do declare, that the car. 
 dinal's lessons are so deeply printed in her heart, that the 
 substance and the quality, are like to perish together. I 
 would be glad to be deceived ; but, I fear, I shall not : In 
 communication with her, I espied such craft, as I have not 
 found in such an age : Since, hath the court been dead to 
 to me, and I to it. One thing I cannot conceal ; too much 
 bearing is like to break the most strong back, if we cast not 
 off the burden betimes. To speak plainly ; those that have
 
 544 THE LIFE OF [MEM. VII. Memoir of 
 
 epistle, to Cecil, how much that statesman in- 
 fluenced Scottish matters, for Elizabeth's in- 
 terest, and Mary's annoyance. 
 
 After all that altercation, Secretary Mait- 
 land was appointed, in November 1561, an ex- 
 traordinary lord of session : And, in January 
 1565-6, was, by the recommendation of the 
 same court, named an ordinary lord, which he 
 seemed to have retained, during his fortunes, 
 and misfortunes. Much of the year 1562 was 
 spent, in argument, and in journeys, about the 
 ill-omened meeting of the rival Queens. Mait- 
 land went to London, by his mistress's desire, 
 in May ; and returned in June of the same 
 year, with little success. During the autumn 
 of 1562, the Scotish secretary accompanied the 
 Queen upon her northern tour, when Huntley 
 was ruined, for Murray's interest. On this 
 odious subject, Lethington wrote to Cecil, the 
 English minister : " I am sorry, that the soil 
 of my native country did ever produce so un- 
 
 always had the favour, and estimation of the most godlie, 
 begin to come into contempt ; because, they open not them- 
 selves more stoutly against impiety. Doubt not but that 
 your counsel may somewhat reward the persons. Ye know, 
 my lord, and Lethington, whom, if God do not otherwise 
 conduct, they are like to lose that, which, not without travel, 
 hath heretofore been conquest." Haynes, 372. 
 m Ib. 379 ; Keith, 216-17 ; App. 156.
 
 Secretary Maitland.] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 545 
 
 natural a subject, as the Earl of Huntley hath 
 proved, in the end, against his sovereign ; being 
 a princess so gentle, and benign, and whose 
 behaviour hath been always such towards all 
 her subjects, that wonder it is, that any could 
 be found so ungracious, as once to think evil 
 against her ; and, in my conscience, I know not, 
 that any just occasion of grudge was ever offer- 
 ed unto him"* If we could believe the secre- 
 tary to be sincere, in what he thus declares on 
 his conscience, it would evince uncommon du- 
 plicity in the Lord James, who concealed, from 
 the other ministers, that he had obtained, in 
 January 1561-2, a grant of the earldom of 
 Murray ; and who was so blinded by gross 
 prejudice, as not to see what provocations 
 forced Huntley into rebellion against so benign 
 a princess, as Mary, or rather of so corrupt a 
 minister, as Murray. Maitland was soon after 
 sent into England ; partly to congratulate Eli- 
 zabeth, on her recovery from the small-pox, 
 still more to watch over the Queen's preten- 
 sions to the succession, in the subsequent par- 
 liament ; and above all, to endeavour the re- 
 concilement of the troubles of France. He 
 
 " See his letter of the 14th November 1562, in Keith, 
 232. When we hear an enemy talk, in such a manner, to 
 an enemy, we may well believe, that the Queen's conduct 
 had been fair. Keith, 235.
 
 546 THE LIFE OF [MEM. VII. Memoir of 
 
 did not travel into this country, with good- 
 will, as he had heard of the frequent assassina- 
 tions, in that distracted land : His zeal, for the 
 Queen's service, however, appears to have 
 braved the hazard of such scenes. He is 
 blamed, at least by Knox, as being too good a 
 servant to the Queen ; and we may indeed 
 learn from Randolph, that Maitland's advice 
 was then more followed, than any others, as 
 well it might, from the superiority of his ta- 
 lents. 1 " Happy! had it been for himself, and 
 his country, had he, from that period attached 
 himself to the Queen, and the laws, without re- 
 garding the connexions of faction, or consider- 
 ing the interested objects of so dangerous a 
 friend, as Cecil. Maitland returned to Scot- 
 land, soon after the rising of the Parliament, 
 on the 4th of June 1563, which forfeited Hunt- 
 ley, and his friends. q The credit of Maitland, 
 at that period, obtained attentions to his aged 
 father, and benefited the fortunes of his whole 
 family/ At the end of 1563, the Scotish se- 
 cretary made a vigorous effort to make the 
 church subordinate to the state, rather than 
 allow the state to continue subservient to the 
 
 P Knox, 32? -34 j Randolph's unpublished letters, in the 
 Paper Office. 
 
 i Part. Rec. 754 j Keith, 240. r 16. 244.
 
 Secretary Maitland.] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 547 
 
 church. Knox, the chief of the domineering 
 preachers, had committed two crimes of great 
 atrocity, in the eyes of such a statesman, as the 
 Secretary : By his own authority, Knox had 
 convoked a meeting of the people, which was 
 an act of treason ; he had collected the multi- 
 tude to overawe the criminal court, which was 
 to try two of his disciples, for insurrection. 
 On those charges, Secretary Maitland sum- 
 moned Knox before the Privy Council, when he 
 pressed the enormity of the offences, with his 
 usual art, and eloquence, Yet, did the Privy 
 Council, which was influenced, by Murray, 
 declare, " that they could find no offence in 
 Knox."* None of the parties seem to have re- 
 collected, that the Saviour of mankind, while 
 upon earth, never impugned the established au- 
 thority of the Roman law. The preachers 
 were, by this declaration, only incited to rail, 
 with more virulence, against the Queen, and 
 her ministers : Maitland, finding it impossible, 
 to check this pruriency of preaching, which 
 was protected, by Murray, and even incited by 
 Cecil, for their own objects, " left the minis- 
 ters," as he said, " to bark as lowd, and as long 
 as they list."' The ministers of the Scotican 
 
 Knox's Hist. 336-43. 
 
 * Knox, 346 : Yet, Maitland seems to have again at-
 
 648 THE LIFE OF [MEM. VII. Memoir of 
 
 church continued to bark, till the Court of Ses- 
 sion, in more recent times, avowed its purpose, 
 to punish the parsons, for barking calumny 
 against any one, which could only do mischief, 
 without any good. 
 
 Many of the measures, in 1563, proceeded 
 from the various suitors of the Scotish Queen. 
 The marriage of Mary, from the delight, which 
 Elizabeth took, in embarrassing a rival Queen, 
 on so envious a subject, continued to create 
 many measures, and to originate much intrigue, 
 wherein Secretary Maitland had his full share." 
 Murray and Maitland were afterwards appointed 
 to meet Bedford, and Randolph, at Berwick, 
 to negotiate the marriage of the Lord Robert 
 Dudley, with the Scotish Queen. It was, on 
 that occasion, that Randolph, who did not want 
 
 tempted, in the church-assembly of June 1564, to moderate 
 Knox, who, feeling none of the influences of charity, was 
 only irritated, by opposition. Knox, 3 48-66. On the 27th 
 of February 1563-4, Randolph wrote to Cecil, "of some 
 unkindness, between the Queen, and Murray, about Knox, 
 whose part he took." Keith, 249. 
 
 u Randolph wrote to Cecil, on the 27th of February 
 1563-4 : " He found Murray, and Maitland, willing to the 
 match, [with the Lord Robert Dudley, Elizabeth's favourite ; 
 but, they entertained doubts of effecting it ; and wished 
 him, to deal openly with the Queen, about the person." 
 Keith, 249.] Dudley, it seems, had not yet been avowed.
 
 Secretary Maitland.'] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 549 
 
 talents, lamented to Cecil his own defects, as 
 a negotiator, when opposed to so very able a 
 statesman, as Maitland. It may admit of a 
 doubt, whether the best of the Flemish painters, 
 could have delineated such a treaty ; when the 
 puritanic Bedford, and the roguish Randolph, 
 the artful Murray, and the ingenious Maitland, 
 assembled, to negotiate the marriage of Dudley, 
 whom the one Queen did not mean to give, and 
 the other Queen had determined not to receive." 
 When Elizabeth offered Dudley, her own 
 sweetheart, to Mary, as a husband, duplicity, 
 in the one Queen, and disdain, in the other, 
 could not be carried further by any artifice. 
 
 The failure of this perfidious treaty, intro- 
 duced new characters on the stage. Lady 
 Lennox, the niece of Henry VIII., had some 
 pretensions to his crown, which the Scotish 
 Queen had an interest to remove. The Earl of 
 Lennox had been forfeited, by the Scotish par- 
 liament, and now desired to be restored to his 
 country. And they both wished, to present 
 their eldest surviving son, the Lord Darnley, 
 to the wishful eyes of the Scotish Queen. 7 
 
 * See Keith, 263. 
 
 y Randolph wrote Cecil, in October 1564 : " The Queen 
 undertakes to end the quarrel, between the Duke and the 
 Earl of Lennox, whose name Lethington [Maitland] is now
 
 550 THE LIFE OF [MEM. VII. Memoir of 
 
 Maitland now promoted the interest of this 
 family, which afterwards ruined him. The Par- 
 liament of December 1564, was chiefly called ; 
 in order to reverse the attainder of Lennox : 
 Maitland made an oration to the Estates ; being 
 commanded, by the Queen, to supply the chan- 
 cellor's place ; And, on the same day, Lennox's 
 forfeiture was reversed." The speech of Mait- 
 land, on that occasion, for its topicks, and elo- 
 quence, would do honour to any chancellor of 
 England. After dandling Dudley before the 
 disdainful eyes of Mary, Elizabeth found a 
 properer puppet, in Darnley. At the solicitation 
 of his mother, Elizabeth allowed her son, to 
 repair to the court of Mary, early in February 
 1564-5 : Both Dudley, and Cecil, knowing the 
 secret of Elizabeth, solicited Darnley's passport 
 to Scotland. Before the end of March, Mary, 
 having resolved to marry Darnley, determined 
 to send Secretary Maitland, to communicate 
 
 supposed to favour, for the love he beareth to Mary Flem- 
 ing : Seton, and Lethington, are become enemies, in the 
 cause of Douglas." Keith, 259. Randolph again wrote to 
 Cecil, on the 3d of November 1564, that, the Queen maketh 
 no word of Darnley ; yet, many suppose it concluded, in 
 her heart j and that Maitland is, wholly, bent that way." Id. 
 * Robertson's App. No. ix; Keith's App. 158. The 
 Countess of Lennox sent, by Melvill, a watch set with dia- 
 monds, and rubies, to Secretary Maitland. Melvill's Mem. 52.
 
 Secretary Maitland.-] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 551 
 
 her secret purpose to Elizabeth.* He arrived 
 at court, with that purpose, on the 18th of 
 April 1565. From the epoch of that avowal, 
 every practice was used, by Elizabeth, which 
 the wisdom of her counsellors could advise, to 
 disappoint the fond pair of their wished-for 
 happiness : Intrigue, and declarations, denun- 
 ciation, and recal, threats, and tumult, privy 
 conspiracy, and rebellion, were all tried, on that 
 envious occasion. 1 * Maitland returned to Edin- 
 burgh, on the 13th of May, in company with 
 Throckmorton. who was sent to promote all 
 those views of Elizabeth. Meantime, Mary 
 seems to have suspected, that her Secretary 
 Maitland was not altogether to be trusted." He 
 
 * After informing Cecil, how Bothwell had threatened 
 Murray, and Maitland, Randolph wrote the English secre- 
 tary, on the 7th of April 1565, that Maitland is in readiness 
 to depart for England. On the 14th of April, he set out from 
 Berwick for London. Randolph accompanied Maitland to 
 Berwick j whence he wrote to Cecil, " that Maitland now 
 partook of the griefs, at the prospect of the Queen's mar- 
 riage with Darnley." [Unpublished dispatch, in the Paper 
 Office.] One would suppose, from a comparison of the 
 whole context of the State Papers, that Secretary Maitland 
 had been already gained, by the English government, to 
 mis-serve his mistress. 
 
 b Cecil's Diary, in Murdin. 
 
 c Randolph, in writing to Cecil, on the 3d of May 1565, 
 said : " Lord Ruthven, Maitland' s chief friend, is wholly
 
 552 THE LIFE OF [MEM. VII. Memoir of 
 
 was, however, present in council, at Stirling, on 
 the 15th of May, when the Queen received 
 Throckmorton : d and the convention of nobles 
 advised Mary's marriage. Maitland continued, 
 about the Queen, as secretary of state, " merely 
 for the need of her service, rather than for any 
 trust she had in him." e But, such was the pro- 
 fligacy of the moment, and of the men, that it 
 was not easy to know, whom she could trust ; 
 when we see her chancellor, and her secretary, 
 plotting with her rebels, and corresponding 
 with her enemies/ What a picture of profli- 
 gacy does Randolph paint to Cecil ! The Queen, 
 meantime, by the force of her popularity, ex- 
 
 theirs [the Queen and Darnley]. Maitland is suspected to 
 favour the Queen, and Darnley, more than he would seem j 
 and yet, is not trusted by them : Lennox being in great want 
 of money, borrowed 500 crowns, from Maitland." [An 
 unpublished dispatch in the Paper Office.] 
 
 d Keith, 277. 
 
 ' Thus, wrote Randolph to Cecil, on the 3d of July 1565. 
 Keith, 288. 
 
 1 Randolph, in an unpublished dispatch to Cecil, of the 
 12th of October, says: " Some wise men are enemies to 
 this government [the Queen's] : Maitland is as far, in this 
 matter [Murray's rebellion] as any other j of the same bond, 
 and league, are the Earl of Morton [the chancellor] and 
 Lord Ruthven j they only espye their times, and make fair 
 weather, until it come to the pinch." [MSS. in the Paper 
 Office.]
 
 Secretary Maitland] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 553 
 
 pelled the rebels, though she had Morton, for 
 her general. The Duke, the Earl of Murray, 
 with their deluded followers, on the 5th of 
 September, retreated to Dumfries, where they 
 were allowed, for some weeks, to loiter.* In the 
 midst of all that degeneracy, Maitland, con- 
 stantly, attended the Privy Council, in July, 
 August, and September, October, November, 
 and December, when measures were taken 
 against his associate rebels ; h giving misadvice 
 to Mary, and true advice to Murray, 
 
 After all the perturbations of 1565, a year of 
 
 s See Cecil's Diary, in Murdin, 760 : 5th of September, 
 the lords of Scotland came to Dumfries j 24th of Septem- 
 ber, a consultation, at Windsor, whether the lords of Scot- 
 land, being expelled, by the Scots Queen, should be aided j 
 on the 10th October, I was sent to Nonsuch to confer with, 
 the Earl of Arundel, concerning the proceeding against the 
 Queen of Scots. Id. All those consultations ended in this : 
 Elizabeth obliged Murray, on his knees, to acknowledge 
 before the ambassadors of France and Spain, that she had 
 never incited his rebellion ; that she had never aided him ; 
 that she had never countenanced him. What baseness in 
 him ! What duplicity in her ! 
 
 h Keith, 309-20 ; App. 106-7 : And yet, Randolph wrote 
 to Cecil, on the 3 1st of October : " My old friend Lethington 
 [Maitland] hath leisure to make love ; and in the end, 
 I believe, as wise as he is, will show himself a very fool, or 
 stark staring mad." [MS. Dispatch, in the Paper Office.] 
 It is not always easy to follow the dark insinuations of the 
 artful Randolph to the prescient Cecil !
 
 554 THE LIFE OF [MEM. VII. Memoir of 
 
 privy conspiracy, and restless rebellion, Mary, 
 with her husband, lived awhile quiet, whilst 
 Murray was suffering penance, in England, and 
 Lethington was making love, at Edinburgh. 
 
 The year 1566 opened, with the practices of 
 perfidy, which were still more atrocious, than 
 had yet occurred. Darnley, the simple, was 
 taught to distrust, and to disquiet the Queen : 
 Like an infant in the nursey, he whimpered, for 
 a bauble, which is known in the Scotish story 
 of that age, by the name of the crown matrimo- 
 nial, and which she had given him, on their 
 wedding-day, though he was unconscious, that 
 it adorned his brow. 1 Murray was, by any 
 means, to be restored, from exile, while he was 
 threatened, with Parliamentary forfeiture. A 
 formal contract was now made, between Darn- 
 ley, and the exiled nobles ; he engaged, on 
 his part, to procure their restoration ; and they 
 stipulated on theirs, to support his claim to the 
 government, without the Queen : k Such were his, 
 
 ' He was acknowledged, and treated as King, and his 
 name was inserted with the Queen's, informal proceedings. 
 He was King, by the courtesy ; as in elder times, the hus- 
 band of a countess was acknowledged, as an earl : Such 
 was the matrimonial crown; And those, who murdered 
 Darnley, were held to have committed treason. 
 
 k See the documents, in Goodall, i. 2*27-3 1 -, Keith's App t 
 120-1.
 
 Secretary Maitland.'} THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 555 
 
 and their, notions of the crown matrimonial, to 
 acquire which they wished to dethrone the 
 Queen, who was the real sovereign, while Darn- 
 ley was only king, by courtesy. 
 
 In order to consummate all those objects, the 
 friends of Murray, Morton, Maitland, the Se- 
 cretary, Lord Ruthven, and other conspirators 
 agreed, to assassinate Rizzio, the Queen's French 
 Secretary, within the palace, for the obvious 
 purpose of dissolving the Parliament, and dis- 
 tracting the government. The part, assigned 
 to Secretary Maitland, was, to keep the Queen 
 ignorant of so odious a purpose, and to entertain 
 Athol, in the palace, while the murder should be 
 done. 1 The 9th of March 1565-6 was the 
 treasonous day, when this aggravated assassina- 
 tion was committed, by the matrimonial king, 
 assisted by the Chancellor, Morton, and by 
 Secretary Maitland, and by the other conspira- 
 tors, in the Queen's closet ; she being present, 
 in a pregnant state. The crime, which was thus 
 committed, was an aggravated murder, as to 
 Rizzio ; but it was an atrocious treason, as con- 
 cerning the Queen. Secretary Maitland now 
 
 1 Goodall, i. 269, from Calderwood : But, two of the 
 Secretary's servants were present, at Rizzio' s murder. 
 
 m A forcible attack upon the sovereign's palace, the sove- 
 reign being therein, was an act of high treason, by the 
 Scotish law : In this case, the Chancellor led the attack, and
 
 556 THE LIFE OF [MEM. VII. Memoir of 
 
 lost his office, of which, from his perfidious 
 conduct, he had long been unworthy : Sir James 
 Melvill, who had equal perfidy, but not equal 
 talents, succeeded him, as Secretary." The 
 conspirators were now obliged to take the place 
 of Murray, who returned amidst this perturba- 
 tion. While this cloud lowered on so many 
 guilty persons, Maitland concealed himself, 
 within the fastnesses of his father's territories, 
 in Lauderdale. He had many friends, who so- 
 licited for his restoration ; Randolph, Murray, 
 and above all, Athol, who maintained his inte- 
 
 the Secretary, by conniving, at this horrible crime, was 
 equally guilty of high treason. 
 
 n Melvill, Mem. 67, says, " He served, in place of Secre- 
 tary at home, when Lethington was absent, under some sus- 
 picion. What history ! In the Act of Privy Council of the 
 19th of March, for prosecuting the many persons, who were 
 concerned in that treasonous murder, Maitland was not pre- 
 sent. Keith's App. 130-1. On the 4th of April 1566, Bed- 
 ford wrote to Cecil : "" Lethington despairs of pardon, and 
 must fly into England." Ib. 168. On the 25th of the same 
 month, it was said, " Lethington has liberty to live in 
 Flanders." Lethington now applied, for protection, to Ran- 
 dolph, the corrupt agent of Elizabeth. On the 2d of May, 
 Randolph wrote to Cecil : ' Lethington's friends intercede 
 for him, that he may not be banished : The Queen is more his 
 friend, than Darnley." Lethington was thereupon ordered 
 to reside, in Cathness. Yet, he himself desired to leave 
 Scotland. Keith's Aj>p. 169.
 
 Secretary Maitland.'] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 557 
 
 rests against Bothwell. During the first week 
 of August, while Mary enjoyed the refreshing 
 air of Alloa, after the birth of James, she 
 agreed, with her usual grace, to see, and restore 
 Maitland. 
 
 This singular statesman appears thus, after 
 such treasonous misconduct, to have regained 
 his lands, his offices, and, perhaps, as much 
 confidence, as he had ever enjoyed. He at- 
 tended the Queen to the assizes, at Jedburgh, 
 where the Queen's anxieties had nearly proved 
 fatal to her life. We see him busy, on that sad 
 occasion, dispatching the several letters. 9 While 
 he thus acted, Darnley, amidst his discontents, 
 with himself, and others, endeavoured to re- 
 move Maitland, and other considerable men, 
 from the Queen's government.^ This absurd 
 pretension of a prince, who presumed to think, 
 
 Keith, 334 : In the same month of August, Murray, 
 and Bothwell, were at evil words, before the Queen, for the 
 Lord of Lethington. Robertson's Hist. 435 ; App. No. xvii. 
 The contest was, about the lands of the Abbey of Hading - 
 ton, which had been given to Lethington, and which Both- 
 well wished to reclaim. 16. * Keith, 347-52 ; App. 133. 
 i There is a letter of Robert Melvill, the Queen's ambassa- 
 dor at London, to the Queen's resident,at Paris, datedthe 22d 
 of October 1566, wherein he says : " Darnley was dissatis- 
 fied ; because he could not get the Secretary [Maitland], the 
 Justice Clerk, and the Clerk Register, put out of their 
 offices." Keith, 351, 
 
 VOL. III. O O
 
 558 THE LIFE OF [MEM. VII. Memoir of 
 
 that he could rule, in such a country, amidst 
 such men, by offence, rather than by softness, 
 cost him his life. 
 
 The Queen, after a short excursion along the 
 Tweed, attended by her court, returned to 
 Craigmillar-castle, near Edinburgh, on the 20th 
 of November 1566. Longer the nobles could 
 not live, without a plot. It was observed, by 
 men of such discernment, as Maitland, and 
 Murray, that Darnley did not visit the Queen, 
 till late, though he knew of her illness, at Jed- 
 burgh : It was known to every one, that he had 
 not one friend, in Scotland, except his father, if 
 he might be called his friend, who indulged, ra- 
 ther than corrected, such wayward humours, in 
 his son : And upon those observations, Maitland, 
 and Murray, conceived the design of divorcing 
 the Queen, from Darnley, in order to induce 
 her to pardon Morton, and the other assassins 
 of Rizzio. Early in December, Maitland, and 
 Murray, made a formal proposal, first to Argyle, 
 Huntley, and Both well ; and immediately after 
 to the Queen, of divorcing her from Darnley ; 
 on condition of pardoning Rizzio's murderers. 
 Maitland was obviously the author of this pro 
 ject ; and was certainly, on that occasion, the 
 speaker who made that dangerous proposal to 
 the Queen, in the presence of Murray, Argyle, 
 Huntley, and Bothwell. If the Queen had
 
 Secretary Maitland.] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 559 
 
 agreed to this project, the purpose of Maitland, 
 and Murray, seems to have been, to obtain 
 such divorce, by Act of Parliament, and, per- 
 haps, take his life, by attainder, in Parliament. 
 Bothwell entered into this measure, with so 
 much alacrity, that he seems to have been, 
 previously, acquainted with the whole design/ 
 It was the opinion of Huntley, and Argyle, who 
 were present, at that transaction, that Maitland, 
 and Murray, founded on the Queen's refusal of 
 a divorce an ulterior project of depriving Darn- 
 ley of his life, by the hand of Bothwell.' This 
 
 r Anderson's Col. iv. 183 ; Keith's App. 136 : Spottis" 
 woode accuses Maitland of fostering the Queen's disgust 
 against Darnleyj of projecting a divorce between them, 
 before the Queen went to Jedburgh, and of reviving this 
 project, after her return. Hist. 196. 
 
 Goodall, ii. 320. Buchanan, in his " Chamelion," charges 
 Maitland with such a design. He was afterward attained, 
 by Parliament, as being guilty of devising the King's death. 
 The minor conspirators confessed, at their execution, that 
 they understood, the whole lords, who had been, on that 
 occasion, with the Queen, at Craigmillar, had agreed to the 
 commission of that odious deed. Arnot's Crim. Trials, 384 ; 
 Anderson's Col. ii. 177-8. Bothwell, and Maitland, hated 
 each other. In April 1566, the Earl of Bothwell's ser- 
 vants confessed, that Secretary Maitland had engaged them, 
 to murder their master. Keith's App. 167. In the subsequent 
 August, Murray, and Bothwell, had an altercation, in the 
 Queen's presence, about Maitland's lands. Robertson's Hist. 
 App. No. xvii. About that time, Bothwell opposed the resto-
 
 560 THE LIFE OF [MEM. VII. Memoir of 
 
 was the deliberate judgment of the convention 
 of nobles, with Archbishop Hamilton, at their 
 head, which met, at Dnnbarton, on the 15th of 
 September 1568: "But, seeing," say those 
 nobles, " that her grace, with the pleasure of 
 God, did escape their hands, and relieve herself, 
 from prison, [at the murder of Rizzio, March 
 1566] wherethrough that the doers thereof 
 [Morton, and Ruthven] were banished, for 
 their enterprize, and also hearing of the young 
 behaviour, through foolish counsel, of her said 
 husband, they [Maitland, and Murray] caused 
 make offers to our said sovereign lady, if her 
 grace would give remission to them, that were 
 banished at that time, to find causes of divorce, 
 either for consanguinity, in respect [as] they 
 alleged the dispensation was not published, or 
 else for adultery ; or then, to get him convicted 
 of treason, because he consented to her grace's 
 retention in ward ; [the Queen's imprisonment, 
 in her palace :] or what other ways to dispatch 
 him, [Darnley :] So that it maybe, clearly, con- 
 sidered, and is a sufficient presumption, in those 
 respects, her grace having the commodiousness 
 
 ration of Maitland, though indeed without success. Keith, 
 334. Bothwell thought to have slain Lethington [Maitland] 
 in the Queen's chamber, had not her majesty come betwixt. 
 Melvill's Mem. 80. Nearer dagger' s-drawing, such statesmen 
 could not well be, during an irascible age.
 
 Secretary MaitlandJ THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 561 
 
 to find the means to be separated : and yet, 
 would not consent thereto, to appear, that her 
 grace would never have consented to his murder, 
 having such other likely means, to have been 
 made quit of him, [DarnleyJ by the lords own 
 device ; but, that it may be inferred, that they 
 were the doers thereof only ; [the murderers of 
 Darnley ;] as was deponed by those, who suffer- 
 ed death therefore ; who declared, at all times, 
 the Queen, our sovereign, to be innocent there- 
 of."* Such, then, are the facts, as they were stat- 
 ed, by the contemporary convention of nobles, 
 some of whom were actors, in the very scene. 
 It was a refinement altogether worthy of such 
 an age, and of such men, to wreak their ven- 
 geance on two obnoxious characters [Darnley, 
 and Bothwell] by making the one hated person 
 assassinate the other. 
 
 Maitland continued to act, as Secretary of 
 State, both to the Queen, and Murray, during 
 very difficult times. That he knew of the pur- 
 pose to destroy Darnley, without revealing the 
 design, is certain. From the epoch of the 
 plot, at Michaelmas 1566, that he carried on a 
 
 ' See the whole document, in Goodall, ii. App. No. 139, 
 from Q. Mary's Reg. The facts, which are stated, in those 
 instructions of so many prelates, and nobles, are so very 
 important, that it was thought fit, not to embarrass the 
 reader with obsolete orthography.
 
 562 THE LIFE OF [MEM. VII. Memoir of 
 
 correspondence, by Murray's direction, with 
 Morton, whose pardon was the great object, is 
 also, certain ; as we know from his letters, 
 which remain, as of record against him. Mor- 
 ton was pardoned, by the Queen, at Christmas 
 1566. Morton arrived, at Whittingham, be- 
 tween the 15th and 20th of January 1566-7. 
 To this place of convenient intrigue, Maitland 
 conducted Bothwell, on a visit to Morton, soon 
 after his arrival there, from England. We know 
 this important fact, from Drury's correspon- 
 dence with Cecil, as well as, from Archibald 
 Douglas's letter to the Queen. The object of 
 this meeting with Morton, we, also, know, was 
 to concert the murder of Darnley ; as we learn, 
 as well from Morton's confession on the block, 
 as from Douglas's letter, who was present, at 
 Whittingham. In that concert, it is apparent, 
 that Maitland took a very active part : And, 
 taking such a part, in such a conspiracy, the 
 Secretary incurred, thereby, the guilt of trea- 
 son. 
 
 From what passed, during that concert, 
 Maitland knew, that Bothwell did not possess 
 any written documents, which could satisfy 
 Morton of the Queen's guilty desire, with re- 
 gard to her husband. From the epoch of that 
 concert, however, Maitland appears, to have 
 strengthened Bothwell's hands, in effecting the
 
 Secretary Matiland] THE SCOTTISH QUEEN. 563 
 
 great object of that conspiracy. Darnley was 
 assassinated, by the conspirators, on the 10th of 
 February 1566-7. 
 
 When Murray retired, amidst those guilty 
 scenes, from Edinburgh to Paris, Maitland, 
 and Morton, were left by him, his political 
 agents. A few days after, when Both well was 
 tried for that murder, Morton, and Maitland, 
 obtained his acquittal, by their agency : Mait- 
 land, particularly, baffled Elizabeth's applica- 
 tion, for delaying the trial of Bothwell. Mait- 
 land was one of the Queen's commissioners, for 
 opening the Parliament of April 1567 ; and he 
 was one of the few, who were chosen on the 
 Committee of Articles.' 
 
 When the Parliament rose, Morton, and 
 Maitland, obtained a declaration of several 
 peers, and prelates, declaring the innocence of 
 Bothwell, and recommending him, as the fittest 
 husband, for the Queen. The guilt of such 
 measures, and of such a declaration, need not 
 be mentioned. Bothwell was thus incited, by 
 the criminal conduct, of Morton, and Maitland, 
 
 u Parl. Rec. 749-50 : When there were so many ratifi- 
 cations passed, by that Parliament, his aged father obtained 
 a ratification of the barony of Blyth. [Id.] But, the Secre- 
 tary had himself no ratification of any thing, lid. ; Keith, 
 379.]
 
 564 THE LIFE OF [MEM. VII. Memoir of 
 
 to seize the Queen, by an armed force ; and, by 
 it, to carry her to his castle of Dunbar. Both- 
 well, thus, by coercion, obtained the guilty ob- 
 ject of Morton, and Maitland, in obliging the 
 Queen, to consent to marry him. Maitland 
 proceeded one step further, in obtaining that 
 guilty object : He followed the Queen, as Se- 
 cretary of State, to Dunbar-castle, not to give 
 her good advice; but, to encourage her, to 
 agree to marry the ravisher, as her most salu- 
 tary step. Secretary Maitland, continuing his 
 villanous career, after betraying the Queen, by 
 so many criminal artifices, into the ruffian's 
 arms, charged the Queen with the murder of 
 her husband ; as she had married Bothwell, 
 whose marriage contract he signed/ 
 
 The Queen's marriage with Bothwell was 
 scarcely consummated, in pursuance of all 
 those artifices, and violence, of Maitland, and 
 Morton, than these two agents of Murray be- 
 gan to intrigue against the Queen, and to treat 
 Bothwell as a scape-goat. Maitland sat, on the 
 22d of May, in the Queen's council, as Secre- 
 tary of State, seven days after her marriage with 
 Both well. T And it is important to remark, 
 that Maitland attended on his unfortunate mis- 
 
 Keith, 379-83-5; Melvill, Mem. 80; Goodall, ii. 61. 
 Keith, 387.
 
 Secretary Maitland.'] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 565 
 
 tress, as Secretary, on the 15th of June, when 
 she relinquished Both well, on Carberry-hill, 
 and, joining the insurgents, was carried cap- 
 tive into Edinburgh. Maitland, according to 
 his practice, attended the Queen, on those oc- 
 casions, in order to betray her. On the 16th 
 of June 1567, she was committed prisoner to 
 Lochleven-castle ; when Maitland joined the 
 insurgents, as Secretary of State. 
 
 A loud outcry was now raised, from feelings, 
 which were more feigned than felt : No one 
 cared for Darnley : But, the moment, that the 
 Queen committed herself, by marrying Both- 
 well, the publick indignation broke out, with 
 great violence. Murray, and his two agents, 
 Morton, and Maitland, had at length gained 
 their great object ; as that indignation was now 
 turned upon the Queen, from the real murder- 
 ers of the King, Murray, Maitland, and Mor- 
 ton. Elizabeth, and Cecil, gave notoriety to 
 all those events, throughout France, and Spain, 
 while the real murderers were concealed, from 
 the eyes of the world. 
 
 Cecil knew, from Murray, as he passed 
 through London, on his way to Paris, what 
 would happen, in Scotland. The insurgents, 
 with Maitland, for their Secretary of State, cor- 
 responded with Murray, through the friendly 
 hands of Cecil : As soon as Maitland learned,
 
 566 THE LIFE OF [MEM. VII. Memoir of 
 
 that Cecil approved of the present insurrection, 
 the insurgent Secretary began to correspond 
 with Elizabeth's Secretary, whose protection 
 was of infinite importance to the insurgent 
 nobles. 1 Maitland, as Secretary of State, for 
 the insurgent nobles, went forward to Fast- 
 castle, to meet Throckmorton, who was sent, 
 from Elizabeth, to intrigue among those nobles, 
 for her own interest. Maitland managed this 
 intrigue, on the side of the nobles, throughout 
 Throckmorton's whole negotiation, in July 
 
 1 Maitland' s letter to Cecil, from Edinburgh, on the 1st 
 of July 1567, at night ; in the Paper Office. 
 
 Sir, 
 
 Having conferred with Mr. Melvill, since his return, 
 I perceive as well the continuance of your constant friend- 
 ship towards me, in particular, as your allowance of this com- 
 mon quarrel, enterprised by a good number of our noble- 
 men, for the recovery of the honour of this country almost 
 lost, for that shameful murder, in the same committed, and 
 not punished j for which, your good disposition, I pray God, 
 and do most heartily thank you. I do also understand by 
 his report, that the Queen's majesty, your mistr'ess, is most 
 gently inclined, to allow of the justice of our cause, and by 
 her countenance to advance the same, which doing I am sure 
 her maj. shall never have occasion to repent herself: For, 
 as the matter is, in itself, godly, and worthy to be well 
 taken of all Christian princes; so, I trust, her maj. shall 
 find, hereafter, these nobles, not unmindful of that comfort 
 whatsoever they shall receive, at her Highness's hands, to 
 the furtherance thereof.
 
 Secretary Maitland^ THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 567 
 
 1567. He represented Maitland, as the only 
 one of any eminence, in Scotland, who wished 
 to restore the Queen, on condition of punish- 
 ing Darnley's murderers, of a divorce from 
 Bothwell, and of security for religion. " God 
 knows," Throckmorton exclaimed, " he is for- 
 tified, with very slender company, in this 
 opinion." 4 Maitland, also, managed Throck- 
 morton's intrigue, for sending the Prince into 
 England, which disclosed Elizabeth's cloven 
 foot. b Maitland concurred, with Throckmor- 
 ton's insidious advice to Mary, for resigning 
 her crown, on the pretence, that a resignation, 
 during imprisonment, could not be lawful. 
 This did not prevent Maitland, from attend- 
 ing, at Stirling, as Secretary, during the coro- 
 nation of the Queen's infant son, on the 29th 
 of July 1567. d Maitland, immediately, joined 
 Murray, at Whittingham, before the Regent 
 arrived, at Edinburgh, on the llth of August ; 
 and was present, as Secretary, when that art- 
 ful statesman, formally, accepted, on the 22d 
 of the same month, the predestined Regency." 
 He still continued to negotiate with Throck- 
 morton, under Murray's government ; and to 
 
 * Robertson's Hist. App. No. xxiij Keith, 420-1. 
 b Keith, 422. 
 
 Melvill's Mem. 85; Goodall, ii. 166-344. 
 d Keith, 437. ' Ib. 452.
 
 568 THE LIFE OF [MEM. VII. Memoir of 
 
 find argument, and eloquence, equipollent to 
 the crafty wisdom of that very sufficient states- 
 man^ It was in the midst of those conversa- 
 tions, with Throckmorton, that Maitland dis- 
 closed to him the ulterior charges, which the 
 revolted nobles meant, to make against their 
 imprisoned Queen. As early as the 25th of 
 July 1567, they disclosed to him, their design 
 of accusing the Queen of tyranny, of inconti- 
 nency, of the murder of her husband ; whereof, 
 as Maitland said, they had apparent proof; as 
 well, by witnesses, as by her hand-writing, 
 which they had recovered/ Such were the 
 charges, and the proofs, which Maitland com- 
 municated, who is supposed, to have contrived 
 the whole charge against the Queen : He is, 
 particularly, charged, on apparent proof, with 
 being the forger of the supposititious letters of 
 Mary, which now began to be talked of, pri- 
 vately, rather than disclosed publickly. Those 
 letters were first relied on, as evidence, in the 
 Secret Council of the 4th of December 1567, 
 when the revolted nobles thought it necessary, 
 to prepare, for the approaching Parliament, 
 sufficient motives, to justify their revolt, their 
 
 1 Ib. 457-8. 
 
 * Throckmorton's letter, Cot. Lib. Cal. C i.j and Goodall, 
 ii. 61.
 
 Secretary Maitland.'] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 569 
 
 imprisonment of the Queen, and their seizing 
 of her government. Maitland sat in this Secret 
 Council ; and it was his duty, as Secretary, to 
 see that the Act of Privy Council was fitly 
 drawn : And, as Secretary he must have seen 
 those letters, and described them, from inspec- 
 tion, as written, and subscribed, by the Queen. 
 It is unnecessary to remark, how many of the 
 Privy Counsellors, who now accused the Queen 
 of the murder of her husband, were afterwards 
 convicted themselves of that odious deed : One 
 of these was Secretary Maitland, who was un- 
 doubtedly guilty. When the Parliament met 
 in December, it was equally the duty of the 
 Secretary to exhibit those proofs of the Queen's 
 guilt : He went into the Committee of Articles, 
 without the Queen's letters ; but they did not 
 now appear the same ; being only written by 
 her, and not subscribed : h But they were not 
 produced in Parliament. Among the million 
 of guilty acts of Maitland's life, the charging of 
 the Queen with murder, and bringing forward 
 such fictitious letters, as proofs of the crime, 
 whereof he was himself, attainted, by subse- 
 quent Parliaments, is the most hideous. 
 
 In the meantime, the Secretary's father, Sir 
 
 h See the Statute Book; Goodall, ii. 67; Anderson's 
 Col.
 
 570 THE LIFE OF [MEM. VII. Memoir of 
 
 Richard Maitland, at the age of seventy-two, 
 resigned, on the 20th April 1567, the Privy 
 Seal, to his second son, John, the Commenda- 
 tor of Coldingham. This venerable man, who 
 lived to ninety-two, appears to have been deep- 
 ly affected, by the sad scenes of violence, and 
 tergiversation, which had been long acted before 
 the disgusted nation. And, he gave vent to 
 his feelings, in his Satire on the 4ge, and in 
 other poems, which paint in true, rather than 
 brilliant colours " the oppression of the com- 
 mons."' The good old man bestowed on his 
 son, who was certainly as accomplished, as he 
 was knavish, much salutary advice, which, it 
 had been happy for his fame, his fortune, and 
 his country, had he as sincerely followed, as 
 his father had affectionately given. 
 
 The conspiracy, for dethroning the Scotish 
 Queen, and crowning her infant son, may claim 
 Secretary Maitland, for its contriver. The es- 
 cape of Mary, from Lochleven-castle, on the 
 2d of May 1568, gave rise to many events, in 
 the annals of Scotland, and in the life of Mait- 
 land. He fought against his indulgent mis- 
 tress, at the battle of Langside, on the 13th of 
 the same month, the loss of which obliged her 
 to seek a fatal refuge in England. 11 The Se- 
 
 1 See his Poems throughout. k Keith, 481.
 
 Secretary Maitland.'] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 571 
 
 cretary, with his brother John, the Privy Seal, 
 were two of the Commissioners, for opening 
 the Parliament of July 1568. 1 He sat in that 
 Parliament, when many of Mary's friends, who 
 had fought for her, at Langside, were for- 
 feited. 
 
 The distresses of Mary, and the artifices of 
 Elizabeth, produced the project of an inquiry, 
 in England, as to the recent events, which had 
 ended, with the expulsion of the Scotish Queen. 
 That such an inquiry, conducted, as it must 
 have been, by the genius of Cecil, must neces- 
 sarily, end, in the disappointment of the Sco- 
 tish Queen, and in the disgrace of her oppo- 
 nents, was quite apparent. The Regent, the 
 Chancellor, Morton, and others of less note, 
 were appointed Commissioners, to manage the 
 inquiry, on behalf of the infant King against 
 his mother : The Regent Murray seems to have 
 been somewhat puzzled, whether to leave Se- 
 cretary Maitland, in Scotland, or to carry him, 
 with the Commissioners, to the inquiry at York. 
 In this choice of difficulties, Murray chose to 
 carry Maitland with them, as an Assistant 
 Commissioner. 11 The Commissioners 6f Eliza- 
 
 1 Parl. Rec. 805. m Ib. 806-7. 
 
 n Spottiswoode, 218 ; Goodall, ii. 109 : It should seem, 
 that Maitland had long opposed the sending of any Com-
 
 572 THE LIFE OF [MEM. VII. Memoir of 
 
 beth, of Mary, and of the infant king, at length 
 assembled at York, on the 4th of October 1568. 
 The oaths being taken By all parties to act, 
 honestly, proceeded to the business of the in- 
 quiry, by the exhibition of their several com- 
 missions. 
 
 While the English Commissioners were thus 
 occupied, though they had taken the oath of 
 fidelity, which required fair dealing, on the pro- 
 posal of Murray, they allowed his assistants, 
 at the head of whom was Maitland, to lay 
 before them, privately, the whole proofs, forged, 
 and unforged, against the Scotish Queen, which 
 the English Commissioners abstracted, and 
 sent to Elizabeth. Of the unfairness of this, 
 little need be here said. Norfolk was after- 
 wards charged with perjury ; as he had acted 
 against his oath of honesty. In this manner, 
 then, was an attempt made, thus covertly, to 
 convict the Scotish queen of the murder of 
 her husband. p 
 
 missioners, as unfit, both for the country, and the Queen. 
 He is said to have been induced to accompany Murray, " by 
 large promises of rewards." On the 18th of September 
 1568, the day, on which the Commissioners were appoint- 
 ed, the Treasurer, by the Regent's order, paid 200/. to Se- 
 cretary Maitland, who was going to England, with his grace. 
 [Treasurer's Ace. of that date.] Sadler's State Papers. 
 F That disgraceful transaction is recorded in the Cot. Lib.
 
 Secretary Maitland.'] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 573 
 
 Elizabeth, suspecting some secret move- 
 ments, at York, removed the inquiry, from 
 thence, to Westminster. Maitland, and M'Gill, 
 were directed to repair to court, for managing 
 the renewed inquiry, on the Regent's side. On 
 the 25th of November, the inquiry was renew- 
 ed, at Westminster. On the morrow, by the 
 management of Cecil, Murray was induced, 
 contrary to his engagement with Norfolk, to 
 charge the Queen with the murder of her hus- 
 band, which he undertook to prove. q It did not 
 require the reproaches of Maitland, to make 
 Murray feel the compunction of breach of trust. 
 Yet, after the conference had been suspended, 
 another agreement was entered into, between 
 the Duke, and the Regent, which had, for its 
 end, a marriage, between Norfolk and the Sco- 
 tish Queen. In this well-meaning, but impru- 
 dent measure, Maitland had his full share/ 
 And though Mary, and Norfolk, never saw one 
 another ; yet, did they carry this intercourse 
 the full length of virtual betrothment. On the 
 18th of January 1568-9, after Elizabeth had 
 
 Calig. C i. f. 1 98 j and was transcribed into Anderson's 
 
 Col. ii. 58 ; and Goodall, ii. 140-1. 
 
 i Goodall/ii. 192-2O6; Melvill's Mem. 96-7- 
 
 r Tytler, ii. 209-10; Robertson, i. 300; Melvill's Mem. 
 
 98-9. 
 
 TOL. III. P p
 
 674 THE LIFE OF [MEM. VII. Memoir of 
 
 obtained her object, by a formal charge against 
 the Scotish Queen of an odious crime, Murray, 
 and his associates, set out, for Scotland. 
 
 As Mary was thus charged, with her hus- 
 band's murder, on very doubtful proofs, she 
 now returned the charge on her guilty accusers. 
 In her instructions to her Commissioners, 
 at York, she had pointed, at Maitland, with- 
 out naming him, as the forger of the letters, 
 which had been mentioned as hers, before the 
 Privy Council, and Parliament, of Scotland.' 
 Without knowing what documents had been 
 produced, at Westminster, against her, she ear- 
 nestly asked for a sight of them, or copies ; en- 
 gaging to prove their falsehood : But, though 
 this request was allowed to be just, it was al- 
 ways denied ; as Cecil, and Elizabeth, knew 
 that Murray's proofs could not bear examina- 
 tion. Mary undertook, if these copies were given 
 her, to prove Murray, at least his principal 
 associates, on that occasion, guilty of the mur- 
 der of her husband : Cecil, and Elizabeth, knew 
 that she pointed at Maitland, and Morton, as 
 the most guilty persons ; and they feared, that 
 
 1 In the Act of Parliament, forfeiting Bothwell, there was 
 a clause, mentioning Huntley, and Secretary Maitland, that 
 was abstracted, when sent to England, as proof. Acta Parl. 
 in. 8, the clause, within the hooks [ ].
 
 Secretary Maitland.] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 575 
 
 themselves might be implicated, in the result 
 of such recriminations.* They closed this scan- 
 dalous inquiry, for ever, though they affected 
 only to adjourn it. Their sole object had been, 
 from the beginning, merely, to disgrace the 
 Scotish Queen, by means of Murray's calum- 
 niations ; and they obtained their odious end, 
 but with their own shame, Murray's dishonour, 
 and Maitland's ruin. 
 
 The Scotish Commissioners returned to 
 Scotland, on the 2d of February 1568-9.' We 
 have seen the intrigues with Norfolk begin, at 
 York ; they were continued, throughout the 
 whole course of the inquiry, at Westminster, 
 and Hampton-court ; and they were continued, 
 after the inquiry closed, and the Commissioners 
 had separated, never to meet again. Mary, and 
 Norfolk, talked in vain of a marriage, while her 
 previous marriage with Bothwell, which had 
 been so reprobated, remained undissolved. The 
 intrigue, as it was now continued, during summer 
 
 * See Goodall, ii. 807-12. Soon after her arrival, at Car- 
 lisle, Mary had informed Lord Scrope, and Sir F. Knollys, 
 as we have seen, that Maitland, and Morton, were partici- 
 pant in her husband's murder, however, they affected then 
 to prosecute others, for their own crime : This information 
 Scrope, and Knollys, had conveyed to Elizabeth, by their 
 letter, from Carlisle, of the 29th of May 1568. See it in 
 Goodall, ii. 69. " Privy Seal Reg. xxxviii. 25.
 
 576 THE LIFE OF [MEM. VII. Memoir of 
 
 1569, naturally, assumed two points ; to gain 
 Murray's consent to the proposed marriage of 
 Mary with Norfolk ; and above all, to obtain a 
 parliamentary divorce, from the expatriated 
 Bothwell, which, we might suppose, would 
 have been readily granted, as the separation 
 of Mary, from Bothwell, was one of the avowed 
 principles of the revolt, which ended in the 
 Queen's dethronement/ 
 
 While all these hopes of success, and hap- 
 piness, were indulged, a pretty numerous con- 
 vention of prelates, and nobles, was assembled, 
 at Perth, on the 25th of July 1569, for the pur- 
 pose of discussing Elizabeth's proposals, with 
 regard to Mary. T Throckmorton, and Mait- 
 
 * On the 1st of June 1569, Norfolk wrote Murray, in 
 cypher, urging him to assent to the marriage. Cecil's 
 Journal, in Murdin, 767. On the 1st of July, Norfolk, 
 and Throckmorton, wrote both to Maitland, and to Murray, 
 on the subject of Mary's marriage with Norfolk ; and Lord 
 Boyd was made the bearer. Id. ; Spottiswoode, 230 ; and 
 Robertson, i. 303. On the 3d of July, Maitland wrote to 
 Throckmorton, on the same subject. Id. On the 20th of 
 July 1569, Throckmorton wrote to Maitland in answer. Ro- 
 bertson's App. vol. i. No. xxxii. They had even obtained, 
 from Bothwell, powers, enabling Lord Boyd, to assent, for 
 him, to any proceeding, for his divorce, from the Queen. 
 [The Kilmarnock Archives.] 
 
 * Cabala, 1 55 : For the names of the persons, who at- 
 tended that convention, see a very rare 4 to. pamphlet, being 
 a collection from the records of the three Bands, p. 12-15.
 
 Secretary Maitland.] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 577 
 
 land, now expected that Murray would, at this 
 convention, carry through the divorce of Mary, 
 from Bothwell ; and that Maitland would be 
 sent into England, to negotiate the marriage of 
 Mary with Norfolk. It is astonishing, that two 
 such profound statesmen, as Throckmorton, and 
 Maitland, could, for a moment, suppose, that 
 Elizabeth would allow the Duke of Norfolk to 
 marry the Scotish Queen. They had been de- 
 luded, egregiously, and by none more than 
 by Murray: He had acted, deceptiously, 
 throughout : And, he now induced the con- 
 vention, to disapprove of divorcing the unfortu- 
 nate Queen. The leaders of this convention, 
 with Lord Chancellor Morton, at their head, 
 the very men, who had revolted, with the de- 
 clared design, of separating Mary from Both- 
 well, now refused their consent, for that end ; 
 and the only reason, which Murray, and his 
 faction, assigned, for breaking their engage- 
 ment to the Queen, when she joined them on 
 Carberry-hill, was, that, she refused to be se- 
 parated, from Bothwell, after she had, in fact, 
 separated herself, from him. But, they all 
 acted, under the artifices of Cecil, in obedience 
 to Elizabeth's wishes, and in still greater sub- 
 servience to their own interests. 
 
 Disappointed in all his hopes, and disgusted, 
 at Murray's perfidy, Maitland retired, from the
 
 578 THE LIFE OF [M EM . VII. Memoir of 
 
 convention, with his powerful friend, the Earl 
 of Athol: And Murray returned to Stirling. 1 
 Here, then, was the crisis, whence those two 
 associates, in roguery, Murray, and Maitland, 
 separated, for ever. Murray was, equally, dis- 
 gusted with Maitland, for projecting the re- 
 storation of Mary; and having shown his 
 own duplicity, he dreaded Maitland's power 
 of mischief. The Regent would have impeach- 
 ed the Secretary, in the late convention; 
 but, he feared his many friends, and he knew, 
 that the Atholmen, at the command of their 
 
 * Cecil wrote to the ambassador, Norris, at Paris, on the 
 3d of August 1569 :" The 25th of last month, the Earl 
 of Murray began a convention, at St. Johnstown [Perth] j 
 and meaneth to send us, as I think, the Lord Ledington 
 [Maitland] hither, with his mind, concerning the Queen of 
 Scots." Cabala, 155. On the 13th of August, Cecil again 
 wrote to Norris : " The convention of St. Johnstown was 
 dissolved about the 2nd of this month ; and on Wednesday 
 last, came hither one Alexander Hume, from the Regent, with 
 letters ; declaring that he had an universal obedience, in 
 Scotland ; and that the States, there, would not consent to 
 any thing, concerning the Queen of Scots's restitution, by 
 any manner of degree ; wherewith, her majesty is not well 
 pleased ; because she hath a disposition to have her [the 
 Scotish Queen] out of the realm, with some tolerable con- 
 ditions, to avoid peril, which is a matter very hard, at least 
 to me, to compass." Cabala, 155-6. There is no end to 
 the oracles of this Nostradamus ! Why did not they tell the 
 Scotish Queen to quit the English kingdom ?
 
 Secretary Maitland^ THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 579 
 
 Earl, could have surrounded the convention 
 of Perth, at an hour's notice. Murray now 
 resolved to crush Maitland, at a blow." But, 
 it was necessary to calm the ruffled spirits 
 of Maitland, before he could get him within 
 his fangs : And he wrote him several friendly 
 letters, from Stirling ; requesting his presence, 
 in council, there ; to settle a dispatch for 
 England. Maitland, and Athol, were thus in- 
 duced, to attend the Council, at Stirling : But, 
 they had no sooner entered the council-chamber, 
 than the notorious Thomas Crawford entered 
 with an accusation of Maitland, as a participant, 
 in the murder of Darnley. b Maitland offered 
 security, to answer the charge : but, the pre^. 
 determined Council voted his immediate inv- 
 prisonment : And Murray, thereupon, commit- 
 
 a It is curious to remark, that the despicable farrago of 
 falsehood, called Paris' s confession, which was drawn up, 
 by Buchanan, and Wood, under Murray's eye, on the 10th 
 of August 1 569, mentions Maitland, and Sir James Balfour, 
 as privy to Darnley's murder, Anderson's Col. ii. ; Goodall, 
 i. 148. Throughout the plots, for the murder of Darnley, 
 and the dethronement of Mary, Maitland acted, under 
 Murray, as his master : Yet, in the logick of some, Mait- 
 land was guilty, and Murray was innocent ! 
 
 b Crawford was a retainer of Lennox ; was mentioned in 
 the fabricated letters, as a confident of Darnley : and was 
 carried to London, for the odious purpose of testifying, what 
 he did not know to be true. Goodall, i. 53.
 
 580 THE LIFE OF [M EM . VII. Memoir of 
 
 ted this famous Secretary to Stirling-castle. 
 On the same night, the Regent caused Si 
 James Balfour to be arrested, upon the sam 
 charge. Murray, with his usual duplicity, 
 protested, that Maitland was accused, and 
 Balfour arrested, against his will ; and that the 
 Council was so banded against both, that it was 
 not, in his power, to save them from prison. 
 Kirkcaldy, the gallant governor of Edinburgh- 
 castle, hearing of those arrests, sent a message, 
 to the Regent, demanding that, the like justice 
 should be done upon the Earl of Morton, and 
 Archibald Douglas* We thus see, that the 
 Regent knew, that Maitland, and Balfour, 
 were guilty : Kirkcaldy knew, that Morton, and 
 his relation Archibald Douglas, were also guilty : 
 And, we shall perceive, in our progress, that 
 the whole four were positively guilty/ 
 
 The Regent appointed the trial of Maitland, 
 on the 24th of November 1569. Athol mean- 
 
 c Melvill's Mem. 100. 
 
 d For all those curious intimations, see Melvill's Mem. 100 j 
 Spottiswoode, 23 1 -"2 ; and the contemporary History o 
 King James VI. 69-70 j Goodall, i. 397 : In the Cottoi 
 Library there is a letter, from Maitland, 30th of October 
 1569, to one of his friends ; requesting him, to appear, at 
 Edinburgh, on the trial of the charge brought against Mait- 
 land, for being concerned in the murder of Darnley. Calig. 
 C. i.346.
 
 Secretary Maitland] THE SCOTISH QIIEEN. 581 
 
 time retired into the fastnesses of his alpine 
 country. Murray conveyed Maitland, from 
 Stirling to Edinburgh, where he was lodged in 
 a house near the castle, under an appropriate 
 guard. 6 Kirkcaldy, the governor of Edinburgh- 
 castle, hearing that Maitland was to be sent to 
 Tamtallon-castle, and knowing that, his de- 
 struction was predetermined, resolved to rescue 
 him : and, pretending a warrant, from the 
 Regent, he easily imposed upon Maitland's 
 guard, and carried him, triumphantly, into the 
 castle/ To be thus circumvented, by a blunt 
 soldier, who was not famous for his guile, sunk 
 deep into the Regent's heart. 8 He dissembled, 
 however, his disappointment ; and, with his 
 
 e Melvill, who then enjoyed the Regent's confidence, says, 
 that the reason, for lodging Maitland so near the castle, 
 was, to decoy the governor, from his castle, on the 
 morrow, under the pretence of receiving Maitland into his 
 safe custody ; and, if he should come out, the Regent meant 
 to detain him, till he should surrender the castle to a dif- 
 ferent keeper : And, Melvill also relates, that Morton had 
 appointed four assassins, to slay Kirkcaldy, at the entry of 
 the Regent's lodging, without his knowledge, indeed : But, 
 as Kirkcaldy distrusted the Regent, he avoided the snare. 
 Melvill' s Mem. 101. 
 
 f MelviU's Mem. 100-1 j Spottiswoode, 232. 
 
 8 " I know," says Melvill, "that the carrying of Maitland 
 to the castle sunk deepest into the Regent's heart." Mem. 
 102.
 
 582 THE LIFE OF [MEM. VII. Memoir of 
 
 accustomed artifice, endeavoured to decoy the 
 governor, from his castle : But, Kirkcaldy had 
 now seen so much of Murray's perfidy, that his 
 distrust was quite awake to the Regent's wiles.' 1 
 And, so anxious was Murray to regain Mait- 
 land, that he went himself into the castle : 
 " For he durst trust Kirkcaldy ; though Kirk- 
 caldy would not trust Murray. 1 The Regent 
 now employed all the artifices of dissimulation 
 in vain : k Kirkcaldy refused to deliver Mait- 
 land ; but promised to bring him into court, 
 on the day of trial. 1 This respectable soldier 
 continued to resist every device, which subtilty 
 could suggest, for inducing him to betray the 
 Secretary into the Regent's hands. Sir James 
 Melvill, who would also be a statesman, propos- 
 ed to the Regent, to allow Maitland to go into 
 voluntary exile ; giving security, that he would 
 not return, and offering his son, for a hostage. 
 But, the Regent had views, which he did not open 
 to the well-meaning Melvill. m The same states- 
 man also interposed, in favour of Balfour, who 
 had already gained the goodwill of the Regent's 
 favourites, by means of money, that had been 
 properly bestowed : And, Balfour even advised 
 Maitland, to use similar means, promising 
 
 h Id. j Spottiswoode, 232 ; Melvill, 101. 
 
 k 76. 102. ' Spottiswoode, 232. m Mem. 102.
 
 Secretary Maitland.'] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 583 
 
 equal success : But, the Secretary knew too 
 well his own importance, to expect his safety, 
 from such mean men." 
 
 Meantime, Cecil had early suspected the in- 
 tercourse of Norfolk, with the Scotish Queen ; 
 and had carefully counteracted their measures. 
 Murray, and Maitland, were both implicated in 
 those intrigues. Murray, on that occasion, 
 opened his bosom to Cecil ; and tried to make 
 others equally loquacious. Robertson, the his- 
 torical apologist of Murray, declares that, 
 " He deceived and betrayed Norfolk, with a 
 baseness, unworthy of a man of honour." p He 
 not only acted basely himself, but endeavoured 
 to make others act, with the same baseness : 
 He practised his arts on Maitland, in vain : 
 
 " Melvill, Mem. 101-2. Melvill intimates, that the wicked 
 society, which surrounded the Regent, hated Maitland ; 
 because he, as well as Kirkcaldy, despised their selfishness, 
 and detested their rapacity ; and because his talents were so 
 superior to theirs. Id. 
 
 Cecil's Diary, Murdin, 767-8. On the 21st of Septem- 
 ber 1569, George Carey was sent post to the Earl of Mur- 
 ray, to understand his doings in the marriage. Id. The 
 Duke of Norfolk was brought to Windsor, in charge of 
 Edward Fitzgarret. On the 5th of October, the abbot of 
 Dunfermling came from the Earl of Murray, with advertise- 
 ment of his knowledge of the Duke of Norfolk. On the 
 9th of October, Norfolk was sent to the Tower. Id. 
 
 f Hist. Scot. i. 533.
 
 684 THE LIFE OF [MEM. VII. Memoir of 
 
 The fear of death did not induce Maitland to 
 reveal what he knew of Norfolk's conduct.' 
 He even denied, that he had ever mentioned 
 such a marriage to the duke, in direct terms. 1 
 Murray at length held a convention, to inquire 
 into Maitland's guilt ; and to support his pro- 
 ceedings, he stationed Morton, with three 
 thousand men, at Dalkeith.' Kirkcaldy, in 
 pursuance of his promise, now appeared before 
 the Regent, and said he was ready to produce 
 
 * There is, in the Paper Office, an unpublished letter 
 from Murray to Cecil, of the 9th of October 1 569, where- 
 in he says : " This my letter is formed upon the very words, 
 and device, of the Lord of Lethington [Maitland] : How- 
 beit, to be plain with you, he has flatly denied to me, in any 
 sort, to be an accuser of the Duke of Norfolk ; thinking he 
 shall escape from these storms." He accuses Maitland of 
 corresponding with Cecil, though he had promised, that he 
 would not. 
 
 r In another unpublished letter, in the Paper Office, Mur- 
 ray wrote to Cecil, on the 7th of November : " He had 
 again questioned Lethington on the project of the marriage : 
 But, he constantly affirms, that there was never any men- 
 tion of the said marriage, betwixt the duke and him, in 
 plain, and direct words, neither in privy conference, nor by 
 letters, whatsomever he might otherwise of him&elf, and 
 the proceedings there, collect in his own mind." He offers, 
 that as soon as he shall have an end in the matter, that he 
 is charged with here, he will, gladly, go into England, and 
 answer before the Queen [Elizabeth.] 
 
 The Hist, of King James VI. 76.
 
 Secretary Maitland^ THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 585 
 
 Maitland in judgment, if there were any one 
 present, to accuse him. None appeared : and 
 Maitland's brother protested thereupon, that 
 the Secretary was entitled to his liberty ; since 
 no one appeared to accuse him :* Murray now 
 gave up the present pursuit of Maitland, by 
 adjourning the trial, on pretence, that the con- 
 vention, which he had called, for his accusa- 
 tion, had only convened to prevent a failure of 
 justice." A shot, from the vengeance of the 
 injured Hamilton, soon after, sent Murray, to 
 answer, untimely, for the various villanies of his 
 artful life. x 
 
 The moment that Cecil heard of the death 
 of Murray, he sent off the notorious Randolph 
 to Scotland, and the Bishop of Ross, as a pri- 
 soner to the Bishop of London. Maitland 
 took that occasion, to write Cecil : urging him, 
 to use his influence, for reconciling the parties, 
 which distracted Scotland.* Strange, that so 
 acute a statesman, as Maitland, did not see, 
 through the disguises of Cecil, that his artifices 
 aimed, only, at distracting the country of his 
 
 1 The Hist, of K. James VI. 70. 
 
 n See Murray's speech, from Calderwood's MS. Hist, in 
 Goodall, i. 397-8. 
 
 x That memorable event happened, on the 23d of Janu- 
 ary 1569-70. Birrel's Diary; and Burleigh's Journal. 
 
 i Murdin, 769. " Haynes, 575.
 
 586 THE LIFE OF [M E M. VII. Memoir of 
 
 hate. But, Maitland was still uncleared of the 
 foul charge of Darnley's death. Morton him- 
 self undertook this ungracious task, though he 
 knew Maitland's guilt. A convention of those, 
 " who hated the Queen, and her cause," was 
 assembled, at Edinburgh, for that end. On the 
 14th of February 1570, it was urged, for Mait- 
 land, that though he had been accused of 
 Darnley's murder ; yet, that was not the true 
 reason, which had moved the late Regent, to 
 detain him. Each member being now asked, 
 if he knew his guilt, made answer, that he 
 esteemed him innocent ; and acknowledged 
 him, to have been an useful instrument, 
 in furthering God's glory, and the common 
 good.* This declaration was signed, by Mor- 
 ton, and twenty-one other counsellors of Mur- 
 ray, and by Athol, the constant friend of Mait- 
 land. 6 The exculpated Secretary now resumed 
 his appropriate office ; and Kirkcaldy was freed 
 from the charge of restraining the liberty of the 
 friend, whom he had saved, by his spirit. 
 
 Maitland now made use of his freedom, to 
 reconcile parties, by promoting quiet. He en- 
 deavoured to concert a meeting of the nobles 
 
 Contemporary Hist, of K. James VI. 81 ; and the Act of 
 Privy Council, in Goodall i. 398-9. 
 
 b See the list, in the contemporary Hist, of K. James VI. 
 81-2.
 
 Secretary Maitland.} THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 587 
 
 of both parties, at Edinburgh, on the 4th of 
 March 1570 : But, his success was not equal to 
 is intentions, amidst such contrarieties, which 
 were promoted by Cecil's wiles. He wrote soon 
 after to Leicester ; urging him, to promote, in 
 Elizabeth's mind, mutual reconcilement, rather 
 than avowed hostilities.' Maitland gained many 
 friends to this salutary principle ; among whom 
 were Kirkcaldy, who held Edinburgh-castle ; 
 Home, a powerful baron, on the borders ; and 
 Athol, who repented, that he had ever drawn 
 his sword against the Queen. He tried to 
 collect the Queen's friends together : Some of 
 those friends, on the 18th of April 1570, held 
 a conference with Morton ; in order to settle 
 the country, by some agreement : But, that in- 
 terested chief could not be brought, to approve 
 of reconcilement, knowing that, the English 
 army was about to enter Scotland ; in order to 
 chastise the Queen's friends. Kirkcaldy, mean- 
 time, liberated from the castle, Lord Seaton, 
 Lord Herries, and the Duke of Chattelherault. d 
 But, entreaties were of little avail, in stopping 
 the advance of the English army ; since there 
 was no force, to oppose them. Maitland, and 
 
 - 
 
 Robertson's Hist. App. No. 1. On the 15th of March, 
 the Earl of Sussex, as lieutenant of the North, went, north- 
 ward, to make preparations, for war. Murdin, 769. 
 
 d Bannatyne's Journal, ii.j Cabala, 162-3.
 
 588 THE LIFE OF [MEM. VII. Memoir of 
 
 and Kirkcaldy, remonstrated, in vain. Sussex, 
 who commanded the invading army, demanded, 
 that the friends of the Scotish Queen should 
 disavow their proceedings, at Linlithgow. 6 The 
 English army conducted the Earl of Lennox, 
 who was destined, to be the new Regent, to 
 Edinburgh, on the 13th of May 1570, whence 
 they departed, for Glasgow, on the 16th. f On 
 the same day, Foster, the captain of Warke- 
 castle, made an inroad into Lauderdale, and 
 ravaging the estate of old Sir Richard Maitland, 
 carried off whatever could be moved. The ve- 
 nerable knight was thus injured ; because he 
 was the father of the renowned Secretary ; and 
 he felt it the more, as he considered it as done, 
 in time of peace. 8 This invasion was an act al- 
 together worthy of Cecil's malignity, and Eli- 
 zabeth's baseness. 
 
 Maitland now found it necessary, to look, for 
 shelter, in the recesses of Athol, where he re- 
 mained, during the summer. 11 He wrote the 
 Bishop of Ross, who then lay at Chatsworth, to 
 know, if he might come into England, on his 
 
 Spottiswoode, 239-40. f Bannatyne's Journal, 16-17. 
 
 See Maitland's Poems, ii. 305 : Sir Richard soon re- 
 sumed his good humour, which enabled him to write some 
 verses, which he called, " The blind Baron's comfort." 
 
 h Bannatyne's Journal, 22, who is studious to insult the 
 Secretary.
 
 Secretary Maitland.'] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 589 
 
 former footing-. But, the bishop was told, by 
 Leicester, Elizabeth's favourite, " that she will 
 no ways have you come, as one of the commis- 
 sioners ; because she is yet offended with you." 1 
 By the influence of Elizabeth, and the direc- 
 tion of Cecil, the Earl of Lennox was chosen 
 Regent of Scotland, on the 17th of July 1570." 
 Randolph, the experienced agent of Elizabeth, 
 began now to exert his usual artifices. And, 
 he tried his unprincipled arts, to detach Mait- 
 land, and Kirkcaldy, from Mary's friends, by 
 acknowledging the King's regent. 1 But, they 
 
 ' Robertson's App. iii : Lesley's letter is curious : " Your 
 answers to the Englishmen are thought very good ; but, you 
 will do well to keep out of their hands : I am sorry, you 
 cannot come, for the great relief, I hoped to have had, by 
 your presence j for you could well have handled the Queen 
 of England, after her humour, as you were wont to do." Id. 
 
 k Cot. Lib. Calig. C. ii. 271. 
 
 1 On that occasion, Randolph wrote Maitland, and Kirk- 
 caldy, a letter, which is preserved, in Strype's Annals, ii. 
 App. No. ix j and which is extremely curious, both for its 
 topicks, and style. " As for conscience ; he reasons, she is 
 not worthy to live whose cause ye defend, having committed 
 so horrible an offence : Ergo, no conscience, by order, to 
 put her down : And less, not to obey her -, least to obey her 
 unjust quarrel. This you know yourselves : This you have 
 spoken yourselves. This you have allowed yourselves. 
 Yourselves wrote against her, fought against her; and 
 were the chiefest cause of her apprehension, and imprison- 
 ment, and dimission of the crown j with somewhat more, 
 
 VOL. III. Q q
 
 590 THE LIFE OF [MEM. VII. Memoir of 
 
 knew each other's principles, and practices ; 
 and Randolph reasoned, and threatened, in vain. 
 This corrupt agent now advised the Regent, to 
 irritate Kirkcaldy, by all manner of slights, to 
 himself, and to his dependants. 10 
 
 The chiefs of the Queen's party, with Mait- 
 land, at the head of them, soon after, held a 
 council, during several days, at Blair of Athol." 
 The Secretary, though afflicted with the gout, 
 was the soul of all those consults. He pre- 
 vailed so far with the courts of France, and 
 Spain, feeble as they were, as to engage Eliza- 
 beth to enter into a new negotiation with the 
 Scotish Queen. And he laboured, successfully, 
 
 that we might say, if it were not to grieve you too much here- 
 in. [He means their participation, in Darnley's murder :] 
 But, plainness argueth friendship 3 and so do, I trust, yee take 
 it. So that you two were the chief occasions of all the 
 calamities, as she hath said, that she is fallen into : You, 
 Lord of Liddington, by your persuasion, and counsel, to 
 apprehend her, to imprison her ; yea, to have taken pre- 
 sently the life from her : And you, Lord of Grange, by your 
 solicitation, travel, and labour, to bring in others, to allow 
 thereof; and to put in execution that, which by the other, 
 you Lord of Liddington was devised." It is very horrid, to 
 hear this corrupt agent, talk in this manner, who was parti- 
 cipant, in every crime, which had disgraced Scotland, from 
 the interception of Mary, till the murder of Darnley. 
 
 m Melvill's Mem. 108. 
 
 n Bannatyne's Journal, 37-8, which contains the names of 
 the persons, forming that convention.
 
 Secretary Maitland.'] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 591 
 
 for an abstinence from hostilities,for two months, 
 commencing from the 3d of September. In 
 violation of this truce, the Regent made an attack 
 on Maitland, by citing him to appear before the 
 council ; and on his failing to appear, the Re- 
 gent proclaimed him a rebel, and deprived him 
 of the office of Secretary. His office was con- 
 ferred on Pitcairn, the commendator of Dun- 
 fermlin. A party of soldiers was, soon after 
 sent, by the Regent Lennox, to take possession 
 of the castle of Lethington, and to lay waste 
 the estates of the venerable Sir Richard, as 
 well as those of his son, the Secretary. Com- 
 plaint was made of this breach of the absti- 
 nence from warfare, to the Earl of Sussex, Eli- 
 zabeth's lieutenant, in the North. p The Regent 
 answered, that Maitland being the King's sub- 
 ject, who had submitted to the royal authority, 
 could not claim the benefit of the truce. But, 
 of the Scotish nobles, in that corrupt age, it 
 cannot be said, in Milton's language, " that 
 they were burdened, with the debt immense of 
 endless gratitude." Maitland had performed 
 the part of Chancellor, in that Parliament, 
 which restored the titles, the estates, the blood 
 
 See the terms of it, in Spottiswoode, 243. It was con- 
 tinued, by several renewals, till the 1st of April 1571: 
 
 P Spottiswoode, 244 ; Contemp. Hist, of James VI. 108-9; 
 and Dalyell's Illustrations of the Scotish Hist,, 520,
 
 692 THE LIFE OF [MEM. VII. Memoir of 
 
 of Lennox, for whom he made an admirable 
 oration : And he had afterwards lent him 
 money, as we have already seen. Maitland now 
 avowed, that he would not acknowledge the 
 Regent ; and that he was on the side of those, 
 that would perform their duties to the Queen of 
 Scots, and her infant son. In this reciprocation 
 of words, which, as Shakspeare says, " if they 
 help nothing else ; yet, do they ease the heart," 
 Lennox replied that, it was no wonder Mait- 
 land should not acknowledge him, as Regent : 
 since he had been accused of the foul murder 
 of his son, Darnley ; that though he had declined, 
 contrary to his engagement, from the King's 
 party, he must still be subject to accusations 
 against him, in the King's name : And as it was 
 not the English Queen's object, to protect any 
 one under the late abstinence, who was sup- 
 posed to be guilty of the late King's murder, 
 he who had been charged therewith, during 
 the late Regent's time, ought not now to com- 
 plain of a breach of truce. q Lennox seems to 
 have been now acting under Randolph's advice, 
 to vex his opponents, as if any thing were to 
 be gained, by the irritation of such a man, at 
 such a moment. In answer to some proposal 
 of Sussex, respecting the intended treaty, the 
 
 * Spottiswoode, 244.
 
 Secretary Maitland.'] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 593 
 
 Regent professed to give no molestation to the 
 Commissioners, on the Queen's part, in their 
 journey, provided their names, and the number 
 of their train, might be notified ; otherwise 
 some that were guilty of the murders of the 
 late King, and Regent, might steal away among 
 them/ This seems to have been intended, as 
 a bar to Maitland, who was thus pressed on a 
 delicate point, by the imprudence, or enmity, 
 of Lennox, who, if he had pressed Bothwell, 
 when that guilty noble stood at the bar of the 
 Justiciary Court, might have prevented much 
 mischief, and many crimes. 
 
 In contemplation, however, of such a treaty, 
 Maitland arrived from Athol,"in Edinburgh- 
 castle, though oppressed by the gout, in April 
 1571.* In the night of the 14th of April, 
 Captain Melvill seems to have come, from the 
 castle, to the printing-house of Robert Leck- 
 previck, who printed the Cameleon, Buchanan's 
 well-known libel against the Secretary's ter- 
 giversation : Buchanan, in his zeal, forgot, that 
 he himself was a Cameleon ; that too many, in 
 Scotland, were but Cameleons of the worst kind : 
 But, Leckprevick, and his libel, appear to have 
 found refuge, in some safer place. 1 On the 
 
 Spottiswoode, 246. 
 
 Bannatyne's Journal, 130. * Jb. 130-1.
 
 594 THE LIFE OF [MEM, VII. Memoir of 
 
 14th of May, the Queen's party held a Parlia- 
 ment, in its usual place, the Tolbooth of Edin- 
 burgh ; while the Regent held a Parliament of 
 the King's party, in the suburb of the same 
 city, called the Canongate. Neither of these 
 Parliaments can boast of their abstinences. In 
 the Regent's Parliament, which was urged by 
 the vigour, or enmity, of Morton, the Chancel- 
 lor, was, plainly, the least moderate, in its legis- 
 lation. Maitland, and his two brothers, and 
 three of the Hamiltons, were attainted of trea- 
 son. The crime of Maitland was specified to 
 be, " the foreknowledge, and counsel, of the 
 murder of the late King."" The same nobles, 
 Morton, Mar, and others, we may observe, who 
 now attainted Maitland of the King's murder, 
 had all concurred, in signing a declaration, on 
 the 14th of February 1570, as to Maitland's in- 
 nocence of the same crime.* By what evidence, 
 they were induced to change their former 
 opinions, and to declare him innocent, does not 
 appear. In this manner, then, was this able 
 man found guilty of the treasonous murder of 
 the late King, which he had undoubtedly sug- 
 
 " Bannatyne's Journal, 154; Spottiswoode, 253. These 
 attainders were ratified, in the following Parliament, at Stir- 
 ling, the 28th August 1571. Ada Parl. iii. 58-9. 
 
 * Contemp. Hist. K. James VI, 81-2 ; Spottiswoode^SSS.
 
 Secretary Maitland.'] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 595 
 
 gested, and promoted ; and was punished, for 
 his guilt, as well as, for his duplicity, and ter- 
 giversation. After Morton had become Regent, 
 Maitland, in December 1572, wrote a letter to 
 the Laird of Carmichael, for the inspection of 
 his master, Morton ; reminding him of the old 
 friendship, between them, and of the many 
 services, which Maitland had done to Morton ; 
 and accusing the Regent of having been the 
 chief procurer of his pretended forfeiture, for 
 a crime, wherein he knew, in his conscience, 
 Maitland was as innocent as himself. To these 
 several charges, and insinuations, Morton an- 
 swered, as follows : " That I knew him, as 
 innocent as myself, the contrary thereof is 
 true : for, I was, and am innocent thereof; 
 but, cannot affirm the same of him : consider- 
 ing what I understand, in that matter, of his 
 own confession of before to my self " J It was 
 but a sorry sight, to see two assassins, the one 
 the Secretary, the other the Chancellor, of 
 Scotland ; accusing each other of such a crime, 
 as the King's murder. Maitland was thus at- 
 tainted; and appears to have confessed the 
 crime, in his moments of confidence, to the 
 
 y Those two very instructive letters of Maitland, and Mor- 
 ton, are preserved, and published, in Dalyell's Illustrations 
 ofScotishHist.,474-5; 480-1.
 
 596 THE LIFE OF [MEM. VII. Memoir of 
 
 Chancellor : Morton was afterward convicted, 
 and on the block of shame s confessed the same 
 crime : It was a grievous aggravation of their 
 guilt, that they endeavoured, by falsification, 
 and by perjury, to fix the same offence on their 
 sovereign, whom they betrayed, and whom they 
 knew to be innocent : But, it was some exte- 
 nuation of Maitland's guilt, that he had en- 
 deavoured to prevent Murray's accusation of 
 the Queen before Elizabeth ; and to restore her 
 to her rights. 
 
 But, new changes were at hand. Lennox 
 was killed, at Stirling, on the 4th of Septem- 
 ber: And, on the 5th, the Earl of Mar was 
 chosen Regent in his room. 1 On the 7th, a 
 writing, from a Parliament of the King's 
 friends, at Stirling, was sent to the Queen's 
 party, within the town, and castle, of Edin- 
 burgh, with some intimations of reconcilement.' 
 On the 8th of October, Elizabeth's answer, to 
 the writing, which had been sent her, by Mait- 
 land, and Kirkcaldy, was delivered to them. b 
 Two days after, they sent her a replication ; so 
 ready were the head, and hand, of Maitland/ 
 
 z Bannatyne's Journal, 255-6 ; Ada Parl. Hi. 65. 
 
 Bannatyne's Journal, 263-6. That writing was chiefly 
 addressed to Maitland, who was known to be the soul of the 
 Queen's party. b Robertson's App. ii. No, iv. 
 
 Bannatync, 272-3.
 
 Secretary Maitland.] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 59? 
 
 The same messenger soon returned, from Ber- 
 wick ; and delivered to those within Edinburgh- 
 castle, Maitland, and Kirkcaldy, Elizabeth's 
 conditions, which they had already contemned. 4 
 The storm, which had cast down the house 
 of Norfolk, in 1571, and which, in its ef- 
 fects, involved the fortunes of the Queen of 
 Scots, continued to be felt, in Scotland, at 
 the beginning of the subsequent year.' The 
 Regent, Earl of Mar, was willing to promote 
 the quiet of his country, whatever might be 
 wished, by Cecil 5 or desired, by Elizabeth : 
 But, he was, constantly, thwarted by Morton, 
 who was promoting the objects of Cecil, while 
 he sought his own/ At the end of July 1572, 
 the Regent agreed to an abstinence, for two 
 months, commencing from the 1st of August ; 
 in order to negotiate the pacification of those 
 civil broils, which had so long harassed a dis- 
 tracted country. 8 Meanwhile, arrived, at 
 
 d Ib. 275-6. * Murdin, 771-2. 
 
 f The Regent had been induced to appoint Morton the 
 King's lieutenant, in the South ; and, of course, Morton 
 commanded the whole of the hostilities against all those, 
 who held the castle, within, as well as, their connexions, 
 without. 
 
 * Cot. Lib. Calig. C iii. 325-33 : As this abstinence was 
 contrary to Morton's wishes, it was soon violated; and 
 Maitland, and Kirkcaldy, complained of this, in vain. Ib.
 
 598 THE LIFE OF [MEM. VII. Memoir of 
 
 Edinburgh, Killigrew, Elizabeth's envoy, to ne- 
 gotiate, for her interests ; bringing with him 
 two familiar letters, from Secretary Cecil to 
 Maitland, and Kirkcaldy. h Killigrew sent those 
 letters by Melvill, while he communicated his 
 commission to the Regent. The English en- 
 voy returning from Stirling to Edinburgh, went 
 into the castle to visit Maitland, and Kirk- 
 caldy, whom he found much more reasonable, 
 in their desires of peace, than the Regent's 
 party. 1 The Regent still considering the quiet 
 of the country, as his great object, employed 
 Sir James Melvill, as his envoy to Maitland, 
 and Grange. He found them, as Killigrew 
 had already perceived, very desirous of peace. k 
 
 335-38-83. On the 30th July, when the Abstinence was 
 signed, Maitland wrote to Cecil j representing his inten- 
 tions, and services, in making the Abstinence; and court- 
 ing Cecil's favour, which was not to be had, without sub- 
 servience. 16. 332. On the 10th of August, Maitland wrote 
 to the Scotish Queen, representing the oppressed state of 
 her party, in Scotland ; the cruelties exercised on those, 
 who held Edinburgh-castle ; the remissness of France, in 
 affording aid : And he added, that they had been compelled 
 to agree to an Abstinence : This letter was intercepted. 76. 
 364. 
 
 h Bannatyne, 388 ; Melvill's Mem. 115-17- 
 
 1 Melvill, 116. 
 
 k /6. 117; wherein their reasonable terms may be seen ; 
 and may be compared with the same terms, as stated, in
 
 Secretary Maitland.'] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 599 
 
 The Regent agreeing, as we have seen, to the 
 terms of Maitland, and Kirkcaldy, came from 
 Stirling to Edinburgh, for the convenience of 
 the Privy Council, towards the ratification of 
 the peace, which was so necessary, for all par- 
 ties. 1 The abstinence, which was about to ex- 
 pire, was continued first, for eight days, and 
 afterward, for two months ; in order to settle 
 a comprehensive peace, for so many parties : m 
 But, the star of Morton, shining always bright- 
 est, during the troubled atmosphere of his 
 country, shed its baneful influences on the Re- 
 gent's measures. Mar sickened at the sight : 
 and retiring to Stirling, disappointed, and cha- 
 grined, he died on the 28th of October 1572 : n 
 
 Spottiswoode, 263 : But, the Regent's answers, in Spottis- 
 woode, 264, do not agree with those in Melvill, who ex- 
 pressly says, that the Regent agreed with those terms j 
 calling in Murray, the Comptroller, to witness the condi- 
 tions : And, Melvill adds, " the Regent put his hand in mine, 
 and did swear to the peace, in the said Comptroller's pre- 
 sence." Melvill's Mem. 117: So that Spottiswoode must 
 be, egregiously, mistaken, in relating this transaction. 
 
 1 Melvill, 118. 
 
 m Banriatyne, 397. Maitland, and Kirkcaldy, said to 
 Melvill, " They desired no man's lands, nor goods ; but 
 only the liberty, of peaceably enjoying, their own." The 
 Governor of Edinburgh-castle, indeed, desired the Regent, 
 to pay for repairing the castle, and artillery, which the Re- 
 gent agreed to. Mel. Mem. 117. 
 
 Such is Spottiswoode's account of the death of the
 
 600 THE LITE OF [MEM. VII. Memoir of 
 
 And he was succeeded, by Morton, as Regent, 
 under the happier auspices of Cecil, and Eliza- 
 beth, whose agent he was, in an evil hour, for 
 his country. 
 
 Maitland, and Knox, were old enemies, as 
 Cecil had once been. When Kirkcaldy, as 
 governor of the castle, commanded, also, the 
 city of Edinburgh, Knox retired, from his en- 
 mity, to St. Andrews. When the Abstinence 
 enabled the preacher to return, he was invited 
 back to his charge, by the appropriate Commis- 
 sioners : But, he would not consent, to return, 
 till those Commissioners stipulated, that his 
 tongue should not be bridled, from railing 
 against Maitland, Kirkcaldy, and their asso- 
 ciates, in the castle. Of this privilege, he made 
 abundant use ; thinking to make them, by ve- 
 hement accusation, as odious to the people, as 
 the preachers had made the Queen. He at 
 length accused Maitland of atheism. Of such 
 an accusation, Maitland complained to the con- 
 Regent Mar, Hist. 264. But, Melvill, who acted, in the pas- 
 sing scene, tells this sad tale, in very different terms : Till 
 the Privy Council could be convened, the Regent went to 
 Dalkeith, where he was nobly treated, by the Lord Mor- 
 ton j shortly after, he took a vehement sickness, which caused 
 him to ride to Stirling, where he died regretted, by many : 
 Some of his friends, and the vulgar, suspected, he had got- 
 ten wrong at Morton's banquet. Mem. 118. 
 Bannatyne, 372-3.
 
 Secretary Maitland.] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 601 
 
 stituted authorities of the Edinburgh Church ; 
 charging the preacher with abusing his privi- 
 lege, with want of Christian charity, and de- 
 fiance of good order, without which no esta- 
 blished society could possibly exist. The 
 feebleness of Knox's answer seems to evince, 
 that he had said of Maitland what he could not 
 prove : But, it was vain to seek redress, from 
 such men, during such times.* The preachers 
 had learned, from Knox, that there could be 
 no preaching, without impertinence ; and the 
 people had been taught, to allow impertinence, 
 rather than want preaching. Neither party 
 seemed to look up through the Scriptures to the 
 example of the Saviour of mankind, which was 
 meekness itself ; or to consider, that his divine 
 doctrine consisted in meekness ; or to advert, 
 that charity, and calumniation, cannot exist 
 together; as their several qualities are quite 
 distinct. Knox died, on the 24th of Novem- 
 ber 1572, the ominous day, on which Morton 
 was chosen Regent.* It was the opinion of the 
 historian, Robertson, that Knox's sermons had 
 taught the Scotish people liberal notions of 
 true government/ The historian had certainly 
 
 * Ib. 415-16. * Bannatyne, 425-7. 
 
 r The historian Hume seems to have thought, differently 
 from Robertson, touching Knox, and his sermons,
 
 602 THE LIFE OF [MEM. VII. Memoir of 
 
 never heard Knox's sermons, and had, perhaps, 
 never read his " First Blast of the Trumpet 
 against the monstrous Regiment [Government] 
 of Women."' Knox therein expresses his as- 
 
 1 I have before me the first edition of this book, 1558, 
 without the printer's name. This libel, as we learn from 
 Strype, was answered, by John Aylmer, who was afterwards 
 Bishop of London, in a tract, entitled " An Harborowe for 
 faithful and true Subjects, against the late blown Blaste 
 concerning the Government of Women." This curious 
 book, which seems to have been printed, at Strasborowe, in 
 April 1559, I have now before me. " Happening not long 
 agone," he says, " to read a little booke, strange written, by 
 a stranger, to prove, that the rule of women is out of rule, 
 and not in a commonwealth tolerable : And weighing at the 
 first what harm might come of it, and feeling at the last, 
 that it hath not a little wounded the conscience of the sim- 
 ple, and almost cracked the duty of true obedience : I 
 thought it more than necessary to lay before men's eyes the 
 untruth of the argument, the weakness of the proofs, and 
 the absurdity of the whole. In the sifting whereof, I mind 
 to use such modesty, that it shall appear to all indifferent 
 men, that I seek to defend the cause, and not to deface the 
 man." Aylmer had fifty times more wit, more learning, 
 and more argument, than Knox. Under Bishop Aylmer, I 
 must shelter one of my abovesaid sentiments : " So that," 
 says he, " good example is, oft-times, much better than a 
 great deal of preaching." Knox, by tedious epistles, tried 
 to quiet Elizabeth's apprehensions of his Blast, and to mollify 
 Cecil's wrath. The Secretary condescended to answer Knox, 
 by a letter from Oxford, on the 28th of July 1559 : " Mr.
 
 Secretary Maitland.} THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 603 
 
 tonishment, " that none of the learned men of 
 England are found so stout of courage, nor 
 loving to their nation, that they dare admonish 
 the inhabitants, how abominable before God is 
 the empire, or rule, of a wicked woman, yea of 
 a traitress, and bastard." Such were Knox's 
 liberal notions of government ! By his fanati- 
 cism, and forwardness, Knox injured himself, 
 in the judgment of the wisest men ; he quar- 
 relled with Murray ; he maligned Maitland ; 
 and he offended Cecil : Elizabeth's Secretary 
 wrote to Sadler,, and Crofts, on the last day of 
 October 1559, when Commissioners were to be 
 sent, from the Scotish Reformers : " Of all 
 others, Knox's name, if it be not Goodman's, is 
 most odious here ; and therefore, I wish no 
 mention of him hither: If Balnavis should come^ 
 it would prove dangerous." 1 We thus see what 
 
 Knox ! Mr. Knox ! Mr. Knox ! There is neither male, nor 
 female j all are one, in Christ, saith Paul. Blessed is the 
 man, who confides in the Lord ! I need to wish you no 
 more prudence than God's grace : whereof God send you 
 plenty. W. Cecil." 
 
 1 Sadler's State Letters, i. 532. Goodman was odious to 
 Elizabeth, for his book, printed at Geneva, by Crispin, in 
 1558 : " How superior powers ought to be obeyed of their 
 subjects ; and wherein they may lawfully, by God's word, 
 be disobeyed, and resisted." It was in this tract, that Good- 
 man justified WyatCs Rebellion; and declared him to be 
 blessed, therefore, in heaven. Balnavis was one of the assas-
 
 604 THE LIFE OF [MEM. VII. Memoir of 
 
 impressions the principles, and practices, of 
 such men had made on the court of England, 
 which yet employed them to embarrass, and 
 ruin the Scotish Queen. The notions of govern- 
 ment, which were entertained, and acted upon, 
 by Knox, and Goodman, by Balnavis, and Bu- 
 chanan, are the very notions, which are now so 
 well known, and so much detested, under the 
 name of Jacobinism : and which, as they are 
 only fit for revolutionary societies, cannot be 
 easily tolerated, under any settled goveinment. 
 But, Robertson did not live long enough, to feel, 
 and to fear, the danger of such doctrines. 
 
 Neither Knox, nor wiser men, sufficiently, 
 considered the immoral tendency of reforma- 
 tions, which are effected, by such means ; by 
 calumny, and violence, by tergiversation, and 
 treachery. They did not, amidst the passing 
 scenes of tumult, and villaiiy, look back upon 
 the civil wars of Greece, and of Rome, which 
 had produced such degrading effects on the hu- 
 man character." What ancient history had 
 said of the effects of civil wars, and tumultuous 
 reformation, the revolutions of America, and of 
 
 sins of Beaton, and a pensioner of England, under Edward 
 VI., and a Lord of Session, under Murray. 
 
 " Lord Lyttelton, in his Henry II. [B. iii.ch. 51.] shows, 
 that all civil wars cause a laxity of principle, and depravity of 
 practice.
 
 S-eeretary Maitland.'] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 605 
 
 France, amply confirmed. Luther, and Knox, 
 both lived, to deplore the wickedness of the 
 world, after their several reformations." 
 
 The history of Scotland, through many a 
 wretched age, evinces the truth of those prin- 
 ciples, and exhibits too many examples of their 
 deplorable effects. 
 
 With the death of the Regent Mar all hopes 
 of peace vanished. Morton, only, looked for 
 forfeitures, and wished for spoils. At that 
 epoch, the friends of the Scotish Queen were 
 divided into two parties, though they were 
 united on a general principle. Hamilton, and 
 Huntley, were at the head of one party ; Mait- 
 land, and Kirkcaldy, who held the castle of 
 Edinburgh, were at the head of the other : And 
 of this division, Morton availed himself, in ne- 
 gotiating a reconcilement. Maitland, and 
 Kirkcaldy, by desiring to include the whole of 
 the Queen's friends, acted the most disinterest- 
 edly: Hamilton, and Huntley, by making an 
 accommodation, without including those, in 
 Edinburgh-castle, acted most feebly, and in- 
 terestedly. y Thus stood the distractions of Scot- 
 
 x See Luther's Sermons, every where ; see his Postill 
 super Evangelia, 1. Dom. Advent. 
 
 T Melvill's Mem. 119-20; Dalyell's Illustrations, 4 74. 
 Melvill acted as the agent of Morton, in making that paci- 
 
 VOL. III. R 1*
 
 606 THE LIFE OF [MEM. VII. Memoir of 
 
 land, in which Maitland had his full share, at 
 the end of 1572, when the Abstinence expired. 
 Hostilities now began with the defenders of 
 Edinburgh-castle ; while the Abstinence was 
 continued with Hamilton, and Huntley ; for 
 concluding the accommodation with them. 1 
 Maitland, and Kirkcaldy, endeavoured to in- 
 vigorate the spirits of Huntley, to persevere, in 
 the cause of his injured mistress.* But, his 
 means were exhausted, and his hopes failed, as 
 the danger drew near. On the 23d of February 
 1572-3, a reconcilement was made, at Perth, 
 
 fi cat ion ; and of course is the best authority : Elizabeth, and 
 Cecil, who wished to deceive the French court, as to the 
 state of Scotland, are scarcely to be believed. See their 
 several papers, in Digges's Ambassador. 
 
 z On the 17th of January 1572-3, Maitland, and Kirk- 
 caldy, wrote to La Motte, the French Ambassador ; repre- 
 senting the breach of the Abstinence ; their reduced state j 
 and desiring relief, from France. Cot. Lib. Calig. C iii. 
 388. 
 
 In the Cot. Lib. Calig. C iv. 22, there is a letter from 
 Maitland, and Kirkcaldy, to the Earl of Huntley, 23d Fe- 
 bruary 1 572-3 ; exhorting him, not to forsake their cause 
 hastily : This letter was written, from Edinburgh-castle, on 
 the same day, that Huntley, and Hamilton, made their 
 peace with the Regent, at Perth. On the same day, Mait- 
 land wrote to Lady Livingston, desiring her, to use all her 
 influence with Alexander Erskine, the brother of the late 
 Regent Mar, to keep the young King, and Stirling-castle, 
 out of the hands of the Regent, and the English party. Id.
 
 Secretary Maitland.'} THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 607 
 
 by the Regent Morton with Hamilton, and 
 Huntley, under the mediation of Killigrew, 
 Elizabeth's agent : But, as no provision was 
 now made, for Maitland, and Kirkcaldy, they 
 were offered as a sacrifice to Morton's resent- 
 ment. 15 From Perth, where that treaty was 
 made, Hamilton, and Huntley, wrote to Kirk- 
 caldy ; lamenting their necessities, and thank- 
 ing him, for his services.' Such a letter, at 
 such a time, from such men, without noticing 
 Maitland, only, told Kirkcaldy, that he must 
 surrender Edinburgh-castle to the King's Re- 
 gent, without hope of pardon to any of the 
 Queen's friends within it. 
 
 As soon as they heard of such a reconcile- 
 ment, on such stipulations, Maitland, and Kirk- 
 caldy, renewed their offers of submission to 
 the Regent, on any reasonable terms : But, 
 Morton would scarcely listen to any offers, 
 from those, whom he hoped, soon to crush. d 
 Yet, he gave out what was repeated, by his 
 party, and re-echoed from the pulpits, for in- 
 volving them in popular hatred, that they were 
 
 b See the treaty in Bannatyne's Journal, 445 ; the Con- 
 temp. Hist, of K. James VI. 211-28 ; and Killigrew's decla- 
 ration, in Robertson's Hist. App. No. vi. 
 
 c Melvill's Mem. 120, who complains of Hamilton, and 
 Huntley's ingratitude to Kirkcaldy. 
 
 d Melvill's Mem. 119-20, who perfectly knew the fact.
 
 608 THE LIFE OF [MEM. VII. Memoir of 
 
 so wilful, as to refuse to serve the King, or to 
 acknowledge his Regent. 6 Morton, acting in 
 concert with Elizabeth, knew, that he could 
 any day, bring from Berwick an army, which 
 would soon lay the castle in ruins. 1 In the 
 end of February 1573, he applied to his willing 
 associate, for the necessary force. 8 In this 
 extremity, Maitland and Kirkcaldy offered to 
 surrender the castle to the Earl of Rothes, for 
 the Regent's use, on their former terms of 
 personal safety to themselves, and friends : But, 
 Morton would agree to no other terms, than 
 
 ' Spottiswoode, 270 ; and the Contemp. Hist, of K. James 
 VI. 229, re-echo the fictions of Morton. See Elizabeth's 
 instructions to the Earl of Worcester, going Ambassador to 
 France, dated the llth January 1572-3: ' ' They, in the 
 Castle, would not agree to any reasonable terms, not minding 
 to have any peace." The fact, throughout this instruction, 
 is wilfully misstated, for the purpose of delusion. Digges's 
 Ambas. 320. 
 
 f Mr. Secretary Smith wrote to Walsingham, the ambas- 
 sador at Paris, soon after the pacification of Perth : " There 
 is none left now, in all Scotland, but Lethington, and 
 Grange, in the castle of Edinburgh, who refuse the King, 
 and the Regent's authority, who must either yield, or else 
 they will be pulled out by the ears." 76.346. 
 
 8 On the 3d of March 1572-3, Maitland, and Kirkcaldy, 
 wrote to Killigrew, vindicating themselves, and charging 
 the Earl of Morton : They remonstrated against Elizabeth's 
 sending troops to crush them. Calig. C iii. 117
 
 Secretary Maitland.'] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 609 
 
 absolute submission. 11 Meantime, the Earl of 
 Rothes, and Lord Boyd, endeavoured to per- 
 suade Kirkcaldy, and Maitland, to yield, for 
 their own welfare." But, they still refused, 
 unless the Regent would grant them the terms, 
 which they had given in, on the preceding 24th 
 of August. 1 Sir William Drury, the marshal 
 of Berwick, who knew the defences of the 
 castle, came, with his army, to cut this knot, 
 which could not be untied. The Regent, imme- 
 diately, joined him with his forces. The siege 
 began, on the 25th of April 1573 ; arid after a 
 well-conducted, and obstinate defence, of four- 
 and-thirty days, surrendered, by Maitland's 
 advice, to Drury, under his promise, in Eliza- 
 beth's name, that the governor, and his asso- 
 ciates, should be favourably treated. 11 
 
 h Melvill's Mem. 120. On the 1st of April 15?3, the 
 English pioneers, for the siege of Edinburgh-castle, arrived 
 from Berwick, by water, at Leith. Contemporary Hist, of 
 King James VI. 230. The governor applied, now, for an 
 abstinence, till the 9th of April; but, this was refused. /<tf, 
 
 5 Id. 
 
 k Melvill's Mem. 120-1. There now surrendered Sir 
 William Kirkcaldy of Grange, the governor; Sir James 
 Kirkcaldy, his brother; William Maitland of Lethington, 
 the celebrated Secretary, and his wife, his brother, John 
 Maitland, the Commendator of Coldingham j Lord Home,, 
 and his lady ; Sir Robert Melvill, the creature of Murray ,, 
 his brother Sir Andrew Melvill, and several gentlemen of
 
 610 THE LIFE OF [MEM. VII. Memoir of 
 
 William Maitland, who was not second to 
 any statesman, during an age of talents, died 
 about the 9th of June 1573 : Godscroft, the 
 historian of the Douglases, says, " He deceased 
 on the 9th of July [June] at Leith, where he 
 lay with Drury, before he was suspected, and 
 reported, to have poisoned himself." 1 There is 
 
 Fife, and some citizens of Edinburgh. On the application 
 of Morton to Elizabeth, she consented to deliver them over 
 to Morton's will, in violation, says Melvill, 121, of her 
 honour pledged, by her commander. Maitland, and Kirk- 
 caldy, continued to write to Killigrew, and Cecil; but, he 
 was as deaf, as his mistress, to the voice of honour. Letters 
 in the Cot, Lib. Calig. C. iii. 461 ; and C. iv. 86. 
 
 1 Hist. Douglases, 329. Killigrew, the English envoy, 
 at Edinburgh, wrote the Lords of the Council, on the 13th 
 of June, of the death of Lethington, who, he says, " died 
 not without suspicion of poison." Cot. Lib. Calig. C. iv. 101 ; 
 Melvill, 133, and Spottiswoode, 272, concur in saying, that 
 being surrendered, by Elizabeth, he died, after the Roman 
 manner. Doctor Robertson is completely mistaken, in 
 stating Maitland's voluntary death to have happened, after 
 the execution of Kirkcaldy, as it actually happened near two 
 months before the execution of that gallant soldier, which 
 took place, on the 3d of August 1573, with every aggrava- 
 tion of the pains of treason. Morton, who dealt in poison, 
 is said to be more than suspected of having poisoned Mait- 
 land. This last intimation seems to have been conveyed to 
 the imprisoned Mary : In writing to Elizabeth, the Scotish 
 Queen, after remarking, that the rebels had gone further 
 than they thought, and being satisfied of the truth being
 
 Secretary Maitland.] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 611 
 
 yet extant, a pathetick letter, from Maitland's 
 second wife, the celebrated Mary Fleming, 
 praying that, his body might suffer no shame. 
 Such a letter, from such a woman, of such a 
 man, ought to be given to the curiosity of the 
 pub lick. 
 
 The character of Secietary Maitland, has 
 been drawn in very striking colours, by the 
 vigorous pencil of a great artist : " Such a 
 very extraordinary man does Lethington ap- 
 pear, under the pourtraying pencil of Bucha- 
 nan ! Nor, can we make any deductions, from 
 this imputed extravagance of perfidiousness in 
 him : because of the slanderous tendency of 
 Buchanan's temper. Some of these facts, we 
 know to be true. All of them serve only to give 
 us back the image a little enlarged, and a little 
 disfigured, perhaps, which the mirror of history 
 had held up to us before. Lethington felt a 
 
 evidenced, concerning the calumnies propagated against 
 her, at the conference, ' ' the principals, for having come to 
 repentance, were besieged, by your forces, in the castle of 
 Edinburgh; and one of the first among them poisoned, and the 
 other most cruelly hanged j after I had twice made them 
 lay down their arms, at your request, in hopes of an agree- 
 ment, which, God knows, whether my enemies aimed at." 
 Whitaker's Vind. iii. 592. This is the only original authority, 
 which seems to justify the suspicion of Maitland having 
 been poisoned. m Dalyel's Biographical Sketches, 133.
 
 612 THE LIFE OF [MEM. VII. Memoir of 
 
 perpetual versatility in his spirit, a perpetual 
 unfaithfulness in his principles, and a perpetual 
 fund of resources, at the call of both, in the 
 dexterity of his own management. He was 
 happy to render himself an important associate 
 to his party, which he was actually serving 1 at 
 the time. To undermine his enemies, and to 
 countermine his friends, appears to have been 
 the great ambition of his refining genius. And 
 thus, in the very moment, when he was fabri- 
 cating that grand system of imposition against 
 Mary, he would plume himself at once on 
 forming it, and on giving it, during the forma- 
 tion, such private marks, such secret signatures, 
 by little errors in time, and by petty variations, 
 from fact, as would escape the notice of every 
 other eye ; and yet should enable him, when- 
 ever he pleased, to expose the whole villany 
 completely to the world." Such is the singular 
 portrait of this extraordinary statesman ! 
 
 But, what character can be drawn of a per- 
 son, whose life was a life of crime ? Falsehood 
 and forgery, artifice and perfidy, murder and 
 assassination, treason, and subduction of his own 
 country to a foreign power, were the crimes of 
 which he was, undoubtedly, guilty. Whether 
 he died, by his own hand, or by the hand of a 
 wretch, who was more criminal than himself, is 
 somewhat doubtful. Killigrew, the English
 
 Secretary Maitland.] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 613 
 
 agent, wrote, from Edinburgh, to the Lords of 
 the English Council, on the 12th of June 1573 : 
 " Nothing remarkable has occurred here of late, 
 but Ledington's death, whereof my Lord gene- 
 ral doth advertise your lordships ; who died not 
 without suspicion of poison ; although, for my 
 own part, I am able to say nothing therein : 
 For, I neither do see, nor speak with any of the 
 prisoners, since they came forth [of the castle;] 
 because they were so odious, both to the Re- 
 gent, and the people." m The following is the 
 Lord general's letter to Burleigh, from Edin- 
 burgh, on the 18th of June 173 : " After the 
 Regent's coming to Edinburgh, and the am- 
 bassador, on Monday last ; after the confer- 
 ence with them both, next day, I delivered to 
 the Regent, in presence of the ambassador, the 
 prisoners committed to me ; viz. Lord Home, 
 Grange, Coldingham, Robert Melvill, whom 
 the Regent intends to keep, in Holyrood-house, 
 till her Majesty's pleasure be further known. I 
 have been pressed, by the Earl of Athol, and 
 others, that the body of Lidington might be 
 buried, and not remain above the earth, as it 
 does ; but, being stayed, for some further mat- 
 ter, I could say little therein. 
 
 That Secretary Maitland was guilty, with 
 
 m The original is in the Paper Office.
 
 614 THE LIFE OF [MEM. VII. Memoir of 
 
 others, of the late King's death, is quite ob- 
 vious: The meeting with Morton, in company 
 with Bothwell, whom Maitland carried to 
 Whittingham, for concerting that murder, is 
 the very fact, for which the Regent Morton was 
 brought to the block, in 1581." At the par- 
 liament, which was convened, by the Regent 
 Lennox, on the 14th of May 1571, Secretary 
 Maitland was declared guilty of the murder of 
 the late King. 
 
 The following is the letter of Mary, the 
 widow of Secretary Maitland, from Edinburgh, 
 on the 21st of June 1573, to Lord Burleigh ; 
 
 n The conviction of the Regent Morton was confirmed by 
 Parliament, on the 29th of November 1581. Ada Par/, iii. 
 
 227- 
 
 Bannatyne's Journal, 154; Spottiswoode, 253 ; and 
 Sir Lewis Steuart has gathered into his MS. Col. the for- 
 feiture of Maitland, " for art and part of the treason, con- 
 spiracy, consultation, and treating of the King's murder." 
 The domes, and decrees, of that parliament, in May, were 
 ratified, by the parliament of August 1571. Acta Parl. iii. 
 58. In the parliament of the 10th of November 1579, 
 there was an act, " for rendering the children, both lawful 
 and natural, of Sir William Maitland of Lethington, the 
 younger, and of several others, who had been convicted of 
 the murder of the King's father, incapable of enjoying, or 
 claiming, any heritages, lands, or possessions, in Scotland." 
 Ib. 137.
 
 Secretary Maitland."] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 615 
 
 from the original, in the Cotton Library, Cali- 
 gula C iv. 102. 
 
 " My very good Lord : after my humble commen- 
 dations, it may please your lo? that the causes of the 
 sorrowful widow, and orphants being by Almighty God 
 recommended to the superior powers, together with the 
 firm confidence my late husband, the Laird of Ledington, 
 put in your IOP S only help in the occasion, that I his deso- 
 late wife (though unknown to your IQP) takes the bold- 
 ness by these few lines to humblie request your IOP, that 
 as my said husband being alive expected no small benefit 
 at your hands, so now I may find such comfort, that the 
 Queen's Majestic, your sovereign, may by your means 
 be moved to write to my Lord Regent of Scotland, that 
 the body of my husband, which when alive has not been 
 spared in her hieness service, may now, after his death, 
 receive no shame, or ignominy, and that his heritage 
 taken from him, during his life time, now belonging to 
 me and his children, that have not offended, by a dispo- 
 sition made a long time agoe, may be restored, which is 
 aggreable both to equity, and the laws of this realme ; 
 and also your IOP will not forget my husband's brother, 
 the Lord of Coldingham, ane innocent gentleman, who was 
 never engaged in these quarrells, but for his love to his 
 brother, accompanied him, and is now a prisoner with the 
 rest, that by your good means, and procurement, he may 
 be restored to his own, which beside the blessing of God, 
 will also win you the good-will of many noblemen and 
 gentlemen."
 
 616 THE LIFE OF [MEM. VIII. Davison's 
 
 MEMOIR VIII. 
 
 Amidst the various events, in the diversified 
 Life of Mary, Queen of Scots, it is still a ques- 
 tion of some doubt, whether she were put to 
 death, warrantably, or not. It is an important 
 point, in the law of England, that every criminal 
 must be executed, according to the letter of' the 
 judgement, and in conformity to the legitimate 
 usage. Much light is thrown upon the above 
 question, by SECRETARY DAVISON'S APOLOGY, 
 with the Notes thereon of the Rev. John 
 Whitaker, the very able vindicator of the 
 Scotish Queen, which, for that, purpose, are 
 both subjoined. 
 
 SECRETARY DAVISON'S APOLOGY. 
 I. 
 
 " ON Wednesday the first of this present/ about 
 ten of the [clock, came one of the grooms 9 ] of 
 
 p This shows the apology to have been written, imme- 
 diately after the events. Mary was put to death on Wednes- 
 day, the 8th of February 1586-7. And this apology appears 
 from the words here, to have been written before the month 
 was expired. 
 
 * I have supplied the words within hooks, from Macken- 
 zie's copy (see the end of this Dissertation).
 
 Apology.-] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 617 
 
 the chamber unto me, to let me understand, 
 that her Majesty had called for [me by my 
 lord admiral, who was in the] privy chamber. 
 I found his lordship there, who told me the 
 cause of my sending for ; having, first, sum- 
 marily discoursed unto me some speech, that 
 had past that morning betwixt her Majesty and 
 him, touching the execution of the Scotish 
 Queen ; the conclusion whereof was, that she 
 would no longer defer it, and therefore had 
 commanded him to send expressly for me, to 
 bring the warrant unto her/ 
 
 " Whereupon returning to my chamber, I 
 took both that and divers other things, to be 
 signed for her service ; and, returning, sent in 
 Mrs. Brooke to signify my being there, to her 
 Majesty ; who immediately called for me. At 
 my coming in, her Majesty first asking me, 
 whether I had been abroad that fair morning ; 
 advising me to use it oftener ; and reprehend- 
 ing me for the contrary; finally demanded, 
 what I had in my hands. I answer'd, Divers 
 warrants, and other things, to be signed for her 
 
 r This warrant appears from another and a more general 
 apology by Davison, written evidently at a period of time 
 much later, and when he had forgotten some of the minuter 
 circumstances j to have been by him " retained at the least 
 five or six weeks un-presented, nor once offering to carry it 
 up, till he sent," &c. (Robertson, ii. 482.)
 
 618 THE LIFE OF [MEM. VIII. Davison's 
 
 service. She enquired, whether my lord admi- 
 ral had not sent for me, and whether I had 
 not brought up the warrant for the Queen 
 of Scots.' I answered, Yes; and thereupon 
 [she] calling for it, I delivered it into her 
 hands ; after the reading whereof, she calling 
 for pen and ink, signed it ; and, laying it from 
 her, asked me, whether I were not heartily 
 sorry it was done ? Mine answer was, that I 
 was sorry a lady, so near in blood to herself, and 
 
 s The other apology says, that he was " sharply reproved" 
 for not bringing the warrant before j " by a great peer, and 
 in her Majesty's presence." (Robertson,, ii. 482.) Yet this 
 cannot be wholly true. The present apology shows it can- 
 not. And Davison's memory must have failed him here. It 
 failed him thus, I apprehend. The " great peer" is the 
 same, no doubt, who is called " the great counsellor" before, 
 that was sent to him about the warrant ; and who was, we 
 know from the present apology, the lord admiral. He had 
 heard Elizabeth express her anger, at Davison's not bringing 
 up the warrant before ; as she had actually " given her com- 
 mandment to me," says Davison himself near the end of 
 this present apology, "many days before to bring up the war- 
 rant unto her." He heard it. And he took upon him in 
 consequence of this, " sharply" to " reprove" him ''there- 
 fore." Only he did not do so, " in her Majesty's presence." 
 It is plain, that he did not accompany Davison to the Queen. 
 Davison went from him to his own apartments, there took 
 the warrant, &c. sent in Mrs. Brooke to the Queen, and then 
 went in himself. And no one was present, it is plain, at the 
 conversation that followed between the Queen and Davi- 
 bon,
 
 Apology.-] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 61 
 
 of her place and quality, should so far forget 
 her duty both to God and her Majesty, as to 
 give her this cause ; but sithens this act of her 
 Majesty was, in all men's opinions, of that jus- 
 tice and necessity, that she could not defer it 
 without the manifest danger of her person and 
 state, I could not be sorry to see her Majesty 
 take this course, of removing the cause of that 
 danger, which threatened the one and the other: 
 protesting nevertheless, that, for my own part, 
 I was so far from thirsting after the blood of 
 that unhappy lady, that, if there had been any 
 other way to preserve her Majesty and the state 
 from mischief, than by taking her life ; I could 
 not have wished it. But the case standing so 
 in the opinion of all men, that either her Majesty 
 or she must die ; I must confess freely, that I 
 preferred the death of the guilty before the in- 
 nocent. 
 
 " After this, she commanded me to carry it 
 to the seal ; and to give my lord chancellor or- 
 ders from her, to use it as secretly as might be ;* 
 and by the way to shew it to Mr. Secretary 
 
 1 The other apology says, that, when Elizabeth had signed 
 it, she commanded him " to carry it to the seal, and, being 
 sealed, to send it immediately away unto the commissioners, 
 according to the direction." (Robertson, ii. 482.) This is 
 implied, in the direction for the chancellor here, and in the 
 repeated direction to himself, to use it secretly.
 
 620 THE LIFE OF [MEM. VIII. Davison's 
 
 Walsingham, because she thought the grief 
 thereof would kill him outright, for so it pleased 
 her Majesty to say of him." This done, she called 
 for the rest of the warrants and other things 
 I had to sign ; and dispatched them all, with 
 the best disposition and willingness that might 
 be ; in the mean time repeating unto me some 
 reasons,why she had so long deferred the matter, 
 as namely for her honour's sake, that the world 
 might see she had not been violently or mali- 
 ciously drawn into it. She concluded, she was 
 never so ill advised, as not to see and apprehend 
 her own danger, and the necessity that she had 
 to proceed to this execution. And thereupon, 
 after some other intermingled speech here and 
 there, she told me, that she would have it done 
 as secretly as may be ; and, misliking that it 
 should be executed in the open court or green 
 of the castle, expressly willed that it should be 
 done in the hall : which I take to be certain 
 arguments, both of her meaning it should be 
 done, and in the form prescribed in the war- 
 rant. 
 
 " But, after I had gathered up my papers, 
 
 Walsingham was then sick, as these words imply, and 
 as Camden asserts (Orig. i. 465, and Trans. 393). In all 
 probability he was only crafty-sick, for reasons that will ap- 
 pear hereafter.
 
 / 
 
 THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 621 
 
 and was ready to depart, she fell into some 
 complaint of Sir Amias Poulet and others, that 
 might have eased her of this burthen ; wishing 
 me yet to deal with Mr. Secretary, and that we 
 M r ould jointly write unto Sir Amias, and Sir 
 Drue Drury, to sound their dispositions ; aim- 
 ing still at this, that it might be so done, as 
 the blame might be removed from herself. And 
 though I had always before refused to meddle 
 therein, upon sundry her Majesty's former mo- 
 tions, as a thing I utterly condemned ; yet was 
 I content, as I told her, for her satisfaction, to 
 let Sir Amias understand, what she expected 
 at his hands : albeit I did before assure myself, 
 it should be so much labour lost, knowing the 
 wisdom, and integrity of the gentlemen, who, I 
 thought, would not do an unlawful act, for any 
 respect in the world. But finding her Majesty 
 desirous to have him sounded in this behalf, I 
 departed from her Majesty, with promise to 
 signify so much unto Mr. Secretary, and that 
 we would both acquaint Sir Amias with this her 
 pleasure. And here repeating unto me again, 
 that she would have the matter closely handled, 
 because of her danger ; I promised to use it 
 as secretly as I could, and so, for that time, de- 
 parted." 
 
 * The other apology says, that Elizabeth " in conclusion, 
 VOL. III. S S
 
 622 THE LIFE OF [MEM. VIII. Davisoris 
 
 " That afternoon I repaired to my lord chan- 
 cellor, where I procured the warrant to be 
 sealed ; having in my way visited Mr. Secre- 
 tary, and agreed with him about the form of 
 the letter, that should be written, for her Ma- 
 jesty's satisfaction to Sir Amias Poulet and Mr. 
 Drury, which at my return from my lord chan- 
 cellor was dispatched. 7 The next morning I 
 
 absolutely forbad him, to trouble her any further, or let her 
 hear any more hereof, till all was done." (Robertson, ii. 
 482.) But this cannot possibly be true, as a letter was to be 
 written to Paulet, about the assassination, and an answer to 
 be returned, before the warrant was to be sent away, 
 
 Camden's account of all this business is much more 
 wrong. He makes Elizabeth send a letter under her own hand 
 to Davison, commanding a warrant under the great seal to be 
 drawn up by him ; when the warrant was drawn up by Cecil, 
 given by him " with her Majesty's own privity" unto Davi- 
 son. (Robertson, ii.48l), kept by Davison five or six weeks, 
 and then called for by Elizabeth as above. This, says Cam- 
 den, was to lie in readiness, if any danger should chance to 
 break out. But the reason is as ridiculous, as the fact is 
 lalsc. And she, adds Camden, commanded him to acquaint 
 no one with it ; when she actually told him to acquaint 
 Walsingham, and when she necessarily told him to acquaint 
 the chancellor. See Orig. i. 455, and Trans. 382. Camden 
 has here taken up for truths, the wretched falshoods which 
 Elizabeth obtruded afterwards upon the world, as a subter- 
 fuge, for her guilt. 
 
 * The letter is thus entitled, " A copy of a letter from 
 SirF. Walsingham, and Secretary Davison, to Sir Amias Pou- 
 let," and runs thus :
 
 Apology."] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 623 
 
 received a letter from Cranmer, my servant, 
 whom I left at court, signifying unto me her 
 Majesty's pleasure, that I should forbear to go 
 to my lord chancellor till I had spoken with 
 
 tf After our hearty commendations ; we find by speech 
 lately uttered by her Majesty, that she doth note in you both 
 a lack of that care and zeal for her service, that she looketh 
 for at your hands j in that you have not in all this time (of 
 yourselves without other provocation) found out some way 
 to shorten the [life of *] that Queen j considering the great 
 peril she is hourly subject to, so long as the said Queen shall 
 live. Wherein, besides a kind of lack of love towards her, 
 she noteth greatly, that you have not that care of your own 
 particular safeties, or rather of the preservation of religion, 
 and the public good and prosperity of your country, that 
 reason and policy commandeth ; especially having so good 
 a warrant and ground for the satisfaction of your consci- 
 ences towards God, and the discharge of your credit and 
 reputation towards the world, as the oath of the association, 
 which you both have so solemnly taken and vowed ; espe- 
 cially, the matter, wherewith she standeth charged, being 
 clearly and manifestly proved against her. And therefore 
 she taketh it most unkindly, that men, professing that love 
 towards her that you do, should in a kind of sort, for lack of 
 the discharge of your duty, cast the burthen upon her ; know- 
 ing, as you do, her indisposition to shed blood, especially 
 of one of that sex and quality, and so near to her in blood 
 as the said Queen is. These respects, we find, do greatly 
 
 * I have supplied the words in hooks. The printed copy 
 is without them. And, as the editor says, " 'tis thus in the 
 MS."
 
 624 THE LIFE OF [MEM. VIII. Davison's 
 
 her ; and, within an hour after, came William 
 Killigrew with the like message from her; whom 
 I returned with this answer, that I would be at 
 the court as soon as himself, and give her Ma- 
 jesty an account of what I had done. At my 
 coming to her, she asked me, whether I had 
 been with iny lord chancellor ? I told her, yes. 
 She demanded, what needed that, haste ? I an- 
 swered, that I had done no more than she com- 
 manded, and thought it no matter to be dal- 
 lied withal. But saith she, methinks the best 
 
 trouble her Majesty, who, we assure you. hath sundry times 
 protested, that, if the regard of the danger of her good 
 subjects and faithful servants did not more move her than 
 her own peril, she would never be drawn to assent to the 
 shedding of her blood. We thought it very meet to acquaint 
 you with these speeches lately passed from her Majesty j 
 referring the same to your good judgment. And so we com- 
 mit you to the protection of the Almighty. 
 
 " Your most assured friends, 
 
 "At London, 1, Feb. 1586." " Fra. Walsingham, 
 
 " To the Right Honourable " William Davison." 
 
 Sir Amias Poulet, Kt. one 
 of her Majesty's most Ho- 
 nourable Privy Council." 
 
 This letter, which ought to be preserved, as an eternal 
 monument of the insidious savageness of the writer, Wal- 
 singham, and of the suggester, Elizabeth, was found 
 amongst Sir Amias Poulet's writings, thus indorsed, by Sir 
 Amiaa, " this letter was received at Fotheringay the 3d of 
 February, at five in the afternoon."
 
 Apology 1 THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 625 
 
 and safest way for me, is to have it otherways 
 handled ; particularizing a form, that, as she 
 pretended, liked her better ; naming unto me 
 some that were of that opinion, whose judg- 
 ment she recommended. I answered, that I 
 took the honourable and just way to be the 
 best and safest way, if she meant to have it 
 done at all. Whereto her Majesty, replying 
 nothing for that time, left me, and went to 
 dinner/ 
 
 " Within a day or two after, her Majesty, 
 being in the privy chamber, called me unto 
 her ; and smiling told me, how she had been 
 troubled that night with me, upon a dream she 
 had, that the Scots Queen was executed ; pre- 
 
 1 How a man, who could talk, in this strain of probity, to 
 Elizabeth, should ever have become one of her secretaries 
 of state 5 must excite surprise in us. Camden's account is 
 very remarkable. " Thus was Davison," he says a few 
 weeks beyond this period; " a man of good ingenuity, but 
 not well skilled in court-arts, brought upon the court-stage 
 of purpose (as most men thought) to act for a time this part 
 in the tragedy ; and soon after, the part being acted, and 
 his stage attire laid aside, as if he had failed in the last act, 
 he was thrust down from the stage, and, not without the 
 pity of many, shut up a long time in prison." He was also 
 fined ten thousand pounds, sentenced to prison, during Eli- 
 zabeth's pleasure, and " never recovered" her favour, 
 " though she sometimes relieved his wants." (Orig. i. 465, 
 Trans. 392.)
 
 626 THE LIFE OF [MEM. VIII. Davisorfs 
 
 tending to have been so troubled with the 
 news, as, if she had had a sword, she could have 
 run me through. But this being delivered in a 
 pleasant and smiling manner, I answered her 
 Majesty, that it was good for me I was not 
 near her, so long as that humour lasted. But, 
 taking hold of her speech, I asked her Majesty 
 in great earnest, what it meant, and whether, 
 having proceeded thus far, she had not a mean- 
 ing to go forward with the execution ? Her 
 answer, confirmed with a solemn oath, in some 
 vehemency, was, Yes : but she thought it might 
 receive a better form ; ' because,' saith she, 
 c this casteth the whole burthen upon myself.' 
 Whereunto I replied, ' that the form prescribed, 
 by her warrant, was what the law required, and 
 the only form, that was to be kept, in honour, 
 and justice/ She answered, ' that there were 
 wiser men than myself of another opinion.' ' I 
 told her, that I could not answer for other 
 men ; but this I was sure of, that I never heard 
 any man give a sound reason, to prove it ho- 
 nourable, or safe, for her Majesty, to take any 
 other course than that,^hich standeth with 
 law, and justice.' And so, without further re- 
 plication, or speech/her Majesty rose up, and 
 left me."* 
 
 * The day, here meant 'by the words "within a day or
 
 Apology.} THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 627 
 
 " The same afternoon, as I take it, she asked 
 me, ' whether I had heard from Sir Amias Pou- 
 let ?' I told her, ' No.' But within an hour 
 or two after, going to London, I met with 
 
 two after," was the very next day, Tuesday. In the other 
 apology, Davison says, that he kept the warrant, after it was 
 sealed, which was sealed in the afternoon of Wednesday, " all 
 that night, and the greatest part of the next day, in his hands ; 
 brought it back with him to the court, acquainted her Majesty 
 withal, and finding her Majesty resolved to proceed therein, ac- 
 cording to her former directions, and yet desirous to carry the 
 matter so, as she might throw the burthen from herself, he 
 absolutely resolved to quit his hands thereof : and hereupon 
 went over unto the lord treasurer's chamber, together with 
 Mr. Vice-chamberlain Hatton, and in his presence restored 
 the same into the hands of the said lord treasurer, of whom 
 he had before received it ; who from thenceforth kept it, till 
 himself and the rest of the council sent it away." (Robert, 
 son, ii. 482.) These two passages serve each to correct the 
 other. He did not deliver up the warrant to Cecil, the day 
 after it was signed, that is, Thursday, in the afternoon, and 
 just after he had been with Elizabeth. On Thursday he was 
 with her in the morning. Nor was it " a day or two after" 
 Thursday, when he saw Elizabeth, for the third time, con- 
 cerning the warrant, and the great seal. It was only the very 
 day day after it, Friday. This is plain from the nature of 
 the conversation, which passed, and from the sending away 
 of the warrant after it. In that conversation, as in this, 
 she declared herself resolved to proceed with putting Mary 
 to death, and yet wanted to throw the burden off" from herself. 
 This fixes both to be the same. After the conversation, he 
 gave the warrant to the lord treasurer, and that very evening
 
 628 THE LIFE OF [MEM. VIII. Davison* 
 
 letters from him, in answer to those were 
 written to him, by Mr. Secretary, and rnyself. b 
 " The next morning, having access to her 
 Majesty, upon some other occasion, I told her, 
 that I had letters, from Mr. Ponlet ; which her 
 
 the lord treasurer sent it away j Beale, the bearer of it, 
 reaching the earl of Kent' s, near Fotheringay-castle, the very 
 next day, that is, Saturday, with the warrant, &c. in his 
 pocket (Robertson, ii. 475.) 
 
 b It was certainly " the same afternoon," the afternoon of 
 Friday. The letter from the two secretaries, and an addi- 
 tional letter from Davison alone, are both dated on the first 
 of February, which was Wednesday. They were received 
 at Fotheringay-castle, as we see in a note above, " the 
 second of February at five in the afternoon." Paulet's an- 
 swer, as we shall soon see, was dated :e the second of Fe- 
 bruary" too, and " at six in the afternoon." And it would 
 reach London, in the afternoon of the third, that is, of 
 Friday. The letter arrived accordingly on Friday. Davison 
 showed it to Walsingham of course, immediately. It came 
 directed to Walsingham, though it was received by Davison. 
 He also communicated the contents of it, to Cecil and others 
 of the council. It was then resolved by them, to wait no 
 longer, but send off the warrant by Beale that evening. 
 This appears from the present apology, and a fact mentioned 
 before. " On the Tuesday following," says Davison, 
 " knowing what order had been taken by my lords, in send- 
 ing the commission to the earls, I answered," &c. " After- 
 wards," he says also, " as for my proceeding therein with 
 the rest of my lords," &c. And the warrant, as I have 
 showed before, reached one of the earls on Saturday evening-
 
 Apology.} THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 629 
 
 Majesty desiring to see, took, and read. c But 
 finding thereby, that he was grieved with the 
 motion made unto him, offering his life and all 
 he had to be disposed by his [her] Majesty* 
 
 c This letter also has been luckily preserved, being also 
 " found amongst Sir Amias Poulet's writings," and thus 
 entitled, and copied by him. 
 
 " A copy of a letter to Sir Francis Walsingham of the 2d 
 of February 1586, at six in the afternoon, to the [in] 
 answer of a letter from the said Sir Francis of the first of 
 February 15S6, received at Fotheringay the second day of 
 the said month at five in the afternoon." 
 ' " SIR, 
 
 ' " Your letters of yesterday coming to my hands this 
 present day at five in the afternoon, I would not fail, accord- 
 ing to your direction, to return my answer with all possible 
 speed ; which I shall deliver unto you with great grief and 
 bitterness of mind, in that 1 am so unhappy to have liven to 
 see this unhappy day, in which I am required, by direction 
 from my most gracious Sovereign, to do an act, which God 
 and the law forbiddeth. My goods, livings, and life are at 
 her Majesty's disposition ; and I am ready to lose them this 
 next morrow, if it shall so please her ; acknowledging that 
 1 hold them as of her mere and most gracious favour, and 
 do not desire to enjoy them, but with her Highness's good 
 liking. But God forbid, that I should make so foul a ship- 
 wreck of my conscience, or leave so great a blot to my poor 
 posterity, to shed blood without law and warrant ; trusting 
 that her Majesty of her accustomed clemency, and the ra- 
 ther by your good mediation, will take this my dutiful 
 answer in good part, as proceeding from one who will never
 
 630 THE LIFE OF [MEM. VIII. Davisons 
 
 but absolutely refusing to be an instrument,, in 
 any such action as was not warranted in ho- 
 nour and justice ; her Majesty, falling into 
 some terms of offence, complaining of the 
 daintiness, and as she termed it, perjury, of 
 him and others, who, contrary to their oath of 
 association, did cast the burthen upon herself; 
 she rose up, and, after a turn or two, went into 
 the gallery ; whether I followed her. And 
 there [she] renewed her former speech ; blam- 
 ing the niceness of those precise fellows, who 
 in words would do great things for her safety, 
 but in deed perform nothing ; and concluded, 
 she would have it done without them. And 
 here, entering into particularities, [she] named 
 unto me, as I remember, one Wingfield, who, 
 she assured me, would with some others under- 
 
 be inferior to any Christian subject living, in duty, honour, 
 love, and obedience towards his Sovereign. And thus I 
 commit you to the mercy of the Almighty. 
 
 * " Your most assured poor friend, 
 
 " A. Poulet." " 
 ' " From Fotheringhay, 
 3d February, 15S6.'" 
 
 ' " Your letters, coming in the plural number, seem to be 
 meant as well to Sir Drue Drury, as to myself; and yet 
 because he is not named in them, neither the letter di- 
 rected unto him, he forbeareth to make any particular an- 
 swer, but subscribeth in heart to my opinion." '
 
 Apology.'] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 631 
 
 take it. d Which gave me occasion to shew 
 unto her Majesty, how dishonourable, in my 
 poor opinion, any such course would be, and 
 how far off she would be from shunning the 
 blame and stain thereof, which she so much 
 sought to avoid : and here, falling particularly 
 into the case of Sir Amias Poulet and Sir Drue 
 Drury, told her ; that it was a marvellous ex- 
 tremity, she would have exposed these gen- 
 tlemen unto. For if, in a tender care for her 
 surety, they should have done that she desired ; 
 she must either allow their act, or disallow it : 
 If she allowed it, she took the matter upon 
 herself, with her infinite dishonour. If she 
 disallowed it, she overthrew these faithful gen- 
 tlemen, who, she knew did truly and faithfully 
 love her; and not only themselves, but their 
 estate and posterity. And therefore [I] thought 
 this, a dangerous and dishonourable course, 
 both for herself and them. And so, after some 
 particular speech of Mr. Secretary and others, 
 touching some matters past heretofore ; e her 
 
 d This Wingfield is perhaps the Robert or John Winge- 
 field, that assisted at Mary's execution (Robertson, ii. 478.) 
 
 e What this means, is too plain from the very obscurity of 
 it. But it may be made more distinctly visible, by some ob- 
 servations. In 1586 Mary says at her trial, a few months 
 only before this period, as I have noted in the body of the 
 workj that " Wahingham, as she heard, had practised
 
 632 THE LIFE OF [MEM. VIII. Davison's 
 
 Majesty, calling to understand, whether it were 
 
 both against her life and her son's." (Camden, Orig. i. 424, 
 Trans. 355.) In May 1587, an Englishman was seized in 
 Scotland, as I have equally noted before, " who was sent 
 into Scotland on purpose, topoison the King's Majesty, or to 
 take him away by some indirect means ; it was said at the time, 
 that he was induced thereto, by the Queen of England, and 
 her council.'" (Moyse, 128.) But let me add some things con- 
 cerning Leicester. Fuller says of Sir Nicholas Throckmorton, 
 that he died in 1570 " at supper, eating of sallad, not with- 
 out suspicion of poison ; the rather because hapning in the 
 house of one no mean artist in that faculty, R. Earl of Lei- 
 cester." (Baronettage, ii. 358, edit. 1741.) Camden also, a 
 still better authority, says of Leicester, that he was suspect- 
 ed of poisoning Walter Earl of Essex in 1576; and that 
 "the suspicion was increased by Leicester's presently putting 
 away Douglas [Baroness Dowager of] Sheffield with money 
 and fair promises (vshether his paramour or his wife, I can- 
 not say,) on whom he had begotten a son, and now more 
 openly making love to Lettice, Essex his widow, to whom 
 afterwards he joined himself in matrimony" (Orig. i. 264, 
 Trans. 217-218.) Leicester too, says Aubrey in his Berk- 
 shire, i. 149, " prescribed to Sir Richard Varney, a promo- 
 ter to this design" of murdering his first wife, " at his 
 coming hither," to Cumner, " that he should first attempt 
 to poison her." A like attempt appears to have been equally 
 made upon his second wife, Lady Sheffield ; " for it is cer- 
 tain," says Dugdale in his Warwickshire, p. 167, " that she 
 had somn ill potions given her, so that, with the loss of her 
 hair and nails, she hardly escaped death" (General Biog. 
 Diet. 1784, DUDLEY.) And Camden adds in 1586, when 
 Elizabeth was considering the mode of putting Mary to
 
 Apology.-] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 633 
 
 time to go to the closet, broke off our dis- 
 course/ 
 
 " At my next access to her Majesty (which, 
 
 death, that " Leicester thought rather by poison, and sent a 
 divine privately to Walsingham, to satisfie him it was 
 lawful" (Orig. i. 413, Trans. 346.) Such an infernal villain 
 was Leicester, and so worthy to be the mate of Elizabeth ! 
 
 f That Davison should have allowed himself to talk, ia 
 this higher strain of probity to Elizabeth ; is an evidence of 
 what Camden has said of him, that he was ' ' a man not 
 well skilled in court arts." Yet he was not an honest man. 
 He had been too long one of Elizabeth's ministers, to be 
 honest. And he actually appears not to have been so, from 
 other parts of his conversation with Elizabeth, and from a 
 couple of letters which he wrote singly to Paulet. In the 
 first of them, which appears from the date as well as the 
 subject, to have been sent along with the extraordinary 
 letter before, for the assassination of Mary : he writes in 
 this strain to Paulet. 
 
 " An abstract of a letter from Mr. Secretary Davison of 
 the said first of February 1586, as followeth." 
 
 ' " I pray you, let both this and the inclosed be com- 
 mitted to the fire; which measure shall be likewise met 
 [meted] to your answer, after it hath been communicated 
 to her Majesty for her satisfaction." ' 
 
 But, not content with this, he wrote a postscript to ano- 
 ther letter, exactly in the same strain. This letter and post- 
 script appear equally from the subject and date, to have 
 been written immediately after the receipt of Paulet's an- 
 swer, at the very moment of sending off the warrant by 
 Beale, and before Davison had yet shewn Paulet's answer 
 to Elizabeth.
 
 634 THE LIFE OF [MEM. VIII. Davison's 
 
 1 take it, was Tuesday, the day before my 
 coming to court,) having certain things to be 
 signed ; her Majesty entered of herself into 
 
 " A postscript in a letter from Mr. Secretary Davison of 
 the third of February 1586." 
 
 ' " I intreated you in my last letters, to burn both the 
 letters sent unto you, for the argument's sake ; which, by 
 your answer to Mr. Secretury (which I have seen,) ap- 
 peareth not to be done. I pray you let me intreat you, to 
 make hereticks both of th' one and th' other, as I mean to 
 use yours after her Majesty hath seen it." ' 
 
 " In the end of the postscript." 
 
 ' " I pray you let me know what you have done with my 
 letters, because they are not fit to be kept ; that I may 
 satisfy her Majesty therein, who might otherwise take 
 offence thereat : and, if you intreat this postscript in the 
 same kind, you shall not err a whit." 
 
 " A. Poulet." " D. Drury." 
 
 Davison thus shows his conscious knavery, by his lively> 
 apprehensiveaess. He had been long in the school of 
 knavery, and had necessarily learnt some of its lessons. Yet 
 he appears from the conversation in the text here, and from 
 another before, to have not been entirely tainted in his prin- 
 ciples by it. He was therefore worthy to be brought for- 
 ward, by a conspiracy betwixt Elizabeth and her more 
 flagitious ministers, in order to be sacrificed for those remains 
 of honesty about him, which were such a disgrace to the 
 school and its preceptress 5 to be sacrificed by them, for his 
 incongruous acting with them ; to be sacrificed by her, for 
 his yet unsubdued relicks of honour in his conversation with 
 her ; and to become the grand scape-goat of both, on 
 whose head were laid all the enormities of both, and by 
 whom they were all supposed to be carried away for ever.
 
 Jpology.] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 635 
 
 some earnest discourse, of the danger she daily 
 lived in, and how it was more than time this 
 matter were dispatched; swearing a great 
 oath, that it was a shame for them all it was 
 not already done ; and there spake unto me, 
 to have a letter written for the dispatch there- 
 of, because the longer it was deferred, the more 
 her danger encreased. Whereto, knowing what 
 order had been taken by my lords, in sending 
 the commission to the earls ; I answered, that 
 there was no necessity, as I thought, of such a 
 
 Let me only observe in addition to this, that Davison ap- 
 pears to have actually burned their letter ; and, had they 
 burned his and Walsingham's, and not kept a copy of their 
 own, we had lost some valuable monuments of the time ; 
 that Davison, but not Walsingham, had the honest timo- 
 rousness of conscience, to wish to suppress the letter 
 concerning the recommended assassination of Mary ; and 
 that he was very anxious to suppress it. The much more 
 knavish Walsingham never thought of this. The lamp of 
 conscience was no longer turning in the bosom of the 
 latter. It was in that of the former. And yet it was burning 
 so tremulously there, that he wished to have the guilty letter 
 destroyed, when to destroy could not hide it from the eye of 
 GOD. He reflected not in the hurry of his apprehensions, 
 that, could he bury it under the foundations of the earth, 
 yet the day was coming, in which those very foundations 
 would be overturned, and, then peculiarly, would 
 
 murderous deeds arise, 
 
 Though all the earth o'erwhelm'd them, to men's eyes.
 
 636 THE LIFE OF [MEM VIII. Davison's 
 
 letter, the warrant being so general and suffi- 
 cient as it was. Her Majesty replied little else, 
 but that she thought Mr. Poulet would look for 
 it. g 
 
 s From these words above, " at my next access to her 
 Majesty, which, I take it, was Tuesday, the day before my 
 coming to court," and from these words soon afterwards, 
 " until the hour of my departure from court/' as uniting to 
 mark the concluding period of all his story ; it appears that 
 Elizabeth rated him very harshly on Wednesday, the day so 
 strongly marked, as the well-known " day of his coming to 
 court" and "" of his departure from it;" on account of the 
 warrant, ordered away the Friday evening before, for the 
 execution of Mary. On this very Wednesday was she exe- 
 cuted. Elizabeth had now been apprized, that the warrant 
 was sent away. It was high time to apprize her ; though 
 her signing the warrant was a sufficient justification in itself, 
 for sending it away. And, in her usual tergiversation of 
 conduct, she chose to forget all her conversation of the very 
 day before ; her " earnest discourse of the danger she daily 
 lived in," her declaration, that " it was more than time this 
 matter were dispatched :" her " swearing a great oath, that 
 it was a shame for them all it was not already done j" and 
 her " speaking unto Davison" himself, " to have a letter 
 written to Mr. Poulet for the dispatch thereof, because, the 
 longer it was deferred, the more her danger encreased." 
 She now censured him for not " deferring" the execution 
 longer, for averting this " increasing danger," for removing 
 the " shame" from " them all," and for doing that which 
 " it was more than time," had then been done already. 
 But she so censured him not, till she was sure the execution 
 had already taken place, or would irrevocably take place in 
 a few hours afterward.
 
 Apology.'] THE SCOTISH QUEEN, 637 
 
 II. 
 
 " And this, as near as I can possibly remem- 
 ber, is a faithful and true report of the whole 
 substance, of that hath past betwixt her Ma- 
 jesty and me, from the day of signing the war- 
 Yet, what shows still more the artifice of the whole, she 
 censured him exclusively. She here does so at first, we see. 
 She did so afterwards, and to the last. Indeed she also 
 expresse'd her anger intermediately against the council in 
 general. She issued a commission, ' ' for their calling to the 
 Star-chamber for the same." But she afterwards issued 
 another, for their " private appearance, instead thereof, 
 before the lord chancellor Bromley." (Robertson, ii. 482 
 483.) Then, by another touch of mildness to them, just after 
 the trial of Davison was over, " Wray, lord privy seal, sig- 
 nified," in court, " that albeit tHe Queen had been offended 
 (and that not without just cause) with her council, and had 
 thereupon left them to examination ; yet now she forgave 
 them, and withall acknowledged, that they had been very care- 
 full and diligent in their actions and counsels, for the preser- 
 vation of religion and the commonwealth, and for preventing 
 of all dangers." (Camden, Orig. i. 464 465, Trans. 392). 
 And she centered all her resentment on the single head of 
 Davison. 
 
 But, what is Davison pretended to have done ? He had 
 given up the warrant, now signed, and sealed, to that very 
 lord treasurer Cecil, who drew it up, originally, and who had 
 given it to him for her signing ; when he had been sent, at 
 the signing, by the Queen's own express orders, to carry i* 
 to the lord chancellor for his sealing. He had not given it 
 VOL. III. T t
 
 638 THE LIFE OF [MEM. VIII. Davison's 
 
 rant, and commandment given to me to carry 
 it to the seal, until the hour of my departure 
 from court. In all which I must protest un- 
 feignedly before God, that I neither remember 
 
 up, however, till an answer had been received from Paulet ; 
 and till Elizabeth, posteriourly, as well as previously, to her 
 order, for a letter to Paulet, had charged him, and had 
 charged the chancellor, by him, to use it with all possible 
 secrecy. 
 
 Yet Camden, imposed upon by the hypocrisy of Elizabeth, 
 says that Davison " acquainted the council with the warrant 
 and the whole matter, and easily persuaded them, that the 
 Queen had commanded it should be executed." Davison, 
 however, gave not up the warrant to the council, and called 
 not a council at all. He gave the warrant to Cecil. Cecil 
 called the council. And Cecil produced the warrant to 
 them. But, as Camden adds, " she at that very time told 
 Davison, that she would take another course with the Queen 
 of Scots." (Orig. i. 445, Trans. 382.) Cecil, accordingly, 
 made a confession, which in the loose and arbitrary modes 
 of proceeding usual with Elizabeth, was produced in court 
 against Davison, instead of a personal testimony from Cecil j 
 and which averred, that Cecil " doubting whether the 
 Queen had absolutely resolved to have execution done, Davi- 
 son confidently affirmed it." (Camden, Orig. i. 462, Trans. 
 390.) And as Davison was arraigned for sending away the 
 warrant, when Elizabeth ' ' never intended that the Queen of 
 Scots should have been put to death}" so Elizabeth, in 
 her letter immediately afterwards, to Mary's son, called her 
 death " this lamentable accident, which is happened con- 
 trary to my meaning and intention/' and which, since my
 
 Apology.] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 639 
 
 any such commandment given me by her Ma- 
 jesty, as is pretended ; neither did I ever con- 
 ceive such an intent or meaning in her. And 
 that mine innocency herein may the better ap- 
 pear, let it be considered, first, what the com- 
 mandment is, and next, upon what considera- 
 tion, it was grounded. 
 
 pen trembleth to mention it, you shall fully understand by 
 this my kinsman." (Camden, Orig. i. 461 and 46O, Trans. 
 389 and 388.) Yet, all the while, not Davison, but the coun- 
 cil, sent the warrant away ; and the council sent it, only in 
 consequence of Cecil's resignation of it, to them or to their 
 clerk, Beale. 
 
 All therefore makes up the boldest scene of hypocrisy, that 
 was ever exhibited to the world. We peculiarly know it to 
 be so, from this apology. Elizabeth meant, and always 
 meant, the death of Mary. She particularly declared so, 
 only the day before her execution. Nor was there any need 
 of Davison's attesting to Cecil, that she meant to have the 
 warrant executed. Cecil knew this sufficiently before. The 
 very signing of the warrant, also, proved this decisively. 
 Nor was Davison false in attesting, if he did attest, her mean- 
 ing from his own knowledge. Elizabeth had declared over 
 and over again, that she meant to have it used. She had 
 repeatedly ordered it to be used with secrecy. She had even 
 gone on for that reason, to forbid the open court, and to 
 point out the hall, for the place of execution. And though 
 she had intimated to Davison, that " she would take another 
 course with the Queen of Scots " yet we, who know that 
 course to have been assassination, can only execrate her the 
 more for it.
 
 640 THE LIFE OF [MEM. VIII. Davison's 
 
 " The commandment (as I understand it) 
 hath two parts ; one, that I should conceal it 
 from the rest of her Majesty's council : another, 
 that I should retain it by myself until some 
 tumultuous time, as a thing her Majesty meant 
 not otherwise to put in execution : both which I 
 must in all duty, and humbleness, under her 
 most gracious favour, 11 absolutely deny.' 
 
 h These passages show clearly, that this apology was in- 
 tended to be seen by Elizabetfi. Such an intention adds 
 much to his credit. And it naturally suggests to us, that 
 Davison has rather softened than exaggerated some particu- 
 lars in his narrative. 
 
 ' Yet Camden makes Davison, on his trial, to allow, 
 " that when the Queen blamed him for making such haste, 
 to get the warrant under the great seal [to have the war- 
 rant passed under the great seal], she gave some significa- 
 tion, but not express command, that he should keep it in his 
 own hands." (Orig. i. 46"2, Trans. 390.) This acknowledg- 
 ment, if at all true in itself, can refer only to the conversa- 
 tion on Thursday morning, and to the hint of assassination by 
 others, then given . But Davison could not explain the hint 
 to the court. This we see strikingly exemplified, in one 
 part of his trial. Then " Egerton, the Queen's solicitor," 
 says Camden, " began to press Davison with his own con- 
 fession," one different from this apology, and equally from 
 that in Dr. Robertson's Appendix (ii. 480) } reading a piece 
 thereof. But Davison prayed him to reade the whole, and 
 not parcels picked out here and there : but he had rather r 
 he said, it should not be read at all; because there were con- 
 tained in it tome secrets, not Jit to be divulged abroad" (Orig.
 
 Apology.-] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 641 
 
 " And, for the first, I trust her Majesty, in 
 her princely and honourable nature, will not 
 deny, but that she first sent for me by my lord 
 admiral, to bring the warrant unto her ; which 
 proveth that his lordship was acquainted with 
 her purpose: and next, that she gave express 
 word, both to carry it forthwith to the seal, 
 with a message to my lord chancellor, who 
 consequently must be acquainted with all ; and 
 also, by the way, to impart it to Mr. Secretary. 
 So as, these three being made privy unto it by 
 her good liking, and myself, as I say, not re- 
 strained to the contrary, by any such command- 
 ment as is pretended ; what reason had I to 
 conceal it from my lord treasurer, to whom my 
 lord admiral had first imparted it, or from my 
 Lord of Leicester, to whom her Majesty is [fa- 
 miliar, and had k j signified as much, as likewise 
 
 i. 462, Trans. 390.) And, while Elizabeth presumed to tell 
 the boldest lies, and was believed in all that she said, which 
 was the whole evidence that could be brought against Davison ; 
 he durst not speak the truth, in his own vindication. She 
 thus took advantage equally, of his timorous delicacy, of her 
 own confidence in falsehoods, and of the mean ductility of the 
 judges, to ruin him entirely. He had refused to concur with 
 her, in her plot of assassination. He had presumed to re- 
 monstrate with her, against it. He had preached up honour, 
 and conscience to her. And she was resolved to chastise 
 the monitor, and the man. 
 k I have filled up this blank.
 
 642 THE LIFE OF [MEM. VIII. Davisoris 
 
 afterwards to Mr. Vice-chamberlain [Hatton 1 ] ; 
 as they are acquainted with the rest of the 
 whole proceeding, and as far interested, in the 
 cause, as myself, or any of the others ? m Unless 
 her Majesty had a meaning, that Mr. Secretary 
 
 1 I have filled up this also. 
 
 m This shows the whole pretence against Davison, of his 
 having communicated the secret of sealing the warrant, as if 
 such a secret should be kept ; to be only an after-thought, 
 and a mere cover for accusing Davison. She herself hadtold 
 Hatton, had told Leicester, had told the lord admiral. She 
 had actually sent the last with an order, for Davison and the 
 warrant to come to her, and the warrant expressly for her 
 sealing. He had received no command to keep his message 
 a secret. And he had told the lord treasurer Cecil. Cecil, 
 therefore, the very man that we have detected in such kna- 
 veries before, must have known of Elizabeth's message, and 
 of Davison's coming, before Davison gave him any assurance 
 of the Queen's resolution. And as Elizabeth had told the 
 lord admiral, and the lord admiral had told Davison from 
 her, that she had spoken with " sharpness" against Davison, 
 for not bringing up the warrant before, and that she had de- 
 clared " she would no longer defer," the execution (see the 
 beginning of this apology) j so the lord admiral must ne- 
 cessarily have imparted this to Cecil. Yet Cecil appeared 
 as a witness against Davison, by his written confession at 
 least } as if Davison had been the first and the only one who 
 assured him, of Elizabeth's resolution to have the warrant 
 executed. He was, no doubt, in the secrets of his congenial 
 mistress ; and said or did, whatever she wished him to do or 
 say. He seems indeed to have been the principal tool of 
 
 hat wretched Queen.
 
 Apology.-] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 643 
 
 and I should have dealt alone, in the sending 
 of it to the earls : which for ray own part I 
 confess I never liked, knowing her Majesty's 
 purpose, often uttered to myself, to remove as 
 much of the burden as she might, from her own 
 shoulders upon others ; which I knew mine 
 own unfit to sustain. 
 
 " Now seeing the end of signing and sealing 
 this warrant, in all reasonable probability and 
 judgment, was to go forward withal ; that the 
 delay thereof did infinitely encrease her Ma- 
 jesty's peril, and thereby hazard the whole 
 estate ; seeing it was imparted to some by her 
 Majesty's own order, and no cause or possibility, 
 being assigned, to keep it from the rest, as much 
 interested in the cause as myself; and finally, 
 seeing I could neither, as I take it, in law nor 
 in the duty of a good subject, conceal it from 
 them, the cause importing so greatly her Ma- 
 jesty's life as it did, and the disposition both of 
 the time and state of things, at home and 
 abroad, being such as it was : I trust it shall 
 sufficiently appear, that I was both in reason, 
 duty, and necessity forced thereunto ; unless I 
 would have wilfully endangered myself, whose 
 offence, if ought in the mean time had happen- 
 ed amiss to her Majesty, must have been, in 
 my own censure, worthy of a thousand deaths." 
 
 n This argument, though tinctured a little, with that fear
 
 644 THE LIFE OF [MEM. VIII. Davison' s 
 
 " And, as for my proceeding therein with 
 the rest of my lords ; after it was resolved, 
 that it was neither fit nor convenient to trouble 
 her Majesty any further withal, considering 
 she had done all that the law required at her 
 hands ; and that she had both to myself, and 
 others, signified at other times, her indisposition 
 to be acquainted with the particular circum- 
 stances, of time, place, &c. ; p and that to de- 
 
 for the danger of Elizabeth, which was merely chimerical, 
 in the extravagance here hinted at, carries a great force with 
 it. 
 
 This points out to us a new circumstance, in the con- 
 duct of this business On Davison's showing the answer 
 from Paulet, and giving the warrant to Cecil, upon Friday 
 afternoon ; it was resolved by the council, he being present, 
 te neither fit nor convenient to trouble her Majesty any fur- 
 " ther withal." And it is this resolution of the council, which 
 Davison afterwards confounded in his memory, and has 
 falsely ascribed to Elizabeth herself j when he says so 
 absurdly in his other apology, as I have shown before, that 
 on Wednesday she " in conclusion absolutely forbad him, 
 " to trouble her any further, or let her hear any more hereof, 
 till it was done ; she for her part having, as she said, per- 
 formed all that, in law, or reason, could be required of her" 
 (Robertson, ii. 482.) The close of both peculiarly shows 
 both to be the same. 
 
 P This also tells us a new circumstance. Elizabeth had 
 " signified" to " Davison and others" at " other" times before, 
 her desire not to be acquainted with the " place" &c. of the 
 execution. Yet, she had altered her desire, in this respect, 
 when on Wednesday, the first of February, she could forbid 
 the green, and point out the hall, as the scene of execution.
 
 Apology.] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 645 
 
 tain the warrant, in expectation of any further 
 directions from herself, was both needless, and 
 dangerous, considering the hourly hazard her 
 Majesty lived in ; and finally, that my lords, 
 knowing her Majesty's unwillingness to bear 
 all the burthen alone, were content most reso- 
 lutely, honourably, and dutifully, to ease her 
 as much as they might : q with what reason and 
 justice should I have hindered the course of 
 justice, tending so greatly to her Majesty's 
 safety, and preservation of the whole realm ? 
 
 " And for the other part, of keeping it by me 
 to such end as is before alleged, I trust the 
 world does not hold me so undutiful to her 
 Majesty, or ill-advised for my particular ; as to 
 take such a charge upon me, to the evident 
 peril of her Majesty's life, subversion of the 
 whole estate, and my own utter overthrow. Nei- 
 ther is there cause to think (I speak it in all reve- 
 rence, and under her Majesty's most gracious 
 favour,) 1 that her Majesty having proceeded so 
 far as she had done to the trial of that lady's 
 
 i This shows the lords to have been all well acquainted, 
 with Elizabeth's desire, for throwing the load of murder off 
 from her own shoulders, by substituting assassination, for 
 execution ; and artfully to have given it another turn, in 
 order to bring the execution forwards. 
 
 r This unites with two passages before, to show the apo- 
 logy was intended for the eye of Elizabeth.
 
 646 THE LIFE OF [MEM. VIII. Davison's 
 
 i 
 
 fact, found her guilty by a most honourable 
 jury of her nobility, assembled her parliament 
 only for that purpose, graciously heard their 
 petitions, and dismissed them with so great 
 hope ; published afterwards the proclamation 
 for her dishabilment, rejected the suits both of 
 the French and Scotish kings for her life, and 
 returned their ambassadors hopeless ; confirmed 
 that impression by her letters to both princes 
 (some of which it pleased her to communicate 
 with myself;) protested many hundred times 
 her necessity, and resolution, to go through 
 withall* (albeit, for sundry good respects, she had 
 so long deferred it ;) having given her command- 
 ment to me many days before, to bring the 
 warrant to her,' and then voluntarily sent for 
 it by my lord admiral ; signing it as soon as I 
 brought it, with her express commandment 
 given me, to carry it to the seal, and to have it 
 secretly handled ; and, finally, her particular 
 direction, while she was signing other things at 
 the same time, to have the execution done in 
 the hall, misliking that it should be on the 
 
 1 This, as to the " resolution" vouched " many hundred 
 times," is quite a new circumstance. 
 
 1 This is also a new circumstance. And 1 have accord- 
 ingly noticed it and the preceding, as such, in the body of 
 the work, i. 3. 6.
 
 Apology.-] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 647 
 
 green or open court ; with a number of other 
 foregoing and following, circumstances , may 
 sufficiently testify her Majesty's disposition to 
 have it proceeded in, albeit she had to myself 
 and others declared her unwillingness, to be 
 made acquainted with the time and other cir- 
 circumstances, having done all that the law 
 required of her, or that in honour was fit and 
 expedient for her."" 
 
 u Let me here, at the end of the apology, remark finally 
 concerning Davison, That, though he was not an honest 
 man, yet he was so nearly one, as to be a very prodigy for 
 the ministry of Elizabeth. He refused, it appears, to sign 
 that very bond of association, which was signed by all the 
 nation, and which even the despairing Mary offered, on her 
 liberty being granted, to sign herself. Yet he refused, 
 though Leicester pushed on the association, and though 
 Elizabeth urged him to sign it. Among the pleas which he 
 advances for himself in his other apology, he particularly 
 states " his former absolute refusal to sign the bond of as- 
 sociation, being earnestly pressed thereunto by her Majesty' s 
 self" (Robertson, ii. 483.) This indeed is a very strong 
 evidence, of a manly virtuousness in him. But he did other 
 things, in the same spirit of virtue. He declined to act as 
 a commissioner, on the examination of Babington and his 
 accomplices, for their conspiracy in favour of Mary j and 
 took a journey to Bath, in order to save himself from acting 
 (Robertson, ii. 483.) He was a means too of preventing 
 rhe commissioners, who were sent to try Mary at Fotherin- 
 gay-castle, from pronouncing sentence upon _ her imme- 
 diately after the trial ; and of obliging them to return first
 
 648 THE LIFE OF [MEM. VIII. Davisons 
 
 to London, and report their proceedings to Elizabeth (Ro- 
 bertson, ii. 483.) We have already seen, that he kept the 
 warrant for the execution of Mary, five or six weeks in his 
 hands j without offering to present it to Elizabeth for her 
 signing. We have equally seen, that he actually neglected 
 to obey a personal command of Elizabeth's, for bringing 
 the warrant to her ; and that he thus neglected for ee many 
 days," even till the Queen fired at his conduct, and sent him 
 a peremptory order to bring it. Even then, and even when 
 Paulet's answer had been received, and all delay was now 
 at an end for ever ; he would not be concerned in sending 
 away the warrant himself, but returned it into the hands 
 from which he had received it, and left Cecil and the council 
 to send it. And, as in all the time " before her trial, he neither 
 is nor can be charged, to have had any hand at all in the 
 cause of the said Queen, or done any thing whatsoever 
 concerning the same, directly or indirectly/' so, " after the 
 return thence of the commissioners, it is well known to 
 all her council, that he never was at any deliberation or meet, 
 ing whatsoever, in parliament or council, concerning the 
 cause of the said Queen, till the sending down of her Ma- 
 jesty's warrant unto the commissioners, by the lords and 
 others of her council." (Robertson, ii. 481.) 
 
 These deeds of honesty, no doubt, had successively mark, 
 ed him out for vengeance, to the rest of the ministry and to 
 the Queen. He was therefore selected by Cecil, " with her 
 Majesty's own privity," to be the Secretary with whom the 
 warrant should be lodged for signing (Robertson, ii. 481.) 
 He was thus exposed to a train of decisive trials. It would 
 be seen, whether he offered, to present the warrant to Eliza- 
 beth for her signature. Should he not offer, a command 
 might be given him by Elizabeth, to bring it up. Should 
 he hesitate to obey this, a sharp rebuke and a peremptory 
 order might be sent him. If he was refractory in all these
 
 Apology.'] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 649 
 
 points, then the wrath of Elizabeth would burst out upon 
 him, and sweep him away from her presence for ever. If 
 he complied in any, his farther compliance might be tried, 
 in ordering him to the great seal with the warrant, and in 
 directing him to use the warrant, when sealed, with secrecy. 
 Should he be found pliable in this trial, the grand scheme 
 of assassination, the favourite wish of Elizabeth's heart, 
 which had repeatedly been talked over by her other ministers 
 before Elizabeth and him, which they all united to approve, 
 though none of them offered to undertake, and which had 
 been so talked over and so approved of, merely to put Da- 
 vison upon undertaking it; might finally be urged upon 
 Davison in private, by Elizabeth herself. Should he bend 
 to this urgency, and engage in the work of assassinaton ; 
 Elizabeth, as soon as ever the work was done, would have 
 risen upon him with an affected passion, and made his life 
 the forfeit of his compliance. And should he not bend, all 
 his present and all his former refractoriness would be re- 
 membered at once against him, and unite to draw down the 
 rage of Elizabeth in a storm of real resentment upon him. 
 Either way, the man was sure to be ruined. He complied, 
 though only in part. He brought up the warrant, at the 
 second order. He carried it to the great seal. He even 
 united with Walsingham, to mention Elizabeth's proposal 
 of assassination to Paulet. But he would go no farther. 
 He actually protested to Elizabeth herself against the pro- 
 posal, before he mentioned it to Paulet. He protested to 
 her against every scheme of assassination. And he was 
 therefore ruined at last by Elizabeth, in a most impudent 
 stretch of falsehood, for doing what he did not do, and in 
 truth and reality for not doing what he was wanted to do. 
 
 Thus fell Davison, a memorable evidence of the cunning, 
 the perfidiousness, and the barbarity, of Elizabeth, and her 
 Cecil ! But he was fully revenged of them both, in his fall.
 
 650 THE LIFE OF [MEM. VIII. Damson* 
 
 He wrote the present apology, which serves so greatly to 
 expose the characters of both. It is very convincing in it- 
 self ; is even drawn up with the air and address of a fine 
 writer, and is peculiarly valuable to the critical investigators 
 of Elizabeth's conduct. It differs very usefully from that 
 in Dr. Robertson's Appendix, in being written within the 
 very months of all the main transactions recorded in it, and 
 being therefore very full, circumstantial, and accurate 5 
 while that was written many years afterward, is only gene- 
 ral and short, and is often inaccurate. It was not, however, 
 as Camden says, a " private' ' apology sent to " Walsing- 
 ham" (Orig. i. 465, Trans. 392.) It was evidently calcu- 
 lated, as I have shown before, for the inspection of Eliza- 
 beth herself. And, as it would naturally be sent to his brother 
 secretary for her inspection j so was it a bold challenge to 
 her for the truth, and exactness, of all his averments, and 
 would serve only to increase the load already descending to 
 crush him. The other was written, not only when the little 
 particulars had faded off from the mind, when memory had 
 confounded some circumstances that were distinct in them- 
 selves, and a regular narrative, if it could have been given, 
 was no longer of consequence ; but, what is very surprizing, 
 when Davison had lost all copy, and even all minutes, of 
 this very apology. It was drawn up too, when he was no 
 longer afraid of showing his forbearance, in the cause of 
 Mary, and indeed had reason, for displaying it all at large. 
 He therefore goes back much farther in the second apology, 
 than in the first j to the return of Mary's judges from Fo- 
 theringay, to the moment of her trial, to the examination of 
 Babington, &c. and to the times preceding all. In this whole 
 period he shows us his secret attachment to Mary, by such 
 a train of incidents ; as seems peculiarly calculated for the 
 eye of Mary's son, on his accession to the throne of Eng- 
 land. Yet Elizabeth must have been alive at the writing
 
 Apology.-] THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 651 
 
 of it; since she is spoken of as still Queen. And I there- 
 fore suppose it to be written, at the latter end of Elizabeth's 
 reign, when all the nation began to turn their eyes towards 
 Scotland for a successor to her ; and when Davison would 
 naturally endeavour to make that attachment to Mary, for 
 which he had suffered so severely from Elizabeth, promote 
 his interest with James. 
 
 The latter apology was published by Dr. Robertson, from 
 a paper, supposed to be the original, in the Cotton Library 
 (ii. 481.) The former has been published in an anonymous 
 history of " the life and reign of Mary Queen of Scots, 
 London, 1725," where, with an agreeable surprize, I first 
 met with it, where it is said to be taken " from a MS. in 
 the possession of a person of quality," that had some lacunae 
 in it, and from whence I have reprinted it here, filling up 
 the lacuna;. To this were subjoined the letters, to and from 
 Paulet and Drury, as " found amongst Sir Amias Poulet's 
 writings." But, the apology, and letters had been previously 
 published, by Dr. Mackenzie, in his " Lives of Scots Writers, 
 vol. iii. 1708," under the. article Freebairn, and without the 
 lacuna of the other MS. He printed the former, he says, 
 from the original itself, " found amongst Sir Amias Paulet's 
 papers; a copy of which, transcribed from the original, 
 was sent me by my worthy and learned friend Mr. Hurry 
 of Christ's Church Oxon" (p. 334.) And the latter were 
 found equally among the same papers, and transcribed 
 equally from them, by Mr. Hurry. These two copies, there- 
 fore, are plainly transcripts of the same original; that 
 having lacunae in it, because the writer was not able to read 
 the MS. j and this having none, as written by a more skilful 
 reader. Yet the particulars of this apology are little known 
 to the world at present. I met not with it, till I had published 
 my Vindication. I knew of it in general, but I could not 
 tell where to find it. I often looked at the apology in Dr.
 
 652 THE LIFE OF THE SCOTISH QUEEN. 
 
 Robertson, yet found not, in it, what I wanted, and expected. 
 Nor,- had I such an idea of the present, as could induce me 
 to be very solicitous, in procuring it. But, I was greatly 
 struck, the moment I perused it. And I soon saw the ex- 
 pediency, of using it, in the narrative part of my work ; and 
 of republishing it, with notes, in my Appendix ; for the fuller 
 elucidation of the whole history. 
 
 J. W. 
 
 London : Printed by W. Nicol, Successor to W. Bulraer, & Co. 
 Cleveland-row, St. James's.
 
 
 University of California 
 
 SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY 
 
 405 Hilgard Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90024-1388 
 
 Return this material to the library 
 
 from which it was borrowed. 
 
 Form
 
 DA. 
 787 
 A1C35 
 1822 
 
 Y.3 
 
 cop. 2 
 
 A 000 929 661 7
 
 ..*