'-■":f:':'''v 
 
 '':'^^^M^yP'^''r■■ 
 
 lv:!.:i;-!i:v. •:-::•■: 
 
 
 
 1 
 
THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 Vt lliiui **••" 
 
MARY STUART. 
 
 a 
 
 \ 
 
THE 
 
 HISTORY OF MARY STUART, 
 
 FROM THE MURDER OF RICCIO UNTIL 
 HER FLIGHT INTO ENGLAND. 
 
 BY 
 
 CLAUDE NAU, Her Secretary. 
 
 Now First Printed from the Original Manuscripts, with Illus- 
 trative Papers from the Secret Archives of the Vatican, 
 and other Collections in Rome, edited, with Historical 
 Preface, 
 
 BY 
 
 The Rev. JOSEPH STEVENSON, S.J. 
 
 Facsimiles, 8vo, Cloth, 18s. 
 
MARY STUART: 
 
 A NARRATIVE 
 
 OF THE 
 
 FIRST EIGHTEEN" YEARS OF HER LIFE, 
 
 I'RIXfll'ALLY FROM ORKJISAL JJOCUMEXTS. 
 
 J > 'it •) 
 
 BY 
 
 The Rev. JOSEPH STEVENSON, S.J. 
 
 EDINBURGH: WILLIAM PATERSON. 
 
 1886. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 
 PREFACE, 
 
 PAGE 
 
 xi 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 QUEEN Mary's parents — james the fifth and 
 
 MARY OF GUISE. 
 
 1513. Battle of Floclden, . 
 
 1535. England under Henry VIII., 
 
 ,, Scotland vmder James V. , 
 1537. James marries Madeleine of France, 
 153S. James marries Marj- of Guise, 
 
 1539. Sadler's Mission into Scotland, 
 
 1540. Its Failure, 
 1542. Henry's Device to capture James, 
 
 „ War proclaimed, 
 
 ,, Battle of Solway Moss, 
 
 „ Birth of Queen Mary and Death of the King, 
 
 ,, Character of Mary^^^uise, 
 
 2 
 
 4 
 5 
 t> 
 9 
 
 11 
 14 
 16 
 20 
 22 
 24 
 
 27 
 
 V 
 
 41 
 
VI 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 C HATTER II. 
 
 1542. 
 1542. 
 1543. 
 
 55 
 
 1544. 
 1545. 
 
 55 
 
 1546. 
 
 FROM THE BIRTH OF MARY STUART TO THE MURDER OF 
 
 CARDINAL BETON. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 James Hamilton, Earl of Arran, Governor of 
 
 Scotland, . . . . .31 
 
 David Beton, Cardinal, Archbishop of St Andrews, 34 
 
 Henry VIII. 's Plans against Scotland, . . 36 
 
 Marriage of Queen Mary with Prince Edward 
 
 agreed to, . . . . . 41 
 
 Mary in the Nursery, .... 43 
 
 The Patriarch of Aquilea in Scotland, . . 48 
 
 Invasion of Scotland, .... 52 
 
 Continued Ravages, .... 55 
 
 Beton's Murder planned, ... .58 
 
 Beton's Murder executed, ... 68 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 FROM THE MURDER OF CARDINAL BETON UNTIL THE ARRIVAL 
 OF QUEEN MARY IN FRANCE. 
 
 1546. Results of the Murder of Cardinal Beton, . 70 
 „ Siege of the Castle of St Andrews, . . 71 
 „ Conduct of the Garrison, . . . .72 
 
 1547. Surrender of the Castle of St Andrews, . . 77 
 „ Invasion of Scotland by Somei-set, . . 7^ 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 1547. Battle of Pinkie Cleugh, . 
 
 1548. Queen Mary's Removal to France, 
 
 vu 
 
 PAGE 
 
 82 
 
 85 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 QUEEN JI A K Y IN FRANCE. 
 
 1548. The Court of King Henry II., . 
 „ Catherine de Medicis, 
 
 „ Mary's Grandmother, Antoinette^de Bourbon, 
 „ Francis, Duke of Guise, . 
 „ Charles, Cardinal of Guise, 
 „ Mary's Early Education in France, 
 
 1550. Mary of Guise visits France, 
 
 1551. A Project to Poison Mary Stuart, 
 „ Death of the Duke de Longueville, 
 „ Mary of Guise returns to Scotland, 
 
 90 
 93 
 
 94 
 96 
 99 
 
 103 
 105 
 108 
 115 
 117 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 QUEEN mart's EDTTCATIOX IN FRANCE. 
 
 1551. Estimate of Mary's Acquirements, 
 
 „ Estimate of her Beauty, 
 
 ,, Estimate of her Temperament, 
 1553. Mary's Household in France, 
 
 „ Mary's Book of Themes, . 
 
 „ Formation of her Character, 
 
 „ Brant6me's Estimate of Her, 
 Ronsard's Estimate of Her. 
 
 122 
 124 
 125 
 127 
 134 
 138 
 140 
 142 
 
Vlll 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 1558. Mary's Marriage with the Dauphin, 
 
 ,, Accession of Queen Elizabeth of England, 
 
 1559. Mary Stuai-t Queen of France, 
 
 PAGE 
 
 146 
 152 
 155 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 MART STUART AS QUEEN OF FRANCE. 
 
 1559. The Reformation in France, 
 
 „ Power of the Family of Guise, 
 
 „ The Party of the Huguenots, 
 
 „ Elizabeth helps the French Huguenots, 
 
 „ Mission of Sir Nicolas Throckmorton, 
 
 „ Insurrection under La Renaudie, . 
 
 1560. Rising at Amboise, 
 
 „ Elizabeth helps the Scottish Calvinists, 
 
 „ The Earl of Arran secretly returns to Scotland, 
 
 „ Arran encouraged by Elizabeth, 
 
 ,, The Reformation breaks out in Scotland, . 
 
 „ The Queen Dowager deposed, 
 
 „ Mission of Sandilands to Mary, 
 
 „ Death of Francis II., 
 
 156 
 
 161 
 
 162 
 
 163 
 
 166 
 
 170 
 
 171 
 
 175 
 
 177 
 
 181 
 
 184 
 
 186 
 
 188 
 
 192 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 QUEEN Mary's widowhood in France. 
 
 1560, Feeling in England on Death of King Francis II., 
 ,, Fejling in Scotland on Death of Khig Fi^ancis IT., 
 
 198 
 199 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 IX 
 
 1560. Mary at Orleans, .... 
 
 „ Speculations as to her Marriage, . 
 
 „ Elizabeth's Condolences, . 
 
 „ The Treaty of Edinburgh, 
 
 „ Throckmorton's Estimate of Mary's Character, 
 
 „ Queen Elizabeth and Queen Mary, 
 
 ,, Mary prepares for her Journey to Scotland, 
 
 „ Her Conference with Throckmorton, 
 
 .„ Discussions in Scotland as to her Return, 
 
 ,, Lord James Stuart's Advice to Queen Mary, 
 
 „ Leslie's Advice to Queen Mary, 
 
 „ Mary's Arrival in Paris, . 
 
 I'AGE 
 
 201 
 
 •202 
 204 
 206 
 212 
 213 
 217 
 221 
 223 
 225 
 232 
 236 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 QUEEN MARY S DEPARTURE FROM FRANCE. 
 
 1561. Queen Mary and Sir N. Throckmorton, . 
 
 ,, Asks Queen Elizabeth to grant her a Safe- Conduct, 
 
 ,, The Request refused, 
 
 ,, Renewed Conference with Throckmorton, 
 
 „ Queen Maiy's Journey to the Coast, 
 
 „ Embarks at Calais, 
 
 ,, Dangers from English Cruisers, . 
 
 „ Arrival at Leith, .... 
 
 239 
 
 244 
 246 
 24S 
 254 
 
 255 
 
 258 
 263 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 HEN Marv Stuart disembarked at 
 Leith, in the month of AuQ-ust 
 1561, she was between eighteen and 
 nineteen vears of ao-e. It is o-enerallv 
 taken for granted that, at this period of 
 life, the education of a woman is completed, 
 that her tastes and habits are formed, and 
 that the principles by which her future 
 conduct will be regulated are fixed and 
 established for orood or evil. In one word : 
 the life of the woman is but the continua- 
 
xii PREFACE. 
 
 tion of the life of the oirl : and as the Q;irl 
 has been educated, so the woman will con- 
 duct herself. 
 
 Accepting, then, this canon of interpre- 
 tation, w^e may ask, By whom w^as Mary 
 Stuart's character formed ? Who super- 
 intended her education ? In what company 
 did she spend the years of her childhood 
 and youth ? With the object of answer- 
 ing these questions, I have endeavoured to 
 collect some details respecting the several 
 individuals, among wdiom the young Queen 
 spent the years of her childhood, and from 
 whose precepts and example she must be 
 presumed to have derived a large share 
 of her moral, political and religious train- 
 ing. The result of m}^ inquiry is given 
 in the following pages. 
 
PREFACE. ■ xiii 
 
 In the formation of her character, her 
 maternal relations are eminently conspicu- 
 ous. First of all comes her noble mother, 
 Mary, Queen-Dowager of Scotland, followed 
 by Antoinette de Bourbon, her grandmother, 
 and her uncles, the Duke and Cardinal of 
 Guise. We shall find that a very incon- 
 siderable portion only of Mary Stuart's 
 youth was spent in the French Court ; 
 consequently that the evil teaching which 
 she is said to have received from Catherine 
 de Medicis rests upon no trustworthy au- 
 thority. Some details respecting the pro- 
 gress of her education in its several depart- 
 ments will be read with interest. 
 
 An observant child often learns more 
 wisdom from the experience of life than 
 from books and masters ; and in after years 
 
xiv PREFACE. 
 
 Mary Stuart was taught many a Lard lesson 
 in the school of politics. She had to deal, 
 as Queen of Scotland, with the aifairs of 
 a kingdom which, without doing it any in- 
 justice, might be characterised as one of the 
 most turbulent in the whole of Europe. It 
 was disorderly both in Church and State, 
 both within and without, both at home and 
 abroad. Political treachery was a recognised 
 department in the Government. From the 
 beginning of her career to its close, Mary 
 was always surrounded by traitors. I do 
 not wonder that in the end their treachery 
 was successful ; my wonder is, that it did not 
 succeed at a much earlier period. More pain- 
 ful, perhaps, than this domestic treachery 
 is it to find, that Mary had not one true 
 friend who could or would speak the word 
 
PREFACE. XV 
 
 of reproof or warning. Her half-brother, 
 Moray, was the tool of Elizabeth, her hus- 
 band, Darnley, was a selfish traitor, and 
 her Secretary of State, Lethington, took on 
 himself the duties of that office that he 
 might fathom her secrets and betray her 
 policy to her enemies. 
 
 It would be interesting, as well as in- 
 structive, to inquire into Mary's theory of 
 religious toleration, respecting which she 
 evidently had her own opinions. Of her 
 personal convictions there is no room for any 
 doubt. " I will be plain with you," said 
 she to Throckmorton, the English ambassa- 
 dor. " The religion which I profess I take 
 to be the most acceptable to God ; and, 
 indeed, neither do I know, nor desire to 
 know, any other. Constancy becometh all 
 
xvi PKEFACE. 
 
 folks well, and none better than princes, and 
 such as have rule over realms, and specially 
 in matters of religion. I have been brought 
 up in this religion ; and who might credit 
 me in anything if I should show myself 
 light in this case ? " 
 
 I cannot conclude these introductory re- 
 marks without observing that, durins: the 
 whole of Mary's residence in France, not one 
 single censorious voice (as far as I know) 
 was ever raised to the disparagement of 
 her conduct as a maiden, a wife, or a 
 widow. 
 
THE 
 
 YOUTH OF QUEEN MARY STUART. 
 
 
 ••>,».•»• • 
 
 CHAPTER- I. 
 
 > » 
 
 «^'l. 
 
 QUEEN MARYS PARENTS — JAMES THE FIFTH 
 AND MARY OF GUISE. 
 
 |N order that the reader may be in a 
 position the more easily to grasp the 
 connexion, and to follow the sequence 
 of the events wliicli ai-e about to be narrated 
 in the following pages, it is necessary that he 
 should be made acquainted with the state of 
 affairs in Scotland at the period when Mary 
 Stuart ascended the throne of that kingch^m. 
 
 From the death of James the Fourth upon 
 the battlelield of Flodden (a.D. 1518), until the 
 
 A 
 
2 THE YOUTH OF QUEEN MARY. 
 
 "anion of the two realms in the person of 
 James the Sixth (a.d. 1603), the national inde- 
 pendence of Scotland was continually threatened 
 from the southern bank of the Tweed. It was 
 threatened sometimes by open invasion, some- 
 times by plausible fraud, sometimes by domestic 
 treachery ; sometimes by all of them combined. 
 But under one or other of these forms, the 
 atteip-pt to bring . Scotland into subjection to 
 England was an idea which was never entirely 
 abandc-ned.' And revei did success seem to be 
 nearer than when Scotland lay at the feet of 
 England in the year 1513, crushed and bleed- 
 ing, powerless and kingless. To those who did 
 not know the temperament of the two nation- 
 alities, it appeared that the question of supremacy 
 
 ^ As early as 1523, Henry the Eighth proposed that the Chan- 
 cellor of Scotland, James Beton, and certain other lords "should 
 be tempted by promises, gifts, and good policy " to betray the 
 national independence. Calig. B. vi. 349. In 1542 the same king 
 published a volume bearing the title, " A declaration containing 
 the just causes and considerations of this present war with the 
 Scots, wherein also appeareth the true and right title that the 
 King's most royal majesty hath to the sovereignty of Scotland." 
 In this volume he ventures to assert that " The kings of Scotts 
 bave always acknowledged the kings of England superior lords 
 of the realm of Scotland, and have done homage and fealty for 
 the same," 
 
CHAPTER THE FIRST. S 
 
 was now settled — settled once and for ever. 
 Scotland could offer no further resistance. It 
 seemed as if Henry had but to march to Edin- 
 burgh, and be crowned at Holyrood as he had 
 been crowned at Westminster. 
 
 Had Henry made the attempt, he would pro- 
 bably have failed ; but it is not easy to say 
 why such an opportunity should have been dis- 
 regarded by him. Perhaps some feeling of 
 generosity lingered in his heart, and prevented 
 him from completing the overthrow of his sister 
 and her fatherless baby. Perhaps his intended 
 conquest of France and his rivalry with Charles 
 the Fifth for the time engrossed the whole of 
 his energies. Perhaps, knowing the tempei*a- 
 ment of the people with whom he would have 
 to deal, prudence counselled caution, and was 
 heard. But be the causes what they may have 
 been, it is certain that durino; the earlier vears 
 of his reign Henry seems to have been com- 
 paratively indifterent to the affairs of Scotland ; 
 and it was not until he had thrown off liis 
 allegiance to Rome, that he devoted himself in 
 earnest to the subjugation of that kingdom. It 
 
4 THE YOUTH OF QUEEN MARY. 
 
 is important to trace some of the steps by which 
 he attempted to effect his design, and the 
 measures by which these attempts were defeated. 
 We may take the year 1535 as a convenient 
 period at which to begin our survey. At that 
 time Henry was at war with France, and he had 
 ceased to acknowledge the authority of Rome.^ 
 These two facts reveal to us the motives by 
 which he was actuated, and the ends which he 
 hoped to accomplish in his future dealings with 
 his nephew. Scotland must be separated from 
 Papal France and unified with Protestant Eng- 
 land. All who know anything of Henry's 
 character know with what unscrupulous and 
 undeviating resolution he pushed on to the end 
 at which he wished to arrive. Of this spirit he 
 was daily giving proofs which astonished and 
 horrified all Europe. The divorce of Catherine 
 of Aragon, the suppression of the monasteries, 
 the execution of Anne Boleyn, Fisher, and More, 
 
 ^ When James took into his own hands the exercise of the royal 
 authority in 1524, one of his earliest acts was to address a letter 
 to the Pope, in which he professed his aflFectionate allegiance to 
 the Holy See ; and as circumstances required, he renewed this 
 j>rofession from time to time. See State Papers of Henry the 
 Eighth, vol. iv. 166, 266, 402 ; vol. v. 14, 49, 168, 202. 
 
CHAPTER THE FIRST. 5 
 
 and his assumption of the supremacy in matters 
 ecclesiastical — these gave the world to under- 
 stand the temper and principles of the Defender 
 of the Faith. His intentions in regard to the 
 future policy which he wished to see adopted in 
 the Church and State of Scotland did not lonof 
 remain a secret ; for upon these points he inti- 
 mated his pleasure with a blunt clearness which 
 admitted of no mistake. 
 
 James the Fifth, King of Scotland, was in a 
 difficulty. He would not submit, and he could 
 not resist. The physical superiority of England 
 was an admitted fact. The northern kino-dom 
 was poor, and its revenues at the best were 
 scanty. Its military resources were inadequate 
 to its defence. It had not recovered from the 
 overtlirow of Flodden. Its soldiers were brave 
 individuall}', but collectively they were deficient 
 in military training, and impatient of discipline. 
 The whole range of its border, from Carlisle to 
 Berwick, lay open to any rapid raid from its 
 southern neio-hbour. The long: minoritv of 
 James had split the nobility into parties ; and 
 the feuds thus engendered were kept alive by 
 
6 THE YOUTH OF QUEEN MARY. 
 
 the 2:old of Eno-land. There was discord in the 
 council chamber, and treason in the camp. One 
 only remedy remained, and that was to seek 
 the aid o£ France.. It was natural that Scot- 
 land should do so, and it was no less natural 
 that France should grant it. From the time 
 of Edward the First the two nations had made 
 common cause against the aggressions of Eng- 
 land, and the bond had been cemented by 
 frequent intermarriages. 
 
 Acting then in conformity with the traditions 
 of his family, as well as his own personal feel- 
 inpfs, James souo^ht the hand of the Princess 
 Madeline, the daughter of Francis the First. ^ 
 Sailing from Leith on the 1st of September 
 1536, he landed at Dieppe on the 10th of that 
 month, and was cordially welcomed, not only 
 by the royal family, but by the entire nation. 
 All were captivated by the handsome counte- 
 nance, the gallant bearing, and the genial con- 
 versation of the young suitor. The preliminaries 
 were soon arranged. The Papal Ambassador at 
 
 ^ A marriage with France had been contemplated as early as 
 July 153S. See State Papers, iv. 657. 
 
CHAPTER THE FIRST. 7 
 
 that time resident in the court informed Hi.s 
 Holiness tliat the union was in every respect 
 one which he could sanction, and from which 
 happy results might naturally be expected. The 
 betrothal took place (November 20) in tlie 
 presence of the ambassadors of Venice, Portugal, 
 and England, the last of whom addressed some 
 uncourteous remarks to the Nuncio. Probably 
 he felt that James had strengthened his position 
 by the alliance, for France had forty thousand 
 good soldiers in readiness — and these, joined 
 by Scotland, could bring Henry to his senses, 
 " by one way or other." The Nuncio handed to 
 James the brief addressed to him by Pope Paul, 
 and as he did so repeated aloud the whole of the 
 message of His Holiness. In reply the King- 
 spoke well and to the point, professing himself 
 a devoted servant of the See of Rome, as all his 
 ancestors had been. His chaplain conversed at 
 some length with the Scottish archbishop, and 
 gave an amusing account of the steady resolution 
 with which his royal master had rejected Henry's 
 attempts to win him over to Anglicanism.^ 
 
 ^ State Papers, v. 84, 85. In 1534 the ambassadors of the two 
 
S THE YOUTH OF QUEEN MAKY. 
 
 Although the marriage was solemnised upon 
 the New Year's Dav of 1537, it was not until 
 the middle of the followincr May that the bride 
 
 O t. 
 
 and bridegroom arrived at Leith. Their recep- 
 tion was most enthusiastic, for in this alliance 
 James' subjects saw a barrier against the dreaded 
 aggressions of England. But their joy was of 
 brief duration. The health of the young queen, 
 frao-ile from her childhood, could not endure 
 the keen air of her adopted home in the north : 
 and the brief Scottish summer which had wit- 
 nessed the national rejoicings for her marriage, 
 saw her laid with her husband's forefathers in 
 the roval cemetery of Holvrood.^ 
 
 The widowed monarch consulted at once his 
 own inclinations, and the wishes of his people, 
 
 nations could not agree as to the authority of the Pope. See 
 Otterburn'sj letter to Cromwell, 12 Dec, State Papers. 36, 37, 
 and more especially the curious reports by Barlow upon the 
 state of religion in Scotland in Cal. B. iii. 194. 
 
 ^ Diurnal of Occurrents, 21, 22, Teulet, i. lOS, In the In- 
 ventory of the royal jewels of Scotland certain memorials of 
 Queen Madeline are noticed ; such as two little cups of gold, 
 made for her " quhane scho was ane bairne," a basin of agate, 
 an ewer of jasper, and a flagon of rock crystal, as also the sacred 
 vessels and vestments for the altar, and the dresses which she 
 brought with her to the country where she was so soon to find a 
 grave. See Robertson's Inventories, Preface, 12. 
 
 \ 
 
CHAPTER THE FIRST. 9 
 
 by seeking a renewed alliance with France. He 
 took to his second wife, Mary of Guise, the widow 
 of the Duke of Lono-ueville,^ and bv her he became 
 the father of Mary Stuart, Queen of Scotland. 
 
 In neither of these marriages had James 
 souo'ht the advice or consulted the feelino-s of 
 his imperious uncle ; and not only was Henry 
 offended, but he did not care to conceal his 
 dissatisfaction. Politically each of these al- 
 liances had been unpalatable, but the second 
 was personally offensive. He himself had been 
 a suitor for the hand of the widowed Duchess ; 
 but she had laughingly rejected the advances of 
 her corpulent admirer, that she might give her 
 hand to a younger and gayer suitor. To a man of 
 Henry's temperament such a slight as this was an 
 offence not easily forgotten, and never forgiven.^ 
 
 ^ She arrived at Crail, 10th June 1538. 
 
 - From a letter addressed to M. de ChS,tillon by Francis I. 
 {23 Jan. 1538), we learn that at this time Henry, with his accus- 
 tomed want of delicacy, pressed his marriage with the Duchess 
 of Longueville, and that his suit was rejected, upon the plea that 
 she had already been promised to the King of Scotland.}^ See 
 again under 3 May. At the same time Francis declared that he 
 esteemed James as his own son. MS. Bodley, Carte 82. The 
 terms of the marriage had been arranged by the future Cardinal 
 Beton, who describes the duchess as "stark and well complex- 
 
10 THE YOUTH OF QUEEN MARY. 
 
 This second alliance was all the more dis- 
 agreeable to Henry from another reason ; in Mary 
 of Guise the Papacy and France had an advo- 
 cate ever ready not only to plead their claims, 
 but also to caution her husband against the 
 wicked designs which his uncle was planning 
 against both. It was no secret that for long'^ 
 Henry had sought to strengthen his own influ- 
 ence in European politics by endeavouring to 
 sever Scotland from France, and to unite her 
 with England in a grand confederation against 
 Rome. He had assumed, without sufficient evi- 
 dence, that James would not dare to hold aloof 
 when he should be formally invited to join an 
 alliance the guiding spirit of which was to be the 
 King of England. Both these designs, however, 
 were impeded by his nephew's marriage with 
 a daughter of the hated house of Guise. Yet 
 Henry would not admit that he had been de- 
 feated. With that steadiness of purpose which 
 forms such a marked element in his character, he 
 made another attempt to convert James to the 
 
 ioned, and one who may endure travail." B. M. Addit. MS. 
 19, 401, fol. 39. 
 
CHAPTER THE FHIST. 11 
 
 new creed which he had excogitated for himself 
 and his people. The arguments which his envoy 
 Sadler employed for the purpose were specious, 
 and they had seduced many a wiser man than 
 James. They appealed to his interest and his 
 ambition. Henry reminded his young nephew 
 that to cast off the usurped authority of the 
 Pope would make him independent of all ex- 
 ternal authority ; and to seize the abbey lands 
 of his kingdom would make him rich. But 
 James saw things from another point of view, 
 and clung to the traditions of his family and his 
 people with a quiet tenacity of purpose equal 
 to that of his uncle. Unmoved by the argu- 
 ments with which Henry had provided Sadler, he 
 " still continued in his persuasion of the Bishop 
 of Home's holiness, and that he is the Vicar of 
 Christ upon earth." ^ He refused to believe in 
 the divine mission of Luther, and could not be 
 brought to admit that he was wiser than Pope 
 Leo and the £>Teat St Auo-ustine. 
 
 o o 
 
 ^ Sadler, i. 52. The English ambassador admitted at the same 
 time that though James was " of force driven to use the bishops 
 and his clergy as his only ministers," yet they were men of wit 
 and policy, p. 47 
 
12 THE YOUTH OF QUEEN MARY. 
 
 Sadler now tried to move James through his 
 avarice. The Scottish monasteries were rich 
 and defenceless, and they might be plundered 
 with impunity. Why should not the nephew 
 do what the uncle had done ? Sadler expressed 
 the wish and desire of Henry, that, seeing the 
 untruth and beastly living of the monks, James 
 would apply himself by good and politic means 
 to increase his revenues by taking of some of 
 those religious houses as might best be spared. 
 This argument meeting with little encourage- 
 ment, Sadler appealed to the ambition of the 
 young sovereign. He was reminded that his 
 uncle was " well stricken in years," that his son 
 Edward was, at best, a puny stripling, and that 
 Mary and Elizabeth having been declared illegi- 
 timate, were incapacitated from succeeding to 
 the throne of England. The power to nominate 
 his successor was absolutely vested in the hands 
 of Henry. He professed to have a kindly feel- 
 ing towards James, who, he hoped, would not be 
 so perverse as to ruin such brilliant prospects as 
 were now opening before him. Let him but 
 show a little consideration to the wishes of his 
 
CHAPTER THE FIRST. 13 
 
 good uncle, and ere long he might rule the island 
 from Cornwall to Caithness. 
 
 Sadler seems to have pleaded his master's 
 cause with considerable skill, but James saw 
 matters from a different point of view. His 
 answer was full of sound sense and good feel- 
 ing. He could not persuade himself, he said, 
 that it was agreeable either to God's Word, or 
 right reason, that he should pull down the houses 
 of the religious in which Divine service had been 
 maintained for many hundreds of years, because 
 certain persons therein resident had forgotten 
 the obligations of their sacred profession. Nor 
 was there any reason why he should plunder 
 them for his own private advantage, because, 
 said he, with an honest pride, there was not an 
 abbey in all Scotland which, if he needed assist- 
 ance, would fail to supply him liberally and 
 willingly. " God forbid," added he, " tliat if a 
 few be not ofood, for them all the rest should be 
 destroyed." Upon another occasion, he assured 
 Henry that he had never found but faithful and 
 true obedience in his kirkmen at all times ; nor 
 did they seek or attempt either jurisdiction or 
 
14 THE YOUTH OF QUEEN MARY. 
 
 privileges further than they have used since the 
 first institution of the Kirk of Scotland, which, 
 (he said) he might not upon his conscience alter 
 nor change, out of the respect which he had to 
 the honour and faith of God and Holy Church.^ 
 
 In reference to the succession to the crown of 
 England, James was equally unmoved by Sadler's 
 tempting representations. He hoped that his 
 good uncle would long sit upon the throne of 
 England, and that after him his immediate issue 
 would enjoy its undisturbed inheritance. As 
 for himself, he was happy to live among his own 
 people, and he had no desire to add to the extent 
 of his dominions.^ 
 
 It must have been with feelings of contemp- 
 tuous wonder that Sadler heard the avowal of 
 such sentiments as these. They appealed to 
 principles which the English statesman had for- 
 gotten. And, to make the matter worse, these 
 opinions were still held by many of the most 
 influential of tlie Scottish people. The national 
 
 ^ James to Henry, 19th May 1541. State Papers, 188. 
 ^ The whole of Sadler's report, addressed to Henry (Feb. 1540) 
 is instrrctive reading. It is printed in his State Papers, i. 17-45. 
 
CHAPTER THE FIRST. 15 
 
 party was steadily gaining in power and num- 
 bers, while the influence of England was sensibly 
 on the decline. It was a lamentable fact, but 
 Sadler was compelled to admit it, " that among 
 the nobles and gentlemen who were well given 
 to the verity of Christ's Word and doctrine, he 
 saw none who had any agility of wit, gravity, 
 learning or experience to set forward the same ; 
 or to take in hand the direction of things." ^ 
 The ereat arg-ument which had been so conclu- 
 sive in England — the invitation to take part in a 
 scramble for the possessions of the Church — had 
 not yet been heard across the Border, and the 
 reforming nobles were slow to listen to any 
 other. So when he looked around him, Sadler 
 was compelled to admit to himself that his em- 
 bassy was a failure. James was stupidly blind 
 to his own interests, and further discussion with 
 such a stubborn bigot was useless. 
 
 In this struofi^cle of rival nationalities and con- 
 flictino- theories, we cannot refrain from contrast- 
 ing the principles which severally guided the 
 uncle and the nephew. Henry is imperious and 
 
 1 Sadler, i. 47. 
 
16 THE YOUTH OF QUEEN MARY. 
 
 arrogant, he makes no allowance for the feelings 
 or convictions of another, and with him a differ- 
 ence of opinion becomes a personal insult. On 
 the other hand, the quiet good sense and cour- 
 teous moderation of James, both in regard to his 
 principles and the language in which he clothed 
 them, impress us in his favour ; and we have no 
 difficulty in accepting the decision of Sir Walter 
 Scott, who regards James the Fifth as a sove- 
 reign who was worthy of having lived m a more 
 enlightened age, and to have died a happier 
 death.^ 
 
 Thwarted for the time, but not defeated, 
 Henry bethought himself of another mode of 
 accomplishing the project which he had so much 
 at heart. Towards the middle of the year 1542, he 
 submitted to his Privy Council " a matter of mar- 
 vellous great importance," on which he requested 
 their opinion and advice. They describe it " as 
 an overture touching the King of Scotts," adding 
 that they would not have dared to discuss it, 
 unless they had been expressly commanded to do 
 so by their sovereign. The project on which 
 
 1 Memoir of Sir llalpli Sadler, 9. 
 
CHAPTER THE FIllST. 17 
 
 Henry asked their opinion was certainly a start- 
 ling one. He proposed to seize the Scottish 
 Kino- within his own dominions, and to remove 
 him forcibly as a prisoner to Carlisle ; but he 
 would like to know beforehand what his Privy 
 Council thought of his device. 
 
 The Lords of the Council met the scheme with 
 a decided negative, and they state with remark- 
 able clearness their reasons for so doing. The 
 two realms, said they, were at peace, and Com- 
 missioners had recently been appointed for the 
 amicable settlement of any questions which yet 
 might happen to remain in dispute. And the 
 plan in itself seemed to them to be impracti- 
 cable. The forcible seizure of the King at Dum- 
 fries implied the presence there of a strong body 
 of Eno'lish cavalry, which could not cross the 
 Border without attractino- attention. The 
 country between Dumfries and Carlisle was so 
 thickly inhabited, that " it would be hard to 
 bring him thence, specially alive." Again, if the 
 project should fail, and some of the invaders be 
 taken prisoners, and enforced to confess their 
 purpose, Henry should consider the slander which 
 
 B 
 
18 THE YOUTH OF QUEEN MARY. 
 
 would grow of it. On the other side, if they 
 should take the Scottish King, then one of two 
 things might happen. Either he would be 
 rescued, and the English made prisoners ; or else 
 in the tumult, he would be in danger of his life 
 among the two parties. " And what peril and 
 slander there is in either of these parts, 3^our 
 wisdom " (say the Privy Councillors to Henry) 
 " can best consider." ^ Henry was thus compelled 
 to abandon a project which he himself must have 
 considered practicable as well as lawful, other- 
 wise he would not have submitted it to the 
 consideration of his Privy Council. The capti- 
 vity of a Scottish sovereign in an English prison 
 was no novel idea in the history of the two 
 kingdoms. 
 
 Disappointed in the result of Sadler's mission, 
 •disappointed in his project of carrying off by 
 force his nephew to imprisonment, perhaps to 
 death, Henry had one unfailing consolation. He 
 had unlimited confidence in his own powers of 
 persuasion, in his learning, his logic, and his 
 eloquence. He would now take the conversion 
 
 ^ State Papers of Henry the Eighth, vol. v. 204. 
 
CHAPTER THE FIRST. iD 
 
 of James into his own hands, and he was sure 
 to succeed. Full of tliis pleasing delusion, he 
 suggested a personal conference, at which might 
 be discussed the questions at issue between him- 
 self and this wilful Scotsman. James evaded 
 the personal discussion of the question with his 
 uncle, warned perhaps by having heard of the 
 intended capture of Dumfries, or perhaps un- 
 willing, under any circumstances, to trust him- 
 self into the hands of this unscrupulous tyrant. 
 But Henry was not to be thwarted. Professing 
 to believe that James had accepted his invitation 
 to meet him at York in the September of the 
 year 1541, he went thither, and remained for 
 some days in that citv awaitino- the arrival of 
 his nephew. James, however, did not appear, 
 hindered, as he himself urged, " by great impedi- 
 ments and contrarities." ^ Henrv was furious, 
 
 ^ State Papers, v, 199. Knox indeed asserts (Hist. i. 7t), 77) 
 that James had made " a full promise " to meet his uncle 
 at York, which he afterwards " falsified." But this statement, 
 written by Knox in 1566, is of little value as to events which 
 occurred in 1541, and respecting which he had no special means 
 of information. It appears, on the contrary, that Henry him- 
 .self had violated the original agreement to meet at York. For, 
 on 6th October 1541, the Bishop of Orkney, and otheiv, in- 
 formed James that they had met Henry's Commissioners, whi> 
 
20 THE YOUTH OF QUEEN MARY. 
 
 and resolved to punish his rebellious kinsman 
 for his insubordination. He returned to London^ 
 and having completed his arrangements, he pro- 
 claimed war against Scotland. 
 
 James had attempted to avert the calamity 
 which he saw to be impending ; but Henry was 
 deaf to his explanations and apologies. The 
 declaration of war fell upon Scotland like a 
 thunderbolt. James was not absolutely unpre- 
 pared for the conflict ; but he was conscious 
 that he would engage in it at a hazardous dis- 
 advantage. The clergy, secular and regular^ 
 had already helped him with a generous hand, 
 for in Henry they saw the enemy of the com- 
 mon faith. James was well provided with arms 
 and munitions of war ; he was strong in the 
 affections of a loyal people, and he could depend 
 upon the assistance of France. All these advan- 
 tages, however, were of comparatively little 
 value unless directed by the military skill of 
 
 wished that the interview between the kings should be held at 
 London, Windsor, or Hampton Court. Henry could not come 
 to York "without hurt of his person." They conclude thus: 
 " and if we agree not at the returning of the bearer, lippen, sir, 
 no other but all extremity and war incontinent." York, B. M. 
 Addit.MS., 19, 401, fol. 51. 
 
CHAPTER THE FIRST. 21 
 
 an experienced leader ; and here he was help- 
 less. Scotland did not possess a general whom 
 she could entrust with the comnianrl of her 
 army. Many of the nobles had been seduce I 
 from tlieir allegiance by English gold ; while of 
 the others, some stood aloof from pride, some 
 from jealousy, some from timidity. Hence 
 sprung the doubt, the irresolution, the w^avering 
 counsels, which were tlie ruin of the country, 
 and the death of its sovereign. Unable to de- 
 pend upon the feudal aristocracy, he entrusted 
 the command of his troops to Oliver Sinclair, a 
 man of respectable origin, but generally dis- 
 liked, and confessedly unlit for the responsible 
 position in which he now found himself. Had 
 James placed himself at the head of his army 
 (and wdiy he did not is an unsolved problem) 
 the result would probably have been very ditfer- 
 ent. Certainly the armv would have stood by 
 him to the death, for with the Southerns before 
 them, domestic feuds were foro^otten. But they 
 scorned to be led by a man whom they con- 
 sidered a low-born adventurer, and the result 
 was a disgraceful overthi'ow. When the mo- 
 
22 THE YOUTH OF QUEEN MARY. 
 
 ment of action came, the Scottish line hesitated^ 
 wavered, and tlien broke up into a disorderly 
 rabble. Every trace of military discijDline van- 
 ished ; and all that remained of the Northern 
 army was a confused mass of troopers, foot 
 soldiers, and camp followers. Wildly strug- 
 gling to escape from an ideal danger, they threw 
 away their weapons, and tied for safety into the 
 neighbouring morasses, in which many of them 
 perished. Others were cut down without strik- 
 ing a blow, while no small number was seized 
 by the moss-troopers of the neighbourhood, and 
 sold at a cheap rate to tlie English victors. 
 Thus a well-appointed army, which is said to 
 have mustered nearly ten thousand fighting- 
 men, fled in such scared confusion before a few 
 hundred of the enemy, that nearly sixty of the 
 chief nobles of Scotland were taken prisoners,, 
 while scarce a dozen men-at-arms fell on either 
 side. In a military point of view, Solway Moss 
 was a disgraceful defeat ; in a political sense,, 
 it was a crushing calamity. It renewed the 
 sad memories connected with the loss of " the 
 Flowers of the Forest." Each of these defeats 
 
CHAPTER THE FIRST. 23 
 
 cost Scotland a king ; but having said thus much 
 the comparison ends, for Solway has notliing 
 of the dignity which ci'owns the grand dis- 
 aster of Flodden.^ 
 
 When the intelligence of this ignominious 
 overthrow reached James, who lingered in the 
 vicinity of the battlefield, he hurried back to 
 Edinburgh in a state of mind which would 
 seem to have bordered upon distraction. The 
 blow paralysed his intellect. Having given 
 orders for some feeble preparations to be made 
 for the defence of the capital, were it assailed 
 by the victorious Southerns, he abandoned it 
 to its fate and retired — should we say re- 
 treated ? — into Fife, making no attempt to join 
 the Queen, who at that time was at Linlithgow, 
 and in daily expectation of her confinement. 
 Had they met, it might have been well for 
 him, for he could not but have profited by the 
 sympathy, advice, and encouragement of that 
 
 ^ Knox admits (i. 81), that of the council which met at Holy- 
 rood in November, " some were heretics, some favourers of 
 England, some friends of the Douglases, and so could there be 
 none faithful to the King." Like his daughter Mary, James- 
 was suri'ounded by traitors, and had not a single trustworthy 
 adviser. 
 
24 THE YOUTH OF QUEEN MARY. 
 
 noble woman. But he remained apart from 
 her, and in his desolation was unable to throw 
 off the impression that some great calamity 
 was hanging over his head, from which escape 
 was impossible. He became a prey to the most 
 gloomy anticipations of evil ; and believing 
 that he was haunted by visions, his rest at 
 nights forsook him. He was in terror of being 
 assassinated by his nobles, following herein the 
 destiny of his ancestor, King James the First. 
 His condition is thus described by Bishop 
 Leslie : ^ — " Being sore troubled both in spirit 
 and in body, none were permitted to have 
 access to him but only his secret and familiar 
 servants. Perceiving the end of his life to 
 approach, he said that he foresaw great trouble 
 to come upon his realm of Scotland, for the 
 pursuit which the King of England was able to 
 make thereupon to have the same subject unto 
 him, either by marriage or by other ways." 
 
 An attack of fever, brought on by this con- 
 tinued grief and anxiety, now supervened, and 
 the King's illness became alarming. While he 
 
 1 Leslie, pp. 166, 167. 
 
CHAPTER THE FIRST. 25 
 
 lay thus in his palace at Falkland, sick at 
 heart, broken down by disease, and (as was 
 reported) " vexed with some unkindly medi- 
 cine," he was told that the Queen had given 
 birth to a daughter.^ For a short time the 
 intelligence roused him from his stupor, but it 
 gave him no consolation ; on the contrary, he 
 drew from the sex of the child an omen of 
 coming evil. " And so the King '' (continues 
 Leslie) " living all this time in the favour of 
 fortune, in high honour, riches, and glory, and 
 for noble acts and prudent politics worthy to 
 be registered in the book of fortune, gave up and 
 rendered his spirit into the hands of the Al- 
 mighty God, where I doubt not he has sure 
 portion of the joy that is prepared for those 
 who shall sit at the right hand of our Saviour."^ 
 
 ^ The exact date of Queen Mary's birth is settled beyond a 
 doubt by herself in an autograph letter printed by LabanofF 
 (vi. 68). She was born on the 8th of Decenilier, being the 
 festival of the Conception of our Blessed Lady. The same date 
 is given by Randolph in one of his letters. (K. 0. Foreign, 
 13th Dec. 1563) and in the contempoi-ary Diurnal, p. 25. 
 
 - Leslie, p. 167. Arran, in a letter addressed tt> I'ope Paul III., 
 gives 13th December as the date of James's decease. See Epp. 
 Reg. Scott, 14th May 1543. The leaden coffin seen by Sibbald 
 bore the date of the 14th. See Ruddiman's note to Buchanan, 
 xiv. 61. The Diurnal also places it on the 14th December. 
 
26 THE YOUTH OF QUEEN MARY. 
 
 Several of the prominent features of Marjr 
 Stuart's character were inherited from her 
 father, whom in many respects she seems closely 
 to have resembled. To him she was indebted 
 for the predominance of the emotional element 
 over the reflective. From him she inherited 
 " that quick and prompt wit, that high courage 
 in great perils, doubtful aflairs, and matters of 
 weighty importance," for the exercise of which 
 her after life afforded her so many sad oppor- 
 tunities. Like him " she was sober, moderate, 
 honest, affable, and courteous." Like her father 
 she was " ever sharp and quick with them who 
 were spotted with pride and arrogance ; " yet 
 to this just severity there was "joined and 
 annexed in her a certain merciful pity, which 
 she did oftentimes show to such as had of- 
 fended." From the family of the Stuarts Mary 
 derived that love of poetry, music, and the 
 fine arts for which nearly all its members have 
 been conspicuous.^ Like them she too had a 
 ready sympathy with the poor and the suffer- 
 ing, to the tale of whose grief she always 
 
 1 See Forduii, xvi. 28, 29 (pp. 504, 505). Leslie, p. 167. 
 
CHAPTER THE FIRST. 27 
 
 yielded a patient hearing and a generous lielp. ^ 
 In some respects the cahiier judgment and more 
 even temperament of Mary of Guise were re- 
 produced in her daughter ; yet in Mary Stuart 
 the national peculiarities of the land of her 
 birth were never obliterated ; and to the last 
 hour of her life she showed herself to be the 
 representative of all that was " tender and true " 
 in the royal race of Scotland. 
 
 The character of Mary of Guise has been 
 treated in the spirit of generous kindness by 
 men of all parties, with one remarkable excep- 
 tion. Under the influence of this afl^ectionate 
 and dutiful wife, James broke oft' from those 
 discreditable connexions which he had formed 
 in his youth, and of which the bitter fruits 
 remained in the illegitimate children whom he 
 bequeathed as an inheritance of evil to his 
 kinpclom. She so far overcome in others the 
 
 ^ Buchanan, XIV. Ixii. Even this great nialigner of Mary 
 Stuart is compelled to admit, tliat the poor always found it easy 
 to have an interview with her (p. 476). The same writer re- 
 marks of her father (p. 434), that he was easy of approach, that 
 he was gentle in his answers, lenient and fair in the administra- 
 tion of justice, and moderate in inflicting punishment, so that all 
 could perceive that he did it unwillingly. 
 
28 THE YOUTH OF QUEEN MARY. 
 
 prejudices which told against her as a woman 
 and a foreigner, as to retain for nearly the twenty 
 years of her widowhood a reputation unsullied 
 by a single breath of scandal. She governed 
 her daughter's kingdom with wisdom, and a 
 p^entle firmness which o^ained for her a ereneral 
 admiration. She possessed the rare tact of 
 knowing how far it was safe to press an un- 
 popular measure, and when it became an act of 
 duty to pause. She knew when it was wise 
 to yield, and how to gain by yielding. Her 
 religious convictions were strong, and she did 
 her best to maintain them, for the religion 
 which she professed was the only form of faith 
 recognised by the law of Scotland. With un- 
 waverinof constancy and courao^e she maintained 
 her daughter's authority against the crushing 
 superiority of England ; and even when com- 
 pelled to submit to an invading army, one of 
 her bitterest opponents was compelled to admit 
 that she had the " heart of a man of war." 
 She is a noble woman to the last, when the 
 excitement of the strife is over, and pride and 
 passion become silent. Feeling the near ap- 
 
CHAPTER THE FIRST. 21> 
 
 proach of death, she asked to speak with tlie 
 leaders of the party from whom she had ex- 
 perienced so much unwise and unjust persecu- 
 tion. When they gathered round her bed in 
 the castle of Edinbui'gh, the dying woman, 
 with touching simplicity, asked them to forgive 
 her if she had erred in the performance of what 
 she considered to have been her duty. She 
 reminded them of the youth and inexperience 
 of her daughter, whom she recommended to 
 their protection. As the daylight faded away 
 the memory of the sunny sky of the land of 
 her childhood rose before her, and she entreated 
 the future councillors of Mary Stuart to main- 
 tain the ancient leao-ue of Scotland with France. 
 And thus, at peace with all men, she who, ac- 
 cording to the judgment of an eminent modern 
 historian, was one of the best and wisest women 
 of the age, died amidst the tears of her ene- 
 mies. Rising superior to the prejudices of his 
 pi'ofession, the Queen Dowager is described by 
 another popular writer as " a woman of much 
 discernment, and no less address, of great in- 
 trepidity and equal prudence ; gentle and 
 
30 THE YOUTH OF QUEEN MARY. 
 
 humane without weakness, zealous for her 
 religion without bigotry, and a lover of justice 
 without rigour." To attempt to improve this 
 eulogium would weaken its effect ; so I leave 
 the portrait as it was sketched by the master 
 hand of a former Principal of the University of 
 Edinburgh. 
 
 Here, however, we must retrace our steps. 
 At the period with which we are now more im- 
 mediately concerned, Mary of Guise is the 
 young widow at Linlithgow, mourning over her 
 dead husband, and speculating on the gloomy 
 prospects of the fatherless child whose life had 
 beofun in the midst of so much sorrow. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 FROM THE BIRTH OF MARY STUART TO THE 
 MURDER OF CARDINAL BETON. 
 
 HE condition of Scotland at the death 
 of James the Fifth was alarming. 
 It was at war with England., to the 
 resources and animosity of which powerful 
 kingdom it was no stranger. The crown had 
 passed unexpectedly to a female and an infant, 
 and no provision had been made by the deceased 
 monarch for the government of the kingdom 
 during a long minority. Religious differences 
 had sprung up among the people, wliich had 
 weakened that unity wliich until now luid 
 constituted their strengtli. Whose was the 
 hand which should steer the crazy bark of 
 
32 THE YOUTH OF QUEEN MAKY. 
 
 the State and the Church through these un- 
 known dangers ? 
 
 Two rival candidates stood forward to claim 
 the government of the realm and the custody 
 of the young Queen ; and each represented a 
 powerful body in the Constitution. But their 
 principles were so divergent as almost to be 
 hostile, and as they were nearly equally 
 balanced, a civil war in Scotland seemed all 
 but inevitable. 
 
 Fortunately this calamity was averted by 
 the prompt action of one of the rival parties, 
 James, Earl of Arran, claimed to be at once 
 tutor to the person of Mary Stuart and Gover- 
 nor of the realm during her minority. His 
 constitutional right was generally acknowledged,, 
 and he proceeded without delay or difficulty to 
 exercise the duties of his double office.^ 
 
 Arran was ill qualified to cope with the many 
 difficulties of his new position, the dangers of 
 which he failed to recognise. His character 
 did not inspire confidence. He was timid and 
 
 * James was buried on the 8th of January 1543, and Arran 
 was proclaimed Protector upon the 10th. Diurnal. 
 
CHAPTER THE SECOND. 33 
 
 irresolute ; he was easily influenced, and gener- 
 ally was led by the last speaker. He wanted 
 self-will and self-confidence, and (as a result 
 which might be anticipated) his personal cour- 
 age was questionable. He had no fixed prin- 
 ciples to guide him in politics ; no experience as 
 a soldier, and no firm convictions in religion.^ 
 Yet his appointment was undisputed for various 
 reasons. He stood well with Henrv, whose for- 
 bearance was of vital importance ; he had joined^ 
 or might be induced to join, the party of the 
 Reformation ; and, more than all else, he claimed 
 nothing: bevond what had been secured to him 
 by the law of the land. 
 
 The Earl of Arran, however, represented at 
 best onh^ a section of the people, and his appoint- 
 ment did not long remain unchallenged. It was 
 
 ^ As early as May 1543 we find Arrau in conference with Henry 
 the Eighth for a marriage between the Princess Elizabeth and 
 James, Lord Hamilton, Arran's son. See State Papers, Herry 
 the Eighth, vol. v. 284, 285. In the month of July following, a. 
 great council was held at St Andrews by the Cartlinal, the Earls 
 of Lennox, Argyle, Huntly, and Bothwell, Lord Home, and 
 many others, who decided to oppose the Governor because he 
 took no heed to them, but to new opinions of heresy. The}' were 
 able to muster ten thousand men. See State Papers of Henry 
 the Eighth, vol. v. 322, from Diurnal. 
 
 C 
 
34 THE YOUTH OF QUEEN MARY. 
 
 contested by James Beton, Cardinal Archbishop 
 of St Andrews, who, though one of the clergy, 
 was immeasurably Arran's superior in political 
 experience, in knowledge of the world, and in 
 firmness of charcter. This stirring churchman 
 had gained no small political experience, having 
 for some time past been a favoured minister 
 wdth the deceased monarch ; and he had much 
 to recommend him in public opinion as the 
 leader of a party. He represented with tact 
 and eloquence the feelings of the vast majority 
 of the people, especially upon those two burn- 
 ing questions which at this period agitated the 
 soul of every native of Scotland. He warmly 
 advocated those time-honoured principles, opposi- 
 tion to Eno'land, and alles^iance to Rome. As 
 a necessary consequence, he supported the tradi- 
 tional union with France, in the maintenance 
 of which he saw the true secret of Scottish 
 independence. In this feeling Beton carried 
 with him the whole body of the clergy, a con- 
 siderable proportion of the nobility, and by 
 far tlie greater number of the people. The 
 struggle between these two parties continued 
 
CHAPTER THE SECOND. 35 
 
 until the death of the Cardinal, and tlie ditferent 
 stages through which it passed forms the sul)ject 
 of the present chapter. 
 
 It was not to be expected that Henry should 
 look with indifference upon the progress of a 
 conflict, in the result of which liis interests were 
 so deeply involved. He saw at a glance that 
 tlie success of Beton would be fatal to his own 
 schemes, — schemes which, under one form or 
 another, lie had been elaboratino- from the 
 time when the father of the baby queen of 
 Scotland was himself a baby. But seen in the 
 light of recent events his plan stood before 
 him, clear, distinct, and simple. To separate 
 Scotland from France and to unite her with 
 England as one realm ; to crush out the Catholic 
 faith, and to introduce Anglicanism ; to gain 
 possession of Queen Mary, and to make her 
 the wife of his son Prince Edward, — these 
 were some of the visions which floated tln-ough 
 the busy brain of Henry. All of them were 
 practicable, and some might have been accom- 
 plished without difficulty ; but as usual with 
 Henrv, he blundered from want of tact and 
 
36 THE YOUTH OF QUEEN MARY. 
 
 temper, prudence and honesty, and his project 
 ended in a series of miserable failures. 
 
 As soon as the result of the battle of Solway 
 Moss was known, the more influential prisoners 
 there captured were hurried off to London. The 
 value of the prize, recognised from the first, 
 rose still higher in the estimation of the Privy 
 Council when they were made aware of the 
 death of James. It afforded a golden oppor- 
 tunity for the first step in an inroad upon 
 Scottish independence, and an attempt was 
 made to impress the prisoners into the service 
 of Enp'land. After having^ been suff'ered to 
 taste for a few days of the discomforts of a 
 prison life, they were invited to partake of 
 the royal hospitality. After a pleasant enter- 
 tainment, Henry proceeded to business by un- 
 folding to them his ideas as to the future 
 government of their country. He pointed out 
 how desirable for both of the realms would be a 
 union between their young queen and his own 
 son Prince Edward, and how easy it would be 
 to carry out this design at the present juncture. 
 He invited them to join with him in this 
 
CHAPTER THE SECOND. 37 
 
 auspicious work ; and he promised that if they 
 were conformable to his will, they would find 
 him neither ungrateful nor ungenerous. The 
 prisoners were not men of high principles; 
 they were in Henry's power; and he was one 
 of those persons whom it is not safe to oppose. 
 Having accepted the bribe, they soon were set 
 at liberty, and they returned homewards pre- 
 pared to do the work for which they had sold 
 themselves. 
 
 But the tidings of their treason had preceded 
 them, and when they reached Scotland they 
 were received with the contempt which they 
 deserved. On their arrival in Edinburgh, tliese 
 " English lords," as they were contemptuously 
 styled by their countrymen, associated tliem- 
 selves with Arran's party. Thus reinforced, the 
 Kegent began to show some tokens of energy, 
 and for a time all seemed as if it were sfoino- well 
 with him. The marriao-e of the roval children 
 became a probability, and might have been a 
 certainty but for the arrogance of the King of 
 England. He instructed Sir Ralph Sadler, liis 
 iimbassador in Scotland, to demand that tlie 
 
38 THE YOUTH OF QUEEN MARY. 
 
 castles of Dumbarton, Edinburgh, St Andrews^ 
 Stirling, Dunbar, and Tantallon should be given 
 up to him ; he demanded that all leagues with 
 France should be cancelled ; that the child 
 should be delivered up to him (" before she be 
 ten years old at the furthest"), in order that 
 she might be educated in England by such 
 persons as he should appoint ; and that the 
 Regent and Council should pledge themselves 
 to enter into no treaty without the King's 
 consent first had to the same. As mio-ht have 
 been expected, a violent opposition now arose. 
 Matters became so perplexed that Sadler knew 
 not what to think of them. In his opinion (and 
 he knew the spirit of the country better than 
 most men), the people would rather " suffer 
 extremity than come to the obedience and 
 subjection of England." He was assured by 
 Sir George Douglas, one of Henry's most de- 
 voted adherents, that " if there be any motion 
 to bring the government of this realm to the 
 King of England, there is not so little a boy 
 but he will liurl stones against it, and the 
 wives will handle their distaffs, and the com- 
 
CHAPTER THE SECOND. 39 
 
 mons universally will rather die than submit 
 to it." ' 
 
 We cannot wonder at the vehemence with 
 which Henry was opposed when we consider 
 the nature of the constitutional changes which 
 he wished to introduce. He aimed at nothing 
 less than the entire subjugation of the realm. 
 His feudal supremacy — that against which the 
 Scottish nation had fought from the days of 
 Wallace and Bruce — was now to be accepted. 
 Arran was to remain in office by Henry's mere 
 sufferance, and in the humble capacity of his 
 deputy. The Scottish castles and other strong- 
 holds were henceforth to be garrisoned by English 
 troops and commanded by English officers. 
 Scotland was to be divided into two provinces > 
 of which the English over-lord reserved to him- 
 self the better half (that moiety, namely, which 
 reached from the Tweed to the Forth), while 
 the Highlands were to be given up to Ai-ran, 
 Beton was to be seized and hurried off to Berwick 
 as a prisoner, and Sadler was to devise some 
 plan for entrapping the Queen Dowager and 
 
 ^ State Papers, v. 271 ; Sadler, i. 70. 
 
40 THE YOUTH OF QUEEN MARY. 
 
 Mary Stuart, and handing them over to Henry 
 Tudor. What Scotsman would have submitted 
 to such terms as these ? 
 
 Sadler was a devoted servant of Henry, and 
 he was scandalised at this unexpected and un- 
 reasonable show of patriotism. He revenged 
 himself and his master by expressing his opinion 
 of the Scots as a nation. In his opinion, they 
 neither esteem the honour of their country, nor 
 their own honesty, nor yet their duty to God, 
 nor their love and charity to their Christian 
 brethren ; and he ends his letter by praying to 
 be delivered '' out and from the malice and 
 danger of this rude and beastly nation, that 
 hath no manner of resjDect nor consideration to 
 honour nor honesty." ^ 
 
 Henry's frequent disappointments and failures 
 had taught him the wisdom of patience, so he 
 waited and " bided his time." Yet he was not 
 idle. Of the Scottish lords some were won over 
 to his party by increased bribes and promises ; 
 the opposition of others was silenced by the 
 dread of future consequences ; and there were 
 
 ^ State Papers, v. 335. 
 
CHAPTER THE SECOND. 41 
 
 many who refused to make open cause with 
 either party. They would wait ; Protestant c)r 
 Catholic, France or England, what cared they ? 
 In the meantime Sadler carried on his negotia- 
 tions with so much skill and so little scruple 
 that early in June 1543 the opposition of the 
 Parliament seemed as if it had been overcome. 
 The marriaofe was ao^reed to, and the tenns 
 were signed by the representatives of the two 
 nations. 
 
 It would be a curious subject for speculation 
 were it possible to ascertain how the future life 
 of Mary Stuart would have passed had these 
 plans of Henry been successful. Had she been 
 educated in such a court as his and by such a 
 guardian as he would have been, what would 
 have been her creed and her character ? One 
 thing, however, appears to be certain. We can- 
 not lament that Henry had no voice in directing 
 the education of his grandniece. History proves 
 that the paramour of Anne Boleyn was not a 
 fitting person to form the mind or the morality 
 of a respectable woman. Of his inditlerence to 
 the decencies of married life, an illustration 
 
42 THE YOUTH OF QUEEN MARY. 
 
 occurs which is too closely connected with our 
 subject, as well as too instructive, to be passed 
 over in silence. The circumstances are the fol- 
 lowing : — 
 
 When Henry thought himself sure of obtain- 
 ing the custody of the future Queen of Scotland, 
 he busied himself in selecting from the ladies of 
 his court such as (in his opinion) were best quali- 
 fied to superintend her education. Sir Ralph 
 Sadler, his ambassador in Scotland, was told that 
 Lady Sadler might possibly be one of the favoured 
 number. Doubtless the offer was meant as a 
 high compliment, but Sir Ralph had the good 
 sense and the decency to decline it. If we ask 
 why, the answer shall be given by a well-known 
 member of the College of Arms. " Sir Ralph 
 Sadler," writes Lodge, " married a laundress in 
 Cromwell's family, whose first husband, Matthew 
 Barre, a tradesman of London, was then living ; 
 and by her Sadler had three sons and five 
 daughters. Thomas Clifford of Tixall had in 
 his possession (in 1806) an Act of Parliament 
 for making legitimate the children of Sir Ralph 
 Sadlei- by Ellen, his wife, who is therein stated 
 
CHAPTER THE SECOND. 43 
 
 to have been the wife of Matthew Barre. It is 
 dated December 9, 1554." ^ 
 
 Mary Stuart underwent many humiliations ; 
 but let us be thankful that she escaped the 
 dea"radation of learnino- her morality from an 
 adulteress, and her manners from a washer- 
 woman. 
 
 During Sadler's mission to Edinburgh occurred 
 an incident which brings Mary Stuart before us 
 for the first time in her pure individuality. 
 Little has hitherto been said about the Ijaby 
 queen of Scotland, for she has been merged in 
 the national interests. But we are now invited 
 to see her as she appears in the nursery at Lin- 
 lithgow ; and here we may throw together the 
 scanty notices of her infancy which can be 
 gleaned from the documents of the period. 
 
 Mary Stuart was born (as has already been 
 mentioned) on 8tli December 1542, in the royal 
 palace of Linlithgow, and there the child and 
 her mother remained durino- several months. 
 The Parliament which met soon after the death 
 of King James took care to provide for the 
 
 1 Lodge's Illustrations, i. 140, ed. 1S38. 
 
44 THE YOUTH OF QUEEN MARY. 
 
 safety of the royal infant, in whom were cen- 
 tred the fortunes of the kingdom. She was 
 placed, as was natural, under the immediate 
 charge of Mary of Guise ; and the Lords Erskine, 
 Ruthven, Livingstone, and Lindsay, along with 
 Sir John Campbell of Calder, were nominated as 
 the guardians of her person. The Lords of 
 Parliament decided that her usual place of 
 residence should be either in the palace of Lin- 
 lithgow or the castle of Stirling, at the discre- 
 tion of the Queen, guided by the advice of the 
 Lord Governor and the Council. The date of 
 the child's baptism is not recorded, but we may 
 feel sure that it followed very shortly after her 
 birth. Her nurse was named Janet Sinclair, 
 the wife of John Kemp, whose faithful ser- 
 vices she gratefully remembered and liberally 
 rewarded. 
 
 Such was the condition of the royal house- 
 hold when, towards the end of March 1543, 
 Sadler paid a visit to the Queen Dowager, who 
 v^as then resident at Linlithgow. He had heard 
 that the child was of a sickly constitution, and 
 it was important tliat he should ascertain the 
 
CHA1»TER THE SECOND. 45 
 
 truth or the falsehood of a report which so 
 nearly touched the succession to tlie throne. 
 He remembered that two of her brothers had 
 died in their infancy, and that she, Mary Stuart 
 herself, had been seriously ill a few months 
 previously. It concerned him to know the 
 real state of the case, and this could not be 
 done without a personal inspection. 
 
 We cannot do better than give his account 
 of the visit in his own words. After such 
 questions as more immediately concerned the 
 Queen Mother had been discussed, the conver- 
 sation naturally turned upon the health of the 
 child. Judging by what he had heard from 
 Arran, Sadler expected to have found a puny, 
 undersized, and underfed baby, puling and puk- 
 ing. Quoth the mother, " The Governor said 
 that she was not likely to live ; but you shall 
 see (quoth she), whether he saith true or not ; 
 and therewith slie caused me to go with her 
 to the cliamber where the child was, and shewed 
 her unto me, and also caused the nurse to 
 unwrap her out of her clothes, that I miglit 
 see her naked. I assure vour majestv it is as 
 
46 THE YOUTH OF QUEEN MARY. 
 
 goodly a child as I have seen o£ her age, 
 and as like to live, with the grace of God." ^ 
 It would contribute neither to the instruc- 
 tion nor the gratification of my readers were 
 I to attempt to chronicle all the changes 
 which took place in these miserable negotia- 
 tions between Henry and the government of 
 Scotland respecting the future disposal of the 
 child. It may be said that the way in which 
 the business was conducted resembled a game 
 of chess, in which each move was watched 
 with the most intense anxiety, not only by 
 the two principals, but by all who were in 
 any way interested in the final result. Ap- 
 jmrently, England should have been the winner, 
 and might have been so, but for the rash- 
 ness with which her sovereign cast away his 
 best chances of success. His arrogance and 
 insolence completed the overthrow of all the 
 advantages which he had gained, and the tri- 
 umph of the national cause seemed all but 
 complete. Cardinal Beton once more assumed 
 the government of the realm. Arran deserted 
 
 1 Sadler, i. 87, 88. 
 
CHAPTER THE SECOND. 47 
 
 Henry's party, and consented to surrender the 
 young Queen into the hands of the repre- 
 sentatives of Scottish independence. The move- 
 ment against Henry embraced men of all 
 classes, and of every shade of politics. France 
 showed her sympathy by the timely promise 
 of a supply of stores and money. And that 
 nothinof mifi^ht be wantino- to confirm the 
 national feeling, the young Queen was crowned 
 at Stirling, and a council was formed which 
 charged itself with the future administration 
 of the kinofdom. It was obvious to all the 
 world that for the present at least, the King 
 of England had been defeated and humbled 
 by the superior tact and genius of a rival, 
 and this rival was a churchman and a Car- 
 dinal.^ 
 
 The national movement was yet further 
 strengthened by the intelligence that its success 
 was an object of solicitude to the Holy Father 
 at Rome. Before the tidings of the calamity 
 at Solway Moss had reached the Vatican, 
 
 1 Sadler, i. 313. Lesley, 179. Epp. Reg. Scot. ii. 316, 318, 328. 
 Diurnal, 28. 
 
48 THE YOUTH OF QUEEN MARY. 
 
 Pope Paul the Third encouraged James to resist 
 the aggressions of Henry, lamented his in- 
 ability to supply him with money for the 
 purpose, and authorised him to employ a portion 
 of the tithes of the kingdom in its defence.^ 
 In the month of March, the Patriarch of 
 Aquilea, Marco Grimani, sent by His Holiness, 
 had arrived in Paris on his way to Scotland^ 
 charged with the duty of collecting and ad- 
 ministering these tithes for the general good 
 of the nation. Several of the Patriarch's letters 
 are still extant, and from them we obtain much 
 trustworthy information as to the condition of 
 the country at this period of its history. 
 
 The earliest despatch was written by Grimani 
 at Paris on the 5th of June, and in it the 
 Nuncio speaks with great anxiety as to the 
 condition of Scotland. He derived his infor- 
 mation from the report of an intelligent agent 
 whom Beton had sent to ask for assistance 
 from the King of France, and who had break- 
 fasted with the writer in the morning of the 
 day on which the letter was dated. Every- 
 
 ^ Raynaldi Annal., a.d. 1544, sec. 54. 
 
CHAPTER THE SECOND. 4D 
 
 where in Scotland was tlie fear of impending- 
 evil. The Queen was all but a prisoner, and 
 the Cardinal had shut himself up in liis castle 
 of St Andrews. So divided were the nobles 
 among themselves, that a civil war appeared 
 all but inevitable. Although the party, at the 
 head of which were the Queen and the Earl of 
 Lennox, was the more powerful, yet the influ- 
 ence of the Governor was still considerable, 
 supported as it was by England, and a large 
 number of bad priests. The King of France 
 had been requested by the Queen Dowager 
 and Lennox to supply them with ships, artillery, 
 stores, and money. This agent thought that the 
 presence of the Nuncio in Scotland would be pro- 
 ductive of no good result to the cause, and might 
 be attended by danger to himself. 
 
 Henry was already aware of his arrival in 
 Paris, and had threatened that if the Patri- 
 arch should happen to fall into his hands, it 
 would not be aoTceable to the Patriarch. But 
 this would not deter him from doing his duty. ^ 
 
 1 Secret Archives of the Vatican, Gall. Nunc, sub Paulo IV., 
 vol. iv. p. 196. 
 
 D 
 
50 THE YOUTH OF QUEEN MARY. 
 
 Marco Grimani adhered to this resolution. 
 After excommunicating the persons who had 
 seized and imprisoned the Cardinal of St 
 Andrews,^ he made arrangements for his voyage 
 into Scotland. He determined to embark in 
 one of the four vessels which were to convey 
 the munitions and artillery provided by the 
 King of France, and these were to be escorted 
 by eight ships of war, which would protect 
 them during the voyage. So entirely was St 
 George's Channel in the power of the English 
 fleet, that this French expedition found it 
 necessary to skirt round the west coast of Ire- 
 land. He left Paris about the middle of July, 
 went by land to Orleans, sailed down the Loire 
 to Nantes, and embarked at Brest. Of the 
 details of his voyage thence into Scotland we 
 know nothing,^ several of his letters having 
 perished. When next we meet him he is at 
 Stirling, whence he writes to Dandino the 
 
 ' Id. Letter dated 20th June, p. 211. 
 
 - We know however that, as usual, Henry's cruisers were on 
 the alert to intercept the voyager, who probably owed his safety 
 to the route which was chosen. See a letter from Paget to Here- 
 ford in Haynes, p. 6. 
 
CHAPTER THE SECOND. .31 
 
 Papal Nuncio at the Court of France. The 
 information which he has to give is important, 
 but far from satisfactory. The realm is in 
 such confusion, so divided, so full of heresy 
 that, but for the interposition of God, it will 
 soon become as bad as England. The Queen 
 and the Cardinal have spent all their money 
 in the common cause ; and the clergy are un- 
 able to assist, for the fruits of their benefices 
 have been seized by the Lutherans. A mes- 
 senger is about to be sent to the King of 
 France and the Pope to beg for aid, and the 
 Cardinal does his best to support and enforce 
 this entreaty for assistance. 
 
 On December the 3d a Parliament was held 
 in Edinburgh, Avhich was attended by the 
 Patriarch, who seems to have expressed his 
 opinions with considerable freedom. But he 
 had by this time became aware — for he had 
 now resided in Scotland for more than two 
 months — that a gloomy future was before that 
 kingdom, and he did not see how he could help 
 to avert it. Money and men were needed, 
 neither of wliich was forthcoming, and treason 
 
52 THE YOUTH OF QUEEN MARY. 
 
 and treachery were at work. He had every 
 confidence in the courage and discretion of the 
 Cardinal and the Queen Dowager, and as they 
 did not require his assistance, he determined 
 to return into France. With Grimani's corre- 
 spondence before us, we cannot but wonder that 
 Scotland was able to hold out as long as she 
 did against the powers which were united 
 against her.^ 
 
 This continued opposition to his wishes sur- 
 prised and irritated the English monarch, whose 
 growing infirmities of mind and body had 
 made him unfit to exercise the most ordinary 
 degree of self-restraint. He now solaced himself 
 by declaring war against James ; and it was 
 with difficulty that he could be dissuaded from 
 sending his army into Scotland during the 
 depth of the winter, where probably it would 
 have perished from want of shelter and pro- 
 visions. But he did not give his wrath time to 
 cool. On Saturday, the 3d of May 1544, the 
 inhabitants of Edinburgh saw, to their dismay, 
 
 ^ Copies of the letters of Grimani are among the Vatican Tran- 
 scx'ipts now deposited in the Public Record Office in London. 
 
CHAPTER THE SECOND. 53 
 
 a fleet of two liiindred sail cast anchor in the 
 offino' and the banner of St Georo-e was un- 
 folded in their sight. They were joined b}' an 
 army which is estimated at about sixteen thou- 
 sand troops. Tlieir arrival was the signal for 
 Are and sword, and all the unnamed horroi'S of 
 a, war of extermination. Panic - stricken and 
 unprepared for defence, the citizens suffered the 
 English soldiers and munitions to land without 
 opposition. After a few meaningless skirmishes, 
 the work of veno-eance beg^an in earnest. The 
 instructions under which the Earl of Hertford 
 acted are yet in existence, and they show the 
 spirit in Avhich the expedition was planned and 
 executed. Henry ordered the leader of the 
 army " to put all to fire and sword, to burn 
 Edinburo'h town, and to raze and deface it when 
 you have sacked it and gotten what you can 
 ■out of it, as that it may remain for ever a per- 
 petual memory of the vengeance of God lighted 
 upon it for tlieir falsehood and disloyalty. 
 Do what you can " (continues this brutal 
 paper) " out of liand, and without long tarry- 
 ing, to beat down and overthrow the Castle, 
 
54 THE YOUTH OF QUEEN MARY. 
 
 sack Holyrood House, and as many towns and 
 villages about Edinburgh as ye conveniently 
 can. Sack Leith, and burn and subvert it and 
 all the rest, putting man, woman and child to- 
 fire and sword, without exception, when any 
 resistance shall be made against you. And this 
 done, pass over to the Fifeland, and extend like 
 extremities and destructions to all towns and 
 villages whereunto ye may reach conveniently ; 
 not forgetting amongst all the rest 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, speci- 
 ally such as either in friendship or blood be- 
 allied to the Cardinal." ^ 
 
 The English army executed these insti'uctions- 
 with a thoroughness of purpose which must 
 
 ^ From the MS. Catalogue of the Hamilton Papers, printed hy 
 Tytler, iii. 365. See also Robertson's Hist. i. 107, ed. 1797. 
 The English Privy Council thought these instructions "wise, 
 manly, and discreet," and Henry gave "his most hearty thanks " 
 for the burning of Edinburgh and the villages adjoining." 
 Haynes, p. 33. The ferocity which pervades this document can- 
 not be ascribed therefore to a sudden attack of anger or the- 
 result of some unexpected disappointment. 
 
CHAPTER THE SECOND. 55 
 
 have satisfied even Henry's thirst for blood. 
 When the work was done the army returned 
 southwards. One division marched tln-ouu'li 
 the fertile Merse,^ spreading desolation around 
 it, and thereby earning the especial gratitude 
 of the Privy Council. They burnt and de- 
 stroyed Oraigmillar Castle, Newbattle Abbey, 
 Dalkeith, Leith, with the ships therein, Had- 
 dington, Preston, Dunbar, " and all the coast 
 side." Such of the inhabitants as remained were 
 unable to offer any opposition, and seem to have 
 been put to death almost without resistance. 
 
 But Henry's vengeance was not yet glutted. 
 A succession of inroads, extendino- from the 
 beginning of July until the end of November, 
 were carried out by the Lord Wharton, Sir 
 Bryan Layton, and Sir Ralph Evers, which 
 reduced the richlv cultivated district, extendi nof 
 from the Tweed to the Forth, to the condition 
 of a wilderness, dotted here and there with 
 
 ^ Buchanan (i. 510) desci-ibes this district as being one of the 
 richest in Scotland. Lennox, the father of Darnley, was engaged 
 in this expedition, in which, by Henry's orders, he employed two 
 thousand Irish, " to be chosen out of the most wild and savage 
 sort of them there." St. Pap. iii. r>34. 
 
56 THE YOUTH OF QUEEN MARY. 
 
 blackened ruins. They burnt the houses and 
 the corn ; they drove off the sheep, horses, and 
 cattle from the farmsteads, and they slaughtered 
 the defenceless inhabitants. Bishop Leslie tells 
 us that in these raids Sir Ralph Evers was 
 especially notorious for his cruelty, " by spoiling 
 and burning in diverse places, not sparing to 
 burn wives and bairns in their houses without 
 mercy, as was done at a place in the Merse 
 called Broomhouse, and in sundry other places 
 at the same time." ^ 
 
 I am reluctantly compelled to proceed with 
 the catalogue of the sufferings of Scotland. In 
 the autumn of the following year (1545), while 
 the few husbandmen who survived were about 
 to gather in their scanty harvest, the southern 
 troopers were once more let loose upon them in 
 order that the desolation of the land might be 
 complete. The men died by the sword ; the 
 women and children from lack of bread. There 
 is preserved among the Cecil papers at Hatfield 
 
 ^ For the details of these expeditions see Haynes, p. 43 ; Eobert- 
 son, i. 109 ; Leslie, p. 187. The Addit. MS., 10, 110, f. 220, 
 affords othei' illustrations. 
 
CHAPTER THE SECOND. 57 
 
 House an official list of " The names of the fort- 
 resses, abbeys, frerehouses, market-towns, vil- 
 lages, towers and places burnt, razed and cast 
 down by the connnand of the Earl of Hertford 
 in the invasion into the realm of Scotland, 
 between the 8th of September and the 23d of 
 the same, 1545." With calm satisfaction it re- 
 cords the destruction of seven monasteries, six- 
 teen castles, five market towns, two hundred 
 and forty - three villages, thirteen mills, and 
 three hospitals.^ 
 
 Having before us the account of these savage 
 raids (derived, be it remembered, from official 
 documents), it is not difficult to understand the 
 bitterness of the hatred which must ha\'e ani- 
 mated the Scottish borderer towards the southern 
 invader. We can picture to ourselves the stern 
 satisfaction with which " the souters of Selkirk " 
 counted the eis^ht hundred red crosses which 
 marked the nationality of the men who lay 
 stark and stiff on the battlefield of Ancrum 
 Moor. Among them were the corpses of Sir 
 
 ^ Haynes, p. 52. Among these are the Abbeys of Kelso, Jed- 
 burgh, Dryburgh and Melrose. 
 
58 THE YOUTH OF QUEEN MARY. 
 
 Brian Layton and Sir Ralph Evers, who perhaps 
 were too proud to accept the quarter which they 
 had so often refused to others. At Ancrum Moor 
 the English prisoners amounted to two thousand 
 men, — an inadequate and tardy satisfaction for 
 the defeat of Sol way Moss, and yet a noble 
 contrast to the spirit which had animated the 
 invasion under Hertford.^ 
 
 Besides his public feud with Scotland as a 
 nation, Henry had a private feud with Beton 
 as an individual. He hated the Cardinal for 
 many reasons. He hated him because of his 
 nationality, because of his religion, because he 
 was a priest, because the Pope had conferred 
 a high dignity upon him ; because he could 
 neither outwit him in diplomacy, nor tempt 
 him with gold, nor intimidate him with threats. 
 Yet there was one thing which he could do, — 
 
 ^ It has been already remarked that Evers and Layton had 
 " burnt a house called Broomhouse, with man, woman, and 
 beast ; all that was therein was burnt to ashes." Herris's 
 Memoirs, p. 11. When the invaders were defeated at Ancrum 
 Moor, the Scottish women took part in the pursuit, and called 
 out to their husbands and brothers to "remember Broomhouse.'* 
 Tytler, iii. 39. 
 
CHAPTER THE SECOND. 59 
 
 he could cause him to be murdered. He had 
 murdered Cardinal Fisher, why not Cardinal 
 Beton ? Certainly it was an extreme measure, 
 but in Henry's theology the end justified the 
 means. Whether the idea was suoforested to 
 him by another, or whether it originated with 
 himself is uncertain, and is of little importance. 
 He made the deed his own by giving it his 
 sanction — by encouraging others to execute it, 
 and by knowingly and willingly bargaining 
 about the price of blood. 
 
 This tragedy exercised a direct influence upon 
 the whole history of Mary Stuart's future life. 
 It is necessary therefore that we should examine 
 it with some minuteness. 
 
 The plot for the murder of Beton under- 
 went several modifications. In its earliest form 
 it appears under the modest disguise of securing 
 his person, in order to prevent him from doing- 
 further mischief. He was to be sent into 
 England, where Henry would take care of 
 him — how, it is not difficult to conjecture. 
 The project in this disguise was discussed for 
 some months between Sadler and the Privy 
 
60 THE YOUTH OF QUEEN MARY. 
 
 Council, but it made no progress and was 
 abandoned.^ 
 
 Abandoned, but only to make way for 
 measures more definite and energetic. A can- 
 didate for the honour of murdering Beton 
 presented himself in the person of the Laird 
 of Brunston. 
 
 Alexander Crighton, Laird of Brunston, ap- 
 pears first as a trusted agent of the Cardinal, 
 whose service, however, he left in order to 
 find more congenial employment under the 
 governor Arran. Thence, by an easy transi- 
 tion, he entered the household of the English 
 Ambassador, to whom he soon made himself 
 exceedingly useful. Traitor and spy, he fur- 
 nished Sadler with intelligence derived from 
 some of the retinue of his late master, whose 
 good opinion he contrived to retain in the 
 meantime. The information thus supplied by 
 the laird was found to be so trustworthy and 
 so important, that before long he sent his 
 despatches direct to Henry himself ; the receipt 
 
 ^ Sadler, i. 104, 106. The history of the whole of these plots 
 has been traced with great care and acuteness by Tytler, iii. 365. 
 
CHAPTER THE SECOND. 61 
 
 of whose " gentle letters " in reply to his own, 
 Brunston acknowledged in terms of easy 
 familiarity. 
 
 During the course of this correspondence, the 
 Scottish serving man wrote a letter which, 
 after having been read by the Marquis of 
 Hertford, was intended t(^ hnd its way into 
 the hands of the Eno-Hsli kino\ It related to 
 the proposed assassination of the Cardinal. 
 The bearer of this murderous epistle was a 
 Scotchman named Wishart,^ who was charged 
 with additional information which was to be 
 communicated verbally. The subject to which 
 it related was too important to be reduced to 
 writing. Wishart made no secret of the plot 
 for the assassination, which at that time was 
 
 ^ Was this individual "the martyr Wishart?" It is affirmed 
 by Tytler and the editor of Keith's History (i. 110), and denied 
 by Laing (Works of John Knox, i. 53, 54), and several other of 
 the Presbyterian writers, upon evidence which seems anything 
 but satisfactory. Hertford's letter to Henry, dated 16th April 
 1544, is printed in the State Papers, v. 377. The answer of the 
 Privy Council is given by Haynes, p. 32, by which it appears 
 that Wishart (who is there described as having come from 
 Brounston) had an interview with Henry, and conveyed his 
 encouraging answer to the conspirators. It is dated 26th April 
 1544. 
 
62 THE YOUTH OF QUEEN MARY. 
 
 being matured. He had been sent, he said, to 
 let Henry know that the Laird of Grange (late 
 Treasurer of Scotland), the Master of Rothes 
 (eldest son of the Earl of Rothes), and John 
 Charteris, were willing to make an attempt 
 upon the Cardinal as he was passing through 
 Fife to St Andrews. They were ready either 
 to apprehend him or kill him. His Majesty 
 approved of the project, and he encouraged 
 them to go on with it. He promised that if 
 the assassins should be driven to take refuge 
 in England after the doing of the deed, they 
 should have all the protection they needed. 
 Wishart was satisfied with the King's answer. 
 From some reason to us unknown, this con- 
 spiracy came to nothing. We cannot question 
 its reality, for the intentions of Brunston and 
 the complicity of Henry rest upon evidence 
 which it is impossible to dispute. 
 
 After some little delay the plot reappears, 
 but in a more dignified form. Henry is still 
 the presiding spirit of evil, the Cardinal is 
 still the intended victim, but the character 
 of the assassin is now occupied by a Scottish 
 
CHAPTER THE SECOND. 63 
 
 nobleman. The English Privy Council, with- 
 out a word of surprise or indignation, tells 
 Hertford that " the King has lately seen certain 
 letters sent from the Earl of Cassellis ^ unto 
 Mr Sadler, the same containing an offer for 
 the killing of the Cardinal, if His Majesty 
 would have it done, and w^ould promise, when 
 done, a reward." Two questions were here 
 submitted to Henry. In the hrst place, Did 
 he wish that the Cardinal should be murdered ? 
 In the second place. What would he give for 
 the doing of the deed ? 
 
 In his reply, Henry did not put on any of 
 the silly prudery w^hich is assumed by inferior 
 spirits. He admitted that he did not mislike 
 the offer in itself. The removal of the Cardinal 
 would be a good deed. But the answer to the 
 second question required more careful delibera- 
 
 ^ The correspondence was begun by a letter from Cassellis to 
 Henry, 20th April 1545, which led to a despatch from the 
 Privy Council to Hertford, 30th May, after which the con- 
 spiracy proceeded as mentioned in the text. Cassellis had an 
 annual pension of three hundred marks from Henry (Sadler, i. 
 78). He was the pupil of Buchanan, and the convert of Cran- 
 mer (Douglas's Peerage, i. 330), and seems to have imbibed the 
 principles of these instructors. 
 
64 THE YOUTH OF QUEEN MARY. 
 
 tion. Henrv did not wish to enter into terms 
 by which he might be compromised. Let the 
 deed be done, and let the doer trust to the royal 
 generosity. Such a proposal did not suit the 
 businesslike habits of the Earl of Cassellis. He 
 was not startled by the magnitude of the crime. 
 He did not shrink from committing a murder ; 
 but he objected to commit a murder without 
 knowing beforehand what he would be paid for 
 it. As neither of these two villains would trust 
 the other, this second plot was a second failure. 
 Henry had to chew the cud of his bitter fancy a 
 little lono^er. Mordecai still sat at the king's 
 gate, and Haman the Jew could find no rest. 
 
 The nobleman retires from the stage to make 
 way once more for the Laird of Brunston. He 
 renews the offer of his services at a reduced 
 rate of payment, conscious apparently that he 
 mifrht be underbidden in the market. In dis- 
 cussing the matter with him, Sadler approaches 
 it without coyness or reserve, it is simply a 
 matter of business, and is dealt with as such. 
 *' I note " (says he) " that certain gentlemen, 
 being your friends, have offered for a small sum 
 
CHAPTER THE SECOND. 65 
 
 of money to take the Cardinal out of the way, 
 that hath been the whole impediment and let 
 of all good purposes here, provided that they 
 may be sure to have the king their good lord, 
 and that his Majesty would reward them for 
 the same. I am of your opinion, and (as you 
 write) think it to be an acceptable service to God 
 to take him out of the way." -^ Sadler encour- 
 ages the laird in this idea, which would be at 
 once pleasing to God, and acceptable to the King 
 of England. As to the question of the money> 
 he and his friends may be assured that His 
 Majesty will so liberally reward them that do 
 him honest service, as they shall have good 
 cause to be contented." It was a pretty theory, 
 but Sadler and Henry were dealing with men 
 as shrewd as themselves. Brunston wanted secu- 
 rity for his own head, and payment for the com- 
 mission of a capital crime. Henry would grant 
 neither, so the negotiation ended. Once more the 
 Cardinal seemed to have escaped ; but the blood- 
 hounds were still upon the track, and at length 
 they were successful in running down their prey. 
 
 ^ Tytler, iii. 371 ; State Papers, v. 470. 
 E 
 
66 THE YOUTH OF QUEEN MARY. 
 
 Knox and his followers tell us that the 
 energy with which Beton pursued the Reformers 
 was the immediate cause of his assassination.^ 
 Probably they are correct. The Cardinal was a 
 man of activity and decision, and he did with a 
 will whatever he considered it his duty to do. 
 He considered it his duty to curb that spirit 
 of lawlessness which had now become so con- 
 spicuous among the members of the Congrega- 
 tion. Beton, as Archbishop of St Andrews, was 
 bound to protect the faith which was the law 
 of the land as well as the law of the Church. 
 When he took on himself that office, he took 
 not only its honours and its privileges, but also 
 its duties and its obligations ; and if some of 
 these duties happen to be unpopular with cer- 
 tain sections of the communitv, the blame ouffht 
 not to be visited upon him who enforces them. 
 I do not here touch upon the religious question. 
 
 ^ Knox writes thus about Wishart : " After the death of this 
 blessed martyr of God began the people, in plain speaking, to 
 damn and detest the cruelty that was used. Yea, men of great 
 birth, estimation and honour at open tables avowed that the 
 blood of the said master George should be revenged, or else they 
 should cost life for life," i. 171, 172. 
 
CHAPTER THE SECOND. 07 
 
 Tt matters not to our present argument whether 
 Beton was ri^-ht or Wishart was ri^-ht. All that 
 JBeton had to do in the matter was to decide 
 whether a certain person accused of heresy was 
 guilty of heresy, or not guilty. The evidence 
 as recorded by Knox himself places the (|ues- 
 tion beyond a doubt, and the judge gave his 
 verdict accordino- to the evidence. He could not 
 do less, and he did no more. Heresy was a crime 
 punishable by the State, and the civil magis- 
 trate pronounced the sentence of death.i Beton 
 did not invent the punishment, it had been in 
 active operation for centuries, and had never 
 fallen into disuse. It may have been cruel 
 it may have been unwise, — this is not the ques- 
 tion. The Reformers knew the law, and know- 
 ing it, they chose to break it. They knew the 
 punishment, and they hoped by intimidation to 
 escape it. They would have had Beton perjure 
 his conscience in order that Wishart might do 
 an unlawful act ; and because he would not con- 
 nive at this overt sin, they murdered him. 
 
 ^ "Wishart," says Herries, "was convicted of heresy by the 
 clergy, and by the civil justice was burned at a stake," p. 15. 
 
68 THE YOUTH OF QUEEN MARY. 
 
 But we must hasten on to the completion of 
 this atrocious crime. Norman Leslie, along 
 with certain gentlemen of the county of Fife, 
 formed themselves into an association which 
 boded no good to the Cardinal. It was a delib- 
 erate compact to commit a cold-blooded murder, 
 openly avowed and widely known long before 
 it was executed.^ Early on the morning of the 
 29th of May 1546, the conspirators made 
 themselves masters of the castle of St Andrews,. 
 within which Beton at that time resided. Hav- 
 ing killed the only man who ventured to oppose 
 them, and driven (with suspicious ease) the 
 other inmates from the castle,^ they knocked 
 at the door of the Cardinal's bed-chamber, and 
 demanded admission. After a feeble attempt at 
 defence, and an ineffectual parley, Beton had 
 the weakness to trust himself to the mercy or 
 
 ^ Wishart's execution took place on 1st March 1546, imme- 
 diately after which Leslie and his companions vowed to revenge 
 his death. Beton was murdered on 29th May. Three months 
 therefore elapsed between the threat and its execution. See 
 Knox, i. 172-174. 
 
 ^ The number of the inmates was 150 men, the number of the 
 assailants was sixteen. Knox, p. 175. 
 
CHAPTER THE SECOND. G9 
 
 the good faith 1 of his assailants. They were 
 admitted, and, unmoved by the old man's en- 
 treaties, they murdered their unresisting victim. 
 I refrain,' for the sake of modesty, to record the 
 indecent insult which they offered to the body 
 while life could scarcely have been extinct. 
 When the townspeople of St Andrews heard 
 that the castle was in the hands of a band of 
 armed insurgents, they hastened to the rescue 
 of their Archbishop. But they came too late ; 
 for wliile they stood outside demanding admit- 
 tance at the closed gate of the fortress, the 
 corpse of the murdered prelate, whom the assas- 
 sins had in the meantime clothed in his priestly 
 vestments, was brought to the east blockhouse, 
 and there huno- over the wall in the sio;ht of the 
 horrified multitude.^ 
 
 ^ Herries's Memoirs (p. 16) say, that " Norman, who was the 
 Cardinal's very near kinsman, gave promise of safety, but, 
 nevertheless of this oath, they murdered him instantly." 
 
 - Ciacouius (Vitai Pontiff, ii. ]5'29, Rom. 1730) tells us, that 
 in 1629 he was informed by F. Elphinston, Rector of the Scot 
 tish College in Rome, that the blood of the murdered man was 
 still visible on the stones where the corpse had been exhibited ; 
 and that he, the rector, had seen it. Ciaconius also mentions 
 the fact of the corpse having been dressed in pontificahbus, an 
 .also does D'Attichy, Flores Hist. Card. iii. 253, ed. 1660, 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 FROM THE MURDER OF CARDINAL BETON UNTIL 
 THE ARRIVAL OF QUEEN MARY IN FRANCE. 
 
 HE murder of Cardinal Beton produced 
 a profound sensation throughout the 
 whole of the Christian world. In 
 itself it was a gigantic crime ; but to Scotland 
 it was something more, it was a political 
 calamity. It was evident to all, that results 
 must follow from it of which the significance 
 upon the fortunes of Europe no one could, as 
 yet, form a conjecture. One thing, however,, 
 was obvious ; it was an immense gain to the 
 party of the Reformation. It removed out of 
 the way the only individual in Scotland whose 
 talent and energy they had cause to fear, and 
 they welcomed it as a great success. Although 
 
CHAPTER THE THIRD. 71 
 
 most men regarded it as a revolting atrocity, 
 yet the verdict as given by the Reformers was 
 coupled with the limitation of " extenuating 
 circumstances." Henry's party in England, and 
 nearly the whole body of the Scottish Congrega- 
 tion, spoke and wrote of it as " a godly fact," 
 and hailed the perpetrators as men who deserved 
 well of their country. Knox permitted himself 
 to describe the ghastly event in terms which he 
 considered facetious, and which his admirers feel 
 it difficult to explain or palliate.^ 
 
 As if, however, to put an end to all questions 
 on this point, and to show beyond a doubt what 
 was their real character, Leslie and his followers 
 to murder added not only robbery, but also 
 various other crimes. Their first act was to seize 
 the whole of the property of the murdered Car- 
 dinal which thev found within the castle. Next 
 came treason and rebellion against the legiti- 
 mate government of the country. Entrenched 
 behind the strong walls of St Andrews, and 
 
 ' Knox, i. 178. We have the authority of Buchanau for 
 aifirming, that there were some persons who looked upon the 
 murder as a " pulcherrimum facmus," and offered their con- 
 gratulations to the murderer. See his Hist. xvi. sec. 42. 
 
72 THE YOUTH OF QUEEN MAKY. 
 
 amply supplied with arms and stores provided 
 by the late occupant, his murderers held it for 
 several months in open defiance of the whole of 
 Scotland. The residence of the primate was 
 converted into a den of thieves and profligates, 
 and became a favourite place of refuge for the 
 most abandoned among the many lawless spirits 
 of the land. Amongst these we have to number 
 the great Reformer himself.^ Knox asserts that 
 he was driven to seek shelter within its walls, 
 because he was weary of removing from place 
 to place by reason of the persecution that came 
 upon him by the Bishop of St Andrews. We 
 cannot but remark, that he mioht have found 
 rest in less discreditable company. The garrison 
 of St Andrews became the terror of the whole 
 neighbourhood. Safe behind the walls of that 
 fortress, they dealt with the peaceable inhabi- 
 tants of Fifeshire as with invaders and enemies. 
 They first plundered the surrounding districts. 
 
 ^ Hist. i. 185. We can understand Knox's reserve as to the 
 character of the persons with whom he now associated himself ; 
 but no such feeling influenced Buchanan, who mentions the pro- 
 fligacy and general misconduct of the garrison in terms of just 
 indignation. See his Hist., xvL, sec. 43. 
 
CHAPTER THE THIRD. 73 
 
 and then polluted them with their debauchery. 
 Knox tells us that he tried to check these atroci- 
 ties, but that he did not succeed. Yet he con- 
 tinued to associate with such companions as 
 these for some considerable time, and for any- 
 thing that we see to the contrary, he would will- 
 ingly have remained much longer.-^ But justice 
 at this period was slow of foot and weak of 
 hand in Scotland. The castle was strongly for- 
 tified, well garrisoned, and bravely defended. It 
 was open to the sea, and it had the encourage- 
 ment and the material assistance of the English 
 Government, by which it was regularly and 
 liberally supplied with military stores and pro- 
 visions. 
 
 The murder of Beton was the source of in- 
 tense satisfaction to Henry. It afforded him 
 much consolation in the midst of his bodily 
 sufferings, for death was not far distant. The 
 crime had cost liim nothing ; and he loved it all 
 the better, because it was an act of domestic 
 
 ^ Knox tells us that he entered the castle shortly after the 
 10th of April 1547, and remained within it until it surrendered 
 upon the last of July, nearly four months. 
 
74 THE YOUTH OF QUEEN MARY. 
 
 treachery. The murderers were men well 
 worthy of his protection, and it occurred to 
 him, that perhaps he might have further work 
 for them to do.^ There was a grim satisfaction, 
 moreover, in turning Beton's favourite strong- 
 hold into an Ensiish o-arrison, and making it 
 the first fruits of the conquest of Scotland, to 
 which even yet the dying tyrant looked forward 
 as a probability. 
 
 Arran, the Governor of Scotland, made some 
 ineffectual attempts to gain possession of the 
 castle, but the effort was beyond his strength. 
 The Church did not fail in her duty, but the 
 effort was productive of no important results.^ 
 In compliance with the requirements of the 
 Canon Law, neither Mass nor Matins could be 
 celebrated within the realm until the sacrileofe 
 of the murder had been atoned for. On the 
 
 1 Tytler, iii. 371 ; State Papers, v. 470 ; Act. Pari. Scot. ii. 467. 
 Among Henry's pensioners we find the Master of Rothes m the 
 receipt of an anmiity of £250. Henry Bahaaves of Halhill had 
 £125, and William Kirkaldy, the j'onng Laird of Grange, sold 
 himself at the same price. These men may have had many 
 virtues, but assuredly patriotism was not one of the number. 
 
 ^ The clergy taxed themselves for four months, at the rate of 
 £3000 monthly, to supply funds for the regaining of the castle. 
 Act. Pari. Scot. ii. 472. 
 
CHAPTER THE THIRD. 75 
 
 10th of June the murderers were cited to appear 
 in Parhament, their lands and possessions were 
 forfeited, and they themselves were declared to 
 be guilty of high treason. To this summons 
 they paid no attention. The attempt to reduce 
 the fortress by siege and blockade signally 
 failed, and for more than a year the rebellious 
 garrison of St Andrews maintained possession 
 of that stronghold. 
 
 During the brief remainder of his life it was 
 a point of honour with Henry to support his 
 own party in this struggle. " For the better 
 defence of certain his friends and servants in 
 Scotland against the malice of the adverse 
 party," he gave directions that six ships of war 
 should sail from the Thames. They were well 
 furnished with stores and munitions for the rein- 
 forcement of St Andrews, and the garrison was 
 encouraged to hold out by the promise of further 
 assistance.^ The ships were directed to take up 
 
 ^ He comforted " the gentlemen having the present keeping of 
 the castle of St Andrews " (as he delicately styles them), by the 
 promise that he will see them lack nothing, but will keep them 
 with men and victuals. In short, he will take them, and all others 
 in Scotland of the same sort, as his friends and servants, into his 
 protection and maintenance. See R. O. Scot. ix. No. 9. 
 
76 THE YOUTH OF QUEEN MARY. 
 
 a position which commanded the entire approach 
 to St Andrews, thus securing the rebels from 
 the guns of the Scottish navy, and permitting 
 them to receive the liberal supplies of food and 
 ammunition provided by their friends in Eng- 
 land. And in proof of his resolution to continue 
 as he had begun, Henry wrote to the Governor 
 of Scotland, urging him in strong terms to raise 
 the siege " for the king's pleasure." ^ 
 
 It was clear to friend and foe alike that Scot- 
 land was overmatched in this prolonged con- 
 flict. France was the only quarter from which 
 material help could be expected, and France 
 had enough to do to hold her own. Mary of 
 Guise pleaded earnestly and unceasingly for 
 aid; and her application was ably seconded 
 by her brothers, the Duke of Guise and the 
 
 ^ Henry had resolved to keep a garrison of one hundred and 
 twenty men in the castle of St Andrews, an arrangement which 
 the Protector and Privy Council of England were pleased to con- 
 tinue after his death. They also confirmed the annuities which 
 he had granted to the Master of Rothes and the others concerned 
 in the murder of the Cardinal. See Privy Council Book, Addit. 
 MS. 14,024, fol. 5. Payment also was ordered for the wages of 
 eighty footmen and forty horse soldiers within the castle ; and 
 stores were sent to the value of £1279. Id. fol. 29. Thus 
 clearly did these traitors make common cause with Henry 
 against the established government of their own country. 
 
CHAPTER THE THIRD. 77 
 
 Cardinal. At last thoy were successful, and a 
 powerful fleet of twenty-one galleys, provided 
 with artillery of unusual range, appeared in 
 the bay, and took up its position opposite 
 the castle of St Andrews. The garrison of 
 that stronarhold was summoned to surrender; 
 and on their refusal the French ships opened 
 fire upon it. Knox (who was within the walls, 
 and therefore an eye-witness of what he has 
 recorded) tells us that the defenders replied 
 with spirit, and that the fleet suffered severely. 
 A fortnight afterward, the Governor of Scot- 
 land invested the castle on the side of the land, 
 and the siej^e was now carried on in earnest. 
 Some pieces of artillery, planted by the assail- 
 ants upon the Abbey and the College of St Sal- 
 vador, told with fatal effect upon tlie besieged. 
 Still they held out bravely, and might have 
 held out much longer had not the pest made 
 its appearance among them. After having sus- 
 tained a renewed cannonade, tlie fortress, des- 
 pairing of relief, surrendered on the last day 
 of July, and was delivered over to Leo Strozzi^ 
 the French admiral, by William Kirkaldy. 
 
78 THE YOUTH OF QUEEN MARY. 
 
 The lives o£ the garrison were secured to them, 
 but they were not permitted to remain in Scot- 
 land. They were sent on board the French 
 galleys, which conveyed them to Rouen. After 
 a captivity of nineteen months, during which 
 it is probably that he suffered many hardships, 
 Knox regained his liberty, and returning to 
 England, was appointed by the Privy Council 
 to the office of preacher in the town of Ber- 
 wick. His share in the bloody affair of St 
 Andrews was no great crime in the eyes of 
 the Government of England. 
 
 In the meantime, Henry the Eighth had passed 
 to his account ; and after the interval of a few 
 weeks was followed by his rival, Francis the 
 First. The death of these two sovereigns pro- 
 duced no sensible change in the feelings with 
 which England and Scotland regarded each 
 other. The party which now ruled under the 
 name of Edward the Sixth, continued to pur- 
 sue the policy which had guided his father. 
 The traditionary recourse to mingled force and 
 fraud, so conspicuous in the dealings of Henry 
 with friend and foe alike, was not forgotten. 
 
CHAPTER THE THIRD. 79 
 
 In March 1547, Patrick, Lord Gray, entered 
 into an agreement with the Protector, that he 
 would do all in his power that his mistress, 
 the Queen of Scotland, should be delivered 
 into the hands of the King's Majesty, " to the 
 accomplishing and performing of the marriage 
 between his Majesty and my sovereign lady 
 and mistress, the Queen of Scotland." ^ There 
 was always the same expressed anxiety for 
 the union of the two crowns ; but always upon 
 the tacit understanding upon the side of Eng- 
 land, that she should be the sovereign, and 
 Scotland the vassal.^ Had the terms upon 
 which the Protector Somerset wished to treat 
 been carried out, thev would have been fatal 
 to the national independence. After an ineffec- 
 tual attempt at negotiation, the strife, which 
 seemed for a moment to have been lulled into 
 quiescence, broke out with renewed vigour, and 
 continued to burn with increased enercry. 
 
 ^ See Rymer, x. 143, and a document to the same efifect on 
 the followinsc page. 
 
 - Upon more than one occasion the Protector offered to prove 
 Edward's right to the superiority over Scotland by ancient 
 records and documents. See Foreign Calendar, pp. 27, 122, 139- 
 
80 THE YOUTH OF QUEEN MARY. 
 
 England showed by the magnitude of her 
 preparations against Scotland, that she was 
 resolved upon striking a blow which should 
 be final. The Governor recalled from Boulogne 
 the greater portion of the English garrison of 
 that town, which, with the forces already in 
 the field, raised his army to the respectable 
 figure of twenty-six thousand fighting men on 
 foot. To these were added two thousand light 
 cavalry, and four thousand Irish archers, ex- 
 clusive of camp followers. A fleet of sixty-five 
 ships accompanied this formidable expedition. 
 It was well provided with artillery, and every- 
 thing which might be needed for the inva- 
 sion of an enemy's country. The ships were 
 directed to skirt along the coast from Berwick 
 northwards, and to act in concert with tlie 
 English army. These were handled with much 
 skill, and contributed very materially to the suc- 
 cess of the expedition.^ 
 
 1 This is Patten's enumei^ation of the English army, which he 
 accompanied. The dedication of his "Diary " (printed in 1549) 
 is dated on the last day of June 1548. See Tanner's Bibl. p. 
 581. The English Government, though cramped for ready 
 money, spent upon these cruel wars with Scotland, from 9th 
 
CHAPTER THE THIRD. 81 
 
 On the other side, Scotland was not idle, 
 for she recognised the importance of the issue 
 which hung upon this final appeal to arms. 
 Thirty thousand men, between sixteen and 
 sixty years of age, obeyed the summons of the 
 Fiery Cross, and marched out to meet the dan- 
 ger to which it invited them. One spirit ani- 
 mated the whole of this body, the spirit which 
 nerved them to preserve at any price their 
 national independence. But despite this fair 
 front, the Scottish army contained within its 
 ranks a fatal element of weakness. Individu- 
 ally the troops were brave ; but collectively 
 they were undisciplined. Every man among 
 them had been accustomed to act for himself, 
 without regard to the intentions or commands 
 of another. They were admirable skirmishers, 
 but for organised Avarfare they were worse 
 than useless, for they were not always amen- 
 able to discipline or authority. The cavalry 
 was inefficient in every respect, and utterly 
 
 September 1542 to 1st May 1550, the enormous sum of 
 £3,491,471, 19s. 5d. See Privy Council Book of Edw. YI. 
 MS. Karl., 343, fol. 86, 102, b. 
 
 F 
 
82 THE YOUTH OF QUEEN MARY. 
 
 unfitted to meet the broad - shouldered Eno-lish 
 man-at-arms, mounted upon his heavy Flemish 
 charger. For her share France provided six 
 ships of war, which from no fault of their own 
 rendered very little assistance to their Scottish 
 allies. 
 
 On Sunday, the 4th of September 1547, the 
 advanced guard of the invading expedition set 
 foot on Scottish ground, and on the follow- 
 ing Sunday the hostile armies stood face to 
 face at Pinkie Cleugh, near the little village 
 of Musselburgh. With their usual and fatal 
 impetuosity, the Scottish troops abandoned the 
 commanding position in which they had delib- 
 erately entrenched themselves ; and thus by 
 their own act forfeited the advantages which 
 apparently would have given them the victory. 
 Yet for a time after coming to close quarters 
 with the enemy, they fought with their accus- 
 tomed bravery, and held their own with un- 
 availing resolution against the better disciplined 
 soldiery of England. At last, however, they 
 were beaten back in wild confusion ; and the 
 broken ranks of the retreating army were 
 
CHAPTER THE THIRD. 83 
 
 chased almost to the gates of Edinburgh. Ac- 
 cording to the statement of an eye-witness, as 
 many as fourteen thousand men were slauj^htered 
 as they fled ; ^ and many more were drowned 
 in attempting to cross the river Esk. The pur- 
 suit, after having lasted for five hours, and ex- 
 tended over five miles, ended in the waning 
 twilight of an autumn evening. 
 
 Had the Enodish greneral been able to follow 
 up this crushing blow by taking possession of 
 Edinburgh, or by securing the person of Mary 
 Stuart — and apparently he might have done 
 either or both — it would have o-one hard for a 
 time with the national independence. But the 
 intrio'Ues of his rivals at the Court of St James' 
 compelled Somerset to return to London ; and 
 it was impossible to leave his army behind him. 
 No food had been provided for his men, no 
 forage for his horses, and the exhausted condi- 
 tion of the country could not supply them with 
 either shelter or provisions. To retain their 
 hold upon Scotland under such circumstances 
 was impossible, and the English general, how- 
 
 ^ See Patten, sig. F. vj. b. 
 
8-i THE YOUTH OF QUEEN MARY. 
 
 ever unwillingly, was compelled to order his 
 troops to march homewards. ^ 
 
 The departure of the invaders enabled the 
 Queen Dowager and the Governor to deliberate 
 how they might best provide for the difficulties 
 of their situation. These were neither few nor 
 light. Would not the conqueror return to 
 complete the work of destruction ? After such 
 a crushing defeat, had Scotland either the re- 
 sources or the courage necessary to risk a 
 second struggle ? What if the English party 
 should insist upon the surrender of the youngs 
 Queen, and refuse to grant peace, save at the 
 price of the national independence ? All these 
 questions pressed upon the Queen Dowager and 
 the Governor, and it was not easy to find an 
 answer to them. And to complete this cruel 
 perplexity, they had reason to believe that ere 
 long their country would be exposed to another 
 invasion. 
 
 ^ Wotton, the English ambassador, in 1553, gives it as his 
 opinion that no English army can remain longer in Scotland than 
 eight days, from its inability to supply itself with provisions ; in 
 proof of which he quotes the present expedition. See Negot. de 
 Noaillfcs, iii. ]7. 
 
CHAPTER THE THIRD. 85 
 
 The report was too true. It had been de- 
 cided that the Western Borders should be 
 harried by Lord Wharton and the Earl of 
 Lennox (the father of the future King of Scot- 
 land), while, on the other side, the Merse should 
 be devastated by William Lord Grey of Wilton. 
 This nobleman expected to be able to penetrate 
 as far as the gates of Edinburgh, and vowed 
 that he would spare none who had not made 
 their submission to England.^ Stirling was now 
 no longer a place of safety for Mary Stuart, 
 and she was removed to the comparative se- 
 curity of the monastery of Inchmahome. A 
 meeting of the Estates was held at Haddington 
 shortly before the 24th of June, in which it 
 was decided that the young Queen of Scotland 
 should become the wife of the Dauphin of 
 France, and should be educated in that country. 
 
 No time was lost in putting this project into 
 execution. Admiral Villegaignon, with four 
 galleys, was lying oft' Leith, read}^ to sail for 
 France.^ His destination was no secret, and 
 
 1 R. O. Edw. VI. vol. iii. 40. 
 
 2 Lesley, p. 170, 171. On the last of August 1548, Henry II. 
 
86 THE YOUTH OF QUEEN MARY. 
 
 the arrangements which he made for his de- 
 parture were obvious to all the world. It was 
 clear to the many curious eyes which scanned 
 his movements, that when he sailed from Leith 
 the little Queen was not on board his vessel. 
 As soon, however, as the ships were out of 
 sight of land they changed their course and 
 steered due north. Skirting: the coast of Suth- 
 erland and Caithness they passed through the 
 wild Pentland Firth, and the no less dangerous 
 Minch, and in safety reached the Clyde. Their 
 arrival there had been anxiously awaited by 
 the Queen Dowager, who with her daughter 
 had sought refuge in Dumbarton Castle. All 
 the arrangements for the voyage having been 
 made, she was consigned without delay to M 
 de Breze, who had been entrusted with the 
 
 informed the States of Scotland that then- young Queen had 
 arrived in good health in Bretagne on the 13th instant, and that 
 she is now on her way to join the Dauphin, " son mary. She 
 is to be brought up along with the royal children. Wherever 
 she journeys on the road, she is to be received with royal honoui-s, 
 and has power to grant pardons and to deliver prisoners. In 
 every respect he regards her as his daughter, and considers that 
 the two nations are now united. He will send back the galleys 
 laden with troops, money, powder, and all necessary supplies.'' 
 Ribier, ii. 150. 
 
CHAPTER THE THIRD. 87 
 
 charge of her conveyance into France. She 
 Avas accompanied by the Lords Erskine and 
 Livingstone ; and the four Maries, whose names 
 are so intimately connected with her own, 
 formed part of lier retinue. As usual the 
 English cruisers were upon the alert, and being 
 aware of the magnitude of the prize, exercised 
 more than their usual vigilance. Nor was the 
 voyage without its dangers of another kind, for 
 the course which had been decided upon, that 
 namely, by the coast of Ireland, was exposed 
 to sudden storms, and beset with unknown 
 rocks and currents. All these perils notwith- 
 standing, the voyage, though stormy, was ac- 
 complished in safety ; and on the 13th day of 
 August 1548, Mary Stuart reached the little 
 port of Roscotf, ^ near Brest, where a small 
 
 ^ I gladly borrow the following description of the Chapel of 
 Roscoff from the pages of a contemporary journal : — 
 
 " In the little seaport town of Roscoff, in the Department of 
 Finisterre, there stands a small mined chapel dedicated to St 
 Ninian. This was founded in 1548 by Mary Stuart, on the very 
 spot where she disembarked on her coming into France to be 
 affianced to the Dauphin. To preserve the memory of the place 
 of her landins, historv tells us that her foot was traced on the 
 rock, and above it was raised the little Gothic chapel, beautiful 
 in its simplicity, if we may judge from the remains still standing. 
 
88 THE YOUTH OF QUEEN MARY. 
 
 chapel was afterwards erected by her to mark 
 the spot where her foot first touched the soil 
 of her adopted country. During the course of 
 her journey towards the Court she was every- 
 where received with royal honours ; and on her 
 arrival at St Gerniain-en-Laye, a household, 
 with its due train of attendants, was provided 
 for her service at the expense of her future 
 father-in-law. 
 
 The incidents of which the outline only has 
 been traced in the present chapter, must have 
 left a profound impression upon the men who 
 witnessed them. A brave people, like that of 
 Scotland, jealously sensitive on every point 
 which touches the dignity of its nationality, 
 cannot but have felt keenly, and bitterly re- 
 sented the wrongs and the insults which Eng- 
 land had heaped upon it. Its independence 
 
 The roof has long since disappeared, but the arched doorway, 
 though weather-beaten by the lapse of ages, is there. The 
 mullions of three windows remain perfect, though disfigured with 
 stones replacing the ancient glass. The interior of St Ninian's 
 Chapel is desolate indeed, though three stone altars stand in their 
 original places, and impress one with the idea that the restoration 
 of this sanctuary would not be difficult." See the Tablet, 30th 
 Sept. 1S76, p. 429. 
 
CHAPTER THE THIRD. 89 
 
 had been violated, and its rights had been 
 threatened ; the personal safety of its sovereign 
 had been endangered ; its soil had been invaded ; 
 its towns had been sacked, and its children had 
 been murdered by the wanton lawlessness of 
 the stronger hand. Looking at its national 
 character, its keen perception and its prompt 
 action, one might reasonably expect that it 
 would have resented any such indignity by a 
 declaration of open warfare. But such was not 
 the case ; and if we ask why, we must be con- 
 tent to be told that the Reformation explains 
 this declension of the national spirit. It now 
 becomes our duty to point out how, as in the 
 case of Mary Stuart, innocence and good faith 
 may be cheated, maligned, and made to suffer 
 as an evil-doer ; and, on the other hand, to 
 chronicle the triumphs of cruelty, treachery and 
 falsehood. 
 

 ^^^^s^^^ 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 QUEEN MARY IN FRANCE. 
 
 HE peaceful security in which the 
 Httle Queen of Scotland now found 
 herself, contrasted pleasantly with the 
 life of danger and unrest from which she had 
 escaped ; and young though she was, the 
 child was old enough to appreciate the charms 
 and the comforts of her new home. Its 
 pleasures were many, and she could understand 
 them ; but it had its dangers, and they lay 
 beneath the surface. The Court of France, in 
 which Mary Stuart was now domesticated, 
 was one of the most refined, and at the same 
 time one of the most dissipated Courts in 
 Europe. Possibly, the extent of its immoralities 
 
CHAPTER THE FOURTH. 91 
 
 may have been exaggerated by political writers 
 for party ends ; but no one can read the 
 pages of any contemporary author, Brantume, 
 for example, without learning that much of its 
 daily life was a continued school of profligacy. 
 Fortunately, however, for the child, she was 
 too young at the time of her arrival to receive 
 any permanent injury from the example or the 
 conversation of the nobles who frequented St 
 Germain or Fontainbleau ; and the arrange- 
 ments which had been made by her mother for 
 her removal into a healthier moral atmosphere, 
 placed her beyond the reach of influences which 
 otherwise might have proved dangerous. 
 
 Henry the Second, King of France, was 
 sincerely attached to his " reinette " of Scot- 
 land, as it pleased him to style her, and he 
 always treated her as one of his own children.^ 
 The cruel dislike and jealousy- with which 
 
 ^ When writing about Mary to her mother, Henry generally 
 designates her as "notre petite tille la reyne." See MS. 
 Balcarras in the Adv(jcates' Library, Edinburgh, under the 
 dates of 19th April 1548, and 15th July and 9th August 1549. 
 
 - It has been conjectured, but upon insufficient authority, that 
 Catherine's enmity arose from a presumed design of the Duke of 
 Guise to induce Henry II. to marry the lady who afterwards 
 
92 THE YOUTH OF QUEEN MARY. 
 
 Catherine de Medicis in after years persecuted 
 her daughter-in-law, had not yet manifested 
 themselves ; at least, not so overtly as to attract 
 notice. From the first moment of her arrival 
 in the French Court, the Dauphin had been 
 taught to regard Mary as his affianced wife ; 
 and she received with innocent satisfaction the 
 small attentions which he lavished upon her.^ 
 There was no lack of companionship for the 
 little girl in her new home. The other chil- 
 dren of the royal family were Charles and Henry, 
 both of whom occupied the throne of France 
 during Mary's lifetime ; and three daughters, 
 the Princess Elizabeth, who became the wife 
 of Philip the Second of Spain ; Claude, 
 who married Charles, Duke of Lorraine, and 
 
 became the mother of Mary Stuart, See Forneron, des Dues 
 de Guise, i. 73, Paris, 1877. Upon these questions the work of 
 M. Cheruel, " Marie Stuart et Catherine de Medicis," p. 17, 
 Paris, 1858, may be consulted. A letter from Prospero, Cardinal 
 de Santa Croce to Cardinal Borromeo, 27th June 1563 (in the 
 Secret Archives at Rome), confirms the supposition of M. Cheruel 
 as to the origin of this jealousy. 
 
 ^ A letter from King Henry to Mary of Guise tells her that 
 during the festivities connected with the marriage of the Duke 
 d'Aumale (August 1548), the Dauphin danced with little Mary, 
 and expresses his satisfaction on observing how happy the chil- 
 dren were with each other. MS. Balcarras, Maitl. Miscell. i. 9. 
 
CHAPTER THE FOUllTH. 93 
 
 Margaret, the wife of* Henry the Fourth of 
 France. All of these children were younger 
 than Mary Stuart, who, partly because of her 
 seniority, partly because of her premature dig- 
 nity as a crowned Queen, took precedence of 
 them by the King's express directions.^ 
 
 A school of writers, now happily all but ex- 
 tinct, used to assume that the portentous wicked- 
 ness with which they charged Mary Stuart 
 was to be explained by the fact that she was 
 educated by Catherine de Medicis ; and that 
 the evil character of the younger Queen is but 
 the reflex of that of her instructress. In 
 refutation of this theory, it it may be enough 
 to state, once for all, that Catherine had no 
 share in Mary's education. During the whole 
 of the reign of Henry the Second, the influence 
 
 1 On 24th August 1548, Henry informed M. de Humyers that 
 he had received intelligence of the arrival of his daughter, the 
 Queen of Scotland, in the port of Roscou, in Bretagne ; and then 
 he continues : — " In answer to your question as to the rank 
 which I wish my daughter, the Queen of Scotland, to occupy, I 
 have to inform you that it is my desire that she should take the 
 precedence of my daughters. For not only the marriage between 
 my son and her is settled and conchuled, but she is a crowned 
 queen, and as such it is my wish that she should be honoured 
 and served." MS. Egerton, 3, fol. 1, b. 
 
94 THE YOUTH OF QUEEN MARY. 
 
 of his wife in the Court of France was at the 
 lowest ; she had a very special dislike to Mary, 
 whose company she avoided as much as pos- 
 sible, and at the last succeeded in drivino^ her 
 back to the home of her birth from the home 
 of her adoption. 
 
 The moral and relio^ious education of the 
 young Scottish Queen was placed in good 
 hands. It had been entrusted to the care of 
 Antoinette de Bourbon, her maternal o-rand- 
 mother; and it would not have been easy to 
 have formed a more judicious selection. The 
 deeply devotional character so conspicuous in 
 Antoinette had been fostered by her husband 
 Claude, the first Duke of Guise. ^ She was an 
 affiliated member of the severe orders of the 
 Dominicans, Cistercians, and Carmelites ; and 
 in conjunction with her husband, she had 
 founded a house for Benedictine monks at 
 Joinville. On his death, Antoinette devoted 
 the remainder of her life to the care of the 
 poor, the widow and the orphan, whose wants 
 she relieved with her own hands. In his 
 
 * See Bouille, Les Dues de Guise, i. 214, Paris, 1849. 
 
CHAPTER THE FOURTH. 95 
 
 review of her life, Jean Gontery holds her 
 up to admiration as a mirror of perfection, a 
 princess of rare virtue, a woman admirable for 
 her charity, her Christian patience, and her 
 entire devotion to her husband. She ruled her 
 large household with a prudent economy, and 
 governed her numerous domestics with mingled 
 authority and gentleness. She seldom visited 
 Paris, for she was far happier among her own 
 people. Even when she went to Court, she 
 wore the plain dress of serge which was her 
 usual habit at Joinville. In the gallery 
 through which she passed to the chapel, to 
 hear her Mass, she placed her coffin, in order 
 that she might be daily reminded by it of her 
 own mortality. After a widowhood of nearly 
 thirty-three years, spent chiefly in works of 
 devotion to God, and charity towards the poor 
 and suffering, this excellent woman died 20th 
 January 1583, and was buried near her hus- 
 band, in the church of St Laurence at 
 Joinville. ^ 
 
 ^ See Hilarion Coste, Eloges, i. 136, Paris, 1647 : Gontery, 
 Sex-mon Fun^bre, Paris, 1612 ; Bouille, Les Dues de Guise, i. 
 214. 
 
96 THE YOUTH OF QUEEN MARY. 
 
 During the earlier years of her life, Mary- 
 Stuart paid frequent visits to the Abbey of St 
 Pierre at Rheims (which afterwards became the 
 burial place of her mother, Mary of Guise), of 
 which one of her aunts was abbess.-^ Another 
 was abbess of Fontevrault, and a third (Antoi- 
 nette) presided over the Benedictine Convent 
 of Farmoutier, both of them establishments of 
 the highest rank in the Church of France. 
 Claude, Duke of Guise, had a son named after 
 himself, who died Abbot of Cluny in 1604. It 
 appears then that the young Queen had many 
 opportunities of spending part of her time 
 with several of her near relatives, from whose 
 conversation and example one may pre- 
 sume she would gain much benefit and in- • 
 struction. 
 
 In temporal matters, the influence which 
 chiefly served to form the character of Mary 
 Stuart was that exercised by her two maternal 
 uncles, the Duke of Guise and his brother, the 
 
 1 Writing to his sister, the Queen Dowtiger of Scotland, on 
 12th July 1554, the Cardinal of Guise tells her that her daughter 
 was nearly every day at St Pierre with " our sisters," to their 
 great pleasure, MS. Balcarras, iii. 145. 
 
CHAPTER THE FOURTH. 97 
 
 Cardinal.! They gained her confidence at tlie 
 first, and they kept it to the last. Tliey loved 
 their niece, and they were proud of her ; proud 
 of her prompt and bright intelligence, her rare 
 beauty and her dignified position. They did 
 not love her the less because they knew that she 
 would soon become the wife of the Dauphin, 
 and in due time Queen of France. They were 
 bold and ambitious men, and we cannot blame 
 them if they hoped to extend the power of 
 their family through their niece. Mary's long 
 absence from her mother made her turn to her 
 maternal uncles with increased aftection, and 
 they found it no difiicult task to mould her 
 character according to their own principles. She 
 was an apt pupil ; and the lessons which they 
 taught the child were never forgotten by the 
 woman and the Queen. 
 
 With the quick intuition of her age and sex, 
 the girl's instincts led her to give the preference 
 to the Duke of Guise rather than to the Cardinal, 
 
 ^ When speaking of the family of Guise, Brant^ne (who knew 
 them well) designates them as a " race noble, belle, boune, et 
 d'illustre vie." (Euvres i. 293, ed. 1848. 
 
 G 
 
9(S THE YOUTH OF QUEEN MARY. 
 
 -and history has confirmed the wisdom of her 
 decision. The Duke was a noble character, even 
 in the oj^inion of his enemies. His defence of 
 Metz against all the power of Charles the Fifth, 
 and still more his recovery of Calais from the 
 English, won for him the admiration of the 
 whole of Europe, and made him the most 
 popular hero among his own countrymen. The 
 only successes in the field which had been 
 achieved by France under Henry the Second, 
 were gained by the skill and courage of the 
 Duke of Guise. He was essentially the soldier, 
 with a soldier's merits and failings. He was 
 brave and sincere, truthful, open, and generous ; 
 and the morality of his private life contrasts 
 favourably with that of most of his compeers. 
 But, on the other hand, the stern severity with 
 which he enforced discipline and punished all 
 violations of it, either in Church or in State, 
 has earned for him the reputation of being 
 harsh, intolerant, and cruel.^ But if he was 
 
 ^ Yet, on the other hand, Brantome (i. 414-415) enlarges lapon 
 his " belle et douce clemence et benignite, conrtoisie, douceur et 
 misericorde," and gives instances in which he exhibited these 
 qualities in his conduct. 
 
CHAPTER THE FOURTH. 99 
 
 strict in regard to others he was doubly so 
 towards himself. 
 
 It must be admitted that Charles, Archljishop 
 of Rheiins and Cardinal of Guise, contrasts some- 
 what unfavourably with his elder brother the 
 great Duke.^ It is difficult, however, to arrive at 
 -a correct estimate of his character, for apparently 
 both his faults and his merits have been exag- 
 gerated. History tells us that he was a well- 
 read scholar, an acute disputant, and an eloquent 
 preacher. Quick, shrewd, and observant, he is 
 said to have possessed the faculty of divining 
 the wishes and plans of others before they had 
 been fully expressed. He was a skilful diplo- 
 matist, and had made himself familiar with the 
 politics of every court of Europe. He had 
 studied the literature not only of ancient Greece 
 
 ^ In his estimate of the two brothers, Brantome says of the 
 Cardinal, "II n'avait pas I'ame si pure," as the Duke ; but he 
 adds that time and sorrow brought out the better features of his 
 disposition. On the unfavourable points of his character see 
 Mignet, Hist, de Marie Stuart, i. 44, ed. 1854 ; Guillmin, Le 
 Cardinal de Lorraine, pp. 25, 453, 455 ; Alberi, p. 441 ; Tom- 
 maceo, i. 458. The Cardinal was a frequent speaker in the 
 Council of Trent, and was heard with respect. Apparently he 
 might have succeeded to the Papacy, had he pleased, on the 
 death of Paul IV. in 1559. 
 
100 THE YOUTH OF QUEEN MARY. 
 
 and Rome, but also of modern Spain and Italy. 
 Yet his character has its shadows. Brantome 
 speaks of the immoralities of his private life as 
 a cliarge generally admitted ; while others re- 
 gard such accusations as political calumnies of 
 no weight whatever. His ambition soared 
 higher than that of his brother, and at one 
 period of his career it was thought that he 
 would soon wear the papal crown. He was 
 accused of being deficient in personal courage, 
 and this timidity made him suspicious and 
 cruel. Yet if he has his accusers he has also 
 his defenders ; and to whichever side the argu- 
 ment may for the moment seem to preponderate, 
 it should be remembered that there is evidence 
 to the contrary. 
 
 The attack and defence being thus evenly 
 balanced, we cannot perhaps do better than 
 leave the decision of this dis])uted question to 
 the historian Ranke,^ whose candour and im- 
 partiality are generally admitted. Charles, Car- 
 
 ^ Civil Wars of France, i. 247, ed, 1852. Eanke's estimate of 
 the Cardinal might be confirmed in almost every point by a 
 reference to the great work of Morlot. Metropolis llemensis, ii. 
 
 782. 
 
CHAPTER THE -FOTTRTH. 101 
 
 dinal of Guise, says this '■authoV; lefo'iu^MnnL^ 
 undone which could be effected by a prelate 
 who cared for his diocese. His actions there 
 -have won for him an undying memory. He 
 caused unhealthy morasses to be drained, and 
 converted them into fertile meadows and smil- 
 inof- Qfardens. From his forests at Joinville he 
 supplied the timber which was required for the 
 buildings, with which he ornamented the city 
 of Hheims, of which he was archbishop ; and 
 to him might well be applied the familiar 
 remark, that what he found a village of clay 
 he left a citv of marble. To him it was in- 
 debted for a university, a theological college, a 
 seminary, and a convent. In no respect did he 
 neglect his responsibilities either as a citizen or 
 an ecclesiastic. He took care that the parish 
 priests should attend to the duties of their 
 cures. When he preached he moved all hearts 
 by his eloquence. He held several provincial 
 synods for the revival of discipline ; and the 
 wisdom of the regulations laid down in them 
 has been generally admitted. Although he was 
 the youngest of the French cardinals, he set 
 
102 THE XQUTH OF QUEEN MARY. 
 
 them; a' i an example wjiich they did well to 
 follow. Hounds and hawks were never seen 
 within his palace. During the Lent of each 
 year he retired to some religious community, 
 where by prayer and meditation he prepared 
 himself for the approaching festival of Easter. 
 Nature had given him a dignified exterior ; 
 his person was tall and his expression noble, 
 and he might easily be recognised by his broad 
 and lofty forehead. When he spoke, his dis- 
 course was well digested and well expressed, 
 and the words flowed from his lips with winning 
 grace and dignity. 
 
 If these eloquent sentences of Ranke give u& 
 a trustworthy estimate of the Cardinal of Guise, 
 the direction of Mary's education was in good 
 hands. And we may be sure that the care of the 
 aged Dowager-Duchess would provide that the 
 moral and relio'ious trainino- of her oTandchild 
 should not be sacrificed to the acquisition of that 
 which was purely intellectual and ornamental. 
 
 Mary's education had been cared for before 
 she left Scotland. Even at that early period of 
 her life two churchmen had been appointed a& 
 
CHAPTER THE FOURTH. 103 
 
 her teachers, John Erskine, Prior of Inchmahoine, 
 and Alexander Scott, parson of Bahnaclellan.^ 
 As long as she continued to reside with the royal 
 children in the Court of France, she was instructed 
 by their masters and shared in tlieir studies. 
 Nor were her lighter accomplishments neglected. 
 About the time of her arrival at St Germain, 
 Henry thought himself fortunate in discovering 
 an accomplished dancing master, who at the 
 same time was a good Christian, and him the 
 King gladly secured to instruct the Dauphin and 
 his future bride. We shall hear of her other 
 teachers presently. In the meantime, as she 
 was gifted with a good wit and with correspond- 
 ing diligence and application, the education of 
 the little Queen of Scotland made rapid progress. 
 With her, to study was a pleasant occupation, 
 which soon became a recognised act of duty. 
 She was made to understand that a position of 
 exceptional difficulty was before her, and that in 
 order to fill it with dionitv and advantage she 
 must labour durino- the o-olden hours of hei- 
 youth. Already she was Queen of Scotland, and 
 
 ^ In the Stewartrv of Kirkcu«lbrii'lit. 
 
104 THE YOUTH OF QUEEN MARY. 
 
 there was the probability that she would soon 
 wear the crown of France. The succession to 
 the throne of England, although an unsolved 
 problem, yet was one which was not removed 
 beyond the limits of a reasonable possibility.^ 
 
 In the spring of the year 1550 Mary lost her 
 maternal grandfather, Claude, Duke of Guise, 
 the husband of Antoinette de Bourbon, to whose 
 care Mary had been entrusted by her mother. 
 Claude died in the castle of Joinville, in the 
 chapel of which he was buried. The little Mary 
 assisted at the funeral, of which a detailed 
 account was published in the following year. 
 The example and conversation of Claude were 
 most edifying. He was devout, humble, and 
 charitable ; " and his house was liker a monastery 
 than the court of a great prince." ^ 
 
 '^ The claim of Mary Stuart to the throne of England upon the 
 death of Mary Tudor was the cause of continued solicitude to the 
 politicians of the age. See Vannes to Petre, 30th May 1556, 
 and Wotton to Queen Mary Tudor, 13th January 1557, in the 
 Foreign Correspondence. 
 
 ^ Bouille, i. 214. See also a curious little volume entitled, 
 " Le tres-excellent enterrement du tres-hault et tres-illustre 
 Prince Claude de Lorraine, Due de Guise et d'Aiimale. . . . Par 
 Emond du Boullay, roy d'armes de Lorraine." Paris, 1551, 
 8vo. Mary Stuart is mentioned at pp. 61, 74. 
 
CHAPTER THE FOURTH. 105 
 
 Althouoh the tidino-s which from time to time 
 reached Scotland from the French Court, as to 
 the health and education of Mary Stuart, were 
 upon the whole highly satisfactory, yet it was 
 natural that upon both of these questions Mary 
 of Guise should wish to see and judge for her- 
 self. She was anxious to form her own opinion 
 as to the child's constitution, as to the strength 
 of which unfavourable reports had from time to 
 time been circulated in England.^ She wished 
 to see what progress had been made by her 
 daughter in her learning and accomplishments ; 
 and to ascertain what were her tastes, habits, 
 and inclinations. Another motive was found in 
 her anxiety to see her son, the Duke de Longue- 
 -ville, from whom she had parted when he was a 
 baby. Such feelings as these were of themselves 
 a sufficient motive for her journey, and yet they 
 were not the only ones which influenced her. 
 Political considerations had their share in the 
 
 1 On 10th September 1550 Sir John Mason, writing from 
 Poissy, informs the English Privy Council that for the last ten 
 or twelve days the Queen of Scotts had been so dangerously ill 
 ■of the prevailing flux, that her recovei'y was doubted ; but that 
 within the last two days she was considered to be out of danger. 
 R. O. Calend. p. 54. 
 
106 THE YOUTH OF QUEEN MARY. 
 
 decision. Henry, King of France, was anxious 
 to strengthen his j^osition in Scotland against 
 England, and in doing it he saw the wisdom o£ 
 profiting by the experience and advice of the 
 Queen Dowager. It was obvious that the ap- 
 proaching marriage of the Dauphin of France 
 with the Queen of Scotland would give rise to 
 many grave political questions which already 
 demanded deliberate forethought. The peace 
 recently concluded between France and England, 
 in which Scotland was comprehended,^ gave a 
 favourable opportunity for the absence of the 
 Dowager, of which she gladly availed herself. 
 Accompanied by a brilliant retinue of nobles, she 
 embarked (8th May 1550) in the galleys which 
 the King of France had sent to Leith for her use, 
 and after a voyage of twelve days she landed at 
 Dieppe. She was received with royal honours by 
 the King of France, her brother, the great Duke 
 of Guise, treated her as a crowned head, and 
 a splendid train was appointed to wait upon her 
 during her visit. She was accompanied by a 
 large retinue of Scottish gentlemen. The bap- 
 
 ^ On 24th March 1550. See llymer, xv. 211. 
 
CHAPTER THE FOURTH. 107 
 
 tism of the chil<l, to wliich the French Queen had 
 lately given hirtli, was delayed until the cere- 
 mony could be honoured by her presence. The 
 King himself joined the triumphal procession 
 which welcomed her entry into Rouen.^ Her 
 visit caused some anxiety to the English am- 
 bassador, who saw in it an omen of evil augury 
 to the welfare of his country, miserably weakened 
 at that time by the contending factions which 
 ruled it in the name of Edward the Sixth. Of 
 this disunion the French were probably well 
 aware. " They know our estate," wrote Mason 
 to Cecil, " and thereby think they may ride 
 upon our backs." ^ The English envoy reported 
 to his Government that the Queen Dowager, 
 takinof advantao-e of her influence in the French 
 Court (where, said he, she beareth the whole 
 
 ^ An interesting account of these festivities was printed at 
 Kouen in 1551 in a quarto volume, which contains a series of 
 spirited woodcuts representing tlie various pageants which formed 
 parts of the processiofi. The letterpress informs us that the 
 Queen Dowager of Scotknd entered Kouen on Thursday, 25th 
 September 1550, where she was joined on the 27th by the King 
 and Queen of France. A beautiful copy of this scarce and 
 curious volume, on vellum, is in the library of the Marques of 
 Lothian, at Xewbattle Abbey. 
 
 - This letter is dated 2d November 1550. 
 
108 THE YOUTH OF QUEEN MARY. 
 
 swing), was labouring to strengthen the union 
 of that reahn with Scotland, and at the same 
 time to embitter the national hostility of both 
 towards England. That such was the case is 
 by no means improbable, and if she did so she 
 would be ably seconded by her brothers, the 
 Duke of Guise and the Cardinal. The King 
 himself was not ashamed to profit by her 
 experience. He asked her advice upon various 
 questions of State, and would give no " re- 
 solute answer " to the proposals of the English 
 Government until he had consulted her upon 
 them.^ 
 
 But the stay of Mary of Guise in France was 
 not one of unmingled happiness, for during the 
 time which she spent there, an attempt to poison 
 her daughter was in progress, and might at any 
 time have been executed. The design was 
 formed by one Robert Stuart, who claimed 
 (truly or falsely is uncertain) to belong to tlie 
 Royal Family of Scotland. At all events, he 
 seems to have been a person of respectable 
 
 * See further Sir John Mason's letter to the Privy Council of 
 England, 23d February 1551, in the Record Office. 
 
CHAPTER THE FOURTPI. 109 
 
 origin,^ but his whole career was one continued 
 succession of crimes. We are very imperfectly 
 acquainted with the history of his intended 
 assassination of the Queen. We do not know 
 by whom it was suggested, by whom Stuart 
 was employed, or how the criminal escaped from 
 the punishment which he so amply merited at 
 the hands of justice. When we speculate as to 
 who would be benefited by Mary's death, we 
 are involved in difficulties wdiich we do not at- 
 tempt to solve. As to the facts themselves, as 
 far as we know them, they are soon told. When 
 Stuart undertook to do the deed, his first step 
 was to discover how he could obtain easy, safe, 
 and frequent access to her person. He procured 
 
 1 According to BrantOme (i. 325), he was " un gentilhomme 
 Ecossois de fort bonne et grande niaison." Knowing the spirit 
 of the times, and bearing in mind what experience has ah'eady 
 taught us, I cannot but suspect that the English Government 
 had a giiilty knowledge of this hideous plot from the beginning. 
 On January 28, 1551, the Council introduced to Sir John Mason, 
 their ambassador in France, as secret agent, " one that Balneys 
 (Balneaves), the Scot, hath councilled to be in France." They 
 also gave him £10 towards his expenses. The connection of this 
 anonymous Scot with Balneaves — a person so closely associated 
 with the murder of Cardinal Beton — excites our suspicion, and 
 all the more so when we find that the letter of introduction 
 referred to above — innocent as it looks — was written in cipher. 
 
110 THE YOUTH OF QUEEN MARY. 
 
 letters of recommendation for himself in the 
 first instance to the Earl of Huntly and the 
 Archbishop of Glasgow, both of whom were in 
 Paris in attendance upon the Queen Dowager 
 Provided with these introductions he came to 
 London, and contrived to gain admission to cer- 
 tain members of the English Privy Council, upon 
 the plea that he could easily render them an 
 important national service. When they asked 
 for an explanation, he reminded them that the 
 great obstacle to the long sought union of Eng- 
 land and Scotland was Mary Stuart ; and then 
 he pointed out how easily this obstacle could be 
 removed. His plan, he said, was a simple one. 
 Having already obtained an appointment in the 
 Queen's household, he could at any time make 
 his way into the kitchen, where some of his old 
 acquaintances were already employed. His pre- 
 sence there would excite no suspicion. He could 
 soon discover what were Mary Stuart's tastes ; 
 and then nothing could be easier than to mix 
 poison in the dish which it was known that she 
 preferred, and of which she usually partook.^ 
 
 ^ Oil this atrocious project see Teulet, i. 260, who has printed 
 
CHAPTER THE FOURTH. Ill 
 
 Such was the outline of Stuart's plan. In 
 submitting it to the Privy Council of England, 
 he must have believed that there was a reason- 
 able probability of it meeting with their ap- 
 proval. But the Lord Chancellor, the Earl of 
 Warwick, and Lord Paget, profess to have 
 been horrified at the disclosure ; they threw 
 Stuart in prison, and forwarded an account 
 of the whole transaction to the French Court. 
 Henry, in his reply, demanded that the 
 criminal should be forwarded to him for ex- 
 amination. 
 
 So far the narrative is plain and intelligible, 
 but from this point it becomes so obscure and 
 incoherent as to excite our suspicions. The 
 French Ambassador, then resident in London, 
 seems to have thought that an ^attempt was 
 being made to screen the criminal. He com- 
 
 several official pajjers connected with it, none of which, however, 
 clear up the obscurities in which it is involved. That it was 
 known to the English ambassador, is proved by the Calendar of 
 State Papers, Foreign, 1551, April 29, June 6 and 9. We need 
 not be surprised to find that with such terrors around her, Mary of 
 Guise suffered at this time from a sharp attack of illness. See a 
 letter from Catherine de Medicis to the Constable in her Cor- 
 respondence, i. 19. 
 
112 THE YOUTH OF QUEEN MARY. 
 
 plains that the Privy Council neglected to supply 
 the documents Avithout the production of which 
 they well knew that Stuart could not be con- 
 victed. No statement of his examination was 
 forthcoming, nor was his confession, nor a note of 
 the circumstances under which he had been ar- 
 rested, although these papers had been frequently 
 demanded, and as frequently promised. Stuart 
 was sent off to France without due notice having 
 been previously given to the police there to 
 await his arrival. There would seem to have 
 been a lar^e amount of iofnorance or neerliffence, 
 or indiiference, or connivance on the part of the 
 English Government, which it is not easy to ex- 
 plain. But be that as it may, it appears that 
 Stuart did actually pass into the hands of the 
 French officials. By them he was lodged in the 
 Gastle of Angers on the 5th of June 1551, and 
 it was intended that on the following day 
 he should be safely transferred to the state 
 prison of Plessis-Mace. (Such, at least, is' 
 the statement of Mason, the English Ambassa- 
 dor.) From this date he disappears, how, we 
 know not. Did he escape from prison ? Was 
 
CHAPTER THE FOURTH. 113 
 
 he tried and acquitted ? We can give no 
 answer.^ 
 
 It may be instructive as well as interesting, 
 however, to trace the subsequent history of a 
 man who aimed at the honour of becomino- a 
 regicide, and this can be done by the help of the 
 official correspondence of the period. 
 
 In A.D. 1559, one Robert Stuart, who claimed 
 to be connected with the Royal Family of Scot- 
 land, was apprehended in Paris upon the charge 
 of having murdered the President Minart.^ 
 Unfortunately for himself, Minart had become 
 obnoxious to the party of the Huguenots, and 
 Stuart was employed to remove the nuisance. 
 He did this very effectually, and was so well 
 befriended, that he escaped from this charge 
 also ; for, in the March of the following year, we 
 find him again in prison upon suspicion of 
 
 1 Teulet, i. 260-273. On 14th June 1551 the Eegister of the 
 English Privy Council notices that the French King returns 
 thanks for the sending of Robert Stewart to him. R. O. France, 
 April 29, .June 6 and 9. I cannot but observe, however, that 
 Mason was at Angers on June 6, the day of Stuart's arrival 
 there, and that he left on the following day. See his letter of 
 that date in the Record Office. 
 
 2 R. 0. Foreign, Eliz., 27th Dec. 1559. Forbes, i. 286. 
 
 H 
 
114 THE YOUTH OF QUEEN MARY. 
 
 being connected with a plot to murder the Duke 
 of Guise and the Cardinal of Lorraine, with the 
 details of which we are unacquainted.^ Innocent 
 or guilty, he again contrived to escape with his 
 life ; it is possible, however, that the next few 
 years of his existence were spent in prison, for 
 he does not reappear upon the scene until 1566, 
 when we find him still in Paris in the service of 
 the Admiral Coligny.^ In the July of the same 
 year, Robert Stuart is in correspondence with 
 Cecil ; who, a year afterwards, instructs Sir 
 Henry Norris, the English Ambassador in Paris, 
 to have a conference with him upon the defence 
 of religion. Stuart was rejoiced to hear of 
 Cecil's zeal in the good cause, and suggested that 
 Elizabeth should help it forward, if it were only 
 by a contribution of one hundred crowns. The 
 result of the proposal is not recorded. We are 
 told, however, that at the battle of St Denis 
 (10th November 1567) the old Constable Mont- 
 morency was killed by a shot in the back fired 
 
 ' R. O. Foreign, Eliz., 7th March 1560. Forbes, i. 382. P. 
 Paris, 207, 283. 
 
 ^ Foreign Calend., No. 577. 
 
CHAPTER THE FOURTH. 115 
 
 by the hand of Robert Stuart, Avho was after- 
 wards executed as a murderer.^ 
 
 The agitation through which the Queen Dow- 
 ager of Scotland had passed, in consequence of 
 this threatened attempt upon her daughter's 
 life, w^as not the only trial to which she was 
 exposed during her stay in France. It will be 
 remembered that by her first husband, Louis, 
 Duke of Longueville, she had become the 
 mother of a son named Francis, who, on the 
 death of his father, succeeded to the paternal 
 estates, upon which he resided while his mother 
 made her abode in Scotland. Apparently the 
 mother and child had not met from the time 
 of her second marriage ; and now, on her re- 
 turn to France, she found him approaching to 
 early manhood. But at this very time he was 
 attacked by an illness which ended fatally 
 (2 2d September 1551), under circumstances of 
 which we are ignorant. That the grief of Mary 
 of Guise was deep and sincere, appears by a 
 curious memorial which has come down to our 
 
 ^ See P. Paris, Le regne de Frangois II., pp. 207, 283 ; 
 Foreign Calend., 577, 583, 1405, 1824 ; Brautome, i. 325, 326. 
 
116 THE YOUTH OF QUEEN MAEY. 
 
 own time without having attracted even the 
 most passing notice. It is a hasty memoran- 
 dum hurriedly written, apparently from the 
 Queen's dictation, and somewhat obscurely ex- 
 pressed. In it she records her wishes as to 
 the acts o£ devotion and charity which she 
 intends to have executed for the benefit of the 
 soul of her deceased child. Some of the entries 
 are so curious as to be worthy of transcription. 
 She provides that a messenger shall go from 
 Scotland to St James (of Compostella ?) where 
 an offering shall be made at the High Mass. 
 This ofiering was to be a representation of the 
 deceased in wax, of the size of a child of four 
 months of age, and was to weigh . . . (The 
 weight unknown, and therefore not entered.) 
 Six other offerings were to be made at differ- 
 ent shrines on the Continent, the names of 
 which are here specified ; and it is provided 
 that in each case the offering^ shall be identical 
 with that above described. 
 
 The Queen then turns her thoughts to Scot- 
 land, and wishes to carry along with her to the 
 home of her adoption the memory of her first- 
 
CHAPTER THE FOURTH. 117 
 
 born child. With that object, she arranges that 
 Mass shall be said for her son at " Saint Trygnan," 
 or St Ninian of Whitehern, the earliest church in 
 Scotland, at St Adrian's, in the Isle of May, at 
 the shrine of the True Cross at Peebles, and at 
 Soltre. At each of these localities, it is pro- 
 vided that the religious functions shall be the 
 same as that which is described above. In this 
 paper the Queen Dowager states it to be her 
 wish, that in the ev^ent of her own death occur- 
 rincv before these arrano^ements could be carried 
 into effect, the present document should be for- 
 warded to her mother, who would see it exe- 
 cuted. 
 
 Having thus satisfied her maternal affection, 
 and arrano^ed for her duties as a Christian 
 woman, she began to prepare for her journey 
 homeward. She had spent about a year and 
 four months in France, and the political con- 
 dition of Scotland demanded her return with 
 the least possible delay. A revolutionary move- 
 ment, of the extensive ramifications of which 
 she could have known very little, had been 
 making way, silently but surely, during her 
 
118 THE YOUTH OF QUEEN MAEY. 
 
 absence ; and on her return, its strength had 
 grown beyond her control. But as yet the 
 future was unknown to her ; and she bravely 
 prepared herself to meet the difficulties which 
 she saw in the present. The parting of Mary 
 Stuart and Mary of Guise was a final one ; 
 but each of the two women was so blinded 
 as to believe that France and Scotland were 
 now one country, and that their interests were 
 identical, and would so continue. 
 
 The homeward voyage from France was a 
 prosperous one. Escorted by ten ships of war, 
 Mary landed at Portsmouth (November 2), and 
 made her way thence to London by easy jour- 
 neys. Everywhere her reception was most 
 cordial, for her winning kindliness of manner 
 captivated all hearts.^ She had cause to feel 
 proud of the honours lavished upon her by all 
 
 1 In the Register Book of Privy Council (B. M. Addit. MS., 
 14,026, fol. 41, b.) occur letters addressed to the Princesses Mary 
 and Elizabeth, written on the arrival of the Queen Dowager of 
 Scotland at Portsmouth. The Marquis of Northampton and his 
 wife were appointed to wait upon her. Her movements in Eng- 
 land are recorded in a letter from the Council to Sir William 
 Pickering, 5th November 1551, of which an abstract may be 
 seen in the Calendar of Foreign State Papers already re- 
 ferred to. 
 
CHAPTER THE FOURTH. 119 
 
 classes of society. When she arrived at court 
 King Edward paid her marked attention, and 
 ordered that on her northward journey she 
 should be treated with the respect due to her 
 royal dignity. She reached Scotland about the 
 end of November 1551, and found herself 
 involved in the political troubles which had 
 already begun to distract and agitate that 
 unhappy kingdom.^ 
 
 The absence of the Queen Dowager, extend- 
 ing as it did over a period of sixteen months, 
 was a calamity to the interests of her daughter. 
 No sooner had she embarked at Leith for 
 France, than the o-overnment of the countrv 
 passed, for all practical purposes, into the hands 
 of the Lord James Stuart, and the party who 
 acted along with him. The people grew fami- 
 liar with the idea that thev could live very 
 happily among themselves without the presence 
 of two women who were strangers, and who 
 
 ^ According to the Diurnal, she embarked at Leith 8th August 
 1550, and left France about 30th November 1551. See further 
 K. O. Foreign, 1551, November 5, the Council to Pickering, 
 and the Register of Privy Council, B. M. MS. Addit., 14,026, 
 fol. 41, b. 
 
120 THE YOUTH OF QUEEN MARY. 
 
 betrayed their foreign sympathies at every turn, 
 by their tastes, their habits, and their language. 
 The men who aimed at power had now for the 
 time gained undisturbed possession of the coun- 
 try which they hoped ere long to bring over 
 to their religious opinions ; and the authority 
 with which the Queen had indirectly invested 
 them, made the process comparatively easy. 
 By cultivating more amicable relations with 
 England, they could, to a great extent, neutral- 
 ise the opposition which they might otherwise 
 have experienced from their Southern neigh- 
 bours ; and the right hand of fellowship which 
 they held out to the Reformers, domestic as 
 well as foreign, brought into harmony, or 
 seemed to do so, elements which otherwise 
 might have been discordant. 
 
 All these considerations, however, were very 
 imperfectly understood by the Queen Regent. 
 It appeared to her that all that she had seen 
 and heard in France gave her the assurance 
 of victory. She was convinced tliat, owing to 
 the divided condition of England, that formid- 
 able power could no longer curb Scotland so 
 
CHAPTEE THE FOURTH. 121 
 
 easily as she used to do in former da3"s. We 
 know that she was wrong in her conclusions. 
 Wise after the events which to her were so 
 many unsolved problems, we wonder at her 
 simple credulity, and pity her want of percep- 
 tion. Let us forgive her if she failed to read 
 the stars. We may think that she was mis- 
 taken ; but we cannot write her down as dis- 
 honest. She did the best she could for her 
 daughter. She fought a long and a losing fight 
 against an overpowering superiority ; and she 
 died in the struggle, like a noble and true- 
 hearted woman. Sometimes a defeat is PTander 
 than a victory 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 QUEEN MAEY S EDUCATION IN FKANCE. 
 
 N her mother's departure, Maiy resumed 
 her studies with increased energy and 
 perseverance, and the progress which 
 she made was rapid and satisfactory. Her 
 acquirements were varied and brilHant, yet 
 they were sohd ; and they were reheved and 
 ornamented by the usual hghter accompHsh- 
 ments which became one of her sex and station. 
 Even in that age of advanced scholarship in 
 which she lived, she was regarded as a well- 
 educated woman. She spoke the Italian 
 language accurately and fluently, and we shall 
 presently have occasion to make some remarks 
 upon her acquaintance with Latin composition. 
 
CHAPTER THE FIFTH. 123 
 
 The verses of which she was the authoress were 
 considered elegant and harmonious by such 
 critics as Ronsard and Brantome. She was 
 well acquainted with ancient and modern litera- - 
 ture, and she evidently had been a careful 
 student of the Holy Scriptures. She enjoyed 
 exercise in the open air in all its forms, and 
 to one of her constitution and temperament, it 
 was almost a necessity. She was a bold rider, 
 and followed the hounds with a spirit which 
 often made her careless of her personal safety. 
 She danced with elegance, and was a proficient 
 in music, both vocal and instrumental. She 
 has left behind her several specimens of her 
 skill in the use of the needle ; and it is 
 pleasant to think that her acquaintance with 
 the art of embroidery, in which she ex- 
 celled, must have enlivened many a weary 
 hour during her long years of imprisonment 
 in England.^ 
 
 ^ Several pieces of embroidery, executed by Queen Mary, are 
 described in the "Catalogue of Antiquities, etc., exhibited in 
 Edinburgh in 1859," p. 183. Conn (in Jebb ii. 13-15) tells us 
 that various specimens of similar work were to be seen in his 
 day in France. 
 
124 THE YOUTH OF QUEEN MARY. 
 
 Of Mary's personal attractions it is not easy 
 to speak with fitting reserve, when we remem- 
 ber that all who saw her have united in ex- 
 pressing the most fervent admiration. Perhaps 
 the safest authority upon the subject will be that 
 of a woman ; the reader is invited therefore 
 to accept the following description of Mary's 
 appearance when she had reached her four- 
 teenth year. Miss Strickland thus describes 
 the whole-length portrait of her, which formerly 
 graced the royal gallery at Fontainebleau. In 
 it the colour of her hair and eyes is repre- 
 sented as of a rich brown tint ; so are her 
 beautiful eyebrows. Her complexion is clear 
 and delicate, but somewhat pale ; her nose 
 straight. Nothing can be more lovely, refined, 
 and intellectual than her features, but her 
 demeanour is painfully grave and dignified. 
 The roundness of contour, and the softness of 
 early youth are there ; but even then the 
 cares of early greatness are legibly impressed 
 on the countenance. As she advanced towards 
 womanhood, these outward charms expanded 
 and increased, until they earned for her the 
 
CHAPTER THE FIFTH. 125 
 
 reputation of being the most beautiful wonian 
 in Europe. -^ 
 
 But there must have been other influences 
 to account for the charm exercised by Mary 
 Stuart upon every one who came within the 
 ranp'e of her society. Personal beauty, the 
 beauty of form and feature, cannot long re- 
 tain its sway, unless supported by other at- 
 tractions more powerful and more permanent. 
 All with whom she conversed were won by 
 the charm of her manner and conversation. ^ 
 There seems to have been about her a certain 
 kindliness of demeanour and simplicity of 
 address which gained for her a welcome en- 
 trance into all hearts, and at once conciliated 
 the person who had been inclined to oppose 
 her, whatever might be his rank in life, his 
 prejudices, or his politics. This gay and un- 
 suspecting spriteliness of youth, arising partly 
 
 ^ Life of Queen Mary, i. 19. On the portraits of Mary see 
 the interesting work of Prince Labanoff, and the catalog-ue men- 
 tioned in the last note, p. 201. Her beauty is frequently re- 
 ferred to by Brantume and Eonsard, and extracts from various 
 other writers to the same effect may be seen in Coste, ii. 507. 
 
 - In illustration of this, see the letter of White to Cecil in 
 Haynes, p. 509. 
 
126 THE YOUTH OF QUEEN MARY. 
 
 from her natural temperament, partly from 
 her early training in the Court of France, 
 might have had great dangers for her, had they 
 not been held in control by deeper principles, 
 and the solid and religious education provided 
 for her by her mother and her maternal re- 
 latives. But the girl passed unsullied through 
 all this evil ; and the men and women who 
 had known her from her childhood could best 
 appreciate the beauty of her character ; its 
 truthfulness, its calm courage, its singleness of 
 purpose, its forgetfulness of self. The more 
 matured qualities of her mind could not fully 
 exhibit themselves until she had begun the 
 battle of life in earnest. At present we are 
 concerned only with the schooldays of the 
 future Queen ; and we now resume our re- 
 marks upon the progress of her learning and 
 the formation of her character. 
 
 At a very early period of her life Mary 
 Stuart began to take lessons in the art of 
 governing. When she had reached her tenth 
 year, her mother could so far trust her dis- 
 cretion, as to consult her upon certain private 
 
CHAPTER THE FIFTH. 127 
 
 matters, respecting which the young diplomat 
 ventured to express her opinion with mingled 
 candour, good sense and modesty. ^ A few 
 months afterwards we see her yet more dis- 
 tinctly, in the report upon the progress of her 
 education, which lier uncle, the Cardinal, sent 
 to his sister, Mary of Guise. The letter of 
 his Eminence, dated 25th February 1553, 
 contains the following passages : — 
 
 " I told you, Madame, that the King had 
 gone to Amboise to visit the Dauphin and the 
 rest of the royal family, your daughter, the 
 Queen of Scotland, being one of the number. 
 I accompanied His Majesty on this expedition. 
 And now that I have satisfied myself as to 
 their good health, 1 proceed to tell you of such 
 
 ^ Unfortunately very many of Mary's letters are undated, which 
 makes it difficult for us accurately to trace the progress of her 
 education and the expansion of her intellect. In one of them 
 she writes thus to her mother : " Very humbly do I beg you to 
 believe that I will not fail to obey you in all matters wherein 
 you may be pleased to command me ; and to be assured, that 
 the greatest desire which I have in this world is to do your 
 pleasure and to be very obedient to you, serving you in every 
 way in my power, as indeed I am bound to do." Labanoff, i. 6, 
 ascribes this letter to 1552, but to me it seems to have been 
 written at a later period. 
 
128 THE YOUTH OF QUEEN MARY. 
 
 matters as more immediately concern yourself^ 
 and from which you will derive the most lively 
 satisfaction. 
 
 " Your daughter has grown much taller, and 
 she daily improves in goodness and virtue, in 
 beauty and intelligence. She could not possibly 
 make greater progress than she does in all that 
 is excellent and of good reputation. Never 
 have I seen her equal in this realm, either 
 among high or low. I must not fail to tell you, 
 Madame, that so much does the King enjoy her 
 society, that he frequently spends an hour in 
 conversing with her, and this is a great pleasure 
 to him, for she talks as well and as sensibly as 
 if she were a woman of five-and-twenty. You 
 may be assured that in her you have a daughter 
 who will be the greatest of comforts to you. 
 She is about to come to St Germain, along with 
 the other lords and ladies. She will be attended 
 by her usual train, and, indeed, by everything^ 
 to which she has been accustomed. It now 
 becomes necessary for you to consider the rank 
 which you would wish her to occupy for the 
 futuro. And in order to give you some infor- 
 
CHAPTER THE FIFTH. 121) 
 
 mation upon this subject, I have caused that 
 there should be drawn up for you a list of all 
 the persons who are with her, as also of such 
 as still seem to be necessary for her, and a 
 statement of how much money she can expend 
 annually. I send you this list, and in each article 
 of it I have noted with my own hand what (in 
 my opinion) ought to be done in this matter. On 
 this point I ask you to come to a decision, and 
 then to let me know your good pleasure, in order 
 that I may put your wishes into execution. 
 
 " In the settlement of vour dau<''liter's estab- 
 lishment, it is my opinion that there should not 
 be anything which is either superfluous or mean : 
 for meanness is the thino- which of all others 
 she hates most in this world. Be assured, 
 Madame, that already her spirit is so high that 
 she lets her annoyance be very plainly visible, 
 if she be unworthily treated. And this feeliiio- 
 of independence leads her to wish that she were 
 free from the state of subjection in which she 
 is placed at this time, and that she might live 
 in a position of authority. 
 
 "Should it seem to you, Madame, that the 
 
 1 
 
130 THE YOUTH OF QUEEN MARY. 
 
 di'aft be not drawn up on a scale sufficiently 
 liberal for her dignity, then you can enlarge it 
 at your discretion. If this be necessary, care 
 should be taken that this expenditure should be 
 maintained ; and that you should look well to 
 the means by which it is to be continued, so 
 that it fall not into arrear. Here in France no 
 aid whatever is to be expected towards its 
 support. The King says that the revenues of 
 the realm are so miserably small that he cannot 
 provide for your daughter. And as for the 
 future, since His Majesty must expend certain 
 sums upon the fortifications in Scotland, he will 
 be compelled to make corresponding deductions 
 from her expenses here in France. 
 
 " Your daughter's general conduct is admir- 
 able, and nothing can be more satisfactory than 
 the progress which she is making in her educa- 
 tion under the care of Madame Parroys. The 
 service of God is carefully observed, as here- 
 tofore. The bearer of this will tell you about 
 the speech which your daughter addressed to 
 the King of France." ^ 
 
 ^ Labanoff, i. 8. See also Brantorce, v. 83, ed. 1823. In the 
 
CHAPTER THE FIFTH. LSI 
 
 The incident to which the Ca)"dinal here 
 refers, that of the Latin speech addressed to the 
 King and nobles by the little Queen of Scotland, 
 seems to have produced a great sensation in the 
 <>)urt of Paris. It was generally admired, even 
 in tliat critical assembly, not only from the 
 excellence of the composition, as from the ease 
 and grace with which it was delivered. Bran- 
 tome refers to it as possessing exceptional merit. 
 As no copy has been transmitted to our day, 
 we must be content to accept it upon the judg- 
 ment of others. 
 
 It Avas not until the end of the year 1.553 
 that the Queen Mother finally sanctioned an 
 arranofement which o-ave ]\Iarv Stuart an inde- 
 pendent household. Probably this welcome in- 
 telligence reached her on her birthday, or on 
 the great festival of Christmas. It is certain 
 that she began to exercise her new dignity on 
 the first day of the year 1554;^ and she in- 
 
 Catalogue of the Library of Queen Mary, drawn up in 157S, was 
 a copy of " Ane Oration to the King of the Franche, of the 
 Queen's awin handwrite." Maitland MiscelL, i. 4. Mary her- 
 self transhxted it into French, but this version too has perished. 
 ^ Wotton, always keenly alive as to all that concerned Mary 
 
132 THE YOUTH OF QUEEN MARY. 
 
 augurated it by entertaining her uncle the 
 Cardinal at supper. The interest which from 
 the first he had taken in the affairs of his 
 niece had suffered no diminution, and he 
 proved its sincerity by exercising a strict 
 control over her expenditure. He made a 
 monthly inspection of her household arrange- 
 ments, examined her accounts, and — mindful 
 of the attempt of Robert Stuart — gave her 
 servants the strictest orders to admit no 
 stranger amono- them. Having- done this, he 
 sent his sister, the Queen of Scotland, a note 
 of the month's charges, which she would be 
 required to provide for her daughter's esta- 
 blishment. 
 
 When this letter was written Mary Stuart 
 was resident at Meudon, along with her grand- 
 mother, Antoinette, Duchess-Dowager of Guise. 
 The baptism of Charles of Lorraine, second son 
 of the Great Duke,^ which was then and there 
 celebrated, was the sio^nal for a oTeat familv 
 
 Stuart, informs the English Privy Council on 9th January 1554, 
 that she now keeps a separate establishment in order to show 
 that she is of age to govern. See Foreign Correspondence. 
 1 Born 26th March 1554. 
 
CHAPTER THE FIFTH. 133 
 
 g'athering. The ceremony was graced by the 
 presence o£ the King and Queen of France, the 
 Duke of Ferrara, the Duchess of Yalentinois, 
 and a large assembly of the chief nobility. In 
 describino; it to Mary of Guise shortly after- 
 wards, the Cardinal referred to the good looks 
 and sound health of her daughter, whom he 
 had seen at the ceremony. He assured his 
 sister that there was no truth in certain reports 
 which had lately been put into circulation, to 
 the effect that she had been seriously ill. 80 
 far from this being the case, the medical men 
 had asrreed in statinof that her constitution was 
 excellent, that she would become a strong 
 woman, and to all appearance would reach a 
 vigorous old age. The only disorder of which 
 she had reason to complain was an occasional 
 faintness, the result of her own imprudence. 
 He explains this remark b}^ adding that Mary's 
 appetite, always good (that of a healthy girl in 
 her teens) led her now and then to yield to it 
 a little too far, and then she has to pay the 
 penalty. Perhaps the Cardinal himself was 
 somewhat in fault, for he adds^ — " Hence- 
 
134 THE YOUTH OF QUEEX MARY. 
 
 forth I shall be more watchful over her 
 dietary." ^ 
 
 The praises lavished upon Mary's literary 
 progress urged her to increased exertion in her 
 studies. A remarkable document connected 
 with her school days, in the form of an exercise 
 book, is still preserved, and has been printed. 
 Into this precious little volume she copied with 
 her own hand the Latin themes and letters - 
 which she composed during her twelfth and 
 thirteenth years. Thev were written from dav 
 to day as the opportunity occurred, while the 
 Court travelled from one royal residence to 
 another in the course of the summer, autumn 
 and winter of 1554, and the spring of the 
 following year. The handwriting is always neat 
 
 ^ Labanoff, i. 21. The excellency of her general health is 
 shortly afterwar<is confirmed by herself in her letter to her 
 mother. Id. p. 25. 
 
 ■^ This interesting volume is deposited in the National Library 
 of Paris, No. 8860. It contains 64 themes written on 86 leaves,, 
 the Latin portion of which is entirely in Mary's hand. It has 
 been edited by M. Montaiglon among the publications of the 
 Warton Society. It is probable that the name of her instructor 
 in Latin was M. de Saint Estienne, who certainly was the pre- 
 ceptor of her fellow-pupil, the Princess Elizabeth. See Bran- 
 tome, V. 140. 
 
CHAPTER THE FIFTH. 1.*^') 
 
 and clear, (juite Italian in its form, but sonit'- 
 what varied in appearance, according to tlie 
 varying qualities of the ink and the pen with 
 which the busy little scribe happened to be 
 provided at the time. The subject matter of 
 these essays is taken entirely from pagan anti- 
 quity ; from Plato, Cicero, and other classical 
 writers. Three Dialogues of Erasmus are cited, 
 and it seems probable that the whole of the 
 Colloquia were read about this time by tlie 
 royal children. 
 
 Mary's favourite correspondent was lier fel- 
 low student the Princess Elizabeth, the daughter 
 of Henry the Second,^ who became the wife 
 of Philip of Spain after the death of Mary 
 Tudor. Two letters in the collection are ad- 
 dressed to Claude, another of Henry's children, 
 the future Duchess of Lorraine. Her other 
 correspondents are her uncle, the great Duke 
 of Guise, and the Dauphin, her affianced lius- 
 
 ^ Born at Fontainebleau 13th April lolft, died at Mailrid 3d 
 October 156S. Before her marriage with Philip the Second of 
 Spain she had been betrothed to Edward the Sixth of England. 
 A letter from Mary Stnart to her early fi-iend, written a few 
 days before the death of the latter, is given in Lab., ii. 18S. 
 
136 THE YOUTH OF QUEEN MARY. 
 
 band. One letter, which treats upon the pains 
 of purgatory, seems as if intended to be sent 
 to Calvin ; but it may be questioned whether 
 it is anything more than an exercise thrown 
 into the form of an epistle. 
 
 From this collection of letters and essays we 
 gain something of an insight into the tastes, 
 habits, and feelings of the future Queen of 
 Scotland. In one place she tells us that she 
 had just left the presence of the Royal Family 
 in order that she might enjoy, without inter- 
 ruption, the dialogue of Erasmus, called the 
 Dilitculum} In the opinion of the young 
 critic this work is eminently useful, pleasant, 
 and beautiful. She objected to the theories of 
 those philosophers who held that it was an 
 unbecoming thing for women to cultivate the 
 languages and literature of antiquity ; and she 
 warmly urged that feminine education should 
 embrace a wider range of study than that 
 within which it generally is confined. So 
 deeply was she impressed with this conviction, 
 
 ^ Oioera, i. 717, ed. fol. Basil, 1540. This incident occurred 
 upon Sunday, 18th Avigust 1555, while the Royal Family was 
 staying at the Palace of Compiegne. 
 
CHAPTER THE FIFTH. 187 
 
 that in no fewer than fifteen of her letters 
 she discusses the histories of learned women 
 whose names have been recorded by Plutarch. 
 On several occasions the depth of her religious 
 convictions manifests itself. She remarks in 
 one place that if men do not profit by the study 
 of the Holy Scriptures, the fault is their own, — 
 they do not approach them with a pure heart. 
 AVriting on the 14th of September, she reminds 
 her correspondent that " to-day is the festival 
 of the Hoi}" Cross, on which hung Jesus Christ, 
 the Son of the Eternal Father, for our salvation." 
 In another place she thus expresses herself: — 
 " In Thy hands, O Lord, is my destiny. If we 
 are poor in this world, herein we are like to 
 our God and our Brother, for He had not where 
 to lav His head. And if men hate us, this 
 poverty and suffering become to us the assured 
 promise of the glory of the kingdom of heaven." 
 From this interestino- little volume we learn 
 the names of the several residences visited by 
 the royal children, among whom the chief place 
 was assigned to Mar}- Stuart. They spent a 
 few days at Chantilly, belonging to the Con- 
 
138 THE YOUTH OF QUEEN MARY. 
 
 stable Montmorency, Compiegne, a royal palace ; 
 Rlieims, the see of her uncle, the Archbishop ; 
 Nanteuil, Villers-Coterets, and Marchais, — all 
 belonging to the princely family of Lorraine.^ 
 The three royal residences of Touraine, namely, 
 Blois, Amboise, and Orleans, were not forgotten. 
 As we have already seen, Mary passed a few 
 days at Meudon with her grandmother, to whose 
 influence in the formation of her character refer- 
 ence has already been made. It is probable that 
 during one of these visits to Marchais, Mary 
 went on that pilgrimage to the shrine of Our 
 Lady of Liesse,^ to which she refers in one of 
 her letters. 
 
 As Mary grew older she insensibly glided 
 
 ^ Some original charters lately added to the Library of the 
 British Museum give the followicg information as to their move- 
 ments : — 
 
 1550. Feb. 19. The Dauphin was at Orleans, the Scottish 
 
 Queen at Meudon, Add. Chart., 626. 
 1550. May 5. Mary and the King's daughters at St Ger- 
 main-en-Laye. Id., 15,293. 
 
 1550. May 25. As above. Do. do. Id., 15,294. 
 
 1551. Oct. 30. As above. At Blois. Id., 15,627. 
 1554. July 10. As above. At Rheims. Id., 15,628. 
 
 ^ Lab., i. 23. The celebrated shrine of N6tre Dame de Liesse 
 is within an easy distance of Marchais, one of the houses of the 
 Cardinal of Ijorraine, where Mary resided in 1554. See Lab. i. 
 25. 
 
CHAPTER THE FIFTH. 139 
 
 into the region of politics. That such should 
 be the case was not only natural Ijut becoming-. 
 Herein, when consulted, she expressed her opinion 
 with mino'led diffidence and decision ; always 
 submittino^ with an easy and o-enuine huniilitv 
 her own inexperience to the more matured judg- 
 ment of her elders. She received letters from 
 the Duke of Chatelherault, and others of the 
 Scottish nobility, which she answered, after 
 having consulted the Cardinal of Guise, whose 
 influence in the direction of her aflairs is every- 
 where visible. Obedient and aflectionate as she 
 was, she had the courage to oppose a plan which 
 she had been urged to sanction, even although 
 she knew it to be for the advantage of the Earl 
 of Huntly, and had the approval of her mother.^ 
 Along with the expansion of Mary's intellect, 
 her mode of life underwent a corresponding- 
 change. She was now permitted to a great 
 extent to follow her own literary tastes, and 
 books ceased to be her only teachers. She dis- 
 covered the secret of learnino- by observation, 
 by experience, by conversation, by giving heed 
 
 1 Lab., i. -^7. 
 
140 THE YOUTH OF QUEEN MARY. 
 
 to the thousand little warnings and suggestions 
 which present themselves in our daily life. Her 
 position in the Court of Paris, lofty though it was, 
 brought her into frequent and familiar converse 
 Avith the most elegant scholars of the day, for 
 the habits of the age placed prince and professor 
 for a time upon the same social level. 
 
 Mary's education in all that related to the 
 poetry and literature of France may be referred 
 to the influence of two authors of acknowledged 
 reputation, with whom she was personally ac- 
 quainted. These were Brantome and Ronsard. 
 
 Of these two writers we need not wonder that 
 Brantome ^ should be the better known and the 
 more generally admired ; for the sharp and dis- 
 tinct outline and the vivid colouring of the por- 
 traits of the men and women of his own period, 
 for which we are indebted to his pen, entitle him 
 to our gratitude. His early acquaintance with 
 the house of Guise (for he served under the 
 Duke) necessarily made him well known to the 
 Queen of Scotland, and he watched her varying 
 fortmies with unchanged interest. When she 
 
 1 Born about 1540, died 15th July 1614. 
 
CHAPTER THE FIFTH. 141 
 
 returned a young widow to her own countr}', he 
 obtained leave to accompany her, and his recol- 
 lections of their voyage from Calais to Leith, 
 and the events which followed upon her arrival 
 in Edinburgh, supply us with the most grapliic 
 and the most trustworthy impressions of this 
 period of her history. Brantome lived long 
 enouo'h to chronicle Mary's death and to vindi- 
 cate her memory. The frequent opportunities 
 which he had enjoyed of listening to her con- 
 versation, his familiarity with her tastes and 
 habits, her turn of thought and mode of expres- 
 sion entitle his estimate of anythino- that she 
 did, wrote or said to our respectful consideration. 
 Having known her as maiden, wife, and mother, 
 he looked with indignant contempt upon the 
 charges brought against her by Buchanan and 
 his followers. Brantome passed a deliberate 
 judgment upon the verses which Mary is said to 
 have addressed to Bothwell, and his criticism 
 may be considered final. He had the right to 
 express himself with decision, for he was familiar 
 with her poetry. She had shown him some of 
 her verses while they were yet unfinished, and 
 
142 THE YOUTH OF QUEEN MARY. 
 
 had consulted him as to their treatment. He 
 was well acquainted with the usual current of 
 her thoughts and the general turn of her expres- 
 sions ; and he emphatically declares that none of 
 these peculiarities of sentiment or diction are to 
 be found in the coarse and vulgar lines of which 
 she is charpfed of havino- been the authoress. 
 
 As in the case of Brantome, so in that of 
 Ronsard,^ a kind of hereditary bond existed 
 between the prince and the poet, and placed 
 them upon terms of kindly intercourse. Origin- 
 ally a page in the household of the Duke of 
 Orleans, Ronsard passed into that of King James 
 the Fifth, with whom he returned into Scotland 
 in the retinue of his first wife, Mao'dalene of 
 France. He continued with her until her death, 
 after which he seems to have entered the service 
 of Mary of Guise. During the three years which 
 he spent in the Scottish Court, he must have 
 seen many of the principal nobility, and become 
 acquainted with the habits, feelings, and litera- 
 ture of the people. With such qualifications as 
 
 1 Born 10th September 1524, died 27th December 1585. See 
 his Works, ii. 481 ; iv. 299 ; vii. 180, edit. Blanchmain, 1860. 
 
CHAPTER THE FIFTH. 143 
 
 these, it must have been easy for Ronsard to 
 appear to advantage -in the eyes of Mary Stuart. 
 He could speak with her about her father, whom 
 she had never seen : about her mother, whose 
 memory was so dear to her ; about the land of 
 her birth, which she had all but forgotten. 
 Ronsard's high reputation as a poet, already 
 established at the time of which I am writing, 
 made his approval of her girlish compositions to 
 her a source of intense gratification. He admired 
 her talents and he respected her character. This 
 was no passing sentiment : it stood the test of 
 time, of absence, of misfortune. When her 
 sorrows fell heavily upon her, he encouraged 
 her to endure them with faith and resignation. 
 When she was exposed to calumny, he bore 
 testimony to the falsity of the charge brought 
 against her by joining with Brantome in de- 
 nouncing as forgeries the verses which she is 
 accused of having addressed to Bothwell. Mary 
 was not ungrateful. Twenty-five years after 
 she had last seen Ronsard she contrived to send 
 him out of her scanty income, through Nau, her 
 secretary, a gift of plate to the value of two 
 
144 THE YOUTH OF QUEEN MARY. 
 
 thousand crowns. One of the pieces represented 
 Parnassus ; it was in the form of a roclc, from 
 which issued a fountain, and it bore an inscrip- 
 tion, in which the former pupil addressed her old 
 master as " the Apollo of France." ^ 
 
 We have seen that at a very early period of 
 her life Mary had distinguished herself by the 
 grace and power with which she had recited one 
 of her own compositions before a large audience. 
 She was encouraged to cultivate a talent which 
 necessarily would prove of great advantage to 
 her in the transaction of public business ; and 
 an author from her own neighbourhood furnished 
 her with a manual for studying the art of 
 Rhetoric. The little volume drawn up by 
 Antoine Fouquelin for her use, and dedicated to 
 her, gives a useful summary of the principles of 
 that science, which he illustrates chiefly from 
 the best writers of Greece and Rome. The 
 author describes himself as of Chauny (Aisne), 
 
 ^ "A Ronsard, I'Apollon de la source des Muses." Coste, ii. 
 508. Brant6me speaks of a poet named L'Huillier, seigneur de 
 Maison-Fleur, as an especial favourite with Mary. Very little 
 is known of this writer, whose poems seem never to have attracted 
 much notice, possibly from the fact that they are chiefly of a 
 religious character. 
 
CHAPTER THE FIFTH. 145 
 
 a near neighbour therefore to the patrimony of 
 the Guises. He had heard of Mary's power and 
 elegance in the art of declamation, and refers to 
 the remarkable oration which she made before 
 Henry, and the universal admiration which it 
 excited.i 
 
 A pleasant though brief interview with the 
 young Queen, as she appeared in 1555, is afforded 
 us by the journal of the Bishop of Ely and the 
 Viscount Montague. On their way to Rome in 
 that year they visited Fontainebleau, and were 
 anxious to be admitted to the presence of one 
 who, as they thought, not improbably might 
 become their own sovereign. By the kindness 
 of certain Scottish gentlemen, the wislies of the 
 English travellers were conveyed to Mary, " who, 
 being told of their desire to see her, immediately 
 she very courteously came forth out of her privy 
 chamber into her chamber of presence amongst 
 us all, calling us her countrymen." - 
 
 1 The Preface is dated at Paris, 12th May 1555, and the pri- 
 vilege prefixed gives 30th September 1550 as the day when it 
 was granted. The work was revised and printed at Paris in 1557. 
 A copy of this rare little volume is in the British Museum. 
 
 - MS. Harl., 252, pr. in Hardwick's State Papers, i. OS. 
 
 K 
 
146 THE YOUTH OF QUEEN MARY. 
 
 Mary Stuart was now approaching the age of 
 early womanhood, and the interests of France 
 required that the marriage which should unite 
 Scotland with that realm ought no longer to be 
 delayed. The necessary arrangements were 
 hurried on accordingly. A letter from King 
 Henry to the Estates of Scotland was laid before 
 them, in which he invited them to send deputies 
 to Paris, there to witness the marriage of their 
 Queen with his son, the Dauphin. The proposal 
 was most cordially accepted by the Estates, which 
 appointed a commission fully authorised to give 
 the national consent to the union.^ When the 
 Scottish envoys arrived in the French Court, 
 they were received with the most marked dis- 
 tinction, and the same respect was shown to 
 them during the whole of their visit. These 
 envoys took care that the legal instruments 
 which were to secure to Scotland her laws, her 
 liberties, and her privileges, should be executed 
 
 1 Henry's invitation to send the Scottish Commissioners is 
 dated 30th October 1557. See B. M. Addit. MSS. 30,666, 
 fol. 236 ; Keith i. 348, The original Commission, sealed with 
 eighteen seals, is preserved in the French Archives, J. 680, n. 
 •67 ; Labanolf, i. 46. 
 
CHAPTER THE FIFTH. 147 
 
 "with due legal precision. To all appearance the 
 two nations were now welded together into one 
 by a bond which could never be broken. 
 
 In the midst of these arrangements, so fair 
 and honourable externally, occurred a ti'ans- 
 action which, however painful to notice, cannot 
 be passed over in silence. It presents a 
 combination of fraud and folly, which Bishop 
 Keith describes as truly " choakinof." A few 
 days before the marriage of this unsuspecting 
 girl, she • was induced privately (or rather 
 secretly) to sign three documents, the legal 
 effect of which was probably unknown to her. 
 By the first of these deeds, she makes over 
 the realm of Scotland by free gift to the 
 King of France, to be enjoyed by him and 
 his heirs, in the event of her own <loath 
 without issue, together with all the rights 
 thereunto appertaining. By the second, she 
 assigns to him possession of the realm of 
 Scotland, until he shall have repaid liimself one 
 million of gold, or any greater sum by him 
 expended on the defence of tlie same, or on 
 Mary's personal expenses or education during 
 
148 THE YOUTH OF QUEEN MARY. 
 
 her residence in France ; and by the third, — 
 
 after reciting, that although she may sign a 
 declaration touching the lineal succession of 
 
 her crown — she protests that the real and 
 genuine sense and intention of her mind is 
 contained only in the two previous instruments.^ 
 It is not easy to speak with due severity 
 of the wickedness of such a fraudulent trans- 
 action, and it is difficult to understand for 
 what purpose it could have been intended. 
 It was a foolish device, as well as a wicked 
 one. These donations, or bequests, could never 
 have been enforced, and the attempt to do so 
 would have involved France in a calamitous 
 warfare. A coalition between Spain and Eng- 
 land against such pretensions would have been 
 the necessary result of the production at any 
 time of these documents. We regret that 
 Mary should have lent herself to become a 
 party in this iniquitous affair ; but some ex- 
 tenuation may perhaps be found for her conduct. 
 
 ^ See these documents (dated at Fontainebleau, 4th April 
 1558) in the Correspondance diplomatique of Lamothe Fenelon, 
 i. 425 (1838), Labanoff, i. 50 ; and B. M. Addit. MSS., 30,666, 
 fol. 236. 
 
CHAPTER THE FIFTH. 149 
 
 She was young, she was inexperienced, she 
 yielded to the arguments of friends whom 
 she loved, and by whose advice she was 
 habitually guided, and she gave her name to 
 these papers, which she had been taught to 
 believe were not only legal, but legally due 
 to France and Scotland. 
 
 The final preparations for the marriage of 
 the young couple now advanced with rapidity. 
 The contracting parties being related in the 
 fourth deofree, Cardinal Trivulce o^ave the 
 necessary dispensation. The bride's mother and 
 the bride herself appointed the Dowager 
 Duchess of Guise to act as the representative 
 of the Queen of Scotland in all matters con- 
 nected with the marriaofe. ^ Marv had for 
 her dower the usufruct of the Duchv of 
 Touraine, and the Comte of Poitou. On IDth 
 April 1558, the preliminary act of betrothal 
 took place in the great hall of the Louvre, 
 and on the following Sunday (24th April), 
 
 ' Some curious papers connected with the dispensation may be 
 seen in B. M. Addit. MSS., 30,666, fol. 114-228, b. For other 
 papers connected with the marriage, see the same volume, foL 
 228, b. ; and Teulet, i. 312. 
 
150 THE YOUTH OF QUEEN MARY. 
 
 the marriage itself was celebrated with great 
 splendour, in the Cathedral Church of Notre 
 Dame. The management of these elaborate 
 festivities was entrusted to the Duke of Guise. 
 The religious ceremonial was conducted with 
 unusual pomp ; there being present the Car- 
 dinals of Guise, Lorraine, Bourbon, Sens,> 
 Meudon and Lenoncourt, the Papal Legate 
 Trivulce, the Bishop of Paris, the Kings and 
 Queens of France and Navarre, together with 
 nobles innumerable. The bride was conducted 
 into the church by King Henry and the 
 Duke of Guise. Her dress is described as 
 having been of blue velvet, trimmed with 
 white, and it is scarcely necessary to add that 
 she excited universal admiration.^ 
 
 Throughout the whole of these transactions, 
 the honour and the interests of Scotland were 
 guarded with watchful jealousy. Henry having 
 expressed to the Estates his wish that the 
 marriage of their Queen with his son should 
 
 ^ A detailed account of the whole ceremony is given in Teulet, 
 i. 302. Another, printed at Paris in 1558, was reprinted by the 
 K-oxburgh Club in 1818. See also Cimbers, Archives, 1 serie, 
 iii. 249, and Godefrey, Ceremonial, fol. Paris, 1649. 
 
CHAPTER THE FIFTH. 151 
 
 take place with the least possible delay, the 
 Scottish Parliament appointed nine commis- 
 sioners to carry to Paris the national approval 
 of the union of their nation with France. These 
 were Beton, Bishop of Glasgow, the Bishops 
 of Ross and Orkney, the Earls of Bothes and 
 Cassillis, James Stuart, Commendator of St 
 Andrews (Mary's base brother), Lords Fleming 
 and Seton, and John Erskine of Dun. Many 
 of them belonged to the party of the Refor- 
 mation. They were instructed to obtain from 
 the Queen and Dauphin a full recognition of the 
 national independence, laws and liberties. These 
 conditions having been complied with, the 
 nuptials were completed in their presence, and 
 with their entire sanction. On the return of 
 such of their number as escaped the fatal 
 epidemic, which broke out among them on 
 their homeward journey, they reported their 
 proceedings to the assembled Estates, by wliom 
 all that they had done was fully sanctioned 
 and confirmed. ^ 
 
 The few weeks which the newly-married 
 
 1 Acta Pari., ii. 504-7. 
 
152 THE YOUTH OF QUEEN MAEY. 
 
 couple was permitted to spend together pro- 
 bably formed the happiest period in the life 
 of Mary Stuart. They were passed at Villers- 
 CoteretS; a secluded residence at no great dis- 
 tance from Soissons. But this honeymoon soon 
 waned, and a second never appeared in the 
 horizon of her life. A letter from the young 
 bride to her mother, tells us that in the month 
 of September which followed her marriage, her 
 husband had been called away from her to join 
 the camp which had been formed near Amiens. 
 Matrimony had not altered Mary's deference 
 and affection towards her mother, combined 
 with which we notice in this letter a ready 
 submission to the wishes of her husband, and 
 a kindly interest in the welfare of her depend- 
 ents. 
 
 During the course of the following November 
 (1558) an incident occurred which brought 
 Mary's name prominently before the whole of 
 Europe, and invested it with a political im- 
 portance of which it never could afterwards 
 be deprived. On the 17th of that month 
 
 1 Lab., i. 58. See also pp. 26, 31, 43, 61. 
 
CHAPTER THE FIFTH. 153 
 
 ■died Mary Tudor, Queen of England, who ^^'as 
 succeeded by her half-sister Elizabeth, whose 
 title to the throne was considered invalid bv 
 the majority of her subjects. They objected 
 against her that not only was she a heretic, 
 but that she was born out of lawful wedlock, 
 therefore incompetent to succeed ; and that the 
 true heir to the crown was Mary Stuart. 
 Mary's claim was warmly supported by the 
 King of France, by the house of Guise, and by 
 nearly all the Catholic population of England 
 and Scotland. An attempt was made to in- 
 duce the Pope to support these pretensions ; but 
 actino- with its usual caution, the Holy See 
 declined to interfere in a political question. 
 Elizabeth soon discovered the steps which were 
 taken b}^ France to her disadvantage, and re- 
 -sented them accordingly^ By the irresistible 
 power of circumstances, Mary was thus forced 
 into an attitude of apparent hostility towards 
 her cousin, which she did not seek, and which, 
 had she been left to herself, she proltably would 
 have avoided. But she was not permitted to 
 recede. She was proclaimed Queen of England ; 
 
154 THE YOUTH OF QUEEN MARY. 
 
 she was made to adopt that title in the official 
 acts which issued from her Chancery ; and the 
 English royal arms, added to her own, were 
 engraved on her plate, and embroidered on her 
 heraldic bearings. 
 
 This public assertion of her claim was natur- 
 ally assumed to imply that she meant to vin- 
 dicate her right to the English succession. It 
 became still more conspicuous to the world, 
 and still more formidable to Elizabeth, by an 
 accident which seated Mary's husband upon the 
 throne of France, and consequently placed the 
 French crown upon the head of his wife. In 
 the midst of the " triumphs " which were pre- 
 paratory to the marriage of one of his daughters. 
 King Henry met with an accident which resulted 
 in his death. In tilting with the Count de 
 Montgomery, the broken lance of his antagon- 
 ist " hitting the king in the face, gave him such 
 a counterbuff as drove a splinter into his head," 
 says the English ambassador Throckmorton, 
 who was present on the occasion.^ The king, 
 
 ^ Throckmorton to the Privy Council, Iv. (). Foreign, No. 
 902 ; Forbes, i. 109 ; Villeville, ii. 414. 
 
CHAPTER THE FIFTH. 1-3 -3 
 
 after lingering through a week of agony, became 
 insensible, and on the 10th of July death ended 
 his sufferings. The vacant throne belonged by 
 descent to his son, Francis the Second, and 
 Mary Stuart became Queen of France and 
 Scotland. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 MARY STUART AS QUEEN OF FRANCE. 
 
 Y the death of Henry the Second, the 
 government of the reabu of France 
 passed into the hands of a puny boy 
 of fifteen years of age, who held its sceptre in 
 his feeble grasp for somewhat less than eighteen 
 months. Durino^ the reio^n of Francis the Second 
 the history of his wife. Queen Mary, is so merged 
 in that of her husband that she rarelv comes 
 before us in her personal character. As we shall 
 now be permitted to see her but from a distance 
 and at unfrequent intervals, we must endeavour 
 to make the best of these opportunities when 
 they occur. In the events which are about to 
 follow, we shall seldom recognise her as the 
 
CHAPTEK THE SIXTH. 157 
 
 actor, generally as the spectator, and always as 
 the victim. 
 
 Like almost every other country in Europe, at 
 this time, France was suffering from internal 
 divisions, occasioned by differences in religion. 
 If it had escaped from the inroads of Luther, 
 it gave a ready admission to the disciples of 
 Calvin. During the reign of Heniy the Second 
 the new doctrines of Geneva were adopted by 
 no less exalted a personage than Margaret, sister 
 of Francis the First, and afterwards Queen of 
 Navarre. She was a woman of dubious morality, 
 and is known chieflv as the author of tales of an 
 objectionable character. She had embraced that 
 form of philosophy which begins in speculative 
 doubt and ends in practical unbelief. Her resi- 
 dence at Nerac became the shelter for those 
 rebellious spirits who found in it a place of 
 refuge from the laws by which otherwise they 
 would have been punished. In the Court of 
 Paris itself, even under the eyes of the sovereign, 
 heretical opinions were fostered by the Duchess 
 d'Etampes, one of the royal mistresses. Slie and 
 the Queen of Navarre caused an amended edition 
 
158 THE YOUTH OF QUEEN MAKY. 
 
 of the Missal to be issued, by which we may 
 ascertain the changes which they wished to 
 introduce into the national religion. It forbade 
 private Masses ; it ruled that both the Elevation 
 and Adoration of the Eucharist should be sup- 
 pressed, and that Communion in botli kinds 
 should be everywhere considered imperative. 
 Ordinary household bread alone was to be used 
 at the altar. No mention was to be made of our 
 Blessed Lady, or of the Saints, during Mass. 
 Priests were no longer to be debarred from 
 marriage. 
 
 For long such opinions as these had been 
 circulated without attracting much attention 
 in the laro^er manufacturincr and commercial 
 towns, such as Rouen and Lyons ; but at length 
 their real meaning and necessary results became 
 known, and excited alarm. Towards the end 
 of his reign, Henry the Second treated the 
 preachers of these novelties with such sharpness 
 that the accident which caused his death was 
 regarded by the Calvinists as a token of God's 
 righteous anger and just vengeance. Still the 
 hidden fire smouldered on, without either burst- 
 
CHAPTER THE SIXTH. 159 
 
 iiig into an open flame or being entirely ex- 
 tiniiuished. 
 
 But the reformation of the sixteenth century, 
 as it was understood in France as well as in 
 England, meant something more than a change 
 in what a man believed. It had two sides ; its 
 political side as well as its religious. For 
 instance, it affirmed that a true Christian man 
 is subject to no one but Christ, and that to make 
 laws and to rule by laws is proper only to God. 
 In thus teaching, if consistent, it deprived all 
 superiors, temporal and spiritual, of all power 
 to legislate for their subjects. Each of its fol- 
 lowers claimed for himself liberty to reject all 
 control inconsistent with what he was pleased 
 to consider his liberty. The more zealous ones 
 amono" the brethren did not hesitate to resort to 
 arms to overthrow whatever ofovernment was 
 (in their opinion) opposed to the written Word 
 of God. " Since the time of Calvin," writes 
 Bancroft, one of the Protestant Archbisliops of 
 Canterbury, " it has been a principle witli some 
 of the chief ministers of Geneva, that if kino-s 
 and princes refuse to reform religion, the inferior 
 
160 THE YOUTH OF QUEEN MARY. 
 
 magistrates and people, by direction of the 
 ministry, might lawfully, and ought, if need 
 required it, even by force of arms, to reform 
 themselves." ^ 
 
 The Reformation, then, as it was understood 
 among the professors of the Genevan party, 
 meant a change not only in the Church but the 
 State also, and this could not be effected without 
 • a revolution. The question touched Mary Stuart 
 very closely, and at more points than one. She 
 was Queen of Scotland and Queen of France^ 
 into both of which realms the disciples of Calvin 
 were endeavouring to introduce their peculiar 
 opinions. Mary was a Catholic, and therefore 
 
 ^ Bancroft's Dangerous Positions, p. 9, ed. 1596. Christopher 
 Goodman maintained "that it is not sufficient for subjects not 
 to obey the wicked commandments of their wicked princes, but 
 they are bound to withstand them also ; that if magistrates trans 
 gress God's laws and command others to do the like, then they 
 have lost the honour and obedience due to them, and ouglit no 
 more to be deemed to be magistrates, but to be examined, 
 accused, condemned, and punished as private transgressors." 
 These passages are taken from his treatise, "How Superior 
 Powers ought to be obeyed," Geneva, 1558. This Goodman 
 was colleague to Knox at Geneva, and came with him into 
 Scotland in 1559. See M'Crie's "Life of Knox," p. 139, ed. 
 1872. In so teaching, these reformers were doing nothing more 
 t)jan echoing the doctrines of Calvin ; see his Instit. I., cap. 
 xvii., sec. 5 ; xviii., sees. 1, 2. 
 
CHAPTER THE SIXTH. IGl 
 
 they looked upon her as an enemy. A little 
 encourasfement from Elizabeth was all that was 
 needed to convert every single reformer into an 
 antagonist of the Queen of France and Scotland. 
 Thus the two women, who ought to liave been 
 friends, were forced into active opposition ; and 
 the hostility between them from this moment 
 becomes a principle of action. With Mary it 
 had intervals of slumber, but with Elizabeth it 
 was as sleepless as Cerberus. 
 
 One of the most immediate results of the 
 death of Henry the Second was the ascendency 
 of the house of Guise. Francis the Second, 
 amiable and weak, was under the dominion of 
 his wife, and in all things she was directed by 
 her uncles, the Duke and the Cardinal of Guise. 
 In civil matters the Duke's great reputation 
 gave him a deserved influence ; while in all 
 matters connected with the Church, the Cardinal, 
 supported as he generally was by the Holy See, 
 reigned almost supreme in France.^ It may be 
 
 ^ When the Cardinal returned from Rome in 1560, Pope Pius 
 IV. sent by him a letter to Queen Mary, in which he speaks of 
 her uncle in terms of the highest commendation. It is dated 
 
 L 
 
162 THE YOUTH OF QUEEN MARY. 
 
 said, almost without exaggeration, that the two 
 iDrothers ruled that kingdom durinof the entire 
 reign of their niece. They made no secret of 
 their principles, which (as far as our history is 
 concerned) may be summed up in two proposi- 
 tions ; intolerance of Protestantism in general, 
 and a special dislike to its representative in 
 England, Elizabeth Tudor. 
 
 On the other hand, the Calvinists had several 
 exponents of their cause in the French Court. 
 Of these the most eminent in point of rank was 
 Anthony of Bourbon, King of Navarre, and 
 father of the great Henry the Fourth. But he 
 w^as deficient in moral force ; he was inconstant 
 and irresolute, easily persuaded and easily in- 
 timidated. He was half-hearted in his profes- 
 sion of Calvinism ; during a large part of his 
 life he was a Reformer by name, and a Catholic 
 by practice, and on the approach of death he 
 returned to the faith of his childhood. His 
 brother, Louis, Prince of Conde, was a more 
 
 24th January 1560, and may be seen in the Secret Archives of 
 the Vatican, arm. xliv. tom. x. n. 18. On his arrival in France 
 the Cardinal assumed the entire control of the religious affairs 
 of that kingdom. 
 
CHAPTER THE SIXTH. 163 
 
 •consistent Huguenot, but his private character 
 would not bear investigation. The acknow- 
 ledged leader of the movement was Gaspard 
 de Coligny, of whose courage and capacity 
 there can be only one opinion. Numerically 
 weak, the Calvinistic party was actually strong, 
 for it was united, well organised and resolute. 
 And it had need for all these advantages, for 
 on the other side was the croAvn of France, 
 supported by a large majority of the clergy, the 
 nobles and the people ; all of whom were pre- 
 pared to defend the faith and the constitution 
 Avhich they had inherited from St Louis and 
 Charlemagne. 
 
 Conscious of their numerical inferiority, and 
 having no acknowledged leader, the Huguenots 
 resolved to temporise, and await a more favour- 
 able opportunity. The headquarters of the body 
 were removed to Geneva, where conspirators 
 could meet in safety and deliberate upon their 
 cherished desio-n for a o-reat revolution in 
 France, which as yet they had not the means 
 to carry into execution. But at this juncture 
 they received an unexpected offer of assistance 
 
164 THE YOUTH OF QUEEN MARY. 
 
 from Queen Elizabeth/ who had lately suc- 
 ceeded to the throne of England. The offer, of 
 which they understood the value, was thank- 
 fully accepted, and the drooping energies of the 
 Reformers now revived. A conspiracy upon 
 a most comprehensive scale was planned at 
 Geneva, of which the execution was entrusted 
 to an associate named La Renaudie, who 
 now returned into France in order to carry it 
 into effect. 
 
 But why should Elizabeth make such an 
 offer ? What could be the motive which should 
 induce one crowned head to foster rebellion 
 within the realm of another ? 
 
 For many reasons Elizabeth did not love 
 Mary. The old prejudices of race, nationality, 
 and religion were still active, to which might 
 be added others of a personal nature. Mary 
 was French by family, by education, by affec- 
 tion, and Elizabeth dreaded the power of France, 
 and therefore hated it. Mary was a Catholic ; 
 
 ^ The King of Navarre was informed by Throckmorton, the 
 English Ambassador in France, that his mistress would gladly 
 join with him (the king) in an alliance which shall have religion 
 for its object. See R. O., 22d August 1559, Foreign. 
 
CHAPTER THE SIXTH. 1G5 
 
 whereas Elizabeth had now declared herself to 
 be a Protestant, although until very recently 
 she had professed the faith and practised the 
 worship of the Catholic religion. Mary had 
 openly assumed the royal arms of England, 
 together with the royal style and title of its 
 sovereign, thereby proclaiming to the world her 
 belief that Elizabeth was a usurper.^ It was 
 somewhat difficult, however, for Elizabeth to 
 gratify her dislike. England was at peace with 
 France and Scotland, over both of which Mary 
 was the recognised sovereign, and against which, 
 therefore, no overt act of hostility could be di- 
 rected. But the fertile craft of Cecil, the Enolish 
 Prime Minister, soon discovered a safe and silent 
 method of escaping from the difficulty. The 
 plan was a simple one. Let Elizabeth secretly 
 help the Huguenots, not with men, but with 
 money, and France could be crippled and para- 
 
 ^ Shortly after the accession of Elizabeth, it was reported in 
 London, that the Pope was about to proclaim her to be illegiti- 
 mate, and to give the crown to Mary of Scotland. See the letter 
 from the Count of Feria to King Philip the Second, dated London, 
 29th December 1558, printed from the Archives of Siniancas in 
 the Relations Politiques des Pays-Bas et de L'AngleteiTe, i. 365, 
 lay the Baron Kervyn de Lettenhove. 
 
166 THE YOUTH OF QUEEN MARY. 
 
 lysed without knowing whence or by whom 
 the blow had been struck. It was a cheap way 
 of making war, a war which coukl be carried 
 on in the dark, and about which the Queen of 
 England need know nothino-. If charged with 
 helping the insurgents she might deny it stoutly, 
 and who could prove it ? Even if the proofs 
 against her should be forthcoming, she might 
 protest that the assistance had been given with- 
 out her knowledge and against her approval. 
 A bold front and a few brave words would 
 clear her of all responsibility. The project was 
 admirably adapted to the standard of the 
 Queen's morality, and she gladly accepted the 
 proposal. It enabled her to enjoy in undis- 
 turbed retirement the society of her favourite^ 
 Robert Dudley ; and Cecil busied himself in 
 putting into execution a design for which his 
 long experience in treason and treachery fitted 
 him so admirably. Let us see how it worked ; 
 and first of all in France. 
 
 A fitting agent was soon found in the person 
 of Sir Nicolas Throckmorton, a personage whom 
 we shall frequently meet in the progress of this 
 
CHAPTER THE SIXTH. 1G7 
 
 history. He was one of the younger sons of a 
 good family, from the ancestral faith of which 
 he had departed, and along with his new creed 
 had embraced such revolutionary doctrines as 
 at an earlier period of his life had nearly cost 
 him his head.^ Of his admirable qualifications 
 for the office of English Ambassador in France, 
 there can be no doubt. He had resided for a 
 considerable time in that country, and was 
 familiar with its politics, its plots and its parties. 
 He was adroit and plausible in the management 
 of business, thoroughly unscrupulous as to the 
 means he used to gain his end ; skilled in the 
 tortuous intrigues of the Court, and cool and 
 couraofeous in danofer. In relioj-ion a freethinker, 
 in politics all but a republican, he was well 
 adapted to ingratiate himself with the leaders of 
 the present French conspii'acy, and he did his 
 work with a single eye to the interests of his 
 mistress. In many respects he was Cecil's equal, 
 and in some his superior. 
 
 ^ See "Queen Jane and Queen Mary" (Cannlen Society), pp. 
 63, 75. In 1554: he had thrown himself upon the mercy of Mary 
 Tudor (see R. O. Foreign Cal., p. 96), and seems to have been 
 received into the confidence of her Govei-nment. 
 
168 THE YOUTH OF QUEEN MARY. 
 
 Francis the Second ascended the throne on 
 the 10th of July 1559, and on the 18th of the 
 same month we find Cecil deliberating " what is 
 to be done in France for the maintenance of the 
 faction." ^ He was not long kept in suspense, 
 for Throckmorton, who at this time was resident 
 in Paris, had already anticipated the designs of 
 his royal mistress. He looked for " some altera- 
 tion here " in France, the result of the action of 
 the King of Navarre, whom the revolutionary 
 party regarded at this time as the leading spirit of 
 the movement. But thev were mistaken in their 
 hero. While every moment was of vital im- 
 portance, Anthony lingered on his journey from 
 Yendome to Paris, and it was not until the 
 22d of August that he and the English ambassa- 
 dor had a conference. Before using the tool, 
 Cecil wanted to know of what metal it was 
 made. The meeting took place at St Denis 
 about eleven at night, and was resumed on the 
 following evening.^ Throckmorton explained to 
 the King of Navarre the nature of the Queen's 
 plans for the overthrow of the French Govern- 
 
 1 R 0. Foreign Cal., 1008. ^ j^ ^244. 
 
CHAPTER THE SIXTH. 169 
 
 ment as it then existed. It was to be thorough. 
 A change in the dynasty was a political neces- 
 sity ; a change in the religion was a sacred duty. 
 Anthony was reminded that he was the nearest 
 heir to the throne, which Elizabeth hoped soon 
 to see vacant. Had he the courage to claim his 
 rights and to fight for them ? He might count 
 upon the assistance of his assured friend the 
 Queen of England, and supported by her his 
 success would be neither doubtful nor difficult. 
 
 The King of Navarre wavered and hesitated. 
 He would take time to consider. He would not 
 commit himself to the expression of any definite 
 opinion. He was too ambitious to say No ; he 
 was too timid to say Yes. He admitted that 
 the Queen's proposal corresponded with his own 
 private wishes ; but there were difficulties in the 
 Avay which she had not fully considered, and 
 these should form the subject-matter of a des- 
 patch which ere long should reach Her Majesty. 
 
 Throckmorton was disappointed and so was 
 Cecil. Obviously this was not the man to lead 
 an insurrection, and to snatch tlie crown from 
 the head of a reigning sovereign. Some other 
 
170 THE YOUTH OF QUEEN MARY. 
 
 plan must be devised and some other tool must 
 be discovered. The French Ambassador was 
 called home, and for three months he and Cecil 
 deliberated, discussed, and decided the outline 
 of the future insurrection. That insurrection 
 was the notable conspiracy of Amboise, which 
 owes its existence to the zeal of the French 
 Huguenots, stimulated to action by the agency 
 of Sir Nicolas Throckmorton, and supported by 
 th^ covert aid of Elizabeth. 
 
 The execution of the outbreak was entrusted 
 to the personage by whom it had originally 
 been planned — a gentleman named La Renaudie. 
 Leaving Geneva he returned in disguise to 
 France, where he spent some months in visit- 
 ing such districts as he hoped would be favour- 
 able to his designs. Ostensibly these designs 
 aimed onlv at a moderate reform, nothino- more 
 than to obtain liberty of conscience for the pro- 
 fession of Calvinism, and the removal of the 
 Guises from the Government ; but thev covered 
 a revolution of a very different character. The 
 Guises were to be arrested, and massacred if 
 they offered the least resistance ; the King and 
 
CHAPTER THE SIXTH. 171 
 
 Queen were to be seized, and their fate reserved 
 for future consideration ; Calvinism was to be- 
 come the one established religion of France, — 
 the Catholic faith was to be declared illegal, 
 and a changre was to be made which would set 
 aside the fundamental law of monarchy. In 
 order to secure perfect unity with England, 
 La Renaudie visited Elizabeth, who secretly fav- 
 oured the spirit of revolt which reigned among 
 the French Calvinists. He was instructed by 
 his co-religionists to obtain from her the loan 
 of a small sum of ready money ; and, in further- 
 ance of their scheme, he urged her to promote 
 the outbreak of an insurrection in Scotland, 
 similar to that which was about to declare 
 itself in France under the leaders of the party 
 of the Huguenots.^ 
 
 On the return of La Renaudie to France, the 
 arrangements for the rebellion were conducted 
 with renewed spirit. The supreme leadership 
 of the whole conspiracy was offered to the 
 
 ^ In the details of this affair I have chiefly folknved the infor- 
 mation given by Throcknaorton in his Correspondence and the 
 M«^nioires de Conde', torn. i. p. 321-448, both of which are 
 strongly biassed in favour of the Reformers. 
 
172 THE YOUTH OF QUEEN MARY. 
 
 Prince of Conde, apparently by the suggestion 
 o£ Elizabeth, under the advice o£ Throckmorton. 
 Conde accepted it, but with one remarkable 
 condition. He bargained that his name should 
 not be mentioned until he should himself* think 
 it necessary, so that if successful he might claim 
 the advantage ; if it failed he could escape the 
 danger.^ This singular proposal was accepted ; 
 Conde was the nominal chief, but the moving 
 spirit in the whole transaction was La Renaudie. 
 Barry de la Renaudie^ had all the qualities 
 requisite in a successful conspirator, save one ; 
 he had courage, eloquence, acuteness, persever- 
 ance, but he had not the gift of prudence. He 
 could not keep his own counsel. He entrusted 
 the secret of the intended rising to a friend in 
 Paris, who, terrified by the magnitude of the 
 intended revolution, revealed the whole affair 
 to the Cardinal of Guise, who lost no time in 
 carrying the information to the Duke, his 
 brother. 
 
 ' He had announced, very prudently for himself, tliat he would 
 make his appearance at the moment of the capture of the Guises. 
 Matthieu, Hist., p. 80, ed. 1559. 
 
 ^ Concerning him, see the Memoires de Conde, i. 332. 
 
CHAPTER THE SIXTH. 178 
 
 The soldier who had defended Metz, and won 
 Calais from the English, was not the man to 
 be taken by surprise. Vague reports of the 
 approaching danger had reached him from time 
 to time, which he appears to have disregarded; 
 but when the truth of the information could 
 no longer be doubted, he acted with his usual 
 coolness and promptitude. Without alarming 
 the Court, he ordered that it should be re- 
 moved from Blois to Amboise, a position of 
 greater security, and there he calmly awaited 
 the attack of the insurgents. The suspense was 
 of no long duration. As they came up in separ- 
 ate detachments, according to the plan upon 
 which they had agreed to act, they were at- 
 tacked in detail by the Royalists. Some were 
 killed upon the spot, a few escaped by flight, and 
 many were executed as traitors, without trial. 
 La Renaudie died sword in hand. Conde does 
 not appear to advantage. He frequently and 
 solemnly denied all complicity in the outbreak, 
 and joined the troops Avho were employed in 
 suppressing it. The execution of the prisoners 
 was conducted with a severity which has thrown 
 
174 THE YOUTH OF QUEEN MARY. 
 
 a shadow upon the reputation o£ the great 
 Duke. But he had something to say in his 
 defence. It was a painful duty, he admitted, 
 but it was a duty from which he could not 
 escape. This armed conspiracy aimed at the 
 murder of the King and Queen of France, the 
 overthrow of the existing constitution, and a 
 radical chano^e in Church and State. Francis 
 interceded, but in vain, for the pardon of the 
 criminals, and whenever he had the means of 
 doinof so, he treated them with laudable for- 
 bearance. " Of fifty persons who were cap- 
 tured at one time, for the most part artificers, 
 all (excepting four of the chiefest) were dis- 
 missed and pardoned ; to every one of whom, 
 for that they had been spoiled, the King gave 
 a crown a-piece, and to one who was hurt in 
 the head five crowns." 
 
 Although the immediate danger had passed, 
 the Guises and their adherents were persuaded 
 that they had not yet fathomed the full depth 
 of the conspiracy. They thought, however, 
 that they had traced it to its origin. The Car- 
 dinal of Lorraine informed the English ambas- 
 
CHAPTER THE SIXTH. 175 
 
 sador that the plot had its beginning in Geneva, 
 and a letter from Elizabeth's agent at Stras- 
 burg tends to confirm the accuracy of this 
 impression. Some weeks before the plot was 
 discovered, he was asked, under promise of 
 secrecy, whether the Queen would assist the 
 French in abating the persecutions of the 
 Guises ; and he answered that, under certain 
 circumstances, in his opinion, she would not 
 be wanting in kind offices. It has been affirmed 
 by a modern historian of high reputation, that 
 La Renaudie received from the Queen of Eng- 
 land herself the assurance of her o-ood wishes 
 for the success of his enterprise, and the promise 
 of her support.-^ 
 
 Not satisfied with attacking Mary Stuart 
 through the Huguenots of France, Elizabeth 
 and her advisers determined upon striking a 
 blow through the Calvinists of Scotland. The 
 success of the Reformation demanded that this 
 latter kingdom should separate itself from 
 
 ^ See Lingard, vi. 24. He quotes no authority ; but he was 
 too careful a writer to have hazarded such an assertion without 
 having what he supposed to be sufficient proof. 
 
176 THE YOUTH OF QUEEN MARY. 
 
 Catholic France, and unite itself with Pro- 
 testant England. But a revolution of such 
 magnitude could not be effected so long as 
 Mary — a Frenchwoman and a Papist — held her 
 present position. To remove her became, there- 
 fore, an unavoidable necessity. 
 
 It will be remembered that at this time both 
 countries were under one and the same govern- 
 ment ; the Queen of France was Queen of 
 Scotland. There was also a marked similarity 
 in their condition, as well in politics as in 
 religion. The two brothers of Guise were at 
 the head of affairs in France ; their sister, the 
 Queen Dowager, exercised the same authority 
 in Scotland. In both countries the Reformers 
 aimed at a revolution which should transfer the 
 crown from a Catholic to a Calvinist ; and in 
 both they sought to give their rebellion the 
 semblance of respectability, by placing at its 
 head some individual who should be as nearly 
 connected as possible with the family then on 
 the throne. In France the offer had been made 
 to the King of Navarre ; in Scotland the like 
 temptation was now held out to the Earl of 
 
CHAPTER THE SIXTH. 177 
 
 Arran. The scene is changed, but the leading 
 idea of the plot remains unaltered.^ 
 
 James Hamilton, third Earl of Arran, eldest 
 son of the Duke of Chatelherault, Governor 
 of Scotland, went into France about the year 
 1554, where the King gave him the conmiand 
 of the Scottish Guard. Failing Mary Stuart, 
 her crown would devolve upon the family of 
 which he was the heir; hence the importance 
 attached to him by the Privy Council of 
 England. His position corresponded to that 
 of the King of Navan^e. Each had pretensions 
 to a throne which was not vacant. To urge 
 these pretensions would lead to discord, and 
 probably to civil war. The temptation had 
 failed with King Anthony ; perhaps it might 
 be more successful with the House of Hamilton. 
 The experience was worth the trial, and Throck- 
 morton was instructed to make it. 
 
 When this visionary crown of Scotland was 
 
 ^ When the Regent Hamilton resigned his office as Governor 
 of Scoth\nd to the Queen Dowager in 1551, he received from 
 the King of France the title of Duke of Chatelherault, with a 
 pension. France thus became a second home to the house of 
 Hamilton. 
 
 M 
 
178 THE YOUTH OF QUEEN MAEY. 
 
 dangled before Arran's imagination, he was 
 resident upon the family estates at Chatelherault. 
 He had already embraced the doctrines of the 
 Reformation/ which he had assiduously been 
 engaged in propagating in the neighbourhood.^ 
 The marriage of the Princess Elizabeth to the 
 King of Spain was about to be celebrated with 
 great pomp at the Court of Paris, and Arran was 
 summoned to be present in his official capacity. 
 As he neglected to appear, a citation in terms 
 yet more urgent was forwarded to him ; but 
 before it could be served he had fled from 
 Chatelherault, with whom, why, and whither, 
 was a mystery.*^ He pretended afterwards that 
 
 ^ On 21st June, a few days before he received his death wound, 
 Henry instructed his Ambassador in England how to proceed in 
 the matter of Arran's flight. He should complain that Arran 
 had caused infinite scandal at Chatelherault, where he had 
 seduced many of the people from the faith. Being admonished, 
 he had fled, it was thought, into England. As he had taken the 
 oath of allegiance to Henry, he is a French subject, and as such 
 he is to be claimed from England, according to the treaty. Let 
 him be arrested and sent back to France, special care being taken 
 that he does not escape into Scotland, where his presence would 
 be most dangerous. Henry the Second to Noailles, 21st June, 
 MS., Bodl. Carte, 88. 
 
 ^ Beza,Hist., i. 200. Languet (Epp., ii. 2) says that he had caused 
 the doctrines of the Reformation to be taught at Poitiers, first in 
 French, and afterwards in Scotch. -^ Cal., 868, sees. 16-18. 
 
CHAPTER THE SIXTH. 179 
 
 his life had been in danger "by the cruelty of 
 the Guises," but of this he produced no evidence 
 whatever. We must look elsewhere for the 
 reason of his sudden flight, and it is not hard 
 to find. He was needed at home to head the 
 insurrectionary movement in Scotland ; Cecil 
 invited him to leave France, and he accepted 
 the invitation. 
 
 Arran's homeward journey from Chatelherault 
 was not without its dangers. To escape by any 
 of the French seaports was all but impossible, 
 and he knew that every vessel which sailed 
 from Flanders would be searched by the officei"S 
 of the King of Spain. But his route had 
 been carefully studied and settled weeks before- 
 hand by Cecil ; and the Queen of England 
 herself had made his safety the subject of 
 more than one dispatch. She had instructed 
 Throckmorton "to devise the most secret and 
 speedy way, to convey him from Geneva either 
 into England, or to his father in Scotland, 
 where he shall think himself in most safety. 
 He should not come into the possessions of 
 the Emperor, the King of Spain, the Bishops, 
 
180 THE YOUTH OF QUEEN MARY. 
 
 Pa]3ists, or others confederate with the French. 
 It shall in no wise appear who he is in all his 
 journey, not to his most assured. Because 
 Flanders and the Bass Countries are dangerous 
 to him, it is thought that Embden is the best 
 passage. On his arrival in England, he shall 
 continue unknown, as he did before, until the 
 Queen's pleasure is understood." ^ Throckmorton 
 had been provided by the penurious Elizabeth 
 with a thousand crowns, to be expended on the 
 journey. Thus encouraged and protected, Arran 
 set out upon his return to Scotland. We 
 may judge of the importance which Elizabeth 
 attached to his presence, by the trouble and 
 the cost which she was willino^ to incur in 
 order to secure it. 
 
 A glance at the map of France will show 
 that the fugitive had a long ride before him. 
 The Earl's guard, as far as Geneva, was a 
 person named Randall (or Randolph), who 
 
 ' R. 0., Foreign, 998, 999, 1009, 1043. The Earl was at 
 Lausanne on 6th July, R. O., 1004. Throckmorton was told 
 that on his way to Geneva he had endured many privations, 
 hiding- himself for fifteen days in a wood, and living upon fruit. 
 Id. 1075. 
 
CHAPTER THE SIXTH. 181 
 
 liaving been implicated in various conspiracies 
 against Mary Queen of England, was now — 
 almost as a matter of course — employed and 
 favoured by her sister Elizabeth. At Geneva, 
 the responsibility passed from him into the 
 hands of Richard Tremain, ^ who conducted 
 Arran across Germany, with the language of 
 wliich he was familiar. The port at which 
 they embarked, and where they landed, was 
 a profound mystery. But the journey was 
 successfully accomplished, and the object of so 
 much tender solicitude was safely lodged in 
 Cecil's private residence in Westminster on 
 the 29th of Auofust. Durin<x the course of 
 the following day he had a secret interview 
 with the Queen in the garden at Hampton 
 Court. It is probable that upon this occasion 
 the "offer" which Arran had previously made 
 to Cecil was renewed, discussed, and settled 
 between him and Elizabeth. From later in- 
 formation, we learn that the terms then proposed 
 
 ^ He was one of the Tremains who had been employed in 
 carrying messages between the Prince of Conde and the Admiral 
 -of ChS,tillon and Elizabeth. See Froude, vi. 397. 
 
182 THE YOUTH OF QUEEN MARY. 
 
 and accepted between them were to the follow- 
 ing effect : — that she should help the Scots to 
 free themselves from subjection to France, and 
 cause Arran to be crowned King of Scotland: 
 that he, with the consent of the Lords, would 
 hold that realm of her, and her successors, by 
 an annual payment ; and that in token of this 
 superiority, she and her successors might place 
 the arms of Scotland under those of England. 
 The Earl then received a present of five or 
 six hundred crowns for his journey, and took 
 his leave. He was furnished with letters of 
 protection (in which he is mentioned under a 
 false name), a guide was furnished for him, 
 and the disguised conspirator, traitor and fugi- 
 tive reached Berwick at an opportune moment, 
 Sadler and Croftes, Elizabeth's agents for the 
 revolution in Scotland, were at that very time 
 closeted with Balnaves, who had been sent by 
 the Lords of the Congregation to arrange their 
 future line of action. Arran having been per- 
 mitted to join the conference, entered heartily 
 into the feelings and designs of the conspirators. 
 That same evening he resumed his journey, and 
 
CHAPTER THE SIXTH. 183 
 
 before break of day had reached his father's 
 house at Hamilton. ^ 
 
 The Earl's arrival had been long and anxiously 
 expected in Scotland, for much depended upon 
 it for the success of the insurrectionary move- 
 ment. The Duke, his father, had grown luke- 
 warm in the cause, and was fast losing the con- 
 fidence of his party. His inability to lead a 
 popular outbreak, which probably would end 
 in a civil war, was daily becoming more and 
 more evident, not only to others, but to himself. 
 He made no secret of his wish to see his son 
 in his place, who, as he said, "might take the 
 matter in hand, if he list." The stability of 
 the whole movement seemed to depend upon 
 the presence of Arran. More than once Croftes 
 had assured Cecil that " without the Earl they 
 were not able to lay any foundation whereby 
 their proceedings are like to have any continu- 
 ance." Knox had approved the arrangement 
 which placed Arran at the head of the Lords of 
 the Congregation. The Earl joyfully accepted 
 the position thus assigned to him, and he en- 
 
 1 See R. O. Cal. 524 note ; 1008, 1046, 1119, 1221, 1383. 
 
184 THE YOUTH OF QUEEN MARY. 
 
 terecl upon what he considered its duties with 
 a zeal worthy of a better cause.^ 
 
 Encouraged by the protection of England, 
 and the presence of Arran, the party of the 
 Heformation now threw off all disguise and 
 broke out into open rebellion. They proceeded 
 in their crusade against superstition with a 
 rapidity which carried all before it. In Perth 
 they broke down and burned the images, the 
 altars, and all monuments of idolatry, and 
 within twenty-four hours they made bare walls. 
 Journeying from place to place, " where they 
 found in their way any kirks or chapels in- 
 continent they purged them, breaking down 
 the altars and idols in all places where they 
 came." At St Andrews " they fell to work to 
 purge the kirk and break down the altars and 
 images and all kinds of idolatry ; and before 
 
 ' There is much talk, write Sadler and Croftes to Cecil, of 
 the forwardness of the Earl of Arran, who rides to and fro from 
 Hamilton, Stirling, and St Andrews with 700 or 800 horse, of 
 which 300 are of the name of Hamilton (Cal., 73). Randolph 
 adds his testimony to the same effect. The Earl, says he, in a 
 letter to Sadler (Cal., 159), is so disposed to the utter overthrow 
 of the French, that he will be found rather too forward than too 
 slow. He desires neither life, nor to show his face amongst 
 men, unless he can bring this enterprise to some good effect. 
 
CHAPTER THE SIXTH. 185 
 
 the sun was down, there was never an inch 
 standing but bare walls." They purged tlie 
 kirks of Stirling, destroying the altars and 
 idols ; and in Edinburgh nothing pertaining to 
 idolatry was left standing. They suppressed 
 the abbeys of Paisley, Kilwinning, and Dun- 
 fermline, and burned all the idols, images, and 
 popish stuff. Knox himself records with grim 
 satisfaction how " the abbey of Lundores was 
 reformed ; their altars overthrown ; their idols, 
 vestments of idolatry, and mass books were 
 burnt in their own presence ; and they com- 
 manded to cast away their monkish habits." 
 The manner of their proceeding in reformation, 
 as described by one of their party, is this : — 
 " They pull down all manner of friaries and 
 some abbeys, which willingly received not their 
 reformation. As to parish churches, they 
 cleanse them of images and all other monu- 
 ments of idolatry, and command tliat no mass 
 be said in them." They desired " a general 
 reformation throu^'hout the whole realm, to 
 be made conform to the pure word of God," 
 and the Frenchmen to be sent away. These 
 
186 THE YOUTH OF QUEEN MARY. 
 
 were their terms, and i£ the Queen Regent 
 will not be content with this, they are deter- 
 mined to hear of no agreement. These few 
 cases may be taken as illustrative of the vio- 
 lence, havoc, and sacrilege which was introduced 
 by these self- constituted reformers, and which 
 under their influence reigned supreme for a 
 time over the whole kingdom. In the course 
 of a single year, not one religious house was 
 left standing in Scotland.^ 
 
 No less sweeping and radical was the revolu- 
 tion effected by the Lords of the Congregation 
 in the political government of the kingdom. 
 They submitted to the Queen Dowager, for her 
 acceptance, certain articles which were subver- 
 sive of both Church and State as then consti- 
 tuted by recognised authority. She refused to 
 give them her sanction, whereupon " the nobility 
 and commons of the Protestants of the Church 
 of Scotland " deprived her of her authority^ 
 and denounced her as an enemy to the common- 
 w^ealth. They appointed a council, of which 
 
 1 See Miscall, of the Wodrow Society, pp. 57-61 ; Knox's 
 Works, vi. 26, 36 ; R. O. Cal., 877, 907, 111, 120, 124, 132, 140. 
 
CHAPTER THE SIXTH. 187 
 
 the Duke and Arran were the leaders. They 
 advertised Elizabeth of their proceedings, for 
 without her advice they were desirous to do 
 nothing. In order to invest these doings with 
 some semblance of legal authority, they sum- 
 moned a Parliament, which met in the course 
 of the sunnner. In the opinion of Randolph, 
 a more substantial or sufficient body of men 
 had not been chosen for many a year. It ac- 
 cepted and confirmed " The Confession of the 
 Faith and doctrine believed and professed by 
 the Protestants of the realm of Scotland," which 
 was supplemented by two Acts, one against the 
 mass, the other abolishing the jurisdiction of 
 the Pope. It further directed that these proceed- 
 ings should be sent into France, there to receive 
 the sanction and confirmation of Queen Mary.^ 
 
 1 First printed Edinb. 1561. Knox's Hist, ii., 93, 123, 124. 
 Cecil's activity in the matter appears by a letter addressed to 
 him by jNIaitland, whence we learn that the draft of the Act 
 accepted by the Scottish Parliament had been drawn up by the 
 English Secretary. See Cal., 496. And further, he was con- 
 sulted whether there was anything in the Confession of Eaith 
 which he misliked, that it may be changed, if the matter so 
 permit. Cal., 523. It is instructive to find that the infallibility 
 of the Pope was succeeded by the infallibility of the English 
 Secretary of State. 
 
188 THE YOUTH OF QUEEN MARY. 
 
 The ambassador chosen for this purpose was 
 an individual who (as was well known) must 
 o£ necessity be unacceptable to the Queen. 
 James Sandilands, Preceptor of Torphichen 
 (the chief house of the Knights Hospitalers of 
 St John of Jerusalem), was a zealous reformer ; 
 and though in Holy Orders in the Catholic 
 Church, was a married man. He was in no 
 haste to discharge his mission, and did not 
 leave Scotland until the end of September. He 
 reached London on the 6th of October, and left 
 on the 8th. At the time of his arrival in 
 France, the Court was at Orleans, where he 
 had his interview with the King on the 16th 
 of November. Francis did not conceal his 
 displeasure at the proceedings of the Estates, 
 and said that he would cause a lawful Parlia- 
 ment to be assembled in Edinburgh. Pressure 
 of business, however, prevented him from giving 
 an official reply at the time, but it was promised 
 with the least delay possible. 
 
 While the Scottish envoy was awaiting the 
 promised interview, it happened that Throck- 
 morton had an opportunity of conversing with 
 
CHAPTER THE SIXTH. 1.S9 
 
 the Queen, whom he urged to ratify the acts 
 of the Lords of the Congregation. His unstress, 
 Ehzabeth, was evidently making common cause 
 with them, and wished that Mary should under- 
 stand that it was so. Mary answered that the 
 reply made by her husband, King Francis, should 
 have been a sufficient answer to Throckmorton, 
 but tliat, since he had introduced the subject, 
 she would tell him what moved her to reject 
 the proceedings of the Lords who had met in 
 Edinburgh. She then continued to speak in 
 the following terms, which are here given as 
 they are reported by the English Ambassador : — 
 " My subjects in Scotland " (quoth she) " do 
 their duty in nothing, nor have they performed 
 their part in any one thing that belongeth to 
 them. I am their Queen, and so they call me, 
 but they use me not so. They have done what 
 please th them, and though I have not many 
 faithful there, vet those few that be there of 
 any party were not present when these matters 
 were done, nor at this assemblv. I will have 
 them assemble bv mv authoritv, and i^roceed 
 in their doings by the laws of the realm. 
 
190 THE YOUTH OF QUEEN MARY. 
 
 which they so much boast o£, and keep none 
 of them. They have sent hither a poor gentle- 
 man to me, whom I disdain to have come in 
 the name of them all — to the King and me on 
 such a legation. They have sent great person- 
 ages to your Mistress. I am their Sovereign, 
 but they take me not so. They must be taught 
 to know their duties." ^ 
 
 Throckmorton, as was his wont, attempted to 
 vindicate the action of his friends by answering 
 that Lord St John was a person of dignity, being 
 Great Master of Scotland ; to which Mary re- 
 joined that she did not take him for such, he 
 being married. After a few remarks of minor 
 importance the meeting ended. 
 
 On November the 26th the Lord St John had 
 his despatch from the Queen, with good words. 
 In consequence of the young King's illness he 
 could not give the promised interview to the Scot- 
 tish Ambassador, who was yet in Paris when in- 
 telligence of the death of Francis reached him.^ 
 
 The progress of our narrative carries us alter- 
 nately into France and Scotland ; the locality 
 
 ^ Cal., 716 ; Hardwick Papers, i. 125. - Cal., 73S. 
 
CHAPTER THE SIXTH. 191 
 
 changes, and the subordinate agents cliange with 
 it, but the leading characters are the same. 
 Cecil is always at his post, always watchful 
 and wary, always ready to fan into a flame 
 the fears and prejudices of his mistress. The 
 Lord James Stuart and the Earl of Arran are 
 alike at his disposal ; both are bidding for the 
 crown of Scotland, and the English minister 
 waits to see which of the two will ofler the 
 higher price. In France, the Huguenots, crushed 
 for a time at Amboise, are preparing for another 
 outbreak. It is to them and their doings tliat 
 we now turn, and they will occupy us during 
 the brief remainder of this chapter. 
 
 Upon the failure of the insurrection at Am- 
 boise, Throckmorton recommended that a procla- 
 mation calculated to stir up the hatred of the 
 people against the Guises should be circulated 
 throuu'hout Normandv and Brittany bv means 
 of the Eno'lish merchants who traded in these 
 provinces. The hopes of the insurgents were 
 excited by a report that the Earl of Arran 
 might be expected to land in France at tlie 
 head of a large force. Who was the mover 
 
192 THE YOUTH OF QUEEN MARY. 
 
 of these agitations ? Suspicion from the first 
 had pointed to the Prince of Conde, and not 
 without reason. Proof that he had a guilty 
 knowledge of the intended rising having been 
 obtained by the crown lawyers, he was thrown 
 into prison, and immediate steps were taken for 
 his trial. The process was hurried on with in- 
 decent haste by the Cardinal of Guise, who 
 saw in the death of Conde his own personal 
 safety, the stability of his family, and the repose 
 of France. But when it might be said that 
 the axe was already suspended over the neck 
 of the victim, a revolution occurred which 
 chano^ed the whole state of affairs. Bv the 
 decease of the young King, which occurred at 
 Orleans, 5th December 1560, Mary Stuart be- 
 came a widow, and the crown of France ceased 
 to be united with that of Scotland. 
 
 The death of Francis took the nation by 
 surprise, and yet it could scarcely be called 
 sudden. On 17th November he was prevented 
 from leaving Orleans, as he had intended, by 
 a slight attack of illness, to which no great im- 
 portance was attached, but of whicli tlie symp- 
 
CHAPTER THE SIXTH. 193 
 
 toms gradually increased in intensity until thoy 
 became alarming. A severe pain in the liead 
 followed by a discharge of purulent matter 
 from one of the ears showed the existence of 
 an imposthume upon the brain ; joined with 
 which he was attacked bv a low fever. On 
 the 29th his case was considered almost des- 
 perate ; yet on 1st December the fever some- 
 what abated, and he rallied so far as to oive 
 hope of his recovery. But these favourable 
 symptoms were of no long duration, " for the 
 next night he fell again into his Jfit, which has 
 ever since so increased upon him, together with 
 the grief or imposthume in his head, that with- 
 in forty-eight hours he became speechless, saving 
 a soft, hollow, rattling speech. And on the sixth 
 of this present, at eleven of the clock at nighty 
 he departed to God, leaving as heavy and dolor- 
 ous a wife as of right she had good cause to be, 
 who, bv lonof watchino- with him durinii" his 
 sickness and painful diligence about him, and 
 specially by the issue thereof, , is not in best 
 tune of her bodv, but without dano-er." * 
 
 ^ This information is derived from the letter of Throckuior- 
 
 N 
 
194 THE YOUTH OF QUEEN MAKY. 
 
 From this moment the fortunes o£ Mary 
 Stuart underwent a mighty revolution. Now, 
 and for the first time in her life, she stood 
 alone in the world. Hitherto there had been 
 someone upon whom she could lean, — her mother, 
 her father-in-law, her husband ; now all of them 
 were dead. The last blow was perhaps the 
 heaviest. Francis had given her all that he 
 liad to give and all that she cared to possess, 
 the undivided affection of a true and affectionate 
 heart. Her position was one of danger as well 
 as of isolation. Young and beautiful, full of 
 spirit and of sentiment, conscious that she had 
 a heart and yearning for sympathy, her road 
 through life will be surrounded by many perils. 
 Yet in the midst of all she has one grand element 
 of success. She has the true faith ; and this, 
 joined with a pure heart and a strong will, will 
 carry her in safety through all her sufferings, 
 and enable her to overcome all her difficulties. 
 
 ton, who was at Orleans at the time of the King's death, which 
 occurred 6th December 1560. 
 
CHAPTER VII 
 
 QUEEN MARY S WIDOWHOOD IX FRANCE. 
 
 AD the Princes of the House of Guise 
 been the unscrupulous adventurers 
 which tliey are sometimes represented 
 to have been, — men without principle and con- 
 science, greedy of power, and reckless as to the 
 means by which to attain it, — they might have 
 secured for themselves the crown of France 
 at tliis eventful moment of its historv. Everv 
 chance of success was on their side. The Duke 
 of Guise was commander-in-chief, and the army 
 would readilv have obeved anv order whicli 
 he might have been pleased to issue. It was 
 
196 THE YOUTH OF QUEEN MARY. 
 
 he who had defended Metz, and won Calais. 
 The finances of the kingdom were in the hands 
 of the Cardinal. The bishops, the whole body 
 of the clergy, and the majority of the people 
 looked upon the Guises as the protectors of 
 the national faith. They were immensely 
 popular ; they had their adherents in every 
 province, in every city, in every fortress. The 
 leaders of the opposite party were now at last 
 entirely in their power. Conde had been found 
 guilty of high treason, and was awaiting the 
 execution of his sentence. The King of Na- 
 varre had proved his incompetence, and was no 
 longer either to be courted or dreaded. The 
 heir to the throne was a boy of infirm health, 
 and without mental energy. His mother, Cath- 
 erine de Medicis, was a foreigner, who pos- 
 sessed no weight in the cabinet. The powerful 
 assistance of the King of Spain, might be de- 
 pended upon. ^ No other claimant to the throne 
 could have reckoned upon advantages which 
 would have outweighed such as these. 
 
 ^ So thought Throckmorton, 31st December. R. 0. Foreign^ 
 834. 
 
CHAPTER THE SEVENTH. 197 
 
 Yet if any such considerations as these had 
 ever passed before the mind of the Duke 
 of Guise, he repelled the temptation. He 
 accepted with dignified submission the change 
 which the death of the late King had brought 
 to him and his family, although it was sud- 
 den and humiliating. ^ The command of the 
 army was taken from him, and the Cardinal 
 was superseded in the management of the 
 exchequer. The two brothers pass into ob- 
 scurity, from which (as far as we are con- 
 cerned) they will emerge only in as far as they 
 are identified with the historv of their niece. 
 Mary Stuart now stands alone. The time has 
 come when we must become accjuainted with 
 the woman as she is in herself, apart from 
 the direction and the support which she has 
 hitherto received from othei's. And here it is 
 well to remember that our knowledi_^e of her is 
 formed chiefiy upon the reports of enemies and 
 
 ^ When Throckmorton went to Court on 22d December, he 
 found it very much altered. The King and the Queen Mother 
 were surrounded by the Constable, the Admiral, the Cardinal 
 Chatillon (who had married and became a Protestant), D'Andelot, 
 and many more of that family. Not one of the House of Guise, 
 ^nd but few of their friends. R. 0. Foreign, 332, sec. 5. 
 
198 THE YOUTH OF QUEEN MARY. 
 
 maligners, of whom the chief are Randolph 
 and Throckmorton. ^ 
 
 At the date of the King's death Throckmorton 
 was in attendance upon the Court at Orleans. 
 He was a man who seldom indulged in pious 
 reflections, but upon this occasion he gave way 
 to an outburst of religious feelings when he con- 
 templated the advantages which would result to 
 England from the death of Francis the Second. 
 It was a greater blessinof than even the death 
 of his father, King Henry, for it annihilated 
 the power of the Guises, and transferred the 
 government into the hands of the Protestant 
 princes of the House of Bourbon. It was a 
 juncture, he said, the like of which had never 
 before occurred ; and he urged his mistress to 
 take advantage of it, for the making a " sure 
 and large seat for herself and her posterity for 
 
 ^ Throckmorton's letters are of the highest vahie. He was 
 generally well informed on the subjects about which he wrote, 
 his facts thei-efore are for the most part trustworthy. Not so 
 his inferences, still less his estimate of the motives which he 
 assigns to the persons of whom he speaks. He thoroughly un- 
 derstood the peculiarities of Elizabeth's character, and his letters 
 are written with the remembrance of that knowledge. In reli- 
 gion he called himself a Protestant, and in politics he was a 
 Revolutionist. 
 
CHAPTER THE SEVENTH. 199 
 
 ever to God's glory, and her own unspeakable 
 fame." ^ 
 
 The satisfaction of the Calvinists in Scotland 
 upon the death of Francis was extreme. Pious 
 Randolph saw in it a great occasion to praise 
 God for His benefits so unlooked for, in takino- 
 away so great a scourge, to the subjection of 
 the wdiole state and nobility. Knox's coarse 
 and violent expressions of delight need not be 
 here repeated. The far-seeing Throckmorton 
 next turned his thoughts to the young widow ; 
 and her husband had scarce ceased to breathe 
 ere he w^as speculating upon her second mar- 
 riage. The opinion which he had already formed 
 of her intellect and general character deserves 
 notice, for he was a keen observer, and had 
 studied her closely during his long residence in 
 France. " Hitherto," he says, " she had lived so 
 entirely under the control of the Guises that her 
 real capacity had not yet been recognised ; but 
 now when her widowhood compels her to think 
 and act for herself, she begins to be better under- 
 stood." He commends her general behaviour, her 
 
 ^ It. 0. Foreign, 771. 
 
200 THE YOUTH OF QUEEN MARY. 
 
 wisdom and good sense " in that she thinketh 
 herself not too wise, but is content to be ruled 
 hy sound counsel and wise men ; " and he sums 
 up his estimate of her with the remark that her 
 future proceedings may possibly cause some 
 anxiety to England.^ 
 
 The widowed Mary now was made to under- 
 stand the meaning of the remark, that a friend 
 is known in the day of adversity. Within a 
 fortnight from the date of her husband's death, 
 Pope Pius the Fourth addressed to her a few 
 words of fatherly consolation, simple, devout and 
 affectionate. He exhorted her to submit, like a 
 Christian woman, to the judgments of the All- 
 wise, and to place all her hopes in Him who is 
 the Father of mercy and the God of all con- 
 solation.^ In contrast with this act of Christian 
 sympathy we cannot but notice that, with her 
 usual selfish disregard for the feelings of others, 
 Elizabeth sent no condolence to the widow ; and 
 
 i R. O. Foreign, 773, 833, sec. 4. 
 
 ^ In Archivio Secreto Vaticano, arm. xliv. torn. x. n. 396. 
 See also Brevia Pii iv. vol. i. fol. 584 ; Raynaldi, A.D. 1560, sec. 
 83. The Holy Father also sent the Bishop of Fermo to condole 
 with Mary, who had arrived upon this kindly mission before 
 January 18, 1561. R. O. Foreign, 889. 
 
CHAPTER THE SEVENTH. 201 
 
 Throckmorton was compelled to remonstrate 
 with the English Court upon this remarkable 
 neglect.^ 
 
 We gather from the letters of the English 
 ambassador some interesting notices about the 
 young widow during this trying period of her 
 history. From them we learn that immediately 
 upon the death of her husband she changed her 
 lodofine: and withdrew from all society. In com- 
 pliance with the etiquette of the French Court, 
 she became so solitary and exempt from all 
 worldliness, that for forty days she saw no day- 
 light.- During this period of her seclusion she 
 admitted no man to come into her chamber but 
 the King and his brethren, the King of Navarre, 
 the old Constable Montmorency, and her uncles. 
 A few days afterwards some bishops and a cer- 
 tain number of the elder knights of the Order 
 had leave to enter, and lastly the ambassadors, 
 all of whom came to condole with her, with the 
 
 1 R. 0. Foreign, 836. 
 
 - If Throckmorton is correct, Mary did more than the usage 
 of the Court demanded. Daylight was excluded from the apart- 
 ments of a widowed queen until the day of the funeral of her late 
 husband, and no longer. 
 
202 THE YOUTH OF qUEEN MARY. 
 
 exception of Throckmorton. No letter expres- 
 sive of the sympathy of his mistress having 
 reached him, to present himself would have been 
 at once an impropriety and an indecency. 
 
 The frequency and the length of the visits of 
 the Spanish ambassadors soon began to attract 
 notice, and it was whispered that a marriage 
 with Don Carlos was not improbable. On the 
 fortieth day after her husband's death, Mary left 
 her seclusion, and was present at a solemn service 
 of requiem celebrated for him in the church of 
 the Grey Friars in Orleans. There were present 
 on the occasion four cardinals and twenty knights 
 of the Order, wearing their collars, and a goodly 
 company of the Court. Shortly afterwards she 
 removed to a residence at a short distance from 
 Orleans, to her a city filled with many sad 
 memories, and then she began to deliberate 
 upon the affairs of her own kingdom, which for 
 long had caused her great anxiety. Her chief 
 adviser at this time was James Beton, Bishop of 
 Glasofow, a wise counsellor and faithful friend. 
 Acting doubtlessly under his advice, one of her 
 first proceedings was to despatch to Scotland a 
 
CHAPTER THE SEVENTH. 208 
 
 commission of four gentlemen, by whom tlie 
 Estates were requested to stay further proceed- 
 ing's in religion until her return liome : but 
 shortly afterwards she thouoht fit to revoke 
 this order, since it might appear to imply on lier 
 part a want of confidence in their loyalty. At 
 the same time she wrote to the chief nobility 
 severally and in kindly terms, among others 
 to Lethington, Balnevis, and Grange, whom she 
 knew to have been her chief enemies, and 
 against whom she might have proceeded as 
 traitors. Yet to them she promised the for- 
 giveness of past oflfences. The Earl of Arran 
 was treated with even greater forbearance, for 
 " she used such words of kindness and good 
 usage to his messenger, that it is not a little 
 to be marvelled at." In her letter to the 
 Estates, she told them that she threw herself 
 upon their loyalty and aft'ection. She was con- 
 fident, she said, that their devotion to her would 
 equal that which their ancestors had so frequently 
 shown to hers ; and she ended with the assur- 
 ance, that for her part the memory of past kind- 
 nesses rendered bv them and theirs to her familv 
 
204 THE YOUTH OF QUEEN MARY. 
 
 and herself would entirely remove all impres- 
 sions of a less agreeable nature/ 
 
 It was not until the 18th of February 1561 
 that the condolences of Elizabeth, such as they 
 Avere (for they appear to have been of the curtest 
 and coldest), reached the Queen of Scotland. 
 They were presented by the Earl of Bedford, a 
 strict Puritan, who took advantage of this inter- 
 view to explain to her how she ought to behave 
 herself. The letters of which he was the bearer 
 express no sorrow for Mary's loss, no sympathy 
 with her grief, no word of kindness or tender- 
 ness. Elizabeth instructs an independent sove- 
 reign how to govern her subjects. She advises 
 her to allow them to be ruled by their own 
 laws ; rather by justice and love than by force 
 and arms. Mary is here exhorted to be grateful 
 for the part which Elizabeth had taken in ex- 
 pelling from Scotland the French troops, who 
 had been sent thither by their Queen for the 
 suppression of an open rebellion. These disorders 
 in Scotland grew chiefly, Mary is informed, by 
 reason of her marriage with the late French 
 
 1 R. O. Foreign, 883, 889 ; Lab. i. 83. 
 
CHAPTER THE SEVENTH. 205 
 
 Kino- ; and as that union had now come to an end, 
 Mary is exhorted to trust herself for the future 
 to tlie o'uidance of this affectionate instructor. 
 She is asked to beheve that all that Elizabeth had 
 done in the affairs of Scotland was " to aid the 
 Avardens to reform such lewd outlaws, murderers, 
 and thieves as have remained," ^ forgetting that 
 she herself had supplied these very same pers(ms 
 with men, money, and the aid of the most power- 
 ful fleet which England could supply. The 
 whole despatch is remarkable as well for its 
 arroofance as its unblushino- falsehood ; but such 
 as it was, the Earl of Bedford had undertaken 
 to fulfil his instructions, and he acted accord- 
 inoflv. 
 
 While the Earl was addressino- Marv in 
 these unwarrantable terms, she preserved her 
 equanimity, and in reply she desired him to 
 thank Elizabeth for her advice, adding that she 
 had need of wise counsel, considering the state 
 in which she stood. She, for her part, would 
 use all good ofiices to move the Queen of England 
 to think her an assured friend. 
 
 1 R. O. Foreign, S9S, 1030, sec. 19. 
 
206 THE YOUTH OF QUEEX MARY. 
 
 Finding her so docile, Throckmorton, who 
 accompanied Bedford, now took up his parable. 
 He produced the Treaty of Edinburgh, and he 
 asked her to ratify it. To this request Mary 
 demurred, and not without reason. She declined 
 to do so, because (as she had already told him 
 more than once) at this time she was without 
 -counsel, the Cardinal of Lorraine being absent. 
 She remembered that Elizabeth herself had 
 desired that in the transaction of business she 
 should take the advice of the wise men of her 
 realm, none of whom were near her at that time. 
 However, she looked for them shortly, and then 
 she would make the Queen such an answer as 
 would satisfy her. When uro-ed by Bedford to 
 the same effect (for the two ambassadors took it 
 by turns to argue with her), she again remarked 
 that she was without counsel, and that the matter 
 was oTeat for one of her years. Once more 
 Throckmorton spoke nearly in the same terms, 
 remarkino' that the ratiiication had often been 
 promised. To this she replied that she was not 
 to be charo'ed with anything- that had been done 
 in her late husband's lifetime, and that she 
 
CHAPTER THE SEVENTH. 207 
 
 would be loath to do auo-ht unadvisedly. But 
 because it was " a great matter " she prayed him 
 to give her respite until she should next have 
 the opportunity of speaking with them. 
 
 This same Treaty of Edinburgh was indeed 
 " a great matter," and the young Queen did well 
 in declininof to si<>'n it with the indiscretion 
 into which Elizabeth souoht to betray her. 
 The subject comes forward so often during the 
 history of the Scottish Queens that a few remarks 
 concernino- it here become necessary. 
 
 The Treaty of Edinburoh^ was intended to 
 settle the terms upon which the two Queens 
 were to stand for the future in regard to each 
 other, as to their titles. It also settled some 
 points respecting the Scottish insurgents. As to 
 the former of these two questions, it recites that 
 the realms of Enixland and Ireland do by rioht 
 appertain to Elizabeth ; and it concludes that 
 the King and Queen of France should, in all 
 times coming, abstain from using and bearing 
 the arms and titles of these kingdoms. This 
 
 ^ The original text is printed in Ej'uier, XV'. 593, and an 
 English abstract is given by Keith, i. 291. 
 
208 THE YOUTH OF QUEEN MARY. 
 
 article deprived Mary of all future pretensions 
 to the crown of England, of which she was un- 
 questionably the heir in the event of Elizabeth 
 dying without lawful issue ; and upon this con- 
 sideration she now refused to ratify it.^ 
 
 By another article in this Treaty the French 
 Ambassadors had agreed that Francis and Mary 
 should grant and accept certain petitions pre- 
 sented to them by the nobility and people of 
 Scotland. What these petitions were is not here 
 stated. To this article it was objected, that these 
 petitions contained matter hostile to their rights 
 as sovereigns ; and that they were hostile to the 
 true interests of the country. And further, 
 Francis and Mary objected that in accepting 
 such terms as these, not onlv had their am- 
 bassadors exceeded the powers with which they 
 had been invested, but that in so doing they 
 
 ^ In so doing, Mary only acted upon what Cecil had already 
 foreseen, when in writing- to Elizabeth he had pointed out to her, 
 that to shelter the Scottish insurgents, as she wished to do, would 
 be " marvellous difficult, without such dishonour to the Prince 
 (that is Queen Mary), as neither will be granted, nor can reason- 
 ably can be demanded for subjects." Cecil to Elizabeth, 21st 
 June 1560. And this was the vei-y thing whicli Throckmorton 
 was "low urging Mary to do. See Keith, i. 414. 
 
CHAPTER THE SEVENTH. 20D 
 
 had betrayed their trust. They maintained tliat 
 the whole transaction was one which they were 
 not only not bound to confirm, but against which 
 they were bound to object as conservators of 
 the liberties of the people, and the honour of 
 the crown. Mary held the same opinions as 
 Francis had held. And thus stood the conten- 
 tion between her and the English ambassadors 
 at the time of which we are now writing. They 
 urged her to conlirm the Treaty of Edinburgh, 
 being thereto pledged by the action of her 
 ambassadors ; and this she refused to do, be- 
 cause they had exceeded their powers, because 
 she had the right of accepting or rejecting the 
 terms specified, and because she considered 
 them hostile to the rights of her crown and 
 the liberties of her people. 
 
 The respite for which, as we have recently 
 seen, Mary had pleaded, was of no long dura- 
 tion. On the following day the two English 
 envoys again presented themselves, and again 
 pressed her to confirm the obnoxious treaty. 
 She answered them with composure, but did 
 not leave the position which she had already 
 
 o 
 
210 THE YOUTH OF QUEEN MARY. 
 
 taken. Inasmuch, said she, as she had none of 
 the nobles of her realm to take advice of, she 
 dared not ratify the treaty ; for if she did any 
 act that miofht concern the realm without their 
 advice, it was like that she woukl have them 
 continue to be such subjects as they have here- 
 tofore been. But for all such mattei's as are 
 past, she said that she had forgotten them, and 
 at the Queen's advice had pardoned them, trust- 
 ing to find her subjects better and more loving 
 than they have been in times past. She asked 
 the ambassadors to believe that she did not 
 refuse to ratify the treaty, simply because she 
 was not minded to do it ; nor did she use these 
 delays to shift off the matter. She wished 
 them, she said, to assure their mistress that she 
 is anxious to embrace her friendship, for she 
 knows full well how much she needs it. 
 
 Thus ended a conference in which the parties 
 w^ere most unequally matched. On the one 
 side were two diplomatists of matured years 
 and long experience, who acted under the in- 
 structions of Cecil and the Privy Council of 
 England. On the other side stood a girl of 
 
CHAPTER THE SEVENTH. 211 
 
 eighteen, who was under the necessity of con- 
 ducting her own case, and who did so ; cahidy 
 and clearly replying to the arguments proposed, 
 and maintaining her ground with a finnness 
 of purpose which evinces great capacity as a 
 sovereign, and equal address as a woman. 
 
 This interview produced a deep impression 
 upon Throckmorton, who has left upon record 
 the estimate which he had now formed of the 
 general character of Mary Stuart. She evi- 
 dently had a clear judgment and a firm will. 
 He was persuaded that ere long she would take 
 her place in the politics of Europe, and that, 
 if left to pursue the bent of her own inclina- 
 tions she would maintain the independence of 
 Scotland. He saw the necessity for increased 
 activity in furthering the agitation which Cecil 
 had introduced into that realm, but which lacked 
 the spirit with which it ought to be conducted. 
 From the date of this remarkable conference, 
 the despatches of Throckmorton to Elizabeth and 
 Cecil orow more uro-ent, his action becomes more 
 prompt and decided ; and Mary's dangers and 
 difficulties assume a more definite character. 
 
212 THE YOUTH OF QUEEN MARY. 
 
 Let US see how the EngHsh ambassador works 
 upon the fears and jealousies of his mistress. 
 He writes of Mary in these terms: — "During 
 her husband's life," says he, " no great account 
 was made of her, for that being under bond 
 of marriage and subjection to him (who carried 
 the burden and care of all her matters), there 
 was offered no great occasion to know what 
 was in her. But since her husband's deaths 
 she hath shewed (and so continueth) that she 
 is of great wisdom for her years, and of equal 
 modesty, and also of great judgment in the wise 
 handling of herself and her matters ; which, in- 
 creasing with her years, cannot but turn greatly 
 to her commendation, reputation, honour and 
 great benefit of herself and her country. Al- 
 ready it appears that some such as made no 
 great account of her do now, seeing her wis- 
 dom, both honour and pity her. Assuredly she 
 carries herself so honourably, advisedly, and 
 discreetly that one cannot but fear her progress." 
 We may sum up our extracts from Throckmor- 
 ton's despatches with the significant remark, 
 which ought to be given in his own words. 
 
CHAPTER THE SEVENTH. 213 
 
 " As far as I can learn she more esteemeth the con- 
 tinuance of her honour, and to marry one that can 
 uphold her to be great, than she passeth to please 
 her fancy by taking one that is accompanied 
 with such small benefit or alhance, as thereby 
 her estimation and fame is not increased." ^ 
 
 When Elizabeth read these words, they must 
 have raised a blush on her cheek, and a pang 
 in lier heart. They had a double aj^plication, — 
 one to the widowed Queen of Scotland, and 
 another to herself, the unwedded Queen of 
 England. At this time Elizabeth had made her- 
 self the scorn of every Court in Europe, by the 
 levity of her conduct with a married man of 
 low birth and loose morals — the iofnoble Robert 
 Dudley. Slie might learn a lesson from the 
 conduct of the woman wliom she affected to 
 despise. Whatever Mary Stuart might do, her 
 cousin of England certainly did not "esteem 
 the continuance of her honour," for she liad 
 exposed it to contempt and ridicule wherever 
 her name was mentioned. If the Queen of 
 Scotland resolved " to marry one that may up- 
 ' E. O. Foreign, 773, 833 ; MS. Harl., 6990, 2. 
 
214 THE YOUTH OF QUE EX MARY. 
 
 hold her to be great, rather than to please her 
 fancy, by taking one that is accompanied with 
 small benefit or alliance," the daughter of Anne 
 Boleyn disregarded any such minor considera- 
 tions. She consulted " her fancy " at the sacri- 
 fice of her good name. That fatal levity of 
 conduct, that absence of feminine delicacy,, 
 which had left such a blot upon her character 
 at an earlier period of her history, still haunted 
 her even when the passions are supposed to be 
 held in control by the matured judgment. 
 While Elizabeth was alternately scolding and 
 schooling the widowed Queen of France, — 
 against the purity of whose conduct not a 
 word could be uttered, — she was livino- in terms 
 of suspicious familiarity with one of the least 
 respectable of her own subjects. Scandal had 
 Sfrown so o:eneral, that Throckmorton considered 
 it to be his duty to tell his mistress what the 
 world thought of her. These reports were 
 " very strange in all courts and countries," in 
 the opinion of the Spanish ambassador. There 
 were other things astir whicli were even more 
 grievous for him to hear, as to tlie import of 
 
CHAPTER THE SEVENTH. 215 
 
 whicli he leaves us to speculate.^ With Cecil 
 he is more explicit. He tells him that if their 
 mistress foully forgets herself in her marriage 
 as the bruit (report) runiieth here (in France), 
 he may never think to bring anything to pass 
 either here or elsewhere. " I would you did 
 hear," continues he, " the lamentation, the decla- 
 mation, and the sundry affections which have 
 course here for that matter." ^ At Madrid the 
 scandal was no less busy. " I assure you, sir," 
 says Challoner to Cecil, " these folks are broad- 
 
 ^ To accuse without proof is unjust, so I add the following 
 confirmation of what I ventui-ed to assert in the text : — 
 
 Writing to the Marquis of Northampton ou lUth October 
 1560, Throckmorton wishes he were either dead or out of France, 
 that he might not hear the dishonourable and naughty reports 
 that are made of the Queen ; not letting to speak of her and some 
 others that " which every hair of my head stareth at, and my 
 ears glow to hear." He was almost at his wits' end, and knew 
 not what to say, " One laugheth at us, another threateneth, an- 
 other revileth the Queen. Some let not to say, what I'eligion is 
 this that a subject can kill his wife, and the Prince not only bear 
 withal but marry with him ; — rehearsing the father and the grand- 
 father. All the estimation the English had got is clean gone." 
 Cal., 683 ; see also 685, in which Sir Nicolas is yet more earnest. 
 
 •^ R. O., 833, sec. 5. This document, sent by Cecil to Throck- 
 morton, is thus endorsed by the latter : " A warning not to be too 
 busy about the matters between the Queen and my Lord Robert, 
 and about Ashley's trouble." See also Haynes, p. 212. Reports 
 to the same effect were current in Paris, Brussels, and Lorraine. 
 R. O., 4th April 1561 ; Cal., 88. 
 
216 THE YOUTH OF QUEEN MARY. 
 
 mouthed. There was never princess so over- 
 seen if she do not give order in that matter 
 betimes." The contrast between the two Queens 
 is remarkable. Mary is at Orleans sorrowing 
 over the death of her young husband, and pray- 
 ing for the repose of his soul ; while Elizabeth 
 is at St James' receiving and returning the en- 
 dearments of a wedded profligate. 
 
 However much admired and respected Mary 
 may have been at this time in the French Court, 
 one individual there entertained towards her 
 feelings of intense hostility. Catherine of Medi- 
 cis had long hated her in private, and now at 
 last could show her hatred. The cause of this 
 hostility is obscure. It has already been re- 
 marked that when Mary was a child, she was 
 supposed to have offended the Italian by saying 
 that at best she was but the daughter of a Flor- 
 entine trader. Other writers ascribe her anti- 
 23athy to her fear, that the charms of the young 
 widow would win Charles the Ninth from the 
 exclusive ascendency which ]iis mother was 
 anxious to retain over him. But whatever may 
 have been the cause, it is certain that owing to 
 
CHAPTER THE SEVENTH. 217 
 
 Catherine's dislike, which she took no pains to 
 conceal, Mary determined to leave the Court 
 and to spend some time with her own kindred 
 in Lorraine. It was very natural that she 
 should do so. Rheims was the ordinary resi- 
 dence of her uncle, the Cardinal-Archbishop 
 of that diocese ; there too resided her aunt 
 Kenee, Abbess of the Convent of St Pierre in 
 the same city. She longed for quiet and rest, 
 and she needed them after the ao-itation and 
 fatigue through which she had passed of late ; 
 and the experience of her childhood told 
 her that she would find them nowhere so 
 perfectly as in a community of religious 
 women. Besides, in undertaking this journey, 
 she was but anticipating by a few weeks 
 the visit which she would be required to 
 pay to the Cathedral of Rheims, in order to 
 assist at the coronation of her husband's 
 successor. 
 
 Setting out, then, from the neighbourhood of 
 Orleans, she reached Paris on 20th March 15G1, 
 where, " having stayed a day to look upon such 
 robes and jewels as she had there, she took her 
 
218 THE YOUTH OF QUEEN MARY. 
 
 way straight towards Rheims.^ She was ac- 
 companied by the Bishop of Glasgow, the Abbot 
 of Dunfermline, and M. D'Oysel, who acted as 
 her advisers. Throckmorton was unable to fol- 
 low in her train, ^ and we regret his absence, 
 for his gossip is always lively, and the informa- 
 tion which we gather from his letters is of the 
 highest value. From him we learn that she 
 reached her destination on the 26th of the 
 month. On her arrival she was received by her 
 uncles, the Cardinals of Lorraine and Guise, the 
 Duke D'Aumale, the Marquis D'Elboeuf, and the 
 old Duchess of Guise, her grandmother. Thither 
 also had come out of the Low Countries, pur- 
 posely to see her, the young Duchess of Arschot, 
 who tarried but one night after her arrival.^ 
 
 The presence of the Duchess of Arschot was 
 the cause of deep anxiety to Catherine of 
 
 ^ Throckmorton to the Queen, 31st March. Cal., 77. See 
 Robertson's Inventories of Queen Mary's Jewels. Preface, pp. 
 xvi. xvii. text 7-17. 
 
 - See Cal., 61. He contrived, however, to send " a friend " to 
 witness Mary's arrival at Rheiirls, to whom we are indebted for 
 the knowledge of the facts which are reported by the ambassador 
 himself. 
 
 3 Id. Cal., 77. 
 
CHAPTER THE SEVENTH. 219 
 
 Medicis, for she saw in that interview the first 
 step in a poHtical combination which, if carried 
 into effect, would be fatal to one of her pro- 
 posed arrangements. It pointed to a marriage 
 between Mary Stuart and Don Carlos, son of 
 Philip the Second, King of Spain. This union, 
 if accomplished, would enable the Guises to 
 recover much of their lost ascendency in France ; 
 therefore it was a thing to be thwarted at all 
 costs. Moreover, it would strengthen the hands 
 of the Catholics in Enoland, a laro'e and in- 
 fluential body of men, who looked to Philip 
 as their natural protector. At this time Cather- 
 ine was courting Elizabeth. She wrote and 
 acted as if she had determined to join the 
 party of the Reformation, and had induced the 
 King of Xavarre to believe that her son Charles 
 the Ninth should be educated as a Protestant.^ 
 From these and other considerations she strained 
 every nerve to prevent this contemplated coali- 
 tion between Spain and Scotland, and she suc- 
 
 ^ III., Cal., 832, sec. 7, and 1030, sec. 14. The Queen, how- 
 ever, resolutely denied this charge, both as affecting hei-self and 
 her son. See her letter in Pavilin Paris, p. 849. 
 
220 THE YOUTH OF QUEEN MARY. 
 
 ceeded. On 1st April she wrote to the Bishop 
 of Limoges, her ambassador at Madrid, to let 
 him know that the project was most distasteful 
 to herself, and that she wished him to thwart 
 it. " There is nothing," said she, " which I will 
 not attempt, nothing which I will not hazard, 
 rather than witness that which would be so 
 disagreeable to myself personally, and so fraught 
 with danger to this realm." In a subsequent 
 letter she speaks, with an irritation which she 
 does not care to conceal, about the long con- 
 ferences of the Queen of Scotland and the 
 Duchess of Arschot with the Cardinal of Guise. ^ 
 A matter of such vital importance to Eliza- 
 beth as an alliance between Scotland and Spain 
 could not long escape the vigilance of Throck- 
 morton. When first he heard it suggested as 
 probable, he treated it as nothing better than 
 one of the floating rumours of the day. But 
 after an interview with James Stuart, Mary's 
 base born brother, the Eno-lish envov thus un- 
 bosoms himself to Cecil: — "I have an inkling 
 of a matter which maketh me greatly afraid, 
 
 1 Cheruel, p. 20 ; P. Paris, 844, 863. 
 
CHAPTER THE SEVEXTH. 221 
 
 and if it prov^e true (as I begin greatly to fear 
 it), it shall be needful that the Queen look well 
 about her, and you (Cecil) and others of her 
 faithful counsellors to give her sound and faith- 
 ful counsel. This husband, I suspect, is the 
 Prince of Spain, which, I am sure, will make 
 you look about you if it prove true. There is 
 working on all sides to bring it to pass." ^ 
 
 Shortly afterwards Sir Nicolas had a con- 
 ference with another traitor, who spoke the 
 same language and repeated the same warning. 
 The marriage of the Queen of Scots was one 
 of the three things about wliicli the Admiral 
 Coligny desired to confer with the English 
 ambassador, as likely to hinder God's cause. 
 He maintained that it "^vas already so far ad- 
 vanced as that it would not be broken.'^ The 
 clear-headed ambassador was of a ditlbrent 
 opinion. He thought the report incredible. A 
 marriage between Spain and Scotland would 
 not suit Pliilip's selfish policy, for it would not 
 forward the grand scheme on which he was 
 then intent. The rumour of a marriage with 
 1 Cal., 133. -Id., 151. 
 
222 THE YOUTH OF QUEEN MARY. 
 
 Don John of Austria was current about the 
 same time, and produced the like irritation and 
 fear in ever}^ Court in Europe, but in none more 
 than in England.^ Everywhere there was sus- 
 picion, and that suspicion was everywhere pre- 
 judicial to the interests of Queen Mary. 
 
 Having kept her Lent, and celebrated her 
 Easter at Rheims (the last which she spent in 
 a Catholic country) upon Thursday, the 10th 
 of April, Mary left that city upon her way to 
 Joinville, a princely residence belonging to her 
 uncle, the Duke of Guise. The Cardinal of 
 Lorraine accompanied her. If she expected to 
 find some repose in this remote corner of France, 
 as she reasonably might, she was disappointed. 
 While she was midway between Rheims and 
 Joinville she was met by deputations from the 
 two hostile camps into which Scotland had now 
 become divided. Reformers and Catholics were 
 alike anxious to plead their cause before their 
 young sovereign, and with this object each of 
 them had sent a deputation to wait upon her. 
 In giving an account of these we yield the 
 
 1 Id., 122. 
 
CHAPTER THE SEVENTH. 228 
 
 priority to the Queen's lialf-brotlier, the Lord 
 James Stuart, whose movements we can trace 
 by the official correspondence fortunately pre- 
 served in the English archives. 
 
 Early in the year 1561 the Estates of Scot- 
 land met to deliberate as to the terms upon 
 which they would permit their sovereign to 
 return into her own country. Maitland, their 
 apologist, reminds Cecil that " this time requires 
 some vehemence," and of a truth the Estates 
 showed no lack of that commodity.^ They 
 decided that they would send a deputation to 
 question their sovereign whether she would be 
 content to repose her whole confidence upon 
 her subjects ; in other words, whether she would 
 permit them to rule for her. Although they 
 had been in rebellion against her for some 
 months, they decided that if she attempted to 
 bring troops with her into Scotland — few or 
 many — in that case they were not bound to 
 receive her. It was a bold step, but these men 
 
 ^ " Let us walk in the day so long as the day lasteth (writes 
 Maitland to Cecil) ; I see as yet no shrinking, and if the Queen's 
 Majesty will go through with us, we will be bold enough." 
 Haynes, p. 369. 
 
224 THE YOUTH OF QUEEN MARY. 
 
 were not acting unadvisedly. They decided 
 that the question of her admission or rejection 
 should be referred to the Queen of England, 
 whose commands herein they would follow. 
 What these commands were would be no 
 secret ; but in order that there should be scant 
 room for doubt in a matter of so much conse- 
 quence to them, the Lords of the Congregation 
 decided that their plans should be submitted to 
 Elizabeth by the Prior of St Andrews, Mary's 
 half-brother, who would pass through London on 
 his way to France. He would make her par- 
 ticipant as well of what he had in charge as 
 of what he himself minded to do. Li the 
 opinion of Maitland, the Lord James was the 
 meetest in many respects to do this work, and 
 we do not dispute his qualifications. He was 
 zealous in religion, being one of the precise 
 Protestants, and as Mary in her simplicity fully 
 trusted him and loved him, he could " fully 
 grope her mind," which he would then report 
 to Cecil. It is a lamentable exhibition of mean- 
 ness and treachery, but the parties understood 
 each other. The Secretary of State in Scotland 
 
CHAPTEll THE SEVENTH. 225 
 
 and the Secretary of State in England were 
 both in the pay of Elizabeth, and they made 
 common cause against Mary Stuart. In this,, 
 and in various other transactions of a similar 
 character, they were ably seconded by Mary's 
 brother, Moray the Innnaculate. 
 
 These arrangements having been completed, 
 the Loi-d James left Edinburgh on his way to 
 France. He set out in much state, beino- ac- 
 companied by several of the nobility, and hav- 
 in<y a retinue of about twentv horsemen. He 
 carried with him letters from the Estates of 
 Scotland to the English Privy Council, and he 
 had reason to believe that he would have an 
 interview with the Queen herself. All seemed 
 to prosper with him ; for when he left London 
 he and the Enoiish ministrv had come to terms, 
 and thoroughly understood each other. Pass- 
 ing through the French capital, James Stuart 
 went on to Rheims, and on the loth of 
 April he had his interview with his sister at 
 the little town of St Dizier. When thev met 
 he professed himself all that a brother and a 
 subject ought to be — affectionate, true-hearted 
 
 P 
 
226 THE YOUTH OF QUEEN MARY. 
 
 and loyal ; and Mary believed him. That she 
 did so need excite no surprise, for the trusting 
 simplicity of her character is everywhere con- 
 spicuous. But that he should have imposed upon 
 the Guises is a remarkable fact, and shows the 
 skill in deception which he had already attained. 
 True to his instructions, Lord James dissuaded 
 his sister from bringing any French troops with 
 her into Scotland ; and he pledged his word that 
 she might safely trust herself to the loyalty of 
 her faithful subjects. Next he assured her that 
 she had been unnecessarily alarmed as to the 
 safety of the Church. Scotland's alleo^iance to 
 the Holy See was unshaken, but the country 
 longed (and not without good cause) for the 
 removal of certain abuses which were too pre- 
 valent among some of the higher clergy.^ It 
 would seem that Mary so far expressed no 
 opinion as to the truth or unti'uth of these state- 
 ments ; and her brother was encouraged to pro- 
 ceed. He begged her to make a grant to him of 
 the Earldom of Moray, and this she refused to do, 
 qualifying, however, her refusal by adding that 
 
 ^ See Conn, in Jebb, ii. 19. 
 
CHAPTER THE SEVENTH. 227 
 
 she would consider his request on her return.^ 
 His next proposal was fraught with yet greater 
 danger. He advised her to consult the (^uiet of 
 her realm by entrusting him with the government 
 of it during her absence. She had the unwisdom 
 to consent ; and as the official document wliich 
 should invest him with the necessary powers 
 would probably recjuire some days for its 
 preparation, he left behind him one of his at- 
 tendants to receive and convey to him the com- 
 pleted instrument. As they conversed, the wid(3w 
 opened her heart to her brother. She needed 
 sympathy, and he cheated her into the belief that 
 he felt it for her. And this great artist cheated 
 wiser heads than Marv's. Her uncles, the Guises, 
 permitted him to " grope " many of their feelings 
 and intentions, and these he turned to their dis- 
 advantage on the first fitting opportunity. Hav- 
 ing accomplished the objects of his visit to his 
 satisfaction, he reached Paris on the 28d of April 
 1561, where he remained a few days in the hope 
 of receiving from his sister the commission wliicli 
 would appoint him Regent of Scotland.- 
 
 ^ Leslie, p. 228. - See Throckmorton to Cecil, 9th A|)ril 1561. 
 
228 THE YOUTH OF QUEEN MARY. 
 
 During this interval the Lord James was not 
 idle. On the evening of the day on which he 
 arrived in Paris, he visited the English am- 
 bassador, to whom he retailed all the informa- 
 tion which he had managed to gather from 
 Queen Mary, the Cardinal of Lorraine, and their 
 attendants. He had picked up news upon a 
 variety of subjects — some trifling, some im- 
 portant. For instance, Mary had told him that 
 she was resolved not to ratify the Treaty of 
 Edinburgh ; that she was not glad to see the 
 kindness which had grown up of late between 
 England and Scotland ; that she would never 
 marry the Earl of Arran, but would win the 
 consent of her realm to marry some foreign 
 prince ; that she is indifferent as to the amity of 
 France ; and that she did not incline to the suit 
 of the King of Denmark. This makebate was 
 careful to report to the English ambassador that 
 his sister and her uncle, the Cardinal, had spoken,, 
 not in the most respectful terms about Elizabeth's 
 religion, and had laughingly commented upon 
 the presence of the cross and candles in her 
 Piotestant chapel. The Lord James knew full 
 
CHAPTER THE SEVENTH. 229 
 
 well that all these scraps of information, re- 
 ported by him with more or less accuracy, would 
 be forwarded by Throckmorton to the Queen of 
 England, who, however, was assured tliat she 
 would receive a more detailed account of them 
 from the Lord James himself when he passed 
 through London. 
 
 This unblushing treachery, this splendid mean- 
 ness, deliglited the English ambassador. At last 
 he had found the man of whom his mistress had 
 so loner been in search. She had known other 
 traitors, and had used them for a time, and then 
 cast them aside as imperfect and therefore worth- 
 less. There are villains whose villainy will carry 
 them a certain length, but who, retaining some- 
 thing of man's primitive dignity, scorn to play 
 the part of the spy and the eavesdropper. Not 
 so the Lord James ; he was haunted by no such 
 silly scruples. He was ready for any crime, how-' 
 ever PTeat or however little. Elizalx'th under- 
 stood him and loved liim, for she recognised in 
 him a kindred spirit to her own. We shall hear 
 more of "the good Regent," "the spotless Moray," 
 ■" the servant of God," as lie has been ignorantly 
 
280 THE YOUTH OF QUEEN MARY. 
 
 and irreverently styled ; and we shall find him 
 consistent in his fraud, his cowardice, and his 
 treachery. For the present we see him not only 
 as Elizabeth's agent and the tool of Cecil, but as 
 the especial favourite of Throckmorton. A few 
 days previously he could not decide whether the 
 Earl of Arran or James Stuart should be the 
 future ruler in Scotland under Elizabeth. Now 
 his doubts are ended, and he tells us why, in the 
 following estimate of his Lordship's character. 
 " It is a great matter at this time," says he, " to 
 find a man of his credit in his country to be so 
 faithful and sincere as he is. I find in him wit 
 enough for his years, much honour and great 
 fidelity. It is a good turn that so direct a man 
 as he is hath the credit and love at home that 
 he hath. I do well perceive him to be a very 
 honourable, sincere and godly gentleman, and 
 very much afiected to your Majesty, upon whom 
 you never bestowed a better turn than on him, 
 in my opinion." ^ 
 
 ^Throckmorton recommends that his favourite should be takeiL 
 into the Queen's pay. K. O. CaL, 151, sec. 24. At a later period 
 he writes to the same effect, yet more plainly, and jiroposes that 
 Moray bhould be well entertained and made of by the Queen, a& 
 
CHAPTER THE SEVENTH. 231 
 
 Knavery, however, sometimes has its disap- 
 pointments, and the knavery of the Lord James 
 was doomed at this point to sustain a temporary 
 reverse. We have seen that he had asked his 
 sister to confer upon him the government of the 
 kino'dom durino- her absence, and that in the 
 bhndness of her affection she had consented to 
 do so. When he bade her farewell, he left be- 
 hind him one of his attendants to receive for 
 him the precious document when it should be 
 ready. The servant arrived in Paris, but he 
 brought no commission. The Queen of Scotland 
 had reversed her intention. What had occasioned 
 a change of purpose so sudden and so decisive ? 
 
 While the Republican Lords in Edinburgh 
 were wranoiino- amono; themselves as to the 
 terms upon whicli they would permit their law- 
 ful sovereign to set her foot upon the soil of 
 
 one that may stand her in no small stead. Throckmorton believed 
 that the Lord James, after his return to Scotland, would deal as 
 frankly with him as he had done while he was in Paris. But he 
 advises that the Queen should now in time liberally and honour- 
 ably consider him with some good means, to make him the mt)re 
 beholden to her. Cal., 158 ; see also Cal., 159, 167, 168, being 
 letters to the same effect addressed to the Queen, the Privy 
 Council and Cecil, What could Mary Stuart do against such a 
 combination as this ? 
 
282 THE YOUTH OF QUEEN MARY. 
 
 her own kingdom, her loyal subjects were not 
 idle. A larofe and influential meetino- was held, 
 in which it was resolved that a deputation 
 should be sent to the Queen, for the purpose 
 of expressing their devoted affection, and offer- 
 ing for her consideration certain proposals of 
 great importance. For this purpose they se- 
 lected as their agent the celebrated John Leslie, 
 at that time Official of Aberdeen, afterwards 
 Bishop of Ross. Leslie overtook Mary on her 
 road from Rheims to Joinville on the 14th of 
 April, and thus anticipated by one day the ar- 
 rival of Lord James Stuart. 
 
 The instructions with which Leslie was charo^ed 
 related chiefly to the following subjects. He en- 
 treated Mary to be on her guard against certain 
 plausible mis-statements by which the opposite 
 party would attempt to mislead her. They would 
 dissuade her from bringing troops with her into 
 Scotland, and would ur^e lier to entrust her 
 brother with the supreme government of the 
 realm durino- her absence. Let her beware of 
 both of these proposals, for they were directed 
 to accompHsh two objects ; the overthrow of the 
 
CHAPTER THE SEVENTH. 233 
 
 Catholic reliixion in Scotland, and the transfer- 
 ence of the crown from her own head to that 
 of her brother. 
 
 Leslie then laid before her two suggestions, 
 which he earnestly begged her to adopt. The 
 first was, to cause the Lord James to be ar- 
 rested and detained in France until she should 
 have taken quiet possession of her kingdom.^ 
 If she thought this step too decided, then he 
 recommended as an alternative measure that 
 she should disembark, not at Leith, but at Aber- 
 deen. Leith was too near Edinburoh wliich was 
 well known to be the centre of the revolutionarv 
 movement. At Aberdeen she would find herself 
 in the midst of brave and loyal subjects. Her 
 presence would confirm them in their allegiance, 
 would secure the waverers, and would curb the 
 growing insolence of the sectaries. To all in 
 Scotland her return would be as welcome as the 
 return of the o-olden sunshine after the drearv 
 winter ; but to none more than to her Catholic 
 
 ^ Conn (Jebb. ii. 19) states that when Leslie sugi^^ested the 
 detention of ^Moray, if she should think this too decided a 
 measure, then Moray should be sent as her ambassador into 
 Italy or Spain. But would he have gone ? 
 
234 THE YOUTH OF QUEEN MARY. 
 
 subjects in the north. Here Leslie referred more 
 especially to the great Earl of Hmitly, whose 
 name he was anthorised to mention, and who,, 
 he said, had sent one of his own kinsmen named 
 Cullen (a gallant soldier both on land and sea) 
 to arrange with her the details of her homeward 
 voyage. Cullen would land her safely at Aber- 
 deen, where the nobles of the county would meet 
 her, and twenty thousand of her loyal subjects 
 would be ready, with her at their head, to march 
 to Edinburgh. 
 
 Leslie does not tell us as precisely as we could 
 wish the reply which Mary Stuart gave to these, 
 bold suggestions; but his silence and her own 
 subsequent line of action show us that she did 
 not accept them. Huntly's wavering and sus- 
 picious conduct at this time, which must have 
 been known to Mary's advisers, probably explains 
 her hesitation.^ Neither party could trust him,, 
 for he hung midway between the two. But the 
 Queen asked Leslie to remain with her as long 
 
 1 Randolph writing to Cecil on 20th March, and Throckmorton 
 just a month later, speak of Huntly as if his sincerity to Mary 
 were questionable. Cal., 56, and 125. 
 
CHAPTER THE SEVENTH. 235 
 
 as she should continue in France : and in the 
 meantime to send thanks in her name to those 
 Scottish bishops and nobles whom he represented. 
 Although he does not appear to have been aware 
 of the fact, it would seem that his ad\ice saved 
 her from the commission of what would liave 
 been a gigantic l)lunder.^ Had she been cap- 
 tured by the English fleet — and the Lord James 
 did his best to betray her into the hands of 
 Elizabeth on her homeward voyage — then the 
 commission which he expected to obtain from 
 her would have been produced, and Mary's own 
 written authority would have placed this traitor 
 on the throne of Scotland. But, as we have 
 seen, the project failed, though only for a time,, 
 and he ultimately gained his end by means no 
 less base than those in which we here ha^'e de- 
 tected him. In the meantime let us bear him 
 company during his journey from France to 
 Scotland. 
 
 ^ The author of "L'Innocence de Mme Marie" (1572) tells 
 lis that the plausible manners and professions of devotion of the 
 Lord James to the Queen of Scotland so far imposed U{>on the 
 Duke D'Aumale, that he urged her to niake the grant litre re- 
 ferred to. See Jebb, i. 4-17. 
 
236 THE YOUTH OF QUEEN" MARY. 
 
 We have seen that Lord James lingered m 
 Paris until the 4th of May. His original in- 
 tention was to have crossed over from Dieppe 
 to Rye, at that time a harbour of importance, 
 but he saw reason to prefer the route from 
 Boulogne to' Dover. His stay in London must 
 have been of some duration, during which he 
 had at least one interview with the Queen. ^ 
 He told her privately, as we learn from Cam- 
 den,^ that if she had any regard either for 
 the interests of religion or her own safety, she 
 ought to intercept his sister during her home- 
 Avard voyage. The advice was not forgotten, 
 and if the attempt to seize Queen Mary failed, 
 she was not indebted to her escape to any want 
 of vigilance on the part either of her good 
 brother the Lord James or her good sister the 
 Queen of England. 
 
 It is pleasant to be at last able to escape from 
 such bad company and to join the Court of the 
 young widow on her journey towards the coast 
 
 ^ He was in London on 20th May, and had readied Edinbui-gh 
 by 3d June. Cal., 271. 
 
 ■-'Hist. Elizabeth, p. 57, edit. 1625. 
 
CHAPTEll THE SEVENTH. 237 
 
 for her embarkation. After having spent a few 
 days at Joinville along with the Dowager-Duchess 
 of Guise, she set out for Nancy ,^ accompanied by 
 the Cardinals of Lorraine and Guise, the Duke 
 D'Aumale, the Earls of Bothwell and Eglinton, 
 and several others of the Scottish nobility. We 
 learn from Throckmortcm that one of the chief 
 objects of this excursion was that she might 
 assist at the baptism of a son of M. de Vaudemont.- 
 At her entry into Nancy she was received with 
 every mark of distinction by the Dowager of Lor- 
 raine, and by the Duke and Duchess. While 
 there she was attacked by a sharp fit of ague (or 
 " fever tierce," as it is called by Leslie),^ for the 
 cure of which her grandmother, Antoinette of 
 Guise, removed her once more to the quiet se- 
 clusion and the fresh air of Joinville. She was 
 at Rlieims about the end of May, where she was 
 entertained by her uncle, the Cardinal Archbishop 
 
 » She was at Nancy 22d April, Cal., 130, 131, on 2.'.th May 
 she was still at Joinville, and on the 2Sth she had arrived at 
 Kheims. Cal., 214 ; Lab. i. 95. 
 
 '■^Nicolas de Lorraine, Count de Vaudemont, whom Throck- 
 morton calls uncle to the Duke of Lorraine. See No. 732, May 
 23, 1559. 
 
 3 Leslie, p. 296. 
 
238 THE YOUTH OF QUEEN MARY. 
 
 of that diocese, and there she had the satisfaction 
 of spending a few days with her maternal aunt, 
 the Abbess of the Convent of St Pierre. On the 
 10th of June she reached Paris. At her coming, 
 says the faithful chronicler of her movements, 
 the English ambassador, she was met a league 
 without the town bv the Duke of Orleans, the 
 King of Navarre, the Prince of Conde, all the 
 princes of the blood, and most part of the 
 nobility. The French King and the Queen 
 Mother received her as she came within the 
 walls of the city, and accompanied her to 
 her lodgings. 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 QUEEX MARYS DEPARTURE FROM FRANCE. 
 
 E proceed with our account of the in- 
 cidents connected with the history of 
 Queen Mary Stuart, which occurred 
 within the short period which intervened be- 
 tween her arrival in Paris and her departure 
 from Calais. 
 
 When she reached Paris, Throckmorton was 
 in that citv. He allowed her a week's rest after 
 the fatigue and excitement of her journey, and, 
 on the 18th of June 1561, he waited upon lier 
 by appointment, and once more urged lier to 
 sign the Treaty of Edinburgh. The conversa- 
 tion which passed between them on this oc- 
 <iasion is recorded bv the ambassador, from 
 
240 THE YOUTH OF QUEEN MARY. 
 
 whose letter to Queen Elizabeth, his mistress^ 
 we gather the following particulars. They give 
 us an insight into some of the principles upon 
 which Mary formed her subsequent conduct. 
 
 To the request for the ratification of this 
 obnoxious treaty, Mary repeated the objections 
 which she had advanced more than once already. 
 She would not act without the advice of her 
 Council in Scotland. She would send M. 
 D'Oysel with her reasons for delay ; who at the 
 same time would ask of her good sister these 
 favours which are usually granted by princes 
 on occasions such as might possibly arise during 
 her voyage into Scotland. In the spirit of con- 
 ciliation she added, that she intended to remove 
 all French troops from her dominions, so as 
 to leave nothing undone to satisfy all parties. 
 She trusted that Throckmorton's kind mistress 
 would do the like, and that from henceforth 
 none of the disobedient subjects of Scotland 
 would find favour in England. 
 
 Throckmorton had the prudence to avoid the 
 discussion of such a dangerous question, and he 
 dexterously escaped from it by replying that 
 
CHAPTER THE EIGHTH. 241 
 
 Mary could give no better proof oi the sincerity 
 of this desire for ainit}' than by ratifying the 
 treaty. She had asked him to wait until slie 
 had heard tlie advice of the Estates ; she forgets 
 that the whole arrangement had been made by 
 their consent. Tlie Queen remarked in reply, 
 that the treaty had indeed been made with the 
 consent of some of the Estates, but not of all ; 
 and she had yet to learn whether even these 
 who had approved of it at first still remained 
 in the same opinion. She trusted that Eliza- 
 beth would not encourage any of her subjects 
 to continue in their disobedience, or to meddle 
 with things not appertaining to subjects. There 
 was no reason, added she, why subjects should 
 give a law to their sovereign, especially in 
 matters of religion. The ambassador skilfully 
 changed the ground, by retorting that as she 
 thouoht it unmeet for her to be constrained bv 
 her subjects, so it was unfitting for them to be 
 constrained by her in matters of conscience. 
 Her answer was prompt ; " God," said she, " had 
 commanded subjects to be obedient to their 
 princes ; " to which Throckmorton as prompt h* 
 
 Q 
 
242 THE YOUTH OF QUEEN MARY. 
 
 rejoined, " In those things which are not against 
 His commandments." " Well/' said she, " I will 
 be plain with you, and tell you what I would 
 all the world should think of me. The religion 
 that I profess I take to be most acceptable to 
 God ; and, indeed, neither do I know, nor de- 
 sire to know, any other. Constancy doth become 
 all folks well, but none better than princes, and 
 such as have rule over realms, and especially in 
 matters of relimon. And who mis^ht credit me 
 in anything, if I should show myself light in this 
 <3ase ? Though I am young and not greatly 
 learned, yet I have heard this matter disputed 
 by my uncle, my Lord Cardinal, with some that 
 thought they could say somewhat in the matter, 
 and I found therein no great reason to change 
 mine opinion." 
 
 Throckmorton had here nothing more ap- 
 posite to remark, than that she ought to be 
 conversant with the Holy Scriptures ; that per- 
 haps she was partial in her judgment, and that 
 the Cardinal himself had granted that great 
 -errors and abuses had crept into the Church. 
 She admitted that she had oftentime heard her 
 
CHAPTER THE EIGHTH. 24.*^ 
 
 uncle say the like. Throckmorton hoped that 
 there would be a unitv of relio-ion throufdiout 
 Christendom. She, too, hoped it would be so, 
 but said that she was not one of those who 
 would chano^e their relio-ion every year. She 
 did not mean to constrain any of her subjects, 
 but trusted that they would have no support 
 -at Elizabeth's hands if they thought to constrain 
 her. And thus, after the interchange of a few 
 kindly sentences, this remarkable conversation 
 ended. It is remarkable, not so much for the 
 estimate which it enables us to form of Mary's 
 tact, judgment, and acuteness, — for that she pos- 
 sessed these qualities we have already had suf- 
 ficient proof ; — but because, not only does it give 
 us an insight into the principles which she had 
 already laid down for herself individuall}', but 
 -also informs us as to those by whicli she proposed 
 to direct the government of Scotland so long as 
 it should remain under her control. We read 
 Throckmorton's report of this conference with 
 mingled admiration, surprise, and pity. The 
 future career of this woman beofins to make itself 
 visible. Mary's theory of mutual toleration was 
 
244 THE YOUTH OF QUEEN MARY. 
 
 doomed to be a failure from the beginnings 
 Even if it mio-ht have suited a different aoe and 
 a different country, here at least it was out of 
 place ; for the Scotland which could admire Knox 
 and submit to the dictation of Elizabeth was 
 not the home for Mary Stuart. 
 
 Before closing his letter Sir Nicolas remarks 
 that though Mary had told him that she in- 
 tended to sail from Calais, he had been given 
 to understand that her plan was " to take ship- 
 ping from Nantes,^ and thus passing by the west 
 seas to land at Dumbarton, as it were by stealth, 
 for that it was put into her head not to trust 
 herself too much on the coast of England." Thus 
 early had vague surmises of treachery reached 
 her; and it was for the removal of these that 
 she sent M. D'Oysel to the English Court to 
 ask for letters of safe-conduct, so as to secure 
 
 ^ Mary was deterred from taking this route by the hostile atti- 
 tude of the Duke of Chatelherault and the Earl of Argyll, who 
 were very powerful on the Western Coast. Cal., 337. It 
 seemed to the Spanish ambassador that the design of the Queen 
 of England was to keep her fleet in the north, and thus to com- 
 pel Mary to sail westward, so that she would be driven to take 
 the course where the force of the Earl of Arran lies. Teulet, 
 ii. 6 ; Cal., 337, note. 
 
CHAPTER THE EKmTH. 24r> 
 
 an unmolested passage from France into Scot- 
 land. 
 
 That such a request should he preferred hy 
 one sovereign to another, appears to us in our 
 day an act of unnecessary precaution or of ob- 
 solete ceremonial. England was at peace with 
 France and Scotland, and the Channel was open 
 to the shipping of both of these powers. Wliy, 
 then, should Mary fear that in her voyage from 
 Calais to Leith she might be intercepted by 
 Enolish cruisers ? She had not foro-otten the 
 lesson which the history of her own family had 
 taught her. When James Stuart, the lirst of 
 that name, was crossing from Scotland into 
 France, he was seized by an English vessel, — 
 during a period of truce, — and a captivity of 
 twenty years gave him leisure to repent of his 
 misplaced conhdence. What had happened then 
 might happen again ; and it was wise to ascer- 
 tain Elizabeth's sentiments on the matter before 
 running such a hazard, especially after the 
 warnino's Avhich had reached her from more 
 than one (piarter. 
 
 For tliis purpose D'Oysel was despatclied to 
 
246 THE YOUTH OF QUEEX MARY. 
 
 London. He did not anticipate a refusal to Mary's 
 request. He carried with him letters from Throck- 
 morton to Cecil, which advised that every facility 
 should be afforded for the return of the Queen of 
 Scotland. " Her going home," said he, " is the thing 
 that we ought most to desire, for then the greatest 
 part of our Queen's care that way is carried." ^ 
 
 When the French envoy presented his cre- 
 dentials to Elizabeth, and asked for the usual 
 safe - conduct for his mistress, he met with a 
 reception which surprised him not a little. 
 Upon the plea that the Treaty of Edinburgli 
 had not yet been ratified, the letters of protec- 
 tion were refused. The Queen's manner, voice, 
 and language exhibited considerable irritation, 
 and she evidently spoke with the intention that 
 what she said should be overheard by the nobles 
 of the Court. With scant courtesv she refused 
 permission to D'Oysel to continue his journey 
 by land into Scotland, and she advised him to 
 return to liis mistress and let her know the 
 issue of his mission.- 
 
 1 Cal., 280. 
 
 - Mary herself has given an account of what passed upon the 
 
CHAPTER THE EIGHTH. 247 
 
 This intemperate conduct on the part ot* tlie 
 Queen of England was disapproved by her most 
 devoted friends, as well in France as in Scot- 
 land.^ But they did not understand its full 
 meaning, nor were they aware that it was es- 
 sential to the access of the plan which she was 
 now prepared to carry out. She believed that 
 by thus acting she could bring Mary within 
 her grasp. If Mary should n(3W venture to 
 embark without a safe-conduct, she did it at her 
 peril. Elizabeth had given her due warning of 
 what possibly might befal her, and if she 
 neo-lected the caution, and evil came of it, she 
 had no one to blame but herself. Mary was 
 not io-norant of the dano'er which she was 
 about to incur. She could scarce expect to 
 escape the cruisers which she knew would be 
 upon the watch, and to which every mile 
 of the narrow seas from Calais to Leith was 
 familiar. Once within the power of " her good 
 
 occasion. She informed her nobles that the Queen of Enghxnd 
 not only refused passage to M. D'Oysel, and to give the safe-con- 
 duct which he had requested for his mistress, but also made open 
 declaration that she would not suffer her to come home. Mait- 
 land to Cecil, Aug. 15, 15t>l. Cal., 402. 
 
 - For Throckmorton's comments upon the affair, see Cal., 337. 
 
248 THE YOUTH OF QUEEN MARY. 
 
 sister," a long captivity or a forced surrender 
 of her rights awaited her. But she did not 
 know the full extent of the treason by which 
 she was surrounded. She did not know that 
 her enforced deposition was already contem- 
 plated ; and that her base-born brother would 
 assume the provisional government under Eliza- 
 beth, and would pay the price by obediently 
 accepting any such terms as she, the feudal 
 superior of Scotland, might be pleased to 
 dictate. Thus by one bold stroke a double 
 victory would be gained ; the triumph of the 
 religious principles of the Reformation, and the 
 establishment of the temporal supremacy of 
 Elizabeth over her northern rival. 
 
 It was Throckmorton's duty to report to 
 Mary the decision at which his mistress had 
 arrived, and also the reasons upon which she 
 had acted. The interview occuired at St Ger- 
 main on the 20th of July, and the ambassador 
 has left us an interesting and full account of 
 what took place upon the occasion. 
 
 He began by stating that in what the Queen 
 of England had done she had been moved by 
 
CHAPTER THE EKiHTH. 249 
 
 the consideration that Mary had not yet rati- 
 fied the Treaty of Edinburgh. If she would do 
 this, not only should she have free passage but 
 a gracious reception, in case she should land 
 upon the English coast. At this point of the 
 conference Mary seated herself, and asked 
 Throckmorton to do the like. Next, she com- 
 manded all the courtiers to retire further oft', 
 remarkinc: that she did not know the extent 
 of her own inhrmitv, nor how far she mi^jht be 
 transported by passion, to which she liked not 
 to have as many witnesses as liis mistress had 
 o-athered round her when she talked with M. 
 D'Ovsel. Nothino- orieved her more, she said, 
 than that she had so far forofotten herself as 
 to require of Elizabeth a favour which she 
 needed not to have asked. She might pass well 
 enouo'h home to her own realm witliout the 
 Queen's licence. King Henry used all the im- 
 peachment he could to stay and catch her when 
 she came into France, yet slie crossed over in 
 safety : and now she mio-ht liave as o-ood means 
 to help lier liome if she would emphn' the 
 services of those friends wIko cared for her 
 
250 THE YOUTH OF QUEEN MARY. 
 
 welfare. She would rather have enjoyed the 
 amity of the Queen of England than that of 
 all her other allies ; and yet she had many 
 such, both in France and elsewhere, who 
 would be glad to supply forces to aid her. 
 Throckmorton had often told her that amity 
 between Scotland and England was very neces- 
 sary to both ; but she has reason to think 
 that his mistress is no longer of that mind,, 
 for if she were she would not have acted 
 thus unkindly. The Queen of England makes 
 more account of the amity of Mary's dis- 
 obedient subjects than of their sovereign ; 
 and she seems to think that because Mary's 
 subjects have done her wrong her friends 
 will desert her also. The result of all this has 
 been that Elizabeth has given her cause to 
 seek friendship where otherwise she did not 
 mind to ask it. 
 
 Mary then asked the English Ambassador to 
 let his mistress consider how strange it would be 
 thought among all princes that she, the Queen 
 of England, should be the first to animate the 
 subjects of Scotland against their own sove- 
 
CHAPTf:i{ THE EIGH'JH. 251 
 
 reioii : and tliat she now hinders her, a widow, 
 from going into her own country. She has 
 asked nothing but Ehzabeth's friendship. She 
 does not trouble the state of England, she does 
 not practise with the subjects of England ; and 
 yet she knows that in that realm there are those 
 who are inclined enouiih to hear offers, and who 
 are not of their sovereign's mind, either in 
 religion or other things. The Queen, his mis- 
 tress, has said that slie, Mary, is young and lacks 
 experience ; yet she has age and experience 
 enouo'h to use herself towards her friends and 
 kinsfolk in a friendly and upright manner. 
 She trusts that her discretion will not so far fail 
 her that in her passion she will use other 
 language than that which becomes a queen. 
 She is Elizabetli's equal, and an equal respect 
 ouoht to be observed on both sides. So much 
 for feelings and friendship ; Mary next discusses 
 matters of business. 
 
 In regard to the Treaty, continued Mary, it 
 was made in her husband's time, bv whom she 
 was sroverned : and for the delays used then she 
 ouoht not to be charo-ed. Since his death her 
 
252 THE YOUTH OF QUEEN MARY. 
 
 interest in the realm of France has failed, and 
 she is no longer directed in her affairs by its 
 council. Her uncles, being of that realm, did 
 not think meet to advise her, and her own 
 subjects think that she shall be guided by her 
 own council. His mistress has said that she is 
 young ; she might say that she is foolish as well 
 as young if she proceeded in such a matter 
 without counsel. What was done by her late 
 husband must not be taken for her own personal 
 act ; nor in honour or conscience was she bound 
 to do all that the late King Francis had ordered. 
 She then beof^ed Throckmorton to inform her 
 distinctly what she had done to oifend his 
 mistress. 
 
 To this direct appeal the ambassador's only 
 answer was, that she ought to ratify the Treaty. 
 She again desired to know how this strange 
 feeling against her on the part of his mistress 
 had arisen, to the intent that she mii>ht reform 
 herself, if in any point she had failed in her 
 <luty. Throckmorton reminded her that she had 
 given cause of offence by (juartering the arms of 
 England with her own, and had used the style 
 
CHAPTER THE EIGHTH. 253 
 
 and title of England.^ Mary answered that she 
 was at that time under the command of King 
 Henry and her husband ; and tliat since their 
 death, she had not borne either the arms or the 
 style of England. 
 
 In a subsequent conversation upon tlie same 
 day, she said that if her preparations were not 
 already so far advanced, peradventure the un- 
 kindness of Elizabeth miglit have stayed her 
 voyage, but now she had determined to adventure 
 the matter, whatever came of it. She trusted 
 that the wind would be so favourable that she 
 need not come on the coast of England ; for that 
 if she did, then the Queen would have her in her 
 hands to do her will with her, and if she were 
 so hard-hearted as to desire her end, she might 
 then do her pleasure and make sacrifice of her. 
 " Peradventure," added she, " that casualtv 
 miu'ht be better for me than to live. In this 
 
 ^ The arguments in explanaticni of Queen Mary's conduct in 
 regard to this well-worn accusation are carefully summed up in 
 L'Innocence de la rojuie d'Eccose, in Jebb, i. 5-lt). 
 
 Camden (Elizab., p. oti) remarks that precedents for a similar 
 use of the royal arms of England had been afforded by Courtney, 
 Marquis of Exeter, and the Duchess of Suffolk. « 
 
254 THE YOUTH OF QUEEN MARY. 
 
 matter," quoth she, "God's will be done." And so 
 the said Queen embraced him, and they parted.^ 
 One more conference between Queen Mary and 
 the English Ambassador took place before she 
 embarked. They met at Abbeville on the 7th 
 of August 1561. On that occasion Mary's first 
 question was as to the origin of Elizabeth's un- 
 kindness towards her, whom, as she assured him, 
 she was anxious to conciliate. The unvarying- 
 reply was that the Treaty of Edinburgh remained 
 unsigned. The ground so familiar to the readers 
 of these pages was travelled over once more ; 
 the same arguments and answers, the same 
 objections and solutions. In the course of the 
 conversation Mary used these words : — " I assure 
 you, whatsoever is thought, there is none of 
 my uncles, nor none other here that will (I 
 know not for what respect) give me their ad- 
 vice in this matter ; but they do advise me to 
 use the advice of my own subjects. You know 
 I am young and do lack experience to proceed 
 in so great a matter without advice. I do so 
 
 ^ Cal., 336. Camden states most distinctly that Moray had 
 advised that his sister should be intercepted on her homeward voy- 
 age. Elizab,, p. 57. 
 
CHAPTER THE EIGHTH. 255 
 
 much know mine own infirmity that I will do 
 nothing (though it be of less weight than this 
 is) without counsel." ^ 
 
 After a few days spent at Calais, Mary em- 
 barked there on Friday, 14th August 15(jl. 
 She was accompanied to the side of the vessel 
 by the Dukes of Guise and Nemours, and on 
 the voyage by her three uncles, Claude, Duke 
 D'Aumale, Francis, Grand Prior of France, and 
 Rene, Marquis D'Elba:^uf, together witli a large 
 
 ^ MS. Cott. Calig. E., X. 94. Mary's journey to the coast 
 would seem to have been thus arranged. Leaving St Germain 
 •on Friday, 25th July, she bid adieu to the Royal Family on 
 Monday •28th at Meru, on the road to Beauvais, in the mag- 
 nificent cathedral of which city she probably heard Mass on 
 Sunday, 3d August. If she accomplislied her intended visit to 
 the convent of Ft^camp (Cal., 304), it must have been between 
 the 3d August and the 8th, for on that latter day (Friday) she 
 reached Abbeville, had her interview with Throckmorton, and 
 left it on Friday the 8th. The next day was spent at a Benedic- 
 tine Abbey called Forest Moutier, on the road to Montreuil-sur- 
 Mer, and probably Sunday, 10th. She was in Calais on Wednes- 
 day 13th August, and embarked on the following day, when one 
 of Throckmorton's servants saw her "haling out of that haven 
 about noon with two galleys and two great ships." Cal. 421. 
 These galleys are described by one who saw them on the 16th 
 August off Flamborough Head. " One of the galleys, being 
 the greater, was all white, the other (coloiu-ed red) was well 
 trimmed and a{)pointed. She wore a white flag with the arms 
 of France, and in her stern another white flag glistening like 
 silver." Cal., 416, 419, 421. 
 
256 THE YOUTH OF QUEEN MARY. 
 
 retinue of the nobles and gentlemen of Scotland 
 and France, among whom were the Earl of 
 Bothwell ; Leslie, the future Bishop of Ross ; 
 Brantome, Castelnau de Mauvissiere, and the 
 miserable Chatelard. In her retinue was a 
 person of whose real character she was ignorant. 
 Charles O'Connor, after having been engaged 
 for nine years in the household of Mary of 
 Guise, had gone into France along with D'Oysel, 
 had presented himself to Throckmorton, and 
 offered to play the traitor, or in more polite 
 language, " he promised to travail in Elizabeth's 
 service." -^ His offer was gladly accepted by the 
 English ambassador, who saw in O'Connor a 
 useful instrument for his purposes. He ad- 
 vised this servinof man " to throw himself into 
 the train of the Queen, both to the coast and 
 by sea into Scotland." - His acquaintance with 
 her dead mother was a sufficient recommenda- 
 tion, and this traitor took shipping with her as 
 a spy upon her actions. He was furnished with 
 a letter of introduction to Cecil, which would 
 have secured him from danger in the event of 
 
 1 Cal., Dec. 31, 1560, n. 832. •-' Cal., 345. 
 
CHAPTER THE EIGHTH. 257 
 
 the royal galley falling into the power of the 
 English cruisers. That this would be the case 
 was generally anticipated in the Court of London, 
 for Elizabeth's intentions were no secret. 
 
 Mary wished tliat her parting with the Eng- 
 lish ambassador should be in kindness. During 
 her brief stay in Calais, she found leisure to 
 write a few friendly lines to Lady Throckmorton, 
 who at that time was in France ; and along- 
 with her letter she sent a remembrance of 
 her affection and a token of the regard in 
 which she held Sir Nicolas, notwithstandinor 
 their frequent discussions about the obnoxious 
 Treaty of Edinburgh. The gift consisted of 
 two basins, tw^o ewers, two salts and a stand- 
 ing cup, all of silver gilt. The manner in 
 which this present was received is curious. 
 The messenger who presented it to Lady 
 Throckmorton " used further manv curteous 
 words on the said Queen's behalf," and then 
 departed. He had no speech with Tlirock- 
 morton, who pleaded sickness, although lie him- 
 self had fixed the hour for the presentation.^ 
 
 ^ The plate weighed 398 ounces, which at a moderate estimate 
 
 B 
 
258 THE YOUTH OF QUEEN MARY. 
 
 Brantome, who accompanied Mary into Scot- 
 land, has left us some interesting particulars 
 about the voyage. He tells us that as her 
 galley was leaving Calais, she was compelled 
 to witness the sinking of a vessel close to the 
 port, the entire crew of which perished in 
 her sight. He also is our authority for the 
 details, so well known, of her spending the 
 night on deck, in order that with the return 
 of daylight, she might catch one more look 
 at the home of her affections. The same 
 writer tells us, that she had an inborn horror 
 of cruelty, and was easily touched by human 
 suffering, as was proved by her intercession 
 with her uncle, the Grand Prior, for the better 
 treatment of the miserable slaves, who were 
 chained to the oars of the Koyal Galley. 
 From Brantome also we gather our information 
 about that wonderful fog, under covert of which 
 she escaped the armed cruisers which Elizabeth 
 
 might be reckoned at about £150 sterling. Throckmorton's 
 avarice tempted him to accept the gift ; his dread of the jeal- 
 ousy of his mistress prevented a word of the most ordinary 
 thanks. The English ambassador saved his dignity by taking 
 to his bed. A pretty picture, and admirably illustrative of the 
 two sides of the same historical medal. 
 
CHAPTER THE EIGHTH. 2o9 
 
 had sent out to capture her wliile on the 
 high seas J 
 
 If it be asked upon what authoi-ity rests 
 this grave charge, the charge namely of attempt- 
 ing to intercept the Scottish Queen on lier 
 homeward voyage, we may quote in the first 
 place the authority of Eliza! )eth herself. In 
 her intemperate reply to M. D'Oysel, she said 
 that she would provide to keep Mary, and the 
 threat was uttered in the hearino; of numerous 
 bystanders. Friend and foe agreed in blaming 
 Elizabeth for this refusal of the safe-conduct 
 to Mary, and for having insulted her envoy. 
 In the opinion of the Spanish ambassador, the 
 denial of the passport was equivalent to a de- 
 claration of war.- The Queen Mother of France 
 (who certainly did not love her widowed 
 daughter-in-law) said that she and her son 
 reoTetted to hear of this refusal, as it miolit 
 be the occasion of further unkindness, and so 
 prove an entry into war. She thought that 
 
 ' Leslie, Camden, and Buchanan all mention the unusual dark- 
 ness of the weather duriuL' Marv's vovaye. 
 - Teulet, ii. tj ; Cal., 337, note. 
 
260 THE YOUTH OF QUEEN MARY. 
 
 Mary had acted discreetly, in declining to ratify 
 the Treaty of Edinburgh, without having pre- 
 viously obtained the sanction of her advisers.' 
 Not a single Court in Europe approved of the 
 course which Elizabeth had taken. Such of 
 her own councillors as could venture to be 
 candid spoke the same language. Throck- 
 morton told Cecil that it would have been 
 better if the passage had been granted. But 
 since the threat has been uttered, continued 
 he, it would be well to make sure preparation. 
 Cecil should take heed tliat we do not brao-, 
 but speak in good earnest. If they mean 
 to catch the Queen of Scotland, their ships 
 must search and see all, for she means rather 
 to steal away than to pass with force.- 
 3o notorious had Elizabeth's threat become, 
 that Maitland, in writing to Cecil, mentions it. 
 upon the authority of one of Mary's own 
 letters.'^ The injustice of the act did not 
 shock Maitland, but he was annoved with 
 the clumsy blunder into which Elizabeth's evil 
 temper had betrayed her. She had shown her 
 iCal., 336. -Cal., 337. ^Cal., 402. 
 
CHAPTER THE EIGHTH. 261 
 
 teeth, but had not used them. If the galleys 
 are to pass quietly, the safe-conduct should have 
 been granted ; if not, " she should have keep 
 close. To what purpose should they open their 
 pack, and sell none of their wares, or declare 
 themselves enemies to those they cannot offend ? 
 It passes my dull capacity (writes the crafty 
 Secretary) to imagine what this sudden enter- 
 prise should mean." ^ 
 
 With a startling disregard of veracity, Eliza- 
 beth tried to escape from the effects of her in- 
 discretion by tr^^ing to persuade Mary that the 
 armed vessels about which there had been so 
 much talk were only " two or three small barks 
 upon the seas to apprehend certain pirates." To 
 colour this device the English admiral became 
 suddenly inquisitive about all cases of piracy 
 of which at this juncture any tidings could be 
 obtained ; although shortly before and shortly 
 afterwards similar occurrences seem to have ex- 
 cited very little attention. But the proofs were 
 too strong and the conviction too general to be 
 
 ' Cal., 402. See the tx-anslation of a jtortion of one of his 
 • letters to the same effect in Camden, p. 57. 
 
262 THE YOUTH OF QUEEN MARY. 
 
 silenced by such transparent subterfuges ; and 
 the Queen of England remains convicted of hav- 
 ing planned a crime which was defeated because 
 she herself betrayed it by her petulant temper 
 and virulent tongue. 
 
 One more opportunity is afforded us of ob- 
 serving the spirit in which the passage of these 
 French vessels was regarded by the English 
 Government. The Earl of Rutland, President 
 of the Council in the North, informs Cecil (in 
 a letter which he took the trouble to write at 
 four o'clock in the morning),^ that on the pre- 
 vious afternoon certain ships and galleys had 
 passed off Bridlington. It is thought (added 
 he) that they will draw to the shore, which if 
 they do and arrive, " I have given such order 
 as I nothing doubt ye shall hear good news of 
 their stay. 
 
 'CD 
 " 1 
 
 1 A, letter written on the following day by the Earl leaves no 
 doubt that these ships were Mary's little navy. Cal., 416, 419. 
 
 2 Cal., 455, 472. Peter Heylyn, Prebendary of Westminster, a 
 zealous member of the Church of England, gives the following 
 candid summary of the whole transaction : — " It was thought (by 
 the English Government) to intercept Mary, if they could, in her 
 passage into Scotland. And to that end a squadron of ships was 
 sent to sea ; but under colour of suppressing some pirates by 
 whom the trade of merchandise was given out to be hindered. 
 
CHAPTER THE EIGHTH. 
 
 2G:3 
 
 All these precautions notwithstanding, an<l 
 doubtless many others of whicli wo know no- 
 thing, Queen Mary Stuart accomplishe<l her 
 hazardous voyage in safety ; and on the morn- 
 ing of Wednesday, the 19th of August, she once 
 more set her foot upon the soil of Scotland. 
 
 But the taking of one of the Scottish ships, with the Earl of Eg- 
 linton and other passengers of that nation, who were making 
 homewards, declared sufficiently that they looked for a far richer 
 prize. But for the Queen of Scots herself, by reason of a thick 
 fog which hung over the seas, she passed by the English unper- 
 ceived, and landed at the port of Leith." Hist, of the Refor- 
 mation, ii. 152, ed. 1661. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 Abbeville, 254, 255. 
 
 Aberdeen, 232, 233, 234. 
 
 John Leslie, Official of, see 
 
 Leslie, John. 
 Admiral of France, see Coligny, Gas- 
 
 purd de. 
 Adrian, St, Shrine of, in the Isle of 
 
 May, 117. 
 Amboise, 127, 138. 
 
 Conspiracy of, 170-174, 191. 
 
 Amiens, 152. 
 
 Ancrum Moor, the Battle of, 57, 58. 
 
 Andelot, see D'Andelot. 
 
 Angers, 112, 113, 
 
 Aquilea, the Patriarch of, see Grimani, 
 
 Marco. 
 Aragon, Catherine of. Queen of Eng- 
 land, 4. 
 Argyle, Archibald, Earl of, 244. 
 Arran, James Hamilton, Governor of 
 
 Scotland, 1, 32, GO, 74, 76, 77. 
 James Hamilton, Earl of, son 
 
 of the Governor, 177, 170, 203, 228, 
 
 230. 
 Arschot, the Duchess of, 218, 220. 
 
 Ashley, Catherine, 215. 
 
 Aubespine, Sebastian de 1', Bishop of, 
 
 Limoges, see Limoges. 
 Aumale, Claude de Lon-aine, Duke of, 
 
 255. 
 Austria, Don John of, 222. 
 
 Balmaclellan', 103. 
 
 Balnaves, Henry, of Halhill, 74, 109, 
 203. 
 
 Bancroft, Richard, Archbishop of Can- 
 terbury, 150, 160. 
 
 Bane, Matthew, 42, 43. 
 
 Beauvais, 255. 
 
 Bedford, Francis Russell, Earl of; 204, 
 210. 
 
 Berwick, 39, 80, 182. 
 
 Governor of, see Croftes, Sir 
 
 James. 
 
 Beton, David, Cardinal, 9-69. 
 
 James, Bishop of Glasgow, 110, 
 
 202, 218. 
 
 Beza, Theodore, 178. 
 
 Blois, 138, 173. 
 
 Boleyn, Anne, Queen of England, 4, 214, 
 
266 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Bothwell, James Hepburn, Earl of, 
 
 141, 143, 237, 25G. 
 Boullay, Emond du, 104. 
 Boulogne, 236. 
 Bourbon, The Family of, 198. 
 Anthony de, King of Navarre, 
 
 see Navarre. 
 Antoinette de, Duchess of Guise, 
 
 see Guise, Antoinette, Duchess of. 
 Brantome, Pierre de Bourdeilles, Sieur 
 
 de, 91, 97, 98, 99, 109, 123, 125, 
 
 130, 140-144, 256-258. 
 Brest, 50, 87. 
 Bretagne, 86, 93, 191. 
 Breze, M. de, 86. 
 Broomhouse, 56, 58. 
 Brown, Anthony, Lord Montague, see 
 
 Montague. 
 Brunston, The Laird of, see Crighton, 
 
 Alexander. 
 Brussels, 215. 
 Buchanan, (Jeorge, 25, 27, 63, 71, 72, 
 
 141, 259. 
 
 Caithness, 86. 
 
 Calder, 44. 
 
 Calais, 151, 173, 196, 244, 245, 247, 255. 
 
 Calvin, John, 136, 157-162. 
 
 Camden, "William, 236, 253-261. 
 
 Campbell, Sir John, 44, 
 
 Carlisle, 17. 
 
 Carlos, Don, 202, 221. 
 
 Cassellis, Gilbert, Earl of, 63, 64. 
 
 Castelnau de Mauvissiere, see Mau- 
 
 vissiere. 
 Cecil, Sir William, 107, 114, 125, 168, 
 
 179, 187. 
 Challoner, Sir Thomas, 215. 
 Chantilly, 137. 
 Charles V., Emperor, 3, 98. 
 IX. , King of France, 92, 216, 
 
 219, 238. 
 Charteris, John, 62. 
 Chatelard, 256. 
 Chatelherault, 178, 179. 
 Duke of, loU, 144. 
 
 Chatelherault, Duchy of, 177. 
 
 Chatillon, M. de, 9. 
 
 Francis de, surnamed M. 
 
 D'Andelot, see D'Andelot. 
 
 The Admiral, 181. 
 
 The Cardinal, 197. 
 
 Chauny, 144. 
 
 Cicero, 135. 
 
 Claude, Abbot of Cluny, 96. 
 
 Duchess of Lorraine, 92, 135. 
 
 Clement VII., Pope, 4. 
 
 Cleutin, see Oysel, Henri. 
 
 Clifford, Thomas, 42. 
 
 Cluny, 96. 
 
 Clyde, The, 86. 
 
 Coligny, Gaspard de. Admiral of 
 France, 114, 163, 221. 
 
 Compeigne, 136, 138. 
 
 Conipostella, St James of, 116, 
 
 Conde, Louis de Bourbon-Vendome, 
 Prince of, 162, 172, 173, 181, 192, 
 196, 238. 
 
 Congregation, The Lords of the, 182, 
 183, 189. 
 
 Conn, George, 123, 233. 
 
 Constable of France, Anne de Mont- 
 morency, 111, 114, 138, 197, 201, 
 255. 
 
 Craigmillar Castle, 55. 
 
 Crail, 9. 
 
 Cranmer, Thomas, Archbishop of 
 Canterbury, 63. 
 
 Crighton, Alexander, Laird of Brun- 
 ston, 60, 64, 65. 
 
 Croftes, Sir James, Governor of Ber- 
 wick, 182, 183,184, 
 
 Cromwell, Lord, 8. 
 
 Cullen, Captain, 234. 
 
 Dalkeith, 55. 
 
 D'Andelot, Francis de Chatillon, sur- 
 named, 197. 
 
 Dandino, Cardinal, 50, 51. 
 
 D'Aumale, Claude de Lorraine, Duke, 
 235, 237. 
 
 Denmark, Frederick II., King of, 228. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 267 
 
 Dieppe, 6, 106, 228, 23G. 
 
 Douglas, Sir George, 38. 
 
 Dovei-, 236. 
 
 Dudley, Ambrose, Earl of Warwick, 
 
 111. 
 Robert, Earl of Leicester, 106, 
 
 21.3, 215. 
 Dumbarton, 38, 86, 244. 
 Dumfries, 17, 19. 
 Dim bar, 38, 55. 
 Dunfermline, The Abbot of, 185, 218. 
 
 Edinburgh, 23, 37, 38, 52, 53, 83, 85, 
 
 141, 225, 233, 234. 
 
 Parliament at, 51. 
 
 Treaty of, 206-20!), 22S, 240, 246 
 
 •24'J, 251, 252, 254, 257, 260. 
 Edward VI., King of England, 78, 119, 
 
 135. 
 Eglinton, Hugh, Earl of, 237, 263. 
 Elbojuf, liene de Loriaine, Marquis d', 
 
 255. 
 Elizabeth, Queen of England, 153-263. 
 
 Queen of Spain, 92, 134, 135, 
 
 178. 
 
 Elphinston, F., Rector of the Scottish 
 
 College in Rome, 69. 
 Ely, Bishop of, 145. 
 Embden, ISO. 
 Erasmus, Desiderius, The Dialogues of, 
 
 135, 136. 
 Erskine, Lord, 44, 87. 
 
 John, Prior of Inchmahome, 
 
 103. 
 
 Esk, The North, S3. 
 Etampes, The Duchess d', 157. 
 Evers, Sir Ralph, 55, oii, 58. 
 
 Faith, The Confession of, 187. 
 Falkland, 25. 
 
 F.irmoMtier, The Abbey of, 96. 
 Fecamp, The Convent of, 255, 
 Feiia, Count de, 1()5. 
 Fermo, Tiie Bishop of, 200. 
 Ferrara, The Duke of, 133. 
 Fife, 23, 54, 72. 
 Finisterre, 87. 
 
 Fisher, John, Cardinal, 4. 
 Flamborough Head, 255. 
 Flanders, 180. 
 Flodden, 1. 
 
 Fontainebleau, 135, 145, 148. 
 Fontevrault, The Abbey of, 96. 
 Foiest-Moutier, The .\libey of, 255. 
 Fouqueline, Antoine, 144. 
 Francis I., King of France, h7. 
 
 II., King of France, 127-r.t2, 
 
 252. 
 Frederic II., King of Denmark, 228. 
 
 Geneva, 157, 159, 160, 163, 164, 170, 
 
 175, 179, 180, 181. 
 Germain-en-Laye, St, 87, 91. 
 (ilasgow. Bishop of, see Beton, James. 
 Gontery, Jean, 95. 
 Goodman, Christopher, 160. 
 Gordon, George, Earl of Huntly, -^ee 
 
 Huntly. 
 Grange, Sir William Kirkcaldy, Laird 
 
 of, 62, 74, 77. 
 Gray, Patrick, Lord, 79. 
 Grey, of Wilton, William, Lord, 85. 
 (Jrimani, Marco, Patriarch of Aquilea, 
 
 48-52. 
 Guise, Antoinette, Duchess of, 94, 95, 
 
 104, 132, 149, 2 IS, 237. 
 
 Charles, Cardinal of, 77, 97- 
 
 103, 108, 228, 237, 242. 
 
 Claude, Duke of, 94, 104. 
 
 Francis, Duke of, 76, 9ii, 108, 
 
 114, 132, 222, 255. 
 
 Mary, Queen Dowager of Scot- 
 land, 76, 84, 106-109, 115-118. 
 
 Haddington, 55, 85. 
 
 Halhill, the Laird of, see Balnavcs, 
 
 Henry. 
 Hamilton, 183, 184. 
 
 James, Earl of .\rran. (Jo- 
 
 vernor of Scotland, see Anan. 
 
 Hampton Court, 20, 181. 
 
 Henry VIIL, King of England, 1-78. 
 
 II., King of France, 49, 91, 
 
 154, 252, 25:;. 
 
268 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Henry III., King of France, 92, 
 
 IV., King of France, 93. 
 
 Hertford, Edward Seymour, Earl of, 
 
 53, 57, 63, 79, 80, 83, 
 Holyrood House, 54. 
 Huguenots, The, 113, 165, 171, 175, 
 
 ]91. 
 Humyers, M. de, 93. 
 Huillier, 1', M., see Maison-Fleur. 
 Huntly, George Gordon, Earl of, 110, 
 
 139, 234. 
 
 Inchmahome, The Monastery of, 85. 
 
 Prior of, see Erskine, John. 
 
 Ireland, 87. 
 
 James I., King of Scotland, 245. 
 
 v., King of Scotland, 5-30, 
 
 142. 
 
 VI., King of Scotland, 2. 
 
 Joinville, 94, 101, 104, 222, 232, 237. 
 
 Kilwinning, 185. 
 
 Kirkaldy, Sir William, of Grange, see 
 
 Grange. 
 Kirkcudbright, Tlie Stewardry of, 103. 
 Knox, John, 19, 23, 66, 67, 71, 72, 73, 
 
 77, 78, IGO, 183, 185, 199, 244. 
 
 Lausanne, 180. 
 
 Layton, Sir Bryan, 55, 58. 
 
 Leicester, Robert Dudley, Earl of, see 
 
 Dudley, Robert. 
 Leith, 6, 8, 54, 55, 85, 86, 106, 119, 141, 
 
 223, 245, 247, 263, 
 Lennox, Matthew, Earl of, 49, 85. 
 Leslie, John, Official of Aberdeen, 24, 
 
 25, 232, 237, 256, 259. 
 
 Norman, 68, 71. 
 
 Lethington, James Maitland, Laird of, 
 
 see Maitland, James. 
 Liesse, Notre Dame de, 138, 
 Limoges, Sebastian de I'Aubesplne, 
 
 Bishop of, 220. 
 Lindsay, John, Lord, 44. 
 Livingstone, Lord, 44, 87. 
 
 Longueville, Francis, Duke of, lO-i, 
 115, 117. 
 
 Louis, Duke of, 115. 
 
 Lorraine, 215. 
 
 Charles of, 92, 132. 
 
 Cardinal of, 114, 215. 
 
 Claude, Duchess of, 135. 
 
 Rene de, see Elbceuf. 
 
 Louvie, The, 149. 
 
 Low Countries, The, 118, 218. 
 
 Madrid, 135, 215, 220. 
 
 Magdalene, Queen of Scotland, 6-8, 142. 
 
 Maison-Flcur, M. I'Huillier, Seigneur 
 
 de, 144. 
 Maitland, James, of Lethington, 187, 
 
 203, 223, 224, 247, 260, 261. 
 Marchais, 138. 
 Margaret, Queen of France, 93. 
 
 Queen of Navarre, 357, 
 
 Mason, Sir John, 105, 107, 109, 112, 
 
 113. 
 Mauvissiere, Castelnau de, 256. 
 May, The Isle of, 117. 
 Medicis, Catherine de, Queen of 
 
 France, 91, 92, 111, 196, 197, 216, 
 
 220, 238, 259. 
 Merse, 55, 56. 
 Meru, 253. 
 Metz, 173, 196. 
 Meudon, 132, 138. 
 Minart, The President, 113, 
 Minch, The, 86. 
 
 Montague, Anthony Brown, Lord, 145. 
 Montaiglon, ^I., 134. 
 Montmorency, Anne de, see Constable 
 
 of France. 
 Montreuil-sur-mer, 255. 
 Moray, the Earldom of, 226, 227. 
 More, Sir Thomas, 4. 
 Musselburgh, 82. 
 
 Nancy, 237. 
 Nantes, 50, 237, 244. 
 Nanteuil, 138. 
 Nau, Claude, 143. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 2(39 
 
 Navarre, Anthony de Bourbon, King Plessls-Mace, 112. 
 
 of, 162, 10-1, 1C8, IG'J, 170, 177, I Plutarch, i:J7. 
 
 196, 201, 211), 2:i8. . Poiters, 178. 
 
 Margaret, Quueu of, 1-57. } Poitou, the Comte of, 149. 
 
 Nemours, Jacques de Savoy, Duke of, I Portsmouth, 118. 
 
 25-3. I Portugal, 7. 
 
 Newbattle Abbey, 5-3, 107. ' 
 
 Ninian, St, 87, 117. 
 Noailles, M. de, 178. 
 Normandy, 191. 
 Norris, Sir Henry, 114. 
 Northampton, William Parr, Marquis 
 
 of, lis, 215. 
 
 Preston, 55. 
 
 Randall, Thomas, see Randolph. 
 Randolph, Thomas, 25, 1^;4, 187, 108, 
 
 199. 
 Renaudie, Barry de la, 170-175 
 
 Nuncio, the Papal, see Grimani i ''heinis, 100, lol, l:;.s, 217, 218, 222, 
 
 Marco. 
 
 O'Connor, Charles, 255. 
 Orkney, the Bishop of, 19. 
 
 225. 232, 237. 
 tlie Abbey of St Pierre at, 9r,^ 
 
 238. 
 Rome, 145. 
 
 Scottish College at, 69. 
 
 Orleans, 50, 138, 188, 192, 198, 202, Ronsard, Pierre de, 123, 125, 140-144. 
 
 21(5, 217. I nothes, the Master of, 62, 74, 76. 
 Charles Maximilian, Duke of, jjouen 78 107. 
 
 afterwards Charles IX., King of j i>o.coff, the Chapel of St Ninian at, 
 
 France, 141, 238. ..-^ go 
 
 Otterburn, Sir Adam, 8. 
 Oysel, Henri Cleutin d'. Seigneur de 
 
 Villeparisis, 218, 244-247, 249, 259. 
 
 Paget, William, Lokd, 111. 
 
 Paisley, 185. 
 
 Paris, 48-50, 172, 178, 215, 217, 227. 
 231, 238, 239, 255. 
 
 Parnassus. 144. 
 
 Parr, William, .Marquis of Northamp- 
 ton, see Northampton. 
 
 Parroys, Mme., 130. 
 
 Paul III., Pope, 7, 25, 48. 
 
 Peebles, the Shrine of the True Cross 
 at, 117. 
 
 Pentlaud Firth, SG. 
 
 Perth, 184. 
 
 Philip II., King of Spain, 92, 135, 165, 
 196, 219, 221. 
 
 Pickering, Sir William, 118, 119. 
 
 Pinkie Cleugh, Battle of, 82, S3. 
 
 Pius IV., Pope, 200. 
 
 Plato, 135. 
 
 Ruthven, Patrick, Lord, 44. 
 
 Rutland, Henry Manners, Earl of, 262. 
 
 Rye, 236. 
 
 Sadler, Sir Ralph, 11-13, 37, 38, 63. 
 65, 182, 184. 
 I Ellen, Lady, 42. 
 
 Sandilands, James, Lord, 188-190. 
 , Savoy, Jacciues de, Duke of Nemours, 
 
 see Nemours. 
 I Scott, Alexander, Par.son of Balma- 
 clellan, 103. 
 
 Selkirk, 57. 
 i Sinclair, Oliver, 21. 
 I Soissons, 152. 
 1 Soltre, the Hospital of, 117. 
 t Solway Moss, the Battle of, 36, 47, 58. 
 I Spain, 219, 221. 
 
 Philip II., King of, see Philip II. 
 
 St Adrian, Shrine of, 117. 
 
 St Andrews, 38, 49, 54, 62, 69, 78, 184. 
 
 St Denis, 114,168. 
 
270 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 St Dizier, 225. 
 
 St Estienne, M. de, 134. 
 
 St Germain-en-Laye, 103, 128, 138, 248. 
 
 St Ninian, 87, 117. 
 
 Stirling, 38. 44, 47, 50, 184, 185. 
 
 Strasburg, 175. 
 
 Strozzi, Leo, 77. 
 
 Stuart, Loi d James, 108-110, 119, 191, 
 
 220-236. 
 Stuait, Rolieit, 114, 115. 
 Sutherland, 86. 
 
 Tantallon, The Castle of, 38. 
 
 Throckmorton, Sir Nicolas, 164-175, 
 177-lSO, 190, 191, 196, 202, 206-208, 
 211, 215, 220-231, 237-257, 260. 
 
 Lady, 257. 
 
 Tixall, 42. 
 
 Torphiehen, the Preceptor of, see 
 Sandilands, James. 
 
 Touraine, 138, 149. 
 
 Tremaine, Richard, 181. 
 Trivulce, Cardinal, 149. 
 Trygnan, St, see St Ninian. 
 
 Valentinois, The Ddchess of, 133. 
 Vaudemont, Nicolas, Count de, 237. 
 Venice, 7. 
 
 Villegaignon, Admiral, 85. 
 Villepaiisis, .tee Oysel, Henri. 
 Villers-Coterets, 138, 152. 
 
 Wakwick, Ambrose DuDLKT, Eael or, 
 
 111. 
 Westminster, 181. 
 Wharton, Thomas, Lord, 55, 85. 
 White, Nicolas, 125. 
 Whithern, 117. 
 Wishart, 61, 66, 67, 68. 
 Wotton, Sir Henry, 131. 
 
 York, 19, 20. 
 
 THE END. 
 
 COLSTON AND COMPANY, PRINTERS, EDINBURGH. 
 
14 DAY USE 
 
 RETURN TO DESK FROM WHICH BORROWED 
 
 LOAN DEPT. 
 
 _Renewed books are subject to immediate recall. 
 
 ~^mroHui 
 
 U. C. SCRKPI et 
 
 ■ *ir>. iU,.i, 
 
 LD 21A-50m-12 '60 
 (B6221sl0)476B 
 
 .General Library 
 
 University of California 
 
 Berkeley 
 
i