On Mary's return to Edinburgh, she summoned her vassals by proclamation, and solicited them by her letters to repair thither in arms, for the protection of her person against her foreign and domestic enemies.* She was obeyed with all the promptness and alacrity with which subjects run to defend a mild and popular administration. This popularity, however, she owed in a great measure to Murray, who had directed her administra tion with great prudence. But the crime of opposing her marriage obliterated the memory of his former services; and Mary, impatient of contradiction, and apt to consider those who disputed her will as enemies to her person, determined to let him feel the whole weight of her vengeance. For this purpose she summoned him to appear before her upon a short warning, to answer to such things as should be laid to his charge.† At this very time, Murray and the lords who adhered to him were assembled at Stirling, to deliberate what course they should hold in such a difficult conjuncture. But the current of popular favour ran so strongly against them, and, notwithstanding some fears and jealousies, there prevailed in the nation such a general disposition to gratify the queen in a matter which so nearly concerned her, that, without coming to any other conclusion than to implore the queen of England's protection, they put an end to their ineffectual consultations, and returned every man to his own house.

Together with this discovery of the weakness of her enemies, the confluence of her subjects from all corners of the kingdom afforded Mary an agreeable proof of her own strength. While the queen was in this prosperous situation, she determined to bring to a period an affair which had so long engrossed her heart and occupied her attention. On the twentyninth of July she married lord Darnly. The ceremony was performed in the queen's chapel, according to the rites of the Romish church; the pope's bull dispensing with their marriage having been previously obtained.† She issued at the same time proclamations, conferring the title of king of the Scots upon her husband, and commanding that henceforth all writs at law should run in the joint names of king and queen. Nothing can be a stronger proof of the violence of Mary's love, or the weakness of her counsels, than this last step. Whether she had any right to choose a husband without consent of parliament, was, in that age, a matter of some dispute ;|| that she had no right to confer upon him, by her private authority, the title and dignity of king, or by a simple proclamation to raise her husband to be the master of her people, seems to be beyond all doubt. Francis II., indeed, bore the same title. It was not, however, the gift of the queen, but of the nation; and the consent of parliament was obtained before he ventured to assume it. Darnly's condition, as a subject, rendered it still more necessary to have the concurrence of the supreme council in his favour. Such a violent and unprecedented stretch of prerogative, as the substituting a proclamation in place of an act of parliament, might have justly alarmed the nation. But at that time the queen possessed so entirely the confidence of her subjects, that notwithstanding all the clamours of the malecontents, no symptoms of general discontent appeared on that account.

Even amidst that scene of joy which always accompanies successful

in Lochleven during life, and to usurp the government. To believe implicitly whatever they find in an ancient paper is a folly to which, in every age, antiquaries are extremely prone. Ancient papers, however, often contain no more than the slanders of a party, and the lie of the day. The declaration of the nobles referred to is of this kind; it is plainly rancorous, and written in the very heat of faction. Many things asserted in it are evidently false or exaggerated, Let Murray and his confederates be as ambitious as we can suppose, they must have had some pretences, and plausible ones too, before they could venture to imprison their sovereign for life, and to seize the reins of government; but, at that time, the queen's conduct had afforded no colourable excuse for proceeding to such extremities. It is likewise remarkable, that in all the proclamations against Murray, of which so many are published in Keith, Appendix, 108, &c. neither the violent attempt upon Darnly, nor that which he is alleged to have formed against the queen herself, is ever once mentioned. * Keith, 298. † Ibid. Append. 108. Anderson, i. 33. See Append No. XI

Buchan. 341

Keith, 302.

love, Mary did not suffer the course of her vengeance against the malecontent nobles to be interrupted. Three days after the marriage, Murray was again summoned to court, under the severest penalties, and, upon his non-appearance, the rigour of justice took place, and he was declared an outlaw.* At the same time the queen set at liberty lord Gordon, who, ever since his father's insurrection in the year one thousand five hundred and sixty-two, had been detained a prisoner; she recalled the earl of Sutherland, who, on account of his concern in that conspiracy, had fled into Flanders; and she permitted Bothwell to return again into Scotland. The first and last of these were among the most powerful subjects in the kingdom, and all of them animated with implacable hatred to Murray, whom they deemed the enemy of their families and the author of their own sufferings. This common hatred became the foundation of the strictest union with the queen, and gained them an ascendant over all her councils. Murray himself considered this confederacy with his avowed enemies, as a more certain indication than any measure she had yet taken, of her inexorable resentment.

The malecontents had not yet openly taken up arms. But the queen having ordered her subjects to march against them, they were driven to the last extremity. They found themselves unable to make head against the numerous forces which Mary had assembled; and fled into Argyleshire, in expectation of aid from Elizabeth, to whom they had secretly despatched a messenger in order to implore her immediate assistance.I

Meanwhile Elizabeth endeavoured to embarrass Mary by a new decla ration of disgust at her conduct. She blamed both her choice of lord Darnly, and the precipitation with which she had concluded the marriage. She required Lennox and Darnly, whom she still called her subjects, to return into England; and at the same time she warmly interceded in behalf of Murray, whose behaviour she represented to be not only innocent but laudable. This message, so mortifying to the pride of the queen, and so full of contempt for her husband, was rendered still more insupportable by the petulant and saucy demeanour of Tamworth, the person who delivered it.§ Mary vindicated her own conduct with warmth, but with great strength of reason; and rejected the intercession in behalf of Murray, not without signs of resentment at Elizabeth's pretending to intermeddle in the internal government of her kingdom.||

She did not, on that account, intermit in the least the ardour with which she pursued Murray and his adherents. They now appeared openly in arms; and, having received a small supply in money from Elizabeth,** were endeavouring to raise their followers in the western counties. But Mary's vigilance hindered them from assembling in any considerable body. All her military operations at that time were concerted with wisdom, executed with vigour, and attended with success. In order to encourage her troops, she herself marched along with them, rode with loaded pistols,†† and endured all the fatigues of war with admirable fortitude. Her alacrity inspired her forces with an invincible resolution, which, together with their superiority in number, deterred the malecontents from facing them in the field: but, having artfully passed the queen's army, they marched with

* Keith, 309, 310.

After their fruitless consultation in Stirling, the lords retired to their own houses. Keith, 304. Murray was still at St. Andrew's on July 22. Keith, 306. By the places of rendezvous, appointed for the inhabitants of the different counties, August 4, it appears that the queen's intention was to march into Fife, the county in which Murray, Rothes, Kirkaldy, and other chiefs of the malecontents, resided. Keith, 310. Their flight into the west, Keith, 312, prevented this expedition, and the former rendezvous was altered. Keith, 310.

Keith, 312. Knox, 380.

Camd. 398.

|| Keith, Append. 99.

The most considerable persons who joined Murray were, the duke of Chatelherault, the earls of Argyll, Glencairn, Rothes, lord Boyd and Ochiltree; the lairds of Grange, Cunninghamhead, Balcomie, Carmylie, Lawers, Bar, Dreghorn, Pitarrow, Comptroller, and the Tutor of Pictur. Knox, 382. ** Knox, 380,

†† Keith, Append. 164.

VOL. III.-18

great rapidity to Edinburgh, and endeavoured to rouse the inhabitants of that city to arms. [Aug. 31.] The queen did not suffer them to remain long unmolested; and on her approach they were forced to abandon that place, and retire in confusion towards the western borders.*

As it was uncertain, for some time, what route they had taken, Mary em ployed that interval in providing for the security of the counties in the heart of the kingdom. She seized the places of strength which belonged to the rebels; and obliged the considerable barons in those shires which sne most suspected, to join in associations for her defence.† Having thus left all the country behind her in tranquillity, she, with an army eighteen thousand strong, marched towards Dumfries, where the rebels then were. During their retreat, they had sent letters to the queen from almost every place where they halted, full of submission, and containing various overtures towards an accommodation. But Mary, who determined not to let slip such a favourable opportunity of crushing the mutinous spirit of her subjects, rejected them with disdain. As she advanced, the malecontents retired; and having received no effectual aid from Elizabeth, they despaired of any other means of safety, fled into England [Oct. 20], and put themselves under the protection of the earl of Bedford, warden of the marches.

Nothing which Bedford's personal friendship for Murray could supply was wanting to render their retreat agreeable. But Elizabeth herself treated them with extreme neglect. She had fully gained her end, and, by their means, had excited such discord and jealousies among the Scots as would, in all probability, long distract and weaken Mary's councils. Her business now was to save appearances, and to justify herself to the ministers of France and Spain, who accused her of fomenting the troubles in Scotland by her intrigues. The expedient she contrived for her vindication strongly displays her own character, and the wretched condition of exiles, who are obliged to depend on a foreign prince. Murray, and Hamilton, Abbot of Kilwinning, being appointed by the other fugitives to wait on Elizabeth, instead of meeting with that welcome reception which was due to men who, out of confidence in her promises, and in order to forward her designs, had hazarded their lives and fortunes, could not even obtain the favour of an audience, until they had meanly consented to acknowledge, in the presence of the French and Spanish ambassadors, that Elizabeth had given them no encouragement to take arms. No sooner did they make this declaration than she astonished them with this reply: "You have declared the truth; I am far from setting an example of rebellion to my own subjects, by countenancing those who rebel against their lawful prince. The treason of which you have been guilty is detestable; and as traitors I banish you from my presence."§ Notwithstanding this scene of farce and of falsehood, so dishonourable to all the persons who acted a part in it, Elizabeth permitted the malecontents peaceably to reside in her dominions, supplied them secretly with money, and renewed her intercession with the Scottish queen in their favour.||

The advantage she had gained over them did not satisfy Mary; she resolved to follow the blow, and to prevent a party which she dreaded from ever recovering any footing in the nation. With this view, she called a meeting of parliament; and, in order that a sentence of forfeiture might be legally pronounced against the banished lords, she summoned them, by public proclamation, to appear before it. T

Dec. 1.] The duke of Chatelherault, on his humble application, obtained a separate pardon; but not without difficulty, as the king violently opposed it. He was obliged, however, to leave the kingdom, and to reside for some time in France.**

* Keith, $15.

|| Knox. 389.

† Ibid. 113. T Keith, 320

See Append. No. XII. XIII. ** Knox, 389.

◊ Melv, 112

The numerous forces which Mary brought into the field, the vigour with which she acted, and the length of time she kept them in arms, resemble the efforts of a prince with revenues much more considerable than those which she possessed. But armies were then levied and maintained by princes at small charge. The vassal followed his superior, and the superior attended the monarch, at his own expense. Six hundred horsemen, however, and three companies of foot, besides her guards, received regular pay from the queen. This extraordinary charge, together with the disbursements occasioned by her marriage, exhausted a treasury which was far from being rich. In this exigency, many devices were fallen upon for raising money. Fines were levied on the towns of St. Andrew's, Perth, and Dundee, which were suspected of favouring the malecontents. An unusual tax was imposed on the boroughs throughout the kingdom; and a great sum was demanded of the citizens of Edinburgh, by way of loan. This unprecedented exaction alarmed the citizens. They had recourse to delays, and started difficulties, in order to evade it. These Mary construed to be acts of avowed disobedience, and instantly committed several of them to prison. But this severity did not subdue the undaunted spirit of liberty which prevailed among the inhabitants. The queen was obliged to mortgage to the city the superiority of the town of Leith, by which she obtained a considerable sum of money. * The thirds of ecclesiastical benefices proved another source whence the queen derived some supply. About this time we find the protestant clergy complaining more bitterly than ever of their poverty. The army, it is probable, exhausted a great part of that fund which was appropriated for their maintenance.†

The assemblies of the church were not unconcerned spectators of the commotions of this turbulent year. In the meeting held the twenty-fourth of June, previous to the queen's marriage, several of the malecontent nobles were present, and seem to have had great influence on its decisions. The high strain in which the assembly addressed the queen can be imputed only to those fears and jealousies with regard to religion, which they endeavoured to infuse into the nation. The assembly complained, with some bitterness, of the stop which had been put to the progress of the reformation by the queen's arrival in Scotland; they required not only the total suppression of the popish worship throughout the kingdom, but even in the queen's own chapel; and, besides the legal establishment of the protestant religion, they demanded that Mary herself should publicly embrace it. The queen, after some deliberation, replied, that neither her conscience nor her interest would permit her to take such a step. The former would for ever reproach her for a change which proceeded from no inward conviction; the latter would suffer by the offence which her apostacy must give to the king of France, and her 'other allies on the continent.‡

It is remarkable, that the prosperous situation of the queen's affairs during this year, began to work some change in favour of her religion. The earls of Lennox, Athol, and Cassils, openly attended mass; she herself afforded the catholics a more avowed protection than_formerly; and, by her permission, some of the ancient monks ventured to preach publicly to the people.§

* Knox, 383, 386.

†Maitl. Hist. of Edinburgh, 27.

‡ Knox, 376

₫ Ibid. 389, 390

BOOK IV.

1566.] As the day appointed for the meeting of parliament approached, Mary and her ministers were employed in deliberating concerning the course which it was most proper to hold with regard to the exiled nobles. Many motives prompted her to set no bounds to the rigour of justice. The malecontents had laboured to defeat a scheme, which her interest conspired with her passions in rendering dear to her; they were the leaders of a party whose friendship she had been obliged to court, while she held their principles in abhorrence; and they were firmly attached to a rival, whom she had good reason both to fear and to hate.

But, on the other hand, several weighty considerations might be urged. The noblemen whose fate was in suspense, were among the most powerful subjects in the kingdom; their wealth great, their connexions extensive, and their adherents numerous. They were now at her mercy, the objects of compassion, and suing for pardon with the most humble submission.

The

In those circumstances, an act of clemency would exalt the queen's character, and appear no less splendid among foreigners than acceptable to her own subjects. Mary herself, though highly incensed was not inexorable; but the king's rage was implacable and unrelenting. They were solicited in behalf of the fugitives from various quarters. Morton, Ruthven, Maitland, and all who had been members of the congregation, were not forgetful of their ancient union with Murray and his fellow-sufferers; nor neglectful of their safety, which they deemed of great importance to the kingdom. Melvil, who at that time possessed the queen's confidence, seconded their solicitations. And Murray, having stooped so low as to court Rizio, that favourite, who was desirous of securing his protection against the king, whose displeasure he had lately incurred, seconded the intercessions of his other friends with the whole of his influence.* interposition of Sir Nicholas Throgmorton, who had lately been Elizabeth's ambassador in Scotland, in behalf of the exiles, was of more weight than all these, and attended with more success. Throgmorton, out of enmity to Cecil, had embarked deeply in all the intrigues which were carried on at the English court, in order to undermine the power and credit of that minister. He espoused, for this reason, the cause of the Scottish queen, towards whose title and pretensions the other was known to bear little favour; and ventured, in the present critical juncture, to write a letter to Mary, containing the most salutary advices with regard to her conduct. He recommended the pardoning of the earl of Murray and his associates, as a measure no less prudent than popular. "An action of this nature," says he, "the pure effect of your majesty's generosity, will spread the fame of your lenity and moderation, and engage the English to look towards your accession to the throne, not only without prejudice, but with desire. By the same means, a perfect harmony will be restored among your own subjects, who, if any rupture should happen with England, will serve you with that grateful zeal which your clemency cannot fail of inspiring.t"

These prudent remonstrances of Throgmorton, to which his reputation for wisdom and known attachment to the queen added great authority, made a deep impression on her spirit. Her courtiers cultivated this happy disposition, and prevailed on her, notwithstanding the king's inflexible temper, to sacrifice her own private resentment to the intercession of her subjects and the wishes of her friends. With this view the parliament,

* Melv. 125.

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