always should remain friend to her; she may marry herself and have children and what shall I have gained ? ' Randolph said his mistress must have provided for that chance and would act honourably. But Mary Stuart replied justly that she could take no step of so great consequence without a certainty to rely upon; she bade him tell Elizabeth that the proposal was sudden—she could give no answer without longer thought; she had no objection to Lord Robert's person, but the match was unequal; commissioners on both sides might meet to consider it; more she could not say. She left Randolph with an impression that she had spoken as she felt, and Maitland bade him not be discouraged. If Elizabeth would pay the price she might obtain what she wished. Yet some secret friend advised Randolph to be on his guard in the following remarkable words: Wheresoever she hovers and how many times soever she doubles to fetch the wind, I believe she will at length let fall her anchor between Dover and Berwick, though perchance not in that fort, haven, or road that you wish she should.' 1 Elizabeth, either satisfied from Randolph's report that the Queen of Scots was on the way to compliance, or determined to leave her nothing to complain of, at once gave a marked evidence that on her part she would adhere to her engagement. Although the debate in Parliament had gone deeply into the succession question, yet it had been carried on with closed doors; and 1 Randolph to Cecil, March 20 and April 13, 1564: Scotch MSS Rolls House. the turn which it had taken was unknown except by rumour to the public. Lady Catherine Grey was still, though pining in captivity, the hope of the Protestants; and John Hales, Clerk of the Hanaper-report said with Cecil's help and connivance-collected the substance of the arguments in her favour; he procured opinions at the same time from Italian canonists in support of the validity of her marriage with Lord Hertford; and out of these materials he compiled a book in defence of her title which was secretly put into circulation. The strongest point in Lady Catherine's favour -the omission of the Scottish line in the will of Henry the Eighth-could only be touched on vaguely, the will itself being still concealed; but the case which Hales contrived to make out, representing as it did not only the wishes of the ultra-Protestants but the opinions at this time of Lord Arundel and the Howards, was strong enough to be dangerous. Elizabeth, who in addition to her political sympathies cherished a vindictive dislike of her cousin, sent Hales to the Fleet and inflicted on Cecil the duty of examining and exposing what she chose to regard as conspiracy.1 The imprisonment of Hales was accepted as little less than a defiance of the Protestant party in England, and as equivalent to a public declaration in favour of the Queen of Scots. The long-talked-of meeting of 1 In this matter I am by com- nec ad sinistram; and yet I am mandment occupied, whereof I could not free from suspicion.'-Cecil to be content to be delivered; but I Sir Thomas Smith, May, 1564: will go upright, neither ad dextram WRIGHT'S Elizabeth, vol. i. the Queens was again expected in the approaching summer, and the recognition of Mary Stuart was anticipated with more certainty than ever as the result of the interview. The Queen of Scots however was growing impatient with hopes long deferred. She either disbelieved Elizabeth's honesty or misinterpreted her motives into fears. As Darnley was not offered to her she more than ever inclined towards getting possession of him; and anticipating a storm she would not wait to let events work for her, and showed her intentions prematurely in preparing the way for his acceptance in Scotland. The Earl of Lennox, it will be remembered, had lost his estates in the interests of England. For some years past he had pressed for their restoration, and his petition had been supported by Elizabeth. So long as Mary had hopes elsewhere she had replied with words and excuses. The lands of Lennox had been shared among the friends of the Hamiltons. The lands of Angus, which he claimed in right of his wife, were held in trust for his nephew by the Earl of Morton, whom the Queen of Scots durst not quarrel with. The law in Scotland was the law of possession, and the sword alone would have reinstated the exiled nobleman. The position of his family had hitherto been among the greatest objections to her thinking seriously of Lord Darnley as a husband. If Elizabeth offered him, she would have less to fear; if to gratify the English Catholics she was to marry him against Elizabeth's will, she would have in the first instance to depend on her subjects to maintain her, and among them the connection might prove an occasion of discord. So long as the Hamiltons were strong the marriage would have been absolutely impossible. Chatelherault, however, was now in his dotage; the Earl of Arran was a lunatic; the family was enfeebled and scattered; and Mary Stuart was enabled to feel her way towards her object by allowing Lennox to return and sue for his rights. Could the House of Lennox recover its rank in Scotland the next step would be more easy. Had she affected to consult Elizabeth-had she openly admitted her desire to substitute Darnley for Lord Robert-affecting no disguise and being ready to accept with him the conditions and securities which the English Parliament would have attached to the marriage-Elizabeth would probably have yielded, or in refusing would have given the Queen of Scots legitimate ground of complaint. But open and straightforward conduct did not suit the complexion of Mary Stuart's genius: she breathed more freely, and she used her abilities with better effect, in the uncertain twilight of conspiracy. Although both Murray and Maitland consented to the return of Lennox, the Protestants in Scotland. instantly divined the purpose of it. 'Her meaning therein is not known,' wrote one of Randolph's correspondents to him on the 31st of April, 'but some suspect she shall at last be persuaded to favour his son; we are presently in quiet, but I fear it shall not be for VOL. VII. 13 long, for things begin to grow to a ripeness, and there are great practisers who are like to set all aloft.'1 'The Lady Margaret and the young Earl are looked for soon after,' wrote Knox; 'the Lord Bothwell will follow with power to put in execution whatever is demanded, and Knox and his preaching will be pulled by the ears.'2 This last contingency would not have May. deeply distressed Elizabeth; but she knew Mary Stuart too well to trust her smooth speeches. The Queen of Scots had represented the return of Lennox as a concession to the wishes of her dear sister, the Queen of England. The expressions of friendliness were somewhat overdone, and served chiefly to place Elizabeth on her guard. Randolph sent an earnest entreaty that Lennox should be detained in England; and when the Earl applied for a passport to Scotland, a variety of pretexts were invented for delay or refusal. Mary Stuart wanted the self-control for successful diplomacy. She saw that she was suspected, and the suspicion was the more irritating because it was just. Her warmer temper for the moment broke loose. She sent for Randolph, bade him go to his mistress and tell her that there could be no interview in the summer: her council disapproved of it. She wrote violently to Elizabeth herself, and Maitland accompanied the letter with another to Cecil, in which he laid on England the 1 to Randolph, April 31 : Scotch MSS. Rolls House. |