XL. CHA P. more public manner, all terms of decency with her. He fummoned a parliament; and that affembly, after voting, that she was undoubtedly an accomplice in her husband's 1567 murder, condemned her to imprisonment, ratified her 15th Dec. demiffion of the crown, and acknowledged her fon for king, and Murray for regent 1. The regent, a man of vigour and abilities, employed himself fuccefsfully in reducing the kingdom. He bribed Sir James Balfour to furrender the castle of Edinburgh: He conftrained the garrifon of Dunbar to open their gates: And he demolished that fortress. BUT though every thing thus bore a favourable aspect to the new government, and all men feemed to acquiefce in Murray's authority; a violent revolution, however neceffary, can never be effected without great difcontents; and it was not likely, that, in a country, where the government, in its most settled state, poffeffed a very disjointed authority, a new establishment fhould meet with no interruption nor disturbance. Few confiderable men of the nation feemed willing to fupport Mary, fo long as Bothwel was prefent; but the removal of that obnoxious nobleman had altered the sentiments of many. The duke of Chatelraut, being difappointed of the regency, bore no good will to Murray; and the fame sentiments were embraced by all his numerous retainers: Several of the nobility, finding that others had taken the lead among the affociators, formed a faction apart, and oppofed the prevailing power: And befides their being moved by fome remains of duty and affection towards Mary, the malcontent lords, obferving every thing carried to extremity against her, were naturally led to embrace her cause, and shelter themselves under her authority. All who retained any propensity to the catholic religion, were inclined to join this party; and even the people in general, though they had formerly either detefted Mary's crimes, or blamed her imprudence, were now influenced by her misfortunes to compaffionate her prefent fituation, and lamented, that a perfon, poffeffed of fo many amiable accomplishments, joined to fuch high dignity, fhould be treated with fuch extreme rigour and feverity K. Animated by all these motives, I Anderson, vol. ii. p. 206, & feq. K Buchan, lib. xviii. c. 53. motives, many of the principal nobility, now adherents CHA P. to the queen of Scots, met at Hamilton, and concerted measures for supporting the cause of that princess, LX. WHILE thefe humours were in fermentation, Mary 1568. was employed in contrivances for effecting her escape; and the engaged, by her charms and careffes, a young gentleman, George Douglas, brother to the laird of Lochlevin, to affist her in that enterprize. She even -went fo far as to give him hopes of espousing her, after her marriage with Bothwel fhould be diffolved on the plea of force; and the proposed this expedient to the regent, who rejected it. Douglas, however, persevered in his endeavours to free her from captivity; and having all opportunities of accefs to the house, he was at laft fuccessful in the undertaking. He conveyed her in 2d May. disguise into a small boat, and himself rowed her afhore. She hastened to Hamilton; and the news of her arrival in that place being immediately spread abroad, many of the nobility flocked to her with their forces. A bond of affociation for her defence was figned by the earls of Argyle, Huntley, Eglington, Crawford, Caffilis, Rothes, Montrose, Sutherland, Errol, nine bishops, and nine barons, befides many of the most confiderable gentry L. And in a few days an army, to the number of fix thoufand men, was affembled under her standard. ELIZABETH was no fooner informed of Mary's efcape, than fhe discovered her refolution of perfevering in the fame generous and friendly meafures, which the had hitherto purfued. If fhe had not employed force against the regent, during the imprisonment of that princess, she had been chiefly withheld by the fear of pushing him to greater extremities against her M; but he had proposed to the court of France an expedient, which, though less violent, would have been no less effectual for her fervice: She defired that France and England should by concert cut off all commerce with the Scots, till they fhould do justice to their injured fovereign N. She now dispatched Leighton into Scotland to offer both her good offices, and the affistance of her forces, to Mary; but as fhe was apprehenfive of the entrance of French troops into the kingdom, fhe defired that the controverfy between the L Keith, p. 475. Cabballa, p. 141. M Ibid. p. 462. N Ibid. p. 463. XL. CHA P. the queen of Scots and her subjects might by that princefs be referred entirely to her arbitration, and that no foreign fuccours fhould be introduced into Scotland 0. 1568. land. BUT Elizabeth had not leisure to exert fully her efforts in favour of Mary. The regent made haste to affemble forces; and notwithstanding that his army was inferior in number to that of the queen of Scots, he 15th May, took the field against her. A battle was fought at Langfide near Glasgow, which was entirely decifive in favour of the affociated lords; and though the regent, after his victory, stopt the bloodshed, yet was the action followed by a total difperfion of the queen's party. That unhappy princess fled fouthwards from the field of battle with great precipitation, and came, with a few attendMary flies ants, to the borders of England. She here deliberated into Eng- concerning her next meafures, which would probably prove fo important to her future happiness or mifery. She found it impoffible to remain in her own kingdom: She had an averfion, in her prefent wretched condition, to return into France, where the had formerly appeared with fo much fplendour; and was not, befides, provided of a veffel, which could fafely convey her thither: The late generous behaviour of Elizabeth made her hope for protection, and even affiftance, from that quarter P; and as the present fears from her domestic enemies were the most urgent, fhe overlooked all other confiderations, and embraced the resolution of taking shelter in England. She embarked on board a fishing-boat in Galloway, and landed the fame day at Workington in Cumberland, 16th May, about thirty miles diftant from Carlisle; whence the immediately difpatched a meffenger to London; notifying her arrival, defiring leave to vifit Elizabeth, and craving her protection, in confequence of former profeflions of friendship, made her by that princess. ELIZABETH NOW found herself in a fituation, when it was become necessary to take fome decifive refolution with regard to her treatment of the queen of Scots; and as she had hitherto, contrary to the opinion of Cecil, attended more to the motives of generofity than of policy, she was engaged by that prudent minifter to weigh anew all the confiderations which occurred in this critical conjun&ture, 26. o Keith, p. 473, in the notes. Anderfon, vol. iv. p. P Jebb's Collection, vol. i. p. 420. Cabbala, p. 140. 1568. conjuncture. He reprefented, that the party, which CHAP had dethroned Mary, and had at prefent affumed the XL. government of Scotland, was always attached to the English alliance, and was engaged, by all the motives of religion and of intereft, to perfevere in their connections with Elizabeth: That though Murray and his friends might complain of fome unkind ufage during their banishment in England, they would eafily forget thefe grounds of quarrel, when they confidered, that Elizabeth was the only ally, on whom they could fafely rely; and that their own queen, by her attachment to the catholic faith, and by her other connections, excluded them entirely from the friendship of France, and even from that of Spain: That Mary, on the other hand, even before her violent breach, with her protestant subjects, was in fecret entirely governed by the counfels of the houfe of Guife; much more, would fhe implicitly comply with their views, when, by her own mifconduct, the power of that family and of the zealous catholics was become her fole refource and fecurity: That her pretenfions to the English crown would render her a dangerous inftrument in their hands; and, were the once able to fupprefs the proteftants in her own kingdom, she would unite the Scottish and English catholics, with thofe of all foreign ftates, in a confederacy against the religion and government of England: That it behoved Elizabeth, therefore, to proceed with caution in the design of restoring her rival to the throne; and to take care, both that this enterprize, if undertaken, fhould be effected by English forces alone, and that full fecurities' should beforehand be provided for the reformers and the reformation in Scotland: That above all, it was requifite to guard carefully the perfon of that princess; left, finding this unexpected reserve in the English friendship, the fhould fuddenly take the refolution of flying into France, and should attempt by foreign force to recover poffeffion of her authority: That her defperate fortunes and broken reputation fitted her for any attempt; and her refentment, when she should find herself thus deferted by the queen, would concur with her ambition and her bigotry, and render her an unrelenting, as well as powerful enemy to the English government: That if he was once abroad, in the hands of enterprising catholics, the attack on England would appear to her as eafy as that on Scot land; CHAP land; and the only method, she must imagine, of recoXL. vering her native kingdom, would be to acquire that crown, to which the fhould efteem herself equally inti1568. tled: That a neutrality in fuch interesting situations, tho' it might be pretended, could never, without the moft extreme danger, be upheld by the queen; and the detention of Mary was equally requifite, whether the power of England were to be employed in her favour, or against her: That nothing, indeed, was more becoming a great prince than generofity; yet the fuggeftions of this noble principle could never, without imprudence, be confulted in fuch delicate circumftances as those in which the queen was at prefent placed; where her own fafety and the interefts of her people were intimately concerned in every refolution, which the embraced: That though the example of fuccessful rebellion, especially in a neighbouring country, could no wife be agreeable to any fovereign, yet Mary's imprudence had been fo great, perhaps her crimes fo enormous, that the infurrection of fubjects, after fuch provocation, could no longer be regarded as a precedent against other princes: That it was firft neceffary for Elizabeth to afcertain, in a regular and fatisfactory manner, the extent of Mary's guilt, and thence to determine the degree of protection, which fhe ought to afford her against her discontented subjects: That as no glory could furpass that of defending oppreffed innocence, it was equally infamous to patronize vice and murder on the throne; and the contagion of fuch difhonour would extend itfelf to all who countenanced or fupported it: And that, if the crimes of the Scottish princess should, on enquiry, appear as great and certain as was affirmed and believed, every measure against her, which policy fhould dictate, would thence be justified; or if the fhould be found innocent, every enterprize, which friendship fhould infpire, would be acknowledged laudable and glorious. AGREEABLY to these views, Elizabeth refolved to proceed in a feemingly generous, but really cautious manner, with the queen of Scots; and fhe immediately fent orders to lady Scrope, fifter to the duke of Norfolk, a lady who lived in the neighbourhood, to attend on that princefs. Soon after, the dispatched to her lord Scrope himself, warden of the marches, and Sir Francis Knolles, vice chamberlaine. They found Mary already lodged in |