mory of Henry VII., their common ancestor, and own royal dignity. In the meanwhile Henry III., king of Franc sent over Bellièvre as a special ambassador to in for Mary's life. Bellièvre was a pedant and a p gotiator, but there seems to be no good reason f pecting his sincerity. Elizabeth, according to the of his mission, deferred, with infinite malice, givin audience, pretending, first, that some hired ass unknown to him, had got mixed in his retinue w design of taking her life; and then, that the plag broken out among his followers on their journey. while she was sending these evasive answers to Be that parliament proceeded to confirm the sentence press for the execution. At last, on the 7th of D ber, she sent for the ambassador to Richmond, whe received him, seated on a throne and surrounded chief lords. Bellièvre remonstrated in forcible lan Elizabeth betrayed signs of strong emotion, but his representations with the reply that this was the time the Queen of Scots had attempted her life. cording to De Thou, Bellièvre pledged his sover word that the Duke of Guise would give his own s hostages for the future conduct of Mary if her lif spared. Elizabeth told him, in a word, that such g tees would be of little use when she was murdered. lièvre returned to London, where he remained som anxiously waiting for a definitive answer, and ther ting none, he intimated that as they had proceeded to the recording of a sentence of death there was no for his making a longer stay in England, and h manded his passport. Elizabeth neither sent h answer nor his passport. He wrote again and req an audience, she was indisposed and could not be he caused a letter to be put into the hands of Wa ham, who engaged to get an answer the next day. the next day Bellièvre received a verbal message, th queen was pleased to grant a delay of twelve days. still lingered about court in the hopes of doing som vice; and, on the 6th of January, 1587, when Mar , and by her France, had wn sons as r life were ch guaranred. Belsome days hen, getded even s no need d he de him an requested be seen: Walsingay. On that the VS. He me ser ary had been prepared to die, he was summoned to Greenwich, where Elizabeth condescended to hear at length his arguments against the execution of the infamous sentence. His pleading was interlarded with references to classical history, philosophy, poetry, and the Old Testament: but these things were after the taste of the queen and her court. He told her that the race of common and low people is of lead, but that of kings is of gold,- that from royalty royal deeds are looked for,—that princes, though not always equal in grandeur and power, are equal in royal dignity and the right which comes from heaven, that it would be a bad example to show the world that princes could die on a block like common people. Yet some of his arguments were well put and unanswerable. In reply to the position that strangers,. even of royal dignity, are subject to the laws of the country which they have chosen for their residence, he said that it was necessary to prove a free choice, and that the world knew the Queen of Scots had been kept in England wholly against her will. Elizabeth heard the ambassador with tolerable patience until he told her that if she proceeded to such rigorous and extraordinary judgment his master could not do otherwise than resent it: she then expressed herself in terms "almost of indignity." Bellièvre then prepared to depart, but he was requested to remain a few days longer. On the 14th of January he received his passport and went his way, with the conviction that his intercession had been fruitless, and that nothing could allay the queen's thirst for revenge.* L'Aubespine de Chateauneuf, the resident ambassador, resumed the negotiation; but he was presently silenced by being accused of taking part in a new plot to assassinate Queen Elizabeth. The queen and her ministers, indeed, pretended that they gave no credit to this foul charge, but they nevertheless intercepted his despatches and threw his secretary into prison. The French king, in his rage, interrupted his diplomatic relations; * *Advis et Mémoire de ce qu'a été fait en Angleterre, par M. de Bellièvre, &c. This account seems to have been written by a person attached to the embassy. but being made to feel that the insult was a me to prevent further interference, he soon sent over envoy to interpose between Mary and the scaffol In the course of nature James of Scotland, th less powerful sovereign, ought to have been in more earnest than Henry of France; but James that his own mother should be kept in a captivit left to him the occupation of the throne ;* he was always slow and inert; and he may possibly ha forted himself with a doubt whether Elizabeth really proceed to execution. The King of Fra tainly thought it necessary to awaken this tende a sense of his parent's danger, and about a mon sentence was passed in the Star Chamber he e him by all means to take his mother's part.† last day of November, 1586, the French am informed his master that King James had pro intercede for his mother through his ambassador, "an honest man, but rather English;" that Kin had told him, in his oracular way, that the cas Queen his mother was the most strange that e heard of, and that there was nothing like it si creation of the world; that he had written with hand to Elizabeth, and to four or five great men land, as also to Walsingham, telling the latter, ticular, to desist from his bad offices, for other James, might do him some displeasure. "Bu *On the 4th of October, 1586, when Elizabeth paring her commission for Fotheringay Castle, Ja Courcelles, the French ambassador, that he loved hi as much as nature and duty commanded, but he like her conduct, and knew very well that she had good-will towards him than towards the Queen of I adding, among other things, that he had seen lette hand-writing, which proved her ill-will towards that he knew very well that she had made frequent to appoint a regent in Scotland, and deprive hi throne.-Raumer. † Letter from Henry III. to Courcelles, the Fr bassador in Scotland.-Raumer, mere trick ver another ffold. , though a en infinitely es was glad civity which was besides have combeth would France cerender son to month after e exhorted .† On the ambassador promised to dor, Keith, King James case of the at ever was t since the ith his own en in Engcer, in parherwise he, But," con th was preJames told his mother e could not ad no more f England; tters in her s him, and nt attempts him of the French am tinues the ambassador, "several lords and great men are dissatisfied that he has sent Keith, a man of so little importance, and a pensionary of England. They say that in an affair of such consequence, in which the life of his mother is concerned, which ought to be as dear to him as his own, might he not have found in his kingdom some others who would have considered the mission as an honour, and would have devoted their lives and property to it, if it had been necessary,-offering, too, to undertake the journey at their own expense? This leads them to imagine that there is some secret understanding with the Queen of England, in which they are further confirmed, because the instructions for Keith were drawn up by the king, Lethington, and Gray, without being communicated to any of the others.' At this time James's resident ambassador at Elizabeth's court was the notorious Archibald Douglas-an appointment about equally disgraceful to both courts. There was a talk of sending the new Earl of Bothwell, Francis Stewart,grandson of James V. by his natural son John, styled Prior of Coldingham, -an impetuous and frank man, devoted to Mary, to negotiate for her at this extremity; but this project was defeated by the intrigues and artifices of Archibald Douglas. A month later Courcelles complained that the King of Scotland did not seem to have much at heart any embassy in his mother's favour.* The king however made, through Keith, something like a spirited remonstrance, at which Elizabeth was so enraged, that she was well nigh driving her poor pensioner from her presence. James instantly took the alarm, and wrote an humble letter of apology, declaring that he did not impute to her personally or directly the blame of anything that had been done against his mother, and he only besought her to suspend further proceedings until the -a * "At all events," says the ambassador, "the king will endeavour to derive advantages for himself. He positively declared that he would not commence war with England, except in case of an attempt to exclude him from the succession to that throne." A arrival of the Master of Gray. At the mention name Elizabeth must have been satisfied, for the of Gray was a venal scoundrel who had long beer interests. There were however some lords in th tish council who were more anxious about Mary th her own son, or who knew the character of the of Gray better than James did; and, at the inst these men, Sir Robert Melville was joined in com with Gray. Melville exerted himself to the ut save the queen's life-Gray assured the English that no mischief would ensue from her death. first audience Elizabeth declared to them that immeasurably sorry that there could be no means to save the life of their king's mother with assur her own-that she had laboured hard to preserve of both, but it could not be. At a second audien Master of Gray requested to know whether Quee were alive, for a rumour had got abroad that s been privately despatched. "As yet," replied Eli "I believe she lives, but I will not promise for an Melville trusted that the poor queen might be allo live on, seeing that the chief nobility of Scotlan ready to deliver themselves as hostages that n plot or enterprise should be made on her account the English crown; or that, if it pleased Eliza send her into Scotland, King James would engag self that no harm should ever be done by her or account. Elizabeth, turning to the Earl of Leices others of her favourite lords, expressed her sco contempt both of the King of Scots and these h posals. She was then asked by the Scottish envo the Queen of Scots could really be esteemed so ous ? "Because she is a papist, and they say sl succeed to my throne," was the harsh but hone of Elizabeth. It was replied that Mary would *In the preceding month of August Burghley e his diary-"A warrant for 2000l. delivered to the M Gray, of Scotland, to levy certain footmen in Scotland Low Countries." |