English crown, she would set up that religion
again. In reading her unhappy history, you
must always remember this, and also that
during her whole life she was constantly put
forward against the Queen, in some form or
other, by the Romish party.

That Elizabeth, on the other hand, was
not inclined to like her, is pretty certain.
Elizabeth was very vain and jealous, and had
an extraordinary dislike to people being
married. She treated Lady Catherine Grey,
sister of the beheaded Lady Jane, with such
shameful severity for no other reason than
her being secretly married, that she died
and her husband was ruined; so when a
second marriage for Mary began to be talked
about, probably Elizabeth disliked her more.
Not that Elizabeth wanted suitors of her
own, for they started up from all sorts of
places: Spain, Austria, Sweden, and England.
Her English lover at this time, and one whom
she much favoured too, was LORD ROBERT
DUDLEY, Earl of Leicester—himself secretly
married to AMY ROBSART, the daughter
of an English gentleman, whom he was
strongly suspected of causing to be murdered,
down at his country seat, Cumnor Hall in
Berkshire, that he might be free to marry
the Queen. Upon this story, the great writer,
SIR WALTER SCOTT, has founded one of his
best romances. But if Elizabeth knew how
to lead her handsome favourite on for her
own vanity and pleasure, she knew how to
stop him for her own pride; and his love and
all the other proposals came to nothing. The
Queen always declared in good set speeches,
that she would never be married at all, but
would live and die a Maiden Queen. It was
a very pleasant and meritorious declaration I
suppose; but it has been puffed and trumpeted
so much, that I am rather tired of it myself.

Divers princes proposed to marry Mary,
but the English court had reasons for being
jealous of them all, and even proposed, as
a matter of policy, that she should marry that
very Earl of Leicester, who had aspired to be
the husband of Elizabeth. At last, LORD DARNLEY,
son of the Earl of Lennox, and himself
descended from the Royal Family of Scotland,
went over with Elizabeth's consent to try his
fortune at Holyrood. He was a tall simpleton,
and could dance and play the guitar, but
I know of nothing else he could do, unless it
were to get very drunk, and eat gluttonously,
and make a contemptible spectacle of himself
in many mean and vain ways. However, he
gained Mary's heart, not disdaining in the
pursuit of his object to ally himself with one
of her secretaries, DAVID RIZZIO, who had
great influence with her. He soon married the
queen. This marriage does not say much for her,
but what followed it will presently say less.

Mary's brother, the EARL OF MURRAY, and
head of the Protestant party in Scotland, had
opposed this marriage, partly on religious
grounds, and partly, perhaps, from personal
dislike of the very contemptible bridegroom.
When it had taken place, through Mary's
gaining over to it the more powerful of the
lords about her, she banished Murray for his
pains; and when he and some other nobles
rose in arms to support the Reformed religion,
she herself, within a month of her wedding
day, rode against them, in armour, with loaded
pistols at her saddle. Driven out of Scotland,
they presented themselves before Elizabeth—
who called them traitors in public, and assisted
them in private, according to her crafty nature.

Mary had been married but a little while,
when she began to hate her husband, who,
in his turn, began to hate that David Rizzio.
with whom he had leagued to gain her favor,
and whom he now believed to be her lover.
He hated Rizzio to that extent, that he made a
compact with LORD RUTHVEN and three other
lords to get rid of him by murder. This
wicked agreement they made in solemn
secresy upon the first of March, fifteen
hundred and sixty-six, and on the night of
Saturday the ninth, the conspirators were
brought by Darnley up a private staircase,
dark and steep, into a range of rooms where
they knew that Mary was sitting at supper
with her sister, Lady Argyle, and this
doomed man. When they went into the
room, and Darnley took the Queen round
the waist, and Lord Ruthven, who had risen
from a bed of sickness to do this murder,
came in, gaunt and ghastly, leaning on two
men, Rizzio ran behind the Queen for shelter
and protection. "Let him come out of the
room," said Ruthven. " He shall not leave
the room," replied the Queen. " I read his
danger in your face, and it is my will that
he remain here." They then set upon him,
struggled with him, overturned the table,
dragged him out, and killed him with fifty-
six stabs. When the Queen heard that he
was dead, she said, " No more tears. I will
think now of revenge!"

Within a day or two, she gained her
husband over, and prevailed on the long idiot to
abandon the conspirators and fly with her to
Dunbar. There he issued a proclamation,
audaciously and falsely denying that he had had
any knowledge of the late bloody business,
and there they were joined by the EARL
BOTHWELL and some other nobles. With
their help, they raised eight thousand men,
returned to Edinburgh and drove the assassins
into England. Mary soon afterwards gave
birth to a son—still thinking of revenge.

That she should have had a greater scorn
for her husband after his late cowardice and
treachery than she had had before, was
natural enough. There is very little doubt that
she now began to love Bothwell instead, and
to plan with him means of getting rid of
Darnley. Bothwell had such power over her
that he induced her even to pardon the
assassins of Rizzio. The arrangements for the
christening of the young Prince were intrusted
to him, and he was one of the most important
people at the ceremony, where the child was