SCO T L A N D. 
847 
The year following these transactions, Mary, who was 
desirous of entering into a more intimate correspondence 
with Elizabeth, employed Maitland to desire a personal in¬ 
terview with her, but the English queen declined the meet¬ 
ing. In 1563, the Scottish sovereign avowed her determi¬ 
nation to contract a second marriage, an event for which the 
nation in general was extremely anxious, in order that the 
crown might be continued in the right line of its ancient 
possessors. Many suitors of great eminence, among the 
princes of Europe, presented themselves; but these were all 
rejected in favour of Henry Stuart, lord Darnley, eldest son 
of the earl of Lenox, who had been forced to seek refuge in 
England in the reign of James V. The royal nuptials were 
celebrated in July 1565, in conformity to the rites of the 
church of Rome; and not content with elevating this un¬ 
deserving man to her bed, the queen issued proclamations 
at the same time, conferring upon him the title of king of 
the Scots. All those who had opposed the marriage were 
treated with great severity; particularly the earl of Murray, 
who, having taken up arms, was defeated, and compelled 
to fly the kingdom. 
With this rash step began the misfortunes of Mary. 
Instigated by hatred to all those who manifested an aver¬ 
sion to Darnley, she renounced that prudent conduct which 
had hitherto enabled her to maintain the dignity of her 
crown in the midst of conflicting factions. Her Protestant 
counsellors were now dismissed; she joined the league of 
Catholic princes against the reformers; and evinced her full 
determination to restore the Romish religion in Scotland. 
The effects of this new system of policy soon became 
visible. The time of the prorogation of parliament was 
shortened; and by a new proclamation, the 12th of 
March was fixed for its meeting. Mary resolved without 
further delay, to proceed to the attainder of the malcontent 
nobles, and at the same time to take some measures towards 
the re-establishment of her favourite worship. The ruin 
of Murray and his party seemed now inevitable, and the 
danger of the reformed church imminent, when an event 
unexpectedly happened which saved both. This was the 
murder of Rizzio, the queen’s favourite, by her husband, 
and several of the nobility, in her own presence, which 
roused her indignation to the highest pitch, and completely 
alienated her affections from Darnley, who had already dis¬ 
gusted her by his insolence and his licentiousness. Having 
been confined, however, by the conspirators, she was obliged 
to dissemble, in order to detach the king from their party, 
a project in which she completely succeeded, and thus was 
enabled to regain her liberty. Murray and the exiled nobles 
were immediately received into favour; and Morton, and the 
rest of the murderers, were compelled to seek safety in 
England. 
The charm, which had at first attached the queen to 
Darnley, and held them in a happy union, was now entirely 
dissolved; and love no longer covering his follies and his vices 
with its friendly veil, they appeared to Mary in their full 
dimensions and deformity. Though the king published a 
proclamation disclaiming all knowledge of the conspiracy 
against Rizzio, the queen was fully convinced- that he was 
not only accessary to the contrivance, but to the commission 
of that odious crime. The very power, which, with liberal 
and unsuspicious fondness, she had conferred upon him, he 
had employed to insult her authority, to limit her preroga¬ 
tive, and to endanger her person. Such an outrage it was 
impossible any woman could bear or forgive. Cold civilities, 
secret distrust, frequent quarrels, succeeded to their former 
transports of affection and confidence. 
About this time a new favourite grew into credit with the 
queen, &nd soon gained an ascendancy over her heart, which 
encouraged him to form designs that proved fatal to himself 
and to Mary. This was James Hepburn, earl of Bothwell, 
the head of one of the most ancient and powerful families in 
the kingdom. When the conspirators against Rizzio de¬ 
tained her in custody, he became the chief instrument in re¬ 
covering her liberty, and served her with so much fidelity and 
success, as made the deepest impression upon her mind. Her 
gratitude loaded him with marks of her bounty; she raised 
him to offices of dignity and trust; and transacted no matter 
of importance without his advice. 
The hour of the queen’s delivery now approached; and 
she was advised, for the sake of perfect security, to take up 
her residence in the castle of Edinburgh, where she was ac¬ 
cordingly delivered of her only son, James, whose birth 
was happy for the whole island, and unfortunate only for her. 
His accession to the throne of England, united the two 
divided kingdoms in one mighty monarchy, and established 
the power of Great Britain on a firm foundation; while 
she, torn early from her son by the cruelty of her fate, was 
never allowed to indulge those tender passions, nor to taste 
those joys, which fill the heart of a mother. 
The queen, when recovered, did not evince any change of 
sentiment towards her husband. On the contrary, the breach 
between them became every day wider, notwithstanding the 
attempts of the French ambassador to effect a reconciliation. 
Her attachment moreover to Bothwell increased, in propor¬ 
tion as her love for Darnley declined. At length the latter 
was murdered by the explosions of some barrels of gun¬ 
powder, placed under the house he had been enticed to 
reside in at Edinburgh, and Bothwell was accused of and 
prosecuted for the murder, but was acquitted on a trial by 
his peers. Of his guilt, however, not the slightest doubt 
can be entertained ; and it is much to be feared that Mary 
herself was accessary to the crime. 
Bothwell now redoubled his assiduities to fix the affections 
of the queen, and having succeeded in that object to his utmost 
wish, he carried her to the castle of Dunbar, where she 
remained a willing prisoner, till matters were finally arranged 
for their nuptials, when she removed to Holyrood House, and 
was soon afterwards united to Bothwell, whom she created 
duke of Orkney. This step, the most unjustifiable of all 
her follies, was the prelude to her ruin. The nobles almost 
immediately confederated against her and Bothwell, who 
was obliged to seek refuge in England, while she herself fell 
into the hands of her incensed subjects. By them she was 
conducted first to Edinburgh, and subsequently to Lochleven 
castle. The confederate leaders assumed the title .of Lords 
of the secret council, and arrogated to themselves the whole 
regal authority. Deliberations were held to fix the destiny 
of the nation, and to determine respecting the person of the 
queen. The result was, that she was compelled to resign 
the crown in favour of her son, who was instantly pro¬ 
claimed, and the earl of Murray was invested with the dignity 
of regent 
Matters being thus arranged, the first act of the regent was 
to call a parliament, in which all the measures of the con¬ 
federates were confirmed. But notwithstanding this, Mary 
still had many friends who were ready to support her cause, 
if she could regain her liberty. Apprized of these favour¬ 
able sentiments, she used every effort to effect her escape, and 
at length succeeded in her object, in a manner no less sur¬ 
prising to her friends, than unexpected by her enemies. ' By 
the influence of her charms, she captivated young Douglas, 
the brother of the owner of the castle, and prevailed upon 
him to join in a plot for her liberation. Accordingly, on the 
appointed night, having stolen the keys from his brother’s 
room, he allowed Mary to pass out, and then locking the 
doors again, threw the keys into the lake. The queen en¬ 
tered a boat prepared for her, and landed safely on the shore, 
where she was received by lord Seaton, Sir James Hamilton, 
and some other of her friends, who had been apprized of 
the plot. Instantly mounting on horseback she fled to 
Hamilton, where she was joined by a number of the nobility, 
and in a few days found herself surrounded by a formidable 
army. In this critical situation, the genius and prudence of 
the regent were eminently displayed. While he amused 
the queen for some days by negociations, he employed him¬ 
self with the utmost industry in drawing together his adhe¬ 
rents from different parts of the kingdom; As soon as he 
was in a condition to take the field, he broke off the nego- 
ciation, 
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