pedition (A). While she had been dazzled by the youth, beauty, and exterior accomplishments of her new lover, A.D.1565. fhe had entirely overlooked the qualities of his mind, which no wife correfponded with those of his perfon. The queen July 28. With a violence of temper, he was variable in his refolu- of Scots tions; and though infolent, was credulous and eafily go- marries verned by flatterers. Thinking no favours equal to his lord Darn merit, he was deftitute of gratitude; and being addicted ley. to low pleasures, was equally incapable of the fentiments of love and tendernefs. The queen of Scots, in the firft effufions of her fondnefs, had taken a pleasure in exalting him beyond measure: fhe had granted him the title of king; fhe had joined his name with her own in all public acts; but having leifure afterwards to remark his weakness and vices, he began to convert her admiration into difguft; and Darnley, enraged at her encreafing coldnefs, pointed his vengeance against every one whom he deemed the cause of this change in her meafures and behaviour. Rizzio. There was then in the court one David Rizzio, the fon Murder of of a musician at Turin, and himself of that profeffion. He had come into Scotland in the train of an ambassador, whom the duke of Savoy fent thither to congratulate Mary, fome time after her firft arrival. As he understood mufic to perfection, and fung a good bafs, he was introduced into the queen's concert; where fhe was fo pleased with his performance, that the engaged him to complete her band of mufic, and retained him in her fervice after the departure of his mafter. Her fecretary for French difpatches having, some time after, incurred her difpleasure, the promoted Rizzio to that office, by which he had frequent opportunities of approaching her perfon, and infinuating himself into her favour. He made fo good use of the accefs which fortune had procured him, that he was foon regarded as the chief confident and even minifter of the queen. He was confulted on all occafions; no favours could be obtained but by his interceffion; and all fuitors were obliged to gain Rizzio by prefents and flattery. It was eafy for Darnley's friends to perfuade him that Rizzio was the author of the queen's indifference towards him, and even to excite in his mind jealoufies of a c Keith, p. 287. 329. (A) Her first husband, Francis II. king of France, died December 4, 1560, in the feventeenth year of his age. 1 yet more dangerous nature. The favourite was of a difagreeable figure, but not paft his youth; and though the opinion of his criminal correfpondence with Mary might feem entirely unreafonable, à fufpicious husband could find no other means of accounting for that lavish and imprudent kindness with which the honoured him. The aufterity of the ecclefiaftics, who could not admit even innocent freedoms, contributed to diffeminate this injurious opinion of the queen; and as Rizzio was univerfally believed to be a penfionary of the pope, and to be deeply engaged in all fchemes against the Proteftants, any story to his and Mary's difadvantage received implicit credit among the zealots of that communion. Other caufes likewife contributed to inflame the animofity of individuals against this obnoxious favourite. He was the declared enemy of thofe lords who had been banifhed for oppofing the queen's marriage; and by promoting the perfecution against them, he had expofed himfelf to the refentment of their numerous friends and retainers. A fcheme was alfo thought to be in agitation for revoking fome exorbitant grants made during the queen's minority; and even the nobles, who had feized the ecclefiaftical benefices, began to think themselves in fecure in the poffeffion of them. The earl of Morton, chancellor, was farther affected by a public rumour, that Mary intended to difiifs him her fervice, and to confer his place upon Rizzio, a mean and upstart foreigner, ignorant of the laws and language of the country. Mor ton, therefore, employed all his art to inflame the difcontent and jealoufy of Darnley; and both of them, in concert with George Douglas, natural brother to the countess of Lenox, and the lords Ruthven and Lindefey, with the concurrence of the earl of Lenox f, Henry's father, formed the refolution of affaffinating the poor favourite; and it was determined, that, as a punishment for the queen's indifcre tions, the murder fhould be committed in her prefence. Mary was at this time in the fixth month of her pregnancy, and was then fupping in private, at table with the countess of Argyle, her natural fifter, Rizzio, and fome others of her fervants. Darnley entered the room by a private A.D. 1566. paffage, and ftood at the back of Mary's chair. Lord Ruthven, George Douglas, and other confpirators, all sth Mar. armed, rushed in after him, and by their fierce looks excited the apprehenfions of the queen, who demanded of e Buchanan, lib. xvii. Sporfwood, p. 104. Knox, p. 393. a Keith, p. 326. Melvil, p. 64. f Crawford, p. 7• them them the reafon of this rude intrufion. They told her, that they intended no violence against her perfon; but meant only to bring that villain, pointing to Rizzio, to his deserved punishment. Rizzio ran immediately behind the queen, and taking hold of her robes, implored her protection; while fhe interpofed between him and the affaffins, and endeavoured, by her cries and intreaties, to divert them from their purpose. The impatient confpirators, regardless of her efforts, rufhed upon their prey; and Douglas, fnatching a dagger from Darnley's fide, plunged it into Rizzio's bofom, who, fcreaming with fear and agony, was torn from Mary by the other confpirators and dragged into an antichamber, where he was difpatched with fifty-fix wounds. The unhappy princefs, informed of his fate, immediately dried her tears, and said, fhè would weep no more, for fhe would now think of revenge. The infult, indeed, upon her perfon and honour, and the danger to which her life was expofed, on account of her pregnancy, were injuries fo atrocious that they fcarcely left room for pardon. The affaffins, apprehenfive of Mary's refentment, detained her prifoner in the palace; and the king difmiffed all who seemed willing to attempt her refcue, by telling them, that nothing had been done without his orders, and that he would be careful of the queen's fafety. Mur ray and the banished lords appeared two days after; and Mary, whofe anger was now engroffed by injuries more recent and violent, was willingly reconciled to them; and she even received her brother with tenderness and affection. They obtained an acquittal from parliament, and were reinftated in their honours and fortunes. The accomplices alfo in Rizzio's murder applied to her for a pardon; but The artfully delayed compliance, and perfuaded them, that fo long as he was detained in cuftody, and was furrounded by guards, any deed, which fhe fhould fign, would have. no validity. Meanwhile fhe had, by her careffes and na tural allurements, gained every compliance from her husband, who foon gave up all his accomplices to her refentment, and retired with her to Dunbar. Many of her fubjects here offered her their fervices; and Mary, having collected an army which the confpirators were unable to refift, advanced to Edinburgh, and obliged them to fly into England, where they lived in great poverty and diftrefs. They made application, however, to the earl of Bothwel, a new favourite of Mary's; and that noble Melvil, p. 64. Keith, p. 330, 331. Crawford, p. 9å 1 man, defirous of ftrengthening his party by the acceffion of their intereft, was able to pacify her refentment; and he foon after procured them liberty to return home ". The vengeance of the queen was implacable only against her husband, whose person was before disagreeable to her; and having perfuaded him to give up his accomplices, the treated him with merited difdain and indignaA.D.1566. tion, and encouraged her courtiers in their neglect of him. He was, however, permitted to have apartments 19th June. in the caftle of Edinburgh, which Mary had chosen for Mary is delivered of the place of her delivery, and where she foon after brought forth a fon. a fon. The parlia ment is follicitous the fuc- The birth of a fon gave additional zeal to Mary's partizans in England; and even men of the most oppofite parties began to cry aloud for fome fettlement of the fucceffion. Thefe humours broke out with great vehemence in a new feffion of parliament. The house of peers, which had hitherto declined touching on this delicatę point, here took the lead; and the houfe of commons foon after imitated the zeal of the lords. The courtiers endeavoured to elude the debate, by declaring, they had heard the queen pofitively affirm, that, for the good of her people, fhe was determined to marry. Few members, however, gave credit to this intelligence; it was confidered merely as an artifice, by which fhe endeavoured to retract that pofitive declaration, which he had made in the beginning of her reign, that he meant to live and die a virgin. But though Elizabeth was able to elude, for the prefent, the applications of parliament, the friends of the queen of Scots multiplied daily in England; and be→ fide the Catholics, many of whom kept a treasonable corwho has a refpondence with her, and were ready to rife at her Arong party command', the court itself of Elizabeth was full of her in England. avowed partizans. The duke of Norfolk, the earls of Leicester, Pembroke, Bedford, Northumberland, fir Nicholas Throgmorton, and most of the confiderable men in England, except Cecil, feemed convinced of the neceflity of declaring her the fucceffor. Mary's behaviour alfo, fo moderate towards the Proteftants, and fo gracious towards all men, had procured her univerfal respect TM; and the public was willing to afcribe any imprudencies, into which he had fallen, to her youth and inexperience. m i MelHaynes, P. But But these flattering profpects were blafted by the subsequent incidents; where her egregious indifcretions, not to fay atrocious crimes, threw her from a ftate of profperity and involved her in ruin. The earl of Bothwel, now Mary's favourite, was of a Murder of confiderable family in Scotland; and though not diftin- Darnley. guished by any talents, civil or military, yet he made fome figure in the diffenfions of the state, and was an oppofer of the Reformation. He was a man of profligate manners, had involved his fortune in great incumbrances, and even reduced himself to beggary by his profufion. This nobleman, notwithstanding, had ingratiated himself fo far with the queen, that all her measures were entirely directed by his advice and authority. Reports were even fpread of more particular intimacies; which gave fuch uneafiness to Darnley, that he left the court, and retired to Glasgow. An illness of an extraordinary nature, with which he was feized on his arrival at that place, was uni verfally ascribed by her enemies to a dose of poison, which, it was pretended, fhe had adminiftered to him. Shortly after, all thofe who wifhed well to her character, or repofe to their country, were extremely pleafed, and even furprised, to hear that her tenderness for her husband was revived; and that she had taken a journey to visit him, during his fickness. Darnley was fo far allured by her behaviour on this occafion, that he refolved to part with her no more; and he foon after attended her to Edinburgh, which was thought to be a place more favourable to his declining health. The queen lived in the palace of Holyrood-houfe; but as the fituation of that palace was low, and the concourfe of perfons about court neceffarily attended with noife, which might difturb her husband in his prefent infirm ftate, fhe fitted up an apartment for him in a folitary houfe at fome distance, called the Kirk of Field. Mary there gave him marks of kindness and attachment; fhe converfed cordially with him, and the lay fome nights in a room under him. On the 9th of February, he told him that she would pass that night in the palace, becaufe the marriage of one of her fervants was to be there celebrated in her prefence. About two o'clock in the morning, the whole town was alarmed at hearing a great noife; the house in which Darnley lay was blown up with gun-powder. His dead body was found at fome distance in a neighbouring field, without any marks of Keith, p. 240, violence |