'She had been right sorry for the trouble both of him and his friends; she had done all that in honour she could do, omitting nothing for the Earl of Murray's preservation but open hostility; she trusted therefore that he would alter his mind and withdraw him from the favouring of that principal rebel being sworn cruel adversary to the state of all true religion.' If possible Randolph was to move Argyle by reasoning and remonstrance; if he failed, 'sooner than O'Neil should receive any aid from thence she would be content to have some portion of money bestowed secretly by way of reward to the hindrance of it.' And yet, she said—her thrifty nature coming up again—the money was not to be promised if the Earl could be prevailed on otherwise; 'of the matter of money she rather made mention as of a thing for Randolph to think upon until he heard farther from her than that he should deal with any person therein.'1

But Elizabeth was not to escape so easily, June. and Argyle's resentment had reached a heat

which a more open hand than Elizabeth's would have failed to cool. Murray was ready to forget his own wrongs, but Argyle would not forget them for him, and would not forget his other friends. If the Queen of England,' the proud M'Callum-More replied, 'would interfere in behalf of the banished lords, and would undertake that in Scotland there should be no change of religion,' he on his part would become O'Neil's enemy, and hinder

1 Elizabeth to Randolph, May 23: Scotch MSS. Rolls House, and Lansdowne MSS. 9.

what he could the practices between the Queen his sovereign and the Papists of England." But Elizabeth must accept his terms; it was a matter with which money, in whatever quantity, had nothing to do. The practices with the English Catholics had begun again, or rather, in spite of Mary Stuart's promises to abstain from such transactions for the future, they had never ceased; and a curious discovery was about to be made in connection with them. A report had been sent by Murray to Cecil that there was an Englishman about the Court at Holyrood who was supposed to have come there on no good errand; he was one of the Rokebys of Yorkshire, and was closely connected with the great Catholic families there. But Cecil it seems knew more of Rokeby's doings than Murray knew. He had gone across the Border to be out of the way of the bailiffs; and Cecil, who suspected that Mary Stuart was still playing her old game, and had before been well acquainted with Rokeby, sent him word 'that he might purchase pardon and help if he would use his acquaintance in Scotland to the contentation of the Queen's Majesty,' in other words, if he would do service as a spy. Rokeby, who wanted money and had probably no honour to lose, made little objection. His brother-inlaw, Lascelles, who was one of Mary Stuart's stanchest friends and correspondents, gave him letters of introduction, and with these he hastened to Edinburgh, and was introduced by Sir James Melville to the Queen.

1 Randolph to Cecil, June 13: Scotch MSS. Ibid.

In a letter to Cecil he thus describes his reception :'In the evening, after ten o'clock, I was sent for in secret manner, and being carried into a little closet in Edinburgh Castle the Queen came to me; and so doing the duty belonging to a prince, I did offer my service, and with great courtesy she did receive me, and said I should be very welcome to her, and so began to ask me many questions of news from the Court of England and of the Queen and of the Lord Robert. I could say but little; so being very late, she said she would next day confer with me in other causes, and willed me take my ease for the night.

'The next night after I was sent for again, and was brought to the same place, where the Queen came to me, she sitting down on a little coffer without a cushion and I kneeling beside. She began to talk of her father, Lascelles, and how much she was beholden to him, and how she trusted to find many friends in England, whensoever time did serve; and did name Mr Stanley, Herbert, and Dacres, from whom she had received letters, and by means she did make account to win friendship of many of the nobility-as the Duke of Norfolk, the Earls of Derby, Shrewsbury, Northumberland, Westmoreland, and Cumberland. She had better hopes of them for that she thought them all to be of the old religion, which she meant to restore again with all expedition, and thereby win the hearts of the common people. Besides this she practised to have two of the worshipful of every shire of England, and such as were of her religion, to be made her friends, and sought of me to know the names of such as

were meet for that purpose. I answered and said I had little acquaintance in any shire of England but only Yorkshire, and there were great plenty of Papists. She told me she had written a number of letters to Christopher Lascelles with blank superscriptions; and he to direct them to such as he thought meet for that purpose. She told me she had received friendly letters from diverse, naming Sir Thomas Stanley and one Herbert, and Dacres with the crooked back-thus meaning that after she had friended herself in every shire in England with some of the worshipful or of the best countenance of the country, she meant to cause wars to be stirred in Ireland, whereby England might be kept occupied; then she would have an army in readiness, and herself with her army to enter England-and the day that she should enter her title to be read, and she proclaimed Queen. And for the better furniture of this purpose she had before travailed with Spain, with France, and with the Pope for aid; and had received fair promises with some money from the Pope, and more looked for.'1

Such a revelation as this might have satisfied Elizabeth that it was but waste of labour to attempt any more to return to cordiality and confidence with the Queen of Scots; yet, either from timidity, or because she would not part with the hope that Mary Stuart might eventually shake off her dreams and qualify herself for the succession by prudence and good sense, she would not submit to the conditions on which Argyle offered to remain her friend.

1 Christopher Rokeby to Cecil, June 1566: Hatfield MSS. Printed in the Burghley Papers, vol. i.

She could not conceal that she was aware of Mary Stuart's intrigues with her subjects; but she chose to content herself with reading her a lecture, as excellent as it was useless, on the evil of her ways. Messengers were passing and repassing continually between the Court at Holyrood and Shan O'Neil. Other and more sincere English Catholics than Rokeby were coming day after day to Holyrood to offer their swords and to be admitted to confidence. Elizabeth, in the middle of June, sent Sir Henry Killigrew to remonstrate, and to demand such present answer as should seem satisfactory,' while to his public instructions she added a private letter of her own.

'Madam,' she wrote to the Queen of Scots, 'I am informed that open rebels against my authority are receiving countenance and favour from yourself and your councillors. The news, madam, I must tell you with your pardon do much displease us. Remove these briars, I pray you, lest some thorn prick the hand of those who are to blame in this. Such matters hurt to the quick. It is not by such ways as these that you will attain the object of your wishes. These be the by-paths which those follow who fear the open road. I say not this for any dread I feel of harm that you may do me. My trust is in Him who governs all things by His justice, and with this faith I know no alarm. The stone recoils often on the head of the thrower, and you will hurt yourself -you have already hurt yourself-more than you can

1 Instructions to Sir H. Killigrew, sent to the Queen of Scots, June 15. Cecil's hand: Scotch MSS. Rolls House.