had been so foolish as to confer several important offices of State on Frenchmen; and these appointments had given great offence. During the late war the Scots had resented the manner in which their allies had behaved on several occasions, and had seen them depart with feelings of intense relief.[9] Moreover, the spread of the Protestant opinions in Scotland had naturally led many of the people to suspect the motives of a Catholic power. The Queen Regent, indeed, succeeded in bringing England and Scotland to the verge of another contest; but, in the long-run, the Scots refused to encounter the risks of war for the purpose of assisting the ambition of France.

The marriage of Mary and the Dauphin involved the renewal of friendly intercourse with France; but the terms on which the Scottish Parliament agreed to this alliance provided for the complete independence of Scotland.[10] The crown matrimonial of Scotland was conferred upon the Dauphin; but the oath of fidelity which the Scottish ambassadors took to the heir of France, as King of Scotland, was framed so as to exclude any allegiance beyond that which the subjects of Scotland had hitherto acknowledged as due to their native princes.[11]

It had never been possible for England, under any circumstances, to be indifferent to the affairs of Scotland; and the relations of the two kingdoms were now more complicated than ever. But it was not until after the death of Mary of England that the results of the French marriage became fully visible. “War with France; the French king bestriding the realm, having one foot in Calais and the other in Scotland; steadfast enemies, but no steadfast friends.”[12] Thus stood England at the close of the year 1558. The Dauphin and Mary proclaimed themselves King and Queen of England as well as Scotland; and the arms of England were quartered with the arms of France and Scotland on their plate and household furniture. This was an open assertion of the illegitimacy of Elizabeth and a challenge to England. But, in the meantime, peace was preserved. The Treaty of Cambray, which terminated the struggle between France and Spain, and to which England and Scotland were parties, left the claims of Elizabeth and Mary untouched; and, on the ground that “the plenipotentiaries for Scotland have not sufficient knowledge of the state of affairs depending between the Crowns of England and Scotland,” it was decided that English and Scottish commissioners should afterwards meet and decide on “certain articles respecting the peace and concord of the two kingdoms.”[13]

These commissioners met; and the result was the treaty of Upsetlington.[14] A fresh attempt was made to frame rules for curbing the lawless spirit of the Borderers; and it was also agreed that the limits of the two kingdoms should be the same as they had been before the accession of Elizabeth, that the town of Berwick should not be molested by the Scots, that the English garrisons should not trouble their neighbours on the other side of the boundary line, and that great caution should be observed in granting passports to the subjects of either kingdom.[15]

Meanwhile the Protestant opinions had been steadily gaining ground in Scotland. The Congregation, as the reformers were called, and their leaders, known as the Lords of the Congregation, had hitherto been on good terms with Mary of Guise. Without their assistance the Dauphin would not have obtained the title of King of Scotland; and she had, therefore, not interfered with the progress of the new beliefs. But soon after the Treaty of Cambray, Monsieur de Bettancourt arrived in Edinburgh, charged with a message from Henry of France. The New Learning was to be suppressed on the continent of Europe and in England; and the Queen Regent was expected to join France, Spain, and the Holy Father at Rome, in the league which they had formed for that purpose. Scotland was the stepping-stone to England. If the ascendency of France and the Catholic Faith was once secured in that country, the heretic Elizabeth would be driven from the throne which she had usurped. Therefore the Regent must no longer remain inactive. Against her will, so far as we can judge, Mary of Guise entered on the disastrous contest. A proclamation was issued, commanding all men to go to mass, to use the confessional, and to conform, in all respects, to the Church of Rome. The Lords of the Congregation remonstrated; but the Regent refused to give way.[16] At this crisis Knox returned to Scotland from Geneva. A week after his arrival he preached at Perth; and after his sermon the religious houses of the Black and Grey Friars, and the Carthusian Monastery, were laid in ruins. From Perth the excitement spread over all the country. The Protestants flew to arms in numbers. The Regent mustered her forces, and it was evident that a desperate struggle was at hand.

At first the Lords of the Congregation carried everything before them. But they knew that, before long, the Regent would have an army of well-trained French soldiers under her command; and it was vain to suppose that religious fervour could prevail against military discipline. Help must be found in some quarter; and a correspondence was opened with the Court of England. James, third Earl of Arran, was, after his father, the Duke of Chatelherault, heir-presumptive to the throne of Scotland.[17] A marriage between him and Elizabeth might, it was suggested, settle the Scottish question. A majority of the Scots were Protestant; and in the turmoil of the civil war which had now begun, Mary of Scotland might, with the help of England, be dethroned by her own subjects, against whom she had allowed a foreign army to be sent. If Arran and Elizabeth were married, the Crowns of England and Scotland would then be united; and thus the schemes of France would be frustrated. There can be