to Cecil the existence of a plan which had been formed by the Princes of Lorraine, with which somehow he had become acquainted, and which had for its objects the setting up of the claim of Mary Stuart to the throne of England, the dethronement of Elizabeth under pretence that she was a bastard and a heretic, the union of England and Scotland under one crown, and the suppression of the Reformation in both by bringing the whole island under the virtual control of France. But the indignation of Elizabeth at his "First Blast" was such that his request was indignantly refused, and it was with difficulty that those who presented his letters escaped imprisonment. He did not learn this result of his application until his arrival in Dieppe; and even then, impressed with the importance of the information which he had to communicate, he himself wrote to Cecil, seeking to remove all difficulties, and desiring a personal {114} interview. But this overture met with no better success; and so, determined to wait no longer for that which seemed to be hopeless, he sailed from Dieppe on the 22nd of April, and arrived at Leith on the 2nd of May, 1559. From this time up till his decease, with the exception of a brief visit which he made to England, Scotland was the sole scene of his labours; and during these thirteen years the incidents of his public life became part and parcel of the history of his country. [1] "Works," vol. vi. p. lxvi. [2] "Knox's Works," by Laing, vol. iv. p. 359. [3] Carlyle's Works, vol. xii. p. 137. {115} CHAPTER IX. RETURN TO SCOTLAND, 1559.