the representations he had made through Cecil, had induced Elizabeth to desire Bedford to join his influence to that of Mary's Privy Council in behalf of Morton. The consequence was, that the Queen could no longer resist their united importunities, and, with two exceptions, all the conspirators against Rizzio were pardoned. These exceptions were, George Douglas, who had seized the King's dagger, and struck Rizzio the first blow; and Andrew Kerr, who, in the affray, had threatened to shoot the Queen herself. Robertson, with great inaccuracy, has said, that it was to the solicitations of Bothwell alone that these criminals were indebted for their recall. It would have been long before Bothwell, whose weight with Mary was never considerable, could have obtained, unassisted, her consent to such a measure; and the truth of this assertion is proved by the clearest and directest testimony. In a letter which Bedford wrote to Cecil on the 30th of December, we meet with the following passage:--"The Queen here hath now granted to the Earl of Morton, to the Lords Ruthven and Lindsay, their relaxation and pardon.[15] _The Earl of Murray hath done very friendly towards the Queen for them, so have I, according to your advice_; the Earls Bothwell and Athol, and all other Lords _helped_ therein, or else such pardons could not so soon have been gotten."[16] It is no doubt true, that Bothwell was glad of this opportunity to ingratiate himself with Morton, and that, in the words of Melville, he "packed up a quiet friendship with him;"--but it is strange that Robertson should have been so ignorant of the real influence which secured a remission of their offences from Mary. Darnley was of course greatly offended that any of his former accomplices should be received again into favour. They would return only to force him a few steps farther down the ladder, to the top of which he had so eagerly desired to climb. They were recalled too at the very time when he had it in contemplation, according to common report, to seize on the person of the young Prince, and, after crowning him, to take upon himself the government as his father. Whether this report was true or not, (and perhaps it was a belief in it which induced the Queen to remove shortly afterwards from Stirling to Edinburgh), it is certain that Darnley declared he "could not bear with some of the noblemen that were attending in the Court, and that either he or they behoved to leave the same."[17] He accordingly left Stirling on the 24th of December, the very day on which Morton's pardon was signed, to visit his father at Glasgow. But it was not with Mary he had quarrelled, with whom he had been living for the last ten days, and whom he intended rejoining in Edinburgh, as soon as she had paid some Christmas visits in the neighbourhood of Stirling.[18] CHAPTER II. OCCURRENCES IMMEDIATELY PRECEDING DARNLEY'S DEATH.