Mary, Queen of Scots, 1542-1587; Queens -- Scotland -- Biography; Scotland -- History -- Mary Stuart, 1542-1567
This evidence of Lennox, then, avers that, after the known conference at
Craigmillar, which Lethington ended by saying that ‘you shall see nothing
but good, and approved of by Parliament,’ there was another conference. On
this second occasion some of the Privy Council suggested the arrest of
Darnley, who, perhaps, was to be slain if he resisted. Parliament might
approve of this measure, for there were reasons for charging Darnley with
high treason. Mary, says Lennox, accepted the scheme, but postponed it
till after the Baptism. Within two or three weeks Lennox heard of the
plan, and gave Darnley warning. But Lennox’s three versions are hesitating
and inconsistent: nor does he cite his authority for the conspiracy to
kill Darnley.
V
_BETWEEN THE BAPTISM AND THE MURDER_
Mary passed from Craigmillar and Edinburgh to the baptism of her son James
at Stirling. The 17th December, 1566, was the crowning triumph of her
life, and the last. To the cradle came the Ambassadors of France and
England bearing gifts: Elizabeth, the child’s godmother, sent a font of
enamelled gold. There were pageants and triumphs, fireworks, festivals,
and the chanting of George Buchanan’s Latin elegiacs on Mary, the _Nympha
Caledoniæ_, with her crowns of Virtue and of Royalty. Above all, Mary had
won, or taken, permission to baptize the child by the Catholic rite, and
Scotland saw, for the last time, the ecclesiastics in their splendid
vestments. Mary busied herself with hospitable kindnesses, a charming
hostess in that dark hold where her remote ancestor had dirked his guest
between the table and the hearth. But there was a strange gap in the
throng of nobles. The child’s father, though in the Castle, did not attend
the baptism, was not among the guests, while the grandfather, Lennox,
remained apart at his castle in Glasgow.
According to du Croc, who was at Stirling, Darnley announced his intention
to depart, two days before the christening, but remained and sulked.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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