THE nyntene day[619] of August, the year of God J^m V^c threscoir ane yearis, betwix sevin and aught houris befoir noon, arryved MARIE QUENE OF SCOTLAND, then widow, with two galayis furth of France.[620] In[621] hir cumpany, (besydis hir gentilwemen, called the Maries,)[622] war hir thre uncles, the Duck D'Omall,[623] the Grand Priour,[624] and the Marques D'Elbuf.[625] Thare accumpanyed hir also,[626] D'Anweill, son to the Constable of France, with other gentilmen of inferiour conditioun, besydis servandis and officiaris.[627] The verray face of heavin, the time of hir arryvall, did manifestlie speak what confort was brought unto this cuntrey with hir, to wit, sorow, dolour, darknes, and all impietie; for in the memorie of man, that day of the year, was never seyn a more dolorous face of the heavin, then was at hir arryvall, which two days after did so contineu; for besides the surfett weat,[628] and corruptioun of the air, the myst was so thick and so dark, that skairse mycht any man espy ane other the lenth of two pair of buttis. The sun was not seyn to schyne two dayis befoir, nor two dayis after. That foir-warning gave God unto us; but allace, the most pairt war blynd. [619] In MSS. A, M, and L 4, "The twentie day." [620] The Queen arrived in Leith harbour on Tuesday the 19th August 1561, and landed on the following day. [621] In MSS. M, and L 4, instead of the next five lines, there is substituted this sentence, which is also copied by Calderwood, (vol. ii. p. 142,) "Shee brought with her als faire Jewells, pretious stones and pearles as wer to be found in Europe. Her tapestrie, and other stuff wer brought to Leith, in October. The verie face," &c. [622] Celebrated in Scotish Song: see "The Queen's Marie," in Sir W. Scott's Border Minstrelsy. One of the verses in this ballad of Mary Hamilton, thus names them: Yestreen the Queen had four Maries, The night she'll hae but three; There was Marie Seaton, and Marie Beaton, And Marie Carmichael, and me