When Lennox passed through London in January, 1583, on his way to exile in France he sent his secretary to Mendoza—not daring to come himself—to give him an explanatory account of Lennox’s ignominious collapse, and to inform him of his plans to return to Scotland, with James’s full connivance, and for an invasion by foreign troops in the Catholic interest. In such plans both Mendoza and his master had now lost hope, and though Lennox soon afterwards died, Guise himself, undeterred by Philip’s flattering attempts at diversion, became the central pivot of the intrigue, abetted by Beton, Tassis, and the Jesuits, who were still curiously blind to the real trend of affairs. A new French ambassador, La Mothe, was sent to remonstrate with Ruthven and the Scottish Protestants for keeping their King in durance, and to warn Elizabeth not to interfere in Scotland; and with him went young de Maineville on a separate mission from Guise to the Scottish Catholics, for the purpose of reviving the plot for landing a foreign force in Scotland. Beton and Tassis were, of course, parties to the arrangement, much to the annoyance of Mary and Mendoza, who thus saw all their carefully planned schemes thrown into confusion. James in Scotland, as usual, lied to everybody, and the Scottish Catholic party was disunited, so that Guise’s agent, de Maineville, promptly saw that any present attempt to invade Scotland in Mary’s interest would end in failure, and Guise changed all his plans. [Illustration: HENRI, DUC DE GUISE FROM AN ENGRAVING]