Page:Cassell's Illustrated History of England vol 2.djvu/289

] cardinal is said to have persuaded him that by renouncing the Papal supremacy, and allying himself with the archenemy of Rome, Henry of England, he was running imminent danger of the total loss of his titles, estates, and claim to the regency, which could only be maintained by the Pope declaring valid the divorce of his father from his former wife.

Whatever were the causes of this abrupt change, they were successful, and the cardinal and his friends, thus far triumphant, planned another conversion, that of Angus and his adherents. It certainly' is greatly to the honour of Beaton and his friends, that instead of endeavouring to extirpate or ruin their opponents, they endeavoured on all occasions to win them over, and unite them in the great cause of the independence, and of what they believed to be the true religion of their country. But Angus and his party were not composed of the same yielding materials as Arran. They rejected the overture to attend the coronation of the young queen, and to assist, by their presence in Parliament, towards the restoration of the unity and peace of the country. Angus and his confederates spurned the pacific proposal, retired to Douglas castle, and there, in the midst of a strong force, drew up a covenant, pledging themselves to fulfil their engagements to Henry, and concerted measures for the destruction of their opponents. In proof of their sincerity they sent their covenant by Lord Somerville to the King of England. Meantime the regent summoned a new council, including the leaders of the Papist party, and swore to govern by their advice: the coronation took place at Stirling, and it was resolved that a convention should be summoned to meet at Edinburgh to settle all disputes with England relative to the non-performance of the treaty, in a calm and amicable manner.

Thus, once more there was an opportunity of Henry achieving the great object of the marriage of Prince Edward and the Scottish queen, but the violence of his temper again dashed down all hope of it. In his fury at these changes, he instantly dispatched a herald to Scotland, denouncing instant war if the treaties were not at once fulfilled. By him he sent a letter to the magistrates of Edinburgh, menacing them with a terrible retribution if they did not protect his ambassador from the wrath of the populace; and he ordered Sir Thomas Wharton to liberate certain chiefs of the Armstrongs, whom he had in prison, on condition that they should raise the borders, and make war on the estates of the lords who were opposed to him. At the same time he determined to muster his forces in the spring, and invade the country with an overwhelming power. Not all the experience of ages, in which the Edwards and the Henrys had endeavoured by the strong arm to force Scotland into subjection, availed to convince the haughty and unrestrainable spirit of Henry, that that country might be won by kindness, but could never be coerced by violence.

Cardinal Beaton, seduced by his success, relaxed something of his usual foresight, and thereby lost the adhesion of Lennox, who was guided entirely by personal considerations; and who, thinking himself not sufficiently regarded after his services to that party, went over to the side of England, thus immediately punishing Beaton for his neglect. It was Lennox who had arranged the negotiations with France, and by his advice the Sieur de la Brosse was sent to Scotland with a fleet bearing military stores, fifty pieces of artillery, and ten thousand crowns. Lennox, posted in the strong castle of Dumbarton, awaited the arrival of the ambassador, who presently cast anchor off the town. Lennox and Glencairn went on board the French fleet, and de la Brosse paid over the money, not knowing the change in the policy of Lennox, who secured the booty in the castle, and left the ambassador to discover the mistake at leisure.

But, though the money was lost, the presence of the French ambassador and of Grimani, the Papal legate, and. Patriarch of Aquileia, who accompanied him, wonderfully strengthened the Papal party, and revived the old predilection for France. The legate gave great entertainments during the winter; and Sadler informed Henry that such was the enthusiasm of the Scottish people for the French alliance, and their jealousy of England, that nothing but force would tell upon them. Henry waited with impatience the arrival of the time which should favour his vengeance on this refractory people; and, in the meantime, prosecuted, through his facile agent, Ralph Sadler, his usual attempts at corruption. Sadler entered into communication with the Scottish merchants whose vessels had been seized, and informed them that, if they would assist Henry in his designs on their native country, they should receive back their vessels and property. The base offer received an indignant reply; the honest merchants protesting that they would not only sacrifice their property, but their lives, rather than prove such traitors.

At the same time some of Henry's real traitors of a higher rank wore taken and exposed. The Lords Somerville and Maxwell, Angus's principal agents in his intrigues with England, were seized, and on them was discovered the bond signed at Douglas, pledging the disaffected nobles to assist Henry in the subjugation of their country, and letters disclosing the plans in agitation for the purpose. This roused the resentment of the regent and the cardinal. They summoned a Parliament to meet in December, in order to impeach Angus and his party of high treason. That chief immediately put himself in an attitude of war; his confederate barons assembled their forces, and Angus fortified himself in his strong castle of Tantallan, where Sadler took refuge, having forfeited every claim to the character of ambassador, and by the laws of every nation incurred the penalty of death for his practices while bearing that sacred office. But the Scottish Government did not allow the traitors time to strike any effectual blow. Arran seized Dalkeith and Pinkie, two of the chief strongholds of the Douglases, and summoned Angus to dismiss Sadler from Tantallan. Immediately on the meeting of Parliament, Angus and all his party were declared traitors, and the treaty with England was declared at an end, in consequence of these attempts of Henry to corrupt the subjects of the realm, and his seizure of the Scottish merchant-fleet, contrary to the faith of that treaty. The French ambassadors, De la Brosse and Mesnaige, were then introduced, who announced that Francis I. was anxious to sever the alliance betwixt the two countries, and offered immediate assistance to defend the kingdom and the queen against the usurpation of England—