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Maitland who set out on 12 Oct. (Diurnal of Occurrents, p. 62), arrived in Edinburgh on 3 Jan. from their unsuccessful mission (ib. p. 63). But already the death of the French king, on 4 Dec. 1560, had entirely altered the political outlook. So general became the desire for Mary's return that Maitland saw that it could not be resisted, and at once set himself to minimise its dangers. To himself, owing to his former relations with the queen regent, these were necessarily great, and he expressed to Cecil the fear that he would be undone, 'unless the queen may be made favourable to England' (6 Feb. 1560-1, Cal. State Papers, For. Ser., 1560-1, entry 967). Mary's letter to him of 29 June 1561 tended to allay his immediate anxieties, but her promise to judge him only by his 'zeal and faithfulness in her service 'was of doubtful import as to the future, and he was afraid that she would 'bide her time' (10 Aug. in, iii. 211-16). To prevent her proceeding to extremities, he wished to hold out to her the hope of securing Elizabeth's recognition as heir presumptive of England. His letters to Cecil of 9 Aug. (Cal. State Papers, For. Ser., 1561-2, p. 238), 10 Aug. (, iii. 211-16), and 16 Aug. (Appendix to ) have been interpreted as an encouragement to Elizabeth to prevent Mary's return, but they really indicate nothing more than his anxiety to prevent Elizabeth and Cecil from supposing that he had any motive for desiring it. He demonstrates, indeed, the folly of placing obstacles in the way of Mary's return unless Elizabeth had determined at all hazards to stop it, but probably he suspected that while Elizabeth wished the Scots to prevent it she would herself shrink from undertaking this responsibility. His aim therefore was, by a vivid picture of the perilous crisis in Scotland, which pointed to the overthrow of protestantism and a renewal of the league with France, to convince Elizabeth of the necessity of doing all that was possible to secure the goodwill both of Mary and the people of Scotland. In his double purpose he for a time succeeded. Mary's design for the establishment of Catholicism was deferred for several years, and Elizabeth so far followed Maitland's advice as to entirely change her attitude to Mary, and to enter into negotiations, real or feigned, for an alliance between the two kingdoms, based upon the recognition of Mary as heir presumptive.

Shortly after Mary's arrival in Scotland Maitland was, on 1 Sept. 1561, sent on an embassy to England, formally to announce her return to her kingdom, and her earnest desire for permanent friendship with Elizabeth (Mary, 1 Sept. in Illustrations, pp, 90-1, and, i. 103; Instructions in , ii. 72-4 ; and , i. 104). On his return he was chosen secretary (Reg. P. C. Scotl. i. 165), and being entrusted with the management of Mary's foreign policy, at least as regards England, he directed his efforts towards a scheme for uniting the 'isles in friendship' by obtaining from Elizabeth the recognition of Mary as heir presumptive. His calculations were apparently based on the conviction that Elizabeth would never bear a child, for his ambition was that the recognition should be more than a dead letter. Moreover he either believed, or feigned to believe, that recognition as heir presumptive would content her, and that this once granted she would not endanger it by attempting a religious revolution, either in England or Scotland (Cecil, 8 June 1562, Cal. State Papers, For. Ser., 1562, entry 170). In Scotland one of his chief difficulties was Knox, whose purpose to establish a puritan theocracy it was necessary to thwart. Through Maitland's influence assent was refused to the 'Book of Discipline,' which he scornfully described as a 'devout imagination,' and he systematically burked all attempts of the puritan ministers to interfere in state matters, 'let thame bark and blaw alse loude as they list' (, ii. 419). No doubt he either misjudged Mary, or, as is more probable, merely made his own use of her professions of toleration; but the political situation was so critical that to stave off the perils attendant on her return was of the highest moment. This was done by enticing Elizabeth and Mary into the succession negotiations, and even although he might believe that nothing would result from them, their protraction was in itself of no small advantage.

On 26 May 1562 Maitland left for England to arrange for an interview between the two sovereigns (Diurnal of Occurrents, p. 72), but the continuance of hostilities in France broke off the arrangement, and he returned on 12 July with the unwelcome tidings that the meeting had been postponed till the following year. The news that when Elizabeth in the following October was at the point of death only a single voice was raised in behalf of Mary was a still severer blow to Mary's hopes. Maitland was on 13 Feb. (ib. p. 76) despatched with instructions to demand recognition of her claims from the parliament (, i. 161-9;, ii. 188-92); but despairing of obtaining this, he while in London began negotiations with the Spanish minister for Mary's marriage to Don Carlos (Cal. State Papers, Spanish Ser., 1558-67, pp. 305-16 and passim, cf. Mary). Probably his chief reason for assenting to the marriage was dread of the consequences of thwarting Mary