Page:History of England (Froude) Vol 7.djvu/345

 1565] THE DARNLEY MARRIAGE. 325 persevere in a course so discreditable and so dangerous. 80 easy it would be for her to strike Mary Stuart down, if she had half the promptitude of Mary herself, that it seemed impossible to him that she would neglect the opportunity. As yet the party of the Queen of Scots had no solid elements of strength : Bizzio was the chief councillor ; the Earl of Athol was the General ' a youth without judgment or experience, whose only merit was a frenzied Catholicism.' * Catherine de Medici, who thought like de Foix, and desired to prevent Elizabeth from becoming absolute mistress of Scotland, sent over Castelnau de Mauvissiere to mediate between the Queen, of Scots and her subjects. But Mary Stuart understood better the temperament with which she had to deal ; she knew that Elizabeth was thoroughly cowed and jright- ened, and that she had nothing to fear: She sent a message to Castelnau that she would allow neither France nor England to interfere between her and her revolted subjects; while her rival could only betake herself to her single resource in difficulty, and propose again to marry the Archduke. There was something piteous as well as laughable in the perpetual recurrence of this forlorn subject. She was not wholly insincere. When pushed to extremity she believed that marriage might become her duty, and she imagined that she was willing to encounter it. The game was a dangerous one, for she had almost exhausted the patience of her subjects, who might compel her at 1 De Foix to the Queen-mother, September 18 : TEULET, vol. ii.