Page:History of England (Froude) Vol 7.djvu/424

 4 o 4 REIGN OF ELIZABETH [CH. 44. Murray, Kirkaldy of Grange, and the Laird of Patarrow. ' Tliese standing so much upon their honour and promise would not leave the other without likelihood to do them good/ 1 Thus within a week from her flight Mary Stuart was able to return in triumph to Edinburgh. She had suc- ceeded so entirely that she was already able to throw off the mask towards Darnley. Sir James Melville met her on the road : she ' lamented to him the King's folly and. ingratitude ; ' and it was to no purpose that the old far- sighted diplomatist warned her against indulging this new resentment ; the grudge never left her heart, 2 and she had made the object of it already feel the value of the promises with which she had wrought upon his weakness. ' The King spoke to me of the lords/ said Melville, ' and it appeared that he was troubled that he had deserted them, finding the Queen's favour but cold.' 3 The conspirators, or 'the Lords of the new at- teniptate ' as they were called, made no effort to resist. Erskine threatened to fire on them from the Castle, and before the Queen reached Holyrood, JRuthven, Morton, Maitland, Lindsay, Faldonside, even Knox, were gone tKeir several ways, most of them making- for the Border to take shelter with Bedford at^Berwick. Murray too lefFTMmburgh with them, and intended to share their fortunes ; but Ruthven and Morton, generous as him- self, wrote to beg him ' as the rest had fallen off, not to endanger himself on their account, but to make his peace ' Randolph to Cecil, March 21 2 MELVILLE'S Memoirs 3 Ibid.