Page:History of England (Froude) Vol 7.djvu/459

 1566.] THE MURDER OF DARNLEY. 439 told him ' that twenty as honest men as he should lose their lives ere he reft Liddington.' 1 The Queen felt however that her demand for recognition in England would be effective in proportion to the umrnmTEj "with which she was supported by her own nobility ; she felt the want of Maitland's help ; and visiting her resent- ment for the death of Bizzio on her miserable husband alone, she was ready to forget the share which Maitland had borne in it, and exerted herself to smooth down and reconcile the factions at the Court. She contrived to bring Maitland, Murray, Argyle, and Bothwell secretly together ; ' the matter in dispute ' was talked over and at last amicably settled. 2 From Maitland to Morton was a short step. The lords now all combined to entreat his pardon from the Queen, and in the restoration to favour of the nobles whom he had invited to revenge his own imagined wrongs, and had thus deserted and betrayed, the miser- able King read his own ruin. One after another he had injured them all ; and his best hope was in their con- tempt. Even Murray's face he had good cause to dread. He with Rizzio had before planned Murray's murder, and now seeing Murray at the Queen's side he let fall some wild passionate words as if he would again try to kill him. So at least the Queen reported, for it was she who carried the story to Murray, ' and willed the Earl to speer it at the King ; ' it was believed after- wards that she desired to create a quarrel which would 1 Advertisements out of Scotland, August, 1566 : MS. Rolls House.
 * Maitland to Cecil, September 20 : MS. Ibid,