wished it, to persuade his sister to accept Dudley; but that if after all these years he failed to win for Mary this recognition of her right, he knew perfectly well both that she would feel bound to ally herself with Elizabeth's enemies, and that he himself would cease to share her confidence (Bedford and Randolph to Cecil, 23 Nov. 1564, in Cal. State Papers, For. 1564–5, No. 813). The Dudley proposal having also failed, Mary almost immediately began to indicate a desire to accept the proposals of Darnley. Indeed, she had contemplated such a possibility when she proposed the recall of Lennox, who had arrived in Scotland in September 1564; and Moray was no doubt aware that she did so. Nor probably was he altogether hostile to the arrangement. At any rate, he declined to be a party to prevent Lennox's recall, and informed Cecil not only that he could not labour for the stay of Lennox, but that he thought it could not stand with Elizabeth's honour to be the occasion thereof (Cal. State Papers, For. 1564–5, No. 556). Maitland also further reminded Cecil that Moray and Lennox were both of one name, then regarded in Scotland as one of the strongest bonds of unity (ib. No. 557). It is therefore likely that Moray was originally disposed to favour the Darnley marriage provided he could trust Darnley and his father, and especially if Elizabeth could be induced to sanction the marriage and conjoin with this the recognition of Mary's right to the succession. No other match was in truth more desirable in the abstract as insuring the permanent union of the two kingdoms. But any hopes of salvation by such an alliance were dashed by his knowledge of the dispositions and purposes of Darnley and his father, and by Elizabeth's hostility to the marriage. The very fact that Darnley was next lineal heir to the throne of England after Mary rendered all the more dangerous a marriage unsanctioned by Elizabeth; for it tempted Mary and Darnley to seek to make good their joint rights by force and by catholic aid. His strenuous opposition to the marriage can thus be fully accounted for by his complete comprehension of the political situation: selfish motives probably mingled with patriotic ones, but had the protestants understood the case as he did, they would have given him their unanimous support.
As early as 3 Feb. Randolph wrote to Cecil that both Moray and Maitland in their hearts disliked Lennox (Cal. State Papers, For. 1564–5, No. 958); on 7 April he reported that Moray had retired in disgust from the court (ib. No. 1085); on 29 April he informed Cecil that when Moray came to the court of the queen at Stirling he had worse countenance than he looked for (ib. No. 1125); and on 8 May he wrote that Moray having declined to give a written promise to support the marriage, the queen had given him ‘many sore words’ (ib. No. 1151). As soon in fact as the queen had resolved to marry Darnley, friendship with her brother became impossible. A significant indication of Moray's impending doom was given in the sudden arrival of his enemy Bothwell from France. But Bothwell was a little premature; on Moray demanding justice on him for his previous conspiracy with Arran, the queen dared not give a positive refusal; and when on 1 May Moray came with six thousand men to Edinburgh to keep the law against him, Bothwell failed to appear (Randolph to Cecil, 3 May, in Cal. State Papers, For. 1564–5, No. 1140).
Moray was perfectly frank with his sister as to his motives for refusing assent to the Darnley marriage: it was because he had little hope that Darnley ‘would be a favourer of Christ's true religion.’ But having once informed her of his decision, and his reasons for it, his frankness ceased; not only did he forbear to intimidate her by threats or warnings, but he carefully masked his preparations to defeat her purpose. At a meeting of the nobles held at Stirling on 15 May he kept silence, and permitted a resolution in favour of the marriage to pass without dissent. As far as the queen could gather, he might have intended to make the best of it. Nevertheless, along with Knox, he was concerting plans to frustrate it. He excused himself from attending a convention at Perth on the ground of concern for his own safety, but about the same date an assembly of the kirk was held at Edinburgh, at which resolutions were passed against popery and the mass. From a letter sent by Arygll and Moray to Randolph on 1 July (Illustrations of the Reign of Mary, p. 118), it seems certain that Moray did form a plan for the capture of the queen and Darnley on the journey from Perth to Callendar. For this he has been severely reprehended; but it must be reckoned rather to his credit than not that, instead of delaying to oppose the queen until the marriage had taken place, he did his utmost to prevent her committing herself to a course of action which he saw would entail either her own ruin or the ruin of protestantism in Scotland. He failed in this particular stratagem, nor was he successful in preventing the marriage by force of arms: partly by reason of Mary's
