Page:History of England (Froude) Vol 9.djvu/547

I57I-J THE R1DOLFI CONSPIRACY. 533, tilians.' Whether a French faction, or an English fac- tion governed Scotland, or both combined, there would be an equal difficulty in making arrangements for the landing of the Spaniards, or for the march southwards- to the rescue of the Queen of Scots. In reply to the Hamiltons' Parliament at the Tolbooth, a rival meeting was held at Stirling, where Chatelherault and Huntly were attainted, and the assembled Lords gave out that they meant to march immediately upon Edinburgh, and- starve the Castle into submission. The Castilians or rather Maitland, for Maitland was the inventor of the enterprise proposed to anticipate them. He flattered himself that if he could bring all parties together with some vantage ground of position to himself, he could settle matters in his own way, and flatter the ambition of Scotland by a sketch of the prospect which that autumn was to open for the Queen. His plan was characteristic both of himself and his countrymen a companion enterprise, though far grander in its aim and scope, to Crawford's capture of Dumbarton. Including the Lords, their friends, and their followers, there were at Stirling,, in all, 2000 armed men. The town as well as the castle was forti- fied. The Queen's party had no kind of force in the field, and the last thought which would have occurred to any one would have been that there was danger of surprise. Buccleuch and Fernihurst, with a few score border troopers, men accustomed to desperate adven- tures, had been for some time at Edinburgh. It was- given out that they were going back to their own