n his friends on the
more Puritan side of the English Church in their new troubles under
Elizabeth. Little is known of his proceedings there; though he remained
in England during the whole time between the Assembly of December 1566
and another which sat on 25th June 1567.

But between these dates, and in Knox's absence, the most amazing tragedy
in the history of Scotland had unrolled itself in Edinburgh. Week by
week, the increasing power of Lord Bothwell over the Queen, and her
increasing dislike of her husband, had attracted the attention of men.
But before February there was a sudden reconciliation between her and
Darnley. She brought him to a house in Kirk of Field, near Edinburgh,
and at midnight of the 9th it was blown up with gunpowder by the
servants of Bothwell, the body of the King being found in the garden. On
21st April Bothwell waylaid and carried off Mary to Dunbar. But he was
still a married man, having wedded Lord Huntly's sister fourteen months
before. And now in May, came in the new consistorial jurisdiction of the
Archbishop, for the only act which that prelate ever performed under it
was to confirm a sentence of nullity of this very marriage, and that on
the ground that Bothwell and his wife being too nearly related, had not
procured a Papal dispensation (the Papal dispensation having not only
been procured before the marriage, but having been granted by the hands
of the Archbishop himself as Legate). Ten days after this divorce, and
in spite of dissuasions from her friends at home and abroad, the
ill-fated Queen publicly married the murderer of her husband, and the
strong shudder of disgust that passed through the commons of Scotland
shook her throne to the ground. So upon Mary's half-compulsory
abdication, Moray became Regent for the infant King, who was crowned at
Stirling, Knox preaching the coronation sermon. (There were men present
on this triumphal occasion before whom he had preached once before in
the same place, when sunk in despair after that 'dark and dolorous'
flight from Edinburgh.) And now came that great winding up already
discussed in our last chapter, the Protestant legislative settlement of
Church matters in 1567.

It was the second great climax of Knox's life; and now his public work
was done. We shall not find it necessary to follow his later years in
detail. They were troubled by ineffectual attempts to reverse the
verdict of the people already given. For Mary had a majority of