ars, Mary, whose nature was buoyant,
actually dared to hope that Elizabeth would replace her on her throne.
While Mary was plotting, and hope deferred was being succeeded by hope
deferred and vain illusion by vain illusion, events moved fast. In
November, 1569, the Earls of Northumberland and Westmoreland raised a
rebellion in her favour, which was easily suppressed. In January, 1570,
Moray was assassinated at Linlithgow, and the Earl of Lennox, the father
of Darnley, and the traitor of Mary's minority, succeeded to the
regency, while Mary's Scottish supporters, who had continued to fight
for her desperate cause, were strengthened by the accession of Maitland
of Lethington, who, with Kirkaldy of Grange, also a recruit from the
king's party, held Edinburgh Castle for the queen. Mary's hopes were
further raised by the rebellion of the Duke of Norfolk, whose marriage
with the Scottish queen had been suggested in 1569. Letters from the
papal agent, Rudolfi, were discovered, and, in June, 1572, Norfolk was
put to death. Lennox had been killed in September, 1571, and his
successor, the Earl of Mar, was approached on the subject of taking
Mary's life. Elizabeth was unwilling to accept the responsibility for
the deed, and proposed to deliver up Mary to Mar, on the understanding
that she should be immediately killed. Mar, who was an honourable man,
declined to listen to the proposal. But, after his death, which occurred
in October, 1572, the new regent, the Earl of Morton, professed his
willingness to undertake the accomplishment of the deed, if Elizabeth
would openly acknowledge it. This she refused to do, and the plot
failed. It is characteristic that the last Douglas to play an important
part in Scottish history should be the leading actor in such a plot as
this.

The castle of Edinburgh fell in June, 1573, and with its surrender
passed away Mary's last chance in Scotland. Morton held the regency till
1578, when he was forced to resign, and the young king, now twelve years
old, became the nominal ruler. In 1581, Morton was condemned to death as
"airt and pairt" in Darnley's murder, and Elizabeth failed in her
efforts to save him. Mary entered into negotiations with Elizabeth for
her release and return to Scotland as joint-sovereign with James VI, and
the English queen played with her prisoner, while, all the time, she was
discussing projects for her death. The key to the policy of James is his
desire to secure the succession