herself. If she ceased to call herself Queen of England and only pressed
for her acknowledgement as rightful successor to Elizabeth, she would
not formally abandon her claim to reign as rightful Queen in Elizabeth's
stead. Above all she would give her compliance with Murray's counsels no
legal air. No pressure either from her brother or from Elizabeth could
bring the young Queen to give her royal confirmation to the
Parliamentary Acts which established the new religion in Scotland, or
her signature to the Treaty of Edinburgh. In spite of her habitual
caution the bold words which broke from Mary Stuart on Elizabeth's
refusal of a safe conduct betrayed her hopes. "I came to France in spite
of her brother's opposition," she said, "and I will return in spite of
her own. She has combined with rebel subjects of mine: but there are
rebel subjects in England too who would gladly listen to a call from me.
I am a queen as well as she, and not altogether friendless. And perhaps
I have as great a soul too!"

[Sidenote: Her toleration.]

She saw indeed the new strength which was given her by her husband's
death. Her cause was no longer hampered, either in Scotland or in
England, by a national jealousy of French interference. It was with a
resolve to break the league between Elizabeth and the Scotch
Protestants, to unite her own realm around her, and thus to give a firm
base for her intrigues among the English Catholics, that Mary Stuart
landed at Leith. The effect of her presence was marvellous. Her personal
fascination revived the national loyalty, and swept all Scotland to her
feet. Knox, the greatest and sternest of the Calvinistic preachers,
alone withstood her spell. The rough Scotch nobles owned that there was
in Mary "some enchantment whereby men are bewitched." It was clear
indeed from the first that, loyal as Scotland might be, its loyalty
would be of little service to the Queen if she attacked the new
religion. At her entry into Edinburgh the children of the pageant
presented her with a Bible and "made some speech concerning the putting
away of the Mass, and thereafter sang a psalm." It was only with
difficulty that Murray won for her the right of celebrating Mass at her
court. But for the religious difficulty Mary was prepared. While
steadily abstaining from any legal confirmation of the new faith, and
claiming for her French followers freedom of Catholic worship, she
denounced any attempt to meddle with the form of re