e terrible to him than ten thousand
armed invaders. Mary sent for him, hoping to win the hard man by a
display of feminine and queenly graciousness. [Sidenote: August
1561-December 1563] In all he had five interviews with her,
picturesquely described by himself. On his side there were long, stern
sermons on the duties of princes and the wickedness of idolatry, all
richly illustrated with examples drawn from the sacred page. On her
side there was "howling together with womanly weeping," "more howling
and tears above that the matter did require," "so many tears that her
chamber-boy could scarce get napkins enough to dry her eyes." With
absurdly unconscious offensiveness and egotism Knox began acquaintance
with his sovereign by remarking that he was as well {366} content to
live under her as Paul under Nero. Previously he had maintained that
the government was set up to control religion; now he informed Mary
that "right religion took neither original nor authority from worldly
princes but from the Eternal God alone." "'Think ye,' quoth she, 'that
subjects, having power, may resist their princes?' 'If princes exceed
their bounds, madam, they may be resisted and even deposed,'" replied
Knox. Mary's marriage was the most urgent immediate question of
policy. When Knox took the liberty of discussing it with her she burst
out: "What have you to do with my marriage? Or what are you within
this commonwealth?" "A subject born within the same," superbly
retorted the East Lothian peasant, "and though neither earl, lord nor
baron, God has made me a profitable member."

[Sidenote: Marriage with Darnley, July 1565]

Determined, quite excusably, to please herself rather than her advisers
in the choice of a husband, Mary selected her cousin Henry Stuart Lord
Darnley; a "long lad" not yet twenty. The marriage was celebrated in
July, 1565; the necessary papal dispensation therefor was actually
drawn up on September 25 but was thoughtfully provided with a false
date as of four months earlier. Almost from the first the marriage was
wretchedly unhappy. The petulant boy insisted on being treated as
king, whereas Mary allowed him only "his due." Darnley was jealous,
probably with good cause, of his wife's Italian secretary, David
Riccio, and murdered him in Mary's presence; [Sidenote: March 9, 1566]
"an action worthy of all praise," pontificated Knox.

With this crime begins in earnest that sickening tale of court intrigue
an