e,
but the stair-ways, the capacious fire-places, the loop-holes, and
the one window remain, enabling the visitor to reconstruct the
dwelling in imagination, and even to fancy Mary herself there again,
seated on the stone seat by the window, looking over the water at the
distant hills, and sighing to be free.

The Hamilton lords were not strong enough to attempt her rescue. The
weight of influence and power throughout the country went gradually
and irresistibly into the other scale. There were great debates among
the authorities of government as to what should be done. The Hamilton
lords made proposals in behalf of Mary which the government could not
accede to. Other proposals were made by different parties in the
councils of the insurgent nobles, some more and some less hard for
the captive queen. The conclusion, however, finally was, to urge
Mary to resign her crown in favor of her son, and to appoint Murray,
when he should return, to act as regent till the prince should be of
age.

They accordingly sent commissioners to Loch Leven to propose these
measures to the queen. There were three instruments of abdication
prepared for her to sign. By one she resigned the crown in favor of
her son. By the second she appointed Murray to be regent as soon as
he should return from France. By the third she appointed
commissioners to govern the country until Murray should return. They
knew that Mary would be extremely unwilling to sign these papers, and
yet that they must contrive, in some way, to obtain her signature
without any open violence; for the signature, to be of legal force,
must be, in some sense, her voluntary act.

The two commissioners whom they sent to her were Melville and
Lindsay. Melville was a thoughtful and a reasonable man, who had long
been in Mary's service, and who possessed a great share of her
confidence and good will. Lindsay was, on the other hand, of an
overbearing and violent temper, of very rude speech and demeanor, and
was known to be unfriendly to the queen. They hoped that Mary would
be induced to sign the papers by Melville's gentle persuasions; if
not, Lindsay was to see what he could do by denunciations and
threats.

When the two commissioners arrived at the castle, Melville alone went
first into the presence of the queen. He opened the subject to her in
a gentle and respectful manner. He laid before her the distracted
state of Scotland, the uncertain and vague suspicions floating in the
p