event of great public importance. They were
accompanied by a large number of attendants and followers, who were
eager to be present in Paris at the marriage festivities. The whole
company arrived safely at Paris, and were received with every
possible mark of distinction and honor.

The marriage contracts were drawn up, and executed with great
formality. King Henry made no objection to any of the stipulations
and provisions which the commissioners required, for he had a secret
plan for evading them all. Very ample provision was made for Mary
herself. She was to have a very large income. In case the dauphin
died while he was dauphin, leaving Mary a widow, she was still to
have a large income paid to her by the French government as long as
she lived, whether she remained in France or went back to Scotland.
If her husband outlived his father, so as to become King of France,
and then died, leaving Mary his widow, her income for the rest of her
life was to be double what it would have been if he had died while
dauphin. Francis was, in the mean time, to share with her the
government of Scotland. If they had a son, he was to be, after their
deaths, King of France and of Scotland too. Thus the two crowns would
have been united. If, on the other hand, they had only daughters, the
oldest one was to be Queen of Scotland only, as the laws of France
did not allow a female to inherit the throne. In case they had no
children, the crown of Scotland was not to come into the French
family at all, but to descend regularly to the next Scotch heir.

Henry was not satisfied with this entirely, for he wanted to secure
the union of the Scotch and French crowns at all events, whether Mary
had children or not; and he persuaded Mary to sign some papers with
him privately, which he thought would secure his purposes, charging
her not to let the commissioners know that she had signed them. He
thought it possible that he should never have occasion to produce
them. One of these papers conveyed the crown of Scotland to the King
of France absolutely and forever, in case Mary should die without
children. Another provided that the Scotch government should repay
him for the enormous sums he had expended upon Mary during her
residence in France, for her education, her attendants, the
celebrations and galas which he had provided for her, and all the
splendid journeys, processions, and parades. His motive in all this
expense had been to unite the crown of Sc