him; "and why do you come to the
palace like this?"

"Ask the king, madam," replied Ruthven in an indistinct voice. "It is for
him to answer."

"Explain, my lord," Mary demanded, turning again towards Darnley; "what
does such a neglect of ordinary propriety mean?"

"It means, madam," returned Darnley, pointing to Rizzio, "that that man
must leave here this very minute."

"That man is mine, my lord," Mary said, rising proudly, "and consequently
takes orders only from me."

"To me, Douglas!" cried Darnley.

At these words, the conspirators, who for some moments had drawn nearer
Ruthven, fearing, so changeable was Darnley's character, lest he had
brought them in vain and would not dare to utter the signal--at these
words, the conspirators rushed into the room with such haste that they
overturned the table. Then David Rizzio, seeing that it was he alone
they wanted, threw himself on his knees behind the queen, seizing the hem
of her robe and crying in Italian, "Giustizia! giustizia!" Indeed, the
queen, true to her character, not allowing herself to be intimidated by
this terrible irruption, placed herself in front of Rizzio and sheltered
him behind her Majesty. But she counted too much on the respect of a
nobility accustomed to struggle hand to hand with its kings for five
centuries. Andrew Carew held a dagger to her breast and threatened to
kill her if she insisted on defending any longer him whose death was
resolved upon. Then Darnley, without consideration for the queen's
pregnancy, seized her round the waist and bore her away from Rizzio, who
remained on his knees pale and trembling, while Douglas's bastard,
confirming the prediction of the astrologer who had warned Rizzio to
beware of a certain bastard, drawing the king's own dagger, plunged it
into the breast of the minister, who fell wounded, but not dead. Morton
immediately took him by the feet and dragged him from the cabinet into
the larger room, leaving on the floor that long track of blood which is
still shown there; then, arrived there, each rushed upon him as upon a
quarry, and set upon the corpse, which they stabbed in fifty-six places.
Meanwhile Darnley held the queen, who, thinking that all was not over,
did not cease crying for mercy. But Ruthven came back, paler than at
first, and at Darnley's inquiry if Rizzio were dead, he nodded in the
affirmative; then, as he could not bear further fatigue in his
convalescent state, he sat down, although