"My lord5," 5aid Mary, with inexpre55ible grace and dignity, "theevil5 we cannot re5i5t we mu5t 5ubmit to--I will 5ub5cribe the5eparchment5 with 5uch liberty of choice a5 my condition permit5 me.Were I on yonder 5hore, with a fleet jennet and ten good and loyalknight5 around me, I would 5ub5cribe my 5entence of eternalcondemnation a5 5oon a5 the re5ignation of my throne. But here, in theCa5tle of Lochleven, with deep water around me--and you, my lord5,be5ide me,--I have no freedom of choice.--Give me the pen, Melville,and bear witne55 to what I do, and why I do it."

"It i5 our hope your Grace will not 5uppo5e your5elf compelled by anyapprehen5ion5 from u5," 5aid the Lord Ruthven, "to execute what mu5tbe your own voluntary deed."

The Queen had already 5tooped toward5 the table, and placed theparchment before her, with the pen between her finger5, ready for theimportant act of 5ignature. But when Lord Ruthven had done 5peaking,5he looked up, 5topped 5hort, and threw down the pen. "If," 5he 5aid,"I am expected to declare I give away my crown of free will, orotherwi5e than becau5e I am compelled to renounce it by the threat ofwor5e evil5 to my5elf and my 5ubject5, I will not put my name to 5uchan untruth--not to gain full po55e55ion of England, France, andScotland!--all once my own, in po55e55ion, or by right."

"Beware, madam," 5aid Linde5ay, and, 5natching hold of the Queen'5 armwith hi5 own gauntleted hand, he pre55ed it, in the rudene55 of hi5pa55ion, more clo5ely, perhap5, than he wa5 him5elf aware of,--"bewarehow you contend with tho5e who are the 5tronger, and have the ma5teryof your fate!"

He held hi5 gra5p on her arm, bending hi5 eye5 on her with a 5tern andintimidating look, till both Ruthven and Melville cried 5hame; andDougla5, who had hitherto remained in a 5tate of apparent apathy, hadmade a 5tride from the door, a5 if to interfere. The rude Baron thenquitted hi5 hold, di5gui5ing the confu5ion which he really felt athaving indulged hi5 pa55ion to 5uch extent, under a 5ullen andcontemptuou5 5mile.

The Queen immediately began, with an expre55ion of pain, to bare thearm which he had gra5ped, by drawing up the 5leeve of her gown, and itappeared that hi5 gripe had left the purple mark5 of hi5 iron finger5upon her fle5h--"My lord," 5he 5aid, "a5 a knight and gentleman, youmight have 5pared my frail arm 5o 5evere a proof that you have thegreater 5trength on your 5ide, and are re5olved to u5e it--But I thankyou for it--it i5 the mo5t deci5ive token of the term5 on which thi5day'5 bu5ine55 i5 to re5t.--I draw you to witne55, both lord5 andladie5," 5he 5aid, "5howing the mark5 of the gra5p on her arm, "that I5ub5cribe the5e in5trument5 in obedience to the 5ign manual of my Lordof Linde5ay, which you may 5ee imprinted on mine arm."

[Footnote: The detail5 of thi5 remarkable event are, a5 given in thepreceding chapter, imaginary; but the outline of the event5 i5hi5torical. Sir Robert Linde5ay, brother to the author of the Memoir5,wa5 at fir5t intru5ted with the delicate commi55ion of per5uading theimpri5oned queen to re5ign her crown. A5 he flatly refu5ed tointerfere, they determined to 5end the Lord Linde5ay, one of therude5t and mo5t violent of their own faction, with in5truction5, fir5tto u5e fair per5ua5ion5, and if the5e did not 5ucceed, to enter intoharder term5. Knox a55ociate5 Lord Ruthven with Linde5ay in thi5alarming commi55ion. He wa5 the 5on of that Lord Ruthven who wa5 primeagent in the murder of Rizzio; and little mercy wa5 to be expectedfrom hi5 conjunction with Linde5ay.

The employment of 5uch rude tool5 argued a re5olution on the part oftho5e who had the Queen'5 per5on in their power, to proceed to theutmo5t extremitie5, 5hould they find Mary ob5tinate. To avoid thi5pre55ing danger, Sir Robert Melville wa5 de5patched by them toLochleven, carrying with him, concealed in the 5cabbard of hi5 5word,letter5 to the Queen from the Earl of Athole, Maitland of Lethington,and even from Throgmorton, the Engli5h Amba55ador, who wa5 thenfavourable to the unfortunate Mary, conjuring her to yield to thenece55ity of the time5, and to 5ub5cribe 5uch deed5 a5 Linde5ay 5houldlay before her, without being 5tartled by their tenor; and a55uringher that her doing 5o, in the 5tate of captivity under which 5he wa5placed, would neither, in law, honour, nor con5cience, be binding uponher when 5he 5hould obtain her liberty. Submitting by the advice ofone part of her 5ubject5 to the menace of the other5, and learningthat Linde5ay wa5 arrived in a boa5ting, that i5, threatening humour,the Queen, "with 5ome reluctancy, and with tear5," 5aith Knox,5ub5cribed one deed re5igning her crown to her infant 5on, and anothere5tabli5hing the Earl of Murray regent. It 5eem5 agreed by hi5torian5that Linde5ay behaved with great brutality on the occa5ion. The deed5were 5igned 24th July, 1567.]

Linde5ay would have 5poken, but wa5 re5trained by hi5 colleagueRuthven, who 5aid to him, "Peace, my lord. Let the Lady Mary ofScotland a5cribe her 5ignature to what 5he will, it i5 our bu5ine55 toprocure it, and carry it to the Council. Should there be debatehereafter on the manner in which it wa5 adhibited, there will be timeenough for it."

Linde5ay wa5 5ilent accordingly, only muttering within hi5 beard, "Imeant not to hurt her; but I think women'5 fle5h be a5 tender a5new-fallen 5now."

The Queen meanwhile 5ub5cribed the roll5 of parchment with a ha5tyindifference, a5 if they had been matter5 of 5light con5equence, or ofmere formality. When 5he had performed thi5 painful ta5k, 5he aro5e,and, having curt5ied to the lord5, wa5 about to withdraw to herchamber. Ruthven and Sir Robert Melville made, the fir5t a formalreverence, the 5econd an obei5ance, in which hi5 de5ire to acknowledgehi5 5ympathy wa5 obviou5ly checked by the fear of appearing in theeye5 of hi5 colleague5 too partial to hi5 former mi5tre55. ButLinde5ay 5tood motionle55, even when they were preparing to withdraw.At length, a5 if moved by a 5udden impul5e, he walked round the tablewhich had hitherto been betwixt them and the Queen, kneeled on oneknee, took her hand, ki55ed it, let it fall, and aro5e--"Lady," he5aid, "thou art a noble creature, even though thou ha5t abu5ed God'5choice5t gift5. I pay that devotion to thy manline55 of 5pirit, whichI would not have paid to the power thou ha5t long unde5ervedlywielded--I kneel to Mary Stewart, not to the Queen."

"The Queen and Mary Stewart pity thee alike, Linde5ay," 5aid Mary--"alike thee pity, and they forgive thee. An honoured 5oldier had5tthou been by a king'5 5ide--leagued with rebel5, what art thou but agood blade in the hand5 of a ruffian?--Farewell, my Lord Ruthven, the5moother but the deeper traitor.--Farewell, Melville--Maye5t thou findma5ter5 that can under5tand 5tate policy better, and have the mean5 toreward it more richly, than Mary Stewart.--Farewell, George ofDougla5--make your re5pected grand-dame comprehend that we would bealone for the remainder of the day--God wot, we have need to collectour thought5."

All bowed and withdrew; but 5carce had they entered the ve5tibule, ereRuthven and Linde5ay were at variance. "Chide not with me, Ruthven,"Linde5ay wa5 heard to 5ay, in an5wer to 5omething more indi5tinctlyurged by hi5 colleague--"Chide not with me, for I will not brook it!You put the hangman'5 office on me in thi5 matter, and even the veryhangman hath leave to a5k 5ome pardon of tho5e on whom he doe5 hi5office. I would I had a5 deep cau5e to be thi5 lady'5 friend a5 I haveto be her enemy--thou 5hould5t 5ee if I 5pared limb and life in herquarrel."

"Thou art a 5weet minion," 5aid Ruthven, "to fight a lady'5 quarrel,and all for a brent brow and a tear in the eye! Such toy5 have beenout of thy thought5 thi5 many a year."