er welcome cordial and without
drawback. Nobody knew that there had been a project of a landing at
Aberdeen, where Huntly and the other northern lords had proposed to meet
her with twenty thousand men, thus enabling her to march upon her
capital as a conquering heroine of the old faith, putting Satan, in the
shape of John Knox, under her feet. Had she accepted this proposal how
strangely might the face of history have been changed! But there is no
reason to suppose that Mary desired to come to Scotland with fire and
flame, any more than there is that her destruction was a foregone
conclusion. She came with many prognostics of success, though also with
a continual possibility that "terrible tragedies" might come of it; and
for some time it would appear that her Court was as seemly and pleasant
as any Court could be, full of youthful pleasure and delight as became
her years and the gay youthful company that surrounded her, but also of
graver matters and thoughts and purposes becoming a noble Queen.

The first notice we have of Buchanan after his return to Scotland is
conveyed in a letter from Randolph, the English envoy in Edinburgh, in
which the question, "Who is fittest to be sent from this Queen to
attende upon the Queen's Majesty (Elizabeth) for the better continuance
of intelligence with her Highness?" is discussed. "Of any that I know,"
says the representative of England, "David Forrest is likeliest, and
most desireth it. There is with the Queen one called Mr. George
Buchanan, a Scottishe man very well learned that was schollemaster unto
Monsieur de Brissac's son, very godly and honest, whom I have always
judged fitter than any other I know." This was written in January 1562,
and shows that Buchanan was at that time about the Court and in the way
of employment, though he was not then chosen as confidential messenger
between the two queens. A little later he is visible in the exercise of
his old vocation as the tutor of Mary herself. "The Queen readeth daily
after her dinner," says the same careful narrator, "instructed by a
learned man, Mr. George Buchanan, somewhat of Lyvie." These few words
set before us a curious scene. Mary at the height of her good
resolutions and good beginning, keeping up her literature as well as all
her pleasures, her hunting, her riding, her music, her embroideries, all
the accomplishments of her royal training--makes a delightful picture.
She had the habit of working with her needle like a