n
to grow great in Court," becoming French Secretary at the end of the
year. By June 3, 1565, Randolph is found styling Riccio "only governor"
to Darnley. His career might have rivalled that of the equally low-born
Cardinal Alberoni, but for the daggers of Moray's party.

In the General Assembly of June 1564, Moray, Morton, Glencairn, Pitarro,
Lethington, and other Lords of the Congregation held aloof from the
brethren, but met the Superintendents and others to discuss the recent
conduct of our Reformer, who was present. He was invited, by Lethington,
to "moderate himself" in his references to the Queen, as others might
imitate him, "albeit not with the same modesty and foresight," for
Lethington could not help bantering Knox. Knox, of course, rushed to his
doctrine of "idolatry" as provocative of the wrath of God--we have heard
of the bad harvest, and the frost in January. It is not worth while to
pursue in detail the discourses, in which Knox said that the Queen
rebelled against God "in all the actions of her life." Ahab and Jezebel
were again brought on the scene. It profited not Lethington to say that
all these old biblical "vengeances" were "singular motions of the Spirit
of God, and appertain nothing to our age." If Knox could have understood
_that_, he would not have been Knox. The point was intelligible;
Lethington perceived it, but Knox never chose to do so. He went on with
his isolated texts, Lethington vainly replying "the cases are nothing
alike." Knox came to his old stand, "the idolater must die the death,"
and the executioners must be "the people of God." Lethington quoted many
opinions against Knox's, to no purpose, opinions of Luther, Melanchthon,
Bucer, Musculus, and Calvin, but our Reformer brought out the case of
"Amasiath, King of Judah," and "The Apology of Magdeburg." As to the
opinion of Calvin and the rest he drew a distinction. They had only
spoken of the godly who were suffering under oppression, not of the godly
triumphant in a commonwealth. He forgot, or did not choose to remember,
a previous decision of his own, as we shall see.

When the rest of the party were discussing the question, Makgill, Clerk
Register, reminded them of their previous debate in November 1561, when
{240} Knox, after secretly writing to Calvin, had proposed to write to
him for his opinion about the Queen's Mass, and Lethington had promised
to do so himself. But Lethington now said that, on later reflect