man that hath showed himself against her at this time." She pardoned all
burgesses of Edinburgh, and was ready to receive the Congregation to her
grace, if they would put away the traitor Lethington, Balnaves, and some
others. {161a} Knox, however, says that she gave the houses of the most
honest men to the French. The Regent was now very ill; graviter
aegrotat, say Francis and Mary (Dec. 4, 1559). {161b}

The truth is that the Cause of Knox, far from being desperate, as for an
hour it seemed to the faint-hearted, had never looked so well. Cecil and
the English Council saw that they were committed; their gift of money was
known, they must bestir themselves. While they had "nourished the
garboil" in Scotland, fanned the flame, they professed to believe that
France was aiming, through Scotland, at England. They arranged for a
large levy of forces at Berwick; they promised money without stint: and
Cecil drew up the paper adopted, as I conceive, by the brethren in their
Latin appeal to all Christian princes. The Scots were to say that they
originally took arms in defence of their native dynasty (the Hamiltons),
Mary Stuart having no heirs of her body, and France intending to annex
Scotland--which was true enough, but was not the cause of the rising at
Perth. That England is also aimed at is proved by the fact that Mary and
Francis, on the seal of Scotland, quarter the arms of England. Knox
himself had seen, and had imparted the fact to Cecil, a jewel on which
these fatal heraldic pretensions were made. The Queen is governed by
"the new authority of the House of Guise." In short, Elizabeth must be
asked to intervene for these political reasons, not in defence of the
Gospel, and large preparations for armed action in Scotland were
instantly made. Meanwhile Cecil's sketch of the proper manifesto for the
Congregation to make, was embodied in Lethington's instructions (November
24) from the Congregation, as well as adapted in their Latin appeal to
Christian princes.