1564.] THE EMBASSY OF DE SILVA. 233 Before this letter reached Scotland Maitland had be- come disposed to receive it in the spirit in which it was written. He had expressed his regret to Randolph for having ' meddled ' with English Catholic conspirators ; he was drawing off from the dangerous policy to which he appeared to have committed himself ; and Randolph, who a month before had been more afraid of him than of any man in Scotland, wrote on the 1 6th of December, the date of Cecil's despatch, that 'he never thought better of him than at that moment/ 1 So anxious Maitland seemed to be to recover ^55. the confidence of the English Government, that Janu 7- except for the opposition which he continued to offer when opposition had become dangerous to the Darnley marriage, it might have been thought that he was in league with Mary to throw Elizabeth off her guard. His motives must in part remain obscure. He had perhaps become acquainted with Darnley in England, and had foreseen the consequences if a youth of such a tempera- ment came in too close contact with his mistress. Per- haps too he had never meant to do more than play with poisoned tools ; and withdrew when he saw that Eliza- beth would not be frightened with them. But an obvious reason for Maitland's change of posture was to be frmnrl in the new advice and the new-advisers that were finding favour withjthe Uueen~oT^Scots. Two years before, M. de "Slofet, the ambassador from Savoy, had brought in bis suite to Mary Stuart's Court an Italian named David Rizzio. The youth he was about thirty became a Randolph to Cecil, December 16 : MS. Ibid.
