Series 3 > Scottish correspondence of Mary of Lorraine

262 THE SCOTTISH CORRESPONDENCE OF
Valois imperialistic ambitions were clearly soaring accord¬
ing as England became prostrate. It is little wonder,
then, that the end of the war brought no emancipation
to the house of Hamilton. Scotsmen, it is true, played
their part in the capture of Droughty, the last conquest of
the war ; but the land was eventually cleared of the
invader in virtue of a peace which was not of their making.
Warwick, who had supplanted Protector Somerset,
overthrew the policy of his predecessor. For his own
ends he abandoned the Scottish enterprise, and sold
Boulogne to Henry n., who, on his side, had likewise
strong personal reasons to desire a peace. The Scottish
war was a severe financial drain; the opponents of the House
of Guise objected to the expenditure of French men and
money to promote the ambition of that already powerful
family ; with the election of Julius in., the new Pope, the
King’s apprehensions of the Emperor were revived ; and
he could secure no further personal advantage from the
maintenance of hostilities. Scotland was accordingly
comprehended in the Treaty of Boulogne, concluded
between Edward vi. and Henry n. in March 1550. The
news of the ‘ pece betuix Ingland and us ’ was brought,
significantly enough, by a Frenchman, on 16th April.1
Leslie tells that the publication of the ‘ Concorde ’ made all
hearts ‘ blyth and glade.’ 2 It was, indeed, a peace for
which the weary country might be grateful, but no Scots¬
man truly proud. Men might well fear that this was a
gift of the Greeks, and look askance upon each other, in
doubt as to the value of the gift and the altruism of the
giver.
1 T.A. ix. 393. The comprehension of Scotland was proclaimed in Edin¬
burgh on 20th April, and accepted by Edward vi. bn 15th May 1550. (P.C.
i. 85 ; Inventory of Treaties with England, Register House, 50.)
2 Leslie (Scottish Text Society), ii. 332.