Series 1 > Papal negotiations with Mary Queen of Scots during her reign in Scotland, 1561-1567

283
1566] § VIII. LAUREO’S NUNCIATURE
time. The ‘ hand of the Lord is not shortened,’ and aided by the Pope’s
holy prayers and prudent pious rule, nihil desperandum nobis est.
[5] As soon as I received your eminence’s letters with the indulgences of
the Pope, I set addresses on the letters to the two archbishops of Scotland,
and presented the one to the Archbishop of Glasgow, the ambassador,
and with it four bulls (the number he asked for) to send to his diocese
and to his suffragans; and at his persuasion I sent nine to the Arch¬
bishop of St. Andrews, together with your second letter, along with
which I sent one of my own, of which you shall have a copy enclosed. I
did not fail to exhort the said ambassador to persuade the queen to
gain the pardon of this most holy jubilee in company with the king her
consort. This would be both for the salvation of their Majesties, would
give courage and good example to their Catholic subjects to celebrate it,
and might even induce some of the adverse faction not to refuse it. The
said archbishop, who is a man of fervent zeal and considerable power,
promised to write earnestly to the queen about it. So too did the
Bishop of Dunblane, who has orders from the queen to wait here to
accompany me to Scotland. For although there is no public church
in the country for the Catholics, nor even for the queen, there are
nevertheless many private chapels, in which the holy jubilee may be
conveniently kept. So too the baptism of the prince is not to be
celebrated in a public church, but in the royal chapel of Stirling.
[6] From the last letter of your eminence to Monsignor Nuncio, I
have understood the holy Father’s order, that the said Monsignor
should present those briefs, in which his Holiness, in terms eloquent of
piety and zeal, exhorts their Majesties to cause the Council [of Trent] to
be accepted at least for the reformation of the clergy, in order that the
good life and example of the ecclesiastics may give occasion to the
heretics not only to stop blasphemy and abuse, but also to return to the
truth with God’s aid. Therefore as I desire to carry out in every thing
the wishes of his Holiness, I shall go to the court within two days from
this by agreement with the nuncio. The more so as their Majesties are
said to be going to Gaillon by the river, and will pass near here. I shall
then present my briefs, which conclude in much the same strain as those
above mentioned.
[7] I shall not wait for further orders from your eminence, though I
wrote to you that I would wait, for your last were common to my fellow-
nuncio and myself. Although I have long delayed to do reverence to
their Majesties, this waiting has done no harm, since, from the time of
my arrival in this city, they have always been abroad amusing themselves,
now to one place, now to another, with very small retinue, showing that
they have as yet no desire to receive visits. And after having fulfilled
my duty to their Majesties, I shall go to see the Cardinal of Lorraine at
Rheims, who in the aforesaid letter to me showed himself desirous of
speaking with me. And I shall remain with his eminence as long as I
think necessary for the affairs of Scotland. Herewith I kiss your