A parliament met at Edinburgh, to compose the national disorders; but a scene of tumult and out rage ensued. The partisans of Arran and Angus had a fierce encounter in the High-street, seventy were slain, and Arran, with his defeated followers, fled to Stirling.
Though Albany was reluctantly detained in France,' he was not inattentive to the interests of Scotland. He concluded a treaty of perpetual alliance between the kingdoms, which was the basis of the subsequent con nexions between them, and to the latter so fatal. And, to strengthen the interests of his party, the king of France sent a splendid embassy into Scotland. An. envoy from Albany succeeded in effecting a reconci liation between the queen and the regent. He also left that country for Scotland, and, upon his arrival, was joined by the queen, receiving the keys of the castle, and the charge of the young king's person.
Angus and his adherents fled to the borders, and had recourse to the expedients of circulating a report of an intended marriage between Albany and the queen, and of a design upon the young king's life, with the view of aspiring to the crown. These accu sations were listened to by the English court; and Henry, affecting to consider the regent as the vassal of France, prepared for war. The fugitive Angus hovered about the frontiers in suspense. Albany con sented to pardon him, on condition that he should exile himself to France. He accordingly passed over to France; but returned in two years after to Scot land, and successfully combated all the efforts of the queen and the regent.
The war which was about to open with England, hastened the downfall of the regent's authority. Hen ry had expressed his determination to drive him from the government; and addressed a remonstrance to the Scottish parliament, accompanied with a declaration of war if his desire was not complied with. A squa dron of seven English ships was sent to the Frith of Forth; a few maritime towns and villages were de stroyed; and the English retired, after encountering some opposition from the Scots.
Disappointed in her ambitious views, the queen began to waver in her attachment to Albany, and cor responded with Lord Dacre. The English cabinet
issued a proclamation for a general arming through the northern counties, of which the Earl of Shrews bury was constituted lieutenant-general. An ineffec tual attempt was made to negotiate a truce, and one of the most effective and best appointed armies that the Scots had ever mustered, took the field, and ad vanced to the frontiers.
Fortunately for England the Scottish army, though reported to be eighty thousand strong,wanted a leader; for Albany was not a soldier. The Scots had not for gotten the disasters at Flodden. After an interview with Lord Dacre, the regent consented to disband his army. But as the pacification might be offensive to the French monarch, Albany resolved to sail to France to apologize, and to solicit a supply of troops, money, and stores.
The government was intrusted to Beaton the chan cellor, Huntly, Argyll, and Arran. Being apprised of his departure, the English despatched an envoy into Scotland to examine and report the state of par ties, and to complain of Albany; but the lords of the regency returned an evasive answer, and Henry in structed the Earl of Surrey to invade Scotland, who, at the head of ten thousand men, ravaged Merse, Te viotdale, and the adjacent country. Meantime the queen and Surrey were engaged in private negotia tion. Margaret was detached from the French party, and engaged in the English interest. But the regent's sudden arrival disconcerted these projects. He ar rived in the Clyde with an armament of four thousand French infantry, and, in order to atone for the dis grace of his former campaign, he instigated the no bles to revenge the misfortunes of Flodden. An army of sixty thousand was speedily assembled, with which he marched to chastise the enemy; but upon Surrey's approach, Albany ordered a retreat, and his army, infected with his pusillanimity, fled.
This was a fatal blow to Albany's interest, and he resolved to take his final leave of a country, in which he had experienced only mortification and disgrace.