THE BLACK PRINCE'S RUBY. l6l
husband
was Robert Dudley. The Scottish queen was considerably amazed at this
proposal, and not a little annoyed at being offered for her consort a
subject of such mean descent as the handsome Robert. However she did
not say nay, and Melville was sent to London to negotiate the marriage.
He stayed nine days at the court of Elizabeth and has given most vivid
pictures of that great Queen. He found her intensely jealous of Mary's
superior personal attractions and pressed the envoy hard to say which
had the most beautiful hair. She also resorted to a childish trick to
show him how well she could play on the virginals. She likewise danced
for him, detaining him two whole days for the purpose, and his comment
upon this performance is historic : " I said, ' My queen danced not so
high or disposedly as she did.' " All this and much more the canny
Scotsman tells us about what he saw and said and did during his nine
days visit.
One evening the Queen took him into her
