Page:History of England (Froude) Vol 11.djvu/412

396 REIGN OF ELIZABETH. [CH. 66. Arden said nothing to forbid him. Then he took his friends into confidence ; he told them he was going to London ' to shoot the Queen with his dagg, and he hoped to see her head set upon a pole, for she was a serpent and a viper.' 1 Though Guise's emissary had failed, there was no real difficulty. The only requisite was courage. Never was princess more easy of access than Elizabeth, or more entirely regardless of the dangers to which she knew that she was exposed. Nor was escape, though unlikely, at all impossible. There was a danger, of course, of being killed upon the spot, but the Royal Household was full of friends of the Queen of Scots, who might try to please her by saving her champion. Half the Babing- ton conspirators were connected with the Palace. Even Hatton the spoilt and petted Hatton though not false to his mistress, had a second loyalty for the lady who was likely to succeed her, and had sent Mary Stuart word that on the instant of Elizabeth's death he would go down to Sheffield with the guard and take charge of her person. 2 Sornerville had studied Jaureguy's exploit, and notwithstanding his fate, imitated him in his pre- parations. He too assumed an Agnus Dei for an amulet, and confessed and received the sacrament from Father 1 Examination of R. Cross, Tho- mas Sanders and others, before John Doyley of Merton, October, 1583: MSS. Domestic. 2 ' Hatton luy a faict divers bons offices, luy offrant par la Coutesse de Shrewsbury que la Reyne d'An- gleterre venant a decoder, il seroit prest de venir trouver la Reyne d'Escosse avec la garde.' MS. en- dorsed ' Nau's private notes of re- miniscences,' November, 1584: MSS. MART QUEEN OF SCOTS.