Page:History of England (Froude) Vol 9.djvu/204

190 REIGN OF ELIZABETH. [CH. 53. assure you he shall be largely rewarded.' 'If this enterprise cannot take effect, then her Majesty would he should make offer of money to some in Scotland for apprehending of them, and whatever you shall warrant him to offer, not being above zooo/., it shall be per- formed ; her Majesty is very desirous to have these noysome vermin taken.' 1 ' The less the sum be/ wrote Sadler, in sending the order on to Constable, ' the better service shall you do, and the greater will be your own reward. Her Majesty doth take your services in good and thankful part ; her Highness's pleasure is that you proceed in that you have begun.' 2 But Elizabeth was not permitted to soil her fame with successful treachery. Before Constable could re- turn to his villain work, a darker treason had struck a nobler victim ; and in the outburst of anarchy which followed in Scotland, she learnt the lesson which Huns- don had laboured in vain to teach her. The Earl of Murray was as conscious as Cecil that the interests of Scotland and England could not be separated. It was as essential to the stability of the throne of Elizabeth that his own Regency should be maintained, as it was to himself that the Catholic noble- men should fail in their intended revolution. With a fair understanding he was ready to brave unpopularity, and to assist her by repressing the sympathizers with the Earls, if she in turn would support him against the 1 Cecil to Sadler, January 18 : I 2 Sadler to Constable, January Sadler Papery vol. ii. ' 23 Sadler Papers, vol. ii.