242 REIGN OF ELIZABETH. [CH. 54. beth would be unable to refuse. And she would then lose the chance of exacting conditions for her own security. In the anarchy which followed the murder of Mur- ray, the English fugitives were undisturbed upon the Border. Leonard Dacres joined them after his defeat, and the Earl of Westmoreland, with all the help which the Buccleuchs, the Homes, the Kers, and the Maxwells could give him, was threatening to return into Eng- land and rekindle the insurrection. Scotland was with- out a Government which could either restrain them or be held responsible to Elizabeth ; and unless Elizabeth was roused at last to a more definite policy, it was not unlikely that Chatelherault might be accepted as Regent by all parties, and the young Prince be sent across to Paris. To prevent this at least, to keep the Protestant leaders together, yet still without power to take the one step which would have recovered their confidence, Randolph at the beginning of Februarv came February. down to Edinburgh. He was sent, as he bit- terly said to Cecil, to feed an angry and anxious party
- with bare words.' On the instant of his arrival he was
beset with questions as ' to what was to be done with the Queen of Scots.' He found those from whom he most expected support, possessed with a conviction ' that she would some time be sent home against their will ; ' and he was forced to see that ' until they could be assured that it should pass her power to do them evil, there could be no good assurance of their hearts towards England/ l Bandolph to Cecil, February 7, February 22 : M8S. Scotland.
