Page:History of England (Froude) Vol 10.djvu/32

12 REIGN OF ELIZABEl^H. [CH. 57. in sharper contrast with Mary Stuart's than at this moment of their common danger. The Queen of Scots replied, in her own most haughty style, ' that she had come to England as a free Princess relying upon pro- mises which had been repeatedly made to her, and instead of friendship and hospitality she had found a prison. It was true, therefore, that she had applied to the King of Spain to replace her on her own throne. Those who said that she had done more were false villains and lied in their throats. The Duke of Nor- folk was the Queen of England's subject, and for him she had nothing to say. For herself, she was a free Princess, the Queen of 'England's equal, and was answer- able neither to her nor to any other person/ In Lord Shrewsbury's presence she called her secretary to her, and bade him go tell the King of France how he had seen her treated. She wrote to Cecil to say that she had loyally kept to the engagements into which she had entered with him and Sir Walter Mildmay, and was ill rewarded for her good faith. She wrote to La Mothe that her life was in danger. If his master in- tended to move in her behalf, he must do it then or never. She took leave of her dismissed attendants as if she was never to see them more, and she asked for a priest to prepare her for the death which she professed to expect. 1 Neither anger nor pathos moved Shrewsbury, who, 1 Mary Stuart to La Mothe, September 8, September 18; to Cecil, September 9 : to the Arch- bishop of Glasgow, September 18 LABANOFF, vol. iii.