Page:History of England (Froude) Vol 7.djvu/234

214 REIGN OF ELIZABETH. r CH . 43. with Lady Lennox to procure liberty for him to go to Scotland/ Elizabeth was not deceived, but she chose to blind herself. Clinging to her favourite scheme, she allowed a legal opinion to be drawn out in favour of the Scottish title. She promised Melville that when Parliament met she would again protect his mistress's interests. The poor Archduke was to be once more cast overboard ; she undertook to bind herself never to marry unless f neces- sitated by her sister's hard behaviour ; ' and last of all- as the strongest evidence which she could give that she was acting in good faith she risked the discontent which would inevitably be provoked, and postponed the Parliament till the spring or the following autumn. Randolph, who had been detained on Melville's arrival, was sent off to tell Mary that ( the tragedy created by her letter had turned into comedy ; ' the Queen of Eng- land would consent with pleasure to the proposed meet- ing of commissioners ; and meanwhile ' contrary to the expectation and desire of her people, contrary to the disposition of no small number of her council and also to some detriment of herself for her own private lucre, by the intention of her people to have gratified her with some subsidy her Majesty had by proclamation pro- longed her Parliament that should have been even now begun in October : meaning of purpose to have no as- sembly wherein the interests of her sister might be brought in question until it were better considered that no harm might thereof ensue to her, and that her Majesty and the Queen of Scots might have further