Page:History of England (Froude) Vol 7.djvu/481

1566.] THE MURDER OF DARNLEY. 461 she might have succeeded in controlling ; but the Commons were in a more dangerous humour. They were prepared for a storm when they commenced the debate ; and they were not disposed to be lectured into submission. The next day Cecil rose in his place : the Queen, he said, had desired him to tell them that she was displeased, first, that the succession question should have been raised in that House without her consent having been first asked ; and secondly, because ' by the publication abroad of the necessity of the matter/ and the danger to the realm if it was left longer un- decided, the responsibility of the refusal was thrown entirely upon her Majesty. The ' error/ she was ready to believe, had risen chiefly from want of thought, and she was ready to overlook it. For the matter itself her Highness thought that by her promises to marry she had rather deserved thanks than to be troubled with any new petition. ' The word of a prince spoken in a public place' should have been taken as seriously meant; and if her Majesty had before told them that she was unwilling, they should have been more ready to believe her when she said that she had made up her mind. Time and opportunity would prove her Majesty's sincerity, and it was unkind to suppose that she would fail in producing children. Loyal subjects should hope the best. Her Majesty had confidence in God's goodness ; and except for the assurance that she would have an heir, she would not marry at all. On this point she required the Houses to accept her word. For the succession she was not surprised at their uneasiness ;