Page:History of England (Froude) Vol 9.djvu/518

REIGN OF ELIZABETH. [CH. 56. person, perhaps pretending some commission such as he had been sent upon before, and then and there cut the knot of all difficulties. 1 The Lords would have a force in readiness to support him. The Queen of Scots would be safe with Lord Shrewsbury : the Countess was a Catholic, and conducted that Queen's secret correspond- ence^ The Catholics would then everywhere rise, Alva would cross the Channel, and the revolution would be over before the French had recovered from their first astonishment. The date of this notable conference agreed nearly with that of Cecil's saddest letter to Walsingham. Not with- out reason, Cecil believed that England's supreme hour of trial was drawing near, and but for the accident that the intended bridegroom was as reluctant as the bride, Elizabeth would have selected that particular oppor- tunity for insulting France, and adding another enemy 1 ' A mi conviene comeiKjar por ellos, y matar 6 prender la Reyna que de otra manera luego se casaria y mataria a la de Escocia. El punto principal que prendiesen a la Reyna. Offresce Chapin de prenderla con diez 6 quince hombres en la oasa de placer ; que fuesen con titulo de de- mandar justicia ; que en Londres seria dificultoso. Oifrece de ir a ello en persona. ' Lo que dixo Vitelli que pues el pone la vida, bien se entendera que no le mueve interesse. . . . que el efecto se ha de hacer yendo la Reyna en progreso, y en ninguna manera en Londres, porque alii es la heregia. ' James Graffs (Crofts) es bombre para el efecto. Que en caso que se baya de bacerlo en progreso serian convenientes Montague y . . . . y on casa de algunos de los caballeros, y bastaran, seys, siendo luego asis- tidos de otra geute : que ellos estan resueltos en despacbar a la Reyna. Tienen a Clinton y James Crofts, Windsor, Lumley, Montague, South- ampton, St John, Arundel, "Wor- cester.' Lo que se platico en consejo sobre las cosas de Inglaterra en Ma- drid, Sabado 7 de Julio, 1576 : HfSS. Simancas. 2 l Por medio della van y vienen las cartas y avisos.'