Page:History of England (Froude) Vol 10.djvu/79

 1572.] THE D UKE OF NORFOLK. 59 to go outside the castle door, ' she plunged over her shoes into the snow.' l Untamed and intractable as the eagle of her own mountains, she pined for liberty ; and there was but one price which she would not pay for it. Sweet as was the air, and the open sky, and freedom, the hope of revenge was sweeter. Could she even then have abandoned her conspiracies, accepted the friendship which she affected to desire, and ceased to dream of revolutions, a few years, a few months perhaps, would have seen her clear of all her troubles. But it was not in her nature to submit : her proud spirit would sooner break than bend, and she could not part with the visions of triumph on which she had feasted in imagination so luxuriously. The strictness of the watch over her was no sooner relaxed, than Shrewsbury found her again bribing his servants, smuggling letters out of the house to her friends abroad busy incessantly at the old work. The net had to be drawn tight again. Her people were briefly told, that if there was more of such work they would be sent to London and hanged ; 2 and ' the Lady ' had to fall back upon her ' stormy manners and threat- enings ; ' ' never so unquiet since Shrewsbury had the care of her.' The Earl understood her character at last. He c so deciphered her doings,' that she exhausted the respect which he had long continued to entertain for her. One gpod effect resulted from her eternal rest- lessness she had made the Catholic Shrewsbury loyal 1 Shrewsbury to Burghley, Feb* ruary 14 : MSS. QUEEN OF SCOTS. 2 Shrewsbury to Burghley, Feb- ruary 24.