Page:History of England (Froude) Vol 11.djvu/333

 1583] THE JESUITS IN SCOTLAND, 317 She affected to throw the fault upon her secretary, but said at last frankly, that she had been hardly treated, and under severe provocation impatient words might have escaped her. It was not Beale's object to press her further. It was enough that he had shown that Elizabeth possessed dangerous matter against her, and was aware, at least in some degree, of the present conspiracy. Then passing to herself, he asked her what she desired. She said at once, that she desired liberty, an end of her imprison- ment, and permission to go where she would. To ob- tain this, she was ready still to accept all the conditions which had been before submitted to her. She would ratify the treaty of Edinburgh for herself and her son, her son possessing no rights save those which he de- rived from herself. She would bind herself never in any way to molest her Majesty, never to deal with Pope, Jesuits, or seminary priests, or attempt to change the established religion ; and she would give any other as- surance which her Majesty desired. She was ready to engage also, that if the Queen died leaving the suc- cession undetermined, she would not seek her right by force, but would leave it to be orderly settled by Par- liament. 1 Her manner was so warm that Beale was really satisfied of her sincerity. In a letter to Walsingham, he intimated his conviction that she had ceased to be ambitious, that she wished only to live in quiet for the Beale to the Queen, April 16, 1583 : MSS. MABY QUEEN OF Scoiu