Page:History of England (Froude) Vol 5.djvu/398

378 At all events, however, sufficient evidence had been obtained in the opinion of the Court for the committal of the Princess to the Tower. On the day of Wyatt's trial, the council met, but separated without a resolution; on Friday, the 16th, Elizabeth was examined before them in person, and when she withdrew, Gardiner required that she should be sent to the Tower instantly. Paget, supported by Sussex, Hastings, and Cornwallis, said that there was no evidence to justify so violent a measure. Which of you, then, said Gardiner, with dexterous ingenuity, will be reponsible for the safe keeping of her person?

The guardian of Elizabeth would be exposed to a hundred dangers and a thousand suspicions; the Lords answered that Gardiner was conspiring their destruction. No one could be found courageous enough to undertake the charge, and they gave their reluctant consent to his demand. The same night Elizabeth's attendants were removed, a hundred soldiers were picketed in the garden below her window, and on Saturday morning the Marquis of Winchester and Lord Sussex waited on her to communicate her destination, and to attend her to a barge.