Page:History of England (Froude) Vol 7.djvu/207

 ^564.] THE EMBASSY OF DE SILVA. 187 Bothwell was too loyal to his mistress to betray her ; but the cage door was not opened. More than a year ^ had passed since his arrest, and he was still detained, without right or shadow of right, a prisoner in the Tower. At length, however, Mary Stuart pleaded so loudly for him that Elizabeth could not refuse. In the midst pf the marriage discussion the Queen of Scots asked as a favour what if she had pleased she could have demanded as a right. Bothwell was let go, and made his way into - France. This object secured, Mary Stuart addressed herself more seriously to the larger matter. The Emperor, sup- ported by the Cardinal of Lorraine, was still pressing the Archduke Charles upon her, and to make the offer more welcome he proposed to settle <5n his son an allowance of two million francs a year. But the Archduke Charles <- was half a Protestant, and was unwelcome to the English Catholics. At the end of February she sent her secre- tary to Graiivelle to explain the reasons which obliged her to refuse the Austrian alliance, and to learn conclus- ively whether she had anything to hope from Spain. 1 If the Prince of Spain failed, her friends in England wished that she should marry LordJDarnley. She now proposed to play with the position, to affect submission, to induce the Queen of England herself, if possible, to propose Darnley to her ; and by accepting him with de- causar division eritre la de Escocia y I De Quadra to Philip, April 24, Milord James y los demas Protes- tantes, le ha hecho venir aqui, donde sera examinado y bien guardado. Este es evangelic que aqui se usa.' 1563 : MS. Simancas. 1 Mary Stuart to Granvelle : LABANOFF, vol. i. p. 200.