Page:History of England (Froude) Vol 9.djvu/113

 1569.] THE RISING OF THE NORTH, 99 loyalty, and with the advice of Huntingdon himself, she consented. 1 Again therefore there was an anxious considera- tion of the steps to be taken ; and again, the private papers of Cecil reveal the most secret thoughts of the Court. One short road there was. The past reigns afforded many precedents for the treatment of pre- tenders to the crown. The Queen ' might do that which in other times kings and princes had done by justice- take the Queen of Scots' life from her ; ' 2 or, if this was too severe a measure, she might keep Jier in strait prison till her health failed and she died, as poor Catherine Grey had died. But ' her Majesty,' who had shown no pity to the innocent wife of Lord Hertford, affected to ' dread the slander to herself and the realm ; ' she found ' her disposition was to show clemency, and she would not by imprisonment or otherwise use that avenge.' There remained therefore three possibilities : either to keep her in England as the unwilling guest of Lord Shrewsbury, prevented from escaping, but with no further restrictions upon her enjoyments and her ex- ercise ; or to let her go to France ; or, finally, to send her back to Scotland as a prisoner. The second could not be thought of. ' It was in France that she did first pretend and publish her title 1 ' Han quitado al Conde 2e Huntingdon dc la guarda de la de Escocia quo sera ya gran comodidad. La guarda del Conde de Shrewsbury Ho siendo tan estreclia hay grande comodidad de darle libertad.' Don Guerau to Philip, November 20 : MSS. Simancas. 2 Notes in Cecil's hand, October, 1569 : Cotton. MSS. B.M.