Page:History of England (Froude) Vol 9.djvu/290

 276 REIGN- OF ELIZABETH. [CH. 54. would make her sit upon her tail and whine' like a whipped hound. 1 Maitland had to find to his sorrow that he had seen less deeply than he supposed ; but if Elizabeth was mis- leading her enemies, she was misleading her friends also. She had spread such a mist about herself and her intentions, that those who knew her best could not tell what to look for at her hands. In Scotland the ferment was fast increasing. A French fleet was daily expected at Dumbarton, bringing, arms and money, if not men. Morton refused to accept the palliatives which were offered him by Sussex. He insisted on communicating immediately with Elizabeth, and sent the Commendator of Dumfermline to London to demand a straightforward explanation. He declined for himself and his friends to accept the blame which she affected to throw upon him. She was herself, he said, the original cause of the whole trouble by breaking the promises which she had made to the Earl of Murray at Westminster, and by refusing afterwards to publish to the world the evidence of the Queen of Scots' guilt. She must now come forward publicly on the King's side and supply them with money and men, or they ' would not run her course ' any longer. 2 Dumfermline, as he passed through Berwick, told Sussex the nature of his message. Sussex could but add to it ' that the Queen must decide quickly 1 Sussex to Cecil, May 12, May 1 7 ; Sussex to Elizabeth, May 1 7 : MSS. Scotland. tor of Dumfermline. Sent by the Earls of Morton, Mar, and Glencairn to the Queen of England, May I : Instructions to the Commenda- 1 MSS. Scotland.