Page:History of England (Froude) Vol 9.djvu/512

 498 REIGN OF ELfZABETH. [CH. 56. same as to resolve what to do. Alva, it was seen, disapproved Eidolfi's method, briefly indicating another of his own ; and in the council chamber at Madrid, to which Philip returned from Aranjuez in the beginning of July, there was held a remarkable discussion, the notes of which were preserved, though not intended for the curious eyes of mankind a discussion first on the fitness, and then on the feasibility, of murdering the Queen of England. The assassination of political enemies has an ugly sound, and in later and calmer times men of all beliefs and parties have agreed in one opinion about it Yet, in the first place, it does not differ so very widely from a practice still in use in our dependencies, of offering a reward for the body of troublesome persons, whether quick or dead ; and secondly, in that passionate 1 6th century it was not peculiar to creed or nation. Catholics profess abhor- rence of the murder of Beton in Scotland. Protestants retort with effect by pointing to the Regent Murray, the Prince of Orange, and the black butchery of St Bar- tholomew. But both Protestants and Catholics might well drop their mutual reproaches ; their sin was the sin of their age, the natural refuge of men who were driven desperate by difficulties which fair means would not clear away for them. Lord Sussex, in Ireland, would have murdered Shan O'JNeil. Cecil, a few pages back, was seen treating with some villain for the death of the Earl of Westmoreland: In this meeting of Philip's Cabinet there was the most profound impression that they could invite the blessing of God upon the