Page:History of England (Froude) Vol 9.djvu/530

 516 REIGN OF ELIZABETH. [CH. 56. King in the credulous flush of excitement which fol- lowed the resolution of the Cabinet on the 7th of July. The murder of Elizabeth had been decided upon, tho instrument chosen and sent upon his errand. England was to be recovered to the Church and the penitent Hawkins was accepted as the first fruit of the national conversion. The letters of the Queen of Scots removed every doubt that remained. The sailor cap- tives were set at liberty and sent back to their country each with ten dollars in his pocket to atone for his sufferings. Fitzwilliam was introduced to the Cabi- net, and explained at length his master's views. Sir John Hawkins, he said, was struck with horror at the condition to which his country was reduced. Heresy and tyranny were alone dominant there in frightful combination, and the Queen of Scots was the only hope that good men saw remaining. She had so many friends that if the King of Spain would but say the word the work of raising her to the throne could be done with ease and safety. Sir John himself had but to sail up the Humber with half-a-dozen ships, land the crews and proclaim her Queen, and the whole nation would declare for her. Mary Stuart in her letter to Philip had said, after all, less than Hawkins wished, and had confined herself to generalities. Fitzwilliam explained her reserve by saying that he had himself seen and spoken with her, and she had told him to say that her correspondence was watched and that she dared not write more than a few words. Hawkins himself however, Fitzwilliam