Page:The Queens of England.djvu/420

 378 THE QUEENS OF ENGLAND. . the king, she ventured to do more than insinuate her disbelief that the harshness exercised towards her originated with his majesty, and concluded by stating that if not permitted to have the rites of her own church celebrated beneath her roof, no power should induce her to suffer those of any other. It is not to be wondered at that the health of Mary, for many years delicate, became gravely injured by the mental disqui- etude to which she was subjected ; and her enemies, taking ad- vantage of her weak state, propagated reports of her infirmi- ties, in order to induce a belief of her utter unfitness to fill the throne should the death of the king leave it vacant. Edward had lately suffered much from bad health, and this led those around him to reflect on the probable result of his languor. The intercourse between the king and Mary, owing to their religious differences, was neither frequent nor unconstrained, and a better proof of Edward's alienation from her could not be given than his naming his cousin the Lady Jane Grey to succeed him on the throne. But if alienated from Mary by the difference in their faith, and the dread of the change in religion which her accession to the throne would effect, no such reasons could be alleged for his passing over his sister Elizabeth's claims which gives just cause to believe that in taking this step he was influenced by a fear that the marriage of either of the princesses with a foreigner might impair the laws and liberty of the nation. The death of Edward did not put an end to the machinations of the enemies of Mary. They concealed his demise, and a letter written by the council, as if by the king's desire, stating his extreme illness and requesting her presence, imposed on by this artifice, she set out to join the king; when at Hoddesdon she received private intelligence of the death of Edward, and was warned of the scheme to entrap and convey her a prisoner to the Tower. She, after some reflection turned from her intended course, bent her way towards Cambridge- shire, and arriving late at the portal of Sawston Hall, the seat of Mr. Huddlestone, she sought and found admission. The hospitality of this gentleman is the more to be valued, as it was extended at no inconsiderable risk to himself, a fact of which he was well aware. The next morning at early dawn she pursued her route, and had proceeded to the Gogmagog Hills, where drawing rein, she looked back and saw Sawston Hall in flames. A large party from Cambridge, opposed to her claims, attacked Sawston Hall, and having pillaged it, re- duced it to ashes bv fire. Fortunate was it for Marv that her