“The next morning was employed in the reading of letters as on the preceding day, for the most part concerning the displacing of the Queen of England by foreigners; the intercourse of Her Majesty with Christian princes, and her deliverance from prison, all of which had been already discussed. Her Majesty said if they wished to deliver her from prison she was willing, but she did not know the means by which they might proceed; that her hands were tied, she could do nothing. Many times she had proposed an agreement for the utility and profit of her kingdom. She had advanced these offers so far that she had been suspected and blamed by the Christian princes and in danger of excommunication, having done more and offered more than was approved of, and what in reality was contrary to Catholic interests; that she had often submitted on condition that they would finish on their side what had been proposed, but they refused her offers, so her submission was conceded. She tried to do what she could for the best, and appealed to Beale, Mildmay, Sir Ralph Sadler, and the gentlemen of the Council, as witnesses; also Somers, if he had been present. All had to do with her affairs; she had often warned them of what might happen, as she was not responsible, and she had told them if anything happened they would blame her; but foreseeing all that, she had repudiated responsibility long ago.
“When the commissioners read, and wondered at her confession of correspondence, she silenced them by telling them it was not their business to speak of the affairs of princes. Did they not understand that princes had secret correspondents? and it could not be otherwise. Burghley did not blame her for this, and did not wish to enter into it, but said if such a number of soldiers as was spoken of had come into the country as the King of Spain, the Pope, and M. Guise thought of sending, what opinion would she have had of them, and would she have been willing to answer for the life of the King and the state of the country; and would not the country have been in danger of falling into the hands of foreigners? She said she did not know what were their intentions, but she was certain they might have done something for her, and if she could have employed them she could have formulated some agreement, as she several times offered to do. They ought not thus to reject her, and if they lost her they would experience more harm than profit, and put themselves in danger of what was being done by foreigners. She knew nothing and wished for nothing but her deliverance. Burghley again told her that the death of the Queen and principal lords and councillors had been plotted; that her friends had talked of setting fire to Chartley and killing her guards; they were to enter England by all sides and harbours of the kingdom; that all the Catholics were to rise, were to put Her Majesty in place of Elizabeth; that they already called her their Queen and their Sovereign, and that the Pope had sent bulls to deliver the kingdom from the illegitimate usurper; that they made public prayers in Rome for Her Majesty as their legitimate Queen; that the King of Spain and the Pope furnished ships, men, and money to invade the kingdom; that already there had been a revolt in Ireland which by the grace of God their mistress had subdued, and had had a victory over her enemies. This plot was to take the King of Scotland and give him to foreigners and Catholics in order to dispose of him afterwards, and that Her Majesty had offered her rights to the King of Spain. To all these things he said she was a consenting party, as they found by the letters discovered and read publicly, addressed to Mendoza, Ambassador of Spain, to Lord Paget, who was in Spain, to the Ambassador of France in London, and others. Her Majesty answered that she knew nothing of murder or any attempt against the life of anyone or of a plot or invasion of the kingdom; that as she had already said, she had warned her friends that they must take care lest they undertook some such enterprise. They were doing something, she knew not what; they had always hidden it from her, knowing she would not consent, and they were afraid of doing her harm; that they may have made use of her name to authorise their plan, to render it stronger, but that no letter was found written with her own hand signed, nor could they produce anyone who had seen or received it, or had communicated or spoken with her. Besides, they knew when she was in her kingdom she had never molested anyone about their religion, trying always to win by mildness and clemency. It had been the cause of her ruin, her subjects becoming proud and abusing the good treatment she had given them. They complained that they had not been so well as they had been under her government. They were formerly in the hands of a traitor and tyrant, the Earl of Morton, who had tyrannised over them till the very end. Since the death of Morton they were scarcely any better, having been almost always in subjection to the English, and others who were traitors to their country. Of all that the foreign princes had undertaken or done on her behalf she washed her hands and had nothing to say. As to Chartley, she said she knew nothing; she had not heard of setting fire to it, but they had promised to deliver her, and owned that if the foreign princes had assembled it was to take her out of prison, from which she could not go without armed men to receive, defend, and conduct her; and if the Catholics had offered assistance, it was for their own interests. Being so wickedly treated, vexed, and afflicted in this kingdom, they had fallen into despair, wishing rather to die than live longer under such persecution; but so far as she was concerned, she knew nothing of it. They would be none the better of afflicting either them or her; she was only one person, and although she were dead neither the Catholics nor foreign princes would keep quiet if the English did not cease their persecutions. As regards taking the place of the Queen, the letters they had read in this assembly answered sufficiently for this if they would own it, because they declared expressly that she desired neither honour nor kingdom, and no schemes on her account. She only cared for the Catholics and the kingdom of God. She desired the deliverance of the former and the defence of the latter. They did not see that what they reproached her for was as to her justification, and she proved the contrary of what they laid to her charge, as was evident by the letters. She could not hinder her friends from sending her such letters as seemed good to them; that they knew in their conscience what they had done, but if they spoke as they wished, and desired her to be delivered, she could not blame them; and it was not for her to hinder them. It was not for her to reform the Pope. She thanked him and all Christian people, every nation and Catholic assembly, for the prayers they offered daily for her, and begged them to continue. As to the bull, she had offered to hinder the execution of it, and desired that the Pope should do nothing. Upon which Burghley asked if she had really power to do so; that in England they cared nothing for it, and took no account of the Pope or his doings. She asked them to cease persecuting the Catholics, and she would do much to appease the troubles into which they were in danger of falling. Burghley said that no Catholic had been punished for his religion, to which Her Majesty replied that in all places and every day they were banished and exiled, fugitive and wandering here and there to hide themselves, and the prisons of England were full of them; in short, they were made guilty of treason. Some did not wish to serve or do the behests of the Queen, being contrary and repugnant to their religion; others of them would not recognise the Queen as head of the Church. They had been treated so cruelly that they died, and she could see they wished her also to die by accusing her of things of which she was entirely innocent in order to make out what they had resolved. It was no use troubling her further with these letters and papers, as she would not answer them and they were only wasting their time. It was not for her to render an account of her affairs and the correspondence she had had with Christian princes. She was allied to them and had been under their protection. Burghley said that if it pleased her she could now retire, and they would remain to finish the commission. She replied that she declared herself a faithful and humble servant of Almighty God, ready and willing to obey his commands and those of his Catholic, Apostolic, and Roman Church. It did not belong to them to resist or blame what she did, as she was guided by the Holy Spirit as God had promised to her; that as she was given the title of Queen they must not accuse her for that, since it was not she who took it, but the Catholic Church and the Christian princes who esteemed her legitimate. They knew well that this was her right, although they hid it, making special statutes and laws to meet her case, showing that they thought she could aspire to it, and that their object was to dispossess her as a Catholic princess. They must cease this procedure, for she had made it sufficiently clear that she cared not for it herself, but she would not allow it to be lost for those who came after her. The troubles in Ireland showed it was not for this that they revolted. They knew well they were subject to her. That country never had been peaceable, inasmuch as they wished her for their Queen. A certain book had been published in Ireland by Catholics desiring that the right to the crown should be changed to some other than her because they had little hope that she would get out of prison. She was growing old, sickly, and not likely to live long. As to her son, he belonged to her and the Queen of England, and she could do what seemed best to her; she was sorry they had taken so much care to make a league with him, separating the son from the mother and assisting him against her, and keeping him under the government of young people like Gray, who had been a traitor, and others who knew nothing about the government of a kingdom, furnishing him with money and making him Elizabeth's pensioner. He was ill-advised to let himself be so subject to his enemies on account of money received from them.
Burghley answered that her son was not a pensioner; that his mistress had given him some money in order to get on with; that he had little money, as it was given him to meet his engagements. He said there was no mention of the King of France in the league; that her son had done well to enter into Elizabeth's friendship; that they had always defended him, and Elizabeth liked him, and they had not separated him from his mother. Her Majesty said she knew well all about it. As to the King of Spain, she had great respect for him, and to tell the truth, she had found nobody who had troubled her with such goodwill, and he had often aided her in her affairs, and she relied more on him than on anyone else. There was also some talk of the Jesuits who had been in Scotland troubling the State and religion, and of a Dr. Loges, whom they called traitor, with whom Her Majesty was in correspondence. She called him reverend father, and he acknowledged her as his lawful Sovereign. She said the Jesuits did their office when they preached and laboured to restore the Catholic Church. To counsel and comfort afflicted Christians was their duty, and she esteemed them good people. She protested that she did not wish harm to any of the commissioners for what they had said and done against her, and there was not one of them to whom she did not desire good, and apart, before two or three Lords, she explained what they had touched upon as to the deposition of her secretary. She had some conversation with Walsingham in private, who did not show that he remembered much of what she had said. At last she told him her cause was in the hands of God. And Her Majesty, to gratify the commissioners, in passing out of the hall turned to them and with a pleasant mien said, 'You have behaved severely with your charges, and have treated me pretty rudely for a person who is not learned in the laws of chicanery. May God pardon you and keep me from having much to do with you.' They turning to each other smiled, as did also Her Majesty.” This was an extraordinary rebuke to the commissioners, and it is unfortunate we have not a full report of the trial, in order to see the treatment the Queen so keenly resented, treatment that must have been disgraceful to call forth such a rebuke. The proceedings terminated, and the commissioners returned to London.
In order that the reader may comprehend the situation it will be necessary to reproduce the two letters in connection with the Babington Conspiracy (referred to on page 213) on which Mary's trial was founded. The letters in italics are the interpolations.
Babington to the Queen of Scots, July 1586:—
“May it please your gracious Majesty to admit excuse of my long silence and discontinuance from those dutiful offices intercepted upon the removal of your royal person from the ancient place of your abode to the custody of a wicked Puritan and mere Leicestrian, a mortal enemy both by faith and faction to your Majesty and to the Catholic estate. I held the hope of our country's weal depending on the life of your Majesty to be desperate, and therefore resolved to depart the realm, determined to spend the remainder of my life in such solitary manner as the miserable and wretched state of my country doth require; only expecting, according to the just judgment of God, the present confusion thereof, which God for His mercy's sake prevent. The which my purpose being in execution, and standing upon my departure, there was addressed to me from the parts beyond the seas by one Ballard, a man of virtue and learning, and of singular zeal in the Catholic cause and your Majesty's service. This man informed me of great preparations by the Christian princes, your Majesty's allies, for the deliverance of our country from the extreme and miserable state wherein for a long time it hath remained; which, when I understood, my special desire was to advise by what means I might, with the regard of my life and all my friends in general, do your Majesty one day's good service. Whereupon, according to the great care which these princes have of the preservation and safe deliverance of your Majesty's sacred person, I advised of means and considered of circumstances accordingly, to and with so many of the wisest and most trusty so as with safety I might commend the secrecy thereof. I do find, by the assistance of the Lord Jesus, assurance of good effect and much fruit of our travail. These things are first to be advised in this great and honourable action, upon the issue of which dependeth not only the life of your Majesty, which God long preserve to our inestimable comfort, and to the salvation of English souls and the lives of all actors therein, but also the honour and weal of our country, far more dear than our lives unto us, and the last hope to recover the faith of our forefathers, and to redeem ourselves from the servitude and bondage which heretofore hath been imposed upon us with the loss of many thousand souls. First, for the assuring of invasions sufficient strength on the invaders' part to arrive is appointed, with a strong party at every place to join with them and warrant their landing, the deliverance of your Majesty, the despatch of the usurping competitor. For the effecting of it all may it please your Majesty to rely upon my service. I protest before the Almighty, who hath long miraculously preserved your royal person, no doubt to some universal good, that what I have said shall be performed or all our lives happily lost in the execution thereof. Which vow all the chief actors have taken solemnly, and are, upon assurance by your Majesty to me, to receive the blessed sacrament therefrom, either to prevail in the Church's behalf and your Majesty's, or fortunately to die for so honourable a cause. Now, forasmuch as delays are extremely dangerous, it might please your Majesty by your wisdom to direct us, and by your princely authority to enable us and such as may advance the affairs; foreseeing there is not any of the nobility at liberty assured to your Majesty in this desperate service but those unknown to us; and seeing it is very necessary that some there should be to become heads to lead the multitude who are disposed by nature in this land to follow nobility; considering withal it doth not only make the commons and country to follow without contradiction, which is ever found in equality, but also doth add great courage to the leaders. For which necessary purposes I would recommend some to your Majesty as are fittest in my knowledge to be your lieutenants in the west parts, in the north parts, South Wales and North Wales, the counties of Lancaster, Derby, and Stafford. In all which counties parties being already made and fidelity taken in your Majesty's name, I hold them as most assured and of undoubted fidelity. Myself, with ten gentlemen of quality and one hundred followers, will undertake the delivery of your person from the hands of your enemies; and for the despatch of the usurper, from obedience of whom, by the excommunication of her, we are made free, there be six noble gentlemen, all my private friends, who, for the zeal they bear the Catholic cause and your Majesty's service, will undertake the tragical execution. It followeth that, according to their infinite deserts and your Majesty's bounty, their heroic attempts may be honourably rewarded in them, if they escape with life, or in their posterity; and that so much by your Majesty's authority I may be able to assure them. Now it remaineth only in your Majesty's wisdom that it be reduced into method that your happy deliverance be first, for on that dependeth the only good, and that the other circumstances concur—that the untimely end of the one do not overthrow the rest, all which your Majesty's wonderful experience and wisdom will dispose in so good manner as I doubt not, through God's good assistance, shall take deserved effect; for the obtaining of which every one of us shall think his life most happily spent. Upon the 12th day of this month I will be at Lichfield, expecting your Majesty's answers and letters, to execute what by them shall be commanded.—Your Majesty's faithful subject and sworn servant,
“Anthony Babington.”