XLIII. CHA P. attend Ballard in his journey to France, and had thereby got a hint of the defigns, entertained by the fugitives. Polly, another of his fpies, had found means to infinu. 1586. ate himself among the confpirators in England; and though not entirely trufted, had obtained fome insight into their dangerous fecrets. But the bottom of the confpiracy was never fully known, till Gifford, a feminary prieft, came over, and made tender of his fervices to Walfingham. By his means, the difcovery became of the utmost importance, and involved the fate of Mary, as well as of those zealous partizans of that princess. BABINGTON and his affociates, having laid fuch a plan, as, they thought, promifed infallible fuccefs, were impatient to communicate the defign to the queen of Scots, and to obtain her approbation and concurrence. For this fervice, they employed Gifford, who immediately applied to Walfingham, that the intereft of that minifter might forward his fecret correfpondence with Mary, Walfingham propofed the matter to Paulet, and defired him to connive at Gifford's corrupting one of his fervants: But Paulet, averfe to introducing fuch a pernicious precedent into his family, defired, that they would rather think of fome other expedient. Gifford found a brewer, who fupplied the family with ale; and bribed him to convey letters to the captive queen. The letters, by Paulet's connivance, were thruft through a chink in the wall; and answers were returned by the fame conveyance. BALLARD and Babington were at firft diffident of Gifford's fidelity; and to make trial of him, they gave him only blank papers made up like letters: But finding by the answers, that thefe had been faithfully delivered, they laid afide all farther fcruple, and conveyed by his hands the most criminal and dangerous parts of their confpiracy. Babington informed Mary of the defign laid for a foreign invafion, the plan of an infurrection at home, the scheme for her delivery, and the confpiracy for assasfinating the ufurper, by fix noble gentlemen, as he termed them, all of them his private friends; who, from the zeal, which they bore to the catholic caufe and her majefty's fervice, would undertake the tragical execution. Mary af Mary replied, that the approved highly of the defign; Jents to the that the gentlemen might expect all the rewards, which confpiracy, it should ever be in her power to confer; and that the death death of Elizabeth was a neceffary circumftance, before CHA P. any attempts were made, either for her own delivery or XLIII. an infurrection K. Thefe letters, with others to Mendoza, Charles Paget, the archbishop of Glasgow, and fir 1586. Francis Ingelfield, were carried by Gifford to fecretary Walfingham; were decyphered by the art of Philips, his clerk; and copies taken of them. Walfingham employed another artifice, in order to obtain full infight into the plot He fubjoined to a letter of Mary's a poftscript in the fame cypher; in which he made her defire Babington to inform her of the names of the fix confpirators. The indiscretion of Babington furnished Wallingham with still another means of detection, as well as of defence. That gentleman had made a picture be drawn, where he himself was reprefented ftanding amidst the fix affaflins; and a motto was fubjoined, expreffing that their common perils were the band of their confederacy. A copy of this picture was brought to Elizabeth, that he might know the affaffins, and guard herself against their approach to her perfon. MEANWHILE, Babington, anxious to ensure and haften the foreign fuccours, refolved to dispatch Ballard into France; and he procured for him, under a feigned name, a licence to travel. In order to remove from himself all fufpicion, he applied to Walfingham, pretended great zeal for the queen's fervice, offered to go abroad, and profeffed his intentions of employing that confidence which he had gained among the catholics, to the detection and difappointment of their confpiracies. Walfingham commended his loyal purposes; and promifing his own counsel and affiftance in the execution of them, ftill fed him with hopes, and maintained a close correspondence with him. A warrant, meanwhile, was iffued for feizing Ballard; and this incident, joined to the consciousness of guilt, begot in all the confpirators the utmost anxiety and concern. Some advised, that they fhould immediately make their escape: Others propofed, that Savage and Charnoc fhould without delay execute their purpose againft Elizabeth; and Babington, in profecution of this fcheme, furnished Savage with money, that he might buy good cloaths, and have thereby more eafy access to the queen's perfon. Next day, they began to apprehend, State Trials, vol. i. p. 135. Camden, p. 515. that CHA P. that they had taken the alarm too haftily; and Babington, XLII. having renewed his correfpondence with Walfingham, was perfuaded by that fubtle minifter, that the seizure of 1586. Ballard had proceeded entirely from the ufual diligence of informers in the detection of popith and feminary priests. He even confented to take fecretly lodgings in Walfingham's house, that they might have more frequent conferences together, before his intended departure for France: But obferving, that he was watched and guarded, he made his escape, and gave the alarm to the other confpirators. They all took to flight, covered themselves with feveral difguifes, and lay concealed in woods or barns; but were foon difcovered and thrown into prifon. In Jpirators their examinations they contradicted each other; and Jeized and the leaders were obliged to make a full confeffion of the executed. truth. Fourteen were condemned and executed : Of whom, feven acknowledged the crime on their trial; the reft were convicted by evidence. The con Sept. THE leffer confpirators being dispatched, measures were taken for the trial and conviction of the queen of Scots on whofe account, and with whofe concurrence, these attempts had been made against the life of the queen, and the tranquillity of the kingdom. Some of Elizabeth's counsellors were averfe to this procedure; and thought, that the close confinement of a woman, who was become very fickly, and who would probably put a speedy period to their anxiety by her natural death, might give fufficient fecurity to the government, without attempting a measure, of which there scarcely remains any example in history. Leicester advised, that Mary should be fecretly dispatched by poison, and he fent a divine to convince Walfingham of the law fulness of that action: But Walfingham declared his abhorrence of it; and infifted ftill, in conjunction with the majority of the counsellors, for the open trial of the queen of Scots. The fituation of England, and of the English minifters had, indeed, been hitherto not a little dangerous. No fucceffor of the crown was declared but the heir of blood, to whom the people in general were likely to adhere, was, by education, an enemy to the national religion; was, from multiplied injuries, an enemy to the minifters and principal nobility: And their perfonal fafety, as well as the public fafety, feemed to depend alone on the queen's life, who was now now somewhat advanced in years. No wonder, therefore, C HA P. that Elizabeth's counsellors, knowing themselves to be XLIII. fo obnoxious to the queen of Scots, endeavoured to push every measure to extremity against her; and were even more anxious than the queen her felf, to prevent her from ever mounting the throne of England. THOUGH all England was acquainted with the detection of Babington's confpiracy, every avenue to the queen of Scots had been so strictly guarded, that the remained in utter ignorance of the matter; and it was a great surprise to her, when Sir Thomas Gorges, by Elizabeth's orders, informed her, that all her accomplices were discovered and arrested. He chofe the time for giving her this intelligence, when the mounted on horseback to go a hunting; and she was not permitted to return to her former place of abode, but was conducted from one gentleman's house to another, till the was lodged in Fotheringay caftle in the county of Northampton, which it was determined to make the laft ftage of her trial and fufferings. Her two fecretaries, Nau, a Frenchman, and Curle, a Scot, were immediately arrested: All her papers were feized, and fent up to the council: Above fixty different keys to cyphers were discovered: There were alfo found many letters from perfons beyond sea; and several too from English noblemen, containing expreffions of respect and attachment. The queen took no notice of this last discovery; but the perfons themselves, knowing their correspondence to be detected, thought that they had no other means of making atonement for their imprudence, than declaring themfelves thenceforth the most inveterate enemies of the queen of Scots 1. 1586. IT was refolved to try Mary, not by the common ftatute Resolution of treasons, but by the act which had paffed the former to try the year, with a view to this very event; and the queen, in queen of terms of that act, appointed a commiffion, confifting of Scots. forty noblemen and privy-counfellors, and empowered them to examine and pafs fentence on Mary, whom the denominated the late queen of Scots, and heir to James the fifth of Scotland. The commiffioners came to Fotheringay caftle, and fent to her Sir Walter Mildmay, Sir Amias Paulet, and Edward Barker, who delivered her a letter from Elizabeth, informing her of the commifon, and of the approaching trial. Mary received the intelligence L Camden, p. 518. CHAP. telligence without emotion or aftonishment. She faid, XLIII. however, that it feemed ftrange to her, that the queen fhould command her, as a fubject, to submit to a trial 1586. and examination before fubjects: That he was an abfolute independent princefs, and would yield to nothing, which might derogate either from her royal majefty, from the ftate of fovereign princes, or from the dignity and rank of her fon: That, however oppreffed by misfortunes and calamities, fhe was not yet fo much broken in spirit, as her enemies flattered themselves; nor would the, on any account, be acceffary to her own degradation and difhonour that he was ignorant of the laws and statutes of England; was utterly deftitute of council; and could not conceive who were entitled to be called her peers, or could legally fit as judges on her trial: That though he had lived in England for many years, he had lived in captivity; and not having received the protection of the laws, she could not, merely by her involuntary refidence in the country, be supposed to have fubjected herself to their jurifdiction and authority: That notwithstanding the fuperiority of her rank, fhe was willing to give an account of her conduct before an English parliament; but could not view thefe commiffioners in any other light, than as men appointed to justify, by fome colour of legal proceeding, her condemnation and execution: And that the warned them to look to their confcience and their character, in trying an innocent perfon; and to reflect, that these transactions would fomewhere be subject to revifion, and that the theatre of the whole world was much wider than the kingdom of England. The com IN return, the commiffioners fent a new deputation, miffioners informing her, that her plea, either from her royal digprevail on nity or from her imprisonment, could not be admitted; her to fub- and that they were empowered to proceed to her trial, even mit to the though the fhould refufe to appear before them. Burleigh, trial. the treasurer, and Bromley, the chancellor, employed much reasoning to make her fubmit; but the perfon, whose arguments had the chief influence, was fir Christopher Hatton, vice-chamberlain. His fpeech was to this purpole. "You are accufed, madam," faid he, " but not "condemned, of having conspired the destruction of our lady and queen anointed. You say, you are a queen : "But, in fuch a crime as this, and fuch a fituation as 66 yours, |