diately despatched
a messenger to London, notifying her arrival, desiring leave to
visit Elizabeth, and craving her protection, in consequence of former
professions of friendship made her by that princess.

Elizabeth now found herself in a situation when it was become necessary
to take some decisive resolution with regard to her treatment of the
queen of Scots; and as she had hitherto, contrary to the opinion of
Cecil, attended more to the motives of generosity than of policy,[***]
she was engaged by that prudent minister to weigh anew all the
considerations which occurred in this critical conjuncture.

* Keith, p. 473, in the notes. Anderson, vol. iv. p, 26.

** Jebb's Collection, vol. i. p. 420.

*** Cabala, p. 140.

He represented, that the party which had dethroned Mary, and had at
present assumed the government of Scotland, were always attached to the
English alliance, and were engaged, by all the motives of religion
and of interest, to persevere in their connection with Elizabeth: that
though Murray and his friends might complain of some unkind usage during
their banishment in England, they would easily forget these grounds of
quarrel, when they reflected, that Elizabeth was the only ally on whom
they could safely rely, and that their own queen, by her attachment to
the Catholic faith, and by her other connections, excluded them entirely
from the friendship of France, and even from that of Spain: that Mary,
on the other hand, even before her violent breach with her Protestant
subjects, was in secret entirely governed by the counsels of the house
of Guise, much more would she implicitly comply with their views, when,
by her own ill conduct, the power of that family and of the zealous
Catholics was become her sole resource and security: that her
pretensions to the English crown would render her a dangerous instrument
in their hands; and, were she once able to suppress the Protestants in
her own kingdom, she would unite the Scottish and English Catholics,
with those of all foreign states, in a confederacy against the religion
and government of England; that it behoved Elizabeth, therefore, to
proceed with caution in the design of restoring her rival to the throne;
and to take care, both that this enterprise, if undertaken, should
be effected by English forces alone, and that full securities should
beforehand be provided for the reformers and the reformation in
Scotland: that, above all, it was nec