ast conspiracy; that event, added she with sadness, having caused her
to sigh more and to shed more tears than the loss of all her relations,
so much the more that the Queen of Scotland was her near relative
and closely connected with the King of France; and as, in their
remonstrances, MM. de Chateauneuf and de Bellievre had brought forward
several examples drawn from history, she assumed, in reply to them on
this occasion, the pedantic style which was usual with her, and told
them that she had seen and read a great many books in her life, and a
thousand more than others of her sex and her rank were wont to, but
that she had never found in them a single example of a deed like that
attempted on her--a deed pursued by a relative, whom the king her
brother could not and ought not to support in her wickedness, when it
was, on the contrary, his duty to hasten the just punishment of it: then
she added, addressing herself specially to M. de Bellievre, and coming
down again from the height of her pride to a gracious countenance, that
she greatly regretted he was not deputed for a better occasion; that in
a few days she would reply to King Henry her brother, concerning whose
health she was solicitous, as well as that of the queen mother, who must
experience such great fatigue from the trouble she took to restore peace
to her son's kingdom; and then, not wishing to hear more, she withdrew
into her room.

The envoys returned to London, where they awaited the promised reply;
but while they were expecting it unavailingly, they heard quietly the
sentence of death given against Queen Mary, which decided them to return
to Richmond to make fresh remonstrances to Queen Elizabeth. After two or
three fruitless journeys, they were at last, December 15th, admitted for
the second time to the royal presence.

The queen did not deny that the sentence had been pronounced, and as it
was easy to see that she did not intend in this case to use her right
of pardon, M. de Bellievre, judging that there was nothing to be done,
asked for a safe-conduct to return to his king: Elizabeth promised it to
him within two or three days.

On the following Tuesday, the 17th of the same month of December,
Parliament as well as the chief lords of the realm were convoked at the
Palace of Westminster, and there, in full court and before all, sentence
of death was proclaimed and pronounced against Mary Stuart: then this
same sentence, with great display and great so