as
immediately to be put to death. That was the first intention, though
it was found necessary to postpone his fate through a superstitious
scruple. The archbishop had received the pallium from Rome, and, until
degraded by apostolic authority, he could not, according to Catholic
rule, be condemned by a secular tribunal. But there was no intention
of sparing him at the time of his trial; in a few days, Renard wrote
on the 17th of November, "the archbishop" will be executed; and Mary,
triumphant, as she believed herself, on the question nearest to her
heart, had told him that the melancholy which had weighed upon her
from childhood was rolling away; she had never yet known the meaning
of happiness, and she was about to be rewarded at last.[171]

[Footnote 171: Renard to Charles V., November 17:
_Rolls House MSS._]

The struggle had told upon her. She was looking aged and worn,[172]
and her hopes of children, if she married, were thought extremely
small. But she considered that she had won the day, and was now ready
to face the Commons; the House had chafed at the delay: they had
talked largely of their intentions; if the queen's answer was
unsatisfactory, they would dissolve themselves, they said, and return
to their counties. On the 16th of November a message was brought that
the Speaker would at last be admitted to the presence. The interview
which followed, Mary thus herself described to Renard. The council
were present; the Speaker was introduced, and the queen received him
standing.

[Footnote 172: "Fort envieillie et
agee."--Noailles.]

In an oration, she said, replete to weariness with fine phrases and
historic precedents, the Speaker requested her, in the name of the
commonwealth, to marry. The succession was perplexed; the Queen of
Scots made pretensions to the crown; and, in the {p.075} event of
her death, a civil war was imminent. Let her majesty take a husband,
therefore, and with God's grace the kingdom would not be long without
an heir whose title none would dispute. Yet, in taking a husband, the
Speaker said, her majesty's faithful Commons trusted she would not
choose from abroad. A foreign prince had interests of his own which
might not be English interests; he would have command of English
armies, fleets, and fortresses, and he might betray his trust; he
might involve the country in wars; he might make promises and break
the