reign had charged him to come to him with this talk. But
the gentleman denied it, saying that all this was on his own account and
in the way of opinion.

Elizabeth received the envoys from Scotland once more, and then told
them--

"That after having well considered, she had found no way of saving the
life of the Queen of Scotland while securing her own, that accordingly
she could not grant it to them". To this declaration, the Master of Gray
replied: "That since it was thus, he was, in this case, ordered by his
master to say that they protested in the name of King James that all
that had been done against his mother was of no account, seeing that
Queen Elizabeth had no authority over a queen, as she was her equal in
rank and birth; that accordingly they declared that immediately after
their return, and when their master should know the result of their
mission, he would assemble his Parliament and send messengers to all the
Christian princes, to take counsel with them as to what could be done to
avenge her whom they could not save."

Then Elizabeth again flew into a passion, saying that they had certainly
not received from their king a mission to speak to her in such a way;
but they thereupon offered to give her this protest in writing under
their signatures; to which Elizabeth replied that she would send an
ambassador to arrange all that with her good friend and ally, the King
of Scotland. But the envoys then said that their master would not listen
to anyone before their return. Upon which Elizabeth begged them not to
go away at once, because she had not yet come to her final decision upon
this matter. On the evening following this audience, Lord Hingley
having come to see the Master of Gray, and having seemed to notice some
handsome pistols which came from Italy, Gray, directly he had gone,
asked this nobleman's cousin to take them to him as a gift from him.
Delighted with this pleasant commission, the young man wished to perform
it the same evening, and went to the queen's palace, where his relative
was staying, to give him the present which he had been told to take to
him. But hardly had he passed through a few rooms than he was arrested,
searched, and the arms he was taking were found upon him. Although these
were not loaded, he was immediately arrested; only he was not taken to
the Tower, but kept a prisoner in his own room.

Next day there was a rumour that the Scotch ambassadors had wanted to
assassinate the