to be refused--and she consented.[294] The six gentlemen
escaped; and, following up this beginning, the council, in the course
of the week, extorted from her the release of Northampton, Cobham, and
one of his sons, with five others. In a report to the emperor, Renard
admitted that, if the queen attempted to continue her course of
justice, there would be resistance; and the party of the chancellor,
being the weakest, would in that case be overwhelmed. It was the more
necessary, therefore, that, by one means or another, Elizabeth should
be disposed of. The queen had condescended to apologise to him for her
second act of clemency, which she excused as being an Easter custom.
It was not for him to find fault, he said that he had replied, if her
majesty was pleased to {p.128} show mercy at the holy season; but it
was his duty to remind her that he doubted whether the prince could be
trusted with her.

[Footnote 294: Renard to Charles V., March 22;
_Rolls House MSS._]

This argument never failed to drive Mary to madness; and, on the other
side, Renard applied to Gardiner to urge despatch in bringing
Elizabeth to trial: as long as she lived, there was no security for
the queen, for the prince, or for religion. Gardiner echoed the same
opinion. If others, he said, would go to work as roundly as himself,
all would be well.[295]

[Footnote 295: Il me repliqua que vivant Elizabeth
il n'a espoir a la tranquillite du Royaulme, que
quant a luy si chascun alloit si rondement en
besoyn comme il fait, les choses se porteroient
mieux.--Renard to the Emperor, April 3: _Rolls
House MSS._ From these dark plotters, what might
not be feared? Holinshed says that while Elizabeth
was in the Tower, a writ was sent down for her
execution devised, as was believed, by Gardiner;
and that Lord Chandos (Sir John Brydges, the
Lieutenant of the Tower) refused to put it in
force. The story has been treated as a fable, and
in the form in which it is told by Holinshed, it
was very likely untrue: yet in the presence of
these infernal conversations, I think it highly
probable that, as the hope of a judicial conviction