DIGITISED MANUSCRIPTS

Stuart’s haughty spirit remained unbroken. While feigning submission and humility towards Elizabeth, she still secretly cherished her arrogant pretensions to the English crown, eluded the vigilance of her jailers, and directed conspiracies against the life of the Queen. Her machinations were invariably dis- covered. The detection of her plots could have but one result. Elizabeth’s ministers were resolved to put an end to the primary cause of disorder and insecurity in the country, and urged on the Queen the necessity of sending Mary Stuart to the block. Elizabeth, who in dissimulation yielded nothing to her cousin, and was moreover influenced by her own interests and jealousies, signed the warrant for Mary Stuart’s execution, but flung the paper on the floor of the room. There Davidson, the Secretary of the Council, found it, and seeing that it was duly signed, gave it to the Minister of the Crown, who forthwith had Mary beheaded. When informed of the execution of the sen- tence, Elizabeth flew into a violent passion, de- clared that she never meant the warrant to be put in force, and sent Davidson to prison, where he suffered every kind of ill-treatment, and died a miserable death. Cruel as the execution of Mary Stuart may appear, it proved of great political ad- vantage, for her death put an end to the conspira- cies both of her enemies and of her rebellious subjects,