The British nation a history / by George MWrong . to (Jod alone. Mary wassent to the Castle of Fotlieringay, and a commission ofpeers and judges went down to examine her. There, inOctober, 1586, crippled with rheumatism, she hobbled toher place of trial, and pitted her keen womans wit againstsome forty grave men, eager to entrap her. In an agonyof doubt and hesitation, Elizabeth recalled the commis-sioners at the end of the second day to sit at Londonunder her own supervision ; they found Mary guilty, and THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY IN ENGLAND 309 it remained for the queen and Parliament to name the
The British nation a history / by George MWrong . to (Jod alone. Mary wassent to the Castle of Fotlieringay, and a commission ofpeers and judges went down to examine her. There, inOctober, 1586, crippled with rheumatism, she hobbled toher place of trial, and pitted her keen womans wit againstsome forty grave men, eager to entrap her. In an agonyof doubt and hesitation, Elizabeth recalled the commis-sioners at the end of the second day to sit at Londonunder her own supervision ; they found Mary guilty, and THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY IN ENGLAND 309 it remained for the queen and Parliament to name thepenalty. The Lords and Commons petitioned the Qneento put Mary to death. Elizabeths dilemma was take the decisive act of executing Mary might uniteEurojje against England ; to spare her might encouragenew plots in her interest. After weeks of doubt, Eliza-beth signed Marys death-warrant, but still showed unwill-ingness to give the final order for execution. In fact shewished others to take this responsibility, that she might ^»s=*^. FoTnERIXGAT IN 1718. Tlie castle in whicli ^lury was imprisoned stood on the hill at the right, andwas pulled down liy order of Marys son, James I. afterward blame them, and herself escape the discreditof the act. She sank so low as to ask Marys keeper. SirAmyas Paulet, to murder her, but the stern Puritan re-fused. Davison, her secretary, applied to the commission-ers who had tried Mary : they decided that since the queenhad signed the warrant, the execution must follow, andon Tuesday, February 7, 1587, the Earls of Shrewsburyand Kent went down to Fotheringay and told the unfor-tunate queen that she must die on the next day. ThoughMary had talked, as so many talk, of desiring death, she 310 THE BRITISH NATION
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