3=0 REIGN OF ELIZABETH. [CH. 65. All the Catholic nobles, all the schismatics, and some of the Protestants were known to be well disposed, towards her, but so far as he could see himself, they were diffi- dent, distrustful of one another, and disinclined to move, unless supported by a force strong enough to conquer the country single-handed. Supposing this to be a true account of them, her best plan would then be to accept any terms on which the Queen would release her. Liberty and health were, next to the welfare of the soul, the most precious of human possessions. If she could keep those, time would cure all else. She could remain in the realm in a position like that of the Princess Mary during the life of her brother. She would be free to receive her friends, to correspond with whom she pleased, to enjoy whatever amusements an Eng- lish country life would offer, and a tacit understanding would gradually establish itself that she was to succeed on the Queen's death. It was true that the Queen had a deeply-rooted fear of the probable effects of her liberty ; she believed that when Mary Stuart was at large, her own reign would be at an end. It was therefore likely, that the present overtures were only artifices to gain time for the settlement of Scotland. In that case, the Queen of Scots had merely to wait on Providence, and to HoJd herself ready for the deliver- ance, which in all human and divine reason could not be distant ; his Holiness and the King of Spain being determined not to neglect her, and God, as the caMse was his own, being likely to provide opportunities. 1 1 Meudoza to the Queeu of Scots, May, 1583 ; MSS. Simancat
