on his way to Scotland to arrange. Davison met Fénelon on the Journey, and they discussed Catholicism (Davison to Burghley, 3 Jan. 1582-3). Davison at first met with apparent success; demanded his recall in May 1583, and left Bowes to complete the business. But the subsequent confusion caused by the rising of the Earl of Gowrie and his friends in Queen Mary's behalf, and the growing strength of the French party in Scotland, led to Davison's return. From Berwick in 'May 1684 he reported at length on the complications of Scottish politics, and in June settled in Edinburgh. Leicester, who always appears to have been on friendly terms with him, corresponded with him and begged him to give James a favourable impression of his political aims. Davison bitterly complained of Lord Hunsdon's unjust suspicions of him, and in September he returned to London, without having arrived at any definite understanding with James. In August 1585 he was for the second time sent to the Low Countries to negotiate an alliance with the States-General. This he did efficiently, and he was made commander of Flushing. On 22 Jan. 1585-6 his friend Leicester came over with English troops and formally accepted, from the States-General, without waiting for instructions from home, the office of governor of the Low Countries. After a short delay Davison returned to England to account for Leicester's conduct. The queen was indignant and hotly denounced Davison (Davison to Herle, 17 Feb. 1585-6; Davison to Leicester, 27 Feb. in Leicester Correspondence, 118). A stormy interview followed. Davison threatened to leave the queen's service. Leicester threw the blame on Davison, and wrote to him to that effect (10 March 1585-6). The letter is still extant in Harl. MS. 285, f. 230, with Davison's denial of the accusation noted in the margin (Leicester Corresp, 168). Sir Philip Sidney kept Davison informed of Leicester's denunciations of him, and on 2 July 1586 Davison temperately defended himself in a letter to the earl. The storm had then blown over, and no one was seriously injured. Davison's diplomacy in the Low Countries was bearing good fruit, and he was admitted to the privy council. In the autumn of 1586 he became assistant to Walsingham, the queen's secretary of state. The warrant of appointment was not signed till 12 Dec, but two months before that date he was directing the queen's official correspondence and in personal attendance on her.
On 6 Oct. 1586 a commission was issued for the trial of Mary Queen of Scots. Davison was appointed one of its forty-six members, in accordance with the opinion of the judges that all privy councillors should be nominated. It was not the queen's original intention to have appointed him, and he took no part in the commission's proceedings. He was never at Fotheringhay,nor was he present when the commissioners passed sentence of death on Queen Mary at Westminster on 25 Oct. After the two houses of parliament met (29 Oct.) they combined to petition Elizabeth for Marys execution (12 Nov.) Elizabeth ordered Burghley to prepare the warrant, and Burghley gave it to Davison to present to the queen for signature. French and Scottish ambassadors were at court at the time petitioning for Mary's life, and Elizabeth told Davison to hold the warrant over for a more convenient season. In the course of the six following weeks. Sir Amias Paulet, Mary's warder at Fotheringhay, repeatedly wrote to Davison urging on him the necessity of carrying out the sentence immediately, but Davison did not venture to mention the correspondence to Elizabeth. On 1 Feb. 1586-7 Lord Howard of Effingham, the naval commander, had an audience of the queen at Greenwich, and strongly deprecated further delay. On leaving Elizabeth, Howard was directed to send Davison to the royal chamber. The secretary found Elizabeth in her most gracious mood. After some general conversation she read the warrant which Davison carried with him, and signed it. At the same time she hinted that she would have preferred to avoid the necessity of this violent step, and requested Davison to hint to Paulet that he might privately rid her of his troublesome prisoner. Such suggestions had been already made in high places, and Davison now, as before, protested against them. On leaving Elizabeth Davison showed the signed warrant to Lord Burghley, who was with Leicester at the moment; called on Walsingham; and took the warrant at five o'clock in the afternoon to the lord chancellor, who affixed the great seal without reading it. At a later hour Davison signed a letter to Mary's warders, Paulet and Sir Drue Drury, drawn up by Walsingham, in which plain hints were given that Elizabeth wished them to relieve her of the duty of ordering their prisoner's execution. Paulet and Drury replied by indignantly declining to undertake a secret assassination. On 2 Feb. 1586-7, the day after the warrant was signed Elizabeth sent for Davison ; inquired whether the warrant was sealed ; complained of his haste, and repeated her personal objections to figuring in the unhappy business. Later in the same day Davison, who kept Hatton and Burghley informed of his intercourse with Elizabeth, gave the warrant to Burghley: Burghley called the privy council
