4 i2 REIGN OF ELIZABETH. [01.45. to her cause. That opportunity she had allowed to escape. It remained to be seen whether she had learnt prudence fronTlhe catastrophe from which she had so narrowly" escaped ; whether she would now abandon her more dangerous courses, and Jail back on moderation ; or whether if she persisted in trying the more ventur- ous game she could bring herself to forego the indulgence of those personal inclinations and antipathies which had caused the tragedy at Holyrood. If she could forget her injuries, if she could renounce with Rizzio's life her desire to revenge his murder, if she avoided giving open scandal to the Catholic friends of Darnley and his mother, her prospects of an heir would more than re- establish her in the vantage-ground from which she had been momentarily shaken. Elizabeth, either through fear or policy, seemed as anxious as ever to disconnect herself from the Congre- gation. The English Government had been hiformed a month beforehand of the formation of the plot ; they had allowed it to be carried into execution without re- monstrance ; but when the thing was done and Murray was restored the Quegnjnadejhaste to clear_herself of the suspicion of having favoured it. Sir Robert Mel- ville was residing in London, and was occupied notori- ously in gaining friends for the Scotch succession. Elizabeth sent for him, and when it was too late to save Rizzio she revealed to him the secret information which had been supplied by Randolph ; nay, in one of the many moods into which she drifted in her perplexities, she even spoke of Argyle and Murray as ' rebels pre-
