Series 3 > Mary Queen of Scots and the Babington plot

clvi MARY STUART AND THE BABINGTON PLOT
of warning Mary by means of blood-curdling hints, dropped
in postscripts to her secretaries, was equally fantastic.
That, however, was his plan. On the 24th of June, after
warning Mary that Ballard was employed on something so
dangerous that she must not know anything about it, he
added a note to her secretaries: ‘ There are many means
in hand to remove the beast that troubleth all the world.’
Again, on June 29th O.S. (9 July N.S.), he wrote to Mary’s
secretaries : ‘ There are some good members that attend
opportunity to do the Queen of England a piece of service,
which I trust will quiet many things, if it shall please God
to lay his assistance to the course, for which I pray daily.’ 1
In truth such letters would seem to be not a whit less
dangerous than those of Babington, without being of any
certain use. It is true that less was eventually said about
Morgan’s letters ; but this was because the Babington
letters were answered, and so formed part of a sequence
of singular completeness and force. For us, however,
Morgan’s letters must be considered as containing clear
evidence of his guilt.
We now return to Gilbert Gifford, whom we left picking
the brains of the excited Ballard. Eventually the pair
went off to Babington, who is represented as having
‘ Declared the many dangers and difficulties touching a
chief man for a head and for authority in this cause. For
the noblemen would do nothing before they saw some certainty :
and the rest being all equal, would bring confusion. Morgan
sought for nothing but honour for himself, but Babington would
seek honour for them that better deserved it. He himself
would go [? to Mendoza] and solicit these matters ’ (below,
p. 113).
From all this Gifford gathered that Babington wanted
1 Morgan to Mary, June 24/4 July, Boyd, p. 469 ; June 29/9 July, ibid.,
p. 480.