A Child's History of England.169

At home, intelligence [情报] of plots began to thicken every day. I suppose the people never did live under such continual terrors as those by which they were possessed now, of Catholic risings, and burnings, and poisonings, and I don't know what. Still, we must always remember that they lived near and close to awful realities of that kind, and that with their experience it was not difficult to believe in any enormity [great wickedness]. The government had the same fear, and did not take the best means of discovering the truth - for, besides torturing the suspected, it employed paid spies, who will always lie for their own profit. It even made some of the conspiracies it [used to emphasize any part of a sentence] brought to light, by sending false letters to disaffected [不满的] people, inviting them to join in pretended plots, which they too readily did.

If a feeling possesses you, you suddenly feel it very strongly and it affects your behavior.

But, one great real plot was at length [last] discovered, and it ended the career of Mary, Queen of Scots. A seminary [神学院] priest named Ballard, and a Spanish soldier named Savage, set on [resolved to do sth] and encouraged by certain French priests, imparted [透露] a design to one Antony Babington - a gentleman of fortune in Derbyshire, who had been for some time a secret agent of Mary's - for murdering the Queen. Babington then confided the scheme to some other Catholic gentlemen who were his friends, and they joined in it heartily. They were vain, weak-headed young men, ridiculously confident, and preposterously [absurdly] proud of their plan; for they got a gimcrack [粗制滥造的] painting made, of the six choice [very fine; well-chosen] spirits [soul] who were to murder Elizabeth, with Babington in an attitude [姿势] for the centre figure. Two of their number [group], however, one of whom was a priest, kept Elizabeth's wisest minister, Sir Francis Walsingham, acquainted with the whole project from the first. The conspirators were completely deceived to the final point, when Babington gave Savage, because he was shabby [衣着寒酸], a ring from his finger, and some money from his purse, wherewith [by means of which] to buy himself new clothes in which to kill the Queen. Walsingham, having then full evidence against the whole band [group], and two letters of Mary's besides, resolved to seize them. Suspecting something wrong, they stole out of [溜出] the city, one by one, and hid themselves in St. John's Wood, and other places which really were hiding places then; but they were all taken, and all executed. When they were seized, a gentleman was sent from Court to inform Mary of the fact, and of her being involved in the discovery. Her friends have complained that she was kept in very hard and severe custody. It does not appear very likely, for she was going out a hunting that very morning.

Queen Elizabeth had been warned long ago, by one in France who had good information of what was secretly doing, that in holding Mary alive, she held 'the wolf who would devour her.' The Bishop of London had, more lately, given the Queen's favourite minister the advice in writing, 'forthwith [immediately] to cut off the Scottish Queen's head.' The question now was, what to do with her? The Earl of Leicester wrote a little note home from Holland, recommending that she should be quietly poisoned; that noble favourite {形容词后置} having accustomed his mind, |it is possible|{移到that noble之前}, to remedies of that nature [那种性质的疗法]. His black advice, however, was disregarded, and she was brought to trial at Fotheringay Castle in Northamptonshire, before a tribunal [特别法庭] of forty, composed of both religions. There, and in the Star Chamber at Westminster, the trial lasted a fortnight. She defended herself with great ability, but could only deny the confessions that had been made by Babington and others; could only call [describe] her own letters, produced against her by her own secretaries, forgeries; and, in short, could only deny everything. She was found guilty, and declared to have incurred the penalty of death. The Parliament met, approved the sentence, and prayed [ask] the Queen to have it executed. The Queen replied that she requested them to consider whether no means could be found of saving Mary's life without endangering her own. The Parliament rejoined [回答], No; and the citizens illuminated their houses and lighted bonfires, in token [象征] of their joy that all these plots and troubles were to be ended by the death of the Queen of Scots.

六级/考研单词: intellect, plot, perpetual, terror, catholic, besides, torture, spy, conspire, gradual, affection, priest, savage, confide, vain, ridicule, timid, acquaint, deceive, shabby, fingerprint, wallet, clothe, resolve, thief, execute, notify, custody, hunt, wolf, devour, bishop, lately, advice, poison, noble, accustom, disregard, compose, chamber, fortnight, confess, forge, guilt, incur, parliament, pray, endanger, illuminate, token