58	QUEEN ELIZABETH	chap.
the time of her escape from Scotland, she had nothing
to expect from them but severity. Elizabeth was the
only sovereign who had tried to help her. Moreover,
Mary had always laboured under the delusion that
because most Englishmen regarded her as the next
heir to the crown, and a great many preferred the
old religion to the new, she had as good a party iii
England as Elizabeth herself, if not a better. During
her prosperity, she had made repeated applications
to be allowed to visit the southern kingdom. She
was convinced that, if she once appeared on English
ground, Elizabeth's throne would be shaken; and
Elizabeth's unwillingness to receive the visit had
confirmed her in her belief. If she now crossed tin*
Solway without waiting for the permission which she
had requested by letter, it was not because she was
hard pressed. The Regent had gone to Edinburgh
after the battle. At Dundrennan, among the Catholic
Maxwells, Lord Herries guaranteed her safety for
forty days; and, at an hour's notice, a boat would
place her beyond pursuit. Her haste was rather
prompted by the expectation that Elizabeth, alarmed
by her application, would refuse to receive her.
To Elizabeth the arrival of the Scottish Queen was,
indeed, as unwelcome as it was unexpected. For ten
years she had governed successfully, because she had
managed to hold an even course between conflicting
principles and parties, and to avoid taking up a de-
cisive attitude on the most burning questions. The
very indecision, which was the weak spot in her
character, and which so fretted her Ministers, had, it
must be confessed, contributed something to the result.