Republic--the bulwark of England--was the smaller by its loss. By sea England more than held her own, and in =1586= Drake returned from a voyage to the West Indies laden with spoils. 24. =Babington's Plot, and the Trial of Mary Stuart. 1586.=--The Spanish invasion being still delayed, a new plot for murdering Elizabeth was formed. A number of young Catholics (of whom Anthony Babington was the most prominent) had been allowed to remain at Court by Elizabeth, who was perfectly fearless. Acting under the instructions of a priest named Ballard, they now sought basely to take advantage of their easy access to her person to assassinate her. They were detected and executed, and Walsingham, the Secretary of State who conducted the detective department of the government, discovered, or said that he had discovered, evidence of Mary Stuart's approving knowledge of the conspiracy. Elizabeth's servants felt that there was but one way of saving the life of the queen, and that was by taking the life of her whose existence made it worth while to assassinate Elizabeth. Mary was brought to trial and condemned to death on a charge of complicity in Babington's plot. When Parliament met it petitioned Elizabeth to execute the sentence. Elizabeth could not make up her mind. She knew that Mary's execution would save herself and the country from enormous danger, but she shrank from ordering the deed to be done. She signed the warrant for Mary's death, and then asked Mary's gaoler Paulet to save her from responsibility by murdering his prisoner. On Paulet's refusal she continued her vacillations, till the Council authorised Davison, Walsingham's colleague in the Secretaryship, to send off the warrant without further orders. 25. =Execution of Mary Stuart. 1587.=--On February 8, =1587=, Mary Stuart was beheaded at Fotheringhay. Elizabeth carried out to the last the part which she had assumed, threw the blame on Davison, dismissed him from her service, and fined him heavily. After Mary's death the attack on England would have to be conducted in open day. It would be no advantage to Philip and the Pope that Elizabeth should be murdered if her place was to be taken, not by Mary, but by Mary's Protestant son, James of Scotland. CHAPTER XXX ELIZABETH'S YEARS OF TRIUMPH. 1587-1603 LEADING DATES Reign of Elizabeth, 1558-1603 Drake singes the King of Spain's beard 1587 The defeat of the Armada 1588 The rising of O'Neill 1594 The taking of Cadiz 1596 Essex arrives in Ireland 1599 Mountjoy arrives in Ireland 1600 The Monopolies withdrawn 1601 Conquest of Ireland, and death of Elizabeth 1603