The QUEEN, the EARL OF KENT.

ELIZABETH.
How now, my Lord of Kent? What uproar's this
I hear without?

KENT.
My queen, it is thy people,
Who, round the palace ranged, impatiently
Demand to see their sovereign.

ELIZABETH.
What's their wish?

KENT.
A panic terror has already spread
Through London, that thy life has been attempted;
That murderers commissioned from the pope
Beset thee; that the Catholics have sworn
To rescue from her prison Mary Stuart,
And to proclaim her queen. Thy loyal people
Believe it, and are mad; her head alone
Can quiet them; this day must be her last.

ELIZABETH.
How! Will they force me, then?

KENT.
They are resolved——