HISTORY OF THE UNITED NETHERLANDS

Volume II. 

From the Death of William the Silent to the Twelve Year's Truce--1609

By John Lothrop Motley

CHAPTER IX. 1586

 Military Plans in the Netherlands--The Elector and Electorate of Cologne--Martin Schenk--His Career before serving the States-- Franeker University founded--Parma attempts Grave--Battle on the Meuse--Success and Vainglory of Leicester--St. George's Day triumphantly kept at Utrecht--Parma not so much appalled as it was thought--He besieges and reduces Grave--And is Master of the Meuse-- Leicester's Rage at the Surrender of Grave--His Revenge--Parma on the Rhine--He besieges aid assaults Neusz--Horrible Fate of the Garrison and City--Which Leicester was unable to relieve--Asel surprised by Maurice and Sidney--The Zeeland Regiment given to Sidney--Condition of the Irish and English Troops--Leicester takes the Field--He reduces Doesburg--He lays siege to Zutphen--Which Parma prepares to relieve--The English intercept the Convoy--Battle of Warnsfeld--Sir Philip Sidney wounded--Results of the Encounter-- Death of Sidney at Arnheim--Gallantry of Edward Stanley. 

Five great rivers hold the Netherland territory in their coils. Three arebut slightly separated--the Yssel, Waal, and ancient Rhine, while theScheldt and, Meuse are spread more widely asunder. Along each of thesestreams were various fortified cities, the possession of which, in thosedays, when modern fortification was in its infancy, implied the controlof the surrounding country. The lower part of all the rivers, where theymingled with the sea and became wide estuaries, belonged to the Republic, for the coasts and the ocean were in the hands of the Hollanders andEnglish. Above, the various strong places were alternately in the handsof the Spaniards and of the patriots. Thus Antwerp, with the otherScheldt cities, had fallen into Parma's power, but Flushing, whichcontrolled them all, was held by Philip Sidney for the Queen and States. On the Meuse, Maastricht and Roermond were Spanish, but Yenloo, Grave, Meghem, and other towns, held for the commonwealth. On the Waal, the townof Nymegen had, through the dexterity of Martin Schenk, been recentlytransferred to the royalists, while the rest of that river's course wastrue to the republic. The Rhine, strictly so called, from its entranceinto Netherland, belonged to the rebels. Upon its elder branch, theYssel, Zutphen was in Parma's hands, while, a little below, Deventer hadbeen recently and adroitly saved by Leicester and Count Meurs fromfalling into the same dangerous grasp. 

Thus the triple Rhine, after it had crossed the German frontier, belongedmainly, although not exclusively, to the States. But on the edge of theBatavian territory, the ancient river, just before dividing itself intoits three branches, flowed through a debatable country which was evenmore desolate and forlorn, if possible, than the land of the obedientProvinces. 

This unfortunate district was the archi-episcopal electorate of Cologne. The city of Cologne itself, Neusz, and Rheinberg, on the river, Werll andother places in Westphalia and the whole country around, were endangered, invaded, ravaged, and the inhabitants plundered, murdered, and subjectedto every imaginable outrage, by rival bands of highwaymen, enlisted inthe support of the two rival bishops--beggars, outcasts, but high-bornand learned churchmen both--who disputed the electorate. 

At the commencement of the year a portion of the bishopric was still inthe control of the deposed Protestant elector Gebhard Truchsess, assistedof course by the English and the States. The city of Cologne was held bythe Catholic elector, Ernest of Bavaria, bishop of Liege; but Neusz andRheinberg were in the hands of the Dutch republic. 

The military operations of the year were, accordingly, along the Meuse, where the main object of Parma was to wrest Grave From the Netherlands;along the Waal, where, on the other hand, the patriots wished to recoverNymegen; on the Yssel, where they desired to obtain the possession ofZutphen; and in the Cologne electorate, where the Spaniards meant, ifpossible, to transfer Neusz and Rheinberg from Truchsess to ElectorErnest. To clear the course of these streams, and especially to set freethat debatable portion of the river-territory which hemmed him in fromneutral Germany, and cut off the supplies from his starving troops, wasthe immediate design of Alexander Farnese. 

Nothing could be more desolate than the condition of the electorate. Eversince Gebhard Truchsess had renounced the communion of the CatholicChurch for the love of Agnes Mansfeld, and so gained a wife and lost hisprincipality, he had been a dependant upon the impoverished Nassaus, or asupplicant for alms to the thrifty Elizabeth. The Queen was frequentlyimplored by Leicester, without much effect, to send the ex-elector a fewhundred pounds to keep him from starving, as "he had not one groat tolive upon, " and, a little later, he was employed as a go-between, andalmost a spy, by the Earl, in his quarrels with the patrician partyrapidly forming against him in the States. 

At Godesberg--the romantic ruins of which stronghold the traveller stillregards with interest, placed as it is in the midst of that enchantingregion where Drachenfels looks down on the crumbling tower of Roland andthe convent of Nonnenwerth--the unfortunate Gebhard had sustained aconclusive defeat. A small, melancholy man, accomplished, religious, learned, "very poor but very wise, " comely, but of mean stature, altogether an unlucky and forlorn individual, he was not, after all, invery much inferior plight to that in which his rival, the Bavarianbishop, had found himself. Prince Ernest, archbishop of Liege andCologne, a hangeron of his brother, who sought to shake him off, and astipendiary of Philip, who was a worse paymaster than Elizabeth, had asorry life of it, notwithstanding his nominal possession of the see. Hewas forced to go, disguised and in secret, to the Prince of Parma atBrussels, to ask for assistance, and to mention, with lacrymosevehemence, that both his brother and himself had determined to renouncethe episcopate, unless the forces of the Spanish King could be employedto recover the cities on the Rhine. If Neusz and Rheinberg were notwrested from the rebels; Cologne itself would soon be gone. Ernestrepresented most eloquently to Alexander, that if the protestantarchbishop were reinstated in the ancient see, it would be a mostperilous result for the ancient church throughout all northern Europe. Parma kept the wandering prelate for a few days in his palace inBrussels, and then dismissed him, disguised and on foot, in the dusk ofthe evening, through the park-gate. He encouraged him with hopes ofassistance, he represented to his sovereign the importance of preservingthe Rhenish territory to Bishop Ernest and to Catholicism, but hintedthat the declared intention of the Bavarian to resign the dignity, wasprobably a trick, because the archi-episcopate was no such very bad thingafter all. 

The archi-episcopate might be no very bad thing, but it was a mostuncomfortable place of residence, at the moment, for prince or peasant. Overrun by hordes of brigands, and crushed almost out of existence bythat most deadly of all systems of taxations, the 'brandschatzung, ' itwas fast becoming a mere den of thieves. The 'brandschatzung' had no namein English, but it was the well-known impost, levied by rovingcommanders, and even by respectable generals of all nations. A hamlet, cluster of farm-houses, country district, or wealthy city, in order toescape being burned and ravaged, as the penalty of having fallen into aconqueror's hands, paid a heavy sum of ready money on the nail at commandof the conqueror. The free companions of the sixteenth century drove alucrative business in this particular branch of industry; and when tothis was added the more direct profits derived from actual plunder, sack, and ransoming, it was natural that a large fortune was often the resultto the thrifty and persevering commander of free lances. 

Of all the professors of this comprehensive art, the terrible MartinSchenk was preeminent; and he was now ravaging the Cologne territory, having recently passed again to the service of the States. Immediatelyconnected with the chief military events of the period which now occupiesus, he was also the very archetype of the marauders whose existence wascharacteristic of the epoch. Born in 1549 of an ancient and noble familyof Gelderland, Martin Schenk had inherited no property but a sword. Serving for a brief term as page to the Seigneur of Ysselstein, hejoined, while yet a youth, the banner of William of Orange, at the headof two men-at-arms. The humble knight-errant, with his brace of squires, was received with courtesy by the Prince and the Estates, but he soonquarrelled with his patrons. There was a castle of Blyenbeek, belongingto his cousin, which he chose to consider his rightful property, becausehe was of the same race, and because it was a convenient and productiveestate and residence, The courts had different views of public law, andsupported the ousted cousin. Martin shut himself up in the castle, andhaving recently committed a rather discreditable homicide, which stillfurther increased his unpopularity with the patriots, he made overturesto Parma. Alexander was glad to enlist so bold a soldier on his side, andassisted Schenk in his besieged stronghold. For years afterwards, hisservices under the King's banner were most brilliant, and he rose to thehighest military command, while his coffers, meantime, were rapidlyfilling with the results of his robberies and 'brandschatzungs. ' "'Tis amost courageous fellow, " said Parma, "but rather a desperate highwaymanthan a valiant soldier. " Martin's couple of lances had expanded into acorps of free companions, the most truculent, the most obedient, the mostrapacious in Christendom. Never were freebooters more formidable to theworld at large, or more docile to their chief, than were the followers ofGeneral Schenk. Never was a more finished captain of highwaymen. He was aman who was never sober, yet who never smiled. His habitual intoxicationseemed only to increase both his audacity and his taciturnity, withoutdisturbing his reason. He was incapable of fear, of fatigue, of remorse. He could remain for days and nights without dismounting-eating, drinking, and sleeping in the saddle; so that to this terrible centaur his horseseemed actually a part of himself. His soldiers followed him about likehounds, and were treated by him like hounds. He habitually scourged them, often took with his own hand the lives of such as displeased him, and hadbeen known to cause individuals of them to jump from the top of churchsteeples at his command; yet the pack were ever stanch to his orders, forthey knew that he always led them where the game was plenty. Whileserving under Parma he had twice most brilliantly defeated Hohenlo. Atthe battle of Hardenberg Heath he had completely outgeneralled thatdistinguished chieftain, slaying fifteen hundred of his soldiers at theexpense of only fifty or sixty of his own. By this triumph he hadpreserved the important city of Groningen for Philip, during anadditional quarter of a century, and had been received in that city withrapture. Several startling years of victory and rapine he had thus runthrough as a royalist partisan. He became the terror and the scourge ofhis native Gelderland, and he was covered with wounds received in theKing's service. He had been twice captured and held for ransom. Twice hehad effected his escape. He had recently gained the city of Nymegen. Hewas the most formidable, the most unscrupulous, the most audaciousNetherlander that wore Philip's colours; but he had received small publicreward for his services, and the wealth which he earned on the high-roaddid not suffice for his ambition. He had been deeply disgusted, when, atthe death of Count Renneberg, Verdugo, a former stable-boy of Mansfeld, aSpaniard who had risen from the humblest rank to be a colonel andgeneral, had been made governor of Friesland. He had smothered hisresentment for a time however, but had sworn within himself to desert atthe most favourable opportunity. At last, after he had brilliantly savedthe city of Breda from falling into the hands of the patriots, he wasmore enraged than he had ever been before, when Haultepenne, of the houseof Berlapmont, was made governor of that place in his stead. 

On the 25th of May, 1585, at an hour after midnight, he had a secretinterview with Count Meurs, stadholder for the States of Gelderland, andagreed to transfer his mercenary allegiance to the republic. He made goodterms. He was to be lieutenant-governor of Gelderland, and he was to haverank as marshal of the camp in the States' army, with a salary of twelvehundred and fifty guilders a month. He agreed to resign his famous castleof Blyenbeek, but was to be reimbursed with estates in Holland andZeeland, of the annual value of four thousand florins. 

After this treaty, Martin and his free lances served the Statesfaithfully, and became sworn foes to Parma and the King. He gave and tookno quarter, and his men, if captured, "paid their ransom with theirheads. " He ceased to be the scourge of Gelderland, but he became theterror of the electorate. Early in 1586, accompanied by Herman Kloet, theyoung and daring Dutch commandant of Neusz, he had swept down into theWestphalian country, at the head of five hundred foot and five hundredhorse. On the 18th of March he captured the city of Werll by a neatstratagem. The citizens, hemmed in on all sides by marauders, were inwant of many necessaries of life, among other things, of salt. Martinhad, from time to time, sent some of his soldiers into the place, disguised as boors from the neighbourhood, and carrying bags of thatarticle. A pacific trading intercourse had thus been established betweenthe burghers within and the banditti without the gates. Agreeablerelations were formed within the walls, and a party of townsmen hadagreed to cooperate with the followers of Schenk. One morning a train ofwaggons laden with soldiers neatly covered with salt, made theirappearance at the gate. At the same time a fire broke out mostopportunely within the town. The citizens busily employed themselves inextinguishing the flames. The salted soldiers, after passing through thegateway, sprang from the waggons, and mastered the watch. The town was. Carried at a blow. Some of the inhabitants were massacred as a warning tothe rest; others were taken prisoners and held for ransom; a few, morefortunate, made their escape to the citadel. That fortress was stormed invain, but the city was thoroughly sacked. Every house was rifled of itscontents. Meantime Haultepenne collected a force of nearly four thousandmen, boors, citizens, and soldiers, and came to besiege Schenk in thetown, while, at the same time, attacks were made upon him from thecastle. It was impossible for him to hold the city, but he had completelyrobbed it of every thing valuable. Accordingly he loaded a train ofwaggons with his booty, took with him thirty of the magistrates ashostages, with other wealthy citizens, and marching in good order againstHaultepenne, completely routed him, killing a number variously estimatedat from five hundred to two thousand, and effected his retreat, desperately wounded in the thigh, but triumphant, and laden with thespoils to Venlo on the Meuse, of which city he was governor. 

"Surely this is a noble fellow, a worthy fellow, " exclaimed Leicester, who was filled with admiration at the bold marauder's progress, and vowedthat he was "the only soldier in truth that they had, for he was neveridle, and had succeeded hitherto very happily. "

And thus, at every point of the doomed territory of the littlecommonwealth, the natural atmosphere in which the inhabitants existed wasone of blood and rapine. Yet during the very slight lull, which wasinterposed in the winter of 1585-6 to the eternal clang of arms inFriesland, the Estates of that Province, to their lasting honour, foundedthe university of Franeker. A dozen years before, the famous institutionat Leyden had been established, as a reward to the burghers for theirheroic defence of the city. And now this new proof was given of the loveof Netherlanders, even in the midst of their misery and their warfare, for the more humane arts. The new college was well endowed from ancientchurchlands, and not only was the education made nearly gratuitous, whilehandsome salaries were provided for the professors, but provision wasmade by which the poorer scholars could be fed and boarded at a verymoderate expense. There was a table provided at an annual cost to thestudent of but fifty florins, and a second and third table at the verylow price of forty and thirty florins respectively. Thus the sum to bepaid by the poorer class of scholars for a year's maintenance was lessthan three pounds sterling a year [1855 exchange rate D. W. ]. The voicewith which this infant seminary of the Muses first made itself heardabove the din of war was but feeble, but the institution was destined tothrive, and to endow the world, for many successive generations, with thegolden fruits of science and genius. 

Early in the spring, the war was seriously taken in hand by Farnese. Ithas already been seen that the republic had been almost entirely drivenout of Flanders and Brabant. The Estates, however, still held Grave, Megem, Batenburg, and Venlo upon the Meuse. That river formed, as itwere, a perfect circle of protection for the whole Province of Brabant, and Farnese determined to make himself master of this great natural moat. Afterwards, he meant to possess himself of the Rhine, flowing in aparallel course, about twenty-five miles further to the east. In order togain and hold the Meuse, the first step was to reduce the city of Grave. That town, upon the left or Brabant bank, was strongly fortified on itsland-side, where it was surrounded by low and fertile pastures, while, upon the other, it depended upon its natural Toss, the river. It was, according to Lord North and the Earl of Leicester, the "strongest town inall the Low Countries, though but a little one. "

Baron Hemart, a young Gueldrian noble, of small experience in militaryaffairs, commanded in the city, his garrison being eight hundredsoldiers, and about one thousand burgher guard. As early as January, Farnese had ordered Count Mansfeld to lay siege to the place. Five fortshad accordingly been constructed, above and below the town, upon the leftbank of the river, while a bridge of boats thrown across the stream ledto a fortified camp on the opposite side. Mansfeld, Mondragon, Bobadil, Aquila, and other distinguished veterans in Philip's service, wereengaged in the enterprise. A few unimportant skirmishes between Schenkand the Spaniards had taken place, but the city was already hard pressed, and, by the series of forts which environed it, was cut off from itssupplies. It was highly important, therefore, that Grave should berelieved, with the least possible delay. 

Early in Easter week, a force of three thousand men, under Hohenlo andSir John Norris, was accordingly despatched by Leicester, with orders, atevery hazard, to throw reinforcements and provisions into the place. Theytook possession, at once, of a stone sconce, called the Mill-Fort, whichwas guarded by fifty men, mostly boors of the country. These were nearlyall hanged for "using malicious words, " and for "railing against QueenElizabeth, " and--a sufficient number of men being left to maintain thefort--the whole relieving force marched with great difficulty--for theriver was rapidly rising, and flooding the country--along the right bankof the Meuse, taking possession of Batenburg and Ravenstein castles, asthey went. A force of four or five hundred Englishmen was then pushedforward to a point almost exactly opposite Grave, and within an Englishmile of the head of the bridge constructed by the Spaniards. Here, in thenight of Easter Tuesday, they rapidly formed an entrenched camp, upon thedyke along the river, and, although molested by some armed vessels, succeeded in establishing themselves in a most important position. 

On the morning of Easter Wednesday, April 16, Mansfeld, perceiving thatthe enemy had thus stolen a march upon him, ordered one thousand pickedtroops, all Spaniards, under Aquila, Casco and other veterans, to assaultthis advanced post. A reserve of two thousand was placed in readiness tosupport the attack. The Spaniards slowly crossed the bridge, which wasswaying very dangerously with the current, and then charged theentrenched camp at a run. A quarrel between the different regiments as tothe right of precedence precipitated the attack, before the reserve, consisting of some picked companies of Mondragon's veterans, had beenable to arrive. Coming in breathless and fatigued, the first assailantswere readily repulsed in their first onset. Aquila then opportunely madehis appearance, and the attack was renewed with great vigour: Thedefenders of the camp yielded at the third charge and fled in dismay, while the Spaniards, leaping the barriers, scattered hither and thitherin the ardour of pursuit. The routed Englishmen fled swiftly along theoozy dyke, in hopes of joining the main body of the relieving party, whowere expected to advance, with the dawn, from their position six milesfarther down the river. Two miles long the chace lasted, and it seemedprobable that the fugitives would be overtaken and destroyed, when, atlast, from behind a line of mounds which stretched towards Batenburg andhad masked their approach, appeared Count Hohenlo and Sir John Norris, atthe head of twenty-five hundred Englishmen and Hollanders. This force, advanced as rapidly as the slippery ground and the fatigue of a twohours' march would permit to the rescue of their friends, while theretreating English rallied, turned upon their pursuers, and drove themback over the path along which they had just been charging in the fullcareer of victory. The fortune of the day was changed, and in a fewminutes Hohenlo and Norris would have crossed the river and enteredGrave, when the Spanish companies of Bobadil and other commanders wereseen marching along the quaking bridge. 

Three thousand men on each side now met at push of pike on the bank ofthe Meuse. The rain-was pouring in torrents, the wind was blowing a gale, the stream was rapidly rising, and threatening to overwhelm its shores. By a tacit and mutual consent, both armies paused for a few moments infull view of each other. After this brief interval they closed again, breast to breast, in sharp and steady conflict. The ground, slippery withrain and with blood, which was soon flowing almost as fast as the rain, afforded an unsteady footing to the combatants. They staggered likedrunken men, fell upon their knees, or upon their backs, and still, kneeling or rolling prostrate, maintained the deadly conflict. For thespace of an hour and a half the fierce encounter of human passionoutmastered the fury of the elements. Norris and Hohenlo fought at thehead of their columns, like paladins of old. The Englishman was woundedin the mouth and breast, the Count was seen to gallop past one thousandmusketeers and caliver-men of the enemy, and to escape unscathed. But asthe strength of the soldiers exhausted itself, the violence of thetempest increased. The floods of rain and the blasts of the hurricane atlast terminated the affray. The Spaniards, fairly conquered, werecompelled to a retreat, lest the rapidly rising river should sweep awaythe frail and trembling bridge, over which they had passed to theirunsuccessful assault. The English and Netherlanders remained masters ofthe field. The rising flood, too, which was fast converting the meadowsinto a lake, was as useful to the conquerors as it was damaging to theSpaniards. 

In the course of the few following days, a large number of boats wasdespatched before the very eyes of Parma, from Batenburg into Grave;Hohenlo, who had "most desperately adventured his person" throughout thewhole affair, entering the town himself. 

A force of five hundred men, together with provisions enough to last ayear, was thrown into the city, and the course of the Meuse was, apparently, secured to the republic. In this important action about onehundred and fifty Dutch and English were killed, and probably fourhundred Spaniards, including several distinguished officers. 

The Earl of Leicester was incredibly elated so soon as the success ofthis enterprise was known. "Oh that her Majesty knew, " he cried, "howeasy a match now she hath with the King of Spain, and what millions ofafflicted people she hath relieved in these, countries. This summer, thissummer, I say, would make an end to her immortal glory. " He was no friendto his countryman, the gallant Sir John Norris--whom, however, he couldnot help applauding on this occasion, --but he was in raptures withHohenlo. Next to God, he assured the Queen's government that the victorywas owing to the Count. "He is both a valiant man and a wise man, and thepainfullest that ever I knew, " he said; adding--as a secret--that "fivehundred Englishmen of the best Flemish training had flatly and shamefullyrun away, " when the fight had been renewed by Hohenlo and Norris. Herecommended that her Majesty should, send her picture to the Count, worthtwo hundred pounds, which he would value at more than one thousand poundsin money, and he added that "for her sake the Count had greatly left hisdrinking. "

As for the Prince of Parma, Leicester looked upon him as conclusivelybeaten. He spoke of him as "marvellously appalled" by this overthrow ofhis forces; but he assured the government that if the Prince's "cholershould press him to seek revenge, " he should soon be driven out of thecountry. The Earl would follow him "at an inch, " and effectuallyfrustrate all his undertakings. "If the Spaniard have such a May as hehas had an April, " said Lord North, "it will put water in his wine. "

Meantime, as St. George's Day was approaching, and as the Earl was fondof banquets and ceremonies, it was thought desirable to hold a greattriumphal feast at Utrecht. His journey to that city from the Hague was atriumphal procession. In all the towns through which he passed he wasentertained with military display, pompous harangues, interludes, dumbshows, and allegories. At Amsterdam--a city which he compared to Venicefor situation and splendour, and where one thousand ships were constantlylying--he was received with "sundry great whales and other fishes ofhugeness, " that gambolled about his vessel, and convoyed him to theshore. These monsters of the deep presented him to the burgomaster andmagistrates who were awaiting him on the quay. The burgomaster made him aLatin oration, to which Dr. Bartholomew Clerk responded, and then theEarl was ushered to the grand square, upon which, in his honour, amagnificent living picture was exhibited, in which he figured as Moses, at the head of the Israelites, smiting the Philistines hip and thigh. After much mighty banqueting in Amsterdam, as in the other cities, thegovernor-general came to Utrecht. Through the streets of this antique andmost picturesque city flows the palsied current of the Rhine, and everybarge and bridge were decorated with the flowers of spring. Upon thisspot, where, eight centuries before the Anglo-Saxon, Willebrod had firstastonished the wild Frisians with the pacific doctrines of Jesus, and hadbeen stoned to death as his reward, stood now a more arrogantrepresentative of English piety. The balconies were crowded with fairwomen, and decorated with scarves and banners. From the Earl'sresidence--the ancient palace of the Knights of Rhodes--to the cathedral, the way was lined with a double row of burgher guards, wearing red roseson their arms, and apparelled in the splendid uniforms for which theNetherlanders were celebrated. Trumpeters in scarlet and silver, barons, knights, and great officers, in cloth of gold and silks of all colours;the young Earl of Essex, whose career was to be so romantic, and whosefate so tragic; those two ominous personages, the deposed littlearchbishop-elector of Cologne, with his melancholy face, and the unluckyDon Antonio, Pretender of Portugal, for whom, dead or alive, thirtythousand crowns and a dukedom were perpetually offered by Philip II. ;young Maurice of Nassau, the future controller of European destinies;great counsellors of state, gentlemen, guardsmen, and portcullis-herald, with the coat of arms of Elizabeth, rode in solemn procession along. Thengreat Leicester himself, "most princelike in the robes of his order, "guarded by a troop of burghers, and by his own fifty halberd-men inscarlet cloaks trimmed with white and purple velvet, pranced gorgeouslyby. 

The ancient cathedral, built on the spot where Saint Willebrod had onceministered, with its light, tapering, brick tower, three hundred andsixty feet in height, its exquisitely mullioned windows, and itselegantly foliaged columns, soon received the glittering throng. Hence, after due religious ceremonies, and an English sermon from MasterKnewstubs, Leicester's chaplain, was a solemn march back again to thepalace, where a stupendous banquet was already laid in the great hall. 

On the dais at the upper end of the table, blazing with plate andcrystal, stood the royal chair, with the Queen's plate and knife and forkbefore it, exactly as if she had been present, while Leicester's trencherand stool were set respectfully quite at the edge of the board. In theneighbourhood of this post of honour sat Count Maurice, the Elector, thePretender, and many illustrious English personages, with the fair AgnesMansfeld, Princess Chimay, the daughters of William the Silent, and otherdames of high degree. 

Before the covers were removed, came limping up to the dais grim-visagedMartin Schenk, freshly wounded, but triumphant, from the sack of Werll, and black John Norris, scarcely cured of the spearwounds in his face andbreast received at the relief of Grave. The sword of knighthood was laidupon the shoulder of each hero, by the Earl of Leicester, as herMajesty's vicegerent; and then the ushers marshalled the mighty feast. Meats in the shape of lions, tigers, dragons, and leopards, flanked bypeacocks, swans, pheasants, and turkeys "in their natural feathers as intheir greatest pride, " disappeared, course after course, sonorous metalblowing meanwhile the most triumphant airs. After the banquet camedancing, vaulting, tumbling; together with the "forces of Hercules, whichgave great delight to the strangers, " after which the company separateduntil evensong. 

Then again, "great was the feast, " says the chronicler, --a mighty supperfollowing hard upon the gigantic dinner. After this there was tilting atthe barriers, the young Earl of Essex and other knights bearingthemselves more chivalrously than would seem to comport with so mucheating and drinking. Then, horrible to relate, came another "mostsumptuous banquet of sugar-meates for the men-at-arms and the ladies, "after which, it being now midnight, the Lord of Leicester bade the wholecompany good rest, and the men-at-arms and ladies took their leave. 

But while all this chivalrous banqueting and holiday-making was in hand, the Prince of Parma was in reality not quite so much "appalled" by therelief of Grave as his antagonist had imagined. The Earl, flushed withthe success of Hohenlo, already believed himself master of the country, and assured his government, that, if he should be reasonably wellsupplied, he would have Antwerp back again and Bruges besides before midJune. Never, said he, was "the Prince of Parma so dejected nor somelancholy since he came into these countries, nor so far out ofcourage. " And it is quite true that Alexander had reason to bediscouraged. He had but eight or nine thousand men, and no money to payeven this little force. The soldiers were perishing daily, and nearly allthe survivors were described by their chief, as sick or maimed. Thefamine in the obedient Provinces was universal, the whole population wasdesperate with hunger; and the merchants, frightened by Drake'ssuccesses, and appalled by the ruin all around them, drew theirpurse-strings inexorably. "I know not to what saint to devote myself, "said Alexander. He had been compelled, by the movement before Grave, towithdraw Haultepenne from the projected enterprise against Neusz, and hewas quite aware of the cheerful view which Leicester was inclined to takeof their relative positions. "The English think they are going to dogreat things, " said he; "and consider themselves masters of the field. "

Nevertheless, on the 11th May, the dejected melancholy man had leftBrussels, and joined his little army, consisting of three thousandSpaniards and five thousand of all other nations. His veterans, thoughunpaid; ragged, and half-starved were in raptures to, have their idolizedcommander among them again, and vowed that under his guidance there wasnothing which they could not accomplish. The King's honour, his own, thatof the army, all were pledged to take the city. On the success of, thatenterprise, he said, depended all his past conquests, and every hope forthe future. Leicester and the English, whom he called the head and bodyof the rebel forces, were equally pledged to relieve the place, and werebent upon meeting him in the field. The Earl had taken some forts in theBatavia--Betuwe; or "good meadow, " which he pronounced as fertile andabout as large as Herefordshire, --and was now threatening Nymegen, a citywhich had been gained for Philip by the last effort of Schenk, on theroyalist side. He was now observing Alexander's demonstrations againstGrave; but, after the recent success in victualling that place, he felt ajust confidence in its security. 

On the 31st May the trenches were commenced, and on the 5th June thebatteries were opened. The work went rapidly forward when Farnese was inthe field. "The Prince of Parma doth batter it like a Prince, " said LordNorth, admiring the enemy with the enthusiasm of an honest soldier: Onthe 6th of June, as Alexander rode through the camp to reconnoitre, previous to an attack. A well-directed cannon ball carried away thehinder half, of his horse. The Prince fell to the ground, and, for amoment, dismay was in the Spanish ranks. At the next instant, thoughsomewhat bruised, he was on his feet again, and, having found the breachsufficiently promising, he determined on the assault. 

As a preliminary measure, he wished to occupy a tower which had beenbattered nearly to ruins, situate near the river. Captain de Solis wasordered, with sixty veterans, to take possession of this tower, and to"have a look at the countenance of the enemy, without amusing himselfwith anything else. " The tower was soon secured, but Solis, indisobedience to his written instructions led his men against the ravelin, which was still in a state of perfect defence. A musket-ball soonstretched him dead beneath the wall, and his followers, still attemptingto enter the impracticable breach, were repelled by a shower of stonesand blazing pitch-hoops. Hot sand; too, poured from sieves and baskets, insinuated itself within the armour of the Spaniards, and occasioned suchexquisite suffering, that many threw themselves into the river to allaythe pain. Emerging refreshed, but confused, they attempted in vain torenew the onset. Several of the little band were slain, the assault wasquite unsuccessful, and the trumpet sounded a recal. So completelydiscomfited were the Spaniards by this repulse, and so thoroughly attheir ease were the besieged, that a soldier let himself down from theramparts of the town for the sake of plundering the body of CaptainSolis, who was richly dressed, and, having accomplished this feat, wasquietly helped back again by his comrades from above. 

To the surprise of the besiegers, however, on the very next morning camea request from the governor of the city, Baron Hemart, to negotiate for asurrender. Alexander was, naturally, but too glad to grant easy terms, and upon the 7th of June the garrison left the town with coloursdisplayed and drums beating, and the Prince of Parma marched into it, atthe head of his troops. He found a year's provision there for sixthousand men, while, at the same time, the walls had suffered so little, that he must have been obliged to wait long for a practicable breach. 

"There was no good reason even for women to have surrendered the place, "exclaimed Leicester, when he heard the news. And the Earl had cause to beenraged at such a result. He had received a letter only the day before, signed by Hemart himself and by all the officers in Grave, assertingtheir determination and ability to hold the place for a good five months, or for an indefinite period, and until they should be relieved. Andindeed all the officers, with three exceptions, had protested against thebase surrender. But at the bottom of the catastrophe--of the disastrousloss of the city and the utter ruin of young Hemart--was a woman. Thegovernor was governed by his mistress, a lady of good family in theplace, but of Spanish inclinations, and she, for some mysterious reasons, had persuaded him thus voluntarily to capitulate. 

Parma lost no time, however, in exulting over his success. Upon the sameday the towns of Megen and Batenburg surrendered to him, and immediatelyafterwards siege was laid to Venlo, a town of importance, lying thirtymiles farther up the Meuse. The wife and family of Martin Schenk were inthe city, together with two hundred horses, and from forty to one hundredthousand crowns in money, plate; and furniture belonging to him. 

That bold partisan, accompanied by the mad Welshman, Roger Williams, atthe head of one hundred and thirty English lances and thirty of Schenk'smen, made a wild nocturnal attempt to cut their way through the besiegingforce, and penetrate to the city. They passed through the enemy's lines, killed all the corps-de-garde, and many Spanish troopers--the terribleMartin's own hand being most effective in this midnight slaughter--andreached the very door of Parma's tent, where they killed his secretaryand many of his guards. It was even reported; and generally believed, that Farnese himself had been in imminent danger, that Schenk had firedhis pistol at him unsuccessfully, and had then struck him on the headwith its butt-end, and that the Prince had only saved his life by leapingfrom his horse, and scrambling through a ditch. But these seem to havebeen fables. The alarm at last became general, the dawn of a summer's daywas fast approaching; the drums beat to arms, and the bold marauders wereobliged to effect their retreat, as they best might, hotly pursued bynear two thousand men. Having slain many of, the Spanish army, and lostnearly half their own number, they at last obtained shelter inWachtendonk. 

Soon afterwards the place capitulated without waiting for a battery, uponmoderate terms. Schenk's wife was sent away (28 June 1586) courteouslywith her family, in a coach and four, and with as much "apparel" as mightbe carried with her. His property was confiscated, for "no fair warscould be made with him. "

Thus, within a few weeks after taking the field, the "dejected, melancholy" man, who was so "out of courage, " and the soldiers who wereso "marvellously beginning to run away"--according to the Earl ofLeicester--had swept their enemy from every town on the Meuse. That riverwas now, throughout its whole course, in the power of the Spaniards. TheProvince of Brabant became thoroughly guarded again by its foes, and theenemy's road was opened into the northern Provinces. 

Leicester, meantime, had not distinguished himself. It must be confessedthat he had been sadly out-generalled. The man who had talked offollowing the enemy inch by inch, and who had pledged himself not only toprotect Grave, and any other place that might be attacked, but even torecover Antwerp and Bruges within a few weeks, had wasted the time invery desultory operations. After the St. George feasting, Knewstubsermons, and forces of Hercules, were all finished, the Earl had takenthe field with five thousand foot and fifteen hundred horse. Hisintention was to clear the Yssel; by getting possession of Doesburg andZutphen, but, hearing of Parma's demonstrations upon Grave, he abandonedthe contemplated siege of those cities, and came to Arnheim. He thencrossed the Rhine into the Isle of Batavia, and thence, after taking afew sconces of inferior importance--while Schenk, meanwhile, was buildingon the Island of Gravenweert, at the bifurcation of the Rhine and Waal, the sconce so celebrated a century later as 'Schenk's Fort'(Schenkenschans)---he was preparing to pass the Waal in order to attackFarnese, when he heard to his astonishment, of the surrender of Grave. 

He could therefore--to his chagrin--no longer save that important city, but he could, at least, cut off the head of the culprit. Leicester was inBommel when he heard of Baron Hemart's faint-heartedness or treachery, and his wrath was extravagant in proportion to the exultation with whichhis previous success had inspired him. He breathed nothing but revengeagainst the coward and the traitor, who had delivered up the town in"such lewd and beastly sort. "

"I will never depart hence, " he said, "till by the goodness of God I besatisfied someway of this villain's treachery. " There could be littledoubt that Hemart deserved punishment. There could be as little thatLeicester would mete it out to him in ample measure. "The lewd villainwho gave up Grave, " said he, "and the captains as deep in fault ashimself, shall all suffer together. "

Hemart came boldly to meet him. "The honest man came to me at Bommel, "said Leicester, and he assured the government that it was in the hope ofpersuading the magistrates of that and other towns to imitate his owntreachery. 

But the magistrates straightway delivered the culprit to thegovernor-general, who immediately placed him under arrest. Acourt-martial was summoned, 26th of June, at Utrecht, consisting ofHohenlo, Essex, and other distinguished officers. They found that theconduct of the prisoner merited death, but left it to the Earl to decidewhether various extenuating circumstances did not justify a pardon. Hohenlo and Norris exerted themselves to procure a mitigation of theyoung man's sentence, and they excited thereby the governor's deepindignation. Norris, according to Leicester, was in love with theculprit's aunt, and was therefore especially desirous of saving his life. Moreover, much use was made of the discredit which had been thrown by theQueen on the Earl's authority, and it was openly maintained, that, beingno longer governor-general, he had no authority to order execution upon aNetherland officer. 

The favourable circumstances urged in the case, were, that Hemart was ayoung man, without experience in military matters, and that he had beenovercome by the supplications and outcries of the women, panic-struckafter the first assault. There were no direct proofs of treachery, oreven of personal cowardice. He begged hard for a pardon, not on accountof his life, but for the sake of his reputation. He earnestly imploredpermission to serve under the Queen of England, as a private soldier, without pay, on land or sea, for as many years as she should specify, andto be selected for the most dangerous employments, in order that, beforehe died, he might wipe out the disgrace, which, through his fault, in anhour of weakness, had come upon an ancient and honourable house. Muchinterest was made for him--his family connection being powerful--and ageneral impression prevailing that he had erred through folly rather thandeep guilt. But Leicester beating himself upon the breast--as he was wontwhen excited--swore that there should be no pardon for such a traitor. The States of Holland and Zeeland, likewise, were decidedly in favour ofa severe example. 

Hemart was accordingly led to the scaffold on the 28th June. He spoke tothe people with great calmness, and, in two languages, French andFlemish, declared that he was guiltless of treachery, but that the terrorand tears of the women, in an hour of panic, had made a coward of him. Hewas beheaded, standing. The two captains, Du Ban and Koeboekum, who hadalso been condemned, suffered with him. A third captain, likewiseconvicted, was, "for very just cause, ", pardoned by Leicester. The Earlpersisted in believing that Hemart had surrendered the city as part of adeliberate plan, and affirmed that in such a time, when men had come tothink no more of giving up a town than of abandoning a house, it washighly necessary to afford an example to traitors and satisfaction to thepeople. And the people were thoroughly satisfied, according to thegovernor, and only expressed their regret that three or four members ofthe States-General could not have their heads cut off as well, being asarrant knaves as Henlart; "and so I think they be, " added Leicester. 

Parma having thus made himself master of the Meuse, lost no time inmaking a demonstration upon the parallel course of the Rhine, thirtymiles farther east. Schenk, Kloet; and other partisans, kept that portionof the archi-episcopate and of Westphalia in a state of perpetualcommotion. Early in the preceding year, Count de Meurs had, by afortunate stratagem, captured the town of Neusz for the deposed elector, and Herman Kloet, a young and most determined Geldrian soldier, nowcommanded in the place. 

The Elector Ernest had made a visit in disguise to the camp of Parma, andhad represented the necessity of recovering the city. It had become thestronghold of heretics, rebels, and banditti. The Rhine was in theirhands, and with it the perpetual power of disturbing the loyalNetherlands. It was as much the interest of his Catholic Majesty as thatof the Archbishop that Neusz should be restored to its lawful owner. Parma had felt the force of this reasoning, and had early in the yearsent Haultepenne to invest the city. He had been obliged to recal thatcommander during the siege of Grave. The place being reduced, Alexander, before the grass could grow beneath his feet advanced to the Rhine inperson. Early in July he appeared before the walls of Neusz with eightthousand foot and two thousand horse. The garrison under Kloet numberedscarcely more than sixteen hundred effective soldiers, all Netherlandersand Germans, none being English. 

The city is twenty-miles below Cologne. It was so well fortified that acentury before it had stood a year's siege from the famous Charles theBold, who, after all, had been obliged to retire. It had also resistedthe strenuous efforts of Charles the Fifth; and was now stronger than itever had been. It was thoroughly well provisioned, so that it was safeenough "if those within it, " said Leicester, "be men. " The Earl expressedthe opinion, however, that "those fellows were not good to defend towns, unless the besiegers were obliged to swim to the attack. " The issue wasto show whether the sarcasm were just or not. Meantime the town wasconsidered by the governor-general to be secure, "unless towns were to behad for the asking. "

Neusz is not immediately upon the Rhine, but that river, which sweepsaway in a north-easterly direction from the walls, throws out an armwhich completely encircles the town. A part of the place, cut into anisland by the Erpt, was strengthened by two redoubts. This island wasabandoned, as being too weak to hold, and the Spaniards took possessionof it immediately. There were various preliminary and sanguinary sortiesand skirmishes, during which the Spaniards after having been once drivenfrom the island, again occupied that position. Archbishop Ernest cameinto the camp, and, before proceeding to a cannonade, Parma offered tothe city certain terms of capitulation, which were approved by thatprelate. Kloet replied to this proposal, that he was wedded to the townand to his honour, which were as one. These he was incapable ofsacrificing, but his life he was ready to lay down. There was, throughsome misapprehension, a delay in reporting this answer to Farnese. Meantime that general became impatient, and advanced to the battery ofthe Italian regiment. Pretending to be a plenipotentiary from thecommander-in-chief, he expostulated in a loud voice at the slowness oftheir counsels. Hardly had he begun to speak, when a shower of ballsrattled about him. His own soldiers were terrified at his danger, and acry arose in the town that "Holofernese"--as the Flemings and Germanswere accustomed to nickname Farnese--was dead. Strange to relate, he wasquite unharmed, and walked back to his tent with dignified slowness and avery frowning face. It was said that this breach of truce had been begunby the Spaniards, who had fired first, and had been immediately answeredby the town. This was hotly denied, and Parma sent Colonel Tasais with aflag of truce to the commander, to rebuke and to desire an explanation ofthis dishonourable conduct. 

The answer given, or imagined, was that Commander Kloet had been soundasleep, but that he now much regretted this untoward accident. Theexplanation was received with derision, for it seemed hardly probablethat so young and energetic a soldier would take the opportunity torefresh himself with slumber at a moment when a treaty for thecapitulation of a city under his charge was under discussion. Thisterminated the negotiation. 

A few days afterwards, the feast of St James was celebrated in theSpanish camp, with bonfires and other demonstrations of hilarity. Thetownsmen are said to have desecrated the same holiday by roasting alivein the market-place two unfortunate soldiers, who had been captured in asortie a few days before; besides burning the body of the holy SaintQuirinus, with other holy relics. The detestable deed was to be mosthorribly avenged. 

A steady cannonade from forty-five great guns was kept up from 2 A. M. OfJuly 15 until the dawn of the following day; the cannoneers--being allprovided with milk and vinegar to cool the pieces. At daybreak theassault was ordered. Eight separate attacks were made with the usualimpetuosity of Spaniards, and were steadily repulsed. 

At the ninth, the outer wall was carried, and the Spaniards shouting"Santiago" poured over it, bearing back all resistance. An Italian Knightof the Sepulchre, Cesar Guidiccioni by name, and a Spanish ensign, oneAlphonao de Mesa, with his colours in one hand and a ladder in the other, each claimed the honour of having first mounted the breach. Both beingdeemed equally worthy of reward, Parma, after the city had been won, tookfrom his own cap a sprig of jewels and a golden wheat-ear ornamented witha gem, which he had himself worn in place of a plume, and thus presentedeach with a brilliant token of his regard. The wall was then strengthenedagainst the inner line of fortification, and all night long a desperateconflict was maintained in the dark upon the narrow space between the twobarriers. Before daylight Kloet, who then, as always, had led his men inthe moat desperate adventures, was carried into the town, wounded in fiveplaces, and with his leg almost severed at the thigh. "'Tis the bravestman, " said the enthusiastic Lord North, "that was ever heard of in theworld. "--"He is but a boy, " said Alexander Farnese, "but a commander ofextraordinary capacity and valour. "

Early in the morning, when this mishap was known, an officer was sent tothe camp of the besiegers to treat. The soldiers received him withfurious laughter, and denied him access to the general. "Commander Kloethad waked from his nap at a wrong time, " they said, "and the Prince ofParma was now sound asleep, in his turn. " There was no possibility ofcommencing a negotiation. The Spaniards, heated by the conflict, maddenedby opposition, and inspired by the desire to sack a wealthy city, overpowered all resistance. "My little soldiers were not to berestrained, " said Farnese, and so compelling a reluctant consent on thepart of the commander-in-chief to an assault, the Italian and Spanishlegions poured into the town at two opposite gates; which were no longerstrong enough to withstand the enemy. The two streams met in the heart ofthe place, and swept every living thing in their path out of existence. The garrison was butchered to a man, and subsequently many of theinhabitants--men, women, and children-also, although the women; to thehonour of Alexander, had been at first secured from harm in some of thechurches, where they had been ordered to take refuge. The first blast ofindignation was against the commandant of the place. Alexander, who hadadmired, his courage, was not unfavourably disposed towards him, butArchbishop Ernest vehemently, demanded his immediate death, as a personalfavour to himself. As the churchman was nominally sovereign of the cityalthough in reality a beggarly dependant on Philip's alms, Farnese feltbound to comply. The manner in which it was at first supposed that theBishop's Christian request had; been complied, with, sent a shudderthrough every-heart in the Netherlands. "They took Kloet, wounded as hewas, " said Lord North, "and first strangled, him, then smeared him withpitch, and burnt him with gunpowder; thus, with their holiness, they, made a tragical end of an heroical service. It is wondered that thePrince would suffer so great an outrage to be done to so noble a soldier, who did but his duty. "

But this was an error. A Jesuit priest was sent to the house of thecommandant, for a humane effort was thought necessary in order to savethe soul of the man whose life was forfeited for the crime of defendinghis city. The culprit was found lying in bed. His wife, a woman ofremarkable beauty, with her sister, was in attendance upon him. Thespectacle of those two fair women, nursing a wounded soldier fallen uponthe field of honour, might have softened devils with sympathy. But theJesuit was closely followed by a band of soldiers, who, notwithstandingthe supplications of the women, and the demand of Kloet to be indulgedwith a soldier's death, tied a rope round the commandant's necks draggedhim from his bed, and hanged him from his own window. The Calvinistclergyman, Fosserus of Oppenheim, the deacons of the congregation, twomilitary officers, and--said Parma--"forty other rascals, " were murderedin the same way at the same time. The bodies remained at the window tillthey were devoured by the flames, which soon consumed the house. For avast conflagration, caused none knew whether by accident, by the despairof the inhabitants; by the previous, arrangements of the commandant, bythe latest-arrived bands of the besiegers enraged that the Italians andSpaniards had been beforehand with them in the spoils, or--as Farnesemore maturely believed--by the special agency of the Almighty, offendedwith the burning of Saint Quirinus, --now came to complete the horror ofthe scene. Three-quarters of the town were at once in a blaze. Thechurches, where the affrighted women had been cowering during the sackand slaughter, were soon on fire, and now, amid the crash of fallinghouses and the uproar of the drunken soldiery, those unhappy victims wereseen flitting along the flaming streets; seeking refuge against the furyof the elements in the more horrible cruelty of man. The fire lasted allday and night, and not one stone would have been left upon another, hadnot the body of a second saint, saved on a former occasion from theheretics by the piety of a citizen, been fortunately deposited in hishouse. At this point the conflagration was stayed--for the flames refusedto consume these holy relics--but almost the whole of the town wasdestroyed, while at least four thousand people, citizens and soldiers, had perished by sword or fire. 

Three hundred survivors of the garrison took refuge in a tower. Its basewas surrounded, and, after brief parley, they descended as prisoners. ThePrince and Haultepenne attempted in vain to protect them against the furyof the soldiers, and every man of them was instantly put to death. 

The next day, Alexander gave orders that the wife and sister of thecommandant should be protected--for they had escaped, as if by miracle, from all the horrors of that day and night--and sent, under escort, totheir friends! Neusz had nearly ceased to exist, for according tocontemporaneous accounts, but eight houses had escaped destruction. 

And the reflection was most painful to Leicester and to every generousEnglishman or Netherlander in the country, that this important city andits heroic defenders might have been preserved, but for want of harmonyand want of money. Twice had the Earl got together a force of fourthousand men for the relief of the place, and twice had he been obligedto disband them again for the lack of funds to set them in the field. 

He had pawned his plate and other valuables, exhausted his credit, andhad nothing for it but to wait for the Queen's tardy remittances, and towrangle with the States; for the leaders of that body were unwilling toaccord large supplies to a man who had become personally suspected bythem, and was the representative of a deeply-suspected government. Meanwhile, one-third at least of the money which really found its wayfrom time to time out of England, was filched from the "poor starvedwretches, " as Leicester called his soldiers, by the dishonesty of Norris, uncle of Sir John and army-treasurer. This man was growing so rich on hispeculations, on his commissions, and on his profits from paying thetroops in a depreciated coin, that Leicester declared the whole revenueof his own landed estates in England to be less than that functionary'sannual income. Thus it was difficult to say whether the "ragged rogues"of Elizabeth or the maimed and neglected soldiers of Philip were in themore pitiable plight. 

The only consolation in the recent reduction of Neusz was to be found inthe fact that Parma had only gained a position, for the town had ceasedto exist; and in the fiction that he had paid for his triumph by the lossof six thousand soldiers, killed and wounded. In reality not more thanfive hundred of Farnese's army lost their lives, and although the town, excepting some churches, had certainly been destroyed; yet the Prince wasnow master of the Rhine as far as Cologne, and of the Meuse as far asGrave. The famine which pressed so sorely upon him, might now berelieved, and his military communications with Germany be consideredsecure. 

The conqueror now turned his attention to Rheinberg, twenty-five milesfarther down the river. 

Sir Philip Sidney had not been well satisfied by the comparative idlenessin which, from these various circumstances; he had been compelled toremain. Early in the spring he had been desirous of making an attack uponFlanders by capturing the town of Steenberg. The faithful Roger Williamshad strongly seconded the proposal. "We wish to show your Excellency, "said he to Leicester, "that we are not sound asleep. " The Welshman wasnot likely to be accused of somnolence, but on this occasion Sidney andhimself had been overruled. At a later moment, and during the siege ofNeusz, Sir Philip had the satisfaction of making a successful foray intoFlanders. 

The expedition had been planned by Prince Maurice of Nassau, and was his. Earliest military achievement. He proposed carrying by surprise, the cityof Axel, a well-built, strongly-fortified town on the south-western edgeof the great Scheldt estuary, and very important from its position. Itsacquisition would make the hold of the patriots and the English uponSluys and Ostend more secure, and give them many opportunities ofannoying the enemy in Flanders. 

Early in July, Maurice wrote to the Earl of Leicester, communicating theparticulars of his scheme, but begging that the affair might be "verysecretly handled, " and kept from every one but Sidney. Leicesteraccordingly sent his nephew to Maurice that they might consult togetherupon the enterprise, and make sure "that there was no ill intent, therebeing so much treachery in the world. " Sidney found no treachery in youngMaurice, but only, a noble and intelligent love of adventure, and the twoarranged their plans in harmony. 

Leicester, then, in order to deceive the enemy, came to Bergen-op-Zoom, with five hundred men, where he remained two days, not sleeping a wink, as he averred, during the whole time. In the night of Tuesday, 16th ofJuly, the five hundred English soldiers were despatched by water, undercharge of Lord Willoughby, "who, " said the Earl, "would needs go withthem. " Young Hatton, too, son of Sir Christopher, also volunteered on theservice, "as his first nursling. " Sidney had, five hundred of his ownZeeland regiment in readiness, and the rendezvous was upon the broadwaters of the Scheldt, opposite Flushing. The plan was neatly carriedout, and the united flotilla, in a dark, calm, midsummer's night, rowedacross the smooth estuary and landed at Ter Neuse, about a league fromAxel. Here they were joined by Maurice with some Netherland companies, and the united troops, between two and three thousand strong, marched atonce to the place proposed. Before two in the morning they had reachedAxel, but found the moat very deep. Forty soldiers immediately plungedin, however, carrying their ladders with them, swam across, scaled therampart, killed, the guard, whom they found asleep in their beds, andopened the gates for their comrades. The whole force then marched in, theDutch companies under Colonel Pyion being first, Lord Willoughby's menbeing second, and Sir Philip with his Zeelanders bringing up the rear. The garrison, between five and six hundred in number, though surprised, resisted gallantly, and were all put to the sword. Of the invaders, not asingle man lost his life. Sidney most generously rewarded from his ownpurse the adventurous soldiers who had swum the moat; and it was to hiscare and intelligence that the success of Prince Maurice's scheme wasgenerally attributed. The achievement was hailed with great satisfaction, and it somewhat raised the drooping spirits of the patriots after theirsevere losses at Grave and Venlo. "This victory hath happened in goodtime, " wrote Thomas Cecil to his father, "and hath made us somewhat tolift up our heads. " A garrison of eight hundred, under Colonel Pyron, wasleft in Axel, and the dykes around were then pierced. Upwards of twomillions' worth of property in grass, cattle, corn, was thus immediatelydestroyed in the territory of the obedient Netherlands. 

After an unsuccessful attempt to surprise Gravelines, the governor ofwhich place, the veteran La Motte, was not so easily taken napping; SirPhilip having gained much reputation by this conquest of Axel, thenjoined the main body of the army, under Leicester, at Arnheim. 

Yet, after all, Sir Philip had not grown in favour with her Majestyduring his service in the Low Countries. He had also been disappointed inthe government of Zeeland, to which post his uncle had destined him. Thecause of Leicester's ambition had been frustrated by the policy ofBarneveld and Buys, in pursuance of which Count or Prince Maurice--as hewas now purposely designated, in order that his rank might surpass thatof the Earl--had become stadholder and captain general both of Hollandand Zeeland. The Earl had given his nephew, however, the colonelcy of theZeeland regiment, vacant by the death of Admiral Haultain on theKowenstyn Dyke. This promotion had excited much anger among the highofficers in the Netherlands who, at the instigation of Count Hohenlo, hadpresented a remonstrance upon the subject to the governor-general. It hadalways been the custom, they said, with the late Prince of Orange, toconfer promotion according to seniority, without regard to social rank, and they were therefore unwilling that a young foreigner, who had justentered the service; should thus be advanced over the heads of veteranswho had been campaigning there so many weary years. At the same time thegentlemen who signed the paper protested to Sir Philip, in anotherletter, "with all the same hands, " that they had no personal feelingtowards him, but, on the contrary, that they wished him all honour. 

Young Maurice himself had always manifested the most friendly feelingstoward Sidney, although influenced in his action by the statesmen whowere already organizing a powerful opposition to Leicester. "CountMaurice showed himself constantly, kind in the matter of the regiment, "said Sir Philip, "but Mr. Paul Buss has so many busses in his head, suchas you shall find he will be to God and man about one pitch. Happy is thecommunication of them that join in the fear of God. " Hohenlo, too, orHollock, as he was called by the French and English, was much governed byBuys and Olden-Barneveld. Reckless and daring, but loose of life anduncertain of purpose, he was most dangerous, unless under safe guidance. Roger Williams--who vowed that but for the love he bore to Sidney andLeicester, he would not remain ten days in the Netherlands--was muchdisgusted by Hohenlo's conduct in regard to the Zeeland regiment. "'Tis amutinous request of Hollock, " said he, "that strangers should not commandNetherlanders. He and his Alemaynes are farther born from Zeeland thanSir Philip is. Either you must make Hollock assured to you, or you mustdisgrace him. If he will not be yours, I will show you means todisinherit him of all his commands at small danger. What service doth he, Count Solms, Count Overatein, with their Almaynes, but spend treasure andconsume great contributions?"

It was, very natural that the chivalrous Sidney, who had come to theNetherlands to win glory in the field, should be desirous of posts thatwould bring danger and distinction with them. He was not there merelythat he might govern Flushing, important as it was, particularly as thegarrison was, according to his statement, about as able to maintain thetown, "as the Tower was to answer for London. " He disapproved of hiswife's inclination to join him in Holland, for he was likely--so he wroteto her father, Walsingham--"to run such a course as would not be fit forany of the feminine gender. " He had been, however; grieved to the heart, by the spectacle which was perpetually exhibited of the Queen'sparsimony, and of the consequent suffering of the soldiers. Twelve orfifteen thousand Englishmen were serving in the Netherlands--more thantwo thirds of them in her Majesty's immediate employment. No troops hadever fought better, or more honourably maintained the ancient glory ofEngland. But rarely had more ragged and wretched warriors been seen thanthey, after a few months' campaigning. 

The Irish Kernes--some fifteen hundred of whom were among theauxiliaries--were better off, for they habitually dispensed withclothing; an apron from waist to knee being the only protection of thesewild Kelts, who fought with the valour, and nearly, in the costume ofHomeric heroes. Fearing nothing, needing nothing, sparing nothing, theystalked about the fens of Zeeland upon their long stilts, or leapedacross running rivers, scaling ramparts, robbing the highways, burning, butchering, and maltreating the villages and their inhabitants, with aslittle regard for the laws of Christian warfare as for those of civilizedcostume. 

Other soldiers, more sophisticated as to apparel, were less at theirease. The generous Sidney spent all his means, and loaded himself withdebt, in order to relieve the necessities of the poor soldiers. Heprotested that if the Queen would not pay her troops, she would lose hertroops, but that no living man should say the fault was in him. "Whatrelief I can do them I will, " he wrote to his father-in-law; "I willspare no danger, if occasion serves. I am sure that no creature shall layinjustice to my charge. "

Very soon it was discovered that the starving troops had to contend notonly with the Queen's niggardliness but with the dishonesty of heragents. Treasurer Norris was constantly accused by Leicester and Sidneyof gross peculation. Five per cent. , according to Sir Philip, was lost tothe Zeeland soldiers in every payment, "and God knows, " he said, "theywant no such hindrance, being scarce able to keep life with their entirepay. Truly it is but poor increase to her Majesty, considering what lossit is to the miserable soldier. " Discipline and endurance were sure to besacrificed, in the end, to such short-sighted economy. "When soldiers, "said Sidney, "grow to despair, and give up towns, then it is too late tobuy with hundred thousands what might have been saved with a trifle. "

This plain dealing, on the part of Sidney, was anything but agreeable tothe Queen, who was far from feeling regret that his high-soaringexpectations had been somewhat blighted in the Provinces. He oftenexpressed his mortification that her Majesty was disposed to interpreteverything to, his disadvantage. "I understand, " said he, "that I amcalled ambitious, and very proud at home, but certainly, if they knew myheart, they would not altogether so judge me. " Elizabeth had taken partwith Hohenlo against Sir Philip in the matter of the Zeeland regiment, and in this perhaps she was not entirely to be blamed. But she inveighedneedlessly against his ambitious seeking of the office, and--asWalsingham observed--"she was very apt, upon every light occasion, tofind fault with him. " It is probable that his complaints against the armytreasurer, and his manful defence of the "miserable soldiers, " more thancounterbalanced, in the Queen's estimation, his chivalry in the field. 

Nevertheless he had now the satisfaction of having gained an importantcity in Flanders; and on subsequently joining the army under his uncle, he indulged the hope of earning still greater distinction. 

Martin Schenk had meanwhile been successfully defending Rheinberg, forseveral weeks, against Parma's forces. It was necessary, however, thatLeicester, notwithstanding the impoverished condition of his troops, should make some diversion, while his formidable antagonist was thuscarrying all before him. 

He assembled, accordingly, in the month of August, all the troops thatcould be brought into the field, and reviewed them, with much ceremony, in the neighbourhood of Arnheim. His army--barely numbered seven thousandfoot and two thousand horse, but he gave out, very extensively, that hehad fourteen thousand under his command, and he was moreover expecting aforce of three thousand reiters, and as many pikemen recently levied inGermany. Lord Essex was general of the cavalry, Sir William Pelham--adistinguished soldier, who had recently arrived out of England, after themost urgent solicitations to the Queen, for that end, by Leicester--waslord-marshal of the camp, and Sir John Norris was colonel-general of theinfantry. 

After the parade, two sermons were preached upon the hillsideto the soldiers, and then there was a council of war: It wasdecided--notwithstanding the Earl's announcement of his intentions toattack Parma in person--that the condition of the army did not warrantsuch an enterprise. It was thought better to lay siege to Zutphen. Thisstep, if successful, would place in the power of the republic and herally a city of great importance and strength. In every event the attemptwould probably compel Farnese to raise the siege of Berg. 

Leicester, accordingly, with "his brave troop of able and likelymen"--five thousand of the infantry being English--advanced as far asDoesburg. This city, seated at the confluence of the ancient canal ofDrusus and the Yssel, five miles above Zutphen, it was necessary, as apreliminary measure, to secure. It was not a very strong place, beingrather slightly walled with brick, and with a foss drawing not more thanthree feet of water. By the 30th August it had been completely invested. 

On the same night, at ten o'clock, Sir William Pelham, came to the Earlto tell him "what beastly pioneers the Dutchmen were. " Leicesteraccordingly determined, notwithstanding the lord-marshal's entreaties, toproceed to the trenches in person. There being but faint light, the twolost their way, and soon found themselves nearly, at the gate of thetown. Here, while groping about in the dark; and trying to effect theirretreat, they were saluted with a shot, which struck Sir William in thestomach. For an instant; thinking himself mortally injured, he expressedhis satisfaction that he had been, between the commander-in-chief and theblow, and made other "comfortable and resolute speeches. " Veryfortunately, however, it proved that the marshal was not seriously hurt, and, after a few days, he was about his work as usual, althoughobliged--as the Earl of Leicester expressed it--"to carry a bullet in hisbelly as long as he should live. "

Roger Williams, too, that valiant adventurer--"but no, more valiant thanwise, and worth his weight in gold, " according to the appreciativeLeicester--was shot through the arm. For the dare-devil Welshman, much tothe Earl's regret, persisted in running up and down the trenches "with agreat plume of feathers in his gilt morion, " and in otherwise making avery conspicuous mark of himself "within pointblank of a caliver. "

Notwithstanding these mishaps, however, the siege went successfullyforward. Upon the 2nd September the Earl began to batter, and after abrisk cannonade, from dawn till two in the afternoon, he had considerablydamaged the wall in two places. One of the breaches was eighty feet wide, the other half as large, but the besieged had stuffed them full of beds, tubs, logs of wood, boards, and "such like trash, " by means whereof theascent was not so easy as it seemed. The soldiers were excessively eagerfor the assault. Sir John Norris came to Leicester to receive his ordersas to the command of the attacking party. 

The Earl referred the matter to him. "There is no man, " answered SirJohn, "fitter for that purpose than myself; for I am colonel-general ofthe infantry. "

But Leicester, not willing to indulge so unreasonable a proposal, repliedthat he would reserve him for service of less hazard and greaterimportance. Norris being, as usual, "satis prodigus magnae animae, " wasout of humour at the refusal, and ascribed it to the Earl's persistenthostility to him and his family. It was then arranged that the assaultupon the principal breach should be led by younger officers, to besupported by Sir John and other veterans. The other breach was assignedto the Dutch and Scotch-black Norris scowling at them the while withjealous eyes; fearing that they might get the start of the English party, and be first to enter the town. A party of noble volunteers clusteredabout Sir John-Lord Burgh, Sir Thomas Cecil, Sir Philip Sidney, and hisbrother Robert among the rest--most impatient for the signal. The racewas obviously to be a sharp one. The governor-general forbade theseviolent demonstrations, but Lord Burgh, "in a most vehement passion, waived the countermand, " and his insubordination was very generallyimitated. Before the signal was given, however, Leicester sent a trumpetto summon the town to surrender, and could with difficulty restrain hissoldiers till the answer should be returned. To the universaldisappointment, the garrison agreed to surrender. Norris himself thenstepped forward to the breach, and cried aloud the terms, lest thereturning herald, who had been sent back by Leicester, should offer toofavourable a capitulation. It was arranged that the soldiers shouldretire without arms, with white wands in their hands--the officersremaining prisoners--and that the burghers, their lives, and property, should be at Leicester's disposal. The Earl gave most peremptory ordersthat persons and goods should be respected, but his commands weredisobeyed. Sir William Stanley's men committed frightful disorders, andthoroughly, rifled the town. 

"And because, " said Norris, "I found fault herewith, Sir William began toquarrel with me, hath braved me extremely, refuseth to take any directionfrom me, and although I have sought for redress, yet it is proceeded inso coldly, that he taketh encouragement rather to increase the quarrelthan to leave it. "

Notwithstanding therefore the decree of Leicester, the expostulations andanger of Norris, and the energetic efforts of Lord Essex and othergenerals, who went about smiting the marauders on the head, the soldierssacked the city, and committed various disorders, in spite of thecapitulation. 

Doesburg having been thus reduced, the Earl now proceeded toward the moreimportant city which he had determined to besiege. Zutphen, or South-Fen, an antique town of wealth and elegance, was the capital of the oldLandgraves of Zutphen. It is situate on the right bank of the Yssel, thatbranch of the Rhine which flows between Gelderland and Overyssel into theZuyder-Zee. 

The ancient river, broad, deep, and languid, glides through a plain ofalmost boundless extent, till it loses itself in the flat and mistyhorizon. On the other side of the stream, in the district called theVeluwe, or bad meadow, were three sconces, one of them of remarkablestrength. An island between the city and the shore was likewise wellfortified. On the landward side the town was protected by a wall and moatsufficiently strong in those infant days of artillery. Near thehospital-gate, on the east, was an external fortress guarding the road toWarnsfeld. This was a small village, with a solitary slenderchurch-spire, shooting up above a cluster of neat one-storied houses. Itwas about an English mile from Zutphen, in the midst of a wide, low, somewhat fenny plain, which, in winter, became so completely a lake, thatpeasants were not unfrequently drowned in attempting to pass from thecity to the village. In summer, the vague expanse of country was fertileand cheerful of aspect. Long rows of poplars marking the straighthighways, clumps of pollard willows scattered around the little meres, snug farm-houses, with kitchen-gardens and brilliant flower-patchesdotting the level plain, verdant pastures sweeping off into seeminglyinfinite distance, where the innumerable cattle seemed to swarm likeinsects, wind-mills swinging their arms in all directions, likeprotective giants, to save the country from inundation, the lagging sailof market-boats shining through rows of orchard trees--all gave to theenvirons of Zutphen a tranquil and domestic charm. 

Deventer and Kampen, the two other places on the river, were in the handsof the States. It was, therefore, desirable for the English and thepatriots, by gaining possession of Zutphen, to obtain control of theYssel; driven, as they had been, from the Meuse and Rhine. 

Sir John Norris, by Leicester's direction, took possession of a smallrising-ground, called 'Gibbet Dill' on the land-side; where heestablished a fortified camp, and proceeded to invest the city. With himwere Count Lewis William of Nassau, and Sir Philip Sidney, while the Earlhimself, crossing the Yssel on a bridge of boats which he hadconstructed, reserved for himself the reduction of the forts upon theVeluwe side. 

Farnese, meantime, was not idle; and Leicester's calculations provedcorrect. So soon as the Prince was informed of this importantdemonstration of the enemy he broke up--after brief debate with hisofficers--his camp before Rheinberg, and came to Wesel. At this place hebuilt a bridge over the Rhine, and fortified it with two block-houses. These he placed under command of Claude Berlot, who was ordered to watchstrictly all communication up the river with the city of Rheinberg, whichhe thus kept in a partially beleaguered state. Alexander then advancedrapidly by way of Groll and Burik, both which places he took possessionof, to the neighbourhood of Zutphen. He was determined, at every hazard, to relieve that important city; and although, after leaving necessarydetachments on the way; he had but five thousand men under his command, besides fifteen hundred under Verdugo--making sixty-five hundred inall--he had decided that the necessity of the case, and his own honour;required him to seek the enemy, and to leave, as he said, the issue withthe God of battles, whose cause it was. 

Tassis, lieutenant-governor of Gelderland, was ordered into the city withtwo cornets of horse and six hundred foot. As large a number, had alreadybeen stationed there. Verdugo, who had been awaiting the arrival of thePrince at Borkelo, a dozen miles from Zutphen, with four hundred foot andtwo hundred horse, now likewise entered the city. 

On the night of 29th August Alexander himself entered Zutphen for thepurpose of encouraging the garrison by promise of-relief, and ofascertaining the position of the enemy by personal observation. Hispresence as it always did, inspired the soldiers with enthusiasm, so thatthey could with difficulty be restrained from rushing forth to assaultthe besiegers. In regard to the enemy he found that Gibbet Hill was stilloccupied by Sir John Norris, "the best soldier, in his opinion, that theyhad, " who had entrenched himself very strongly, and was supposed to havethirty-five hundred men under his command. His position seemed quiteimpregnable. The rest of the English were on the other side of the river, and Alexander observed, with satisfaction, that they had abandoned asmall redoubt, near the leper-house, outside the Loor-Gate, through whichthe reinforcements must enter the city. The Prince determined to profitby this mistake, and to seize the opportunity thus afforded of sendingthose much needed supplies. During the night the enemy were found to bethrowing up works "most furiously, " and skirmishing parties were sent outof the town to annoy them. In the darkness nothing of consequence waseffected, but a Scotch officer was captured, who informed the Spanishcommander that the enemy was fifteen thousand strong--a number which wasnearly double that of Leicester's actual force. In the morning Alexanderreturned to his camp at Borkelo--leaving Tassis in command of the VeluweForts, and Verdugo in the city itself--and he at once made rapid work incollecting victuals. He had soon wheat and other supplies in readiness, sufficient to feed four thousand mouths for three months, and these hedetermined to send into the city immediately, and at every hazard. 

The great convoy which was now to be despatched required great care and apowerful escort. Twenty-five hundred musketeers and pikemen, of whom onethousand were Spaniards, and six hundred cavalry, Epirotes; Spaniards, and Italians, under Hannibal Gonzaga, George Crescia, Bentivoglio, Sesa, and others, were accordingly detailed for this expedition. The Marquisdel Vasto, to whom was entrusted the chief command, was ordered to marchfrom Borkelo at midnight on Wednesday, October 1 (St. Nov. ) [N. S. ]. Itwas calculated that he would reach a certain hillock not far fromWarnsfeld by dawn of day. Here he was to pause, and send forward anofficer towards the town, communicating his arrival, and requesting thecooperation of Verdugo, who was to make a sortie with one thousand men, according to Alexander's previous arrangements. The plan was successfullycarried out. The Marquis arrived by daybreak at the spot indicated, anddespatched Captain de Vega who contrived to send intelligence of thefact. A trooper, whom Parma had himself sent to Verdugo with earlierinformation of the movement, had been captured on the way. Leicester hadtherefore been apprized, at an early moment, of the Prince's intentions, but he was not aware that the convoy would be accompanied by so strong aforce as had really been detailed. 

He had accordingly ordered Sir John Norris, who commanded on the outsideof the town near the road which the Spaniards must traverse, to place anambuscade in his way. Sir John, always ready for adventurous enterprises, took a body of two hundred cavalry, all picked men, and ordered SirWilliam Stanley, with three hundred pikemen, to follow. A much strongerforce of infantry was held in reserve and readiness, but it was notthought that it would be required. The ambuscade was successfully placed, before the dawn of Thursday morning, in the neighbourhood of Warnsfeldchurch. On the other hand, the Earl of Leicester himself, anxious as tothe result, came across the river just at daybreak. He was accompanied bythe chief gentlemen in his camp, who could never be restrained when blowswere passing current. 

The business that morning was a commonplace and practical though animportant, one--to "impeach" a convoy of wheat and barley, butter, cheese, and beef--but the names of those noble and knightly volunteers, familiar throughout Christendom, sound like the roll-call for somechivalrous tournament. There were Essex and Audley, Stanley, Pelham, Russell, both the Sidneys, all the Norrises, men whose valour had been. Proved on many a hard-fought battle-field. There, too, was the famoushero of British ballad whose name was so often to ring on the plains ofthe Netherlands--

 "The brave Lord Willoughby, Of courage fierce and fell, Who would not give one inch of way For all the devils in hell. "

Twenty such volunteers as these sat on horseback that morning around thestately Earl of Leicester. It seemed an incredible extravagance to send ahandful of such heroes against an army. 

But the English commander-in-chief had been listening to the insidioustongue of Roland York--that bold, plausible, unscrupulous partisan, already twice a renegade, of whom more was ere long to be heard in theNetherlands and England. Of the man's courage there could be no doubt, and he was about to fight that morning in the front rank at the head ofhis company. But he had, for some mysterious reason, been bent uponpersuading the Earl that the Spaniards were no match for Englishmen at ahand-to-hand contest. When they could ride freely up and down, he said, and use their lances as they liked, they were formidable. But the Englishwere stronger men, better riders, better mounted, and better armed. TheSpaniards hated helmets and proof armour, while the English trooper, incasque, cuirass, and greaves, was a living fortress impregnable toSpanish or Italian light horsemen. And Leicester seemed almost convincedby his reasoning. 

It was five o'clock of a chill autumn morning. It was time for day tobreak, but the fog was so thick that a man at the distance of five yardswas quite invisible. The creaking of waggon-wheels and the measured trampof soldiers soon became faintly audible however to Sir John Norris andhis five hundred as they sat there in the mist. Presently came gallopingforward in hot haste those nobles and gentlemen, with their esquires, fifty men in all--Sidney, Willoughby, and the rest--whom Leicester had nolonger been able to restrain from taking part in the adventure. 

A force of infantry, the amount of which cannot be satisfactorilyascertained, had been ordered by the Earl to cross the bridge at a latermoment. Sidney's cornet of horse was then in Deventer, to which place ithad been sent in order to assist in quelling an anticipated revolt, sothat he came, like most of his companions, as a private volunteer andknight-errant. 

The arrival of the expected convoy was soon more distinctly heard, but noscouts or outposts had been stationed to give timely notice, of theenemy's movements. Suddenly the fog, which had shrouded the scene soclosely, rolled away like a curtain, and in the full light of an Octobermorning the Englishmen found themselves face to face with a compact bodyof more than three thousand men. The Marquis del Vasto rode at the headof the forces surrounded by a band of mounted arquebus men. The cavalry, under the famous Epirote chief George Crescia, Hannibal Gonzaga, Bentivoglio, Sesa, Conti, and other distinguished commanders, followed;the columns of pikemen and musketeers lined the hedge-rows on both sidesthe causeway; while between them the long train of waggons came slowlyalong under their protection. The whole force had got in motion afterhaving sent notice of their arrival to Verdugo, who, with one or twothousand men, was expected to sally forth almost immediately from thecity-gate. 

There was but brief time for deliberation. Notwithstanding the tremendousodds there was no thought of retreat. Black Norris called to Sir WilliamStanley, with whom he had been at variance so lately at Doesburg. 

"There hath been ill-blood between us, " he said. "Let us be friendstogether this day, and die side by side, if need be, in her Majesty'scause. "

"If you see me not serve my prince with faithful courage now, " repliedStanley, "account, me for ever a coward. Living or dying I will stand errlie by you in friendship. "

As they were speaking these words the young Earl of Essex, general of thehorse, cried to his, handful of troopers:

"Follow me, good fellows, for the honour of England and of England'sQueen!"

As he spoke he dashed, lance in rest, upon the enemy's cavalry, overthrewthe foremost man, horse and rider, shivered his own spear to splinters, and then, swinging his cartel-axe, rode merrily forward. His whole littletroop, compact, as an arrow-head, flew with an irresistible shock againstthe opposing columns, pierced clean through them, and scattered them inall directions. At the very first charge one hundred English horsemendrove the Spanish and Albanian cavalry back upon the musketeers andpikemen. Wheeling with rapidity, they retired before a volley ofmusket-shot, by which many horses and a few riders were killed; and thenformed again to renew the attack. Sir Philip Sidney, an coming to thefield, having met Sir William Pelham, the veteran lord marshal, lightlyarmed, had with chivalrous extravagance thrown off his own cuishes, andnow rode to the battle with no armour but his cuirass. At the secondcharge his horse was shot under him, but, mounting another, he was seeneverywhere, in the thick of the fight, behaving himself with a gallantrywhich extorted admiration even from the enemy. 

For the battle was a series of personal encounters in which high officerswere doing the work of private, soldiers. Lord North, who had been lying"bed-rid" with a musket-shot in the leg, had got himself put onhorseback, and with "one boot on and one boot off, " bore himself, "mostlustily" through the whole affair. "I desire that her Majesty may know;"he said, "that I live but to, serve her. A better barony than I havecould not hire the Lord North to live, on meaner terms. " Sir WilliamRussell laid about him with his curtel-axe to such purpose that theSpaniards pronounced him a devil and not a man. "Wherever, " said aneye-witness, "he saw five or six of the enemy together; thither would he, and with his hard knocks soon separated their friendship. " LordWilloughby encountered George Crescia, general of the famed Albaniancavalry, unhorsed him at the first shock, and rolled him into the ditch. "I yield me thy prisoner, " called out the Epirote in French, "for thouart a 'preux chevalier;'" while Willoughby, trusting to his captive'sword, galloped onward, and with him the rest of the little troop, tillthey seemed swallowed up by the superior numbers of the enemy. His horsewas shot under him, his basses were torn from his legs, and he was nearlytaken a prisoner, but fought his way back with incredible strength andgood fortune. Sir William Stanley's horse had seven bullets in him, butbore his rider unhurt to the end of the battle. Leicester declared SirWilliam and "old Reads" to be "worth their weight in pearl. "

Hannibal Gonzaga, leader of the Spanish cavalry, fell mortally wounded aThe Marquis del Vasto, commander of the expedition, nearly met the samefate. An Englishman was just cleaving his head with a battle-axe, when aSpaniard transfixed the soldier with his pike. The most obstinatestruggle took place about the train of waggons. The teamsters had fled inthe beginning of the action, but the English and Spanish soldiers, struggling with the horses, and pulling them forward and backward, triedin vain to get exclusive possession of the convoy which was the cause ofthe action. The carts at last forced their way slowly nearer and nearerto the town, while the combat still went on, warm as ever, between thehostile squadrons. The action, lasted an hour and a half, and again andagain the Spanish horsemen wavered and broke before the handful ofEnglish, and fell back upon their musketeers. Sir Philip Sidney, in thelast charge, rode quite through the enemy's ranks till he came upon theirentrenchments, when a musket-ball from the camp struck him upon thethigh, three inches above the knee. Although desperately wounded in apart which should have been protected by the cuishes which he had thrownaside, he was not inclined to leave the field; but his own horse had beenshot under him at the-beginning of the action, and the one upon which hewas now mounted became too restive for him, thus crippled, to control. Heturned reluctantly away, and rode a mile and a half back to theentrenchments, suffering extreme pain, for his leg was dreadfullyshattered. As he past along the edge of the battle-field his attendantsbrought him a bottle of water to quench his raging thirst. At, thatmoment a wounded English soldier, "who had eaten his last at the samefeast, " looked up wistfully, in his face, when Sidney instantly handedhim the flask, exclaiming, "Thy necessity is even greater than mine. " Hethen pledged his dying comrade in a draught, and was soon afterwards metby his uncle. "Oh, Philip, " cried Leicester, in despair, "I am trulygrieved to see thee in this plight. " But Sidney comforted him with manfulwords, and assured him that death was sweet in the cause of his Queen andcountry. Sir William Russell, too, all blood-stained from the fight, threw his arms around his friend, wept like a child, and kissing hishand, exclaimed, "Oh! noble Sir Philip, never did man attain hurt sohonourably or serve so valiantly as you. " Sir William Pelham declared"that Sidney's noble courage in the face of our enemies had won him aname of continuing honour. "

The wounded gentleman was borne back to the camp, and thence in a bargeto Arnheim. The fight was over. Sir John Norris bade Lord Leicester "bemerry, for, " said he, "you have had the honourablest day. A handful ofmen has driven the enemy three times to retreat. " But, in truth, it wasnow time for the English to retire in their turn. Their reserve neverarrived. The whole force engaged against the thirty-five hundredSpaniards had never exceeded two hundred and fifty horse and threehundred foot, and of this number the chief work had beer done by thefifty or sixty volunteers and their followers. The heroism which had beendisplayed was fruitless, except as a proof--and so Leicester wrote to thePalatine John Casimir--"that Spaniards were not invincible. " Two thousandmen now sallied from the Loor Gate under Verdugo and Tassis, to join theforce under Vasto, and the English were forced to retreat. The wholeconvoy was then carried into the city, and the Spaniards remained mastersof the field. 

Thirteen troopers and twenty-two foot soldiers; upon the English side, were killed. The enemy lost perhaps two hundred men. They were thriceturned from their position, and thrice routed, but they succeeded at lastin their attempt to carry their convoy into Zutphen. Upon that day, andthe succeeding ones, the town was completely victualled. Very little, therefore, save honour, was gained by the display of English valouragainst overwhelming numbers; five hundred against, near, four thousand. Never in the whole course of the war had there been such fighting, forthe troops upon both sides were picked men and veterans. For a long timeafterwards it was the custom of Spaniards and Netherlanders, incharacterising a hardly-contested action, to call it as warm as the fightat Zutphen. 

"I think I may call it, " said Leicester, "the most notable encounter thathath been in our age, and it will remain to our posterity famous. "

Nevertheless it is probable that the encounter would have been forgottenby posterity but for the melancholy close upon that field to Sidney'sbright career. And perhaps the Queen of England had as much reason toblush for the incompetency of her general and favourite as to be proud. Of the heroism displayed by her officers and soldiers. 

"There were too many indeed at this skirmish of the better sort, " saidLeicester; "only a two hundred and fifty horse, and most of them the bestof this camp, and unawares to me. I was offended when I knew it, butcould not fetch them back; but since they all so well escaped (save mydear nephew), I would not for ten thousand pounds but they had beenthere, since they have all won that honour they have. Your Lordship neverheard of such desperate charges as they gave upon the enemies in the faceof their muskets. "

He described Sidney's wound as "very dangerous, the bone being broken inpieces;" but said that the surgeons were in good hope. "I pray God tosave his life, " said the Earl, "and I care not how lame he be. " SirPhilip was carried to Arnheim, where the best surgeons were immediatelyin attendance upon him. He submitted to their examination and the painwhich they inflicted, with great cheerfulness, although himself persuadedthat his wound was mortal. For many days the result was doubtful, and messages were sent day by day to England that he wasconvalescent--intelligence which was hailed by the Queen and people as amatter not of private but of public rejoicing. He soon began to fail, however. Count Hohenlo was badly wounded a few days later before thegreat fort of Zutphen. A musket-ball entered his mouth; and passedthrough his cheek, carrying off a jewel which hung in his ear. Notwithstanding his own critical condition, however, Hohenlo sent hissurgeon, Adrian van den Spiegel, a man of great skill, to wait upon SirPhilip, but Adrian soon felt that the case was hopeless. Meantime feverand gangrene attacked the Count himself; and those in attendance uponhim, fearing for his life, sent for his surgeon. Leicester refused toallow Adrian to depart, and Hohenlo very generously acquiescing in thedecree, but, also requiring the surgeon's personal care, caused himselfto be transported in a litter to Arnheim. 

Sidney was first to recognise the symptoms of mortification, which made afatal result inevitable. His demeanour during his sickness and upon hisdeath-bed was as beautiful as his life. He discoursed with his friendsconcerning the immortality of the soul, comparing the doctrines of Platoand of other ancient philosophers, whose writings were so familiar tohim, with the revelations of Scripture and with the dictates of naturalreligion. He made his will with minute and elaborate provisions, leavingbequests, remembrances, and rings, to all his friends. Then he indulgedhimself with music, and listened particularly to a strange song which hehad himself composed during his illness, and which he had entitled 'LaCuisse rompue. ' He took leave of the friends around him with perfectcalmness; saying to his brother Robert, "Love my memory. Cherish myfriends. Above all, govern your will and affections by the will and wordof your Creator; in me beholding the end of this world with all hervanities. "

And thus this gentle and heroic spirit took its flight. 

Parma, after thoroughly victualling Zutphen, turned his attention to theGerman levies which Leicester was expecting under the care of CountMeurs. "If the enemy is reinforced by these six thousand fresh troops, "said Alexander; "it will make him master of the field. " And well he mighthold this opinion, for, in the meagre state of both the Spanish and theliberating armies, the addition of three thousand fresh reiters and asmany infantry would be enough to turn the scale. The Duke of Parma--for, since the recent death of his father, Farnese had succeeded to histitle--determined in person to seek the German troops, and to destroythem if possible. But they never gave him the chance. Their muster-placewas Bremen, but when they heard that the terrible 'Holofernese' was inpursuit of them, and that the commencement of their service would be apitched battle with his Spaniards and Italians, they broke up andscattered about the country. Soon afterwards the Duke tried anothermethod of effectually dispersing them, in case they still retained a wishto fulfil their engagement with Leicester. He sent a messenger to treatwith them, and in consequence two of their rittmeisters; paid him avisit. He offered to give them higher pay, and "ready money in place oftricks and promises. " The mercenary heroes listened very favourably tohis proposals, although they had already received--besides the tricks andpromises--at least one hundred thousand florins out of the States'treasury. 

After proceeding thus far in the negotiation, however, Parma concluded, as the season was so far advanced, that it was sufficient to havedispersed them, and to have deprived the English and patriots of theirservices. So he gave the two majors a gold chain a-piece, and they wenttheir way thoroughly satisfied. "I have got them away from the enemy forthis year, " said Alexander; "and this I hold to be one of the bestservices that has been rendered for many a long day to your Majesty. "

During the period which intervened between the action at Warnsfeld andthe death of Sidney, the siege-operations before Zutphen had beencontinued. The city, strongly garrisoned and well supplied withprovisions, as it had been by Parma's care, remained impregnable; but thesconces beyond the river and upon the island fell into Leicester's hands. The great fortress which commanded the Veluwe, and which was strongenough to have resisted Count Hohenlo on a former, occasion for nearly awhole year, was the scene of much hard fighting. It was gained at last bythe signal valour of Edward Stanley, lieutenant to Sir William. Thatofficer, at the commencement of an assault upon a not very practicablebreach, sprang at the long pike of a Spanish soldier, who was endeavoringto thrust him from the wall, and seized it with both hands. The Spaniardstruggled to maintain his hold of the weapon, Stanley to wrest it fromhis grasp. A dozen other soldiers broke their pikes upon his cuirass orshot at him with their muskets. Conspicuous by his dress, being all inyellow but his corslet, he was in full sight of Leicester and of firethousand men. The earth was so shifty and sandy that the soldiers whowere to follow him were not able to climb the wall. Still Stanley graspedhis adversary's pike, but, suddenly changing his plan, he allowed theSpaniard to lift him from the ground. Then, assisting himself with hisfeet against the wall, he, much to the astonishment of the spectators, scrambled quite over the parapet, and dashed sword in hand among thedefenders of the fort. Had he been endowed with a hundred lives it seemedimpossible for him to escape death. But his followers, stimulated by hisexample, made ladders for themselves of each others' shoulders, clamberedat last with great exertion over the broken wall, overpowered thegarrison, and made themselves masters of the sconce. Leicester, transported with enthusiasm for this noble deed of daring, knightedEdward Stanley upon the spot, besides presenting him next day with fortypounds in gold and an annuity of one hundred marks, sterling for life. "Since I was born, I did never see any man behave himself as he did, "said the Earl. "I shall never forget it, if I live a thousand year, andhe shall have a part of my living for it as long as I live. "

The occupation of these forts terminated the military operations of theyear, for the rainy season, precursor of the winter, had now set in. Leicester, leaving Sir William Stanley, with twelve hundred English andIrish horse, in command of Deventer; Sir John Burrowes, with one thousandmen, in Doesburg; and Sir Robert Yorke, with one thousand more, in thegreat sconce before Zutphen; took his departure for the Hague. Zutphenseemed so surrounded as to authorize the governor to expect ere long itscapitulation. Nevertheless, the results of the campaign had not beenencouraging. The States had lost ground, having been driven from theMeuse and Rhine, while they had with difficulty maintained themselves onthe Flemish coast and upon the Yssel. 

It is now necessary to glance at the internal politics of the Republicduring the period of Leicester's administration and to explain theposition in which he found himself at the close of the year. 

 ETEXT EDITOR'S BOOKMARKS:

 And thus this gentle and heroic spirit took its flight Five great rivers hold the Netherland territory in their coils High officers were doing the work of private, soldiers I did never see any man behave himself as he did There is no man fitter for that purpose than myself

CHAPTER X. 1586

 Should Elizabeth accept the Sovereignty?--The Effects of her Anger-- Quarrels between the Earl and the Staten--The Earl's three Counsellors--Leicester's Finance--Chamber--Discontent of the Mercantile Classes--Paul Buys and the Opposition--Been Insight of Paul Buys--Truchsess becomes a Spy upon him--Intrigues of Buys with Denmark--His Imprisonment--The Earl's Unpopularity--His Quarrels with the States--And with the Norrises--His Counsellors Wilkes and Clerke--Letter from the Queen to Leicester--A Supper Party at Hohenlo's--A drunken Quarrel--Hohenlo's Assault upon Edward Norris-- Ill Effects of the Riot. 

The brief period of sunshine had been swiftly followed by storms. TheGovernor Absolute had, from the outset, been placed in a false position. Before he came to the Netherlands the Queen had refused the sovereignty. Perhaps it was wise in her to decline so magnificent an offer; yetcertainly her acceptance would have been perfectly honourable. Theconstituted authorities of the Provinces formally made the proposition. There is no doubt whatever that the whole population ardently desired tobecome her subjects. So far as the Netherlands were concerned, then, shewould have been fully justified in extending her sceptre over a freepeople, who, under no compulsion and without any, diplomatic chicane, hadselected her for their hereditary chief. So far as regarded England, theannexation to that country of a continental cluster of states, inhabitedby a race closely allied to it by blood, religion, and the instinct forpolitical freedom, seemed, on the whole, desirable. 

In a financial point of view, England would certainly lose nothing by theunion. The resources of the Provinces were at leant equal to her own. Wehave seen the astonishment which the wealth and strength of theNetherlands excited in their English visitors. They were amazed by theevidences of commercial and manufacturing prosperity, by the spectacle ofluxury and advanced culture, which met them on every side. Had theQueen--as it had been generally supposed--desired to learn whether theProvinces were able and willing to pay the expenses of their own defencebefore she should definitely decide on, their offer of sovereignty, shewas soon thoroughly enlightened upon the subject. Her confidential agentsall--held one language. If she would only, accept the sovereignty, theamount which the Provinces would pay was in a manner boundless. She wasassured that the revenue of her own hereditary realm was much inferior tothat of the possessions thus offered to her sway. 

In regard to constitutional polity, the condition of the Netherlands wasat least, as satisfactory as that of England. The great amount of civilfreedom enjoyed by those countries--although perhaps an objection--in theeyes of Elizabeth Tudor--should certainly have been a recommendation toher liberty-loving subjects. The question of defence had beensatisfactorily answered. The Provinces, if an integral part of theEnglish empire, could protect themselves, and would become an additionalelement of strength--not a troublesome encumbrance. 

The difference of language was far, less than that which already existedbetween the English and their Irish fellow-subjects, while it wascounterbalanced by sympathy, instead of being aggravated by mutualhostility in the matter of religion. 

With regard to the great question of abstract sovereignty, it wascertainly impolitic for an absolute monarch to recognize the right of anation to repudiate its natural allegiance. But Elizabeth had alreadycountenanced that step by assisting the rebellion against Philip. Toallow the rebels to transfer their obedience from the King of Spain toherself was only another step in the same direction. The Queen, shouldshe annex the Provinces, would certainly be accused by the world ofambition; but the ambition was a noble one, if, by thus consenting to theurgent solicitations of a free people, she extended the region of civiland religious liberty, and raised up a permanent bulwark againstsacerdotal and royal absolutism. 

A war between herself and Spain was inevitable if she accepted thesovereignty, but peace had been already rendered impossible by the treatyof alliance. It is true that the Queen imagined the possibility ofcombining her engagements towards the States with a conciliatory attitudetowards their ancient master, but it was here that she committed thegravest error. The negotiations of Parma and his sovereign with theEnglish court were a masterpiece of deceit on the part of Spain. We haveshown, by the secret correspondence, and we shall in the sequel make itstill clearer, that Philip only intended to amuse his antagonists; thathe had already prepared his plan for the conquest of England, down to theminutest details; that the idea of tolerating religious liberty had neverentered his mind; and that his fixed purpose was not only thoroughly tochastise the Dutch rebels, but to deprive the heretic Queen who hadfostered their rebellion both of throne and life. So far as regarded theSpanish King, then, the quarrel between him and Elizabeth was alreadymortal; while in a religious, moral, political, and financial point ofview, it would be difficult to show that it was wrong, or imprudent forEngland to accept the sovereignty over his ancient subjects. The cause ofhuman, freedom seemed likely to gain by the step, for the States did notconsider themselves strong enough to maintain the independent republicwhich had already risen. 

It might be a question whether, on the whole, Elizabeth made a mistake indeclining the sovereignty. She was certainly wrong, however, in wishingthe lieutenant-general of her six thousand auxiliary troops to beclothed, as such, with vice-regal powers. The States-General, in a momentof enthusiasm, appointed him governor absolute, and placed in his hands, not only the command of the forces, but the entire control of theirrevenues, imposts, and customs, together with the appointment of civiland military officers. Such an amount of power could only be delegated bythe sovereign. Elizabeth had refused the sovereignty: it then rested withthe States. They only, therefore, were competent to confer the powerwhich Elizabeth wished her favourite to exercise simply as herlieutenant-general. 

Her wrathful and vituperative language damaged her cause and that of theNetherlands more severely than can now be accurately estimated. The Earlwas placed at once in a false, a humiliating, almost a ridiculousposition. The authority which the States had thus a second time offeredto England was a second time and most scornfully thrust back upon them. Elizabeth was indignant that "her own man" should clothe himself in thesupreme attributes which she had refused. The States were forced by theviolence of the Queen to take the authority into their own hands again, and Leicester was looked upon as a disgraced man. 

Then came the neglect with which the Earl was treated by her Majesty andher ill-timed parsimony towards the cause. No letters to him in fourmonths, no remittances for the English troops, not a penny of salary forhim. The whole expense of the war was thrown for the time upon theirhands, and the English soldiers seemed only a few thousand starving, naked, dying vagrants, an incumbrance instead of an aid. 

The States, in their turn, drew the purse-strings. The two hundredthousand florins monthly were paid. The four hundred thousand florinswhich had been voted as an additional supply were for a time held back, as Leicester expressly stated, because of the discredit which had beenthrown upon him from home. 

 [Strangely enough, Elizabeth was under the impression that the extra grant of 400, 000 florins (L40, 000) for four months was four hundred thousand pounds sterling. "The rest that was granted by the States, as extraordinary to levy an army, which was 400, 000 florins, not pounds, as I hear your Majesty taketh it. It is forty thousand pounds, and to be paid In March, April, May, and June last, " &c. Leicester to the Queen, 11 Oct. 1586. (S. P. Office MS. )]

The military operations were crippled for want of funds, but more fatalthan everything else were the secret negotiations for peace. Subordinateindividuals, like Grafigni and De Loo, went up and down, bringingpresents out of England for Alexander Farnese, and bragging that Parmaand themselves could have peace whenever they liked to make it, andaffirming that Leicester's opinions were of no account whatever. Elizabeth's coldness to the Earl and to the Netherlands was affirmed tobe the Prince of Parma's sheet-anchor; while meantime a house wasostentatiously prepared in Brussels by their direction for the receptionof an English ambassador, who was every moment expected to arrive. Undersuch circumstances it was in, vain for the governor-general to protestthat the accounts of secret negotiations were false, and quite naturalthat the States should lose their confidence in the Queen. An unfriendlyand suspicious attitude towards her representative was a necessaryresult, and the demonstrations against the common enemy became still morelanguid. But for these underhand dealings, Grave, Venlo, and Neusz, mighthave been saved, and the current 'of the Meuse and Rhine have remained inthe hands of the patriots. 

The Earl was industrious, generous, and desirous of playing well hispart. His personal courage was undoubted, and, in the opinion of hisadmirers--themselves, some of them, men of large military experience--hisability as a commander was of a high order. The valour displayed by theEnglish nobles and gentlemen who accompanied him was magnificent, worthythe descendants of the victors at Crecy, Poitiers, and Agincourt; and thegood behaviour of their followers--with a few rare exceptions--had beenequally signal. But now the army was dwindling to a ghastly array ofscarecrows, and the recruits, as they came from England, were appalled bythe spectacle presented by their predecessors. "Our old ragged rogueshere have so discouraged our new men, " said Leicester; "as I protest toyou they look like dead men. " Out of eleven hundred freshly-arrivedEnglishmen, five hundred ran away in two days. Some were caught andhanged, and all seemed to prefer hanging to remaining in the service, while the Earl declared that he would be hanged as well rather than againundertake such a charge without being assured payment for his troopsbeforehand!

The valour of Sidney and Essex, Willoughby and Pelham, Roger Williams andMartin Schenk, was set at nought by such untoward circumstances. Had notPhilip also left his army to starve and Alexander Farnese to workmiracles, it would have fared still worse with Holland and England, andwith the cause of civil and religious liberty in the year 1586. 

The States having resumed, as much as possible; their former authority, were on very unsatisfactory terms with the governor-general. Before long, it was impossible for the twenty or thirty individuals called the Statesto be in the same town with the man whom, at the commencement of theyear, they had greeted so warmly. The hatred between the Leicesterfaction and the municipalities became intense, for the foundation of thetwo great parties which were long to divide the Netherland commonwealthwas already laid. The mercantile patrician interest, embodied in thestates of Holland and Zeeland and inclined to a large toleration in thematter of religion, which afterwards took the form of Arminianism, wasopposed by a strict Calvinist party, which desired to subject thepolitical commonwealth to the reformed church; which neverthelessindulged in very democratic views of the social compact; and which wascontrolled by a few refugees from Flanders and Brabant, who had succeededin obtaining the confidence of Leicester. 

Thus the Earl was the nominal head of the Calvinist democratic party;while young Maurice of Nassau; stadholder of Holland and Zeeland, andguided by Barneveld, Buys, and other leading statesmen of theseProvinces; was in an attitude precisely the reverse of the one which hewas destined at a later and equally memorable epoch to assume. The chiefsof the faction which had now succeeded in gaining the confidence ofLeicester were Reingault, Burgrave, and Deventer, all refugees. 

The laws of Holland and of the other United States were very strict onthe subject of citizenship, and no one but a native was competent to holdoffice in each Province. Doubtless, such regulations werenarrow-spirited; but to fly in the face of them was the act of a despot, and this is what Leicester did. Reingault was a Fleming. He was abankrupt merchant, who had been taken into the protection of LamoralEgmont, and by that nobleman recommended to Granvelle for an office underthe Cardinal's government. The refusal of this favour was one of theoriginal causes of Egmont's hostility to Granvelle. Reingaultsubsequently entered the service of the Cardinal, however, and rewardedthe kindness of his former benefactor by great exertions in finding, orinventing, evidence to justify the execution of that unfortunatenobleman. He was afterwards much employed by the Duke of Alva and by theGrand Commander Requesens; but after the pacification of Ghent he hadbeen completely thrown out of service. He had recently, in a subordinatecapacity, accompanied the legations of the States to France and toEngland, and had now contrived to ingratiate himself with the Earl ofLeicester. He affected great zeal for the Calvinistic religion--anexhibition which, in the old servant of Granvelle and Alva, was far fromedifying--and would employ no man or maid-servant in his household untiltheir religious principles had been thoroughly examined by one or twoclergymen. In brief, he was one of those, who, according to a homelyFlemish proverb, are wont to hang their piety on the bell-rope; but, withthe exception of this brief interlude in his career, he lived and died aPapist. 

Gerard Proninck, called Deventer, was a respectable inhabitant ofBois-le-Duc, who had left that city after it had again become subject tothe authority of Spain. He was of decent life and conversation, but arestless and ambitious demagogue. As a Brabantine, he was unfit foroffice; and yet, through Leicester's influence and the intrigues of thedemocratic party, he obtained the appointment of burgomaster in the cityof Utrecht. The States-General, however, always refused to allow him toappear at their sessions as representative of that city. 

Daniel de Burgrave was a Flemish mechanic, who, by the exertion of muchenergy and talent, had risen to the poet of procureur-general ofFlanders. After the conquest of the principal portion of that Province byParma, he had made himself useful to the English governor-general invarious ways, and particularly as a linguist. He spoke English--a tonguewith which few Netherlanders of that day were familiar--and as the Earlknew no other, except (very imperfectly) Italian, he found his servicesin speaking and writing a variety of languages very convenient. He wasthe governor's private secretary, and, of course, had no entrance to thecouncil of state, but he was accused of frequently thrusting himself intotheir hall of sessions, where, under pretence of arranging the Earl'stable, or portfolio, or papers, he was much addicted to whispering intohis master's ear, listening to conversation, --to eaves-dropping; inshort, and general intrusiveness. 

"A most faithful, honest servant is Burgrave, " said Leicester; "asubstantial, wise man. 'Tis as sufficient a man as ever I met withal ofany nation; very well learned, exceeding wise, and sincere in religion. Icannot commend the man too much. He is the only comfort I have had of anyof this nation. "

These three personages were the leaders of the Leicester faction. Theyhad much, influence with all the refugees from Flanders, Brabant, and theWalloon Provinces. In Utrecht, especially, where the Earl mainly resided, their intrigues were very successful. Deventer was appointed, as alreadystated, to the important post of burgomaster; many, of the influentialcitizens were banished, without cause or, trial; the upper branch of themunicipal government, consisting of the clerical delegates of thecolleges, was in an arbitrary manner abolished; and, finally, theabsolute sovereignty of, the Province, without condition, was offered tothe Queen, of England. 

Leicester was now determined to carry out one of the great objects whichthe Queen had in view when she sent him to the Netherlands. She desiredthoroughly to ascertain the financial resources of the Provinces, andtheir capacity to defend themselves. It was supposed by the States, andhoped by the Earl and by a majority of the Netherland people, that shewould, in case the results were satisfactory, accept, after all, thesovereignty. She certainly was not to be blamed that she wished to makethis most important investigation, but it was her own fault that any newmachinery had been rendered necessary. The whole control of the financeshad, in the beginning of the year, been placed in the Earl's hands, andit was only by her violently depriving him of his credit and of theconfidence of the country that he had not retained it. He now establisheda finance-chamber, under the chief control of Reingault, who promised himmountains of money, and who was to be chief treasurer. Paul Buys wasappointed by Leicester to fill a subordinate position in the new council. He spurned the offer with great indignation, saying that Reingault wasnot fit to be his clerk, and that he was not likely himself, therefore, to accept a humble post under the administration of such an individual. This scornful refusal filled to the full the hatred of Leicester againstthe ex-Advocate of Holland. 

The mercantile interest at once took the alarm, because it was supposedthat the finance-chamber, was intended to crush the merchants. Early inApril an Act had been passed by the state-council, prohibiting commercewith the Spanish possessions. The embargo was intended to injure theobedient Provinces and their sovereign, but it was shown that its effectwould be to blast the commerce of Holland. It forbade the exportationfrom the republic not only of all provisions and munitions of war, but ofall goods and merchandize whatever, to Spain, Portugal, the SpanishNetherlands, or any other of Philip's territories, either in Dutch orneutral vessel. It would certainly seem, at first sight, that such an actwas reasonable, although the result would really be, not to deprive theenemy of supplies, but to throw the whole Baltic trade into the hands ofthe Bremen, Hamburg, and "Osterling" merchants. Leicester expected toderive a considerable revenue by granting passports and licenses to suchneutral traders, but the edict became so unpopular that it was neverthoroughly enforced, and was before long rescinded. 

The odium of the measure was thrown upon the governor-general, yet he hadin truth opposed it in the state-council, and was influential inprocuring its repeal. 

Another important Act had been directed against the mercantile interest, and excited much general discontent. The Netherlands wished the staple ofthe English cloth manufacture to be removed from Emden--the petty, sovereign of which place was the humble servant of Spain--to Amsterdam orDelft. The desire was certainly, natural, and the Dutch merchants sent acommittee to confer with Leicester. He was much impressed with theirviews, and with the sagacity of their chairman, one Mylward, "a wisefellow and well languaged, an ancient man and very, religious, " as theEarl pronounced him to be. 

Notwithstanding the wisdom however, of this well-languaged fellow, theQueen, for some strange reason, could not be induced to change the staplefrom Emden, although it was shown that the public revenue of theNetherlands would gain twenty thousand pounds a year by the measure. "AllHolland will cry out for it, " said Leicester; "but I had rather theycried than that England should weep. "

Thus the mercantile community, and especially the patrician families ofHolland and Zeeland, all engaged in trade, became more and more hostileto the governor-general and to his financial trio, who were soon almostas unpopular as the famous Consults of Cardinal Granvelle had been. Itwas the custom of the States to consider the men who surrounded the Earlas needy and unprincipled renegades and adventurers. It was the policy ofhis advisers to represent the merchants and the States--which mainlyconsisted of, or were controlled by merchants--as a body of corrupt, selfish, greedy money-getters. 

The calumnies put in circulation against the States by Reingault and hisassociates grew at last so outrageous, and the prejudice created in themind of Leicester and his immediate English adherents so intense, that itwas rendered necessary for the States, of Holland and Zeeland to write totheir agent Ortell in London, that he might forestall the effect of theseperpetual misrepresentations on her Majesty's government. Leicester, onthe other hand, under the inspiration; of his artful advisers, wasvehement in his entreaties that Ortell should be sent away from England. 

The ablest and busiest of the opposition-party, the "nimblest head" inthe States-General was the ex-Advocate of Holland; Paul Buys. This manwas then the foremost statesman in, the Netherlands. He had been thefirmest friend to the English alliance; he had resigned his office whenthe States were-offering the sovereignty to France, and had been on thepoint of taking service in Denmark. He had afterwards been prominent inthe legation which offered the sovereignty to Elizabeth, and, for a longtime, had been the most firm, earnest, and eloquent advocate of theEnglish policy. Leicester had originally courted him, caressed him, especially recommended him to the Queen's favour, given him money--as hesaid, "two hundred pounds sterling thick at a time"--and openlypronounced him to be "in ability above all men. " "No man hath ever soughta man, " he said, "as I have sought P. B. "

The period of their friendship was, however, very brief. Before manyweeks had passed there was no vituperative epithet that Leicester was notin the daily habit of bestowing upon Paul. The Earl's vocabulary of abusewas not a limited one, but he exhausted it on the head of the Advocate. He lacked at last words and breath to utter what was like him. Hepronounced his former friend "a very dangerous man, altogether hated ofthe people and the States;"--"a lewd sinner, nursled in revolutions; amost covetous, bribing fellow, caring for nothing but to bear the swayand grow rich;"--"a man who had played many parts, both lewd andaudacious;"--"a very knave, a traitor to his country;"--"the mostungrateful wretch alive, a hater of the Queen and of all the English; amost unthankful man to her Majesty; a practiser to make himself rich andgreat, and nobody else;"--"among all villains the greatest;"--"abolsterer of all papists and ill men, a dissembler, a devil, an atheist, "a "most naughty man, and a most notorious drunkard in the worst degree. "

Where the Earl hated, his hatred was apt to be deadly, and he wasdetermined, if possible, to have the life of the detested Paul. "Youshall see I will do well enough with him, and that shortly, " he said. "Iwill course him as he was not so this twenty year. I will warrant himhanged and one or two of his fellows, but you must not tell your shirt ofthis yet;" and when he was congratulating the government on his having atlength procured the execution of Captain Hemart, the surrenderer ofGrave, he added, pithily, "and you shall hear that Mr. P. B. Shallfollow. "

Yet the Earl's real griefs against Buys may be easily summed up. The lewdsinner, nursled in revolutions, had detected the secret policy of theQueen's government, and was therefore perpetually denouncing theintrigues going on with Spain. He complained that her Majesty was tiredof having engaged in the Netherland enterprise; he declared that shewould be glad to get fairly out of it; that her reluctance to spend afarthing more in the cause than she was obliged to do was hourlyincreasing upon her; that she was deceiving and misleading theStates-General; and that she was hankering after a peace. He said thatthe Earl had a secret intention to possess himself of certain towns inHolland, in which case the whole question of peace and war would be inthe hands of the Queen, who would also have it thus in her power toreimburse herself at once for all expenses that she had incurred. 

It would be difficult to show that there was anything very calumnious inthese charges, which, no doubt, Paul was in the habit of making. As tothe economical tendencies of her Majesty, sufficient evidence has beengiven already from Leicester's private letters. "Rather than spend onehundred pounds, " said Walsingham, "she can be content to be deceived offive thousand. " That she had been concealing from the Staten, fromWalsingham, from Leicester, during the whole summer, her secretnegotiations with Spain, has also been made apparent. That she wasdisgusted with the enterprise in which she had embarked, Walsingham, Burghley, Hatton, and all the other statesmen of England, most abundantlytestified. Whether Leicester had really an intention to possess himselfof certain cities in Holland--a charge made by Paul Buys, and denouncedas especially slanderous by the Earl--may better appear from his ownprivate statements. 

"This I will do, " he wrote to the Queen, "and I hope not to fail of it, to get into my hands three or four most principal places in NorthHolland; which will be such a strength and assurance for your Majesty, asyou shall see you shall both rule these men and make war or peace as youlist, always provided--whatsoever you hear, or is--part not with theBrill; and having these places in your hands, whatsoever should chance tothese countries, your Majesty, I will warrant sure enough to make whatpeace you will in an hour, and to have your debts and charges readilyanswered. " At a somewhat later moment it will be seen what came of thesesecret designs. For the present, Leicester was very angry with Paul fordaring to suspect him of such treachery. 

The Earl complained, too, that the influence of Buys with Hohenlo andyoung Maurice of Nassau was most pernicious. Hohenlo had formerly stoodhigh in Leicester's opinion. He was a "plain, faithful soldier, a mostvaliant gentleman, " and he was still more important, because about tomarry Mary of Nassau; eldest slaughter, of William the Silent, andcoheiress with Philip William, to the Buren property. But he had beentampered with by the intriguing Paul Buys, and had then wished to resignhis office under Leicester. Being pressed for reasons, he had "grownsolemn, " and withdrawn himself almost entirely. 

Maurice; with his "solemn, sly wit, " also gave the Earl much trouble, saying little; but thinking much, and listening to the insidious Paul. He"stood much on making or marring, " so Leicester thought, "as he met withgood counsel. " He had formerly been on intimate terms with thegovernor-general, who affected to call him his son; but he hadsubsequently kept aloof, and in three months had not come near him. TheEarl thought that money might do much, and was anxious for Sir FrancisDrake to come home from the Indies with millions of gold, that the Queenmight make both Hohenlo and Maurice a handsome present before it shouldbe too late. 

Meantime he did what he could with Elector Truchsess to lure them backagain. That forlorn little prelate was now poorer and more wretched thanever. He was becoming paralytic, though young, and his heart was brokenthrough want. Leicester, always generous as the sun, gave him money, fourthousand florins at a time, and was most earnest that the Queen shouldput him on her pension list. "His wisdom, his behaviour, his languages, his person, " said the Earl, "all would like her well. He is in greatmelancholy for his town of Neusz, and for his poverty, having a verynoble mind. If, he be lost, her Majesty had better lose a hundredthousand pounds. "

The melancholy Truchsess now became a spy and a go-between. He insinuatedhimself into the confidence of Paul Buys, wormed his secrets from him, and then communicated them to Hohenlo and to Leicester; "but he did itvery wisely, " said the Earl, "so that he was not mistrusted. " Thegovernor always affected, in order to screen the elector from suspicion, to obtain his information from persons in Utrecht; and he had indeed manyspies in that city; who diligently reported Paul's table-talk. Nevertheless, that "noble gentleman, the elector, " said Leicester, "hathdealt most deeply with him, to seek out the bottom. " As the ex-Advocateof Holland was very communicative in his cups, and very bitter againstthe governor-general, there was soon such a fund of information collectedon the subject by various eaves-droppers, that Leicester was in hopes ofvery soon hanging Mr. Paul Buys, as we have already seen. 

The burthen of the charges against the culprit was his statement that theProvinces would be gone if her Majesty did not declare herself, vigorously and generously, in their favour; but, as this was theperpetual cry of Leicester himself, there seemed hardly hanging matter inthat. That noble gentleman, the elector, however, had nearly saved thehangman his trouble, having so dealt with Hohenlo as to "bring him intoas good a mind as ever he was;" and the first fruits of this good mindwere, that the honest Count--a man of prompt dealings--walked straight toPaul's house in order to kill him on the spot. Something fortunatelyprevented the execution of this plan; but for a time at least theenergetic Count continued to be "governed greatly" by the ex-archbishop, and "did impart wholly unto him his most secret heart. "

Thus the "deep wise Truxy, " as Leicester called him, continued to earngolden opinions, and followed up his conversion of Hohenlo by undertakingto "bring Maurice into tune again also, " and the young Prince was soon onbetter terms with his "affectionate father" than he had ever been before. Paul Buys was not so easily put down, however, nor the two magnates sothoroughly gained over. Before the end of the season Maurice stood in hisold position, the nominal head of the Holland or patrician party, chiefof the opposition to Leicester, while Hohenlo had become more bitter thanever against the Earl. The quarrel between himself and Edward Norris, towhich allusion will soon be made, tended to increase the dissatisfaction, although he singularly misunderstood Leicester's sentiments throughoutthe whole affair. Hohenlo recovered of his wound before Zutphen; but, onhis recovery, was more malcontent than ever. The Earl was obliged at lastto confess that "he was a very dangerous man, inconstant, envious; andhateful to all our nation, and a very traitor to the cause. There is nodealing to win him, " he added, "I have sought it to my cost. His bestfriends tell me he is not to be trusted. "

Meantime that lewd sinner, the indefatigable Paul, was plottingdesperately--so Leicester said and believed--to transfer the sovereigntyof the Provinces to the King of Denmark. Buys, who was privately ofopinion that the States required an absolute head, "though it were but anonion's head, " and that they would thankfully continue under Leicester asgovernor absolute if Elizabeth would accept the sovereignty, had made uphis mind that the Queen would never take that step. He was thereforedisposed to offer the crown to the King of Denmark, and was believed tohave brought Maurice--who was to espouse that King's daughter--to thesame way of thinking. Young Count Rantzan, son of a distinguished Danishstatesman, made a visit to the Netherlands in order to confer with Buys. Paul was also anxious to be appointed envoy to Denmark, ostensibly toarrange for the two thousand cavalry, which the King had long beforepromised for the assistance of the Provinces, but in reality, to examinethe details of this new project; and Leicester represented to the Queenvery earnestly how powerful the Danish monarch would become, thusrendered master of the narrow seas, and how formidable to England. 

In the midst of these plottings, real or supposed, a party of armed men, one fine summer's morning, suddenly entered Paul's bedroom as he layasleep at the house of the burgomaster, seized his papers, and threw him:into prison in the wine-cellar of the town-house. "Oh my papers, oh mypapers!" cried the unfortunate politician, according to Leicester'sstatement, "the Queen of England will for ever hate me. " The Earldisavowed all, participation in the arrest; but he was not believed. Hedeclared himself not sorry that the measure had been taken, and promisedthat he would not "be hasty to release him, " not doubting that "he wouldbe found faulty enough. " Leicester maintained that there was stuff enoughdiscovered to cost Paul his head; but he never lost his head, nor wasanything treasonable or criminal ever found against him. The intriguewith Denmark--never proved--and commenced, if undertaken at all, in utterdespair of Elizabeth's accepting the sovereignty, was the gravest charge. He remained, however, six months in prison, and at the beginning of 1587was released, without trial or accusation, at the request of the EnglishQueen. 

The States could hardly be blamed for their opposition to the Earl'sadministration, for he had thrown himself completely into the arms of afaction, whose object was to vilipend and traduce them, and it was nowdifficult for him to recover the functions of which the Queen haddeprived him. "The government they had given from themselves to me stuckin their stomachs always, " he said. Thus on the one side, the Stateswere, "growing more stately than ever, " and were-always "jumblingunderhand, " while the aristocratic Earl, on, his part, was resolute notto be put down by "churls and tinkers. " He was sure that the people werewith him, and that, "having always been governed by some prince, they, never did nor could consent to be ruled by bakers, brewers, and hiredadvocates. I know they hate them, " said this high-born tribune of thepeople. He was much disgusted with the many-headed chimaera, themonstrous republic, with which he found himself in such unceasingconflict, and was disposed to take a manful stand. "I have been fain oflate, " he said, "to set the better leg foremost, to handle some of mymasters somewhat plainly; for they thought I would droop; and whatsoeverbecomes of me, you shall hear I will keep my reputation, or die for it. "

But one great accusation, made against the churls and tinkers, and bakersand hired advocates, and Mr. Paul Buys at their head, was that they wereliberal towards the Papists. They were willing that Catholics shouldremain in the country and exercise the rights of citizens, provided they, conducted themselves like good citizens. For this toleration--a lessonwhich statesmen like Buys and Barneveld had learned in the school ofWilliam the Silent--the opposition-party were denounced as bolsterers ofPapists, and Papists themselves at heart, and "worshippers of idolatrousidols. "

From words, too, the government of Leicester passed to acts. Seventypapists were banished from the city of Utrecht at the time of the arrestof Buys. The Queen had constantly enforced upon Leicester the importanceof dealing justly with the Catholics in the Netherlands, on the groundthat they might be as good patriots and were as much interested in thewelfare of their country as were the Protestants; and he was especiallyenjoined "not to meddle in matters of religion. " This wholesome advice itwould have been quite impossible for the Earl, under the guidance ofReingault, Burgrave, and Stephen Perret, to carry out. He protested thathe should have liked to treat Papists and Calvinists "with indifference, "but that it had proved impossible; that the Catholics were perpetuallyplotting with the Spanish faction, and that no towns were safe exceptthose in which Papists had been excluded from office. "They love the Popeabove all, " he said, "and the Prince of Parma hath continual intelligencewith them. " Nor was it Catholics alone who gave the governor trouble. Hewas likewise very busy in putting down other denominations that differedfrom the Calvinists. "Your Majesty will not believe, " he said, "thenumber of sects that are in most towns; especially Anabaptists, Familiesof Love, Georgians; and I know not what. The godly and good ministerswere molested by them in many places, and ready to give over; and evensuch diversities grew among magistrates in towns, being caused by somesedition-sowers here. " It is however, satisfactory to reflect that theanabaptists and families of love, although discouraged and frowned upon, were not burned alive, buried alive, drowned in dungeons, and roasted atslow fires, as had been the case with them and with every other speciesof Protestants, by thousands and tens of thousands, so long as Charles V. And Philip II. Had ruled the territory of that commonwealth. Humanity hadacquired something by the war which the Netherlanders had been waging fortwenty years, and no man or woman was ever put to death for religiouscauses after the establishment of the republic. 

With his hands thus full of business, it was difficult for the Earl toobey the Queen's command not to meddle in religious matters; for he wasnot of the stature of William the Silent, and could not comprehend thatthe great lesson taught by the sixteenth century was that men were not tomeddle with men in matters of religion. 

But besides his especial nightmare--Mr. Paul Buys--the governor-generalhad a whole set of incubi in the Norris family. Probably no two personsever detested each other more cordially than did Leicester and Sir JohnNorris. Sir John had been commander of the forces in the Netherlandsbefore Leicester's arrival, and was unquestionably a man of largerexperience than the Earl. He had, however, as Walsingham complained, acquired by his services in "countries where neither discipline militarynor religion carried any sway, " a very rude and licentious kind ofgovernment. "Would to God, " said the secretary, "that, with his value andcourage, he carried the mind and reputation of a religious soldier. " Butthat was past praying for. Sir John was proud, untractable, turbulent, very difficult to manage. He hated Leicester, and was furious with SirWilliam Pelham, whom Leicester had made marshal of the camp. Hecomplained, not unjustly, that from the first place in the army, which hehad occupied in the Netherlands, he had been reduced to the fifth. Thegovernor-general--who chose to call Sir John the son of his ancientenemy, the Earl of Sussex--often denounced him in good set terms. "Hisbrother Edward is as ill as he, " he said, "but John is right the lateEarl of Sussex' son; he will so dissemble and crouch, and so cunninglycarry his doings, as no man living would imagine that there were half themalice or vindictive mind that plainly his words prove to be. " Leicesteraccused him of constant insubordination, insolence, and malice, complained of being traduced by him everywhere in the Netherlands and inEngland, and declared that he was followed about by "a pack of lewdaudacious fellows, " whom the Earl vowed he would hang, one and all, before he had done with them. He swore openly, in presence of all hiscamp, that he would hang Sir John likewise; so that both the brothers, who had never been afraid of anything since they had been born into theworld, affected to be in danger of their lives. 

The Norrises were on bad terms with many officers--with Sir WilliamPelham of course, with "old Reade, " Lord North, Roger Williams, Hohenlo, Essex, and other nobles--but with Sir Philip Sidney, the gentle andchivalrous, they were friends. Sir John had quarrelled in formertimes--according to Leicester--with Hohenlo and even with the "good andbrave" La None, of the iron arm; "for his pride, " said the Earl, "was thespirit of the devil. " The governor complained every day of his malignity, and vowed that he "neither regarded the cause of God, nor of his prince, nor country. "

He consorted chiefly with Sir Thomas Cecil, governor of Brill, son ofLord Burghley, and therefore no friend to Leicester; but the Earlprotested that "Master Thomas should bear small rule, " so long as he washimself governor-general. "Now I have Pelham and Stanley, we shall dowell enough, " he said, "though my young master would countenance him. Iwill be master while I remain here, will they, nill they. "

Edward Norris, brother of Sir John, gave the governor almost as muchtrouble as he; but the treasurer Norris, uncle to them both, was, ifpossible, more odious to him than all. He was--if half Leicester'saccusations are to be believed--a most infamous peculator. One-third ofthe money sent by the Queen for the soldiers stuck in his fingers. Hepaid them their wretched four-pence a-day in depreciated coin, so thatfor their "naughty money they could get but naughty ware. " Never was such"fleecing of poor soldiers, " said Leicester. 

On the other hand, Sir John maintained that his uncle's accounts werealways ready for examination, and earnestly begged the home-governmentnot to condemn that functionary without a hearing. For himself, hecomplained that he was uniformly kept in the background, left inignorance of important enterprises, and sent on difficult duty withinadequate forces. It was believed that Leicester's course was inspiredby envy, lest any military triumph that might be gained should redound tothe glory of Sir John, one of the first commanders of the age, ratherthan to that of the governor-general. He was perpetually thwarted, crossed, calumniated, subjected to coarse and indecent insults, even fromsuch brave men as Lord North and Roger Williams, and in the very presenceof the commander-in-chief, so that his talents were of no avail, and hewas most anxious to be gone from the country. 

Thus with the tremendous opposition formed to his government in theStates-General, the incessant bickerings with the Norrises, thepeculations of the treasurer, the secret negotiations with Spain, and theimpossibility of obtaining money from home for himself or for hisstarving little army, the Earl was in anything but a comfortableposition. He was severely censured in England; but he doubted, with muchreason, whether there were many who would take his office, and spendtwenty thousand pounds sterling out of their own pockets, as he had done. The Earl was generous and brave as man could be, full of wit, quick ofapprehension; but inordinately vain, arrogant, and withal easily led bydesigning persons. He stood up manfully for the cause in which he wasembarked, and was most strenuous in his demands for money. "Personally hecared, " he said, "not sixpence for his post; but would give five thousandsixpences, and six thousand shillings beside, to be rid of it;" but itwas contrary to his dignity to "stand bucking with the States" for hissalary. "Is it reason, " he asked, "that I, being sent from so great aprince as our sovereign is, must come to strangers to beg myentertainment: If they are to pay me, why is there no remembrance made ofit by her Majesty's letters, or some of the lords?"

The Earl and those around him perpetually and vehemently urged upon theQueen to reconsider her decision, and accept the sovereignty of theProvinces at once. There was no other remedy for the distracted state ofthe country--no other safeguard for England. The Netherland peopleanxiously, eagerly desired it. Her Majesty was adored by all theinhabitants, who would gladly hang the fellows called the States. LordNorth was of this opinion--so was Cavendish. Leicester had always heldit. "Sure I am, " he said, "there is but one way for our safety, and thatis, that her Majesty may take that upon her which I fear she will not. "Thomas Wilkes, who now made his appearance on the scene, held the samelanguage. This distinguished civilian had been sent by the Queen, earlyin August, to look into the state of Netherland affairs. Leicester havingexpressly urged the importance of selecting as wise a politician as couldbe found--because the best man in England would hardly be found a matchfor the dullards and drunkards, as it was the fashion there to call theDutch statesmen--had selected Wilkes. After fulfilling this importantspecial mission, he was immediately afterwards to return to theNetherlands as English member of the state-council, at forty shillingsa-day, in the place of "little Hal Killigrew, " whom Leicester pronounceda "quicker and stouter fellow" than he had at first taken him for, although he had always thought well of him. The other English counsellor, Dr. Bartholomew Clerk, was to remain, and the Earl declared that he too, whom he had formerly undervalued, and thought to have "little stuff inhim, " was now "increasing greatly in understanding. " But notwithstandingthis intellectual progress, poor Bartholomew, who was no beginner, wasmost anxious to retire. He was a man of peace, a professor, a doctor oflaws, fonder of the learned leisure and the trim gardens of England thanof the scenes which now surrounded him. "I beseech your good Lordship toconsider, " he dismally observed to Burghley, "what a hard case it is fora man that these fifteen years hath had vitam sedentariam, unworthily ina place judicial, always in his long robe, and who, twenty-four yearssince, was a public reader in the University (and therefore cannot beyoung), to come now among guns and drums, tumbling up and down, day andnight, over waters and banks, dykes and ditches, upon every occasion thatfalleth out; hearing many insolences with silence, bearing many hardmeasures with patience--a course most different from my nature, and mostunmeet for him that hath ever professed learning. "

Wilkes was of sterner stuff. Always ready to follow the camp and to facethe guns and drums with equanimity, and endowed beside with keenpolitical insight, he was more competent than most men to unravel theconfused skein of Netherland politics. He soon found that the Queen'ssecret negotiations with Spain, and the general distrust of herintentions in regard to the Provinces, were like to have fatalconsequences. Both he and Leicester painted the anxiety of the Netherlandpeople as to the intention of her Majesty in vivid colours. 

The Queen could not make up her mind--in the very midst of the Greenwichsecret conferences, already described--to accept the Netherlandsovereignty. "She gathereth from your letter, " wrote Walsingham, "thatthe only salve for this sore is to make herself proprietary of thecountry, and to put in such an army as may be able to make head to theenemy. These two things being so contrary to her Majesty'sdisposition--the one, for that it breedeth a doubt of a perpetual war, the other, for that it requireth an increase of charges--do marvellouslydistract her, and make her repent that ever she entered into the action. "

Upon the great subject of the sovereignty, therefore, she was unable toadopt the resolution so much desired by Leicester and by the people ofthe Provinces; but she answered the Earl's communications concerningMaurice and Hohenlo, Sir John Norris and the treasurer, in characteristicbut affectionate language. And thus she wrote:

"Rob, I am afraid you will suppose, by my wandering writings, that amidsummer's moon hath taken large possession of my brains this month; butyou must needs take things as they come in my head, though order be leftbehind me. When I remember your request to have a discreet and honest manthat may carry my mind, and see how all goes there, I have chosen thisbearer (Thomas Wilkes), whom you know and have made good trial of. I havefraught him full of my conceipts of those country matters, and impartedwhat way I mind to take and what is fit for you to use. I am sure you cancredit him, and so I will be short with these few notes. First, thatCount Maurice and Count Hollock (Hohenlo) find themselves trusted of you, esteemed of me, and to be carefully regarded, if ever peace shouldhappen, and of that assure them on my word, that yet never deceived any. And for Norris and other captains that voluntarily, without commandment, have many years ventured their lives and won our nation honour andthemselves fame, let them not be discouraged by any means, neither bynew-come men nor by old trained soldiers elsewhere. If there be fault inusing of soldiers, or making of profit by them, let them hear of itwithout open shame, and doubt not I will well chasten them therefore. Itfrets me not a little that the poor soldiers that hourly venture lifeshould want their due, that well deserve rather reward; and look, in whomthe fault may truly be proved, let them smart therefore. And if thetreasurer be found untrue or negligent, according to desert he shall beused. But you know my old wont, that love not to discharge from officewithout desert. God forbid! I pray you let this bearer know what may belearned herein, and for the treasure I have joined Sir Thomas Shirley tosee all this money discharged in due sort, where it needeth and behoveth. 

"Now will I end, that do imagine I talk still with you, and thereforeloathly say farewell one hundred thousand times; though ever I pray Godbless you from all harm, and save you from all foes. With my million andlegion of thanks for all your pains and cares, "As you know ever the same, "E. R. 

"P. S. Let Wilkes see that he is acceptable to you. If anything there bethat W. Shall desire answer of be such as you would have but me to know, write it to myself. You know I can keep both others' counsel and mineown. Mistrust not that anything you would have kept shall be disclosed byme, for although this bearer ask many things, yet you may answer him suchas you shall think meet, and write to me the rest. "

Thus, not even her favourite Leicester's misrepresentations could makethe Queen forget her ancient friendship for "her own crow;" but meantimethe relations between that "bunch of brethren, " black Norris and therest, and Pelham, Hollock, and other high officers in Leicester's army, had grown worse than ever. 

One August evening there was a supper-party at Count Hollock's quartersin Gertruydenberg. A military foray into Brabant had just taken place, under the lead of the Count, and of the Lord Marshal, Sir William Pelham. The marshal had requested Lord Willoughby, with his troop of horse andfive hundred foot, to join in the enterprise, but, as usual, particularpains had been taken that Sir John Norris should know nothing of theaffair. Pelham and Hollock--who was "greatly in love with Mr. Pelham"--had invited several other gentlemen high in Leicester'sconfidence to accompany the expedition; and, among the rest, Sir PhilipSidney, telling him that he "should see some good service. " Sidney cameaccordingly, in great haste, from Flushing, bringing along with himEdward Norris--that hot-headed young man, who, according to Leicester, "greatly governed his elder brother"--but they arrived at Gertruydenbergtoo late. The foray was over, and the party--"having burned a village, and killed some boors"--were on their return. Sidney, not perhaps muchregretting the loss of his share in this rather inglorious shootingparty, went down to the water-side, accompanied by Captain Norris, tomeet Hollock and the other commanders. 

As the Count stepped on shore he scowled ominously, and looked very muchout of temper. 

"What has come to Hollock?" whispered Captain Patton, a Scotchman, toSidney. "Has he a quarrel with any of the party? Look at his face! Hemeans mischief to somebody. "

But Sidney was equally amazed at the sudden change in the Germangeneral's countenance, and as unable to explain it. 

Soon afterwards, the whole party, Hollock, Lewis William of Nassau, LordCarew, Lord Essex, Lord Willoughby, both the Sidneys, Roger Williams, Pelham, Edward Norris, and the rest, went to the Count's lodgings, wherethey supped, and afterwards set themselves seriously to drinking. 

Norris soon perceived that he was no welcome guest; for he was not--likeSidney--a stranger to the deep animosity which had long existed betweenSir John Norris and Sir William Pelham and his friends. The carouse was atremendous one, as usually was the case where Hollock was the Amphitryon, and, as the potations grew deeper, an intention became evident on thepart of some of the company to behave unhandsomely to Norris. 

For a time the young Captain ostentatiously restrained himself, very muchafter the fashion of those meek individuals who lay their swords on thetavern-table, with "God grant I may have no need of thee!" The custom wasthen prevalent at banquets for the revellers to pledge each other inrotation, each draining a great cup, and exacting the same feat from hisneighbour, who then emptied his goblet as a challenge to his nextcomrade. 

The Lord Marshal took a beaker, and called out to Edward Norris. "I drinkto the health of my Lord Norris, and of my lady; your mother. " So saying, he emptied his glass. 

The young man did not accept the pledge. 

"Your Lordship knows, " he said somewhat sullenly, "that I am not wont todrink deep. Mr. Sidney there can tell you that, for my health's sake, Ihave drank no wine these eight days. If your Lordship desires thepleasure of seeing me drunk, I am not of the same mind. I pray you atleast to take a smaller glass. "

Sir William insisted on the pledge. Norris then, in no very good humour, emptied his cup to the Earl of Essex. 

Essex responded by draining a goblet to Count Hollock. 

"A Norris's father, " said the young Earl; as he pledged the Count, whowas already very drunk, and looking blacker than ever. 

"An 'orse's father--an 'orse's father!" growled' Hollock; "I never drinkto horses, nor to their fathers either:" and with this wonderfulwitticism he declined the pledge. 

Essex explained that the toast was Lord Norris, father of the Captain;but the Count refused to understand, and held fiercely, and with damnableiteration, to his jest. 

The Earl repeated his explanation several times with no better success. Norris meanwhile sat swelling with wrath, but said nothing. 

Again the Lord Marshal took the same great glass, and emptied it to theyoung Captain. 

Norris, not knowing exactly what course to take, placed the glass at theside of his plate, and glared grimly at Sir William. 

Pelham was furious. Reaching over the table, he shoved the glass towardsNorris with an angry gesture. 

"Take your glass, Captain Norris, " he cried; "and if you have a mind tojest, seek other companions. I am not to be trifled with; therefore, Isay, pledge me at once. "

"Your Lordship shall not force me to drink more wine than I list, "returned the other. "It is your pleasure to take advantage of yourmilitary rank. Were we both at home, you would be glad to be mycompanion. "

Norris was hard beset, and although his language was studiously moderate, it was not surprising that his manner should be somewhat insolent. Theveteran Lord Marshal, on the other hand, had distinguished himself onmany battle-fields, but his deportment at this banqueting-table was notmuch to his credit. He paused a moment, and Norris, too, held his peace, thinking that his enemy would desist. 

It was but for a moment. 

"Captain Norris, " cried Pelham, "I bid you pledge me without more ado. Neither you nor your best friends shall use me as you list. I am betterborn than you and your brother, the colonel-general, and the whole ofyou. "

"I warn you to say nothing disrespectful against my brother, " replied theCaptain. "As for yourself, I know how to respect your age and superiorrank. "

"Drink, drink, drink!" roared the old Marshal. "I tell you I am betterborn than the best of you. I have advanced you all too, and you know it;therefore drink to me. "

Sir William was as logical as men in their cups are prone to be. 

"Indeed, you have behaved well to my brother Thomas, " answered Norris, suddenly becoming very courteous, "and for this I have ever loved yourLordship, and would, do you any service. "

"Well, then, " said the Marshal, becoming tender in his turn, "forget whathath past this night, and do as you would have done before. "

"Very well said, indeed!" cried Sir Philip Sidney, trying to help thenatter into the smoother channel towards which it was tending. 

Norris, seeing that the eyes of the whole company were upon them; tookthe glass accordingly, and rose to his feet. 

"My Lord Marshal, " he said, "you have done me more wrong this night thanyou can easily make satisfaction for. But I am unwilling that any troubleor offence should grow through me. Therefore once more I pledge you. "

He raised the cup to his lips. At that instant Hollock, to whom nothinghad been said, and who had spoken no word since his happy remark aboutthe horse's father, suddenly indulged in a more practical jest; andseizing the heavy gilt cover of a silver vase, hurled it at the head ofNorris. It struck him full on the forehead, cutting him to the bone. TheCaptain, stunned for a moment, fell back in his chair, with the bloodrunning down his eyes and face. The Count, always a man of few words, butprompt in action, now drew his dagger, and strode forward, with theintention of despatching him upon the spot. Sir Philip Sidney threw hisarms around Hollock, however, and, with the assistance of others in thecompany, succeeded in dragging him from the room. The affair was over ina few seconds. 

Norris, coming back to consciousness, sat for a moment as one amazed, rubbing the blood out of his eyes; then rose from the table to seek hisadversary; but he was gone. 

Soon afterwards he went to his lodgings. The next morning he was advisedto leave the town as speedily as possible; for as it was under thegovernment of Hollock, and filled with his soldiers, he was warned thathis life would not be safe there an hour. Accordingly he went to hisboat, accompanied only by his man and his page, and so departed with hisbroken head, breathing vengeance against Hollock, Pelham, Leicester, andthe whole crew, by whom he had been thus abused. 

The next evening there was another tremendous carouse at the Count's, and, says the reporter of the preceding scene, "they were all on suchgood terms, that not one of the company had falling band or ruff leftabout his neck. All were clean torn away, and yet there was no blooddrawn. "

Edward Norris--so soon as might be afterwards--sent a cartel to theCount, demanding mortal combat with sword and dagger. Sir Philip Sidneybore the message. Sir John Norris, of course warmly and violentlyespoused the cause of his brother, and was naturally more incensedagainst the Lord Marshal than ever, for Sir William Pelham was consideredthe cause of the whole affray. "Even if the quarrel is to be excused bydrink, " said an eye-witness, "'tis but a slender defence for my Lord toexcuse himself by his cups; and often drink doth bewray men's humours andunmask their malice. Certainly the Count Hollock thought to have done apleasure to the company in killing him. "

Nothing could be more ill-timed than this quarrel, or more vexatious toLeicester. The Count--although considering himself excessively injured atbeing challenged by a simple captain and an untitled gentleman, whom hehad attempted to murder--consented to waive his privilege, and grant themeeting. 

Leicester interposed, however, to delay, and, if possible, to patch upthe affair. They were on the eve of active military operations, and itwas most vexatious for the commander-in-chief to see, as he said, "thequarrel with the enemy changed to private revenge among ourselves. " Theintended duel did not take place; for various influential personagessucceeded in deferring the meeting. Then came the battle of Zutphen. 

Sidney fell, and Hollock was dangerously wounded in the attack which wassoon afterwards made upon the fort. He was still pressed to afford thepromised satisfaction, however, and agreed to do so whenever he shouldrise from his bed. 

Strange to say, the Count considered Leicester, throughout the wholebusiness, to have taken part against him. 

Yet there is no doubt whatever that the Earl--who detested the Norrises, and was fonder of Pelham than of any man living--uniformly narrated thestory most unjustly, to the discredit of the young Captain. He consideredhim extremely troublesome, represented him as always quarrelling withsome one--with Colonel Morgan, Roger Williams, old Reade, and all therest--while the Lord Marshal, on the contrary, was depicted as themildest of men. "This I must say, " he observed, "that all present, exceptmy two nephews (the Sidneys), who are not here yet, declare the greatestfault to be in Edward Norris, and that he did most arrogantly use theMarshal. "

It is plain, however, that the old Marshal, under the influence of wine, was at least quite as much to blame as the young Captain; and Sir PhilipSidney sufficiently showed his sense of the matter by being the bearer ofEdward Norris's cartel. After Sidney's death, Sir John Norris, in hisletter of condolence to Walsingham for the death of his illustriousson-in-law, expressed the deeper regret at his loss because Sir Philip'sopinion had been that the Norrises were wronged. Hollock had conductedhimself like a lunatic, but this he was apt to do whether in his cups ornot. He was always for killing some one or another on the slightestprovocation, and, while the dog-star of 1586 was raging, it was not hisfault if he had not already despatched both Edward Norris and theobjectionable "Mr. P. B. "

For these energetic demonstrations against Leicester's enemies heconsidered himself entitled to the Earl's eternal gratitude, and wasdeeply disgusted at his apparent coldness. The governor was driven almostto despair by these quarrels. 

His colonel-general, his lord marshal, his lieutenant-general, were allat daggers drawn. "Would God I were rid of this place!" he exclaimed. "What man living would go to the field and have his officers dividedalmost into mortal quarrel? One blow but by any of their lackeys bringsus altogether by the ears. "

It was clear that there was not room enough on the Netherland soil forthe Earl of Leicester and the brothers Norris. The queen, whileapparently siding with the Earl, intimated to Sir John that she did notdisapprove his conduct, that she should probably recall him to England, and that she should send him back to the Provinces after the Earl hadleft that country. 

Such had been the position of the governor-general towards the Queen, towards the States-General, and towards his own countrymen, during theyear 1586. 

 ETEXT EDITOR'S BOOKMARKS:

 Are wont to hang their piety on the bell-rope Arminianism As logical as men in their cups are prone to be Tolerating religious liberty had never entered his mind

CHAPTER XI. 1586

 Drake in the Netherlands--Good Results of his Visit--The Babington Conspiracy--Leicester decides to visit England--Exchange of parting Compliments. 

Late in the autumn of the same year an Englishman arrived in theNetherlands, bearer of despatches from the Queen. He had been entrustedby her Majesty with a special mission to the States-General, and he hadsoon an interview with that assembly at the Hague. 

He was a small man, apparently forty-five years of age, of a fair butsomewhat weather-stained complexion, with light-brown, closely-curlinghair, an expansive forehead, a clear blue eye, rather commonplacefeatures, a thin, brown, pointed beard, and a slight moustache. Thoughlow of stature, he was broad-chested, with well-knit limbs. His hands, which were small and nervous, were brown and callous with the marks oftoil. There was something in his brow and glance not to be mistaken, andwhich men willingly call master; yet he did not seem, to have sprung ofthe born magnates of the earth. He wore a heavy gold chain about hisneck, and it might be observed that upon the light full sleeves of hisslashed doublet the image of a small ship on a terrestrial globe wascuriously and many times embroidered. 

It was not the first time that he had visited the Netherlands. Thirtyyears before the man had been apprentice on board a small lugger, whichtraded between the English coast and the ports of Zeeland. Emerging inearly boyhood from his parental mansion--an old boat, turned bottomupwards on a sandy down he had naturally taken to the sea, and hismaster, dying childless not long afterwards, bequeathed to him thelugger. But in time his spirit, too much confined by coasting in thenarrow seas, had taken a bolder flight. He had risked his hard-earnedsavings in a voyage with the old slave-trader, John Hawkins--whoseexertions, in what was then considered an honourable and useful vocation, had been rewarded by Queen Elizabeth with her special favour, and with acoat of arms, the crest whereof was a negro's head, proper, chained--butthe lad's first and last enterprise in this field was unfortunate. Captured by Spaniards, and only escaping with life, he determined torevenge himself on the whole Spanish nation; and this was considered amost legitimate proceeding according to the "sea divinity" in which he, had been schooled. His subsequent expeditions against the Spanishpossessions in the West Indies were eminently successful, and soon thename of Francis Drake rang through the world, and startled Philip in thedepths of his Escorial. The first Englishman, and the second of anynation, he then ploughed his memorable "furrow round the earth, " carryingamazement and, destruction to the Spaniards as he sailed, and after threeyears brought to the Queen treasure enough, as it was asserted, tomaintain a war with the Spanish King for seven years, and to pay himselfand companions, and the merchant-adventurers who had participated in hisenterprise, forty-seven pounds sterling for every pound invested in thevoyage. The speculation had been a fortunate one both, for himself andfor the kingdom. 

The terrible Sea-King was one of the great types of the sixteenthcentury. The self-helping private adventurer, in his little vessel the'Golden Hind, ' one hundred tons burthen, had waged successful war againsta mighty empire, and had shown England how to humble Philip. When heagain set foot on his native soil he was followed by admiring crowds, andbecame the favourite hero of romance and ballad; for it was not theignoble pursuit of gold alone, through toil and peril, which had endearedhis name to the nation. The popular instinct recognized that the truemeans had been found at last for rescuing England and Protestantism fromthe overshadowing empire of Spain. The Queen visited him in his 'GoldenHind, ' and gave him the honour of knighthood. 

The treaty between the United Netherlands and England had been followedby an embargo upon English vessels, persons, and property, in the portsof Spain; and after five years of unwonted repose, the privateersmanagain set forth with twenty-five small vessels--of which five or six onlywere armed--under his command, conjoined with that of General Carlisle. This time the voyage was undertaken with full permission and assistanceof the Queen who, however, intended to disavow him, if she should findsuch a step convenient. This was the expedition in which Philip Sidneyhad desired to take part. The Queen watched its result with intenseanxiety, for the fate of her Netherland adventure was thought to behanging on the issue. "Upon Drake's voyage, in very truth, dependeth thelife and death of the cause, according to man's judgment, " saidWalsingham. 

The issue was encouraging, even, if the voyage--as a mercantilespeculation--proved not so brilliant as the previous enterprises of SirFrancis had been. He returned in the midsummer of 1586, having capturedand brandschatzed St. Domingo and Carthagena; and burned St. Augustine. "A fearful man to the King of Spain is Sir Francis Drake, " said LordBurghley. Nevertheless, the Queen and the Lord-Treasurer--as we haveshown by the secret conferences at Greenwich--had, notwithstanding thesesuccesses, expressed a more earnest desire for peace than ever. 

A simple, sea-faring Englishman, with half-a-dozen miserable littlevessels, had carried terror, into the Spanish possessions all over theearth: but even then the great Queen had not learned to rely on thevalour of her volunteers against her most formidable enemy. 

Drake was, however, bent on another enterprise. The preparations forPhilip's great fleet had been going steadily forward in Lisbon, Cadiz, and other ports of Spain and Portugal, and, despite assurances to thecontrary, there was a growing belief that England was to be invaded. Todestroy those ships before the monarch's face, would be, indeed, to"singe his beard. " But whose arm was daring enough for such a stroke?Whose but that of the Devonshire skipper who had already accomplished somuch?

And so Sir Francis, "a man true to his word, merciful to those under him, and hating nothing so much as idleness, " had come to the Netherlands totalk over his project with the States-General, and with the Dutchmerchants and sea-captains. His visit was not unfruitful. As a body theassembly did nothing; but they recommended that in every maritime city ofHolland and Zeeland one or two ships should be got ready, to participatein all the future enterprises of Sir Francis and his comrades. 

The martial spirit of volunteer sailors, and the keen instinct ofmercantile speculation, were relied upon--exactly as in England--tofurnish men, ships, and money, for these daring and profitableadventures. The foundation of a still more intimate connection betweenEngland and Holland was laid, and thenceforth Dutchmen and Englishmenfought side by side, on land and sea, wherever a blow was to be struck inthe cause of human freedom against despotic Spain. 

The famous Babington conspiracy, discovered by Walsingham's "travail andcost, " had come to convince the Queen and her counsellors--if furtherproof were not superfluous--that her throne and life were bothincompatible with Philip's deep designs, and that to keep that monarchout of the Netherlands, was as vital to her as to keep him out ofEngland. "She is forced by this discovery to countenance the cause by alloutward means she may, " said Walsingham, "for it appeareth unto her mostplain, that unless she had entered into the action, she had been utterlyundone, and that if she do not prosecute the same she cannot continue. "The Secretary had sent Leicester information at an early day of the greatsecret, begging his friend to "make the letter a heretic after he hadread the same, " and expressing the opinion that "the matter, if wellhandled, would break the neck of all dangerous practices during herMajesty's reign. "

The tragedy of Mary Stuart--a sad but inevitable portion of the vastdrama in which the emancipation of England and Holland, and, throughthem, of half Christendom, was accomplished--approached its catastrophe;and Leicester could not restrain his anxiety for her immediate execution. He reminded Walsingham that the great seal had been put upon a warrantfor her execution for a less crime seventeen years before, on theoccasion of the Northumberland and Westmorland rebellion. "For who canwarrant these villains from her, " he said, "if that person live, or shalllive any time? God forbid! And be you all stout and resolute in thisspeedy execution, or be condemned of all the world for ever. It is most. Certain, if you will have your Majesty safe, it must be done, for justicedoth crave it beside policy. " His own personal safety was deeplycompromised. "Your Lordship and I, " wrote Burghley, "were very greatmotes in the traitors' eyes; for your Lordship there and I here shouldfirst, about one time, have been killed. Of your Lordship they thoughtrather of poisoning than slaying. After us two gone, they purposed herMajesty's death. "

But on this great affair of state the Earl was not swayed by suchpersonal considerations. He honestly thought--as did all the statesmenwho governed England--that English liberty, the very existence of theEnglish commonwealth, was impossible so long as Mary Stuart lived. Underthese circumstances he was not impatient, for a time at least, to leavethe Netherlands. His administration had not been very successful. He hadbeen led away by his own vanity, and by the flattery of artfuldemagogues, but the immense obstacles with which he had to contend in theQueen's wavering policy, and in the rivalry of both English and Dutchpoliticians have been amply exhibited. That he had been generous, courageous, and zealous, could not be denied; and, on the whole, he hadaccomplished as much in the field as could have been expected of him withsuch meagre forces, and so barren an exchequer. 

It must be confessed, however, that his leaving the Netherlands at thatmoment was a most unfortunate step, both for his own reputation and forthe security of the Provinces. Party-spirit was running high, and apolitical revolution was much to be dreaded in so grave a position ofaffairs, both in England and Holland. The arrangements--and particularlythe secret arrangements which he made at his departure--were the mostfatal measures of all; but these will be described in the followingchapter. 

On the 31st October; the Earl announced to the state-council hisintention of returning to England, stating, as the cause of this suddendetermination, that he had been summoned to attend the parliament thensitting in Westminster. Wilkes, who was of course present, having nowsucceeded Killigrew as one of the two English members, observed that "theStates and council used but slender entreaty to his Excellency for hisstay and countenance there among them, whereat his Excellency and we thatwere of the council for her Majesty did not a little marvel. "

Some weeks later, however, upon the 21st November, Leicester summonedBarneveld, and five other of the States General, to discuss the necessarymeasures for his departure, when those gentlemen remonstrated veryearnestly upon the step, pleading the danger and confusion of affairswhich must necessarily ensue. The Earl declared that he was not retiringfrom the country because he was offended, although he had many causes foroffence: and he then alluded to the Navigation Act, to the establishmentcouncil, and spoke of the finance of Burgrave and Reingault, for hisemployment of which individuals so much obloquy had been heaped upon his, head. Burgrave he pronounced, as usual, a substantial, wise, faithful, religious personage, entitled to fullest confidence; while Reingault--whohad been thrown into prison by the States on charges of fraud, peculation, and sedition--he declared to be a great financier, who hadpromised, on penalty of his head, to bring "great sums into the treasuryfor carrying on the war, without any burthen to the community. " Had hebeen able to do this, he had certainly claim to be considered thegreatest of financiers; but the promised "mountains of gold" were neverdiscovered, and Reingault was now awaiting his trial. 

The deputies replied that the concessions upon the Navigation Act hadsatisfied the country, but that Reingault was a known instrument of theSpaniards, and Burgrave a mischief-making demagogue, who consorted withmalignants, and sent slanderous reports concerning the States and thecountry to her Majesty. They had in consequence felt obliged to writeprivate despatches to envoy Ortel in England, not because they suspectedthe Earl, but in order to counteract the calumnies of his chief advisers. They had urged the agent to bring the imprisonment of Paul Buys beforeher Majesty, but for that transaction Leicester boldly disclaimed allresponsibility. 

It was agreed between the Earl and the deputies that, during his absence, the whole government, civil and military, should devolve upon thestate-council, and that Sir John Norris should remain in command of theEnglish forces. 

Two days afterwards Leicester, who knew very well that a legation wasabout to proceed to England, without any previous concurrence on hispart, summoned a committee of the States-General, together withBarneveld, into the state-council. Counsellor Wilkes on his behalf thenmade a speech, in which he observed that more ample communications on thepart of the States were to be expected. They had in previous colloquiestouched upon comparatively unimportant matters, but he now begged to beinformed why these commissioners were proceeding to England, and what wasthe nature of their instructions. Why did not they formally offer thesovereignty of the Provinces to the Queen without conditions? That stephad already been taken by Utrecht. 

The deputies conferred apart for a little while, and then replied thatthe proposition made by Utrecht was notoriously factious, illegal, andaltogether futile. Without the sanction of all the United States, of whatvalue was the declaration of Utrecht? Moreover the charter of thatprovince had been recklessly violated, its government overthrown, and itsleading citizens banished. The action of the Province under suchcircumstances was not deserving of comment; but should it appear that herMajesty was desirous of assuming the sovereignty of the Provinces uponreasonable conditions, the States of Holland and of Zeeland would not befound backward in the business. 

Leicester proposed that Prince Maurice of Nassau should go with him toEngland, as nominal chief of the embassy, and some of the deputiesfavoured the suggestion. It was however, vigorously and successfullyopposed by Barneveld, who urged that to leave the country without a headin such a dangerous position of affairs, would be an act of madness. Leicester was much annoyed when informed of this decision. He wassuspected of a design, during his absence, of converting Maurice entirelyto his own way of thinking. If unsuccessful, it was believed by theAdvocate and by many others that the Earl would cause the young Prince tobe detained in England as long as Philip William, his brother, had beenkept in Spain. He observed peevishly that he knew how it had all beenbrought about. 

Words, of course, and handsome compliments were exchanged between theGovernor and the States-General on his departure. He protested that hehad never pursued any private ends during his administration, but hadever sought to promote the good of the country and the glory of theQueen, and that he had spent three hundred thousand florins of his ownmoney in the brief period of his residence there. 

The Advocate, on part of the States, assured him that they were all awarethat in the friendship of England lay their only chance of salvation, butthat united action was the sole means by which that salvation could beeffected, and the one which had enabled the late Prince of Orange tomaintain a contest unequalled by anything recorded in history. There wasalso much disquisition on the subject of finance--the Advocate observingthat the States now raised as much in a month as the Provinces in thetime of the Emperor used to levy in a year--and expressed the hope thatthe Queen would increase her contingent to ten thousand foot, and twothousand horse. He repudiated, in the name of the States-General and hisown, the possibility of peace-negotiations; deprecated any allusion tothe subject as fatal to their religion, their liberty, their veryexistence, and equally disastrous to England and to Protestantism, andimplored the Earl, therefore, to use all his influence in opposition toany pacific overtures to or from Spain. 

On the 24th November, acts were drawn up and signed by the Earl, according to which the supreme government of the United Netherlands wasformally committed to the state-council during his absence. Decrees wereto be pronounced in the name of his Excellency, and countersigned byMaurice of Nassau. 

On the following day, Leicester, being somewhat indisposed, requested adeputation of the States-General to wait upon him in his own house. Thiswas done, and a formal and affectionate farewell was then read to him byhis secretary, Mr. Atye. It was responded to in complimentary fashion byAdvocate Barneveld, who again took occasion at this parting interview toimpress upon the governor the utter impossibility, in his own opinion andthat of the other deputies, of reconciling the Provinces with Spain. 

Leicester received from the States--as a magnificent parting present--asilver gilt vase "as tall as a man, " and then departed for Flushing totake shipping for England. 

CHAPTER XII. 

 Ill-timed Interregnum in the Provinces--Firmness of the English and Dutch People--Factions during Leicester's Government--Democratic Theories of the Leicestriana--Suspicions as to the Earl's Designs-- Extreme Views of the Calvinists--Political Ambition of the Church-- Antagonism of the Church and States--The States inclined to Tolerance--Desolation of the Obedient Provinces--Pauperism and Famine--Prosperity of the Republic--The Year of Expectation. 

It was not unnatural that the Queen should desire the presence of herfavourite at that momentous epoch, when the dread question, "aut fer autferi, " had at last demanded its definite solution. It was inevitable, too, that Leicester should feel great anxiety to be upon the spot wherethe great tragedy, so full of fate to all Christendom, and in which hisown fortunes were so closely involved, was to be enacted. But it was mostcruel to the Netherlands--whose well-being was nearly as important toElizabeth as that of her own realm--to plunge them into anarchy at such amoment. Yet this was the necessary result of the sudden retirement ofLeicester. 

He did not resign his government. He did not bind himself to return. Thequestion of sovereignty was still unsettled, for it was still hoped by alarge and influential party, that the English Queen would accept theproposed annexation. It was yet doubtful, whether, during the period ofabeyance, the States-General or the States-Provincial, each within theirseparate sphere, were entitled to supreme authority. Meantime, as if herewere not already sufficient elements of dissension and doubt, came asudden and indefinite interregnum, a provisional, an abnormal, and animpotent government. To the state-council was deputed the executiveauthority. But the state-council was a creature of the States-General, acting in concert with the governor-general, and having no actual life ofits own. It was a board of consultation, not of decision, for it couldneither enact its own decrees nor interpose a veto upon the decrees ofthe governor. 

Certainly the selection of Leicester to fill so important a post had notbeen a very fortunate one; and the enthusiasm which had greeted him, "asif he had been a Messiah, " on his arrival, had very rapidly dwindledaway, as his personal character became known. The leading politicians ofthe country had already been aware of the error which they had committedin clothing with almost sovereign powers the delegate of one who hadrefused the sovereignty. They, were too adroit to neglect theopportunity, which her Majesty's anger offered them, of repairing whatthey considered their blunder. When at last the quarrel, which looked somuch like a lovers' quarrel, between Elizabeth and 'Sweet Robin, ' hadbeen appeased to the satisfaction of Robin, his royal mistress becamemore angry with the States for circumscribing than she had before beenfor their exaggeration of his authority. Hence the implacable hatred ofLeicester to Paul Buys and Barneveld. 

Those two statesmen, for eloquence, learning, readiness, administrativefaculty, surpassed by few who have ever wielded the destinies of freecommonwealths, were fully equal to the task thrown upon their hands bythe progress of events. That task was no slight one, for it was to theleading statesmen of Holland and England, sustained by the indomitableresistance to despotism almost universal in the English and Dutchnations, that the liberty of Europe was entrusted at that, momentousepoch. Whether united under one crown, as the Netherlands ardentlydesired, or closely allied for aggression and defence, the two peopleswere bound indissolubly together. The clouds were rolling up from thefatal south, blacker and more portentous than ever; the artificialequilibrium of forces, by which the fate of France was kept in suspense, was obviously growing every day more uncertain; but the prolonged andawful interval before the tempest should burst over the lands of freedomand Protestantism, gave at least time for the prudent to prepare. TheArmada was growing every day in the ports of Spain and Portugal, andWalsingham doubted, as little as did Buys or Barneveld, toward whatshores that invasion was to be directed. England was to be conquered inorder that the rebellious Netherlands might be reduced; and 'Mucio' wasto be let slip upon the unhappy Henry III. So soon as it was thoughtprobable that the Bearnese and the Valois had sufficiently exhausted eachother. Philip was to reign in Paris, Amsterdam, London, and Edinburgh, without stirring from the Escorial. An excellent programme, had there notbeen some English gentlemen, some subtle secretaries of state, someDevonshire skippers, some Dutch advocates and merchants, some Zeelandfly-boatsmen, and six million men, women, and children, on the two sidesof the North Sea, who had the power of expressing their thoughts ratherbluntly than otherwise, in different dialects of old Anglo-Saxon speech. 

Certainly it would be unjust and ungracious to disparage the heroism ofthe great Queen when the hour of danger really came, nor would it belegitimate for us, who can scan that momentous year of expectation, 1587, by the light of subsequent events and of secret contemporaneous record, to censure or even sharply to criticise the royal hankering for peace, when peace had really become impossible. But as we shall have occasion toexamine rather closely the secrets of the Spanish, French, English, andDutch councils, during this epoch, we are likely to find, perhaps, thatat least as great a debt is due to the English and Dutch people, in mass, for the preservation of European liberty at that disastrous epoch as toany sovereign, general, or statesman. 

For it was in the great waters of the sixteenth century that the nationswhose eyes were open, discovered the fountain of perpetual youth, whileothers, who were blind, passed rapidly onward to decrepitude. Englandwas, in many respects, a despotism so far as regarded governmental forms;and no doubt the Catholics were treated with greater rigour than could bejustified even by the perpetual and most dangerous machinations of theseminary priests and their instigators against the throne and life ofElizabeth. The word liberty was never musical in Tudor ears, yetEnglishmen had blunt tongues and sharp weapons which rarely rusted forwant of use. In the presence of a parliament, and the absence of astanding army, a people accustomed to read the Bible in the vernacular, to handle great questions of religion and government freely, and to beararms at will, was most formidable to despotism. There was an advance onthe olden time. A Francis Drake, a John Hawkins, a Roger Williams, mighthave been sold, under the Plantagenets, like an ox or an ass. A 'femalevillain' in the reign of Henry III. Could have been purchased foreighteen shillings--hardly the price of a fatted pig, and not one-thirdthe value of an ambling palfrey--and a male villain, such an one as couldin Elizabeth's reign circumnavigate the globe in his own ship, or takeimperial field-marshals by the beard, was worth but two or three poundssterling in the market. Here was progress in three centuries, for thevillains were now become admirals and generals in England and Holland, and constituted the main stay of these two little commonwealths, whilethe commanders who governed the 'invincible' fleets and armies ofomnipotent Spain, were all cousins of emperors, or grandees of bluestblood. Perhaps the system of the reformation would not prove the leasteffective in the impending crisis. 

It was most important, then, that these two nations should be united incouncil, and should stand shoulder to shoulder as their great enemyadvanced. But this was precisely what had been rendered almost impossibleby the course of events during Leicester's year of administration, and byhis sudden but not final retirement at its close. The two great nationalparties which had gradually been forming, had remained in a fluid stateduring the presence of the governor-general. During his absence theygradually hardened into the forms which they were destined to retain forcenturies. In the history of civil liberty, these incessant contests, these oral and written disquisitions, these sharp concussions of opinion, and the still harder blows, which, unfortunately, were dealt on a fewoccasions by the combatants upon each other, make the year 1587 amemorable one. The great questions of the origin of government, thebalance of dynastic forces, the distribution of powers, were dealt withby the ablest heads, both Dutch and English, that could be employed inthe service of the kingdom and republic. It was a war of protocols, arguments, orations, rejoinders, apostilles, and pamphlets; verywholesome for the cause of free institutions and the intellectualprogress of mankind. The reader may perhaps be surprised to see with howmuch vigour and boldness the grave questions which underlie all polity, were handled so many years before the days of Russell and Sidney, ofMontesquieu and Locke, Franklin, Jefferson, Rousseau, and Voltaire; andhe may be even more astonished to find exceedingly democratic doctrinespropounded, if not believed in, by trained statesmen of the Elizabethanschool. He will be also apt to wonder that a more fitting time could notbe found for such philosophical debate than the epoch at which both thekingdom and the republic were called upon to strain every sinew againstthe most formidable and aggressive despotism that the world had knownsince the fall of the Roman Empire. 

The great dividing-line between the two parties, that of Leicester andthat of Holland, which controlled the action of the States-General, wasthe question of sovereignty. After the declaration of independence andthe repudiation of Philip, to whom did the sovereignty belong? To thepeople, said the Leicestrians. To the States-General and theStates-Provincial, as legitimate representatives of the people, said theHolland party. Without looking for the moment more closely into thisquestion, which we shall soon find ably discussed by the most acutereasoners of the time, it is only important at present to make apreliminary reflection. The Earl of Leicester, of all men is the world, would seem to have been precluded by his own action, and by the action ofhis Queen, from taking ground against the States. It was the States who, by solemn embassy, had offered the sovereignty to Elizabeth. She had notaccepted the offer, but she had deliberated on the subject, and certainlyshe had never expressed a doubt whether or not the offer had been legallymade. By the States, too, that governor-generalship had been conferredupon the Earl, which had been so thankfully and eagerly accepted. It wasstrange, then, that he should deny the existence of the power whence hisown authority was derived. If the States were not sovereigns of theNetherlands, he certainly was nothing. He was but general of a fewthousand English troops. 

The Leicester party, then, proclaimed extreme democratic principles as tothe origin of government and the sovereignty of the people. They soughtto strengthen and to make almost absolute the executive authority oftheir chief, on the ground that such was the popular will; and theydenounced with great acrimony the insolence of the upstart members of theStates, half a dozen traders, hired advocates, churls, tinkers, and thelike--as Leicester was fond of designating the men who opposed him--inassuming these airs of sovereignty. 

This might, perhaps, be philosophical doctrine, had its supporters notforgotten that there had never been any pretence at an expression of thenational will, except through the mouths of the States. TheStates-General and the States-Provincial, without any usurpation, but asa matter of fact and of great political convenience, had, during fifteenyears, exercised the authority which had fallen from Philip's hands. Thepeople hitherto had acquiesced in their action, and certainly there hadnot yet been any call for a popular convention, or any other device toascertain the popular will. It was also difficult to imagine what was theexact entity of this abstraction called the "people" by men who expressedsuch extreme contempt for "merchants, advocates, town-orators, churls, tinkers, and base mechanic men, born not to command but to obey. " Whowere the people when the educated classes and the working classes werethus carefully eliminated? Hardly the simple peasantry--the boors--whotilled the soil. At that day the agricultural labourers less than allothers dreamed of popular sovereignty, and more than all others submittedto the mild authority of the States. According to the theory of theNetherland constitutions, they were supposed--and they had themselves notyet discovered the fallacies to which such doctrines could lead--to berepresented by the nobles and country-squires who maintained in theStates of each Province the general farming interests of the republic. Moreover, the number of agricultural peasants was comparatively small. The lower classes were rather accustomed to plough the sea than the land, and their harvests were reaped from that element, which to Hollanders andZeelanders was less capricious than the solid earth. Almost everyinhabitant of those sea-born territories was, in one sense or another, amariner; for every highway was a canal; the soil was percolated by riversand estuaries, pools and meres; the fisheries were the nurseries in whichstill more daring navigators rapidly learned their trade, and every childtook naturally to the ocean as to its legitimate home. 

The "people, " therefore, thus enthroned by the Leicestrians over all theinhabitants of the country, appeared to many eyes rather a mistyabstraction, and its claim of absolute sovereignty a doctrine almost asfantastic as that of the divine right of kings. The Netherlanders were, on the whole, a law-abiding people, preferring to conduct even arevolution according to precedent, very much attached to ancient usagesand traditions, valuing the liberties, as they called them, which theyhad wrested from what had been superior force, with their own righthands, preferring facts to theories, and feeling competent to deal withtyrants in the concrete rather than to annihilate tyranny in the abstractby a bold and generalizing phraseology. Moreover the opponents of theLeicester party complained that the principal use to which this newlydiscovered "people" had been applied, was to confer its absolutesovereignty unconditionally upon one man. The people was to be sovereignin order that it might immediately abdicate in favour of the Earl. 

Utrecht, the capital of the Leicestrians, had already been deprived ofits constitution. The magistracy was, according to law, changed everyyear. A list of candidates was furnished by the retiring board, an equalnumber of names was added by the governor of the Province, and from thecatalogue thus composed the governor with his council selected the newmagistrates for the year. But De Villiers, the governor of the Province, had been made a prisoner by the enemy in the last campaign; Count Moeurshad been appointed provisional stadholder by the States; and, during histemporary absence on public affairs, the Leicestrians had seized upon thegovernment, excluded all the ancient magistrates, banished many leadingcitizens from the town, and installed an entirely new board, with GerardProninck, called Deventer, for chief burgomaster, who was a Brabantinerefugee just arrived in the Province, and not eligible to office untilafter ten years' residence. 

It was not unnatural that the Netherlanders, who remembered the scenes ofbloodshed and disorder produced by the memorable attempt of the Duke ofAnjou to obtain possession of Antwerp and other cities, should besuspicious of Leicester. Anjou, too, had been called to the Provinces bythe voluntary action of the States. He too had been hailed as a Messiahand a deliverer. In him too had unlimited confidence been reposed, and hehad repaid their affection and their gratitude by a desperate attempt toobtain the control of their chief cities by the armed hand, and thus toconstitute himself absolute sovereign of the Netherlands. The inhabitantshad, after a bloody contest, averted the intended massacre and theimpending tyranny; but it was not astonishing that--so very, few yearshaving elapsed since those tragical events--they should be inclined toscan severely the actions of the man who had already obtained byunconstitutional means the mastery of a most important city, and wassupposed to harbour designs upon all the cities. 

No, doubt it was a most illiberal and unwise policy for the inhabitantsof the independent States to exclude from office the wanderers, forconscience' sake, from the obedient Provinces. They should have beenwelcomed heart and hand by those who were their brethren in religion andin the love of freedom. Moreover, it was notorious that Hohenlo, lieutenant-general under Maurice of Nassau, was a German, and that by thetreaty with England, two foreigners sat in the state council, while thearmy swarmed with English, Irish, end German officers in high command. Nevertheless, violently to subvert the constitution of a Province, and toplace in posts of high responsibility men who were ineligible--some whosecharacters were suspicious, and some who were known to be dangerous, andto banish large numbers of respectable burghers--was the act of a despot. 

Besides their democratic doctrines, the Leicestrians proclaimed andencouraged an exclusive and rigid Calvinism. 

It would certainly be unjust and futile to detract from the vast debtwhich the republic owed to the Geneva Church. The reformation had enteredthe Netherlands by the Walloon gate. The earliest and most eloquentpreachers, the most impassioned converts, the sublimest martyrs, hadlived, preached, fought, suffered, and died with the precepts of Calvinin their hearts. The fire which had consumed the last vestige of royaland sacerdotal despotism throughout the independent republic, had beenlighted by the hands of Calvinists. 

Throughout the blood-stained soil of France, too, the men who werefighting the same great battle as were the Netherlanders against PhilipII. And the Inquisition, the valiant cavaliers of Dauphiny and Provence, knelt on the ground, before the battle, smote their iron breasts withtheir mailed hands, uttered a Calvinistic prayer, sang a psalm of Marot, and then charged upon Guise, or upon Joyeuse, under the white plume ofthe Bearnese. And it was on the Calvinist weavers and clothiers ofRochelle that the great Prince relied in the hour of danger as much as onhis mountain chivalry. In England too, the seeds of liberty, wrapped upin Calvinism and hoarded through many trying years, were at last destinedto float over land and sea, and to bear large harvests of temperatefreedom for great commonwealths, which were still unborn. Neverthelessthere was a growing aversion in many parts of the States for the rigidand intolerant spirit of the reformed religion. There were many men inHolland who had already imbibed the true lesson--the only, one worthlearning of the reformation--liberty of thought; but toleration in theeyes of the extreme Calvinistic party was as great a vice as it could bein the estimation of Papists. To a favoured few of other habits ofthought, it had come to be regarded as a virtue; but the day was stillfar distant when men were to scorn the very word toleration as an insultto the dignity of man; as if for any human being or set of human beings, in caste, class, synod, or church, the right could even in imagination beconceded of controlling the consciences of their fellow-creatures. 

But it was progress for the sixteenth century that there wereindividuals, and prominent individuals, who dared to proclaim liberty ofconscience for all. William of Orange was a Calvinist, sincere and rigid, but he denounced all oppression of religion, and opened wide the doors ofthe Commonwealth to Papists, Lutherans, and Anabaptists alike. The Earlof Leicester was a Calvinist, most rigid in tenet, most edifying ofconversation, the acknowledged head of the Puritan party of England, buthe was intolerant and was influenced only by the most intolerant of hissect. Certainly it would have required great magnanimity upon his part toassume a friendly demeanour towards the Papists. It is easier for us, inmore favoured ages, to rise to the heights of philosophical abstraction, than for a man, placed as was Leicester, in the front rank of a mightybattle, in which the triumph of either religion seemed to require thebodily annihilation of all its adversaries. He believed that the successof a Catholic conspiracy against the life of Elizabeth or of a Spanishinvasion of England, would raise Mary to the throne and consign himselfto the scaffold. He believed that the subjugation of the independentNetherlands would place the Spaniards instantly in England, and hefrequently received information, true or false, of Popish plots that wereever hatching in various parts of the Provinces against the EnglishQueen. It was not surprising, therefore, although it was unwise, that heshould incline his ear most seriously to those who counselled severemeasures not only against Papists, but against those who were notpersecutors of Papists, and that he should allow himself to be guided byadventurers, who wore the mask of religion only that they might plunderthe exchequer and rob upon the highway. 

Under the administration of this extreme party, therefore, the Papistswere maltreated, disfranchised, banished, and plundered. The distributionof the heavy war-taxes, more than two-thirds of which were raised inHolland only, was confided to foreigners, and regulated mainly atUtrecht, where not one-tenth part of the same revenue was collected. Thisnaturally excited the wrath of the merchants and manufacturers of Hollandand the other Provinces, who liked not that these hard-earned andlavishly-paid subsidies should be meddled with by any but the cleanesthands. 

The clergy, too, arrogated a direct influence in political affairs. Theirdemonstrations were opposed by the anti-Leicestrians, who cared not tosee a Geneva theocracy in the place of the vanished Papacy. They had aslittle reverence in secular affairs for Calvinistic deacons as for thecollege of cardinals, and would as soon accept the infallibility ofSixtus V. As that of Herman Modet. The reformed clergy who haddispossessed and confiscated the property of the ancient ecclesiasticswho once held a constitutional place in the Estates of Utrecht--althoughmany of those individuals were now married and had embraced the reformedreligion who had demolished, and sold at public auction, for 12, 300florins, the time-honoured cathedral where the earliest Christians of theNetherlands had worshipped, and St. Willibrod had ministered, wereroundly rebuked, on more than one occasion, by the blunt matters beyondtheir sphere. 

The party of the States-General, as opposed to the Leicester party, wasguided by the statesmen of Holland. At a somewhat later period was formedthe States-right party, which claimed sovereignty for each Province, andby necessary consequence the hegemony throughout the confederacy, forHolland. At present the doctrine maintained was that the sovereigntyforfeited by Philip had naturally devolved upon the States-General. Thestatesmen of this party repudiated the calumny that it had thereforelapsed into the hands of half a dozen mechanics and men of low degree. The States of each Province were, they maintained, composed of nobles andcountry-gentlemen, as representing the agricultural interest, and ofdeputies from the 'vroedschappen, ' or municipal governments, of everycity and smallest town. 

Such men as Adrian Van der Werff, the heroic burgomaster of Leyden duringits famous siege, John Van der Does, statesman, orator, soldier, poet, Adolphus Meetkerke, judge, financier, politician, Carl Roorda, Noel deCarom diplomatist of most signal ability, Floris Thin, Paul Buys, andOlden-Barneveld, with many others, who would have done honour to thelegislative assemblies and national councils in any country or any age, were constantly returned as members of the different vroedschaps in thecommonwealth. 

So far from its being true then that half a dozen ignorant mechanics hadusurped the sovereignty of the Provinces, after the abjuration of theSpanish King, it may be asserted in general terms, that of the eighthundred thousand inhabitants of Holland at least eight hundred personswere always engaged in the administration of public affairs, that theseindividuals were perpetually exchanged for others, and that those whosenames became most prominent in the politics of the day were remarkablefor thorough education, high talents, and eloquence with tongue and pen. It was acknowledged by the leading statesmen of England and France, onrepeated occasions throughout the sixteenth century, that thediplomatists and statesmen of the Netherlands were even more than a matchfor any politicians who were destined to encounter them, and the profoundrespect which Leicester expressed for these solid statesmen, these"substantial, wise, well-languaged" men, these "big fellows, " so soon ashe came in contact with them, and before he began to hate them foroutwitting him, has already appeared. They were generally men of thepeople, born without any of the accidents of fortune; but, the leadershad studied in the common schools, and later in the noble universities ofa land where to be learned and eloquent was fast becoming almost as greatan honour as to be wealthy or high born. 

The executive, the legislative, and the judiciary departments were morecarefully and scientifically separated than could perhaps have beenexpected in that age. The lesser municipal courts, in which city-senatorspresided, were subordinate to the supreme court of Holland, whoseofficers were appointed by the stadholders and council; the supplies werein the hands of the States-Provincial, and the supreme administrativeauthority was confided to a stadholder appointed by the states. 

The States-General were constituted of similar materials to those ofwhich the States-Provincial were constructed, and the same individualswere generally prominent in both. They were deputies appointed by theProvincial Estates, were in truth rather more like diplomatic envoys thansenators, were generally bound very strictly by instructions, and wereoften obliged, by the jealousy springing from the States-right principle, to refer to their constituents, on questions when the times demanded asudden decision, and when the necessary delay was inconvenient anddangerous. 

In religious matters, the States-party, to their honour, already leanedto a wide toleration. Not only Catholics were not burned, but they werenot banished, and very large numbers remained in the territory, and werequite undisturbed in religious matters, within their own doors. Therewere even men employed in public affairs who were suspected of papisticaltendencies, although their hostility, to Spain and their attachment totheir native land could not fairly be disputed. The leaders of theStates-party had a rooted aversion to any political influence on the partof the clergy of any denomination whatever. Disposed to be lenient to allforms of worship, they were disinclined to an established church, butstill more opposed to allowing church-influence in secular affairs. As amatter of course, political men with such bold views in religious matterswere bitterly assailed by their rigid opponents. Barneveld, with his "nilscire tutissima fides, " was denounced as a disguised Catholic or aninfidel, and as for Paul Buys, he was a "bolsterer of Papists, anatheist, a devil, " as it has long since been made manifest. 

Nevertheless these men believed that they understood the spirit of theircountry and of the age. In encouragement to an expanding commerce, theelevation and education of the masses, the toleration of all creeds, anda wide distribution of political functions and rights, they looked forthe salvation of their nascent republic from destruction, and themaintenance of the true interests of the people. They were still loyal toQueen Elizabeth, and desirous that she should accept the sovereignty ofthe Provinces. But they were determined that the sovereignty should be aconstitutional one, founded upon and limited by the time-honoured lawsand traditions of their commonwealth; for they recognised the value of afree republic with an hereditary chief, however anomalous it might intheory appear. They knew that in Utrecht the Leicestrian party were aboutto offer the Queen the sovereignty of their Province, without conditions, but they were determined that neither Queen Elizabeth nor any othermonarch should ever reign in the Netherlands, except under conditions tobe very accurately defined and well secured. 

Thus, contrasted, then, were the two great parties in the Netherlands, atthe conclusion of Leicester's first year of administration. It may easilybe understood that it was not an auspicious moment to leave the countrywithout a chief. 

The strength of the States-party lay in Holland, Zeeland, Friesland. Themain stay of the democratic or Leicester faction was in the city ofUtrecht, but the Earl had many partizans in Gelderland, Friesland, and inOveryssel, the capital of which Province, the wealthy and thrivingDeventer, second only in the republic to Amsterdam for commercial andpolitical importance, had been but recently secured for the Provinces bythe vigorous measures of Sir William Pelham. 

The condition of the republic and of the Spanish Provinces was, at thatmoment, most signally contrasted. If the effects of despotism and ofliberty could ever be exhibited at a single glance, it was certainly onlynecessary to look for a moment at the picture of the obedient and of therebel Netherlands. 

Since the fall of Antwerp, the desolation of Brabant, Flanders, and ofthe Walloon territories had become complete. The King had recovered thegreat commercial capital, but its commerce was gone. The Scheldt, which, till recently, had been the chief mercantile river in the world, hadbecome as barren as if its fountains had suddenly dried up. It was as ifit no longer flowed to the ocean, for its mouth was controlled byFlushing. Thus Antwerp was imprisoned and paralyzed. Its docks andbasins, where 2500 ships had once been counted, were empty, grass wasgrowing in its streets, its industrious population had vanished, and theJesuits had returned in swarms. And the same spectacle was presented byGhent, Bruges, Valenciennes, Tournay, and those other fair cities, whichhad once been types of vigorous industry and tumultuous life. Thesea-coast was in the hands of two rising commercial powers, the great andfree commonwealths of the future. Those powers were acting in concert, and commanding the traffic of the world, while the obedient Provinceswere excluded from all foreign intercourse and all markets, as the resultof their obedience. Commerce, manufactures, agriculture; were dyinglingering deaths. The thrifty farms, orchards, and gardens, which hadbeen a proverb and wonder of industry were becoming wildernesses. Thedemand for their produce by the opulent and thriving cities, which hadbeen the workshops of the world, was gone. Foraging bands of Spanish andItalian mercenaries had succeeded to the famous tramp of the artizans andmechanics, which had often been likened to an army, but these newcustomers were less profitable to the gardeners and farmers. Theclothiers, the fullers, the tapestry-workers, the weavers, the cutlers, had all wandered away, and the cities of Holland, Friesland, and ofEngland, were growing skilful and rich by the lessons and the industry ofthe exiles to whom they afforded a home. There were villages and smalltowns in the Spanish Netherlands that had been literally depopulated. Large districts of country had gone to waste, and cane-brakes and squalidmorasses usurped the place of yellow harvest-fields. The fog, the wildboar, and the wolf, infested the abandoned homes of the peasantry;children could not walk in safety in the neighbourhood even of the largercities; wolves littered their young in the deserted farm-houses; twohundred persons, in the winter of 1586-7, were devoured by wild beasts inthe outskirts of Ghent. Such of the remaining labourers and artizans ashad not been converted into soldiers, found their most profitableemployment as brigands, so that the portion of the population spared bywar and emigration was assisting the enemy in preying upon their nativecountry. Brandschatzung, burglary, highway-robbery, and murder, hadbecome the chief branches of industry among the working classes. Noblesand wealthy burghers had been changed to paupers and mendicants. Many afamily of ancient lineage, and once of large possessions, could be seenbegging their bread, at the dusk of evening, in the streets of greatcities, where they had once exercised luxurious hospitality; and theyoften begged in vain. 

For while such was the forlorn aspect of the country--and the portrait, faithfully sketched from many contemporary pictures, has not beenexaggerated in any of its dark details--a great famine smote the landwith its additional scourge. The whole population, soldiers and brigands, Spaniards and Flemings, beggars and workmen, were in danger of perishingtogether. Where the want of employment had been so great as to cause arapid depopulation, where the demand for labour had almost entirelyceased, it was a necessary result, that during the process, prices shouldbe low, even in the presence of foreign soldiery, and despite theinflamed' profits, which such capitalists as remained required, by waynot only of profit but insurance, in such troublous times. Accordingly, for the last year or two, the price of rye at Antwerp and Brussels hadbeen one florin for the veertel (three bushels) of one hundred and twentypounds; that of wheat, about one-third of a florin more. Five pounds ofrye, therefore, were worth, one penny sterling, reckoning, as was thenusual, two shillings to the florin. A pound weight of wheat was worthabout one farthing. Yet this was forty-one years after the discovery ofthe mines of Potosi (A. D. 1545), and full sixteen years after the epoch;from which is dated that rapid fall in the value of silver, which in thecourse of seventy years, caused the average price of corn and of allother commodities, to be tripled or even quadrupled. At that very momentthe average cost of wheat in England was sixty-four shillings thequarter, or about seven and sixpence sterling the bushel, and in themarkets of Holland, which in truth regulated all others, the same pricesprevailed. A bushel of wheat in England was equal therefore to eightbushels in Brussels. 

Thus the silver mines, which were the Spanish King's property, hadproduced their effect everywhere more signally than within the obedientProvinces. The South American specie found its way to Philip's coffers, thence to the paymasters of his troops in Flanders, and thence to thecommercial centres of Holland and England. Those countries, first to feeland obey the favourable expanding impulse of the age, were moving surelyand steadily on before it to greatness. Prices were rising withunexampled rapidity, the precious metals were comparatively a drug, aworld-wide commerce, such as had never been dreamed of, had become anevery-day concern, the arts and sciences and a most generous culture infamous schools and universities, which had been founded in the midst oftumult and bloodshed, characterized the republic, and the golden age ofEnglish poetry, which was to make the Elizabethan era famous through alltime, had already begun. 

In the Spanish Netherlands the newly-found treasure served to pay theonly labourers required in a subjugated and almost deserted country, thepikemen of Spain and Italy, and the reiters of Germany. Prices could notsustain themselves in the face of depopulation. Where there was nosecurity for property, no home-market, no foreign intercourse, industrialpursuits had become almost impossible. The small demand for labour hadcaused it, as it were, to disappear, altogether. All men had becomebeggars, brigands, or soldiers. A temporary reaction followed. There wereno producers. Suddenly it was discovered that no corn had been planted, and that there was no harvest. A famine was the inevitable result. Pricesthen rose with most frightful rapidity. The veertel of rye, which in theprevious year had been worth one florin at Brussels and Antwerp, rose inthe winter of 1586-7 to twenty, twenty-two, and even twenty-four florins;and wheat advanced from one and one-third florin to thirty-two florinsthe veertel. Other articles were proportionally increased inmarket-value; but it is worthy of remark that mutton was quoted in themidst of the famine at nine stuyvers (a little more than ninepencesterling) the pound, and beef at fivepence, while a single cod-fish soldfor twenty-two florins. Thus wheat was worth sixpence sterling the poundweight (reckoning the veertel of one hundred and twenty pounds at thirtyflorins), which was a penny more than the price of a pound of beef; whilean ordinary fish was equal in value to one hundred and six pounds ofbeef. No better evidence could be given that the obedient Provinces wererelapsing into barbarism, than that the only agricultural industry thenpractised was to allow what flocks and herds were remaining to graze atwill over the ruined farms and gardens, and that their fishermen wereexcluded from the sea. 

The evil cured itself, however, and, before the expiration of anotheryear, prices were again at their previous level. The land wassufficiently cultivated to furnish the necessaries of life for adiminishing population, and the supply of labour was more than enough, for the languishing demand. Wheat was again at tenpence the bushel, andother commodities valued in like proportion, and far below themarket-prices in Holland and England. 

On the other, hand, the prosperity of the republic was rapidlyincreasing. Notwithstanding the war, which had beer raging for aterrible quarter of a century without any interruption, population wasincreasing, property rapidly advancing in value, labour in active demand. Famine was impossible to a state which commanded the ocean. No corn grewin Holland and Zeeland, but their ports were the granary of the world. The fisheries were a mine of wealth almost equal to the famous Potosi, with which the commercial world was then ringing. Their commerce with theBaltic nations was enormous. In one month eight hundred vessels lefttheir havens for the eastern ports alone. There was also no doubtwhatever--and the circumstance was a source of constant complaint and offrequent ineffective legislation--that the rebellious Provinces weredriving a most profitable trade with Spain and the Spanish possessions, in spite of their revolutionary war. The mines of Peru and Mexico were asfertile for the Hollanders and Zeelanders as for the Spaniardsthemselves. The war paid for the war, one hundred large frigates wereconstantly cruising along the coasts to protect the fast-growing traffic, and an army of twenty thousand foot soldiers and two thousand cavalrywere maintained on land. There were more ships and sailors at that momentin Holland and Zeeland than in the whole kingdom of England. 

While the sea-ports were thus rapidly increasing in importance, the townsin the interior were advancing as steadily. The woollen manufacture, thetapestry, the embroideries of Gelderland, and Friesland, and Overyssel, were becoming as famous as had been those of Tournay, Ypres, Brussels, and Valenciennes. The emigration from the obedient Provinces and fromother countries was very great. It was difficult to obtain lodgings inthe principal cities; new houses, new streets, new towns, were risingevery day. The single Province of Holland furnished regularly, forwar-expenses alone, two millions of florins (two hundred thousand pounds)a year, besides frequent extraordinary grants for the same purpose, yetthe burthen imposed upon the vigorous young commonwealth seemed only tomake it the more elastic. "The coming generations may see, " says acontemporary historian, "the fortifications erected at that epoch in thecities, the costly and magnificent havens, the docks, the great extensionof the cities; for truly the war had become a great benediction to theinhabitants. " Such a prosperous commonwealth as this was not a prize tobe lightly thrown away. There is no doubt whatever that a large majorityof the inhabitants, and of the States by whom the people wererepresented, ardently and affectionately desired to be annexed to theEnglish crown. Leicester had become unpopular, but Elizabeth was adored, and there was nothing unreasonable in the desire entertained by theProvinces of retaining their ancient constitutions, and of transferringtheir allegiance to the English Queen. 

But the English Queen could not resolve to take the step. Although thegreat tragedy which was swiftly approaching its inevitable catastrophe, the execution of the Scottish Queen, was to make peace with Philipimpossible--even if it were imaginable before--Elizabeth, during the year1587, was earnestly bent on peace. This will be made manifest insubsequent pages, by an examination of the secret correspondence of thecourt. Her most sagacious statesmen disapproved her course, opposed it, and were often overruled, although never convinced; for her imperiouswill would have its way. 

The States-General loathed the very name of peace with Spain. The peopleloathed it. All knew that peace with Spain meant the exchange of athriving prosperous commonwealth, with freedom of religion, constitutional liberty, and self-government, for provincial subjection tothe inquisition and to despotism: To dream of any concession from Philipon the religious point was ridiculous. There was a mirror ever held upbefore their eyes by the obedient Provinces, in which they might seetheir own image, should, they too return to obedience. And there wasnever a pretence, on the part of any honest adviser of Queen Elizabeth inthe Netherlands, whether Englishman or Hollander, that the idea ofpeace-negotiation could be tolerated for a moment by States or people. Yet the sum of the Queen's policy, for the year 1587, may be summed up inone word--peace; peace for the Provinces, peace for herself, with theirimplacable enemy. 

In France, during the same year of expectation, we shall see the longprologue to the tragic and memorable 1588 slowly enacting; the sametriangular contest between the three Henrys and their partizans stillproceeding. We shall see the misguided and wretched Valois lamenting overhis victories, and rejoicing over his defeats; forced into hollowalliance with his deadly enemy; arrayed in arms against his onlyprotector and the true champion of the realm; and struggling vainly inthe toils of his own mother and his own secretary of state, leagued withhis most powerful foes. We shall see 'Mucio, ' with one 'hand extended inmock friendship toward the King, and with the other thrust backward tograsp the purse of 300, 000 crowns held forth to aid hisfellow-conspirator's dark designs against their common victim; and theBearnese, ever with lance in rest, victorious over the wrong antagonist, foiled of the fruits of victory, proclaiming himself the English Queen'sdevoted knight, but railing at her parsimony; always in the saddle, always triumphant, always a beggar, always in love, always cheerful, andalways confident to outwit the Guises and Philip, Parma and the Pope. 

And in Spain we shall have occasion to look over the King's shoulder, ashe sits at his study-table, in his most sacred retirement; and we shallfind his policy for the year 1587 summed up in two words--invasion ofEngland. Sincerely and ardently as Elizabeth meant peace with Philip, just so sincerely did Philip intend war with England, and thedethronement and destruction of the Queen. To this great design allothers were now subservient, and it was mainly on account of thisdetermination that there was sufficient leisure in the republic for theLeicestrians and the States-General to fight out so thoroughly theirparty-contests. 

 ETEXT EDITOR'S BOOKMARKS:

 Acknowledged head of the Puritan party of England (Leicester) Geneva theocracy in the place of the vanished Papacy Hankering for peace, when peace had really become impossible Hating nothing so much as idleness Mirror ever held up before their eyes by the obedient Provinces Rigid and intolerant spirit of the reformed religion Scorn the very word toleration as an insult The word liberty was never musical in Tudor ears

CHAPTER XIII. 1587

 Barneveld's Influence in the Provinces--Unpopularity of Leicester intrigues--of his Servants--Gossip of his Secretary-- Its mischievous Effects--The Quarrel of Norris and Hollock-- The Earl's Participation in the Affair--His increased Animosity to Norris--Seizure of Deventer--Stanley appointed its Governor--York and Stanley--Leicester's secret Instructions--Wilkes remonstrates with Stanley--Stanley's Insolence and Equivocation--Painful Rumours as to him and York--Duplicity of York--Stanley's Banquet at Deventer--He surrenders the City to Tassis--Terms of the Bargain-- Feeble Defence of Stanley's Conduct--Subsequent Fate of Stanley and York--Betrayal of Gelder to Parma--These Treasons cast Odium on the English--Miserable Plight of the English Troops--Honesty and Energy of Wilkes--Indignant Discussion in the Assembly. 

The government had not been laid down by Leicester on his departure. Ithad been provisionally delegated, as already mentioned to thestate-council. In this body-consisting of eighteen persons--originallyappointed by the Earl, on nomination by the States, several members werefriendly to the governor, and others were violently opposed to him. TheStaten of Holland, by whom the action of the States-General was mainlycontrolled, were influenced in their action by Buys and Barneveld. YoungMaurice of Nassau, nineteen years of age, was stadholder of Holland andZeeland. A florid complexioned, fair-haired young man, ofsanguine-bilious temperament; reserved, quiet, reflective, singularlyself-possessed; meriting at that time, more than his father had everdone, the appellation of the taciturn; discreet, sober, studious. "CountMaurice saith but little, but I cannot tell what he thinketh, " wroteLeicester's eaves-dropper-in-chiefs. Mathematics, fortification, thescience of war--these were his daily pursuits. "The sapling was to becomethe tree, " and meantime the youth was preparing for the great destinywhich he felt, lay before him. To ponder over the works and the daringconceptions of Stevinus, to build up and to batter the wooden blocks ofmimic citadels; to arrange in countless combinations, great armies ofpewter soldiers; these were the occupations of his leisure-hours. Yet hewas hardly suspected of bearing within him the germs of the greatmilitary commander. "Small desire hath Count Maurice to follow the wars, "said one who fancied himself an acute observer at exactly this epoch. "And whereas it might be supposed that in respect to his birth and place, he would affect the chief military command in these countries, it isfound by experience had of his humour, that there is no chance of hisentering into competition with the others. " A modest young man, who couldbide his time--but who, meanwhile, under the guidance of his elders, wasdoing his best, both in field and cabinet, to learn the great lessons ofthe age--he had already enjoyed much solid practical instruction, undersuch a desperate fighter as Hohenlo, and under so profound a statesman asBarneveld. For at this epoch Olden-Barneveld was the preceptor, almostthe political patron of Maurice, and Maurice, the official head of theHolland party, was the declared opponent of the democratic-Calvinistorganization. It is not necessary, at this early moment, to foreshadowthe changes which time was to bring. Meantime it would be seen, perhapsere long, whether or no, it would be his humour to follow the wars. As tohis prudent and dignified deportment there was little doubt. "CountMaurice behaveth himself very discreetly all this while, " wrote one, whodid not love him, to Leicester, who loved him less: "He cometh every dayto the council, keeping no company with Count Hollock, nor with any ofthem all, and never drinks himself full with any of them, as they doevery day among themselves. "

Certainly the most profitable intercourse that Maurice could enjoy withHohenlo was upon the battle-field. In winter-quarters, thathard-fighting, hard-drinking, and most turbulent chieftain, was not thebest Mentor for a youth whose destiny pointed him out as the leader of afree commonwealth. After the campaigns were over--if they ever could beover--the Count and other nobles from the same country were too apt toindulge in those mighty potations, which were rather characteristic oftheir nation and the age. 

"Since your Excellency's departure, " wrote Leicester's secretary, "therehath been among the Dutch Counts nothing but dancing and drinking, to thegrief of all this people; which foresee that there can come no good ofit. Specially Count Hollock, who hath been drunk almost a fortnighttogether. "

Leicester had rendered himself unpopular with the States-General, andwith all the leading politicians and generals; yet, at that moment, hehad deeply mortgaged his English estates in order to raisefunds to expend in the Netherland cause. Thirty thousand poundssterling--according to his own statement--he was already out of pocket, and, unless the Queen would advance him the means to redeem his property;his broad lands were to be brought to the hammer. But it was the Queen, not the States-General, who owed the money; for the Earl had advancedthese sums as a portion of the royal contingent. Five hundred and sixtythousand pounds sterling had been the cost of one year's war during theEnglish governor's administration; and of this sum one hundred and fortythousand had been paid by England. There was a portion of the sum, overand above their monthly levies; for which the States had contracted adebt, and they were extremely desirous to obtain, at that moment, anadditional loan of fifty thousand pounds from Elizabeth; a favourwhich--Elizabeth was very firmly determined not to grant. It was thisterror at the expense into which the Netherland war was plunging her, which made the English sovereign so desirous for peace, and filled theanxious mind of Walsingham with the most painful forebodings. 

Leicester, in spite of his good qualities--such as they were--had notthat most necessary gift for a man in his position, the art of makingfriends. No man made so many enemies. He was an excellent hater, and fewmen have been more cordially hated in return. He was imperious, insolent, hot-tempered. He could brook no equal. He had also the fatal defect ofenjoying the flattery, of his inferiors in station. Adroit intriguersburned incense to him as a god, and employed him as their tool. And nowhe had mortally offended Hohenlo, and Buys, and Barneveld, while he hatedSir John Norris with a most passionate hatred. Wilkes, the Englishrepresentative, was already a special object of his aversion. Theunvarnished statements made by the stiff counsellor, of the expense ofthe past year's administration, and the various errors committed, hadinspired Leicester with such ferocious resentment, that the friends ofWilkes trembled for his life. 

 ["It is generally bruited here, " wrote Henry Smith to his brother- in-law Wilkes, "of a most heavy displeasure conceived by my Lord of Leicester against you, and it is said to be so great as that he hath protested to be revenged of you; and to procure you the more enemies, it is said he hath revealed to my Lord Treasurer, and Secretary Davison some injurious speeches (which I cannot report) you should have used of them to him at your last being with him. Furthermore some of the said Lord's secretaries have reported here that it were good for you never to return hither, or, if their Lord be appointed to go over again, it will be too hot for you to tarry there. These things thus coming to the ears of your friends have stricken a great fear and grief into the minds of such as love you, lest the wonderful force and authority of this man being bent against you, should do you hurt, while there is none to answer for you. " Smith to Wilkes, 26 Jan. 1587. (S. P. Office MS. )]

Cordiality between the governor-general and Count Maurice had becomeimpossible. As for Willoughby and Sir William Pelham, they were bothfriendly to him, but Willoughby was a magnificent cavalry officer, whodetested politics, and cared little for the Netherlands, except as thebest battle-field in Europe, and the old marshal of the camp--the onlyman that Leicester ever loved--was growing feeble in health, was brokendown by debt, and hardly possessed, or wished for, any general influence. 

Besides Deventer of Utrecht, then, on whom, the Earl chiefly reliedduring his, absence, there were none to support him cordially, except twoor three members of the state-council. "Madame de Brederode hath sentunto you a kind of rose, " said his intelligencer, "which you have askedfor, and beseeches you to command anything she has in her garden, orwhatsoever. M. Meetkerke, M. Brederode, and Mr. Dorius, wish your returnwith all, their hearts. For the rest I cannot tell, and will not swear. But Mr. Barneveld is not your very great friend, whereof I can write nomore at this time. "

This certainly was a small proportion out of a council of eighteen, whenall the leading politicians of the country were in avowed hostility tothe governor. And thus the Earl was, at this most important crisis, todepend upon the subtle and dangerous Deventer, and upon two inferiorpersonages, the "fellow Junius" and a non-descript, whom Hohenlocharacterized as a "long lean Englishman, with a little black beard. "This meagre individual however seems to have been of somewhat doubtfulnationality. He called himself Otheman, claimed to be a Frenchman, hadlived much in England, wrote with great fluency and spirit, both inFrench and English, but was said, in reality, to be named Robert Dale. 

It was not the best policy for the representative of the English Queen totrust to such counsellors at a moment when the elements of strife betweenHolland and England were actively at work; and when the safety, almostthe existence, of the two commonwealths depended upon their actingcordially in concert. "Overyssel, Utrecht, Friesland, and Gelderland, have agreed to renew the offer of sovereignty to her Majesty, " saidLeicester. "I shall be able to make a better report of their love andgood inclination than I can of Holland. " It was thought very desirable bythe English government that this great demonstration should be made oncemore, whatever might be the ultimate decision of her Majesty upon somomentous a measure. It seemed proper that a solemn embassy should oncemore proceed to England in order to confer with Elizabeth; but there wasmuch delay in regard to the step, and much indignation, in consequence, on the part of the Earl. The opposition came, of course, from theBarneveld party. "They are in no great haste to offer the sovereignty, "said Wilkes. "First some towns of Holland made bones thereat, and nowthey say that Zeeland is not resolved. "

The nature and the causes of the opposition offered by Barneveld and theStates of Holland have been sufficiently explained. Buys, maddened by hislong and unjustifiable imprisonment, had just been released by theexpress desire of Hohenlo; and that unruly chieftain, who guided theGerman and Dutch magnates; such as Moeurs and Overstein, and who evenmuch influenced Maurice and his cousin Count Lewis William, was himselfgoverned by Barneveld. It would have been far from impossible forLeicester, even then, to conciliate the whole party. It was highlydesirable that he should do so, for not one of the Provinces where heboasted his strength was quite secure for England. Count Moeurs, a potentand wealthy noble, was governor of Utrecht and Gelderland, and he hadalready begun to favour the party in Holland which claimed for thatProvince a legal jurisdiction over the whole ancient episcopate. Underthese circumstances common prudence would have suggested that as good anunderstanding as possible might be kept up with the Dutch and Germancounts, and that the breach might not be rendered quite irreparable. 

Yet, as if there had not been administrative blunders enough committed inone year, the unlucky lean Englishman, with the black beard, who was theEarl's chief representative, contrived--almost before his master's backwas turned--to draw upon himself the wrath of all the fine ladies inHolland. That this should be the direful spring of unutterable disasters, social and political, was easy to foretell. 

Just before the governor's departure Otheman came to pay his farewellrespects, and receive his last commands. He found Leicester seated atchess with Sir Francis Drake. 

"I do leave you here, my poor Otheman, " said the Earl, "but so soon as Ileave you I know very well that nobody will give you a good look. "

"Your Excellency was a true prophet, " wrote the secretary a few weekslater, "for, my good Lord, I have been in as great danger of my life asever man was. I have been hunted at Delft from house to house, and thenbesieged in my lodgings four or five hours, as though I had been thegreatest thief, murderer, and traitor in the land. "

And why was the unfortunate Otheman thus hunted to his lair? Because hehad chosen to indulge in 'scandalum magnatum, ' and had thereby excitedthe frenzy of all the great nobles whom it was most important for theEnglish party to conciliate. 

There had been gossip about the Princess of Chimay and one Calvaert, wholived in her house, much against the advice of all her best friends. Oneday she complained bitterly to Master Otheman of the spiteful ways of theworld. 

"I protest, " said she, "that I am the unhappiest lady upon earth to havemy name thus called in question. "

So said Otheman, in order to comfort her: "Your Highness is aware thatsuch things are said of all. I am sure I hear every day plenty ofspeeches about lords and ladies, queens and princesses. You have littlecause to trouble yourself for such matters, being known to live honestly, and like a good Christian lady. Your Highness is not the only lady spokenof. "

The Princess listened with attention. 

"Think of the stories about the Queen of England and my Lord ofLeicester!" said Otheman, with infinite tact. "No person is exempted fromthe tongues of evil, speakers; but virtuous and godly men do put all suchfoolish matter under their feet. Then there is the Countess of Hoeurs, how much evil talk does one hear about her!"

The Princess seemed still more interested and even excited; and theadroit Otheman having thus, as he imagined, very successfully smoothedaway her anger, went off to have a little more harmless gossip about thePrincess and the Countess, with Madame de Meetkerke, who had sentLeicester the rose from her garden. 

But, no sooner, had he gone, than away went her Highness to Madame deMoeurs, "a marvellous wise and well-spoken gentlewoman and a grave, " andinformed her and the Count, with some trifling exaggeration, that thevile Englishman, secretary to the odious Leicester, had just been there, abusing and calumniating the Countess in most lewd and abominablefashion. He had also, she protested, used "very evil speeches of all theladies in the country. " For her own part the Princess avowed herdetermination to have him instantly murdered. Count Moeurs was quite ofthe same mind, and desired nothing better than to be one of hisexecutioners. Accordingly, the next Sunday, when the babbling secretaryhad gone down to Delft to hear the French sermon, a select party, consisting of Moeurs, Lewis William of Nassau, Count Overstein, andothers, set forth for that city, laid violent hands on the culprit, andbrought him bodily before Princess Chimay. There, being called upon toexplain his innuendos, he fell into much trepidation, and gave the namesof several English captains, whom he supposed to be at that time inEngland. "For if I had denied the whole matter, " said he, "they wouldhave given me the lie, and used me according to their evil mind. " Uponthis they relented, and released their prisoner, but, the next day theymade another attack upon him, hunted him from house to house, through thewhole city of Delft, and at last drove him to earth in his own lodgings, where they kept him besieged several hours. Through the intercession ofWilkes and the authority of the council of state, to which body hesucceeded in conveying information of his dangerous predicament, he was, in his own language, "miraculously preserved, " although remaining stillin daily danger of his life. "I pray God keep me hereafter from the angerof a woman, " he exclaimed, "quia non est ira supra iram mulieris. "

He was immediately examined before the council, and succeeded in clearingand justifying himself to the satisfaction of his friends. His part wasafterwards taken by the councillors, by all the preachers and godly men, and by the university of Leyden. But it was well understood that the blowand the affront had been levelled at the English governor and the Englishnation. 

"All your friends do see, " said Otheman, "that this disgrace is not meantso much to me as to your Excellency; the Dutch Earls having used suchspeeches unto me, and against all law, custom, and reason, used suchviolence to me, that your Excellency shall wonder to hear of it. "

Now the Princess Chimay, besides being of honourable character, was asincere and exemplary member of the Calvinist church, and well inclinedto the Leicestrians. She was daughter of Count Meghem, one of theearliest victims of Philip II. , in the long tragedy of Netherlandindependence, and widow of Lancelot Berlaymont. Count Moeurs was governorof Utrecht, and by no means, up to that time, a thorough supporter of theHolland party; but thenceforward he went off most abruptly from the partyof England, became hand and glove with Hohenlo, accepted the influence ofBarneveld, and did his best to wrest the city of Utrecht from Englishauthority. Such was the effect of the secretary's harmless gossip. 

"I thought Count Moeurs and his wife better friends to your Excellencythan I do see them to be, " said Otheman afterwards. "But he doth nowdisgrace the English nation many ways in his speeches--saying that theyare no soldiers, that they do no good to this country, and that theseEnglishmen that are at Arnheim have an intent to sell and betray the townto the enemy. "

But the disgraceful squabble between Hohenlo and Edward Norris had beenmore unlucky for Leicester than any other incident during the year, forits result was to turn the hatred of both parties against himself. Yetthe Earl of all men, was originally least to blame for the transaction. It has been seen that Sir Philip Sidney had borne Norris's cartel toHohenlo, very soon after the outrage had been committed. The Count hadpromised satisfaction, but meantime was desperately wounded in the attackon Fort Zutphen. Leicester afterwards did his best to keep Edward Norrisemployed in distant places, for he was quite aware that Hohenlo, aslieutenant-general and count of the empire, would consider himselfaggrieved at being called to the field by a simple English captain, however deeply he might have injured him. The governor accordinglyinduced the Queen to recall the young man to England, and invitedhim--much as he disliked his whole race--to accompany him on hisdeparture for that country. 

The Captain then consulted with his brother Sir John, regarding thepending dispute with Hohenlo. His brother advised that the Count shouldbe summoned to keep his promise, but that Lord Leicester's permissionshould previously be requested. 

A week before the governor's departure, accordingly, Edward Norrispresented himself one morning in the dining-room, and, finding the Earlreclining on a window-seat, observed to him that "he desired hisLordship's favour towards the discharging of his reputation. "

"The Count Hollock is now well, " he proceeded, "and is fasting andbanqueting in his lodgings, although he does not come abroad. "

"And what way will you take?" inquired Leicester, "considering that hekeeps his house. "

"'Twill be best, I thought, " answered Norris, "to write unto him, toperform his promise he made me to answer me in the field. "

"To whom did he make that promise?" asked the Earl. 

"To Sir Philip Sidney, " answered the Captain. 

"To my nephew Sidney, " said Leicester, musingly; "very well; do as youthink best, and I will do for you what I can. "

And the governor then added many kind expressions concerning the interesthe felt in the young man's reputation. Passing to other matters, Morristhen spoke of the great charges he had recently been put to by reason ofhaving exchanged out of the States' service in order to accept acommission from his Lordship to levy a company of horse. This levy hadcost him and his friends three hundred pounds, for which he had not beenable to "get one groat. "

"I beseech your Lordship to stand good for me, " said he; "considering themeanest captain in all the country hath as good entertainment as I. "

"I can do but little for you before my departure, " said Leicester; "butat my return I will advise to do more. "

After this amicable conversation Morris thanked his Lordship, took hisleave, and straightway wrote his letter to Count Hollock. 

That personage, in his answer, expressed astonishment that Norris shouldsummon him, in his "weakness and indisposition;" but agreed to give himthe desired meeting; with sword and dagger, so soon as he should besufficiently recovered. Morris, in reply, acknowledged his courteouspromise, and hoped that he might be speedily restored to health. 

The state-council, sitting at the Hague, took up the matter at oncehowever, and requested immediate information of the Earl. He accordinglysent for Norris and his brother Sir John, who waited upon him in hisbed-chamber, and were requested to set down in writing the reasons whichhad moved them in the matter. This statement was accordingly furnished, together with a copy of the correspondence. The Earl took the papers, andpromised to allow most honourably of it in the Council. 

Such is the exact narrative, word for word, as given by Sir John andEdward Norris, in a solemn memorial to the Lords of Her Majesty's privycouncil, as well as to the state-council of the United Provinces. A veryfew days afterwards Leicester departed for England, taking Edward Norriswith him. 

Count Hohenlo was furious at the indignity, notwithstanding the politelanguage in which he had accepted the challenge. "'T was a matterpunishable with death, " he said, "in all kingdoms and countries, for asimple captain to send such a summons to a man of his station, withoutconsent of the supreme authority. It was plain, " he added, "that theEnglish governor-general had connived at the affront, " for Norris hadbeen living in his family and dining at his table. Nay, more, LordLeicester had made him a knight at Flushing just before their voyage toEngland. There seems no good reason to doubt the general veracity of thebrothers Norris, although, for the express purpose of screeningLeicester, Sir John represented at the time to Hohenlo and others thatthe Earl had not been privy to the transaction. It is very certain, however, that so soon as the general indignation of Hohenlo and hispartizans began to be directed against Leicester, he at once denied, inpassionate and abusive language, having had any knowledge whatever ofNorris's intentions. He protested that he learned, for the first time, ofthe cartel from information furnished to the council of state. 

The quarrel between Hohenlo and Norris was afterwards amicably arrangedby Lord Buckhurst, during his embassy to the States, at the expressdesire of the Queen. Hohenlo and Sir John Norris became very goodfriends, while the enmity between them and Leicester grew more deadlyevery day. The Earl was frantic with rage whenever he spoke of thetransaction, and denounced Sir John Norris as "a fool, liar, and coward"on all occasions, besides overwhelming his brother, Buckhurst, Wilkes, and every other person who took their part, with a torrent of abuse; andit is well known that the Earl was a master of Billingsgate. 

"Hollock says that I did procure Edward Norris to send him his cartel, "observed Leicester on one occasion, "wherein I protest before the Lord, Iwas as ignorant as any man in England. His brother John can tell whetherI did not send for him to have committed him for it; but that, in verytruth, upon the perusing of it" (after it had been sent), "it was veryreasonably written, and I did consider also the great wrong offered himby the Count, and so forbore it. I was so careful for the Count's safetyafter the brawl between him and Norris, that I charged Sir John, if anyharm came to the Count's person by any of his or under him, that heshould answer it. Therefore, I take the story to be bred in the bosom ofsome much like a thief or villain, whatsoever he were. "

And all this was doubtless true so far as regarded the Earl's originalexertions to prevent the consequences of the quarrel, but did not touchthe point of the second correspondence preceded by the conversation inthe dining-room, eight days before the voyage to England. The affair, initself of slight importance, would not merit so much comment at this lateday had it not been for its endless consequences. The ferocity with whichthe Earl came to regard every prominent German, Hollander, andEnglishman, engaged in the service of the States, sprang very much fromthe complications of this vulgar brawl. Norris, Hohenlo, Wilkes, Buckhurst, were all denounced to the Queen as calumniators, traitors, andvillains; and it may easily be understood how grave and extensive musthave been the effects of such vituperation upon the mind of Elizabeth, who, until the last day of his life, doubtless entertained for the Earlthe deepest affection of which her nature was susceptible. Hohenlo, withCount Maurice, were the acknowledged chiefs of the anti-English party, and the possibility of cordial cooperation between the countries may bejudged of by the entanglement which had thus occurred. 

Leicester had always hated Sir John Norris, but he knew that the motherhad still much favour with the Queen, and he was therefore the morevehement in his denunciations of the son the more difficulty he found inentirely destroying his character, and the keener jealousy he felt thatany other tongue but his should influence her Majesty. "The story of JohnNorris about the cartel is, by the Lord God, most false, " he exclaimed;"I do beseech you not to see me so dealt withal, but that especially herMajesty may understand these untruths, who perhaps, by the mother's fairspeeches and the son's smooth words, may take some other conceit of mydoings than I deserve. "

He was most resolute to stamp the character of falsehood upon both thebrothers, for he was more malignant towards Sir John than towards any manin the world, not even excepting Wilkes. To the Queen, to the Lords ofthe Privy Council, to Walsingham, to Burghley, he poured forth endlessquantities of venom, enough to destroy the characters of a hundred honestmen. 

"The declaration of the two Norrises for the cartel is most false, as Iam a Christian, " he said to Walsingham. "I have a dozen witnesses, asgood and some better than they, who will testify that they were presentwhen I misliked the writing of the letter before ever I saw it. And bythe allegiance I owe to her Majesty, I never knew of the letter, nor gaveconsent to it, nor heard of it till it was complained of from CountHollock. But, as they are false in this, so you will find J. N. As falsein his other answers; so that he would be ashamed, but that his oldconceit hath made him past shame, I fear. His companions in Ireland, asin these countries, report that Sir John Norris would often say that hewas but an ass and a fool, who, if a lie would serve his turn, wouldspare it. I remember I have heard that the Earl of Sussex would say so;and indeed this gentleman doth imitate him in divers things. "

But a very grave disaster to Holland and England was soon the fruit ofthe hatred borne by Leicester to Sir John Norris. Immediately after thebattle of Zutphen and the investment of that town by the English andNetherlanders, great pains were taken to secure the city of Deventer. This was, after Amsterdam and Antwerp, the most important mercantileplace in all the Provinces. It was a large prosperous commercial andmanufacturing capital, a member of the Hanseatic League, and the greatcentre of the internal trade of the Netherlands with the Baltic nations. There was a strong Catholic party in the town, and the magistracy weredisposed to side with Parma. It was notorious that provisions andmunitions were supplied from thence to the beleaguered Zutphen; andLeicester despatched Sir William Pelham, accordingly, to bring theinhabitants to reason. The stout Marshal made short work of it. TakingSir William Stanley and the greater part of his regiment with him, hecaused them, day by day, to steal into the town, in small parties of tenand fifteen. No objection was made to this proceeding on the part of thecity government. Then Stanley himself arrived in the morning, and theMarshal in the evening, of the 20th of October. Pelham ordered themagistrates to present themselves forthwith at his lodgings, and toldthem, with grim courtesy, that the Earl of Leicester excused himself frommaking them a visit, not being able, for grief at the death of Sir PhilipSidney, to come so soon near the scene of his disaster. His Excellencyhad therefore sent him to require the town to receive an Englishgarrison. "So make up your minds, and delay not, " said Pelham; "for Ihave many important affairs on my hands, and must send word to hisExcellency at once. To-morrow morning, at eight o'clock, I shall expectyour answer. "

Next day, the magistrates were all assembled in the townhouse before six. Stanley had filled the great square with his troops, but he found thatthe burghers-five thousand of whom constituted the municipal militia--hadchained the streets and locked the gates. At seven o'clock Pelhamproceeded, to the town-house, and, followed by his train, made hisappearance before the magisterial board. Then there was a knocking at thedoor, and Sir William Stanley entered, having left a strong guard ofsoldiers at the entrance to the hall. 

"I am come for an answer, " said the Lord Marshal; "tell me straight. " Themagistrates hesitated, whispered, and presently one of them slipped away. 

"There's one of you gone, " cried the Marshal. "Fetch him straight back;or, by the living God, before whom I stand, there is not one of you shallleave this place with life. "

So the burgomasters sent for the culprit, who returned. 

"Now, tell me, " said Pelham, "why you have, this night, chained yourstreets and kept such strong watch while your friends and defenders werein the town? Do you think we came over here to spend our lives and ourgoods, and to leave all we have, to be thus used and thus betrayed byyou? Nay, you shall find us trusty to our friends, but as politic asyourselves. Now, then; set your hands to this document, " he proceeded, ashe gave them a new list of magistrates, all selected from stanchProtestants. 

"Give over your government to the men here nominated, Straight; dallynot!" The burgomasters signed the paper. 

"Now, " said Pelham, "let one of you go to the watch, discharge the guard, bid them unarm, and go home to their lodgings. "

A magistrate departed on the errand. 

"Now fetch me the keys of the gate, " said Pelham, "and that straightway, or, before God, you shall die. "

The keys were brought, and handed to the peremptory old Marshal. The oldboard of magistrates were then clapped into prison, the new onesinstalled, and Deventer was gained for the English and Protestant party. 

There could be no doubt that a city so important and thus fortunatelysecured was worthy to be well guarded. There could be no doubt eitherthat it would be well to conciliate the rich and influential Papists inthe place, who, although attached to the ancient religion, were notnecessarily disloyal to the republic; but there could be as little that, under the circumstances of this sudden municipal revolution, it would beimportant to place a garrison of Protestant soldiers there, under thecommand of a Protestant officer of known fidelity. 

To the astonishment of the whole commonwealth, the Earl appointed SirWilliam Stanley to be governor of the town, and stationed in it agarrison of twelve hundred wild Irishmen. 

Sir William was a cadet of one of the noblest English houses. He was thebravest of the brave. His gallantry at the famous Zutphen fight hadattracted admiration, where nearly all had performed wondrous exploits, but he was known to be an ardent Papist and a soldier of fortune, who hadfought on various sides, and had even borne arms in the Netherlands underthe ferocious Alva. Was it strange that there should be murmurs at theappointment of so dangerous a chief to guard a wavering city which had sorecently been secured?

The Irish kernes--and they are described by all contemporaries, Englishand Flemish, in the same language--were accounted as the wildest andfiercest of barbarians. There was something grotesque, yet appalling, inthe pictures painted of these rude, almost naked; brigands, who ate rawflesh, spoke no intelligible language, and ranged about the country, burning, slaying, plundering, a terror to the peasantry and a source ofconstant embarrassment to the more orderly troops in the service of therepublic. "It seemed, " said one who had seen them, "that they belongednot to Christendom, but to Brazil. " Moreover, they were all Papists, and, however much one might be disposed to censure that great curse of theage, religious intolerance--which was almost as flagrant in the councilsof Queen Elizabeth as in those of Philip--it was certainly a most fatalpolicy to place such a garrison, at that critical juncture, in thenewly-acquired city. Yet Leicester, who had banished Papists from Utrechtwithout cause and without trial, now placed most notorious Catholics inDeventer. 

Zutphen, which was still besieged by the English and the patriots, wasmuch crippled by the loss of the great fort, the capture of which, mainlythrough the brilliant valour of Stanley's brother Edward, has alreadybeen related. The possession of Deventer and of this fort gave thecontrol of the whole north-eastern territory to the patriots; but, as ifit were not enough to place Deventer in the hands of Sir William Stanley, Leicester thought proper to confide the government of the fort to RolandYork. Not a worse choice could be made in the whole army. 

York was an adventurer of the most audacious and dissolute character. Hewas a Londoner by birth, one of those "ruing blades" inveighed against bythe governor-general on his first taking command of the forces. A man ofdesperate courage, a gambler, a professional duellist, a bravo, famous inhis time among the "common hacksters and swaggerers" as the first tointroduce the custom of foining, or thrusting with the rapier in singlecombats--whereas before his day it had been customary among the Englishto fight with sword and shield, and held unmanly to strike below thegirdle--he had perpetually changed sides, in the Netherland wars, withthe shameless disregard to principle which characterized all his actions. He had been lieutenant to the infamous John Van Imbyze, and had beenconcerned with him in the notorious attempt to surrender Dendermonde andGhent to the enemy, which had cost that traitor his head. York had beenthrown into prison at Brussels, but there had been some delay about hisexecution, and the conquest of the city by Parma saved him from thegibbet. He had then taken service under the Spanish commander-in-chief, and had distinguished himself, as usual, by deeds of extraordinaryvalour, having sprung on board the burning volcano-ship at the siege ofAntwerp. Subsequently returning to England, he had, on Leicester'sappointment, obtained the command of a company in the English contingent, and had been conspicuous on the field of Warnsveld; for the courage whichhe always displayed under any standard was only equalled by the audacitywith which he was ever ready to desert from it. Did it seem credible thatthe fort of Zutphen should be placed in the hands of Roland York?

Remonstrances were made by the States-General at once. With regard toStanley, Leicester maintained that he was, in his opinion, the fittestman to take charge of the whole English army, during his absence inEngland. In answer to a petition made by the States against theappointment of York, "in respect to his perfidious dealings before, " theEarl replied that he would answer for his fidelity as for his ownbrother; adding peremptorily--"Do you trust me? Then trust York. "

But, besides his other qualifications for high command, Stanley possessedan inestimable one in Leicester's eyes. He was, or at least had been, anenemy of Sir John Norris. To be this made a Papist pardonable. It waseven better than to be a Puritan. 

But the Earl did more than to appoint the traitor York and the PapistStanley to these important posts. On the very day of his departure, andimmediately after his final quarrel with Sir John about the Hohenlocartel, which had renewed all the ancient venom, he signed a secretpaper, by which he especially forbade the council of state to interferewith or set aside any appointments to the government of towns or forts, or to revoke any military or naval commissions, without his consent. 

Now supreme executive authority had been delegated to the state-councilby the Governor-General during his absence. Command in chief over all theEnglish forces, whether in the Queen's pay or the State's pay, had beenconferred upon Norris, while command over the Dutch and German troopsbelonged to Hohenlo; but, by virtue of the Earl's secret paper, Stanleyand York were now made independent of all authority. The evilconsequences natural to such a step were not slow in displayingthemselves. 

Stanley at once manifested great insolence towards Norris. Thatdistinguished general was placed in a most painful position. A post ofimmense responsibility was confided to him. The honour of England's Queenand of England's soldiers was entrusted to his keeping; at a moment fullof danger, and in a country where every hour might bring forth someterrible change; yet he knew himself the mark at which the most powerfulman in England was directing all his malice, and that the Queen, who waswax in her great favourite's hands, was even then receiving the mostfatal impressions as to his character and conduct. "Well I know, " said heto Burghley, "that the root of the former malice borne me is notwithered, but that I must look for like fruits therefrom as before;" andhe implored the Lord-Treasurer, that when his honour and reputationshould be called in question, he might be allowed to return to Englandand clear himself. "For myself, " said he, "I have not yet received anycommission, although I have attended his Lordship of Leicester to hisship. It is promised to be sent me, and in the meantime I understand thatmy Lord hath granted separate commissions to Sir William Stanley andRoland York, exempting them from obeying of me. If this be true, 'tisonly done to nourish factions, and to interrupt any better course in ourdoings than before hath been. " He earnestly requested to be furnishedwith a commission directly from her Majesty. "The enemy is reinforcing, "he added. "We are very weak, our troops are unpaid these three months, and we are grown odious, to our friends. "

Honest Councillor Wilkes, who did his best to conciliate all parties, andto do his duty to England and Holland, to Leicester and to Norris, hadthe strongest sympathy with Sir John. "Truly, besides the value, wisdom, and many other good parts that are in him, " he said, "I have notedwonderful patience and modesty in the man, in bearing many apparentinjuries done unto him, which I have known to be countenanced andnourished, contrary to all reason, to disgrace him. Please thereforecontinue your honourable opinion of him in his absence, whatsoever may bemaliciously reported to his disadvantage, for I dare avouch, of my ownpoor skill, that her Majesty hath not a second subject of his place andquality able to serve in those countries as he . . . . I doubt not Godwill move her Majesty, in despite of the devil, to respect him as hedeserves. "

Sir John disclaimed any personal jealousy in regard to Stanley'sappointment, but, within a week or two of the Earl's departure, healready felt strong anxiety as to its probable results. "If it prove nohindrance to the service, " he said, "it shall nothing trouble me. Idesire that my doings may show what I am; neither will I seek, byindirect means to calumniate him or any other, but will let them showthemselves. "

Early in December he informed the Lord-Treasurer that Stanley's own menwere boasting that their master acknowledged no superior authority to hisown, and that he had said as much himself to the magistracy of Deventer. The burghers had already complained, through the constituted guardians oftheir liberties, of his insolence and rapacity, and of the turbulence ofhis troops, and had appealed to Sir John; but the colonel-general'sremonstrances had been received by Sir William with contumely and abuse, and by daunt that he had even a greater commission than any he had yetshown. 

"Three sheep, an ox, and a whole hog, " were required weekly of thepeasants for his table, in a time of great scarcity, and it wasimpossible to satisfy the rapacious appetites of the Irish kernes. Thepaymaster-general of the English forces was daily appealed to by Stanleyfor funds--an application which was certainly not unreasonable, as herMajesty's troops had not received any payment for three months--but there"was not a denier in the treasury, " and he was therefore implored towait. At last the States-General sent him a month's pay for himself andall his troops, although, as he was in the Queen's service, no claimcould justly be made upon them. 

Wilkes, also, as English member of the state council, faithfully conveyedto the governor-general in England the complaints which came up to allthe authorities of the republic, against Sir William Stanley's conduct inDeventer. He had seized the keys of the gates, he kept possession of thetowers and fortifications, he had meddled with the civil government, hehad infringed all their privileges. Yet this was the board ofmagistrates, expressly set up by Leicester, with the armed hand, by theagency of Marshal Pelham and this very Colonel Stanley--a board ofCalvinist magistrates placed but a few weeks before in power to control acity of Catholic tendencies. And here was a papist commander displayingLeicester's commission in their faces, and making it a warrant fordealing with the town as if it were under martial law, and as if he werean officer of the Duke of Parma. It might easily be judged whether suchconduct were likely to win the hearts of Netherlanders to Leicester andto England. 

"Albeit, for my own part, " said Wilkes, "I do hold Sir William Stanley tobe a wise and a discreet gent. , yet when I consider that the magistracyis such as was established by your Lordship, and of the religion, andwell affected to her Majesty, and that I see how heavily the matter isconceived of here by the States and council, I do fear that all is notwell. The very bruit of this doth begin to draw hatred upon our nation. Were it not that I doubt some dangerous issue of this matter, and that Imight be justly charged with negligence, if I should not advertise youbeforehand, I would, have forborne to mention this dissension, for theStates are about to write to your Lordship and to her Majesty forreformation in this matter. " He added that he had already writtenearnestly to Sir William, "hoping to persuade him to carry a mild handover the people. "

Thus wrote Councillor Wilkes, as in duty bound, to Lord Leicester, soearly as the 9th December, and the warning voice of Norris had madeitself heard in England quite as soon. Certainly the governor-general, having, upon his own responsibility; and prompted, it would seem, bypassion more than reason, made this dangerous appointment, was fortunatein receiving timely and frequent notice of its probable results. 

And the conscientious Wilkes wrote most earnestly, as he said he haddone, to the turbulent Stanley. 

"Good Sir William, " said he, "the magistrates and burgesses of Deventercomplain to this council, that you have by violence wrested from them thekeys of one of their gates, that you assemble your garrison in arms toterrify them, that you have seized one of their forts, that the Irishsoldiers do commit many extortions and exactions upon the inhabitants, that you have imprisoned their burgesses, and do many things againsttheir laws and privileges, so that it is feared the best affected, of theinhabitants towards her Majesty will forsake the town. Whether any ofthese things be true, yourself doth best know, but I do assure you thatthe apprehension thereof here doth make us and our government hateful. For mine own part, I have always known you for a gentleman of value, wisdom; and judgment, and therefore should hardly believe any such thing. . . . . I earnestly require you to take heed of consequences, and to becareful of the honour of her Majesty and the reputation of our nation. You will consider that the gaining possession of the town grew by themthat are now in office, who being of the religion, and well affected tohis Excellency's government, wrought his entry into the same . . . . Iknow that Lord Leicester is sworn to maintain all the inhabitants of theProvinces in their ancient privileges and customs. I know further thatyour commission carreeth no authority to warrant you to intermeddle anyfurther than with the government of the soldiers and guard of the town. Well, you may, in your own conceipt, confer some words to authorize youin some larger sort, but, believe me, Sir, they will not warrant yousufficiently to deal any further than I have said, for I have perused acopy of your commission for that purpose. I know the name itself of agovernor of a town is odious to this people, and hath been ever since theremembrance of the Spanish government, and if we, by any lack offoresight, should give the like occasion, we should make ourselves asodious as they are; which God forbid. 

"You are to consider that we are not come into these countries for theirdefence only, but for the defence of her Majesty and our own nativecountry, knowing that the preservation of both dependeth altogether uponthe preserving of these. Wherefore I do eftsoons intreat and require youto forbear to intermeddle any further. If there shall follow anydangerous effect of your proceedings, after this my friendly advice, Ishall be heartily sorry for your sake, but I shall be able to testify toher Majesty that I have done my duty in admonishing you. "

Thus spake the stiff councillor, earnestly and well, in behalf ofEngland's honour and the good name of England's Queen. 

But the brave soldier, whose feet were fast sliding into the paths ofdestruction, replied, in a tone of indignant innocence, more likely toaggravate than to allay suspicion. "Finding, " said Stanley, "that youalready threaten, I have gone so far as to scan the terms of mycommission, which I doubt not to execute, according to his Excellency'smeaning and mine honour. First, I assure you that I have maintainedjustice, and that severely; else hardly would the soldiers have beencontented with bread and bare cheese. "

He acknowledged possessing himself of the keys of the town, but defendedit on the ground of necessity; and of the character of the people, "whothrust out the Spaniards and Almaynes, and afterwards never would obeythe Prince and States. " "I would be, " he said, "the sorriest man thatlives, if by my negligence the place should be lost. Therefore I thoughtgood to seize the great tower and ports. If I meant evil, I needed nokeys, for here is force enough. "

With much effrontery, he then affected to rely for evidence of hiscourteous and equitable conduct towards the citizens, upon the verymagistrates who had been petitioning the States-General, thestate-council, and the English Queen, against his violence:

"For my courtesy and humanity, " he said, "I refer me unto the magistratesthemselves. But I think they sent rhetoricians, who could, allege oflittle grief, and speak pitiful, and truly I find your ears have been aspitiful in so timorously condemning me. I assure you that her Majestyhath not a better servant than I nor a more faithful in these parts. ThisI will prove with my flesh and blood. Although I know there be diversflying reports spread by my enemies, which are come to my ears, I doubtnot my virtue and truth will prove them calumniators and men of little. So, good Mr. Wilkes, I pray you, consider gravely, give ear discreetly, and advertise into England soundly. For me, I have been and am yourfriend, and glad to hear any admonition from one so wise as yourself. "

He then alluded ironically to the "good favour and money" with which hehad been so contented of late, that if Mr. Wilkes would discharge him ofhis promise to Lord Leicester, he would take his leave with all hisheart. Captain, officers, and soldiers, had been living on half a poundof cheese a day. For himself, he had received but one hundred and twentypounds in five months, and was living at three pounds by the day. "Thismy wealth will not long hold out, " he observed, "but yet I will neverfail of my promise to his Excellency, whatsoever I endure. It is for herMajesty's service and for the love I bear to him. "

He bitterly complained of the unwillingness of the country-people tofurnish vivers, waggons, and other necessaries, for the fort beforeZutphen. "Had it not been, " he said, "for the travail extraordinary ofmyself, and patience of my brother, Yorke, that fort would have been indanger. But, according to his desire and forethought, I furnished thatplace with cavalry and infantry; for I know the troops there bemarvellous weak. "

In reply, Wilkes stated that the complaints had been made "by norhetorician, " but by letter from the magistrates themselves (on whom herelied so confidently) to the state-council. The councillor added, rathertartly, that since his honest words of defence and of warning, had been"taken in so scoffing a manner, " Sir William might be sure of not beingtroubled with any more of his letters. 

But, a day or two before thus addressing him, he had already enclosed toLeicester very important letters addressed by the council of Gelderlandto Count Moeurs, stadholder of the Province, and by him forwarded to thestate-council. For there were now very grave rumours concerning thefidelity of "that patient and foreseeing brother York, " whom Stanley hadbeen so generously strengthening in Fort Zutphen. The lieutenant of York, a certain Mr. Zouch, had been seen within the city of Zutphen, in closeconference with Colonel Tassis, Spanish governor of the place. Moreoverthere had been a very frequent exchange of courtesies--by which thehorrors of war seemed to be much mitigated--between York on the outsideand Tassis within. The English commander sent baskets of venison, wildfowl, and other game, which were rare in the market of a besieged town. The Spanish governor responded with baskets of excellent wine and barrelsof beer. A very pleasant state of feeling, perhaps, to contemplate--as anadvance in civilization over the not very distant days of the Haarlem andLeyden sieges, when barrels of prisoners' heads, cut off, a dozen or twoat a time, were the social amenities usually exchanged between Spaniardsand Dutchmen--but somewhat suspicious to those who had grown grey in thishorrible warfare. 

The Irish kernes too, were allowed to come to mass within the city, andwere received there with as much fraternity by, the Catholic soldiers ofTassis as the want of any common dialect would allow--a proceeding whichseemed better perhaps for the salvation of their souls, than--for theadvancement of the siege. 

The state-council had written concerning these rumours to Roland York, but the patient man had replied in a manner which Wilkes characterized as"unfit to have been given to such as were the executors of the Earl ofLeicester's authority. " The councillor implored the governor-generalaccordingly to send some speedy direction in this matter, as well toRoland York as to Sir William Stanley; for he explicitly and earnestlywarned him, that those personages would pay no heed to the remonstrancesof the state-council. 

Thus again and again was Leicester--on whose head rested, by his owndeliberate act, the whole responsibility--forewarned that some greatmischief was impending. There was time enough even then--for it was butthe 16th December--to place full powers in the hands of thestate-council, of Norris, or of Hohenlo, and secretly and swiftly tosecure the suspected persons, and avert the danger. Leicester didnothing. How could he acknowledge his error? How could he manifestconfidence in the detested Norris? How appeal to the violent and deeplyincensed Hohenlo?

Three weeks more rolled by, and the much-enduring Roland York was stillin confidential correspondence with Leicester and Walsingham, althoughhis social intercourse with the Spanish governor of Zutphen continued tobe upon the most liberal and agreeable footing. He was not quitesatisfied with the general, aspect of the Queen's cause in theNetherlands, and wrote to the Secretary of State in a tone ofdespondency, and mild expostulation. Walsingham would have been lessedified by these communications, had he been aware that York, upon firstentering Leicester's service, had immediately opened a correspondencewith the Duke of Parma, and had secretly given him to understand that hisobject was to serve the cause of Spain. This was indeed the fact, as theDuke informed the King, "but then he is such a scatter-brained, recklessdare-devil, " said Parma, "that I hardly expected much of him. " Thus theastute Sir Francis had been outwitted, by the adventurous Roland, who wasperhaps destined also to surpass the anticipations of the Spanishcommander-in-chief. 

Meantime York informed his English patrons, on the 7th January, thatmatters were not proceeding so smoothly in the political world as hecould wish. He had found "many cross and indirect proceedings, " and so, according to Lord Leicester's desire, he sent him a "discourse" on thesubject, which he begged Sir Francis to "peruse, add to, or take awayfrom, " and then to inclose to the Earl. He hoped he should be forgiven ifthe style of the production was not quite satisfactory; for, said he, "the place where I am doth too much torment my memory, to call everypoint to my remembrance. "

It must, in truth, have been somewhat a hard task upon his memory, tokeep freshly in mind every detail of the parallel correspondence which hewas carrying on with the Spanish and with the English government. Even acool head like Roland's might be forgiven for being occasionally puzzled. "So if there be anything hard to be understood, " he observed toWalsingham, "advertise me, and I will make it plainer. " Nothing could bemore ingenuous. He confessed, however, to being out of pocket. "Pleaseyour honour, " said he, "I have taken great pains to make a bad placesomething, and it has cost me all the money I had, and here I can receivenothing but discontentment. I dare not write you all lest you shouldthink it impossible, " he added--and it is quite probable that evenWalsingham would have been astonished, had Roland written all. The gameplaying by York and Stanley was not one to which English gentlemen weremuch addicted. 

"I trust the bearer, Edward Stanley; a discreet, brave gentleman, " hesaid, "with details. " And the remark proves that the gallant youth whohad captured this very Fort Zutphen in, so brilliant a manner was notprivy to the designs of his brother and of York; for the object of the"discourse" was to deceive the English government. 

"I humbly beseech that you will send for me home, " concluded Roland, "fortrue as I humbled my mind to please her Majesty, your honour, and thedead, now am I content to humble myself lower to please myself, for now, since his, Excellency's departure, there is no form of proceeding neitherhonourably nor honestly. "

Three other weeks passed over, weeks of anxiety and dread throughout therepublic. Suspicion grew darker than ever, not only as to York andStanley, but as to all the English commanders, as to the whole Englishnation. An Anjou plot, a general massacre, was expected by many, yetthere were no definite grounds for such dark anticipations. In vain hadpainstaking, truth-telling Wilkes summoned Stanley to his duty, andcalled on Leicester, time after time, to interfere. In vain did Sir JohnNorris, Sir John Conway, the members of the state-council, and all otherswho should have had authority, do their utmost to avert a catastrophe. Their hands were all tied by the fatal letter of the 24th November. Mostanxiously did all implore the Earl of Leicester to return. Never was amore dangerous moment than this for a country to be left to its fate. Scarcely ever in history was there a more striking exemplification of theneed of a man--of an individual--who should embody the powers and wishes, and concentrate in one brain and arm, the whole energy, of acommonwealth. But there was no such man, for the republic had lost itschief when Orange died. There was much wisdom and patriotism now. Olden-Barneveld was competent, and so was Buys, to direct the councils ofthe republic, and there were few better soldiers than Norris and Hohenloto lead her armies against Spain. But the supreme authority had beenconfided to Leicester. He had not perhaps proved himself extraordinarilyqualified for his post, but he was the governor-in-chief, and hisdeparture, without resigning his powers, left the commonwealth headless, at a moment when singleness of action was vitally important. 

At last, very late in January, one Hugh Overing, a haberdasher fromLudgate Hill, was caught at Rotterdam, on his way to Ireland, with abundle of letters from Sir William Stanley, and was sent, as a suspiciouscharacter, to the state-council at the Hague. On the same day, anotherEnglishman, a small youth, "well-favoured, " rejoicing in a "very littlered beard, and in very ragged clothes, " unknown by name; but ascertainedto be in the service of Roland York and to have been the bearer ofletters to Brussels, also passed through Rotterdam. By connivance of theinnkeeper, one Joyce, also an Englishman, he succeeded in making hisescape. The information contained in the letters thus intercepted wasimportant, but it came too late, even if then the state-council couldhave acted without giving mortal offence to Elizabeth and to Leicester. 

On the evening of 28th January (N. S. ), Sir William Stanley entertainedthe magistrates of Deventer at a splendid banquet. There was freeconversation at table concerning the idle suspicions which had been rifein the Provinces as to his good intentions and the censures which hadbeen cast upon him for the repressive measures which he had thoughtnecessary to adopt for the security of the city. He took that occasion toassure his guests that the Queen of England had not a more loyal subjectthan himself, nor the Netherlands a more devoted friend. The companyexpressed themselves fully restored to confidence in his character andpurposes, and the burgomasters, having exchanged pledges of faith andfriendship with the commandant in flowing goblets, went home comfortablyto bed, highly pleased with their noble entertainer and with themselves. 

Very late that same night, Stanley placed three hundred of his wild Irishin the Noorenberg tower, a large white structure which commanded theZutphen gate, and sent bodies of chosen troops to surprise all theburgher-guards at their respective stations. Strong pickets of cavalrywere also placed in all the principal thoroughfares of the city. At threeo'clock in the following morning he told his officers that he was aboutto leave Deventer for a few hours, in order to bring in somereinforcements for which he had sent, as he had felt much anxiety forsome time past as to the disposition of the burghers. His officers, honest Englishmen, suspecting no evil and having confidence in theirchief, saw nothing strange in this proceeding, and Sir William rodedeliberately out of Zutphen. After he had been absent an hour or two, theclatter of hoofs and the tramp of infantry was heard without, andpresently the commandant returned, followed by a thousand musketeers andthree or four hundred troopers. It was still pitch dark; but, dimlylighted by torches, small detachments of the fresh troops picked theirway through the black narrow streets, while the main body poured at onceupon the Brink, or great square. Here, quietly and swiftly, they weremarshalled into order, the cavalry, pikemen, and musketeers, lining allsides of the place, and a chosen band--among whom stood Sir WilliamStanley, on foot, and an officer of high rank on horseback--occupying thecentral space immediately in front of the town-house. 

The drums then beat, and proclamation went forth through the city thatall burghers, without any distinction--municipal guards and all--were torepair forthwith to the city-hall, and deposit their arms. As theinhabitants arose from their slumbers, and sallied forth into the streetsto inquire the cause of the disturbance, they soon discovered that theyhad, in some mysterious manner, been entrapped. Wild Irishmen, withuncouth garb, threatening gesture, and unintelligible jargon, stoodgibbering at every corner, instead of the comfortable Flemish faces ofthe familiar burgher-guard. The chief burgomaster, sleeping heavily afterSir William's hospitable banquet, aroused himself at last, and sent amilitia-captain to inquire the cause of the unseasonable drum-beat andmonstrous proclamation. Day was breaking as the trusty captain made hisway to the scene of action. The wan light of a cold, drizzly Januarymorning showed him the wide, stately square--with its leafless lime-treesand its tall many storied, gable-ended houses rising dim and spectralthrough the mist-filled to overflowing with troops, whose uniforms andbanners resembled nothing that he remembered in Dutch and Englishregiments. Fires were lighted at various corners, kettles were boiling, and camp-followers and sutlers were crouching over them, half perishedwith cold--for it had been raining dismally all night--while burghers, with wives and children, startled from their dreams by the suddenreveillee, stood gaping about, with perplexed faces and despairinggestures. As he approached the town-house--one of those magnificent, many-towered, highly-decorated, municipal palaces of the Netherlands--hefound troops all around it; troops guarding the main entrance, troops onthe great external staircase leading to the front balcony, and officers, in yellow jerkin and black bandoleer, grouped in the balcony itself. 

The Flemish captain stood bewildered, when suddenly the familiar form ofStanley detached itself from the central group and advanced towards him. Taking him by the hand with much urbanity, Sir William led themilitia-man through two or three ranks of soldiers, and presented him tothe strange officer on horseback. 

"Colonel Tassis, " said he, "I recommend to you a very particular friendof mine. Let me bespeak your best offices in his behalf. "

"Ah God!" cried the honest burgher, "Tassis! Tassis! Then are we indeedmost miserably betrayed. "

Even the Spanish colonel who was of Flemish origin, was affected by thedespair of the Netherlander. 

"Let those look to the matter of treachery whom it concerns, " said he;"my business here is to serve the King, my master. "

"Render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's, and unto God thethings which are God's, " said Stanley, with piety. 

The burgher-captain was then assured that no harm was intended to thecity, but that it now belonged to his most Catholic Majesty ofSpain--Colonel Stanley, to whom its custody had been entrusted, havingfreely and deliberately restored it to its lawful owner. He was then bidto go and fetch the burgomasters and magistrates. 

Presently they appeared--a dismal group, weeping and woe-begone--the sameboard of strict Calvinists forcibly placed in office but three monthsbefore by Leicester, through the agency of this very Stanley, who had sosummarily ejected their popish predecessors, and who only the nightbefore had so handsomely feasted themselves. They came forward, the tearsrunning down their cheeks, crying indeed so piteously that even Stanleybegan to weep bitterly himself. "I have not done this, " he sobbed, "forpower or pelf. Not the hope of reward, but the love of God hath movedme. "

Presently some of the ex-magistrates made their appearance, and a partyof leading citizens went into a private house with Tassis and Stanley tohear statements and explanations--as if any satisfactory ones werepossible. 

Sir William, still in a melancholy tone, began to make a speech, throughan interpreter, and again to protest that he had not been influenced bylove of lucre. But as he stammered and grew incoherent as he approachedthe point, Tassis suddenly interrupted the conference. "Let us look afterour soldiers, " said he, "for they have been marching in the foul weatherhalf the night. " So the Spanish troops, who had been, standing patientlyto be rained upon after their long march, until the burghers had alldeposited their arms in the city-hall, were now billeted on thetownspeople. Tassis gave peremptory orders that no injury should beoffered to persons or property on pain of death; and, by way of wholesomeexample, hung several Hibernians the same day who had been detected inplundering the inhabitants. 

The citizens were, as usual in such cases, offered the choice betweenembracing the Catholic religion or going into exile, a certain intervalbeing allowed them to wind up their affairs. They were also required tofurnish Stanley and his regiment full pay for the whole period of theirservice since coming to the Provinces, and to Tassis three months' wagesfor his Spaniards in advance. Stanley offered his troops the privilege ofremaining with him in the service of Spain, or of taking their departureunmolested. The Irish troops were quite willing to continue under theirold chieftain, particularly as it was intimated to them that there was animmediate prospect of a brisk campaign in their native island against thetyrant Elizabeth, under the liberating banners of Philip. And certainly, in an age where religion constituted country, these fervent Catholicscould scarcely be censured for taking arms against the sovereign whopersecuted their religion and themselves. These honest barbarians hadbroken no oath, violated no trust, had never pretended sympathy withfreedom; or affection for their Queen. They had fought fiercely under thechief who led them into battle--they had robbed and plundered voraciouslyas opportunity served, and had been occasionally hanged for theirexploits; but Deventer and Fort Zutphen had not been confided to theirkeeping; and it was a pleasant thought to them, that approaching invasionof Ireland. "I will ruin the whole country from Holland to Friesland, "said Stanley to Captain Newton, "and then I will play such a game inIreland as the Queen has never seen the like all the days of her life. "

Newton had already been solicited by Roland York to take service underParma, and had indignantly declined. Sir Edmund Carey and his men, fourhundred in all, refused, to a man, to take part in the monstrous treason, and were allowed to leave the city. This was the case with all theEnglish officers. Stanley and York were the only gentlemen who on thisoccasion sullied the honour of England. 

Captain Henchman, who had been taken prisoner in a skirmish a few daysbefore the surrender of Deventer, was now brought to that city, andearnestly entreated by Tassis and by Stanley to seize this opportunity ofentering the service of Spain. 

"You shall have great advancement and preferment, " said Tassis. "HisCatholic Majesty has got ready very many ships for Ireland, and SirWilliam Stanley is to be general of the expedition. "

"And you shall choose your own preferment, " said Stanley, "for I know youto be a brave man. "

"I would rather, " replied Henchman, "serve my prince in loyalty as abeggar, than to be known and reported a rich traitor, with breach ofconscience. "

"Continue so, " replied Stanley, unabashed; "for this is the veryprinciple of my own enlargement: for, before, I served the devil, and nowI am serving God. "

The offers and the arguments of the Spaniard and the renegade werepowerless with the blunt captain, and notwithstanding "divers othertraitorous alledgements by Sir William for his most vile facts, " asHenchman expressed it, that officer remained in poverty and captivityuntil such time as he could be exchanged. 

Stanley subsequently attempted in various ways to defend his character. He had a commission from Leicester, he said, to serve whom he chose--asif the governor-general had contemplated his serving Philip II. With thatcommission; he had a passport to go whither he liked--as if his passportentitled him to take the city of Deventer along with him; he owed noallegiance to the States; he was discharged from his promise to the Earl;he was his own master; he wanted neither money nor preferment; he hadbeen compelled by his conscience and his duty to God to restore the cityto its lawful master, and so on, and so on. 

But whether he owed the States allegiance or not, it is certain that hehad accepted their money to relieve himself and his troops eight daysbefore his treason. That Leicester had discharged him from his promisesto such an extent as to justify his surrendering a town committed to hishonour for safe keeping, certainly deserved no answer; that his duty toconscience required him to restore the city argued a somewhat tardyawakening of that monitor in the breast of the man who three monthsbefore had wrested the place with the armed hand from men suspected ofCatholic inclinations; that his first motive however was not the merelove of money, was doubtless true. Attachment to his religion, a desireto atone for his sins against it, the insidious temptings of his evilspirit, York, who was the chief organizer of the conspiracy, and theprospect of gratifying a wild and wicked ambition--these were the springsthat moved him. Sums--varying from L30, 000 to a pension of 1500 pistoletsa year--were mentioned, as the stipulated price of his treason, byNorris, Wilkes, Conway, and others; but the Duke of Parma, in narratingthe whole affair in a private letter to the King, explicitly stated thathe had found Stanley "singularly disinterested. "

"The colonel was only actuated by religious motives, " he said, "askingfor no reward, except that he might serve in his Majesty's armythenceforth--and this is worthy to be noted. "

At the same time it appears from this correspondence, that the Duke, recommended, and that the King bestowed, a "merced, " which Stanley didnot refuse; and it was very well known that to no persons in, the worldwas Philip apt to be so generous as to men of high rank, Flemish, Walloon, or English, who deserted the cause of his rebellious subjects toserve under his own banners. Yet, strange to relate, almost at the verymoment that Stanley was communicating his fatal act of treason, in orderthat he might open a high career for his ambition, a most brilliantdestiny was about to dawn upon him. The Queen had it in contemplation, inrecompense for his distinguished services, and by advice of Leicester, tobestow great honors and titles upon him, and to appoint him Viceroy ofIreland--of that very country which he was now proposing, as an enemy tohis sovereign and as the purchased tool of a foreign despot, to invade. 

Stanley's subsequent fate was obscure. A price of 3000 florins was put bythe States upon his head and upon that of York. He went to Spain, andafterwards returned to the Provinces. He was even reported to havebecome, through the judgment of God, a lunatic, although the tale wantedconfirmation; and it is certain that at the close of the year he hadmustered his regiment under Farnese, prepared to join the Duke in thegreat invasion of England. 

Roland York, who was used to such practices, cheerfully consummated hiscrime on the same day that witnessed the surrender of Deventer. He rodeup to the gates of that city on the morning of the 29th January, inquiredquietly whether Tassis was master of the place, and then gallopedfuriously back the ten miles to his fort. Entering, he called hissoldiers together, bade them tear in pieces the colours of England, andfollow him into the city of Zutphen. Two companies of States' troopsoffered resistance, and attempted to hold the place; but they wereoverpowered by the English and Irish, assisted by a force of Spaniards, who, by a concerted movement, made their appearance from the town. Hereceived a handsome reward, having far surpassed the Duke of Parma'sexpectations, when he made his original offer of service. He died verysuddenly, after a great banquet at Deventer, in the course of the saneyear, not having succeeded in making his escape into Spain to live atease on his stipend. It was supposed that he was poisoned; but the chargein those days was a common one, and nobody cared to investigate thesubject. His body was subsequently exhumed when Deventer came into thehands of the patriots--and with impotent and contemptible malice hangedupon a gibbet. This was the end of Roland York. 

Parma was highly gratified, as may be imagined, at such successfulresults. "Thus Fort Zutphen, " said he, "about which there have been somany fisticuffs, and Deventer--which was the real object of the lastcampaign, and which has cost the English so much blood and money, and isthe safety of Groningen and of all those Provinces--is now yourMajesty's. Moreover, the effect of this treason must be to sow greatdistrust between the English and the rebels, who will henceforth neverknow in whom they can confide. "

Parma was very right in this conjuncture. Moreover, there was just then afearful run against the States. The castle of Wauw, within a league ofBergen-op-Zoom, which had been entrusted to one Le Marchand, a Frenchmanin the service of the republic, was delivered by him to Parma for 16, 000florins. "'Tis a very important post, " said the Duke, "and the money waswell laid out. "

The loss of the city of Gelder, capital of the Province of the same name, took place in the summer. This town belonged to the jurisdiction ofMartin Schenk, and was, his chief place of deposit for the large andmiscellaneous property acquired by him during his desultory, but mostprofitable, freebooting career. The Famous partisan was then absent, engaged in a lucrative job in the way of his profession. He had made acontract--in a very-business-like way--with the States, to defend thecity of Rheinberg and all the country, round against the Duke of Parma, pledging himself to keep on foot for that purpose an army of 3300 footand 700 horse. For this extensive and important operation, he was toreceive 20, 000 florins a month from the general exchequer; and inaddition he was to be allowed the brandschatz--the black-mail, that is tosay--of the whole country-side, and the taxation upon all vessels goingup and down the river before Rheinberg; an ad valorem duty, in short, upon all river-merchandise, assessed and collected in summary fashion. Atariff thus enforced was not likely to be a mild one; and although theStates considered that they had got a "good penny-worth" by the job, itwas no easy thing to get the better, in a bargain, of the vigilantMartin, who was as thrifty a speculator as he was a desperate fighter. Amore accomplished highwayman, artistically and enthusiastically devotedto his pursuit, never lived. Nobody did his work more thoroughly--nobodygot himself better paid for his work--and Thomas Wilkes, that excellentman of business, thought the States not likely to make much by theircontract. Nevertheless, it was a comfort to know that the work would notbe neglected. 

Schenk was accordingly absent, jobbing the Rheinberg siege, and in hisplace one Aristotle Patton, a Scotch colonel in the States' service, wascommandant of Gelders. Now the thrifty Scot had an eye to business, too, and was no more troubled with qualms of conscience than Rowland Yorkhimself. Moreover, he knew himself to be in great danger of losing hisplace, for Leicester was no friend to him, and intended to supersede him. Patton had also a decided grudge against Schenk, for that truculentpersonage had recently administered to him a drubbing, which no doubt hehad richly deserved. Accordingly, when; the Duke of Parma made a secretoffer to him of 36, 000 florins if he would quietly surrender the cityentrusted to him, the colonel jumped at so excellent an opportunity ofcircumventing Leicester, feeding his grudge against Martin, and making ahandsome fortune for himself. He knew his trade too well, however, toaccept the offer too eagerly, and bargained awhile for better terms, andto such good purpose, that it was agreed he should have not only the36, 000 florins, but all the horses, arms, plate, furniture, and othermoveables in the city belonging to Schenk, that he could lay his handsupon. Here were revenge and solid damages for the unforgotten assault andbattery--for Schenk's property alone made no inconsiderable fortune--andaccordingly the city, towards Midsummer, was surrendered to the Seigneurd'Haultepenne. Moreover, the excellent Patton had another and a loftiermotive. He was in love. He had also a rival. The lady of his thoughts wasthe widow of Pontus de Noyelle, Seigneur de Bours, who had once saved thecitadel of Antwerp, and afterwards sold that city and himself. His rivalwas no other than the great Seigneur de Champagny, brother of CardinalGranvelle, eminent as soldier, diplomatist, and financier, but nowgrowing old, not in affluent circumstances, and much troubled with thegout. Madame de Bours had, however, accepted his hand, and had fixed theday for the wedding, when the Scotchman, thus suddenly enriched, reneweda previously unsuccessful suit. The widow then, partially keeping herpromise, actually celebrated her nuptials on the appointed evening; but, to the surprise of the Provinces, she became not the 'haulte et puissantedame de Champagny, ' but Mrs. Aristotle Patton. 

For this last treason neither Leicester nor the English were responsible. Patton was not only a Scot, but a follower of Hohenlo, as Leicesterloudly protested. Le Merchant was a Frenchman. But Deventer and Zutphenwere places of vital importance, and Stanley an Englishman of highestconsideration, one who had been deemed worthy of the command in chief inLeicester's absence. Moreover, a cornet in the service of the Earl'snephew, Sir Robert Sidney, had been seen at Zutphen in conference withTassis; and the horrible suspicion went abroad that even the illustriousname of Sidney was to be polluted also. This fear was fortunately false, although the cornet was unquestionably a traitor, with whom the enemy hadbeen tampering; but the mere thought that Sir Robert Sidney could betraythe trust reposed in him was almost enough to make the still unburiedcorpse of his brother arise from the dead. 

Parma was right when he said that all confidence of the Netherlanders inthe Englishmen would now be gone, and that the Provinces would begin todoubt their best friends. No fresh treasons followed, but they wereexpected every day. An organized plot to betray the country was believedin, and a howl of execration swept through the land. The noble deeds ofSidney and Willoughby, and Norris and Pelham, and Roger Williams, thehonest and valuable services of Wilkes, the generosity and courage ofLeicester, were for a season forgotten. The English were denounced inevery city and village of the Netherlands as traitors and miscreants. Respectable English merchants went from hostelry to hostelry, and fromtown to town, and were refused a lodging for love or money. The nationwas put under ban. A most melancholy change from the beginning of theyear, when the very men who were now loudest in denunciation and fiercestin hate, had been the warmest friends of Elizabeth, of England, and ofLeicester. 

At Hohenlo's table the opinion was loudly expressed, even in the presenceof Sir Roger Williams, that it was highly improbable, if a man likeStanley, of such high rank in the kingdom of England, of such greatconnections and large means, could commit such a treason, that he coulddo so without the knowledge and consent of her Majesty. 

Barneveld, in council of state, declared that Leicester, by hisrestrictive letter of 24th November, had intended to carry the authorityover the republic into England, in order to dispose of everything at hispleasure, in conjunction with the English cabinet-council, and that thecountry had never been so cheated by the French as it had now been by theEnglish, and that their government had become insupportable. 

Councillor Carl Roorda maintained at the table of Elector Truchsess thatthe country had fallen 'de tyrannide in tyrrannidem;' and--if they hadspurned the oppression of the Spaniards and the French--that it was nowtime to, rebel against the English. Barneveld and Buys loudly declaredthat the Provinces were able to protect themselves without foreignassistance, and that it was very injurious to impress a contrary opinionupon the public mind. 

The whole college of the States-General came before the state-council, and demanded the name of the man to whom the Earl's restrictive letterhad been delivered--that document by which the governor had daredsurreptitiously to annul the authority which publicly he had delegated tothat body, and thus to deprive it of the power of preventing anticipatedcrimes. After much colloquy the name of Brackel was given, and, had notthe culprit fortunately been absent, his life might have, been in danger, for rarely had grave statesmen been so thoroughly infuriated. 

No language can exaggerate the consequences of this wretched treason. Unfortunately, too; the abject condition to which the English troops hadbeen reduced by the niggardliness of their sovereign was an additionalcause of danger. Leicester was gone, and since her favourite was nolonger in the Netherlands, the Queen seemed to forget that there was asingle Englishman upon that fatal soil. In five months not one penny hadbeen sent to her troops. While the Earl had been there one hundred andforty thousand pounds had been sent in seven or eight months. After hisdeparture not five thousand pounds were sent in one half year. 

The English soldiers, who had fought so well in every Flemishbattle-field of freedom, had become--such as were left of them--merefamishing half naked vagabonds and marauders. Brave soldiers had beenchanged by their sovereign into brigands, and now the universal odiumwhich suddenly attached itself to the English name converted them intooutcasts. Forlorn and crippled creatures swarmed about the Provinces, butwere forbidden to come through the towns, and so wandered about, robbinghen-roosts and pillaging the peasantry. Many deserted to the enemy. Manybegged their way to England, and even to the very gates of the palace, and exhibited their wounds and their misery before the eyes of that goodQueen Bess who claimed to be the mother of her subjects, --and begged forbread in vain. 

The English cavalry, dwindled now to a body of five hundred, starving andmutinous, made a foray into Holland, rather as highwaymen than soldiers. Count Maurice commanded their instant departure, and Hohenlo swore thatif the order were not instantly obeyed, he would put himself at the headof his troops and cut every man of them to pieces. A most painful andhumiliating condition for brave men who had been fighting the battles oftheir Queen and of the republic, to behold themselves--through theparsimony of the one and the infuriated sentiment of the other--compelledto starve, to rob, or to be massacred by those whom they had left theirhomes to defend. 

At last, honest Wilkes, ever watchful of his duty, succeeded in borrowingeight hundred pounds sterling for two months, by "pawning his owncarcase" as he expressed himself. This gave the troopers about thirtyshillings a man, with which relief they became, for a time, contented andwell disposed. 

Is this picture exaggerated? Is it drawn by pencils hostile to theEnglish nation or the English Queen? It is her own generals andconfidential counsellors who have told a story in all its painfuldetails, which has hardly found a place in other chronicles. Theparsimony of the great Queen must ever remain a blemish on her character, and it was never more painfully exhibited than towards her brave soldiersin Flanders in the year 1587. Thomas Wilkes, a man of truth, and a man ofaccounts, had informed Elizabeth that the expenses of one year's war, since Leicester had been governor-general, had amounted to exactly fivehundred and seventy-nine thousand three hundred and sixty pounds andnineteen shillings, of which sum one hundred and forty-six thousand threehundred and eighty-six pounds and eleven shillings had been spent by herMajesty, and the balance had been paid, or was partly owing by theStates. These were not agreeable figures, but the figures of honestaccountants rarely flatter, and Wilkes was not one of those financierswho have the wish or the gift to make things pleasant. He had transmittedthe accounts just as they had been delivered, certified by the treasurersof the States and by the English paymasters, and the Queen was appalledat the sum-totals. She could never proceed with such a war as that, shesaid, and she declined a loan of sixty thousand pounds which the Statesrequested, besides stoutly refusing to advance her darling Robin a pennyto pay off the mortgages upon two-thirds of his estates, on which theequity of redemption was fast expiring, or to give him the slightest helpin furnishing him forth anew for the wars. 

Yet not one of her statesmen doubted that these Netherland battles wereEnglish battles, almost as much as if the fighting-ground had been theIsle of Wight or the coast of Kent, the charts of which the statesmen andgenerals of Spain were daily conning. 

Wilkes, too, while defending Leicester stoutly behind his back, doing hisbest, to explain his short-comings, lauding his courage and generosity, and advocating his beloved theory of popular sovereignty with muchingenuity and eloquence, had told him the truth to his face. Althoughassuring him that if he came back soon, he might rule the States "as aschoolmaster doth his boys, " he did not fail to set before him thedisastrous effects of his sudden departure and of his protracted absence;he had painted in darkest colours the results of the Deventer treason, hehad unveiled the cabals against his authority, he had repeatedly andvehemently implored his return; he had, informed the Queen, thatnotwithstanding some errors of, administration, he was much the fittestman to represent her in the Netherlands, and, that he could accomplish, by reason of his experience, more in three months than any other mancould do in a year. He bad done his best to reconcile the feuds whichexisted between him and important personages in the Netherlands, he hadbeen the author of the complimentary letters sent to him in the name ofthe States-General--to the great satisfaction of the Queen--but he hadnot given up his friendship with Sir John Norris, because he said "thevirtues of the man made him as worthy of love as any one living, andbecause the more he knew him, the more he had cause to affect and toadmire him. "

This was the unpardonable offence, and for this, and for having told thetruth about the accounts, Leicester denounced Wilkes to the Queen as atraitor and a hypocrite, and threatened repeatedly to take his life. Hehad even the meanness to prejudice Burghley against him--by insinuatingto the Lord-Treasurer that he too had been maligned by Wilkes--and thusmost effectually damaged the character of the plain-spoken councillorwith the Queen and many of her advisers; notwithstanding that heplaintively besought her to "allow him to reiterate his sorry song, asdoth the cuckoo, that she would please not condemn her poor servantunheard. "

Immediate action was taken on the Deventer treason, and on the generalrelations between the States-General and the English government. Barneveld immediately drew up a severe letter to the Earl of Leicester. On the 2nd February Wilkes came by chance into the assembly of theStates-General, with the rest of the councillors, and found Barneveldjust demanding the public reading of that document. The letter was read. Wilkes then rose and made a few remarks. 

"The letter seems rather sharp upon his Excellency, " he observed. "Thereis not a word in it, " answered Barneveld curtly, "that is not perfectlytrue;" and with this he cut the matter short, and made a long speech uponother matters which were then before the assembly. 

Wilkes, very anxious as to the effect of the letter, both upon publicfeeling in England and upon his own position as English councillor, waited immediately upon Count Maurice, President van der Myle, and uponVilliers the clergyman, and implored their interposition to prevent thetransmission of the epistle. They promised to make an effort to delay itsdespatch or to mitigate its tone. A fortnight afterwards, however, Wilkeslearned with dismay, that the document (the leading passages of whichwill be given hereafter) had been sent to its destination. 

Meantime, a consultation of civilians and of the family council of CountMaurice was held, and it was determined that the Count should assume thetitle of Prince more formally than he had hitherto done, in order thatthe actual head of the Nassaus might be superior in rank to Leicester orto any man who could be sent from England. Maurice was also appointed bythe States, provisionally, governor-general, with Hohenlo for hislieutenant-general. That formidable personage, now fully restored tohealth, made himself very busy in securing towns and garrisons for theparty of Holland, and in cashiering all functionaries suspected ofEnglish tendencies. Especially he became most intimate with Count Moeurs, stadholder of Utrecht--the hatred of which individual and his wifetowards Leicester and the English nation; springing originally from theunfortunate babble of Otheman, had grown more intense thanever, --"banquetting and feasting" with him all day long, and concocting ascheme; by which, for certain considerations, the province of Utrecht wasto be annexed to Holland under the perpetual stadholderate of PrinceMaurice. 

 ETEXT EDITOR'S BOOKMARKS:

 Defect of enjoying the flattery, of his inferiors in station The sapling was to become the tree

CHAPTER XIV. 1587

 Leicester in England--Trial of the Queen of Scots--Fearful Perplexity at the English Court--Infatuation and Obstinacy of the Queen--Netherland Envoys in England--Queen's bitter Invective against them--Amazement of the Envoys--They consult with her chief Councillors--Remarks of Burghley and Davison--Fourth of February Letter from the States--Its severe Language towards Leicester-- Painful Position of the Envoys at Court--Queen's Parsimony towards Leicester. 

The scene shifts, for a brief interval, to England. Leicester had reachedthe court late in November. Those "blessed beams, " under whose shade hewas wont to find so much "refreshment and nutrition, " had again fallenwith full radiance upon him. "Never since I was born, " said he, "did Ireceive a more gracious welcome. "--[Leicester to 'Wilkes, 4 Dec. 1587. (S. P. Office MS)]--Alas, there was not so much benignity for thestarving English soldiers, nor for the Provinces, which were fast growingdesperate; but although their cause was so intimately connected with the"great cause, " which then occupied Elizabeth, almost to the exclusion ofother matter, it was, perhaps, not wonderful, although unfortunate, thatfor a time the Netherlands should be neglected. 

The "daughter of debate" had at last brought herself, it was supposed, within the letter of the law, and now began those odious scenes ofhypocrisy on the part of Elizabeth, that frightful comedy--moremelancholy even than the solemn tragedy which it preceded andfollowed--which must ever remain the darkest passage in the history ofthe Queen. 

It is unnecessary, in these pages, to make more than a passing allusionto the condemnation and death of the Queen of Scots. Who doubts herparticipation in the Babington conspiracy? Who doubts that she was thecentre of one endless conspiracy by Spain and Rome against the throne andlife of Elizabeth? Who doubts that her long imprisonment in England was aviolation of all law, all justice, all humanity? Who doubts that thefineing, whipping, torturing, hanging, embowelling of men, women, andchildren, guilty of no other crime than adhesion to the Catholic faith, had assisted the Pope and Philip, and their band of English, Scotch, andIrish conspirators, to shake Elizabeth's throne and endanger her life?Who doubts that; had the English sovereign been capable of conceiving thegreat thought of religious toleration, her reign would have been moreglorious than, it was, the cause of Protestantism and freedom moretriumphant, the name of Elizabeth Tudor dearer to human hearts? Whodoubts that there were many enlightened and noble spirits among herProtestant subjects who lifted up their voices, over and over again, inparliament and out of it, to denounce that wicked persecution exercisedupon their innocent Catholic brethren, which was fast converting loyalEnglishmen, against their will, into traitors and conspirators? Yet whodoubts that it would have required, at exactly that moment, and in themidst of that crisis; more elevation of soul than could fairly bepredicated of any individual, for Elizabeth in 1587 to pardon Mary, or torelax in the severity of her legislation towards English Papists?

Yet, although a display of sublime virtue, such as the world has rarelyseen, was not to be expected, it was reasonable to look for honest androyal dealing, from a great sovereign, brought at last face to face witha great event. The "great cause" demanded, a great, straightforward blow. It was obvious, however, that it would be difficult, in the midst of thetragedy and the comedy, for the Netherland business to come fairly beforeher Majesty. "Touching the Low Country causes, " said Leicester; "verylittle is done yet, by reason of the continued business we have had aboutthe Queen of Scots' matters. All the speech I have had with her Majestyhitherto touching those causes hath been but private. "--[Leicester toWilkes, 4 Des 1586. (S. P. Office MS. )]--Walsingham, longing forretirement, not only on account of his infinite grief for the death ofSir Philip Sidney, "which hath been the cause;" he said, "that I haveever since betaken myself into solitariness, and withdrawn; from publicaffairs, " but also by reason of the perverseness an difficulty manifestedin the gravest affairs by the sovereign he so faithfully served, sentinformation, that, notwithstanding the arrival of some of the States'deputies, Leicester was persuading her Majesty to proceed first in thegreat cause. "Certain principal persons, chosen as committees, " he said, "of both Houses are sent as humble suitors, to her Majesty to desire thatshe would be pleased to give order for the execution of the ScottishQueen. Her Majesty made answer that she was loath to proceed in soviolent a course against the said Queen; as the taking away of her life, and therefore prayed them to think of some other way which might be forher own and their safety. They replied, no other way but her execution. Her Majesty, though she yielded no answer to this their latter reply, iscontented to give order that the proclamation be published, and so alsoit is hoped that she, will be moved by this, their earnest instance toproceed to the thorough ending of the cause. "

And so the cause went slowly on to its thorough ending. And when "noother way" could be thought of but to take Mary's life, and when "noother way of taking that life could be devised, " at Elizabeth'ssuggestion, except by public execution, when none of the gentlemen "ofthe association, " nor Paulet, nor Drury--how skilfully soever their"pulses had been felt" by Elizabeth's command--would commit assassinationto serve a Queen who was capable of punishing them afterwards for themurder, the great cause came to its inevitable conclusion, and MaryStuart was executed by command of Elizabeth Tudor. The world may continueto differ as to the necessity of the execution but it has long sincepronounced a unanimous verdict as to the respective display of royaldignity by the two Queens upon that great occasion. 

During this interval the Netherland matter, almost as vital to England asthe execution of Mary, was comparatively neglected. It was not absolutelyin abeyance, but the condition of the Queen's mind coloured everystate-affair with its tragic hues. Elizabeth, harassed, anxious, dreamingdreams, and enacting a horrible masquerade, was in the worst possibletemper to be approached by the envoys. She was furious with theNetherlanders for having maltreated her favourite. She was still morefurious because their war was costing so much money. Her dispositionbecame so uncertain, her temper so ungovernable, as to drive hercounsellors to their wit's ends. Burghley confessed himself "weary of hismiserable life, " and protested "that the only desire he had in the worldwas to be delivered from the ungrateful burthen of service, which herMajesty laid upon him so very heavily. " Walsingham wished himself "wellestablished in Basle. " The Queen set them all together by the ears. Shewrangled spitefully over the sum-totals from the Netherlands; she worriedLeicester, she scolded Burghley for defending Leicester, and Leicesterabused Burghley for taking part against him. 

The Lord-Treasurer, overcome with "grief which pierced both his body andhis heart, " battled his way--as best he could--through the throng ofdangers which beset the path of England in that great crisis. It was mostobvious to every statesman in the realm that this was not the time--whenthe gauntlet had been thrown full in the face of Philip and Sixtus andall Catholicism, by the condemnation of Mary--to leave the Netherlandcause "at random, " and these outer bulwarks of her own kingdominsufficiently protected. 

"Your Majesty will hear, " wrote Parma to Philip, "of the disastrous, lamentable, and pitiful end of the poor Queen of Scots. Although for herit will be immortal glory, and she will be placed among the number of themany martyrs whose blood has been shed in the kingdom of England, and becrowned in Heaven with a diadem more precious than the one she wore onearth, nevertheless one cannot repress one's natural emotions. I believefirmly that this cruel deed will be the concluding crime of the manywhich that Englishwoman has committed, and that our Lord will be pleasedthat she shall at last receive the chastisement which she has these manylong years deserved, and which has been reserved till now, for hergreater ruin and confusion. "--[Parma to Philip IL, 22 March. 1587. (Arch. De Simancas, MS. )]--And with this, the Duke proceeded to discuss the allimportant and rapidly-preparing invasion of England. Farnese was not theman to be deceived by the affected reluctance of Elizabeth before Mary'sscaffold, although he was soon to show that he was himself a master inthe science of grimace. For Elizabeth--more than ever disposed to befriends with Spain and Rome, now that war to the knife was madeinevitable--was wistfully regarding that trap of negotiation, againstwhich all her best friends were endeavouring to warn her. She was moreill-natured than ever to the Provinces, she turned her back upon theWarnese, she affronted Henry III. By affecting to believe in the fable ofhis envoy's complicity in the Stafford conspiracy against her life. 

"I pray God to open her eyes, " said Walsingham, "to see the evident perilof the course she now holdeth . . . . If it had pleased her to havefollowed the advice given her touching the French ambassador, our shipshad been released . . . . But she has taken a very strange course bywriting a very sharp letter unto the French King, which I fear will causehim to give ear to those of the League, and make himself a party withthem, seeing so little regard had to him here. Your Lordship may see thatour courage doth greatly increase, for that we make no difficulty to fallout with all the world . . . . I never saw her worse affected to thepoor King of Navarre, and yet doth she seek in no sort to yieldcontentment to the French King. If to offend all the world;" repeated theSecretary bitterly, "be it good cause of government, then can we not doamiss . . . . I never found her less disposed to take a course ofprevention of the approaching mischiefs toward this realm than at thispresent. And to be plain with you, there is none here that hath eithercredit or courage to deal effectually with her in any of her greatcauses. "

Thus distracted by doubts and dangers, at war with her best friends, withherself, and with all-the world, was Elizabeth during the dark days andmonths which, preceded and followed the execution of the Scottish Queen. If the great fight was at last to be fought triumphantly through, it wasobvious that England was to depend upon Englishmen of all ranks andclasses, upon her prudent and far-seeing statesmen, upon her nobles andher adventurers, on her Anglo-Saxon and Anglo-Norman blood ever mountingagainst, oppression, on Howard and Essex, Drake and Williams, Norris, andWilloughby, upon high-born magnates, plebeian captains, London merchants, upon yeomen whose limbs were made in England, and upon Hollanders andZeelanders whose fearless mariners were to swarm to the protection of hercoasts, quite as much in that year of anxious expectation as upon thegreat Queen herself. Unquestionable as were her mental capacity and hermore than woman's courage, when fairly, brought face, to face with thedanger, it was fortunately not on one man or woman's brain and arm thatEngland's salvation depended in that crisis of her fate. 

As to the Provinces, no one ventured to speak very boldly in theirdefence. "When I lay before her the peril, " said Walsingham, "shescorneth at it. The hope of a peace with Spain has put her into a mostdangerous security. " Nor would any man now assume responsibility. Thefate of Davison--of the man who had already in so detestable a mannerbeen made the scape-goat for Leicester's sins in the Netherlands, and whohad now been so barbarously sacrificed by the Queen for faithfullyobeying her orders in regard to the death-warrant, had sickened allcourtiers and counsellors for the time. "The late severe, dealing used byher Highness towards Mr. Secretary Davison, " said Walsingham to Wilkes, "maketh us very circumspect and careful not to proceed in anything butwherein we receive direction from herself, and therefore you must notfind it strange if we now be more sparing than heretofore hath beenaccustomed. "

Such being the portentous state of the political atmosphere, and such thestormy condition of the royal mind, it may be supposed that theinterviews of the Netherland envoys with her Majesty during this periodwere not likely to be genial. Exactly at the most gloomy moment--thirteendays before the execution of Mary--they came first into Elizabeth'spresence at Greenwich. 

The envoys were five in number, all of them experienced and ablestatesmen--Zuylen van Nyvelt, Joos de Menyn, Nicasius de Silla, JacobValck, and Vitus van Kammings. The Queen was in the privycouncil-chamber, attended by the admiral of England, Lord Thomas Howard, Lord Hunsdon, great-chamberlain, Sir Christopher Hatton, vice-chamberlain, Secretary Davison, and many other persons ofdistinction. 

The letters of credence were duly presented, but it was obvious from thebeginning of the interview that the Queen was ill-disposed toward thedeputies, and had not only been misinformed as to matters of fact, but asto the state of feeling of the Netherlanders and of the States-Generaltowards herself. 

Menyu, however, who was an orator by profession--being pensionary ofDort--made, in the name of his colleagues, a brief but pregnant speech, to which the Queen listened attentively, although, with frequentindications of anger and impatience. He commenced by observing that theUnited Provinces still entertained the hope that her Majesty wouldconclude, upon further thoughts, to accept the sovereignty over them, with reasonable conditions; but the most important passages of hisaddress were those relating to the cost of the war. "Besides ourstipulated contributions, " said the pensionary, "of 200, 000 florins themonth, we have furnished 500, 000 as an extraordinary grant; making forthe year 2, 900, 000 florins, and this over and above the particular andspecial expenditures of the Provinces, and other sums for militarypurposes. We confess, Madam, that the succour of your Majesty is a trulyroyal one, and that there have been few princes in history who have givensuch assistance to their neighbours unjustly oppressed. It is certainthat by means of that help, joined with the forces of the UnitedProvinces, the Earl of Leicester has been able to arrest the course ofthe Duke of Parma's victories and to counteract his designs. Nevertheless, it appears, Madam, that these forces have not beensufficient to drive the enemy out of the country. We are obliged, forregular garrison work and defence of cities, to keep; up an army of atleast 27, 000 foot and 3500 horse. Of this number your Majesty pays 5000foot and 1000 horse, and we are now commissioned, Madam, humbly torequest an increase of your regular succour during the war to 10, 000 footand 2000 horse. We also implore the loan of L60, 000 sterling, in order toassist us in maintaining for the coming season a sufficient force in thefield. "

Such, in brief, was the oration of pensionary Menyn, delivered in theFrench language. He had scarcely concluded, when the Queen--evidently ina great passion--rose to her feet, and without any hesitation, replied ina strain of vehement eloquence in the same tongue. 

"Now I am not deceived, gentlemen, " she said, "and that which I have beenfearing has occurred. Our common adage, which we have in England, is avery good one. When one fears that an evil is coming, the sooner itarrives the better. Here is a quarter of a year that I have beenexpecting you, and certainly for the great benefit I have conferred onyou, you have exhibited a great ingratitude, and I consider myself veryill treated by you. 'Tis very strange that you should begin by solicitingstill greater succour without rendering me any satisfaction for your pastactions, which have been so extraordinary, that I swear by the living GodI think it impossible to find peoples or states more ungrateful orill-advised than yourselves. 

"I have sent you this year fifteen, sixteen, aye seventeen or eighteenthousand men. You have left them without payment, you have let some ofthem die of hunger, driven others to such desperation that they havedeserted to the enemy. Is it not mortifying for the English nation and agreat shame for you that Englishmen should say that they have found morecourtesy from Spaniards than from Netherlanders? Truly, I tell youfrankly that I will never endure such indignities. Rather will I actaccording to my will, and you may do exactly, as you think best. 

"If I chose, I could do something very good without you, although somepersons are so fond of saying that it was quite necessary for the Queenof England to do what she does for her own protection. No, no! Disabuseyourselves of that impression. These are but false persuasions. Believeboldly that I can play an excellent game without your assistance, and abetter one than I ever did with it! Nevertheless, I do not choose to dothat, nor do I wish you so much harm. But likewise do I not choose thatyou should hold such language to me. It is true that I should not wishthe Spaniard so near me if he should be my enemy. But why should I notlive in peace, if we were to be friends to each other? At thecommencement of my reign we lived honourably together, the King of Spainand I, and he even asked me to, marry him, and, after that, we lived along time very peacefully, without any attempt having been made againstmy life. If we both choose, we can continue so to do. 

"On the other hand, I sent you the Earl of Leicester, as lieutenant of myforces, and my intention was that he should have exact knowledge of yourfinances and contributions. But, on the contrary, he has never knownanything about them, and you have handled them in your own manner andamongst yourselves. You have given him the title of governor, in order, under this name, to cast all your evils on his head. That title heaccepted against my will, by doing which he ran the risk of losing hislife, and his estates, and the grace and favour of his Princess, whichwas more important to him than all. But he did it in order to maintainyour tottering state. And what authority, I pray you, have you given him?A shadowy authority, a purely imaginary one. This is but mockery. He is, at any rate, a gentleman, a man of honour and of counsel. You had noright to treat him thus. If I had accepted the title which you wished togive me, by the living God, I would not have suffered you so to treat me. 

"But you are so badly advised that when there is a man of worth whodiscovers your tricks you wish him ill, and make an outcry against him;and yet some of you, in order to save your money, and others in the hopeof bribes, have been favouring the Spaniard, and doing very wicked work. No, believe me that God will punish those who for so great a benefit wishto return me so much evil. Believe, boldly too, that the King of Spainwill never trust men who have abandoned the party to which they belonged, and from which they have received so many benefits, and will neverbelieve a word of what they promise him. Yet, in order to cover up theirfilth, they spread the story that the Queen of England is thinking oftreating for peace without their knowledge. No, I would rather be deadthan that any one should have occasion to say that I had not kept mypromise. But princes must listen to both sides, and that can be donewithout breach of faith. For they transact business in a certain way, andwith a princely intelligence, such as private persons cannot imitate. 

"You are States, to be sure, but private individuals in regard toprinces. Certainly, I would never choose to do anything without yourknowledge, and I would never allow the authority which you have amongyourselves, nor your privileges, nor your statutes, to be infringed. Norwill I allow you to be perturbed in your consciences. What then would youmore of me? You have issued a proclamation in your country that no one isto talk of peace. Very well, very good. But permit princes likewise to doas they shall think best for the security of their state, provided itdoes you no injury. Among us princes we are not wont to make such longorations as you do, but you ought to be content with the few words thatwe bestow upon you, and make yourself quiet thereby. 

"If I ever do anything for you again, I choose to be treated morehonourably. I shall therefore appoint some personages of my council tocommunicate with you. And in the first place I choose to hear and see formyself what has taken place already, and have satisfaction about that, before I make any reply to what you have said to me as to greaterassistance. And so I will leave you to-day, without troubling youfurther. "

With this her Majesty swept from the apartment, leaving the deputiessomewhat astounded at the fierce but adroit manner in which the tableshad for a moment been turned upon them. 

It was certainly a most unexpected blow, this charge of the States havingleft the English soldiers--whose numbers the Queen had so suddenlymultiplied by three--unpaid and unfed. Those Englishmen who, asindividuals, had entered the States' service, had been--like all theother troops regularly paid. This distinctly appeared from the statementsof her own counsellors and generals. On the other hand, the Queen'scontingent, now dwindled to about half their original number, had beennotoriously unpaid for nearly six months. 

This has already been made sufficiently clear from the private letters ofmost responsible persons. That these soldiers were starving, deserting;and pillaging, was, alas! too true; but the envoys of the States hardlyexpected to be censured by her Majesty, because she had neglected to payher own troops. It was one of the points concerning which they had beenespecially enjoined to complain, that the English cavalry, converted intohighwaymen by want of pay, had been plundering the peasantry, and we haveseen that Thomas Wilkes had "pawned his carcase" to provide for theirtemporary relief. 

With regard to the insinuation that prominent personages in the countryhad been tampered with by the enemy, the envoys were equally astonishedby such an attack. The great Deventer treason had not yet been heard ofin England for it had occurred only a week before this firstinterview--but something of the kind was already feared; for the slipperydealings of York and Stanley with Tassis and Parma, had long been causingpainful anxiety, and had formed the subject of repeated remonstrances onthe part of the 'States' to Leicester and to the Queen. The deputies werehardly, prepared therefore to defend their own people against dealingprivately with the King of Spain. The only man suspected of suchpractices was Leicester's own favourite and financier, Jacques Ringault, whom the Earl had persisted in employing against the angry remonstrancesof the States, who believed him to be a Spanish spy; and the man was nowin prison, and threatened with capital punishment. 

To suppose that Buys or Barneveld, Roorda, Meetkerk, or any other leadingstatesman in the Netherlands, was contemplating a private arrangementwith Philip II. , was as ludicrous a conception as to imagine Walsingham apensioner of the Pope, or Cecil in league with the Duke of Guise. The endand aim of the States' party was war. In war they not only saw the safetyof the reformed religion, but the only means of maintaining thecommercial prosperity of the commonwealth. The whole correspondence ofthe times shows that no politician in the country dreamed of peace, either by public or secret negotiation. On the other hand--as will bemade still clearer than ever--the Queen was longing for peace, and wastreating for peace at that moment through private agents, quite withoutthe knowledge of the States, and in spite of her indignant disavowals inher speech to the envoys. 

Yet if Elizabeth could have had the privilege of entering--as we areabout to do--into the private cabinet of that excellent King of Spain, with whom, she had once been such good friends, who had even sought herhand in marriage, and with whom she saw no reason whatever why she shouldnot live at peace, she might have modified her expressions an thissubject. Certainly, if she could have looked through the piles ofpapers--as we intend to do--which lay upon that library-table, far beyondthe seas and mountains, she would have perceived some objections to thescheme of living at peace with that diligent letter-writer. 

Perhaps, had she known how the subtle Farnese was about to expresshimself concerning the fast-approaching execution of Mary, and the asinevitably impending destruction of "that Englishwoman" through theschemes of his master and himself, she would have paid less heed to thesentiments couched in most exquisite Italian which Alexander was at thesame time whispering in her ear, and would have taken less offence at theblunt language of the States-General. 

Nevertheless, for the present, Elizabeth would give no better answer thanthe hot-tempered one which had already somewhat discomfited the deputies. 

Two days afterwards, the five envoys had an interview with severalmembers of her Majesty's council, in the private apartment of theLord-Treasurer in Greenwich Palace. Burghley, being indisposed, was lyingupon his bed. Leicester, Admiral Lord Howard, Lord Hunsden, SirChristopher Hatton, Lord Buckhurst, and Secretary Davison, were present, and the Lord-Treasurer proposed that the conversation should be in Latin, that being the common language most familiar to them all. Then, turningover the leaves of the report, a copy of which lay on his bed, he askedthe envoys, whether, in case her Majesty had not sent over the assistancewhich she had done under the Earl of Leicester, their country would nothave been utterly ruined. 

"To all appearance, yes, " replied Menyn. 

"But, " continued Burghley, still running through the pages of thedocument, and here and there demanding an explanation of an obscurepassage or two, "you are now proposing to her Majesty to send 10, 000 footand 2000 horse, and to lend L60, 000. This is altogether monstrous andexcessive. Nobody will ever dare even to speak to her Majesty on thesubject. When you first came in 1585, you asked for 12, 000 men, but youwere fully authorized to accept 6000. No doubt that is the case now. "

"On that occasion, " answered Menyn, "our main purpose was to induce herMajesty to accept the sovereignty, or at least the perpetual protectionof our country. Failing in that we broached the third point, and notbeing able to get 12, 000 soldiers we compounded for 5000, the agreementbeing subject to ratification by our principals. We gave ample securityin shape of the mortgaged cities. But experience has shown us that theseforces and this succour are insufficient. We have therefore been sent tobeg her Majesty to make up the contingent to the amount originallyrequested. "

"But we are obliged to increase the garrisons in the cautionary towns, "said one of the English councillors, "as 800 men in a city like Flushingare very little. "

"Pardon me, " replied Valck, "the burghers are not enemies but friends toher Majesty and to the English nation. They are her dutiful subjects likeall the inhabitants of the Netherlands. "

"It is quite true, " said Burghley, after having made some criticalremarks upon the military system of the Provinces, "and a very commonadage, 'quod tunc tua res agitur, paries cum proximus ardet, ' but, nevertheless, this war principally concerns you. Therefore you are boundto do your utmost to meet its expenses in your own country, quite as muchas a man who means to build a house is expected to provide the stone andtimber himself. But the States have not done their best. They have not atthe appointed time come forward with their extraordinary contributionsfor the last campaign. How many men, " he asked, "are required forgarrisons in all the fortresses and cities, and for the field?"

"But, " interposed Lord Hunsden, "not half so many men are needed in thegarrisons; for the burghers ought to be able to defend their own cities. Moreover it is probable that your ordinary contributions might becontinued and doubled and even tripled. "

"And on the whole, " observed the Lord Admiral, "don't you think that theputting an army in the field might be dispensed with for this year? HerMajesty at present must get together and equip a fleet of war vesselsagainst the King of Spain, which will be an excessively large pennyworth, besides the assistance which she gives her neighbours. "

"Yes, indeed, " said Secretary Davison, "it would be difficult toexaggerate the enormous expense which her Majesty must encounter thisyear for defending and liberating her own kingdoms against the King ofSpain. That monarch is making great naval preparations, and is treatingall Englishmen in the most hostile manner. We are on the brink ofdeclared war with Spain, with the French King, who is arresting allEnglish persons and property within his kingdom, and with Scotland, allwhich countries are understood to have made a league together on accountof the Queen of Scotland, whom it will be absolutely necessary to put todeath in order to preserve the life of her Majesty, and are about to makewar upon England. This matter then will cost us, the current year, atleast eight hundred thousand pounds sterling. Nevertheless her Majesty issure to assist you so far as her means allow; and I, for my part, will domy best to keep her Majesty well disposed to your cause, even as I haveever done, as you well know. "

Thus spoke poor Davison, but a few days before the fatal 8th of February, little dreaming that the day for his influencing the disposition of herMajesty would soon be gone, and that he was himself to be crushed forever by the blow which was about to destroy the captive Queen. Thepolitical combinations resulting from the tragedy were not to be exactlyas he foretold, but there is little doubt that in him the Netherlands, and Leicester, and the Queen of England, were to lose an honest, diligent, and faithful friend. 

"Well, gentlemen, " said the Lord-Treasurer, after a few more questionsconcerning the financial abilities of the States had been asked andanswered, "it is getting late into the evening, and time for you all toget back to London. Let me request you, as soon as may be, to draw upsome articles in writing, to which we will respond immediately. "

Menyn then, in the name of the deputies, expressed thanks for theurbanity shown them in the conference, and spoke of the deep regret withwhich they had perceived, by her Majesty's answer two days before, thatshe was so highly offended with them and with the States-General. Hethen, notwithstanding Burghley's previous hint as to the lateness of thehour, took up the Queen's answer, point by point, contradicted all itsstatements, appealing frequently to Lord Leicester for confirmation ofwhat he advanced, and concluded by begging the councillors to defend thecause of the Netherlands to her Majesty, Burghley requested them to makean excuse or reply to the Queen in writing, and send it to him topresent. Thus the conference terminated, and the envoys returned toLondon. They were fully convinced by the result of, these interviews, asthey told their constituents, that her Majesty, by false statements andreports of persons either grossly ignorant or not having the good of thecommonwealth before their eyes, had been very incorrectly informed as tothe condition of the Provinces, and of the great efforts made by theStates-General to defend their country against the enemy: It was obvious, they said, that their measures had been exaggerated in order to deceivethe Queen and her council. 

And thus statements and counter-statements, protocols and apostilles, were glibly exchanged; the heap of diplomatic rubbish was rising higherand higher, and the councillors and envoys, pleased with their work, weregrowing more and more amicable, when the court was suddenly startled bythe news of the Deventer and Zutphen treason. The intelligence wasaccompanied by the famous 4th of February letter, which descended, like abombshell, in the midst of the decorous council-chamber. Such languagehad rarely been addressed to the Earl of Leicester, and; through him; tothe imperious sovereign herself, as the homely truths with whichBarneveld, speaking with the voice of the States-General, now smote thedelinquent governor. 

"My Lord, " said he, "it is notorious; and needs no illustration whatever, with what true confidence and unfeigned affection we received yourExcellency in our land; the States-General, the States-Provincial, themagistrates, and the communities of the chief cities in the UnitedProvinces, all uniting to do honour to her serene Majesty of England andto yourself, and to confer upon you the government-general over us. Andalthough we should willingly have placed some limitations upon theauthority thus bestowed on you; in, order that by such a course your ownhonour and the good and constitutional condition of the country might bealike preserved, yet finding your Excellency not satisfied with thoselimitations, we postponed every objection, and conformed ourselves toyour pleasure. Yet; before coming to that decision, we had wellconsidered that by doing so we might be opening a door to many ambitious, avaricious, and pernicious persons, both of these countries and fromother nations, who might seize the occasion to advance their own privateprofits, to the detriment of the country and the dishonour of yourExcellency. 

"And, in truth, such persons have done their work so efficiently as toinspire you with distrust against the most faithful and capable men inthe Provinces, against the Estates General and Provincial, magistrates, and private persons, knowing very well that they could never arrive attheir own ends so long as you were guided by the constitutionalauthorities of the country. And precisely upon the distrust; thus createdas a foundation, they raised a back-stairs council, by means of whichthey were able to further their ambitious, avaricious, and seditiouspractices, notwithstanding the good advice and remonstrances of thecouncil of state, and the States General and Provincial. "

He proceeded to handle the subjects of the English rose-noble; put incirculation by Leicester's finance or back-stairs council at two florinsabove its value, to the manifest detriment of the Provinces, to thedetestable embargo which had prevented them from using the means bestowedupon them by God himself to defend their country, to the squandering andembezzlement of the large sums contributed by the Province; and entrustedto the Earl's administration; to the starving condition of the soldiers;maltreated by government, and thus compelled to prey upon theinhabitants--so that troops in the States' service had never been soabused during the whole war, although the States had never before votedsuch large contributions nor paid them so promptly--to the placing inposts of high honour and trust men of notoriously bad character and evenSpanish spies; to the taking away the public authority from those to whomit legitimately belonged, and conferring it on incompetent andunqualified persons; to the illegal banishment of respectable citizens, to the violation of time-honoured laws and privileges, to the shamefulattempts to repudiate the ancient authority of the States, and to usurp acontrol over the communities and nobles by them represented, and to theperpetual efforts to foster dissension, disunion, and rebellion among theinhabitants. Having thus drawn up a heavy bill of indictment, nominallyagainst the Earl's illegal counsellors, but in reality against the Earlhimself, he proceeded to deal with the most important matter of all. 

"The principal cities and fortresses in the country have been placed inhands of men suspected by the States on legitimate grounds, men who hadbeen convicted of treason against these Provinces, and who continued tobe suspected, notwithstanding that your Excellency had pledged your ownhonour for their fidelity. Finally, by means of these scoundrels, it wasbrought to pass, that the council of state having been invested by yourExcellency with supreme authority during your absence--a secret document, was brought to light after your departure, by which the most substantialmatters, and those most vital to the defence of the country, werewithdrawn from the disposition of that council. And now, alas, we see theeffects of these practices!

"Sir William Stanley, by you appointed governor of Deventer, and RowlandYork, governor of Fort Zutphen, have refused, by virtue of that secretdocument, to acknowledge any authority in this country. Andnotwithstanding that since your departure they and their soldiers havebeen supported at our expense, and had just received a full month's payfrom the States, they have traitorously and villainously delivered thecity and the fortress to the enemy, with a declaration made by Stanleythat he did the deed to ease his conscience, and to render to the King ofSpain the city which of right was belonging to him. And this is a crimeso dishonourable, scandalous, ruinous, and treasonable, as that, duringthis, whole war, we have never seen the like. And we are now, in dailyfear lest the English commanders in Bergen-op-Zoom, Ostend, and othercities, should commit the same crime. And although we fully suspected thedesigns of Stanley and York, yet your Excellency's secret document haddeprived us of the power to act. 

"We doubt not that her Majesty and your Excellency will think thisstrange language. But we can assure you, that we too think it strange andgrievous that those places should have been confided to such men, againstour repeated remonstrances, and that, moreover, this very Stanley shouldhave been recommended by your Excellency for general of all the forces. And although we had many just and grave reasons for opposing youradministration--even as our ancestors were often wont to rise against thesovereigns of the country--we have, nevertheless, patiently suffered fora long time, in order not to diminish your authority, which we deemed soimportant to our welfare, and in the hope that you would at last be movedby the perilous condition of the commonwealth, and awake to the artificesof your advisers. 

"But at last-feeling that the existence of the state can no longer bepreserved without proper authority, and that the whole community is fullof emotion and distrust, on account of these great treasons--we, theStates-General, as well as the States-Provincial, have felt constrainedto establish such a government as we deem meet for the emergency. And ofthis we think proper to apprize your Excellency. "

He then expressed the conviction that all these evil deeds had beenaccomplished against the intentions of the Earl and the Englishgovernment, and requested his Excellency so to deal with her Majesty thatthe contingent of horse and foot hitherto accorded by her "might bemaintained in good order, and in better pay. "

Here, then, was substantial choleric phraseology, as good plain speakingas her Majesty had just been employing, and with quite as sufficientcause. Here was no pleasant diplomatic fencing, but straightforwardvigorous thrusts. It was no wonder that poor Wilkes should have thoughtthe letter "too sharp, " when he heard it read in the assembly, and thathe should have done his best to prevent it from being despatched. Hewould have thought it sharper could he have seen how the pride of herMajesty and of Leicester was wounded by it to the quick. Her list ofgrievances against the States seem to vanish into air. Who had beentampering with the Spaniards now? Had that "shadowy and imaginaryauthority" granted to Leicester not proved substantial enough? Was it theStates-General, the state-council, or was it the "absolute governor"--whohad carried off the supreme control of the commonwealth in hispocket--that was responsible for the ruin effected by Englishmen who hadscorned all "authority" but his own?

The States, in another blunt letter to the Queen herself, declared theloss of Deventer to be more disastrous to them than even the fall ofAntwerp had been; for the republic had now been split asunder, and itsmost ancient and vital portions almost cut away. Nevertheless they werenot "dazzled nor despairing, " they said, but more determined than ever tomaintain their liberties, and bid defiance to the Spanish tyrant. Andagain they demanded of, rather than implored; her Majesty to be true toher engagements with them. 

The interviews which followed were more tempestuous than ever. "I hadintended that my Lord of Leicester should return to you, " she said to theenvoys. "But that shall never be. He has been treated with grossingratitude, he has served the Provinces with ability, he has consumedhis own property there, he has risked his life, he has lost his nearkinsman, Sir Philip Sidney, whose life I should be glad to purchase withmany millions, and, in place of all reward, he receives these venomousletters, of which a copy has been sent to his sovereign to blacken himwith her. " She had been advising him to return, she added, but she wasnow resolved that he should "never set foot in the Provinces again. "

Here the Earl, who, was present, exclaimed--beating himself on thebreast--"a tali officio libera nos, Domine!"

But the States, undaunted by these explosions of wrath, replied that ithad ever been their custom, when their laws and liberties were invaded, to speak their mind boldly to kings and governors, and to procure redressof their grievances, as became free men. 

During that whole spring the Queen was at daggers drawn with all herleading counsellors, mainly in regard to that great question ofquestions--the relations of England with the Netherlands and Spain. Walsingham--who felt it madness to dream of peace, and who believed itthe soundest policy to deal with Parma and his veterans upon the soil ofFlanders, with the forces of the republic for allies, rather than toawait his arrival in London--was driven almost to frenzy by what hedeemed the Queen's perverseness. 

"Our sharp words continue, " said the Secretary, "which doth greatlydisquiet her Majesty, and discomfort her poor servants that attend her. The Lord-Treasurer remaineth still in disgrace, and, behind my back, herMajesty giveth out very hard speeches of myself, which I the rathercredit, for that I find, in dealing with her, I am nothing gracious; andif her Majesty could be otherwise served, I know I should not be used . . . . . Her Majesty doth wholly lend herself to devise some further meansto disgrace her poor council, in respect whereof she neglecteth all othercauses . . . . The discord between her Majesty and her councilhindereth the necessary consultations that were to be destined for thepreventing of the manifold perils that hang over this realm. . . . Sir Christopher Hatton hath dealt very plainly and dutifully with her, which hath been accepted in so evil part as he is resolved to retire fora time. I assure you I find every man weary of attendance here. . . . I would to God I could find as good resolution in her Majesty toproceed in a princely course in relieving the United Provinces, as I findan honorable disposition in your Lordship to employ yourself in theirservice. "

The Lord-Treasurer was much puzzled, very wretched, but philosophicallyresigned. "Why her Majesty useth me thus strangely, I know not, " heobserved. "To some she saith that she meant not I should have gone fromthe court; to some she saith, she may not admit me, nor give mecontentment. I shall dispose myself to enjoy God's favour, and shall donothing to deserve her disfavour. And if I be suffered to be a strangerto her affairs, I shall have a quieter life. "

Leicester, after the first burst of his anger was over, was willing toreturn to the Provinces. He protested that he had a greater affection forthe Netherland people--not for the governing powers--even than he feltfor the people of England. --"There is nothing sticks in my stomach, " hesaid, "but the good-will of that poor afflicted people, for whom, I takeGod to record, I could be content to lose any limb I have to do themgood. " But he was crippled with debt, and the Queen resolutely refused tolend him a few thousand pounds, without which he could not stir. Walsingham in vain did battle with her parsimony, representing howurgently and vividly the necessity of his return had been depicted by allher ministers in both countries, and how much it imported to her ownsafety and service. But she was obdurate. "She would rather, " he saidbitterly to Leicester, "hazard the increase of confusion there--which mayput the whole country in peril--than supply your want. The like courseshe holdeth in the rest of her causes, which maketh me to wish myselffrom the helm. " At last she agreed to advance him ten thousand pounds, but on so severe conditions, that the Earl declared himself heart-brokenagain, and protested that he would neither accept the money, nor ever setfoot in the Netherlands. "Let Norris stay there, " he said in a fury; "hewill do admirably, no doubt. Only let it not be supposed that I can bethere also. Not for one hundred thousand pounds would I be in thatcountry with him. "

Meantime it was agreed that Lord Buckhurst should be sent forth on whatWilkes termed a mission of expostulation, and a very ill-timed one. Thisnew envoy was to inquire into the causes of the discontent, and to do hisbest to remove them: as if any man in England or in Holland doubted as tothe causes, or as to the best means of removing them; or as if it werenot absolutely certain that delay was the very worst specific that couldbe adopted--delay--which the Netherland statesmen, as well as the Queen'swisest counsellors, most deprecated, which Alexander and Philip mostdesired, and by indulging in which her Majesty was most directly playinginto her adversary's hand. Elizabeth was preparing to put cards upon thetable against an antagonist whose game was close, whose honesty wasalways to be suspected, and who was a consummate master in what was thenconsidered diplomatic sleight of hand. So Lord Buckhurst was to go forthto expostulate at the Hague, while transports were loading in Cadiz andLisbon, reiters levying in Germany, pikemen and musketeers in Spain andItaly, for a purpose concerning which Walsingham and Barneveld had for along time felt little doubt. 

Meantime Lord Leicester went to Bath to drink the waters, and after hehad drunk the waters, the Queen, ever anxious for his health, wasresolved that he should not lose the benefit of those salubrious draughtsby travelling too soon, or by plunging anew into the fountains ofbitterness which flowed perennially in the Netherlands. 

CHAPTER XV. 

 Buckhurst sent to the Netherlands--Alarming State of Affairs on his Arrival--His Efforts to conciliate--Democratic Theories of Wilkes-- Sophistry of the Argument--Dispute between Wilkes and Barneveld-- Religious Tolerance by the States--Their Constitutional Theory-- Deventer's bad Counsels to Leicester--Their pernicious Effect--Real and supposed Plots against Hohenlo--Mutual Suspicion and Distrust-- Buckhurst seeks to restore good Feeling--The Queen angry and vindictive--She censures Buckhurst's Course--Leicester's wrath at Hohenlo's Charges of a Plot by the Earl to murder him--Buckhurst's eloquent Appeals to the Queen--Her perplexing and contradictory Orders--Despair of Wilkes--Leicester announces his Return--His Instructions--Letter to Junius--Barneveld denounces him in the States. 

We return to the Netherlands. If ever proof were afforded of theinfluence of individual character on the destiny of nations and of theworld, it certainly was seen in the year 1587. We have lifted the curtainof the secret council-chamber at Greenwich. We have seen all Elizabeth'sadvisers anxious to arouse her from her fatal credulity, from her almostas fatal parsimony. We have seen Leicester anxious to return, despite allfancied indignities, Walsingham eager to expedite the enterprise, and theQueen remaining obdurate, while month after month of precious time wasmelting away. 

In the Netherlands, meantime, discord and confusion had been increasingevery day; and the first great cause of such a dangerous condition ofaffairs was the absence of the governor. To this all parties agreed. TheLeicestrians, the anti-Leicestriana, the Holland party, the Utrechtparty, the English counsellors, the English generals, in private letter, in solemn act, all warned the Queen against the lamentable effectsresulting from Leicester's inopportune departure and prolonged absence. 

On the first outbreak of indignation after the Deventer Affair, PrinceMaurice was placed at the head of the general government, with theviolent Hohenlo as his lieutenant. The greatest exertions were made bythese two nobles and by Barneveld, who guided the whole policy of theparty, to secure as many cities as possible to their cause. Magistratesand commandants of garrisons in many towns willingly gave in theiradhesion to the new government; others refused; especially DiedrichSonoy, an officer of distinction, who was governor of Enkhuyzen, andinfluential throughout North Holland, and who remained a stanch partisanof Leicester. Utrecht, the stronghold of the Leicestrians, was waveringand much torn by faction; Hohenlo and Moeurs had "banquetted and feasted"to such good purpose that they had gained over half the captains of theburgher-guard, and, aided by the branch of nobles, were making a goodfight against the Leicester magistracy and the clerical force, enrichedby the plunder of the old Catholic livings, who denounced as Papisticaland Hispaniolized all who favoured the party of Maurice and Barneveld. 

By the end of March the envoys returned from London, and in their companycame Lord Buckhurst, as special ambassador from the Queen. 

Thomas Sackville, Lord Buckhurst--afterwards Earl of Dorset andlord-treasurer--was then fifty-one years of age. A man of largeculture-poet, dramatist, diplomatist-bred to the bar; afterwards elevatedto the peerage; endowed with high character and strong intellect; readywith tongue and pen; handsome of person, and with a fascinating address, he was as fit a person to send on a mission of expostulation as any manto be found in England. But the author of the 'Induction to the Mirrorfor Magistrates' and of 'Gorboduc, ' had come to the Netherlands on aforlorn hope. To expostulate in favour of peace with a people who knewthat their existence depended on war, to reconcile those to delay whofelt that delay was death, and to, heal animosities between men who wereenemies from their cradles to their graves, was a difficult mission. Butthe chief ostensible object of Buckhurst was to smooth the way forLeicester, and, if possible, to persuade the Netherlanders as to the goodinclinations of the English government. This was no easy task, for theyknew that their envoys had been dismissed, without even a promise ofsubsidy. They had asked for twelve thousand soldiers and sixty thousandpounds, and had received a volley of abuse. Over and over again, throughmany months, the Queen fell into a paroxysm of rage when even an allusionwas made to the loan of fifty or sixty thousand pounds; and even had shepromised the money, it would have given but little satisfaction. As CountMoeurs observed, he would rather see one English rose-noble than ahundred royal promises. So the Hollanders and Zeelanders--not fearingLeicester's influence within their little morsel of a territory--wereconcentrating their means of resistance upon their own soil, intending toresist Spain, and, if necessary, England, in their last ditch, and withthe last drop of their blood. 

While such was the condition of affairs, Lord Buckhurst landed atFlushing--four months after the departure of Leicester--on the 24thMarch, having been tossing three days and nights at sea in a great storm, "miserably sick and in great danger of drowning. " Sir William Russell, governor of Flushing, informed him of the progress making by PrinceMaurice in virtue of his new authority. He told him that the Zeelandregiment, vacant by Sidney's death, and which the Queen wished bestowedupon Russell himself, had been given to Count Solms; a circumstance whichwas very sure to exite her Majesty's ire; but that the greater number, and those of the better sort; disliked the alteration of government, andrelied entirely upon the Queen. Sainte Aldegonde visited him atMiddelburgh, and in a "long discourse" expressed the most friendlysentiments towards England, with free offers of personal service. "Nevertheless, " said Buckhurst, cautiously, "I mean to trust the effect, not his words, and so I hope he will not much deceive me. His opinion isthat the Earl of Leicester's absence hath chiefly caused this change, andthat without his return it will hardly be restored again, but that uponhis arrival all these clouds will prove but a summershower. "

As a matter of course the new ambassador lifted up his voice, immediatelyafter setting foot on shore, in favour of the starving soldiers of hisQueen. "'Tis a most lamentable thing, " said he, "to hear the complaintsof soldiers and captains for want of pay. " . . . . Whole companies madetheir way into his presence, literally crying aloud for bread. "ForJesus' sake, " wrote Buckhurst, "hasten to send relief with all speed, andlet such victuallers be appointed as have a conscience not to makethemselves rich with the famine of poor soldiers. If her Majesty send notmoney, and that with speed, for their payment, I am afraid to think whatmischief and miseries are like to follow. "

Then the ambassador proceeded to the Hague, holding interviews withinfluential personages in private, and with the States-General in public. Such was the charm of his manner, and so firm the conviction of sincerityand good-will which he inspired, that in the course of a fortnight therewas already a sensible change in the aspect of affairs. The enemy, who, at the time of their arrival, had been making bonfires and holdingtriumphal processions for joy of the great breach between Holland andEngland, and had been "hoping to swallow them all up, while there were sofew left who knew how to act, " were already manifesting disappointment. 

In a solemn meeting of the States-General with the State-council, Buckhurst addressed the assembly upon the general subject of herMajesty's goodness to the Netherlands. He spoke of the graciousassistance rendered by her, notwithstanding her many special charges forthe common cause, and of the mighty enmities which she had incurred fortheir sake. He sharply censured the Hollanders for their cruelty to menwho had shed their blood in their cause, but who were now driven forthfrom their towns; and left to starve on the highways, and hated for theirnation's sake; as if the whole English name deserved to be soiled "forthe treachery of two miscreants. " He spoke strongly of their demeanourtowards the Earl of Leicester, and of the wrongs they had done him, andtold them, that, if they were not ready to atone to her Majesty for suchinjuries, they were not to wonder if their deputies received no betteranswer at her hands. "She who embraced your cause, " he said, "when othermighty princes forsook you, will still stand fast unto you, yea, andincrease her goodness, if her present state may suffer it. "

After being addressed in this manner the council of state made whatCounsellor Clerk called a "very honest, modest, and wise answer;" but theStates-General, not being able "so easily to discharge that which had solong boiled within them, " deferred their reply until the following day. They then brought forward a deliberate rejoinder, in which they expressedthemselves devoted to her Majesty, and, on the whole, well disposed tothe Earl. As to the 4th February letter, it had been written "inamaritudine cordis, " upon hearing the treasons of York and Stanley, andin accordance with "their custom and liberty used towards all princes, whereby they had long preserved their estate, " and in the conviction thatthe real culprits for all the sins of his Excellency's government werecertain "lewd persons who sought to seduce his Lordship, and to cause himto hate the States. "

Buckhurst did not think it well to reply, at that moment, on the groundthat there had been already crimination and recrimination more thanenough, and that "a little bitterness more had rather caused them todetermine dangerously than solve for the best. "

They then held council together--the envoys and the State-General, as tothe amount of troops absolutely necessary--casting up the matter "aspinchingly as possibly might be. " And the result was, that 20, 000 footand 2000 horse for garrison work, and an army of 13, 000 foot, 5000 horse, and pioneers, for a campaign of five or six months, were pronouncedindispensable. This would require all their L240, 000 sterling a-year, regular contribution, her Majesty's contingent of L140, 000, and an extrasum of L150, 000 sterling. Of this sum the States requested her Majestyshould furnish two-thirds, while they agreed to furnish the other third, which would make in all L240, 000 for the Queen, and L290, 000 for theStates. As it was understood that the English subsidies were only a loan, secured by mortgage of the cautionary towns, this did not seem veryunreasonable, when the intimate blending of England's welfare with thatof the Provinces was considered. 

Thus it will be observed that Lord Buckhurst--while doing his best toconciliate personal feuds and heart-burnings--had done full justice tothe merits of Leicester, and had placed in strongest light the favoursconferred by her Majesty. 

He then proceeded to Utrecht, where he was received with manydemonstrations of respect, "with solemn speeches" from magistrates andburgher-captains, with military processions, and with great banquets, which were, however, conducted with decorum, and at which even CountMoeurs excited universal astonishment by his sobriety. It was difficult, however, for matters to go very smoothly, except upon the surface. Whatcould be more disastrous than for a little commonwealth--a mere handfulof people, like these Netherlanders, engaged in mortal combat with themost powerful monarch in the world, and with the first general of theage, within a league of their borders--thus to be deprived of allorganized government at a most critical moment, and to be left to wranglewith their allies and among themselves, as to the form of polity to beadopted, while waiting the pleasure of a capricious and despotic woman?

And the very foundation of the authority by which the Spanish yoke hadbeen abjured, the sovereignty offered to Elizabeth, and thegovernment-general conferred on Leicester, was fiercely assailed by theconfidential agents of Elizabeth herself. The dispute went into the verydepths of the social contract. Already Wilkes, standing up stoutly forthe democratic views of the governor, who was so foully to requite him, had assured the English government that the "people were ready to cut thethroats" of the Staten-General at any convenient moment. The sovereignpeople, not the deputies, were alone to be heeded, he said, and althoughhe never informed the world by what process he had learned the deliberateopinion of that sovereign, as there had been no assembly excepting thoseof the States-General and States-Provincial--he was none the less fullysatisfied that the people were all with Leicester, and bitterly opposedto the States. 

"For the sovereignty, or supreme authority, " said he, through failure ofa legitimate prince, belongs to the people, and not to you, gentlemen, who are only servants, ministers, and deputies of the people. You haveyour commissions or instructions surrounded by limitations--whichconditions are so widely different from the power of sovereignty, as themight of the subject is in regard to his prince, or of a servant in, respect to his master. For sovereignty is not limited either as to poweror as to time. Still less do you represent the sovereignty; for thepeople, in giving the general and absolute government to the Earl ofLeicester, have conferred upon him at once the exercise of justice, theadministration of polity, of naval affairs, of war, and of all the otherpoints of sovereignty. Of these a governor-general is however only thedepositary or guardian, until such time as it may please the prince orpeople to revoke the trust; there being no other in this state who can dothis; seeing that it was the people, through the instrumentality of youroffices--through you as its servants--conferred on his Excellency, thispower, authority, and government. According to the common rule law, therefore, 'quo jure quid statuitur, eodem jure tolli debet. ' You havingbeen fully empowered by the provinces and cities, or, to speak morecorrectly, by your masters and superiors, to confer the government on hisExcellency, it follows that you require a like power in order to take itaway either in whole or in part. If then you had no commission to curtailhis authority, or even that of the state-council, and thus to tread uponand usurp his power as governor general and absolute, there follows oftwo things one: either you did not well understand what you were doing, nor duly consider how far that power reached, or--much more probably--youhave fallen into the sin of disobedience, considering how solemnly youswore allegiance to him. 

Thus subtly and ably did Wilkes defend the authority of the man who haddeserted his post at a most critical moment, and had compelled theStates, by his dereliction, to take the government into their own hands. 

For, after all, the whole argument of the English counsellor rested upona quibble. The people were absolutely sovereign, he said, and had lentthat sovereignty to Leicester. How had they made that loan? Through themachinery of the States-General. So long then as the Earl retained theabsolute sovereignty, the States were not even representatives of thesovereign people. The sovereign people was merged into one English Earl. The English Earl had retired--indefinitely--to England. Was the sovereignpeople to wait for months, or years, before it regained its existence?And if not, how was it to reassert its vitality? How but through theagency of the States-General, who--according to Wilkes himself--had beenfully empowered by the Provinces and Cities to confer the government onthe Earl? The people then, after all, were the provinces and cities. Andthe States-General were at that moment as much qualified to representthose provinces and cities as they ever had been, and they claimed nomore. Wilkes, nor any other of the Leicester party, ever hinted at ageneral assembly of the people. Universal suffrage was not dreamed of atthat day. By the people, he meant, if he meant anything, only that verysmall fraction of the inhabitants of a country, who, according to theEnglish system, in the reign of Elizabeth, constituted its Commons. Hechose, rather from personal and political motives than philosophicalones, to draw a distinction between the people and the States, but it isquite obvious, from the tone of his private communications, that by the'States' he meant the individuals who happened, for the time-being, to bethe deputies of the States of each Province. But it was almost anaffectation to accuse those individuals of calling or consideringthemselves 'sovereigns;' for it was very well known that they sat asenvoys, rather than as members of a congress, and were perpetuallyobliged to recur to their constituents, the States of each Province, forinstructions. It was idle, because Buys and Barneveld, and Roorda, andother leaders, exercised the influence due to their talents, patriotism, and experience, to stigmatize them as usurpers of sovereignty, and tohound the rabble upon them as tyrants and mischief-makers. Yet to takethis course pleased the Earl of Leicester, who saw no hope for theliberty of the people, unless absolute and unconditional authority overthe people, in war, naval affairs, justice, and policy, were placed inhis hands. This was the view sustained by the clergy of the ReformedChurch, because they found it convenient, through such a theory, and byLeicester's power, to banish Papists, exercise intolerance in matters ofreligion, sequestrate for their own private uses the property of theCatholic Church, and obtain for their own a political power which wasrepugnant to the more liberal ideas of the Barneveld party. 

The States of Holland--inspired as it were by the memory of that greatmartyr to religious and political liberty, William the Silent--maintainedfreedom of conscience. 

The Leicester party advocated a different theory on the religiousquestion. They were also determined to omit no effort to make the Statesodious. 

"Seeing their violent courses, " said Wilkes to Leicester, "I have notbeen negligent, as well by solicitations to the ministers, as by myletters to such as have continued constant in affection to your Lordship, to have the people informed of the ungrateful and dangerous proceedingsof the States. They have therein travailed with so good effect, as thepeople are now wonderfully well disposed, and have delivered everywherein speeches, that if, by the overthwart dealings of the States, herMajesty shall be drawn to stay her succours and goodness to them, andthat thereby your Lordship be also discouraged to return, they will cuttheir throats. "

Who the "people" exactly were, that had been so wonderfully well disposedto throat-cutting by the ministers of the Gospel, did not distinctlyappear. It was certain, however, that they were the special friends ofLeicester, great orators, very pious, and the sovereigns of the country. So much could not be gainsaid. 

"Your Lordship would wonder, " continued the councillor, "to see thepeople--who so lately, by the practice of the said States and theaccident of Deventer, were notably alienated--so returned to their formerdevotion towards her Majesty, your Lordship, and our nation. "

Wilkes was able moreover to gratify the absent governor-general with theintelligence--of somewhat questionable authenticity however--that theStates were very "much terrified with these threats of the people. " ButBarneveld came down to the council to inquire what member of that body itwas who had accused the States of violating the Earl's authority. "Whoever he is, " said the Advocate, "let him deliver his mind frankly, and he shall be answered. " The man did not seem much terrified by thethroat-cutting orations. "It is true, " replied Wilkes, perceiving himselfto be the person intended, "that you have very injuriously, in many ofyour proceedings, derogated from and trodden the authority of hisLordship and of this council under your feet. "

And then he went into particulars, and discussed, 'more suo, ' theconstitutional question, in which various Leicestrian counsellorsseconded him. 

But Barneveld grimly maintained that the States were the sovereigns, andthat it was therefore unfit that the governor, who drew his authorityfrom them, should call them to account for their doings. "It was as ifthe governors in the time of Charles V. , " said the Advocate, "should havetaxed that Emperor for any action of his done in the government. "

In brief, the rugged Barneveld, with threatening voice, and lion port, seemed to impersonate the Staten, and to hold reclaimed sovereignty inhis grasp. It seemed difficult to tear it from him again. 

"I did what I could, " said Wilkes, "to beat them from this humour oftheir sovereignty, showing that upon that error they had grounded therest of their wilful absurdities. "

Next night, he drew up sixteen articles, showing the disorders of theStates, their breach of oaths, and violations of the Earl's authority;and with that commenced a series of papers interchanged by the twoparties, in which the topics of the origin of government and theprinciples of religious freedom were handled with much ability on bothsides, but at unmerciful length. 

On the religious question, the States-General, led by Barneveld and byFrancis Franck, expressed themselves manfully, on various occasions, during the mission of Buckhurst. 

"The nobles and cities constituting the States, " they said, "have beendenounced to Lord Leicester as enemies of religion, by the self-seekingmischief-makers who surround him. Why? Because they had refused thedemand of certain preachers to call a general synod, in defiance of theStates-General, and to introduce a set of ordinances, with a system ofdiscipline, according to their arbitrary will. This the late Prince ofOrange and the States-General had always thought detrimental both toreligion and polity. They respected the difference in religious opinions, and leaving all churches in their freedom, they chose to compel no man'sconscience--a course which all statesmen, knowing the diversity of humanopinions, had considered necessary in order to maintain fraternalharmony. "

Such words shine through the prevailing darkness of the religiousatmosphere at that epoch, like characters of light. They are beacons inthe upward path of mankind. Never before, had so bold and wise a tributeto the genius of the reformation been paid by an organized community. Individuals walking in advance of their age had enunciated such truths, and their voices had seemed to die away, but, at last, a little, struggling, half-developed commonwealth had proclaimed the rights ofconscience for all mankind--for Papists and Calvinists, Jews andAnabaptists--because "having a respect for differences in religiousopinions, and leaving all churches in their freedom, they chose to compelno man's conscience. "

On the constitutional question, the States commenced by an astoundingabsurdity. "These mischief-makers, moreover, " said they, "have not beenashamed to dispute, and to cause the Earl of Leicester to dispute, thelawful constitution of the Provinces; a matter which has not beendisputed for eight hundred years. "

This was indeed to claim a respectable age for their republic. Eighthundred years took them back to the days of Charlemagne, in whose time itwould have been somewhat difficult to detect a germ of theirStates-General and States-Provincial. That the constitutionalgovernment--consisting of nobles and of the vroedschaps of charteredcities--should have been in existence four hundred and seventeen yearsbefore the first charter had ever been granted to a city, was a veryloose style of argument. Thomas Wilkes, in reply; might as well havetraced the English parliament to Hengist and Horsa. "For eight hundredyears;" they said, "Holland had been governed by Counts and Countesses, on whom the nobles and cities, as representing the States, had legallyconferred sovereignty. "

Now the first incorporated city of Holland and Zeeland that ever existedwas Middelburg, which received its charter from Count William I. OfHolland and Countess Joan of Flanders; in the year 1217. The first Countthat had any legal recognized authority was Dirk the First to whomCharles the Simple presented the territory of Holland, by letters-patent, in 922. Yet the States-General, in a solemn and eloquent document, gravely dated their own existence from the year 787, and claimed theregular possession and habitual delegation of sovereignty from that epochdown!

After this fabulous preamble, they proceeded to handle the matter of factwith logical precision. It was absurd, they said, that Mr. Wilkes andLord Leicester should affect to confound the persons who appeared in theassembly with the States themselves; as if those individuals claimed orexercised sovereignty. Any man who had observed what had been passingduring the last fifteen years, knew very well that the supreme authoritydid not belong to the thirty or forty individuals who came to themeetings . . . . The nobles, by reason of their ancient dignity andsplendid possessions, took counsel together over state matters, and then, appearing at the assembly, deliberated with the deputies of the cities. The cities had mainly one form of government--a college of counsellors;or wise men, 40, 32, 28, or 24 in number, of the most respectable out ofthe whole community. They were chosen for life, and vacancies weresupplied by the colleges themselves out of the mass of citizens. Thesecolleges alone governed the city, and that which had been ordained bythem was to be obeyed by all the inhabitants--a system against whichthere had never been any rebellion. The colleges again, united with thoseof the nobles, represented the whole state, the whole body of thepopulation; and no form of government could be imagined, they said, thatcould resolve, with a more thorough knowledge of the necessities of thecountry, or that could execute its resolves with more unity of purposeand decisive authority. To bring the colleges into an assembly could onlybe done by means of deputies. These deputies, chosen by their colleges, and properly instructed, were sent to the place of meeting. During thewar they had always been commissioned to resolve in common on mattersregarding the liberty of the land. These deputies, thus assembled, represented, by commission, the States; but they are not, in their ownpersons, the States; and no one of them had any such pretension. "Thepeople of this country, " said the States, "have an aversion to allambition; and in these disastrous times, wherein nothing but trouble andodium is to be gathered by public employment, these commissions areaccounted 'munera necessaria'. . . . This form of government has, byGod's favour, protected Holland and Zeeland, during this war, against apowerful foe, without lose of territory, without any popular outbreak, without military mutiny, because all business has been transacted withopen doors; and because the very smallest towns are all represented, andvote in the assembly. "

In brief, the constitution of the United Provinces was a matter of fact. It was there in good working order, and had, for a generation of mankind, and throughout a tremendous war, done good service. Judged by theprinciples of reason and justice, it was in the main a wholesomeconstitution, securing the independence and welfare of the state, and theliberty and property of the individual, as well certainly as did anypolity then existing in the world. It seemed more hopeful to abide by ityet a little longer than to adopt the throat-cutting system by thepeople, recommended by Wilkes and Leicester as an improvement on the oldconstitution. This was the view of Lord Buckhurst. He felt that threatsof throat-cutting were not the best means of smoothing and conciliating, and he had come over to smooth and conciliate. 

"To spend the time, " said he, "in private brabbles and piques between theStates and Lord Leicester, when we ought to prepare an army against theenemy, and to repair the shaken and torn state, is not a good course forher Majesty's service. " Letters were continually circulating from hand tohand among the antagonists of the Holland party, written out of Englandby Leicester, exciting the ill-will of the populace against the organizedgovernment. "By such means to bring the States into hatred, " saidBuckhurst, "and to stir up the people against them; tends to great damageand miserable end. This his Lordship doth full little consider, being thevery way to dissolve all government, and so to bring all into confusion, and open the door for the enemy. But oh, how lamentable a thing it is, and how doth my Lord of Leicester abuse her Majesty, making her authoritythe means to uphold and justify, and under her name to defend andmaintain, all his intolerable errors. I thank God that neither his mightnor his malice shall deter me from laying open all those things which myconscience knoweth, and which appertaineth to be done for the good ofthis cause and of her Majesty's service. Herein, though I were sure tolose my life, yet will I not offend neither the one nor the other, knowing very well that I must die; and to die in her Majesty's faithfulservice, and with a good conscience, is far more happy than the miserablelife that I am in. If Leicester do in this sort stir up the peopleagainst the States to follow his revenge against them, and if the Queendo yield no better aid, and the minds of Count Maurice and Hohenlo remainthus in fear and hatred of him, what good end or service can be hoped forhere?"--[Buckhurst to Walsingham, 13th June, 1587. (Brit. Mus. Galba, D. I. P. 95, MS. )]

Buckhurst was a man of unimpeached integrity and gentle manners. He hadcome over with the best intentions towards the governor-general, and ithas been seen that he boldly defended him in, his first interviews withthe States. But as the intrigues and underhand plottings of the Earl'sagents were revealed to him, he felt more and more convinced that therewas a deep laid scheme to destroy the government, and to constitute avirtual and absolute sovereignty for Leicester. It was not wonderful thatthe States were standing vigorously on the defensive. 

The subtle Deventer, Leicester's evil genius, did not cease to poison themind of the governor, during his protracted absence, against all personswho offered impediments to the cherished schemes of his master andhimself. "Your Excellency knows very well, " he said, "that the state ofthis country is democratic, since, by failure of a prince, the sovereigndisposition of affairs has returned to the people. That same people iseverywhere so incredibly affectionate towards you that the delay in yourreturn drives them to extreme despair. Any one who would know the realtruth has but to remember the fine fear the States-General were in whenthe news of your displeasure about the 4th February letter became known. "

Had it not been for the efforts of Lord Buckhurst in calming the popularrage, Deventer assured the Earl that the writers of the letter would"have scarcely saved their skins;" and that they had always continued ingreat danger. 

He vehemently urged upon Leicester, the necessity of his immediatereturn--not so much for reasons drawn from the distracted state of thecountry, thus left to a provisional government and torn by faction--butbecause of the facility with which he might at once seize upon arbitrarypower. He gratified his master by depicting in lively colours the abjectcondition into which Barneveld, Maurice, Hohenlo, and similar cowards, would be thrown by his sudden return. 

"If, " said he, "the States' members and the counts, every one of them, are so desperately afraid of the people, even while your Excellency isafar off, in what trepidation will they be when you are here! God, reason, the affection of the sovereign people, are on your side. Thereneeds, in a little commonwealth like ours, but a wink of the eye, theslightest indication of dissatisfaction on your part, to take away alltheir valour from men who are only brave where swords are too short. Amagnanimous prince like yourself should seek at once the place where suchplots are hatching, and you would see the fury of the rebels change atonce to cowardice. There is more than one man here in the Netherlandsthat brags of what he will do against the greatest and most highlyendowed prince in England, because he thinks he shall never see himagain, who, at the very first news of your return, my Lord, would thinkonly of packing his portmanteau, greasing his boots, or, at the veryleast, of sneaking back into his hole. "

But the sturdy democrat was quite sure that his Excellency, that mostmagnanimous prince of England would not desert his faithfulfollowers--thereby giving those "filthy rascals, " his opponents, atriumph, and "doing so great an injury to the sovereign people, who wereready to get rid of them all at a single blow, if his Excellency wouldbut say the word. "

He then implored the magnanimous prince to imitate the example of Moses, Joshua, David, and that of all great emperors and captains, Hebrew, Greek, and Roman, to come at once to the scene of action, and to smitehis enemies hip and thigh. He also informed his Excellency, that if thedelay should last much longer, he would lose all chance of regainingpower, because the sovereign people had quite made up their mind toreturn to the dominion of Spain within three months, if they could notinduce his Excellency to rule over them. In that way at least, if in noother, they could circumvent those filthy rascals whom they so muchabhorred, and frustrate the designs of Maurice, Hohenlo, and Sir JohnNorris, who were represented as occupying the position of the triumvirsafter the death of Julius Caesar. 

To place its neck under the yoke of Philip II. And the Inquisition, afterhaving so handsomely got rid of both, did not seem a sublimemanifestation of sovereignty on the part of the people, and even Deventerhad some misgivings as to the propriety of such a result. "What then willbecome of our beautiful churches?" he cried, "What will princes say, whatwill the world in general say, what will historians say, about the honourof the English nation?"

As to the first question, it is probable that the prospect of thereformed churches would not have been cheerful, had the inquisition beenre-established in Holland and Utrecht, three months after that date. Asto the second, the world and history were likely to reply, that thehonour of the English nation was fortunately not entirely, entrusted atthat epoch to the "magnanimous prince" of Leicester, and his democratic, counsellor-in-chief, burgomaster Deventer. 

These are but samples of the ravings which sounded incessantly in theears of the governor-general. Was it strange that a man, so thirsty forpower, so gluttonous of flattery, should be influenced by such passionateappeals? Addressed in strains of fulsome adulation, convinced thatarbitrary power was within his reach, and assured that he had but to winkhis eye to see his enemies scattered before him, he became impatient ofall restraint; and determined, on his return, to crush the States intoinsignificance. 

Thus, while Buckhurst had been doing his best as a mediator to preparethe path for his return, Leicester himself end his partisans had beensecretly exerting themselves to make his arrival the signal for discord;perhaps of civil war. The calm, then, immediately succeeding the missionof Buckhurst was a deceitful one, but it seemed very promising. The bestfeelings were avowed and perhaps entertained. The States professed greatdevotion to her Majesty and friendly regard for the governor. Theydistinctly declared that the arrangements by which Maurice and Hohenlohad been placed in their new positions were purely provisional ones, subject to modifications on the arrival of the Earl. "All things arereduced to a quiet calm, " said Buckhurst, "ready to receive my Lord ofLeicester and his authority, whenever he cometh. "

The quarrel of Hohenlo with Sir Edward Norris had been, by the exertionsof Buckhurst, amicably arranged: the Count became an intimate friend ofSir John, "to the gladding of all such as wished well to, the country;"but he nourished a deadly hatred to the Earl. He ran up and down like amadman whenever his return was mentioned. "If the Queen be willing totake the sovereignty, " he cried out at his own dinner-table to a largecompany, "and is ready to proceed roundly in this action, I will serveher to the last drop of my blood; but if she embrace it in no other sortthan hitherto she hath done, and if Leicester is to return, then am I asgood a man as Leicester, and will never be commanded by him. I mean tocontinue on my frontier, where all who love me can come and find me. "

He declared to several persons that he had detected a plot on the part ofLeicester to have him assassinated; and the assertion seemed soimportant, that Villiers came to Councillor Clerk to confer with him onthe subject. The worthy Bartholomew, who had again, most reluctantly, left his quiet chambers in the Temple to come again among the guns anddrums, which his soul abhorred, was appalled by such a charge. It wasbest to keep it a secret, he said, at least till the matter could bethoroughly investigated. Villiers was of the same opinion, andaccordingly the councillor, in the excess of his caution, confided thesecret only--to whom? To Mr. Atye, Leicester's private secretary. Atye, of course, instantly told his master--his master in a frenzy of rage, told the Queen, and her Majesty, in a paroxysm of royal indignation atthis new insult to her favourite, sent furious letters to her envoys, tothe States-General, to everybody in the Netherlands--so that theassertion of Hohenlo became the subject of endless recrimination. Leicester became very violent, and denounced the statement as an impudentfalsehood, devised wilfully in order to cast odium upon him and toprevent his return. Unquestionably there was nothing in the story buttable-talk; but the Count would have been still more ferocious towardsLeicester than he was, had he known what was actually happening at thatvery moment. 

While Buckhurst was at Utrecht, listening to the "solemn-speeches" of themilitia-captains and exchanging friendly expressions at stately banquetswith Moeurs, he suddenly received a letter in cipher from her Majesty. Not having the key, he sent to Wilkes at the Hague. Wilkes was very ill;but the despatch was marked pressing and immediate, so he got out of bedand made the journey to Utrecht. The letter, on being deciphered, provedto be an order from the Queen to decoy Hohenlo into some safe town, onpretence of consultation and then to throw him into prison, on the groundthat he had been tampering with the enemy, and was about to betray therepublic to Philip. 

The commotion which would have been excited by any attempt to enforcethis order, could be easily imagined by those familiar with Hohenlo andwith the powerful party in the Netherlands of which he was one of thechiefs. Wilkes stood aghast as he deciphered the letter. Buckhurst feltthe impossibility of obeying the royal will. Both knew the cause, andboth foresaw the consequences of the proposed step. Wilkes had heard somerumours of intrigues between Parma's agents at Deventer and Hohenlo, andhad confided them to Walsingham, hoping that the Secretary would keep thematter in his own breast, at least till further advice. He was appalledat the sudden action proposed on a mere rumour, which both Buckhurst andhimself had begun to consider an idle one. He protested, therefore, toWalsingham that to comply with her Majesty's command would not only benearly impossible, but would, if successful, hazard the ruin of therepublic. Wilkes was also very anxious lest the Earl of Leicester shouldhear of the matter. He was already the object of hatred to that powerfulpersonage, and thought him capable of accomplishing his destruction inany mode. But if Leicester could wreak his vengeance upon his enemyWilkes by the hand of his other deadly enemy Hohenlo, the councillor feltthat this kind of revenge would have a double sweetness for him. TheQueen knows what I have been saying, thought Wilkes, and thereforeLeicester knows it; and if Leicester knows it, he will take care thatHohenlo shall hear of it too, and then wo be unto me. "Your honourknoweth, " he said to Walsingham, "that her Majesty can hold no secrets, and if she do impart it to Leicester, then am I sped. "

Nothing came of it however, and the relations of Wilkes and Buckhurstwith Hohenlo continued to be friendly. It was a lesson to Wilkes to bemore cautious even with the cautious Walsingham. "We had but baresuspicions, " said Buckhurst, "nothing fit, God knoweth, to come to such areckoning. Wilkes saith he meant it but for a premonition to you there;but I think it will henceforth be a premonition to himself--there beingbut bare presumptions, and yet shrewd presumptions. "

Here then were Deventer and Leicester plotting to overthrow thegovernment of the States; the States and Hohenlo arming againstLeicester; the extreme democratic party threatening to go over to theSpaniards within three months; the Earl accused of attempting the life ofHohenlo; Hohenlo offering to shed the last drop of his blood for QueenElizabeth; Queen Elizabeth giving orders to throw Hohenlo into prison asa traitor; Councillor Wilkes trembling for his life at the hands both ofLeicester and Hohenlo; and Buckhurst doing his best to conciliate allparties, and imploring her Majesty in vain to send over money to help onthe war, and to save her soldiers from starving. 

For the Queen continued to refuse the loan of fifty thousand pounds whichthe provinces solicited, and in hope of which the States had just agreedto an extra contribution of a million florins (L100, 000), a larger sumthan had been levied by a single vote since the commencement of the war. It must be remembered, too, that the whole expense of the war fell uponHolland and Zeeland. The Province of Utrecht, where there was so strong adisposition to confer absolute authority upon Leicester, and to destroythe power of the States-General contributed absolutely nothing. Since theLoss of Deventer, nothing could be raised in the Provinces of Utrecht, Gelderland or Overyssel; the Spaniards levying black mail upon the wholeterritory, and impoverishing the inhabitants till they became almost anullity. Was it strange then that the States of Holland and Zeeland, thusbearing nearly the whole; burden of the war, should be dissatisfied withthe hatred felt toward them by their sister Provinces so generouslyprotected by them? Was it unnatural that Barneveld, and Maurice, andHohenlo, should be disposed to bridle the despotic inclinations ofLeicester, thus fostered by those who existed, as it were, at theirexpense?

But the Queen refused the L50, 000, although Holland and Zeeland had votedthe L100, 000. "No reason that breedeth charges, " sighed Walsingham, "canin any sort be digested. "

It was not for want of vehement entreaty on the part of the Secretary ofState and of Buckhurst that the loan was denied. At least she wasentreated to send over money for her troops, who for six months past wereunpaid. "Keeping the money in your coffers, " said Buckhurst, "doth yieldno interest to you, and--which is above all earthly, respects--it shallbe the means of preserving the lives of many of your faithful subjectswhich otherwise must needs, daily perish. Their miseries, through want ofmeat and money, I do protest to God so much moves, my soul withcommiseration of that which is past, and makes my heart tremble to thinkof the like to come again, that I humbly beseech your Majesty, for JesusChrist sake, to have compassion on their lamentable estate past, and sendsome money to prevent the like hereafter. "

These were moving words, --but the money did not come--charges could notbe digested. 

"The eternal God, " cried Buckhurst, "incline your heart to grant thepetition of the States for the loan of the L50, 000, and that speedily, for the dangerous terms of the State here and the mighty and forwardpreparation of the enemy admit no minute of delay; so that even to grantit slowly is to deny it utterly. "

He then drew a vivid picture of the capacity of the Netherlands to assistthe endangered realm of England, if delay were not suffered to destroyboth commonwealths, by placing the Provinces in an enemy's hand. 

"Their many and notable good havens, " he said, "the great number of shipsand mariners, their impregnable towns, if they were in the hands of apotent prince that would defend them, and, lastly, the state of thisshore; so near and opposite unto the land and coast of England--lo, thesight of all this, daily in mine eye, conjoined with the deep, enrootedmalice of that your so mighty enemy who seeketh to regain them; thesethings entering continually into the meditations of my heart--so much dothey import the safety of yourself and your estate--do enforce me, in theabundance of my love and duty to your Majesty, most earnestly to speak, write, and weep unto you, lest when the occasion yet offered shall begone by, this blessed means of your defence, by God's provident goodnessthus put into your hand, will then be utterly lost, lo; never, never moreto be recovered again. "

It was a noble, wise, and eloquent appeal, but it was muttered in vain. Was not Leicester--his soul filled with petty schemes of reigning inUtrecht, and destroying the constitutional government of theProvinces--in full possession of the royal ear? And was not the same earlent, at most critical moment, to the insidious Alexander Farnese, withhis whispers of peace, which were potent enough to drown all thepreparations for the invincible Armada?

Six months had rolled away since Leicester had left the Netherlands; sixmonths long, the Provinces, left in a condition which might have becomeanarchy, had been saved by the wise government of the States-General; sixmonths long the English soldiers had remained unpaid by their sovereign;and now for six weeks the honest, eloquent, intrepid, but gentleBuckhurst had done his best to conciliate all parties, and to mould theNetherlanders into an impregnable bulwark for the realm of England. Buthis efforts were treated with scorn by the Queen. She was still maddenedby a sense of the injuries done by the States to Leicester. She wasindignant that her envoy should have accepted such lame apologies for the4th of February letter; that he should have received no better atonementfor their insolent infringements of the Earl's orders during his absence;that he should have excused their contemptuous proceedings and that, inshort, he should have been willing to conciliate and forgive when heshould have stormed and railed. "You conceived, it seemeth, " said herMajesty, "that a more sharper manner of proceeding would have exasperatedmatters to the prejudice of the service, and therefore you did think itmore fit to wash the wounds rather with water than vinegar, wherein wewould rather have wished, on the other side, that you had betterconsidered that festering wounds had more need of corrosives thanlenitives. Your own judgment ought to have taught that such a alight andmild kind of dealing with a people so ingrate and void of considerationas the said Estates have showed themselves toward us, is the ready way toincrease their contempt. "

The envoy might be forgiven for believing that at any rate there would beno lack of corrosives or vinegar, so long as the royal tongue or pencould do their office, as the unfortunate deputies had found to theircost in their late interviews at Greenwich, and as her own envoys in theNetherlands were perpetually finding now. The Queen was especiallyindignant that the Estates should defend the tone of their letters to theEarl on the ground that he had written a piquant epistle to them. "Butyou can manifestly see their untruths in naming it a piquant letter, "said Elizabeth, "for it has no sour or sharp word therein, nor any clauseor reprehension, but is full of gravity and gentle admonition. Itdeserved a thankful answer, and so you may maintain it to them to theirreproof. "

The States doubtless thought that the loss of Deventer and, with it, thealmost ruinous condition of three out of the seven Provinces, mightexcuse on their part a little piquancy of phraseology, nor was it easyfor them to express gratitude to the governor for his grave and gentleadmonitions, after he had, by his secret document of 24th November, rendered himself fully responsible for the disaster they deplored. 

She expressed unbounded indignation with Hohenlo, who, as she was wellaware, continued to cherish a deadly hatred for Leicester. Especially shewas exasperated, and with reason, by the assertion the Count had madeconcerning the governor's murderous designs upon him. "'Tis a matter, "said the Queen, "so foul and dishonourable that doth not only touchgreatly the credit of the Earl, but also our own honour, to have one whohath been nourished and brought up by us, and of whom we have made showto the world to have extraordinarily favoured above any other of our ownsubjects, and used his service in those countries in a place of thatreputation he held there, stand charged with so horrible and unworthy acrime. And therefore our pleasure is, even as you tender the continuanceof our favour towards you, that you seek, by all the means you may, examining the Count Hollock, or any other party in this matter, todiscover and to sift out how this malicious imputation hath been wrought;for we have reason to think that it hath grown out of some cunning deviceto stay the Earl's coming, and to discourage him from the continuance ofhis service in those countries. "

And there the Queen was undoubtedly in the right. Hohenlo was resolved, if possible, to make the Earl's government of the Netherlands impossible. There was nothing in the story however; and all that by the most diligent"sifting" could ever be discovered, and all that the Count could beprevailed upon to confess, was an opinion expressed by him that if he hadgone with Leicester to England, it might perhaps have fared ill with him. But men were given to loose talk in those countries. There was greatfreedom of tongue and pen; and as the Earl, whether with justice or not, had always been suspected of strong tendencies to assassination, it wasnot very wonderful that so reckless an individual as Hohenlo shouldpromulgate opinions on such subjects, without much reserve. "The numberof crimes that have been imputed to me, " said Leicester, "would beincomplete, had this calumny not been added to all preceding ones. " It ispossible that assassination, especially poisoning, may have been a morecommon-place affair in those days than our own. At any rate, it iscertain that accusations of such crimes were of ordinary occurrence. Menwere apt to die suddenly if they had mortal enemies, and people wouldgossip. At the very same moment, Leicester was deliberately accused notonly of murderous intentions towards Hohenlo, but towards Thomas Wilkesand Count Lewis William of Nassau likewise. A trumpeter, arrested inFriesland, had just confessed that he had been employed by the Spanishgovernor of that Province, Colonel Verdugo, to murder Count Lewis, andthat four other persons had been entrusted with the same commission. TheCount wrote to Verdugo, and received in reply an indignant denial of thecharge. "Had I heard of such a project, " said the Spaniard, "I would, onthe contrary, have given you warning. And I give you one now. " He thenstated, as a fact known to him on unquestionable authority, that the Earlof Leicester had assassins at that moment in his employ to take the lifeof Count Lewis, adding that as for the trumpeter, who had just beenhanged for the crime suborned by the writer, he was a most notoriouslunatic. In reply, Lewis, while he ridiculed this plea of insanity set upfor a culprit who had confessed his crime succinctly and voluntarily, expressed great contempt for the counter-charge against Leicester. "HisExcellency, " said the sturdy little Count, "is a virtuous gentleman, themost pious and God-fearing I have ever known. I am very sure that hecould never treat his enemies in the manner stated, much less hisfriends. As for yourself, may God give me grace, in requital of yourknavish trick, to make such a war upon you as becomes an upright soldierand a man of honour. "

Thus there was at least one man--and a most important, one--in theopposition--party who thoroughly believed in the honour of thegovernor-general. 

The Queen then proceeded to lecture Lord Buckhurst very severely forhaving tolerated an instant the States' proposition to her for a loan ofL50, 000. "The enemy, " she observed, "is quite unable to attempt the siegeof any town. "

Buckhurst was, however, instructed, in case the States' million shouldprove insufficient to enable the army to make head against the enemy, andin the event of "any alteration of the good-will of the people towardsher, caused by her not yielding, in this their necessity, some convenientsupport, " to let them then understand, "as of himself, that if they wouldbe satisfied with a loan of ten or fifteen thousand pounds, he, would dohis best endeavour to draw her Majesty to yield unto the furnishing ofsuch a sum, with assured hope to obtaining the same at her hands. "

Truly Walsingham was right in saying that charges of any kind weredifficult of digestion: Yet, even at that moment, Elizabeth had no moreattached subjects in England than sere the burghers of the Netherlands;who were as anxious ever to annex their territory to her realms. 

'Thus, having expressed an affection for Leicester which no one doubted, having once more thoroughly brow-beaten the states, and having soundlylectured Buckhurst--as a requital for his successful efforts to bringabout a more wholesome condition of affairs--she gave the envoy a partingstab, with this postscript;--"There is small disproportion, " she said"twist a fool who useth not wit because he hath it not, and him thatuseth it not when it should avail him. " Leicester, too, was very violentin his attacks upon Buckhurst. The envoy had succeeded in reconcilingHohenlo with the brothers Norris, and had persuaded Sir John to offer thehand of friendship to Leicester, provided it were sure of being accepted. Yet in this desire to conciliate, the Earl found renewed cause forviolence. "I would have had more regard of my Lord of Buckhurst, " hesaid, "if the case had been between him and Norris, but I must regard myown reputation the more that I see others would impair it. You havedeserved little thanks of me, if I must deal plainly, who do equal meafter this sort with him, whose best place is colonel under me, and oncemy servant, and preferred by me to all honourable place he had. " And thuswere enterprises of great moment, intimately affecting the safety ofHolland, of England, of all Protestantism, to be suspended betweentriumph and ruin, in order that the spleen of one individual--one Queen'sfavourite--might be indulged. The contempt of an insolent grandee for adistinguished commander--himself the son, of a Baron, with a mother thedear friend of her sovereign--was to endanger the existence of greatcommonwealths. Can the influence of the individual, for good or bad, uponthe destinies of the race be doubted, when the characters and conduct ofElizabeth and Leicester, Burghley and Walsingham, Philip and Parma, areclosely scrutinized and broadly traced throughout the wide range of theireffects?

"And I must now, in your Lordship's sight, " continued Leicester, "be madea counsellor with this companion, who never yet to this day hath done somuch as take knowledge of my mislike of him; no, not to say this much, which I think would well become his better, that he was sorry, to hear Ihad mislike to him, that he desired my suspension till he might eitherspeak with me, or be charged from me, and if then he were not able tosatisfy me, he would acknowledge his fault, and make me any honestsatisfaction. This manner of dealing would have been no disparagement tohis better. And even so I must think that your Lordship doth me wrong, knowing what you do, to make so little difference between John Norris, myman not long since, and now but my colonel under me, as though we wereequals. And I cannot but more than marvel at this your proceeding, when Iremember your promises of friendship, and your opinions resolutely setdown . . . . You were so determined before you went hence, but must havebecome wonderfully enamoured of those men's unknown virtues in a few daysof acquaintance, from the alteration that is grown by their owncommendations of themselves. You know very well that all the world shouldnot make me serve with John Norris. Your sudden change from mislike toliking has, by consequence, presently cast disgrace upon me. But all isnot gold that glitters, nor every shadow a perfect representation . . . . You knew he should not serve with me, but either you thought me a veryinconstant man, or else a very simple soul, resolving with you as I did, for you to take the course you have done. " He felt, however, quite strongin her Majesty's favour. He knew himself her favourite, beyond all chanceor change, and was sure, so long as either lived, to thrust his enemies, by her aid, into outer darkness. Woe to Buckhurst, and Norris, andWilkes, and all others who consorted with his enemies. Let them flee fromthe wrath to come! And truly they were only too anxious to do so, forthey knew that Leicester's hatred was poisonous. "He is not so facile toforget as ready to revenge, " said poor Wilkes, with neat alliteration. "My very heavy and mighty adversary will disgrace and undo me. 

"It sufficeth, " continued Leicester, "that her Majesty both find mydealings well enough, and so, I trust will graciously use me. As for thereconciliations and love-days you have made there, truly I have likedwell of it; for you did sow me your disposition therein before, and Iallowed of it, and I had received letters both from Count Maurice andHohenlo of their humility and kindness, but now in your last letters yousay they have uttered the cause of their mislike towards me, which youforbear to write of, looking so speedily for my return. "

But the Earl knew well enough what the secret was, for had it not beenspecially confided by the judicious Bartholomew to Atye, who hadincontinently told his master? "This pretense that I should killHohenlo, " cried Leicester, "is a matter properly foisted in to bring meto choler. I will not suffer it to rest, thus. Its authors shall be dulyand severely punished. And albeit I see well enough the plot of thiswicked device, yet shall it not work the effect the devisers have done itfor. No, my Lord, he is a villain and a false lying knave whosoever hebe, and of what, nation soever that hath forged this device. CountHohenlo doth know I never gave him cause to fear me so much. There wereways and means offered me to have quitted him of the country if I had soliked. This new monstrous villany which is now found out I do hate anddetest, as I would look for the right judgment of God to fall uponmyself, if I had but once imagined it. All this makes good proof ofWilkes's good dealing with me, that hath heard of so vile and villainousa reproach of me, and never gave me knowledge. But I trust your Lordshipshall receive her Majesty's order for this, as for a matter that touchethherself in honour, and me her poor servant and minister, as dearly as anymatter can do; and I will so take it and use it to the uttermost. "

We have seen how anxiously Buckhurst had striven to do his duty upon amost difficult mission. Was it unnatural that so fine a nature as hisshould be disheartened, at reaping nothing but sneers and contumely fromthe haughty sovereign he served, and from the insolent favourite whocontrolled her councils? "I beseech your Lordship, " he said to Burghley, "keep one ear for me, and do not hastily condemn me before you hear mineanswer. For if I ever did or shall do any acceptable service to herMajesty, it was in, the stay and appeasing of these countries, ever readyat my coming to have cast off all good respect towards us, and to haveentered even into some desperate cause. In the meantime I am hardlythought of by her Majesty, and in her opinion condemned before mineanswer be understood. Therefore I beseech you to help me to return, andnot thus to lose her Majesty's favour for my good desert, wasting here mymind, body, my wits, wealth, and all; with continual toils, taxes, andtroubles, more than I am able to endure. "

But besides his instructions to smooth and expostulate, in which he hadsucceeded so well, and had been requited so ill; Buckhurst had received astill more difficult commission. He had been ordered to broach thesubject of peace, as delicately as possible, but without delay; firstsounding the leading politicians, inducing them to listen to the Queen'ssuggestions on the subject, persuading them that they ought to besatisfied with the principles of the pacification of Ghent, and that itwas hopeless for the Provinces to continue the war with their mightyadversary any longer. 

Most reluctantly had Buckhurst fulfilled his sovereign's commands in thisdisastrous course. To talk to the Hollanders of the Ghent pacificationseemed puerile. That memorable treaty, ten years before, had been one ofthe great landmarks of progress, one of the great achievements of Williamthe Silent. By its provisions, public exercise of the reformed religionhad been secured for the two Provinces of Holland and Zeeland, and it hadbeen agreed that the secret practice of those rites should be elsewherewinked at, until such time as the States-General, under the auspices ofPhilip II. , should otherwise ordain. But was it conceivable that now, after Philip's authority had been solemnly abjured, and the reformedworship had become the public, dominant religion, throughout all theProvinces, --the whole republic should return to the Spanish dominion, andto such toleration as might be sanctioned by an assembly professingloyalty to the most Catholic King?

Buckhurst had repeatedly warned the Queen, in fervid and eloquentlanguage, as to the intentions of Spain. "There was never peace wellmade, " he observed, "without a mighty war preceding, and always, thesword in hand is the best pen to write the conditions of peace. "

"If ever prince had cause, " he continued, "to think himself beset withdoubt and danger, you, sacred Queen, have most just cause not only tothink it, but even certainly to believe it. The Pope doth daily plotnothing else but how he may bring to pass your utter overthrow; theFrench King hath already sent you threatenings of revenge, and though forthat pretended cause I think little will ensue, yet he is blind thatseeth not the mortal dislike that boileth deep in his heart for otherrespects against you. The Scottish King, not only in regard of his futurehope, but also by reason of some over conceit in his heart, may bethought a dangerous neighbour to you. The King of Spain armeth andextendeth all his power to ruin both you and your estate. And if theIndian gold have corrupted also the King of Denmark, and made himlikewise Spanish, as I marvellously fear; why will not your Majesty, beholding the flames of your enemies on every side kindling around, unlock all your coffers and convert your treasure for the advancing ofworthy men, and for the arming of ships and men-of-war that may defendyou, since princes' treasures serve only to that end, and, lie they neverso fast or so full in their chests, can no ways so defend them?

"The eternal God, in whose hands the hearts of kings do rest, dispose andguide your sacred Majesty to do that which may be most according to Hisblessed will, and best for you, as I trust He will, even for His mercy'ssake, both toward your Majesty and the whole realm of England, whosedesolation is thus sought and compassed. "

Was this the language of a mischievous intriguer, who was sacrificing thetrue interest of his country, and whose proceedings were justly earningfor him rebuke and disgrace at the hands of his sovereign? Or was itrather the noble advice of an upright statesman, a lover of his country, a faithful servant of his Queen, who had looked through the atmosphere offalsehood in which he was doing his work, and who had detected, with raresagacity, the secret purposes of those who were then misruling the world?

Buckhurst had no choice, however, but to obey. His private efforts wereof course fruitless, but he announced to her Majesty that it was hisintention very shortly to bring the matter--according to her wish--beforethe assembly. 

But Elizabeth, seeing that her counsel had been unwise and her actionpremature, turned upon her envoy, as she was apt to do, and rebuked himfor his obedience, so soon as obedience had proved inconvenient toherself. 

"Having perused your letters, " she said, "by which you at large debateunto us what you have done in the matter of peace . . . . We find itstrange that you should proceed further. And although we had given youfull and ample direction to proceed to a public dealing in that cause, yet our own discretion, seeing the difficulties and dangers that youyourself saw in the propounding of the matter, ought to have led you todelay till further command from us. "

Her Majesty then instructed her envoy, in case he had not yet "propoundedthe matter in the state-house to the general assembly, " to pause entirelyuntil he heard her further pleasure. She concluded, as usual, with acharacteristic postcript in her own hand. 

"Oh weigh deeplier this matter, " she said, "than, with so shallow ajudgment, to spill the cause, impair my honour, and shame yourself, withall your wit, that once was supposed better than to lose a bargain forthe handling. "

Certainly the sphinx could have propounded no more puzzling riddles thanthose which Elizabeth thus suggested to Buckhurst. To make war without anarmy, to support an army without pay, to frame the hearts of a wholepeople to peace who were unanimous for war, and this without saying aword either in private or public; to dispose the Netherlanders favourablyto herself and to Leicester, by refusing them men and money, brow-beatingthem for asking for it, and subjecting them to a course of perpetualinsults, which she called "corrosives, " to do all this and more seemeddifficult. If not to do it, were to spill the cause and to lose thebargain, it was more than probable that they would be spilt and lost. 

But the ambassador was no OEdipus--although a man of delicate perceptionsand brilliant intellect--and he turned imploringly to a wise counsellorfor aid against the tormentor who chose to be so stony-faced andenigmatical. 

"Touching the matter of peace, " said he to Walsingham, "I have writtensomewhat to her Majesty in cipher, so as I am sure you will be called forto decipher it. If you did know how infinitely her Majesty did at mydeparture and before--for in this matter of peace she hath specially usedme this good while--command me, pray me, and persuade me to further andhasten the same with all the speed possible that might be, and how, onthe other side, I have continually been the man and the mean that havemost plainly dehorted her from such post-haste, and that she should nevermake good peace without a puissant army in the field, you would then saythat I had now cause to fear her displeasure for being too slow, and nottoo forward. And as for all the reasons which in my last letters are setdown, her Majesty hath debated them with me many times. "

And thus midsummer was fast approaching, the commonwealth was without aregular government, Leicester remained in England nursing his wrath andpreparing his schemes, the Queen was at Greenwich, corresponding withAlexander Farnese, and sending riddles to Buckhurst, when the enemy--who, according to her Majesty, was "quite unable to attempt the siege of anytown" suddenly appeared in force in Flanders, and invested Sluy's. Thismost important seaport, both for the destiny of the republic and ofEngland at that critical moment, was insufficiently defended. It wasquite time to put an army in the field, with a governor-general tocommand it. 

On the 5th June there was a meeting of the state-council at the Hague. Count Maurice, Hohenlo, and Moeurs were present, besides several membersof the States-General. Two propositions were before the council. Thefirst was that it was absolutely necessary to the safety of the republic, now that the enemy had taken the field, and the important city of Sluy'swas besieged, for Prince Maurice to be appointed captain-general, untilsuch time as the Earl of Leicester or some other should be sent by herMajesty. The second was to confer upon the state-council the supremegovernment in civil affairs, for the same period, and to repeal alllimitations and restrictions upon the powers of the council made secretlyby the Earl. 

Chancellor Leoninus, "that grave, wise old man, " moved the propositions. The deputies of the States were requested to withdraw. The vote of eachcouncillor was demanded. Buckhurst, who, as the Queen'srepresentative--together with Wilkes and John Norris--had a seat in thecouncil, refused to vote. "It was a matter, " he discreetly observed withwhich "he had not been instructed by her Majesty to intermeddle. " Norrisand Wilkes also begged to be excused from voting, and, although earnestlyurged to do so by the whole council, persisted in their refusal. Bothmeasures were then carried. 

No sooner was the vote taken, than an English courier entered thecouncil-chamber, with pressing despatches from Lord Leicester. Theletters were at once read. The Earl announced his speedy arrival, andsummoned both the States-General and the council to meet him at Dort, where his lodgings were already taken. All were surprised, but none morethan Buckhurst, Wilkes, and Norris; for no intimation of this suddenresolution had been received by them, nor any answer given to variouspropositions, considered by her Majesty as indispensable preliminaries tothe governor's visit. 

The council adjourned till after dinner, and Buckhurst held conferencemeantime with various counsellors and deputies. On the reassembling ofthe board, it was urged by Barneveld, in the name of the States, that theelection of Prince Maurice should still hold good. "Although by theseletters, " said he, "it would seem that her Majesty had resolved upon thespeedy return of his Excellency, yet, inasmuch as the counsels andresolutions of princes are often subject to change upon new occasion, itdoes not seem fit that our late purpose concerning Prince Maurice shouldreceive any interruption. "

Accordingly, after brief debate, both resolutions, voted in the morning, were confirmed in the afternoon. 

"So now, " said Wilkes, "Maurice is general of all the forces, 'et quidsequetur nescimus. '"

But whatever else was to follow, it was very certain that Wilkes wouldnot stay. His great enemy had sworn his destruction, and would now takehis choice, whether to do him to death himself, or to throw him into theclutch of the ferocious Hohenlo. "As for my own particular, " said thecounsellor, "the word is go, whosoever cometh or cometh not, " and heannounced to Walsingham his intention of departing without permission, should he not immediately receive it from England. "I shall stay to bedandled with no love-days nor leave-takings, " he observed. 

But Leicester had delayed his coming too long. The country felt thatit-had been trifled with by his: absence--at so critical a period--ofseven months. It was known too that the Queen was secretly treating withthe enemy, and that Buckhurst had been privately sounding leadingpersonages upon that subject, by her orders. This had caused a deep, suppressed indignation. Over and over again had the English governmentbeen warned as to the danger of delay. "Your length in resolving;" Wilkeshad said, "whatsoever your secret purposes may be--will put us to newplunges before long. " The mission of Buckhurst was believed to be "but astale, having some other intent than was expressed. " And at last, the newplunge had been fairly taken. It seemed now impossible for Leicester toregain the absolute authority, which he coveted; and which he had for abrief season possessed. The States-General, under able leaders, hadbecome used to a government which had been forced upon them, and whichthey had wielded with success. Holland and Zeeland, paying the wholeexpense of the war, were not likely to endure again the absolutesovereignty of a foreigner, guided by a back stairs council of recklesspoliticians--most of whom were unprincipled, and some of whom had beenproved to be felons--and established, at Utrecht, which contributednothing to the general purse. If Leicester were really-coming, it seemedcertain that he would be held to acknowledge the ancient constitution, and to respect the sovereignty of the States-General. It was resolvedthat he should be well bridled. The sensations of Barneveld and his partymay therefore be imagined, when a private letter of Leicester, to hissecretary "the fellow named Junius, " as Hohenlo called him--having beenintercepted at this moment, gave them an opportunity of studying theEarl's secret thoughts. 

The Earl informed his correspondent that he was on the point of startingfor the Netherlands. He ordered him therefore to proceed at once toreassure those whom he knew well disposed as to the good intentions ofher Majesty and of the governor-general. And if, on the part of LordBuckhurst or others, it should be intimated that the Queen was resolvedto treat for peace with the King of Spain; and wished to have the opinionof the Netherlanders on that subject, he was to say boldly that LordBuckhurst never had any such charge, and that her Majesty had not beentreating at all. She had only been attempting to sound the King'sintentions towards the Netherlands, in case of any accord. Havingreceived no satisfactory assurance on the subject, her Majesty wasdetermined to proceed with the defence of these countries. This appearedby the expedition of Drake against Spain, and by the return of the Earl, with a good cumber of soldiers paid by her Majesty, over and above herordinary subsidy. 

"You are also;" said the Earl, "to tell those who have the care of thepeople" (the ministers of the reformed church and others), "that I amreturning, in the confidence that they will, in future, cause all pastdifficulties to cease, and that they will yield to me a legitimateauthority, such as befits for administering the sovereignty of theProvinces, without my being obliged to endure all the oppositions andcounter-minings of the States, as in times past. The States must contentthemselves with retaining the power which they claim to have exercisedunder the governors of the Emperor and the King--without attemptinganything farther during my government--since I desire to do nothing ofimportance without the advice of the council, which will be composedlegitimately of persons of the country. You will also tell them that herMajesty commands me to return unless I can obtain from the States theauthority which is necessary, in order not to be governor in appearanceonly and on paper. And I wish that those who are good may be apprized ofall this, in order that nothing may happen to their prejudice and ruin, and contrary to their wishes. "

There were two very obvious comments to be made upon this document. Firstly, the States--de jure, as they claimed, and de facto mostunquestionably--were in the position of the Emperor and King. They werethe sovereigns. The Earl wished them to content themselves with the powerwhich they exercised under the Emperor's governors. This was likerequesting the Emperor, when in the Netherlands, to consider himselfsubject to his own governor. The second obvious reflection was that theEarl, in limiting his authority by a state-council, expected, no doubt, to appoint that body himself--as he had done before--and to allow themembers only the right of talking, and of voting, --without the power ofenforcing their decisions. In short, it was very plain that Leicestermeant to be more absolute than ever. 

As to the flat contradiction given to Buckhurst's proceedings in thematter of peace, that statement could scarcely deceive any one who hadseen her Majesty's letters and instructions to her envoy. 

It was also a singularly deceitful course to be adopted by Leicestertowards Buckhurst and towards the Netherlands, because his own privateinstructions, drawn up at the same moment, expressly enjoined him to doexactly what Buckhurst had been doing. He was most strictly and earnestlycommanded to deal privately with all such persons as bad influence withthe "common sort of people, " in order that they should use theirinfluence with those common people in favour of peace, bringing vividlybefore them the excessive burthens of the war, their inability to copewith so potent a prince as Philip, and the necessity the Queen was underof discontinuing her contributions to their support. He was to make thesame representations to the States, and he was further most explicitly toinform all concerned, that, in case they were unmoved by thesesuggestions, her Majesty had quite made up her mind to accept thehandsome offers of peace held out by the King of Spain, and to leave themto their fate. 

It seemed scarcely possible that the letter to Junius and theinstructions for the Earl should have been dated the same week, andshould have emanated from the same mind; but such was the fact. 

He was likewise privately to assure Maurice and Hohenlo--in order toremove their anticipated opposition to the peace--that such care shouldbe taken in providing for them, as that "they should have no just causeto dislike thereof, but to rest satisfied withal. "

With regard to the nature of his authority, he was instructed to claim akind of dictatorship in everything regarding the command of the forces, and the distribution of the public treasure. All offices were to be athis disposal. Every florin contributed by the States was to be placed inhis hands, and spent according to his single will. He was also to haveplenary power to prevent the trade in victuals with the enemy by deathand confiscation. 

If opposition to any of these proposals were made by the States-General, he was to appeal to the States of each Province; to the towns andcommunities, and in case it should prove impossible for him "to befurnished with the desired authority, " he was then instructed to say thatit was "her Majesty's meaning to leave them to their own counsel anddefence, and to withdraw the support that she had yielded to them: seeingplainly that the continuance of the confused government now reigningamong them could not but work their ruin. "

Both these papers came into Barneveld's hands, through the agency ofOrtel, the States' envoy in England, before the arrival of the Earl inthe Netherlands. 

Of course they soon became the topics of excited conversation and ofalarm in every part of the country. Buckhurst, touched to the quick bythe reflection upon those--proceedings of his which had been soexplicitly enjoined upon him, and so reluctantly undertaken--appealedearnestly to her Majesty. He reminded her, as delicately as possible, that her honour, as well as his own, was at stake by Leicester's insolentdisavowals of her authorized ambassador. He besought her to remember"what even her own royal hand had written to the Duke of Parma;" and howmuch his honour was interested "by the disavowing of his dealings aboutthe peace begun by her Majesty's commandment. " He adjured her with mucheloquence to think upon the consequences of stirring up the common andunstable multitude against their rulers; upon the pernicious effects ofallowing the clergy to inflame the passions of the people against thegovernment. "Under the name of such as have charge over the people, " saidBuckhurst, "are understood the ministers and chaplains of the churches inevery town, by the means of whom it, seems that his Lordship tendeth hiswhole purpose to attain to his desire of the administration of thesovereignty. " He assured the Queen that this scheme of Leicester to seizevirtually upon that sovereignty, would be a disastrous one. "The Statesare resolved, " said he, "since your Majesty doth refuse the sovereignty, to lay it upon no creature else, as a thing contrary to their oath andallegiance to their country. " He reminded her also that the States hadbeen dissatisfied with the Earl's former administration, believing thathe had exceeded his commission, and that they were determined thereforeto limit his authority at his return. "Your sacred Majesty may consider, "he said, "what effect all this may work among the common and ignorantpeople, by intimating that, unless they shall procure him theadministration of such a sovereignty as he requireth, their ruin mayensue. " Buckhurst also informed her that he had despatched CouncillorWilkes to England, in order that he might give more ample information onall these affairs by word of mouth than could well be written. 

It need hardly be stated that Barneveld came down to the states'-housewith these papers in his hand, and thundered against the delinquent andintriguing governor till the general indignation rose to an alarmingheight. False statements of course were made to Leicester as to thesubstance of the Advocate's discourse. He was said to have charged uponthe English government an intention to seize forcibly upon their cities, and to transfer them to Spain on payment of the sums due to the Queenfrom the States, and to have declared that he had found all this treasonin the secret instructions of the Earl. But Barneveld had read theinstructions, to which the attention of the reader has just been called, and had strictly stated the truth which was damaging enough, without needof exaggeration. 

 ETEXT EDITOR'S BOOKMARKS:

 All business has been transacted with open doors Beacons in the upward path of mankind Been already crimination and recrimination more than enough Casting up the matter "as pinchingly as possibly might be" Disposed to throat-cutting by the ministers of the Gospel During this, whole war, we have never seen the like Even to grant it slowly is to deny it utterly Evil is coming, the sooner it arrives the better Fool who useth not wit because he hath it not Guilty of no other crime than adhesion to the Catholic faith Individuals walking in advance of their age Never peace well made, he observed, without a mighty war Rebuked him for his obedience Respect for differences in religious opinions Sacrificed by the Queen for faithfully obeying her orders Succeeded so well, and had been requited so ill Sword in hand is the best pen to write the conditions of peace Their existence depended on war They chose to compel no man's conscience Torturing, hanging, embowelling of men, women, and children Universal suffrage was not dreamed of at that day Waiting the pleasure of a capricious and despotic woman Who the "people" exactly were

CHAPTER XVI. 1587

 Situation of Sluys--Its Dutch and English Garrison--Williams writes from Sluys to the Queen--Jealousy between the Earl and States-- Schemes to relieve Sluys--Which are feeble and unsuccessful--The Town Capitulates--Parma enters--Leicester enraged--The Queen angry with the Anti-Leicestrians--Norris, Wilkes, and Buckhurst punished-- Drake sails for Spain--His Exploits at Cadiz and Lisbon--He is rebuked by Elizabeth. 

When Dante had passed through the third circle of the Inferno--a desertof red-hot sand, in which lay a multitude of victims of divine wrath, additionally tortured by an ever-descending storm of fiery flakes--he wasled by Virgil out of this burning wilderness along a narrow causeway. This path was protected, he said, against the showers of flame, by thelines of vapour which rose eternally from a boiling brook. Even by suchshadowy bulwarks, added the poet, do the Flemings between Kadzand andBruges protect their land against the ever-threatening sea. 

It was precisely among these slender dykes between Kadzand and Brugesthat Alexander Farnese had now planted all the troops that he couldmuster in the field. It was his determination to conquer the city ofSluys; for the possession of that important sea-port was necessary forhim as a basis for the invasion of England, which now occupied all thethoughts of his sovereign and himself. 

Exactly opposite the city was the island of Kadzand, once a fair andfertile territory, with a city and many flourishing villages upon itssurface, but at that epoch diminished to a small dreary sand-bank by theencroachments of the ocean. 

A stream of inland water, rising a few leagues to the south of Sluys, divided itself into many branches just before reaching the city, converted the surrounding territory into a miniature archipelago--theislands of which were shifting treacherous sand-banks at low water, andsubmerged ones at flood--and then widening and deepening into aconsiderable estuary, opened for the city a capacious harbour, and anexcellent although intricate passage to the sea. The city, which was wellbuilt and thriving, was so hidden in its labyrinth of canals andstreamlets, that it seemed almost as difficult a matter to find Sluys asto conquer it. It afforded safe harbour for five hundred large vessels;and its possession, therefore, was extremely important for Parma. Besidesthese natural defences, the place was also protected by fortifications;which were as well constructed as the best of that period. There was astrong rampire and many towers. There was also a detached citadel ofgreat strength, looking towards the sea, and there was a ravelin, calledSt. Anne's, looking in the direction of Bruges. A mere riband of dry landin that quarter was all of solid earth to be found in the environs ofSluys. 

The city itself stood upon firm soil, but that soil had been hollowedinto a vast system of subterranean magazines, not for warlike purposes, but for cellars, as Sluys had been from a remote period the greatentrepot of foreign wines in the Netherlands. 

While the eternal disputes between Leicester and the States were going onboth in Holland and in England, while the secret negotiations betweenAlexander Farnese and Queen slowly proceeding at Brussels and Greenwich, the Duke, notwithstanding the destitute condition of his troops, and thefamine which prevailed throughout the obedient Provinces, had succeededin bringing a little army of five thousand foot, and something less thanone thousand horse, into the field. A portion of this force he placedunder the command of the veteran La Motte. That distinguished campaignerhad assured the commander-in-chief that the reduction of the city wouldbe an easy achievement. Alexander soon declared that the enterprise wasthe most difficult one that he had ever undertaken. Yet, two yearsbefore, he had carried to its triumphant conclusion the famous siege ofAntwerp. He stationed his own division upon the isle of Kadzand, andstrengthened his camp by additionally fortifying those shadowy bulwarks, by which the island, since the age of Dante, had entrenched itselfagainst the assaults of ocean. 

On the other hand, La Motte, by the orders of his chief, had succeeded, after a sharp struggle, in carrying the fort of St. Anne. A still moreimportant step was the surprising of Blankenburg, a small fortified placeon the coast, about midway between Ostend and Sluys, by which thesea-communications with the former city for the relief of the beleagueredtown were interrupted. 

Parma's demonstrations against Sluys had commenced in the early days ofJune. The commandant of the place was Arnold de Groenevelt, a Dutch nobleof ancient lineage and approved valour. His force was, however, verymeagre, hardly numbering more than eight hundred, all Netherlanders, but counting among its officers several most distinguishedpersonages-Nicholas de Maulde, Adolphus de Meetkerke and his youngerbrother, Captain Heraugiere, and other well-known partisans. 

On the threatening of danger the commandant had made application to SirWilliam Russell, the worthy successor of Sir Philip Sidney in thegovernment of Flushing. He had received from him, in consequence, areinforcement of eight hundred English soldiers, under several eminentchieftains, foremost among whom were the famous Welshman Roger Williams, Captain Huntley, Baskerville, Sir Francis Vere, Ferdinando Gorges, andCaptain Hart. This combined force, however, was but a slender one; therebeing but sixteen hundred men to protect two miles and a half of rampart, besides the forts and ravelins. 

But, such as it was, no time was lost in vain regrets. The sortiesagainst the besiegers were incessant and brilliant. On one occasion SirFrancis Vere--conspicuous in the throng, in his red mantilla, andsupported only by one hundred Englishmen and Dutchmen, under CaptainBaskerville--held at bay eight companies of the famous Spanish legioncalled the Terzo Veijo, at push of pike, took many prisoners, and forcedthe Spaniards from the position in which they were entrenchingthemselves. On the other hand, Farnese declared that he had never in hislife witnessed anything so unflinching as the courage of his troops;employed as they were in digging trenches where the soil was neither landnor water, exposed to inundation by the suddenly-opened sluices, to aplunging fire from the forts, and to perpetual hand-to-hand combats withan active and fearless foe, and yet pumping away in the coffer-dams-whichthey had invented by way of obtaining a standing-ground for theiroperations--as steadily and sedately as if engaged in purely pacificemployments. The besieged here inspired by a courage equally remarkable. The regular garrison was small enough, but the burghers were courageous, and even the women organized themselves into a band of pioneers. Thiscorps of Amazons, led by two female captains, rejoicing in the names of'May in the Heart' and 'Catherine the Rose, ' actually constructed animportant redoubt between the citadel and the rampart, which received, incompliment to its builders, the appellation of 'Fort Venus. '

The demands of the beleaguered garrison, however, upon the States andupon Leicester were most pressing. Captain Hart swam thrice out of thecity with letters to the States, to the governor-general, and to QueenElizabeth; and the same perilous feat was performed several times by aNetherland officer. The besieged meant to sell their lives dearly, but itwas obviously impossible for them, with so slender a force, to resist avery long time. 

"Our ground is great and our men not so many, " wrote Roger Williams tohis sovereign, "but we trust in God and our valour to defend it. . . . We mean, with God's help, to make their downs red and black, and tolet out every acre of our ground for a thousand of their lives, besidesour own. "

The Welshman was no braggart, and had proved often enough that he wasmore given to performances than promises. "We doubt not your Majesty willsuccour us, " he said, "for our honest mind and plain dealing toward yourroyal person and dear country;" adding, as a bit of timely advice, "RoyalMajesty, believe not over much your peacemakers. Had they their mind, they will not only undo your friend's abroad, but, in the end, your royalestate. "

Certainly it was from no want of wholesome warning from wise statesmenand blunt soldiers that the Queen was venturing into that labyrinth ofnegotiation which might prove so treacherous. Never had been soinopportune a moment for that princess to listen to the voice of him whowas charming her so wisely, while he was at the same moment battering theplace, which was to be the basis of his operations against her realm. Herdelay in sending forth Leicester, with at least a moderate contingent, tothe rescue, was most pernicious. The States--ignorant of the Queen'sexact relations with Spain, and exaggerating her disingenuousness intoabsolute perfidy became on their own part exceedingly to blame. There isno doubt whatever that both Hollanders and English men were playing intothe hands of Parma as adroitly as if he had actually directed theirmovements. Deep were the denunciations of Leicester and his partisans bythe States' party, and incessant the complaints of the English and Dutchtroops shut up in Sluys against the inactivity or treachery of Mauriceand Hohenlo. 

"If Count Maurice and his base brother, the Admiral (Justinus de Nassau), be too young to govern, must Holland and Zeeland lose their countries andtowns to make them expert men of war?" asked Roger Williams. ' A pregnantquestion certainly, but the answer was, that by suspicion and jealousy, rather than by youth and inexperience, the arms were paralyzed whichshould have saved the garrison. "If these base fellows (the States) willmake Count Hollock their instrument, " continued the Welshman; "to coverand maintain their folly and lewd dealing, is it necessary for her royalMajesty to suffer it? These are too great matters to be rehearsed by me;but because I am in the town, and do resolve to, sign with my blood myduty in serving my sovereign and country, I trust her Majesty will pardonme. " Certainly the gallant adventurer on whom devolved at least half thework of directing the defence of the city, had a right to express hisopinions. Had he known the whole truth, however, those opinions wouldhave been modified. And he wrote amid the smoke and turmoil of daily andnightly battle. 

"Yesterday was the fifth sally we made, " he observed: "Since I followedthe wars I never saw valianter captains, nor willinger soldiers. Ateleven o'clock the enemy entered the ditch of our fort, with trenchesupon wheels, artillery-proof. We sallied out, recovered their trenches, slew the governor of Dam, two Spanish captains, with a number of others, repulsed them into their artillery, kept the ditch until yesternight, andwill recover it, with God's help, this night, or else pay dearly for it. . . . I care not what may become of me in this world, so that herMajesty's honour, --with the rest of honourable good friends, will thinkme an honest man. "

No one ever doubted the simple-hearted Welshman's honesty, any more thanhis valour; but he confided in the candour of others who were somewhatmore sophisticated than himself. When he warned her, royal Majestyagainst the peace-makers, it was impossible for him to know that thegreat peace-maker was Elizabeth herself. 

After the expiration of a month the work had become most fatiguing. Theenemy's trenches had been advanced close to the ramparts, and desperateconflicts were of daily occurrence. The Spanish mines, too, had beenpushed forward towards the extensive wine-caverns below the city, and thedanger of a vast explosion or of a general assault from beneath theirvery feet, seemed to the inhabitants imminent. Eight days long, withscarcely an intermission, amid those sepulchral vaults, dimly-lightedwith torches, Dutchmen, Englishmen, Spaniards, Italians, fought hand tohand, with pike, pistol, and dagger, within the bowels of the earth. 

Meantime the operations of the States were not commendable. Theineradicable jealousy between the Leicestrians and the Barneveldians haddone its work. There was no hearty effort for the relief of Sluys. Therewere suspicions that, if saved, the town would only be taken possessionof by the Earl of Leicester, as an additional vantage-point for coercingthe country into subjection to his arbitrary authority. Perhaps it wouldbe transferred to Philip by Elizabeth as part of the price for peace. There was a growing feeling in Holland and Zeeland that as thoseProvinces bore all the expense of the war, it was an imperative necessitythat they should limit their operations to the defence of their own soil. The suspicions as to the policy of the English government were sappingthe very foundations of the alliance, and there was small disposition onthe part of the Hollanders, therefore, to protect what remained ofFlanders, and thus to strengthen the hands of her whom they werebeginning to look upon as an enemy. 

Maurice and Hohenlo made, however, a foray into Brabant, by way ofdiversion to the siege of Sluys, and thus compelled Farnese to detach aconsiderable force under Haultepenne into that country, and thereby toweaken himself. The expedition of Maurice was not unsuccessful. There wassome sharp skirmishing between Hohenlo and Haultepenne, in which thelatter, one of the most valuable and distinguished generals on the royalside, was defeated and slain; the fort of Engel, near Bois-le-Duc, wastaken, and that important city itself endangered; but, on the other hand, the contingent on which Leicester relied from the States to assist inrelieving Sluys was not forthcoming. 

For, meantime, the governor-general had at last been sent back by hissovereign to the post which he had so long abandoned. Leaving LeicesterHouse on the 4th July (N. S. ), he had come on board the fleet two daysafterwards at Margate. He was bringing with him to the Netherlands threethousand fresh infantry, and thirty thousand pounds, of which sum fifteenthousand pounds had been at last wrung from Elizabeth as an extra loan, in place of the sixty thousand pounds which the States had requested. Ashe sailed past Ostend and towards Flushing, the Earl was witness to theconstant cannonading between the besieged city and the camp of Farnese, and saw that the work could hardly be more serious; for in one short daymore shots were fired than had ever been known before in a single day inall Parma's experience. 

Arriving at Flushing, the governor-general was well received by theinhabitants; but the mischief, which had been set a-foot six monthsbefore, had done its work. The political intrigues, disputes, and theconflicting party-organizations, have already been set in great detailbefore the reader, in order that their effect might now be thoroughlyunderstood without--explanation. The governor-general came to Flushing ata most critical moment. The fate of all the Spanish Netherlands, ofSluys, and with it the whole of Philip and Parma's great project, were, in Farnese's own language, hanging by a thread. 

It would have been possible--had the transactions of the past six months, so far as regarded Holland and England, been the reverse of what they hadbeen--to save the city; and, by a cordial and united effort, for the twocountries to deal the Spanish power such a blow, that summer, as wouldhave paralyzed it for a long time to come, and have placed bothcommonwealths in comparative security. 

Instead of all this, general distrust and mutual jealousy prevailed. Leicester had, previously to his departure from England, summoned theStates to meet him at Dort upon his arrival. Not a soul appeared. Such ofthe state-councillors as were his creatures came to him, and CountMaurice made a visit of ceremony. Discussions about a plan for relievingthe siege became mere scenes of bickering and confusion. The officerswithin Sluys were desirous that a fleet should force its way into theharbour, while, at the same time, the English army, strengthened by thecontingent which Leicester had demanded from the States, should advanceagainst the Duke of Parma by land. It was, in truth, the only way tosuccour the place. The scheme was quite practicable. Leicesterrecommended it, the Hollanders seemed to favour it, Commandant Groeneveltand Roger Williams urged it. 

"I do assure you, " wrote the honest Welshman to Leicester, "if you willcome afore this town, with as many galliots and as many flat-bottomedboats as can cause two men-of-war to enter, they cannot stop theirpassage, if, your mariners will do a quarter of their duty, as I saw themdo divers times. Before, they make their entrance, we will come with ourboats, and fight with the greatest part, and show them there is no suchgreat danger. Were it not for my wounded arm, I would be, in your firstboat to enter. Notwithstanding, I and other Englishmen will approachtheir boats in such sort, that we will force them to give their saker ofartillery upon us. If, your Excellency will give ear unto those falselewd fellows (the Captain meant the States-General), you shall lose greatopportunity. Within ten or twelve days the enemy will make his bridgefrom Kadzand unto St. Anne, and force you to hazard battle before yousuccour this town. Let my Lord Willoughby and Sir William Russell land atTerhoven, right against Kadzand, with 4000, and entrench hard by thewaterside, where their boats can carry them victual and munition. Theymay approach by trenches without engaging any dangerous fight . . . . Wedare not show the estate of this town more than we have done by CaptainHerte. We must fight this night within our rampart in the fort. You maysure the world here are no Hamerts, but valiant captains and valiantsoldiers, such as, with God's help, had rather be buried in the placethan be disgraced in any point that belongs to such a number ofmen-of-war. "

But in vain did the governor of the place, stout Arnold Froenevelt, assisted by the rough and direct eloquence of Roger Williams, urge uponthe Earl of Leicester and the States-General the necessity and thepracticability of the plan proposed. The fleet never entered the harbour. There was no William of Orange to save Antwerp and Sluys, as Leyden hadonce been saved, and his son was not old enough to unravel the web ofintrigue by which he was surrounded, or to direct the whole energies ofthe commonwealth towards an all-important end. Leicester had lost allinfluence, all authority, nor were his military abilities equal to theoccasion, even if he had been cordially obeyed. 

Ten days longer the perpetual battles on the ramparts and within themines continued, the plans conveyed by the bold swimmer, Captain Hart, for saving the place were still unattempted, and the city was totteringto its fall. "Had Captain Hart's words taken place, " wrote Williams, bitterly, "we had been succoured, or, if my letters had prevailed, ourpain had been, no peril: All wars are best executed in sight of the enemy. . . . The last night of June (10th July, N. S. ) the enemy entered theditches of our fort in three several places, continuing in fight in mineand on rampart for the space of eight nights. The ninth; he battered usfuriously, made a breach of five score paces suitable for horse and man. That day be attempted us in all, places with a general, assault for thespace of almost five hours. "

The citadel was now lost. It had been gallantly defended; and it wasthenceforth necessary to hold the town itself, in the very teeth of anoverwhelming force. "We were forced to quit the fort, " said-Sir Roger, "leaving nothing behind us but bare earth. But here we do remainresolutely to be buried, rather than to be dishonoured in the leastpoint. "

It was still possible for the fleet to succour the city. "I do assureyou, " said-Williams, "that your captains and mariners do not their dutyunless they enter with no great loss; but you must consider that no warsmay be made without danger. What you mean to do, we beseech you to dowith expedition, and persuade yourself that we will die valiant, honest-men. Your Excellency will do well to thank the old President deMeetkerk far the honesty and valour of his son. "

Count Maurice and his natural brother, the Admiral, now undertook thesuccour by sea; but, according to the Leicestrians, they continueddilatory and incompetent. At any rate, it is certain that they didnothing. At last, Parma had completed the bridge; whose construction, wasso much dreaded: The haven was now enclosed by a strong wooden structure, resting an boats, on a plan similar to that of the famous bridge withwhich he had two years before bridled the Scheldt, and Sluys was thuscompletely shut in from the sea. Fire-ships were now constructed, byorder of Leicester--feeble imitations: of the floating volcanoes ofGianihelli--and it was agreed that they should be sent against the bridgewith the first flood-tide. The propitious moment never seemed to arrive, however, and, meantime, the citizens of Flushing, of their own accord, declared that they would themselves equip and conduct a fleet into theharbour of Sluys. But the Nassaus are said to have expressed greatdisgust that low-born burghers should presume to meddle with so importantan enterprise, which of right belonged to their family. Thus, in themidst of these altercations and contradictory schemes; the month of Julywore away, and the city was reduced to its last gasp. 

For the cannonading had thoroughly done its work. Eighteen days long theburghers and what remained of the garrison had lived upon the ramparts, never leaving their posts, but eating, sleeping, and fighting day andnight. Of the sixteen hundred Dutch and English but seven hundredremained. At last a swimming messenger was sent out by the besieged withdespatches for the States, to the purport that the city could hold out nolonger. A breach in the wall had been effected wide enough to admit ahundred men abreast. Sluys had, in truth, already fallen, and it washopeless any longer to conceal the fact. If not relieved within a day ortwo, the garrison would be obliged to surrender; but they distinctlystated, that they had all pledged themselves, soldiers and burghers, men, women, and all, unless the most honourable terms were granted, to setfire to the city in a hundred places, and then sally, in mass, from thegates, determined to fight their way through, or be slain in the attempt. The messenger who carried these despatches was drowned, but the letterswere saved, and fell into Parma's hands. 

At the same moment, Leicester was making, at last, an effort to raise thesiege. He brought three or four thousand men from Flushing, and landedthem at Ostend; thence he marched to Blanckenburg. He supposed that if hecould secure that little port, and thus cut the Duke completely off fromthe sea, he should force the Spanish commander to raise (or at leastsuspend) the siege in order to give him battle. Meantime, an opportunitywould be afforded for Maurice and Hohenlo to force an entrance into theharbour of Sluys, In this conjecture he was quite correct; butunfortunately he did not thoroughly carry out his own scheme. If the Earlhad established himself at Blanckenburg, it would have been necessary forParma--as he himself subsequently declared-to raise the siege. Leicestercarried the outposts of the place successfully; but, so soon as Farnesewas aware of this demonstration, he detached a few companies with ordersto skirmish with the enemy until the commander-in-chief, with as large aforce as he could spare, should come in person to his support. To theunexpected gratification of Farnese, however, no sooner did the advancingSpaniards come in sight, than the Earl, supposing himself invaded by thewhole of the Duke's army, under their famous general, and not feelinghimself strong enough for such an encounter, retired, with greatprecipitation, to his boats, re-embarked his troops with the utmostcelerity, and set sail for Ostend. 

The next night had been fixed for sending forth the fireships against thebridge, and for the entrance of the fleet into the harbour. One fire-shipfloated a little way towards the bridge and exploded ingloriously. Leicester rowed in his barge about the fleet, superintending thesoundings and markings of the channel, and hastening the preparations;but, as the decisive moment approached, the pilots who had promised toconduct the expedition came aboard his pinnace and positively refused tohave aught to do with the enterprise, which they now declared animpossibility. The Earl was furious with the pilots, with Maurice, withHohenlo, with Admiral de Nassau, with the States, with all the world. Hestormed and raged and beat his breast, but all in vain. His ferocitywould have been more useful the day before, in face of the Spaniards, than now, against the Zeeland mariners: but the invasion by the fleetalone, unsupported by a successful land-operation, was pronouncedimpracticable, and very soon the relieving fleet was seen by thedistressed garrison sailing away from the neighbourhood, and it soondisappeared beneath the horizon. Their fate was sealed. They entered intotreaty with Parma, who, secretly instructed, as has been seen, of theirdesperate intentions, in case any but the most honourable conditions wereoffered, granted those conditions. The garrison were allowed to go outwith colours displayed, lighted matches, bullet in mouth, and with bagand baggage. Such burghers as chose to conform to the government of Spainand the church of Rome; were permitted to remain. Those who preferred todepart were allowed reasonable time to make their necessary arrangements. 

"We have hurt and slain very near eight hundred, " said Sir RogerWilliams. "We had not powder to fight two hours. There was a breach ofalmost four hundred paces, another of three score, another of fifty, saltable for horse and men. We had lain continually eighteen nights allon the breaches. He gave us honourable composition. Had the state ofEngland lain on it, our lives could not defend the place, three hours, for half the rampires were his, neither had we any pioneers butourselves. We were sold by their negligence who are now angry with us. "

On the 5th August Parma entered the city. Roger Williams with his giltmorion rather battered, and his great plume of feathers muchbedraggled-was a witness to the victor's entrance. Alexander salutedrespectfully an officer so well known to him by reputation, and with somecomplimentary remarks urged him to enter the Spanish service, and to takethe field against the Turks. 

"My sword, " replied the doughty Welshman, "belongs to her royal Majesty, Queen Elizabeth, above and before all the world. When her Highness has nofarther use for it, it is at the service of the King of Navarre. "Considering himself sufficiently answered, the Duke then requested SirRoger to point out Captain Baskerville--very conspicuous by a greaterplume of feathers than even that of the Welshman himself--and embracedthat officer; when presented to him, before all his staff. "There servesno prince in Europe a braver man than this Englishman, " cried Alexander, who well knew how to appreciate high military qualities, whether in hisown army or in that of his foes. 

The garrison then retired, Sluy's became Spanish, and a capaciousharbour, just opposite the English coast, was in Parma's hands. Sir RogerWilliams was despatched by Leicester to bear the melancholy tidings tohis government, and the Queen was requested to cherish the honestWelshman, and at least to set him on horseback; for he was of himself notrich enough to buy even a saddle. It is painful to say that the captaindid not succeed in getting the horse. 

The Earl was furious in his invectives against Hohenlo, against Maurice, against the States, uniformly ascribing the loss of Sluy's to negligenceand faction. As for Sir John Norris, he protested that his misdeeds inregard to this business would, in King Henry VIII. 's time, have "cost himhis pate. "

The loss of Sluys was the beginning and foreshadowed the inevitable endof Leicester's second administration. The inaction of the States was oneof the causes of its loss. Distrust of Leicester was the cause of theinaction. Sir William Russell, Lord Willoughby, Sir William Pelham, andother English officers, united in statements exonerating the Earl fromall blame for the great failure to relieve the place. At the same time, it could hardly be maintained that his expedition to Blanckenburg and hisprecipitate retreat on the first appearance of the enemy were proofs ofconsummate generalship. He took no blame to himself for the disaster; buthe and his partisans were very liberal in their denunciations of theHollanders, and Leicester was even ungrateful enough to censure RogerWilliams, whose life had been passed, as it were, at push of pike withthe Spaniards, and who was one of his own most devoted adherents. 

The Queen was much exasperated when informed of the fall of the city. Sheseverely denounced the Netherlanders, and even went so far as to expressdissatisfaction with the great Leicester himself. Meantime, Farnese waswell satisfied with his triumph, for he had been informed that "allEngland was about to charge upon him, " in order to relieve the place. AllEngland, however, had been but feebly represented by three thousand rawrecruits with a paltry sum of L15, 000 to help pay a long bill of arrears. 

Wilkes and Norris had taken their departure from the Netherlands beforethe termination of the siege, and immediately after the return ofLeicester. They did not think it expedient to wait upon the governorbefore leaving the country, for they had very good reason to believe thatsuch an opportunity of personal vengeance would be turned to account bythe Earl. Wilkes had already avowed his intention of making his escapewithout being dandled with leave-takings, and no doubt he was right. TheEarl was indignant when he found that they had given him the slip, anddenounced them with fresh acrimony to the Queen, imploring her to wreakfull measure of wrath upon their heads; and he well knew that hisentreaties would meet with the royal attention. 

Buckhurst had a parting interview with the governor-general, at whichKilligrew and Beale, the new English counsellors who had replaced Wilkesand Clerk, were present. The conversation was marked by insolence on thepart of Leicester, and by much bitterness on that of Buckhurst. Theparting envoy refused to lay before the Earl a full statement of thegrievances between the States-General and the governor, on the groundthat Leicester had no right to be judge in his own cause. The matter, hesaid, should be laid before the Queen in council, and by her augustdecision he was willing to abide. On every other subject he was ready togive any information in his power. The interview lasted a whole forenoonand afternoon. Buckhurst, according to his own statement, answered, freely all questions put to him by Leicester and his counsellors; while, if the report of those personages is to be trusted, he passionatelyrefused to make any satisfactory communication. Under the circumstances, however, it may well be believed that no satisfactory communication waspossible. 

On arriving in England, Sir John Norris was forbidden to come into herMajesty's presence, Wilkes was thrown into the Fleet Prison, andBuckhurst was confined in his own country house. 

Norris had done absolutely nothing, which, even by implication, could beconstrued into a dereliction of duty; but it was sufficient that he washated by Leicester, who had not scrupled, over and over again, todenounce this first general of England as a fool, a coward, a knave, anda liar. 

As for Wilkes, his only crime was a most conscientious discharge of hisduty, in the course of which he had found cause to modify his abstractopinions in regard to the origin of sovereignty, and had come reluctantlyto the conviction that Leicester's unpopularity had made perhaps anothergovernor-general desirable. But this admission had only been madeprivately and with extreme caution; while, on the other hand, he hadconstantly defended the absent Earl, with all the eloquence at hiscommand. But the hatred cf Leicester was sufficient to consign this ableand painstaking public servant to a prison; and thus was a man of worth, honour, and talent, who had been placed in a position of graveresponsibility and immense fatigue, and who had done his duty like anupright, straight-forward Englishman, sacrificed to the wrath of afavourite. "Surely, Mr. Secretary, " said the Earl, "there was never afalser creature, a more seditious wretch, than Wilkes. He is a villain, adevil, without faith or religion. "

As for Buckhurst himself, it is unnecessary to say a word in his defence. The story of his mission has been completely detailed from the mostauthentic and secret documents, and there is not a single line written tothe Queen, to her ministers, to the States, to any public body or to anyprivate friend, in England or elsewhere, that does not reflect honour onhis name. With sagacity, without passion, with unaffected sincerity, hehad unravelled the complicated web of Netherland politics, and, withclear vision, had penetrated the designs of the mighty enemy whom Englandand Holland had to encounter in mortal combat. He had pointed out theerrors of the Earl's administration--he had fearlessly, earnestly, butrespectfully deplored the misplaced parsimony of the Queen--he had warnedher against the delusions which had taken possession of her keenintellect--he had done--his best to place the governor-general upon goodterms with the States and with his sovereign; but it had been impossiblefor him to further his schemes for the acquisition of a virtualsovereignty over the Netherlands, or to extinguish the suspicions of theStates that the Queen was secretly negotiating with the Spaniard, when heknew those suspicions to be just. 

For deeds, such as these, the able and high-minded ambassador, theaccomplished statesman and poet, was forbidden to approach hissovereign's presence, and was ignominiously imprisoned in his own houseuntil the death of Leicester. After that event, Buckhurst emerged fromconfinement, received the order of the garter and the Earldom of Dorset, and on the death of Burghley succeeded that statesman in the office ofLord-Treasurer. Such was the substantial recognition of the merits of aman who was now disgraced for the conscientious discharge of the mostimportant functions that had yet been confided to him. 

It would be a thankless and superfluous task to give the details of therenewed attempt, during a few months, made by Leicester to govern theProvinces. His second administration consisted mainly of the samealtercations with the States, on the subject of sovereignty, the samemutual recriminations and wranglings, that had characterized the periodof his former rule. He rarely met the States in person, and almost neverresided at the Hague, holding his court at Middleburg, Dort, or Utrecht, as his humour led him. 

The one great feature of the autumn of 1587 was the private negotiationbetween Elizabeth and the Duke of Parma. 

Before taking a glance at the nature of those secrets, however, it isnecessary to make a passing allusion to an event which might have seemedlikely to render all pacific communications with Spain, whether secret oropen, superfluous. 

For while so much time had been lost in England and Holland, bymisunderstandings and jealousies, there was one Englishman who had notbeen losing time. In the winter and early spring of 1587, the Devonshireskipper had organized that expedition which he had come to theNetherlands, the preceding autumn, to discuss. He meant to aim a blow atthe very heart of that project which Philip was shrouding with so muchmystery, and which Elizabeth was attempting to counteract by so muchdiplomacy. 

On the 2nd April, Francis Drake sailed from Plymouth with four shipsbelonging to the Queen, and with twenty-four furnished by the merchantsof London, and other private individuals. It was a bold buccaneeringexpedition--combining chivalrous enterprise with the chance of enormousprofit--which was most suited to the character of English adventurers atthat expanding epoch. For it was by England, not by Elizabeth, that thequarrel with Spain was felt to be a mortal one. It was England, not itssovereign, that was instinctively arming, at all points, to grapple withthe great enemy of European liberty. It was the spirit of self-help, ofself-reliance, which was prompting the English nation to take the greatwork of the age into its own hands. The mercantile instinct of the nationwas flattered with the prospect of gain, the martial quality of itspatrician and of its plebeian blood was eager to confront danger, thegreat Protestant mutiny. Against a decrepit superstition in combinationwith an aggressive tyranny, all impelled the best energies of the Englishpeople against Spain, as the embodiment of all which was odious andmenacing to them, and with which they felt that the life and deathstruggle could not long be deferred. 

And of these various tendencies, there were no more fittingrepresentatives than Drake and Frobisher, Hawkins and Essex, Cavendishand Grenfell, and the other privateersmen of the sixteenth century. Thesame greed for danger, for gold, and for power, which, seven centuriesbefore, had sent the Norman race forth to conquer all Christendom, wasnow sending its Anglo-Saxon and Anglo-Norman kindred to take possessionof the old world and the new. 

"The wind commands me away, " said Drake on the 2nd April, 1587; "our shipis under sail. God grant that we may so live in His fear, that the enemymay have cause to say that God doth fight for her Majesty abroad as wellas at home. "

But he felt that he was not without enemies behind him, for the stronginfluence brought to bear against the bold policy which Walsinghamfavoured, was no secret to Drake. "If we deserve ill, " said he, "let usbe punished. If we discharge our duty, in doing our best, it is a hardmeasure to be reported ill by those who will either keep their fingersout of the fire; or who too well affect that alteration in our governmentwhich I hope in God they shall never live to see. " In latitude 40 deg. Hespoke two Zeeland ships, homeward bound, and obtained information ofgreat warlike stores accumulating in Cadiz and Lisbon. His mind wasinstantly made up. Fortunately, the pinnace which the Queen despatchedwith orders to stay his hand in the very act of smiting her greatadversary, did not sail fast enough to overtake the swift corsair and hisfleet. Sir Francis had too promptly obeyed the wind, when it "commandedhim away, " to receive the royal countermand. On the 19th April, theEnglish ships entered the harbour of Cadiz, and destroyed ten thousandtons of shipping, with their contents, in the very face of a dozen greatgalleys, which the nimble English vessels soon drove under their fortsfor shelter. Two nights and a day, Sir Francis, that "hater of idleness, "was steadily doing his work; unloading, rifling, scuttling, sinking, andburning those transportships which contained a portion of thepreparations painfully made by Philip for his great enterprise. Pipe-staves and spikes, horse-shoes and saddles, timber and cutlasses, wine, oil, figs, raisins, biscuits, and flour, a miscellaneous mass ofingredients long brewing for the trouble of England, were emptied intothe harbour, and before the second night, the blaze of a hundred andfifty burning vessels played merrily upon the grim walls of Philip'sfortresses. Some of these ships were of the largest size then known. There was one belonging to Marquis Santa Cruz of 1500 tons, there was aBiscayan of 1200, there were several others of 1000, 800, and of nearlyequal dimensions. 

Thence sailing for Lisbon, Sir Francis, captured and destroyed a hundredvessels more, appropriating what was portable of the cargoes, andannihilating the rest. At Lisbon, Marquis Santa Cruz, lord high admiralof Spain and generalissimo of the invasion, looked on, mortified andamazed, but offering no combat, while the Plymouth privateersman sweptthe harbour of the great monarch of the world. After thoroughlyaccomplishing his work, Drake sent a message to Santa Cruz, proposing toexchange his prisoners for such Englishmen as might then be confined inSpain. But the marquis denied all prisoners. Thereupon Sir Francisdecided to sell his captives to the Moors, and to appropriate theproceeds of the sale towards the purchase of English slaves put of thesame bondage. Such was the fortune of war in the sixteenth century. 

Having dealt these great blows, Drake set sail again from Lisbon, and, twenty leagues from St. Michaels, fell in with one of those famousSpanish East Indiamen, called carracks, then the great wonder of theseas. This vessel, San Felipe by name, with a cargo of extraordinaryvalue, was easily captured, and Sir Francis now determined to return. Hehad done a good piece of work in a few weeks, but he was by no means ofopinion that he had materially crippled the enemy. On the contrary, hegave the government warning as to the enormous power and vastpreparations of Spain. "There would be forty thousand men under way erelong, " he said, "well equipped and provisioned;" and he stated, as theresult of personal observation, that England could not be too energeticin, its measures of resistance. He had done something with his littlefleet, but he was no braggart, and had no disposition to underrate theenemy's power. "God make us all thankful again and again, " he observed, "that we have, although it be little, made a beginning upon the coast ofSpain. " And modestly as he spoke of what he had accomplished, so withquiet self-reliance did he allude to the probable consequences. It wascertain, he intimated, that the enemy would soon seek revenge with allhis strength, and "with all the devices and traps he could devise. " Thiswas a matter which could not be doubted. "But, " said Sir Francis, "Ithank them much that they have staid so long, and when they come theyshall be but the sons of mortal men. "

Perhaps the most precious result of the expedition, was the lesson whichthe Englishmen had thus learned in handling the great galleys of Spain. It might soon stand them in stead. The little war-vessels which had comefrom Plymouth, had sailed round and round these vast unwieldy hulks, andhad fairly driven them off the field, with very slight damage tothemselves. Sir Francis had already taught the mariners of England, evenif he had done nothing else by this famous Cadiz expedition, that anarmada, of Spain might not be so invincible as men imagined. 

Yet when the conqueror returned from his great foray, he received nolaurels. His sovereign met him, not with smiles, but with frowns and coldrebukes. He had done his duty, and helped to save her endangered throne, but Elizabeth was now the dear friend of Alexander Farnese, and inamicable correspondence with his royal master. This "little" beginning onthe coast of Spain might not seem to his Catholic Majesty a matter to bethankful for, nor be likely to further a pacification, and so Elizabethhastened to disavow her Plymouth captain. '

 ["True it is, and I avow it on my faith, her Majesty did send a ship expressly before he went to Cadiz with a message by letters charging Sir Francis Drake not to show any act of hostility, which messenger by contrary winds could never come to the place where he was, but was constrained to come home, and hearing of Sir F. Drake's actions, her Majesty commanded the party that returned to have been punished, but that he acquitted himself by the oaths of himself and all his company. And so unwitting yea unwilling to her Majesty those actions were committed by Sir F. Drake, for the which her Majesty is as yet greatly offended with him. " Burghley to Andreas de Loo, 18 July, 1587. Flanders Correspondence. ' (S. P. Office MS. )]

 ETEXT EDITOR'S BOOKMARKS:

 The blaze of a hundred and fifty burning vessels We were sold by their negligence who are now angry with us

CHAPTER XVII. 1587

 Secret Treaty between Queen and Parma--Excitement and Alarm in the States--Religious Persecution in England--Queen's Sincerity toward Spain--Language and Letters of Parma--Negotiations of De Loo-- English Commissioners appointed--Parma's affectionate Letter to the Queen--Philip at his Writing-Table--His Plots with Parma against England--Parma's secret Letters to the King--Philip's Letters to Parma Wonderful Duplicity of Philip--His sanguine Views as to England--He is reluctant to hear of the Obstacles--and imagines Parma in England--But Alexander's Difficulties are great--He denounces Philip's wild Schemes--Walsingham aware of the Spanish Plot--which the States well understand--Leicester's great Unpopularity--The Queen warned against Treating--Leicester's Schemes against Barneveld--Leicestrian Conspiracy at Leyden--The Plot to seize the City discovered--Three Ringleaders sentenced to Death-- Civil War in France--Victory gained by Navarre, and one by Guise-- Queen recalls Leicester--Who retires on ill Terms with the States-- Queen warned as to Spanish Designs--Result's of Leicester's Administration. 

The course of Elizabeth towards the Provinces, in the matter of thepeace, was certainly not ingenuous, but it was not absolutely deceitful. She concealed and denied the negotiations, when the Netherland statesmenwere perfectly aware of their existence, if not of their tenour; but shewas not prepared, as they suspected, to sacrifice their liberties andtheir religion, as the price of her own reconciliation with Spain. Herattitude towards the States was imperious, over-bearing, and abusive. Shehad allowed the Earl of Leicester to return, she said, because of herlove for the poor and oppressed people, but in many of her official andin all her private communications, she denounced the men who governedthat people as ungrateful wretches and impudent liars!

These were the corrosives and vinegar which she thought suitable for thecase; and the Earl was never weary in depicting the same statesmen asseditious, pestilent, self-seeking, mischief-making traitors. Thesesecret, informal negotiations, had been carried on during most of theyear 1587. It was the "comptroller's peace;", as Walsinghamcontemptuously designated the attempted treaty; for it will berecollected that Sir James Croft, a personage of very mediocre abilities, had always been more busy than any other English politician in thesetransactions. He acted; however, on the inspiration of Burghley, who drewhis own from the fountainhead. 

But it was in vain for the Queen to affect concealment. The States kneweverything which was passing, before Leicester knew. His own secretinstructions reached the Netherlands before he did. His secretary, Junius, was thrown into prison, and his master's letter taken from him, before there had been any time to act upon its treacherous suggestions. When the Earl wrote letters with, his own hand to his sovereign, of sosecret a nature that he did not even retain a single copy for himself, for fear of discovery, he found, to his infinite disgust, that the Stateswere at once provided with an authentic transcript of every line that hehad written. It was therefore useless, almost puerile, to deny factswhich were quite as much within the knowledge of the Netherlanders as ofhimself. The worst consequence of the concealment was, that a deepertreachery was thought possible than actually existed. "The fellow theycall Barneveld, " as Leicester was in the habit of designating one of thefirst statesmen in Europe, was perhaps justified, knowing what he did, insuspecting more. Being furnished with a list of commissioners, alreadysecretly agreed upon between the English and Spanish governments, totreat for peace, while at the same time the Earl was beating his breast, and flatly denying that there was any intention of treating with Parma atall, it was not unnatural that he should imagine a still wider and deeperscheme than really existed, against the best interests of his country. Hemay have expressed, in private conversation, some suspicions of thisnature, but there is direct evidence that he never stated in publicanything which was not afterwards proved to be matter of fact, or oflegitimate inference from the secret document which had come into hishands. The Queen exhausted herself in opprobious language against thosewho dared to impute to her a design to obtain possession of the citiesand strong places of the Netherlands, in order to secure a position inwhich to compel the Provinces into obedience to her policy. She urged, with much logic, that as she had refused the sovereignty of the wholecountry when offered to her, she was not likely to form surreptitiousschemes to make herself mistress of a portion of it. On the other hand, it was very obvious, that to accept the sovereignty of Philip'srebellious Provinces, was to declare war upon Philip; whereas, had shebeen pacifically inclined towards that sovereign, and treacherouslydisposed towards the Netherlands, it would be a decided advantage to herto have those strong places in her power. But the suspicions as to hergood faith were exaggerated. As to the intentions of Leicester, theStates were justified in their almost unlimited distrust. It is verycertain that both in 1586, and again, at this very moment, when Elizabethwas most vehement in denouncing such aspersions on her government, he hadunequivocally declared to her his intention of getting possession, ifpossible, of several cities, and of the whole Island of Walcheren, which, together with the cautionary towns already in his power, would enable theQueen to make good terms for herself with Spain, "if the worst came tothe worst. " It will also soon be shown that he did his best to carrythese schemes into execution. There is no evidence, however, and noprobability, that he had received the royal commands to perpetrate such acrime. 

The States believed also, that in those secret negotiations with Parmathe Queen was disposed to sacrifice the religious interests of theNetherlands. In this they were mistaken. But they had reason for theirmistake, because the negotiator De Loo, had expressly said, that, in herovertures to Farnese, she had abandoned that point altogether. If thishad been so, it would have simply been a consent on the part ofElizabeth, that the Catholic religion and the inquisition should bere-established in the Provinces, to the exclusion of every other form ofworship or polity. In truth, however, the position taken by her Majestyon the subject was as fair as could be reasonably expected. Certainly shewas no advocate for religious liberty. She chose that her own subjectsshould be Protestants, because she had chosen to be a Protestant herself, and because it was an incident of her supremacy, to dictate uniformity ofcreed to all beneath her sceptre. No more than her father, who sent tothe stake or gallows heretics to transubstantiation as well as believersin the Pope, had Elizabeth the faintest idea of religious freedom. Heretics to the English Church were persecuted, fined, imprisoned, mutilated, and murdered, by sword, rope, and fire. In some respects, thepractice towards those who dissented from Elizabeth was more immoral andillogical, even if less cruel, than that to which those were subjectedwho rebelled against Sixtus. The Act of Uniformity required Papists toassist at the Protestant worship, but wealthy Papists could obtainimmunity by an enormous fine. The Roman excuse to destroy bodies in orderto save souls, could scarcely be alleged by a Church which might bebribed into connivance at heresy, and which derived a revenue from thevery nonconformity for which humbler victims were sent to the gallows. Itwould, however, be unjust in the extreme to overlook the enormousdifference in the amount of persecution, exercised respectively by theProtestant and the Roman Church. It is probable that not many more thantwo hundred Catholics were executed as such, in Elizabeth's reign, andthis was ten score too many. But what was this against eight hundredheretics burned, hanged, and drowned, in one Easter week by Alva, againstthe eighteen thousand two hundred went to stake and scaffold, as heboasted during his administration, against the vast numbers ofProtestants, whether they be counted by tens or by hundreds of thousands, who perished by the edicts of Charles V. , in the Netherlands, or in thesingle Saint Bartholomew Massacre in France? Moreover, it should never beforgotten--from undue anxiety for impartiality--that most of theCatholics who were executed in England, suffered as conspirators ratherthan as heretics. No foreign potentate, claiming to be vicegerent ofChrist, had denounced Philip as a bastard and, usurper, or had, by meansof a blasphemous fiction, which then was a terrible reality, severed thebonds of allegiance by which his subjects were held, cut him off from allcommunion with his fellow-creatures, and promised temporal rewards and acrown of glory in heaven to those who should succeed in depriving him ofthrone and life. Yet this was the position of Elizabeth. It was war tothe knife between her and Rome, declared by Rome itself; nor was thereany doubt whatever that the Seminary Priests--seedlings transplanted fromforeign nurseries, which were as watered gardens for the growth oftreason--were a perpetually organized band of conspirators and assassins, with whom it was hardly an act of excessive barbarity to deal in somewhatsummary fashion. Doubtless it would have been a more lofty policy, and afar more intelligent one, to extend towards the Catholics of England, whoas a body were loyal to their country, an ample toleration. But it couldscarcely be expected that Elizabeth Tudor, as imperious and absolute bytemperament as her father had ever been, would be capable of embodyingthat great principle. 

When, in the preliminaries to the negotiations of 1587, therefore, it wasurged on the part of Spain, that the Queen was demanding a concession ofreligious liberty from Philip to the Netherlanders which she refused toEnglish heretics, and that he only claimed the same right of dictating acreed to his subjects which she exercised in regard to her own, LordBurghley replied that the statement was correct. The Queen permitted--itwas true--no man to profess any religion but the one which she professed. At the same time it was declared to be unjust, that those persons in theNetherlands who had been for years in the habit of practising Protestantrites, should be suddenly compelled, without instruction, to abandon thatform of worship. It was well known that many would rather die than submitto such oppression, and it was affirmed that the exercise of this crueltywould be resisted by her to the uttermost. There was no hint of thepropriety--on any logical basis--of leaving the question of creed as amatter between man and his Maker, with which any dictation on the part ofcrown or state was an act of odious tyranny. There was not even asuggestion that the Protestant doctrines were true, and the Catholicdoctrines false. The matter was merely taken up on the 'uti possidetis'principle, that they who had acquired the fact of Protestant worship hada right to retain it, and could not justly be deprived of it, except byinstruction and persuasion. It was also affirmed that it was not theEnglish practice to inquire into men's consciences. It would have beendifficult, however, to make that very clear to Philip's comprehension, because, if men, women, and children, were scourged with rods, imprisonedand hanged, if they refused to conform publicly to a ceremony at whichtheir consciences revolted-unless they had money enough to purchasenon-conformity--it seemed to be the practice to inquire very effectivelyinto their consciences. 

But if there was a certain degree of disingenuousness on the part ofElizabeth towards the States, her attitude towards Parma was one ofperfect sincerity. A perusal of the secret correspondence leaves no doubtwhatever on that point. She was seriously and fervently desirous of peacewith Spain. On the part of Farnese and his master, there was the mostunscrupulous mendacity, while the confiding simplicity and truthfulnessof the Queen in these negotiations was almost pathetic. Especially shedeclared her trust in the loyal and upright character of Parma, in whichshe was sure of never being disappointed. It is only doing justice toAlexander to say that he was as much deceived by her frankness as she byhis falsehood. It never entered his head that a royal personage and thetrusted counsellors of a great kingdom could be telling the truth in asecret international transaction, and he justified the industry withwhich his master and himself piled fiction upon fiction, by their utterdisbelief in every word which came to them from England. 

The private negotiations had been commenced, or rather had been renewed, very early in February of this year. During the whole critical periodwhich preceded and followed the execution of Mary, in the course of whichthe language of Elizabeth towards the States had been so shrewish, therehad been the gentlest diplomatic cooing between Farnese and herself. Itwas--Dear Cousin, you know how truly I confide in your sincerity, howanxious I am that this most desirable peace should be arranged; and itwas--Sacred Majesty, you know how much joy I feel in your desire for therepose of the world, and for a solid peace between your Highness and theKing my master; how much I delight in concord--how incapable I am byambiguous words of spinning out these transactions, or of deceiving yourMajesty, and what a hatred I feel for steel, fire, and blood. '

Four or five months rolled on, during which Leicester had been wastingtime in England, Farnese wasting none before Sluys, and the States doingtheir best to counteract the schemes both of their enemy and of theirally. De Loo made a visit, in July, to the camp of the Duke of Parma, andreceived the warmest assurances of his pacific dispositions. "I am muchpained, " said Alexander, "with this procrastination. I am so full ofsincerity myself, that it seems to me a very strange matter, this hostiledescent by Drake upon the coasts of Spain. The result of such courseswill be, that the King will end by being exasperated, and I shall betouched in my honour--so great is the hopes I have held out of being ableto secure a peace. I have ever been and I still am most anxious forconcord, from the affection I bear to her sacred Majesty. I have beenobliged, much against my will, to take the field again. I could wish nowthat our negotiations might terminate before the arrival of my freshtroops, namely, 9000 Spaniards and 9000 Italians, which, with Walloons, Germans, and Lorrainers, will give me an effective total of 30, 000soldiers. Of this I give you my word as a gentleman. Go, then, Andrew deLoo, " continued the Duke, "write to her sacred Majesty, that I desire tomake peace; and to serve her faithfully; and that I shall not change mymind, even in case of any great success, for I like to proceed rather bythe ways of love than of rigour and effusion of bleed. "

"I can assure you, oh, most serene Duke, " replied Andrew, "that the mostserene Queen is in the very same dispositions with yourself. "

"Excellent well then, " said the Duke, "we shall come to an agreement atonce, and the sooner the deputies on both sides are appointed thebetter. "

A feeble proposition was then made, on the part of the peace-lovingAndrew, that the hostile operations against Sluy's should be at onceterminated. But this did not seem so clear to the most serene Duke. Hehad gone to great expense in that business; and he had not built bridges, erected forts, and dug mines, only to abandon them for a few fine words, Fine words were plenty, but they raised no sieges. Meantime these pacificand gentle murmurings from Farnese's camp had lulled the Queen intoforgetfulness of Roger Williams and Arnold Groenevelt and their men, fighting day and night in trench and mine during that critical midsummer. The wily tongue of the Duke had been more effective than his batteries inobtaining the much-coveted city. The Queen obstinately held back her menand money, confident of effecting a treaty, whether Sluys fell or not. Was it strange that the States should be distrustful of her intentions, and, in their turn, become neglectful of their duty?

And thus summer wore into autumn, Sluys fell, the States and theirgovernor-general were at daggers-drawn, the Netherlanders were full ofdistrust with regard to England, Alexander hinted doubts as to theQueen's sincerity; the secret negotiations, though fertile in suspicions, jealousies, delays, and such foul weeds, had produced no wholesome fruit, and the excellent De Loo became very much depressed. At last a letterfrom Burghley relieved his drooping spirits. From the most disturbed andmelancholy man in the world, he protested, he had now become merry andquiet. He straightway went off to the Duke of Parma, with the letter inhis pocket, and translated it to him by candlelight, as he was careful tostate, as an important point in his narrative. And Farnese was fuller offine phrases than ever. 

"There is no cause whatever, " said he, in a most loving manner, "to doubtmy sincerity. Yet the Lord-Treasurer intimates that the most serene Queenis disposed so to do. But if I had not the very best intentions, anddesires for peace, I should never have made the first overtures. If I didnot wish a pacific solution, what in the world forced me to do what Ihave done? On the contrary, it is I that have reason to suspect the otherparties with their long delays, by which they have made me lose the bestpart of the summer. "

He then commented on the strong expressions in the English letters, as tothe continuance of her Majesty in her pious resolutions; observed that hewas thoroughly advised of the disputes between the Earl of Leicester andthe States; and added that it was very important for the time indicatedby the Queen. 

"Whatever is to be done, " said he, in conclusion, "let it be donequickly;" and with that he said he would go and eat a bit of supper. 

"And may I communicate Lord Burghley's letter to any one else?" asked DeLoo. 

"Yes, yes, to the Seigneur de Champagny, and to my secretary Cosimo, "answered his Highness. 

So the merchant negotiator proceeded at once to the mansion of Champagny, in company with the secretary Cosimo. There was a long conference, inwhich De Loo was informed of many things which he thoroughly believed, and faithfully transmitted to the court of Elizabeth. Alexander had donehis best, they said, to delay the arrival of his fresh troops. He hadwithdrawn from the field, on various pretexts, hoping, day after day, that the English commissioners would arrive, and that a firm andperpetual peace would succeed to the miseries of war. But as time woreaway, and there came no commissioners, the Duke had come to the painfulconclusion that he had been trifled with. His forces would now be sentinto Holland to find something to eat; and this would ensure the totaldestruction of all that territory. He had also written to command all theofficers of the coming troops to hasten their march, in order that hemight avoid incurring still deeper censure. He was much ashamed, intruth, to have been wheedled into passing the whole fine season inidleness. He had been sacrificing himself for her sacred Majesty, and to, serve her best interests; and now he found himself the object of hermirth. Those who ought to be well informed had assured him that the Queenwas only waiting to see how the King of Navarre was getting on with theauxiliary force just, going to him from Germany, that she had nointention whatever to make peace, and that, before long, he might expectall these German mercenaries upon his shoulders in the Netherlands. Nevertheless he was prepared to receive them with 40, 000 good infantry, asplendid cavalry force, and plenty of money. '

All this and more did the credulous Andrew greedily devour; and he lostno time in communicating the important intelligence to her Majesty andthe Lord-Treasurer. He implored her, he said, upon his bare knees, prostrate on the ground, and from the most profound and veritable centreof his heart and with all his soul and all his strength, to believe inthe truth of the matters thus confided to him. He would pledge hisimmortal soul, which was of more value to him--as he correctlyobserved--than even the crown of Spain, that the King, the Duke, and hiscounsellors, were most sincerely desirous of peace, and actuated by themost loving and benevolent motives. Alexander Farnese was "the antidoteto the Duke of Alva, " kindly sent by heaven, 'ut contraria contrariiscurenter, ' and if the entire security of the sacred Queen were not nowobtained, together with a perfect reintegration of love between herMajesty and the King of Spain, and with the assured tranquillity andperpetual prosperity of the Netherlands, it would be the fault ofEngland; not of Spain. 

And no doubt the merchant believed all that was told him, and--what wasworse--that he fully impressed his own convictions upon her Majesty andLord Burghley, to say nothing of the comptroller, who, poor man, hadgreat facility in believing anything that came from the court of the mostCatholic King: yet it is painful to reflect, that in all thesecommunications of Alexander and his agents, there was not one single wordof truth. --It was all false from beginning to end, as to thecountermanding of the troops, --as to the pacific intentions of the Kingand Duke, and as to the proposed campaign in Friesland, in case ofrupture; and all the rest. But this will be conclusively proved a littlelater. 

Meantime the conference had been most amicable and satisfactory. And whenbusiness was over, Champagny--not a whit the worse for the severe jiltingwhich he had so recently sustained from the widow De Bours, now Mrs. Aristotle Patton--invited De Loo and Secretary Cosimo to supper. And thethree made a night of it, sitting up late, and draining such huge bumpersto the health of the Queen of England, that--as the excellent Andrewsubsequently informed Lord Burghley--his head ached most bravely nextmorning. 

And so, amid the din of hostile preparation not only in Cadiz and Lisbon, but in Ghent and Sluys and Antwerp, the import of which it seemeddifficult to mistake, the comedy of, negotiation was still rehearsing, and the principal actors were already familiar with their respectiveparts. There were the Earl of Derby, knight of the garter, and my LordCobham; and puzzling James Croft, and other Englishmen, actuallybelieving that the farce was a solemn reality. There was Alexander ofParma thoroughly aware of the contrary. There was Andrew de Loo, moretalkative, more credulous, more busy than ever, and more fully impressedwith the importance of his mission, and there was the white-beardedLord-Treasurer turning complicated paragraphs; shaking his head andwaving his wand across the water, as if, by such expedients, the stormabout to burst over England could, be dispersed. 

The commissioners should come, if only the Duke of Parma would declare onhis word of honour, that these hostile preparations with which allChristendom was ringing; were not intended against England; or if thatreally were the case--if he would request his master to abandon all suchschemes, and if Philip in consequence would promise on the honour of aprince, to make no hostile attempts against that country. 

There would really seem an almost Arcadian simplicity in such demands, coming from so practised a statesman as the Lord-Treasurer, and from awoman of such brilliant intellect as Elizabeth unquestionably possessed. But we read the history of 1587, not only by the light of subsequentevents, but by the almost microscopic revelations of sentiments andmotives, which a full perusal of the secret documents in those ancientcabinets afford. At that moment it was not ignorance nor dulness whichwas leading England towards the pitfall so artfully dug by Spain. Therewas trust in the plighted word of a chivalrous soldier like AlexanderFarnese, of a most religious and anointed monarch like Philip II. Englishfrankness, playing cards upon the table, was no match for Italian andSpanish legerdemain, a system according to which, to defraud theantagonist by every kind of falsehood and trickery was the legitimate endof diplomacy and statesmanship. It was well known that there were greatpreparations in Spain, Portugal, and the obedient Netherlands, by landand sea. But Sir Robert Sidney was persuaded that the expedition wasintended for Africa; even the Pope was completely mystified--to theintense delight of Philip--and Burghley, enlightened by the sagacious DeLoo, was convinced, that even in case of a rupture, the whole strength ofthe Spanish arms was to be exerted in reducing Friesland and Overyssel. But Walsingham was never deceived; for he had learned from Demosthenes alesson with which William the Silent, in his famous Apology, had made theworld familiar, that the only citadel against a tyrant and a conquerorwas distrust. 

Alexander, much grieved that doubts should still be felt as to hissincerity, renewed the most exuberant expressions of that sentiment, together with gentle complaints against the dilatoriness which hadproceeded from the doubt. Her Majesty had long been aware, he said, ofhis anxiety to bring about a perfect reconciliation; but he had waited, month after month, for her commissioners, and had waited in vain. Hishopes had been dashed to the ground. The affair had been indefinitelyspun out, and he could not resist the conviction that her Majesty hadchanged her mind. Nevertheless, as Andrew de Loo was again proceeding toEngland, the Duke seized the opportunity once more to kiss her hand, and--although he had well nigh resolved to think no more on thesubject--to renew his declarations, that, if the much-coveted peace werenot concluded, the blame could not be imputed to him, and that he shouldstand guiltless before God and the world. He had done, and was stillready to do, all which became a Christian and a man desirous of thepublic welfare and tranquillity. 

When Burghley read these fine phrases, he was much impressed; and theywere pronounced at the English court to be "very princely andChristianly. " An elaborate comment too was drawn up by the comptroller onevery line of the letter. "These be very good words, " said thecomptroller. 

But the Queen was even more pleased with the last proof of the Duke'ssincerity, than even Burghley and Croft had been. Disregarding all thewarnings of Walsingham, she renewed her expressions of boundlessconfidence in the wily Italian. "We do assure you, " wrote the Lords, "andso you shall do well to avow it to the Duke upon our honours, that herMajesty saith she thinketh both their minds to accord upon one good andChristian meaning, though their ministers may perchance sound upon adiscord. " And she repeated her resolution to send over her commissioners, so soon as the Duke had satisfied her as to the hostile preparations. 

We have now seen the good faith of the English Queen towards the Spanishgovernment. We have seen her boundless trust in the sincerity of Farneseand his master. We have heard the exuberant professions of an honestintention to bring about a firm and lasting peace, which fell from thelips of Farnese and of his confidential agents. It is now necessary toglide for a moment into the secret cabinet of Philip, in order to satisfyourselves as to the value of all those professions. The attention of thereader is solicited to these investigations, because the year 1587 was amost critical period in the history of English, Dutch, and Europeanliberty. The coming year 1588 had been long spoken of in prophecy, as theyear of doom, perhaps of the destruction of the world, but it was in1587, the year of expectation and preparation, that the materials wereslowly combining out of which that year's history was to be formed. 

And there sat the patient letter-writer in his cabinet, busy with hisschemes. His grey head was whitening fast. He was sixty years of age. Hisframe was slight, his figure stooping, his digestion very weak, hismanner more glacial and sepulchral than ever; but if there were ahard-working man in Europe, that man was Philip II. And there he sat athis table, scrawling his apostilles. The fine innumerable threads whichstretched across the surface of Christendom, and covered it as with anet, all converged in that silent cheerless cell. France was kept in astate of perpetual civil war; the Netherlands had been converted into ashambles; Ireland was maintained in a state of chronic rebellion;Scotland was torn with internal feuds, regularly organized and paid forby Philip; and its young monarch--"that lying King of Scots, " asLeicester called him--was kept in a leash ready to be slipped uponEngland, when his master should give the word; and England herself waspalpitating with the daily expectation of seeing a disciplined horde ofbrigands let loose upon her shores; and all this misery, past, present, and future, was almost wholly due to the exertions of that grey-hairedletter-writer at his peaceful library-table. 

At the very beginning of the year the King of Denmark had made an offerto Philip of mediation. The letter, entrusted to a young Count deRantzan, had been intercepted by the States--the envoy not having availedhimself, in time, of his diplomatic capacity, and having in consequencebeen treated, for a moment, like a prisoner of war. The States hadimmediately addressed earnest letters of protest to Queen Elizabeth, declaring that nothing which the enemy could do in war was half sohorrible to them as the mere mention of peace. Life, honour, religion, liberty, their all, were at stake, they said, and would go down in oneuniversal shipwreck, if peace should be concluded; and they implored herMajesty to avert the proposed intercession of the Danish King. Wilkeswrote to Walsingham denouncing that monarch and his ministers asstipendiaries of Spain, while, on the other hand, the Duke of Parma, after courteously thanking the King for his offer of mediation, describedhim to Philip as such a dogged heretic, that no good was to be derivedfrom him, except by meeting his fraudulent offers with an equallyfraudulent response. There will be nothing lost, said Alexander, byaffecting to listen to his proposals, and meantime your Majesty mustproceed with the preparations against England. This was in the first weekof the year 1587. 

In February, and almost on the very day when Parma was writing thoseaffectionate letters to Elizabeth, breathing nothing but peace, he wascarefully conning Philip's directions in regard to the all-importantbusiness of the invasion. He was informed by his master, that one hundredvessels, forty of them of largest size, were quite ready, together with12, 000 Spanish infantry, including 3000 of the old legion, and that therewere volunteers more than enough. Philip had also taken note, he said, ofAlexander's advice as to choosing the season when the crops in Englandhad just been got in, as the harvest of so fertile a country would easilysupport an invading force; but he advised nevertheless that the armyshould be thoroughly victualled at starting. Finding that Alexander didnot quite approve of the Irish part of the plan, he would reconsider thepoint, and think more of the Isle of Wight; but perhaps still some otherplace might be discovered, a descent upon which might inspire that enemywith still greater terror and confusion. It would be difficult for him, he said, to grant the 6000 men asked for by the Scotch malcontents, without seriously weakening his armada; but there must be no positiverefusal, for a concerted action with the Scotch lords and their adherentswas indispensable. The secret, said the King, had been profoundly kept, and neither in Spain nor in Rome had anything been allowed to transpire. Alexander was warned therefore to do his best to maintain the mystery, for the enemy was trying very hard to penetrate their actions and theirthoughts. 

And certainly Alexander did his best. He replied to his master, bytransmitting copies of the letters he had been writing with his own handto the Queen, and of the pacific messages he had sent her throughChampagny and De Loo. She is just now somewhat confused, said he, andthose of her counsellors who desire peace, are more eager, than ever fornegotiation. She is very much afflicted with the loss of Deventer, and isquarrelling with the French ambassador about the new conspiracy for herassassination. The opportunity is a good one, and if she writes an answerto my letter, said Alexander, we can keep the negotiation, alive, while, if she does not, 'twill be a proof that she has contracted leagues withother parties. But, in any event, the Duke fervently implored Philip notto pause in his preparations for the great enterprise which he hadconceived in his royal breast. So urgent for the invasion was thepeace-loving general. 

He alluded also to the supposition that the quarrel between her Majestyand the French envoy was a mere fetch, and only one of the results ofBellievre's mission. Whether that diplomatist had been sent to censure, or in reality to approve, in the name of his master, of the ScottishQueen's execution, Alexander would leave to be discussed by DonBernardino de Mendoza, the Spanish ambassador in Paris; but he was ofopinion that the anger of the Queen with France was a fiction, and hersupposed league with France and Germany against Spain a fact. Upon thispoint, as it appears from Secretary Walsingham's lamentations, the astuteFarnese was mistaken. 

In truth he was frequently, led into error to the English policy the sameserpentine movement and venomous purpose which characterized his own; andwe have already seen; that Elizabeth was ready, on the contrary, toquarrel with the States, with France, with all the world, if she couldonly secure the good-will of Philip. 

The French-matter, indissolubly connected in that monarch's schemes, withhis designs upon England and Holland, was causing Alexander much anxiety. He foresaw great difficulty in maintaining that, indispensable civil warin France, and thought that a peace might, some fine day, be declaredbetween Henry III. And the Huguenots, when least expected. Inconsequence, the Duke of Guise was becoming very importunate for Philip'ssubsidies. "Mucio comes begging to me, " said Parma, "with the verygreatest earnestness, and utters nothing but lamentations and cries ofmisery. He asked for 25, 000 of the 150, 000 ducats promised him. I gavethem. Soon afterwards he writes, with just as much anxiety, for 25, 000more. These I did not give; firstly, because I had them not, " (whichwould seem a sufficient reason) "and secondly, because I wished toprotract matters as much as possible. He is constantly reminding me ofyour Majesty's promise of 300, 000 ducats, in case he comes to a rupturewith the King of France, and I always assure him that your Majesty willkeep all promises. "

Philip, on his part, through the months of spring, continued to assurehis generalissimo of his steady preparations--by sea and land. He hadordered Mendoza to pay the Scotch lords the sum demanded by them, but nottill after they had done the deed as agreed upon; and as to the 6000 men, he felt obliged, he said, to defer that matter for the moment; and toleave the decision upon it to the Duke. Farnese kept his sovereignminutely informed of the negociations carried on through Champagny and DeLoo, and expressed his constant opinion that the Queen was influenced bymotives as hypocritical as his own. She was only seeking, he said, todeceive, to defraud, to put him to sleep, by those feigned negotiations, while, she was making her combinations with France and Germany, for theruin of Spain. There was no virtue to be expected from her, except shewas compelled thereto by pure necessity. The English, he said, were hatedand abhorred by the natives of Holland and Zeeland, and it behoved Philipto seize so favourable an opportunity for urging on his great plan withall the speed in the world. It might be that the Queen, seeing thesemighty preparations, even although not suspecting that she herself was tobe invaded, would tremble for her safety, if the Netherlands should becrushed. But if she succeeded in deceiving Spain, and putting Philip andParma to sleep, she might well boast of having made fools of them all. The negotiations for peace and the preparations for the invasion shouldgo simultaneously forward therefore, and the money would, in consequence, come more sparingly to the Provinces from the English coffers, and thedisputes between England and the States would be multiplied. The Dukealso begged to be informed whether any terms could be laid down, uponwhich the King really would conclude peace; in order that he might makeno mistake for want of instructions or requisite powers. The condition ofFrance was becoming more alarming every day, he said. In other words, there was an ever-growing chance of peace for that distracted country. The Queen of England was cementing a strong league between herself, theFrench King, and the Huguenots; and matters were looking very serious. The impending peace in France would never do, and Philip should preventit in time, by giving Mucio his money. Unless the French are entangledand at war among themselves, it is quite clear, said Alexander, that wecan never think of carrying out our great scheme of invading England. 

The King thoroughly concurred in all that was said and done by hisfaithful governor and general. He had no intention of concluding a peaceon any terms whatever, and therefore could name no conditions; but hequite approved of a continuance of the negotiations. The English, he wasconvinced, were utterly false on their part, and the King of Denmark'sproposition to-mediate was part and parcel of the same general fiction. He was quite sensible of the necessity of giving Mucio the money toprevent a pacification in France, and would send letters of exchange onAgostino Spinola for the 300, 000 ducats. Meantime Farnese was to go onsteadily with his preparations for the invasion. 

The secretary-of-state, Don Juan de Idiaquez, also wrote most earnestlyon the great subject to the Duke. "It is not to be exaggerated", he said, "how set his Majesty is in the all-important business. If you wish tomanifest towards him the most flattering obedience on earth, and tooblige him as much as you could wish, give him this great satisfactionthis year. Since you have money, prepare everything out there, conquerall difficulties, and do the deed so soon as the forces of Spain andItaly arrive, according to the plan laid down by your Excellency lastyear. Make use of the negotiations for peace for this one purpose, and nomore, and do the business like the man you are. Attribute the liberty ofthis advice to my desire to serve you more than any other, to myknowledge of how much you will thereby gratify his Majesty, and to myfear of his resentment towards you, in the contrary case. "

And, on the same day, in order that there might be no doubt of the royalsentiments, Philip expressed himself at length on the whole subject. Thedealings of Farnese with the English, and his feeding them with hopes ofpeace, would have given him more satisfaction, he observed, if it hadcaused their preparations to slacken; but, on the contrary, theirboldness had increased. They had perpetrated the inhuman murder of theQueen of Scots, and moreover, not content with their piracies at sea andin the Indies, they had dared to invade the ports of Spain, as wouldappear in the narrative transmitted to Farnese of the late events atCadiz. And although that damage was small, said Philip; there resulted avery great obligation to take them 'seriously in hand. ' He declinedsending fill powers for treating; but in order to make use of the samearts employed by the English, he preferred that Alexander should notundeceive them, but desired him to express, as out of his own head; tothe negotiators, his astonishment that while they were holding suchlanguage they should commit such actions. Even their want of prudence inthus provoking the King; when their strength was compared to his, shouldbe spoken of by Farnese as--wonderful, and he was to express the opinionthat his Majesty would think him much wanting in circumspection, shouldhe go on negotiating while they were playing such tricks. "You must showyourself very sensitive, about this event, " continued Philip, "and youmust give them to understand that I am quite as angry as you. You musttry to draw from them some offer of satisfaction--however false it willbe in reality--such as a proposal to recall the fleet, or an assertionthat the deeds of Drake in Cadiz were without the knowledge and contraryto the will of the Queen, and that she very much regrets them, orsomething of that sort. "

It has already been shown that Farnese was very successful in elicitingfrom the Queen, through the mouth of Lord' Burghley, as ample a disavowaland repudiation of Sir Francis Drake as the King could possibly desire. Whether it would have the desired effect--of allaying the wrath ofPhilip; might have been better foretold, could the letter, with which weare now occupied, have been laid upon the Greenwich council-board. 

"When you have got, such a disavowal, " continued his Majesty, "you are toact as if entirely taken in and imposed upon by them, and, pretending tobelieve everything they tell you, you must renew the negotiations, proceed to name commissioners, and propose a meeting upon neutralterritory. As for powers; say that you, as my governor-general, willentrust them to your deputies, in regard to the Netherlands. For allother matters, say that you have had full powers for many months, butthat you cannot exhibit them until conditions worthy of my acceptancehave been offered. --Say this only for the sake of appearance. This is thetrue way to take them in, and so the peace-commissioners may meet. But toyou only do I declare that my intention is that this shall never lead toany result, whatever conditions maybe offered by them. On the contrary, all this is done--just as they do--to deceive them, and to cool them intheir preparations for defence, by inducing them to believe that suchpreparations will be unnecessary. You are well aware that the reverse ofall this is the truth, and that on our part there is to be no slackness, but the greatest diligence in our efforts for the invasion of England, for which we have already made the most abundant provision in men, ships, and money, of which you are well aware. "

Is it strange that the Queen of England was deceived? Is it matter ofsurprise, censure, or shame, that no English statesman was astute enoughor base enough to contend with such diplomacy, which seemed inspired onlyby the very father of lies?

"Although we thus enter into negotiations, " continued the King--unveilinghimself, with a solemn indecency, not agreeable to contemplate--"withoutany intention of concluding them, you can always get out of them withgreat honour, by taking umbrage about the point of religion and aboutsome other of the outrageous propositions which they are like to propose, and of which there are plenty, in the letters of Andrew de Loo. Yourcommissioners must be instructed; to refer all important matters to yourpersonal decision. The English will be asking for damages for money, spent in assisting my rebels; your commissioners will contend thatdamages are rather due to me. Thus, and in other ways, time will beagent. Your own envoys are not to know the secret any more than theEnglish themselves. I tell it to you only. Thus you will proceed with thenegotiations, now, yielding on one point, and now insisting on another, but directing all to the same object--to gain time while proceeding withthe preparation for the invasion, according to the plan already agreedupon. "

Certainly the most Catholic King seemed, in this remarkable letter tohave outdone himself; and Farnese--that sincere Farnese, in whose loyal, truth-telling, chivalrous character, the Queen and her counsellors placedsuch implicit reliance--could thenceforward no longer be embarrassed asto the course he was to adopt. To lie daily, through, thick, and thin, and with every variety of circumstance and detail which; a genius fertilein fiction could suggest, such was the simple rule prescribed by hissovereign. And the rule was implicitly obeyed, and the English sovereignthoroughly deceived. The secret confided only, to the faithful breast ofAlexander was religiously kept. Even the Pope was outwitted. His Holinessproposed to, Philip the invasion of England, and offered a million tofurther the plan. He was most desirous to be informed if the project was, resolved upon, and, if so, when it was to be accomplished. The King tookthe Pope's million, but refused the desired information. He answeredevasively. He had a very good will to invade the country, he said, butthere were great difficulties in the way. After a time, the Pope againtried to pry into the matter, and again offered the million which Philiphad only accepted for the time when it might be wanted; giving him at thesame time, to understand that it was not necessary at that time, becausethere were then great impediments. "Thus he is pledged to give me thesubsidy, and I am not pledged for the time, " said Philip, "and I keep mysecret, which is the most important of all. "

Yet after all, Farnese did not see his way clear towards the consummationof the plan. His army had wofully dwindled, and before he could seriouslyset about ulterior matters, it would be necessary to take the city ofSluys. This was to prove--as already seen--a most arduous enterprise. Hecomplained to Philip' of his inadequate supplies both in men and money. The project conceived in the royal breast was worth spending millionsfor, he said, and although by zeal and devotion he could accomplishsomething, yet after all he was no more than a man, and without thenecessary means the scheme could not succeed. But Philip, on thecontrary, was in the highest possible spirits. He had collected moremoney, he declared than had ever been seen before in the world. He hadtwo million ducats in reserve, besides the Pope's million; the Frenchwere in a most excellent state of division, and the invasion should bemade this year without fail. The fleet would arrive in the Englishchannel by the end of the summer; which would be exactly in conformitywith Alexander's ideas. The invasion was to be threefold: from Scotland, under the Scotch earls and their followers, with the money and troopsfurnished by Philip; from the Netherlands, under Parma; and by the greatSpanish armada itself, upon the Isle of Wight. Alexander must recommendhimself to God, in whose cause he was acting, and then do his duty; whichlay very plain before him. If he ever wished to give his sovereignsatisfaction in his life; he was to do the deed that year, whatever mightbetide. Never could there be so fortunate a conjunction of circumstancesagain. France was in a state of revolution, the German levies were weak, the Turk was fully occupied in Persia, an enormous mass of money, overand above the Pope's million, had been got together, and although theseason was somewhat advanced, it was certain that the Duke would conquerall impediments, and be the instrument by which his royal master mightrender to God that service which he was so anxious to perform. Enthusiastic, though gouty, Philip grasped the pen in order to scrawl afew words with his own royal hand. "This business is of such importance, "he said, "and it is so necessary that it should not be delayed, that Icannot refrain from urging it upon you as much as I can. I should do iteven more amply; if this hand would allow me, which has been crippledwith gout these several days, and my feet as well, and although it isunattended with pain, yet it is an impediment to writing. "

Struggling thus against his own difficulties, and triumphantly, accomplishing a whole paragraph with disabled hand, it was natural thatthe King should expect Alexander, then deep in the siege of Sluy's, tovanquish all his obstacles as successfully; and to effect the conquest ofEngland so soon as the harvests of that kingdom should be garnered. 

Sluy's was surrendered at last, and the great enterprise seemed openingfrom hour to hour. During the months of autumn; upon the very days whenthose loving messages, mixed with gentle reproaches, were sent byAlexander to Elizabeth, and almost at the self-same hours in which honestAndrew de Loo was getting such head-aches by drinking the Queen's healthwith Cosimo, and Champagny, the Duke and Philip were interchangingdetailed information as to the progress of the invasion. The Kingcalculated that by the middle of September Alexander would have 30, 000men in the Netherlands ready for embarcation. --Marquis Santa Cruz wasannounced as nearly ready to, sail for the English channel with 22, 000more, among whom were to be 16, 000 seasoned Spanish infantry. The Marquiswas then to extend the hand to Parma, and protect that passage to Englandwhich the Duke was at once to effect. The danger might be great for solarge a fleet to navigate the seas at so late a season of the year; butPhilip was sure that God, whose cause it was, would be pleased to givegood weather. The Duke was to send, with infinite precautions of secrecy, information which the Marquis would expect off Ushant, and be quite readyto act so soon as Santa Cruz should arrive. Most earnestly and anxiouslydid the King deprecate any, thought of deferring the expedition toanother year. If delayed, the obstacles of the following summer--a peacein France, a peace between the Turk and Persia, and othercontingencies--would cause the whole project to fail, and Philipdeclared, with much iteration, that money; reputation, honour, his owncharacter and that of Farnese, and God's service, were all at stake. Hewas impatient at suggestions of difficulties occasionally, ventured bythe Duke, who was reminded that he had been appointed chief of the greatenterprise by the spontaneous choice of his master, and that all hisplans had been minutely followed. "You are the author of the wholescheme, " said Philip, "and if it, is all to vanish into space, what kindof a figure shall we cut the coming year?" Again and again he referred tothe immense sum collected--such as never before had been seen since theworld was made--4, 800, 000 ducats with 2, 000, 000 in reserve, of which hewas authorized to draw for 500, 000 in advance, to say nothing of thePope's million. 

But Alexander, while straining every nerve to obey his master's wishesabout the invasion, and to blind the English by the fictitiousnegotiations, was not so sanguine as his sovereign. In truth, there wassomething puerile in the eagerness which Philip manifested. He had madeup his mind that England was to be conquered that autumn, and hadendeavoured--as well as he could--to comprehend, the plans which hisillustrious general had laid down for accomplishing that purpose. Of, course; to any man of average intellect, or, in truth, to any man outsidea madhouse; it would seem an essential part of the conquest that theArmada should arrive. Yet--wonderful to relate-Philip, in his impatience, absolutely suggested that the Duke might take possession of Englandwithout waiting for Santa Cruz and his Armada. As the autumn had beenwearing away, and there had been unavoidable delays about the shipping inSpanish ports, the King thought it best not to defer matters till, thewinter. "You are, doubtless, ready, " he said to Farnese. "If you thinkyou can make the passage to England before the fleet from Spain arrives, go at once. You maybe sure that it will come ere long to support, you. But if, you prefer, to wait, wait. The dangers of winter, to the fleetand to your own person are to be regretted; but God, whose cause it is;will protect you. "

It was, easy to sit quite out of harm's way, and to make such excellent, arrangements for smooth weather in the wintry channel, and for theconquest of a maritime and martial kingdom by a few flat bottoms. Philiphad little difficulty on that score, but the affairs of France were notquite to his mind. The battle of Coutras, and the entrance of the Germanand Swiss mercenaries into that country, were somewhat perplexing. Eitherthose auxiliaries of the Huguenots would be defeated, or they would bevictorious, or both parties would come to an agreement. In the firstevent, the Duke, after sending a little assistance to Mucio, was toeffect his passage to England at once. In the second case, those troops, even though successful, would doubtless be so much disorganized that itmight be still safe for Farnese to go on. In the third contingency--thatof an accord--it would be necessary for him to wait till the foreigntroops had disbanded and left France. He was to maintain all his forcesin perfect readiness, on pretext of the threatening aspect of Frenchmatters and, so soon as the Swiss and Germane were dispersed, he was toproceed to business without delay. The fleet would be ready in Spain inall November, but as sea-affairs were so doubtful, particularly inwinter, and as the Armada could not reach the channel till mid-winter;the Duke was not to wait for its arrival. "Whenever you see a favourableopportunity, " said Philip, "you must take care not to lose it, even ifthe fleet has not made its appearance. For you may be sure that it willsoon come to give you assistance, in one way or another. "

Farnese had also been strictly enjoined to deal gently with the English, after the conquest, so that they would have cause to love their newmaster. His troops were not to forget discipline after victory. There wasto be no pillage or rapine. The Catholics were to be handsomely rewardedand all the inhabitants were to be treated with so much indulgence that, instead of abhorring Parma and his soldiers, they would conceive a strongaffection for them all, as the source of so many benefits. Again the Dukewas warmly commended for the skill with which he had handled the peacenegotiation. It was quite right to appoint commissioners, but it wasnever for an instant to be forgotten that the sole object of treating wasto take the English unawares. "And therefore do you guide them to thisend, " said the King with pious unction, "which is what you owe to God, inwhose service I have engaged in this enterprise, and to whom I havededicated the whole. " The King of France, too--that unfortunate HenryIII. , against whose throne and life Philip maintained in constant pay anorganized band of conspirators--was affectionately adjured, through theSpanish envoy in Paris, Mendoza, --to reflect upon the advantages toFrance of a Catholic king and kingdom of England, in place of theheretics now in power. 

But Philip, growing more and more sanguine, as those visions of freshcrowns and conquered kingdoms rose before him in his solitary cell, hadeven persuaded himself that the deed was already done. In the early daysof December, he expressed a doubt whether his 14th November letter hadreached the Duke, who by that time was probably in England. One wouldhave thought the King addressing a tourist just starting on a littlepleasure-excursion. And this was precisely the moment when Alexander hadbeen writing those affectionate phrases to the Queen which had beenconsidered by the counsellors at Greenwich so "princely and Christianly, "and which Croft had pronounced such "very good words. "

If there had been no hostile, fleet to prevent, it was to be hoped, saidPhilip, that, in the name of God, the passage had been made. "Once landedthere, " continued the King, "I am persuaded that you will give me a goodaccount of yourself, and, with the help of our Lord, that you will dothat service which I desire to render to Him, and that He will guide ourcause, which is His own, and of such great importance to His Church. " Apart of the fleet would soon after arrive and bring six thousandSpaniards, the Pope's million, and other good things, which might proveuseful to Parma, presupposing that they would find him established on theenemy's territory. 

This conviction that the enterprise had been already accomplished grewstronger in the King's breast every day. He was only a little disturbedlest Farnese should have misunderstood that 14th November letter. Philip--as his wont was--had gone into so many petty and puzzlingdetails, and had laid down rules of action suitable for variouscontingencies, so easy to put comfortably upon paper, but which mightbecome perplexing in action, that it was no wonder he should be a littleanxious. The third contingency suggested by him had really occurred. There had been a composition between the foreign mercenaries and theFrench King. Nevertheless they had also been once or twice defeated, andthis was contingency number two. Now which of the events would the Dukeconsider as having really occurred. It was to be hoped that he would havenot seen cause for delay, for in truth number three was not exactly thecontingency which existed. France was still in a very satisfactory stateof discord and rebellion. The civil war was by no means over. There wassmall fear of peace that winter. Give Mucio his pittance with frugalhand, and that dangerous personage would ensure tranquillity for Philip'sproject, and misery for Henry III. And his subjects for an indefiniteperiod longer. The King thought it improbable that Farnese could havemade any mistake. He expressed therefore a little anxiety at havingreceived no intelligence from him, but had great confidence that, withthe aid of the Lord and of with his own courage he had accomplished thegreat exploit. Philip had only, recommended delay in event of a generalpeace in France--Huguenots, Royalists, Leaguers, and all. This had nothappened. "Therefore, I trust, " said the King; "that you--perceiving thatthis is not contingency number three which was to justify a pause--willhave already executed the enterprise, and fulfilled my desire. I amconfident that the deed is done, and that God has blessed it, and I amnow expecting the news from hour to hour. "

But Alexander had not yet arrived in England. The preliminaries for theconquest caused him more perplexity than the whole enterprise occasionedto Philip. He was very short of funds. The five millions were not to betouched, except for the expenses of the invasion. But as England was tobe subjugated, in order that rebellious Holland might be recovered, itwas hardly reasonable to go away leaving such inadequate forces in theNetherlands as to ensure not only independence to the new republic, butto hold out temptation for revolt to the obedient Provinces. Yet this wasthe dilemma in which the Duke was placed. So much money had been setaside for the grand project that there was scarcely anything for theregular military business. The customary supplies had not been sent. Parma had leave to draw for six hundred thousand ducats, and he was ableto get that draft discounted on the Antwerp Exchange by consenting toreceive five hundred thousand, or sacrificing sixteen per cent. Of thesum. A good number of transports, and scows had been collected, but therehad been a deficiency of money for their proper equipment, as the fivemillions had been very slow in coming, and were still upon the road. Thewhole enterprise was on the point of being sacrificed, according toFarnese, for want of funds. The time for doing the deed had arrived, andhe declared himself incapacitated by poverty. He expressed his disgustand resentment in language more energetic than courtly; and protestedthat he was not to blame. "I always thought, " said he bitterly, "thatyour Majesty would provide all that was necessary even in superfluity, and not limit me beneath the ordinary. I did not suppose, when it wasmost important to have ready money, that I should be kept short, and notallowed to draw certain sums by anticipation, which I should have donehad you not forbidden. "

This was, through life, a striking characteristic of Philip. Enormousschemes were laid out with utterly inadequate provision for theiraccomplishment, and a confident expectation entertained that wild, visions were; in some indefinite way, to be converted into substantialrealities, without fatigue or personal exertion on his part, and with avery trifling outlay of ready money. 

Meantime the faithful Farnese did his best. He was indefatigable nightand day in getting his boats together and providing his munitions of war. He dug a canal from Sas de Gand--which was one of his principaldepots--all the way to Sluys, because the water-communication betweenthose two points was entirely in the hands of the Hollanders andZeelanders. The rebel cruisers swarmed in the Scheldt, from, Flushingalmost to Antwerp, so that it was quite impossible for Parma's forces toventure forth at all; and it also seemed hopeless to hazard putting tosea from Sluys. At the same, time he had appointed his, commissioners totreat with the English envoys already named by the Queen. There had beenmuch delay in the arrival of those deputies, on account of the noiseraised by Barneveld and his followers; but Burghley was now sanguine thatthe exposure of what he called the Advocate's seditious, false, andperverse proceedings, would enable Leicester to procure the consent ofthe States to a universal peace. 

And thus, with these parallel schemes of invasion and negotiation, spring; summer, and autumn, had worn away. Santa Cruz was still with hisfleet in Lisbon, Cadiz, and the Azores; and Parma was in Brussels, whenPhilip fondly imagined him established in Greenwich Palace. When madeaware of his master's preposterous expectations, Alexander would havebeen perhaps amused, had he not been half beside himself withindignation. Such folly seemed incredible. There was not the slightestappearance of a possibility of making a passage without the protection ofthe Spanish fleet, he observed. His vessels were mere transport-boats, without the least power of resisting an enemy. The Hollanders andZeelanders, with one hundred and forty cruisers, had shut him up in alldirections. He could neither get out from Antwerp nor from Sluys. Therewere large English ships, too, cruising in the channel, and they weregetting ready in the Netherlands and in England "most furiously. " Thedelays had been so great, that their secret had been poorly kept, and theenemy was on his guard. If Santa Cruz had come, Alexander declared thathe should have already been in England. When he did come he should stillbe prepared to make the passage; but to talk of such an attempt withoutthe Armada was senseless, and he denounced the madness of thatproposition to his Majesty in vehement and unmeasured terms. His army, bysickness and other causes, had been reduced to one-half the numberconsidered necessary for the invasion, and the rebels had establishedregular squadrons in the Scheldt, in the very teeth of the forts, atLillo, Liefkenshoek, Saftingen, and other points close to Antwerp. Therewere so many of these war-vessels, and all in such excellent order, thatthey were a most notable embarrassment to him, he observed, and his ownflotilla would run great risk of being utterly destroyed. Alexander hadbeen personally superintending matters at Sluys, Ghent, and Antwerp, andhad strengthened with artillery the canal which he had constructedbetween Sas and Sluys. Meantime his fresh troops had been slowlyarriving, but much sickness prevailed among them. The Italians were dyingfast, almost all the Spaniards were in hospital, and the others were socrippled and worn out that it was most pitiable to behold them; yet itwas absolutely necessary that those who were in health should accompanyhim to England, since otherwise his Spanish force would be altogether tooweak to do the service expected. He had got together a good number oftransports. Not counting his Antwerp fleet--which could not stir fromport, as he bitterly complained, nor be of any use, on account of therebel blockade--he had between Dunkerk and Newport seventy-four vesselsof various kinds fit for sea-service, one hundred and fifty flat-bottoms(pleytas), and seventy riverhoys, all which were to be assembled atSluys, whence they would--so soon as Santa Cruz should make hisappearance--set forth for England. This force of transports he pronouncedsufficient, when properly protected by the Spanish Armada, to carryhimself and his troops across the channel. If, therefore, the matter didnot become publicly known, and if the weather proved favourable, it wasprobable that his Majesty's desire would soon be fulfilled according tothe plan proposed. The companies of light horse and of arquebusmen, withwhich he meant to make his entrance into London, had been clothed, armed, and mounted, he said, in a manner delightful to contemplate, and thosesoldiers at least might be trusted--if they could only effect theirpassage--to do good service, and make matters quite secure. 

But craftily as the King and Duke had been dealing, it had been foundimpossible to keep such vast preparations entirely secret. Walsingham wasin full possession of their plans down to the most minute details. Themisfortune was that he was unable to persuade his sovereign, LordBurghley, and others of the peace-party, as to the accuracy of hisinformation. Not only was he thoroughly instructed in regard to thenumber of men, vessels, horses, mules, saddles, spurs, lances, barrels ofbeer and tons of biscuit, and other particulars of the contemplatedinvasion, but he had even received curious intelligence as to thegorgeous equipment of those very troops, with which the Duke was justsecretly announcing to the King his intention of making his triumphalentrance into the English capital. Sir Francis knew how many thousandyards of cramoisy velvet, how many hundredweight of gold and silverembroidery, how much satin and feathers, and what quantity of pearls anddiamonds; Farnese had been providing himself withal. He knew the tailors, jewellers, silversmiths, and haberdashers, with whom the greatAlexander--as he now began to be called--had been dealing; but when hespoke at the council-board, it was to ears wilfully deaf. 

 ["There is provided for lights a great number of torches, and so tempered that no water can put them out. A great number of little mills for grinding corn, great store of biscuit baked and oxen salted, great number of saddles and boots also there is made 500 pair of velvet shoes-red, crimson velvet, and in every cloister throughout the country great quantity of roses made of silk, white and red, which are to be badges for divers of his gentlemen. By reason of these roses it is expected he is going for England. There is sold to the Prince by John Angel, pergaman, ten hundred-weight of velvet, gold and silver to embroider his apparel withal. The covering to his mules is most gorgeously embroidered with gold and silver, which carry his baggage. There is also sold to him by the Italian merchants at least 670 pieces of velvet to apparel him and his train. Every captain has received a gift from the Prince to make himself brave, and for Captain Corralini, an Italian, who hath one cornet of horse, I have seen with my eyes a saddle with the trappings of his horse, his coat and rapier and dagger, which cost 3, 500 French crowns. (!!) All their lances are painted of divers colours, blue and white, green and White, and most part blood-red-- so there is as great preparation for a triumph as for war. A great number of English priests come to Antwerp from all places. The commandment is given to all the churches to read the Litany daily for the prosperity of the Prince in his enterprise. " John Giles to Walsingham, 4 Dec. 1587. (S. P. Office MS. )

 The same letter conveyed also very detailed information concerning the naval preparations by the Duke, besides accurate intelligence in regard to the progress of the armada in Cadiz and Lisbon. 

 Sir William Russet wrote also from Flushing concerning these preparations in much the same strain; but it is worthy of note that he considered Farnese to be rather intending a movement against France. 

 "The Prince of Parma, " he said, "is making great preparations for war, and with all expedition means to march a great army, and for a triumph, the coats and costly, apparel for his own body doth exceed for embroidery, and beset with jewels; for all the embroiderers and diamond-cutters work both night and day, such haste is made. Five hundred velvet coats of one sort for lances, and a great number of brave new coats made for horsemen; 30, 000 men are ready, and gather in Brabant and Flanders. It is said that there shall be in two days 10, 000 to do some great exploit in these parts, and 20, 000 to march with the Prince into France, and for certain it is not known what way or how they shall march, but all are ready at an hour's warning --4, 000 saddles, 4000 lances. 6, 000 pairs of boots, 2, 000 barrels of beer, biscuit sufficient for a camp of 20, 000 men, &c. The Prince hath received a marvellous costly garland or crown from the Pope, and is chosen chief of the holy league. . . "]

Nor was much concealed from the Argus-eyed politicians in the republic. The States were more and more intractable. They knew nearly all the truthwith regard to the intercourse between the Queen's government andFarnese, and they suspected more than the truth. The list of Englishcommissioners privately agreed upon between Burghley and De Loo was knownto Barneveld, Maurice, and Hohenlo, before it came to the ears ofLeicester. In June, Buckhurst had been censured by Elizabeth for openingthe peace matter to members of the States, according to her bidding, andin July Leicester was rebuked for exactly the opposite delinquency. Shewas very angry that he had delayed the communication of her policy solong, but she expressed her anger only when that policy had proved sotransparent as to make concealment hopeless. Leicester, as well asBuckhurst, knew that it was idle to talk to the Netherlanders of peace, because of their profound distrust in every word that came from Spanishor Italian lips; but Leicester, less frank than Buckhurst, preferred toflatter his sovereign, rather than to tell her unwelcome truths. Morefortunate than Buckhurst, he was rewarded for his flattery by boundlessaffection, and promotion to the very highest post in England when thehour of England's greatest peril had arrived, while the truth-tellingcounsellor was consigned to imprisonment and disgrace. When the Queencomplained sharply that the States were mocking her, and that she wastouched in honour at the prospect of not keeping her plighted word toFarnese, the Earl assured her that the Netherlanders were fast changingtheir views; that although the very name of peace had till then beenodious and loathsome, yet now, as coming from her Majesty, they wouldaccept it with thankful hearts. 

The States, or the leading members of that assembly, factious fellows, pestilent and seditious knaves, were doing their utmost, and were singingsirens' songs' to enchant and delude the people, but they were fastlosing their influence--so warmly did the country desire to conform toher Majesty's pleasure. He expatiated, however, upon the difficulties inhis path. The knowledge possessed by the pestilent fellows as to theactual position of affairs, was very mischievous. It was honey to Mauriceand Hohenlo, he said, that the Queen's secret practices with Farnese hadthus been discovered. Nothing could be more marked than the jollity withwhich the ringleaders hailed these preparations for peace-making, forthey now felt certain that the government of their country had been fixedsecurely in their own hands. They were canonized, said the Earl, fortheir hostility to peace. 

Should not this conviction, on the part of men who had so many means offeeling the popular pulse, have given the Queen's government pause? Toserve his sovereign in truth, Leicester might have admitted a possibilityat least of honesty on the part of men who were so ready to offer uptheir lives for their country. For in a very few weeks he was obliged toconfess that the people were no longer so well disposed to acquiesce inher Majesty's policy. The great majority, both of the States and thepeople, were in favour, he agreed, of continuing the war. The inhabitantsof the little Province of Holland alone, he said, had avowed theirdetermination to maintain their rights--even if obliged to fightsingle-handed--and to shed the last drop in their veins, rather than tosubmit again to Spanish tyranny. This seemed a heroic resolution, worthythe sympathy of a brave Englishman, but the Earl's only comment upon itwas, that it proved the ringleaders "either to be traitors or else themost blindest asses in the world. " He never scrupled, on repeatedoccasions, to insinuate that Barneveld, Hohenlo, Buys, Roorda, SainteAldegonde, and the Nassaus, had organized a plot to sell their country toSpain. Of this there was not the faintest evidence, but it was the onlyway in which he chose to account for their persistent opposition to thepeace-negotiations, and to their reluctance to confer absolute power onhimself. "'Tis a crabbed, sullen, proud kind of people, " said he, "andbent on establishing a popular government, "--a purpose which seemedsomewhat inconsistent with the plot for selling their country to Spain, which he charged in the same breath on the same persons. 

Early in August, by the Queen's command, he had sent a formalcommunication respecting the private negotiations to the States, but hecould tell them no secret. The names of the commissioners, and even thesupposed articles of a treaty already concluded, were flying from town totown, from mouth to mouth, so that the Earl pronounced it impossible forone, not on the spot, to imagine the excitement which existed. 

He had sent a state-counsellor, one Bardesius, to the Hague, to open thematter; but that personage had only ventured to whisper a word to one ortwo members of the States, and was assured that the proposition, if made, would raise such a tumult of fury, that he might fear for his life. Sopoor Bardesius came back to Leicester, fell on his knees, and imploredhim; at least to pause in these fatal proceedings. After an interval, hesent two eminent statesmen, Valk and Menin, to lay the subject before theassembly. They did so, and it was met by fierce denunciation. On theirreturn, the Earl, finding that so much violence had been excited, pretended that they had misunderstood his meaning, and that he had nevermeant to propose peace-negotiations. But Valk and Menin were too oldpoliticians to be caught in such a trap, and they produced a brief, drawnup in Italian--the foreign language best understood by the Earl--with hisown corrections and interlineations, so that he was forced to admit thatthere had been no misconception. 

Leicester at last could no longer doubt that he was universally odious inthe Provinces. Hohenlo, Barneveld, and the rest, who had "championed thecountry against the peace, " were carrying all before them. They hadpersuaded the people, that the "Queen was but a tickle stay for them, "and had inflated young Maurice with vast ideas of his importance, tellinghim that he was "a natural patriot, the image of his noble father, whosememory was yet great among them, as good reason, dying in their cause, ashe had done. " The country was bent on a popular government, and onmaintaining the war. There was no possibility, he confessed, that theywould ever confer the authority on him which they had formerly bestowed. The Queen had promised, when he left England the second time, that hisabsence should be for but three months, and he now most anxiously claimedpermission to depart. Above all things, he deprecated being employed as apeace-commissioner. He was, of all men, the most unfit for such a post. At the same time he implored the statesmen at home to be wary inselecting the wisest persons for that arduous duty, in order that thepeace might be made for Queen Elizabeth, as well as for King Philip. Hestrongly recommended, for that duty, Beale, the councillor, who withKilligrew had replaced the hated Wilkes and the pacific BartholomewClerk. "Mr. Beale, brother-in-law to Walsingham, is in my books aprince, " said the Earl. "He was drowned in England, but most useful inthe Netherlands. Without him I am naked. "

And at last the governor told the Queen what Buckhurst and Walsingham hadbeen perpetually telling her, that the Duke of Parma meant mischief; andhe sent the same information as to hundreds of boats preparing, with sixthousand shirts for camisados, 7000 pairs of wading boots, and saddles, stirrups, and spurs, enough for a choice band of 3000 men. A shrewdtroop, said the Earl, of the first soldiers in Christendom, to be landedsome fine morning in England. And he too had heard of the jewelled suitsof cramoisy velvet, and all the rest of the finery with which thetriumphant Alexander was intending to astonish London. "Get horsesenough, and muskets enough in England, " exclaimed Leicester, "and thenour people will not be beaten, I warrant you, if well led. "

And now, the governor--who, in order to soothe his sovereign and complywith her vehement wishes, had so long misrepresented the state of publicfeeling--not only confessed that Papists and Protestants, gentle andsimple, the States and the people, throughout the republic, were allopposed to any negotiation with the enemy, but lifted up his own voice, and in earnest language expressed his opinion of the Queen's infatuation. 

"Oh, my Lord, what a treaty is this for peace, " said he to Burghley, "that we must treat, altogether disarmed and weakened, and the Kinghaving made his forces stronger than ever he had known in these parts, besides what is coming out, of Spain, and yet we will presume of goodconditions. It grieveth me to the heart. But I fear you will all smartfor it, and I pray God her Majesty feel it not, if it be His blessedwill. She meaneth well and sincerely to have peace, but God knows thatthis is not the way. Well, God Almighty defend us and the realm, andespecially her Majesty. But look for a sharp war, or a miserable peace, to undo others and ourselves after. "

Walsingham, too, was determined not to act as a commissioner. If hisfailing health did not serve as an excuse, he should be obliged torefuse, he said, and so forfeit her Majesty's favour, rather than beinstrumental in bringing about her ruin, and that of his country. Neverfor an instant had the Secretary of State faltered in his opposition tothe timid policy of Burghley. Again and again he had detected theintrigues of the Lord-Treasurer and Sir James Croft, and ridiculed the"comptroller's peace. "

And especially did Walsingham bewail the implicit confidence which theQueen placed in the sugary words of Alexander, and the fatal parsimonywhich caused her to neglect defending herself against Scotland; for hewas as well informed as was Farnese himself of Philip's arrangements withthe Scotch lords, and of the subsidies in men and money by which theirinvasion of England was to be made part of the great scheme. "No onething, " sighed Walsingham, "doth more prognosticate an alteration of thisestate, than that a prince of her Majesty's judgment should neglect, inrespect of a little charges, the stopping of so dangerous a gap. . . . The manner of our cold and careless proceeding here, in this time ofperil, maketh me to take no comfort of my recovery of health, for that Isee, unless it shall please God in mercy and miraculously to preserve us, we cannot long stand. "

Leicester, finding himself unable to counteract the policy of Barneveldand his party, by expostulation or argument, conceived a very dangerousand criminal project before he left the country. The facts are somewhatveiled in mystery; but he was suspected, on weighty evidence, of a designto kidnap both Maurice and Barneveld, and carry them off to England. Ofthis intention, which was foiled at any rate, before it could be carriedinto execution, there is perhaps not conclusive proof, but it has alreadybeen shown, from a deciphered letter, that the Queen had once givenBuckhurst and Wilkes peremptory orders to seize the person of Hohenlo, and it is quite possible that similar orders may have been received at alater moment with regard to the young Count and the Advocate. At anyrate, it is certain that late in the autumn, some friends of Barneveldentered his bedroom, at the Hague, in the dead of night, and informed himthat a plot was on foot to lay violent hands upon him, and that an armedforce was already on its way to execute this purpose of Leicester, beforethe dawn of day. The Advocate, without loss of time, took his departurefor Delft, a step which was followed, shortly afterwards, by Maurice. 

Nor was this the only daring--stroke which the Earl had meditated. Duringthe progress of the secret negotiations with Parma, he had not neglectedthose still more secret schemes to which he had occasionally madeallusion. He had determined, if possible, to obtain possession of themost important cities in Holland and Zeeland. It was very plain to him, that he could no longer hope, by fair means, for the great authority onceconferred upon him by the free will of the States. It was his purpose, therefore, by force and stratagem to recover his lost power. We haveheard the violent terms in which both the Queen and the Earl denouncedthe men who accused the English government of any such intention. It hadbeen formally denied by the States-General that Barneveld had ever usedthe language in that assembly with which he had been charged. He had onlyrevealed to them the exact purport of the letter to Junius, and of theQueen's secret instructions to Leicester. Whatever he may have said inprivate conversation, and whatever deductions he may have made among hisintimate friends, from the admitted facts in the case, could hardly bemade matters of record. It does not appear that he, or the statesmen whoacted with him, considered the Earl capable of a deliberate design tosell the cities, thus to be acquired, to Spain, as the price of peace forEngland. Certainly Elizabeth would have scorned such a crime, and wasjustly indignant at rumours prevalent to that effect; but the wrath ofthe Queen and of her favourite were, perhaps, somewhat simulated, inorder to cover their real mortification at the discovery of designs onthe part of the Earl which could not be denied. Not only had they been atlast compelled to confess these negotiations, which for several monthshad been concealed and stubbornly denied, but the still graver plots ofthe Earl to regain his much-coveted authority had been, in a startlingmanner, revealed. The leaders of the States-General had a right tosuspect the English Earl of a design to reenact the part of the Duke ofAnjou, and were justified in taking stringent measures to prevent acalamity, which, as they believed, was impending over their littlecommonwealth. The high-handed dealings of Leicester in the city ofUtrecht have been already described. The most respectable and influentialburghers of the place had been imprisoned and banished, the municipalgovernment wrested from the hands to which it legitimately belonged, andconfided to adventurers, who wore the cloak of Calvinism to conceal theirdesigns, and a successful effort had been made, in the name of democracy, to eradicate from one ancient province the liberty on which it prideditself. 

In the course of the autumn, an attempt was made to play the same game atAmsterdam. A plot was discovered, before it was fairly matured, to seizethe magistrates of that important city, to gain possession of thearsenals, and to place the government in the hands of well-knownLeicestrians. A list of fourteen influential citizens, drawn up in thewriting of Burgrave, the Earl's confidential secretary, was found, all ofwhom, it was asserted, had been doomed to the scaffold. 

The plot to secure Amsterdam had failed, but, in North Holland, Medenblikwas held firmly for Leicester, by Diedrich Sonoy, in the very teeth ofthe States. The important city of Enkhuyzen, too, was very near beingsecured for the Earl, but a still more significant movement was made atLeyden. That heroic city, ever since the famous siege of 1574, in whichthe Spaniard had been so signally foiled, had distinguished itself bygreat liberality of sentiment in religious matters. The burghers wereinspired by a love of country, and a hatred of oppression, both civiland, ecclesiastical; and Papists and Protestants, who had fought side byside against the common foe, were not disposed to tear each other topieces, now that he had been excluded from their gates. Meanwhile, however, refugee Flemings and Brabantines had sought an asylum in thecity, and being, as usual, of the strictest sect of the Calvinists wereshocked at the latitudinarianism which prevailed. To the honour of thecity--as it seems to us now--but, to their horror, it was even found thatone or two Papists had seats in the magistracy. More than all this, therewas a school in the town kept by a Catholic, and Adrian van der Werffhimself--the renowned burgomaster, who had sustained the city during thedreadful leaguer of 1574, and who had told the famishing burghers thatthey might eat him if they liked, but that they should never surrender tothe Spaniards while he remained alive--even Adrian van der Werff had senthis son to this very school? To the clamour made by the refugees againstthis spirit of toleration, one of the favourite preachers in the town, ofArminian tendencies, had declared in the pulpit, that he would as lievesee the Spanish as the Calvinistic inquisition established over hiscountry; using an expression, in regard to the church of Geneva, moreenergetic than decorous. 

It was from Leyden that the chief opposition came to a synod, by which agreat attempt was to be made towards subjecting the new commonwealth to amasked theocracy; a scheme which the States of Holland had resisted withmight and main. The Calvinistic party, waxing stronger in Leyden, although still in a minority, at last resolved upon a strong effort toplace the city in the hands of that great representative of Calvinism, the Earl of Leicester. Jacques Volmar, a deacon of the church, Cosmo dePescarengis, a Genoese captain of much experience in the service of therepublic, Adolphus de Meetkerke, former president of Flanders, who hadbeen, by the States, deprived of the seat in the great council to whichthe Earl had appointed him; Doctor Saravia, professor of theology in theuniversity, with other deacons, preachers, and captains, went atdifferent times from Leyden to Utrecht, and had secret interviews withLeicester. 

A plan was at last agreed upon, according to which, about the middle ofOctober, a revolution should be effected in Leyden. Captain Nicholas deMaulde, who had recently so much distinguished himself in the defence ofSluys, was stationed with two companies of States' troops in the city. Hehad been much disgusted--not without reason--at the culpable negligencethrough which the courageous efforts of the Sluys garrison had been setat nought, and the place sacrificed, when it might so easily have beenrelieved; and he ascribed the whole of the guilt to Maurice, Hohenlo, andthe States, although it could hardly be denied that at least an equalportion belonged to Leicester and his party. The young captain listened, therefore, to a scheme propounded to him by Colonel Cosine, and DeaconVolmar, in the name of Leicester. He agreed, on a certain day, to musterhis company, to leave the city by the Delft gate--as if by command ofsuperior authority--to effect a junction with Captain Heraugiere, anotherof the distinguished malcontent defenders of Sluys, who was stationed, with his command, at Delft, and then to re-enter Leyden, take possessionof the town-hall, arrest all the magistrates, together with Adrian vander Werff, ex-burgomaster, and proclaim Lord Leicester, in the name ofQueen Elizabeth, legitimate master of the city. A list of burghers, whowere to be executed, was likewise agreed upon, at a final meeting of theconspirators in a hostelry, which bore the ominous name of 'TheThunderbolt. ' A desire had been signified by Leicester, in thepreliminary interviews at Utrecht, that all bloodshed, if possible, should be spared, but it was certainly an extravagant expectation, considering the temper, the political convictions, and the known courageof the Leyden burghers, that the city would submit, without a struggle, to this invasion of all their rights. It could hardly be doubted that thestreets would run red with blood, as those of Antwerp had done, when asimilar attempt, on the part of Anjou, had been foiled. 

Unfortunately for the scheme, a day or two before the great stroke was tobe hazarded, Cosmo de Pescarengis had been accidentally arrested fordebt. A subordinate accomplice, taking alarm, had then gone before themagistrate and revealed the plot. Volmar and de Maulde fled at once, butwere soon arrested in the neighbourhood. President de Meetkerke, Professor Saravia, the preacher Van der Wauw, and others mostcompromised, effected their escape. The matter was instantly laid beforethe States of Holland by the magistracy of Leyden, and seemed of thegravest moment. In the beginning of the year, the fatal treason of Yorkand Stanley had implanted a deep suspicion of Leicester in the hearts ofalmost all the Netherlanders, which could not be eradicated. The painfulrumours concerning the secret negotiations with Spain, and the designfalsely attributed to the English Queen, of selling the chief cities ofthe republic to Philip as the price of peace, and of reimbursement forexpenses incurred by her, increased the general excitement to fever. Itwas felt by the leaders of the States that as mortal a combat lay beforethem with the Earl of Leicester, as with the King of Spain, and that itwas necessary to strike a severe blow, in order to vindicate theirimperilled authority. 

A commission was appointed by the high court of Holland, acting inconjunction with the States of the Provinces, to try the offenders. Amongthe commissioners were Adrian van der Werff, John van der Does, who hadbeen military commandant of Leyden during the siege, Barneveld, and otherdistinguished personages, over whom Count Maurice presided. The accusedwere subjected to an impartial trial. Without torture, they confessedtheir guilt. It is true, however, that Cosmo was placed within sight ofthe rack. He avowed that his object had been to place the city under theauthority of Leicester, and to effect this purpose, if possible, withoutbloodshed. He declared that the attempt was to be made with the fullknowledge and approbation of the Earl, who had promised him the commandof a regiment of twelve companies, as a recompense for his services, ifthey proved successful. Leicester, said Cosmo, had also pledged himself, in case the men, thus executing his plans, should be discovered andendangered, to protect and rescue them, even at the sacrifice of all hisfortune, and of the office he held. When asked if he had any writtenstatement from his Excellency to that effect, Cosmo replied, no, nothingbut his princely word which he had voluntarily given. 

Volmar made a similar confession. He, too, declared that he had actedthroughout the affair by express command of the Earl of Leicester. Beingasked if he had any written evidence of the fact, he, likewise, repliedin the negative. "Then his Excellency will unquestionably deny yourassertion, " said the judges. "Alas, then am I a dead man, " repliedVolmar, and the unfortunate deacon never spoke truer words. Captain deMaulde also confessed his crime. He did not pretend, however, to have hadany personal communication with Leicester, but said that the affair hadbeen confided to him by Colonel Cosmo, on the express authority of theEarl, and that he had believed himself to be acting in obedience to hisExcellency's commands. 

On the 26th October, after a thorough investigation, followed by a fullconfession on the part of the culprits, the three were sentenced todeath. The decree was surely a most severe one. They had been guilty ofno actual crime, and only in case of high treason could an intention tocommit a crime be considered, by the laws of the state, an offencepunishable with death. But it was exactly because it was important tomake the crime high treason that the prisoners were condemned. Theoffence was considered as a crime not against Leyden, but as an attemptto levy war upon a city which was a member of the States of Holland andof the United States. If the States were sovereign, then this was alesion of their sovereignty. Moreover, the offence had been aggravated bythe employment of United States' troops against the commonwealth of theUnited States itself. To cut off the heads of these prisoners was a sharppractical answer to the claims of sovereignty by Leicester, asrepresenting the people, and a terrible warning to all who might, infuture; be disposed to revive the theories of Deventer and Burgrave. 

In the case of De Maulde the punishment seemed especially severe. Hisfate excited universal sympathy, and great efforts were made to obtainhis pardon. He was a universal favourite; he was young; he was veryhandsome; his manners were attractive; he belonged to an ancient andhonourable race. His father, the Seigneur de Mansart, had done greatservices in the war of independence, had been an intimate friend of thegreat Prince of Orange, and had even advanced large sums of money toassist his noble efforts to liberate the country. Two brothers of theyoung captain had fallen in the service of the republic. He, too, haddistinguished himself at Ostend, and his gallantry during the recentsiege of Sluys had been in every mouth, and had excited the warm applauseof so good a judge of soldiership as the veteran Roger Williams. Thescars of the wounds received in the desperate conflicts of that siegewere fresh upon his breast. He had not intended to commit treason, but, convinced by the sophistry of older soldiers than himself, as well as bylearned deacons and theologians, he had imagined himself doing his duty, while obeying the Earl of Leicester. If there were ever a time for mercy, this seemed one, and young Maurice of Nassau might have remembered, thateven in the case of the assassins who had attempted the life of hisfather, that great-hearted man had lifted up his voice--which seemed hisdying one--in favour of those who had sought his life. 

But they authorities were inexorable. There was no hope of a mitigationof punishment, but a last effort was made, under favour of a singularancient custom, to save the life of De Maulde. A young lady of noblefamily in Leyden--Uytenbroek by name--claimed the right of rescuing thecondemned malefactor, from the axe, by appearing upon the scaffold, andoffering to take him for her husband. 

Intelligence was brought to the prisoner in his dungeon, that the young, lady had made the proposition, and he was told to be of good cheer: Buthe refused to be comforted. He was slightly acquainted with thegentle-woman, he observed; and doubted much whether her request would begranted. Moreover if contemporary chronicle can be trusted he evenexpressed a preference for the scaffold, as the milder fate of the two. The lady, however, not being aware of those uncomplimentary sentiments, made her proposal to the magistrates, but was dismissed with harshrebukes. She had need be ashamed, they said; of her willingness to take acondemned traitor for her husband. It was urged, in her behalf, that evenin the cruel Alva's time, the ancient custom had been respected, and thatvictims had been saved from the executioners, on a demand in marriagemade even by women of abandoned character. But all was of no avail. Theprisoners were executed on the 26th October, the same day on which thesentence had been pronounced. The heads of Volmar and Cosmo were exposedon one of the turrets of the city. That of Maulde was interred with hisbody. 

The Earl was indignant when he heard of the event. As there had been nowritten proof of his complicity in the conspiracy, the judges had thoughtit improper to mention his name in the sentences. He, of course, deniedany knowledge of the plot, and its proof rested therefore only on theassertion of the prisoners themselves, which, however, wascircumstantial, voluntary, and generally believed!

France, during the whole of this year of expectation, was ploughedthroughout its whole surface by perpetual civil war. The fatal edict ofJune, 1585, had drowned the unhappy land in blood. Foreign armies, calledin by the various contending factions, ravaged its-fair territory, butchered its peasantry, and changed its fertile plains to a wilderness. The unhappy creature who wore the crown of Charlemagne and of Hugh Capet, was but the tool in the hands of the most profligate and designing of hisown subjects, and of foreigners. Slowly and surely the net, spread by thehands of his own mother, of his own prime minister, of the Duke of Guise, all obeying the command and receiving the stipend of Philip, seemedclosing over him. He was without friends, without power to know hisfriends, if he had them. In his hatred to the Reformation, he had allowedhimself to be made the enemy of the only man who could be his friend, orthe friend of France. Allied with his mortal foe, whose armies werestrengthened by contingents from Parma's forces, and paid for by Spanishgold, he was forced to a mock triumph over the foreign mercenaries whocame to save his crown, and to submit to the defeat of the flower of hischivalry, by the only man who could rescue France from ruin, and whomFrance could look up to with respect. 

For, on the 20th October, Henry of Navarre had at last gained a victory. After twenty-seven years of perpetual defeat, during which they had beengrowing stronger and stronger, the Protestants had met the picked troopsof Henry III. , under the Due de Joyeuse, near the burgh of Contras. Hiscousins Conde and Soissons each commanded a wing in the army of theWarnese. "You are both of my family, " said Henry, before the engagement, "and the Lord so help me, but I will show you that I am the eldest born. "And during that bloody day the white plume was ever tossing where thebattle, was fiercest. "I choose to show myself. They shall see theBearnese, " was his reply to those who implored him to have a care for hispersonal safety. And at last, when the day was done, the victory gained, and more French nobles lay dead on the field, as Catharine de' Medicibitterly declared, than had fallen in a battle for twenty years; when twothousand of the King's best troops had been slain, and when the bodies ofJoyeuse and his brother had been laid out in the very room where theconqueror's supper, after the battle, was served, but where he refused, with a shudder, to eat, he was still as eager as before--had the wretchedValois been possessed of a spark of manhood, or of intelligence--toshield him and his kingdom from the common enemy. '

For it could hardly be doubtful, even to Henry III. , at that moment, thatPhilip II. And his jackal, the Duke of Guise, were pursuing him to thedeath, and that, in his breathless doublings to escape, he had beenforced to turn upon his natural protector. And now Joyeuse was defeatedand slain. "Had it been my brother's son, " exclaimed Cardinal de Bourbon, weeping and wailing, "how much better it would have been. " It was noteasy to slay the champion of French Protestantism; yet, to one lessbuoyant, the game, even after the brilliant but fruitless victory ofContras, might have seemed desperate. Beggared and outcast, withliterally scarce a shirt to his back, without money to pay a corporal'sguard, how was he to maintain an army?

But 'Mucio' was more successful than Joyeuse had been, and the German andSwiss mercenaries who had come across the border to assist the Bearnese, were adroitly handled by Philip's great stipendiary. Henry of Valois, whose troops had just been defeated at Contras, was now compelled toparticipate in a more fatal series of triumphs. For alas, the victim hadtied himself to the apron-string of "Madam League, " and was paraded byher, in triumph, before the eyes of his own subjects and of the world. The passage of the Loire by the auxiliaries was resisted; a series ofpetty victories was gained by Guise, and, at last, after it was obviousthat the leaders of the legions had been corrupted with Spanish ducats, Henry allowed them to depart, rather than give the Balafre opportunityfor still farther successes. 

Then came the triumph in Paris--hosannahs in the churches, huzzas in thepublic places--not for the King, but for Guise. Paris, more madly in lovewith her champion than ever, prostrated herself at his feet. For himpaeans as to a deliverer. Without him the ark would have fallen into thehands of the Philistines. For the Valois, shouts of scorn from thepopulace, thunders from the pulpit, anathemas from monk and priest, elaborate invectives from all the pedants of the Sorbonne, distantmutterings of excommunication from Rome--not the toothless beldame ofmodern days, but the avenging divinity of priest-rid monarchs. Such werethe results of the edicts of June. Spain and the Pope had trampled uponFrance, and the populace in her capital clapped their hands and jumpedfor joy. "Miserable country miserable King, " sighed an illustriouspatriot, "whom his own countrymen wish rather to survive, than to die todefend him! Let the name of Huguenot and of Papist be never heard ofmore. Let us think only of the counter-league. Is France to be saved byopening all its gates to Spain? Is France to be turned out of France, tomake a lodging for the Lorrainer and the Spaniard?" Pregnant questions, which could not yet be answered, for the end was not yet. France was tobecome still more and more a wilderness. And well did that same brave andthoughtful lover, of his: country declare, that he who should suddenlyawake from a sleep of twenty-five years, and revisit that once beautifulland, would deem himself transplanted to a barbarous island ofcannibals. --[Duplessis Mornay, 'Mem. ' iv. 1-34. ]

It had now become quite obvious that the game of Leicester was playedout. His career--as it has now been fully exhibited--could have but onetermination. He had made himself thoroughly odious to the nation whom hecame to govern. He had lost for ever the authority once spontaneouslybestowed; and he had attempted in vain, both by fair means and foul, torecover that power. There was nothing left him but retreat. Of this hewas thoroughly convinced. He was anxious to be gone, the republic mostdesirous to be rid of him, her Majesty impatient to have her favouriteback again. The indulgent Queen, seeing nothing to blame in his conduct, while her indignation, at the attitude maintained by the Provinces wasboundless, permitted him, accordingly, to return; and in her letter tothe States, announcing this decision, she took a fresh opportunity ofemptying her wrath upon their heads. 

She told them, that, notwithstanding her frequent messages to them, signifying her evil contentment with their unthankfulness for herexceeding great benefits, and with their gross violations of theircontract with herself and with Leicester, whom they had, of their ownaccord, made absolute governor without her instigation; she had neverreceived any good answer to move, her to commit their sins to oblivion, nor had she remarked, any amendment in their conduct. On the contrary, she complained: that they daily increased their offences, mostnotoriously in the sight of--the world and in so many points that shelacked words to express them in one letter. She however thought it worthwhile to allude to some of their transgressions. She, declared that theirsinister, or rather barbarous interpretation of her conduct had beennotorious in perverting and falsifying her princely and Christianintentions; when she imparted to them the overtures that had been made toher for a treaty of peace for herself and for them with the King ofSpain. Yet although she had required their allowance, before she wouldgive her assent, she had been grieved that the world should see whatimpudent untruths had been forged upon her, not only by theirsufferance; but by their special permission for her Christian goodmeaning towards them. She denounced the statements as to her havingconcluded a treaty, not only without their knowledge; but with thesacrifice of their liberty and religion, as utterly false, either foranything done in act, or intended in thought, by her. She complained thatupon this most false ground had been heaped a number of like untruths andmalicious slanders against her cousin Leicester, who had hazarded hislife, spend his substance, left his native country, absented himself fromher, and lost his time, only for their service. It had been falselystated among them, she said, that the Earl had come over the last time, knowing that peace had been secretly concluded. It was false that he hadintended to surprise divers of their towns, and deliver them to the Kingof Spain. All such untruths contained matter so improbable, that it wasmost, strange that any person; having any sense, could imagine themcorrect. Having thus slightly animadverted upon their wilfulness, unthankfulness, and bad government, and having, in very plain English, given them the lie, eight distinct and separate times upon a single page, she proceeded to inform them that she had recalled her cousin Leicester, having great cause to use his services in England, and not seeing how, byhis tarrying there, he could either profit them or herself. Neverthelessshe protested herself not void of compassion for their estate, and forthe pitiful condition of the great multitude of kind and godly people, subject to the miseries which, by the States government, were like tofall upon them, unless God should specially interpose; and she hadtherefore determined, for the time, to continue her subsidies, accordingto the covenant between them. If, meantime, she should conclude a peacewith Spain, she promised to them the same care for their country as forher own. 

Accordingly the Earl, after despatching an equally ill-tempered letter tothe States, in which he alluded, at unmerciful length, to all the oldgrievances, blamed them for the loss of Sluys, for which place heprotested that they had manifested no more interest than if it had beenSan Domingo in Hispaniola, took his departure for Flushing. Afterremaining there, in a very moody frame of mind, for several days, expecting that the States would, at least, send a committee to wait uponhim and receive his farewells, he took leave of them by letter. "God sendme shortly a wind to blow me from them all, " he exclaimed--a prayer whichwas soon granted--and before the end of the year he was safely landed inEngland. "These legs of mine, " said he, clapping his hands upon them ashe sat in his chamber at Margate, "shall never go again into Holland. Letthe States get others to serve their mercenary turn, for me they shallnot have. " Upon giving up the government, he caused a medal to be struckin his own honour. The device was a flock of sheep watched by an Englishmastiff. Two mottoes--"non gregem aed ingratos, " and "invitusdesero"--expressed his opinion of Dutch ingratitude and his own fidelity. The Hollanders, on their part, struck several medals to commemorate thesame event, some of which were not destitute of invention. Upon one ofthem, for instance, was represented an ape smothering her young ones todeath in her embrace, with the device, "Libertas ne its chara ut simiaecatuli;" while upon the reverse was a man avoiding smoke and falling intothe fire, with the inscription, "Fugiens fumum, incidit in ignem. "

Leicester found the usual sunshine at Greenwich. All the efforts ofNorris, Wilkes, and Buckhurst, had been insufficient to raise even adoubt in Elizabeth's mind as to the wisdom and integrity by which hisadministration of the Provinces had been characterised from beginning toend. Those who had appealed from his hatred to the justice of theirsovereign, had met with disgrace and chastisement. But for the greatEarl; the Queen's favour was a rock of adamant. At a private interview hethrew himself at her feet, and with tears and sobs implored her not toreceive him in disgrace whom she had sent forth in honour. Hisblandishments prevailed, as they had always done. Instead, therefore, ofappearing before the council, kneeling, to answer such inquiries as oughtsurely to have been instituted, he took his seat boldly among hiscolleagues, replying haughtily to all murmurs by a reference to herMajesty's secret instructions. 

The unhappy English soldiers, who had gone forth under his banner inmidsummer, had been returning, as they best might, in winter, starving, half-naked wretches, to beg a morsel of bread at the gates of Greenwichpalace, and to be driven away as vagabonds, with threats of the stock. This was not the fault of the Earl, for he had fed them with his owngenerous hand in the Netherlands, week after week, when no money fortheir necessities could be obtained from the paymasters. Two thousandpounds had been sent by Elizabeth to her soldiers when sixty-fourthousand pounds arrearage were due, and no language could exaggerate themisery to which these outcasts, according to eye-witnesses of their ownnation, were reduced. 

Lord Willoughby was appointed to the command, of what remained of theseunfortunate troops, upon--the Earl's departure. The sovereignty of theNetherlands remained undisputed with the States. Leicester resigned his, commission by an instrument dated 17/27 December, which, however, neverreached the Netherlands till April of the following year. From that timeforth the government of the republic maintained the same forms which theassembly had claimed for it in the long controversy with thegovernor-general, and which have been sufficiently described. 

Meantime the negotiations for a treaty, no longer secret, continued. TheQueen; infatuated as ever, still believed in the sincerity of Farnese, while that astute personage and his master were steadily maturing theirschemes. A matrimonial alliance was secretly projected between the Kingof Scots and Philip's daughter, the Infants Isabella, with the consent ofthe Pope and the whole college of cardinals; and James, by the wholeforce of the Holy League, was to be placed upon the throne of Elizabeth. In the case of his death, without issue, Philip was to succeed quietly tothe crowns of England, Scotland, and Ireland. Nothing could be simpler ormore rational, and accordingly these arrangements were the table-talk atRome, and met with general approbation. 

Communications to this effect; coming straight from the Colonna palace, were thought sufficiently circumstantial to be transmitted to the Englishgovernment. Maurice of Nassau wrote with his own hand to Walsingham, professing a warm attachment to the cause in which Holland and Englandwere united, and perfect personal devotion to the English Queen. 

His language, was not that of a youth, who, according to Leicester'srepeated insinuations, was leagued with the most distinguished soldiersand statesmen of the Netherlands to sell their country to Spain. 

But Elizabeth was not to be convinced. She thought it extremely probablethat the Provinces would be invaded, and doubtless felt some anxiety forEngland. It was unfortunate that the possession of Sluys had givenAlexander such a point of vantage; and there was moreover, a fear that hemight take possession of Ostend. She had, therefore, already recommendedthat her own troops should be removed from that city, that its wallsshould be razed; its marine bulwarks destroyed, and that the ocean. Should be let in to swallow the devoted city forever--the inhabitantshaving been previously allowed to take their departure. For it wasassumed by her Majesty that to attempt resistance would be idle, and thatOstend could never stand a siege. 

The advice was not taken; and before the end of her reign Elizabeth wasdestined to see this indefensible city--only fit, in her judgment, to beabandoned to the waves--become memorable; throughout all time, for thelongest; and, in many respects, the most remarkable siege which modernhistory has recorded, the famous leaguer, in which the first Europeancaptains of the coming age were to take their lessons, year after year, in the school of the great Dutch soldier, who was now but a "solemn, slyyouth, " just turned of twenty. 

The only military achievement which characterized the close of the year, to the great satisfaction of the Provinces and the annoyance of Parma, was the surprise of the city of Bonn. The indefatigable Martin Schenk--infulfilment of his great contract with the States-General, by which thewar on the Rhine had been farmed out to him on such profitableterms:--had led his mercenaries against this important town. He had foundone of its gates somewhat insecurely guarded, placed a mortar under it atnight, and occupied a neighbouring pig-stye with a number of his men, whoby chasing, maltreating, and slaughtering the swine, had raised anunearthly din, sufficient to drown the martial operations at the gate. Inbrief, the place was easily mastered, and taken possession of by Martin, in the name of the deposed elector, Gebhard Truchsess--the first strokeof good fortune which had for a long time befallen that melancholyprelate. 

The administration of Leicester has been so minutely pictured, that itwould be superfluous to indulge in many concluding reflections. His actsand words have been made to speak for themselves. His career in thecountry has been described with much detail, because the period was agreat epoch of transition. The republic of the Netherlands, during thoseyears, acquired consistency and permanent form. It seemed possible, onthe Earl's first advent, that the Provinces might become part and parcelof the English realm. Whether such a consummation would have beendesirable or not, is a fruitless enquiry. But it is certain that theselection of such a man as Leicester made that result impossible. Doubtless there were many errors committed by all parties. The Queen wassupposed by the Netherlands to be secretly desirous of accepting thesovereignty of the Provinces, provided she were made sure, by the Earl'sexperience, that they were competent to protect themselves. But thissuspicion was unfounded. The result of every investigation showed thecountry so full of resources, of wealth, and of military and navalcapabilities, that, united with England, it would have been a source ofgreat revenue and power, not a burthen and an expense. Yet, whenconvinced of such facts, by the statistics which were liberally laidbefore her by her confidential agents, she never manifested, either inpublic or private, any intention of accepting the sovereignty. This beingher avowed determination, it was an error on the part of the States, before becoming thoroughly acquainted with the man's character, to conferupon Leicester the almost boundless authority which they granted on, hisfirst arrival. It was a still graver mistake, on the part of Elizabeth, to give way to such explosions of fury, both against the governor and theStates, when informed of the offer and acceptance of that authority. TheEarl, elevated by the adulation of others, and by his own vanity, into analmost sovereign attitude, saw himself chastised before the world, likean aspiring lackey, by her in whose favour he had felt most secure. Hefound, himself, in an instant, humbled and ridiculous. Between himselfand the Queen it was, something of a lovers' quarrel, and he soon foundbalsam in the hand that smote him. But though reinstated in authority, hewas never again the object of reverence in the land he was attempting torule. As he came to know the Netherlanders better, he recognized thegreat capacity which their statesmen concealed under a plain andsometimes a plebeian exterior, and the splendid grandee hated, where atfirst he had only despised. The Netherlanders, too, who had been used tolook up almost with worship to a plain man of kindly manners, in felt hatand bargeman's woollen jacket, whom they called "Father William, " did notappreciate, as they ought, the magnificence of the stranger who had beensent to govern them. The Earl was handsome, quick-witted, brave; but hewas, neither wise in council nor capable in the field. He was intolerablyarrogant, passionate, and revengeful. He hated easily, and he hated forlife. It was soon obvious that no cordiality of feeling or of actioncould exist between him and the plain, stubborn Hollanders. He had thefatal characteristic of loving only the persons who flattered him. Withmuch perception of character, sense of humour, and appreciation ofintellect, he recognized the power of the leading men in the nation, andsought to gain them. So long as he hoped success, he was loud in theirpraises. They were all wise, substantial, well-languaged, big fellows, such as were not to be found in England or anywhere else. When theyrefused to be made his tools, they became tinkers, boors, devils, andatheists. He covered them with curses and devoted them to the gibbet. Hebegan by warmly commending Buys and Barneveld, Hohenlo and Maurice, andendowing them with every virtue. Before he left the country he hadaccused them of every crime, and would cheerfully, if he could, havetaken the life of every one of them. And it was quite the same withnearly every Englishman who served with or under him. Wilkes andBuckhurst, however much the objects of his previous esteem; so soon asthey ventured to censure or even to criticise his proceedings, were atonce devoted to perdition. Yet, after minute examination of the record, public and private, neither Wilkes nor Buckhurst can be found guilty oftreachery or animosity towards him, but are proved to have been governed, in all their conduct, by a strong sense of duty to their sovereign, theNetherlands, and Leicester himself. 

To Sir John Norris, it must be allowed, that he was never fickle, for hehad always entertained for that distinguished general an honest, unswerving, and infinite hatred, which was not susceptible of increase ordiminution by any act or word. Pelham, too, whose days were numbered, andwho was dying bankrupt and broken-hearted, at the close of the Earl'sadministration, had always been regarded by him with tenderness andaffection. But Pelham had never thwarted him, had exposed his life forhim, and was always proud of being his faithful, unquestioning, humbleadherent. With perhaps this single exception, Leicester found himself atthe end of his second term in the Provinces, without a single friend andwith few respectable partisans. Subordinate mischievous intriguers likeDeventer, Junius, and Otheman, were his chief advisers and theinstruments of his schemes. 

With such qualifications it was hardly possible--even if the current ofaffairs had been flowing smoothly--that he should prove a successfulgovernor of the new republic. But when the numerous errors andadventitious circumstances are considered--for some of which he wasresponsible, while of others he was the victim--it must be esteemedfortunate that no great catastrophe occurred. His immoderate elevation;his sudden degradation, his controversy in regard to the sovereignty, hisabrupt departure for England, his protracted absence, his mistimedreturn, the secret instructions for his second administration, theobstinate parsimony and persistent ill-temper of the Queen--who, from thebeginning to the end of the Earl's government, never addressed a kindlyword to the Netherlanders, but was ever censuring and brow beating themin public state-papers and private epistles--the treason of York andStanley, above all, the disastrous and concealed negotiations with Parma, and the desperate attempts upon Amsterdam and Leyden--all placed him in amost unfortunate position from first to last. But he was not competentfor his post under any circumstances. He was not the statesman to deal inpolicy with Buys, Barneveld, Ortel, Sainte Aldegonde; nor the soldier tomeasure himself against Alexander Farnese. His administration was afailure; and although he repeatedly hazarded his life, and poured out hiswealth in their behalf with an almost unequalled liberality, he couldnever gain the hearts of the Netherlanders. English valour, Englishintelligence, English truthfulness, English generosity, were endearingEngland more and more to Holland. The statesmen of both countries werebrought into closest union, and learned to appreciate and to respect eachother, while they recognized that the fate of their respectivecommonwealths was indissolubly united. But it was to the efforts ofWalsingham, Drake, Raleigh, Wilkes, Buckburst, Norris, Willoughby, Williams, Vere, Russell, and the brave men who fought under their bannersor their counsels, on every battle-field, and in every beleaguered townin the Netherlands, and to the universal spirit and sagacity of theEnglish nation, in this grand crisis of its fate, that these fortunateresults were owing; not to the Earl of Leicester, nor--during the term ofhis administration--to Queen Elizabeth herself. 

In brief, the proper sphere of this remarkable personage, and the one inwhich he passed the greater portion of his existence, was that of amagnificent court favourite, the spoiled darling, from youth to hisdeath-bed, of the great English Queen; whether to the advantage or not ofhis country and the true interests of his sovereign, there can hardly beat this day any difference of opinion. 

 ETEXT EDITOR'S BOOKMARKS:

 Act of Uniformity required Papists to assist As lieve see the Spanish as the Calvinistic inquisition Elizabeth (had not) the faintest idea of religious freedom God, whose cause it was, would be pleased to give good weather Heretics to the English Church were persecuted Look for a sharp war, or a miserable peace Loving only the persons who flattered him Not many more than two hundred Catholics were executed Only citadel against a tyrant and a conqueror was distrust Stake or gallows (for) heretics to transubstantiation States were justified in their almost unlimited distrust Undue anxiety for impartiality Wealthy Papists could obtain immunity by an enormous fine

CHAPTER XVIII. 1588, Part 1. 

 Prophecies as to the Year 1588--Distracted Condition of the Dutch Republic--Willoughby reluctantly takes Command--English Commissioners come to Ostend--Secretary Gamier and Robert Cecil-- Cecil accompanies Dale to Ghent--And finds the Desolation complete-- Interview of Dale and Cecil with Parma--His fervent Expressions in favour of Peace--Cecil makes a Tour in Flanders--And sees much that is remarkable--Interviews of Dr. Rogers with Parma--Wonderful Harangues of the Envoy--Extraordinary Amenity of Alexander--With which Rogers is much touched--The Queen not pleased with her Envoy-- Credulity of the English Commissioners--Ceremonious Meeting of all the Envoys--Consummate Art in wasting Time--Long Disputes about Commissions--The Spanish Commissions meant to deceive--Disputes about Cessation of Arms--Spanish Duplicity and Procrastination-- Pedantry and Credulity of Dr. Dale--The Papal Bull and Dr. Allen's Pamphlet--Dale sent to ask Explanations--Parma denies all Knowledge of either--Croft believes to the last in Alexander. 

The year 1588 had at last arrived--that fatal year concerning which theGerman astrologers--more than a century before had prognosticated suchdire events. As the epoch approached it was firmly believed by many thatthe end of the world was at hand, while the least superstitious could notdoubt that great calamities were impending over the nations. Portentsobserved during the winter and in various parts of Europe came toincrease the prevailing panic. It rained blood in Sweden, monstrousbirths occurred in France, and at Weimar it was gravely reported byeminent chroniclers that the sun had appeared at mid-day holding a drawnsword in his mouth--a warlike portent whose meaning could not bemistaken. 

But, in truth, it needed no miracles nor prophecies to enforce theconviction that a long procession of disasters was steadily advancing. With France rent asunder by internal convulsions, with its imbecile kingnot even capable of commanding a petty faction among his own subjects, with Spain the dark cause of unnumbered evils, holding Italy in itsgrasp, firmly allied with the Pope, already having reduced and nearlyabsorbed France, and now, after long and patient preparation, about tohurl the concentrated vengeance and hatred of long years upon the littlekingdom of England, and its only ally--the just organized commonwealth ofthe Netherlands--it would have been strange indeed if the dullestintellect had not dreamed of tragical events. It was not encouraging thatthere should be distraction in the counsels of the two States soimmediately threatened; that the Queen of England should be at variancewith her wisest and most faithful statesmen as to their course of action, and that deadly quarrels should exist between the leading men of theDutch republic and the English governor, who had assumed theresponsibility of directing its energies against the common enemy. 

The blackest night that ever descended upon the Netherlands--moredisappointing because succeeding a period of comparative prosperity andtriumph--was the winter of 1587-8, when Leicester had terminated hiscareer by his abrupt departure for England, after his second briefattempt at administration. For it was exactly at this moment of anxiousexpectation, when dangers were rolling up from the south till not a rayof light or hope could pierce the universal darkness, that the littlecommonwealth was left without a chief. The English Earl departed, shakingthe dust from his feet; but he did not resign. The supreme authority--sofar as he could claim it--was again transferred, --with his person, toEngland. 

The consequences were immediate and disastrous. All the Leicestriansrefused to obey the States-General. Utrecht, the stronghold of thatparty, announced its unequivocal intention to annex itself, without anyconditions whatever, to the English crown, while, in Holland, youngMaurice was solemnly installed stadholder, and captain-general of theProvinces, under the guidance of Hohenlo and Barneveld. But his authoritywas openly defied in many important cities within his jurisdiction bymilitary chieftains who had taken the oaths of allegiance to Leicester asgovernor, and who refused to renounce fidelity to the man who haddeserted their country, but who had not resigned his authority. Of thesemutineers the most eminent was Diedrich Sonoy, governor of North Holland, a soldier of much experience, sagacity, and courage, who had renderedgreat services to the cause of liberty and Protestantism, and had defacedit by acts of barbarity which had made his name infamous. Against thisrefractory chieftain it was necessary for Hohenlo and Maurice to lead anarmed force, and to besiege him in his stronghold--the important city ofMedenblik--which he resolutely held for Leicester, although Leicester haddefinitely departed, and which he closed against Maurice, althoughMaurice was the only representative of order and authority within thedistracted commonwealth. And thus civil war had broken out in the littlescarcely-organized republic, as if there were not dangers and bloodshedenough impending over it from abroad. And the civil war was the necessaryconsequence of the Earl's departure. 

The English forces--reduced as they were by sickness, famine, and abjectpoverty--were but a remnant of the brave and well-seasoned bands whichhad faced the Spaniards with success on so many battle-fields. 

The general who now assumed chief command over them--by direction ofLeicester, subsequently confirmed by the Queen--was Lord Willoughby. Adaring, splendid dragoon, an honest, chivalrous, and devoted servant ofhis Queen, a conscientious adherent of Leicester, and a firm believer inhis capacity and character, he was, however, not a man of sufficientexperience or subtlety to perform the various tasks imposed upon him bythe necessities of such a situation. Quick-witted, even brilliant inintellect, and the bravest of the brave on the battle-field, he wasneither a sagacious administrator nor a successful commander. And hehonestly confessed his deficiencies, and disliked the post to which hehad been elevated. He scorned baseness, intrigue, and petty quarrels, andhe was impatient of control. Testy, choleric, and quarrelsome, with ahigh sense of honour, and a keen perception of insult, very modest andvery proud, he was not likely to feed with wholesome appetite upon theunsavoury annoyances which were the daily bread of a chief commander inthe Netherlands. "I ambitiously affect not high titles, but rounddealing, " he said; "desiring rather to be a private lance withindifferent reputation, than a colonel-general spotted or defamed withwants. " He was not the politician to be matched against the unscrupulousand all-accomplished Farnese; and indeed no man better than Willoughbycould illustrate the enormous disadvantage under which Englishmenlaboured at that epoch in their dealings with Italians and Spaniards. Theprofuse indulgence in falsehood which characterized southernstatesmanship, was more than a match for English love of truth. Englishsoldiers and negotiators went naked into a contest with enemies armed ina panoply of lies. It was an unequal match, as we have already seen, andas we are soon more clearly to see. How was an English soldier who valuedhis knightly word--how were English diplomatists--among whom one of themost famous--then a lad of twenty, secretary to Lord Essex in theNetherlands--had poetically avowed that "simple truth was highestskill, "--to deal with the thronging Spanish deceits sent northward by thegreat father of lies who sat in the Escorial?

"It were an ill lesson, " said Willoughby, "to teach soldiers thedissimulations of such as follow princes' courts, in Italy. For my ownpart, it is my only end to be loyal and dutiful to my sovereign, andplain to all others that I honour. I see the finest reynard loses hisbest coat as well as the poorest sheep. " He was also a strongLeicestrian, and had imbibed much of the Earl's resentment against theleading politicians of the States. Willoughby was sorely in need ofcouncil. That shrewd and honest Welshman--Roger Williams--was, for themoment, absent. Another of the same race and character commanded inBergen-op-Zoom, but was not more gifted with administrative talent thanthe general himself. 

"Sir Thomas Morgan is a very sufficient, gallant gentleman, " saidWilloughby, "and in truth a very old soldier; but we both have need ofone that can both give and keep counsel better than ourselves. For actionhe is undoubtedly very able, if there were no other means to conquer butonly to give blows. "

In brief, the new commander of the English forces in the Netherlands waslittle satisfied with the States, with the enemy, or with himself; andwas inclined to take but a dismal view of the disjointed commonwealth, which required so incompetent a person as he professed himself to be toset it right. 

"'Tis a shame to show my wants, " he said, "but too great a fault of dutythat the Queen's reputation be frustrate. What is my slender experience!What an honourable person do I succeed! What an encumbered popular stateis left! What withered sinews, which it passes my cunning to restore!What an enemy in head greater than heretofore! And wherewithal should Isustain this burthen? For the wars I am fitter to obey than to command. For the state, I am a man prejudicated in their opinion, and not thebetter liked of them that have earnestly followed the general, and, beingone that wants both opinion and experience with them I have to deal, andmeans to win more or to maintain that which is left, what good may belooked for?"

The supreme authority--by the retirement of Leicester--was once more thesubject of dispute. As on his first departure, so also on this his secondand final one, he had left a commission to the state-council to act as anexecutive body during his absence. But, although he--nominally stillretained his office, in reality no man believed in his return; and theStates-General were ill inclined to brook a species of guardianship overthem, with which they believed themselves mature enough to dispense. Moreover the state-council, composed mainly of Leicestrians, wouldexpire, by limitation of its commission, early in February of that year. The dispute for power would necessarily terminate, therefore, in favourof the States-General. 

Meantime--while this internal revolution was taking place in the polityof the commonwealth-the gravest disturbances were its naturalconsequence. There were mutinies in the garrisons of Heusden, ofGertruydenberg, of Medenblik, as alarming, and threatening to become aschronic in their character, as those extensive military rebellions whichoften rendered the Spanish troops powerless at the most critical epochs. The cause of these mutinies was uniformly, want of pay, the pretext, theoath to the Earl of Leicester, which was declared incompatible with theallegiance claimed by Maurice in the name of the States-General. Themutiny of Gertruydenberg was destined to be protracted; that ofMedenblik, dividing, as it did, the little territory of Holland in itsvery heart, it was most important at once to suppress. Sonoy, however--who was so stanch a Leicestrian, that his Spanish contemporariesuniformly believed him to be an Englishman--held out for a long time, aswill be seen, against the threats and even the armed demonstrations ofMaurice and the States. 

Meantime the English sovereign, persisting in her delusion, and despitethe solemn warnings of her own wisest counsellors; and the passionateremonstrances of the States-General of the Netherlands, sent herpeace-commissioners to the Duke of Parma. 

The Earl of Derby, Lord Cobham, Sir James Croft, Valentine Dale, doctorof laws, and former ambassador at Vienna, and Dr. Rogers, envoys on thepart of the Queen, arrived in the Netherlands in February. Thecommissioners appointed on the part of Farnese were Count Aremberg, Champagny, Richardot, Jacob Maas, and Secretary Garnier. 

If history has ever furnished a lesson, how an unscrupulous tyrant, whohas determined upon enlarging his own territories at the expense of hisneighbours, upon oppressing human freedom wherever it dared to manifestitself, with fine phrases of religion and order for ever in his mouth, ondeceiving his friends and enemies alike, as to his nefarious and almostincredible designs, by means of perpetual and colossal falsehoods; and ifsuch lessons deserve to be pondered, as a source of instruction andguidance for every age, then certainly the secret story of thenegotiations by which the wise Queen of England was beguiled, and herkingdom brought to the verge of ruin, in the spring of 1588, is worthy ofserious attention. 

The English commissioners arrived at Ostend. With them came Robert Cecil, youngest son of Lord-Treasurer Burghley, then twenty-five years ofage. --He had no official capacity, but was sent by his father, that hemight improve his diplomatic talents, and obtain some information as tothe condition of the Netherlands. A slight, crooked, hump-backed younggentleman, dwarfish in stature, but with a face not irregular in feature, and thoughtful and subtle in expression, with reddish hair, a thin tawnybeard, and large, pathetic, greenish-coloured eyes, with a mind andmanners already trained to courts and cabinets, and with a dispositionalmost ingenuous, as compared to the massive dissimulation with which itwas to be contrasted, and with what was, in aftertimes, to constitute aportion of his own character, Cecil, young as he was, could not beconsidered the least important of the envoys. The Queen, who loved propermen, called him "her pigmy;" and "although, " he observed with whimsicalcourtliness, "I may not find fault with the sporting name she gives me, yet seem I only not to mislike it, because she gives it. " The strongestman among them was Valentine Dale, who had much shrewdness, experience, and legal learning, but who valued himself, above all things, upon hisLatinity. It was a consolation to him, while his adversaries werebreaking Priscian's head as fast as the Duke, their master, was breakinghis oaths, that his own syntax was as clear as his conscience. Thefeeblest commissioner was James-a-Croft, who had already exhibitedhimself with very anile characteristics, and whose subsequentmanifestations were to seem like dotage. Doctor Rogers, learned in thelaw, as he unquestionably was, had less skill in reading human character, or in deciphering the physiognomy of a Farnese, while Lord Derby, everyinch a grandee, with Lord Cobham to assist him, was not the man to copewith the astute Richardot, the profound and experienced Champagny, orthat most voluble and most rhetorical of doctors of law, Jacob Maas ofAntwerp. 

The commissioners, on their arrival, were welcomed by Secretary Garnier, who had been sent to Ostend to greet them. An adroit, pleasing, courteousgentleman, thirty-six years of age, small, handsome, and attired notquite as a soldier, nor exactly as one of the long robe, wearing a cloakfurred to the knee, a cassock of black velvet, with plain gold buttons, and a gold chain about his neck, the secretary delivered handsomely theDuke of Parma's congratulations, recommended great expedition in thenegotiations, and was then invited by the Earl of Derby to dine with thecommissioners. He was accompanied by a servant in plain livery, who--sosoon as his master had made his bow to the English envoys--had set forthfor a stroll through the town. The modest-looking valet, however, was adistinguished engineer in disguise, who had been sent by Alexander forthe especial purpose of examining the fortifications of Ostend--that townbeing a point much coveted, and liable to immediate attack by the Spanishcommander. 

Meanwhile Secretary Gamier made himself very agreeable, showing wit, experience, and good education; and, after dinner, was accompanied to hislodgings by Dr. Rogers and other gentlemen, with whom--especially withCecil--he held much conversation. 

Knowing that this young gentleman "wanted not an honourable father, " theSecretary was very desirous that he should take this opportunity to makea tour through the Provinces, examine the cities, and especially "notethe miserable ruins of the poor country and people. " He would thenfeelingly perceive how much they had to answer for, whose mad rebellionagainst their sovereign lord and master had caused so great an effusionof blood, and the wide desolation of such goodly towns and territories. 

Cecil probably entertained a suspicion that the sovereign lord andmaster, who had been employed, twenty years long, in butchering hissubjects and in ravaging their territory to feed his executioners andsoldiers, might almost be justified in treating human beings as beastsand reptiles, if they had not at last rebelled. He simply anddiplomatically answered, however, that he could not but concur with theSecretary in lamenting the misery of the Provinces and people so utterlydespoiled and ruined, but, as it might be matter of dispute; "from whathead this fountain of calamity was both fed and derived, he would notenter further therein, it being a matter much too high for his capacity. "He expressed also the hope that the King's heart might sympathize withthat of her Majesty, in earnest compassion for all this suffering, and indetermination to compound their differences. 

On the following day there was some conversation with Gamier, onpreliminary and formal matters, followed in the evening by a dinner atLord Cobham's lodgings--a banquet which the forlorn condition of thecountry scarcely permitted to be luxurious. "We rather pray here forsatiety, " said Cecil, "than ever think of variety. "

It was hoped by the Englishmen that the Secretary would take hisdeparture after dinner; for the governor of Ostend, Sir John Conway, hadan uneasy sensation, during his visit, that the unsatisfactory conditionof the defences would attract his attention, and that a sudden attack byFarnese might be the result. Sir John was not aware however, of theminute and scientific observations then making at the very moment whenMr. Garnier was entertaining the commissioners with his witty andinstructive conversation--by the unobtrusive menial who had accompaniedthe Secretary to Ostend. In order that those observations might be asthorough as possible, rather than with any view to ostensible business, the envoy of Parma now declared that--on account of the unfavourablestate of the tide--he had resolved to pass another night at Ostend. "Wecould have spared his company, " said Cecil, "but their Lordshipsconsidered it convenient that he should be used well. " So Mr. ComptrollerCroft gave the affable Secretary a dinner-invitation for the followingday. 

Here certainly was a masterly commencement on the part of the Spanishdiplomatists. There was not one stroke of business during the visit ofthe Secretary. He had been sent simply to convey a formal greeting, andto take the names of the English commissioners--a matter which could havebeen done in an hour as well as in a week. But it must be remembered, that, at that very moment, the Duke was daily expecting intelligence ofthe sailing of the Armada, and that Philip, on his part, supposed theDuke already in England, at the head of his army. Under thesecircumstances, therefore--when the whole object of the negotiation, sofar as Parma and his master were, concerned, was to amuse and to gaintime--it was already ingenious in Garnier to have consumed several daysin doing nothing; and to have obtained plans and descriptions of Ostendinto the bargain. 

Garnier--when his departure could no longer, on any pretext, bedeferred--took his leave, once more warmly urging Robert Cecil to make alittle tour in the obedient Netherlands, and to satisfy himself, bypersonal observation, of their miserable condition. As Dr. Dale purposedmaking a preliminary visit to the Duke of Parma at Ghent, it wasdetermined accordingly that he should be accompanied by Cecil. 

That young gentleman had already been much impressed by the forlornaspect of the country about Ostend--for, although the town was itself inpossession of the English, it was in the midst of the enemy's territory. Since the fall of Sluys the Spaniards were masters of all Flanders, savethis one much-coveted point. And although the Queen had been disposed toabandon that city, and to suffer the ocean to overwhelm it, rather thanthat she should be at charges to defend it, yet its possession was ofvital consequence to the English-Dutch cause, as time was ultimately toshow. Meanwhile the position was already a very important one, for--according to the predatory system of warfare of the day--it was anexcellent starting-point for those marauding expeditions against personsand property, in which neither the Dutch nor English were less skilledthan the Flemings or Spaniards. "The land all about here, " said Cecil, "is so devastated, that where the open country was wont to be coveredwith kine and sheep, it is now fuller of wild boars and wolves; whereofmany come so nigh the town that the sentinels--three of whom watch everynight upon a sand-hill outside the gates--have had them in a dark nightupon them ere they were aware. "

But the garrison of Ostend was quite as dangerous to the peasants and thecountry squires of Flanders, as were the wolves or wild boars; and many apacific individual of retired habits, and with a remnant of propertyworth a ransom, was doomed to see himself whisked from his seclusion byConway's troopers, and made a compulsory guest at the city. Prisonerswere brought in from a distance of sixty miles; and there was one oldgentlemen, "well-languaged, " who "confessed merrily to Cecil, that whenthe soldiers fetched him out of his own mansion-house, sitting safe inhis study, he was as little in fear of the garrison of Ostend as he wasof the Turk or the devil. "

 [And Doctor Rogers held very similar language: "The most dolorous and heavy sights in this voyage to Ghent, by me weighed, " he said; "seeing the countries which, heretofore; by traffic of merchants, as much as any other I have seen flourish, now partly drowned, and, except certain great cities, wholly burned, ruined, and desolate, possessed I say, with wolves, wild boars, and foxes--a great, testimony of the wrath of God, " &c. &c. Dr. Rogers to the Queen, - April, 1588. (S. P. Office MS. )]

Three days after the departure of Garnier, Dr. Dale and his attendantsstarted upon their expedition from Ostend to Ghent--an hour's journey orso in these modern times. --The English envoys, in the sixteenth century, found it a more formidable undertaking. They were many hours traversingthe four miles to Oudenburg, their first halting-place; for the waterswere out, there having been a great breach of the sea-dyke of Ostend, adisaster threatening destruction to town and country. At Oudenburg, a"small and wretched hole, " as Garnier had described it to be, there was, however, a garrison of three thousand Spanish soldiers, under the Marquisde Renti. From these a convoy of fifty troopers was appointed to protectthe English travellers to Bruges. Here they arrived at three o'clock, were met outside the gates by the famous General La Motte, and by himescorted to their lodgings in the "English house, " and afterwardshandsomely entertained at supper in his own quarters. 

The General's wife; Madame de la Motte, was, according to Cecil, "a fairgentlewoman of discreet and modest behaviour, and yet not unwillingsometimes to hear herself speak;" so that in her society, and in that ofher sister--"a nun of the order of the Mounts, but who, like the rest ofthe sisterhood, wore an ordinary dress in the evening, and might leavethe convent if asked in marriage"--the supper passed off very agreeably. 

In the evening Cecil found that his father had formerly occupied the samebedroom of the English hotel in which he was then lodged; for he foundthat Lord Burghley had scrawled his name in the chimney-corner--a factwhich was highly gratifying to the son. 

The next morning, at seven o'clock, the travellers set forth for Ghent. The journey was a miserable one. It was as cold and gloomy weather aseven a Flemish month of March could furnish. A drizzling rain was fallingall day long, the lanes were foul and miry, the frequent thickets whichoverhung their path were swarming with the freebooters of Zeeland, whowere "ever at hand, " says Cecil, "to have picked our purses, but thatthey descried our convoy, and so saved themselves in the woods. " Sittingon horseback ten hours without alighting, under such circumstances asthese, was not luxurious for a fragile little gentleman like QueenElizabeth's "pigmy;" especially as Dr. Dale and himself had only half ared herring between them for luncheon, and supped afterwards upon anorange. The envoy protested that when they could get a couple of eggs apiece, while travelling in Flanders, "they thought they fared likeprinces. "

Nevertheless Cecil and himself fought it out manfully, and when theyreached Ghent, at five in the evening, they were met by theiracquaintance Garnier, and escorted to their lodgings. Here they werewaited upon by President Richardot, "a tall gentleman, " on behalf of theDuke of Parma, and then left to their much-needed repose. 

Nothing could be more forlorn than the country of the obedientNetherlands, through which their day's journey had led them. Desolationhad been the reward of obedience. "The misery of the inhabitants, " saidCecil, "is incredible, both without the town, where all things arewasted, houses spoiled, and grounds unlaboured, and also, even in thesegreat cities, where they are for the most part poor beggars even in thefairest houses. "

And all this human wretchedness was the elaborate work of one man--onedull, heartless bigot, living, far away, a life of laborious ease andsolemn sensuality; and, in reality, almost as much removed from thesefellow-creatures of his, whom he called his subjects, as if he had beenthe inhabitant of another planet. Has history many more instructivewarnings against the horrors of arbitrary government--against the follyof mankind in ever tolerating the rule of a single irresponsibleindividual, than the lesson furnished by the life-work of that crownedcriminal, Philip the Second?

The longing for peace on the part of these unfortunate obedient Flemingswas intense. Incessant cries for peace reached the ears of the envoys onevery side. Alas, it would have been better for these peace-wishers, hadthey stood side by side with their brethren, the noble Hollanders andZeelanders, when they had been wresting, if not peace, yet independenceand liberty, from Philip, with their own right hands. Now the obedientFlemings were but fuel for the vast flame which the monarch was kindlingfor the destruction of Christendom--if all Christendom were not willingto accept his absolute dominion. 

The burgomasters of Ghent--of Ghent, once the powerful, the industrious, the opulent, the free, of all cities in the world now the most abject andforlorn--came in the morning to wait upon Elizabeth's envoy, and topresent him, according to ancient custom, with some flasks of wine. Theycame with tears streaming down their cheeks, earnestly expressing thedesire of their hearts for peace, and their joy that at least it had now"begun to be thought on. "

"It is quite true, " replied Dr. Dale, "that her excellent Majesty theQueen--filled with compassion for your condition, and having beeninformed that the Duke of Parma is desirous of peace--has vouchsafed tomake this overture. If it take not the desired effect, let not the blamerest upon her, but upon her adversaries. " To these words the magistratesall said Amen, and invoked blessings on her Majesty. And most certainly, Elizabeth was sincerely desirous of peace; even at greater sacrificesthan the Duke could well have imagined; but there was something almostdiabolic in the cold dissimulation by which her honest compassion wasmocked, and the tears of a whole people in its agony made thelaughingstock of a despot and his tools. 

On Saturday morning, Richardot and Garnier waited upon the envoy toescort him to the presence of the Duke. Cecil, who accompanied him, wasnot much impressed with the grandeur of Alexander's lodgings; and madeunfavourable and rather unreasonable comparisons between them and thesplendour of Elizabeth's court. They passed through an ante-chamber intoa dining-room, thence into an inner chamber, and next into the Duke'sroom. In the ante-chamber stood Sir William Stanley, the Deventertraitor, conversing with one Mockett, an Englishman, long resident inFlanders. Stanley was meanly dressed, in the Spanish fashion, and asyoung Cecil, passing through the chamber, looked him in the face, heabruptly turned from him, and pulled his hat over his eyes. "'Twas wellhe did so, " said that young gentleman, "for his taking it off wouldhardly have cost me mine. " Cecil was informed that Stanley was to have acommandery of Malta, and was in good favour with the Duke, who was, however, quite weary of his mutinous and disorderly Irish regiment. 

In the bed-chamber, Farnese--accompanied by the Marquis del Guasto, theMarquis of Renty, the Prince of Aremberg, President Richardot, andSecretary Cosimo--received the envoy and his companion. "Small and meanwas the furniture of the chamber, " said Cecil; "and although theyattribute this to his love of privacy, yet it is a sign that peace is themother of all honour and state, as may best be perceived by the court ofEngland, which her Majesty's royal presence doth so adorn, as that itexceedeth this as far as the sun surpasseth in light the other stars ofthe firmament. "

Here was a compliment to the Queen and her upholsterers drawn in by theears. Certainly, if the first and best fruit of the much-longed-for peacewere only to improve the furniture of royal and ducal apartments, itmight be as well perhaps for the war to go on, while the Queen continuedto outshine all the stars in the firmament. But the budding courtier andstatesman knew that a personal compliment to Elizabeth could never beamiss or ill-timed. 

The envoy delivered the greetings of her Majesty to the Duke, and washeard with great attention. Alexander attempted a reply in French, whichwas very imperfect, and, apologizing, exchanged that tongue for Italian. He alluded with great fervour to the "honourable opinion concerning hissincerity and word, " expressed to him by her Majesty, through the mouthof her envoy. "And indeed, " said he, "I have always had especial care ofkeeping my word. My body and service are at the commandment of the King, my lord and master, but my honour is my own, and her Majesty may beassured that I shall always have especial regard of my word to so greatand famous a Queen as her Majesty. "

The visit was one of preliminaries and of ceremony. Nevertheless Farnesefound opportunity to impress the envoy and his companions with hissincerity of heart. He conversed much with Cecil, making particular andpersonal inquiries, and with appearance of deep interest, in regard toQueen Elizabeth. 

"There is not a prince in the world--" he said, "reserving all questionbetween her Majesty and my royal master--to whom I desire more to doservice. So much have I heard of her perfections, that I wish earnestlythat things might so fall out, as that it might be my fortune to lookupon her face before my return to my own country. Yet I desire to beholdher, not as a servant to him who is not able still to maintain war, or asone that feared any harm that might befall him; for in such matters myaccount was made long ago, to endure all which God may send. But, intruth, I am weary to behold the miserable estate of this people, fallenupon them through their own folly, and methinks that he who should do thebest offices of peace would perform a 'pium et sanctissimum opus. ' Rightglad am I that the Queen is not behind me in zeal for peace. " He thencomplimented Cecil in regard to his father, whom he understood to be theprincipal mover in these negotiations. 

The young man expressed his thanks, and especially for the good affectionwhich the Duke had manifested to the Queen and in the blessed cause ofpeace. He was well aware that her Majesty esteemed him a prince of greathonour and virtue, and that for this good work, thus auspiciously begun, no man could possibly doubt that her Majesty, like himself, was mostzealously affected to bring all things to a perfect peace. 

The matters discussed in this first interview were only in regard to theplace to be appointed for the coming conferences, and the exchange ofpowers. The Queen's commissioners had expected to treat at Ostend. Alexander, on the contrary, was unable to listen to such a suggestion, asit would be utter dereliction of his master's dignity to send envoys to acity of his own, now in hostile occupation by her Majesty's forces. Theplace of conference, therefore, would be matter of future consideration. In respect to the exchange of powers, Alexander expressed the hope thatno man would doubt as to the production on his commissioners' part ofample authority both from himself and from the King. 

Yet it will be remembered, that, at this moment, the Duke had not only nopowers from the King, but that Philip had most expressly refused to senda commission, and that he fully expected the negotiation to be supersededby the invasion, before the production of the powers should becomeindispensable. 

And when Farnese was speaking thus fervently in favour of peace, andparading his word and his honour, the letters lay in his cabinet in thatvery room, in which Philip expressed his conviction that his general wasalready in London, that the whole realm of England was already at themercy of a Spanish soldiery, and that the Queen, upon whose perfectionAlexander had so long yearned to gaze, was a discrowned captive, entirelyin her great enemy's power. 

Thus ended the preliminary interview. On the following Monday, 11thMarch, Dr. Dale and his attendants made the best of their way back toOstend, while young Cecil, with a safe conduct from Champagny, set forthon a little tour in Flanders. 

The journey from Ghent to Antwerp was easy, and he was agreeablysurprised by the apparent prosperity of the country. At intervals ofevery few miles; he was refreshed with the spectacle of a gibbet wellgarnished with dangling freebooters; and rejoiced, therefore, incomparative security. For it seemed that the energetic bailiff ofWaasland had levied a contribution upon the proprietors of the country, to be expended mainly in hanging brigands; and so well had the funds beenapplied, that no predatory bands could make their appearance but theywere instantly pursued by soldiers, and hanged forthwith, without judgeor trial. Cecil counted twelve such places of execution on his roadbetween Ghent and Antwerp. 

On his journey he fell in with an Italian merchant, --Lanfranchi by name, of a great commercial house in Antwerp, in the days when Antwerp hadcommerce, and by him, on his arrival the same evening in that town, hewas made an honoured guest, both for his father's sake and his Queen's. "'Tis the pleasantest city that ever I saw, " said Cecil, "for situationand building; but utterly left and abandoned now by those rich merchantsthat were wont to frequent the place. "

His host was much interested in the peace-negotiations, and indeed, through his relations with Champagny and Andreas de Loo, had been one ofthe instruments by which it had been commenced. He inveighed bitterlyagainst the Spanish captains and soldiers, to whose rapacity and ferocityhe mainly ascribed the continuance of the war;--and he was especiallyincensed with Stanley and other--English renegades, who were thoughtfiercer haters of England than were the Spaniards themselves: Even in thedesolate and abject condition of Antwerp and its neighbourhood, at thatmoment, the quick eye of Cecil detected the latent signs of a possiblesplendour. Should peace be restored, the territory once more be tilled, and the foreign merchants attracted thither again, he believed that thegovernor of the obedient Netherlands might live there in moremagnificence than the King of Spain himself, exhausted as were hisrevenues by the enormous expense of this protracted war: Eight hundredthousand dollars monthly; so Lanfranchi informed Cecil, were the costs ofthe forces on the footing then established. This, however, was probablyan exaggeration, for the royal account books showed a less formidablesum, although a sufficiently large one to appal a less obstinate bigotthan Philip. But what to him were the ruin of the Netherlands; theimpoverishment of Spain, and the downfall of her ancient grandeurcompared to the glory of establishing the Inquisition in England andHolland?

While at dinner in Lanfranchi's house; Cecil was witness to anothercharacteristic of the times, and one which afforded proof of even moreformidable freebooters abroad than those for whom the bailiff of Waaslandhad erected his gibbets. A canal-boat had left Antwerp for Brussels thatmorning, and in the vicinity of the latter city had been set upon by adetachment from the English garrison of Bergen-op-Zoom, and captured, with twelve prisoners and a freight of 60, 000 florins in money. "Thisstruck the company at the dinner-table all in a dump;" said Cecil. Andwell it might; for the property mainly belonged to themselves, and theyforthwith did their best to have the marauders waylaid on their return. But Cecil, notwithstanding his gratitude for the hospitality ofLanfranchi, sent word next day to the garrison of Bergen of the designsagainst them, and on his arrival at the place had the satisfaction ofbeing informed by Lord Willoughby that the party had got safe home withtheir plunder. 

"And, well worthy they are of it, " said young Robert, "considering howfar they go for it. "

The traveller, on, leaving Antwerp, proceeded down the river toBergen-op-Zoom, where he was hospitably entertained by that doughty oldsoldier Sir William Reade, and met Lord Willoughby, whom he accompaniedto Brielle on a visit to the deposed elector Truchsess, then living inthat neighbourhood. Cecil--who was not passion's slave--had smallsympathy with the man who could lose a sovereignty for the sake of AgnesMansfeld. "'Tis a very goodly gentleman, " said he, "well fashioned, andof good speech, for which I must rather praise him than for loving a wifebetter than so great a fortune as he lost by her occasion. " At Brielle hewas handsomely entertained by the magistrates, who had agreeablerecollections of his brother Thomas, late governor of that city. Thencehe proceeded by way of Delft--which, like all English travellers, hedescribed as "the finest built town that ever he saw"--to the Hague, andthence to Fushing, and so back by sea to Ostend. --He had made the most ofhis three weeks' tour, had seen many important towns both in the republicand in the obedient Netherlands, and had conversed with many "tallgentlemen, " as he expressed himself, among the English commanders, havingbeen especially impressed by the heroes of Sluys, Baskerville and that"proper gentleman Francis Vere. "

He was also presented by Lord Willoughby to Maurice of Nassau, and wasperhaps not very benignantly received by the young prince. At thatparticular moment, when Leicester's deferred resignation, the rebellionof Sonoy in North Holland, founded on a fictitious allegiance to the lategovernor-general, the perverse determination of the Queen to treat forpeace against the advice of all the leading statesmen of the Netherlands, and the sharp rebukes perpetually administered by her, in consequence, tothe young stadholder and all his supporters, had not tended to producethe most tender feelings upon their part towards the English government, it was not surprising that the handsome soldier should look askance atthe crooked little courtier, whom even the great Queen smiled at whileshe petted him. Cecil was very angry with Maurice. 

"In my life I never saw worse behaviour, " he said, "except it were in onelately come from school. There is neither outward appearance in him ofany noble mind nor inward virtue. "

Although Cecil had consumed nearly the whole month of March in his tour, he had been more profitably employed than were the royal commissionersduring the same period at Ostend. 

Never did statesmen know better how not to do that which they wereostensibly occupied in doing than Alexander Farnese and his agents, Champagny, Richardot, Jacob Maas, and Gamier. The first pretext by whichmuch time was cleverly consumed was the dispute as to the place ofmeeting. Doctor Dale had already expressed his desire for Ostend as theplace of colloquy. "'Tis a very slow old gentleman, this Doctor Dale, "said Alexander; "he was here in the time of Madam my mother, and has alsobeen ambassador at Vienna. I have received him and his attendants withgreat courtesy, and held out great hopes of peace. We had conversationsabout the place of meeting. He wishes Ostend: I object. The firstconference will probably be at some point between that place andNewport. "

The next opportunity for discussion and delay was afforded by thequestion of powers. And it must be ever borne in mind that Alexander wasdaily expecting the arrival of the invading fleets and armies of Spain, and was holding himself in readiness to place himself at their head forthe conquest of England. This was, of course, so strenuously denied byhimself and those under his influence, that Queen Elizabeth implicitly. Believed him, Burghley was lost in doubt, and even the astute Walsinghambegan to distrust his own senses. So much strength does a falsehoodacquire in determined and skilful hands. 

"As to the commissions, it will be absolutely necessary for, your Majestyto send them, " wrote Alexander at the moment when he was receiving theEnglish envoy at Ghent, "for unless the Armada arrive soon--it will beindispensable for me, to have them, in order to keep the negotiationalive. Of course they will never broach the principal matters withoutexhibition of powers. Richardot is aware of the secret which your Majestyconfided to me, namely, that the negotiations are only intended todeceive the Queen and to gain time for the fleet; but the powers must besent in order that we may be able to produce them; although your secretintentions will be obeyed. "

The Duke commented, however, on the extreme difficulty of carrying outthe plan, as originally proposed. "The conquest of England would havebeen difficult, " he said, "even although the country had been taken bysurprise. Now they are strong and armed; we are comparatively weak. Thedanger and the doubt are great; and the English deputies, I think, arereally desirous of peace. Nevertheless I am at your Majesty'sdisposition--life and all--and probably, before the answer arrives tothis letter, the fleet will have arrived, and I shall have undertaken thepassage to England. "

After three weeks had thus adroitly been frittered away, the Englishcommissioners became somewhat impatient, and despatched Doctor Rogers tothe Duke at Ghent. This was extremely obliging upon their part, for ifValentine Dale were a "slow old gentleman, " he was keen, caustic, andrapid, as compared to John Rogers. A formalist and a pedant, a man of redtape and routine, full of precedents and declamatory commonplaces whichhe mistook for eloquence, honest as daylight and tedious as a king, hewas just the time-consumer for Alexander's purpose. The wily Italianlistened with profound attention to the wise saws in which the excellentdiplomatist revelled, and his fine eyes often filled with tears at theDoctor's rhetoric. 

Three interviews--each three mortal hours long--did the two indulge in atGhent, and never, was high-commissioner better satisfied with himselfthan was John Rogers upon those occasions. He carried every point; heconvinced, he softened, he captivated the great Duke; he turned the greatDuke round his finger. The great Duke smiled, or wept, or fell into hisarms, by turns. Alexander's military exploits had rung through the world, his genius for diplomacy and statesmanship had never been disputed; buthis talents as a light comedian were, in these interviews, for the firsttime fully revealed. 

On the 26th March the learned Doctor made his first bow and performed hisfirst flourish of compliments at Ghent. "I assure your Majesty, " said he, "his Highness followed my compliments of entertainment with so muchhonour, as that--his Highness or I, speaking of the Queen of England--henever did less than uncover his head; not covering the same, unless I wascovered also. " And after these salutations had at last been got throughwith, thus spake the Doctor of Laws to the Duke of Parma:--

"Almighty God, the light of lights, be pleased to enlighten theunderstanding of your Alteza, and to direct the same to his glory, to theuniting of both their Majesties and the finishing of these most bloodywars, whereby these countries, being in the highest degree of miserydesolate, lie as it were prostrate before the wrathful presence of themost mighty God, most lamentably beseeching his Divine Majesty towithdraw his scourge of war from them, and to move the hearts of princesto restore them unto peace, whereby they might attain unto their ancientflower and dignity. Into the hands of your Alteza are now the lives ofmany thousands, the destruction of cities, towns, and countries, which toput to the fortune of war how perilous it were, I pray consider. Thinkye, ye see the mothers left alive tendering their offspring in yourpresence, 'nam matribus detestata bells, '" continued the orator. "Thinkalso of others of all sexes, ages, and conditions, on their knees beforeyour Alteza, most humbly praying and crying most dolorously to sparetheir lives, and save their property from the ensanguined scourge of theinsane soldiers, " and so on, and so on. 

Now Philip II. Was slow in resolving, slower in action. The ponderousthree-deckers of Biscay were notoriously the dullest sailers ever known, nor were the fettered slaves who rowed the great galleys of Portugal orof Andalusia very brisk in their movements; and yet the King might havefound time to marshal his ideas and his squadrons, and the Armada hadleisure to circumnavigate the globe and invade England afterwards, if asuccession of John Rogerses could have entertained his Highness withcompliments while the preparations were making. 

But Alexander--at the very outset of the Doctor's eloquence--found itdifficult to suppress his feelings. "I can assure your Majesty, " saidRogers, "that his eyes--he has a very large eye--were moistened. Sometimes they were thrown upward to heaven, sometimes they were fixedfull upon me, sometimes they were cast downward, well declaring how hisheart was affected. "

Honest John even thought it necessary to mitigate the effect of hisrhetoric, and to assure his Highness that it was, after all, only heDoctor Rogers, and not the minister plenipotentiary of the Queen's mostserene Majesty, who was exciting all this emotion. 

"At this part of my speech, " said he, "I prayed his Highness not to betroubled, for that the same only proceeded from Doctor Rogers, who, itmight please him to know, was so much moved with the pitiful case ofthese countries, as also that which of war was sure to ensue, that Iwished, if my body were full of rivers of blood, the same to be pouredforth to satisfy any that were blood-thirsty, so there might an assuredpeace follow. "

His Highness, at any rate, manifesting no wish to drink of suchsanguinary streams--even had the Doctor's body contained them--Rogersbecame calmer. He then descended from rhetoric to jurisprudence andcasuistry, and argued at intolerable length the propriety of commencingthe conferences at Ostend, and of exhibiting mutually the commissions. 

It is quite unnecessary to follow him as closely as did Farnese. When hehad finished the first part of his oration, however, and was "addressinghimself to the second point, " Alexander at last interrupted the torrentof his eloquence. 

"He said that my divisions and subdivisions, " wrote the Doctor, "wereperfectly in his remembrance, and that he would first answer the firstpoint, and afterwards give audience to the second, and answer the sameaccordingly. "

Accordingly Alexander put on his hat, and begged the envoy also to becovered. Then, "with great gravity, as one inwardly much moved, " the Duketook up his part in the dialogue. 

"Signor Ruggieri, " said he, "you have propounded unto me speeches of twosorts: the one proceeds from Doctor Ruggieri, the other from the lordambassador of the most serene Queen of England. Touching the first, I dogive you my hearty thanks for your godly speeches, assuring you thatthough, by reason I have always followed the wars, I cannot be ignorantof the calamities by you alleged, yet you have so truly represented thesame before mine eyes as to effectuate in me at this instant, not onlythe confirmation of mine own disposition to have peace, but also anassurance that this treaty shall take good and speedy end, seeing that ithath pleased God to raise up such a good instrument as you are. "

"Many are the causes, " continued the Duke, "which, besides mydisposition, move me to peace. My father and mother are dead; my son is ayoung prince; my house has truly need of my presence. I am not ignoranthow ticklish a thing is the fortune of war, which--how victorious soeverI have been--may in one moment not only deface the same, but also depriveme of my life. The King, my master, is now, stricken in years, hischildren are young, his dominions in trouble. His desire is to live, andto leave his posterity in quietness. The glory of God, the honor of boththeir Majesties, and the good of these countries, with the stay of theeffusion of Christian blood, and divers other like reasons, force him topeace. "

Thus spoke Alexander, like an honest Christian gentleman, avowing themost equitable and pacific dispositions on the part of his master andhimself. Yet at that moment he knew that the Armada was about to sail, that his own nights and days were passed in active preparations for war, and that no earthly power could move Philip by one hair's-breadth fromhis purpose to conquer England that summer. 

It would be superfluous to follow the Duke or the Doctor through theirlong dialogue on the place of conference, and the commissions. Alexanderconsidered it "infamy" on his name if he should send envoys to a place ofhis master's held by the enemy. He was also of opinion that it wasunheard of to exhibit commissions previous to a preliminary colloquy. 

Both propositions were strenuously contested by Rogers. In regard to thesecond point in particular, he showed triumphantly, by citations from the"Polonians, Prussians, and Lithuanians, " that commissions ought to bepreviously exhibited. But it was not probable that even the Doctor'slearning and logic would persuade Alexander to produce his commission;because, unfortunately, he had no commission to produce. A comfortableargument on the subject, however, would, none the less, consume time. 

Three hours of this work brought them, exhausted and hungry; to the hourof noon and of dinner Alexander, with profuse and smiling thanks for theenvoy's plain dealing and eloquence, assured him that there would havebeen peace long ago "had Doctor Rogers always been the instrument, " andregretted that he was himself not learned enough to deal creditably withhim. He would, however, send Richardot to bear him company at table, andchop logic with him afterwards. 

Next day, at the same, hour, the Duke and Doctor had another encounter. So soon as the envoy made his appearance, he found himself "embraced mostcheerfully and familiarly by his Alteza, " who, then entering at once intobusiness, asked as to the Doctor's second point. 

The Doctor answered with great alacrity. 

"Certain expressions have been reported to her Majesty, " said he, "ascoming both from your Highness and from Richardot, hinting at a possibleattempt by the King of Spain's forces against the Queen. Her Majesty, gathering that you are going about belike to terrify her, commands me toinform you very clearly and very expressly that she does not deal soweakly in her government, nor so improvidently, but that she is providedfor anything that might be attempted against her by the King, and as ableto offend him as he her Majesty. "

Alexander--with a sad countenance, as much offended, his eyes declaringmiscontentment--asked who had made such a report. 

"Upon the honour of a gentleman, " said he, "whoever has said this hasmuch abused me, and evil acquitted himself. They who know me best areaware that it is not my manner to let any word pass my lips that mightoffend any prince. " Then, speaking most solemnly, he added, "I declarereally and truly (which two words he said in Spanish), that I know not ofany intention of the King of Spain against her Majesty or her realm. "

At that moment the earth did not open--year of portents though itwas--and the Doctor, "singularly rejoicing" at this authentic informationfrom the highest source, proceeded cheerfully with the conversation. 

"I hold myself, " he exclaimed, "the man most satisfied in the world, because I may now write to her Majesty that I have heard your Highnessupon your honour use these words. "

"Upon my honour, it is true, " repeated the Duke; "for so honourably do Ithink of her Majesty, as that, after the King, my master, I would honourand serve her before any prince in Christendom. " He added many earnestasseverations of similar import. 

"I do not deny, however, " continued Alexander, "that I have heard ofcertain ships having been armed by the King against that Draak"--hepronounced the "a" in Drake's name very broadly, or "Doric"--"who hascommitted so many outrages; but I repeat that I have never heard of anydesign against her Majesty or against England. "

The Duke then manifested much anxiety to know by whom he had been somisrepresented. "There has been no one with me but Dr. Dale, " said, he, "and I marvel that he should thus wantonly have injured me. "

"Dr. Dale, " replied Ropers, "is a man of honour, of good years, learned, and well experienced; but perhaps he unfortunately misapprehended some ofyour Alteza's words, and thought himself bound by his allegiance strictlyto report them to her Majesty. "

"I grieve that I should be misrepresented and injured, " answered Farnese, "in a manner so important to my honour. Nevertheless, knowing the virtueswith which her Majesty is endued, I assure myself that the protestationsI am now making will entirely satisfy her. "

He then expressed the fervent hope that the holy work of negotiation nowcommencing would result in a renewal of the ancient friendship betweenthe Houses of Burgundy and of England, asserting that "there had neverbeen so favourable a time as the present. "

Under former governments of the Netherlands there had been many mistakesand misunderstandings. 

"The Duke of Alva, " said he, "has learned by this time, before thejudgment-seat of God, how he discharged his functions, succeeding as hedid my mother, the Duchess of Parma who left the Provinces in soflourishing a condition. Of this, however, I will say no more, because ofa feud between the Houses of Farnese and of Alva. As for Requesens, hewas a good fellow, but didn't understand his business. Don John ofAustria again, whose soul I doubt not is in heaven, was young and poor, and disappointed in all his designs; but God has never offered so great ahope of assured peace as might now be accomplished by her Majesty. "

Finding the Duke in so fervent and favourable a state of mind, the envoyrenewed his demand that at least the first meeting of the commissionersmight be held at Ostend. 

"Her Majesty finds herself so touched in honour upon this point, that ifit be not conceded--as I doubt not it will be, seeing the singularforwardness of your Highness"--said the artful Doctor with a smile, "weare no less than commanded to return to her Majesty's presence. "

"I sent Richardot to you yesterday, " said Alexander; "did he not contentyou?"

"Your Highness, no, " replied Ropers. "Moreover her Majesty sent me toyour Alteza, and not to Richardot. And the matter is of such importancethat I pray you to add to all your graces and favours heaped upon me, this one of sending your commissioners to Ostend. "

His Highness could hold out no longer; but suddenly catching the Doctorin his arms, and hugging him "in most honourable and amiable manner, " hecried--

"Be contented, be cheerful; my lord ambassador. You shall be satisfiedupon this point also. "

"And never did envoy depart;" cried the lord ambassador, when he couldget his breath, "more bound to you; and more resolute to speak honour ofyour Highness than I do. "

"To-morrow we will ride together towards Bruges;" said the Duke, inconclusion. "Till then farewell. "

Upon, this he again heartily embraced the envoy, and the friends partedfor the day. 

Next morning; 28th March, the Duke, who was on his way to Bruges andSluys to look after his gun-boats, and, other naval, and militarypreparations, set forth on horseback, accompanied by the Marquis delVasto, and, for part of the way, by Rogers. 

They conversed on the general topics of the approaching negotiations; theDuke, expressing the opinion that the treaty of peace would be made shortwork with; for it only needed to renew the old ones between the Houses ofEngland and Burgundy. As for the Hollanders and Zeelanders, and theiraccomplices, he thought there would be no cause of stay on their account;and in regard to the cautionary towns he felt sure that her Majesty hadnever had any intention of appropriating them to herself, and wouldwillingly surrender them to the King. 

Rogers thought it a good opportunity to put in a word for the Dutchmen;who certainly, would not have thanked him for his assistance at thatmoment. 

"Not, to give offence to your Highness, " he said, "if the Hollanders andZeelanders, with their confederates, like to come into this treaty, surely your Highness would not object?"

Alexander, who had been riding along quietly during this conversation;with his right, hand, on, his hip, now threw out his arm energetically:

"Let them come into it; let them treat, let them conclude, " he exclaimed, "in the name of Almighty God! I have always been well disposed to peace, and am now more so than ever. I could even, with the loss of my life, becontent to have peace made at this time. "

Nothing more, worthy of commemoration, occurred during this concludinginterview; and the envoy took his leave at Bruges, and returned toOstend. 

I have furnished the reader with a minute account of these conversations, drawn entirely, from the original records; not so much because theinterviews were in themselves of vital importance; but because theyafford a living and breathing example--better than a thousandhomilies--of the easy victory which diplomatic or royal mendacity mayalways obtain over innocence and credulity. 

Certainly never was envoy more thoroughly beguiled than the excellentJohn upon this occasion. Wiser than a serpent, as he imagined himself tobe, more harmless than a dove; as Alexander found him, he could not, sufficiently congratulate himself upon the triumphs of his eloquence andhis adroitness; and despatched most glowing accounts of his proceedingsto the Queen. 

His ardour was somewhat damped, however, at receiving a message from herMajesty in reply, which was anything but benignant. His eloquence was notcommended; and even his preamble, with its touching allusion to the livemothers tendering their offspring--the passage: which had brought thetears into the large eyes of Alexander--was coldly and cruelly censured. 

"Her Majesty can in no sort like such speeches"--so ran thereturn-despatch--"in which she is made to beg for peace. The King ofSpain standeth in as great need of peace as her self; and she dothgreatly mislike the preamble of Dr. Rogers in his address to the Duke atGhent, finding it, in very truth quite fond and vain. I am commanded by aparticular letter to let him understand how much her Majesty is offendedwith him. "

Alexander, on his part, informed his royal master of these interviews, inwhich there had been so much effusion of sentiment, in very brieffashion. 

"Dr. Rogers, one of the Queen's commissioners, has been here, " he said, "urging me with all his might to let all your Majesty's deputies go, ifonly for one hour, to Ostend. I refused, saying, I would rather theyshould go to England than into a city of your Majesty held by Englishtroops. I told him it ought to be satisfactory that I had offered theQueen, as a lady, her choice of any place in the Provinces, or on neutralground. Rogers expressed regret for all the bloodshed and otherconsequences if the negotiations should fall through for so trifling acause; the more so as in return for this little compliment to the Queenshe would not only restore to your Majesty everything that she holds inthe Netherlands, but would assist you to recover the part which remainsobstinate. To quiet him and to consume time, I have promised thatPresident Richardot shall go and try to satisfy them. Thus two or threeweeks more will be wasted. But at last the time will come for exhibitingthe powers. They are very anxious to see mine; and when at last they findI have none, I fear that they will break off the negotiations. "

Could the Queen have been informed of this voluntary offer on the part ofher envoy to give up the cautionary towns, and to assist in reducing therebellion, she might have used stronger language of rebuke. It is quitepossible, however, that Farnese--not so attentively following theDoctor's eloquence as he had appeared to do-had somewhat inaccuratelyreported the conversations, which, after all, he knew to be of noconsequence whatever, except as time-consumers. For Elizabeth, desirousof peace as she was, and trusting to Farnese's sincerity as she wasdisposed to do, was more sensitive than ever as to her dignity. 

"We charge you all, " she wrote with her own hand to the commissioners, "that no word he overslipt by them, that may, touch our honour andgreatness, that be not answered with good sharp words. I am a king thatwill be ever known not to fear any but God. "

It would have been better, however, had the Queen more thoroughlyunderstood that the day for scolding had quite gone by, and thatsomething sharper than the sharpest words would soon be wanted to protectEngland and herself from impending doom. For there was something almostgigantic in the frivolities with which weeks and months of suchprecious time were now squandered. Plenary powers--"commissionbastantissima"--from his sovereign had been announced by Alexander as inhis possession; although the reader has seen that he had no such powersat all. The mission of Rogers had quieted the envoys at Ostend for atime, and they waited quietly for the visit of Richardot to Ostend, intowhich the promised meeting of all the Spanish commissioners in that cityhad dwindled. Meantime there was an exchange of the most friendlyamenities between the English and their mortal enemies. Hardly a daypassed that La Motte, or Renty, or Aremberg, did not send Lord Derby, orCobham, or Robert Cecil, a hare, or a pheasant, or a cast of hawks, andthey in return sent barrel upon barrel of Ostend oysters, five or sixhundred at a time. The Englishmen, too; had it in their power to gratifyAlexander himself with English greyhounds, for which he had a specialliking. "You would wonder, " wrote Cecil to his father, "how fond he is ofEnglish dogs. " There was also much good preaching among otheroccupations, at Ostend. "My Lord of Derby's two chaplains, " said Cecil, "have seasoned this town better with sermons than it had been before fora year's apace. " But all this did not expedite the negotiations, nor didthe Duke manifest so much anxiety for colloquies as for greyhounds. So, in an unlucky hour for himself, another "fond and vain" oldgentleman--James Croft, the comptroller who had already figured, not muchto his credit, in the secret negotiations between the Brussels andEnglish courts--betook himself, unauthorized and alone; to the Duke atBruges. Here he had an interview very similar in character to that inwhich John Rogers had been indulged, declared to Farnese that the Queenwas most anxious for peace, and invited him to send a secret envoy toEngland, who would instantly have ocular demonstration of the fact. Croftreturned as triumphantly as the excellent Doctor had done; averring thatthere was no doubt as to the immediate conclusion of a treaty. Hisgrounds of belief were very similar to those upon which Rogers hadfounded his faith. "Tis a weak old man of seventy, " said Parma, "withvery little sagacity. I am inclined to think that his colleagues aretaking him in, that they may the better deceive us. I will see that theydo nothing of the kind. " But the movement was purely one of thecomptroller's own inspiration; for Sir James had a singular facility forgetting himself into trouble, and for making confusion. Already, when hehad been scarcely a day in Ostend, he had insulted the governor of theplace, Sir John Conway, had given him the lie in the hearing of many ofhis own soldiers, had gone about telling all the world that he hadexpress authority from her Majesty to send him home in disgrace, and thatthe Queen had called him a fool, and quite unfit for his post. And as ifthis had not been mischief-making enough, in addition to the absurd DeLoo and Bodman negotiations of the previous year, in which he had beenthe principal actor, he had crowned his absurdities by this secret andofficious visit to Ghent. The Queen, naturally very indignant at thisconduct, reprehended him severely, and ordered him back to England. Thecomptroller was wretched. He expressed his readiness to obey hercommands, but nevertheless implored his dread sovereign to take mercifulconsideration of the manifold misfortunes, ruin, and utter undoing, whichthereby should fall upon him and his unfortunate family. All this heprotested he would "nothing esteem if it tended to her Majesty's pleasureor service, " but seeing it should effectuate nothing but to bring theaged carcase of her poor vassal to present decay, he implored compassionupon his hoary hairs, and promised to repair the error of his formerproceedings. He avowed that he would not have ventured to disobey for amoment her orders to return, but "that his aged and feeble limbs did notretain sufficient force, without present death, to comply with hercommandment. " And with that he took to his bed, and remained there untilthe Queen was graciously pleased to grant him her pardon. 

At last, early in May--instead of the visit of Richardot--there was apreliminary meeting of all the commissioners in tents on the sands;within a cannon-shot of Ostend, and between that place and Newport. Itwas a showy and ceremonious interview, in which no business wastransacted. The commissioners of Philip were attended by a body of onehundred and fifty light horse, and by three hundred private gentlemen inmagnificent costume. La Motte also came from Newport with one thousandWalloon cavalry while the English Commissioners, on their part wereescorted from Ostend by an imposing array of English and Dutch troops. 'As the territory was Spanish; the dignity of the King was supposed to bepreserved, and Alexander, who had promised Dr. Rogers that the firstinterview should take place within Ostend itself, thought it necessary toapologize to his sovereign for so nearly keeping his word as to send theenvoys within cannon-shot of the town. "The English commissioners, " saidhe, "begged with so much submission for this concession, that I thoughtit as well to grant it. "

The Spanish envoys were despatched by the Duke of Parma, well providedwith full powers for himself, which were not desired by the Englishgovernment, but unfurnished with a commission from Philip, which had beenpronounced indispensable. There was, therefore, much prancing of cavalry, flourishing of trumpets, and eating of oysters; at the first conference, but not one stroke of business. As the English envoys had now been threewhole months in Ostend, and as this was the first occasion on which theyhad been brought face to face with the Spanish commissioners, it must beconfessed that the tactics of Farnese had been masterly. Had the haste inthe dock-yards of Lisbon and Cadiz been at all equal to the magnificentprocrastination in the council-chambers of Bruges and Ghent, MedinaSidonia might already have been in the Thames. 

But although little ostensible business was performed, there was one manwho had always an eye to his work. The same servant in plain livery, whohad accompanied Secretary Garnier, on his first visit to the Englishcommissioners at Ostend, had now come thither again, accompanied by afellow-lackey. While the complimentary dinner, offered in the name of theabsent Farnese to the Queen's representatives, was going forward, the twomenials strayed off together to the downs, for the purpose ofrabbit-shooting. The one of them was the same engineer who had already, on the former occasion, taken a complete survey of the fortifications ofOstend; the other was no less a personage than the Duke of Parma himself. The pair now made a thorough examination of the town and itsneighbourhood, and, having finished their reconnoitring, made the best oftheir way back to Bruges. As it was then one of Alexander's favouriteobjects to reduce the city of Ostend, at the earliest possible moment, itmust be allowed that this preliminary conference was not so barren tohimself as it was to the commissioners. Philip, when informed of thismanoeuvre, was naturally gratified at such masterly duplicity, while hegently rebuked his nephew for exposing his valuable life; and certainlyit would have been an inglorious termination to the Duke's splendidcareer; had he been hanged as a spy within the trenches of Ostend. Withthe other details of this first diplomatic colloquy Philip was delighted. "I see you understand me thoroughly, " he said. "Keep the negotiationalive till my Armada appears, and then carry out my determination, andreplant the Catholic religion on the soil of England. "

The Queen was not in such high spirits. She was losing her temper veryfast, as she became more and more convinced that she had been trifledwith. No powers had been yet exhibited, no permanent place of conferencefixed upon, and the cessation of arms demanded by her commissioners forEngland, Spain, and all the Netherlands, was absolutely refused. Shedesired her commissioners to inform the Duke of Parma that it greatlytouched his honour--as both before their coming and afterwards, he hadassured her that he had 'comision bastantissima' from his sovereign--toclear himself at once from the imputation of insincerity. "Let not theDuke think, " she wrote with her own hand, "that we would so long timeendure these many frivolous and unkindly dealings, but that we desire allthe world to know our desire of a kingly peace, and that we will endureno more the like, nor any, but will return you from your charge. "

Accordingly--by her Majesty's special command--Dr. Dale made anothervisit to Bruges, to discover, once for all, whether there was acommission from Philip or not; and, if so, to see it with his own eyes. On the 7th May he had an interview with the Duke. After thanking hisHighness for the honourable and stately manner in which the conferenceshad been, inaugurated near Ostend, Dale laid very plainly before him herMajesty's complaints of the tergiversations and equivocations concerningthe commission, which had now lasted three months long. 

In answer, Alexander made a complimentary harangue; confining himselfentirely to the first part of the envoy's address, and assuring him inredundant phraseology, that he should hold himself very guilty before theworld, if he had not surrounded the first colloquy between theplenipotentiaries of two such mighty princes, with as much pomp as thecircumstances of time and place would allow. After this superfluousrhetoric had been poured forth, he calmly dismissed the topic which Dr. Dale had come all the way from. Ostend to discuss, by carelesslyobserving that President Richardot would confer with him on the subjectof the commission. 

"But, " said the envoy, "tis no matter of conference or dispute. I desiresimply to see the commission. "

"Richardot and Champagny shall deal with you in the afternoon, " repeatedAlexander; and with this reply, the Doctor was fair to be contented. 

Dale then alluded to the point of cessation of arms. 

"Although, " said he, "the Queen might justly require that the cessationshould be general for all the King's dominion, yet in order not to standon precise points, she is content that it should extend no further thanto the towns of Flushing; Brief, Ostend, and Bergen-op-Zoom. "

"To this he said nothing, " wrote the envoy, "and so I went no further. "

In the afternoon Dale had conference with Champagny and Richardot. Asusual, Champagny was bound hand and foot by the gout, but was asquick-witted and disputatious as ever. Again Dale made an earnestharangue, proving satisfactorily--as if any proof were necessary on sucha point--that a commission from Philip ought to be produced, and that acommission had been promised, over and over again. 

After a pause, both the representatives of Parma began to wrangle withthe envoy in very insolent fashion. "Richardot is always theirmouth-piece, " said Dale, "only Champagny choppeth in at every word, andwould do so likewise in ours if we would suffer it. "

"We shall never have done with these impertinent demands, " said thePresident. "You ought to be satisfied with the Duke's promise ofratification contained in his commission. We confess what you sayconcerning the former requisitions and promises to be true, but when willyou have done? Have we not showed it to Mr. Croft, one of your owncolleagues? And if we show it you now, another may come to-morrow, and sowe shall never have an end. "

"The delays come from yourselves, " roundly replied the Englishman, "foryou refuse to do what in reason and law you are bound to do. And the moredemands the more 'mora aut potius culpa' in you. You, of all men, haveleast cause to hold such language, who so confidently and evendisdainfully answered our demand for the commission, in Mr. Cecil'spresence, and promised to show a perfect one at the very first meeting. As for Mr. Comptroller Croft, he came hither without the command of herMajesty and without the knowledge of his colleagues. "

Richardot then began to insinuate that, as Croft had come withoutauthority, so--for aught they could tell--might Dale also. But Champagnyhere interrupted, protested that the president was going too far, andbegged him to show the commission without further argument. 

Upon this Richardot pulled out the commission from under his gown, andplaced it in Dr. Dale's hands!

It was dated 17th April, 1588, signed and sealed by the King, and writtenin French, and was to the effect, that as there had been differencesbetween her Majesty and himself; as her Majesty had sent ambassadors intothe Netherlands, as the Duke of Parma had entered into treaty with herMajesty, therefore the King authorised the Duke to appoint commissionersto treat, conclude, and determine all controversies andmisunderstandings, confirmed any such appointments already made, andpromised to ratify all that might be done by them in the premises. '

Dr. Dale expressed his satisfaction with the tenor of this document, andbegged to be furnished with a copy of it, but his was peremptorilyrefused. There was then a long conversation--ending, as usual, innothing--on the two other points, the place for the conferences, namely, and the cessation of arms. 

Nest morning Dale, in taking leave of the Duke of Parma, expressed thegratification which he felt, and which her Majesty was sure to feel atthe production of the commission. It was now proved, said the envoy, thatthe King was as earnestly in favour of peace as the Duke was himself. 

Dale then returned, well satisfied, to Ostend. 

In truth the commission had arrived just in time. "Had I not received itsoon enough to produce it then, " said Alexander, "the Queen would havebroken off the negotiations. So I ordered Richardot, who is quite awareof your Majesty's secret intentions, from which we shall not swerve onejot, to show it privately to Croft, and afterwards to Dr. Dale, butwithout allowing a copy of it to be taken. "

"You have done very well, " replied Philip, "but that commission is, on noaccount, to be used, except for show. You know my mind thoroughly. "

Thus three months had been consumed, and at last one indispensablepreliminary to any negotiation had, in appearance, been performed. Fullpowers on both sides had been exhibited. When the Queen of England gavethe Earl of Derby and his colleagues commission to treat with the King'senvoys, and pledged herself beforehand to, ratify all their proceedings, she meant to perform the promise to which she had affixed her royal nameand seal. She could not know that the Spanish monarch was deliberatelyputting his name to a lie, and chuckling in secret over the credulity ofhis English sister, who was willing to take his word and his bond. Of acertainty the English were no match for southern diplomacy. 

But Elizabeth was now more impatient than ever that the other twopreliminaries should be settled, the place of conferences, and thearmistice. 

"Be plain with the Duke, " she wrote to her envoys, "that we havetolerated so many weeks in tarrying a commission, that I will neverendure more delays. Let him know he deals with a prince who prizes herhonour more than her life: Make yourselves such as stand of yourreputations. "

Sharp words, but not sharp enough to prevent a further delay of a month;for it was not till the 6th June that the commissioners at last cametogether at Bourbourg, that "miserable little hole, " on the coast betweenOstend and Newport, against which Gamier had warned them. And now therewas ample opportunity to wrangle at full length on the next preliminary, the cessation of arms. It would be superfluous to follow the altercationsstep by step--for negotiations there were none--and it is only for thesake of exhibiting at full length the infamy of diplomacy, when diplomacyis unaccompanied by honesty, that we are hanging up this series ofpictures at all. Those bloodless encounters between credulity and vanityupon one side, and gigantic fraud on the other, near those very sands ofNewport, and in sight of the Northern Ocean, where, before long, the mostterrible battles, both by land and sea, which the age had yet witnessed, were to occur, are quite as full of instruction and moral as the mostsanguinary combats ever waged. 

At last the commissioners exchanged copies of their respective powers. After four months of waiting and wrangling, so much had been achieved--ashow of commissions and a selection of the place for conference. And nowbegan the long debate about the cessation of arms. The English claimed anarmistice for the whole dominion of Philip and Elizabeth respectively, during the term of negotiation, and for twenty days after. The Spanishwould grant only a temporary truce, terminable at six days' notice, andthat only for the four cautionary towns of Holland held by the Queen. Thus Philip would be free to invade England at his leisure out of theobedient Netherlands or Spain. This was inadmissible, of course, but aweek was spent at the outset in reducing the terms to writing; and whenthe Duke's propositions were at last produced in the French tongue, theywere refused by the Queen's commissioners, who required that thedocuments should be in Latin. Great was the triumph of Dr. Dale, when, after another interval, he found their Latin full of barbarisms andblunders, at which a school-boy would have blushed. The King'scommissioners, however, while halting in their syntax, had kept steadilyto their point. 

"You promised a general cessation of aims at our coming, " said Dale, at aconference on the 2/12 June, "and now ye have lingered five times twentydays, and nothing done at all. The world may see the delays come of youand not of us, and that ye are not so desirous of peace as ye pretend. "

"But as far your invasion of England, " stoutly observed the Earl ofDerby, "ye shall find it hot coming thither. England was never so readyin any former age, --neither by sea nor by land; but we would show yourunreasonableness in proposing a cessation of arms by which ye would bindher Majesty to forbear touching all the Low Countries, and yet leaveyourselves at liberty to invade England. "

While they were thus disputing, Secretary Gamier rushed into the room, looking very much frightened, and announced that Lord Henry Seymour'sfleet of thirty-two ships of war was riding off Gravelines, and that hehad sent two men on shore who were now waiting in the ante-chamber. 

The men being accordingly admitted, handed letters to the Englishcommissioners from Lord Henry, in which he begged to be informed in whatterms they were standing, and whether they needed his assistance orcountenance in the cause in which they were engaged. The envoys found hispresence very "comfortable, " as it showed the Spanish commissioners thather Majesty was so well provided as to make a cessation of arms lessnecessary to her than it was to the King. They therefore sent theirthanks to the Lord Admiral, begging him to cruise for a time off Dunkirkand its neighbourhood, that both their enemies and their friends mighthave a sight of the English ships. 

Great was the panic all along the coast at this unexpected demonstration. The King's commissioners got into their coaches, and drove down to thecoast to look at the fleet, and--so soon as they appeared--were receivedwith such a thundering cannonade an hour long, by way of salute, as toconvince them, in the opinion of the English envoys, that the Queen hadno cause to be afraid of any enemies afloat or ashore. 

But these noisy arguments were not much more effective than theinterchange of diplomatic broadsides which they had for a momentsuperseded. The day had gone by for blank cartridges and empty protocols. Nevertheless Lord Henry's harmless thunder was answered, the next day, bya "Quintuplication" in worse Latin than ever, presented to Dr. Dale andhis colleagues by Richardot and Champagny, on the subject of thearmistice. And then there was a return quintuplication, in choice Latin, by the classic Dale, and then there was a colloquy on thequintuplication, and everything that had been charged, and truly charged, by the English; was now denied by the King's commissioners; andChampagny--more gouty and more irascible than ever--"chopped in" at everyword spoken by King's envoys or Queen's, contradicted everybody, repudiated everything said or done by Andrew de Loo, or any of the othersecret negotiators during the past year, declared that there never hadbeen a general cessation of arms promised, and that, at any rate, timeswere now changed, and such an armistice was inadmissible! Then theEnglish answered with equal impatience, and reproached the King'srepresentatives with duplicity and want of faith, and censured them fortheir unseemly language, and begged to inform Champagny and Richardotthat they had not then to deal with such persons as they might formerlyhave been in the habit of treating withal, but with a "great prince whodid justify the honour of her actions, " and they confuted the positionsnow assumed by their opponents with official documents and formerstatements from those very opponents' lips. And then, after all thisdiplomatic and rhetorical splutter, the high commissioners recoveredtheir temper and grew more polite, and the King's "envoys excusedthemselves in a mild, merry manner, " for the rudeness of their speeches, and the Queen's envoys accepted their apologies with majestic urbanity, and so they separated for the day in a more friendly manner than they haddone the day before. '

"You see to what a scholar's shift we have been driven for want ofresolution, " said Valentine Dale. "If we should linger here until thereshould be broken heads, in what case we should be God knoweth. For I cantrust Champagny and Richardot no farther than I can see them. "

And so the whole month of June passed by; the English commissioners"leaving no stone unturned to get a quiet cessation of arms in generalterms, " and being constantly foiled; yet perpetually kept in hope thatthe point would soon be carried. At the same time the signs of theapproaching invasion seemed to thicken. "In my opinion, " said Dale, "asPhormio spake in matters of wars, it were very requisite that my LordHarry should be always on this coast, for they will steal out from henceas closely as they can, either to join with the Spanish navy or to land, and they may be very easily scattered, by God's grace. " And, with thehonest pride of a protocol-maker, he added, "our postulates do troublethe King's commissioners very much, and do bring them to despair. "

The excellent Doctor had not even yet discovered that the King'scommissioners were delighted with his postulates; and that to have keptthem postulating thus five months in succession, while naval and militarypreparations were slowly bringing forth a great event--which was soon tostrike them with as much amazement as if the moon had fallen out ofheaven--was one of the most decisive triumphs ever achieved by Spanishdiplomacy. But the Doctor thought that his logic had driven the King ofSpain to despair. 

At the same time he was not insensible to the merits of another and moreperemptory style of rhetoric, --"I pray you, " said he to Walsingham, "letus hear some arguments from my Lord Harry out of her Majesty's navy nowand then. I think they will do more good than any bolt that we can shoothere. If they be met with at their going out, there is no possibility forthem to make any resistance, having so few men that can abide the sea;for the rest, as you know, must be sea-sick at first. "

But the envoys were completely puzzled. Even at the beginning of July, Sir James Croft was quite convinced of the innocence of the King and theDuke; but Croft was in his dotage. As for Dale, he occasionally openedhis eyes, and his ears, but more commonly kept them well closed to thesignificance of passing events; and consoled himself with his protocolsand his classics, and the purity of his own Latin. 

"'Tis a very wise saying of Terence, " said he, "omnibus nobis ut res dantsese; ita magni aut humiles sumus. ' When the King's commissioners hear ofthe King's navy from Spain, they are in such jollity that they talk loud. . . . In the mean time--as the wife of Bath sath in Chaucer by herhusband, we owe them not a word. If we should die tomorrow; I hope herMajesty will find by our writings that the honour of the cause, in theopinion of the world, must be with her Majesty; and that hercommissioners are, neither of such imperfection in their reasons, or sobarbarous in language, as they who fail not, almost in every line, ofsome barbarism not to be borne in a grammar-school, although insubtleness and impudent affirming of untruths and denying of truths, hercommissioners are not in any respect to match with Champagny andRichardot, who are doctors in that faculty. "

It might perhaps prove a matter of indifference to Elizabeth and toEngland, when the Queen should be a state-prisoner in Spain and theInquisition quietly established in her kingdom, whether the world shouldadmit or not, in case of his decease, the superiority of Dr. Dale's logicand latin to those of his antagonists. And even if mankind conceded thebest of the argument to the English diplomatists, that diplomacy mightseem worthless which could be blind to the colossal falsehoods growingdaily before its eyes. Had the commissioners been able to read the secretcorrespondence between Parma and his master--as we have had theopportunity of doing--they would certainly not have left their homes inFebruary, to be made fools of until July; but would, on their knees, haveimplored their royal mistress to awake from her fatal delusion before itshould be too late. Even without that advantage, it seems incredible thatthey should have been unable to pierce through the atmosphere ofduplicity which surrounded them, and to obtain one clear glimpse of thedestruction so, steadily advancing upon England. 

For the famous bull of Sixtus V. Had now been fulminated. Elizabeth hadbean again denounced as a bastard and usurper, and her kingdom had beensolemnly conferred upon Philip, with title of defender of the Christian, faith, to have and to hold as tributary and feudatory of Rome. Theso-called Queen had usurped the crown contrary to the ancient treatiesbetween the apostolic stool and the kingdom of England, which country, onits reconciliation with the head of the church after the death of St. Thomas of Canterbury, had recognised the necessity of the Pope's consentin the succession to its throne; she had deserved chastisement for theterrible tortures inflicted by her upon English Catholics and God's ownsaints; and it was declared an act of virtue, to be repaid with plenaryindulgence and forgiveness of all sins, to lay violent hands on theusurper, and deliver her into the hands of the Catholic party. And of theholy league against the usurper, Philip was appointed the head, andAlexander of Parma chief commander. This document was published in largenumbers in Antwerp in the English tongue. 

The pamphlet of Dr. Allen, just named Cardinal, was also translated inthe same city, under the direction of the Duke of Parma, in-order to bedistributed throughout England, on the arrival in that kingdom of theCatholic troops. The well-known 'Admonition to the Nobility and People ofEngland and Ireland' accused the Queen of every crime and vice which canpollute humanity; and was filled with foul details unfit for the publiceye in these more decent days. 

So soon as the intelligence of these publications reached England, theQueen ordered her commissioners at Bourbourg to take instant cognizanceof them, and to obtain a categorical explanation on the subject fromAlexander himself: as if an explanation were possible, as if the designsof Sixtus, Philip, and Alexander, could any longer be doubted, and as ifthe Duke were more likely now than before to make a succinct statement ofthem for the benefit of her Majesty. 

"Having discovered, " wrote Elizabeth on the 9th July (N. S. ), "that thistreaty of peace is entertained only to abuse us, and being many waysgiven to understand that the preparations which have so long been making, and which now are consummated, both in Spain and the Low Countries, arepurposely to be employed against us and our country; finding that, forthe furtherance of these exploits, there is ready to be published a vile, slanderous, and blasphemous book, containing as many lies as lines, entitled, 'An Admonition, ' &c. , and contrived by a lewd born-subject ofours, now become an arrant traitor, named Dr. Allen, lately made, acardinal at Rome; as also a bull of the Pope, whereof we send you a copy, both very lately brought into those Low Countries, the one whereof isalready printed at Antwerp, in a great multitude; in the English tongue, and the other ordered to be printed, only to stir up our subjects, contrary to the laws of God and their allegiance, to join with suchforeign purposes as are prepared against us and our realm, to come out ofthose Low Countries and out of Spain; and as it appears by the said bullthat the Duke of Parma is expressly named and chosen by the Pope and theKing of Spain to be principal executioner of these intended enterprises, we cannot think it honourable for us to continue longer the treaty ofpeace with them that, under colour of treaty, arm themselves with all thepower they can to a bloody war. "

Accordingly the Queen commanded Dr. Dale, as one of the commissioners, toproceed forthwith to the Duke, in order to obtain explanations as to hiscontemplated conquest of her realm, and as to his share in thepublication of the bull and pamphlet, and to "require him, as he would beaccounted a prince of honour, to let her plainly understand what shemight think thereof. " The envoy was to assure him that the Queen wouldtrust implicitly to his statement, to adjure him to declare the truth, and, in case he avowed the publications and the belligerent intentionssuspected, to demand instant safe-conduct to England for hercommissioners, who would, of course, instantly leave the Netherlands. Onthe other hand, if the Duke disavowed those infamous documents, he was tobe requested to punish the printers, and have the books burned by thehangman?

Dr. Dale, although suffering from cholic, was obliged to set forth, atonce upon what he felt would be a bootless journey. At his return--whichwas upon the 22nd of July (N. S. )the shrewd old gentleman had nearlyarrived at the opinion that her Majesty might as well break off thenegotiations. He had a "comfortless voyage and a ticklish message;" foundall along the road signs of an approaching enterprise, difficult to bemistaken; reported 10, 000 veteran Spaniards, to which force Stanley'sregiment was united; 6000 Italians, 3000 Germans, all with pikes, corselets, and slash swords complete; besides 10, 000 Walloons. Thetransports for the cavalry at Gravelingen he did not see, nor was he muchimpressed with what he heard as to the magnitude of the navalpreparations at Newport. He was informed that the Duke was about making afoot-pilgrimage from Brussels to Our Lady of Halle, to implore victoryfor his banners, and had daily evidence of the soldier's expectation toinvade and to "devour England. " All this had not tended to cure him ofthe low spirits with which he began the journey. Nevertheless, althoughhe was unable--as will be seen--to report an entirely satisfactory answerfrom Farnese to the Queen upon the momentous questions entrusted to him, he, at least, thought of a choice passage in 'The AEneid, ' so very apt tothe circumstances, as almost to console him for the "pangs of his cholic"and the terrors of the approaching invasion. 

"I have written two or three verses out of Virgil for the Queen to read, "said he, "which I pray your Lordship to present unto her. God grant herto weigh them. If your Lordship do read the whole discourse of Virgil inthat place, it will make your heart melt. Observe the report of theambassadors that were sent to Diomedes to make war against the Trojans, for the old hatred that he, being a Grecian, did bear unto them; and notethe answer of Diomedes dissuading them from entering into war with theTrojans, the perplexity of the King, the miseries of the country, thereasons of Drances that spake against them which would have war, theviolent persuasions of Turnus to war; and note, I pray you; one word, 'nec te ullius violentia frangat. ' What a lecture could I make with Mr. Cecil upon that passage in Virgil!"

The most important point for the reader to remark is the date of thisletter. It was received in the very last days of the month of July. Lethim observe--as he will soon have occasion to do--the events which wereoccurring on land and sea, exactly at the moment when this classicdespatch reached its destination, and judge whether the hearts of theQueen and Lord Burghley would be then quite at leisure to melt at thesorrows of the Trojan War. Perhaps the doings of Drake and Howard, MedinaSidonia, and Ricalde, would be pressing as much on their attention as theeloquence of Diomede or the wrath of Turnus. Yet it may be doubtedwhether the reports of these Grecian envoys might not in truth, be almostas much to the purpose as the despatches of the diplomatic pedant, withhis Virgil and his cholic, into whose hands grave matters of peace andwar were entrusted in what seemed the day of England's doom. 

"What a lecture I could make with Mr. Cecil on the subject!--" An Englishambassador, at the court of Philip II. 's viceroy, could indulge himselfin imaginary prelections on the AEneid, in the last days of July, of theyear of our Lord 1588!

The Doctor, however--to do him justice--had put the questionscategorically, to his Highness as he had been instructed to do. He wentto Bruges so mysteriously; that no living man, that side the sea, saveLord Derby and Lord Cobham, knew the cause of his journey. Poor-puzzlingJames Croft, in particular, was moved almost to tears, by being kept outof the secret. On the 8/18 July Dale had audience of the Duke at Bruges. After a few commonplaces, he was invited by the Duke to state whatspecial purpose had brought him to Bruges. 

"There is a book printed at Antwerp, " said Dale, "and set forth by afugitive from England, who calleth himself a cardinal. "

Upon this the Duke began diligently to listen. 

"This book, " resumed Dale, "is an admonition to the nobility and peopleof England and Ireland touching the execution of the sentence of the Popeagainst the Queen which the King Catholic hath entrusted to your Highnessas chief of the enterprise. There is also a bull of the Pope declaring mysovereign mistress illegitimate and an usurper, with other matters tooodious for any prince or gentleman to name or hear. In this bull the Popesaith that he hath dealt with the most Catholic King to employ all themeans in his power to the deprivation and deposition of my sovereign, anddoth charge her subjects to assist the army appointed by the KingCatholic for that purpose, under the conduct of your Highness. Thereforeher Majesty would be satisfied from your Highness in that point, and willtake satisfaction of none other; not doubting but that as you are aprince of word and credit; you will deal plainly with her Majesty. Whatsoever it may be, her Majesty will not take it amiss against yourHighness, so she may only be informed by you of the truth. Wherefore I dorequire you to satisfy the Queen. "

"I am glad, " replied the Duke, "that her Majesty and her commissioners dotake in good part my good-will towards them. I am especially touched bythe good opinion her Majesty hath of my sincerity, which I should be gladalways to maintain. As to the book to which you refer, I have never readit, nor seen it, nor do I take heed of it. It may well be that herMajesty, whom it concerneth, should take notice of it; but, for my part, I have nought to do with it, nor can I prevent men from writing orprinting at their pleasure. I am at the commandment of my master only. "

As Alexander made no reference to the Pope's bull, Dr. Dale observed, that if a war had been, of purpose, undertaken at the instance of thePope, all this negotiation had been in vain, and her Majesty would beobliged to withdraw her commissioners, not doubting that they wouldreceive safe-conduct as occasion should require. 

"Yea, God forbid else, " replied Alexander; "and further, I know nothingof any bull of the Pope, nor do I care for any, nor do I undertakeanything for him. But as for any misunderstanding (mal entendu) betweenmy master and her Majesty, I must, as a soldier, act at the command of mysovereign. For my part, I have always had such respect for her Majesty, being so noble a Queen, as that I would never hearken to anything thatmight be reproachful to her. After my master, I would do most to serveyour Queen, and I hope she will take my word for her satisfaction on thatpoint. And for avoiding of bloodshed and the burning of houses and suchother calamities as do follow the wars, I have been a petitioner to mysovereign that all things might be ended quietly by a peace. That is athing, however, " added the Duke; "which you have more cause to desirethan we; for if the King my master, should lose a battle, he would beable to recover it well enough, without harm to himself, being far enoughoff in Spain, while, if the battle be lost on your side, you may losekingdom and all. "

"By God's sufferance, " rejoined the Doctor, "her Majesty is not withoutmeans to defend her crown, that hath descended to her from so long asuccession of ancestors. Moreover your Highness knows very well that onebattle cannot conquer a kingdom in another country. "

"Well, " said the Duke, "that is in God's hand. "

"So it is, " said the Doctor. 

"But make an end of it, " continued Alexander quietly, "and if you haveanything to put into writing; you will do me a pleasure by sending it tome. "

Dr. Valentine Dale was not the man to resist the temptation to make aprotocol, and promised one for the next day. 

"I am charged only to give your Highness satisfaction, " he said, "as toher Majesty's sincere intentions, which have already been published tothe world in English, French, and Italian, in the hope that you may alsosatisfy the Queen upon this other point. I am but one of hercommissioners, and could not deal without my colleagues. I crave leave todepart to-morrow morning, and with safe-convoy, as I had in coming. "

After the envoy had taken leave, the Duke summoned Andrea de Loo, andrelated to him the conversation which had taken place. He then, in thepresence of that personage, again declared--upon his honour and with veryconstant affirmations, that he had never seen nor heard of the book--the'Admonition' by Cardinal Allen--and that he knew nothing of any bull, andhad no regard to it. '

The plausible Andrew accompanied the Doctor to his lodgings, protestingall the way of his own and his master's sincerity, and of theirunequivocal intentions to conclude a peace. The next day the Doctor, byagreement, brought a most able protocol of demands in the name of all thecommissioners of her Majesty; which able protocol the Duke did not atthat moment read, which he assuredly never read subsequently, and whichno human soul ever read afterwards. Let the dust lie upon it, and uponall the vast heaps of protocols raised mountains high during the springand summer of 1588. 

"Dr. Dale has been with me two or three, times, " said Parma, in givinghis account of these interviews to Philip. "I don't know why he came, butI think he wished to make it appear, by coming to Bruges, that therupture, when it occurs, was caused by us, not by the English. He hasbeen complaining of Cardinal Allen's book, and I told him that I didn'tunderstand a word of English, and knew nothing whatever of the matter. "

It has been already seen that the Duke had declared, on his word ofhonour, that he had never heard of the famous pamphlet. Yet at that verymoment letters were lying in his cabinet, received more than a fortnightbefore from Philip, in which that monarch thanked Alexander for havinghad the Cardinal's book translated at Antwerp! Certainly few Englishdiplomatists could be a match for a Highness so liberal of his word ofhonour. 

But even Dr. Dale had at last convinced himself--even although the Dukeknew nothing of bull or pamphlet--that mischief was brewing againstEngland. The sagacious man, having seen large bodies of Spaniards andWalloons making such demonstrations of eagerness to be led against hiscountry, and "professing it as openly as if they were going to a fair ormarket, " while even Alexander himself could "no more hide it than didHenry VIII. When he went to Boulogne, " could not help suspectingsomething amiss. 

His colleague, however, Comptroller Croft, was more judicious, for hevalued himself on taking a sound, temperate, and conciliatory view ofaffairs. He was not the man to offend a magnanimous neighbour--who meantnothing unfriendly by regarding his manoeuvres with superfluoussuspicion. So this envoy wrote to Lord Burghley on the 2nd August(N. S. )--let the reader mark the date--that, "although a great doubt hadbeen conceived as to the King's sincerity, . . . . Yet that discretionand experience induced him--the envoy--to think, that besides thereverent opinion to be had of princes' oaths, and the general incommoditywhich will come by the contrary, God had so balanced princes' powers inthat age, as they rather desire to assure themselves at home, than withdanger to invade their neighbours. "

Perhaps the mariners of England--at that very instant exchangingbroadsides off the coast of Devon and Dorset with the Spanish Armada, anddoing their best to protect their native land from the most horriblecalamity which had ever impended over it--had arrived at a less reverentopinion of princes' oaths; and it was well for England in that supremehour that there were such men as Howard and Drake, and Winter andFrobisher, and a whole people with hearts of oak to defend her, whilebungling diplomatists and credulous dotards were doing their best toimperil her existence. 

 ETEXT EDITOR'S BOOKMARKS:

 Bungling diplomatists and credulous dotards Fitter to obey than to command Full of precedents and declamatory commonplaces I am a king that will be ever known not to fear any but God Infamy of diplomacy, when diplomacy is unaccompanied by honesty Mendacity may always obtain over innocence and credulity Never did statesmen know better how not to do Pray here for satiety, (said Cecil) than ever think of variety Simple truth was highest skill Strength does a falsehood acquire in determined and skilful hand That crowned criminal, Philip the Second

CHAPTER XVIII. 1588, Part 2. 

 Dangerous Discord in North Holland--Leicester's Resignation arrives --Enmity of Willoughby and Maurice--Willoughby's dark Picture of Affairs--Hatred between States and Leicestrians--Maurice's Answer to the Queen's Charges--End of Sonoy's Rebellion--Philip foments the Civil War in France--League's Threats and Plots against Henry--Mucio arrives in Paris--He is received with Enthusiasm--The King flies, and Spain triumphs in Paris--States expostulate with the Queen-- English Statesmen still deceived--Deputies from Netherland Churches --Hold Conference with the Queen--And present long Memorials--More Conversations with the Queen--National Spirit of England and Holland--Dissatisfaction with Queen's Course--Bitter Complaints of Lord Howard--Want of Preparation in Army and Navy--Sanguine Statements of Leicester--Activity of Parma--The painful Suspense continues. 

But it is necessary-in order to obtain a complete picture of that famousyear 1588, and to understand the cause from which such great events werespringing--to cast a glance at the internal politics of the States mostinvolved in Philip's meshes. 

Certainly, if there had ever been a time when the new commonwealth of theNetherlands should be both united in itself and on thoroughly friendlyterms with England, it was exactly that epoch of which we are treating. There could be no reasonable doubt that the designs of Spain againstEngland were hostile, and against Holland revengeful. It was at leastpossible that Philip meant to undertake the conquest of England, and toundertake it as a stepping-stone to the conquest of Holland. Both thekingdom and the republic should have been alert, armed, full of suspiciontowards the common foe, full of confidence in each other. What decisiveblows might have been struck against Parma in the Netherlands, when histroops were starving, sickly, and mutinous, if the Hollanders andEnglishmen had been united under one chieftain, and thoroughly convincedof the impossibility of peace! Could the English and Dutch statesmen ofthat day have read all the secrets of their great enemy's heart, as it isour privilege at this hour to do, they would have known that in suddenand deadly strokes lay their best chance of salvation. But, without thatadvantage, there were men whose sagacity told them that it was the hourfor deeds and not for dreams. For to Leicester and Walsingham, as well asto Paul Buys and Barneveld, peace with Spain seemed an idle vision. Itwas unfortunate that they were overruled by Queen Elizabeth and Burghley, who still clung to that delusion; it was still more disastrous that theintrigues of Leicester had done so much to paralyze the republic; it wasalmost fatal that his departure, without laying down his authority, hadgiven the signal for civil war. 

During the winter, spring, and summer of 1588, while the Duke--in theface of mighty obstacles--was slowly proceeding with his preparations inFlanders, to co-operate with the armaments from Spain, it would have beenpossible by a combined movement to destroy his whole plan, to liberateall the Netherlands, and to avert, by one great effort, the ruinimpending over England. Instead of such vigorous action, it was thoughtwiser to send commissioners, to make protocols, to ask for armistices, togive profusely to the enemy that which he was most in need of--time. Meanwhile the Hollanders and English could quarrel comfortably amongthemselves, and the little republic, for want of a legal head, could comeas near as possible to its dissolution. 

Young Maurice--deep thinker for his years and peremptory in action--wasnot the man to see his great father's life-work annihilated before hiseyes, so long as he had an arm and brain of his own. He accepted hisposition at the head of the government of Holland and Zeeland, and aschief of the war-party. The council of state, mainly composed ofLeicester's creatures, whose commissions would soon expire by their ownlimitation, could offer but a feeble resistance to such determinedindividuals as Maurice, Buys, and Barneveld. The party made rapidprogress. On the other hand, the English Leicestrians did their best tofoment discord in the Provinces. Sonoy was sustained in his rebellion inNorth Holland, not only by the Earl's partizans, but by Elizabethherself. Her rebukes to Maurice, when Maurice was pursuing the onlycourse which seemed to him consistent with honour and sound policy, weresharper than a sword. Well might Duplessis Mornay observe, that thecommonwealth had been rather strangled than embraced by the EnglishQueen. Sonoy, in the name of Leicester, took arms against Maurice and theStates; Maurice marched against him; and Lord Willoughby, commander-in-chief of the English forces, was anxious to march againstMaurice. It was a spectacle to make angels weep, that of Englishmen andHollanders preparing to cut each other's throats, at the moment whenPhilip and Parma were bending all their energies to crush England andHolland at once. 

Indeed, the interregnum between the departure of Leicester and hisabdication was diligently employed by his more reckless partizans todefeat and destroy the authority of the States. By prolonging theinterval, it was hoped that no government would be possible except thearbitrary rule of the Earl, or of a successor with similar views: for arepublic--a free commonwealth--was thought an absurdity. To entrustsupreme power to advocates; merchants, and mechanics, seemed as hopelessas it was vulgar. Willoughby; much devoted to Leicester and muchdetesting Barneveld, had small scruple in fanning the flames of discord. 

There was open mutiny against the States by the garrison ofGertruydenberg, and Willoughby's brother-in-law, Captain Wingfield, commanded in Gertruydenberg. There were rebellious demonstrations inNaarden, and Willoughby went to Naarden. The garrison was troublesome, but most of the magistrates were firm. So Willoughby supped with theburgomasters, and found that Paul Buys had been setting the peopleagainst Queen Elizabeth, Leicester, and the whole English nation, makingthem all odious. Colonel Dorp said openly that it was a shame for thecountry to refuse their own natural-born Count for strangers. He sworethat he would sing his song whose bread he had eaten. A "fat militiacaptain" of the place, one Soyssons, on the other hand, privatelyinformed Willoughby that Maurice and Barneveld were treating underhandwith Spain. Willoughby was inclined to believe the calumny, but fearedthat his corpulent friend would lose his head for reporting it. Meantimethe English commander did his best to strengthen the English party intheir rebellion against the States. 

"But how if they make war upon us?" asked the Leicestrians. 

"It is very likely, " replied Willoughby, "that if they use violence youwill have her Majesty's assistance, and then you who continue constant tothe end will be rewarded accordingly. Moreover, who would not rather be ahorse-keeper to her Majesty, than a captain to Barneveld or Buys?"

When at last the resignation of Leicester--presented to the States byKillegrew on the 31st March--seemed to promise comparative repose to therepublic, the vexation of the Leicestrians was intense. Their efforts toeffect a dissolution of the government had been rendered unsuccessful, when success seemed within their grasp. "Albeit what is once executedcannot be prevented, " said Captain Champernoun; "yet 'tis thought certainthat if the resignation of Lord Leicester's commission had been deferredyet some little time; the whole country and towns would have so revoltedand mutinied against the government and authority of the States, as thatthey should have had no more credit given them by the people than pleasedher Majesty. Most part of the people could see--in consequence of thetroubles, discontent, mutiny of garrisons, and the like, that it was mostnecessary for the good success of their affairs that the power of theStates should be abolished, and the whole government of his Excellencyerected. As these matters were busily working into the likelihood of somegood effect, came the resignation of his Excellency's commission andauthority, which so dashed the proceedings of it, as that all people andcommanders well affected unto her Majesty and my Lord of Leicester areutterly discouraged. The States, with their adherents, before they hadany Lord's resignations were much perplexed what course to take, but nowbegin to hoist their heads. " The excellent Leicestrian entertained hopes, however; that mutiny and intrigue might still carry the day. He had seenthe fat militiaman of Naarden and other captains, and, hoped muchmischief from their schemes. "The chief mutineers of Gertruydenberg, " hesaid, "maybe wrought to send unto 'the States, that if they do notprocure them some English governor, they will compound with the enemy, whereon the States shall be driven to request her Majesty to accept theplace, themselves entertaining the garrison. I know certain captainsdiscontented with the States for arrears of pay, who will contrive to getinto Naarden with their companies, with the States consent, who, onceentered, will keep the place for their satisfaction, pay their soldiersout of the contributions of the country; and yet secretly hold the placeat her Majesty's command. "

This is not an agreeable picture; yet it is but one out of many examplesof the intrigues by which Leicester and his party were doing their bestto destroy the commonwealth of the Netherlands at a moment when itsexistence was most important to that of England. 

To foment mutiny in order to subvert the authority of Maurice, was not afriendly or honourable course of action either towards Holland orEngland; and it was to play into the hands of Philip as adroitly as hisown stipendiaries could have done. 

With mischief-makers like Champernoun in every city, and with suchdiplomatists at Ostend as Croft and Ropers and Valentine Dale, was itwonderful that the King and the Duke of Parma found time to mature theirplans for the destruction of both countries?

Lord Willoughby, too, was extremely dissatisfied with his own position. He received no commission from the Queen for several months. When it atlast reached him, it seemed inadequate, and he became more sullen thanever. He declared that he would rather serve the Queen as a privatesoldier, at his own expense--"lean as his purse was"--than accept thelimited authority conferred on him. He preferred to show his devotion "ina beggarly state, than in a formal show. " He considered it beneath herMajesty's dignity that he should act in the field under the States, buthis instructions forbade his acceptance of any office from that body butthat of general in their service. He was very discontented, and moreanxious than ever to be rid of his functions. Without being extremelyambitious, he was impatient of control. He desired not "a larger-shapedcoat, " but one that fitted him better. "I wish to shape my garmenthomely, after my cloth, " he said, "that the better of my parish may notbe misled by my sumptuousness. I would live quietly, without great noise, my poor roof low and near the ground, not subject to be overblown withunlooked-for storms, while the sun seems most shining. "

Being the deadly enemy of the States and their leaders, it was a matterof course that he should be bitter against Maurice. That young Prince, bold, enterprising, and determined, as he was, did not ostensibly meddlewith political affairs more than became his years; but he accepted thecounsels of the able statesmen in whom his father had trusted. Riding, hunting, and hawking, seemed to be his chief delight at the Hague, in theintervals of military occupations. He rarely made his appearance in thestate-council during the winter, and referred public matters to theStates-General, to the States of Holland, to Barneveld, Buys, andHohenlo. Superficial observers like George Gilpin regarded him as acipher; others, like Robert Cecil, thought him an unmannerly schoolboy;but Willoughby, although considering him insolent and conceited, couldnot deny his ability. The peace partisans among the burghers--a verysmall faction--were furious against him, for they knew that Maurice ofNassau represented war. They accused of deep designs against theliberties of their country the youth who was ever ready to risk his lifein their defence. A burgomaster from Friesland, who had come across theZuyder Zee to intrigue against the States' party, was full of spleen atbeing obliged to dance attendance for a long time at the Hague. Hecomplained that Count Maurice, green of years, and seconded by greenercounsellors, was meditating the dissolution of the state-council, theappointment of a new board from his own creatures, the overthrow of allother authority, and the assumption of the sovereignty of Holland andZeeland, with absolute power. "And when this is done;" said the ruefulburgomaster, "he and his turbulent fellows may make what terms they likewith Spain, to the disadvantage of the Queen and of us poor wretches. "

But there was nothing farther from the thoughts of the turbulent fellowsthan any negotiations with Spain. Maurice was ambitious enough, perhaps, but his ambition ran in no such direction. Willoughby knew better; andthought that by humouring the petulant young man it might be possible tomanage him. 

"Maurice is young, " he said, "hot-headed; coveting honour. If we do butlook at him through our fingers, without much words, but with providenceenough, baiting his hook a little to his appetite, there is no doubt buthe might be caught and kept in a fish-pool; while in his imagination hemay judge it a sea. If not, 'tis likely he will make us fish in troubledwaters. "

Maurice was hardly the fish for a mill-pond even at that epoch, and itmight one day be seen whether or not he could float in the great ocean ofevents. Meanwhile, he swam his course without superfluous gambols orspoutings. 

The commander of her Majesty's forces was not satisfied with the States, nor their generals, nor their politicians. "Affairs are going 'a malo inpejus, '" he said. "They embrace their liberty as apes their young. Tothis end are Counts Hollock and Maurice set upon the stage to entertainthe popular sort. Her Majesty and my Lord of Leicester are not forgotten. The Counts are in Holland, especially Hollock, for the other is but thecipher. And yet I can assure you Maurice hath wit and spirit too much forhis time. "

As the troubles of the interregnum increased Willoughby was moredissatisfied than ever with the miserable condition of the Provinces, butchose to ascribe it to the machinations of the States' party, rather thanto the ambiguous conduct of Leicester. "These evils, " he said, "areespecially, derived from the childish ambition of the young CountMaurice, from the covetous and furious counsels of the proud Hollanders, now chief of the States-General, and, if with pardon it may be said, fromour slackness and coldness to entertain our friends. The provident andwiser sort--weighing what a slender ground the appetite of a young manis, unfurnished with the sinews of war to manage so great a cause--for agood space after my Lord of Leicester's departure, gave him far lookingon, to see him play has part on the stage. "

Willoughby's spleen caused him to mix his metaphors more recklessly thanstrict taste would warrant, but his violent expressions painted therelative situation of parties more vividly than could be done by a calmdisquisition. Maurice thus playing his part upon the stage--as thegeneral proceeded to observe--"was a skittish horse, becoming by littleand little assured of what he had feared, and perceiving the harmlessnessthereof; while his companions, finding no safety of neutrality in sogreat practices, and no overturning nor barricado to stop his rash wildedchariot, followed without fear; and when some of the first had passed thebog; the rest, as the fashion is, never started after. The variabledemocracy; embracing novelty, began to applaud their prosperity; the baseand lewdest sorts of men, to whom there is nothing more agreeable thanchange of estates, is a better monture to degrees than their merit, tookpresent hold thereof. Hereby Paul Buys, Barneveld, and divers others, whowere before mantled with a tolerable affection, though seasoned with apoisoned intention, caught the occasion, and made themselves theBeelzebubs of all these mischiefs, and, for want of better angels, sparednot to let fly our golden-winged ones in the name of guilders, to preparethe hearts and hands that hold money more dearer than honesty, of whichsort, the country troubles and the Spanish practices having suckled upmany, they found enough to serve their purpose. As the breach is safelysaltable where no defence is made, so they, finding no head, but thosescattered arms that were disavowed, drew the sword with Peter, and gavepardon with the Pope, as you shall plainly perceive by the proceedings atHorn. Thus their force; fair words, or corruption, prevailing everywhere, it grew to this conclusion--that the worst were encouraged with theirgood success, and the best sort assured of no fortune or favour. "

Out of all this hubbub of stage-actors, skittish horses, rash wildedchariots, bogs, Beelzebubs, and golden-winged angels, one truth wasdistinctly audible; that Beelzebub, in the shape of Barneveld, had beengetting the upper hand in the Netherlands, and that the Lecestrians wereat a disadvantage. In truth those partisans were becoming extremelyimpatient. Finding themselves deserted by their great protector, theynaturally turned their eyes towards Spain, and were now threatening tosell themselves to Philip. The Earl, at his departure, had given themprivately much encouragement. But month after month had passed by whilethey were waiting in vain for comfort. At last the "best"--that is tosay, the unhappy Leicestrians--came to Willoughby, asking his advice intheir "declining and desperate cause. "

"Well nigh a month longer, " said that general, "I nourished them withcompliments, and assured them that my Lord of Leicester would take careof them. " The diet was not fattening. So they began to grumble moreloudly than ever, and complained with great bitterness of the miserablecondition in which they had been left by the Earl, and expressed theirfears lest the Queen likewise meant to abandon them. They protested thattheir poverty, their powerful foes, and their slow friends, would compelthem either to make their peace with the States' party, or "compound withthe enemy. "

It would have seemed that real patriots, under such circumstances, wouldhardly hesitate in their choice, and would sooner accept the dominion of"Beelzebub, " or even Paul Buys, than that of Philip II. But theLeicestrians of Utrecht and Friesland--patriots as they were--hatedHolland worse than they hated the Inquisition. Willoughby encouraged themin that hatred. He assured him of her Majesty's affection for them, complained of the factious proceedings of the States, and alluded to theunfavourable state of the weather, as a reason why--near four monthslong--they had not received the comfort out of England which they had aright to expect. He assured them that neither the Queen nor Leicesterwould conclude this honourable action, wherein much had been hazarded, "so rawly and tragically" as they seemed to fear, and warned them, that"if they did join with Holland, it would neither ease nor help them, butdraw them into a more dishonourable loss of their liberties; and that, after having wound them in, the Hollanders would make their own peacewith the enemy. "

It seemed somewhat unfair-while the Queen's government was strainingevery nerve to obtain a peace from Philip, and while the Hollanders wereobstinately deaf to any propositions for treating--that Willoughby shouldaccuse them of secret intentions to negotiate. But it must be confessedthat faction has rarely worn a more mischievous aspect than was presentedby the politics of Holland and England in the winter and spring of 1588. 

Young Maurice was placed in a very painful position. He liked not to be"strangled in the great Queen's embrace;" but he felt most keenly thenecessity of her friendship, and the importance to both countries of aclose alliance. It was impossible for him, however, to tolerate therebellion of Sonoy, although Sonoy was encouraged by Elizabeth, or to flyin the face of Barneveld, although Barneveld was detested by Leicester. So with much firmness and courtesy, notwithstanding the extravagantpictures painted by Willoughby, he suppressed mutiny in Holland, whileavowing the most chivalrous attachment to the sovereign of England. 

Her Majesty expressed her surprise and her discontent, that, notwithstanding his expressions of devotion to herself, he should thusdeal with Sonoy, whose only crime was an equal devotion. "If you do notbehave with more moderation in future, " she said, "you may believe thatwe are not a princess of so little courage as not to know how to lend ahelping hand to those who are unjustly oppressed. We should be sorry ifwe had cause to be disgusted with your actions, and if we were compelledto make you a stranger to the ancient good affection which we bore toyour late father, and have continued towards yourself. "

But Maurice maintained a dignified attitude, worthy of his great father'sname. He was not the man to crouch like Leicester, when he could nolonger refresh himself in the "shadow of the Queen's golden beams, "important as he knew her friendship to be to himself and his country. Sohe defended himself in a manly letter to the privy council against thecensures of Elizabeth. He avowed his displeasure, that, within his ownjurisdiction, Sonoy should give a special oath of obedience to Leicester;a thing never done before in the country, and entirely illegal. It wouldnot even be tolerated in England, he said, if a private gentleman shouldreceive a military appointment in Warwickshire or Norfolk without theknowledge of the lord-lieutenant of the shire. He had treated thecontumacious Sonoy with mildness during a long period, but withouteffect. He had abstained from violence towards him, out of reverence tothe Queen, under whose sacred name he sheltered himself. Sonoy had notdesisted, but had established himself in organized rebellion atMedenblik, declaring that he would drown the whole country, and levyblack-mail upon its whole property, if he were not paid one hundredthousand crowns. He had declared that he would crush Holland like a glassbeneath his feet. Having nothing but religion in his mouth, andprotecting himself with the Queen's name, he had been exciting all thecities of North Holland to rebellion, and bringing the poor people todestruction. He had been offered money enough to satisfy the mostavaricious soldier in the world, but he stood out for six years' full payfor his soldiers, a demand with which it was impossible to comply. It wasnecessary to prevent him from inundating the land and destroying theestates of the country gentlemen and the peasants. "This gentlemen, " saidMaurice, "is the plain truth; nor do I believe that you will sustainagainst me a man who was under such vast obligations to my late father, and who requites his debt by daring to speak of myself as a rascal; orthat you will countenance his rebellion against a country to which hebrought only, his cloak and sword, and, whence he has filched one hundredthousand crowns. You will not, I am sure, permit a simple captain, by hisinsubordination to cause such mischief, and to set on fire this and otherProvinces. 

"If, by your advice, " continued the Count; "the Queen should appointfitting' personages to office here--men who know what honour is; born ofillustrious and noble-race, or who by their great virtue have beenelevated to the honours of the kingdom--to them I will render an accountof my actions. And it shall appear that I have more ability and moredesire to do my duty, to her Majesty than those who render herlip-service only, and only make use of her sacred name to fill theirpurses, while I and, mine have been ever ready to employ our lives, andwhat remains of our fortunes, in the cause of God, her Majesty, and ourcountry. "

Certainly no man had a better right: to speak with consciousness of theworth of race than the son of William the Silent, the nephew of Lewis, Adolphus, and Henry of Nassau, who had all laid down their lives for theliberty of their country. But Elizabeth continued to threaten theStates-General, through the mouth of Willoughby, with the loss of herprotection, if they should continue thus to requite her favours withingratitude and insubordination: and Maurice once more respectfully butfirmly replied that Sonoy's rebellion could not and would not betolerated; appealing boldly to her sense of justice, which was thenoblest attribute of kings. 

At last the Queen informed Willoughby, that--as the cause of Sonoy'scourse seemed to be his oath of obedience to Leicester, whose resignationof office had not yet been received in the Netherlands--she had nowordered Councillor Killigrew to communicate the fact of that resignation. She also wrote to Sonoy, requiring him to obey the States and CountMaurice, and to accept a fresh commission from them, or at least tosurrender Medenblik, and to fulfil all their orders with zeal anddocility. 

This act of abdication by Leicester, which had been received on the 22ndof January by the English envoy, Herbert, at the moment of his departurefrom the Netherlands, had been carried back by him to England, on theground that its communication to the States at that moment would causehim inconveniently to postpone his journey. It never officially reachedthe States-General until the 31st of March, so that this most dangerouscrisis was protracted nearly five months long--certainly withoutnecessity or excuse--and whether through design, malice, wantonness, orincomprehensible carelessness, it is difficult to say. 

So soon as the news reached Sonoy, that contumacious chieftain found hisposition untenable, and he allowed the States' troops to take possessionof Medenblik, and with it the important territory of North Holland. 

Maurice now saw himself undisputed governor. Sonoy was in the course ofthe summer deprived of all office, and betook himself to England. Here hewas kindly received by the Queen, who bestowed upon him a ruined tower, and a swamp among the fens of Lincolnshire. He brought over some of hiscountrymen, well-skilled in such operations, set himself to draining anddyking, and hoped to find himself at home and comfortable in his ruinedtower. But unfortunately, as neither he nor his wife, notwithstandingtheir English proclivities, could speak a word of the language; theyfound their social enjoyments very limited. Moreover, as his work-peoplewere equally without the power of making their wants understood, thedyking operations made but little progress. So the unlucky colonel soonabandoned his swamp, and retired to East Friesland, where he lived amorose and melancholy life on a pension of one thousand florins, grantedhim by the States of Holland, until the year 1597, when he lost his mind, fell into the fire, and thus perished. 

And thus; in the Netherlands, through hollow negotiations between enemiesand ill-timed bickerings among friends, the path of Philip and Parma hadbeen made comparatively smooth during the spring and early summer of1588. What was the aspect of affairs in Germany and France?

The adroit capture of Bonn by Martin Schenk had given much trouble. Parmawas obliged to detach a strong force; under Prince Chimay, to attempt therecovery of that important place, which--so long as it remained in thepower of the States--rendered the whole electorate insecure and a sourceof danger to the Spanish party. Farnese endeavoured in vain to win backthe famous partizan by most liberal offers, for he felt bitterly themistake he had made in alienating so formidable a freebooter. But thetruculent Martin remained obdurate and irascible. Philip, much offendedthat the news of his decease had proved false, ordered rather thanrequested the Emperor Rudolph to have a care that nothing was done inGermany to interfere with the great design upon England. The King gavewarning that he would suffer no disturbance from that quarter, butcertainly the lethargic condition of Germany rendered such threatssuperfluous. There were riders enough, and musketeers enough, to be soldto the highest bidder. German food for powder was offered largely in themarket to any foreign consumer, for the trade in their subjects', liveswas ever a prolific source of revenue to the petty sovereigns--numerousas the days of the year--who owned Germany and the Germans. 

The mercenaries who had so recently been, making their ingloriouscampaign in France had been excluded from that country at the close of1587, and furious were the denunciations of the pulpits and the populaceof Paris that the foreign brigands who had been devastating the soil ofFrance, and attempting to oppose the decrees of the Holy Father of Rome, should; have made their escape so easily. Rabid Lincestre and otherpriests and monks foamed with rage, as they execrated and anathematizedthe devil-worshipper Henry of Valois, in all the churches of thatmonarch's capital. The Spanish ducats were flying about, more profuselythan ever, among the butchers and porters, and fishwomen, of the greatcity; and Madam League paraded herself in the day-light with stillincreasing insolence. There was scarcely a pretence at recognition of anyauthority, save that of Philip and Sixtus. France had become awilderness--an uncultivated, barbarous province of Spain. Mucio--Guisehad been secretly to Rome, had held interviews with the Pope andcardinals, and had come back with a sword presented by his Holiness, itshilt adorned with jewels, and its blade engraved with tongues of fire. And with this flaming sword the avenging messenger of the holy father wasto smite the wicked, and to drive them into outer darkness. 

And there had been fresh conferences among the chiefs of the sacredLeague within the Lorraine territory, and it was resolved to require ofthe Valois an immediate extermination of heresy and heretics throughoutthe kingdom, the publication of the Council of Trent, and the formalestablishment of the Holy Inquisition in every province of France. Thus, while doing his Spanish master's bidding, the great Lieutenant of theleague might, if he was adroit enough, to outwit Philip, ultimately carveout a throne for himself. 

Yet Philip felt occasional pangs of uneasiness lest there should, afterall, be peace in France, and lest his schemes against Holland and Englandmight be interfered with from that quarter. Even Farnese, nearer thescene, could, not feel completely secure that a sudden reconciliationamong contending factions might not give rise to a dangerous inroadacross the Flemish border. So Guise was plied more vigourously than everby the Duke with advice and encouragement, and assisted with such Wallooncarabineers as could be spared, while large subsidies and larger promisescame from Philip, whose prudent policy was never to pay excessive sums, until the work contracted for was done. "Mucio must do the job long sinceagreed upon, " said Philip to Farnese, "and you and Mendoza must see thathe prevents the King of France from troubling me in my enterprize againstEngland. " If the unlucky Henry III. Had retained one spark ofintelligence, he would have seen that his only chance of rescue lay inthe arm of the Bearnese, and in an honest alliance with England. Yet sostrong was his love for the monks, who were daily raving against him, that he was willing to commit any baseness, in order to win back theiraffection. He was ready to exterminate heresy and to establish theinquisition, but he was incapable of taking energetic measures of anykind, even when throne and life were in imminent peril. Moreover, heclung to Epernon and the 'politiques, ' in whose swords he alone foundprotection, and he knew that Epernon and the 'politiques' were theobjects of horror to Paris and to the League. At the same time he lookedimploringly towards England and towards the great Huguenot chieftain, Elizabeth's knight-errant. He had a secret interview with Sir EdwardStafford, in the garden of the Bernardino convent, and importuned thatenvoy to implore the Queen to break off her negotiations with Philip, andeven dared to offer the English ambassador a large reward, if such aresult could be obtained. Stafford was also earnestly, requested tobeseech the Queen's influence with Henry of Navarre, that he shouldconvert himself to Catholicism, and thus destroy the League. 

On the other hand, the magniloquent Mendoza, who was fond of describinghimself as "so violent and terrible to the French that they wished to berid of him, " had--as usual--been frightening the poor King, who, after afutile attempt at dignity, had shrunk before the blusterings of theambassador. "This King, " said Don Bernardino, "thought that he couldimpose, upon me and silence me, by talking loud, but as I didn't talksoftly to him, he has undeceived himself . . . . I have had anotherinterview with him, and found him softer than silk, and he made me manycaresses, and after I went out, he said that I was a very skilfulminister. "

It was the purpose of the League to obtain possession of the King'sperson, and, if necessary, to dispose of the 'politiques' by a generalmassacre, such as sixteen years before had been so successful in the caseof Coligny and the Huguenots. So the populace--more rabid than ever--wereimpatient that their adored Balafre should come to Paris and begin theholy work. 

He came as far as Gonesse to do the job he had promised to Philip, buthaving heard that Henry had reinforced himself with four thousand Swissfrom the garrison of Lagny, he fell back to Soissons. The King sent him amost abject message, imploring him not to expose his sovereign to so muchdanger, by setting his foot at that moment in the capital. The Balafrehesitated, but the populace raved and roared for its darling. TheQueen-Mother urged her unhappy son to yield his consent, and theMontpensier--fatal sister of Guise, with the famous scissors ever at hergirdle--insisted that her brother had as good a right as any man to cometo the city. Meantime the great chief of the 'politiques, ' the hated andinsolent Epernon, had been appointed governor of Normandy, and Henry hadaccompanied his beloved minion a part of the way towards Rouen. A plotcontrived by the Montpensier to waylay the monarch on his return, and totake him into the safe-keeping of the League, miscarried, for the Kingreentered the city before the scheme was ripe. On the other hand, Nicholas Poulain, bought for twenty thousand crowns by the 'politiques, 'gave the King and his advisers-full information of all these intrigues, and, standing in Henry's cabinet, offered, at peril of his life, if hemight be confronted with the conspirators--the leaders of the Leaguewithin the city--to prove the truth of the charges which he had made. 

For the whole city was now thoroughly organized. The number of itsdistricts had been reduced from sixteen to five, the better to bring itunder the control of the League; and, while it could not be denied thatMucio, had, been doing his master's work very thoroughly, yet it wasstill in the power of the King--through the treachery of Poulain--tostrike a blow for life and freedom, before he was quite, taken in thetrap. But he stood helpless, paralyzed, gazing in dreamy stupor--like onefascinated at the destruction awaiting him. 

At last, one memorable May morning, a traveller alighted outside the gateof Saint Martin, and proceeded on foot through the streets of Paris. Hewas wrapped in a large cloak, which he held carefully over his face. Whenhe had got as far as the street of Saint Denis, a young gentleman amongthe passers by, a good Leaguer, accosted the stranger, and with coarsepleasantry, plucked the cloak from his face, and the hat from his head. Looking at the handsome, swarthy features, marked with a deep scar, andthe dark, dangerous eyes which were then revealed, the practical jesterat once recognized in the simple traveller the terrible Balafre, andkissed the hem of his garments with submissive rapture. Shouts of "ViveGuise" rent the air from all the bystanders, as the Duke, no longeraffecting concealment, proceeded with a slow and stately step toward theresidence of Catharine de' Medici. ' That queen of compromises and ofmagic had been holding many a conference with the leaders of bothparties; had been increasing her son's stupefaction by her enigmaticalcounsels; had been anxiously consulting her talisman of goat's and humanblood, mixed with metals melted under the influence of the star of hernativity, and had been daily visiting the wizard Ruggieri, in whose magiccircle--peopled with a thousand fantastic heads--she had held highconverse with the world of spirits, and derived much sound advice as tothe true course of action to be pursued between her son and Philip, andbetween the politicians and the League. But, in spite of these varioussources of instruction, Catharine--was somewhat perplexed, now thatdecisive action seemed necessary--a dethronement and a new massacreimpending, and judicious compromise difficult. So after a hurriedconversation with Mucio, who insisted on an interview with the King, sheset forth for the Louvre, the Duke lounging calmly by the aide of her, sedan chair, on foot, receiving the homage of the populace, as men, women, and children together, they swarmed around him as he walked, kissing his garments, and rending the air with their shouts. For thatwolfish mob of Paris, which had once lapped the blood of ten thousandHuguenots in a single night, and was again rabid with thirst, was mostdocile and fawning to the great Balafre. It grovelled before him, it hungupon his look, it licked his hand, and, at the lifting of his finger, orthe glance of his eye, would have sprung at the throat of King orQueen-Mother, minister, or minion, and devoured them all before his eyes. It was longing for the sign, for, much as Paris adored and was besottedwith Guise and the League, even more, if possible, did it hate thosegodless politicians, who had grown fat on extortions from the poor, andwho had converted their substance into the daily bread of luxury. 

Nevertheless the city was full of armed men, Swiss and Germanmercenaries, and burgher guards, sworn to fidelity to the throne. Theplace might have been swept clean, at that moment, of rebels who were notyet armed or fortified in their positions. The Lord had delivered Guiseinto Henry's hands. "Oh, the madman!"--cried Sixtus V. , when he heardthat the Duke had gone to Paris, "thus to put himself into the clutchesof the King whom he had so deeply offended!" And, "Oh, the wretchedcoward, the imbecile?" he added, when he heard how the King had dealtwith his great enemy. 

For the monarch was in his cabinet that May morning, irresolutelyawaiting the announced visit of the Duke. By his aide stood AlphonseCorse, attached as a mastiff to his master, and fearing not Guise norLeaguer, man nor devil. 

"Sire, is the Duke of Guise your friend or enemy?" said Alphonse. TheKing answered by an expressive shrug. 

"Say the word, Sire, " continued Alphonse, "and I pledge myself to bringhis head this instant, and lay it at your feet. "

And he would have done it. Even at the side of Catharine's sedan chair, and in the very teeth of the worshipping mob, the Corsican would have hadthe Balafre's life, even though he laid down his own. 

But Henry--irresolute and fascinated--said it was not yet time for such ablow. 

Soon afterward; the Duke was announced. The chief of the League and thelast of the Valois met, face to face; but not for the last time. Theinterview--was coldly respectful on the part of Mucio, anxious andembarrassed on that of the King. When the visit, which was merely one ofceremony, was over, the Duke departed as he came, receiving the renewedhomage of the populace as he walked to his hotel. 

That night precautions were taken. All the guards were doubled around thepalace and through the streets. The Hotel de Ville and the Place de laGreve were made secure, and the whole city was filled with troops. Butthe Place Maubert was left unguarded, and a rabble rout--all nightlong--was collecting in that distant spot. Four companies ofburgher-guards went over to the League at three o'clock in the morning. The rest stood firm in the cemetery of the Innocents, awaiting the ordersof the King. At day-break on the 11th the town was still quiet. There wasan awful pause of expectation. The shops remained closed all the morning, the royal troops were drawn up in battle-array, upon the Greve and aroundthe Hotel de Ville, but they stood motionless as statues, until thepopulace began taunting them with cowardice, and then laughing them toscorn. For their sovereign lord and master still sat paralyzed in hispalace. 

The mob had been surging through all the streets and lanes, until, as bya single impulse, chains were stretched across the streets, andbarricades thrown up in all the principal thoroughfares. About noon theDuke of Guise, who had been sitting quietly in his hotel, with a very fewarmed followers, came out into the street of the Hotel Montmorency, andwalked calmly up and down, arm-in-aim with the Archbishop of Lyons, between a double hedge-row of spectators and admirers, three or fourranks thick. He was dressed in a white slashed doublet and hose, and worea very large hat. Shouts of triumph resounded from a thousand brazenthroats, as he moved calmly about, receiving, at every instant, expressesfrom the great gathering in the Place Maubert. 

"Enough, too much, my good friends, " he said, taking off the greathat--("I don't know whether he was laughing in it, " observed one who waslooking on that day)--"Enough of 'Long live Guise!' Cry 'Long live theKing!'"

There was no response, as might be expected, and the people shouted morehoarsely than ever for Madam League and the Balafre. The Duke's face wasfull of gaiety; there was not a shadow of anxiety upon it in thatperilous and eventful moment. He saw that the day was his own. 

For now, the people, ripe, ready; mustered, armed, barricaded; awaitedbut a signal to assault the King's mercenaries, before rushing to thepalace: On every house-top missiles were provided to hurl upon theirheads. There seemed no escape for Henry or his Germans from impendingdoom, when Guise, thoroughly triumphant, vouchsafed them their lives. 

"You must give me these soldiers as a present, my friends, " said he tothe populace. 

And so the armed Swiss, French, and German troopers and infantry, submitted to be led out of Paris, following with docility theaide-de-camp of Guise, Captain St. Paul, who walked quietly before them, with his sword in its scabbard, and directing their movements with acane. Sixty of them were slain by the mob, who could not, even at thecommand of their beloved chieftain, quite forego their expected banquet. But this was all the blood shed on the memorable day of Barricades, whenanother Bartholomew massacre had been, expected. 

Meantime; while Guise was making his promenade through the city, exchanging embraces with the rabble; and listening to the coarsecongratulations and obscene jests of the porters and fishwomen, the poorKing sat crying all day long in the Louvre. The Queen-Mother was withhim, reproaching him bitterly with his irresolution and want ofconfidences in her, and scolding him for his tears. But the unlucky Henryonly wept the more as he cowered in a corner. 

"These are idle tears, " said Catherine. "This is no time for crying. Andfor myself, though women weep so easily; I feel my heart too deeply wrungfor tears. If they came to my eyes they would be tears of blood. "

Next day the last Valois walked-out, of the Louvre; as if for a promenadein, the Tuileries, and proceeded straightway to the stalls, where hishorse stood saddled. Du Halde, his equerry, buckled his master's spurs onupside down. "No; matter;" said Henry; "I am not riding to see mymistress. I have a longer journey before me. "

And so, followed by a rabble rout of courtiers, without boots or cloaks;and mounted on, sorry hacks--the King-of France rode forth from hiscapital post-haste, and turning as he left the gates, hurled backimpotent imprecations upon Paris and its mob. Thenceforth, for a longinterval, there: was no king in that country. Mucio had done his work, and earned his wages, and Philip II. Reigned in Paris. The commands ofthe League were now complied with. Heretics were doomed to extermination. The edict of 19th July, 1588, was published with the most exclusive andstringent provisions that the most bitter Romanist could imagine, and, asa fair beginning; two young girls, daughters of Jacques Forcade, once'procureur au parlement, ' were burned in Paris, for the crime, ofProtestantism. The Duke of Guise was named Generalissimo of the Kingdom(26th August, 1588). Henry gave in his submission to the Council ofTrent, the edicts, the Inquisition, and the rest of the League's infernalmachinery, and was formally reconciled to Guise, with how much sinceritytime was soon to show. 

 [The King bound himself by oath to extirpate heresy, to remove all persons suspected of that crime from office, and never to lay down arms so long as a single, heretic remained. By secret articles, 'two armies against the Huguenots were agreed upon, one under the Duke of Mayenne, the other under some general to be appointed by the grog. The Council of Trent was forthwith to be proclaimed, and by a refinement of malice the League stipulated that all officers appointed in Paris by the Duke of Guise on the day after the barricades should resign their powers, and be immediately re-appointed by the King himself (DeThou, x. 1. 86, pp. 324-325. )]

Meantime Philip, for whom and at whose expense all this work had beendone by he hands of the faithful Mucio, was constantly assuring his royalbrother of France, through envoy Longlee, at Madrid, of his mostaffectionate friendship, and utterly repudiating all knowledge of thesetroublesome and dangerous plots. Yet they had been especiallyorganized--as we have seen--by himself and the Balafre, in order thatFrance might be kept a prey to civil war, and thus rendered incapable ofoffering any obstruction to his great enterprise against England. Anycomplicity of Mendoza, the Spanish ambassador in Paris, or, of the Dukeof Parma, who were important agents in all these proceedings, with theDuke of Guise, was strenuously--and circumstantially--denied; and theBalafre, on the day of the barricades, sent Brissac to Elizabeth's envoy, Sir Edward Stafford, to assure him as to his personal safety; and as tothe deep affection with which England and its Queen were regarded byhimself and all his friends. Stafford had also been advised to accept aguard for his house of embassy. His reply was noble. 

"I represent the majesty of England, " he said, "and can take no safeguardfrom a subject of the sovereign to whom I am accredited. "

To the threat of being invaded, and to the advice to close his gates, heanswered, "Do you see these two doors? now, then, if I am attacked, I amdetermined to defend myself to the last drop of my blood, to serve as anexample to the universe of the law of nations, violated in my person. Donot imagine that I shall follow your advice. The gates of an ambassadorshall be open to all the world. "

Brissac returned with this answer to Guise, who saw that it was hopelessto attempt making a display in the eyes of Queen Elizabeth, but gaveprivate orders that the ambassador should not be molested. 

Such were the consequences of the day of the barricades--and thus thepath of Philip was cleared of all obstructions on, the part of France. His Mucio was now, generalissimo. Henry was virtually deposed. Henry ofNavarre, poor and good-humoured as ever, was scarcely so formidable atthat moment as he might one day become. When the news of the day ofbarricades was brought at night to that cheerful monarch, he started fromhis couch. "Ha, " he exclaimed with a laugh, "but they havn't yet caughtthe Bearnese!"

And it might be long before the League would catch the Bearnese; but, meantime, he could render slight assistance to Queen Elizabeth. 

In England there had been much fruitless negotiation between thegovernment of that country and the commissioners from the States-General. There was perpetual altercation on the subject of Utrecht, Leyden, Sonoy, and the other causes of contention; the Queen--as usual--being imperiousand choleric, and the envoys, in her opinion, very insolent. But theprincipal topic of discussion was the peace-negotiations, which theStates-General, both at home and through their delegation in England, hadbeen doing their best to prevent; steadily refusing her Majesty's demandthat commissioners, on their part, should be appointed to participate inthe conferences at Ostend. Elizabeth promised that there should be asstrict regard paid to the interests of Holland as to those of England, incase of a pacification, and that she would never forget her duty to them, to herself, and to the world, as the protectress of the reformedreligion. The deputies, on the other hand, warned her that peace withSpain was impossible; that the intention of the Spanish court was todeceive her, while preparing her destruction and theirs; that it washopeless to attempt the concession of any freedom of conscience fromPhilip II. ; and that any stipulations which might be made upon that, orany other subject, by the Spanish commissioners, would be tossed to thewind. In reply to the Queen's loud complaints that the States had beentrifling with her, and undutiful to her, and that they had kept herwaiting seven months long for an answer to her summons to participate inthe negotiations, they replied, that up to the 15th October of theprevious year, although there had been flying rumours of an intention onthe part of her Majesty's government to open those communications withthe enemy, it had, "nevertheless been earnestly and expressly, and withhigh words and oaths, denied that there was any truth in those rumours. "Since that time the States had not once only, but many times, in privateletters, in public documents, and in conversations with Lord Leicesterand other eminent personages, deprecated any communications whatever withSpain, asserting uniformly their conviction that such proceedings wouldbring ruin on their country, and imploring her Majesty not to give ear toany propositions whatever. 

And not only were the envoys, regularly appointed by the States-General, most active in England, in their attempts to prevent the negotiations, but delegates from the Netherland churches were also sent to the Queen, to reason with her on the subject, and to utter solemn warnings that thecause of the reformed religion would be lost for ever, in case of atreaty on her part with Spain. When these clerical envoys reached Englandthe Queen was already beginning to wake from her delusion; although hercommissioners were still--as we have seen--hard at work, pouring sandthrough their sieves at Ostend, and although the steady protestations, ofthe Duke of Parma, and the industrious circulation of falsehoods bySpanish emissaries, had even caused her wisest statesmen, for a time, toparticipate in that delusion. 

For it is not so great an impeachment on the sagacity of the great Queenof England, as it would now appear to those who judge by the light ofsubsequent facts, that she still doubted whether the armaments, notoriously preparing in Spain and Flanders, were intended againstherself; and that even if such were the case--she still believed in thepossibility of averting the danger by negotiation. 

So late as the beginning of May, even the far-seeing and anxiousWalsingham could say, that in England "they were doing nothing buthonouring St. George, of whom the Spanish Armada seemed to be afraid. Wehear, " he added, "that they will not be ready to set forward before themidst of May, but I trust that it will be May come twelve months. TheKing of Spain is too old and too sickly to fall to conquer kingdoms. Ifhe be well counselled, his best course will be to settle his own kingdomsin his own hands. "

And even much later, in the middle of July--when the mask was hardly, maintained--even then there was no certainty as to the movements of theArmada; and Walsingham believed, just ten days before the famous fleetwas to appear off Plymouth, that it had dispersed and returned to Spain, never to re-appear. As to Parma's intentions, they were thought to lierather in the direction: of Ostend than of England; and Elizabeth; on the20th July, was more anxious for that city than for her own kingdom. "Mr. Ned, I am persuaded, " she wrote to Morris, "that if a Spanish fleetbreak, the Prince of Parma's enterprise for England will fall to theground, and then are you to look to Ostend. Haste your works. "

All through the spring and early summer, Stafford, in Paris, was kept ina state of much perplexity as to the designs of Spain--so contradictorywere the stories circulated--and so bewildering the actions of men knownto be hostile to England. In, the last days of April he intimated it as acommon opinion in Paris, that these naval preparations of Philip were anelaborate farce; "that the great elephant would bring forth but amouse--that the great processions, prayers, and pardons, at Rome, for theprosperous success of the Armada against England; would be of no effect;that the King of Spain was laughing in his sleeve at the Pope, that hecould make such a fool of him; and that such an enterprise was a thingthe King never durst think of in deed, but only in show to feed theworld. "

Thus, although furnished with minute details as to these, armaments, andas to the exact designs of Spain against his country, by the ostentatiousstatements of the Spanish ambassador in Paris himself, the English, envoy was still inclined to believe that these statements were a figment, expressly intended to deceive. Yet he was aware that Lord Westmoreland, Lord Paget, Sir Charles Paget, Morgan, and other English refugees, wereconstantly meeting with Mendoza, that they were told to get themselves inreadiness, and to go down--as well appointed as might be--to the Duke ofParma; that they had been "sending for their tailor to make them apparel, and to put themselves in equipage;" that, in particular, Westmoreland hadbeen assured of being restored by Philip to his native country in bettercondition than before. The Catholic and Spanish party in Paris werehowever much dissatisfied with the news from Scotland, and were gettingmore and more afraid that King James would object to the Spaniardsgetting a foot-hold in his country, and that "the Scots would soon beplaying them a Scottish trick. "

Stafford was plunged still more inextricably into doubt by the accountsfrom Longlee in Madrid. The diplomatist, who had been completelyconvinced by Philip as to his innocence of any participation in thecriminal enterprise of Guise against Henry III. , was now almost staggeredby the unscrupulous mendacity of that monarch with regard to any supposeddesigns against England. Although the Armada was to be ready by the 15thMay, Longlee was of opinion--notwithstanding many bold announcements ofan attack upon Elizabeth--that the real object of the expedition wasAmerica. There had recently been discovered, it was said, "a new country, more rich in gold and silver than any yet found, but so full of stoutpeople that they could not master them. " To reduce these stout peoplebeyond the Atlantic, therefore, and to get possession of new gold mines, was the real object at which Philip was driving, and Longlee and Staffordwere both very doubtful whether it were worth the Queen's while toexhaust her finances in order to protect herself against an imaginaryinvasion. Even so late as the middle of July, six to one was offered onthe Paris exchange that the Spanish fleet would never be seen in theEnglish seas, and those that offered the bets were known to bewell-wishers to the Spanish party. 

Thus sharp diplomatists and statesmen like Longlee, Stafford, andWalsingham, were beginning to lose their fear of the great bugbear bywhich England had so long been haunted. It was, therefore no deep stainon the Queen's sagacity that she, too, was willing to place credence inthe plighted honour of Alexander Farnese, the great prince who pridedhimself on his sincerity, and who, next to the King his master, adoredthe virgin Queen of England. 

The deputies of the Netherland churches had come, with the permission ofCount Maurice and of the States General; but they represented morestrongly than any other envoys could do, the English and the monarchicalparty. They were instructed especially to implore the Queen to accept thesovereignty of their country; to assure her that the restoration ofPhilip--who had been a wolf instead of a shepherd to his flock--was animpossibility, that he had been solemnly and for ever deposed, that underher sceptre only could the Provinces ever recover their ancientprosperity; that ancient and modern history alike made it manifest that afree republic could never maintain itself, but that it must, ofnecessity, run its course through sedition, bloodshed, and anarchy, untilliberty was at last crushed by an absolute despotism; that equality ofcondition, the basis of democratic institutions, could never be madefirm; and that a fortunate exception, like that of Switzerland, whosehistorical and political circumstances were peculiar, could never serveas a model to the Netherlands, accustomed as those Provinces had everbeen to a monarchical form of government; and that the antagonism ofaristocratic and democratic elements in the States had already produceddiscord, and was threatening destruction to the whole country. To avertsuch dangers the splendour of royal authority was necessary, according tothe venerable commands of Holy Writ; and therefore the Netherlandchurches acknowledged themselves the foster-children of England, andbegged that in political matters also the inhabitants of the Provincesmight be accepted as the subjects of her Majesty. They also implored theQueen to break off these accursed negotiations with Spain, and to providethat henceforth in the Netherlands the reformed religion might be freelyexercised, to the exclusion of any other. 

Thus it was very evident that these clerical envoys, although they weresent by permission of the States, did not come as the representatives ofthe dominant party. For that 'Beelzebub, ' Barneveld, had differentnotions from theirs as to the possibility of a republic, and as to thepropriety of tolerating other forms of worship than his own. But it wasfor such pernicious doctrines, on religious matters in particular, thathe was called Beelzebub, Pope John, a papist in disguise, and an atheist;and denounced, as leading young Maurice and the whole country todestruction. 

On the basis of these instructions, the deputies drew up a memorial ofpitiless length, filled with astounding parallels between their ownposition and that of the Hebrews, Assyrians, and other distinguishednations of antiquity. They brought it to Walsingham on the 12th July, 1588, and the much enduring man heard it read from beginning to end. Heexpressed his approbation of its sentiments, but said it was too long. Itmust be put on one sheet of paper, he said, if her Majesty was expectedto read it. 

"Moreover, " said the Secretary of State, "although your arguments arefull of piety, and your examples from Holy Writ very apt, I must tell youthe plain truth. Great princes are not always so zealous in religiousmatters as they might be. Political transactions move them more deeply, and they depend too much on worldly things. However there is no longermuch danger, for our envoys will return from Flanders in a few days. "

"But, " asked a deputy, "if the Spanish fleet does not succeed in itsenterprise, will the peace-negotiations be renewed?"

"By no means, " said Walsingham; "the Queen can never do that, consistently with her honour. They have scattered infamous libels againsther--so scandalous, that you would be astounded should you read them. Arguments drawn from honour are more valid with princes than any other. "

He alluded to the point in their memorial touching the free exercise ofthe reformed religion in the Provinces. 

"'Tis well and piously said, " he observed; "but princes and great lordsare not always very earnest in such matters. I think that her Majesty'senvoys will not press for the free exercise of the religion so very much;not more than for two or three years. By that time--should ournegotiations succeed--the foreign troops will have evacuated theNetherlands on condition that the States-General shall settle thereligious question. "

"But, " said Daniel de Dieu, one of the deputies, "the majority of theStates is Popish. "

"Be it so, " replied Sir Francis; "nevertheless they will sooner permitthe exercise of the reformed religion than take up arms and begin the waranew. "

He then alluded to the proposition of the deputies to exclude allreligious worship but that of the reformed church--all false religion--asthey expressed themselves. 

"Her Majesty, " said he, "is well disposed to permit some exercise oftheir religion to the Papists. So far as regards my own feelings, if wewere now in the beginning, of the reformation, and the papacy were stillentire, I should willingly concede such exercise; but now that the Papacyhas been overthrown, I think it would not be safe to give suchpermission. When we were disputing, at the time of the pacification ofGhent, whether the Popish religion should be partially permitted, thePrince of Orange was of the affirmative opinion; but I, who was then atAntwerp, entertained the contrary conviction. "

"But, " said one of the deputies--pleased to find that Walsingham was moreof their way of thinking on religious toleration than the great Prince ofOrange had been, or than Maurice and Barneveld then were--"but herMajesty will, we hope, follow the advice of her good and faithfulcounsellors. "

"To tell you the truth, " answered Sir Francis, "great princes are notalways inspired with a sincere and upright zeal;"--it was the third timehe had made this observation"--although, so far as regards themaintenance of the religion in the Netherlands, that is a matter ofnecessity. Of that there is no fear, since otherwise all the pious woulddepart, and none would remain but Papists, and, what is more, enemies ofEngland. Therefore the Queen is aware that the religion must bemaintained. "

He then advised the deputies to hand in the memorial to her Majesty, without any long speeches, for which there was then no time oropportunity; and it was subsequently arranged that they should bepresented to the Queen as she would be mounting her horse at St. James'sto ride to Richmond. 

Accordingly on the 15th July, as her Majesty came forth at the gate, witha throng of nobles and ladies--some about to accompany her and somebidding her adieu--the deputies fell on their knees before her. Notwithstanding the advice of Walsingham, Daniel de Dieu was bent upon anoration. 

"Oh illustrious Queen!" he began, "the churches of the UnitedNetherlands----"

He had got no further, when the Queen, interrupting, exclaimed, "Oh! Ibeg you--at another time--I cannot now listen to a speech. Let me see thememorial. "

Daniel de Dieu then humbly presented that document, which her Majestygraciously received, and then, getting on horseback, rode off toRichmond. '

The memorial was in the nature of an exhortation to sustain the religion, and to keep clear of all negotiations with idolaters and unbelievers; andthe memorialists supported themselves by copious references toDeuteronomy, Proverbs, Isaiah, Timothy, and Psalms, relying mainly on thecase of Jehosaphat, who came to disgrace and disaster through his treatywith the idolatrous King Ahab. With regard to any composition with Spain, they observed, in homely language, that a burnt cat fears the fire; andthey assured the Queen that, by following their advice, she would gain aglorious and immortal name, like those of David, Ezekiel, Josiah, andothers, whose fragrant memory, even as precious incense from theapothecary's, endureth to the end of the world. 

It was not surprising that Elizabeth, getting on horseback on the 15thJuly, 1588, with her head full of Tilbury Fort and Medina Sidonia, shouldhave as little relish for the affairs of Ahab and Jehosophat, as forthose melting speeches of Diomede and of Turnus, to which Dr. ValentineDale on his part was at that moment invoking her attention. 

On the 20th July, the deputies were informed by Leicester that herMajesty would grant them an interview, July 20, and that they must comeinto his quarter of the palace and await her arrival. 

Between six and seven in the evening she came into the throne-room, andthe deputies again fell on their knees before her. 

She then seated herself--the deputies remaining on their knees on herright side and the Earl of Leicester standing at her left--and proceededto make many remarks touching her earnestness in the pending negotiationsto provide for their religious freedom. It seemed that she must havereceived a hint from Walsingham on the subject. 

"I shall provide, " she said, "for the maintenance of the reformedworship. "

De Dieu--"The enemy will never concede it. "

The Queen. --"I think differently. "

De Dieu. --"There is no place within his dominions where he has permittedthe exercise of the pure religion. He has never done so. "

The Queen. --"He conceded it in the pacification of Ghent. "

De Dieu. --"But he did not keep his agreement. Don John had concluded withthe States, but said he was not held to his promise, in case he shouldrepent; and the King wrote afterwards to our States, and said that he wasno longer bound to his pledge. "

The Queen. --"That is quite another thing. "

De Dieu. --"He has very often broken his faith. "

The Queen. --"He shall no longer be allowed to do so. If he does not keephis word, that is my affair, not yours. It is my business to find theremedy. Men would say, see in what a desolation the Queen of England hasbrought this poor people. As to the freedom of worship, I should haveproposed three or four years' interval--leaving it afterwards to thedecision of the States. "

De Dieu. --"But the majority of the States is Popish. "

The Queen. --"I mean the States-General, not the States of any particularProvince. "

De Dieu. --"The greater part of the States-General is Popish. "

The Queen. --"I mean the three estates--the clergy, the nobles, and thecities. " The Queen--as the deputies observed--here fell into an error. She thought that prelates of the reformed Church, as in England, hadseats in the States-General. Daniel de Dieu explained that they had nosuch position. 

The Queen. --"Then how were you sent hither?"

De Dieu. --"We came with the consent of Count Maurice of Nassau. "

The Queen. --"And of the States?"

De Dieu. --"We came with their knowledge. "

The Queen. --"Are you sent only from Holland and Zeeland? Is there noenvoy from Utrecht and the other Provinces?"

Helmichius. --"We two, " pointing to his colleague Sossingius, "are fromUtrecht. "

The Queen. --"What? Is this young man also a minister?" She meantHelmichius, who had a very little beard, and looked young. 

Sossingius. --"He is not so young as he looks. "

The Queen. --"Youths are sometimes as able as old men. "

De Dieu. --"I have heard our brother preach in France more than fourteenyears ago. "

The Queen. --"He must have begun young. How old were you when you firstbecame a preacher?"

Helmichius. --"Twenty-three or twenty-four years of age. "

The Queen. --"It was with us, at first, considered a scandal that a man soyoung as that should be admitted to the pulpit. Our antagonistsreproached us with it in a book called 'Scandale de l'Angleterre, ' sayingthat we had none but school-boys for ministers. I understand that youpray for me as warmly as if I were your sovereign princess. I think Ihave done as much for the religion as if I were your Queen. "

Helmichius. --"We are far from thinking otherwise. We acknowledgewillingly your Majesty's benefits to our churches. "

The Queen. --"It would else be ingratitude on your part. "

Helmichius. --"But the King of Spain will never keep any promise about thereligion. "

The Queen. --"He will never come so far: he does nothing but make a noiseon all sides. Item, I don't think he has much confidence in himself. "

De Dieu. --"Your Majesty has many enemies. The Lord hath hithertosupported you, and we pray that he may continue to uphold your Majesty. "

The Queen. --"I have indeed many enemies; but I make no great account ofthem. Is there anything else you seek?"

De Dieu. --"There is a special point: it concerns our, or rather yourMajesty's, city of Flushing. We hope that Russelius--(so he called SirWilliam Russell)--may be continued in its government, although he wisheshis discharge. "

"Aha!" said the Queen, laughing and rising from her seat, "I shall notanswer you; I shall call some one else to answer you. "

She then summoned Russell's sister, Lady Warwick. 

"If you could speak French, " said the Queen to that gentlewoman, "Ishould bid you reply to these gentlemen, who beg that your brother mayremain in Flushing, so very agreeable has he made himself to them. "

The Queen was pleased to hear this good opinion of Sir William, and thisrequest that he might continue to be governor of Flushing, because he haduniformly supported the Leicester party, and was at that moment in highquarrel with Count Maurice and the leading members of the States. 

As the deputies took their leave, they requested an answer to theirmemorial, which was graciously promised. 

Three days afterwards, Walsingham gave them a written answer to theirmemorial--conceived in the same sense as had been the expressions of herMajesty and her counsellors. Support to the Netherlands and stipulationsfor the free exercise of their religion were promised; but it wasimpossible for these deputies of the churches to obtain a guarantee fromEngland that the Popish religion should be excluded from the Provinces, in case of a successful issue to the Queen's negotiation with Spain. 

And thus during all those eventful days-the last weeks of July and thefirst weeks of August--the clerical deputation remained in England, indulging in voluminous protocols and lengthened conversations with theQueen and the principal members of her government. It is astonishing, inthat breathless interval of history, that so much time could be found forquill-driving and oratory. 

Nevertheless, both in Holland and England, there had been other work thanprotocolling. One throb of patriotism moved the breast of both nations. Alonging to grapple, once for all, with the great enemy of civil andreligious liberty inspired both. In Holland, the States-General and allthe men to whom the people looked for guidance, had been long deprecatingthe peace-negotiations. Extraordinary supplies--more than had ever beengranted before--were voted for the expenses of the campaign; and Mauriceof Nassau, fitly embodying the warlike tendencies of his country andrace, had been most importunate with Queen Elizabeth that she wouldaccept his services and his advice. Armed vessels of every size, from thegun-boat to the galleon of 1200 tons--then the most imposing ship inthose waters--swarmed in all the estuaries and rivers, and along theDutch and Flemish coast, bidding defiance to Parma and his armaments; andoffers of a large contingent from the fleets of Jooat de Moor andJustinua de Nassau, to serve under Seymour and Howard, were freely madeto the States-General. 

It was decided early in July, by the board of admiralty, presided over byPrince Maurice, that the largest square-rigged vessels of Holland andZeeland should cruise between England and the Flemish coast, outside thebanks; that a squadron of lesser ships should be stationed within thebanks; and that a fleet of sloops and fly-boats should hover close inshore, about Flushing and Rammekens. All the war-vessels of the littlerepublic were thus fully employed. But, besides this arrangement, Mauricewas empowered to lay an embargo--under what penalty he chose and duringhis pleasure--on all square-rigged vessels over 300 tons, in order thatthere might be an additional supply in case of need. Ninety ships of warunder Warmond, admiral, and Van der Does, vice-admiral of Holland; andJustinus de Nassau, admiral, and Joost de Moor, vice-admiral of Zeeland;together with fifty merchant-vessels of the best and strongest, equippedand armed for active service, composed a formidable fleet. 

The States-General, a month before, had sent twenty-five or thirty goodships, under Admiral Rosendael, to join Lord Henry Seymour, then cruisingbetween Dover and Calais. A tempest, drove them back, and their absencefrom Lord Henry's fleet being misinterpreted by the English, the Stateswere censured for ingratitude and want of good faith. But the injusticeof the accusation was soon made manifest, for these vessels, reinforcingthe great Dutch fleet outside the banks, did better service than theycould have done; in the straits. A squadron of strong well-armed vessels, having on board, in addition to their regular equipment, a picked forceof twelve hundred musketeers, long accustomed to this peculiar kind ofnaval warfare, with crews of, grim Zeelanders, who had faced Alva, andValdez in their day, now kept close watch over Farnese, determined thathe should never thrust his face out of any haven or nook on the coast solong as they should be in existence to prevent him. 

And in England the protracted diplomacy at Ostend, ill-timed though itwas, had not paralyzed the arm or chilled the heart of the nation. Whenthe great Queen, arousing herself from the delusion in which thefalsehoods of Farnese and of Philip had lulled her, should once more. Represent--as no man or woman better than Elizabeth Tudor couldrepresent--the defiance of England to foreign insolence; the resolve of awhole people to die rather than yield; there was a thrill of joy throughthe national heart. When the enforced restraint was at last taken off, there was one bound towards the enemy. Few more magnificent spectacleshave been seen in history than the enthusiasm which pervaded the countryas the great danger, so long deferred, was felt at last to be closelyapproaching. The little nation of four millions, the merry England of thesixteenth century, went forward to the death-grapple with its giganticantagonist as cheerfully as to a long-expected holiday. Spain was a vastempire, overshadowing the world; England, in comparison, but a province;yet nothing could surpass the steadiness with which the conflict wasawaited. 

For, during all the months of suspense; the soldiers and sailors, andmany statesman of England, had deprecated, even as the Hollanders hadbeen doing, the dangerous delays of Ostend. Elizabeth was not embodyingthe national instinct, when she talked of peace; and shrank penuriouslyfrom the expenses of war. There was much disappointment, evenindignation, at the slothfulness with which the preparations for defencewent on, during the period when there was yet time to make them. It wasfeared with justice that England, utterly unfortified as were its cities, and defended only by its little navy without, and by untaught enthusiasmwithin, might; after all, prove an easier conquest than Holland andZeeland, every town, in whose territory bristled with fortifications. Ifthe English ships--well-trained and swift sailors as they were--wereunprovided with spare and cordage, beef and biscuit, powder and shot, andthe militia-men, however enthusiastic, were neither drilled nor armed, was it so very certain, after all, that successful resistance would bemade to the great Armada, and to the veteran pikemen and musketeers ofFarnese, seasoned on a hundred, battlefields, and equipped as for atournament? There was generous confidence and chivalrous loyalty on thepart of Elizabeth's naval and military commanders; but there had beendeep regret and disappointment at her course. 

Hawkins was anxious, all through the winter and spring, to cruise with asmall squadron off the coast of Spain. With a dozen vessels he undertookto "distress anything that went through the seas. " The cost of such asquadron, with eighteen hundred men, to be relieved every four months, heestimated at two thousand seven hundred pounds sterling the month, or ashilling a day for each man; and it would be a very unlucky month, hesaid, in which they did not make captures to three times that amount; forthey would see nothing that would not be presently their own. "We mighthave peace, but not with God, " said the pious old slave-trader; "butrather than serve Baal, let us die a thousand deaths. Let us have openwar with these Jesuits, and every man will contribute, fight, devise, ordo, for the liberty of our country. "

And it was open war with the Jesuits for which those stouthearted sailorslonged. All were afraid of secret mischief. The diplomatists--who wereknown to be flitting about France, Flanders, Scotland, and England--werebirds of ill omen. King James was beset by a thousand bribes andexpostulations to avenge his mother's death; and although that mother hadmurdered his father, and done her best to disinherit himself, yet it wasfeared that Spanish ducats might induce him to be true to his mother'srevenge, and false to the reformed religion. Nothing of good was hopedfor from France. "For my part, " said Lord Admiral Howard, "I have made ofthe French King, the Scottish King, and the King of Spain, a trinity thatI mean never to trust to be saved by, and I would that others were of myopinion. "

The noble sailor, on whom so much responsibility rested, yet who was sotrammelled and thwarted by the timid and parsimonious policy of Elizabethand of Burghley, chafed and shook his chains like a captive. "SinceEngland was England, " he exclaimed, "there was never such a stratagem andmask to deceive her as this treaty of peace. I pray God that we do notcurse for this a long grey beard with a white head witless, that willmake all the world think us heartless. You know whom I mean. " And itcertainly was not difficult to understand the allusion to the ponderingLord-Treasurer. "'Opus est aliquo Daedalo, ' to direct us out of themaze, " said that much puzzled statesman; but he hardly seemed to bemaking himself wings with which to lift England and himself out of thelabyrinth. The ships were good ships, but there was intolerable delay ingetting a sufficient number of them as ready for action as was the spiritof their commanders. 

"Our ships do show like gallants here, " said Winter; "it would do a man'sheart good to behold them. Would to God the Prince of Parma were on theseas with all his forces, and we in sight of them. You should hear thatwe would make his enterprise very unpleasant to him. "

And Howard, too, was delighted not only with his own little flag-ship theArk-Royal--"the odd ship of the world for all conditions, "--but with allof his fleet that could be mustered. Although wonders were reported, byevery arrival from the south, of the coming Armada, the Lord-Admiral wasnot appalled. He was perhaps rather imprudent in the defiance he flung tothe enemy. "Let me have the four great ships and twenty hoys, with buttwenty men a-piece, and each with but two iron pieces, and her Majestyshall have a good account of the Spanish forces; and I will make the Kingwish his galleys home again. Few as we are, if his forces be nothundreds, we will make good sport with them. "

But those four great ships of her Majesty, so much longed for by Howard, were not forthcoming. He complained that the Queen was "keeping them toprotect Chatham Church withal, when they should be serving their turnabroad. " The Spanish fleet was already reported as numbering from 210sail, with 36, 000 men, ' to 400 or 500 ships, and 80, 000 soldiers andmariners; and yet Drake was not ready with his squadron. "The fault isnot in him, " said Howard, "but I pray God her Majesty do not repent herslack dealing. We must all lie together, for we shall be stirred veryshortly with heave ho! I fear ere long her Majesty will be sorry she hathbelieved some so much as she hath done. "

Howard had got to sea, and was cruising all the stormy month of March inthe Channel with his little unprepared squadron; expecting at anymoment--such was the profound darkness which, enveloped the world at thatday--that the sails of the Armada might appear in the offing. He made avisit to the Dutch coast, and was delighted with the enthusiasm withwhich he was received. Five thousand people a day came on board hisships, full of congratulation and delight; and he informed the Queen thatshe was not more assured of the Isle of Sheppey than of Walcheren. 

Nevertheless time wore on, and both the army and navy of England werequite unprepared, and the Queen was more reluctant than ever to incur theexpense necessary to the defence of her kingdom. At least one of thosegalleys, which, as Howard bitterly complained, seemed destined to defendChatham Church, was importunately demanded; but it was already Easter-Day(17th April), and she was demanded in vain. "Lord! when should sheserve, " said the Admiral, "if not at such a time as this? Either she isfit now to serve, or fit for the fire. I hope never in my time to see sogreat a cause for her to be used. I dare say her Majesty will look thatmen should fight for her, and I know they will at this time. The King ofSpain doth not keep any ship at home, either of his own or any other, that he can get for money. Well, well, I must pray heartily for peace, "said Howard with increasing spleen, "for I see the support of anhonourable, war will never appear. Sparing and war have no affinitytogether. "

In truth Elizabeth's most faithful subjects were appalled at the ruinwhich she seemed by her mistaken policy to be rendering inevitable. "I amsorry, " said the Admiral, "that her Majesty is so careless of this mostdangerous time. I fear me much, and with grief I think it, that sherelieth on a hope that will deceive her, and greatly endanger her, andthen it will not be her money nor her jewels that will help; for as theywill do good in time, so they will help nothing for the redeeming oftime. "

The preparations on shore were even more dilatory than those on the sea. We have seen that the Duke of Parma, once landed, expected to marchdirectly upon London; and it was notorious that there were no fortressesto oppose a march of the first general in Europe and his veterans uponthat unprotected and wealthy metropolis. An army had been enrolled--aforce of 86, 016 foot, and 13, 831 cavalry; but it was an army on papermerely. Even of the 86, 000, only 48, 000 were set down as trained; and itis certain that the training had been of the most meagre andunsatisfactory description. Leicester was to be commander-in-chief; butwe have already seen that nobleman measuring himself, not much to hisadvantage, with Alexander Farnese, in the Isle of Bommel, on the sands ofBlankenburg, and at the gates of Sluys. His army was to consist of 27, 000infantry, and 2000 horse; yet at midsummer it had not reached half thatnumber. Lord Chamberlain Hunsdon was to protect the Queen's person withanother army of 36, 000; but this force, was purely an imaginary one; andthe lord-lieutenant of each county was to do his best with the militia. But men were perpetually escaping out of the general service, in order tomake themselves retainers for private noblemen, and be kept at theirexpense. "You shall hardly believe, " said Leicester, "how many newliveries be gotten within these six weeks, and no man fears the penalty. It would be better that every nobleman did as Lord Dacres, than to takeaway from the principal service such as are set down to serve. "

Of enthusiasm and courage, then, there was enough, while of drill anddiscipline, of powder and shot, there was a deficiency. No braver or morecompetent soldier could be found than Sir Edward Stanley--the man whom wehave seen in his yellow jerkin, helping himself into Fort Zutphen withthe Spanish soldier's pike--and yet Sir Edward Stanley gave but a sorryaccount of the choicest soldiers of Chester and Lancashire, whom he hadbeen sent to inspect. "I find them not, " he said, "according to yourexpectation, nor mine own liking. They were appointed two years past tohave been trained six days by the year or more, at the discretion of themuster-master, but, as yet, they have not been trained one day, so thatthey have benefited nothing, nor yet know their leaders. There is nowpromise of amendment, which, I doubt, will be very slow, in respect to myLord Derby's absence. "

My Lord Derby was at that moment, and for many months afterwards, assisting Valentine Dale in his classical prolusions on the sands ofBourbourg. He had better have been mustering the trainbands ofLancashire. There was a general indisposition in the rural districts toexpend money and time in military business, until the necessity shouldbecome imperative. Professional soldiers complained bitterly of thecanker of a long peace. "For our long quietness, which it hath pleasedGod to send us, " said Stanley, "they think their money very ill bestowedwhich they expend on armour or weapon, for that they be in hope theyshall never have occasion to use it, so they may pass muster, as theyhave done heretofore. I want greatly powder, for there is little or noneat all. "

The day was fast approaching when all the power in England would be toolittle for the demand. But matters had not very much mended even atmidsummer. It is true that Leicester, who was apt to besanguine-particularly in matters under his immediate control--spoke ofthe handful of recruits assembled at his camp in Essex, as "soldiers of ayear's experience, rather than a month's camping;" but in this opinion hediffered from many competent authorities, and was somewhat incontradiction to himself. Nevertheless he was glad that the Queen haddetermined to visit him, and encourage his soldiers. 

"I have received in secret, " he said, "those news that please me, thatyour Majesty doth intend to behold the poor and bare company that liehere in the field, most willingly to serve you, yea, most ready to diefor you. You shall, dear Lady, behold as goodly, loyal, and as able menas any prince Christian can show you, and yet but a handful of your own, in comparison of the rest you have. What comfort not only these shallreceive who shall be the happiest to behold yourself I cannot express;but assuredly it will give no small comfort to the rest, that shall beovershined with the beams of so gracious and princely a party, for whatyour royal Majesty shall do to these will be accepted as done to all. Good sweet Queen, alter not your purpose, if God give you health. It willbe your pain for the time, but your pleasure to behold such people. Andsurely the place must content you, being as fair a soil and as goodly aprospect as may be seen or found, as this extreme weather hath madetrial, which doth us little annoyance, it is so firm and dry a ground. Your usher also liketh your lodging--a proper, secret, cleanly house. Your camp is a little mile off, and your person will be as sure as at St. James's, for my life. "

But notwithstanding this cheerful view of the position expressed by thecommander-in-chief, the month of July had passed, and the early days ofAugust had already arrived; and yet the camp was not formed, nor anythingmore than that mere handful of troops mustered about Tilbury, to defendthe road from Dover to London. The army at Tilbury never, exceededsixteen or seventeen thousand men. 

The whole royal navy-numbering about thirty-four vessels in all--ofdifferent sizes, ranging from 1100 and 1000 tons to 30, had at last beengot ready for sea. Its aggregate tonnage was 11, 820; not half somuch as at the present moment--in the case of one marvellousmerchant-steamer--floats upon a single keel. 

These vessels carried. 837 guns and 6279 men. But the navy was reinforcedby the patriotism and liberality of English merchants and privategentlemen. The city of London having been requested to furnish 15 shipsof war and 5000 men, asked two days for deliberation, and then gave 30ships and 10, 000 men of which number 2710 were seamen. Other cities, particularly Plymouth, came forward with proportionate liberality, andprivate individuals, nobles, merchants, and men of humblest rank, wereenthusiastic in volunteering into the naval service, to risk property andlife in defence of the country. By midsummer there had been a total forceof 197 vessels manned, and partially equipped, with an aggregate of29, 744 tons, and 15, 785 seamen. Of this fleet a very large number weremere coasters of less than 100 tons each; scarcely ten ships were above500, and but one above 1000 tons--the Triumph, Captain Frobisher, of 1100tons, 42 guns, and 500 sailors. 

Lord Howard of Effingham, Lord High-Admiral of England, distinguished forhis martial character, public spirit, and admirable temper, rather thanfor experience or skill as a seaman, took command of the whole fleet, inhis "little odd ship for all conditions, " the Ark-Royal, of 800 tons, 425sailors, and 55 guns. 

Next in rank was Vice-Admiral Drake, in the Revenge, of 500 tons, 250 menand 40 guns. Lord Henry Seymour, in the Rainbow, of precisely the samesize and strength, commanded the inner squadron, which cruised in theneighbourhood of the French and Flemish coast. 

The Hollanders and Zeelanders had undertaken to blockade the Duke ofParma still more closely, and pledged themselves that he should neverventure to show himself upon the open sea at all. The mouth of theScheldt, and the dangerous shallows off the coast of Newport and Dunkirk, swarmed with their determined and well-seasoned craft, from the flybooteror filibuster of the rivers, to the larger armed vessels, built toconfront every danger, and to deal with any adversary. 

Farnese, on his part, within that well-guarded territory, had, for monthslong, scarcely slackened in his preparations, day or night. Whole forestshad been felled in the land of Waas to furnish him with transports andgun-boats, and with such rapidity, that--according to his enthusiastichistoriographer--each tree seemed by magic to metamorphose itself into avessel at the word of command. Shipbuilders, pilots, and seamen, werebrought from the Baltic, from Hamburgh, from Genoa. The whole surface ofthe obedient Netherlands, whence wholesome industry had long beenbanished, was now the scene of a prodigious baleful activity. Portablebridges for fording the rivers of England, stockades for entrenchments, rafts and oars, were provided in vast numbers, and Alexander dug canalsand widened natural streams to facilitate his operations. These wretchedProvinces, crippled, impoverished, languishing for peace, were forced tocontribute out of their poverty, and to find strength even in theirexhaustion, to furnish the machinery for destroying their own countrymen, and for hurling to perdition their most healthful neighbour. 

And this approaching destruction of England--now generally believedin--was like the sound of a trumpet throughout Catholic Europe. Scions ofroyal houses, grandees of azure blood, the bastard of Philip II. , thebastard of Savoy, the bastard of Medici, the Margrave of Burghaut, theArchduke Charles, nephew of the Emperor, the Princes of Ascoli and ofMelfi, the Prince of Morocco, and others of illustrious name, with many anoble English traitor, like Paget, and Westmoreland, and Stanley, allhurried to the camp of Farnese, as to some famous tournament, in which itwas a disgrace to chivalry if their names were not enrolled. The roadswere trampled with levies of fresh troops from Spain, Naples, Corsica, the States of the Church, the Milanese, Germany, Burgundy. 

Blas Capizucca was sent in person to conduct reinforcements from thenorth of Italy. The famous Terzio of Naples, under Carlos Pinelo, arrived3500 strong--the most splendid regiment ever known in the history of war. Every man had an engraved corslet and musket-barrel, and there were manywho wore gilded armour, while their waving plumes and festive caparisonsmade them look like holiday-makers, rather than real campaigners, in theeyes of the inhabitants of the various cities through which their roadled them to Flanders. By the end of April the Duke of Parma saw himselfat the head of 60, 000 men, at a monthly expense of 454, 315 crowns ordollars. Yet so rapid was the progress of disease--incident to northernclimates--among those southern soldiers, that we shall find the numberwoefully diminished before they were likely to set foot upon the Englishshore. 

Thus great preparations, simultaneously with pompous negotiations, hadbeen going forward month after month, in England, Holland, Flanders. Nevertheless, winter, spring, two-thirds of summer, had passed away, andon the 29th July, 1588, there remained the same sickening uncertainty, which was the atmosphere in which the nations had existed for atwelvemonth. 

Howard had cruised for a few weeks between England and Spain, without anyresults, and, on his return, had found it necessary to implore herMajesty, as late as July, to "trust no more to Judas' kisses, but to hersword, not her enemy's word. "

 ETEXT EDITOR'S BOOKMARKS:

 A burnt cat fears the fire A free commonwealth--was thought an absurdity Baiting his hook a little to his appetite Canker of a long peace Englishmen and Hollanders preparing to cut each other's throats Faction has rarely worn a more mischievous aspect Hard at work, pouring sand through their sieves She relieth on a hope that will deceive her Sparing and war have no affinity together The worst were encouraged with their good success Trust her sword, not her enemy's word

CHAPTER XIX. 1588, Part 1. 

 Philip Second in his Cabinet--His System of Work and Deception--His vast but vague Schemes of Conquest--The Armada sails--Description of the Fleet--The Junction with Parma unprovided for--The Gale off Finisterre--Exploits of David Gwynn--First Engagements in the English Channel--Considerable Losses of the Spaniards--General Engagement near Portland--Superior Seamanship of the English

It is now time to look in upon the elderly letter-writer in the Escorial, and see how he was playing his part in the drama. 

His counsellors were very few. His chief advisers were rather likeprivate secretaries than cabinet ministers; for Philip had beenwithdrawing more and more into seclusion and mystery as the webwork ofhis schemes multiplied and widened. He liked to do his work, assisted bya very few confidential servants. The Prince of Eboli, the famous RuyGomez, was dead. So was Cardinal Granvelle. So were Erasso and Delgado. His midnight council--junta de noche--for thus, from its original hour ofassembling, and the all of secrecy in which it was enwrapped, it washabitually called--was a triumvirate. Don Juan de Idiaquez was chiefsecretary of state and of war; the Count de Chinchon was minister for thehousehold, for Italian affairs, and for the kingdom of Aragon; DonCristoval de Moura, the monarch's chief favourite, was at the head of thefinance department, and administered the affairs of Portugal and Castile!

The president of the council of Italy, after Granvelle's death, wasQuiroga, cardinal of Toledo, and inquisitor-general. Enormously longletters, in the King's: name, were prepared chiefly by the twosecretaries, Idiaquez and Moura. In their hands was the vastcorrespondence with Mendoza and Parma, and Olivarez at Rome, and withMucio; in which all the stratagems for the subjugation of ProtestantEurope were slowly and artistically contrived. Of the great conspiracyagainst human liberty, of which the Pope and Philip were the double head, this midnight triumvirate was the chief executive committee. 

These innumerable despatches, signed by Philip, were not the emanationsof his own mind. The King had a fixed purpose to subdue Protestantism andto conquer the world; but the plans for carrying the purpose into effectwere developed by subtler and more comprehensive minds than his own. Itwas enough for him to ponder wearily over schemes which he was supposedto dictate, and to give himself the appearance of supervising what hescarcely comprehended. And his work of supervision was often confined topettiest details. The handwriting of Spain and Italy at that day wasbeautiful, and in our modern eyes seems neither antiquated norungraceful. But Philip's scrawl was like that of 'a' clown just admittedto a writing-school, and the whole margin of a fairly penned despatchperhaps fifty pages long; laid before him for comment and signature byIdiaquez or Moura, would be sometimes covered with a few awkwardsentences, which it was almost impossible to read, and which, whendeciphered, were apt to reveal suggestions of astounding triviality. 

Thus a most important despatch--in which the King, with his own hand, wassupposed to be conveying secret intelligence to Mendoza concerning theArmada, together with minute directions for the regulation of Guise'sconduct at the memorable epoch of the barricades--contained but a singlecomment from the monarch's own pen. "The Armada has been in Lisbon abouta month--quassi un mes"--wrote the secretary. "There is but one s inquasi, " said Philip. 

Again, a despatch of Mendoza to the King contained the intelligence thatQueen Elizabeth was, at the date of the letter, residing at St. James's. Philip, who had no objection to display his knowledge of Englishaffairs--as became the man who had already been almost sovereign ofEngland, and meant to be entirely so--supplied a piece of information inan apostille to this despatch. "St. James is a house of recreation, " hesaid, "which was once a monastery. There is a park between it, and thepalace which is called Huytal; but why it is called Huytal, I am sure Idon't know. " His researches in the English language had not enabled himto recognize the adjective and substantive out of which the abstrusecompound White-Hall (Huyt-al), was formed. 

On another occasion, a letter from England containing importantintelligence concerning the number of soldiers enrolled in that countryto resist the Spanish invasion, the quantity of gunpowder and variousmunitions collected, with other details of like nature, furnished besidesa bit of information of less vital interest. "In the windows of theQueen's presence-chamber they have discovered a great quantity of lice, all clustered together, " said the writer. 

Such a minute piece of statistics could not escape the microscopic eye ofPhilip. So, disregarding the soldiers and the gunpowder, he commentedonly on this last-mentioned clause of the letter; and he did itcautiously too, as a King surnamed the Prudent should:--

"But perhaps they were fleas, " wrote Philip. 

Such examples--and many more might be given--sufficiently indicate thenature of the man on whom such enormous responsibilities rested, and whohad been, by the adulation of his fellow-creatures, elevated into a god. And we may cast a glance upon him as he sits in his cabinet-buried amongthose piles of despatches--and receiving methodically, at stated hours, Idiaquez, or Moura, or Chincon, to settle the affairs of so many millionsof the human race; and we may watch exactly the progress of that scheme, concerning which so many contradictory rumours were circulating inEurope. In the month of April a Walsingham could doubt, even in August aningenuous comptroller could disbelieve, the reality of the great project, and the Pope himself, even while pledging himself to assistance, had beensystematically deceived. He had supposed the whole scheme rendered futileby the exploit of Drake at Cadiz, and had declared that "the Queen ofEngland's distaff was worth more than Philip's sword, that the King was apoor creature, that he would never be able to come to a resolution, andthat even if he should do so, it would be too late;" and he hadsubsequently been doing his best, through his nuncio in France, topersuade the Queen to embrace the Catholic religion, and thus saveherself from the impending danger. Henry III. Had even been urged by thePope to send a special ambassador to her for this purpose--as if thepersuasions of the wretched Valois were likely to be effective withElizabeth Tudor--and Burghley had, by means of spies in Rome, whopretended to be Catholics, given out intimations that the Queen wasseriously contemplating such a step. Thus the Pope, notwithstandingCardinal Allan, the famous million, and the bull, was thought by Mendozato be growing lukewarm in the Spanish cause, and to be urging upon the"Englishwoman" the propriety of converting herself, even at the late hourof May, 1588. 

But Philip, for years, had been maturing his scheme, while reposingentire confidence--beyond his own cabinet doors--upon none but AlexanderFarnese; and the Duke--alone of all men--was perfectly certain that theinvasion would, this year, be attempted. 

The captain-general of the expedition was the Marquis of Santa Cruz, aman of considerable naval experience, and of constant good fortune, who, in thirty years, had never sustained a defeat. He had however shown nodesire to risk one when Drake had offered him the memorable challenge inthe year 1587, and perhaps his reputation of the invincible captain hadbeen obtained by the same adroitness on previous occasions. He was nofriend to Alexander Farnese, and was much disgusted when informed of theshare allotted to the Duke in the great undertaking. A course of reproachand perpetual reprimand was the treatment to which he was, inconsequence, subjected, which was not more conducive to the advancementof the expedition than it was to the health of the captain-general. Earlyin January the Cardinal Archduke was sent to Lisbon to lecture him, withinstructions to turn a deaf ear to all his remonstrances, to deal withhim peremptorily, to forbid his writing letters on the subject to hisMajesty, and to order him to accept his post or to decline it withoutconditions, in which latter contingency he was to be informed that hissuccessor was already decided upon. 

This was not the most eligible way perhaps for bringing thecaptain-general into a cheerful mood; particularly as he was expected tobe ready in January to sail to the Flemish coast. Nevertheless theMarquis expressed a hope to accomplish his sovereign's wishes; and greathad been the bustle in all the dockyards of Naples, Sicily, and Spain;particularly in the provinces of Guipuzcoa, Biscay, and Andalusia, and inthe four great cities of the coast. War-ships of all dimensions, tenders, transports, soldiers, sailors, sutlers, munitions of war, provisions, were all rapidly concentrating in Lisbon as the great place ofrendezvous; and Philip confidently believed, and as confidently informedthe Duke of Parma, that he, might be expecting the Armada at any timeafter the end of January. 

Perhaps in the history of mankind there has never been a vast project ofconquest conceived and matured in so protracted and yet so desultory amanner, as was this famous Spanish invasion. There was something almostpuerile in the whims rather than schemes of Philip for carrying out hispurpose. It was probable that some resistance would be offered, at leastby the navy of England, to the subjugation of that country, and the Kinghad enjoyed an opportunity, the preceding summer, of seeing the way inwhich English sailors did their work. He had also appeared to understandthe necessity of covering the passage of Farnese from the Flemish portsinto the Thames, by means of the great Spanish fleet from Lisbon. Nevertheless he never seemed to be aware that Farnese could not invadeEngland quite by himself, and was perpetually expecting to hear that hehad done so. 

"Holland and Zeeland, " wrote Alexander to Philip, "have been arming withtheir accustomed promptness; England has made great preparations. I havedone my best to make the impossible possible; but your letter told me towait for Santa Cruz, and to expect him very shortly. If, on the contrary, you had told me to make the passage without him, I would have made theattempt, although we had every one of us perished. Four ships of warcould sink every one of my boats. Nevertheless I beg to be informed ofyour Majesty's final order. If I am seriously expected to make thepassage without Santa Cruz, I am ready to do it, although I should go allalone in a cock-boat. "

But Santa Cruz at least was not destined to assist in the conquest ofEngland; for, worn out with fatigue and vexation, goaded by thereproaches and insults of Philip, Santa Cruz was dead. He was replaced inthe chief command of the fleet by the Duke of Medina Sidonia, a grandeeof vast wealth, but with little capacity and less experience. To the ironmarquis it was said that a golden duke had succeeded; but the duke ofgold did not find it easier to accomplish impossibilities than hispredecessor had done. Day after day, throughout the months of winter andspring, the King had been writing that the fleet was just on the point ofsailing, and as frequently he had been renewing to Alexander Farnese theintimation that perhaps, after all, he might find an opportunity ofcrossing to England, without waiting for its arrival. And Alexander, withthe same regularity, had been informing his master that the troops in theNetherlands had been daily dwindling from sickness and other causes, tillat last, instead of the 30, 000 effective infantry, with which it had beenoriginally intended to make the enterprise, he had not more than 17, 000in the month of April. The 6000 Spaniards, whom he was to receive fromthe fleet of Medina Sidonia, would therefore be the very mainspring ofhis army. After leaving no more soldiers in the Netherlands than wereabsolutely necessary for the defence of the obedient Provinces againstthe rebels, he could only take with him to England 23, 000 men, even afterthe reinforcements from Medina. "When we talked of taking England bysurprise, " said Alexander, "we never thought of less than 30, 000. Nowthat she is alert and ready for us, and that it is certain we must fightby sea and by land, 50, 000 would be few. " He almost ridiculed the King'ssuggestion that a feint might be made by way of besieging some few placesin Holland or Zeeland. The whole matter in hand, he said, had become aspublic as possible, and the only efficient blind was thepeace-negotiation; for many believed, as the English deputies were nowtreating at Ostend, that peace would follow. 

At last, on the 28th, 29th, and 30th May, 1588, the fleet, which had beenwaiting at Lisbon more than a month for favourable weather, set sail fromthat port, after having been duly blessed by the Cardinal ArchdukeAlbert, viceroy of Portugal. 

There were rather more than one hundred and thirty ships in all, dividedinto ten squadrons. There was the squadron of Portugal, consisting of tengalleons, and commanded by the captain-general, Medina Sidonia. In thesquadron of Castile were fourteen ships of various sizes, under GeneralDiego Flores de Valdez. This officer was one of the most experiencednaval officers in the Spanish service, and was subsequently ordered, inconsequence, to sail with the generalissimo in his flag-ship. In thesquadron of Andalusia were ten galleons and other vessels, under GeneralPedro de Valdez. In the squadron of Biscay were ten galleons and lesserships, under General Juan Martinet de Recalde, upper admiral of thefleet. In the squadron of Guipuzcoa were ten galleons, under GeneralMiguel de Oquendo. In the squadron of Italy were ten ships, under GeneralMartin de Bertendona. In the squadron of Urcas, or store-ships, weretwenty-three sail, under General Juan Gomez de Medina. The squadron oftenders, caravels, and other vessels, numbered twenty-two sail, underGeneral Antonio Hurtado de Mendoza. The squadron of four galeasses wascommanded by Don Hugo de Moncada. The squadron of four galeras, orgalleys, was in charge of Captain Diego de Medrado. 

Next in command to Medina Sidonia was Don Alonzo de Leyva, captain-general of the light horse of Milan. Don Francisco de Bobadillawas marshal-general of the camp. Don Diego de Pimentel was marshal of thecamp to the famous Terzio or legion of Sicily. 

The total tonnage of the fleet was 59, 120: the number of guns was 3165. Of Spanish troops there were 19, 295 on board: there were 8252 sailors and2088 galley-slaves. Besides these, there was a force of noble volunteers, belonging to the most illustrious houses of Spain, with their attendantsamounting to nearly 2000 in all. There was also Don Martin Alaccon, administrator and vicar-general of the Holy Inquisition, at the head ofsome 290 monks of the mendicant orders, priests and familiars. The grandtotal of those embarked was about 30, 000. The daily expense of the fleetwas estimated by Don Diego de Pimentel at 12, 000 ducats a-day, and thedaily cost of the combined naval and military force under Farnese andMedina Sidonia was stated at 30, 000 ducats. 

The size of the ships ranged from 1200 tons to 300. The galleons, ofwhich there were about sixty, were huge round-stemmed clumsy vessels, with bulwarks three or four feet thick, and built up at stem and stern, like castles. The galeasses of which there were four--were a third largerthan the ordinary galley, and were rowed each by three hundredgalley-slaves. They consisted of an enormous towering fortress at thestern; a castellated structure almost equally massive in front, withseats for the rowers amidships. At stem and stern and between each of theslaves' benches were heavy cannon. These galeasses were floatingedifices, very wonderful to contemplate. They were gorgeously decorated. There were splendid state-apartments, cabins, chapels, and pulpits ineach, and they were amply provided with awnings, cushions, streamers, standards, gilded saints, and bands of music. To take part in anostentatious pageant, nothing could be better devised. To fulfil thegreat objects of a war-vessel--to sail and to fight--they were the worstmachines ever launched upon the ocean. The four galleys were similar tothe galeasses in every respect except that of size, in which they were byone-third inferior. 

All the ships of the fleet--galeasses, galleys, galleons, and hulks--wereso encumbered with top-hamper, so overweighted in proportion to theirdraught of water, that they could bear but little canvas, even withsmooth seas and light and favourable winds. In violent tempests, therefore, they seemed likely to suffer. To the eyes of the 16th centurythese vessels seemed enormous. A ship of 1300 tons was then a monsterrarely seen, and a fleet, numbering from 130 to 150 sail, with anaggregate tonnage of 60, 000, seemed sufficient to conquer the world, andto justify the arrogant title, by which it had baptized itself, of theInvincible. 

Such was the machinery which Philip had at last set afloat, for thepurpose of dethroning Elizabeth and establishing the inquisition inEngland. One hundred and forty ships, eleven thousand Spanish veterans, as many more recruits, partly Spanish, partly Portuguese, 2000 grandees, as many galley-slaves, and three hundred barefooted friars andinquisitors. 

The plan was simple. Medina Sidonia was to proceed straight from Lisbonto Calais roads: there he was to wait: for the Duke of Parma, who was tocome forth from Newport, Sluys, and Dunkerk, bringing with him his 17, 000veterans, and to assume the chief command of the whole expedition. Theywere then to cross the channel to Dover, land the army of Parma, reinforced with 6000 Spaniards from the fleet, and with these 23, 000 menAlexander was to march at once upon London. Medina Sidonia was to seizeand fortify the Isle of Wight, guard the entrance of the harbours againstany interference from the Dutch and English fleets, and--so soon as theconquest of England had been effected--he was to proceed to Ireland. Ithad been the wish of Sir William Stanley that Ireland should besubjugated first, as a basis of operations against England; but this hadbeen overruled. The intrigues of Mendoza and Farnese, too, with theCatholic nobles of Scotland, had proved, after all, unsuccessful. KingJames had yielded to superior offers of money and advancement held out tohim by Elizabeth, and was now, in Alexander's words, a confirmed heretic. 

There was no course left, therefore, but to conquer England at once. Astrange omission had however been made in the plan from first to last. The commander of the whole expedition was the Duke of Parma: on his headwas the whole responsibility. Not a gun was to be fired--if it could beavoided--until he had come forth with his veterans to make his junctionwith the Invincible Armada off Calais. Yet there was no arrangementwhatever to enable him to come forth--not the slightest provision toeffect that junction. It would almost seem that the letter-writer of theEscorial had been quite ignorant of the existence of the Dutch fleets offDunkerk, Newport, and Flushing, although he had certainly receivedinformation enough of this formidable obstacle to his plan. 

"Most joyful I shall be, " said Farnese--writing on one of the days whenhe had seemed most convinced by Valentine Dale's arguments, and driven todespair by his postulates--"to see myself with these soldiers on Englishground, where, with God's help, I hope to accomplish your Majesty'sdemands. " He was much troubled however to find doubts entertained at thelast moment as to his 6000 Spaniards; and certainly it hardly needed anargument to prove that the invasion of England with but 17, 000 soldierswas a somewhat hazardous scheme. Yet the pilot Moresini had brought himletters from Medina Sidonia, in which the Duke expressed hesitation aboutparting with these 6000 veterans; unless the English fleet should havebeen previously destroyed, and had also again expressed his hope thatParma would be punctual to the rendezvous. Alexander immediately combatedthese views in letters to Medina and to the King. He avowed that he wouldnot depart one tittle from the plan originally laid down. The 6000 men, and more if possible, were to be furnished him, and the Spanish Armadawas to protect his own flotilla, and to keep the channel clear ofenemies. No other scheme was possible, he said, for it was clear that hiscollection of small flat-bottomed river-boats and hoys could not evenmake the passage, except in smooth weather. They could not contend with astorm, much less with the enemy's ships, which would destroy them utterlyin case of a meeting, without his being able to avail himself of hissoldiers--who would be so closely packed as to be hardly moveable--or ofany human help. The preposterous notion that he should come out with hisflotilla to make a junction with Medina off Calais, was over and overagain denounced by Alexander with vehemence and bitterness, and mostboding expressions were used by him as to the probable result, were sucha delusion persisted in. 

Every possible precaution therefore but one had been taken. The King ofFrance--almost at the same instant in which Guise had been receiving hislatest instructions from the Escorial for dethroning and destroying thatmonarch--had been assured by Philip of his inalienable affection; hadbeen informed of the object of this great naval expedition--which was notby any means, as Mendoza had stated to Henry, an enterprise againstFrance or England, but only a determined attempt to clear the sea, oncefor all, of these English pirates who had done so much damage for yearspast on the high seas--and had been requested, in case any Spanish shipshould be driven by stress of weather into French ports, to afford themthat comfort and protection to which the vessels of so close and friendlyan ally were entitled. 

Thus there was bread, beef, and powder enough--there were monks andpriests enough--standards, galley-slaves, and inquisitors enough; butthere were no light vessels in the Armada, and no heavy vessels inParma's fleet. Medina could not go to Farnese, nor could Farnese come toMedina. The junction was likely to be difficult, and yet it had neveronce entered the heads of Philip or his counsellors to provide for thatdifficulty. The King never seemed to imagine that Farnese, with 40, 000 or50, 000 soldiers in the Netherlands, a fleet of 300 transports, and powerto dispose of very large funds for one great purpose, could be kept inprison by a fleet of Dutch skippers and corsairs. 

With as much sluggishness as might have been expected from their clumsyarchitecture, the ships of the Armada consumed nearly three weeks insailing from Lisbon to the neighbourhood of Cape Finisterre. Here theywere overtaken by a tempest, and were scattered hither and thither, almost at the mercy of the winds and waves; for those unwieldy hulks wereill adapted to a tempest in the Bay of Biscay. There were those in theArmada, however, to whom the storm was a blessing. David Gwynn, a Welshmariner, had sat in the Spanish hulks a wretched galley-slave--asprisoner of war for more than eleven years, hoping, year after year, fora chance of escape from bondage. He sat now among the rowers of the greatgalley, the Trasana, one of the humblest instruments by which thesubjugation of his native land to Spain and Rome was to be effected. 

Very naturally, among the ships which suffered most in the gale were thefour huge unwieldy galleys--a squadron of four under Don Diego deMedrado--with their enormous turrets at stem and stern, and their low andopen waists. The chapels, pulpits, and gilded Madonnas proved of littleavail in a hurricane. The Diana, largest of the four, went down with allhands; the Princess was labouring severely in the trough of the sea, andthe Trasana was likewise in imminent danger. So the master of this galleyasked the Welsh slave, who had far more experience and seamanship than hepossessed himself, if it were possible to save the vessel. Gwynn saw anopportunity for which he had been waiting eleven years. He was ready toimprove it. He pointed out to the captain the hopelessness of attemptingto overtake the Armada. They should go down, he said, as the Diana hadalready done, and as the Princess was like at any moment to do, unlessthey took in every rag of sail, and did their best with their oars togain the nearest port. But in order that the rowers might exertthemselves to the utmost, it was necessary that the soldiers, who were auseless incumbrance on deck, should go below. Thus only could the ship beproperly handled. The captain, anxious to save his ship and his life, consented. Most of the soldiers were sent beneath the hatches: a few wereordered to sit on the benches among the slaves. Now there had been asecret understanding for many days among these unfortunate men, nor werethey wholly without weapons. They had been accustomed to make toothpicksand other trifling articles for sale out of broken sword-blades and otherrefuse bits of steel. There was not a man among them who had not thusprovided himself with a secret stiletto. 

At first Gwynn occupied himself with arrangements for weathering thegale. So soon however as the ship had been made comparatively easy, helooked around him, suddenly threw down his cap, and raised his hand tothe rigging. It was a preconcerted signal. The next instant he stabbedthe captain to the heart, while each one of the galley-slaves killed thesoldier nearest him; then, rushing below, they surprised and overpoweredthe rest of the troops, and put them all to death. 

Coming again upon deck, David Gwynn descried the fourth galley of thesquadron, called the Royal, commanded by Commodore Medrado in person, bearing down upon them, before the wind. It was obvious that the Vasanawas already an object of suspicion. 

"Comrades, " said Gwynn, "God has given us liberty, and by our courage wemust prove ourselves worthy of the boon. "

As he spoke there came a broadside from the galley Royal which killednine of his crew. David, nothing daunted; laid his ship close alongsideof the Royal, with such a shock that the timbers quivered again. Then atthe head of his liberated slaves, now thoroughly armed, he dashed onboard the galley, and, after a furious conflict, in which he was assistedby the slaves of the Royal, succeeded in mastering the vessel, andputting all the Spanish soldiers to death. This done, the combinedrowers, welcoming Gwynn as their deliverer from an abject slavery whichseemed their lot for life, willingly accepted his orders. The gale hadmeantime abated, and the two galleys, well conducted by the experiencedand intrepid Welshman, made their way to the coast of France, and landedat Bayonne on the 31st, dividing among them the property found on boardthe two galleys. Thence, by land, the fugitives, four hundred andsixty-six in number--Frenchmen, Spaniards, Englishmen, Turks, and Moors, made their way to Rochelle. Gwynn had an interview with Henry of Navarre, and received from that chivalrous king a handsome present. Afterwards hefound his way to England, and was well commended by the Queen. The restof the liberated slaves dispersed in various directions. 

This was the first adventure of the invincible Armada. Of the squadron ofgalleys, one was already sunk in the sea, and two of the others had beenconquered by their own slaves. The fourth rode out the gale withdifficulty, and joined the rest of the fleet, which ultimatelyre-assembled at Coruna; the ships having, in distress, put in at first atVivera, Ribadeo, Gijon, and other northern ports of Spain. At theGroyne--as the English of that day were accustomed to call Coruna--theyremained a month, repairing damages and recruiting; and on the 22nd ofJuly 3 (N. S. ) the Armada set sail: Six days later, the Spaniards tooksoundings, thirty leagues from the Scilly Islands, and on--Friday, the29th of July, off the Lizard, they had the first glimpse of the land ofpromise presented them by Sixtus V. , of which they had at last come totake possession. 

 [The dates in the narrative will be always given according to the New Style, then already adopted by Spain, Holland, and France, although not by England. The dates thus given are, of course, ten days later than they appear in contemporary English records. ]

On the same day and night the blaze and smoke of ten thousandbeacon-fires from the Land's End to Margate, and from the Isle of Wightto Cumberland, gave warning to every Englishman that the enemy was atlast upon them. Almost at that very instant intelligence had been broughtfrom the court to the Lord-Admiral at Plymouth, that the Armada, dispersed and shattered by the gales of June, was not likely to make itsappearance that year; and orders had consequently been given to disarmthe four largest ships, and send them into dock. Even Walsingham, asalready stated, had participated in this strange delusion. 

Before Howard had time to act upon this ill-timed suggestion--even had hebeen disposed to do so--he received authentic intelligence that the greatfleet was off the Lizard. Neither he nor Francis Drake were the men tolose time in such an emergency, and before that Friday, night was spent, sixty of the best English ships had been warped out of Plymouth harbour. 

On Saturday, 30th July, the wind was very light at southwest, with a mistand drizzling rain, but by three in the afternoon the two fleets coulddescry and count each other through the haze. 

By nine o'clock, 31st July, about two miles from Looe, on the Cornishcoast, the fleets had their first meeting. There were 136 sail of theSpaniards, of which ninety were large ships, and sixty-seven of theEnglish. It was a solemn moment. The long-expected Armada presented apompous, almost a theatrical appearance. The ships seemed arranged for apageant, in honour of a victory already won. Disposed in form of acrescent, the horns of which were seven miles asunder, those gilded, towered, floating castles, with their gaudy standards and their martialmusic, moved slowly along the channel, with an air of indolent pomp. Their captain-general, the golden Duke, stood in his private shot-prooffortress, on the--deck of his great galleon the Saint Martin, surroundedby generals of infantry, and colonels of cavalry, who knew as little ashe did himself of naval matters. The English vessels, on the otherhand--with a few exceptions, light, swift, and easily handled--could sailround and round those unwieldy galleons, hulks, and galleys rowed byfettered slave-gangs. The superior seamanship of free Englishmen, commanded by such experienced captains as Drake, Frobisher, andHawkins--from infancy at home on blue water--was manifest in the very, first encounter. They obtained the weather-gage at once, and cannonadedthe enemy at intervals with considerable effect, easily escaping at willout of range of the sluggish Armada, which was incapable of bearing sailin pursuit, although provided with an armament which could sink all itsenemies at close quarters. "We had some small fight with them that Sundayafternoon, " said Hawkins. 

Medina Sidonia hoisted the royal standard at the fore, and the wholefleet did its utmost, which was little, to offer general battle. It wasin vain. The English, following at the heels of the enemy, refused allsuch invitations, and attacked only the rear-guard of the Armada, whereRecalde commanded. That admiral, steadily maintaining his post, faced hisnimble antagonists, who continued to teaze, to maltreat, and to eludehim, while the rest of the fleet proceeded slowly up the Channel closely, followed by the enemy. And thus the running fight continued along thecoast, in full view of Plymouth, whence boats with reinforcements andvolunteers were perpetually arriving to the English ships, until thebattle had drifted quite out of reach of the town. 

Already in this first "small fight" the Spaniards had learned a lesson, and might even entertain a doubt of their invincibility. But before thesun set there were more serious disasters. Much powder and shot had beenexpended by the Spaniards to very little purpose, and so a master-gunneron board Admiral Oquendo's flag-ship was reprimanded for carelessball-practice. The gunner, who was a Fleming, enraged with his captain, laid a train to the powder-magazine, fired it, and threw himself into thesea. Two decks blew up. The into the clouds, carrying with it thepaymaster-general of the fleet, a large portion of treasure, and nearlytwo hundred men. ' The ship was a wreck, but it was possible to save therest of the crew. So Medina Sidonia sent light vessels to remove them, and wore with his flag-ship, to defend Oquendo, who had already beenfastened upon by his English pursuers. But the Spaniards, not being solight in hand as their enemies, involved themselves in much embarrassmentby this manoeuvre; and there was much falling foul of each other, entanglement of rigging, and carrying away of yards. Oquendo's men, however, were ultimately saved, and taken to other ships. 

Meantime Don Pedro de Valdez, commander of the Andalusian squadron, having got his galleon into collision with two or three Spanish shipssuccessively, had at last carried away his fore-mast close to the deck, and the wreck had fallen against his main-mast. He lay crippled andhelpless, the Armada was slowly deserting him, night was coming on, thesea was running high, and the English, ever hovering near, were ready tograpple with him. In vain did Don Pedro fire signals of distress. Thecaptain-general, even as though the unlucky galleon had not beenconnected with the Catholic fleet--calmly fired a gun to collect hisscattered ships, and abandoned Valdez to his fate. "He left mecomfortless in sight of the whole fleet, " said poor Pedro, "and greaterinhumanity and unthankfulness I think was never heard of among men. "

Yet the Spaniard comported himself most gallantly. Frobisher, in thelargest ship of the English fleet, the Triumph, of 1100 tons, and Hawkinsin the Victory, of 800, cannonaded him at a distance, but, night comingon, he was able to resist; and it was not till the following morning thathe surrendered to the Revenge. 

Drake then received the gallant prisoner on board his flagship--much tothe disgust and indignation of Frobisher and Hawkins, thus disappointedof their prize and ransom-money--treated him with much courtesy, and gavehis word of honour that he and his men should be treated fairly like goodprisoners of war. This pledge was redeemed, for it was not the English, as it was the Spanish custom, to convert captives into slaves, but onlyto hold them for ransom. Valdez responded to Drake's politeness bykissing his hand, embracing him, and overpowering him with magnificentcompliments. He was then sent on board the Lord-Admiral, who received himwith similar urbanity, and expressed his regret that so distinguished apersonage should have been so coolly deserted by the Duke of Medina. DonPedro then returned to the Revenge, where, as the guest of Drake, he wasa witness to all subsequent events up to the 10th of August, on which dayhe was sent to London with some other officers, Sir Francis claiming hisransom as his lawful due. 

Here certainly was no very triumphant beginning for the InvincibleArmada. On the very first day of their being in presence of the Englishfleet--then but sixty-seven in number, and vastly their inferior in sizeand weight of metal--they had lost the flag ships of the Guipuzcoan andof the Andalusian squadrons, with a general-admiral, 450 officers and, men, and some 100, 000 ducats of treasure. They had been out-manoeuvred, out-sailed, and thoroughly maltreated by their antagonists, and they hadbeen unable to inflict a single blow in return. Thus the "small fight"had been a cheerful one for the opponents of the Inquisition, and theEnglish were proportionably encouraged. 

On Monday, 1st of August, Medina Sidonia placed the rear-guard-consistingof the galeasses, the galleons St. Matthew, St. Luke, St. James, and theFlorence and other ships, forty-three in all--under command of DonAntonio de Leyva. He was instructed to entertain the enemy--so constantlyhanging on the rear--to accept every chance of battle, and to come toclose quarters whenever it should be possible. The Spaniards feltconfident of sinking every ship in the English navy, if they could butonce come to grappling; but it was growing more obvious every hour thatthe giving or withholding battle was entirely in the hands of their foes. Meantime--while the rear was thus protected by Leyva's division--thevanguard and main body of the Armada, led by the captain-general, wouldsteadily pursue its way, according to the royal instructions, until itarrived at its appointed meeting-place with the Duke of Parma. Moreover, the Duke of Medina--dissatisfied with the want of discipline and of goodseamanship hitherto displayed in his fleet--now took occasion to send aserjeant-major, with written sailing directions, on board each ship inthe Armada, with express orders to hang every captain, without appeal orconsultation, who should leave the position assigned him; and the hangmenwere sent with the sergeant-majors to ensure immediate attention to thesearrangements. Juan Gil was at the name time sent off in a sloop to theDuke of Parma, to carry the news of the movements of the Armada, torequest information as to the exact spot and moment of the junction, andto beg for pilots acquainted with the French and Flemish coasts. "In caseof the slightest gale in the world, " said Medina, "I don't know how orwhere to shelter such large ships as ours. "

Disposed in this manner; the Spaniards sailed leisurely along the Englishcoast with light westerly breezes, watched closely by the Queen's fleet, which hovered at a moderate distance to windward, without offering, thatday, any obstruction to their course. 

By five o'clock on Tuesday morning, 2nd of August, the Armada lay betweenPortland Bill and St. Albans' Head, when the wind shifted to thenorth-east, and gave the Spaniards the weather-gage. The English didtheir beat to get to windward, but the Duke, standing close into the landwith the whole Armada, maintained his advantage. The English then wentabout, making a tack seaward, and were soon afterwards assaulted by theSpaniards. A long and spirited action ensued. Howard in his littleArk-Royal--"the odd ship of the world for all conditions"--was engaged atdifferent times with Bertendona, of the Italian squadron, with Alonzo deLeyva in the Batta, and with other large vessels. He was hard pressed fora time, but was gallantly supported by the Nonpareil, Captain Tanner; andafter a long and confused combat, in which the St. Mark, the St. Luke, the St. Matthew, the St. Philip, the St. John, the St. James, the St. John Baptist, the St. Martin, and many other great galleons, with saintlyand apostolic names, fought pellmell with the Lion, the Bear, the Bull, the Tiger, the Dreadnought, the Revenge, the Victory, the Triumph, andother of the more profanely-baptized English ships, the Spaniards wereagain baffled in all their attempts to close with, and to board, theirever-attacking, ever-flying adversaries. The cannonading was incessant. "We had a sharp and a long fight, " said Hawkins. Boat-loads of men andmunitions were perpetually arriving to the English, and many, high-bornvolunteers--like Cumberland, Oxford, Northumberland, Raleigh, Brooke, Dudley, Willoughby, Noel, William Hatton, Thomas Cecil, and others--couldno longer restrain their impatience, as the roar of battle sounded alongthe coasts of Dorset, but flocked merrily on board the ships ofDrake, --Hawkins, Howard, and Frobisher, or came in small vessels whichthey had chartered for themselves, in order to have their share in thedelights of the long-expected struggle. 

The action, irregular, desultory, but lively, continued nearly all day, and until the English had fired away most of their powder and shot. TheSpaniards, too, notwithstanding their years of preparation, were alreadysort of light metal, and Medina Sidonia had been daily sending to Parmafor a Supply of four, six, and ten pound balls. So much lead andgunpowder had never before been wasted in a single day; for there was nogreat damage inflicted on either side. The artillery-practice wascertainly not much to the credit of either nation. 

"If her Majesty's ships had been manned with a full supply of goodgunners, " said honest William Thomas, an old artilleryman, "it would havebeen the woefullest time ever the Spaniard took in hand, and the mostnoble victory ever heard of would have been her Majesty's. But our sinswere the cause that so much powder and shot were spent, so long time infight, and in comparison so little harm done. It were greatly to bewished that her Majesty were no longer deceived in this way. "

Yet the English, at any rate, had succeeded in displaying theirseamanship, if not their gunnery, to advantage. In vain the unwieldlyhulks and galleons had attempted to grapple with their light-winged foes, who pelted them, braved them, damaged their sails and gearing; and thendanced lightly off into the distance; until at last, as night fell, thewind came out from the west again, and the English regained and kept theweather-gage. 

The Queen's fleet, now divided into four squadrons, under Howard, Drake, Hawkins, and Frobisher, amounted to near one hundred sail, exclusive ofLord Henry Seymour's division, which was cruising in the Straits ofDover. But few of all this number were ships of war however, and themerchant vessels; although zealous and active enough, were not thoughtvery effective. "If you had seen the simple service done by the merchantsand coast ships, " said Winter, "you would have said we had been littleholpen by them, otherwise than that they did make a show. "

All night the Spaniards, holding their course towards Calais, after thelong but indecisive conflict had terminated, were closely pursued bytheir wary antagonists. On Wednesday, 3rd of August, there was someslight cannonading, with but slender results; and on Thursday, the 4th, both fleets were off Dunnose, on the Isle of Wight. The great hulkSantana and a galleon of Portugal having been somewhat damaged theprevious day, were lagging behind the rest of the Armada, and werevigorously attacked by the Triumph, and a few other vessels. Don Antoniode Leyva, with some of the galeasses and large galleons, came to therescue, and Frobisher, although in much peril, maintained an unequalconflict, within close range, with great spirit. 

Seeing his danger, the Lord Admiral in the Ark-Royal, accompanied by theGolden Lion; the White Bear, the Elizabeth, the Victory, and theLeicester, bore boldly down into the very midst of the Spanish fleet, andlaid himself within three or four hundred yards of Medina's flag ship, the St. Martin, while his comrades were at equally close quarters withVice-Admiral Recalde and the galleons of Oquendo, Mexia, and Almanza. Itwas the hottest conflict which had yet taken place. Here at last wasthorough English work. The two, great fleets, which were there tosubjugate and to defend the realm of Elizabeth, were nearly yard-arm andyard-arm together--all England on the lee. Broadside after broadside ofgreat guns, volley after volley of arquebusry from maintop and rigging, were warmly exchanged, and much damage was inflicted on the Spaniards, whose gigantic ships, were so easy a mark to aim at, while from theirturreted heights they themselves fired for the most part harmlessly overthe heads of their adversaries. The leaders of the Armada, however, wereencouraged, for they expected at last to come to even closer quarters, and there were some among the English who were mad enough to wish toboard. 

But so soon as Frobisher, who was the hero of the day, had extricatedhimself from his difficulty, the Lord-Admiral--having no intention ofrisking the existence of his fleet, and with it perhaps of the Englishcrown, upon the hazard of a single battle, and having been himselfsomewhat damaged in the fight--gave the signal for retreat, and causedthe Ark-Royal to be towed out of action. Thus the Spaniards werefrustrated of their hopes, and the English; having inflicted much. Punishment at comparatively small loss to themselves, again stood off towindward; and the Armada continued its indolent course along the cliffsof Freshwater and Blackgang. 

On Friday; 5th August, the English, having received men and munitionsfrom shore, pursued their antagonists at a moderate distance; and theLord-Admiral; profiting by the pause--for, it was almost a flatcalm--sent for Martin Frobisher, John Hawkins, Roger Townsend, LordThomas Howard, son of the Duke of Norfolk, and Lord Edmund Sheffield; andon the deck of the Royal Ark conferred the honour of knighthood on eachfor his gallantry in the action of the previous day. Medina Sidonia, onhis part, was again despatching messenger after messenger to the Duke ofParma, asking for small shot, pilots, and forty fly-boats, with which topursue the teasing English clippers. The Catholic Armada, he said, beingso large and heavy, was quite in the power of its adversaries, who couldassault, retreat, fight, or leave off fighting, while he had nothing forit but to proceed, as expeditiously as might be; to his rendezvous inCalais roads. 

 ETEXT EDITOR'S BOOKMARKS:

 Inquisitors enough; but there were no light vessels in The Armada

CHAPTER XIX. 1588, Part 2. 

 Both Fleets off Calais--A Night of Anxiety--Project of Howard and Winter--Impatience of the Spaniards--Fire-Ships sent against the Armada--A great Galeasse disabled--Attacked and captured by English Boats--General Engagement of both Fleets--Loss of several Spanish Ships--Armada flies, followed by the English--English insufficiently provided--Are obliged to relinquish the Chase--A great Storm disperses the Armada--Great Energy of Parma Made fruitless by Philip's Dulness--England readier at Sea than on Shore--The Lieutenant--General's Complaints--His Quarrels with Norris and Williams--Harsh Statements as to the English Troops--Want of Organization in England--Royal Parsimony and Delay--Quarrels of English Admirals--England's narrow Escape from great Peril--Various Rumours as to the Armada's Fate--Philip for a long Time in Doubt--He believes himself victorious--Is tranquil when undeceived. 

And in Calais roads the great fleet--sailing slowly all next day incompany with the English, without a shot being fired on either side--atlast dropped anchor on Saturday afternoon, August 6th. 

Here then the Invincible Armada had arrived at its appointedresting-place. Here the great junction--of Medina Sidonia with the Dukeof Parma was to be effected; and now at last the curtain was to rise uponthe last act of the great drama so slowly and elaborately prepared. 

That Saturday afternoon, Lord Henry Seymour and his squadron of sixteenlay between Dungeness and Folkestone; waiting the approach of the twofleets. He spoke several-coasting vessels coming from the west; but theycould give him no information--strange to say--either of the Spaniardsor, of his own countrymen, --Seymour; having hardly three days' provisionin his fleet, thought that there might be time to take in supplies; andso bore into the Downs. Hardly had he been there half an hour; when apinnace arrived from the Lord-Admiral; with orders for Lord Henry'ssquadron to hold itself in readiness. There was no longer time forvictualling, and very soon afterwards the order was given to make sailand bear for the French coast. The wind was however so light; that thewhole day was spent before Seymour with his ships could cross thechannel. At last, towards seven in the evening; he saw the great SpanishArmada, drawn up in a half-moon, and riding at anchor--the ships verynear each other--a little to the eastward of Calais, and very near theshore. The English, under Howard Drake, Frobisher, and Hawkins, wereslowly following, and--so soon as Lord Henry, arriving from the oppositeshore; had made his junction with them--the whole combined fleet droppedanchor likewise very near Calais, and within one mile and a half of theSpaniards. That invincible force had at last almost reached itsdestination. It was now to receive the cooperation of the great Farnese, at the head of an army of veterans, disciplined on a hundredbattle-fields, confident from countless victories, and arrayed, as theyhad been with ostentatious splendour, to follow the most brilliantgeneral in Christendom on his triumphal march into the capital ofEngland. The long-threatened invasion was no longer an idle figment ofpoliticians, maliciously spread abroad to poison men's minds as to theintentions of a long-enduring but magnanimous, and on the whole friendlysovereign. The mask had been at last thrown down, and the mild accents ofPhilip's diplomatists and their English dupes, interchanging protocols sodecorously month after month on the sands of Bourbourg, had been drownedby the peremptory voice of English and Spanish artillery, suddenlybreaking in upon their placid conferences. It had now becomesupererogatory to ask for Alexander's word of honour whether he had, everheard of Cardinal Allan's pamphlet, or whether his master contemplatedhostilities against Queen Elizabeth. 

Never, since England was England, had such a sight been seen as nowrevealed itself in those narrow straits between Dover and Calais. Alongthat long, low, sandy shore, and quite within the range of the Calaisfortifications, one hundred and thirty Spanish ships--the greater numberof them the largest and most heavily armed in the world lay face to face, and scarcely out of cannon-shot, with one hundred and fifty Englishsloops and frigates, the strongest and swiftest that the island couldfurnish, and commanded by men whose exploits had rung through the world. 

Farther along the coast, invisible, but known to be performing a postperilous and vital service, was a squadron of Dutch vessels of all sizes, lining both the inner and outer edges of the sandbanks off the Flemishcoasts, and swarming in all the estuaries and inlets of that intricateand dangerous cruising-ground between Dunkerk and Walcheren. Those fleetsof Holland and Zeeland, numbering some one hundred and fifty galleons, sloops, and fly-boats, under Warmond, Nassau, Van der Does, de Moor, andRosendael, lay patiently blockading every possible egress from Newport, or Gravelines; or Sluys, or Flushing, or Dunkerk, and longing to grapplewith the Duke of Parma, so soon as his fleet of gunboats and hoys, packedwith his Spanish and Italian veterans, should venture to set forth uponthe sea for their long-prepared exploit. 

It was a pompous spectacle, that midsummer night, upon those narrow seas. The moon, which was at the full, was rising calmly upon a scene ofanxious expectation. Would she not be looking, by the morrow's night, upon a subjugated England, a re-enslaved Holland--upon the downfall ofcivil and religious liberty? Those ships of Spain, which lay there withtheir banners waving in the moonlight, discharging salvoes of anticipatedtriumph and filling the air with strains of insolent music; would theynot, by daybreak, be moving straight to their purpose, bearing theconquerors of the world to the scene of their cherished hopes?

That English fleet, too, which rode there at anchor, so anxiously on thewatch--would that swarm of, nimble, lightly-handled, but slendervessels, --which had held their own hitherto in hurried and desultoryskirmishes--be able to cope with their great antagonist now that themoment had arrived for the death grapple? Would not Howard, Drake, Frobisher, Seymour, Winter, and Hawkins, be swept out of the straits atlast, yielding an open passage to Medina, Oquendo, Recalde, and Farnese?Would those Hollanders and Zeelanders, cruising so vigilantly among theirtreacherous shallows, dare to maintain their post, now that the terrible'Holofernese, ' with his invincible legions, was resolved to come forth?

So soon as he had cast anchor, Howard despatched a pinnace to theVanguard, with a message to Winter to come on board the flag-ship. WhenSir William reached the Ark, it was already nine in the evening. He wasanxiously consulted by the Lord-Admiral as to the course now to be taken. Hitherto the English had been teasing and perplexing an enemy, on theretreat, as it were, by the nature of his instructions. Although anxiousto give battle, the Spaniard was forbidden to descend upon the coastuntil after his junction with Parma. So the English had played acomparatively easy game, hanging upon their enemy's skirts, maltreatinghim as they doubled about him, cannonading him from a distance, andslipping out of his reach at their pleasure. But he was now to be metface to face, and the fate of the two free commonwealths of the world wasupon the issue of the struggle, which could no longer be deferred. 

Winter, standing side by aide with the Lord-Admiral on the deck of thelittle Ark-Royal, gazed for the first time on those enormous galleons andgalleys with which his companion, was already sufficiently familiar. 

"Considering their hugeness, " said he, "twill not be possible to removethem but by a device. "

Then remembering, in a lucky moment, something that he had heard fouryears before of the fire ships sent by the Antwerpers against Parma'sbridge--the inventor of which, the Italian Gianibelli, was at that verymoment constructing fortifications on the Thames to assist the Englishagainst his old enemy Farnese--Winter suggested that some stratagem ofthe same kind should be attempted against the Invincible Armada. Therewas no time nor opportunity to prepare such submarine volcanoes as hadbeen employed on that memorable occasion; but burning ships at leastmight be sent among the fleet. Some damage would doubtless be thusinflicted by the fire, and perhaps a panic, suggested by the memories ofAntwerp and by the knowledge that the famous Mantuan wizard was then aresident of England, would be still more effective. In Winter's opinion, the Armada might at least be compelled to slip its cables, and be throwninto some confusion if the project were fairly carried out. 

Howard approved of the device, and determined to hold, next morning, acouncil of war for arranging the details of its execution. 

While the two sat in the cabin, conversing thus earnestly, there had wellnigh been a serious misfortune. The ship, White Bear, of 1000 tonsburthen, and three others of the English fleet, all tangled together, came drifting with the tide against the Ark. There were many yardscarried away; much tackle spoiled, and for a time there was great danger;in the opinion of Winter, that some of the very best ships in the fleetwould be crippled and quite destroyed on the eve of a general engagement. By alacrity and good handling, however, the ships were separated, and theill-consequences of an accident--such as had already proved fatal toseveral Spanish vessels--were fortunately averted. 

Next day, Sunday, 7th August, the two great fleets were still lying but amile and a half apart, calmly gazing at each other, and rising andfalling at their anchors as idly as if some vast summer regatta were theonly purpose of that great assemblage of shipping. Nothing as yet washeard of Farnese. Thus far, at least, the Hollanders had held him at bay, and there was still breathing-time before the catastrophe. So Howard hungout his signal for council early in the morning, and very soon afterDrake and Hawkins, Seymour, Winter, and the rest, were gravely consultingin his cabin. 

It was decided that Winter's suggestion should be acted upon, and SirHenry Palmer was immediately despatched in a pinnace to Dover, to bringoff a number of old vessels fit to be fired, together with a supply oflight wood, tar, rosin, sulphur, and other combustibles, most adapted tothe purpose. ' But as time wore away, it became obviously impossible forPalmer to return that night, and it was determined to make the most ofwhat could be collected in the fleet itself. Otherwise it was to befeared that the opportunity might be for ever lost. Parma, crushing allopposition, might suddenly appear at any moment upon the channel; and thewhole Spanish Armada, placing itself between him and his enemies, wouldengage the English and Dutch fleets, and cover his passage to Dover. Itwould then be too late to think of the burning ships. 

On the other hand, upon the decks of the Armada, there was an impatiencethat night which increased every hour. The governor of Calais; M. DeGourdon, had sent his nephew on board the flag-ship of Medina Sidonia, with courteous salutations, professions of friendship, and bountifulrefreshments. There was no fear--now that Mucio was for the time in theascendency--that the schemes of Philip would be interfered with byFrance. The governor, had, however, sent serious warning of--thedangerous position in which the Armada had placed itself. He was quiteright. Calais roads were no safe anchorage for huge vessels like those ofSpain and Portugal; for the tides and cross-currents to which they wereexposed were most treacherous. It was calm enough at the moment, but awesterly gale might, in a few hours, drive the whole fleet hopelesslyamong the sand-banks of the dangerous Flemish coast. Moreover, the Duke, although tolerably well furnished with charts and pilots for the Englishcoast, was comparatively unprovided against the dangers which might besethim off Dunkerk, Newport, and Flushing. He had sent messengers, day afterday, to Farnese, begging for assistance of various kinds, but, above all, imploring his instant presence on the field of action. It was the timeand, place for Alexander to assume the chief command. The Armada wasready to make front against the English fleet on the left, while on theright, the Duke, thus protected, might proceed across the channel andtake possession of England. 

And the impatience of the soldiers and sailors on board the fleet wasequal to that of their commanders. There was London almost before theireyes--a huge mass of treasure, richer and more accessible than thosemines beyond the Atlantic which had so often rewarded Spanish chivalrywith fabulous wealth. And there were men in those galleons who rememberedthe sack of Antwerp, eleven years before--men who could tell, frompersonal experience, how helpless was a great commercial city, when oncein the clutch of disciplined brigands--men who, in that dread 'fury ofAntwerp, ' had enriched themselves in an hour with the accumulations of amerchant's life-time, and who had slain fathers and mothers, sons anddaughters, brides and bridegrooms, before each others' eyes, until thenumber of inhabitants butchered in the blazing streets rose to manythousands; and the plunder from palaces and warehouses was counted bymillions; before the sun had set on the 'great fury. ' Those Spaniards, and Italians, and Walloons, were now thirsting for more gold, for moreblood; and as the capital of England was even more wealthy and far moredefenceless than the commercial metropolis of the Netherlands had been, so it was resolved that the London 'fury' should be more thorough andmore productive than the 'fury' of Antwerp, at the memory--of which theworld still shuddered. And these professional soldiers had been taught toconsider the English as a pacific, delicate, effeminate race, dependenton good living, without experience of war, quickly fatigued anddiscouraged, and even more easily to be plundered and butchered than werethe excellent burghers of Antwerp. 

And so these southern conquerors looked down from their great galleonsand galeasses upon the English vessels. More than three quarters of themwere merchantmen. There was no comparison whatever between the relativestrength of the fleets. In number they were about equal being each fromone hundred and thirty to one hundred and fifty strong--but the Spaniardshad twice the tonnage of the English, four times the artillery, andnearly three times the number of men. 

Where was Farnese? Most impatiently the Golden Duke paced the deck of theSaint Martin. Most eagerly were thousands of eyes strained towards theeastern horizon to catch the first glimpse of Parma's flotilla. But theday wore on to its close, and still the same inexplicable and mysterioussilence prevailed. There was utter solitude on the waters in thedirection of Gravelines and Dunkerk--not a sail upon the sea in thequarter where bustle and activity had been most expected. The mystery wasprofound, for it had never entered the head of any man in the Armada thatAlexander could not come out when he chose. 

And now to impatience succeeded suspicion and indignation; and there werecurses upon sluggishness and upon treachery. For in the horribleatmosphere of duplicity, in which all Spaniards and Italians of thatepoch lived, every man: suspected his brother, and already Medina Sidoniasuspected Farnese of playing him false. There were whispers of collusionbetween the Duke and the English commissioners at Bourbourg. There werehints that Alexander was playing his own game, that he meant to dividethe sovereignty of the Netherlands with the heretic Elizabeth, to deserthis great trust, and to effect, if possible, the destruction of hismaster's Armada, and the downfall of his master's sovereignty in thenorth. Men told each other, too, of a vague rumour, concerning whichAlexander might have received information, and in which many believed, that Medina Sidonia was the bearer of secret orders to throw Farnese intobondage, so soon as he should appear, to send him a disgraced captiveback to Spain for punishment, and to place the baton of command in thehand of the Duke of Pastrana, Philip's bastard by the Eboli. Thus, in theabsence of Alexander, all was suspense and suspicion. It seemed possiblethat disaster instead of triumph was in store for them through thetreachery of the commander-in-chief. Four and twenty hours and more, theyhad been lying in that dangerous roadstead, and although the weather hadbeen calm and the sea tranquil, there seemed something brooding in theatmosphere. 

As the twilight deepened, the moon became totally obscured, darkcloud-masses spread over the heavens, the sea grew black, distant thunderrolled, and the sob of an approaching tempest became distinctly audible. Such indications of a westerly gale, were not encouraging to thosecumbrous vessels, with the treacherous quicksands of Flanders under theirlee. 

At an hour past midnight, it was so dark that it was difficult for themost practiced eye to pierce far into the gloom. But a faint drip of oarsnow struck the ears of the Spaniards as they watched from the decks. Afew moments afterwards the sea became, suddenly luminous, and six flamingvessels appeared at a slight distance, bearing steadily down upon thembefore the wind and tide. 

There were men in the Armada who had been at the siege of Antwerp onlythree years before. They remembered with horror the devil-ships ofGianibelli, those floating volcanoes, which had seemed to rend earth andocean, whose explosion had laid so many thousands of soldiers dead at ablow, and which had shattered the bridge and floating forts of Farnese, as though they had been toys of glass. They knew, too, that the famousengineer was at that moment in England. 

In a moment one of those horrible panics, which spread with suchcontagious rapidity among large bodies of men, seized upon the Spaniards. There was a yell throughout the fleet--"the fire-ships of Antwerp, thefire-ships of Antwerp!" and in an instant every cable was cut, andfrantic attempts were made by each galleon and galeasse to escape whatseemed imminent destruction. The confusion was beyond description. Fouror five of the largest ships became entangled with each other. Two otherswere set on fire by the flaming--vessels, and were consumed. MedinaSidonia, who had been warned, even, before his departure from Spain, thatsome such artifice would probably be attempted, and who had even, earlythat morning, sent out a party of sailors in a pinnace to search forindications of the scheme, was not surprised or dismayed. He gaveorders--as well as might be that every ship, after the danger should bepassed, was to return to its post, and, await his further orders. But itwas useless, in that moment of unreasonable panic to issue commands. Thedespised Mantuan, who had met with so many rebuffs at Philip's court, andwho--owing to official incredulity had been but partially successful inhis magnificent enterprise at Antwerp, had now; by the mere terror of hisname, inflicted more damage on Philip's Armada than had hitherto beenaccomplished by Howard and Drake, Hawkins and Frobisher, combined. 

So long as night and darkness lasted, the confusion and uproar continued. When the Monday morning dawned, several of the Spanish vessels laydisabled, while the rest of the fleet was seen at a distance of twoleagues from Calais, driving towards the Flemish coast. The threatenedgale had not yet begun to blow, but there were fresh squalls from theW. S. W. , which, to such awkward sailers as the Spanish vessels; weredifficult to contend with. On the other hand, the English fleet were allastir; and ready to pursue the Spaniards, now rapidly drifting into theNorth Sea. In the immediate neighbourhood of Calais, the flagship of thesquadron of galeasses, commanded by Don Hugo de Moncada, was discoveredusing her foresail and oars, and endeavouring to enter the harbour. Shehad been damaged by collision with the St. John of Sicily and otherships, during the night's panic, and had her rudder quite torn away. Shewas the largest and most splendid vessel in the Armada--the show-ship ofthe fleet, --"the very glory and stay of the Spanish navy, " and during theprevious two days she had been visited and admired by great numbers ofFrenchmen from the shore. 

Lord Admiral Howard bore dawn upon her at once, but as she was already inshallow water, and was rowing steadily towards the town, he saw that theArk could not follow with safety. So he sent his long-boat to cut herout, manned with fifty or sixty volunteers, most of them "as valiant incourage as gentle in birth"--as a partaker in the adventure declared. TheMargaret and Joan of London, also following in pursuit, ran herselfaground, but the master despatched his pinnace with a body of musketeers, to aid in the capture of the galeasse. 

That huge vessel failed to enter the harbour, and stuck fast upon thebar. There was much dismay on board, but Don Hugo prepared resolutely todefend himself. The quays of Calais and the line of the French shore werelined with thousands of eager spectators, as the two boats-rowingsteadily toward a galeasse, which carried forty brass pieces ofartillery, and was manned with three hundred soldiers and four hundredand fifty slaves--seemed rushing upon their own destruction. Of thesedaring Englishmen, patricians and plebeians together, in two openpinnaces, there were not more than one hundred in number, all told. Theysoon laid themselves close to the Capitana, far below her lofty sides, and called on Don Hugo to surrender. The answer was, a smile of derisionfrom the haughty Spaniard, as he looked down upon them from what seemedan inaccessible height. Then one Wilton, coxswain of the Delight; ofWinter's squadron, clambered up to the enemy's deck and fell dead thesame instant. Then the English volunteers opened a volley upon theSpaniards; "They seemed safely ensconced in their ships, " said bold DickTomson, of the Margaret and Joan, "while we in our open pinnaces, and farunder them, had nothing to shroud and cover us. " Moreover the numberswere, seven hundred and fifty to one hundred. But, the Spaniards, stillquite disconcerted by the events of the preceding night, seemed under aspell. Otherwise it would have been an easy matter for the great galeasseto annihilate such puny antagonists in a very short space of time. 

The English pelted the Spaniards quite cheerfully, however, with arquebusshot, whenever they showed themselves above the bulwarks, picked off aconsiderable number, and sustained a rather severe loss themselves, Lieutenant Preston of the Ark-Royal, among others, being dangerouslywounded. "We had a pretty skirmish for half-an-hour, " said Tomson. Atlast Don Hugo de Moncada, furious at the inefficiency of his men, andleading them forward in person, fell back on his deck with a bulletthrough both eyes. The panic was instantaneous, for, meantime, severalother English boats--some with eight, ten; or twelve men on board--wereseen pulling--towards the galeasse; while the dismayed soldiers at onceleaped overboard on the land side, and attempted to escape by swimmingand wading to the shore. Some of them succeeded, but the greater numberwere drowned. The few who remained--not more, than twenty in all--hoistedtwo handkerchiefs upon two rapiers as a signal of truce. The English, accepting it as a signal of defeat; scrambled with great difficulty upthe lofty sides of the Capitana, and, for an hour and a half, occupiedthemselves most agreeably in plundering the ship and in liberating theslaves. 

It was their intention, with the flood-tide, to get the vessel off, asshe was but slightly damaged, and of very great value. But a seriousobstacle arose to this arrangement. For presently a boat came along-side, with young M. De Gourdon and another French captain, and hailed thegaleasse. There was nobody on board who could speak French but RichardTomson. So Richard returned the hail, and asked their business. They saidthey came from the governor. 

"And what is the--governor's pleasure?" asked Tomson, when they had comeup the side. 

"The governor has stood and beheld your fight, and rejoiced in yourvictory, " was the reply; "and he says that for your prowess and manhoodyou well deserve the pillage of the galeasse. He requires and commandsyou, however, not to attempt carrying off either the ship or itsordnance; for she lies a-ground under the battery of his castle, andwithin his jurisdiction, and does of right appertain to him. "

This seemed hard upon the hundred volunteers, who, in their two openboats, had so manfully carried a ship of 1200 tons, 40 guns, and 750 men;but Richard answered diplomatically. 

"We thank M. De Gourdon, " said he, "for granting the pillage to marinersand soldiers who had fought for it, and we acknowledge that without hisgood-will we cannot carry away anything we have got, for the ship lies onground directly under his batteries and bulwarks. Concerning the ship andordnance, we pray that he would send a pinnace to my Lord Admiral Howard, who is here in person hard by, from whom he will have an honourable andfriendly answer, which we shall all-obey. "

With this--the French officers, being apparently content, were about todepart, and it is not impossible that the soft answer might have obtainedthe galeasse and the ordnance, notwithstanding the arrangement whichPhilip II. Had made with his excellent friend Henry III. For aid andcomfort to Spanish vessels in French ports. Unluckily, however, theinclination for plunder being rife that morning, some of the Englishmenhustled their French visitors, plundered them of their rings and jewels, as if they had been enemies, and then permitted them to depart. Theyrowed off to the shore, vowing vengeance, and within a few minutes aftertheir return the battery of the fort was opened upon the English, andthey were compelled to make their escape as they could with the plunderalready secured, leaving the galeasse in the possession of M. De Gourdon. 

This adventure being terminated, and the pinnaces having returned to thefleet, the Lord-Admiral, who had been lying off and on, now bore awaywith all his force in pursuit of the Spaniards. The Invincible Armada, already sorely crippled, was standing N. N. E. Directly before a freshtopsail-breeze from the S. S. W. The English came up with them soon afternine o'clock A. M. Off Gravelines, and found them sailing in a half-moon, the admiral and vice-admiral in the centre, and the flanks protected bythe three remaining galeasses and by the great galleons of Portugal. 

Seeing the enemy approaching, Medina Sidonia ordered his whole fleet toluff to the wind, and prepare for action. The wind shifting a few points, was now at W. N. W. , so that the English had both the weather-gage and thetide in their favour. A general combat began at about ten, and it wassoon obvious to the Spaniards that their adversaries were intending warmwork. Sir Francis Drake in the Revenge, followed by, Frobisher in theTriumph, Hawkins in the Victory, and some smaller vessels, made the firstattack upon the Spanish flagships. Lord Henry in the Rainbow, Sir HenryPalmer in the Antelope, and others, engaged with three of the largestgalleons of the Armada, while Sir William Winter in the Vanguard, supported by most of his squadron, charged the starboard wing. 

The portion of the fleet thus assaulted fell back into the main body. Four of the ships ran foul of each other, and Winter, driving into theircentre, found himself within musket-shot of many of their mostformidable' ships. 

"I tell you, on the credit of a poor gentleman, " he said, "that therewere five hundred discharges of demi-cannon, culverin, and demi-culverin, from the Vanguard; and when I was farthest off in firing my pieces, I wasnot out of shot of their harquebus, and most time within speech, one ofanother. "

The battle lasted six hours long, hot and furious; for now there was noexcuse for retreat on the part of the Spaniards, but, on the contrary, itwas the intention of the Captain-General to return to his station offCalais, if it were within his power. Nevertheless the English stillpartially maintained the tactics which had proved so successful, andresolutely refused the fierce attempts of the Spaniards to lay themselvesalong-side. Keeping within musket-range, the well-disciplined Englishmariners poured broadside after broadside against the towering ships ofthe Armada, which afforded so easy a mark; while the Spaniards, on theirpart, found it impossible, while wasting incredible quantities of powderand shot, to inflict any severe damage on their enemies. Throughout theaction, not an English ship was destroyed, and not a hundred men werekilled. On the other hand, all the best ships of the Spaniards wereriddled through and through, and with masts and yards shattered, sailsand rigging torn to shreds, and a north-went wind still drifting themtowards the fatal sand-batiks of Holland, they, laboured heavily in achopping sea, firing wildly, and receiving tremendous punishment at thehands of Howard Drake, Seymour, Winter, and their followers. Not evenmaster-gunner Thomas could complain that day of "blind exercise" on thepart of the English, with "little harm done" to the enemy. There wasscarcely a ship in the Armada that did not suffer severely; for nearlyall were engaged in that memorable action off the sands of Gravelines. The Captain-General himself, Admiral Recalde, Alonzo de Leyva, Oquendo, Diego Flores de Valdez, Bertendona, Don Francisco de Toledo, Don Diego dePimentel, Telles Enriquez, Alonzo de Luzon, Garibay, with most of thegreat galleons and galeasses, were in the thickest of the fight, and oneafter the other each of those huge ships was disabled. Three sank beforethe fight was over, many others were soon drifting helpless wreckstowards a hostile shore, and, before five o'clock, in the afternoon, atleast sixteen of their best ships had been sacrificed, and from four tofive thousand soldiers killed. 

 ["God hath mightily preserved her Majesty's forces with the least losses that ever hath been heard of, being within the compass of so great volleys of shot, both small and great. I verily believe there is not threescore men lost of her Majesty's forces. " Captain J. Fenner to Walsingham, 4/14 Aug. 1588. (S. P. Office MS. )]

Nearly all the largest vessels of the Armada, therefore, having, beendisabled or damaged--according to a Spanish eye-witness--and all theirsmall shot exhausted, Medina Sidonia reluctantly gave orders to retreat. The Captain-General was a bad sailor; but he was, a chivalrous Spaniardof ancient Gothic blood, and he felt deep mortification at the plight ofhis invincible fleet, together with undisguised: resentment againstAlexander Farnese, through whose treachery and incapacity, he considered. The great Catholic cause to have been, so foully sacrificed. Crippled, maltreated, and diminished in number, as were his ships; he would havestill faced, the enemy, but the winds and currents were fast driving himon, a lee-shore, and the pilots, one and all, assured him that it wouldbe inevitable destruction to remain. After a slight and very ineffectualattempt to rescue Don Diego de Pimentel in the St. Matthew--who refusedto leave his disabled ship--and Don Francisco de Toledo; whose greatgalleon, the St. Philip, was fast driving, a helpless wreck, towardsZeeland, the Armada bore away N. N. E. Into the open sea, leaving those, who could not follow, to their fate. 

The St. Matthew, in a sinking condition, hailed a Dutch fisherman, whowas offered a gold chain to pilot her into Newport. But the fisherman, being a patriot; steered her close to the Holland fleet, where she wasimmediately assaulted by Admiral Van der Does, to whom, after a twohours' bloody fight, she struck her flag. Don Diego, marshal of the campto the famous legion of Sicily, brother, of the Marquis of Tavera, nephewof the Viceroy of Sicily, uncle to the Viceroy of Naples, and numberingas many titles, dignities; and high affinities as could be expected of agrandee of the first class, was taken, with his officers, to the Hague. "I was the means, " said Captain Borlase, "that the best sort were saved, and the rest were cast overboard and slain at our entry. He, fought withus two hours; and hurt divers of our men, but at, last yielded. "

John Van der Does, his captor; presented the banner; of the Saint Matthewto the great church of Leyden, where--such was its prodigious length--ithung; from floor to ceiling without being entirely unrolled; and therehung, from generation to generation; a worthy companion to the Spanishflags which had been left behind when Valdez abandoned the siege of thatheroic city fifteen years before. 

The galleon St. Philip, one of the four largest ships in the Armada, dismasted and foundering; drifted towards Newport, where camp-marshal DonFrancisco de Toledo hoped in, vain for succour. La Motte made a feebleattempt at rescue, but some vessels from the Holland fleet, being muchmore active, seized the unfortunate galleon, and carried her intoFlushing. The captors found forty-eight brass cannon and other things ofvalue on board, but there were some casks of Ribadavia wine which wasmore fatal to her enemies than those pieces of artillery had proved. Forwhile the rebels were refreshing themselves, after the fatigues of thecapture, with large draughts of that famous vintage, the St. Philip, which had been bored through and through with English shot, and had beenrapidly filling with water, gave a sudden lurch, and went down in amoment, carrying with her to the bottom three hundred of those convivialHollanders. 

A large Biscay galleon, too, of Recalde's squadron, much disabled inaction, and now, like many others, unable to follow the Armada, wassummoned by Captain Cross of the Hope, 48 guns, to surrender. Althoughfoundering, she resisted, and refused to strike her flag. One of herofficers attempted to haul down her colours, and was run through the bodyby the captain, who, in his turn, was struck dead by a brother of theofficer thus slain. In the midst of this quarrel the ship went down withall her crew. 

Six hours and more, from ten till nearly five, the fight had lasted--amost cruel battle, as the Spaniard declared. There were men in the Armadawho had served in the action of Lepanto, and who declared that famousencounter to have been far surpassed in severity and spirit by this fightoff Gravelines. "Surely every man in our fleet did well, " said Winter, "and the slaughter the enemy received was great. " Nor would the Spaniardshave escaped even worse punishment, had not, most unfortunately, thepenurious policy of the Queen's government rendered her ships useless atlast, even in this supreme moment. They never ceased cannonading thediscomfited enemy until the ammunition was exhausted. "When thecartridges were all spent, " said Winter, "and the munitions in somevessels gone altogether, we ceased fighting, but followed the enemy, whostill kept away. " And the enemy--although still numerous, and seemingstrong enough, if properly handled, to destroy the whole Englishfleet--fled before them. There remained more than fifty Spanish vessels, above six hundred tons in size, besides sixty hulks and other vessels ofless account; while in the whole English navy were but thirteen ships ofor above that burthen. "Their force is wonderful great and strong, " saidHoward, "but we pluck their feathers by little and little. "

For Medina Sidonia had now satisfied himself that he should never succeedin boarding those hard-fighting and swift-sailing craft, while, meantime, the horrible panic of Sunday night and the succession of fightsthroughout the following day, had completely disorganized his followers. Crippled, riddled, shorn, but still numerous, and by no means entirelyvanquished, the Armada was flying with a gentle breeze before an enemywho, to save his existence; could not have fired a broadside. 

"Though our powder and shot was well nigh spent, " said the Lord-Admiral, "we put on a brag countenance and gave them chase, as though we hadwanted nothing. " And the brag countenance was successful, for that "oneday's service had much appalled the enemy" as Drake observed; and stillthe Spaniards fled with a freshening gale all through the Monday night. "A thing greatly to be regarded, " said Fenner, of the Nonpariel, "is thatthat the Almighty had stricken them with a wonderful fear. I have hardly, seen any of their companies succoured of the extremities which befellthem after their fights, but they have been left, at utter ruin, whilethey bear as much sail as ever they possibly can. "

On Tuesday morning, 9th August, the English ships were off the isle ofWalcheren, at a safe distance from the shore. "The wind is hangingwesterly, " said Richard Tomson, of the Margaret and Joan, "and we driveour enemies apace, much marvelling in what port they will directthemselves. Those that are left alive are so weak and heartless that theycould be well content to lose all charges and to be at home, both richand poor. "

"In my conscience, " said Sir William Winter, "I think the Duke wouldgive his dukedom to be in Spain again. "

The English ships, one-hundred and four in number, being that morninghalf-a-league to windward, the Duke gave orders for the whole Armada tolay to and, await their approach. But the English had no disposition toengage, for at, that moment the instantaneous destruction of theirenemies seemed inevitable. Ill-managed, panic-struck, staggering beforetheir foes, the Spanish fleet was now close upon the fatal sands ofZeeland. Already there were but six and a-half fathoms of water, rapidlyshoaling under their keels, and the pilots told Medina that all wereirretrievably lost, for the freshening north-welter was driving themsteadily upon the banks. The English, easily escaping the danger, hauledtheir wind, and paused to see the ruin of the proud Armada accomplishedbefore their eyes. Nothing but a change of wind at the instant could savethem from perdition. There was a breathless shudder of suspense, and thenthere came the change. Just as the foremost ships were about to ground onthe Ooster Zand, the wind suddenly veered to the south-west, and theSpanish ships quickly squaring their sails to the new impulse, stood outonce more into the open sea. 

All that day the galleons and galeasses, under all the canvas which theydared to spread, continued their flight before the south-westerly breeze, and still the Lord-Admiral, maintaining the brag countenance, followed, at an easy distance, the retreating foe. At 4 p. M. , Howard fired asignal gun, and ran up a flag of council. Winter could not go, for he hadbeen wounded in action, but Seymour and Drake, Hawkins, Frobisher, andthe rest were present, and it was decided that Lord Henry should return, accompanied by Winter and the rest of the inner, squadron, to guard theThames mouth against any attempt of the Duke of Parma, while the LordAdmiral and the rest of the navy should continue the pursuit of theArmada. 

Very wroth was Lord Henry at being deprived of his share in the chase. "The Lord-Admiral was altogether desirous to have me strengthen him, "said he, "and having done so to the utmost of my good-will and theventure of my life, and to the distressing of the Spaniards, which wasthoroughly done on the Monday last, I now find his Lordship jealous andloath to take part of the honour which is to come. So he has used hisauthority to command me to look to our English coast, threatened by theDuke of Parma. I pray God my Lord Admiral do not find the lack of theRainbow and her companions, for I protest before God I vowed I would beas near or nearer with my little ship to encounter our enemies as any ofthe greatest ships in both armies. "

There was no insubordination, however, and Seymour's squadron; attwilight of Tuesday evening, August 9th--according to orders, so that theenemy might not see their departure--bore away for Margate. But althoughWinter and Seymour were much disappointed at their enforced return, therewas less enthusiasm among the sailors of the fleet. Pursuing theSpaniards without powder or fire, and without beef and bread to eat, wasnot thought amusing by the English crews. Howard had not three days'supply of food in his lockers, and Seymour and his squadron had not foodfor one day. Accordingly, when Seymour and Winter took their departure, "they had much ado, " so Winter said; "with the staying of many ships thatwould have returned with them, besides their own company. " Had theSpaniards; instead of being panic-struck, but turned on their pursuers, what might have been the result of a conflict with starving and unarmedmen?

Howard, Drake, and Frobisher, with the rest of the fleet, followed theArmada through the North Sea from Tuesday night (9th August) till Friday(the 12th), and still, the strong southwester swept the Spaniards beforethem, uncertain whether to seek refuge, food, water, and room to repairdamages, in the realms of the treacherous King of Scots, or on theiron-bound coasts of Norway. Medina Sidonia had however quite abandonedhis intention of returning to England, and was only anxious for a safereturn: to Spain. So much did he dread that northern passage; unpiloted, around the grim Hebrides, that he would probably have surrendered, hadthe English overtaken him and once more offered battle. He was on thepoint of hanging out a white flag as they approached him for the lasttime--but yielded to the expostulations of the ecclesiastics on board theSaint Martin, who thought, no doubt, that they had more to fear fromEngland than from the sea, should they be carried captive to thatcountry, and who persuaded him that it would be a sin and a disgrace tosurrender before they had been once more attacked. 

On the other hand, the Devonshire skipper, Vice-Admiral Drake, nowthoroughly in his element, could not restrain his hilarity, as he saw theInvincible Armada of the man whose beard he had so often singed, rollingthrough the German Ocean, in full flight from the country which was tohave been made, that week, a Spanish province. Unprovided as were hisships, he was for risking another battle, and it is quite possible thatthe brag countenance might have proved even more successful than Howardthought. 

"We have the army of Spain before us, " wrote Drake, from the Revenge, "and hope with the grace of God to wrestle a pull with him. There neverwas any thing pleased me better than seeing the enemy flying with asoutherly wind to the northward. God grant you have a good eye to theDuke of Parma, for with the grace of God, if we live, I doubt not so tohandle the matter with the Duke of Sidonia as he shall wish himself atSt. Mary's Port among his orange trees. "

But Howard decided to wrestle no further pull. Having followed theSpaniards till Friday, 12th of August, as far as the latitude of 56d. 17'the Lord Admiral called a council. It was then decided, in order to saveEnglish lives and ships, to put into the Firth of Forth for water andprovisions, leaving two "pinnaces to dog, the fleet until it should bepast the Isles of Scotland. " But the next day, as the wind shifted to thenorth-west, another council decided to take advantage of the change, andbear away for the North Foreland, in order to obtain a supply of powder, shot, and provisions. 

Up to this period, the weather, though occasionally threatening, had beenmoderate. During the week which succeeded the eventful night off. Calais, neither the 'Armada nor the English ships had been much impeded in theirmanoeuvres by storms of heavy seas. But on the following Sunday, 14th ofAugust, there was a change. The wind shifted again to the south-west, and, during the whole of that day and the Monday, blew a tremendous gale. "'Twas a more violent storm, " said Howard, "than was ever seen before atthis time of the year. " The retreating English fleet was, scattered, manyships were in peril, "among the ill-favoured sands off Norfolk, " butwithin four or five days all arrived safely in Margate roads. 

Far different was the fate of the Spaniards. Over their InvincibleArmada, last seen by the departing English midway between the coasts ofScotland and Denmark, the blackness of night seemed suddenly to descend. A mystery hung for a long time over their fate. Damaged, leaking, withoutpilots, without a competent commander, the great fleet entered thatfurious storm, and was whirled along the iron crags of Norway and betweenthe savage rocks of Faroe and the Hebrides. In those regions of tempestthe insulted North wreaked its full vengeance on the insolent Spaniards. Disaster after disaster marked their perilous track; gale after galeswept them hither and thither, tossing them on sandbanks or shatteringthem against granite cliffs. The coasts of Norway, Scotland, Ireland, were strewn with the wrecks of that pompous fleet, which claimed thedominion of the seas with the bones of those invincible legions whichwere to have sacked London and made England a Spanish vice-royalty. 

Through the remainder of the month of August there, was a succession ofstorms. On the 2nd September a fierce southwester drove Admiral Oquendoin his galleon, together with one of the great galeasses, two largeVenetian ships, the Ratty and the Balauzara, and thirty-six othervessels, upon the Irish coast, where nearly every soul on board perished, while the few who escaped to the shore--notwithstanding their religiousaffinity with the inhabitants--were either butchered in cold blood, orsent coupled in halters from village to village, in order to be shippedto England. A few ships were driven on the English coast; others wentashore near Rochelle. 

Of the four galeasses and four galleys, one of each returned to Spain. Ofthe ninety-one great galleons and hulks, fifty-eight were lost andthirty-three returned. Of the tenders and zabras, seventeen were lost. And eighteen returned. Of one hundred and, thirty-four vessels, whichsailed from Corona in July, but fifty-three, great and small, made theirescape to Spain, and these were so damaged as to be, utterly worthless. The invincible Armada had not only been vanquished but annihilated. 

Of the 30, 000 men who sailed in the fleet; it is probable that not morethan 10, 000 ever saw their native land again. Most of the leaders of theexpedition lost their lives. Medina Sidonia reached Santander in October, and, as Philip for a moment believed, "with the greater part of theArmada, " although the King soon discovered his mistake. Recalde, DiegoFlores de Valdez, Oquendo, Maldonado, Bobadilla, Manriquez, eitherperished at sea, or died of exhaustion immediately after their return. Pedro de Valdez, Vasco de Silva, Alonzo de Sayas, Piemontel, Toledo, withmany other nobles, were prisoners in England and Holland. There washardly a distinguished family in Spain not placed in mourning, so that, to relieve the universal gloom, an edict was published, forbidding thewearing of mourning at all. On the other hand, a merchant of Lisbon, notyet reconciled to the Spanish conquest of his country, permitted himselfsome tokens of hilarity at the defeat of the Armada, and was immediatelyhanged by express command of Philip. Thus--as men said--one could neithercry nor laugh within the Spanish dominions. 

This was the result of the invasion, so many years preparing, and at anexpense almost incalculable. In the year 1588 alone, the cost of Philip'sarmaments for the subjugation of England could not have been less thansix millions of ducats, and there was at least as large a sum on boardthe Armada itself, although the Pope refused to pay his promised million. And with all this outlay, and with the sacrifice of so many thousandlives, nothing had been accomplished, and Spain, in a moment, instead ofseeming terrible to all the world, had become ridiculous. 

"Beaten and shuffled together from the Lizard to Calais, from Calaisdriven with squibs from their anchors, and chased out of sight of Englandabout Scotland and Ireland, " as the Devonshire skipper expressed himself, it must be confessed that the Spaniards presented a sorry sight. "Theirinvincible and dreadful navy, " said Drake, "with all its great andterrible ostentation, did not in all their sailing about England so muchas sink or take one ship, bark, pinnace, or cock-boat of ours, or evenburn so much as one sheep-tote on this land. "

Meanwhile Farnese sat chafing under the unjust reproaches heaped uponhim, as if he, and not his master, had been responsible for the giganticblunders of the invasion. 

"As for the Prince of Parma, " said Drake, "I take him to be as a bearrobbed of her whelps. " The Admiral was quite right. Alexander was besidehimself with rage. Day after day, he had been repeating to Medina Sidoniaand to Philip that his flotilla and transports could scarcely live in anybut the smoothest sea, while the supposition that they could serve awarlike purpose he pronounced absolutely ludicrous. He had alwayscounselled the seizing of a place like Flushing, as a basis of operationsagainst England, but had been overruled; and he had at least reckonedupon the Invincible Armada to clear the way for him, before he should beexpected to take the sea. 

With prodigious energy and at great expense he had constructed orimproved internal water-communications from Ghent to Sluy's, Newport, andDunkerk. He had, thus transported all his hoys, barges, and munitions forthe invasion, from all points of the obedient Netherlands to thesea-coast, without coming within reach of the Hollanders and Zeelanders, who were keeping close watch on the outside. But those Hollanders andZeelanders, guarding every outlet to the ocean, occupying every hole andcranny of the coast, laughed the invaders of England to scorn, bravingthem, jeering them, daring them to come forth, while the Walloons andSpaniards shrank before such amphibious assailants, to whom a combat onthe water was as natural as upon dry land. Alexander, upon one occasion, transported with rage, selected a band of one thousand musketeers, partlySpanish, partly Irish, and ordered an assault upon those insolentboatmen. With his own hand--so it was related--he struck dead more thanone of his own officers who remonstrated against these commands; and thenthe attack was made by his thousand musketeers upon the Hollanders, andevery man of the thousand was slain. 

He had been reproached for not being ready, for not having embarked hismen; but he had been ready for a month, and his men could be embarked ina single day. "But it was impossible, " he said, "to keep them long packedup on board vessels, so small that there was no room to turn about in thepeople would sicken, would rot, would die. " So soon as he had receivedinformation of the arrival of the fleet before Calais--which was on the8th August--he had proceeded the same night to Newport and embarked16, 000 men, and before dawn he was at Dunkerk, where the troops stationedin that port were as rapidly placed on board the transports. Sir WilliamStanley, with his 700 Irish kernes, were among the first shipped for theenterprise. Two-days long these regiments lay heaped together, likesacks of corn, in the boats--as one of their officers described it--andthey lay cheerfully hoping that the Dutch fleet would be swept out of thesea by the Invincible Armada, and patiently expecting the signal forsetting sail to England. Then came the Prince of Ascoli, who had goneashore from the Spanish fleet at Calais, accompanied by serjeant-majorGallinato and other messengers from Medina Sidonia, bringing the news ofthe fire-ships and the dispersion and flight of the Armada. 

"God knows, " said Alexander, "the distress in which this event hasplunged me, at the very moment when I expected to be sending your Majestymy congratulations on the success of the great undertaking. But these arethe works of the Lord, who can recompense your Majesty by giving you manyvictories, and the fulfilment of your Majesty's desires, when He thinksthe proper time arrived. Meantime let Him be praised for all, and letyour Majesty take great care of your health, which is the most importantthing of all. "

Evidently the Lord did not think the proper time yet arrived forfulfilling his Majesty's desires for the subjugation of England, andmeanwhile the King might find what comfort he could in pious commonplacesand in attention to his health. 

But it is very certain that, of all the high parties concerned, AlexanderFarnese was the least reprehensible for the over-throw of Philips hopes. No man could have been more judicious--as it has been sufficiently madeevident in the course of this narrative--in arranging all the details ofthe great enterprise, in pointing out all the obstacles, in providing forall emergencies. No man could have been more minutely faithful to hismaster, more treacherous to all the world beside. Energetic, inventive, patient, courageous; and stupendously false, he had covered Flanders withcanals and bridges, had constructed flotillas, and equipped a splendidarmy, as thoroughly as he had puzzled Comptroller Croft. And not only hadthat diplomatist and his wiser colleagues been hoodwinked, but Elizabethand Burghley, and, for a moment, even Walsingham, were in the dark, while Henry III. Had been his passive victim, and the magnificent Balafrea blind instrument in his hands. Nothing could equal Alexander'sfidelity, but his perfidy. Nothing could surpass his ability to commandbut his obedience. And it is very possible that had Philip followed hisnephew's large designs, instead of imposing upon him his own most puerileschemes; the result far England, Holland, and, all Christendom might havebeen very different from the actual one. The blunder against whichFarnese had in vain warned his master, was the stolid ignorance in whichthe King and all his counsellors chose to remain of the Holland andZeeland fleet. For them Warmond and Nassau, and Van der Does and Joost deMoor; did not exist, and it was precisely these gallant sailors, withtheir intrepid crews, who held the key to the whole situation. 

To the Queen's glorious naval-commanders, to the dauntless mariners ofEngland, with their well-handled vessels; their admirable seamanship, their tact and their courage, belonged the joys of the contest, thetriumph, and the glorious pursuit; but to the patient Hollanders andZeelanders, who, with their hundred vessels held Farneae, the chief ofthe great enterprise, at bay, a close prisoner with his whole army in hisown ports, daring him to the issue, and ready--to the last plank of theirfleet and to the last drop of their blood--to confront both him and theDuke of Medina Sidona, an equal share of honour is due. The safety of thetwo free commonwealths of the world in that terrible contest was achievedby the people and the mariners of the two states combined. 

Great was the enthusiasm certainly of the English people as thevolunteers marched through London to the place of rendezvous, andtremendous were the cheers when the brave Queen rode on horseback alongthe lines of Tilbury. Glowing pictures are revealed to us of merry littleEngland, arising in its strength, and dancing forth to encounter theSpaniards, as if to a great holiday. "It was a pleasant sight, " says thatenthusiastic merchant-tailor John Stowe, "to behold the cheerfulcountenances, courageous words, and gestures, of the soldiers, as theymarched to Tilbury, dancing, leaping wherever they came, as joyful at thenews of the foe's approach as if lusty giants were to run a race. AndBellona-like did the Queen infuse a second spirit of loyalty, love, andresolution, into every soldier of her army, who, ravished with theirsovereign's sight, prayed heartily that the Spaniards might land quickly, and when they heard they were fled, began to lament. "

But if the Spaniards had not fled, if there had been no English navy inthe Channel, no squibs at Calais, no Dutchmen off Dunkerk, there mighthave been a different picture to paint. No man who has, studied thehistory of those times, can doubt the universal and enthusiasticdetermination of the English nation to repel the invaders. Catholics andProtestants felt alike on the great subject. Philip did not flatter, himself with assistance from any English Papists, save exiles andrenegades like Westmoreland, Paget, Throgmorton, Morgan, Stanley, and therest. The bulk of the Catholics, who may have constituted half thepopulation of England, although malcontent, were not rebellious; andnotwithstanding the precautionary measures taken by government againstthem, Elizabeth proudly acknowledged their loyalty. 

But loyalty, courage, and enthusiasm, might not have sufficed to supplythe want of numbers and discipline. According to the generally acceptedstatement of contemporary chroniclers, there were some 75, 000 men underarms: 20, 000 along the southern coast, 23, 000 under Leicester, and 33, 000under Lord Chamberlain Hunsdon, for the special defence of the Queen'sperson. 

But it would have been very difficult, in the moment of danger, to bringanything like these numbers into the field. A drilled and disciplinedarmy--whether of regulars or of militia-men--had no existence whatever. If the merchant vessels, which had been joined to the royal fleet, werethought by old naval commanders to be only good to make a show, thevolunteers on land were likely to be even less effective than the marinemilitia, so much more accustomed than they to hard work. Magnificent wasthe spirit of the great feudal lords as they rallied round their Queen. The Earl of Pembroke offered to serve at the head of three hundred horseand five hundred footmen, armed at his own cost, and all ready to "hazardthe blood of their hearts" in defence of her person. "Accept hereof mostexcellent sovereign, " said the Earl, "from a person desirous to live nolonger than he may see your Highness enjoy your blessed estate, maugrethe beards of all confederated leaguers. "

The Earl of Shrewsbury, too, was ready to serve at the head of hisretainers, to the last drop of his blood. "Though I be old, " he said, "yet shall your quarrel make me young again. Though lame in body, yetlusty in heart to lend your greatest enemy one blow, and to stand nearyour defence, every way wherein your Highness shall employ me. "

But there was perhaps too much of this feudal spirit. Thelieutenant-general complained bitterly that there was a most mischievoustendency among all the militia-men to escape from the Queen's colours, inorder to enrol themselves as retainers to the great lords. This spiritwas not favourable to efficient organization of a national army. Even, had the commander-in-chief been a man, of genius and experience it wouldhave been difficult for him, under such circumstances, to resist asplendid army, once landed, and led by Alexander Farnese, but evenLeicester's most determined flatterers hardly ventured to compare himin-military ability with that first general of his age. The best soldierin England was un-questionably Sir John Norris, and Sir John was nowmarshal of the camp to Leicester. The ancient quarrel between the two hadbeen smoothed over, and--as might be expected--the Earl hated Norris morebitterly than before, and was perpetually vituperating him, as he hadoften done in the Netherlands. Roger William, too, was entrusted with theimportant duties of master of the horse, under the lieutenant-general, and Leicester continued to bear the grudge towards that honest Welshman, which had begun in Holland. These were not promising conditions in acamp, when an invading army was every day expected; nor was thecompleteness or readiness of the forces sufficient to render harmless thequarrels of the commanders. 

The Armada had arrived in Calais roads on Saturday afternoon; the 6thAugust. If it had been joined on that day, or the next--as Philip andMedina Sidonia fully expected--by the Duke of Parma's flotilla, theinvasion would have been made at once. If a Spanish army had ever landedin England at all, that event would have occurred on the 7th August. Theweather was not unfavourable; the sea was smooth, and the circumstancesunder which the catastrophe of the great drama was that nightaccomplished, were a profound mystery to every soul in England. For aughtthat Leicester, or Burghley, or Queen Elizabeth, knew at the time, thearmy of Farnese might, on Monday, have been marching upon London. Now, onthat Monday morning, the army of Lord Hunsdon was not assembled at all, and Leicester with but four thousand men, under his command, was justcommencing his camp at Tilbury. The "Bellona-like" appearance of theQueen on her white palfrey, --with truncheon in hand, addressing hertroops, in that magnificent burst of eloquence which has so often beenrepeated, was not till eleven days afterwards; not till the great Armada, shattered and tempest-tossed, had been, a week long, dashing itselfagainst the cliffs of Norway and the Faroes, on, its forlorn retreat toSpain. 

Leicester, courageous, self-confident, and sanguine as ever; could notrestrain his indignation at the parsimony with which his own impatientspirit had to contend. "Be you assured, " said he, on the 3rd August, whenthe Armada was off the Isle of Wight, "if the Spanish fleet arrive safelyin the narrow seas, the Duke of Parma will join presently with all hisforces, and lose no time in invading this realm. Therefore I beseech you, my good Lords, let no man, by hope or other abuse; prevent your speedyproviding defence against, this mighty enemy now knocking at our gate. "

For even at this supreme moment doubts were entertained at court as tothe intentions of the Spaniards:

Next day he informed Walsingham that his four thousand men had arrived. "They be as forward men and willing to meet the enemy as I ever saw, "said he. He could not say as much in, praise of the commissariat: "Somewant the captains showed, " he observed, "for these men arrived withoutone meal of victuals so that on their-arrival, they had not one barrel ofbeer nor loaf of bread--enough after twenty miles' march to havediscouraged them, and brought them to mutiny. I see many causes toincrease my former opinion of the dilatory wants you shall find upon allsudden hurley burleys. In no former time was ever so great a cause, andalbeit her Majesty hath appointed an army to resist her enemies if theyland, yet how hard a matter it will be to gather men together, I find itnow. If it will be five days to gather these countrymen, judge what itwill be to look in short space for those that dwell forty, fifty, sixtymiles off. "

He had immense difficulty in feeding even this slender force. "I madeproclamation, " said he, "two days ago, in all market towns, thatvictuallers should come to the camp and receive money for theirprovisions, but there is not one victualler come in to this hour. I havesent to all the justices of peace about it from place to place. I speakit that timely consideration be had of these things, and that they be notdeferred till the worst come. Let her Majesty not defer the time, uponany supposed hope, to assemble a convenient force of horse and foot abouther. Her Majesty cannot be strong enough too soon, and if her navy hadnot been strong and abroad as it is, what care had herself and her wholerealm been in by this time! And what care she will be in if her forces benot only assembled, but an army presently dressed to withstand the mightyenemy that is to approach her gates. "

"God doth know, I speak it not to bring her to charges. I would she hadless cause to spend than ever she had, and her coffers fuller than everthey were; but I will prefer her life and safety, and the defence of therealm, before all sparing of charges in the present danger. "

Thus, on the 5th August, no army had been assembled--not even thebody-guard of the Queen--and Leicester, with four thousand men, unprovided with a barrel of beer or a loaf of bread, was about commencinghis entrenched camp at Tilbury. On the 6th August the Armada was inCalais roads, expecting Alexander Farnese to lead his troops upon London!

Norris and Williams, on the news of Medina Sidonia's approach, had rushedto Dover, much to the indignation of Leicester, just as the Earl wasbeginning his entrenchments at Tilbury. "I assure you I am angry with SirJohn Norris and Sir Roger Williams, " he said. "I am here cook, caterer, and huntsman. I am left with no one to supply Sir John's place asmarshal, but, for a day or two, am willing to work the harder myself. Iordered them both to return this day early, which they faithfullypromised. Yet, on arriving this morning, I hear nothing of either, andhave nobody to marshal the camp either for horse or foot. This manner ofdealing doth much mislike me in them both. I am ill-used. 'Tis now fouro'clock, but here's not one of them. If they come not this night, Iassure you I will not receive them into office, nor bear such loosecareless dealing at their hands. If you saw how weakly I am assisted youwould be sorry to think that we here, should be the front against theenemy that is so mighty, if he should land here. And seeing her Majestyhath appointed me her lieutenant-general, I look that respect be usedtowards me, such as is due to my place. "

Thus the ancient grudge--between Leicester and the Earl of Sussex's sonwas ever breaking forth, and was not likely to prove beneficial at thiseventful season. 

Next day the Welshman arrived, and Sir John promised to come back in theevening. Sir Roger brought word from the coast that Lord Henry Seymour'sfleet was in want both of men and powder. "Good Lord!" exclaimedLeicester, "how is this come to pass, that both he and, my Lord-Admiralare so weakened of men. I hear they be running away. I beseech you, assemble your forces, and play not away this kingdom by delays. Hastenour horsemen hither and footmen: . . . . If the Spanish fleet come to thenarrow seas the Prince of Parma will play another part than is lookedfor. "

As the Armada approached Calais, Leicester was informed that the soldiersat Dover began to leave the coast. It seemed that they were dissatisfiedwith the penuriousness of the government. "Our soldiers do break away atDover, or are not pleased. I assure you, without wages, the people willnot tarry, and contributions go hard with them. Surely I find that herMajesty must needs deal liberally, and be at charges to entertain hersubjects that have chargeably, and liberally used, themselves to serveher. " The lieutenant-general even thought it might be necessary for himto proceed to Dover in person, in order to remonstrate with thesediscontented troops; for it was possible that those ill-paid, undisciplined, and very meagre forces, would find much difficulty inopposing Alexander's march, to London, if he should once succeed inlanding. Leicester had a very indifferent opinion too of the train-bandsof the metropolis. "For your Londoners, " he said, "I see their servicewill be little, except they have their own captains, and having them, Ilook for none at all by them, when we shall meet the enemy. " This was notcomplimentary, certainly, to the training of the famous Artillery Garden, and furnished a still stronger motive for defending the road over whichthe capital was to be approached. But there was much jealousy, both amongcitizens and nobles, of any authority entrusted to professional soldiers. "I know what burghers be, well enough, " said the Earl, "as brave andwell-entertained as ever the Londoners were. If they should go forth fromthe city they should have good leaders. You know the imperfections of thetime, how few-leaders you have, and the gentlemen of the counties arevery loth to have any captains placed with them. So that the beating outof our best captains is like to be cause of great danger. "

Sir John Smith, a soldier of experience, employed to drill and organizesome of the levies, expressed still more disparaging opinions than thoseof Leicester concerning the probable efficiency in the field of theseEnglish armies. The Earl was very angry with the knight, however, andconsidered, him incompetent, insolent, and ridiculous. Sir John seemed, indeed, more disposed to keep himself out of harm's way, than to renderservice to the Queen by leading awkward recruits against AlexanderFarnese. He thought it better to nurse himself. 

"You would laugh to see how Sir John Smith has dealt since my coming, "said Leicester. "He came to me, and told me that his disease so grew uponhim as he must needs go to the baths. I told him I would not be againsthis health, but he saw what the time was, and what pains he had takenwith his countrymen, and that I had provided a good place for him. Nextday he came again, saying little to my offer then, and seemed desirous, for his health, to be gone. I told him what place I did appoint, whichwas a regiment of a great part of his countrymen. He said his health wasdear to him, and he desired to take leave of me, which I yielded unto. Yesterday, being our muster-day, he came again to me to dinner; but suchfoolish and vain-glorious paradoxes he burst withal, without any causeoffered, as made all that knew anything smile and answer little, but insort rather to satisfy men present than to argue with him. "

And the knight went that day to review Leicester's choice troops--thefour thousand men of Essex--but was not much more deeply impressed withtheir proficiency than he had been with that of his own regiment. Hebecame very censorious. 

"After the muster, " said the lieutenant-general, "he entered again intosuch strange cries for ordering of men, and for the fight with theweapon, as made me think he was not well. God forbid he should havecharge of men that knoweth so little, as I dare pronounce that he doth. "

Yet the critical knight was a professional--campaigner, whose opinionswere entitled to respect; and the more so, it would seem, because theydid not materially vary from those which Leicester himself was in thehabit of expressing. And these interior scenes of discord, tumult, parsimony, want of organization, and unsatisfactory mustering of troops, were occurring on the very Saturday and Sunday when the Armada lay insight of Dover cliffs, and when the approach of the Spaniards on theDover road might at any moment be expected. 

Leicester's jealous and overbearing temper itself was also proving aformidable obstacle to a wholesome system of defence. He was alreadydispleased with the amount of authority entrusted to Lord Hunsdon, disposed to think his own rights invaded; and desirous that the LordChamberlain should accept office under himself. He wished saving clausesas to his own authority inserted in Hunsdon's patent. "Either it must beso, or I shall have wrong, " said he, "if he absolutely command where mypatent doth give me power. You may easily conceive what absurd dealingsare likely to fall out, if you allow two absolute commanders. "

Looking at these pictures of commander-in-chief, officers, and rank andfile--as painted by themselves--we feel an inexpressible satisfactionthat in this great crisis of England's destiny, there were such men asHoward, Drake, Frobisher, Hawkins, Seymour, Winter, Fenner, and theirgallant brethren, cruising that week in the Channel, and that Nassau andWarmond; De Moor and Van der Does, were blockading the Flemish coast. 

There was but little preparation to resist the enemy once landed. Therewere no fortresses, no regular army, no population trained to any weapon. There were patriotism, loyalty, courage, and enthusiasm, in abundance;but the commander-in-chief was a queen's favourite, odious to the people, with very moderate abilities, and eternally quarrelling with officersmore competent than himself; and all the arrangements were so hopelesslybehind-hand, that although great disasters might have been avenged, theycould scarcely have been avoided. 

Remembering that the Invincible Armada was lying in Calais roads on the6th of August, hoping to cross to Dover the next morning, let us ponderthe words addressed on that very day to Queen Elizabeth by theLieutenant-General of England. 

"My most dear and gracious Lady, " said the Earl, "it is most true thatthose enemies that approach your kingdom and person are your undeservedfoes, and being so, and hating you for a righteous cause, there is theless fear to be had of their malice or their forces; for there is a mostjust God that beholdeth the innocence of that heart. The cause you areassailed for is His and His Church's, and He never failed any thatfaithfully do put their chief trust in His goodness. He hath, to comfortyou withal, given you great and mighty means to defend yourself, whichmeans I doubt not but your Majesty will timely and princely use them, andyour good God that ruleth all will assist you and bless you withvictory. "

He then proceeded to give his opinion on two points concerning which theQueen had just consulted him--the propriety of assembling her army, andher desire to place herself at the head of it in person. 

On the first point one would have thought discussion superfluous on the6th of August. "For your army, it is more than time it were gathered andabout you, " said Leicester, "or so near you as you may have the use of itat a few hours' warning. The reason is that your mighty enemies are athand, and if God suffers them to pass by your fleet, you are sure theywill attempt their purpose of landing with all expedition. And albeityour navy be very strong, but, as we have always heard, the other is notonly far greater, but their forces of men much beyond yours. No doubt ifthe Prince of Parma come forth, their forces by sea shall not only begreatly, augmented, but his power to land shall the easier take effectwhensoever he shall attempt it. Therefore it is most requisite that yourMajesty at all events have as great a force every way as you can devise;for there is no dalliance at such a time, nor with such an enemy. Youshall otherwise hazard your own honour, besides your person and country, and must offend your gracious God that gave you these forces and power, though you will not use them when you should. "

It seems strange enough that such phrases should be necessary when theenemy was knocking at the gate; but it is only too, true that theland-forces were never organized until the hour, of danger had, mostfortunately and unexpectedly, passed by. Suggestions at this late momentwere now given for the defence of the throne, the capital, the kingdom, and the life of the great Queen, which would not have seemed prematurehad they been made six months before, but which, when offered in August, excite unbounded amazement. Alexander would have had time to, march fromDover to Duxham before these directions, now leisurely stated with allthe air of novelty, could be carried into effect. 

"Now for the placing of your army, " says the lieutenant-general on thememorable Saturday, 6th of August, "no doubt but I think about Londonthe meetest, and I suppose that others will be of the same mind. Andyour Majesty should forthwith give the charge thereof to some specialnobleman about you, and likewise place all your chief officers that everyman may know what he shall do, and gather as many good horse above allthings as you can, and the oldest, best, and assuredest captains to lead;for therein will consist the greatest hope of good success under God. Andso soon as your army is assembled, let them by and by be exercised, everyman to know his weapon, and that there be all other things prepared inreadiness, for your army, as if they should march upon a day's warning, especially carriages, and a commissary of victuals, and a master ofordnance. "

Certainly, with Alexander of Parma on his way to London, at the head ofhis Italian pikemen, his Spanish musketeers, his famous veteranlegion--"that nursing mother of great soldiers"--it was indeed more thantime that every man should know what he should do, that an army ofEnglishmen should be-assembled, and that every man should know hisweapon. "By and by" was easily said, and yet, on the 6th of August it wasby and by that an army, not yet mustered, not yet officered, not yetprovided with a general, a commissary of victuals, or a master ofordinance, was to be exercised, "every man to know his weapon. "

English courage might ultimately triumph over, the mistakes of those whogoverned the country, and over those disciplined brigands by whom it wasto be invaded. But meantime every man of those invaders had alreadylearned on a hundred battle-fields to know his weapon. 

It was a magnificent determination on the part of Elizabeth to placeherself at the head of her troops; and the enthusiasm which her attitudeinspired, when she had at last emancipated herself from the delusions ofdiplomacy and the seductions of thrift, was some recompense at least forthe perils caused by her procrastination. But Leicester could not approveof this hazardous though heroic resolution. 

The danger passed away. The Invincible Armada was driven out of theChannel by the courage; the splendid seamanship, and the enthusiasm ofEnglish sailors and volunteers. The Duke of Parma was kept a closeprisoner by the fleets of Holland and Zeeland; and the great storm of the14th and 15th of August at last completed the overthrow of the Spaniards. 

It was, however, supposed for a long time that they would come back, forthe disasters which had befallen them in the north were but tardily knownin England. The sailors, by whom England had been thus defended in herutmost need, were dying by hundreds, and even thousands, of ship-fever, in the latter days of August. Men sickened one day, and died the next, sothat it seemed probable that the ten thousand sailors by whom the Englishships of war were manned, would have almost wholly disappeared, at amoment when their services might be imperatively required. Nor had therebeen the least precaution taken for cherishing and saving these bravedefenders of their country. They rotted in their ships, or died in thestreets of the naval ports, because there were no hospitals to receivethem. 

"'Tis a most pitiful sight, " said the Lord-Admiral, "to see here atMargate how the men, having no place where they can be received, die in, the streets. I am driven of force myself to come on land to see thembestowed in some lodgings; and the best I can get is barns and suchouthouses, and the relief is small that I can provide for them here. Itwould grieve any man's heart to see men that have served so valiantly dieso miserably. "

The survivors, too, were greatly discontented; for, after having beeneight months at sea, and enduring great privations, they could not gettheir wages. "Finding it to come thus scantily, " said Howard, "it breedsa marvellous alteration among them. "

But more dangerous than the pestilence or the discontent was themisunderstanding which existed at the moment between the leading admiralsof the English fleet. Not only was Seymour angry with Howard, but Hawkinsand Frobisher were at daggers drawn with Drake; and Sir Martin--ifcontemporary, affidavits can be trusted--did not scruple to heap the mostvirulent abuse upon Sir Francis, calling him, in language better fittedfor the forecastle than the quarter-deck, a thief and a coward, forappropriating the ransom for Don Pedro Valdez in which both Frobisher andHawkins claimed at least an equal share with himself. 

And anxious enough was the Lord-Admiral with his sailors perishing bypestilence, with many of his ships so weakly manned that as Lord HenrySeymour declared there were not mariners enough to weigh the anchors, andwith the great naval heroes, on whose efforts the safety of the realmdepended, wrangling like fisherwomen among themselves, when rumours came, as they did almost daily, of the return of the Spanish Armada, and of newdemonstrations on the part of Farnese. He was naturally unwilling thatthe fruits of English valour on the seas should now be sacrificed by thefalse economy of the government. He felt that, after all that had beenendured and accomplished, the Queen and her counsellors were stillcapable of leaving England at the mercy of a renewed attempt, "I know notwhat you think at the court, " said he; "but I think, and so do all here, that there cannot be too great forces maintained for the next five or sixweeks. God knoweth whether the Spanish fleet will not, after refreshingthemselves in Norway; Denmark, and the Orkneys, return. I think they darenot go back to Sprain with this, dishonour, to their King and overthrowof the Pope's credit. Sir, sure bind, sure find. A kingdom is a grandwager. Security is dangerous; and, if God had not been our best friend;we should have found it so. "

 [Howard to Walsingham, Aug. 8/18 1588. (S. P. Office MS. )]

 ["Some haply may say that winter cometh on apace, " said Drake, "but my poor opinion is that I dare not advise her Majesty to hazard a kingdom with the saving of a little charge. " (Drake to Walsingham, Aug. 8/18 1588. )]

Nothing could be more replete, with sound common sense than this simpleadvice, given as it was in utter ignorance of the fate of the Armada;after it had been lost sight of by the English vessels off the Firth ofForth, and of the cold refreshment which: it had found in Norway and theOrkneys. But, Burghley had a store of pithy apophthegms, for which--heknew he could always find sympathy in the Queen's breast, and with whichhe could answer these demands of admirals and generals. "To spend in timeconvenient is wisdom;" he observed--"to continue charges without needfulcause bringeth, repentance;"--"to hold on charges without knowledge ofthe certainty thereof and of means how to support them, is lack ofwisdom;" and so on. 

Yet the Spanish fleet might have returned into the Channel for ought theLord-Treasurer on the 22nd August knew--or the Dutch fleet might haverelaxed, in its vigilant watching of Farnese's movements. It might havethen seemed a most plentiful lack of wisdom to allow English sailors todie of plague in the streets for want of hospitals; and to grow mutinousfor default of pay. To have saved under such circumstances would, perhapshave brought repentance. 

The invasion of England by Spain had been most portentous. That thedanger was at last averted is to be ascribed to the enthusiasm of theEnglish, nation--both patricians and plebeians--to the heroism of thelittle English fleet, to the spirit of the naval commanders andvolunteers, to the stanch, and effective support of the Hollanders; andto the hand of God shattering the Armada at last; but very little creditcan be conscientiously awarded to the diplomatic or the military effortsof the Queen's government. Miracles alone, in the opinion of RogerWilliams, had saved England on this occasion from perdition. 

Towards the end of August, Admiral de Nassau paid a visit to Dover withforty ships, "well appointed and furnished. " He dined and conferred withSeymour, Palmer, and other officers--Winter being still laid up with hiswound--and expressed the opinion that Medina Sidonia would hardly returnto the Channel, after the banquet he had received from her Majesty's navybetween Calais and Gravelines. He also gave the information that theStates had sent fifty Dutch vessels in pursuit of the Spaniards, and hadcompelled all the herring-fishermen for the time to serve in the ships ofwar, although the prosperity of the country depended on that industry. "Ifind the man very wise, subtle, and cunning, " said Seymour of the DutchAdmiral, "and therefore do I trust him. "

Nassau represented the Duke of Parma as evidently discouraged, as havingalready disembarked his troops, and as very little disposed to hazard anyfurther enterprise against England. "I have left twenty-fiveKromstevens, " said he, "to prevent his egress from Sluys, and I amimmediately returning thither myself. The tide will not allow his vesselsat present to leave Dunkerk, and I shall not fail--before the next fullmoon--to place myself before that place, to prevent their coming out, orto have a brush with them if they venture to put to sea. "

But after the scenes on which the last full moon had looked down in thosewaters, there could be no further pretence on the part of Farnese toissue from Sluys and Dunkerk, and England and Holland were thenceforthsaved from all naval enterprises on the part of Spain. 

Meantime, the same uncertainty which prevailed in England as to thecondition and the intentions of the Armada was still more remarkableelsewhere. There was a systematic deception practised not only upon othergovernments; but upon the King of Spain as well. Philip, as he sat at hiswriting-desk, was regarding himself as the monarch of England, long afterhis Armada had been hopelessly dispersed. 

In Paris, rumours were circulated during the first ten days of Augustthat England was vanquished, and that the Queen was already on her way toRome as a prisoner, where she was to make expiation, barefoot, before hisHoliness. Mendoza, now more magnificent than ever--stalked into NotreDame with his drawn sword in his hand, crying out with a loud voice, "Victory, victory!" and on the 10th of August ordered bonfires to be madebefore his house; but afterwards thought better of that scheme. He hadbeen deceived by a variety of reports sent to him day after day by agentson the coast; and the King of France--better informed by Stafford, butnot unwilling thus to feed his spite against the insolentambassador--affected to believe his fables. He even confirmed them byintelligence, which he pretended to have himself received from othersources, of the landing of the Spaniards in England without opposition, and of the entire subjugation of that country without the striking of ablow. 

Hereupon, on the night of August 10th, the envoy--"like a wise man, " asStafford observed--sent off four couriers, one after another, with thegreat news to Spain, that his master's heart might be rejoiced, andcaused a pamphlet on the subject to be printed and distributed overParis! "I will not waste a large sheet of paper to express the joy whichwe must all feel, " he wrote to Idiaquez, "at this good news. God bepraised for all, who gives us small chastisements to make us better, andthen, like a merciful Father, sends us infinite rewards. " And in the samestrain he wrote; day after day, to Moura and Idiaquez, and to Philiphimself. 

Stafford, on his side, was anxious to be informed by his government ofthe exact truth, whatever it were, in order that these figments ofMendoza might be contradicted. "That which cometh from me, " he said, "Will be believed; for I have not been used to tell lies, and in verytruth I have not the face to do it. "

And the news of the Calais squibs, of the fight off Gravelines, and theretreat of the Armada towards the north; could not be very longconcealed. So soon, therefore, as authentic intelligence reached, theEnglish envoy of those events--which was not however for nearly ten daysafter their--occurrence--Stafford in his turn wrote a pamphlet, in answerto that of Mendoza, and decidedly the more successful one of the two. Itcost him but five crowns, he said, to print 'four hundred copies of it;but those in whose name it was published got one hundred crowns by itssale. The English ambassador was unwilling to be known as theauthor--although "desirous of touching up the impudence of theSpaniard"--but the King had no doubt of its origin. Poor Henry, stillsmarting under the insults of Mendoza and 'Mucio, --was delighted withthis blow to Philip's presumption; was loud in his praises of QueenElizabeth's valour, prudence, and marvellous fortune, and declared thatwhat she had just done could be compared to the greatest: exploits of themost illustrious men in history. 

"So soon as ever he saw the pamphlet, " said Stafford; "he offered to laya wager it was my doing; and laughed at it heartily. " And there weremalicious pages about the French; court; who also found much amusement inwriting to the ambassador, begging his interest with the Duke of Parmathat they might obtain from that conqueror some odd-refuse town or so in:England, such as York, Canterbury, London, or the like--till the lucklessDon Bernardino was ashamed to show his face. 

A letter, from Farnese, however, of 10th August, apprized Philip beforethe end of August of the Calais disasters and caused him greatuneasiness, without driving him to despair. "At the very moment, " wrotethe King to Medina Sidonia; "when I was expecting news of the effecthoped for from my Armada, I have learned the retreat from before Calais, to which it was compelled by the weather; [!] and I have received a verygreat shock which keeps, me in anxiety not to be exaggerated. Nevertheless I hope in our Lord that he will have provided a remedy; andthat if it was possible for you to return upon the enemy to come back tothe appointed posts and to watch an opportunity for the great stroke; youwill have done as the case required; and so I am expecting withsolicitude, to hear what has happened, and please God it may be thatwhich is so suitable for his service. "

His Spanish children the sacking of London, and the butchering of theEnglish nation-rewards and befits similar to those which they badformerly enjoyed in the Netherlands. 

And in the same strain, melancholy yet hopeful, were other lettersdespatched on that day to the Duke of Parma. "The satisfaction caused byyour advices on the 8th August of the arrival of the Armada near Calais, and of your preparations to embark your troops, was changed into asentiment which you can imagine, by your letter of the 10th. The anxietythus occasioned it would be impossible to exaggerate, although the causebeing such as it is--there is no ground for distrust. Perhaps the Armada, keeping together, has returned upon the enemy, and given a good accountof itself, with the help of the Lord. So I still promise myself that youwill have performed your part in the enterprise in such wise as that theservice intended to the Lord may have been executed, and repairs made tothe reputation of all; which has been so much compromised. "

And the King's drooping spirits were revived by fresh accounts whichreached him in September, by way of France. He now learned that theArmada had taken captive four Dutch men-of-war and many English ships;that, after the Spaniards had been followed from Calais roads by theenemy's fleet, there had been an action, which the English had attemptedin vain to avoid; off Newcastle; that Medina Sidonia had charged uponthem so vigorously, as to sink twenty of their ships, and to capturetwenty-six others, good and sound; that the others, to escape perdition, had fled, after suffering great damage, and had then gone to pieces, allhands perishing; that the Armada had taken a port in Scotland, where itwas very comfortably established; that the flag-ship of Lord-admiralHoward, of Drake; and of that "distinguished mariner Hawkins, " had allbeen sunk in action, and that no soul had been saved except Drake, whohad escaped in a cock-boat. "This is good news, " added the writer; "andit is most certain. "

The King pondered seriously over these conflicting accounts, and remainedvery much in the dark. Half, the month of September went by, and he hadheard nothing--official since the news of the Calais catastrophe. It maybe easily understood that Medina Sidonia, while flying round the Orkneyshad not much opportunity for despatching couriers to Spain, and asFarnese had not written since the 10th August, Philip was quite at a losswhether to consider himself triumphant or defeated. From the reports byway of Calais, Dunkerk, and Rouen, he supposed that the Armada, hadinflicted much damage on the enemy. He suggested accordingly, on the 3rdSeptember, to the Duke of Parma, that he might now make the passage toEngland, while the English fleet, if anything was left of it wasrepairing its damages. "'Twill be easy enough to conquer the country, "said Philip, "so soon as you set foot on the soil. Then perhaps ourArmada can come back and station itself in the Thames to support you. "

Nothing could be simpler. Nevertheless the King felt a pang of doubt lestaffairs, after all, might not be going on so swimmingly; so he dipped hispen in the inkstand again, and observed with much pathos, "But if thishope must be given up, you must take the Isle of Walcheren: somethingmust be done to console me. "

And on the 15th September he was still no wiser. "This business of theArmada leaves me no repose, " he said; "I can think of nothing else. Idon't content myself with what I have written, but write again and again, although in great want of light. I hear that the Armada has sunk andcaptured many English ships, and is refitting in a Scotch pert. If thisis in the territory, of Lord Huntley, I hope he will stir up theCatholics of that country. "

And so, in letter after letter, Philip clung to the delusion thatAlexander could yet, cross to England, and that the Armada might sail upthe Thames. The Duke was directed to make immediate arrangements to thateffect with Medina Sidonia, at the very moment when that tempest-tossedgrandee was painfully-creeping back towards the Bay of Biscay, with whatremained of his invincible fleet. 

Sanguine and pertinacious, the King refused to believe in, the downfallof his long-cherished scheme; and even when the light was at last dawningupon him, he was like a child, crying for a fresh toy, when the one whichhad long amused him had been broken. If the Armada were really very muchdamaged, it was easy enough, he thought, for the Duke of Parma to makehim a new one, while the old, one was repairing. "In case the Armada istoo much shattered to come out, " said Philip, "and winter compels it tostay in that port, you must cause another Armada to be constructed atEmden and the adjacent towns, at my expense, and, with the two together, you will certainly be able to conquer England. "

And he wrote to Medina Sidonia in similar terms. That naval commander wasinstructed to enter the Thames at once, if strong enough. If not, he wasto winter in the Scotch port which he was supposed to have captured. Meantime Farnese would build a new fleet at Emden, and in the spring thetwo dukes would proceed to accomplish the great purpose. 

But at last the arrival of Medina Sidonia at Santander dispelled thesevisions, and now the King appeared in another attitude. A messenger, coming post-haste from the captain-general, arrived in the early days ofOctober at the Escorial. Entering the palace he found Idiaquez and Mourapacing up and down the corridor, before the door of Philip's cabinet, andwas immediately interrogated by those counsellors, most anxious, ofcourse, to receive authentic intelligence at last as to the fate, of theArmada. The entire overthrow of the great project was now, for the firsttime, fully revealed in Spain; the fabulous victories over the English, and the annihilation of Howard and all his ships, were dispersed in air. Broken, ruined, forlorn, the invincible Armada--so far as it stillexisted--had reached a Spanish port. Great was the consternation ofIdiaquez and Moura, as they listened to the tale, and very desirous waseach of the two secretaries that the other should, discharge theunwelcome duty of communicating the fatal intelligence to the King. 

At last Moura consented to undertake the task, and entering the cabinet, he found Philip seated at his desk. Of course he was writing letters. Being informed of the arrival of a messenger from the north, he laid downhis pen, and inquired the news. The secretary replied that the accounts, concerning the Armada were by no means so favourable as, could be wished. The courier was then introduced, and made his dismal report. The King didnot change countenance. "Great thanks, " he observed, "do I render toAlmighty God, by whose generous hand I am gifted with such power, that Icould easily, if I chose, place another fleet upon the seas. Nor is it ofvery great importance that a running stream should be sometimesintercepted, so long as the fountain from which it flows remainsinexhaustible. "

So saying he resumed his pen, and serenely proceeded with his letters. Christopher Moura stared with unaffected amazement at his sovereign, thustranquil while a shattered world was falling on his head, and thenretired to confer with his colleague. 

"And how did his Majesty receive the blow?" asked Idiaquez. 

"His Majesty thinks nothing of the blow, " answered Moura, "nor do I, consequently, make more of this great calamity than does his Majesty. "

So the King--as fortune flew away from him, wrapped himself in hisvirtue; and his counsellors, imitating their sovereign, arrayedthemselves in the same garment. Thus draped, they were all prepared tobide the pelting of the storm which was only beating figuratively ontheir heads, while it had been dashing the King's mighty galleons on therocks, and drowning by thousands the wretched victims of his ambition. Soon afterwards, when the particulars of the great disaster werethoroughly known, Philip ordered a letter to be addressed in his name toall the bishops of Spain, ordering a solemn thanksgiving to the Almightyfor the safety of that portion of the invincible Armada which it hadpleased Him to preserve. 

And thus, with the sound of mourning throughout Spain--for there wasscarce a household of which some beloved member had not perished in thegreat catastrophe--and with the peals of merry bells over all England andHolland, and with a solemn 'Te Deum' resounding in every church, thecurtain fell upon the great tragedy of the Armada. 

 ETEXT EDITOR'S BOOKMARKS:

 Forbidding the wearing of mourning at all Hardly a distinguished family in Spain not placed in mourning Invincible Armada had not only been vanquished but annihilated Nothing could equal Alexander's fidelity, but his perfidy One could neither cry nor laugh within the Spanish dominions Security is dangerous Sixteen of their best ships had been sacrificed Sure bind, sure find

CHAPTER XX. 1588-1589

 Alexander besieges Bergen-op-Zoom--Pallavicini's Attempt to seduce Parma--Alexander's Fury--He is forced to raise the Siege, of Bergen --Gertruydenberg betrayed to Parma--Indignation of the States-- Exploits, of Schenk--His Attack on Nymegen--He is defeated and drowned--English-Dutch Expedition to Spain--Its meagre Results-- Death of Guise and of the Queen--Mother--Combinations after the Murder of Henry III. --Tandem fit Surculus Arbor. 

The fever of the past two years was followed by comparative languor. Thedeadly crisis was past, the freedom of Europe was saved, Holland andEngland breathed again; but tension now gave place to exhaustion. Theevents in the remainder of the year 1588, with those of 1589--althoughimportant in themselves--were the immediate results of that history whichhas been so minutely detailed in these volumes, and can be indicated in avery few pages. 

The Duke of Parma, melancholy, disappointed, angry stung to the soul bycalumnies as stupid as they were venomous, and already afflicted with apainful and lingering disease, which his friends attributed to poisonadministered by command of the master whom he had so faithfullyserved--determined, if possible, to afford the consolation which thatmaster was so plaintively demanding at his hands. 

So Alexander led the splendid army which had been packed in, and unpackedfrom, the flat boats of Newport and Dunkerk, against Bergen-op-Zoom, andbesieged that city in form. Once of great commercial importance, althoughsomewhat fallen away from its original prosperity, Bergen was wellsituate on a little stream which connected it with the tide-waters of theScheldt, and was the only place in Brabant, except Willemstad, stillremaining to the States. Opposite lay the Isle of Tholen from which itwas easily to be supplied and reinforced. The Vosmeer, a branch of theScheldt, separated the island from the main, and there was a path alongthe bed of that estuary, which, at dead low-water, was practicable forwading. Alexander, accordingly, sent a party of eight hundred pikemen, under Montigny, Marquis of Renty, and Ottavio Mansfeld, supported on thedyke by three thousand musketeers, across; the dangerous ford, atebb-tide, in order to seize this important island. It was an adventuresimilar to those, which, in the days of the grand commander, and underthe guidance of Mondragon; had been on two occasions so brilliantlysuccessful. But the Isle of Tholen was now defended by Count Solms and agarrison of fierce amphibious Zeelanders--of those determined bands whichhad just been holding Farnese and his fleet in prison, and daring him tothe issue--and the invading party, after fortunately accomplishing theirnight journey along the bottom of the Vosmeer, were unable to effect alanding, were driven with considerable loss into the waves again, andcompelled to find their way back as best they could, along theirdangerous path, and with a rapidly rising tide. It was a blind anddesperate venture, and the Vosmeer soon swallowed four hundred of theSpaniards. The rest, half-drowned or smothered, succeeded in reaching theshore--the chiefs of the expedition, Renty and Mansfeld, having been withdifficulty rescued by their followers, when nearly sinking in the tide. 

The Duke continued the siege, but the place was well defended by anEnglish and Dutch garrison, to the number of five thousand, and commandedby Colonel Morgan, that bold and much experienced Welshman, so well knownin the Netherland wars. Willoughby and Maurice of Nassau, andOlden-Barneveld were, at different times, within the walls; for the Dukehad been unable to invest the place so closely as to prevent allcommunications from without; and, while Maurice was present, there werealmost daily sorties from the town, with many a spirited skirmish, togive pleasure to the martial young Prince. The English, officers, Vereand Baskerville, and two Netherland colonels, the brothers Bax, mostdistinguished themselves on these occasions. The siege was not going onwith the good fortune which had usually attended the Spanish leaguer ofDutch cities, while, on the 29th September, a personal incident came toincrease Alexander's dissatisfaction and melancholy. 

On that day the Duke was sitting in his tent, brooding, as he was apt todo, over the unjust accusations which had been heaped upon him in regardto the failure of the Armada, when a stranger was announced. His name, hesaid, was Giacomo Morone, and he was the bearer of a letter from SirHorace Pallavicini, a Genoese gentleman long established in London; andknown to be on confidential terms with the English government. Alexandertook the letter, and glancing at the bottom of the last page, saw that itwas not signed. 

"How dare you bring me a dispatch without a signature?" he exclaimed. Themessenger, who was himself a Genoese, assured the Duke that the letterwas most certainly written by Pallavicini--who had himself placed it, sealed, in his hands--and that he had supposed it signed, although he hadof course, not seen the inside. 

Alexander began to read the note, which was not a very long one, and hisbrow instantly darkened. He read a line or two more, when, with anexclamation of fury, he drew his dagger, and, seizing the astonishedGenoese by the throat, was about to strike him dead. Suddenly masteringhis rage, however, by a strong effort, and remembering that the man mightbe a useful witness; he flung Morone from him. 

"If I had Pallavicini here, " he said, "I would treat, him as I have justrefrained from using you. And if I had any suspicion that you were awareof the contents of this letter, I would send you this instant to behanged. "

The unlucky despatch-bearer protested his innocence of all complicitywith Pallavicini, and his ignorance of the tenor of the communication bywhich the Duke's wrath had been so much excited. He was then searched andcross-examined most carefully by Richardot and other counsellors, and hisinnocence being made apparent-he was ultimately discharged. 

The letter of Pallavicini was simply an attempt to sound Farnese as tohis sentiments in regard to a secret scheme, which could afterwards bearranged in form, and according, to which he was to assume thesovereignty of the Netherlands himself, to the exclusion of his King, toguarantee to England the possession of the cautionary towns, until heradvances to the States should be refunded, and to receive the support andperpetual alliance of the Queen in his new and rebellious position. 

Here was additional evidence, if any were wanting, of the universalbelief in his disloyalty; and Alexander, faithful, if man ever were tohis master--was cut to the heart, and irritated almost to madness, bysuch insolent propositions. There is neither proof nor probability thatthe Queen's government was implicated in this intrigue of Pallavicini, who appears to have been inspired by the ambition of achieving a bit ofMachiavellian policy, quite on his own account. Nothing came of theproposition, and the Duke; having transmitted to the King a minutenarrative of, the affair, together with indignant protestations of thefidelity, which all the world seemed determined to dispute, received mostaffectionate replies from that monarch, breathing nothing but unboundedconfidence in his nephew's innocence and devotion. 

Such assurances from any other man in the world might have disarmedsuspicion, but Alexander knew his master too well to repose upon hisword, and remembered too bitterly the last hours of Don John of Austria--whose dying pillow he had soothed, and whose death had been hastened, as he knew, either by actual poison or by the hardly less fatal venom ofslander--to regain tranquillity as to his own position. 

The King was desirous that Pallavicini should be invited over toFlanders, in order that Alexander, under pretence of listening to hispropositions, might draw from the Genoese all the particulars of hisscheme, and then, at leisure, inflict the punishment which he haddeserved. But insuperable obstacles presented themselves, nor wasAlexander desirous of affording still further pretexts for hisslanderers. 

Very soon after this incident--most important as showing the realsituation of various parties, although without any immediateresult--Alexander received a visit in his tent from another stranger. This time the visitor was an Englishman, one Lieutenant Grimstone, andthe object of his interview with the Duke was not political, but had, adirect reference to the siege of Bergen. He was accompanied by acountryman of his own, Redhead by name, a camp-suttler by profession. Thetwo represented themselves as deserters from the besieged city, andoffered, for a handsome reward, to conduct a force of Spaniards, by asecret path, into one of the gates. The Duke questioned them narrowly, and being satisfied with their intelligence and coolness, caused them totake an oath on the Evangelists, that they were not playing him false. Hethen selected a band of one hundred musketeers, partly Spaniards, partlyWalloons--to be followed at a distance by a much, more considerableforce; two thousand in number, under Sancho de Leyva: and the Marquis ofRenti--and appointed the following night for an enterprise against thecity, under the guidance of Grimstone. 

It was a wild autumnal night, moonless, pitch-dark, with a storm of windand rain. The waters were out--for the dykes had been cut in all'directions by the defenders of the city--and, with exception of someelevated points occupied by Parma's forces, the whole country wasoverflowed. Before the party set forth on their daring expedition, thetwo Englishmen were tightly bound with cords, and led, each by twosoldiers, instructed to put them to instant death if their conduct shouldgive cause for suspicion. But both Grimstone and Redhead preserved acheerful countenance, and inspired a strong confidence in their honestintention to betray their countrymen. And thus the band of boldadventurers plunged at once into the darkness, and soon found themselvescontending with the tempest, and wading breast high in the black watersof the Scheldt. 

After a long and perilous struggle, they at length reached the appointedgate, The external portcullis was raised and the fifteen foremost of theband rushed into the town. At the next moment, Lord Willoughby, who hadbeen privy to the whole scheme, cut with his own hand the cords which, held the portcullis, and entrapped the leaders of the expedition, whowere all, at once put to the sword, while their followers were thunderingat the gate. The lieutenant and suttler who had thus overreached thatgreat master of dissimulation; Alexander Farnese; were at the same timeunbound by their comrades, and rescued from the fate intended for them. 

Notwithstanding the probability--when the portcullis fell--that the wholeparty, had been deceived by an artifice of war the adventurers, who hadcome so far, refused to abandon the enterprise, and continued animpatient battery upon the gate. At last it was swung wide open, and afurious onslaught was made by the garrison upon the Spaniards. Therewas--a fierce brief struggle, and then the assailants were utterlyrouted. Some were killed under the walls, while the rest were hunted intothe waves. Nearly every one of the expedition (a thousand in number)perished. 

It had now become obvious to the Duke that his siege must be raised. Thedays were gone when the walls of Dutch towns seemed to melt before thefirst scornful glance of the Spanish invader; and when a summons meant asurrender, and a surrender a massacre. Now, strong in the feeling ofindependence, and supported by the courage and endurance of their Englishallies, the Hollanders had learned to humble the pride of Spain as it hadnever been humbled before. The hero of a hundred battle-fields, theinventive and brilliant conqueror of Antwerp, seemed in the deplorableissue of the English invasion to have lost all his genius, all hisfortune. A cloud had fallen upon his fame, and he now saw himself; at thehead of the best army in Europe, compelled to retire, defeated andhumiliated, from the walls of Bergen. Winter was coming on apace; thecountry was flooded; the storms in that-bleak region and inclement seasonwere incessant; and he was obliged to retreat before his army should bedrowned. 

On the night of 12-13 November he set fire to his camp; and took hisdeparture. By daybreak he was descried in full retreat, and was hotlypursued by the English and Dutch from the city, who drove the greatAlexander and his legions before them in ignominious flight. LordWilloughby, in full view of the retiring enemy, indulged the alliedforces with a chivalrous spectacle. Calling a halt, after it had becomeobviously useless, with their small force of cavalry; to follow anylonger, through a flooded country, an enemy who had abandoned his design, he solemnly conferred the honour of knighthood, in the name of QueenElizabeth, on the officers who had most distinguished themselves duringthe siege, Francis Vere, Baskerville, Powell, Parker, Knowles, and on thetwo Netherland brothers, Paul and Marcellus Bax. 

The Duke of Parma then went into winter quarters in Brabant, and, beforethe spring, that obedient Province had been eaten as bare as Flanders hadalready been by the friendly Spaniards. 

An excellent understanding between England and Holland had been theresult of their united and splendid exertions against the InvincibleArmada. Late in the year 1588 Sir John Norris had been sent by the Queento offer her congratulations and earnest thanks to the States for theirvaluable assistance in preserving her throne, and to solicit theircooperation in some new designs against the common foe. Unfortunately, however, the epoch of good feeling was but of brief duration. Bitternessand dissension seemed the inevitable conditions of the English-Dutchalliance. It will be, remembered, that, on the departure of Leicester, several cities had refused to acknowledge the authority of Count Mauriceand the States; and that civil war in the scarcely-born commonwealth hadbeen the result. Medenblik, Naarden, and the other contumacious cities, had however been reduced to obedience after the reception of the Earl'sresignation, but the important city of Gertruydenberg had remained in achronic state of mutiny. This rebellion had been partially appeasedduring the year 1588 by the efforts of Willoughby, who had strengthened, the garrison by reinforcements of English troops under command of hisbrother-in-law, Sir John Wingfield. Early in 1589 however, the wholegarrison became rebellious, disarmed and maltreated the burghers, anddemanded immediate payment of the heavy arrearages still due to thetroops. Willoughby, who--much disgusted with his career in theNetherlands--was about leaving for England, complaining that the Stateshad not only left him without remuneration for his services, but had notrepaid his own advances, nor even given him a complimentary dinner, triedin vain to pacify them. A rumour became very current, moreover, that thegarrison had opened negotiations with Alexander Farnese, and accordinglyMaurice of Nassau--of whose patrimonial property the city ofGertruydenberg made a considerable proportion, to the amount of eightthousand pounds sterling a years--after summoning the garrison, in hisown name and that of the States, to surrender, laid siege to the place inform. It would have been cheaper, no doubt, to pay the demands of thegarrison in full, and allow them to depart. But Maurice considered hishonour at stake. His letters of summons, in which he spoke of therebellious commandant and his garrison as self-seeking foreigners andmercenaries, were taken in very ill part. Wingfield resented thestatement in very insolent language, and offered to prove its falsehoodwith his sword against any man and in any place whatever. Willoughbywrote to his brother-in-law, from Flushing, when about to embark, disapproving of his conduct and of his language; and to Maurice, deprecating hostile measures against a city under the protection of QueenElizabeth. At any rate, he claimed that Sir John Wingfield and his wife, the Countess of Kent, with their newly-born child, should be allowed todepart from the place. But Wingfield expressed great scorn at anysuggestion of retreat, and vowed that he would rather surrender the cityto the Spaniards than tolerate the presumption of Maurice and the States. The young Prince accordingly, opened his batteries, but before anentrance could be effected into the town, was obliged to retire at theapproach of Count Mansfield with a much superior force. Gertruydenbergwas now surrendered to the Spaniards in accordance with a secretnegotiation which had been proceeding all the spring, and had beenbrought to a conclusion at last. The garrison received twelve months' payin full and a gratuity of five months in addition, and the city was thenreduced into obedience to Spain and Rome on the terms which had beenusual during the government of Farnese. 

The loss of this city was most severe to the republic, for the enemy hadthus gained an entrance into the very heart of Holland. It was a moreimportant acquisition to Alexander than even Bergen-op-Zoom would havebeen, and it was a bitter reflection that to the treachery ofNetherlanders and of their English allies this great disaster was owing. All the wrath aroused a year before by the famous treason of York andStanley, and which had been successfully extinguished, now flamed forthafresh. The States published a placard denouncing the men who had thusbetrayed the cause of freedom, and surrendered the city of Gertruydenbergto the Spaniards, as perjured traitors whom it was made lawful to hang, whenever or wherever caught, without trial or sentence, and offeringfifty florins a-head for every private soldier and one hundred florinsfor any officer of the garrison. A list of these Englishmen andNetherlanders, so far as known, was appended to the placard, and thecatalogue was headed by the name of Sir John Wingfield. 

Thus the consequences of the fatal event were even more deplorable thanthe loss of the city itself. The fury of Olden-Barneveld at the treasonwas excessive, and the great Advocate governed the policy of therepublic, at this period, almost like a dictator. The States, easilyacknowledging the sway of the imperious orator, became bitter--andwrathful with the English, side by side with whom they had lately been socordially standing. 

Willoughby, on his part, now at the English court, was furious with theStates, and persuaded the leading counsellors of the Queen as well as herMajesty herself, to adopt his view of the transaction. Wingfield, it wasasserted, was quite innocent in the matter; he was entirely ignorant ofthe French language, and therefore was unable to read a word of theletters addressed to him by Maurice and the replies which had been signedby himself. Whether this strange excuse ought to be accepted or not, itis quite certain that he was no traitor like York and Stanley, and nofriend to Spain; for he had stipulated for himself the right to return toEngland, and had neither received nor desired any reward. He hatedMaurice and he hated the States, but he asserted that he had been held indurance, that the garrison was mutinous, and that he was no moreresponsible for the loss of the city than Sir Francis Vere had been, whohad also been present, and whose name had been subsequently withdrawn, inhonourable fashion from the list of traitors, by authority of the States. His position--so far as he was personally concerned--seemed defensible, and the Queen was thoroughly convinced of his innocence. Willoughbycomplained that the republic was utterly in the hands of Barneveld, thatno man ventured to lift his voice or his eyes in presence of the terribleAdvocate who ruled every Netherlander with a rod of iron, and that hisviolent and threatening language to Wingfield and himself at thedinner-table in Bergen-op-Zoom on the subject of the mutiny (when onehundred of the Gertruydenberg garrison were within sound of his voice)had been the chief cause of the rebellion. Inspired by theseremonstrances, the Queen once more emptied the vials of her wrath uponthe United Netherlands. The criminations and recriminations seemedendless, and it was most fortunate that Spain had been weakened, thatAlexander, a prey to melancholy and to lingering disease, had gone to thebaths of Spa to recruit his shattered health, and that his attention andthe schemes of Philip for the year 1589 and the following period were tobe directed towards France. Otherwise the commonwealth could hardly haveescaped still more severe disasters than those already experienced inthis unfortunate condition of its affairs, and this almost hopelessmisunderstanding with its most important and vigorous friend. 

While these events had been occurring in the heart of the republic, Martin Schenk, that restless freebooter, had been pursuing a bustling andmost lucrative career on its outskirts. All the episcopate ofCologne--that debatable land of the two rival paupers, Bavarian Ernestand Gebhard Truchsess--trembled before him. Mothers scared their childreninto quiet with the terrible name of Schenk, and farmers andland-younkers throughout the electorate and the land of Berg, Cleves, andJuliers, paid their black-mail, as if it were a constitutional impost, toescape the levying process of the redoubtable partisan. 

But Martin was no longer seconded, as he should have been, by the States, to whom he had been ever faithful since he forsook the banner of Spainfor their own; and he had even gone to England and complained to theQueen of the short-comings of those who owed him so much. His ingeniousand daring exploit--the capture of Bonn--has already been narrated, butthe States had neglected the proper precautions to secure that importantcity. It had consequently, after a six months' siege, been surrendered tothe Spaniards under Prince Chimay, on the 19th of September; while, inDecember following, the city of Wachtendonk, between the Rhine and Meuse, had fallen into Mansfeld's hands. Rheinberg, the only city of theepiscopate which remained to the deposed Truchsess, was soon afterwardsinvested by the troops of Parma, and Schenk in vain summoned theStates-General to take proper measures for its defence. But with theenemy now eating his way towards the heart of Holland, and with so manydangers threatening them on every side, it was thought imprudent to go sofar away to seek the enemy. So Gebhard retired in despair into Germany, and Martin did what he could to protect Rheinberg, and to fill his owncoffers at the expense of the whole country side. 

He had built a fort, which then and long afterwards bore hisname-Schenken Schans, or Schenk's Sconce--at that important point wherethe Rhine, opening its two arms to enclose the "good meadow" island ofBatavia, becomes on the left the Waal, while on the right it retains itsancient name; and here, on the outermost edge of the republic, andlooking straight from his fastness into the fruitful fields of Munster, Westphalia, and the electorate, the industrious Martin devoted himselfwith advantage to his favourite pursuits. 

On the 7th of August, on the heath of Lippe, he had attacked a body ofSpanish musketeers, more than a thousand strong, who were protecting aconvoy of provisions, treasure, and furniture, sent by Farnese toVerdugo, royal governor of Friesland. Schenk, without the loss of asingle man, had put the greater part of these Spaniards and Walloons tothe sword, and routed the rest. The leader of the expedition, ColonelAristotle Patton, who had once played him so foul a trick in thesurrender of Gelder, had soon taken to flight, when he found his ancientenemy upon him, and, dashing into the Lippe, had succeeded, by thestrength and speed of his horse, in gaining the opposite bank, andeffecting his escape. Had he waited many minutes longer it is probablethat the treacherous Aristotle would have passed a comfortless half-hourwith his former comrade. Treasure to the amount of seven thousand crownsin gold, five hundred horses, with jewels, plate, and other articles ofvalue, were the fruit of this adventure, and Schenk returned with hisfollowers, highly delighted, to Schenkenschans, and sent the capturedSpanish colours to her Majesty of England as a token. 

A few miles below his fortress was Nymegen, and towards that ancient andwealthy city Schenk had often cast longing eyes. It still held for theKing, although on the very confines of Batavia; but while acknowledgingthe supremacy of Philip, it claimed the privileges of the empire. Fromearliest times it had held its head very high among imperial towns, hadbeen one of the three chief residences of the Emperor. Charlemagne, andstill paid the annual tribute of a glove full of pepper to the Germanempire. 

On the evening of the 10th of August, 1589, there was a wedding feast inone of the splendid mansions of the stately city. The festivities wereprolonged until deep in the midsummer's night, and harp and viol werestill inspiring the feet of the dancers, when on a sudden, in the midstof the holiday-groups, appeared the grim visage of Martin Schenk, the manwho never smiled. Clad in no wedding-garment, but in armour of proof, with morion on head, and sword in hand, the great freebooter strodeheavily through the ball-room, followed by a party of those terriblemusketeers who never gave or asked for quarter, while the affrightedrevellers fluttered away before them. 

Taking advantage of a dark night, he had just dropped down the river fromhis castle, with five-and-twenty barges, had landed with his most trustedsoldiers in the foremost vessels, had battered down the gate of St. Anthony, and surprised and slain the guard. Without waiting for the restof his boats, he had then stolen with his comrades through the silentstreets, and torn away the lattice-work, and other slight defences on therear of the house which they had now entered, and through which theyintended to possess themselves of the market-place. Martin had long sinceselected this mansion as a proper position for his enterprise, but he hadnot been bidden to the wedding, and was somewhat disconcerted when hefound himself on the festive scene which he had so grimly interrupted. Some of the merry-makers escaped from the house, and proceeded to alarmthe town; while Schenk hastily fortified his position; and tookpossession of the square. But the burghers and garrison were soon onfoot, and he was driven back into the house. Three times he recovered thesquare by main strength of his own arm, seconded by the handful of menwhom he had brought with him, and three times he was beaten back byoverwhelming numbers into the wedding mansion. The arrival of the greaterpart of his followers, with whose assistance he could easily havemastered the city in the first moments of surprise, was mysteriouslydelayed. He could not account for their prolonged, absence, and wasmeanwhile supported only by those who had arrived with him in theforemost barges. 

The truth--of which he was ignorant--was, that the remainder of theflotilla, borne along by the strong and deep current of the Waal, then ina state of freshet, had shot past the landing-place, and had ever sincebeen vainly struggling against wind and tide to force their way back tothe necessary point. Meantime Schenk and his followers fought desperatelyin the market-place, and desperately in the house which he had seized. But a whole garrison, and a town full of citizens in arms proved too muchfor him, and he was now hotly besieged in the mansion, and at last drivenforth into the streets. 

By this time day was dawning, the whole population, soldiers andburghers, men, women, and children, were thronging about the little bandof marauders, and assailing them with every weapon and every missile tobe found. Schenk fought with his usual ferocity, but at last themusketeers, in spite of his indignant commands, began rapidly to retreattowards the quay. In vain Martin stormed and cursed, in vain with his ownhand he struck more than one of his soldiers dead. He was swept alongwith the panic-stricken band, and when, shouting and gnashing his teethwith frenzy, he reached the quay at last, he saw at a glance why hisgreat enterprise had failed. The few empty barges of his own party weremoored at the steps; the rest were half a mile off, contending hopelesslyagainst the swollen and rapid Waal. Schenk, desperately wounded, was leftalmost alone upon the wharf, for his routed followers had plunged helterskelter into the boats, several of which, overladen in the panic, sank atonce, leaving the soldiers to drown or struggle with the waves. The gamewas lost. Nothing was left the freebooter but retreat. Reluctantlyturning his back on his enemies, now in full cry close behind him, Schenksprang into the last remaining boat just pushing from the quay. Alreadyoverladen, it foundered with his additional weight, and Martin Schenk, encumbered with his heavy armour, sank at once to the bottom of the Waal. 

Some of the fugitives succeeded in swimming down the stream, and werepicked up by their comrades in the barges below the town, and so madetheir escape. Many were drowned with their captain. A few daysafterwards, the inhabitants of Nymegen fished up the body of the famouspartisan. He was easily recognized by his armour, and by his truculentface, still wearing the scowl with which he had last rebuked hisfollowers. His head was taken off at once, and placed on one of theturrets of the town, and his body, divided in four, was made to adornother portions of the battlements; so that the burghers were enabled tofeast their eyes on the remnants of the man at whose name the wholecountry had so often trembled. 

This was the end of Sir Martin Schenk of Niddegem, knight, colonel, andbrigand; save that ultimately his dissevered limbs were packed in achest, and kept in a church tower, until Maurice of Nassau, in course oftime becoming master of Nymegen, honoured the valiant and on the wholefaithful freebooter with a Christian and military burial. 

A few months later (October, 1589) another man who had been playing animportant part in the Netherlands' drama lost his life. Count Moeurs andNiewenaar, stadholder of Utrecht, Gelderland, and Overysael, whileinspecting some newly-invented fireworks, was suddenly killed by theiraccidental ignition and explosion. His death left vacant three greatstadholderates, which before long were to be conferred upon a youth whosepower henceforth was rapidly to grow greater. 

The misunderstanding between Holland and England continuing, Olden-Barneveld, Aerssens, and Buys, refusing to see that they had donewrong in denouncing the Dutch and English traitors who had soldGertruydenberg to the enemy, and the Queen and her counsellors persistingin their anger at so insolent a proceeding, it may easily be supposedthat there was no great heartiness in the joint expedition against Spain, which had been projected in the autumn of 1588, and was accomplished inthe spring and summer of 1589. 

Nor was this well-known enterprise fruitful of any remarkable result. Ithad been decided to carry the war into Spain itself, and Don Antonio, prior of Crato, bastard of Portugal, and pretender to its crown, hadpersuaded himself and the English government that his name would bepotent to conjure with in that kingdom, hardly yet content with theSpanish yoke. Supported by a determined force of English and Dutchadventurers, he boasted that he should excite a revolution by the magicof his presence, and cause Philip's throne to tremble, in return for theaudacious enterprise of that monarch against England. 

If a foray were to be made into Spain, no general and no admiral could befound in the world so competent to the adventure as Sir John Norris andSir Francis Drake. They were accompanied, too, by Sir Edward Norris, andanother of those 'chickens of Mars, ' Henry Norris; by the indomitable andubiquitous Welshman, Roger Williams, and by the young Earl of Essex, whomthe Queen in vain commanded to remain at home, and who, somewhat to theannoyance of the leaders of the expedition, concealed himself from herMajesty's pursuit, and at last embarked in a vessel which he hadequipped, in order not to be cheated of his share in the hazard and thebooty. "If I speed well, " said the spendthrift but valiant youth; "I willadventure to be rich; if not, I will never live, to see the end of mypoverty. "

But no great riches were to be gathered in the expedition. With somefourteen thousand men, and one hundred and sixty vessels--of which sixwere the Queen's ships of war, including the famous Revenge and theDreadnought, and the rest armed merchantmen, English, and fortyHollanders--and with a contingent of fifteen hundred Dutchmen underNicolas van Meetkerke and Van Laen, the adventurers set sail fromPlymouth on the 18th of April, 1589. 

They landed at Coruna--at which place they certainly could not expect tocreate a Portuguese revolution, which was the first object of theexpedition--destroyed some shipping in the harbour, captured and sackedthe lower town, and were repulsed in the upper; marched with six thousandmen to Burgos, crossed the bridge at push of pike, and routed tenthousand Spaniards under Andrada and Altamira--Edward Norris receiving adesperate blow on the head at the passage' of the bridge, and beingrescued from death by his brother John--took sail for the south afterthis action, in which they had killed a thousand Spaniards, and had lostbut two men of their own; were joined off Cape Finisterre by Essex;landed a force at Peniche, the castle of which place surrendered to them, and acknowledged the authority of Don Antonio; and thence marched withthe main body of the troops, under Sir John Norris, forty-eight miles toLisbon, while Drake, with the fleet, was to sail up the Tagus. 

Nothing like a revolution had been effected in Portugal. No one seemed tocare for the Pretender, or even to be aware that he had ever existed, except the governor of Peniche Castle, a few ragged and bare-footedpeasants, who, once upon the road, shouted "Viva Don Antonio, " and oneold gentleman by the way side, who brought him a plate of plums. Hishopes of a crown faded rapidly, and when the army reached Lisbon it haddwindled to not much more than four thousand effective men--the restbeing dead of dysentery, or on the sick-list from imprudence in eatingand drinking--while they found that they had made an unfortunate omissionin their machinery for assailing the capital, having not a singlefieldpiece in the whole army. Moreover, as Drake was prevented by badweather and head-winds from sailing up the Tagus, it seemed a difficultmatter to carry the city. A few cannon, and the co-operation of thefleet, were hardly to be dispensed with on such an occasion. Neverthelessit would perhaps have proved an easier task than it appeared--for sogreat was the panic within the place that a large number of theinhabitants had fled, the Cardinal Viceroy Archduke Albert had but a veryinsufficient guard, and there were many gentlemen of high station whowere anxious to further the entrance of the English, and who wereafterwards hanged or garotted for their hostile sentiments to the Spanishgovernment. 

While the leaders were deliberating what course to take, they wereinformed that Count Fuentes and Henriquez de Guzman, with six thousandmen, lay at a distance of two miles from Lisbon, and that they had beenproclaiming by sound of trumpet that the English had been signallydefeated before Lisbon, and that they were in full retreat. 

Fired at this bravado, Norris sent a trumpet to Fuentes and Guzman, witha letter signed and sealed, giving them the lie in plainest terms, appointing the next day for a meeting of the two forces, and assuringthem that when the next encounter should take place, it should be seenwhether a Spaniard or an Englishman would be first to fly; while Essex, on his part, sent a note, defying either or both those boastful generalsto single combat. Next day the English army took the field, but theSpaniards retired before them; and nothing came of this exchange ofcartels, save a threat on the part of Fuentes to hang the trumpeter whohad brought the messages. From the execution of this menace he refrained, however, on being assured that the deed would be avenged by the death ofthe Spanish prisoner of highest rank then in English hands, and thus thetrumpeter escaped. 

Soon afterwards the fleet set sail from the Tagus, landed, and burnedVigo on their way homeward, and returned to Plymouth about the middle ofJuly. 

Of the thirteen thousand came home six thousand, the rest having perishedof dysentery and other disorders. They had braved and insulted Spain, humbled her generals, defied her power, burned some defenceless villages, frightened the peasantry, set fire to some shipping, destroyed wine, oil, and other merchandize, and had divided among the survivors of theexpedition, after landing in England, five shillings a head prize-money;but they had not effected a revolution in Portugal. Don Antonio had beenoffered nothing by his faithful subjects but a dish of plums--so that heretired into obscurity from that time forward--and all this was scarcelya magnificent result for the death of six or seven thousand good Englishand Dutch soldiers, and the outlay of considerable treasure. 

As a free-booting foray--and it was nothing else--it could hardly bethought successful; although it was a splendid triumph compared with theresult of the long and loudly heralded Invincible Armada. 

In France, great events during the remainder of 1588 and the followingyear, and which are well known even to the most superficial student ofhistory, had much changed the aspect of European affairs. It wasfortunate for the two commonwealths of Holland and England, engaged inthe great struggle for civil and religious liberty, and nationalindependence, that the attention of Philip became more and moreabsorbed-as time wore on--with the affairs of France. It seemed necessaryfor him firmly to establish his dominion in that country beforeattempting once more the conquest of England, or the recovery of theNetherlands. For France had been brought more nearly to anarchy and utterdecomposition than ever. Henry III. , after his fatal forgiveness of thedeadly offence of Guise, felt day by day more keenly that he hadtransferred his sceptre--such as it was--to that dangerous intriguer. Bitterly did the King regret having refused the prompt offer of AlphonseCorse on the day of the barricades; for now, so long as the newgeneralissimo should live, the luckless Henry felt himself a superfluityin his own realm. The halcyon days were for ever past, when, protected bythe swords of Joyeuse and of Epernon, the monarch of France could passhis life playing at cup and ball, or snipping images out of pasteboard, or teaching his parrots-to talk, or his lap-dogs to dance. His royaloccupations were gone, and murder now became a necessary preliminary toany future tranquillity or enjoyment. Discrowned as he felt himselfalready, he knew that life or liberty was only held by him now at thewill of Guise. The assassination of the Duke in December was thenecessary result of the barricades in May; and accordingly thatassassination was arranged with an artistic precision of which the worldhad hardly suspected the Valois to be capable, and which Philip himselfmight have envied. 

The story of the murders of Blois--the destruction of Guise and hisbrother the Cardinal, and the subsequent imprisonment of the Archbishopof Lyons, the Cardinal Bourbon, and the Prince de Joinville, now, throughthe death of his father, become the young Duke of Guise--all these eventsare too familiar in the realms of history, song, romance, and painting, to require more than this slight allusion here. 

Never had an assassination been more technically successful; yet itsresults were not commensurate with the monarch's hopes. The deed which hehad thought premature in May was already too late in December. His motherdenounced his cruelty now, as she had, six months before, execrated hiscowardice. And the old Queen, seeing that her game was played out--thatthe cards had all gone against her--that her son was doomed, and her owninfluence dissolved in air, felt that there was nothing left for her butto die. In a week she was dead, and men spoke no more of Catharine de'Medici, and thought no more of her than if--in the words of a spleneticcontemporary--"she had been a dead she-goat. " Paris howled with rage whenit learned the murders of Blois, and the sixteen quarters became morefurious than ever against the Valois. Some wild talk there was ofdemocracy and republicanism after the manner of Switzerland, and ofdividing France into cantons--and there was an earnest desire on the partof every grandee, every general, every soldier of fortune, to carve out aportion of French territory with his sword, and to appropriate it forhimself and his heirs. Disintegration was making rapid progress, and theepoch of the last Valois seemed mare dark and barbarous than the times ofthe degenerate Carlovingians had been. The letter-writer of the Escorial, who had earnestly warned his faithful Mucio, week after week, thatdangers were impending over him, and that "some trick would be playedupon him, " should he venture into the royal presence, now acquiesced inhis assassination, and placidly busied himself with fresh combinationsand newer tools. 

Baked, hunted, scorned by all beside, the luckless Henry now threwhimself into the arms of the Bearnese--the man who could and would haveprotected him long before, had the King been capable of understandingtheir relative positions and his own true interests. Could the Valoishave conceived the thought of religious toleration, his throne even thenmight have been safe. But he preferred playing the game of the priestsand bigots, who execrated his name and were bent upon his destruction. Atlast, at Plessis les Tours, the Bearnese, in his shabby old chamoisjacket and his well-dinted cuirass took the silken Henry in his arms, andthe two--the hero and the fribble--swearing eternal friendship, proceededto besiege Paris. A few weeks later, the dagger of Jacques Clement put anend for ever to, the line of Valois. Luckless Henry III. Slept with hisforefathers, and Henry of Bourbon and Navarre proclaimed himself King ofFrance. Catharine and her four sons had all past away at last, and itwould be a daring and a dexterous schemer who should now tear the crown, for which he had so long and so patiently waited, from the iron grasp ofthe Bearnese. Philip had a more difficult game than ever to play inFrance. It would be hard for him to make valid the claims of the Infantaand any husband he might select for her to the crown of her grandfatherHenry II. It seemed simple enough for him, while waiting the course ofevents, to set up a royal effigy before the world in the shape of aneffete old Cardinal Bourbon, to pour oil upon its head and to baptize itCharles X. ; but meantime the other Bourbon was no effigy, and he calledhimself Henry IV. 

It was easy enough for Paris, and Madam League, and Philip the Prudent, to cry wo upon the heretic; but the cheerful leader of the Huguenots wasa philosopher, who in the days of St. Bartholomew had become orthodox tosave his life, and who was already "instructing himself" anew in order tosecure his crown. Philip was used to deal with fanatics, and had oftenbeen opposed by a religious bigotry as fierce as his own; but he mightperhaps be baffled by a good-humoured free-thinker, who was to teach hima lesson in political theology of which he had never dreamed. 

The Leaguers were not long in doubt as to the meaning of "instruction, "and they were thoroughly persuaded that--so soon as Henry IV. Shouldreconcile himself with Rome--their game was likely to become desperate. 

Nevertheless prudent Philip sat in his elbow-chairs writing hisapostilles, improving himself and his secretaries in orthography, butchiefly confining his attention to the affairs of France. The departedMucio's brother Mayenne was installed as chief stipendiary of Spain andlieutenant-general for the League in France, until Philip shoulddetermine within himself in what form to assume the sovereignty of thatkingdom. It might be questionable however whether that corpulent Duke, who spent more time in eating than Henry IV. Did in sleeping, and waslonger in reading a letter than Henry in winning a battle, were likely toprove a very dangerous rival even with all Spain at his back--to thelively Bearnese. But time would necessarily be consumed before the endwas reached, and time and Philip were two. Henry of Navarre and Francewas ready to open his ears to instruction; but even he had declared, several years before, that "a religion was not to be changed like ashirt. " So while the fresh garment was airing for him at Rome, and whilehe was leisurely stripping off the old, he might perhaps be taken at adisadvantage. Fanaticism on both sides, during this process ofinstruction, might be roused. The Huguenots on their part might denouncethe treason of their great chief, and the Papists, on theirs, howl at thehypocrisy of the pretended conversion. But Henry IV. Had philosophicallyprepared himself for the denunciations of the Protestants, whiledetermined to protect them against the persecutions of the Romanism towhich he meant to give his adhesion. While accepting the title ofrenegade, together with an undisputed crown, he was not the man torekindle those fires of religious bigotry which it was his task toquench, now that they had lighted his way to the throne. The demands ofhis Catholic supporters for the exclusion from the kingdom of allreligions but their own, were steadily refused. 

And thus the events of 1588 and 1589 indicated that the great game ofdespotism against freedom would be played, in the coming years, upon thesoil of France. Already Elizabeth had furnished the new King with L22, 000in gold--a larger sum; as he observed, than he had ever seen before inhis life, and the States of the Netherlands had provided him with as muchmore. Willoughby too, and tough Roger Williams, and Baskerville, andUmpton, and Vere, with 4000 English pikemen at their back, had alreadymade a brief but spirited campaign in France; and the Duke of Parma, after recruiting his health; so, far as it was possible; at Spa, waspreparing himself to measure swords with that great captain of Huguenots;who now assumed the crown of his ancestors, upon the same ground. Itseemed probable that for the coming years England would be safe fromSpanish invasion, and that Holland would have a better opportunity thanit had ever enjoyed before of securing its liberty and perfecting itspolitical organization. While Parma, Philip; and Mayenne were fightingthe Bearnese for the crown of France, there might be a fairer field forthe new commonwealth of the United Netherlands. 

And thus many of the personages who have figured in these volumes havealready passed away. Leicester had died just after the defeat of theArmada, and the thrifty Queen, while dropping a tear upon the grave of'sweet Robin, ' had sold his goods at auction to defray his debts toherself; and Moeurs, and Martin Schenk, and 'Mucio, ' and Henry III. , andCatharine de' Medici, were all dead. But Philip the Prudent remained, andElizabeth of England, and Henry of France and Navarre, and John ofOlden-Barneveld; and there was still another personage, a very young manstill, but a deep-thinking, hard-working student, fagging steadily atmathematics and deep in the works of Stevinus, who, before long, mightplay a conspicuous part in the world's great drama. But, previously to1590, Maurice of Nassau seemed comparatively insignificant, and he couldbe spoken of by courtiers as a cipher, and as an unmannerly boy just letloose from school. 

 ETEXT EDITOR'S BOOKMARKS:

 I will never live, to see the end of my poverty Religion was not to be changed like a shirt Tension now gave place to exhaustion

 ETEXT EDITOR'S BOOKMARKS, ENTIRE 1586-89 UNITED NETHERLANDS:

 A burnt cat fears the fire A free commonwealth--was thought an absurdity Act of Uniformity required Papists to assist All business has been transacted with open doors And thus this gentle and heroic spirit took its flight Are wont to hang their piety on the bell-rope Arminianism As lieve see the Spanish as the Calvinistic inquisition As logical as men in their cups are prone to be Baiting his hook a little to his appetite Beacons in the upward path of mankind Been already crimination and recrimination more than enough Bungling diplomatists and credulous dotards Canker of a long peace Casting up the matter "as pinchingly as possibly might be" Defect of enjoying the flattery, of his inferiors in station Disposed to throat-cutting by the ministers of the Gospel During this, whole war, we have never seen the like Elizabeth (had not) the faintest idea of religious freedom Englishmen and Hollanders preparing to cut each other's throats Even to grant it slowly is to deny it utterly Evil is coming, the sooner it arrives the better Faction has rarely worn a more mischievous aspect Fitter to obey than to command Five great rivers hold the Netherland territory in their coils Fool who useth not wit because he hath it not Forbidding the wearing of mourning at all Full of precedents and declamatory commonplaces God, whose cause it was, would be pleased to give good weather Guilty of no other crime than adhesion to the Catholic faith Hard at work, pouring sand through their sieves Hardly a distinguished family in Spain not placed in mourning Heretics to the English Church were persecuted High officers were doing the work of private, soldiers I did never see any man behave himself as he did I am a king that will be ever known not to fear any but God I will never live, to see the end of my poverty Individuals walking in advance of their age Infamy of diplomacy, when diplomacy is unaccompanied by honesty Inquisitors enough; but there were no light vessels in The Armada Invincible Armada had not only been vanquished but annihilated Look for a sharp war, or a miserable peace Loving only the persons who flattered him Mendacity may always obtain over innocence and credulity Never peace well made, he observed, without a mighty war Never did statesmen know better how not to do Not many more than two hundred Catholics were executed Nothing could equal Alexander's fidelity, but his perfidy One could neither cry nor laugh within the Spanish dominions Only citadel against a tyrant and a conqueror was distrust Pray here for satiety, (said Cecil) than ever think of variety Rebuked him for his obedience Religion was not to be changed like a shirt Respect for differences in religious opinions Sacrificed by the Queen for faithfully obeying her orders Security is dangerous She relieth on a hope that will deceive her Simple truth was highest skill Sixteen of their best ships had been sacrificed Sparing and war have no affinity together Stake or gallows (for) heretics to transubstantiation States were justified in their almost unlimited distrust Strength does a falsehood acquire in determined and skilful hand Succeeded so well, and had been requited so ill Sure bind, sure find Sword in hand is the best pen to write the conditions of peace Tension now gave place to exhaustion That crowned criminal, Philip the Second The worst were encouraged with their good success The blaze of a hundred and fifty burning vessels The sapling was to become the tree Their existence depended on war There is no man fitter for that purpose than myself They chose to compel no man's conscience Tolerating religious liberty had never entered his mind Torturing, hanging, embowelling of men, women, and children Trust her sword, not her enemy's word Undue anxiety for impartiality Universal suffrage was not dreamed of at that day Waiting the pleasure of a capricious and despotic woman We were sold by their negligence who are now angry with us Wealthy Papists could obtain immunity by an enormous fine Who the "people" exactly were